#then she acknowledges what was done to her was unacceptable as well

[sincerely-sofie]

Ruby anon again! I’m glad that I haven’t been interrupting your creative process or intervening at all. I can’t wait to see what you do with Ruby and her siblings!

The siblings, btw, were a piece of work for me to write and develop until I decided to peace out on really doing anything with them. The only two things I remember about them really are:

• They’re bounty hunters and their parents did the same thing to them that they’re doing with Ruby. They’re repeating behavior taught to them and they legitimately think they’re helping Ruby. I scrapped that idea quickly because I felt like that could push out the problematic “the abused become abusers” message and that it could possibly make the siblings sympathetic, and I did not want to make them sympathetic in even the slightest way. Anything I had involving the backstory of Ruby’s siblings and/or what happened to their parents was just tossed out after that.

• I thought about the siblings having opposite personalities and looks: one is more loud and aggressive and the other is more quiet and passive aggressive. One is shiny while the other is not. One is the physical abuser while the other is the emotional abuser. Despite their personalities contrasting, they get along well with each other. I wanted it to symbolize that abuse can look different, but it’s still abuse and can often come with other forms of it. I was still on the fence about that idea because I wasn’t sure if I liked it.

I hope you can write the siblings better than I ever could. I can’t wait to see more of your work! It’s amazing! I hope you have a good night. ^^

OHHHHH MY WORD I CAN’T BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW AMAZING THESE NOTES ARE AND HOW EXCITED I AM TO INCORPORATE THEM

I love the idea of the siblings embodying different forms of abuse and the significance of how their differences ultimately play off each other in a way that they get along swimmingly. That’s a brilliantly layered piece of storytelling, you’re a genius! And thank you for the compliment, you’re super sweet :>

Real quick, an important thing to note about the possible problematic message that “the abused become abusers”— it’s a heartbreaking fact that many cases of abuse are generational in origin. The documented fact that domestic abusers are frequently victims of corporal punishment is one of the most devastating examples of this. To write a couple of characters who reflect this fact doesn’t automatically push out the idea that the abused become abusers— heck, it could be written as an important insight into the devastating effects of abuse and how it impacts its victims, and how breaking the chain of abuse is even more significant than its already seen.

Just because you write a reason for a character to be a horrible person doesn’t mean they’re automatically sympathetic, or even that they’re sympathetic in a bad way. Villains people can relate to are very powerful from a writing perspective because they make the reader stop, stare into the abyss, and see it staring back at them. A sympathetic or “understandable” villain who is still clearly villainous is terrifying compared to one that’s cartoonish pure evil. I can’t think of anyone who wants to blow up the universe, but I can think of a good few people who are xenophobic to the point of dehumanizing even themselves through their hatred. An origin story isn’t always an excuse. Sometimes it’s nothing more than an explanation— a cautionary tale that says “this could be you, so watch yourself.”

The fact that this is a possible backstory for Ruby and her older siblings is very relevant to Twig’s character in particular. I haven’t talked about Twig’s aunt Rue or mother Rowan’s backstories very much, but Rue was very similar to Twig while growing up— and Twig resembles Rue as a child more than she does her own mother. In a piece I haven’t finished yet, there’s a flashback that reveals the lighter that featured so heavily in the abuse Twig suffered is printed with her grandfather’s initials. Ruby and Twig could talk for hours, I think, about the torrential emotions that come from knowing your tormentor was a victim as well.

[shotmrmiller]

y'all know the ghostface mori from dbd?

that's how cbf!simon takes a picture with you during sex on your own phone to send to your ex.

this wasn't supposed to be smut, but it is now. so. oh well.

cbf!simon had met him before, obviously, and didn't even acknowledge his existence the first time— only spoke to you, with his large body shielding you from your then-boyfriend. he was a worthless slip of a boy who walked around unawares with you in his arm, sat with his back toward any entrance and he even let you walk on the edge of the sidewalk.

unacceptable.

the only reason his face hadn't ended up on a milk carton was because when simon questioned your relationship with him, you swore that it had only been dates, and pecks on the cheek.

regardless, when he watched you get ready for a movie date night, simon decided that enough was enough.

he started coming around more, goading your boyfriend while still not addressing him.

"love, you got one of my old shirts around here somewhere?"

"pet, you remember that one lake i took you to and camped overnight? heard it's drying up, that true?"

it's comical if it wasn't just so fucking pathetic how your boyfriend just took it, like some sort of cuck. if it had been simon, he would've ended up on the stretcher in the very first meeting.

and then it clicked.

it should be him, not this meritless imbecile.

so, while he was waiting for you in the living room to take you out for dinner, the very first sentence that your boyfriend hears from simon is, 'ya wanna know why she's not sleepin' with ya? cuz i'm the one fuckin' her every night. sorry, pal.'

simon had been sitting on the couch, legs manspread, and his arms stretched out, lax, on the backrest when he said it.

the very definition of unbothered.

when you come out in your pretty burgundy button up, and tight black pants, simon was very glad that he ran that fool out the door— he doesn't deserve you.

you get a 'this is over' text in minutes, and simon tells you that he wasn't good enough for you anyway. just get comfortable, wear his shirt you love to sleep in, and put on a movie— he'll be back with a couple bottles of wine.

2 and a half bottles of wine later, and you find yourself under him, his tongue entangled with yours as he bullies his fat cock into you for the first time ever.

simon coos into your ear when you hiss at the pain of the stretch, whispering that you can take him because you and him are meant to be.

"it won't hurt the next time we do this, pet."

your mind is warm and fuzzy with the alcohol that courses through your system, and it gives you courage to ask, "promise?"

simon finally bottoms out, and your mind goes blank at the feel of him hitting a spot inside of you that no one's ever reached before.

"i promise. for you, anything. i swear it." he's babbling, but he doesn't care because you're finally his, and if he has any say in the matter, you'll only be his.

your pretty pussy will only ever know him.

he starts to move, long, slow thrusts, and the burning sting starts to melt into a toe-curling pleasure at the edges, and the liquid fire that started in your belly starts to spread through your veins— a scalding ecstasy burning you from the inside out.

you try to wrap your legs around his waist, but he's too wide, built like a tank— so you give up, and plant your feet down, opting to meet his hips with yours. the flared head of his cock rubs so deliciously against this one spot inside of you, and your vision begins to spot as your belly tightens, muscles tensing for what's to come—

when simon pulls out roughly, and a sob escapes your lips. you were so close, god, why is he being so mean to you?

simon lets out a pained grunt as his cock twitches and slaps the side of your thigh with his heavy hand, chuckling.

"i know you were, love, i swear i'm not trying to be mean, i almost just came in this sweet cunt. i'm not done with you just yet. turn around, on your knees."

your reaction is visceral, and you flip over so fast your stomach churns. you lower your head until the carpet is digging into the soft skin of your cheek, and sensually arch your back.

presenting yourself to him, your glistening, swollen pussy begging to be filled.

"'s tha' wha' ya want, love? hm? f'me to stuff ya full of my cock? beg me, then. beg me like the pretty slut you are— to fuck ya the only way i can. only me and no one else."

the words spill from your lips like water does a faucet, slurred with pleasure. "please fuck me, si, fill me with your cum, i promise i'm a slut jus' f'you, only you can fuck me the way i need, i swear i'm yours, only yours."

something in simon snaps when he hears you profess how you're only his. he sinks to the hilt in one smooth stroke, bends his left leg to deepen his angle and fucks.

you don't even try to stop the sounds that come from your mouth, too far gone, cock drunk. every thrust of his hips punches the air from your lungs, and your arousal is renewed with fervor, this time painfully so. it hurts, how bad you want to come, you just need a little more, a little—

"y'wanna come around me? lemme feel you then." simon's hand curls around your waist and his fingers start to draw cruel, tight, precise circles on your neglected clit, and your climax slams into you so hard, you might just start crying from the relief.

"thaaaa's it, pet. cream all over me with tha' tight cunt o'yours."

simon doesn't stop rubbing your bud, nor does he stop thrusting into you, dragging out your pleasure, almost to the point of oversensitivity.

"'m not pullin' out, y'hear? you're mine now. and i'm gonna cum inside what's mine, clear?"

you dumbly nod, bobbing your head up against the rough carpet, and he picks up the pace, his hips slamming into your hips, jarring your spine.

he finally comes in you with a growl, spurting thick ropes of hot seed onto the entrance of your womb.

your body is limp under his, and while still inside of you, he languidly reaches to the side for your phone. he knows the code for it too, and when he unlocks it, smirks at your background photo.

it's a selfie of you and him— you are posing with two fingers by your face, and simon's arms around your shoulders.

he finds the camera icon and opens it.

it's time that idiot knew you were simon's too.

simon leans forward, his front to your back, and pulls your head up by your tangled, sweaty hair with one hand, and holds the phone with the other directly in front of your face.

"say cheese, pet."

the bright flash of the front camera goes off, and then asks you what that dumbass' name was.

he snarls when you say it, but quickly finds it in your contacts and types a quick message.

'delete this fucking number. if i ever see you around here again, i'll kill you.'

then simon presses send. and then he also sends that picture to his own phone. that fucked stupid look on your face is something he needs as his screensaver.

[youraverageaemondsimp]

“Seven Above.” // Highly Religious Dark!Aemond Targaryen x Wife!Reader

DD:DNE ;; Reader discretion is heavily advised.

WARNINGS: noncon & dubcon, forced breeding, forced beliefs, breeding kink, religious themes and psychopathic aemond, dark!aemond, misogynistic views, pressure to fit into the gender norms, forced pregnancy, multiple orgasms, brainwashing(?), mindfucking, + not proofread. PLEASE BE EXTREMELY MINDFUL OF THE CONTENT WARNINGS

Block the tag #MAE:DARK!CONTENT to refrain from seeing my dark works.

WC: 2.1k

A/N: fic contains dark content, do not proceed to read if you are easily triggered or find the topics mentioned above triggering. // dividers by @cafekitsune

Aemond was a man of the faith of the seven

He was extremely religious, his mother’s belief in the faith has also made him follow it, though he studied about dragons and old gods of Valyria, he didn't particularly follow them. His need for impressing his own mother, followed by his grandfather made him follow this faith more.

The only problem? He was way too religious and strict, but also hypocritical, he had shamed Aegon for being married to Helaena, but also desired her for himself, he would taunt his nephews for being bastards, yet also had one for himself with a common whore he could not remember the name of. He doesn't acknowledge them as sins however, saying that they are forgiven by the gods as he visits the sept daily.

Alicent did not know what to say, for when she would speak to him about what he's doing and points out his wrongdoings, he simply ignores her and tells her that her job as a woman isn't to judge, but rather understand and nurture, to which she couldn't argue against. So she remained silent.

Everything was going the same as usual, until Aemond was summoned by his grandfather, who had selected a proposal for him.

“The woman is Y/N of the L/N house, a woman loved by many, it will benefit us if we formed an alliance with her family, what do you think of it Aemond?” His grandfather questioned, to which Aemond nodded, saying it isn't too much of a bad match considering they had more to gain than lose, and so the proposal was quickly made.

Aemond only saw you on the day of the wedding, when your house arrived in the throne room, where Aegon sat in the middle, handling the matters. You had not shied away from looking in his eye, to which he was caught off guard by, his mind quickly realising how you are the feisty type.

The ceremony went well, Aemond refused the bedding ceremony and took you to your martial chambers before bedding you. He was gentle of course, he didn't do anything that was too painful.

One thing about Aemond is that, you should never get on his bad side, he is cruel just as he is lenient, you heard of what he had done to his own nephew, to riverrun, to the strong house, leaving absolutely no one alive from that bloodline, no woman or bastard was spared.

The first month flew by quickly, Aemond had gotten to know you better, and he quickly realised that you both don't share the same ideologies on most of the stuff, you even dared to speak back to him, to which he excused you of. Arguments with him on small things have started to happen, his opinion contradicting yours, and his refusal to understand your point of view made you extremely unaccepted, yet you still tried to convey your feelings to him, hoping somewhere deep down in your heart that he'd understand. After all, you had grown to love him a little. He was far better than any husband, most of them didn't even let their wife speak to them.

That was until the topic of children had come when you were dining together.

“Wife, Have you gotten your moon's blood yet?” He asked and you nodded, “Yes, husband, it passed a few days ago and it is regular.” you tell him confused as to why he is asking this, “Are you perhaps barren?” He asks, which makes you feel shocked, and quite offended, “No! Why would you ask such a thing like that?” You ask, eyes slightly wide with shock. “Then why aren't you with child yet?” He questions as if you had any control over anything that happens after intercouse.

“It is only the second month, and besides….” You bite your lip and he raises an eyebrow, “What is it?” You sigh heavily, “I do not know how to ask of you this.” You tell him honestly, “What is it that you need wife? Dresses? Jewellery, do not be shy to ask, I am your husband after all. It is my duty to provide.” He rests his hand on yours, squeezing it in a reassuring way.

“I–” you take a deep breath, “I do not want children, at least, not yet.” you spit out.

It's almost as if everything had frozen in place, the air becomes silent with only the crackling sounds of the fireplace being heard. The tension becomes more imminent in the air as the Aemond continues to remain silent and not do anything, except directly stare at you.

His grip on your hand suddenly tightens, making you wince and you look at him pleadingly, “Have you gone mad?” He stands up, forcing you to stand up as well and you grip his arm tightly, not wanting to fall before balancing yourself, “Please- I am not yet ready, let me prepare myself mentally first.” You beg him and his other hand grabs you by your throat and pulls you closer to him, his grip on your throat begins to tighten, causing you to lose bloodflow to your head.

“I have done nothing except do my duty, be the ideal husband, provide for you, all while allowing you to express yourself yet it seems I was too lenient on you.” He growls, “Because here you are, asking me, to allow you to not have children. It is your sole duty as a wife and a woman, and you could not even provide such a thing?” He let goes of your throat, making you engulf a huge amount of air as you tried to calm down.

“Every woman is the image of the mother, she should have a natural nurturing personality towards anyone, especially to their own children, yet here you are refusing to be a mother to your own child or rather having one of yours, it is disgusting.” He says meanly and you glare at him, “I never said that I never wanted to be a mother, I asked you to give me time to which you are– hmmgh!” You are dragged by Aemond to the bed and thrown on it, you quickly lean on your elbows, fear gnawing in your stomach as you look at Aemond who seemed so furious at you, your heartbeat accelerated as he just stared down at you, like a predator staring at its prey.

“Your sin is forgiven, wife, I remembered how some women think they do not want children until they do, and then they become the best mothers and perfect wives known to man, maybe you are of that same category.” He keeps on talking, and you stare at him, confused and in fear, what in the seven hell was he talking about?

“It is no surprise if that is the case, luckily, there is a cure for that, and that is to get you pregnant, and I shall do just that, simultaneously fulfilling the duties as your husband.” He leans down and caresses your cheek. Your eyes widen when you catch his expression in the illuminating moonlight. He was smiling, yet the smile did not reach his eyes, Your stomach began to churn as goosebumps arose on your skin, he doesn't seem like the man you married anymore.

Before you could make an escape, Aemond pounces you and pushes you down onto the bed, you thrash in his hold trying to push him off but he holds your hands together and pins them up before grabbing your cheeks harshly and spitting on your face, “Behave, I'm treating you.” You began to tremble knowing he had gone completely mad.

“Let go of me! Aemond!” You scream and he pushes his hand over your mouth, “Shut the fuck up.” He tells you before grabbing your dress and tearing it off your body, the bodice coming along with it, causing your tits to spill out. He gropes and squeezes them, “I wonder how nice they'd look when they swell with milk hm?” He coos, before descending his lips onto your nipple, you use your now free hands to push him away but he doesn't budge, you try to pull him by his hair but he bites harshly onto your nipple causing you to let go of his hair in pain, he pulls away and looks at you angrily.

“Behave.” He says sternly and you flinch, never having heard Aemond use that specific tone before, it was extremely scary. “Aemond, please.” You plead him but he doesn't care, simply ripping off the remains and pushing you up the bed and prying your legs open. “You'd look so beautiful, all round with my child in your belly, I pray to the mother to bless us with a child.” He undos his breeches and your eyes widen in horror, knowing what is about to come.

You watched in silence as he lined himself against your entrance, prodding the tip at the very beginning of your hole and began to push inside, you shut your eyes tightly and clenched the sheets below you, a pained cry leaving your mouth at the stretch of your cunt by his cock, unprepared.

He soon fully sheathed himself inside you, and wastes no time before beginning to thrust, whines and gasps leave your mouth at his actions, you grip onto his shoulders as he jerks you up and down, you felt ashamed when it started to begin to feel good, your body in dilemma where you push him or pull him closer.

However that sense of choice is taken away from you when he grabs your hands and pins them above you, all while pistoning his hips into yours, “Seven above, I pray that the mother blesses my dear wife with a child in her womb so she may be cured of her sinfulness, I pray that the maiden guides her into realising how she should truly perform her duty as a woman, and may the crone remove useless thoughts and guide her to the correct path.” He prays closing his eyes and your eyes widen in pure shock, shocked by the fact on how he can pray in a situation like this?

His thrusts feel so sinful, and you're convinced you've lost your mind because of the fact that you are getting pleasure from this, his lips find yours in a passionate kiss as he ends the prayer, kissing your forehead afterwards and pulls back, “You'll make a good mother, I'm sure of it.” He coos in your ear before pressing a kiss to it as well.

You soon began to recognize the familiar feeling of a rope tightening in your abdomen, the telltale sign that your peak was nearing, Aemond's hand groped your tits, pinching your nipples and rubbing his thumb over them, providing you with additional pleasure, and before you know it, you are toppling over the edge as your peak hits you, arching your back and moaning out his name loudly.

He too finishes inside you, filling your hole with his seed, before pulling out, his face hovers over your stomach and you watch as he presses a kiss on the location of where your womb would be located, “May the mother bless us.” He mutters.

You thought that would be the end, yet you were wrong, you gasp when you feel his finger scooping up his seed which leaked out and push it back into you, essentially beginning to finger you, he takes you by surprise again when you feel his warm tongue on your clit, causing your hands to fly out and grip his hair as you breathed heavily.

His tongue and finger worked simultaneously, introducing you to a sensation of a new type of overstimulation, making you peak once again.

Time blurred together and yet Aemond did not stop, you've lost count of how many times he made you peak and how many times he finished inside you, but at the end of it, you surely felt full and fucked out, your mind filled with nothing but the thought of having his children, which he kept muttering over and over again, causing you to pick up on it.

“You'll be a great mother.” He pulls you into his arms as scoot closer, burying your face in his chest, “Yes, Husband, I'll give you as many children you want.” You mutter before finally drifting off to sleep.

Aemond smirks, knowing that he has now achieved his goal, now he can slowly start shifting you into the type of wife he wanted in the first place.

It was no surprise when you found out that you were pregnant with a child, only for you to give birth to triplets.

“A blessing from the mother.” Alicent beamed, yet that sentence only made you flinch.

— !  ݈݇- thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed it <3 comments and reblogs are appreciated greatly ♡

[leikeliscomet]

Racism in the ace community is seen as a joke from the outside and a confusing concept in the inside but it's pretty bait tbh:

Barbie, Wednesday and Elsa are ace-coded but not canon aces but they're widely accepted as ace icons in the community. Lacking genitalia, disliking romance and being single are not inherently asexual yet the community happily claims them as ace solely on those reasons. But Selah Summers? Nah she actually didn't say the words "aroace" even though the director confirmed it so she didn't really count. Abbi Singh? Nah she had a girlfriend and her superpower is being a succubus and it's not like the Imperfects actually addressed the themes of an asexual lesbian South Asian woman and her sexuality or anything. Fei Hargreeves? Well yeah the actress and producer confirmed it but she never said it on screen. Ace characters of colour always get held "screened" for approval to be "real rep" in a way white aces aren't its so weird (this also happens to gay aces but that's another post)

Almost anything involving Yasmin Benoit. The reason she's unacceptable ace rep is because of misogynoir. She's spoken so many times about never dating and not having sex (which mind you is none of our business and she shouldn't need to explain herself in the 1st place) and yet she's "too sexual" to represent the community. Again with the nitpicking, popular white ace accounts were so quick to dogpile her for not-so-good takes but when she speaks about racism? Crickets. When she spoke about sexual harassment? Crickets and not only that but they defended her harasser. The main ace activists that defended her were other Black aspecs.

Not understanding how desexualisation affects POC. Specifically, Black women are excluded from representations of love and sex because we're seen as undesirable. It's common for TV/Film to pair up everyone but the Black girl, or have a rebound Black partner for the non-Black main character who's disposed of when they're ready for their "real" non-Black partner again. This isn't done for Black aspecs benefit. It's a form of dehumanisation. Friendship especially in m/f is needed but exclusively pushing for friendship between Black women and non-Black men when there is romance coded or confirmed and shaming Black women in fandom or in show for shipping the Black female character is not doing what you think its doing.

Not understanding how sexualisation effects POC. Again linking to Yasmin, POC, especially Black people have been sexualised due to white supremacy. The "allosexual privilege" framework fails to acknowledge this because Black people's sexual attraction and sex is seen as aggressive and animalistic. Black people aren't "allowed" to be ace because of this sexualisation and why Yasmin regardless of what she wears or does is seen is too promiscuous.

Not acknowledging ace POC as ace rep. Again, where was the acknowledgement of Selah and the Spades as groundbreaking rep? The first aroace darkskin Black girl as a lead in any film? Sherronda J Brown spoke about Big Mouth's Black ace character and someone said it didn't count just bc they dislike the show. Again with Abbi and Fei the community didn't make noise for them like they did Todd from Bojack Horseman or Florence from Sex Ed (mind you the gap between how they did Florence vs O is jarring in itself) Isaac from Heartstopper was inspirational for many aspecs and I wont take that away but the way he's instantly credited for ace representation when he has so little screentime compared to the others is wild.

Just tired tbh. "Listen to POC aces!" "POC aces are valid!" Prove it then...?

[bubblespalace]

Ok I just had a funny idea (all my funny ideas are boring either way) wouldn't it be funny to see the Diaboys reaction (especially Reiji) if Yui got suspended from school because she accidentally broke a male student arm? (He was harassing her while she's in 'shock-defend' mode,so she didn't acknowledge her own strength XD)

Bubble: Under the cut for Sakamaki and Mukami!! 💕

"You've never done that with me before. Proof you actually like it when a guy tries to drink your blood."

"This is simply unacceptable! Getting suspended?! You will be receiving quite the lesson, young woman. Expect at least 50 slashes with my whip!"

"A guy tried to touch my prey and my prey fought back. Nice. Good that you know who you belong to."

"Hmph, no matter what people always want to have my prey. I'm glad you stopped him, but next time? Next time leave him dead."

"Aw, Bitch-chan have you been holding back on me~? You can fight back as hard as you'd like with me, I'll heal the next day anyway~"

"Gotta admit, that's kinda cool. I wonder why she doesn't fight like that with the six of us."

"Although I'm glad you're saving your attention and blood for us, you shouldn't have gotten yourself suspended. I will be having a talk with the principal."

"Huh, the guy got his karma at least. You shouldn't have gotten suspended though."

"Well shit, Sow, don't go thinking you can fight like that with us. We'd break off your arm like you did to that other guy."

"I am... Jealous of... This other man... Why would you hurt him... And not me?"

[geekwiththeglasses]

Would love to hear you rant about Fourth Wing. That book makes me so mad lmao

I literally dashed to my desktop when I saw this because this deserves a desktop response (out of character for a millenial/genz cusper I actually type much faster with a keyboard).

Now to note, I am only 50% done with the book so far so this is limited to that (though I have watched spoiler reviews so I feel justified in my thoughts because I know it's not getting better).

By the way, I learned that this entire series was a publisher request, not like a passion project of Yarros and while I ain't judging (I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant I could pay rent for the next year), to me, you can kinda feel it, like there's a distinct lack of creative verve. You can especially feel it in how shallow everything (and everyone) feels.

A read more because this became obnoxiously long (it's almost 2000 words) and I respect people's dashboards.

Except for this article about toxic perseverance which I think everyone should have to read if they've read Fourth Wing.

There are, first of all, some major issues with this book. The biggest one is, of course, the toxic perseverance, which is covered quite well in the article, but if you're not going to read it, to pull a quote from it:

Creating a narrative in which a character with a disability overcomes all of their pain and other symptoms through force of will alone sets unrealistic expectations—unrealistic expectations which are, as I mentioned previously, a very real issue for very real disabled people in our very real world.  I believe we should have seen some impact of that lifestyle if the author was trying to engage with this intentionally. Because fiction is not created in a vacuum and this narrative goes unproblematised in-text, it’s unclear whether Yarros actively endorses this mindset, or is accidentally endorsing it, neither of which is good.

Just to elaborate a little on something I didn't see in the article, but this book hates the idea of accommodations. Like it's a horrible, horrible thing and how dare you ever suggest Violet might need something as disgusting as a saddle to stay on the equivalent of an airplane. It's not like accommodations are something that actually can end up helping non-disabled people as well. There wasn't potential for a scene where she actually acknowledged she needed help and suddenly everyone's like "hey, that's actually really smart, we should totally do this too, this makes life much easier/safer and will improve everyone's quality of life". Or even just a scene where it only helps her but damn it helps her a lot because it takes in to account her needs and specific body. Because that would require acknowledging that Violet has limitations and not allow her to power through the pain. And also get thrown from her dragon repeatedly, which definitely doesn't fuck up her joints.

Rhiannon gets so shafted. She gets the double whammy of two stereotypes: the black best friend and the promiscuous bisexual. She's seen with multiple partners, none of which seem like long-term or serious partners. And while some bisexual people have more sex with more people than others, if you're going to do that, include more than one bisexual person in your story. She has very little to do with the story unless she is there for the white, straight main character. We've gotten her helping Violet, but so far there's zero dedicated scenes of that tutoring help that was offered in the beginning and as far as I know we never get it (I may be wrong). I hear we get her family later, but that they're also glossed over for More Important Things. It doesn't feel like Rhiannon (or honestly any other character) exists except for when they're around Violet. They all kinda blend together, which at the 50% mark is fucking unacceptable. What is special about them, distinguishes them from the others other than Liam (is it Liam? whoever her bodyguard is) who whittles? There is so little to distinguish any background characters except for Dain. Even Xaden feels lackluster and a bit hazy around the edges, like he never finished rendering.

Let's not forget that Yarros is 100% a military wife and a US military bootlicker and from what I've heard she's had some unsavory and unsupportable opinions on Palestine. We do not like.

She also took Gaelic names and just decided the pronunciation doesn't matter??? Insulting.

Onto the less serious issues:

Firstly, as to my previous complaint, the entirety of Dain's storyline is the most impressive speedrun in character assassination I have ever seen. I described it to a friend as Yarros lovingly caressing a 2x4 before repeatedly beating you over the head with it. He gets like... a scene to be besties and then immediately he must be the worst thing to ever exist, specifically to prop up Xaden. Dain is the asshole holding her back, unlike Xaden who pushes her to be her best (entirely ignoring that her body literally has physical limitations and accommodations are not a dirty word)! He's such a rule follower, but Xaden understands when to bend or break them (pay no attention to him breaking all the rules to try to get her into the scribe's quadrant)! He doesn't believe her immediately when she accuses someone of murder, but Xaden absolutely believes her with no proof (let's forget that Amber is a good friend of Dain and that it would honestly be natural to want to believe that your friend isn't capable of cold-blooded murder with zero proof especially since that would lead to her execution which Violet somehow forgot would be a consequence of her accusation). Dain is overprotective and condescending to Violet (I mean he wasn't the one to force her to have a bodyguard, but he just doesn't believe in her). I bet he doesn't even wash his ass. Xaden definitely washes his ass.

Murder college makes zero sense, especially since she definitely based the military off the US (which makes sense since it's the one she has the most exposure to). Most militaries that I am aware of have rather high requirements for physical fitness, especially an academy for officers (which, in Yarros' face, I actually have experience with, as my father went to the Naval Academy so I know for a fact they're strict as hell with requirements). The US military won't even let you be slightly overweight, even if you can fulfill the physical requirements. It was hard to find any info on whether EDS would out and out disqualify you, but the fact that it wasn't even brought up as a barrier for entry that she had to overcome does not make sense to me.

Ah, I hear someone hypothetically argue, but the college is supposed to (theoretically) weed out the weak so they'll let anyone in who wants to join! Ok, then why is Violet the only physically disabled person in the entire college? I have been to rodeos with bull riders who were amputees, but there ain't one person missing an arm or a leg in that college. The only other disabled person we get so far is a scribe, but you're telling me not one deaf person wants to be a rider? Why is Violet the only one that gets to be "exceptional"?

Back to the murder part of murder college, the fact that this is a murder college gets technically lampshaded, but never really justified in why people keep coming. Like it's not some greater commentary on the lengths people will go for power or greatness or the insidious nature of military propaganda. It just felt like we needed to up the stakes that our protagonist was in danger at every turn, but honestly I never feel like the stakes are that high, because, well, she keeps emphasizing how much danger her life is in, how screwed and dead she is. And if her life is always in danger, it's never in danger.

Speaking of murder, the story doesn't challenge the idea that "weed out the weak through murder" doesn't actually work but just kills people and probably gives the survivors like the worst anxiety (because if everything can kill you your mental health will probably deteriorate). It's like that meme:

Basgiath War College: I have made the perfect rider Me: you fucked up a perfectly good person is what you did. Look at him. He's got anxiety.

Why is Violet so enlightened and above having any prejudice? If anything she should have way more animosity towards the rebel kids than she does. It's literally stated in text that she was not immune to the propaganda and misinformation she's read, but you want me to believe that between (what she believes is) losing a brother to the rebellion and a mother who was kinda involved, not to mention growing up in a group that would be full of anti-rebel propaganda she somehow didn't end up believing anything beyond "yeah some of them will definitely want you dead" which is true??? Instead she's fine with them and will definitely sit with rebel kids because unlike people who grew up with probably less or about the same propaganda than her, she knows not to judge people for the sins of their parents. Those other kids are just so much more prejudiced than she is, isn't she wonderful and has zero biases to unlearn. Oh, you may say, but she thought Xaden was going to kill her! He literally does confirm that the only reason initially he doesn't kill her is to keep a hold of his humanity which does actually confirm that he wants her dead! So the narrative even confirms that this bias was, in fact, the correct opinion to have.

I do not understand why Violet and Xaden are drawn to each other beyond Xaden hot. I am asexual and somewhere on the aromantic spectrum so perhaps it is just not in my nature to understand the ways of the heterosexuals, but I don't get it. Why does she like him? The only reason given is he's hot. Maybe a reason is given later down the line but this is a romantasy. You live and die by building up that damn romance and I am not convinced! I haven't even been given like a "oh I see him with his dragon and it's heart meltingly cute how he interacts with her". Is this why Dain had to be assassinated (we are holding his burial next week by the way, there will be funeral potatoes)? So that Xaden had something to be compared to because he has all the substance of one of those inflatable dancing men?

(Dance, Xaden, dance.)

Yarros cannot do exposition, it's so jarring. She tells us so much, shows little, and bores me the entire time. You seriously decide to make exposition a character quirk for when she needs to calm down? Seriously???? The parapet scene was hard to listen to because you were jerked around like a rag doll between quick action and exposition. Who thought that was a good idea? Exposition is always a difficult thing to include and make it work and sound natural, but this is not how you do it.

A minor complaint, but once you learn Yarros is Mormon you cannot unsee the fingerprints of Mormonism throughout this book. People do not cuss like people, they cuss like you put fuck into a fresh AI and asked it to try it out. I cuss like a sailor and I was wondering why it felt so jarring until I realized that it's not how people talk. I mean Holy. Fucking. Hot. I'm well the fuck aware. You tried ma'am, you tried. Here's a gold star. Also, I'm 99% sure there is zero alcohol. You seriously want me to believe that none of these kids are sneaking in alcohol? That no one is using booze to cope with being in a murder college? As if, we all know these kids are making midnight dragon runs to the liquor store.

Also, the fact that I had to hear an audiobook narrator try to make this dialogue and prose sound like something that would actually come out of a human mouth was truly something to behold. The fact that "for the win" was not left in the 2010s where it belonged is an outrage. If I had a better memory I would put in more quotes cause there have been other doozies.

But really, the greatest crime this book commits, is that it has the audacity to be boring. You give me dragons and you have the sheer, unmitigated gall to bore me. I will accept a lot from a book. I will accept plot holes. I will ignore shallow world building. I will tolerate character assassinations. Do all that if you must, but at the very least make it interesting. This book is not interesting. I listen to a few chapters at a time and I am not having a good time. I only continue out of sheer stubbornness and feeling an obligation that for once I should actually read a book that I have seen negative reviews about to see if perhaps it is not so bad.

I just happened to pick a book where it is, in fact, that bad.

[dancing-with-the-madmen]

Talk it through as a crew (not for me, though, just for you)

I know we give Stede a lot of grief about being emotionally constipated. He insists everyone “talk it through as a crew” and promotes and encourages everyone else’s emotional honesty, but has never met a feeling he can’t repress. He has all the emotional transparency of a particularly robust brick wall. But can we talk for a minute about how literally everyone in his life has led him to believe that sharing his feelings is not to be tolerated, much less encouraged?

From the first flashback we see of little baby Stede, he’s being taught suppressing his emotions is the correct course of action. He has an obvious honest emotional reaction of fear and disgust when his father beheads the goose right in front of him, blood spattering his face and clothes. He gasps and turns away, squeezing his eyes closed, and burying his face in his hands, whimpering. His father instantly and coldly chastises him for doing so. “Open your eyes, child. This is what a man’s work looks like,” Father Bonnet says. “Your natural impulses are wrong, actually; suck it up, buttercup, and be a man” he means.

By the time we see him at school, Stede’s peers have upped the ante. Instead of just a sharp reprimand for daring to find happiness in a flower bed, the other boys reward his transgressive joy with physical violence - chasing him down, lashing him to a rowboat, and hurling rocks at him for sport. The message is clear; softness and weakness are not to be tolerated. Any trespass is to be hunted down and beaten out of you.

Once we get to his engagement, we can see the effects the long-term application of enforced emotional suppression has had on Stede. The hesitancy with which he suggests, “I just... I thought that when I did marry it could be for love,” is heart-breaking. It’s almost a question rather than a statement. He’s tucked into his corner of the very narrow carriage, not even letting his arm brush his father’s lest he invade his space. He doesn’t even LOOK at his father until he’s done speaking. Yet even as meek as his request is, he's still met with a derisive sigh, as though his father can’t believe his son STILL doesn’t know better than to indulge in these emotional extravagances.

Everything we see of Stede’s childhood is angled at showing him just how much he needs to deny and hide his true self to be found even base-line acceptable. Social obligations before self interest ALWAYS. Bend yourself to fit, or we will BREAK you into the right shape. Make yourself smaller. Learn to want less.

Is it any wonder that Stede enters the married state almost entirely emotionally checked out? He’s learned the lesson well that his only safety is in suppression and self-isolation.

Sadly, once he’s married, things don’t get much better.

I want it to be clear that I’m not blaming Mary for her reactions to Stede’s indifference and distance. Anyone would be frustrated if they tried to make the best of a sub-optimal situation only to find the person who is supposed to be their partner doesn’t seem inclined to contribute much of anything to the proceedings. Unfortunately, the ways in which Mary vents her frustrations reinforce the lessons of Stede’s childhood.

We have no context for her reaction to Stede’s comment about Arthur at the dinner table - perhaps it’s the first time he’s bothered to say anything in a conversation that she’s single-handedly kept going for some time - perhaps they had an argument earlier and this is the first thing he’s said since - perhaps they had established a turn-based answer system and he was stepping on someone else’s turn. But whatever the reason, by refusing to acknowledge him and very pointedly moving on, she’s signaling that his participation is not welcomed. By association, his preoccupation with soft and kind things is judged just as unacceptable here as it was to his schoolmates.

The reticence with which he introduces the idea of taking the family to sea calls to mind the same hesitancy with which he posited the notion of marrying for love. His voice is soft and he positions himself below Mary in an almost supplicating posture, mostly looking at her out of the corner of his eye. In his mind he’s proposing a way to make the family situation in which he feels trapped work - finally contributing an idea about how to make the best of their sub-optimal situation. In Mary’s mind, it’s yet another instance of him tuning her out, hot on the heels of his clumsy, half-insulting reception of the painting she had been so excited to gift him. It’s perfectly understandable that she loses her temper and yells at him, but doing so only serves to shut Stede down as surely as the childhood castigations he suffered at the hand of his father. Immediately his body-language becomes withdrawn and shuttered, hands folded in front of him and head down, and his speech becomes higher-pitched, halting, and hesitant - hiding as much as he can lest he further provoke her.

Is it any wonder he pretends everything’s fine when Mary later makes the opening salvos of an honest dialogue about their feelings about the marriage? She’s shown him that she’s not a safe person with which to share his honest feelings. So it’s the old routine instead - learning to cry silently so you don’t bother anyone with it, or worse, get yelled at for it. Breathe through your mouth so they don’t hear how stuffy your nose is. Make up sufficiently plausible excuses to give them the option of ignoring what they might have heard if you get caught.

Stakes get even higher once he’s gone to sea. Stede wants to try a new, more gentlemanly sort of piracy, and approaches his crew as “supportive, caring, and responsive to their needs” - the kind of emotional support he wishes he had been afforded. How distressing it must have been to him, then, to learn these were the exact reasons his crew was contemplating mutiny. That because of his emotionally supportive approach, they viewed him as unacceptably “weak… craven, [and] ill-equipped to lead men.”

After the accidental death of Badminton, Stede learns that the situation is even more dire. It’s not just mutiny on the line; according to Olu, “everyone up there wants [Stede] dead.” The only way to avoid being murdered and to earn the respect if his crew is to suppress his emotions, and pretend the most traumatizing thing that has ever happened to him is not just fine, but on purpose, and something to be proud of.

So of course “talking it through as a crew” applies to everyone except Stede. The crew have expressed that they are literally willing to mutiny and murder him if he lets his real feeling be known.

Alas, even Ed is not a wholly safe harbor for Stede’s emotional expression. Upon their first proper conversation, after Stede awakens from his stab-wound induced fever-dreams, he is able to safely share his secret passageways and wardrobe indulgences with Ed, but when Ed later introduces the theme of “feel[ing] trapped’ and Stede clearly starts to physically open up, and hesitantly starts to share: “Yes. I have... I very much have felt that way…” Ed is so caught up in his own shit that he doesn’t realize that Stede was on the verge of confiding something even more intimate than his hidden wardrobe. Stede has learned well how to make himself smaller. He gives Ed room to rant, but his own confessions go unvoiced.

There’s a similar mechanism at work prompting the miscommunication that leads to the tragedy of the season. After the kiss, Ed is jubilant - caught up in the excitement of the moment. He starts spinning his grand plans, and doesn’t recognize that, in deference to Ed’s exuberance, Stede is Not Saying some very important things. Multiple times during the exchange, we see Stede looking away from Ed, his body turning away, his brow furrowed and his lips pressed together. This is not the face of enthusiastic consent.

Even when he says yes, he’s excited and smiling, but his lips are so tightly pressed together there’s no way he could say any of the things he very clearly needs to be saying.

So, yes. Stede could be better at expressing his feelings before they get so overwhelming that they explode out of him. But before he can do that, he needs to have a space where his emotional well-being and possibly his very life are not imperiled by doing so. And I really hope he gets it next season oh, my very dears, because I want a Stede-in-the-bathtub scene to mirror Ed’s. I want it like burning.

[mazeinthemiroh]

ANYWAY was looking over old ateez content because I love rookie ateez i just want to give them all a kiss on the forehead but that’s besides the point this is where I got this thought from

we’ve already established that jongho loves to chat shit whether he wants to admit it or not so jongho and you go to the gym and YOU GUYS CHAT THEY why you may be asking? his workouts are intense so there’s no way anyone is joining him and you use that to talk as freely as possible so while he runs on a treadmill YOU WALK giving him every detail you can to whatever has happened that week or when he’s doing push ups you just sit cross legged on his back phone in hand “and in this screenshot she says this which is weird because to our faces she said she didn’t say that but it’s right here in my hand” as you move your phone down into his view and he’s like doing what he’s supposed to but he’s like “and what did you say to her” and it just goes on and on until he’s done with that, sit ups would be just- usually people would kiss BUT NOT YOU “so what did hongjoong say?” jongho up “well he told them that that was-“ jongho down “completely-“ jongho up “unacceptable because in all fairness who does that”

AND TO THE OTHER MEMBERS IT WOULD LOOK CUTE AND THEY TAKE PICTURES OF YOU GUYS ALL HAPPY FROM FAR like aw look at them bonding and talking and laughing and being happy like guys they’re laughing at you and your dramas but ok

you can tell this has been on my mind for a while this was the thought I was gonna drop before I found of that ask box was gone

- 🧸

jongho can gossip ANYWHERE.

i mean, on the one hand, he is a man of principle. he would preach to others that 'there's a time and a place', but that doesn't really apply to him because he can do what he wants 😎

like you said, the gym is the perfect place. it's very rare that people join jongho when he workouts out because he does some rigorous training and it's a lot to contend with! but you like to join him to keep him company and do some working out of your own. but when you get bored you racking off all the drama that you've faced during the week.

it's funny because at some points you think he isnt listening to you. how can this guy be doing chin ups and lifting weights whilst acknowledging everything you're saying? but you see jongho's smart. he can defo multitasking. so when he hears you fazing out, he will enocuarging to go on. "and then what happened?" it's like he's got his own personal podcast lol.

and of course he delivers the tea straight back to you. hot and steaming. idk how yall both get so much drama in your daily lives, especially since neither of you get involved with it. but oh boy, do you guys love talking about it.

[randomnameless]

To be fair, AM is Dimitri's story, his trauma and his relationships with rest of the Blue Lions, Byleth and Supreme Leader. So as much as it sucks that it doesn't get addressed, the Nabatean vs Agarthan doesn't really have much to do with Dimitri. It's why you can defeat one of the big Agarthan generals in the final map without any fanfare or acknowledgement from Dimitri's end.

With SS/CF, Supreme Leader is working with the Agarthans so the Nabateans vs Agarthans conflict comes into play there and for Claude, well he wanted to learn about Fodlan's secrets so it's believable for him to also gain knowledge about the Nabatean vs Agarthan conflict in VW.

Yep, that's why AM is so frustrating.

You are teased with Idunn, Jahn and the subsequent worldbuilding, but in the end, you only get rid of Marquis Laus/Zephiel and call it a day.

And while AM is a good character driven story, in a nutshell - Dimitri learns what it means to be a Lord, for the others, but also for himself - but ultimately not one I am terribly invested in.

It had a good concept of "Lord falls then rises up" but with Hresvelg Grey galore (Flamey ? Who is Flamey?) and the "told but not seen" maxim, the story just imo ends in a "nice" box, without anything else.

I disagree about the conflict between Agarthans and Nabateans being developped in SS/CF and VW because, hey, bar Thales going all "stupid pointy ears you banished us to oblivion so I'll suicide us all to get rid of you!" it's just... there.

We know there is some backstory between the two factions, but it ends up before it starts.

SS/VW receives an infodump (yay!) from Rhea but that's it. We don't understand the crux of said conflict, just see some of its consequences, don't push Camp A against Camp B and see what comes of it, no, it's just Camp C (Billy is Sothis's host, but never knows what everything is about) getting rid of Agarthans. Was Rhea there during the initial war, what have the mole people done to the world to make Sothis angry, did Sothis really erase all humanity like they claim, who are the "humans" living on the surface, is Fodlan really a post apocalyptic world -

The routes will never answer - at best the DLC added a book from the agarthan POV more or less confirming parts of Rhea's infodump, but that's it.

Tru Piss isn't interested with Fodlan's lore and answers - we're just following Supreme Leader as the world burns, so it's the only case where I can buy the "let's not focus too much on the Agarthans vs Nabateans conflict".

And ultimately, this underlaying conflict imo sort of contradicts the good endings/visions we end up with VW/AM

VW's ends prejudice/borders so everyone should be able to live together despite their differences?

Sothis landed on Fodlan, shared tech with Fodlan people, who used said tech to try to kill her, she retaliated and it culminated with the genocide of her children.

How can you coexist with people who are different from you if said people want to slaughter you?

AM is, as you said, mainly Dimitri's story, but I think it is summed up with thos lines :

If we could just accept each other and make mutual concessions, one step at a time... Perhaps... Who knows if that's even possible. Everyone has something that is unacceptable within them. I certainly do, and I'd wager you do as well. I wonder which is best, Professor... To cut away that which is unacceptable, or to find a way to accept it anyway...

It's the same story, what if some people want to accept each other and are ready to make concessions, but the other people don't want to make concessions, and use chainsaws to vivisect the first group?

Dimitri's journey is to reject the "cut away that which is unacceptable", as he tries to offer his hand to Supreme Leader (and she ignores it). But with Agarthans and Nabateans, how could this work? To Thales'n'pals, a good Nabatean is a relic dead Nabatean, and for what it's worth, Nopes heavily suggests Rhea knew since day 1 Barney had some "agarthan presence" but still welcomed them, so Nabateans reach their hand out, and the only Agarthans we see pull the chainsaws.

Should Nabateans still reach their hand out and accept Agartha's prejudice - the same prejudice that led to their genocide ?

Or in that specific case - because fantasy life isn't real life and you can't really make concessions with people who want to get rid of a race on this specific topic - the "earl grey" is flushed down the toilet and the "a good pointy ears is a relic" faction is cut away?

[one-page-a-day]

Asma Barlas on the Qur'an and patriarchy (1/2)

(min. 7:56) "When it comes to qur’anic hermeneutics and method, what is it that you seek to critique and what are the alternative methodologies that you are asking your readers to take?"

"Well, essentially, I’m critiquing dominant interpretations of the Quran that allow Muslims to associate God with women’s abuse and oppression. And of course, most Muslims may not think it’s oppressive to claim that God has made men superior to women and prefers them to women, but I feel that such a view is at best theologically indefensible and at worst sacrilegious since it makes God a partisan in men’s sexism and misogyny.

I also think that such a view is unacceptable from a strictly interpretive and hermeneutical perspective since it arises from focusing selectively on only those six or so verses and partial verses out of a total of 6236 in the Quran that give men and women some different rights and such readings also fail to contextualize these verses or to accept that we can interpret them differently than they have been interpreted in the past.

And what I find ironic is that the same Muslims who insist on the fixity of the Quran’s meanings like to boast that Arabic is so rich that it has 100 words for a camel. They even admit that the Quran has at least two levels of meanings and if they incline to Sufism that each verse has thousands. So only when it comes to men’s rights does Arabic suddenly become plain sense and monosemic and the Quran the only text in the world’s history to have just one fixed and transparent meaning.

So, those are the tendencies I’m critiquing. As far as my own methodology… well, firstly I acknowledge that there is a relationship between meaning and method, so that what we take the Quran – for that matter, any text – to be saying, depends on who reads it, how, and in what sorts of social, political and historical contexts and circumstances.

I also take it as a given that languages and texts are polysemic and that interpretation is “an open process which no single vision can conclude” – that’s from Paul Ricoer. More to the point, I read the Quran in light of its descriptions of God because after all the Quran is God’s word and I feel we ought not to ascribe ideas to it that run counter to its claims about God. So for instance, it says, God is one, God is just, God is incomparable, so I read the Quran in light of these precepts of divine unity, justice and incomparability.

To give just one example, since God is unlike all else in creation and since the Quran forbids using similitude, that is to say comparisons for God, or calling God “father”, I think God to be minimally beyond sex and gender and since God rejects patriarchalization, in other words, God rejects being a patriarch, I take the Quran’s own episteme, and I use the word loosely, to also be anti-patriarchal.

On this note, I’ve applied a comprehensive definition of patriarchy to the Quran which, it appears, no prior reader had done, at most amina wadud had argued in her book that it’s “neutral to social and marital patriarchy” though without clarifying what she meant by the term.

The way I define it (patriarchy) has appeared in two major forms: one is as the historical tradition of rule by the father/husband which in its religious iterations draws on depictions of God as both male and as father; and the other is the more modern politics of sexual differentiation that privileges men and discriminates against women because of their biology. So this half of the definition I borrow from my colleague and friend Zillah Eisenstein.

Lastly I’ve drawn on some criteria the Quran itself suggests like reading it intra-textually, that is as a whole, contextualizing some of its provisions, since it refers to what Kenneth Cragg calls the “necessarily periodic nature of some of its contents”. I privilege it’s foundational aya [verse] and I search for the best in its teachings because these are all things the Quran urges us to do and I know that we may differ on what is best but my own view is that an exegesis which offends against God’s self-disclosure or ignores the Quran’s holism and/or the context of specific verses is contextually a misreading.

So it’s based on this approach that I’ve tried to illustrate that the Quran doesn’t advocate patriarchy and in fact that its foundational teachings incline towards sexual equality and as for the hierarchy verses I argue that these refeel (?) an infinity of traces, I have borrowed the phrase from [Antonio] Gramsci, of the 7th century tribal Arab patriarchy to which God first spoke but which, as we know, has long since passed into history along with its specific forms of male authority and gender hierarchy." (min. 14:01)

Asma Barlas, “Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an” (U Texas Press, 2019), New Books in Islamic Studies, 3.8.2020, Spotify.

[timecma]

hi! i really enjoyed your fairy council analysis and was wondering if you had any thoughts on the character of Rook. i find the disagreement he and Alex have to be really interesting, and was curious if you had any opinions on it

Hello! I’m glad you enjoyed my Fairy Council analysis—I actually keep on adding facts in a The Land of Stories discord server that I come up with based on that whole glorified rant of sorts haha so maybe I’ll update it soon.

As for Rook… Sigh. Rook Robins. What a character. You see, I can understand why he did it—and thankfully his decision actually led to the best possible outcome, but the fact that it might not have is what makes everyone (Alex included) extremely upset and betrayed. In my opinion, Alex handled the situation extremely well. She told Rook that what he had done was unforgivable; he risked the lives of those she had desperately tried to protect to preserve the lives of his father and the villagers. The best part about this is how Alex understands that. She understands why Rook did it, she just cannot help but feel betrayed because she put all her faith and trust in him just to be heartbroken to discover he used the knowledge she gifted him as a sword to stab her in the back. Yes, he didn’t want to hurt her, but he still did and that is what Alex finds unforgivable. She knows it was a difficult decision for him to make, and she knows that anyone faced with that scenario will most likely choose to betray someone else for the sake of their loved ones. She states this in her reasonings with Rook before she parts ways with him at the end of A Grimm Warning. She’s super, super aware, and she knows she both can and cannot blame him, so that’s why she decides that it would be better for them to part because of that conflict that will always reside within her. It’s difficult to keep a relationship going when someone does a betrayal so big that it risks the lives someone else went through so much to protect.

Honestly, how Alex handles this is how I would have also handled the situation. She acknowledges both sides of the argument, and she makes a decision based on how the future between them might look. She takes her position as the Fairy Godmother into account, and she looks at the different aspects of her feelings for Rook. He broke her heart by doing what she did, and she knew she couldn’t handle being with him during one of the most stressful times in her life going forward. Also, Rook downplaying what he did by saying it was a “bump in the road” relationship-wise shows that he doesn’t fully perceive the weight of the situation. He doesn’t understand how much could have changed based on that one decision he made, and that’s probably why Alex ended it right there and then with him instead of attempting to work on it. She knew he wasn’t going to have the depth of understanding she was, and if he could not meet her on that level then there was no chance of a resolution between them.

This whole situation is actually one of my favorites in the main series, because it shows a realness behind conflict in relationships. People have their own selfish reasons for doing things, but Alex shows us that you have to be willing to understand both yourself, how you’re feeling, and the two sides of the argument. She shows the importance of acknowledging why the other person did what they did, and also standing your ground by saying that it was unacceptable. Yes, mistakes can be made, but when they are of great magnitude it can be a complete deal-breaker, and I stand beside Alex’s decision. She went through the healthiest steps possible during that particular moment—especially considering it was right after her grandmother’s funeral when she was already super emotional and burden-heavy as it was. I have to stand with Alex’s decision on this one. Rook was very wrong to downplay the gravity of the situation, and she was right in correcting him and telling him that because he was viewing the situation as not pivotal in their relationship or deserving of massive consequences, he doesn’t deserve a relationship with her. She physically cannot trust him to take her most valuable possessions (her heart, her trust, her feelings, her hopes, her dreams, etc.) and expect him to value them. If that is how you are feeling about your relationship, then you need to really step back and reevaluate it. She did, and she knew it wouldn’t work out.

Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy Rook Robins that much. Yes, his sacrifice will always be valued with the utmost respect and gratitude, but at the end of the day he was too behind Alex maturity-wise to be in a relationship with her. And, even though he spent the rest of his time in the series attempting to figure out how to get back with her—which I will admit does go to show his determination as a character—he never allowed himself to truly understand things from her point of view, and Alex didn’t trust him to. That is why she would have never gotten back with him, despite how much he was pushing for a relationship with her. It comes off as a bit needy, and shows a few other red flags too.

Sorry this came out to be a really, really long answer. I just understand too much about the situation through analysis, and I’ve got a solidified stance on the matter. I just wanted to explain as much as possible for you so you could understand where I’m coming from. Thank you for the ask though! I’ve never really gotten to share my analysis of him before because everyone else kind of doesn’t like talking about him when it’s really important that we understand his character and how it’s so common to meet impactful people who betray us in life. The Land of Stories kind of teaches us how to consider all the facts before dealing with it, and that’s what I enjoy most—it’s a lesson I actively implement in my life to this day!

[period-dramallama]

Review: Legacy by Susan Kay, Prologue-2.1

So Legacy is a big book so rather than keep y’all waiting while I drown in notes, I’m going to read a third of the book, review it, then read the next third and review that, and so on.

Let’s go girls.

If I were to theorise, I would say that I think Susan Kay is a perfectionist. She has written 2 novels, both award winning, and the second one was 32 years ago. I don’t think it’s the case that she had only one novel in her and never had ideas again. I imagine that she’s had ideas since Phantom but they’re not brilliant enough in her eyes to be worthy of penning. I could be completely wrong. There is something alluringly mysterious about dropping 2 award winning books in 6 years and then vanishing from the public eye. Not even twitter. Well done, Ms Kay. Well done. What a legend.

I wonder if she knew she would only write one Tudor novel, because there’s so many ideas squashed in here. It’s like a compilation of Every Idea About The Tudor Period I Have Ever Had. Lots of ideas here that would make for interesting novellas or novelettes, like Henry’s relationship with Elizabeth.

There’s an exchange when Elizabeth says Mary had freedom of conscience under Edward and Mary is like “yeah because I’m right and I would have died for it” SOMEBODY was watching Elizabeth R episode 1 lmao.

Characterisation

The relationship between Henry and Elizabeth is slightly mesmerising. He hates and fears her, she’s defiant, but he also wishes she were his son- that his son and heir had her personality. No evidence that Henry was ever disappointed with Edward- why would he be? He’s an impressive kid!

John Dudley’s lack of sentiment regarding his father’s fate and his own career makes an interesting contrast with Robin and Elizabeth who really can’t escape the shadows of their parents. There’s emphasis on the trauma of Katherine Howard’s execution and the necessity of Ashley at her side.

Tom Seymour is well-characterised. He’s a snob. There’s an element of punishment in his harassment of Elizabeth: the desire to essentially ‘take her down a peg’. There’s jealousy and anger fuelling his actions: anger at Elizabeth for rejecting him and thereby revealing him as an old has-been, not as his ego image. He’s jealous of her charming younger people, but he’s also hypocritical in his jealousy. He claims women are possessive, but he’s angry at her flirting with others. Elizabeth beats him with a pillow and tries to kick him- an excuse for a release of the repressed anger and helplessness she feels- ‘socially unacceptable emotions’ as well as resentment of him. Her pent up rage is better captured than in BE. The narrative keeps calling him her lover (SHUT UP ABOUT THE LORD ADMIRAL! SHUT UP ABOUT THE LORD ADMIRAL!) but it’s obvious there’s no love for her at all. He blames her for tempting him, slaps her, calls her a bitch: “the girl’s a natural guttersnipe at heart.” He describes his past girlfriends as “an enchanting but decidedly inferior breed.” He can’t handle how Elizabeth makes him feel emasculated.

I like Ned Seymour’s haunting scene with Elizabeth even if ‘remember me when you are queen” is a bit unrealistic. More useful to Elizabeth’s arc than whatever their relationship was in BE, which was similar, but not as punchy. Here we get a clear lesson that she can take from Eddie S. Cecil’s bond with Elizabeth is also pretty neat.

Justice for Amy! They’re such dicks to her. At least Kay acknowledges Elizabeth’s bitchier side, and she and Robert are still interesting characters, so I wouldn’t say it detracts from the overall story. We get a sense of Elizabeth’s magnetism. I like her compulsive need to lie to Mary out of mental one up-manship.

A little bit too much credit to Simon Renard as Mary’s evil genius. Like he’s the one that suggests bringing back burning…girl, you KNOW as queen you can change the law back. I do like the very very dark comedy of “murdering  Elizabeth wouldn’t be murder, it would be exorcism.”

Tone

Elizabeth vomiting on Mary’s litter out of SPITE. I live for this kind of thing. A good depiction of Elizabeth’s anguish upon entering the Tower. Proof that you don’t need first person POV to get close to the characters if you can write emotion well. (And showing her fear rather than saying “I was terrified” is much more effective.)

Endlessly cynical Elizabeth + children= fun combination. She calls a child ‘a nasty little turd’ which made me laugh even though I shouldn’t. Very dark comedy with the boy (He’s 5!) asked what’s in the flowers (meaning smuggled letters) and he answers “mostly bluebells”. A good moment to establish how paranoid the world is at this point. A literal toddler is being interrogated. It’s nice when the narrative takes a segue into other characters’ perspectives. I like Bridges too, and how Elizabeth’s life is literally saved by his own personal priorities, even though he himself is just a regular official. It gives a sense of mutability and insecurity without spelling it out.

Pacing

The opening can be a little finger-tapping. At times it feels both rushed and slow. Nevertheless we get set up for the court politics. The pacing improves over the course of the first part. She has a challenge on her hands: cover Elizabeth’s whole story in 650 pages. I think she can pull it off, just. Interested to see what she chooses to focus on in the next parts.  

History

C’mon Susan. Susie baby. Charles V is Mary’s COUSIN not her UNCLE. Anne portrayed as a malign influence on Henry, which is unfair IMHO, but I think it works with the theme of haunting.

Anne of Cleves is ugly, Katherine Howard is wanton, Edward is delicate, Catherine Parr is a nurse, Anne Stanhope is evil incarnate. Also Edward is messed-up as evidenced by his chronicle. Also there’s torches on the walls? I’m not sure that’s an effective way to light a hall.

John Dudley proposed to divorce his wife and marry Elizabeth (page 132) “together we will take the throne” WHAT is happening I am SO confused. Is this made up??? Is it an old myth?? It feels like a big deal? And it’s mention off-hand by Susan? I’m getting soo much whiplash. You can’t drop that bombshell on me and then run away into the sunset Susan! Explain yourself!

“Who in this largely Protestant land would support a catholic claimant?” BECAUSE THEY AREN’T PROTESTANT YET THAT WAS WHY THEY RIOTED OVER THE PRAYER BOOK.

There is a sweet friendship between Elizabeth and her servant Isabelle Markham. We have at least moved away from Elizabeth the hater of other girls.

Good use of historical events woven into narrative, and some good points made. Anne fears divorce not death, her marriage is annulled so she can’t even be guilty of adultery. Seymour brothers quarrelling in front of Elizabeth: good detail. The kitchen crashing by the Countess of Lennox is deftly weaved into the story: not just to annoy Elizabeth but deliberately to agitate her until she makes a mistake. A weapon of psychological warfare. I also like how Robert’s relationship with Elizabeth is woven into the greater story: Dudley fails BECAUSE he sent Robert to capture Mary and Robert is too young and inexperienced to pull it off. But he has to send Robert BECAUSE he can’t send Robert to capture Elizabeth instead. And he can’t send Robert to capture Elizabeth BECAUSE he knows Robert won’t stand for harming her.

Again Elizabeth hates Cranmer but Remnarc the Coward was quite a clever dig and a nice way to weave in Robert being in the Tower and their burgeoning relationship.

Prose

“That look of hers would see through lead”

Henry is “afraid of a shadow in the sun” I saw what you did there, Susan. “Eyes that see inside your head” or you could say…make a window into your soul…

“The dreadful trusting smile of a little girl” “and when you were paid to take care of a child, the worst thing you could do was to give your heart- you never got it back intact.” Susan Kay was a teacher IIRC, I wonder if that line has significance to her career. Anne Stanhope “like a crocodile sinking beneath the surface of a lake”. The word ‘crybaby’ felt out of place, but the prose is generally competent, with moments of flair. There’s very little scene- setting, but honestly given how much story we have to get through, I get it.

Time to read the second third of the book!

[rosellerivers19]

My review on Varisudu movie

If you don’t know already I’m Indian and one of the things I like doing being Indian is watching the culture’s movies because oh my god they are fantastic so I was naturally hyped after Varisudu came on prime video it having Vijay sir and was really excited after seeing the first half of the movie because it looked really promising for us New generation kids as it seemed like it would acknowledge the problems with neglect/abuse how it hurt the family and how the siblings could mend their bonds as well as dealing with a peaceful divorce but I was horrified after finishing the movie.

First of the actors were good they did a great job as well as the songs and choreography those are probably the only reasons why you should watch this movie. But the plot theme and moral were horrible

What I dislike about this movie is mainly the family drama it is a really horrible depiction. This movie is trying to have the message that love conquers all and that you should forgive your family no matter what horrible things they’ve done and it’s sickening especially in this day and age where abuse and neglect is being exploited as no okay and this movies is just taking several leaps back from that accomplishment.

When we got the flashback of Vijay and how he left his house because his father undermined his accomplishments and his brother were obviously puppets because of the same or similar treatment from their father I was touched happy almost I thought we’d have a nice movie where we’d see the children accepting that just because your blood related doesn’t mean you have to love them and it’s a choice but noo we have to have a movie where it’s saying that hey I know that I emotionally neglected you and used you for my goals or hey I’m sorry I almost crushed you with a car or tried killing you but deep down I care about you. That is some bullshit right there.

Let’s go through all the problem together shall we

Rajendran kicked his son out for not complying with his ideals neglected his accomplishments and after one single fight let go of him not even thinking argument through or contacting his son in 7 years This man does all this and expects his youngest son to put up with his bs he never even thought of how he might be feeling or maybe that he himself was wrong or overreacted and even after knowing that he was dying he didn’t try rethinking his choices like he claims in the movie. Keep in mind after he allows his wife to host the celebration and Vijay comes home he doesn’t even spare a glance at his son he hasn’t seen in 7 years and goes off to do his other business. And doesn’t even apologize after Vijay returns for him saying that he might be wrong until the very end which in my case is very unacceptable.

Jai cheats on Aarthi slaps her when she confronts him about it, don’t try solving their issues and magically stop their divorce. Now this is just sad Jai cheated on Aarthi with no regrets they were both unhappy with this marriage and doesn’t feel bad when confronted about it. Yes he’ s worried when his daughter gets human trafficked but that’s because he is not a total doichebag. This would’ve been the perfect moments for him to apologize and him and Aarthi have a peaceful divorce but they still stay together knowing they have complications. And this is part Vijay’s fault to like he was fine with the divorce at first knowing that what his brother did was wrong but then his mother says “oh well I’m his mother so I can’t think like that” and wham Bam morals gone ma’am. I mean like really? I get it if you’re a little sentimental but he is completely forgetting his morals there he could’ve just left it at that letting the divorce happen because it was the right thing and his mother would have to learn to accept it because what her son did was wrong and he can’t fix that.

Ruining the characters If you pay attention to details closely like I do then you might’ve seen that in the beginning when Vijay came back to the house and put his stuff in his room Jai leaned on the door way making fun of him saying “Oh you make that big of a speech and come after 7 years for one phone call” then Vijay says “elder brother what big of a mistake did I do except leave this house?Do you know how much I’ve missed you in those seven years” and then Jai begins sympathizing because in reality he doesn’t truly hate his brother he’s also a neglected child who’s been used like a puppet and starts to sympathize saying “Hey don’t take those words to heart I was just saying that in anger we’ve missed you too-“ but before he can finish Vijay laughs and says he didn’t mean any of that but of course he did. No matter who you are it’s not easy living without love and affection and we had no indication throughout the movie that Vijay had developed close bonds while he was away. Vijay didn’t choose to not have love and support he chose to distance himself from a toxic relationship that would affect both his physical health and mental health badly and I respect him for that.

This movie is basically mocking Gen Z saying that they are wrong and making this as a go to guilt trip material for Indian parents to say “Oh see family always comes first” and shit like that. I especially hate the line where Vijay says “My dad will always be my first hero because even if he didn’t help me walk by holding my hand he reached me from afar”. What message is this giving? It’s saying abuse and neglect are okay your siblings assaulting you is okay and staying in a relationship that is clearly not working is okay.

This movie had great potential of catching the eye of the new generation which it clearly wanted to do.Do not watch this movie if you want good ideals or want to teach something to your child because this family drama has the wrong lessons instead watch something like Manam because in the movie Radha and Krishna’s divorce was caused by a misunderstanding and Radha was actually trying to heal their relationship before they died.

[fudgetunblr]

If you don’t think we should talk bout a woman Kanye (and KK, btw) sexually humiliated and harassed (and that is undeniably what KK and Ye were doing to her, the Famous vid is pretty cut and dry) because you personally don’t like her or her fans or because she’s problematic consider that you are not ready to talk about issues more complex than a tumblr callout post. We as a culture don’t have to ignore how grossly misogynistic everything surrounding Famous and it’s video was (not just towards her, btw, the entire video is just sex pest shit) just because Taylor’s done a lot of stupid or harmful shit (and she’s also just super annoying). I mean Jesus Christ if you can acknowledge nuance with KK you can do it with her.

Perhaps I didn’t articulate the Taylor point very well on my post, so I will clarify it here, and then if people feel the need to send more anons like this to me I’ll just delete them.

What Kanye has done to Taylor Swift in the past has been horrible. That being said, people only seem to care about Kanye’s misogyny when it affects white women. No one else gets dragged into the conversation as much as Taylor Swift, and she isn’t the first or last person he heckled on a stage. She’s not the first or last woman he’s made derogatory remarks towards. Yet she seems to be the ONLY woman people seems to think it’s worth fighting for.

Kanye’s racism and antisemitism does not affect Taylor Swift directly, if anything she’s benefitted from both. She had a huge alt-right following in the past and took a long time before she spoke out against them.

She is not being targeted by Kanye right now, Jewish people are. They deserve to be placed in the spotlight, their history deserves to be highlighted and our focus should be on calling out Kanye’s unacceptable alligence with the nazi party.

I can not reiterate this enough: 

THIS IS NOT ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT!

This is about the oppression of Jewish people and the horrible repercussions Kanye’s stance has caused and will continue to cause in the future. Supporting the Jewish population should be the priority here, it’s as simple as that.

Now please anon, whoever you are. Block me.

[shadxwcd]

@ofspvrta​ asked: Kassandra leaned against the doorway. Randvi usually came to her tent by now, so when she didn't show, Kassandra decided to come to her instead. She waited in silence for a moment, Randvi was clearly deep in thought, going over things that needed to be done, she certainly hadn't acknowledged her lover yet. "Late night?"

unprompted ask | Always Accepting

Randvi lifted her chin from her hand as she heard those greek-tinted words cut through the quiet ambience of her office this late into the evening. Blinking blearily she sighed, reaching for her mug of tea only to realise it was stone cold. How long had it been since her last break?

“Not much longer, I just need to finalise my plans for tomorrow. Which looks to be a lot quieter than today.” She sounded very relieved at that fact.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise it had gotten so late. I meant to stop by.” Her time with Kassandra was very valued, but the way things had happened today had imploded all of her daily plans. The friendship groups of the children in the village had ended up in a big argument, leading to fights and minor destruction and tears. Since Eivor was away, it was down to Randvi to provide a good enough lecture to all of the children about the unacceptable nature of their destruction to the town, and helping to enact proper consequences. On top of her normal duties of course. “Today was just...a lot.”

She wasn’t even their parent but she felt exhausted from listening to all of this. Had she really been that petty as a child? Yes, from what she remembered. Suddenly she empathised well with her poor mother.

[compassionatekiller]

INSOMNIA :  for one muse to find the other still awake at 3am. (Either +reverse or not)

Comprehensive Scenario List

Unohana had always done her best to get a good night's sleep. Even before she'd transferred to the 4th Division, she'd taken proper rest extremely seriously (when possible; war did not care for your sleep schedule). Resting too much bred laziness, resting too little bred exhaustion. Either negatively impacted her as both a warrior and a healer, and thus, they were unacceptable to her.

Yet, every so often, the body simply refused to yield to her staunch beliefs. Unohana did not find sleep difficult often, but when she did, it was often a long and arduous trial before her body accepted its need for rest. The reasons differed; sometimes it was because the memory of some long-fought battle was stirring her bloodlust to the point of restlessness, other times it was because she found herself planning Isane's lessons and just...not stopping. Rarely (shocking as that was to acknowledge) it was because Kurotsuchi Mayuri had decided to start some new experiment on his ostensible allies again; no one else had even come close when it came to keeping her on her toes these past decades as that man.

Tonight, the unbidden obstacle to her slumber was the scar on her chest; it was the anniversary of that day, and the ache would have been unbearable were it not so familiar. It was the one affliction she suffered every year on the dot without fail, and she was truthfully in no hurry to cure herself of it, even with what it did to her sleep schedule. Instead, she decided to take a walk. It would be some time before the echo of her sin died down enough to give sleep a shot, and there was no sense wasting all of that time just staring at the ceiling and moping like a schoolgirl.

Thankfully, the night (well, very early morning) was a pleasant one. Mostly clear skies allowing the sea of stars to shine unimpeded, a pleasant breeze that cooled without chilling, a silence filled only by the ever-present nuances of nature...if she had to ruin her proper rest on any night, she would prefer it to be on a night like this. She had no destination in mind; this was a meandering wandering meant to burn energy and waste time, not anything truly purposeful and meaningful. So she found it rather surprising she ran into anyone in her listlessness, but decided to take advantage of this coincidence as she allowed a smile to cross her face.

"My, and here I was thinking I would be the only one still awake at this indecent hour. Trouble sleeping?"