#I mean if I wasn't irked I wouldn't be posting

[ukfrislandembassy]

Reading academic literature on languages of the Indian subcontinent is something of an experience. Some of it I think is simple culture shock, some of it is probably an effect of differences between British English(es) and Indian English(es), and some of it is clearly a holdover from colonial ideas.

Like on the one hand you'll find a paper that is about e.g. contact effects of Bangla on a Munda language, one published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages no less, but then it turns out the abstract is entirely muddled and the article itself contains prose like this:

"Though Koda is a Munda language yet the name Koda is recognised as an Indo-Aryan word which is related to digging. The main occupation of the Koda community is to dig land. They generally specialise in earthdigging." (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344713421_Effect_of_Bangla_on_Koda_verbs)

Then you get the stuff which is not wrong or even necessarily badly written but does have a noticeable Aryan-chauvinist bias, such as this passage on the history of Assamese:

"Therefore, by the seventh century AD the kingdom of Bhaskara Varma, which extended to a considerable part of Bengal in those days, must have been populated by a large number of Aryans, who, by virtue of their superiority, spread their language among the aboriginal people speaking non-Aryan languages. The native population gave up their undeveloped and unwritten languages in favour of a much more developed Aryan tongue." (from The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cardona & Jain 2003, published by Routledge).

It's not like this isn't something I can deal with, it's just that it's seems a bit weird to someone coming from an academic culture where the assumption is you speak impartially about the languages you are discussing, and has generally abandoned notions such as 'developed languages' as unhelpful. Though of course it an older form of western academic is of course a key component in the history of 'Aryan' as a concept; when Indo-European became established as a family and Sanskrit a key language for it suddenly became interesting to people who had, ahem, certain views about how humans should be divided into groups. And some of that still is carried over to today (see also the Out of India theory for the Indo-European homeland, something which basically nobody outside of India supports).

[parvulous-writings]

Could I request headcanons for Astarion, Gale, and Halsin realising his feelings for his gn crush?

Warnings: mentions of Astarion's trauma. I added a scene that doesn't technically exist in-game to flesh things out a bit with Halsin.

Notes:  Please, Tumblr... More Halsin and Gale gifs pls My requests are currently open! My pinned post (found here) contains both a list of characters I write for, and a masterlist!  Original character list - please request for these too!

Astarion

As we all know, it takes a long time for Astarion to be able to fall in love properly. His two centuries of having to seduce prey for Cazador have made it very hard to tell where the sultry facade ends, and the true him begins. He was meant to have seduced you for protection, to get you to fall for him and defend him should he ever need it. That was the plan, in any case. To him, it was fool-proof - he had never fallen in love with an object of his 'affection' before, so this should have been easy.

He was very wrong - though your do-good nature really irked him at first, it eventually made him want to be the same. Or, at least, similar. Part of him wished that he could have had someone like you earlier, to save him from the horrors he had seen under Cazador. Your patience with him, and your unwavering kindness got through to him, and he craved more - even if he thought he didn't deserve it.

He realised he loved you - truly, deeply loved you - when you and some of your group had infiltrated Moonrise Towers. You'd encountered a drow who was hell-bent on exploring the Sanguine arts, and had even started to press Astarion to bite her, despite his protests. You had stood up for him, told her to back off, and it was that moment that he had realised that his feelings for you were more than an infatuation, more than seeing you as something to use for protection, that it was love.

Gale

Gale had been fond of you since day 1 - though, being pulled out of a collapsing portal may do that to someone's view of another. Your views often aligned - though sometimes the means to achieve them did not - and that endeared you all the more to him. Even when he told you of the orb lodged deep within his chest, demanding he consume strands of weave, you stuck by him; and he hadn't entirely thought you would.

Being able to travel by your side and see all the good deeds you do is an honour for him - he'll often sit and think about how his life would have been had he not been snatched up by the mindflayers. He'd probably be in his tower in Waterdeep, with no one but Tara for company, and little to do besides wallow in his own self-pity. This was a much better alternative - even with the looming possibility of ceremorphosis.

His feelings first started when you said that you could stay with the group after he revealed the nature of the orb in his chest. It was only natural, after being shown such kindness. But the moment he really knew he loved you, was after Elminster had delivered Mystra's missive to Gale - about destroying the heart of the Absolute by detonating the orb in his chest. When you had gotten so uptight with the older wizard, telling him it wouldn't happen, that Gale wasn't going to die, he couldn't help but find you sweet. Though he had initially resigned himself to Mystra's demands, he couldn't deny it felt nice to have someone on his side.

Halsin

To begin with, Halsin admired you, but was not emotionally available enough to pursue any kind of romantic relationship with you - his mind was focused more on ridding Moonrise of the Shadow Curse. It was only really once that part of your journey had concluded that he could even start to think about that kind of thing.

You had proven yourself to be a person of your word, and that was something that Halsin always held a great amount of respect for. To find someone who followed through with the promises they made, let alone to be able to travel with them, was an absolute blessing - one that Halsin thanked the gods for every day. It was with your help the curse was dispelled, and the lands freed; that was no easy feat, and he couldn't have done it without you.

During the rather small celebration the party and a few others had post-curse, Halsin sat and thought to himself about all that you had done for him - all that you, hadn't quite sacrificed per se, but had given to help him. You'd taken many beatings to help him on his own quest, when it probably would have been more beneficial for you to pursue your own - which was arguably just as pressing, if not more so. Your courage endeared you to him, and it was as he sat there, amidst the celebratory drinking and serenading, that he realised he would devote himself to you as much as you had done to him; following you to Baldur's Gate, and facing whatever it was that was at the end of your journey.

[sapphic-agent]

I really hope my ask won't be seen as mean, hope to word correctly....bc your last post about how Eri and Shig do share some common ground. I agree but it irks me how LoV stans use this to make shig sound not so bad.

Many fics and arts where "shig saved Eri" exists as Eri is an accessory for Shig and nothing else.

I do see the paralels here. I do wonder about the mother....did overhaul killed her?

It's very convenient for the heroes to label Eri's quirk as good ...bc if she had just decay...she would be label as having a bad quirk. Maybe the heroes wouldn't care much. (Makes me wonder where are the healing quirks or medical advancement in this world)

But while they have a similar backstory...how Izu would possible know? I sincerely ask here bc AM went radio silence regards Shig to Izu, same with Gran and the police did a really lousy investigation (I'm assuming is lousy bc we don't see what they did and whatever they did it was one time thing) and didn't share the infos with Izu.

Does Izu knows about the nomus?

Im even surprised he knows shig is TENKO...but of course, such reveal is underwealming as fuck and him and Nana don't take at all.

Izu is mistreated by the narrative and no one talks to him ever.

Not to harpy on your post bc I agree this could have been useful....but like how Izu would know anything about Shig? Unless Shig tells or Izu becames the best hacker ever...or reads mind...he can't know. Ever.

I've said this before, but the reason Izuku doesn't understand Shigaraki is because they haven't interacted enough prior to the Final War.

Their conversation at the mall was a good moment. It shows that a) Izuku has the capacity to resonate with a villain's intent AND disagree with their actions (Stain), b) Shigaraki at this point didn't have a goal or direction, and c) it IS possible for Izuku to understand why hero society is corrupt. It also highlights the differences between them, attempting to show them as complete opposites.

The mall scene was a great way to explain the dynamic between them. And it's something that should have been expanded on throughout the story.

Admittedly, I don't know how Shigaraki's backstory would come up. But I'm sure it wouldn't be a hard thing to do. Didn't All Might pull up Tenko Shimura's disappearance? Maybe Izuku figures it out on his own somehow. Idk.

But to me, it doesn't even specifically have to be Tenko's actual past. It could be an implied thing that Izuku learns from watching how people treat Eri. Hell, part of him already has a clue from his fight with Shinsou.

(One thing I actually hate about Izuku's character is his inability to acknowledge the corruption of society despite being a victim of it. He started off being able to do this with Stain, but for some reason that just went away. He studies under Endeavor, even defends him to Dabi and tells Todoroki he's ready to forgive him. Lady Nagant spelled it out for him and he just... Doesn't react. Doesn't even think about what she said. This is on Horikoshi's awful writing decisions, but it's the one criticism of Izuku that's 100% valid)

Eri shouldn't be used for Shigaraki's redemption. I honestly wouldn't want her around any of the LOV, that's putting her in danger to make another character look better. It's the same issue that I have with Aizawa making Bakugou watch her.

But I do think that Izuku's experiences with the people around him- which includes Eri- should give him a broader worldview. That's typically how development and growth work. If Izuku was going to reach out and try to save Shigaraki, it should have been with an understanding of how society failed Shigaraki.

Saving him also could have meant a lot of different things. Saving Shigaraki from AFO's influence/brainwashing wasn't a bad goal. Saving him from himself, though, is different. People have to want to change, you can't make them. You can give them support, but Izuku wasn't in a position to do so because he's, y'know, a sixteen year old who isn't even an official pro hero. Of course he wasn't equipped for this. Most actual pros wouldn't have been

[ddarker-dreams]

hmmm.... i have a question. not really a question, more like rambling actually.

so we know that n darling doesnt want to get attached with blade, she mostly sees him as her fuckbuddy for a bit which i think is funny, hence she is his long term long distance low commitment gf.

but im actually curious on blade's view on this relationship. does he feel mutual about this? i mean, clearly he doesn't, but im dying to know the specifics.

does he not prod on the topic because he knows n darling would ultimately be his anyway? (based on... whatever elio's script says) or does he just... not care for any specifics and just already considers her his gf without said gf even knowing 😭😭 actually both theories sound more or less similar.

im so excited for ch 5, ive been rereading nexus over and over again lol (and of course... ch 3 and 4 has the most reads for certain reasons im sure you know)

me thinking of a way to respond without accidentally delving into spoiler territory GJKJDF

i will say that the answer to this question is different pre and post chapter 4. i can come back and give the latter after chapter five is posted.

OKAY, so. initial impression (after saving n darling from alister's knife attack in ch1), was... nothing really. a slight pull and nothing else. at that point, he knew the specifics of his job, which he didn't view differently from the hundreds of jobs he'd be assigned before. he doesn't usually bother thinking about the greater picture. he considers himself a weapon who will simply do as he's told until elio fulfills his end of their agreement.

for a while after that, he finds n darling kinda weird. he doesn't get why n darling thanked him and made her synalink offer when it's pretty obvious she doesn't like the stellaron hunters. it wasn't clear to him yet that in the same way he considers himself a weapon, n darling views herself an integral organ to eris. n darling's gratitude wasn't so much that he saved her life — but that he saved eris' 'life.'

he didn't actively try to understand her because he wouldn't care to. the sole reason he picked any of this up is just from the sheer amount of time they spent coexisting. it's inevitable he'd become familiar with her to some extent. there's that, and well... n darling is rather stunning. an assignment where he basically gets to stare at a beautiful woman for days on end isn't something he's complaining about.

what served as a turning point is the nectar guide incident.

(i didn't expect for this to get so long good god but here's blade's mental health going 📉 as his journey to tap n darling begins)

when he comes to, the sight he's greeted with is this high stationed individual weeping for him and desperately tearing her clothes in a attempt to stop his bleeding. he cannot recall a time when anyone has bothered to do so, since it's known no matter how awful an injury he suffers, he'll regenerate eventually. that aforementioned slight pull grows stronger.

regarding blade's reaction to n darling poking around in his psyche uninvited, that wasn't what actually upset him. it was the possibility he'd be less attentive to her safety if he were to go around searching for survivors. for some inexplicable reason, this irked him.

then, at this exchange in ch3:

“Can it really be considered a sin if it’s beyond your control?” 

“It won’t always be,” he replies. “Until then, I can’t allow myself to forget. You must get why.” 

You wish you didn’t. 

it finally dawns on blade that he and this diva-who-pretends-she-isn't-a-diva actually share common ground. that they're both stuck in this self-perpetuated cycle of guilt and admonishment for circumstances that weren't entirely their fault. he doesn't know what to do with this information and stuffs it away for safekeeping.

then another turning point goes down:

the dissonance between lear's id and ego/superego culminates to such a degree that n darling goes unresponsive, the psychic backlash is that bad. blade doesn't understand the specifics. all he sees is this woman he's begrudgingly intrigued by collapsing to the ground with blood rushing from her nose, while her noisy friend and quiet friend rush around. eventually, he can roughly piece together what happened from these tidbits: n darling's aversion to physical contact (seen in ch1 when he reaches for her wrist and she freezes up, then once more when she avoids him after the nectar guide incident).

n darling then confirms this: "What you’re referring to is a precaution my mother suggested. In the past, strange reactions have occurred after I came into direct contact with someone."

along with well-intentioned nona's exclamation: "i yelled at him that if he hurt lear you would turn his mind into goop"

blade wouldn't have thought to configure lear into things as soon as he did had nona not given this slip of information. he already had suspicions that lear and n darling had some sort of Situation between them, because lear isn't slick and makes googly eyes @ n darling like nobodies business, but this. this is different. he could write lear's googly eyes off as a crush, which is whatever. but n darling caring for lear to such a degree that she's fine with risking her wellbeing because she likes being around him that much? hence:

You’re so swept up in your thoughts, that it takes you a while to notice how Blade’s been staring at you. This in and of itself is nothing new. He’s been your shadow ever since forced this arrangement. It irritated you at first, but that blistering offense eased into acceptance. His vigilance felt befitting of a guard. Taking in your surroundings, assessing any threats; such is his prerogative. 

How he’s eyeing you now feels different. It’s as if he’s looking through you, not at you. 

“Is something wrong? You’re making such a scary expression,” you joke. 

at that point, blade is Not Happy to an extent that confuses even him (ch5 will go into why).

then he happens to be brooding in the distance, as he's prone to do, when he sees n darling looking absolutely defeated (post the convo with caicias and chrysus). he feels this need to do something about it, remembers how often she drinks that ambrosia tea, then makes some for her. he really was going to just leave it and then give her space, but, alas:

"Your body springs up of its own accord. You balance the teacup in one hand and reach out to him with the other, your fingers fanning out, ready to sink into whatever they can. Everything happens in the blink of an eye. Your free hand succeeds in finding a destination — settling on the abrasive finish of his bandages. 

You feel another texture alongside it. 

It’s smooth, cold, and visible through the interstices of his winding bandages. 

His skin."

this contact quite literally Awakens something in him (👁👁),

"Blade’s gripping your comforter hard enough for his knuckles to turn bone white. He’s leaning forward, as if ready to pounce, yet lucid enough to exercise some semblance of self-control. He reminds you of a starved animal trapped in a cage, salivating over a piece of meat hanging outside the bars. Goosebumps cover your body. This isn’t simple lust… it’s visceral, some primitive desire too overwhelming to be understood.

You’re the one he’s staring at with this unbridled yearning.

Yes, he’s teased you. Pushed your buttons and riled you up. Not so subtly flaunted the strength that lets him maneuver you like you weigh nothing. You might have status and mastery in your given field, but he’s participated in the annihilation of worlds; the end of civilizations that span back since time immemorial.

He should be the one in charge.

Yet as you stand here, witnessing how he tortures himself by not pouncing on you like he easily could, a thought is planted.

He’d really do anything you asked if it kept this from ending."

from this point to where chapter 4 ends, blade's brain is in some sort of caveman mode. he wakes up. thinks about fucking n darling. fucks n darling. waits around impatiently until he can fuck n darling once again. fucks n darling again. goes to (half) sleep. rinse and repeat.

not only is his mara manageable when he's around n darling, but he gets this thrill too? it's a high unlike anything he's experienced in the miserable centuries he's been cursed with immortality. he isn't really worried about the specifics of their relationship, so long as he can keep railing her on every surface around. n darling's body, how she carries herself with such confidence, the way she pokes and prods at him; he's obsessed. addicted. nothing short of feral.

every stage on his hierarchy of needs has been replaced with n darling.

[shunshunrika]

hi! could you do angst 13 and fluff 13 for megumi fushigoro? i noticed he's one of your faves based on your pinned post 💖

you are cute, thank you, kisses for you.

MEGUMI FUSHIGURO - GROWING APART

“I wouldn’t hate myself as much as I do now if it weren’t for you, Megumi.” you told him, your hands violently fidgeting together. It was hard. It was really hard to get it out of your system, but you had to. It had been a year now. A year of dwindling communication, a year of scarce appearances, a year of your friendship growing apart.

At first you didn't understand what was going on. Why did Megumi suddenly conjure up different plans when you'd set a time to meet up. Why'd he take days to text back. Why was he slowly losing his smile every time he saw you? You were convinced you had done something wrong. Something to irk him, something that rubbed him the wrong way.

Why else would your best friend of so many years suddenly want to stay away from you?

"What do you mean? Did something happen?" Megumi asked, nonchalantly, as if he didn't know what you were talking about.

"Did something happen?" you repeated his question rhetorically.

The weight of your unspoken words hung heavy in the air, each passing second amplifying the ache in your chest. Tears welled up in your eyes, threatening to spill over, as you struggled to find the courage to bare your soul to Megumi.

"Can't you see, Megumi?" you choked out, your voice trembling with a mix of sadness and frustration. "The distance between us, the way you've been pulling away... It's tearing me apart. I've spent nights agonizing over what I did wrong, why you've changed. I really wouldn't hate myself as much as I do now if it weren't for you. Even when I know it's your fault."

Megumi's eyes widened, realization dawning on his face. His usually composed demeanor cracked, revealing a raw vulnerability that mirrored your own. "Y/N, I'm sorry," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I never meant to hurt you. It wasn't about you at all."

Confusion mingled with the pain inside you, and you couldn't help but question his words. "Then what was it about, Megumi? Why did you push me away?"

He took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the ground as he struggled to find the right words. "It's not that I wanted to push you away, Y/N. It's just... I'm in .. I'm in-" he gulped and as his face turned tomato red.

"I think I like you. No, I am in love with you." he finally said.

The world seemed to stand still as Megumi's confession hung in the air, his words reverberating in your ears. The weight of his unspoken feelings now matched the intensity of your own, creating a bittersweet harmony that resonated deep within your heart.

"You... You love me?" you whispered, your voice laced with disbelief and a glimmer of hope.

Megumi nodded, his emerald eyes never leaving yours. "But you already know. You know what happens to people I love. You saw what happened to Tsumiki."

"I can't afford this love Y/N. I am cursed to be by myself forever." You could hear the agonizing pain in his voice as he uttered those words.

Tears welled up in your eyes as you reached out, your hand gently cupping Megumi's face. "Megumi," you whispered, your voice filled with compassion.

Megumi's eyes flickered with a mix of hope and despair, his heart torn between the love he felt for you and the fear of losing you.

"What if something happens to you? How will I live with myself after that?"

Megumi's grip tightened around your hand, his touch seeking solace in your presence. "Y/N, I'm scared," he admitted, his voice trembling. "Scared of losing you, scared of the pain that might come."

"I understand. I really do." you said, caressing his head.

"I will wait then." you say finally, placing your head on his chest. You chose the right place to have this conversation. The rooftop of your old middle school where you and him used to visit frequently. This place was special to the two of you. Overlooking the vast expanse of Tokyo under the starry night sky, you gazed into Megumi's eyes.

"I will wait till you can freely be yourself again."

"W-We might never see each other again. I might die in action. What then?" he says. You have never seen him this nervous before. your calm and composed Megumi, falling to his knees in front of a destiny he can't control.

"Then let's enjoy this night to the fullest. If that's all we will ever have" you say, sorrow painting your voice.

“I don’t care if I don’t sleep tonight as long as I’m with you.” you add, leaning into him, wishing that, if not in this world, in another world you two will be together forever.

[prythianpages]

OK so.. I saw your post about taking suggestions for part two of Be Safe (which really I enjoyed BTW) and I have a few loose ideas that you are more than welcome to use - if inspiration happens to strike you from the random scenarios that have bounced around in my crazy head.

Az overhearing a couple of males talking disrespectfully about his mate, in particular her body. It really irks him and he confronts them about it, scaring the hell out of them in the process. Only for his mate to walk in at the end of the confrontation and be like "what's going on?"

I always loved thinking of a moment where Az would walk in on his mate sleeping while curled up under his cloak. Because let's be real, using his cloak as a blanket would be very cozy and soothing because I'm sure it would smell heavenly. And since their mates, his scent would probably bring her a sense of comfort. But since the bond has not snapped for her yet, he's not sure how to react, so he just let's her be - although his heart just swells at the sight.

Also the thought of Az's shadows behaving differently for his mate is just so cute. There's a few that will always trail behind her as she walks to the library, floating around her as she goes about her day. Maybe there could be a scene where someone even comments on the shadows that hang around her and she's just a bit oblivious as to what it means. Someone could comment like "I've never heard/seen of his shadows acting like that around anyone else" and she's just like "oh really?" (like girl, come on 😒)

Another little scene I imagine is waking from a nightmare and wondering (somewhat half asleep) to Az's room. He senses that she's approaching or maybe his shadows tell him of that fact, but either way she's in the hallway still hesitant to knock and he quickly opens the door, knowing something is wrong. After a bit of an angsty conversation about why she's even there in the middle of the night, she admits something like "because I feel better in your presence, safe, at peace" and at those words he's about to just fall to his knees.

IDK girl, that's all I've got right now. I hope this message isn't too overwhelming, but I got a little excited when I saw your post. Again, you don't have to use any of these ideas.. or use them all, whatever you wish! I just cannot wait to read more of your Azriel fics. Hope you're taking care of yourself in the process though 🤍

omg all of these are so good! had me squealing and kicking my feet, imagining writing them out 🥺 I was thinking about a comfort scene after a nightmare too! I wasn't sure if I wanted Az or reader to have the nightmare. If reader has the nightmare, it would follow the scenario you wrote. If Az has the nightmare it'd be of him losing you to Helion lol and his shadows would be the one to wake you and bring you to him. It's look loosely like this (so let me know which one would be preferred. To comfort or be comforted) :

“Did you have a nightmare?” “Something like that,” Azriel grumbles. “You’ve been so grumpy lately. What’s gotten into you?” “Nothing,” he replies all too quickly. “You know what would make you feel better?” “What?” “Cuddles.”

I definitely would love to incorporate these into the next part! And if by chance some of the ideas don't make it, I wouldn't mind writing drabbles/another one shot over them.

Thank you so much!!! 🥺💙

[sokkastyles]

So about that post we're both included in...the good thing about being at work when I saw that come through was that I wasn't able to respond. lol

I've decided not to respond but something they said that really irked me and wanted to get your thoughts on was this: In all that time between his return and Zuko's exile, there's no evidence that he (Iroh) ever tried to reach out to Azula

This comment and other's like it always irritate me because they always seem to leave out the idea that Azula has to be receptive to Iroh's help. They act like that all Iroh had to do was extend a hand to Azula and she wouldn't turned out the way she did. As if we haven't been shown that Azula has been dismissive of Iroh from a very young age. The idea that Iroh was ignoring her that whole time between when he moved back into the palace and leaving with Zuko, is just another way of blaming Iroh for not loving her enough. I highly doubt Azula was eager to spend time with Iroh around then and tried to avoid it as much as possible. Zuko was trapped on a boat. 😆 You cannot tell me that whatever short time they had together, that Iroh never left the door open for her. At some point, doesn't Azula need to reach out as well?

I'm not sure what I'm asking, I think I just wanted to vent instead of responding to that person. But if you have any thoughts on this, I would love to hear them.

P.S. Sorry for spamming your inbox while going through your old posts. 😁

No problem! Sorry that person reblogged your post to try and continue the argument with me.

You are right that Azula has to be receptive to any attempts Iroh would make to try and reach her, and what we know from canon is that she wasn't. That's why these people always say the doll doesn't matter, because it's evidence of Iroh doing something kind for his niece and her violently rejecting it because she thinks her uncle is a weak fool and her father taught her that people like that deserve to be treated cruelly.

But secondly, lack of being shown him reaching out to her doesn't mean that it never happened. Especially considering Iroh's character and the way he is consistently portrayed, it would be bizarre to interpret him as uncaring towards his niece just because we are not shown it onscreen. The writers expect you to fill in the gaps based on what we are shown onscreen, and what we are shown onscreen is that Iroh, even before his redemption, cares about his family and gets his niece and nephew a gift. We are also shown onscreen that Azula, even as a young child, is cruel towards everyone who is not Ozai, including Iroh, and burns the gift he gives her. Since these characterizations are consistent - Iroh being kind to others, Azula being cruel to others - we can interpret that the reason Iroh and Azula do not have a good relationship is because of what we already know, and that Azula is the reason they do not have a good relationship, and that she would reject whatever attempts Iroh might make to reach out. If the writers wanted to establish that Iroh was uncaring to Azula, it would need to be shown onscreen, since it contradicts everything else we know about his character, and everything we know about Azula and Azula's relationship with Iroh.

It'd be like me trying to argue that Ursa hated Lu Ten, since we never see them interact or get an indication that Ursa feels anything about him one way or the other, except for seeming sad about his death. But that's enough, because we know through everything else we know about Ursa that she is a kind person who cares about her family. Just because we don't see Ursa talking about or interacting with Lu Ten is not evidence of a negative relationship.

I agree that from what we know of Azula as a child, she did not want to spend time with Iroh and probably avoided it. Given how she talks about his reaction to Lu Ten's death, I also think even if Iroh did reach out, he would find it both difficult and extremely painful to be around someone who gleefully made fun of his trauma over his son's death.

Not only does Azula have to be receptive of Iroh, but there is a certain point where Iroh does not need to submit himself to cruelty just because Azula is a child. Azula is also a child with fire powers who is the princess of her nation, and her cruelty towards Iroh is approved by Ozai, who is now the firelord. Can you imagine what it was like for Iroh coming back to that after his son's death, in a world where he was widely seen as a disgrace? How much power does he really have in that situation?

Also imagine that Iroh also has to protect Zuko, who has newly lost his mother, from both his father and his sister.

Imagine, if you will, him inviting both of the children to play pai sho with him one day shortly after his arrival home, aware that he needs to get his niece and nephew away from their father, who now is their only sole parental figure, but also the most powerful man in the country, while he, Iroh, has been reduced overnight to the kooky, disgraced uncle. Even if Azula had accepted that invitation, I imagine that she does not respond well if she were to lose a game to the uncle she thinks is not a real general or the brother she thinks is weak and deserves to be abused. Imagine Iroh trying to problem solve between Zuko and Azula while Azula is shouting at him that he's just a loser who cries all the time because his son died. Meanwhile, Azula is also trying to burn Zuko for taking her piece in the game, and eventually Iroh just has to seperate them both.

And that's sad. It's so sad. I imagine it breaks Iroh's heart to see what is happening to his niece, what his brother is turning her into, just as every cruel jab she aims at him tears open his wounds over the loss of his son, his regret that he might have done something to help her, just as he might have done something to help his brother as he saw Ozai grow into the kind of person he became. We know these are things that are built into Iroh's character, but we also know that he's also not going to allow an abusive person to continue to be enabled, and there's a certain point where what Azula stans seem to want from Iroh is exactly that. They hate him because Azula hates him, and need an excuse for it other than the truth, that Azula was learning to be hateful from her father. They also hate him because he committed the sin of trying to protect Zuko from her and not allowing her to continue the behavior Ozai enabled.

We're also shown this dynamic between Iroh and Azula in the show, from the moment Azula shows up to try and trap Zuko and Iroh immediately susses out her intent and she resents him for it, tries to prevent him from helping Zuko think about what she is saying, and identifies that she needs to seperare Iroh from Zuko. Abusive people are really good at picking out vulnerable people, and also are good at recognizing the people who are less vulnerable and alienating their chosen victims from anyone who is going to be an obstacle, like a protector or guardian. That also increases her hatred of Iroh, that he sees right through her and knows what she's trying to do, and won't allow it. She's not going to respond to an attempt from him to help her because she wouldn't see any benefit to it, because he isn't someone she can manipulate or exploit like Zuko. And she hates that. She hates that she can't control Iroh the way she is used to controlling people, the way she thought she had even her mother under control. Until she learns to let go of that need to control, she is not going to respond to Iroh. Further, he is an obstacle in her continuing to have access to and control Zuko, which increases her hatred of him.

[sansacherie]

how are you feeling about the upcoming season 2? are you looking forward to it? i always think of that post you made saying that whenever i miss the show i'm really just missing alicent. i'd like to enjoy the show and i'd like to see more of alicent, but i can't feel much more than dread because i don't have any faith that they will treat alicent in a fair way. i really appreciate having mutuals like you who see how impressionable the audience is against alicent and how much more forgiveness the narrative has for its men than its women (esp green women)

hmm yes and no 😭😅

i'm invested in alicent. because despite the writers' approach, the intentional/unintentional, i failed to hate alicent, or even feel sorry for her in the the way some sanctimonious viewers do, full of cold and distant pity which enables no real empathy or understanding. i became invested in alicent, and i loved her.

but at the same time - no. she's not the only reason, but she is a big one. i dread the way they're going to approach her in s2 because it's a good chance its not going to be fair, or at least they're not going to be fair if rhaenyra or team black looks bad in the process.

like one of the reasons i'm not looking forward to it is because of alicent deciding to crown aegon because it was "viserys' wishes". because of this i know there are people hoping that later when rhaenyra holds the capital she'll tell alicent that he meant something else entirely different. and the cynic in me would be like why would anyone believe that anyway? honestly it would look like rhaenyra attempting some form of legitimacy. but by then why should alicent care? so viserys believed in a prophecy. so did his descendant rhaegar targaryen and he ruined so many lives just like viserys, including a 14-16 year old girl while he was at it!

just because they believed in prophecies doesn't mean they were right or interpreted it correctly. doesnt give them the right to play with other people's lives like that.

another reason why i dislike it is that the change took away a lot of the complexities that came with the green coup. i don't have a problem acknowledging the sexism that plays a factor. but alicent is also someone who long before she was forced to accept the realities of her children supported rhaenyra's claim and who told rhaenys targaryen she should have been queen. maybe one can say she was just trying to soften rhaenys and maybe that was partly influencing her but at the same time honestly she didn't HAVE to say it. like she could have just told rhaenys the cold facts of the situation and left it at that.

but there are people in this universe who don't think a woman should rule even if she is the undeniable rightful heir and will go for a male option even if his claim is so weak it's a joke. like the male cousins who tried to contest jeyne arryn's rule for example even though she was her father's only surviving child. alicent isn't like that. but she also isn't going to ignore her son's rights which is just catelyn stark coded aka most medieval noble women. the thing about book alicent for example when people call her ambitious is that alicent wasn't really asking for anything more? the expectation for most noble women outside of dorne (and even in dorne there are still some houses where sons inherit before daughters)!) is that their firstborn sons will inherit their father's lands/castles. i remember reading a while ago someone on here saying alicent should have been content with her children being princes/princesses because if she married into another house they wouldn't be royal. and that irked me (not the person who said it) because i would take this take more seriously if viserys organised strong matches for them. but of course he didn't because of a) targaryen blood purity and b) subconsciously to prevent alicent building a cause but in that case maybe viserys shouldn't have bloody remarried! it's that simple. but then again this is the same man who didn't see the holes in the jace-helaena betrothal so who knows.

so yes ultimately alicent did "usurp" rhaenyra partly because of sexist notions (sons v daughters) but at the same time rhaenyra's inheritance exists on the whims of a man! i just can't help but think rhaenyra might have been more interesting in a story where she decided to challenge aegon's claim simply because she was older and wanted to be queen, maybe arguing that just as aegon the conqueror took the realm with dragons she can take the iron throne because she has more than the green faction/her brother.

and going back to alicent she defies the wishes of said man for her children! viserys is/was her husband so she should obey his will but instead she will crown aegon anyway and defy her husband's wishes. people lose out on that because they're too busy being pissed about rhaenyra.

these writers don't deserve alicent

[arxxq]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷“You're really are an idiot..” "Well at least I'm your idiot,"

Itoshi Rin...

╰┈➤ ❝ [he's the person who's been tutoring you for the couple of months, and people have been shipping you two, little did they know.. the two of you were already in a relationship]

Fluff..

So how do I explain? Well you were recently failing most of your subjects, so your professor decided to do something about it and he did it against your own will and probably also against the tutor's will.

Yep, he made one of your classmates tutor you. He told you that "well if you weren't on the verge of failing maybe you wouldn't be in this situation," what were the subject's..well let's just say, you don't really pay attention to classes that includes science or math.

So when he told you that you were going to get tutored, you were devastated. Well at least not for long because the person tutoring you was none other than the infamous Itoshi Rin, you're lover in private but your enemy in school.

Let's just say, in school you guys have a reputation to keep up so your relationship with him is hidden. So people saw you two as "two bickering lovebirds," and you trying to keep up the act along with Rin disagrees with that.

Half of the school do ships the two of you together including Rin's teammates and your closest friends, but they didn't know that they're ship had sailed a long while ago. Now here you two are, in your apartment while Rin is tutoring you.

"for the love of god y/n, I've been repeating this for like 5 god damn times," Rin sighed in disbelief. "I know I know but I keep on forgetting," you tried to reason. "Let's try this again, what is the formula to calculate the centripetal force?"

Silence...you can tell Rin is silently complaining how you still don't get it after he kept explaining it to you for the 5th time. "And I thought Isagi was lukewarm but I guess you are worse.." he mumbled. "Hey what's that supposed to mean?!"

"oh nothing..just that, you're really are an idiot.." he gave you a short yet small smile. You smirked in return. "Well at least I'm your idiot?" He rolled his eyes. "Yeah a cute one in fact...now what's the answer—"

"The formula to calculate the centripetal force is mass x velocity² divide by radius!" You smiled proud. You actually knew the answer the whole time, it's just that you weren't paying attention to his explaination and you wanted to see his reaction. That moment you swear you saw an imaginary irk mark at the said of Rin's head.

"We've been at this for hours...and you're telling me that you knew the fucking answer this whole time?" He glared at you. You laughed nervously. "Sorry I was basically admiring you're features while you were explaining.." yep this was going to be a long night.

I wasn't really planning to post anything today since I'm tired but..I did it anyways and as always I'm too lazy to recheck my work

[ahoyimlosingmymind]

You dislike Sophie? Any particular reason?

This is all my opinion, I'm not even concrete in it ngl, there's just lil things that irk me about her character. I also haven't read the books in a fatty minute, so maybe I'm just delulu. its also 2am so hehe

Similar to how I feel about Keefe, it really comes down to execution of her character for me. I don't have as in depth thoughts on her as I do about Keefe's character, but anyway-

I really really loved her in books 1-5. <- I just think this was the golden age for the books in general but I digress. She was very moral, sweet, and logical. She rushed into danger and questioned things, which landed her in hot crap sometimes. But there was always a REAL motive behind her desire to not listen to the authority figures. She was really relatable in the way she wasn't totally over-powered, still trying to find her footing in this new world etc

But then, at some point, I'm not really sure WHEN it happened, Shannon decided that every single one of her female characters needed to be a girl-boss. No exceptions. And this was when I noticed the shift in Sophie's character. She lost her distinction a bit imo. you could easily interchange any of her 'Girl power'-esque lines with any other girl in the series and I wouldn't blink. That's how little her 'confident character development' sticks out to me. Because it comes off as FORCED.

here's the thing. Sophie already was a girl boss character. It was obvious. From book 1, she was brave and selfless and moral and strong... I love her for that.

The issue is that the narrative became aware of it too. And started TELLING us instead of letting her actions speak for themselves.

This telling was greatly reinforced by characters like Ro who always has to comment on being bad ass. And like- Linh losing some of her original softness for the sake of being 'powerful' and I AM ALL FOR empowering stories and characters- but when they lose the original aspects of their personality for the sake of it?? That's not growth, it's erasure. Confidence and softness aren't mutually exclusive. And when Linh was first introduced, that was one of the shining aspects of her personality. But now, There's so little distinction between a lot of the girl characters now for this reason. They serve as a comment on society, they're vessels to embed a message into. And they lose their individualism within that. BC THE MESSAGE WAS ALREADY THERE. IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE EXPLICITLY STATED EVERY OTHER PAGE. *cough* sorry.

And sadly, Sophie's character got lost in the sauce with it for me. (And it does not help that the side cast of characters is so vast they kinda blend together as well)

What really got me though, was when she started making weird choices that felt like forced edginess. Like burning down the storehouse. She's done some crazy stuff in the past, but I was always on her side. but this time??? no.

THERE WAS VALUABLE STUFF IN THERE. That was pure shock value. Because wdym we've been scrambling for answers for the past several books, and when Sophie stumbles upon a storehouse stock full of Neverseen stuff she just... burns it to the ground?? Like wasn't Gisela's Arche-something in there?

Sophie had no issue letting Alvar go for some info in regards to Keefe, but then she get's his mom's book of plans and BURNS IT???

And I get her thought process behind it was "The Neverseen has taken everything from me, so I'm going to take something from them. I'm tired of always sitting back and just reacting and never being proactive." I GET THAT. But burning the storehouse was SO not the moment lmao. She's also traumatized and the Neverseen is very triggering for her obviously, which means she doesn't always have the clearest thoughts in regards to it. But BOI-

I might just be an asshole. Idek.

I made a previous post talking about how unfair she was to Fitz when they were dating. It's buried in my blog somewhere. But she was not a saint in that situation (neither was he.) but just like Keefe, the narrative doesn't hold her nearly as accountable as it does when it comes to basically everyone else.

I don't hate her at all, but yeah idek. I'm tired lol

[genderkoolaid]

please consider why trans women might take offense at being lumped in with "amab people" as a whole or with "failed men". the way amab/afab is used in discourse is virtually the same as male/female, so when an ally or another trans person refers to us as "amab people" it doesn't feel from when a transphobe refers to us as males (for example, your post wouldn't be functionally different if you changed "amab" for "males"

beyond it being offensive to lump in trans women with amab people as a whole, it also doesn't reflect reality for most of us. I've been on hormones for several years and don't get misgendered generally. the way I exist in the world and how I get treated has infinitely more in common with cis women than it does with "amab people" generally. If someone lives her life as a woman, why would a core part of it relate to "antimasculism" or whatever? How is it not biological essentialism to say that about someone just off the genitals she was born with and with no regard to how she's actually living in the present tense? for a lot of trans women, being a woman eventually becomes way more relevant to our day to day lives and oppression that we face than being trans, which can end up being pretty irrelevant

please consider why trans women would differentiate ourselves from amab people" or "failed males". it's not trying to ignore our own history or whatever but having enough of a brain to notice how the way we get treated after transitioning is completely different from the way we were treated before, so it wouldn't make sense to lump us in with people who only have the same genitals as us.

I empathize with trans men and nb people who want to talk about the way the gender they were assigned at birth impacts their oppression and their being victims of misogyny while still living in their current genders but I don't agree with extrapolating that analysis to trans women without really thinking about its implications or whether it actually applies to us, since it just ends up being transmisogynist and not reflective of our experiences

(sorry for writing so much in response to your post, but it's something that's been irking me for a while and several people shared your post and seeing it so much without any pushback made me feel upset and wanting to respond. I hope I didn't come off as too antagonistic since I care a lot about solidarity in the trans community, but it's the kind of thing that often makes me feel unwelcome in trans spaces)

Don't worry, you didn't come off as antagonistic at all. This was very polite.

My intention wasn't so much that antimasculism is a key part of every trans woman's life, but that the way society treats trans women is impacted by antimasculism. In the same way a trans man might not personally face misogyny much anymore and feel very different from cis women, but the way society views trans men is wrapped up in a lot of misogyny. A lot of stereotypes about trans people (trans women being aggressive/sexually predatory, trans men being tiny and sexualized) come from the same sexist ideas that are used against marginalized cis women & cis men, and i think its a mistake to ignore these connections. I was thinking more from the perspective of "how transphobia sees trans people" than "how trans people experience sexism as individuals"; I think trying to analyze how cis society sees trans people without talking about how our agabs affect that leaves a lot missing from the discussion of transphobia.

Although I want to emphasize that I don't think thats the extent of transmisogyny/transandrophobia, and its also a mistake to ignore how misogynistic stereotypes are used against trans women and antimasculist stereotypes are used against trans men, as well as the ways misandrogyny is used against all trans people. the ways amount of each of these people experience is going to vary a lot depending on everyone's unique situation ofc, and I didn't mean to imply that trans women only experience antimasculism or that misogyny isn't also a crucial part of their oppression. I personally feel that solidarity between trans people and gnc people of our agab who are also considered "failed [x]" is important, which shapes a lot of my opinions & posts, but i also get why a lot of people would be uncomfortable with that kind of position & I don't blame you for that.

I also want to clarify I used "trans people who were amab" to avoid ignoring trans people who don't identify as transfem who were assigned male, since a lot of posts about trans issues end up re-binarizing nonbinary people by assuming "transmasc" and "transfem" are enough to sum up all trans people. I used agab because I was specifically thinking about how agabs relate to transphobic perceptions of trans people, but I can understand how that may have been a mistake since agabs are far from the only thing that influences transphobia & how much it does can vary a lot from person to person.

I hope this explained more the reasons I made & wrote that post. I really do appreciate your opinion on this & I hope that comes across.

[haaam-guuuurl]

I know that was not the point about your analysis on my post about Rory dropping out of Yale at all, but you are so right about Lorelai, she had all that luxury and ran away from it. Even though she had her reasons it still irks me when she acts like she didn't have a choice, like when she tells Rory: "I wasn't lucky enough to go to college" like what do you mean?? Her life was on the path to go to college and a fancy one at that without having to take out any loans, but she chose not to use condoms and get pregnant. But okay sure accidents happen, she was young and irresponsible. Still even after she had Rory I don't believe for a second she wouldn't have been able to go to college if she really wanted to. Emily and Richard have a lot of staff, I doubt they would have been unwilling to pay Lorelai a good nanny while she finished her education. As someone who grew up with strict parents, I understand why Lorelai didn't want to stay there longer than necessary but come on, don't act like you were "not lucky enough". That sounds like something someone who doesn't have the money for college would say which is not Lorelai's case at all. People complain about Rory being blind to her privilege but Lorelai also is. Also how must Rory feel hearing this? Knowing her existence is the reason her mother wasn't "lucky enough" to go to college? A child doesn't ask to be conceived and born.

Anyway sorry for the rant I just liked your analysis on my post.

A rant for a rant I love it 😂💖 Love this, yes so much! I actually hadn't even thought about it that much before writing about it yesterday, but as soon as I did I realized how relevant it was. And you're so right about this! Lorelai doesn't exactly have the correct perspective on her own situation, and is most definitely blind to her own privilege, just as much if not more than Rory. And while she does deserve the benefit of the doubt for decisions she made while young and irresponsible, funny how the fans rarely extend that compassion to Rory's decisions when she was young...

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

"Jere and Conrad finally talk" What does that post mean finally? The problem is Conrad never wants to talk and Jere does and when this convo and the convo they had last ep Jere is doing all the work Conrad gives barely any responses or tells him he's sorry all Conrad cares about himself the me too was about him being happy why is everything Conrad does make him even more boring than before? That's how you know Belly never loved him she said she can only marry someone that gives her sparks clearly she wasn't talking about Conrad that guy doesn't have sparks within him she must've been talking about Jere with him she has so much more than sparks their chemistry is intense and fiery.

Exactly 💯. Con is the only reason why the talks were delayed like 😭.

Eventhough i believe Belly was in love with Con, her being with Cam and Jere before dating Con definitely made her realise the standards she needs in life and so she was able to recognise when Con was being unbearable and so no longer wanted to tolerate an unhealthy relationship.

When Belly was young, she just loved Con coz she loved him, but when she grew up she knew what she wanted in life and basically realised what she needs & wants from a relationship. This is why the "Belly should be with Con coz she has loved him since she was a baby" shippers irk me coz why would you not want a girl to have standards and know what she wants and not settle?? Like people grow and realise that the person they loved since childhood is someone they're no longer compatible with and that's so important.

Like yeah feelings and love are important and all but compatibility is the most important and no amount of feelings could save a relationship where there's no compatibility (and again the length of time ppl are tgt isn’t always a measure of a successful relationship coz there are too many people staying in miserable marriages).

With bellyjere you have BOTH love/feelings AND compatibility, like the best of both worlds so why wouldn't we ship that lmao??

[thepolyamorouspolymath]

What is with me and pissed off men stalking me? I mean honestly.

Guy I was kind of friends of friends with. I tried for a long time but he was a sanctimonious prick who thought he was always right so I cut him off.

Contacts me again (does my forehead say opposite day on it all the time so people think fuck off and stay there means try again?!?) I again try to ge cordial because I like to try to be a good person and give people the benefit of the doubt that they have changed -- I wouldn't reach out to someone unless I had changed, so...

He gets downright abusive because I said: a) no one KNOWS anything unless they have hard data that's replicatible, b) it is good to believe in whatever you choose and also acknowledge the possibility that you may be wrong, as keeping an open mind helps you grow, c) that as a grown adult I'm allowed to choose what I'd like to do and how, and that as I respect his choices, I expect mine to be respected as well.

In return he fucking raged at me insulting me with everything he could think of, thinking it'd hurt me (bro your shade game is weak, start looking to Shakespeare or Drag Queens, but you're gonna need to come a lot harder before it does more than just irk me) including how I wasn't things that I never said I was lol.

I said ok, that's two strikes, this ain't baseball, we're done, and I blocked him.

He starts messaging my business account for more raging because I dared not to be his sycophant.

Then starts this bizarre pissing contest about he's an Honors student at University (University of Phoenix)... um, 'kay. Well my degree is done with a 4.0 which I did while raising 4 amazing kids and I've actually worked in my field, and managed relationships, and I cut off my toxic abusive relatives by the time I was 20 while you still live with toxic mom... are we done with the dick measuring yet bc I promise mine will always be bigger.

Again said, we're done here. And blocked him.

(I did screenshot both before deleting.)

But today was the final fucking straw -- I have 2 business accounts, one that's more personal stuff, one that's directly business because coaching is weird and you need to share your relatability and shit.

I had posted a message about a brilliant woman I had just seen speak and how excellent her speech was and I looked forward to connecting as we work in adjacent areas.

He hijacked that to comment some bullshit!

So I screenshotted that, and sent all of them to his school as a violation of code of conduct and cyberbullying and had him informed that if he ever contacted me again I would get a restraining order to prevent him interacting.

Upside: Got to use this as content on how to disengage with abusive people and maintain boundaries.

But seriously... people say I don't want to talk to you and I... don't. I have on accession had B contact them if they had some of my stuff to arrange for him to pick it up without me present, respecting not wanting contact with me. Yet men continue to think it's fucking acceptable.

Jesus christ man create a fake contact in your phone to a non existent number (in the US, mine go 000-000-0001, 000-000-0002, etc) with their name and a contact photo and yell at it all you want. No need to actually be bothering people so you can vent.

[0-k-4-y]

Something that irks me is people who call Halloween a satanic it's not.

It did start out as a pagan holiday yes, celebrating sam hain a pagan God, but the name Halloween came later. This form of Halloween was supposed to celebrate the end of the year and the end of summer. It wasn't called Halloween. Later what happened is it got co-opted and absorbed into Christianity as a holiday. The form of Halloween we have now came from the mixing of the Scottish hallow and the suffix even, hallow meaning saint and -een meaning evening. Halloween is supposed to be the evening before all saints day where you celebrate all the saints. Halloween is basically saints evening or saints eve. Costumes and stuff came later and it wasn't till much, much later that we started getting costumes that were more than a mask and a shirt I'm talking post 1970s. That's where you started to see more costumes that were more "ha ha let's playfully dress as a stereotypical witch or devil or etc."

Now, let's compare that to Christianity's favorite holiday Christmas which originally started as a Roman holiday called "day of birth of the unconquered sun" as where they celebrated the end of the harvest. Men would decorate, give gifts, and get wild(usually in more ways then one cause this was the early Romans we're talking about, but acting wild was also just part of the holiday long after them). The birth of the sun basically became the birth of the son after Christianity co-opted it. I mean even in the Bible it mentions farmers working their fields and they wouldn't be doing that in the winter or at the end of a harvest. So it's probably not the actual birth of Jesus and some Christians celebrate his actual birthday on the 6th. ( Cause that's when it's said he was baptized and that's where the 12 days of Christmas comes from). Now this took a lot longer to take hold of people as a religious holiday it was banned by the protestant Church for hundreds of years in Scotland and it was outright banned in puritan America because festivals somehow offended God. The gift giving part of the holiday also gained religious connotations in the 6th century, because of saint Nick who would give modest little gifts to children (and prostitutes). The more modern magical creature interpretation of Santa Nick Claus comes from the poem twas the night before Christmas and Coca-Cola adverts in the 1800s.

So to recap, both of these were pagan holidays that Christians made into holidays and neither of them are evil and you can't really say one is evil for being a pagan holiday or a holiday that encourages sin without being a massive hipocite because they both were to a certain extent.

[rumplepleazer]

You wouldn't get what "Hoteps" mean from the context of that post but once it's explained you may be like "Oh those guys." So basically Hotepism is a conspiracy theory that believes that Ancient Egypt was predominantly made up of black africans, opposed to the quite diverse and multi-ethnic reality that most historians assume, and that this fact was hidden by white historians in order to disenfranchise black people by obscuring their hyper-advanced cultures. It is strongly associated with a Black Nationalist view of history, and essentially 're-interprets' history to align with a more convenient reality.

It usually involves a lot of not-entirely-wrong claims and extrapolates them into all-consuming "truths" which are highly biased but difficult to debunk. For example, a common claim is that historians and white people snapped the noses off of Egyptian Statues in order to obscure the identifying features of a black person, with the goal of racial oppression and hiding the racial identity of ancient egypt (The reality is that defacement did happen, usually by conquering civilizations, but that the vast majority of lost noses on statues are just because they are a small, delicate extremity on a statue thousands of years old and there are no shortage of statues who's noses have survived.)

Hotepism is usually criticized not only out of spreading conspiratorial myths about history for the purpose of racial nationalism and identity, but also out of a refusal to engage with actual black history and the various very interesting nations within Africa. It is somewhat related to similar conspiracy theories about much of culture being primarily of Black origin - ie, the idea which was going around this site that Mozart was a black man.

literally thank you so much for taking the time to answer! I'd heard the statue nose thing before, and my first thought was 'that seems like an awful lot of work for no real benefit'

I absolutely get wanting to claim something like that as heritage, but obfuscating historical facts isn't the way to go about it- especially when black africans already have such wonderful and varied cultures!

I can't remember the name of it, but a while back I was reading about a city in Africa- it wasn't Great Zimbabwe or Mapungubwe, it was one of those sites where they had only recently found evidence it actually existed. I recall reading about great stone walls and buildings made of black rock, and thinking it was the coolest shit I'd ever heard.

It just irks me when people want to reject the wonderful things they do have to be proud of and instead feel the need to take something else for their own, especially when it hinders our understanding of ancient civilizations.

Again, thank you for taking the time to explain!