#There isn't any (or at least much less) in France

[losttranslator]

those big franchise restaurants that have "original recipe since [brand creation] as part of their slogan and their recipes are different from country to country lmao

#liaaaars #I've been to kfc in three different countries and they don't taste the same #Fun fact the boneless chicken tenders are spicy too in Hungary #And the hot wings are extra spicy #And there's pepper in the chicken in Ireland (and they don't call them tenders) #There isn't any (or at least much less) in France #So which is the real “original” recipe huh? #YOU CAN HAVE BEANS OR GRAVY AS A SIDE IN KFC IRELAND???

[vagabond-umlaut]

⁙ ensnared

No matter what the world says, no matter what the world believes in, Gojo is nothing but a puny fly to the wily spider that you are. Flying headfirst into the gossamer web your skilled fingers have spun, time after time after time— The silk threads, perfectly tailored. Just for him.

▸ Gojo x Wife!Reader; Tooth-Rotting Domestic Fluff; Very Very Suggestive Themes; Nudity; Mentions of Food & A Plant Dying; Gojo calls his wife 'cookie'; Everything is fair in love and war ;) [This Fic's Rated Mature -> MDNI!!! ^_^]

▸ This is for you, Dilay! *MWAH MWAH MWAH* @roseqzpd

For all that is said about him, Gojo is a man who succumbs to only two temptations.

One:

Sweet dishes, regular intake of which will put anyone into a hyperglycemic crisis. [Good thing, he isn't just 'anyone'.]

And the other one:

You. His wife. His sweet, sweet, sweetest wife, who's currently peering up at him from his lap, wrapped in nothing except a way too tiny bath towel— however– he instructs himself the nth time since you emerged from the bathroom– you are a temptation he refuses to cave in to... just for now.

Strangely cognizant of his mind [like you are, more often than not], Gojo watches you intently stare at his lips for a full two seconds. Then repeat the request you made less than thrice today, but your husband already feels his defenses crumbling.

"'Toruuu," you whine, wrapping your arms round his neck and pressing closer, "Won't you help your wife choose a pretty outfit for today's get-together? I'm so confused... You want your wife to look the best among all the ladies there– tell me, don't you?"

"'Course, I do, cookie!" he exclaims, indignant as to how you could ever think anything otherwise— before a sudden ping! from his laptop sends him careening to the ground like a deflated balloon.

The poor man sighs. "But there's still so much work left to be done–"

"– which you can always complete once you've helped me, 'Toru," you cut him off with a pout, that slowly gathers a playful tinge as you ask, "Why are you behaving like this, though? Usually, you jump at the faintest chance to get out of paperwork. But now..."

Eyes growing comically wide, your voice sinks to a conspiratorial whisper. So worried, so cute. "Did anyone threaten to leak where your secret sweets stash is, 'Toru? If you– you know– submit these reports too late like always, eh?"

The only response your husband manages to eke out for your query is a very strained chuckle... 'cause, yeah, that's right.

Nanami promised to do exactly that– telling his very dear but having-black holes-for-stomachs students where his foreign sweets are stored– besides telling you how the white-haired man hogged ten chocolates one day despite his allowed daily two– and how your favourite star cactus didn't die from age but from him overwatering it, that week you were on a mission in France two months back– should he submit anything late ever again... But, no, wait.

You were on a foreign trip when he was given this ultimatum, and returned only last night. And Nanami promised to not tell you these yet– at least, not any time before that damned deadline's over. So, how...

"'Toruuu," Your petulant self, very adorably so, draws him away from his musings. And Gojo swears, if he wasn't losing before, he certainly is now. Your watery eyes, lower lip jutted out just the right amount and your nails leaving a delicious trail on his undercut— they've always been too strong for the world's strongest sorcerer.

Groaning, he leans forward to rest his forehead on yours. And darts his eyes to bore into yours lest they travel to your soft skin peek– NO, DON'T GO THERE. NOT NOW. PLEASE.

He huffs. "Okay, fine."

You open your mouth, probably to screech in delight, but your husband shushes you with a finger to your lips. He continues, shifting his tone to a graver timbre, "But only to help you choose your outfit– nothing else."

Lips curving into a wide smile behind his finger, your eyes gleam in terribly concealed delight. He has to actively stop himself from kissing you right then and there— there are still three mission reports left to be filed.

"And if I catch you trying to change the stream to anything else," he warns. You nestle closer into him, blinking your gorgeous eyes up at him in silent wait. A chuckle [which sounds more embarrasingly choked than anything] leaves him.

Features shifting into something brighter than a supernova, you push his finger away. And giggling, say, "You won't go easy on me— right, 'Toru?"

[In hindsight, though, Gojo thinks he should have recognised this plan to be yours.

From the way you step out the bathroom, not in your usual bathrobe but a towel... To the way you beg him to help decide your dress, in spite of knowing well how he leans towards only white or light blue choices... To the way your towel– pretty conveniently and accidentally, of course– slips lower not even ten minutes into the task...

To the soft 'Oops!' you exhale but make no move to cover your exposed chest, a mute thrill clear in the curve on your lips as you watch him watch, drink in, mentally devour the delectable sight before— your ever-present coyness nowhere to be found even as he strips you, nothing hiding you anymore from his starving gaze...

To the smug smile you're offering him now, the next day, after he's been thoroughly chewed out by Yaga for submitting his work a whopping four hours late...

Your wicked, brilliant, bewitching eyes go from him, to the mountain of empty candy wrappers on the centre table, to the empty pot of soil on the windowsill– the one that had your annoying, attention-hogging desert plant– then return to him.

A shudder runs down his spine— which doesn't take long to transform into a shiver of excitement. And a very, very warm burst of fondness right in the middle of his chest.

The man shakes his head with a laugh, 'cause—

For all that is said about him, Gojo is a man who succumbs to only two temptations.

And he'll be a fool, if he is to mess with the second– and more important of the two–

You.

His sweet, sweet, sweeter than the sweetest sweet dish, but startlingly sharp wife.]

[Also, no joke, but isn't your 'Toru insanely in love with you, even more for that?]

Gojo, some time later: My cookie is sooo smart– did ya know that, Nanamin? Hehe. Nanami: Why TF do you always hide in my office every time your wife is mad at you?

▸ Divider by @hitobaby. Header from Pinterest. I don't own the characters used here.

▸ masterlist

#gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru x you #satoru x reader #satoru x you #jjk x reader #jjk x you #gojo fluff #jjk fluff #kit posts 📝

[wizardfrog69]

'•.¸♡ First kiss ♡¸.•'

Fluff

Masterlist

Enjoy!

Feat. Fukuzawa, Yosano, Atsushi, Kunikida, Ranpo, Chuuya, Kouyou, Arthur, Akutagawa, Gin, Ango, Poe, Karl, Lovecraft, Mark, Hawthrone, Fyodor, Nikolai, Sigma, Jōno, Tetchō, Natsume

Yukichi Fukuzawa:

He definitely had his first kiss before, maybe in his twenties.

He wanted to save his first kiss for someone who would want to be with him forever, but they unfortunately left him.

He would kiss someone after at least a couple of weeks of being together. He prefers to know whether that person wants to marry him or not.

Your first kiss was at his office when you were doing overtime, and you wanted to keep him company.

He's okay at kissing.

Akiko Yosano:

She had her first kiss when she was young, in her teenage years.

Your first kiss was either when you two were on a coffee date or when she was taking care of you (and you weren't under the influence of any medication)

Also she's a very good kisser.

Atsushi Nakajima:

He never had his first kiss and is really nervous to kiss someone.

The first time you kissed he was sweating a lot.

His lips were soft.

Your first time kissing was when you were sitting on a bench or on a wall watching the sunset. (You asked, obviously)

Doppo Kunikida:

He never kissed someone and also wants to wait to kiss someone.

He wants to be with his ideal partner and kiss them I'm the ideal way (just a peck on the cheek or something)

Your first kiss was when he was saying goodbye to you by your door, and he kisses you on the cheek.

Cheek kisses count as proper kisses for him.

Ranpo Edogawa:

He had his first kiss in his early twenties/late teens.

The first time you kissed you were cuddling together.

He tastes very sweet and sometimes he's chewing on sweets while kissing you.

Chuuya Nakahara:

He didn't have his first kiss yet.

You two kissed after a mission you had together.

He tastes like expensive wine and cigarettes.

Kōyō Ozaki:

She never kissed anyone before.

When you first kissed, she was a but surprised that she liked it so much and wanted to kiss you more.

She has really soft lips and she smells like flowers.

Arthur Rimbaud:

Hes just cold.

He did kiss some people in France, and he didn't meet anyone while outside of France.

The first time you kissed was by a fire.

His lips were really cold.

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa:

He's not kissing anyone, ever.

Gin Akutagawa:

She didn't kiss anyone before.

The first time you kissed she was a bit shy but got comfortable quickly.

Sakunosuke Oda:

He's dead sorry 😞

Ango Sakaguchi:

He's too busy for relationships.

But when he found you he couldn't keep himself away.

You first kissed in his office.

Despite never kissing anyone he was surprisingly not bad.

Edgar Allan Poe:

He had his first kiss before, but he was really shy, and he only kissed someone once before.

The first time you kissed him, he froze from shock, and he was just so nervous.

His lips are a bit cracked.

When he got less nervous, he would kiss you back, but he was way too shy to wrap his arms around you.

If karl saw him, he would cry.

Karl:

Karl deserves a little kiss on his cute little forehead.

He gets plenty of them from Poe, but you are gonna give him one aswell cuz he's so adorable.

Howard Lovecraft:

He never kissed someone before.

When you kissed him, his lips were surprisingly cold.

He isn't the worst or the best kisser in the world. He's okay

Mark Twain:

He had like 3 girlfriends in high school, of course he kissed someone before.

He's really good at kissing (he had plenty of practice)

The first time you kissed was he got you ice cream.

Nathaniel Hawthrone:

He never kissed anyone and isn't planning on kissing.

Fyodor Dostoevsky:

He never kissed anyone before and he never really planned on kissing someone.

When you first kissed him, it was a simple peck on the lips, but to Fyodor, it was very special. He never dared to say anything about it, though.

His lips are cracked and dry.

Nikolai Gogol:

He has definitely kissed someone before.

He's a good kisser and very touchy, especially while kissing.

The first time you kissed was in a hallway, his hands were moving all over your body.

He tastes like cotton candy and pastries.

Sigma:

He never kissed anyone.

He was really shy when you first kissed.

You kissed at/after a café or coffee shop, so he tasted like coffee. Or, while at a garden, he tasted like cookies and tea. It was just a small peck on the lips, but it was still really nice, especially because his lips were so nice and soft.

Saigiku Jōno:

He had kissed before but not a lot, like 1 or two people.

He is a good kisser but he doesn't kiss you often.

Also, he likes touching you while kissing you as well.

Tetchō Suehiro:

He never kissed anyone before.

When you first kissed, he tasted like the weirdest mix of flavours ever.

Sōseki Natsume:

Kitty meow meow =^..^= :)

He gets kisses on his forehead when he's a kitty from me.

I love cats <3

༺♡༻ 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 ⋆ 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 ༺♡༻

I wrote everything in one go! Hurray! Now I'm tired from thinking.

Have a wonderful day/night and enjoy the day or evening.

-love. Az

#bsd #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs #fukuzawa bsd #yosano x reader #bsd atsushi #kunikida doppo bsd #edogawa ranpo imagines #chuuya bsd #kouyou x reader #rimbaud x reader #bsd akutagawa #gin akutagawa #ango x reader #poe x you #raccoon karl #lovecraft x reader #mark twain #nathaniel hawthrone #fyodor x reader #nikolai headcanon #sigma x reader #saigiku jouno x reader #bsd tetchou #bsd nikolai #ranpo x reader

[cryptophasia-nabros]

So, as far as we know in canon, baby America and Canada were left in North America whenever France and England had to return to Europe.

And some solve this by ignoring canon (as we do) and having Canada and America go with them, at least to some extent.

Canon itself is weird as It seems sometimes Nations can travel instantly and others it takes as much time as humans. So, ya know, canon be crazy and the aforementioned is as good a headcanon as any.

But I had a thought along the Nations as cryptids line...

What if America and Canada were left behind because they had to be? Because Nations are part of their land and people and when they're young enough, they need to stay near that land and people. The further a young Nation gets away, they start to sicken. And since nation and Nation are tied together, this goes both ways. Once the nation (or colony) is more firmly established, and the personification is therefore 'old enough ', they can travel freely. Less than that, it's dangerous.

Leaves great whump potential. For instance, if we go with a Vinland? Maybe Norway or whomever found a baby Vinland and thought to bring him back with him. Halfway across the ocean, Vinland starts to sicken. Not more than a few weeks after landing in Norway, he dies. The settlement withers soon after and Norway is heartbroken.

In any case, the New World is SO far from Europe, and completely unconnected. This isn't like a kid South Italy, with an established people and culture, including his own language, living next door in Spain's house. These are very young , fresh colonies, still puzzling out their identities, and there's a whole ocean between them and Europe. They're like vampires at this point - they need the soil of their birth to sustain them. ( A weak or wounded Nation might have this too, where they heal/revive faster on their own land. ) So, England and France and the others are very cautious about taking their Colonies with them too soon.

Obviously, no one need adopt this. I just thought it would be an interesting alternative headcanon.

#hws america #hws canada #na brothers #na twins #na bros #aph america #aph canada #hws na bros #aph hetalia headcanons

[sammythetrxnny]

I am going to write a whole thing about the Osemanverse. Read if you dare.

I was born for this is perfect because it shows how much shipping celebrities is NOT OK. the jowan fanfics are showing how terrible this is. Celebrities are people too. Human beings. They have emotions, they have needs, they have their own thoughts. They know what we talk about in the fandoms.

And for Angel's part. I love the Osemanverse just like she loves the Ark. It's crazy. An Osemanverse book describing my love for the Osemanverse. But how she thinks her friends are tired of her because she talks about it all the time. I do the same. And I also have an online bestie.

For Solitaire. I cannot express the emotions this book made me feel. I can relate to both Tori and michael. I am currently waiting 4 weeks for the audiobook to be available on my schools library website. I want to cry my eyes out for these characters again.

And Heartstopper my lovely. Pure perfection on every panel. The details, the story, the dialogue, the characters. Everything. In volume 1 Charlie tries to recover from bullying, not understanding that the trauma isn't going away. And Nick realizes he likes boys, but still has feelings for girls sometimes. He explores bisexuality and finds out he is in love.

Volume 4 is my favorite because I cry my eyes out every single time. If my lovely Charles Francis Spring experiences any discomfort I am in tears. Charlie finds out so much in volume 4 and Nick is trying to help but he doesn't understand that "love can't cure a mental illness".

And last but CERTAINLY NOT LEAST! Radio Silence!!! (My fav) so let's start with Aled. Aled Last is a quiet boy. He doesn't have many friends. He is very smart. He is cool, he is funny, he is more than he thinks he is. He just has an asshole mother. (Sorry for the language but you know it's true). I cannot emphasize the COOL part enough. Aled is the coolest character ever. This boy created a famous podcast and was able to keep it a secret (for a while but then... Yk).

And for Frances. She is so passionate about the things she loves. Universe City is her LIFE. Fanart, fanfics, and a part of every Tumblr tag. Look at my username for God's sake. (I know I spelled it wrong but I only ever listened to the audiobook). Frances is also so smart. I am so angry that this amazing girl didn't get into her university! I was so mad.

Here is a list of characters that can go f*ck themselves:

Carol Last.

Ben Hope(less)

Harry Greene.

Whoever declined Francis's college application.

Lucan Ryan.

David Nelson.

Feel free to add to this list.

(I HAVE NOT FINISHED LOVELESS YET!!)

#alice oseman #Oseman #oseman tag #osemanverse #heartstopper alice oseman #solitaire alice oseman #heartstoppercomic #heartstopper spoilers #heartstopper comic #heartstopper #heartstopper comics #heartstopper netflix #kit connor #joe locke #heartstopper tori #michael and tori #tori spring #tori and michael #michael holden #aled radio silence #radio silence #francis janvier #aled and frances #frances and aled #iwbftreread #the ark iwbft #iwbft #the ark #jimmy kaga ricci #angel rahimi

[historia-vitae-magistras]

The 19th century is basically a shoujo drama and Kiku is the protagonist: Prussia and Japan have a very close linked history together, so much so that Japan adapted the German Civil law system into it's legal system. European, especially French painters adored Japanese art styles and adapted them in their own paintings to create the Japanonism art movement. Kiku basically could pick an choose.

Agreed! He's got the whole world in his pocket! And Kiku sampled. Monogamy, in my opinion, isn't how nations function in general. Kiku has deep ties and emotional attachments to a lot of countries. I just really like romantic relationships where I'm mostly looking at respect and mutual benefit with these eldritch dirt fucks and the Dutch fill that need lmao. Fuckng bastards.

The Dutch are shockingly loyal, and this cultural trust seems to have built up even after the end of Sakoku. Linguistically, Japanese dictionaries preferred Dutch over English loan words right up until post-WW2. In Nagasaki, the Dutch are seen constantly in the architecture and food culture. It's fascinating how we've discovered an English linguistic bias in sources. When we compensate for this, history decentralizes Britain and America for us and reveals a Japan whose ties, especially to the west, are much more complicated than the Anglosphere. Even after taking several courses on Japanese history over my university years, I found so much about Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Taiwan, Australia, etc. But the Dutch stands out to me. Physically Kiku's land is more formed by Dutch work than American or British. Water management, harbours, bridges, canals, drainage, agriculture reforms, erosion management. And these things started centuries ago and are still going.

And the art! Ah! The French and Japonisme... some art that makes me highly uncomfortable. La Japonaise is some of the least egregious but holy mother of orientalism. Monet's bridges are much more respectful. Van Gogh's works are primarily in that category. Starry Night was directly inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Upon the birth of his nephew in the Spring of 1890, Van Gogh painted his famous Almond Blossoms, also inspired by Japanese nature prints. For Jan who would have grown up a medieval Christian, those almond blossoms would have as much significance as the sakura in Japan and I really do think there's at least a copy of it above their bed at some point. The first Dutch ship that crashlanded in Japan did so in April 1600. The entire relationship is 400 years of everything spring comes with

The Dutch gave Japan its first modern ship, the Kankō Maru. The Dutch Monarch and diplomatic corps write love letters, make super emotional speeches, and show affection for Japan in their official statements. Kiku might be slightly more reticent in his public affection, but I don't think it's any less profound. He built an entire replica of a Dutch city that is the largest in the country. Huis Ten Bosch is literally larger than Tokyo Disneyland. Idk, man; there's just a lot here that makes me emotional. Like, look at this piece from the poetry Basho, as translated by Jane Reichhold.

kapitan mo tsukubawase keri kimi go haru

even the captain bows down before the lord of spring

#Jan and Kiku || my favourite hello and hardest goodbye #the ask box || probis pateo #nedpan #Jan || God made Earth the Dutch made Holland #Kiku || these flowing islands

[panlight]

Considering vampires are eternal, the Cullens could actually have come from any place/time period, so assuming Carlisle is actually 700 years old, what time would all the Cullens have come from? And which country? Would you change their physical age too?

If we're making Carlisle that old, then the logical thing to me is place him during the Black Death, since in his own canon time period there was another, although less severe, outbreak of the plague. So he was maybe born 1325ish and then was turned in 1348ish while the plague was ravaging London. In the old folklore, vampires were associated with disease, so you could tie that in somehow too: that his father thought hunting the vampires would end the outbreak or whatever.

Esme's name always seemed very French to me, so I'd probably move her origin to France if we had more time to work with (might be spelled Esmée though if she is legitimately French). I might make her a few years older so she's more believable as an adoptive mother.

But Edward has to be there first. Let's give Edward Carlisle's original slot of Cromwellian/Restoration England! Honestly his spiritual hang-ups would make way more sense with that background than it does for an upper middle class lawyer's kid from Chicago. Yes, actually, hold on, this is making total sense! Edward and his mother Elizabeth are dying of the 1665 plague in London; and things play out as they did in 1918 Chicago. Yes. Perfect.

They then go to France and add Esme/Esmée to the family (maybe Carlisle met her earlier working or studying in France) in the late 1600s, early 1700s.

Then eventually they go to the USA, either before or after it becomes a country. I think the others would still be Americans. Maybe Rosalie is from the revolutionary era; yes, actually, and Emmett too because they were the same age, and so Emmett and Garrett would be extra close bros being from the same time period. There can still be the social class and geographic differences between Emmett and Rosalie.

I still like the 1920s vibes with Alice and she feels more 'modern' than the rest, so I might keep that. Jasper could be involved with literally any war and his story would work; Mexican-American war could work if we want to keep Maria as his creator. Otherwise we could give him WWI, since Edward isn't daydreaming about it this time, and he could get caught up in some ancient vampire war in Europe instead.

Bella should stay the same I think; and I think Edward does work better if he's really that much older. And I also think the age gap is somehow less creepy when it's legitimately not possible they could have met as humans. In canon, they were born in 1901 and 1987. He was 86 when she was born; he could have still been alive. But in this version he was born in the 1600s, there is no way they are ever meeting but through supernatural means, it's so farfetched that it removes (for me, at least, your mileage my vary) some of the ick factor.

#asks

[usernoneexistent]

Once Rowan has recovered and heads into the new year, Juniper and Rowan discuss what their next moves are and who could possibly help them.

Warnings: one use of bad language

A week passed, and Rowan mostly recovered, albeit with the occasional chill. Still, by Madam Pomfrey's standards, she was healthy, which was good enough for Juniper, and the blue tinge on her skin had faded entirely. During that time, Juniper brought chocolate frogs, star charts, books, and the missed assignments to occupy Rowan's mind. Juniper shared her concerns that they might have a traitor in the midst who tried to sabotage her. They immediately ruled out Badeea because she would have no motive and was often seen painting in her own world, whereas Tulip was tricky. Depending on the offer, her alliance could change on a dime, while their other dormmate, Skye, could have framed Juniper. Still, she isn't that sneaky, nor would she ally with a Slytherin to get back at Juniper. She could do that all perfectly on her own.

However, Rowan pointed out that a Prefect could have just as easily snuck in and avoided suspicion. Prefects check in on the younger students all the time. With that, they were bad to square one, but something in her was nagging that it wasn't perfect.

Rowan is slightly tired by Juniper's hovering. She appreciated it, but it can be a lot, too, from Juniper.

Juniper knew how to take care of people, and that's for sure. Looking after her mum had been her job since she was six.

"I just want tae make sure that you're okay."

"I know but I also feel so useless." Rowan lamented.

Juniper sat beside her, resting her head on Rowan's shoulder. "You're not useless at all, Rowan. You saved me; remember that, at least."

Rowan smiled, but she didn't seem entirely convinced. "We'll see."

Winter was approaching faster than Juniper could anticipate. The dreaded Christmas holidays were going to be spent with her father, whom she was not pleased to see. She wrote lots of letters to Rowan and Ben. Basem was away on holiday with his family in France, so she was alone, and to add on everything else, she caught a cold. Juniper wondered if it was the rain or a build-up of stress causing her blocked nose and itchy throat.

She recovered with the help of mint teas and caught up on lost sleep. Juniper returned tired but ready to continue her quest for that cursed vault.

Dumbledore's welcome-back speech again reminded students to stay safe and report any strange activities. There was an unsettling feeling in the air. Did something happen over the break? Did Merula get to the vault while she and Rowan were gone?

"Do you think he's onto tae us?" She whispered, trying hard to hold in that cough.

Rowan leaned, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, and whispered, "I don't think so, or at the very least, I hope not."

Juniper caught the stares of another intruder in their conversation. Dark eyes matching Juniper's darted away, and red hair swished as Tulip moved her head away from Juniper and Rowan.

Juniper's hunch was correct. Dammit, Tulip is too much of a wildcard to understand her intention. The self-made chaos followed that girl. Juniper could never recall if she hung out with anyone or if Tulip even had friends. The only thing that assured Juniper was that if Tulip pointed fingers at her for the Slytherin attack, she would implicate herself.

In the common room at their corner, Rowan and Juniper just chatted. It was the furthest away from everybody; they had claimed it since the first year. It was nice having their own space. She found her fellow Ravenclaws less hostile, but they ignored Juniper. Those points of redemption really helped her image.

"Do you want to return to the cursed vault?" Juniper inquired, wondering if she might need to continue independently. She didn't like to ask Ben again, nor did Juniper want Penny injured under her care.

"Hmm. I don't think so," Rowan noticed Juniper's face dropping. "Or, at the very least, I don't think I'm ready now."

Juniper rested her face onto her hands. Her face was stiff from overthinking. "I don't think I can ask Ben or Penny to help but even if I took one of them, I don't know if they want to or if that's even enough to fight that door."

Rowan crept up and bared a broad, thin smile. She had something handy up her sleeve.

"Luckily, you have a friend who makes multiple lists on everything. I've spend countless hours alone in my room making lists of the most powerful students at Hogwarts based on various factors."

"What's your recommendation?" Juniper perked up.

"Ben is an obvious answer, but we both know he might not want to get involved again. Merula, we can forget about it. Both were no-brainers, and she felt her heart sink, but Rowan came to the rescue. "There is someone more powerful than you, Ben and Merula, who could maybe help."

"Who?"

"Bill Weasley."

Juniper's eyebrows furrowed in as she searched through her brain. Of course, she knew of the Weasleys, and there was a Charlie Weasley in her year. Maybe a brother or cousin?

"I ken the name but I don't ken the person."

"You've never heard of Bill Weasley?! He's one of the most popular boys in school! He's one of the most powerful wizards in his year!" A creeping pink colour filled her cheeks as she rambled on about him. "He's sure to be a prefect and head boy, and everyone says he's one of the bravest students at Hogwarts!"

"Sounds like you fancy him," Juniper teased her, taking the opportunity there.

"I, ah...I don't..." Rowan mumbled, her face flushed to a bright scarlet. "I think he's cool that's all."

"Aye, okay," the girl said, shaking her head with a cheeky grin in disbelief. "And how will we get him to help with the cursed vaults?"

"Well wouldn't the sound of adventure be appealing for anyone brave ?"

"Maybe a gift too?"

"Oh, you could get him this book by Patricia Rakepick. She's a world-renowned curse-breaker and current head of cursebreakers at Gringotts Bank." Rowan rambled on a little more, but Juniper didn't mind. She's amazed at how much Rowan knew. She is the walking embodiment of the lexicon. "It's in line with Bill's interests."

Juniper teasefully nudged. "I take it you have been watching him for a while."

"You're enjoying this far too much aren't you?"

"You know me too well," Juniper quipped. Even Rowan had to chortle. It felt nice to laugh. It had felt like forever since she had been able to laugh about some normality.

Juniper found out more from Rowan. She explained Bill's training schedule, so Juniper selected a weekend as the professors slowly started to cascade down homework and assignments. It was the freest time she could get. She thought the first year was terrible, but the second year was worse.

If there was any proof, Snape would double their workload. Juniper thought she might have some sanctuary because of Merula's lies. Still, Merula's mood soured more due to the detention given by Professor Snape.

According to Rowan, Bill occupied the training grounds to practise his duelling. Juniper avoided the weekend training in the first year due to the senior students taking claims. She had Ben or alternative dummies to practise with.

A tall and lanky boy was whipping about his wand. His shoulder-length red hair swung with his movements. All spells targeted the dummy perfectly. Juniper was impressed that he could even do it verbal less; she wasn't at that stage yet.

"Um...Bill Weasley?"

Bill Weasley stopped what he was doing and turned his attention towards the second year before him. His eyes patiently waited for her.

"Did you get my owl?"

"Yes, what can I do for you, Juniper Moss?"

Juniper tried not to look surprised; she shouldn't have to be. Her name was well known throughout Hogwarts, but it was still shocking to have someone immediately know her. Juniper felt it robbed the joy of getting to know someone on a fresh slate.

"I can tell you're wondering how I know you, aren't you?" He laughed, flashing a bright white brick wall with a smile. "Your brother was the talk of the Weasleys household when the Daily Prophet printed his search for the cursed vaults. Rumour mill is that you're following in his footsteps."

Jacob's shadow struck again. Juniper didn't want that to bog her down. Instead, she realised the gift. She held out the book in hand.

"I brought you a gift...It's a book about a witch named Patricia Rakepick. Rowan says she's one of the world's most famous curse-breakers." Juniper trailed off. She searched for any reaction on the older Gryffindor's face.

A broad smile formed. "Thanks, Juniper. You didn't have to do that. I want to help anyway I can with the cursed vaults."

"You really sure about that?" Juniper still had to ask despite him already agreeing to help her out. "You could get hurt?"

"I'm aware, but I want to become a curse-breaker," Bill said with determination. "And if I want to be the best curse-breaker, I need to have experience."

"Sounds like a cool aspiration."

"I think you would make a great curse-breaker, too with your experience with the cursed vaults."

"Well, I don't know what I want to do yet after Hogwarts." Juniper shrugged. Her plan after Hogwarts was just to get a good-paying job; besides, she had other matters to worry about. "Also, any advice on improving my spellcasting?" The Ravenclaw queried.

"I would focus on your charms, transfiguration, and DADA classes. Always practise your spells there first before practising outside. Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall can help you practise safely." Bill pondered more, his hand resting on his chin. Okay, maybe not DADA. That was bad advice. The Professor is terrible."

"Tell me about it; he's constantly disappearing. It's like he does nae want to teach." She rolled her eyes. She quickly fixed her scarf, pulling it up to her chin to keep warm.

Bill chuckled, "I think we both can agree on that. How does Saturday at noon sound for training?"

"With you?"

"Of course, who else? After all, you came to me for help and this is me helping." Bill proudly said.

"Sounds like a plan, Bill."

***

"So how was meeting Bill like? Learned any cool spells? Was he cool? Did you guys discuss the weather?" Rowan immediately showered Juniper with questions to satisfy her unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

"Aye, he's cool, Rowan." Juniper smiled. "He agreed to help me but first we're going to practise our duelling every Saturday until I'm as good as him."

"I'm so jealous. Did he ask about me?" Rowan looked eager like a cruppy.

"I don't think he knows who you are..." Juniper trailed off. She had mentioned her friend's name in passing, but that's it.

"Oh..."

"But if you want me to, I could mention you more." Juniper threw out the suggestion, eager at the idea of helping Rowan. Rowan looked almost as keen on her idea.

"You can tell Bill Weasley to send me an owl if he ever wants a study partner," Rowan suggested, shrugging awkwardly. "Or just someone to hang out with."

"I'll be sure to tell him that. Maybe you'd could even join one Saturday? That way you meet him in person."

But her friend shook her head shyly in refusal.

"I don't think I'm that ready to meet him." Though the intense stare from Rowan was rare. "But can you promise me that you'll tell him that we can be study partners."

Juniper laughed; there was nothing she wouldn't do for her best and first friend.

"I promise."

The weeks passed quickly as Juniper found herself occupied by quidditch practice after lessons and weekends spent with Bill Weasley. Her skills improved as she honed into this new routine, yet her motivation waned. She would tell herself that she was a Tern. Tenacious. Nevertheless, she felt pressured by all the different responsibilities and the nagging voice in the back of her head about the faux Slytherin attack.

In her Quidditch, Skye gave many valuable pointers in return for Juniper aiding—more like writing—her charms homework. However, Roan Smith often grunted about helping the green players. Juniper and Andre decided to teach each other and gather information from Murphey McNully, who had unlimited information on Quidditch.

"Earth to Juniper," Skye waved.

"Yeah, I'm listening," Juniper pretended that she did.

"I'm seriously doubting that," she raised an eyebrow. "You've been distracted lately, and we need everyone prepared for the match against Slytherin."

That worried her: Slytherin would retaliate because of the accusations. People still whispered about the November incident, which would be all her fault if that did happen.

"Don't worry. I am taking it seriously. Look at the long way I've come." Juniper mustered a feeble smile though the training was evident. Her arms grew dense as once-nonexistent muscles formed. She even managed to lift a stack of heavy textbooks without relying on Charlie or Andre.

"Well, you're less likely to land on your arse, that's for sure," Skye said, which garnered a frown that quickly turned to a chuckle from Juniper.

"I don't think I'm that bad," Juniper said, to which Skye raised an eyebrow.

"Also, I have been doing my own investigation. I'm following several of the Slytherin players, especially Erika Rath to see if I can catch them cheating."

A lump formed in Juniper's throat. Deep down, she knew she had to finally say something or else Skye could do something drastic, which could lead to an actual dispute as if there wasn't enough animosity.

Skye hesitated, "I won't expect you to help but I don't mind having extra help. If you can make sure not to have conflicting schedules."

Juniper quickly turned down the offer. "No, I'm too busy."

"Alright, your loss then," Skye said as she went to put her broom away.

Juniper should be happy that she has gained Skye's trust, but she really needs to put a stop to this. Let the truth come out, but Juniper knew Skye would not react well. Understandably so because Juniper had deceived her, but her lips were ready to slip out everything.

Considering all her options, she turned to the one person who could possibly help. Juniper went to the pitch; she walked up to where Orion was meditating on the field.

"Hey, Orion," Juniper sounded unsure.

"Greetings Juniper, I sense that you are not coming for a social visit." Orion greeted her with an all-knowing yet amiable smile.

"Aye, I need to discuss something important with you," Juniper cracks her knuckles. "I did something, and I'm not sure how to undo it if you know how."

"This is regarding what has been weighing on your mind," Orion responded. Not even the slight breeze could shake him. Juniper nodded as Orion continued, "I have noticed that you have been slightly off balance even after you and Skye have found peace."

"I guess you could say that," Juniper acknowledged. It must have weighed heavily if her captain could see the scales of a guilty conscious tipped heavily to one side. "I am a numpty; I did something incredibly idiotic -and reckless-" she quickly added. Orion's gaze fixated on her as he attentively listened. "I was the one behind the Slytherin attack. But I had never intended to create discord between the houses. I just needed a distraction for another matter, and I thought it was the perfect plan. Well at least I thought so at the moment. I can see now how incredibly stupid it was of me."

Orion paused; Juniper could see him pondering behind his eyes. His calm smile remained. "First, I want to applaud you for taking the initiative to admit a transgression. It is difficult to acknowledge a fault that many others would not admit."

"I'll understand if you want to kick me off the team," the reserved player mumbled.

Orion shook his head. "You possess an untapped potential, but I fear you tend to stand in your own way. Naturally, you will have to make amends for the people who are hurt because of your actions. How you handle it is up to you, and the first step is to redeem yourself."

Juniper, ashamed, had to nod in agreement. She knew Skye would be very hurt, as would the Slytherin quidditch team, who had been unjustly criticised because of her.

"What the hell, Juniper!" She looked down at the source of the loud voice. Skye was standing below them, with steam blowing out of her ears. "That better not be true!"

"I know who I need to apologise and explain to first, and thanks, Orion," Juniper braced herself before going down. The captain nodded sympathetically and let her go. She took a deep breath in before facing Skye, "It's true I was behind the Slytherin attack, but it was not-"

"You lied to me! How many more lies have you told, huh?" Skye accused. "And to use foil a quidditch match on top of that, too! Quidditch may be a joke to you, but it isn't to me! I can't believe this!"

Juniper wasn't sure what to say. Any action she takes will make it worse, but not doing anything will also make it seem to Skye that she doesn't care when she actually does. Maybe she doesn't take Quidditch as seriously as Skye or Andre, but she still finds it necessary and has grown fond of the sport.

"All I can say is I'm sorry. The only thing I wanted you to know was nae to undermine or deceive you initially," Juniper gulped, fighting back her undeserving tears. I lied because I was scared you would react and lose you as a friend."

Her words don't have any effect on Skye's demeanour.

"If you were truly a friend, then you would nae have done it in the first place," her icy gaze turned to Orion, yelling at him for allowing her to stay.

Juniper knew when she overstayed her welcome. She got changed and knew her next steps were to explain to the Slytherin team. She put her face into her hands, trying to not weep over her actions. The consequences would come sooner; maybe it was best that it was now.

She quickly wiped away her tears. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. Nor does she deserve to cry over her own stupidity. Instead, she left before having to continue to witness Skye's wrath.

After hiding out, Juniper went to practise with Bill to ensure she looked okay. Saturdays have become her busiest days. She needed Rowan to remind her of all the assignments and second-year exams they needed to revise.

Her aim was sloppy during practice, which Bill immediately picked up on. She didn't want to repeat the whole story, so he seemingly understood that something was bothering the young witch and tried to direct her focus on something else.

"I hope you're up for proper duelling." His red eyebrows raised in concern, though his tone was light. "I'll go easy, no worries."

"Then you're making it too easy." Juniper dryly chuckled. She had already had too many trips to the hospital wing and probably couldn't handle it anymore.

"You sure? We can continue practising with dummies." Bill suggested, but the girl was adamant that she would see this through.

"No, I can duel with you."

"I know that you're no stranger to duelling after that fight between you and Merula."

The fight from last year, Juniper, was over Merula's hunger for power and quest to stop the Ravenclaw. She knew she took things too far when she used the banishing spell, but an eye for an eye sometimes was necessary.

"I hope I wasn't too bad." Juniper joked.

"Oh, I didn't see it but my little brother, Charlie told me. He's a second year like you."

"Aye, I think I know him. He's pals with Ben Copper." Juniper mentioned. She had heard about Charlie in passing, and they shared a few classes but had yet to interact with one another. "What'd he tell you?"

"That you were a brilliant dueller. Especially the way you knocked down Merula." Though the smile faded. "A little harsh but I get it. You were saving your friend."

"Not my finest hour but I couldn't just let her continue and terrorise Hogwarts."

"Agreed and it seemed to have work for the most part." A crooked grin formed.

"But just made her attitude worse."

"Oh, absolutely," Bill agreed. "Let's get this duel underway then."

Juniper pulled her wand from her pocket. "Ready to go."

"Rictusempra!"

"Alright, on the mark of one." Bill counted down, "Three, two, one."

"Protego!" Bill immediately countered her spell. There goes disarming him with laughter.

"Tarantallegra!" Bill cut off Juniper. Her instinct was to dodge. She knew the dancing feet spell as it was recently covered in charms. However, she had another ace.

"Reducio!" she charmed herself. Juniper almost laughed in surprise at Bill's widening eyes before a surprised grin followed.

Insect Juniper now had the advantage of being hidden out of sight in the tall wet grass. She hadn't expected the droplets to easily drench her. She sprinted, got behind Bill, and caught him off guard. Bill had a watchful eye speculating her position.

"Engergio," Juniper muttered, pointing the wand to herself. Bill swiftly turned on his heels the moment she grew. "Nice try, Expelliarmus!"

The wand flew forcefully out of her hand. Juniper tried to rush to grab her wand but tripped over her shoes and fell face flat into the grass. Her hat fell off.

"Blimey, you alright?"

Juniper groaned in pain. Bill rushed over and helped her.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"No, but thanks, Bill. It was just a fall. Nothing serious."

Internally, she was relieved because she didn't want to go to the hospital wing. Still, simultaneously, she didn't like to remain seriously hurt.

"I think it's safe to say, you're not a novice." Bill chuckled; his blue eyes were bright. "You could give me a run for my money."

"I don't think I'm that good."

"You give yourself less credit than you actually deserve."

"Really?"

"Yeah really. Wanna have another go?"

"Aye definitely."

They resumed their duel, Juniper trying to produce the less powerful spells, which made them more refined and focused. It helped to distract her and clear her thoughts. Maybe she could even start using them nonverbally.

They continued dodging, ducking, and casting until they collapsed on the frosty grounds—so much for not overdoing it.

"I'd say we've did some great progress."

"Yeah, I would say so too."

The sound of the heavy breathing was somewhat amusing. Bill couldn't help but laugh at their hopeless state.

"We're going to break into the ice vault surely."

"Ice you say?"

"Aye."

"Well I was doing some thinking when you said it and I figured a good spell for you to study is the fire making charm, incendio."

"Who would have thought that a fire spell is great against ice." Juniper said in a joking manner. Bill rolled his eyes playfully at her sarcasm. "But that's good to know. I can study with Rowan, she'll have it somewhere within her six editions of charms textbook."

"Six editions?"

"Oh, for history, she has fifteen editions and a photographic memory." Juniper used the opportunity to praise her friend as she had promised.

"Sounds like someone who would be a great study partner."

"Rowan would nae having a study partner, you could always owl her." Juniper figured it best not to add the other statement about following around.

"Thanks, I might take her up on that."

Juniper felt she was finally getting somewhere. There was a stride in her steps and a noticeable shift in her energy. Her mind was clearer, and she managed better with her school work, Quidditch and duelling practice. Though nothing good lasts forever.

Previous chapter: chapter 16

Next chapter: chapter 18

#the ice knight #hogwarts mystery #lily’s writing #juniper moss #rowan khanna #bill weasley #skye parkin #orion amari #tulip karasu

[submissiveking99]

Hey guys! So... Bit of a nerd talk time where I go about one of my less used muses, I guess

And probably one most people don't expect me to have, I guess.

Or at least, the franchise related to them. Yeah , I'm talking about Power Rangers. Because I be a big ass nerd, and new issues of the comic have come out reminding me of an old post I made a while ago.

So, ever since 2016, we have had an ongoing series of Power Rangers comics done by BOOM! Studios and they are great. Amazing even. Over 150 issues over all, when you combine every run and spin off and such. And outside a few writing hiccups... They've been glorious.

So, one thing the comics have always had and been amazing with.... Are OC Ranger designs

And we've had a lot.

So I thought I'd go through them a bit to show them off and talk about them

So first off... We have their first original Ranger, Lord Drakkon

This suitbis glorious. Lord Drakkon as a character is an evil future version of Tommy Oliver, one who fused the powers of the Green Dragon coin and the White Tiger. And the fusion of their designs works oh so wonderfully well~!

And also, yes. They did make a live action version of the suit. And yes, JDF did wear it, for a live action trailer for the Shattered Grid event that really showed off Drakkon and how dangerous he was

In his world he defeated the Rangers and ruled his world. Killing Billy and stole their powers, seperating the powers across his army to make... Well a literal army of rangers. But not gonna go into them because they are just armoured variants of ranger suits

However Drakkon did evolve three times over the Shattered Grid event

Evolution 1 adding the powers of the Samurai Dangers and (if I remember correctly) the Black Dino Thunder ranger to his form.

And the samurai style real fits.

But following this came....

Evolution II. Using the Zero Powers and several other mophers. The black overtaking everything else just looks so gorgeous, like the corruption of the rangers powers seeping through his very body

Until finally....

Oh what can I SAY about this suit?!

The black, grey, gold and red colour scheme being so beautiful?!

The badass cape?!

The evolved armour and subtle detailing?!

10/10!

Delicious~!

But beyond him.... We have my muse

Ranger Slayer

While most of you who see my Muses sees the Pink MMPR Ranger, Kimberly, you are mostly right

But only mostly. She is only an option for her

Because my muse is ACTUALLY the Ranger Slayer!

An alternative version of Kim, from Drakkon's world. Won't go into too much detail because she's gonna get a solo post. Long story short, she was mind controlled into being Drakkon's assassin. And time travel/multiverse shinanigans, she was freed

But for now.... Look at this DESIGN~!

The white/ black inverse, along black the focus colour, and so much more

Oooh~!!!

Also the extra armour to mimick hear worn by actual archers?

Amazing!

Also... Something about the coloured palms does it for me, lol

Portable part of why I like the Pokémon Salazzel, hehe.

But yeah, Ranger Slayer also further evolved when she eventually returning to her home world. While not a power up, she did her a redesigned suit to show she was now the queen of the world with Drakkon gone

This one, I'm not a big fan of. But I love the slight phoenix motif it has

It really works

That's also not the only power up/alternate power set Kim had in the comics

Introducing... The All-New Power Rangers!

Okay, so, long story short. These are basically budget powers that Kim made. Set after she left in season 3, she had enough of a connection to make boarderline bootleg powers to help save her family from a fish man invasion in France

Because of their almost fake nature, and their powers being drawn from Kim, all the rangers have a very 'street' look, as well as some pink

And I love it, again!

Like, it isn't my favourite, but... It works.

It's a cool 'street level' redesign, if that makes sense

....

And I realise I have no space for any more posts

Damn it!

Looks like I have to do a second post.

Drat

Well, I'll quickly go over one last design.

This one is MUCH newer. Like, three issues ago.

The Zed Ranger

Zedd and the rangers where forced to team up not too long ago, and Zedd hard that as a chance to steal the Rangers tech. Making himself a Morpher for an emergency

An emergency like when Rita returns, super charged, and almost kills him. Leading to a three way war between him, the Rangers and Rita

And do I have to EXPLAIN why this is awesome, from a story or design aspect?!

I'll see you guys next time.

Fuuuck this is badass!!!!

See ya in part 2

Part 2: here

Part 3: here

#nerd talks #mun talks

[quietmoonwitch]

Complex Witch Stuff & Dealing with a Legitimate Curse

I won't write a very long post. (Edit: I guess the post was long after all—could have been even longer.) This is more of a status update. Someone with whom I talk fairly regularly on this platform wrote to me yesterday with, "Where've you been?" My short answer was, "I'll write a post about it."

My longer answer here is, "I live in a community where there are a number of experienced magical practitioners." Make that, "a number of unhinged experienced magical practitioners." And there are at least two or three I'd describe as "crazier than a loon." One of these crazies has laid down a serious curse on me. I have socially and magically verified it. And most of my energy for the past two weeks has gone towards mitigating its effects.

Most witches and sorcerers have 90% online magical personas (unless they're in IRL covens). So someone cursing them has to work through the lines of connection provided by the internet at best. But effective cursing is complex and a curse can work just fine at a distance (especially if it has a strong spiritual intelligence behind it and isn't just a burst of hateful energy). Apart from online, there are even fewer barriers to laying down work on someone.

I often regret exiting the broom closet and becoming known IRL, especially by these local suburban witches, many of whom have enough time, disposable income, and life-frustration to want to mess with others. It also doesn't help that I'm a guy who pretty much keeps to himself but who radiates a lot of "big energy," for lack of a less new age term. It makes me a target for bitter former coven witches.

I could write a long essay about the situation, but I said I'd keep it short. So this is what's up:

I've been in a local coven for a couple years (and have been practicing the craft for about two decades). My background is in traditional craft and folk work, but I've also studied ceremonial magic and been part of several serious IRL magical groups.

Recently, the coven broke up. One guy moved to France and fell out of communication with us. Another woman, who was obsessed with the (married) High Priest, had a breakdown. She decided to go back to her evangelical Christian denomination and reacquire Jesus as her personal savior. She also won't speak to any of us. "Whatever," I recently said to a mutual acquaintance, "I always thought she was a little nutty." Because she was and really didn't have much magic beyond all the seduction work she was putting in on the HP.

There were 13 of us. Most either drifted away or just stopped coming to meetings. The High Priestess and High Priest (married for 10 years and not trying to run a sex cult, despite the schemes of the various unhappy middle-aged ladies in our group) have an open-door policy and a few of us still show up fairly regularly to meditate and have something like a potluck plus discussion, which is largely what we did as a coven. In a sense, we're still a coven. We just stopped calling ourselves that.

Another suburban housewife, who was sort of going through a second adolescence, competing with the now-relapsed evangelical (mentioned in #2 above) for the HP's attention, got extremely pissed off at everyone (for reasons I had to discover through divination, no less). Let's call her "Angry Witch." AW cursed (a) the entire coven; (b) a close friend; and (c) me because she thought we'd banded together with Ye Relapsed Evangelical to help her get the High Priest away from his wife. That was some crazy, squirrly, irrational shit. But such is the foundation of many curses. Think: aged Mean Girl with enough power and knowledge to be a problem.

So AW put some fairly heavy curse work in and my friend got sick. I realized what was happening and got it off me. So did the High Priest and Priestess (I should say "former," but I like them and still think of them that way). Then we met and compared notes. All of the remaining members of the coven in contact with us were either ill, suffering from extreme runs of bad luck, or (in one case) in the hospital from a freak job site accident.

The HPs and I did a reversal. AW subsequently had a cancer scare, which then was found to be benign. How do we know? She flat-out accused us of sending the Big C in her direction. We hadn't. But we had worked a potent reversal. So if she sent something that nasty at us (she did), it made sense. She tried a few more nasty curse things. All was returned to her.

Finally, she went out and hired a conjure worker to do killing work on four of us. She didn't try to hide it and was feeling very smug. Right now, I am still dealing with the implications and repercussions of that.

Baby Witches of Ye #Witchblr, here are a few takeaways:

Covens can be wonderful, but they can also be like dysfunctional high school cliques full of adults going through a second puberty. Keep that in mind.

Give an emotionally unstable person a tiny bit of power and they will most likely use it for the worst reasons.

This is just a general observation (not a witch-specific one): when middle-aged people fall for someone to the point at which they're ready to burn their own marriage / domestic situation to the ground, they're already a bit out of their minds. When the person they're falling for happens to be happily married and content, you can add bitterness and jealousy to that. When they get rejected and humiliated and know how to work curses, well, guess what happens . . .

Curse work, when done right, can last for a really long time, can be lethal (not just a depressing pain in the ass), and can be hard to remove, especially if it's layered in multiple ways.

So I've been busy, I guess. Stay healthy, my friends, and remember: you don't know what other people know, how experienced in sorcery and the craft they may be. Even an idiot in other ways can lay down powerful work if they're experienced and angry enough. And there are more magical practitioners (and magical thinkers) in the world than society likes to acknowledge. Be respectful to everyone. And only come out of the broom closet to people you trust.

#witch #witchblr #cursed #witchcraft #witch community

[dolphin1812]

The title of this chapter ("Poverty a Good Neighbor for Misery") sums up the gap between Marius and the Jondrettes. He's certainly poor, but they're truly misérables. The horrors of their circumstances aren't explicit here, but we get them through an indirect comparison. They're not cast out on the street because Marius digs into his savings to let them live in the Gorbeau House a little longer. The house itself isn`t great, and while Marius is able to pay their rent, doing so basically eliminates his savings. The Jondrettes, then, must be unable to pay any unforeseen expense. Moreover, Marius is looked on with suspicion in public places because he seems poor and is usually lost in thought. If his presence is already considered questionable, what might the Jondrettes face?

(We've already seen a possible answer to that question. Before adopting Cosette and after escaping prison, Jean Valjean was chased down by the authorities whenever he was around too many people because his shabby clothes and constantly frightened demeanor made him seem suspicious. Maybe the Jondrettes don't look as scared as he did, but their obvious poverty would still be an issue).

Marius' isolation is still deeply sad. Although he could be limiting his meetings with Courfeyrac and Mabeuf because he's very introverted (which is a fair reason), it could equally be an issue of time, money, and/or pride. It's nice that his father's old companions reached out to him as well, but unfortunately, poverty and pride keep him from seeing them often. His resignation (thinking of the issue of clean shoes "without bitterness") is upsetting as well, suggesting that he still thinks this is simply how he should live.

His politics have also gotten more abstract. To Marius, the July Revolution was enough (I think the fact that this is what first began to push Mabeuf into misery should be an indication that Hugo disagrees, but Hugo's basically disagreed with all of Marius' political positions so far). His life is decent enough that he doesn't think about politics that often, too; his initial Bonapartist fervor was mainly due to anger at his grandfather and grief for his father, so as he distances himself from that, he's becoming less political and closer to Mabeuf's stance. I think this section sums it up:

"To speak accurately, he had no longer any opinions, he had sympathies. To what party did he belong? To the party of humanity. Out of humanity he chose France; out of the Nation he chose the people; out of the people he chose the woman. It was to that point above all, that his pity was directed. Now he preferred an idea to a deed, a poet to a hero, and he admired a book like Job more than an event like Marengo."

His ideas aren't wrong, exactly. Hugo outright states that this is what people should strive for, as Marius is consistently on the side of the least fortunate. The problem is that these are "sympathies" and not "opinions." His ideals are right, but he has no plan to get there, and his personal charity towards people like the Jondrettes, while admirable, isn't going to cause social change (as seen with Bishop Myriel, Mayor Madeleine, and so on). Marius' politics, in a sense, return us to the issue of work that Hugo discussed two chapters ago. While Hugo's praise of work and condemnation of idleness there was uncomfortable, as it placed work as a measure of moral value, his note that Marius' contemplative nature could sometimes be bad because it could cause him to slip into "idleness" is similar to his problem here. Marius shouldn't have to be an activist to have good morals or anything, but from a political perspective, being a good person doesn't suffice, and Marius isn't seeing that because he's focusing on dreaming more than acting. I wish Hugo had framed this issue in a less moralizing way, since Marius is a good person here. He's just not great politically. This probably wouldn't be as much of a problem if he weren't in the political part of the book. His "sympathies" wouldn't be as glaring if they weren't contrasted with the severe consequences of politics (the July Revolution that he's OK with causing Mabeuf's problems) and with those who are more active than he is (Les Amis).

#les mis letters #lm 3.5.5 #marius pontmercy #he and mabeuf really would have had a great time in book 1 of les mis #but unfortunately for them they're in book 3

[loves1ckgirl]

—4*Town Headcanons

----------------------------

Headcanons about 4*town's relationships and just general headcanons about them and their life

Just so y'all know that i'm not all that great at this stuff lol.

Aaron T & Aaron Z are referred aqs T & Z and Taeyoung is referred as Tae for some parts

This is a long post

I will post Aaron T, and Taeyoung in part 2 because i've been making this post for way too long and if i don't post this now i will never do T and Tae loll

----------------------------

4*town General

The group first debuted in 1998 butt they only really started getting super popular 1999-2000

Any time they're all in a room it's just chaos

buttt Z usually ends up calming them down solely bc he give off a “I’m not mad just disappointed “ look

even though Robiare is the leader and Jessie is the oldest (and has kids)

they're all super close but even though they all are the most often pairs you see on camera and in general (sometimes lol)

T & Z

Robaire & Jessie

Taeyoung & Jessie

Taeyoung & T

the fans see them as great pairs so they stick together often

also, Robiare is often seen interacting with the other members

But he's often alone to take care of some work regarding the group and music

(that doesn't mean he isn't a great leader it's just that he stays back to do certain things so the members can deal with fans and have some attention)

the popularity goes in tiers going from most to least

Robaire (he's the cool attractive romantic leader)

Taeyoung ( the adorable youngest who can fill all of your needs for cuteness)

Jessie ( the artistic hot dude with kids)

T (he's funny & active but still leagues less popular than Jessie)

Z ( People think he's too quiet and a bit rude bc he has an RBF but he's pretty sweet when you meet him& actually talk)

Somehow despite T & Z being the least popular in terms of fans that go to specifically meet them they always get popular for short bursts before it tones down drastically

Robraire Tae & Jessie have a steady diehard fanbase for the most part

When they eventually disband they all stay close to each other and interact and babysit each other's kids often. (If they have any)

Most fans of T & Z are older then fans of Robaire, Jesse, and tae

Mostly because the Aaron’s dont have those basic personality traits that people can fall in love with

And that’s not top say the rest don’t have complex personalities its just not represented by the company

Those simple main personality traits are what made them so popular compared to T&Z

Tae was the first to join the group

Then robaire

Jesse was scouted bc he was in the area at the time

Then it was T & Z

And last it was robaire

Robaire

Canadian (is that canonical?? Idk feels cannon)

Has so much family in France tho so he ended up learning French bc of that (he also visited parts of Canada that had more people speaking french lol)

22 years old (during the movie)

Right handed

Sweetest dude anyone will ever meet

Very fast learner

Show him how to make a paper crane once n he can do it too

has multiple pairs of socks to wear and one to display

always gives at least one pair of socks for holidays/birthdays

saw someone say that he collected socks and now I'm inlove with the idea

Pretty extroverted but in the less loud type way

Surprisingly flirty

He will flirt with anyone who gives him a chance

Loves his family

Would love to have his own

Honestly, he just loves kids

He'd openly talk about wanting to adopt kids one day

But not because he wants to fulfill some need to have kids because he can or to fill some desire he has

Its because he wants to ensure those kids grow up in a good place

He'd be likely to adopt an older kid (since a lot of people who adopt only want the young children)

& he will 100% support the fostered/adopted kid to meet/ stay with their biological parents

He won't adopt or foster until the group inevitably dispands and he's probably in the middle to end of his solo career

Unless he stays home often/ has a partner to take care of the kids when he's gone

Lets Tae paint his nails

loves books & movies

His favorite genres are romance and historical fiction & nonfiction

He knows that he is the most popular member so he often stays behind so the rest can get more attention

People still notice that he does that and eventually, it just makes no difference because how whenever he leaves all the fans to only talk about is how humble and kind he is

Since Z often calms down the group when Z isn’t there he does it

He has super soft skin

But sometimes has messed up fingernails bc he bites them

He gets super stressed

Natural leader

Even though he joined last he didn’t over step but it was obvious he was meant for that kind of role

He LOVES wine for some reason

He says it makes him feel fancy

Jesse

Teen dad of twins

6 yrs old at the time the movie takes place

Met the mother of his kids back in their last year of high school

They went to prom together but currently are not together

But she always shows their kids little clips and videos of him performing

Right-handed

Very quiet

Freaks people out with it

Mostly because he’s also v cocky

The man knows he’s pretty and WILL use it against anyone with no hesitation

Surprisingly goofy

Like since he has a lot of responsibilities,, but he’ll goof off every chance he gets

24 years old (during the movie)

I would put a nationality but I literally cannot attach one to him?? Idk why

Token old guy of the group (even if he’s only a 2 years older than Z)

Was originally the leader until robaire fit into the role perfectly

He will bring up his kids any chance he gets

You said you like pb&j sandwiches??

This dude will talk about how one kid hates it while the other couldn’t live without it

Allergic to grass

Deceptively strong like it looks like he has little muscle but he has plenty

A bit of a crybaby ??

Mention something slightly sad and he is holding back tears

When his kids were newborns whenever they cried he teared up and has to quickly try to get them to stop

You would think Tae would be crying during the movie but the moment he sees an actor crying/mourning over something the tears r spilling out

and if he doesn't that shows the actor cant portray a sad person at all

like draw some tears on a bag of chips and he's crying

calls his kids every day when the band is on tour

right after the pandapacolypse he called his kids and asked if THEY were okay for some reason??

as if he wasn't hanging in the air far away from the ground

The press didn't know about his kids for a while

until he slipped up and when someone asked what he does to relax

he said, " I like sitting down and drawing, especially if I get to draw with my kids."

the moment he said kids his eyes shot open

people said he looked like a fish outta water

it's a running joke that it was the only time he wasn't pretty

he was demonized for a while and did get a lot of hate for having a kid so young

but eventually, the pressure evened out

Most parents don't like him because of his kids

he talks about teen pregnancy a lot and tells kids not to be scared if they do Something like that

n makes sure that kids are aware and do it safely

(bc we all know their gonna do it anyway lol)

butt we all know how some parents are

so he got some more hate for doing what he did

but yk as all scandals it evened out once again

He was originally just going to open up a shop that sells & teaches pottery classes

but one of his high school friends just asked him to come to an audition with him (yes it was for 4town)

n the people were just like "this kid is beautiful"

they asked if he could sing and dance

he did it as a hobby for a while and he ended up getting in

sadly his friend did not

When he drinks he Only drinks beer

Aaron Z

Second oldest at 22

Blasian, specifically Vietnamese

He was born only 3 months before Robaire

Ambidextrous

Terrified of bugs

If he sees one he’s running, he doesn’t care how small it is

The only reason the members found out was because Tae saw a cockroach and called that shit cute And tried to show Z

It’s a very accurate depiction

Has a major RBF

Fatherly sneezes

Like the type of loud sneeze that you can only make if your a dad

super sweet

Pretends he isn't though

Very introverted

Joined because he was bored

He and a group of friends are bored one summer and said, “let’s join a boy band”

He thought it was a dumb thing idea but agreed anyway

Z told the company to market him as a stone-cold bad boy who secretly has a heart of gold, but he gave up on that quickly

He didn’t have the energy to keep up with that persona for long

He then was like "oh is that why they chose personas that we basically their personality"

But yk amplified

Very, VERY confident

Was only kinda friends with T during High school Bc Z was friends with T’s cousin who T was around a lot

They became closer during practice and as they got older

HATES alcohol

He says it makes him feel really sick

Like the moment it gets in his vicinity, he’s grossed out

It’s also partly because he can’t handle alcohol

Pretends he isn’t tho

Slightly embarrassed about the fact he can’t handle alcohol

(This is kinda short tbh)your

#4*town #4town robaire #turning red #4town #pixar turning red #4 town #4town aaron z #4town taeyoung #4town aaron t #4town jesse #4town headcanons #4★town #4townie #turning red 4town #aaron z #aaron t #aaron t turning red #robaire #tae young #pixar #4town x reader #turningred

[firespirited]

Today I practiced shell stitch, had to redo the swatch several times as the tutorial video didn't specify to always start/end a row with either a single crochet or 3 double crochets. I like the shape much more than the 3 of a granny stitch, it somehow looks more polished. Video tutorials are really helpful but I'm just not yet at a point where the stitches are neat and easy to count and 'spaces' aren't really obvious. Being limited to 45 minute sessions means that it's over right as I'm starting to get into the groove. You know when it starts to seem intuitive?

I've had crochet stitching appear in my dreams so at least you know some of it is getting written to the hard drive. 😁

Fixed a cute red top (beads had been ripped off around the v-neck and I had just the right amount of ric-rac in silver) and I'm wearing that now. Accepting that a wardrobe change is inevitable would be easier if mail order clothes shopping wasn't full of really ugly tops. The moment you're XL in France, which for me was at 16 when I was just curvy not overweight, you're cut off from anything nice. You can get the brown-grey 'taupe' , the leopard print or shapeless sack of business carpet print. 🙃 I really want basics: 95% cotton, some stretch, long torso, v-necks in black white and blue. Seriously considering ebay UK and its import fees for some M&S classics. Maybe even the infamous Shein.

Finally got my bloods done! There was a backlog over the holidays. Must have been a mug full. We're looking for another intestinal opportunist and checking on the anemia and diabetes. The anti-fungal in december did something, I was able to actually taste christmas dinner and that was amazing. The cotton mouth isn't pain but it's been months of eating what feels like cardboard in varying textures. 😑

I've been busy sorting files: dumping stuff in folders instead of naming it properly came back to bite me. I used to have multiple freeware programs for renaming & making thumbnails and they got lost in the windows reinstall or just don't work any more. *Rename Master* is a freeware gem (all sorts of insert, replace and numbering options) . I really need to find a right click to autogenerate thumbnails program again.

Also been sorting out the to-do lists, gradually working down my massive 'keep' notes and bookmarks to create a document of things I'd like to watch, tagged all the 'reading' and 'listening' notes.

I'm putting together just pay postage bundles. $8 for A5 letter size, $30 for a big shoe box kilogram. Less in the EU. Stuff's on the website: the vintage heads, reroots that need paint, a bunch of incomplete imperfect monsters. Just let me know. I can also include fur wigs, glittery stretch fabrics and various small findings.

The plan is to wait for test results and go from there, continue slowly tidying and destashing, try size 46 tops for size, with doll projects to look forward to. Try to stay sane. 😂😘

#Saf #Ramblings

[natequarter]

8, 17, 20 for the OC asks <3

8: Does your OC have any notable flaws or activities they're not good at? Why did you give them those flaws? Why do they exist in-universe?

this is a great question, because almost all of my ghosts ocs are designed to have several glaring flaws which make them extremely grating to haunt with, à la canon. i did this because i like arsehole characters who suck. william, for starters, is supposed to be a crusading soldier... and he dies a slow death of tuberculosis before he can achieve any of that. which i suppose makes the other activity he's not good at breathing - you stay how you die, after all. william is a bit like the love child the captain's military outlook and pat's excruciating optimism, as it happens. geoffrey is terrible at handling finances, and horses, and life in general. (he's honestly much happier after death. less responsibility.)

clarence has a bad habit of going along with other people's stupid ideas, most notably george button's idiotic suggestion to skate on the lake in winter. (you can imagine how that went.) elizabeth isn't very good at socialising - she has one (1) ghost she likes, and that's pretty much it. unfortunately for robin, that ghost is humphrey. also, she's exceptionally bad at haunting, which is honestly fair enough, seeing as the only ghost power available to her is a guy who can slash at stuff with his sword (william, at it again). oh, and she holds grudges. i mean, she's dead; it's not like there's much else she can hold. and having died in her sleep, she's frequently feverish and dizzy. in fact, it took robin longer than usual to convince her she was dead, because she wasn't awake to experience it.

17: List/describe up to five tropes that apply to your OC. They could be related to the OC's characterization or their narrative arc.

bad news: despite browsing tvtropes for fun, i have no idea how to answer this - or at least i don't have the energy. i would say that all of my ghost ocs (not bbc ghosts ocs, specifically ocs who are ghosts) are designed to be caricatures, with particular emphasis on some of them being parodies of their era. william is very much a parody of the crusading ideal, of holy war and chivalry, blah blah blah, and also a bit of richard the lionheart. richard the lionheart is way after his era, but he's still obsessed with the guy (and saladin), because he's been a bit... consumed by medieval crusading culture. "back in my day," he'd probably say, referring to a period more than a century after he died...

i also have some french ghosts ocs, and of those, pretty much all of them play off bbc ghosts and tropes surrounding their era, most notably marius (a bit like william, but a roman soldier, and incredibly fucking annoying). there's also estienne, who is a french spin on robin (i say french, but he's not french at all), pierre, who's mostly me messing around with identity and language in the south of france, milada (czech, and the antithesis of julian: very into in 90s/early 2000s culture, but the music and tech in lieu of tory shittiness), giulietta (gay and medieval. i wanted to subvert the "gay people were miserable in the past" narrative), mathieu (messing around with ideas of heroism and how that interacts with the french revolution in popular imagination), and james, a shitty english spy who tries to pass as an incredibly stereotypical frenchman, and only avoids being caught because he's so ineffectual nobody seriously thinks he could be a threat.

20: Share a random piece of trivia about the creation of your OC. Examples: scrapped ideas or changes you didn't expect to make.

the a in au stands for arthur. who is arthur? an oc involved in the long fic i'm working on (read: will probably be writing for the rest of the year, help). he's humphrey and sophie's (eldest) son, in an au where they actually learn to get along. ironically, his original backstory was from what was pretty much just daydreaming, in a world where his parents had been involved in the bone plot and died before he was old enough to remember them. so yeah, i'd say that's a pretty major scrapped idea. also this isn't relevant to the question but for his fourteenth birthday he gets a dog. they're best friends. this isn't relevant to the question, but it's very important to me.

(link)

#asks #the a in au stands for arthur #bbc ghosts

[rphelperblog]

Anna and The French Kiss Quote RP Meme

book by Stephanie Perkins- feel free to edit or change pronouns for rp purposes

“For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”

“I like you. And I don't mean as a friend.”

“What are you gonna do with a giant crossword poster? 'Oh, I'm sorry. I can't go to the movies tonight. I'm working on two thousand across, Norwegian Birdcall.'"

“But what? You love him, and he loves you, and you live in the most romantic city in the world.”

“Then let me put it another way. A gorgeous boy is in love with you, and you’re not even gonna try to make it work?” 

He teases you all the time. It's classic boy-pulling-girl's-pigtail syndrome. And whenever anyone else even remotely does it, he always takes your side and tells them to shove it.”

"I'm outta here. Enjoy your hormones.” 

“Oh my. He's English.”

"Your feelings haven't changed? Since you've been here?"

"I'm interested, but ... I don't know if he's still interested in me."

"Yeah, we set up our first date right after he asked me to marry him. Please. We're just friends.” 

“If you ask me to kiss you, I will,”

“I don't understand why things always go from perfect to weird with us. It's like we're incapable of normal human interaction.” 

Girl Scouts didn't teach me what to do with emotionally unstable drunk boys.” 

“Seriously, I don't know any American girl who can resist an English accent.” 

“How'd you get this number?"

"At least I'm not buying a Large Plastic Rock for hiding 'unsightly utility posts.' You realize you have no lawn?"

"Well, you see, there's this book. It has white pages. And it has all these phone numbers listed inside it. It's also online.” 

“Thanks. I forgot how to flip off the English. I'll use the correct hand gesture next time."

“I don’t care what he thinks. Only what you think.” 

"My pleasure. Always happy to educate.” 

“I wish for the thing that is best for me.” 

“Boys turns girls into such idiots.” 

“The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.” 

“Will you please tell me you love me? I’m dying here.” 

“Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?” 

“I'm saying I'm in love with you! I've been in love with you this whole bleeding year!” 

“They left me. My parents actually left me! IN FRANCE!” 

“My smile wavers as I revert to my natural state of being: nervous and weird.” 

“Why do I care so much about him, and why do I wish I didn't? How can one person make me so confused all of the time?” 

“Why is it that the right people never wind up together? Why are people so afraid to leave a relationship, even if they know it's a bad one?” 

“I wish friends held hands more often, like the children I see on the streets sometimes. I'm not sure why we have to grow up and get embarrassed about it.” 

“I mean, really. Who sends their kid to boarding school? It's so Hogwarts. Only mine doesn't have cute boy wizards or magic candy or flying lessons.” 

“It's not right. It hasn't been right, not since I met you.” 

"If I had a euro for every stupid thing I've done, I could buy the Mona Lisa. You'll be fine.” 

“I just can't fathom why anyone would stand on a ledge when there's a respectable amount of walking space right next to it.” 

“You must think I'm a complete idiot right? That I'm just some doormat who'll wait for you on the sidelines forever? That you can keep running back to her every time things get difficult and I'll just be okay with it?!” 

“You say that I'm afraid of being alone, and it's true. I am. And I'm not proud of it. But you need to take a good look at yourself, because I am NOT the only one in this room who suffers this problem.” 

“What my parents never considered is that I just wanted a choice.” 

Universal bitch speak for I think it's hideous.” 

“Because I don’t want to be alone right now.”

“You weren’t alone, asshole.”

“So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have?” 

“So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have?” 

“How many times can our emotions be tied to someone else's - be pulled and stretched and twisted - before they snap? Before they can never be mended again?” 

"It wasn't polite of me to come in and start touching your things."

"You can touch anything of mine you want."

“I'm a little distracted by this English French American Boy Masterpiece.”

“I don't want to feel this way around him. I want things to be normal. I want to be his friend, not another stupid girl holding out for something that will never happen.” 

"Oh, I see. Known me less than a day and teasing me about my accent. What's next? Care to discuss the state of my hair? My height? My trousers?"

“I have the strangest feeling that he's aware of me as I am of him.” 

“Sorry to be your second choice."

"Don't be stupid. Third choice. Mum's asleep, remember?"

“Please. The boy gets a boner every time you walk into the room."

 "That was it? The whole story?"

"Yes. God, you're right. That was pants."

“Why do I care so much about him, and why do I wish I didn't? How can one person make me so confused all of the time?” 

“The first thing I notice is his hair - it's the first thing I notice about anyone. It's dark brown and messy and somehow both long and short at the same time. I think of the Beatles, since I've just seen them in Meredith's room. It's artist's hair. Musician hair. I-pretend-I-don't-care-but-I-really-do hair.” 

"Stand in line. Tell them what you want. Accept delicious goodies. And then give them your meal card and two pints of blood."

“I don’t care what he thinks. Only what you think.”

“Pinkie means excited or happy, thumb means thinking or worried. I’m surprised I know the meaning of these gestures. How closely have I been paying attention to him?” 

“You're the most incredible girl I've ever known. You're gorgeous and smart, and you make me laugh like no one else can. And I can talk to you. And I know after all this I don't deserve you, but what I'm trying to say is that I love you. Very much” 

“So what do I wish for? Something I'm not sure I want? Someone I'm not sure I need? Or someone I know I can't have? Screw it. Let the fates decide. I wish for the thing that is best for me.” 

“I love it when he cocks an eyebrow whenever I say something he finds clever or amusing. I love listening to his boots clomp across my bedroom ceiling. I love that the accent over his first name is called an acute accent, and that he has a cute accent.” 

"Why are we talking about parts again?"

“Some people are finicky about going to the theater alone, but I’m not. Because when the lights go down, the only relationship left in the room is the one between the movie and me.” 

"Why are you giving away the cookies?” 

“Closed. Plenty of time to see it later, remember?"

“How much detention did you get?

"Two weeks. One per arsehole.” 

"Sorry. Privileged information. Only people with parts can know about said parts.” 

“Callipygian. Having shapely buttocks. Nice one, Bridge.” 

“Meretricious. Showily attractive but cheap or insincere.” 

“That guys. Sideburns. You like him?"

“I must be a masochist to keep putting myself in these situations. I need help. I need to see a shrink or be locked in a padded cell or straitjacketed or something.” 

"I ask myself, if the worst happened—if I did get knocked up-would I be embarrassed to tell my child who his father was? If the answer is anywhere even remotely close to yes, then there's no way."

#open rp #open to all #open to anyone #ask meme #open meme #open to anybody #rp meme #ask prompt #roleplay meme #memes #open #anna and the french kiss #stephanie perkins #contemporary #book quote meme #ya books #book rp meme #booklr #book rp #open starter

[duchessonfire]

Warning: long post about what it can mean to be Jewish and my own experience of multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Jewish families

I've seen a few posts come across my dash unhappy with the Jewish representation in Moon Knight, calling it diluted and saying that it wasn't enough. These posts complained that they should have shown Marc Spector doing Shabbat, lighting candles, being more faithful to his identity as the son of a rabbi in the comics, basically giving more representation to the Jewish aspect of Marc's life (I won't go into the territory of not hiring a Jewish actor to play Marc Spector). I'm guessing that these posts stem from the truly despairing lack of religious diversity in Marvel and especially the lack of Jewish representation. And when I read these posts, I feel "Yeah, that's valid, I get where they're coming from."

But I'm also surprised that no one is at least giving kudos to the fact that Moon Knight basically showed a Latino Jewish family? Something that almost no mainstream media ever had the balls to do?

Oscar Isaac is a Latino American and the actress playing his mom also has Brazilian/Hispanic roots, which is a very clear directorial choice in terms of representation. That may seem like nothing to some people, but as someone who is NOT North American, I'm telling you how unique and refreshing it is to see this sort of Jewish representation. Jewish representation in US media (at least the type of pop culture I most see) feels very much centred around the Ashkenazi and/or Israeli experience of Jewishness. This is only part of the Jewish population around the world, and yet it is the one most commonly found in English-speaking media.

And let me tell you, as the French daughter of a Jewish man born in Turkey, I have never felt any sense of familiarity with these types of representation. My dad grew up in a family where people spoke Turkish, French, Ladino, English, Italian and Hebrew, in that order. They almost never did Shabbat because when my dad was growing up in Turkey, the country was still very much feeling the influence of Kemalism, which had Europeanized and secularized Turkey after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Outward religious signs were frowned upon in higher parts of society and my father's family was mainly made up of doctors, academics and architects, so it was not culturally accepted to perform every religious ritual on a weekly basis, especially as a Jewish minority in a mainly Muslim country.

The fact that they didn't do Shabbat didn't make my father's family less Jewish, it was just a sign of them living in a particular country at a particular moment in time. When my dad came to France at 18 to be a med student, he shed more signs of what some people would call "his Jewish identity": he started eating pork, stopped celebrating most Jewish holidays and now, almost sixty years later, the only holy day for him is Yom Kippur, which he spends fasting, reading, praying and generally reflecting on his life. Anything other than that: Pessah, Rosh Hashanah... all of those were only marked by big dinners where my mom would prepare recipes from my dad's side of the family and nothing more (for Hanukkah I have vague memories of years when my mom would light the menorah but it stopped at some point, I don't know why).

And yet my dad is still as Jewish today as the day he was born.

I'm not Jewish myself, not only because my mom isn't Jewish, but because I don't identify my spiritual belief as Jewish. However, I have grown up in a household that was marked by the Jewish religion, just as it was marked by mom's Catholicism. Not only that, but I have a lot of the facial features that French people associate with Sephardic Jews, who are the most prominent minority in the area of Paris where I live (very dark hair, curved nose, etc.) and so I have often been signaled as being physically different from a lot of my French peers (never in a discrimatory way! Just in a "oh, your dad is Jewish? That makes sense looking at you" way).

When people think of "French", they don't think of people like me, the product of a multi-cultural, multi-religious household. When people think of "Turkish", they don't think of people like my dad, a Sephardic Jew from a Ladino-speaking background. And when people think of "Jewish families", they don't think of people like my dad's relatives who are still in Istanbul today.

So, when Moon Knight showed a Jewish Latinx family, two words that would seem incompatible for a lot of people, it was for me the first time I actually felt close to having my family's experience of multi-cultural Jewishness be put on screen.

Yes, let's advocate for more Jewish representation in pop culture and mainstream media. Let's also not forget to advocate for a diverse representation of Jewishness. Let's not forget that Jewish people are all around the world and that they don't just speak Yiddish or Hebrew. Let's not forget being Jewish is about more than performing certain weekly rituals or having religious dietery restriction. Let's not forget there are other ways to be Jewish than white North American, white Eastern European, or white Israeli.

#moon knight #moon knight tv #marc spector #judaism #jewish marc spector #long post #jewishness #jewish representation #marvel #jewish representation in marvel