#Value of Determinants

[rudjedet]

I know you probably get this everyday, but would you be so nice as to show the proper hieroglyphs for Osiris.

It was my dogs name and I lost him unexpectedly yesterday. He was my best friend and I’m devastated. I’d like to engrave his proper name in his urn.

Oh love I'm so sorry, losing a companion animal is awful, and when it happens unexpectedly it can be so much worse.

Here's Osiris' proper name in hieros, most commonly rendered as Wesir:

However, since it was your dog's name, I've taken the liberty of rendering it with a dog hiero at the end, and adding mAa-xrw, meaning "true of voice" or "justified", which was a common epithet for the deceased.

Because I didn't know what shape of urn you were thinking of, I also rendered it vertically (and more vertically) for you:

or

Sending you many good thoughts. <3

[whumpacabra]

I don’t have a posted DNI for a few reasons but in this case I’ll be crystal clear:

I do not want people who use AI in their whump writing (generating scenarios, generating story text, etc.) to follow me or interact with my posts. I also do not consent to any of my writing, posts, or reblogs being used as inputs or data for AI.

[cat-skull]

seeing art in all sorts of styles from artists with all sorts of different levels of experience is like the whole point of artfight to me. its stupid and heartless to make fun of beginners in any context but especially within artfight

[pansyfemme]

its really hard to have a special interest in color when every art video on the internet is like "WOAG COLOR THEORY???" over a clip of a very standard example of simultaneous contrast. like yes i know i know can we please talk about something more interesting

[shadowedpetals]

So, let's put an end to this.

Do you really think SJM would write a story about two lovers who won't end up together because the FMC can't carry the MMC's children?

Do you think we'd read something like:

"Sorry, Elain. I love you, but I can't be with you, because you won't be able to bear my children, and I don't want to risk your life. Yes, we can adopt but I'd prefer to go after Gwyn now. She has pliant bones that have nothing to do with babies, but if that's what people think then I'll take my chance. Also, you should stick to your mate; your babies will look as beautiful as you both."

Yeah, it sounds crazy, if you get what I mean

[flora-tea]

It's so weird and messed up to me how society puts marriage on this pedestal as something we must aspire for as part of growing up, and how it's literally treated as something folks in committed long term relationships have to do in order to be "truly committed" or "truly serious" or "truly longterm".

Like why does a relationship have to have a legal contract involved that is sanctioned by and dissolvable only by the law to be considered valid and true?? Why do folks have to enter a legal commitment contract to be considered "actually truly for-reals serious" long term partners? Goverment's really gotta be in our business in order for us to be seen as fully adults or for partnerships to be seen as fully valid? Hell no!! You kidding me?? Society so weird for that fr 😭

No hate to anyone ofc, but the way marriage is largely considered an expectation for people and for partnered relationships is so weird and damaging.

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: violence mention / death mention / ]

Will never stop thinking about how Leo, all alone in an endless void and being beaten again and again and again by the only other living thing around, still finds comfort in that space. The situation he was in was completely hopeless, and in any other circumstances he would not have escaped, at least not fast enough to save him from permanent (or even fatal) damage, be it physical or mental.

And yet, despite the bleakness of his situation, despite the agony and helplessness, all he needs is one glance at a crumbled photograph, one glance to remember his family, and that’s enough of a reason for him to smile.

Maybe that’s why his powers center around manipulating space - because no matter how much space is between them, no matter how dire his own situation may be, just the thought of his family, alive and okay, is enough to give Leo hope.

[keii4ii]

My Lies of P experience, part A

[extremely-judgemental]

Feyre’s autonomy in the books is a sham.

From the start of the series, Feyre is the voice of agency and independence. Even before she is taken to the fae lands, she’s headstrong and stubborn and insists on making her own decisions against the advice of her sisters and father. And once in Spring Court, she often retaliates against Tamlin, sneaks out of the mansion, and wanders where she isn’t allowed for her own safety. After her rebirth, once again, she fights for her autonomy which causes the rift between her and Tamlin.

It’s very clear where Feyre’s values truly lie. So, let’s talk about how they crumble in her new life.

Feyre shares three different bonds with Rhysand.

Under the Mountain, Feyre makes a bargain with Rhysand which leaves a spying eye on her palm. This only proves beneficial to her during Amarantha’s second task and later, when she wants to stop her wedding in Spring Court. From the bargain marks on Nesta and Cassian, it’s obvious they don’t act as a communication channel. Rhysand deliberately fashioned theirs to enable his voyeurism. In FAS, he turns this mark to the insignia of Night Court, which raises the question, if he had control over such powerful magic, why didn’t he change it or release her when she left for Spring Court if he had no intention of spying further or harming her? Moreover in WAR, she admits missing this specific tattoo and is relieved to have the one on her other hand, implying Feyre is addicted to his influence over her mind by now.

Rhysand trains Feyre to control her Daemati powers and shield herself against the others. Yet at the end of it, Feyre admits to leaving an open channel for Rhysand at all times. While she never blocks this path often, other than that time in Spring Court, Rhysand chooses to whenever its convenient for him, like when he decided to give Nesta away to Eris, allow Keir and his people into Velaris, or during the battle of Adriata. This shows Feyre allows him more reign over this bond and encourages him to do so whenever he’s making decision without consulting her.

Finally, the mating bond. This is the one that influences emotions the most. For someone who’s already being influenced mentally to have an open emotional line to the other only makes Feyre prone to be a sheep herded by Rhysand.

Feyre prefers to be Rhysand’s lackey.

Feyre learns to control her powers, learns to read, and trains to wield her newly made fae body. Though these are her desires even before she moves to Night Court, they all conveniently fit into Rhysand’s grand schemes. So, if none of it had amounted to much, would he have let her? We have proof of it in SF where Nesta’s trauma and healing doesn’t matter to him and he chooses to prepare a traumatised woman to find the trove and fight for them.

Time and again, Feyre does everything Rhysand asks for because she ‘understands his reasons’ or they are vital in the upcoming war like stealing the Book of Breathings from Summer Court. She has a moment to make a choice of her own, she contemplates telling Tarquin the truth instead of deceiving him and decides against it because Rhysand doesn’t trust him. Not a night ago, Feyre has no problem violating Tarquin’s mind and yet she couldn’t recognise his true intention.

It shows Feyre doesn’t even want to think. She’s happy to follow along with whatever Rhysand says. She dismisses her instincts in favour of believing every word he feeds her. How does Feyre have an agency when she refuses to even think for herself?

Velaris is a gilded cage.

Feyre is first brought to the Moonstone Palace and introduced to Velaris only after she promises to never speak of it or go back to Tamlin (iirc). The city is protected by a ward that hasn’t been breeched in 5000 years. She’s brought to the Town House (Rhysand’s personal home) and left with the wraiths who answer to him. The word ‘choice’ is often brought up here when in truth, Feyre is a homeless fae taking ‘help’ from the first person who offered. If she denies, she’s on her own in an unknown, and possibly enemy, territory.

But all that turns out fine and Feyre becomes the High Lady. Now, she’s never left the city alone of her own volition. She never explores the city on her own. She doesn’t even know the true boundary of Velaris or the court other than seeing it on maps maybe. Whenever she’s out of the city—to CoN, to Illyria, to the Prison, to Summer Court, to High Lord’s meeting—she’s always escorted by Rhysand.

Her life in Velaris is very similar to the one in Spring, except the entire city is her mansion. What Feyre condemned Tamlin for is exactly what she accepts with open arms in Night.

Feyre has no true friend or ally.

The first people Feyre meets in Night Court are the very and only ones who ever become her friends—Rhysand’s family. Whenever Feyre is not with him, she’s always found with one of these ‘friends’ who are also more loyal to their High Lord than her. They prove this in SF when none of them care for her agency as much as they care for her unborn child or Rhysand’s feelings. Moreover, Feyre has even isolated herself from her sisters by choosing her new family over them again and again.

High Lady who is just another lady.

During her rule, Feyre does nothing but fight and wage wars for inappropriate reasons. She either doesn’t or can’t make rules. While Rhysand makes decisions without consulting her and employs it, Feyre only ever gets to know of these when everybody else does—Keir’s visit to Velaris, offering her own sister to Eris. She is only a High Lady by name and has no authority to do anything with her crown. In fact, she hasn’t even tested this new power except for lording it over her sisters and so-called friends. It’s merely a title enabling her to run amok destroying courts and insulting High Lords without consequences.

Feyre is a prize to be claimed.

Feyre is tossed back and forth between two men, especially since MAF. She’s never the one choosing what’s best for her. She doesn’t reevaluate her situations, tally them, and decide where she wants to be or who she ends up with. She chooses the first man who is willing to give her an inch on the leash. For a woman who’s meant to be the badass female who never relies on anyone, her freedom is controlled by, bargained by, and fought between two domineering men. She could have chosen to go back to her sisters. She could have chosen to live separately for a while, to explore at least Velaris on her own without someone breathing down her neck all the time, and then she could have decided on a path for herself. Instead Feyre is willing to jump from one man’s arms to another because it’s easier than to have true autonomy.

What if Feyre wants a break from Velaris or Rhysand?

She has no home of her own to go to. She’s bound her own sisters with her inside Velaris. She’s established herself as Rhysand’s whore in Hewn City and his racist queen in Illyria. The only people she can rely on for help are Rhysand’s friends. No one can enter the city to rescue her, nor will anyone choose to fight the ‘most powerful High Lord’ for her. She had the opportunity to befriend Tarquin and instead she made an enemy out of Summer for Rhysand. If she had explained her situation to Tamlin, he could’ve been her one shot but then she destroyed Spring on a personal vendetta.

The High Lords meeting is interesting as Rhysand uses that to isolate Feyre furthermore from the other courts. Despite what happened with Spring, they still had respect for her. But Rhysand constantly throws ‘She’s a High Lady’ around cementing that Feyre is the one making the choices when it came to aggression when he passively fuels her actions. He refuses to hold her accountable for her crimes proving he’s capable of but wouldn’t stop her even when she’s wrong. He allows Feyre to lose control of her powers when a minute ago, he gladly took control of Tamlin’s mind. He casts a shield around them after her little outburst. He is capable of taming her temper and chooses not to, making a show of his influence over her, essentially destroying every alliance she’s built on her own.

Also, when the Wall comes down, Rhysand senses it all the way from the Dawn Court. If his powers have such reach, would it be impossible for him to find Feyre wherever she was even without the bonds aiding him? Considering the city wards, the three bonds, and the extent of his powers alone, he has little to worry about Feyre’s safety. If one of those were lacking, it’s not far-fetched to believe he’d go ballistic. And this is obvious from the shield he caged Feyre in during her pregnancy. Would Tamlin have acted the way he did if he had an ounce of Rhysand’s powers or had a secret city? Rhysand is calm and assured not because he trusts Feyre but he knows she can’t get too far from his reach.

These circumstances are completely ignored and Feyre chooses to believe she’s better off in Night Court when her life is not so different. She is too blind to realise her fate and life is heavily influenced by Rhysand—from her home, to friends, to family, to her own mind. She sees the city he wants her to see. She meets the people he wants her to meet. While every other court is still recovering from Amarantha’s rule and rebuilding their cities from ruins, Rhysand flaunts Velaris as the ideal home for her and Feyre is more than willing to take it. She never once questions him or his beliefs. She even accepts and embodies his morals as her own to the point of hating two whole cities she has no clue about.

And where is her autonomy in that? In some ways, Feyre had more power as herself in Spring than she has as High Lady in Night.

[m1zisu4]

ivan's relationship with women is so interesting and i want to investigate it by looking at the first relationship he had with a woman: unsha's wife.

ivan was a gift to meant to commemorate an ostensibly heterosexual marriage (they're aliens, sure, but they're encoded with our own concepts of gender to some extent). from the beginning, ivan's survival depended not only on his utility to unsha and his enterprise(s), but his ability to endear himself to his wife. you could argue that his value to unsha's wife initially took precedence over all his other qualities—if he made a poor gift, he would have failed his original purpose. unsha's ownership of ivan (and his respect and even affection for ivan) suggests he succeeded in this capacity. he already had something to prove to her; unlike luka, who was literally engineered in a lab, or hyuna and hyunwoo, products of the genius aristocrat phan, ivan originated in the lowest parts of society. he had to work against some intense class biases and general expectations to be the perfect gift.

built into ivan's relationship with women is the necessity of appealing to them in spite of his personal feelings (or lack thereof). he must market himself as princely, competent, and available to be the recipient of maternal feelings; for observation, for possession, for friendship, for romance, for breeding. as his early survival is reliant on the impression he makes on unsha's wife, any abnormality—loving men, which contradicts the models for sex and gender he is prescribed on an interpersonal level by his guardian and on a structural level by wider society—is relegated to his true, "twisted" self, and must be concealed from her and everyone.

i have no idea what kind of person unsha's wife is. maybe she likes ivan's shrewdness. maybe unsha picked ivan because the look in his eyes reminded him of his wife's own savvy personality. maybe unsha knew he wanted to get into the pet entertainment business and simply picked the scrappiest looking kid he could find, and whatever personality he had, he had, even if it wasn't complimentary to hers. we have no idea what intentions she had for him, or their relationship.

based on what we do know, though, we can determine that ivan's life with unsha was once at least partially dependent on her approval, and the necessity of this approval shaped his persona . ivan conceals things from everyone, he masks (autistic ivan truthers wya), but it matters that from a young age, he needed to appeal to women in a way he did not choose to, an important element of his narrative with consideration to the fact that he is a gay man.

which isn't to say he doesn't form meaningful relationships with other women. we see through his comfort around mizi and his desperation to connect with sua that he cares deeply for the women he knows, even if he fails to express (sua) or even comprehend (mizi) the depth of that affection.

[awesomechocolatesauce]

"It's so weird having Astarion flirt with my female Tav!"

Why, exactly? The man is pansexual. If you have high enough approval with him, chances are he's going to flirt with you, no matter what gender identity your Tav is.

Nothing weird about a pansexual/bisexual man flirting with a woman.

[short-wooloo]

I rewatched Transformers One now that it's available on home media (and you should too! Please! The movie didn't do so well in theaters and it deserves a sequel) and I realize that the plot is very SW/Jedi/the dark side is bad

Like just from the contrast of our main characters

Orion/Optimus is very Jedi-like in his compassion, emotional self-control, selflessness and focus on what's best for everyone

Compare D-16/Megatron, who over the course of the plot becomes emotional, volatile, quick to anger, uncontrolled, bloodthirsty and above all selfish, prioritizing HIS need for revenge over exposing the truth and helping everyone, culminating in him accidentally and then intentionally murdering a friend, and most importantly it doesn't stop there, once Megatron has his revenge it's not enough, he needs to burn everything down and take control himself

Not to mention how the High Guard/Proto-Decepticons follow that same "the strongest rules, and who is the strongest is determined by combat" that the sith live by

[daddy-long-legssss]

I think one of the great problems that faces people who are in the industry – within which they have to express themselves – is learning to ignore entirely anyone else’s opinion, especially complimentary opinions because the luxury with being assaulted is that you know instinctively that you’re not to take that onboard because that would affect – in a negative way – what you’re doing. But the same thing could be said for compliments, but they come in sheep's clothing. They invite you to give your sense of self-esteem to someone else because as soon as you start relying upon compliments, then you are giving away your own... I can’t think of the word, but you should be the crux of your own opinion. –Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C. on Live with KEXP [x]

[mcaelius]

post maiorum

[screambirdscreaming]

World's least helpful botanical assistant keeps trying to eat my specimens

[plaidos]

as one knows, word preference is the primary indicator, even determiner, of one's knowledge of history!

u mad?