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megaderping · 4 months

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Here's the problem with people asking, "Why couldn't Akechi just quit?" First and foremost, he's only powerful in the Metaverse. Shido controls the law. Shido controls the police. Shido has his cleaner. The very moment Akechi signed on with Shido as a fifteen year old, he was trapped, chained, and any moment of rebellion would turn him into a fugitive if he was lucky. Second, even if he quit, who would he turn to back then? He had no allies and started off as a fifteen year old who had probably been booted out of the system (IIRC, you are left to your own devices once you hit 15 in Japan if you don't have an existing guardian). Sure, he could run away and hide in Mementos, but he'd basically be left to hide from the law without any means to protect himself and without any allies to turn to. He could make connections, maybe, but when society had repeatedly crushed his spirit and treated him like shit, he had no reason to believe it'd work. By the time he met Joker, someone who was willing to just be around him, listen, and just let him be at least a little more true to himself, it was too late because he had blood on his hands, was going to have to turn against the Thieves and thus Joker, and it was all a "sacrifice" he would have to make for a plan that was never going to work. A plan made by a broken fifteen year old who had nothing but a false god's "blessings" to give him even a semblance of power in a world where he had been nothing but powerless. And to ignore this aspect of Goro Akechi is to ignore the message the game was trying to convey the entire time. The Phantom Thieves acknowledge his role as a victim- Shido's greatest victim, in fact. They do so without condoning what he did, but also with an understanding that any one of them could have become him. Akechi is a foil to the Thieves in the truest sense, a combination of the individual themes each Phantom Thief represents, stripped of the unity that allowed them each to find power and comradery.

And the greatest tragedy is that the game was rigged against him from the start. He was always chosen to be an agent of chaos by Yaldabaoth, to be alone, angry, and carve a path of destruction. But at one point, he was a traumatized child in a society that condemned him for the circumstances of his birth, which he could not control.

#goro akechi #p5 #persona 5 royal #p5r #akechi #akechi goro #persona 5

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thecatsaesthetics · 5 months

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But Rhys took Feyre's choice away in ACOSF and is as bad as Tamlin

Disclaimer - I am going to state up front SJM shouldn't have told this story through Nesta's POV. It is an incredibly complex storyline in it's own right and deserved to be told through Feyre's POV.

However, fans tend to make several claims about the story that I want to either debunk or combat. You can still hate the storyline (I hate how it was told as well) but twisting canon to suit your own narrative isn’t right.

(I am using this timeline for the series, which is the most in-depth timeline I have ever found.)

Let's begin

What actually happened in canon:

Rhys and Feyre were actively attempting to have a baby since the end of ACOFAS (December 21st). Feyre announces her pregnancy to the group 16 days into the start of ACOSF. She says she is "two months along". ACOSF is canonically 10 months after ACOFAS. Meaning Feyre and Rhys conceive Nyx in August.

31 days into ACOSF Rhys and Feyre find out via Madja Nyx has wings. Feyre would be heading into her second trimester. Rhys knows the baby wings pose a problem (as does Madja). Madja informed Feyre the birth would be "more difficult" but does not state the baby will kill her. Rhys sets out on finding a way to save Feyre and the baby.

33 days into ACOSF Rhys goes to Drakon and Miryam to ask about the wings. They give him nothing but sad looks.

40 days into ACOSF Helion visits and is asked by Rhys about the wings and says he will look into it.

43 days into ACOSF Nesta, in a fit of rage, tells Feyre her baby is going to die and kill her.

So canonically Feyre does not know for 12 days. So, around two weeks, Feyre is unaware the chances she will die in labor are incredibly heightened.

That is really important, it is not months they are keeping this from Feyre. It also doesn't seem likely Rhys or any of the IC would have let Feyre give birth without knowing what was happening. It also seems likely Rhys was pending more information from Helion who had 3 days to look into things before Nesta had her outburst.

While again it's not explicitly said I believe SJMs implication is that Rhys was exhausting all efforts prior to telling Feyre. Which is something Feyre would have done herself, since we know she wanted Nyx, and rather then let Feyre's pregnancy be ruined by fear (especially if an answer was out there) Rhys decides to take the burden on himself.

Is it necessarily right? I don't think so, but is it done to specifically control Feyre? (Like Tamlin's actions were) No. It's done because Rhys cannot bring himself to take Feyre's happiness away from her. Feyre is described as being so happy in ACOSF, she finally has everything she's ever wanted. She has her mate, her family, her home, security, and is awaiting the arrival of her baby. Feyre has her gotten her "happy ending" and who would want to take that from someone? This is something Rhys was struggling with in ACOFAS, the idea that he does not deserve to be happy with Feyre.

I hate that we get it told through Nesta and Cassian's POV, because honestly this would have been a good Feysand plotline and would have dealt with the remaining issues that were hinted at in ACOFAS.

Commonly incorrect statements by the fandom

"Rhysand forced Feyre to stay pregnant because he valued the baby's life over hers" -

This is canonically not true. Feyre is the one who wanted to get pregnant. Ignoring this is missing the point entirely, Feyre wanted to start her family.

Second, while Rhys clearly loves Nyx it seems his concern was for her and not for Nyx:

Cassian squeezed Rhys’s shoulder. “Why won’t you tell her?” Rhys’s throat worked. “Because I can’t bring myself to give her that fear. To take away one bit of the joy in her eyes every time she puts a hand on her belly.” His voice shook. “It is fucking eating me alive, this terror. I keep myself busy, but … there is no one to bargain with for her life, no amount of wealth to buy it, nothing that I can do to save her.”

His concern is for Feyre and the fact that she is going to die while in labor. He doesn't even mention Nyx dying, and it's said Nyx will die in the labor as well.

"Rhys prevented Feyre from getting an abortion" -

So first we need to ask ourself, are abortions a thing in Pyrthian? We don't get any mentions of them and fae children are rare. I would suspect in Pyrthian they aren't a thing, but maybe in the human lands.

Second, by the time Rhys and Feyre find out about the wings it's been 31 days into ACOSF and when the baby was announced she was two months pregnant, which is frustrating because we don't know if she means two months on the dot or two months and a few days. It's then 15 more days till the wings are discovered she is anywhere between 11/12 weeks pregnant.

It's important to remember pregnancies are not defined by months, they are defined by weeks. If you are 11/12 weeks pregnant the abortion you get is more complicated then at 8 or 9 weeks. So it seems even if she could have an abortion (if that's a thing in Prythian) that she would have had to pass the fetal tissue.

Remember the problem isn't that the baby is sick or causing Feyre to be sick. Feyre is described as being healthy and radiant all throughout ACOSF. The pregnancy isn't the issue, it's the birth. The wings will supposably get caught and not be able to pass through the birthing canal. So even if she had an abortion those wings are getting caught and preventing the tissue from passing. We later see the size of the wings don't matter, because Feyre gives birth preterm and it still kills her.

And it will be challenging enough during a birth when the baby is alive but if they preform an abortion you're talking dead tissue being stuck in Feyre as they attempt to pull it out of her piece by piece.

That could kill her as well.

So when Rhys says "nothing I can do to save her life" he means it. As long as Feyre gives birth/passes those wings in her fae body she's dead.

The only in universe solution is for Feyre to transform back into an Illyrian form (I'll get into that later). That's it, nothing else could save her and in fact what happens is Nesta bargains for Feyre's life and then permanently changes her body to be Illyrian. So the solution was to shapeshift.

"Nesta told Feyre because she thought it was wrong"

That's not true, in fact Nesta agreed to say nothing and was later sorry for even telling Feyre. So no she did not tell Feyre because she thought it was an injustice.

Nesta was bitter and hurt by other things that happened (I am not going into it) and decided to hurt her sister back. She told her in the most brutal and awful way possible.

She easily could have caused Feyre to go into preterm labor and didn't care if that happened. If Feyre had gone into preterm labor with no solution to get the baby out then she would have died.

"Feyre's choice was taken from her"

So if we rule out abortion, and go with shapeshifting I don't see how anyone concludes that the 12 days Feyre does not know takes that choice from her. Even for the 12 days with the abortion idea, she still could have done it. She makes a choice not to, Feyre does not go into labor unaware of the risks.

Going back to shapeshifting, Rhys says this:

“So let her change back into an Illyrian to bear the babe.” Rhys’s face was stark. “Madja has put a ban on any more shape-shifting. She says that to alter Feyre’s body in any way right now could put the baby at risk. On the chance that it could be bad for the baby, Feyre is forbidden to so much as change the color of her hair until after the birth.”

So originally it's Madja who says shape-shifting is banned but sorry I do not see how Madja is going to control Feyre. During the announcement scene we get this from Feyre:

Nesta angled her head at her sister. “So you can’t do magic while pregnant?” Feyre winced. “I can, but given my unusual set of gifts, I’m not sure how it might impact the baby. Winnowing is fine, but some other powers, when we’re still so early in the pregnancy, could strain my body dangerously.”

Feyre is given the medical opinion of Madja on her doing magic and chooses to follow it.

And the nail in the coffin that it wasn't Feyre's choice is the birth scene itself:

“There is nothing we can do,” Madja said. “Cutting the babe out of her will kill her.” “Cutting it out?” Nesta demanded, earning a sharp glare from Rhys. Madja ignored her tone. “An incision along her abdomen, even one carefully made, is an enormous risk. It’s never been successful. And even with Feyre’s healing abilities, the blood loss has weakened her—” “Do it,” Feyre managed to say, the words weighted with pain. “Feyre,” Rhys objected. “The babe likely won’t survive,” Madja said, voice gentle but no-nonsense. “It’s too small yet. We risk both of you.” “All of you,” Cassian breathed, eyes on Rhys. “Do it,” Feyre said, and her voice was that of the High Lady. No fear. Only determination for the life of the babe within her. Feyre looked up at Rhys. “We have to.”

While it isn't explicitly mentioned, the scene prior is discussions about saving Nyx not about saving Feyre. Madja says "we risk both of you" implying their is a way to just save Feyre. That way would be shapeshifting, something Feyre is refusing to do in this moment. Rhys is the one who is objecting to the c-section and Feyre insists that "We have to". Feyre chooses to have the c-section and attempt to save her son.

Conclusion:

I don't think we can conclude Feyre's choice was taken from her, in fact it seems she made a choice not to shapeshift and save herself. That might feel like pro life propaganda and maybe it is (I don't know SJMs stance on this) but a mother choosing to go through with a risky pregnancy and delivery is still her making that choice. Just because it's not the choice you would make or like, doesn't make it any less of a choice.

It's really odd how people twist this storyline to fit a narrative of "Rhys is just as bad as Tamlin" and while I can understand the similarities, (both being born out of fear and trauma) it just isn't the same. Tamlin watched as Feyre became sicker and sicker, and ignored her. Tamlin forced Feyre back to the Spring Court after she told him she didn't want to be taken from Rhys and the IC. Tamlin slut shamed her during the HL meeting. Tamlin was actively attempting to control Feyre's behavior and get her to fit what he wanted for her.

Rhys found out horrible information (on top of all the other shit that was going on in ACOSF) about the life of his mate and child. His mate who was currently overjoyed at the idea of being pregnant and having a baby. And he wanted to find a way to save her before giving her the fear, anxiety, and distress he was suffering. It wasn't about controlling her, and it wasn't about having some super baby. It wasn't the right thing to do but he didn't do it out wanting to control Feyre. That's important information and something that shouldn't be twisted.

You can dislike it (as I've stated I hate it being told in Nessian POV) but you shouldn't twist things to fit your narrative.

#feyre archeron #rhysand #feysand #acotar #pro rhysand #pro feyre archeron #anti tamlin

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pizzapasta23045 · 2 months

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KAEYA HANGOUT ANALYSIS

Qubad: Fate means to send the machinations of war to every corner of the land, to fan the flames of conflict till they engulf the entire world... Qubad: Fate would see my sword tainted with the blood of innocents, that the bright banner of my homeland might fly in every nation known to mankind.

It so perfectly tells you what will happen in Kaeya's story without actually saying it. It's utterly lovely.

Firstly, it points out that Kaeya does not like violence, does not want it and he hates that fate wants him to be active participant in the creation of violence.

The homeland in the story could seem to be reffering to Khaenri'ah if you don't think about it too hard. But, weirdly, it reppresents both at different times of the play. In the beginning, fate wants the homeland to win, which would imply it's not exactly a 1:1 to Khaenri'ah unless the heavens have a weirdly convuluted plan as they themselves are the ones that destroyed it to begin with. It is also a place with a god, as you can tell in multiple points in the story.

Qubad: When I departed my beloved home to fight in a foreign land, I did so to honor his wishes and for my duty to our people. Qubad: Alas, is this fate's grand design... Is this fate's grand design... Qubad: Must it be so...?

Kaeya was, in a way sent to fight in a foreign land. Not in the sense of physically fighint but in the sense tha he's an agent there for a specific goal we are not privy through.

He's placed in the impossible position of having to choose between Mondstadt, the place he loves and Khaenri'ah, his homeland who he owes a duty to. Fate, not his father decided this. His father has not helped the situation, his father has harmed him, but in the end he is not the one that created the problem in the first place. As Kaeya's himself points out here.

Kaeya: Yep, "inept" is a good word for it. Honestly, it might even be a little too civil to describe a god who turns fathers against their sons and is bent on endless warmongering... don't you think?

While there is clearly an arger towards his father, Kaeya does not see him as a bad person but as someone who was forced to be evil. A victim of manipulation, just as much of a pawn of this game as Kaeya himself is. The god (Celestia) is in the end the main problem. Because he set up the twisted system in teh first place.

Qubad: I, Qubad, will spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, till I breathe my last in a place far from home. Qubad: But I shall not bow to the will of fate. I am no pawn in heaven's plan. Qubad: Gundafar, my dear mentor... You have always been like a father to me. It brings me only anguish to bid you farewell. Qubad: But I must walk this path, or freedom dies by my hand. Goodbye, my tribe and kin. Farewell, sweet land of my birth.

The important part of the hangout is this. "I shall not bow to the will of fate. I am no pawn." Kaeya makes his decision. He's made up his mind finally. He knows what he should do.

Now. What is that?

Well, we can see in the play in Kaeya's improv that he'll say goodbye to his mentor who was like a father to him. He also says goodbye to his kin and his tribe. He isn't picking either the side of his family of choise and his blood.

What we see here is fundamental. Kaeya shouts it at us. He is not picking either side, because both have significance to him. It's important to realize that the thing with his sides, that is also made up. It's a construct set up by the gods. Neither side is whooly right or whooly wrong. The Heavens WANT kaeya to choose.

Kaeya: If you don't like the script, just walk off the stage and join the audience. You always have a choice.

You always have a choice. There is always a less obvious choice. The Heavens do not control anything.

Qubad: My dear audience, I ask you this: Do you believe in fate? If fate decreed that your life was to end in tragedy, what would you do?

The point it's making about Kaeya's story is fundamental to both his and the travler's story. Kaeya's life is to end in greatness and tragedy as his constellation says. It's written in the part. But Kaeya is no pawn, and Kaeya will not turn back, as freedom itself, as a concept dies. Unlike his father, he will not let himself be tainted by hate and preperpetuate the cycle of violence that the warmogering gods want him to do.

Anyways this is my coming out as a "Kaeya isn't picking either Khaenri'ah or Mondstadt he's picking the secret third option the heavens don't want you to know about."

#textpost #kaeya alberich #kaeya #genshin impact #khaenri'ah #kaeya's father #papaya #celestia

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blithesharem · 7 months

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How does aging work in Obey Me?

This is my personal headcanon for how aging works in the Devildom and Celestial Realm.

When an angel or demon is "born" they don't have an initial humanoid form. They start as an amorphous ball of light or darkness (I SWEAR I read this in a Devilgram but I also could have totally made that up). As these spirits gain a sense of self and identity, they eventually take a shape that pleases them, most often humanoid. This shift from light or darkness into a solid figure is considered their 'birth'. This is why Beel and Belphie being considered twins is unusual. It's not rare for spirits to exist at the same time but it is rare to transition into physical form together at the same moment.

Age from that point on is not based on the passage of time but rather how developed their power is. More powerful demons often gain control over their power more quickly, and so spend very little time appearing as children. The growth from child to adolescent may take decades of Earth time or centuries depending on a number of factors. This is also why the brothers refer to themselves as older or younger, despite the fact that their ranking is primarily power based.

When Angels or Demons reach a certain outward age, they usually choose to linger where they feel most physically comfortable, whether that means the vibe they give off, physical characteristics and abilities, or the age at which they feel the most attractive or imposing.

For example, Lucifer chooses an older visage than his brothers for several reasons. One, he is older than them in the sense his spirit has existed longer. Two, it makes him feel more refined and at the right moments, imposing. Three, he likes to make sure his brothers note how many grey hairs they've given him.

This also explains how Satan's birth worked. When he split from Lucifer and fell with him, he went through several changes very quickly. Even though he was a new spirit, he carried with him an echo of Lucifer's power and experience which enabled him to gain control very quickly and take on his chosen form. If you want for fun HC moments however, you can believe like I do that his first couple months in the castle with the brothers were spent shifting from different ages without much control as he struggled to get a handle on existing. They would be reading a pouty baby Satan stories one night then dealing with a full grown tantrum the next.

I like this theory because it solves several narrative problems for me:

1.The issue of how time passes. I already believe that time passes differently in the spiritual realms than on Earth, but this method of 'aging' allows for some leeway in how we interpret ages and times in the story. Us going back in time in Nightbringing and finding brothers who take the same form makes sense if their physical form isn't entirely based on the passage of time.

2. It makes their birth order relevant in both terms of power and how they as spiritual beings interpret their ages.

3. It gives you an excuse to write all sorts of fics where the boys are kiddos and Lucifer or Mammon (or any bigger bro) is taking care of them. Or excuse to write Satan as a kiddo even if he was considered 'full grown' at birth. That's just plain fun.

4. It explains Luke. He's still learning how to develop his powers, which is why his been trusted to Simeon. As he continues to expand his capabilities, he'll eventually be able to age out of his current childlike form, but it's a passage that may take a long time.

5. It gives you freedom to interpret timeline without getting lost in details.

ANYWAY these are just my thoughts based on hints in the narrative and my own personal theories.

#obey me #obey me hcs

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lemonhemlock · 2 years

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Why Jace/Helaena isn't the foolproof solution it seems

My brothers in green, allow me to put forth my defense of Alicent’s rejection of this infamous marriage proposal, lauded as a possible solution to the Dance. Bear with me since this may get a little long.

Context

Rhaenyra proposes this to Alicent in episode 6 ("The Princess and the Queen") as a means of closing the chasm between their families.

Additionally, Rhaenyra offers that if Syrax brings forth a clutch of eggs, the dragon-less Aemond will have his pick of them. Viserys calls this a very handsome gift.

Alicent tries to extricate herself from the situation, so as to not refuse Rhaenyra outright. She tells her she will consider her offer and, luckily for her, is provided with the perfect exit opportunity - Rhaenyra's clothes have stained with breastmilk.

Now, marriage proposals are an issue to be considered carefully, not a decision you make on the spot or overnight, so Alicent is right to exercise her right to "think about it", however, I will grant that the scene immediately after shows that she has absolutely no intention of accepting, at least not in that very moment. Could she have changed her mind after sleeping on it? Let's see.

Rhaenyra has just given birth to her third child, who looks nothing like her husband Laenor and everything like her paramour Harwin Strong. Courtiers have started whispering more loudly than ever and Rhaenyra feels threatened by this.

What does Team Black gain from this?

Jace benefits from Helaena's legitimacy and quells at least some rumours about his bastard status. If The Queen herself is willing to betroth her only daughter to him, it must mean that he is legitimate, right?

A dragon's egg is no great loss for Rhaenyra, she has a female dragon actively laying eggs. There will be others if she has any need. This move costs her next-to-nothing.

I will give Rhaenyra the benefit of the doubt here and accept that she was genuinely trying to mend the rift between her and Alicent's side of the family. However, I will suggest that, up to this point, she has already dug herself in such a hole, that right now all she can do is damage control.

So let's see why Alicent might refuse her, apart from petty reasons.

Jace's legitimacy

The main issue here is that, unfortunately, Jace is so obviously not Laenor's son that everyone with eyes knows him to be a bastard. Rhaenyra has tried to transform the court in this theatre of the absurd, where no one is allowed to state the obvious, but this is not something that can carry on indefinitely. I am aware that people in Westeros don't know about genetics, but they are not that unaware. It's not just that Jace doesn't look anything like his white-haired parents, it's that he looks 100% like Harwin Strong's child, who is standing next to him and Rhaenyra. There are cases in which the family resemblances is so strong (heh) that little can be done in trying to deny it. No wonder Alicent feels like she's going mad.

With all of the good intentions of Rhaenyra, Laenor and Viserys, who play along in this ruse and pretend Jace is a Velaryon, the threat of a succession war starting over his right to rule is very real.

This goes beyond the politics of House Targaryen. People often argue that Jace is Rhaenyra's son, not like Cersei's children, who are not Robert's, the actual monarch.

Cersei reasonably gets away with this because her children at least look like her. Rhaenyra's children look nothing like Rhaenyra AND nothing like Laenor. They, instead, look very much like Harwin. It's complete clown behaviour.

The problem is that this threatens the entire system of inheritances in place in Westeros. Bastard children do not inherit for a reason. Marriage is a political and economic alliance between families, where both families are very much invested in the concept that their accumulated wealth / titles / lands / power is transferred to someone who is actually related to them. This is a world without proper contraception, where adultery carries the real threat of pregnancy. The two families involved essentially enter into an agreement that has very real economic consequences (dowries, favours, different types of exchanges) and no one wants to endanger this arrangement because of some random child fathered irresponsibly. One party will always be wronged in a situation like this.

Which is why the issue of Jace's legitimacy should be a big deal for the lords of the realm as well. If it suddenly becomes OK for bastards to be placed in the line of succession, then many of them might get in big trouble. Many conflicts of succession might arise because of this, maybe even wars.

Of course that, as a modern audience, we think it's super unfair that Jace doesn't get to inherit just because he was born out of wedlock. Society has progressed since then, thankfully, with the development of women's rights and family law and, of course, contraceptive methods allowing us, for the first time in history, to choose when/if we have children and how many of them. But Westeros doesn't have that context. So, in order for people to not kill each other endlessly over inheritances, they had to implement SOME rules and settled over male primogeniture. Completely fair? Of course not. But at least it offers some degree of stability.

The effects of this can be seen directly when it comes to the inheritance of the Driftwood Throne. The rest of the trueborn Velaryons (not just Vaemond) have genuine beef with the idea of Luke being ahead in the line of succession. No one else in Westeros gives up their inheritances like this, so why should they?

Therefore, why should the people of Westeros accept a ruler that doesn't respect the laws of the land or one who creates special exemptions for themselves, without putting in the proper work to reform society and make it a little more fair? This is a flagrant breach of the Westerosi version of the social contract.

Therefore, I humbly imply that there will be a lot of disgruntled people, upset that the monarch (Rhaenyra) is disregarding the law and fucking up their entire political-economic system of inheritance.

Helaena

Jace's rule will, therefore, most likely be contested. Wars may even be fought over it.

By marrying her daughter to a bastard claimant, Alicent could very well be placing Helaena and her future children in danger. Violent conflict tends to not be kind to women. Remember what happened to Elia Martell and her children? That came to pass because it was far more expedient if Robert Baratheon didn't have any other rival claimants to this throne. People like to pretend that this is an imagined threat, in order to demonise Alicent, but it is not.

That being said, Helaena may very well die due to illness or in childbirth. Unfortunately, medieval-style medicine was not kind to people, especially women. What happens then to this great alliance? Alicent doesn't have a replacement for Helaena to offer up to Jace. What if she dies childless? I would argue this is not that far-fetched of a possibility.

Helaena will essentially be a hostage for the Blacks. Rhaenyra doesn't have a daughter to give to Alicent, so that they could be even steven. From Alicent's POV, she is basically handing over her daughter to someone she doesn't even trust.

Alicent's sons

Alicent has three living sons. That's a lot of options for people to rally behind, if they have a problem with Rhaenyra becoming Queen.

Why does everyone believe that Aegon/Aemond/Daeron would be safe, just because Helaena would be married to Jace? Helaena couldn't do a damn thing to stop their execution, if Rhaenyra's claim was contested.

Even if you want to argue that Rhaenyra could never do such a thing, Daemon definitely would order hit jobs on them or murder them himself if necessary. He really is That Girl.

This is, of course, supposing that Rhaenyra does end up marrying Daemon in this scenario as well. I would argue it's a very real possibility, since they are so obsessed with each other.

Dragons

As it stands in Ep. 6, Team Black has 4 dragons at their disposal (Syrax, Seasmoke, Vermax, Arrax), with a new dragon egg for Joffrey that will later hatch into Tyraxes, making that 5. There is the possibility of Meleys (?), if push comes to shove. It's debatable whether Daemon & Laena would join her side, but it's worth mentioning they themselves have 3 additional dragons (Moondancer, Caraxes and freaking VHAGAR). If Rhaenyra keeps having children, they most definitely will have dragons.

What does Team Green have? SUNFYRE. Whom Aegon bonded with as a hatchling, making him young and small. Daeron is in Oldtown by now, so maybe he has already bonded with Tessarion, another hatchling. That brings Team Green's dragon count to a pitiful 2 baby dragons with inexperienced riders.

Helaena doesn't have a dragon in episode 6, because Aemond is seen going towards Dreamfyre. He would not be doing that if he knew Dreamfyre was bonded to his sister, it would be illogical. For someone as dragon-obsessed as he is, he definitely would know that.

So what happens between episodes 6 and 7? Helaena must have claimed Dreamfyre. At the end of the episode, we see 3 dragons flying back towards King's Landing. One of them is obviously Sunfyre, one is the newly-acquired Vhagar, Daeron is in Oldtown, so the other one must be Dreamfyre.

We know from Aegon and Aemond's conversation in Ep. 7 that Aegon and Helaena have been betrothed. Why? I would wager one of the reasons is that Helaena turned out to be a dragon-rider herself.

There is no way in hell Alicent would be giving Rhaenyra Helaena, alongside Dreamfyre, her biggest freaking dragon (remember Vhagar has not been claimed yet).

As it stands, when Alicent approved of the betrothal between Aegon and Helaena, her side of the family had two small dragons and Helaena's DREAMFYRE, quite a sizeable beast, a huge win for Team Green. Ain't no way Rhaenyra is getting her hands on her daughter now. Dreamfyre was Princess Rhaena's dragon, the Queen in the West/East. She should be larger than Syrax and Seasmoke, even Caraxes or Meleys, more on par with Vermithor and Silverwing.

You know what else Dreamfyre is? A female, egg-laying dragon, who has resided all this time in the Dragonpit. Which makes Rhaenyra's additional offer of a dragon egg moot. Why would Aemond need eggs from Syrax, when he already had access to eggs from the unclaimed Dreamfyre? Remember, Dreamfyre laid the egg Rhaenyra chose for ther brother Baelon - the same egg that Daemon stole, so it's not as if she's hit dragon menopause. Jace and Luke are shown to have picked the egg for Joffrey themselves from the Dragonpit; it is not specified whether this is Syrax's egg. If necessary, Viserys is still King, he can order additional eggs to be brought from Dragonstone for Aemond to pick.

This has already turned out very long, but, all in all, I wanted to point out the flaws in Rhaenyra's plan regarding Jace and Helaena's possible betrothal. I appreciate the fact that she was trying to remedy the rift, but she failed to understand why this deal was not exactly the home-run for Team Green that she intended. A very good arrangement for her, but not necessarily great for Alicent's peace of mind.

#jacaerys velaryon #helaena targaryen #house of the dragon #asoiaf #alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #dragons #team green #anti team black #jalaena #hotd meta

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isleofdarkness · 2 months

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What are the sixes (Riah, Claudine, Mal, Jay, Evie, and Carlos) biggest fears?

What are their smallest fears?

-birb

Ooh, good one

Riah- two worst fears. The larger of the two is his power hurting or killing someone who doesn't deserve to be killed. The second one is anything happening to Hadie, intersecting with the first in that Riah is terrified he might accidentally hurt or kill Hadie. His most minor used to be his biggest fear, that his birth parents would come and take him away from Hades and Persephone. He used to have wake-up-screaming nightmares a severe panic attacks over this but, after Hades and Persephone spent a decade promising they would never let that happen, it's faded into the background. It's come back now that he's far away from his parents and they wouldn't know if his birth parents came for him, but it's a minor anxiety that he only thinks about when he's really spiraling. He recognizes that this one is irrational.

Jay- he also has two worst fears, one ever-changing and one staying the same since he was a child. The changing one always has to do with his father- what if his father does xyz? It was, up until his brief talk with Lydia, "What if my father finds out I sell myself?" Now it's "What is my father going to do to punish me?" Jafar has also threatened to hurt Evie or Carlos in the past to punish Jay, but now there's also Riah and Claudine and Jafar could definitely kill them, they don't have the same backing that Evie and Carlos have, not that Jafar knows. The permanent fear is "What if someone cuts off my hands?" It's a common punishment for thieves on the Isle and Jay is terrified of that happening to him. What would Jafar do to him if he couldn't steal? Death would be the best outcome and Allah, that's depressing. His most minor fear is Ace or Mischa Rasputin dying. They both mean a great deal to him but they're also both extremely hard to kill and unlikely to die anytime soon, so he's not too worried about that.

Mal- her worst fear is her mother hurting the people she cares about. It's happened before time and time again, but that doesn't mean Mal's desensitized to it. Her most minor fear, which should say a lot about the weight she has on her shoulders, is that her mother or someone else will kill her. And this point, it's barely a worry and almost a "Kill me, make my day" thing. The only thing she wouldn't like about being killed is the hell it'll send her section of the Isle into and the chaos it'll throw the politics of the Isle into.

Evie- her worst fear is her mother deciding to disregard her "marriage" to Ace and the fact that it "owns" her and her mother will sell her to someone else. Someone who isn't a gay CSA survivor, who would be all too happy to buy a sex slave. Her most minor fear? Probably Sykes trying to kill Agony again. It's always a possibility, but Want kind of eviscerated him for four hours the last time he tried, so he's probably unlikely to try again. Probably.

Carlos- his worst fear is always his mother. Her being within a mile of him is his greatest fear. His most minor fear, which should tell you a lot about how intense his other fears are, is his fear of dogs. Lydia (dog) can stay because if she's not a threat to Riah then she's probably not a threat to him (also he has several knives and Jay also has several knives,) at least for now, but she's on thin fucking ice.

Claudine- her worst fear is that Hades lied to her about "Oh, Jesus and Jehova? Yeah, they're both fine. Having Jesus around really got Jireh to chill out and the only people Jesus has a problem with are capitalists and totalitarians. Trust me, those two aren't gonna damn you to "Hell," which is, by the way, entirely controlled by me, who is not gonna send you to eternal damnation, for just existing as a human being." She worries he's lying about the two being forgiving and that, when she stands before them for her judgement, they'll be disgusted and cast her into Hell for all eternity. That's her biggest fear. Her most minor fear is her father will die, because she'll be relieved and that would be horrible of her. It'll make her an even more sinful monster for not honoring him. But he's currently immortal so this isn't high on her list of things that need worried about.

#the darkness speaks #swearing #birb anon #descendants #descendants au #isle of darkness #original character #descendants oc #zachariah darhk #claudine frollo #descendants jay #mal briar #descendants mal #descendants evie #genevive isabella char #carlos de vil

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space-writes · 4 months

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So this post has me thinking. Because though the post and a lot of the comments talk about fic, this kind of scene-breaking PSA-feeling scene is something I run across in a fair amount of the M/M erotica/romance I read as well. (By which I mean a lot of indie/selfpub stuff, for clarification purposes) (don’t rec me ‘good m/m books’. my tbr is so long. my kindle is so full. im drowning. my god.)

In those, the ones that repeat are the ‘hey we’re both on PrEP!’ conversation, and the ‘when did you last get tested?’ conversation. The testing conversation also shows up sometimes in M/F that I read, and the one in there that also shows up is fairly naturally the birth control conversation. And first off—none of these are bad to have. None of them are automatically ruiners of good stories, or things you should cut!

What they often are is copy-paste scenes. They’re jarring when they happen because they aren’t written properly in character, and they take you out of the story and damage your connection to the narrative and to the characters. This is, in fact, he would not fucking say that time. This is not a problem of ‘including consent and safe sex is boring in smut’ (a whole other conversation). This is a problem of character voice and also bad dialogue.

Listen, I live here, on the internet. Bad smut is a time-honoured tradition here, and bad dialogue is at its wretched best in bad smut. I have an entire post in the works about writing good sexy dialogue—it’s hard! It’s hard to do!

(sidenote, this is why a lot of smut dialogue prompt lists make me cringe, because the dialogue is either poor, or so generic as to make lines that could be sexy in the right mouth sound poor.)

But the reason these consent-PSA scenes don’t work, and jar readers, is because you are putting words in your characters mouth that you want to say—for whatever reason; you think showing consent is important, you want to be clear about the consent given in the fic, whatever—but you are not saying them how your blorbo would say them.

I have an ongoing D/s romance series. Tens of thousands of words now. Twenty-four main fics, two unposted-yet novels, and a handful of side stories. The main relationship is a Master/sub relationship. They do a lot of kinky shit, and I can count on one hand how many times the couple sit down and talk about consent and they have never, not once, had a conversation on-page that uses the word consent.

What? Why! Space, why do you, person who is very passionate about proper consent and communication in BDSM play, not have any consent discussions in this BDSM fic?

Because those dialogues aren’t what the story needs. When it does, I include them in ways that are relevant to the scene and written in character, not as some obligatory cut-and-paste “do you consent?” “yes I do!” PSA. There is one exchange in fic 2 where the nature of the relationship is established. For the other six fics in that arc, I don’t have them sit down and negotiate scenes. It’s implied by a few lines that they talked about likes/dislikes off-page and then it’s back to the fun kinky shit.

And the thing is, they would say that. They would talk about boundaries and limits, and I could write an in-character conversation about that very easily. I didn’t, because that’s not the point of the story; the focus is on hot sex and emotional pining, and having a three-paragraph discussion about consent between them would get in the way of that.

(obedience readers i know at this point you’d read those two talking about the fucking weather but do not undermine my point here XD)

Listen, I’m just some guy. I take my writing seriously in that I want to be good at it, and I know a lot of people—especially in fic—are just having fun with it. That’s fine! Do what’s fun! But if you want to get better at writing porn, you can do that. I believe in you. You can have your enthusiastic consent and you can do it in character, in scene, and you can make it feel so natural no-one even notices you’re doing it because they’re too busy going ‘holy shit this is hot!’

This is kind of a rant but I just. am very passionate about good dialogue in smut. and about character voice. and i’m tired of reading the exact same PrEP-status conversation in my m/m novels. yes i get it author. you researched gay sex safety. im so proud of you. can we get back to the mediocre porn now.

#space has thoughts #writing #writeblr #smut writing #fanfiction #writing advice #(kinda)#please i just need everyone to get better at writing sexy dialogue #feel free to have a conversation with me about this but don't be a dick #pre-emptively: if you come on this post spouting anti/purity police bullshit you're getting blocked

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koreanbibliophilegirl · 1 month

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On Lucky Star brainrot RN and I've cooked up an entire storyline behind the Abilities.

So basically a long LONG time ago some scientist gets a bunch of couples planning on having children & does a bunch of genetic manipulation/modification experiments, mostly on genetic "weak points", like giving the baby of the nearsighted couple good eyesight genes, etc.

This gets a LOT of flack bc yknow, Eugenics Is A Controversial Topic™️. The couples are already pregnant & expecting babies though, so there's not much anyone can do.

BUT after the babies are born, they get regularly tested to see how well the genetic modifications worked, right? WELL, turns out the modifications worked a little TOO well.

The baby with eyesight modifications has eyes that can zoom in & out like a camera. The baby with physical strength modifications can break concrete walls. The Intelligence Boost Baby has brains to rival a supercomputer. The Linguistic Talent Baby can communicate with animals and insects.

This, of course, makes worldwide news. The kids are tested and poked and prodded, but no one can figure out why the enhanced genes came out THAT enhanced. The babies are perfectly healthy at least, if a bit superhuman.

The whole thing simmers down a bit. The kids grow up and some have kids of their own. Some of THOSE kids also have superhuman abilities. The original Ability Babies, as they came to be called, refuse to let their kids be roped into the tests though- they've gone through too much because of their Abilities, they don't want that for their own kids.

So Abilities end up spreading out & getting passed on with no inhibition. By the time the first baby of the Fourth Generation of Abilitieds is born, Abilities are just a part of everyday life.

By the Seventh Gen though, genetic problems begin to emerge. At this point a lot of Abilities have mixed with each other, and apparently this ended up causing genetic problems related to Abilities. The Ability Kids borne from the Mental Enhancement Babies(ex. intelligence, linguistics) have the worst illnesses, like Ability Blockage and Ability Leakage.

Ability Leakage is the inability to fully control your own Ability(ex. Ranboo randomly getting into these dazes, bc their mind isn't fully there, and accidentally teleporting if he's startled).

Ability Blockage is the most dangerous of Ability Illnesses, because it's literally your own Ability being trapped inside your body. The energy expels INSIDE your body instead of OUTSIDE, like it should, and causes extreme pain/constricts vital organs. Ability Blockage is a birth illness, and most patients don't even make it to 4 years old.

Anyway guess which generation Bedrock Bros are lol

#Lucky Star #tommyinnit #technoblade #bedrock bros #bedrock duo #bedrockduo #Lilly writes stuff #wanted to rant lol

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poognthebrainbois · 4 months

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Rant/vent about current denial spiral under the cut - some context first: (*extremely brief mention of abuse/SA, medical history mention)

Had a fight with my mom about why I "still think it's DID." There were a lotta layers to that conversation, including:

- My (our) experiences don't line up with all the "research" she's done about DID

- according to her, co-consciousness doesn't exist and "you would have no idea there's another person [controlling your body], you can't be 'standing behind, watching.'"

- she doesn't trust anecdotal/personal experience of actual systems because "that's just people on the internet making up whatever they want"(paraphrase)

- she had also never heard of OSDD before. Even though she claimed she knows all about the DSM-5.

(medical trauma/history mention)

- I was never *physically abused or SA'd, therefore I don't have trauma. (She doesn't believe in emotional/verbal abuse, and all my *medical trauma/history was during/right after my birth (I was born 10 weeks early, had a surgery while in the NICU) so it doesn't count [I can't disagree with that])

(Might make a separate vent post about what we consider possible trauma that she "doesn't count")

- she told me "it sounds like you found something and stuck to it" (paraphrase) (meaning I learned about DID and just decided that was my problem.)

- made the same sweeping generalizations as always about my entire generation "wanting to be different" and "wanting to have something wrong [with us]"

(Again, I could make a separate vent post about what she says during literally every argument)

- told me (us) to "stop saying 'we' for Christ's sake!" (We will not.)

- she decided I (we) need to bring her "actual sources" of why I (we) believe it's DID/OSDD.

Which meant to us that we were gonna stay up all night doing extensive research.

Or that was the plan, before the denial set in.

(Recreation of Denial spiral below, just to throw it out to the void and be able to come back to it later to disprove I guess?? Could be triggering (lots of repetitive phrases, disbelief of trauma, derealization/depersonalization, there's a lot in here.)

What if she's right and I'm not a system? What if it's not DID or OSDD and I'm just desperate to make it into something? What if I actually don't have trauma and I'm secretly an endo??? (Any headmate tries to talk to me) You're not real, shut up. Why did I do this to myself? I ruined my life over something that's not even happening! Why did I let it get this far? Why am I still perpetuating this if it's not true?? It was never a problem until I did weed and "opened doors" that was just weed! I'm making up trauma that's not real! I want so bad to be traumatized so I can feel justified to be mad at my parents when really I'm just an entitled little bitch who's never had anything happen to them and needs to pretend they're worse off than they are! She has real trauma! She's actually been through real abuse and they've never done anything to me other than yell and that doesn't mean anything and I'm just a crybaby for being scared of getting yelled at they never actually threaten me (why do you remember the "I'll give you something to cry about" threat/phrase then???) and I cried over nothing all the time for no reason and I've just always been afraid of nothing. I can't believe I'm actually sitting here thinking about doing all this research just to prove a point?? Just to prove her wrong? That doesn't mean anything! That's not a good reason! I shouldn't even bother. This is a waste of my time. I should just tell her she's right and move on. It's not DID and (Losing my train of thought trying to write this, Jesus) I've just convinced myself it is but it's not. I've made it out to be more than it is so they'll care and that didn't work anyway. I can't believe this is happening right now. There's no way I got this far. That all of this really happened over nothing. They were just characters in my head! Why did I ever start believing more than that when I don't have trauma! Nothing that bad has ever happened to me and all these thoughts that keep coming up are fake and even if some of this stuff was trauma it wasn't in my childhood so it's not relevant. I spend too much time on the internet and I shouldn't just believe all of this stuff. What do I think I'm actually "relating" too? I should've just left it at Maladaptive Daydreaming and been fine. I've made everything worse for myself. There was a reason I stopped doing research on DID years ago! 'Cause I don't have trauma and I can't sit here and pretend I do. Why am I doing this?

(Etc etc etc. Front changed while writing this. I've been in co the whole time but Parker needed to step back for their own comfortability.)

We went back n forth for a while about a bunch of this stuff. Had a number of headmates hop in co-front just to prove a point, only for Parker to continue to tell them they're not real and it's "all me and I'm faking" bro you are at that point proving a point to yourself but okay.

Anyway, eventually Kiara took front and started on research anyway. We were up til 5am. Didn't finish but marked all our tabs so we could go back and finish it up the next day (yesterday). Did not get back to it yesterday 'Cause Parker got anxious.

We now have a deadline to present this shit. We've got a psych appointment tomorrow morning and Mom's leaving on Thursday to visit a friend. So we should get to it today. But they're really not ready for that conversation. Unfortunately we (Lio) told our psychiatrist that we might actually get to that conversation with our parents before our next appointment so now Parker feels like we have to. And if we don't then they'll be anxious about it the entire time Mom's gone which is also not productive.

There's a worry that if any of the rest of us try to explain it then it won't be taken seriously because we're not them. This whole situation is exhausting. We weren't planning on trying to have this conversation yet and now we're so rushed and there's a lot more pressure.

In any case, there's a chance we'll post an update if/when it happens.

If you've read this far, any kind of support would be appreciated. <3

-❤️

#system denial #abuse mention #spiral #emotional abuse #verbal abuse #depersonalisation and derealisation #pooger.txt #fuckboi/pos #dissociative system #osddid #did osdd #system vent #vent post #personal vent #endos dni

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aspiringwarriorlibrarian · 1 year

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Maybe it’s because I’m half Hindu half Catholic, but I’m kinda seeing where Jaune is coming from with his dismissals of the tree and Afterans view on rebirth. Both Catholicism and Hindu while not entirely as their basis have used their writings, scriptures, and doctrines as a method of controlling populations through their dismissal of the physical mortal life. Catholics say life is simply a test where you either pass and go to heaven or fail and get damned. Clergy while never entirely corrupt because no religion can be entirely corrupt, has historically used and changed doctrine to maintain control of people in the justification of granting a eternal salvation.

Hinduism however believes in reincarnation, this instead of freeing people lives ironically trivializes them. The Brahmans while again never entirely corrupt teach the caste system and dharma. A system of assigning duty at birth as well as justifying their divine right of control. If your reincarnated as a slave or a beggar? That’s simply your role for this life and you just need to keep doing it until you die and gain enough Karma for a better life next time. It essentially a pull yourself up by your bootstraps mentality on a existential scale.

This isn’t to talk bad about Hinduism or Catholicism their both important parts of my life and I’ve gained much growth from them. But so many cultures’ view on death is tied into how a ruling class controls the populace. So being doubtful of the ever afterans view on death is legitimate, especially when Jaune and RWBY and pretty much all hunters seem to have a tacit acceptance of own death in service of a higher cause which is troubling in a different way.

Maybe I’ve become too cynical, I can’t look at a cultural anymore real or fictional without at some point thinking, “Okay how would this benign belief be used to oppress the lower class/caste.”

No, you're exactly right and this is exactly how he thinks. He was tricked by Ozpin and he hates authority figures that hold back information, and then the Cat unintentionally did that to him, and if humans were locked up in this cycle it would be abusive and cruel to force them to have purposes and then be recycled when that purpose is over. He has every right not to trust that and even to think that the Paper Pleasers are just being brainwashed into following a corrupt leader using them as food.

The problem is that he's not listening to them when they tell him what they need and what their world is like, and that what would be awful for him or his friends is merely part of their natural life cycle. He's not wrong to question it. He's just wrong to force it on them, especially to force it because he believes that as a human he knows better and that Afterans are people enough to be protected but not people enough to make their own choices.

#rwby spoilers #jaune arc #rwby analysis

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femmespoiled · 2 years

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So I just read your post about disability.

I have severe endometriosis. Like, couldn't eat for several days because I'd just throw it all up and falling over kinda cramps. It's better now that I'm on birth control but not entirely handled. But my Endo also causes a lot of chronic pain and migraines.

I have no idea if I'm allowed to call myself disabled. It does affect my day to day life. But I feel like no one would take me seriously. My job already doesn't. I just don't know

So I'm here to speak in general terms, because I don't feel comfortable putting on or taking off the label of disabled on somebody, that's not what I'm here to do, but I want to tell you that there's not much of a point basing your decision on how much people would take you seriously, because people don't take, even visibly, disabled people seriously all of the time, we live in a society that's extremely ableist, it's conveniently (to the system) designed for us to not be taken seriously and for us to, most of the time, not get what we need without so much of a fight, sometimes not get what we need ever.

I understand your job doesn't take you seriously and I'm sorry about that, most jobs don't really care about their employees' health or pain, unless it's something that could kill them easily because they don't want to deal with that. They care about productivity and profit, which a lot of disabled people can be behind on for various limitations so too many times they won't even hire someone who's disabled, mostly people who are physically disabled.

I'm glad your condition is better and I want to tell you that if you want that label, I'm not the authority on who can and cannot use it, but if it seems it fits you, go for it, if what you need is someone to tell you you're allowed, you are, only you know how much it affects you.

The fact that a lot of people feel they're not allowed to use it is possibly because we have normalised pain and suffering in general in order to function "normally", or in most cases try to, in a society that's not designed to cater to us, we have stigmatized disabilities, we have accepted capitalist rules that stop us from getting what we need without proving ourselves in some sort of way. At the end of the day disability or not, people should be allowed free access to healthcare, people should be allowed accommodations, people should be allowed to speak about whatever conditions they have and be taken at face value.

I have a huge problem with capitalism but that's for another post.

#ask #dsb

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mermaidsirennikita · 7 months

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What did you mean by twilight being “era specific” in your tags on the reblog about upcoming reboots?

I think that when Twilight came out, the book especially (which built a ground fanbase for the movie to launch from) there was less pseudointellectual web analysis, PLUS there was less care for the genuine problems with the series. In some ways, Twilight Discourse helped propel some early era "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!" puritanical bullshit.

things people weren't clocking super heavily when Twilight came out that I think are legitimate issues:

--Stephenie Meyer is a devout Mormon, and as such her politics seep into the books; the conservativism surrounding sex despite the inherent titillation of "when will they fucking fuck"; the anti-choice messaging; the racism, which lemme tell you, has some Very Specific Implications when it comes from a Mormon author. (Now I.... clocked her as soon as I saw the name "Stephenie", and had it confirmed as soon as I read she was named that for her dad, for reasons I won't get into. But a lot of people didn't.)

--Going back to the racism... It's real bad, and the movies made it worse by casting a white guy the most important indigenous role. Everyone else was played by Native actors. Not Jacob Black, the third most crucial character in the entire series. The fact that they baldly got away with that in 2008? Says a lot. Like, they weren't even trying to pass him off, they just went "well, he can tan". In fact, I think Taylor Lautner SAID he'd work up a tan for the second movie. I mean, he was already pretty tan, the just sprayed him down further. Problem solved, right?

--Nessie is dumb as hell in general, but it's also like... so anti-choice. Like. Bella is literally dying lmao. But not only is it presented as Right and Understandable that she'd want to die to birth this demonic child--the crucial thing about this is that EDWARD, MY MAN, is presented as the bad guy for really, really wanting her to abort. He is being completely logical and a loving partner here. He rightly points out that they have no fucking idea what this kid is, and also, most importantly, he loves Bella and puts her first and wants her to LIVE. Can I just say--unintentionally, the romantic hero everyone was losing their shit over in 2005-2012? Being super about his wife having a life-saving abortion? Kind of iconic. Edward is a pro-choice ally, lmao. (He even tells Jacob like "FINE WHATEVER IF SHE WANTS A BABY THAT BAD YOU CAN FUCK HER IDGAF" in what is. Objectively. A hilarious scene. I've seen Edward antis try to paint this as like, him trying to control her bodily autonomy--dude, Edward could have physically forced Bella to get an abortion. He does not, he simply wants this woman to LIVE.)

But then, as soon as the demon baby is born, he's all in love with her because he realizes she was a Soul Baby this entire time. Lol. No. In a post-Dobbs world, I don't know how you do this, and I think that if you have to entirely redo a crucial part of the series, why. bother. making it.

Never mind Jacob falling in love with a baby.

There are other problems, obviously, but you also have the SAVE THE GIRLS FROM THEIR HORNY DESIRES crowd, who thinks the entire series should be thrown in the trash because Edward is a) abusive because he doesn't want Bella to go be a frosty delight and die or b) abusive because he does want Bella to be a frosty delight and die c) abusive because he doesn't put out (a truly wild take lmao, he's sexually manipulating belly by dangling his cherry in front of her, and she somehow has zero alternatives, certainly not the other guy vying for her hand) d) abusive because he like, tries to buy her a new car and give her nice things...? e) abusive because he doesn't love the idea of his girlfriend hanging out with another guy who tries to kiss her and shit f) abusive because he DOES want her to hang out with that guy and wants her t have werepuppies to distract from the loss of their demon babies.

There is a lot of discourse around Bella, Edward, and Jacob that I find very stupid. I cannot imagine it's going to be any better in a post-Twitter post-X world.

I also think that, frankly? The youth want different things. If they want vampires, they want the Gothic melodrama (and more racially conscious updates) of a show like Interview with the Vampire. If they want teen content, they want teen content that incorporates people who aren't universally cishet and white (Quileutes aside, and as we have discussed... bad).

UNFORTUNATELY, the teens are also less horny, apparently, than they were when I was a teen. Which I think is the result of puritanical stuff/the conservative appropriation and perversion of theoretically solid progressive concepts.... among other things... and we need to make it so that teens feel comfortable with exploring things in an emotionally and physically healthy way. BUT. That's going to take time, and I don't think that the thing that really helped Twilight surmount the discourse, which is that--we Twihards were largely very horny about it--is going to work right now.

Also; if you are not a puriteen, I don't really think Twilight's particular brand of "oh my god, he might just touch my lips while I wear my khaki skirt" horniness is going to work for you, either. Like I said, it was a specific time. The kids who were really anti-sex were less the liberals who are worried about fictional characters' consent being violated when we watched movies... It was Silver Ring Thing kids, who lemme tell you, as someone who did not partake but knew several... Those kids.... wanted to throw down. Really bad.

And so Twilight appealed to that mindset that was like, pervasive in 2008--you don't abstain because you don't or shouldn't want it, you abstain because it's this thing that you will be able to have as soon as it is Right to have it. Like the Jonas Brothers! They did that, right? They really committed to the purity rings, riiiiiiiiiight?

The knowledge that you're waiting for this thing that you have a semi-specific timestamp on (your wedding night) and it's going to be sooo worth the wait (it will not, at least not for a while lol) was this deeply titillating thing for much of the target audience, because that's what Twilight was almost literally evoking. Edward wouldn't have sex with Bella until their wedding night, but he TEASED her. The entire series was arguably abut this leadup to the sex. And boy, was it disappointing! But until it happened, I think the series really captured that breathless anticipation. And I just don't think people are currently very interested in that.

They might as well have been soaking

Also. Bella's dad is a cop.

#AND FIN.#there are a lot of other issues but i think remakes are more often than not. stupid and bad.#interview is arguably a counterargument but it's not so much remaking the 90s movie as it is adapting the book again

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 5 months

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By: Salomé Sibonex

Published: Jan 15, 2024

You can’t make a move or state an opinion without confronting the real pandemic of our time: control freaks.

The loudest people today are the ones who are most certain they alone have everything figured out—everything. Which ideas are worth debating, how you should raise your kids, what makes a relationship good, what political beliefs you should have, and of course, how the entirety of our society should be run.

There’s no need for you anymore—that is, the you who’s an individual with unique experiences, insights, and the desire to forge a life of your own. The you that control freaks want is a body with a social security number that grants them the ability to sway society through social pressure and majority rule. All that extra stuff you call “individuality" is an obstacle to making you a cog in their machine.

Because what’s the point of other people if you can’t make them do what you want?

Instead of living out the unique life that each of us has, the pressure from those who want control over us has pushed many people to pursue conformity. Whether it comes from parents, peers, or authority figures, people learn to give control freaks what they want early in life.

It should be restated (every day, at least): we live in strange times. We all know this, but it’s easy to acclimate to the weirdness and forget just how strange our times are. We focus on the big examples: war, political polarization, TikTok-transmitted illnesses. The truly strange stuff is more subtle, though. It’s the way your online reputation is increasingly more valuable than your real-world reputation. It’s the way your government and strangers in far-off countries have access to your attention any time you check the news or your phone. It’s the way our migration into massively populated cities and our constant connection to all of humanity online makes humans seem less precious, and more disposable. All the right ingredients are coming together to make your individuality worse than useless.

As our culture becomes one where the appearance of being a good person surpasses the importance of actually being good, the way we value others is also mutating. More people are losing their tolerance for anyone who isn’t like them. While we act like our political differences amount to a battle between good and evil, the truth is less extreme: some people value freedom more than care, and others value care more than freedom. This is the normal spectrum of different beliefs and values we encounter daily, whether among friends, colleagues, or the neighbors we now ignore. These are the old, inevitable differences that have shown up since the birth of electoral politics, where we routinely face the reality that about half our country is more liberal or conservative than the other half.

But as talking TV heads, curated newsfeeds, and infinite block lists invade our lives, it’s getting harder to recall the value in tolerating our differences.

Trust degrades quickly when the threat of being controlled by strangers looms too closely. We were once incentivized to accept occasional losses to the other side as the cost of democracy, but when it seems like one side is playing for keeps, few will risk giving an inch.

As our culture has become more embattled, our lives have become more comfortable and customizable than ever. An entire country that once sat down at the same time to watch the same cable broadcast is now divided into nearly infinite timelines, with each individual choosing what they’ll watch and when. You once listened to music in the order the artist arranged their album, but most people I know don’t listen to albums anymore—they listen to single songs out of a library they’ve customized. Social media is customized to give you an experience dictated by you, from what you see and who you see it from to what you’ll mute and block out of your attention. We’re so accustomed to our custom lives that we don’t even see the novelty in our customized home temperatures until we’re somewhere we can’t control.

Would it be crazy to question whether our customized lives are making us intolerant of anything—and anyone—that doesn’t bend to our will?

I wasn’t born appreciating the ways people differ from me. I once believed people with different political views were just blocking the path to where society “should” be. My dysfunctional relationship with reality meant anything that didn’t conform to my beliefs needed to be denied or suppressed. Whether it was other people’s beliefs or my own flaws, I hadn’t yet learned that “should” is a dark, intoxicating concept that can trick you into denying reality for the sake of a fantasy. My immature moral certainty about what I thought other people “should” believe entitled me to use any means to change them, from social pressure to government policies. The reality of other people’s different values, ideas, and goals didn’t conform to my desires, so in my naive mind, the obvious response was to change reality. But reality is hard to change—especially when you refuse to acknowledge it first, and especially if it involves anyone’s perception of reality besides yours. My resistance to reality made me turn to manipulation, deception, and defensiveness—all strategies for taking control when reality doesn’t affirm delusion.

I’m lucky that my resistance to reality failed me early in life. A painful break-up made me realize how futile my efforts to deny reality were. No matter how much I tried to change myself or the other person, the reality of our incompatibility remained. The only real choice I had about reality was whether I would face it or fight it and eventually face it regardless, but with added suffering.

The more willing I became to see reality as it was, the more equipped I became to understand and deal with it.

Unlike most things in our lives today, other people are not customizable. The control we enjoy over what we watch and who we block doesn’t transfer to the real people in the world around us. When leftists complain that every conservative is a racist or conservatives complain that every leftist is evil, they’re refusing to see an inconvenient reality: annoying, misinformed people still exist no matter how passionately you believe they shouldn’t. No amount of deception, manipulation, or other control tactics will change reality—they just obscure it. Or worse, when too many people forget the value of tolerating the reality that people unlike you have a right to their existence too, the result is often suffering and loss of life.

Instead of trying to control people we differ from, we have to see the reality of our differences as information to work with. It won’t be as easy as clinging to delusion, but people who value others as more than a means to their ends make for neighbors we might actually talk to again.

#Salome Sibonex #Salomé Sibonex #authoritarianism #control freaks #religion is a mental illness

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areax · 8 months

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laika bg3 lore dump (BG3 SPOILERS)

keeping with her source material (homebrew campaign) her patron is cthulhu bc i was like oh i love cosmic horror lets get a little funny with it— [discovers that i, erika, was born in lovecraft’s town] ah shit. which fits perfectly into bg3’s story as well because of the. you know. mind flayers. but her backstory is still pretty much the same: she grew up in an isolated village, wanted to learn forbidden magicks, accidentally contacted cthulhu, he was like hey girl hasten my return to this realm and i will give you power beyond imagining also you WILL have to serve me for 1000 years in the dreaming city after you die btw. and she was like yeah i can do that, he did a whole the color out of space thing where everyone in her village was turned to white ash except her… whoopsie.

and then as in her og lore he would give her an assignment every few years to go kill someone whose death would make the world worse on a structural level not just a personal one so like. a noble who would have pushed for reforms, a worker who would have become a union leader, a scholar who would have had a scientific breakthrough and in the mean time laika made the most of her warlock power by searching for a way to defeat death because if there’s one thing she loves it’s weaseling her way out of consequences for her actions and also she wants to live forever.

also in her og lore her patron (and another being just like him) were connected to mind flayers even though the exact nature of that connection was never made clear (like did they create them? do all mind flayers in this universe serve one of these great old ones?) with the implication that this is what laika would eventually become when she serves her 1000 years after death

HOWEVER, in the bg3 canon ive decided that cthulhu is some variation on a highly advanced elder brain from another universe of existence (and not just another plane like the astral plane or hell or something, i mean an entirely different universe that is basically unconnected to the bg3 universe, one that’s outside of our own, but since cthulhu is so powerful in his home universe, he’s able to influence / contact the bg3verse) who wants to take over control of this universe or be born into it and wreck shit or whatever. who knows. he’s a great old one. who knows what he wants. point BEING that he has some kind of meaningful connection to the mind flayers in the bg3verse but the specifics of that ive not decided and may just leave ambiguous (is he the one who first created them aeons ago so that they would evolve into a species like his own and execute the grand design to bring about his own birth in the bg3verse? thats the main theory)

the thing is. how does he communicate with laika. and i think it honestly would be. really funny. if she already had a (mostly dead) parasite in her mind even before she got got by the mind flayers. and they were just like well this ones defective put another in there. so when everyone is freaking out about being infected shes like oh a mind flayer parasite? no problem 👍 this is normal to me. but having another one put in her skull suppresses her connection to her patron enough so that he can’t contact her, but she can still siphon off his power... so initially its in her best interest to KEEP the thing in her head and that adds much more depth to her choices later on of do i accept more of these parasites into me? do i become half-ilithid? do i try to take control of the brain? what will happen if i destroy all the parasites? will that mean that he has control over me again?

which opens up really interesting parallels between her... quest (kind of) and that of the other companions. do i become like my abuser to gain power over him? is what ive done in the name of my god justified? am i responsible for my actions when someone else was forcing my hand? can i give up my power in favor of what i know is right?

this also makes her dynamic w raphael really interesting bc he has like no interest in her soul whatsoever its like buying a shitty used car. this bitch is already sworn to 1000 years of service after she dies, i’ll have to wait that long for her soul? pfft dont waste my time!

ALSO IT MAKES EVERYTHING WITH THE EMPEROR MUCH FUNNIER SHES LIKE I SEE YOU VILLAIN.

#laika tag #bg3 spoilers #erika plays bg3

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rosethornewrites · 1 year

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I was finally diagnosed with Hidradenitis suppurativa last year. This was despite the fact that I suspected I had it for several years before based on research I did because I knew what was happening wasn’t normal. I’d been suffering from it to various degrees since I was a teenager.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is characterized by tunneling cysts, which leaves tracks on the skin, that will move to various locations in the body via the tunneling. Of course, the tunneling is painful and leaves voids that can become terribly infected. Often these cysts are in the groin and armpits.

Despite this, when I told my GP my suspicions, she told me it might help to lose weight and then disregarded it. She never referred me to a dermatologist.

HS is considered a hormonal condition.

This was after a large abscess had formed on my arm spontaneously and required FIVE ROUNDS of heavy-duty antibiotics to finally go away.

To say this upset me was an understatement.

I’m not the only one in my family with HS. My mom has it, and for a while was regularly having cysts removed by a plastic surgeon, including one that was the size of a baseball, but flattened out across a huge area. She didn’t know it was a specific condition until I told her.

But she did know I had a problem, which typically occurred as painful cysts in my underarms. Constant, to the point where I couldn’t wear deodorant if it had any form of antiperspirant because that would start it and make it worse.

So one year, for Christmas, she asked me if I would like my underarm sweat glands to be basically lasered to death, which her plastic surgeon thought would help solve the problem. The price tag was about $5000 but my mom was willing to spend that to try to help me not be miserable.

And so in the early 2010s, that was my Christmas gift. Took a train to the city, accompanied by a friend, had breakfast at a nice restaurant, as eating before was recommended, and went to the office.

They shoot you up with local anesthetic, and then these suction devices are attached to your entire armpit and the laser treatment begins. I’m not sure how long the procedure was, but it was very painful and I’m glad my friend went with me.

I went home and to sleep with ice packs taped to my underarms, healed up in a few days, and haven’t had nearly the problems I used to. But I went to that extent trying to treat the problem, and the only doctor who could offer me a solution was a plastic surgeon—which means I will never judge anyone going to one ever.

Eventually, last year, I decided to look into sterilization surgery, and so was referred to a gynecologist, who was perhaps the best doctor I’ve had in my life. I was low-key worried some of the pain was from something like endometriosis.

On sight, she told me “I think you have this condition, Hidradenitis suppurativa.” I told her I mentioned I thought I had it to my doctor, and what she’d said about losing weight. The gynecologist snorted derisively and said “Yeah, no. It’s almost entirely hormonal, so we’re going to get you on hormonal birth control to start treating it, and I’m referring you to a dermatologist.”

Dermatologist took one look at me and said “Yeah, that looks like stage 2 HS, for sure.” I still don’t know what stage 2 is or how many stages HS has. Once the worst of the infection cleared up, she put me on antibiotics that she hoped would help clear it up. They worked, but not entirely, simply shrinking them to be less painful, and they stopped tunneling.

We were working on getting me on Humira when I left my job and moved home.

Then my childhood doctor decided he wouldn’t give me a prescription for the antibiotics, saying “I would probably prescribe something different.” And then not doing so, despite acknowledging the diagnosis.

Within a week, I had tunneling abscesses, and it’s been a horrid struggle since. Needless to say, I’m not going back to that doctor and have an initial appointment with a new one next week.

But this struggle is horrific and depressing, and it’s added to my already chronic pain from fibromyalgia (which my mom also has), and I just wish doctors would fucking LISTEN.

Before my mom met her plastic surgeon, she was performing self-surgery at home because her condition was ignored by doctors. She didn’t even have any idea that she had HS until I found it researching and eventually got a diagnosis.

It’s absolute hell to get decent healthcare, even if you have the money to seek it, in the US. It’s especially hard if you are BIPOC, have a uterus, and/or have a higher BMI.

Since my diagnosis, I’ve been open about the condition and have actually helped several people who were able to get dermatology referrals based on finally learning they might have a condition that’s treatable. If I can provide that help through my openness and through writing this post, I will.

I’m 40 years old and have been struggling with this since I was 13 or so, and only received an official diagnosis last year. My mom is 67 and only learned through me last year what she’s been struggling with her whole life—and she rarely gets them anymore because she’s post-menopausal, but at least she has a name for it.

#medical #hidradenitis suppurativa #cysts #abscess #personal

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