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longagoitwastuesday · 11 months

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Do you have favorite actors for the various roles in "Cyrano de Bergerac"? I would love to hear your thoughts!

I do! I actually rambled a lot about this while I was watching the different productions I could get my hands on (I tagged it "Cyrano de Bergerac" and "I talk too much").

My favorite productions are the one with José Ferrer and the one with Benoit Solès, and those actors make the best Cyranos in my opinion. Though that's probably something in part beyond the actors' choice, their dynamic with their respective Roxane and Christian are the best ones, I think, and I find how Cyrano moves around these two particular characters at the core of a good Cyrano characterisation.

José Ferrer's use of his voice, which is arguably Cyrano's true most characteristic feature, is unmatched imo (although McAvoy does a very good job with this too), and he manauvers very well several of the different aspects of the character, such as his playfulness, his shittiness and longing. By the end of the play you believe he is the most beautiful man on Earth. Cyrano, however, is a bit pathetic (not just in a "pathos" way), and I'd say Ferrer gives off an air full of dignity very fitting of many scenes, but that eats almost entirely this aspect of Cyrano; Benoit Solès manages this very well, while also playing well with some of the other ones, such as the playfulness, the longing, the pain and the despair. Both Ferrer and Solès are hilarious, tender, a bit shitty, vulnerable, playful and sad. Albeit neither of them portrays 100% what Cyrano is, I think both come pretty close in slightly different flavours, and by the end of the play one ends up being terribly fond of them.

My favourite Roxane is Clara Huet in the production with Benoit Solès, but Mala Powers in the 1950 film is a close second. I think they portray wonderfully Roxane's spunk, and her mix of honest playful cheerfulness and her haughtiness, her intelligence and wit, and how much like Cyrano she is.

I've not come to love for now any Christian as much as I've loved Ferrer, Solès, Huet and Powers, but again I think the Christians in the 1950 film and the Solès productions are very very good. I love the dynamic they have with their Cyranos, especially the one Christian and Cyrano have in the 1950 film, enhanced positively by the added scenes (they actually work so well in showing their developing as friends, their deep love and care for each other!). I don't want to expand too much on this to avoid spoilers (beyond the already known 'Christian dies' ones I mean), but some things they do with both these Christians are a thing of genius, and both feel vulnerable, kind, ready to fight and truly desperate at times; I like when they do that.

There's an Italian production which has a Cyrano I truly enjoy as well, despite how they dumbify him more than I usually like my Christians. His mix of anger and deep pain when he discovers Cyrano's feelings for Roxane were so well made, and his physical presence makes you identify who Christian is even before the play starts.

The Podalydès production has two different Christians. The one in the version on youtube isn't bad, but @ride-a-dromedary likes Éric Ruf a lot. I actually adore him based on the clips and gifs she's posted of him, but I haven't been able to find the version with him online, so I can't know. But he truly seems one of the best. Based on what little I've seen, I love his intense gazes and subtle gestures.

I'm not entirely sold on any Le Bret, De Guiche or Ragueneau yet.

I think the German musical has a decent Ragueneau in vibes, and the 1990 French film does as well. I found his poem made song for what I think is a Spanish production (I'm not sure if it's a fan creation based on the Spanish production), and while I've not been able to find that production online, the song works well in vibes too I think.

The German musical's Le Bret in vibes is very good. He encompasses well his deep love and worry for Cyrano while also being done with his shit. They truly feel like close friends. The 1950 film kind of combines Gaston de Castel-Jaloux and Le Bret into one character, which sadly changes Le Bret's dynamic with Cyrano a bit, but that's a very good Le Bret as well. The one in Solès' production is pretty good too. He has my favourite delivery of the scene in which Le Bret chastises Cyrano for risking his life sending letters.

De Guiche is complicated. I think productions often make him too pathetic and laughable or too bad, so bad it makes the last act kind of not make sense. The 1950 one, the 1990 French one, the Kevin Kline one and the Solès one are all good, but I am not passionate for any of them either.

And basically that's it!

#I'm sorry for such a long reply‚ it wasn't my intention. In fact I tried to keep it short but oops #As an extra I'll say that the Japanese film based on Cyrano‚ Life of an Expert Swordsman‚ has a quite good main trio #The Christian character is pretty‚ noble and kind. The Roxane character is smart and well-versed in poetry and a writer in her own right #I loved when productions enhance these aspects of these characters #Kline isn't a bad Cyrano‚ but he is a bit too unbelievable to me. He is too pretty being too old. I already don't like these characters #being old because it makes it lose some sense (they're idiots in part because they are young) but he is so fit for a ~60yo which is like...#Really? The nose? A young man with the same traits is more believable to be self-conscious and think himself unlovable I'd say #I like that Kline comes off at times as a bit cruel and violent and I think it works well with how he is a lot of fun #But at times he is so much fun it ruins the mood‚ although this is a problem of the production in general and of it being based #on Burgess' translation‚ which is something I could ramble about on its own and that makes me kinda mad #I think Depardieu on the other hand falls short on being fun. He tries so hard it isn't funny and it often feels a bit pathetic to me #but not in the way Cyrano is meant to be. On the other hand‚ I felt Depardieu was too full of himself in this film and was too aware #of being he protagonist. The thing about Cyrano is that he doesn't think he is #All in all‚ the more I watch this film the less I like it and his portrayal of Cyrano. I also don't like their Christian and Roxane #(although she isn't as bad as the Klein production of Roxane‚ who is for me among the worst)#I'm not sold at all on the 2021 Roxane either‚ and this Cyrano is so much the dashing tragic hero that he isn't funny #which is one of Cyrano's main characteristics. So I don't like the 2021 Cyrano a lot either. But that's not due to the acting‚#but because the musical does a poor work at being an adaptation of the play and its characters I'd say #The worst Cyrano out of the ones I've seen is perhaps the one in the Italian production I've mentioned that had a Christian I liked #Their Roxane was awful too but iirc Le Bret was good and Ragueneau was decent #I'm not into the Podalydès Cyrano at all. One of the Cyranos I enjoy the least I must admit. But at least he isn't that Italian one #I conclusion‚ and I always feel kinda sectarian‚ everyone should watch the Benoit Solès version #The José Ferrer film is popular enough not to mention #I talk too much #Cyrano de Bergerac

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doobnnoob-tf2 · 1 year

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Hello! Hope you're doing good, which of the mercs do you think would be most likely to write poems for people? Just for fun. I think Heavy might be a good candidate but I'm not sure his leanings are in poetry. B)

Scout: he says he's an expert at it, and then he'll show up with some sort of "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue" kinda poem that sounds like it was a child's attempt at it. it's.. endearing at least

Soldier: he'd try his best. it won't be good, it probably won't rhyme in the slightest and will be filled with rather strange lines comparing a person to the pile of corpses he himself created on the battlefield. but dammit, he tried

Pyro: not a chance. but they'll draw pictures all day long!

Demoman: he is mostly likely the best on the base with writing poems. and he will make a show out of reading it to the person its for

Heavy: he can, but only in Russian. if someone is expecting a poem in any other language, especially English, then he's not the right guy. he'll happily translate for them, and they'll just have to take his word on it

Engineer: he's not one for writing if he's honest. he may love a good book, but him trying to write something? you might as well forget it

Medic: he would be if he actually put aside the time to try. he just finds it frustrating and then gets discouraged and scraps everything and doesn't try again. the words are there for him, he just isn't good at conveying them

Sniper: he couldn't write a poem if his life depended on it, and he's not afraid to admit that either. it was never an art form that interested him

Spy: he can and it'd be the most romantic thing a person had ever read. he just admittedly doesn't enjoy it. he actually doesn't enjoy writing his feelings in any form and prefers to show rather than tell

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 headcanons #tf2 scout #tf2 soldier #tf2 pyro #tf2 demoman #tf2 heavy #tf2 engineer #tf2 medic #tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sharing one braincell #//Sunny Anon

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mango-fizz · 1 year

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ALL of My Splatoon Agents Headcanons! lets gooo 💫 this will be VERY long akdhjsdhs sorry grab a cup of tea or something.

Agent 3 (Captain): They/Them, Lofted Bed with Desk underneath

Three doesn't talk very often, only when it's absolutely necessary. In Alterna, Marie mentions that they're too shy to really speak out loud, so she speaks for them, and I read once that selective muteness is a sort of extreme anxiety response. They don't really talk to strangers or people they're not very close to, for instance Neo 3, Off the Hook, or Deep Cut lmao. They definitely talk openly with the Squid Sisters and 4 and 8 (and of course, Gramps), but will usually prefer not to if it's not necessary.

They're super badass and responsible, always getting things done in an efficient manner and doing their best with every mission. I mean, how else do you think they became Captain, right? But they also might be a little insecure, a little anxious. Yes they do their best in missions, but that's because they desperately want to be useful, because they're worried something might go wrong, things like that. They even drop out of school to be an Agent full-time (again, Captain)

In regards to the other Agents, they're kind of stern and aloof, but more in like the tired oldest sibling kind of way. Don't eat that, don't go there, you'll catch a cold, etc, taking care of the newer recruits. They picked this up from Callie and Marie, who did the same for them when they first joined. Neo 3's reckless tendencies remind them of their younger self.

Now, I mention all of this in my fics, so I'll keep it brief. Three is reckless, always pushing themselves even when they shouldn't and regularly forgetting to take care of themselves (thats when they were younger, they're definitely better about it now). They carry a sort of guilt, a sort of anxiety, about the events of Splatoon 2, and I mean both of them. They feel bad for almost killing Eight like twice, even if the second time wasn't really their fault, and they feel bad for not helping Callie when she needed it, which is also not their fault. But, you see, Callie and Marie are their older sisters. Their family. A precious part of their life that they were lucky enough to obtain when they previously had nothing. So, yeah, I guess they feel a certain type of way about what happened.

Oh, also! Sanitization scar, yeah its there, maybe not as big as everyone else draws it but it's definitely there sjfhsjdhs on their forehead splitting their right eyebrow, it's a bit like a cut. It's covered by their Captain hat now, but even then the teal green has definitely dulled over the years. Now it's just a grim reminder and nothing more.

Three used to live alone in an apartment in Inkopolis that the Squid Sisters had generously offered them. Living alone is difficult. Thankfully, Four and Eight arrived, and now they're all roommates :)

Three is, again, a bit aloof n shit, always trying to be responsible and cool, but the younger agents are experts at cracking that facade. Three is actually super soft for them!! They definitely make jokes and snort at things Four says. Hums along with songs Eight listens to and compliments her poetry.

Three thinks they're a bit annoying, Four particularly, but they also always always always help them when they're sad, or hurt (not that it happens often, they're all capable agents after all). That's what older siblings are for, after all. Isn't that great? Three has 4 siblings now! And a gramps! I'm so happy for them.

I tried to keep this short but basically all my Agent 3/Captain feelings can be found in these two fics. I poured my heart and soul into them! [Family] [Home]

DJ Sango. I don't know what to make of DJ Sango but I'm eagerly awaiting the Squid Sisters collab. Agent 3 is the secret third Squid Sister, after all.

Agent 4: She/Her, Top Bunk

I feel like Four is more…… outgoing? She's the youngest and the shortest. She's the baby. She gets Eight to do stupid shit with her and then they both get (very fondly) lectured by Three. Sometimes she convinces Three to join in and then they all get lectured by Marie instead lmao. She's kinda……. like a gremlin. A Creature. She does her best :) She's trying so hard. She's very energetic. I think she would do her best to make Eight feel welcome and comfortable and make sure that she's having fun :))

Four didn't really understand, at first. I mean, what she went through doesn't even compare to what happened in the metro, yknow? She's definitely the most, how do i say, optimistic? She usually is the one who has to do most of the comforting, but she doesn't mind. Sometimes Eight has a nightmare, and Three and Four have to comfort her. Sometimes Three needs help with their head injury, so Four and Eight have to take care of them, and that's okay.

She likes helping people, and cheering them up. That's why she helped Marie in the first place, right? She just looked so sad in the corner of the Square... Four is happy that she was able to help :) Truly, they all appreciate it more than she knows. And of course, Four is besties with Callie and Marie. Four and Callie can match each other's energy easily sjfhsjdhsj and... she was there for Marie during her lowest point so... she's very grateful :)

In the time after getting Callie back, sometimes she would go and check up on them. It's not her responsibility, she's already done more than Marie could ever repay, but she cares about them, and... it's not like she has anywhere else to go.

She comes from the countryside canonically, and also didn't know who the Squid Sisters were, but for some reason I see her as being very streetsmart and things like that. Maybe she didn't know who the Squid Sisters were before, but she definitely does now, and bonds with Eight over their love for the idols.

A bit after they all moved in with Three, Marie made Four and Eight go back to school, bummer. (This matters to no one else but me, but the high school Four and Eight go to is the same high school Callie and Marie went to.)

Four is a natural athlete, but a bit of a troublemaker. After school she likes to go play turf and do a few Grizzco shifts. Imagine her surprise when she finds out about Mr. Grizz 💀

Four is very physically affectionate, always hugging or otherwise touching the other agents. Shoving, poking, patting, punching, holding, bonking, you name it. I've definitely projected that onto the agents lmao. I'm pretty sure I've made them bonk heads with each other as a form of affection like three times now.

If Four doesn't show up in Side Order, you'll never hear from me again on account of my spontaneous combustion.

Agent 8: She/Her, Bottom Bunk.

I feel like Eight would be generally more curious/nervous about everything since, I mean, she just got to the surface yknow? (also amnesia I think.??). Also, she doesn't know inkling very well, but that's okay, she's learning! Marina helps her :) (when Marina is busy, Shiver fills in 🤫) But, maybe by Splatoon 3 she's good enough at it that she doesn't need lessons anymore. I mean, it has been 5 years. Okay look I just want an excuse for all the Octolings to interact with each other is that too much to ask? But that's a bit difficult because Marina and Eight have more in common with their upbringing than Shiver, but that's a topic for another day.

Eight is just happy to be here!! She is incredibly strong, agile, and good with any weapon :) Think of Yor Forger. Very strong, sometimes without realizing it. A little clueless, a little silly. Red and black color scheme. As a result of this I think she would try to be very very gentle as much as possible, but she still enjoys playfully roughhousing with the other agents. She also makes a lot of goofy facial expressions. You'd think this would be Four, but no, it's her ksfhhfsdkfjh

So... the metro. Right. I think... Eight carries a sort of sadness with her. At least at first, right? It's... tough. Having to adjust to everything, losing your memory, coping with The Horrors tm. That's why she'll always be grateful to Off the Hook for offering her a place to stay at the Houzuki mansion during her first days in Inkopolis. Marina's been there, so she offers much comfort. Pearl also does her best to make her feel welcome and safe, like she did with Rina. Eventually she does go move in with Three and Four though because... because I said so ksfhjkfjhf

Eight is afraid of blenders. Autobombs.

It took a while for Three and Eight to really become... what's the word I'm looking for. Stable? I mentioned Three carrying unnecessary guilt. Eight doesn't hold it against them, of course not. But, I mean, have you seen that shit? I never played Inner Agent 3 but just watching a video of it has me awake at night dude that shit is scary as fuck. Three splashdowns in a row? Dear god. Anyway, they made up and it's chill now so it's fine. Still no blenders though.

Eight loves Off the Hook, and she loves the Squid Sisters. Calamari Inkantation and all that. Wait til she hears the banger of the century Ink Me Up dude that shit goes insanely hard. Actually, wouldn't it be so fucking funny if Eight came up one day like "Guys, I'm so obsessed with this song by a group from the Splatlands, they're called Deep Cut!" and then when Deep Cut show up as Marie's new employees she's like holy shit.

She goes to school with Four and it's the most fun she's ever had in her life (that she can remember), she doesn't understand why Four hates it so much. She's also obviously very naturally athletic, but she enjoys the arts and literature a lot more. Because she writes poetry lol 🤓

She's happy to stay an agent, I think. Maybe not on the front lines like Captain and the Squid Sisters are, but she's available as backup should she ever be needed. She wants to focus on her new life on the surface with her wonderful new family. She doesn't even remember if she had any parents, let alone friends. But now, she has all these people who care about and support her. For that, she would claw her way out of the Metro a hundred times over again. She loves them.

........So, Side Order, huh? Hehehehehe.

Damn. That's crazy.

Neo 3: They/Them, Living Arrangement Unknown

I think Neo being a gen Z kid is the funniest shit ever.

They're the hardest to think up a personality for, I don't really know what to make of them. I think they would be kind of epic, yknow? 🗿 They have no idea who any of these people are or what is happening, how did they even get into this mess bruh. Well, at least they get to hang out with Deep Cut so thats a plus. I think Neo and Four would get along the best, they both kinda have that chaotic energy, I feel. I would say Neo is like halfway between Captain and Four, personality-wise.

There's like,,,, a very vague botw Link vibe going on with them. Not sure though. I mean, look, they hang out in the desert and also have a salmonid for a pet. Like, what's goin on with all that.

They're generally very chill about everything that happened in Alterna (existentialism aside.)

"Why didn't I tell you that I went to space? Dunno. You never asked. 'S whatever. Yo, wanna see Little Buddy do a trick?"

~*~

I am holding you at knifepoint to watch this person's channel, because they deadass rearranged my entire brain chemistry (here is their twitter).

And also, this person's channel, because I greatly enjoy their agents content and it makes me giggle (here is their insta).

Both of these are important to understand how I came to characterize the Agents the way I do.

If you made it this far, I thank you profusely for reading!! These funny little guys mean a lot to me. Splatoon in general means a lot to me. Man. Damn. Fuck. I haven't even gotten into the Squid Sisters.

Anyway. Thank you so much. I hope you were at least entertained by my rambling and I hope you have a great rest of your day! I love you 💕

#thoughts #LONG post #and i mean long #splatoon #splatoon agents #agent 3 #agent 4 #agent 8 #neo 3 #damn #so yeah every time you hear me talk about the agents #thats whats going on in my brain when i do.#......more or less #i definitely missed some things but damn i gotta keep SOME secrets #[frodo voice] fine keep your secrets

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buldrokkastee · 4 months

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@nenestansunsthings I would absolutely love to talk about Deepcolor some more so thank you for giving me this prime opportunity. Although I'll preface everything I'm about to say with the classic 'I am not an expert or even particularly good at the video game Arknights'. I'm not doing big brain clears and I'm usually splashing around waves 1-4 of IS3 at the highest. I get through most new and old content with the classic winning strat of big fish with big numbers.

That being said, this is what you'll need to start off on the path of being a Squid Expert. A Squexpert, if you will. Now then:

This here is going to be your perfect Deepcolor.

Obviously she isn't going to be your go-to for DPS or serious tanking or anything like that, your general use for her is going to be as an opener. With her Module it costs 11 DP to get her and her first tentacle on the field (Yes that's the same amount you could use to put Mountain down instead but that's boring) so for most stages you pop her down asap right after your flagbearer and use her summons to block the early enemies around the map until you have DP to retreat them and set down your Big Boys. Easy, cost-effective, simple.

Aside from that, her summons are decently tanky for their cost so you can also use them to bait ranged attacks or the bomb drones or kill annoying spiders in the corner of the map. She can heal them back up too with her S1 if they survive, something none of the other summoners in the game can do so far (Though most of them have a way to refresh their summons, which Deepcolor can't do without retreating and redeploying). Basically you use the tentacles as mini-Gravels. With her module you'll have seven to work with, which is more than enough to get through most maps.

In SSS she's pretty much going to be a very cheap Supporter you can drop in and retreat immediately for free transfer permits, and in Reclamation Algorithm she's good for quickly scouting out around a new map with her summons. Nothing too fancy for those game modes.

The place I bring her out the most is as a starting pick for IS3, since in the early floors you'll usually have deployment slots to spare that she can fill right up with cheap blockers until you've built up your roster a bit more. You can use her S1 in situations where you need the summons to stay in place for longer, but her S2 can also come in clutch if Gopnik the One Punch or the invisible dog show up and you need to stall. For the cost of 3 whole hope you'll have 7 funny little tentacle guys with 35% dodge (50% at M3) that can keep the bear from hell in one spot for a surprisingly long time even with terrible RNG.

She's unfortunately useless against the duck, but you can't win them all.

You'll also find a whole lot of little spots in maps where you just need something that can safely kill a spider, or bait the stun snipers, etc etc. No she won't carry you past the third floor but she'll pull her weight very well while you're starting off.

Relics Deepcolor has good and/or funny synergy with are:

Glory Pack - Congrats you now have seven stun bombs ready to go anywhere on the map.

Sui's Wrath - And now you have seven random 3K damage airstrikes waiting to drop for 3DP a pop.

Glorious Kazimierz + The Return - 35-50% dodge on all allies in her range means she can really help these bad boys proc when you need them.

Timeworn Poetry Strips - Mostly self explanatory, but also: Unlike Ling, Deepcolor's summoning is only limited by your actual deployment slots. So she can put all 7 of her tentacles down at once with this, which is mostly just very funny to see.

Hand of Flowing Water/Stalwart Aid Books- I wouldn't recommend getting her just because you got these, there are other units that use them way better. Doesn't hurt to have them though.

There aren't any specific operators I can think of off the top of my head that she has unique synergy with, since the whole point of Summoners is just to fill in gaps when they're not soloing stages. But if you put her next to Andreana in your base or on a map I'll consider it a treat for me specifically.

#Arknights #My girl Deepcolor who I bring with me everywhere #this got long but I wanted to be thorough #If Hypergryph won't do anything with her #then by god the task falls to me and me alone #Also she straight up does a murder and I support women

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paradoxcase · 6 months

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Chapter 45 of Harrow the Ninth

So with all the like creepy tubes that someone said were reproductive-system-related, and the stuff with the pipettes and pills and slides, this makes me think of the first note that said THE EGGS YOU GAVE ME ALL DIED/etc., and if it really is Commander Wake that's haunting Harrow, is all this stuff just about conceiving Gideon? Is that most of Command Wake's post-death anxiety, not anything to do with BOE or their war with the Nine Houses, but just whatever had to be done to conceive Gideon? And then I guess Gideon the First (and possibly Pyrrha) are probably some of the people in these notes

So, this is the room that would have belonged to Gideon the First and Pyrrha, and I think it's clear that Commander Wake had something to do with them or some relationship with them or something, I would almost think at this point that Gideon's parents were Gideon the First and Commander Wake except that I've seen everywhere on tumblr that Gideon's dad is John, so maybe Commander Wake's ghost is leaving this room alone because it belonged to Gideon the First and she recognizes it?

It's true, now that we've seen what Lyctors can do, I think she could have done better, and maybe Harrow would never have figured it out. I wonder why she didn't?

It now occurs to me that there's one person who died in Gideon the Ninth who hasn't made an appearance here yet: Colum. What happened to his ghost? It was seemingly implied in Gideon the Ninth that he returned to his body in time to die in it, but maybe he is still off in whatever place he goes to when Mayonnaise Uncle siphons him? Did he not actually die?

So, in this cosmology that Abigail is suggesting, combined with what John said earlier, the River is more like Purgatory, or something, and the good souls cross the River and wind up in Heaven on the other side, whereas the bad souls are maybe weighted down and wind up on the bottom and go to Hell via the stoma? And Abigail says that people used to believe in this, but no longer do for some reason

I'm curious about this, but it looks like I'll probably have to wait to find out more

Really curious what about the bomb indicated that Crux specifically had put it there, or did they just assume it was him because he was the one who put them on the shuttle?

I like that Ortus, resident expert on epic poetry about warriors, gets that it's essential for Harrow's narrative to say that Gideon was killed by Cytherea so that she has an external person to blame for her loss, but that this takes agency away from Gideon and she wouldn't like it. Even when she didn't remember Gideon, Harrow seems to have been somewhat obsessed with Cytherea, even if it does turn out that some of what she saw Cytherea's body doing actually happened

So he did know about the Weekend at Bernie's stuff, and that the 200 children were intentionally killed, and so did his mother, so when Mayonnaise Uncle and his family talked with her revenant they presumably did learn about that, but for some reason he didn't share this knowledge with Gideon back in Gideon the Ninth and actually let her find about it from Harrow, which is interesting, maybe he thought that Harrow really was some cartoon villain and that if Gideon heard about it from her she would hate her? And I gather that Ortus was spared because he was the son of Priam's cavalier and they needed someone to be Harrow's cavalier when she grew up. And I also feel Ortus's angst here of "I left horrific things happen to these children and I was a grown-ass adult". I think I saw a post somewhere where someone was complaining about people saying that the characters in this book had been de-aged to appeal to a young adult demographic, which is not something I've seen personally, but I do think it's correct that this isn't mean to be a YA book or appeal only to that demographic, because it does also have these adult perspectives - in YA, generally adults are pretty useless and don't play much of a role in the story, but here you have Ortus saying this, and you have Magnus and Abigail trying to protect the Fourth teens (and now trying to protect Harrow) and you have Mercy being horrified by how young Harrow and Ianthe are

I mean, I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure Gideon never cared about the Ninth and did everything she did for you

This sounds more like a BOE-vs.-Nine-Houses thing now?

I'm wondering if they are going to use the candles in a more traditional way to do this exorcism, or if they are going to do some kind of necromancy with the animal fat? And I mean, Canaan House is covered in blood at this point, does that not work for making a ward of some kind?

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth

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its-moopoint · 10 months

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Barrister language expert, aka book troll

I have a few pieces of advice for you:

- I'm C2 in English which means I do understand enough of the language to get literal meaning, to get sayings and figures of speech and what is more, we take tests on grammar and reading comprehension which means I don't need a jackass telling me what some quote means or what you guys want it mean manipulating others that go to google to translate the language word for word, like my fellow Spanish colleagues. What I mean is you can't manipulate me with words or language like you do your stupid sheep followers.

- I read this shit like I read Diana's books, skipping all the parts that are pure filling and/or the one word that I don't remember it's meaning and I don't have time or interest to look up. So take barrister, write it on a paper, make a roll with it and put it wherever you feel most comfortable putting inside yourself.

- Without your attempt at language manipulation the point of my post remains: you know nothing of T to be able to even guess what kind of books he's into or he isn't. For heaven's sake you write a dissertation not even knowing whose books those were! Yet you write that shit and your nutcases over there make it canon.

- I have been reading English long enough to detect the "voice" in a text, your writing style is quite peculiar so if we were to have coffee in person, myself and "all" you dudes keeping shipper blogs and sending shipper anons, I bet I would show up myself and maybe 5 different flesh and blood folks. Apart from the already identified ones that just follow what other shit you post it's same old troll from years ago faking an identity and a story then coming up under a different account. Do you like poetry?

- I find it hilarious that your cheeks don't get red just posting about the house inspection, talking about legal documents and registers to dismiss the reality you don't like, when with the same tongue and with the same fingers you throw under the rug a freaking official marriage certificate, a joint company, etc.

One creates joint companies with their besties and with their assistants all the time. In fact I think Wendy owns half of Sassenach Spirits or whatever the hell S funded to sell his alcohol.

So, to sum up, I've been here long enough to smell the lot of you from afar. Bullshit your fruitcakes all you want, it's their fault if they fall for it but don't offend me by even trying to fool me.

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the-sun-always-comes-back · 2 years

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To all the "Percy Jackson (Twin-) Sister Fanfic Writers

SPOILERS FOR PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLMPIANS; HEROES OF OLYMPUS AND THE TRIALS OF APOLLO!!!!!

Welcome to my rant about Percy's-ninety-percent-of-the-time-perphone-named-sister. I already wrote a short rant about the name stuff that bothered me so much here.

First of all, let's make one thing clear. If you want to write a female Percy Jackson fanfic just so you can put him/ her in a "straight" relationship with Jason or Nico ( don't do that, he's gay!!!), then don't do it. If you want Percy to be with Jason or Nico, don't change his gender!? Especially with Nico! Nico is homosexual so he feels no sexual or romantic attraction towards girls. Sorry to destroy you hopes/dreams.

If you want to write a story about his ( twin -)sister just so you have a female main character who literally does everything Percy should have done and is blessed by all of the fucking gods - don't. Don't do this- It's unnecessary. And in case she's his twin sister, friendly reminder that they're about seventeen/eightteen in TRIALS OF APOLLO!!!! And about sixteen/seventeen in HEROES OF OLYMPUS!!! And at most (!!!!!) sixteen in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. So, for fuck's sake. Stop shipping her with Apollo, Hermes, Ares or any other god! That's creepy as hell!! She's not even legally an adult!! Same goes for Luke. How much older is he? Seven years? That's also creepy. Don't put you character in a relationship with a twenty year old when she's barely thirteen/fourteen. "BuT sHe's MaTurE fOR hEr AgE!!" Who cares? It is scientifically proven that during puberty our brain changes. I'm not an expert on this subject, by any means, so I have a quote from a scientistic page I found in the web.

"During puberty, the increases in estrogen and testosterone bind receptors in the limbic system, which not only stimulates sex drive, but also increases adolescents' emotional volatility and impulsivity."

So no, it's not "Okay" to have your thirteen year old character be in a relationship with a twenty year old or even thousand year old person. It just isn't.

"BuT I WAnt hEr tO Be wiTh ApOlLo." Then make her older?! I would love to read this actually.

How about Percy's sister who is about five to nine years older than him? I always thought that Sally was about twenty-five when she was pregnant with Percy. So how about this story of, let's call her Calliope, like the muse of epic poetry. What if Sally got pregnant with eightteen or nineteen due to, I don't know, a drunk accident? Let's say his sister would be six years older. That would make her about twenty in the first Percy Jackson book and about twenty-five, twenty-six in Trials of Apollo. Calliope is human, completely, but obsiously knows that Percy is a demigod. All through the Percy Jackson books she's worried about him, but is besides that at getting her lawyer degree ( how do you call it in english) and starts to hate the gods for putting her baby brother all of this. During the fight of Manhatten she helps as good as she can and meets Apollo after the battle. He is smitten with her, but instead of swooning over him, she gets furious and starts screaming at him for not caring about all the demigods. Apollo doesn't understand and explains that he, as a god, doesn't need to care about all of this and in the end Paul and Sally need to tear her away from him, before she makes a mistake, while apollogizing for all the things she calls him. Apollo however is amazed by her.

So until Zeus forbids the gods to intervine with the mortals he tries to impress her and flirt with her, but she doesn't react to it and tells him of every time. When Percy goes missing, Calliope goes feral and is so worried about him that she nearly fails her law degree. She searches together with Annabeth as much as she can. Maybe she even accompanies the seven. Not as part of the prophecy but because she threatened to cut of his ponytail if he won't let her with them. Time skip to the part where they go to Delos.Apollo is delighted to see Calliope but Frank has to hold her back so she doesn't kill him right on the spot. When he shoots the arrow to prove that he can't kill Octavian, she nearly looses it and scolds him for trying to kill a CHILD!! Apollo doesn't understand, why she cares about Octavian's well-being, until she explains angry that Octavian is as old as herbaby brother and that she knew that he was cruel but not as cruel as going so far as killing a child.

When Apollo fell to earth and went to Percy he had hoped seeing Calliope, but she isn't there because she did her law degree and is now on vacation. Of course he is dissapointed, but to be fair, he had more important problems later on. In the second book he goes to Indianapolis, the place where Calliope was on vacation. When she sees him, she doesn't know, that he's Apollo. All she sees is a hurt boy, who needs help. Apollo is amazed by her changed atitude and wants to enjoy it, but Kalypso kind of ruins it. Calliope is angry with him but still wants to help. Over the course of the book Apollo finds out that the reason, she doesn't want to be with him, is not only because he was , well, an ass, because she's scared of ending like all his other lovers or like all the mortal parents. At the end she offers her help, but Apollo refuses, which is for Calliope a first sign that he starts to change. In The Tower of Nero she is actually at her mother's and is shocked to see how much he changed. They have a short, sweet moment, e.g. on the balcony, where she tells him, after she listened to his fears, that she believes in him and that she's kind of proud, that he managed to change so much to the better. When they leave she even kisses his cheek before "fleeing".

As soon as Apollo won, he goes back to her. Calliope is positively surprised, that he chose to appear as Lester and even more surprised when he appologizes for harrassing her in the past and promosing that he won't to do it in the future anymore. To his huge surprise however, she blushes laughing and asks if he wants to go for a walk with her. Of course he agrees ( he still likes her) and blushes madly when she takes his hands. The two of them form a strange friendship and in the end she falls for him too. One day, she thanks him for keeping Percy out of everything for the last months/ years and maybe they kiss.

BOOM!! This idea took me at most twenty to thirty minutes. It's a raw draft but in my opinion than just making Percy female and swip Annabeth with Apollo. You have your own character who relates to another character but is still his own person. I know, I know, she's mostly there for Apollo/ Percy etc. But remember, it's a very raw draft I made in less than half an hour. You can give her her own life. Friends, hobbies, maybe even potential lovers. While Percy goes on quests, she could meet her dad and handle those issues. Maybe make a crossover and make her meet the Kanes or Magnus. I don't know.

Literally anything than replacing Percy with his twin.

#my rant #percy jackson sister #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #percy jackson #trials of apollo #apollo pjo #lester papadopoulos

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marshmallowprotection · 1 year

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Ooooh matchups? I'm curious, if you don't mind!

I look like MC if she had green eyes and glasses. I don't go out much due to asthma and an orthopedic issue that causes pain sometimes, but I like to stay inside.

I enjoy playing videogames most, reading non-fiction, and drawing is a fun hobby too, though I mostly stick to sketched things instead of full works. I love to write poetry too sometimes. My favorite hobby is self teaching languages. I've always wanted to get into computer science and coding, but I'm too scared and not confident enough to know where to start.

I usually keep to myself to have fun. It's what I've always been used to. I don't have any siblings and I struggled a lot growing up with bullying. I was kept close to home with helicopter parents (with good intentions of course, considering my school experiences) and so I never really learned how to socialize.

I didn't have any friends my age, and when I DID talk to other kids, I could never... connect? I always felt different, always walking on eggshells watching what I'd say or how I acted, always wanting to be a people pleaser but never be myself, anything just to be wanted by someone. It never really worked out.

Now that I'm in college (I'm studying ecology!), I have this social freedom that I never really got as a kid. My freshman year I had no idea what I was doing. Something more social than high school? (Which I attended not one single dance or event for in all four years (I was doomed.)) My parents told me they just wanted me to finally be happy and to have good experiences. I didnt know how to do that. If I couldn't please my parents in the social department, I could do what I do best- be a study hermit and an obsessive perfectionist at the sacrifice of my physical and mental health. If I could be perfect academically, I'd be worth something as a child then, right?

...

It took a year to learn that that was a big mistake too.

I'm... getting better with that. Slowly but surely.

After some therapy, I'm learning to open up more. I've made a decently large group of friends (I have no idea how). I'm getting used to being involved in things now, and go out on outings, and have conversations.

I'm still too scared to do some things, and I'm still a bit too buried in my perfectionist study issues, but all this new stuff feels nice for once, despite it all being so foreign.

I'm still finding out who I am, so this description of myself was probably a bit vague, but I figured it's worth a shot nonetheless. Sorry if long, I get carried away writing a lot of the times ;-;

I match you with...

Jumin!

You're somebody who doesn't quite understand the rest of the world. It's not a bad thing, it just means you have difficulty seeing the ways that people adapt and communicate. In some ways, it gives you a bit of a benefit because you don't see the bias or the conflict that can arise in relationships. In other ways, it makes you feel like you're behind schedule and that you're not working fast enough to be at the point that your social peers are.

Once you've learned not to compare yourself to others, you don't need to worry about a thing. All you need to do is go at your own pace and find people that understand you the way that you are. In that sense, that's why the perfect choice for you is somebody you like Jumin. You probably wouldn't believe it but he struggles with the same thing. His upbringing kept him from interacting with other people in most capacities. He may be able to seem like he is an expert at communication, but that isn't really the case. People don't understand him the way that he can understand them. There might be a feeling of similarity in that for you. You might find him to be a kindred spirit. Somebody who knows where you're coming from when you feel you're most vulnerable. He gets it in a way that nobody else ever could.

That's why you'd feel the safest with him. There's no rush to be anybody or anything. You just get to be yourself with him and he the same with you. There isn't a push to communicate or be something you're not. You get to talk about the things you love and see what makes the other person tick. He is also someone who enjoys being a homebody, but it's even better now that he has the right person at home. It doesn't feel as lonely when he looks over from the book he's reading to see that you're sitting there with him. It's almost poetic in a way. Maybe you'll enjoy that with him just as much as he does with you.

#mod kait #ask #anon #matchup

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zuckarr · 1 year

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Orchid, mahonia, aloe vera, palm tree, papyrus, taro. 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

﹟random get-to-know-me ask game

orchid ⇢ what’s a song you consider to be perfect?

Oh my, that's a challenging question! I'm the kind of person who loves songs fully, so it's hard for me to come up with criticism in the first place (also, I am no music expert, so I am in no position to pinpoint flaws in a song); all songs that I love sound perfect to me. Uh... I'm trying to think of a song that feels like it belongs on another level... of course, Queen and Michael Jackson come to mind, because certain artists and bands made revolutionary songs, but if I were to choose it personally, I'd pick Elton John's 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight'. There is absolutely nothing I would change about this song, and it is one of my favourite love songs ever. I would even go as far as to say it is one of the best love songs of all time. I like to think of it as a song you can feel. It makes me emotional every single time I listen to it. There's much more I'd say, but honestly, the song speaks for itself and it is able to fill your heart so much you don't even need to say words anymore. Literally, the most endearing epitome of love.

mahonia ⇢ what place, thing, activity inspires you most and how do you express yourself when it does?

I feel very inspired in the early morning - and I mean as early as 4am. Being on my own among nature, especially during the aurora (the phase in which the sky is lightly, gradually getting brighter before the sunrise) and just letting my mind wander as I take it all in is definitely an inspiring activity for me. I used to take many early morning walks... I loved it, I've never felt as connected with the world as I did back then. I would express myself via some kind of artistic spark... maybe I would paint, or write poetry!

aloe vera ⇢ what’s something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

Travelling. I know it isn't a mundane thing for many, but it is for lots of other people. I see people with their passports full of stamps, people who travel for work or just for leisure because they can afford it... I'd give anything to be able to travel frequently. I would honestly visit every country.

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

Hmm... tricky question. I like most villains. Mother Gothel in particular comes to mind. In the Disney movie, we can see that Rapunzel is taken care of, she's got clothes, stuff for painting, a nice big bed, etc. of course it doesn't justify the fact that she was kidnapped, used, a literal prisoner her whole life, and that she was lied to and manipulated - but we can't ignore that she and Mother Gothel have lived a mother/daughter life. I was disappointed to see that Rapunzel didn't have any reaction to her death. Bad writing there. I appreciate that they didn't make the same mistake in Maleficient and we actually got to see her bond with Aurora, despite how abusive it is.

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

Okay, the first song that played is 'California Dreaming' by Arman Cekin and Paul Rey. Interestingly enough, this song means a lot to me. I used to listen to it on repeat when I was depressed and saw no purpose in my life. I am a bit fascinated by the idea of California being this dreamy State that a lot of people wanna get to in order to achieve their dreams, often crashing into a harsh and merciless reality. Despite how bright and shiny L.A. is, all that gold can lie to you and you might find yourself homeless, sitting on a bench of a Californian beach, looking at the palm trees, thinking all of your hard work was for nothing and wanting to die. Now, this is just my interpretation as someone who has never stepped in the US, but I still connect it to those feelings of deep loneliness and despair that I used to have for completely different reasons. Certain lyrics speak to me on a deeper level than others:

'It's you that I think about every time when my mind zoning It's you that I think about every time that I get lonely'

'But god damn, I've been working hard as fuck And what's work without play in LA? I'm California Dreamin'

taro ⇢ if someone called you right now to catch up, what’re the things you’d tell them about?

Oh, um... it kinda depends on who it is and how the conversation goes? I guess I'd tell them I've been waiting to move to the UK which is the biggest thing in my life right now. But I could also tell them something else. It really depends.

#phew that was a lot #these questions really make you think #ask #thank you for asking bb #ily <3 #disney #rapunzel #tangled #elton john #american dream #california #music

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coquelicoq · 2 years

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thinking about the tendency to say that something isn't a poem instead of saying that it's a bad poem. what's the distinction?

what is a poem? how does one determine whether something is or is not a poem? are those the same question? when two people disagree about whether or not something is a poem, is there a right answer?

which of the following are necessary and/or sufficient conditions for something to be considered a poem? and are there other necessary and/or sufficient conditions missing from the list?

1) it achieves, or attempts to achieve, a certain purpose. we can put aside what exactly this purpose is for now, but because it may be difficult to understand what i'm trying to get at here without examples, here are some possible purposes (some more relevant than others): to mirror and report the happenings of life; to provide insight into the internal through careful observation of the external, or vice versa; to connect abstract concepts to perceivable events or objects; to put words to something felt to be true but not often verbally expressed; to express a common experience or feeling in such a way as to make the experience or feeling seem new; to make a moral argument; to admire the majesty of life, the universe, creation; to praise; to preserve for posterity; to elicit a sensation or feeling; to instruct; to paint a verbal picture of a scene; to stimulate the imagination; to impart knowledge; to raise questions about the nature of existence; "to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, the prosaic ostensible meaning" (this last from the wikipedia page on poetry).

2) it uses the tools and techniques of poetry (e.g., meter, rhyme, enjambment, imagery). (question: as innovation occurs over time, how do new tools and techniques get added to the list of what counts as "the tools and techniques of poetry"? by being regularly included in works that also use techniques already established to be poetical? by consensus?)

3) the person who created it intended for it to be a poem.

4) the person experiencing it believes it to be a poem.

5) poetry experts say it's a poem. (questions: how do they make that determination? who are "poetry experts"? what if they disagree?)

6) it is shared in a particular context meant for poetry (e.g., a poetry publication, a slam poetry event).

7) its quality can be assessed according to the criteria used to assess the quality of things already agreed to be poems. (assessed by whom? agreed by whom?)

8) the creator followed a certain process to create it, regardless of the attributes of the final product.

more questions:

what makes a poem different from prose?

what makes a poem different from a painting?

would these questions be answered differently by people from different cultures? if so, does that say anything about the nature of poetry, its dependence on social or cultural context, its ability to be defined? i don't have answers to these questions. i suspect several of them are unanswerable or have many valid answers. the definition of poetry is of course socially constructed, as all definitions are, but what's interesting to me is the extent to which poetry itself is socially constructed. what's interesting to me is asking these questions (with minor modifications) about any other human creation (excluding literal babies, which are a different kind of human creation). what is math? what is art? what is literature? what is a robot?

#my favorite definitions of poetry are #'truth forced out through a restricted opening' (george saunders)#and 'every line of a poem is actually the simplest way you could say something--it's just that the something is #complicated & strange & alive' (twitter user @ chenchenwrites)#and 'poetry is the written act of recognizing the way the light touches the water and the way that you looking at this changes you'#(tumblr user boykeats)#poetry #social constructs #my posts

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arielmagicesi · 4 years

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i have theories and thoughts on the plot parts of Doctor Who but I haven’t seen classic Who or read any like, extra content, so I’m very under-informed on Doctor Who lore. and after coming up with all sorts of plot theories for Game of Thrones and posting them excitedly only to find out that they didn’t match up with the books, I am not keen on posting my theories on a fandom without having gotten a master’s degree on the source material

#which i suppose makes harry potter the only thing i'm allowed to comment on. or... like... emily dickinson poetry #only things i really am an expert on to that level #god damn it #i really like plot examination but like. you can only talk about that if you know what you're talking about?#whereas pointing to characters and saying 'lol gay' requires nothing but me being gay. which i am #like idk sometimes i see about 50% of the lore of something and that's enough for me to come up with ideas about it #i don't carer if an interview from 1995 contradicts my headcanon...#for god's sake the show contradicts itself every ten seconds...#whatever though!#this isn't inspired by me actually having posted anything and gotten criticism #(on the doctor who front anyway. on the game of thrones front i did)#this is just my own feelings on what would probably happen if i posted theories and headcanons #written by me

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cheelduh · 3 years

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How to get Hit-listed by a Stonehide Lawachurl (High School AU!)

Part 6 of the highschool au

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Pairing: Childe x fem!reader

Synopsis: Childe’s a menace to everyone when playing dodgeball. Even as his new girlfriend, you’re no exception to his affinity for raising hell during the most tranquil of circumstances.

Warnings: Swearing, bad humor, and absolutely horrid spelling mistakes.

Words: 5.3k

Note: Longest chapter yet sheeeesh 🗿

Negotiation is an art.

Childe, or "Tartaglia" has utilized the art of negotiations in his daily life. Whether that be scamming the ninth graders with fake weed, or convincing the teachers why he doesn't deserve detention for injecting random fluids from the chem department into the school's resident pet frog.

All in all, by becoming an expert in the field of negotiations, Childe is nothing if not a master, tongue silver and smooth as he takes on a new opponent.

Which is why he dutifully negotiates with you on this Monday morning in front of the History classroom, getting down on one knee and pulling out a—

"I hope to Barbatos you aren't proposing Childe," You hiss, panicked eyes landing on the velvet box he's pulling out. "Considering that we're sixteen and still in highschool."

As if remembering those meagre details, Childe gulps and shoves the box back into his pocket. "Uhhh yeah, I was just, tying my shoelaces?" It comes out as a question.

You let out a sigh of relief, overlooking how he undoes his shoe laces just to do them all over again.

The ring burns in his pocket as he gets back up.

"Why did you call me here?" You ask, hand on your hip, foot impatiently tapping. The tap tap tap isn't because of impatience though, it's because you need something to cover the nervous palpitations of your heart.

He gives you a vicious smile, sinister enough to shake the bones of anyone who's observing, opens his daring mouth to show the imaginary sharpness of his teeth. Then with the confidence of about a hundred shirtless tiktok boys, he finally demands:

"If you don't become my girlfriend, I will kill—"

"Yeah sure thing." You answer before he can finish, soft smile growing.

Childe chuckles evilly, "I knew you'd say that, but I've come prep—wait a minute." He snaps out of his villain origin phase, stumbles back a bit, then his eyebrows are furrowing in confusion. "Did you just say yes?"

You nod, cheeks flaring up. "Don't make me repeat it." Then you look away, too embarrassed to see his reaction.

For a second, Childe's internal conflict following the chain of this event causes him to temporarily malfunction, and all he can do it stare at you in amazement.

It's only when you tell him to stop staring and jump off the school roof is when he snaps out of his daze, a grin festering on his face.

He lunges straight at you, giving you no time to deflect him as he wraps his bone crushing arms around you, then lands a soft smooch on your forehead.

"Let go of me you idiot!" You barely wheeze out, light headed not only because of your lungs being squeezed like oranges, but also because of the sloppy kiss he's delivered so ungracefully.

He does so reluctantly, and you're unamused, wiping the stickiness off your forehead with a sleeve as he steps back.

"Ew what the fuck?" You say, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?"

He completely ignores you, giddy with excitement. "Ah girly, you have no idea how long I've wanted to do that. I can't wait to introduce you to my parents and eat lunch together and kiss each other during break—"

"Slow down." You tell him, as red as a tomato towards all his suggestions. "We've barely started dating."

"Oh," Childe stops momentarily, then nods in agreement. "You're right. We should start small. How about I walk you to class?"

"We're already in front of class." You nudge your head towards the classroom, and catch Zhongli and Venti peeking from the side of the door, trying not to be obvious.

You narrow your eyes at them threateningly.

Childe tugs your arm, lovingly looking you up and down. "Let's walk to class together anyways. In a circle."

A complete waste of time, yet it's impossible to say no to the face he's making.

Before you guys depart he suddenly stops, gasping loudly, remembers something important. "I have to make a quick phone call."

Childe speed dials Scaramouche, and the latter picks up annoyed, answers the phone with muffled sounds in the back. Something that sounds a bit like pleading and whimpering.

He then mutters something that forces dread into your system. "You can release the hostages."

You hear Scaramouche groan on the other end, muttering a "such a pain in my ass", but choose not to question it immediately.

As soon as the phone call is done and you're back by his side, you point at his phone questioningly. "What hostages Childe?"

He gives you a close eyed smile, taking the fifth.

"What hostages Childe?" You repeat again weakly.

—

First period goes by smoothly for the most part. Lisa, your so called best friend, once again is bought off like a corrupted politician by your new boyfriend. She sits far away from you, leaving you without any defences against the menace that dotes on you a bit too much.

Throughout class, all Childe does is score Venti's colourful pens, and then writes you annoying little love notes, using the expert origami skills he's learnt from Anthon to deliver them to you.

Despite the threat of distraction these notes pose, the corners of your lips can't help but tug upwards at his enthusiasm and attempt at poetry.

Zhongli makes sure not to ask you two any questions the entire class, leaving you to your own accord.

Lunch comes around soon enough, and your usual table of Diluc, Jean, Kazuha, and Lisa is disturbed by the torpedo that is Childe, and he brings collateral with him.

Kaeya whole-heartedly ceases the opportunity to sit near his stoic statue of a brother purely with the intention to annoy the premature crap out of him, but one look from the redhead sends the chicken-shit right back where he came from.

When Childe forcefu—lovingly feeds you the smiley fries and dinosaur nuggets his stunning mom packed him, Diluc looks just about ready to hurl.

Lisa winks at you two, Kazuha doesn't even bother looking, and Jean tries with upmost effort to keep Diluc from launching himself at the whipped fatui boy basking in your attention.

"Quit embarrassing me." You whisper-exclaim sharply, noticing how Jean passes Diluc—all green in the face, a puke bag discreetly. "Shouldn't you be doing something illegal right now? Or vaping in the stalls?"

"I quit vaping for you girlie." Childe boops your nose with his finger. "Well, at least full time. I still need a puff when I'm around Signora, to like, get rid of her awful vibes."

While it is endearing how he quit vaping for you, it doesn't lessen the need for you to bury yourself alive right here and now.

Then you sigh, pick up a Dino nuggie, and shove it in his mouth, the tip of his tongue flicking your finger. You die inside.

"There, you happy?" The action of feeding him is so...intimate, it sets your heart aflame.

Childe's a lovesick puppy when he chews, imaginary tail wagging a hundred times a second. "Can I have a kiss too?"

Diluc slams his hands on the table and stands up, hurriedly picks up his grape juice and makes a break for it. You don't blame him.

"I'll kill you." You smack him with a napkin, blazing red. "I'll end your pathetic little life right here and now."

By the end of lunch, Lisa and Jean have to restrain you so you don't break the world record for the maximum amount of mutilations that can be done on a single body.

Fourth period is a break. A break from Childe you mean. It's expected of the school's resident bad boy aka menace to skip classes in order to skip over the bodies of his victims.

You bask in the momentary peace, until it's disrupted by a tap on the window. Reckon it's nothing, maybe a bird flew into it, because intentional taps are impossible from the third floor. Except your conviction is hindered yet again by another tap.

What a nuisance.

You finally turn to look outside the window, face down, and spot Childe waving incessantly, rocks in hand, oozing with excitement that can't be concealed and a grin that nearly takes you into cardiac arrest. Without meaning to, you send him a small smile, waving back as Baal drones on about quantum superposition.

Successful in gaining your attention, he moves aside to reveal the hefty corpse of a stonehide lawachurl with a destructive path in its wake. The ridges and bumps of its hide are enough to do a number on the road, ruining the school's playing field.

Your smile drops down into a horrified frown in the span of a few seconds.

"Wow." Albedo, your lab partner whispers from next to you, for the first time distracted in class.

"Yeah," Kaeya whistles from behind you two, one hand supporting his head. "What a gesture."

"Y/N, I'd be grateful if you could possibly obtain a black crystal horn for me from the specimen." The blonde asks, entranced by the corpse that your boyfriend is flaunting off to you with pride.

"Aren't those things endangered cutie?" Lisa makes sure to butt in, as per usual.

Yes. Your boyfriend with several issues and an affinity for chaos brought you the corpse of an endangered geo-infused creature that's five times the size of him. During school hours too, the fiend. Like a cat dragging the corpse of a dead mouse to its owner.

You groan into your hands, heart racing while the fire is coursing through your veins.

That idiot.

—

Childe is exceptional at a lot of things, like the switch and making weapons out of seemingly harmless things (e.g shiv out of a toothbrush), but what he prides in the most is physical education. With washboard abs, uber tall height, and a dickish smile to top it all, he has everything it takes to showcase his top tier athletic abilities.

He pounces at the opportunity to show off in front of you, wanting nothing more than to have you fawn over his strength. He's sure it'll be enough to have you all over him, wrapping your cute little arms around his muscled ones, passing him his water bottle and dabbing away at the sweat on his forehead. Most of all, he daydreams you planting your soft lips on his to congratulate him after a big game.

Physical education, for you, is a pain. You may be good with your brain, but games exert more energy than necessary, and coordination that lacks logic entirely. You're just here for the credit. The over-achiever part of you walks the extra mile to ensure a grade in the high nineties.

Although witnessing Childe clad in the school shorts and matching polo shirt is enough to make this worth your while, you'll die before admitting it. Especially when he gawks at you as if it's the first time you're wearing the sports uniform yourself. It has you fidgeting with your fingers and tugging your shorts down nervously.

You try not to flip him off like you usually do, especially since it's not even been twenty four hours since he's asked you out.

Mr.Zhongli blows a whistle, calling all the students over to surround him. It's odd that he teaches most of the subjects at this school, seemingly the only adult present, but no one questions it in fear of genshin logic. Moving on, he explains that you have a dodge ball game today.

Lisa groans beside you. She hates anything that requires the exertion of energy, oftentimes bringing a book to read while everyone else screams in the background.

You're relieved, mainly because Childe and Tohma are usually captains, and Childe always picks you to be on his team as a means to flex his skills. For you, it means sitting back and watching him carry your team towards a straight A.

However, all your dreams are crushed when Zhongli announces the team leaders.

"Y/N, I trust that you'll lead the blue team to the upmost of your ability. Childe, prepare to lead the opposing red team."

Your knees shake as you stare at him in disbelief. "But Sir—"

"No buts Y/N." He scolds you lightly, checking off your names on the clip board. "I'd like to witness your exceptional leadership skills."

In reality, Zhongli just wants to reenact a lovers-on-opposing sides trope, wanting to see how the two of you crack under the pressure. In a way, it is an exercise of leadership.

Instead of picking teams, Zhongli assigns teams for the both of you according to his own judgement, trying to make it as fair as possible.

Lisa pats your back after your teammates are assigned, trying to cheer you up. "It's going to be okay. You guys are dating now, so he'll go easy on you."

You look up to meet Childe's eyes from across the court. He gives you a charming smile, which turns downright barbaric as he lifts up a thumb and motions to slash his neck with it. Then he wickedly mouths "I'm going to destroy you."

You blink and turn away as fast as you can in fear. "We're fucked."

Lisa, witnessing the entire ordeal nods alongside you, doing nothing to reassure you because she herself has given up.

Suddenly a hand lands on your shoulder gripping you tightly. "Let's wipe the floor with that g*nger." The voice is ice cold, threatening enough to send a shiver down your bones.

You turn to meet Rosaria, who frowns at you. Most of the time she doesn't really put an effort in dodgeball, but she must've seen your crestfallen expression, trying to comfort you in her own detached way.

Rosaria is the other school nurse in training, alongside Barbara, but somehow her patients end up more injured, sick, or mentally defiled than before they entered the room. She also spends after hours beating up Chads in the school parking lot. Also runs a blog with her booby co-author Kaeya that emphasizes mostly on the dark knight hero.

Spotting the rest of your team behind her, you begin to criticize them one by one.

Standing against the wall is Kaeya, pushing both his biddies up with his crossed arms like an absolute whore. He's breaking about several dress code rules right now. Venti is next to him, drunk off his butt as he beat boxes with Tohma.

Eula mutters under her breath, on and on about seeking revenge on Zhongli for putting her beloved Amber on the opposing team, promising him an unfortunate fate. Xiao is miserably squatting on the floor, sharp eyes observing everyone in the gym, scowl not ready to dissipate anytime soon.

Then you look over at Childe's team in the distance. Jean with a determined look on her face as she listens to Childe's game plan, and Diluc crossing his arms with his brows furrowed in concentration. Even Amber, the best baller in the school, is stretching out her arms, assisted by the gifted princess of the school, Ayaka.

Not only that, but Childe has the king of dodging on his team—Kaedehara goddamn Kazuha. Beidou shoots you a wicked smirk, winking at you until she's disrupted by Ningguang's shove.

"Oh my god." You cry out when the realization hits you, falling to your knees in despair. "We're completely fucked!"

"No we aren't." Rosaria mutters lowly. "You're only fucked if you want to be. Don't you dare throw in the towel before the fight has even begun."

"But I—"

"Stop it." She grumbles again, rolling her eyes. "You're being annoying now. If you lose the game, that makes him the dom. Don't you want to be the dom?"

She's right. You do want to be the dom.

Her words of encouragement, and not at all veiled insults somehow allow you to find motivation deep within yourself. You get up and stomp towards the rest of your team, calling their attention with your newfound confidence.

"Listen here soldiers!" You shout out, determination clear as day. "I know I am not capable of leading. I know that I barely have the physical capabilities needed to defeat the opposite team."

You take a deep breath, pointing at your cutie patootie boyfriend across the gym as you seethe. "But that man, that harbinger of chaos, that instrument of war, is nothing but a tyrant. And I cannot let such a tyrant be a victor in this battle. Not when innocent lives are at stake."

Tohma speaks up, sending you a bewildered look. "What lives—"

"Shut the fuck up soldier!"

"Yessir!" He immediately stiffens, saluting you.

"Are you ready soldiers?" Your voice booms, and everyone reinforces their priorities, except for Kaeya though. He just lazily smirks.

After Zhongli places the balls in the middle, everyone prepares for the battle of the century.

'Gods, please let us win this war' you pray to the archons above, closing your eyes in concentration.

'Give me the strength to flex my superior skills' Childe wishes, then adds on quickly 'also I want to dominate this world.'

'Give me the strength to make it to Friday.' Rosaria prays for nobody but herself, rolls her eyes at all the unnecessary dramatics of this dodgeball game.

"3..." "2..." "1..."

Zhongli ends the countdown by blowing hard into a whistle, signaling the beginning of the game.

Not even two seconds later a ball whooshes past a few of you at the speed of light, followed by a tail of fire. The ball of death kisses Kaeya square in the nose, sending him reeling back into a wall with enough sheer force to cause an indent.

Everyone winces.

Before you all can reel in from the initial shock and make sense out of wherever the hell that asteroid came from, Zhongli's voice booms throughout the gymnasium.

"Mr. Ragnvindr, headshots are strictly forbidden. You are out!"

With a scoff, Diluc, satisfied with his work, leaves the court with no apparent qualms. He accepts his defeat with the upturned corners of his lips.

Rosaria pokes Kaeya's body with the tip of her heels, then cringes when he shakes awake, up from his short lived knockout and sends a wink her way.

"Getting handsy when I'm unconscious? I didn't think you'd be one to partake in such vulgar activities." His eye twinkles in mischief, and if his momentary defeat at the hands of brother has him fuming, he doesn't show it one bit.

The only thing that keeps Rosaria from knocking him out for real is the blood that trails down onto his lip. She doesn't want to clean blood off her shoes, especially since it's a pain in the ass to get off.

You're about to tell them to get up and take this seriously, but a softball does your job for you when it darts straight at Rosaria. With pristine accuracy, the girl manages to pitch herself away last minute.

You swivel in Childe's direction, who wears a remorseless grin, which only grows wider once you pick up a blue softball next to your feet.

The glare that he receives has him shaking in exhilaration. More so than the elation he'd felt when he took down that Stonehide Lawachurl for you, as a gift of promise.

You begin to bark out orders. "Eula, Xiao, and Rosaria cover the front and act as decoys."

They nod immediately, but Xiao still clicks his tongue in distaste as he starts following orders.

Then you offer Kaeya a hand. "Get up princess. You're on sniper duty."

With Diluc out of commission, the battle is fair and square now considering both sides have the same amount of people. Ergo, no one's at a disadvantage.

That is—until Lisa fake trips over pure air, landing on the floor in a dramatic slow motion.

You roll your eyes.

"Oh dear! I think I've twisted something." She cries out, crawling away from the battle field, acting as if she's paralyzed completely. "Don't worry about me. I'll cheer you on from afar. The battle has begun, and it seems as if I've become the first casualty."

You don't let the countless amount of Lisa's betrayals get to you, even this one. It's just her personality to flake out on anything and everything that requires her to do more than below the bare minimum.

Focusing on the match, your eyes are only on Childe, just as his are on you.

You aim the ball straight at his ribs, step back a bit, then propel the ball in the air with as much energy as you can, using your entire body as a power outlet. The ball spins in the air, reaching the awaiting victim.

Childe, unbothered, dodges the ball with perfect precision, the ball not even grazing his clothes at the least.

Your jaw drops open, and you're about to move for another ball until he grabs the same ball you threw at him. With the sharpness of a predator locking in on its pray, he focuses on you like a missile locks on its target, launching the ball in the air for power that has you trembling, second to the powerful ball that was thrown by Diluc.

With your pupils dilated at your impeding doom, it's Xiao that grabs you and thrusts away.

The ball lands on the floor, smoke rising.

"Holy shit!" You shriek over everyone else's grunts and shuffles. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Isn't it poetic?" Childe shouts back while he slides away from the balls being thrown. "Lover against lover. Either you're by my side, or in my way. And right now, you're in my way." He narrows his eyes dangerously. "Albeit reluctantly, I will take the victory babe. Even if we are on opposing sides."

"There was zero reluctance in that throw asshole!"

You thank Xiao, who wipes his hands on his pants in disgust. "Filthy humans. So pathetic and weak."

Mildly offended, you roll your sleeves up and begin to fight with everything you've got as soon as he walks away.

The dodgeball game goes as expected for the most part, Eula carrying for most of it with the flow of her skills.

Tohma actually tries like the presumptuous asshole he is, aims straight for his girlfriend Ayaka, and takes her out completely. His only justification for that is "I ain't no simp!"

He shelves his cocky attitude when facing Childe with a sense of dignity and prestige you didn't think he had in him.

The two one of a kind fuckbois puff out their chests so that they look more hefty than they are, having some kind of an Alpha match. The 'me stronger than you. me dominant. me get all the women' type beat.

Unfortunately, Childe manages to fence him with his throws, and lo and behold, the square off ends with a dejected Tohma dragging his feet to the nearest bench.

Eula oversees that Ningguang and Beidou meet a quick end, taking their slower dodging to her advantage. You're actually rooting for her, tasting a sliver of victory that you haven't reached yet. So close, yet so far.

Amber trips on herself in the middle of throwing a what should've been coordinated ball, and it loses most of its momentum. Xiao is directly in front of it, and will probably be able to catch it with ease.

Ah, another short victory.

If Childe loses his expert baller, he's only left with Kazuha and Jean, whom's lack in the art of throwing is made up by their ability to dodge most of the fastballs.

However, all your plans and hopes are crushed when Eula slides in front of Xiao last minute, sticks out her foot, and let's the pathetic product of Amber's would-be downfall hit her on the leg with the total force of about 0.0000001 newtons.

Your chances of winning have just went down by a staggering 60%.

"Eula!" You cry out, collapsing on the ground. "How could you?"

Tohma cups his mouth and bellows obnoxiously from the bench. "SIMP!"

"I cannot avenge my clan if I win a false victory." Eula crosses her arms, casting her gaze down in visible uncomfortableness. "Amber will pay her dues in two business days. Mark my words."

It all a load of cap. She's sleeping with the enemy and you know it.

You grit your teeth. Fuming with an abundance of rage, you pick up three balls and throw them all back to back, taking out Amber and Kazuha simultaneously.

Childe's heart flutters in another kind of delight when you pluck out his team members one by one with no hints of remorse.

In retaliation, Jean and Childe work in sync to swiftly take care of a distracted Rosaria.

"Shit." You hiss underneath your breath.

It's Venti, Kaeya, Xiao, and you who are the only remainders of your short-lived team. It's still two more people than Childe and Jean, giving you the upper hand briefly.

It's a mystery to everyone how Venti is still standing. You reckoned you would've lost him as collateral during the beginning of the match, but it seems he's able to hold his own.

When you squint hard enough, you realize that Xiao has been t-posing in front of the nonchalant SoundCloud rapper that's about as high as a kite. He must've been defending him throughout the entire round.

His defenses are all in vain once Childe correlates another attack with Jean, sharp-shooting four rapid balls that are secured on their targets.

Xiao swerves to the side, avoiding most of them, until one is about to reach a nonchalant as shit Venti.

You scream at him, eyes widening as you run towards them in slow motion. "NOoOoOOOo-"

The yaksha doesn't waste a moment, shifting so that he's covering Venti's body with his own, which to be honest is a pretty heartwarming sight.

The ball hits his lean back, a sharp thud following when it hits the floor.

Xiao is out. But his sacrifice is so inspiring that it brings tears to Zhongli's eyes, makes everyone in the gym go silent in awe.

Even the sadistic Childe melts, cerulean eyes gaining back their light, halting his fire.

When Xiao finally uncovers Venti's body, he speaks from the bottom of his dead heart. "I'd do anything for you..."

Venti shakes out of his baked state, blinking at him stupidly with a nervous chuckle. "Ehe~? I don't even know who you are."

The entire class sweat drops. Whatever slip of compassion on Childe's face earlier has become nothing but a memory. Even your eyes dim.

The next time Childe aims and locks at Venti, it's not with malicious intent. It's a favour, for you. In a way it adds dimension to who he is and the lengths he's willing to go for you, even at war.

Venti steps away with a bounce in his gait, hands behind his head.

Kaeya and you are the only ones left standing now, and the game becomes too tight knit to tell which side's going to win. It becomes utter chaos, balls being launched every second, stamina slowly decreasing as everyone lurches away from their demise.

As laid-back and charming as the boy presents himself to be in front of the ladies, he's not very patient when it comes to facing circumstances like these. He's side lined for most of the match, finding it boring. And when Kaeya gets bored, the intensity of the tide changes, and everyone knows they're going to get a run for their money.

Kaeya coasts a hand around your hips, pulls you real close, purposefully leaning his bust into the side your innocent arm.

When Childe's smile drops, and the glint in his eyes reads 'DANGER' in full caps, you know it's time to be properly scared.

Your blood runs cold, mouth opening briefly and then clamping shut immediately.

"I'm so glad to be on your team Y/N. Maybe this'll give us the chance to become...closer." His hot breath fans against your ear, voice loud enough to be heard by onlookers.

Suddenly everything stops, falling into an unsettling silence.

You attempt glance at Childe, being met with a glare that's directed at the Captain of the Skating team. The ball in the orange-haired boy's hand deflates from the sheer intensity of the squeeze.

The tension becomes unreadable. Even Zhongli is caught mid-sip with his tea.

Quickly, you shrug off Kaeya's arm. "Childe, he's just fucking with you—"

Childe cuts you off by hurling a ball with nothing but the objective of cold blooded murder.

Kaeya whizzes past you, successfully ducking to avoid the hit, and his amused laugh rings through your ears. He rolls away from the following attacks, chucking his own series of colourful balls.

The events that unfold are blood-curdling enough to make even Satan boil his pants with diarrhea.

You take the clear opportunity presented by their concurrent dumbassery to take out Jean, the ace of the other team.

Childe's rage blows over when Kaeya eventually loses interest and takes the L, playfully winking at you while walking backwards to the rest of your team.

Now that all the distractions are dealt with, Childe's eyes flicker to you, and you share a murderous glance.

"Finally," He slaps the softball with a free hand, lips thinning into a homicidal smile. "I've been waiting for this. You better not disappoint me."

While Childe may be a violent anarchist who's only aspiration in life is to become a government contracted killer, he's also supposed to be your sweet boyfriend.

Slowly, you inch towards the front. "We don't have to do this Childe. We can coexist peacefully."

"Peace was never an option Y/N." He sighs, cracking his neck. "Besides—how else can I prove myself in your eyes? You may be my greatest weakness, but you are also my greatest adversary."

"I don't know, maybe start with not trying to obliterate me?"

"I'm obliterating you out of respect." He counters with a playful pout.

"Well I'll be paying my respects to your grave!" You lurch ahead into a sudden assault, yeeting as many balls as you can his way.

"That's my girl!" Childe whistles, grin widening psychotically when he goes all out, leaving you with an absence in favorable openings.

Out of nowhere, the fire alarms start going haywire, along with a beep in the PA system, which stops you two in your tracks.

A panicked voice of who you assume to be Yanfei shrieks through the comms. "CODE ORANGE! CODE ORANGE! EVACUATE THE BUILDING, THERE'S A STONEHIDE LAWACHURL ON THE PREMISES."

As if on cue, the ground starts rumbling and a Stonehide Lawachurl bursts through the halls and into the gym, looking around for something. Or rather, someone. It's sharp bumps and ridges make an indent on the floor, cracking it in.

Everyone falls into a state of panic, Zhongli trying his best to evacuate the class from the emergency back door as quickly as possible. "Settle down class, we have to follow protocol."

You, devoid of any emotion or sense of fear, turn to your boyfriend in such a calm manner it strikes an ominous dread in his stomach.

You stare.

Childe stares harder.

“I thought you killed it."

"I did." He retorts slowly, switching to gaze at the raging beast in amazement.

"Then why is it in the school!" You seethe, glaring daggers at his side profile.

Childe chuckles sheepishly, scratches the back of his neck. "I may or may not have stuffed the body in the boys washroom. Y'know, for safe keeping?"

The Lawachurl locks it's gaze on you, the prey, and then roars furiously. Turning into its geo-enhanced state, it begins charging at you with all its might, the target being solely Childe.

Leave it to your boyfriend to get on the hit list of an endangered beast.

"Fear not my vibrant girlfriend. Our first date can be surviving this." Childe cheekily kisses the top of your trembling hand before grasping it tightly and making a run for it.

#childe #childe x reader #genshin x reader #genshin xiao #genshin childe #genshin albedo #genshin #tartaglia #childe tartaglia #zhongli #xiao #tohma #diluc ragnvindr #genshin fanfic #genshin impact #genshin tartagalia #tartagalia genshin impact #eula x amber #venti x xiao

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dhaaruni · 3 years

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i saw a take from a leftist that was like "we need to abolish private schools" and ??? i don't agree??? obviously public schools need way better funding, and people who are anti public school like b*tsy d*vos are evil, but i think abolishing private schools is a bad idea for many reasons. (like just off hand what about disabled kids who aren't getting the support they need in a public school?) idk it rubs me the wrong way for the same reasons "abolish private healthcare" rubs me the wrong way.

cont. (to clarify i am 100% against vouchers and the whole conservative "school choice" movement that takes funds away from public schools, i am just saying that leftists wanting to abolish private school entirely is a bad idea)

I agree with you like I'm a public school kid and my public school was excellent but I know I'd have probably had a better experience in private school with smaller class sizes and more personalized attention since I struggled a lot mental health wise and I sort of wish my teachers had done more to help. My AP Lit teacher was awesome though, he gave me extensions without my even asking and even gave me alternate assignments because I missed pretty much all of the poetry unit and couldn't write an essay on classwork I didn't do. My AP Biology and AP Stats teachers on the other hand.... nope.

Like I agree, we need fund public schools, especially in underprivileged areas, and we should ensure that ALL kids, no matter their race or income background, have the opportunity to get a good education and go onto a 4-year-college if they want to. And of course, not everybody wants to go that route so we should also build up trade schools and give people the opportunity to get associate degrees etc. which is why Biden's plan to make 2 years of community college free (and 4-year public college for families making below $125k) is excellent and necessary. If you don't see the magnitude of difference no post-secondary education and 4-year-college at like the University of Iowa would make for some kid in a podunk town whose family can't afford to send them to college even when they have the grades and motivation to get in, I can't help you. That measure would do so much to bolster the middle class, and help boost and keep people out of poverty! Plus like, when white women get educated, they stop voting Republican so there are electoral advantages to this to for Democrats as well.

Like, Hillary Clinton has always a big proponent of education, like she built a charter school in the Bronx for Black and brown kids in their own neighborhood to prepare them to go to college and be the leaders of tomorrow. It's technically a "private" school since it was targeted to a specific community and had specific goals that were different than public schools surrounding it but I'm not going to throw hands that a powerful woman used her social clout and white privilege to educate children and gave them opportunities they wouldn't have otherwise had! That's why I also push back on the "HRC is a white feminist" accusation like going back to the 1970s, she's been focused on boosting up Black and brown communities through education and personal advocacy (the Mothers of the Movement endorsing her in 2016 really got me on board with her campaign) and that matters to me a lot more than "Pokemon go to the polls" being ~cringe. @taylor14firefly suggested that instead of calling people white feminists, we call them white supremacist feminists, and I think that's a great idea.

Side note, I really push back on the idea that schools need to stop teaching calculus in high school for instance since "Black and Latino kids can't do it" like that's just pure racism. Black and Latino kids are just as intelligent and capable as white and Asian kids! I'm not going to accept that kids can read and analyze Shakespeare like experts and can't take an integral since basic calculus isn't probabilistic theory, which I can't even do. America fails its students, especially its female ones, in mathematics and I refuse to believe otherwise but I digress.

#answered #anonymous #politics #hillary clinton

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moonsugar-and-spice · 2 years

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Hello yes a local Storms lover and fellow writer here! (I'm actually the first 'time??? Wh???' anon if you were wondering)

I just wanted to ask, how did you craft such a long yet cohesive narrative? I strive for such beauty, but alas, I always seem to fall short...

However, the fic idea I just had begs to be a long fic, despite my struggles with them ;w;

Storms is a beautifully composed fic and if I can learn just slightly from it and you I'd be over the moon

Ah, my "What is Time" anon, hello again! 😄 Thank you for the sweet words, and I’m so glad that you've enjoyed it. It’s exciting to hear that you may be embarking on your own Long Fic journey — it can certainly be both fun and daunting! I am far from an expert, but happy to share some of the things I’ve learned that have helped me along the way.

Being a life-long avid consumer of literature, I would say I’ve probably learned the most through reading. And honestly, if there was one piece of advice I were to give a newer writer, or one wanting to branch out into longer fiction, it would be that. To become a good writer, first and foremost you have to read. A lot. And not only novels, but short stories and even poetry, too, and really pay attention to the story structure and how different authors utilize word choice, plot devices, and other elements to weave their stories together. Try to read it as a writer (which isn't always easy when you get sucked in) and take note of all the elements that make it work. Poems are often shorter and more abstract, and obviously differ from other forms of narrative, but the structure of a poem can provide a layer of meaning to the piece and be a great resource for studying subtext.

There are also a lot of writing blogs out there with a wealth of great articles. One of my personal favorites is Writers Helping Writers, the blog of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi, who are not only masters of their craft but genuinely awesome people. I used to read a lot of writing blogs when I was first starting out, and often still do. You can never stop learning and improving.

But, simply put, writing is hard. There are some amazing published authors I follow that make it look easy and effortless, but every one of them will tell you that it is hard work, hair-pulling at times, even if there is simultaneously immense joy in it. There are so many elements to keep in balance — I’ve likened it to feeling a lot like juggling plates. You get a few going well, adding a plate here, removing one there, and trying to keep them all in the air, but suddenly you're overwhelmed and hadn’t realized you’d be juggling this many plates when you started out. And maybe you’re not sure you’re good enough, experienced enough to keep them from crashing down before you can set the table in some organized fashion. But, eventually, you begin to see where your weak spots are as a writer. You may have to get out the broom and dustpan, much as it pains you, sweep up the broken pieces, and start again, but the more you practice, the more you strengthen those muscles. Unfortunately, there’s no Easy Button, really, or other way to improve than just lots of practice, and lots of reading.

But another thing I’ve found immensely helpful in keeping things cohesive is knowing how I want the story to end. It is the one thing I must know before starting out, but I also make sure to outline the important turning points along the way, both for plot and character arcs. I find that having a destination to aim for, as well as those smaller-scale, short-term goals for plot and characters, helps keep the story (and my sanity, heh) together. Everyone’s process will look different, of course; some people like the free-spiritedness of straight-up Pantsing, others are strict Plotters, and what works for one might not work for another. I personally fall somewhere in the middle as a Plantser — I like to keep an open mind and allow room for fun creative exploration and "happy accidents" that might make the story even better, but have a blueprint of sorts to guide me.

Also, you might think about what you want to say through this story (why is it begging to be written?), the overarching theme/s you want to explore and weave into the narrative. Find ways to show them through these turning points and character arcs. In Storms, I wanted to explore Ozai’s character and what might have made him into the man he became. No one is just born a monster. Naturally, readers will come to your stories with their own lens and life experiences, so everyone will take away different things, but if I were to describe Storms to someone in a nutshell thematically, I might say I’m writing about trauma and its cycle. About abuse and self-loathing and the armor we wear to cope. Holding onto hate and anger, and sipping its poison. But also about forgiveness and second chances, about learning your walls are also trapping yourself, and the courage it takes to let go.

I hope at least some of this layman advice has been helpful to you. The most important thing always, I say, is just to have fun with it and try not to let fear or self-doubt cramp your style (something I’m still working on). Just start writing and see where it takes you. You can often salvage those broken plates, but you can't edit an empty page. Best of luck to you on your writing adventures!

#thanks for the ask!#thank you anon #on writing #fanfiction #long fics #writing tips #fanfic writers #writing is hard #anyone who says otherwise is selling something #atla fanfiction #storms of ice and fire

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its-tie-kir-ra · 3 years

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you said in your SessRin video that you "dabbled" in SessRin? May I ask what does that mean or what your personal unfiltered opinions are about the ship?

I never saw it as parental like you did but i got the impression from the way you talked about it is that you still see it as Sesshomaru has power over Rin. How did you see the relationship then?

I actually had to go rewatch the video to see what I said, lol.

OKKKKKK strap yourself in. It's...it's... complicated.

So when I said 'dabbled' I mostly meant that when I read a fic about Inukag where Rin was Sesshoumaru's partner I didn't mind it. I also don't seek out Sesshomaru fics when I do read Inuyasha fanfiction (which isn't that often), because I don't find his character particularly interesting and I only became slightly interested in Sess x Kagura recently. I can only remember one SessRin fic that was mainly SessRin that I enjoyed. Like I just couldn't get into it? I actually went and read some SessRin fics to get a sense of how shippers saw the pairing when it became canon and most of them just made me feel so uncomfortable?

Rin never has the same personality (why would she, because again, she would've changed so much from the time she was 8 until she was 18) and Sesshomaru just turns into this sappy weirdo that is so far from canon that it's so obviously written by a person who thinks that Sesshomaru is a mushball who spouts poetry under all that pride, when what he really is is an awkward, feelings-constipated weirdo under all that pride. Or that's just my interpretation of the character, at least. (I AM NOT A SESSHOMARU EXPERT, DO NOT COME FOR ME).

Crack shipping (and I'd argue that SessRin was a crack ship until 6 months ago, fight me) is just not for me. I personally need to have a really good canon basis to ship a pairing, for a couple reasons, but mostly I need a character dynamic to interest me at the very least in canon and feel like the door is open for it to 'potentially' happen in canon (and by potentially I really just mean that I can trick myself into believing that it actually will happen). Like it needs to on some level MAKE SENSE that they end up together in canon. (And as much as Sesshomaru changes his mind about humans, for the life of me I cannot picture him marrying one, regardless of who they are. Having casual sex, maybe, not marriage. I also do like the idea of him being asexual.)

A good example of a ship that I'm not super invested into but I could see the appeal to explore is Ayame X Koga. Don't get me wrong, I am still very anti Koga, I think he's an ass in canon, but the relationship potential between him and Ayame interest me soooooo much. I mean, come on. Arrange marriage, one a rule breaker and the other a rule follower, politics, being in love with someone who doesn't love you back, sacrifice for your people, there's so much there. We only saw a few scenes of their relationship in the show (yes, Ayame is an anime only character, I'm aware) but it was enough to intrigue me, especially after Ayame expressed very little interest in Koga at their second meeting. And as a result, they interested me enough to want to explore them more, and I could wind up shipping them if I did. 👀

I never felt that with SessRin. While they start at an interesting base for a romantic relationship in theory, the dynamic never interested me enough to go 'hm, well, maybe if this happens then this will happen! Or look at the parrarels between them there! Or wow, they find each other interesting, what if?!" I also never felt the need to inject romance into it. Their relationship was interesting enough without romance; I enjoyed their dynamic how it was presented in the original. I was satisfied with it. Which is really the primary reason I don't read a lot of Inuyasha fanfiction because I was statisfied with where they left off with Inuyasha, while I have about 50+ GOT fanfics open on my phone.

That doesn't mean to say that couldn't potentially change or that I couldn't ship SessRin. As a writer of original fiction myself, my opinion will always be if the writer can make it work and they want to do it, they should do it, with very few exceptions. SessRin could theoretically be written into a beautiful, satisfying love story that would have me all over it. There was one SessRin fic I thought did this really well, but I just don't think Yashahime was capable of doing that because it would've been a story that required complete dedication to Rin and Sesshomaru as characters. The fic I'm talking about was a SLOOOOOOOOOW burn that wasn't explicit in the least and was very character driven and focused exclusively on Sesshomaru and Rin and their changing feelings. They don't do that in Yashahime; they can't because the show itself isn't about SessRin. In fact, Im suspicious of how they do it in Yashahime. Lemme grab my tinfoil hat.

The way it's presented now, Sunrise gave the writers just enough wiggle room that they could write themselves out of this if they wanted to (have creepy-cant-remember-his-name-hes-basic-wait-is-it-Riku? tell the story to the audience, neither Towa nor Setsuna really look all that much like Rin, etc). Which almost makes me think that they were testing audiences reactions to see what they said before commiting to it fully. Idk, we'll have to see have happens in season 2.

In terms of how I saw their relationship, I mean, I saw it as kind of '19 year old disinterested neighbour who helped the neightbour's child out of a tree against his better judgement and now said child won't leave him alone and oh fuck she's being bullied better actually take care of her and oh fuck I actually enjoy her now' but that's just me.

And yes, there is a power imbalance. Because he is (demon equivalence) 10+ years older than her. Like am I the only one who remembers being 8 and thinking that 13 year olds were the shit? Like that's what little kids do, they idolize and look up to people who are even just a little bit older than them. If older kids don't have power over littler kids, the entire industry of babysitting will collapse. So yes, Sesshomaru has power over Rin when she is 8.

The one argument I see all the time that proves he doesn't have power over her is that 'she can leave anytime she wants'. OK. But she's 8, and Sesshomaru is the first person to provide her with some semblance of welcome since her family was killed. She's not gonna think of going anywhere while Sesshomaru is doing that for her. Any 8 year old in that situation would have the same answer. And even so, WHERE WOULD SHE GO? Rin has no money, no family, no friends, no connections. The only people interested in her welfare are Sesshomaru, Jaken, and eventually the Inugang.

It's like if you and me were dropped into a foreign country and I'm the one who understands the language and the culture and the currency and you have nowhere else to go anyway because nobody wants you and I'm telling you things like 'you can leave whenever you want to!' like maybe that's a bad example, but that's what I hear when people say she can leave whenever she wants to. 1) why would she think of that and 2) WHERE WOULD SHE GO?

And even so at the end of the series when Rin lives with Kaede, she doesn't do it because she wants to, she does it because Sesshomaru told her to stay there. So...Rin only left him when he told her to. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I don't know, I hope that gives you a better understanding of how I feel about the pairing. No judgement of anybody who ships it! I have some ships that are a bit on the weirder side too, we all do, lmao. I'm glad your ship became canon, and I hope that next season Sunrise actually attempts to give people more than 88 seconds. #imstillsalty #isaidwhatisaid

(unless you're telling me to kill myself in my askbox or on my channel, lmao, then, yes, all the judgement)

#sunrise #ask #anonymous #yashahime #hanyo no yashahime #anti sessrin #anti sesshomaru #anti rinsess #anti hanyo no yashahime #sesshomaru #rin #inuyasha

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