#and don’t have the common sense to reevaluate themselves and change the way they think to adapt to the current times

[leefi]

Starira MBTI IV - Rinmeikan

Seisho

Siegfeld

Frontier

Tamao Tomoe: ISFJ

Bitches be like "can't help being an Si Dom!" *Fixates on a past inferiority complex and lets it define her worth until inferior Ne finally snaps and goes full rambo*

I’d put Tamao up there with Akira in terms of characters who have grown the most throughout the game’s arc (+ Maya if we’re including the anime). And you don’t really need me to tell you why. I find her so so relatable because she’s evolved from being a passive observer who feels as if she has no power or agency in her own life to flipping in the COMPLETE opposite direction and, well...going full rambo. She's shot way too far in the other direction, though, and risks burning up upon re-entry if she isn't careful.

Above all the edgelord, though, we know that she's a dork with a big heart who adores her school and friends. That commitment to preserving the past and those who came before her is such a gratuitously Si-dom thing, and we're all rooting for her because we can see how hard it is to go against her sweeter nature and take Kaoruko head-on. But that aux Fe and inferior Ne give her no breathing room to figure out what she's going to be doing after all of this - she's so focused on her mission and what she must achieve, and that single-mindedness slingshotting out of prior passivity is...so scary to see. It reminds me a bit of her extroverted xSFJ sister's arc in the anime - Nana.

Fumi Yumeoji: ISTJ

Now that I’ve thought about it more, her type is pretty clear. Some commenters on her PDB page made REALLY strong arguments for Fumi being an ISFP in a Te grip (Te, extroverted thinking, is ISFP’s weakest function - when they’re caught in its grip, they become overly critical of the world around them and turn into control freaks). But I feel like her Te is just too strong, even if she’s in a grip, for it to be her inferior. And, more importantly, I see zero Se in her. There’s no way it could be her auxiliary function. But I get why people think ISFP! She definitely has a ton of Fi - she left her bright future behind at Siegfeld because of it. She’d compromised a value extremely dear to her (her love for her sister!) in her stress, and that sin was so unforgivable to her that she abandoned Siegfeld completely. That screams Fi. But seeing how the other ISTJ in Revue Starlight (Junna!) uses her Fi, arguments for Fumi being one as well get stronger and stronger.

ISTJs have Fi as their tertiary function. And tertiary functions can be super strong, especially if she was caught in a Si-Fi loop! Here’s what an Si-Fi loop looks like:

“The ISTJ in this loop becomes hyper critical of past events and can see all of the negative things which have occurred and are likely to occur again. Seeing these negative patterns and past events becomes tied to the ISTJs emotions, which makes them fixate on these things and the fears they have of what might happen in the future. Normally logic would present itself for the ISTJ and cause them to reevaluate, but during their loop this becomes impossible...The ISTJ in this loop becomes hyper critical of past events and can see all of the negative things which have occurred and are likely to occur again. Seeing these negative patterns and past events becomes tied to the ISTJs emotions, which makes them fixate on these things and the fears they have of what might happen in the future.”.

Overall, Fumi is strict, incredibly hard on herself, and in a very stressful position for an ISTJ to be - but she also has some of the strongest values and inner sense of integrity in the series, and that can’t go understated.

Ichie Otonashi: ESFP

“Tamao...TAMAO…”

“What is it?”

“Doesn't it seem like Kiryuin-sensei is glaring at me?”

“She’s just looking at us.”

“YOU’RE LYING SHE’S DEFINITELY GLARING AT ME”

The “stereotypical partner” for ISFJs and ISTJs! While I wasn’t thinking about MBTI at the time, this was what I was referring to when I said that Ichie brings the light to Tamao and Fumi’s more serious personalities - they’re very lucky to have her around. Se-dominance shows up less in a jock-way like it does for the other Se-strong girls and more in Ichie’s lackadaisical and fun-loving attitude. She’s like a little puppy, excitable and eager to experience all that life has to offer her. Se-Fi means that she’s quick to get back up on her feet when things go wrong (just like her ExFP cousins Karen, Aruru and Lalafin), but don’t let her easy going personality fool you - she has a strong sense of values that she holds very dearly to her heart (auxiliary introverted Feeling), and we see that lash out when she’s the first to get truly, visibly angry and driven (loud Se dominance supporting passionate Fi aux with tertiary Te leading the charge) over the loss of the department (compare to Tamao’s quieter Si dominance supporting socially-conscious Fe aux with tertiary Ti withdrawing and mulling things over for itself before acting). There is sooo much to Ichie that I love that I’ve already talked about twice and feel like I’m being redundant at this point, haha. But she has such an inner fire to match that outer love and passion, it’s incredible to see. She really is like the sun.

Also - please see this tweet about Rinmeiki and the Rinmeikan seniors. It's such a succinct way of summarizing their worldviews.

Rui Akikaze: ISFP

We really see a more innocent side to Fi dominance with Rui - see how she doesn’t immediately pick up on the cold atmosphere at Rinmeikan during the early AA story because she’s just so excited about the Performance Festival (until Fe-user Yuyuko comes in and gives her a rude awakening). She’s really similar to her IxFP sibling Mahiru! It’s that shared unhealthy Fi not having confidence in her own capabilities that makes her project onto the girl she has a crush on (and not saying her crush is bad or not valid, just as there’s nothing wrong with Mahiru’s for Karen either - it’s just that she has a tendency to chase Tamao as this ideal because she hasn’t embraced herself yet when she really is a phenomenal person in her own right!). But it’s also that dominant Fi that fuels her passion towards catching up to - and keeping up with - (and eventually surpassing, but don’t tell her that) her senpai! It’s so, so strong! IxFPs are their passions! I see stronger evidence for Se over Ne aux, which is why I typed her as ISFP. When you compare her to her extroverted sister Ichie, you actually find quite a few similarities between the two! Rui’s passion and excitability shows up in albeit more awkward ways due to her introversion, but she’s just as powerful beneath the surface! There is so much light and fire there that I think even her senpais fail to pick up on - truly only Yukko so far has seen the full breadth of her potential (that’s the power of lesbianism). Like other Fi doms can tend towards being, Rui sometimes has an issue of getting stuck in her own head and being her own worst enemy (this is typically more common with INFPs, who are “dreamier” than their ISFP siblings, but it isn’t impossible for an ISFP to be feeling the same things). But like Mahiru and Kaoruko, there’s so much untapped potential that she’ll gain access to with time and support!

Yuyuko Tanaka: INTP

“If only I had the Magician’s knowledge...then it’d be so easy.”

Her inferior extroverted Feeling showing up when she and Rui talk in Arcana Arcadia is SO SO PREVALENT - Ne and Fe pick up on the actual dynamics of the situation much faster than Fi-dominant Rui, but that inferior Fe also struggles to communicate that change in a diplomatic way, and she ends up really scaring/basically bullying Rui. We also see it in her ardent refusal to be a burden and immediate initiative to put herself to work, in such a similar way to what I pointed out with INTP sibling LGY in my ORV post:

Yuyuko: We have to be the ones to shoulder it - Tamao-senpai, Fumi-senpai, and Ichie-senpai’s wish.

Rui: …!

Yuyuko: Our seniors have already been shouldering this dream. That’s why they can’t afford to carry you too!!

All of this is INTP inferior Fe. It's also why it was such a surprise to a lot of us when Yukko admitted she had feelings for her because, as I mentioned with Misora, IxTPs have a really, really hard time communicating what they’re actually feeling, even if they have developed Fe!

Yukko really is a hidden genius - she has such a talent for scriptwriting which was kind of easy to miss before AA because INTPs are the champions of being the literal best at a thing...then not advocating for themselves at all (I have to harass my INTP friend into letting me advocate for him all the time because THEY WOULD LITERALLY RATHER DIE THAN ASK FOR HELP). They aren’t really focused on prestige or gaining power like their INTJ cousins might be - what lights their fire is diving fully and wholeheartedly into their passions (like Rakugo), and everything else comes second. Stop distracting them with other things -- who cares if they haven’t eaten in eight hours. They want to keep focusing on their work! But if you catch them in their passions - or working towards anything they’re extremely invested in (like she is with making Rui the lead) - they are unparalleled strategists and geniuses. They throw themselves FULLY into the things they care about and easily become masters in their craft. INTPs are the classic example of asking a stoic person about their special interest and immediately seeing their faces light up (buckle in, too, because they’re about to launch into a two-hour lecture about it).

I’m not familiar with Rakugo so there isn’t much I can say with it, but dominant Ti-auxiliary Ne-tertiary Si is such a wonderful set of functions to have for scriptwriting or visualizing a story, so it’s no wonder that on top of her many talents, she’s already working with her seniors.

I also really love that she’s buds with Nana - they’re polar opposites, too (ESFJ/INTP), and having Fe-dominant Nana to advocate for her talents and genius is really going to help her shine in the future! If they teamed up with Michiru and Misora I think the four of them would be able to take over the world in about twenty minutes.

[veilder]

When you think back, do you remember what made you ship Convin in the first place? And can you tell me a bit more about the relationship you headcanon for them? (@connor-sent-by-cyberlife)

Gosh, okay, this is such a loaded question for me, lol! Because I love them so much. It’s gonna be hard to try and distill that into one post. But I’ll try my best! XD

So, right off the bat, there are the canon characters. And, while I find canon!Gavin pretty awful and think a relationship between him and canon!Connor would be a bad idea, there’s still a very real tension between them. It’s not rooted in anything positive, for sure, but there is a lot of passion behind it. They both fill the classic enemies/rivals roles for each other and, well... I’m a really big fan of the enemies (to friends) to lovers trope. So right off the bat, they’ve already kinda sparked my interest, yeah? There’s something there, something not fully formed, but dang, it has a lot of potential! Which is where fanon comes in. I think it’ll come as a surprise to absolutely no one that I absolutely adore a fanon Gavin Reed. A more nuanced take on him where he’s not just a racist caricature and is instead a real, human person with thoughts and feelings and motivations. And, while I don’t really remember my actual introduction to fanon!Gavin, one of the earliest things I read that I remember really sticking with me was the amazing fic, Mind-Blowing, by  Redd000. That fic had such a wonderful iteration of a Gavin who not only had a very complicated backstory and a lot of interesting interpersonal relationships, but also a dynamic character arc that brought him from the canon douchebag we all know and hate to a more empathetic character who could learn and grow and admit that maybe he was wrong. Another very early fic I read that made me really fall in love with fanon!Gavin was A Scratched CD by consecrated. It was one of the first Convin fics I ever remember reading and just... really falling in love with. And it really went a long way toward making me just adore the potential relationship between the two of them.  Now, this was still back in the early days when I was still giving other ships a try and seeing what I liked and didn’t, but between already having a sort of bias for the enemies to lovers dynamic and now seeing the absolute goldmine of potential that a relationship between them could deliver on, I was kinda sold. And I think maybe the final nail in that coffin was the esteemed Traces by berryblonde. It was... such a memorable fic for me. The twists and turns of it were amazing. The backstory the author built up. The slow paradigm shifts happening throughout. The case and the way all the players fit together. It was just... It was and is still one of my favorite fics on the Archive. Highly recommend to anyone looking for not just a good Convin fic, but a great casefic/mystery/drama in general.  But the thing all of these had in common was just such a wonderfully built Gavin Reed. Seriously, I was quickly at the point where I couldn’t even read him as a villain anymore, it just seemed so strange to me. Because all of these fics painted such a nuanced, complicated man. One capable admitting he was wrong and doing his best to right his wrongs. Whether platonic or romantic, it was his interactions with Connor that always drove him forward towards becoming a better man. And, as a flawed human being myself, there is something so appealing about that. Of seeing a redemption arc play out like this again and again, of seeing that second chances can be had, that even the worst people can turn themselves around and get back on the right path. It was so... affirming. And it all just kinda tied things together in my mind, too. That Connor was this catalyst, this reagent that burst into Gavin’s cozy worldview and shook him up enough to have to reevaluate himself in the upheaval.  But what’s more than that, I also think Gavin is a great catalyst for Connor’s character growth, too. Because, much like Hank, Gavin is someone who’s character growth and dynamic shift would be such a positive influence on someone like Connor. Connor, who spent so much of his short time alive being the villain. Doing bad things for bad people. Doing his best to shut down a movement that ultimately granted him and all his people freedom. I feel like Connor wouldn’t be a stranger to regret, to that urgent desire to change, and to the fallout left in the wake of that. I think, ultimately, Connor and Gavin’s arcs would almost mirror each other. That there’s a lot both of them could take away from the other in regards to forgiveness and maturing as people and second chances to do what’s right. I think Connor needs to let go of his hatred of his machine self just as much as Gavin does. And there’s something in that symmetry that just... It speaks to such a deep understanding between them. A shared experience between a human and a machine. Something they can both empathize with in each other. And that, more than anything, is the basis of a good, healthy, long-lasting relationship in my opinion. I think they would be very good for each other once they both move past their hangups. Two people who can grow both together and as individuals. I just think it’s a beautiful dynamic and such a strong foundation to base a relationship on. It makes me believe that they would be a couple who lasts.  And then there’s the fact that they both are very competent people, too! (In fanon at least, lol! XD) I absolutely love that sort of buddy cop vibe these two would have (sometimes literally) where one of them is super analytical and the other is reckless and spontaneous? While being total badasses, too! But both working together would balance each other out perfectly. I feel like Connor would help make up for Gavin’s tactlessness while Gavin helps Connor feel more human. They’d both shake each other up, help each other out of their comfort zones and into a fuller experience of life. They’re such great foils for each other and I think it makes them so balanced in terms of a relationship, too. And that goes for the banter as well. They can both be sarcastic little shitheads and omg, it’s so funny the way some authors write that! Top tier banter is a sign of a great Convin fic imo, lol! They’re just the perfect characters for that sort of humor! XD But I really believe having a sense of humor you can share with a partner would be such a boon to a romantic relationship, too. And, y’know... seeing them laugh at and with each other just makes me smile. I love knowing they enjoy each other’s company so much and that they’re so happy together. Gah, it makes me absolutely melt. Ultimately, this is how I love to both read and write them. As two flawed individuals trying to move past their past transgressions. Growing. Changing. Learning that they’re not so dissimilar. Understanding each other more fully than they’d ever expect. Bonds deepening, affection growing, a language of their own developing between them. And then, the pin dropping. The realization. And a love that can and will last. All the while being quippy little badasses, lol! (And if you want a great example of all of this, I’d be remiss not to recommend perhaps my favorite Convin fic of all, Mission: Unexpected, by J11nxed. It’s so good. It’s the fic I always go back to when I need cheering up. And it’s absolutely the dynamic I try for when I write Convin myself. It’s a long fic but it’s so worth reading!)  So yeah... That is... the most basic answer I could give to this, lol. I just... really love this ship a whole lot and I’m actually so glad you asked about it because I love sharing my thoughts on it with others. And, y’know, hoping that maybe my words would get them to give it a chance if they haven’t before. Hopefully, there aren’t too many typos, lol! There’s no way I’m going back through this freakin essay, omg. XD But yeah, hope this answered your question sufficiently, friend! :D

[greylunar]

I have a house lore question. Would you agree that Gryffindors and Ravenclaws tend to be more ideologically motivated and that Slytherins and Hufflepuffs tend to be more... personally motivated? Not sure I am phrasing this right but basically: Gryffindor/Ravenclaw: This is my cause, I believe in it. Slytherin/Hufflepuff: This is my person, I believe on them. Just as a general rule, not true in every case. (1/2)

Also, Gryffindors and Slytherins are more devoted to their cause/person whereas Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws are more likely to be able to be able to reevaluate their standing with the person or cause if they feel they are no longer totally aligned with it/them. Again, just as a rule of thumb. (2/2)

I wrote an insanely long answer to this so more under the break, warning there’s a LOT of like, psychoanalysis down here and a lot of its very personal and about core aspects so like please proceed with caution and PLEASE ask me to tag if I forget something

Super weird note to start this off with but did you have an icon of a dog like two days ago because if that was you it looked like my dog and made me really happy (I love the aesthetic of this one too, A+ design)

Anyways! I do have A Lot of thoughts on this topic in particular, and I’m glad you asked because I know that my interpretation of the houses verges more into “Casper has a specific idea of the sort of personality spectrums he would align into these broad JK-based categories” than “canon” haha c: My “rule of thumb” for causes/ideologies is this:

Hufflepuff: “This is my belief.” This is what is good, what is right, what I know I should fight for and stand up for when the time comes. I will stand by this belief, because a part of me wholly excepts it as fact and uncompromising. I may, however, not always be able to stand up for this belief, as there are situations where I have to evaluate what will be the safest for me and the people I love. But you will have a Hard Time changing a hufflepuff’s mind on something they believe unless you can prove to them that its hurting people and somehow in the wrong. In that case, a new belief is formed to account for this information. Now, here’s where people (in I guess my version of house lore) tend to misjudge hufflepuffs. If one of their People repeatedly acts against their fundamental beliefs, they will either A) fail to remain one of that hufflepuff’s People and get dropped from that sort of list or B) just,,, badger them with facts/reasoning/their opinion until either the hufflepuff changes their mind or they change the Hufflepuff. (Side note, but on how Puffs handle ending relationships of any kind with folks: Hufflepuffs tend to,,, ‘ghost’ toxic people because of their uncompromisable nature on these very core beliefs. A hufflepuff will often give someone a thousand and one second chances until they realize that person either refuses to or is completely unable to accommodate one of their core definitions of good/justice/kindness/personhood and then usually hufflepuffs just kinda bounce. They often struggle with conflict in an overarching sense and, to put it in a Puff’s terms for avoiding a person they couldn’t handle being around anymore “Damn, wish I could just like, disappear into the woods in Oregon somewhere and get a dog and not have to think about this and my friend Tim could make a true crime podcast about having known me.” This is normally a MOMENTOUSLY hard decision for a Puff (i mean yall get it its the house of loyalty) but its very key that Hufflepuffs don’t align themselves with people, they align themselves with beliefs or personal truths. When push comes to shove, the loyalty a Puff has is often to the concept of goodness and kindness and the Concept of People rather than clinging to a specific individual if they directly oppose those beliefs)

Slytherins: “This is my person/these are my people.” Slytherins are a house of change, and their belief systems are mostly fluid (often based on social rules, for example, “I know people don’t like it or get hurt when these types of things are said, so I will now no longer say things like this from now on” OR alternatively “I am Very Aware that acting like this makes people vaguely unnerved, and I Am Choosing To Act Like This Continuously because I am using it to separate myself from others/people deserve it/god wouldn’t that be hilarious”). Slytherins don’t have a lot of ‘fundamental beliefs’ in a way that at least they would refer to as fundamental beliefs, our lovely snake friends often struggle with knowing themselves and defining themselves rigidly enough to label them like that. In a,,, slightly depressing note some common ones are “I have to earn my worth” and “other people deserve more than me.” Hey Slytherins, I don’t remember where I heard this, but worth is a capitalist concept fed to you by corporations and you are inherently human and therefore loved and important and deserve the world. That all said, what Slytherins do not waiver from their people. Slytherin friends will text you three years after you last talked because you posted something vaguely sad on Instagram and they wanna make sure you’re good. Slytherin partners and friends will love you with all of them, the whole of their being. If someone is mean to me, my Slytherin friends will end them, and I have to be like “bro I’m not even mad, you’re being mad for me.” Slytherins don’t ghost their People, they will drag your ass through the mud until you are healthy or By God They Will Fist Fight Your Mental Illness Themselves. In this way, Slytherins are a lot like Hufflepuffs. The problem lies in when Slytherins find they don’t have any more belief or energy left in their stores to drag themselves up too. Perhaps now is the time to realize you should be one of the People you will fight for too.

Gryffindors: “This is my cause/this is a fact” I’m not going to touch too much on the “here is my ten-step plan to save the world, step one is I Do It” Gryffindors, because I think we’re all familiar with that concept of them. Again, Gryffindors will join the Peace Corps, hufflepuffs will give the person who needs cash twenty dollars if they see them, its a scope thing. What I want to dive into with Gryffindors is the Stubborn Bastard Energy that we know and love them for (I do legitimately mean that as a compliment). Gryffindors RARELY and I’m talking Borderline Never bend or leave behind a fundamental belief once they’ve established it. Gryffs often assume that these beliefs are inherent, they would not be themselves if they were not Certain about this, and therefore that certainty is essential to who they are. Therefore Gryffs deal in personal truths, or things they have decided are facts, pillars that do not change. You will want to punch your Gryffindor best friend sometimes because they put something in their head when they were six because of what someone on the playground said and now they live by that and sometimes physically struggle with processing contradictory information. This can be great, if a Gryff internalizes something like “I should do no harm” or “I will Fight A Bully” but has more frustrating consequences when its something like “If someone does something bad they are irredeemable, and I should never again respect them.” For Gryffs, sometimes the best thing to ask yourself is “wait, Why do I think that, and are there any cases that are exceptions to these rules.” But fundamentally, Gryffs often are the ones to save the world because they already believe it is a fact that they will, and that they should.

Ravenclaws: “This is complicated/This should be seen from all sides” and THEN “I’m about to end this mans whole career over this” Ravenclaws are such a fun house for this question. Ravenclaws often have a sort of information gathering stage before they even consider the idea of having an opinion in their head. Ravenclaws want to make sure they know everything they can about a cause/an issue/a person before they make that Final Call of verbalizing or standing by something, because a very serious fundamental fear for Ravenclaws is being embarrassed. I don’t mean to minimize that or invalidate it in anyway, a lot of Ravenclaws would rather be dropped in a pit of [insert distasteful creature here} than have the shame in their minds of being caught on the wrong side of an argument, without all the facts, or unprepared for a thorough discussion. Ravenclaws in this information gathering stage will often say things like “I’m not sure to be honest, I haven’t looked into it that much” or even “I don’t really like to have opinions on matters like that because I don’t think I could ever know enough to represent what I should correctly.” THAT SAID. That’s phase one. But y’all if a Ravenclaw Decides, even without acknowledging they have, a Raven Decides. From anything from “this 18th century poet was a lesbian and you simply will not convince me I’m wrong, here is a list of reasons why I’m right” to “So Determinism exists, and I fundamentally believe that, I am fascinated on what you think about Free Will though,” Ravenclaws are the probably the most complex on this subject inherently because of how much they want to make sure they know the truth. Ravenclaws will re-evaluate their beliefs, but if the information you’re bringing to the table isn’t valid enough to hold up against their previous evidence, there’s not a whole lot you’ll be able to do about it. Ravens will struggle if asked to take a stance before this phase though, so friends, please remember that no one is ever going to remember if you raised your hand and said something a little less intelligent in high school English than you would have liked other than you. It is more than okay for you to forget that too.

[blue-eyed-korra]

Lauren and Kieran’s Relationship: Action not Words

*Mini rant before the actual post:

So apparently someone shared my post about Kieran to the Purple Hyacinth group on Band (shoutout to @lanxyuu​​ for showing me this) and a bunch of people there liked it including Sophism herself which is crazy because this comic has become my life??? And the work she and Eph do is amazing??? And she said she liked my brain!?!?!? AHHHHHHH- sorry I’m still shook but I honestly can’t believe that she actually liked my work just... AHHHHHHHH!

*Mini rant ended here*

Anyways, seeing as how I’m currently a broke, unemployed, soon-to-be-grad student under quarantine, I have no coins to fastpass the last episodes of PH. Believe me it is the greatest tragedy of my life. But I still wanna write more about PH so what should I do? Well I decided to write about how we can learn more about Lauren and Kieran’s relationship through their non-verbal interactions. By looking at how they act around each other rather than just what they say, we can get a better sense for what their relationship was like before episode 43, and where it may go from there. Now I’m not gonna talk about every single time they interact with each other because some are irrelevant, it would take way too long to write and this post would become even more of a mess than it already is. 

Now you might be thinking this is just an excuse to discuss one of my favourite ships because their relationship in the comic isn’t the greatest rn and I don’t want to/can’t accept that they may not get together (in the foreseeable future), and you’d be right. Let me have this. 

Ok so the first scene I wanna talk about is the very first physical interaction they have where they’re not actively attacking/trying to kill each other. I’m talking of course about when they make the deal to work together in episode 11.

What I like about this is that it’s both impersonal and intimate, because they’re both doing this for their own reasons and they both see the other as a means to an end, but it’s also a blood pact. Kieran cuts his hand and offers it to her, and Lauren accepts in kind. They’re becoming bound to each other, but all in the common interest to take down the Leader.

The same can also be said for when they go dancing; it’s just an act. A way to blend in and find Anslow. They tango and banter and get all close and we all lived for it (hell I’m still living for it), because it’s hot and the sexual tension is insane but to them it’s just apart of the operation and doesn’t really mean anything. Like when she later seduces Anslow to get him alone. It’s all a part of the plan

I’d say the moment we see the biggest shift is after the whole Blakelsey situation. They’re back at the cave and Lauren is pretty shook because not only did Kieran save her life, but he showed her that he really does try to avoid killing when given the choice. So when she sees he’s injured and struggling with his bandages, she goes to help him.

Sidenote: This is completely unrelated to anything in this post but I just wanted to say that I never realised how attractive a back could be until I saw Kieran’s so thank you Soph for giving this to us🙏🏻

You can see this is part of her way of thanking him for saving her before she actually tells him. You can see that she’s beginning to reevaluate the idea of him that she has in her head, because his actions that night contradict everything she assumed about him. This is the moment she begins to see his humanity. And he’s pretty shocked too because he’s accustomed to doing everything alone and her of all people offering her help and thanks is wild to him, but more about how Kieran feels later.

Things change the most for Lauren after the whole Grim Goblin incident. She’s jumped out of a hotel window, into a tree and fell several storeys to the ground. Kieran finds her injured and trying to play it off as nothing because 1) She’s a strong, independent woman who don’t need no man, and 2) Because she’d rather not get the help of this man in particular. But he calls bullshit and scoops her up bridal style. Again, she’s shook because the Purple Hyacinth is carrying her bridal style, but it wears off quickly and she begins struggling out of his grip. The piggyback is clearly a compromise where he can still carry her but it’s less intimate and, dare I say, ‘damsel-like’ than before. I also think Lauren was ok with the piggyback because it made her taller than Kieran and therefore more in control lol.

Then they get to his apartment and she one again tries to brush off her injuries but the the turn tables and Kieran is the one helping patch her up. He picks her up, puts her on the table and rips her sleeve off to get a better look at her cut.

One thing I wanna point out is her reaction to him being so close.

She’s clenching her fist on the edge of the table because he is way into her personal space. You can practically feel his breath on her neck. He’s being very clinical about everything and probably can’t feel her discomfort, but we as readers can feel just how uncomfortable and anxious she is. This man just carried her to his home and is checking her wounds and is gonna patch her up and it’s breaking every preconceived notion she had of him in her head. He’s not some murderous monster *wink wink* whose sole purpose is to spread misery and pain. He’s just a man who lives in an apartment and likes to read and draw and eats and breaths just like any other person. Logically, she knows that he’s a human, but actually seeing it is another thing entirely. And her realizing this now only makes everything that goes down in episode 43 hurt that much more.

I realize that most of this word vomit essay is about how Lauren feels, but what about Kieran? What can we lean about how he feels about Lauren? Well, that’s gonna be a bit trickier. For one thing, Lauren is the main character, therefore we spend way more time in head than his by a long shot. We know less about his motivations and personality than we do about hers. All of this contributes to the mystery that is Kieran White. But there are moments we can learn things about him, especially when his true feelings shine through.

One thing that demonstrates this a lot is when Lauren surprises him. There are times when Lauren says or does something and for just a second, it throws Kieran off and has him really think about the mystery that is Lauren Sinclair.

We see this happen a few times: First when they’re preparing to go get Anslow and he sees her disguise and the gun strapped to her thigh, Next when she’s thanking him for saving her life and finally when he sees her the morning after she sleeps over.

With the first one he’s more pleasantly surprised than anything, seeing officer goodie-twoshoes being this resourceful and sneaky. He expected her to be more of a straight-lace killjoy, but now he’s seeing more of her ‘bad girl’ side and it’s interesting.

He’s more shocked than surprised when she thanks him for saving her. Like I said before, he’s an assassin. When do you think the last time he was thanked for saving a life rather than taking one? Probably never honestly. And now this woman, who he knows doesn’t like him very much, is helping him with his bandages and offering him gratitude and he’s kind of in awe of it all. Of course we see him try to brush it off by being a jackass (and we love him for it) but still, I see you Kieran👀.

I think the final scene is the most interesting tho. Because he comes back from getting her stuff at the cave and just sees her standing there. She doesn’t do anything or say anything out of the ordinary. She’s just standing there... in one of his shirts and basically nothing else... in his apartment... the morning after sleeping in his bed. 

He was confused as to why he brought her there the night before and he’s never brought anyone to his home before, so I think seeing her like this, all casual in his space despite everything, is really driving home just how close they’ve become and how he hasn’t had anything remotely close to a friend or companion or whatever they are in years.

But once again, this was all before episode 43, which still hurts my soul. I know things are gonna be different after everything, but I hope that Lauren and Kieran are able to express themselves more with each other as the story continues.

So yeah, this is a mess. If you’ve made it this far, congrats! Now this post was more of a labour of love than I initially thought because it took literally a whole day to write and then got deleted the next day! So this is the rewrite. Lowkey happy it got deleted because this is far less rambling than before. Take a moment to let that sink in. As I’m writing this episode 48 is only a couple hours from being made free for everyone. Watch me come back on here and post another essay about it lol. Looking forward to doing more of these though! Thanks for all the feedback and remember to send the creators some love!

[qedavathegrey]

Lowest Common Denominator

Most of us are familiar with the mathematical concept, correct? By identifying the lowest, shared multiple of a set of fractions, we are able to simplify the fraction, to add and to subtract with a greater ease. Witchcraft, likewise, can be simplified in much the same way: by identifying the lowest common denominator (LCD) of any situation and concentrating your energy on that specific point.

In the past, I have employed a different analogy for the same concept. Witchcraft can be thought of like ballistics. Some treat it like a sawed-off shotgun full of buckshot and others wield it like an expert sniper. Both are doing witchcraft, but both are not doing so with the same accuracy or efficacy. And don’t get me wrong, sometimes you need buckshot. Sometimes it’s not about going for the kill, but instead about spreading one’s influence far and wide. When one cannot identify the LCD of a situation (say, in asking broadly for a job, for love, for opportunity) this might be fitting. Even shooting blindly, chances are you’ll hit something. In this sense, it is effective, but the energy is spread thin. This can be a good first step. It can help identify where to follow up with further workings. The game Battleship follows the same formula: at first it is good to shoot wildly, but once you’ve struck something, you can follow up with greater accuracy.

Which brings us to the sniper: the one trained to identify the LCD of any given situation. The one who channels all their energy to one, identifiable point. The one who goes for the kill. The sniper thinks, plans, simplifies most expertly. They identify what they desire, dissect a situation and train their sights. And they recognize that each situation is different. No two require the same intervention in precisely the same manner. This is where skill and experience come in. While the witch with a shotgun can shoot blindly with some faith they will hit something, the sniper does not have the same luxury. They must trust that their accuracy (i.e. their ability to identify the LCD of the situation) will rendered the desired results. I will add, however, that there is often more leeway in the craft than is granted to an actual sniper. It’s not so much hit or miss as it is striking the lung or the heart. Closer is best, but there’s some forgiveness. Though that forgiveness can also come with unforeseen hurdles.

And with all that, I’m sure you’re expecting me to tell you how to determine the LCD of a situation. That’s something I can’t do. As aforementioned, each unique situation bears an equally unique LCD. Only you can decipher what it is, but I can offer some advice:

Foremost, know the situation. It sounds easy enough, but it’s also easy to make assumptions based on bias. One might find themselves making comparisons to other situations, one’s personal experiences, all of which are good for survival, but less so for identify the reality of a situation. Speak to others involved if at all possible and take time to consider different perspectives. If one is trying to affect a person, knowledge of that person, their past, their motivations is invaluable.

This point is especially important to consider in attempts to affect grand schemes or those which operate on privileged information. Sometimes there are benefits to being outside of a situation (one can judge with a lesser bias), but there is a point of separation beyond which there is little hope for effective intervention. Think trying to affect the president or other distant, political leaders: you do not have firsthand knowledge of them personally. They exist and can only exist to you in abstract terms, unless you’re a close family member, a member of the cabinet, a friend. Thus, these interventions are doomed from the start. No name papers, photos, effigies can bridge the divide of abstraction, because what you see is not person, but personality. It would be like shooting the TV screen and waiting for the man inside it to die. If, however, you live in a town of 100 people and the mayor is your next-door neighbor, the circumstance is different.

Second, personalize the working accordingly. When the LCD is identified and it is understood, one can decide what intervention will be most fitting and what tools, herbs, stones, etc. will be most effective in relation. Again, it sounds straightforward, but to apply the general to something so specific can cause unforeseen complications or impede efficacy.

Third, take proper aim. You’ve collected knowledge, you’ve identified the LCD, you’ve personalized the working accordingly, all that is left is the ensure that your mark is thoroughly marked. Focus on the LCD and push that first domino. Perhaps it is to expose one truth, perhaps it is to cause one minor inconvenience, doesn’t matter. Put ample energy into it. It’s true that the sniper can be more conservative with their energy, but that does not mean they don’t still have to expend some. And sometimes more than some. Don’t underestimate the force needed, but also don’t put forth so much the thing explodes in your hands. Don’t undermine what work has already been put in by fumbling the penultimate step.

Finally, wait. If your aim was true, the dominos will fall. One by one. And if your factoring was correct, if you truly identified the LCD, then you will reap what you have sown. If not, if there are hiccups or unforeseen consequences, watch, study, evaluate and reevaluate. Mistakes are opportunities. What went wrong? Where was the miscalculation? All hope is not lost, but if you decide to pursue the working further, you must begin again. Remember: the situation is changed and so too must the working.

I know that for some this knowledge is intuitive, but it’s not something I see discussed frequently. I would like to see more dialogue, more workshopping, more collaboration. Even if others do not possess the same knowledge of a situation, they can offer perspective, experience, approaches for consideration. And consulting with those from different backgrounds, too, is invaluable. Got a friend who’s a therapist? Ask them their take. An engineer acquaintance? Maybe they can offer a nuanced interpretation. Which isn’t to say walk up to strangers and say, “So, I’m trying to curse this fuckbag, but need to decide how to get the most bang for my buck. Opinions?” but I’m also not not saying that. I also look forward to the input of other practitioners. What do y’all think?

[morievna]

Ni-Ti loop curse - Ugetsu’s arc and predictions

I noticed that most of fandom thinks that after chapters 27-28 Ugetsu’s story is finished. It surprised me a little since I have different opinion that in fact he will definitely play role in upcoming final arc and that him getting happy ending is still possible.

Whole Given basically

Spoilers for manga below.

1. Ugetsu compared to rest of characters

Since Ugetsu was introduced I was clearly intrigued by him, but no means I expected him grow to be my favorite character. I was rather surprised that instead of presenting him in a bad-ex trope way he got full-fleshed and nuanced. I like how he is one of mysteries of the story – at first we know that he is responsible for Akihiko views of love as painful thing and we got tidbits of theirs domestic life where they seems to be intimate but we get vibe that there is something wrong. Then we got chapter 17 and we know what went wrong and it is heartbreaking. I think it interesting choice that we simultaneously got both Akihiko and Ugetsu perspective on it and we get why it went that way. Natsuki-sensei not only spent lot of time fleshing out story from his perspective to sympathize with him and clearly puts a lot of effort in showing all emotions on his face. Compared to other supporting characters he got the most of time in manga and we get him to know relatively very well – from little information about childhood, his motivation and so on. Besides, what also distinguish him from them the most is the way he impact main storyline – he is important both to Akihiko’s as well as Mafuyu’s story, while rest orbits primarily around one character.

But what I found truly fascinating is how he is foil and contrast with rest of characters, because he is such extremum when it comes to music and relationships.

Uenoyama – he is called prodigy too; before meeting Mafuyu his life was centered only on music but it didn’t go well for him

Haruki -  totally opposite in almost everything from acting towards others, living space, views on music to relationship with Akihiko

Mafuyu – another prodigy who express feelings via music, but who wants to cultivate bonds with others

Yuki – both are dedicated to music at cost of their wellbeing and relationship

Akihiko – since he and Ugetsu are paralleled a lot with Yuuki-Mafuyu I will use Hiiragi’s quote “together, they filled in each other’s missing pieces” – in terms of character qualities and simple things as providing home and support, whose they respectively needed.

By all this I wanted to show you how his story entwines with rest of characters, so cutting him from main plot would be for me at least weird.

2. Ni-Ti loop and CAC song

To be honest I was worried that we may get negative character arc to contrast him with Mafuyu. But after rereading whole story I have more hope about this. So let’s start what is core of positive/negative character arc

“The Central Problem: This is the damaging belief your character must face to complete their arc. They may believe they’re weak or inferior to others, or they may refuse to trust anyone but themselves. This inner struggle will be confronted at the Climax and their ability to overcome it will determine if they succeed or fail in the conflict of your story.”

https://thenovelsmithy.com/positive-negative-character-arcs/

Applying it to Ugetsu he believes that being isolated from others is only way to be dedicated to music, thus pushing away others and acting inconsiderate to them.

It reminds me also of Ni-Ti loop:

“Instead of a healthy balance of introverted and extroverted functions, the INFJ becomes stuck in their introverted processes, keeping them trapped within their own mind in a seemingly endless loop of thought.

As our introverted iNtuition (Ni) ponders theories, concepts and possibilities, it feeds these ideas to our Ti which seeks facts and logic to back up and solidify these thoughts.  As it obtains this information, it feeds it back to our Ni which creates even more theories and concepts.

Each time this loop goes full circle, the thoughts become more and more radical and outlandish, pushing us further from reality and deeper into our minds.”

http://www.jennifersoldner.com/2016/02/ni-ti-loop.html

So we get Ugetsu thinking about how they chasing each other and neglecting music, then instead of talking to Akihiko about his insecurities he decided to push him away since prior to their meeting he was alone and fine this way. When declaring breakup didn’t work, he fallen further in this way of thinking and tried to discourage Akihiko by sleeping with other men. However, logic doesn’t apply well to love, so he is conflicted about his feelings constantly. So there is cycle in their relationship of pulling and pushing away resulting only in more pain and violence.

But even after Akihiko leaves him after their argument, it got even worse – he got more isolated from rest of world and depressed. His solution didn’t work at all.

During CAC we can observe that he starts to understand this. He seems to be stunned that not only Mafuyu can perform music on his level and be connected to others and Akihiko’s skill in drums got so much better thanks to Haruki’s influence.

Theoretically this could be end with him failing to change but…

CAC song is about ending and begging. It conveys that positive change is possible. I like how Mafuyu is not only referencing his experience about trauma and healing, but want to help others persons in his life and reassure them that everything will be alright. And there is this frame:

Of course it has double meaning – Mafuyu want to resonate feelings via music like Ugetsu as well as to resonate meaning of song to him.

So concluding – with the both facts that Ugetsu does no longer believe in his previous standpoint and we have positive message of the song, we can discard option that his story ends here. But what comes next?

3. 3-act structure and what it means for the story

Quoting Wikipedia:

“The three-act structure is a model used in narrative fiction that divides a story into three parts, often called the Setup, the Confrontation and the Resolution.”

For Given as whole it would look like that (image from wikipedia, little changed by me):

3-act structure is one of most common used in stories. I think it can be applied to Given too, because of the way stakes are gradually rising and evolution of Mafuyu’s songs (first one about his trauma and past love, second about positive change and final will be most likely about his feelings for Uenoyama – well technically second one mentions it too, but I think it will be explored more). For now I rather want to use that structure as tool to predict what can happen. Let’s look again at what Wikipedia says about final act:

“The third act features the resolution of the story and its subplots. The climax is the scene or sequence in which the main tensions of the story are brought to their most intense point and the dramatic question answered, leaving the protagonist and other characters with a new sense of who they really are.”

How to grow more tension?

For me the most interesting it would be instead of *insert some cliché drama* getting all main four character confronted with someone who foils all of them on both music and personal level. It would cause to challenge their perspectives, disrupt the routine and reevaluate their standpoints. In the end it would be resulting in character grow for all of them.

In less vague terms my theory is that Ugetsu will perform together with Given on debut in festival. To break Ni-Ti loop the best is interacting with people and outside world. To step out of comfort zone and leave basement.

I envision this scenario roughly like that:

Since it is very likely that Mafuyu will write new song (probably together with Uenoyama)

Then he would consult it with Ugetsu

Mafuyu would be concerned about the other wellbeing hence trying to help him the same way it worked for him in begging of the story 

Tensions during rehearsals – mainly due to Ugetsu being critical of their skills at music

After some time Ugetsu will start open towards rest of group and genuine wanting to help them performing at their the best – even if it would took some sacrifice from him (like resignation from violin competition or concert)

Thus resulting in final reconciliation with Akihiko (not necessary in romantic sense, more like healing each other wounds they caused before)

Climax at debut

Of course, maybe I went too far with this theory, but it would wrap up things nicely in my opinion. This was written emphasizing Ugetsu’s story, maybe I will expand it in relation to rest characters another time.

Finally I want to point out certain issues that would tie into this from recent chapter:

1.    Mafuyu’s hesitation about debut - his fear of taking music seriously is rooted in Yuuki’s death and Ugetsu’s story as well. As chapter 18 showed he want to learn from their mistakes and I think he is afraid of losing himself too much in music and breaking up with Uenoyama in result. In order to move forward he has to make peace with music in some sense like discussing his insecurities with certain some who embodies music basically XD

2.    Akihiko pursuing both violin and drums – these two instruments are so loaded with double meaning (drums – fun, escaping pain and violin – passion and lost dreams). But regardless if Akihiko has to choose one of them or not – pursing violin corresponds to confronting why he given up on violinist career earlier and by this confronting Ugetsu

Bonus:

Doesn’t sound it like foreshadowing?

So this is all for today. I don’t remember writing this much since my thesis – I hope it is coherent and that there is not that many errors XD If there is something unclear – feel free to ask.

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hello ! I just saw your reblog of a daredevil gif and, do you have an head canon on wether or not Matt and Karen would have been back together and how , if the show had been renewed ? Thx !

hey, anon!

i will admit that few things in television baffle me as much as the way the defendersverse powers that be approach romantic pairings.

don’t get me wrong: i generally like the love stories told in this fictional universe. 

i just also don’t know exactly what to make of them.

usually, even without possessing any foreknowledge as to how each individual ship will pan out, i can still be relatively certain as to whether or not a given story world “believes in great loves.” 

but with the defendersverse, i’m not quite sure. 

that so, my short answer here is: i don’t know whether or not karedevil would have gotten back together, had daredevil been renewed. on the one hand, i feel like they were kind of set up to be endgame from the beginning. but on the other hand, i feel like as the wider defendersverse developed, there were also other viable options introduced for the both of them. 

ultimately, i think it would have come down to how the powers that be conceived of the story universe overall—and whether they were interested in telling structured, trope-compliant love stories or not.

more discussion if you click the “keep reading.”

___________ 

a big part of my uncertainty regarding how the defendersverse treats romances stems from the fact that its shows end mid-story, skewing my perspective of what’s there. 

none of the shows has more than three seasons to their names, and all were cancelled abruptly, without really affording the writers a chance to implement final conclusions. they all suffer for having loose strings, never to be tied.

consequently, it’s hard to tell which broken-up ships of the defendersverse were actually broken-up for good and which ones were just at a midgame impasse and might have later reconciled, had they only been given more time and narrative space in which to do so. 

however, another obstacle to making this determination is not in the circumstances but in the storytelling itself, as the defendersverse powers that be tended to be fairly indiscriminate in how they used romantic devices surrounding their ships, which means that a lot of the usual “midgame” vs. “endgame” signposts in this story world are blurred. 

in the first seasons of both dd and jj, the defendersverse powers create deep and compelling romantic relationships for their respective main characters, playing to all kinds of familiar “this relationship has long-term significance” tropes.

you want the jaded female superhero who’s given up on both love and the world, who then meets a guy who’s both so good and so good for her that she has to reevaluate her priorities? check.  

you want the male superhero who rescues the girl-next-door in body, only to have her rescue him in soul? check again.

there’s all sorts of smiles, talk of “before you, i never allowed myself to think about this kind of stuff,” heartfelt sacrifices, expressed vulnerabilities, etc., etc., etc.

in a story world that “believed in great loves,” no one who watched these seasons could be faulted for thinking that jessica jones would be endgame with luke cage and that matt murdock would be endgame with karen page.

the question, however, is, “is the defendersverse actually a story world that believes in great loves?”

in my mind, the evidence is ambiguous.

at most, the defendersverse powers only allow these relationships to progress for one or two seasons before dismantling them—but whether they mean to dismantle them temporarily or permanently is difficult to say.

the characters lead such complicated, dangerous, and ethically fraught existences that whatever happiness they experience in love is generally and perhaps unavoidably short-lived. 

as secret identities are revealed, moral stances compromised, trauma experienced and assessed, and heroic stakes raised, their relationships inevitably crumble under the pressure.

this crumbling could perhaps speak to this fictional universe being one in which all loves come with an expiration date printed on them, with none being given special narrative priority over any of the others.

however, the crumbling could also be a story component.

maybe the writers planned these breakups, knowing full-well they were temporary and that eventually the couples would get back together in the long term. maybe they’re just a midgame detour en route to the final endgame.

so cut to the next leg in defendersverse development, when tptb reshuffle the pairings between their main properties, sending character a from show 1 to be with character b from show 2. the process then continues and multiplies as more properties are added to the ‘verse, with characters spinning off into new shows and coupling in new and increasingly intricate permutations with one another.

of course, the truly interesting thing is that once these reshufflings take place, the new relationships created often prove just as deep and compelling as the relationships which preceded them and are marked by just as many typical endgame signposts.

matt murdock is willing to die for elektra and very nearly does so.

karen page repeatedly throws caution to the wind to choose frank castle over public opinion, common sense, and even her own well-being.

there are indicators to suggest that these new pairings could be endgame, just as there were with the ones before them. there’s deep connection. there’s ride-or-die stuff. there’s cuteness. there’s even potentially destiny. 

so, as a trope-savvy fan, one is left thinking, “well, okay, if the first pairing wasn’t endgame, then maybe the second one will be,” but then by the next season, the second pairing has often been dismantled much in the same way that the first one was previously.

a salient example here would be claire temple’s various relationships: in s1 of dd, her involvement with matt murdock ends because his vigilantism and masochism drives a wedge between them. after their falling out, she eventually starts dating luke cage. while she and luke are devoted to each other through much of lc s1 and the defenders miniseries, their relationship crumbles at the end of lc s2, when luke’s attitude toward “justice” prompts claire to ask him for “a break.” her second relationship within the defendersverse thus ends much in the same way that her first one did: with claire stepping back from her man because she finds his intense approach to heroism unhealthy.  

by the point of cancellation, the net effect is that because all of these relationships have in some ways been treated as “sacred,” none of them feels sacred overall, or at least not definitively. 

i can’t really look at them and say, “karedevil is the endgame; mattlektra is the midgame”—and especially not when elektra keeps miraculously resurrecting after she’s killed—because both ships have been set up in ways which suggest lasting significance.

i also can’t look to the comics as a cheat sheet, because while most of the relationships depicted in the defendersverse do have some basis in comic lore, the shows themselves don’t strictly adhere to that canon—and, in some cases, actively go against it.

in the new avengers comics, jessica jones and luke cage get married and have a daughter, but in the defendersverse, their relationship is pretty thoroughly trashed in the aftermath of jj s1.

still, where things get truly complicated is in the way that these various relationships interact with one another within the wider defendersverse.

if luke cage is jessica jones’s great love, but he is also claire temple’s great love, then someone is bound to lose out, right? and since the audience should in theory be sympathetic to all three characters, who are we supposed to be rooting for? likewise, if matt murdock ends up with karen page, then she can’t be with frank castle, you know? so does that mean matt has to be with elektra? but what if elektra dies (and for once stays dead)? then what?

the writers are playing “musical chairs” with their ships, but, as per the game, it would seem that someone is going to be left standing at the end.

so.

all of this discussion is a very long way for me to say that i genuinely have no idea what the defendersverse powers intended for romantic karedevil.

they are initially set up using many of the same tropes and storytelling techniques that would be used for an endgame pairing—but that framing only matters if the defendersverse is one where “endgame” is actually a legitimate thing that the writers are actively working toward.

it could be that matt and karen were meant to be a slow burn endgame, but the writers got cut-off midway through telling their story, before they could be romantically reconciled after their midgame falling out.

however, it could also be that, whether they were initially interested in creating a karedevil endgame or not, by s3 of dd, the writers had moved on from the possibility of romantic karedevil altogether, being more enticed to pair karen off with frank due to deborah ann woll’s unexpectedly good chemistry with jon bernthal.

of course, maybe endgame karedevil was never even on the table at all, either because it was always meant to be a midgame ship OR because this isn’t a fictional universe that is geared toward endgames, period.

“endgame” is a concept somewhat antithetical to how comic books work, as there’s always going to be another iteration and another series and another run, and the details will change, depending on who’s doing the writing and which universe the story takes place in; maybe the defendersverse was working on a similar model, where while matt murdock has history with many women, including claire temple, karen page, and elektra, he’ll never be tied one woman forever; his love life will always be a revolving door, depending on what suits the purposes of the story.

or maybe nothing had been decided yet, one way or another.

maybe the powers were more writing from season to season, keeping their options open, seeing what was available to them.

after all, there were a lot of moving parts in play across the wider ‘verse. 

who’s to say what might have happened had some of the defenders shows been cancelled but not others? who’s to say what might have happened due to the changing availability of various actors?

prior to the cancellations, rosario dawson had decided to step down from playing claire, a decision which would have undoubtedly sent ripples across the entire defendersverse, romance-wise.

up until the point when netflix pulled the plug, all sorts of possibilities were still open. there were still so many ways the writers could have chosen to swing things.

as for my personal headcanon (regardless of writer intention or what might have been), i should preface my thoughts by saying that while i enjoy karedevil, they’re not my number #1 preferred ship for either matt or karen, so i would have been perfectly happy with them as a midgame romantic ship that eventually reverted back to a platonic baseline, as per the end of dd s3.

that said, i can definitely see a road that leads to them getting together in the end.

my thoughts are these:

by the end of dd s3, matt and karen are back to being friends again after having been “fallen out” for a long time. since s2, karen has known matt’s secret identity, but now matt likewise knows about karen’s past, meaning that, in a way, the playing field is level between them.

still, their relationship is somewhat fragile. 

for the first time in their history, they’ve been honest with each other, and now neither one of them can “hide” in the ways that they used to. they’re both highly aware of this new vulnerability, and neither one of them wants to screw things up. they’re still sussing out what it will mean for them to work together again.

they don’t want to leave foggy caught in the middle of things like before.

so with that in mind, i see their romantic reconciliation as a slow burn process.

of course, they’ve always had a palpable connection, and that connection would be there from the start, even when they were working hard at “just being friends.” 

gradually, that connection would grow stronger and more impossible to ignore. 

there would be moments when they were working late nights together (after foggy had gone home to marci) when they’d stumble on a lead in their case and start talking excitedly, finishing each other’s thoughts, drawing closer and closer together, until suddenly they realized that there was only an inch of space between their faces and had to pull back, awkward and businesslike once more.

there’d be times when their clients would mistake them for a couple, and they’d laugh and try to brush it off but both be blushing too much to truly convince anyone that they were unaffected by the suggestion.

eventually, they’d start testing the waters—matt purposefully saying flirtatious things, karen touching matt more than she had reason to.

at some point, they’d have to broach the subject.

maybe matt would have taken to walking karen home after work, and one night, after a lot of laughter and arm-holding, she’d stop on the top stair and turn back to him and say, in that breathless, incisive way of hers, “i know you can hear how fast my heart is beating. is yours beating fast, too?” 

but, of course, since their relationship doesn’t exist in a vacuum, matt would probably be on the trail of bullseye or some other villain by this point, and, inevitably, these other story factors would come into play. 

i don’t know exactly how everything would go down, but my sense as a storyteller is that something would have to impede karedevil’s relationship; the path to reconciliation would, by necessity, have to be a long and wending one for them.

maybe for whatever reason they’d decide not to risk their friendship by pursuing a romance.

or maybe they would pursue a romance, only to have that relationship endangered by whatever villain they’re up against OR to have some of their past interpersonal issues resurface.

(for example, maybe as matt gets deeper and deeper into whatever case he’s working, he starts to emotionally shut karen out again, or maybe karen starts to distrust matt because he’s being evasive; etc.)

hell, maybe elektra turns up in hell’s kitchen, flipping their dynamic on its head.

after all, elektra’s body was never found after the destruction of midland circle, and karen has never gotten to talk to matt about finding elektra in his bed in s2; the potential for angst would be huge.

in any case, i imagine that things would deteriorate for a while—maybe to the point where, if they were already together, karedevil might once again break up.

but, ultimately, something would happen that would remind them of the depth of their feelings for each other—one of them would be hurt or captured or undergo another near-death experience; matt might end up fighting elektra to save karen; or karen might do something to help matt, even though they’d been on shaky ground before.

i don’t think karen would ever make matt give daredevil up completely—because she understands his thirst for justice and even his recklessness, to some degree, and she doesn’t begrudge him those parts of himself—but i think that in the end, matt would have to change; he’d have to become less self-loathing and not compartmentalize his feelings to the extent he always had before. he’d have to start to care more about his own life and well-being than he had in the past so that karen didn’t have to worry about him committing passive suicide via superherodom.

dying for a cause is one thing; dying just because you can and because you don’t value your own life enough to take self preserving actions is another.

karen would also have to learn to trust that matt and not to hide things from him. she’d have to learn to be truly emotionally intimate with him, which would be difficult for her at first, considering that she’s spent her whole adult life holding back important parts of her person.

(one of the interesting things about karedevil is that even though they have this deep, implicit understanding of each other, for most of their relationship, they’ve not really known each other, as both of them have been hiding significant secrets.)

i can see an endgame for them where matt is daredevil with karen’s help and blessing, and she provides him grounding and solace, while he proves to her that, despite her prior experiences, not everyone in her life is going to reject her and send her away; he knows her, and he knows her past, and he’s staying for as long as she wants him.

of course, in all fairness, i can also see many endings for these characters that don’t involve them being in a romantic relationship with each other; this is just one of the possibilities.

anyway,sorry i can’t give a more definitive answer, anon! thanks for the question.

[nomnomzombies]

Gold and Silver--Two Sides of the Same Coin

TW: discussion of mental illness, rape, and suicidal ideations

First and foremost, thank you so much to your overwhelming support of my 8x04 analysis, even though it wasn’t totally finished. As I was working on an outline to finish it up, something.... grew out of it.  

The themes I discussed in my previous essay addressed Identity and Accountability—but I’ve long believed that identity is a core principle of the themes explored throughout all of ASoIaF. That assertion may feel a little superficial in a world that’s dictated by ruling houses and are characterized by their sigils; a name is as powerful as a sword in Westeros. But the story we’ve all tuned in for is the characters. We’ve watched them on this transformative journey to understand where they were, where they are, and where they’re going. While we may or may not like what we understood of their journeys so far and what’s happening now, I think it’s important to sometimes take a step back and reevaluate everything we think we know. Because, let’s face it, the ending that we’re barreling towards is 100% Made in by Martin. While I’ve remained adamant that Dark/MQ Dan has been in the making for a long time—I'm passionate about understanding the other perspective. A common complaint that I’ve heard about MQD is that we already have a “Mad Queen” Cersei. Isn’t this redundant? Why are we pitting women against each other? Making Dan Mad Queen devalues Cersei’s arc/Mad Queen Dan is an injustice to Dan’s arc. But the question begins to take root—was there somewhere else we could have been looking for this ending? Were there other parallels we could have made that would have enlightened us to this transformation of Dan’s character? The last few weeks, I’ve been making offhanded comments about how if we were watching the show about Robert’s Rebellion and his early reign, would we be rooting for Cersei as our defensible, ruthless feminist icon? Has it really been there the whole time?

I’m primarily going to be citing the show with reinforcement from the text since I have incredibly poor organizational skills and I don’t know an effective way to look up specific quotes without leafing through a 500+ pg tome for twenty minutes at a crack.  

Shall we begin?  

The Proud Lion and the Beggar King

Cersei and Jaime’s relationship is a cornerstone of the series. We understand that the romance is forbidden, but we’re also coerced into justifying its legitimacy on the precedent that the Targaryens set throughout their entire reign. The characters themselves have had conversations where they verbalize these facts to not only one another but also in their defense to the other characters. Similarly, when we begin the narrative, Daenerys is accompanied by Viserys in Pentos and we’re confronted with this abusive and incestuous dynamic. Vis is very quick to bring up that they lived their lives with the understanding that they’d most likely be married to one another. Immediately, this parallel has become perpendicular. While Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is equally as abusive and manipulative under the surface, for different reasons we’re unsettled by Viserys’ outward physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse of his sister (seriously, what a piece of trash). While Jaime and Cersei have willingly engaged with one another, the dynamic is monumentally less consensual between the silver siblings. Continuing with this inverted parallel, we follow the four siblings throughout the first half of season/book one and see the power dynamic at play. Cersei is Robert’s queen, and we know that Jaime took the position with the King’s Guard to be closer to Cersei because otherwise Tywin would have forced Jaime to wed just as he brokered Cersei’s engagement (and subsequent coronation). Conversely, we see Viserys brokering the marriage between Daenerys and Khal (King) Drogo (and Dan’s subsequent ‘coronation’) for similar political means. Viserys refuses to leave Daenerys’ side, not out of love, but out of insecurity and the need for Drogo to make good on his end of the agreement. Daenerys, throughout the entire wedding is lamenting, “I want to go home,” which us book readers know that she’s referring to the house in Braavos. Every time she expresses this, Viserys quickly snaps that “Home is Westeros.” “There is no home until I take back my crown.” “That which was stolen from us—the Iron Throne.” The first half of book/season 1, Dan doesn’t give two shits about the Iron Throne. She wants family, love, connection. And she eventually finds this with the Dothraki. Love and community is not something that Cersei found in her marriage with Robert, but rather power. She became The Queen, as Dan became The Khaleesi. It’s important to note that the episodes in which the Twins and the Targs are separated from their counterparts are subsequent. The separation of the siblings are nearly simultaneous events. “The Wolf and the Lion” is the episode in which Jaime attacks Ned Stark in the streets of King’s Landing, then leaves the city to join Tywin’s host. The twins are separated for the next 3 seasons. The next episode, “A Golden Crown,” is the episode in which Daenerys has Viserys killed. Though their separation is permanent, we’re constantly assaulted with parallels between Dan and Vis from season 7 onward. Viserys is not with her in mind nor body, but rather in essence. As much as we understand Cersei to be the new Aerys II Targaryen, we’re being shown now that Dan is the new Viserys.

A Bride for an Army; A Marriage for a Crown.

Although Dan’s wedding night is very different from the show to the books, Cersei’s is incredibly consistent. From Dan’s point of view in the show, we see her raped by Khal Drogo for the first time—in the books, however, we’re met with a less brutal version of events. Although she was incredibly anxious throughout the course of the wedding, Daenerys II closes off with a back and forth of “No.” (Dan) “No?” (Drogo) “Yes.” (Dan). It’s interesting to note that Dan knew nothing about Drogo before their “greeting” ceremony in Daenerys I, whereas Cersei describes “worshipping” Robert in the lead up to their wedding. Interestingly enough, Cersei’s exact quote describes Robert as “lean and black-bearded,” though this is probably little more than a coincidence.... it’s not like the two blonde queens share any other physical traits in common..... It’s not like we’re talking about The Golden Lioness and The Silver Queen, or anything...

Anywho.... So we go from this idyllic state and crash back down to earth. In the time following their weddings, both women experience periods of severe depression and suicidal ideations. As Dan is acclimating to her time in the Dothraki sea, she describes her legs and hands as blistered and raw, and Drogo proceeds to engage in intercourse in the face of her obvious agony. She does not refuse, and neither does Cersei, though her tactics are a bit more refined as she describes using “other ways to finish [Robert] off.” We also see Dan reaching out to Doreah, a bedslave, in order to make her consorts with Drogo more enjoyable. Both women found solutions to the same problem, to make the nightmare more livable. But in the period following the marriage, both found themselves in situations where they’d rather it end than face another day (Dan) or throw themselves off of the red keep (Cersei). What kept them both going? For Dan, it was the beginning of the dragon dreams. For Cersei, it was her children.... (It’s almost like dragons and children have a parallel for these two women?)  

Regardless, they both have an “in” to political power through this marriage. They are both the queens to the strongest king in the land. 

Fast forward to the end of season one, and another two significant events take place for these women. S1e7, “You Win or You Die” marks the episode when Robert returns from his boar hunt, on his deathbed. We understand, later, that Cersei was the catalyst of the events that lead to his injury. S1e8, “The Pointy End” is the episode when Dan implores Mirri Maz Durr to treat Drogo’s bicep injury. It’s noteworthy that the two womens’ motivations were entirely opposite; nevertheless, the actions taken and the sequence of events that followed are directly paralleled, particularly when you analyze the outcomes of both scenarios. 

With Robert dead, and Drogo a husk, both of them ascend to a level of pseudo-power through their children. The last two episodes of season 1 mark the execution of Ned Stark and Joffrey’s rise to King, and Dan’s mercy-killing of Drogo and the blood sacrifice to birth the dragons. Both women spent the entirety of season 1 coming into a sense of agency and working to hone real power with lasting effects. The end of the season marks both of them moving into this new chapter of an elevated status (“Queen Mother” and “Mother of Dragons”). They’re far from achieving true power, but their game has now changed.  

The Mother

As far as I’m aware, only the show mentioned that Cersei and Robert had a trueborn son together. In the scene where Cersei visits Catelyn over Bran’s sickbed in 1x02, she talks about losing the Baratheon heir to a fever. This parallels the death of Rhaegal in that both of them would be the only “legitimate” children that they would have. The other three children would either be illegitimate in lineage or..... species.  

That’s really not where the parallels end between the six children, however, because as I talked about in my last essay (Identity and Accountability), the dragon and the throne have become direct symbols of the queens’ identity and power. We see this more fully-realized in later seasons, once Daenerys is able to ride Drogon into battle, and Cersei actually sits the throne, but the theory in its infancy still holds water because the children and the dragons are routes to power rather than power directly. People are still able to scoff at Cersei for being “Mother to the King” as they’re able to scoff at Dan’s dragons for being fledglings. The children and the dragons, themselves, hold power although they are not in positions to leverage it (even Joffrey, who fought so hard to be his own person and make his own decisions, was little more than a pawn, a vessel for Tywin, in the end).

Cersei receives a prophecy pertaining to her three children. By Maggy the Frog, “...you will have three. Gold their crowns, and gold their shrouds.” While the obvious answer is that they’ll have golden crowns because they’re monarchs (and in the books, the Dorne plot to make Myrcella queen) but at the same time, we need to recognize that their hair is also the staple Lannister Gold--“golden crown.” While we understand that the Baratheon heirs are 100% Lannister (much like Drogon is still 100% a dragon), they’re cloaked in the guise of the Baratheon name. Moreover, Joffrey understands Robert to be his true father, and commits atrocities throughout his lifetime hoping that he can win Robert’s approval. We see the Lannister identity, but particularly Cersei’s symbolic identity, cloaked under “Baratheon,” and as I’ve established, the children are Cersei’s link to her power--the throne. 

Prior to hatching her dragons, Dan receives the Mirri Maz Durr prophecy that reveals she is now barren. Like Magy’s prophecy limited the number of children Cersei would bear, now Mirri’s would limit Dan’s. In spite of that, though, she uses blood magic--”only death can pay for life”--to attempt to hatch the dragons (It’s not explicitly stated in the books or show that she actually used blood magic, but it’s the best theory that explains why Dan was fireproof through the pyre scene, so I roll with it). Once the dragons hatch, they are Gold (Viserion, for Viserys), Green (Rhaegal, for Rhaegar), and Black/red (Drogon, for Drogo). Instantly, Dan is more connected to Drogon than the other two. Not only do they connect more quickly and more deeply than she does to the other two, but Drogon is described as growing more quickly and into a far stronger dragon. Before she knew any of this, though, she named him after her deceased first husband. What was meant to be a touching tribute, became the biggest clue to Dan’s source of power and identity, as Drogon is not only named after Khal Drogo, but he presents with the Targaryen house colours—red and black. So her most deeply rooted sense of identity is immediately linked to her fastest growing avenue to power, notoriety, and ambition.  

Fast Forward to The Sons of the High Sparrow

I had an epiphany when I was analyzing the two characters’ arc, and I looked into the two major arcs that culminating in the two queens clashing in Westeros. In season 5, Dan is coping with the repercussions of the sacking of Slaver’s Bay and the Crucifixion of the Masters. Cersei is trying to manage the aftermath of Joffrey’s death, Tyrion’s trial, and Tywin’s murder. As I established in the last passage, the two of them are still using avenues to power, as their authority is under major scrutiny. With Tywin gone, Cersei has completely infiltrated the Small Council and is ruling in everything but title. Tommen is still king, and is married to Margaery this season. Dan is separated from Drogon. While she’s in Mereen, he’s awol eating children and burning shit (the usual). And, once again, because if indirect (yet painfully direct) action, the repercussions of their actions come to haunt them in the form of cultist insurgencies. Cersei takes the opportunity to elevate the High Sparrow in the wake of an embarrassing incident with the High Septon at a brothel. Dan’s impulsivity and reckless brutality in conquering Slaver’s Bay allowed the wounds of her arrogance to fester into the Sons of the Harpy (seriously—if she would have put the former masters to trial instead of crucifying them, she would have rooted out the SotH pretty damn quickly. But noooooooo Miss Injustice-with-”Justice”).  

I’m going to take a second to note that A Feast for Crows (Cersei) and A Dance with Dragons (Daenerys) are parallel books. The narratives of the two are meant to be simultaneously occurring. So, even though seasons 4 and 5 turned out to be a jumble in terms of timeline and sequencing, these two storylines still ran side-by-side.  

So s5e9, “The Dance of Dragons” culminates in Dan being forced out of Mereen by the SotH, rescued by Drogon, and is apprehended by the Dothraki. S5e10, “Mother’s Mercy,” shows Cersei’s High Sparrow arc climaxing with her Walk of Atonement. Parallel events could be seen as Dan’s apprehension at the hands of the Dothraki to Cersei being taken prisoner by the High Sparrow. Cersei’s walk of atonement would parallel Dan’s walk to Vaes Dothrak. Although Cersei is permitted to return to the Red Keep, she’s still awaiting trial. Although Dan is no longer in Mereen, she too is a prisoner awaiting trial. Cersei was stripped of her finery by the hands of the High Sparrow; Dan was stripped of hers by the Dosh Khaleen—both are regarded as the paramount of their religious institution. They’re both in a holding pattern for a time, but both eventually greet their trials with similar approaches. Dan actually attended her trial—though she had far less physical agency at the time. Long story short—they both avoided the consequences of their actions by burning down the religious center and simultaneously murdering EVERYBODY in seats of power. A one-and-done complete political overhaul and power acquisition. This isn’t the pseudo-power that we’ve seen up until now, either. Cersei’s actions lead to her taking the throne at the end of that episode. Following the burning of Vaes Dothrak, Dan is permanently reunited with Drogon—her symbol of power and identity—and she leads the charge of the Great Khalasar to Mereen. By the end of the season, both Dan and Cersei have successfully acquired unbridled power and are on a high-speed bullet train towards confrontation.  

Conclusion

For some people, Dan’s behaviour throughout the conquest of Slaver’s Bay and the Great Grass Sea was enough of a tip towards her tyrannical nature. To everybody, the burning of the Sept of Baelor was Cersei’s branding of “Mad Queen.” But let’s also see her ascension for what it was: a power play in the face of grief. Even though Dan will face similar losses to Cersei throughout the course of s7 and s8, the losses that Cersei endured throughout s4-6 are what paved her way to the throne. Cersei would never have taken the throne from her children. She would have preferred Tommen to rule and remain the silent authority, maneuvering in the shadows. So much like the loss of Dan’s two dragons and Mis, and her mounting paranoia and insecurity following RLJ and the Northern plotline, Cersei’s rise to power is less about going mad and more about ambition in the face of tragedy and loss. Every decision she’s made has been slow, cold, and calculating. Cersei is weighing every decision heavily. This isn’t impulsive and reckless brutality. The paranoia is a common denominator between Aerys, Cersei, and Dan, but it is not the dominating factor. So is “Mad Queen” appropriate for either of them? Considering the parallels that I’ve outlined above, having Dan sack King’s Landing following the death of two of her children and her last remaining friend and advisor (The death of Cersei’s children and Tywin prior to taking the throne) only serves to compare the two even more.

[psychicmedium14]

Your 2019 October Horoscope

Today is the beginning of the tenth month of 2019. The only problem? It does not feel like Autumn at all. Regardless of the temperature outside, October starts in a calm Libran manner and closes with a passionate Scorpio vibe. A lot will happen within the 31-day period. Pay attention to the small things, stay on the look out for signs, and listen to your subconscious. What else should you focus on? Find out what Libra season has in store for your sign.

♈

Aries:

For the past few months, your desire has been to breathe freely, and October is finally giving you the chance to feel independent. No trouble at work will bother you, plus you are very likely to get things going smoothly in the relationship department. What you shouldn’t do in October is to go heavy on food and drinks.

The second half of October will drive you to dig deeper and get a better understanding of the meaningful things. After October 24, it may be a good idea to reconsider your friendships and decide which are worth your while. It’s high time you found a like-minded companion. At the end of the month, shift your focus to financial matters.

♉

Taurus:

October is putting your inborn abilities to test by a workload increase. However, you are sure to cope with everything, thanks to improved health and a number of unexpected lucky chances. By the end of the month, you’ll get a spell of especially successful cooperation with superiors and maybe even a salary boost!

From the third week of the month, you may dip a toe in the water in terms of starting new projects at work. In the last week of the month, you may feel an urge to change your vocation. However, by the 27th of October, things will clear up and you will get all the pros and cons you need to make the final decision.

♊

Gemini:

“Game on!” might be your October motto, Gemini! You effectively juggle all sorts of activities from taking extra hours at work to dating and pursuing your creative impulses. Your home is likely to become a social place, and you will not be against it. After all, it will give you a chance to improve your décor and show off your communication skills!

The second half of October will shift your focus to detail. You’ll be more actively involved in communication at work, reconsidering your health habits, adopting a better eating regimen. Nearing the end of the month, you will find some unexpected and unexplainable answers to emotional issues you’ve been trying to resolve.

♋

Cancer:

Your activities are now being relocated to your home! Many rows and misunderstandings that have been going on in your family for a while now will begin to settle. You’ll receive guests, communicate with relatives, engage in minor and major repair works, and what not! Be careful, though, not to give too much attention to your refrigerator and pantry!

In mid-October, you may even start a work-related project that involves your family! The final week of the month will drive you to explore the area you haven’t given too much thought to before. On the 27th of October, you will get an unexpected piece of insight into the way of achieving your goals and dreams or finally find an answer to a pressing question.

♌

Leo:

Leos like to express themselves in numerous creative ways. October 2019 will give you plenty of chances to do so. However, the speed of life will also be on the increase, and so will be the scale of your goal-setting! A need for watching and obtaining things of beauty is overwhelming now, so don’t deny yourself some shopping – it will make your outlook on life so much more positive!

In the middle of the month, you will be more drawn to a quieter home and family matters, looking for a more secure foundation. October 24th will give you objective insight into your relationships, both professional and personal. The final four days of the month will help you see a clearer picture of where you would like to be in 5 years!

���

Virgo:

If you are a Virgo, October will be the prime month of 2019 for making money and resolving financial issues. You’ll find a dozen new ways to be more productive and maybe even discover a completely new income source. Your inborn qualities, as well as the positioning of the celestial bodies, literally make you a financial and social magnet this October!

Every conversation you have after October 15 will resolve or open your eyes to a certain issue. During the final week of the month, you will become exceptionally aware of your physical senses and needs. However, people at work may at the very same time misinterpret the actions you are taking. So, as the end of the month is auspicious, retreat from everyday routines and have some alone time or do something completely unexpected.

♎

Libra:

It’s your month, dearest diplomat of the Zodiac! This is actually your prime time, too! You will come across endless opportunities and use them wisely to achieve success, so it would be especially great if you have started a new promising project by now. Your energy will be on the rise, and you will propel yourself forward along any path you have chosen!

Starting mid-October, you may feel an urge to reconsider your values and determine what material, spiritual and intellectual things matter to you at the moment. Are you making money to cater to your needs or are you sweating your guts out to make money? Finally, the end of the month will encourage you to change your style, so if you feel adventurous, go for it!

♏

Scorpio:

On the inside, you are a pool of bubbling lava that is just about to erupt. Libran energy is so unlike yours, Scorpio, and it is messing with you this October. You may become irritable finding it hard to understand certain things that are going on around you. To avoid stressing out, you should go in for intensive physical exercise or engage in a straining mental activity.

Another method you can rely on is spending more time with friends. Mid-October will finally help you open up and share the thoughts you were mulling over in September. Be patient – your time is just around the corner! When it finally comes at the end of October, you’ll successfully resolve a conflict within your family and maybe even find out you have a secret admirer!

♐

Sagittarius:

You always are goal-driven, Sag, but this October is especially auspicious in terms of ticking items off your to-do list. It is also a good time to gather with friends and for you – to take the lead. If you have a dream – go for it, as October 2019 offers you enough chance to achieve success!

Starting mid-October, you will feel a stronger connection to the spiritual world and your subconscious. You may even succeed in finding answers to the questions that have been bothering you for months. The final days of the month will be eye-opening in terms of how things are going at work. It will also be useful to focus on your health at this time, as the Universe may hint at the issues that could be nipped in the bud.

♑

Capricorn:

There is hardly a more diligent sign than Capricorn, and this October, all of your diligence will pay off. The Universe will send you enough energy to complete what you have started and to achieve whatever you want. The trick is that the time will also be auspicious to finally take a look at your wishes and goals and discard the ones that are not worth pursuing.

Don’t shy away from extra work, as it is sure to come your way this month. The additional effort you put in will not remain unnoticed by superiors. Mid-October will give you the right vibe to improve your social or professional image. Feel free to speak up and express your ideas as well – the month is favorable for this sort of straightforwardness.

♒

Aquarius:

October 2019 highlights the area of education for you, Aquarius. It does not necessarily mean you will actually study (of course, if you want to, feel free to do it), but rather to get new experiences, to give your life enough thought up to the point when thinking turns into philosophizing. You can also feel an urge to make new acquaintances and spread your social connections.

For the better part of the month, you will feel a non-stop need to get thrilled, to stir up your emotions, to be impressed. One of the easiest ways to satisfy this need is to travel. Breathtaking views will replenish your adrenaline and endorphin stock. During the second half of the month, focus on work-related matters. Closer to the end of October, shift your attention to what’s going on at home to prevent any arising issues.

♓

Pisces:

October will be a very favorable month for Pisces representatives. You will feel eager – and what’s more important powerful enough – to make the world a better place for you and your loved ones and work for the common good. It’s as if October helps you shake off the gloom and slumber and finally act!

If you have any lingering issues, start looking for a solution this month, and you are sure to find one! Starting mid-October, you will reconsider your outlook on life. During the final week of October, you might even get as far as to reevaluate your life values, principles, and ideals. Hopefully, the last days of the month will help you come to an enlightening conclusion.

[thewatchau]

Watch AU Fun Fact #27

If everyone has the ability to use magic within them, just waiting to be unlocked, why doesn't everyone use it?

I mean, we all had a phase where we wished we could go to Hogwarts or be a fairy or something, right? Wouldn't it make sense for everyone to take advantage of the potential powers they could have?

Well, no.

Remember, magic to be honed into a focus once it is unlocked. Otherwise, the user has no control over their powers, and, inevitably, someone is going to get hurt. The mage then has to spend the rest of their life managing and being aware of this focus, reevaluating and changing it when they change and grow as a person.

This is a BIG responsibility.

Compare it to getting a pet. Almost everyone has wanted a pet at some point in their life, but not everyone actually goes out and gets a pet. Why? Because you can't just bring a pet home and never think about it again except to have fun with your new companion. You have to feed it, wash it, take it to the vet, etc. This is a big responsibility, and not everyone has the time, money, or mental/emotional/physical ability to take that responsibility on.

Same goes for magic. Once you've unlocked it, you have to take care of it. Most mages don't unlock their magic until they're at least in their early teens, for the same reason most children who want a pet don't get one until they've proven themselves responsible enough to care for it.

Plus, unlike a pet, which can be given to a loving home if something happens that prevents you from caring for it anymore, unlocked magic is a lifetime responsibility that is yours ALONE. You can't share the work of maintaining it, nor can anyone take it on in your stead.

You can't even lock your magic back up... except under extreme circumstances. Just like how people who've had strokes or experienced severe trauma sometimes have to relearn how to talk, walk, or read, the brain will sometimes lock your magic back up under extreme trauma. It's very, very rare, and only occurs as a side effect of something else. In other words, you can't attempt to lock it up just because you don't want magic anymore.

Of course, some people end up unlocking their magic on accident. This is usually due to a concentrated magical exposure during a period of stress.

See, when someone wants to unlock their magic intentionally, the easiest method is to have an experienced mage cast a spell nearby, which tugs on the bit of the brain that goes "wait I think I have something like that I can do too." It takes a lot of repeat attempts, but eventually, the brain will start being able to replicate that sensation and boom, you've got magic. Kinda like babies learning to talk. This only works with spells being actively cast nearby; echoes of the magical signature, enchantments, and/or random ambient bouncy magic aren't distinct enough for the brain to notice.

Therefore, when someone is under extreme stress and their brain is in full fight-or-flight mode, the brain will notice the little wiggle of "wait I might be able to do that" when a lot of magic is being cast nearby and immediately tug on that string in a desperate bid for survival. Kinda like how humans will suddenly get super strength and use a LOT more of their muscle power when in danger.

For whatever reason, this phenomenon of accidentally unlocking your magic happens far more often in children and adolescents than adults. In a way, I guess you could also compare this method to throwing children into the deep end of the pool to teach them to swim. It usually works a LOT faster than traditional teaching methods... you just have to be okay with traumatizing them.

Since children aren't encouraged to unlock their magic until they're mature enough anyway, no one in Duilintinn with any sort of sanity would actually use this method to intentionally unlock someone's magic. In fact, while it was a common practice pre-kingdom, the laws of Duilintinn deem intentionally forcing someone to unlock their magic to be a huge crime. It's even worse it the victim is a child.

Unfortunately, it still happens on accident fairly often, especially with The Enemy still threatening the kingdom. At least one case of accidental magic unlocking occurs after major enemy raids on population centers or settlements, usually in local children. Younger, non-mage Watchers below the age of 25 are required to sign a waiver saying that they understand the risk of accidental magic unlocking, though it very rarely occurs above the age of 15 (which is another reason why The Watch doesn't send Watchers below that age on missions) and those who do unlock their magic on accident at an older age usually experienced a similar incident that could have already unlocked it (but instead only got the brain's attention) at some point in the past.

[theasstour]

hii! i read soy for the first time 2 weeks ago and it literally changed my life..i’ve never read a story where i’ve related to the mc so much. i’m 18 and in my first year of college and i like boys and girls but only my closest friend knows that. i haven’t told anybody else. the story made me reevaluate my life so much tbh bc i go to school kinda close to where i grew up and i have no friends at school and it make me realize i never take risks :/ sorry that was a a lot

HIYAAA!! first off, never apologise! your feelings are valid and they’re never a lot! second, the fact soy had such an impact on you makes me so happy :’’) i’m so happy it made you think about your life in a way you might not have done before! i was hoping people would see themselves in mc to an extent, as she’s very closed off, gay, and anxious, something a lot of us online have in common! and i was also hoping to show everyone that no matter what, you can remain the same person you’ve always been while still changing in every way possible, if it makes sense?

third, i want you to remember that you’re only 18, babes! you have so much of life ahead of you and you’ve barely just started your first year of college! life will present risks to you and you take those you think will matter to you, but these might take some time to manifest themselves so you just have to be patient! i barely lived my life until i moved away for uni, and that’s when i understood that i’d never grow as a person if i didn’t go out of my comfort zone and do things that would make me uncomfortable, but that would in the end make for amazing life lessons or a funny story to tell my mates back home!

fourth, you don’t have to come out to anyone unless you feel comfortable with them knowing! you don’t need a coming-out moment unless that’s something you want! your sexuality is no one’s business but your own, and the fact that you’ve even come out to your close friends is a huge step in the first place! you’re an amazing person, thank you so so so much for reading soy! it means more to me than i’ll ever be able to express!!!!!

[scientists-and-stars]

On Fascists, Complicity, and Internet Trolls (and what you can do about them)

So. I got a message today from a hate-mongering, fascist nazi bringing up how we are both libras and Slytherins, as if I was supposed to see them as more ‘human’ and ‘relatable’ because of that. They were trying to lure me into a sense of false security before mentioning that we’re on opposite sides beyond those few things we have in common. They wanted me to respond: they wanted me to direct my anger at them so that they could turn it right back on me and attack me after making themselves appear more human and therefore harder to ignore.

And this got me to thinking, about neo-nazis and blocking people on social media and other such things. And before I knew it, I wrote this piece. So here you go.

Luckily, I’m too smart or maybe just too done with all of this shit to fall for the little trick the previously mentioned nazi tried on me. I immediately reported and blocked their ass, just like I did when my uncle refused to stop blatantly disrespecting me and trying to start shit with me and my friends. Like I did when a dozen college bros catcalled and shouted at me repeatedly from their golf carts on campus. Without a word.

Listen- education and awareness and speaking up are all vitally important, but there also comes a point where the only thing you can do is ignore them.

Don’t give them the satisfaction of letting them get to you. Let their rage fuel you and then move on with your fucking life, because you have better things to worry about that their bullshit.

As someone who’s an idealist, I know that little spark of valiant hope that says you can change their minds or go down trying. But as a skeptic, I also know that this is usually not the case.

However, on the flip side, I’m not saying unfriend every single conservative relative and never talk to anyone who disagrees with you, because that is absolutely not the right answer. Like almost every issue in life, there’s no black-and-white answer to this issue. ‘Pick your battles’ is a statement that comes to mind, but even that is not the entirely correct mindset because you shouldn’t necessarily look at every conversation with your conservative family members or online people as a battle. But what is correct, in my belief, is that you should never assume everything is cut and dry, and that you shouldn’t engage in pointless arguments with people who were never going to listen to you anyway.

But let’s look at the other side of the coin, shall we?

I am a white person. Therefore, I have a responsibility as a person with a privilege and as an ally, and in order to uphold that, I have to have uncomfortable conversations sometimes.

I have to educate my parents who don’t fully understand the ways things have changed. I have speak up when my uncle says something blatantly racist, even if I’m terrified to and I don’t want to start a fight and how will I know what to say and- the excuses go on and on. But in the end, it’s. not. about. me. People are literally being murdered, and I have the audacity to make this about me? Fuck that. I’m done letting my excuses and my anxiety stop me from being the advocate I should be (and often claim to be).

If I’ve learned anything from being raised Christian, it’s that if you say you’re one thing but you don’t live like it every single day, even when it’s hard and you don’t want to- you’re lying to yourself and everyone around you. This doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes- hell no. Mistakes are to be expected. But if you don’t truly believe what you say you do, it’ll show in your life.

If you aren’t fully committed to furthering the equality of all people in every way you can, it’ll be obvious because you almost definitely aren’t acting like it. If you think you’re committed but you’re reading this and thinking ‘shit, maybe I’m not as committed as I thought?’, then you’re the reason I wrote this. Because I’m in the same place. As I’m reading this I’m realizing that I haven’t always practiced what I’ve preached, and that I need to reevaluate my commitment and start living it more unashamedly. This is no time for shyness or politeness.

This is all-out warfare and if I’m being complicit in any way and not fighting on the side of justice and humanity, I’m fighting against it, whether I like it or not.

You might be thinking that I just listed off two completely opposite ways of responding, and I understand if you are. It’s really, really freaking hard to navigate the line between speaking up and knowing when to move on and I can’t give you an all-defining answer because every situation is different. The only thing I can say with certainty is that you should always ask yourself these questions: “am I responding out of fleeting anger or am I thinking my responses through and being the better person, even if it sucks?”, “am I living out the values that I believe in, even when it’s uncomfortable for me?”, and “am I being a good ally/advocate to the best of my ability for those who don’t have the same privileges I do?”.

Meditate over the answers and don’t ever rush into a fight just for the sake of arguing. I believe there’s nothing wrong with ignoring your uncle’s rude comments on your Facebook posts as long as you aren’t being complicit in real life and you’ve already done your best to peacefully speak your mind and educate him (that said, please report trolls if you see them bullying or harassing someone else or if they are truly harassing you!).

In conclusion; nazis are bad, complicity is counterproductive, and nothing is black-and-white. Now go out there and start backing up your beliefs with actions. Donate, protest, volunteer, contact your representatives, educate your family members and friends, protect those you see being oppressed or harassed for who they are, and most of all Do. Not. Stay. Silent. Because none of us have time to be scared or complicit when real life oppression and battles are being fought.

[saturatethe-written-whitewa-blog]

oikawa week 2017, day 7.

oikawa week 2017, day 7: pride/humility

pairing: oikawa tooru & iwaizumi hajime

both prompts were used for the very last day of oikawa week (aah this was a blast!) because i'm decidedly indecisive :P also this was just an excuse for me to write about demon king oikawa because i've always wanted to

❝Welcome to the end of eras, Ice has melted back to life, Done my time and served my sentence, Dress me up and watch me die.❞ —Emperor's New Clothes, Panic! At the Disco.

Oikawa Tooru has cultivated his patience, as endless as the somber dark that never fails to not catch his eye. He waits only for the things that entertain him, like a face that dare challenges him, or a succubus that leave their wings behind them and their advantages by a pillar somewhere, for it was Oikawa who could reduce them to their knees with a simple 'pop' of his lips.

After all, existing- existing, not living, for a time long enough the advances of humankind have no term for the times he's curled and flavored, allowed him practice that he could sit and lose himself in his own head for days at a time until an air that brings only crispy heat reminds him he's got no better things to do. Humans were particular with the things they involve themselves in, and finely-aged things of wither and nonexistence were shoved away rather harshly, like the time Oikawa came to existence from nothing but soot and the first dirt; he had driven the earth to its first falling, its first division, seeded the first concepts of anger and spite so deeply into the creation of God that no caress of His holy hand could dare uproot something that has grown into viciousness.

Oikawa decides he's proud of the things he's ruined.

He has seen the first bloodshed that began and ended from creatures that aren't the haughty gods that make an empire out of the sky and beat the heavenly stars so cruelly the earth is only left remnants of its true brilliance. Now, Oikawa is in a place where he can neither see the stars or the products of human imperfections, but he can imagine that the stars blink, still as weakly as he had first seen them when he tries mortal living. He can imagine that there is still blood that paints in poetic lines and vivid horrors, though he never yearns for the day he sees the invading light of the surface ever again.

What Oikawa can see are faces. Faces of people that would have been the crème de la crème if the seed of spite had really been a vulnerable seed left nothing but a shell and soft, wet dirt. He would have harvested them, pulled out another universe of purposes, of possibilities from where the sleeve of his robes fall under his wrist. Their ages change, their clothes change, but the way they turn their lips at the slightest tip of a rock is all the same: a brash scowl- the heaviest guilt left out only for the criminals that do not follow the golden rule, 'Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.'

Oikawa thinks he would have liked these people, if he had met them alive. Alas, they are in Oikawa's own special place in the Underworld, where mercy is brought to extinction and the dead run rampant and even the most unrecognizable: headless, heartless, mindless, have the common sense to thieve what they don't have themselves. A crueler duplication of themselves, without the penetrable skin, the multicolored vision and poetic mouths never put to better use but to lock and tighten and utter falseness under pressures of zeniths.

Oikawa Tooru counts his days, they are plenty, and often, he does not know what to do with them. The times he remembers actually enjoying himself are sparse enough he could keep them awkward and unfolded and still fit them into the pockets at his sides.

Oikawa Tooru does not count the faces that come to pass, for he forgets them rather easily; the faces that do matter smile as infrequently as Oikawa does, and he only gets to remember them in the mythical event that Oikawa can see moonlight between the foul decay and the haze cast upon haze by the sin.

Oikawa does not recall the last time a human has ever come to see him in person, for the ones who did have gone insane from denial or far too wrongly attached to the materials left so curtly behind to ever possibly let go. They are far too silent entering his kingdom to ever match his gaze in a battle of condescending judgment and Oikawa lassos a thought that maybe he's far too alike the monarchs up above that he would have been assumed as one if not for the strange way he dresses, the even stranger tongue he speaks in, and the animalistic brown of horns that curl forth the same direction as the ends of his hair.

The humans never shriek, never falter, never stutter at the sight of Oikawa's majesty, nor at the sound of his robes fluttering somewhere behind him, less dignified and less noticed, as if the smoke of death grounded them to the same level as a bashful seedling. There truly is nothing that measures up to death everyone is granted; Oikawa agrees, but does not sympathize.

This one is a man with a face as if he's seen all the worst the world can birth, as expressionless as the dead that blend so well Oikawa only spots them if they twitch a limb or curse their eternities. He has his hands behind his back, Oikawa holds his head high; one of the leaders of death, unkillable. Any imagination with blood gushing like heaven was incorrect, as impossible as a moon tinted blue. The man looks like he doesn't know whether to bow his head or take a knee, Oikawa's next breath is one that exudes amusement.

Oikawa stands prouder, taller, and all the grimness of the Underworld gather behind him in patterns that resemble embroidery; Oikawa liked a show, something fitting for him. The man recognizes he's the lesser in the windowless throne room.

The man doesn't speak even when Oikawa urges him to with a change of expression that reverses when he realizes he isn't even looking at him, only at the floor Oikawa doesn't have to imagine to know that the grey wobble that peers back at you reminds you of where you are; the only beauty in the Underworld was the kind only the truly sinister could admire, the kind of sinister Oikawa kept as friends or pets.

Oikawa picks himself back up with a breath the man doesn't hear. He's made himself known, and the man's demeanor: hiding behind a shell he doesn't realize isn't there gives Oikawa one more reason to fill his empty grin with smugness.

"You seem rather put-together, more intact," Oikawa says, and his voice echoes in the emptiness of the chamber, all plain pillars that glorify nothing but the heights they can grasp at their highest and an unrefined floor that reflects nothing but the colorlessness that Oikawa's hours feel like; "do you know your purpose?"

Oikawa sweeps the ends of his robe behind him as he turns around, looking as if he'd just fluttered. He takes his footsteps to get to his throne, that echo too, feeling more unusual now that he isn't alone. The very throne looked like petrified plants and sharp points Oikawa likes to poke and imagine what pain would feel like, stone and yet so ironically fragile, that all of a hellhound's reckless charge could drive the often-spoke-about throne apart and scattered for Oikawa to suddenly feel more disinterested about. The Underworld was a melting pot of all the things the gods decided they didn't like, Oikawa called it home, never in his eternity felt any sticky fondness for it, but he stares at the rock formations outside his palace and realize he'd rather stare at this, the groaning dead, the officials torpid whether the hellblazes trumpet or slumber, rather than evergreens and pinkish skies.

"Yes," the man- Oikawa's checked enough times, it's a man and not a banshee that's lived many nights tearing out hair in its lament- standing far away enough that if Oikawa wanted to intimidate him now, he'd have to maintain his stare for four seconds, four seconds too plenty.

Oikawa rests his chin on his palm. The man was unafraid of him, even when the passing event of his curly smile peeks a glimpse of his tongue, with something unreadable branded on it. Oikawa himself doesn't know what it says. Convulated? Probably. Derogatory? Definitely. He was unwilling to thrash his body about and dirty his robes just to read it, his tongue could only stretch so far, enough to arouse a she-demon and disgust Kuroo Tetsurou with an unscripted flick.

"Name it," Oikawa demands. Oikawa hopes his eyes remain the brown of tamarinds, that they do not flare nor color in the excitement he believed he'd forgotten in the evolving ages.

"I'd like to make a deal with you, arrange something, Demon King, if you may allow me to address you that way," the man says, dipping his head humbly, voice low enough that it does not echo in the vacancy of the room.

"Yes, yes," Oikawa murmurs to himself, "I would like for you to continue addressing me as such. Tell me your name, and how exactly you've managed to sneak right past the three unsurpassed noses of my Cerberus."

"My name is Iwaizumi Hajime," he says with a flat tone and a flat line drawn across his lips, "and if there was a Cerberus I was supposed to meet, then I am certain I have not encountered it."

The man does not lie, does not appear that he has ever told a lie in his life unless there was a blade to his throat and a promise death to his bones. A hellhound bellows in the distance, neither of them turn to the noise, but the man flinches at the hideous sound. Oikawa's chosen to snicker at him.

Oikawa's mouth twitches at the right end of it, and Iwaizumi notices, winces fearfully, as if he'd been bitten.

"I really do need to reevaluate the usefulness of that lazy hound," Oikawa continues to say to himself, before adding: "perhaps that was why that sly Kuroo seemed so eager to gift me his pet."

"Anyway," Oikawa amends, voice booming, Hajime startling himself on a tiny crack on the floor. "Put forth your demands, Iwaizumi, and I shall mine."

Iwaizumi seems to recognize that the kindness of the Demon King is something supposed to be well-spent. It shows in the way his eyes open a fragment wider, like the words clamber through his throat and stop in the middle of it for a second.

"I would like to serve you, for the remainder of eternity, even, o Demon King." And Iwaizumi says no more, bowing his head once again, as if honored to be receiving the judging, contemplative glance Oikawa rests on the back of his hair. (Iwaizumi truly is honored, for any other member of the dead would have been sent away with a burst of flame and a clap of Oikawa's hands. A singular demonstration of the bite force of a starving hellhound, if Oikawa was impatient and the dead were rude and stubborn.)

"I will consider your offer, Iwaizumi," Oikawa says without much thought, because the years are growing boring and yawning to himself was not how he would have liked to choose to spend the rest of eternity doing. "If," he adds, boldly, "sincerely, you will decide, at this very moment, to solemnly pledge yourself to servicing me- to risk your life, lay it down, sacrifice it, all of this done willingly, for the sake of my well-being. Do so, and become my valiant knight."

And so, without much thought either, Iwaizumi does.

(Perhaps this fairytale should end in the mentions of a happily ever after, although that would birth a great irony for the fact remains that their eternities are embedded deep in the Underworld. Though, Iwaizumi does well to make merry the slow moving of their days, and Oikawa could not have dreamed of a more fitting companion. Gently, carefully, gradually, the Underworld becomes more bearable, even if only to the pompous king and his meek knight, who forever bows his head like the humble creature he often denies to be- which, too, is done out of a modesty that Oikawa sometimes thinks earns not a spot in the Underworld, and by the side of the Demon King himself, no less.)

[ruffoverthinksthings]

There's something I have to ask you that has some of its roots far before Descendants, but seriously....wtf is up with Frollo?! I'm interested in his character because of his deep complexities for a Disney Villian (never mind the Hugo novel), but why cant he get a grip on raising children and building a healthy family? Even as a product of the medieval era , that can't be an excuse for his dysfunctional relationships with others(progressive people like Esmeralda and Phoebus existed back then 1/2

Mymain question to you is ,what do you think it is about him that cantsee the pain he causes to claudine/ not esme and the entire HONDcast? What ever happened to him in his childhood ( nature vsnurture), that makes him nearly impossible to reach past his veil ofdarkness. Even in his attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of hisLord, with Claudine, is he forever delusional? Can he change in thisuniverse and what would it take? 2/2

There’sthree key concepts that explain why Frollo still can’t redeemhimself, see the pain, the suffering, the wrongdoing he’s causingin the name of God and his ideas of what is “Good.” These are:

CognitiveDissonance

TheMyth of Redemptive Violence by Walter Wink, and

SexualSuppression in the Catholic Church, and the ideas of ReligiousLeaders being beyond the common man

Allof these are actually easily explainable using the lyrics ofHellfire:

BeataMariaYou know I am a righteous manOf my virtue I amjustly proud

BeataMariaYou know I'm so much purer thanThe common, vulgar,weak, licentious crowd

Thentell me, MariaWhy I see her dancing thereWhy hersmold'ring eyes still scorch my soulI feel her, I seeherThe sun caught in her raven hairIs blazing in me outof all control

Here,we see what Frollo thinks of himself: a saint among sinners, a man ofstrong faith in a land of unbelievers, someone who does Good whereasthe rest fall into Temptation and Sin.

Likemajority of the leaders of the Catholic Church, and especiallybecause it’s in the Medieval Era, he is seen as someone who isinherently above his fellow man, better, purer, more virtuous, whichis why he deserves to hold his position, and use all the power andinfluence that affords him.

Butthen, Esmeralda comes along, he is tempted by her beauty, and herealizes that he is not as invulnerable and incorruptible as hethought he was.

Unfortunatelyfor all of us, he refuses to take responsibility for it.

It'snot my faultI'm not to blameIt is the gypsy girlThewitch who sent this flameIt's not my faultIf in God'splanHe made the devil so muchStronger than a man

Here,he refuses to believe that there’s any fault in him, that he isstill prone to temptation despite his beliefs; rather, he engages inwhat is called “Scapegoating,” putting all the blame inEsmeralda, going so far as to irrationally cast her as some wickedenchantress with powers that he doesn’t stand a chance ofresisting, than just a woman he is fully capable of getting over.

However,that involves him admitting that he was wrong about his belief thathe is incorruptible and “holier than thou,” and he wants toprotect that idea, more than he actually wants to be it, simplybecause it’s less distressing for him.

Thisis called Cognitive Dissonance, the stress someone experiencesfrom having a belief or more than directly oppose their actions andbehaviours.

Otherexamples of Cognitive Dissonance are:

Someonewho believes themselves a healthy person despite having a pack-a-daycigarette habit;

Someonewho buys a product or a service and it doesn’t turn out nearly asgood as they thought it would, so they make all manner of excuses andjustifications to make it better (in their minds); and

Someonewho stays in a relationship that has long past its expiration date,because they don’t believe themselves to be someone who gets it“wrong” with something as important as romantic relationships.

Peoplesuffering from cognitive dissonance often find ways to “spin”things and defend their original beliefs, rather than reevaluate whatthey thought was true and their identity. Rationality, logic, orconsistency ceases to matter to them; sparing themselves from thedistress that they were wrong or are acting against their beliefstakes priority above everything else.

Withthe above examples:

Thesmoker convinces themselves that cigarette smoking isn’t reallythat bad for their health (it’s actually worse);

Thatthe price, the manufacturer, or some other quality of the product orservice automatically makes it better despite the reality of it, likewith the exploding Samsung phones incident, and people refusing toreturn them in spite of the danger to themselves and everyone else;and

Thatthey can still salvage the relationship, that all the problems andissues are not nearly as bad as they are, and that they simply haveto try harder.

WithFrollo, he chooses the Myth of Redemptive Violence.

Inits essence, it’s “Good Vs Evil,” “The Final Clash,” theBook of Revelations where the forces of the Righteous do battle withthe Wicked, purging all that is unholy and ushering in a new, betterworld, or bringing all those deserving into heaven.

It’sinteresting because you see this constantly with all of Disney’sfilms with a classic “Villain” antagonist: there’s PrincePhilip slaying Maleficent; Tiana and Naveen outsmarting Dr. Facillierand letting his Friends from the Other Side do their thing; andTarzan doing battle with Clayton.

Theymay or may not have a direct hand in bringing about theirdoom—Clayton accidentally hung himself because of his refusal toaccept Tarzan’s help, for example—but it’s always VERY clear tothe audience that A) the protagonists are “good” people, B) theantagonists are “evil” people, and C) there is no redeeming the“villains,” there’s only killing, jailing, or trapping them inan enchanted lamp, because they will never turn to good.

Asstated above, Frollo believes himself to be a righteous man, theepitome of goodness, the Holy Servant of God, and people that don’tfit into his worldview are declared “Wicked” and must beslain. He has killed numerous gypsies, has been responsiblefor the death and/or suffering of numerous innocent civilians, andalmost drowned Quasimodo in a well, if it weren’t for the ArchDeacon warning him of his hypocrisy.

Inhis views, there is no salvation, no forgiveness of the sinner, noramending for your wicked ways—there is only judgment, and yoursentence is death.

Protectme, MariaDon't let the siren cast her spellDon't let herfire sear my flesh and boneDestroy EsmeraldaAnd let hertaste the fires of Hell!Or else let her be mine and mine alone

Here,Frollo shows just how extreme and devoid of nuance his sense ofmorality is—either you live, or you die. He also shows more of hisCognitive Dissonance and Redemptive Violence once more, where hepleads that—against the customs and the traditions of the church,and the scandal that would erupt— Esmeralda be “given” to him.

Thisis especially poignant as the Catholic Church has a massive,well-known history of suppressing sexuality and policing the sexualbehaviour of their followers and especially their ordained leaders,usually to disastrous results.

Insteadof giving them a chance to it in healthy ways, or to treat havingsexual urges as a natural thing, the Catholic church paints it asweakness, a flaw in you, a sign that you have failed and that you areshameful, awful, and a sinner for having them in the first place.

“Shaming”someone is the BEST way to get someone to do the thing you’reshaming them for—as you cut their self-esteem, and make thembelieve that they are weak and deficit in some manner, the morelikely they will be to do the vice or the crime because they want tofeel better, and the more likely they will accept that they truly AREbeyond saving, that there’s no hope for salvation, so fuck it,let’s do the thing.

Itgets even worse in the ending of Hellfire:

HellfireDarkfireNow gypsy, it's your turnChoose me orYourpyreBe mine or you will burnGod have mercy on herGodhave mercy on meBut she will be mineOr she will burn!

Here,Frollo shows the depths of his hypocrisy and the amazing mentalacrobatics he’s performing, saying “God have mercy” whilstpromising the opposite of mercy: death, or enslavement.

Here,Frollo shows that he’s no longer following the doctrines, the laws,or the traditions of the church, what God decreed or Jesus relayed tohis followers.

Here,Frollo shows that all he truly follows is what he believes to beRight—what is Right for him.

Iassumed that this behaviour follows him onto the Isle, where he has avery warped sense of religious morality that is really just hisselfish desires, being justified in his eyes by tacking the name ofGod onto it, much like Richard “Rick” Ratcliffe.

Whycan’t he get a grip on a loving marriage, relating in healthymanners to people, and building a loving family life for Claudine?

Because,like the rest of the Villains, he wasn’t marrying and having kidsfor unselfish reasons, he was using his ex-wife Salome to satisfy hissexual needs, is still using Claudine as a means to fulfillhis broken dreams and ambitions, and is unconsciously using them bothto serve himself first and foremost.

Thesexuality that was Frollo’s downfall has not disappeared—it’sstill there, and I’d argue it’s actually stronger consideringthe constant state of stress and despair in the Isle that forcespeople to resort to their basest instincts, and engage in whateverwill give them some measure of relief.

However,instead of going the healthy route of acknowledging that he isflawed, and that he should return to attempting celibacy in spite oftemptation, Frollo merely twists his lustful desires into somethingthat would be acceptable in his beliefs, and that of hiscongregation.

Howdoes he achieve this? Marriage, with all the intercourse for thepurpose of reproduction, and reproduction only.

I’dimagine that, after becoming the only Catholicreligious leader alive or not yet renouncing his faith, and thedeplorable state of everything and the VKsbeing raised, he sees himselfas some kind of New Adam,meant to be the progenitor of anew race of “Good, Christian People” who would eventually becomethe inheritors of this wretched hell, take it away from the hands ofthe Demon Queen that rules it (Maleficent), and rebirth it as aparadise.

Beforeyou ask, yes, he could be the CELIBATE steward of this new world,taking care of his non-ordained congregation’s children, but thatwouldn’t let him satisfy his sexual needs, and is thus not anoption in his mind.

Andbefore you ask why he doesn’t get flack about this, all of thepeople on the Isle are criminals, and if you weren’t living in thedeplorable conditions they were BGU, you learn to loosen yourstandards right quick here.

That,and they can be manipulated easily and lead to believe that undercertain circumstances, marriage and sexual intercourse with Judgesare possible—a lot of these people can’t read, and have noconcept of critical thinking.

Whyis he like this with Claudine, raising her up to be an ideal ratherthan a person?

Becausehe know he’s old, he knows he’s weak, and he’s essentiallytrapped in his church and a small area around it in Temple Way—he’sunable to bring the fight to the Islanders (not including hiscongregation, because they’re obviously theexception), be it ideologically or especially physically, so he hasto raise an army to do it for him.

Claudineis not just his daughter to him, or his Flock—she is a Messiahfigure to them, the “child that will lead them” as the actualJesus Christ was, the true successor to Frollo’s church when heinevitably passes away.

Sowhenever she starts to deviate from his ideals (i.e. growing up to beher own person, independent of her father’s desires), he doesn’tsee it as cruel and manipulative to mess with her emotions likethis—he sees himself as a sculptor making sure that this livingclay does not end up malformed, that she is completely, absolutelyperfect in every waypossible.

I’dalso be remiss not to mention that poor nutrition, dementia, and oldage have taken a serious tollon him.

Ishis being a product of the Medieval Era an excuse for hisdysfunctional socialinteractions?

Itis, actually!

Phoebusand Esmeralda are shown to be progressives in the movie, but theproblem is, they’re still the exception,not the rule; the world ofFrance in 1482 is nowhere NEAR the level of multiculturalism anddiversity we see today.

Mostpeople of that erawill never even leave the towns they live in, let alone be able tohave the means to travel vast continents and entire oceans to meetpeople unlike themselves—and as European Spice Expeditions haveshown, the interaction is more likely to be lethalto the natives than friendly, let alone romantic.

There’salso the fact that if a foreigner lives in France, it’s usuallyfrom a slave trade of some sort or as part of a roving band of apersecuted minority, like Esmeralda and the rest of the Romanipeople.

Thetimes they live in are very xenophobic, with very black and whitemorality—there are only sinners and the faithful, and again, withFrollo, there is no room for outsiders like Esmeralda and the Romanipeople, whom he believes only deserve death.

Andagain, there’s also the fact that Frollo is a Judge, and alongsidehis religion and his authority, believes himself to be inherentlyabove and better than people, and that he cannot do anything wrongbecause he is of that high position, as only a “Good” person canhold that office.

Tohave a wicked, sinful man capable of cruelty and madness would beparadoxical, and would absolutely never happen! (/sarcasm)

Thisis why he can’t see the pain and the suffering he inflicts onothers with his actions—he simply believes himself to be BEYOND andincapable of doingevil.

Withthe question of nature and nurture, I won’t headcanon aboutFrollo’s childhood, since the Nurture has the lion’s share ofblame here.

He’svery old, he’s obviously a very senior member of the church, andhas a lot of respect—he has spent almost all of his life beingtreated as higher and better than his fellow man, he has massivepower other people, and the beliefs of his church (and consequently,himself) is that he is a reliable, infallible authority for what is“Good” and what is “Evil.”

Andas the saying goes, power corrupts.

Mostpeople behave in fear of some higher authority, be they the police,their parents, or that of your superior at work. Unfortunately forall of us, Frollo only really fears two people: the Arch-Deacon, andGod.

Thewords of the “commoners” matter not to him. Maleficent has longknown that these people are beyond reason or are not worth it, sodoesn’t exercise her authority. And even within hiscongregation—more of a cult, at this point, really—dissent isimmediately silenced, murmurs that “Father Frollo” might not beas virtuous and holy as they think he is shushed like a motherreprimanding her child during Sunday mass.

Toend this rather long, lengthy tirade, can he ever break free of thedelusion, and can he truly change his ways?

Realistically,no, and no.

Unlikeactual dogs, you can’t teach Frollo new tricks, especially onesthat contradict his worldview, and he’s already shown time andagain that he won’t accept any objective evidence that he’swrong—every action of his is justified to him, and that subjectivedecision is what makes it “Right.”

Itdoesn’t help that, as I’ve said in other headcanons and mentionedabove, the people of the Isle of the Lost tend to be the ones whohave lost all hope, and are desperately clinging onto whatever it isthey can for comfort.

Ifyou bring him to Auradon, and have him meet up with the (much sanerand reasonable, but not entirely) congregations of Auradon, it’dlikely end in shouting and claims of heresy and going against God.

Havingyour everything pulled out from under you and getting throwninto the great big unknown is terrifying and painful.

Andfor many people, they’d rather be wrong and not realize it, thansuffer that—thus, Cognitive dissonance, and belief in RedemptiveViolence, with both exacerbated by the Catholic Church’s stance on“deviant” sexual behaviour.

[moonfacecrybaby-blog]

Self reminder (jus feel like ranting)

To never EVER go on vacation with someone who has little Earth in their chart. 😭I have never been so baffled at the lack of planning and inability to make a decision based on common sense, holy fuck. All of my female Scorpio friends are boy crazy as fuck and are willing to ditch their friends at the first sign of possibly hanging out with a guy but my Scorpio friends both have earth moons so they still get all of their ducks in a row before making a move but this bitch (who I met through my Taurus best friend who went too) is a Libra rising and Aquarius moon... let me tell you why that's the most annoying shit tho. The Libra rising makes her beautiful and charming and good at being fake as hell which is the PERFECT mask for a demon Scorpio lmao. She swore up and down during the planning of the trip that she's been wanting to hang out with us forever and misses us and couldn't wait to have a girls day- even going as far as to rent a car! What a friend right? Wrong the fucking Scorpio had been planning this all along because she has some Taurus boy toy down in that direction and she just didn't want to go alone. And then here's the kicker.. she took the car and left me, my 9 month old daughter, and the other female stranded at the beach for hours while she was like a 30 minute drive away at the guy's house, and didn't give one fuck because she's an Aquarius moon with her own agenda. 😒Then we finally met the loser and he looks EXACTLY like the husband of hers that she's currently divorcing... moral of the story is, sun and moon in the 8th people need to start listening to themselves because WE KNOW WHAT THE HELL WE FEEL WHEN WE MEET PEOPLE! I'm just also a Pisces moon so I try to blind myself so I won't see the bad in people. The first time we hung out I was scared as hell but didn't know why and then ever since that day she's brought so much drama to my life without so much as a twitch of sympathy for anyone smhhh. I find it so interesting though also because the Taurus female that went with us is also an Libra rising, Aquarius moon. Sun sign astrology is real bro because they have the same emotional responses internally and greet the world in the same way but they're differences in sun sign flavors it. The Taurus girl uses her Libra rising to nurture everybody honestly, it makes her less reserved as a Taurus and I guess the double Venus makes her hella selfless but almost everything she does is done for the good of the whole group. She pays attention to the needs of everybody around her and she always uses her Aquarius moon to come up with great ideas that benefit everyone, yeah her sun is in the 8th house so she lives on the edge so people judge her but I like that she still cares about the safety of others before her desires. The Scorpio on the other hand 😒😒😒 (lmao I know I sound like I'm hating on Scorpios but it's actually one of my favorite signs 😂) she uses her Libra rising to make people think she's nice and then acts like such trash secretly. Everybody has a fake side but hers is malicious and selfish and that's shit I just can't deal with. I wonder what house her sun is in? Whatever, it just kinda makes me mad because the Taurus girl gets judged for her openness with her fast life and sexuality but is an AMAZING person to friends and strangers but the Scorpio dresses modest, wears glasses, and has adorable little curls so nobody realizes that she's been orchestrating their Dmn demise the entire time! The same kinda thing literally happened last month when we went to hang out with some guy friends and ended up waiting in the car forever so she could fuck one of the guys, which would have been no big deal if we had planned this and it wasn't almost 4 in the morning. I guess I just hate when people have no problem inconveniencing others for their own desires. Also, another thing my female Scorpio friends have in common is that they have ZERO respect for Gemini males lmao (funny because my baby's father is a Gemini and he got his heart broken by a Scorpio earlier this year lmao). They literally hate them yet a lot of Gemini guys have big dicks (in our experience 😂) so they literally just use them for sex and talk behind their backs smh so it's even more annoying that the guy she left us in the car to fuck was a Gemini and she started talking shit as soon as she came back. 🙄😒saying how she'll never take a Gemini seriously and shit.. then why you was so hype about spending time with him??? Bruhhhhh see this rant about to be even longer cause I just have too many thoughts on this now. 😭😂 like also, back to the boy craziness! This bitch acts like she's sooo mature and above everybody but you should see her dumb ass when she's about to see a boy. 🙄🙄🙄 she literally starts vibrating and gets giddy as hell and starts talking soooo fucking much which is the worst icing on the cake to me. Don't keep rubbing your bullshit in my face after pissing me off. Ironically, she was talking about Taureans yesterday because her sister is one and was like "I don't get why you guys never say how you're feeling! Like I can't read your mind so why y'all never express when y'all mad?" And then her behavior yesterday literally answered her question. Taureans like fun but we don't like fucking drama but it seems like Scorpios BREATH drama so while we're trying to keep the trip stable, this bitch is flying around life not making and iota of sense! And what do taureans do when shit stops making sense? We sit our asses back, shut our mouths, and endure until the ground is stable again. That's why when she got back we were quiet the rest of the trip because like.. anymore surprises? We HATE surprises. I guess that's why Taureans get quiet during emotional upheavals? Me and the other Taurus were BOILING but we shut our fucking mouths when she came back around because opening our mouths to talk while in extreme emotion makes oUR VOICES COME OUT UNINTENTIONALLY LOUD AND FULL OF HATE BECAUSE YOU KEEP THROWING SHIT OUR WAY AND WE CAN NO LONGER BREATH THE EXTREME NEGATIVITY THROUGH OUR NOSES! WE DONT TALK WHEN YOU'RE UPSETTING US BECAUSE WE DONT WANNA BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE REALLY THIS TRASH SO WE SHUT UP AND GIVE YOU CHANCE AFTER CHANGE TO CORRECT YOURSELF THEN BLOW THE HELL UP WHEN YOU KEEP RUBBING IT IN! I know it sounds childish to not say what you're feeling but we just expect everyone to have common sense and KNOW as a fucking adult what's rude/stupid/nonsensical, so we sit our asses back and reevaluate our relationship with you. It's something air dominants don't really understand though because my sister is a Gemini sun, Aquarius moon (ugh I'm surrounded by Aquarius moons 🙄) and she didn't believe that I was actually having contractions and took forever to take me to the hospital when I had my daughter because I wasn't showing any emotion when I'd tell her I was in pain and wasn't saying much. My baby's father is a Gemini sun and Mercury and he literally rambled through our daughter's birth and has to talk while she's getting shots because he gets through high levels of any feeling through distracting his mind with random words. Ugh I actually love it because you know when you've made him nervous when his rambling Gemini twin starts coming out even though he's a Scorpio rising who likes to portray himself as all dark and mysterious 😂. Anyways! Taureans just prefer to lay low and endure.. until it gets real, then the rest of your chart comes out. Like when I was having contractions, I quietly endured them the whole time like a Taurus... until it was time for her to come and they got worse so the Pisces moon came out! I like the description of the moon sign being who you are when you need your mother." I literally started reaching for my mom, everyone else in the room faded away, and I kept whining to her and asking "is there any drug that can knock me out so I won't have to live through this pain?? I don't want to live though this. I don't want to experience this." While shaking my head, attempting to wake up from that nightmare 😂 I'm literally an escapist in the highest form! I find it interesting that my moon house also played a big part because I remember during the contractions that I was being a Pisces moon and trying to imagine myself in the place I'd rather be and I closed my eyes and imagine myself in a casket, and then I felt like that wasn't enough and I imagined myself burning I hell and was slightly satisfied lmao the 8th house moon is such a trip. *Sigggh* but leave it to an Aries MC person to be this annoying and off subject during a rant but whatever, I've accepted that I'm nothing but a Taurus sun version of Kanye West. 😂 But I only have "fun" friends I don't have "emotional outlet" friends so I have nobody to talk about my suppressed rage to. 🙃

[mild-lunacy]

The Fan Rebellion and the Last Season Jinx

As I said yesterday about Sherlock, I've definitely observed that a lot of people think that the last book or the last season in a series is often... problematic. If you've been in enough fandoms, you'll see this is a very common phenomenon. It's also very common for people who're particularly attached to a pairing or a character to feel 'cheated' and rant irrationally at the creators (unfortunately). As I said, this is just what fans and fandoms are *like*. I literally-- literally!-- cannot remember the last time a final season or book truly pleased most diehard fans, or there was a lack of wank at that point at least. Being a diehard fan means being unreasonable to some degree, and when you translate this to the way most people act on the Internet, it's a matter of trolling waiting to happen. My point is that there's certainly plenty of pure wank, and this is what people who're frustrated with the discourse often focus on. As for me, I'm more concerned with the fact that most of the more thoughtful metas aren't really... that much better, in terms of the depth or closeness of analysis being performed.

In general, I've been thinking that fans are often most frustrated when they feel that things didn't change enough, so the writers actually kept going with their MO in ways they'd hoped *would* change, while adding new stuff they feel unprepared for. That type of rug pull or 'gut punch moment' Moffat said he likes so much is actually something many fans tend to hate, especially when they're simultaneously confronted by the fact that many of the undesirable aspects of the style remained. This was a huge problem one could see with the overwhelmingly negative critical and fan response to the 'transgressive' approach Gatiss took with 'The Final Problem', as I've written about recently. Of course, this is also precisely what happened with Moffat and Gatiss's clear, consistent interest in queer subtext (largely remaining just that). It *feels* like a bait and switch, leading to claims of the lack of character progress combined precariously with criticism of the apparent inconsistencies.

In the Raven Cycle fandom, I've noticed the more mature sounding, analytical drive-by critiques of 'The Raven King' saying that the characters didn't grow enough, at least aside from Ronan and Adam. That is, the others' arcs didn't *resolve* enough. This is definitely a common refrain for the last book or season of a show, when people come into the story with a lot of preset expectations and projections onto the text. In the case of the last book in The Raven Cycle, it's common to see people say that Noah in particular just disappeared, somehow. And this critique is always presented as being somehow more hard-hitting than pure squee about the books, a sign the person is thinking deeply and critically about the text. In fact, it's generally a sign that they didn't pay enough attention to the story.

Do many narratives actually go off the rails at the last minute? Sure, yeah. But it seems to me that if your critique is primarily that things about the characters didn't change *enough*, or they changed in the *wrong way*, then that warrants a second look. It's a sign there were certain expectations being applied, certain standards as to what sort of thing qualified as a 'resolution' as well as what *needed* an explicitly textual resolution to start with. And unlike these fans' implicit assumptions, there's no rules about what a writer would *have* to address explicitly in terms of characterization and what they can leave to be inferred or simply understood by connecting the dots of related events.

It's hard to say exactly what any given fan thinks Maggie Stiefvater failed to resolve in TRK. Everyone seems to have their favorite axe to grind. I *can* say there is textual support for them being wrong about Noah, and this whole complaint is a misreading of his entire character from the start. Conversely, stuff to do with Gansey and Blue is more difficult because it's more complex and works with more of people's ingrained projections and assumptions about the characters, and what the two of them need in the first place. No one wants to think they've misunderstood the story, but my point is that this is relatively common, at least as common as stories suddenly turning bad at the last stretch, surely. I'd say more common than that, 'cause writers generally do have editors and some sort of existing plan for their characters.

Basically, when the last part of a story makes the mismatch between the audience's headcanons and the reality of the story all too apparent, most people clearly choose to blame the writers rather than reevaluating any of their existing readings of the characters. And this happens even though there's generally a mix between the audience misunderstanding and the writer's failings.

A lot of times, I think part of the problem is a mismatch of priorities. It's not that the last book or season generally just *ignores* the issues at hand, but the writers may have had other priorities that they chose to take center stage. Fans are usually pretty resistant to any such last minute shift in priorities (so many people resented the importance of Henry Cheng in TRK just 'cause he was new, just as many people really weren't thrilled with Eurus being so important in Sherlock Series 4). Basically, the character arc may turn out to be more of a case of character *growth* or development instead of a formal arc the way some characters may have. And needless to say, this isn't okay for fans of that character or people who thought they were 'important' enough for a more explicitly central role.

Of course, simply focusing on a different character-- such as making Adam and Ronan's arcs the core of The Raven Cycle, or keeping Sherlock alone as the protagonist of BBC Sherlock-- isn't actually a writing mistake. This is complicated for people who thought they were reading or watching an entirely different story, though, because an apparent shift (or final adjustment) in focus can seem to change the nature of the narrative as a whole. It's not even a misreading at that point: it's that you may think you're reading a story about Blue, Gansey and friends at the beginning, or it's a show about John and Sherlock's adventures and friendship. And then, boom! It hasn't really been about Blue after all: she's just the necessary mirror and introduction to the Raven Boys. Similarly, the show is not really about John and Sherlock's relationship, in the strictest sense, but primarily about *Sherlock*, whose central relationship is simply with John. That changes things... too many things, for many fans, who simply find they cannot accept it. After all, it still feels like losing something you loved.

Like I said, though, this isn't to say that Gansey and Blue's relationship (or John and his relationship with Sherlock) wasn't developed and resolved in the end, even if this wasn't the *kind* of resolution fans expected or wanted. That's definitely a difficult thing to wrap your mind around, and requires viewing the story impersonally-- or at the very least not taking what happens to your favorite characters *personally*, which is a tall order for anyone who's emotionally engaged with a story to start with. I'm not even sure it's *desirable*, really. It just kind of comes naturally to me, whether through personality type or college training.

Finding that seemingly missing character development calls for a certain type of engagement and close reading that I think most people either rarely engage in or only engage in if they're absolutely in love with the story. Basically, the John or Gansey type of characterization thread is part of a secondary (implicit or subtextual) rather than the primary narrative, so you have to look closer, read more deeply and generously. This is something which most disgruntled fans aren't apt to do. That's what I meant about many of the critical readings being a bit desultory or sloppy, more concerned with letting off steam than analyzing the text open-endedly. As I'd said yesterday, the motivation for most critiques in general is such that they don't lend themselves to making close, loving treatises. And in the end, the pay-off isn't very dramatic, anyway. As Ivy showed in her recent reply to me, the pay-off for John and Sherlock in TLD is almost entirely implicit and between the scenes (or lines). And well, the fact is that at the end of TRK, Gansey's King is found to be dead. He hasn't had a heart-to-heart with Adam except about Ronan, and I suppose it seems that some of the problematic aspects of his relationship with Ronan himself haven't been... fixed (although I'm far from sure they *needed* explicit fixing). Not exactly thrilling. And then the author says that he still can't kiss Blue. It's enough that that many people have to ask: is that part even *real*? It certainly doesn't *feel* real to them.

In the end, I'm a 'cold-prickly' kind of reader, so I don't mind those kind of understated emotional resolutions too much. However, this may actually not even register as any kind of resolution for many 'warm-fuzzy' types, who associate resolution with direct emotional pay-off. Because of that underlying assumption that a character resolution would automatically be *satisfying* and feel good, anything that isn't positive or satisfying will then presumably have to be called unresolved.

Essentially, my point is that character or plot-based resolution can certainly occur off-screen, or lack true emotional pay-off. For example, I've described the talks between John and Sherlock in the show, and they're all full of unspoken things: they're frequently being interrupted, are incomplete, or are otherwise unsatisfying in some way. This tendency of only hinting at things, or the characters not explicitly *saying* what they mean is typical for Moffat and Gatiss's work; Moffat has said he doesn't consider it a plot hole (or otherwise incomplete) if something is simply *unexplained* in the text. He expects the engaged viewer to fill in between the lines, as Ivy describes doing after TLD. Clearly, the question of whether one's viewers choose to grant the text that sort of courtesy is another thing altogether.