#this was a longer rant than I expected

[ghostlymarauder]

Okey so I'm reading Circe and after reading the scene with Medea and Jason, I've finally pinpointed why I'm not liking this book like I liked The Song of Achilles—everyone is evil but Circe.

To that, you might argue "well, there's Daedalus", but he literally for like two chapters and then he fucking dies, so, I wouldn't count that as the most relevant of characters. So, by the point Medea and Jason go to Circe's island, we've only known evil character after evil character.

You could also argue that this is because the book it's narrated by Circe and then you could say she's an unreliable narrator, but that's not how it feels. I'll compare it to Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games books, because she's is an unreliable narrator and it feels as such.

When Katniss describes something, I feel like Suzanne Collins wanted it to feel like it's Katniss' opinions. When Circe's does, I feel like Madeline Miller wanted me to take it as literally as possible. And don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved The Song of Achilles, I devoured that book because I think it's beautifully written and has wonderful characters (that's not to say I don't think tsoa it's perfect and Circe's terrible or something, it's just to make clear that I don't have a problem with Madeline Miller as a writer).

And the problem with that it's not that it feels like Madeline Miller wants me to believe Circe is a reliable narrator, it's that the world is being presented to me like "Circe's parents are evil, and her siblings are evil (yes, even the one she thought was good), and all the Gods are evil, and even the mortals are evil. But not Circe, she's pure and innocent and yes, she went against every divine law to transform her non-lover into a god, and yes, she transformed a woman into a monster just because she was jealous, BUT she feels guilt and that makes it alright." AND IT FUCKING DOESN'T.

Like, it's okay if everyone's a shit, as long as everyone's a shit. I don't care if every character is questionable, but the main one should be questionable, too. And honestly, this is a problem in tsoa too, like Agamemnon is sort of presented as this savage villian and Diomedes is disgusting too and she tries hard to sell Odysseus as a terrible guy, too, but Patroclus and Achilles are just... Well, they're "good guys".

Achilles is a savage warrior who slays and slays and enjoys it, but Madeline Miller doesn't dive into that—she doesn't dive into his ruthlessness, his pride, the things he does selfishly. But then again, I can overlook it on tsoa for the sole reason that the whole book is narrated from Patroclus' point of view AND it's him reminiscing his life with Achilles to Tethis on their grave, so, I can accept that it's an hyper idolized version of everything that happens.

But there's no such plot lines on Circe. There's no such reason for it to be an idolized version of what happens. So, I'm not going to say I hate the book, because I would've stopped reading if I did, but I don't like it half as much as I like tsoa and I know I'm going to like it even less once Odysseus appears because it doesn't matter how much Madeline Miller tries to sell him as a bad guy, I still love him just the same.

PLUS, there isn't a world where I can defend Circe on what happens between her and Odysseus, just like I can't defend Calypso (though you could argue that Calypso is much worse, and she is). Also, I'm pretty sure that on Miller's Circe, she ends up with Telemachus, and it doesn't matter if it's on a retelling or the original myth, Circe and Telemachus together it's a flavor of wrong that I'm not okay with, even when it comes to Greek Mythology.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

The one thing I want from the Maul show

The trailer for the new Maul show looks fantastic with beautiful animation and some great voice acting. And of course, there's our usual Maul-isms such as he need for revenge and his never ending quest for an apprentice. I do love that Rook points out that he had another vision, which I think is pretty cool for Maul. I love the small details such as the sound of his legs against the metal ramp to the ship. I also love that we're getting an encounter with an inquisitor since in Rebels, his lightsaber is made out of a broken inquisitor blade.

With that said, the one thing I truly hope for are quiet moments where we really get a chance to delve into his inner thoughts. Underneath his quest for vengeance, who is he truly?

Maul is a complex person; while there is no doubt that he's not very moral, he is still very vulnerable, lonely, angry, and has a longing for a companion. The unfortunate reality is that Maul's upbringing has essentially tarnished his interpersonal skills and mind to a point where he struggles to have even the most basic meaningful connection. Savage sure tried the brotherly route and was met with an apprentice-master dynamic. Maul, of course, did care in his own way but has zero concept of healthy relationships other than what was taught to him.

Ezra was a similar situation where there was an offering for companionship (naïveté aside), but Maul still had to go down that master-apprentice route (and try and take out the real master for good measure). When Maul is at his most desperate to hold on to his connection with Ezra, he pleads that they could be like friends, even brothers. Of course, he's still not above using Ezra to get to Obi-Wan.

The point is, Maul continues to be one of Star Wars' most tragic figures: a lonely man who will never find peace with himself or anything in his life even when others try and offer it to him. It's his internal battle that makes him so compelling to me. Maul has to continue a quest that will never satisfy him. He's been offered chances for a better life, but never takes it. And with this new series, I truly hope they will give us more insight into his inner world. Does he still think about Savage? Has he ever considered the self-destructive nature of his quest (tbf, in Rebels he definitely knows imo).

We know that he will be getting a new apprentice, which could be a great opportunity to explore Maul's more tragic and sympathetic side.

It's pretty well known that Maul tends to seek companionship in people he not only sees potential in, but also sees a part of himself. Savage being his brother aside, with Ahsoka, Maul saw someone who had been cast aside, and with Ezra, Maul saw someone who shared his desire to defeat the Sith and avenge those he lost. Maul yearns for that connection and I'm curious so see if this relationship will be different from Ezra or Savage. It will still be master-apprentice, but will the girl be more hesitant to learn like Ezra, open like Savage, or eventually embrace the teachings and kick Maul to the curb? Maybe, just maybe, Maul will have a somewhat positive relationship that isn't just him dominating someone else the whole time. I'm getting off track here, but I really would be curious as to how another apprentice route is going to impact Maul (especially considering how every storyline he's in always includes some sort of master-apprentice dynamic).

Based on the trailer, it appears that Maul has a vision about the Twi'lek girl and offers to train her. It appears that his line about an unfilled destiny is directed at her and he can help her reach that potential. I'd love to see what this vision entails since it has to be pretty significant for Maul to go out of his way to seek her. Perhaps, Maul seeks to help the girl fulfill her "destiny" as a way to soothe his own aching soul considering he feels robbed of destiny.

Thinking back to Clone Wars, I wouldn't be surprised if Maul was haunted by what happened on Mandalore and with Order 66. In Rebels, he does have a portrait of Satine that he destroyed. We know Sidious is the man he fears more than anything. I can imagine he is plagued by nightmares and anger. He lost everything and getting a chance to "restart" with a new apprentice might just be the opportunity he jumps at to find some sense of purpose.

Purpose is another core Maul-ism. This guy literally tunnel visions on like one or two things (destroy Obi-Wan and Sidious) and then makes it everyone else's problem. In fact, part of Maul's tragedy is that he can't see another path for himself other than revenge. It is a result of his upbringing, but what's tragic is that he can't let it go, ever. So much of his pain comes from the fact that he will never be satisfied in life; everything around him fails and he can't even beat one specific Jedi. And for all the pain it's caused him, Maul can't. let. go. Enter a potential apprentice with an "unfulfilled destiny." No doubt Maul will use this to channel his own sense of purpose. I am really interested to see how this theme plays out with the Twi'lek girl and I wonder how much of this "unfulfilled destiny" is coming from her or from Maul.

Remember Ezra? He wanted to defeat the Sith, but it wasn't his number one priority. Maul was the one who influenced that side of him because that's what Maul wanted. He took advantage of a young, naive boy and it led to disaster. I'm curious of the Twi'lek girl's motivation and why she is in Maul's visions. Maybe this girl will give us more insight into Maul's inner world. Will she be someone he truly bonds with (to the extent that he can)? Or is it going to be more closed off as it has always been with Maul? Maul does open up, but the narrative usually is either very skewed or he's just venting.

All and all, I'm just excited to see Maul again. I realize this whole post just went into a ramble about Maul's character but he truly is such a fascinating person. His story is defined by the anger and pain he experiences, he is merciless on his quest for revenge, and yet, we the audience are still asked to feel sympathy for him. We see his vulnerabilities, his pain, his grief, his longing for connection, and over and over again, we see his failure. Maul is a cautionary tale of what happens when you allow revenge and anger to rule your life; it leads to nothingness, something that Obi-Wan echoes to him in Rebels.

It is heartbreaking that Maul only found peace when he died and while he finally realized that Obi-Wan was never his true enemy, that drive for vengeance never left him. Even writing this just makes me want to bundle him up in a blanket and hold him tight. Maul carries so much pain, both with what he has caused and what he has endured.

I hope this new show doesn't disappoint and gives us a new perspective on our favorite Zabrak. If you made it this far, thank you for sticking with this long-winded rant. I was just literally pouring all my Maul feels into this unintentionally. I love Maul so, so much; his story pulls at my heartstrings and his relationship with Obi-Wan is genuinely one of my favorite Star Wars dynamics of all time. I can't wait to see this new, unexplored chapter of Maul's life! (Until then I'm in my Andor brainrot, specifically over the pathetic cereal man).

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[poppyseeds-and-coffeebeans]

Chapters: 1/1 Rating: Mature Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog Additional Tags: Aged-Up Character(s), bunnysuit!shadow, Bachelor Party, Strippers & Strip Clubs, but make it classy since Rouge owns the place, sonic is a terrible flirt, shadow is charmed and annoyed about it, Sexual Tension, shadow's chest fluff should honestly get its own character tag Summary:

Sonic didn't know what to expect from this stag party, and when he gets a lap full of a dark hedgehog, he thinks maybe this night might turn out better than he ever hoped. -- or: Bunnysuit!Shadow (need I say more?)

This was meant to be a short drabble for fun in between chapters of Going for Gold but it turned into a much longer one-shot... well I wrote it and it’s too late to change it now!

this fic was most directly inspired by @bionic_xei’s bunnysuit!shadow art! You can find it and more wonderful art here!

Enjoy the fun time ;3

[liloinkoink]

wait, i have a question about your blindsided au. has ren not realized that the captain is martyn?

he has not!

it’s easy for us as readers to say it’s obvious that the Captain is Martyn, but think about it from Ren’s pov

first off, Martyn’s eye being sent to him is… VERY strong proof Martyn is Very Dead. and even before he was gifted Martyn’s eye, he saw the blood in the alleyway showing someone suffered some serious wounds, and the piece of Martyn’s braid left behind that proved the blood belonged to Martyn. combine all of that, and body or not, Ren feels he has overwhelming proof of the fact Martyn is gone

additionally, it’s been four years. if Martyn had survived, why wouldn’t he have come home? they were incredibly close for years. if Martyn were still alive, surely Ren would know by now, because Martyn would have done anything in his power to come home. he didn’t, so clearly, he couldn’t. he’s dead

on top of that, Ren no longer really remembers what Martyn looked like. he remembers broad strokes, like blond and stocky and about how tall he’d been, but the finer details are a bit lost on him, especially since there aren’t any pictures or anything of Martyn to check.

even if he did remember, the Captain also looks somewhat different to Martyn—he’s got some pretty heavy scarring, his eye is missing, and his hair is cut completely differently to how Martyn’s was. i also think that in Dogwarts, a winter territory, Martyn probs got less sun than the Captain does, so the Captain’s probs got more of a tan (or is more sunburnt—Martyn seems to be the type of guy to burn more than tan tbh). i think he also holds himself differently after a few years at sea, tho if i go into mannerisms and body language this will get very long

anyway. Ren doesn’t realize that the Captain is Martyn for the same reason you wouldn’t assume any random old woman you meet on the street is Queen Elizabeth. why the fuck would you assume this random stranger is a man you know has been dead for years? because, what, they’re both blond? that doesn’t make any sense. it would be a kind of insane conclusion to come to

so nah, Ren doesn’t realize. because that would be a miracle, and Ren doesn’t believe in those anymore

[chussyracing]

He's not a Lando fan. He hates him and McLaren which is why we became friends in the first place. But he's a Max fan which well. Ofc Max is good, but I guarantee you he wouldn't survive the Ferrari experience from 2021-24 and come out with 4 titles at the end of it

to be fair, nobody survives that - hence why the drivers changes left and right in that seat. oh but wait, one driver survived through all that and you will never guess who it is 😁

[youling-the-ghost]

Hello, sfth fandom! I've noticed that there's been a surge of sfth fanfiction lately, so here's a friendly guide to tagging on ao3.

(quick note: none of these are de facto rules as much as they are advice from someone who's been using ao3 for years; you don't have to follow these tips at all, they're just to help new ao3 users navigate the tagging system)

Rating

There are 5 different ratings that your fic can have: Not Rated, General Audiences, Teen and Up, Mature, and Explicit. The rating tag tells the readers what level of mature content is in the fic.

Not Rated

It's best to avoid this as it tells nothing about how much mature content is in the fic. If you tag your fic as Not Rated, it's probably best to go a little more in-depth in your additional tags or fic summary to prevent accidentally triggering people.

General Audiences

This rating is for fics that basically have no mature content whatsoever. Essentially, it means that the fic is suitable for anyone of any age. A rule of thumb that I use is to imagine a 10-year-old reading your work. If the thought of that makes you uncomfortable, then General Audiences is probably not the best rating for your fic.

Teen and Up

This rating is for fics that contain content that may not be suitable for readers younger than 13. This can involve swearing, discussion of mature topics (sex, mental health, etc.), or mild violence.

If you don't feel comfortable with children reading your fic, but your fic doesn't have any explicit content, then Teen and Up is probably the best rating for it.

Mature

This rating is for fics that contain adult themes, such as sex or violence. Usually, fics with this rating have heavy themes but aren't very explicit about it. A sfth-specific example would be Inside the Mysterious Cube, as it has violent themes but doesn't have any crazy brutality or gore.

Explicit

This rating is for fics that contain heavy adult themes, including explicit sex and graphic violence. Generally speaking, most (if not all) smutfics should be tagged as Explicit.

Warning(s)

Warnings are used to warn (surprise surprise) the reader for any potentially triggering content. It's good fanfiction etiquette to always tag warnings, even if you're concerned about spoilers. If you're especially worried about spoilers, you can tag your fic as Choose Not To Use Warnings and add a TW in the notes for chapters that include triggering content.

The warnings are pretty straightforward for the most part, except for one thing.

Choose Not To Use Warnings vs No Warnings Apply

This is something that can be very confusing for new ao3 users (and even some old users). It essentially boils down to this: No Warnings Apply means that none of the warnings that ao3 provides are in your fic, while Choose Not To Use Warnings means that you don't want to explicitly tag any of the warning, either to avoid spoilers or because you're unsure about which warnings you should tag.

I personally use Choose Not To Use Warnings when my fic deals with heavy topics non-explicitly. For example, I have written a fic before that involved heavy instrusive thoughts and similar mental health issues, which I thought could trigger unwanted thoughts for the reader, so I tagged it as Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings.

Fandoms

(quick note: "common tag refers to tags that have been wrangled by an ao3 tag wrangler (you don't need to know what that is) and can be used to filter works)

This is the thing that seems to confuse most sfth fanfiction writers. The "Shoot from the Hip - fandom" tag redirects to British Comedy RPF, which is pretty common for niche RPF fandoms.

What I personally do is tag the fandom as Shoot from the Hip, along with any longforms if they apply, which should have their own common tags.

If you're writing a fic for a longform that doesn't have a common tag yet, you should format your tag like this:

[longform name] - Shoot from the Hip Improvised Sketch (e.g. The Unrelenting Aubergine - Shoot from the Hip Improvised Sketch)

I would advise for you to tag both the longform(s) and Shoot from the Hip - fandom. As an example, this is how I tagged my Unrelenting Aubergine and Wild, Wet & Worrisome fics:

(the order of the tags doesn't really matter here)

Relationships & Characters

Okay, this is probably the weirdest thing to tag for the sfth fandom since there are pretty much no common tags for these. For the characters/relationships that have no common tags (which is pretty much all of them), it's best to format the tag like this:

[character/relationship] ([longform where it originates from) (e.g. Derek (The Unrelenting Aubergine), Bubba/Jeremiah (Inside the Mysterious Cube))

The other way to go about it is to use the most common tag. For example, I tagged my Ditch fic as Derek/Titch without the (The Unrelenting Aubergine) since most of the fics were tagged as such.

Just for reference, here are the boys' common character tags for the RPF writers:

Additional Tags

Here is where you can go wild with the tags. These tags are used to give the reader a brief idea of what the fic is about, and you can feel free to add as many or as few tags as you wish. However, it is good etiquette to not add too many tags, so make sure that just the essentials are covered. For example, if your fic features a chair, there's no need to put "Chair" in your tags.

Tags You Should Probably Include

Now, these are all my personal opinion, but I feel like these tags are almost essential for any fic so that the reader can get a quick idea of what mood/genre the fic is going to be:

Fluff - cute and non-sexual things happen (cuddling, kissing, general affection, love confessions, etc.), isn't exclusive to romantic situations.

Angst - sad things happen (breaking up, crying, self-esteem issues, etc.).

Hurt/comfort - one character is physically and/or emotionally hurt, and another character helps them. There's a separate Emotional Hurt/Comfort tag for the character going through emotional struggles.

Anything sexual - do any sexual things happen in your fic? If yes, then you should probably tag it. If the sexual content is only implied (e.g. two characters waking up in the same bed naked), there's an Implied Sexual Content tag for that.

Any heavy content - things like abuse and violence should be tagged, even if you already have a warning for it. This is just to prevent anyone from reading something that might be triggering for them.

Other than that, add as many tags as you need to describe your fic.

A PSA About RPF

Finally, since this is a fandom that involves real people, here's a quick PSA for RPF writers and readers alike:

Please do not share any RPF fics with the boys. This goes for any work, explicit or not.

Also, please respect RPF writers. You may not feel comfortable with RPF, and that's totally fine! Just please don't harass RPF writers just because you believe that RPF is wrong. If there's a fic that you're uncomfortable with, just don't read it and please don't go leaving hate comments on that fic.

I know that this fandom is full of lovely people, but I feel the need to get this out of the way as it's an issue that many RPF fandoms have to deal with.

I really hope this helps!! :]

[imobsessed123]

puckabrina

(if you can't tell i'm a bit obsessed with them right now)

Yes yes yes yes yes they’re absolute perfection

They’re from a children’s book so my expectations were low but they are SO PERFECT

Like the first kiss?? Yeah she punched him afterwards but imo it’s because she was so mad that she actually liked the kiss

and the way puck was so nonchalant about them getting married (after he got over the initial shock ofc) he just would casually mention it and omg it was so adorable (I know he probably did it to annoy her but still)

I think they’re an absolutely adorable version of enemies to lovers cause you see two people who barely trust anyone start to trust each other with their lives and omg it’s just so perfect

[clovealopod]

OC-tober 2024 - Day 6: Past

I’m back with Sturgeon again for another day! Individuals of those first two images + ranting beneath the cut.

Baby!!

Sturgeon hatched without arms. Her parents and doctors were never really sure why, and despite being a regenerative species, new arms never grew in. Luckily this has never really hindered Sturgeon, as inklings are highly adaptable. At a young age, her parents started styling her tentacles to work as hands, which allowed Sturgeon to be just as capable of things like writing and other dexterous activities as other inklings her age. It was still a bit more of a struggle, and she still has some slight issues with dexterity, but it’s much better than if her parents hadn’t helped her get that freedom.

Teen :0

Sturgeon was so excited to leave home for the first time. She came from a small to mid sized commuter town. Out near Calamari County, but not as far as where the Squid Sisters are from. One of those towns that’s close enough that everyone goes on long drives for work, but far away enough that there’s no public transport, farms interspersed between the houses, and literally nothing going on.

City life was new and at first, kind of scary. She luckily got used to it quick, and was pretty decent at turf wars. Still, she felt kind of lonely. In a place so full of people, it was surprisingly difficult for her to make connections. If asked today, Sturgeon wouldn’t be able to tell you if following Cuttlefish down the drain was the best or worst decision she ever made. Sure, she got friends and a support system out of it, they got more skilled with inkweapons, but… was it worth it? The fun version of war that regulated turf war offered was just… not realistic. And Sturgeon wasn’t fully prepared for the reality.

When Cuttlefish and Sturgeon disappeared during their scouting trip to Mount Nantai, Sturgeon’s parents became frantic with concern and fear. Their kid, their oldest kid who used to call almost every day, just straight up disappeared. She had told her parents in advance that she’d be on a trip with friends in an area with patchy service for a month, so at first it was okay, expected. But then a month passed, and then two, and then three, and there was nothing. After an entire year, when Cuttlefish, Eight, and Sturgeon got out of the deep sea metro, Sturgeon had lost her apartment and had no way to charge her phone. (Kind of a really poor choice on Cuttlefish's part to let her just... go of on her own. After all that. She should've been hospitalized much sooner). When Sturgeon was hospitalized a few days later (those few days were some of the worst of her life), her parents showed up almost immediately and found out about everything (and they absolutely grilled Cuttlefish…)

Sturgeon wanted to stay in the city. Her parents, being understandably scared for their safety, didn’t want her to be alone. Sturgeon stayed with her parents for a month. Their parents only let her go back to living in the city after Four (Rowan) and Eight (Attka) offered Sturgeon a place as their roommate. The first year or two after the deep sea metro was really rough on Sturgeon and Attka. But it got better. Sturgeon’s parents visited every week at first, eventually every month because they didn’t want to hover too much. Sturgeon didn’t return to turf wars or the NSS in general until she was 18.

[myauditionfordrphil]

SOMEBODY SENT ME THIS AND I'M NOT OK I'LL START SOBBING NOW SHUT UP

[miss-i-know-it-all]

Why Hades and Persephone's marriage is actually not a love story (and why Demeter is the real feminist symbole and a very good mother)

This subject has been studied again and again and again, but I want to do it to. So to be clear :

No, Hades and Persephone are not romantic, a couple goal or I don't know what.

In no antic version of the myth you will find a Persephone who was willing to leave her mother and the mortal realm to live with Hades in the Underworld to escape her toxic mother.

This myth was not supposed to be romanticized.

We can't tell with exactitude if the myth was supposed to criticize the way young girls were taken away from their mother to be married of, resulting in them not seing a lot their mother after that, even if it's plausible, making almost all the retellings nowadays even more weird and far from the original source. But come on, look at the myth and tell me it is a love story.

For those who don't know the myth was :

One day, Hades came to see Zeus and asked him the hand of Persephone. Zeus knew if he agreed, Demeter would be furious, but if he disagreed, Hades would be the one pissed of, so he said "It's not my attribution to give you Persephone" or something like that. So Hades though it would be a good idea to kidnap Persephone. Persephone, the young daughter of Demeter (sometimes she has no father, sometimes it's Zeus her father), was minding her own business with a group of nymphs in a field, when suddenly the earth opened and she was kidnapped and led to the underworld. The nymphs alerted Demeter, who was doing her agriculture goddess job. Demeter, absolutely destroyed by this information, decided to find the person who had kidnapped her daughter. Hecate, the goddess of magic, shadows and other dark things, said she had heard screams and came to the rescue of Persephone, but when she arrived in the field, it was to late. Demeter searched 9 days and 9 nights, and on the 10th day, she arrived in a city, when she was greeted by the king and the queen. Things happened, but that's not the most important now. When she left, two shepherd said the day of the kidnapping, earth opened before them, swallowing some of their animals, and then they say a chariot led by black horses going to the underworld by this breach. They didn't see who was leading the chariot, but they did saw a young girl screaming in the chariot. (Notice how she was not described as happy or relieved, but screaming and sometimes crying.) So Demeter decided to ask Helios, the Sun. He explained her what happened, because he had saw everything since he was shining in the sky. Demeter was so furious against Zeus and Hadès she decided to make all the soils infertile. It was an eternal winter for the Greeks. Zeus tried to send messengers to calm her, but she refused. So he sent Hermes, who is also part chthonian, in the Underworld to bring back Persephone. The only condition was that she must have not eaten anything in the Underworld, but just before she left, she was tricked into eating a few seeds of a pomegranate. Because of that pomegranate, Persephone was doomed to spend half the year into the Underworld. It explains the cycle of the seasons : summer is when Persephone is with Demeter, autumn when Demeter knows she's leaving, winter when Demeter is in the deepest loneliness, missing her daughter, and spring when she knows she's coming back.

This is the original myth. Maybe a few details change depending on the period and the location of the myth, but you will not find a version where Persephone purposely leaves the mortal realm before the 21st century. It is a modern retelling that goes against everything the original myth was saying, for the sake of a supposed romance that is just glorified abuse.

Yes I'm looking at you Lore Olympus.

This comic was the beginning of the end for the myth, let's be honest. It shaped so much people's vision of Greek mythology in a way so inaccurate it hurts me. It led to (mainly) a huge mischaracterization of the gods.

First of all, Persephone. It is true we don't learn a lot about her in the myth, I'll give you that. The only things we know for sure is that she's the goddess of spring and that she was not happy to leave with Hades. And this is what people forget too easily. It is even said that she stopped crying the moment Hermes told her she could go back to the Mortal Realm, but before she was in tear non-stop. And saying the opposite is not understanding the myth and it's message on a level that requires you to have an empty skull.

So I ask you : where do you see her happy to leave to the Underworld and in love with Hades ?

This leads us to Hades.

(Side note before, because it bothers me too even if it's not really related to the point : Hades is not the god of death, but of the dead, king of the Underworld but also a god of fertility, because the roots of all the plants are in his realm.)

So Hades clearly didn't give a single fuck about Persephone's consent. He doesn't even care about her mother, Demeter was not aware of his "affection" for her daughter (and if she knew, she would have found a way to kill Hades). He just saw a young girl (his niece, which is weirdly normal in Greek mythology but completely messed up in any modern retelling), thought he wanted her and went to ask for the king of the gods to marry her because he's the king so his words are the truth. And even Zeus said he couldn't decide (i.e : the situation is so complicated the best solution is to not choose a side, even for the king of the gods). But this creep of Hades decided to take the girl (without her consente) despite the circumstances !

This guy is disgusting. And even the argument of "but he didn't cheat on her 🥺" isn't valid because he freaking kidnapped her ! Not cheating on her is the bare minimum, if you even dare to consider it !

And then we have Demeter.

People who don't like Demeter clearly need to be studied. Imagine your daughter has been kidnapped by your brother, who lives in a world with only dead people and almost no sun, when you know your daughter is the goddess of spring (the season when the sun comes back) and loves flower, and then you learn your other brother was aware of this shit before you, but he didn't tell you and didn't oppose himself even though he had the power to stop it all ? And then multiple gods come to tell you you're not reasonable because you decide to do everything possible to get back your daughter (ok, maybe punishing the humanity was extreme, but honestly, I can understand), and when you finally have you daughter back, you discover she can be with you only half a year, and she spends the other part with the creep ? And then people have the audacity to say you're a toxic mother ?

In which world Demeter was the bad guy of the story ? She did everything in her power to save her daughter, and even then, it wasn't enough. We should not hate her but applause her and cry for her, because she's the real heroes of this story and she's more of an icon you should admire than your pseudo-Persephone. But most important, she's an good mother. We cannot take that from her. She did what every good mother would have done, she went against all the gods of the greek pantheon, all by herself, and in the end, she would have won if it wasn't for the pomegranate. If it happened to me, I could only which my mother would do half the things she did.

(Here's the link to my introduction post)

[gothinvmphh]

I am so sorry but I cannot fall for the "Toby would have piercings headcanons, hes a 2000s grunge boy and piercings were mainly see as an emo and goth thing exclusively back then.

Truly I think Toby would see them as cooler or somehow "normaler" than him for it, like having piercings is a thing normal people do. especially before the incident he would probably be disinterested and borderline resentful of people who did have piercings because that usually meant they could feel pain, again, that they were normal.

I do think he would stab his face primarily his mouth as a way of stimulating himself when he's bored though.

Besides when Toby grows up and hits around 30 he most definitely would've taken any piercings out by then. Not because he sees them as childish but because he probably just thinks they don't fit his face quite well anymore.

if I continued rambling on about this it would get into dangerous selfshipping territory...

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[geoffguy]

Kind of annoyed at ai right now

I am sososososo sick of ai right now everywhere I look ai chat bot ads, ai art ads, ai sponsorships, ai art in videos, ai art in search results, ai search results in general, people talking about using ai in xyz, lecturers telling students to use ai holy shit, sexy ai girlfriends and using ai to make people kiss? That’s WEIRD, like really fucking weird???? Why is this so popular, watching video on [topic]? Oops everyone is too fucking lazy to find appropriate images to use in the background and everything is disgusting looking over saturated jumbled ai slop, hmm yes I love my historical painting made in the year 1140∞8, thank god for ublock my only saving grace in this shit turning off ai search results, WHO is asking for and making all these shitty ai images in search results they all look like complete ASS, most of the time they can’t even get basic fucking colours right, and I don’t give a fuck that my aunts boyfriends nephews friends uncle uses ai to write emails im not using that shit and my lecturers telling people to use ai for assignments? A shitty lazy software that skims the surface of google and shits out the first thing it finds? In a field of work where google results give you jack and shit to the point where lecturers have had to point out multiple books that are basically the only ressource on certain things? Also this is fucking conservation and you’re telling people to use something that’s a massive waste of water and electricity????? Yeah okay fine man whatever, biting stuff and biting stuff and biting stuff and biting stuff and

[laststandx3]

I'll be bitter for a minute and say it: i think the terror for how good it is, is also very partial on crozier on being #1 mister only good colonizer in the arctic, and i sort of hate it because the change happens only because he sobers up. and sure alchool makes people cruel, but sobering up doesnt make them perfect. he went from let silna be left on the ship without protection/kick her out for the tuunbaq if she doesnt help us/ rip the guy that died to get me a bottle of whisky, anywayy to peace and love on planet earth lets us all take this walk together while i share words of wisdom and love with this other colonizer who's also very sorry he didn't do anything good with his life. Crozier started the journey at least as a heavy day-drinker and i understand how that's different from heavy alcholism but at the same time i can't imagine all of crozier's faults being the consequences of whisky alone. and having him overcoming his alcholism and wising up immediately after being clean for a few weeks is FOR ME a terrible writing choice that paints him as being naturally good and his 'bad' behaviors coming ONLY from the alchool. yes he sees blanky getting hurt and that's starts his sobering up path. but that's not enough for me. the people (other characters state aloud for the audience) he loves more than god loves them are dying left and right. and i really dont care if corzier cares about the crew or not but if he cared he should have cared about them even when he was drunk and not remembring about their wellbeing AFTER he got clean. i'm not saying you cant enjoy crozier. i just believe his character development isnt earned and that he got it only because he's the designed good character that canonically survives in the book. i dont think that him shitting himself for a few weeks while sobering up can count as having the emotional development to go from one extreme to the other. especially because everyone else is also there sufferring physically and psychologically even more than him due to the fact that their all stranded in the arctic and dying of scurvy and no one else in the crew could have the time off work, privacy and attentions to heal. crozier being the 2nd on command and then captain used his power to become a drunk and later to clean up. and i just dont believe that a man who abused his position like that from the beginning just becuase he was pissed he couldnt marry the woman he wanted suddently stops abusing his position because he's now clean and pure. TO ME it's a bad writing choice that is also force-fed to the audience with the line 'more than god loves them' so that you get it for sure that he's the good guy who cares about people not like those others evil characters who would do anything to survive like killing innocents and being racist (the good guys could never. except they canonically did- but wait, not in THIS continent so it doesnt matter) and eating people (which is a sign of being naturally evil, no matter the circumstances) or following a religion in a desperate last chance of survival (again no one on the good guys side would put religion above good sense and the safety of fellow human beings. in this continent?? maybe? ugh)

in summary i think the main flaw i find in the terror is how much it still tries to draw a line between good and evil. instead of just trying to portray the human disperation for their mortal condition. how much having to come face to face with tuunbaq must destroy all of those men convinctions on what life/afterlife are (for what i remember it just addresses it for tozer AND in the SCRIPT) nobody else gets a life shuttering experience. it's either the devil, then good christians should be safe, or it's a different religion, then what?? what do you do when your life looses its meaning? and the answer for most of the charactes was 🤷‍♀️guess we'll think about it after this awesome party we're about to throw. i dont want this to be about religion, but these men are wrecked in every way, there's nobody to save them and everyday they're a little more in pain than the one before. there shouldnt be a camp of the good men lead by the strong and wise one who take care of their sick and lets the dying die peacefully with morphin. while in the bad guys camp they eat people and have evil laugh competitions and kill their sick with knifes bc giving them poison might make them unedible. and specifically those evil guys where also the reason why the expedition happened to hurt the locals, the good guys have nothing to do with it.

i dont think there's nothing wrong (narratively) in doing anything to survive. even if it's something cruel, because those men are at the end of the world alone, it's at least realistic that they'll try everything to avoid death. crozier(and jfj even if offscreen) gets to be cruel at the beginning of the story but by middle point they're shown to be sad (about unrelated things) and spend the last few episodes being kind and brave (and forgiven by the narrative) while their chance at character development is uniquelly given by their ranks. in the meantime the consequences of those cruelness (only hickey, because we dont get to see survivors of jfj trip to China, if he left any) dont get the chance to heal and change because hickey's position of subordiante never allows him to be really safe, and because his torture was public, automatically making every witness taking the side of the perpetrator. hickey's never given weeks off work to recover because he got lashed because of his own actions. hickey doesnt get words of wisdom from a companion because in his mind everyone agreed with crozier in him deserving the lashes, (except maybe tozer? but even that isnt that clear cut) hickey, manson and hartnell also magiaclly heal from the lashes after a few weeks (even when ANYOTHER character cant heal because of scurvy) so the narrative can't held crozier accountable for the pain he caused.

the good guys and the bad guys' actions are treated differently by the show. even when the good guys actions should have consequences and the bad guys' shouldnt. the narrative has already decided which sins will be forgiven and which will be punished. and it's a bit annoying to me because for how wonderful the terror is, i cant help but feel like i'm being spoonfed a narrative about morality when at its core the story is about humanity.

[indiegowrites]

i'm asking between 28-31 in that ask game I WANNA KNOWWW

28.) What is one thing you would like to see explored more in TMNT art/fics?

APRIL O'NEIL.

So often April just gets completely sidelined—or, if she is involved, it's to a much lesser extent than the main four are. I feel like a lot of people forget that April is, for all intents and purposes—outside of 2012—their sister. She has as much a role in their family dynamic as the guys do.

Let's look at Rise, which is the iteration where she has the biggest role as an active family member IMO. In the final episode alone, she's all but verbally confirmed to be a member of the Hamato clan.

For instance, look at the usage of "it's us" here—they are a group. You either take all of them, or you get none of them.

Note the fact that her sequence in the battle against Shredder takes place in the very middle, between Raph and Mikey's sequences. Moreso, think about the way she appears from behind Raph's copy. It's a move that's VERY reminiscent of what Raph just previously did with Leo hardly 15 seconds prior.

She then has an entire battle sequence against him, which is, by the way, SO sick. This little move she and Karai do is topped only by Leo and Raph's teleport segment.

She's with the entire family (plus Casey, my beloved!!!!!!!) when they launch their final attack on him!!!!

Hell, SHE'S the one who holds the spear with Karai! You know, the guys biological great-great-great however many greats grandmother?

I could talk for HOURS about April's connection with Karai, the guys, and the Hamato clan in general, and its usage of cementing her role as their sister in all but blood—but this is only the first question and I've already rambled for too long HAHAHA.

I want more April! Outside of Rise, inside of Rise, wherever, however, I don't care. Give me more April O'Neil. Stop sidelining her. She is a Hamato, just as much as the guys are.

29.) What is one headcanon that you have?

I see a lot of transfem 2012!Leo passed around, and I genuinely do subscribe to that—but my main headcanon is that 2012!Donnie is also genderqueer (whether that be transfem, nonbinary, or whatever else). Their relationship with April and their whole dynamic takes on an entirely different light when you view it through that lense, and becomes a lot more fascinating than...whatever is going on in canon.

(Sidebar, but Rise!Leo is transmasc. That's not even a headcanon, I fully believe that to be a genuine part of his character.)

30.) What is one common headcanon that you reject?

Not really rejecting, per se, as I believe that any headcanon can be true if you do enough mental gymnastics (#transfem12!donnie WOOOO), but my own take on Rise!Leo's sexuality is a lot more ambiguous than I know a lot of people go for. He's a pretty large kin of mine, and my own sexuality is hardly cut and dry (all I know is that I am queer, and that I don't like putting labels on myself beyond that), so I perceive him kind of in the same boat HAHAHA.

I don't know if this really counts, however, as Rise Leo being queer is hardly a headcanon. That's just...canon. Subtext canon, but canon all the same LMAOOO

Also. Again. That is a trans man. Rise!Leo is transmasculine. I will die on this hill. Argue with the wall.

31.) What is one piece of TMNT canon that you dislike/ignore?

I don't know that I really have any canon that I ignore, to be honest. I think that every TMNT canon is enjoyable in its own way, and that includes the more...let's go with controversial media, like the Bayverse, or Next Mutation,

There are some comics that I just couldn't really get into, but that's more of an ADHD thing than an active dislike.

[red-n-ded]

Charbee Prompts Part 8

The Boy in Yellow (Humanformers Au)

Charlie narrates how she knew a boy in high school who was a big fan of her in the school’s high diving team. His name was Benjamin O’Brien. They weren’t friends nor did they talk so often but shared almost every class. He was nice and talkative but around her, he stuttered and rambled out of nervousness. Charlie figured he had a crush on her but didn’t want to embarrass him since he was nice and was probably the loudest at her competitions (second to her dad).

When her father died, she was a junior and he was senior going to graduate in a month. He was there when her father’s heart gave out and drove both of them to the hospital. She fell asleep waiting for the news and when she woke up, the boy was gone except a yellow jean jacket with a bee patch on it. She never wore it again but she kept it. When she came back to school as a complete shell of herself, he was the only one to stick by her side. They never talked but he treated her normally and sat at a comfortable distance. She appreciated his company and knows she won’t see him again but wishes him the best since he’s going to the military after graduating.

But by some luck, she sees him again.

She just graduated and turned 18 and when she buys her first car, the boy was in the trunk, injured and unconscious. Charlie fixed him up and healed him. She didn’t know it was him at the time. The boy used to be short, skinny and pale with brown hair but now Charlie's head could barely reach his collarbone, had broad shoulder and defining muscles, tanned to a honey brown color that emphasizes his freckles and has golden blonde highlights in his hair with scars all over his body.

When he woke up, he had no voice or memory, unlike the witty, talkative voice Charlie listened to all those years ago. Charlie nicknamed him Bumblebee after the buzzing noises his throat makes when he tries to speak and at that, she gave her the yellow jacket he gifted her many years ago saying, "It matches your outfit." Looking back, Charlie wants to facepalm at how obvious it was especially when she thought to herself on how it was a perfect fit.

A recording in the car revealed where he has been all these years. Bee was a military spy for a new initiative called the Autobot Initiative, where soldiers were chosen to use weaponized cars linked to their conscience to fight and spy on enemies such as the Decepticon terrorist group. He was a deadly soldier but to Charlie, Ben hasn't changed one bit and was only hit with the realization that she loved him when she fixed the handheld radio he carried with him and he comforted her about her father. It was a terrifying realization at the time but she never really planned on saying anything or acting on it, until her neighbor Memo came in to ask her out.

Charlie makes Memo promise to not tell anyone about the car and briefly explaining that Bee is a spy. (Charlie notes that she’s still friends with Memo to this day and that he’s now dating a boy he met at a cafe.) They all go for a drive to test out the abilities of the car until they reach the cliffside. She refuses to dive after so much trauma and gets made fun by Tina. Bee comes to her defense which leads to Tina making fun of him for being mute and scarred. Charlie goes to his defense but in the heat of the moment, when Tina says, "What's up with you? Are you his girlfriend or somethin'?" and Charlie一poor, sweet, stupid eighteen-year-old Charlie一said...

"So what if I am!? Shut the fuck up!"

Charlie and Bee don’t talk about it until they get home and Memo leaves. Charlie apologized but it turns out that Bee always liked her, ever since the two met. They don’t know what the two are but Bee wanted to stay with her forever. Charlie liked that and parted with Charlie kissing his cheek.

Present Charlie remembers how happy she was that night as if they were stuck in their little bubble. She dreamt of all the adventures the two will take together, the places they'll go, the things they'll do一innocently ignorant to the war outside.

Present Charlie also remembers when that bubble popped, how she watched Bee die in front of her.

The Decepticons wanted to kill Bee for info on where his leader is. After accidentally spilling with the recording, Bee was electrocuted to death. Charlie remembered how her father died but this time, she didn’t freeze. She went straight to CPR (noting how she wished their first kiss had a better setting) and after using a defibrillator, Bee came back and with his memories.

The shock that both young adults, recognizing each other from a different time, was almost embarrassing. Charlie covered her red face realizing she gave the jacket to the same guy to gave it to her and Ben looked like he wanted to curl up in a ball, remembering his crush from high school and his actions for the past few days. Charlie remembers sharing a proper kiss with him before being rudely interrupted by the military, calling Bee a traitor and a coward.

The rest of the night was a blur, a trauma Charlie can't seem to fully recollect with the bits and pieces of the fight being too fuzzy. She remembers a pain in her head as she was thrown against concrete and the ringing raging explosions surrounding her. She remembers a green glow, a dropping feeling from a fear of heights and her body learning to dive again as she held the blurry face of a smiling blonde underwater.

The last thing Charlie recalls of the boy was their goodbyes, standing at a cliff where they overlook the Golden Gate Bridge. They hug and kiss one last time and exchange a thanks, knowing that the other touched their hearts in some way. Charlie waved goodbye never knowing if he will return but she wished him luck and a promise to never forget him. (Heartbreak following a bittersweet exasperation when Bee reveals that his car could shapeshift. "YOUR CAR CAN BE A CAMERO THIS WHOLE TIME??")

Present Charlie recites this story to an interviewer in a quiet room, not realizing there was a tear going down her cheek until a drop landed on the metal table.

"So you want to see him again? Is that what you're saying?"

Charlie shakes her head. "No. I wanna help him. I accepted the fact that I'll never see him so I want to help his cause as much as possible, because he believed in it, just like how he believed in me."

The interviewer smiled with pride and extends a hand that Charlie takes in a shake, "Then it's done. Welcome to the GI Joes, Agent Watson."

[bikananjarrus]

actually the more i think about it the more angry i am that instead of rewarding elzar for all the work he put in to turn away from the dark, and the mistakes he made when using the dark side, and showing that he had grown and learned, the authors doubled down on his use of the dark side. to the point where trials of the jedi essentially told us that elzar is apparently soooo attuned to the dark side that apparently he can represent the dark side for an entire force vergence planet.

i'm just hugely disappointed and upset (but unfortunately not surprised) in the decision to continue to villainize elzar, even though other jedi in the high republic have touched the dark side (or were very close to it) too. for example: avar and her experiences with the drengir brought her very close to the dark side, and she almost killed lourna dee, and probably would've succeeded had keeve not been there to stop her; dez ryden actually does touch the dark side during his encounter with the drengir, and while it isn't entirely his fault, we are told very clearly that it's not his fault and he's allowed to take the barash vow and take the time to heal and come back better; even in trials of the jedi, bell admits to wanting revenge on marchion for killing loden, and he has really intense feelings of anger, and is more focused on marchion than on the mission to return the nameless home, but bell is still allowed to have that moment of returning to the light.

everyone is forgiven for their crimes (all taking place during these years of great stress and combat with numerous enemies) - except elzar. his murder of chancey yarrow is constantly brought up (even though at the time, while his reaction was extreme, he reacted based on what he knew, which was that she was their enemy, one of the nihil, and they knew nihil sabotaged the station, so why wouldn't she be there to finish the job?). he is seen as weird and a bit off-putting by the other jedi for the way he researches and experiments with the force, despite the fact that there are plenty of other jedi scholars who are well-respected and regarded in high-esteem. and despite all his work as a liaison between the jedi council and chancellor soh's office/the senate, the authors still made the choice not to make him a member of the council, and worse, make it seem like he's not worthy of the job (his own hesitation to take what he sees as stellan's seat makes sense at first when he's deep in his grief, but after that? he still doesn't get the seat?). the fact that elzar's character culminates in him being this representation of the dark side amidst a world of light for the rest of his life is just so disrespectful and unfair on top of the already shit hand he's been repeatedly been dealt by the narrative.