#the theories of them being exes is becoming more and more real

[itsnothingofinterest]

So it’s looking like we might be getting the ‘AFO gave Tenko his quirk’ theory confirmed and I gotta be honest; I am not in favor. I’m hardly the first to take this position, both before and after this chapter dropped, but if I may attempt to put into words why; it’s that I don't think it can really add anything except reveal postmortem some new way AFO is bad in the best case & handing Deku a potential deus ex machina in the worst case.

Like, the best case result of such a revelation at this point in the plot is that it's just to make AFO seem more evil by making him the root cause of the Shimura tragedy, except…only in a way that doesn’t even matter. Like, this reveal shouldn’t change any of Tomura’s motivations or talking points; he already knows AFO manipulated him & hates him for that, but he also hates Kotaro, Nana, All Might, and the greater hero society for the role they played in his tragedy, and AFO giving him Decay wouldn’t change how much everyone else I listed deserves that ire. It just means that some of the tragic happenstance of the Shimuras that seemingly could've happened to anyone was instead purposefully cause by that jerk we know.

It’s like if we learned AFO killed Endeavor’s father, leading him down the path to become the domestic abuser we know him as. Thus the tragedy of the Todorokis would also come back to AFO...but y’know…not in anyway that matters. Endeavor, Touya, and everyone else involved still made their choices; AFO’s just the root cause of it all by sheer technicality. How diabolical, I might care if he were still relevant.

The worst case result of such a revaluation of course is that it gives Deku an unearned & largely uninteresting easy out to solving the problem that is Tomura's rage. Because if AFO gave him Decay, then he's actually the one ultimately responsible for near everything, if not just everything wrong in Tomura's life (even if, again, just by technicality in some areas). Never mind the rolls Kotaro, Nana, All Might, and greater hero society played in it; AFO's the real root cause of it all whose been manipulating Tomura for longer than he even knows, so he should just stop caring about that other stuff.

Plus it'd also mean Tomura doesn't exist to destroy because Decay isn't his true quirk (never mind how that's not why he thinks that & he never even put much stock into that quirk-identity stuff anyway) so he can just stop being a villain now please.

Yeah this all just doesn't seem like the most interesting way for Deku to tackle Tomura's trauma, talking points, or motivations.

Plus, like a live action Disney movie, the idea's kind of felt like it’s tying up a ‘plot hole’ that didn’t need tying up; that might even work better as a coincidental tragedy. Like; people act like this can’t be just a tragedy, it's too convenient, it has to be some master machination of the grand demon lord who…is already beaten, dead, and doesn’t factor into anyone’s plot lines or themes anymore. At best, to make him seem more evil long after the point we have any reason to care; at worst, to give Deku an easy out (with the side effect of making him seem like a worse hero who can’t save villains in Tomura's position without unique circumstances to make it easy).

Also like a live action Disney movie, this almost feels like it opens up a plot hole in trying to tie one up. Because as we know; Tenko’s circumstances are identical to Eri’s, down to the signs of their quirks being random mutations. When I said the tragic happenstance of the Shimuras we're blaming AFO for could've happened to anyone; I know this because it happened verbatim to her. So if those circumstances (just so happening to get a deadly quirk that kills their families, which just so happen to be connected to the villain who'll use & abuse them, etc.) are seen as suspicious, early signs that AFO gave Tenko Decay…did he or another villain give Eri Rewind? Almost certainly not; but if not then why does she get a random mutation-caused tragedy, while Tenko must have been the victim of some villain’s plot that's already been foiled?

So my point is: I really hope this is just a red herring. Revealing that AFO gave Tenko Decay kind of feels like it undercuts the Shimura tragedy as something that could've happened to any kid in Tenko or Eri's shoes; and I don't think any payoff you'd get for that undercutting is worth it.

We should instead get the much funnier revaluation that the man who brought Tenko home that day was, rather than AFO, a completely different man who Deku would coincidentally recognize: Hisashi Midoriya.

[isabella1798]

Who are Violet Sorrengails REAL family ?

I mentioned this earlier in my previous theory but I’m going to go more deeper in to it… the fable of the barrens I believe is not just a story but a prophecy.

The Fables of the Barren discusses three brothers who fought to control the magic when an ancient kingdom spanned ocean to ocean. One brother bonded a dragon, one bonded a gryphon and when the third grew jealous, he drew directly from the source (becoming the first venin), loosing his soul and waging war on the other two. The Fables of the Barren also state that 'it was the third brother, who commanded the sky to surrender its greatest power, who finally vanquished his jealous sibling at a great and terrible price.

In fourth wing when a venin approaches Violet she tells her “no wonder you were sent here, you could command the sky to surrender all of it power, you do not know what kind of power you possess”.

The venin sage also wants her bought to him ALIVE and the venin are wanting just her SPECIFICALLY.

Violet is the third sibling (the lightning wielder)

And her parents or one of her parents aren’t her real parents because Mira and Brennan are both riders not a gryphon rider and a venin…

Dragon Rider Lightning Wielder sibling = Violet

Gryffon Rider sibling = ?

Venin sibling = ?

Who could be violets siblings??? Well we don’t know many gryffon riders but Cat and that would be a terrific plot twist (Xadens ex and current girlfriend)

The venin sibling could be Jack? But the venin sibling is definitely…

‼️Leading the Venin‼️

Because this sibling is said to be jealous and became the first venin. I’m not saying this sibling is the VERY first venin but the one that restored the power in recent years after the stop of them 600 years ago.

This is why I’m leading on towards Naolin who was Tairn’s previous rider. It is said “he did not fail but lost everything”. Which confirms he is not dead and the only way Tairn could live without his rider is if he died or turned Venin.

Naolin has a lot to be jealous of Violet for, she is bonded to his old dragon and possesses a lot of power.

But… this sibling could not bond with ANY dragon or gryffon so it must not be Naolin. But I still do think Naolin is alive and will be an enemy of Violet until he gets cured, I can see Naolin and Violet teaming up and Tairn being so proud of his riders *awww*

So I believe we haven’t met her real siblings yet but what about her parents?

We know Violet never had a great relationship with her mum but had a great one with her dad. But if I’m being honest I don’t think Lilith and her husband are violets biological mother and father. It is never stated that Violet has any resemblance to her family but it is mentioned all the rest of them look alike.

If you read my theory before this one you’ll see what I mean by her real parents still being alive and venin but either way I have no idea who they are.

And this sibling who is jealous knows of violets existence but how? Are they older than violet and remember her from when she was a baby? Did they grow up together but Violet had her memories wiped? Do they know of her because of the prophecy? Or have they known Violet her whole life but never revealed to her their relation?

If Violet had her memories wiped by someone who had the signet to wipe memories and joined the sorrengails later in her childhood then Brennan and possibly Mira must remember and know that she is “adopted”.

SO IN CONCLUSION I THINK THAT HER REAL FAMILY IS OUT THERE AND WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN AN UPCOMING BOOK. I ALSO THINK WE WILL HAVE A BIG SHOWDOWN AND A BIG “WTF” MOMENT WHEN IT IS REVEALED THAT THIS VENIN IS HER BROTHER (could be sister) AND A GRYFFON RIDER IS ANOTHER SIBLING THAT SHE HAS NO KNOWLEDGE OF. HOWEVER THE VENIN ONE WILL BE A BIT LIKE “no luke i am your father” MOMENT HAha… PLUS VIOLET WILL KILL THIS SIBLING IN BATTLE AND WHO EVER ELSE TURNS EVIL!

This is just unhinged theory of mine and again pls correct me if I’m wrong about anything 😭👍

[paleode-ology]

as always I’m thinking about the Stede/Izzy/Ed dynamic and trying to figure out how they can still win. I started going through this in the notes of a post and realized I just wanted to talk about it lmao so here we are

I’m Okay. So here’s the thing. I am so pro steddyhands. Like frankly it’s a dynamic that I love and want to see more of and like. As more mentally healthy individuals I think they would be soooo unstoppable like actually peak romance and chaos. BUT they are. Not. Mentally healthy individuals like they are all so incredibly fucked up. And that is maybe a post for another time. Anyway so I have two ideas about the ideal plotlines for these three, which I call the realistic plotline, and the one that won’t happen but would be sooooooo gay plotline.

This post ended up being kind of long bc I talk a lot lmao so here’s a cut.

Even though I want in my heart a steddyhands endgame, Jenkins has said that the third season would (if greenlit) be the last, and that’s just not enough time to work out a well-written and satisfying romantic end for the three of them. Also, I just honestly don’t think steddyhands was ever in the cards for this show; it would just be way too messy idk. Realistically, I think we can definitely get an Izzy and Ed reconciliation, and we’re DEFINITELY getting stizzy bonding this season, so at the very least they’ll all be friendly going into the third. But this season is obviously about Stede and Ed learning to trust each other again and get to know each other better before they go back into romance. They have shit to work out and they’re clearly gonna be starting to do that in the next few eps.

I thinkkk the plan is for them to heal this season and actually figure out their feelings for each other bc let’s be so real, they were so fucking repressed in season one and had just BARELY realized they were in love before things went to shit. The third season will probably just be them becoming proper husbands and co-captaining and like fighting the British yippee. Cannot wait.

As for Izzy. Oh my god Izzy. Okay. So he’s sticking around for now. He’s been the only one looking out for his crew this whole time (and honestly I think he and Stede might bond over that. Stede kind of gives very few fucks about his crew but he values their lives and doesn’t WANT to leave them behind. Tbh breaking them out while also dealing with Ed’s death was just so insane of him and like. He’s gonna be such a good captain.) and anyway, we know he’s going to be teaching Stede pirate things. Not to mention that everyone loves Con so Izzy’s undoubtedly going to be hanging with the crew and keeping them organized while Stede and Ed fuck off on their bonding excursions.

My running theory for Izzy in season three is that he’s going to be captaining the Adventure. (For those who don’t know, the real life Blackbeard had the real Israel Hands captain that ship for a hot minute.) Izzy’s wanted to captain a ship for a long time, and I mean, he’s the Revenge’s captain in all but name at this point. So once he’s sure Ed and Stede and the crew aren’t going to set the Revenge on fire and accidentally kill themselves, he’ll go off to captain the Adventure and have his own healing journey during the third season. Hell get to figure out what it’s like to be out from under the shadow of Blackbeard, and like honestly it’ll be way less stressful and he’ll have a good time. Season three can cut between his adventures and the Revenges adventures, and the overarching plot will have all of them reunite in the latter third of the season (deus ex machina Izzy PLEASE). They’ll work together, have a final reconciliation where they all end on good terms, and either Izzy will go his own way as his own pirate captain, or he’ll decide that he’s grown and healed but he still likes working with New Ed and he stays on with the Revenge or they form a fleet with the Revenge and the Adventure and maybe another ship that shows up at some point in the third (I just feel like a fleet of two ships sounds stupid sorry). Maybe they’ll give Izzy a boyfriend in season three also. Like maybe it’s just me but I feel like getting laid would fix him.

I’m really, really excited for Stede and Izzy to get closer this season. Their little enemies to romantic rivals to still romantic rivals but they have bigger things to worry about to besties is just so real. And I think that them being closer is going to just bring this new balance and dynamic that we haven’t seen before.

So that’s the realistic plotline. Everyone ends up happy, we have pirate husbands, and no one dies except for the British. Onto my insane pipedream plotline also known as the outline for the fic I will probably never write.

Basically, it starts off quite similar to the above prediction for the rest of the show. The only caveat is, the show extends past three seasons. I don’t know that Jenkins will keep writing after the third, even if the response is huge, just because he seems really dedicated to telling the story properly, and unless he decides now that he wants to keep it going, a fourth or more season would mess up the pacing of the show, especially since the season three finale is supposed to the The Show Finale. But for the sake of this fic outline, let’s pretend we get as many seasons as we want.

I still think Izzy should captain the Adventure. Like I really firmly believe that his and Ed’s relationship cannot fully heal unless they part ways for a bit, and as an Izzy diehard I just want him to have fun without worrying about Ed 24/7. I want it to be light, though. Like mostly just him working out his shit with Ed and what he wants from his life going forward.

Meanwhile, Ed and Stede get to have their honeymoon phase on the Revenge. They’ll have a mostly functioning crew for once, and I also like the idea of them escaping the law or fucking up nobles. Like just really have a fuck the rich moment. Once again, it’s light. BUT I also want them to acknowledge that they miss Izzy. Like Ed will tell stories about the years he worked with Hornigold and how he fell in love with pirating and probably compare this new beginning with him and Stede to when he set out on his own captaining journey and as he reminisces and starts to get over the trauma he never really dealt with, he’ll realize just how much Izzy was always there for him, and he’ll regret how he treated him when Izzy was the person closest to him for so long. Also, generally seems to be leaning away from being a full pirate rn. Like he’s definitely starting to realize that there’s more that he wants out of life, which he’s going to have to balance with pirating being the more that STEDE wanted out of his life.

Meanwhile, Stede will have his pirating tricks that Izzy taught him, and while Ed has his own style and certainly lots of pirating experience, he’s already taught Stede a lot, and, quite frankly, he’s a terrible teacher. Like. We saw how the sword fighting lessons went. Izzy is going to be more effective, and I think he and Stede are going to have a lot of fun once Izzy realizes that Stede actually respects his advice and genuinely wants to improve. Like that’s going to be really good for them. But then Izzy leaves, and Stede’s left with not very many people to go to with advice or ideas. People that will critique him (mostly) fairly. Once again, Ed loves Stede, but he mostly just wants Stede to be happy, and he’s good just being on the sidelines watching his husband slay the pirate life. So Stede misses Izzy too.

So does the crew. Ed tends to view himself as quite separate from the crew, and while that’s subject to change, I don’t think he actually knows how to be a good captain? Like. Izzy has been doing his job for him for forever. Meanwhile, Stede cares about the crew’s well-being, but he really isn’t that close with any of them. He very much sees himself as their leader, and lets them do whatever the fuck they want as long as the ship isn’t sinking and they all get to do some good old fashioned raiding.

Izzy, on the other hand, spent a long time in the space between captain and crew. While he sees himself as part of the crew, he has a huge responsibility that inherently comes with being first mate and is further burdened by the weight of dealing with post-breakup Ed. He earns the respect of the crew when they see how much he takes on for them. “He’s our dick.” While Ed’s prestige intimidates crews into following him, and Stede initially bought a crew, Izzy earned the respect of his crew, and he proved to them that he cared about their lives and their well-being. So yeah, going back to the Ed/Stede co-captaining chaos means that the crew is going to miss Izzy.

Note here that I think the Adventure would already have a crew. I don’t know under what circumstance they’d need a new captain, but let’s imagine that that’s what’s happening here. I want Izzy to be fully out on his own, without any of the crew he’d had before. Our season one crew stays with the husbands. In my mind, Izzy meets a guy from the Adventure, they become besties, and then that guy invites Izzy to come be their captain bc the old one like died or whatever. New guy is Izzy’s first mate, and helps him work through some of the Issues.

And Izzy LOVES being captain. He likes the responsibility, he likes looking out for his crew, and he enjoys looting and fucking over other pirates and colonizers and it’s just a whole vibe for him. He’ll earn the respect of this crew as well. He prioritizes their lives over his own, and they genuinely enjoy working for him.

Here’s the thing, though. Being captain is lonely. He has his own quarters, which are pretty fucking sparse. He has a new crew, and while making his own name is good for his ego, no one on his new ship knows him the way his old crewmates did. And let’s be honest, while his crew enjoys working for him, he runs a tight ship. He’s abrasive. He’s brutally honest. He can be cruel. He’s fucking insane with a sword. Let’s not forget that this is a man who, unlike Ed and Stede (for now) very willingly murders. Izzy can be SCARY when he’s not running himself ragged trying to please and take care of and save the man he loved without getting the rest of his crew killed.

So. He’s not really bonding with the crew. They aren’t friends. They’re just a team of pirates who trust their very scary leader. He’s close with his first mate, at least, since that’s the buddy who brought him onto the Adventure. For the most part, the isolation isn’t bad. He’s allowed to reflect and grow and become more confident in himself. He realizes he’s his own person and not just Blackbeard’s guard dog.

Still, he finds that there are things he misses about the Revenge, so when Ed and Stede find themselves in a tight spot (with the British? I do think it would be so fucking funny if we had ANOTHER Badminton), Izzy doesn’t hesitate to come to their rescue. He saves the day, gets to talk a bit with the husbands, and they decide that while being separate was good, maybe traveling together is something they can do again. The Adventure joins the Revenge, and we end season three.

THEN in season four we get to see the three of them together again. Their time apart has helped ease tensions, but there’s still work to be done before we enter poly territory. So Ed and Stede are fully in a relationship, with Izzy on the outskirts. Izzy’s gotten over his blind devotion to Ed and has grown closer to Stede, and it’s comfortable, but sometimes still a bit weird.

Izzy’s (and by extension, Ed’s) past is coming back to haunt him in this season. People he thought he’d left behind show up, enemies he’s made are coming back for revenge, and he can’t deal with it all on his own. Ed and Stede have to help him through it, and they have his back the way he had theirs at the end of season three. Ed begins to realize that he didn’t know Izzy as well as he thought he had back when they were shipmates, and so they get to talk and properly discuss what went wrong between them (namely Ed’s dismissive attitude towards Izzy and Izzy’s inability to accept Ed as anything other than the Dread Pirate Blackbeard).

Stede and Izzy get to be Violent together while Ed stays behind and organizes the auxiliary wardrobe, and now that Stede has improved on his swordsmanship even more, they get to have a lot of fun. Bonding via murder, my beloved. They learn how to work as a team, which would just be SUCH a dynamic like gentlemen pirate plus rabid chihuahua? Nothing better.

Eventually, I think the Adventure would make its departure. Izzy’s first mate would become captain, and they’d part amicably. Izzy stays with the Revenge. With Ed and Stede. The three of them take meals together. Izzy is a co-captain in all but name, preferring to remain first mate as long as he gets a say in what they do and where they go. He loves working more with the crew again, and they’re more responsive to him than they’ve ever been.

And slowly but surely, they all realize their complicated feelings for one another. Secretly and without telling each other, obviously. Ed and Stede are both confused with themselves because they’re HAPPY they have and love each other, but they also both value their time with Izzy so, so much, and of course they can’t say anything to the other because then Ed will think Stede doesn’t want him anymore, or vice versa, and that’s not what’s happening.

Izzy is just so fucking confused bc he can tell that how he felt about Blackbeard hasn’t gone away, exactly, but something’s different. And when he and Stede are fighting together or preparing the next ambush or discussing plans for their next stop, it’s so fun. Fighting with Stede is like breathing in a way that fighting with Ed never was. So. What the fuck? But it doesn’t matter how he feels anyway because Ed and Stede are together and why would either of them ever want to replace the other with Israel (Basilica) Hands?

So while they’re each having an existential fucking crisis, the entire crew knows what’s going on, or they at least have realized that there’s something weird happening with Izzy and the captains, but it’s not bad the way it had been before. So there’s betting pools going on who’s fucking who and whether or not Ed and Stede will leave the other for Izzy or if they’ll all just end up being together.

And just as things are reaching a breaking point between the three of them (Izzy retreats from them both, snapping at them and refusing to open up the way he had been previously and yelling at the crew more than usual, Ed stops talking to anyone at all, preferring instead to do target practice with Jim, and Stede is throwing himself into one raid or project after another, staying up through the night until he can’t stay awake any longer), our main conflict comes into play. We’ve been dealing with someone from Izzy’s past all season, and things finally come to a head. Tables are turned, and now Ed and Stede have to work together to save Izzy from whatever the fuck is happening. During this time, they realize that Izzy is equally important to the both of them and vital for the co-captain dynamic and they’re like. Fuck. Now we REALLY have to save Izzy.

And god, Izzy’s been saving their asses this entire time, hasn’t he? He’s always been there, and now they need to be there for him.

So uhhhh they rescue him and everyone kisses yippee that’s the ens of season four. Season five gets to be the True Poly Season, where they get to fuck around and be the baddest bitches of all time and it’s beautiful.

And that’s my rough outline for. What the show could be? A fic I want to write but probably won’t? Uhhhh yeah 👍

[scribblesbyb]

Mirroring in Dialogue: Why Don't Writers Do It?

A/N: This is a contemplative post. I had this thought come to me at random so I'm dishing it out here. It's not necessarily neat, so I appreciate the read. Feel free to give your two cents on this in the comments! - 🐝

Okay, so, I'm starting this post with a quick and funny anecdote; the one that inspired writing this.

A woman was next to me on the treadmill today, and while I don't pay attention to what others are doing (to be respectful and also to better focus on what I'm doing), I noticed every tiny movement I made, she mirrored.

I'd adjust my ponytail, and two seconds later, she's touching her hair. I'd pull my pants up, and she'd play with the hem of hers, making sure it was in place still.

This led me to remember sth I heard about in the TV show The Mentalist, and later read up on, namely mirroring.

I won't bore you with a long definition of what it is, so here's the short version: when humans interact, they may unconsciously mirror the movements, facial expressions, and body language of the other person.

It's the reason people claim 'if smb yawns or sneezes, you do, too' :D

With the exception of when high-functioning psychopaths and sociopaths do it, mirroring is actually kinda fun.

When I'm talking to smb I don't particularly enjoy conversing with, for instance, I'll start to touch my neck or eyebrows every few seconds and wait to see when they'll mirror the gesture. It's a neat game to play to pass the time wasted on talking to them lol.

But I digress. The main idea of this post is this: Why don't writers (us) do this when writing dialogue?

Certain genres have to be as close to reality as possible...and yet, mirroring is hardly present in dialogue. I've never seen one character touch their neck nervously and the other do the same. Usually, if both characters are nervous in this context, the other person will be doing sth else (tapping their fingers or shaking their leg, for ex.)

In my writing, for example, two characters can be smiling, but it's not necessarily mirroring, it's just that...the context allows for them both to be smiling.

As for any other kind of nonverbal expression, I don't ever recall having two characters mirror each other's body language/gestures...etc. just for the sake of the work being as realistic as possible.

Which brings me back to the why. My theory? Simple; it boils down to the 'willing suspension of disbelief'.

Frankly, I have never had a work of art ruined for me just because 'mirroring' wasn't a part of it :D

While it's a neat observation (at least I think so), it doesn't mean the paradigm has shifted. Mirroring isn't going to become a 'literary device or element' that writers have to suddenly keep in mind, like Metaphors or Conflict.

The way I see it? We, writers, can use mirroring to our advantage when we want to. A few examples include:

A character notices that their crush is mirroring their movements. Perhaps they like them too? Do they? Or is it just normal? >.<

Your character is a psychologist/or has knowledge of mirroring (like in the case of The Mentalist) and makes a point to show others/note that someone is/isn't mirroring

A character that knows of mirroring and uses it to pass the time when talking to someone they dislike/a person that won't stop talking...etc. (like yours truly does :D)

A manipulative character that uses mirroring to get their victims to do what they want and control them better.

Got more ideas? Shoot them in the comments, I'd love to hear them!

If you stuck around this far, you're a real one; thank you! 💐

A/N: Can't stress this enough, but please, please, please, if you have sth to add or a takeaway from this, I'd love to read it! I love to learn, and I believe everyone has sth to offer, so go ahead and don't be shy lol Love, B 🐝

[monsterqueers]

You know, I can see why sometimes people think callouts are necessary;

When you are in a communal space and being harmed, or have suddenly become privy to serious harm, you want that harm to stop. One of the first things you learn on how to do that, once asking them to stop doesnt work, is to ask for help.

In small communities like forums or discord servers, you ask the community leaders for help. They talk to the person to make them stop or ban them from the small, non life-essential community. If the harm was bad enough they might encourage you to bring it to court (such as an adult soliciting nudes from minors in DMs).

Often this is done without the details being aired to the rest of the community (if the issue was in private).

But bigger websites like tumblr or twitter or youtube are not these kinds of small communities. Banning someone from a huge swath of the internet materially effects their livelyhood and ability to access community and care. The support staff for these websites usually take time to get to the case and often do nothing about it when they do because its not what they consider a TOS violation, even if its harm done.

This means if it cannot be solved by blocking, and you cannot leave because the space has things you need, your final tool to make harm stop is by airing the dirty laundry so social shame hopefully does something.

HOWEVER THE VAST MAJORITY CALLOUTS ARE NOT LIKE THIS

Most callouts are petty drivel attacking minorities (but especially trans women in particular) and filled with lies.

The person making the callout though, often genuinely believes that they are making harm stop like above though- because their definition of harm is much wider and includes things like 'trans woman having sex with consenting adults in a way I dont like', 'I was in conflict with my ex a lot because we could not communicate', and 'reblogged a fanart shipping naruto and sasuke once'.

They think that things that personally upset them out of disgust count as real harm. They think any conflict is always abuse.

Or at least, that is what the people making them will claim, and its hard to sort them from the true victims.

I think a notable part of why callouts are such a plague is because of the structure of social media as a whole. We dont HAVE the usual tools to curate our spaces well enough anymore and protect our communities from bad actors and people know this. Its the drawback of being so connected. They cannot see another way to do this, so they are loathe to let go of a tool that -in theory- can.

I think its something that is overlooked in conversations about this.

Its rare a plea to abandon callouts altogether has a feasable answer for 'what do we do with the confirmed serial abusers, scammers, and cult leaders that DO exist? How do we prevent them from hurting more people? They already had community support and love and they did harm with it. You cannot give them a rape babysitter a la the missing stair essay (of which the story shows works badly) over the internet. You cannot make them go to therapy over the internet and ensure it works. You cannot still act like nothing happened without making their victims feel unsafe and unsupported. What is there left to do?'

And honestly, I DONT have a good answer to assuage these concerns.

With new social media the way it is, with site moderators that only step in for TOS violations if that, how CAN we keep known serial bad actors with no true commitment to doing better from harming others except by warning people to not trust them?

Internet safety tip PSAs only do so much, and not using the megasites is not an option for most people either.

Trying to make callout posts be more accurate by trying to educate what is a calloutable offense has done nothing to reduce erroneous callouts.

People already commit to 'only spreading REAL callout posts', but they still spread bunk posts regardless.

It just... sucks all around.

-This post is not a perfectly worded and cited essay, do not treat it as such-

-This post is saying all the callouts crying wolf have ruined one of the few tools left to oust actual unrepentant serial abusers and scammers from communities without cop involvement, not that one should spread callout posts, dont clown!-

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Hiiiii!!!

The Hindi songs guy again (salaamat recommendation, if "Hindi songs guy" is too vague)! Firstly, thanks for telling the name of the song, I listened to it and *sighs* it was them!

Secondly, i didn't know you were from India too! Got to know some days ago from your posts, and then just read your post when you were drunk and telling about India. And I fully agree, it was accurate (and as a North Indian, I'm sorry for the racism🙊). And I'm also sorry about the transphobia and every other awfulness you might've experienced. I love youuuu (sorry if this is too weird🙆🏻‍♂️). Also, the career prospects thing was 100% true: I was 'supposed' to become a doctor, but I had taken science just coz i liked it, and then there was a three years long tragic battle against doctor as a career, and then finally after a failed suicide attempt, I was able to choose English Literature, and things are only now (5 years after the fact) looking better....sooooo I guess your fears about college are totally valid but it will be better, you'll meet great people and learn so much beautiful stuff and create sooo many brilliant thingss! Again, I love youuu (and again, sorry if all of it is too much info, too weird, I'm just...weirdly emotional, idk why)

Thirdly, I really like your name! Asmi is a beautifullll nameee!

Fourthly, sorryy for the long and weird ask, just... I'm glad to know someone else from India here, who's also a Good Omens fan and evidently a lovely person. Sooo lots of long tight hugss!

Lastly, sorry for all the sorrys, and you can totally ignore this if it's uncomfortable or anything (if you couldn't tell by the sorrys, I'm super self-conscious, so thanks for the anonymous option)

Love and hugss, and best of luck for college, for your art, and life in general!❤️

Hey anon maggot! I'm so happy you listened to the song and loved it.

And thank you so much for sharing this with me. It's awful that you had to go through all of that, and I'm so proud of you for surviving. I spent three years preparing for medicine too (11th and 12th year, which caused me to fall sick and miss the NEET test, so I took a gap year etc) and I really did want it. Well, I thought I did. It was more that I didn't think I had any other choice.

TW: explicit mentions of transphobia and disregard and discrimination on the basis of mental health below. Skip the below paragraph if you need to.

I'm glad you're doing better. Yeah, I am not looking forward to college. I know there will be fun parts and all. But I had a go at college for three months back in August, and despite it being very liberal and open and stuff in theory, I had to drop out because the entire student body was isolating me because of my mental health and things my ex-roommate had said about me, and a lot of transphobia from the admin too. When I went to the dean and told her I felt unsafe and the environment was horrible, she told me to stop being so self-absorbed (and then denied she said that the next day to my parents). Luckily after the whole medical ordeal my parents had learned to listen to me and they helped me leave.

I will try again. It's just that it's... disheartening. That was design school, too, just like my next college will be. And I really did try my best. It's weird thinking about all that stuff because Tumblr and you maggots have kind of, well, healed it in a way, and given me such a safe space here that it feels unbelievable that the real world could be so, so fucking shite. Apologies for the vent here, but I do want to be honest, and I want everyone who's faced the same thing to know that they're not alone. Because I know so many people, too many, who've been there.

Thank god for Good Omens and you all. For the ridiculous amount of support and love and joy I've got here. It's easier to forget about all of it for a while when I focus on Crowley's pouts and Aziraphale smiling and making you all laugh.

And hey, you have nothing to feel sorry for. I'm so grateful to you for taking the time to write this. I love you too, anon maggot, so very much. Take all the tight hugs right back. I'm so proud of you for fighting for the future you wanted and deserved. I know it's not easy, both to fight with your internalised doubt and the others.

I'm so proud.

Good luck.

All the love, Asmi

[buffyfan145]

I still find it sad that Anti-Haladriel fans claim our ship is non-existent, when it's Tolkien Canon that despite how powerful Galadriel became, Sauron still could have conquered Lotherien, but only if he did it himself. And what did the power-hungry Dark Lord do instead? He built a castle beside Lotherien and kept trying to convince Gal to let him back into her mind. How does that even make sense from a tactical standpoint when she was supposedly his greatest adversary? It doesn't: The only logical thing is Sauron's feelings for Galadriel caused him to want her to accept him willingly. He couldn't use force against her without losing her entirely.

I know and it's not just anti-Haladriel fans but still those purists who hate everything about the show and all involved with it. I've had to block so many on here, Twitter, and other sites but thankfully I rarely see it now so I think I got most of the main ones. LOL They're just going to have to get used to it now as this show is out there and always will be for the rest of our lives and beyond. They don't have to consider it cannon but there a lot of us, including me, that do and will. And like we've all been saying this show just adds to things, especially for Sauron and Galadriel. That whole thing of him being that close to her for a good chuck of the 3rd Age does come off real stalkery or obsessive ex-boyfriend like. LOL Also for the theory of him being Celebrían's real dad that fits too as it was also much closer to Rivendell too and I've witnessed things like this with my cousins, aunt, and uncles when they split up and kids are involved. And neither of them attacked each other while he was there like you said. It just makes so much more sense this way.

Do wonder if we'll ever live to see LOTR actually become public domain as then there will be so many different adaptations and things just like how it is for "Sherlock Holmes", Jane Austen's novels, and so many other classic stories. Then they'll for sure have to get used to it. LOL

ETA: As of now the LOTR books will start going into the public domain in most countries including here in the US in 2044 so got about 21 years. :)

[autolenaphilia]

I’ve seen at least one viral tumblr post argue for Steven Hassan’s BITE model for “mind control” to warn tumblr users for signs of a cult. And like, it’s a noble goal, but I don’t trust the BITE model one bit. For one thing, the concept of “brainwashing” or “thought reform” or “mind control” is very controversial and there is no scientific consensus that it’s real.

Now there are tons of abusive and authoritarian groups, let’s call them cults, who use tactics of socially isolating members from their previous family and friends and outside information. This is itself abusive and makes it harder for members to think critically about the group and leave. And children are easily influenced and can be indoctrinated, especially if they are raised in isolated circumstances.

Still, brainwashing theories do often make outlandish claims of a total “thought reform” that removes personal agency from adult members of cults in a way that is hard to prove or disprove. Scholars such as Rebecca Moore argue it’s even pseudoscientific.

It mainly functions as a comforting thought for friends and family of cult members, as it removes personal responsibility, the member becomes a victim instead of a willing participant, and it’s similarly useful for ex-members to absolve themselves of their actions. It was used more worryingly in the 70s and 80s to justify coercive “deprogramming”, which was family of cult members kidnapping them and attempting to reverse the claimed brainwashing of the cult.

This brings us to Steven Hassan, who I think might be the most visible advocate of “brainwashing” theories active today. He was a moonie for a couple of years in the 70s, before deprogramming and becoming a prominent member of the anti-cult movement of the 70s/80s. His BITE model seems credible at first glance. There are a lot of genuine signs of an abusive group environment on this list. If anything, some of the signs are too obvious, to the point of being facile. The model literally has “murder”, “torture” and “rape” on the list.

Hassan also places a lot on the idea of hypnosis being this super-effective method of controlling another person, which I don’t think the scientific evidence supports. And I have other reasons to think Hassan is a complete crank about hypnosis, more on that later.

A lot of these things are very general too, in a way that makes it easy to accuse almost any group of being a cult. A lot of these things are not in themselves abusive and just general human group behaviour. For example: “Extensive use of cult-generated information and propaganda, including... Newsletters, magazines, journals, audiotapes, videotapes, YouTube, movies and other media.“ This is literally just an aspect of being an organization in a society with mass media. The organization linked to above is set up by Hassan himself, and it has both a newsletter and a youtube channel. Another example is “Require members to internalize the group’s doctrine as truth.“ Basically any political and religious group has an underlying ideology which it expects its members to believe in.

So basically any group of people will hit many points on this model, which makes it liable to be misused to label any group the speaker doesn’t like as a cult. And Hassan himself likes to stretch his definition of “cult.” He has famously labelled the Trump movement as a cult. And not to defend Trumpists, but while Trump is an authoritarian fascist leader, in my view his movement lacks the rigid organization and cohesion to be an effective “cult” environment. Hassan’s idea of “mind control” also obscures the deeper societal reasons behind Trump’s success as a politician. The misogyny, racism, and transphobia of Trump’s ideology is rooted in systemic inequalities providing a material basis for such supremacist ideologies to prosper in USAian society.

Less famous, but more revealing, is his tweet thread from a few years ago where he comes to the conclusion that trans people are a cult, or at least a “cult-like situation.” You see, Steven discovered the world of forced feminization hypno porn youtube videos. Now that’s a weird subculture, and forced fem as a porn genre has problematic transmisogynist ideological baggage, as I’ve written about briefly here. But it’s porn, both the creators and audience know it’s not real. You can’t be hypnotized into becoming a trans woman against your will.

Except according to Steve Hassan, PhD and self-described “World-renowned expert on cults.”, they are wrong. As he explains “What I watched in Hypno porn IMO was weapons-grade mind control and if a person watches it...they could be profoundly influenced to, for example, believe they were a woman in a man's body.“

It’s a hilarious twitter breakdown, where Hassan destroys down any credibility he might have had in one go. His BITE model seems to be this sophisticated and realistic model of “mind control”, far removed from its depictions in literal cartoons and hollywood movies. But no, his idea of the power of hypnosis is identical to that of porn videos. The funniest thing about forced fem hypno videos are the transmisogynists who think it is real. Hassan has tried to explain his conversion to the moonies as a result of mind control, but I think the simpler explanation is that he is a very gullible person.

Of course, Hassan’s transphobia is worrying. He is a famous “exit counselor” for cults, an advocate of deprogramming and since he believes trans people are essentially a cult, the twitter thread is essentially advocating for conversion therapy for trans people. He explicitly disavows conversion therapy, but he is essentially advocating it by another name. He has similarly mostly disavowed the coercive “deprogramming” of the 70s and 80s anti-cult movement, except as a “last resort.” We should keep in mind that the “father of deprogramming”, Ted Patrick was involved in efforts to kidnap women to cure them of “leftism” (in the case of Susan Wirth in 1980) and lesbianism (in the 1981 case of Stephanie Riethmiller, which included corrective rape). Deprogramming and conversion therapy turned out to be the same thing.

It is legitimately funny when people like Steven Hassan think hypno porn is “weapons-grade mind control”. Yet there are many monstrous acts you can justify when you argue that people lack personal agency and need to be rescued.

[alexissara]

Trans People Deserve More Then Just Acceptance From Their Parents.

The bar is on the fucking floor for cis people. so many trans people think that having a parent be abusive to them, telling them to be in the closet for X family members sake is "getting lucky" because most the time they are tolerated. The amount of trans people I know who simply accepted actively transphobic abuse or were just forced to live with it because their living situation that had to take years to have their parents become decent is ridiculous. That is where the bar is at so we often say "we're one of the lucky ones" if we're at that level or just slightly better.

We deserve much better than that though. The reality is that many of us have dealt with years of abuse unknown or known with casual and uncasual ways to suppress our gender. From things like passive aggressive remarks to actual physical abuse, it runs the gambit the way parents try to control their children in general. For trans kids this often has a special manifestation in the ways they try to police gender.

I wanna talk about my situation to talk about what I think more parents need to do. On my bad end there is my mom we never had a great relationship but it was one despite my moms flaws I tried to recover. When I came out as trans though I had to go no contact which sucks because I totally lost contract with my much younger sister.

My dad on the other hand was weird about me coming out at first but he accepted it. What happened next is what I think other parents should have to do to hit the bar of being a good parent. Mind you this is an ex military man and a Latino dad. He did research on his own, met other parents of trans kids, he took the time to learn. Then he apologized to me without me prompting it, without me having to bring things up, for the times he insulted me for gender deviance and the times he sat me down about being a real man. He took me to get a Mani Pedi and sat with me and talked with me and actually listened to me.

What my dad did, that should be the bar. He wasn't always the best parent, I loved him always but he at times even got physical, in the way that's excepted by most Latnix households but shit that is none the less traumatizing. Verbally I'd get scared of him some times, he yelled a lot, he had anger issues. The man worked on himself when there was less kids living in his nest though, he got on anger meds, went to therapy, did what he needed to do to become a better man overall. He's not perfect but he is my dad, I love the guy and I actually could forgive him for everything, start healing from all the stuff that he did to me in a major way thanks to him taking the steps to actually make up for shit.

It shouldn't be enough for my mom to call me one day, say "your my daughter and I love you as my daughter", like that isn't enough. It isn't enough to say sorry, it isn't enough to buy me a dress, what I want is the root issues to be fixed and an actual apology process. That is what we all deserve even if our parents were mostly good, we deserve them putting their fucking all into supporting trans people. They could be advocating for trans people to their peers, they should be working on making a better world for their kids. Parents should be able to say they were wrong, that they made mistakes and that they are going to do better.

I think that is the bar for us to have a relationship with our parents, if we can otherwise get away with it I think if they can't reach that bar, they don't deserve you in their lives.

If you like this queer theory stuff from me, giving me cash on Patreon or Ko-fi let's me know, I should probably share more thoughts, but you could also give me money and request I shut up, I'll take that.

[ladynightlark]

Hi! I love CFLDF so much! I have so many theories about where the characters are going and what their past is, I feel like I'm trying to piece together a mystery book. It's similar and different enough to canon that I can guess the major plot points and still be blown away! I really like the way you weave the characters and their relationships and how you make them feel like real people. Special highlights for me are Senjuro my favorite anxious mess, Nezuko my queen, and the rest of the thunder fam; Kaigaku (world's worst older brother), Zenitsu (he should have been at the club), Jigoro (crazy old man), and the honorable member Tanjiro (world's best older brother).

I'm also trying to write a role swap kny fic and I was wondering if you had some advice? If it isn't asking too much! I've had half finished versions of a first chapter sitting in my docs for months because I can't decide what direction to take the story 😔

I keep swinging back and forth between thunder breath! Nezuko (probably found by Mitsuri the stone pillar before she was sent to Kaigaku) (where Zenitsu fits in this au depends, sometimes he is a demon and others he is the world's equivalent of the butterfly girls) and moon breath! Nezuko (ft. Koku being the Tamayo of the world and teaching Nezuko); and I also alternate between having Tanjiro stick around like canon Nezuko or having the DK take him and Tanjiro forgetting all about his human life and Nezuko's mission being more about revenge before the grand reveal. And also, just for example, I can't decide if I want to have a Shinobu-Tomioka swap (Shinobu has a lot of dead relatives 🫤 and Giyuu is the medic always pretending he is not filled with untamable hatred) (Aoi is his tsuguko and Sabito is the dead brother lover), or a Doma-Shinobu swap or the flower sisters as the spider family. Or a Doma raises Inosuke and Kanao but they're still human and they infiltrate the corps for him sub plotline in between everything. Or, every member of the Kamaboko is working for the DK as demons and Nezuko's gang is just a bunch of minor (probably demon characters) and everything plays out fairly similar. Or a Shinazugawa and Rengoku brothers swap based on my mom's (an anime only) theory that the Shinazugawa brothers were experiments and that was why Sanemi was all scarred and Genya could eat demons.

Some of this can coexist but a good chunk of them can't and I'm not settling for anything. Like there's so many possibilities, and I was wondering if you had some advice on how to settle on something?

Hi! Thank you so much! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the series! Hopefully many of your theories will be answered soon!

That’s awesome to hear that you’re writing your own role-swap! And I’d love to offer some advice. Feel free to take/use whatever you feel will help you best or ignore what you think you don’t need.

(Also I’m not an expert on writing this, so please, for anyone reading this, use what you’d like and know this is just my opinion on writing AUs for KNY.)

So, the first thing you should work out when planning a role-swap is WHAT KIND of role-swap you want to do. Based on what I’ve read, there are probably five different ways people have done Protagonist Nezuko Role-Swaps:

The Classic Swap - Tanjiro and Nezuko swap roles, but everything in canon (story and character-wise) remains the same

The Mentor Swap - Tanjiro and Nezuko swap roles, and a different Hashira/Demon Slayer takes them in (typically resulting in Nezuko learning a different breathing style); everything else in canon (story and character-wise) remains the same

The Hashira - Upper Moon Swap / The Human - Demon Swap - All members of the Hashira/Demon Slayer become Kizuki Demons and the Upper Moons/Kizuki become Hashira/Demon Slayer; can also be expanded into all humans being demons and vice versa too

The Character/Role-Swap - A specific character has their backstory (and at times, personality) swapped with that of another character (Ex: Rengoku - Shinazugawa, or Tomioka - Sabito)

The Customized Swap - May use a combination of some or all of the above swaps, or just take the story in a different direction (Ex: Tanjiro and Nezuko being separated for a majority of the story, or simply giving characters a new role without giving them a clear/strict “swap”)

Once you decide which one to do, I suggest “working from the inside out” when planning the rest of your Swap AU. This is more for the last three swaps but can be used for the others depending on how much you change.

Start with the characters you KNOW you want to swap (whether it be members of the Kamaboko Squad, the demon “defecting” from the Demon King, or the Hashira). Once you have those figured out, you can start filling in the blanks. It might take a little time to come up with, but whenever you have a thought, write it down and play around with the idea for a bit to see if it will fit with the story you are writing.

If it’s easier to start with the Kamaboko Squad, get everything you want figured out with them first. If it’s the hashira, have your line-up and see what details you can give them in the moment. If it’s the Demon King, come up with a basic idea for his/her appearance, personality, and motives. Start with what you know, and then move on from there.

Once you’ve figured out most of your characters, then look into how you’re going to develop the story. Will you be following the canon events exactly as they happened in the manga/anime? Will some events be rearranged? Added/Removed? 

I recommend creating a rough (and I cannot express this enough, ROUGH) timeline of how your story’s main events will unfold, and then walking your characters through them. See if it makes sense, and take note if you find areas where you might need to revise things or add another scene.

And as a final piece of advice, read a few role-swaps and see what you like. I know before I even started writing the first chapter of this story, I read through a lot and found a few favorites that gave me inspiration for concepts such as potential swaps, different ways to explore characters/events/themes, and how to handle changing what’s canon without taking away what made it good in the first place. Have fun with your research, and you’ll slowly start to see things come together!

(Manga Spoilers Ahead)

Now, to address some of the ideas you have…

I'd go with whatever breath-style you feel most confident writing Nezuko in. I know writing her as a thunder breather can be a bit tricky since we only see Zenitsu perform the first form in canon and Kaigaku’s version of the other forms are influenced by his blood demon art, I do think it’s one of the best breathing styles to play to her strengths. But I’ve never read a story with her as a moon breather, and that could definitely open a lot of segways into different storytellings (especially if you decide to go the Human - Demon swap route). Plus, having Kokushibo in a different role other than Upper Moon One or a Hashira could be a fun storyline to explore that would definitely catch some attention.

This is also a very interesting idea that could really set the story apart. Kind of like what I said above, I’d say go with what you’re most confident writing. Having Tanjiro stick with Nezuko is one way of keeping the story close to canon, and I think there’s a lot of popularity/meaning in having their strong sibling bond emphasized as they navigate the world of demons together. But having Tanjiro separated from Nezuko makes a lot of sense as well, considering their heritage and how the DK (if they are different from Muzan) may want to take advantage of a descendant of sun-breathing being a demon. That would probably change the story a lot, but if you have a plan for how you will navigate the split POVs and how their characters will be affected by the separation and development of their ideals, then I think that would be a fun route to go and lead to a lot of awesome content.

I can definitely see Tomioka and Shinobu swapping. I’d be curious to know how much of their personalities would change as a result (such as Shinobu being more open with her feisty attitude or being more subdued like canon Tomioka, and then Tomioka being like you said having some hidden anger).

I think any of the Doma swaps would be fantastic ideas to implement. Especially the one with Kanao and Inosuke being spies infiltrating the Corps! I don’t think I’ve heard of anything like that before, and given the amount of development that could bring about, and how much of a twist/shock that would be for their “allies” with their reveal, that would be such a great plotline to include.

I’d love to see more of the minor demons that were killed off early in the series get bigger roles! I think it boils down to what I mentioned in the first part of the post, and deciding what the exact parameters of your story’s swaps will be. If you do go this route, I’d be excited to see what other backstories the other demons/humans will get.

I think switching the Rengoku and Shinazugawa brothers would definitely be a cool idea! Especially given how they share a lot of similarities, like how the older brothers would do anything to give their younger siblings a better, happy life. And that’s actually a really interesting theory your mom came up with! I think that would be such a cool idea for an alternative backstory for Sanemi and Genya, given how unique their abilities and conditions are (Sanemi having incredibly strong marechi blood and Genya being able to eat demons and gain some of their strength).

Ultimately, have fun with it. If you’re having trouble deciding, try and write out rough story outlines for your ideas and characters and see what works best. Or, just pick the one you’re most excited about. After all, it’s your story, and as I’ve found, if you’re really passionate and excited about a certain idea or swap, the planning and writing comes so much easier.

I hope this helps! If you would like to discuss these more, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you have or brainstorm. Feel free to privately message me here (or if you would prefer, I have a Discord where we can communicate further).

Thank you so much for reaching out and asking! Have an awesome day!

[skippyv20]

Kara Kennedy Spectator

Spectator

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACKMeghan Markle’s comeback: welcome to the MeghanaissanceThe Duchess of Sussex is trying to salvage her reputation

May 4, 2023 | 9:31 amMeghan Markle MeghanaissanceWritten By:

Kara Kennedy

Maybe it was always going this way. After being a briefcase girl, an actress, a D-list celebrity and blowing it as a real-life royal, perhaps the only natural next step for Meghan Markle was to become an influencer. Look at Fergie, once married to Prince Andrew. Now the Duchess of York makes her living writing romance novels, selling jam and giving “exclusive” interviews to any tabloid that’ll buy her lunch.

The truth is that there is no glamor in being an ex-something. Look at the washed-up ex-wives and girlfriends of sports stars, selling herbal tea on Instagram for a few bucks and being paid to show up at crappy provincial nightclubs filled with teenagers. (It’s harder to be fussy when you need to pay the bills.) This, though, was not the future that Meghan expected when she and Harry decided to exile themselves to Los Angeles. She was to trade in her royal life to become the next Amal Clooney, spending her days fighting for women’s rights as a glamorous philanthropist attending the most exclusive Hollywood events. But it turns out that telling fibs and constantly scheming leaves you pretty low down on the LA thought-leader-cum-It-Girl list. Who knew?

By now, the downfall of Meghan Markle is well-documented, so I’ll skip the gory details and pick the story up at what you might call her lowest ebb: earlier this year, when her popularity with the British public plummeted to its lowest yet. According to a March poll, Meghan’s popularity dropped thirty-one points since November, leaving her with an approval rating of -33. The couple made the big move across the Pond with the hopes of cracking America, but things aren’t much better on this side. Just 27 percent of Americans say they like Meghan now, compared to 44 percent who say they don’t. It seems that the pair’s plan to speak “their truth,” in the form of Netflix documentaries, numerous interviews, podcasts and a book deal — and be lavished with money, praise and sympathy for doing so — isn’t quite going to plan.

There are different theories about what could save them at this point, if a PR resurrection is even possible. The Sussexes putting on a united front and attending the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday would have been a good start. After months of speculation, the couple announced in a recent statement that Harry would attend alone and Meghan would stay in California with their children to celebrate Archie’s fourth birthday. In fairness to Meghan, it’s highly likely that she would have faced considerable criticism had she shown up, after three years of what some call — fairly — her mission to destroy the reputation of the British monarchy. But King Charles was there for Meghan on her special day, her wedding in 2018, when he eschewed tradition and walked her down the aisle after her father Thomas Markle didn’t attend. To return the favor would be polite, if nothing else.

Does Meghan’s low-key few months mean she is retreating from the limelight for good? What do you think?

In January, when Harry released his memoir, Spare, Meghan was noticeably absent from the promotional interviews. At the time, people were shocked that the usually inseparable pair didn’t show up together to his many appearances. At the time, sources claimed that there was friction between the couple that stemmed from the negative reaction to the book. Whatever happened, Meghan’s presence by Harry’s side would have made things even more awkward for the renegade prince. Imagine her next to Harry during his interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby, in which he reneged on his wife’s claim that royal family was racist, saying instead that she was the victim of “unconscious bias.” The couple have long claimed that the royal family did nothing to dispel certain “press-concocted narratives” about them — yet for nearly three years they gladly allowed Harry’s family to be branded as pompous racists.

But does Meghan’s coronation snub and low-key approach to her husband’s book mean she is retreating from the limelight for good? What do you think?

It looks like Markle’s time out will soon be over as she gears up for a big return to public life. Last week it was revealed that the duchess had signed up with powerhouse agency WME that “will focus on building Meghan’s global enterprise.” Her team at the agency will include power agent turned Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, Brad Slater, the rep and brand architect within the agency for Dwayne Johnson, and Serena Williams’s agent Jill Smoller. Welcome to the Meghanissance. As the bestselling royal author Robert Jobson told me, “It can only be a good thing that Meghan is looking to revamp her public image — but it’ll mean actually listening to what her PR team tell her for once.”

In recent weeks the duchess has made two public appearances back to back; one in a video message introducing photographer and friend Misan Harriman ahead of his Ted Talk speech. In it, the duchess debuted a new look; darker, slickly straightened hair and minimal make-up. Meghan’s makeover held symbolic importance — straying away from her usual overdone look, she instead offered a more grown-up appearance. The second sighting was at a LA Lakers game, Harry in tow. It was the first time they had been seen in public together in more than a month and it didn’t do much to dispel rumors of a rift. The duchess awkwardly declined a kiss from Harry as they were captured on the jumbotron at the Crypto.com Arena in front of 20,000 people, including Kim Kardashian and Adam Sandler.

But if Meghan’s transition to an ex-royal influencer is to be successful, social media will prove vital. There are whispers in California that the duchess will soon return to Instagram, which she left in 2020 after it was agreed that the couple could no longer keep their Sussex Royal monogram. These rumors were alluded to last year when Meghan told a reporter at the Cut: “Do you want to know a secret? I’m getting back on Instagram” — but so far there is no sign of her on the app.

Meghan’s return would be sure to cause tension. As a report in the latest issue of Vanity Fair puts it, when the royal family modernized “the social media push put the royals at the hands of those watchers and the types of parasocial competition-pitting it seems to seize on and promote. Like Team Jen versus Team Angelina, or Liverpool versus Man United, aggressive and profane fights broke out between groups of self described Meghan and Kate fans. By late 2018, Cambridge versus Sussex had gone from digital match bait to reality.”

So how do the rest of the royals feel about this potential comeback? Apprehensive to say the least. One source close to the family tells me that Meghan’s vision is “luminous and quite frankly scary.” After Meghan and Harry’s relative silence last year the palace could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but then, in quick succession, came the Netflix documentary, that Jeremy Clarkson column and Harry’s memoir Spare. The Clarkson column blew up after he referenced an infamous Game of Thrones scene and casted Meghan Markle as Cersei. He wrote: “At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.” The ill-considered broadside against Meghan, for which he later apologized, hurt the royals the hardest, with soon-to-be Queen Camilla confiding in a friend that Clarkson was “so unhelpful, just as we were really getting on the front foot of all of this.”

While Markle may be able to scramble back into some Hollywood circles, it is unlikely to be quite as rarefied a crowd as she once hoped. Meanwhile, her relationship with the royal family is pretty near irreparable.

At this stage, there is little doubt about the palace’s feelings about her. As harmful as Meghan’s actions in the last year have been, a source close to the royals tells me that much of the damage was already done — and that the personal feelings of the late Queen loom large. According to my source, the Queen “saw through Meghan Markle” and remarked that she was “evil” during a drinks reception at a dinner the late monarch hosted at Balmoral in August last year.

‘It was out of character for the Queen to use such a word as “evil” to describe Meghan, but she saw straight through her’

“Everybody’s eyebrows hit the ceiling,” the source claimed. “It was out of character for the Queen to use such a word as “evil” to describe Meghan, but she saw straight through her. It was a startling sentence to hear from the most forgiving woman on earth.”

“At the drinks before the dinner, a small group were talking to the monarch and she explained that Harry meeting Meghan had become a complete catastrophe and described her as evil. By this point we all knew the Queen’s health was in decline and she had months left, she seemed regretful about how things had panned out.”

Throughout the last three years Meghan and Harry have consistently claimed that there was no bad blood between them and the monarch, but this has often been disputed. Biographer Tom Bower’s latest book Revenge: Meghan, Harry And The War Between The Windsors cites unnamed sources that claim the Queen once remarked of her husband’s funeral: “Thank goodness Meghan is not coming.” Royal watchers believe that Meghan and Harry’s reservations to implicitly blame Queen Elizabeth for any of the wrongdoings of the royal family was an intentional move in order to return to royal life if they ever needed to — but the more we hear of the Queen’s supposed feelings, the less likely that seems.

At this stage, Harry and Meghan continuing to cash in by bad-mouthing the Firm seems more likely than a reconciliation. Entertainment Tonight reported earlier this year that Harry had a lucrative four-book deal with Penguin Random House, the publisher behind his tell-all, that’s worth $35-$40 million. It is rumored that at least one of these books will be written by the duchess. Even if she doesn’t put pen to paper, Meghan is reportedly resurrecting her lifestyle blog “the Tig,” after the New York Post reported that there was a document filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, that indicates a prospective relaunched version of the site. I hope the content will have improved from last time, where she jotted down posts about her meditation guru, who was called Light, or how much she loves the book Eat, Pray, Love.

After it was announced that Meghan wouldn’t attend the coronation, her PR team insisted she has “moved on” and is “going about her life in the present.” As we all know, a Hollywood lifestyle for two ex-royals is expensive — and whatever they choose to do, they’ll need to find a way to pay for it.

ByKara Kennedy

Kara Kennedy is a staff writer for The Spectator World. She comes from Wales and resides in London

Thank you🙂❤️

[mazhazalotofthoughts]

After all the shit that’s happened on twitter I decided to make this post. People would rather believe that their idol does stereotypically queer things so they can profit off their queer fans. Like? That’s a horrible thing to do. Queerness is not something you can shrug on and off for the sake of profits and popularity amongst a ceratin group. If we are going with the theory that Louis is straight I, a queer person would be highly irked by his behaviour. First off, Only The Brave is about queer love. Louis didn’t write it, so if Louis sat down, read the lyrics and said “I’m straight and can’t relate to any of these lyrics but tons of my fans are queer and I know they’ll eat this up so I’ll take it instaed of passing it to a queer artist who would have a personal connection to the song” That would be such a fucked up thing to do. Not to mention that the song has literally become a beacon of light for his queer fans and the venues become literal pride parades for the song. He literally did a shoot with polari. That is a language created by the queer comminuty so they could communicate with eachother without getting fucking arrested or killed by homophobes. I would find it highly inappropriate for a famous straight man to promote and profit off a brand founded on the struggles of the queer comminity without having any connection to the community or those struggles. Especially when there are so many artists who are queer who could understand those struggles. Also, Louis knows what Larry is, he knows what blue and green mean. He goes out on stage every show and sings a song with Larry in it. He gets the venues to light up in blue and green. He points at Larry signs. The only shirt he wore twice on tour was blue and green. If we think he does all these things on purpose but that Larry isn’t real, it means that he is misleading an entire part of his fandom for profit and popularity. Plus, the Larry fandom is made up, primarily of queer people. It would be absolutely shit of him to constantly bait his queer fans just so he can make more money. Because that is what he’s doing if Larry isn’t real. He’d be preying on his queer fans and making himself more marketable to them because he knows they make up a big chuck of his fandom. But do you know how fucked up that is? Pretending to be gay and queercoding just for money? Like it’s something that people aren’t killed, disowned, beat and abused for? Like being gay is some trendy thing that makes you seem hip and woke? People would really rather believe that Louis is doing all that than believe that he might be in a relationship with his ex bandmate. Because if I wasn’t dead set on the fact that Larry is real, I would actively despise Louis with a passion for misleading his queer fans and profiting off the queer aesthetic.

Same with Harry. If Harry is straight than all his queercoding and coming outs would means he’s literally just ‘playing gay for fun’. What is light’s up? What is She, medicine, fine line? LIke?? How do you explain those in a cis/het way? They’d rather think that he has to get drunk to think of his girlfriend and that when they have sex is the only time he knows her than the possibility that the “her” in question is a reference to his gender idenity. Same with She. It’s like the thought of Harry being anything but cis/het is an absoutle tragedy. They’d rather create a version of the story where Harry actively hurts queer people. And the whole Holivia thing. You really want Harry to be the kind of guy who sleeps with his boss while she’s in a relationship with a man who she has with two young kids with? She also just happens to be Harvey Weinstein's right hand man and she’s also ten years older and in a position of power over him and can impact his career in the industry. You really think Harry would do that? And if he did, you should be concerned. That is a recipe for a relationship built on manipulation and power. Why would anyone want that for Harry? Because it’s better than him being queer? Because it’s better than him being anything other than the cis/het fantasy you’ve been sold since the day he auditioned for the X factor. So when people say that Larry is fake and clearly they’re both straight I just want them to evaluate what that means for them. Because if they are straight and Larry has never been real, not only are they profiting off the queer aesthteic and their queer fans, they are causing harm to real queer people who can’t come out, who can’t be themselves because guess what? Being queer is still a sin and bad to so many people. Also, do you really wanna believe that Louis, a world famous singer was so irresponsible he got a one night stand pregnant? That’s the first rule in Hollywood! If you’re gonna have sex, use protection! And if you do get someone pregnant? GET A PAT TEST! Lord knows some people would use a baby just to get money and fame. Also, Louis has always kept his private life to himself. He would not all the sudden take his baby on walks so he can get photographed for publicity and relevancy. Like? You want to believe that Louis is the kind of day to expose his newborn to the paps just so he can get media attention? Or make so many Billie Jean references? Get his own sons birthday wrong? Let the media believe he’s a dead beat dad? Is that who you want to stan? A man who refuses to acknowledge his girlfriend of 10 years? A man who treats his girlfriend like a dog walker and trophy wife? I would not support a man like that.

So all of this is to say, which narrative paints Louis and Harry in a bad light? Which one makes them seem like queerbaiting homewreckers? The one where Larry isn’t real and where Louis isn’t a dad.

If there day ever comes where Larry is confirmed to be nothing but a wise tale, H and L will lose my support because of how much they interact with the fandom and continue to push Larry.

[flmed]

roten Wangen &. Lippen, blutverschmierte Zähne &. Finger ; Über das Kauen &. Schmatzen der Todten in Gräbern . . .

carnassial teeth maiming putrescent flesh of own; feasting upon the blood of own's kin––––awake; eternally, immortally.

the death of johann dreyman is an inexplicable one; flamed without burning ashes but an intact body of poisoned lungs, with burnt scars sprawling. those are old wounds; treated &. healed . . . was his death an accident, suicide, or murder ? the body was put laid rest despite unfathomable circumstance of unfinished case––––––––but when a new investigator sought for an answer in the cold graves; he could hear the munching of teeth 'neath the ground; maggots scrawling on the coffin, &. yet they found nothing but bitten shrouds of bloodied marks.

this verse's intended for supernatural / horror themes ; johann has become a nachzehrer, or known as german vampire. comes from german folklore, a nachzehrer is a creature after death that devours its family members upon waking; eating their flesh &. feasting on their bloods. the more they eat, the more they have become immortal. it is said that they could ascend to a church to ring the bells &. bring death to anyone who hears them; becoming the shadow &. lurks into a person's shadow &. eat their body––––they don't become immortal because of bites; it is inexplicable cause, but it is believed they were created because of an inexplicable death or an accidental death, or suicides &. they're alive to devours the last remaining of its family &. search for an answer of their deaths

upon his waking, his body was decaying; it has been three months since his death &. his flesh have been gnawing by maggots. his body was insipid; without blood flowing through his veins &. his heart was not beating anymore. he ate his own burnt mark on the forearm &. shrouds. he clawed alive from the coffin &. the ground &. walked to his home in berlin &. stayed there for several weeks before he went for a hunt. he would eat human flesh to survive, similar to canni.balism but he is dead.

due to the current state of his case is being open &. the police is looking for his corpse; johann is travelling from one city to another countries. the money he has from his work is still accessible.

christian symbols, garlics, sun &. all of things that could kill vampire won't work at him. to kill him is by placing a coin in his mouth &. chopping off his head.

the first victim upon his waking is his ex-wife, anais. as much as he loved her, he ate her alive, from the arm to the feet, to beaten heart. this gives his appearance from rotten flesh, to rejuvenated body. because of his ex-wife reputation as an actress, she was sought by the whole nation. people are speculating on her disappearance, &. connects it to his death &. body's disappearance from cult to a theory that johann &. anais are both alive and well; together somewhere in privacy they couldn't have before

he tried to not go to his cousin, however because of the current state of his case &. his corpse has disappeared, nina whom believed the folklore sought for him &. found him. she would feed him with the organs &. blood she could get from her work in the hospital.

he is now looking for his father, to eat his flesh.

he does not remember the real cause of his death. thus because of this he shall become an immortal forevermore.

[estelscinema]

YELLOWJACKETS (Season 2) REVIEW

The Yellowjackets barely made it through the summer, but as winter begins to bite, we'll see if hunger and desperation turn into full-on psychosis. Meanwhile, 25 years later, each survivor must determine if the darkness is coming for them or from them.

Over the past year, Yellowjackets has become a sleeper hit for Showtime. Its mysteries and enthralling story kept viewers engaged weekly, with theory spiraling all over the internet. However, a question soon became apparent: Would the show fall victim to a sophomore slump? Sadly, Yellowjackets takes a massive dive in quality in its second season with its incredibly messy and directionless story.

This second season is incredibly frustrating. There are many moments when the show hits its strides masterfully, but it is sadly weighed down by bad filler and messy stories. As with the first season, the teen/wilderness storyline is much better than the survivor storyline. However, the wilderness storyline does take a bit of a fall due to nearly 50% of it being meaningless filler and some elements, such as extreme starvation and the drive to cannibalism, not being fleshed out enough. With that said, it at least knows its direction and hits all its themes and emotional moments well. The same can't be stated for the survivor storyline. The survivor storyline is entirely directionless as it experiments on which direction it wants to go. It's messy and apparent that none of the writers collaborated while developing the survivor story. The characters are given busy work and focus on the wrong storylines. The dark Tia/Van storyline is fanservice, and the creepy cop vs. Shauna's family overstayed its welcome. Natalie should be with Lottie, not Lisa when confronting her trauma. At least the Misty and Walter storyline was incredibly entertaining, with Ricci and Wood having the time of their lives playing psychopathic serial killers. However, with Walter becoming a Duex Ex Machina for the Adam Martin murder subplot, they lazily wrote their way out of a conflict and backed themselves into a corner. The writers dragged their feet building to their climax and speedrun right through the climax. It really makes me wonder why I should want the WGA to have a raise when this is the quality of writing they put out.

Now one thing that is consistent in this second season is the performances of the ensemble cast. However, in this second season, the teen performances are the real show-stealers that will sadly not get recognized by any award circuit. Sophie Nelisse, Sophie Thatcher, and Samantha Hanratty are the biggest standouts. While Nelisse gives a heartbreaking and Emmy-worthy performance as teen Shauna. Her screams were harrowing and is more deserving of a nomination than Melanie Lynskey. As with the adults, all the returning adult characters give fantastic performances, with Christina Ricci, Sarah Desjardins, and Warren Kole being the biggest standouts of the group. As for the new additions, Simon Kessell gives a good performance as adult Lottie by balancing insanity and kindness. Though she is the least like her teen counterpart. Lauren Ambrose kills it as adult Van but is wasted due to a lack of screen time and material. Elijah Wood is fantastic at playing a male version of Misty. Him and Ricci have impeccable chemistry on screen, and together they saved a lot of the survivor storytime due to their performances that might snag the pair Emmy nominations.

Now between the incredibly questionable-looking snow and some fantastic 90s needle drops, is there any hope for Yellowjackets? My optimistic answer would be yes. The WGA strike has delayed writing, which will most likely help the show going forward because it will allow the writers and showrunners to sit and simmer on the criticism of this latest season. As well as allowing the showrunners and Showtime to realize that this show is not meant for five seasons. Ideally, three seasons, but four because we are past the point of no return. This series needs to get its writing and story together before going forward instead of this directionless mess of a season. Overall, the latest season of Yellowjackets has moments of brilliance and fantastic acting, but its directionless story heavily drags it down.

My Rating: B-

[j-graysonlibrary]

Fort Heaven Chapter 30

Title: Fort Heaven

Author: Jay Grayson

Word Count: 69K

Genres: Suspense, investigative, drama, LGBT+

Available on: Kobo and my website

Synopsis: Some call it a hoax. Others claim it’s a cult. But, to Evon and his friend Yasmine, two online journalists, Fort Heaven is the subject of their latest story. Along for the assignment is cameraman and not-so-secret crush of Evon’s: Russet. With a drunken, murky night in their recent history, things are especially tense between them but, of course, personal matters take a backseat when the interviews start. The trio speaks to ex-members of Fort Heaven and, while some of the accounts are shocking, the job remains just that: A job. That is until one of the women they interviewed, along with her daughter, goes missing. It soon becomes clear that not only is Fort Heaven a real threat but Evon and his friends are being watched. And what started as a simple cash-grab article is now a matter of life and death.

Full chapter 30 under the cut

Chapter 30

There seemed to be no end to the cruelty and resourcefulness of Fort Heaven and Willow had begun to wonder if Simon had known all along about her connections. If the entire thing had been a roués. Each moment—each word—could have been a lie from the start.

And, somehow, that theory wasn’t as horrific as the reality that was presented to her. The genuine interest in torturing a young woman just because she disagreed with the holy Simon--the idea that she would want to help with that torture…it was too much.

Yet, Willow couldn’t break down and cry like she wanted to. Even if her insides were on fire, she still had to act as though nothing was wrong. If she showed discomfort it would have to be minimal and she knew if she let even a drop of her real emotion escape then the floodgates would open.

That was how she ended up standing, motionless and silent, in front of a table with long nails driven into it from the underside. They weren’t even and the table looked like it had definitely been used before judging by the discoloration.  Nichole was laid on her back, her body being pricked and punctured all over while her weight gradually inflicted more damage. To make matters worse, every time she refused to speak or answered one of Simon’s questions “wrong”, a small cement block was placed on top of her.

Nichole had a block on her forehead and two across her stomach when Simon placed a fourth on her right knee.

“If you’re thinking you can live even if you  make it all the way down to the table then you are sorely mistaken,” Simon chided, “No one has survived more than eighteen weights. Even if the puncture wounds don’t get them then they will, eventually, bleed out.”

She said nothing and just closed her eyes when he pressed down on her leg. When he didn’t let up, she winced and made a sound of discomfort.

“I didn’t even know about your stupid cult until the other month,” Nichole said through a tight jaw.

“But your mother passed onto you her filth. You now hold the sins of your own intolerance along with her heresy and treachery.”

“If you hated her so much, why go and hunt her down?”

Willow looked between the two who were locked eye to eye. She could slip away if she wanted—it could even take a moment for Simon to notice her absence. It would be a betrayal to her best friend but, in her own mind, she’d already hugely let her down.

She could at least use the opportunity to do something important. Even if it was a long shot.

“All sinners must be punished,” Simon responded to Nichole, kneeling even closer to her face. He wasn’t blinking and neither was she.

“And what do you call what you’re doing?” Her voice was sharp despite her circumstances. She still refused to lose to him—even at such a major disadvantage.

For a second, Willow second guessed herself but, as their staring match continued, she started to take steps backwards.

The moment she knew she was out of Simon’s peripherals, she ran out of the door. The cold hit her with a gust of wind but she didn’t slow—not until she saw Seth.

His brow rose in surprise so she could assume that he knew his father had plans with her. Once the initial confusion passed, he seemed happy.

“Did my father let you go early?”

Willow shook her head, deciding—on the fly—that she needed to be honest. Sort of. “Can I talk to you in private? Very quickly?”

Seth dropped his defenses and frowned. His eyes were glued to her and his stare was intensely concerned and genuine. “Sure.”

They ducked into the nearest building which was on the side of the compound. No one was in the hall so Willow knew they were safe.

“Your father is trying to get me to help him torture people…and I…” She held his eyes and whispered, “I can’t.”

Thankfully, Seth showed zero disappointment. He reached out to hold onto her shoulders and squeezed. “I’m sorry…He just wants you to be capable of defending yourself…defending us and our cause. He’s got his priorities mixed up though.”

Willow closed her eyes for a second as she ran several half-baked plans through her head. She settled on one. “Do you think you can convince him to rethink this? I can’t be in a place like this anymore…I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize,” Seth said in a muted tone, “You’re a loving, bright person…I never liked this plan of his. And…I’ll see what I can do for you, Willow.”

“Thank you,” she responded before leaning up on the tips of her toes and giving him a kiss.

It was the last thing he was expecting considering her lack of affection up to that point. He froze for a second before he kissed her back and she used the moment to move further into his arms.

One of her hands gripped onto Seth’s back as she opened her mouth to take his lower lip between hers. Her other hand moved slyly and searched for his cell phone. Once her finger felt the cold metal case, she slowly pulled it out of his pocket.

For a second, she almost lost her grip when Seth took her face into his hands to deepen their kiss. She went with it, now knowing for sure that he had no awareness of anything other than their kiss. His phone fit into her palm and she slid it up her jacket sleeve.

It was her objective but she didn’t pull away from Seth immediately. She did try to slow the kiss which eventually coaxed the man to do the same. With a gentle rub against his chest, she put some distance between them.

His eyes were clouded with an emotion she didn’t want to see from him. Still, she managed a smile and silently prayed that it appeared real.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Seth’s jaw hung open for a second. When he recollected himself, he replied to her in kind, “I…I love you too. I’ll go talk to my father right now. Don’t you worry…”

Willow kept her smile and nodded in appreciation. She held her hands together in front of her, keeping a good hold on the phone. Even as Seth left the building, she kept her hands there as still as she could even if her heart was ready to burst out of her chest.

When the adrenaline hit, it hit hard.

She rushed into a room by herself and took out the phone. It had a passcode but she knew that already (though she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she could correctly recall it). The one other time she’d had his phone in her hands, he had to reach over and press the numbers in quickly. She’d pretended not to look but she knew—at the moment—it would be vital somehow.

With trembling fingers, she pressed the right sequence and the screen lit up. She felt her eyes become hot and her vision started to blur but she did her best to reel all of that back in.

Willow had to hold the phone with both hands as she listened to the ringing on the other end.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“I’d like to report a concentration camp and a lot of unlawful imprisonments. I know the general area but not the exact address…but I’m on a mobile phone so could you track the location?” Her voice audibly shook and there wasn’t much she could do about that.

“If the location is on, that is correct.” There was a pause on the other end. “Can you tell me anymore about the imprisonment you know of?”

“It’s run by Fort Heaven—the cult—and they torture people here and there have been deaths. No one can leave to get help…I stole this phone to call you.”

“Okay, ma’am, please stay calm. We were able to retrieve your location and I am sending word to the police and the EMTs. Until they arrive, keep low and just try to stay safe.”

Willow gulped. “Thank you.”

The line went silent and a few tears fell down and hit the floor. It was impossible to describe how she felt—there was happiness that she knew help was coming but there was also a tremendous amount of anxiety considering all that could go wrong in the meantime.

If she wanted to do everything she could, she’d have to make sure everyone was ready to go the second the police arrived. Knowing what she did of Fort Heaven, she knew they were bound to take extreme measures once they realized what was happening.

Especially Simon.

If he figured out she had anything to do with it, her life would be forfeit.

Willow stuffed Seth’s phone safely into her jacket before making her way to the core of the main building. The guards who were off duty were most likely sleeping so she snuck through the dorm area to get to the main elevator.

She rushed to the room where she had led Russet into just the other day. Outside was a guard with a morose expression.

“Um…Excuse me?” Willow spoke up but kept a decent distance from the man.

He snapped out of a fugue and shook his head. “Yes?”

“Simon the Usurper of Evil asked me to interrogate the heretic in place of the assigned guard. Sorry, I forgot his name but he’s helping his holiness with something rather important.”

Willow watched his face intently and started to feel the relief flood in when it became apparent that the man didn’t care too much as to what or why. He simply stepped to the side.

“Head on in.”

With the guard’s help in unlocking the door, she walked in.

Similar to the last time she was inside, the room was dimly lit and eerily silent with a faint, bitter scent hanging in the air. In the back, alone, and shackled to the wall was Russet.

His hair was down, covering much of his face, and his skin and rags were stained with blood. For a second Willow had an intense fear of him being dead but she saw him move and take a breath.

“…Willow…?” Russet’s voice came out strained and hoarse. “Is that you?”

“Yes,” she whispered back and hurried to his side.

The bloodstains made much more sense as she got closer though she wished she didn’t have to see it. His right hand was wrapped up and it was clear that his fingers had been cut off at the middle knuckle. His thumb was clean off and there was no telling when his hand had last been redressed.

Cuts were visible in several places on his body but nothing looked serious—same with the bruising. Willow’s only big concern besides his hand, was the possibility of internal bleeding but she figured if that had been the case then he’d definitely be dead already.

“I’m getting you out of here,” she said as she used one of her few important keys to free him.

“Is everyone safe?” Russet asked. His arms fell limply at his sides and Willow could tell he had lost a lot of strength.

“Everyone will be soon.”

“Are you sure?” He pressed the issue.

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t let any of you get hurt again,” she responded and led him to the door.

He heavily leaned on her but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Russet was taller than her but he was fairly thin which was heavily exacerbated by recent circumstances. She opened the door and, immediately, the guard became curious.

“What’s going on?” He asked—more with confusion than suspicion.

Willow looked over to him. “He confessed some interesting things. I’m taking him straight to Simon. He’ll want to hear this.”

“Why not lead him here instead of taking the prisoner to him?”

She shook her head. “The boss’ rules, not mine.”

The guard accepted the answer with surprising ease and shrugged. “Well alright. Need help with him?”

“No—he’s really weak. I’ve got it.”

With that, Willow walked to the elevator with no other run-ins. Her adrenaline was pumping but she took slow steps alongside Russet.

When they stepped into the elevator and the doors closed, the man glanced over at her. He even chuckled under his breath.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Russet mentioned with another chuckle. He could hardly stand and his eyes were heavy but he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Where there was no hope before, he suddenly felt a small surge of optimism.

[maria-eve-falcon]

The past is a happy place

Caution : this is a theory based on some psychics (I’ve linked the sources) and my gut feeling from the song tis the damn season and the fact that she wrote it when she was drunk (aaron said something like this) and the sheer rawness of the song. (and maybe this is also projecting) I have been thinking about this a lot lately and I just wanted to mention this cause 2 people , 3 times have almost mentioned this. Take everything with a grain of salt please as I myself don’t believe in everything psychics say cause they all talk about possibilities. this is a theory and I mean no harm or shade to anyone. And if you are planning on reading, this will be LONG

https://youtu.be/rHfQb5N4U7I?t=335 ( secret crush) (click and you’ll know what I’m talking about)

https://youtu.be/nktwP_c085c?t=272 (an ex she keeps checking on)) (click and you’ll know what I’m talking about)

So, I always thought celebs tend to reminsce the time before they got famous as a good time because fame takes their ‘normal’ away. So, they tend to idealize their past. Everything I say next will be based on this mostly so buck up!(if you plan on reading, obviously)

Maybe during re recordings she remebered these feelings again maybe (ik , I heard it but it’s just a thought ) about that person in her home town. 

Maybe she kept thinking about the ‘what ifs’ . that ‘normal’ that she rejected. That road not taken. That innocent times of being in love when you don’t worry about anything. I feel she still idealizes that as ‘perfect love’ or ‘looks real good now’ or ‘the warmest bed’ 

So, when she was in an actual, her reality’s lifestyle adult relationship and they had problems (lmao lbr nothing is perfect . not fighting or having no arguments ever is as abnormal as picking fights without reasons) she kept thinking if she was in her hometown maybe.. Just maybe things.. Would be.. Simple. And innocent. That’s why we never forget these young love moments. Those are the simpler times.

So while I think she was ready to settle, she had her doubts. And joe knew about them. I feel, he at least got a hint of that . 

Besides she seems like bit of a commitmentphobe to me.(imo, and idt it’s her fault for being a bit) Because lbr, after paper rings, it’s hard to think joe wouldn’t think about proposing (he doesn’t strike me at all as commitmentphobe but he maybe a bit too specially where his career is rn kinda normal) and if he didn’t propose after that! They must have talked about it or the relationship wouldn’t go on for almost 4 more years after lover. (I am aware of her wanting kids and wanting to get married since forever but something always seemed off to me ) 

So whenever there were fights or something needing to be sorted out she went back to those ‘we were happy’ idealizations. 

Now about this ‘ex she checks on’ , ‘ secret crush she has’ mentioned by antphrodite (sp?) in the first two vids and ‘ a person from work she has a crush on’ from that blog I linked could be anyone, but tis the damn season kinda gave me vibes like it could be a normal person who will become the person she needs and wants to be with. (i’m not ruling out joe either) . that or not, it’s defs not matty (idk how the blogger I linked got the idea that matty is gonna be a good person all on a sudden, he doesn’t even seem to understand what he did was wrong and people can be hurt by people’s words. I mean someone from work doesn’t essentially have to matty. Look at their compatibility! Harry is more compatible with her! And harry is her least compatible ex if not conner ) 

Please be reasonable. And idk or think the guy she has a crush on is compatible either tho.judging by my theory , he is a normie. And that will never work for her.  Period. She’ll always endure a lil bit of fame (also who knows if the other person can take her everything.yk) now if this guy can make her literally hide with him , maybe . or she wants to stop all of it just sit somewhere and make occasional music. Or maybe they could work! Who knows?! 

But I feel he is just not compatible with her . but she keeps thinking back and forth bout him cause she just can’t let go of the ‘road not taken’ and her ‘what ifs’

Also her way of moving on is weird. She gets into rlts real quickly after one (never leave well enough alone) ,lbr. Which can lead to having a lot of unresolved issues with her exes and , the biggest one, herself. That may be a barricade to let someone actually completely be just a happy memory i.e. letting someone go. Cause lbr, if you have unresolved issues about a rlt , these thoughts may come back and what ifs too! She is not a very ‘owning up’ person , so there is that. She needs to sort things big time actually.