#i would make an excellent evil dictator

[ijusthavesomanyblorbos]

So many questions on how shattered glass sentinel prime would be. On one hand, some media portray him as a good guy, but dead. But in the other hand, I like the interpretations where he’s a jerk or fully evil. I just really like arty hobbitses interpretation of sentinel as this narcissist who mentored Optimus and saw him as a perfect son.

Would he even be alive in your interpretation?

Does he have a legacy of being a patriotic savior who’s actually a slaver/mass killer?

Okay so here's what I'm thinking.

The structure of prewar Cybertron would be kinda similar to the American government, as in they have the Senate and the Prime.

The Prime is SUPPOSED to be chosen by the matrix, but in reality, the Senate has been choosing Primes for as long as they've been in power.

Cause, the Prime is about the only person who can call them out on their BS, and they don't want that.

So, by controlling the Prime, not only do they give themselves complete executive power, but they also gain the social backing of what is basically divine right. So, if you want to be Prime, you either need to be very cowardly, or very stupid. Or both

Sentinel Prime, however, is neither. He's plenty cunning, and he's not afraid of doing whatever it takes to achieve his goals. As a highborn noble, he's been groomed since birth to become Prime. He knows exactly what the Senate wants to see, and he has no problem showing it to them.

Beneath the Primely surface however, he isn't too keen on the figurehead nature of his position, so he starts to sow the seeds of dissent against the Senate. Perhaps by funding a certain anti-functionalist rebel group? (Not to say that he plans on supporting them long term. They're far too egalitarian for his tastes. But, once the Senate has been... eliminated, what better way to assure the populous of his supreme power than annihilating a dangerous terrorist organization? It's a win two fold!) All anonymously, of course. Like I said, he's smart. He covers his tracks well.

But not well enough.

And when the Senate catches wind of his plan to usurp them, well.

He's been Prime for quite long enough.

So they kill him. Plain and simple. And wouldn't you know it, there just so happens to be an easily manipulated, wided eyed traditionalist sat on the right hand side of the Deception's leader. Destabilizing rebel forces, as well as eliminating traitors? (More on that plot here)

....It's a win two fold.

I don't think Sentinel would ever have a chance to one on one interact with Optimus, since he goes from middle class enforcer to Decepticon leader pretty fast. But, Optimus is definitely enamored with him. Major hero worship. It's one of the main points of contension between him and Megatron, who can see the Primacy for the absolutist autocracy that it is. I love love love that evil dad headcanon of him, but I just don't think I could fit it in with the circumstances of the AU already.

#guess who has two thumbs and no clue about sentinel lore whatsoever #i have to read his wiki before writing this and i still know jack #so this is more of a basic character with sentinels name #than an actual sg! version of him #and for that i am sorry :( #it's hard to write reversals of lore when u dont know lore lol #BUT! #i think you might be able to tie in the bomb arc from mtmte #OH OH OH #and the senate would DEF pin his death on the decepticons #ITS A WIN THREE FOLD #i would make an excellent evil dictator #my evil plots are IMMACULATE #>:) #hbrambles #hbdrabbles #hbanswers #transformers #maccadam #maccadams #shattered glass tf #sg! sentinel prime #hbsg

[deepspacedukat]

Accomplice

Okay, hear me out. I've been listening to the audiobook version of "Butcher & Blackbird" by Brynne Weaver (a romcom about 2 serial killers), and this idea just popped into my head. This is definitely a watered down version of that premise, and so NOT A ROMCOM, but given that my writer's block has been pretty severe lately, I'll take a win where I can. So...enjoy? I guess? This is dark, so be warned.

Cross-posted to AO3 here.

~*~

Chu'lak (ST:DS9) x Vulcan!Reader

[A/N: This is smut, so 18+ ONLY, MINORS DNI!!!]

Warnings: Vulcan/Vulcan sex, Vulcan/Vulcan romance, serial killers, mentions of blood, spoilers for DS9 S7E13 "Field of Fire," mentions of murder, evil being mentally justified as logical, THIS IS DARK.

~*~

Even as he removed the targeting display Chu'lak knew that she understood. They were the only Vulcan survivors. They were the only ones who could carry out this task.

The elimination of emotion by any means necessary.

They would purge the entire station if they had to. They would make the galaxy understand.

She knelt on the meditation mat in their shared quarters and watched as he stowed the display and the TR-116 rifle in their proper places. Her patience was finely-honed after years of dealing with those disgusting, emotional beings.

The ones whose populations they would cull together.

Rising obediently to her feet as he'd ordered her to do after each kill, she slipped the traditional robes from her shoulders, allowing them to pool at her feet as she bared herself for his appraisal.

Even this was logical. They were slaking a thirst - a natural impulse that occurred after each time they snuffed a minuscule fraction of emotion from the universe. The rush of adrenaline was an ancient thing, a holdover from the savage days before Surak brought their people logic. Solving the problem as quickly as it popped up was something she excelled at.

Chu'lak had no doubt that he looked as savage as their ancestors had back in the dark days before logic lifted them from the blood-soaked sands of their planet. He stalked toward her slowly, steadily, as his blood rushed in his veins, hot and filled with desires that required purging.

His large, callused fingers wrapped around her throat as he backed her up against a wall. Her pulse's rhythm sped up beneath his fingertips, and briefly, Chu'lak wondered how easy it would be to crush the life from her...wondered if he could handle seeing the life drain from her eyes as it had been extinguished from the rest of their crew at the Battle of Ricktor Prime.

But he would never do that to her. She was necessary, not only for his plan, but for...himself. For his logic. There was no emotion involved. There would never be - could never be - but he would allow himself the necessity of a companion.

Even as her nimble digits unfastened his uniform trousers and he stepped between her legs with his lok bouncing hard and free between them, Chu'lak dismissed this as nothing more than what logic dictated. The warmth between her legs...the slick dripping slowly down her inner thighs was no more than her body's entirely logical preparation to serve his needs after such exertion.

As he hilted himself in her welcoming depths, he dismissed the strangled sound that escaped him as a completely logical reaction to the physical sensation. He could not tear his lust from his body without fucking her. He could not fuck her without feeling her. He could not feel her without reacting...

And he could not acknowledge the wet sounds accompanying each rough thrust without closing his eyes and seeing the splatter of deep, wine-red blood expelled from his latest victim's body before they collapsed in a lifeless heap on the floor.

A low, dangerous snarl spilled from his lips as he pounded relentlessly into his partner, and she tilted her head to the side just as she knew he preferred. Baring the scar that he'd left on her soft skin with his sharp teeth, she made herself vulnerable to him again - the prey submitting to the predator, admitting freely that her life was his.

The smirk crossed Chu'lak's lips before he could even begin to think of stopping it. He was too far gone. He was lost in his lust and his primal instincts. That's what these were - instincts, not emotions. The taste of her blood on his tongue as he bit down was as sweet and metallic as it always was.

She yelped so beautifully below him - beauty was aesthetic, not emotional - that he couldn't help but shift his grip to her hips. He lifted her easily off the ground, pressing her back harder against the wall as her arms and legs wrapped securely around him.

Her fingernails, while practical and blunt, still bit into his back hard enough to pierce the skin and draw some of his own green life from beneath his skin. Their exchange of savagery made all of this worth it. The planning, the meticulous care that went into the selection of a victim, and the execution of each plan...it was extra exertion outside of their duties, but they did it together. They split the load.

Then she took his load.

There was never any protest. She never questioned his needs. She never would, because she understood.

He remembered the way it started, and mentally he praised her logical reaction to seeing the bulge in his uniform for the first time. The Lieutenant had melded with her afterward, and her reasoning became clear:

He'd proven himself strong, meticulous, clever, resourceful...and his endowment had allayed any sort of doubt she may have had about his worthiness as a sexual partner.

Even as his climax overcame him and he filled her with his seed, she gasped his name and thanked him for allowing her to be of use.

So dutiful. So accepting. She didn't protest when, for the first time, he lifted her from the wall and carried her to his bed without pulling out. He required more than one release tonight.

She would give it to him. She would give him as much as he desired.

Because it was logical.

Because she understood. She was the only one who could.

Next time, he'd give her the rifle...place the targeting display on her head while he donned the secondary one. Next time, he'd wrap his arms around her and feel her blood begin to thrum as she experienced the rush that now consumed him so fully.

Next time, he'd bare his neck for her and allow her to bite him...to taste his blood for the first time.

Because it was logical.

~*~

Taglist:

@akamitrani @android-boyfriends @attention-bajoranworkers @bigblissandlove1 @darkmattervibes @emilie786 @horta-in-charge @live-logs-and-proper @slutty-slutty-vulcans @starrynightgardens @toebeans-mcgee

#deepspacedukat fic #Chu'lak x Vulcan!Reader

[fiendishfyre]

All your thoughts on Walburga Black please

Thank for this ask, I apologize for the incoherent mess Imma bout to vomit out.

First and foremost, I do not think nor agree with her (and in part Orion) using harmful spells on Sirius and Regulus. Using the cruciatus curse on her own kids???? Sorry we already have villains like Voldy and Umbridge. I hate Walburga being made into some pure evil cartoon level villain to her sons. I think she loved them. I can't say it was healthy but the Black family is complicated, no *family* is complicated. And I am not saying she wasn't abusive in a way, but I lean more it was generational trauma she imposed (orion would have as well), along with emotional/mental abuse. They leave their own marks and can be enough to want to leave a family. I mean look at well intention, for all accounts 'good' parents but are super controlling, people have ended up leaving that family as well (I say this as I've seen people share their personal lives and this be one reason why. Which is valid too.) Like praising the child that was behaving well while also throwing insult to other child, 'why can't you be like X'. But enough about her and how she'd have raised the kids. I love her having aspirations but it was cut short, forced to marry Orion. Keeping blood pure and all that jazz. Though I do also like her wanting Orion as well but I tend to go for the former. She was a potions master or at least wanted to be, it was one of her fav subject. She taught the boys early on how to make potions. She also played with Sirius specifically with the piano. Sirius was her fav child, apple of her eyes. She was so proud of him, even when he rebelled and ran off, part of her was proud of how strong her son was. Though she'd not speak it aloud. (Maybe in time she would have but life didn't allow it.) Her angry dictates her at times, she is more expressive in emotions than Orion. Which annoys her, she wants to see his emotions. Not saying she can't completely hold her emotions back, but just that she is more prone to outward emotions. Orion will look at something with disgust while she'll do the same and say it aloud too. She's a goth queen and Bella so took inspo from her fashion sense. Hahahahhaa. Wally was also an excellent duelist. Ruthless. Her relationship with her brothers is..hm, she is envious of Alphard, getting to be born a man and having different expectations. She was firstborn of her line, told she *must* wed well then must help carry the Black family line. Also Alphard had a more carefree (my hcs okay) personality while she thought too much and couldn't be like him. Cygnus was like an annoying little brother she ignored until he was older and less annoying. But she and Al were highkey mean to him. Taking advantage of their older siblings status. RIP Cygnus.

She totally would have messed with/bullied Tom Riddle, hahahaha. "Knights of Walpurgis? Fucking nerd." /joking, maybe.

She's the most gorgeous woman and knows it. Is a bit of a clean freak which she loosens up for when it comes to potions though she's still; careful not to make a big mess.

Okay, yeah, these are *my* thoughts only, please don't get offended or argue. c':

#walburga black #the most noble and ancient house of black #the black family #hp hcs #hp hc #cw: child abuse #fyre answers #fyreanswers

[laf-outloud]

https://www.tumblr.com/laf-outloud/744966830492434432/its-funny-that-its-always-hellersaascockles

To be fair, some of those who are complaining about Mark P going to the con are con-goers, and some fairly frequent. But, that still doesn’t give them the right to try dictate who a con hires. Also, unless the guys is actually hurting people, him having different politics than them does not actually make him a criminal. There is too much entitlement to the notion that “if you don’t believe exactly what I’d do, you’re mean, bad, evil.” If you don’t want to see a specific actor at a con, for whatever reason, you have 2 simple options, don’t go to that con, or don’t go to any of that actors panels/activities. It’s really that simple.

I also think people are free to make their complaints, but trying to rally people to pile on is just .. borderline creepy to me. It’s very much the idea that it’s okay to have mob mentality and railroad people as long as they are the “right” people to hate. That’s never been a bad thing historically, right?

Anyway, any actor who brings in good money, will be welcomed back, barring legal action or wide-spread negative press (not write-ups on Screen Rant or, like, Fan Girl’s Weekly).

I don’t even really like Mark P, but I’m more indifferent to him than anything else. But I have a feeling his “bullying” was probably provoked by the brave kind of fan girls who feel justified in hating on people they don’t agree with, and then running and crying when they get slapped for it (metaphorically). It was easy to just not go to his panels. I strongly dislike misha, but I haven’t written to CE asking them to can him.

Also, if anyone should be banned from anything it’s Emmie. She went to like every Jake and Chill, so she thinks she’s his friend or something. And she kept adding her opinions and trying to monopolize Jake’s attention in the event I went to. I didn’t actually pay to hear a childish fan girl talk, thanks.

You make some excellent points, anon! And yes, people do have the right to contact Creation and let them know about their personal wants for cons, but they also have to be careful because if they make claims that get an actor dismissed from cons, and those claims turn out to be false, then the actor may have a legal case for slander, especially if it hurts their reputation/income.

And to add, ugh... I can't imagine being at an event where someone takes over like that and basically ruins it for everyone else, including the actor, who I'm sure would like to pay attention to the other attendees. (I also recall she's the same one who went crying to Jim and the other cast when she was bullied out of Jai's group. That kind of attention-seeking is toxic and unhealthy for all involved.)

#ask box #toxic fans #creation conventions #entitled fans #the actors are not your friends #especially when you're paying to see them

[beachesgetpeaches]

All i want to say is thank you for what youre posting about this whole situation with matty and taylor. I personally think your responses are well thought out. Sure matty makes some really really bad choices in what he says or does and even acts etc. But that doesnt make him this evil person, the narrative people are trying to push.

I mean after all taylor did choose to be with him whether thats a relationship or friendship or whatever it may be. And if shes happy why start petitions to remove him from tour when clearly she wants him there. Yes i get he is problematic but thats not for fans to dictate who she spends her time with. There is no reason ANYONE should receive death threats, especially family members that have done nothing. We get so caught up and forget that celebrities are still people they still have feelings and they do take things to heart, so people saying they hope he OD's or relapses? That's is pretty messed up in itself.

The amount of hate he is getting is ridiculous, ive seen different articles and comments and whatnot contradicting each other on what and why things were said. But immediately we all jump to cancel someone, i agree if it was done in malice intent why would they still be a band? That is an excellent point. Honestly everyone is up in arms because shes dating someone who yes, does tend to be problematic. Should there be someone from their team (the 1975) to comment on the situation? Maybe, but that also could make things also worst. Noone knows for a fact what went on. Yes theres proof of him saying this but also no factual proof of him actually doing so, if that makes sense. Yes, joking or not, should not had been daid period.

Another point is if you do watch interviews, hes a different. He is into satire and you can tell. Not trying to make excuses for what hes said. Joking or not some of the things he has said he probably shouldn't have looking back, but you cant go back in time and change it so whats the point of dwelling on it. He also said he doesnt know himself and hes not going to form this idea of him because then every question or statement becomes a nightmare in interactions.

Long rant short, just thank you for standing up and speaking out. Yes these sites should be taken down and quiet honestly if people would focus their rage there instead of in threats there could be a difference. The fact they made these site so accessible and posting them. Thats the issue. This whole situation was bad from the jump but again desth threats and bashing on peoples careers, cancelling them... its not it.

Sorry!! Took a bit to answer this one bcs it was long 😅

Thank you, I've been thinking this through for the past few weeks (or so it seems to me), so I've had the time to construct my thought and opinions. And I was going to try to stay out of it because I thought/felt that getting into any discussions will just fuel the topic further while not getting through to people who have already condemn everything Matty does and Taylor alongside him.

But the level of horrible behaviour has reached its peak for me when I heard about death threats being sent, people saying they hope Matty ODs (ffs that one was very vile to read about), the open letter to Taylor was also a step too far for me (esp signing it as if it is the thoughts of the entire fandom), and then initiatives that people who go to specific shows turn around and not look at Taylor while she sings (I've heard second-hand about this BUT this would fuck with the entire show not for Taylor but for EVERYONE who is at that show)... basically, I just felt like if I don't say what I think it seemed as if I was agreeing with all of it.

I think it all comes down to some form of critical thinking, and also thinking for yourself. I have seen a lot of people parrot half-truths, repeat information which has not been true (from Matty liking nazi jokes - which I haven't seen evidence for, to some ww2 memorabilia comment which is false, and people also trying to spread shit like he is a pedophile or smth vile like that)... And it leaves this weird feeling in my brain, this whole outrage and cancel culture. Lowkey feels like tame public executions 😂 and I say this with utmost sensitivity.

But to me the world has come down to people actually actively waiting for someone to fuck up so they can do some symbolic online lynch and cancel them. Hashtags instead of pitchforks, cancellation instead as metaphorical death of a celebrity.

This situation with Matty (and I will focus more on him because Taylor really is the catalyst but she is very secondary to the discourse; or she should be)... but the thing with Matty proves that you can do a lot of positive shit, and you can say a lot of supportive things, and you can show through both your art and actions that you are a decent human being (flawed but decent) ... and none of it will matter if you do something that "the people/public" disagree with.

It ends up formulated as you being fake/performative because you are not constantly adhering to this morally perfect picture expected of you. Matty is clearly not perfect, he has clearly messed up on multiple occasions BUT he has also talked about important issues from what I've seen.

Sidenote: I have watched that interview with Zack Lowe (I think?) and it is very insightful and gives a nice perspective on the way he thinks.

But none of this matters because people (specific groups right) have already decided to treat him as if he has done the worst things imaginable (I maintain that all he should really be accused of is ongoing insensitivity and not finking things frew; iykyk... and like if that's an issue we can just be like yo Matty that was not chill pls don't and that ahould be it).

None of it matters because when you try to talk to people about the other point of view you end ip blocked or given the same "proof" you've already seen (but it's like a different compilation or a new thread or another copy paste article).

None of it matters because no one is ready to recognize that Matty is not anti-semitic, racist, islamophobic, or generally a bad human (all of this based on the gift that my hyperfixation is which has enabled me to consume so much info on the man and the band in the past weeks)... I maintain that for condemnation on those counts you need proof of continuous and purposeful behaviour with malicious intent.

And it would actually be much better to discuss his fuck-ups (which I believe he has accepted he will have, thats what I got from some interview I watched)... anyway, it would be much better to discuss his fuck ups in the context of those specific fuck-ups without pulling out heavy artillery of -isms, -phobics, etc.

....... ok I wrote a shitton lets wrap up

I went off on a tangent here, but I think we need to be realistic. As, I've said if Matty truly was all of the things he has been accused of the band would be no more, the fandom would not support them at all, there would be massive public condemnation, he would most definitely not be hanging out with A LOT of people who seem normal - unless I guess we are going to subscribe to the theory that eeeeveryone is a horrible fascist person (Taylor, Jack, the entire 1975, Gigi, Phoebe, Bo, Ryan, etc etc... I guess now Ice Spice is in the mix of people "collabing/hanging out" so lmao let's add her to that mix).

In general I think people use "heavy-words" too much in these online discourses which in retrospect dims their impact, yknow. Like is Matty insensitive edgy and has he said things that likely should not have been said/done? Yeah, like newsflash every person is flawed and literally for every person saying he is a nazi/racist/phobe/etc bet if I had as many recordings of them talking about various issues - I would be able to cherry-pick some shit out.

Anyway... people will stay mad, and people will stay believing that what they see is the ultimate and only "real" truth (while also knowing that they have only been privy to a small percentage of those peoples lives).

And when it comes to Taylor there has been this most fascinating thing with her - people just LOVE to watch her fall from grace. There is somehow nothing people enjoy more than having "proof" that Taylor is not this perfect good girl "she portrays herself to be", when all along it was the people who have put her on a damn pedestal and treated her as some perfect human being who can do no wrong.

#taylor swift #idk thats a lot of text #and again i do think peoples feelings are valid in regard to being hurt by what matty has said #BUT and there is one so sorry #being hurt that taylor is dating him like what? #she is not dating an alt-right nazi racist homophobic horrible human being okay? #she is dating a UK hipster lmao #and its not even mental gymnastics or “trying ti defend him” #it's just idk some form of logic? #matty healy #forgot to tag him sorry babes

[debunkingtherightwing]

Drowning in the Pool; Debunking the December 6th, 2023 Edition of the Tim Pool Daily Show.

From what I know about Tim Pool, he is a generally great source for completely ridiculous and inane takes. Despite seeing people talking about how dumb most of the crap he says is on YouTube, this is my first time listening to the entirety of one of his shows....yay?

I would say that Tim is a step above the Daily Wire on the path to alt-rightness. While he is still alt-lite, as most of the guys we cover on here are are, Tim does things that the Daily Wire wouldn't dare do if only to avoid complete and total embarrassment. He has interviewed Alex Jones, which the Knowledge Fight podcast did an excellent episode on, and regularly spews alt-right talking points...that is when he isn't blatantly contradicting himself.

We are talking about the Daily Show Podcast here as "TimCast IRL" is mostly just him interviewing people and I want to see how Pool stands on his own without anyone else.

Turns out, not so good. While I want to save my full rant for the conclusion, Tim was such a complete and utter dipstick not just from an opinions standpoint but from a journalistic one that he makes the Daily Wire look like the New York Freaking Times. So let's get into it shall we?

01:19: "Last night, Donald Trump spoke with Sean Hannity and there was this tremendous exchange which has the Democrats losing their minds. When asked if he would abuse his power to go after his enemies, Trump said 'Only on day one. After that I'm not a dictator.'"

Ah yes, the "Dictator for a day" remark. I didn't hear Michael Knowles talk about it on his Wednesday show but I'd imagine that Ben Shapiro probably did since he's the guy who usually spends his entire show talking about pure politics instead of culture war drivel like porn turning your kids gay.

Trump has been hinting at abusing his power by getting revenge on his perceived "enemies" for a while now. He recently referred to his political enemies as "vermin", a pretty clear attempt at dehumanizing them in the eyes of his followers. Tim seems to think all this is pretty cool, I'd imagine if Biden said that he'd devote fourteen episodes and three interviews on TimCast to talking about the "evil Democrats".

01:52: "But Hannity was asking Trump 'Will you go after your enemies to get revenge?' and Donald Trump kinda dodged the question but I don't think it's necessarily fair to say that he dodged in just that Trump does what Trump does, I don't view it the same way."

This is the joy of listening to Tim Pool, half the time you cannot understand what the hell he is talking about and to be fair I don't think he does either. So Trump dodged the question but wait, he didn't actually dodge the question because Trump is Trump. What the hell is going on here?!

02:12: "Now, it's important, because a few months ago Rachel Maddow made the claim that Trump literally wants to kill her."

Hey guys, ignore this flagrantly dictator-y claim from Trump, look at this thing Rachel Maddow said!

Rachel Maddow did say that Trump wants to put MSNBC on trial for treason and "execute us". However if you watch the clip, it's clear that she isn't exactly serious about this claim. She says it in a pretty sarcastic and offhand tone as opposed to the cowering and insane woman that Tim is trying to portray.

Also, it wouldn't be shocking if Trump tried to engage in some form of retribution against NBC, he's threatened it before.

04:30: "This is a fundamental problem in the culture war. The right will interpret and translate for Democrats, stop doing that, use their words. It really is annoying, Joe Biden will come out and go (Tim then says gibberish) and people will be like 'We know what he's saying, he was trying to imply this' and it's like, just use his words."

So, according to Tim, every single time a politician makes a verbal gaff we should just take what they say on face value instead of trying to comprehend what they are saying? How does that make any sense?!

And what's more, Tim literally just brushed off Trump's comments about being a dictator for a day as just "Oh that Trump, getting all excited!". What happened to just taking words at face value? Oh wait, I forgot, the rules don't apply to Tim's team. Silly me!

04:55: "But what we're seeing now is that Taylor Swift doesn't like Donald Trump, or at least that's the assumption. So when she said quote 'if she doesn't win at least I tried' they are like 'Aha she hates Trump' and I'm like that statement implies she's trying to help him win, at least."

A): Why are we talking about Taylor Swift?! This has zero to do with the topic at hand. Focus Tim, focus. You're supposedly a journalist so you should know not to mix up two stories.

B): She wasn't even talking about Donald Trump in that clip! It came from a documentary made in 2020 called Miss Americana and the "he" was the democrat running against Senator Marsha Blackburn, meaning she wanted a Democrat to win in the context of this clip and more importantly wasn't even talking about Trump.

So to recap, god-tier journalist Tim Pool just grabbed a clip off the internet without fact-checking it first and just rolled with it on his show.

06:31: "I gotta be honest, if Sean Hannity said 'Would you abuse power?' Trump can be like 'I'm not going to abuse power because I don't need to. I'm going to instruct my attorney general to immediately seek out criminal charges for the people who have committed crimes'. That's not an abuse of power, that is the appropriate use of power, and that is upholding the law. That's what I'd love to hear."

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?! I'm not even pissed, I find this hilarious in a depressing way. Not just because Tim is parroting long debunked election denial conspiracy theories and saying that Trump should throw people he thinks helped steal the election in jail, which is terrifying, but because this is awful from a pure journalistic standpoint.

We went from Tim introducing the topic, to Tim talking about the "culture war", to Tim talking about Taylor Swift, and now Tim is basically ranting about his stupid Donald Trump fanfiction. There is absolutely zero focus. At least with the Daily Wire the hosts can focus on one piece of hateful bile at a time. Oh yeah, and at least the Daily Wire pretends to do competent reporting and use rock solid sources. Tim's sources on the other hand are "I saw this video of Taylor Swift on Twitter!"

08:04: "In what world has anyone ever entertained the possibility that Donald Trump wants to put Rachel Maddow on trial for treason, which implies she's aiding and abetting a foreign adversary at a time of war."

First of all, I obviously think that putting journalists on trial for treason is disgusting and, like I said before, Maddow was being facetious.

But...does Tim not know what treason is? Treason isn't just "aiding and abetting a foreign adversary at a time of war", otherwise American's could betray their country during times of peace and get away with it because it isn't a time of war.

The official definition of treason is; “Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”

So for instance, leaking documents could be viewed as betraying the country. So could trying to overthrow the government, and Tim would know a lot about that since he likes to run cover for insurrectionists.

So either Tim doesn't know what he's talking about or he's misinterpreted the definition of treason, either one is painful to think about when you remember that people take this guy seriously as a news source.

08:56: "Donald Trump getting elected and going after criminals, liars, manipulators, and the corrupt is exactly what we need."

Ignoring the crimes Donald Trump has personally committed, Trump better start going after his own supporters!

Roger Stone is a pretty good example of a corrupt Trump associate, making false statements to congress and threatening Randy Credico with the removal of his service dog. Or how about George Santos, who's lies were so insane that he ended up recently getting thrown out of Congress.

09:07: "Look man, we have a Constitution-"

And judging by your idea of how treason works, you have read none of it.

09:51: "You see, Rachel Maddow is scared, because she knows she's one of the demons."

In between reading the constitution, Tim might have stumbled across this thing called the "First Amendment" that protects the freedom of the press.

We've gone down this road before. OAN tried to sue Maddow for comments she made about them on her show but the court ruled it was just opinion. Thanks to free speech and the freedom of the press, Rachel Maddow is free to express her opinion in the same way Tim Pool is. He's also allowed to criticize her just like how I am allowed to criticize him.

But Trump throwing her in jail for practicing journalism, that's a bridge too far.

13:13: "There are government actors who are working with media outlets. How many pundits for these cable channels are former intelligence officials or worked in the intelligence sector? A lot of them!"

Yeah, citation needed there buddy. You can't just drop "All left wing pundits used to work for the CIA" and not elaborate any further. And no, Tim doesn't give an example with proof of any pundits previously working in the intelligence sector.

I actually think this tops the Michael Knowles blackface episode for sheer ridiculousness. At least Michael did basic-ass shit like citing your sources when you make a claim and managing to keep track of the topic he was talking about. This episode is unintentionally hilarious. It feels like a parody of Tim Pool instead of the real thing.

Hey guys, remember when this was about the Trump dictator comments? I barely do. I was too blindsided by Tim saying that every anti-Trump pundit secretly works for the CI fucking A!

15:02: "I do believe that Trump lost 2020."

What?! Then what was all that crap about how Rachel Maddow is secretly a CIA Agent who intentionally spread misinfo about Trump and how Trump should go after all the "criminals" who helped take the election away from him? Tim is the most election truther-ish believer that Trump lost in human history.

But fine, I agree, Trump did lose 2020. I will take whatever win I can get here.

Tim then talks about how mail in voting messed up the election, so I guess he does believe the election was stolen. Whatever.

19:33: "Young people even saying they're more likely to vote for Trump now, at least in some polls. We're getting some new polls showing that it's actually going towards Biden, but these are different pollsters so we shall see."

Alright, so young people are inclined to vote for Trump, but actually they aren't. Even as pure right-wing propaganda this sucks. Tim contradicted himself and thus undermined his entire argument that the youth are swinging towards Trump in the span of two sentences.

21:13: "I think one thing we should do is remove party affiliation from ballots."

Wait what?!

I literally had to rewind that to make sure I was hearing that correctly and then promptly burst out laughing when I realized my hearing was correct.

But there's more, Tim tries to back this galaxy brained take up.

21:14: "Explain to me why we put party affiliation on ballots in the first place. Seriously, I mean it, comment, let me know. Because I think if you don't know who you're voting for, you shouldn't vote for them."

Well, since Tim wants an explanation, I'll give it to him.

Parties generally hold a certain set of values that voters identify with. For example; Democrats might push for more gun control whereas Republican's might push for less gun control. By putting party affiliation on ballots, it simplifies the voting process and allows people to vote for a candidate that they know will represent their ideals.

While I agree that people should look into their elected officials instead of just blindly checking the box beside their name, their party affiliation also helps give voters a general idea of what they stand for.

Also, if you took party affiliation off of the ballots, chances are people would just look up which party the candidate represents and vote partisanly anyway.

22:02: "If that was the case, people would actually be voting for who they thought should win and other people would vote randomly. Some might argue that whoevers on top would win because people would just vote for the first person. OK, the ballots can randomly align the names. I think this would result in Republicans winning."

So....people wouldn't be voting for who they think should win, they would vote randomly. But don't worry, that's ok because they can just scatter the names on the ballots and that will somehow lead to Republican's winning forever.

...

WHAT ARE WE-

22:27: "Because Democrat voters don't know anything and it's the ballot harvesting where they're like 'fill this out and vote for this person.' Now they could certainly do that still but a lot of this stuff is vote Democrat, vote Democrat, imagine if they had to refine this message and say 'Vote John Doe, Jane Doe, Jack Doe' in every district.

So essentially Tim's point is that Democrats will vote randomly because they don't know anything but voting Democrat. However I can think of a bunch of people who would be inclined to vote Democrat for really good reasons.

LGBTQ+ people would be inclined to vote Democrat because the Democrats have a more progressive stance on LGBTQ rights. Women who are concerned about their reproductive rights and abortion would be inclined to vote for the Democrats because they are firmly pro-choice. People who are concerned about gun safety would be inclined to vote Democrat because the Democrats want to reduce gun violence.

Also, does Tim want party affiliation to be removed during elections period and then when the person is elected they go "Surprise! Here's my affiliation"? Because it sure sounds like he does.

Even if party affiliation is taken off the ballots, it stands to reason that politicians would still campaign as Democrats instead of focusing it on "voting for Jack Doe" or whatever. And again, that info would still be up on the internet for anyone to find.

This makes absolutely no sense.

23:25: "But, for the time being lets stay focused on whether or not Trump is going to execute Rachel Maddow."

Tim is so insanely lost in the weeds here. The Maddow stuff was a sub-topic of Trump's dictator for a day comments which is supposedly what this segment is about and is also what the episode is titled after.

Make like a Ford and focus!

The segment ends about 30 seconds later, but the Tim Pool Daily Show podcast is an hour and a half of Tim's YouTube videos stitched together into one Frankenstein's monster of a show.

That first segment as we established was pretty damn bad. Tim was all over the place, contradicted himself a couple times, said batshit crazy things like that all left-wing political pundits used to work at the CIA, grabbed random misinformation from Twitter and reported it as news, and got some hilariously stupid takes about the election.

But hey, we've still got an hour left. Maybe Tim Pool was just having a bad day when he made that video, maybe Tim will swoop in and blow me away with his ingenious political takes in the next segment. After all, he is viewed as a valid source of news for the 1.35M people who subscribe to him, surely there must be some merit to what he says...right?

25:08: "When it comes to the issues that we're seeing at Harvard, UPen, and MIT where Elise Stefanik asked these representatives at these universities if calling for the genocide of Jews warranted bullying and harassment."

So, this story is making shockwaves through the right-wing grifter-sphere and all of them are misrepresenting the question, most likely just how Stefanik intended. The question was as follows;

"Dr. Kornbluth, at MIT, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate MIT’s code of conduct or rules regarding bullying and harassment? Yes or no?"

The answer was as follows;

"If targeted at individuals not making public statements."

This is a loaded question. The universities bullying and harassment policies and really the general definition of harassment are that the act must be targeted at a specific person. This isn't about what their opinions are, this is about what the policy says!

Also, while I don't doubt that there have been instances of antisemitism on campus, portraying every single protestor as calling for the genocide of Jews is completely loaded. If Stefanik can give an example of an entire protest group calling for the genocide of Jews, I would love to see it! They are also ignoring that if such a group did exist they would be violating a litany of other rules and policies, just not this specific one that Stefanik has cherrypicked to create outrage.

By the way, considering that Stefanik is a big fan of Donald Trump who has a long history of antisemitism, she has zero right to call anyone else antisemetic.

27:04: "However, the woke left made the argument that they should be allowed to censor anyone and this brings us to the story and what I view as a major strike into the heart of the hypocrisy of wokeness."

First of all, Tim isn't being censored, he just isn't. I have yet to see one of these guy realize the total irony of them going onto their large platforms with millions of viewers and whine about being "censored".

Secondly, does Tim even know what the word "woke" means anymore? It's kind of just became his catch-all term for the political left to the point where it has lost all of it's meaning outside of "Left bad, get angry".

At the end of the day, Tim has boiled the conflict in the Middle East down to another piece of his culture war bullshit, and that's pretty ghoulish behavior.

28:48: "These other universities, they will silence the moderate opinions of, say, conservatives, they will ban people from speaking, they will shut you down and then when it comes to people attacking quite literally someone for being Jewish they will say it's 'context dependent'."

Conservatives really aren't being censored at universities. How about the multiple speaking engagements that Ben Shapiro and Co at the Daily Wire do at universities where they perform speeches and then "destroy" college kids who aren't prepared to handle their rhetoric? Same thing with Turning Point USA.

Also, for the last time, the protestors aren't calling for the death of all Jews.

30:26: "They're fascistic, they believe there's no truth but power, they want to impose their view through authoritarian means."

When Trump says he literally wants to be a dictator it's "Trump being Trump", when students exercise their right to protest "Oh my God, look at how fascist they are." Tim is a complete and utter hypocrite.

Also, might I remind you that Tim pals around with Matt Walsh who is literally a self proclaimed theocratic fascist and an old favorite to debunk here at Talking Points USA.

30:50: "So I read an academic paper about the economics of Nazi Germany and guess what they used to enforce their economic plan; cancel culture. That's it."

The Nazi's blacklisting, killing, and shunning people for not supporting a literal genocide is extremely different from people getting criticism over saying slurs and general bad behavior. Also, again, why are we talking about cancel culture now? Weren't we supposed to be talking about what is going on at universities?

I can't figure out if this is some sort of strategy Tim uses to distract his viewers from how flimsy his points are or if he is just naturally that rambly.

30:56: "What would happen is if you are a steel mill and you wanted to produce steel for cars or something you would get people coming to you like 'Hey man, I heard you aren't helping the war effort' and then they would ostracize you, shun you, and cancel you. Nobody would wanna work with you, nobody would wanna buy your product, you'd be forced to bend the knee and produce and produce the product they wanted you to produce. Kind of like what we see with DEI movies."

So we have producing tanks and producing slightly more inclusive movies. I kind of think that the stakes with one are higher than the other.

I don't see how a film company interpreting a film differently for more modern audiences is such a big deal. The original Snow White cartoon was radically different from the original Grimm Fairytale because THAT audience probably wouldn't want to see cannibalism and a woman dancing in red hot slippers until she died a brutal death. How is changing it now any different?

Tim then plays the MIT bullying and harassment clip. I honestly came so close to forgetting that this was what Tim Pool was talking about. We already talked about this so there's not much need to repeat ourselves. Tim then waxes poetic for two minutes about the nature of free speech, nothing particularly important there, just Tim saying a whole lot of nothing. Then this happens;

41:24: "Most Conservatives and most Liberals would agree on certain things that cross the line into targeting someone with harassment and it's not just calling someone a name, it's typically-well I shouldn't say the left-"

If you think I am misinterpreting that quote, go to the time stamp I provided and hear it for yourself....oops. In case you aren't following along; Tim accidentally admitted that he knows the left knows what crosses the line into harassment then proceeded to backtrack and correct himself on air then proceed to just run with it as if it never happened.

And he doesn't go any further on "well I shouldn't say the left", he just goes on with his sentence! I suppose if you aren't listening to this show critically, which most of Tim Pools fanbase probably isn't because otherwise they would have turned it off during the ballot affiliation nonsense, it is easy to miss. But it is both hilarious and telling if you do catch it.

Considering that Tim's show is mostly YouTube, he could easily cut embarrassing shit like this out and save himself the face of looking like a complete doofus. And yet here we are.

43:08: "I think shining a light on this speech is the most important way to combat it."

If that's the case, I'd like to see the video of the hoards of university students calling for the death to all Jews.

46:46: "I had this conversation with someone recently and I said this, listen. People talk about white privilege, let's talk about white privilege."

I am so exasperated right now. So, Tim's point is essentially that white privilege doesn't exist (which might I add follows up three minutes of him basically saying that he isn't a racist in twelve different ways) and he goes about explaining why this is by telling this anecdote about him telling someone else an anecdote and *sigh*, let's just let Tim explain it.

46:53: "Let's say you go to a job interview and you wanna get a job at a bank and you show up wearing a dago tee and baggy jeans and sneakers and you walk in, you've got a sideways cap and you're like 'Yo whatsup dude. I think I could work your bank pretty good man' (Tim says this in what I think was his attempt at a stereotypical black accent) they're gonna be like 'I don't know if that's the right job for you', right. The people in the banks, they wear suits."

Ok, pause for a minute. What exactly do you think the likelihood is that anyone, minority or otherwise, would wear a dago tee and sneakers to a bank and proceed to say "I think I could work your bank pretty good man" to the manager?! I guarantee you that has never happened once, people are smart enough to know to dress up if you're going to try and apply to work at a bank.

I mean yeah, in this strawman universe Tim has constructed for his audience it would make sense for the bank manager to turn this hypothetical guy down. However what Tim is implying here is that all minorities stroll into job interviews poorly dressed and speak in stereotypical "hood" lingo and that's why the system tends to exclude minorities, if they just learned to act more polished (read; White) they'd be fine!

What Tim is ignoring is that even when minorities do try, the data shows that they still aren't getting ahead compared to whites. Here is a really interesting study about discrimination if you want to read further.

47:49: "It's not about race, it's not about language, it's about 'are you here to work with us? Are you gonna be a good worker? Are you gonna be able to help and cooperate and be part of a team?' Those things matter and culture matters. So when that guy walks in slouching (and) wearing street clothes, it doesn't matter what your race is."

Well, if you look at the numbers it clearly does. For example, the study I mentioned found that African Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites.

Tim then switches to his next segment, it's about the border tensions between Venezuela and Guyana. Most of the beginning portion is just Tim reading about what the situation is so we can comfortably skip over that. Tim thinks this will lead to WW3 because if war breaks out and the US gets involved the USA will be involved in three wars. Given all the wars in the middle east America has gotten involved in, by Tim's logic we would have been in WW3 a long time ago.

Warning for this next part: Tim decides to (surprise, surprise) be a massive transphobic bully in this next segment. I you're not comfortable with that, I totally get you, I barely am either. Feel free to click off and I'll see you in the next one!

1:00:03: "Dylan Mulvaney recently spoke at Penn State and nobody showed up."

Absolutely nobody outside of these reactionary media outlets that want to mock Dylan because she is transgender is talking about this because who cares?

A speaker didn't draw a huge crowd, so what? She's still getting paid at the end of the day and it looks like the folks who did come had fun.

Also, it's exam season! I would imagine that part of the reason why there weren't very many people is because most students are studying for or writing finals.

1:00:29: "This is exemplified by Bud Light sales continuing to decline."

We're still talking about this stupid story huh? If you haven't heard of this story, it essentially boils down to Bud Light hiring Dylan Mulvaney to do a promotion and the entire right wing collectively throwing a bigoted tantrum over it because Dylan is trans and boycotting the brand.

Eagle eyed viewers might be thinking to themselves "Wait, didn't Tim decry this exact thing earlier in the episode?" Well, just to refresh everyone's memory, here is exactly what Tim said!

"What would happen is if you are a steel mill and you wanted to produce steel for cars or something you would get people coming to you like 'Hey man, I heard you aren't helping the war effort' and then they would ostracize you, shun you, and cancel you. Nobody would wanna work with you, nobody would wanna buy your product, you'd be forced to bend the knee and produce and produce the product they wanted you to produce"

What Tim claims to hate is exactly what he is doing here. Cancelling a company because they dared to have a transgender person in their ads. And yet apparently it's the woke left ™ who is doing all the cancelling. This story is a great example of how painfully hypocritical guys like Matt Walsh, Tim Pool, and Steven Crowder are. One minute they are all about the free market and how they hate cancel culture but the second a company decides to act more excepting towards a marginalized group that they don't like they become everything they claim to hate, a bunch of whiny snowflakes whining about a commercial that doesn't even effect their lives.

01:01:28: "But I think what we are looking at is a warning to the American people and to parents about what these machines will do."

Oh, heaven forbid we have a transgender person on the internet with a sizeable following. It can't be because of her content, it's got to be the algorithm! Seriously, do these guys just think about trans people 24/7?! I have trans friends who I guarantee you think about trans people less than these guys do.

01:01:50: "What we are looking at with Dylan Mulvaney is the story of an individual desperate for attention and the machine plugged Dylan Mulvaney in, that's it. Then you've got sideshow gawkers, carnival goers, who wanted to egg on an individual who was influenceable and suffering, and that's what they did."

I highly HIGHLY object to Tim's indirect comparison of transgender people to circus freaks. Also, this is obviously not true. I went on Instagram and looked at the comments on her most recent post and most were really positive and supportive.

01:02:24: "I don't believe Dylan Mulvaney is trans, I believe Dylan Mulvaney is getting surgeries that make Dylan Mulvaney fit a cast or a character."

First of all, downplaying somebodies sexuality by saying they are just "playing a character" is a nasty thing to do.

Second of all, what the hell is up with Tim using Dylan's full name all the time? Just say "she", come on, it's not that hard.

Tim then rants about how he has "more influence" than Dylan does and how his events sell out more, just basic immature "I'm bigger than you, nyanyanyanya." shit. Then he drops this gem.

01:07:16: "What if, there actually are no followers? What if the reality is that Dylan Mulvaney is mostly followed by bots and they're not real people?"

So a majority of 10 million people are bots?! She's clearly met a lot of her fans in person, a fair amount of them have posted about meeting her, hell three of my friends who I know in person follow her and one regularly comments. Plus she has a reasonable amount of merch which her fans have posted pictures of them wearing!

Do I sense a twinge of jealousy in Tim regarding followers? "Yeah, I have 9 million less followers than you but guess what?! Your followers are all BOTS while mine are real, ha!"

01:09:00: "We take a look at the average turnaround, or conversion, for a view on other shows compared to ours."

Careful throwing the c-word around Tim. Michael Knowles might accuse you of planting subliminal messages in TimCast to turn people gay.

01:11:21: "AOC makes shocking claim that all schoolgirls will be forced to undergo genital examinations if biological men are barred from woman's sports."

This quote is being taken out of context by Tim Pool and other reactionaries on the right. What actually happened was that she responded to Goss Graves who said "It's terrible, in some states any individual can challenge whether someone is a girl enough to play. In some states, it requires actual genital verification, it's shocking."

AOC responded by saying "Under the guise of not only trying to further marginalize trans women and girls, we are talking about opening up all women and girls to genital examinations when they are underage, potentially just because someone can point to someone and say, ‘I don’t think you’re a girl."

So right out of the gate, this isn't some unprompted thing that came completely out of left field like Tim is saying. AOC was responding to something Graves said.

It's not like what she is saying isn't without merit either. Ohio attempted to advance a trans sports ban with genital examinations, thankfully the genital examinations were later removed (although the bill itself is still transphobic and discriminatory so not too thankfully).

01:12:21: "I would like to introduce Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to something called a physical."

Again, she was responding to what Graves said about genital examinations and pointing out the slippery slope that trans sports bans can lead up to. Physicals weren't a part of the initial conversation, the conversation was about genital examinations.

Also, if it's a trans female who is suspected of being a "biological male", a physical could turn into a genital examination really quickly.

01:14:18: "So there are trans people, children, who are getting their birth certificates changed."

Yes, you can amend your gender to your preferred one on a birth certificate. I don't see how this is a bad thing, unless you're like Tim Pool and don't believe that trans people actually exist (and even if they do they are completely invalid and undeserving of the right to have their sexuality respected).

This is also only tenuously related to the topic at hand which is that out of context AOC quote. I am slowly coming to the realization that Tim's general lack of focus is probably a conscious decision. Blindside your audience by hopping from topic to topic in order to distract them from how completely without merit what you are saying is.

01:17:15: "AOC is claiming that trans people are criminals. That's right, that's what she's saying. She's saying that if we say that males should not be on female sports that the males will lie and cheat anyway."

Or, that more masculine females would be subject to genital investigations because the authorities would suspect them of being transgender. Castor Semenya is a prime example of this.

01:19:51: "Democrats are evil."

Can't get much more hatemonger-ey than calling an entire political affiliation evil just because of some quote on politician said that is being taken out of context. Isn't this guy supposed to be a centrist or something?

Conclusion:

Well, that was...an episode of a podcast. Ignoring allll the other dumb stuff that happened in this podcast, this was some of the most genuinely terrible journalism I have seen ever. From reporting on tweets with blatant misinfo in them to painful lack of focus to some of the dumbest takes I have covered for this blog so far this was one of the most painful yet fascinating things I have covered here.

I am both excited and dreading to cover more Tim Pool but other people and things need our attention first. We'll be dipping our toes into a new soon to be recurring grift-er-character on this blog next.

Until then, if you have any other suggestions for a right wing figure who you would like to see debunked/made fun of on the blog, I'd love to hear it.

Cheers and I'll see you in the next one.

#tim pool #right wing bigotry #right wing bullshit #journalism #conservative bullshit #fact checking #bad takes #conservatives #politics #debunking #bad journalism #misinformation #disinformation #bullshit

[the-stray-storyteller]

Write Questions

*tips hat* @ashwithapen

Tenderly tagging: @tea-and-mercury @thetruearchmagos @theroseempress @desastreus @kooperation1101

(questions given at the end.)

1) What motivates you to write?

Well it's in my username. I am a storyteller. It's what I have loved doing from a very young age even thought it wasn't through writing. I enjoyed telling about mythological stories to my friends and dictating stories through dance. Writing is just something I picked up a few years ago. The ability to create new worlds from my imagination and bring other's to it is fucking amazing. Not sure if that's a proper answer or not.

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

*laughs bitterly* I am not a big fan of my own work. Also I don't remember my work or other's work well enough to remember a line I liked a lot properly. However...I found this line a long time ago and fell in love with it.

"Now, do not misunderstand me; when I call myself a shell I mean–a used up bullet casing. As in, the aftermath of something lethal.  As in, an echo of inflicted evil."

The post is here.

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

Skyler from Defenders. I don't know why...they are just so fascinating to me. Well Skyler from three years in the future of the original storyline. The current Skyler I am writing is a fucking asshole.

Future Skyler acts like a cat (there is actually a reason behind that) and is adorable and an excellent flirt. They overthink things when it's not necessary and doesn't think at all when it is required. They are mythology obsessed (like me). They also refuse to learn magic in an academy because they are afraid that learning it in an academy will cause them to loose interest in it. So they are self taught.

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Daydreaming about plots and scenes that I will never write.

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Describing stuff I guess. Idk.

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Interaction. I LOVE THE INTERACTION. I was on wattpad before I came here and I felt so lonely over there. No one talked to anybody (at least not me). It just felt so cold over there. Then I came here and SUDDENLY there were so many fucking writers to talk to. There were tag games and ask games. Writing tips and resources would pop up on my dash. Then the memes and so many more things.

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I just spam words onto google docs. And occasionally plot on sticky notes. That is all I do to write. I don't use any program or anything.

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. *more screaming*

There are too many. First things first. The piece of worldbuilding that will always remain my favourite is:

The names that the Facility assigned to the trainees in my WIP, Rebel.

In the Facility the identity of the trainee is taken away once they join. The Facility renames them and it is a psychological move which is similar to the whole 'if you give the dog a name then it's yours' kind of thing. It is a power move to show that the trainees belong to the Facility, they belong in such a way that the Facility can rename you.

So anyways.....the name given to the trainees is the first three letters of the month they were born in a dash and the day were born on. For example the main character: May-05

If a trainee with a similar birthday joins after the first May they will be named:

May-205

And the next will be named:

May-305

and so on.

The second piece of worldbuilding I am proud of is the still developing magic system in Defenders. I have a whole fucking doc for it.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

My darling...if you didn't love writing you wouldn't be here worrying about it. If you love writing I am sure the ideas are just baking in you head. You just have to wait for it to be ready and then it will come out of the over by itself. Till then just make another cake or a small cupcake, maybe some cookies or something entirely different.

(Has my advice giving improved? I am usually shit at it)

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters:

@avocado-frog my first mutual who is also my first friend in this hell site. He has been with me from the very start. I love him and his over detailed WIP.

@holdmyteaplease she is just a ray of pure beautiful sunshine. HOW ARE YOU SO SWEET? You have no idea hos much you make me smile.

@i-eat-books-and-nutella she really isn't online on tumblr anymore but she is the first beta reader I have had. She has read all of my works and supported me to this day.

@toribookworm22's worlduilding wednesday asks helped me out of a really bad writer's block (not really a support thing but it helped me so much)

ANYWAYS...

THE QUESTIONS:

1) What motivates you to write?

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters:

#ask game #writeblr #Rebel #Defenders

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Marsilio Ficino to Giovanni Cavalcanti, his unique friend/most perfect friend*: greetings

I cannot let your people return to you from the Fighini market without any of our produce, for I think it very wrong that, whilst bringing you other men’s goods, they do not return with your own. So they bear three of our letters: one amends what I dictated hastily to my boy when our brother came, the others are copies of what I wrote long ago to Antonio degli Agli and Piero del Nero. I did not have anything of today to present, so I have given what is external. 

You are a simpleton, Corydon! You send tasteless little fruits to a most discriminating palate. But have confidence; Alexis should savour these things at least a little;**

 [...]

*I have seen both terms used in translation of Ficino’s pet-term for Giovanni. 

**Ficino is quoting from Virgil’s Eclogues (or, Bucolics) where the shepherd boy Corydon is in (unrequired) love with another shepherd boy Alexis, framing himself as Corydon and Giovanni as Alexis. Though that Corydon was a good musician and wins a singing competition in the story is a fun parallel to Marsilio, who was known to be a very good musician himself. Cosimo had Ficino sing to him on his death bed (and read aloud what he had translated of Plato). 

Marsilio Ficino to Giovanni Cavalcanti, his unique friend/most perfect friend: greetings

Because I am now forced to spend long periods in bed, I have been considering a remedy against the tedium of a continuing confinement. The first, indeed the only one who could relieve the tedium threatening me, came to mind; my Cavalcanti, my especial doctor. And so welcome again, my health giver, expeller of my evils, preserver of my goods. 

You, my Giovanni, assuredly make many other things clear to me every day, but primarily this, the saying of Aristotle: nothing is more full of grace in the human condition than the presence of a most excellent friend. I learnt from you the meanings and the truth of this saying long ago, and I learnt the underlying principle. Behold, he who bore be inwardly away from myself, formerly as much by my desire for him as recently through his physical absence, that same one, in return, through a certain mutual disposing of mind and through his mental presence, restores me to myself. 

[...]

Therefore you will receive a letter, perhaps more of necessity than of choice, for, as I have said, it seems that I have been compelled to compose it for the sake of dispelling tedium. But, Oh! I have just transgressed, I do not know how, my Giovanni, but I have transgressed seriously against the divine spirit and authority of Plato. Listen to Plato on high, sharply rebuking me, as he thunders: O Marsilio! what free choice or what necessity do you observe in a lover? A lover’s letter is as much of choice as of necessity. No necessity is more freely chosen than a loving necessity; no free choice is more necessary than the free choice of love. 

[...]

And the lover already experiences the full-grown flame before he perceives the ray and the radiating point. He needs must burn, if he burn by heavenly decree. He needs must burn, for in seeking relief he always feeds the flame with the very drink with which vainly he hopes to quench it. 

[...]

This is totally a very normal thing to write the man you love while sick in bed, Marsilio. 

Marsilio Ficino to Giovanni Cavalcanti, his unique friend/most perfect friend: greetings

Yesterday at Novoli we celebrated the holy day of Saint Cristopher and Saint James. I said 'holy', Giovanni, and I would certainly have added 'feast', if you had been there. Without you nothing whatever is a feast for me. See how dear you are to your Marsilio, for whom, if one may say so, not even heavenly things have any value without you. This is just, for he who has joined Christopher and James in one holy festival, has likewise joined Marsilio and Giovanni in life. And the same spirit or a very similar one guides us both. God has ordained, I believe, that we should live on earth with a single will and similar way of life and in heaven under the same principle and in an equal degree of happiness. 

Farewell, Achates of our voyage and our delight when we reach port.

these men are very straight. 

Marsilio Ficino to Giovanni Cavalcanti, his unique friend/most perfect friend: greetings

The care of my own sick body and that of my father is one burden for me. Your absence is another. Both must be born with equanimity, lest they become more burdensome through impatience. But if you have any humanity, do not add to my double burden yet a third, too great a burden if you do not return my books. It is the loss of time that makes me ask for them so often. No loss is more serious than that. Alas that I ask so boldly for things I do not really want to receive; but for what I do want I dare not ask. 

It is right that I should have the former, while at present it is necessary for me to be without the latter. It is prudent to do what is right and, as far as one can, to make what is necessary voluntary. The first is for you to do, and the second is for me to attempt. 

Farewell, and while you are looking after other people’s affairs for their sake, take care of yourself for your own sake. 

We don’t have a that for this letter, so we don’t know which books it is that Ficino sent him, but given this line: “Alas that I ask so boldly for things I do not really want to receive [his books]; but for what I do want I dare not ask [Giovanni himself]” I choose to believe he had sent along the latest version of his commentary on Plato’s Symposium (known at the time as his Book on Love), which he began at the behest of Giovanni who was trying to lever Marsilio out of a deep depressive episode by dangling Plato in front of him. (Dear readers, it worked. For a time, at least.)

Marsilio Ficino to Giovanni Cavalcanti, his unique friend/most perfect friend: greetings

The hand could not guide the pen were it not itself moved by the soul. Marsilio could not now write to his hero [Giovanni] were he not first so invited by his hero. But one thing that troubles me more than anything else is that you write to me because you promised; and that I attribute to a bargain, not to love. 

I desire letters of love, not of barter; or are you really mine by contract just because I am yours? I wish you to be mine through love. 

Marsilio being totally normal about Giovanni. 

#marsilio blogging #marsilio ficino #Giovanni Cavalcanti #early modern italy #15th century #early modern history #early modern florence #obscure early modern Florence blogging

[silencedminstrel]

("Exodus" Art by Stuz0r)

TWILIGHT OF ALL YOUTHS - CHIEF WHITE WIZARD THEIN GARIA ALMOST AT THE END OF HIS SEARCH FOR THE SACRED "MUSIC OF THE SPHERES" MANUSCRIPTS

May The One Most High be praised for all eternity...! So this is the prophesied Golden Dawn, the day after the Vermilion Sunset when the people of XNROE make their way for the blessed Promised Land! (Sigh) Truly magnificent! But pray, what about the Twilight Of All Youths (seventh and last manuscript of the Music Of The Spheres), Brother Samael? Where would I find it? "The Twilight of All Youths is within The Sleeping Child," that's all I know! The rest is up to you Master, based on the final chapter of your world--The Endtime! (Sigh) Very well, my friend! Forsooth the Vermilion Sunset begins as the Dark Emperor and the Ja'anites land on the Fields of Purple Grass, intent on ending their long overdue

Battle since the dawn of time! And from the Light came the First Wizard and the Last Emperor, leading the united forces made out of the Citizens of XNROE, the Samawi Empire, the Council of the Great Guardians and of course our own Hall of Wizards! There the two Rulers will say their final words to each other before the Rainbow Of Dawn (Humoga) sounds the battle herald and thus, duly officiates the apocalyptic final battle betwixt good and evil that would rage on through the night--The Dark Night of The Souls! As was prophesied, The Blue Morning Rain (Shaira) will engage that evil Monarch long enough for his brother the Last Emperor to replace him and delivers

The final blow! Alas the prophecy also dictates that the reformed Dark Legionnaire be mortally wounded by the triumphant Dark Emperor's battle axe...ending up dying in the arms of his mournful father! (Sniffle) Once the Dark One is decapitated, trails of his spilled blood will immediately usher in a magnificent rainbow that arches above the dawning sun, where the First Wizard and the Last Emperor will find a gilded doorway that will soon appear, which they would open and ushered in the gathered people of XNROE to proceed towards the blessed Summerland (Heaven), saves but one--Shaiyr Esarsi alias The Father To All Dreams himself! And pray, why wouldn't he, Master? He simply couldn't bear to leave his dead son behind, so much so that he bids farewell to the procession

Closes the gilded door slowly behind them and then turns around to see the...! (Gasp) The Sleeping Child! For as the door slowly closes, the last person to depart would turn their back and sees a smiling man holding his sleeping child...! You should be proud, Master Thein! Moved by the Holy Paladin's fatherly sacrifice, our sympathetic Creator revives Shaiyr's son and into a much younger version of himself, asleep so soundly over his shoulders! Once the holy portal is sealed, he valiantly turns around to face the ensuing End Of Days--to atone for abandoning his beloved family! (Sniffle) I...I can't...I can't do it, Brother Samael! I can't separate a grieving man from the child who longed for him all his life--even more after watching him dying for his sins! (Shaira was the leader of the nefarious Shudwa Dumanta Legion) Excellent! You've just passed the "Hardest Test!" What...test...Brother Samael?

#science fiction #fantasy #cyberpunk #space opera #short story #original characters #original posting #looking for publisher

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for the Christmas Mass during the Night

Isa 9:1-7; Ps 95; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14

Christmas is a declaration of war! Or to be more precise, the birth of God in the flesh, in our world, in our human condition, makes visible and manifests in blood and bones and in our own human body, the spiritual warfare that began when the angels had fallen in love with themselves. For the angels had fallen through pride, which is essentially an overblown love of one’s own excellence, and an overestimation of one’s own correctness combined with a desire to dominate others, and so to get my own way always. Pride, in short, is believing that “I know best”. 

And so the angels’ rebellion infected humanity, and Eve had thought she knew better than God how to gain for herself happiness, and freedom, and the knowledge of good and evil. This temptation to create our own meaning, and reality, and happiness independently of God has never gone away, so dictators wage wars, and families continue feuds, and our hearts become battlegrounds – all because of pride. So Mankind fell out of love with God, and so we began to “walk in darkness” as Isaiah says.

But tonight God comes to shatter the darkness: “On those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.” By his coming as Man, Jesus himself enters into the fray, and because he is God so he comes with victory to end this mad war, this insane rebellion against Mankind’s highest and truest good. For one of the insights of St Thomas Aquinas is that every act of sin is a lapse of reason, a kind of momentary insanity as we knowingly choose an apparent good over the true Good, God himself! Hence God comes to break the heavy burden of Mankind’s sin, the rod of pride that stiffens our will. Thus (Isaiah says) “the yoke that was weighing on him, the bar across his shoulders, the rod of his oppressor, these you break as on the day of Midian” – just in case you’ve forgotten, this refers to a battle between Gideon and his 300 soldiers against the vast army of Midian, and Gideon was victorious against the odds because God’s power was with Gideon and his men. And so at Christmas, God declares war on all that separates us from him, or turns us against him, and in doing so, they would diminish our humanity. 

Hence, an army of the good heavenly angels appears in the night sky outside Bethlehem declaring “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour.” This, in fact, is a declaration not merely of war but of victory already won as peace is restored to men and women who live by God’s favour, meaning, for anyone who will receive his grace and live by it; anybody who will thus allow God to be their ally and friend. As St Paul said to Titus: “God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions”. In other words, Christ comes to lead us away from all that would lead us away from God and so end the strife begun so long ago. Therefore, tonight, by his birth among us, God declares war on sin, on pride, which leads us away from God. God comes to us to fight for humanity’s liberation from vices and evil, not with material weapons nor even with a mighty army of angels. Rather, God takes flesh and is born of the virgin Mary, born for us, as a vulnerable, little, human baby. There, lying in the manger – a domestic animal’s feeding trough! – helpless and vulnerable in his little body, is the Creator and Sustainer of All that Is. Isaiah, excitedly gives him a string of titles: “Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace” – many of us will hear these titles, I think, and hear the stirring music of Handel in the back of our minds. Nevertheless, no grand music, nor red and gold decor, nor warm glowing lights should distract us from this strange truth, this marvellous mystery, the sheer creativity of the divine stratagem of war that bring us our peace. 

For born in the cave at Bethlehem, and gawped at by outcast shepherds, and wrapped in simple strips of linen cloth is God himself, God-with-Us, a human baby. And this baby, even before he is full grown, is already our champion and warrior and victor in the ancient war against sin and pride. 

How? For the root of all sin, as we saw when the angels fell, is pride. So God, in answer, comes in all humility to demonstrate humility. Come to the manger and see the humility and meekness of God in the flesh. And Christ comes to teach us humility. This is enacted in a striking manner if you were to visit the Grotto where Jesus was born in Bethlehem: To get down into that small cave, you’d first have to stoop down and make yourself small, squeezing through an ancient doorway that leads into the birthplace of Christ. However, Christ teaches us not to become small physically - that is not his intention – but rather he wants to teach us to humble our thoughts, our intellect, our fundamental attitudes. 

And so tonight Christ, born for us, is here to teach us humility. For when we come to the altar, here in church, we see the humility and meekness of Christ. Because Jesus is present for us in the Eucharist, hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. So, in the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is held up for us to adore and worship as God, and given to us here in Holy Communion, but we can only do this fruitfully if we have learnt to be humble and docile, if we can truly say, “God knows best”, and so we trust in the teachings of God’s Word given to his Church. God knows how this mystery of the Eucharist comes to be – our human minds will always fail to fathom this sublime sign of God’s love and humility. Certainly, the angels themselves marvel and wonder at the humility of this great Sacrament. Hence St Francis of Assisi said: “O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the whole universe, God and the Son of God, should humble himself like this and hide under the form of a little bread, for our salvation.” So, if you marvel that God is so great that he can humble himself and become a little baby, so we marvel that Jesus, who took flesh from the Virgin Mary, is truly present here and now, just as he had been in Bethlehem. For tonight, and indeed, at every single Mass, the church becomes Bethlehem, which means ‘the house of bread’, and the altar becomes the manger, the feeding trough, because from it you and I are fed with Jesus himself – we receive his Body and Blood into our own bodies, we become united to his flesh. This is the true wonder of Christmas that is extended to us day after day in the Mass. As Pope St Leo the Great said: “God took the nature of a servant… enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity.” 

Christ comes to us in the Sacraments, therefore, to enlarge our humanity. Christ comes, therefore, to fight with us, alongside us, and indeed, within us. As St Paul says to Titus that Christ has “sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify” us. Hence Christ empties himself and gives us himself, giving us his grace in the Sacraments especially in the Eucharist, so that we might share in his victory, so that we might taste the goodness of God, and enjoy his peace.

Today, then, war has been declared and victory has been won. For today the Word became flesh and dwells among us. The prophet Isaiah says that it is the “jealous love of the Lord of Hosts” that motivates this, meaning, God’s all-consuming and intense love for humanity, for you and for me. St Thomas Aquinas suggests that God became Man, a little baby lying in the manger in Bethlehem, “so that even children could know and love God as someone like themselves”. Therefore, in this Christmas season do visit the Crib, our Nativity Chapel, or whatever favourite image of the birth of Jesus you have, and pray and ask that you can come to know and love Jesus, God-with-us, who is born for this. Or, if you ever find yourself sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, if you are anxious and frustrated and lonely and feeling unloved, come to Mass more often, and come to adore the Lord in the Eucharist, and discover the true beauty and miracle and wonder of Christmas. For as J. R. R. Tolkein said: “Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth”. 

Therefore, tonight, gathered around the manger that is this altar, we sing our victory song: “O come let us adore him, o come let us adore him, o come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!” 

#Christmas #Eucharist #Jesus Christ #Saviour #incarnation #pride #humility #grace

[abyssal-ali]

wwyditnfuo - 3: but we kept everything professional

M | 1.6k | Ao3 | Masterlist | Main Masterlist | CW: casual discussions of murder/violence

Chapter Two ->

Jason’s hand wrapped loosely around her wrist. “Please don’t run again.”

Steph glanced down at their joined hands, then up at him through her bangs. “I’m not gonna run.”

He gave her A Look, but released her. 

“Fine, we can talk about it. We did it, it’s over, what’s there to talk about?”

He settled back in his seat, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Is it going to make things awkward? Are we going to ignore it? Are we going to do it again?”

His calm list of questions turned her awkward fidgeting back to tapping on her mug.

It was one thing to kiss a guy or even have a one-night stand and never talk about it again because you never saw each other after that; it was a whole new experience to kiss a guy and then become platonic partners with him.

Okay, she’d kissed Tim and they’d kind of worked together as Robin and Spoiler, but that went disastrously. They’d been younger and stupider then, or at least she had been, and their weird relationship was not healthy.

…On that note, partnering with a guy who was planning to murder at least one person probably wasn’t the healthiest, either, whether they had or hadn’t kissed.

“I don’t think it would be awkward if we didn’t make it awkward–which I am aware I’m doing right now, yes–but ignoring it will make it worse,” she said slowly, staring into the murky depths of her chai. “We’ve acknowledged it and now we can move forward, past it, I think. I don’t think it would be a good idea to continue down that path, since we’re basically work partners. Y’know what they say about dating at work,” she flicked her eyes to his, then down to his mug.

“Okay. I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I understand. Strictly friends, then?”

Steph stared at his hand, held out for her to take.

Was she really going to refuse the hottest guy in Gotham, who was also genuinely nice and respectful, knew about her night time activities and supported her, and also made the best food ever, because she was letting her foolish teenage decisions and consequences dictate her actions today?

Yes, yes she was. 

She shook his hand. “Friends.”

Girl, what are you doing?

“But,” she blurted, pausing Jason from where he was standing to clear up the kitchen. “I wouldn’t be mad if we reconsidered it after our partnership dissolves.”

He shot her a sly grin. “I’ll have to look into speeding up our plans, then.”

Steph covered her blush with a faceful of mug, downing her chai in three gulps.

~~~

Steph joined Jason’s training when she could, since his apartment had a whole room devoted to work out equipment and safe training spaces. She wouldn’t have to make do with her crummy equipment or worry about people at the gym, and she had an excellent teacher, who quickly had her upping her skills and improving her techniques.

It was fun to work out with someone who knew what they were doing. They could make fun of Batman and the Robins together, discuss very-likely-illegal techniques and happenings that would be questionable if overheard, and watch each other’s exercises for proper form, et cetera.

After a workout and shower, Jason would make them chai, and then they’d go to his evil plotting lair and they’d discuss the best plans and proceedings to ruin Black Mask.

Jason was also a surprising help in her medical studies, since his time with the League of Assassins and travelling the world gave him a wealth of knowledge about the human body and medical procedures.

It was useful to know where nerve endings were when you were a torturer, and knowing which parts of the body would not cause immediate death if injured or removed made an excellent anatomy student. Knowing how to patch up and treat a person who was injured, whether yourself or someone else, was a valuable skill, especially in their field of work.

Steph found herself at Jason’s place more than her own. It had been lonely, being by herself all the time. She’d volunteered at Leslie’s clinic when her schedule allowed, but the majority of the time, she was alone.

Alone at home, studying or sleeping. Alone on patrol, with no backup if things went sideways, even if she was stopping petty theft and escorting drunk girls home. Alone at university, not daring to make friends for their safety, but also, how could she connect with them?

Alone, alone, alone.

It was nice to make a friend in Jason, someone who understood her and her struggles, her PTSD and the war she was fighting to make people’s lives better. He cooked when she would’ve either scarfed down $1 ramen or a granola bar, too tired after studying and volunteering to think about anything else.

They worked out together, practicing spars and running simulations of possible future events. They planned together, Jason respecting her ideas and her current struggle with her moral code. He asked for her help and input, unlike many she could think of (namely, Batman and Robin).

Jason also made her laugh, cracking dark jokes as he read her textbooks over her shoulder, or recounting some story from his Robin days as they patrolled.

Steph had practically moved in at that point, having a full half of his closet and most of her daily things scattered across his apartment.

Jason never minded, either; she was pretty sure he’d been just as lonely as she, based on comments he’d made about how glad he was to have another person to cook for, or for another brain to bounce ideas off.

~~~

“Why don’t you just formally move in?”

Steph choked on her pho.

“That’s a new way to start dinnertime conversation,” she got out, reaching for her water.

“Well, you’re practically already moved in,” Jason shrugged. “Just end your lease and save your money and live here. I don’t mind. It’s nice having you here.”

Steph considered it. “Fine. But I’m paying rent here, too.”

“As if I don’t already notice you sneaking money into my wallet?” He rolled his eyes. “Of course you can pay rent.”

“Then it’s a deal.”

“You have tomorrow off from classes, right?”

She nodded.

“Great, I’ll bring the car and we can haul your stuff over in one trip.”

Steph blinked, her spoon frozen midair. “You don’t have to help, I can manage.”

“I know, but it’s your day off. It’ll save you time if I help. It’s not like my business is going to suffer if I go out an hour later than usual,” he shrugged. “Unless you’d rather I don’t help.”

“No, I appreciate it. It’s not like I have a whole contact list to call to help.”

“Okay, then. Start early and have a relaxing afternoon, or sleep in and start later?” Jason’s teal eyes peered up at her from under his white bangs as he ate his pho.

“Ummm…sleep in a bit, pack and move, and then relax?” suggested Steph.

“Sounds good.”

~~~

A knock sounded on Steph’s door, ten minutes after she woke up.

Yawning, she opened the door, her hand hidden behind it grasping a baton.

“Jason?”

He blinked at her holey T-shirt and sweats that she used as pajamas, then looked back up at her. “I brought breakfast.”

“Come in! Welcome! Make yourself at home!” she snagged the paper bag from his hands, opening the door wider for him to enter as she peered into the bag. “Oooh, waffles from the diner by Monolith Square? You’re the best!”

He smirked, self-satisfied. “I know. You’re welcome. So, what are your plans for packing up? We each take a spot, we both work together till one room is done..?”

Steph looked up, her waffle-filled cheeks puffed like a chipmunk’s, her eyes wide as a deer in the headlights as she recalled every single thing she had left out that she absolutely did not want Jason to see.

“Did you eat already?” She deflected, heading to her (thankfully closed) bedroom door.

“Yep.”

“Great,” she said, sounding less enthused about her possible distraction being taken away than her five essays all due on the same weekend. “The boxes are over there–” she waved at the stack of cardboard in the corner by her bookshelves “--you can start packing my books, I guess. No judging my tastes.” She waved her finger at him, seeing him eye her shelf of old bodice-rippers, then disappeared into the depths of her room to scream into a pillow.

Panicking over, she quickly brushed her hair, put on a cuter change of clothes, and filled a box with the absolutely-never-to-be-seen-by-Jason things, like her vibrator.

~~~

With Jason’s help (and since half her things were already at his–their–apartment), the packing and moving didn’t take long.

Now they were relaxing on Jason’s couch in the living room, eating pizza and watching John Wick: Chapter 2. 

“Could you do that?” Steph asked around a mouthful of pizza, glancing at Jason from the corner of her eye.

“What, kill a guy with a pencil?” He snorted. “Yeah, I have.”

“Was it like the movie?” Her attention was focused on her partner now.

“Movies always increase gore and action for the views. Of course, I stabbed the guy in the neck, not through the ear like John here did, so there was a bit more blood, but it was with my foot, so I couldn’t be quite so precise at the moment. Easier to aim for the neck than the ear canal,” he shrugged.

“You stabbed a guy in the neck with a pencil using your foot?!” Steph exclaimed.

“Yep.”

Steph watched Jason nonchalantly take a bite of his pizza as he stared at the screen, now showing John Wick entering the museum.

Hm.

Jason Todd was a fascinating man.

She was glad she was living with him.

Chapter 4 ->

#jaysteph #jaysteph fic #wwyditnfuo #ali writes

[silvereternitywrites]

Empires and Moralities

Prompt:  "No," the Evil Emperor said to the demon lord "I will not sacrifice my captain of the guard to you. Not for all the power in the world. That is one line even I will not cross." Prompt Source: user KaiserArrowfield; subreddit “Writing Prompts”

"One line, he says," the demon Lord (his name was Forestqeue, thank you very much) said sarcastically as he gestured with his teacup. "One line you won't cross! Really? You also won't sell children into slavery-"

"It's abhorrent"

"-even pretend it's acceptable to muck about with sexual consent-"

"Because it's not, consent is clearly and easily defined as only valid if it's clear and ongoing!"

"-AND you won't do blood sacrifices, implied debt, indentured servitude, OR making questionable pacts with beings of dubious moral standard! And he says he has only /one/ line he won't cross!"

"Forest, we've had this argument every time you come over for tea, literally there is only one line, it's just that all of those things are well OVER my line. I'm starting to think she's right, by the way, and that you DO come over just to rehash this argument because it's a familiar stalemate."

"It's much easier than trying to rewrite tax laws in my own lands, I'll tell you that," the Lord shuddered and dumped the contents of a flask into his cup. It went from being tea-colored to looking like a slice of the night sky, barely contained by porcelain.

"It takes quite a lot of stress for you to break out the Astra Liquor, Forest. Other than the inherent difficulties you've expounded on- at length- of rewriting Laws that are inherently magically binding while simultaneously dismantling the magic of the previous Law, what else troubles you?"

"My daughter's started bringing suitors to the Palace," he groaned, putting his horned head face-down on the table and covering his head with both hands, claws working deep into his mane.

The Captain caught the cup before it floated off and broke on the ceiling.

"Does that not mean you can intimidate them properly, sir?" she inquired.

"I mean, yes, but tradition dictates I can't go full Fatherly Intimidating on them until after they make their courting intent known AND she picks one, THEN I can test him to see if he'll be a strong enough, or loyal enough, mate for my baby girl. In the meantime I have forty-seven peacocking little demons parading around my front Hall, getting into arguments, scrapping in public, damaging my furniture! Ohhhh they're insufferable. And I can't get any WORK done, they've bumbled into two different magical workings already- one of them is shapeshifted into a cow and has my mages wrapped up in how to turn him back, and two more are currently working their way through every brothel in the kindgom until their curse wears off, I don't dare start working on a Law with them in the Palace."

The Emperor, whom his enemies called Evil, and of course his people didn't (they called him by his name, Hardol), gave his friend a consoling pat to the hand.

"Have you considered setting them a Suitor's Task? You know, one of those traditional events held to weed out the less worthy of potentials by testing their wit or- well, I suppose two would run away with the 'vigor', so perhaps something about strength or political maneuvering instead," he chuckled, listening to Forest groan.

"Something to get them out of the palace for a day would let you work, though! At least in small stints."

Tired gray eyes peeked out from under the heavy brow ridges, and Forest sat up to take his cup back from Brigid.

"You sound like this is from experience."

Hardol grinned around his tea.

"Brigid has had excellent ideas for getting rid of unwanted pests that won't leave the throne room and keep complaining, repeatedly, about my lack of Heirs, and my lack of a Harem, and how they have numerous daughters available on offer," he said, tone as bland as his smile was wicked.

"Oh-ho! Now THAT'S what I come here for, do give me the gossip on what the dowagers got up to this time!"

The page who'd brought the tea slipped out, knowing he'd been noticed, but still quietly keeping up the pretense that pages and serving-boys were invisible, shaking his head as he removed the empty plates and cups from the first half of the "Demon Lord Negotiation Session" in progress. Yeah, his spy network hadn't lied; the "evil emperor, dominion of nations" wasn't evil to his own, and didn't care to sacrifice those who were loyal.

Maybe he'd keep this page gig. He liked it better than his last job.

#fantasy #demon character #Forestqeue #ethics discussions #moral lines #silvawrites #writing prompts #kindness is never wasted

[silenceinternalmonologue]

A Review of Loki (2021)

[The following is an exact transcription of Twitter user @/diolesbian ‘s thread linked here . They gave me permission to cross-post their thread on my Tumblr. Keep in mind that this review is fairly long and quite critical of the series. I agree with this review wholeheartedly, and would be welcome to discuss it with anyone else.] 

Loki is a character who has died many times, but his own series may be his most brutal character assassination yet.

1.  Loki’s role in the series. Instead of tackling Loki's most villainous state of mind in Avengers 1, the series literally speedran through his development in the subsequent films, after which they almost entirely halted his character progression.

Because this series was set right after Avengers 1 it had the responsibility of developing Loki further in place of The Dark World and Ragnarok. In Episode 1, this development was kicked off by having Loki watch a reel of some of his defining moments in the MCU, allowing him to see his future all the way up to his death in Infinity War. Sadly, this scene ended up being the most development he received in the entire series. And arguably, this isn’t even true development but more like a speedrun of his character up until that point, serving as a simple tactic to explain why he wouldn’t be acting all dictatorial and murderous during his own series. As soon as he had been made “good” (read: docile) enough to follow along with the plot, his agency was completely thrown out. From that point on, the series wasn’t about Loki making things happen but about things happening to Loki.

Loki was supposed to be the main character, but he wasn't the protagonist in this story. In fact, he was more of a side character than we’ve ever seen him be in the MCU before, perhaps excepting IW and Endgame.

A protagonist is by definition someone whose important decisions affect the plot, whose development is followed most closely by the audience, and who is opposed by an antagonist. Loki exhibited none of these traits in this series. Especially the latter half of the story, he was reduced to simply reacting to the revelations around him, such as the reveal that the TVA members were all variants and that Kang was the true mastermind behind everything. He never truly involved himself or acted based on any of these plot points, and hardly played a key role in what was supposed to be his own story. Even in the films, where Loki is a side character, he makes choices which impact the plot to a larger extent. He almost seems more like a background character in the role of protagonist than in the parts he plays in the films.

2. The antagonist. The TVA could have worked as the perfect setting for Loki to have a new arc. It’s a thematic antithesis to who we know Loki to be. But when this Loki turns out to not be who the audience thought he was the TVA’s thematic significance falls apart as well.

In Episode 1, the TVA’s Agent Mobius enlists the help of Loki the Variant to pin down a greater foe who we are told is another, more malicious version of Loki. Order and chaos meeting in the middle, teaming up to take down an enemy, who even happens to be the protagonists’ literal evil self: that works, it sounds promising. But this dynamic is soon undermined when Loki leaves with Sylvie. Still, the benefit of the doubt is easy to grant here: a story about tricksters is bound to contain twists. But by Episode 3 the series is halfway done and the TVA has been appointed as the main antagonist again: we’ve now established villains three different times. And then the Cloud Monster At The End Of Time is introduced, and finally Kang. In other words, the Loki series has no consistent antagonist, no one to pit its main character against. And this is where we once again miss out on an enormous aspect of Loki’s potential characterization.

Protagonists are always defined by an antagonist, whether a purple Titan, a flat tire, or themself. Loki is not given anything to define his morals, motivations, or development in opposition to and this is a huge oversight. Especially given the fact that Loki has taken on the villain’s role in the past: how is the audience supposed to know that the “bad guy” is now a “good guy” if there’s no “even worse guy” to stand up against?

3. The plot. A plot should show off its MC’s strengths and match their personality. The Loki plot hardly relied on his presence at all, he didn't play a key role. The story had so little to do with Loki that it seemed as though he has barely any impact on “his” narrative.

One of the most central conflicts in the Loki series doesn’t involve him at all: it’s between Sylvie and the TVA. This plotline was a good concept overall, but its main problem is that it’s practically the only conflict in the series. Loki himself, as mentioned before, isn’t set in opposition to anything or anyone. And thanks to his relationships with Sylvie and Mobius being weakened by conflicting storytelling devices, he appears to be in a bubble by himself away from the rest of the cast for much of the story. First he follows Mobius around, then Sylvie, then he wanders aimlessly in the void before following Sylvie once again and learning that Kang is a Really Bad Guy who he should be opposed to even though by this point he has interacted so little with the story unfolding around him that the audience doesn’t even understand why he should be choosing to play the hero.

The plot and the characters both suffer by being so incredibly unrelated to each other. A series, especially an MCU one, should tell an overarching narrative through the perspective of its main character.

In the beginning of the series, when Loki was still getting his bearings in the TVA, this lack of decision-making was more understandable, especially since some of his skills were still being shown-- he discovered Sylvie was hiding in nexus events, and he made the choice to leave Mobius and follow her. But by the latter half of the series he still hasn’t had much impact on the story or taken any actions of his own, and simply allows plot points to happen to him. Just because the Loki series had to introduce the TVA and Kang didn’t mean it had to forgo telling a story about its protagonist. If Loki’s story had been intrinsically tied to the overarching plot points, if his choices had been some of the primary factors determining how events ended up taking place, the series would have succeeded in every aspect. But instead Loki is pushed aside by the plot of his own series, a plot which subsequently ends up coming across as largely hollow and pointless due to its lack of character drive.

4. Loki’s arc. One of the main reasons MCU Loki is loved is for his excellent character development across his films. TVA Loki was extremely lacking in that aspect and chances to take his character in interesting new self-aware directions were thrown away without much thought.

Throughout the MCU, Loki is on a journey with many highs and lows. He goes from a bitter and disheartened prince standing in the shadow of his brother, to a self-loathing Jotun bent on destroying his own people in a desperate attempt to win his father’s love, to a half-mad partially mind-controlled dictator with delusions of grandeur fueled by his own insecurity, to a prisoner wondering what there is left for him to lose, to a savior of Asgard’s people finally coming to accept his place in what is left of his family, to a tragic sacrificial victim who knew he had to die so the true hero might live on. That’s a hell of a journey, incidentally shown in less than TWO HOURS of screen time, and the prospect of TVA Loki embarking on an equally stimulating one, this time told over the course of over four hours and shown from his own perspective the entire way through, was exciting. But as it turned out, this relatively simple expectation went completely unmet.

For a story trying to say so much about individuality and self-acceptance, the Loki series seemed to pass by every obvious opportunity to tackle those questions.

Sylvie’s introduction seemed like a good idea at first: Loki would be able to literally bond with himself and learn to accept who he is that way, and forays could be made to explore what Loki’s personality could have been like if he grew up under different circumstances! But aside from a scene or two in Episode 3, this was not how things ended up going. Loki didn’t come to any grand or important conclusions about his identity, he didn’t choose to act differently, all that happened was a vaguely-worded confession of pseudo-romantic feelings which was cut off in the middle, made no sense, and weakened the narrative in a whole host of other ways explained elsewhere. Loki’s encounter with other versions of themself in the Void was similarly meaningless: Loki didn’t end up expressing or demonstrating a single thing he learned from meeting all of those alternate selves, despite the fact that there was potential for massive self-discovery there.

Less than 2 hours of MCU screen time portrayed Loki more coherently than this entire series. Loki is loved because of how much he changes, and it felt like he didn’t in this series. He started off lost and stayed that way throughout the entire plot.

By the end of the series, it was impossible to identify who Loki had become. He said he didn’t want a throne, but it was not obvious why not. He looked sad to be betrayed by Sylvie, but never expressed what that meant to him. He seemed afraid once Kang was unleashed, but why? Why did he care about the Sacred Timeline? What were his motivations? Throughout the series the answers to these questions became less and less obvious, culminating in the final episode which ended without a single moment of reflection or explanation as to who Loki had become. He wasn’t a villain, but only because he wasn’t murdering people. He was in some capacity a hero, for… being against Kang, probably, but once again with no explanation as to why Loki had decided to feel that way. He never seemed self-assured in his heroism, as if he hadn’t chosen the role for himself. Again, making one’s own choices that shape the narrative are what differentiates a protagonist from a side character, but Loki did not do that in this series.

5. Loki and Sylvie’s relationship. Loki and Sylvie had the potential to be a powerful duo representing the process of self-acceptance but instead they were reduced to a strange pseudo-romance.

Despite Loki’s many developments in the films, he never truly liked himself. He has been known to act extremely confident and self-righteous at times, but this is merely the opposite side of the coin containing his self-loathing and insecurity. Having him literally meet and subsequently befriend himself in Episode 3 was a move towards developing this aspect of him and potentially teaching him to finally accept himself as he truly is, but this buildup was all shattered in Episode 4 when the relationship is portrayed to have romantic undertones. Instead of a powerful struggle to accept oneself, the relationship between Loki and Sylvie becomes a twisted thing which is memeable at best (selfcest LOL amirite?) and outright damaging to both characters and the very concept of loving oneself at worst.

Ultimately, Loki and Sylvie's relationship didn’t add anything to either character’s development and actively detracted from what could have been a touching story.

Romantic love is extremely different from self love; romantic love has connotations including dating conventions and sexuality which are impossible to ignore and in this case serve as a distraction. And on top of ruining a potentially powerful storyline, this strange relationship makes both Loki and Sylvie seem out of character. Loki is once again one thousand years old and he has never even had a true friend, so why would he possibly fall for someone after knowing them for only two days? Meanwhile in Sylvie’s case, Loki’s “feelings” for her cause the audience to pay more attention to her romantic life and gestures rather than her actual character and motivations.

6. Loki’s Sexuality and Gender Fluidity. Loki’s sexuality and gender has been shown in several comic runs, and the series was advertised as featuring this representation as well. But due to several fundamental errors and problematic storytelling this also fell flat.

Sylvie’s introduction filled many fans with hope regarding the portrayal of Loki’s identity. In the MCU neither of their LGBT identities had ever been touched upon, while the series introduced a female variant of Loki and explicitly stated their sexuality. But this portrayal soon unraveled, most notably in Episode 5, in which many other Loki variants were shown but not a single one besides Sylvie was non-male. On top of that, when TVA Loki mentioned Sylvie and referred to her as “a woman Variant of us”, the other Lokis agreed that that sounded “terrifying”. Why should a genderfluid being be afraid of a version of themselves presenting as a different gender? It read as both fluidphobic not to mention strangely sexist.

The pseudo-romance between Loki and Sylvie only aggravated the situation. Not only did the nature of the “relationship” seem to follow heteronormative storytelling tropes (falling in love after a couple days of knowing each other, one party being reduced to a love interest, valuing romantic love above any other type, etc) but it also seemed distressing and offensive to many genderfluid people. A romance between a male and a female Loki, one of which doesn’t even call herself by that name, seems to be implying that an individual becomes someone else when merely presenting as a different gender, which of course isn’t at all the case. The writing wasn’t necessarily malicious here, but it was certainly ignorant and potentially even harmful. The opportunity was there to translate Loki’s powerful comic representation into the framework of the MCU, but this attempt did not succeed.

7. Loki’s characterization. Loki is a chameleon, but there are certain traits fundamental to his character. These traits were either ignored or actively mocked in the series. The audience already knew “what makes a Loki a Loki", but the series threw that knowledge away.

Episode 1’s premise of stripping Loki of everything he is used to was an intriguing setup to ensure the discovery of the core of who Loki truly is. The only problem was that this truth didn’t end up being found at all. Mobius made fun of Loki’s most defining traits, such as his habits of lying to manipulate people and acting out of a place of insecurity, which seemed to be a signal for the narrative to forbid Loki from exhibiting any of those traits from that point on in any way. This reduction in Loki’s character was reflected in everything, from his lack of humor (in the films he’s even funny while he’s taking over the world!), the underpowered way in which he fought against Sylvie (he’ll use magic to dry his clothes, but fight with a damn vacuum cleaner?) to the way that he wore the same boring outfit in every single episode-- it may sound shallow, but clothes are important when presenting a character. Every one of Loki’s looks in the films said something about him and his state of mind, and sadly that bland TVA outfit seemed to convey that Loki really was nothing more than a subservient pawn in what was supposed to be his own story. Ironically, the writing stripped Loki of everything that made him Loki, and left us with nothing but a Jotun-shaped void to be swayed by the whims and wills of the characters and plot devices surrounding him.

8. Loki’s past and abilities. This series could have elaborated on aspects of his character which had been teased at in the films and theorized about by fans, but ended up being a disappointment in this aspect as well.

Aside from Loki’s characterization and development, something else the series ignores is much of his canon story in the films. Since Thor 1, a truth that always overshadowed Loki was his Jotun heritage. He struggled with it up until the time of his death, clearly visible in his relationship with his foster family. It’s understandable that Loki was supposed to be independent from Thor in his series, but that’s no excuse for completely ignoring this central part of who Loki is. It doesn’t matter how much he goes through or how much his circumstances change, this feeling of unbelonging sits deep in Loki’s core and should have been both explored and explicitly discussed in the series. A series all about Loki was the perfect opportunity for him to finally confront and explain his relationship with his heritage, and potentially come to terms with it as well. And this isn’t even to say how cool some more insight on Loki’s Jotun inheritance could have been-- hypotheticals aren’t the point of this review, but it would have been fascinating to see Loki reacting adversely to heat like he has been hinted to in the past or even using his ice powers like he did in Thor 1.

Loki's magic was tragically underused. It felt like he was stripped of all of his magical powers even after his TVA chains had been removed, and this was never explained.

A second huge oversight is his magic. His powers are all over the place in this series. They were always a bit vague in the films, but this series was the opportunity to set that right and explain exactly what Loki was capable of as a sorcerer, especially now that the MCU has embraced magic more than it had ten years ago. But instead, Loki showcased an inexplicable lack of magic use-- again, the vacuum cleaner fight can be presented as evidence. There is a single scene in which Loki says that he learned his magic from Frigga, but no information is given as to how much he learned or why he doesn’t always favor spells. His power levels are incredibly inconsistent (he forgoes using magic when first confronted by the TVA, but is later shown using telekinesis to save himself from being literally crushed to death). And, strangest of all, there is a scene in which he tells Sylvie that he “can’t” enchant living beings. Loki, the millennium year old Trickster sorcerer god, who can hold an Infinity Stone with his bare hands, reanimate Surtur in the Eternal Flame, and trick the average person using illusions with ease, can’t cast a little enchantment? And if so, why not? The series offered precious few explanations concerning Loki’s magical abilities and instead only raised more questions. And in this way, Loki is once again relegated into the background and left with not a single shred of any new characterization or development. 

Loki contains multitudes, but the series reduced him to two dimensions.

This isn’t to mention every other facet of Loki’s story that could have potentially been explored to great success in this series-- his torture and subsequent partial mental influence at the hands of Thanos just before the events of Avengers 1 is one obvious example, as is his youth on Asgard, as are his suicidal tendencies (people don’t tend to survive falling off the Bifrost, and he knew that when he threw himself off of it), plus infinite other facets of him. Of course, it was both necessary and more interesting for this series to be its own story rather than one which lingered on past films-- but that’s not to say that none of these plot points should have come back, at least subtly, to play a role in this story. Plot points exist to be brought back later, not completely ignored. Otherwise a story may as well be written about a completely original character.

#loki #loki 2021 #loki disney+ #loki discussion #loki discourse #loki spoilers #lokius #loki x mobius #loki x sylvie #sylki #marvel #marvel discourse #loki review #mcu loki #loki series #loki season finale #loki season 1 #loki ship

[venfx]

magnus fic roundup

as tma comes to a close, i thought i'd post some of my favorite fics to come out of this fandom. most of these are classics, listed in no particular order.

A Weather In The Flesh by @cuttoothed​ | 3K | S1-S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete

"There is a span of years where Jon doesn’t touch anyone other than the occasional hand shake. It’s not so bad. He’s never been someone who’s needed physical affection."

Jon has never been any good at making people want to stick around.

↳ this is such a well-done exploration of jon’s character and his relationship with touch, and i’ve re-read it at least five times. sweet and sad and phenomenally well-written.

in the chillest land and on the strangest sea by imperfectcircle, singlecrow | 20K | Safehouse, S1-S4 | Jon & Daisy, Jon/Martin | Complete

Jon remembers a statement he read years ago given by a Jesuit priest, who said that the shortest prayer he knew was, just, fuck it, as in fuck it; it's in God's hands. He takes Daisy's hand and trails on after her.

or; hope is a thing with feathers.

↳ hey, you wanna fuckin..... feel things? read this.

The Magnus Institute vs the 21st Century: a series of emails and IMs by shinyopals | 26K | Series | S3 | Pre-Jon/Martin | Complete

The Magnus Institute hires a Data Protection Officer. He sets about diligently booking in meetings, writing policy documents, and training all the staff in the importance of confidentiality. Now if only he could get hold of the Head Archivist, who seems to have vanished again...

(Jon is only trying to save the world, but apparently some people think he should still be doing his day job.)

↳ i’d be surprised to find people who haven’t read this series, but it’s the definition of “the magnus archives is a workplace comedy”. also, alasdair stuart has actually read some clips of this on Twitch, so that’s a fun bonus.

Bell, Book, and Candle by yellow_caballero | 102K | Series | S3 into S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete 

In accordance with the Ride or Die Pact of 2009, Jonathan Sims can call upon Georgie Barker at any time for aid with no strings attached. Despite their rocky history, their childhood friendship, and Jon’s barely recovered alcoholism, this pact is sacred and must be upheld.

Georgie Barker may regret this. She may regret it when she discovers that the world is full of monsters and eldritch gods and dickhead managers. She may regret it when a punk rocker who should be dead collapses on their doorstep, a teenager again who needs their help. She may regret it when her stupid ex-boyfriend starts selling his soul for knowledge and the ability to keep his new family safe.

But she probably won’t. Georgie isn’t scared of anything - not a Clown’s apocalypse, not the apocalypse that Jon is destined to begin, and not Jon’s own loss of humanity.

Maybe she should be.

↳ if you’re looking for an everyone-lives-no-one-dies-happy-ending fic that also happens to be massively chaotic, look no further. 

The Reverb in These Holy Halls by @wolftraps​ | 98K | AU, S1-S4 | Jon/Martin | Complete

Undoing the apocalypse would have been enough for Jon, if all his people survived. Without them, Jon's only recourse is making it so it never happened in the first place. He's going to do better this time.

↳ quintessential time travel AUs. plot-wise, i feel like these can be difficult to write, but op does a fantastic job of tying things together in a way that makes sense. plus, it’s just fun to read.

jon sims v the nhs by @thoughtsbubble​ | 12K | Series | S3 | Complete

Joan Bright has a new patient. He's carrying an old tape recorder and is covered head to toe in scars. Jonathan Sims looks dangerous, but Dr Bright has dealt with all sorts of atypical individuals. She has no reason to be nervous.

Right?

↳ if you’ve ever thought “hey, jon should probably go to therapy”, then 1) you’re absolutely right and 2) this is... probably what would’ve happened. prior knowledge of The Bright Sessions is not required. also, apparently, this fic is written by the showrunner of The Underwood Collection? wild.

Family, Found by Dribbledscribbles | 9K | S4 | Complete

It’s Basira who catches onto it.

The collective shift that seems to come over them when heading in or out of the Institute. Not just the oppressive sensation of being observed, their every move catalogued for the voyeuristic cravings of some unseen Eye(s). That feeling remained with them even when they left the Institute these days, but it was always stronger inside its walls. That wasn’t the change. Nor was it the point.

The point was: making life worse for Jonathan Sims.

↳ i think being part of the avengers fandom circa 2012 has given me permanent found-family-trope brainrot, but you know what. jonathan sims can have a little happiness, as a treat. 

Road to Damascus by @titanfalling​ | 107K | Series | S4 | Jon & Tim | Complete

n. an important moment of insight, typically one that leads to a dramatic transformation of attitude or belief

Or, in which Tim becomes an avatar for the end of all things.

↳ tim dies and then he doesn’t. there is catharsis and world building. just....read it.

Come, Change Your Ring With Me by @backofthebookshelf​ | 29K | S3 | Peter/Jon, Jon/Martin, Peter/Elias | Complete

The Lukases demand the Archivist marry into the family, and the Institute relies on them too much to say no. Peter is smug. Elias is fuming. Martin is suffering. Jon thinks this might be tolerable if only Peter would hurry up and leave him alone already.

OR, the soap opera we call an Archives revolves around Peter Lukas this time.

↳ superb evil-bastards-in-love content, feat. martin pining, tim being obnoxious, and jon being... well, tired, mostly. i will literally never get tired of how op writes peter. 

creatures that i briefly move along by @dotsayers​ | 16K | Series | AU, Post-S4 | background Jon/Martin 

Mr Sims was so weird, was the thing. Miss Grant always said calling people weird was rude, and Anna sort of agreed, but she didn’t know what other word to use to describe Mr Sims.

He’d only been in with the class for a few days, really, and half of that he just sat at the back listening, but that didn’t stop her from making a swift judgement. 5BG had had student teachers before, back when they were 3ST, and they’d been uniformly normal.

Mr Sims was… actually, Anna had a better adjective. He was interesting.

↳ i just.... love teacher!jon fics. this series delivers. 

Once Bitten by @apatheticbutterflies | 1K | S4 | Jon & Daisy | Complete

Jon Sims has always been a jumpy kind of guy. Nervous. Twitchy. Daisy used to think it meant he was guilty. Turns out he was. Just not of what she’d thought.

Daisy learns how to peel an orange.

↳ daisy and jon’s relationship is an example of an instance where i’m happy to say “fuck what you wrote mr. jonny ‘chocolate torte of tragedy’ sims, i want them to be friends”.

pins and needles by mutterandmumble | 13K | S1-S4 | Complete

He’s got a reputation to uphold anyways; an uptight, rigid reputation that dictates the way that he interacts and functions and is such an integral part of him that he can’t let go of it anytime soon. He likes his safety nets. He likes his contingencies. He likes his privacy, and everything around this place right down to the walls seems to have ears, so he’ll stay tight-lipped up to and beyond the threat of death.

He’s good at that.

In which Jon takes up embroidery and bumbles through life the best that he can.

↳ out of all the introspective jon pieces i’ve read (and there are many), this one stands out. maybe it’s the symbolism or the characterisation, or maybe it’s the fact that i have an embroidery kit lurking in the back of my closet along with a hundred other half-pursued hyperfixations. whatever. this is excellent.

sleeping in by @ivelostmyspectacles | 5K | S2 | Jon/Tim | Complete

“Who are you trying to convince?”

Jon gives up, letting his head sag against Tim’s shoulder. “I don’t know.”

aka Elias gets tired of Jon and Tim's bickering, sends them away for a "team-building" weekend trip, and is sure to book them a room with only one bed

↳ this has everything you’d need from a “oh no there’s only one bed” fic. someone please get these men therapy.

if you try, sometimes (you get what you knead) by @ajcrawly​ | 3.5K | S1-S4 | Jon/Martin, Tim/Sasha | Complete

It starts with an abundance of boeuf bourguignon and ends up as a team tradition.

Food and love in uncertain times.

↳ more found family fic, this time with a diverse og!archival staff and food as a metaphor for love. hurt in all the right ways. made me hungry in the process.

#tried to keep this shortish but i might just make a part 2 #people in this fandom are crazy talented #tma #the magnus archives #tma fic recs #fic recs #long post #txt #mine

[serpenteve]

The argument I see most often by Malinas/Darkling antis is “but he killed people!” Honey, do you understand how war works? They don’t exactly talk it through. Or “he committed mass genocide!” Like, did we read the same books? Because I think you are confusing the Darkling with Voldemort. Yes, he thinks otkazats’ya are beneath Grisha, but his war is not against them. He wanted to rule Ravka. All of it. He doesn’t persecute them they way they clearly have Grisha. If Alina actually got a hold of her ish and accepted her responsibilities, accepted she was Grisha and their problems were her problems, too, instead of being stuck into this self-denial and Mal obsession, maybe she could come up with solutions. Then, I’d condemn the Darkling. But since none of these ever happened and Alina chose to ignore her country’s need for her(and Leigh made her lose her powers because apparently women in power are bad, it’s better if you’re weak, because your insecure crush finds you beautiful when you can barely walk, and what else was she supposed to do without any powers anyway?) I’ll maybe not support, but totally understand his motives, however monstrous his ways ended up being. Because, in the end, he was the only hope the Grisha had left. Give me a good alternative and I’ll take it immediately.

And another thing I don’t get. Leigh created the Grisha as a concept. They weren’t pre existing lore such as, let’s say, vampires, which already have established rules and even they get sob stories in literature and somehow given redemption. However, from the first books, she treats Grisha as if they are indeed dangerous and hard to understand and kind of barbaric, not because they misuse their powers, but because they have powers in the first place. Alina was punished for reaching the peak of her abilities. Are we not (in real life) encouraged to fight to fulfil our potential? Is being lost in oblivion and abandoning a great future, because we want the comfortable choice, good? And I have to wonder; the Grisha are Leigh’s people. She created them, came up with the rules of their existence, put hard labour into making their world an interesting story to tell. Had everyone pitched against them until they have to hide for survival, even in neutral areas like Kerch. Then, why the hell, does she hate their whole concept so? Why does she condemn their efforts to be good soldiers, good at what they do, good Grisha, while otkazats’ya soldiers are praised for the same(Ivan was evil for being a good Heartrender and a loyal soldier to an Army that basically kept him alive, but Mal was an excellent tracker and was trusted by his friends and superiors and we have to love him for that). Why does she punish them for fulfilling their destiny, a destiny she laid out? Even JKR (who I don’t like for obvious reasons) created the wizarding world and it was obvious she was on the side of her gifted creations all throughout her books. At this point, I just think that Leigh basing the Darkling off of her toxic ex blinds her and distorts the narrative in her mind and you don’t get to have a personal vendetta against a character you created (which is totally understandable, but a character is not a real person). So it just makes it look like Leigh’s personal resentment toward a fictional character makes her cling to a childish character she views as the saviour, offering a simple and comfortable choice she wished she had(basically treating Alina as a self-insert). Maybe I’m overstepping, but that was honestly the vibe I got. I like Leigh, don’t get me wrong, but stop making the same mistakes Frankenstein did and love your goddamn creatures.

There's a number of problems with the moral landscape of the Gregverse:

She made the Grisha a persecuted group but then treated the Darkling like Voldemort when he was more Magneto

She set up all this lore about how the Grisha have no safe place (the Fjerdans burn them as witches, the Shu Han experiment on them, the Kerch used them as slaves) but the plot doesn't focus on Grisha liberation, it focuses on Alina killing the Darkling as if that would solve the problem

Her heroes are not compelling. She set up a noble-intentioned but unhinged antagonist, but her heroes don't match his energy nor do they even have the same noble intentions. They just want to kill him and get the plot over with so they can go back to chilling in their dachas

Alina is framed as being "evil" and "power hungry" when she literally does nothing to prove it

Alina's status as a Grisha is never fully integrated into her identity or her arc. She was Grisha for like 3 weeks, killed the Darkling, and then she was back to being a muggle. There was literally no character payoff to her discovering her powers.

The Grisha get called "unnatural" and their powers implied to be an abomination by superstitious Ravkans...............but that's exactly how the narrative treats them as well

Overall, I just feel like the implications are gross. The leader of a persecuted minority group gets demonized for using violent methods when peaceful ones haven't worked out. And of course, the people crying for more peaceful methods are themselves not part of this minority (or worse, part of the monarchy) but feel they need to dictate how the minority should demand better treatment. Alina is paired with a partner who spends the majority of the trilogy resenting her status as part of this minority and demanding that she go back to the way she was and in the end, that's exactly what happens.

#viv answers #there's just so much i can't even write it all down #its all a garbled mess in my head lmao #sab meta #grisha discourse

[frevandrest]

Hi! I found your blog these days and your posts REALLY got me into the french revolution and Robespierre. I'm sorry in advance if you already spoke about this subject (maybe you could link me your post?) but now I have a big doubt. One article on history.com says exactly this, about Robespierre: "[...] Robespierre encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than....".

Is this true, by any means? Was he... this cruel? Did he support it? It's silly and I feel dumb asking this, but media portray him in a rather mystic, often cruel amd unforgiving, light. As if he's the heart of all evil.

Oh anon, thank you! It is not a false humility when I say that I never expected my blog to introduce people to frev!  As for your question... eeh. When it comes to Robespierre, it is important to keep two things in mind: 1. Thermidorian reaction. There was a conspiracy against Robespierre made by his opponents (typically those more responsible of killings), which resulted in his death. After the death of Robespierre and his supporters, Thermidorians built a smear campaign that is still alive today about Robespierre the powerful tyrant. In some cases, they insisted that he “made them do it” (even when there is proof that he actively tried to stop it), while in others, they pinned their own misdoings on Robespierre. (In addition to making up over the top accusations such as that Robespierre wanted to marry Louis XVI’s daughter and become the king of France.) Please note that this is not a theory or an interpretation, but a historical fact - many of them admitted that they lied about it (or their words were proven to be lies). 

2. Modern Anglo (Western?) ideas about totalitarian regimes (such as Hitler or Stalin) get retroactively applied to Robespierre and frev. This is an extremely popular view, particularly by those who wish to demonstrate how doing a revolution/change always results in horrible atrocities (worse than the oppression that started it), but it is not a correct way to describe Robespierre (if nothing else, because he did not have that sort of control over France or what was going on).  Because of these, it is difficult to get any “neutralish” explanation of Robespierre or what was going on, particularly in Anglo sources. (”Neutralish” is a bad word; “non-biased” could be better, but I don’t believe it is ever possible not to be biased. What I’m trying to say is that it is difficult - though not impossible - to find accounts that are not influenced by #1 and/or #2 above). 

Is this true, by any means? Was he... this cruel? Did he support it? It's silly and I feel dumb asking this, but media portray him in a rather mystic, often cruel amd unforgiving, light. As if he's the heart of all evil.

I am not sure what the source you mentioned says exactly. It is a historical fact that Robespierre took an important part in the politics of this period, including actions that resulted in people being arrested and/or guillotined. It is also a historical fact that what happened was not a result of a single person (or a single “regime”, to use an anachronistic term). France at the time was at war with a good part of Europe (a fact that is not mentioned nor highlighted enough) + counter-revolutionary efforts from within France itself (which, if someone is anti-revolution might be seen as justified, but not if you want to save the revolution). The entire revolutionary government took measures to save the country and the revolution. We can discuss whether these measures were (always? generally?) justified or effective, or - what I am particularly interested in - what would the alternative be, but this was definitely not something that was only about Robespierre.  

@montagnarde1793 has an excellent rundown of the Terror and violence and the way it is perceived (but I cannot find it now). @montagnarde1793​ ?

What is important to understand is that Robespierre was not a totalitarian dictator who controlled France and what was going on. He was also not the most radical/extreme option (in fact, some of those were his direct political opponents). It is another historical fact that he was against many (though not all) of the extreme stuff that was done, but he was not listened when he tried to speak/intervene against it (because he was not the ever-powerful factor who decided everything, as he is often portrayed). A lot of what we know about the man is a result of a smear campaign done after his death (see #1 above).

Here are some reading recommendations from people who are more knowledgeable about Robespierre (and what is written about him):

https://bunniesandbeheadings.tumblr.com/post/176777600490/hi-could-u-please-rec-a-good-biography-of

See also: The Invention of Terror  and Robespierre’s “Black Legend” 

#ask #anonymous #robespierre #french revolution