#the pros always jump to conclusions

[thebreakfastgenie]

When I said people who "hate Trump and Biden" always hate Biden more it was because no one says stuff like this about Biden. I was noting the sharp contrast between posts like "I hope Biden kills himself" and posts and tags like this. People who have pivoted to "hating Trump and Harris" don't say things like this about Harris. The post this was from mocked the idea of voting for Trump but did not say anything about voting for Harris. I don't know this user's position on Harris, Biden, or voting and I am not trying to jump to any conclusions. I'm just pointing out the danger in this kind of soft pro-Trump sentiment that doesn't exist for any other candidate on here. A lot of people on tumblr like Trump and that's a problem.

[somehow-a-human]

Whose POV is it Anyway?

A Conclusion.

DO NOT ASK NEIL ABOUT FAN THEORY

Okay. Well. That was more intense i'll say than I expected. There is a lot happening with these filters over these 6 episodes and it was a bit more detailed and harder to follow than I had originally expected but we got through it and I have more than a few final thoughts to wrap this up.

For reference & context, I recommend reading these posts:

Whose POV is it Anyway? - Introduction

POV "Your 'Something's Wrong' Voice"

POV a Trip to Hell and a 25 Lazarii Miracle

POV a Companion to Owls

POV The Dirty Donkey & I think I Found a *Clue*!

POV Bodysnatchers & Cosplaying a bookseller

POV 1941

POV The Ball

POV The End?

Lens Filters

Shall we conclude?

So, if you remember back to my originally introductory post for this series, the thing that kicked off this entire analysis was a bit of commentary made by the cinematographer Gavin Finney in this article.

Finney Describes the Bronze Glimmerglass filter as being used for "bookshop scenes", the Black Pro Mist filter for "Hell", and Black Diffusion FX for "Crowley's Present Day Storyline". I still hate that wording.

Something in that zinged my brain just right and I launched into research about the cameras and these specific lens filters. Give that post a read seriously or none of this will make much sense. ANYWAY.

What I had decided for writing these posts, since we had two main characters, was that I was going to apply the Bronze Glimmerglass (BGG) filter to Aziraphale's POV, since it was mentioned it's applied to bookshop scenes and he's always there anyway, and the Black Diffusion FX (BDFX) filter to Crowley's POV, since well, that's what they said it is kinda.

Do I think it is as simple as, it is either Crowley or Aziraphale's POV? no.

It was a decent jumping off point though, and it was working really well for the first few episodes but once we got past the halfway mark of the season, the lines started to blur, and I think that is perfectly in line with our story.

The BGG filter is usually applied to scenes in the bookshop, featuring Aziraphale, or the record shop, sometimes the coffee shop when Maggie is being lovesick over Nina. We even see it in heaven during the Job minisode and its on THICK during the Whickber Street Ball. The BGG filter is romantic, idealistic, it's just that a filter. Looking at the world through rose colored glasses! Looking at the world likely how Aziraphale would like to see it.

The BDFX filter is cooler toned, more realistic, it's used in scenes with Shax and Crowley, and often Nina when Maggie isn't around because these characters are pragmatic. They aren't dreamers, they see things for the reality that they are.

Whenever Crowley shows up and says something snarky to Aziraphale to break him out of his fanciful delusions and insults him (affectionate), like the scene at the coffee shop, or the scene at the pub, the filter switches from BGG to BDFX. We're being broken out of the dream, brought back into the colder reality.

I think it makes sense to apply the filters to characters for a lot of the season because their actions fit in their characterization. Aziraphale is daydreamy BGG, Crowley is a realist BDFX. It just works. But then we start to add in the demons attacking The Ball and the offer from the Metatron and everything falls apart. The BGG filter is gone. The dream is gone. We're in cold reality, even in the bookshop where we are usually consistently in a dreamy state.

Even Crowley gets the dreamy effects of the BGG filter and of what-could-be peace & domesticity in the bookshop when Aziraphale is in Edinburgh and he's forced to just hang around and chill with Jim. I'm sure that type of life is all he wants with Aziraphale. Quiet, wearing his cardigan and carrying books around for his love.

I'm glad I wrote my opinions before that C & A were possibly imagining each other in the Edinburgh POV chapter so that theory can exist on the internet somewhere but I think this is more likely the case. The filters are more likely indicating to us what the wants dreams and desires of the characters are compared to the realities they see. What do they choose to see better? Worse?

What does this mean for the Final 15? It's simply reality, and neither of them want it.

I'd like to remind you dear reader that this is one opinion, of which there are many on this website, and plenty of them are worth reading and considering. I don't expect that I'm right. I expect that I'm wrong. In fact, I'll probably write another series of posts next month detailing precisely how everything here is completely backwards to how it ACTUALLY is! Well maybe not. That is to say, if you don't agree with this, that's cool, I might not either tomorrow, but wasn't it entertaining to read?

[rthstewart]

So is John Pevensie still an antagonist in Stone Gryphon? (Am I asking this because I love Helen and Mrs. Godwin? Yes. I am also asking because I love a furiously protective person and John seemed like that in the snippets from his perspective)

@becauseforoncethisisme asked:

So is John Pevensie still an antagonist in Stone Gryphon? (Am I asking this because I love Helen and Mrs. Godwin? Yes. I am also asking because I love a furiously protective person and John seemed like that in the snippets from his perspective)

First, thanks so much for reading and reaching out about the first chapters of Heart and Crow Make The Peace.

Ware below for LONG meta/history/ruth stewart blather

For many years, the first and last look readers had of John Pevensie was a scene in the posted Apostolic Way.  It’s a disastrous dinner at the Rainbow Room in New York City, where Col. Walker-Smythe has brought Edmund to America to work as his aide and batman.  John is, as presented in the story, a writer and editor, recruited by the SOE, to work on the generation of pro-British propaganda.  He is a serial philanderer, is bitterly disappointed that it is Edmund, rather than Peter, who has come to America, and the dinner is excruciatingly painful as John’s memories of his children are several years old and certainly pre-Narnia, leaving Edmund to, once again, be far kinder than his father deserves and Walker-Smythe is furious.  It’s made worse by numerous women who have obviously enjoyed John’s attentions in the past stopping by the table to say hello.  

Meanwhile, Helen Pevensie is back in London, and true to what was more common in 1943 than it was in 2020, has been in a sexual relationship with Mrs. Beatrice Goodwin, the widow next door.  

I was probably too successful in the scene as John can come across as a craven and cruel person. Readers’ sympathies (and mine) have always tilted to Helen.

With the reposted story, I slightly tweaked the previous version of the Rainbow Room scene and have introduced in text that a part of John’s issue is untreated PTSD. So, is this signaling a change of heart for me in John's role? and what about Mrs. Goodwin and Helen?

John's untreated illness is an explanation, in part, but not a justification to be sure.

I’ve always intended for Helen and Beatrice to go their separate ways.  As broad-minded as the Four are, it's different when your parents are involved and I’m finding it hard to push myself to writing that as a resolution or where it’s all just one big happy polyamory.  From discussions with readers, I could see Beatrice moving to a small market town for economy, meeting another widow with young children and you know, there are only 2 bedrooms in the cottage, so of course….   Post-war England was filled with these kinds of relationships of economy and convenience and, presumably, potential romance amongst widows.

As a writer, I also want John and Helen to both put some work in and try to rebuild their relationship.  This is something millions of people had to do post-War and I’m interested in how and whether couples can overcome infidelity.  I’m not sure I could, personally (I’ve been married for over 30 years!) and I’m interested in developing it.  TSG itself presents numerous different takes on bonding and infidelity which, while true to the time period, is also intended as a contrast to Edmund and Lucy’s  own sense of loss for their partners.  Something I’ve not decided is whether Morgan and Aidan, respectively, went on to have their own relationships some period of time later.  

There’s another reason for introducing John’s PTSD.  TSG was originally supposed to be a two-fer, Peter-centric story.  I was going to do a time-skip after the conclusion of Ox 1942 and jump to post war, with Peter starting an affair with Mary, dropping out of uni, finally finding his path, and then everyone dying, with Susan left behind (I had this about half-written, even). I never, EVER wanted to touch the 1940s UK educational systems or Peter’s potential service in the military as I deemed bothway beyond my storytelling skill.

[TQSiT was never in the cards – that’s the fault of an early reader, Miniver on ff dot net long since gone, who asked, Well, given these adventures for Peter, and Lucy and Edmund off on the Dawn Treader, surely Susan is up to something exciting in America, which coincided with me reading a WaPo review Connant’s The Irregulars.  Oops.]

So to avoid having to write Peter in the service, from the very beginning, back in Ox 1942, I wrote that Peter’s parents are opposed to his service and he’s willing to go along with it because he thinks he’s an insubordination risk.  I never explained why they are opposed which is really not especially consistent with the patriotism of the time.  

So, in the story I’ve picked up again 12 years later, John’s trauma at Dunkirk as now part of the reason for that opposition.  He goes to War to protect his family and early on is deeply traumatized by the failures to evacuate soldiers on the beaches; he hears the screams of men and ships going down in his dreams.  In his own protective misguided way, he wants to protect his family from that horror. And when he finds out that Aslan plucked his children out of England and turned them into warriors, he is going to be PISSED.  

 Oops.

Thanks so much   @becauseforoncethisisme!!

[loveephia]

Anon that asked this here, I am SORRY FOR ASKING THAT I GUESS I DIDNT FULL CHECK THE TW'S... But can you do headcannons for kuroo x fem reader that's the manager for another team? Shinzen maybe, and they met at the training camp

Take your time!

kuroo with a small crush on shinzen's manager.

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, a speck of angst, kuroo trying to get your attention, you're doing your manager duties like a good person would, bokuto being a dense sweetheart.

⚠ warning/s: none.

note: NOOO DW ABOUT IT!! WHEN YOU SENT ME THAT QUESTION, I DECIDED TO ADD IT TO MY "NO'S" FOR FUTURE REFRENCES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR REQUEST!! :DD i'm so sorry that this is late. ��😭😭

you both met when you were first years from the summer camp held two years ago.

kuroo is undeniably a pro at hiding his little crush on you, but he becomes more of a show-off when you're around. 😭

like, y'know how he's athletic, intelligent, and handsome all in one? yeah. he knows he's all that.

now that you're both third years, when he sees you at the summer camp again, he feels more on edge.

because this is his last chance of ever seeing you again unless both of your schools make it to nationals.

he wants to confess to you as soon as possible, but with all the busyness ahead, it's almost unlikely for him to be given an opening.

almost.

when you both meet at the entrance, you give him a small bow of recognition and walk right by him.

and oh my gosh have you gotten cuter??

KUROO IS READY TO RISK IT ALL FOR YOU BC BRO'S GOT THAT DESPERATE RIZZ!! LMFOAO

in the evening, you're about to go to the girl's bathroom to brush your teeth, when you notice kuroo getting out of a classroom too (a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste in one hand, and a plastic cup in the other).

since you're both headed the same way (the male and female bathrooms are near each other), you decide to talk to him so that it wouldn't be awkward.

"hello, kuroo. how's the summer camp been treating you so far?" you ask.

kuroo stutters in his step since he didn't notice you. "oh— it's been a bit hellish since bokuto keeps bothering me for practice,"

and kuroo doesn't know why, but he felt a little bolder than usual, "but i don't mind, since i get to see you afterward."

this brought a peachy blush onto your cute cheeks. what a smooth talker he is..

"a- ah.. really?" you ask, a bit flustered as you weren't expecting him to flirt with you.

kuroo nods with no shame as he makes his way over to you. "gonna brush your teeth, too?" he asks, and this time, it's your turn to nod. "mhm. i need to make my smile as pearly as possible."

"i've always liked your smile." kuroo admits as your blush deepens. "you're flattering me, kuroo." you hide the creeping smile behind a hand to kuroo's dismay.

he gently brings your hand down to see the beautiful smile he oh, so, loved.

and you let him. because there's something about kuroo that's just so—

"LET'S ALL PLAY MARIOKART! I WANNA BE PRINCESS PEACH BECAUSE SHE'S COOL— oh." bokuto's exclaims are quickly cut off by the sight of you and kuroo in the middle of the hallway, looking like you were almost about to kiss.

"woah, i didn't know you two were a thing!" bokuto quickly jumps to conclusions as you try (emphasis on the try) to tell him that he has it all wrong, your frantic arms waving back and forth. "n- no! it's not like that!"

it's hard to sway bokuto otherwise when your face is as red as apples right now.

kuroo finds it amusing since he didn't know he had such an effect on you. how cute!

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[hazelkjt]

Hazel Kha || SMASH or PASS

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

Tagged by: @this-is-ris Once again I am late to the party so I'm pretty sure 99% of my mutuals are already tagged...but just to be safe! Tagging: @nolanel-corbeaux, @the-white-snake, @sae-mian, @hinganskies, and @cindernet-explorer

Quick Facts:

Height: 6'4" (193cm)

Age: 24 as of the start of Dawntrail

Gender: CIS Woman

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pros:

Very openly loyal and affectionate

Highly active and energetic, but still appreciates the quiet moments

LOVES the outdoors, especially the ocean. Any kind of outside activity she will be down for, but specifically hunting and swimming.

Very confident and proud, will do her absolute best to make sure you are happy and proud of yourself as well

Avid reader, enjoys both reading together and reading to you

Good cook, as long as you can handle spice and heat

Cons:

Little to no actual romantic experience and no confidence in being a good partner.

Tendency to jump to conclusions, which can lead to jealousy driven misunderstandings.

Snores INCREDIBLY LOUDLY.

Short temper and holds petty grudges for a long time.

Put her partner's well-being and happiness above everything about herself.

Bottles up all her worries and doubts, has trouble being open about her problems.

Sense of pride is paradoxically strong yet flimsy, specific hits to her ego can land very hard.

Misc. Details:

A morning person, gets up very early to practice and stay in shape. Will try to drag you into her workouts if you let her.

A very competitive person who enjoys all forms of competition.

Curious by nature and very in tune with her heritage. Will always be willing to share about the Kha tribe and will naturally want to know about who you are as well.

Very hygienic and cares a lot about her appearance. A bit of a fashionista who has a variety of outfits, she dyes the ends of her hair red to pay homage to the Kha tribe.

SEXUALLY very much a sub and extremely vanilla in terms of kinks. From her lack of relationship experience she isn't confident in taking the lead in any sort of sexual act. Even beyond that she wants to do whatever she can to please her partner, so they get to be the ones in charge. It takes a long time for her to open up to anything sexual however, even after being in a serious relationship for a while.

ROMANTICALLY Hazel is very affectionate and sort of clingy. She's not overly picky with certain activities or dates. As long as she's doing something with them she'll be happy. Beyond that, her love language is all over the place. Pet names/nicknames, PDA (specifically wrapping her tail around you), flirty compliments, gifts, just about everything is on the table.

[galadae]

OC SMASH OR PASS: CALANTHA LENN

Rules: pretty self explanatory. include physical descriptions or pics, and propaganda. the “other” label can be used for “sexuality misalignment” (ie: oc is femme and you’re gay, vice versa or you aren’t into smashing but a specific thing you wanna do with them like perhaps hug or study them under a microscope idc).

tagged by @lilas and @coldshrugs, thank you!!

tagging @hylfystt @gefiltefished @roguelioness @lyriumsings @fourteenthz and anyone else who wants to!

The Propaganda:

Quick Facts:

Height: 6'3

Age: currently 35-36 in MSQ

Gender: Cis Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pros:

Confident, self-assured (most of the time)

Adventurous, always down for new experiences

Muscles...LEg...ass

90% chance she will carry you if you ask

Banter™

Fiercely protective

Loyal and devoted

Cons:

Communication is a struggle, will jump to conclusions

Always traveling, may leave unexpectedly for weeks or months at a time (she will try to write or call)

Sometimes violence is the answer

Mental health: Bad (it's improving though!)

Can be impatient and restless

Blunt and harsh if she's pissed

Has almost no care for her own safety

Details:

Can cook and bake - prefers baking

Has a soft spot for animals and kids

Unconventional pet choices

Very affectionate, bordering on clingy

Down to earth - prefers small, practical gestures to big dramatic ones

Physically she's built for both powerful and acrobatic movement - think pole vaulter

Sexually: versatile, loves to tease, always makes sure her partner has a good time. Prefers to be gentle rather than rough.

Emotionally: not great at processing her emotions. She ultimately wants commitment but may be hesitant to jump into it or label the relationship. She needs someone patient and supportive who will figure things out with her.

[trans-elrond]

Conservatism is baked into pro-fidelity adaptation arguments

Aka, what incorrect lessons the Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptations taught fandom, and why the Internet is mostly wrong about The Rings of Power.

I don't particularly like the film adaptations of Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender, but it's not because they "changed things" (and it's certainly not for Annabeth's hair color.) They're bad films purely because they're bad films, lacking the original texts' (Riordan's books/the ATLA show) charm, personality, point of view, and humor. Crucially, they both lack the essentials of plot and characterization and contain ill-fitting humor, bombastic CGI, and appeals to "mainstream" popularity that didn't actually appeal to any kind of mainstream because audiences are slightly too sensible to fall for something that cheap.

But fandom as a whole, and a whole rash of individual fans, took the wrong lessons away from these failed adaptations. People started to complain solely about superficial changes made (Annabeth's hair, the poor/problematic ATLA casting) and came to the conclusion that if the adaptations were only more faithful to the source material, they would've made good movies. (Which is why Riordan and the ATLA showrunners now are so hellbent on proving their new takes will be faithful. Because the fans are feral and bloodthirsty about it.)

Which is wrong. Because films are films, not books/animated shows. The medium demands fundamental, structural modifications. Films have more compact run-times than books and animated shows, and different dramatic shapes. Films are made for a 1-sitting experience—for this type of heroic quest story, it's always a 3-act structure, play credits. The medium necessitates changes. (Since Percy Jackson/ATLA/ROP are TV shows, not films, I'll caveat that TV shows are structurally even more difficult. Not only do you need to balance season arcs and their dramatic shapes, you need sufficient dramatic push-and-pull on an episode-to-episode basis.) On this level, we can agree fidelity is, to some degree, a myth.

Going deeper, though, I argue that fidelity is not only a myth, but also an innately conservative argument that prioritizes "keeping things the same" at the expense of "making something actually good and worthwhile." Fidelity, of course, means faithfulness, but the only other place you commonly hear the word "fidelity" is in the context of marriage and relationships. Who needs to stay faithful? Husbands and... well, really, mostly wives, in the Christian cultural imagination. Why? Purity and sanctity, and freedom from sin, which sounds a lot like fandom purity culture and the Madonna/whore dichotomy transplanted into another realm. Yes, fandom has created a sanctity/sinning, Madonna/whore dichotomy for adaptations. On one hand are the Good and Pure Adaptations that do not stray from the Lord's course (the author's original text.) On the other hand we have The Very Sinful Whore Adaptations, like Rings of Power.

I know a lot of fans had a deep emotional whiplash to Rings of Power, I among them. I was hesitant because I don't trust large profit-driven corporations like Amazon and especially because I despise Bezos (and would support pirating all Amazon material, let's be real.) I was hesitant also because there was such immediate, widespread backlash to the costumes and casting and trailers, it was easy to jump on the bandwagon and nitpick details—backlash that took advantage of my vulnerable emotional state because of how much I care about Lord of the Rings. LOTR, both books and movies, was incredibly formative and important for me and my whole generation, and if it felt like this new adaptation would taint it—well, you weren't alone in thinking that.

(The ROP writers room, of course, operates independently from Bezos and corporate Amazon. But for those participating in the backlash, nevermind that there are hundreds and thousands of dedicated artists and artisans on the show! We hear Amazon, we have an instinctive response that makes us unable to conceive of the show as an artistic endeavor. Still: the writers and artists on ROP are just that, writers and artists. With Amazon's money, they hired some of the best people working in the industry, and from all accounts there wasn't all that much corporate interference. Or... at least about as much corporate interference that Peter Jackson and every other director and writer deals with.)

(Also pause to note that there was immense and similar backlash to the Peter Jackson films as there currently is to Rings of Power. Even think back to the Hobbit trilogy backlash not one decade ago. This is the exact same phenomenon, we just find ourselves on varying sides of the equation depending on our age and experience.)

I'm sorry to say that everyone who jumped on the ROP backlash bandwagon before the show was even released was manipulated and taken advantage of by alt-right, pro-culture-war trolls, tradcaths, and bad actors. I include myself among those duped by the toxic discourse, because as late as March of 2022 I was telling friends I didn't want to hear a single thing about the LOTR show, I was so mad at it already. Mind you that we'd barely had posters at the time, let alone any real information about the show. It was suspect and evil already in our minds.

How do I know it was trolls and not genuine, good-faith criticism driving the response? Firstly, because pop culture divisiveness is a well-known, extremely effective tool of Russian troll farms to further divide democratic nations. There's an excellent academic paper by Morten Bay at USC about how Russian trolls utilized trolls spreading conservative backlash to Star Wars: The Last Jedi to stoke political division. Guarantee you that ROP casting, Little Mermaid casting, Marvel casting, and every other liberal/conservative divide in pop culture has been used similarly by Russian troll farms to stoke American political division. It's not even up for debate—take a look at Bay's research to see the numbers. ROP is a great target for trolls because it's so important to so many people.

Second, conservative Catholic publications published many reviews and thinkpieces that are highly critical of the show. Imagine my surprise then when well-meaning liberals and progressives on Twitter and Tumblr were sharing these pop culture critiques and fully agreeing with them. Unfortunate times when your own baked-in, uninterrogated need for textual fidelity turns out to be a tradcath line of thinking.

Finally, you have only to look at Youtube and Instagram comments on anything ROP-related to see that the vast majority of anti-ROP vitriol is racist, sexist, and/or tradcath and otherwise fascist in nature. I've read a lot of comments because I lack self-control and the complaints really come in one of two flavors: fidelity arguments, and straight-up nasty racism. Or both. Unsurprisingly the two are married, because both types are yearning for an unpolluted, faithful, and ultimately conservative take on Tolkien.

I liked Rings of Power a lot once I actually watched it, though it took me two or three episodes to break through the unfortunate bandwagoning and negative conditioning I had internalized from social media responses. It's not entirely "faithful", which turns out to be a wonderful thing because there are things Tolkien never acknowledged that the show ought to. Like the degradation and dehumanization of the Uruk race. Or the potential for ostensibly noble Elves like Galadriel to dance on the edge of corruption because of her thirst for vengeance. Or (at least I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they make good on the hints of this idea in Season 2 and beyond!) how Númenor's fall and destruction is an ultimate test of religious faith for the Faithful because how could Eru have allowed it? We could've had a Rings of Power that ignored those themes and subplots because they're not in Tolkien's texts, but it would've been a loss; they're the most compelling parts of the show.

Okay, I promise I'm leading towards a conclusion. It's this: misdirected Percy Jackson, ATLA, and Rings of Power complaints were born from fan culture transposing Christian purity culture onto adaptations, with extreme and emotionally-charged backlash against adaptations that aren't considered faithful. But adaptational fidelity is both an unrealistic goal and an inherently conservative one. Politically and artistically, progressives should be the first to want interesting, new, surprising, compelling interpretations of favorite texts. That's how new ideas and perspectives can proliferate, sparking conversation and ideas and more forward-thinking instead of stagnation and just repeating the same stories endlessly. (Funny how everyone complains about endless sequels and remakes, but the second adaptations make changes people also complain. Can't win!)

But fan attitudes are also revelatory in that they show how much fandom is only superficially progressive. Tolkien fans—even the most liberal—are desperately, slavishly loyal to the Catholic politics of a 20th century white male author (one who, let us never forget, said his Orcs looked like the ugliest Asians [author's disdainful paraphrase.] and the Romantic, Christian-y, black-and-white morality and aesthetics of Peter Jackson's films. ROP's girlboss Galadriel was a funny jokey meme, nevermind that most of the commentary is disgustingly misogynistic; even liberals don't like girlboss Galadriel because, I suppose, ethereal perfect queen Galadriel with an absolutely static character arc is a more compelling character to them? (Unsure why angry rageful Galadriel isn't a feminist favorite on this website—oh, except there's an obvious answer: people's progressive credentials are shallow and uninterrogated, and we don't like angry women who are in the wrong and need to change.)

And then there's Bronwyn, who I've seen criticized for not being a consistent character (as if she should only be a mom or only a leader or only a lover. I think it's realistic and very cool for her to contain multitudes.) Or Míriel, last queen of Númenor who's bound to die a tragic death—I swear it made me want to grind my teeth into dust when I read that this was bad and racist of the writers because she's a woman of color and her storyline involves her getting deposed and dying. As if it doesn't make complete, heart-wrenching sense for a women of color to desperately fight a losing battle against corrupt enemies. As if women of color don't also deserve to be tragic, noble heroines. I think it goes back to the fact that these women contain multitudes, an immense upgrade from Tolkien's women, who with the notable exception of Eowyn are pretty shallow characters.

I almost went and made a caveat here that it's okay for you to dislike the show if you want. Which, I guess, sure, I'm not making decisions for you. But I suspect that if people interrogated their dislike for ROP's Galadriel, Bronwyn, Arondir, Míriel, and other divisive characters, they might find that they're regurgitating what the tradcaths and trolls taught them to say, because the tradcaths and trolls have perfected the art of making you angry on the Internet. Who really benefits from LOTR remaining a 20th century relic of stagnant politics? Traditionalists who want Tolkien to remain pure, white, and Christian.

I do have two main criticisms of Rings of Power, which are the "The Elves will take your jobs!" line (dumb) and occasionally the pacing (needs work.) And other than the casting of Arondir, Bronwyn, Disa, Míriel, and other important characters with actors of color, it's not a particularly progressive narrative in and of itself. But the Internet backlash stems from the sad fact that while we were all happily ensconced in our safe, superficially progressive fandom spaces, we were all duped into the insidious conservative rhetoric that fidelity is good and ROP's a bad adaptation because it's faithless. Frankly, I'm all for faithlessness, provided it's faithlessness in outdated and harmful politics. Let's take back ground from the tradcaths and trolls, and not let them pre-ordain our decisions for us.

[cepheustarot]

What kind of person will you meet soon?

Attention! This reading is for entertainment purposes only. This tarot reading does not give a 100% guarantee that all the described situations will occur. You build your own life and destiny.

Choose one or more cards. Trust your intuition.

Card 1: The person is calm, unhurried, he can do everything slowly, he is balanced, even in stressful situations, he remains calm and does not give in to panic. This person can also be called a leader, he has the ability to lead people, to be in charge, he successfully achieves his goals and plans goals, he never stops there. He can also be called lucky, luck is always, or at least in most cases, on his side. In some situations, he may behave relaxed, bevause he know that victory will be on his side. At the same time, he cannot be called decisive, he often cannot make a decision, because he carefully considers the pros and cons of one or another option. He also cannot be called a permanent person, he may be interested in many topics, get carried away with something, but at the same time he does not have a permanent hobby or social circle. You will get to know this person thanks to your friend or acquaintances, you could also be in the same company all this time, but never communicate closely. Or you will be brought closer together by joint activities, work on a project. I also want to note that communication with this person will give you motivation, inner strength. If it was hard for you to refuse people or it was hard to defend your opinion, then through communication with this person you will learn to defend your personal boundaries, put a person in their place. It is also possible that you always judge and look at the situation from one side, but soon you will learn to look at things from two sides, which will help you not to jump to conclusions.

Card 2: I want to say right away that this is a person from the past! Perhaps earlier you were brought together by a close friendship, or maybe even you had sympathy for each other, or your parents communicated well with each other and therefore you also had to contact. It may not necessarily be your friend or lover, it may be a relative, a family member, a classmate, and a person with whom you shared a common activity, work. The person himself is sullen, uncommunicative and for the most part closed, laconic. A creative person, for some reason intuition suggests that he is interested in music, plays a musical instrument or collects albums of musical groups, knows many genres, perhaps creates music himself. But this is not necessarily music, there are many creative areas, remember this! By the way, despite his sullenness, he is quite generous and always ready to help in difficult times, share experience, advice, support and comfort. Perhaps he drives a car or rides a motorcycle, skateboard, bicycle scooter, etc. And it is also possible that he often moves. With regard to what communication with this person will give you…Faith in yourself and the belief that you can move mountains, because you are a very capable person in yourself, you learn a lot and know how to do a lot. Now it is morally difficult for you and you feel like a loser or do not understand how to be and what to do next. Therefore, communication with a person should help you or at least raise your inner mood.

Card 3: Here we are talking about a peson who is quite well-groomed and neat, always dresses well and has a sense of style, he is in the center of attention and it is difficult not to notice such a person. With all this, the person looks unapproachable, it is difficult to get to know and get closer to him, he seems to be deliberately not letting people get closer to him. Probably, earlier he had an unpleasant situation with people where he was betrayed or framed, which is why he behaves extremely cautiously. He needs a lot of time to trust a person. I also want to note that he is quite talented and capable, he understands a lot of topics and can do a lot of things (if not now, then at least in the past). The acquaintance will take place thanks to some mutual acquaintance of yours and this person will turn to you for advice, since you have been described as a competent person, a good specialist or a person with extensive experience. If you decide to get close to him, then please be careful and attentive! At a minimum, a person is quite sensitive and takes words to heart, it is difficult to communicate with him in this regard, and he can also quarrel with your close friends, which will lead to the termination of communication with friends.

Thank you for reading! I will be glad of any feedback <3

[acourtofquestions]

I personally love all of SJM’s books, and have read TOG and ACOTAR (I’m on the second book of CC) but I’ve seen multiple anti-SJM posts on tumblr. I personally disagree with them, but what’s your opinion?

(One of the main things they argue is that Rhysand was abusive)

A very good question! Thanks for asking! I always love talking about fandom stuff & your posts are always a fav😊🫶 @romantasyreader28 (apology in advance for the delay & long ramble lol; it was a good question I had many thoughts on🤣)

I was actually pondering something similar within this note but separate for an updated reading post on Rowan from TOG (I’m reading HoF for the first time; & though I generally try not to pick “pro/anti” (as there’s always another side to the story) not gonna lie I was near “anti”-Rowan… until PT. 2… hence the more “pro”-Rowan upcoming post😂).

— So there are definitely a LOT of changing opinions depending on the point in the series.

As far as Rhysand goes:

I was on a rollercoaster with him at first too, the introductory chapters & UTM time period were concerning (assault is a big trigger for me; so having Feyre drink faerie wine, “marking” her with paint, & kissing her without consent was disturbing).

With that said, I did find his character generally easier to “like/not loathe” on first read in comparison to other “enemies to lovers”. I think this is because of a few reasons… The 1st being you know there is more going on beneath the surface. 2nd, the perspective it’s written in shows their draw to each-other & makes swaying the audience easier. 3rd the undercurrents to their banter & little clues to more within their interactions; such as him betting on HER; shows he believes in her & also something more. Finally, it is furthered by the already very dark setting, not to give excuse but to more easily explain the why which is NOT of malice. My biggest point is that he does not defend it, apologizes for it & it is not portrayed as “okay”.

He is not perfect, he can be read as hero or villain; he does NOT make the same mistake twice, he DOES apologize, he does TRY to be better. He creates a sanctuary specifically for women to escape abuse, he makes a lot of effort to give Feyre HER choices & empower her to make them. And the times we are shown his side it is much less morally murky.

I know there is a lot of anger around him hiding the risk of Feyre & Nyx; I don’t disagree it is wrong & confusing, but we do not get the full picture, clearly showing in the other perspectives. & The other being his threat to Nesta after she tells Feyre; which was wrong & he knows it. — There is a difference however between anger & action. — While many of these patterns could probably be deemed as abusive, they could also be deemed as acceptable/explainable. Which one is correct?

— Well, at the end of the day it’s fiction. Within a genre that very much struggles with this as a whole. & While there is something to be said for “real world” power within fictional escapes. It also comes with a different & messier set of non-existent rules; if we are to examine them all, quickly everything becomes problematic. & maybe that’s good to do, maybe not; it’s worth acknowledging; but in that acknowledge that it is fiction.

Meanwhile, writers are real people. So be wary of jumping toward conclusions on either side…

As far as SJM goes:

I don’t know & we’ve never met, I don’t know what she’s like, what she believes in, what she’s experienced. I doubt anyone would write a series with the intention to sway people into abusive relationships. & though intent is a good question to ask; I tend to lean similarly towards no.

There are times I think abuse is shown; whether intentional (as Arobynn and Celaena), or questionably (Tamlin & Feyre’s first kiss; a moment that bothered me as she is drunk, but I actually appreciate because it is shown how problematic they are later; point to it as a key warning, not “romantic fairytale” to aspire for).

I also think the Maasverse does take time to give survivors & “unspoken stories” a spotlight, that means a great deal (or at least it did to me) with characters like Gwyn being a large one.

It serves as an enjoyable escape from the world; one we know is fiction. A morality that can be more “fun” to debate & ponder, but still exists within fiction & opinion primarily over actual moral grounding.

For me: I love Rhysand (though I may not wish to marry him in the real world) I wish to have someone to hold my hair when I have nightmares & I loved watching him and Feyre fall in love in moments like that; I love the way SJM turns plots on their heads & think she does a great job with them.

Reading throne of glass as my next Maasverse series has been cathartic; I have thoroughly enjoyed many dynamics and actually praised them for flipping stereotypes on their heads & NOT being abusive.

So, while I think there are many sides and points to argue & at the end of the day is generally within fiction; I enjoy SJM’s writing & reading them. I generally don’t find it more problematic than other series. And prefer to enjoy fandoms, or move along if it doesn’t feed me healthily.

[tae-rambles]

Well, the ship looks like Elbaf-made (and now that we know how connected to the giants Shanks and his crew are, I think it really IS). And we now know that the giants are really pro-Nika, like that’s THEIR deity (if I remember correctly). So it is also possible that it’s part of their aesthetics and Shanks decided to leave it to not offend them and/or blend in.

Personally tho I HATE the evil!Shanks theory. I love Shanks and turn into putty when reading those parental!Shanks-Luffy fics T.T (also, I’ve always admired his non-confrontational/pacifist ideals).

But that smile in that episode looked somewhere between sleazy and unhinged to me. Idk if it was the animation style, but I think I got similar vibes from the manga too. Idk. But his expression when Kid was attacking and killing his subordinates felt genuine? So maybe he just doesn’t like how handsy they were being. REALLY don’t know. The scene made me smile tho, because this man is so loved! And his subordinates have zero fear. And unlike the other Emperors, he doesn’t do the whole tribute thing at all. There’s also the fact that he seems to be the only pirate that is hella respected on BOTH sides of the law.

Sorry for the rant. I reallly love Shanks :3 (AHHHH I don’t want him to be evil either ;-;)

hmmm... i wouldn't say the Red Force is Elbaf-made... it might look like it at first since it's one of the most realistic-looking ships in One Piece with quite a simple figurehead and Elbaf giants also use realistic-looking Viking longships with a simple figurehead and you could say the swirl markings and their placement on the Red Force are similar to the swirl markings on the ship Dorry and Broggy took to Egghead but that's just that, they are similar, not the same. the ship types are also different. Elbaf giants use longships while the Red Force is a galleon (or looks like it, i'm not an expert and One Piece ships aren't exactly realistic). also, Red Hai Pirates had a similar looking ship but smaller, less detailed and without the sun symbol (a barque, i'd say) but with a very similar figurehead in ch 1 which was before they even went to the New World. and last but not least, none of the Elbaf ships seen so far have the sun symbol on them. so i wouldn't jump to the conclusion that the Red Force was built by the Elbaf giants. i'm not ruling the idea out, it's just there is no airtight evidence to prove it to be correct.

about Shanks' smile ep 1112, i never thought of it as sleazy? more like a combination of mischievous amusement, fluster and drunkenness. those expressions are also anime only and i only accept the manga as canon. and those are these in ch 1079:

you can't really blame him for not being completely happy about being suddenly jumped on

after that he jokes about how his fleet is notoriously weak (btw the fact that his fleet is notoriously week yet still surviving in the New World is a testament to how strong Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates are that they can afford to take weaklings under their wings and yet no one dares to mess with them) etc. but we can't see his expression.

he is mostly calm/neutral discussing Kid and Blackbeard with his crew. but then he gets the vision.

he instantly switches to serious and stressed (you can see him sweating). Shanks just had a vision of those he swore to protect being torn apart in his name and we know how he feels about ppl hurting his friends since ch 1:

no mercy

so yeah, i do believe he genuinely cares about his people and the care is obviously mutual (it warms my heart :D)

[theyareweird]

My Hero Academia: Tenya Ida —Aesthetic

The Turbo Hero: Ingenium's Character & Personality

Tenya is a student at U.A. High and is training to become a Pro Hero. At first, he looks severe, unfriendly and intimidating. In reality, Tenya is straightforward, earnest, intelligent, sophisticated, disciplined and noble. However, he's a bit clueless about personal interactions due to his elite upbringing. Tenya generally expresses hyperactive and intense behavior. He often exhibits plenty of peculiar tics, like moving his arms in strange chopping patterns or sometimes twitching his body uncontrollably. Yet, Tenya rarely sheds his usual strict expression. He takes everything quite seriously. Tenya is also known for habitually jumping to conclusions, then enthusiastically speaking or acting based on said conclusions. Furthermore, he always attempts to heavily immerse himself into practical exercises. Tenya plays his part as a hero or villain in an overly theatrical manner, as an attempt to appear more authentic. He's extremely dedicated to his studies. Tenya is always eager to learn new things, regardless of whether they have anything to do with Heroics. As Class 1-A's representative, he's obsessed with organization and discipline. Tenya expects his classmates to follow suit with his usually loud and overbearing nature. At the same time, he takes responsibility for the safety and guidance of his classmates in times of crisis. Tenya considers it his duty to protect and keep them away from dangerous situations. He knows how to quickly respond to emergencies, downplay panic and disorder among bystanders. Tenya is quite humble. He's willing to admit to his mistakes, apologize for rude behavior and improve in areas he lacks. Tenya values honor and fair play. He'll become outraged if he's being manipulated by more selfish personalities. Being part of the highly-esteemed Ida Family, Tenya is proud of his lineage and works hard to meet his expectations. He greatly admires his older brother and aspires to become a similar hero.

[4ragon]

Listen, okay, I've seen people arguing over whether or not Galo Thymos is a jock or a nerd and I feel like trying to say he's one or the other is wrong. He's both and neither and that's what makes him so fun imo.

He's a cocky confident athletic guy, he's high energy, he has a very physically demanding job, he was probably a star football player in high school but also there's no way he fits in with traditional high school jocks because he's a huge geek. He's obsessed with fire fighting and ancient Japanese culture, he's clearly into the pageantry element of Pro Wrestling with the way he talks during fights, he makes powerpoints and workable grappling hooks for FUN.

And yet there's no way he was a nerd either because he has a bad attention span, an overactive imagination that is prone to jumping to wild conclusions, he's incredibly impulsive, he falls asleep from boredom while Dr. Prometh is trying to explain the literal end of the world. He strikes me as the kind of person who grew up thinking he was stupid, who did not do well in school, who should've been the typical meathead type but absolutely did not fit in with the cool athletic guys because he's always been too nerdy and goofy and genuine. I feel like trying to pigeonhole him into either one or the other doesn't quite convey that.

[sophieinwonderland]

This isn't really plural related, but more of a personal failing.

Our system has ADHD and we have trouble reading big walls of text but we still like to participate in syscourse. We have trouble reading the pro endo research and just how much a lot of people have to say.

In the end, we don't usually read everything. We do reblog what we fully read though.

Is this a super bad thing? I know people say all the time "do your own research" but we don't always have the spoons for that.

I mean, I posted a Kurgesagt video the other day without meticulously scanning all the sources they include. 🤷‍♀️

I'll be totally honest, I tend to skim and jump around a lot when I'm reading academic papers. I'll often read the Abstract first. Then skip to the Conclusion. Then skip back, skim a bit, and read the parts that seem relevant to add more detail.

Anyway, you have to do what's best for you, and you shouldn't feel like you have to force yourself to read everything. Especially when there's so much. I don't think you're doing anything wrong.

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #17

17. MALTA Sarah Bonnici - "Loop" 35th place

Decade Ranking: 64/153 [Above Hooverphonic, below RAFAL]

TAKE A VIDEO, WATCH IT ON LoOOOoOoOOOP~

Officer, I'd like to report a robbery. Because THIS is not a last placer in Eurovision, are you fucking shitting me. Who the hell sees that performance and thinks "well this is obviously worse than Albania"?

Granted, Honeypie's struggle to climb off the bottom was always a steep one, long before Christer put the finale stake in her heart by having her open the strong semi. Malta's selection was the expected unwatcheable shitshow (amazing that somehow, Lux, Denmark AND Germany all managed to be worse) and it was a small miracle they picked something decent.

In this case the "decent" entry was shallow slutpop - LOOK I KNOW that term offends some people (get a life) but, that's what Loop was ok?! An anthem for the manwhores (or in my case, wannabe manwhores, in fact de facto hermits with a crippling fear of rejection) to be their salacious slaggy selves to. It's trashy and fun and as shallow as a puddle, which is how I like to see myself as. Under the guidance of Malta's lavish budget, "Loop" then blossomed into a budget SloMo and was the unexpected, but deserved winner of MESC.

(and she aborted that afterbirth Satan Banan in the process thank Mother Teresa for that)

Of course, "Being A SloMo" always comes with diminishing returns since the original holds such massive standards. Chanel to this day has the best live execution of a flirty girlbop. (evidenced by her clowining on Eleni during the opener of semi 1 ♥) "Budget SloMo" is going to struggle even harder than a regular clone with the powercreep, along with the Maltese flag, ALONG with the garbage R/O based on assumptions and betting odds (isn't it time we return to FULLY RANDOMIZED R/Os?) and along with the myriad of girlbops in the 2nd semi, most of which weren't outright trashfires.

However, despite "Loop"s many flaws, Sarah was always a shining beacon of grace and slaytitude. No matter what you think about the song (it's fine), that woman KNOWS how to put on a show, and that's precisely she did.

SARAH

FUCKING

SERVED

HUNTEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Seriously, Aiko was good, but a lot of that the surprise factor of her discovering her newfound talent of breath control. I knew Sarah was good going into the semi, and she promptly proved that yes, all the diva's were born as a human beings. She was drawfucked, and that all it was, rly. (at least compared to Nutsa who had a similar package and a worse song). Sarah's✨ ditzy personality ✨ really shone through as she queened her way through her quartet of meatsack himbots.

(speaking of ditzy omg remember when all the dystopian joost shit went down on friday and sarah innocently announced amongst the confusion she had an IMPORTANT UPDATE TO MAKE AT 18:00, and it was her NEW SINGLE "Lose", ♥♥♥ every twitter dummy jumped to the conclusion that she was the 11th placer because her live had just been THAT GOOD ♥ and ofc she won the semi because she got to move on from eurovision 2024 fewer than 24 hours after her elimination, while the losers of the semi such as nemo contemplated quitting altogether. Slay, sister. 💋 )

"Loop" was also one of the rare instances of Malta nailing staging. I say rare and I mean it. Name two more examples? It's just both Ira 1.0 and Michaela, am I misremembering? Copy your homework from Chanel and you'll be good, lol.

So yeah, she came last in the semi. An NQ I can live with, but last is... unfair but hey, SHE WASN'T A DEMON OR A NUDIST or whatever the equivalent for semi 2 was (a traumatized zoomer monsterclown or a zionist nepobitch?). It's certainly was no help that Malta somehow decided to designate A DANCE BREAK (I initially wrote "the dance break" but lbr, Loop has at least five of them ♥) as the recap footage (pro-tip: the audience doesn't tune in for dance routines, but for the songs around them), but everything else was.. good? Vocals, act, even the song after a few retouches? There's obviously a ceiling to how high I can carry a "Loop", because it was never an actually good song, just a very fun empty vessel for Sarah to fill with her Ditzy Diva Deva personality. This spot (17th) is that ceiling.

For I recognize what "Loop" truly was.

The best NQ of the 2024.

THE RANKING

And that's indeed ALL of the NQs of the year eliminated before the verdant green (strong like) tier! I believe it's the first time that's happened since I started ranking ESC on tumblr? (it might be the first time ever ~ usually someone excellent is robbed). Hooray for (mostly) correct eliminations? And we have one more finalist to eliminate before we get there.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: Night Moves (21x06)

Oh boy, this was a REAL roller-coaster of an episode for me, a lot I really loved and a lot that made me roll my eyes. I am obviously having an emotionally challenging week for reasons I don't even really want to write down, in the hopes that some day in the far future I can look back and read this and not know what I was even talking about... but because of that, I was liable to be really emotionally affected by what was happening on my screen. Let's talk about it.

Cons:

Owen and Teddy continue to suck in this really frustrating way where it just seems like they're willfully refusing to understand each other? They don't really come across as people who have been super close for such a long time, they come across completely disconnected and off. Like, Owen's reaction to Teddy's news about being kissed was super annoying, but also Teddy's method of telling him was WAY off. She should have approached it with a bit more seriousness given that she's the one who has a history of cheating within their relationship. She should have been like "hey, I want to tell you about what happened, it wasn't a big deal but I want to be fully honest..." instead, she just shot it off like a joke and it felt tonally very strange. She really couldn't have seen it coming that he'd react badly to that?

And then Link and Jo - I actually have good things to say about one of the romance pairings in this episode that I normally don't like, but Link and Jo continue to just exhaust me. I thought Jo was being so brave in expressing her vulnerabilities to Link about not wanting to do all this alone, and Link doesn't pause for even one micro-second to understand that Jo's trauma and abandonment issues are what's causing her stress - he immediately jumps to this "how dare you" attitude about Jo doubting his commitment. Come on, Link. Let's not. Also, Amelia's retrospective conclusion about her and Link's relationship bummed me out. He was just deluding himself trying to make it work? No! You guys were honestly very cute, and I liked Amelia and Link WAY more than I've liked Jo/Link or anything Amelia's had going on in her romance plots since. Still rooting for Monica/Amelia, but nothing's actually happened there yet.

If Yasuda dies I'm going to be super pissed. Not really a complaint about this episode, just like... come on, Grey's. You already had the perfect way to write her off the show, to say she quits to take care of her sister. You don't gotta kill her. I beg of you.

Pros:

As a general note, I thought this episode was especially good at making me feel invested in the outcomes of the cases. Schmitt with his role taking over as an Attending, and then Mika and Jules with their equipment failure and emergency save of a patient with one lung. As both were going on, I was terrified they were going to take a turn for the worst - that Schmitt's confidence and poise was going to backfire, that Mika was going to make a bad call and kill her patient... but no! Success all around! These stories ended up being more about the personal lives of the doctors (as always), and the lessons they had to learn were not predicated on tragedy this time around. I'm glad! I was stressed!

Let's start with the romances that I'm annoyed at, because honestly up until the end of the episode, I was actually enjoying the Teddy and Jo plots in this episode WAY more than I expected to. For Jo, I feel like we got such a realistic look at what depression can be like. She's soldiering through, but the stress is getting to her and the very real pressures of her life are mounting and negatively impacting her mood. Her attitude with Link and then later with Amelia was really difficult and I'm sure not pleasant for other people to be on the other side of, but also you just want to give her all the grace! Amelia is the star of blended family goodness; she's really in such a good place mentally and her helping and handling of Jo's situation was just pitch perfect. I loved that she managed to get past Jo's defenses and talk honestly with her about things, all while maintaining her place as Scout's mother and being careful not to invalidate Jo's place as a co-parent of Scout either. Just excellent!

And then Teddy, out on an accidental date with a woman in an open marriage? Hell yeah. I want this plot line to go in a direction where Teddy and Owen decide to open their marriage and then Teddy runs off with this woman never to be seen again and Owen fucks off into the sunset and then I don't have to deal with either of them...... but even just within this episode, I liked seeing Teddy relax and have a pleasant conversation with someone, letting off steam. She used to be a character I really liked, and she's so bogged down by unpleasantness that it's nice to get a glimpse of who she used to be.

And we're three for three on "romance plots that I don't generally like having things I actually liked in this episode," because I actually thought Lucas and Simone's little "I love you" plot was pretty cute! Like it was so silly and low-key and Simone was a little freaked out but it wasn't bogged down with unnecessary angst. It was a lovely little subplot. They're still kind of a boring couple, mind you, and my favorite comedy beat was actually from Kwan, saying "I love you" to Simone as she walked away. That was fucking perfect.

I love that Jules and Mika have a sort of getting back together moment, I'm reserving judgment for where this goes because now Mika's life is in peril, but like... I do want these two to get a little more happiness in before Mika's departure from the show, and I'll be so bummed out if this is the end! It was lovely to see them supporting each other and saving the patient's life, and then Jules doing the right thing and giving Mika the credit so she got to do the surgery? I loved it!

I've saved Schmitt for last because I'm going to miss the hell out of him... this was such a good episode that utilized him so, so well, and it makes me wish they'd known how to write for his character better during the last season or so. I've missed him, and I can't believe we're losing him! I loved Richard and Bailey courting him so hard for the attending position, and then I loved that Schmitt fucking crushed it start to finish! I was biting my nails waiting for him to make some sort of a blunder, but he took control and did everything just right, even made a risky and controversial call in the OR that proved to be the right one, saving a patient's kidney. It was fun seeing Owen take orders from Levi in trauma, and Bailey defer to his judgment in the OR. Blue was a little salty about it, but ultimately Levi was victorious!

I like the burgeoning romance vibes between James and Levi and I'm sad it won't go any further, but to be honest the most emotionally devastating moment of the whole episode for me was definitely that conversation between Schmitt and Helm. Helm is a character they've always criminally underutilized. Maybe now that Levi's leaving she'll finally get some cool shit to do, I don't know. But oh my god, the way she immediately teared up, the way he rushed to reassure her that they'd always be best friends, the hug, Taryn's pride in her friend... I really did cry watching it! I love queer friendships!

That's where I'll stop for now! This was honestly a pretty strong episode even though so many of the stories exist within a context that I'm not sure I like.

8/10

[josiebelladonna]

”social media seems to be drying up!! why??” says the influencer on threads.

probably because:

ads are a dime a dozen

videos are a dime a dozen

you put those two things together and sites are an absolute bitch to load, even if you have good internet

certain sites, like recipe sites, are nearly impossible to load in one sitting anymore (and i’m glad the “cooked.wiki/“ shortcut exists)

you have this new generation of users that treats everything like “content” and wants everything to be “relatable”, no matter what the site is or who’s involved

said new generation is primarily and inexplicably under the age of 20, i.e., it’s not safe for nsfw accounts anymore (dude, i literally saw something on instagram earlier called instagram teens, and the only thought running through my mind was “oh, for god’s sake…” because it’s rectifying a symptom rather than a root cause)

said new generation gives more fucks about their fucking ~mutuals~ rather than things that do have essence like reading, learning, and real friendships, things that feel authentic and you don’t have to go out of your goddamn way to talk about them at every drop of the hat

sites change their rules, regulations, and layouts like how people change their underwear, and it’s almost always without warning, and it’s always disorienting, too

aside from say, livejournal, ao3, or dreamwidth, sites look exactly the same now, such that you often forget which site you’re on and you need to be mindful

with the exception of tumblr, freedom of speech doesn’t seem to be a thing anymore, and even on here, you have reams of people self-censoring and resultantly ruining an already jacked tagging system

social activism is so exhausting now—in my experience, it was getting exhausting when trump was in office (one of the reasons why i went quiet for the most part when he was in office; i just knew it was going to be bad). threads is probably the one exception but for the most part, it feels like all anyone wants to do is scream and be completely condescending about what they believe in. in the case of people who are pro-palestine, they’re belligerent and completely deaf to their own antics. shit gets on your nerves quick.

speaking of, there’s an awful lot of talk of “mental health awareness”, but is there anything being done? in my view, nothing has been done. you’re more focused on being aware that this thing exists and you jump to conclusions about someone who’s actually honest about their feelings and their experiences, and it’s only because you want brownie points. and since you’re too egotistical and too far detached from your own humanity, i fully expect you to argue with me on this.

there’s just something phony about the whole thing. look no further than the kinktober tag, believe it or not: writing about what other people want to see rather than what you like all for the lulz, the brownie points, and the new ~mutuals~ so it feels very synthetic and inadvertently anti-fanfic. it’s like, i get that fic is inherently amateurish. i get that completely. but i can read a fic from 2006 and see what they’re getting at. these fics are often incomprehensible at worst—i have probably asked “am i just too old for this?” more times than i ever would’ve liked in the last four years alone it’s hard to believe anything you read, really. true sincerity is written off as nonsense (and in my case, straight-up ostracized) while extravagance is praised. people who go off about authenticity at every opportunity are oddly fake, too: why feel a need to talk when you can just be?

art doesn’t exist anymore. …let me rephrase this: somewhere along the way, art became more and more about the business side rather than actually making it, and somewhere along the way, it all started to homogenize itself. all the faces look the same. the methods look the same. the techniques look the same. there is also the lingering existential threat of ai, scraping away at digital art and photography for its bubbling cauldron of a database, so you don’t trust pieces of art now. rather than connect to humanity, you look at it like it’s about to steal your money and your clothes.

no one can go out and suck anymore. you might have seen posts on here telling you that you are free to be cringe but even those feel phoned in. again, why not just be?