#just in the frustration kind of way

[inkskinned]

at some point it's just like. do they even fucking like the thing they're asking AI to make? "oh we'll just use AI for all the scripts" "we'll just use AI for art" "no worries AI can write this book" "oh, AI could easily design this"

like... it's so clear they've never stood in the middle of an art museum and felt like crying, looking at a piece that somehow cuts into your marrow even though the artist and you are separated by space and time. they've never looked at a poem - once, twice, three times - just because the words feel like a fired gun, something too-close, clanging behind your eyes. they've never gotten to the end of the movie and had to arrive, blinking, back into their body, laughing a little because they were holding their breath without realizing.

"oh AI can mimic style" "AI can mimic emotion" "AI can mimic you and your job is almost gone, kid."

... how do i explain to you - you can make AI that does a perfect job of imitating me. you could disseminate it through the entire world and make so much money, using my works and my ideas and my everything.

and i'd still keep writing.

i don't know there's a word for it. in high school, we become aware that the way we feel about our artform is a cliche - it's like breathing. over and over, artists all feel the same thing. "i write because i need to" and "my music is how i speak" and "i make art because it's either that or i stop existing." it is such a common experience, the violence and immediacy we mean behind it is like breathing to me - comes out like a useless understatement. it's a cliche because we all feel it, not because the experience isn't actually persistent. so many of us have this ... fluttering urgency behind our ribs.

i'm not doing it for the money. for a star on the ground in some city i've never visited. i am doing it because when i was seven i started taking notebooks with me on walks. i am doing it because in second grade i wrote a poem and stood up in front of my whole class to read it out while i shook with nerves. i am doing it because i spent high school scribbling all my feelings down. i am doing it for the 16 year old me and the 18 year old me and the today-me, how we can never put the pen down. you can take me down to a subatomic layer, eviscerate me - and never find the source of it; it is of me. when i was 19 i named this blog inkskinned because i was dramatic and lonely and it felt like the only thing that was actually permanently-true about me was that this is what is inside of me, that the words come up over everything, coat everything, bloom their little twilight arias into every nook and corner and alley

"we're gonna replace you". that is okay. you think that i am writing to fill a space. that someone said JOB OPENING: Writer Needed, and i wrote to answer. you think one raindrop replaces another, and i think they're both just falling. you think art has a place, that is simply arrives on walls when it is needed, that is only ever on demand, perfect, easily requested. you see "audience spending" and "marketability" and "multi-line merch opportunity"

and i see a kid drowning. i am writing to make her a boat. i am writing because what used to be a river raft has long become a fully-rigged ship. i am writing because you can fucking rip this out of my cold dead clammy hands and i will still come back as a ghost and i will still be penning poems about it.

it isn't even love. the word we use the most i think is "passion". devotion, obsession, necessity. my favorite little fact about the magic of artists - "abracadabra" means i create as i speak. we make because it sluices out of us. because we look down and our hands are somehow already busy. because it was the first thing we knew and it is our backbone and heartbreak and everything. because we have given up well-paying jobs and a "real life" and the approval of our parents. we create because - the cliche again. it's like breathing. we create because we must.

you create because you're greedy.

#every time someones like ''AI will replace u" im like. u will have to fucking KILL ME #there is no replacement here bc i am not filling a position. i am just writing #and the writing is what i need to be doing #writeblr #this probably doesn't make sense bc its sooo frustrating i rarely speak it the way i want to #edited for the typo wrote it and then was late to a meeting lol #i love u people who mention my typos genuinely bc i don't always catch them!!!! :) it is doing me a genuine favor!!! #my friend says i should tell you ''thank you beta editors'' but i don't know what that means #i made her promise it isn't a wolf fanfiction thing. so if it IS a wolf thing she is DEAD to me (just kidding i love her) #hey PS PS PS ??? if ur reading this thinking what it's saying is ''i am financially capable of losing this'' ur reading it wrong #i write for free. i always have. i have worked 5-7 jobs at once to make ends meet. #i did not grow up with access or money. i did not grow up with connections or like some kind of excuse #i grew up and worked my fucking ASS OFF. and i STILL!!! wrote!!! on the side!!! because i didn't know how not to!!! #i do not write for money!!!! i write because i fuckken NEED TO #i could be in the fucking desert i could be in the fuckken tundra i could be in total darkness #and i would still be writing pretentious angsty poetry about it #im not in any way saying it's a good thing. i'm not in any way implying that they're NOT tryna kill us #i'm saying. you could take away our jobs and we could go hungry and we could suffer #and from that suffering (if i know us) we'd still fuckin make art. #i would LOVE to be able to make money doing this! i never have been able to. but i don't NEED to. i will find a way to make my life work #even if it means being miserable #but i will not give up this thing. for the whole world.

[turbo-tsundere]

Kokichisake-onna

*Happy anime narrator voice*: “And thus, Kokichi has once again successfully evaded the dread of emotional openness!”

Also here’s a random selection of derpy concept doodles for this comic :)

Thank you byeeeeee

#gonta gokuhara #gokuhara gonta #kokichi ouma #ouma kokichi #kokichi oma #featuring shuichi xD #ougoku #awwgoku #my art #I wanted to post it on ougoku day but work and migraines piled up on me and I really wanted to give this one the time it needs! #If you know the legend you know why Shuichi is panicking XDD #Look into Kokichi's eyeballs in panel 3 and see the sad hope against hope and yet! he still actively sabotages any comfort coming his way! #Is Gonta just kind or is his compassion a warped mix of compulsive fawning and misplaced empathy that keeps inviting menace into his life? #there's a secret sadness to this silly comic lmao and it's those poor sods' autopilots #I say laughing but by god do they need help #anyway enjoy! I might try posting more of Gonta ships I like - like this one; or with Shuichi; and some others 8D #btw I LOVE Gonta's scariest sprite - fantastic detail bc it does look like a snarl and ofc a wild child would imitate animal expressions! #and 2 out of 3 times he uses it he's actually NOT angry but hyped or frustrated - both cases also smth I appreciate for certain reasons #his actual 'serious angry' sprite is far more toned down in comparison

[lunaryhues]

Me: "Can I please use all this energy to draw on an actual project"

My brain: "You will draw the same character over and over and you will like it."

Me: "Okay."

#rayman #artists on tumblr #these were made over the course of like two months or so #you can see that i was messing with his design a bit #kind of adjusting the way i drew him as i went along #uhhh anyways yeah i just think he's neat #he's fun to draw #its because he doesn't have limbs #drawing limbs is my least favorite part of drawing any humanoid character #so him not having any takes away a lot of the frustration i often have in drawing certain dynamic poses #he's also very cartoony which is up my alley. very expressive and fun #he has helped me push drawing exaggerated expressions more #he has good shapes!! its good character design!!! #and drawing him is comforting #i'll draw something else eventually but for now i'm just having fun #i have no idea how i'm going to format this post on twitter without it getting cropped to hell #i will worry about that later

[squeakadeeks]

"In this world, I'm known as...the Winter King" 🌨❄️🌬

This cosplay was so so close to never seeing the light of day, as this was the aforementioned project I rage quit to procrastinate with Nekomancer on haha. I really adored the fionna and cake special (and adventure time in general) and wanted to cosplay from it for eons...although I will admit this project was intended to be "generic blue and silver winter regal outfit for a variety of characters" and it was a toss up on whether or not the first run was going to go to the Winter King/Simon or Jack Frost...but I couldn't find my jack frost wig so here we are!

This was my first time working a lot with velvet and low key....I loved it and would love to use it more.

#my cosplay #adventure time #fionna and cake #simon petrikov #LISTEN listen i try not to be negative #i know theres no reason to be your own hater #but this project has been a whoumph from day one #making it was frustrating and the end product feels disappointing #kind of a bummer end to my cosplay year BUT #all the more reason and motivation for me to focus on non-cosplay things for awhile #since im pretty sure the reason this costume fizzled is i just didnt put in the extra care and attention it needed #which is just...not really possible when youre making a new costume every single month on top of a demanding job #ALSO IM SOWWY NO GLASSES MY NOSE WAS WAY TOO TALL FOR THE TINY ONES I HAD originally for jamie heinemann if you believe it

[drac-kool-aid]

Seward's bone deep desire to run away from the asylum is not exactly surprising. There have been a lot of really good meta posts about how the return of Van Helsing into his life is the turning point where we see the caring and good side of him and how we can interpret his life as a student in Amersterdam as one of freedom and happiness. How he is part of the tragedy of manners, how strict social expectations allow Dracula to persist, and how they only exacerbate the unhappiness of the characters.

And I think the tragedy of Seward is that, really, he should not be the head of an asylum. It's a job that brings him no joy, and he's BAD at it. We can all recognize that if your first reaction to going back to work is "What if I just leave it all." That isn't a healthy work environment.

Now, in the modern day, the ability to pick and choose a work environment, even to leave one that is damaging your mental health, is a privilege. (IT SHOULDNT BE, but it is). And, although it is definitely reaching crisis levels in modern times, major changes in your career have almost always been difficult (unless you are really rich, or a particular brand of academic in the 17th-18th century, or both).

Seward can't just leave and become a surgeon. To give up the lofty position of "Head of an Asylum" would be unthinkable in the 1890s, especially for a reason like "Being here is basically turning me into the Joker." Like, how would Seward explain that in polite society? Would they accept that reasoning? Would they create salacious gossip if they didn't? Can Seward leave his position without losing a great amount of social capital?

Probably not.

His rise to head of an asylum, as many have pointed out, was meteoric, to say the least. It has afforded him status and respect and also left him deeply, deeply fucked up. And he can't leave!

I think his desperate attempts to quantify Renfield's behaviors into a new mental illness are telling in this regard. Maybe he is too used to having to meet some sort of expectation, and now he thinks this is the logical next step (It's NOT, but I digress). The feeling of having to keep performing above expectations, grasping at straws to do so, and subsequently burning oneself out (as well as others around you) and engaging in unethical practices? Idk. It sounds like something that would happen today. (tbh there are probably a ton of Sewards out there today, as there are still systemic problems within the mental health system that allow for the dehumanizing and abuse of patients).

It doesn't excuse his behavior. Nothing he does to Renfield is excusable, but I think it does explain some of the *why*. He isn't just cruel for cruelty's sake.

So, tldr I guess: I think reading Seward as someone who got stuck on a career path that he realized was unfufilling and that he ends up hating. Social conventions restrict him from just quitting without and a (socially acceptable) good reason to do so, and a lifetime of being regarded as one of the smartest people in the room means he can not allow himself to fail. Unfortunately, this also means he can not admit when his actions or his ideas are wrong when it comes to his job.

(But he can show that uncertainty FOR Lucy, and TO Arthur and Van Helsing, which speaks his trust and love for them)

#dracula daily #jack seward #re: dracula #i think im rambling #but this kind of hit me #Jack's trapped in the asylum too in a way #only difference is his place of power allows him to take out that frustration on others #and i think it speaks VOLUMES that one of Jack's first entries was about how he regretted exacerbating Renfield just to study him #and as the sleepless nights and days filled of performing a job that he hates (and cannot bring himself to admit he hates) #as well as the depression from rejection #he stops feeling guilty

[mueritos]

a small moment of kindness that touched me today. speaking about our struggles as grad students in class with classmates. our small group is all BIPOC; another latine and two arabs, one who is palestinian. we are speaking very honestly about our fears and frustrations. feeling useless. feeling scared. upset at the world and its horrors. angry at other peoples' silence. but at the same time so so full of joy and hope. i talked about being scared of being forgotten, and we continued on with our group task of creating a liberation health triangle.

professor transitioned us back to the full class and while our professor began speaking again, my Palestinian classmate--so beautiful and with the most wonderful curls--leaned close to me and whispered "I'll never forgot you." I almost didn't hear her so i whispered back, "what?", and as sweetly as the first time she said, "I'll never forget you. And I'll never forget what you said last semester. You were the first person in this entire program who spoke of your frustrations. I felt less alone."

the walk home from class was very cold, but i could not help but let myself repeat the moment in my head over and over again.

#muerto talks #the way we are all forced to carry on because of the horrors of this world #and we can still choose to be kind to each other #what i took as a frustrating and vulnerable moment in my 10 am class last semester #was a moment where she could find some solidarity in someone else's words #and my small comment about being scared of being forgotten.... #i just #man let me appreciate the small moments of joy and love please #we are so exposed to cruelty and i have been seeing war and murder and violence nonstop #i spent the rest of class giggling and joking with them as we did our class role plays #it had been a long time since i had laughed that freely #i need to remind myself of this joy #it is so so important to #getting emotional writing this but it was beautiful

[twelvemartha]

the doctor's dynamic with his companions is like the beating hearts of the show, yet for some reason the doctor is so tightlipped about his feelings for martha in particular. it's maddening. sure, the narrative will give us tiny moments of the doctor showing his appreciation of her and acknowledging her presence. martha jones i like you. martha jones you're a star. but what does he think about her? how does he view her? what is her significance to him?

we learn a lot about what martha thinks the doctor thinks about her. he's not seeing me he's just remembering. sometimes i think he likes me but sometimes i just think he needs someone. he doesn't even look at me but i don't care. it's never outright confirmed, but so many signs point to this being the case. the doctor is constantly putting up walls between the two of them, which martha tries so hard to break through. and there are times where it seems like she manages to, where the two of them have genuine moments of connection! only for the next episode to come along and destroy that progress, as if it never happened, and the doctor goes back to being distant and overlooking her.

this wouldn't be as big a deal as it is if there was some sort of comeuppance or catharsis at the end of s3. but in the final speech martha gives to the doctor before she goes, the focus is put on her unrequited love. again. the issue, rtd wants us to believe, is that the doctor doesn't reciprocate martha's romantic feelings for him. but that's not it. the real issue is that the doctor doesn't even treat martha as a proper person, a companion in her own right, a friend who he cherishes and wants to travel with because she's martha jones. instead, he acts as if she's just someone to keep around because he gets lonely on his own.

and so instead of the doctor rightly being called out for his callous treatment of martha, we just have the show brush this under the rug and act like the matter is resolved come s4. because at the end of the day, neither martha nor her relationship to the doctor matter. they never did to the show or its writers. they were just a vehicle to tell the true story, which has nothing to do with martha at all. (this is absolutely rooted in misogynoir btw.)

#people have said this before and i'm sure i have too #i'm just getting pissed off about it again lmao #also i'm not saying that i expect ten to give a monologue about how he feels about martha #the doctor has never been that kind of person #but the fact that the *narrative itself* refuses to interrogate their dynamic from his pov is what frustrates me #rose is the starcrossed love. donna is the best friend. #who the fuck is martha then? #we will never know because rtd doesn't care to examine that question in any real way #martha jones #ten #tenmartha

[futuristicmiraclenightmare]

Some cute Ai/Hikaru and Aqua/Kana parallels I found as in they have friendly banter

(spoiler ch 140)

Ofc both Dynamics are very different but they just banter over the most silliest things, and Ai and Hikaru were just downright petty when they couldn't decide who was weirder out of them both Hikaru just resorted to pointing out Ai's mismatched socks😂while Kana just likes to tease Aqua over the most insane stuff that are somehow true most of the time.

There's also this

Hikaru/Ai also have a lot of parallels to Akane/Aqua as well but that's for another post

I'll just drop in these cute pics as well because why not?

Also side note my exam is tomorrow and they only informed me today now I have only a day to prep 😭

#oshinoko #onk #oshi no ko #onk spoilers #oshinoko spoilers #ai x hikaru #aqua x kana #aqukana #parallels #honestly hikaru/ai is growing on me their relationship was kind of cute before everything went wrong #but I don't think they would've ever worked out even if Hikaru didn't kill her #they had too much individual trauma that would've gotten in the way #but aqukana is still cute but I have a hard time deciding between them and aqua with Akane #atp I don't really care much about the romance it's getting too frustrating tbh #i just want to see Ai's past #aqua hoshino #ai hoshino #hikaru kamiki #kana arima #ai and hikaru were both literally just airheads that shared a similar energy back then lol 🤣

[uncanny-tranny]

I think when people talk about things like desirability, they can miss the deeper point of why it can be important to analyze why people are seen as undesirable. It isn't just that a type of person is just... not hot... but often, it's the dehumanization of a person based on marginalized features.

For instance, I had a conversation with somebody about disability portrayal in media, and we had agreed that, historically, disability had been portrayed as a horrific ordeal. However, I think they missed the point as to why the "undesirable disabled" character was so appealing to a broader audience. The idea that disability is other, inhuman, and something that depersonalizes somebody from society is partly why those ideas were and are prevalent in mainstream media and culture. It is the idea that "nobody likes you. Nobody needs you. Nobody wants you" because of the person's marginalized body or experience or whatever it may be.

It isn't some superficial "oh why aren't I seen as pretty by everybody?" It is the knowledge that you are portrayed as undesirable in this way because it is a way to separate you from everybody else. It isn't about beauty, nor is it a selfish desire to be wanted by somebody. It is the desire to be seen as a person - an equal, regardless of who desires you or who does not.

#beauty culture #desirability politics #ableism #ableism tw #i brought up media but it doesn't solely apply to that and the same with disability #i just thought the conversation perfectly encapsulated my frustration with how people interact with desirability #because some people go at it with the assumption that it is shallow and vapid and vain to want to have people change their perspective... #...about how they view a marginalized status #like when trans people have criticism of desirability favouring cisnormativity fot instance - people assume it is vapid and vain... #..but it is us asking to be seen as PEOPLE even *if* we aren't fucking ~desirable~ by everybody. your desires shouldn't impact us like that #our lives shouldn't hinge on us fighting to be seen as human beings - we shouldn't need to fight tooth and fucking nail for it #i've been thinking about that conversation for a while now and it's kind of nice to somewhat flesh out my problems with it all #i have no ill-will to the person i was talking to and about. we just went at the premise in different ways and i have different ideas #i don't think the person is Bad and Horrible. i think that they AND i are impacted by this and we have different experiences

[ineed-to-sleep]

I'm watching Berserk and I may or may not have hyped myself up to turn my vampire ocs into dark fantasy characters. mmaybe

#sketch tag #so uh. pepper is kind of a guts basically jdjgkckkc #they're both in an army and they butt heads a lot bc pepper is big and stronk but very impulsive and reckless #but there's no griffith situation or anything like that it's just that vince worries abt her #and he's way more restrained as a fighter and a strategist. maybe a commander or second in command #and just like in vtm he's very paranoid and afraid of change. so he worries abt her and is also unhappy in the army but too scared to leave #so he broods a lot and mopes around and gets on her ass abt her recklessness #and just like in vtm pepper is impulsive and has a lot of pent up frustration and she uses the battlefield to release all of it #sometimes overexerting herself and nearly getting herself killed #she also wants to leave bc she's not sure she believes in what they're fighting for anymore. but then she loses her coping mechanism #things change when they have an argument where he reveals he cares abt her sjfjjfkf YES very cliche I am thriving #and she's dismissive at first but after being alone for a bit his words start sinking in #and when they're on a battlefield again there's a moment where they have to retreat and she's about to absolutely not listen to that #but then she has a change of heart bc she remembers what he said + she cares abt him too so she doesn't want him to be hurt by her actions #neither by him getting worried nor trying to come to her aid and putting his life at risk #so she retreats #and he's very happy abt that he thanks her later for what she did #and then she's like yeah sure I guess I didn't die but also guess what. I'm bored #everything she wanted to release back there she just didn't. so she's still frustrated and especially bc she had to admit defeat #and she's an extremely proud person. she's irritated #and he's like aight. I'm gonna fight you then #and she's like what. and he's like yeah #so he picks up a sword and throws another one to her and there's a *sexual tension play-fight* hell yeah babey #I'm having sm fun w this au can you tell jejfjckckkc #eventually they do desert the army they're in bc things get worse and pepper decides she no longer wants to be a part of it #and in a fight or flight moment she pushes vincent to make a decision and he leaves with her #and like the story is only getting started there bc then there'll be some big misteries in the story they're gonna uncover #which. I haven't figured out what they are yet #but either way akhhdskfha I'm having a lot of fun w this #sleep.txt

[ravenxbones]

i let all that get to my head/i don’t care, i paint the town red

#party poison #danger days #ttlotfk #killjoys california #heard paint the town red and went hm. kind of a party poison song #got super frustrated with this drawing earlier and had to take a full day away from it #before ultimately just deciding i’ve scrapped WAY too many drawings lately #and that the best way to start improving and not hating my art again is to keep pushing myself through drawings even when i hate them #try to fix them. and also probably doing some studies would help #also using references. that’s helped a little with being less frustrated #ANYWAYS. i had fun doing this one #i actually faked the lineless style by coloring over the lineart i did with either a similar color for inner lines + same color for outside #:]

[relaxxattack]

i’m kind of really sad about this whole thing. just a year or so ago we were all excitedly explaining tumblr culture to twitter people, all proud and happy of how much Better our site was than theirs, of how everything was custom blogs and how you got to have your own little house and all this shit. and yeah it was a hell site but the OLD kind of hellsite, it was hell because it was old and broken and we liked that. and not so long later, all of that is taken away. and i’m not proud or happy about tumblr anymore. it just fucking sucks because i really did like this website. it felt like one of the last websites i spent time on that actually stayed true to 2013 web 1.0

#i know ive been making a LOT of tumblr hateposts so im sorry to my followers #ive just been kind of frustrated and sad about all of this #it feels so unnecessary and like it didn’t need to happen this way at all

[alabyte]

I mean listen as much as I want Tech to be alive I'm conflicted

On the one hand, I do want CX2 to be Tech. I mean, domicile, who the heck would use that goddamn nerd-ish word

On the other, I do not want to see another winter soldier arc, there's just four episodes left, there's no way they're going to show it properly if there's something more than just "oops it's Tech oops he died for real this time"

Don't get me wrong, I miss this guy I REALLY DO but holy hell we have four episodes left and I would hate it if they bring him back just to kill again. And I feel like they would because that's just not enough time left for anything else, even if they stuff these four episodes with nothing but plot

#just ramblings #as much as I adore Tech I feel like letting this dude to stay dead is a better option than anything coming next #unpopular opinion and fandom salt kind of #not like I don't want the winter soldier arc it's like I don't want it to be THAT SHORT OKAY #we've had more important stuff off-screen than we've had on-screen at this point #we're not getting our happy ending no way I get it okay #but I still feel a bit frustrated honestly #I still love tbb but #but. #the bad batch #sw tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #the bad batch spoilers

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

Melisandre is one of my favorite minor POVs mostly because of how GRRM plays with the all-powerful mage trope. See the deconstruction with her is that despite her antics, she’s actually very powerful and all her visions are legit. It’s just that she absolutely sucks at interpreting said visions, mostly because she has all these preconceived notions and is very stubborn about them. And even when the answer is staring right at her (literally), she just doubles down. And it can be very frustrating as a reader, to be quite honest.

Like she’s been super gung ho about Stannis Baratheon being Azor Ahai/the Prince that Was Promised, though only R’hllor know why, to the extent that she will flat-out ignore any evidence to the contrary. Her visions in ADWD essentially scream that Azor Ahai is someone different (not Stannis!) but good ol’ Mel just won’t budge.

There’s this very hilarious interaction in Jon’s 10th ADWD chapter that essentially spells out all of her problems with visions and prophecy, with Jon serving as the reader’s proxy in some ways.

This interaction happens during Alys Karstark’s wedding feast and Patchface drops some of his weird jingles, which Mel very unsettled by. So she’s turns to Jon and is like, “ugh that dude is so creepy, all my visions tell me so”. And Jon’s reaction to this is super funny, because he’s like:

“You see fools in your fire, but no hint of Stannis?”

Wow Jon lmao

He just had to call her out like that, unprovoked. But his frustration makes sense. He’s constantly been asking about Stannis’ whereabouts but Mel’s responses just aren’t very satisfactory (in his opinion).

Then we get this next line which really just says everything about Mel’s stubbornness and perfectly embodies the deconstruction of the all-powerful seer trope.

“When I search for him all I see is snow.”

So Mel looks for Stannis, whom she believes to be Azor Ahai, in her fires but doesn’t find him. Instead she sees “snow”. And this part tracks with her POV too. We know from her chapter that she constantly sees Jon in her visions. It’s how we get the very interesting “I pray for a glimpse of Azor Ahai, and R’hllor shows me only Snow” line.

So one would think that Mel might go: “Hmmm I look for the prophesied savior, but I don’t see Stannis. Instead, I only see Snow. I don’t doubt R’hllor’s power so if my visions are true, then maybe I need to rethink a few things”.

One would think…

But nope!

And Jon’s like “Hey maybe you’re not seeing Stannis because he’s super dead, ever think about that Mel?” And she proceeds to spout the usual Azor Ahai stuff and even mentions Dragonstone:

“When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone. Dragonstone is the place of smoke and salt.”

To which Jon’s replies, “uhhhh news flash Stannis was not born on Dragonstone so that doesn’t track”.

Obviously this is Jon’s skepticism but I like to think that he took the reader’s place here. Because many of us have asked ourselves, why oh why would Mel think of Stannis just because she saw Dragonstone? Like yeah, he’s the Lord of Dragonstone but he wasn’t born there. It’s quite a valid question and how does Mel counter it? She doubles down and twist herself into a pretzel to make Stannis fit (even though he doesn’t fit at all!)

Really, Jon’s reaction is essentially what would happen if someone dropped me into the world of ASOIAF and gave me the chance to meet Mel and ask her a few questions. I’d be quite frustrated, just as Jon is here. And to be fair, the reader has a lot of auxiliary information (e.g., Jon’s parentage) that Mel doesn’t have.

But then the next few lines really illustrate just why poor Mel can be so frustrating. Because Jon’s follow up is,

“And what of Mance? Is he lost as well? What do your fires show?”

And what does Mel say?

“The same, I fear. Only snow.”

…??!

Mel!😭

Seriously, I cannot! This is the exact same situation as with Stannis. She looks for a king but only sees Snow. This makes me wonder then, based on previous wording, if she’s specifically looking for “the King Beyond the Wall” (not just “Mance”) and only seeing Snow - at this point, Jon has all but supplanted Mance.

So once again, one would think that Mel would go: hmmmm I look for the King Beyond the Wall but I see Jon Snow and not Mance Rayder. Seeing that Mance’s power has been diminished and Jon Snow is now taking control of the wildlings, maybe I should re-evaluate a few things”.

Yeah, one would think…

Homegirl is trying her best, she really is. But sadly, her best can only get E for Effort.

And at this point the reader is just done with Mel, and Jon is too:

“You are seeing cinders dancing in the updraft.”

He doesn’t even bother to phase it as a question lmao. He just calls her out and doesn’t care.

And we’re in his POV so he’s thinking of the lower case “snow”. Also, why in the hell is Mel referring to Jon like this?

Anyway, this is why I think Jon serves as the reader’s proxy in this conversation because it’s like a thinking exercise (facilitated by the narrative) that ultimately goes nowhere because Mel is so, so stubborn.

Because if we really break it down:

R’hllor/the Narrative: Who do you see when you search for the king/Azor Ahai?

Mel: Jon Snow

R’hllor/the Narrative: Ok…and who do you see when you search for the King Beyond the Wall?

Mel: Erm, Jon Snow…

R’hllor/the Narrative/the Reader: Great! So say it with me. The king you’re looking for is J-

Mel: STANNIS BARATHEON!

R’hllor/the Reader: …?!

And before anyone claims that this is a misdirect, Mel really is seeing Jon Snow. Straight from the horse’s mouth:

“I am seeing skulls. And you. I see your face every time I look into the flames.”

Friend….I don’t even know what to say anymore…

#jon snow #melisandre #azor ahai #asoiaf #valyrianscrolls #Red Rahloo going: girl be so fr rn #He literally crafted a giant 70ft billboard with Jon Snow’s mugshot on it #Coupled with a giant red arrow and flashing lights #And said: hey Mel THIS is Azor Ahai! THIS is your king! #And Mel saw it and went: damn so Stannis is Azor Ahai yeah? #Ok let me be fair to Mel because she doesn’t know of Jon’s parentage…yet #But wow it really can be quite frustrating because she’s just so…Mel 😭 #But I guess the narrative just wants the reader to know if anything else #I think this exchange and Mel’s POV chapter #Are kind of emblematic of the whole “prophecy will bite your prick off” thing #Because imagine you’re Mel and you’re super convinced that Stannis is Azor Ahai #Because you’re taking aspects of this prophecy so literally #In a way that you really shouldn’t be #But then your visions are saying #well akshually Jon Snow is Azor Ahai #Truly the night is dark and full of errors #canonjonsnow #my stuff

[mokutone]

wooooooow naruto thanked him :) maybe naruto doesn't hate him. maybe.

maybe theyre even.

😳 friends

#my art #naruto #sai #sai yamanaka #naruto uzumaki #hbd sai #this is abt shippuden ep 197 or 198 #this moment means a lot to me as a fan of sai bc its kind of the first time that naruto extends sai an olive branch or like. #even implies he likes having sai around #and it happens right after sai stopped the cloud nin from beating naruto 2 death 4 real #and then got really frustrated at naruto for continuing 2 protect sasuke despite how much sasuke was hurting naruto and sakura #and naruto told sai to shut up LMFAO #but like immediately after that despite sai insisting that sakura would be better at managing the wounds naruto has sai do it #and thanks him #and maybe naruto was just thinking about how mad sakura would get or something else #but u can tell it really meant a lot to sai...and the episodes after this he gets a little obsessed w/ making sure naruto is okay #u can tell the whole time hes thinking ''sasuke is a Fucking idiot. if naruto and sakura cared abt me half as much as they care about him-' #''-i would never betray them. i would never hurt them like that.'' hes like so jealous of sasuke #to be fair to sasuke. sai would have no way to comprehend the loss of the uchiha clan massacre or itachis torments but like #ough. these episodes r great for sai fans. hes trying his best and he Does Not Know What Hes Doing #this isnt intended as shippy (very little of my stuff is. as always) but just sai being Intense abt his first real friendship #i think he's obsessed with naruto because naruto is so...up front. he doesn't often give fake smiles #and when he does hes not doing it to be polite but to avoid hurting other people. i think sai is drawn to him like a moth to a flame

[trickstermadness]

this weeks episode of dungeon meshi was Laios experiencing ableism and then just starting to throw punches.

#dungeon meshi #laios #kind of obsessed with how relatable laios is #ive never seen an autistic mc written in such a way #his frustration this episode felt so valid to me and so cathartic i loved him for it #but it was also unexpected so that was fun! like makes sense but i dont htink we've seen him lose his cool like that before #so im interested to know more #but damn Shuro telling him to learn how to read a room and that hes hated him the whole time while Laios thought they were best friends #owie bro #shuro was so mean about it too dude #i just love laios #and i love how hes autistic #i just wanna bonk heads with him #it makes me a little sad the other charactera think hes annoying