Nyx

She/her. Fandom Old. Baker from Australia. I’m not here. shhhhh.

[nibeul]

if u think poc talking about fandom racism is ruining ur fun and putting a strain on the community, I wish u a very shut the fuck up

[anteaten-deactivated20220228]

[behindnightmaresanddreams]

If your fun is ruined by people pointing out the racism in the community you should consider why your fun depends on them being silent about the racism in the community.

[chococara25]

An Extremely Impulsive Proposal

Post episode 5 AU where after Scott Hunter's and Kip Grady's big damned kiss and Ilya's text 'I'm coming to the cottage', Shane realizes he wants to marry Ilya and he doesn't want to wait another second.

***************

“I’m coming to the cottage.”

“I’m coming to the cottage.”

“I’m coming to the cottage.”

That sentence kept playing over and over in Shane’s mind as he stared blankly at his phone. From the next room, he could faintly hear the low murmur of people discussing ramifications of the momentous event that had taken place that night at the Stanley Cup Final, his parents softly talking about it. 

Ilya was coming to the cottage. 

The Admirals had just won the Stanley Cup and Scott Fucking Hunter just kissed a man on middle of the Ice. 

Ilya was coming to the cottage.

Shane suddenly knew what he needed to do. 

“Mom! Dad!" David and Yuna jumped in surprise as Shane ran past them and up the stairs. 

“Shane, be careful!” Yuna fretted loudly, trying to stop her only son running up the stairs like a hooligan.

“No time!” Shane called back as he hurried into his childhood bedroom.

He yanked open the drawer of his old desk and rummaged through it until his fingers found what he was looking for. He grabbed it and immediately turned around, nearly tripping over himself in his hurry to get back to the living room.

By the time he returned, he was half struggling into a sweater, trying to pull it over his head without jostling his injured arm too much.

“Mom, where are my car keys?”

Yuna stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re still on concussion protocol, Shane! And your arm is still in a cast! You can’t drive!” she exclaimed, snatching the keys out of his hand before he could even reach for them.

“Listen to your mother, Shane,” David added calmly from the couch. He watched his son with a mixture of concern and amusement. “Where are you trying to go, anyway? Your mom and I can drive you there if you really need to be there tonight.”

“Fine. Then you drive.” Shane didn't even hesitate. “I need to be in Boston tonight.”

His parents exchanged a long, puzzled glance.

“Boston?” Yuna repeated. “Why Boston of all places?”

Shane paused, his hand instinctively checking the pocket where he had tucked the small box he had just retrieved from his bedroom.

Then he looked at them.

“I’m going to ask the love of my life to marry me tonight.”

Silence fell over the room.

Yuna's mouth dropped open.

David blinked at his son.

“You’re what?!”

Read more here

[mmmarty]

listen if no one else writes this im gonna have to do it and the problem with me having to do it is that im gonna have to do it. 

[grayaceshanehollander]

The way race is handled in all of the GC books is so blatant to me (literally I was going in expecting obvious racism when Rimi @lesbianroselandry convinced me to read them and I still sent a message that was absolutely flabbergasted when I was like two lines in) that I find the amount of people dismissing it... truly disappointing.

And one of the biggest shames to me is that we have a solid cast of background characters of color (even queer characters of color), especially Black men, who get to do nothing but be Best Friends (if that). Carter is Scott's best friend. JJ is one of Shane's best friends (not that he gets to be written like that, #JusticeforJJ). Shawn is one of Kip's good friends who wants a bad boy hockey boyfriend and has never received this. Miles is Rose's Gay Friend. And in isolation, these are singular characters who might flesh out the world around them. But it's so blatant to me that they do not get used beyond this identity.

[lesbianroselandry]

ok. still thinking about smth i saw yesterday so here's take 2 on making this post (fingers crossed tumblr doesn't eat it this time).

it is deeply depressing to me how people think that rachel reid omitting any overt mentions of racism in the nhl in the text of her books means that not even known bigots like dallas kent are racist in canon. they are just homophobic and misogynistic, with the exception of like troy's dad who is the one character noted as explicitly being racist.

so haha they're homophobic and they hate women but DON'T WORRY!!!! they are EQUAL OPPORTUNITY. they'll be homophobic to white people and people of color both! they don't see color!

setting aside the books for a moment i just. oh my god. do you actually think you can meaningfully separate the homophobia directed at a person of color from racism? do you think sexual stereotypes about black men as aggressive, wild "beasts" are unrelated to homophobic portrayals of black men in m/m ships as angry mindless savage tops? do you think sexual stereotypes about asian men as submissive hairless feminine bottoms are unrelated to homophobic portrayals of asian men in m/m ships as 24/7 subs who take it up the ass and follow white mens' every order? do you understand that when discussing the oppression of qpoc, racism and homophobia are inextricably linked?

this is intersectionality 101 people. do not make me laugh.

but then let's look at the books.

tough guy, ch18.

role model, ch11.

deleted scene from heated rivalry, posted on reid's website.

so we have multiple scenes of homophobic jokes being made by nhl players here (two are dallas kent, and the last one is one of ilya's boston teammates, koslov). notably, all three are about shane, and two out of three single him out as being a bottom, something the first excerpt has kent outright deny about ilya, calling him straight.

let's consider that for a second. do we think maybe shane being the prime target every time reid needs the bigots to be homophobic to someone about anal sex, has anything to do with the way she writes shane as a hairless small asian obligate bottom?

she doesn't write these jokes about ilya, or ryan, or scott. it's just shane. like can we put on our thinking caps? do we think there might be a reason for this? do we think that these characters in-universe as the authorial mouthpiece are completely off the hook for perpetuating that same stereotype about asian men, just because the author is putting wholesale stock into it too?

like, yeah. troy barrett and dallas kent and lev koslov aren't going around spewing racial slurs on page. (that would require rachel reid to acknowledge that racism exists.) but that's not the only way to be racist. these books are steeped in racism all the way down. i don't think it's at all fair to say that the lack of outright slurs means that the bigoted characters just aren't racist in canon, when the canon itself is so fucking racist to begin with. the characters are tools that reinforce the author's own racist biases and highlight her use of stereotypes. interpreting that to mean that the bigoted characters are, in fact, racist, is a completely valid take on the text. it's not just "fanon" perception. it's a major shortcoming of the text itself and reid's inability to acknowledge racism because she is too busy making every single character of color a racial stereotype instead.

[peppermintquartz]

Constellation

By AK Lee

[peppermintquartz]

REDBUBBLE

THREADLESS

[cephalopodie]

BREAKING: Vic Michaelis has been cast as Commissioner Crowell in Heated Rivalry Season 2.

[theroseandthebeast]

#the worst part is i can see it #the actual worst part is the outing would have gone SO much worse for hollanov if this were true #shane: i'm gay - vic: huh? shane: i'm gay - vic: no - shane: what? vic: what? shane: i'm - vic: and we're not doing that #vic's gaslight gatekeep themboss energy would overpower (@northisnotup)

[ragehangover]

also ‘shane hollander is bad at communicating’ excuse me you think shane master-of-the-follow-up-question hollander is bad at communicating? meanwhile ilya refuses-to-explain-anything-and-will-insult-you-for-trying rozanov is out on the streets engaging in psychic warfare unopposed……..

[bigassbowlingballhead]

Such a weird comment on every post about today’s hr casting. I hope these people burn.

[nyx212]

When a book is published, regardless of the genre, it’s opened up to criticism. When a show or movie is released, it’s opened up to criticism.

We criticise authors and stories allll the time. We have classes for it, we teach it as core curriculum. People get degrees in literary analysis and that’s good actually.

Criticism isn’t hate just because you disagree or because you are a fan of the work or author. It’s just discourse. You can agree or disagree with it but please stop dismissing other people’s lived experiences when they raise issues with said work or author.

Personal attacks are just that and have no place in literary criticism.

However, critiquing an author’s work is not a personal attack.

Also, speaking for myself, just because I criticise something doesn’t mean I hate it. I enjoy literary analysis regardless of the genre, but I can’t “turn off my brain” when reading.

[uptownthots]

“it isnt something you have to read critically” well 😭

[uptownthots]

this technically is true but I think this also perfectly encapsulates why I am inherently distrustful of like. “”cozy”” “turn your brain off” fiction lmfao. like okay WHO gets to turn their brain off and who has to suffer through bigoted caricatures of themselves while everyone else is having cozy silly no brain time 😐

[gingeralevodka]

No one says you can't criticize her work, but when the criticism turns into (this book is objectively bad because I don't like it, and I am smarter than a published author) it's a bit ridiculous. And something becoming a world phenomenon rarely happens because the work is bad! If it touches people, then she did something right, and the fact that you all have so much to say about her characters means that you cannot stop thinking about them. She is a good writer, not the best but she deserves more credit than what her fans are giving her. I like that Jacob never acts like he's smarter than her or that his show is better than the original material because he's intelligent enough to know the show wouldn't exist without Rachel's books.

I mean, some people would argue that it’s objectively bad when a story arc disappears mid series for no reason (Russia). And I don’t think it’s “I am smarter than a published author” to point it out, analyze why it disappeared and what might happen if it didn’t disappear.

Those were what I’ve posted before exactly: “I think it’s evident that Rachel Reid gives fans a basis for their imagination and the show a foundation for further exploration.” I’ve also said I like Heated Rivalry (even though it’s not perfect), and part of the reason I dislike TLG is the massive changes in character motivation and overall behavior that cannot be accounted for.

“World phenomenons” get criticized all the time, and authors who are better and more popular than her and their fans take criticism in stride. In fact, one of my favorite “smutty romance” authors gets harsh criticisms all the time, and frequently gets called bad for being pretentious, having overly complicated plots and emotionally distant. And she tends to reflect why people think that way, find specific examples in her work and try to improve on the issues. She agreed that some of her books have enough logical holes for a sieve (honestly none of her works has a huge plot hole like the Russia issue), become disorganized in the second halves, handle complex issues too superficially and use support characters as tools instead of having them act like actual people. All these are the issues many of us have with Rachel Reid and her fans are acting like we’re trying to kill her.

And honestly like you said, I still respect her enough to talk about her work and have expectations. There are other people who are coming at me with stuff that’s basically like “she writes trashy smut and yeah she’s a shit writer who’s incapable of tackling any issues. Why are you even looking so much into this”. Maybe the real disconnect is between her “fans”.

[lesbianroselandry]

another silly little au from the depths of my dms w the megstie @grayaceshanehollander: upon some discussion of shane and yuna and diaspora issues and speaking japanese, we arrived at the concept of yuna who was raised by native japanese-speaking parents and wanted shane to have that as well, so baby shane was raised bilingually (and then trilingually once french entered the mix).

because of The Horrors, though, he pretty much only speaks japanese around his family, and for a while gets kind of rusty at it because he just stops speaking it entirely, but he makes an effort to start learning again when he's in his 20s because he finally realizes that assimilation is a bitch and a half and he's never going to be White Enough™ to stop being asian in the eyes of white society, so he might as well lean into it and try to unlearn some of his shame and issues, etc. more on that in another post though.

but the point is, like. shane speaks japanese. shane does Not speak japanese in front of white people (his father excepted). it's actually a huge show of trust for him the first time he answers a call from yuna while he's with hayden, and greets her as "kaa-san" instead of "mom". he has his life neatly divided into boxes and generally speaking, Acting Asian™ is something he only does in front of people he really, truly feels comfortable with. this list is very short.

so everything goes more or less like normal canon... UNTIL: The Hit. shane is in the hospital. shane is on hella drugs. now, for fun and sport, let's say yuna is also there, sooner, sitting by her baby boy's bedside, when ilya shows up. so we get:

yuna, startled: "oh! rozanov...?" shane, high as a kite: "ilya!!!!! 🥰✨🥺💖💕" ilya, extremely awkwardly: "ah. um. hello. i... wanted to see if...?"

so the conversation progresses, more or less normally, until:

shane, high as a kite: (hmm... i want to ask him to come to my cottage, but i don't want anyone knowing that's what i'm asking him. i gotta do it secret-styles. 'cuz my mom is right here.) shane: (💡!!! i know what to do!!! i can ask him in my SECRET language that other people won't understand!!!)

shane, high as a kite, in japanese: "Will 🫵YOU🫵 come🏃💨 to my cottage🏡 this summer🌞🌄? ❌DON'T❌ go to Russia🙅👎. Come✈️ to My🙋 House🏡--"

now, you may see the flaw in shane's brilliant strategy here.

yuna, shocked, in japanese: "shane, what are you saying? you never invite anyone to your cottage!"

shane (suddenly looking like a deer in the headlights) (big ol' shocked, wide eyes) (remembering that his mom speaks japanese) (quick what's a different language!!!): "oh, merde."

yuna: "......... je parle français aussi, shane."

shane (eyes going even wider): "um…" shane, frantically tugging on ilya's sleeve: "psst, ilyaaa 💕✨🥰🥺, how do you say 'oh, fuck!' in russian?"

and now poor, clueless ilya is sure shane just started talking about his dick in japanese. to his MOTHER.

so yuna is shocked, because shane never speaks japanese in front of most white people, and maybe that could be excused by the drugs, but shane also never invites people to his cottage! so there must be something more going on here. is rozanov secretly someone special to him? she's reeling, she wants to know more, she's gotta process...

meanwhile ilya can hear the kill bill sirens closing in. hollander's mother is right there. and very scary up close. this is it. sticking his dick places where angels fear to tread has finally come back to bite him. he's pretty sure he's not going to leave this room alive.

and shane's just sitting there like ❓❔❓❔ until he forgets what he was alarmed and confused about and reverts to going 🥰🥰🥰. it's a comedy of errors all the way down

[sj0]

you have been visited by the seven magic dragon balls your biggest wish will be granted but only if you reblog

[hersheyhipster]

Couldn’t risk it.

[justjengie]

didn’t realize they change colors. now I know o gotta wish.

[pinayputa]

THIS SHIT IS REAL I GOT THE JOB I WAS NUTS ABOUT BC I REBLOGGED THIS YESTERDAY maybe it’s a coinkidink but it okay just take the necessary steps to achieve what you’re wishing for and YOU CAN DO IT

[urmomisabeefjerky]

The Realities of POC in Media and How It Relates to TLG

So about 30 hours ago, I got this idea while in the comments with @nanichick5 in this post

We were talking about how the Ottawa move, along with everything before it, would look/affect different aspects of the hockey world - from a realistic lens.

I personally believe that, based on many years of seeing how differently POC and white people have been reported on in the media, the media storm would have unbelievable effects on Shane's legacy, the overall culture in hockey, and the fate of POC hockey players for years to come. It'll take a few twists and turns, but we'll get there if you continue on. 😊

Okay, so first up, the media storm. I have no idea how badly I need to emphasize that the worst possible sequence of events happened before The Move. First, Shane and Ilya are outed by a rude fan who releases a video made by a member of Shane's professional team, Hayden, which specifically cements Hollanov as A Scandal. The first look of a situation happening in the media is incredibly important, as many people may know from the McDonald's Hot Coffee Woman. Second, they are benched by the League - many people would argue this means there was something to find. Third, there was The Trip, yet another scandal involving Hollanov - but this time it involves match-fixing. By this point, sheer, repetitive messaging will tell new fans, larpers, and the wider world that these gay guys have something fishy going on if they are at the center of so many bad events. Fourth, the move to Ottawa, which IRL would lead to stirring up everything that happened before in the media cycle.

Alright - one by one we can go through this. Before I go into anything, I do need to say that there is no question that POC are treated worse by the media than white people. When I say that Shane would be affected so much more during the media storm, I am being dead serious. There is no debate. POC vs. White celebrities always have a disparity in narratives even when they have done the exact same thing. Serena Williams has often shown passion/frustration on the court and has been drawn as a masculine monkey caricature because of it. Just like the white player John McEnroe, who regularly screamed at umpires and smashed rackets, and was historically romanticized by sports media as a "fiery, entertaining bad boy" of the sport. I mean, come on.

Anyway, when I say the first look of a situation happening in the media is important, I'm talking about 79-year-old Stella Liebeck, who suffered severe third-degree burns over 16% of her body after accidentally spilling McDonald's drive-thru coffee in her lap. Before any media was called or her case was settled, Stella had asked for only $20,000 for her injuries, which she was only offered 800 dollars of - and McDonald's retaliated with a brutal smear campaign that used the media's misogyny as the dynamite to make her seem like she was in it for the money and attention (that whore!). (Click for my source. 😊)

The NHL is a business, just like our precious McDonald's, which means they are interested in keeping their majority fanbase/sponsers/members happy. Which, in a majority-white space, means that the racialized, highly visible Captain Shane Hollander is already a concession. This is the player that the League can point to and say, 'See? We love other races and they can even get to the top if they have the stats to back it up! Equal rights, equal time on the ice!' And they don't have to do anything else.

You might say to me, Beef, what about the other three POC players? Wouldn't the League also point to JJ, Zane, and Carter?

I say to this, absolutely, my dear reader! However, it would be for different reasons. Black players will often be seen as aggressive by refs, fans, and other players for less than a quarter of what their white teammates are doing on the ice. So any black player at that level will understand either how to capitalize on that image, or how to keep cool. Every single Black player in the League by TLG is in a supporting role. Every single one is loud, joyous, friendly, lights up the room - and is an alternate captain (aka not in a Big Leader spot, but still obvious). It is obvious for the League to capitalize on diversity, but they wouldn't let them get too high on the totem pole, because the backlash from fans would be insane. Anti-black sentiment can tank a business that tries to employ even the bare minimum of diversity!

If you've read any of my comments about the media storm in TLG, you would know that I like to say, " Optics matter." So when the League benches their star rival players after coming out as queer, being in a relationship, and it's already primed to be angled as a Grade A Scandal? Optics matter! If anyone tries to say it's homophobia, well, it's been long enough since Scott Hunter got his parade, and the League could blame any other reason for the benching - after all, didn't the League put its full support behind the First Gay Captain? 😊 Obviously there are other reasons behind the benching, guys 😊 The League would never 😊 Optics are on the League's side. Except for... the recording that Shane smartly keeps of the Crowell evil monologue and deal. What a smart cookie we have here, folks, as Shane has managed to put the entire thing at a standstill because Crowell was arrogant enough to put his entire hand on the table. The Shane Hollander Brand is still large and powerful enough to fight against the earlier scandal. Unfortunately, this leads us to...

The Trip. This is devastating for Shane on many levels. We already know what Ilya does and what he focuses on (aka "it's insulting that they think Ilya couldn't win on his own"). But the framing of the situation is going to tear up that Shane Hollander Hockey Player brand like it's tissue. Shane is so visible, no matter how he feels about it. His brand makes him even more visible. They are going to crucify him for ruining Montreal's Cup chances. They are going to flame him for washing out, for throwing the match to take it up the ass. Some white supremacy group is going to throw out a think piece on how Asians are ruining a real man's sport. The entire landscape of hockey will feel this. Shane's mental health is absolutely nuked. I mean, Princess Diana was killed because of the kind of journalistic invasion that would occur after this happens to Shane Hollander, the 3-time Stanley Cup winner. The effect on Shane's mental health could not be any clearer. I don't know if any of my readers keep up with sports news, but if you have, you've probably heard of a few athletes who've dealt with media scrutiny and harassment. Rui Hachimura, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Marcus Rashford, and Simone Biles are some examples of different athletes and the media storms that can arise from them falling out of line for one thing, let alone three things in a row. Shane is sooo fucking cooked.

And then, the Move to Ottawa. In my opinion, the fact that Shane did not receive an A in canon means to me that the Ottawa Centaurs either bought into the match-fixing allegations a bit, or, since they threw their weight behind Ilya, they are fucking racist. There's no other difference between the two. I don't care what your headcanons are about Shane not wanting to deal with leadership responsibilities; he's been doing that captain shit since he was a kid before and at WJC. I don't fucking believe an Asian-Canadian man who led his team to three cups and had just won a fucking Conn Smythe is going to negotiate the A out of his fucking contract. So, based on everything that we didn't get in TLG, realistically the only reason for Shane to get lowballed with a pay cut/no A/no bridge contract is because of racism. He is on the second line with Tanner Dillon (who canonically sucks and will definitely bring the overall points of the line down) and Luca Haas (who is being prioritized in negotiations based on that line about him being a cap space factor after coming off of ELC).

The Ottawa Centaurs do not value Shane Hollander, and the media will tell you that this is completely right when they bring up every one of the "scandals" once more.

-----

Now we know how absolutely cooked Shane is in the media after that nexus of sadness. What else?

Well, Shane has a legacy. A pretty important one where he has been the face of the diverse league, where anyone can become a hockey player if they work hard enough. That's the inspiring part of the Brand. I know I've said it enough, but as I said to nanichick5 in my first comment, "the optics are fucking horrible. Like every Asian player after this is going to be hazed to hell and back. Every POC player is going to look at what happened to Shane Hollander and know they are fucked." Again, Shane's brand seems pretty strong, and I can't even guess how his sponsors would react, other than worst case, so I'm not going to touch that.

However, after the man himself allows the devaluing to happen by actually signing and moving to Ottawa? Sure, he's happy in the narrative, but realistically he has to be in an extended dissociative episode. (WDYM Ilya is enough to make it all worth it? No, he isn't, because Shane wasn't enough to cure Ilya's depression. And media like this kind will give athletes depression, anxiety, ED's, burnout, etc. So cool it with that talking point.) Because when I tell you that the things one POC does will affect the whole community, I mean it. When there are tragedies like mass shootings and the suspect is being hunted, I know a fair amount of my POC communities will hope that the suspect is not any minority, because the hate upon the entire community of the suspect will be vicious and targeted.

I said in my second comment to nanichick5 that, "literally I think this fandom has a cutesy vision of the media (every socmed fic makes me cringe a bit cuz of this) where they don't realize that POC are /hatedddd/ by the media. [...] Whenever a white person is at the center of a tragedy, there are questions about their mental state and if they have been wronged in some way to commit such attrocities - if a POC is at the center, there are no questions, just immediate condemnation."

Whenever it's revealed that the shooter has mental health issues or substance abuse issues, I already know the shooter is white, because that is the only reason the media narrative would be so kind to a killer. So when the entire Asian community in 2020 is watching Shane Hollander get utterly torn up by the media with nothing being done to fix his reputation? Yeah, they are going to be fearful as hell.

Especially because of the backlash that will spring forth in hockey culture from someone as visible and highly skilled as Shane. I mean, we already know that because of Heated Rivalry's spotlight on queer issues, specifically in hockey, there is a lot more hazing and harassment in school-affiliated hockey teams. (My source)

The future generation of hockey that is trained from 2020 to maybe 2025-ish is almost guaranteed to be more white because of the retaliation that will occur from every level of hockey society towards POC children who go into junior hockey. If you look gay, sound gay, move gay, piss someone off enough that they spread a rumor that you're gay - now you have less ice time, less support, less advice; see yourself out of the sport, please and thank you 😊

Thank you to everyone who decides to read this; it took me like two hours. Thank you again to @nanichick5, who is the reason I felt motivated to finish it out before bed.

[notfantasydoge]

GUYS IT’S HERE

The Mighty Nein: Adventures on the High Seas fan trailer is finally out!! I’m so proud of my friends for this. So much love and hard work and it looks amazing! If the CR team sees it it would be a dream. Give it a look and let them know your thoughts!

Yes those are pink magical seahorses thank you for noticing.

[captainofthetidesbreath]

The conversation between Essek and Fjord is the emotional core of 140, in my opinion, particularly Fjord's short speech. It also bridges the Raise Dead failure, and all its griefs, into the Divine Intervention success in a way that, without knowing what is about to happen, lays a groundwork for that success in a way that's thematically resonant.

Fjord: Are you all right? Essek: It's not fair. It's not fair. Fjord: No. Essek: We've all come so far. It's just not fair. Fjord: It rarely is. You did more for us, and for him, than most anyone we know. Essek: I spent my entire life studying the intent to not let things like this happen to chance. That can't be it, can it? Fjord: I don't know. But if you were to ask my wise friend, Caduceus, I'm sure he would tell you that life continues on. It changes, it evolves, and it grows. I don't think there's an end. You just might not be able to see the next trip. But you have more time. You have more time to study. You have a talent that I don't understand. Use that anger, that frustration. Let it fuel you. If you have any regret or grief over what you've done in your life, I see nothing but good, and nothing but an opportunity for you to turn it around. You've shown me all I need to see.

Fjord articulates clearly, perhaps more clearly than any character, what has been one of the major thematic threads of the campaign. Fjord's is a speech about growth, rising from disappointment and failure, making sure that these injustices and losses do not happen again to others.

(As an aside, despite attributing Caduceus, this is really very Fjord. Fjord is very much about change, about growth, about making it so that misfortune that befell you never comes to pass on others. It's more that Fjord, through Caduceus' guidance that Fjord has more answers than he thinks, has finally found it in himself to trust his own wisdom and confidently impart it to others. But, that's another post.)

Beau and Fjord do this in Zadash, Fjord does this with the children in Hupperdook, Caleb does this with Trent and the Assembly, Jester seeks to do this with bringing the Traveler to others, Fjord does this with destroying Sword of Fathoms, Yasha does this as she stands again after Obann, and on and on—the Nein do this collectively in the wake of Molly's death. So many times, they have risen out of their grief and suffering and loneliness and loss and pain, and they have vowed keep going and to grow and to change, and they have vowed to use that to put some good into the world.

So much of what the Nein has done, repeatedly, in many ways, across the campaign is rise to their feet and say: never again shall someone bear what I have because I will become someone who can make it right.

When Fjord says this to Essek, who is explicitly stated to be among their number now, it is both a solace against grief and a charge of responsibility. It's not fair—so, work toward becoming someone who can make it fair for others. This is what the Nein have done, and so it is something that Essek too must do, now that he has borne this frustration and grief and anger, now that he is one of them. There is nothing he can do for this, for right now, but that doesn't mean that there isn't anything to do ever again. Become someone who can one day make it fair for others. That's victory, in the end.

And, off that, despite it all, Caduceus does. Fatalistic Caduceus who has so much believed in the plans of fate and the purposeful turning of the world. His friends' stubborn refusal to accept that this is how the world must be and we must all accept the hands we are dealt, unfair as they are, seems to be something he has also learned here at the end of things. In the way that Fjord is telling Essek that he must become someone who can make things right for others, Caduceus understands that he has that same exact chance to do so for his friends—and he does.

With frustration and grief, the fuel to insist that things be made right and whole again.