#there were also other factors that made me not want to live there (the lack of nature and lack of personal space the constant noise etc)

[shikai-the-storyteller]

There's no doubt in my mind that Madagio will use that energy to destroy the Federation. But today's Tazercraft tweet made me remember an old thought I had. I know the white figure in that photo is probably Cucurucho, but wouldn't it be interesting if it was Madagio who saves Pac?

[ Also on Ao3 ]

—

Madagio felt empathy for Fit, in the end.

They understood what it meant to be robbed of purpose because of factors outside of their control. Although they felt remorse for leaving Fit in the dark (figuratively and literally) for so long, they finally had what they needed, and Fit was no longer a required part of their plan. Success demanded sacrifice, and it was one only Madagio could pay.

The power of Vacuus Island surpassed that of Quesadilla Island's, and once Madagio was willing to utilize it, it was easier to jump Islands than they'd anticipated. The Federation was weaker than before, based on their observations, and the slowly fraying defenses against outsiders only confirmed their suspicions. Infighting and Islander revolts both had a hand in it, but like a cockroach, the Federation always found ways to survive. It was only a matter of time before its leaders stepped in and restored order — through any means necessary.

Madagio planned to deliver the final blow before they could recover.

The sterile white halls were sickeningly familiar. Even after all this time, the Federation's concept of "perfection" remained as stagnant as it ever was. Only a faint beeping and a blip of blue and green on a small heart monitor spoiled the monotonous tour of the Federation's labyrinthine base.

The sight of a familiar figure lying in a hospital bed made Madagio pause as they passed the Federation's hospital ward. Although they'd never stepped foot on Quesadilla Island before now (at least, not in their current form), they'd spent months watching Fit and the other Islanders. They could easily recognize Pac, after so many weeks spent by Fit's side.

(And it was hard to forget the way he'd seen Pac treat his cats with such gentle loving care. It was hard to forget the way his voice sounded when he cooed sweetly at them, or the way he lay still for hours whenever one fell asleep on his chest or lap, purring contentedly. It was hard to forget, because Madagio knew what that love felt like, once. They outlived all others on Vacuus Island, but Madagio could never forget the love that bound them there, or the grief which bound them to their mission.)

—

The reason for Pac's hospitalization was clear: a failed respawn. It happened sometimes, even on Federation-controlled Islands like this. One could even argue accidents like that happened especially on Federation-controlled Islands.

Sometimes residents died, and they didn't come back.

Sometimes they didn't want to come back.

Madagio's mission required speed and stealth, but time is a funny thing when one has lived as long as they have, and they found themself in the hospital room before the impulse could even fully form in their mind.

It was funny – or maybe not funny, but ironic – how Pac looked almost as bad-off as Fit after Madagio freed him. Old bruises and poorly-treated injuries littered almost every square inch of bare skin, and likely didn't stop there. Dark shadows rimmed his eyes, and he looked skinnier than the last time Madagio saw him. He was lacking his usual vibrant blue hoodie, instead sporting black clothes which made him look even more desaturated, as though he hadn't seen the sun in weeks.

Technically, Pac was still alive.

A failed respawn just meant something was preventing his consciousness – or "soul" as some people called it; Madagio wasn't one to ponder the metaphysical – from returning to his body.

But Madagio had seen corpses better off than Pac.

The reason for his soul's reluctance to return was hardly a mystery. Even without their surveillance, Madagio knew first-hand the kind of suffering the Federation inflicted on those under their control. The loss, the grief, the brief hope followed by crushing anguish. Madagio knew that.

And they'd watched history repeat itself as Fit searched vacant houses where familiar faces once resided, desperation bleeding into dread before he found something that stopped him dead in his tracks.

Madagio granted him 24 hours to say his goodbyes.

They sent him back to his world after 5.

It was the only mercy they could offer.

But standing there in that sterile white hospital room in front of the cot that would surely become Pac's deathbed, Madagio realized there was one final act of mercy within their power.

Pac's hair had grown in the last two months. Madagio was careful not to let their claws snag the unkempt tangles as they brushed it out of his face. His skin was cooler than it should be. Madagio could hardly remember the last time they came into physical contact with a person, but they remembered that much.

(They remembered lying with someone they loved, curled tight into a ball on their chest and slowly feeling their heartbeats fade and their skin grow cold. No matter how desperately Madagio tried to warm them, they never woke up).

But that was not the memory they were searching for.

They sorted through nearly a year's worth of memories – memories of others' lives seen through Madagio's eyes. Birthday parties, festivals, a summer wedding under cherry blossom trees, hugs from children and friends tight enough to steal one's breath away, gifts that spoke feelings people couldn't give voice to, confessions over coffee, and promises made were speakers thought no one else could hear. Madagio condensed all these memories and emotions into their purest form as though polishing a gem; hope, joy, compassion, and above all else: love.

...And one final memory of a man standing before five graves (empty graves, though Madagio hadn't known it at the time), enveloped by a grief so powerful it was burned into Madagio's own memory.

And now, it was burned into Pac's memory too.

A long-forgotten instinct prompted Madagio to gently nuzzle against Pac's forehead, barely brushing against the skin as they felt Pac's consciousness return, and with it, his grief. They continued passing memories to him, and although Pac didn't stir, a tear slowly rolled down his cheek and onto the pillow beneath his head.

Pac was a man who loved so dearly and deeply that losses hurt him as severely as a physical wound. Madagio could feel that, and felt Pac's exhaustion as acutely as if it were their own. But they could also feel the hope beneath that grief, the hand reaching up out of the darkness, the desire to live as he clung to the lifeline of memories Madagio offered him. Pac still had a family left. He still had children and friends, loved ones and people who loved him in turn. He still had a reason to live.

The next tear fell from Madagio's own eyes. It rolled from Pac's temple to his cheek, gravity dragging it down until it was indistinguishable from Pac's tear tracks. Memory sharing was a two-way road, though Madagio had hoped Pac's lack of consciousness might mitigate that.

They refused to acknowledge any other explanation for their lapse of composure.

Madagio brushed the evidence away, straightening up as color slowly returned to Pac's face and his breathing became more consistent. He'd likely sleep a while longer, but Madagio had no plans to linger. They'd delayed the inevitable for far too long.

As Madagio stalked the Federation halls, they found their thoughts being drawn back to Fit and Pac. With the Federation weakened as it was, and soon to be destroyed, Madagio had no doubt Pac and his little son and partner would be able to leave the Island. The Tazercraft pair were clever – maybe even clever enough to track down Fit and escape to a different world altogether with him.

Madagio almost smiled at the thought.

Almost.

They would never see a resolution to Pac and Fit's story, for Madagio had their own ending to write, and each step through the marble white halls brought them closer to their finale.

Perhaps there was no ending for Fit and Pac; only new chapters waiting to be told.

And maybe, just maybe, their future could be a happy one.

#i talk #QSMP #Hideduo #FitPac #still mad and deleted this a few times but resigning myself to share this thought because maybe future me will appreciate it #and/or expand on it more #fic talk #i write #This was a three sentence ''what if'' post and then my spite kicked in

[ponett]

Whenever I complain about graphic or dark content in media I watch, I keep hearing people retort with this apparently very popular opinion that people who enjoy comfy, wholesome things are actually more likely to be raging assholes than people who love things like death metal and gore. As someone who seems to enjoy comfy, wholesome things yourself and likely met many others who enjoy similar such things, do you agree with this opinion? If so, why do you think this happens?

So I've been sitting on this ask for like a week, not knowing whether or not I wanted to touch it because it kind of feels like being handed a live grenade

For one, I don't like being pigeonholed as someone who just likes "comfy" or "wholesome" things. Yeah, I enjoy My Little Pony and Animal Crossing. I made a game with cute furry characters and lots of bright colors. I also enjoy things like Berserk and Chainsaw Man and Doom and violent crime dramas and punk rock with vulgar lyrics and porn. Variety is the spice of life

Anyway: I generally don't think it's a good idea to make sweeping statements about peoples' moral or intellectual character based on what genres of story they enjoy, regardless of what direction you're coming at it from. But this is a very leading question that kind of skirts around the root problems

There's frequent (perhaps a bit exaggerated) pushback these days against people who prefer their fiction to be a warm blanket, a form of escapism meant to distract you from the real world. In particular, the dreaded "person who only watches kids' cartoons" is a form of this that gets brought up a lot. I don't think the root problem here is what media people enjoy or don't personally enjoy - taste is subjective, and I don't think it's a moral obligation for everyone to have diverse tastes in TV shows - but I do think some folks should try to get out of their comfort zone a bit more. Sometimes stuff that seems like it won't be for you on a surface level will really end up speaking to you, but you won't know until you give it a shot. Trust me, I've been there many times

It becomes a problem when people demand that media ONLY cater to that "warm blanket" attitude. And I think that's part of the reason why that stereotype you mentioned about fans of ""wholesome""" media being assholes exists. People who view dark or violent content as an inherent flaw because it's not what they like. People who yell at creators when they make bad things happen in their stories, because how dare you do this to my comfort characters? People who say movies should never have sex scenes. People who want "problematic" moral complexity stripped out in favor of black and white moral instruction. People who seem to hate any sort of interpersonal conflict in fiction at all

These attitudes can be the result of many different cultural factors, factors that can't all be traced back to Tumblr or what shows you like, but sometimes it's definitely because of that lack of broader perspective on media. You can tell when someone's opinions on The Right And Wrong Ways To Write Fiction were shaped almost entirely by, like, Steven Universe discourse. (Yes, this is a jab at Lily Orchard.) And when these people are very loud about their opinions, well, it becomes a trend people notice

Like. I don't know you. You sent this anonymously. But when you say you "complain about graphic or dark content in media you watch"... that could mean a few wildly different things! Maybe you're just venting about something that unexpectedly triggered you, and that's totally fine. But the wording could also imply that, like, you take issue with these things being present at all, and that you expect a person who likes "death metal and gore" to be more of a "raging asshole" than someone who likes the "wholesome" things you like. So... well, maybe you're more dismissive or judgmental of things outside your comfort zone than you realize?

Unfortunately, in case it's not already obvious, on the internet this shit quickly becomes a proxy battle over dozens of intersecting cultural issues at once where everyone is kinda just talking past each other. So it gets messy

For example, I have no reason to believe that the people who run the "Wholesome Games" showcases have anything against games that are dark or violent or contain adult themes. (They've outright said they don't. Many times!) But when you see people going "why is Spiritfarer allowed in the showcase? That's a game about DEATH and that's NOT WHOLESOME, why would you make me think about death?" or "Ugh, why does Disco Elysium have to be about a cop? Why can't we apply these systems to a game about a young witch who's trying to find a lost cat in an idyllic village instead?" it... Well, it makes me sympathetic towards the indies who don't feel comfortable with the "Wholesome Games" label and consider it limiting. But it also doesn't make me think that devs catering to a demand for more chill, nonviolent video games are categorically facilitating fascist censorship from the Christian right

It's complicated! The written word is imprecise and the internet is a nightmare

I've kind of gone off on multiple tangents here. Basically: I do think that people can kinda turn fans of "comfy" media or "adults who only watch Bluey" into an overblown boogeyman these days. I think people online generally have a habit of swinging too hard in one direction or another in their stances on certain things, overcompensating based on what group of people online are currently annoying them the most and turning said group into like The Main Problem With Society Today. But I also think that boogeyman only exists because of very real examples of people demanding that everything cater to their narrow comfort zone. Go like what you like, but also, y'know. Don't be that person

#anon #ask

[centrally-unplanned]

In my list of orphaned projects is a big damn essay on the fertility transition , which I never wrote. I had this in the docket for almost a decade, back when worrying about fertility rates was still a hot take. But alas the ship has sailed, everyone is talking about it now and has written it all out already, and I have mountains of projects, so I will just outline it quickly, sans graphs and footnotes. Maybe doing that will incentivize me to write up a full one someday, and it also gets my cohesive viewpoint out there.

The Future Is Exowombs & the Global Fertility Transition

The Trendline

The fertility transition has long roots - going back to 19th century France, originating in metropoles like Paris and culturally exporting itself to the countryside.

It seems broadly linked to material prosperity in ways that are load-bearing, one implies the other.

It is a 'sticky' cultural transition - once a country begins to move towards lowered TFR it never recovers outside of temporary blips.

It is not related to "western" cultural norms or specific contingencies of religion or ethnicity - those can matter at the margins, but rarely make a huge difference.

Starting in the 1990's, following sharp increases in A: global economic growth and B: global cultural diffusion/global monoculture, a trendline that used to be reserved for wealthy countries has rapidly accelerated, affecting countries at almost every income level. The fertility transition is now fully global.

The Cause

The primary driver of this phenomenon is the positive realization of desires - and by that I mean it is not something forced on people due to a lack in their lives.

It is not primarily caused by growing singleness; the number of people having any kids at all today is lower but overall pretty similar to the number of people who did a hundred years ago. It makes a marginal difference but not a huge one.

It is not linked to money, or housing prices, or other economic issues - fertility rates do not notably change with income levels or other price factors. At the margins, sure, but not at relevant ones.

It is not linked to specific technologies like contraception. People have understood how to prevent pregnancy for centuries - though like many things they do contribute at the margins. Additionally, you can’t uninvent them.

It is by a large majority linked to the death of large families. It was previously common for there to be families with 5 or more children, sometimes way more. 10+ children was not that rare in the past.

These families were disproportionately engaged in agricultural production; cities have always been fertility sinks.

In a world of manual household labor, rural living, low rights for women, low economic opportunities for women, and high death rates for children, these large families made sense. The 'opportunity cost' of the endless pregnancies & sicknesses was low (economically, not gonna handwave the immense personal toll)

All of these reasons have vanished. People want to have families, and love their children. But enduring multiple painful pregnancies, putting your career on hold, and spending huge chunks of your lifespan on child raising no longer tracks. The experience of having ~2 children is superior, along almost every metric, than the experience of having ~5 children for most people. This is what I mean by positive desires - the family structures of the past were built on misery and necessity, and will not return willingly.

The Problem

Many will point to the economic & social consequences of the Fertility Transition. They are very real, particularly at sub-1.0 fertility rates. If you are South Korea today, you have no plan for how your economy will truly support itself 50 years from now - you will vanish as a country in a few generations.

The focus on nearish-term crises also misses the opportunities lost - economic growth is premised on specialization, and specialization is premised on scale. A smaller world is a poorer world per capita, and a less innovative world, problems which have compounding effects. The difference in the long term is orders of magnitude.

But, far more importantly than any of that, is that we are nowhere close to the capacity of the earth to support humans. Supporting double or even triple the current population of the earth is trivial; a 10-fold increase would be quite easy, particularly once innovation is factored in. Being alive is a good of worth incomparable to anything else - the 'future' is literally defined by it. Time only meaningfully passes through the eye of one who can behold it.

The Failed Solutions

Money cannot buy lifespan or reclaim lost time - all attempts to throw money at the problem of fertility can help at the margins, but won't change the fundamentals. Some people want to have 2 kids, but can only afford 1. Or are prioritizing a career, but will work part time to have 3 kids. But the current policy crop of tax benefits or subsidized child care has not found a way to make someone truly want a larger family size, just mitigate gaps between desire and ability - and only barely.

Could radically larger amounts of money solve this problem? A professional career track in giving birth, 100k+ salaries for full-time mothers? I am open to the idea - but society isn't. The fiscal transfers needed are too radical for the current political environment, no one is proposing this.

Immigration was frequently proposed as a stop-gap, but its a 90's idea, premised on the idea that the Fertility Transition was a western problem that other countries did not face. It is not and never was; as every country's fertility declines, immigration becomes a zero-sum solution.

Turning back the clock on cultural change is A: impossible, the material logic of modern industrial production broke the need for it, and culture is downstream of material constraints. And B: its barbaric - if your answer to humanity's obstacles to greater flourishing is to condemn half of it to misery, we are better off dead.

So population levels will either stagnate or decline - unless something intervenes.

The "Future" Aka Getting Rationalist On Main

Exowombs, aka artificial wombs, allow you to grow a human child outside of the need for a person to incubate it. The baby (hah) step they let you do is strongly lower the cost of having a child; this is time & health given back to a mother, it will make having larger families easier.

But that won't fundamentally, shift the reality - that most people only want 1-2 kids, they don't want to raise more than that. However, with exowombs, you don't need to; you can make children outside of a family's desire for one. You can do that pretty trivially, actually. A society, if committed to solving its fertility issues, could mass-produce people with exowombs. Which would be very good to do ethically, because living is good and I personally don't think kids at orphanages should be euthanized to end their suffering, they are fine.

If some society, somewhere, did this, they would rule the world in a few generations. No one else is solving this problem, and meanwhile the human capacity to live on Earth is being woefully underutilized. Before natural human growth would solve this eventually - now it seems that will never happen, so anyone who actively tackles the problem wins. They literally win the future, by being the future.

Now, no one is going to do this soon - proposing this idea is not my point. Exowomb research is harshly regulated or illegal everywhere, modern society hates the idea of this kind of experimentation. We are, in so many ways, allergic to the idea of solving this problem. It doesn't even have to be exowombs, maybe we do the salaried mothers idea. My point is just the illustration - the future where there is 100 billion people dwarfs any current trendline future. That hypothetical dominates the worldline space, because arriving there organically seems to have faded away. The fact that we are not going to take that future, that it is probably gone now, is really, really sad.

But of course there is the other solution, the reactionary specter - instead of the technological solution, we choose the social one, of cultural regression and expanded reproductive control. I am not so worried about this, personally? Because I think it would unsustainable and result in a lot of bleed to liberal societies. It should not be taken lightly though - in a world where everyone has 1.0 fertility, and the social and economic consequences are becoming dire, I wouldn’t discount the willingness for radical solutions. I myself prefer the technologist side. But I think odds are we don't get either, just the long decline.

TL;DR - don’t let the Mormons win. Build exowomb factories.

#the fertility transition #essay

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I don't want to contribute to paying for furniture for the house?

1/3/2024, Names changed. Sorry, this is a little long.

I (26) live with three roommates: Kay (22) who is my sister, Sam (22) who is Kay's high school sweetheart and fiancé, and Andy (25) who is Kay and Sam's best friend. All of us are autistic, queer, and neurodivergent in some way or another.

Background info; Kay, Sam, and Andy had had plans to move in together for several years with Andy moving cross country to do so. Kay and I both moved out of our parents house within a month of each other in Summer 2022, with Kay and Sam moving in together, and me moving into an apartment by myself. Early 2023 due to issues with my apartment and landlord and being unable/unwilling to stay there past my lease when it was up in six months, with some encouragement from our mother Kay asked if I wanted to move in with the three of them because Kay and Sam's lease was up around the same time mine was and they were already planning on getting a bigger place to live with Andy when he got here. Due to the aforementioned apartment troubles and having a hard time mentally living alone for the first time, I accepted. We found a small house and the four of us moved in Summer 2023.

Now we've butted heads a good bit the last couple months (especially me and Andy because we had barely known each other before moving in together and we have very different personalities), including a few very loud fights, but we have thus far managed to eventually talk it out and work it out and kept things mostly under control. I admit, there have been times where I was definitely the asshole in situations, but I've acknowledged that, apologized, and tried to improve my behavior since then. Anyway, this ask isn't about all those times.

A lot of my issues in the household stem from my depression and lack of motivation to get things done. A big contributing factor to that is that I am painfully aware I wasn't part of their original plan, and that leads to me not feeling wanted as part of this house. The three of them often do things without me like playing D&D, and hanging out/going fun places without me, while things I want to do with all of them just kinda never happens, like playing a video game or board game with one of them, or going out somewhere fun I want to go. Some of me not being included is completely justified like Kay and Sam's date nights, and some things while they do still sting a bit to be excluded from make sense why (like their D&D games that can get very NSFW, and I'm a sex-repulsed asexual. also being Kay's sister would make it extremely awkward regardless of my sexuality. I only found out about the NSFW nature of their games two weeks ago though), but certain things it doesn't feel like as good a reason for me to not be included or it's not actually communicated to me why I'm not invited to be part of something.

A REALLY big thing that contributed to these feelings I have was the day we got the keys to our house, as Kay and Andy were showing it to me, Kay told me "Just so you know, this isn't permanent. You're going to get your own place again eventually" with a soft deadline of two years because that's when another of their friends graduates college and might need a place to stay after. Over the last few months we have had several conversations about my feelings of being unwanted and Kay has apologized saying that what she meant that day came out wrong. What she meant by that statement was they all want to help me become more independent so that I will be able to move out and live on my own again one day when I'm ready since the first time didn't go so well. They were not/are not planning to kick me out, and the other friend moving in is just an idea that may not even come to fruition anyway. Even if it was partially a misunderstanding and there is no set time I need to be out of the house by, knowing that there is an end in sight has made it much harder for me to settle in because I don't feel like I can get settled since I'll just have to leave again at some point anyway even if that time is literal years away. Sorry if that doesn't make sense but that's the best way I can phrase it.

With all that background out of the way, I'll get back on track now. Kay and Andy have spent months planning on how to decorate the house and want to make the whole first floor (kitchen, living room, and shared craft space in the front room) themed like a medieval tavern. I haven't been able to give much input on how the house gets decorated outside of my own room. I've been trying to at least make my bedroom feel more homey since it's where I spend a lot of my time, but the common areas are much harder for me to feel comfortable and like I belong in because I don't have much control/input in how they will look. Which again, I know I'm not going to be here super long term, so it makes sense but it still sucks.

Now onto the actual situation here. There is a dining table set that Kay and Andy picked out that costs over $400 that Kay said on 12/25 she wants us all four to pitch in to get for the household for her birthday in a couple months. I am hesitant to contribute to this set, because I am not going to live with them forever. Obviously I pay my part to the household. I pay my fair share of rent, utilities, and food (though I will often make mini grocery runs throughout the week and I rarely if ever ask for money I spent back because I feel awkward about asking for money from any of them). I have already contributed towards furniture for the house but that is either things that are explicitly and exclusively mine despite household use (a tv stand I already had, a bookshelf I bought to display my things) and will come with me when I move out, or something that was a gift for someone else but still not ridiculously expensive (a $40 secondhand curio cabinet the rest of us got for Kay as an early Christmas present and various other small decorations for around the house).

There was another interaction today that has me a little upset. We've been thinking of getting a second TV for the living room so we can play online co-op games together. Who pays for the TV, determines who gets to keep the new one and who takes the old one when I leave. If the three of them want to keep the new TV, they're going to split the cost and I get the old one, however if I want the new TV I will have to pay for the whole thing myself. 1 person vs 3 people paying for something just feels unfair to me.

But the dining set feels different because it's a lot of money and I won't get to take any part of it with me when I eventually leave. With the TV I'd at least get to keep it. I feel guilty about not wanting to help pay for it, especially because Kay has said she wants it as a birthday gift, but if it almost feels like I'm just buying furniture for someone else's house. Honestly, I'll probably end up sucking it up and contributing anyway because I really don't like confrontation and tend to keep my feelings to myself anyway, but I just want to know other people's opinion on the situation.

Money has been a growing issue for me lately. I'm the only one with a stable, salaried job (barely pays above minimum wage though so it's not like I'm rolling funds), while Kay and Sam are hourly and Andy is between jobs right now. Like I said, I feel awkward about asking for money from any of them. Honestly I don't mind paying a little extra here and there to help out since I'm not much help with the cooking and cleaning, but the amount I have been contributing with no compensation has been eating away at my savings the last few months and I've been keeping silent about it because I don't want to make them feel guilty about it and make it awkward.

TLDR; I'm insecure and have trouble feeling wanted around by my roommates, and am expected to eventually move out. WIBTA if I don't want to help buy a dining set for the household because I won't get to take any part of it with me when I move out?

PS- If it's not too much trouble, could you please tag @aita-roommates-furniture so I am notified when this gets posted? Tumblr won't let me submit asks from a sideblog. If not, no worries! I'll just keep an eye out for it

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[kranagok0]

Hilda, The horror in The woods

Are you ready for more of Hilda and her friends being the Jujutsu Kaisen?…

A shame, because I'm still doing Astrid's abilities and I just discovered that there was already someone else with that idea of Hilda and Jujutsu Kaisen before me, so I'm trying to improve some aspects of the characters. Leaving that aside, something occurred to me regarding an image I found on my Facebook.

The story is about Hilda, obviously, and her life in the cabin with her mother. The thing here is about living only with his mother, his aunt Astrid and his father (Who rarely visited, if not almost never). The lack of social interaction did not stop Hilda from learning to speak correctly, but it did stop her from communicating like any other normal child.

Such a wild and solitary life (in addition to her family, but they did not often go with her on her adventures) made little Hilda grow up with a somewhat… Unstable mentality.

You see, Hilda didn't understand what was normal for someone her age, neither did Johana (let's give credit to Aunt Astrid for erasing memories as if it were something that could be formatted as if it were nothing) and why Anders and Astrid didn't visit very often. Hilda began to develop somewhat strange and grotesque tastes.

It all started a few weeks of meeting her best friend Twig, that little Deer-fox and his way of acting were also a key factor in Hilda's growth.

Hilda had gotten lost (all because of a sudden storm that no one could have predicted) and was swept beyond the stone circle. She didn't know where she was, but she was still grateful to have her best friend Twig with her.

The days passed and Hilda was hungry. He had survived for a while on the provisions his mother had given him and also some berries he found along the way. Despite that, the girl was still hungry. It was then that he asked his friend Twig to eat something, she was hungry and wanted some too. Hilda let out a scream of horror when she saw what her friend was chewing.

Twig had wild instincts and too much energy for a small fawn (more or less I call it that because… What do you call a baby fox deer?) of his age, making him more prone to attack other small animals. to eat them. At first this scared Hilda, but as the days went by, and with the little plant-based food that was around, she began to adapt to her friend's behavior. He even started to want to try some of that meat that Twig also ate.

Being so curious about Twig's strange dynamic, Hilda tried to do the same as her little friend.

Hilda's curiosity turned into something a little more obsessive and bizarre, to the point of wanting to try what her friend was nibbling on day after day. Hilda had never tasted the meat of… Nothing. She literally only ate plant-based things and nothing else, or not as far as her little 6-year-old mind could understand. That's why when he tasted the meat of that little dying rabbit he never thought it would taste so horrible. It felt strange to chew the rabbit's leg and even more so with all that dirty fur from the chase.

Still, Hilda took another bite.

and then another

And one more

One more

And more

Further

Much more

At some point Twig stepped aside and let Hilda eat the rest of the rabbit for herself. After all, she was like his older sister. He was the alpha.

And when the alpha is hungry he must hunt.

At first they couldn't even catch a single fish out of the water, much less any hare or rabbit they encountered on their way home. Over time he continued to learn from his friend and the other animals, trying to imitate their movements and predict what they were going to do. The problem was that Hilda's body was not that of a wild animal, she could understand the movement of muscles and tendons inside her friend Twig's skin, the movement of fish, the jumps of rabbits, she could even predict when a feather would fall off a bird and how many flaps of its wings would it take… But I couldn't imitate those movements, because Hilda was human.

Fortunately everything has a solution. She just had to move like a human. Like a human hunter. Luckily he had his good friend Woodman to tell him everything he needed to know about human hunters.

Woodman was someone who didn't care what other people did. However, even he knew that what Hilda was doing was too scary and morbid to tell her what to do. He was not going to risk that one day she would use those methods against him, so he gave her some fairy tales where there were harmless hunters, like Snow White and the Dwarves, or Little Red Riding Hood, he even gave her one where there were like 7 little lambs and a mother goat (to be honest, Woodman only had those stories because he could take them and run with them. He really wasn't interested in reading all the content)

While Woodman thought the books would calm Hilda down a bit about the whole hunting, skinning, and eating of woodland animals, Hilda saw a pattern in each story: An axe.

'so human hunters use axes. Excellent'

Hilda, in some way that I still can't figure out, got an axe. It was heavy, but it served its purpose. Hilda already wanted to develop her hunting skills like a true human hunter.

His first prey: a red wolf.

Surprisingly, the attack was fast and accurate, the wolf could never have seen a girl coming with a large ax from the top of the trees… The wolf's back was destroyed as Hilda used the blunt part. It was his first time using an axe, not knowing how to handle it correctly caused him to hit with the wrong side. Still, it was enough to immobilize the wolf.

The wolf still tried to defend himself, despite having his spine shattered, his adrenaline did not go down a bit. The wolf, still with its front legs at its disposal, crawled up to bite Hilda.

It didn't take long for Hilda to counterattack and hit the wolf several times in its skull. The sounds reasoned throughout the grove and spots splashed back and forth with each impact of the ax on the wolf's head.

After a while Hilda had managed to make the wolf unrecognizable: Its skull was sunken, fragments of the bones protruded from that amorphous mass that was previously the skin and muscle of the beast, not to mention how the poor man's eyes were left animal.

Like any good hunter, Hilda takes a part of the wolf and feeds, chewing and swallowing like any wild animal would… Still, she uses cutlery as her mother had always told her (manners are something essential in life, a one of the few things that Johana remembered and that were not erased like memories. At least Astrid didn't format everything)

When Hilda was 11 years old she had extensive experience hunting all kinds of creatures: rabbits, moles, hares, foxes (it was a difficult subject for her and Twig, but in the end they didn't give it much thought and they ate it), turtles, fish of all kinds, insects, deer (oddly enough there was no problem with Twig at that point), and many more creatures. The only ones Hilda didn't eat were those who seemed to have some intellect, she liked to converse as much as she could with others. I felt this need to share this information whether the person in question wanted to or not.

Hilda achieved a lot at her young age. I even developed somewhat disturbing techniques that other children (and even adults) could never achieve.

Hilda has never hunted beings with any intelligence…. But, if the opportunity arises, perhaps she could consider it.

It should be noted that Hilda is mentally unstable due to the situations she has had to face alone every time she went on adventures with Twig. There were times when he almost died from bleeding, severe bruises and even poisoning. Hilda has survived all that and more at her young age, and with it she has developed a need to learn about everything that surrounds her. Stalking, watching, observing, hunting.

~~

And that's it, because I don't have anything else. I just wanted to do this to get it out of my head.

Thinking of Hilda as something more than a good, kind and empathetic girl is something I wanted to investigate because it is impossible for someone to be like that if she only lives with her mother in the middle of a mess in the middle of nowhere. Some kind of mental illness had to have arisen at that point in his life, especially when he was always going on dangerous adventures where literally any dangerous animal could jump out of a bush and take his life.

I liked thinking that Hilda could defend herself if something like this happened. And then I found that image; a psychotic Hilda, full of blood and with mental stability quite out of place. Thinking about how his actions are reflected by his changing and unstable emotional state was something that inspired me to write all this, partly because I was also curious to know what you guys thought.

I would like to hear your comments, or in this case read them. Seriously, I would like to know if they also thought at some point that Hilda would have a seinen mode or if they enjoy a less bloody and violent version of the blue-haired girl more.

Well, we're running out of paragraphs, so I'll say goodbye. See you later

#hilda #hilda netflix #hilda (netflix) #hilda series #hilda the series #hilda fanfiction #hilda (hilda) #hilda the show #hilda au

[wrathsofgrapes]

Concours de Femmes: Our Dirty Secret

There's a particular facet of womanhood and girlhood that I find to be barely talked about, usually only briefly mentioned in feminist discourse - the competition between women, and beauty standards as a means to even be accepted by other women. I feel like "the competition" (as I will now be referring to it) takes up such a large space within women's lives, and I would argue even more so than the approval and acceptance of men, such a large space that we have barely known alternatives, or what the lack of the competition could look like.

Mainstream feminist discourse often centers around the general idea that "women do not do [xyz] to please men!" - often referring to makeup, cosmetic surgery, and other aesthetic rituals. In reality, in many instances, it genuinely is partially for men, but I will argue that it is mostly for the approval of other women. Women want other women to be jealous of them. Women are in a constant competition to be the most desirable, the most fuckable, and on top of it all, we are in a competition to see who can pretend as though we are not even aware of the mere existence of the competition, who can convince other women that they are the most -effortlessly- desirable and fuckable. Because if you fit a certain beauty standard that traditionally fits what is called the "male gaze", then you also fit in with other women that are in the same place in "the competition" as you.

Mainstream feminist discourse too often focuses on what we, feminists, can do about men, when we, women, are just as wounded by our patriarchal matrix and heteronormative delusions. It is rarely discussed that women will go through lengths of extreme aesthetic alterations (nose jobs, BBLs, lip injections, and whatever else is popular right now) not only to fit the male gaze and feel that euphoric rush of male approval, but also to be accepted by groups of women, to fit into the "pretty" group, for other women to perceive you as competitor. Because ironically, it happens quite often where the more you are seen as competition, the more the competition want to be friends with you. Society loves a group of pretty women. Think of the Kardashians, the Real Housewives, the appeal of sorority culture, and think about how reality shows about groups of pretty women are often solely based around the competition between each other. Because the truth is, we (as a whole) have been conditioned to find entertainment in a "catfight", we're all perverts, eyes and ears glued to the objectified gaggle of women claiming to be "best friends" as they jump through hoops to see who can be the most successful in fame, desirability, money, and often intellect as well. We secretly want them to fail; we have been trained to secretly want our own friends to fail as well.

In terms of desirability, I will speak on personal experience when I say that in adolescence into young adulthood, most girls do not actually want to have sex, especially not with the partners that they usually "choose" in adolescence (I use the term choose very loosely. I actually think young girls often get tricked into thinking they have full control in their choices). No, rather, they would like to be desirable, fuckable. Not only that, but they would especially like to tell their friends about how desirable they are via tales of sexual and romantic (mostly sexual) exploits with boys. Sexual gossip is a very important bonding factor in friendships between girls and young women, and I will argue that for some it is one of the largest reasons why many will partake in our current zeitgeist's soulless digitalized hookup culture.

In high school, I was fascinated and intrigued to hear about the sexual adventures of my girl friends, not only because I had none, but also because none of these stories were positive. They made me sick to my stomach. Stories of boys who refused protection, stories of boys who coerced girls into anal sex, stories of dry, painful penetration, stories of boys getting girls too drunk or stoned to consent. And the girls? Too often did they tell me these stories with a proud smile on their face, thinking that it was funny, not a big deal. I think when you're young you thirst for experience whether it is good or bad. You want stories. You want to be interesting. You're definitely more interesting than your prudish and awkward friend (me). They liked it when I freaked out about these stories. They would reassure me that it wasn't a big deal, as if they were telling me that I will experience it one day, because they think every girl does, and that's just how it is. They liked feeling older, more mature and more experienced than me. They liked when I pried them about their sexual experiences in detail. I only pried because I wondered if they'd get to a point where they really heard themselves, and the words they were saying to me. I don't think anyone's really having any great sex in high school, and everyone was trying to convince everyone else that they were having great sex.

I feel for these girls. I feel for my sixteen year old self that secretly envied these girls. I acted shocked to them as they told me of these traumatic events with a smile on their faces, having read Germaine Greer and De Beauvoir, trying to explain to them why they deserve to be treated better, and how male validation is not worth it. They simply thought I was a silly virgin who did not understand. I secretly wished to have just not thought about these things. Back then I thought things would be so much easier, simpler, if I just let myself be treated that way. I would feel more loved. I would feel closer to my friends. I'd have some really "fun" stories to tell. I felt alienated from my friends because I couldn't relate. Back then I convinced people around me that I was not so lonely. That I didn't see a point in relationships, that I was too busy to bother with them (busy with what?? Algebra 1? Who was I fooling...). That I wasn't so interested in sex. I wanted to act like I was above sex and love (or what high schoolers thought love was). I even identified as asexual and later, gay, for some of this time because I felt so alienated from the adolescent rehearsal of heterosexual sex and love.

But that doesn't mean that I was above an interest in boys - especially platonically. I think I have noticed (as well as perpetrated) women and girls not only competing for sexual and romantic desirability in the eyes of men, but also platonic desirability (which in reality is often just hidden sexual desire because straight men and women often cannot fathom of pure platonic relationships between each other). An example of this is women having a complex, often encouraged by men, that they are "one of the boys". Women saying things like "I just get along better with guys", feeling a sort of competition to see who can have the most male friends. Women can be guilty of valuing men and male friendships over women, just as men can. Men often don't view women as -full people-, and maybe, just maybe, many women subconsciously feel this way too.

Don't get me wrong, I am definitely still trying to shake out of being entrapped within the competition. I think we all are, especially recently. But it's hard when one is surrounded solely by people who are perpetuating the competition further, when one is trapped. I get that. This post is definitely not to bash other women and girls for perpetuating the competition in any way. I was and probably always will be entrapped in the competition in one way or another. We women are all traumatized, brainwashed to romanticize that trauma, and brainwashed to compete in who has more of it, because -trauma makes you interesting-. I think it's getting better, I really do, but that might also be my experience from the people I choose to surround myself with and love. Sometimes I find myself talking with a girl who I would not normally talk to, and find myself back in high school again, prudish as she is beaming with tragedy.

I think when women live in more privileged societies in terms of gender equality (I mean as in, women who are not forced into marriages, are able to access education, etc.), internalized misogyny is just as important of an issue to address as the everyday misogynies of men. It is too often that men pit women against each other, especially explicitly, and women will agree and be complicit to it. It starts with recognizing the misogynies. It starts with analyzing why you -really hate that girl you have never talked to-. It starts with recognizing the difference in how you act around men versus around women.

Simply saying empty phrases like "girl power!" and "women need to stick together!" means nothing when we merely have an illusion of power and unity in groups of women, because due to internalized misogyny and the competition, what should be a "safe space" is filled with re-enforcers of our own oppression. Women often don't even feel safe in groups of other women, because within every woman is a little misogynist speaking in our ear. It starts with the slow and painful killing of that prick, who has been with you since you learned to speak, and has controlled your speech ever since.

#feminist critique #feminism #divine feminine #intersectional feminism #misandry #radical feminism #radical feminist community #gender critical #male violence #pick me girl #misogny #my opinion #judith butler #andrea dworkin #germaine greer #simone de beauvoir #girlhood #womanhood #feminine rage

[dragonsrfire]

THOUGHTS? DEAD POET'S SOCIETY EDITION

Just thoughts I wanted to get out there

So Dead Poet's Society? Right? Now that I think of it was a film that came out when my dad was in his like late teens (technically he was around the same age as some of the cast). And somehow this film - made and released during their time has been one that resonated with the next generation? I am looking at the film and thinking, and I couldn't help but wonder.

I am not talking specifically about the aesthetic or anything but namely how this one film was definitely not made for my demographic. However - 35 or so years later I read a post here or come across a playlist or an edit or a series of head canons - I see how much this single film has impacted generations who came after.

I relate to this film on a very personal level (put the shipping factors aside). I remember watching scenes with Neil and I could almost recall having similar conversations in life and I had to take a step back and think as to why I wanted to block this film out for a while. I resonated with Todd as a writer but also as someone who had a very similar experience (shy - lack of confidence - but one who found their people). Other than that there were relationships within the story that made me look back at the ones I have and had and all that I am grateful for.

Also as a coming of age film I feel like it is one of the most realistic ones out there. The themes and the extremely bittersweet ending are raw and it hit me like a pile of bricks. The fact that they fell apart because of the things they loved - the heart of the group not being there made things drift apart - and those dreamers and poets who speak out are the ones to leave behind a deeply flawed system (and the cause and reason and leaving is depicted in extremely sad ways - they might give up on everything - or be kicked out for what they believed in - or carry extreme guilt for the rest of their lives) - There are those who fall in love and the ones that betray you and all of that can happen in just a few month. Things that took years to build like friendships and fellowships can crumble because of something external and all you believed in might not fix that.

(Also something weird just jog my memory if I am wrong but throughout the film these three use O Captain, My Captain - and its all in important moments - The last one to use it is Todd - Which I just think just captures his growth - he's taken up the confidence brought by two of his closest friends and a teacher who changed his life for at least a small fraction in time)

I had a few teachers in my life like Keating. They are the reason I never gave up on writing or doing things I love. They gave me reason to believe that I had something small I could put to use - I had a teacher who taught me at 14 who told me to never give up writing and another teacher who told me to continue writing poetry - another who showed to me that I should continue to fall in love with reading - another who showed me that the world was beyond the academics (as I studied classics - it was far more than that cookie cutter stereotype) - Also Keating as a teacher who actually listens - who is there to guide and help the boxes that literally hold students in uniformity

I don't know why - and how a film from the past can have such an impact on me in the 21st century - Very few films have impacted me in this manner and most of the films that have impacted me in that way were released in my lifetime. That being said I think myself lucky to have this to go back to. The film is a cathartic ritual of living, laughing in the moment and weeping and crying afterwards.

#dead poets fandom #dead poets society #film discussion #film discourse #ilovedeadpoetssociety #nostalgia #Ilovethisfilm #realism #happinessandheartbreak #comingofage #angst #happiness #neilperry #toddanderson #johnkeating #charlie dalton #stevenmeeks

[alicefromwhichplanet]

WWII tfa Humanformers Headcanon: Channel World

I got this idea when I was binge watching German war films two months ago (still watching more and more now). I easily came up with a human version of Blitzwing (he’s German, anyway), and then I assigned positions/ nationalities to other tfa characters I made as the main cast in my fiction Heroic Nonsense.

Characters/Relationships:

Blitzwing/Bumblebee

Megatron/Optimus Prime

Strika/Lugnut

The background:

After the war, the Cybertronians became quite conceited and joked about humans’ lives being too short and easy. Sari just made a machine/game that can provide users with immersive experiences as humans in a certain era. She decided to let her friends try human life back in 1944.

The Cybertronians were assigned random roles on earth in 1944 (based on their original identities…). They have video calls once in a while in a special comm link in the game, which they later call “Channel World”, because they’re calling from different parts of the world.

Blitzwing:

Blitzwing is of course thrown into the worst case scenario. He is at the East front, retreating… as a 19-year-old German soldier. He squeaked a lot, wet his pants, ran away and was dragged back, saw many deaths and injuries and was captured by Strika’s troops and let go, because it was Strika that caught him. He cried on the phone to Bumblebee saying he missed him, but refused to stop the game, because he didn’t want to be seen as a coward.

Bumblebee:

Bumblebee is assigned to South America as a Mexican boy, 17. He was quite contented with his identity first, but after seeing Blitzwing’s situation he was desperate to go and meet his lover. He signed up for Mexican Air Forces that fought for the Allies with great efforts, only to find himself bombing Blitzwing’s side…

Strika:

Strika was assigned to Soviet Union. The reason being that she reminds me of experienced Red Army women soldiers with her characterization… She is a leader of a squad, 24 or 25. Fought bravely to Berlin. Captured a German soldier (Blitzwing). But he ran away ( she let him go).

Megatron:

Almost no doubt Megatron was made a high ranked Soviet official, in his 30s, and in the battlefield as well. This is because in tf g1 there is an implication of Decepticons being the Soviet side of the Cold War. Megatron and Strika will be a crucial factor why Blitzwing survived in the POW camp after the war ended.

Optimus:

Of course. He’s an American soldier. White male, 28 or 29. Optimus is closest to the position of an observer. His humanoid character is almost like the “default mode”. He went to Europe to attend the war with his friend Lugnut.

Lugnut:

African American soldier, only a little younger than Optimus. Also fought in the war and laughed at his best friend on Cybertron Blitzwing when he got too immersed and called him “American scum” on video call. Will join civil rights movements in US after the war.

I may put this idea into fiction, or maybe will just post random short stories under this au. It requires a lot of historic backgrounds and I’m still lacking time now. But later. Anything can happen. Let’s call it Channel World AU.

#tfa #headcanon #au: channel world #megop #optimus prime #megatron #blitzbee #blitzwing #bumblebee #tfa strika #lugnut #damn it do they have a couple name? #maccadam #wwii #history #writing #my little crazy ideas #fake history #humanformers

[thewiz9062]

Smiling Critters AU: Familial Relationships & Friendship Status Headcanons

NOTE: THIS IS NOT RELATED TO CANON IN THE SLIGHTEST. An accurate description of this au is that I took every playtime.co poster art and promotional material from the game and lit up the rest of canon in a bonfire. That means EVERY character is part of one big cartoon. That's it. No bigger bodies project, no child souls, no experiments, just a depiction of a cartoon. PLEASE do not ask me to do anything suggestive with anyone.

OK I'm jumping straight under the cut, these are pretty long so be warned

Bubba's relationship with his parents is pretty good. The only reason I say "pretty" is because he feels like they "undermine his intelligence." In reality, he just wants to help them. In his younger years, he accessed the internet pretty easily and used context clues to figure out that with all the factors of an adult life, they weren't doing so well financially. But he saw a solution: a lot of people who have easy lives have a good education. So, he got to work, teaching himself anything and everything. He even (somewhat legally) got multiple jobs, ranging from tutoring to coding and other similar occupations. He hid these from his parents for a suprise. (This is when he was about 8, but my timeline is weird rn) anyways, he in total made a LOT more money than any child should have. Eventually, he told his parents and told them about his entire plan to help them. They exchanged a few words between each other and turned back to Bubba. They told him that they were very proud of him, but he shouldn't have to worry about things like that at his age. He understood because he knows that a lot of kids his age don't know a quarter of the stuff he does, but he also felt betrayed. As if they think he doesn't really know anything. In reality, they just want him to be able to live a life without their own issues, dragging him down. But they still are a happy family. There are just a few misunderstandings. Moving on, he still kept those jobs to the present day, meaning he's (for lack of a better term) loaded. In terms of the friend group, he is the one to give out life advice and such. He also funds their more expensive outings. If bobby is the "mom friend," Bubba is the "dad friend." Speaking of which, Bobby is his closest friend outside of Kickin. They both care for their friends and family, even though they do in different ways. He's still in good light with everyone else, though.

Kickin has fairly normal parents. They were a bit concerned with his behavior shift, but after meeting Bubba and his family, they were able to see him truly happy again. They care about him, like parents do. In regards to the friend group, Bubba and him are attached at the hip. If you were to invite one, you'd get the other. Package deal. This made and broke a lot of parties or outings with their peers, but with the critters they're both welcome anytime. Outside of Bubba, Hoppy is his closest friend, Dogday coming at a close second.

Hoppy's parents are her biggest inspiration. Athletes, just like she wants to be. They're pretty chill with each other, and they support her dreams. With the friend group, kickin is her best friend, but bobby is cool to her as well.

Crafty's parents are total assholes. I've gone over her parents before, but to give a brief summary, crafty wants to be an artist because she genuinely enjoys it, but her mother wants her to follow in her footsteps and be a model, simply because their rarity as unicorns. Her father knows, but doesn't care what she does either way. He's off defending people in court most of the time, and it was an arranged marriage anyway, just to keep the line going. (Not incredibly proud of this one, but it'll do). Whenever she wants to hang out with the friend group, she usually appears in far too expensive clothes for the activity, but Bobby's usually prepared and brings some clothing that Crafty feels comfortable in. She's closest to Dogday, him being the one to help her make friends in the first place and give her the motivation needed to be proud of her art.

Bobby's parental situation is bittersweet. She's the only critter with siblings, and regularly has to watch them because she has a working father, and her mother divorced him and didn't get custody. She is understanding and is more than happy to help, much to her father's regret, him having wanted her to have a normal childhood. (See why her and Bubba get along?) This led to her being essentially their mother. She wasn't exactly alone in this, as Picky Piggy was a huge help in some departments. Eventually, her father started earning enough to pay for a babysitter, allowing Bobby to be normal. But old habits are hard to shake. In the friend group, she is undeniably the mom friend. Other than picky (which she knew before joining the critters), Bubba is who she's closest to, for sharing the same goals: to help. Dogday makes ideas and plans, but bobby and Bubba make sure they go flawlessly.

Picky is also pretty normal. She has parents that support her culinary arts and had a few friends before joining the critters, including Bobby. Her knowing bobby immediately places her as Picky's closest friend, but she's fairly indiscriminate to everyone.

Another one I've gone over before: Catnap lost his parents at 4 (cause of bye-bye still pending and I honestly need help) and has lived on his own ever since. He's not COMPLETELY parentless, though, even though he'd never admit it. Although he never shows it like ever, he appreciates boxy boo just stopping by to check on him. In terms of friends, he's not actually an official member yet, but Dogday, Bobby, and Picky know him. Bubba and Kickin know of his existence because Dogday muttered his name when planning their sleepover but have yet to meet him. Dogday is his best friend, and wants to help him see that although it's great to be happy, he's still human (ik ik he isnt but yk what I mean) and is allowed to see things in a negative light sometimes.

Dogday was abandoned by his parents shortly after he was born, and was put in an orphanage and has lived there since. Just like catnap, however, he's not totally fatherless. One time, during one of the rare outings when one of their caretakers would take them to the local park dogday and wanted a balloon but didn't have a quarter to pay. Luckily for him, someone came and bought one for him. That someone was Huggy Wuggy. They became acquainted after Dogday thanked him, and anytime dogday visits the park, they sit on a bench and talk about things. (He also learned that Huggy gives the greatest hugs and now he won't leave without one everytime he has to go.) In terms of the friend group, he was the one that brought most of them together and along with being generally likeable he's in great standing with all of them. Though, hides the fact that he lives in an orphanage, thinking that they would treat him differently. When he met Catnap, however, they bonded over their lack of biological parents, and they became best friends. Dogday, even though he barely knows more than Catnap, wants to teach him how to make the best out of situations, even when times are bad.

------

Edit: tumblr try not to post my drafts challenge go- failed

#poppy playtime #smiling critters #smiling critters poppy playtime #catnap #alternate universe #dogday #craftycorn #bobby bearhug #bubba bubbaphant #hoppy hopscotch #kickinchicken #poppy playtime 3 #boxy boo #huggy wuggy

[strangesmallbard]

while i understand why folks in the yj fandom want more onscreen dialogue about the Cannibalism Rituals, i don’t think the sudden jump to hunting down/slaughtering natalie felt unrealistic or ooc for anyone in the group. i actually thought the sudden, slap-dashed ritual development made sense—both for the show’s narrative structure and the scene’s context.

simply put: they’re hungry. they’ve spent the entire season hungry. they already cannibalized jackie’s corpse and don’t really feel bad about it. starvation completely annihilates a person’s rational brain. “why would they eat nat, one of two hunters in the group?” they’re hungry. “why wouldn’t they cannibalize coach ben, who they don’t trust and who’s visibly wasting away?” he wasn’t there when they decided to draw cards, and they’re hungry.

“if they were so hungry, why didn’t they accept lottie���s sacrifice?” lottie is the only person giving them any semblance of meaning and hope in circumstances defined by brutal, senseless violence. even tai—arguably the biggest nonbeliever of the group—joined the prayer when shauna gave birth, and saw shauna survive placental abruption with her own eyes. everyone has a vested interest in keeping lottie alive. “nat didn’t believe either. why would she join the cannibalism hunting ritual?” she’s hungry. the cards are a practical way to choose who lives and who dies. she’s hungry.

“okay but hunting and killing their friend is still so extreme” yeah it is, but they don’t hunt and kill their friend in 2x08. they allow javi to die right in front of them so they don’t have to kill natalie. we don’t know if shauna could have killed natalie in the cabin beforehand; we also don’t know if the group would have been able to kill nat, had they caught her before javi intervened. we still don’t how the girls will go from here to outright murder. i’m assuming season 3 will cover this shift, if we don’t see it happen in 2x09.

a script has to achieve the same narrative development in 10 pages of dialogue that a book can achieve with 300 pages. in a book, we’d have more time to discuss the rituals and reasons in more depth, let everything simmer. i fully understand why people wanted to see those discussions, and feel their absence acutely. but i don’t think this lack is necessarily a writing flaw, especially when you factor in all visual and audial storytelling elements. other big shifts in yellowjackets were also just as sudden and shocking: shauna killing adam, the jackie bacchanal, and simone finding the dog head come to mind in particular.

here’s what we are explicitly shown and told: they’re hungry. they don’t want to kill people. there’s something nebulously supernatural happening in the woods. many survivors are cobbling together spiritual meaning from scraps, while others are finding fewer and fewer reasons to not believe anymore. in this context, 2x08 worked for me and i’m excited (terrified!) to see what happens next.

#yellowjackets #yell.txt

[oshiawaseni]

The deal with Togachaco

There was a little bit of confusion about what’s going on with these two and why Toga can’t use Shiggy and Dabi’s quirks. This is what I came up with about Toga's situation.

Disclaimer: this is all only theorycraft and any or all of it could be wrong of course!

My theory here is what’s lacking is not Toga’s love for them. She admits to caring about them. But their inability to love her. They lack any real connection. The two people who we know she has used quirks of are Twice and Ochaco.

Twice is obvious. They had a pretty close relationship and Twice felt very cared for when he died and told her that. Her heart broke for him so their feelings of love were reciprocated ones that had formed a strong connection and we aren’t talking romantic love, just love in general for another person. That’s what they had.

"But Ochaco didn't love Toga." True... but she did by proxy! One of Ochaco's key cornerstones is wanting everybody to be happy and smile. I think this was brought up again this chapter because it’ll be a very important theme for Toga’s arc to circle back to later!

During MVA, Toga’s love for Ochaco was reciprocated in a way - simply by default. There’s three points we should take note of here.

1. Toga was being loved back through proxy of Ochaco’s wide compassion for all of society.

2. Toga, someone who’s life has been utterly ruined from birth by her suffering of being excluded from society, is a *VALID* PART of society and is deserving of compassion, according to Ochaco's feelings.

3. Toga’s own quirk itself acknowledges Toga as a part of Ochaco’s “people," or "everyone," or "society." Even her own quirk knows she is valid and should be included in Ochaco’s compassion for everyone. (And now she genuinely cares for her too.)

And the deal with Dabi and Shigaraki: I really do think Toga’s quirk is affected by mutual love. Dabi and Shigaraki don’t have any love left in their body. All they are capable of right now is hate. They live for their hatred. This series is stacked up with parallels that juxtapose both love and hate against each other and this is another one. Those two will set themselves on fire in the name of hate. So Toga was unable to form a meaningful love connection with them. She can’t fully become them. Her quirk is the worst match with people like them.

Another interesting thing about Toga’s love is that Froppy (Hori) refers to it in Japanese quotation marks. I think this is more commentary of Toga not understanding what love means, and it’s like saying “love” to refer to it more as Toga’s concept of love. Something she obsessively fantasises about and thinks she understands, but doesn’t really.

Izuku also said to her: "If you love me, why don't you also want to share the same heart as me?" (values, morals, and protecting instead of hurting those she loves.) And this only made her think of her sad upbringing...

Toga never received any real love while growing up to form the basis of it. Not from her parents or her peers. Her quirk affects her personality a lot and is a factor in this too. So Toga-chan doesn’t really know what True Love is and I think that’s something Ochaco is going to help show her.

If her quirk works like this then her destiny was never meant to be a villain at all, as LoV are all bound together by hate for quirk society and they don’t know what love is either, which hinders her connection with them. So the only place her character can truly shine in, is when she is being surrounded by people she loves who can also love her in return. Like the condition to lift the beast’s curse in Beauty and the Beast.

I think Toga finding out what rule is affecting her ability to truly become people will be pivotal in saving her from all this mental pain she’s grown up with. This is her burden she's been baring all alone for years, and I believe whatever it is she has going on with Ochaco, will surely put some light into her heart, maybe for the first time ever.

#togachaco #Bnha 382 #kana writes #toga himiko #himiko toga #LOV #league of villains #bnha meta #i had this in my drafts hope it was interesting to read ! #what do you guys think?

[stromuprisahat]

Question: how do you justify what the darkling did to Genya, Alina and Nikolai? I don’t even mean this to sound rude, but I’m just genuinely curious how you just brush past that when you say the Darkling never did anything he’d have to apologize for 🙃

I'd start with stating that I don't like the word "justify". Google says its meaning is "to show or prove to be right or reasonable", which to me sounds like something that's expected whenever you're about to do something that might offend or hurt anyone. Like pre-made apology you owe people even though you might not have anything to apologize for in the end.

It's really about lack of better words. Czech dictionary translates "justify" as "odůvodnit" or "ospravedlnit", out of which the first one is strictly without that moral baggage. Closer to "give reason".

Aleksander's actions are often perceived out of context, as malicious crimes he committed for his own enjoyment, or whatever suits the antis best, while there are plenty of factors we shouldn't fail to consider.

Ravka- The country he loves, even though it doesn't love him. Rarely peaceful- according to Shadow and Bone, current wars last for over a century. Drained by both its neighbours, split in two for long enough it's pretty unbelievable the West is only planning to secede, poor, with ruling class, who doesn't care and has no reason to.

Grisha- From outright hated to respected, but in constant danger anywhere else, Aleksander manged to carve out a place for them under conditions. The Crown allows Grisha to live right on its backyard (to better keep an eye on), safely train and serve as soldiers or servants of noble houses, as long as they're useful, but... also has no need or intention to take it further. Grisha are glorified, envied serfs in fancy clothes. They're used by monarchy, despised and distrusted by masses, as proved by several little things throughout the first book and instant pogroms once the Fold moves (And don't forget there were no survivors- no true witnesses-, aside from few of the Darkling's people.).

His own lives' experience- Let's be honest- centuries of watching his people- however close- die, drawbacks, betrayals, constantly repeating history... gives one quite a perspective. It's a miracle the Darkling is merely numb and tired, yet somehow hardly unfeeling. Unlike the young heroes he possesses enough self-control not to start begging, crying, screaming... He's lashing out, when he has a reason to believe it won't bite him in the ass, he's petty and hurts others, punishing them for hurting him.

setting- Forget 21st century morality. If we're talking about 19th century-esque world, it wouldn't only have fancy nobles, dashing princes to play pirates privateers and masses of uneducated peasants. The reason people think the way they do is they got there somehow. Ravka still has servitude, for gods' sake! Lives don't matter the way people want them to today! It won't be only about some being rich and some poor, there should be huge differences depending on one's circumstances of birth, bloodlines, wrongs or slights generations old... I'm aware we're suppose to pretend Alina get a pass, because she's "Living Saint", but for example slapping a member of royalty should cost her. Bastard or not, you let it slide once, and next thing you know people are getting ideas and building guillotines.

Now to your question:

Genya is the easiest. She got punished for disobeying direct order, betraying the Darkling for a girl she hardly knew and who was too self-involved to truly act like the friend Genya for some reason suddenly feels her to be.

Aleksander let Genya close enough to be considerably honest around her, at least regarding his intentions with Lantsovs. Dangerous thing to do for a man in his position (and although I have my theories, this reply is no place for them). That's why he made it personal. She didn't only abandon their cause, she hurt him, so he took what she valued most about herself, fitting his revenge into her expectable punishment.

He could've had her whipped. To death even. Instead he chose more personal approach.

Alina's the messiest, because way too many feelings got involved and Aleksander's shit in handling those. His only lasting relationship is his abusive mother, others tend to die on him. Alina's a personification of a dream. Someone to keep him company for the rest of eternity. A companion he longed for for so long, he's not able to handle the bitter truth. I don't think he ever considered his "One and Only Equal" might not be interested in his goals and while he might rationally understand Alina's so much younger, he quickly loses his patience and decides to speed up her development because her young self is interfering with his general plans.

Now, while younger Aleksander might have been more passionate, he was never allowed the luxury of recklessness or even childhood, as a consequence of which he has no idea how to handle hormonal teenagers. Alina's worldview is incredibly narrow and she has several mental mechanisms to prevent her from changing that, while Aleksander's living in constant paranoia, possibility of fight or flight 24/7. They're incompatible the way they are- Alina unwilling to change, Aleksander too rigid and lacking the luxury of choice- yet in each other's way too much to merely split up. The Darkling needs the Sun Summoner as a tool and a symbol, and as long as he breathes, Alina won't have a chance to regain her beloved anonymity.

What he did to her?

The Collar was his hand forced. Unreliable deserter possessing the power he needed to ensure ceasefire.

What else is there that couldn't be explain by simple "They're on opposite sides of a conflict."?

The only other moment that comes to my mind is him burning down the orphanage, one of my favourites. The situation is thus:

The Darkling occupies the Throne (Yay!), but he lacks wide support, numbers and resources, therefore he's forced to rule by fear, which is no way to go, when he wants to build future, where Grisha are accepted. Who does have the love of masses, is an undeserving "Saint" and rogue prince, starving his own people, while being cheered on for it, because he's thwarting the Darkling at the same time. I'll ignore Nikolai for now. So, how do you catch a single person, who could be hiding anywhere, with help from anyone, while you can count on no one? You make them come to you. You make them show themselves under circumstances you control.

Alina already fled slaughter of others three times, one she even directly caused. She might pretend to be a do-gooder, but she truly cares only about herself and her otkazat'sya past. Threatening Malyen already proved to be fruitful, but that one's out of Aleksander's reach, so he tries the next best thing. Destroying her "home". There's also poetry in it- he lost his mother for Alina, it's only fair she'd lose hers. As a symbol of the past Alina's so stubbornly clinging to, there's even some chance it WILL really hurt her, which is certainly plus for his vengeful self.

Eventually it proves to be ruthless, simple and utterly brilliant. Alina falls for his threat and meets him in the Fold.

It's a beautiful example of sacrificing a few (The Grisha teachers probably stayed with the children for their sake, and residents of the orphanage were also just doing their jobs as far as we know.) to end civil war and bring the other side to heel. Ravka wasn't able to handle two-front war, opening third one was insanity and I'm genuinely surprised the country didn't fall (or that West didn't use it to finally free itself from East). With Alina's power under control the Darkling could've attempted "Peace or the Fold" again, perhaps even succeed this time.

And then we have Nikolai.

Second-born Lantsov thwarting his plans, proposing "his" Sun Summoner, loved by masses and army alike because unlike Aleksander, he's otkazat'sya. Goals? Same. Positions? Incomparable. Willingness to give everything? Yes for both.

In better world, they could've been allies. One easily accepted, the other highly experienced. But the story doesn't want that, so Nikolai is serious contender and an obstacle in Aleksander's way to "Fine, I'll do it myself.". He needs to be gone. Killing him would be easiest and most permanent, but Kolya fucked up, when he made it personal.

Tricking the Darkling, shooting him, proposing to his "not"gf, evacuating royal family AND Baghra, starving his forces once Darkles sits on the throne... taking away Nikolai's most valuable quality, while keeping him conscious enough to comprehend it is the way to go!

There's also a POV that says showing your essence down your rival's throat to irrecoverably change him might be seen as a romantic gesture or outright foreplay, but I happen to be a Fannibal, so I'm aware the majority of Grishaverse fans might find my ideas of romance a bit harder to digest (pun absolutely intended).

To sum up: Most of the Darkling's actions corresponds with his position of 19th century-esque war general and revolutionary attempting Coup to save his bankrupt country, while hated by masses and lacking resources. Plus a drop of clever, petty vindictiveness.

(And whole bucket of bad writing, because there are things that just DON'T MAKE SENSE- both regarding worldbuilding and characterisation.)

#reply #Grishaverse #The Darkling #Genya Safin #Alina Starkov #Nikolai Lantsov #Darklina #Darkolai #grishanalyticritical #Ravka #Grisha #self centred and paranoid #degraded!Genya

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Orion and the Dark

You know? I remember playing Pajama Sam 1 many moons ago and to this day I find it lovely to play. Great characters, incredible artwork, the differing routes each playthrough which I didn't even realize until then, and the ending which really stuck with me. That what was kept me anticipating Orion and the Dark, as I felt it was that spiritual successor I never knew I wanted. It sucks that Dreamworks dropped this onto streaming like it was nothing, not even on the site they own no less, but I genuinely looked forward to this and that's what matters. Now that it's out, let it be known I can't believe this will be the first Charlie Kaufman film for me. Just saying, any interest in his previous movies is gonna feel like whiplash.

Just imagining some kid loving Orion & is eventually in awe for a movie called I'm Thinking of Ending Things

To truly start this review, this might be the best kino non-Pixar Pixar movie Dreamsworks ever made. I didn't think of it having the whole "what if X had feelings" factor until now but I actually like that they take it not only in a reasonable direction, but twists the dynamic in a way Pixar honestly hasn't done since... Toy Story 4 I guess? No spoilers, but I enjoyed that Darkness and his entity friends have their insecurities, this is before they all met Orion, and they take that in a very great if offputting direction. Plus I love that they were able to personify these elements I didn't actually think about when it came to night time. They also present the biggest problem with the movie and that's the lack of real camaraderie with the entities and Orion. You enjoy the friendship between the boy and Darkness, but they streamline the bond Orion has with the others and that really makes the story hit or miss depending on if you grow to care about them. I brought up Pixar and yeah, while they have their great individual moments they don't have the same effectiveness dynamic wise as the emotions from Inside Out. Also small nitpick, but I didn't like that Dark's name is "Dark" and not "Darkness"; doesn't roll of the tongue, you know?

Plus we didn't get Orion and Dark playing Cheese & Crackers like missed opportunity of the year

Now again, this is my first Charlie Kaufman film, but I was familiar with his writing style and I gotta say I loved what he does with the structure of the story. It's a story within a story where as soon as the curtain is pulled, I was fully hooked. I love how Orion essentially helps himself overcome some of his fears both thanks to unexpected but welcomed help and developing his own confidence. It was clever how when you put a face on a fear, that fear slowly fades but the film shows that it's not something capable of a cure. Orion's neuroses dilate thanks to this adventure, he probably wouldn't have lived to tell it if otherwise, but it presents that growing up doesn't mean everything will work out perfectly or immediately. Does it do a lot to get to that point? Yes, but I felt the risks paid off in a way I don't think I've seen before in a story like this. I know as a kid I didn't have constant paralyzing premonitions regarding the worse outcomes imaginable like Orion, but on some level I remember what it's like and how it'll still fester your mind as you get older. This film, pun unintended, gets dark on a personal level and will probably stick with me long after watching it.

Can't say this scene broke me, but damn did it get close

Orion and the Dark impressed me as something thought-provoking, that does a lot more than being another adapted storybook. Is it an insanely masterful modern Dreamworks movie like Puss in Boots 2? No, even with its great subversions the movie doesn't juggle everything as well as I hoped. Then again, I highly appreciate that this was a risky movie Dreamworks was willing to release, that got both Kaufman and Werner Herzog of all people on board, as opposed to shelving it like some companies I know. A movie that doesn't spell everything out, that gets to be a family movie not constantly upbeat but colorful and optimistic in all the right ways. Orion deserves a chance where I think everyone will have interesting takeaways even if it won't be their favorite Dreamworks film in recent years. I'm overall glad I saw it and kinda want to see it again soon for missed details.

4 Out Of 5; The night truly shined with this one.

#orion and the dark #animation #movies #dreamworks animation #dreamworks #Netflix #cartoons #reviews #Good Stuff

[graylinesspam]

When having discussions about MY OWN Asexuality these are some graphics and anectdotes that have made it easier for me to explain it to them.

Since I have had so many curious people on my Ace poll, I'm gonna give it a shot and complie it together in a post.

Firstly, the basic deffinition of Asexuality:

As stated in the graphic, libido, or a hormonal urge for sex is not the same thing as an attraction to another person. In basic terms being horny does not equal having a want to have sex with another person.

I'd like to acknowledge that there is more to the Ace spectrum than just flat ace before I make my next point, so here's my favorite graphic.

These are just three of the many sub-identities on the ace spectrum with some basic definitions but they get the point across about differing levels of the lack of sexual attraction.

Because sex can look different to a lot of asexuals. There are plenty of asexuals that despite missing the initial spark of attraction that mighty motivates an allosexual person, don't mind or even enjoy having sex, for the romantic intimacy with a partner or even just for the endorphin release.

But there are many more asexuals that have a more complicated relationship with sex that can intersect with other aspects of their life like their personal relationships (see demi), their past traumas, their romantic orientation, or their sexual kinks.

One of the basic struggles of Asexuality is determining what qualifies as "sexual attraction"

When you rarely or never experience sexual attraction it may be hard to distinguish between different attractions.

Anecdotally, I base my concept of someone being sexually attractive on my Aesthetic and Sensual attraction. I do this for a shorthand to relate to other people in my life who experience sexual attraction. Partly because I find the concept of sex fascinating to discuss and partially because I love collecting my little group of fictional characters that I project my sexuality onto. I choose them based on whether I enjoy looking at them (which trust me, does not adhere to societal beauty standards) and whether I think being physically close to them (sensually) might be pleasant.

I say this because I think it is a common experience for Asexual people. I am honestly astonished that my poll had such an even distribution of answers. It was really just for fun and not a well-thought-out series of answers. Most people noted that multiple of the answers suited them. But the most common comments I got on that poll were that interms of fiction or media of some kind, they were sex positive. But when it came to any reality where they themselves would engage in sex, that was an entirely different answer.

Well, here's my personal reflections on that same concept within myself that others may or may not relate to.

When I was still in the process of figuring out my own Asexuality, I was confused by the concept of having an extremely high libido and a collection of fictional crushes, but no irl attraction.

At the time I was also heavily into dissecting other social tangles such as the way that men view women through their own societal lens of sexuality. And the biggest argument at the time was "If you only find big boob, flawless skin, totally obedient hentai women sexually attractive, then you're probably not actually into women. Because none of the real ones look like that." Which is true.

This made me think about why I found specifically onky fictional people attractive. Which boiled down to a set of ideals that I could never expect a real person to live up to. If the only way I can even consider being sexually attracted to a person is with them following a humanly impossible set of ideals, then I'm probably just not actually attracted to anyone.

And that's fine. It sounded scary at first. But I grew used to it.

When you take the attraction factor out of sex many people will lose interest entirely. Sex can be a really complicated and messy buissness. There's so many factors you have to consider like, location, time, partner, physical discomfort, physical and emotional vulnerability, body fluids, contraception, std testing, and a plethora of other things that can be really overwhealming even if you are really motivated to have sex. If you arent? Many people don't see a point in it.

But some do and having sexual experiences and even enjoying them doesn't make you any less asexual. There are whole kink groups that are ran and populated by asexual people because kinks gives a structure to the otherwise chaotic buisness of sex and makes it more appealing to them. On top of that kinks can be arousing reguardless of your sexual orrientation and may make it easier to engage in sex.

I'd like to add, for my own peace of mind, that asexuality can feel very isolating. Many people want a partner that finds them sexualy appealing. And that's understandable. But try not to think of your sexuality as limiting. Because asexuality can open so many doors in the queer community that you may not have considered yet.

Being Asexual means you don't have attraction to any gender, meaning that you may be open to dating or having a QPR with others regardless of their gender.

Sex repulsed? You certainly may be able to meet the needs of another asexual person especially if they are sex repulsed too. Having the pressure of sex removed from a relationship can be so relieving.

Asexual people also occupy a space outside of the societal norms of what is considered sexually appealing. And may often completely disagree with general society about what they find attractive. There's a lot of ace people I know personally that are with their partners purely for domestic compatibility and not for appearances at all. This may actually lead to stronger relationships. Even though the process of vetting others looks a bit sterile or like a buisness deal, it's more effective in finding somone you genuinly like and agree with. Someone you can spend forever with.

It also opens doors to people of all types of physicalities.

These are really just anecdotes, but I feel there's so much us ace get put down for. I'd like to lift the community up for once.

Final thoughts on the matter (unless I am asked to elaborate) are that Asexuality is a hugely varied expirience. It affects people in many different ways. And it can be really confusing to figure out. But the point of the poll I made was to point out how many ace people there are just in my orbit on Tumblr. We are not alone. There are so many more of us than you might think. Thousands. And I for one am so excited about that.

(I didn't credit the graphics bc i've had them saved for years and honestly fon't remember where they came from.)

#asexuality #asexual #aspec #aspectrum #queer stuff #queer community #lgbtq community #lgbt

[iridescentoracle]

Hello! I am here to ask about your Dior headcanons re: the political cohesion of Doriath. 👀

Oh man, I didn't expect anyone to actually take me up on that!

(Okay so I got partway into writing this and then realized I should probably note up front that I tend to stick to the Silm (& LOTR/the Hobbit where applicable, but they... aren't, here) as the most authoritative version of canon, and I can get into why and where the nuances/exceptions are there (I do say tend to stick, it's not hard and fast!), but that's mostly a side note here: the point is simply that I don't really factor other drafts or the poetic Leithian into my take on Doriath, Thingol, Dior, etc, just what we're told in the actual Silm. I also read the Silm as an in-universe history text compiled by in-universe scholars, who, being people, are going to have their own biases and blind spots, even when they're doing their best to be accurate!)

So, this is a two-part thing: #1, there's the political cohesion of Doriath before & at the time of Thingol's death, which i talked about in the tags of the post that prompted this ask but is kind of necessary as context for the Dior part to make sense, and #2, there's the actual Dior headcanons. Both of these parts are very long because I've never really seen anyone else suggest any of this stuff and I want to explain where I'm coming from thoroughly enough that it actually makes sense to people who aren't me, but the TL;DRs:

TL;DR 1: I think Doriath was probably a hot mess politically after Thingol died, with tensions between various groups of Sindar and Laiquendi in the leadup to Thingol's death & Melian's departure, and more political tensions afterwards between those who wanted Beren & Lúthien to come be the new rulers, and those who thought they should stay gone, with someone still in Doriath taking over.

TL;DR 2: I think Dior became Eluchil, potentially at the request of some portion of the Iathrim, hoping to help prevent Doriath from devolving into civil war, and saw dealing with the Silmaril-Fëanorioni situation as a lower priority than stabilizing Doriath's internal political situation until it was too late.

1. The political cohesion (or rather, lack thereof) in Doriath prior to Thingol's death

So, okay, the thing about Doriath is that we don't actually have any real idea of like... how much the Iathrim liked being the Iathrim? We're never told about any intra-Iathrim conflict, but a) the Silm was probably compiled mostly by surviving Gondolindrim or their descendants, so they wouldn't know about anything liike that unless surviving Iathrim told them, and after the Second Kinslaying I don't imagine many Iathrim would've been eager to talk about how things had actually been tense/messy/etc when they could remember everything as having been perfect until it was ruined by the Fëanorionrim, and doubly so after the Third Kinslaying, so why would anything like that make it into the Silm?

and b) what we do know about Doriath is that it wasn't really Doriath as we know it until Morgoth came back to Middle-earth, and everything went to hell.

At the start of the first age, you suddenly get Doriath (the fenced land!) being the one protected area of a continent that used to be totally free and open. How many Sindar actually didn't particularly care for Thingol's style of leadership, or simply preferred to live nomadic lives, going basically wherever they pleased, until suddenly that wasn't safe anymore, and you were only guaranteed survival if you were close enough to Menegroth to be within the Girdle when it went up? ditto how many Laiquendi had no interest in swearing loyalty to Thingol right after their own king had just been killed, but again, made it to safety and stayed there over taking their chances on their own in the outside world?

I think it's entirely possible that there were always potential political tensions under the surface in Doriath that just... never got written about, because they never boiled over into actual political conflict, and so it was never the sort of tension that had any bearing on the historical record.

Except then Beren & Lúthien happen to the world, and a few years later the Narn, and in the blink of an eye suddenly the only king Doriath has ever had is dead, and the only queen Doriath has ever had is gone and the Girdle with her—and more than that, the only rulers the Sindar had ever had for three thousand years before Doriath existed.

And where a few years earlier I think the Iathrim would probably have turned pretty universally to Lúthien, now she's abandoned them for her human husband—and while she's my favorite character in the entire legendarium hands-down and I don't blame her, I think that's another place there might have actually been some very mixed feelings among the Iathrim that nobody wanted to admit to later because how could anyone have been upset with Lúthien—and on top of her abandoning them for him, I think it's extremely probable most of Doriath did not actually get over their xenophobia about humans in general or Beren in specific when Thingol did (we know for sure at least some of Doriath didn't, cf. Saeros insulting Túrin's mother & sister to his face), but again, who's going to admit to having had a grudge against the holy couple of Middle-earth after the fact, you know?

Conversely, there could've been a sizeable faction of Sindar who had been totally loyal to Thingol until everything happened with Beren & Lúthien, but who found his actions towards them and/or Finrod to be where they drew the line, and while (unlike B&L themselves) that faction stayed in Doriath, there could've been a new, additional tension on that front.

Finally, for all we know there were multiple factions within the Laiquendi of Doriath, with political tensions stretching back to before their king died, rooted in who-even-knows!

2. Dior

All of that, of course, sets up a very, very messy political situation for Dior to walk into.

The Doriath stuff is arguably more speculation than actual headcanon, but here's where the unambiguous headcanons come in: I don't think "Dior Eluchil set himself to raise anew the glory of the kingdom of Doriath." Obviously that's how it got written down, but bluntly, I can't see Beren and Lúthien having a kid that stupid or, like, power-hungry and arrogant?

What I can see is a situation where the messenger that brought word of Thingol's death and Melian's departure asked Beren & Lúthien to come take over as the new king and queen, we promise we're not mad about you leaving and we won't be xenophobic to your husband anymore we swear it's fine now pretty please, Beren & Lúthien said no, and the messenger either asked Dior as a second choice, or said "okay fine none of that was actually true but Doriath is falling apart and we need a leader ASAP and there's about eight different contenders* (mostly kinsmen of Thingol or Laiquendi) being backed by various factions and it's going to devolve into civil war any minute so if you care at all—" and Dior said "would I do?"

(* Ask me about my Galadriel headcanon)

I don't think Dior necessarily wanted to be king of Doriath, and I don't think he saw the throne as his birthright or anything like that; I don't think anyone involved, from Thingol to Lúthien to Dior himself, ever considered the possibility of Thingol dying and needing an heir! I think it's possible he was asked, or at most that he offered, and either way, I think he saw becoming king as taking on a responsibility for the sake of others.

(Which, like, "well here's a potentially impossible task that I'm going to take up even though probably no one thinks I'm actually capable of it, but it's my duty to help others as best I can" sure does sound to me like an attitude one might develop when raised by Lúthien "I kicked Sauron's ass cast a sleep spell on Morgoth and persuaded the Valar to find a loophole in the fabric of reality" Tinuviel and Beren "I stayed by my father's side as an outlaw to give my mother time to lead the rest of our people away hopefully to safety knowing I would never see her or any of them again (and then spent several years being a giant thorn in Morgoth's side for good measure)" Barahirion, where "apparently my grandpa I may or may not have ever met died, guess that makes me the king of a place i may or may not have ever been" does... not.)

I also think he either took on the epithet Eluchil, or was given it by whichever factions of the Iathrim accepted him as king, when he actually became king. Obviously he's going to be referred to as Dior Eluchil even before that in retrospect because that's how he's thought of later, but that doesn't mean it was actually a name he always had, you know?

The final thing is, I think if Dior essentially walked into a political situation five seconds from devolving into civil war, it makes his inaction regarding the Silmaril prior to the Second Kinslaying make more sense: the Fëanorioni have been sitting around doing nothing about the Silmaril in Doriath / with Beren & Lúthien this whole time, the letter saying "hey that's our Silmaril give it back now" is probably just a formality, and Dior's only been ruling for a couple years, there's still plenty of people dubious about whether he should be king at all, he might well be subject to at least some of whatever xenophobia remains about humans in Doriath, and in general all the work he's done on stabilizing the kingdom will absolutely come undone again if he screws up; he's trying to keep a kingdom from falling apart, the Silmaril thing can wait.

Of course, it wasn't a formality, and it couldn't wait, but why would Dior have known that?

#shrikeseams #replies #doriath #the silmarillion #dior eluchil #lotr #lotr meta #i guess? #character: dior #jesus christ this is so much longer than i meant it to be i'm so sorry #also my lunch break was supposed to end twenty minutes ago WHOOPS please forgive any typos i have no time to fix #also there wasn't a good place to stick this in #but i also think everyone in doriath probably has PTSD about thingol's death #(many of them may also have had PTSD already esp the laiquendi or those of the sindar who had to return to menegroth in a hurry #when the first waves of orcs showed up #but anyone who didn't already almost definitely does by the time dior gets there #because holy shit our king is dead the girdle is gone none of us are safe now and he was murdered before the girdle even fell #so have we even been as safe as we thought all this time or were the last couple centuries a lie?) #but yeah those are my dior headcanons!! idk if that picture of doriath or dior in particular are to anyone's taste but mine #but if nothing else i like the idea of dior getting to be... an actual person? and someone i can see having been raised by beren & lúthien #and he doesn't really get to be either of those in the silm and i rarely see him in fanworks getting fleshed out like other characters do #and i think that's kind of a shame #you know? #also yes i am completely ignoring that dior's name theoretically means ''successor'' bc like. why would they name him that #that is from an early draft and there is no way to know if ''dior'' would even have stayed his name #if tolkien had gotten around to updating all the names in B&L/CoH etc into modern Sindarin #never mind if it would have meant anything remotely similar #this is mostly a first-draft post written in one sitting in the space of 45 minutes partially while late for work #i have Definitely left many points out and i am sorry if anyone has questions about things i probably have answers / can elaborate further?

[seldaryne]

"Wyll's quest regarding the Wyrmway is now a subquest instead of part of his main quest."

"Wyll's quest regarding Ravengard will now more reliably and frequently receive updates in Act III."

so mechanically speaking then, was the demotion of quest status in the first point required for them to implement the functionality of the second or??? because i genuinely don't understand why it became a subquest, especially when the game's structure already allows you to just ignore quests & move on to the next area if you want. most of the patch notes that directly mention wyll are bug-related or scripting flow, which i don't have a problem with (bug fixes are great, we love those). i'd love to hear any thoughts about this, though, because i really can't think of a reason why it had to become a subquest?

i also initially read that second point as planning for future updates to wyll's content but at a second glance i think it may just be referring to journal updates? i don't know, i'd like to believe my initial reaction was the correct one but... yknow. anyway i maintain that this is yet Another example of some really goddamn weird choices on the developmental end of things. if the companion quests exist on a sliding scale of 'most related to current main storyline to least,' wyll is very much at the top end of things. optimistic thought is that a lot of his scrapped content existed in the parts of act 3 that were cut, but i would think that as a studio you'd see that & make an effort to level things out with how much screentime the other companions have. at the bare minimum, your player base shouldn't be able to clock so many weird holes in his story arc where it's clear that something else was supposed to be offered.

i'm also not saying that the other companion arcs weren't clunky in some areas & didn't need a bit of help, but the disparity here makes deprioritizing those edits seem like a more logical course of action. like there's a difference between some slightly unpolished scenes vs. something that feels fundamentally lacking in a lot of structural ways, especially when you get into the finer points of the comparisons. act 3 imo is the one that feels the most bare-bones to me. like yes, there's Stuff there visually and quests too but it doesn't feel as lived-in as acts 1 & 2. i would say that the underdark to ketheric section feels the most dense, content-wise, and i don't think it's a coincidence that it's the bracket of the game i enjoy the most. i maintain that giving wyll's storyline the attention it needs would not only help with the character arc itself, but also pad out the quieter stretches of act 3. at this point i don't really see how they'd be able to add in the upper city without either completely changing the trajectory of the third act (so like, almost definitely something we Will Not See Happen & understandably so from a production standpoint. weird post-release editing aside, it is still a finished game.) & i'm also not sure what a DLC would look like here because the main story feels pretty complete too. off the top of my head, maybe one where you follow wyll & karlach into avernus would work, but that's worldstate dependent & probably wouldn't get made for that reason.

all that to say, from where i'm standing it really seems like giving wyll the same respect other companions are offered would by extension fix some of the act 3 issues, without having to release an entirely new area of the game (i'd love it i just don't think it's realistic lmao). like i know why/what the factors are that led to wyll getting the short end of the stick, it's bullshit but it's not the first time we've seen black characters handled unfairly by devs (& fans), but beyond that it's literally just. so confusing to me on the basis of writing alone. why wouldn't you use the character with that many ties to the titular city of the game more? why isn't he more integral to the story when it really seems like he has every reason to take the spotlight in certain areas?? like that's a fantastic resource of a character to use to move the narrative along and Yet.

idk. this started off as just a reaction to patch notes but it's so unbelievably frustrating to watch it keep happening every patch.

#like when you KNOW why but my brain still refuses to comprehend?? bc its so Dumb on production's side?? #there feels like there's so little flavour text for him even like... idk. #anyway thats my thoughts on patch 6 #new kisses are nice menu qol fixes sound good now please do something about this #like put it on the list or something. #bg3 #no really like does anyone know why this is now a subquest. what does this mean have any of you seen this in other games.