Anyway I’m a clown because this is how I chose to costume myself as a female Orc for a renfaire

In my defense, it was nearly 100 degrees out and being sexy is fun

I am SO tired of the majority of the Yellowjackets fandom thinking that Misty is the reason why the Yellowjackets were stuck out in the wilderness for as long as they were. People are always like, "she broke the black box, she is indirectly responsible for everything that happened in the wilderness". But that is just wrong, since black boxes are ONLY ACTIVATED by WATER. Her breaking the black box did not change anything about their situation. The black box was never even able to be activated to send out a beacon, since they never crashed in water. Of course people can have whatever opinion they want to have about Misty as a character. As a Misty fan myself I am aware that a good portion of the fandom has a strong dislike for her character, and that doesn't bother me. And obviously Misty is a very flawed, complicated character, and she is not blameless for any of the horrible things she has done. But when people hate Misty and use "she broke the black box" as one of their talking points, I go a little crazy.

not to keep harping on but definitely the complaint i see that really sticks in my craw is that the only reason or the main reason robb planned to banish catelyn to seaguard was because of their argument over jon. it’s certainly a factor but they have spent the entire war arguing over every decision robb makes! ned tells robb “keep your mother in your council” but robb really does not! he has her there, yes, he lets her speak, yes, but oftentimes he will disregard her advice without any appeasement, misstep badly, and be worse off politically in the exact way she warned him of. she’s not the only person he blows off - he’s not exactly nice to edmure either, for example - but cat is right when she suspects there’s an element of “kings are not supposed to have mothers” and “wedded to his war" and she clocks this long before the argument over jon! robb tries to get rid of her at the beginning of a clash of kings when all cat has done is urge him to continue peaceful negotiations with the lannisters!

robb is angry because he’s in over his head and he knows it, and it's got very little to do with jon! robb is losing this war and his best friend was the son of a man who crowned himself and lost the war!! robb knows exactly what’s going to happen to the north if he loses and despite everything, he cannot seem to win despite being a near prodigy in battle tactics. and here his mother has been this whole time, fighting him on every front - just like the lords but he cant punish them for disagreeing can he? - and being so frustratingly right about more things than his lords, and now they’re picking at this wound in their family that has never been allowed to heal and a lot of resentment that both robb and catelyn are feeling at their general situation gets focused in on each other. this is such a tully thing too (pls remember these are canonically unpleasant people!) because look at lysa projecting years of resentment onto sansa, look at the entire cat, hoster, edmure situation, or even hoster & blackfish’s relationship. family is so important to them but in times of stress, “doing everything for family” becomes an anchor pulling them down, until the only thing left is to lash out at each other.

most of the lords are happy to let this nonsense play out! catelyn does not even have the privilege maege & dacey mormont do at being head of their own house - she’s just a wife, just a mother, just a first born daughter. when she disagrees, they don’t see an equal arguing with them, they see a woman sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. they do not give a single solitary shit about like, ~the plight of bastards~ they just believe, like robb, that sansa is currently “tainted” by her marriage to a lannister and can’t be allowed to inherit, that arya is dead, that the boys are dead, that jeyne is not yet pregnant, and a bastard boy castle raised who looks like ned is better than no boy at all (see edric storm, addam of hull, and larence snow). these men have not spent the last fourteen years cooking in their resentment over this situation the way catelyn and robb have!

jon is a reason. but so is rickard karstark, jaime lannister, willem lannister, tion frey, renly baratheon, walder frey, and theon greyjoy. ned is a reason as well, and bran, sansa, rickon, arya, hoster, edmure, perhaps even lysa and sweetrobin. jon is the final straw but robb isn’t (only) sending catelyn away because of some righteous fury on his brother’s behalf! he’s sending her away because she is an easy, socially acceptable target for all his frustrations and failures and fears that he can project on, and punish, in a way he cannot punish his enemies, his lords, or himself.

and catelyn is as always very aware of the deeper motivations in her son’s mind, and resentful that she doesn’t have the power to push back; she’s just a mother, after all.

So. There’s this show I really hate.

I didn’t even want to watch it, but I was forced to sit through literally all of it because my parents liked it for some reason that completely eludes me. Not only is the plot catastrophically bad and the characters inconsistent — it’s also very, very misogynistic in essence. Just thinking about it now makes me want to chew on the writing team’s bones.

I genuinely have nothing good to say about this show.

So. Do you know how many posts I uploaded to the corresponding tags?

ZERO (0)

Because there’s no point in spending energy on a thing I hate so passionately, and even less in ruining it for other people.

Don’t get me wrong — it’s OK to point out irregularities in writing, and to talk about specific aspects of a story that upset you. But uploading dozens of posts about how you Hate The Thing, Analysing The Thing Is Pointless, Everyone Who Worked On The Thing Is Stupid, and Everyone Who Loves The Thing Is Delusional, is maybe not the genius take you think it is.

It doesn’t make you smarter than everyone else. It just makes you boring.

I think some people need the reminder that you can just not like things. For whatever reason. You don't need to justify things you don't like to anyone, as long as you're not making people feel bad for liking it.

You're able to not like something, but that doesn't make it weird.

You're able to not like that people like something, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're bad people (within reason of course)

And it's also important to remember that you may like something that other people don't like. That doesn't mean they have a personal vendatta against you for liking it.

That doesn't mean you're wrong, nor are they wrong.

People have preferences for everything. Just because you prefer something, that doesn't mean you're "right". This is fandom, there are very few things that even have a "right" and "wrong" side.

🎨 11.5” MCX-SPEAR LT Loadout

Karve-P | Coyote IR

HTP XOS-W 3.5-Slot MLOK Scale | MiniDot Texture | FDE

TerraCore G10 XOS-H 4-Slot MLOK Scale | MiniDot Texture | FDE

QDX Sling Mount | Terra Bronze

MCX CSMR Button | Terra Bronze

- RS

What can I say? They're my favorite.

Drag those bitches.

You and your self-important, European anon, may pretend to have inside info to make your Jared look better, but Kim's post should make it clear to everyone why Jared is no longer wanted at most creation cons. He just doesn't bring in enough money anymore. His overpriced demands are disproportionate to his sales. While Jensen's photos are always sold out immediately, as are JenMish, Jared's are usually available until the very end. Not to mention Mishalecki. So to say that Jared no longer wants to work with creation or Jensen, it is much more likely that creation no longer wants to work with Jared. Jensen is worth every penny. Jared is only good for a few cheap comic cons.

LMAO! Thanks for the laugh, anon! Kim's post only proves that she's unemployed and not that popular. I don't see Jared out there begging for conventions. In fact, he's charging the most at general conventions and still selling out.

But sure, anon. that's also why Creation was selling Jared-less cons at half-price before Christmas, and why the only sold-out sections next year are at cons with Jared.

The only reason Jensen and Misha's tickets go for more is because idiots like yourself are willing to go into debt to overbid on them. But those are only a small part of Creation's sales. They also need stars to attract people to the convention in general. It's why they added JDM to Burbank. And yet, Burbank only 3 months away still has 186 Sunday seat tickets available (out of 448) (59% sold) and New Jersey, which Jared is attending, only has 127 Sunday seats available (out of 679) (81% sold).

Also, no one ever said Jensen wasn't popular. We're just saying that Jared is looking to expand his reach beyond Supernatural and Creation, and that it's a good business move. If Jensen and Misha and their fans want to stick with Creation, great! No one's stopping them. But if you think Creation is the one that let Jared go, you're the one mistaken because the facts don't lie.

You can keep telling yourself Jared's not popular while he sells out on a frequent basis at general comic cons (even while charging the highest prices at those cons) and he and Gen nearly fill a 5,000 seat hall all on their own.

Jack started smoking very young and did his best to quit when he was in his twenties and was mostly successful (sometimes when he's really stressed he lets himself bum a cig off of somebody) but a side effect is that now he has to have something in his mouth all the time so he carries around little cinnamon flavored toothpicks to chew on. Davey, unfortunately, thinks this is very hot.

Narrative Power in Arda

An embarrassing number of months ago, I alluded to narrative as an in-universe force within the Silmarillion in my tags on a post I have since lost, which I feel merits further elaboration. The short version is that crafting a story carries meaningful weight and power in Arda, which is not much of a reach considering that 1) telling a story in a certain way has power even in the real world, and 2) music is already well-established as an important medium and means of magic in Middle Earth. I think it is relevant to consider this aspect when discussing the nature and weight of words in the Silmarillion, whether it be curses, dooms, oaths, or anything else.

To begin with, it is difficult to tease apart what I will call in-universe narrative from narrative in the sense that a guy called Tolkien wrote this whole story down, on purpose, with various story arcs that come to various narratively satisfying conclusions. The best illustrative example of in-universe narrative, thus, is Finrod’s duel in song against Sauron, because Tolkien could have had the song battle work however he wanted, but he chose to make it about storytelling. We joke about Finrod and Sauron’s rap battle, but their contest really is a battle of narratives – particularly cultural narratives. To quote:

Then sudden Felagund there swaying Sang in answer a song of staying, Resisting, battling against power, Of secrets kept, strength like a tower, And trust unbroken, freedom, escape; […] And all the magic and might be brought Of Elvenesse into his words. […] The sighing of the sea beyond, Beyond the western world on sand, On sand of pearls in Elvenland.

This is arguably the story of the Noldor, as told by Finrod – all the beauty and power of Aman, but brought by the Noldor to Middle Earth in their flight to escape the control of the Valar and avenge their king against Morgoth’s evil. This is his choice of story to wield against Sauron, and it makes sense. It invokes the Noldor’s heroism against Morgoth in maintaining the long siege, as well as their rejection of all the higher powers and his own faithfulness to his oath to Barahir that led him to this point. It’s a good story, but Sauron shatters it with a single invocation, because this narrative Finrod spins of the Flight of the Noldor cannot accommodate the atrocity that was the Kinslaying at Alqualonde.

The outcome of the song battle is not decided based on raw power, or skill in crafting magic or spells, or even singing ability. It is won on the merits of narrative: Finrod’s story doesn’t work; he cannot narratively reconcile the reality of the Kinslaying with “trust unbroken, freedom, escape,” and thus Sauron has the victory (1). Thus, we can conclude that “does the story work” is a legitimate part of how magic functions in Middle Earth.

This should not come as a surprise; Middle Earth (and the world itself) were created/predicted by the Music of the Ainur, which is itself a narrative work of music. It, arguably, puts the story in history (2). The narrative of the Ainulindale, moreover, is disrupted by Morgoth in much the same way Sauron disrupts Finrod’s narrative in their contest. But whereas Finrod’s story collapses under the contradictions introduced by Sauron, Eru incorporates Morgoth’s discord into the Music to create a new, greater theme than the one before. This is not an accident, and it shows that Eru, as God and Creator (read: Author), understands narrative better than Morgoth does: any good story has conflict of one sort or another. That’s what makes them stories, rather than a pleasant but boring account of a series of pleasant but boring events.

This is to say, Tolkien makes the necessity of having a plot arc into part of his theological worldbuilding. There is, frankly, a lot you could say about that, but I am not going to, because it is somewhat off-topic from the point I’m trying to make and also I really don’t know where to begin.

Additionally, while Finrod’s own narrative fails, the overall narrative of Middle Earth picks up where he left off and turns his defeat into a fourth-act crisis point, the abyss which makes way for Luthien’s subsequent victory over both Sauron and Morgoth and triumphant retrieval of the Silmaril. Finrod may not have known how to turn Sauron’s narrative disruption to his own ends, but Eru does.

Returning to the Doom of the Noldor, while Manwe is said to be the closest of the Valar to Eru in thought, I would argue that Namo, as the Vala of fate, is the closest of the God-as-Author aspect of Eru. His domain, fate, is closely linked with the Music. I said earlier that Middle Earth was created/predicted by the Music, and that blurriness between creation and prophecy is important for understanding the nature of Fate in Tolkien’s work - there is a careful tightrope walked between free will and determinism (3). I argue that the Music additionally suggests that fate in Arda is really Narrative at work.

So where does that leave, for instance, the Doom of the Noldor? Is it curse or prophecy? Punishment meted out by the gods or natural consequences of an unprecedented violent attack? Framing it in these binaries is reductive no matter which side you come down on. The Doom is neither a curse nor a prophecy: it is a narrative.

The soon-to-be Exiles, led by Feanor, kick off their narrative in maybe the worst way possible (murder). This is, objectively, a very bad inciting incident – stories that start with murder don’t tend to turn out well for the people doing the murdering. Within the Music, and the fabric of Arda’s fate, the Noldor have narrowed their narrative options significantly. “Slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be,” for have they not already slain their own kin? But it is very difficult to argue for the Doom as purely prophetic. The text itself indicates in multiple places the judgment or wrath of the Valar as something laid upon the house of Feanor and all who follow them, not simply natural consequences. There is a tangible weight to the Doom, and a sense after the War of Wrath that it is something that can be lifted.

Mandos says, you have chosen your story to be a tragedy by opening with a tragedy. But when this is spoken by Narrative himself, it takes on a weight greater than that of a mere prediction. The Doom defines the genre of the story that is to follow: Tears unnumbered ye shall shed. And they did.

The story, of course, is never truly over. But I’ll leave eucatastrophe for another day.

Footnotes: (1) As a side note, I am forever thinking about arrogantemu’s fic “Beyond the Western World,” in which Finrod says “I’d staked everything on an innocence I didn’t have.” Credit where credit is due for influencing my thinking on this subject.

(2) Tolkien as a linguist would undoubtedly be aware that the words come from the same root, and that other modern languages have not in fact separated the meanings of “work of fiction” and “account of real events” into separate words.

(3) To write a proper meta on this subject I would have to dig much deeper into other sources, but from my understanding fate in Tolkien’s works works very similarly to the Anglo-Saxon concept of wyrd – there’s a very interesting line in Beowulf, I believe, about how “for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked” (paraphrased). I highly recommend reading more about it for a better understanding of fate in Middle Earth.

This isnt exactly about writing necessarily but do you have any motivation or advice for YA fantasy/romantasy/sci-fi/etc writers for when that genre is often looked down upon?

I actually just had this conversation in one of my English classes. I brought in an excerpt from a YA novel that means a lot to me and felt a bit embarrassed it wasn't the poetry or classic literature my classmates had brought in. I said, "I know YA has a bit of a reputation..."

To which my prof interrupted, "For making money!!"

This is to say that genre work is so successful because it is so beloved. You're writing stuff that some kid is going to pick out of their school library and think about for years, eventually bringing it to one of their university classes to share with others.

YA is just another vessel in our job to create meaning and make an impact, and I believe it's one of the most accessible vessels out there. So if you want to create meaning and impact and connection and make a little money while you do it, write YA.

And keep writing, no matter what anyone else says.

Absolutely disgusting that scammers are pretending to be Palestinians in Gaza and asking for PayPal donations.

Like that’s so obviously fraud, fuck alllllllll the way off with that. That’s so fucking immoral and inhumane to not only steal peoples money but especially to take actual aid away from the people suffering in Gaza by sowing distrust in making donations to actual reputable charities, and capitalizing on their suffering 😡

there's a really sad parallel theme running through arya and cat's stories and it's that both of them are considered to be Doing Womanhood Improperly and struggling at how to reconcile their own feelings with the expectations of the people around them...

cat spends her whole life with arguably more power than most women would have due to her atypical life; first, as heir presumptive of riverrun, then, as acting lady of riverrun, and finally, as ned's beloved wife. all of this gives her the freedom to do wild stuff like travel to KL in secret, take tyrion hostage (and outwit him at nearly every turn!), get involved in conspiracies and politics and help raise banners, to use her shrewd mind and her intellect in a way that challenges and excites her....but when ned dies, every single iota of power is stripped from her and handed to robb by law and there's nothing she can do to reign in her fifteen year old son who makes mistake after mistake and drowns out her voice because it conflicts with his....

and as she struggles through her complete loss of power, unable to decide for herself where her path will go, unable to give commands, unable to argue for the safety of her daughters, helplessly watching her father die, arya goes on her own journey that involves a complete loss of power. arya's womanhood is a constant threat looming over her head so she leans into her non conformity to save her own life and fears that her newfound strength and harshness will make her mother turn from her for Being A Lady Incorrectly, never knowing that her mother is so desperate to get her back that catelyn has decided she's through being a proper lady and starts arguing back, starts acting without asking, starts showing her resentment on her face and gets herself banished by her own son...

both of them spend all of the first two books struggling with their womanhood only to have a flashpoint of realizing they can simply stop following the rules because the rules are unfair - from arya's " I am a direwolf, and done with wooden teeth" to catelyn freeing jaime from the dungeons, they realize the Rules of Men will never help them, will never save them, and turn to their own intellect, their own grief, their own cunning and despair and violence, to do what the Rules of Men have never been able to do and that is to keep them as women safe.

And its with each other, I think, that they will only be able to lay down their despair and grief and find both peace and comfort in this new definition of womanhood that they've both carved out for themselves!

Jonathan Majors on Tamron Hall

I was looking through your art earlier for things to add to the prison archive queue and. And you just. You have 2472989 prison drawings. This blog is just going to be Vault 2.0.

So thanks for the food!

LMAAOOOOO

yknow when I followed your account earlier, I was trying to think of art to submit like "uuhh i can think of like 3 prison arts...? hmm.. eehhh" and then i got distracted kfjhgkjdf i forgor

but yes 2472989 does sound like a more accurate number actually. happy to provide ^^