#what makes her special if she isn't the character who suffered the most?

[fromtheseventhhell]

I know I'm stating the obvious here, but it says a lot that the Stansas love the xenophobic, racist show ending and think it will be book canon whereas Key Five stans and other normal fans actually listen to GRRM saying the books ending will be different. Which would explain why Stansas originally hated the Ramsay plot in the show until they realized it could make her more important to Jon than Arya and they could use it to say Sansa is more victimized than Arya and Dany.

What gets me about the show is that there's just...no overall story being told. There are no overarching themes or points made, just us watching a series of events unfolding with no cohesiveness. There were plot points that went absolutely nowhere and no inconsistent characterization. Which makes sense, considering D&D's views on storytelling:

The story lines move forward and dig deeper as the episodes progress but rarely circle back and almost never pause for reflection. When I asked Benioff and Weiss if it was possible to infer any overall intentionality to the upcoming 10 episodes, they sneered. “Themes are for eighth-grade book reports,” Benioff told me.

They literally did not know or think about an overarching story. What gets me though is that all of the material was there in the books, they simply had to adapt it. Instead, we have them completely ignoring all of the book's themes for the entire show and then trying, poorly, to pretend like they cared at the end. The forced conversations about wanting to break the wheel and caring about the smallfolk were absolutely laughable. We had the one character who did the most to fight for the smallfolk, who was actually for systemic change, become a victim of character assassination. Then we had characters who actually show care and concern for the smallfolk in the books having that part of their character completely erased. They just wanted to shallowly trot out "cares about smallfolk" to make the characters they liked look better. Nothing actually ends up changing. The system doesn't get reformed and the people with the most power have never shown any indication of wanting to change the system. That's why people in this fandom praise conformity and demonize those who fight against the system. The only way their faves look "special" is if the staus quo ends up preserved. People will outright justify and defend classism because their favorite character is classist, and that's just where we are in terms of comprehension skills in this fandom.

#ask #anon #anti d&d #anti got #fandom nonsense #people really demonize all of the character outside of a bigoted system and praise their faves for being classist and it's bizarre #but they want the show ending where their faves get rewarded for adhering to the system so it makes sense #like if you say being classist is bad someone will write a whole essay on why it's okay cause /that's just the society they live is/ #as though those same prejudices don't exist today lol #I don't know hot take but bigotry is bad #obligatory shoutout to the person who said Arya not being classist was like /not seeing color/ that was funny as hell #also forever gross that d&d substituted suffering for character development #you would think her stans would be glad he character growth is going to be actually deserved in the books but then #what makes her special if she isn't the character who suffered the most?

[theerurishipper]

Part 2 of my Paris special commentary (Part 1 here) because Tumblr is an ass and has a word limit.

Disclaimer: This is long asf.

Marinette here playing 5D chess, queen shit.

The most important thing the special confirmed is that Gabe added the word "dark" to his transformation phrase on purpose cause he's a dramatic bitch.

I am here for Claw Noir mocking Gabe. Go off, king.

"Oh nO, iT WAs aN IlLusIon!" That giggle is adorable. She's so cute.

Ladyfly is an ass name, but she looks so great.

Not Gabe getting annoyed at Claw Noir's teasing. See, now this is why we stan Claw Noir on this blog.

Gabe's plan isn't half bad, actually.

Symbolism? In my children's cartoon? It's more likely than you think.

They're having a pun-off.

RIP Chat Noir's ear.

Gabe got feathered lmao

Monarch dipped like a little bitch.

A mirror, I called it. It'll make for some nice symbolism.

"Let alone a calm and gentle mom" I wonder what Sabine is like in their world to make Emonette feel like she's so alone.

I like how they handled the villains tbh. I wasn't a fan of making it seem like Marinette was one step away from becoming a supervillain at all times, but it seems less like that's the case and more like The Supreme took advantage of her suffering and vulnerability at her lowest moments.

It's also nice that they established that Shady and Claw weren't the actual big bads and are just hurt kids who got recruited into a fight they weren't ready for. Their motivation isn't some rehash of Gabriel's, they are literally trying to survive under the rule of someone who will kill them if they don't do his bidding, and because of whom they're dying. Their life is literally full of suffering and they're trying to find something that'll give them a way out. Shady wants Marinette's life, and Claw Noir wants his mother back.

Like, it doesn't excuse their actions, but it does add a more humane element to them that lends itself better to the kind of redemption Miraculous likes to do, which is to fix things with a speech. That's why this redemption works, and Gabe's doesn't.

Anyway.

The back and forth between Chat Noir and Claw Noir was pretty funny ngl.

And we discover that Claw Noir wants his mother back. Of course.

MY POOR BABY

When Marinette was talking about how she was also angry and hurt, but chose to love herself and the world around her and chose to try and fix it... that hit hard. Honestly, it did. It's everything I love about Marinette in one speech. I love it.

And then onto my personal favorite scene in the entire special, possibly in the entire show.

That whole conversation was powerful. "I'm as well as I can be anyway," that's so profound. Like, of course you aren't going to be 100% okay after losing someone you love, but Adrien wants to move on and be happy like his mother would have wanted him to. This scene really showcases Adrien's empathy and his strength, when he acknowledges that having no friends can make it harder for Claw Noir to move on, and then he tells him that only he can make the choice to stop being alone. And that's really true. This scene really showcases everything amazing about Adrien, his hope and optimism, his empathy and his strength. How he finds the strength to keep going by choosing to not be alone. It's beautiful.

Like, it could have been so easy for both Marinette and Adrien to give into their darkest impulses, and Shadybug and Claw Noir really are just representations of how letting your hurt overpower you can lead you down a dark path, and it really highlights their strength, that they choose to make the right choices everyday, despite everything. It really highlights their characters and their arcs. And they're able to take everything they've learned, and look at what they could have been in the eyes and help them change too. It's so poetic.

It would have been a little more impactful if the show had spent more than 10 minutes out of 5 seasons focusing on Adrien's grief and how it has impacted him, but whatever.

Anyway, it also had some Adrien and Nino friendship crumbs, and I'll be darned if I didn't gobble it up like a starved animal. Also, we have confirmation that "Space Mutants vs. Ghost Shark" is Nino's favorite movie, so Nino stans please say "thank you Paris special."

And they are REDEEMED.

Shadybug fixes everything with her Lucky Charm after spending the whole special making destructive ones. My heart.

Shadybug and Claw Noir stop being evil and immediately go from hating each other's guts to flirting shamelessly. They just speedran enemies to lovers in a matter of seconds. They literally just defaulted to flirting. Truly, the natural state of Ladynoir in any universe. We stan.

Gotta be honest, I'm not a fan of the new designs. Wish they had kept the old ones. I'm one of those people whose toxic trait is liking Claw Noir's design, so I'm a little unhappy with it, but hey, it's a sweet scene.

Also, Claw Noir's hair went from the color of rotten bananas to ripe bananas. If that was intentional, I applaud the writers for being both profound and funny as hell.

Aaaaaaand Gabe is back, because we can't have nice things.

The montage going through different realities was great, it was small but I enjoyed it.

They're literally so cute omg. Couple behaviors fr. I'm so obsessed with them.

HUGS

POUND IT

They're holding hands... already... like they're in love... I'm so emotional... I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS

And they're gone. But their adventures will continue forever in my mind and in my fanfics. And in other people's art that I will ravenously consume.

Cute Alya and Marinette scene. This is really sweet, I love the exploration of the impact Alya has had on Marinette's life.

And now, I'm not an Alyanette shipper, but I think they should kis- oh, wait, never mind, they did it.

And thus, the endless night comes to an end (it happened a while ago but that's just semantics).

Final thoughts

I really loved this so much. Sure, there were some exposition dumps that probably should have happened in the actual series, but that's not the fault of this special. This is probably my bias talking but this is the best special and it's literally perfect, no I will not take any constructive criticism on that. This, this special and everything in it, this is what Miraculous is all about. This is exactly what I wanted, this is what I signed up for. It's literally the best thing ever to come out of this entire show.

#MLB #Miraculous Ladybug #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Gabriel Agreste #Alya Cesaire #Ladybug #Shadybug #Chat Noir #Cat Noir #Claw Noir #Toxinelle #Griffe Noire #Ubiquity #Hesperia #Monarch #Hawkmoth #Betterfly #Miraculous World #ML Paris Special #My meta #ML Spoilers #ML Paris Spoilers #Shadyclaw #Ladynoir #Adrienette #Meta

[gojosbf]

why do you think that female char are no longer well written on jjk? /genq (i am caught up with the manga so don't worry about spoilers)

SPOILERS AHEAD!!! for me all of this began with nobara's death and it went downhill from there, now see I understand it might've been important to give yuuji motivation etc but when a roach naoya get's to survive again and again after getting killed but there is no hope for nobara who was one touch kill and had chances of survival but doesn't purely for shock factor, it doesn't sit right with me.

Okay, ignore even that maybe it's my attachment to the character talking so let's talk about other female characters: most of the fandom forgets momo exists that's how useless he made her, she suffered no serious damage (not as far as I remember) and her only active role was in kyoto goodwill arc and an appearance in shibuya we barely see her after that.

Gege treats female characters as a catalyst for mcs, either they're completely useless or get killed off or even if they're powerful enough they're barely mentioned or shown doing something useful.

Example for catalyst: We literally never really see Utahime in action except in Shinjuku Battle to boost Gojo's ct. Like really? That's your semi grade 1 sorcerer and all throughout the manga that was her only role?

Example for completely useless: I already talked about momo, lets about miwa okay, she put her everything to that one swing post-shibuya against kenjaku only for him to deflect it with his bare hands and what about her after that? Nothing!! She gave up everything and now she cannot do anything, just another cheap tactic to get rid of another useful character.

Example for killed: Listen I will accept Mai's death because it served the purpose and was one of the most impressive parts but other than that? Yuki Tsukumo, the special grade, the star plasma that rejected even tengen and cornered kenjaku, her death was so anticlimactic and unsatisfactory, she was practically winning but apparently "a miscalculation" caused her death, listen I like a shocking plot twist and death but that seemed like nothing but an excuse to get rid of another strong female character because gege had no idea how he'd use her in future.

More example for catalyst: Tsumiki and Yorozu (aka the same body but!) she was such a driving force for Megumi but after Culling Game arc hit we got a tease of her (or them) and that provided more motivation for megumi to fix things to work harder to bring his sister back but instead of seeing more of her gege killed her off after sukuna took over megumi's body because her purpose was served!! Done. She was there as long as she could be used as a beacon of hope for our poor boy.

Example of if powerful then they're barely shown: Shoko and Mei Mei, we know both of them are quite capable, they've proved their worth and aside from the fact that Mei Mei is a fucking pedophile she's still a great sorcerer but now she doesn't care about sorcerers and henceforth isn't present/doesn't provide much or any help at all other than the telecast. Shoko on the other hand, we're supposed to believe that her using rct is special and she's one of the most important characters mind you she's the part of the og trio but we rarely get to see her. Even know (the up to date manga chapters) they keep talking about taking the injured sorcerers to shoko but they never !! show !! her !! in !! action !! Like c'mon she's been working overtime but SOMEHOW gege can't dedicate more than four panels to her?

Now onto Maki, the only one standing, the only female character gege truly utilised gave her one heck of goal and arc and then very conveniently forgot her for next 100 chapters. She's great yes, and gege's finally back to currently giving her the attention she deserves which I am very skeptical about because if he just kills her off in next chapter to make a statement istg...but everytime she's mentioned they HAVE to mention toji, it's almost like she'll never leave his shadow, all her achievements are boiled down to FEMALE TOJI which, don't get me wrong I love toji but she's more than that, she's a monster because she wiped out a whole clan not because she shares same superhuman powers as her predecessor and dare I say she's already surpassed toji at this point.

Let's not forget Uro and Angel/Hana whom gege brought in once for one job and then we all completely forgot about them. (I am mentioning them last because he's done this with many other characters so they're truly not an unique case in that sense)

Returning back to when jjk first was fairly new and we had these panels

it was hype we thought FINALLY!!!! she doesn't denounce her femininity but isn't used as a fan service material through them either and she's fucking nuts and strong FINALLY!!! only for gege to go well now that you've had the crumbs you're getting neither, not the pretty ones nor the strong ones and even if they're strong I am going to act like they don't exist so have fun!! And that's why I think he's really downgraded.

#I don't expect everyone to agree with me and these are totally my personal opinions but it just doesn't sit right with me how he teased us #with so much potential and then flushed it all out #sorry for the essay but yeah I had to get all of it out #jujutsu kaisen #jjk #ask #kugisaki nobara #shoko ieri #jjk utahime #maki zenin #mei mei #kirara hoshi #jjk miwa #jjk tsumiki #jjk analysis #jjk spoilers #jjk manga

[gotouhitori]

Okay, so. I'm in Love with the Villainess. Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou. WataOshi. Whichever title you want to refer to it by.

Before reading or watching it, I wondered why the hell people were holding up this random villainess isekai light novel with an over-the-top masochist main character as a landmark yuri title. Okay sure I don't doubt there's yuri going on, but how can it be so special?

Then I watched the anime. "Huh. The series and its main character are clearly and unambiguously lesbian in a way that so many other series can't bring themselves to be. And it has the most frank discussion of queer issues I think I've ever seen in anime or related media. Yeah, I think I see now, it is a cut above." And both because I've heard the novels get into a few things a little more and because the series now has its hooks in me enough for me to want to read the novels anyway, I read the first novel. And yeah, that does add a bit.

And then I read the second novel. The latter bit of the anime does cover the first bit of the second novel, but it's mostly new territory for an anime-only or anime-first such as myself. And holy fucking shit. Spoilers under the cut.

For one thing, the anime/first novel dropped some trans hints about Yu, and that turns out to be a whole transfem allegory - which isn't unheard of by any means, but it's not especially common in a work where that isn't the main focus. And not only that, but there's an actually explicitly textual transmasc in Rae's past life, who forms part of Rae's motivation to make considerable effort and take considerable risk (up to and including treason) to make sure Yu can live as a girl - once Yu states that is what she wants, it is important to note. Random yuri villainess isekai light novel says trans rights, and will absolutely stand by it.

And then all of the stuff about class and inequality comes to a head, and remember how the game that Rae's in the world of is titled "Revolution"? Yeah. One of those happens. Various hints have been dropped about what happens, largely centred on Rae making efforts to save Claire's neck in the most literal way possible when things really go down. But holy shit does that turn out to be more effort and a much more complex endeavour than it appears at first... or for most of the time while it's going on, for that matter. Ultimately she arranges things so that while the revolution still happens (it is basically inevitable), overall loss of life and suffering is minimised, and the general situation is as good as it possibly could be. By the time the proverbial smoke clears, Rae and Claire are openly living as a couple, which is a lot more than you usually see - one of the things Rae comments on is how in per previous life, too much of the yuri she read ended with at least one of the girls either dead or winding up with a man, which annoyed her enough to write fanfic based on series she likes with unsatisfying endings to fix that. And though the game did have a yuri spinoff, the original - the events of which she was living through and manipulating - was het. The character she winds up with was never supposed to be a romanceable character to begin with.

And that's just the first two of the five novels. Living through and changing the course of an actual revolution and settling down with her partner is just 40% of the whole story. (And less if more novels get published.) I've just started the third novel, and it's certainly looking like the rest is going to be at least as much of a ride as the first two were.

This really is an outstanding series. It's Dungeon Meshi levels of "I cannot stop thinking about it" to me, which if you've seen how much I post about that, says a lot. And I haven't read even half of it yet.

#i'm in love with the villainess #watashi no oshi wa akuyaku reijou #wataoshi #yuri #trans rights #lesbianism #lgbtqia

[gffa]

There are better points of connection/references to point out for Batman #138, ones that are far more likely to be deliberate, but I had just read Detective Comics #1000 a couple of days before this issue came out and couldn't help thinking about one giving context to the other. That Bruce thinks he never should have let anyone follow him into this life, that he feels betrayed by all of them, but a special point is made that the oath Dick swore to him as a kid, to uphold righteousness, feels like it's been shattered. That Bruce feels like he should never have listened to Dick's argument about following him into this life--that the cat was already out of the bag, the moment that Bruce himself put on a costume, someone was going to follow him into this life, he couldn't stop it, it had already happened. And Bruce looks back on that and thinks that he shouldn't have allowed that argument to sway him. But he's forgetting what he and Alfred talked about leading up to that moment, why Alfred argued that Dick's inclusion was a good thing:

"You know how highly I think of you and your abilities. But he could make you better. He could be better. A hero forged in the light." The Detective Comics story isn't just speculation, it takes place when Dick is a kid, but we see a flashforward of Nightwing--it's a confirmation that Alfred's right, Dick is better than Bruce. Dick isn't the one that lost sight of what's important, Dick isn't the one who betrayed their vow--Bruce is. Bruce is the one who betrayed them all, that's why Dick isn't just a brighter version of Batman as a person, it's why we twice see him here as physically a better fighter. He's the better version of what Batman was meant to be. It's hardly a new truth about Bruce and Dick's relationship, it's been around before--Nightwing is the better version of Batman, the one forged in light, the one who brings hope. The one who leads through not just being a brilliant detective and battle strategist and world class fighter, but because people trust him and know he's worthy of that trust. Dick mirrors Bruce's origin story the most out of all the characters, his parents killed in front of him when he was under the age of 10, the anger that lives in his heart is one that burns for justice for people. Dick is the clearer version of Batman:

So, when their morals crash into each other here, Bruce can't see that Dick isn't the one betraying him (Dick doesn't even really seem to believe that much in Selina's plan so much as he knows they need the peace--however temporary it might be--her plan brings, because Dick tells her that this whole thing is stupid too, just as much as he's ready to tell that to Bruce), Bruce has forgotten that Dick is the clearer version of himself and that he is the one slipping down a bad path. That's why twice in this storyline, Batman underestimates him as a fighter and gets knocked on his ass for it. He can't see it because Zur-En-Arrh is leaking into him to the point that it's not really Bruce or Zur-En-Arrh, it's both of them, and he's so desperate to hold onto Batman to have a reason to hold himself together, he can't see that Dick is the one who should be making the judgement calls here, not himself. He's trying to force himself to stop loving his family, like he can't even see that that's the entire opposite of why he started doing any of this in the first place. It's not just crime that's the problem, it's the suffering people face because of that crime that he never wants to happen to anyone again. Selina's plan is already falling part, he's right that it's not the long term solution she wants to present it as, but in focusing on that, he's lost site of the actual point of what drove both of them to the vow--to make the world a better place. To fight crime so that others won't suffer.

A central theme of Dick Grayson's character--including Bruce's own view of him--is that he makes the world better just by being in it. Bruce thinks that, by forcing Jason into a state of terror so strong that he can't fight, it will force him out of the life of crime, but he's forgetting that the point isn't just that Jason doesn't do crime anymore, it's that he's not making the world a better place by doing something so monstrous. Jason isn't better off this way. Jason is already no longer murdering people and doing this to him won't help those he killed in the past. Nobody is better off this way. I get why, in Bruce's war zone of a brain, he genuinely thinks this is being kind, he cares about Jason and the only way he can see to save Jason from jail, is to force him onto this path. But he can't see that this doesn't actually help anyone, it doesn't make the world a better place. Keeping Dick or Jason or Tim or Damian from this life wouldn't have made their lives better, even if Bruce could have stopped them. (He couldn't have.) The whole reason he couldn't out-argue Dick even at 9 years old was because Dick was helping to make the world better. Jason and Tim and Damian are all fighting to help make the world better. Knight Terrors was the storyline just before this one and it had a moment where Bruce breaks free of Insomnia's nightmare by hugging his child self and telling him about all the people that were going to find him in the dark--his friends, his children, his loved ones. They made him a better man.

That's it, that's the story--when Bruce stops trusting his children, when he stops letting them influence him, when he stops letting his love for his family drive him, he loses everything, including his own grip on himself. Because the whole point of having them around was that they made him better, that some of them were directly meant to be a clearer reflection of his whole entire purpose, and the moment he stopped trusting them, the moment he realized Dick--the one he trusted with full access to the Batbox! the one he trained to be the best he could be, to be the one to stop Bruce, if he went over the line--was going against him, that's the moment everything broke.

#lumi.txt #dc #batfam #bruce wayne #dick grayson #gotham war #batman 2016 #detective comics #long post

[pendragon-of-chaos]

Hi do you still take requests if so I have one in mind.(basically angst with the happy ending)

So what if aruthur and y/n were like meliodas and Elizabeth except it was only y/n that got cursed and once he got his power of chaos he was able to lift the curse the only consequences is that she forgets her romantic feelings with him, until he finds something special in their memories that would help her remember and then they get married (the special thing would be maybe something like a necklace he gave her when they were kids)

Lol I have alot of ideas for aruthur but sometimes I just can't put it out right😅

I did these as headcanons since I thought I wouldn't be able to flesh out the idea well, but I'm now very proud of it! I think these headcanons can be a very good start if I ever want to make a xReader out of this (or anyone). I tried to do them in the most canon way to the series timeline and without altering the characters we know. Hope you like them!

Arthur and his S/O if they were cursed similar to Meliodas and Elizabeth

Since only Y/N is being cursed with Elizabeth's curse, and assuming Arthur is a human (and so he has the lifespan of one and can't resurrect, at least until having Chaos), I'm guessing Y/N had to be cursed after they met while being kids, but without passing too much time in between both events. If not, the timeline would be a little strange. (Arthur gets Chaos canonically very fast if you think about it, just 16 years in comparison to the 3000+ years Meliodas had to endure with both curses)

Also, Y/N should have been cursed by someone who isn't the Demon King or the Supreme Deity, because it wouldn't make sense for them to be the ones. And the best next contender for that has to be Merlin.

Why is she being cursed? Maybe Merlin didn't want Arthur to be distracted from her goal, and so she took advantage of their relationship and forced Arthur to unlock his full potential, knowing well he would do everything to save his S/O from the curse. Neither Arthur nor Y/O knows that Merlin is responsible. Arthur asks Merlin for help, so of course everything goes according to her plan

Y/N has to be very unlucky to die several times, taking into account Arthur is still young and a human (Elizabeth dies at 28 y.o. on average, and Arthur will be able to solve everything in less than 16 years). So maybe she died like 2 or 3 times, max. 4 - 5 (if she was cursed let's say at 6 y.o, that would mean she dies every 2 years)

And if she dies, she can't reencarnate as a baby or Arthur would outlive her easily (and would be very creepy). So I'm guesing she reencarnates in someone close in age to Arthur.

To sum it up until now: Y/N is cursed by Merlin with Elizabeth's curse in an attempt to unlock Arthur's full potential faster. She dies a few times, every 2 years aprox. Like Elizabeth, Y/N always finds Arthur and falls in love with him, only to remember everything and die in 3 days.

This is assuming his canon information. If you wanted to think of it as them being demon/goddess then I don't think the story would be any different since you are just changing the protagonists but keeping the same formula

Back to the present: Arthur gets Chaos and is able to lift the curse, Merlin is also satisfied with the result (at least for now). However Arthur notices something strange, as if her S/O had some kind of amnesia, since she doesn't reciprocate his feelings (which were reciprocated until lifting the curse a few minutes ago)

Arthur worries a lot and explains her the situation, which is useless since Y/N doesn't remember anything of them being in a relationship. He makes his next objective being able to make Y/N fall in love with him, alongside making a country were no one suffers (he is a King after all)

With the passing of time he noticed that nothing he did made Y/N fall in love with him, which made him spiral into darkness and despair for some time, making him closer the 4kota Arthur we know

That was until one day he found in one well stored box a beautifully crafted necklace, which he inmediately recognized as the one he had gifted Y/N years ago when vowing to save her and marry her one day, and that was also discovered in the corpse of that same Y/N after the curse had made its appearence

It was more and more painful to make the same promise to every reencarnation only to end in death, that's why he stored it and put it away.

But now that problem had disappeared. Arthur took the necklace and went back to were Y/N was, just to gift it to her once and for all. To his surprise Y/N's eyes widened after seeing it in her hands - "I remember now..."

Both looked at each other with surprised looks on their faces. After so many years, war was over.

#nanatsu no taizai #arthur nnt #4kota #mokushiroku no yon kishi #four knights of the apocalypse #arthur 4kota #sevendeadlysins #seven deadly sins #nnt #sds #seven deadly sins x reader

[mournersandfunerals]

Alice Oseman's Solitaire is a very important book and here's why:

A lot of the time when mental health is being depicted in fiction, it centres so much around the person struggling with it. Which, of course, makes sense. It's important to show what people go through when they suffer from mental illnesses, and it helps others in similar situations know that they're not alone in dealing with it. But it isn't very often you see something from the perspective of a friend or a relative and what they go through when someone they care about is struggling. Solitaire is a book that's so important for this specific reason.

Here, you have Tori. A teenage girl who spends 50% of her time worried about her brother, Charlie, and the other 50% of her time trying to convince herself that she isn't worried about him. She puts so much pressure on herself to keep everyone's heads above water that she doesn't realise that she, herself, is starting to drown. Their parents don't know how to handle everything that's going on with their son, so they act like everything is fine, relying on Tori to be the problem-free "normal" one. That's a lot of pressure to put on your 16/17 year old daughter. Tori takes on the responsibility of keeping her family happy and together, which ends up having the opposite effect and drives them further away from each other. So now you have two siblings that are so near but not within reaching distance when they need each other the most.

Which leads us on to the themes of guilt within the book. This is something that is so well executed and hard-hitting and absolutely crucial.

Tori is someone who feels a lot of guilt and regret when it comes to what Charlie is going through. She feels partially responsible for everything that happened to him. It's not her fault in the slightest, but when someone close to you is hurting and struggling, and you notice but don't do anything because you don't know how, it takes its toll. A lot of the pressure that Tori's under comes from the crippling guilt that she's trying to hold in. It manifests itself into something entirely different. She suffers with anxiety, she has negative thoughts, she hyperfixates entirely on solving the Solitaire mystery so she has something to do while her family is barely holding it together. She spirals.

And what's super interesting about this is how Charlie has a similar reaction at the end when he eventually comes to terms with the fact that his sister isn't okay, either. He mentions how he noticed but didn't do anything, and he feels awful about it. The Spring siblings have a remarkable way of avoiding what's right in front of them because who in the world would want to admit that their brother or sister is the opposite of okay?

And to add to this, I think we really need to note the importance of Michael Holden within this entire situation as well.

Michael is there for Tori consistently. He shows up when she doesn't even realise she needs him, he comes back whenever she pushes him away, and it's almost as though he's her only form of stability within the chaos. And that's exactly what she needs. She doesn't know how to handle what she's feeling about her family so she's pushed everyone else away. She needs someone.

Because it's so easy to ignore the state of your own mental health when someone you love is going through hell. So now we have Michael, a character who essentially says, "I'm here. Let me worry and look after you, while you unwittingly take on the weight of the world." Of course, Michael has problems of his own but if he and Tori can share their burdens between the two of them, maybe the weight of all of it won't feel so heavy.

Alice Oseman created something so underrated and special with Solitaire. It tackles things that can be difficult to talk about but need talking about. It reminds you that it's okay to not be okay. You shouldn't feel bad about feeling bad. And just because someone you love is struggling, it doesn't mean that you're entirely responsible for them. It doesn't mean that you're not allowed to grieve and be upset about it. And it doesn't mean that you're not allowed to struggle through your own issues either. But it does mean that you can find your own support system and let them pull you out of the metaphorical and, I guess in this instance, literal fire that's burning around you.

#this post is brought to you by yet another solitaire reread #it's so important to me #solitaire #solitaire alice oseman #alice oseman #tori spring #charlie spring #michael holden #sprolden #heartstopper #osemanverse #book ramblings #tw mental health

[cookinguptales]

I got both my flu and covid shot yesterday so today I'm feeling. bad. lmao. But I also saw two movies and had fun at them both!

I'll make posts about both of them, but I guess I'll start with A Haunting in Venice because I have more thoughts about it, I think.

My non-spoilery thoughts are that I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would! The ambiance was impeccable and I think I'd watch it again just to look at it. It was very pleasantly spooky, more than I'd expected, and despite not having watched the other films, I was able to easily follow along. A lot of the acting was super fun, and Michelle Yeoh was really hot, and it was a spooky ghost story! What more could you want?

(Except subtitles, I guess, because I missed a lot of dialogue. Much more than I usually do. Kenneth Branagh's fake French accent was particularly difficult to decipher.)

Two personal things, which I thought were funny. The children's song heard repeatedly in the movie, Giro Giro Tondo, creeped me out specifically because my mother gave me a doll when I was little that she'd gotten in Italy during a business trip, and when you held its hands it sang that song. I... have a bit of a doll phobia, so I did have a moment of OH NO, IT'S THIS BITCH.

The other is that I was able to figure out the mystery very quickly because of my own special interests, which was very funny to me. I'm sorry that I am too much the target audience for this movie. ;; More on that in a minute.

spoilers below the cut

It was interesting to hear after watching the movie that the original book took place in the UK because the central spookiness of the film did feel very Italian. The old ruined palazzo, the ruinous aftereffects of the Holocaust in Central Europe, the general Vibe. But most of the main characters aren't Italian, so I suppose it makes sense...

It was definitely much darker than I had expected it to be, from a human cruelty standpoint. The allusions to the Holocaust (both when discussing Dr. Ferrier's severe PTSD after liberating Bergen-Belsen and the Romani siblings who were orphaned and forced into very dire straits to survive) were very frank and graphically discussed, which isn't something you actually see in films as often these days, and the fact that impoverished orphan children really were purposefully murdered during the plague had... very familiar vibes after being from a high-risk (and easily dismissed) group during covid.

In the end, the movie ended up being as much about metaphorical ghosts as literal ones, and I can see how a writer struggling with her wartime experiences as a nurse would end up writing a story that so blatantly grapples with the soul of humanity -- and whether it's worth protecting. The medium comparing hearing the ghosts screaming to her time as a nurse during the war treating the suffering... It does make me think about Christie's own experiences, y'know? I haven't read the book, so idk how much of it was invented for the movie, but... it did make me think about her.

As for the mystery itself... I guess there are two things to know about me. One is that I studied mithridatism (and Mithridates himself) when writing fic for Arsenic and Old Lace for YT many years ago. The other is that I wrote an original f/f fic about poisonous beekeeping around the same period. It wasn't my best work, necessarily, but I'll tell you -- I know a lot about mad honey.

So let's just say that the suspense wasn't quite as suspenseful for me lmao. From the second that one woman say "Mithridates" I was pretty ready for what was coming next, and when I saw that she kept bees and everyone kept eating honey... I mean. lmao

That said, the fact that it was very difficult to tell whether the ghostly apparitions were hallucinations or real or some combination of the two was really fun and interesting.

With Christie's Thing for poisons... I guess it's interesting how much fo the movie was about food and hunger and how food can kill you if it's not the right kind -- and how love could go the same way. The discussion of the camp survivors in Germany dying after being given milk, the children being intentionally walled up and starved to death, the siblings eating "non-food", like mice, in order to survive after being orphaned during the war... And obviously the poisoned tea from a mother whose love itself had been poisoned.

And then, y'know, the metaphor flourishing when you see how love itself, twisted into madness, was the reason why so many people had suffered and died. Rowena's fear that her daughter would leave her, Alicia's agony that her fiancé had, Olga accidentally poisoning a child she loved because she was trying to soothe her, Ferrier accidentally poisoning the concentration camp survivors when trying to nurse them back to health, Leopold's desperate attempts to protect and support his father being the exact thing that got him killed...

I'm a little too tired to pull it together into a coherent thesis statement, but... The themes are layered here. Hunger for food and for love and for companionship. Poison being added to the things you think will nourish you and those you love. The desire to be seen, by those you love and those you respect and those who you fear have forgotten you...

You have Ariadne (great name for a spinner of mysteries, btw) using a friend in order to get back her adoring public. Both Maxim and Alicia desperate for the other's attention. Poor little Leo trying to soothe his father's PTSD and being parentified at far too young an age, but desperate to be seen for the marvel he is all at once.

And Alicia's ghost, obviously, reaching out to those she'd known in life and trying to get revenge on those who'd harmed her. She wanted to be seen, too, and she wanted to be understood.

I suppose that's what the whole movie comes down to. Love and understanding and the way it can be twisted horribly even as we crave it.

The movie wasn't perfect and I suspect the subject matter will be far too dark for people expecting something like Knives Out, but I did enjoy it far more than I thought it would. The vibes were genuinely very creepy and the mystery and characters were interesting. I haven't read the book, so I can't tell you how it stacks up there.

I think, sorry Kenneth Branagh, that his casting as Poirot was probably the weakest part of the movie for me. That said, the directing was so good that I at times found myself like "sir?? why not just direct these movies and let someone else play the lead????"

(see: the lin-manuel miranda effect)

But a lot of the other acting was very good, especially Michelle Yeoh who was very hot and very interesting in her role. Boy, I was SO sad when she was the first to die because I was like "OH NO, SHE WAS SO HOT..."

/shallow

Anyway, tl;dr it was a good movie for the spooky season, even if I suspect some of the subject matter will be difficult for people to handle. (Particularly the child death.) And even if you don't enjoy the writing, the footage of Venice and the overall vibes are impeccable so you can just turn off your brain and enjoy wandering through a spooky ruined palazzo.

#a haunting in venice

[lightlycareless]

but what reaction would the zenins have , especially naoaki 😳🤯 with the babies

Hi!!! I'm going with the twin girls au :> although these can be in general 🤔

Off we go to the reactions from the rest of the estate.

Being real, I think most of the clan would not like the fact that the heir had two girls to begin with. However, since Naoya and Y/N are known for being strong sorcerers by themselves, it was only natural that their kids would inherit those talents.

However, they'd still find a way to make them feel less, either by giving backhanded compliments, or voicing how a "son" would've been much better.

Naoya would immediately shut down those comments. We're talking about a man that has now learned how wrong his family is (in more ways than one) and having suffered from similar comments in the past, understands all too well how hurtful they could be, so he tries to shield his children the best he can.

As for reactions, let me put it like this:

Mai and Maki would love your kids, cause they love you very much :> there's no denying that. Would play with them as often as possible, they're like (are) the cool aunts. SPECIALLY if they're girl twins like them, it's probably the first time they ever felt happy with being twins I reckon.

Junko, Mai and Maki's mom, would keep her distance. It's not like she dislikes the kids, she just feels uncomfortable—however, she would like to watch the babies from time to time, silently gush at how adorable they are and remind her of when her daughters were babies too.

Ogi couldn't care less—in fact, I think he'd hate them just because they're a reminder of what he could've had, but didn't. No one allows him to get close to the kids, not even his wife.

Jinichi is in complete awe that Naoya would want to have kids in the first place, but not surprised that he went through with it. He's very precise when it comes those things, and from there he'll just stare at him and you whenever interacting with the kids—idk, he still doesn't believe it's happening. I guess in my mind he never considered that his family would want to have kids (Toji is like the prime example of that)

Naobito is... idk. He never really cared about having kids, so anything about lineage and whatnot is irrelevant to him, but I guess that in the deep confines of his mind he likes the fact of having grandchildren. Specially if they're strong, he'd be very proud of them, show off that they're related to him and whatnot. Do not expect him to be involved, and honestly? You and Naoya are kind of happy he isn't.

As for Naoaki, Naoya's oldest brother... he'd be shocked that the two eventually made amends, enough to have a family together. He just never thought the two were each other's type, or that it was in Naoya's plans to become a father. But it happened, and he just keeps his distance as well. Maybe he hoped he'd be that man, the one to have your kids or something, who knows. Either way, in the short moments he'll be able to see the kid, he'll note that they look like you, as maybe even hope that they act like you too. This whole situation is 100% the reason he stops talking to you all together. It's the official closure of that chapter.

And I don't think I'm missing any other relevant character :> I'd say that most of Naoya's brother would be somewhat confused that Naoya is possible of having adorable children or something hahaha although everyone thinks it's thanks to your genes 😂

Thank you so much for indulging me with this ask!! I want more baby stuff :') I'll see what I can write.

Have a wonderful week, take care, and hope to see you soon!!

#ask #naoya zenin #naoya zen'in #naoya x reader #naoya zenin x reader #naoya zenin x you #jjk naoya #naoya zen'in x reader #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x you #prompt series: jujutsu kaisen

[holyshonks]

Why I love Rojka 'Kasaan (and you should, too)

If Master Chief blew up a Covenant homeworld, you might look at him differently. You might consider civilian casualties and the cruel calculus of war and wince. His story helpfully side-steps this issue by making it so that it simply never happens. Humanity never found Covenant homeworlds during the war soon enough to target them. Until Glyke.

If we expect cooperation and remorse from ex-Covenant who destroyed human worlds, what do we expect from a Sangheili fleetmaster whose own world was destroyed by Spartans? That's Rojka's story.

Rojka was once a fleetmaster, but was demoted after the Changing of the Guard, sent to a shipyard to repair ships rather than command them. As a result, he was not present for the attack on Reach or the assault on Earth.

When Reach fell, Spartan-II Gray Team was granted permission to target and destroy Covenant homeworlds in what was clearly an act of retaliation. They were cleared to destroy the Sangheili colony Glyke before comms were lost with ONI. Unbeknownst to them, the human-Sangheili ceasefire was initiated just before they decided on destroying the planet, effectively betraying the fresh alliance between humans and Sangheili. Rojka, a Glyke native, lost most of his family.

During the Great Schism, Rojka sided with Thel 'Vadam and the Covenant separatists, taking control of the fleet that he'd been tasked with repairing. Rojka was realistic. Like so many, he faced a crisis of character when he lost his religion. He worried for his species' future and longed for direction. He understood that the Sangheili needed to be allies with the humans to survive. To this end, he learned to tolerate them. But not the Spartans that ruined his life.

Rojka isn't anyone special. He's no Thel 'Vadam, with wealth, influence, and his family behind him. He's no Usze 'Taham, with old-world faith and an impressive pedigree. He could probably be most closely compared to Olabisi Varo'dai, except that she lost her home at the hands of a Covenant accident and not a UNSC attack.

Rojka is a refugee. Anyone in his life who didn't happen to be off-world when the nukes detonated was dead. The fleet he used to have was down to a skeleton crew. But Thel 'Vadam still asked him to lead the refugees to a new world that they called Rakoi. They started to rebuild, with Rojka becoming the kaidon of Rak, the Sangheili capital (nerd sidebar for those who care: I believe he was more accurately the high kaidon). He grows to love his new home, with one complicating factor: unbeknownst to them, Rakoi was originally called Carrow, a human colony that evacuated during the war. When the dust settled, the humans returned to find their new neighbors.

There's irony somewhere in Thel asking Rojka to do something he would never ask of a human: to set aside his anger at losing his homeworld and work peacefully with the people who took it from him. It's something that Thel hopes for, but when humans continue to hate him, he doesn't blame them. But he expects more from Rojka, and Rojka, who is concerned about maintaining support from Sanghelios, is caught in the politics. He agrees to maintain peace with the humans, which leads to a civil conflict led by his own cousin, who disagrees with making peace.

As part of this agreement, he is introduced to the UNSC Diplomatic Corp envoy Melody Azikiwe. At first, he resents her presence, thinking of her as a meddler and someone whose skills were ultimately useless. He considers humans to be a necessary evil rather than allies. He does not believe diplomacy is truly possible, and thinks Melody weak for talking instead of fighting. But when a two-front war breaks out on Carrow and Melody awakens Gray Team to assist, his resolve is shaken. Over and over again, he's reminded of how much both humans and Sangheili have suffered.

Eventually the civil conflict escalates to a point where the entire planet is in danger, and he has no choice but to accept help from the Spartans. The decision to destroy Glyke without clear orders was a contentious one for the team, which broke them once they realized what they'd done. In their own way, they try to make amends with Rojka.

In the end, it's not ships or soldiers who overcome the conflict, but people. Regular people, talking their way out and through problems. Rojka begins to realize the importance of jobs like Melody's and that there are better ways to solve problems than separating heads from necks (although he does do that, too). Having decided to set aside his anger with Gray Team, he returns home to Rak to rebuild. When he gets there, he learns that another kaidon has risen to power in his absence, usurping his title. In what is, in my opinion, his greatest moment of growth, Rojka accepts the new power structure without argument.

I can't overstate how unusual this is. Few things are more important than power and pride in Sangheili culture. Many Sangheili prefer to die than admit to being injured. They prefer to be killed rather than captured. The most honorable way to replace a kaidon is a battle to the death. But Rojka is tired. He wants to go home. He agrees to be an envoy for Rak, having grown to appreciate the power of diplomacy.

Growth!!!!!! That's growth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#its real rojka 'kasaan propaganda hours #give me a world-weary sangheili and i'll be writing paragraphs #it took me a while to decide how to structure this but when i searched my heart of hearts i knew one thing to be true: #i love him your honor #also adding entire pages of envoy for propaganda purposes. read it. #you want to read it #you want to embrace the possibilities of the joint occupation zone #rojka 'kassan #sangheili

[dalishious]

Magical & Non-Magical Healing in Thedas

Magical Healing

Most healing magic falls under the School of Creation, which is about manipulating natural forces of life. It is a school rarely studied by mages, as it requires more finesse than any other school.

While any mage can study the school of creation and learn to heal, it is Spirit Healers who have the strongest healing magic. Spirit Healers can call in spirits to rapidly heal someone’s body, be it from physical damage or through disease. It requires a special gift of working with spirits in this way, which is rare among mages.

Finally, blood magic is also capable of healing. Solas says, “I once saw a blood mage healer who would shed her own blood to close a patient's wounds,” in defence of blood magic. But the details of this form of healing is unknown.

The extent of what healing magic is capable of varies by the skill of the mage practitioner. In the Tevinter Nights story Three Trees to Midnight, Myrion says that while he only knows a little bit of healing magic and can just close Strife’s wounds, his friend Jasecca was a Spirit Healer who “once reattached a man’s hand after it had been chopped off.”

It’s possible that the average mage in Tevinter is taught at least a little bit of healing magic, as in Tevinter Nights’s The Streets of Minrathous, Neve Gallus is also able to use her magic to slow the flow of blood out her wound, despite claiming to not be a proper healer. This is just like Myrion’s limited abilities.

There are also objects imbued with magical properties capable of healing people. For example, in Herold Had the Plan from Tevinter Nights, Bharv’s amulet completely heals the scratches on his hand without so much as a scar, closes up the wound on his stomach, and even keeps him from dying over a fatal blow.

While magical healing is very useful, because of Chantry-propaganda against magic, there are some in Thedas who would rather suffer than accept magical healing. For example, when the Inquisitor arrives at The Crossroads in the Hinterlands, a soldier tells Mother Giselle not to let any mage touch him when she offers to fetch a healer. But this is not the universal opinion. In Kirkwall, the people of Lowtown and Darktown were willing to shelter and protect Anders as thanks for his healing them.

Non-Magical Healing

There are books found in game that have anatomical diagrams, meaning there is some form of studying the body:

The most extensive evidence of what non-magical healing is like is from the Surgeon character found in Skyhold. The surgeon knows how to set broken bones, and also mentions doing amputations as a last resort. When asked how non-magical healing works, she replies, “good health isn't magic. It's diet, exercise and a balance of the humors.” She has many comments about bloodletting in particular:

“Hmm, somewhat off-colour today, Inquisitor? An excess of bile, perhaps. Might I bleed you?”

“Try not to touch the leeches. They are quite delicate.”

“Come for a bloodletting?”

Humorism was the real life historic belief that the body was made of four fluids: blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm. Disease was believed to be caused by an imbalance of the humors, and so treatment was to “balance” the humors, often by bleeding the patient. This goes against the basics of germ theory also evidently believed in Thedas, so perhaps this surgeon is in fact out of date?

A note found in The Fallow Mire says, “The Gardners are too sick to save, everyone says. Grandfather and my brothers barricaded them in their own house so they wouldn't make anyone else sick.” This would suggest that the average person knows the basics of germ theory, at least to a degree that they know how diseases spread and how to prevent them through quarantine.

If you take Dorian to the Fallow Mire, he will comment, “At least in the city, you can find a decent healer. Out here you have, what? Roots and berries?” So, healers are not always available. In lieu of practicing healers, common folk turn to those who know about herbalism.

[RELATED POST: Canonical Herbalism in Thedas]

Additionally, there are a variety of folk remedies found across Thedas. For example, to cure a cold: “Bring a cup of whiskey to nearly a boil in a kettle, until its vapors permeate your surroundings. Add the juice of half a lemon and two peeled and crushed cloves of raw garlic. Consume before the whiskey cools.”

-----

SOURCES:

Dragon Age: The World of Thedas vol. 2

Tevinter Nights: Three Trees to Midnight

Tevinter Nights: The Streets of Minrathous

Tevinter Nights: Herold Had the Plan

Codex entry: The Four Schools of Magic: Creation (DA:O)

Note: Diary of Peter Marsh (DA:I)

Creation Ability Trees (DA:O) (DA:2)

Spirit Healer Ability Trees (DA:O) (DA:2)

Dialogue with Fereldan refugees in Lowtown (DA:2)

Dialogue with Mother Giselle and a soldier in The Hinterlands (DA:I)

Dialogue from Dorian about the plague in the Fallow Mire (DA:I)

Dialogue with Solas about blood magic (DA:I)

Dialogue with Surgeon in Skyhold (DA:I)

-----

Like these kinds of meta pieces? Please consider supporting me on Patreon, where you could have viewed it a few weeks earlier!

#dragon age #healing #da lore #meta

[esther-dot]

What upsets me the most about the dumbass Sansa vs Arya thing (other than it only existing because antis hate Sansa that much) is that... what does it add to the story? This isn't fandom stuff, this is something antis genuinely want for the story, but what does it ADD? What is the POINT? What value does these 2 siblings fighting against each other would give to the story? To the message and theme? It's even more worthless than the boring Cleganebowl shit.

Sansa and Arya, two siblings from the main family of the series that the story centers on, fighting and hating each other is detrimental to literally EVERYTHING. ASOIAF is LOADED with family dynamics that are actually toxic and destructive to the members. We have the Targaryens, we have the Greyjoys, we have the LANNISTERS. Westeros is so bereft of families that love each other, making the ONE family that genuinely love each other and doing their best to reunite hate each other is so... just spit on GRRM and the effort he put into House Stark, why don't you?

I don't want to sound like a pretentious ass, but these people should not read a series like ASOIAF if they're gonna let their petty feelings and opinions impact the series as a whole. They can hate Sansa, but if they hate her to the point where it impacts their reading of the series, then put it down and go read something simpler. Or just stick to fanfics because their disturbing hate fantasy will never be canon, sorry antis

(about this ask)

I talked about this before and now can’t find the post, but Arya and Jon fans who hate Sansa are holding her responsible for the problems with society that Martin is criticizing. They are missing that society is being criticized from different angles to allow us to see all the ways it’s hurting people. Rather than realizing it isn’t the little girl who caused their pain, with them we are getting two critiques (coming from different directions) of their world. Jon is excluded, Arya is expected to conform.

Jon wants in, Arya wants out.

And of course, Sansa suffers as well. She may fulfill the ideal in a way that Arya cannot, but that doesn’t save her. We have Elia and Lyanna which is another picture of conformity/non-conformity —both of them die. There is a much larger part of the story here that is the driving force of what these characters suffer, it’s a shame to dismiss all of that in order to hate on Sansa.

I have no gatekeeping instinct. I’m happy to read different takes (within reason — absolutely no Sansa hate which is why I don’t do much with anyone beyond our corner), I have read and written Martin critical stuff, I don’t mind people coming away with different interpretations. I enjoy that (within reason), and that’s a part of who I am beyond fandom so that isn’t gonna change. I simply decide, “well, I certainly never want to hear from that blogger/that part of the fandom again,” but as far as I know, they’re an angry 13yo who will reread the series in a year or two and realize, oh, the Sansa and Arya conflict is created by external forces, and actually, they can understand the pressures Sansa struggled with as well. I’m a big fan of leaving room for growth, and literature has a special way of allowing us to see things in new ways and helping us evolve as I individuals. I’d never be in favor of taking it away from anyone no matter how much I think they misunderstand it. You never know what the future holds and if one day, they’ll get it.

Also, I don’t have a perfect grasp on what Martin is doing myself. The endgame of some of the characters strikes me as….uh, less realistic, and more, whimsical, so unless I’m gonna throw out my books, I’m not gonna pretend to be more deserving than any one else. I will filter and block though because when it comes to Sansa haters:

making the ONE family that genuinely love each other and doing their best to reunite hate each other is so... just spit on GRRM and the effort he put into House Stark, why don't you?

So, uh, not to annoy you further, anon, but I didn’t call what I had written “wish-fulfillment” for nothing. 😬 I definitely think expecting the Starks to kill each other is absurd, but as a Jonsa, I’m not sure how Arya would be able to accept that relationship, and I do wonder if it’s Martin’s way of allowing tension and conflict within the Starks even upon their reunion. Maybe I worry for nothing, but Jon is Arya’s person, he made her feel love and accepted, for him to be in love with Sansa…I worry that Arya would feel displaced, and how quickly Martin would find a resolution there.

Many others have previously looked at how Martin seems to have no problem writing brothers / guys having healthy relationships, but likes to have sisters at odds. There’s a dearth of healthy female relationships, so it’s an opportunity for him to break that pattern, and if Arya was accepting of it I suppose it could be a contrast to the Cat/LF/Lysa mess. That may be the goal he’s working towards, and to your point, that adds to the story in sadly lacking area. All the same, while I do think the Starks love and will be loyal to each other, I’m not sure how warm and cozy things will be on the page? I have some concerns about what he’s making room for. But that is the benefit of being in a fandom with so many emotionally mature fic writers who value and prioritize female relationships. I get to read healthy relationships either way!

#dot chat

[cherryanony]

IN DEFENSE OF ELENA GILBERT: Why Do Yall Hate Emotional Women?

Vampire Diaries - Elena Gilbert pictured doing nothing wrong

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

I started watching The Vampire Diaries back in 2016, right as it was coming to its long overdue close. To say I was obsessed was an understatement.

I would spend hours, days, WEEKS, consuming fan content, rewatching episodes and scenes over and over agin, discussing stupid plot points and writing descions that were made and throughout all of that one question has always dangled over my head...

Why does everybody hate Elena Gilbert?

Despite The Vampires Diaries being a dark supernatural teen drama filled to the brim with freaks & weirdos, murderers, psychopaths, evil forces and THE ACTUAL LITERAL DEVIL... Elena Gilbert reigns as the most hated character on the show by viewers.

But, why?

Elena Gilbert starts off the show as a 17 year old teenage girl who just experienced some of the craziest trauma any person, let alone TEENAGER, could ever go through. She was in the car with her parents when they died off Wickory Bridge and now suffers from a serious case of survivors guilt, a trait and mo motif she struggles with and must come to terms with throughout the show.

She falls for two vampire brothers who bring nothing but more hell into her life, she finds out she's adopted, her birth mother is a vampire and a piece of shit, her birth father is her insane negligent Uncle John, she's lost more loved ones than one can count over and over again, and she's constantly paranoid and never safe because she's a doppleganger with special blood that many dangerous supernatural creatures want.

"But she's whinyyy and a crybabyyy😩..."

As if one of her friends or family aren't on the brink of death every episode. Elena didn't do enough crying if we're being honest.

Elena is by no means a perfect, innocent character. A lot of people are right about her flaws; she can be very selfish with a what-about-me & and look-at-me-this-isn't-you complex and she's constantly getting away with a lot shit since she's the main character. And a lot people say she never faces any consequences but.... she does.... and it's called...

VAMPIRE!ELENA

THAT'S IT! That's where everyone says her character went completely wrong, her character completely falls apart. But I'd argue that Vampire!Elena is a culmination of all her descions coming back to bite her in the ass.

Throughout S1-3, Elena struggles with survivors guilt. She should've gone off the bridge with her parents. She's depressed, she's moody, she's "whiny" all while feeling like the supposed "love of her life" is trying to "fix her" when she's not ready.

In season 4 episode 10, Elena clearly states that Stefan looks at her like she's a broken toy that needs to be fixed. I could go on a whole rant on what I think Stefan's problems are but to sum it all up — Stefan turned into a vampire at 17 years old — a teenager — and spends his entire vampire life struggling with his heightened personality and his Ripper Gene which led him down a path to losing everyone he's ever loved.

(He killed his own abusive father, lost his best friend due to his own brother who he forced to turn with him and now wants him dead after a wedge is driven between them.)

I say all that to say I get Stefan's character. He's scared and insecure, similar to Elena, to be alone and lose everyone he cares about. However, all of his efforts to better himself and relationships only drives people away. People bring up Damon killing Elena's brother, Jeremy, all the time

(again.. HE WAS WEARING THE GILBERT RING! HE'S FINE! YOU DON'T ACTUALLY GIVE A FUCK ABOUT JEREMY, NOBODY DOES!)

But NOBODY talks about Stefan endangering Jeremy and almost getting him killed by forcing him to continue the Hunter's Mark because he thought Elena being human again would make her be in love with him again. (sorry but that's fucking insane😭😭😭!!)

Stefan wasn't only afraid of losing Elena, he was also afraid of losing her to his brother. All these efforts drove Elena away, right into the arms of the person he wanted to keep her away from.

I think Elena felt as if Stefan was just like everyone else who wanted "the old Elena" back. The person that Elena use to be before the accident that the show alludes to in the first season. But that Elena is dead and gone, she'll never be the same person she was before going off that bridge. Apart of her died that night and again when she went off the bridge for the second time and became a vampire.

Elena struggles with being a vampire and basically dying twice and instead of being supportive Stefan immediately wants to fix and change her. Damon is the only one she feels free and alive with. A statement Elena makes herself throughout the show. Despite the stupid discourse over the Sire Bond, Damon was the one she felt the safest with after that plotline was resolved.

But enough about comparing those brothers, this is about ELENA! You know who she gets compared to..?

KATHERINE

KATHERINE IS A LOSER!

Before you raise your pitchforks, I love Katherine. Great character, great villain, but she's a loser!

People LOVE to compare Katherine and Elena!

"Katherine's such a badass and Elena is a whiny crybaby." But I would argue the opposite.

See Katherine's backstory here, despite everything Katherine's been through, the show makes a point that while, yes, Katherine is a survivor, she's also an avoidant runner. She spends 500 years running from the big bad Klaus and once he fianlly lets her go she continues torture, manipulate, and harrass people.

She continues her streak of only whining and complaining about the life she never had because of the things that happened to her, which... fair!

However, despite being given several chances with a romance with Elijah, a life with her daughter as a mother, all the people she's ever wronged helping her and forgiving her on her death bed, taking over Elena's body and essentially starting over in a new life and even being THE QUEEN OF HELL... it was never enough. Nothing was ever enough for Katherine.

She was given many chances to change, to finally LIVE HER LIFE but she chose to continue down her path of destruction. Which, in my opinion, is fine for her character! LET KATHERINE BE THE SAD AND TRAGIC CHARACTER SHE IS! She doesn't have to be some anti-hero badass.

The contrast of Katherine and Elena, two girls who had their lives and innocence stolen from them at a young age thanks to tragic events out of their control and two vampire brothers, is great and executed as well as TVD writing could do (infamously known for shitty writing and plot holes but I digress).

The pieces to the K/E puzzle were so obviously placed, Katherine who was jealous of Elena living the life she never got, chose the path of selfishness and power, and Elena chose the path of love and regrowth and not letting her past define her.

But viewers missed the big picture. Katherine is a survivor but where did that get her? Dead and unloved. Besides freedom from Klaus, she didn't get a single thing she desired. Not a life with Stefan or Elijah or as a mother with her daughter or as Elena Gilbert or Queen of Hell! No! She lost everything and blamed Elena. SHE LOST! SHE'S A LOSER!

She survived, but she didn't live.

In my opinion, Elena is the real survivor. She didn't let her past consume and lead her to a similar fate as Katherine. She chose to be selfless and to love again after being hurt.

She chose to be alive.

SO BACK TO THE PROMPT....

Why do y'all hate emotional women?

"Elena has experienced more grief than anyone I've ever met." - Sherrif Liz Forbes

Every character has went through a lot and have done similar, if not worst, things as Elena as a result yet she's the most hated character?

There's a pattern of fans hating certain female characters who are more sensitive and cry instead of bury their feelings and just punch a man and suddenly get crowned "Most Badass Female Character". Characters, not just female, expressing their emotions is strong and badass and might inspire audiences to do the same and not keep grief in and become self destructive. It's healthy and natural and makes the character not so one note.

It's not fair to compare Elena's trauma and experiences to other characters (espically not Bonnie, that's topic for a whole other post). But why do other characters get a pass despite being ten times more flawed and problematic?

Why are certain characters able to cry, complain, self destruct, fuck someone over, etc but Elena can't?

Genunine question.. let's discuss...

-*- I wasn't able to fully delve into my thoughts on Elena and certain TVD characters, plot points, theme, etc because this post will be 50 pages long. This is the brief version.

***There will be a part 2 to this post where I delve deeper into the trend of hating characters like Elena.

#the vampire diaries #tvd #tvdu #elena gilbert #discussion #fandom #essay #character #for the girls #delena

[ystrike1]

Your Majesty, Please Spare Me This Time - By Eclair (8.5/10)

Would you like to see some genuinely evil characters with layers? Get ready because there's like ten of those in here. This cute looking story is what some people would call grimdark. There's alot of taboo stuff in this, including everything from necrophilia to animal abuse. You have been warned.

Lariet. She was innocent, spoiled and stupid. She didn’t care sbout politics, because her father pampered her way too much. Her father is, however, a good man. His family does not live lavishly. Their citizens taxes go directly into public programs. He is a great man. Her mother was a prominent and beloved singer. Her brother, Lehane, is a promising knight. They all adore her, even though she is mousy and quiet. Sometimes, she does wish that she could wear lovely clothes like the other girls but...that's about it. She loves her family too much to complain about stupid things like that.

Stupid, naive Lariet dies. She dies believing that her loving family is innocent of treason. When the new Emperor, Rupert, kills them all one by one she hates him. She wants him dead. Everybody agrees. He's evil. The next Emperor is a demon who kills without remorse. He executes her under completely false charges. Before she is beheaded she calls him several foul names, and then darkness consumes her.

When Lariet awakens she is twelve, not eighteen. She knows her beheading wasn't a dream. She has the most awful memories. The details of the Emperors rule are too foul to be fake. Before her execution Rupert married a woman named Tori, who was his lady in waiting. He killed her the day after their wedding, with a shotgun. The Emperor is a monster. A demon. An unbeatable one. His siblings don't stand a chance, so Lariet chooses to serve Rupert.

For the first half of the story Rupert is a woman. He's cross dressing for various reasons. He doesn't have alot of power, at the moment. He is moving in secret, because the current Emperor has promised to make him Crown Prince.

We find out why later. Currently, Rupert is pretending to be a princess. He is selling magical weapons illegally as well. He is insanely smart and good at magic.

Lariet loves her family, so she pretends to be loyal to Rupert. She says she will be his completely. Rupert is lonely, so he likes that. He accepts her offer and he treats her like an object for a while.

Lariets brother, Lehane, is very handsome. Lariet's best friend Riche loves him. However, Riche and her family abandoned Lariet when Emperor Rupert targeted her. Riche is a fairweather friend. A weak woman who doesn't care about her family or her responsibilities as a noble. She wants Lariet to pity her, because she cannot marry the man she loves, but Lariet doesn't get it. Lariet is an odd protagonist. The strict rules of noble life aren't an issue for her. She is responsible and quiet. Willing to suffer under Rupert, who is almost certainly a sociopath, to protect her family and territory. It's very...noble. Riche soon reveals her true colors. Riche actually hates Lariet, because she's in the way.

Incest is kind of acceptable in this setting. It's not common, but it's not illegal, so it is possible for siblings to marry. Riche was never Lariets loyal friend. Riche was just watching, and waiting for Lariet to approach her beloved. Lehane does love Lariet, and that makes Riche completely turn against her lifelong friend.

Lariet is adopted, but the incest stuff was still quite uncomfortable to read. Lariet's father even considered betrothing them to each other, because he wanted to make his adopted daughter legitimate. Lariet doesn't know she's adopted for a long time, but it is relevant. Lariet might be special or magical, which would explain why time turned back when she died.

This is Tori, the future Empress...or not? Now that Lariet is in the picture things have changed. Tori the handmaiden is no longer the only woman who knows Ruperts true self. Tori actually isn't human. She is a homunculus created with magic. The material used to make her...is Ruperts mother...yeah. Rupert never loved Tori. They have a very toxic relationship. Tori exists to make Rupert Emperor, because that's what his mother wanted. Tori isolates Rupert. When he starts raising a pet racoon Tori continuously tries to kill it. Lariet has to keep it in her room to protect it. Tori also wants to be like Lariet, because she wants to know what being human is like. She wants to grow. She is stuck in the body of a child. Tori was (most likely) given the body of a woman in the pervious timeline so she could marry Rupert. But it was a sham and Rupert planned to kill her because she was too meddlesome. He might do it in this life too. Tori is kind of Lariet's friend, but Tori is definitely not human. It is very likely that Tori will turn on Lariet, when they both finally realize that Rupert has fallen in love.

The Empress, Eva, is very loved. The Emperor stole her because he loved her so much. He treats everybody else like shit. He is obsessed with her. Sadly, Eva was a spy. He had a husband she loved, but the Emperor abused her until she forgot his face. The Emperor is infertile, so Eva gave birth to a bunch of children out of wedlock out of spite. She decides to use Rupert to destroy the Emperors bloodline. It is her final revenge. A boy with no imperial blood will sit on the throne.

Is the Emperor stupid?

Why hasn't he killed any of his illegitimate children? Haha what a dumb...

No...

The Emperor loves Eva. At least he thinks so. When she killed herself he refused to accept it. Rupert has been "resurrecting" his mother to keep his father (that is not his father) happy. The Emperor has a Queen. He makes her do all the work while he plays with his corpse doll. Rupert is crazy and cruel because of the things he has seen, and he is tormented by what he had to do to become Crown Prince. The Emperor tells Rupert to fix Eva every time she breaks. Rupert has held, repaired, and handled his mother's lifeless body countless times.

After Lariet hears this story she realizes that Rupert was never the most evil man in the palace. She doesn't completely forgive Rupert, but her heart opens up. She matures and learns that her father wasn't faultless too. He didn't save Eva from the Emperor, even when she came to him begging. Also her father totally was going to commit treason. Rupert had every right to execute him from the beginning. Her family was never innocent.

Lariet has to accept that the world of nobility and power is morally grey.

It's a hard process.

Rupert chooses Lariet as his Empress. A couple of spoilers imply that there will be a happy ending, but it'll be bittersweet. I really do think alot of main characters will die before the wedding. Rupert considered killing Lariet about a thousand times, but there's a tipping point. He starts going against his mother's will (also Tori's will) just a little bit. Just so he doesn't have to be alone on the throne. Lariet becomes special to him because of her tenacity.

He knows she hates him.

He just wants a sliver of the love she feels for her family.

Then that's not enough, and the sight of a bruise on her face makes him murderous.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere male #yandere boy #recommendations #recs #rec #recommended #webtoon #otome isekai

[shivstar]

Lily suffering in m/m Fics

I don't know what is the big deal.

I mean Sirius who is protagonist in so many fics, general or romantic or slice of life etc, himself goes through unimaginable suffering to reach an ambiguous ending which is bittersweet.

But these people have problem with making lily suffer. Why? Because she is a female character. And in the times we live, females are not supposed to suffer???

Isn't it upto the characterisation of the author about what happens to lily. And the storyline.

Maybe she started cheating on james with snape and James rather than confronting decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. Maybe in such scenario lily comes back to her senses and wants James back and maybe James is finally done with her and lives his hea with sirius. This right here is a happy ending for prongsfoot and not so for lily.

Or maybe James is a gay man with strong internalized homophobia and he decides to trap the most popular girl in the school so that no one can ever doubt. But once her relaxes and feels safe after marriage, he decides to go out and test the water, so to speak.

No lily Evans bashing. This is a tag I only see with lily. The one character in hp world we know the least about. And the author was successful in making us all believe that because James and lily were oh so great- any suffering that comes should come to lowlifes like sirius whose own parents hurt him or Peter who was born a traitor or hell even snape whose teenage years shaped into all the wrong choices and worst imaginable adulthood.

James and lily and specially lily should not suffer. The most you can do is kill them before old age. Anything more is unacceptable because lily is a woman.

I mean common.

I agree that it should not be done for the sake of bashing or making her out to be the thorn amongst the rosy prongsfoot Or jegulus relationship.

No, absolutely not. I agree that her worth shouldn't be only as a girlfriend or wife.

But she could be a grey character of her own whose poor choices and wrong decision lead to some suffering.

We see she smiles at snape's cost. We see that she doesn't sympathies with a teen petunia. We see her being friends with snape until he uttered that word to her, up until before that she was discrediting every other muggleborn in school by putting her head under sand. Because I feel that only muggleborn snape showed a basic human decency towards was her.

In fact i see her as capable of being a wonderful grey character. So why limit her with only being a Mary sue who is the best and gets the best. She was freinds with snape, a dark gray shade character. Wife to James, again a grey character. Then became friend with Sirius, again an ambiguous in terms of good or bad character. Canon lily surrounded herself around morons because she herself was a moron.

And life is unfair. We know this.

So why should it be unfair to only sirius or james but lily has people marching for her to only get a happy and respectful and wonderful life.

Even gods suffer in whatever mythology you pick.

But lily shouldn't???

So aren't you asking for the same as jkr. A sweet wonderful life for our dear lily evans because she as a female and a mother is great so she should live a wonderfull life.

Hell, my mother is the most wonderful person I know but let me tell you that being good at heart doesn't make the suffering less. If anything good people face most trials in life....

Ps- being cheated on is based upon how much respect your partner has for you. I mean yes love can fade but if they respect you as a human. They will have the decency to cut things off before starting something new. But in no way is being cheated on is about the person who is cheated.

In fact all these people marching for lily should just chill because at the end of the day even if she is cheated on, she will have the moral high ground.

The real question is - was canon James Potter as a character capable of cheating her????

#Lily Evans critical #Not so critical #Just stating facts #But i dont won't to trampled by lily lovers #James Potter #Prongsfoot #Sirius black #If lily is a human she will suffer #Or else she is just a cardboard piece like jkr's version

[purplebass]

Hello, I love reading your adsom posts (:

About the Antari baby, we already know that magic cannot be inherited, magic is in the blood of everyone but it chooses its host and will start manifesting around 5-7 years old. To me nothing special will happen. In a world where parents can sell their child because of magic, I think we would have already known if an Antari mother was enough to give birth to another Antari (the mother is the most important because her blood communicates with the fetus and so her magic could transfer during the development - good thing that it doesn't work this way). Honestly, I would not be surprised if their eventual child will be magicless, like Rhy is, it would make sense for balance as it is a very important concept in the books.

I also wanted to say, that during the scene of Lila observing Kell with Ren, the author insists on the fact that Lila is seeing him from his left side, she can only sees his blue eye but Kell cannot sees her from his position. Emphasizing that during this scene, she is thinking of him as a human, not as an Antari. I loved that tiny detail.

Hey :)

Yeah, I would love to see it because it would be fun to explore (and because I like the baby trope) but like you said, they would likely have a normal baby for balance because they are powerful. It's like the magical dna would be balancing out.

It would be interesting either way. A magicless child would need extra protection in a world ruled by magic. He would be like Rhy or like Berras, who were magicless royals who chose different paths to compensate for their lack of magic. Rhy suffered being magicless a lot but at some point he realized that his power lay in his charming personality. Berras, on the other hand, chose to strengthen his physical power.

This is heavily reflected in the other characters too, and it's what happened to Kell and Lila in Threads as well. He couldn't use his magic so he trained his body, whereas her development was more internal as she navigated being a Captain and dealing with her crew as well as dealing with her feelings for Kell. If we want it to see it as a proportion, king : palace = ship : captain.

I love the bit about Lila seeing Kell from his human side. She's the only one who sees him as a person and not a magician. I mean, being a magician is a part of him, as much as it's a part of her, but he isn't just that even if he thinks so a lot of times (because that's how the Maresh family pushed him to see himself). The fact that Lila encouraged Kell to reinvent himself when he was lost speaks volumes. It's like saying: "you can be anything you want to be and I believe in you because you are more powerful than you think," and it's not something to take for granted. In fact she is proud of him when he's finally able to surprise her. A lot of people believe Lila is superficial because of her love for power, but she is an observer and a listener, and she observes and listens to Kell a lot. And she feels for him. She just wants him to be okay, with magic or not. She wants Kell the human being to be fine. This is also a parallel because when they meet in adsom, Lila is a human to Kell. He falls for her when he believes she's human, and when he finds out she's antari, it doesn't change anything. If any, it makes him even happier because there is someone else like him in this world and it's amazing that it's the person he happens to love.

Things would change if they were to live in Grey London, where they wouldn't be able to use their magic either. I don't think it's a possibility, but since they can both travel through worlds, I wouldn't see it out of place that they I don't know, stay at the Stones' Throw from time to time and lead a quieter life. Especially if magic will change. Don't mind me, I'm just imagining. lol. It's just that I thought that Lila moving from Grey London to Red also tipped the scales of magic because now two antari are living in Red, one in White and none in Grey. She is the only Grey antari -that we know of- and after she stayed in Red, it seems the situation got worse. There's also to consider what is happening in White, of course, and I hope this is addressed!

Anyway, I believe the situation is going to change again once we find out who the next antari is. We don't know how random antari are, if magic chooses every X year (is it explained in the story? because I don't remember), but I have the impression that the new antari in Red will likely be Ren. Do you know why I feel she's might be the next? Because of her hair. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out. In SOM, the three main antari have red, brown and black hair. In a way, their looks are balanced as well because they have different features. Symbolically, I believe this means a lot. In AGOS, Ojka is the new antari. She has red hair just like Kell, and she's the reason he is held captive in WL. In Threads, there is Kosika, who is an antari with brown hair, just like Lila. By now, Lila is the only one who knows about Kosika being an antari. This is a parallel. Which means, following the features of the og antari, that the last antari that may appear in future Threads might have black hair. Who has black hair? Yeah, Ren. She could either be an antari because magic would choose her, but considering who her mother is, she could also become an antari because of some of Nadiya's inventions. She invented the golden band/ring that stole powers. Even if Lila destroyed it, she's an inventor, and she won't likely be stopped from creating another token. I'm not saying Nadiya will test her inventions on Ren, because it doesn't seem likely. It seems her daughter doesn't even go to her lab... however, she has animals. Her bunny could roam to Nadiya's lab and steal something, and give it to Ren. The priest, Ezril, may also steal and give it to the child, since as aven essen, she's around her. Until Ezril is outed as a villain, she has free reign. To make a last parallel as why Ren might become antari (whether because magic will choose her or because Nadiya will create a token to help her), maybe Ren will venture by herself to WL or she will be kidnapped. All the other double antari opposed to the og trio always lead to White London, and I don't think it's casual. The Hand is still looking for a thing that does what the persalis used to do, and this could also make it easier for a child like Ren to travel to WL without knowing. This could also be a parallel with the time Rhy was kidnapped as a child and Kell saved him. Being the child of royals, it is a possibility that the Hand might try to get her.

Thanks for the questions and sorry if it took me days to answer, but I have an exam tomorrow and my brain is focusing on that <3

#posta #adsom #tftop #kellila #kell maresh #lila bard #rhy maresh #ren maresh #nadiya loreni #shades of magic #threads of power #tftop spoilers #kellila babies