#anyways i can't write this is why it's an act of hubris but i did write a thing so i'm going to share it anyways

[quatregats]

I know that this is an act of the most extreme hubris and I expect to be struck down for it sooner or later, but what if....I attempted to write Hornblower in the style of Patrick O'Brian....

[scripted-downfall]

Acting anon again. I agree it's cockiness. When he was younger he at least had a sincerity about him. They had to get it right or they'd get fired. Then come s8-9 and it's like... Haha you can't fire me you NEED me.

And to hear Jen talk about Dean and then Jared is like "Sam is the best" but he doesn't talk about Sam. Sam is a character to him and it shows. Dean is a person to Jensen and it shows.

I watched a good bit of Walker (before I could just not handle the poor writing) and I watch Big Sky.

Jared has a part in WRITING AND PRODUCING HIS CHARACTER and yet Jensen understands Beau far more than Jpad understands Walker and idek how that's possible.

Walker had potential but failed in so many aspects. While I watch Big Sky just for Beau and it's one of my favorite shows right now.

There's just a different caliber.

Well Jensen has taken what he was given in Supernatural and expounded on his craft, Jared is riding the high of being famous. He's popular because he's Jared padalecki not because he's a good actor. He's that guy from supernatural. Jensen on the other hand, is a fantastic actor who knows what he's doing. That's why he can be in so many different things. No matter what show he's in he becomes popular. It's not because of Supernatural it's because of him. While I don't think anyone watched Walker that didn't come from Supernatural.

There's nothing wrong with watching a show after seeing the actors in supernatural. That's what I did for several of even Jensen stuff. But people love him even without ever seeing him as dean. Because he's that good of an actor.

Anyway...

Didn't mean to rant lol

No, no, please rant! I'm so beyond stoked that you wrote back; please keep doing so as long as you wish to!

And your points continue to be spot-on; the increased job security seems to have gone to his head in the worst possible way, and, at this point, he's acting for the fame and not famous for the acting. The only reason this might be sustainable is that, as you said, people from SPN will follow him to his new projects, and there are enough Sam stans that it might be halfway feasible. In any other person --- and, I want to say, in him, too, though his fanbase will probably prove me wrong --- this would be the pride before the fall. His hubris is definitely a character defect; it's just not clear if it's his classically Fatal Flaw.

But you're absolutely right about how they treat their characters. I've seen a ton of jokes about how Jensen's one of the biggest fangirls among us, and --- in addition to being funny --- they're just downright accurate; Dean is real in a way that Sam never seems to be for Padalecki. Praising Sam isn't about discussing Sam; it's a statement on Jarpad. Discussing Dean is less about Jackles than it is about Dean. And that difference causes there to be a world separating the two. I won't say it's impossible to act without believing, at some level, in the reality of one's character, but Padalecki definitely can't.

"He's popular because he's Jared padalecki not because he's a good actor." I can't put this any better than you did, so I'm just gonna say: yes. A hundred times, yes.

And I also agree that there's not an issue with following actors to other shows. Frankly? I'm a touch obsessive. If I fixate on a character, I will follow that actor through their filmographies. I saw Jensen in Supernatural first, and have since watched --- solely due to his presence in the vehicle --- Dark Angel, some of Big Sky (though I haven't gotten to s3 yet, so idk if that counts), Ten Inch Hero, My Bloody Valentine, and Devour. The same is true with Misha, though I have access to less that he's been in: I basically could only watch 24 and the one episode of Monk he was in (and, even then, I'd seen the shows before because they've been family favorites for a while; I just hadn't known who Misha Collins was at the time). Both actors continued to be just as enjoyable --- just as skilled --- outside of their Supernatural roles.

However, I've watched the occasional Jarpad thing, too. I recently made some posts about one such film, which I hadn't realized he'd been in --- Cry_Wolf --- but I also intentionally watched Walker, House of Wax, and the Friday the 13th remake, just out of curiosity. Mainly, I was just curious whether my dislike for Sam was affecting my judgement, whether he'd gotten better outside of that environment. And he just hadn't. They were all utterly atrocious. To borrow my phrasing from an earlier post, his acting was forgettable at best and horrible at worst.

Long post already long: it's not a coincidence that Jackles has drawn massive interest from the general audience and not just the Supernatural fans. The Boys might have been the first example of this, but, as you point out, Big Sky has had a similar reaction. And, on the other hand, the only thing saving Padalecki from being a one-hit wonder (and I use the word "wonder" loosely) is that he's somehow managed to swing the loyalty of a very devout subset of the fanbase.

Anyway, I think it's my turn to apologize; this is, once again, a very long message... I hope it's not either oppressive or annoying; I'm just really enjoying the conversation. Thank you again, and all the best until next time!

[ceasarslegion]

Alright I just watched a disastrous date go down at the restaurant I was in (woman getting the cold shoulder from the wait staff after asking if her date left while she was in the restroom) so now I gotta know your ramen story, pretty please ☕️ ☕️

LMAO???

Alright so uh, sit down for this one I guess.

Picture me a few months ago. It was still warm out, I was a bit lonely, I go on tinder. I end up striking up a nice conversation with someone who seemed very similar to me. Third culture kids have very unique lifestyles so when we find each other we tend to cling, especially when that person grew up in the same general area you did and came from the same general parent culture. This was what got us talking in the first place.

The guy seemed nice, okay? Articulate, funny, approachable, and easy to keep a conversation with (which is rarer than the diamond itself for the tinder population, who communicate so little it makes me wonder if I missed a telepathy patch somewhere). So I thought hey, why the hell not, right? Let's go to dinner.

I'm a really big meat-eater who can and has eaten everything from chicken hearts to beef tongue and I enjoyed both of them. My dad's side of the family are cattle ranchers in a province only known for two things: oil and beef. I grew up in the part of the middle east that consumes some form of spiced meat in every damn meal, snack, and candy. I was doomed from the start, bro. No part of me could even be vegetarian. I order my steak blue rare at the places that let me. I drink tall glasses of milk with every dinner. I buy family sizes of meat cuts at the grocery store for myself.

No word of a fucking lie, my mom kept this baby book writing down milestones and personality quirks with me, and under the section that says "my favourite food is..." it just says "MEAT: ALL" underlined 3 times. I was meant to be some kind of obligate carnivore but god decided to curse me for my hubris by placing my soul in the body of an omnivorous ape.

Anyway. I suggest ramen for dinner because it's a good crowd pleaser thats really hard to fuck up for a first date. I mean, who doesn't like noodle soups? I usually order it with pork belly, but I was really craving beef that night so I ordered beef ramen with extra beef and a fried egg on top with a cup of green tea

Apparently, this was an issue.

I thank the waiter and he heads off with our orders. I am greeted by a facial expression i can only describe as "moral fury disguised as vague disappointment."

I immediately start getting an earful about how disgusting it is to eat animal flesh and how I should be ashamed of myself for promoting "speciesism" while calling myself an anti-racist. "Speciesism" was a term I have never heard before that day, and I still think it's fucking stupid to compare eating meat to full-blown racism.

I start pointing out that I have no issue with how he decides to eat, but it's a massive overstep of personal boundaries and a very presumptive and self-righteous move to act like he had any right to tell someone else how to eat. Plus, the shit he was spouting about livestock rearing and byproduct sourcing were straight up untrue and made up by PETA. Plus, I hate to break it to him, but cows are not humans. They aren't. They just aren't, and if he can't understand that then he shouldn't be taking care of them and he definitely shouldn't be acting like he should.

I am not the most held back individual when it comes to these things. I have a big blunt mouth and I don't have much of a concept of a filter. I acknowledge that about myself and try my hardest to only argue things i have immediate credible evidence for, because I know that I always come off as emotionally-charged because of my big blunt mouth. But oh, oh boy. Oh man did he not like that.

The argument keeps escalating and escalating until our food gets served. He decides to make a very exaggerated barf gesture at the beef and egg in my bowl. C'mon, bro. But you wanna be petty? Alright, I can be petty too. I looked him dead in the eye while I picked out chunks of only egg and beef with my chopsticks and ate it. I made constant comments on how good the meat was and how much I loved the texture and juiciness of it. He gave me a very charged silent treatment the whole time.

We mutually ghosted each other after that night.

[thousand-winters]

🍬 or ❄️??

Hello there!!! I hope you've been having a good time!!!

🍬 ⇢ Post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

Going once again with Hunter because I have some for Darius but he's hardly a popular character 😭

Well, more like him and Amity and their dynamic in general. I feel like people wildly misinterpreted Eclipse Lake, because while they fought, I would argue it ends better than when Hunter first meets Luz and the Emerald Entrails? (Not for the overachieving plot, considering the portal key, but for their dynamic I mean).

Because here's the thing: Amity understood where Hunter was coming from far better than Luz, or Gus or Willow could because they don't have the kind of background Amity and Hunter do. Amity could see her own struggles in Hunter, and while obviously she wasn't happy about how things ended up, there was never any implication she resented him for what he did.

And somehow that in the fandom became "oh, yes, Amity and Hunter hate each other, they just can't stand each other, look at how much they hate each other" and even "Amity hates poor Hunter so much, she's so mean for this", as if 1) that was literally not even true, Amity is even the first that runs and tries to rescue him in Clouds on the Horizon before they know it's Luz??? and 2) Hunter was the one who was exploiting Amity's insecurities against her in Eclipse Lake, and sure, he was desperate and his own issues were affecting his actions, but he acted worse toward her than she ever did toward him.

Like people love to take Amity not saying anything in Labyrinth Runners as her hating him when if she really did, she could have easily revealed the personal damage he did to her, but she didn't. And it's usually done in contrast with Willow trusting him but Willow... didn't actually do that? She only defended him when she had the proof that he had actually been with Gus, not before. Both Amity and Willow react to him with the same level of wariness, I have no idea why people decided to act as if Amity was oh, so mean, so distrustful, they're all besties but she doesn't allow it (lowkey this was in part because of Moringmark's comics, I think, people take them as canon when they have questionable characterization).

Anyway, somehow the opinion persists despite how clearly it is they're friends and there's no resentment between them in Thanks to them and forward. I have no idea why. Sometimes fanon just takes over people's minds for the worse 💔

❄️ ⇢ What's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

Oof, this is a difficult question mostly bc I'm full of hubris, ahaha. If I think a fic idea would be cool, I go "oh, I need to write this", so usually when I'm thinking I really would like to see this or that, that ends up transforming into a WIP in my files.

But oh, actually, while typing this it did occur to me I do have one. I would love to have the young Hagsquad shenanigans because that's the dream spin-off for me. It would be such an ambitious progress all things considered.

I'm, however, enamoured with the version that exists in @wills-art's mind and files about it. I trust eir vision.

Thank you for the questions!!! From this ask game

[dakota-schuck]

Dear Diary,

Privacy.

Is it a thing?

If it's dead, do I mourn it, or do I celebrate?

When I wonder if privacy is dead it is in a technological context, a mathematical context, but also a personal context, an emotional context.

I write this diary entry in a public venue, why?

What am I trying to say? I'm not sure.

I think I push myself to be unusually public with my thoughts and feelings because I so hate the feeling of thinking something was private and discovering it has been exposed. If I can just feel exposed from the outset I can get the discomfort over with earlier when it is smaller. If that's what I'm doing, is that wise or pessimistic?

I remember my college days, spending a lot of time mulling over how increased interconnectivity via phones and apps and whatever, how all that will impact our lives long term. How do we adjust to living in a panopticon? What sort of culture will have to develop to cope with this new circumstance? I think I gave up on privacy then.

One symptom of everyone feeling increasingly exposed is that our culture is becoming more chill about victimless quirks that once were a social death sentence. Whether that's a dorky hobby or an atypical sexual preference, as long as it's consensual and everyone involved isn't being harmed– so what?

But also, being constantly seen, or potentially seen, it's exhausting. It's exhausting to constantly occupy a social world where one has to maintain an awareness that they are perceived. No matter how non-judgemental a viewer is, the mere act of viewing changes things. That's a lot.

I don't have a prescription here, for the world or for myself.

I suppose I'm trying to live in a way that meshes well with what I feel are the necessary changes to our social dynamics, partly so I'm with the times, but partly because trying to hold onto old norms in new circumstances is a recipe for a lot of unnecessary anguish and I think myself clever enough to have seen this coming.

Perhaps this is hubris on my part.

Perhaps I'm rebelling against a history of my own privacy not being respected in my formative years and I need to make that unhealed wound everyone's problem by acting contrary, by saying "well I didn't even want privacy anyway so there!"

Maybe I'm so steeped in the culture of data-science I internalized how helpful more information can be. Epidemiology runs into walls so often, where we could save more lives if we had more data. But folks are also leveraging our data against us to try and stir the political pot, setting up games of "how about you and your neighbor fight." It's a two-edged sword.

I grew up with privacy. As a child I didn't have any reason to think I'd be recorded. I ran wild with my friends in a small town. Only later in my life did everyone have a camera in their pocket. I can't imagine what it must be like to grow up with that level of surveillance.

How do we handle all this? Socially, legally, how do we want to approach this? Are there shifts we can make intentionally that will make increased visibility less uncomfortable, perhaps even delightful? Or do we just try whatever and see what emerges as the new norms?

Personally I'm going with an assumption of lack of privacy, but ideally I wish that extended to the viewer too. It might be nice to have a better sense of if someone has looked at whatever I wish had stayed private.

The idea of someone seeing me naked isn't all that uncomfortable for me, but the ambiguity does bother me a bit. The uncertainty of whether or not someone has gone out of their way to peak behind my curtain, that is more uncomfortable for me at the moment.

No, I don't think we live in a panopticon, as that makes a clean distinction between prisoners and guards, the voyeur and the voyee. Here we are all partly prisoner and all partly guard, we can see and be seen. I expect in a situation like this, the act of being seen looking has greater social implications than being observed.

Anyway, it's late and I don't know what I'm trying to say.

With Apprehension,

Dakota Schuck

[nerdierholler]

"That emotional moment that you can't find a plot for." for anyone you like :)

Turns out I forgot how hard writing is. It's been a hot minute. After a few starts with different characters and situations, I ended up with the Psychopomps. Probably shouldn't have been a surprise. Anyways this follows if I decide I wanted to have some romance. Thanatos definitely has feelings for Dani but also knows it's a really bad idea to act on them.

Loss and sorrow. The emotions filled the air. Familiar feelings for Thanatos, but not ones he expected to find here.

Dani sat on the couch, surrounded by a cascade of tissues. The tears and sobs were also familiar. There were patterns to death, near certainties of what people did in the immediate aftermath. But there was no death here, no more than what was contained in his being at least.

Eventually, Dani said enough to make Thanatos understand. Her boyfriend had left her, accusing her of not being present and committed enough to the relationship. What a fool.

So it appeared that his first assessment wasn’t entirely accurate, there was death. A broken heart is a kind of death. Not physical, but the death of hopes and plans and dreams. Few beings can say they’ve never experienced a broken heart, Thanatos could make no claim there, but it had been many long years since he’d allowed himself to be in position to experience it.

He sat down on the couch beside her, listening as she tried to make sense of her emotions, offering words of sympathy where he could, until, words worn thin and mentally exhausted, she leaned against his shoulder. They sat in silence, broken only by the occasional sniffle, a wet spot beginning to form on the sleeve of his shirt.

Shifting his weight, Thanatos stretched out a wing and brought it down around her shoulder. Dani sighed, and curled into a ball, leaning closer against him. Hands carefully folded in his lap, he wrapped the feathers around her, the only kind of embrace Thanatos felt confident enough to give.

The silence grew until it was the only thing that remained in the room. No light. No sound. The lingering loss and sorrow temporarily pushed to the far corners, hidden in the darkest spaces and waiting. At some point Dani had fallen asleep and rested beside him, breath soft and heart beating steadily, each beat hastening her closer to death, closer to the end of their time together, the time when she would pass beyond his knowledge and care, whenever that might be.

A familiar hum of magic was his only warning before Cliodhna appeared, her cheerful nature immediately shifting to one of concern when she stepped into the living room. He told her what had happened, mindful not to wake Dani in the process.

“Poor thing,” Cliodhna sighed, then folding her arms, she eyed him curiously.

Thanatos held her gaze for as long as he could. Cliodhna straddled a line few in their kind of work did and he knew trying to hide his inner turmoil from her was a fruitless endeavor. He looked away, conceding defeat to the young banshee. From the corner of his eye, he could see her still watching him.

“What you’re doing is dangerous, you know,” she said finally.

“You would have let her do the same thing,” Thanatos countered, trying to maintain the upper hand of rationality.

“That’s different.”

Her words were surprisingly soft and understanding, but the truth still felt like a thousand tiny cuts when she said it.

“…I know,” he whispered in a voice so low that even his fellow immortal could barely make it out.

Beyond that, she didn’t push or ask questions. The discovery of that which he’d been trying to hide from himself was enough. She left with a promise to check in on Dani the next morning.

Why had the Fates condemned him to this? The failure of so many of his kind, and ruin of so many of hers. It was hubris to think it might end any other way. Ever cautious, Thanatos pushed his feelings for Dani far into the depths of his heart. They would have to be content with that small corner, to give them more would pose too great a risk. He would not subject her to this pain, or potentially to something far worse. That love must be hidden away and only the love for his friend allowed to remain.

From what I can tell in Irish mythology, Cliodhna is usually considered the Queen of the Banshees (my Cliodhna is her granddaughter) but it's also sometimes the name of the goddess of love and beauty, though they aren't the same entity. However I decided to make my Cliodhna attuned to both aspects. Basically, she knows what's up.