#and how much she's very publicly demonstrated that she loves her

[wonder-worker]

"...Walsingham, the monastic author of the St. Albans Chronicle, was by far [Alice Perrers'] harshest contemporary critic, who in his venom has (somewhat ironically) left us with the longest and most detailed account of her background and personality, her influence as Edward’s mistress, and her subsequent trial. He describes Alice as a shameless lowborn meretrix (a word variously translated as mistress, whore, or harlot), who “brought almost universal dishonour upon the king’s reputation […] and defiled virtually the whole kingdom of England with her disgraceful insolence.” Although Walsingham was not always accurate and, specifically in this case, clearly heavily biased against Alice, he nevertheless provides a truly contemporary account, and his importance as a source should not be underestimated. Likewise, the anonymous monk of St. Mary’s York recorded that in the Good Parliament the Commons (represented by their speaker, Sir Peter de la Mare) stated that it “would be of great gain to the kingdom to remove the said dame [Alice] from the presence of the king both as a matter of conscious and of the ill prosecution of the war.” During the same assembly, the bishop of Rochester, Thomas Brinton, preached from St. Paul’s Cross that “it is not fitting nor safe for all the keys of the kingdom to hang from the belt of one wife.” Although the word wife (uxoris) is used, it is widely accepted that this is a reference to Alice.”

-Laura Tompkins, '"Edward III's Gold-Digging Mistress": Alice Perrers, Gender, and Financial Power at the English Royal Court, 1360-1377", "Women and Economic Power in Premodern Courts" (edited by Cathleen Sarti). Italics by me.

[showmey0urfangs]

Since I've been pissing people off all week, here's another unpopular opinion for y'all;

I keep seeing a lot of fans saying things like oh it's such a shame that Anne isn't here to see all the success the show is having and some are even tagging Christopher in the SDCC posts and I have to say, please don't do that.

It's a very sweet and lovely sentiment and I get why some of you who have been fans of these books for decades and have waited for this moment for so long would love to think that your beloved author would share in your joy. But let's be fucking for real for a second, Anne Rice would have probably hated this show, much in the same way most of her hardcore fans do.

Christopher Rice also probably fucking hates the show and gets annoyed every time people ask him about it or tag him in posts. There is a reason why he has not spoken about it or made any promotion of it despite being credited as a producer. He is probably under NDA and is not at liberty to voice his opinion on the show publicly, but his continued silence speaks volumes. So please just leave him alone and stop tagging him in AMC IWTV things.

Anne Rice was a very complex and contradictory woman but one thing she was known for was being very demanding and controlling when it came to her IP. And she demonstrated it many times in the past by vehemently and publicly criticizing the other adaptations of her work—she eventually changed her mind on the 1994 film but the damage was done at that point.

She was also very vocal about her vision for a tv adaptation, and AMC's IWTV wasn't it—no matter how many times Rolin Jones and Mark Jonson tell us otherwise.

For those who have followed the development hell the show went through before it was finally picked up by AMC, you would know the reason it took so long to get made and it kept getting tossed from one studio to another for nearly 10 years was because Anne had categorically refused to relinquish creative control. She also wanted her nepo baby Christopher to write the script and produce instead of letting in someone actually competent and qualified to do it.

So, as much as we all love to imagine a kumbaya world where Anne Rice would be rooting for this show and cheering on not only Sam but also Jacob, Assad and Bailey/Delayne, let's not rewrite history. Let's not pretend that Anne Rice was this amazing and open-minded person who would have wholeheartedly embraced this modern and more diverse retelling of her story when her books and her track record clearly show otherwise.

[prince-kallisto]

Crowley Levan is Meleanor’s “eyes, limbs, and husband”…wouldn’t it be cool if the one who married into the Draconia family had a crown/headpiece that resembled horns, worn for ceremonies, public appearances and the like?!

We haven’t seen Levan yet but I know in my heart he’s just a silly little guy as long as you ignore The Killings 💞

I talk more about concept art and costume details below the cut!

Levan’s headpiece is designed to have more of a live-action Maleficent feel, where she wrapped her horns in…fabric? Snakeskin? Whatever it was, it looked really shiny, oily, and really cool, so I tried to depict that texture to show how his horns are fake.

And sort of elaborating on the Draconia crown idea, perhaps each crown from every ruler who married into the family has its own unique shape? Levan’s halo-like shape is unique to him, so ones before him perhaps had more “traditional” dragon-like horns, and others had twisting ones like a sheep, etc etc. Since I’m OBSESSED with TWSTs religious symbolism- the Dawn Knight popped off with that winged helmet- I also wanted a halo shape to make Levan look slightly angelic.

The beads on his horns were slightly inspired by the mianguan, a formal headdress worn in ancient China. He also wears nail guards covered in shiny jewels… Let him be extra ✨

Levan having wings over his eyes like the Dawn Knight would be a fun parallel, and as a reference to him being Meleanor’s “eyes, limbs, and husband.” Like I mentioned in the comic, he covers his eyes and disguises his body under bulky clothing to be publicly dramatic af 😭 he takes his title way too seriously haha. The idea is that when he isn’t around Meleanor, he sheds his mask so he can report what he sees to Meleanor. But when he is with her, he “blinds” himself as a demonstration of trust. I’m sure he can actually detect his surroundings very well despite the mask- he just likes to play around and act dumb to make Lilia and Meleanor laugh haha. I haven’t thought much about the clothes under his cape, but I imagine it’s very like Malleus’ masquerade outfit. Something very streamlined and agile in case he has to enter a sudden battle or fly into the air.

And with my concept art, he was meant to have the shoulder feathers like Crowley and Malleus! They were like pauldrons covered in feathers. But when I was working on the final piece, I spontaneously changed it to fit the sketch for something more flowing and bulky haha. In my head, this bigger cape has a more “General” vibe to it? Something that draws your attention when Levan walks into a war room! Speaking of, I really love the fantasy-vibe of the costumes in Book 7- I feel like I can really go all out with Levan’s costume if the Dawn Knight is allowed to have a helmet like that!

This was super last minute in the painting process, but I’d like the inside of his cape to have constellations and stars all over it! I tried to draw the Corvus, Crater, and Hydra on the visible parts of his cape.

I prefer painting with ink far better than acrylic or even watercolor…so doing this in mostly black and white inspired me to give Levan porcelain-like skin, shading his skin almost like he was a doll and not a person. I think about how Diablo in Sleeping Beauty was turned into stone, so it’s meant to be a bit like marble too

I imagine Levan to have long, wispy hair that resembles briars and a bit like live action Aurora from Maleficent. Its very striking how he’s repeatedly described as “beautiful,” and although short hair is very beautiful in its own right, something about his mysteriousness and beauty gives me Aurora vibes specifically. Speaking of, Book 7 seems to be more obvious with combining elements from the original Sleeping Beauty and the live action Maleficent. Perhaps Silver could be the OG Aurora, but I can still give Levan live-action Aurora’s pretty hair haha.

When he wears his headdress and cape, he has his hair pinned up in the back. I’d like to draw my interpretation of Levan more in the future so you can see how his hair would look when it’s all down or in a ponytail. Perhaps Raven-Fae do more elaborate hairstyles that incorporates jewels/shiny things into their hair? Also, this inspiration is VERY specific haha, but if you ever read or watched Cardcaptor Sakura, Nadeshiko’s hair is very close to how I imagine his hair to be- very full and flowing! (Cardcaptor Sakura’s aesthetic snatched me up many years ago and has never let go since haha)

I don’t know, I just think it’s really cool yet ironic that Meleanor and Lilia talk about Levan as someone whose a crybaby, kind, beautiful, airheaded, but then Lilia casually drops that Levan is one of the top generals, an extremely skilled diplomat, and battled the DAWN KNIGHT and survived, when even Lilia hasn’t at that point. So I thought it would be fun if he had angelic themes in his outfit, while still making it clear that he’s dangerous.

Whoops this got pretty long! ∑(ﾟДﾟ) Haha, I think I like sharing my designs- not for the art it self but just to ramble about my entire thought process/inspiration/details! Although I try to get better at depicted all these ideas through the art itself, I can’t help but want to talk about it haha

[sanrielle]

I've been thinking a lot about Katara and her feminism vs. her desire to preserve her dying culture. Like I know that the SWT probably isn't as sexist as the NWT, but there are still a lot of enduring practices that have roots in patriarchy, as demonstrated by Sokka's earlier sexism.

So I think Katara would end up with an odd mix. She's obviously a staunch feminist who thinks girls and women should follow their own paths, regardless of what society in general thinks their roles should be. But at the same time, she can't escape from some of the subtler (and possibly more insidious) traditions of 'propriety' and the role of women as the homemakers.

[Obligatory disclaimer that I don't know that much about Inuit culture when it comes to these things. I'm purely basing this off of what is shown in the cartoon itself.]

Something that kinda goes along with this is Katara's necklace. To her, it's a symbol of her grandmother's struggle for independence, as well as a memento of her mother and the sacrificial love she displayed. In the NWT, it represented (at best) a romantic commitment and (at worst) a transfer of property. I don't think she'd associate hers with either, and she'd probably be insulted if Aang tried to give her a new one when proposing.

(I maintain that the necklace she wears as an old lady is the same one she had in childhood. The fact that it looks wonky in that one screenshot is nothing more than lackluster rendering.)

Anyway, I've gone a little off topic. I just think she's a really interesting study in how someone can rail against the negative parts of their culture that don't appeal to them, while also having an internalized fondness for some of those same traditions, simply because they are familiar and nostalgic.

Take Toph for contrast. I don't think she's the butch anti-feminine person a lot of people make her out to be. She just does what she wants. She's perfectly happy to go to the spa or wear dresses and makeup, but only if it's her choice to do so. She's railing against the repressive and oppressive culture of elite EK society simply because she previously had no agency over her life.

Meanwhile, Katara takes an active role in seeing to the physical and emotional needs of her brother/friends. And even though that 'motherly' role is largely a trauma response and something she deeply resents at times, I think it's also a source of comfort to her. Something about her culture that she desperately clings to.

I think a lot about her and Aang's life post-war. They would be very focused on reconstruction for years, most likely. Katara would have her own projects with the Water Tribes, but also spend a lot of time helping Aang. Some part of her craves the validation of appearing to be 'proper' concerning her relationship with him. Maybe she's a bit hypocritical about it: unwilling to wait until they've settled down to be intimate, but also reluctant to publicly break certain social 'rules'.

She keeps telling herself there's so much to do in the world, and maybe she feels this heavy burden to do as much good as she can before allowing herself to rest and slow down and create the family she's always wanted.

But then ten(ish) years have passed and suddenly! Baby on the way! Oops! Katara knows she's a public figure and cares a lot about how she's seen. She wants the respect of the people from her own culture. And so they stop. They get married. They settle down.

Katara becomes the wife and mother, which she definitely wants while also having some lingering regrets and conflicting feelings. She still wants to be a role model for other girls and women, but she likes not being constantly on the move and fighting people and playing politics. She likes getting up in the middle of the night to sing an old Water Tribe lullaby to her baby. She likes it the most when Aang is there because he's always seen her as an equal partner, not a piece of property.

Anyway, I didn't really have a point. Just rambling about my own headcanons. I've always put a lot more thought into Toph and Sokka's characters, but I guess Kataang has been on my mind lately. And tbh I never gave Katara the attention she deserved when writing fics, which is a travesty.

[bleachbleachbleach]

[Bleach 147]

Of the many reasons I think Soi Fon is great, her commenting on the attendance at Rukia's execution is one of the ones that lives rent-free in my brain at all times. (I'll also note that I think the Viz ran out of room to write stuff in that last bubble, because in the JP Soi Fon is not singling out the 5th, 11th, and 12th as divisions that *should be there*--she's giving them a pass, because those are the captains that have been publicly KO'd by this whole rigmarole. Though LOL also that this is how Soi Fon acknowledges the fact that Aizen is, at this moment, entirely dead, secretly murdered, body gruesomely displayed. Even if she doesn't care about Aizen on a personal level, she's the queen of the Secret Murder Squad! And this happened in HER town?! This woman fascinates me. This entire city fascinates me.)

I will save my comments on this for when I actually get here in my reread, but I was thinking about this scene as part of an aggressive Bleach brain LARP because I received a "VIP ticket" to today's graduation ceremony and I was like lmao, VIP, I literally have to be there, it is my job, but okay. I actually like graduations, because I like celebrating graduates, but usually it's an unticketed event and anyone can just roll up and walk right in. It's ticketed this year because the institution is exercising a "prevention through deterrence" strategy against student protests or other actions, and the ticket came with an additional laundry list of things that are Explicitly Disallowed this year. 🙄 (As I was writing this very paragraph, I got a text message reminding us to bring the ticket, and to prepare for additional security screening. Woo!) To this point, this institution has been Not Disappointing relative to the low bar of other institutions, in terms of how they treat students; but I guess we'll see.

Anyway, the aggressive Bleach brain LARP of this as I try to will my way through the next five hours of this is me wondering if all the Captains also got ostentatious, grim "VIP" tickets to Rukia's execution. Like, sure, it could just be an informal hang at the Soukyoku, but the Gotei:

loves paperwork

already employs a Soul Ticket system, so they are familiar with ticketed entry

is already being stupid extra about this execution in every other possible way

It's not a public event--which, I'm not sure if that makes it a less classy or more classy execution? Like, I guess they're not making a public demonstration of Rukia's Behaviors and treating her death as morbid entertainment for the masses, but at the same time they're trying to execute someone under the cover of secrecy (albeit with a giant weapon at the top of a giant hill, involving a giant bird). And that's setting aside the constantly changing timeline of said execution.

All the captains and VCs have been getting these updates via psychic transmission, which, as we've discussed, is only one of the means of communication the Gotei uses. Probably the most secure? Certainly the fastest and most targeted. So how many people actually know Rukia is being executed? The Gotei at large seem to know about/have been.... vaguely mobilized in terms of the invading ryoka, but is that connected to any execution? What about civilians?

I feel like the nobles (outside of Byakuya) can't know, because a bunch of them would certainly be upset about Central 46 having final authority about the execution of a noble, even if they don't care about Rukia. The less anyone knows, the faster this can get pushed through and people can forget about it as a weird blip.

But I still think they made stupid tickets, because it feels like the perfect amalgamation of bureaucratic excess and macabre grandstanding for the Gotei.

Though I'd love to know how much anyone knows about the entire Soul Society arc, in its aftermath. About any of the elements, really, especially given I feel like it'd be pretty hard to ignore all of it (but lol I also have full confidence that many absolutely did, and very successfully). Like, do you need to file a local permit with the city to use the Soukyoku. Is any advance notice required before large cosmic fireballs appear in the sky. Or does the Seireitei just live in zest.

I mean, yes, they live in zest, but what if it's zest but with paperwork.

[lunamond]

I want to preface this with the disclaimer that I really like Rheanyra. This is not meant as a way to bash her character or minimise the way she, as a woman in Westeros, has been harmed and discriminated against.

However, I have a lot of trouble with how Rheanyra, especially in relation to Alicent, has been discussed in the fandom, for that purpose I will analyse young Rheanyra and focus on her personal flaws (sth that I consider essential to good characterisation).

There is a big trend for audiences to latch onto a favourite character and perceive the entire story through that lens. Everything that benefits this singular character is good everything that inconveniences them is bad. (This is of course is not an issue exclusive to hotd)

As side note: I don’t think this is necessary a problematic way to engage with media, as long as you're capable of recognising that other people will engage differently nor prescribe moral value to real life people based on who they chose to root for.

However, once you start analysing the show critically this method starts becoming very flawed. Alicent as a character especially suffers a lot in these interpretations.

(This does also go in the other direction as well, with people twisting the story in way to bash Rheanyra in favour of Alicent)

It is baffling to me at times, looking at the distorted way some people engage with young Alicent and Rheanyra, and this weird need to portray Alicent as villanous or scheming from the very beginning.

(While I personally love Alicent as character young and grown-up, I'm aware that she, especially as an adult, doesn’t appeal to everybody, which is why I focus for this on young Alicent)

So, let's actually look at the first 3 Episodes and analyse Alicent and Rheanyra's relationship.

Episode 1: Alicent and Rheanyra are totally in love best friends. Rheanyra is the more impulsive one who doesn't always like the duties that come with her status as princess, while Alicent is the more anxious one who cares a lot about her and Rheanyra's responsibilities.

This is ultimately the last time Alicent and Rheanyra were on good terms, without anything standing between them. So both their perception of each other will always be coloured by this prior relationship and the intimate understanding they had of each other when they were still 14 years old.

Episode 2: Alicent has been ordered to keep her inappropriate meetings with the king a secret, Rheanyra is starting to feel the pressure of being the heir. At the end, the betrothal is announced, which ultimately leads to the break up of their prior relationship.

Episode 3: Their relationship has been in shambles for almost 3 years at this point. (Aegon's 2nd name day + 9 months pregnancy + whatever length of time passed between Ep2, the wedding and the start of the pregnancy)

Alicent repeatedly makes overtures to Rheanyra in an attempt to repair their relationship, which Rheanyra continuously shots down (sth that presumably has happened multiple times over the last years).

It also bears mention that even in moments when Rheanyra is not present Alicent still defends Rheanyra's claim to the throne. She does this both in private, as well as publicly.

This is one of those situations that perfectly demonstrate Rheanyra's character flaws.

While this is a very difficult situation to navigate from Rheanyra's position, her former girlfriend, who has now become her stepmother has given birth to a son who puts her own position into question.

She also is slowly growing up and becoming increasingly aware of the reality of what the expected role of a young noble women means in her society.

This is a lot of stress for a teenage girl to deal with, and you know what, I get it.

As a teenager, I personally have been quite unpleasant to be around in much less stressful situations.

However, as far as her treatment of Alicent goes, this is where a lot of my sympathy ends, because no matter what your personal opinion on adult Alicent and her actions might be, THIS Alicent has done none of these.

Alicent is a childbride, who has been martially raped, and put through teenage pregnancy (twice at this point!).

By cutting her off for this, Rheanyra is essentially punishing the victim of her father’s crime.

It is pretty clear that she redirects the hurt and betrayal she feels onto Alicent, because ultimately in the context that both of them grew up Alicent is the easier party to blame.

Rheanyra is definitely not on great terms with Viserys either, however she is still willing to engage with him.

So, yes, Rheanyra is isolated and feels lonely. She tells Viserys that:

"Nobody is here for me"

But she is actually wrong.

Alicent is there for her.

Alicent repeatedly tries to connect with her. She supports Rheanyra, she does so when they are with lady Redwyne, she pushes back against Otto's attempts to push Aegon as heir, she talks with Viserys ensuring that Rheanyra will have the free choice for her future consort.

It is especially ironic, when this last act becomes part of the reason Rheanyra and Viserys reconcile at the end of the episode, while Alicent remains estranged.

It is also quite interesting, how Rheanyra refers to Aegon as Alicent Hightower's son, essentially distancing herself from both of them. Further illustrating the way in which she is completely unwilling to engage with either of them.

Despite this little bit of agency afforded to Rheanyra, she is still expected to take a husband and bear children. This is of course, especially traumatic for her considering her mother's fate.

However, every single girl born to a noble family in Westeros lives under these same unfair conditions, including Alicent.

Rheanyra and Alicent actually do have quite a lot of parallels, both being young girls who feel alone and isolated at court, both their mothers dead and both having complicated relationships with their fathers.

And while it is not enough to free her from these restraints this misogynistic society placed on her, Rheanyra occupies a very privileged position.

She is royalty, a literal princess who has the distinct advantage of being named heir to the throne and future ruler of the the 7 kingdoms.

(Viserys did do a pisspoor job of actually preparing and supporting her for this role, though)

The most glaring embodiment of Rheanyra's privilege however is Syrax.

She has a literal flying weapon of mass destruction at her beck and call.

A privilege no other non-Targaryen noble women has. (Except for Laena)

So, yes, Rheanyra is still subject to misogyny, but Syrax provides her with a certain level of security no one else can claim, because if it is ever necessary she will always be able to relie on a show of force via dragon (which we see demonstrated in ep2).

All of this reveals the inherent tragedy that is at the core of the narrative.

Alicent and Rheanyra are both condemned to the same fate. They both are forced into marriage/s and the role of motherhood, they are robbed of their girlhood, lost their mothers and were subject to their father's whims, and ultimately in history both will be relegated to the role of mother and wife to much more important men.

Rheanyra struggled and fought against unequal traditions to hold the highest position of power anybody (men or woman) could hold, but still she falls victim to the patriarchy.

Alicent who does her duty, plays by the system and rises to the highest position acceptable for a woman to hold, being the mother to a male heir, will still ultimately be torn down by the patriarchy.

This is the only fate any woman can expect in the patriachical system that exists in Westeros, no matter how pious or rebellious she was.

But the most tragic part in all of this is the fact that, despite their shared plight Rheanyra and Alicent's relationship had to be sacrificed for the sake of this senseless struggle instead of allowing them the comfort of each other.

[exitpursuedbyavulcan]

I definitely see your perspective with those points! I guess I just find it kind of amusing that fans made one of the only Targaryens who canonically does not partake in an incestuous dynamic, has a non-targ love interest (in Alys which I personally think GRRM absolutely did on purpose imo), and is only devoted to that one non-targ woman for his entire character journey into someone who does engage in it. And ofc that’s totally fine, all writers can do what they want with these characters but it’s just kind of funny. When it comes to that scene about Helaena, that’s also an interesting point because I definitely agree it shows his tendency to gravitate towards doing his duty for his family but I don’t know if that’s a sign of him being a typical targ rather than the writers demonstrating he’s a complete contrast from Aegon in every way and would carry out any expectations placed on him. That’s why it was mind-boggling to me when people perceived that scene as him having feelings for her and created an entire pairing based on that when that wasn’t the point at all. In relation to him fighting for the throne, one could say the main reason for him doing that is to uphold Valyrian values but I also think a big part of that is the fact that Aegon is his brother and he will fight for his family (despite not liking him as a person). To me, I can’t get invested in Targ pairings that include incest because it just demonstrates how these children are indoctrinated from a young age and told about “blood purity” (hence that scene where Aemond talks about Helaena) and that’s just the opposite of romance (to me ofc). Aemond is a really interesting character and I think alot of people tend to misinterpret him. I think when Alys comes along, it will provide more insight into who he is as a character and what he leans towards when it comes to women. Although I’m sure most fans will hate on her since she’s not the typical Targ princess most people self-insert as (as is expected of that fandom).

Ok I'm putting these together because I think they're from the same person, but if they're not, I apologize!

Before I start my responses, I do want to say that I find some of the language you're using (calling people's opinions 'funny,' saying that people with differing opinions to yours 'misinterpret' Aemond, 'the typical Targ princess most people self-insert as (as is expected of that fandom),' claiming you know exactly what GRRM 'intended,' and saying that other people's takes 'confound you') to be very condescending. I'm more than willing to have lit crit discussions, as I enjoy them a lot, but I am not willing to engage when part of your opinions include condescending to others.

Because of this, I'm only going to respond to a few things you said in bullet point format.

People are allowed to write whatever relationship dynamic they want to. If they bother you that much, don't read them. And certainly don't publicly talk about how much you disagree with and dislike them

I don't believe Alys is involved in Aemond's 'entire character journey.' She's a big part of his journey, for sure, but I don't think she's the main part of it. I believe that like everyone else in the story, family, sexism, and the pursuit of power is the main focus of Aemond's story.

I'm not a fan of Helaemond, but I can very much understand why people interpreted that scene in that way. I also do not claim to know what the writers intended with that scene, only that I saw it the way I saw it.

It's totally fine that you don't like targcest. Don't put down people who do.

The way you talk about the other people in the fandom is very offensive to me. We can have disagreements and opposing viewpoints, but there is absolutely no reason to be as rude as that.

Unless you have actual proof from GRRM himself that what you are saying is precisely what he intended when he was writing the story, don't presume to be the ultimate authority. Just saying 'everyone is entitled to their own take' does not mean that what you said was not patronizing and rude.

I hope you will continue having these discussions, but as I said. I will not engage with condescension. I know there are points in your asks that I did not talk about. If you would like to talk about them, you are more than welcome to send another ask or DM me, so long as you are respectful to other people in your message.

You are entitled to your opinions. You are allowed (and encouraged) to discuss these opinions with other people. But you are not entitled to act superior and look down on other people's opinions. The entire point of opinions is that no one is right, they just have their own interpretation.

[uncaught-coolfish]

I loved chapter 5 of ur fanfic, but I was wondering if u could explann the big monologue at the end? It had so much I worry I missed bits of it

GLADLY BESTIE. Strap up we’re going step by step

So I wanna start off at this little section before the big meaty monologue because it’s just as important.

For context: the group Sienna had been in had stumbled across traffickers attempting to smuggle kidnapped Faunus presumably into slavery. The scene which ensued would end with Adam, while being attacked by a particularly important human man, killing his man.

Afterwards he goes into complete shock. Even when Ghira kind of crowds over him Adam could not speak even if he forced himself to, it was like some inner pain keeping him from verbalizing such a situation.

Obviously I wanted this scene to seem a lot more “spastic” than in the og short. Obviously just in regards to the tone of this fic in general, but I digress. Sienna steps in.

See the emphasis put on “your boy”? The emphasis SIENNA puts on such a phrase? Yeah, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Sienna projects hard onto Adam, particularly projecting onto him her ideal version of who her deceased son, Arun, would grow up to be. This will turn out to be not that good of a thing very soon.

Two chapters, in fact

Anyways. Onto the monologue stuff. Or, back to it whatever. “As we grew peacefully ignorant humanity grew smarter” is much less some line about “White Fang’s peaceful methods = not that great!” and moreso putting emphasis on the humanity part. After the war, humanity publicly gave Faunus more rights, but the thing comes with all they did in the dark. Stealing Faunus from Menagerie to be snuggled off into mining camps, placed specifically in the countryside where no one could find them. These things were fucking kept secrets on every level of power, and not a soul ever knew their existence until Sienna liberated one of the SDC’s and exposed their cruelty to the world.

At least… the world that believed it.

This is in reference to the news segment near the end of chapter 3. When she returns to Menagerie after the bombing she sees the news detail the event as Sienna “freeing workers.” In that scene she breaks out into laughter, bluntly stating “They were slaves. I freed slaves.”

However, now, Sienna’s ideology has changed. She acknowledges that a news person is a news person, she does not write the words she is given. She merely speaks them to the world. She perpetuates the cycle, sure, but she is not the key perpetrator.

Plus, as I stated prior, how could the lady have known they were slaves? After the war humanity made it a point that Faunus slavery was completely eradicated, publicly. She was only a cog in a machine being told the wrong inputs. Insert some… fancy shmansy sounding sentence here.

But I also want to look at the first lines of the above paragraph. As selfless as this monologue is, Sienna also demonstrates her own selfishness throughout her words. She frequently brings herself up as though she’s almost become some… divine thing, after freeing all those slaves 2 years prior. Remember in chapter 3, the emphasis on her looking at the explosion of the mines as, “The Great Fire”.

A “bearer of truth”. Then again, what was she chosen as the moment her son, and the last blood family she had left, died?

The Chainbreaker. Arguably the most important figure in Sienna’s own religion. (Whom will be talked about more very soon! There’s fucking… religious worldbuilding in this rvvby fic)

There’s so much going on in Sienna’s mind that I would love to dissect like a little frog, but sadly this is chapter 5, not chapter 7.

Continuing. Skipping the ending of this monologue to get into the juicy bitch herself.

This sentiment is actually both really good in context of the story and really bad in context of the story.

She is right. While she later (and prior?) stated that man very likely was just another down-on-his-luck human employed by the rich for dirty work, he still would’ve kept doing it. Undeniably. Don’t forget; the exchange Adam has with his man almost blatantly proves this man put Rose Taurus into slavery in the first place. Among so many others.

She is completely misinterpreting why Adam did what he did. He didn’t do it for some higher meaning, some knowledge that what he would do might save a lot of people, he did it because he was fucking scared. Such an encounter not only triggering some very very unpleasant memories (which we have not touched upon fully for good reason, chapter 8), but not only the mention of his mother but the comparison between him and her? Adam was terrified and the only thought he had in his mind was to protect himself.

Adding this little bit because I do think it’s important. I want to make it a big statement in this fic early on that, no. Humanity does not fear faunus for [bullshit reason here]. Because is that why many minorities in the real world are oppressed? Probably no.

There is no deeper meaning to bigotry, only excuses the bigots come up with. And I despised how the og show tried to play into the former, so I eradicated it. My Biden Blast

Second image lets get into. Again, Sienna makes it about herself, but she compares herself to Ghira.

Making it about herself part 2 boogaloo but also kind of important. During the 10 years between chapters 1 &2 and chapter 3 Sienna isolated herself completely. She focused entirely on training, which likely allowed her so be so strong in chapter 3 (she slammed one hammerhead into another, hello?).

But she did this, why? Well… I actually can’t say, it’s a spoiler.

Sienna in her mind believes Ghira’s peaceful methods to be nothing more than ignorance. “You look away.” “You blink out.” “You turn away.” Emphasis on the use of sight, eyes, etc etc, which ties in another certain character in this conversation. This will be a bad thing later.

Fucking… just a straight up reference to the Allegory of the Cave, but with the Civil Rights Beam shot at it.

First point with “the hands” is essentially referring to how, if a Faunus under Ghira’s rule one day is “good” enough to where humanity will “free them”, they will step out and see the world their people experience. The cruelty, the agony. All of which they were ignorant of. It will melt their eyes and scorch their body alive.

Second point, is if they are never freed, their story can never be told and they will simply die.

Home stretch. I know this is long as shit but I promise were getting to the best part.

All I’ll say.

Messenger, huh?

Ring a bell?

Ok. We’re here. This is the most important part of the entire monologue.

A lot of things I mention in this monologue I haven’t mentioned prior to it.

I have mentioned the stolen culture. (The city was a bustling, lively place, with beautiful architecture and a diverse group of human people… from a stolen culture, from chapter 2) Livestock, lapdogs. Laugh at their misfortune.

“I have seen thousands, millions of Faunus; starving, weak, diseased— packed into miles upon miles of fence lined land until they barely moved— I have seen my family die in my arms!”

This. This right here.

“Cruel hands of man” will actually be a continuing little leitmotif throughout the story, it’s actually a THING and it’s mildly important. Anyways.

Lots of these words are very extreme for all we’ve seen in the fic thus far. A word like “ravish” in particular, coupled with the imagery of the hands prior. There is a reason for this. Keep this in mind. Chapter 8.

Who are the eyes of the white fang? Adam. He is the face of this organization, for he is the only one who so vehemently tries to hide his.

…Such a thought being projected onto a 17 year old who hides his face for extreme trauma reasons (I.E being leered upon after being permanently blinded at the age of FIVE) is a bag of worms but I digress.

And again. It’s about Sienna. Sienna continues to see Adam as something greater than he is, which can only ever damage their relationship further. Something which will continue to build and build until it’s inevitable breaking point…. Pun intended.

Whew that was long… and probably not a good explanation oh well. Anyways…

I hope Jael and Yonah slept well that night. :)

[georgefairbrother]

The Tap End is a 1988 episode of Thames Television's Rumpole of the Bailey, written by John Mortimer, which tackles the issue of community and judicial attitudes to domestic violence against women.

Horace Rumpole (Leo McKern) is called in to defend a member of the Timson family of petty criminals, his regular clients, on a charge of attempted murder. Tony Timson (Phil Davis) has allegedly tried to drown his wife during their bath together, over ‘slurs on his virility’. He also explains that, at his wife’s behest, he always sits at the uncomfortable ‘tap end’ of the bath.

The matter is brought before Mr Justice Featherstone (Peter Bowles) who is anxious to avoid a trial and wrap up proceedings quickly so as not to interfere with an invitation to the Royal Garden Party. In a pre-trial meeting with counsel, the judge is keen to have the charges downgraded and the matter resolved by lunchtime. Assisting Rumpole is the feminist barrister, Liz Probert (in earlier series played by Samantha Bond but now by Leo McKern’s daughter, Abigail), and she can already see which way the wind is blowing.

The charges are duly downgraded from attempted murder to common assault, to Rumpole’s satisfaction and Liz Probert’s outrage. Timson is freed on a good behaviour bond, with Justice Featherstone summing up that being forced to sit at the uncomfortable tap end of the bath is at least a partial justification for the defendant’s actions.

Liz Probert is incandescent with rage, and mobilises her women’s action group against the judge, who is lambasted in the press, not at all popular with Marigold, Lady Featherstone, and besieged by protestors.

Mrs Rumpole (She who must be obeyed) is outraged to the point that she decides to study law to defend women’s rights, and in a subsequent hearing, Featherstone tries to have the court records 'corrected' to change the nuance of his comments, but actually makes things worse by accidentally reinforcing the fact that, in his judgement, sitting at the tap end is a justifiable defence against a charge of attempted murder in a domestic situation. He is hauled before the Lord Chancellor for a disciplinary hearing, and his career hangs in the balance.

When Timson is framed for an armed robbery, it becomes apparent that the initial allegations against him were false and motivated by a love triangle involving his wife and Peanuts Molloy, from a rival and infinitely more violent crime firm. Justice Featherstone publicly redeems himself by getting to the truth.

The generally dismissive attitude by some of the male protagonists over incidences of domestic violence is an interesting theme tackled by John Mortimer, who also manages to sustain the episode's comedic aspects with Featherstone's clumsy and increasingly desperate attempts at trying to demonstrate what a strong supporter and defender of women he really is, and how he had been the victim of a terrible misunderstanding.

Rumpole himself had some unhappy form on these kinds of cases. In a very early and much darker episode, John Mortimer had Rumpole angrily confronted by his daughter-in-law over his delight at being engaged for a rape trial in which the defendant was an MP, and for his brutal and relentless cross-examination of the increasingly distressed, confused and vulnerable victim.

[rontra]

So, I loved your Salem & Summer post but it does leave me questioning Hazel's narrative role, as how things went with him seem to go against the grain for much of it thematically.

okay okay okay before that, i'm panicking like a small rodent so i have to say first up that my post wasn't really made in the intent of like opening a wider discussion or anything (hence the several frantic disclaimers haha). as much as i love rwby analysis i'm also really insecure in sharing my thoughts publicly and i prefer to filter it through my art instead, to kinda Show you what im thinking instead, i guess?? and this is in the end an artblog so i don't want to put too many text posts in a row … so i was kind of like If someone tweets at me im just gonna ignore it.

but this ask intrigues me so much i can't help but come out and investigate, so consider it a cheat day i guess 😩

about hazel, i don't really...see anything about him that overtly contradicts my strange rambling notes. of course, this might be because he's not my primary field of study (lol) so ive been in bed just distilling him into another List Of Things to try and understand what you mean. to me, hazel is a guy who

Identified one of the core brutalities of the huntsman system, and

Had that realization corroborated by Salem, who did not lie to him (although she didn't divulge the entire truth either) before

The Oz Train derails him from this by pulling him back into the good brotherly remnant (4. and also death)

to me he's a bit similar to the summer rose concept, i think: he's not in this for the thrill of the kill or because he finds it pleasant to do salem's wetwork, he's here because he thinks it would be wrong to do anything else. that remnant as it is cannot stand. he doesn't typically indulge in needless violence, and he tries to go out of his way to protect the "little guy" when and if he can. he's the most restrained of salem's onscreen lieutenants, but just like her, he's willing to sacrifice whatever people need to go in order for the plan to move forward. he just hates seeing a kid get hurt most of all, because his teenage sister was killed in action before having the chance to even graduate.

You send children to their deaths for a cause that you know has no victory, no end. (8.6)

in no uncertain terms, he's identified a major issue with remnant in the huntsman system itself. he hates huntsmen and their academies. he knows remnant runs on hero blood and that ozpin has four factories spitting out cannon fodder. he knows the war can't be won, and he knows ozpin is sending people to die in it anyway. he knows this because salem, when she got to him, knew exactly what to tell him (she's unfortunately good at that); she filled him in on the important bits, demonstrated that she can't be killed and divulged that oz knows it too, and offered him the path to take revenge on the academy that murdered his sister. it's interesting that hazel has this to say about salem's motives:

We share a vision. She’s gonna create a new world order: no Kingdoms, and no Huntsmen Academies.

the destruction of ozma's remnant and construction of a new society is their "shared vision". i don't think salem painted the full picture for him (like, the stuff about the gods, and such), because she really didnt need to in order to convince him. this guy was ready right out of the gate to tear remnant apart for the thought of no one being dealt the same hand as gretchen ever again

(here's a funny aside—about gretchen, oscar posits that she "knew the risks" and made her own choice. oscar obviously has his own insane ozpin baggage given he is slated to "die" for him in a very different way as their personalities literally merge and the new combined oz overwrites him. extremely intriguing of him to say this. ozpin does this maneuver to get out of addressing my new band Raven And The Branwens, and also with Pyrrha, insisting that she must "choose" and he has to hear her decision out loud before he can bring himself to start the Soul Suckatron 4000 (machine that murders (literal), contained below machine that murders (figurative)). obviously those cases can Not be neatly chalked up to "she made a choice" either, and i don't think merely saying that and dusting his hands is the Move he thinks it is—although it certainly soothes his conscience)

(whether oscar suggesting nobody but gretchen made a choice here is just him being naive and 14 and raised by remnant, or if it's plain old ozpin bleedthrough, is up to interpretation imo. but it is. Interesting.)

(how do you make a choice like that when the people asking it of you are not divulging all the information? when you do not, in fact, know the stakes—because they are withheld from you on purpose?)

(...) Hazel denies that his twin sister's choice was ever hers to make. That the honeyed words of Ozpin, an immortal being long removed of the burdens of mere humanity, coaxed her to give up her life. (...)

How could an innocent and talented youth resist those seductive words? Talk of duty, untold glory, legendary exploits, and heroes of old? How was she to know that she was merely one little girl caught in a war between behemoths, immortals, GODS? (...) In the end, what did her sacrifice change in this wretched world? What difference did any Huntsman make in Remnant? What were a few drops of light in this ocean of black? (Amity Arena)

hazel saw the still-bloody bones remnant is built on on his own and said Hey what the fuck! and salem targeted him for her collection because he was Based. i have no idea what she told him and how much of it was true, but hazel was . right. about this stuff

like i said in my previous post (at least in the post nested inside it), characters tend to ascribe to salem whatever motivation fits their personal narrative and biases. but i have to say that compared to "salem wants to destroy the planet", this one is a lot more convincing; i don't think it's complete but it's closer, i guess, to my personal read on her actual feelings about remnant (as discussed in the other nerd posts). so maybe it's my own confirmation bias, hehe. whether it's the complete truth of her end-goal is unclear (since it seems doubtful that what she told him included things like "i am god's mistake") but i can at least very much believe they had a conversation about it where she was like Look Buddy , Shit Sucks ,

when confronted with this by hazel, ozpin does an immense ozpin maneuver: he says Actually have you heard the good word? and starts selling his own thing again—

"New world order". No. When Salem gets all four Relics, there will be no world left at all.

i touched on this in my previous post too but i do not believe ozpin when he says this. it does not feel true to me. this is Light's Guy doing Light's Guy Things and casting the Sole Evil out; she has to be unreasonable and driven only by death and destruction, and the people who know about her have to believe this, or else things begin to fall apart for him. if the redeemable remnant is destroyed, there is nothing else left for him or for humanity; there are no possible alternatives to him. the man is completely tangled up in his agonies and wearing horse blinders some deer guy put on him. it's my way or the highway, baby!

anyway, hazel doesn't believe him about this either, until an unrelated statement proves to be true, which convinces hazel to believe ozpin and oscar in general. but i HAVE to stress that nowhere was it said that THIS was actually true; hazel just is convinced to trust ozpin and oscar's word by an unrelated thing they said turning out to be true. he's being pulled back into ozma's remnant, and his ensuing mode of operation is explicitly described as

"WHAT GRETCHEN WOULD HAVE DONE."

he hasn't forgiven oz for what happened, but he's been convinced that salem's goals are too destructive, that she's going to end the world entirely. he commands oscar to ensure there be "no more Gretchens", but it's not like you can achieve that without taking down what oz built. none of this really changes the fact that she isn't One Girl who had an Unfortunate Tragic Accident: she was intended to be coke for the furnace just like every other huntsman, she just happened to die before getting in.

and now hazel is doing what she would have done: burning himself alive along with the witch.

(holy SHIT Witch is a good episode.)

one bonkers thing about hazel's self-sacrifice is that it would have done absolutely nothing. when oscar hangs back and jaune tries to prompt him to go, oscar refuses because

She'll just come after us.

to be clear: if oscar had not intervened by pulling the trigger on ozpin's stored-up Cane Energy, killing Monstra and Salem and Hazel (to shreds, you say??), this would have accomplished nothing. if a now-15-yo hadn't killed them both first, salem most likely would have dispatched hazel and resumed doing what she was doing before he cut in. hazel is pouring his blood into a futile fight against salem for no real gain just like every huntsman in history, and what oscar wrests from it is temporary relief; everybody knows salem will only be gone for a few hours at most, but at least they got away to lick their wounds and regroup. at least it's better than nothing.

but without that, it would have achieved nothing.

it's...what gretchen would have done.

i don't feel as though the story is exactly celebratory about this. it was a Big Damn Hero moment, but is that a good thing in rwby's eyes? his story is a tragedy and ends a tragedy.

i won't deny that the hours of respite it bought our heroes was invaluable, but again, hazel did not accomplish that alone (and does not have the Audience Perspective we do to gauge the full benefit). he just...didn't. if the little guys had just run as hazel intended, his death would have changed nothing at all.

those precious hours were important and mattered a lot to the overall plot, but were bought with blood. v8 didn't exactly end in a stunning victory either. we're still barely hanging in there, still on the brink, still feeding coke into the furnace to keep the lights on a little longer...

hmm...

well, anyway, summer and salem should kiss on the mou

[piquira]

Shakira gets revenge ... and she gets paid!

"Shakira's claim to her autobiography makes a moralist society very uncomfortable. It finds itself today questioning whether there should be limits for somebody to showcase their pain over an infidelity. Make no mistake, the pattern of pitiful jilted women is part of a long-gone macho past.

If revenge is a dish that is served cold, especially when it originates from a love disappointment of a colossal dimension, with what moral authority or intellectual superiority do inquisitive upstarts of the 21st century dare to tell a grown woman that she has suffered the offense of betrayal, who knows for how long, how she has to manage her emotions correctly or what she must do to overcome her suffering in private so she doesn't inconvenience those who had no compassion or pity on her? Both their impertinence and arrogance are directly proportional to their lack of empathy or understanding to recognize and identify with those who have been able to rise up against pain, lies and humiliation.

It doesn't matter if it's Shakira, a world-renowned artist, or the anonymous daughter of a neighbor. Those who claim the right to act as members of a police of good customs or elegant ways to tell women who are heartbroken, how to express their sadness or anger in accordance with conventional norms are wrong. They should find out once and for all that the times of self-righteousness in which dirty laundry was washed at home are long gone. If the shoe fits, let it fall on the foot it fits on the best. Neither cheap prudery nor submission should be tolerated to the machismo of a society that cancels women.

Hours were enough for the powerful feminist manifesto from Barranquillera, materialized in a song without its own name, but identified as BZRP Music Session #53, to rise up as an unprecedented social phenomenon that exceeded its musical dimension in itself. Phrase after phrase, each one more scathing than the last, the song demonstrates how Shakira, through what she does best: artistic creation, has fitted in with admirable resilience, but also with anger, sadness and frustration – what woman in her situation wouldn't feel them?– the betrayal of your most loved one and the one you fully trusted: former soccer player Gerard Piqué, a teammate for the last 12 years of your life and father of your 2 children. Yes, the rookie whom she was too much for.

Judge her, as some did after listening to the song, appealing to bombastic speeches in which she is accused of objectifying herself and her ex-husband's new partner, Clara Chía –the one with the name of a good person–, for comparing herself to watches and cars or for allegedly exceeding in offensive epithets against him, it is an irrelevant matter of double standards. Although they have every right to do so, it seems that the artist's inspectors have never felt firsthand the savage grief of lack of love, nor have they experienced the need to express it with poetic cruelty. Good for them. While they pontificate, unaware of the healing power, absolutely cathartic, of singing a few truths to those who have destroyed your life, Shakira gets paid and in what way. Not only does she literally sing her spite without any restraint, but she is also strong, almost heroic, licking her wounds in the depths of her mourning to vindicate how humiliated women are also capable of getting up, even carrying the weight of their own corpse.

Shakira's autobiographical proclamation is uncomfortable. It's what artists do and she is. Don't forget. Piqué damaged the wolf that now howls against him. This relentless diva breaks the mold about the convenient silences around the breakups of famous and wealthy couples, lectures other women on how to empower themselves after being scorned and publicly displays her heart broken into a thousand pieces with extraordinary dignity. Nothing more epic than taking revenge with talented fury after loving without limits and being betrayed. End of story. Why the subtleties when there are plenty of reasons to free oneself from the oppressive corset of the pitiful scorned woman. Shakira pointed out a path that it is difficult for many of her followers to retrace."

[52booksproject]

Book 10 Harriet the Spy

One of the central lessons in Harriet the Spy is that what you think you want isn't always what you should have, and boy did I learn that lesson.

The random letter generator wasn't producing plausible pairs of letters so finally when it generated "FZ" I decided a name starting with "Fitz" was good enough and I landed on someone named Louise Fitzhugh, who to my delight had written Harriet the Spy, a book recommended by none other than the ultimate intellectual herself, Lisa Simpson. I was just slightly older than the target demographic of the movie that came out in the 90s and I had assumed the book was from around then too. Imagine my surprise when Harriet was displaying some pretty crazy internal misogyny in the first pages (she's playing "town" by inventing people which she does by imagining a man and his occupation, then fleshing him out with a wife- ouch for women residents!). And her friend wants an "Indian Chief" in the town which Harriet counters by saying the person has to work in television somehow (a Native American can't work in TV? News to me!). Anyway, all this casual racism and misogyny made sense when I found out it was written in 1966 and not the 1990s.

Maybe I should have been a kid when I read this, and I would have gotten it more, but to me Harriet is just mean. She judges people heavily by their physical appearance and very few people seem to please her in that department. She even writes horrible things about her friends. Like that her second best friend Janie who works with chemicals in her spare time (mostly trying to blow things up- my favorite character in the book besides Peter) could never be a scientist who is she kidding. How is that a fair conclusion to draw? And her poor friend Sport who has to parent his dad she thinks is tedious for venting about it. She even hates some kid named Pinky as the worst thing ever, but it's never once demonstrated in the book he's ever done anything wrong. Show- don't tell- your characterization! I don't know, maybe you are supposed to dislike Harriet a little like Emma (from Emma).

The big solution that she gets to be a writer about various things she's seen doesn't logically follow. She just says the same mean things about people that got her friends mad at her in the first place, it's just not about them publicly anymore. Anyway, I did dislike Harriet slightly less in the end, so maybe that was the point. Sorry about ragging on that so much; the book does have its good points. There are good character pieces in the people Harriet spies on. Ole Golly is of course the most interesting character and an intellectual who is always quoting various things so there's a lot of good exposure to classic literature.

BEST LINE: "All the men in the Health Department wore hats and Harrieson Withers didn't know anybody who wore a hat."

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK: As an adult, maybe, maybe not? I'm not going to stop you- it's not a *bad* book by any means; I just wouldn't put it on the top of my list like Lisa did. A kid might need a discussion on some of the latent issues from it being written in the 1960s.

ART PROJECT: Fitzhugh has a delightful inky scribbly illustration style which I couldn't quite match, but loved. Harriet has a bad dream portending doom about Ole Golly being a horrible crow monster with teeth, so I knew immediately I'd be drawing that.

[jdgo51]

Loving Beyond Slander

Today's inspiration comes from:

Made New

by Blessed Is She

"Years ago, I was slandered publicly on the internet. People said awful things about me and my beliefs, about my work, about what I stand for. And other people believed them.

I hung up the phone after reading the hateful words to my friend who lives across the country. She had tried to comfort me, but the situation was too big, overwhelming, and distressing. Feeling sad that her words didn’t lift me, I walked into my bathroom and turned on my shower. Getting under the showerhead, I released all the tension in my body, and the flood of tears came pouring out.

I cried tears for every awful word this person said about me. I cried tears for the people who believed her. I cried tears for the pit in my stomach that made me think, How could someone actually believe all that?

The experience brought so much pain, self-doubt, and confusion. Self-doubt in what I was doing online cultivating the community of Blessed is She and about my pure and transparent heart for others. Confusion about my ability to trust others and how someone could treat me so poorly and have little to no regard for my feelings, my family, my faith.

And yet, as painful as it was, it did not discourage me from my work spreading God’s teachings, especially on love.

Despite that situation, I still believe in people, redemption, and mercy because of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s scripture, Jesus is very specific:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. — Luke 6:27–28

Our Lord Himself teaches us that even if someone hates us, we still love her. Even when someone curses us, we still pray for her and bless her.

I believe when Jesus Christ commanded this, He meant a soul-surrendering sort of love. One that doesn’t make sense, is contrary to every instinctual feeling. This kind of love means that even if someone were to try to harm your heart... you would love her.

Lord, if that’s not one of the hardest commandments You’ve ever said, I don’t know what is.

Loving her means treating her with dignity even when it is painful to do.

I’ve come to understand that loving someone doesn’t always mean letting him or her in your life over and over again to potentially cause you more harm. If we are in a position of danger, we absolutely should get out of the situation and pray for and bless someone from afar.

Sister, Jesus knows about that suffering you or someone close to you may have gone through or is currently going through. And He is with you in that pain. He will never leave or forsake you.

Jesus gave His life even for those enemies who crucified Him.

Even when (not if) someone hurts you — in your workplace, in your families, in your friendships — you are invited to treat them as you would have them treat you, just as Jesus commands us today in Luke 6:31.

But He doesn’t stop there. His commands are actualized in His life and death. He isn’t asking us to do something He Himself isn’t willing to do. He demonstrated that on the cross. He showed us what it costs to “love [our] enemies” (Luke 6:27).

Jesus gave His life even for those enemies who crucified Him.

He lived in the freedom of the Holy Spirit to give even in the midst of the attempt to strip Him of His dignity, His worth, His life.

And in the midst of that suffering, He freely gave for you and me. In the midst of whatever comes our way, we can listen to our Savior’s commands and see how He lived His life to love as He did.

Like Him, we can lay down our lives, every single day. Like Him, we can love our enemies, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who hurt us. With Him, we can live a life of mercy.

READING: LUKE 6:27–28, LUKE 6:30–31

Take a mental inventory of how you’ve approached being wronged at work. Are you self-righteous in your venting or condemnation of the person or his or her actions? Have you tried to approach the situation with today’s scripture in mind? What would you do differently, if anything? Who in your life has shown you how to live out the Golden Rule? Who has treated you kindly when you didn’t return the favor? Offer a prayer for these people now."

Excerpted with permission from Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women by Nell O’Leary, Leana Bowler, Brittany Calivitta, Jenna Guizar, and Liz Kelly, copyright Blessed Is She Inc.

[starlightkun]

omg omg omg okay so im like in the middle of my final exams before im done with highschool but i need to tell you all about the fics that you have been releasing because wOW.

okay BUZZER BEATER

GOD THOSE TWO ARE SO FLUFFY. i dont have chronic illness but the way you described it just reminds me of starting adhd meds where i had to take so many pills at random intervals during the day and felt awful 24/7 and how im afraid that going into uni, people are going to ask for my meds for recreational purposes (which makes me so mad btw cause like i need meds to live dont ask for medication that is in limited supply so you can get lit but anyways). But yeah i didn't know that much about migraines other than the fact that its terrible but yeah the way you wrote mc was so beautiful and relatable and im just so sorry that you have to be burdened by these migraines and spend so much time and energy managing it. The way you wrote sungchan though was beautiful. his character is absolutely the most pure and loving guy (whilst also being a loserboy) and the fact that he did not question or judge or put pressure on mc ever was so healing. just watching him be so open with his affection and just blatantly pine for mc without any reservations about it makes me really want a sungchan of my own now. I just want a cute, sweet, uncomplicated, loserboy so i can just live my life in both sickness and health and not be judged by what hurdles my body choses to throw at me today (my psychiatrist was saying my stomach is just really sensitive so thats why ive been going through hell which is sucky but at least i have answers and know what to avoid lmao). But yeah thank you for writing something so beautiful about an experience that i felt so alone in having, because now i feel less guilty about struggling with my own health and most importantly less alone.

now onto Dr Magic!

dear lord jesus if i felt seen by buzzer beater, ive never felt more out of my depths by Dr Magic. Its such a hilarious fic and renjun and mc are both so insane and crazy but in a way thats realistic (i go to one of the top high schools in australia and there are people here who are so dedicated to school the same way renjun and mc). The way renjun just wants mc to spit in his mouth, I swear ive met boys like that too. also the steamy makeout sesh?! soft renjunnie with caring and dominant reader who asks for consent?! mc is so sexy for that, i love her. Also! your description of renjun wearing a yellow hoodie, jeans and a red cap was so scrumptious that i embodied mc in that moment and wanted to eat him whole also. the scene where renjun owns up to the mean things he said to mc whilst mc talks about spitting in his mouth in front of TEN?! shes so confident and strong despite being hurt and i love that for her. i really love how in your fics, you mix humor with maturity to create such well rounded works that really celebrate being wild and having fun whilst also being a grown and mature person. just like you, i could never be renjun and mc but im happy for them and what they have.

side note: thank you for being pro palestine, i know being pro palestine is a simple thing and a low bar to set for myself in finding good people in the world, but with all the people in power and celebrities (cough eric nam cough) publicly supporting the genocide that is happening, im very glad to find others who see the horrors for what it is.

-✨anon

yeah i will always be anti-genocide and anti-apartheid ethnostates, and it truly does boggle my mind to see people support that??? somehow???? but seeing all the pro palestine demonstrations and protests and posts all over does give me hope to hold onto

rest of my response to ur lovely feedback under the cut to not make this post any longer lol <33

BUZZER BEATER!!!!

i also want my own loserboy sungchan so bad 🤧🤧 he was just so perfect in that one ugh. im glad that u were still able to see urself in some of the mc (tho im NOT glad that ur having side effect trouble w ur meds, sending out my love as a fellow tummy trouble side effect haver 🫶). and yeah i rlly wanted my bb sungchan to be not necessarily a himbo per se (bc imo u have to be like BUFF and stupid and sweet, i.e, kronk from emperor's new groove, and alas, sungchan is not built like wonho im not that delusional) but he is at least a big (read: tall), sweet, not quite dumb but not as academically rigorous in the same way as mc, jock who is used to kind of following the same script when in that college "talking phase" with a girl (a little bit of flirting, parties, inviting her to a game maybe, buying her a drink, etc.) bc it's safe and he rlly likes reader so he doesn't want to mess it up but then he realizes that he has to throw it all out bc reader can't actually do like most of that and is like ok. new plan. and ends up just fully embracing his pining, soft loserboy self and how down bad he is for reader. ugh i love him 💗💗💗

dr_magic2303!!!!

i would greatly admire, respect, and fear in equal measure anybody who feels seen by dr_magic2303 lmao. like good for u but COULDN'T BE ME!!! like some of the bits of mc's hyperfixation on her personal projects and that raw hunger for knowledge (as opposed to being the best) was modeled after my own hyperfixations and kind of manic flow states that i get with my adhd (i've yet to put up a conspiracy board in my apartment but i do routinely feel like the pepe silvia meme from it's always sunny) but i have not been a neurotic overachieving academic since jr yr of high school thank god! 4 years of cognitive behavioral therapy and a lot of anti-depressants cured me of that. this is coming from a former gifted kid lmao.

when i knew that i wanted this fic to take the this route (renjun getting consensually dosed up w siren venom) i knew i wanted there to be some form of a convo like that. like consent is sexy!!! and making sure ppl r being taken care of when they're consensually giving up and transferring power for a limited time (with or without the use of magical aphrodisiacs) is sexy!!! aftercare is sexy!!! (even tho renjun threw reader out before they could rlly finish that part but u know) and i rlly hope that came across in that scene

reader talking about spitting in renjun's mouth in front of ten isn't THAT weird for sirens (reader and ten were JUST talking about ten's nipple rings and their lack of sex lives like five seconds earlier in that same convo so like yknow) but ten could obviously tell that there was something a lot deeper going on than just some casual saliva swapping between pals so that's why he left lmao

as always thank you sm for your ask and your feedback on my fics 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶 good luck with the end of school you got this b 💗💗💗💗

[searidings]

Ngl the whole "She wld have ripped national city apart at it seams" was ..truly life changing and I liked it so so much I screenshotted that part of the fic so I can look back on it wherever I am when I want that extra OOF to my heart. Its like I know Kara loves Lena and would do anything for her but to know she would have absolutely gone ape shit and berserk if anything happened to Lena? Lena trying to escape but slipped down the cliff and Kara just swoppong in because she heard her scream? And Kara not being on speaking terms with Alex and even using her sueprgirl status as leverage to protect Lena? Kara choosing Lena over absolutely any and everyone? Kara making sure others KNOW she is ready and willing to choose Lena over them? Can u even imagine how Lena feels knowing Kara has her back like that? Like sure the whole lying thing caused a strife but I imagine Lena would probably be shook to her core to see Kara defending her with everything she's got.

God, I love that fic so much every part was screenshot worthy tysm for ur service ur a hero I cantlrave enough kudos

nobody look at me im losing my shit

[ariesjupiter]

Mitski Birth Chart Reading

This is just my interpretation based on Mitski’s birth chart and what I know of her music. Let me know if you have any suggestions of someone I should make a post on next! If you’re interested, I offer natal chart readings, just check my pinned post!

Libra sun: In terms of basic personality and ego, Mitski is focused on creating balanced, harmonic relationships. Intimate, one-on-one relationships are a major part of her identity. Libra is ruled by venus which represents love and beauty. After all, she is known for her lyrics relating to her romantic relationships. The lyric “I love everybody because I love you” is so profoundly Libra to me. She is friendly and charming. She sees herself reflected and other people and people see themselves reflected in her (for better or worse). Venus also rules the arts and Mitski is a natural artist in every sense of the word. Her music sonically is very unique, inventive, and creative as she experiments with mixing different genres. This is influenced by her sun in the 11th house. Sun in the 11th house also indicates an emphasis on friendships and memberships of certain groups and communities. It also indicates an importance of her hopes and dreams. Her sun in 3° explains why she is such a talented writer, communicator, and lyricist. Peak libra sun culture: “Young adult romance is the shit” (a real quote from the queen herself). And let’s not forget her iconic quote from 2016: “I’m a libra so my sexuality is essentially “you can really be any gender as long as you treat me like a princes.” Truer words have never been spoken.

Capricorn moon: Despite how personal her music is, Mitski is a rather private and reserved person, particularly when it comes to expressing her emotions. Also, Capricorn is associated with the father and she has been known to be especially private regarding her dad’s career. She is serious and intense with emotions but can sometimes get detached. The emphasis is on having control over her feelings. She is ambitious and a practical person. Her emotions are connected to her career. Those who do not know her well may see her as cold. In temperament she tends to be melancholic. Emotionally mature and wise beyond her years. Straightforward and honest with her expression. She is dependable, loyal, hard working, & realistic. Emotional fulfillment is often tied to achievement and success. Her moon in the 2nd house and 2° suggests material comforts make her feel safe. With the 2nd house being associated with venus, she is able to express her emotions in an artistic way. Could be protective over material objects. Sentimental. Music has a big impact on her emotions and mood. Peak capricorn moon culture: “I didn’t really feel anything. I’ve stopped feeling things for a long time” - Mitski, The Fader Interview, 2017. In all seriousness, I hope my capricorn moons are doing good.

Virgo mercury: Mitski is practical and detail oriented when it comes to communication and matters of learning. She takes the time to choose the right words to convey her thoughts. She is clear and concise. Mercury is in its sign of rulership here. Her mercury in the 10th house suggests that she will be known for her communication style. Has a lot of thoughts but is also organized. Analytical. Mitski likes making lists. Loves to give advice. Mercury is in 16° (cancer degree) and she has a soft spoken voice. Talks about the past and her roots (cancerian themes).

Virgo venus: In love, Mitski will assume a caretaking role and will gladly help her partner finish mundane tasks and chores. A devoted and faithful lover. Love is about the mundane and routine details of life. Love is about service. Acts of service tend to be virgo venus’ main love language. She wants to help improve her partner’s life. She is patient and observant. Values love that is simple and authentic. Appreciates a partner with whom she can have intellectual conversations. May have a tendency to be too critical on herself when it comes to love. Venus rules aesthetics & style and she tends to have a modest fashion sense. Mitski has voiced her interest in astrology and how she has asked people she’s interested for their birth times lmao. Her venus is in the 11th house, she treats a lover like she would treat a friend. In fact, romantic love probably equates to platonic love in her book. She has her venus in 24° which is a pisces degree, which explains this natural interest in astrology.

Gemini mars: Could be impatient because she moves quickly. Efficient. Has a lot of goals and likes to keep busy. She thrives when she talks to others and exchanged ideas. Likes to multitask. Very versatile. Probably has a flirty, bubbly energy when she’s attracted to someone. Attracted to intellect. Desire to see things from multiple perspectives. Gemini rules the hands so she’s skilled with playing instruments and writing. Likes to try new things. Witty and humorous. Could have nervous energy or fidget often.

Leo jupiter: The planet of luck and expansion in Leo is a big indicator of fame. Her jupiter is also in the 9th house and in 7°. Jupiter in the 9th indicates being born in a different country from where you reside now. Mitski is biracial and has lived in multiple countries growing up. She loves to learn, particularly about other cultures and ways of life. She is open minded, philosophical and values freedom and being independent. She attracts good fortune when she travels (touring!) and also when she focuses on partnerships/intimate relationships (7°). Combining this energy, Mitski attracts luck when she acts dramatically, demonstrates/teaches her knowledge, expresses herself artistically, shows her warm hearted and sometimes stubborn side, & takes chances, shows her bravery, and takes the lead. Be the Cowboy is big leo energy 🤠

Capricorn saturn: Mitski is responsible, practical, goal-oriented, and cautious. With saturn in the 3rd house, she probably had to grow up quickly and become mature at a young age. Capricorn saturn people tend to be very successful people. Strong willed. Tendency to be quiet and is a good listener. Could also be outspoken. With saturn in 18° (virgo degree), she’s very hard working but she may need to learn how to take a break and let herself rest and recharge.

Capricorn uranus: This placement also indicates that she goes after her goals and is efficient and practical in achieving them. Uranus being in the 2nd house shows that she could make money from being unique and groundbreaking. 2nd house also rules the voice! Her values are unique and she could be resistant to change them. Her self esteem could be in a constant state of flux and be tied to money. Her income could rapidly change, like maybe she did not get paid much but then suddenly she starts making a lot of money. Uranus is in 5° which is a fame degree. She’s famous for being authentically herself and very much an individual in the industry that can’t be compared.

Capricorn neptune: Capricorn neptunes are most likely realists. She is skilled at going after her dreams. Her dreams are practical and connected to themes of wealth, power, and control. Neptune in 3rd house shows a dreamy, poetic way of communicating. A very creative placement. Dreamy vibes. Could be elusive in communication, open for interpretation. Neptune is in 11° so this gives aquarian energy. Idealistic with friends and always searching for ways to achieve her dreams.

Scorpio pluto: Her power lies in her ability to analayze human interactions and be introspective with herself since it’s in the 1st house. She is very self aware. Mitski understands that life is about going through changes and she welcomes the ability to grow and rebuild. She has intense, deep emotions but has control over them and how she expresses them. Pluto in 16° adds a cancerian energy. Her strength lies in her ability to nurture and be empathetic.

Scorpio rising: First impressions of Mitski can be that she’s mysterious and secretive. A powerful and intimidating presence. This explains to me why she loves dressing in black. She probably has a strong dislike for anything superficial. She likes to get to know people on a deeper level and connect with them. She likes honesty and is probably very perceptive and intuitive. Privacy is so important to her! She has a lot of layers and wants people to unpack them, but it may take her a while to open up. She is powerful and has endurance. Her presence leaves an impact on people. Loyalty and intimacy is important. She’s not afraid to talk about taboo topics or scary, heavier emotions. Passionate and even a tendency to get fixed on or obsessed with something or someone. Her rising is in 15° (gemini degree) so she’s clever, curious, and thinks quickly. a little more flexible than a regular Scorpio rising would be.

Leo midheaven: People might see her as dramatic or arrogant. In the public eye, she was meant to be a performer. At her concerts she’s known for putting on a good show & includes interpretive dance and choreography. She becomes herself more when she’s on stage. The stage is where she shines. Has a lot of pride connected to her career. Reputation for creatively expressing herself and being brave and taking risks. Wants to be admired, especially regarding her career. Her purpose is to become a leader. Mc in 22° (capricorn degree) shows that she is a very hard worker when it comes to her career. She won’t let anyone stop her when it comes to achievement and success in her field. Another indicator of being at the top of her career and being publicly recognized for it!

TLDR: Mitski is a natural born singer, performer and artist. She is unique, talented, and an introspective writer. Being earth and water dominant, she balances practicality & stability with sentimentality & raw emotion. With all of her Capricorn placements, she is grounded and doesn’t let fame get to her head. Her chart ruler is Scorpio pluto in the 1st which means that major transformations will be a big theme in her life, especially regarding herself & her identity. She is always reflecting and looking at herself on a deep level.