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jacepens · 3 years

Note

1: HamilTurn(you can differentiate if needed) or MCU, 2: Washette, 3: Anna Strong

And generally a fandom list would be nice to know what to pick from ;) (Love you♡)

You said HamilTurn or MCU and I say both, I'm going to try my best haha. But anyway, thank you!:) Apologies in advance if this gets rambly, but that's the point of this right? Anyway, for ease of scrolling sake, I'll probably put a cut if this gets long but don't worry, it's just me talking a whole bunch lol. Ok, thank you again!! <3 (love you too!)

1. Hamilton/Turn (fandom)

Favorite character: I have to say Lafayette for both. Oh and Mary

Least favorite character: I have no real reason behind this so sorry but Burr, and Simcoe for many reasons

5 favorite ships: washette, lams, hamliza, benwash, whamilton

Character I find most attractive: ...all. But I have to say overall Brian Wiles as Lafayette. That face just…🥺

Character I would marry: Mary Woodhull or Eliza

Character I would be best friends with: you know I'm not sure, but in an ideal world Lafayette (both versions) or Ben but I feel like we wouldn't be best friends. But also everyone, is that an option? Even some of the "villains" would have good stories to tell

A random thought: I feel like most people in the fandom now are so new (they joined in with the movie release!) and unaware of the uh atrocities of back in the day. And y'all are lucky, but those of us who know. Know. (yes, I was unbearable but that's ok because I was having fun, and despite what I just said: have fun in your fandoms even if you're "unbearable", just keep it welcome to all and enjoy the enthusiasm you have for it:))

An unpopular opinion: Oh boy. Maybe stop making quick judgments about people based on what they write/who they ship? There is a line, but I've genuinely never seen it crossed by anyone at least openly sooo just let people have fun? And don't say anything about something? Unless it's actually harmful but even then, keep it to a dm or something and have an open discussion. Just let people vibe, please? Especially younger fans. Just, I’ve seen a weird amount of negativity towards them. They’re kids having fun, we all used to be like that so please, be kind and patient. They’ll learn if they make a mistake. Ok? Ok cool:) (maybe not unpopular but still I wanted to say it)

My canon OTP: Am I allowed to say lams?

My non-canon OTP: washette, wow, who would've guessed? xD

Most badass character: Mary my beloved

Most epic villain: Robert Rogers hands down

Pairing I am not a fan of: no one murder me, but in general I'm just not a fan of jamilton. also whatever was the deal with Anna and Abe

Characters I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): um. Where to begin? Honestly I think every woman in Turn at one point or another, except perhaps Peggy in my opinion. Oh but especially Anna. Also Simcoe. With Hamilton, probably again everyone at some point, but the way Angelica was written just feels so overwhelmingly fictional it bugs me. (But at least Hamilton had some genuine relationships between women, not great but still)

Favorite friendship(s): Ben and Caleb, Washington and Lafayette (what?? yes, you fools. lol). It may sound a tad ~cringey~ but I generally like Hamilton's vibe with the boys, maybe it's just the gender envy, but it's kinda cute and fun.

Character I most identify with: well jeez, I won't lie but Washington. In both versions, except god knows I could never be that chill. Also a dash of Laurens.

Character I wish I could be: wow what a loaded question ummm. I don't want to be like him, but I want to be like in his position so Hamilton lol. Playing an active role but I know personally I am not cut out for a battlefield, so a desk suits me well.

2. MCU (fandom-that I am so out of date from, please take all of this with a grain of salt)

Favorite character: so when I was younger it was Tony Stark but now it’s definitely Wanda and T’challa

Least favorite character: ummm. I genuinely couldn’t tell you, I’m very out of date

5 favorite ships (canon or non-canon): wandavision, …ngl I can’t think of anymore, I honestly never shipped many and wandavision was like the only couple I remember really liking. Oh, I don’t know them but Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie

Character I find most attractive: embarrassing confession time, Loki was my first bad celebrity crush. Wanda now and Shuri is cute. Also Sylvie

Character I would marry: if I could, Wanda

Character I would be best friends with: Vision and Peter Parker

A random thought: y’all it’s been so long since I’ve touched MCU I should catch up/refresh shouldn’t I?

An unpopular opinion: I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but I’m going to say it anyway. Personally, I really don’t like the movie Civil War, I think it’s what sorta made me disinterested in mcu. It’s been years since I’ve watched it so maybe I would have a completely different opinion if I saw it today, but at the time it just felt so...wrong? And childish? I literally don’t even remember why they were fighting or how that movie even ended (I feel like it just wasn’t satisfying??) but I think also, as a kid or teen watching that, it reminded me sooo much of the dumb drama that, you know, kids get into. I mean, getting your friends on someone’s side like that?? Like, I know they were mad but- but there are other ways of dealing with emotions??? And involving everyone's friends too? So yeah, it just felt off to me at the time, and looking back now, from what I remember, it just frustrated me. Especially as a kid who deals with dumb drama like that all the time, kids would want to see a better example especially from adult superheroes or at least not be reminded of the bs they have to go through sometimes. But, rant over, that’s all just my opinion:)

My canon OTP: wandavision

My non-canon OTP: ummm. I guess just Loki/Mobius and/or Sylvie lol

Most badass character: I have to say Natasha but actually there are many

Most epic villain: when I was younger I liked that Ultron was voiced by Robert California from the Office lol

Pairing I am not a fan of: I don’t know if it’s popular but I never liked Tony and Pepper. What happened with her?

Characters I feel the writers screwed up: I guess I’ll say Thor because I just felt such a weird difference in his personality that did not make sense to me

Favorite friendship: Wanda and Pietro!! Honestly I think a lot, there were a lot of good friendships but I can’t think of which ones are my favorite

Character I most identify with: ummmmmm.

Character I wish I could be: My gut says Thor

3. Washette (ship-bless you<3 get ready for rambles oh no)

When I started shipping them: So I first had the thought in 7th grade while my history teacher was talking about them and my little brain went: haha that’s pretty gay. (teacher keeps talking about them) wait a fucking minute, that is pretty gay! But it wasn’t until I got sucked into Hamilton that I really started actively shipping them by reading fics and what not, but something about them became an instant favorite. And later (little personal story time) I pretty much completely stopped reading fic and being active in fandom for years and actually, when I got my first panic attack that - no joke - lasted for 5 hours, for some reason my brain (as it’s decaying lol) said I want to go and reread all my favorite washette fics and also do what I was I always too scared to do. Write!! So that night I binged the fics and found myself falling in love again, feeling all the old passion I had for them again, and the next night (still very shaken) I wrote an outline of a good ol washette confession + kiss that was extremely thoughtful and good, and honestly, I have not actually used that outline yet! Maybe I’m saving it. But yeah, this is a long answer, but I have a weird amount of attachment to them and this ship, I wish I knew why too. <3

My thoughts: so many. Too many. First of all, I love that I have so many versions of them in my mind, right? When I started writing, I had never watched Turn but then I did and then it was like: hell yeah, another washette set. At this point, my brain has created it’s own unique version of them but it’s like, they’re so versatile! That’s one neat thing about this fandom as a whole, we get more than one character and personality and that’s just fun right?! More specifically on washette I mean, they’re just so sweet. Historically, their relationship is unique and cute, and you’d have to be a fool to think that to Washington Lafayette was just another friend. Even strictly platonically, it was something special and it’s so obvious I just love them. Ok. Enough thoughts for now <3

What makes me happy about them: the loooove, the comfort they found in each other, the fact that like every person at the time documenting them knew and understood they were special to each other like, they were just that in love.

What makes me sad about them: oh so much that I try to ignore lol. There is the one year when Lafayette went to France and all his letters to Wash are like: “I have not received one letter from you, but it’s ok, I love you and I know you love me too :)” WHO WAS NOT DELIVERING THESE LETTERS, I HAVE NAMES, NOW I WANT ANSWERS. Anyway, also just most things that happened when Laf went back to France. And then when he visited America in 1824 and visited Washington’s grave. Yeah. ow. (also, you know what, I have done too much research on this event. lmk if you would like a post)

Things done in fanfic that annoy me: Generally, I’m not annoyed by much in fanfic at least with them and what I’ve seen. I’m still nostalgic for the old school nonbinary Laf fics, so it ain’t those. Literally maybe it’s because I’m starved for content but I can’t really think of anything, I love it all.

Things I look for in fanfic: back to the whole starved for content thing, I am a library of washette fics but I think if I was to pick a certain thing that I would love it’s just um fluff? And honesty, if that makes sense. Love confessions are very good as well. Canon era, please :) pining but not too much that it hurts me lol

My wishlist: literally all my wips. If I could whisk them into existence I could die happy and knowing I have put a variety of washette content in the world. Something else though, more fics :’) I love writing but sometimes I want to curl up with a cozy, new washette fic like a cup of hot chocolate and be surprised and learn something new and just..yeah:)

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: what. Ok but actually, Martha and Adrienne because they are both honestly perfect for them and I love them too (I’m going to be biased, especially Adrienne)

My happily ever after for them: Can Lafayette just move the family to America? But also, it’s sad, but like I know Laf would be sad in America while France suffers. So...maybe a world where things in France go better and Lafayette gets to visit Washington more often and bring the family!! (Washington visit France too??)

4. Anna Strong (character)

How I feel about this character: I like her! She’s fun and…strong (oops lol) and she’s made some mistakes sure, but I feel like she did her best to learn from them and move on

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Honestly, I know they didn’t have a lot of interaction in the show but Anna/Mary has potential. And Anna/Edmund

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: her and Ben and Caleb

My unpopular opinion about this character: I really can’t think of anything unpopular

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: in general, her having more screen time with less men you know? I mean like one-on-one kind of scenes. Also I would’ve liked to see at least her and Selah talk. Like, really talk. They never really did that, right? I just have so many questions about them

Favorite friendship for this character: Anna and Ben

My crossover ship: I have no idea

And well, I know it’s been a few days but for a fandom list, I’m just a weeb lol but here

Octopath Traveler (my beloved)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Star Wars

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Persona 4

Zelda (to a point)

Pokémon

What We Do in the Shadows

Sailor Moon

Literally anything historical

Ok!! I tried to add a lot because I’m not sure what you might know or not haha. But thank you again!! I had fun <3

#ask game

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theparanormalperiodical · 4 years

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The Real Story Behind Krampus (2017), And The 17 Other Terrifying Christmas Tales And Traditions You NEED To Know About

Christmas is a time for family, a time for laughter, and a time for drinking volumes of alcohol that make your cousins concerned about your emotional wellbeing.

But most importantly, it's a time for demons to hunt down children and stuff them full of straw and pebbles. No, I’m not talking about the Eastenders Christmas Special - I’m talking about the Christmas traditions they don’t put in Hallmark movies.

As Christmas has been celebrated for 2000 years, it has amassed a collation of equally terrifying traditions and monsters that only the dark corners of history could conjure up.

Although confirmed by the Dickensian tradition of sharing ghost stories (see Matthew Mcconaughey movie - or failing that some old book about poverty in Victorian Britain), it seems we’ve forgotten the true terror behind the most wonderful time of the year!

So, as your favourite paranormal blogger, I’ve taken it upon myself to bring together everything creepy ‘bout Christmas.

Today’s post is gonna take y’all through the mythical monsters you should be on the lookout for, plus the Christmas traditions that bare a dark, twisted backstory.

Which is all of them.

Let’s get spooky!

First, Let’s All About The Monsters Of Christmas

Hands up if you’ve watched Krampus (2017).

Here’s the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6cVyoMH4QE

It might not be Love, Actually, nor will it ever score a set of great reviews, but it got everyone talking about the mythical creature titling the film.

Need a summary?

This dark-comedy/horror film centres around a dysfunctional family at Christmas. When the youngest child loses faith in Santa, he rips up his letter to him, sending a signal to Krampus that he has lost his Christmas spirit and thus must be punished!

Okay, this film doesn’t fit the actual legend that well. But the kid does get dragged to hell - and unfortunately, that’s what sticks closest to the creature titling the film.

On top of this, the movie features the classic mysterious European grandmother that has a story about the war (as a European I can confirm this). But her story isn’t about an air raid, or some long-gone past ruler; instead, it explains a twisted tale regarding the most famous companion of Father Christmas.

That being said, it provides an introduction that only scratches the surface of the mythical creatures of Crimbo:

Krampus is the half-goat, half-demon creature that is often witnessed wandering ‘round with Santa Claus. Concieved in the pre-christian era in central europe, his aim of existence was to punish naughty children.

“So, Santa provides for the nice kids, Krampus provides for the naughty kids? Got it.”

If only it was that simple.

Krampus’s family tree is more twisted than the British royal family - and has a similar collection of dodgy relatives:

Son of the Norse goddess, Hel (ruler of the underworld and the dead), Krampus is a Perchten, a race of beasts born to scare away Winter. Never heard of ‘em? Well, you’ve probably heard of his grandfather, then: Loki.

Given his famous hegemony, it follows that he is always believed to be the Horned God of the Witches, and sticks to a devilish image.

With a dark, hairy body, large fangs and a tongue hanging far below his bottom lip, beast-like is an understatement. Accessorising his frightful look is a grasp of birch branches or a whip, as well as a sack or basket (to put children in and take to hell or save for a quick drink and snack later), and chains.

However, the chains part is still subject to debate: some believe it is an attempt to bind the devil by the Catholic Church in attempt to control him, while others claim it is because Krampus is Santa’s slave.

This directly relates to the position of Krampus and his fellow monsters - they are all believed to be Santa’s companions.

So, we know who Krampus is. But did you know he has a whole night devoted to him?

Krampusnacht falls on the 6th December, a day from which people put on masks and get drunk, scaring kids. Alternatively, you can dress up and hand out coal, mirroring the Krampus spirit! Nevertheless, both serve as a reminder to children not to be naughty, as does the bundle of golden birch branches you can have in your house.

Now, who’s ready to get their feminist on?

Frau Perchta is the female counterpart of Krampus.

This goddess-monster goes about giving good kids silver coins, and giving naughty kids, uh, well, death.

She’d slice ‘em open, and stuff ‘em full of straw and pebbles. But her backstory goes much further than simply murdering children: as she oversees spinning as a part of the 12 days of Christmas, she focuses on people that get their work done.

And if you slack? Then you gon’ get murdered.

Given her name, it’s obvious that like Krampus, she’s a beast-like creature. But her animalistic tropes only go so far as her feet - just like Krampus’ single goat hoof, she has a swan foot.

“So, she’s a swan?”

Nope - she’s either regarded as a beautiful young woman, or an old crone.

Classic Patriarchy.

Next up is another animal, but this time, it comes in the form of a cat. Unfortunately, the Yule Cat is less Instagram, and more deadly. Yep - this Icelandic beast eats the kids that fail to complete their chores before Christmas.

Just like Frau Perchta, it can be traced back to farmers attempting to scare their workers into getting shizz done. If they hadn’t processed the autumn wool, they’d be eaten by the cat. If they had, they’d receive new clothes.

You’d better be thankful for those socks, then!

But it turns out the Yule Cat isn’t the only monster from Iceland. In fact, he’s actually the pet of a family of ferocious Christmas beasts!

Gryla and Leppaludi are a couple hell-bent on detecting naughty children. Gryla, the matriarch of this famalam - is a Norse giantess, who wanders round each and every village in iceland. Once she’s found said children, she eats them.

Often she is described as a beggar, asking for parents to turn over their disobedient children so she can chuck ‘em in her sack, and add them to her signature stew!

Her husband - well, third husband but who’s judging - Leppaludi, is what the Daily Mail would label a benefit-scrounger as he hangs about in their cave all day. On top of this is their 12 children: The Yule Lads.

(God, this has a Daily Mail story written all over it.)

Each lad has a different, um, quirk.

One harasses sheep. One steels tupperware - no, seriously, he makes a point of stealing pots with lids. And another steals candles from children.

So that’s Iceland covered - let’s head back to continental Europe!

Hans Trapp is our next contender for the ultimate creep of Christmas. Trapp is a resident of Alsace-Lorraine, and comes from near the border of France and Germany. But what’s really terrifying about this monster is that he once existed.

Hans Von Trotha was a French Knight and man of particular political distinction. From his feuds with the church, to his ever-roaming spirit after he died, the following myth was by no means a random creation. However, the backstory to Hans Trapp took a bit of a detour from his past:

Trapp was reportedly a Satanist who would kill children. Yeah, you can see a theme here…

This rich, greedy man was excommunicated by the church, and then exiled to the forest where he would hunt children. Well, he would until struck by a bolt of lightning sent by God. But despite his rather dark past, his backstory is less really-demonic, more redemptive.

A bit like Krampus, he seeks to remind kids to be virtuous, teaming up with St. Nicholas to ensure children would be nice.

Next is Romanian Werewolves.

Yep, that’s plural.

Sure, these man-beasts show up during the full moon, but also makes a point of unleashing their true forms at Christmas. This has merged with caroling in Romania - dressing up as animals and pissing off people busy having a cheeky Baileys rather than see their family is a common occurrence there.

Oh, and they go around and tell you not to have sex.

No, seriously, you aren’t allowed to have sex on Christmas Eve cause Jesus or somethin’.

The other Christmas mythical creatures include:

Le Pere Fouettard, some fella who tags along with St. Nick, delivering lumps of coal to naughty kids. Well, when he’s not beating them up, that is!

Knecht Ruprecht joins Santa on his rounds too, but he isn’t like Pere, don’t worry! He kidnaps children, instead.

Next up is Zwarte Piet, one of Santa’s helpers who listens at the chimney of family homes to deduce if kids have been naughty or nice. Guys, we got a wholesome helper! Wait - people dress up in blackface to celebrate him?

I think we can all agree that racism is far scarier than anything else on this list…

Lastly, we have Belsnickel. And don’t worry, there’s no racism here. This bloke clad in fur and random clothes asks kids if they’ve been naughty or nice during the year.

Let’s Talk About The Terrifying Traditions

Well, we did it, guys!

We made it through the monsters behind a Merry Christmas.

And you can rest easy knowing these are all mythical creatures that can add a smidge of spook to your Christmas. But now it’s time to discuss the spooky side to the traditions we pull out of the attic year-upon-year.

So, no, these aren’t based on myths or religion - its based on historical fact!

Great.

Anyways:

If there’s one thing that defines Christmas - and is currently crippling my bank account - its gift giving.

Thinking of giving someone scissors for the most wonderful time of the year? It will literally cut your friendship or relationship in two. And shoes? The receiver of your gift will metaphorically walk away from your relationship.

But if you’re looking for a more, uh, positive gift, a wallet or purse should be on your shopping list, instead.

Wallets with money in them are believed to ward off demons, ghosts, and all other scary things.

Another creepy Christmas fact is the historical origins of mince pies. As a Brit, seeing Americans attempt to comprehend mince pies always figures as a solid meme. But the origin of it doesn’t steer too far from ‘Murican attempts to replicate this Christmas treat.

Back in the 16th century, cannibals would add human meat to pies, selling it off as actual meat. Oh, and this parallels some vague rumour of Santa being a cannibal. Basics, a holy man told him to give gifts to kids instead of eating them.

In some strange and convoluted way this somehow chocks up to mincemeat now insinuating that there is no meat in there, instead.

*shrugs*

Speaking of tasty treats, why not make sure you stick to the rule of the Baker’s Dozen at Christmas?

When bakers would make batches, they would provide 13 of something instead of a dozen in case something turned out wrong. But they would also provide an extra roll, or a bun, at Christmas!

It’s for that reason that on the 12th day of Christmas, you have to take down your Christmas tree. Fail to do so? You’re gonna have to keep it up all year, then. It’s a mouldy pine tree, or its bad luck.

Our next tradition stakes it claim as the twisting of a Crimbo icon: it’s Santa Claus, himself.

But this time, he takes on an urban legend that I’m sure many actually believe: understandably, ‘santa’ can be traced to ‘satan’, as if it is the unholy being himself but in disguise. And ‘claus’? It can be translated to ‘hoof claws’, a running theme we see with the monsters like Krampus.

So, could it be the devil in disguise?

Satan aside, who else likes trooping up to midnight mass and singing about the JC?

Well Christmas carols - and even carolling itself - actually sticks to a relatively dark past. Take Good King Wenceslas - this bloke let in peasants and encouraged them to join his bountiful feast!

Unfortunately, his charitable efforts were not rewarded. He was stabbed with a lance repeatedly outside a church upon his own brother’s orders, and was then dismembered.

Yikes.

Historically, carollers would partake in similarly violent activities, demanding food and drink from their audience. Heck, they would even so so far as to start attacking, raping, and destroying their property!

Guess it wasn’t a very Silent Night, then…

Our penultimate tradition is that of the Nutcracker: Whether you’re watching it, or using it to have a Christmas-specific nibble, there’s no doubt that this is pretty popular image of the festive season.

But - and it’s a big ol’ ‘but’ - it’s based on a truly terrifying story.

No, there’s no ghosts, no ghouls, and certainly no demons. But there is a child marriage.

The story goes that a girl, Marie, sees a nutcracker come to life. Her Grandfather than launches into this story of how men can be cursed with the ugliness of a nutcracker. She replies by saying she’d marry one no matter how they looked.

She is then whisked away into a magical world from which she marries a nutcracker.

This all goes down whilst she is 8 years old.

Our final tradition of terror is less about the abuse of young girls, and more about evil beings breaking into your house. Merry Christmas?

See, you’d think that people coming down your chimney is reserved for one bloke in particular, but it turns out that European tales of malicious spirits taking the same route is a common tale frequently told.

Belsnickel does the same, as do Greek goblins in order to terrorise the residents of the house.

So - What’s Your Verdict?

Which tradition left you shook?

And what Christmas film are you now going to watch to try and wipe this from your brain?

Be sure to hit follow to see a real spooky story tous les jours (everyday for the unsophisticated among us)!

At this point, I would tell you to have a Merry Christmas, but I think a safe one where, you know, you don’t get dragged to hell by Krampus, is best.

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boopypastaissalty · 4 years

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We Are Not Broken

Dr. Sage

Logan walked into the restaurant, trying to find his dad. Logan had never been here before, but his dad said it was good and the servers all wore pins with their pronouns on them, so that was nice. He finally spotted him and sat down at the table. A server quickly came and got Logan’s drink order. The server was the guy that Janus had been with earlier. Logan thought he overheard Patton talking to him, he was Janus’s brother or something like that. His pin said he/him.

When the waiter came back he struck up a conversation with Logan’s dad. “Are you a doctor?” He asked.

“I was, I retired a few years ago. Why?”

“I feel like I recognize you.”

“Do you have any kids?” Logan’s dad asked, maybe he had delivered the server’s kid, he did seem familiar.

“It’s kind of complicated.”

This caught Logan’s dad’s attention, that certainly wasn’t a normal response. “What’s your name?”

“John Loki,” the server answered.

Logan’s dad snapped his fingers “Hard to forget a name like that. Or a situation like that, I wish I could have done more for your mother, kid. It’s the kid’s birthday today right?”

John nodded. “Yeah… It’s Janus’s birthday. You really remember that well, huh?”

“Of course I do, I’d had never experienced anything like that in my whole career, and never did again. Are Janus’s pronouns still he/him?” He remembered delivering a boy who the mother, a woman named Janice, died having. John must have named the kid after their mother. Logan’s dad also remembered that there was no father present, and no one gave a name to put on the birth certificate. He remembered that John was devastated at the news of his mother’s death and adopted Janus, the last remnant of his mother. It was one of the most memorable days of Dr. Sage’s career, Logan was one day from being three months old. Another memorable moment was when he delivered a baby on a plane, a little girl named Virginia.

“Uh.. no sir, Janus uses they/them pronouns.” He remembered the day, and the months leading up to that day, vividly. His mom came home from her year in France and announced that she was pregnant. She didn’t talk much about it, just that she had met a wonderful man, but they had to part ways and that she was excited to have this baby. This unsettled John, as his mother was older, and she had had trouble when having him, he was really concerned about his mother’s wellbeing. Janice lived with John during her pregnancy, as she didn’t have anyone else to go to. She was on bad terms with her ex-husband, John’s dad, and her parents were in a retirement home. John was the only person she really could turn to, so she stayed with him. John had to juggle his job at the restaurant, which his mom had founded, and taking care of her, as she quickly fell sick. She’d had the same problem when she was pregnant with John, and had miscarried a few times before having him. When she started going into labor, John dropped everything to take her to the hospital. He had been in the waiting room for seven hours when he finally heard that she was having trouble with the baby. A few hours later, the baby had been delivered, but she had lost her life in the process. Dr. Sage was very compassionate and did everything he could to comfort John. It was then that John decided to adopt his new brother and name him Janus Hermes Loki, after his mother. Hermes was Janice’s favorite greek god, so he felt it was right. Of course, he didn’t know that Janus was nonbinary then, no one can really know that about a newborn. John was twenty-one when Janus was born.

“Are they doing well?” Dr. Sage asked, pulling John out of his thoughts.

“Uh… Well…” John started

Logan interjected. “Dad, I think that’s enough. I’m sure he has other tables to attend to” He knew Janus probably wasn’t doing all too well, considering the therapy session earlier and he figured that the sever didn’t expect to have a moderately long conversation about Janus. John gave Logan a silent Thank you and went to another table.

“Are you going back to teaching tomorrow?” Logan’s dad asked, knowing that Logan loved teaching and had missed it a lot when he was gone.

“That’s the plan, yeah. Let’s see how rusty my signing is.” Logan taught sign language at the local high school, and hadn’t had a whole lot of practice because of everything going on. He had a sudden idea. “I’ll be right back,” Logan said and started heading towards the bathroom, hoping to find John again. He noticed Janus at a table alone, that works too, Logan thought. “Hey,” Logan said, startling Janus.

Janus looked confused. What are you doing here? They wrote.

“You said you wanted to learn sign language earlier. I teach sign, I just didn’t mention it before. I was going to find your brother, but then I saw you.”

How do you know my brother? Janus asked.

“I don’t. He was serving my table and recognized my dad. They started talking, trying to figure out how they knew each other. My dad delivered you apparently.”

Janus rolled their eyes. Their brother did like to talk to customers. You’ve probably heard all kinds of weird medical stories.

“Well, my dad delivered babies, so I’ve heard a lot of childbirth stories that I didn’t really want to hear in the first place. I hear most about the time he delivered a baby on a plane and you, apparently.”

I don’t want to know any details about either of those. Especially not mine.

“Trust me, I don’t either. It’s more information that I would ever want to know about anyone. But that’s off topic. My offer to teach you still stands.”

That would actually be good. You should probably also teach my brother so he can understand me.

“That would make sense.”

John came to the table “Hey Jan… uh…” He got confused when he saw Logan. “Weren’t you with that doctor?”

“My dad? Yes. I was going to find you, but the question was for Janus anyways.”

John shook his head “Look, if you need me to keep people from haggling you about Deceit stuff I can-”

Janus clicked their tongue to get John’s attention. This has nothing to do with the band. Logan was offering to teach me sign language. Most people don’t even know that I’m Deceit anyways. Plain clothes are my best disguise.

Logan moved away from the table. “I should probably go, my dad probably thinks I’m taking a really long trip to the restroom.” He went back to his table and sat down with his dad again.

Master Post

#we are not broken #we are not broken au #we are not broken sanders sides au #sanders sides #sanders sides au #thomas sanders #sanders sides aus

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selemina · 4 years

Note

Also you mentioned you have a campaign of your own, meaning you DM it right? Who of your buddies has your current favorite player and who's your favorite NPC you voice?

Well, I don’t do voices and I don’t do favorites, so... XD But I can tell you a bit about the world of the First Casters Campaign! ;)

France, current times. There is a thing called the Synchrotron near paris, which is a big scientific building that essentially curves light and throws it at objects ; depending on how the photons scatter and how deep they go before they bounce, we can learn a lot about said analyzed object.

A nearby math teacher is VERY into science, and manages to organize a visit to the place for his students and a few others. However, things go wrong in a very flashy, but harmless way... Excet people start hearing voices. Seeing symbols, hearing balads they never heard before, having hallucinations... And what about this person that suddenly appeared in a nearby sub-lab, and was immediately covered up and brought out by security?

First Caster is about a group of college students suddenly discovering powers as magic wakes up in our world. Gods come back to life, monsters and creatures come forth, and unexpected travelers ask for help. Turns out this world is somewhat linked to a new one, where magic is very present, but for both worlds, this is first contact... With all the government panic and cover-up that it entails. ;)

Meet the cast! :D Glaire, a trans woman with faulty top surgery and a phoenix ancestry (now happily retired with her BN lover, the group’s tech wizard NPC now that she can maintain alter self all day! :D) Lyn, a reluctant divine soul sorcerer, and newly found aasimar, which a guardian angel she could honestly do without! Damiana, modern artificer and low key psychic, but if she is fully aware of the first part, the second one still remains to be adressed, along with her newly formed tiefling traits! Alexia, Warlock of the grey painting, linked to the central statue of the school’s funder. Her patron was probably one of the last magical adept on this world before the magic went extinct, and they are slowly becoming one as she becomes more and more powerful. Isa, adorable black bard, the moral compass of the group, ultimate soft girl, carrying the spirit of her dead father in her flute for aditional emotional support! Basically she baby. :) Dr. Ivan Standon, no-nonsense cleric of the group, with his.... evolving relationship to the Omideus. Essentially, all the gods have merged into an ever shifting deity, but, well... having a direct line to Gods is not as easy as it seems... ;) Permid, a soft boi Wizard trying his best, and VERY much here to learn more about magic and the other world! If only things could stop being grim and stressful for 5 minutes... And Saka, a “magic cop” from the other world, Looking very competent and professional, but deep down missing his kidnapped brother so freaking much, someone hug this poor dragonborn, please!

A few of my favorite NPCS : Loki : yes, nordic god of mischief, but also the dominant face of the omnideus whenever Ivan is involved. Likes to cosplay other gods for fun. Teasing Ivan is a national sport for him. ;) Damien : Rough district brawler, the kid is actually a repressed softy. Tsundere prime. Loves pastries Alexia make for him. Would kill for anybody of the group, gets siblingly bullied by Damiana. Also a tiefling in desguise. Peter : Yes, hi, did someone say vampire gentleman? :) Yes, I did, and I’m the DM, get a vampire gentleman. Likes to flex on people that believe themselves to be clever, like the next NPC in this list. Special Agent Dylan Ross : Look at this absolute Bastard. Bastard man. Appointed by the government to figure out what the FUCK is going on around Saclay, he’s clearly in over his head, but hey nobody knew magic was a thing, so... He’s a plotting asshole with a tired attitude and sass in every word for anybody antigonizing him. Determined to get to the bottom of this, he’s met with both compliance and held back secrets... Recently got threatened by a 15ft statue! :) Oni : When you make a villain all around a storm theme. To challenge one of your player characters. You overlevel him a bit to be scary but fair-ish, to be able to beat the player character without feeling unfair. You nail the dramatic entrance. Everyone is scared. You down the mouthy cleric with one backhand (Ivan going down was an accident to be fair) and injure half the group to underline that yes, THIS GUY MEANS BUSINESS. You get a hardcore, awesome duel between him and the player character he’s made to be the nemesis of... And then he gets his shit kicked in, doesn’t manage to escape as you had planned, gets actually executed, leaving the group shaken of what they had done. Nobody liked that. Emotions everywhere. You give the cleric one free use of a resurrection spell as an option because fuck, that got dark (amazingly dark, don’t get me wrong, that was good shit right there! Top RP, character development, the whole deal!) So now Ivan has a newly resurrected, naked young adult at the back of his car, driving straight to the hospital, because fuck that noise, let’s not be murderers! And that’s how my latest villain got adopted, after getting killed and resurrected, by the players! :D He’s a loud mouthed bastard, but his japanese demon ancestry also comes with a code of honor : Ivan saved his life, he has a life dept towards him now. Ivan of course won’t let him become a servant, leaving him in a limbo of trying to be useful in any other way, all while rubbing it in everybody’s face all the time that HEY GUYS REMEMBER THAT TIME WHEN YOU KILLED ME? :DDD YEAH ME TOO!

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 5 years

Note

You've covered Visser One using their own playbook, and the series covers Visser Three using One's playbook (most of the series) and their own (the last few books), but how about if Visser One was, for whatever reason, forced to use Visser Three's playbook on Earth?

[Visser One’s hypothetical playbook here.]

INTERESTING idea.

The first question becomes: what would Visser Three’s playbook look like, if he had one? I can tell you that it sure as all hell wouldn’t be anything as subtle as Visser One’s Sharing project. My speculation is that it’d be a lot like what Loki uses in Avengers. So he’d show up in the middle of a few major urban areas to demand that the inferior humans kneel before his might, take over the tallest building in the first major city he comes across, and unleash the army when demanding immediate surrender inevitably doesn’t result in the humans’ immediate surrender. Presumably, the long-term goal (if there even is one) would be to kill all but a smallish subset of humans, who would then be used to fuel the army and conquer the rest of the surrounding areas.

I don’t really think that that idea would work in practice, because there are simply too many humans on the planet to take by force. What might work in practice is Visser Three’s plan to incite a nuclear war (#46) in order to kill off a good 75% of all humans and leave the surviving 25% too scattered to mount a good defense. That idea has some merit, and would simply involve planting controllers in a dozen or so key positions in order to ensure that the U.S. nukes a Russian ally, which would then cause Russia to nuke an American ally, which would escalate outwards pretty nicely until the whole world got to find out the hard way whether Iran’s and North Korea’s alleged atom bombs are real or not. Heck, even if only 1% of humans survive, that’s still plenty of hosts for the yeerks to use. It’s a scarily effective plan.

HOWEVER, all of that assumes that it’s Visser Three following Visser Three’s plans. If Visser One is the one running the operation, that throws a wrench into the works. Rather, it throws in two wrenches: one named Madra, the other Darwin. Because Visser establishes that Edriss 562 will happily annihilate entire species if it suits her, but that she’ll die to protect those two kids.

(I could get into an aside about the brutally realistic portrait of racism and imperialism we get through Edriss simultaneously loving four individual members of a species and also considering the species as a whole to be disposable livestock, in a clear parallel to the white Americans who simultaneously considered their own slaves to be “like family” and also fought a war to keep black Americans as a whole enslaved indefinitely. I could also digress about the way that Edriss is a foil for Marco because Marco also doesn’t particularly value the life of anyone who isn’t in his [found] family but fights against that urge long enough to take down Visser One at the expense of Eva in order to save a bunch of strangers he doesn’t care about. I’ll save both of those for another time.)

Point is, Visser One won’t endorse any action that could result in the deaths of her children. Up to and including sabotaging the entire invasion to keep Madra and Darwin safe. So if she inherited Visser Three’s plan to kill most of the humans and infest the small surviving minority, she wouldn’t do it if it was risking the twins.

If she could find her kids, she might simply infest them and send them somewhere offworld to keep them “safe,” or at least Edriss’s version of safe. In that case, she’d probably go forward with the plan to kill most of the humans — more likely by way of our own militaries than by way of Space Army — and she’d probably be able to make it work. Yes, the subset of surviving humans would all have radiation poisoning and the yeerks are eugenicist enough not to like that, but it’d also be a relatively quick and painless (for the yeerks, that is) way to get the whole planet under their control and ample hosts secured to fill out their armies. Edriss would probably grumble about it the whole time, because she’s not nearly as Extra as Visser Three or Loki, but she’d probably make it work.

If Visser One couldn’t find the kids, since apparently Allison Kim is pretty good at hiding them, then it’d be another story. At that point she’d probably step up her sabotage game, because she is the definition of “passive aggressive” when dealing with Visser Three especially. She might adapt the shock-and-awe plan to focus on terrifying a few select world leaders into submission rather than attacking the whole planet. She might come up with a reason to attack China and/or India instead of the U.S. first in order to try and give the twins ample warning and time to get away, even though IMHO it makes the most sense to start with powerful but sparsely populated countries like Russia and Canada rather than going after major population centers. She might try and be persuasive rather than intimidating, establishing herself at the center of a major city but then attempting to get people to defect and join the yeerks willingly (i.e. the Sharing on steroids) in an effort to get enough hosts to go after the rest of the planet. She might simply go against orders and devote all her resources to a mass capture-not-kill operation in California, on the assumption that the kids are still in that general area.

Anyway, I’m not sure that any of those plans would work in practice. Going after powerful but densely populated countries like China and India would simply leave too many humans free for too long and give the entire planet time to mount a defense. Trying to recruit a handful of world leaders by force could work, the way we see it almost work when Visser Three goes after the G8 summit in #20 - 22, but it’d require a lot of luck and skill and time to get close enough to that many closely-guarded powerful people, by which point the message about the invasion might have already gotten out. Asking humans nicely or not-so-nicely to join up works okay in canon, hence the Sharing, but unless you could convince almost everyone in an entire country that they have a moral or patriotic duty to join up, you’d have a lot of trouble getting the necessary numbers to go after the rest of the world. Getting all of California by just throwing a few thousand hork-bajir- and taxxon-controllers at the problem would probably net you all of California... but wouldn’t necessarily be sustainable as soon as France or Pakistan or somewhere decided to handle the problem by wiping the west coast of the U.S. off the map.

So: if Visser One could handle the Madra-and-Darwin issue first, she’d probably do pretty well at running Visser Three’s playbook. If she didn’t succeed at finding them at first brush, then things would get a lot messier and we’d probably see the Yeerk Empire reverting to the unstable and fraught power structure we see in canon.

#visser one #edriss 562 #animorphs #yeerks #yeerk empire #visser three #esplin 9466 #colonialism cw #racism cw #controllers #visser #lucario2012

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hymn2000 · 5 years

Text

Hope I’ve Got Something To Lose - MCU AU fanfic - C15

Story overview: Peter has an accident, and Tony makes a drastic decision. In the midst of everything, a face from the past reappears - but Peter isn’t too sure about reconnecting after everything that’s happened.

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Part of my irondad and spiderson series.

Warnings/themes: injury, hospital stuff, hurt/comfort, mental health stuff, family stuff, corporal punishment, friendship

You can also find me on AO3

Chapter 15 - Leave On Amber

Peter slept well, and didn’t feel too bad about being shaken awake in the early hours of the morning. He set about getting ready while Loki went to wake the girls up.

“Morning” Loki said, turning the big light on.

Both girls woke abruptly, whining and pulling the covers over their faces.

“Come on, get up, get ready. There’s no time for lie ins” Loki said, giving the quilts a tug so they were forced to face the light. “Get dressed”

“Oh Loki, I’m too tired” Flo whined.

“You’re just going to have to get on with it, darling” Loki gave her a quick hug, and laughed a little as she yawned. “Coffee?”

“Yes please”

“Come through to the kitchen when you’re ready. We’ll get the kettle boiled”

Liz waited until Loki had left before addressing Flo.

“Early mornings suck”

“Yes, they do” Flo said, rubbing her eyes. “I don’t generally drink coffee, but I think I need it today”

“Me too... He will let me, won’t he?”

“Who? Loki?”

Liz nodded.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t he?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he likes me”

“He’s not going to deny you coffee or anything though, even if he didn’t” Flo said, giggling a little. “Do you like him?”

Liz paused for a moment. “I’m not sure. I think I’m a bit scared of him”

“You’ll get used to him. He’s just a big softy really. You’ll see”

Peter was cuddled up under Tony’s arm in the kitchen, looking at Tony’s tablet with him. Loki was busy with the kettle, but looked up when Liz and Flo came into the kitchen.

“Morning, girls” Tony said, closing his tablet and hugging Peter properly. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, thank you” Liz said, going over to them while Flo talked to Loki. “It’s a lovely room”

��I’m glad you think so. Get yourself something to eat. It’s better not to go about everything on an empty stomach”

“Dad’s doing drinks” Peter said. “I’ve put some toast in, if you want some”

“Sure”

Peter wriggled away from Tony and gave Liz a hug.

“How are you doing? Tired?”

Liz smiled, and nodded. “Incredibly”

“I’ve done this journey before. We can always sleep in the car and on the plane. The jets real comfy” Peter said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Peter, sweetheart?” Loki said. “What are you having to drink? Are you after a coffee?”

“Yeah, can I have a cappuccino please?” Peter asked, pulling away from Liz.

“Of course, darling... Liz?”

“Hm? Oh. The same, please”

Flo caught her eye and gave her a smile.

“What are you two smiling at?” Peter asked, getting the plates out for the toast.

“Oh, nothing” Flo said vaguely. “It’s just girls stuff”

Tony grabbed Peter by the shoulders

“Flippin’ heck, it’s like herding sheep!” he said. “Get down to the car. Your friends are already down there. Let me and your dad sort everything up here. Now, have you got everything?”

Peter nodded. “I think so. You always pick up anything I forget, anyway”

“Ok, good. Down you go, then” he gave him a little push in the direction of the garage door. “There’s a good boy”

A temporary lull in energy helped the journey to the airport run smoothly. Luckily it wasn’t a very long journey now they could use the main airport. The teens sat quietly in the back of the car, scrolling through Instagram on Liz’s phone, as she was the one sat in the middle.

Once they reached the airport, they suddenly felt much more awake, partly due to the sharp night wind. The girls were suddenly hit with excitement, which Peter felt helped his own feelings. It felt very different, being with friends. He found he could barely pay attention to either parent, even when Tony got a little bit irate.

It was wonderfully familiar being back on the jet. Peter set about finding everything he usually had on the jet: blankets and books and videos and pillows - everything he needed to feel comfortable.

“Ok, this jet is amazing” Liz said, sitting down cross-legged beside Peter. “I know it’s mad, but I 100% imagined we’d be going on a passenger jet, not a private one”

“It’s cool having a whole plane to ourselves, isn’t it?” Flo said.

“It’s way more comfortable this way, trust me” Peter said. “You know, it’s a really long flight. I think it’s like, nine hours? It’s longer cos we’re going to a more central airport. And then it’ll probably be a few more hours in the car at the end”

“Do you know where abouts we’re going yet?” Liz asked.

Peter shook his head. “I think I’d rather find out via road signs at the other end. Sometimes the surprise factor is a good thing, yknow?”

“It’s somewhere by the sea, that’s all we need to know” Flo said. “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never been to England before”

“Me neither. But you have?” Liz said to Peter.

“Yeah. You know that first summer I spent at the Stark’s? We went then. We were gonna go with May at one point too, but... Well, we never quite got round to it. We went again after they adopted me, though. We kinda went on a little Euro-tour”

“Where did you go?”

“Well, England, of course. And Scotland. And we went to Portugal and France and Belgium. And we spent a night in Luxembourg. We went to Germany, and technically we went to Switzerland, because there’s this bit in the Black Forest where you can literally just walk right over the border. I don’t know what part of Switzerland it was, and we didn’t really know how far it would be to get to the town or whatever. So we just messed about at this playground for half an hour and then walked back to Germany”

“That’s so weird, but kinda cool too. I’m guessing it was a long holiday?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, it was pretty long. I forget exactly how long, though. I’ve got a whole bunch of photos - Flo’s seen them. Maybe I can show you some time?”

“Yeah, that’d be cool”

“Kids” Tony interrupted. “You need to grab a chair and strap yourselves in: we’ll be setting off soon”

“How long is it going to take in the car at the other end?” Liz asked as they sat down and put their belts on.

“Ehhh” Tony said vaguely. “Maybe about three hours? We might arrive when it’s still almost light, if we’re lucky”

“Is that part of the reason why we’re leaving so ridiculously early?”

“Absolutely. It’s what, nearly four now? So we should land around 1pm our time, which is...”

“6pm their time” Loki supplied.

“Right” Tony nodded. “So, theoretically, we’ll get to our base by around 9pm. You’ll be straight to bed when we get there, I reckon”

“What about food?” Peter said.

“We’ve got stuff on here” Tony said. “We’ll probably just grab a takeaway or something when we land”

“I think we’ll sleep well tonight” Flo said.

“Try to sleep on the plane as well, if you can” Tony said. “I know you naughty lot were up until way after you’d been sent to bed. I can’t imagine any of you are well rested”

“Well, perhaps not” Liz admitted.

There was a dull sound, and they looked up to see the seat belt sign illuminated.

“Tighten your belts, kids” Tony said. “We’re off”

Once they were properly airborne and the seat belt light had switched off, Peter and the girls set up camp on the floor with plenty of cushions and blankets. Peter found the lovely tin Moomin mugs and turned the kettle on.

“Not for us, thanks, sweetheart” Tony said, when Peter offered him and Loki a drink. “We’re gonna get some shut-eye”

“Ok, we’ll try to keep the noise down”

“Thanks sweetheart” Tony said.

Tony flopped on the sofa, and Loki curled up beside him. Flo looked over at them.

“Loki? Are you ok?” she asked. “You’re very quiet”

“I’m fine, sweetheart” Loki said, closing his eyes.

Tony held him close. “Don’t you worry about us, pet”

Liz took Flo’s hand, and Flo turned to look at her. She smiled slightly and squeezed her hand back. Peter handed them both a mug, and sat down with them.

“They always sleep on the plane” he said.

“What if we wake them up?” Liz said, glancing over at them.

“We won’t. Not if we stay quiet”

The first hour went by smoothly enough, but then, after having had such little sleep during the night, the teens were all overcome with fatigue.

“Do you two mind if I go to sleep?” Peter asked, timidly. “I’m kinda finding it hard to stay awake just now”

“Me too” Flo said. “Liz?”

Liz nodded. “I’m tired too. Maybe we should’ve gone to sleep when we were told to yesterday”

Peter nodded. “Maybe... We should definitely sleep now though. I’m absolutely knackered”

Peter looked over at his parents. Ordinarily, he’d go and cuddle up with them, but somehow he didn’t think he should this time, not while Flo and Liz were there. He felt them watching him, and slowly turned back to them.

“Are you ok?” Liz asked.

Peter nodded slowly. “Just tired”

He rearranged the pillows and blankets, making a big nest on the floor for them. Liz and Peter lay close together, facing each other, while Flo cuddled up close behind Peter, spooning him. They were good, and instead of continuing to talk, settled down quickly and very soon fell fast asleep.

Peter woke up on Flo’s chest, with Liz’s hand in his. He stirred, and the movement seemed to wake both girls from their slumber. Liz sat up, rubbing her eyes and feeling very glad she hadn’t bothered with make up that morning. Peter sat up so that Flo could too. They exchanged slight smiles, but were quiet for a few moments, adjusting back to reality.

“How long have we got left to go?” Liz asked.

“I don’t know... How long have we been asleep?”

Flo looked at her phone. “Four hours, ish. So I think there’s still about four hours to go, and that’s just the flight”

“Peter?” Tony said.

Peter looked over at him. “Hm?”

“I think you’d better try to eat something”

“Oh... Ok. Do you want anything?”

“We’ve already eaten, sweetie” Loki said, turning the page of his book.

Tony nodded. “Yeah, you just sort something for you and your friends, darling. There’s plenty in the cupboards”

“I don’t think I’m very hungry”

“Try to eat anyway, pet”

Peter shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want to risk upsetting his parents, or his friends seeing him get all funny about something as simple as a snack - but he didn’t want to eat either. He couldn’t think of anything he could stomach.

Liz saw the look on his face, and took his hand, giving it a squeeze.

“I really fancy cheese on toast. What about you?”

Peter looked at her for a moment, and smiled. “Sounds good...”

Peter felt a bit more awake once he’d had something to eat, and a little calmer too. He curled up beside Loki on the sofa. Loki put his book down and hugged Peter close.

“Hello, sweetie” he said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m ok. You?”

“Tired” Loki said. “Very tired. But ok. I’m looking forward to the sea air”

“We won’t really get any today, will we?”

“Well. We’ll be out in the air for a little bit, even just getting out of the car. You’ll feel the difference. We’ll get plenty of sea air over the next few days anyway”

“Do you really think it’ll help?”

“Of course” Loki gave him a squeeze. “And even if it doesn’t, at least you will have gotten a holiday out of it”

The next few hours seemed to fly by remarkably fast. Perhaps it was the film, or perhaps it was having his friends there. Whichever it was, it was a bit of a surprise when Tony put a hand on his shoulder and brought the lit seat belt sign to his attention.

“Already?” he said dumbly.

“Yes, already” Tony said. “Time to get buckled up, pet: we’ll be landing soon”

“Six o’ clock, as predicted” Tony said, piling everyone into the hire car.

“How long did you say it’d take to get to where we’re staying?” Liz asked.

“Hold on a minute, I’ll check the Sat-Nav” Tony said, fiddling with the screen.

“Are we getting something to eat on the way?” Flo asked.

“Depends how hungry everyone is” Tony said. “Ah, there we are: two hours, fifty-two minutes, on the fastest route. So yeah, probably more like three, maybe a little bit more”

“I hate this bit” Peter grumbled, putting his scrunched up hoodie against the window and resting his head on it.

“You’ll live, chick” Loki said. “Just look out of the window and enjoy the view”

Peter certainly didn’t feel like he’d live. He was ok for maybe the first half hour, and then he started to feel very restless and uncomfortable, and upset. He knew his distress was obvious, and that alone annoyed him, and made him feel even more tragic.

Loki put a hand on Tony’s wrist. Tony glanced at him, and gave him a slight, understanding smile.

“Would you girls be opposed to a McDonald’s?” he asked. “I think I can see the golden arches”

Liz and Flo looked at each other. “Sounds good to me!”

The strange, almost-tradition of McDonald’s in the car after a flight was a bit of a comfort, but Peter couldn’t seem to calm his nerves. He took the first opportunity to get out of the car, leaning against the bodywork and breathing deeply. Loki got out to join him. The girls almost did too, but Tony stopped them.

“Hey” Loki said, taking Peter’s face in his hands. “What’s going on?”

“...I don’t know. I don’t feel so good”

“Do you need to walk away?”

Peter stopped for a moment, and then nodded.

“I thought as much”

Loki put an arm round his shoulders and took him over to a bench by the road, out of sight of the car. They sat quietly together while Peter breathed in the cool evening air and gradually started to feel a bit better.

“So” Loki said eventually. “Do you know what’s making you feel like this?”

Peter shook his head. “No, not really. I was ok until we landed”

“I think you’re probably just nervous. I think change surprises you, even when you’re expecting it. I don’t think having your friends here is helping either - although I’m sure it’ll be good for you once you’ve got over this little blip”

“...I am feeling better now, mostly... How am I gonna explain this to them?”

“They don’t know what’s going on, and they need only know what you want them to”

Peter looked up at him. “I think we should go back now, before our food gets cold”

Liz and Flo looked at him worriedly when he got back into the car.

“Are you ok?”

Peter took a deep breath, and smiled at them. “Yep, I’m fine. Travel sickness is a killer sometimes”

Miraculously, they believed him.

Liz was the first to fall asleep, and Flo followed not long after. Peter stayed awake, listening to his parents talking until Loki gradually went quiet and dropped off too. Then it was just two left awake. Tony reached back and gave Peter’s hand a quick squeeze, but he didn’t say anything. Peter rested his head against Flo’s and looked out of the window, watching the flash of the passing street lights, listening to the hum of the engine, and trying to work out if what he was feeling was fear or relief.

Peter jumped a little when the car stopped. He hadn’t realise he’d dropped off. The others were all awake by now, and the girls smiled sleepily at him.

“We’re here, kids” Tony said.

“What time is it?” Flo asked.

“Not quite ten” Tony said. “Come on: let’s get all the bags in and see if we can’t sort a few bits and bobs out before we turn in”

Peter and Liz wanted to rush off and explore the house straight away, but Loki collared them both and made them stay put.

“But-!”

“But nothing” Loki said. “Your father’s already assigned rooms, so wait and do as you’re told”

“Is this because of what happened at that party? Because-”

“Peter, don’t try your luck”

Peter pouted. “I just think-”

“You’re not fighting already, are you?” Tony interrupted, shutting the front door behind himself and locking it. “Alright, Lolly, stick the kettle on, would you, darling? Kids, with me”

Loki went off and the teens followed Tony obediently.

“There’s gonna be a bit of room sharing” Tony said, taking them upstairs.

“That’s fine” Liz said. “We’re all friends here”

Tony smiled slightly, pushing open one door. “Here you are, girls”

They turned the light on, and found themselves in a cute twin room, with nautical cushions on the beds, an old metal fireplace, and a big wardrobe and dressing table with chairs.

“Oh wow, this is so cute!” Flo said, admiring the carvings on the mantelpiece.

“I’ve gotta admit, it’s bigger than I expected” Liz said. “Flo, do you mind me having the bed nearest the door?”

“No, that’s fine” Flo smiled.

“Hold on, what about me?” Peter said, biting his lip.

“Don’t chew on yourself like that” Tony said, tapping him on the mouth with his knuckles. “There’s another room for you”

“But-”

“You need your own space” Tony said, firmly. “Girls, grab your cases and bring them up, get settled a bit. We’ll check in on you soon”

“Why didn’t you ask me about this?” Peter said once the girls were out of earshot. “I’d prefer to share a room”

“You need your own space. Besides, the girls probably need to be all-girls-together, y’know?”

Peter didn’t look convinced - and he certainly didn’t look happy. Tony put an arm round his shoulders and pushed open another door. This was a little single room.

“Dad-”

“Wrong one” Tony closed the door again and opened another one. “Ah, here you are”

“Dad?”

Tony gave him a little push into the room. “Same thing, kiddo. Go and get your cases and get yourself settled”

Peter went and got his bags. He paused in the hallway. He could see his parents in the kitchen, looking perfectly contented, kissing each other slowly and deeply. Peter scowled, throwing his shoulder bag over his shoulder. There was something so annoying about being the only person in the house feeling unsure and uncomfortable about everything.

He went back to his room and unpacked a few essentials, but then shoved the near-full cases to the side of the room and flopped on the double bed. The room looked like it was spinning above him. He shivered. Everything felt cold and a little unreal. He wanted to be back in his own bed at home, listening to the distant sound of the radio. He felt like he was one kind comment from bursting into tears.

Loki knocked on the door to the twin room and pushed it open. He couldn’t help laughing at the look on the girls faces.

“You look like two deer caught in headlights!” he said. “What exactly are you two up to?”

“Nothing, Loki, honest!” Flo said.

Loki didn’t look like he believed her, but he didn’t say. He chose not to push it, and set two mugs down on the little table at the end of Liz’s bed.

“I’ll leave you to it - whatever ‘it’ is”

Loki went to the double room. Peter was sat on the bed, looking at his phone, and looking very glum indeed.

“Oh dear” Loki said, standing in front of him. “What’s the matter?”

Peter shrugged.

“Come on now, you can talk to me”

“...I just... I feel so bloody emotional..!” Peter choked, a single tear dripping down his cheek.

“Oh sweetheart” Loki sighed, setting the mug he held down on the bedside table and sitting beside Peter.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me-!”

“Maybe you’re just tired” Loki said, pulling him onto his lap and hugging him tight. “Or maybe you’re just having one of those days”

“I should be happy though, right? Anyone else in my position would. I’m on holiday, and I’ve got my friends here. So why do I have to feel so sad and rubbish?”

“That’s just the way it is, sometimes. For lack of another example, just think back a bit to how I was in the week before the wedding. I wasn’t exactly singing from the rooftops now, was I?”

Peter shook his head, knuckling his eyes.

“Sometimes you don’t feel the good emotions at the right time. But they’ll come”

“I’m tired...”

“You’ll feel better in the morning, when you’ve had a good sleep and refreshed yourself” he peered at the boy. “There’s something else going on here. What is it?”

Peter shifted uncomfortably. “...I just feel a bit lonely”

“No one is saying you have to coop yourself up in here” Loki said, reaching for the mug of tea and putting it in Peter’s hand. “Take a minute to compose yourself, and then go and join for friends for a bit before bed”

“I don’t know. Dad said-”

“Peter, it wasn’t a suggestion”

Peter looked up at him, and he smiled.

“Yes, dad”

Joining the girls had been a good idea. They had their drinks and they talked and they laughed, and Peter started feeling better - almost back to his usual self. Just before midnight, there was a knock on the door, and Tony came into the room.

“Ok kids, you need to be going to bed now” he said. “It’s been a long day. Go and brush your teeth and get ready for bed”

Flo and Liz nodded.

“Yes, Mr Stark”

“Good girls. Peter, come on darling: say goodnight to your friends”

Peter did as he was told, hugging both girls tight before letting Tony guide him back to his room.

“Do you need a wee before you go to bed?”

“Dad! I’m not five!”

“Well, do you?”

Peter shook his head. “No”

“Ok, good. Well, you’ve got a sink in here, so you can just get yourself sorted in here. I’ll come and check on you in a little while, ok, chick?”

Peter nodded. “Ok”

Tony shut the door behind him. Peter did his teeth and washed his face and got into his pyjamas. He crawled into bed and tucked his Peter Rabbit toy under his arm. He lay back against the pillows, looking up at the artex ceiling and listening to Liz and Flo laughing together. It was nice to hear, even though he wasn’t a part of it. He felt ok now. Maybe Loki was right: he’d feel better in the morning.

#my writing #fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #marvel fanfiction #frostiron #irondad and spiderson

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langernameohnebedeutung · 6 years

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I think your remarks about myth!Loki are incredibly interesting (probably because I live and die for ancient mythology), but when I read that part about how the Vikings fear of the feminine basically is the reason for Loki‘s powers.. all I could think of was that one Asterix film where the Vikings were searching for the (very effeminate) „fear champion“ so he might teach them the powers of flight, and in the end actually flew because they feared the (very effeminate) Troubadix‘ bad singing....

I remember reading that one ages ago! (and now that I remembered I had to re-read it. Which is fun, because I grew up reading them in German, so it’s fun to read the English names of the characters, because the jokes are often different. I love that the boy is called Justforkix.

(to be fair, I read most of them. I have so many Asterix-comics still tucked away in my parents attic, I feel the need to bring them back but now you made me re-read the issue and damn, it’s been so long.)

Asterix comics are the best.

Also there are so many references I didnt get as a kid! I love the references to the Viking attacks France suffered in the early Middle Ages

But yeah, to get back to the original subject, it’s interestingly a sentiment found in many pre-Christian European societies: homosexuality is fine as long as you top. Personally I think it’s a combination of both misogyny (taking the ‘woman’s role’) as well as an assosciation with sex slaves - I remember reading some Roman writing where politicians were shamed for taking the receiving role in anal sex and it was insinuated that they were under their partner’s thrall and it was explicitly likened to sex slaves and their masters.

The Norse were pretty strict in that regard (from the sources we know) and on the one hand, it was pretty easy for a man to dishonour himself and on the other, calling a man ‘ergi’ and insinuating that he’s been indulging in ‘womanly’ practices could be reason for a duel to the death. The whole ‘manliness’ thing is something that pops up a lot in Norse myth - especially with the morally good male characters. For example not showing pain is Manly - like when Tyr loses his hand to Fenrir or in Grimnismal when Odin gets tortured with fire and just brushes it off and on other instances when a Good Godlings are threatened with pain, they endure it.

Meanwhile in the myth about Loki delivering Idun to be kidnapped by a giant it goes something like this:

“Then Loke was seized and brought into the council, and he was threatened with death or torture. But he became frightened, and promised to bring Idun back from Jotunheim.“ (Because Mommy Laufey might have raised a coward, a liar and a murderer BUT NO FOOL) The difference for him: He solves the problem and he doesn’t get tortured. So effeminate-coding for Loki’s win again. (But yeah, it’s a pretty common motif)

Also, a recommendation: If you’re interested in the subject, I can recommend Norsemen! It’s a Norwegian show about a Viking village - except it’s a comedy. (without a laugh-track, because it’s cool like that) It’s historically pretty accurate (especially compared to shows like Viking), the whole subject of Masculinity and Feminity plays a pretty big role in the first season (although it’s mostly played for humour, but much of the beliefs of the characters and customs are really based on truth). (It gets a bit edgy at times, especially with the subject of rape though)

youtube

#nonfandom #personal #history #asterix #norsemen #I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO TAG THIS SORRY MY RSEPONSE IS KINDA WEIRD #Anonymous

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nomadsuggestions · 6 years

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Tag Game

//I was tagged by the lovely @spideyboisuggestions, so I’m stealing their questions. Also, all mod answers are gonna be in italics

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you’d like to know better!

Nicknames: Stevie, Punk, Captain isn’t really a nickname but oh well, Steve, Big Guy //Lo, Loki, Lokan, Logna(pronounced like the end of balogna), Baby Bear(this is my father because he doesn’t understand what twinks are all my fave characters as a kid were bears(Funshine Bear, Winnie The Pooh, Big Bear In The Big Blue House, Baloo, Fozzie, etc.)

Gender: I think I’m a trans man but mod can’t keep my story straight(to be fair, I couldn’t keep it straight either ;) ) //Genderfluid, but my default is male so they/them and he/him pronouns work for me most days. They/them will always work though.

Zodiac: I’m a *looks up zodiac signs* cancer? I’m not sure I like that... But hey, Sam does tease me about being crabby *ba-dum-tsh* //Capricorn, but if I had born on time I’d be a Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp

Height: 6′2″, nowadays //5′7″, I’m a tiny bitch

Time: Not sure what timezone we’re in at the moment but it looks like late morning? //4:20am ayeeee

Favorite bands/solo artists: I really love some of these newer bands, but Sam’s got me pretty hooked on Marvin Gaye. Nat plays a lot of stuff from Judas Priest, though, I gotta say I didn’t expect to love them as much as I do //AJR, A Great Big World, Bastille, Janelle Monáe, Home Free, Panic! At The Disco, and The 1975 for the most part

Song stuck in my head: Wanda was playing some remix of Bad At Love by Halsey on repeat earlier and now I’ve been humming it for hours //I keep bouncing between Boys by Charlie XCX and Recuerdame from Coco(the spanish version is better you can fight me on that)

Last movie I saw: I think it was Moonlight. Nat picked up a copy when we were in France last. We turned on the english subtitles for the others, and I’m not ashamed to say I cried more than once. //I think it was Doctor Strange with my buddies online, because they trapped me into it by reminding me about Chiwetel Ejiofor being fine as hell and Mads Mikkelson’s pretty geode eyes. I can’t stand Benedict Cumberbatch but I like Strange so it’s a love-hate relationship with that movie

Last show I watched: I think it was some random cartoon in Turkey, I couldn’t understand it but it was cute //Lmao it was Death Note because my weeb friend was offended I had never seen it. And now I’m attached to yet another dead fictional character lmao(I’m talking about L btw Light can choke)

Last thing I googled: I think it was “how to set up a video call” like two years ago //”finn wittrock” because I’m talking to a buddy about people who could play Gambit other than Taylor Kitsch and Channing Tatum

Other blogs: //just my main, @dmitri-logan

Do you get asks: Not so much since I turned anon off but I do get them and I love them! //I sometimes get asks on my main but not super often

Why I chose my username: Mostly because mod is a nerd and “likes my nomad run in the comics” or whatever that is supposed to me //I’m gonna stan Steve Rogers till my dying day, and I’m an AnCom(anarcho-communist) and Steve’s time as Nomad is basically his AnCom phase lmao)

Following: I just followed everyone on that Suggestion Blog masterpost because I apparently want to see the same post 10 million times over on my dash //Also a bunch of Check, Please!, Marvel, DC, and social justice blogs. Oh! And Kingsman

Average amount of sleep: Sleep? I don’t know about sleep, it’s summertime! Oh, Bucky called me. //Owner of the worst sleep schedule ever right here! I go between 16-30 hours without sleeping and then crash for 12-18 hours, and then repeat

Lucky number: 4, 18, and 10 //2, 22, and 4!

What I’m wearing: A t-shirt and my uniform pants //A longsleeve classic Marvel shirt, purple plaid pajama pants(say that 5 times fast), and teal slipper socks because even in my pjs I’m a confusing gay mess

Dream job: In another life, I probably would’ve been some kind of social worker? I’d say artist but I draw to relax, not to make money. //I’d love to be a cosmetologist or a baker, but neither of those are super sustainable careers. Maybe one day!

Dream trip: I’d like to take a trip back to the countrysides in France someday, but I’d also like to see Bucky enjoying the sun and ocean, maybe at a beach somewhere in Cote d’Ivoire of Morocco //Dream trip is prob a summer convention tour, if I ever had the money

Favorite food: My Ma’s beef stew, hands down. //This one chicken salad sandwich I had from a gelatto shop at Union Station when I went to DC in 8th grade. I almost cried when I looked them up a couple years later and found out they had to close down because they couldn’t afford the increased rent

Play an instrument: I tried to learn how to play the piano when I was a kid, but never had the hand-eye coordination or the ear for it. I’d like to try and learn again //I can somewhat play the piano and I was taught how to play keyboard percussion instruments in middle school band

Nationality: I’m American, but my parents were both first generation immigrants from Ireland //Sadly, I’m also American.

Favorite songs: There’s this one song my Ma used to sing a lot, and Bing Crosby did a version of it before I went under that I really loved. Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral //The Show Must Go On by Queen is a big fave of mine and is guaranteed to make me cry. Also I unironically love Ashes by Celine Dion okay fight me it’s an amazing song.

Tagging: @lokisuggestion @thor-suggestion @newrocketsuggestions @trans-peter-quill @whitewolfsuggestion @skinnystevesuggestion @steverogersuggestions @othercaptainamericasuggestion @ladylokisuggestions @jotun-loki-suggestions @gwenstacysuggestion @lady-sif-suggestions @lokisuggestionz @shurisuggestions @agentcartersuggestion @magneto-suggestion @kidlokisuggestions @kamala-khan-suggestions @godofstoriessuggestion @billykaplanwiccansuggestion

#sorry if you've already been tagged #tag game

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heshein001 · 7 years

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92 Questions Tag

Tagged by: @sonofqueen

Answer the questions and tag 20 people.

20 people? Really Urgh.

@dantecain @lonelyblueshark @mazurah @julei-zu @sugarofthesouth @wrenstep @perendhil-loki @humblydefiant @kii-nam @marmaboy @scarlet-geek @clefabledude @princesswytch @spookyscaryexoskeletons @dailyrowlet @kauriart @thesparklingpariah @fyeahmerrill @dark-limit @eightbigpaws

No pressure, don’t feel obligated, I just wanted to put 20 names down as per the ‘rules’, and to be honest, that was hard enough.

THE LAST: 1. Drink: Water. Dull I know. 2. Phone call: That I made? To my Dad. That I received? From a haulage company in Lithuania. 3. Text message: From my Dad. I convinced him to start watching Game of Thrones, and I got an update telling me he was halfway through season one after having had the DVD set for one night, 4. Song you listened to: I Don’t Know What the Weather Will Be, by Laura Mvula. (though if we want to count songs that I ‘heard’ on the TV as well, it would be It’s Raining Men by the Weather Girls. ) 5. Time you cried: A few weeks ago, a couple of days after the passing of my mother.

HAVE YOU: 6. Dated someone twice: Nope. 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Not especially, no. 8. Been cheated on: Not that I am aware of. 9. Lost someone special: My mother passed only a few weeks ago. My Nana (Mum’s Mum) died when I was young, maybe about six or seven, then the year after that my Grandad (Dad’s Dad) died, then a couple of years after that, my Mum’s Dad died. 10. Been depressed: Yes, clinically so. 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: I don’t know? I have only been drunk once, and while I woke up on an unfamiliar couch dressed as a pirate with a bucket next to me, there was nothing in the bucket. Don’t know if I had been during the night before though. LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12. Purple 13. Reds 14. Blues IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. Made new friends: Erm... I guess? Not entirely sure. Acquaintances, yes, not sure if I’d call many of them friends. 16. Fallen out of love: Nope. 17. Laughed until you cried: Not that I can recall. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: Yes, at work., when I saw some emails between managers. Wasn’t particularly pleased, given I was being shafted for something they had missed as well. 19. Met someone who changed you: I wouldn’t say so. 20. Found out who your friends are: I guess? I mean, I have a small social circle anyway, so mostly it was just “yes, I still like you.” 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nope.

GENERAL: 22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: All except one of them, I think, and the random one added me, so she must think she knows me from somewhere. That isn’t to say I’ve seen many of them in years, but I have met them at some point. 24. Do you want to change your name: I quite like my name. It is an odd quirk that my initials are BMW. 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: Not much. I share my birthday with my Dad, so inevitably end up spending time with him. My Mum was also in hospital, so that prevented anything big. I think we went round to my parent’s and had a Chinese with my Dad and my brother. 26. What time did you wake up: I half woke up at 8:00am when the dog came to demand food, but went back to sleep after my other half dealt with that. I got out of bed at around 11:30am. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Sleeping, I think, though it may have been in a state of half sleep whilst still chatting with my partner. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Erm... Not really sure. Nothing comes to mind. I’m a patient sort of chap. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: Depends what you mean by saw her. I saw her, physically, the day before her funeral, in the chapel of rest, about two or three weeks ago. When she was actually herself, however, and not laid up in a hospital bed, I’d say it was back in May. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: More money. It sounds shallow, but it would make like life easier and more comfortable. 31. What are you listening right now: The hum of the computer and the tap of my fingers on the keyboard. Also the odd little bubbling bloop sound from the fishtank. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes. I had a fairly close friend in school called Tom. 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: My damn foot. I’ve done something to bugger up my left foot, it is swollen up and the heel is sore as anything, can barely put weight on it. Painkillers and anti-inflammatory are helping, but gods it is sore. 34. Most visited Website: It is either tumblr or the BBC news. LOST QUESTIONS 35. Mole/s: I have one on the back of my neck I am aware of, probably more. 36. Mark/s: I’ve got some dints in my head from being pulled out with forceps when I was born. I have a couple of marks on the top of both my feet where they have scarred after the skin was rubbed away, which occasionally still open up. 37. Childhood dream: Can’t remember. I had nightmares about werewolves though. 38. Haircolour: Fairly standard and boring brown. 39. Long or short hair: Short, I guess. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: No, my fiancé excluded 41. What do you like about yourself: I like my eye colour. I also like to think I am fairly mature and am responsible, making me good in a crisis. I also like to think I’m quite good with kids, for the most part. 43. Bloodtype: No idea. 44. Nickname: None that I know of. 45. Relationship status: Engaged. 46. Zodiac: In the Western Horoscope, Gemini. In the Chinese Zodiac, Rooster. 47. Pronouns: He and him etc. 48. Favourite TV Show: Game of Thrones is one of the few shows I go out of my way to watch. I also have enjoyed Once Upon a Time, Queer as Folk, Doctor Who, and then a few older things my partner has introduced me to, such as Miss Fisher. 49. Tattoos: None, and no plans for any. 50. Right or left hand: Right handed. 51. Surgery: None. 52. Hair dyed in different colour: I have in the past had it dyed lighter, but not in any recent years. 53. Sport: I don’t play any sports, and the only one I don’t mind watching is tennis. 55. Vacation: None planned currently. Was in Finland not that long ago. I’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy holidays to quite a few places: France, Spain (including associated Balearic and Canary Islands), Greece, Germany, Turkley, Norway, Canada, Dominican Republic, Italy, various parts of the UK and Channel Islands, Belgium, Finland. 56. Pair of trainers: I think I have one pair in the wardrobe? MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating: Nothing right now. A bit ago, bacon and egg sandwich. 58. Drinking: Water. 59. I’m about to: Attempt to write an RP post. 61. Waiting for: Nothing comes to mind. 62. Want: Not to have to go to work tomorrow. Also for the dog to stop farting. 63. Get married: In the near future. 64. Career: I did train to teach, but didn’t finish the course. Work in an office now, which is OK, but hardly the most fulfilling thing. Can’t find any better alternatives though. WHICH IS BETTER 65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs are more universal. 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes 67. Shorter or taller: Doesn’t matter to me, though I am slightly taller than average myself. 68. Older or younger: I tend to get on better with somewhat older people generally. I am a very old soul, however. 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms, if I have to pick. 71. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive please. 72. Hook up or relationship: Never really done hook ups. Relationships are more my thing. 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: More hesitant for sure. HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: Not that I can think of. 75. Drank hard liquor: Yes, a few kinds. I’m not a big drinker, though. 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: No, I don’t think I’ve ever lost a pair of glasses. 77. Turned someone down: Once that I can recall. 78. Sex in the first date: It depends on the person, I guess, but as a general rule, I don’t think so. 79. Broken someone’s heart: Not that I am aware of. 80. Had your heart broken: Not really. 81. Been arrested: No. 82. Cried when someone died: Yes. 83. Fallen for a friend: Yes, which then evolved into what it is today. DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. Yourself: Depends on which way the wind is blowing. 85. Miracles: Not as a general rule. 86. Love at first sight: It is a nice idea, but no. 87. Santa Claus: No. Not as you mean it, anyway. 88. Kiss on the first date: If it goes well, sure. 89. Angels: A nice thought, but no, I wouldn’t say so. OTHER: 90. Current best friends name: Well, my best friend is my fiancé, so does that count? 91. Eyecolour: Blue. 92. Favourite movie: No idea. I’ve seen so many over the years, but haven’t been to the cinema especially to watch one in a while. None immediately come to mind.

#meme

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sweettsubaki · 7 years

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fuck off Tim Stan

2. TimDrake fans are the new loki fangirls..

3. It’s nota surprise Damian is ranked top 4 in one-on-one fight by King.

It’s about mycomments on this post which comments Tom King’s List ofstrongest Batfam fighters.Tom King’s Tweet was asked about the 10 most skilled Fighters in the Batfam :1. Cassandra 2. Dick 3. Bruce 4. Damian 5. Kate 6. Helena 7. Jason 8. Duke 9.Stephanie 10. Tim

Here arethe comments in question :

Me :he wasn’t trained by her in N52/Rebirth though so isn’t Tom King right on this?

@spacechirrut(The OP): Even if he’s not in the new continuity he still doesn’t rank lower thanstephanie, duke and damian

Me : True enough, I was mostly commenting on the Lady Shiva thing. For N52 I’d gowith him being an olympic level gymnast with similar skills and level toDick+Battraining (even if not for long, still enough that Bat decided to gethim out there). While Steph only started getting proper training recently.Dami, while experienced is still a kid (should be about the same levelconsidering how much of a Mary Sue Damian has been lately) & Duke no realtraining & only experience

So let’sstart answering.

1. I can’tactually answer that, I have no idea who Tim Stan is. I’m gonna suppose thatit’s an insult ? Though for some people being gay is an insult when really,it’s not so I apologize in advance by not being offended at all.

2. Prettymuch every fandom and characters has Loki fangirls, it’s especially true incomics fandoms (like seriously I’ve been in multiple fandoms and it was rarely that bad). I also find it ironic since Damian suffers from this way morethan Tim has in the latest years.Another Ironic thing is I’m talking about N52!Tim whom I despise more than mostof the Batfam at this point since I’m not into megalomaniacs. I don’t like LexLuthor, I don’t see why I’d like N52/Rebirth!Tim Drake. And in addition to that I’m mad about what DC did and is doing, trying to erasehow Pre-N52!Tim was by trying to advertise that N52/Rebirth!Tim is the samecharacter so, considering all this you probably like him more than I do.Let’s not forget that I pretty much called N52/Rebirth!Tim Drake dumbso I have no idea where you got the idea that I was fangirling about him. Ohwait I didn’t, that was on twitter. Basically Tom King said Tim had his smartsand what I put was that N52/Rebirth!Tim was more of a fighter than a thinkerbecause I have yet to see him really think things through. So that one’s on me.Plus I’m a big defender of seeing characters’ faults and qualities whether you like the characters or not, because I can’t stand character bashing. The fact that I can find as many good and bad points in most of the characters I read/watch is enough, I just differentiate between excusing and explaining a character’s behavior which a lot of people don’t appreciate. (I mean you can ask me what flaw Tim has and I can answer you with as many as I can find in Damian or anyone...I made a full post on Tim’s emotional instability)

3. Itactually is. Damian was trained to be an ASSASSIN, you know what assassinsavoid ? One on One fights. And even if he was trained since childhood, Damianstill lived in a sheltered environment.Damian has stealth and if he gets the first blow right then sure he’s prettymuch won. Because that’s the point of an assassin. One on One fights aren’ttheir things and even if he’s obviously gotten better, it’s still not histhing.In N52, Tim has been training as a gymnast to the point of being Olympic levelsince he was a child (we know that he’s been homeschooled all his life in thiscontinuity). Which is why I say that he has a level similar to Dick’s when hewas his age. Then he went through at least 6 months of Bat Training andgenerally went through a little more hardships with the T.T. than Damian did (andwhile they were very very very badly written he did learn a couple of things inthem). So here Tim and Damian have about 3-4 years of difference which means that Timhas a few years on Damian. With Tim having around a few months on Damian as faras real fighting experience goes.Because again, Damian was trained to be an assassin, where the point is to avoid confrontation to get the job donequickly and seamlessly. Damian has speed sure but it isn’t everything.The reason why I call him a Mary Sue is because since N52, authors have had atendency to make it so he had a lot of knowledge (which depending on the authorhe knows how to actually use or not). But being a genius in one or a couple ofareas is already rare, being a genius in a lot of different theoretical fieldsof knowledge however is pretty much impossible, at least at his age, becauseeven if in N52 his origin story is that he was created to be geneticallyperfect, he’s still growing, his brain isn’t fully formed yet.I also found it more interesting back when the intelligence and knowledge he had (before the reboot) was due to having been Bred to be perfect, that it was the result of years of abuse. Itmade him feel more like an actual person who managed to turn his badexperiences into something good. So I’m sorry if I don’t let him off the hook,I consider him a much stronger character if I don’t. It’s also ridiculous thatthe people who usually love his genius are also often the first ones to use the“he was abused” argument to excuse his behavior when both are heavily linked.

As fortheir Pre-reboot selves in general, Tim was on the field for a little more than 1/3 of Damian’slife. By then end of the preboot Damian’s about 11 while Tim’s about 18, theyhave a 6-7 years age difference. That’s more than HALF of Damian’s age. Timstarted his training not long after he turned 13 and for about a year so that’s4 years of experience + 1 of training + A couple of years of learning Karatebefore all that started so his training didn’t start from nothing. Now Damianwas trained for about 7 years + 1 year of experience on the field (before andafter he became Robin) and he was still a very sheltered child…Plus it wasmade canon that Damian beat Tim because he got him by surprise the first timeand the 2nd Tim didn’t try to defend himself. Then when Tim attackedDamian, Tim was winning and finally the third time Damian attacked Tim, Timdefended himself and won. So in the preboot Tim was stronger. Plus, I mean Damian was trained by Talia, Ra’s and some of their bestassassins’ but Tim was trained by a LOT of different people, including but notlimited to, Bruce & Dick obviously, but also Lady Shiva, Cassandra Cain, 2guys in France whose name I can’t remember (well the 1st was RahulLama in Paris but Tim never got further in that training than the healing arts,while the 2nd died before he could teach Tim his best technique, Ithink he was in Marseille and called the Iron Master or something like that, hewas considered as a big enough person in the Martial Art World that Lady Shivatargeted him on purpose). The people he allied himself with also had a tendencyto teach him a few things every time so he ended up learning a lot ofdifferent fighting styles even if it was only a few notions (think of Black Canary, Connor Hawke or even Helena Bertinelli). He also tended toinclude various forms he had just seen (well he trained to be able to do thembut they weren’t taught to him) to his fighting style. Now I don’t doubt that at equal age Damian would win over Tim because then he’dbe the one with more (or equal in N52/Rebirth) experience and he’d have fully formed muscles (brain orotherwise), but this is not the case.

So Damianbeing put before Tim doesn’t make too much sense.

PS: Also in N52 Jason was trained for quite awhile by the Caste or whichever it was called and was fighting since he was akid as well as his bat training so he definitely shouldn’t be after Helena.

#Tim Drake #Damian Wayne #DC Comics #Tom King #Damian was such a strong character. I find his new Backstory to be kinda bland in comparison even if there were some pretty good moments #Tim Drake Meta #Anonymous

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thats-a-real-mood · 3 years

Text

loki episode 1x01

Im loving the green/gold marvel logo.

mega spoilers under cut!

Ngl not sure why the tesserect threw him like that in mongolia. Is there a reason that thanos had better control? (Other than him being a giant grape) Is this what happened with red skull?

Tva introduced. Very mysterious

Aw loki is just done with the avengers and everything else

Why did they have loki’s lips do that for so long? And in 1/16 speed

Reset the timeline? What does that do?

Zooming in on the device on the ground assuming that is going to reset the timeline. Okay so but reseting does that mean that there is now another loki? Our loki we are watching and a different loki who is continuing one the timeline?

A variant skrull?

Loki trying to run and then getting timelooped back to the lady is slightly funny

Aw that poor guy is cheerful and shes all like no i have a job

Deadly consequences huh? Is that gonna come back later? I have a feeling they will never like each other

Aw happy robot

Aw fashionista drama queen loki. I love it

Okay i may be ace but loki looks good!

-honestly in the gray suit he doesnt look that muscular but he is. Its just hidden. It hints at it with his shoulders but he in fine!

I did a get picture of the end credits where it shows what he said

“if it’s all the same yo you know i’ll have that drink now.

“tva? friend i think there has been a mistake. I am Loki,- You will regret this. I am burddened with glororius purpose. I stand on the right side of thanos- pleased to learn you’ve- my father is-”

is all i could read from this

A cat and a cat mug. I like it. This dude must be so tired. And everyone gives him extra work with everything they say even in his room. -does it do this even after they leave? And honestly i thought lokis stack would be bigger

“Do alot of people not know if they are robots?”Hun im sorry but you didnt know you were frost giant..

Now at first glance the whole “what if i was a robot and didnt know it?” Line is funny but you gotta like deeper. Like i said right above he didnt know he was a frost giant for almost the whole time 2012! Loki has been alive.

Ok but why does it look like giant scratch marks in the red rectangle. I think it’s supposed to be like dried blood or whatever but more like scratch’s.

His temporal aura..lots of red,maybe purple and yellow followed by green and blue at the top. I wanna know what it mean. Do more colors get added with more temporal stuff?

That looks like the guy who died in the trailers

He was insistent that he take a ticket. Lokis staring contest with the guy. Passive aggressive loki

Is that PA sound activated by a specific phrase? I think it would be since it probably would have turned on sooner than when loki shouted otherwise

I dont like miss minutes.

Who are the timekeepers? How are they all knowing? Can we get some more lore on them?

Branching off the nexus? That showed in a scene in the trailer..

So do the tva not want a multiverse? But it was canonized in dr strange. And wandavision. Or do they just not want a multiverse war?

Created the TVA and its workers? What do they mean by creating the workers as well?

Wait what that the reset charge i saw in the cartoon? So does that mean that there is a loki that is continuing on the timeline?

Is that how we kept the “sacred timeline”? But how? The avengers dropped the cube and loki got it and left. So how did they fix the timeline to keep him from picking it up again?

The guy doesnt have a ticket and is throwing a karen tantrum. Oop-

Okay now loki is scared.

Is it bad that i saw him hold up his ticket and found it funny? Like see boom i have it totally not gonna get destroyed now

Okay so i wrote the cool “runes” i put them in quotations because i dont know if that is what they are. Ill try to look them up later and post them.

Five dead in france..1549

Sombody got the jump? Its him? Who?

Stab wounds? Reset charge is gone. Sixth attack? That they know of?

Nice satan imagery in the background. First (assuming) micheal first with light shining in this guy and now satan..

I saw her eyes look to the satan and then upwards so assuming she means the horns but it could also be mephisto. But does mephisto stab people? Those horns look loki style

Afraid of them?

Kablooie? Blue gum? Blooeberrie?

-Why was it given away? Is it a sign? Do i need to look deeper into this? It does have that whole look that fits with the tva but im gonna hold on.

Devil bearing gifts?

-What happens when it hits the red line?

They have a FILE? On loki? Where did they get that photo? And HE IS GENDER FLUID

Judges room has the workers mural and the timekeeper mural. So the cut off the branchs to keep it in a orderly timeline?

Push t to those avengers! STEVE👏ROGERS👏IS👏A👏VARIANT

Hun..hun no thats not why they traveled.

Pffrt two tony starks! So he knew tony was there… did thor not smell him as well??

Gods to gods

Is..is this what it looks like when he tries to do magic??

Who are the people watching who isnt the guy from earlier?

So is this gonna be a show of freewill? Like wanda was grief and depression? Or the winter soldier was of —-

If my theory is right about loki being the guy killing the agents and that guy is investigating and has his file then it makes sense that he knows what loki is capable of. I would also like to point out that is it loki killing them, then they are greatly underestimating him. He should use that to his advantage

Chasing a hunch? Going sideways? Bad idea?

And this guy is flirting (i think) but also drinking his respecting woman juice.

Burn down his desk? Ok so ngl its cool outside the window but idk what it is but i can tell its greenscreen. The architecture is great. I love the scene.

A nightmare department??

I wanna know what the buttons in the elevator mean.

Created by the timekeepers? So possibly not human. Can they leave? are they aloud to? What do they mean created? Is there a process? Or are they just never kids?

Trust is for children and dogs? Oka i get the dos. But children? Does this mean that he hasnt trusted anyone since he was a kid? What happened that made him stop trusting people? Does he trust his mother?

Living in his set path? Okay i was part of the son fandom so im getting team free will vibes from loki insisting that he chooses what he does

Wooing someone powerful you intended to betray? Thanos? (Ew giant grape face guy) You, agent mobius? The Grandmaster?!

Are they flirting? I genuinely cant tell? Is this what flirting looks like?

Pursuit in Dangerous variants? So not loki. My theory holds strong for me but maybe its not?Hes a hissing cat? So born to be king?

A fan? Okay..i wanna saw how are you a fan? But you have the file.

Loki

The wrong path always taken…

“I am smart.” I know

What do u know mobius? Time passes differently…has loki been here before? Have u met him before? How do u know he his smart? Yes you have a file but that doesnt tell me why u are saying for certainty that u know he is smart. And he looks serious. Like he knew something. What are you hiding??

Okay so he heals fast. This couldnt have been hat long since then?

Okay so they bring in phil but they dont even acknowledge that he is still alive (as far as im aware)

The uncomfortable shifting and keeping his gaze away from the screen as new york was shown was kinda telling cause of what he said earlier…

Deflecting to keep from talking..

The FLASHBACK

Why does he need money?

Young..lost a bet to thor… what was the bet???

You just used reverse psychology on loki and it worked

Why do you wanna know about why he does what he does? Are you using him for your other case? (Assuming hat he is killing the guards somehow)

Did his voice crack when he saw his adventure in germany? Anyone else catch that? And the past tense after that. His masks are starting to fall. I think he is gonna lash out soon

Oh his mother

This is gonna get painful. Im crying already.

Oh frigga. He is tearing up. He is getting agitated now. Dude you just accused him of killing his mother

Okay stop. So others can achieve better versions of themself?

U mean when nat yeeted herself on vormir? Or when clint went around killing people during the blip? Or when cap stayed behind with peggy when he had bucky to come back to?

I can see him planning something but idk what yet

Ok so i already watched this earlier but now that i watch this part carefully i can see his hand pickpocket

Another unit? So thats six units now?

Loki escaped??

Prune? Is that what the stick thing is?

Ok he asked the guys name. I like that. Polite.

I saw him take a breath to get ready for another performance

U..u dont know what a fish is?

Lived entire life behind a desk? How old are you?

Okay thats practical to know what your being threatened with. Informed choices my dude.

Ok is this the room that loki has a desk at in the previews? Also i like casey. He is now my new fav

Whats is the desk? INFINITY STONES?? are you kidding me? So other people have tried to get them but werent aloud because of the timeline with thanos and the avengers???? Why do you have so many of the same stones? And the fact that the time stones as well means something attempted to happen to earth to get them..

They dont work at the tva? You USE INFINITY STONES? AS PAPER WEIGHTS? INGOT OF IMMENSE POWER THAT WERE CREATED SUPPOSEDLY AT THE BIG BANG??

This is giving me (another show that used something important as paperwieghts) vibes

Coming to the realization that this place is powerful? Ok so that is pruning.

His mother, he is crying i cant deal

Oh god im crying again

He just want his parents love and they are dead. He just wanted family to love him. He wanted to so much and didnt ever feel like he had it. But he did.

Oh no

Please dont make him watch his death

Please

The immediate falling of his face, his tormentor, i wanna know what he is thinking when he sees thanos

Oh the bone sound

And loki watched

Not making light of this but they speedrun his trauma and his redemption. He didnt get to see the good parts of what he has done. Just the bad.

Oh his laughing and the bitter glorious purpose

The fight was short but cool

He is being his petty self and i love it

See, don’t underestimate him

That nose scrunch

He looked emotionally drained

Wait why cant he go back? Cause he saw his future? Isnt that the reset? Oh wait if he goes back, he dies and he knows that but he couldnt be able to stop it without ending back up here

Hes opening up. The masks he had are falling around mobius. He sees himself as a villian.

Fugitive variant?

I KNEW IT IT WAS LOKI!

but hold on. If this fugitive is loki, then how? What part of the timeline is they from? Are they a future loki? So the future loki is a dangerous variant and this loki is a cat? What makes the future one more dangerous? We just heard him say he doesnt like to kill?

Okay now oklahoma 1858, if this is loki then how is he goin across time? And what for?

Wait third millenium? When is that?

Okay so we got a 1500 deaths and pieces of gum? And now third millennium thing in the 1800?

Oil? In a field…i get that u would think that but please think about where u are and the fact that other units have been killed in what i assume are regular calls like this as well.

Hooded figure? In a foggy night?with different background lights? I like it.

Told you oil plus field equals fire

Oh big spots of oil and oil leading places

Okay there is the reset charge? Is this important like i said earlier i thought it would be?

Ok if this is loki then what’s with the get up? Where is the drama? The showmanship? And why do you need the reset charges? Assuming this person took them from each scene that is at least six or seven? Or is this eight? Would this be the one that they said earlier with the captain lady interrupting or is this another one after that?

Ok so i took some pictures of the end credits that i think are important. I want to look closer at them before i post them.

#loki spoilers #loki series spoilers #loki marvel #loki series #loki #loki show #loki laufeyson #loki episodes #loki 1x1 #sorry its so long #im on mobile #and can’t make a cut on here #marvel spoilers #spoilers

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valkirsif · 6 years

Text

Unthinkable CH11/???

Tom Hiddleston X Reader

Warning: nothing, § is for text message

Word: 3200

I hope enoj!!

The group spent the evening and part of the night talking about the wedding, it was so good in the garden that decided to bring the beds to the sofa and sleep together, they felt the need to contact with others, they were woken up late in the morning by the bell that rang insistently, Rice got up to go and see who was in the meantime the rest of the group woke up too,

"Day guys slept well?" Y/N asked stretching, trying to spread from the tangle of legs and arms, a confused murmur of "Good morning" and “Perfect sleep” his said to greeting, the woman smiled looking at the others as they woke up a tangle of people who loved each other, headed home, hungry turned on the coffee machine and began to prepare breakfast, loved the moment of awakening in which the family was mostly composed of caffeine-free zombies, they gathered around the kitchen table while Y/N put coffee, biscuits and milk on the table, a leftover cake, some pizza, the classic breakfast, Rice appeared with a huge bunch of sunflowers looking for a vase,

"Wow do your fans know you're home?" Niko asked curiously, "Should we expect hordes of amorous girls at the gate?"

"I thought that fans would send especially panties and spicy messages," urged Marco,

"AH AH AH, very witty" Rice replied sarcastically, "And anyway yes, usually photos or panties arrive or both" took a vase and filled it with water before putting the flowers soaking, "But this time i'm not for me.." he turned looking at Y/N with a note in his hand "..I'm for you Poppy"

"As an excuse?" The woman was more than surprised, no one knew she was at Rice's house,

"The messenger was very clear and your name is on the ticket" said the friend passing the envelope, Y/N took it and opened it was really curious to know that sent her favorite flowers, the ticket was simple and written with an elegant spelling:

§ They told me that this is the best way to say thank you on Midgard § was signed L.O. and followed by a telephone number, the woman blushed and smiled to herself, she knew exactly who the flowers were coming from, put the card back in the envelope and put it in her pocket, the group looked at her curiously,

"So who's sending them?" Simo gave voice to everyone's curiosity, "I'm from Rice's friend?",

"He sends them to thank the company of these 2 weeks," Y/N said, drinking coffee,

"Well he did not waste much, they're just sunflowers, if he was so good could send you some roses" continued Simo, the woman shook head she wanted to punch him but knew that for the friend the appearance was all so did not reply, was the most beautiful gift in the world her favorite flowers from her favorite actor, took the vase to the bedroom sat on the bed and stored the number of Tom in the cell phone before erasing it from the ticket, stayed with the phone in hand for 10 minutes not knowing what to write, she kept staring at the chat without knowing what to do,

"Hey Poppy all right?" Rice was knocking on the door, "May I come in?"

"Come on," Y/N answered, the man sat down beside her on the bed in silence,

"I'm from Tom, right? Are you okay?" he asked protectively,

"Yes yes I'm fine, very well indeed" she smiled, "In the note there was also his number ... and I have no idea what to write to him" shook her head like a little girl,

Rice laughed hugging her, "Maybe a * thank you for the flowers * could be a good start, what do you say? You said goodbye only yesterday from friends it does not seem difficult to say hello to him ",

Y/N smiled as always the friend was right, it was true she and Tom were friends and there was nothing strange in thanking him, picked up the phone and without hesitation wrote to the man:

§ Your gesture was much appreciated my lord of Asgard, they told you the truth the women of Midgard are sensitive to flowers, and I particularly love the sunflowers §, put a smile and I click enter before returning from the others, to the plan of under Franc and Jack they were showing the location to the rest of the group, as if they needed everyone knew Skopelos even though they had never been there, the couple was booking the various B&Bs and hotels for relatives and friends,

"For us, however, we thought to book the cottage near the beach, so we say we are all together" proposed Franc before confirming the reservation for everyone,

"It's great for me it's also close to the disco so we can celebrate well" Simo said,

"Simo, I'm afraid you'll go alone to the disco, we can not be late on the night before the wedding ..." Niko and Phil replied,

"..and we are no more kids who can do the 5 to dance and drink and get up at 7!" Rice continued, everyone laughed, it was damn true they had been dating for a lifetime and had made of cooked and raw together but they were almost all adults and similar evenings were to be excluded if they had to be perfect on the day of the wedding, Simo was disappointed among them was the only one who tried to keep the pace of when they were 20 years,

"Put it so Simo no one will prevent you to go dancing and make conquests" said Gian giving him a push,

"Just do not late for the ceremony you can do whatever you want" laughed the future spouses, Y/N went into the kitchen, it was almost lunchtime, pulled out the pan of lasagna and put it in the oven, they were just to heat in the meantime prepared a nice salad just to be light,

"Hey you're missing the choice of dress code," Phil said embracing her, "I already see you in the blue and white dress and flowers in hair"

"I'll wear whatever they want, I just do not have to put the heels I do not think I can face that climb with heels" answered the woman leaning on his friend, "I'll have to change color for the ceremony if they chose white and blue" laughed, Phil took a knife and helped her cut tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad, the rest of the family joined them to take the necessary to set, Marco, clumsy as always, risked to drop the cake,

"Sorry sorry sorry" said panicked "Ok I'm quiet I will not let it fall an aspect too good to risk" put the cake on the trolley and went to the hall, Y/N laughed had always found the awkwardness of his friend adorable even when he destroyed things unwittingly, took the lasagna from the oven and made the dishes, helped by Phil they brought their lunch to the table, they finished eating and got comfortable on the sofa watching movies and continuing to discuss the clothes,

"For the women we had thought of something like this" explained Jack showing Y/N a wonderful dress empire style long until at the foot of Pnina Tornai cream-colored with blue flowers and a ribbon tighten waist also blue "Not being able to have this, for obvious cost reasons, we wanted to look for something like this, find 3 equals is perfect" he continued,

"How come only 3?" Y/N asked "Are the guests all male?"she laughed,

" Sorry I meant for the bridesmaids, so you, the sister of Franc and Sara," he said looking at her, “..you like the model? Since you are very different, the three of us were looking for something to donate to everyone "

"Jack is beautiful and I love the style empire.." the woman answered looking at the dress,

"..and covers any defect" Simo put in.

" true, I am curvy can cover the bottom and the waist moving attention on the twins "laughed Y/N not feeling at all offended by the statement of the friend, she was conscious of being part of the soft girls and it was very fair , the suit chosen for men was a classic double-breasted blue sea with white shirt and white flower to the eyelet, they would all be beautiful, the day passed by setting dates and booking trains and ferries, made a quick dinner and the group went to bed.

The first days went by telling the news and relaxing in all possible ways, made long walks in the property, one evening Niko appeared from the Rice playroom with the box of Twister in his hand, "Hey hey hey what about game?" the malignant grin while shaking the box, they looked at each other and moved the sofa to get more space, looks of challenge they made their way between them, that game had created feuds for years, everyone loved and hated but no one pulled back, Y/N was pleased that his family was there, she did not have time to think of Tom or wonder why he did not show up after she had written to him, returned from the group while Marco turned the wheel

"Foot right on the blue" he shouted, Rice moved to get in position, he stood next to Niko who was now stuck with his left hand on yellow, the two exchanged glances of fire,

"Poppy right hand on red," Marco shouted, he was too clumsy to play so was always spinning the wheel, the woman got behind Rice ready to trip him if it was to win, she was his best friend but in that war they did not take prisoners, 20 minutes after the plan of play was tangle of hands and feet, Jack was the first to fall when he had to reach the green with his left hand, he tried but it was too far away, the free spaces were beginning to run low,

"Left hand on yellow" Marco said to Y/N, the woman looked around and moved between the bodies of friends, was about to support the hand when Simo screamed like a girl distracting her and making fall,

"Damn Simo passed you a spider?" she complained getting up and going to the couch of the losers,

"Loki has a new girl! Who knows who" chirped excited, the woman felt her heart stop for a second,

"Where are you looking at Simo?" she asked pretending nothing,

"Twitter, I just put it back" said the man reading the article, Y/N took the phone and opened the page, the photos were unmistakable there was Tom hand in hand with a woman as they entered from Cartier, sitting at a bar while they were having coffee and others in a park, they seemed so happy, Y/N read the article that accompanied the photos but did not mention the woman's name, she looked like a stranger, maybe a colleague, she found her beautiful, could not help but notice her elegance and her grace and suddenly realized she had lied to herself, what had been between Tom and her was not for fun, it had happened she fell in love with him, struck from the revelation she got up and went to hide in the room had to regain control did not want others to notice anything, "You're stupid, you had to be more careful and do not approach him," she said to her reflection in the mirror, wanted to give blame him but could not, Tom had been clear since the night of the party and knew that he was not the kind of man who takes advantage of women, it happened and that's enough and now her heart was broken even if knew would never work held between them, he was of another category and she was just she..a normal woman, regained control, closed her emotions in a corner and returned to her smiling family, they had not noticed anything, she sat down Simo was looking for more photos of the happy couple and pretended to be interested in the new gossip.

At the 8 pm the group moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner, decided to make pizza and, as always, ended up making war laughing like crazy surrounded by a cloud of flour, while the dough leavened tried to collect the flour flew a little everywhere, Y/N remained in the kitchen to prepare the condiments listening to music while the rest of the family went to the garden for a pre-dinner pool swim, checked the mixture it took a while 'to be ready, reached the others and found them who were preparing tequila shot, Rice had ordered a couple of bottles to celebrate,

"Here is our official tequila lady," Roby said laughing and taking her in his arms, Y/N laughed almost resignedly hearing his friends incite her, "It's been too long since last time," the man continued, making her lie down and helping remove the t-shirt,

"Hey I can never drink anything, this time the glass does it Rice" the woman laughed getting up and making herself go to drink, "We try not to overdo it, the dinner is not cooked by itself ", empty the glass in a moment and prepared the friend for the body shot,

"But how, you always do it" Rice tried to protest for two seconds before being with a slice of lime in his mouth, Y/N looked at him grateful that he had taken her place, the last one to have used it as a glass was Tom and did not feel like doing it, but did not pull back when it was her turn to drink, the tequila ended in a flash, they were all happy and most of the glasses spilled on the lawn could not be serious enough to drink Rice made such stupid expressions that they could not help laughing like children, Gian followed Y/N as he went back home to bake dinner,

"I had not laughed so much for centuries, he wanted us" said hugging the woman,

"I'm having a lot of fun too, it's almost a year that we're not all together things" admitted Y/N while putting the pizza in the oven,

"Do you want to talk about it?" Gian whispered, "I know something is upsetting you, I'm here if you want ..",

"I do not understand what you mean, I'm fine" the woman lied shamelessly, did not want to open the vase di Pandora, "Take the big dishes please are too high and I'm too shining to climb the chair" changed the subject trying to distract the friend from asking her other questions,

"..Certain.." snorted not at all satisfied, fortunately the others reached them, they were all hungry and began to munch on chips waiting,

"Do not fill with crap in 10 minutes is ready" Y/N laughed taking the bag, the timer of the oven rang, made the dishes and went back in garden to dine, they had made the park their base camp despite the space in the house spent almost all the time together at the pool, the woman saw Gian and Rice apart to talk but did not give too much weight, she plunged into the water and joined to the others I was or playing ball, they went out of the pool destroyed late at night and dragged themselves to bed.

"Poppy you have to redo the color with the pool chlorine you have become a strange blond," said Rice looking at her in the mirror,

"I realized Lucifer, if we have time to fix them tomorrow," Y/N answered as watched the faded marks on the neck, Rice opened the shower and invited her friend to follow him, getting rid of the chlorine was more than pleasant they both felt the skin pull,

"Gian realized something was wrong, do not you want to talk about it?" Rice said nonchalantly while washing her hair,

"We're here" thought Y/N before answering, "It's nothing peaceful, it's just that amazed me to see that Thomas has a new girlfriend, has recovered quickly after.." the words died in her throat, she was saying too much, Rice did not say anything could imagine the rest, just squeezed, remained 10 minutes hugging under the jet, silent tears fell from the eyes of the woman, did not say anything came out of the shower and went to bed, Y/N was about to fall asleep when the phone lit up,

"But who is looking for you at 3 am?" asked Rice passing the phone,

"I do not know.." the woman opened the messages: § Hey, what are your plans for tomorrow? §, "It's a message from Chris, hell is worse than you, neither look at the time before calling or sending messages," she laughed, patting him, "Have we got something scheduled tomorrow?" asked turning to his friend, Rice shook his head, § I have nothing to do Sassy .. what sick idea has jumped on your mind? :) §,

the answer did not wait, § I'm off, if I send you a means of transport you would come to keep me company, I want to cuddle! ;) §,

§ I have only one request, being alone we two § answered Y/N, did not want to risk to cross Tom even if she had no idea where they lived during the shoot, Chris assured her that no one would see and they agreed for the recovery the next morning a helicopter would have waited at 10 am in Paris, she turned off his cell phone and fell asleep.

She got up shortly after 7 am wanted to fix her hair, put the color and the cellophane on head and went into the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast, flying on an empty stomach was not a good idea, Phil joined her as she turned the toast,

"What are you doing standing at the dawn dear?" he asked surprised to see someone standing up, fiddled with the car and made coffee for both,

"I fix my hair and run away from Captain America until tomorrow,” she replied laughing, sharing toast with his friend,

"Interesting, well, says him hello and have fun," Phil answered seriously, the woman shook her head and told the truth but he thought was joking, they ate chatting, the friend greeted her with a kiss and ran, Y/N washed her hair, they were beautiful blue ocean, put a t-shirt in the backpack and also remembered that of Chris, at 9.15 am left the house and found Rice's car waiting for her to take to Paris, where a very kind hostess escorted to the heliport, the pilot helped climb, tightened her seat belt, put headphones on and took off, an hour after the helicopter landed in a field, the woman came down and thanked the pilot, it was a quiet flight had enjoyed the view and was happy with the invitation, looked around saw a jeep not far away and started Chris got out of the car and ran to meet hugging her with force,

"I missed you Silly, i know it's absurd since we know each other so little" loosened the grip by putting her back on feet, Y/N laughed like a little girl,

"You missed me too Sassy boy," she answered still leaning on his chest, the man took her by the hand and reached the car, the woman sent a message to Rice to warn him that had arrived safe and turned off the phone, did not want to be disturbed by anyone that day.

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vocalfriespod · 6 years

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Freaky Friday Transcript

CARRIE: Hi and welcome to The Vocal Fries podcast, the podcast about linguistic discrimination.

MEGAN: I'm Megan Figueroa.

CARRIE: And I'm Carrie Gillon. Today we're talking about language to do with Halloween-y things, scary things, and so not really about linguistic discrimination this time.

MEGAN: No, it's really not. Although some of the things that I want to talk about bring up the patriarchy and feminism.

CARRIE: Yeah, we can't escape that.

MEGAN: No, even with our folklores and stuff, it's in there.

CARRIE: Yeah, this stuff is really old.

MEGAN: Yeah.

CARRIE: That’s why it’s hard to fight!

MEGAN: It is.

CARRIE: Alright, so the first thing we're going to talk about is the fear of the number 13, or believing that 13 is an unlucky number. This has a name, and I'm gonna pronounce it terribly, and I apologize but: triskaidekaphobia.

MEGAN: That was really good.

CARRIE: Do you know Greek? Although I guess it is still just an English word.

MEGAN: Right?

CARRIE: It means “3 and 10 fear”, literally. The fear of 13. What's going on with 13, why is it so unlucky, supposedly?

MEGAN: Well, it seems that there is some really old reasons for it. It might be the case that there was disdain for the number because it's positioned after the number 12, which is considered to be a complete number by neurologists - “neurologists” ha. By numerologists!

CARRIE: A very different kind of people.

MEGAN: Oh my gosh. They’re so different. I don’t know how neurologists feel about the number 12.

CARRIE: I'm sure they're very neutral about it, for the most part.

MEGAN: So this completeness of 12: like 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules - labors of Hercules?

CARRIE: Oh you don't know the labors of Hercules?

MEGAN: No, I don't.

CARRIE: It's a fun story. He had to go do all things - I don't remember why - I guess Zeus told him to do these things? I don't know. I don't even remember what they were. This is so silly, but Hercules had to go perform manual labor-type things

MEGAN: To prove his godness or something?

CARRIE: He's a demigod, he's half-God, half-human. I don't know don't remember why he had to do it. But yeah: 12 labors of Hercules.

MEGAN: Okay, that must not have been in the cartoon version.

CARRIE: Wasn’t it?

MEGAN: I don't know.

CARRIE: I don’t know either. I assumed it was, cuz it's a huge part of his story.

MEGAN: Probably it is. And then the 12 tribes of Israel, and the Twelve Apostles of Jesus.

CARRIE: Although, there were actually 13, which is maybe one of the reasons why 13 is considered to be unluckiest, because the 13th apostle - Judas - supposedly turned against Jesus. Although there is also a possibility that actually Judas and Jesus were in on it together. Apparently they found a new gospel like 10 years ago, and in that version Judas and come up with this plan together - kind of like Dumbledore dies on purpose.

MEGAN: Oh my gosh, this is a telenovela! I love it! And spoiler alert: Dumbledore died, sorry.

CARRIE: I just assume people know.

MEGAN: I’m kidding.

CARRIE: Another version of this idea that the 13th person showing up as bad is a story of Loki. 12 gods were having a dinner party in Valhalla and then Loki shows up, and Loki’s the god of mischief.

MEGAN: Or Tom Hiddleston.

CARRIE: Swoon.

MEGAN: I know.

CARRIE: So he shows up, and he arranges for the blind God Hodor to shoot and kill Balder, who is the god of joy and gladness. When the god of joy and gladness dies, things get bad. The whole earth gets dark, and everyone mourns. That's another instance of the 13th person being bad luck, or a bad person.

MEGAN: Another one is in ancient Rome, witches reportedly gathered in groups of 12, which, if I were a witch, I don't think I know 11 other people, so my witch group wouldn't be that big. The 13th person was believed to be the devil.

CARRIE: Which is kind of awesome, the 13th person - I guess it isn't there it corporally? I'm not really sure. Or it just shows up later?

MEGAN: Yeah, I don't know how that works. Do they know they're the devil, or then they suddenly become the devil?

CARRIE: No no.

MEGAN: Or is the devil summoned?

CARRIE: Yeah, there are 12 people there and then the 13th presence would be the devil. That's how I understand it.

MEGAN: Okay, assuming that witches summon the devil.

CARRIE: Yeah. Or the devil just shows that anytime 12 witches get together, cuz they're so evil. I don't know.

MEGAN: Well, if the devil were male, he wouldn't like 12 women gathering in one place/ that's like a.

CARRIE: Well… if you think witches or if you think women are evil, then of course the devil's gonna like them.

MEGAN: That's a really good point. And not the point I want to make!

CARRIE: This fear of 13 shows up in all different weird places: architects still to this day - well, not all of them - but some of them still refuse to design buildings that have 13 stairs. They gotta make sure that there's 12 or 14 instead, or buildings that have a 13th floor. Apparently, more than 80% - I don't know if this means North America worldwide or what - but more than 80% of buildings skip 13 if they're that tall.

MEGAN: I've noticed this, and I don't know if I'm just being a bitch about it, but I'm like, then 14 becomes 13.

CARRIE: Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me at all either. In Vancouver, it's even worse, because they skip 4 and 24 and 14, because in Cantonese the words for those sound like the word for “death” or some version of death.

MEGAN: Ohhh.

CARRIE: Yeah there's a lot of missing floors in some of the high-rises in Vancouver.

MEGAN: But that makes more sense to me.

CARRIE: Why?

MEGAN: Because the word for it sounds like a thing, so the word not being there.

CARRIE: Okay.

MEGAN: It seems better than saying “oh, we don't have the 13th floor”. No, but you really do.

CARRIE: But you still have the fourth floor.

MEGAN: I know… but it's not written anywhere. I don't know. But you're right, that's the same point of having 13 floors, because people are afraid of them. Alright fine, nothing makes sense. Can I say I would totally stay on the 13th floor.

CARRIE: Yeah me too. I've been in the 13th row in an airplane, and I hate flying. I don't think that you're more likely to die. If something's gonna go wrong, it’s gonna go wrong with the whole plane.

MEGAN: That’s true. Unless you're in the movie Final Destination.

CARRIE: Ah, yeah, I refuse to watch those kinds of movies.

MEGAN: Oh ok.

CARRIE: Apparently also in France, back in the day, I don't know exactly when, but socialites known as the fourteeners or “quatorziens” once made themselves available as the 14th guests, just in case there were only 13 guests.

MEGAN: Wow.

CARRIE: Just to make it less unlucky. Which I find so bizarre.

MEGAN: That's amazing. So these people, they were just random people that would serve as this 14er to go to parties.

CARRIE: Yes, the fourteenth guest.

MEGAN: Ah! Wow. Ok.

CARRIE: It actually sounds like a good gig.

MEGAN: I know! They got paid in food, at least.

CARRIE: Yeah food and drink probably.

MEGAN: So with that being said, we just survived a Friday the 13th. And it was in October.

CARRIE: Yeah! Double whammy.

MEGAN: Yeah. And there is even more hellish things happening, right?

CARRIE: Yes! The very last flight of flight 666 to HEL was on Friday the 13th last week.

MEGAN: I'm actually surprised that they use that number as a flight.

CARRIE: Yeah I'm sort of surprised too, although I guess not everybody is as freaked out by the number 666.

MEGAN: I guess that's Judeo-Christian stuff, right?

CARRIE: Yes. It comes from Revelations: the mark of the beast. The fear of Friday the 13th has a word as well and it's friggatriskaidekaphobia. I know I did that badly. Frigga or Frigg is a Norse goddess, which we named Friday after. Then 3 and 10 fear. So it's basically the fear of Friday the 13th.

MEGAN: It doesn't help that Jesus was supposedly crucified on a Friday.

CARRIE: Right.

MEGAN: Like you mentioned earlier, Judas was the 13th apostle that supposedly stabbed him in the back.

CARRIE: Right.

MEGAN: This is something I didn't know - I learn so much on our podcast!

CARRIE: Me too!

MEGAN: Eve supposedly tempted Adam on a Friday, and Cain supposedly killed his brother Abel on Friday 13th.

CARRIE: I don't know how they know that. This is probably determined by biblical scholars who really dig deep. But I'm like, “how did they know it was a Friday”? Was there such a time?

MEGAN: Yeah.

CARRIE: Well I guess there was, cuz God supposedly built the world in six days. I guess they knew what day it was. I don't know.

MEGAN: It also could just be like a backformation kind of thing, where people are like, “we hate this day”. I don't know. I don't know where it came from.

CARRIE: Yeah, I don't know either. Supposedly, Friday was the day when most people were hung or hanged - whichever version you use, I use hung. And so Friday was known as “hangman's day”, so that's another reason why Friday can be kind of a bad luck day. And the 13th actually falls on Friday more often than any other day of the week apparently.

MEGAN: Oh! Ok.

CARRIE: Isn’t that weird?

MEGAN: Yeah. That's super weird.

CARRIE: In any given year, you can have one Friday the 13th or you could have up to three Friday the 13ths.

MEGAN: So we always have one Friday the 13th.

CARRIE: Every year, yeah, at least.

MEGAN: Okay.

CARRIE: Some years are particularly quote unquote unlucky by having three. People really take this seriously! Apparently 800 to 900 million dollars is lost in business on Friday the 13th, because people stopped flying, they stopped doing business.

MEGAN: I would be the business woman who swoops in and steals business on Friday the 13th.

CARRIE: Me too.

MEGAN: That's bonkers.

CARRIE: I agree.

MEGAN: I shouldn't call it bonkers, because there are some things I believe in that are ridiculous.

CARRIE: We all believe in at least one thing that is completely false. And is obviously false.

MEGAN: People who consider themselves unfortunate are more likely to believe in superstitions associated with bad luck. If you don't believe in superstitions - wait, if you don't believe in luck, then you can't have bad luck, or you won't believe in a magical force that is trying to ruin your life.

CARRIE: Right. I think it's a good idea just to not worry about it.

MEGAN: We're not trying to tell you how to live your lives, except when it comes to language.

CARRIE: It might make your life a little bit easier if you’re not superstitious. You do you. So the Friday the 13th thing brought up the - we talked about the flight 666 - there's also a word over the fear of the number 666. I don't even know if I want to try and say this: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. I don't know. It's the fear of the number 666. This comes from the number of the beast which is in the book of Revelation from the New Testament. AND! It's in Chapter 13.

MEGAN: I am telling you.

CARRIE: Weirdly - I didn't know this until I did the reason research for this, because this is something I didn't grow up with, I don't know that much about this stuff but - apparently, in some sources the number of the beast is actually 616.

MEGAN: Oh, so we have a new number to be afraid of.

CARRIE: Just add it to the list. Apparently this comes - well there are a bunch of different theories, but the theory that made the most sense to me is - apparently the name and title of Nero the Roman Emperor, so Nero Caesar, the numerical interpretation of that is 666 if you do it through the Hebrew numerology. It was this coded way of talking about Nero, without the Roman authorities knowing.

MEGAN: And why wouldn't they want the Roman authorities to know?

CARRIE: In modern day time, people talking about Trump, but not wanting, say, Trump to know that they're talking about him.

MEGAN: Oh, okay.

CARRIE: The people who wrote revelations didn't want the authorities to know that they were mocking or talking about Nero in a bad way.

MEGAN: Oh, okay. So that's the theory you like the most. Is that the most popular theory? I've never heard of any other.

CARRIE: I don't know if it's the most popular. I honestly don't know. There's another view of the mark of the beast being somehow related to the rise of a supranational currency - so a currency that goes across borders, like the Euro, or, I was thinking: Bitcoin! People who believe this version of the mark of the beast believe that revelation addresses the second coming of Jesus, and so if we see these patterns come up, like this particular kind of currency, then the second coming is coming. That might be the most popular version, but I don't know.

MEGAN: Yeah. So people avoid it just like they avoid Friday the 13th or the 13th floor, right? Apparently in 1989, Nancy and Ronald Reagan we're moving to their home in Bel-Air which is in a fancy part of Los Angeles, and the address of this new house was 666 St Cloud Rd. They changed it to 668 St Cloud Rd. This is kind of like, for me, removing a 13th floor.

CARRIE: Yeah, it’s exactly the same to me as well.

MEGAN: You’re still living on 666 St Cloud Rd.

CARRIE: In this sense, it's a little different, because the numbers aren't perfect - you don't have every single address on a block.

MEGAN: That’s true.

CARRIE: So it's a little less frivolous. For them, it really mattered because, not only were they very strong Christians, they also believed in psychics. They believed in psychics. This stuff was really up their alley. So I'm not surprised they changed the number.

MEGAN: I didn't know they believed in psychics. That is so California of them.

CARRIE: Especially Nancy, as far as I recall. In New Mexico, I didn't even know there was a route 666, and it was changed in 2003 to route 491. A New Mexico spokesperson apparently said, “the devil's out of here and we say goodbye and good riddance.”

MEGAN: Wow. And this was in 2003. Not that long ago.

CARRIE: Yup.

MEGAN: It could have been 1803, honestly.

CARRIE: Right. To me it's just one of the most silly things we could possibly do, but whatever.

MEGAN: I really like this one, a lot. Most semiconductor processors produced in the early days of personal computers also avoided 666. While being a progressive stage in the development of processor speed, many processors such as Intel Pentium 3 were clocked at 667 mH instead of 666 mH which would have been the natural megaHertzes. MegaHertzes! I just pluraled a plural, didn't I?

CARRIE: Hertz is not plural.

MEGAN: So how do you plural it? It's just with a number? I guess?

CARRIE: Yeah. You don't pluralize it. Because it's - I don't know why you don't, but you don't. Maybe because it was ends in an s, so we just don't pluralize it. One more: apparently Joe Barton, the US representative, in 2015 - so again, very recently - had introduced a legislative bill and he had the number change from 666 to 702.

MEGAN: I don't know how legislative bills are numbered, but that seems…

CARRIE: I thought they were sequential.

MEGAN: Right! So that's quite the skip of numbers.

CARRIE: My guess is that other people introduced other bills in between.

MEGAN: Yeah, good point. We all survived Friday the 13th and so did everyone on flight 686 to HEL, as far as I know. They’re okay.

CARRIE: Yeah they all made it to Helsinki, everything's fine.

MEGAN: Alright. When I was thinking about this episode, I was trying to think of the things that scared me as a child, and one of the things was the legend of Bloody Mary. It kind of has to do language, which is kind of like an incantation or a divination of something, by using words, bringing her about. The way that I grew up, you were supposed to look into a mirror, and the lights were supposed to be out, and you're supposed to say Bloody Mary three times, and it would bring about this bloody woman that was really scary looking.

CARRIE: Like Carrie.

MEGAN: Yeah, because she was covered in blood. For me, we would just see her, that's what I knew the legend to be. But for some people, they said that she'd actually come out of the mirror or you would have scratch marks on you, because she would come out and scratch you.

CARRIE: Oh god!

MEGAN: I know! I know! I'm really glad we weren't that -

CARRIE: Horror?

MEGAN: Yeah yeah. The most popular version of who Bloody Mary is, is that she is Queen Mary the first of England, the daughter of -

CARRIE: Henry the 8th

MEGAN: Henry 8th and Aragon

CARRIE: Catherine Aragon. Catherine of Aragon, sorry.

MEGAN: Catherine of Aragon. If you believe that Bloody Mary is actually Queen Mary of England, then your version of Bloody Mary might also involve saying “I have your child”. That's because, according to legend - actually this is true, right? She really wanted to have a child, because people want to have heirs to the throne. She had two false pregnancies and a lot of miscarriages, so she never got the heir. So some dicks were like, “let's just the Bloody Mary legend is gonna be like, we're gonna taunt her, and say that we have a child.” Some people may have that version, where they say that “I have your child.” She's called Bloody Mary because she was all about beheadin’ Protestants.

CARRIE: I thought she burned them at the stake.

MEGAN: Oh. Really?

CARRIE: Well that's the version I read. Let me see.

MEGAN: I thought that's where the blood came from. It's decapitation.

CARRIE: This is from Wikipedia: “during her five-year reign, Mary had over 280 religious dissenters burned at the stake.”

MEGAN: Ohhh. Okay.

CARRIE: But they were Protestants, and the Protestants did denounce her as Bloody Mary as a result. It's interesting, because yeah that when you think of burning, it's not bloody.

MEGAN: Although I guess it's more symbolic. I think that the reason why Bloody Mary - or this whole idea of looking into the mirror and conjuring this woman and saying Bloody Mary is because of Queen Mary of England. But, there's also stories that say that this originated in, let me see, can I say it: cato-, catopotromancy, how do you say that.

CARRIE: Catoptro-tro- I don't know, let me look it up.

MEGAN: On the Wikipedia. It doesn't have the pronunciation.

CARRIE: There’s a Merriam Webster version. Hopefully it will -

MEGAN: CAtropmancy.

CARRIE: Oh, it doesn't have the stress properly. Where's the main stress?

MEGAN: Yeah I know.

CARRIE: CaTOPtromancy.

MEGAN: Catoptromancy. This may have originally started as a form of Catoptromancy, which is divination through mirrors. Young women used to walk backwards upstairs with a candle in one hand and a handheld mirror in the other. What was supposed to appear in the mirror was the face of the man you were supposed to marry. If the Grim Reaper showed up in the mirror, it meant that you were going to be dead before you could ever get married. This story, this version, just reminded me of how many of those girls would see the Grim Reaper and be like, “thank god. I'm gonna die before I have to marry a man.”

CARRIE: But, if you're that kind of woman are you the type of woman who is going to be walking up stairs backwards with the mirror in your hand?

MEGAN: Peer pressure. They probably have slumber parties. Everyone was doing it. I don't know. So there's that version of it. There's also - when I was thinking about this - there is a Japanese version, that's kind of similar: Hanako-san. It was supposedly a World War II era Japanese girl, who probably died in an air raid. She appears in bathrooms, but to call her you must go to the third stall of the third floor bathroom and say, “are you there Hanako-san?” three times. There's also the three there. Saying it three times, just like Bloody Mary. I don't know what that's about.

CARRIE: Three is also supposed to be a powerful number, so it’s related to the Trinity. If you think about fairy tales, a lot of them have three things happening, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

MEGAN: Oh yeah. And then the three wolves, bad wolf, or the three little pigs.

CARRIE: Three little pigs, yeah. In European folktales, three is a very powerful number, probably related to the Trinity? Maybe? Maybe it's older than that? In North America, the most powerful number was often four. Things happen four times in -

MEGAN: Oh okay. So like in indigenous folk tales?

CARRIE: Yeah.

MEGAN: Another one that reminded me of Bloody Mary, if we're talking about Queen Mary, is La Llorona, which is a Mexican folk story about a woman who supposedly was just so upset because her handsome husband cheated on her with someone younger, and so she decided to drown her children in a river. I thought of Mary, these poor women. Mary wants to be a mother, and Llorna was apparently a terrible mother, and this idea that women that are not successful at being mothers come back and haunt us. It’s just so terrible. I didn't actually grow up with La Llorona, because I didn't live by a river, but I did grow up with El Chupacabra, because I lived by fields. But he doesn't have to do with anything with words. He's just a bloodsucking goat killer.

GOATS: baaaaaaa

MEGAN: So yeah Bloody Mary. I can say Bloody Mary in the mirror three times now, but I could not when I was eight.

CARRIE: Yeah I couldn't either. I was terrified. It doesn't make any sense, but I was scared of everything. I was scared of Friday the 13th when I was that age too.

MEGAN: Yeah, I mean all the movies.

CARRIE: It wasn't even about the movies, because I refused to watch them. I don't know why. I just. I took it seriously.

MEGAN: I think there was a lot of peer pressure to take it seriously too. My friends were so afraid so I was like, “well I should be afraid too.”

CARRIE: So that naturally leads into the witch-hunt idea. Because we were talking about maybe a witch was burned at the stake and that's why Bloody Mary - did we say that?

MEGAN: No sorry. One other version of Bloody Mary, apparently a lady named Mary Worth was burned at the stake for being a witch. They think that she was actually Bloody Mary. Actually, she was a witch. She did practice witchcraft.

CARRIE: She did? How do you know that? Because witches aren't real, so. [Laughter]

ERIC IDLE: We have found a witch, may we burn her?

CROWD: [Yelling]

TERRY JONES: How do we know she is a witch?

ERIC IDLE: She looks like one!

CROWD: Yeah, she looks like one. [Yelling]

TERRY JONES: Bring her forward.

CARRIE: She thinks she was a witch.

MEGAN: Yes, sorry. There's one version of the story where Bloody Mary’s actually the ghost of a woman who believed she was a witch named Mary Worth. Because Mary Worth practiced the dark arts. She was a real motherfucker, because she would do ritualistic sacrifices of runaway slaves.

CARRIE: Ohhhhh. Oh. Ok.

MEGAN: Yeah, she was not great.

CARRIE: Wow.

MEGAN: Yeah. We probably should have punished her for doing the ritualistic sacrifices of human beings, and not the other little things.

CARRIE: Yeah, the fact that she was a witch - which is not a real thing - is irrelevant. I know there were witches, like in the Wiccan sense, but we're talking about witches in terms of actual, literal magical power. Maybe you believe in them, but I don't. So that naturally that leads us into the idea of a witch-hunt. A witch-hunt is a search for people who are labeled witches, or even just evidence of witchhood at all. It usually involves something like moral panic, which is a feeling of fear spreading throughout a population. You think that there's some evil in your society and it threatens your society. Examples of that are things like Satanism or the war on drugs. Or it involves mass hysteria, which is kind of related but a little bit different. Everyone thinks that they're a witch or everyone thinks that they are sick. The Classical period when we think of witch-hunts, we normally think of Europe and North America from around 1450 to 1750. That was the classic time when we were burning witches. Apparently 35,000 to 100,000 people were killed. Obviously mostly women, because that's who we��re most afraid of. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe was in the 18th century, but there are still current contemporary witch-hunts, reported, at least, in subsaharan Africa and Papua New Guinea. There's actual legislation against witchcraft in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon. People still take it seriously.

MEGAN: Wow, I didn’t know that.

CARRIE: I knew that, but I'd forgotten. And, as expected, no matter what, if we're talking in the past, we're talking about currently, most of the accused are women or children, so more vulnerable people, but they also can be elderly people or marginalized groups of the community - again vulnerable people. These victims are often considered to be burdens, and I think that's how they justify killing them. They’re burdens AND they're evil. Or they’re evil because they’re burdens somehow. It really upsets me when people use witch-hunt incorrectly. It's often by men. People who are in power.

TRUMP: Well I respect the move but the entire thing has been a witch-hunt and there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign.

CARRIE: For example right now, more men are being accused of sexual assault, like Weinstein. Men are saying this is a witch-hunt, we're looking for other cases. I like this tweet from Sarah Lerner, who says the only men who earnestly use the phrase witch-hunt are the ones afraid of actually being held accountable.

MEGAN: Which is the opposite of what was happening in actual witch-hunts, right?

CARRIE: Right. Witch-hunts are targeting people who maybe are on the margins of society, but they're not doing anything - usually - they just freak people out for no reason usually.

MEGAN: Right. Yeah so it's ahistorical to be a white man in power and say hey you're subject to a witch-hunt.

CARRIE: Right. Obviously other people have said this before us, but I just want to add to the “just don't say that”. Don't use it incorrectly. Alright, I think the last thing we should talk about is “glamour”.

MEGAN: Yes. You please talk about this. I have no idea. Where did you find this?

CARRIE: Someone tweeted it!

MEGAN: Oh right, right you said it - okay go on.

CARRIE: I did not know this before today, but “glamour” - the word glamour - first of all is a Scottish English word, and it's related to “grammar”. Back in medieval times, grammar used to mean any type of scholarship, but especially occult learning. Because back then, if you were learning, you were also learning things that we would consider to be non-scientific, like astrology or alchemy. Back in that era, in that time, if you were a learned person, you were learning all kinds of things, including the occult. At some point grammar had a specialized meaning on top of the normal meaning - what we think of as grammar now: learning how to read and write. Well, that's what it meant originally, so learning how to read and write, but it also had this specialized meaning of occult learning. It went from this path of reading and writing to occult to magic. “Glamour” meant magic or spell, or magic or enchantment, and then from there it took on this magical beauty or alluring charm, by around 1840. It took this interesting path and now we think of it as meaning “glamorous”. But it originally meant magic, and before that learnedness in general. Glamour is still used in a magic sense, like as a type of spell - making objects appear different - but mostly we think of glamorous.

MEGAN: Wow. I would have never known that.

CARRIE: Me either!

MEGAN: Thank you Twitter.

CARRIE: Yeah Twitter is a cesspool, but there's some cool stuff on there too.

MEGAN: Yes. I agree.

CARRIE: Related is “grimoire”, which probably also comes from the same meaning of grammar. A grimoire is a book of instructions in the use of magic or alchemy, but especially used to summon demons. It possibly also comes from the Frankish word “*grīma” - I'm not sure how to pronounce it so I’ll say grima [gɹɪmɑ] - which meant mask or sorcerer. That also is the origin of the word for “grimace”. Or it could also come from the Italian word “rimario”, which is book of rhymes, but it melded with grammar. So either book of rhymes or master sorcerer coming together with grammar and you got grimoire. I thought that was kind of fun.

MEGAN: That is fun. I will never think of glamour the same.

CARRIE: No, me either.

MEGAN: So if we say glamorous, could it mean like, “that's magical”?

CARRIE: I don't think that's - I don't think anyone ever uses glamorous to mean to put the whammy on someone or something like that.

MEGAN: That's too bad. Maybe we can make it happen.

CARRIE: We can. Oh! So the definition according to dictionary.com: “full of glamour, charmingly or fascinatingly attractive, especially in a mysterious or magical way”.

MEGAN: See, I've never looked up glamorous! I've never seen that. Alright, so it's there! It's still kind of there. Alright.

CARRIE: I just wanted to give a little shout out to Côte d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast, because for some reason 5% of our listeners are from there, which is kind of awesome and unexpected.

MEGAN: Yeah, I love that.

CARRIE: Thank you Côte d'Ivoire.

MEGAN: We have people from several different countries, right?

CARRIE: Yes. But that was the largest of the non-English speaking countries. Cuz it's francophone, mainly. Plus all the African languages spoken there as well.

MEGAN: Yes, very cool. Alright so I guess next time back to linguistic discrimination, eh?

CARRIE: Yeah, there definitely will be actual literal linguistic discrimination as opposed to - well there's discrimination in this, it's just not about language per se.

MEGAN: We can't escape it.

CARRIE: Yeah. But I hope you enjoyed our Halloween episode and thank you so much for listening.

MEGAN: Yes and you know, don't be an asshole.

CARRIE: Do not be an asshole. Bye!

MEGAN: Bye!

CARRIE: The Vocal Fries Podcast is produced by Chris Ayers for Halftone Audio. Theme music by Nick Granum. You can find us on Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @vocalfriespod. You can email us at [email protected].

#Halloween #witches #witch hunts #Bloody Mary #la llorona #friday the 13th #13 #4 #death #transcript

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