#Questions that don't need to be answered

[thebibliosphere]

I both believe "poor people deserve art" and "artists deserve food", but it's hard to reconcile those beliefs. I blame capitalism. And I suppose it mostly matters who you're stealing from?

I don't mean to question you at all, I'm against people pirating your stories. I guess I was just wondering if you had more thoughts regarding the reconciliation the two beliefs I quoted above.

I think the reconciliation is working toward a future where things are better, and authors and artists don't have to beg people not to steal from them because they think every author is Stephen King, who wouldn't notice if you stole the pennies found under his couch when in reality most of us are hunting for spare change down the back of the couch because we are earning below minimum wage.

We need people to embrace the idea that art belongs to the working class, both in terms of consumption but also creation.

If you don't support the working-class creators, you'll only end up with rich fucks with no scope of the world beyond their own narrow view of privilege.

Indie creators are actually working very hard to change the way the industry works, and the publishing industry is shitting itself over it. They don't like the success some of us are having. It's why they keep upping prices while slashing corners on their own production (while never affecting the man at the top) to try and stay competitive within the rat race they've created.

They're not interested in the proliferation of art. They're not interested in making sure their authors can afford to live. They don't want more diversity. They don't want inclusion. They want profit at whatever the cost.

And while indie creators very much need to get paid because we live in a capitalistic society and everything is burning down around us, and a carton of eggs now costs more than what I earn per hour, our creativity is directly at odds with the type of profiteering big publishers want.

The money should go to the writers. Not the CEOs. The money should go to the workers in the print houses. Not the CEOs. No one needs the kind of wealth these people have. It's obscene. We need direct action against these conglomerates. We need unionization. We need a means to fight back so that we can make art and make it accessible.

So, how do we do that? I don't know. I'm just a very tired, disabled creator doing my best to keep my head above water. But I think getting people to realize that art and books are worth saving up for would be a good start.

That putting money in the pockets of creators is just as important as your own enjoyment of their art. Because if there aren't any artists, you've got nothing.

Getting them involved with their local libraries would also be a great start. Educating them on how the industry works is part of that. The number of people telling me they had no idea libraries paid authors is staggering. And that's intentional. It's a by-product of right-wing propaganda to make you think libraries are worthless and just sap taxpayers' money.

They're not.

If they were, the fash wouldn't be trying so hard to take them away.

Basically, we need working-class solidarity and for certain people on the left to rid themselves of the idea that just because something isn't borne of manual labor, it doesn't have worth. We need the artists and the dreamers as much as we need to bricklayers and the craftsmen. Otherwise, what's the fucking point of it all?

[starflungwaddledee]

Gimme that GOOD shit girlie 💅✨ (Starstruck x Galacta knight)

✧˖°. give up what you love, before it does you in .°˖✧

[gold-dust-angel]

Hmm so it turns out many people consider Ava a bad protagonist and find her annoying??? And that the show is slow??? And that it endorses disability erasure???

I hardly ever fall in love with main leads especially 'the chosen one' types and yet Ava was so easy to get behind and even relatable and I love her so much. And god I wish the show was even slower and it had more episodes like I wanted to see the dynamics between the sisters in depth, Ava and Bea's relationship progressing, little lost moments, their quiet times, their training sessions, them joking around and being normal idk. It still went by too fast?

And I might be wrong here but to me it wasn't disability erasure. Ava's disability is very much a part of her throughout. It's why she spends half the season running away because she hasn't lived yet. It's why she can't give up the halo either. It's why she can't drain the halo too much or can't fight as good as other warrior nuns (minus not being trained yet of course). It's her deepest fear. And it is so fundamental to her and Bea's relationship too like Bea touching her after that fight with Crimson, Bea reassuring her, Bea understanding her fears and hesitance....her disability is a very much constant presence throughout the narrative even though under the surface and ahhhhh I want to scream so bad rn.

I'm straight up not having a good day today and then finding out about these shitty opinions about this beloved sunshine of a character—

Are people allowed to have opinions I don't agree with? Yes.

Do I want to hit them on the head with a stick despite? Also Yes.

Now I'm wondering am I biased because I've read way too many fics and post analysis' and therefore see more depth than there was? Does it even matter?

[icebluecyanide]

I saw people talking about that scene where Yassen shot Max as a huge betrayal of Alex and it's kinda funny to me like yeah he involved Alex in a murder but also I cannot emphasise enough that Alex decided to join a criminal organisation. People have been telling him he'll need to kill for days now, Alex has watched them kill multiple people already, I get that it sucks for him but you cannot team up with a known killer and be that shocked when actually his secret extra mission was to kill

[detectivenyx]

i hate cinemasins so much you would not believe

[b4kuch1n]

hahaha wheee haha

[dreamofmetoday]

PICK A CARD #1: WHAT DO PEOPLE THINK OF YOU

this is to tell you what common impression you give most people 💖

how to participate:

ask yourself, “what do people think of me?” and “how do people see me?”

choose the photo you feel most drawn to.

take as long as you need to choose, you can check more than one if you feel drawn to do so. however, if you are having trouble feeling called to any then this pick a card is not for you. these readings will be honest.

tip jar

1. people think you are shy and distant, that you have trouble standing up for yourself and that you hang back and stay invisible while other people shine. people will suspect that you act in underhanded ways to compensate for how you can’t stand up for yourself - manipulating others, acting smarter than you are, copying others to try and seem more appealing. they think you are giving and patient with others but work best behind the scenes and that you could be suited to teaching and guiding others in a quiet way. they think you hide your emotions, have deep thoughts and prefer to do solo activities.

2. people think you lack real direction in life, that you prefer to go wherever life takes you and that you are not stable. they think you are restless and that it causes you to act agitated, frustrated, strung out and even argumentative. they think you worry a lot and that you focus too much on missing out on things or focusing on what you don’t have and not appreciating what you do. despite the chaotic nature of your energy, people think you always land on your feet and have the energy and skill to keep yourself afloat. people think you keep many secrets and don’t trust your stories, believing that you lie a lot. they think you’re afraid to be alone.

3. people think you are magnetic, well put together and likely physically attractive. they think you rely on praise a bit too much for your own good and that you may not be as confident as you try to portray or wish to be. people think you are talented or pick up on things easier than others. they also think you have a good sense of timing and things seem to go your way even when you don’t deserve it. people think you indulge in gossip often and don’t trust you to be honest or be loyal. they think you don’t make good romantic choices or that you are too focused on waiting to be saved romantically.

4. people think you have a big head and that you can’t see yourself clearly, that you act more arrogant and entitled than you deserve. however, people do respect that you have good leadership qualities and don’t always mind that you put yourself in the position to be the boss, trusting that you will at least try to be fair when you feel you are being treated correctly. people fear your anger, thinking you are easy to get along with and then all of a sudden your mood switches and you are too angry - a volcano randomly erupting. they think you have good social skills and people may open up to you randomly and confide in you, but at the same time they think you are also cold and can become mean.

5. people usually like you easily, finding you warm, charming and approachable. people think you are a good conversationalist, a good listener and think you have high emotional intelligence. people think you are generous, giving and patient. they think you are good at being considerate and people often want to confide in you and think they can trust you. however, people also see you as slightly arrogant and self-centred and that you kind of wait for others and the world to come to you, that you don’t make the effort to be proactive and go after people or things yourself (that you can be lazy and lack purpose). people will also think that you can be fake and that you change your personality to fit certain situations or that you tell people want they want to hear and not what you really feel or think.

6. people think you are romantic and desire this strongly. they think that you hold onto toxic things, can’t let go of what’s not working and that you don’t stand for anything real. but at the same time, people think that you are never satisfied and always searching for greener grass - that you complain and self-victimise. people respect that you try and be empowered but think that you go about it in a way that lacks humility and integrity - that your “boundaries and standards” are sometimes just created in an attempt to get people to cater to you. people think you are anxious to please people you admire and can be overly loyal to them. people think you have trouble seeing things clearly and also think you are indecisive.

7. people think you are highly resilient and clever. people see you as someone who cannot be taken down easily and that you’re very switched on and street smart. people see you as highly loyal, responsible and dependable and think you easily connect to others and inspire trust in other people. people also think you have a childlike, playful and innocent quality so they are not walking on eggshells around you, but at the same time they find you judgmental, serious and think you have the ability to be very cruel. people think you are observant and know many secrets about people. you’re seen as heavily burdened but that it could also be your fault to an extent, this makes you also seen as a bit closed off and people think you prefer keeping to yourself.

8. people see you as very dramatic and that you “always have something going on”. people think you complain a lot, that you are depressive and mentally weak. they think you daydream about a better life but don’t really put action into it. people think you’re insecure and that you prefer to be more of a wallflower and watch people rather than participate in life. people think you lack common sense and the stuff you say seems very ungrounded. people think you prefer focusing on creative activities in your spare time and assume you may be into art, writing or consuming a lot of media.

9. people think you are someone who is very anxious and overthinks. people think that you easily get yourself into a rut and have periods of very low self-esteem and drive but that you manage to pull yourself out of it and make sure you get done what needs to get done - people see you as very up and down and unbalanced. people also think you don’t know what you want and you seem lost. people think you’re very secretive and that you are shy, nerdy and studious. people think you are not stubborn or arrogant and that you remain open to listening and learning. they also think you’re messy, don’t do chores and that you’re also likely unkempt.

10. people think you are a go-getter and that you don’t let life pass you by, that you take it upon yourself to earn money or create solid foundations to expand upon and that you can be a rock in others’ lives too - that others depend on you. people think you are a good worker but sometimes ruthless and amoral. however, people often believe you have your heart in the right place and that you have a lot of people you care about. people think you have a naive and unpredictable side, that you are attracted to “bad” things and have a tendency to indulge in things or people that could result in harmful consequences later (without thinking it all through properly). people think that you try hard to be the bigger person but that you only do it to be praised for being the bigger person and not out of true care for others or the situation.

11. people think you are always running away from problems, when things get tough (especially romantically) you just leave and start over and don’t see things through - you can’t settle in one place. people see you as fake happy and that your joy and positivity is a mask for deeper sadness. people think you are lonely and that you enjoy searching for answers and deeper meaning in things and hate superficiality - people may think you’re into things such as tarot and astrology and take it seriously, hoping it will give you all the answers.

12. people assume you have been hardened a bit by life but they think that you are generous, giving and wise (that you truly try to learn from your experiences). people believe that you are giving in an honest and true way and that you do it because you are a good person, but people think you can be overly submissive and that people try to take advantage of you - especially romantically or in the sense that people will sleep with you and then leave you after having gotten what they wanted because you overestimated them. people think your boundaries and standards are unclear and you don’t know when to give more and when to give up. people think you’re pretty emotional. people think you’re a bit awkward and have trouble maintaining a stable sense of identity (that you don't really know yourself).

[babyblueetbaemonster]

O great librarian please bestow your wisdom upon me.

[newdejavuu]

hey! if you are going to the dallas or woodlands, tx show - listen up!

I don’t fault fall out boy (or their managers) for this but I can’t help but emphasize how stupid it is to book an outdoor show in texas for the end of june!! people outside of texas truly don’t understand how fucking hot it gets this time of year — and unless you experience it for yourself, you won’t get it.

temperatures right now are above 100 degrees Fahrenheit and "feel" much hotter than that due to humidity and UV index.

if you are going to the woodland or dallas show this week, please, please be careful!!!

as a lifelong texan who has endured this hellish heat for my whole life, here are some very important tips for surviving the summer weather (& not passing out):

be sure to hydrate days before the event (starting tonight!) drink mostly water, & if you have them, add those little hydration iv packets as well!

I would highly, highly recommend that you don’t drink alcohol at the event. alcohol is a diuretic and will dehydrate you!!! I would really recommend only drinking water (no diet coke, soda, or other beverages with caffeine, this is a diuretic too!)

check if your venue allows you to bring food & drink (I have heard the dos equis pavilion is allowing snacks! & outside water) & if they do — BRING THEM

eat before the show!! a full meal, not just nibbles of food. eat something rich in all major food groups: carbs, proteins and fats! (most people I have encountered pass out from a mixture of not eating & dehydration)

be conscious of your clothing — wear light colored, breathable fabric like cotton or linen (it’s going to be too fucking hot to make a fashion statement. TRUST ME!)

get to the venue later than you normally would. people in GA, I really really would advise against spending all afternoon in the sun, camping out. if you want to wait in the parking lot, do so in the comfort of your air conditioned car!! (i promise you, getting barricade at a fall out boy show is not worth passing out)

wear a hat!! & bring sunnies (sunglasses) if you are going to be outside before the sun sets

this part of texas DOES NOT cool down at night, so be prepared!!

dicks sporting goods & five below sell those cooling towels for under five bucks, please get one!!

most importantly, listen to your body!!! if you are feeling woozy, ill, lightheaded, nauseous or otherwise NOT RIGHT -- sit down, get help from staff, and get out of the heat!!!!

I’m not kidding when I say that it’s dangerous this time of year to be somewhere outdoors without air conditioning. we, texans, don’t go outside in the summer for a reason!!

[lloydfrontera]

In my opinion, the reason the reunion scene was skipped was because the author couldn’t figure out a way to write it non-romantically and gave up after a while

honestly. i kinda agree with you nonnie.

it just. the set up to the scene is sooooo romantic. you have lloyd being absolutely devastated at the thought he's not going to see any of his loved ones ever again and that he's been dropped back into his terrible life, to the place he admitted he'd rather die than go back to,,, and then someone knocks at the door and when he opens it this is the sight that greets him:

his best friend, the person he's closest to, the one he's spent years with, the one he promised a peaceful life at his side, the one he wanted to grow old with, the one he sacrificed everything for, the one he effectively gave his life to save, the one he thought he'd never see again, standing at his door, having crossed literal dimensional barriers to get to him, a soft and teary smile on his face as he tells him "i missed you"

like. c'mon.

i'm all for platonic interpretations, i'm aroace, i love me a good best friendship as much as the next guy, but,,,, isn't this,,, like,,, really fucking romantic??? extremely so??? am i??? reading too much into it?? because it feels really, really romantic to me.

and like you say. where do you go from there. what response could lloyd give that doesn't involve throwing himself at javier and clinging to him with all of his strength. what conversation could these two have that doesn't involve them seeing how truly devoted they are to each other. what resolution does their arc together have that isn't them spending the rest of their lives together, at each other's side, like they so dearly wanted to.

but. alas. that wasn't the story bk moon wanted to tell. and that's very much his right. i just think that if he didn't want me to assume there's no in-character and narratively satisfying version of that conversation that doesn't end with them kissing he should've at least tried to give us something. and not completely skipped it lol

but that's just my opinion too :]

[greeenchrysanthemums]

Can we please have more about Gem and Pearl's relationship in your GG rivals au?

Oh, yes! I love talking about them.

Gem is just glad to have someone her age to talk to who doesn't treat her differently in some way. Impulse is much older than her and has the tendency to treat her akin to the way a father would treat their kid, or with the respect of a fellow solider. There is rarely an in between in this dynamic, leaving no chance for the equal comradery she craves.

Scott is her age, and they are undoubtedly good friends, but there is the work dynamic between them as well. He often treats her as though she is above him no matter how much Gem tries to get him to stop. He will always value her more than himself (in part due to his self-sacrificial nature along with his respect for her position), so their friendship is not very equal and this is something Gem is hyper aware of.

This can be very isolating for Gem, who is miles away from the small, tight knit community she grew up with. She wants someone to be fully herself with, which she doesn't feel as though she can do with Impulse or Scott.

It is nice to have a friend who just treats her like any other person, who shares their day and lets her share hers, and they don't have to talk about work or status a single time. They're just two people, two equals, two friends. She loves Pearl a lot and values her friendship probably more than anything she's acquired since living in the Capital.

If you've read any of my Pearl posts, you would know how important their relationship is to her as well, albeit a little differently.

She grew up without any one to look after her or be there for her. She had not a single person to talk to or share her time. No parents she has any conscious memory of, no siblings, no other family, not even any friends or people her age.

All she had for a very long time was her dog Tilly, and as much as she loved Tilly, it is a little lonely when your companion has no real way of communicating back to you when all you want is to be heard and acknowledged. It becomes very easy to get lost in your own thoughts, something Pearl often fell victim to.

Nearly every relationship she had throughout her lifetime has been transactional and temporary. The only real relationship she had before Gem was Grian, who loved and looked after her like she was his own little sister. But even he didn't stay very long, and she wouldn't know why he left her until several years later after the hurt was already there, so even that had felt temporary for the longest time and the relationship is still strained.

With Gem she's finally found someone who has shown that she will always return to her, someone who will always be there for her and won't disappear. Even when Gem was on the battlefield, she still made attempts to stay in contact with Pearl by sending letters whenever she could. Gem is a constant in her life that Pearl never thought she would find, and now that she has it, she is very unwilling to let it go or let anything ruin it.

The problem with their relationship, however, is that Pearl never meant to get so close to her, she never meant to get close at all. She's dug herself a hole so deep that there is no way out of it without hurting herself and Gem in the process.

The very foundation of their friendship is built on top of a mountain of lies that she has to constantly keep up, lest it all comes toppling down on top of her. It heavily relies of some level of deceit to maintain, and there is no way to change that without unraveling the whole thing at the seams.

[revvethasmythh]

so. is it just me or does it feel like any time someone discusses a topic wherein they might say "this thing is not to my personal taste" and/or "I like this other thing better than that" it gets perceived as hate or discourse? because I feel like whenever I see someone having a fairly mild discussion about a topic (often just on their own blog) or even just discussing their personal opinions and taste, I will then see responses from others that are wild and extreme interpretations of what was actually said. what is going on. you are making a wedding cake out of a pancake. take a breath

[ifindus]

Who do you ship denmark with? If anyone?

I don't really have a specific go-to ship for him, but I like seeing exploration of his relationship with nations that aren't Norway ✨

I think he'd be very close to the BeNeLux siblings, and both Nethlands and Belgium can be good ship options for him in my opinion.

Ireland is also an option ofc, but then leaning more towards a nyo!Ireland for Denmark. He does strike me as the token straight brother of the Scandis 😅

[insomniac-arrest]

If Reddit goes quiet, how're we going to find answers from real people anymore?? Most search engines are unusable due to SEO grifts. Quora is an annoying hellscape with a distracting layout. Yahoo Answers, Yahoo Answers . . . *starts weeping openly on her grave*

Humanity has been removed from our virtual human playground.

[rennelelorren]

You know what I like about Zuko alone ep?

The way how Zu was such an unreliable narrator.

He was a child and his memories is quite fuzzy and unreliable. Especially when it's come to Azula. His portrait of her is just...feels wrong.

Yk it's almost like his mind erased all good moments of her and replaced with the way how she holds herself nowadays. Or something like that.

Like

She's was a child too, but somehow Azula actively manipulated people around her without even a blink, enjoyed seeing people being in torture and pain, played some mind games just to scare somebody to the bits. (Do authors have something against kids, and in specific younger sisters? Like I get it, kids CAN be scary, but this just feels damn wrong).

And at the same time his flashback was not only from his perspective but in general as well...so even tho I think all of it's strange kid!Azula behaviour is just the result of future memories overlapped the old one plus Zukos general fear of her...at the same time how would I ever know for sure?

[cluescorner]

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH KAEYA AND VENTI?? Like, of all the relationships I want explored in genshin theirs is the most fascinating to me. Do they know who the other is in relation to their origins? Are they both in the dark? Does one know and the other doesn’t? What are their real feelings towards the other person, not just the expressed ones based around their personas? Why was Kaeya left in Mondstadt specifically and does Venti have any thoughts on the matter? Are we gonna get a big reveal scene where Venti shows himself as Barbatos and Kaeya is like ‘AYO WHAT THE FUCK’? Are we gonna get one where it’s vice-versa and Venti loses it onscreen? 

Does Kaeya know that Venti is Barbatos and is friendly with him regardless? Or is it to get more info on the Archon? Or is it to perhaps ingratiate himself to Venti in hopes of not fucking dying like literally almost everyone else? Is he completely unaware and if Venti admits his identity to Kaeya that will be yet another instance where Kaeya’s trust has been broken by someone close to him? Or will he lash out at Venti because it is heavily implied that the Abyss Order/Fatui/tbh everybody related to Khaenri’ah in some way hates Barbatos in particular for some reason? Or will he just go on as normal in hopes that Venti doesn’t recognize Kaeya as Khaenri’an? Or will he have a fucking panic attack immediately because bro I would too if one of the people who killed-or-worsed literally my entire nation just showed up and oh no he was my fucking drinking buddy? 

Does Venti know that Kaeya is an Alberich and simply not care? Or is he pitiful of the man whose freedom was restricted at a very young age? Or does he feel intense guilt stemming from whatever the fuck he did in Khaenri’ah because SERIOUSLY WHY DO KHAENRI’AH-RELATED GROUPS SEEM TO HATE BARBATOS IN PARTICULAR? Or is he perhaps afraid of what Kaeya might do to his nation and hopes to get as close to Kaeya as he can to prevent anything from happening? Did Venti always know that Kaeya was there even during his sleep? Did he wake up and wander into the city and suddenly BOOM, DESCENDENT OF THE ABYSS ORDER IS YOUR CAVALRY CAPTAIN AND YOU CANNOT DO SHIT ABOUT IT? Does Venti not know that Kaeya is an Alberich/Khaenri’an and are we going to get a big reveal wherein Venti will once again be placed in a position where he might have to compromise his identity in order to protect the greater good? Or will he try to kill Kaeya because honestly if I took part in the mass-destruction of an entire civilization I would assume that if somebody reveals themself as a part of that civilization that they’re here for revenge? Or will he treat it like it’s no big deal because he already knew/doesn’t care because Kaeya has made it clear that he’s loyal to Mondstadt? Or will he collapse into a big puddle of guilt and beg forgiveness for everything that’s happened because, when you really think about it, none of Kaeya’s suffering would have ever occurred if Celestia hadn’t nuked Khaenri��ah? Even outside of the other bullshit, Kaeya’s freedom was restricted at a very young age due to the actions of Celestia which Venti played a direct part in. Does Venti feel guilty for this or like he’s wound up betraying his own value? Does KAEYA feel that way? 

THEY DO NOT HAVE VOICELINES ABOUT EACH OTHER! Kaeya and Venti get them for such a menagerie of Mondstadt characters (including ones they never even interact with) that the fact they don’t have them for each other drives me insane. That HAS to be intentional, why the fuck do y’all not talk about each other when you should probably have THE MOST AMOUNT OF THINGS TO SAY ABOUT EACH OTHER?! They are making me crazy. LET THEM INTERACT AND BE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER! WHERE ARE THE FICS WHERE THEY REVEAL THEIR IDENTITIES/LITERALLY ANYTHING RELATED TO THEIR HIDDEN IDENTITIES HAPPEN AND THE OTHER REACTS TO IT?? WHERE ARE THEY?? They are easily the most fascinating yet utterly unexplored dynamic in Genshin. I see more fics about Childe and Kaeya interacting than Venti and Kaeya and I get it and no hate BUT WHAT THE HELL MAN?!