#so it feels unbalanced and not exactly how it should be imo

[amelikos]

It's interesting how the episode highlighted the themes of inheritance and passing on the torch through both Amethio and Liko receiving something (a Terastal Orb, meant to make Amethio stronger, and an adventure log, meant to guide Liko further) from Hamber and Diana respectively.

Roy got his Ancient Pokeball from his grandfather, Liko got her pendant (now turned Terapagos) from her grandmother, and Amethio got a Terastal Orb from Hamber (he is probably not related to him but still an elder figure in his life).

To a lesser extent, because Nanjamo isn't as old as the grandparents figures, Nanjamo is a kind of "senpai" figure to Dot in terms of video making and being a livestreamer and the episode highlighted that too (since she asks Liko and Roy to take care of Dot for her). Dot looks up to her and Nanjamo is clearly happy to see her making friends.

Either way, that's why the situation with Amethio feels different from Liko and Roy to me because his setting intentionally goes against the themes set up for them. In their cases, they are given options and gently pushed forward. Liko and Roy had Diana and Friede protecting them against Rayquaza in HZ033, Amethio was alone. Liko and Roy come out of their training against Diana feeling much more optimistic and realizing that they still have potential to grow, while Amethio comes out of his own training aware of his limits and feeling like he is not enough. Liko and Roy are encouraged to follow their own dreams, while Amethio is trying to fulfill someone else's wish. Rakua is Gibeon's wish, not Amethio's.

I really wonder what direction they'll take now, especially since Amethio is encouraged to continue on his current path (a path fueled by frustration and hastiness so far).. His scene in the opening mentions running towards his own future.

[alwida10]

You know, I realized I did the same thing that often annoyed me when done by others: unbalanced writing. I apologize for that.

And you will also agree that Thor killing frost giants was wrong. So Thor killing frost giants are wrong, how is Loki leading them to their death not wrong?

No, of course, it's not. Him letting frost giants into Asgard is wrong. I would judge it like someone driving while drunk. He might have thought everything would be allright, but since people got harmed that's on him and it deserves punishment. Thor going against Odin's command to Jotunheim was starting a war was treason and attempted genocide and deserves punishment. Heimdall letting them (both princes of a monarchy! lol) go to a hostile realm without notifying Odin was wrong and deserves punishment. The W3+Sif not following Loki's orders when he was king is treason and deserves punishment. Loki directing the bifrost at Jotunheim was attempted genocide and deserves punishment. (and for the person reblogging this post from you: Sylvie was never shown to commit treason or attempt genocide, so she's clearly morally superior. But as you know I never even claimed she was a villain. My problem is the narrative framing (doylist perspective). From the Watsonian perspective I cannot fault her for most of her actions.)

My point was from the beginning that I cannot believe anyone reasonable could consider Loki ONLY (=100%) motivated by jealousy, or 100% evil, entirely unjustified and a pure villain. Because that is the impression a lot of the pro-Sylki posts give. You clarified that you do not think him entirely irredeemably evil. Thank you. That was my question. I think a lot of the split comes from people arguing more to the extreme because they feel attacked. I certainly cannot deny having done so, especially when one of this "all anti-series fans are murder apologists, and think Loki could not do anything wrong because they would like to f*** him" comes to my attention when I'm already upset. (Which, lol, could at times be thinking with the menstrual cycle, but in a different way, ngl, but I digress). So, yeah, I agree that both sides have been attacked and disparaged, and that is exactly why I hate posts like the submitted text posted by the OP. And while I agree that pointing shitstorms at a single person is abuse, I cannot agree that defamation of a whole group would be better (neither at you nor at us). Whenever I post something I try to keep the focus on the product (the show) and refrain from spitting hate on other groups. (I am not as hypocritical as to claim it never happened, especially when I felt attacked at first.)

My point is that the discussion should be tried to be done as civil as possible. That is why I proposed the misunderstanding could be just from exaggeration of one aspect where you could agree or argue the point publically. I did not make another post behind your back claiming that would be what all series fans did. You said this was not the case and I accept that. And your question about why I would think that Loki committing genocide was ok (which I never claimed), made me realize that I may have focused too much on the "he had good reasons, too" point and too little on the "he used wrong methods and acted irresponsible" point.

So, that was my main point. What follows are a few little comments that don't have real weight, but I would like to add.

Now I had written two times that heroes don't endanger innocent lives intentionally.

yeah, exactly. I meant that it sometimes happened that the heroes, too, endangered innocents intentionally. Examples are Natasha and Steve exposing all shield agents when they leaked info on all shield personnel online (I think it was in CW), and Steve refusing a (from his point of view) failsafe method to prevent the snap simply because he valued Vision's life higher and thought they would win anyway. This is IMO the same recklessness and irresponsibility Loki is guilty of in Thor 1. Just. In Loki's case, much fewer people were harmed. But nobody is hating on Steve for that. Some people do hate Thor for missing the head, or Peter for waking Thanos from the sleep spell, so at least there is some equality. :/

Now, this is again up for interpretations but I don't think the writers will give Loki the line 'take the stairs to the left' and not specify what that stairs led to.

Imo the line was intended to give Loki a reason to hate himself since the last words he spoke to Frigga were a rejection and he needed a reason to take Thor's offer for revenge. But the deduction of "Loki killed his mother" (like it was included in the show) is IMO a vast overstatement. I would say his part in her death very very little, considering he did not know about the invasion, Thor having brought Jane and placed her at Frigga's side and the fact that she had an infinity stone, Malekith wanted. IMO Thor bears MUCH MUCH greater fault in her death. But for some reason, nobody seems to point out that. Because he's a hero, I guess and those get questioned very little.

So, in the end, I assume (based on the shippers here on Tumblr) that pro-series people still see Loki as (at least) partially redeemable and not entirely corrupt. And I get that it musst feel annoying to get accused of only liking it for the romance. We get accused for apologizing everything Loki ever did, which is simply not the case. But I understand that the point might not be obvious for people since most of the time we argue against judging his actions too harshly. Like, I would say the deaths of the asgardians Loki cause would qualify to be homicide. Other people argue he would be a straight up murderer because of them. You said, he would not care for the lives of others. I would say the opposite. Imo, he tried to manipulate the kingdom to a better future because it was the only way he had to prevent what he considered a catastrophe. Other people call it treason (which imo doesn’t fit, since treason goes against the king and Loki did actually want Odin to STAY king, and not overthrow him). From all I see the problem is that sylki-fans especially in discussions focus on Loki‘s bad traits. You did so, in your reply where you admittedly mentioned he had good intentions, but the focus was always on how much bad he has done. That is something that can evoke the feeling you were siding against him, even when it’s not what you want to say or what you do. Like we get accused to deny any bad he he done, since the focus is on what is wrongfully blamed on him or exaggerated. I think that is what I read in the other reblog. They said „it seems like […]“ and that refers to the outside impression, and not to the intention. (Sadly, I’m on mobile right now, so I can’t look up the entire post. If there was another line you meant, please tell me and I will look it up.) the same happened with the person who reblogged the post from you and thought I had said something against sylvie,but I mentioned that earlier already. But that’s imo the core of the problem. What you and we want to say is sometimes written unbalanced, dropping the part we assume would the other group already think, making the posts appear much more controversial than they are intended.

For example, the tweets I sometimes come across, involuntarily evoke the impression (certainly unintentionally. I might have just been unlucky with the posts that reached me since I normally try to avoid pro-Sylki spaces) that he was considered a kinslayer, a murderer, that his emotional trauma was forgotten or unimportant and that would somehow justify Sylvie (or Mobius) treating him badly. That him getting tortured with the ball kicking was justified, and all he was good for was admiring Sylvie, while she should be dismissive against him. (To clarify: This is not about what was shown in the series, but scenarios people made up. And while i certainly did not enjoy her saying "this isn't about you" or "shut up", i get why it was situational in the show and not abuse). But the shipping scenarios are sometimes a real hit. Hell, I have seen people on twitter suggesting she was supposed to beat him up repeatedly and then f*** him when he's beaten bloody, and he would want was still be with her. Which is making me cringe. Because that dynamic would be highly abusive, and people glorifying abuse will always be a trigger for me. I am aware that are most likely the outliers, and not the standard scenarios, but man, that's real something. Valid tho. People can imagine what they want. As long they don't attack other people.

It’s funny that, before Sylvie was even properly introduced in the show, she was set up as a Loki variant - you know, Loki, the guy who was a villain of three movies - and somehow people think it’s upsetting that she turns out to have villainous qualities. “Why did she have to kill her fellow variants when she could have tried to free them and join them in a revolution against the TVA?”, I don’t know Becky, why did Loki have to try and commit genocide against his fellow jotunns when he found out he was their stolen prince, instead of joining them against Odin’s imperialism? Why Loki taking out his self esteem issues on a failed attempt to conquer a planet full of innocent people who did nothing to him make him a complex and tormented villain, but Sylvie killing officers who were actively trying to harm her make her a heartless bitch?

It’s literally a theme point that Loki feels connected to Sylvie because her lust for vengeance at all costs reminds him of himself in his villain days (“I’ve been where you are”), but people somehow insist that her anger and cruelty are meant to be seen as positive or heroic, or justified, when the narrative is clearly highlighting them as moral flaws that are weighting her down and that she must put behind her. Not to mention that her arc is not done yet, and we already see the regret creeping onto her when she weeps on the floor after killing He Who Remains.

Loki stans will write walls on meta on how even smallest things about his life, like a brief passage of Heimdall being casually rude to him, or how Volstagg being casually dismissive of him, of even Sif’s brief side eye to him, equals to terrible abuse that explains how he became the bitter villain that he’s turned into. But Sylvie having her reality erased as a child because the equivalent to God Himself has deemed that her very existence was crime against Creation, which forced her to live on the run jumping from one mass death event after the other, seeing everyone she’s ever known being fated to die soon, while she’s hunted down like a dog, is something she should just get over. And that would totally not explain how she became so hardened and angry. Right.

Bottom line: moral ambiguity is for male characters only, women are not allowed to have moral flaws to grow out of, and if Sylvie has a male variant played by Hiddles himself her haters would be fawning over him as their new wobbie villain.

[lukealvezhimboextraordinaire]

“I can admit she made mistakes im not willing to tolerate anyone saying she didn't do it out of love”

This is why the sister relationship doesn’t work for me. Kate, even her actions inadvertently hurt Edwina, was trying to protect her from getting hurt the entire time. The same isn’t true for Edwina. She didn’t mind when Anthony hurt Kate with his behavior at the races. Edwina was ok with Kate being hurt and pushed aside.

Edwina obviously had every reason to be hurt and angry after the wedding when she saw the Kanthony of it all, but instead of going after Anthony for creating the mess, she blames Kate for having feels (that Kate did not act on), she blames Kate for putting her in the position she is in (not sure if she meant raising her to marry into the aristocracy or specifically marrying Anthony), she blamed Kate for her not knowing who she is, she blamed Kate for how hurt she was in ep7 and acted like Kate was purposely hurting her…it goes on and on and even when Kate recovers and they have their convo, Edwina is still getting her questions asked and then telling Kate what’s what and even though she encourages Kate to go after Anthony in the end, there is no acknowledgment on Edwina’s part that she was being unfair to Kate, that everything Kate had done for the past 8 years was sacrifice herself for Edwina’s sake and that she had broken her own heart rather than hurt Edwina (when she asked Anthony to marry Edwina anyway) and that made the relationship feel horribly unbalanced.

Edwina never seems as motivated by love for Kate because she kept getting Kate to do things to get her what she wanted (Anthony) even though she knew Kate disapproved. So she was always defying Kate a little and never prioritizing her unlike Kate who always prioritized Edwina. If Edwina had thanked Kate or realized that Kate has given up her future to raise Edwina it could have been ok but they didn’t do that which is why it felt imbalanced and biased against Kate imo

Yes, exactly! Kate made mistakes but she always did what she thought was best for her sister. She was trying to protect her. She time after time tried to gently let Edwina know that Anthony was not what he was pretending to be and definitely not what she wanted. Because 1) she didn't want to hurt Edwina by explicitly telling her that he didn't return her feelings and 2) with how Edwina found ways to excuse his behavior and convince herself that he was into her, i doubt she would have believed Kate. She really needed that reality check, it was just unfortunate that it had to happen in front of so many people and at such a big occasion.

But Edwina had to know that the half sister comment was going to sting. Especially because Kate is her sister and therefore she should know her and realize that Kate feels like she needs to be useful to others in order to be loved. She did it on purpose because she wanted to hurt her. I'm not saying she is a bad person, she was angry and she was hurt and at that moment she definitely wanted to hurt the person she blamed for her unrequired love. But... why didn't she apologize??? Why were we robbed of seeing these two sisters talk over what had happened?

They could be leaving that for season two but I don't know. As you said, the love is very one sided. Edwina is pretty selfish, which isn't uncommon at that age but still, and I'm not expert in sibling relationships but I would have liked a scene in which Edwina fiercely protects Kate or feels enraged for something that happens to her.

[catmaid-san]

Fan and Idol (Hua Cheng and Xie Lian)

So, I stumbled upon some low TGCF reviews, and most of them are complaining over, how unbalanced the romance between HuaLian is, or how HC is a borderline stalker, um, yeah, perhaps he really is, I guess? LOL

I actually understand their perspective, of wanting to see a "normal and ideal" romance, of 2 people normally and ideally falling in love with each other. But the thing is, I don't see why HuaLian's romance dynamic is a big problem either.

IMO, from the very start, from the very outline, HuaLian really was set to tell a romance between a devoted fan and his Idol, albeit it's in a fantasy setting.

Ideally, we want a Love and Romance with perfect sense and a clear system. I admit, I like reading such romance as well, because that's satisfying and, of course, perfect. After all, we seek fiction to find the perfection we can't get in reality.

However, realistically speaking Love itself is something absurd and abstract, that we can't measure it using a fixed formula.

Just like Hua Cheng could devote his whole heart toward Xie Lian after he saved him and said he could use Xie Lian as his purpose in life. We may see it as a trivial thing and it's perplexing how such a common event could evoke such a deep feeling. But, for Hua Cheng, for the person involved, it may be his salvation.

We don't know, sometimes the trivial things we did every day that we felt like nothing, such as helping someone press the elevator's button or kindly lending money to someone who forgot to bring money to a convenience store, could be a very meaningful and memorable thing for others.

So, Hua Cheng's love for Xie Lian, while it didn't conform to the "ideal and perfect" flow of romance, realistically speaking, it's highly probable.

The same goes for Xie Lian's love for Hua Cheng.

While "generally summarized", his love can be said to be passive, as in he just accepts HC's advances, but realistically speaking, aren't most of us actually falling into the same category as him? Most couples get together with one person advanced (usually the guy) and the other accepted (usually the girl).

In reality, it's easy to fall in love when someone is kind to us, cares about us, and favors us over everything. Heck, realistically speaking, falling in love with someone just because they're good-looking is even more common.

It's even rarer for someone not to feel moved by others' sincerity and tries to return their feeling, in reality. Well, unless the other party really is not our type, or just hella ugly that no matter how good they are, it's hard to like them back.

When we become adults, we simply didn't care about dramatic love journeys or burning passion. We just wanted someone we can live with and support each other. For Xie Lian who's world-weary after countless setbacks, perhaps Hua Cheng's presence is exactly what he needed. It doesn't always need a logical reason to accept someone. As long as they can make you feel comfortable, it's easy to feel fondness toward them.

But, once again, I understand that this kind of love is indeed not quite Ideal or Perfect with systematically and logical cause and effect. Hence, some people may find it "passive".

---

Then, after we can accept that HuaLian romance is not the kind of "ideal" love, and understand their Fan and Idol dynamic, we will also understand Hua Cheng's behaviors.

HC's every single creepy or stalker-ish action is normal for an avid fan, for a believer.

Just like how he carved thousands of XL's statues, isn't it actually a resemblance over how a fan nowadays bought 12 sets of their Idol's album, bought 12 sets of their every single merch, and arranged them inside a room like some precious museum? Fan nowadays keep up with their Idol schedule, memorized every word they said in interviews or Shows, etc, just like how Hua Cheng observed Xie Lian's well-being for centuries.

Are those fan behaviors creepy then? If someday this kind of fan has the chance to meet their Idol and build a romance with them, should we call off their romance just because one is an avid fan and the other is his Idol?

Should we judge fan and Idol romance as flawed because the fan may love the Idol too much?

As long as the Idol really loves and returns his fan's feelings wholeheartedly, it doesn't matter if the fan keeps his devoted fan behavior.

Likewise, as long as the fan didn't turn toxic, as in, their love dampened after knowing their idol's flaws, then, the romance between A Fanatic Fan and His Idol is not something problematic.

It's not an unbalanced love if both care about each other, didn't restrict each other's lives, and support each other.

As long as the Fan loves and accepts his Idol's strengths and flaws, as long as the Idol loves and accepts his Fan's Good and Bad points, Idol and Fan romance should not be a problem.

---

That said, I think this Fan and Idol romance in TGCF really needs some more development, in addition to the super saccharine romantic scenes, lol. Like, I’d really appreciate the change in HC’s behavior toward Xie Lian, from the hidden fanatic fan into a true lover, 

however,

I remember their interaction happened when they were already old farts (centuries-old virgins, lol), In this case, it’s also understandable how their behaviors hardly change since every single dilemma or confusion they might have felt, has already been settled centuries ago, lol. It’s unlike how WangXian in MDZS who have their interaction spanned from Teen to Adulthood, in mere 20 years or so, hence their development is more apparent.

[lizacstuff]

Sen Çal Kapımı episode 47 asks

Below the read more find asks and answers about episode 47, the fragman for 48 and other miscellaneous things.

(UNDER THE CUT)

Anonymous asked: Hi! I hope you are enjoying your vacation. I remember you mentioned you would be traveling. What were your thoughts on the epi? I think this was one episode where everything was happy! No big problems. The truth about Kemal being Serkan's dad could have been dramatic but Ayse and team wrote it like a romcom. I'm not really feeling the Deniz being the saviour of Artlife like they are portraying in the fragmans but I'll wait for the next epi to make a judgement.

Thank you. Once again, I though the whole episode was a really easy watch and I enjoyed every minute.  

I really appreciate the tone this season, even something as series as Serkan’s parentage is played lightly, as you say very much rom com, and not full of heavy melodrama (as it would have been if explored during the 30s). This is exactly the tone and feel of this show that I want.  

Serkan’s reaction was predictable, but it was also clear that he just needed time to adjust and settle down and he’ll come around. I like that. 

I don’t have time this week to do full episode thoughts, but I enjoyed Serkan and Eda’s morning after conversation. Hilarious that he’d removed all the sharp objects from the room. Loved that after all of Eda’s fear-fueled reticence, once she decided to take the plunge with him, she was all in. Eda admitting that she’d been unbalanced and had been at fault for hiding Kiraz,--and acknowledging that Serkan had been fighting for them and now she wanted to as well-- was very nice. After running a bit hot and cold, Serkan deserved to hear that.  

lolo-deli asked: Hard to believe we didn't get a reconciliation scene in 47... Nobody expected sex but we couldn't even get a hug or kiss when they made up? "I want to see that tattoo" was not the romantic reunion I was hoping for. Were you at all disappointed?

IMO, we did see the important part of the reconciliation, and that was the conversation. Sure, I think we should have seen Serkan and Eda kiss in the last episode. If I were in charge we would have, but I don’t think the story actually loses anything because it’s not a mystery what happened.   

Clearly, he says the tattoo line and they jump each other, make their way to the bedroom, have sex, but don’t really communicate until the morning when she wakes up, and that’s where the show picks up and we get to see those first important moments. 

If you’re looking for romance, then I would point to everything that led up to that tattoo line in 46. That entire episode (and the one before it) was their romantic reconciliation. Moments alone where he takes in her scent and whispers how much he’s missed her, waking up in bed together when they just automatically gravitate to one another, the moments of pretending to be married that were very comedic, but also very soft and romantic (What’s your greatest passion, what���s the first line you ever said to one another), the heartfelt conversation on the bench, the actual tattoo conversation at dinner. That’s the romantic reunion. Yes, if they had just reunited after years (like in episode 40) right before the tattoo line, I  would have needed more romance, but we’ve had 7 episodes of them working their way back to one another. Everything was primed, all they needed was to light the match.  IMO that line did the trick. 

So, am I disappointed? No. I’m happy to go with the flow and enjoy every minute of what they do give us in these last few episodes. I choose not to get tied up in what I wish would happen vs what actually happens. I find I don’t enjoy any show when I put the onus on the show to conform to my wishes. 

Some might be disappointed, that’s their choice, (and make no mistake, it is a choice) but that’s not how I’m approaching this second season which is serving up so much romance, comedy, and domestic family goodness. I suffered through the 30s so I could get to this, I’m not going to waste any of it being disappointed.

Anonymous asked: Idk why this proposal was the most emotional out of them all for me. Perhaps with the other ones I just KNEW the other shoe had to drop because they couldn't let them get happily married this early and this time I knew it was finally it. Or maybe it was the fact that knowing they're married means the show really is ending soon, but I was a blubbering mess lol. Sure there's drama ahead, but it's definitely not a plane crash and memory loss or a "fake" Selin pregnancy!

Yes! Thank goodness we don’t have any of that nonsense waiting for us.  They are really going to be married. 

I enjoyed this proposal very much, it was so sweet the way he planned everything out and had everyone helping, while Eda (and even sort of the audience) was in the dark about what was really going on there.  

For me, as far as the words spoken, nothing really tops his speech to her in 27, but the great thing is that we get them all and this was special in it’s own right because he really surprised her and swept her off her feet this time around.  I loved it!

Anonymous asked: So I am confused about Serkan’s ability to have kids- it’s not a problem now? If him being infertile was only temporary, why did he say it was impossible to have kids and it was a part of why he left Eda in the first place so she could have it somewhere else? They could’ve just waited a couple years to have kids then...? I know he also left her cause he was scared of dying but they really made his reaction seem like he’d NEVER be able to have kids

My assumption is that since they were able to have Kiraz, they know it’s possible, so even if it won’t be easy (and fertility is usually not a hard yes/ no line... mostly it’s a measure of how likely it is) they are choosing to believe they will be able to conceive again.  

If you’re looking to change what his assumptions were when they first broke up and he thought he was unable to have kids (and that there was a 70% chance the cancer would come back) and deciding he should have made different decisions based on the fact that he was able to father Kiraz... to be blunt you’re looking at it the wrong way. 

At that time, he thought he would never be able to have kids. Full stop.  The fact that wasn’t necessarily true doesn’t change what he believed at the time. 

Anonymous asked: serkan being the overly protective, worrying, affectionate baba is EXACTLY what i imagined, as i'm sure everyone else did. who else would worry about the pH balance of the soap at their daughter's preschool?! serkan thinking his angel can do no wrong.. of course it was all can's plan to hide them in the bathroom lmao. i hope, and with how this season is going i think we'll get it, we get to see this serkan in action when eda is pregnant too.. even if we just see a couple minutes of it!

YES! I loved overly protective Serkan. Thankfully, for Kiraz’s sake he has Eda (who might be a bit too far the other way) to balance him out.   I agree that it was hilarious how he was trying to blame sweet Can.  Even without seeing what happened, I’m pretty sure anyone else who had spent two minutes with those kids would figure out who the instigator was.  When rabble rousing is going on, I think it’s fair to point to the offspring of Serkan Bolat and Eda Yildiz as the cause, lmao.

It would be great it we got to see glimpses of Serkan as an expectant father and also the father of a newborn.  I would love that.

Anonymous asked: I see that the "Nitpick of the Week" as I'm calling it, this week is where Serkan proposed. Because Serkan Bolat would neeeeever propose in a "parking lot" .. am I the only one seeing that it's not even a parking lot, it's a road. Like if it is a parking lot where are the other cars then lol?! Putting aside that he's proposing outside their literal wedding venue, their entire story started in a parking lot. He told her he loved her for the first time on the side of a road. I'm not understanding.

You make great points!  Their love story did start in a parking lot AND he was trying to pull off both a surprise proposal and a surprise wedding in one day’s notice. Since we’ve already seen a proposal on a plane, a proposal at a piano bar and a proposal at their place of work, I don’t really have the energy to join the discontented masses on twitter and nitpick the location of this proposal. He could have proposed in front of a landfill and I would have been delighted. 

Anonymous asked: I'm sorry if you don't find it as funny, but people's reaction to this new fragman is so exaggerated like they're about to witness Indecent Proposal dizi-edition that I literally couldn't help but find it hilarious. Like no where is it ever implied that Deniz is offering Serkan SEX, but when Eda says "just do what you have to" somehow that's the first thing everyone thought of?! Not to mention we know this is Deniz's last ep.. the dramatic reactions really have me dying lmao.

OMG! I know. So this is a show that doesn’t show sex, Serkan didn’t sleep with the woman he thought was his girlfriend during amnesia, Serkan and Eda were both celibate for 5 years, but suddenly they’re gonna have newly-married Serkan go to the edge width Deniz?!?!?!  Those people on twitter lost their damn minds.  

On Saturday, I was on vacation and had just popped in to see if the new fragman was released, I was happy to nope right out of there when I saw the insanely melodramatic overreaction to the fragman. 

It’s obvious that since the biggest issue between Eda and Serkan is Eda’s fear that Serkan will always prioritize work over her, as he did on their first wedding day, this story is to show that Serkan will 100% choose Eda over work and Art Life.  Also I’m sure the episode will have the same tone as the rest of the season, which is light and comedic.  

Anonymous asked: sometimes I go back to episode 28 and still can't believe they got that bathtub + shower scene in there with the rtuk guidelines. I've watched a couple more romcoms since starting SCK and have never seen anything close to that. I know they got fined afterwards but they were really like "screw it, we're going it for anyway" 😂

It’s interesting that the production company and network went for it there. But as you say they did get fined, so they didn’t get away with anything.  

[hopevalley]

Season 8, Episode 7: Before My Very Eyes

This episode sure was a rollercoaster, wasn’t it?

Let’s dive right on in. :)

Plotlines:

The Love Triangle & Allie’s Adoption

Ned & The Canfields

Christopher’s Performance

Clara and Jesse

I guess you could say the plotlines were better written together/integrated in this episode than in previous ones. There’s a lot going on but most of the filming and plots just...rolled together?

For example, the saloon as the “gathering place” where multiple plot points take place simultaneously was really cool IMO. It helps the town feel livelier. 

The Love Triangle & Allie’s Adoption

The love triangle is...an enigma. I’m probably in the minority of not really being that invested in who Elizabeth ends up with, but I doubt I’m in the minority regarding my general feelings on the love triangle: I want it to end.

I think we’re at a point where it’s just super frustrating for everyone involved, and we’re stretching the limits of suspension of disbelief when it comes to the audience. 

I don’t think we’d be as harsh on the triangle if we had double the episodes a season. We get a whopping 12 this season, more than we’ve gotten in a long time, so space is limited, and time is limited, and we know she’ll reach a decision toward the end of this season, so there’s that...I don’t know...pressure I guess, on the characters and the episodes to showcase things in a manner that feels natural and moves well.

For what it’s worth I’m fine with Elizabeth’s turtle-pace, but with only 6 episodes left (5 after this episode aired), knowing she’ll pick someone soon (and it will probably be Nathan)... It makes it really difficult to stomach the Lucas scenes—not because I don’t want to see her with Lucas if she won’t end up with him, but because I feel really bad for Lucas!

Especially with the intense fourth-wall-breaking level of awareness Lucas seems to have regarding the situation. Yes, I’m talking about the line he quoted.

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not.” 

That’s only half the quote. This is the full quote:

“Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sure, it’s applied to Henry, but it seems almost...too knowledgeable to me? 

So, the quote is from the novel Hyperion: A Romance, published in 1839. Longfellow’s wife Mary died in 1836 after a miscarriage. Overwhelmed by grief Longfellow took trips to Europe and spent seven years trying to woo Frances Appleton. She eventually agreed to marry him.

Hyperion was inspired by this. Paul is the main character. He travels through Germany after the death of a friend, and falls in love with an Englishwoman named Mary Ashburton. She rejects him.

To say this was a thinly-veiled autobiography of sorts is, uh, an understatement. To have Lucas quoting it in When Calls the Heart feels...odd. It wouldn’t surprise me if this was an omen of sorts, but...we can’t forget Lucas’s parents’ history: his mother refused to marry his father for years, just like Frances refused to marry Longfellow.

It’s not a bad quote or anything...it’s just...frustratingly on the nose.

I did appreciate Elizabeth’s admission of not wanting to be one of Lucas’s “secret sorrows.” They’re courting publicly anyway, everyone knows it. It’s time for them to be a little more open about it, at least in little ways. Him squeezing her hand on the saloon table shouldn’t be a big deal at this point.

If this was the storyline we were getting for Elizabeth (her slowly working her way toward something with Lucas) I’d be happy with it. I’m still Team Nathan but I like Lucas a lot this season and would be content with a storyline for him.

THE THING IS...I don’t think that is going to happen, and it makes me feel terrible to see him getting strung along like this. Elizabeth doesn’t come off as “has feelings for Lucas and is just nervous about showcasing it” for multiple reasons. First, she was very PDA-like with Jack, and secondly, that’s just...not how the scenes seem to be written. You can assume her reasoning but she never once is the one initiating and then backing off. He always initiates. She always backs off. It’s unbalanced and makes me feel bad for Lucas.

I really hope we get to sit inside his head a bit longer/more seriously at some point. Maybe he’s aware of her feelings for Nathan and is willing to try anyway because he believes that to some extent love is a choice? That would be really interesting tbh.

As it is, I just feel sorry for Lucas. Not that I think Elizabeth wouldn’t have hangups with Nathan, too, but I just feel like Elizabeth’s hangups with Nathan are more fear of what she is feeling/fear of what could happen to him in the future/fear of her heart being broken again, whereas with Lucas it’s almost like she’s not feeling it and trying to force that kind of affection with him makes her feel weird/gross/bad. 

I definitely think she has a good friendship base with Lucas, but if the feelings aren’t there, they aren’t there. 

Sorry, my thoughts are muddled. There wasn’t a lot going on with the triangle in this episode in terms of...triangley things. I just wish Elizabeth would choose so that the plotline could go away. I’m tired of seeing people strung along.

Nathan was pretty good in this episode. I appreciated his talk with Allie a lot; choosing to be kind and want good things for someone you like is a good example to set. I feel like in the café Allie’s dialogue about Elizabeth smiling at him was off; she probably should have said something more like, “If she doesn’t like you like that, then why does she smile at you that way?” might have sounded better. (He could have said “what way?” and she could have batted her eyes at him lmao.) Allie already knows Elizabeth is courting Lucas...and if we’re to believe the smile directed at Nathan is what tips Allie’s invite consideration to her adoption ceremony, then that would have been a better way to approach it (instead of “Did you see the way she smiled at you?!”).

I really loved that Lucas got Nathan and Allie a little gift. Honestly I just want Lucas and Nathan to be friends or something because the actors have good chemistry together and there’s a shortage of good male friendships in the show that feel Good. I wonder if we’ll find out what the gift was at any point?

The end with Allie only inviting Elizabeth to the ceremony was hilarious. I wanted to actually see the ceremony (because Nathan promising not to leave her was SUCH a good line, I almost got emotional over that and I wanted to see it put into play again) but the imagery it left us with (it looks like a wedding...) was clear enough haha.

Poor Bill, stuck in the middle of that.

Speaking of Bill, the adoption being “on him” was really sweet. And then of course Bill can’t keep the moment tender because he’s always so Uncomfortable with Feelings, but it’s still very sweet.

--

Ned & The Canfields

I don’t have a whole lot to say here, but I really appreciated this storyline. It wasn’t the best-written surgery-medical-wise, but it felt heartfelt and that’s what matters. 

Florence running around trying to do everything herself while also stressing out about Ned really felt...real. And then of course Rosemary getting appointed to the phones and gossiping forever...hahah.

I’m glad I saw the writing on the wall with Joseph; of course he’s a former pastor! I really am intrigued by what his “plans” are that are not church-related. I like that they tried not to make him exactly like Frank, but boy what I wouldn’t give to see them both pastoring in Hope Valley. Then Joseph could pursue his dream while also pastoring a bit, and so could Frank. It’d be nice, and they’d probably get along swell.

Seeing more faith/prayer in the show has been great. Also, Joseph and Minnie are so cute together... I adore them.

--

Christopher’s Performance

And here we are, talking about the man of the hour... Christopher. Henry’s “secret sorrow” or the product of Henry’s secret sorrow? It almost makes me think he got over Nora with Christopher’s mother and she cut off ties with him and married Jerry the banker.

Henry’s opinion of Jerry is obviously not great, but he’s respectful enough to not talk badly about him. It makes me wonder if Jerry is a worse man than Henry is, though. Maybe so? I wonder if we’ll get more information about it.

They really did a good casting job with Christopher; he manages to look similar enough to Henry and kind of...mimic his way of smiling and movement that’s almost uncanny. 

Of course...as Rosemary says, she knows a performance when she sees one.

I’m wondering if Bill feels similarly...

But boy do we know how Lucas feels! Lee tells Lucas that his pocketwatch has been missing “about a week now.”

Lucas confronts Christopher and instead of Christopher being like, “Oh no! I’ll keep my eyes open in case he dropped it somewhere or maybe the chain broke!” he’s really sarcastic about it?

He then tries for the second time to control Lucas (treats him like...he can order him around/bully him) by asking if Lucas found him a bigger room yet. This dude has a serious ego. The sound of Lucas intentionally shutting the door after this was delicious, though.

“If I find that you’re picking pockets, I don’t care who you are or why you’re here. You’ll be on the next stage out of town.”

Christopher just...almost smiles and stands up. “I didn’t steal any watch.”

Lucas says, “And I should believe you?”

Christopher responds with, “That’s your choice.” 

Lucas leaves, and then Christopher pulls the watch out of his pocket.

He seems to feel a little guilty when he reads the inscription...but still. He’s so skeevy. 

And then he takes the flowers Jesse drops off the ground...to give to...Rachel... Honey, you got a big storm comin’... She knows he’s bad news but I guess she’s into it. Yikes.

And then we have the scene where Mike comes to Henry with a great idea he has, and is interrupted by the arrival of Christopher. Henry tells him he wants him to teach Christopher everything he knows. Mike’s enthusiasm dries up right away.

I think Mike also realizes Christopher is bad news.

And Henry’s just so excited to be “looked up to” and “seen as a father of sorts” that he can’t see what’s right in front of him. Normally he’d be attuned to bullshit just as clearly as Bill and Rosemary and the rest, but...his bias is in the way. He wants to fix his past so bad he doesn’t realize it might not be worth it...

I hope Mike keeps his idea to himself but I have a super bad awful feeling he’ll admit it to Christopher and then Christopher will pitch it to Henry as his own idea. I feel sick just thinking of it!

--

Clara and Jesse

Clara and Jesse were starting to repair things juuust every so slightly and then he gets mad that she’s shortening her skirt and...it all goes to hell.

It’s not that I don’t love a little drama but this is just...I don’t know. Maybe too much? I liked Clara’s discussion with Joseph because he tells her the honest truth (and he’s full of advice, for better or worse, just like me HAHA): you can’t repair your marriage if you’re not around one another to even begin to heal the wounds/talk about things.

I’m not very invested in these two as characters these days, and I’m not sure what would fix it, but this spat being dragged out for ages ain’t it right now. I’m keeping an open mind, though; it could go somewhere interesting...and at least it didn’t get resolved in one episode.

Also, I appreciated Clara venting to Bill in that “I still care about him very much way” while Bill tries (somewhat awkwardly) to support her choice(s). He’s in a bit of a tough spot; he can’t offer advice freely because not many people are going to take marriage advice from a divorced man who didn’t marry for love in the first place anyway. It’s just good to see him trying to act supportive for Clara.

--

Other thoughts:

I see we’re getting more of the plotline where Bill has to give up his uniform, but he actually made a really good point in this episode about that. He did earn it! And then insult to injury...trying to make him give up his horse, too? 

It’s cute that his horse’s name is Hero; I feel like that was stated much earlier in the show (maybe S3 or S4?) but I’d forgotten it, tbh. How wholesome.

“Am I being prideful?” I think this was a good question for Bill to ask, and honestly it probably took a bit of courage for him to even ask Lee about it/admit that maybe he was being a bit prideful. But like, it’s okay to take pride in your work/the work you’ve done. He did earn all of it and it’s not really fair to ask for him to give it all up. The jacket is one thing (it’s a physical item; yes it shows all the hard work he put in but it’s just an object), but the horse? That’s an emotional bond and it’s rather cruel to break it.

Lee excited to try on the jacket was literally the cutest thing, and I loved that Bill folded and let him try it on. Honestly? Lee looked pretty good in it!

That scene was the definition of BOYS WILL BE BOYS, hahaha.

Also, Elizabeth’s line: “Haven’t you ever lost someone so close to your heart that it tears you apart?” was SO CRINGEY. I don’t know how that made it into the finished episode. Please, writers... read this shit aloud before you film the show. READ ALL YOUR WRITING ALOUD TO HEAR THE CADANCE. I’m literally begging you. 

But also, the whole concept is still cringe. You don’t know Dylan, Elizabeth. You didn’t know Colleen. You don’t know if he loved Colleen or not. You don’t know why he ran out on Allie. You’re projecting? Maybe? But even if he did fall to pieces over Colleen’s death, that was no reason to hurt poor Allie who had nothing to do with it and did nothing wrong.

They should have edited the line to say something slightly different. “Tears you to pieces” would have sufficed. And not rhymed on accident.

Last thing for now...the lack of Carson and Faith in this episode was amazing. I know the surgery with Ned will push Carson to either take the fellowship and return to Hope Valley to be of more use there and/or push him to just stay where he is because there’s no one else in the area with his skill level.

I think I’ll be happy with it if he becomes an area surgeon more than a regular doctor... it would help him and Faith both feel necessary for different reasons. And also, he was a surgeon when he arrived in Hope Valley in S4, so it’s clearly his strongest point (and best training/experience).

--

So uh, how ‘bout that preview for next episode, though? WHOA.

Hopefully this isn’t too scattered; work has gotten a lot busier since the weather got nicer, so I have less time to write without interruption lmao. 

[marinerofthestars]

the zodai tag

bit of a late arrival to this fandom, but better late than never, i suppose!

1. How did you hear about the books? about a year ago, i was doing research on the zodiac for an urban fantasy project i’m working on, tales from omphalos, when i found the house ophiuchus info page on the zodiac website. unfortunately life got in the way and i forgot the series for a while, but a little while ago i remembered zodiac’s worldbuilding and got sucked right back in!

2. What is your favorite moment from the series so far? it’s hard to choose just one moment, but i’d have to say skarlet and rho’s first meeting in black moon for how atypical it is. we know skarlet is the hypotenuse in rho and hysan’s love triangle, but she doesn’t act like the stereotypical petty Other Woman at all. she’s charismatic, she’s genuinely fun to be around, and she has sympathetic motives and ambitions. above all, she’s actually super nice towards rho, and doesn’t let her feelings get in the way of their political collaboration. (and then thirteen rising assassinated her character. yes i am still bitter about it why do you ask)

3. Which House are you from? house leo!

4. What do you like about your House? artistry pride is something i’d really love to be a part of as an aspiring author, i have blaze and trax (both criminally underrated characters imo) as my housemates, and our zodai wield FLAMING SWORDS in battle. what’s not to love?

5. If you had to change Houses, which House would you pick? since leo really vibes with my passion for art, this is definitely a tricky question! probably either libra (police brutality is a thing of the past with bind, and their government seems like they have their act together), scorpio (much waterworld. much ambition. much cool tech. wow), or sagittarius (diversity, democracies where the voices of the young and non-complacent can be heard, and really vibrant cities are all things i appreciate)

6. Which system would you most like to visit? capricorn, no question. the zodiax is THE single most location in the entire zodiac bar none to me - an ancient complex the size of a planet, its oldest curators having access to transportation systems most inhabitants don’t even know about? an archive of humanity’s collective knowledge, so massive it has hotels and restaurants within it because leaving to sleep or eat is just so impractical? LET ME TOUR IT. LET ME UNCOVER ITS MYSTERIES I KNOW THEY EXIST (i think history is rad okay)

7. If you got to choose, which Zodiac technology would you like to have? probably...the tattoo? i don’t have anywhere enough knowledge about neuroscience/engineering to design my own, but assuming that i did, i’d love to design a tattoo that can interface with my brain and with digital art software, so that i can turn whatever ideas i have in my head into artwork!

8. Which character would you want as a best friend? skarlet. she’s six feet tall, buff as all hell, super attractive, prefers diplomacy to violence but still perfectly capable of kicking ass, and an outspoken risers’ rights activist. what’s not to love? (though knowing the type of people i usually hang out with, i’d probably end up with like. twain or gyzer as my best friend. one can dream though)

9. Which sign would you like to date? aries, because as previously stated skarlet is awesome. (a sentiment i will continue to reiterate) failing that, either libra for their sense of justice, scorpio for their ambition and passion, or aquarius for their innovative mindset.

10. Who do you hope Rho “ends up with?” (If anyone at all!) firstly, thank you for acknowledging that rho might not be interested in romance after everything she’s been through. (aromantic rho? arho?) secondly: skarlet.

this might be a little controversial, but i feel like in some regards, rho has far more chemistry with skarlet than she has with hysan. (ms. russell. i am sorry but. i have. Issues. with ‘centaur smile’ and the context surrounding it doesn’t make it any better) all of their interactions are marked by a noted admiration on rho’s part, and it’s not just merely admiration of her frankly enviable body (there’s more than enough of that, but it feels respectful somehow, there’s no five-page purple prosey ramblings on how the sweat glints on skar’s brow as she lifts weights, unlike with some people - sorry, mathias), but admiration of skar’s personality.

her charisma. her ambitions. her drive to fight for people who’ve been beaten down for millennia, to give a voice to the voiceless. to use violence as a last resort, not a first strike.

even at their absolute worst in thirteen rising, even when they’re butting heads, they don’t let it get in the way of doing what needs to be done. hell, skarlet even points out that she wouldn’t be giving rho such a hard time if she didn’t respect the hell out of rho, if she didn’t think she was tough enough to take it. there’s a sort of unspoken bond between them, a slow orbit that they’re both caught in. at the end of the series, they part way on relatively good terms, and with the hope that maybe, just maybe, that orbit might become something more than just professional acquaintance.

also their oppositional dichotomy of cardinal fire/water signs is an awesome aesthetic that i really wish was brought up more than it was in canon :( 

11. If you could record a Snow Globe, what would you put in it? only A snow globe? you’re not exactly giving me a lot of slack here in all seriousness, if i had to choose one moment to record in a snow globe, probably the moment i first came up with the idea for the urban fantasy project i mentioned above, tales from omphalos. i’ve never been devoted as much time to or invested as much energy in a project as i have with tfo, and i’d like to keep an easily accessible record of my original vision on hand. and hey, if by some chance i manage to follow in romina’s footsteps, get tales from omphalos professionally published, have it become a big success with a respectable fandom, i’d like to look back every once in a while, and remember how it all began.

12. If you had the chance to tell Rho anything, what advice/encouragement would you give her? - lies, especially lies of omission, are necessary a lot of the time to get ahead in politics and life in general use that being ahead to help out the people and groups you care about - don't trust the immortal child-aristocrats or expect them to behave in a way that won't inevitably screw you over - if you must play nice with them, figure out how to decrease gemini’s horrific income inequality, and see what you can do about exporting cell rejuvenation therapy to the wider zodiac - ferez is right, risers are the future and you need to acknowledge that going forward - skarlet is excellent at garnering support and bridging generational gaps, and while fernanda purecell is a bougie running dog, she’s got her head screwed on the right way regarding politics and institutional riserphobia; together, the three of you should be able to make some headway towards making amends for past wrongs - i don’t care if family heads have suffrage, matriarchal aristocracy (aristocratic matriarchy?) is NOT a democracy or a form of government that looks out for the rights of men/NB people/agender people/multigender people/intersex people/you get the idea - romance is by no means an exclusively two-player game, and skarlet has said she would be open to an arrangement; however, if you MUST insist on ignoring that polyamory is a thing, go for the six-foot risers' rights activist - i’m sorry about all the bullshit with your mom. whatever the end result was, whatever her intentions, it does not excuse the way she treated you and your dad and stanton. it’s okay to feel like shit because of what she did to you, and not being able to wall it off doesn’t make you weak or anything dumb like that - you’re already far stronger than she ever was. i know how much it sucks - i was in the same situation as you once - but believe me when i say that things do get better. you’re not alone here, rho. - please you gotta fight the gender binary you live in the FUTURE you gotta do it you gotta-

BONUS QUESTION 13. How would you react if your friend became a Riser? let them know that I love and support them no matter what their house, that being the way that they are is totally valid, and that anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to my fist in their face. if they’re unbalanced, make sure they have access to any resources they need (possibly including memory recap vlogs, definitely including medication and therapy to help out with any health issues they may develop).

[tossertozier]

you mentioned possibly doing a ben or mike writing guide.. would you.. be willing to post a mike one. i'm plotting a fic and im struggling to get my mans down?? also i think abt ur fics weekly bare minimum.

hi there!!! i did my best. i tried to not sound preachy or like a know it all bc y’all know i can barely write. i hope this is helpful in some way!! disclaimer of of course this is all just my opinion & there’s no wrong way to write, you’re the only person who can tell your story!!

[[MORE]]

i think the first really important decision you have to make as Person Writing Mike is his

family & background

-are both of his parents alive?

-if yes, what’s their relationship like?

-if no, who’s his primary caretaker? what’s their relationship like?

-if no, when did they die? did he cope well with it? what’s his relationship with their memory like?

these are really really where you gotta start to write mike imo. or any character! i think one thing stephen king is to be admired for is he doesn’t neglect the parent-child relationship as so many people who write youth do. your parents are the most important people in your life for a long time. i don’t think there’s a wrong or ooc way to answer the above questions tbh. canon has really left a wide open field for you to run amuck in.

(example: i’ve mentioned in the past that my & tfat mike being a small adult is no mistake and intentional. it’s a bit of a throwaway scene, but i mention in on pointe that mike’s parents are coming. it’s intentionally done there too. mike is goofier, more outgoing, more immature in general in that fic in the small bits he’s in & that’s all a response to his familial life. )

culture + friendships

after you answer those questions, important follow up questions are:

-are the losers his first set of friends?

-how much social exposure has he had?

-has he dated? who is he attracted to?

-who influences him? (celebrities, family, culturally)

-what are his cultural interests? what does he do in his free time? how would that impact how he interacts with the rest of the world?

again, no wrong way to answer these. i’ve seen a super broad spectrum of indirect answers to these questions. even thinking about where he might pick up patterns of speech can make him feel much more like a realized character. i’ve noticed some people dip fully into aave to an extent that doesn’t even seem logical in their character’s current situation & it can really seem like a caricature, but i think to write mike without any sense of aave at all is a little ?? too. just be cognizant of it is my only real advice here. it doesn’t so much matter as long as you don’t forget who mike is which next point

humor & personality

-what do you think he would find (shows, comedians, youtube videos) really funny?

-does he have something he quotes often? something he started saying ironically but never stopped?

man i know i’m all there’s no wrong way to write mike !! in this post but i will say real quick that i think mike is funny and i don’t really respect depictions of him where he’s not. i think this is where the movies really just fucked up. book mike drops some of the funniest lines of the book. and honest to god tip is to write out a scene as you feel the urge too, look away for five minutes, look back and give half of richie’s lines away. (or... dialogue.) this sounds like a joke but it was what i did when i first started writing & tfat

i’d always be like “n the funny part goes... to richie.” and thats a fandom inclination too. nooooo. avoid this trap. it doesn’t even make sense. have u ever been in a friend group where only one person... makes jokes? that’d be genuinely so weird. especially bc if you give the joke away to someone else, you can also build on it. amazing things start happening when u start thinking of the characters in flexible patterns. like for example, i almost always give absurdist humor to stan now. wholesome to ben.

mike’s humor is largely situational to me. solid comedic timing & he’s an observant person. sometimes i read back my own writing & have to change the pov bc richies making jokes about things he would never ever notice to make fun of. mike would. mike genuinely sees all. i think he’s just got one of the most analytical brain of the losers. & i think intelligence is subjective and people are smart in different ways but i think it’s foolish to write him as anything other than incredibly intelligent both academically and emotionally. he’s just a natural observer and pattern notice-er. which brings me to my next mike thing:

love & selflessness

i think the biggest part of mike being harder to flesh into a fully realized person is the fandom tendency to make him kind and nothing else. here’s mike. he’s nice. next. bc the book kind of points out his selflessness in his decisions and it makes itself one of his strongest character traits.

especially bc nice seems to trump him having any other emotions. ...no?

i believe in general, but ESPECIALLY in the case of mike, that kindness is a choice. it’s one i genuinely believe he’d make, over & over again. but a choice he makes. he gets annoyed with his friends being annoying like anyone else would. he gets hurt when he feels left out. he feels tired & anxious & hungry and all those other human things. sometimes he might not let it show outwardly, but there’s a difference between that and not giving him feelings at all.

people are selfish. it’s a defense mechanism. it’s to protect us. it’s not a bad thing. we think of how the world impacts ourselves first. we don’t always act upon those thoughts or voice them, but don’t forget to let mike have them. he doesn’t need to be happy for his friends all the time, or rooting for them or supportive. he should have his own things going on.

also. mike’s not a doormat. yes, he stays in derry. but those were life-death consequences for generations of children. it’s really not comparable to almost any decision mike would make in a pennywise free universe. yes, he made a sacrifice in the book but i don’t think he’d just lay himself down in any given universe to whatever fate wants to hand him. but this is where i end this topic bc i’m actually only barely beginning to get to this topic in my own fic!

it’s hard writing the losers young sometimes bc i do feel relationships are naturally a little unbalanced based on basic maturity levels as young people. sometimes friendships just are unbalanced bc of who people are at that time. everyone involved can still be good people in these relationships. it’s about growing together and learning how to be good friends to each other.

for example, in &tfat: certain losers are always checking in with others. others are really wrapped up in their own shit and don’t really notice what bothers the others. it would probably take a chart the size of a textbook to explain how i think this dynamic wholly pans out in full. and yeah, i think it grates on mike a little bit that he is always the checker and never the checkee.

but even when mike snaps, even when he gets upset, i always write it coming out of him with a lot of love. i genuinely think mike, regardless of experience in that fic, has the deepest understanding of love as its own concept and an understand of how exactly it rules his life and and his relationships. mike knows to feel strongly about something he has to care about it. there are lots of things he just doesn’t care about. in the book it’s stated he’s difficult to connect with as an adult. he’s distant. he’s focused on what he wants to focus on. i think mike is actually the most interesting when he becomes a little bit of a disaster man with very little time for what doesn’t interest him.

which last thing, dislikes & disinterests

-what annoys him?

-what makes him genuinely angry?

-what bores him to tears?

i always make jokes that i bring up the nastier parts of the losers bc i love nasty boys but thinking of things people don’t like is as much a part of them as the things they do.

for example, in &tfat, i write richie as making fun of “nerdy” things like anything you could find at comic con. i write bev as not giving a fuck about sports. bill doesn’t care about richie’s music tastes. eddie hates getting condescended to.

bc of the ... kind thing, mike’s one of the harder losers to do this with. i genuinely think mike would listen to any of his friends tell him about anything. & he knows, in return, they can’t say shit when he wants to ramble about history. but dislikes can also be super situational.

again, for example in & tfat: mike doesn’t like when his friends talk about college right now. no one is really being sensitive to him at all. he hates getting blamed for stuff that isn’t his fault, mostly bc it keeps happening.

anyway. i based a lot of my mike (mostly sense of humor and personality) off of a mix of real life friends of mine. it’s a luxury. i know. i’ve been blessed to have friends from literally all walks of life & for me borrowing little habits & quirks & sayings & jokes to slip into my fics and characters is my way of writing one massive love letter to those ive known. i hope i’ve helped you in some way anon. n if not.... don’t be sad i’m hardly one to take writing advice from anyway jandjxjx

overall, as i used to do often, i’d genuinely stop myself and say: is this a person, or a convenience for the plot? and if it was the latter, sigh, and get my backspace key ready.

[maiji]

Three Generals Showdown

I was in the middle of something else when Barricades from Attack on Titan came on and I was like OHHH NOOOOO because I was overcome with the urge to drop everything and draw something cool instead. Well, at least attempt cooler than what I was working on at the time. 

If there were ever a full-on mortal combat scenario between the three generals - just them, no interference/support - how would you bet on the outcome?

What we know from the actual series:

Hokushin is intelligent and strategic, employing psychology in his battles. He has demonstrated he can catch a significantly more powerful opponent off guard with a power level difference as massive as D class VS S class (which some people might say is roughly comparable to an ant VS God lmao). However, this was a brief demonstration match against a Yusuke who was unaware of the nature of Hokushin’s powers nor the extent of his own, and also not a fight to the finish. In addition, Hokushin is honourable, a.k.a. not likely to play dirty in a fight even if his life depended on it.

Shachi is not necessarily the brightest, but not stupid either. He's the exact opposite of Hokushin - conniving and opportunistic, having killed all potential threats to his position as Yomi's general (until Kurama).

Kirin we know the least about, but he's definitely more opportunistic than Hokushin, and all signs point to him being smarter/more strategic than Shachi. This is extrapolated from his caution and effectiveness in dealing with Mukuro for two centuries - see "On writing Kirin". (In comparison, Kurama comments that Yomi was infinitely patient in letting Shachi hang around for as long as he did.)

On pure base stats (which you can see in the manga and slapped onto some fanart here), Hokushin is the weakest of the three. He only beats Shachi in a few defense/endurance-focused areas, but not by all that much.

Shachi's offensive power is practically double Hokushin's.

Kirin is significantly stronger than both Hokushin and Shachi in every single category, and his total points exceeds the other two generals combined. This isn't a three-kings-stalemate scenario where all three powers are nearly equal in strength. In a one-on-one of Hokushin VS Kirin or Shachi VS Kirin, I'd bet Kirin every time.  

With all that in mind, here's my 0.02. I feel like my conclusions are super obvious based on the above summary lmao (Spoiler: I think Hokushin's odds are not good.)

Kirin would easily emerge the victor. The only way for Hokushin or Shachi to stand a real chance against him is if they BOTH target him together and manage to take him out first, then they can focus on each other for a slightly more even matchup. But even if they both realize this - which they must - I highly doubt it would happen because of their diametrically-opposed natures. And anyways, Kirin would obviously realize this too, so his best move is to make the first one. He'll just come out and mow one of them down as fast as he can so that it doesn't give them any opportunity.

So, what's the order of defeat, i.e., whom does Kirin go after first? I say Shachi because I think Kirin, like everyone else, would be like "UGH can't stand this guy" and fry him to a crispy fish before dealing with Hokushin who is a much more palatable opponent lol. Also, if you're focusing your efforts on someone else, I'm willing to bet Hokushin won't attack from behind, whereas you can rest assured Shachi will be doing anything he thinks will benefit him, so it's safer to get rid of Shachi first.

However, the above assumes everyone's starting at ground zero and there were no other dealings going on before this.

If we wanna talk stealth coalitions, again, Kirin has a distinct advantage. As the strongest, he doesn’t really need to ally with one of the other generals, and he's the best strategic option to guarantee victory for your side - assuming you feel confident about being in a super unbalanced alliance where you’re sharing things with someone who could easily crush you too lmao. Hokushin is technically the most appealing alliance partner because he wouldn't betray you, but he's unlikely to make an alliance he doesn't believe in.

In a best-case scenario for Hokushin, he should ally with Kirin in advance. Besides being the most logical option (because Hokushin can’t exactly ally with himself...), the official narrative also indicated it was a potential direction - before Raizen dies, he recommends Yusuke to ally with Mukuro's forces. But, because this is still such a problematic decision for a character like Hokushin, I think this would only happen if Raizen or Yusuke said something similar to him as well, or if the scale of impact were far beyond Hokushin alone, i.e., it was the best option if many people's lives were at greater risk otherwise - see "On writing Hokushin".

Nobody wants to ally with Shachi, but he's probably the easiest of the three generals to manipulate into thinking an alliance is for his own benefit and then to trip him up. IMO this tactic is way too out of line for Hokushin to pull, but feasible for Kirin depending on how sadistic you write him. He could bait Shachi with some kind of one-sided fake "alliance", they both kill Hokushin, and then Kirin kills Shachi.

Ohh, I know, for ultimate drama that's still believable to their characters as depicted in the series, you could contrive a story where Kirin "allies" with Shachi by making Shachi think he's got some secret upper hand to be able to control Kirin during or after the fact so that he drops his reservations about an unbalanced alliance, they target Hokushin in a two-cats-and-a-mouse type thing, and then just as Shachi is about to deal the final killing blow, Kirin slaughters Shachi. And then ... OK I already have enough comics and fics I need to work on and this whole thing seems headed for long drawn-out torture/evisceration/whatever which isn't the kind of thing I usually write anyways. BUT IT SEEMS LIKE AN INEVITABLE CONCLUSION

[him-e]

this might be a dumb comparison but would you consider star wars/skywalkers in general to be kind of like a greek tragedy? or at least inspired by greek tragedies? i just really love mythology and would like to think there’s some sort of connection in some way. thank you! :)

Definitely! Star Wars relies heavily on archetypes and psychological motifs, and many of them come from Greek and Latin literature. In the original trilogy, taken in isolation, you see more echoes of arthurian myths and classic fairytale elements than tragedy. It’s when you think of the three trilogies as a whole, particularly in terms of Anakin’s arc, his rise and fall and redemption and the repetition of the cycle with Ben’s fall just a generation later, that the Greek tragedy vibes become evident.

To put it in very simple terms, Greek tragedy typically revolves around a good/average man who has one “fatal” flaw (usually an error in judgment or hubris). Because of this, but also because of the crucial role played in the genre by the inevitability of fate and the cosmic order dwarfing humanity, fragile and powerless even at its best and at the mercy of much bigger and incomprehensible forces, the hero is bound to fall. And one fundamental aspect of tragedy is that the audience knows he’s going to fall, and watching the events unravel to the inevitable gut wrenching conclusion is cathartic. (see how the whole prequels experience is built on the premise that you know exactly how it’s going to end.) (also, side note, catharsis is a major reason why even today we need fiction, including “dark” fiction.) 

The fall of the hero often takes the form of a heavily immoral act, a horrific crime against the aforementioned cosmic order that the hero performs either in good faith, as a result of his hubris, anger or passion, or because he feels he has to—be it accidentally killing your father and sleeping with your mother, sacrificing your own daughter to the gods, punishing your asshole ex husband by killing your own children, or choking your pregnant wife who has come to confront you after you slaughtered a temple of younglings. As monstrous as the act can be, the audience can’t help but sympathize with the fallen hero, because it’s clear he’s motivated by a desire to do the right thing (or to fix some wrong), he loves fiercely and intensely, he is (at least in part) a victim of circumstances, and the pain and punishment inflicted on him and everyone who he loves and who loves him is disproportionate. What happens to the protagonist is a metaphor of the fragility of human condition, in which sometimes a minor mistake or an unforeseeable chain of events leads to catastrophic consequences. Individual responsibility matters, but it’s always portrayed in tension with the cruel irony of a blind, irrational fate who tears good people and bad people down alike, which it often succumbs to, or is proven to be eventually irrelevant.

You can see how Anakin is in this sense the quintessential tragic hero. A good man raised in humble conditions but destined to be royalty, to be the hope of a galaxy, the fulfillment of a long awaited prophecy, who rises to a state of quasi-kingship (becoming a Jedi master, marrying a former queen), but remains ultimately a slave—to his own passions and fears, to destiny (as personified by Palpatineworking slowly to corrupt him), to the will of the gods (the Force), to the trappings and limitations of a corrupt society (the Jedi order and the republic). His one fatal flaw, loving Padmé, backfires and turns him into the very cause of her death. 

Ben’s fall is also deeply tragic, as it’s the result of a twofold lapse in judgment: Luke’s (who falls for a second prey of his own darkness and briefly considers executing his nephew for the greater good) and Ben’s himself (who mistakes this one second of weakness for a truly murderous intent, and violentlyretaliates, and never stops acting on the false assumption that his uncle was really going to kill him).

Hubris and madness are two other crucial themes in greek tragedy and I can see the dark side as a fascinating space opera portrayal of both. And then, vengeance, and family—and even more relevant to star wars, the cycle of violence-pain-revenge. The original crime opens a wound in the cosmic order (you could also say: the Force becomes unbalanced) that spreads like a cancer dooming multiple generationsand is only really healed when there is a genuine will to step out of this cycle. 

This is imo the key to understand the three trilogies in their entirety, and what they’re trying to do with the sequel trilogy in particular. Many people struggle with Ben’s fall because he “had everything”—i.e. was born in a time of peace, from a loving family of revered rebellion heroes, with unique force powers and someone to teach him how to use them, etc.—so his turning to the dark side is thrice as hard to swallow. Was he a bad seed from the start? Or did he just infuriatingly squander all he had? Other people complain that the new trilogy is built on a nihilistic concept, that evil always come back cyclically one way or another, that victory is never complete, that the heroes are bound to make the same mistakes over and over again, or that everyone is inevitably destined to be corrupted and lose hope (see the discourse re: Luke in TLJ).

Both miss the point, in my opinion. The way I see it, it all ties back to Anakin’s original crime—his tragic, blood-soaked fall to the dark side, order 66, and most importantly Padmé’s death—and how that crime was a cosmic wound that tore the balance of the universe apart and was never fully healed. So it reverberates across the galaxy, onto his progeny, and his progeny’s progeny (Ben).

Luke did begin to make things right—by choosing to reject violence he gave Vader the chance to sacrifice himself to to kill the emperor and save his son, which earned him his redemption. And…it’s a good way to end a story if you want it to end there, but if you want the story to continue, then you have to face the fact that it’s only a partial, and in many ways convenient solution to a much larger problem. Vader’s redemption did nothing to eradicate the deep-seated political views of those who were still loyal to the Empire and fighting for a dictatorship in the moment when Palpatine was killed. It wasn’t enough for Luke and Leia to actually embrace their lineage and come out as Vader’s children, if Bloodline is to be believed. It wasn’t enough to shield little Ben from Snoke’s attentions—in fact, Anakin’s blood is exactly what put a big ol’ target on Ben’s back, with nothing of his grandfather’s post-redemption wisdom to keep him on the right track, only the myth of his legacy, a myth that as we’ve sadly seen can be easily misconstrued and exploited and that Leia and Luke never properly explained to Ben either. Anakin just died, and if that single sacrifice was enough to save his soul, it actually didn’t do much to fix the countless wrongs he contributed to create during the two decades he served the Empire as lord Vader. The galaxy bled because of him. And he just died and left his children to clean up his mess. Lucas’ original idea that Vader’s redemption brought balance to the Force is a good happily ever after, but only if you don’t really plan to deal with the consequences.

More on a thematic level, RotJ represents a perfect fairytale ending on almost all fronts but it leaves a question unanswered: was Anakin wrong to love Padmé? Is romantic love wrong? Aside from Han and Leia—whose marriage didn’t end well anyway—romantic love comes out of this narrative as a tragically negative force. Specifically, romantic love for a Jedi. If you consider the first six films, the logical conclusion is that the Jedi were right, after all, to forbid romantic attachments, because look at the mess Anakin made. Anakin destroyed himself and Padmé. It was only Luke’s familial love that made him come back to the light—Luke, the eternal celibate Jedi. Familial love is good, romantic love is poisonous. The narrative absolutely implies this reading.

So although RotJ’s ending fixes everything on a superficial level, the wound keeps festering underneath, there are still many things that weren’t made right, and this is why only a few years later Luke is still so haunted by the darkness and still so afraid that a new Vader is possible that he actually considers killing his nephew for a split second. This is why the ashes of the old Empire don’t die out, but instead give birth to a new tyrannical power; and why Leia cannot be free to live her life in peace with her family, but still feels committed to a rebellion that never ceased to have reasons to exist, even after the Emperor’s death.The gods (the Force) aren’t satisfied, if you will, so they keep punishing this family. The original evil has not been completely exorcised. Love, personified by Padmé’s unacceptable, unnatural death, hasn’t been vindicated. The balance is not restored. And Ben falls.

The sequel trilogy is set to heal this wound, for real, this time. It’s also why it has a much darker tone (despite the superficial humor) than the original trilogy. It’s not impossible for a tragedy to have a happy ending, but the resolution must have the same tone, the same gravity of the premise. The prequels are a tragedy, and the original trilogy is essentially a fairytale, a hero’s journey—they’re basically two different genres, and Vader’s last minute redemption seems (and is) inadequate once you’ve seen all three movies of his very detailed and nuanced fall to the Dark Side.

We’re watching, through Ben, the tortured redemption arc that should have been written for Vader if this story had followed a chronologically and stylistically linear narrative. Through Ben and Rey, we’re watching a reconciliation of the Dark and the Light side, whose unresolved conflict, worsened by the repressive puritanical policy of the Jedi order, originated the schism in Anakin’s soul. And we’ll also (hopefully) get the answer to that question I said earlier, and see the redemption of romantic love.

[moonlitgleek]

Honestly, the argument over Lyanna’s consent could easily be settled by answering only four questions:

Was her consent voluntary?

Was her consent free?

Was her consent informed?

Was her consent ongoing?

I’m going to set aside Lyanna’s age for now despite how this alone invalidates any argument for consent since Lyanna was a minor even by Westerosi standards and thus incapable of giving consent. But I know that people will come out from the woodworks claiming that “this was how things were back then” which is factually incorrect, and “we shouldn’t apply our modern world’s rules to medieval period” which…. why shouldn’t I? The text calls Lyanna a “child-woman” and goes a long way in establishing her youngness, powerlessness and impulsiveness. It shows how a somewhat similar “relationship” between Cersei and Lancel - which also includes a fucked up power dynamic and an older “partner” using the younger one’s naivete for their own purposes - was devastating to Lancel’s psyche. We argue about the skewness of Dany\Drogo and what it means for the definition of their relationship, we argue about how Cersei and Lancel’s relationship could not be considered consensual despite Lancel saying yes. So why should I ignore the same considerations when it comes to Lyanna and Rhaegar?

However, let’s put that aside for a little while as we try to answer the above questions. Consent is not just about saying yes: for Lyanna’s consent to be valid and accepted, it had to be voluntary, free, informed and ongoing, otherwise it was not consent. But did these adjectives truly apply to Lyanna’s situation?

Was Lyanna’s consent voluntary?

Or did it involve any form of coercion, manipulation or pressure? Was it given on an equal ground that allows Lyanna to give consent without feeling any pressure or compulsion to do it?

From the very start, the power imbalance makes it close to impossible for Lyanna to give a voluntary consent. She was in a very vulnerable position: a 14 years old maid faced by an adult crown prince and his loyal Kingsguard, being trumped on account of both age and rank. The power dynamic is heavily skewed in Rhaegar’s favor here, which not only casts shadows on Lyanna’s assent but makes her ability to even express it in doubt since the situation would put tremendous pressure on her, simply based on the difference in age and rank.

But it goes beyond that. Oftentimes when the topic of consent is raised, it’s either the circumstances under which Lyanna disappeared or her experience at the Tower of Joy that are the subject of discussion. But I want to start a bit earlier than that, namely at the Tourney of Harrenha,l since we can’t really separate the events of the tourney from what happened next, not if we want to have a more thorough examination of this plot.

Rhaegar’s actions at the tourney are not usually discussed wrt Lyanna’s consent, even though they are actually the first clue that something is entirely wrong with this scenario. Much has been said about how dumb a political move Rhaegar’s crowning of Lyanna was; how it broke chivalric code and alienated two paramount families in one stroke while severely offending a third; how it was an insult to the honor of Lyanna and House Stark, etc, but not much about why Rhaegar chose to do it in spite of all these considerations. What did he hope to achieve with this stunt that posed an insult to both his wife and Lyanna, and that framed the latter as a royal mistress? Many people - myself included - have attributed that to an ill-fated attempt to reward Lyanna for her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree or even a nod of respect to her valor, but the thing is that Rhaegar was not unaware of the implications of his actions. He couldn’t have been ignorant of the insult he was dealing Lyanna, the Starks, and Robert and so if this was genuinely meant as only a reward or an acknowledgement of Lyanna, it defeated its purpose. You do not show respect to someone by publicly sullying their honor. Now I’m of the opinion that Rhaegar’s interest in Lyanna as the mother for his third child started at Harrenhal and before he found out that Elia could not have more children, so in light of that, what did Rhaegar have to win by declaring his designs on Lyanna so publicly, something that could only ever make it harder for him to have her? What purpose did that stunt serve and how does it fall in line with anything we know of Rhaegar? I find it very hard to believe that he committed such an outlandish blunder without a purpose and for absolutely no pressing reason. That crowning must have served Rhaegar’s interests somehow, otherwise he wouldn’t have risked so much doing it.

The only answer I can find lies with Lyanna herself, lies in the theory that Rhaegar’s actions were designed to appeal personally to Lyanna. Through her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, Rhaegar knew her to be someone who put stock in honor and rules of chivalry so he controlled the image he presented to her from the get go. Rhaegar was a part of chivalric culture and he knew the importance of symbol and image politics; he probably already planned to use his chivalric image to appeal to the gathered lords as a better alternative for Aerys, but instead he used it to shape Lyanna’s opinion of him to guarantee a favorable outlook that would later help him convince her to run away with him. Rhaegar knew the worth of chivarlic action, one of its cornerstones being the crowning of queen of love and beauty at tourneys. By crowning Lyanna, Rhaegar projected to her an image of the chivalric prince who cherished her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree and sought to honor them, a complete opposite to what Robert would have done.

It’s also worth noting that the crowning fits perfectly into the romanticized idea of courtly love that is widely regarded as pure and ennobling (and that includes the  in-universe view. Look at how fond the singers are of the story of Queen Naerys and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight) which is something that must have appealed to a maid of fourteen with romantic inclinations who cried upon hearing Rhaegar’s song. That, in and of itself, is a strike against Rhaegar imo. He knew what his actions really meant and what they implied to the gathered lords. He knew he was breaking chivalric code and dealing a grave insult to many people, but he still chose to use a romantic chivalric notion to play on Lyanna's naivete, romanticism and even her sense of honor, and to project an image to her that, while not completely false, is still not honest. This was not simply a matter of Rhaegar appreciating Lyanna’s spirit, or even falling in love with her; he had ulterior motives driving his action to the point where he chose to insult so many people to ensure his objective: making Lyanna Stark enamored with the idea of him as someone who would not stifle her or force her into a specific box. Which, of course, was a lie.

That brings me to the circumstances of Lyanna’s disappearance from the Riverlands. While I do not think that Rhaegar took Lyanna by force, manipulating her into saying yes isn’t exactly a development. In all probability, Rhaegar projected an image of himself as someone who was granting Lyanna a choice, but while I do not believe that was true (more on that later), what mattered was that she believed that she could make her own decision, as opposed to being forced into a relationship with Robert. Lyanna was headstrong and free-spirited. She did not want to marry Robert and expressed her qualms to Ned, but no one took her opinion into account or cared about her objections. Her father pretty much owned her and he wanted the match with Robert so that was it. To be presented by a choice, to think that she was free to decide whether to stay or to leave, would appeal greatly to her, not to mention work to distance Rhaegar even more from Robert in her mind. To Lyanna, Rhaegar respected and even rewarded her willfulness, and gave her the space to make her own decision and to take her own life in hand, something that Robert would never do. But that was, in actuality, just an illusion Rhaegar projected to her. 

Under these circumstances, Lyanna’s consent can not be called voluntary. Not only did the situation include a good deal of manipulation or, at best, lying by omission, but she was not in a position to give voluntary consent in the first place due to the power imbalance between them.

Was Lyanna’s consent free?

Free consent means that the person giving it had the space to say no and to have their decision respected and honored. If someone isn’t willing to accept a no from a partner, then there is no freedom of choice in the first place, and thus consent can not be given.

Again, I go back to the power imbalance that, in and of itself, invalidates whatever consent Lyanna gave. A person in such a vulnerable position, under the authority of another, is incapable of giving consent. Lyanna and Rhaegar were not on equal ground in any way, shape or form, which muddies her consent. She could not compel Rhaegar to do anything at any point. She could not make him leave her alone if she wished. She could not make him respect her decision if she’d said no. She had no control over where she was going or how long she stayed there. She was in a situation that she could not get out of if she wanted to. What kind of consent could she give under these circumstances? A person in that unbalanced power situation can not give consent, plain and simple.

Secondly, did Lyanna have the space to say no and have it be respected? Would Rhaegar have simply left her alone had she refused him? No freaking way. Rhaegar was after his third head of the dragon and he was not going to turn around and find another to father his third child on that easily. For whatever reason, he believed that Lyanna had to be the mother of the third head of the dragon and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He had two Kingsguard with him to support his plans. That invalidates any consent given from the onset of this relationship. If Rhaegar wasn’t prepared to accept Lyanna’s rejection just as much as he was prepared to take her up on her agreement, then she did not have a choice in the first place, regardless of whether she understood that or not. That makes whatever scenario Rhaegar presented to her and the choice he supposedly gave her only a pretense designed to get her to agree to go without the need to physically force her. That is deception. If Rhegar had no intention of heeding Lyanna if her wishes contradicted his, but still made her think that she did have the space to say no, then he lied to her and deceived her. Any consent obtained under these circumstances can not be valid.

Was Lyanna’s consent informed?

Consent is not just about agreeing to something, it’s knowing fully well what you’re agreeing to. If you do not know what you’re saying yes to, how can your consent even count?

This is where I ask how much Lyanna knew about what she was agreeing to. If Rhaegar, at any point, withheld information from her or lied to her -- whether outright or only by omission -- he’d have rendered her incapable of consenting to anything. For Lyanna to make an informed decision, she needed to know about the prophecy and that Rhaegar primarily wanted her as a vessel for a prophecy child. She needed to know that Rhaegar’s plans included spiriting her to a tower in Dorne and staying there till he got his prized child. I’ve seen some arguments that Lyanna did know about the prophecy, but come on; she was a teenager trying to flee an unwanted marriage to someone who would have forced her to live by his beliefs. What 14-year-old rebels against being subjugated to one man’s whims only to run to another knowing he would subjugate her to his whims? What 14-year-old thinks it’s a swell idea to be an incubator for a savior? What 14-year-old thinks it’s a good idea to endanger her life in a high risk pregnancy in the middle of no where for something that sounds like legends and fiction? What’s with the belief that of course every single woman in Rhaegar’s life was ready to risk her well-being, and even her children’s well-being, for a prophecy that only ever sounded plausible to the Targaryens?

(And honestly, even if she did know and agree to this, I would still be spitting blood. Because she was fourteen, and Rhaegar had a responsibility to be the adult in the situation and recognize how utterly dangerous those plans were for Lyanna’s health. He was endangering her life by impregnating her, and raising the risk factor by leaving her in an isolated tower in Dorne without proper medical care.)

On top of that, Lyanna needed to know that she would not be able to have any contact with her family for as long as Rhaegar deemed necessary. She needed to know how utterly difficult it would be to get a marriage between her and Rhaegar recognized and what that means for her position in Rhaegar’s life. She needed to know that Rhaegar’s plans included vanishing completely and forcing her family into a confrontation with Aerys.

So did she know any of that? No? Then she did not know what she was agreeing to. She couldn’t make an informed decision because she did not have all the information necessary to see the complete picture. You can not consent to what you do not know.

Was Lyanna’s consent ongoing?

It’s not enough for her to say yes one time. Saying yes to leaving with Rhaegar is not a blanket consent to everything that happened afterwards. Did Lyanna agree to being spirited away to Dorne? Did she agree to staying in Dorne while Rhaegar left for the capital? Did she agree to be made to give birth in the Tower of Joy?

Lyanna’s experience at the Tower of Joy is frankly disturbing. By taking her to Dorne, Rhaegar effectively isolated her from everyone she knew and made her completely dependent on himself and his Kingsguard for everything, including information, which is made even muddier by the fact that Dorne was Elia’s home which means it was an unfriendly territory to Lyanna, the woman who Rhaegar dishonored Elia with. The information we have about the events starting from Brandon and Rickard’s murder paints a very ugly picture of what happened in that tower, because there is no way Lyanna would be content to simply remain at the Tower of Joy after knowing that her father and brother died as a result of an action she took. Even arguments that Lyanna might not been able to leave due to pregnancy complications can not account to the pesky fact that Rhaegar only left Dorne to fight in his father’s name against Lyanna’s surviving family, and that Lyanna would never be alright with that.

So we have a couple of options as to how this story went: 1) Rhaegar did not tell Lyanna about Rickard and Brandon, and she only found out sometime after he left, which means he withheld information and she had no say in the matter, or 2) Rhaegar did tell her but either pressured\manipulated her into staying, or outright prevented her from leaving, regardless of her wishes.

Neither scenario is particularly a riveting character endorsement of Rhaegar, neither do they bode well to any argument that Lyanna stayed in Dorne willingly.

I’ve always found arguments that Lyanna accepted Rhaegar’s decision to declare for his father both illogical and infuriatingly minimizing to Lyanna’s character. One of the few things we know about Lyanna is that she defended a stranger simply because he was her father’s man, and because she could not abide the injustice of three squires ganging up on him. She went on to defend Howland’s honor and rode in a tourney specifically so she could get justice for him. This is the girl who Ned described as having iron underneath her beauty, who obviously believed in family values, honor, justice and Northern nationalism. Assuming that she would be accepting of Rhaegar taking the field against her surviving family in the name of the king who murdered her father and brother flies in the face of any character motivation we ever glimpsed of her, not to mention blatantly ignores the fact that she was screaming for her brother as the Kingsguard met him sword-to-sword to prevent him from reaching her, or that she clearly trusted Ned and wanted him by her side.

Do not erase Lyanna’s experience at the Tower of Joy: isolated, pregnant, alone, dependent on Rhaegar and subject to his will, powerless to change her situation, forced to remain behind as the father of her child took up arms against her beloved brother who only rose to demand justice for their murdered father and brother, left to the “protection” of Rhaegar’s Kingsguard who were willing to kill her own brother on their prince’s orders despite how clear it is that Lyanna trusted Ned implicitly. None of that speaks of consent, or even of an ability to give consent.

In conclusion:

I think we’re having the wrong argument when it come to Lyanna’s story with Rhaegar: the point of examination should not focus on whether Lyanna agreed to run away with Rhaegar, or even whether she married him or not, but rather on the validity of her consent. Saying yes is not good enough under these circumstances, not where there are plenty of considerations that undermine her consent, not least of which being a teenager completely under Rhaegar’s power. We need to talk more about what Lyanna’s agreement truly means and how it redefines her relationship with Rhaegar. No matter how much we try to swing it, Lyanna was 14 and being “courted” by an older and more experienced man entirely capable of manipulating and coercing her, even if he did not use violence for it. The fact that she almost certainly did not know his true purpose in pursuing her (i.e: getting a child out of her for the prophecy) makes her consent even more dubious: Rhaegar withheld information about Lyanna and so whatever dubious consent she made was muddied even more by him deliberately making her unable to make an informed decision. And that’s just the surface level of this. This might have gotten her to the impulsive decision of marrying in front of a heart tree (as I believe things went) but the fact remains that agreeing to that is not the same as agreeing to isolation in Dorne, to remaining in Dorne while Rhaegar left to fight in Aerys’ name, and to be kept away from her remaining family by the sword even as she screamed for her brother.

[bisexual-doughnuts-tho]

Hello, I am a young lesbian. I am femme and I find myself almost exclusively attracted to other femme lesbians. So, A) Does that make me a bad member of the lesbian community? It's not like I have anything against butch or androgynous lesbians, I'm simply only attracted physically to femmes, and, B) Will I ever find love with another femme lesbian? Do femmes into femmes even exist? Everyone seems to romanticize the femme/butch couple stereotype??

Well you’re basically me, so 

a) Nope, not at all! You’re actually an extremely important member imo. Not because androgynous lesbians are not important at all, they are, but they’re already very represented in the community and are maybe sometimes too represented, hence the “when I was young I never wore dresses and only played with cars, so THEREFORE I have always known I was a lesbian.”-stereotype that unfortunately have found its way into some ignorant people’s minds. 

But Nope, na-ah, someone’s preferences in toys and clothes as a child has nothing to do with their sexuality as a grown up. It’s great that some people dared to go against gender norms as a child and as a grown up, but your preferences in style and interest doesn’t make you more nor less lesbian.

Aside from that, androgynous lesbians are not at all better off in the general heteronormative society and are often played for comedy in popculture and entertainment. But I do believe that a more even representation of femme and butch in our community would help this issue in the long run, and help normalize female homosexuality and bisexuality in the eyes of ignorant people. Again I’m not saying femmes are more important to the community, but we are definitely needed, and you should therefore never feel wrong or unwelcome just because you’re femme. Every time a femme girl stays away from the community (the bars, the clubs, the societies etc.) other femme girls are left feeling alone and different, and it only makes the representation look even more unbalanced. So no, you should never feel bad. The only requirement for being classified as a real lesbian or bisexual is being female and being attracted to other females. Your clothes, your hair, your make-up, your shoes, your personality is completely irrelevant, as long as you’re kind to other gays. :-) Being attracted to only femmes is not a crime either. I am too. 

In attempt to make you feel a little bit better, I’m gonna share a personal story in order to give a glimpse of just how strong a preference can control your feelings. Well, I’m very attracted to long hair. So attracted that when a femme, pretty girl, I once had a crush on, came to school with a pixie cut one day, my attraction towards her completely disappeared in an instant. I’m embarrassed to say this, but it’s true.

Yes, it’s shameful that our attraction to people can be so superficial, but why waste our own and other people’s time by denying this? Would the same thing have happened if I had been deeply in love with this girl for years? No, of course not, but this was a crush, the first and most superficial stage of love, and never intended for it to end like that. It’s sad, but we can not help what we get attracted to when spotting a potential partner, whether it’s the person’s gender, sex, hair length, body type, personality, humor or even level of intelligence and so on.

What I’m trying to say with this is, you can’t make yourself feel attracted to someone, because the feeling itself is just so uncontrollable. You can be crushing on a girl for months and then suddenly something changes (like something as superficial as the length of her hair), and you lose all interest in a split second. It’s no crime. No one is entitled to have you be attracted to them - Neither heterosexual boys nor lesbians (no matter how they like to look). ;)(And to defend butch girls for a moment - I have never met an androgynous lesbian who didn’t respect me saying no, so please never be too intimidated by them. Most people you meet in the community are very sweet.

Is the femme x butch couple stereotype present in the community? Yes, from my experience (mostly from Tumblr in this case) there is. Is femme x femme couples frowned upon? No, not in my experience. They are more rare because femme lesbians are not as widely represented as androgynous lesbians, but they do exist and with this I’m finally gonna go on to your second question. 

b) Yes, it is possible, but sadly it is also 10 times harder (well in my small country it is). Lesbians are rare and sometimes hard to spot, but femme lesbians are even more rare and extremely hard to spot. My best advice would be to grab a good friend, someone who’s accepting of your sexuality (if you have someone like that), and go check out the gay bars/clubs in your area. Going once a year won’t do, because how is the femmes going to find you, if you’re not there to be found? Try and go once a month and just check the girls out. If you see something you like, great, if not, you can go home and come back some other night. This of course can be an extremely discouraging and sometimes depressing, if you never catch anything you like, but try to make something fun out of it and keep the spirit high. Who knows, maybe you can get a great butch friend, who knows someone, who knows someone femme, who is exactly your type and just waiting to meet someone like you. It’s all about getting yourself out there. If you’re not out and about to your friends, the legal age for clubbing, interested in meeting people at bars, don’t live somewhere convenient nor have the money to go, you can also use Tinder, Her or any other comfortable dating app (if you’re over 18 that is). You can also go online and search for lgbt groups, activities and societies in your area, which for many and especially younger and less experienced gays are often a more suiting start. 

Most importantly of all, you need to get yourself out there and show them all that a new femme with interest in other femmes have come to town. :) (Ps if you’re into it, can also invest in a gay themed necklace, bracelets, earring or maybe even a gay themed tattoo to make sure you’re always showing your rainbow flag, when you’re in public (among all the other lost and confused femmes. :D)I’m sorry this turned into a novel and that I took so long to answer you. You might already have gotten your answer from someone else, but I’m gonna put this out here for everyone else, who might have the same questions and worries. Take care!