#why i thought that was a good idea is frankly beyond me

[sporemiette]

battle jacket update btw . if this means anything to you

[alltimefail]

Random thought that could could absolutely be nothing, an over-analyzation of sorts even, but I have always found it interesting that in the Devlin house episode Charles gets sucked into the loop starting from the point he snaps at Edwin about him "Not being the all-knowing expert on all things." It's especially interesting to me because after he does so, Edwin tells Charles that he's "...Not acting like himself at all."

In theory, Charles could have just reappeared when Mr. Devlin turns the corner or when he approaches Mr. Devlin here:

because if the point of repetition here is to show us that the abuse Charles suffered at the hands of his own father is what causes him to get trapped in the loop, either of those moments would have been sufficient in supporting that idea. The dialogue shared beforehand between him and Edwin has little to do with the point at hand...unless...

Charles feeling pain about his own father isn't the whole sum of why he gets trapped in the loop; his fear that he's just LIKE his father, that he's not a good person, that he's "Cruel for the shits," and capable of hurting the people he loves (and thus undeserving of their love) is also what traps him in the loop, and that's why his "loop" starts with him snapping at Edwin.

Even though we as viewers can empathize with and understand why Charles snaps at Edwin given the circumstances, it's very unlikely that Charles extends that same grace to himself. I would argue that we see the multi-faceted layers of his trauma explored in various ways from this moment on. Charles himself even later admits that all he feels is anger despite the fact that he wants to be "a good guy." Charles has yet to understand that it's possible to be good and feel anger, that anger in and of itself is not bad, and that feeling strong negative emotions like grief or anger does not make a person dangerous or abusive like his father was...nor does it guarantee that he would use his anger to harm others. So, with that in mind, of course Charles' loop would start with him lashing out at Edwin, as opposed to it just starting with him lashing out at Brandon Devlin; it's not just about feeling powerless to stop the abuse, it's about feeling like you play a role in it. It's about the deep-rooted fear that maybe you actually deserved the abuse you suffered because you are not good, and just by being related to an abuser you are damned to be just like them, or worse. Charles worries about who he truly is, deep down, and that maybe Edwin is wrong when he says that Charles isn't acting like himself: maybe the darkest parts that he works so hard to bury are actually who he truly is, and his ability to throw careless, harmful, biting words at someone he loves deeper than anyone else may be a reflection of this. After all, his father loved his mother, he loved Charles, and look what he did to them... how he hurt them beyond repair. What if he is the same?

OR: the trauma Charles deals with isn't only the violence his father enacted on him (shown through what Brandon Devlin does to his family), but it's also the violence he feels capable of enacting himself (shown through his ability to throw harsh words toward Edwin who Charles openly claims is the "most important person in the world" to him).

What furthered this idea even more for me (and added a bit of salt to the wound frankly) was Crystal and Edwin's reactions to Charles being pulled into the loop. Out of shock, confusion, and frustration Crystal immediately turns to Edwin for answers but for a moment he is just frantic and uncharacteristically frazzled, only able to say, "Charles was right, I don't know everything..." and OUCH, right? But it emphasizes that 1) what Charles said to Edwin was quite hurtful, 2) that it did have an (unintentional) impact on Edwin, and 3) that Charles himself very well might have realized it was hurtful as soon as it left his mouth thus, again, why it would make sense that his loop began there.

It takes a strong emotional reaction to be pulled into a loop; the possibly that this moment was written to work on two levels of Charles' inner turmoil is quite clever (and extremely heartbreaking).

Again, it could absolutely be nothing... but it's worth pondering!!

[frogaroundandfindout]

I used to give the 'lazarus pit madness' trope for jason so much shit unless it was a REALLY good fic that did something interesting with the idea. But the more I read of pre52 red hood the more I'm just like "yeah no I have absolutely no idea how I'd reconcile all this heinous shit he's done without finding a way to make it not his fault actually"

I hate the 'jason was always a monster and bruce couldn't save him' nonsense so much, he was literally just a homeless little boy. MY BUDDY LITERALLY WILLINGLY WENT BACK TO BEING HOMELESS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO HURT PEOPLE FOR MA GUNN EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT GIVING UP FOOD AND SHELTER AND DECENT TREATMENT

jason sweetheart I'm so sorry dc butchered you like this my god

When the characterization is so inconsistent the fandom has to resort to literal magic to explain it.

But seriously, I haven’t read a whole lot of Jason as Robin but from what I did read he was so tiny and just wanted to do good. It’s a disservice to every character involved for Bruce to adopt him because he thought he’d be a criminal otherwise. It implies Bruce thinks of every kid living in poverty as a shoe in for crime and not as some of the most vulnerable individuals in low SE areas. Which is just…so bad considering he’s 1) a rich white man stereotyping a large group of people and 2) someone that fights crime because of an act of violence commited in front of him as a little boy. A Batman that doesn’t believe in the goodness of a child (especially one like Jason who, like you said, gave up basic necessities for the sake of his morals) and protecting it in a way he wasn’t protected is a very very weird Batman to me. So it turns Bruce into a white knight and redhood into confirmation of Bruce’s stereotyping and paranoia.

If it was just Jason thinking that’s why Bruce took him in it would be a completely different animal. I might have even enjoyed reading about how Jason rationalized their changed relationship after he came back swinging (literally) and thinking that it’s some innate characteristic about him that drove the wedge between him and Bruce before he even realized it was there. But it’s very much not just Jason. EVERYONE. FUCKING. SAYS. IT. And tbh that kinda ruins everyone just a bit in my eyes. If not agreement and support for Bruce’s bs, they’re at least silently complicit in perpetuating it.

But beyond that, it also makes me think of Devin Grayson’s run where she kept talking about how dick was “meant for crime” or would have obviously been a criminal if it wasn’t for Bruce. This was built on frankly awful stereotypes regarding Romani people. I bring this one up because the combination of the two does not make Bruce look as good as the writers seemed to think.

But if we ignore the bs involved and take the reason for Jason’s adoption at face value, I think it offers an interesting comparison between him and Damian. Jason is presented a child destined for a life of crime who eventually became one of The Villains despite Batman’s efforts. Damian was an heir destined for crime who eventually became one of The Heroes because of Batman’s efforts. Idk it’s just interesting to me.

[themalhambird]

There were times when Ankh-Morpork as a whole possessed a conveniently short memory. Inside of a week “that thing with the dragon” was already being forgotten, partly because nobody wanted to admit they’d thought crowning a bloody great lizard was a a good idea and partly because no one wanted to remind the Patrician that they’d been complicit in locking him inside his own dungeon. The palace was repaired; any damage to the city was propped up or painted over. Nevertheless, there were clearly going to be some lasting effects. It was early in the morning, and Sybil Ramkin was leaning over the Patrician’s shoulder, examining one of the said consequences with a somewhat critical eye. “It’s not bad, Havelock,” she said. “A little more practice, perhaps.”

Lord Vetinari hummed his agreement. His fingers did not stop switching lace bobbins from one position to another, moving pins down the board and leaving a slightly lopsided web in his wake. “I find it…relaxing,” he said. “A challenge, to be sure, but easier to wrangle than the city.”

“To be sure,” Sybil repeated with a wry smile. “Lacemaking is only a craft that takes most people years to learn properly. You’ve read one book and away you go. Honestly Havelock. You’re insufferable.” 

Vetinari smirked. Sybil stepped away from his shoulder and strode gracefully to the far end of the long table, sitting opposite her old friend and helping herself to breakfast. “So,” she said, “Captain Vimes.” 

She waited. Vetinari said nothing. His bobbins clacked. Sybil popped a grape into her mouth. “”I’m not going to sit here  playing mindgames with you, Havelock. I’m not one of your little lace bobbins- I’m your friend.”

“”Captain Vimes” is not a statement that seems to require a response, my dear.” Vetinari set down the bobbins and sat back in his chair, tapping one slender finger on the wooden armrest. Sybil smiled. 

“Fair enough. Let me rephrase. What do you think of Captain Vimes?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I like him.” Sybil said frankly. “I like him a great deal.”

“Why?”

Sybil gave a half shrug. “He’s passionate. Blunt, but the honesty is charming. He’s brave- heroic-”

“-an alcoholic. Hardly a paragon of the law. Oh, he may not take bribes, but the Night Watch as a whole doesn’t have much of a purpose beyond running away at the first sign of danger.”

“Now that’s unkind- they were fighting Wonse and the dragon whilst you were sitting in a prison cell. Look, Havelock,” Sybil sighed. “I like him. I really rather like him. So I would like to know what you think of him.”

“...I think,” Vetinari said slowly, “that given half a chance Samuel Vimes would lock me up and throw away the key. I think that Samuel Vimes has a great deal in common with his famous ancestor and I think, Sybil, that if you like him, there wouldn’t be any harm in continuing the acquaintance.” His mouth curls in a sly smile. “Besides,” he said, “Think of how it would annoy Ronnie Rust- Lady Ramkin, consorting with the plebs.” “Well,” Sybil said. She picked up another grape. Vetinari picked up his bobbins. There would be City Business to attend to, soon enough, but the Patrician could spare another ten or fifteen minutes on Ankh-Morpork’s richest daughter who had, after all, been through so terrible an ordeal lately. And, considering Wonse's betrayal- though it had hardly been unexpected- Havelock wanted to spend a little longer in company with his old friend. Besides. It was gratifying to know that he wasn't the only person to see the merit buried deep within Captain Vimes, and Vetinari wanted to spend a little time ruminating on all the doors that Vimes forming a connexion with Lady Ramkin might start to open up...

[thatswhatsushesaid]

this person has me blocked, which is something i used to genuinely lament because occasionally i'd see bits of their very thoughtful commentary floating across my dash, and i'd find myself sighing sadly over what other gems of wisdom i was missing out on by not having access to their blog. i'd even lament about it via dms to some of my pals who did still have access to this person's blog. what interesting discussions must have been happening beyond that "???" "this is no one" "uh, who??" opaque door that tumblr always presented to me whenever i clicked on this person's username? would i ever know?

a friend this morning: want to see a bad take to get mad at

me: obviously yes

anyway as it turns out, it looks like i'm missing out on exactly nothing, actually, so that's a huge relief

more seriously, recalling the insightful commentary that i have seen this person reblog in the past when it has come across my dash, i am frankly in awe of this one, because it is so profoundly disconnected from reality and how people experience stories. like i'm not even sure where to start with peeling back all of the wrongness layers at work here because i haven't taken my adhd meds yet this morning, but the primordial stupidity at this take's core (coming from someone who is clearly smart, ftr, i am targeting the stupidity of the concept, not the person) has made me genuinely angry. it's not even just about applying this framework to mdzs, though of course it is principally about that because this book DOES actually place class front and centre at multiple points in the narrative. it's the idea that we just shouldn't be having conversations about classism, or sexism, or [x]-ism, in the romance genre, because don't we realize the point is the romance, actually?? these other things clearly don't matter and aren't worth talking about??? and this mindset is so utterly foreign to me because at no point have i ever felt compelled to stop myself from thinking thoughts about a book because "oh, but this is genre fiction, i need to turn my brain off to read and enjoy this, i forgot." or "this thought is not appropriate because genre fiction, i'd better stop thinking it before i ruin the story."

like. i am deeply, deeply sorry for this person, actually, that they are not picking up on precisely what mxtx is putting down in the text, especially considering mxtx has explicitly explored themes of class in at least two of her novels (i'll get back to you on including svsss once i've read it). but also, a critique of class in the jianghu, or how mxtx has written her female characters, is entirely as valid use of fandom time and energy as writing one more definitely original and not remotely repetitive thinkpiece on the power of wangx!an's morally good love to overcome all obstacles (not saying OP wrote any of these, just that there ARE a bunch of them out there).

like. why do you want to simplify the experience of reading and thinking and talking about these books? why do you want to push for more boring analysis of stories? why are you using your platform to encourage this? i'm so mad about it actually. people listen to you, and this is what you're encouraging them to do: think less.

[writeforfandoms]

Island 7

Find the series masterlist

After the revelation of last time, things move forward. You're not entirely sure how you feel about all of this.

Warnings: Feelings of inadequacy, Survivor's typical insistence that the guys survive, swearing, canon typical violence, potential violence.

Word count: 1.3k

It took a couple days to get everything in order as you wanted. Soap and Gaz took care of inventory, and Gaz went over every item with you. 

The list was better than you'd thought it would be, honestly. 

Price was both your biggest asset and your biggest headache. He had to be involved in everything. Which wasn't a big problem, given there were only five of you, but he was annoying sometimes. 

Gaz seemed to have a knack for knowing when you were reaching your limit of Price, because he swooped in more than once to drag you outside or elsewhere. 

Whether it was to protect you or to protect Price, you didn't know. Frankly, you didn't care, either. You were just grateful he did it. 

Price butted heads with you on the tames. More than once. 

“I don't see why we need so many,” he said, hands on his hips, frowning at you. 

You resisted the urge to scream and walk away. Somehow. “Like I told you before, they're the best form of transportation and defense,” you ground out. 

“I understand that,” he snapped back, eyes narrowing, correctly assessing that you were losing your temper. “But why are you trying to get a dozen more?” 

“Because nothing out there is safe,” you half-yelled, gesticulating wildly beyond the gates. “Because out there, most everything wants to hurt you or eat you, and it's only going to get worse as we travel inland towards the volcano. Because if I have to throw a tame between you and a carno, I will do it! Because if we lose Bessie it will be easier to throw supplies onto another tame than carry them ourselves! Because this is the best way I have to keep you idiots safe!” 

“Okay, time to go for a walk.” Gaz looped his arm around your waist and physically pulled you away from Price, quickly putting himself between the two of you. “Take deep breaths for me, yeah? Nice big breaths.” 

You realized your hands were shaking and balled them into fists, pulling in a deep albeit stuttering breath. And then another. 

“Got the armor sorted,” he informed you easily. “Got a few different sizes in there, which is nice. Be able to make sure you're fully kitted. Gotta protect Soap's legs, too.”

You snorted softly, already feeling a bit better. “I don't need the armor,” you muttered stubbornly. 

“Don't worry about Cap,” Gaz said, as if you hadn't spoken. “He'll come ‘round. He's just stubborn sometimes.” 

“Sometimes?” You lifted one hand to wipe under your eyes, just in case. Your hand came back dry. 

Gaz laughed softly. “Fair,” he allowed. “Tell you what. He should finish taming that dino he started with before.” 

“He should,” you agreed with a little sigh. “I don't think he'll listen to me, though.” 

“He will,” Gaz said, free hand patting your arm. “I'll mention to Ghost, too. And you and I can go tame more hyaenadons.” 

“Still want one of your own?” You couldn't help but smile. Biscuit was with Gaz if she wasn't with you. 

“If I can.” He smiled. “Besides, they're good defense, right?”

“Right.” You breathed out slowly. Gaz wasn't arguing. He didn't disagree. In fact, he was helping you. 

It was getting harder to ignore your attraction to him. But you could push it down. 

“If those two each get a tame, that will help,” you mused aloud. “Soap should have a couple, too. Not that these will be exclusive to each of us, but more is better.” 

“Any suggestions?” Gaz kept you walking even around the back of the building. You almost wanted to protest that you were fine, that you didn't need the coddling.

Almost.

“I mean, bigger is better,” you said with a shrug. “Trikes are good for carrying things and for defense, so are stegos. We just want to make sure we don't have to wear ourselves out carrying too much. I have no idea how long it will take us to get to the volcano, or how easy this path will be to find.” 

“Better to be prepared and have too much,” Gaz agreed. 

“Exactly.” You smiled, pleased with his easy acceptance. “I would love to get another couple raptors, but that would be very dangerous.” 

“You never did tell us how Tom got that one.”

As if he knew you were talking about him, Ripper growled from his pen, claws tapping at the wood in the sign that meant he wanted something. 

“Ask me after dinner,” you decided, detouring to grab a chunk of meat. “It might be good information for the lot of you to have anyway.” You walked over and tossed the meat into Ripper's pen, Gaz still right beside you. 

“Nervous?” He asked softly, one hand migrating to your back again to rub gently. 

“A bit,” you admitted carefully. “I've traveled before, on this island, but…” You trailed off. This was different, and you knew it. This was the possibility of escape, or saving someone, of getting out. 

But getting out to what?

You swallowed hard, and Gaz stopped, turning to fully face you, gaze searching your face. Without a word, he hugged you tight. 

“I'm okay,” you whispered, even as your arms lifted slowly to hug him in return. 

“Course,” he agreed, though he made no move to release you. “I've got you.” 

You breathed in sharply, gaze blurring with sudden tears. It wasn't just Gaz. It wasn't just the first hug you'd had in a long time. It wasn't just the uncertainty of this escape. 

It was also the absolute, undeniable longing to find out what life outside would be like with this man that hit you like a truck. You wanted to know how he took his coffee. If he was a morning person. How he dressed on a lazy day at home. What his perfect idea of a date night entailed. His favorite kind of flower. 

Your throat constricted with the feeling that you'd never know. You'd never have a chance to find out. 

You'd probably die here, but you'd make sure he got out, if it was the last thing you ever did. 

You pulled back from him first, the instant your eyes were dry. You refused to look at him, to see the pity in his eyes, instead looking down at your boots. 

“We'll need to gather more berries in the morning,” you told him brusquely. “Maybe take the ghillie and go try to tame some hyaenadons for the trip. Might be able to tame them in two days if we force the issue a bit.” 

Gaz sighed softly, disappointed, though you weren't sure why. “Alright,” he agreed. “Sounds like a plan. Want me to take care of dinner tonight?” 

“Sure,” you agreed after a moment. That would give you time to take care of a few other things. “Yell if you need anything.” 

“You do the same.” Gaz grabbed your hand and squeezed once. You forced yourself to smile, returning the squeeze, before you stepped away. 

You had other preparations to make. More planning to do. You wanted to make sure of the route before you started - as safe as you could manage without being unreasonable, sticking to water for as long as you could. Once the lot of you approached the volcano, there would be little or no fresh water. 

Which meant carrying canteens and boiling fresh water daily to be sure there would be enough. 

Maybe you'd get lucky and a drop would fall nearby with a few more canteens. More water was never a bad idea. 

You stood in front of the map, arms crossed tightly across your chest, ignoring the rest of the world, until Gaz called everyone for dinner. 

It didn't matter if you survived this. It mattered if they survived.

[litnerdwrites]

I want to talk about the Valkyries

So, I love the Valkyries. Their friendship is everything, and frankly, the best part of the series. However, I've never really liked the idea of them being warriors, and I want to hear some thoughts and opinions on that.

It all comes down to this single sentence; “"There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives. Amren told me that yesterday."”

To me, Nesta's strength lies in her other skills and abilities. She was raised to marry a Prince, so there's no doubt she's far more educated than most in her station. She proved that she has a good head on her shoulders and heart in her chest when she calculated the cost of evacuating humans from the mortal lands bellow Prythian, which goes beyond the number of ships, mind you.

She'd have to calculate the cost of the ship, the sailors to man them, the cost of security to protect the refugees in case the ships are attacked, which would mean the cost of weapons made of ash (which we know is rare since the fae burned many of the ash trees long ago), the provisions of sailors, provisions for guards, provisions for refugees, medicine for those who are sick or elderly, the time it would take to sail from the continent, load up the ships, and then sail back, etc. It's not easy, and there are a lot of factors to take into consideration, but Nesta did it and presented it to The Mortal Queens, who might have executed them for siding with the fae or even just speaking back to them, with not a single ounce of fear.

Nesta endured her mother's abuse, and didn't let it make her resent Feyre and Elain, instead, fuelling her desire to protect Elain and allow them both to find happiness in their marriages, something which we can presume is rare based on the little information and context we have for the human lands, despite it not necessarily furthering her family, while not bothering to do so for herself.

Nesta won the heart of a duke before even stepping onto the dance floor, had Eris dancing in the palm of her hand, arguably before dancing with him, and her idea to distract The King of Hybern, when Rhys didn't consider it until she brought it up. Nesta united the High Lords. Not Feyre. Not the IC. Nesta. After witnessing her father's death, and having all her trauma come crashing down on her, attended a meeting with strangers, both humans and fae, at her sister's behest, then kept herself together long enough to make it back to Velaris and to her room.

Feyre takes strength and inspiration from Nesta and her steely resolve, in times like The HL meeting.

Within a single year, she forced herself to overcome her fear of bathtubs, alone, while enduring the criticism and verbal abuse of the IC. She endured that nightmare Solstice, dinner parties and other events with them watching her like a circus performer. She endured her so-called mates' abuse and the abuse he allowed his family to show her, leaving her completely alone. Nesta didn't throw herself into the river or try to commit suicide, as far as we know, during this time, and gave everything to keep her head above water.

Let nobody tell you that Nesta Archeron isn't a strong ass woman.

I think this is why her becoming a warrior bothers me. Her courtier and dancing skills are shown to help her thrive in a place like the CON, a place the IC hates and the narrative paints as being full of scheming, evil, deserve to rot in hell, asshole fae nobles. This is a disservice to Nesta's immense talents and skill in navigating these situations. to be exploited, and painted as something that is synonymous with the 'evil' of The CON.

Also, I think that certain parts of the CON's culture is similar to human culture, in some ways. Between that and Nesta telling Bryce about how she's okay with being fae because of immortality, I think SJM is doing a disservice to humanity and it's culture. Nesta's insistence on holding on to her humanity when she points out things like how Solstice isn't a human holiday, or how fae have regard for human custom or manners (twice), and even her modest style of dress is something I love about her character.

I hate how it feels like, that for all Feyre claims both the human and fae lands are her home, she's disregarding her human culture, and Nesta is being forced to as well. Assimilating into fae society doesn't mean that she has to abandon her culture, and I think it would've been great to see more human cultures and customs, even if they didn't have holiday's or religions, being integrated into the IC. Meanwhile, Feyre's only response is to try it, because she might like it, which I think is also incredibly insensitive. Feyre and the IC have essentially indoctrinated Nesta, and wiped her human values and traditions from her life.

Her so-called mate was also the one trying to make her train since ACOWAR, without regard for human customs and how much she values them. It's like none of them care for their human heritage, and want to abandon that piece of her all together. For all he claims to love her and her fire, he doesn't care for where it came from, and who she was before he moulded her into his version of a perfect mate.

Amren is the one who told Nesta that she doesn't have to be a warrior, and that's based on the strength Nesta displayed as part of her human upbringing, implying that, even then, she is strong without the ability to end lives. Yet, she's also one of the strongest advocates for Nesta being forced to train.

If exercise of some kind is what they think she needs, why not dance? Elain is aware of how much Nesta enjoys it, and given her repeated protests about being around Cassian, why not get her a dance teacher, outside the IC, and have her learn dances from different courts or places on the continent? It's something she enjoys, and gives her a chance to learn more about the world out there, while developing many of the skills she's been trained with since birth.

I don't want to hear anything about Nesta 'choosing' to be a warrior. She merely accepted her fate, knowing it was that, or certain death.

Honestly, I think I might have been more okay with the warrior thing, if she wasn't consistently exploited by the IC. Or if I wasn't convinced that Rhysand would treat the Valkyries as an extension of his military.

Speaking of the Valkyries as a whole, I think they have so much potential that's being wasted.

Why must they be warriors? Why not a group of healers, and diplomats, and dancers and explorers, and scientists? Why not have them as a way for Nesta to fulfil her own dream of seeing the world

I've made my stance on Rhysand's so-called attempt at equality in Illyria very clear in this post (where I talk about why Cassian would be the worst father ever), but the gist of it is that throwing women swords, and forcing them to be soldiers isn't equality. Giving them the same opportunities and education to chose to be a warrior, librarian, baker, blacksmith, teacher, merchant or whatever is the start of equality.

That's not to say that they can't be warriors too. It just irks me that it's all they are. That's not to say I dislike all fmcs who become warriors, though I do think that there's an overabundance of them. Why must being a warrior be what defines The Valkyries. I don't see how that makes them different to another military unit, even though Nesta is likely to be the only one expected to act like a real soldier.

The narrative makes Nesta a warrior with her other skills and passions being just a smaller part of her character. I think it should be the other way around. I think she, and The Valkyries, deserve to be more than warriors.

I feel like Emerie would be the only one who'd want to be a full time warrior out of the main three Valkyries. Even then, it's mostly due to how ingrained it is to Illyrian culture.

The concept of Nesta helping the Priestesses heal is perfect for her character, based on what we've seen her do for civilians and victims in the past. This is why I believe The Valkyries would've been more interesting if they took a humanitarian (kind of) approach to things. Helping women who are oppressed, like Illyrian women, or those in The CON, follow their dreams and escape abuse.

The IC call themselves The Court of Dreams, so wouldn't having The Valkyries be the ones to help the underprivileged start on the path to fulfilling their own dreams be poetic? It would give her a chance to travel too, if she went across Prythian or even to The Continent.

Stepping back from The Valkyries for a moment, there are many strong FMCs that aren't warriors at all. Personally, I think Stephenie Garber writes them best.

My favourite Evangeline Fox. I think she's the strongest FMC I've read/watched because her strength comes from her kindness, and belief in true love, even when the world is trying to prove otherwise. She refuses to give up hope for a happily ever after, and fights through impossible odds with her wit and heart alone for her love.

I also love Scarlett's resolve and quick thinking. I honestly think she's a lot like Nesta in some ways, when it comes to protecting her sisters (though I think Feyre is a bit like her at time s too). I'm impressed by the lengths she'd go to for those she loves, and her resolve when she decides that she deserves better than what someone's giving her. I love Donatella's determination, and decision to use other people's low opinions of her, and ideas of her being just another dumb blonde, choosing instead to use it to her advantage and prove them wrong out of spite.

I love Tohru Honda and her resolve to be kind and compassionate to everyone, even those who don't deserve it. She assumes ignorance or accident before malice and continues to strive to be better, for herself and for others. Her kindness and compassion is what inspires others around her.

I love Sophie's resourcefulness and bravery in Howel's Moving Castle.

I love Winter from At The End There Was You, because of how kind and chatty she is. How she choses to believe that the good can outweigh the bad and never stops asking questions or being curious.

Even jumping back to SJM for a moment, I love Bryce, not because she can weald weapons, but because of how resourceful, kind and witty she is. I love how she uses her femininity and others' low opinion of her to her advantage. Yrene was my favourite character in TOG, and I loved Tower of Dawn because of her. Some of my favourite moments with Aelinare when she's being girly with Lysandra. From chatting and sharing chocolates, to playing with Evangeline, or having some form of girl time (most of which are in QOS).

The Valkyries had the potential to be more than just, the now, stereotypical, strong, warrior FMCs.

“"There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives. Amren told me that yesterday."”

I think this quote should've set the president for The Valkyries. Looking back at this, I think it's less The Valkyries that I dislike and more the fact that they're warriors. I wish it played more into that quote, rather than giving us the same old story about finding strength through fighting. Personally, I think solving disputes between nations through words and dancing, or discovering the cure to sicknesses, or even bridging the gap between two sentient races sharing a world (humans and fae) all while fulfilling your dreams is more impressive than swinging swords around and ending disputes with death.

If there really needed to be some semblance of warrior like training, why not lower the intensity to self defence? Do something like Yrene and start teaching women self defence and educating them in reading, writing and maths. Give them the opportunities to better their lives and create futures for themselves. Make them about empowerment in whatever ways others feel comfortable, not just by becoming warriors.

TLDR: I think the Valkyries, namely Nesta, being warriors, first and foremost, is a disservice to her character and to the strength of women who find empowerment through other means. “"There are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives. Amren told me that yesterday."” is what Amren said in ACOWAR, as quoted by Nesta, and I think that should've set the tone for The Valkyries. The worst part is how her own so-called mate doesn't respect that about her. I do want to hear other thoughts on this matter though. Do being warriors suite The Valkyries? Does it suite Nesta or her story?

[yikimiki]

Hi can you do eren x reader , friends with benefits. Reader has a boyfriend and eren just doesn’t care. At the end eren and reader gets caught by their friend group/boyfriend.

I’m mixing this request with: “anonymous asked: oop can we have pervy dom eren who is lowkey yandere” also they don’t get caught because I feel like that would create a really long scene and I’m sticking to drabbles 🥹

⚠️ warnings: possessiveness and controlling behavior, eren x fem!reader, smut, CHEATING, yandere/toxic/abusive tendencies, background mentions of jean x reader, eren calls reader a lot of mean things and makes her cry (whore, slut, etc), a lot of degradation that isn’t really all that sexy, semi-public

-

You love Jean — you swear you do. So why you are doing this (again) is beyond you.

“Fuckin’ knew you’d crawl back to me like the little whore you are,” Eren says in between heavy breaths, one hand on your hips and the other one around your throat — not choking, only holding down. Holding you down like you’re a ferocious dog ready to attack, and he’s here to tame you; like you’re about to run away any second now. There’s a wicked smile on his face that you do not miss, a glint of something insane inside his green eyes that sends a shiver down your spine. “You know that we are meant to be, right? You know this is it, uh?”

You nod, but you don’t believe a word he says. You don’t even believe your own thoughts anymore, these devilish little ideas that send you right back into his arms when you were supposed to be with someone else — with your boyfriend, that you love very much. Very much so. At least you think. People who love each other don’t cheat.

“Tell me something,” he mumbles against your lips, red-bitten and swollen. There’s a stench of alcohol in his breath, a touch of malice in his words. You want to shrink until you’re invisible. “Tell me you’re mine.”

The wall of the bathroom stall feels cold against your back, one leg starting to ache from the awkward angle. Eren’s cock is drilling deep inside your wet cunt and you know that anyone that walks in will know what is going on from the sounds you’re making. It’s embarrassing — the scene, your morals, everything. But especially the way you fold.

“I’m- I’m yours,” you say, and a tear runs down your face. You feel shattered. “I’m yours, Eren.”

He kisses your lips. “That’s right, that’s what good sluts are for. You’re all mine, no matter what that asshole boyfriend of yours says.” He chuckles, and the grasp around your neck tightens just for a second. Another tear falls down your face, and you feel yourself starting to clench around his cock — god, you hate yourself. You hate how you always come back to Eren. “You know I’m the best for you.”

You nod, but don’t know why — better is such a strong, outlandish word that you can’t believe your own ears. If there’s one thing you are absolutely certain about is that Eren is, frankly, the worst thing that could happen to you.

“I’m gonna fucking cum in you,” his harsh words break your thoughts. “And you’re gonna go back to Jean with my cum inside your pussy like it’s meant to be. Hear me?” You nod — there’s not a lot of choice. “That’s right. You’re mine, hear me? Mine.”

[islandoforder]

Hi just properly scrolled through your blog for the first time and wanted to ask a question:

Re: Riz should be class president post from over a week ago - why should it be Riz over Kristen now that the class president position has stakes? Is it because of Kristen’s inconsistent access to her spells in case she needed to defend herself? I’d love to hear more about your thought process regarding this - assuming your opinion hasn’t changed since making that post.

My thoughts personally are that character-wise, it makes more sense to me for Riz to be the one strategizing as the campaign manager, because he’s the one actually finding a lot of the traps the Rat Grinders have put out for them.

Whereas Kristen makes more sense to me as a candidate purely because of her charisma and good radar for social bs - her weakness, of course, being that she’s a bit of a wild card in her choices regarding the campaign. But at the same time, she’s been able to get away with wearing a soggy salsa hat in front of the entire student body and still maintain some chance for the candidacy.

Obviously, I’m ignoring the more mechanical aspects of this comparison. If that’s what you were referring to in your original post idk then. I’m still wrapping my head around how Riz rolls so well now, level 10 dnd shit is way over my head.

Sorry if this was long, I just wanted to express my thoughts as well as hear yours! Idk how far away we are from getting back to the campaign to class president, who knows what happens after they get back from fallinel!

hi! sorry this is such a late reply, i've been away and i wanted to watch the new ep before i started posting about anything d20 in case of unintentional spoilers haha

so i think part of it is that, imho, brennan intended the class president arc to be riz's:

kipperlily is a rogue, v type a, and a narrative foil to riz, and this would have directly pitted them against one another

riz needed extra credit things for his college app, like being involved in student govt/being student president

there's also something about kipperlily being fundamentally riz but richer

kristen's arc was clearly always going to be about cassandra, trying to regain her favour, or increase her popularity, or resurrect her

nara is the kristen foil this season (once again, kristen but richer)

everyone has like an individual arc this season except for riz, bc his was supposed to be student president

beyond all of this, i don't actually think kristen is able to take the student president stuff too seriously - every time she tries, she ends up doing a bit instead, at the steel workers union, at the middle school, even at the party. i actually think if riz was the candidate, he would manage himself, in the same way that fabian wanted to be the party house and arranges that himself, and adaine needed a job and worked on and got that herself. so like i agree that he's the best campaign manager, but that doesn't preclude him from being the best candidate as well??

also, frankly, a lot of the good social graces kristen has had this year are from riz putting in the hard work - him joining all the clubs and making those connections, him taking stress to give her more popularity, his own popularity, etc.

like i'm enjoying the silliness of kristen's campaign, but i'm kind of with sklonda on this - riz would be a better candidate, and it is to some degree a shame that he's putting this much effort into running a campaign for someone else. if they legit need the student body president bc they'll become proxy headmaster, then i think a more serious campaign with riz at the helm and finally having his time in the spotlight is not a bad idea!!

[ludcake]

I've been chatting with beloved mutual @amethyinst and recently found a way better way of like, articulating my thoughts on the Others and the whole Fire and Ice thing.

I've written one or two pieces of meta on the Others before and I am a strong believer that they're people and not evil ice demons and that they have some cognition, society and that the books won't end with them just getting all destroyed and murdered in a big war - for a lot of reasons, including the fact that I think that would go very much against the overarching theme of the books, both in the sense that I disbelieve the idea that the Others are the big threat we have to pay attention but are too concerned with our own small, petty issues (I think that it would do an immense disservice to the struggles that these characters endure to ultimately frame them as pointless) and because I disbelieve that the ultimate, overarching conflict will be a big war in a display of violence.

The thing is, obviously, the Others are Ice - and we have the dragons, on the opposite corner, as Fire. Martin's mentioned a couple of times that fire, and the dragons, represent passion, and they represent life, and that's part of why they're associated with Dany's position as mother and breaker of chains... And he's also mentioned a couple of times that the Others are "ice sidhe", that they can do things with ice that are incredible, but I'm going to focus on that idea of them as sidhe - as fey beings, as counter to fire, but also as spirits and bound by spells.

To me, it's difficult to accept the idea that the dragons, and fire, is wholly positive - we've seen how "fire consumes until there's nothing left" is a theme through Thoros and Berric, and we've seen how dragons were used by the Targaryens and the Valyrians to keep a vast tyrannical empire that oppressed several peoples and kept them as slaves, the same system that Dany now uses her dragons to destroy. There's clearly a greater theme here, at play, that dragons aren't universally positive - and throughout A Dance With Dragons, specifically, we see Martin use the dragons, in particular Drogon, to represent Dany's desire for freedom, to escape politics, to escape Meereen, to fly and burn and end peace and crush the slavers.

And frankly, I don't think that the ultimate answer is that it's a necessarily good instinct. It's not a bad one either.

There's been a few pieces written about the Others that go at length about their role - a few ones that link their appearance to the sacking of the barrows beyond the Wall, or the idea that the ancient Pact has been broken, or the idea of the Wall and the Night's Watch as ultimately institutions of separation, and of course, linking the 7000ft tall wall of ice to the ice guys. And I think there's a point to be made here... There's few times where we see the Others themselves, but it has always fascinated me how in A Game of Thrones' Prologue, the Others ambushing Ser Waymar Royce accept his request for a fair and just duel, and fight against him in his own terms.

I think that if dragons are passion, and freedom, and warmth, then the Others are oaths, and laws, and the cold. The Others are not evil, but they are duty - and the dragons are love. Love is the death of duty, duty is the death of love - the Others are a slowly marching force, that moves ever onwards, and they will have their ultimate reckoning, and they will bind people to oaths and laws. They are Ned Stark executing a poor boy who was running for his life. They are Robb Stark executing the father of his friends for treason. They are Ser Barristan Selmy standing by while King Aerys ruled tyrannically. They are Duncan the Tall standing up and keeping to his oath of knighthood. They are Prince Baelor Targaryen defending Duncan. They are Stannis marching onwards for duty. They are every law and every oath and every rule, just or unjust, whether it upholds ideals or not - they are the ice sidhe, they are what you swear upon, they are the Old Gods of the North which look through the weirwoods and tell whether you've said a lie. They are cold, harsh, unforgiving truth.

And the dragons, of course, are that opposite. They are Maegor the Cruel destroying every rule of the realm, every demand of the Faith, because he rides Balerion. They are Daenerys destroying slavery and breaking the wheel, because she is the mother of dragons. They are passion and they are love, they are the impulse for freedom, they are might-makes-right and the breaking of chains, they are the Valyrians destroying every rule of society because they have dragons, they are Daenaerys making a better world because she has dragons, they are Aegon V seeing glimpses of a world where the smallfolk would not toil so much because he'd have dragons, they are Aerys the Mad burning his victims because he is a dragon. They are tyranny, and they are freedom - they are the fact that you are beholden to nothing but yourself.

And that can be used for good, and for ill; just as oaths can be good, or bad.

And that's what ice and fire are; they may both end the world, and they may both uphold it, but they are duty and love. The human heart in conflict with itself.

Is this a definitive analysis? Not at all. I'd love to see people counter argue or add onto it! It's just my brief thoughts on the bilaterality of ice and fire, and how that dichotomy is often presented, I think; I might write up something longer with proper references to the books sometime. But it is A Thought I've Had, and I think it's worth writing out.

[aurorawest]

The Scottish Boy by Alex de Campi - 5/5 stars

This book managed to rip my heart out at least 3 times. I loved it. Medieval enemies-to-lovers slow burn; very romantic. Kinda read like fanfiction at times but in a good way. 10/10 would read a follow-up love story about Arundel and Captain Wekena. If you like Captive Prince, give this one a try.

Reforged by Seth Haddon - 4/5 stars

Pretty good bodyguard romantasy. Ironically CS Pacat blurbed this one (another am-I-in-the-matrix moment). The world was interesting and I enjoyed the politics, though they're definitely not as complicated as other SFF politics I've gone feral over (see: Captive Prince, Winter's Orbit, A Memory Called Empire). I ordered the sequel after I finished this.

The Doctor's Date by Heidi Cullinan - 4/5 stars

A Power Unbound by Freya Marske - 5/5 stars

Where do I start? I love, love, LOVE A Marvellous Light. It's one of my favorite books ever. None of the rest of the books in the trilogy could live up to it, really, because it's so good. You'll notice I rated this one 5 stars though, because quite honestly I fell prey to a bit of The Academy Paying The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Its Due syndrome. I did love this book and thought it was better than A Restless Truth (which I still loved!) but part of that is, quite frankly, just due to the fact that I prefer m/m romance to f/f romance.

Anyway. This was such a good finale to the trilogy. I loved that the romance was a giant middle finger to purity cultists. I loved that one of the mains was Italian. I loved finally getting the story of what happened to the Alston twins. One thing I thought was really cool was how, viewed from the outside, you totally get why Edwin is such a loner. I really admire from a writing perspective how Marske pulled that off.

I feel like there's a lot to be said about what Marske was trying to SAY with this book, but I definitely need to reread it first before I can articulate any of it. The purity culture stuff is obvious, but the magic system too. I feel like Jack when he's almost able to connect everything in his mind into a bigger idea, but he can't quite get there.

I've got a special edition from Illumicrate coming, so I'll be rereading it when I have that.

Oh also, this book was the embodiment of all that one tumblr post -

The Guncle by Steven Rowley - 5/5 stars

I saw this in bookstores for years before I finally gave in and bought it. The blurb makes it sound insufferable and twee. Ignore the blurb. This was such a good book about grief and learning how to live again after terrible loss.

I Like Me Better by Robby Weber - 4/5 stars

At last I can stop getting the Lauv song stuck in my head whenever I set eyes on this book (it's stuck in my head as I type this). Pretty standard-issue YA, but it was cute and had a good message.

The Stagsblood King by Gideon E Wood - 4/5 stars

Another book about moving on from grief! This is the second book in a trilogy. When I was trying to determine if I wanted to read on beyond book 1, I scoured the internet for information about what happens in books 2 and 3. Eventually I decided, hell, I enjoyed book 1 well enough, even if what I want to happen in the rest of the trilogy doesn't happen, they're worth reading. SO, to that end, I will tell anyone looking for info that Tel gets romantically involved with a new man in this one, which, eh. I still want him to somehow end up with Vared. It was still quite good though.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune - DNF at pg 82

So funnily, we were at the bookstore the day I was about to start reading this, and my wife pointed out Ravensong (also by Klune) to me and said, "Do you have this one?" I made a face and said, "That's an older one of his books and I'm wary of his early work after that horrible Verania series. I don't think I've ever read an author as hit or miss as TJ Klune."

I wrote the above when I was 60 pages in and now I have officially DNFed this. Listen. You know how in Thor: Love and Thunder, Taika Waititi was clearly given free rein to do whatever he wanted, so all of his worst impulses made it to the final cut unchecked? Yeah. That's what this book is like.

Here's my Storygraph review: I see Klune is officially Too Big To Edit now. This book has exactly the same problem that his awful Verania series had—a joke that's funny at first but quickly grows tiresome when it's repeated five times per page. The emphasis on Victor's asexuality was also weird and read like Klune was just super proud of himself for writing an ace character.

Lion's Legacy by LC Rosen - 4.25/5 stars

Queer, YA Indiana Jones, but less #problematic. This book had some eerie similarities to my own archaeology adventure novel(s), which made me wonder half-seriously if I somehow know Lev Rosen? Anyway, I feared this would be very heavy-handed and not nuanced on archaeology's ethical dilemmas, since it's YA and also the current culture is to view said dilemmas as completely black and white with no nuance, but I was pleasantly surprised. It manages to examine that, queerness, and daddy issues, plus has time to be a genuinely fun and exciting adventure story. Highly recommend.

Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black by Ismail Lagardien - 4/5 stars

I picked up this memoir in a bookstore at OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg as research for Six Places to Fall in Love, since Percy is coloured. A pretty brutal read, but good, and definitely good research. The author was a photographer and journalist through the most violent years of apartheid.

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - 5/5 stars

Two nonfiction books in a row?? This is the second book by Erik Larson I've read, the first being the excellent The Devil in the White City. I'm not, in general, all that interested in WWII when it comes to military history, but this book is about the day to day lives of Churchill and the people surrounding him (with brief stops to visit FDR and high-ranking Nazis sprinkled throughout). This is a very, very good book, and I recommend reading it if only as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of ordinary people under terrifying circumstances.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

Holy shit. Holy shit is this book good. Imagine the love child of Lost, Person of Interest, and Battlestar Galactica, but queer and with multiverse shenanigans thrown in.

I need everyone to read this book. Now. Yesterday. Get to it.

[tamaharu]

orv ramble below!!!!! i love kim dokja!!!!!! hes so sad in these chapters it eats me up inside!!!!!!

the [Beyond Good and Evil] is so devastating like its crazy. the revelation from YJH that he knows about WOS rattles KDJ so badly it makes me sad. he states outright that he wanted to avoid telling them for as long as possible, because to an extent, gauging the reactions to YJH telling them that hes a regresser in WOS, he understands the reactions he's likely to be facing as a result - anger and sadness over the monopolization of information, and the meaning he ascribes them despite the kind of disconnect that being a regressor/reader may have brought.

at the same time, once YJH DOES ask about WOS, kdj knows the game is over. frankly, he didn't have to tell them at that point. HSY herself even expresses doubt about the idea. and, honestly, considering how long he's spent running and hiding from this, it's a little of a shock that he follows through at all. so… why?

well, primarily it's because he's just off the back of the 1863rd round. it's been, what, maybe a few weeks at most? he's already been killing himself in his head about the 1863rd round and YJH's state there and his continued regression, even if he's been doing his best to cover it up. that, combined with YSA and his mother's injuries, defeating Olympus… well its a lot! and a lot of that has left him in an emotionally fraught state. the revelation of WOS + YJH leaving the company is just the final nail in the coffin.

the 1863rd round introduced him to a story he didn't know, a HSY who was so alike to him it made him slightly uncomfortable, and a desire. a desire to believe in the story he had created and, more than that, the humans within that story. if that makes sense.

he saw how 1863!HSY connected with her companions and made that perfect story, while simultaneously keeping her broader plan from them and leading them towards death. he doesn't want to be like that. he wants to be real companions with them! even if it breaks his heart! he's not looking for forgiveness!

this is all over the place idk. but anyways when he tells them, he is fighting his base instincts of hiding and running and distancing himself for the sake of truly connecting. but like. he's bad at it. he's trying! so hard! but he's bad at it.

he talks about refusing to use Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint when he tells everybody because "I wanted to use my own strength without relying on any skills. I wanted to believe that whatever they thought and felt inside, the actions they chose was really their decision." (there is an option wherein he's refusing to use his skill less because he wants to trust in them, and more because he actually cannot handle their potentially negative opinion on this, but i don't actually think hes lying here.)

BUT!!!!!!! even though hes not using the skill and trying to meet them where they're at, whatever that may be, when he meets Lee Jihye's eyes, he's immediately thinking about her reactions from WOS! he's not reading their mind, but he is remembering their story, and rather than trusting their actions now, in his round, he's taken aback when her actions are different from those from the novel. he's not using his skills, but he may as well be. he's trying!!!!! so hard!!!!! but that novel is still so deeply ingrained in him and his behaviors that he can't shake it and barely even registers the need to shake it even when attempting to mitigate other harmful behaviors!!!!!

and then later in the chapter, he remembers going to visit his mom in prison and only talking about WOS. and then he visits her in the hospital and!!!!! guess what!!!!!! he connects with her by talking about WOS!!!!! he's crazy!!!!! he tries to connect with YJH and then when YJH leaves it fucking breaks him!!!!!! can anyone hear me!!!!!! am i making any sense bc i dont think i am!!!!!!

[bestworstcase]

I think it'll be interesting when RWBYJ tells everyone about the ever after, specifically Oscar/Ozpin. I think that'll be a hell of a slap in the face to those two. Imo it's pretty clear that Oz doesn't like the Brothers (his lie for his curse literally puts them in the WORST light to anyone who hears it), but isn't exactly open about it nor does he think on it much. But hearing that the 'gods' are essentially just people who got kicked out of their home would make him. Well I hesitate to say that he'd flip the fuck out, but I definitely think he wouldn't be happy at ALL. I'm sure he'd be furious while simultaneously having an existential crisis.

Frankly, Oz is just. An interesting character when it comes to his thoughts on the Brothers. He went from more or less listening to Light without question (but immediately started questioning when Salem talked to him- "Unsure of where his loyalties still lay-" he trusts Salems words but is confused about his stance on Light, perhaps afraid of questioning him), to putting them in a bad light repeatedly and more or less giving up on his task (there's far far easier ways to unite the world i.e. war- why would he deliberately make it hard on himself? He's far from stupid. He still foes his best to foster peace because why wouldn't he?). And, now, he's actively fighting his curse, and is doing so the second he got an ounce of hope.

I think why he hasn't really thought of fighting the Gods is bc a) he's still scared of them (and it makes sense, I'd be scared too) and b) he never knew that they, well, were just people. I think he'd need some convincing, but I really think he'd be happy to try his hand at giving Light a piece of his mind lol. Something tells me Oz has millennia of bottled up anger- something will eventually be the straw that broke the camels back, as even the most resilient of people can break.

Though I think the biggest issue would be the idea of teaming up with Salem. He's bitter and terrified of her, and although we don't know exactly what's happened between them since their first fight (beyond Oz spending several lives as an alcoholic, then wandering Remnant being reminded of Salem (not necessarily bc he thought every Grimm attack was her, Grimm just remind him of her)), it's entirely possible Salem has also done... something to hurt him. No one's that bitter or terrified of someone for absolutely no reason, but whatever the reason is, that'll definitely be an obstacle between him being allied with her against the Gods. Plus she also, yknow, tortured him and allowed Hazel to torture him (which Oscar took most of it, but they're in the same body).

I think that interaction would be... interesting. Especially since I really don't think Oz even is 'Ozma' anymore. Ozma is the foundations yes, but the merge changes you fundamentally. He has changed his name every lifetime (if Oz doesn't accidentally answer to the name Oscar I'll eat my left shoe), but how much of him really is Ozma anymore? Ship of theseus and all that. If he, by all accounts, isn't 'Ozma' anymore and Salem isn't aware of this, I think it'd be an interesting revelation for her. There's similarities between Oz and how he used to be, but I feel like 'Ozma' is functionally a deadname for him (Oz trans/DID allegory? /j). Especially since I think Ozma is just- not who he is anymore. He's tried living up to the name, but he can't and he knows it (the words his illusion in v9 says speaks a lot to his mental state and his opinion of himself).

God speaking of his illusion on v9, I think it's incredibly clear that what each illusion says pertains to that character in some way. And it says so so much about Ozpin and how he sees himself. It's ironic how the God of Light, associated with creation, made him, yet he thinks that all he does is destroy. He's scarily good at splitting people apart just accidentally (i.e. v6, Summer basically throwing him under the bus thus STRQ broke apart and blamed him, etc) too. Yet Salem, immortal via Lights curse, made herself through Grimm and is very good at rallying people. Dunno, fun thought there (it's why swap aus are so damn tasty with these two).

Sorry for the long ask, I just wanted to ramble in your inbox for a bit. I have many thoughts about Oz.

not. to be snarky but

To live free or die, it’s all the same The enemy was right, there’s no reclaiming In waves of shame We’re desperate to make amends But through a simple soul we lie complacent  Love brings us dreams But grief makes the heart burst at the seams  As light fills my eyes I’ll picture me beside her And pray that I’ll inspire  I promise I’ll be here until the end I promise I’ll be here until… Our story has been told Til our bodies break down every door Til we find what we’ve been looking for

terrified she’ll never forgive him and terrified of what will happen if she confronts the gods again, yes. but terrified of her?

the enemy was right. we’re desperate to make amends. grief makes the heart burst at the seams. i’ll picture me beside her. ozma isn’t terrified of salem; he is, explicitly, ashamed of himself and desperate to make amends and longing for her.

listen. you don’t have to go salem did dot dot dot something to hurt him. we KNOW exactly what she did; rejected the mandate, fought him, burned him alive. they blew up their home and killed their own kids. is this insufficiently traumatizing to explain him.

similarly i do not have to go ozma did dot dot dot something to salem: we know exactly what he did. we know why she’s furious and bitter and still hurting. it is not ambiguous.

he’s spent the intervening centuries hiding inside a narrative where salem is the Great Evil he must defeat because the guilt he feels for deceiving and manipulating her and the grief for everything he sacrificed is so unbearable that he can’t touch it except through layers and layers of distortion. but it’s bleeding through the cracks everywhere. the infinite man tried to be a hero and is a fool who may not be worthy of forgiveness, ozpin suggests. look far enough ahead from the ending of the girl in the tower, and you’ll find the hero who saved her turned out to be a villain.

he hates salem. (he deserves her hatred.) this is the wrenching internal war he fights with himself day after day and life after life; the only way he can live with himself enough to function is by hating her, but the hatred is a fiction, a lie, to protect him from his fear. the truth is that he neither hates her nor deserves her hatred.

i am being intentional about calling him ozma, by the way. i am also intentional about when i call him ozpin or oz. i do not think ozma is a deadname. i don’t think ozma is an ideal he is trying and failing to live up to. he doesn’t identify himself as ozpin; he says “the professor ozpin you all met was not my first form.” he dons these other identities as a mask—i am the combination of countless men who have spent their lives trying to protect the people of remnant—because he hates himself. ozma is who he’s running away from because he doesn’t think ozma has ever been enough.

that is why. salem distinguishes between ozpin and ozma the way that she does. and why she is able to differentiate between oscar and ozma even when oscar is mimicking ozpin, because ozpin is the latest in a long series of masks that ozma wears.

(ozpin is tippetarius enforcing his own exile, and thus he became the wizard. ozma is the true self imprisoned by the curse. he’s… named ozma for a reason.)

”what if you could be anyone?” <- the blacksmith does not ask ruby this question because ruby needs to stop being herself in order to be happy. she offers ruby a metaphorical representation of ozma’s curse—what if you could be anyone, slip into a like-minded soul and become that person—in order to guide ruby to the realization that only her true self is the right fit. this is what i like to call blunt force foreshadowing.

ozma is trying to be a thousand different heroes and salem has only ever wanted ozma. ozma then is not the same person as ozma now, but ozma is ozma is ozma. the ship of theseus is the ship of theseus, then as now. on those who enter the same rivers, ever different waters flow. read heraclitus.

the thing is. yeah. he’s going to snap like a brittle twig when he learns the truth about the gods… because he already knows salem is right, deep down. the enemy is right. it bleeds through even into the lost fable, which is narrated in his voice. jinn’s telling—his telling—obfuscates and twists away from salem’s interiority, her feelings, her motives except for the moment of her realization about the brothers: perhaps the gods were not as powerful as they seemed; she had lied to them, turned them against each other; they were fallible.

the enemy is right. he knows she’s right.

hearing what the kids learned in the ever after is going to shatter the cognitive dissonance preventing him from acting on that knowledge. it’s going to surface ‘until the end’ but now joined to the hope he has—since the end of v8—that he can make amends for his cowardice and lies.

ozma apologizing to the kids and asking for a second chance to earn their trust was, uh, a practice run for ozma apologizing to salem and asking for a second chance. the fallout of the lost fable (“there was so much you hadn’t told us! how could you think that was okay!” and “i gave my life to you because you gave me a place in this world; i thought i was finally doing some good!”) is a reflection of salem’s distress. the narrative is on her side. because. he lied to manipulate her and grievously betrayed her trust. in exactly the same way he did to the kids.

[add-v-bae]

Hi. I'm sure that nobody expected me to come back, and I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to. I'm just so disgusted with recent events that I want to post my thoughts in a location where anybody will understand what I'm talking about, as nobody in my day to day life even really tolerates kpop

As everybody knows, a lot has happened recently. And yeah, I've got a lot of emotions. I'm devastated to find out how much of a disgusting human Taeil is, and just in general, the wave of disgusting misogyny that's been going on in South Korea is absolutely horrifying.

However, I'm here to talk about my disgust in the state of kpop fans and the abysmal behavior some show. Mind you, i know very well that its very much not everyone. I've spent enough time in the community to know that there are plenty of people who are capable of being normal about their relationship with the idols, even while being a stan who cares about nothing but them. I have a history of parasocial relationships and I firmly believe that you can absolutely obsess over celebrities without being a psychopath. That being said, it's also a very fine line and I've seen some absolutely disgusting shit here.

None of these men belong to you. None of these men owe you a fucking thing. They are there to make you music, give you dances that you can enjoy, and serve you looks, depending on your style per era. They don't owe you abstinence and this is frankly something I've hated even while I was frequenting this site. I know full well that i personally have gotten a little too deep into shipping and crushing on idols. Do you know what happened during the two time an idol that i obsessed over/shipped with people referred to being in a relationship while being an idol? I felt a pang of disappointment and then I decided that as long as they're happy, I'm happy. Do you know what happened to them? One of them could only talk about it after leaving the industry, and the other lost their contract at their company. There's absolutely zero reason why an idol can't live their life alongside being an idol. They're not dolls, they're human beings with human lives.

Now, I left the community years ago. I still listen to the songs I used to listen to, but that's about the extent of where my kpop Fandom journey is anymore. I've also technically started rewriting some of the story ideas I had while excluding the kpop aspects, but that's an entirely different thing.

However, I do still like the occasional kpop post on Twitter, and today, my page was full of learning of a man named Seunghan from a band Riize. I've never heard of him, nor have I heard of this band prior to this controversy. However, the shit that's going on with this is unreal. You're telling me that this 21 year old got bullied into going on hiatus because he smoked a cigarette and dated someone? And then as soon as he came back, people sent funeral wreaths to SM over it? That's abhorrent. The girlfriend thing I've already touched on, he doesn't owe you anything, let alone abstinence from a time before he was famous. The cigarette, sure that's not good. Death threats are so much worse?? Most people have done something bad at some point in their life that doesn't at all reflect who they are now, and frankly, even if he still smokes, what the fuck are you helping with this behavior? Show concern, don't act like he's your fucking doll who's not acting how you want.

I'll be honest, I don't think the people that have or currently follow me are the kinds of people to do this thing. However, if somehow one of the people who engaged in this see this (especially those girls dancing in front of the wreaths uggggh), in complete, 100% seriousness, get some fucking help. You're entering into a parasocial state that is far beyond the acceptable state and has passed into psychotic behavior, and you need to find how to work that out because you've already emotionally hurt people and you're well on your way to physically hurting people, if you haven't already.

And if you haven't been one of the people who have been doing this but you don't see a problem with it, you get some help too. You might feel that you're not doing anything to anybody but as far as I'm concerned, you're just as part of the fucking problem. You might not have engaged in this action, but you very well could to other idols in the future, or God forbid people in your life. This kind of obsession can very easily translate over to behaviors and entitlement to partners, friends, family, none of which are people you're entitled to either. I couldn't fathom looking at this and feeling like this is at all okay.

I can't say if I'm gonna uninstall Tumblr and go back to staying my nose out of things or if I'm going to pop in once and a while as a casual, especially since I'm sure my page has been dead long enough that nobody cares if I come back but I got so heated over this that I needed to put all my thoughts out there, even if nobody sees it

[cottoncandyswirl828]

Zuma Appreciation Week: Day 1 - Favorite Catchphrase

Out of his two main catchphrases, I’d say “Ready, Set, Get Wet” is my favorite. I feel like it highlights his playful personality better than the frankly kinda generic “Let’s Dive In” not that I dislike it, but you gotta admit the latter was low-hanging fruit, while the former is more creative. Anyway, for our first day of Zuma week, let’s explore how that fun little turn of phrase might’ve come to be.

“Come on, dudes! Race you to the beach!”

Zuma laughed as he ran ahead of the other pups, with Skye and Marshall close behind. The rest of the team maintained their slow walking pace but watched in amusement.

“You can’t escape me, Zuma!” Skye exclaimed.

“You kidding? With your short legs, the only thing you can outrun is a turtle!” Zuma teased playfully. Skye responded by jumping onto Zuma’s back, the sudden added weight causing him to collapse into the sand.

Skye smirked, “Who’s the short one now?”

“Look out!”

Marshall slid across the sand as he tried to stop, but his momentum kept him going, and he crashed into the other two pups.

“Oops, sorry, guys.” Marshall apologized with a giggle.

The pups picked themselves up and shook off the sand.

“Who’s up for a rematch?” Zuma asked, “Last one to the water is a stale pup treat?”

“You’re on!” Skye giggled, “On three. One… Two…”

“Three!” Zuma finished, kicking up sand as he rushed ahead.

“Hey! That’s cheating! No fair!” Skye shouted, running after him to try and catch up.

“Don’t go too far, you two!” Ryder called as he began setting up their beach supplies with Rocky.

Skye had managed to catch up with Zuma, and the two were now neck and neck as they raced to the surf.

“I’ll beat you this time!”

“I don’t think so! The beach is my turf!”

The two crashed into the waves with a big splash, shrieking with laughter at the shock of the cool ocean water.

“I win!” The two exclaimed, before glaring at each other. “No, I win!”

“I’m pretty sure you tied.” Chase commented.

“No way! We need a tie-breaker.” Zuma demanded, “Something that won’t end in a tie.”

“That means another race is out. So what should we do instead?”

Zuma thought for a moment, putting a paw to his chin before his eyes fell on the beach bag Ryder had brought.

“I’ve got the perfect idea. Hey, Ryder!”

Zuma ran up to where Ryder was lounging on a beach chair.

“You brought the water guns, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Skye and I want to play with them.”

“Sure, that’s what we brought them for.”

Rocky looked up from the book he was reading, “As long as you promise to play far away from me. I don’t want to get hit with a stray shot.”

Zuma laughed as he took two of the water guns, “Don’t worry, we’ll be sure you’re not in the splash zone.”

Once Zuma filled the water guns, he led Skye to an empty part of the beach far enough away to avoid accidentally squirting anyone.

“Oh, this is gonna be fun.” Skye giggled, picking up one of the water guns as Zuma drew a circle in the sand.

“First one to get five clear hits wins. No going beyond the circle, and if either of us runs out of water, the game is paused for refills. Those rules sound good?”

“That’s fine by me. Prepare to get owned, Zuma.”

“In your dreams. Water is my element, remember? You’re fighting fire with fire.”

The two pups continued to glare at each other as they took their places at opposite sides of the circle, brandishing the water guns smugly.

Zuma gave a competitive smirk, “Ready…”

Skye nodded, aiming the water gun directly at him, “Set…”

The two adjusted their stances, ready to pounce, eyes fixed on each other.

“… GET WET!” Zuma shouted abruptly, and the two immediately leapt into action.

Water was flying almost instantly, the two pups racing and rolling through the sand to try and dodge the other’s attacks while trying to get a hit.

Skye proved to be a difficult target. Her small size and fast movements made it hard for Zuma to hit her.

That’s not to say it was an easy win for Skye. Zuma’s sharp reflexes helped him dodge Skye’s attacks and his better stamina made up for his slower pace.

It wasn’t long before the two were neck and neck again, with four points each. After refilling the water guns, the two prepared for their final battle.

“Sudden death. Prepare to eat water, Skye.”

“You don’t eat water, Zuma, you drink it. I figured, as the resident water expert, you’d know that.”

“Oh, you did not go there, dude. Now you’re really gonna get it.”

“We’ll see. Enough talk; I’m ready to win this.”

They took their places and prepared for battle.

“Ready… Set… GET WET!” Zuma charged at Skye, squirting his water gun at full force. Skye managed to roll to the side before getting hit, but Zuma anticipated the move and was able to pin Skye to the ground.

“Any last words?” He asked, aiming the water gun directly at her head,

“Yeah, actually. I had fun doing this. Competing with you is always a treat, but you gotta admit…”

Skye reached for her water gun and squirted Zuma right in the face.

“You can be a bit too cocky for your own good.”

Zuma burst out laughing as he shook the water from his face, “Gotta hand it to you, Skye, that was pretty clever. Good game, well done.”

“Thanks, you were pretty good yourself. Thanks for not going easy on me.”

“Of course, where’s the fun in letting you win?”  

“Exactly. You know, that ‘ready, set, get wet’ you came up with was pretty clever too. It suits you.”

Zuma thought about it for a moment, “Yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe that can be, like, your catchphrase or something. Like how Chase is always saying ‘Chase is on the case’ and Rocky always says ‘don’t use it, reuse it’. That can be what you say.”

“You have a good point there. Maybe you and Marshall can come up with your own catchphrases too; that way, we can all have catchphrases.”

“Yeah, that’d be fun. Maybe mine can be like ‘Skye’s born for the sky’ or ‘I’m Skye-high flying’ what do you think?”

“Eh, needs some work.”

[youngparadisedonut]

(Sigh). So, this is a venting posting, I guess.

Thing is, I'm giving up on Lone Star.

Eh, I know that making a post about it makes me look like self-important or something, but sometimes screaming at the void can make things better – or at least writing about it can make the conflicted feelings make sense.

I started to watch Lone Star because of TK – he was flawed, but also vulnerable, empathetic and even If he was in pain he was never purposely mean to anyone and was so kind, and I admire him for that.

Then I met Grace, Judd, Marjan and Paul and I liked then too (even If in a lesser degree).

I loved to watch their journey. But then season 4 happened and took all my enjoyment. I hated it. The whole Carlos Being Married To Iris Plot was a bitter pill to swallow. It wasn't the fact that he was married to her. Frankly, it was coherent and it did make sense. It was the how it happened that made me frustrated.

It was Carlos making wife jokes at TK’s expense. It was how Iris treatment of TK was played for laughs. It was how it was clear that TK had to earn this stranger approval. It was how his comas and injuries were used against him. It was how his pain was overlooked and never taken seriously; TK scars were open and the script made it clear that the audience were supposed to find it funny. It was how Carlos put all the decisions in Iris hands and prioritized her. It was how TK was painted the wrong one just because he went to talk to her, and then had to save Carlos to redeem himself. It was how Carlos blamed TK. It was how Carlos never apologized. It was how TK never truly got closure from this storyline – neither the audience, If I can have my two cents.

It made me truly dislike Carlos character ever since – and, more importantly, made me lose my trust in the writers.

It left me in this weird place where part of me was rooting for TK and Carlos because I wanted to see them happy, and another part (the rational, logical one) was hoping for TK to break up with Carlos for good and move on because for me what Carlos did damaged their relationship beyond repair.

(But I still kept watching because of TK, Grace, Judd, Marjan and Paul)

(And now even Grace is gone)

To make things worse we had Tim Minear justifying Carlos not telling because they were only recently engaged and TK was the one who proposed. As if they needed to tie the knot for TK to deserve Carlos being honest with him. As if it wasn't Carlos responsibility to be honest with TK the moment they got serious and decided to live together. And that tells me everything I need to know about their way of thinking. That there weren't any apologies because for them Carlos did nothing wrong.

That to say, the events of season 4 left me with such a bad image of Carlos and the writers that I only expected the worse. Why, frankly, should I still trust them? That’s why the moment they got married after Gabriel’s death I feared for Carlos cheating on TK. So with the news of Carlos partner today I truly thought we would got a cheating arc. Do I still think we will get a cheating arc? Nope. As pointed out, we only have 12 episodes and with the Gabriel’s Murder Plotline and the Jonah Plotline I know we won’t have time for that. And, yeah, as also pointed out they would never make a spin-off with Carlos and the partner he cheated on TK with.

But, as I said, I don’t trust the writers, and for a moment I feared they wouldn't care about logic as long as they got the drama.

I still already know that I will absolutely hate Carlos new partner, his relationship with Carlos and everything related to this particular storyline.

Because even If I now know we wont get a cheating storyline, I still think we will have a Jealous/Insecure TK storyline related to Carlos and his partner. Which, nope. The idea of TK jealous and insecure, like a reversal role with Carlos in the Cooper episode, annoys me just as much as a cheating storyline. Even If TK isn’t jealous and insecure, just bothered because it seems like Carlos trusts his partner more than him, that’s not a journey that I will like to watch.

(I really hope the spin-off won't happen)

(And that they don’t left things unresolved only because of this spin-off)

So that’s why I finally gave up on Lone Star – I realized that I truly don't trust the writers anymore, especially with TK.

Basically this blog was just my five stages of grief.