Debunking the "Lightsinger/Controlling/Luring" Language from the BC

"But when he returned from the cabin in the mountains, he didn't go to market square." "Instead, he found himself at the library beneath the House of Wind, standing before Clotho as the clock chimed seven in the evening." ... "For whatever reason...he could see it."

While it's possible she may have some type of magic (most High Fae do, for which she is 3/4) based on how Nesta's magic reacted to her energy, that doesn't mean she is a lightsinger. Because SJM actually uses those phrases a lot throughout the series, for a variety of reasons.

If it was supposed to be apparent that Gwyn (unintentionally or otherwise) luring Azriel, why would SJM use the exact same language for things not even remotely manipulative or nefarious?

In fact, let's take a tally of those instances, shall we? I keyword-searched through all five books, and here's what I discovered.

"For whatever reason/for whatever strange reason":

ACOTAR-

"He shook his head. “Fortunately or unfortunately, they were all killed by the High Lord of an enemy court. I was spared for whatever reason or Cauldron-granted luck."

ACOMAF-

It had been marked and flagged and pinned,for whatever reasons I couldn’t tell, but my gaze drifted to the windows throughout the room... I didn’t want to think about his family, murdered by a rival court for whatever reason no one had ever explained to me.

I’d bet that they wouldn’t have handed over that book. For whatever reasons of their own, they wanted it. There were seven arrows in total: three in this wing, four in the other. They’d removed the ones from his legs, for whatever reason—the wounds already half-clotted.

ACOWAR-

The priestess who had let them in … for whatever reason, Hybern had left her alive. For whatever reason, he hadn’t chosen to wear the Illyrian leathers. Or the wings. “Four bones … for whatever reason the charlatans came up with that I can’t be bothered to remember.” I’d kill her for this, for betraying us for whatever reason—

ACOFAS-

The town house was still silent as we descended the stairs, my mate opting for Illyrian leathers—for whatever strange reason.

ACOSF-

Which meant they’d approved her presence, for whatever reason. Amren, for whatever reason, rarely stayed here long enough to see this room, so no chair had ever been held for her. For whatever reason, Nesta wanted to crow about her friend to anyone who’d listen.

"found myself/himself/herself/themself"

ACOTAR-

But the shining things had vanished, along with their sniffing and giggling, and I found myself facing a weathered statue of two merry, bounding lambs. Over the next three days, I found myself joining Lucien on Andras’s old patrol while Tamlin hunted the grounds for the Bogge, unseen by us. I found myself overlooking a rose garden, filled with dozens of hues of crimson and pink and white and yellow. After soaking in the bath for nearly an hour, I found myself sitting in a low-backed chair before my room’s roaring fireplace, savoring the feel of Alis brushing out my damp hair. As the afternoon shifted into dusk, I found myself again at the main crossroads of the house. I stumbled, blinking, and found myself standing at the edge of the ring of dancing. He smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. Perhaps buried it a bit, but she was generous, loving, and kind—a woman I found myself proud to know, to call sister. I didn’t have time for tears of relief as I found myself in another passageway, and I launched farther into the labyrinth. I’d awoken from a fitful sleep and found myself burning hot. I carefully, slowly took a narrow set of stairs upward, up and up, until, to my shock, a trickle of sunlight poured into the stairwell and I found myself on a small balcony jutting out of the side of the mountain.

ACOMAF-

“I didn’t see you Under the Mountain,” I found myself saying, hating those last three words more than anything. But I found myself saying, “I’m sorry about the temple—and the priestesses.” Squinting at the brightness, I found myself standing in what was unmistakably a foyer of someone’s house. “She abandoned you?” I found myself saying. I found myself blinking back the blinding sun, arm still out, Rhysand still before me. After dinner, I wandered into the streets, and found myself eventually standing at the edge of the Rainbow, the night in full swing, patrons and artists and everyday citizens bustling from shop to shop, peering in the galleries, buying supplies. I was still in my dress—which felt vulgar in the light of Velaris—but found myself heading into the garden, as if the moonlight and chill might cleanse my mind. He went back to his pie, swallowing a bite before continuing. “And yet I found myself deciding that if you took his hand, I would find a way to live with it. It would be your choice.”

ACOWAR-

But as we dined, beats of silence going on longer than conversation, I found myself checking them over and over. Flint struck, and I found myself gazing at a makeshift camp of sorts “See if I’ve accepted my lot and found myself grateful for becoming one of them?” Which was why I found myself standing in the foyer the next morning, watching Lucien shoulder his heavy pack. "So I was reborn, and found myself surrounded by my old enemies—faces I had once marked to kill. I found myself on the wrong side of a wall, with the human realm poised to shatter beneath it.” It took all day, but by the end of it, I found myself in the wrecked foyer, Rhys and the others beside me, the chandelier a broken mass behind us on the cracked marble floor.

ACOFAS-

My knees buckled, and I found myself beyond words. Beyond anything but him. Just as I found myself somehow leaning against the wall near the doorway, as if he’d winnowed us.

ACOSF-

She often found herself wishing the Cauldron had ripped those memories away just as it had her humanity, but his face sometimes sullied her dreams. She scrambled to regain any sense of control, of sanity—found herself wanting to hand it all over to him, to let him touch and touch and touch her, lick and suckle and fill her— Nesta found herself asking, “What’s the Dread Trove?” Cassian wanted to have a word with Rhys about the Illyrian legions, so Nesta found herself walking to the front entry of the river house alone. Without doing extra training between the stacks, Nesta found herself less exhausted when she left the library. So she found herself in the doorway of the dining room. “You’re going up to Windhaven?” Nesta found herself asking Cassian as Gwyn bade them farewell at the end of their lesson. She debated ignoring it, but found herself opening a small door through the steel, spiked barrier she kept around herself day and night. So they trained, and between their exercises they talked about books, and Nesta woke on the fourth morning and found herself … excited to see them again. She found herself answering Azriel with a slight smile of her own. Found herself free-falling into his darkened eyes, his beautiful face. Cassian’s attention slid elsewhere, but with each curl upward, Nestafound herself reining in the urge to gaze his way. She told herself to focus on the count, on timing each breath and keeping a tally of how many she’d taken, and yet she found herself thinking of the couch cushions, her cooling tea, her still-damp hair— Didn’t feel anything but that molten rage as the stairs suddenly stopped and she found herself before a door. Nesta heaved a breath, shoving upward, and found herself free to move as she wished. So full of life and motion that she always found herself wishing she had another hour or two of lessons just to hear it again and again and again. She didn’t know why she found herself on the verge of tears as the cinders smoldered. Two hours later, Nesta found herself fully clothed in a bathtub in the middle of the private library, the entire thing filled with bubbles. Only, she found herself looking up. He was so exquisite that if Nesta hadn’t already been panting from the climb, she’d have found herself unable to breathe. She found herself asking, “Does it undermine my image as a warrior to be with you?” Nesta far preferred caves to trees. But as night fell and no caves revealed themselves, she found herself with no other option but to scale one behind Emerie and Gwyn, the latter revealing how she’d managed to rest while up one: a long stretch of rope. Yes, he almost said. But found himself hesitating. Lucien cringed, and Cassian, while inclined to smirk at the thought of the asshole suffering, found himself frowning. When Nesta remained by the doorway, Cassian found himself saying, “I’ll make a bargain with you.” Cassian found himself tensing as Helion stepped into the room, and Nesta rose. Nesta angled her head as Cassian found himself near-breathless, waiting for her reply. A pinprick of it, courtesy of Truth-Teller, had done the job, and Cassian had found himself tensing at the sight of that little bead of red. They both groaned this time, and he found himself saying, “Please.” Nesta let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a scream, and he found himself echoing it as all her silken, blazing heat gripped him.

That's a lot of instances of using those phrases, isn't it? Moreover, the only instance of something nefarious being related to "for whatever reason" was when Amren "betrayed" the Inner Circle during ACOWAR. And then that was resolved by her freeing herself and becoming her true form to help in the war.

In every other instance, "for whatever reason" just meant...something unknown. That's literally it. Which, if someone is developing a potential fondness for someone, platonic or otherwise, without being aware of it, it kind of makes sense that phrase would be used.

And with "found myself/herself/himself", there was not an instance it being used in circumstances of manipulation, where someone was not fully in control of their own body, or by magical effects.

Not even when Cassian was under the control of the Crown. Instead, we have instances of him and Nesta "finding themselves" saying, feeling, or reacting to sex, of all things. Instead, we have instances of several characters doing things without really thinking, feeling things, wandering, or reacting to circumstances happening around them.

Now, I know Azriel tends to do things with purpose, but I don't think he's immune to spacing out, doing things without thinking, feeling things, wandering, or reacting to circumstances happening around them.

The autistic urge to do things in the correct order and edit one book before starting another vs the ADHD urge to start another book immediately because editing is bORiNg and if we DON't do SoMEThING fUN I will SCREAM and SCREAM and SCREAM vs the Depression urge to sleep vs the Anxiety urge to cry

i wanna give it to you by non-binharry/enbyharry on ao3

harry/louis | 5k | explicit

written for the @topharryficfest

“I want to have another baby," Louis admits with a slow roll of his hips. "What?" "Put your baby in me, H." "We agreed on two, Lou," he says, desperate to thrust himself into the body above him. "No," Louis says, "I said two, and you settled." or Alpha mom Harry and omega dad Louis decide to have another baby. Ironically, parenthood gets in the way.

read on ao3

I can generally just scroll past all the JK/HP bullshit because I've generally cultivated a sphere of people who also hate her and can no longer use "death of the author" (SHE ISN'T DEAD, SHE'S VERY ALIVE AND ACTIVELY DOING HARM) to excuse her violence towards vulnerable groups. But I'm getting that it still has too many aspec fans when I'm having to regularly block HP posts in the tag. Y'all, really?

JK is openly transphobic, racist, and antisemitic and funnels her money to causes that directly harm the people she hates and brags (and laughs!!!) about doing so. At least keep your HP bullshit out of the asexual and aromantic tags. Come up with a code word so I don't have to come across your lack of allyhood when searching for aro/ace posts. Tons of us aspecs are trans/BIPOC/Jewish, and we see you shoving us out. We matter. Please act like it.

"WHY did they make him hot???" x100

Have none of y'all ever just stopped and considered

"Why not?"

guys it's SNOWZAI

bungo tales hire me

Who the hell is that person this is so confusing

The Chrisean anon has popped up on other COD blogs today. Idk what their goal is. But these anons are legit giving me a headache rn I'm just gonna start blocking

work pet retail they said

it'll be fun they said

well i did and now i'm incapable of seeing animals online without immediately foaming at the mouth about improper animal care so.

"Abortion kills children!" Unrestricted access to guns kills children. Lack of social services kills children. Monopolizing the access to food, shelter, healthcare and education kills children. Emotional and physical abuse, racism, ableism, sexism, transphobia and queerphobia kills children. Police brutality and ineptitude kills children. Genocide kills children. Advocating for forced pregnancy kills children. Nine people having the power to determine the fate of this country kills children.

Book/game Ciri writers: focused on PTSD, unhealthy coping mechanisms, oftentimes centre fics around the idea of her healing from abuse, learning healthier boundaries - or on exploring how her trauma fuels her unhealthy choices and corrupts her

Fandom: PURE SHIPS ONLY AGE GAP EVIL MEN PREDATORY AND GROSS LESBIAN DAUGHTER BABY NOBODY WORTH HER

Ciri writers: but, but, but: point to canon events supporting her temperament/tastes/tendencies/driving forces

Fandom: EVIL SHIPS YOU SICKOS BABY GIRL INNOCENT NO SEX EWW

Ciri writers: (tiredly pointing out all the shit she's done)

Fandom: LALLALA INNOCENT

Honestly can't believe this is the season I decided to come back and be active in the tag

Ideas for stories and such...

I'm a bit overwhelmed with plot bunnies right now, and I think writing them all out is the best way to get 'em all straight. So... here are a few ideas for future fics I'd want to write. I dunno which one(s) I should focus on first...

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

A Saga Most Ordinary : I have ideas for two more chapters, one about Eivor playing Dungeons and Dragons with the three Good Boys, along with Hytham, Randvi and Tewdwr, and another about her and Valka Staging An Intervention because she thinks Sigurd went and joined some cult because of his new girlfriend (ie Fulke).

Untitled/maybe it’ll just be chapter two of an existing fic, I dunno: A new companion piece/sequel of sorts to ‘Nornir's Curse, Nótt's Counsel’ about Randvi and Valdis just hanging out (on the beach while their respective spouses watch over the young ‘uns) and talking about their (rather similar, really) lives.

Dishonored

Take Your Silver Spoon (Dig Your Grave) : A two-shot about two bastard-born princesses of the Kaldwin line. Part of it is already written, I just need to get off my ass and do something about it lol

You and Me and The Leviathan Makes Three : An AU where Daud survives the events of DoTO, and Billie is stuck trying to find new purpose in her life while teaching a god-turned-boy how to Human and a suicidal old man how to… not be a total wreck of a person . Oh, and the Abbey of the Everyman is falling apart all around them (which makes the Boysider happy, since his two newfound biggest goals in life are 1) to destroy organized religion and 2) to save the whales. Every chapter would be set in a different isle, with titles based on sea shanties.

Dracula

Untitled : A little one-shot about how Drac might have gotten to Mina on the night of October 3rd. Because the details are kinda hazy on that, right?

Final Fantasy XVI

The Tale of the Telamonides : Before the mission to Drake’s Head, Mid shows up to the Hideout to Bring Chaos and Shenanigans to everyone’s live. Because I was sad that we never did see her interact with Cid.

Gravity Falls

Dungeons and Dummies : …I need to finish this you guys, I already have it all planned out. I feel weirdly anxious about this story, mostly because I don’t happen to have the whole of the rules of D&D stamped in my brain (shocking, I know). It’s like I’m afraid I’ll have someone go, ‘hey, that’s not how it goes in the Player Handbook, page so-and-so blah blah blah ’ so I don’t even try, you know?? It’s a weird thing.

The Awesome Mixtape of the Apocalypse: A story where Dipper and Mabel’s parents join both sets of twins on a roadtrip to Gravity Falls. The concept would be that Mabel made a mixtape with songs for everyone in her family (so for example Ford definitely gets weird prog rock like this, listen my dad was a happier, most well-adjusted Ford, and that was his shit, car trips in my family were trippy), with each character represented by a particular musical style (the Pines mom’s got punk ska like Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto lol…) and each chapter corresponding to one song. I got every big story beat and character moment planned out, I just… need to get off my ass and write, I guess.

Horizon Zero Dawn/Forbidden West

Untitled : Aka Aloy watches Varl and Zo together, gets confused/frustrated, and shares a convo with Erend that helps her figure out she’s asexual. Sweet!

Untitled Rost and Ersa fic : Rost and Ersa, as ghosts, hang around Aloy and Erend for the events of the first game (and have a mini ship war about the merits of Ereloy as a couple). Also known as ‘Rost Gets Another Grumpy Daughter Because These Are Sure Fun To Collect Or Something’.

Mass Effect

Untitled : Just a little Shakarian ficlet about Shepard listening to Thane’s story about how he met his wife after the events in Garrus’ loyalty mission and her being like, oh, oh boy, oh no.

Radiant Historia

Will You Learn to Love (Without Consuming): A little one-shot set in the Apocrypha ‘verse which is not compliant with the canon shown in Perfect Chronology. Basically my take on who became the big Mana Monster causing the desertification (and why he’s a foil to both Heiss and the Conuts Guy).

Déjà Vécu : A one-short about Ernst and Heinrich (and, by association, Stocke and Heiss) because I guess that’s what I always write about in this damn fandom.

This Sweet Corrupting Reality : Basically the only parallel history I would have liked to see in Perfect Chronology, that is, Stocke wakes up and realizes he is now King Ernst of Granorg.

i'm going to rant for a minute here.

there is this new type of fanfic writer right now. Who know that they can get a book deal from their fanfic. And they are joining fandoms for that one specific reason only. To write a fic, gather an audience and get that book deal.

I've hand the unfortunate experience of being in a community with them. In a fandom specific community. And the energy they bring to the fandom is unfathomably destructive because they bring that success-metrics driven mindset to the table.

All you see them talking about is: how they are only publishing on schedule. How they are using tiktok to promote their work. How they are hiring people to make social media posts for them on all the platforms, etc, etc.

And one is left to see how that mindset either slowly gets to other people who maybe before didn't care about kudo's and comments. Or people isolate and leave those spaces.

I don't know what we can do about that. And it really makes me not to want to write anymore.

why did some serial killer fetishizing harry potter blog just like my art post?

that autistic urge to murder someone

Exterminator/pest control guy is here and I'm in a fucking mood so all I want to do is ask him if he gets high on his insecticide like in Naked Lunch (1991) or is that just in the movies?