theanimalsarecalling

[theanimalsarecalling]

I'm about to give you all the single most powerful piece of advice that was ever told to me:

It is important to be a principled person.

This is more important than being a good person. But don't take this to mean I think we should be bad people.

The reason why "being principled" has more weight than "being good" is because the definition of "good" is arbitrary. It changes depending on who you ask, which means the standards of achieving goodness are always going to change and pose contradictions.

Principles are different. They are more actionable and concrete. Principles are ideas and concepts you personally value, in that you find them valuable to your lived experience. This makes them different than something like a commandment, because they're not a doctrine. Their source is your personality—who you are and the experiences that have shaped you—rather than your goals and ambitions alone.

To give an example, here are a few of my own principles:

I value self-sovereignty. I think it's a person's inherent right to be free of undue influence, and to act as agents of their own free will. (Not to be confused with acting with impunity; people have the right to experience the consequences of their own actions the same way they have the right to act upon their own free will.)

I value people. I show people courtesy as a baseline, even during arguments, until it becomes clear the other person simply wishes to engage in the spirit of hostility. And even then I don't really lash out—I just leave. At no point do I lose sight of the fact that the people I'm interacting with are as real as I am, who have feelings and complex lives the same as I do. This means I also really value trying to understand where people are coming from, and to look at things from their perspective, even if I don't agree with it.

I value being accurate, as opposed to being right. This has been a more rewarding approach for me, by comparison.

I value discernment. I want to know what things are, which means differentiating them from what I think they are from what they seem to be, and from what they are not. The reason why I practice discernment is due how I think—my brain understands things based on how they are, rather than based on what they are—but the reason why I value discernment is because it allows me to interact with the world in a much deeper way.

I value being a mammal. Life becomes easier when I (to quote another Tumblr post) let the mammal that is my body love what it loves. Fighting against this in the past proved to be a pointless and joyless endeavor.

I have more, but these are just the things that come to me off the top of my head. And keep in mind, these will likely change as I change as a person, because that is how principles work.

To be honest, I've never put much thought into whether other people should have the same principles as me; people have different personalities and lived experiences than I do, so it makes sense to me that we would all prioritize different things.

But what I do know is that I fundamentally disagree with people whose principles are antithetical to my own, principles like conquest (of self or other), conformity, purity, and controlling others. Whether or not someone realizes they're embodying these principles is another story, but in any case it's how I know who to avoid engaging with. This is regardless of someone's political alignment or identity.

In my opinion, thinking this way makes it easier to stay grounded in a rapidly-changing world, and to remain focused on what's actually important to you in the face of the unknown. It allows you to find stable ground within yourself.

[theanimalsarecalling]

You know what I just realized?

When Crowley said, "that's the point. No nightingales," I paused and went - huh. So both Aziraphale and Crowley KNEW about the actual nightingale bird that sang in Berkeley square? We as the audience are AWARE about it, of course, because God's narration told us so. We also know that, outside the mise en scène, Tori Amos' A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square plays as the end credits for season 1 roll.

But the s1 end credits song, I assumed, was non-diegetic. As in, like the soundtracks that permeate throughout most films, the song could only be heard by the AUDIENCE, and not by the characters. In addition, the characters THEMSELVES cannot hear what God says to the audience - and logically speaking both Crowley and Aziraphale could not have known about a singular, inconspicuous bird singing despite the noise of the traffic. Especially not when the Nightingale sings while they're currently dining at the Ritz.

So the 'No Nightingales' line WORKS for the audience - it's an incredible gut punch that leaves you weeping. But since we never heard or saw either Aziraphale and Crowley acknowledge the Nightingale, did that line have the same devastating impact to the both of them?

Oh, it absolutely did. Maybe even worse than we could ever imagine.

Because Crowley WASN'T just talking about that damn nightingale bird, was he? If you rewatch Season 1, Episode 6, you can see and hear VERY clearly that while Aziraphale and Crowley settle on their usual table at the Ritz, a pianist plays A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square inside the scene itself. Unlike the end credits, the piano version of the song is a DIEGETIC sound! That means both the Aziraphale and Crowley can hear it LOUD AS DAY.

And it's JUST - the heart-breaking contrast this has to Beelzebub and Gabriel's Everyday. When Crowley says 'No Nightingales," he implies that that was THEIR song. It's a specific reference enough to know that this became part of their history - of their rich plethora of inside jokes and shared memories. And judging by Aziraphale's shattered face, he KNEW the significance of the line. He KNEW that Crowley is throwing back THEIR song to his face. "If Gabriel and Beelzebub can do it, why can't we? Why can't we make the Nightingale a reality, the same way they made their Everyday come true?"

That A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square is Aziraphale and Crowley's Everyday becomes fact when Crowley turns the Bentley's radio on, only for it to play THIS song. THEIR song. Which SHOULD HAVE brought them together. It SHOULD HAVE. It worked for Gabriel and Beelzebub, didn't it?

Turns out, not every problem could be fixed by making that song yours.

[theanimalsarecalling]

You know what my favorite part of Mister Impossible is? It’s this. Declan is having an amazing day. His IBS is chill, he’s got girlfriend he loves, he’s not worried about his brothers. lol, everything is good for this guy.

And then Adam calls.

And methodically convinces him that the dilf his boyfriend ran away with is evil. He’s even hacked into government databases to prove it.

And then he convinces Declan to kill Bryde. He eats his $14 waffle and is like: listen. LISTEN. This guy is bad news. You should totally kill him.

And Declan listens to him 😭

#adam parrish #manipulation

[theanimalsarecalling]

So if Ronan has a peanut allergy, is that how he was able to accurately produce an epipen for Gansey?

#ronan lynch #the raven cycle #trc #richard gansey #tdt

[theanimalsarecalling]

I was starting RB for the nth time, and I've got to ask *why* did Maura and the other psychics tell Blue about the prophecy that if she kissed her true love, he would die. What kid needs that information? Especially if nothing can prevent it? Especially if it's true? I like to think of Maura as a good mother, but that's questionable at best.

#the raven cycle #trc #tdt #blue sargent

[theanimalsarecalling]

Maggie why didn’t you allow irish asshole ronan lynch to make a comment about hennessy’s britishness at least once why why why

#missed opportunity #ronan lynch

[theanimalsarecalling]

Housekeepers and Janitors Need Praise As Unsung but Very Much Important

[theanimalsarecalling]

Relating to my previous post, I have a theory. One of the themes of TDT is how memories affect us. When Hennessy dreamt Jordan to be a copy of herself, but without the memories of her mother, she got a totally different person.

It's kind of pathetic watching the New Fenian assure Declan he was always the favorite, when pretty much everything in Declan's life up to that point contradicted it. After all, even Matthew and Ronan thought Ronan was the favorite, based on how Niall acted. You kind of see the New Fenian squirming, realizing how the great plan backfired.

I think it's like bias in news reporting. Even when the reported facts are correct, there is bias in what's left out.

So the New Fenian has Niall's memories of when Declan was born. Niall does not remember Declan's birth but remembers Ronan's in glorious detail. Maybe that changed the bias, and set the trajectory for Ronan to be the favorite.

Add to that the fact that Declan's behavior toward Aurora and Matthew reflected his insecurity: he was acting out (Aurora's wedding ring, his response to Matthew), but nobody had any idea why, and Declan couldn't say. It's possible Niall was frustrated with Declan, even if he still cared about him.

So my theory is Declan is the New Fenian's favorite, but Ronan is Niall's favorite.

#niall lynch #declan lynch #the dreamer trilogy #ronan lynch #the raven cycle #trc #tdt

[theanimalsarecalling]

Reading The Dream Thieves, and I'm so angry at Niall's response when Declan asked about his birth. Sure, we know now Niall couldn't remember, but the man's a goddamn storyteller. Couldn't he have made something up?

#niall lynch #declan lynch #tdt #trc #the raven cycle

[theanimalsarecalling]

i understand that this is the "disabled people know our own limitations" website, but ime, if you are the kind of disabled where everyone around you knows about it and has known you as a weak, incompetent, subhuman creature your entire life: it is important to learn how to make the distinction between "i can't" and "i'm not allowed to."

"i can't hold fragile things without breaking them" vs "my housemates won't let me do dishes anymore."

"i can't manage my own finances" vs "my family won't let me make my own financial decisions"

"i can't ever learn how to drive" vs "the state has decided that people with my disability cannot be allowed to drive."

also "what would need to happen for it to be possible for me to be able to do dishes?" or "what would i need if i were to ever move out?" or "what kinds of supports would i need if i did try volunteering?"

even if the answer to these you come away with is "i actually cannot do the thing, no matter what supports or accommodations i'm given" that's fine! they're still useful questions to ask!

[theanimalsarecalling]

Best brother moment in Greywaren.

When Ronan is watching Jordan, and Declan comes in and Ronan sees his brother smile in a way he never has before. And Ronan is so happy for him, in a way we never saw before.

And a small personal headcanon: At the end, after Declan had his cry, with Jordan there. Unlike when the Fenian drove down to collect him the first time, Ronan's timing is just a little too perfect. I like to think it's because Jordan texted him, and Ronan answered his phone.

It's so nice to see Ronan grow up and become the person I knew was there all along.

#ronan lynch #declan lynch #the dreamer trilogy #the raven cycle #tdt #trc

[theanimalsarecalling]

For the hell if it and because I was curious, I tallied up how many TRC & TDT characters have killed someone. 

Gansey - no. In fact, he actively sacrificed his life for others.

Blue - yes, but.  Gansey asked her to kiss him. It wasn't murder.

Adam - yes, passively, to further his ambitions. It's so much more efficient to let the forest do it for you.  He would I expect he would do it again if his plans were challenged.

Ronan - he killed in his dreams.  It also can be inferred that he killed during his ecoterrorism phase through reckless disregard (see the burning of the paper mill.  Factories have nights shifts, which he knew because Adam worked at one) He'd also be absolutely merciless if someone came after Adam.

Noah - no, more's the pity. Maybe he could have fought Whelk. But then we wouldn't have the story

Declan - yes.  He has the highest body count of all, outside the Moderators.  He also saved a bunch of people. Not sure if those things cancel out.

Matthew - no, bless his heart.

Bryde - yes, he was right there with Ronan

Hennessy - yes by admission in canon and can be inferred through taking out ley line.  Also that incident with the orb and the game

Jordan - can be inferred through proximity to Hennessy 

Carmen - yes

Lilliana - yes, and I think hers are the most chilling, how she lead Hennessy into shutting down the ley line with no real plans to get it back.  All while being so sweet and domestic.

Niall - implied in canon, though possibly to help Mór

Mór - implied in canon  plus Boudicca associations.   Plus she shot her son.  Though depending on how that had turned out, it was probably intended either to save his life or as a mercy killing.

Kavinsky - implied he killed his father, possibly a rumor, however reckless disregard for others including his dreamt friends.  Maybe he didn't know if he committed suicide, Prokopenko would fall asleep

Maura - no

Calla - no

Persephone - no, but do you ever wonder what happened to that missing husband of hers

Ashley - no

Mr. Gray - yes, it's his job plus he killed his brother

Piper - yes

Greenmantle - yes, by proxy 

Barry Whelk - yes

Neeve - she was planning to, so we'll call that a yes

Henry - no

Seondeok - no, but I can imagine her hiring Mr. Gray

The Moderators - yes

So that's 13 out of 25.  My, my Maggie.  Your characters are a murderous bunch.

#the dreamer trilogy #the raven cycle #trc #tdt

[theanimalsarecalling]

i do think that one of the worst things “activist” spaces on the internet ever did was convince young marginalized people that individual people, complete strangers, were their oppressors. no, matt from chemistry class isn’t personally oppressing you because he’s a guy, that old lady at the bank isn’t personally oppressing you because she’s cis, your waiter isn’t personally oppressing you because they’re white. individuals can and do contribute to systems of oppression. but seeing random individuals you encounter in your daily life as your oppressors will do nothing but trick you into punching laterally or punching down because you think it’s “empowering.” you might get a momentary rush of endorphins from snapping at the male cashier bc #menaretrashuwu but all you’re doing is being shitty to a random guy making poverty wages.

i saw a tik tok the other day that like perfectly described this phenomenon, how gen z (and some young millennials too tbh) pushes for systemic justice and equality, but refuses to give that on an interpersonal level, and like. y’all. you simply cannot achieve systemic change if you’re not also working toward interpersonal change. you will do more for your own liberation by treating others with sensible patience and kindness than you will pushing this toxic individualist narrative of “i don’t owe anyone anything and i get to act however i want to people i view as my oppressor.” we need class solidarity now more than ever.

[theanimalsarecalling]

"trans women don't know the unique experiences of being a woman-"

there is no fucking universal experience of being a woman. you only think that if you're a fucking white woman who forgets women of color exist on an hourly basis.

you only think that if you assume your experience is the only experience in this world to have.

you don't know what it's like to be a black woman, a disabled woman, an indigenous woman, a Chinese woman, a mixed race woman, a Latina, a Pakistani woman, a Cambodian woman, a Muslim woman. You can't know.

You can't pretend to know.

You can't even use "universals" like all women are afraid of men or all women have been sexually assaulted or all women know what it's like to be condescended to, because different women experience different things according to their cultural upbringing. Some places are better or worse than others. Some places are not better or worse, but have their own equivalent issues.

Some places are densely populated and full of weirdos, some are backwoods redneck towns, full of more intimate weirdos.

Some people experience sexual grooming, sexual assault, catcalling, stalking, gender discrimination...and some people don't.

Some people have families that support them and their sexuality.

Some people live in abusive patriarchal households and grow up haunted by their own gendered "differences," painfully aware of how wrong the world is. Some people live in a pretty okay world, with only light grievances, and microaggressions.

Some women identify only loosely as female, and some people who are assigned female at birth reject womanhood entirely, and that completely negates any "standard" of womanhood that you cling to, because it's just a word.

It's a label that humans use to make sense of themselves.

But you can rip it off any time you like. You can also paste it on, even if you weren't born with it.

Trying to apply your own womanhood to other women is wrong, foolish, and a waste of time.

And that's why your transphobic ass is ridiculous.

By trying to "generalize" the female experience, you just totally neutralize any point you're trying to make.

People should be able to talk about how different their experiences are, so we can talk about why some people have it worse.

Terfs are so fucking annoying because they're typically white feminists, who don't care about black female experiences or any other WOC's experiences.

They refuse to acknowledge how flexible the very notion of being a woman is.

And as a result, they're nothing but a blight upon this world, whose only purpose is to pretend that they, the angry white women, are the only people who matter.

Fuck you and fuck that.

[theanimalsarecalling]

"Nothing Aurora could say would persuade Declan to do more than tolerate him. Aurora was already a lie Declan was being asked to play along with. He would not play along with another." (Greywaren chpt 25)

There is a lot to unpack in this line, where Declan recalls the time before he learned to love Matthew. But this isn't about Declan and Matthew. The central conflict in the Lynch family was never between Matthew and Declan, or Ronan and Declan, nor even between Declan and Niall. The central conflict was between Declan and Aurora. This casts other events in a different light.

1. It's amazing how much Declan sounds like Ronan here. Who would have thought there was a time when the Master Liar himself hated lies.

2. When Declan cried at the end, Ronan said "I miss them too." But does that really reflect Declan's grief? Declan grieved for Niall, but it never really says anything about grieving for Aurora.

3. In CDTH, Declan's love for Aurora was called "skeptical". Lacking context, his brothers judge him for this, but when Declan says (in MI) that Aurora made him an orphan, he didn't just mean when she fell asleep. She was a symbol of his lost mother, and whenever Niall was gone, he was parentless.

4. Ronan recalls Declan saying he would never get married, right after trying to knock Aurora's wedding ring down the drain. This speaks to a level of acting out behavior on Declan's part.

5. Declan recalls the time he was sick at home with Aurora and Matthew. He was only able to rest once Niall was home. This means Declan didn't really feel safe around Aurora.

6. For her part, Aurora must have been saddened and disturbed by Declan's response to her. After all, none of this was her fault. Declan himself admits that she loved him. As far as Aurora knew, she had always been Declan's mother. But since Niall had effectively lobotomized himself, there was nobody to tell her otherwise.

7. The Christmas story shows Aurora enlisting young Declan to help with dream cleanup, and being insensitive to Declan's moods, which means she wasn't a perfect mother. However, it also shows Aurora trying to include Declan and even siding with Declan when he and Ronan argued over the Christmas tree ornament. Aurora was made to love. And yet Declan didn't respond.

8. With this knowledge, did Niall begin taking Declan on his business trips to give Declan and Aurora some relief from each other? Declan's reaction to Aurora was probably Niall's first clue she was a dream.

9. Also, when Ronan revived Aurora in Cabeswater, he failed to tell Declan, and then lied when Aurora asked about him. And yet he knew Declan would have heard about it from Matthew. It wouldn't have been like Ronan to deny his brother entry, so the choice not to come would have been Declan's. Did Ronan lie to Aurora to protect her feelings?

10. And yet, in the final chapter, Declan remembers being happy as a child, so at some point, he must have decided to rejoin the family. The turning point was when he accepted Matthew, but to do this meant he had to lie about how he felt about everything else, especially Aurora.

In MI, Declan states Niall made him a liar. That's why he aspired to hate Niall (while actually loving and desperately missing him). Niall's and Mór's choices placed him in an impossible position. To be a full member of the Lynch family, Declan had to sacrifice the truth.

#declan lynch #aurora lynch #the dreamer trilogy #the raven cycle #ronan lynch #the lynch family

[theanimalsarecalling]

The LGBTQ community has seen controversy regarding acceptance of different groups (bisexual and transgender individuals have sometimes been marginalized by the larger community), but the term LGBT has been a positive symbol of inclusion and reflects the embrace of different identities and that we’re stronger together and need each other. While there are differences, we all face many of the same challenges from broader society.

In the 1960′s, in wider society the meaning of the word gay transitioned from ‘happy’ or ‘carefree’ to predominantly mean ‘homosexual’ as they adopted the word as was used by homosexual men, except that society also used it as an umbrella term that meant anyone who wasn’t cisgender or heterosexual. The wider queer community embraced the word ‘gay’ as a mark of pride.

The modern fight for queer rights is considered to have begun with The Stonewall Riots in 1969 and was called the Gay Liberation Movement and the Gay Rights Movement.

The acronym GLB surfaced around this time to also include Lesbian and Bisexual people who felt “gay” wasn’t inclusive of their identities. 

Early in the gay rights movement, gay men were largely the ones running the show and there was a focus on men’s issues. Lesbians were unhappy that gay men dominated the leadership and ignored their needs and the feminist fight. As a result, lesbians tended to focus their attention on the Women’s Rights Movement which was happening at the same time. This dominance by gay men was seen as yet one more example of patriarchy and sexism. 

In the 1970′s, sexism and homophobia existed in more virulent forms and those biases against lesbians also made it hard for them to find their voices within women’s liberation movements. Betty Friedan, the founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), commented that lesbians were a “lavender menace” that threatened the political efficacy of the organization and of feminism and many women felt including lesbians was a detriment.

In the 80s and 90s, a huge portion of gay men were suffering from AIDS while the lesbian community was largely unaffected. Lesbians helped gay men with medical care and were a massive part of the activism surrounding the gay community and AIDS. This willingness to support gay men in their time of need sparked a closer, more supportive relationship between both groups, and the gay community became more receptive to feminist ideals and goals. 

Approaching the 1990′s it was clear that GLB referred to sexual identity and wasn’t inclusive of gender identity and T should be added, especially since trans activist have long been at the forefront of the community’s fight for rights and acceptance, from Stonewall onward. Some argued that T should not be added, but many gay, lesbian and bisexual people pointed out that they also transgress established gender norms and therefore the GLB acronym should include gender identities and they pushed to include T in the acronym. 

GLBT became LGBT as a way to honor the tremendous work the lesbian community did during the AIDS crisis. 

Towards the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s, movements took place to add additional letters to the acronym to recognize Intersex, Asexual, Aromantic, Agender, and others. As the acronym grew to LGBTIQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAA, many complained this was becoming unwieldy and started using a ‘+’ to show LGBT aren’t the only identities in the community and this became more common, whether as LGBT+ or LGBTQ+. 

In the 2010′s, the process of reclaiming the word “queer” that began in the 1980′s was largely accomplished. In the 2020′s the LGBTQ+ acronym is used less often as Queer is becoming the more common term to represent the community. 

[theanimalsarecalling]

Bryde: "Am I old or am I young? I don't know if my memories are real . . ."

Matthew had pondered this too . . . People liked him, they always had. Was that the way he was made? Or was it something he'd earned? In the end, did it matter . . .

And then Matthew finished, "Anyhow, loads of people have things that are just the way they are, like red hair and stuff." (Greywaren chpt 30)

Just a simple shout out to Matthew, getting to be the older brother and sharing the wisdom he'd learned from Jordan! I love you, Matthew.

#matthew to the rescue #matthew lynch #bryde #jordan hennessy #the dreamer trilogy #the raven cycle