#like I said others have been much more eloquent on the subject

[musicalchaos07]

Justice for Argyle tbh

#smarter people than me have commented about Eduardo's treatment v Joe Q but it's feeling very that this morning #like people are massively obsessed with a one season dead character and Argyle is nowhere to be found #imagine if they did the same thing with Robin in s3 #and it's all bc what they couldn't think of a way to include him??? #be so fr #i just #in a cast of like so many people losing one the like 3 people of color is wild to me #i dunno #like I said others have been much more eloquent on the subject #I'm gonna go be salty at work #but never forget what they took from you tbh #stranger things #argyle #argyle stranger things #fandom salt

[myfandomprompts]

𝐀𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐖𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓

Warning : Angst, smut Masterlist (Part 4 - Part 6)

Summary: This is your last night at Storm's end before your depart for King's Landing. To be truthful, you haven't expected it to go smoothly anyway. Aemond is an unpredictable man, and you'll have to start to get used to it.

You were invited to dinner with Lord's Baratheon's family for your last night at Storm's End before your departure, or rather, Aemond's departure for King's Landing, as his status forced Lord Borros to throw a feast for his guest of honour. And to his greatest dismay, he has been obliged to invite you as well.

You were seated rather far from Aemond, who was placed between his betrothed and Borros Baratheon, himself placed next to his wife and others you did not know. As for you, you were on the side, next to your aunt and the youngest Baratheon's daughter, placing the four sisters between you and Aemond, who was for the moment intensely looking at his cup, body slightly turned your way.

You were uncomfortable, as Lord Borros unhidden dark glare toward you and clearly indicating that he was still not happy about the idea of you riding with his daughter's future husband, and you suspected that what transpired between Aemond and yourself in the courtyard earlier had reached his ears.

So you made yourself discreet, and didn't talk much through most of the diner, the Baratheon's daughters clearly the most talkative, all except the youngest next to you. But it didn't prevent you from hearing everything Cassandra, the eldest, had to say to the assembly when she was not whispering into Aemond's ear.

"It was positively exhilarating! Vhagar is such a huge beast, it feels like you own the whole world when you are up in the sky!" Cassandra was happily moving in her seat, her eyes proud from the memory of Aemond taking her for a ride on Lord Borros' suggestion this very day. "I long to see my sons riding dragons as well when their eggs will have hatched!" she continued, her other sisters listening with envy.

Aemond next to her, only bore a polite smile as the conversation continued around him, seemingly still taking more interest in the patterns of his cup. He hasn't said much, at least that you could hear. He sometimes answered the Lord Borros’ questions about his dragon or about other subjects, and sometimes approached his future bride to answer one or her many whispered questions, her hand touching his arm each time they talked.

It was the first time you saw Lady Cassandra. She was lean, pretty, young, and she clearly was eloquent and quick-witted. All qualities that would fare well in the Red Keep, you thought. However, you were already sick of listening to her, bragging about Vhagar and her time with Aemond, of how she would be in her element as his wife and always bringing the subject of the ceremony as soon as a silence needed to be filled.

You quickly realised that you hated where you were seated, because you could see the couple much too clearly for your taste, as well as being very close to the other sisters, and you could feel their curious glares at you, judging everything you did.

"I heard that Rhaenyra gave birth to a deformed stillborn!" said the second sister. "People say she is cursed. What do you think my Lady? You were present when she went into labour, were you not? Was it truly deformed?"

She had to speak loud enough for her voice to reach you clearly now that she was addressing you, her quiet sister separating you not bothering her in the slightest.

You tried to calm your nerves as memories of Rhaenyra screaming in pain came back to you. Some people around you were waiting for your response with interest. 

"I do not know my Lady, only that the grief of losing a child must be beyond any pain I know," you said coldly, the implication of your words heavy around the table as some people glanced at Aemond. "And I do not believe in curses."

You held your gaze to the sister who watched you with a slight grin, then you dared to glance at Aemond, only to find him with his eye already on you. You quickly resumed looking at your plate.

You were perfectly aware of the fear that surrounded the ‘Kinslayer’ curse. You had no care for it.

"The Black Queen sure wears her name well," stated Lord Baratheon who has heard your reply and chose to ignore it. "Darkness would surely fall on the Seven Kingdoms if a woman was ever to rule it."

You ticked at the comment as conversations carried on this new subject. You retreated in your silence when you felt something softly pulling your sleeve.

"Is it true that the Princess Rhaenys escaped on the Red Queen during King Aegon's coronation?"

It was the youngest Baratheon girl, her voice as quiet and sweet as her eyes, evidently eager to talk more about dragons. You smiled, you were the same at her age.

"I did not witness it with my own eyes, my Lady, for I was not at King's Landing at the time. But I saw the Princess arrive triumphantly at Dragonstone on Meleys, the very image of the fierce wife of Aegon the First himself," you said tenderly as her eyes widened in amazement, glad that you found someone to talk without feeling constantly put to the test.

"I was there," you heard Aemond said amidst the other discussions still going on around you.

You weren't aware that the Prince was listening to your conversation, as far as he was from you. But the interaction instantly took all of the sisters’ attention as they looked between you and Aemond.

"Rhaenys burst into the Dragonpit on dragon-back, killing many subjects of the King in the process, not caring one bit for the consequences of her deeds, and threatened us during a royal event, me and my family," he said as to defy your claim, looking right at you. 

You swallowed.

"Maybe both the Princess and her dragon did not appreciate being imprisoned for days when the Princess's cousin had just passed away, an honoured guest in your home. Would you not have done the same if you were separated from Vhagar, my Prince?" you managed to answer, sounding more annoyed that you wanted to appear.

Aemond hummed, grinning slightly as he put his cup down before him. "Are you implying that I would murder innocent bystanders for my own personal reason, for the sake of my dragon and because of my rank? I am not that cruel."

Somehow his words sounded false, but you were both in a game, and you were losing.

"I beg to differ on that matter," you replied. "But I would not sully your good name under our host's roof, for surely he does not want to witness your cruelty, only use your name and title to break an oath for the sake of his daughters while you indulge him."

The table went silent. You realised what you had said too late, not even knowing why your mean words were aimed at Lord Baratheon as he sent you a terrifying glare, clutching on his cup. You shrank in your chair as your aunt lowered her head, bracing for the storm.

"How dare you, young Lady, insult me and my house, when you have done nothing but betray your word and cast shame on my family!" he yelled. "Do you not think I know that you came as a messenger for the false Queen? The Crown could have your neck for that, you'd be well to remember your place!"

Aemond jumped on his feet, all your previous spoken battle forgotten. Although you couldn't see his face, his stance screamed for violence and all eyes were turned to him as he now stood, looking down at Lord Borros with a deadly glare. The latter’s expression passed from fury to careful anger, and began to stand up slowly, almost coming to the same height as Aemond as the two men stared at each other tensely.

"I would be careful boy, you are a royal guest here, but your manners of late has been nothing but disrespectful," Lord Borros said through gritted teeth, trying to remain unfazed by Aemond's surprising reaction. But the Prince spoke nonetheless.

"I would only remind you, my Lord, that this is no proper way to treat a lady, especially Lady Y/N who was obviously forced to do as told by my traitor of a sister... Your anger is misdirected, if you wish to blame someone, blame me for not having her removed sooner from your home." His voice was menacing, and you shivered.

Lord Baratheon didn't take the Prince’s statement as sincere, without even mentioning that he had just been insulted, and you saw him grab the hilt of a dagger at his belt, his jaw tense.

You clutched the arms of your chair in anticipation, waiting for their next movements, but you saw Lord Borros' wife grab his elbow in an attempt to soothe her husband. Aemond for his part, hadn't flinched, and you guessed that he was only glaring at the Lord in defiance, eye wide in focus and anger.

Lord Borros finally let go of his dagger. "You are to marry my daughter under the next moon my boy, this is the new agreement, make sure not to forget it."

And he stormed out of the room, leaving his many guests to finally relax from the tense atmosphere. You didn't move as you watched Aemond turn, seemingly regaining his composure, take Cassandra's hand to deposit a kiss on the back of it before departing from another doorway. You were sure that he had quickly glanced at you before leaving the table, and you prayed that he didn't see the pang of jealousy displayed on your features.

For the rest of the dinner, you felt every eye on you, making you desperate to retreat to your chamber, to leave the very castle, even. Your salvation came under the form of a message that had arrived by raven. The parchment was sealed with your House's emblem, a badger, and so you were able to excuse yourself and leave the room.

The message was from your father.

"My daughter,

I learnt recently that you were at Storm's End and unwell. I do not understand why you have travelled this far, but I hope that you are feeling better as you receive this message. I wish to know by return of raven when you are to come back to King's Landing, to us, as Dragonstone is now a dangerous place to be. Finally, daughter, I would advise you to mind the words you say in court, as I know you are always eager to put honesty above all other matters. However, this is not the wisest course of action currently. Especially given your current entourage.

Long live the King, love, your father.

You folded the parchment in one of your dress's pockets, and lied on your bed. He had signed Long live the King , an obvious reminder that no matter where his loyalty truly laid in regard to the true heir, caution was now of the highest importance. You would follow his advice, and you were glad to have in your possession a piece of your family among this unwelcoming place, especially after tonight. You could see him tomorrow, you thought, in person, if Aemond would really follow his plan and bring you back with him. You smiled as you already felt lighter about your future ride on Vhagar. You couldn't wait, you admitted, and you didn't want to confess why.

You couldn't really sleep that night, too riled up from the many emotions you had to go through today. You settled to read a book near the fire, finally enjoying some peace before you heard a knock on your door. Cursing internally, you grabbed a cloth to cover yourself, your nightgown a little too revealing for visitors and went to open the door.

He was standing there, tall, fully dressed. He didn't wait for you to welcome him as he walked straight inside, passing by you and heading to the middle of the room.

"Are you prepared to leave?" he asked.

You watched him, astounded as he turned to you in his usual stance, hands behind his back.

"W-what?" you only managed to say, your hand still on the doorknob.

"Did you pack your belongings for our departure?" he repeated. 

You still didn't understand the sudden intrusion. It was highly improper for him to even be here, the dinner still on your mind. You were not sure that you could survive another of Lord Borros’ outbursts.

"I only came with very little, so I do not have to pack really but-"

"Perfect," he interrupted. "I spent the last hours in thoughts and have concluded that it would be better if we were to leave as soon as possible."

"You mean now? Tonight?"

"Yes."

Silence.

"Surely you jest Aemond. It's the middle of the night and it's pouring outside, without mentioning the storm!"

"Vhagar has seen worse. And you should trust both of us to find King's Landing as if we were in daylight," he said proudly. 

What was with him? He was not thinking clearly.

"What about Lord Borros? What about your duty to your betrothed? I do not feel comfortable with this. Surely you cannot think about flying ahead of what has been settled without notifying the court, this is not how it is done!" you tried to reason.

"I don't care!" 

The next moment, he was on you, so fast that the door you were still holding open closed with a loud slam behind your back by the force of both your bodies colliding.

"I don't care, and neither should you! They have been nothing but cruel to you! You have no idea what they all say about you when you are not in the room and they think I am not listening, depicting you as what you are not. I grow tired of feeling like ripping the throat of everyone around me in this damned court. Restraint is exhausting..." 

As he said this, his eye went to your lips and stayed there. You could feel his hand squeeze your waist as you processed what he had said.

"What do they say about me exactly?" you asked, curious, your voice a mix of pain and anger.

He looked up at you before speaking to you like he would to a child. 

"They think you are a curse, given to you by your time at Dragonstone, perverted by the Black Queen. They say you are the reason I do not spend time with my betrothed, among other things."

You watched him with hurt. Of course they thought that. It wouldn't surprise you if the realm was to whisper about the possibility of you being the Prince's paramour in no time, maybe assuming you had been for years even. After all, you were still unmarried, your father too picky in the choice of finding you a husband even though your House was not the wealthiest of the Westerlands.

"Maybe I'm so irritated because they are right to some extent," he whispered when you didn't answer, putting a strand of your hair away from your face.

"My reputation is ruined, Aemond" you said, a tear appearing in one of your eyes. Nothing you'll ever do will ever erase that."

"They are nothing," he kept on. "When you'll be in the Red Keep, nothing will harm you, not even their meaningless words."

He was caressing your face, tenderly, wiping away the tear that fell from your eye. He was right, you shouldn't care.

"We shouldn't leave now, Aemond. This is folly, even if I hate it here, it would worsen our situation."

You grabbed his elbow in an attempt to weigh your words to him. He looked disappointed at them, even if he did expect them.

"I heard you received a message," he inquired.

"From my father. He is expecting me, it seems."

"And rightly so. So why make him wait, hm?"

The sound he made resonated deeply into your being, giving you goosebumps, almost faltering your focus. You glanced at the window, the storm had passed, and the moon was high, radiating its light onto the sea, a good weather for flying. Still you wouldn't yield.

"Aemond...-" you began, fully intending to make him see reason again.

"Raah," he groaned, head falling down over your chest, and hand onto your shoulder. "Why must you always go against me, always so stubborn..." he said as he lifted his head again, shaking it slightly in disapproval.

You watched him, amused by his reaction and almost proud of your character trait's effect on him. Your smile seemed to soothe him as he cupped your neck with his hand that left your shoulder, a grin on his face.

He was greatly enticing, in the moonlight now filtering through the glass. His lips seemed soft, and you felt your heart beating faster. Oh no, you thought.

Your eyes on his lips was enough to shift the atmosphere completely, making you more flustered than you have ever been. He placed his forehead against yours, his breath on your lips, so close they would touch if you moved by only an inch. You shot up to his eye, a fire burning inside it.

"Tell me that you want it," he exhaled, eyes closed. "Tell me that you desire it too."

You struggled to breathe, he seemed to have taken your very being hostage. Your lips apart, you waited for your words to be able to form again, but your arms moved on their own as you put them around his neck and pulled him closer, pulled to him by a force you failed to understand.

Then his lips crashed onto yours. His hand at your waist squeezed so hard it made you wince, but you didn't care, you needed it. His scent invaded your senses as his skin was as hot as burning fire, alike to yours, pressing against each other. He tasted so much better than you ever dreamt of, it sent your head spinning, your shame forgotten.

You moaned as his kiss was turning into a more heated and passionate one as seconds passed, he groaned in frustration when you felt his hardness against your belly.

He kissed you more and more roughly as you allowed your hands to pass through his hair, touching the softness of it, even daring to pull it a little. He groaned at that and left your mouth to kiss your jaw, throat and neck, licking his way down.

"You smell so good, gods you feel so good Y/N," he said in a trembling voice. His tongue was where your neck and shoulder met, kissing it hard, biting even. You didn't mind, it was exhilarating. 

You whimpered when one of his hands struggled with the fabric hiding your chest, warm hands at the base of your neck, squeezing it lightly as he tried to untie the laces of your front.

"Aemond that's-" Good, you wanted to say, but he prevented you from finishing your words, convinced you were going to resist him in some way, so he pressed his knee in between your legs, making you gasp hardly as he pressed against your sensible part.

He watched your reaction with a satisfied smirk, taking the opportunity to speak over your mouth.

"What is it, my Lady? Is there something you want to say? A complaint perhaps? Or did you wish to say how much you like it."

You whimpered again, feeling your heart throbbing against his knee, and you felt his smile through the kiss he gave you as he kept on his ministrations on your laces, satisfied by your silence.

He cupped your breasts, finally able to touch them as he liked, squeezing and caressing them as he once more kissed the base of your neck, getting closer and closer.

You fidgeted a little on your position, causing your middle to flatten against his knee again and you hissed at the unexpected pleasure, cursing at your movement and holding on to his shoulders for dear life as you couldn't help but dig your nails onto the fabric of his clothes. You suddenly hated the many layers he wore, your fingers wanting to feel more of him.

"Ah..." he breathed against your breast, voice low. "Eager already are you? That's good, but I wish to take my time with you Y/N. I have waited all of these years, I can wait a little while longer.”

You whimpered again. Yes .

"I thought-" you hissed as he bit your nipple. "I thought we were in a haste to return to your family."

"Surely you cannot travel in this state," he replied. "Look at you, so gorgeous and needy..." he growled. "I have to take care of you first."

This thought made you weak, his knee now departing from between your thighs. He then proceeded to press himself against you as you closed your eyes, taking pleasure in the sensation.

You felt one of his hands rest on your stomach before absently making its way down, reaching your middle. He growled against your skin as you tensed at the touch.

"Fuck." His hand was now touching the warm and now damp fabric of your gown, discovering your arousal.

His swearing and the position of his hand would have shocked you if you were in any other predicament. Only you realised that you liked it very much with that specific voice of his, as you didn't often hear him swear in your presence. I suited him.

"I'm sure you taste so sweet Y/N, would you like me to taste you?" he asked, in the process of lifting your gown to your thigh and his palm was soon on your warm skin. You gasped.

"You can't even imagine the many nights I spend thinking about you in this way, and now you are everything and more than I hoped," he whispered, his fingers pressing against your inside. His eye went from lazy arousal to hot desire in a matter of seconds, as he stared at your features now completely at his mercy.

You wanted to reply, tell him that he was not alone, but you couldn't, your pride and playful tendency telling you that it would be better to make him beg for you to admit it.

Pure lust showed from his face now, and he began stroking your sensitive spot, pleasure eliciting sweet sounds from your mouth. Suddenly he stopped, took hold of your leg under your knee and put it over his hip. You held on to his shoulder at the change of position when he lifted you up from the floor, carrying you easily.

The loss you felt as he removed his fingers was quickly replaced by his hard state pressing against your soft one as he carried you over to the bed, his tongue lashing into your mouth in the process, and laid you down on the sheets, his body over yours.

It was now easier for him to hold up your gown even if he really wanted to rip it apart, stopping himself for your sake, rather sliding a hand beneath it to caress your belly and finding his place once again between your thighs. His breath was heavy as he watched you arch your back when he finally put his fingers inside of you.

"So tight..." He thrust his fingers again, making shameful sounds resonate through the room. He rested his head on the inside of your neck, glancing at you sideways. You were loudly moaning now, and you worried that you were to be heard outside.

"Gods Aemond I-" you gasped as you felt his fingers hit at the right spot over and over, making you pull his hair in despair. "I need-, I need more."

He chuckled next to your ear, visibly more than delighted that you fulfilled his deepest wishes. You at his complete mercy. But you were not quite there yet.

"It's not very lady like to demand such things without any manners, love. I should be asked properly," he replied, not stopping his movements inside you. You sighed in despair as you considered indulging him, begging was not something you usually did. But his thrusts were making you crazy. So you said it.

"Please Aemond," your voice trembling as you said his name, arching your head back, enjoying the sweet sensation of building pleasure. You reopened your eyes just to see him with an indefinable expression over his face, something between the most menacing stare you’ve ever witnessed, and absolute satisfaction. He then moved his body down from you, levelling his head to the spot between your thighs. You ached in anticipation. He rubbed his thumb on your sweet spot at first, too slowly for your taste, before flattening his mouth on your wetness.

You screamed loudly, and your hand shot to your mouth to stop other sounds from escaping it. His tongue hot against your folds, he was holding on to one of your legs tightly, sure to leave a mark on it later on. You didn't know how much time had passed since this moment, only that you were unable to properly register anything else than the pure pleasure you felt at Aemond kissing you this way. You only knew that at one point, you had put your hand into his hair, grabbing it, and that the other clutched so tightly to the sheet underneath you that you feared you would rip it apart.

At some point Aemond sucked, hard. It was too much, you were close, and your back arched so much that he had to force his hand on you to keep you still. He glanced at you when your moans were beginning to sound more desperate, taking in your sight as you struggled to keep quiet. He kept on his ministrations, devouring you as his fingers found once again their way inside you, and your muscles began to tighten around them.

Pleasure overcame you, your release left you panting heavily. You felt over sensitive as Aemond rubbed your sweet spot softly one last time. When you looked at him, he was already looking intensely at you, lust in his eye, as he had not missed one piece of your expression when he contented you. He licked his lips as he came to rest beside you on the bed, kissing you, your taste still on his mouth.

"You taste so good I would have you attached to this bed all night if I could," he said in a low voice, putting your hair aside from your neck to grant him access. Your breath evened as you find the ability to speak again.

"Would it be so bad?"

He smiled at that, one hand reaching to rest on your stomach.

"Unfortunately, this is not the right place to entertain such thoughts. But soon, maybe," he said mysteriously. You began to shift toward him, curious of what he would do now, his arousal still evident when you looked at his lower half.

But he unexpectedly got up and walked toward the door, leaving a cool sensation as his warmth left you.

"I will let you rest," he said, reaching for the door. "We depart as soon as the sun is up."

When the door closed, you felt the gloom of the quiet room again, engulfing you. You almost felt disappointed, he had put your pleasure over his, at least that is how you viewed it. You shivered, your heart still beating fast.

Soon sleep took you. You were soon to depart, rest will do you good.

-0- Part 6

@let-love-bleeds-red @crazylokonugget @jeyramarie @ephemeralninon @mrswhitethornbelikov @dudfahsn @missusnora @queenofterrasen418 @honeytrapsblogp-graham @heathclifftragedyy @discowizard88 @polireader

#aemond #aemond x oc #aemond targaryen #angst #imagine #fanfiction #house of the dragon #hotd #aemond kinslayer #aemond one eye #helaena #aemond x reader #original character #aemond x original character #house targaryen #romance #aemond x y/n #aemond x you #ywawm

[queendomkey]

If you just want the song analysis, skip to the next banner. However, I do think the context added by my rambling is at least interesting.

Hey, so remember how yesterday, I opened my analysis post with a comment about how I try to analyze the songs without analyzing Taylor Swift's life, because I feel it's limiting to my ability to understand the song. It's not a form of analysis I'm very good at either, frankly.

I feel like that comment goes especially so for But Daddy I Love Him. Because I was certainly there for the rat-filled fortnight, as in, he literally played guitar for Phoebe Bridgers at my show. And there's a lot I could say that has already been said, more eloquently and by people far more qualified.

I'm a biology student, not a sociologist. But as an Indigenous woman, there is a level of hurt that comes from the people we admire tolerating racism within their spaces, and how that can often play into revealing a pattern of behavior. On the opposite hand, I can see the annoyance (and indignation) that she was held more accountable for his actions than he was. Indeed, I believe that this is what the line "[My good name] is mine alone to disgrace" refers to. On the other, other hand, the whole situation leaves a powdery, bad taste in my mouth.

And now to never talk about that again, because I don't feel qualified to give you a conclusion on it. I'm still listening to the music, after all. The rest of my analysis will be from the perspective of the song as a story, not as diary, my preferred modus operandi.

I wanted to say all that as set up in: I didn't know what to think about this song. I was unsure what angle I wanted to talk about this song from, because divorcing it from the backlash was hard. She literally says "Scandal does funny things to pride," and we'll talk about that later.

Initially, I thought about covering against the grain readings. Recontextualizing the song completely, giving it a new meaning. I thought about maybe covering the history of forbidden romance as a genre (and its many evolutions, from ironically, interracial love stories to queer romance.) I even thought about talking about the Little Mermaid, tying the song into one of the pieces of iconic fiction, and tying that back into the idea of forbidden romance as a queer reading of straight fiction (Howard Ashman, the lead lyricist for Disney, ostensibly the heart of the Disney Renaissance, was a gay man whose partner accepted his Oscar after he had passed due to AIDs.)

And... none of that worked. There are like, five versions of this post in my google docs that will never see the light of day.

Sitting in standstill traffic trying to leave last night's Hozier concert, I finally came to a conclusion. Well, I didn't. Jean, who's previously helped me on both Little Tortured Poet's Department and My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, made a comment that "Without the rest of the album, [But Daddy I Love Him] reads like any 2003 emo song about a sleazy bassist. Sure, we know better, but the singer doesn't."

And that got me thinking: TTPD is an album that is very much in conversation with itself, and Taylor's discography as a whole. I said, "How much does not knowing that wider context change the song?" That's an angle to analyze, baby!

alternative title that wouldn't leave my mind: Dark AU!Love Story, don't like don't read

But Daddy I Love Him is, out of the whole album, the song that benefits from context the most. It is petulant, petty, the speaker digging in her heels on the subject of true love. Indeed, Scandal does funny things to pride. I jokingly referred to it as "Dark Love Story," but the songs are foils ( and likely intentionally, since both songs have to the singer begging "Daddy" to let her have her lover. It also makes sense to foil one of her most popular songs, so that general audiences are likely to make the connection. )

We, the audience, know that the Speaker's romantic interest isn't good for her. We don't like him, because likely, we've already listened to the previous songs on the tracklist, and he's already clearly hurt the singer. The prelude (in the CD and Vinyl booklets) refers to the album as one story, which helps set up this framework in the listener's mind.

However, even in the context of the song, there are scant hints of this. The Speaker, with her rose colored glasses firmly on, still refers to her lover as "crazy."

There's also an interesting tie to her older works, known affectionately on Reddit as Car Lore in the use of cars as metaphor for romance. To quote the seminal essay by u/Alex_Demote, "But for Taylor, being in a car is often the same thing as being in a relationship."

Here, the speaker's lover "[floors] it through the fences" at her request and they only hear "screeching tires and true love" His actions are incredibly dangerous. Even if she's told him to slam through the fence, anyone who actually loves her would say no. A joy ride isn't worth risking your life.

By literal laws of physics, screeching tires are tires that aren't moving. Whether the speaker knows it or not, this romance won't go anywhere, or if it does... well.

I'm an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch (imgonnagetyouback) / Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street (Red) / You were driving the getaway car, we were flying but we’d never get far (Getaway Car)

Though, do we know it's a car? Obviously, this is Car Lore I'm applying here, but our only other references to a land vehicle (aside from the Aston Martin, which is The Speaker) are in So High School, which has it's own parallels to But Daddy I Love Him, see below, and in imgonnagetyouback:

Whether I'm gonna be your wife or / Gonna smash up your bike, I haven't decided yet

And here comes my main point: Driving a car through a fence is reckless, yes, but not likely to be fatal. A bike? A bike? It's only with the context of the rest of the album that the danger our speaker was in comes into clear view. In the song itself, the Speaker only knows he's a bit of a troublemaker, but doesn't mind. She is either blind to the truth of the matter, or looking past it. After all, my boy only breaks his favorite toys. She'd rather burn her whole life down.

But, at the end of the song, her parents "came around" and while the "wine moms are still holding out," the Speaker seems quite happy to be "his lady." Time does give some perspective, but this song doesn't: though the final chorus could be reframed as about a new lover (as she says "Fuck 'em, it's over,") it still reads like everything worked out with her "wild boy."

Like I said on Down Bad, the songs on TTPD are slices of time. This song is the Speaker in a state of blind love, a poisoned honeymoon phase, and without the rest of the album of hindsight, the song just reads... Mean. The teenage prank of "I'm having his baby," refusing to "come to [her] senses," and even referring to herself as "not growing up at all," slamming through fences that someone else will have to fix. It's the exact kind of pettiness that a sixteen year old might pull.

Hey, speaking of sixteen: So High School. If But Daddy I Love Him is a dark take on forbidden love, So High School is its antidote, is that quintessential Boy Meets Girl, and plays deeply into high school cliches. It's also the only other mention of a land vehicle, to my knowledge. The speaker's infatuated with how her lover, "Got [her] car door, isn't that sweet?"

The other, very teenager-y love song on the record is so opposite. It's cheerful, and most importantly, the singer realizes it too. So High School serves to further contextualize But Daddy I Love Him as the speaker's attempt at a rebellious stage, and the rest of the album is her showing how it all crashed and burned.

Conclusion? Her daddy might love him, but he does NOT have land vehicle proficiency. And context can give far more perspective than time ever could.

also hey WDYM GET BACK HERE—

#the cassandra speaks #ttpdminutes #but daddy i love him #the tortured poets department #ttpd #WHY!! WHY IS IT THE SONGS I THINK I HAVE THE LEAST TO SAY ABOUT THAT EXPLODE!! #scant mentions of racism #i feel like this one deserves a like 'critical' tag but i dont want ppl who. like. browse that tag to find me #so. apologies swifties in my phone you have to deal w/ the first part to get to the analysis #edit: punctuation errors and i had the wrong word count. its actually 1414 not 1406 :)

[1yyyyyy1]

If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you? I get the sense that you’re older based on your posts, but going by your most recent post, you seem to imply that you’re still a teenager. If that’s true, I am very impressed by how knowledgeable you are at such a young age.

How did you get so articulate? What did you read? Did you take classes in high school? Did you have a mentor? did you have a life-changing conversation with somebody? I would love to know more about your process of getting to where you are now.

Hey :) I'm kind of surprised that people choose to compliment me at all since I'm calling people names on here and such, I think I'm a nasty person overall... I'm in my early twenties currently, so I'm certainly not a teenager, but I'm still at an age where my opinions get dismissed and it has taken me significant effort to start taking my concerns seriously. In the post you are referring to, I was talking about people who equate polarizing opinions to those of an immature teenager, which hints at the fact that people grow out of their rebellious phase and expect others to become just as compliant with age… I don't consider my opinions (especially on pregnancy) to be rebellious in the first place, to me they are common sense and I'm genuinely disgusted by the fact that many adult women continue to perpetuate the same rhetoric that has harmed me as a teenager.

I've never received any higher education, and I barely ever attended high school, so if you find my writing skill compelling it can be the proof that all you need is yourself and a willingness to learn. I'm not sure if I what I have is innate talent because I did read a lot as a child, which probably explains my vocabulary, and I'm not exactly a prodigy since my early writing is still as primitive as it gets for someone who is just starting out. My writing process is not effortless either and I go through a lot of drafts or even variations of the same sentence until I'm satisfied with it. What I know to be innate to myself is my overall interest in reading and writing, it is something I spend a lot of time doing and my proficiency makes sense to me that way. I suppose, I'm still not at my fullest potential because I limit myself to mentally taxing topics... Much of the difficulty I encounter comes down to the fact that the things I talk about are extremely personal and often require more reflection from me than I'm ready for; this is the reason I'm yet to post some of the questions I promised to answer. When it comes to my writing skill, I would be lying if I said that public education did nothing for it because it did lay down the foundation, just that I draw my understanding from other subjects and cannot recommend a reading list because I was taught them in person. My approach to writing is based on my knowledge of cognitive reframing and I would have to write a book myself to explain how I apply it. Weirdly enough, I attribute my eloquence to fanfiction since it's what I used to read the most of, and some of it is genuinely high quality — for example, I think this story is very poetic, especially the last paragraph. The same can be said about fantasy games where I would pay attention to the flowery language in quest text and dialogue; my learning experience has been unconventional at best.

I thought it would be helpful if I recited what I do directly... My writing process is as follows:

Receive a question or get interested in an idea, draft the first thing that comes to mind. Write until I don't feel like it anymore. Usually this is no longer than one sentence.

Come back to the draft when I feel like it and let my imagination run its course while I look at the prompt. At this point, the draft is a mixture of coherent ideas and incoherent sentence stumps I then proceed to flesh out within the confines of the main topic. This is the stage where I figure out the structure and the general theme of whatever I'm writing. I narrow down the essence of what I'm being asked about, write until I figure out the closing paragraph, break down the draft into connected sub-topics and come up with a title for each paragraph as well as the entire piece. For this answer, I titled the first paragraph "Why I wrote what I did and my attitude towards it", the second & third paragraph "My education and writing process" and the fourth paragraph "My advice and why I haven't given up yet". I titled the answer as a whole "My age and my writing process" which is kind of odd, it probably means there's something I have to reflect on in regards to my age... While drawing up a plan like that is common writing advice I would give regardless, grounding myself with a simplified idea is even more important to me because I do not write sentences consecutively. The first draft of the previous sentence quite literally was "is important to me because I do not write sentences consecutively." with the dot, meaning that I knew it would be the last part of the sentence and that there was something I was supposed to trace it back to before I could finish it. This goes for the entirety of my writing process and I will often start a sentence from the middle, write different paragraphs one sentence at a time or even write an entire paragraph backwards. It can be hard to keep track of the structure when you write the way I do, so having a grounded idea I can always refer back to is the solution for me.

Continue to refine the draft along the guidelines I established until I'm satisfied with it — this doesn't mean that it's perfect even by my own standards, I often leave awkward wording as is because I know when to move on from a creative block. What matters to me is that it communicates the ideas of the sub-topics and fully conveys my point.

The most important thing I've learned ever since I committed to writing is that I am at my best when I write for myself. I would go as far as to say that I'm at my best when I write about myself, that way I absolve myself of the responsibility that accompanies external topics. I no longer burden myself with articles and statistics which may or may not be inaccurate, I talk about my own improvement and I know what it has been well enough to not be bothered by people disputing it. Even as I'm answering this question, my focus is on my personal enjoyment so that it remains the motivation I can look back at; I don't believe it to be remotely unfair, it is reliable. People move on and people get disinterested, my audience could leave due to personal circumstances and it would be no one's fault. By being my own standard of quality, I get to be consistent with my work and both me and the reader benefit that way. Other than that, my straightforward advice is to trust the process and to not be afraid to take risks with your writing. Stylistically, the list I made has to be limited to impersonal descriptions to be consistent, but I went on a personal tangent in the second point anyway — so what? Taking this liberty was what inspired me to finish the list at all, which I'm not going to complain about. I take a risk every time I choose not to dilute my complicated speech, like right now, because it does come off as pretentious, although no one has complained so far. Generally speaking, there are no real social risks to be taken with writing because intelligence is already hard to come by, the people who value it will appreciate the effort regardless and the people who don't could never be catered to in the first place. The only "risk" I can imagine anyone taking is the risk of being disappointed in one's abilities and the fear of never amounting to one's aspirations, but even that is temporary because creative skills always improve so long as you practice. I'm personally well past the point of doubt because people have seen me at my worst too many times by now, that ship has sailed for me... My aspirations rely on my ability to articulate myself, so I don't lack motivation when it comes to improvement. The enjoyment I get from completing a piece allows me to persevere through the many challenges the writing process entails.

#ask #forgot to mention that i use thesaurus ALL the time #it's really useful

[princesssarisa]

The next series of tales in Heidi Ann Heiner's Cinderella Tales from Around the World are tales of the Love Like Salt variety.

This is a subtype of Donkeyskin, but in place of a father wanting to marry his daughter, it opens with a different scenario. A king (or just a rich man, but usually a king) asks his three daughters how much they love him. The elder two daughters describe their love in terms that please him, but the youngest says that she loves him as much as she loves salt. (Or that she loves him as meat, bread, or food loves salt.) Because salt is common and cheap, or because it tastes bitter alone, the king takes this as an insult and banishes his daughter. (Or worse, he orders a servant to kill her in the forest, but the servant lets her go, a la Snow White.) From this point on, the story usually becomes like Donkeyskin or All-Kinds-of-Fur: the princess finds lowly work at another palace, somehow acquires beautiful gowns, attends festivities, and wins the prince's love. (Or sometimes, he simply finds her in the forest and marries her right away.) When they marry in the end, she invites her father to the wedding, usually without revealing her identity, and she has the food cooked without any salt. When the king tastes the bland food, he realizes the preciousness of salt, and that his daughter was telling him how dearly she loved him. Then the princess reveals herself and joyfully reunites with her father.

Needless to say, Shakespeare lovers will recognize this scenario. While King Lear was allegedly based on true events in ancient British history, the fact that it contains a common fairy tale archetype seems to imply that the story as we know it is more legend than fact.

I don't personally like this type of Cinderella story as much as other subtypes (or King Lear as much as other Shakespeare plays), for a very personal reason: my autism and self-diagnosed ADHD, which cause Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria. Seeing the princess rejected because of a misunderstanding by the father she loves more than anything is heartbreaking to me, because all my life, I've been irrationally afraid that my loved ones might reject me if I mistakenly say or do something they think is wrong. I tend to feel as if the king is too easily forgiven, because while my head says it just shows the princess's immense love and grace, my heart feels as if it means "He deserves her forgiveness, any parent could have made that same mistake (including yours)." But I suppose the solution is to look at the story from the king's point of view. The king arguably shows Rejection-Sensitive Dysphoria: he only rejects his daughter because he feels rejected by her and his heart is broken. Arguably, when he banishes her, he's behaving like an AuDHD child howling and raging at his mother because she said "When you act like this, I don't want to be near you" and he heard it as "I don't love you anymore." When his daughter helps him to see her love and forgives him, I should see it as a reminder that my rejection fears have no real foundation, just like the king's sense of rejection by his daughter was wrong, and that my loved ones will forgive me for my mistakes too.

Besides, a case can be made that the princess is also in the wrong, for describing her love in such plain and "untender" terms that her father couldn't understand. @queenlucythevaliant has posted eloquently on this subject and has even written an interesting retelling of the story with this interpretation. It applies even more to Shakespeare's Cordelia, with her seemingly cold and clinical talk of love as a duty, than it does to the fairy tale princess, who at least means to convey that she loves her father more than anything, and just words it badly. Arguably, all Lear really wants at the beginning play is to hear warm, tender words of love from his daughters, and Cordelia chooses to be morally right rather than kind.

By the way, I don't know if this is true, but I've read the suggestion that the Love Like Salt tale might have originated as an attempt to bowdlerize Donkeyskin, replacing the king's efforts to marry his daughter with a different way of demanding too much love. So when people talk about possible incest subtext between King Lear and his daughters, especially Cordelia, they might have a point whether Shakespeare intended it or not. The folklore the story grew from may have been born from still older folklore where the king did have incestuous love for his daughter.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @adarkrainbow, @themousefromfantasyland

#cinderella #love like salt #fairy tale #variations #cinderella tales from around the world #heidi ann heiner #king lear #william shakespeare #autism #adhd #tw: incest

[alittlefrenchtree]

Curious Anon here! Thank you so much for replying to my questions. I really liked your answers, they were super lovely. If there is more I want to send, I will! But I will ask these things for now: what do you think makes RWRB unique as opposed to other queer movies? Is there anything you would like queer movies to have or do that RWRB was successful with? Or is there anything RWRB accomplished that you would like more queer movies to accomplish as well?

god, I have no idea?? I don’t think I have seen enough queer movies to actually feel legitimate to tell. or maybe I have but I don’t know if I can say one is more unique than other? Or if RWRB is more unique? I don't know

From my personal watching experience, what worked in RWRB is the quick attachment to the characters, the fact that it was fun and that none of the female character had made me roll my eyes for being too clichée or poorly written. Zahra, Ellen, Amy, Nora, Bea, i like them all. Overall, the characters are good and rightly casted, even the "evil" ones.

Coming out not really being a subject in the movie was also something that worked for me. Or it is a subject, but not like many other queer movies? Alex is bi, Henry is gay, their sexuality isn’t the big thing of the movie. If it’s about queer, it’s not about being queer, it’s about being a high profile queer person. I really don’t know if I make much sense.

I feel like we’re going to see more and more movies and stories that aren’t about coming out, like it used to be a lot with queer movies. I hope they’ll be about telling stories that are queer and less about being queer as the whole subject.

It’s always difficult to pinpoint the reason why a movie is more successful than other. But Taylor and Nick have been a reason for me as well. Not only because they’re lovable af but because they’re new or they feel new. Nick is less new but I didn't know about him and even for general audience, I imagine Cinderella was more about Camila Cabello than him. Hollywood is a really small world and you quickly feel like you’re always watching the same people. Having someone (relatively) new and shiny make people (and me) excited.

My god it’s been a long time since I felt so not eloquent and not articulate. I hope I said at least one (1) interesting stuff. If not, I’m sorry 💀

#alft asks #red white and royal blue #rwrb movie

[outofangband]

“Beleriand is wide and houseless for exiles...”

Morwen, The House of Bëor and the Trauma of Dagor Bragollach

updated post with more meta on the House of Bëor in general and links to other relevant posts.

Actually has been updated to read like a real post and not just rambling!

Related post on Morwen and Rían and the survival of traditions

My general tag for Bëorian cultural trauma is houseless for exiles  where I have a lot more rambling like this

So Morwen is obviously one of my very favorite characters in Tolkien’s world, in general  and she is in my opinion one of the most interesting figures in The Children of Húrin, though as she is separated from Túrin for so long there are long periods of her life we have only summaries on. I find these fascinating to speculate on and read/write about

I wrote this post while very tired so I hope this makes sense and is ok, I’ve definitely seen more eloquent meta on the subject, I just wanted to throw out some thoughts and I wanted to write more about the trauma her people went through during Dagor Bragollach

I want to make two posts on this, this one which is an introduction and some general thoughts then a second one that will go into more specific headcanons about how the trauma of the Bragollach manifests for Morwen.

The Battle of the Sudden Flame and the aftermath is such an important part of Morwen’s life that likely plays a significant part in shaping her character though it happens before the events of the book and is mentioned only briefly, much information needing to be found through inference and connecting details

The House of Bëor lived in Ladros in Eastern Dorthonion where Aegnor and Angrod, sons of Finarfin, lived and lead a defense of the Watchful Peace, maintaining a friendship with their Edain allies. Ladros was a cool land of pine forests and steep, craggily slopes that lay South of the great green fields of Ard-Galen and then of Angband and the regions of Morgoth.

On a cold winter night in the year 455 of the First Age, rivers of flames, many choked in poisonous fumes, were sent down from the Thangorodrim. These utterly devastated Ard-Galen turning it from the fertile, green lands to a desert made uninhabitable by the lingering clouds of toxic air. Next came a legion of balrogs with Glaurung leading them and a massive army of orcs that quickly invaded Dorthonion, killing countless elves and humans including Aegnor and Angrod, taking a large number captive and occupying and/or displacing the rest of the Bëorians. Barahir, the father of Beren led a group of outlaws including the fathers of Morwen and Rían. Their group was killed in a massacre by the lake Tarn Aeulin several years later after

(It’s likely Morwen knew nothing of this until she came to Doriath, if even then)

During the chaos of the invasion of Ladros, Emeldir, the mother of Beren fought to protect the children of the Bëorians, many if not most of whom had been orphaned. She managed to lead a group of refugees Southwest to Brethil where the Halidan took them in. Later, though there is not much said in the text about this, a small group of the surviving Bëorians would come to Dor-Lómin in Hithlum where the Hadorians lived. (Note: I have two posts speculating on their route, here and here)

Morwen was elven or twelve when Dagor Bragollach broke out, depending on when in the year her birthday is*. She was likely orphaned during the invasion though we know only that she was separated from her father who was later killed. She was among the Bëorian refugees who would come to Hithlum though her age at the time is unknown. There is so much that is unknown about her life before the events of the Narn.

I also spoke about this on a few different posts, but I’ve oft wondered if Morwen’s time in Brethil as a child was not a good one. Our glimpse into how some of the Haladin treat those who are mentally ill, neurodivergent or traumatized in The Wanderings of Húrin is a very bleak one and although this is certainly not representative of all the people of Brethil, this combined with parts of Morwen’s conversation with Húrin prior to the Nírnaeth leads me to believe she does not look at her time there with good feelings

Both the text of the Narn and Morwen herself describe her as an exile; one who has not only been forced to leave their home but who is forbidden from returning.

The word diaspora obviously comes to mind as well.

There is a bitter shame that bubbles beneath her cloak of pride, an unearned shame but one that has left its mark on her nonetheless (another thing I've mde way too many posts on tbh; her grief and pride are completley inextricable from each other, almost every line in the Narn mentioning her pride or her more severe qualities comes with the addendum that as much as it is directed at others, it is also directed at herself; "for Morwen was as stern with others as with herself", "she did not seek to comfort him any more than herself, etc")

That Morwen is a refugee in Dor-lómin is an important aspect of her character as is her likely trauma from Dagor Bragollach, how flames and armies drove her and her people from their home, killed so many of them, destroying their families and way of life.

It’s not difficult to speculate on the extent of violence that she witnessed and the horrific trauma she was barely old enough to understand. Eleven or twelve is such an age, just starting to understand your own identity and place in your family and community and culture and then to have that so brutally torn apart…

(I personally headcanon that she was injured in the Bragollach and had burn scars but that’s a different post)

I think her pride is very much tied to the fact that she is one of the only remaining members of the House of Bëor, a people who Morwen herself considers all but gone as she says to her husband in the first chapter.

I’m thinking about how this impacts her choice to remain in Dor-lómin after Nirnaeth, thinking that perhaps this time nothing short of another fiery inferno will drive her from her home. How she will not flee again (even as Rían, another of the few survivors, runs again and runs until she cannot get up).

And what’s on her mind when she speaks with Húrin before he leaves for Nirnaeth, how she believes her House to be fallen and fears Húrin’s following suit. The destruction of Hithlum would mean another home taken from her.

I’m also wondering about her significantly less optimistic view of the elves. While Húrin is heartened by the knowledge that the lords of the Noldor have known Valinor and the Valar themselves, Morwen thinks quietly of the exile of the Noldor from Valinor. Which also makes her being labeled elffriend (derogatory) and accused of power akin to theirs

“Húrin Thalion, this I judge truer to say: that you look high, but I fear to fall low.”

That Morwen lives in her own home under occupation for so long adds yet another painful irony to that quote.

“Beleriand is wide and houseless for exiles” is also just one of my very favorite spoken lines by Morwen. I just always feel so strongly that Morwen is not just talking about her hypothetical future there but also her here and now. Even in the safety of her own home and room (I always pictured that conversation as in their bedroom?) she is acutely aware that she will never return to where she grew up, that the place of her and her people in the world has been irrevocably changed. She is contemplating this ordeal being repeated and likely becoming more convinced that it will be. The sheer exhaustion alone of having to reckon with that…

I don’t think the parallels between Morwen and Túrin with regard to fleeing and being hunted or trapped and the ways these and the fear of them shape their lives are discussed enough

A lot of Túrin’s story is about exile. He is forced to flee his home and spends most of the story away from it, deprived of news of his loved ones and people for years at a time. When he does return it is temporary and he finds it unrecognizable.

Even his memories of home, of any home he makes, are clouded.

But his home is not Morwen’s, at least not in the same way. What he loses in Dor-lómin, Morwen has lost more than a decade before the events of the Narn.

Morwen escapes Glaurung twice and ends up in Brethil both times afterwards. Like not to put too fine a point on it but she has always been running and trying to escape the horrors of the past and also she lives in fear, a very real fear, of being forced out, forced to run, or else trapped and imprisoned. When she fears Thingol means to keep her in Doriath against her will, she tells him this fear is part of what made her delay going and I don’t think she is exaggerating in the slightest.

I am just never not obsessed with the themes of diaspora, exile, and persecution in The Children of Húrin.

Anyways I hope this is coherent and all. Hopefully I’ll say something more meaningful on this later. I love Morwen very much.

*as the year of her birth is from The Shaping of Middle Earth it is not considered strictly canon however it does match up with other timelines and events.

#the silmarillion #the children of húrin #morwen #musing and meta #houseless for exiles #mentioned #Túrin #Rían

[catcas22]

OC emoji asks for Sellen! (you can do some for Aurelia too... techically she's Drake's OC, right? So i don't know, but it would be really interesting).

🤥 LYING 😭 CRYING ☕️ HOT BEVERAGE ☀️ SUN ❤️ RED HEART

So, funny story...

Aurelia's actually (technically) a canon character -- she's the Spirit Jellyfish summon.

A floating spirit that illuminates its surroundings. Prone to tears, the jellyfish girl searches for her distant home. Will bravely spew poison at foes on her summoner's behalf.

It seems her name is Aurelia.

Awhile back, I wrote up a short theory on Aurelia and how she might have originally died.

I also drew a pic of Aurelia in her pre-jellyfish form, based on the above theory.

Then @thatboreddrake wrote a fic based on that art.

To Go See the Stars - someboredstudent - Elden Ring (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

And now I am currently writing a sequel to that fic. So she's technically a canon character, but the Aurelia in my fic is my fanfiction of Drake's interpretation of my interpretation of said canon character. Fun times.

tldr, I can make Aurelia headcanons without stepping on Drake's toes.

Lying - Sellen is either a terrible liar or an excellent liar, depending on your perspective. Most people can immediately clock her as a schemer, but she gives off that vibe all the time -- good luck discerning when she's lying and when she's actually telling the truth.

Aurelia isn't much of a liar. If she doesn't want to give a truthful answer, she prefers to keep quiet. When she does lie, she tends to get tongue-tied when challenged.

Crying - Sellen's a pretty cool customer, really not the type to cry. If she ever did, she'd make sure to cry behind her stone crown -- she has a reputation to uphold, after all.

Aurelia tends to cry a lot more easily. Despite being quite capable, she's still a kid, and a kid who's been subjected to some rather horrific experiences. She has an ironclad sense of fairness, so she'll sometimes tear up at extreme unfairness. Frustration or simply being overwhelmed can sometimes also bring her to tears.

Hot Beverage - They both prefer hot drinks. Sellen likes strong black coffee. Aurelia grew up in Nokstella, i.e. completely underground, so a lot of dishes she remembers from her childhood include roots and mushrooms. She has a particular fondness for ginger tea.

Sun - Even before her imprisonment, Sellen was not a morning person. After decades trapped in an underground cell and partially separated from her physical body, her circadian rhythms are completely jacked. She'll regularly wake up at 11 pm looking for breakfast, then go back to bed at 3 in the afternoon.

Having been raised underground, "morning" wasn't even a concept for Aurelia until recently. For the moment, she's off to a healthy start. Since it's safer to travel during the day, she tends to get up at dawn and turn in at sundown. Hopefully she won't pick up Sellen's bad habits.

Red Heart - Sellen's love language is words of affirmation. She doesn't offer idle praise, and she tends to be quite blunt when someone isn't meeting her standards. When she gives a compliment, she means it deeply and probably put a lot of thought into it.

Aurelia leans towards acts of service. She's not overly eloquent, and is generally too self-conscious to make verbal declarations of love. Instead, she shows appreciation by lending a helping hand, doing small chores to make the other person's day easier, or fighting Godrick the Grafted.

Thanks for the ask! Have a great week!

#elden ring #answered asks #sorceress sellen #aurelia

[minggukieology]

Hello hello,

I am new around here. I really enjoy Kookmin’s bond, and I am also a researcher in the narrative space. I found you on Twitter and I was so impressed with your transparent, eloquent commentary on this whole thing. Thank you for running this blog. My question might be odd, but I am really curious to see how much of this ship/fan wars translate within the Korean social media space? The last few days have been nothing less than hell on the bird app, the anon requests on some of the blogs here are just people thinking they are so slick, but are just purely undermining Kookmin’s bond. I assume Naver is like one stop destination for SNS in Korea. I also see that the members have quit Twitter officially (I have no doubt they lurk though). Are ship wars this intense in the online spaces in Korea? Is it between the same ones we see on the I-Army side? I know shipping is a common theme in the pop space there and people might have healthier approach to it? This is also me being wishful that the members don’t see the pure vitriol that’s being expressed. Thank you in advance.

Hi, there! Thanks a lot for your nice message 😊

To put it shortly: no, such shipwars don't typically happen within k-army online spaces (at least not in the same way we know them) because there is never any need for debate around any meanings of words and no wiggle room for alternative explanations and seeing hidden signs in shadows. However, that doesn't mean that I have not come across any Korean accounts on Twitter that like to twist narratives and *especially* in case when their desired narratives feed into what their non-Korean speaking followers want to hear (they do like to take advantage of that language + cultural gap). As with every assessment though, Koreans are not a monolith, the same goes for k-armys or any netizens. There are some general tendencies but there will always be exceptions. Also it is important to note, even though the fandom largely organizes on the Twitter platform, I find it it less prominent among Korean ARMYs as to the amount of time they spend on there and the conversations that are held there.

From my perspective (my subjective opinion, therefore isn't unbiased and might not be representative of the whole community) ships or to be more accurate 'duos' / 'insert name line' are first and foremost among the majority about the members' chemistry, cute moments, looks, vocals and performances together; not about any potential romantic involvement of the two (that is not to say there are absolutely no Korean shippers of course). It is important to remember that the general premise has been that the idol sells their Korean fans the idea of a boyfriend/girlfriend, therefore the whole fantasy revolves around him/her and the fans having a connection, hence why for example idol dating life is still a big no no in the public etc.

To add, sadly since Korean fans can't get away with twisting the meanings of what the boys said (unless they want to appear ridiculous and stupid) the 'wars' therefore turn more vicious than that. There are some prominent 악개 akgae groups within the BTS fandom too which use all kinds of tactics to tarnish the reputation of the other members by spreading rumors through Korean forums, discussion boards, trending tags and by even reaching out to Korean reporters to run stories based on false evidence. So I would say, these things do happen, just in a different way because Korean online space can be truly unhinged.

I don't believe the members have ever witnessed any of the craziness on the international side as it for the most part thankfully only happens on the international side (objectivelly imagine if Koreans were having real arguments over, for example, the meaning of 동생 'dongsaeng' 😂😂😂 it sounds absolutely ridiculous). And in the instances they did, when e.g. someone tried to push a 'ship' narrative on any of them directly, we got the infamous 'get out of your imagination' response.

Hope I answered your message clearly and covered all your points. Once again, thanks a lot for reaching out!

#ask

[arowitharrows]

hello again, recent anon here! first of all, i wanted to thank you for your wonderful response. i did read the article you linked to, and i must say that i was certainly ignorant of the very serious ways, pertaining to medical/health care, that people are affected by hostility (and ignorance) towards asexuality. i would also like to put forth some context for my outlook on things, just in that i was raised in what i've been told was an unusual and very sheltered environment, so while as i've grown older there are some things i've realized on my own that i may see as the norm that many do not, and it's actually my own mistake. i am a bit surprised that i had never some across this information online before, but i suppose i may have overly cultivated my online experience to be rather narrow, so upon reading your response, i realized that this might be one of those things where i just hadn't come to the realization on my own, and I decided to discuss it with a much more worldly cousin of mine who i am close to, for a better perspective, and she told me that what you said is generally true, and that a majority of people really do just experience sexual and romantic attraction like, from the get go. it was a bit embarrassing to realize that, but it's probably for the better. while that certainly was not my main take away from reading what you said, i sort of feel like my bubble has been burst. like i was really naive about that sort of thing. since i'm hiding behind anon, i will say that i'm almost 24 and it's really surreal to learn, like what else do i not know? that's apparently common knowledge? at times like these i recall that my father always said, "a wise man knows that he knows not", and i feel a poignant sense of failure to keep that with me as he would have tried to impart. your point about the time and effort put into books/movies/etc with those sort of themes makes alot of sense that i never even considered. my thoughts on the matter only ever went as far as "well they do that to sell more things, but only certain types of people would buy that anyways". i see that my view on all this has been severely limited. I really appreciated your anecdotes about your own life experience, and the different perspective they contained. in my life, few people openly spoke of sexual matters, and certainly not at length, but i can definitely see how being in an environment of your peers that did could lead you to feel how you described. i've been a total dunce here, like this is a part of an overarching "different people have different lives" common sense sort of thing that's gone way over my head in a really messed up way. the only people i've spoken to at any great length in many years are my relatives, so my understanding of community in a general sense may be a bit warped there. besides, all that, i would also like to say that i had not even previously thought about the ways that considering any ace identity to be a reaction of any sort could overlap with rad fem politics, another great oversight on my part. it is obvious now that ignoring these issues and pushing them out of my mind when i hear about them is not a correct course of action. i wonder how much of this train-of-thought rant would be an issue if i had delved deeper into other people's lived experiences pertaining to these matters when i first learned they existed. i will 100% be taking your advice on listening to more people about this all, and plan to read more about it immediately. i'm sure, based off even just this one interaction, that i have much more to understand about these things than i ever could have guessed i didn't know. I may even seek out some videos on the subject online as well. (as a small note too, i would like to say to the singular commenter on the post that while i'm doubtful any such label could apply to myself, your suggestion is certainly something i will take under consideration.) So for now, i thank you again for your gracious and eloquent reply. I have found it to be quite enlightening, and I bid you a great new year!

Well I am glad I could help a bit! The context of your upbringing makes sense and I'm certain you aren't the first or only person to go through such a "bubble bursting" process, it's a part of life and of opening yourself up to new perspectives. Also don't worry too much about the radfem train of thought thing, it is not a well known or discussed topic and I would not expect many people to be aware of it. I did not believe that that's where you were coming from, it just felt important to mention in that context.

I also wish you all the best in the new year, and thanks for listening and reaching out to learn more about the topic!

#ask #anon

[meimi-haneoka]

I've been seeing a lot of negativity towards Clear Card's final chapter and towards the series overall especially on the CCS subreddit and I'm sad because I really don't think it's that bad as people are making it out to be and have enjoyed it from the beginning to the end. I do wish that we could've also learned what Momo's true name was though.

First rule, anon: avoid the CCS subreddit. I've been doing so for long time (someone like me, with one of my ships, just can't go over there) and my peace of mind is so much better ever since. It's not even a matter of "hearing the other side", hearing other opinions, cause other opinions can definitely be exposed in a civil and respectful manner, without insulting the authors, always keeping in consideraton that that is just our personal subjective view, and not the holy law.

I hope all those people who are expressing their negativity at Clear Card right now will stay away from the anime because Ohkawa was quite eloquent in her CCS talks in Twitter Space, she'll still be the scriptwriter and so the story will go exactly as she wishes ("I'm sorry if anyone will think 'this isn't Sakura's story', but the scriptwriter will still be me"). If their grievances are with the spotlight shared with Kaito and Akiho, or the complexity, then they really should make peace with the fact that that's not going to change and Clear Card, as a story, is not for them. Much better to act in a mature way and spare themselves and the rest of us of unnecessary frustrations. If they insist, it just makes them look more foolish, in my opinion.

That said, the whole Momo thing is for me an open wound. I didn't really expect to get her true name because she's an ageless, magical being who's just too "extra" for us to know such an important information about her. Like, I can justify that. But all the rest.....oof. I really have a hard time swallowing it down. But you see, the fact is that, even if I didn't really like this turn of events for her, I'm still so full of gratitude and positive feelings for this arc that it doesn't make me feel like the finale is "ruined" or anything. After all, I know Akiho and Kaito are going to find her. They must. "Everything goes to the place it's supposed to go" and those three, definitely, are meant to stay together. 😁 If Ohkawa decided to separate them right now, after she showed us Momo crying for Kaito, caressing Akiho's sleeping face, yelling her name in terror when her baby girl went berserk, then I have to believe there's a reason for it. "We won't do anything unreasonable", they said, and I believe them.

#reply #clear card arc #cardcaptor sakura #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #anonymous

[astroprompts]

✧ —𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 [𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟏]

𝐀𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐍 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐑, 𝐒𝐈𝐑

“Pardon me, are you [name]?”

“I'm at your service.”

“I have been looking for you.”

“I'm getting nervous.”

“I may have punched him. It's a blur.”

“I wanted to do what you did.”

“He looked at me like I was stupid. I'm not stupid.”

“Can I buy you a drink?”

“While we're talking, let me offer you some free advice.”

“Talk less, smile more.”

“Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for.”

“You can't be serious.”

“Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead.”

“If you stand for nothing, what'll you fall for?”

𝐌𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓

“I am not throwing away my shot.”

“I'm young, scrappy, and hungry.”

“I probably shouldn't brag, but dang, I amaze and astonish.”

“The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish.”

“I gotta holler just to be heard.”

“Only nineteen, but my mind is older.”

“Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me.”

“I will lay down my life if it sets us free.”

“I'm with you, but the situation is fraught.”

“If you talk, you're gonna get shot.”

“I think your pants look hot.”

“Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot.”

“Oh, am I talking too loud?”

“Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth”

“I never had a group of friends before.”

“When you're living on your knees, you rise up.”

“I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.”

“I never thought I'd live past twenty.”

“We need to handle our financial situation.”

“For the first time, I'm thinking past tomorrow.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

“I may not live to see our glory.”

“I've seen wonders great and small.”

“Raise a glass to freedom.”

“Let's have another round tonight.”

“I didn't think that you would make it.”

“I came to say congratulations.”

“Now, be sensible.”

“From what I hear, you've made yourself indispensable.”

“Well, I heard you've got a special someone on the side.”

“What are you tryin' to hide?”

“I'll see you on the other side of the war.”

“I will never understand you.”

“If you love this woman/man/person, go get her/him/them.”

“What are you waiting for?”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

“There's nothing rich folks love more than going downtown and slumming it with the poor.”

“Daddy said to be home by sundown.” / “Daddy doesn't need to know.”

“Remind me what we're looking for.”

“I'm looking for a mind at work.”

“There's nothing like summer in the city.”

“Your perfume smells like your daddy's got money.”

“Why you slummin' in the city in your fancy heels?”

“Some men say that I'm intense or I'm insane.”

“Look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.”

𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐃

“They have not your interests at heart.”

“Oh my God, tear this dude apart.”

“Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution.”

“Don't let them lead you astray.”

“They're playing a dangerous game.”

“It's hard to listen to you with a straight face.”

“Chaos and bloodshed already haunt us.”

“Honestly, you shouldn't even talk.”

“My dog speaks more eloquently than thee.”

“If you repeat yourself again I'm gonna scream.”

“I'd rather be divisive than indecisive.”

“Drop the niceties.”

𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐁𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊

“You say the price of my love's not a price that you're willing to pay.”

“Why so sad?”

“Remember, we made an arrangement.”

“Now you're making me mad.”

“Remember, despite our estrangement, I'm your man.”

“You'll be back, soon you'll see.”

“You'll remember you belong to me.”

“You'll remember that I served you well.”

“You'll be the one complaining when I am gone.”

“Don't change the subject!”

“I will fight the fight and win the war.”

“I'll love you 'til my dying days.”

“When you're gone, I'll go mad.”

“Don't throw away this thing we had.”

“I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.”

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

“You got me helpless.”

“I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight.”

“You walked in, and my heart went boom.”

“This one's mine.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“I'm about to change your life.”

“By all means, lead the way.”

“Thank you for all your service.”

“If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it.”

“My life gets better every letter that you write me.”

“I'm just sayin', if you really loved me, you would share him/her/them.”

“There's nothing that your mind can't do.”

“I don't have a dollar to my name.”

“Your family brings out a different side of me.”

“My love for you was never in doubt.”

“I've been living without a family since I was a child.”

“I look into your eyes, and the sky's the limit.”

𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐒𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃

“I just might regret that night for the rest of my days.”

“I'll never forget the first time I saw your face.”

“This is not a game.”

“You strike me as a woman/man/person who has never been satisfied.”

“I'm sure I don't know what you mean.”

“You're like me, I'm never satisfied.”

“I have never been satisfied.”

“Where's your family from?”

“There's a million things I haven't done.”

“So this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level!”

“I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich.”

“I'd have to be naïve to set that aside.”

“I know my sister like I know my own mind.”

“You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind.”

“May you always be satisfied.”

“I will never be satisfied.”

𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐈𝐓

“Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints.”

“There are things that the homilies and hymns won't teach ya.”

“My mother was a genius, my father commanded respect.”

“When they died they left no instructions, just a legacy to protect.”

“Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints.”

“If there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died, I'm willing to wait for it.”

“I'm not standing still, I am lying in wait.”

“Life doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints.”

“If there's a reason I'm still alive when so many have died, then I'm willing to wait for it.”

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄

“There’s only one way for us to win this.”

“Hit ‘em quick, get out fast.”

“Stay alive ‘til this horror show is past.”

“We’re gonna fly a lot of flags half-mast.”

“Yeah, he’s not the choice I would have gone with.”

“What are you doing, [name]? Get back on your feet!.”

“History will prove them wrong.”

“We have a war to fight, let’s move along.”

“I can’t disobey direct orders.”

“You're the closest friend I've got.”

“Don't throw away your shot.”

𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒

“If they apologize, no need for further action.”

“Time to get some pistols and a doctor on site.”

“Duel before the sun is in the sky.”

“Pick a place to die where it’s high and dry.”

“Pray that hell or heaven lets you in.”

“Can we agree that duels are dumb and immature?”

“Your man has to answer for his words.”

“Okay, so we’re doing this.”

“Look ‘em in the eye, aim no higher.”

“Summon all the courage you require.”

𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

“Do you yield?”

“You shot him in the side.”

“Yo, we gotta clear the field.”

“This should be fun.”

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Meet me inside.”

“Don't call me son.”

“We called his bluff!”

“Watch your tone.”

“I am not a maiden in need of defending.”

“They take your name and they rake it through the mud!”

“My name's been through a lot, I can take it.”

“We need you alive!”

“I am more than willing to die.”

“I need you alive!”

𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐁𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇

“How long have you known?”

“You should have told me.”

“I'm not sorry.”

“You deserve a chance to meet your son/daughter/child.”

“Will you relish being a poor man's wife, unable to provide for your life?”

“I relish being your wife.”

“The fact that you're alive is a miracle.”

“Just stay alive, that would be enough.”

“I don't pretend to know the challenges you're facing.”

“I'm not afraid.”

“I know who I married.”

“So long as you come home at the end of the day, that would be enough.”

“We don't need a legacy.”

“We don't need money.”

“Let me be a part of the narrative.”

𝐆𝐔𝐍𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒

“Yo, turns out we have a secret weapon.”

“I'm taking this horse by the reigns.”

“And so the balance shifts.”

“For this to succeed, there is someone else we need.”

“No one has more resilience, or matches my practical tactical brilliance.”

“You wanna fight for your land back?”

“I need my right-hand man back!”

“If you join us right now, together we can turn the tide.”

“The world will never be the same.”

𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔

“I was younger than you are now when I was given my first command.”

“I led my men straight into a massacre.”

“I witnessed their deaths firsthand.”

“I made every mistake and felt the shame rise in me.”

“History has its eyes on me.”

“Let me tell you what I wish I'd known when I was young and dreamed of glory.”

“You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.”

“I know that we can win.”

“I know that greatness lies in you.”

“Remember from here on in, history has its eyes on you.”

𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍 (𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍)

“Immigrants, we get the job done.”

“'If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me.”

“We gotta go, gotta get the job done.”

“We move undercover and we move as one.”

“We have one shot to live another day.”

“We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it.”

“We had a spy on the inside, that's right.”

“We're in the shit now, somebody's gotta shovel it!”

“When you knock me down, I get the fuck back up again!”

“And just like that, it's over.”

“The world turned upside down.”

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎𝐃𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀

“I'm dedicating every day to you.”

“Domestic life was never quite my style.”

“When you smile, you knock me out.”

“We'll bleed and fight for you.”

“When you smile, I am undone.”

“Pride is not the word I'm looking for. There is so much more inside me now.”

“You outshine the morning sun.”

“When you smile, I fall apart.”

“My father wasn't around.”

“I swear that I'll be around for you.”

“I'll do whatever it takes.”

“I'll make the world safe and sound for you.”

“You'll blow us all away.”

𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏

“Are you aware that we're making history?”

“Why do you assume you're the smartest in the room?”

“Soon that attitude may be your doom!”

“Why do you write like you're running out of time?”

“I've seen injustice in the world, and I've corrected it.”

“Now, what I'm going to say may sound indelicate.”

“Why do you always say what you believe?”

“Every day, you fight like it's going out of style.”

“Can we confer?”

“What do you need?”

“I know I talk too much, I'm abrasive.”

“You're succinct, persuasive.”

“Hear me out!”

“We have to start somewhere.”

“You're making a mistake.”

“What are you waiting for? What do you stall for?”

“What if you're backing the wrong horse?”

“For once in your life, take a stand with pride!”

“I don't understand how you stand to the side.”

“I'll keep all my plans close to my chest.”

“I'll wait here and see which way the wind will blow.”

“There's no one who can match you for turn of phrase.”

“Don't forget to write.”

“If I could grant you peace of mind, would that be enough?”

“They're asking me to lead.”

“I'm doing the best I can.”

“I'm asking you to be my right-hand man.”

“I know it's a lot to ask, to leave behind the world you know.”

“Look around! Isn't this enough?”

#ask meme #sentence starters #dialogue prompt #rp meme #hamilton #hamilton the musical

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent Day 11: Kuala Lumpur

Okay so... that happened.

Here's the thing, though- I listened, had a bunch of points about what I liked and didn't like about it, and then was about to write them out here when I thought to myself, "hey, some of this sounds VERY familiar."

And it turns out that most of what I thought was said much more eloquently by the man himself in Farewell Bear Facts, which I read a lot more recently than I last listened to Kuala Lumpur. And, given how much he seems to dislike the Flap and Throttle plotline, it does feel a bit mean to double down. But I will say- JF did so much great intricate plotting in other episodes this season- he's entitled to a dud. And he notes something that I've been thinking- that the psychological character throughline is missing, and given how strongly it's present in other episodes this season like Ipswich and Gdansk, it seems clear that it's a big part of the secret sauce for a really good plot, which is just good writing advice- the mechanics can seem fine but without the motivators it won't run.

RE the Carolyn and Arthur plotline- it's a very definite B plot that basically is what it is, so there's not much to say about it beyond that it's hilarious and I love Stephanie Cole's parade of voices. And that, I don't know why, but for some reason, as idiotic as Arthur has been over time, I DO find it hard to believe that he genuinely didn't know that bread came from wheat. I can believe he wouldn't remember about breadcrumbs, but for some reason this is a bit of a roadblock for me. Basically purely subjective, I guess.

And one other thing about Arthur, which I guess violates my "don't hate on the Flap and Throttle plot" thing- did I miss why he was in a position to know about the second pub, when he had to lie to Martin about it? Douglas purposely didn't tell him the first time and I can't figure out why he seems to have been in on it the second.

Anyway... tomorrow on to LIMERICK!

#cabin pressure #cabin pressure advent 2023 #cabin pressure advent #john finnemore #kuala lumpur #for the record i read farewell bear facts not infrequently #so if you notice other similarities between what jf says there and what i say... that's why #they're just REALLY GOOD and stick in the brain

[chibitantei]

I noticed Naoto dips into long and awkward pauses frequently in her Social Link. Nothing's more comforting than seeing "......." in every rank.

Rank 7, or Naoto has a bit of a crisis at Junes.

Right off the bat, we have some lines that seem to contradict with the Shirogane estate being in Inaba.

If she lived there, I think she would have figured her grandfather was in America, but here, she seems to be out of the loop on that until now. She hasn't been able to reach their cell phones, indicating this has been the only way she's kept in contact with them (besides email). If she were living at the estate, it would mean Yakushiji is going the extra mile to pretend he is not home, which strikes me as unnecessarily convoluted and absurd, but this is the Shiroganes we're talking about here.

Moving on to more interesting things, we see more of Naoto's trademark "......", a telltale sign that she is thinking very deeply on something. Here, it's plainly obvious she's worried about their safety because she can't contact them, you know, the people she cares deeply about. And again, we see Naoto brush off her worries to focus on other things.

Whether or not the estate is in Inaba, this situation suggests that Naoto is used to being alone. If Naoto travels around for work, then she's clearly not hoofing it back to the estate everyday. On her grandfather's side, if he has a friend in America, it's safe to say that he has a good number of international connections. I wouldn't be surprised if he has been requested to go overseas.

They obviously care about each other, but there's an awkward distance between them, which I will save for Rank 9 because that's when everything happens.

Naoto brushing off her concerns and embarrassing moments where she exposes herself through changing the subject occurs frequently in her link. To her, it must seem like these moments don't have any relevance to the matter at hand, aka the phantom thief case, but I feel like this speaks bigger volumes about her.

She asks about Yu in her link, what they talk about is left to imagination, but if he ever shared concerns with her, she wouldn't judge. When it comes to her though, ain't nobody got time for that. She doesn't see much value in herself as a person, just as a detective. With what her Shadow said, she might have been internalizing this for years. Now, game!Naoto is much more well-adjusted than mine is, but it's obvious she's got some bad self-esteem.

Since this isn't her story, it's all left in implications and no one in the team will never acknowledge the other implications about her Shadow because this is about Yu, not Naoto. The woes of best girl being LAST GIRL I HATE YOU ATLUS

Anyway, we have more gibberish.

Jury to not rest, or rout for fable. Minus 40, Minus 4

I really wanna know what this looked like in the Japanese script.

Again, the choices here don't matter, but third one ("Subtract '40' and '4'?") is best. If you pick the first option ("Maybe it's a math problem."), she mentions modulo, she has a math brain. Helps with her projects, I guess. The techie arts and crafts person.

As she eloquently puts it:

Unfortunately, in this rank, Naoto is really good at dumping things I want to share into one big blob.

Anyway, we learn about something Naoto and her grandfather share: they can't stand to throw things away. A kiddie tool holds too much sentimental value for Naoto. 'Logically', she should throw it away now that she's grown up and is more professional, but she can't. So she kept it somewhere, assumed she lost it but her grandfather had it all along.

The middle portion has her say that she never cared about trying to fit into the box of being a 'man' or a 'woman'. In Atlus context, this is more about gender roles, but the point is, Naoto never cared about what society "expected" of her as a kid. All she cared about then was being a detective.

She then states that she never had friends, which isn't new information since she said as much during the Shadow sequence. The part where she says she was "quite the outsider then, too" emphasizes she's always been outside of the norm from a young age, but here, it could vaguely imply she feels like one with the team still.

She doesn't participate much in the normal teen-to-teen banter, instead offering a snarky comment before going silent and listening to the rest of the conversation. The only times she talks a lot are when she's explaining her deductions or being Smart. Arguably, this is just her being massively introverted, which is also true. She's more of a listener than a talker unless the topic switches to something she's actually knowledgeable on, otherwise she's just sitting there.

The fact that Yu needs an "opportunity" to get closer to her makes me believe that she doesn't hang out much one-on-one with the IT. Maybe she feels like the team already has every niche filled in and her presence is just dead weight. Everyone seems to have each other, so what does she have to offer besides her intellect?

Then she gets a crisis about change. She doesn't say what it is, but it'll be clear in... a couple more ranks.

No matter what option you pick next, it all points towards the same thing: Naoto is afraid of change.

She even says so here:

Naoto's dealt with a lot: dead parents, being alone, looked down on for being a kid, hearing the general comments about women, her mental disease soup, and other things. These things have become normal to her, and as wrong as it seems, she's found stability (perhaps even comfort) in these. Maybe she's accepted that things would never get better and that would be okay.

Meeting the team has changed that view of hers ever so slightly and suddenly, she can see a future where things look different from what she's used to. Moving forward under that new future is frightening.

And again, she changes the subject and asks Yu if he's ever experienced something like that before.

#Dossier: About Naoto #she's my favorite horrible anime girl #no one else can compare #squeezes her like a squeaky toy

[kafus]

Anon for my safety <3 I have DID as well prof diagnosed, and reading your posts hit home. It hurts so badly when I see kids who were similarly abused and developed a literal last resort disorder just to survive, only to be called “cringe” and “attention seeker” when they genuinely seek help. God forbid a trauma victim find joy in life, you must suffer forever in order to be valid.

Me and my host are in a dedicated relationship with eachother, we love each other so openly and emotionally in a way you can’t feel with a “real” (/s )relationship. Our minds are forever intertwined, our existence built on abuse and terror no child should ever receive. And yet, in midst of all the chaos, the lost time, the confusion, we learn that loving each other is loving ourselves, and I would have it no other way.

the love for her is healing for me, it is a reminder that we live and we love, that we are not broken and insane as the media portrays us. There is something so domestic about it, and perhaps we are even saving money on the grocery bill. The situation is not ideal, the circumstances are not great, but being alive, even as nothing more than an “alter” as all and everything I could have ever asked for.

I hope that ever person who similarly suffers as we did seeks help and receives gentle and tender care. As much as I would like to pretend, we are still ill and must still fight the demons of trauma that were imposed on us. This disorder is not an easy one, but it is not a curse either. Let your alters know you love them, appreciate them for the memories they hold, similar to yourself. When you care for them, you care for you.

i am not as eloquent about the subject of in-system dating in public spaces such as tumblr because i. have been notably hurt over it before. so i am awkward. however i wanted to thank you a lot for sending this message because i don't think i've ever actually felt like someone Understands the seriousness of my relationship and the... specific kind of love that emerges from dating an alter, someone who is both you and not you and who intimately knows you in your actual darkest moments and who only exists because of those memories. someone you change from being forced to spend your life with and instead choose to spend your life with. someone who embodies healing from the worst of trauma. the sort of love that is both loving another and learning to love yourself. Overcoming. Living. etc. so thank you for helping me/us feel Seen today tbh. all my posts this morning were spawned from a nightmare i had last night and it was really ruining my mood today but this cheered me up a little bit.

like you said DID is not easy and the situation is definitely not ideal but it is not a curse, it's proof that we survived. learning to love and care for your alters is learning to love yourself and all the fragmented parts of you. anyone who is suffering with this hell deserves the care and assistance to be able to get to a point where there is joy and it's not nothing but constant suffering. not people on the internet further shoving them away from recovery and telling them they're wrong for wanting to experience joy and not hate themselves for eternity. it is so pessimistic to believe that people with DID will never be happy. it is hard to be happy but it is possible! we make the best of it even when it fucking sucks!! that's survival babey!!!

idk how clearly i worded this sorry if anything came off a little weird i am super switchy and disoriented today actually </3 but hopefully what i was trying to say came thru anyways

#asks #anonymous #kiki was here

[lulupen2023]

Barty Crouch Jr/Aro Volturi Harry Potter/Twilight crossover part III (II)/III (II)

Summary:

Barty Crouch Junior's (somewhat horrifying) fate seems to have already been written… or maybe not? What if there was someone who has other plans for him?

Summary of the chapter:

The end. It's time to find out how the events will change ;P Also.. have fun with Barty and Bella fighinting like cat and dog XD

III (II): Immortality suits you …

Bellatrix hugged Voldemort, repeatedly stroking his chest in a territorial way, casting a more than eloquent look at Barty.

"If I remember correctly, Bella, your presence was not required," Voldemort warned her, though he wasn't really upset.

"Forgive me, my Dark Lord, but I couldn't resist,  knowing you in his company, alone." she yelped submissively.

"They’re not alone, as you can see, my dear!" Aro interjected, pulling Barty to him and peering distrustfully at that beautiful witch with thick, indomitable black hair, a proud bearing and a creepy gaze. When it came to territoriality, the two could compete and end up in perfect equality.

"Of course, my Master's friends are welcome and I am pleased to notice this strong bond between you," she commented, much more relieved, also pleasing Aro. "But above all I wanted to see my dear old partner in mischief once more!"

"I'm happy to see you,  too ..." the younger Death Eater admitted in spite of himself.

"Guess what, Barty-Hearty?" she momentarily moved away from her beloved Master to jump joyfully in his direction.

"Don't call me that, BellaFreaks!" he said, making her taste her own medicine.

"You insolent child!" she snapped, and cast a Cruciatus Curse at him. Barty had the same exact impulse, which is why the two Unforgivable Curses ended up canceling each other.

"Explosive, just as I recalled, you two!" the Dark Lord commented, even clapping his hands for a few seconds.

"How could you handle both of them?" the noble vampire asked him.

"Let's say I was never bored!" confessed the other.

"I could never get both of them," Aro muttered.

This time it was Voldemort who pulled Bella towards himself, protectively.

"I would never let you take her away, too!" he declared, to the delight of his devoted servant.

"I'm fine just where I am." she said, resting her head on his chest.

“I'm fine where I am now, as well,” Barty admitted, giving an eloquent look to Aro, who smiled at him.

"What did you want to tell me before, Bella?" the youngest returned to the subject at hand.

“I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black! " Bella sang.

"She's been going on like this for days!" Voldemort chuckled, stroking her face.

"Oh, well, good for you if you eliminated your dear little cousin and made Potter whimper. I drank my pseudo father and halved the goddamn Ministry of Magic, but I don't go around screaming it from the rooftops!" Barty scoffed.

Voldemort walked over to him, giving him an unexpected soft slap on the cheek. "I also know about your deeds, Barty. I know everything and I am delighted!"

"My Lord!" he bowed again.

"But enough talking now, there's dinner waiting for us!" Voldemort acted as the perfect host.

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

At dinner there were also all the Malfoys, but they remained rather taciturn. Among the other Death Eaters, Barty couldn't help but notice an important absence.

"But ... Snape?" he ventured to ask.

"Severus was a bad little boy who played a double game, but by dint of playing with fire he ended up getting burned!" Bellatrix informed him, sitting next to him, giggling.

Aro had been brought a goblet full of what no one would bet was wine, while Barty struggled to eat something, with the intent of honoring the cuisine of his Dark Lord's House Elves, but that goal happened to be anything but easy. Aro had tried to warn him several times that vampires shouldn’t eat human food, but in the end he had let himself be amused by his Childe’s stubbornness.

Bellatrix kept staring at him.

"What's wrong?" Barty asked nervously.

“Aside from those red eyes that could very well be just contact lenses… are we really sure you're a vampire now? I don't notice any difference in your paleness,” she teased him.

"The tanned woman spoke!" he shouted at her, before lowering his voice, to speak in confidence. "You know He will never love you as you wish, right?"

She lost all desire to joke and nodded sadly. “It doesn't matter; I love enough for the both of us. It is enough for me to serve him. " she declared with pride that shone in her dark eyes.

"You two over there, what are you concocting?" Voldemort asked. Although he was at the head of the table, he still picked up on their whispers.

"Nothing, my Lord!" they both answered in unison.

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

After dinner, all the other diners disappeared as soon as possible. No one wanted stay too long with that creepy quartet.

"My boy, would you like to witness me as I torture Fudge?" Voldemort asked, well aware that it was like asking a child if he would like to take a ride on the merry-go-rounds. Too bad that, in addition to his enthusiasm, Barty’s reaction was also that of a child.

“See, BellaFreaks? The Dark Lord wants me to accompany him! " he teased her.

"Oh well, rejoice, Barty-Hearty, but be informed  that He allowed me to attend several times. He also allowed me to torture him once!" Bellatrix preened.

"Go with him, puppy. I will chat with this fascinating Dark Lady. I'm sure we will not lack for topics of conversation!" Aro said, looking at Bellatrix curiously.

"Then we'll try to do something pretty quick. I don't like the idea of leaving them alone for too long!" muttered Voldemort as they walked towards the dungeons where the Minister of Magic was imprisoned. "You know, Barty, dear Cornelius has been here with us for many weeks. I just make sure that every day it is more than clear that my return is all too tangible." he grinned, as they arrived.

"No, not again, have mercy!" cried Cornelius Fudge, who apparently didn't seem to have even the slightest scratch. "You! Again?!" he stirred further, tugging at the magical chains that bound him to a wall when he also noticed the vampire's presence.

“Yes, me, again. You still remember my words, right? I wasn't lying, as you can see. I bet since that day, you would have preferred for me to have killed you! " Barty grinned.

"Y-yes ... have some mercy!" shouted the elderly minister.

"Tsk-tsk, Cornelius, you disappoint me. You already used twice that word that you know I hate," Voldemort shook his head in a reproachful tone, drawing his wand. " Crucio !"

And that was just the beginning.

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

"My Lord, I will never forget such a sight, his screams will remain in my ears for days! " Barty congratulated his Master when even the last terrible spell cast by Voldemort left its effects on the victim. Barty was not even aware of such spells and watched, thirsty for knowledge…and maybe not just that. All that violence was harder to handle with his new nature.

"All that blood ..." Barty licked his lips and Voldemort sensed everything.

“You want to bite him, don't you? So be it, as long as you don't kill him. "

"Oh no, I would never deprive you of such entertainment," the young vampire assured.

"Very well, then, have a taste... can you guarantee it will be painful?"

"Oh yes, my Lord, as much as possible!" sneered the other, showing the now elongated canines. He advanced towards the victim, who by now did not even have the strength to scream. But Barty's bite was so excruciating that it made Fudge let out a further scream.

"Excellent, Barty, now, before I go, I'll heal all his wounds," Voldemort said with satisfaction. The vampire was a little perplexed to see such a magnanimous action from his Dark Lord.

"I understand your astonishment, but ... watch and see!" Voldemort instructed. He uttered yet another spell unknown to the younger wizard. The numerous wounds, abrasions and burns began to heal, yes… but in an inexorably slow way, barely perceptible, but above all, painful.

A cruel dripping.

A torture within the torture.

"It will take about a full day to heal. Just in time to be able to start all over again ... until I'm tired of playing. But I don't think I'll be tired anytime soon," grinned the Dark Lord, while Barty listened, entranced.

"Aro is not just your Sire, am I right?" Voldemort asked without warning.

"Yes. No. I mean… we, him, me…” Barty flushed lightly as he struggled to answer.

Voldemort chuckled.

“My boy, mine is not an accusation, just an observation. Your loyalty to me as a Death Eater pleases me. As for other types of interests ... I would like you to direct them towards other goals. "

Barty was grateful for his new vampire status otherwise he would have turned redder than the hated Griffondor uniforms.

"One more thing, Barty," Voldemort said.

"Yes, my Lord?"

“Could you not tell Bella that I made you torture Fudge,  too? Otherwise I’ll get an earache from her! " Voldemort rolled his eyes, snatching a smile from him, as the young man sealed that promise with a nod.

When they returned to the dining room, Bellatrix was lying on the table with her elbows propped up and her legs bent forward dangling, her mouth half open as she listened in rapture to yet another anecdote from Aro.

"My Lord, you didn't tell me you had such an interesting friend with such exciting stories!" she murmured, reaching him as soon as she saw him.

"And now I belong to that world, drawing all the benefits," Barty said with a grin. "I will always be young, vigorous and beautiful, unchanged over the years. As for you, my dear, ... am I wrong or is it a wrinkle I see?" Barty enjoyed  provoking her. Voldemort had to hold her with both arms, otherwise Bellatrix would have gouged out Barty’s eyes. Or worse.

“How dare you, insolent kid? I will always be young and beautiful for my Dark Lord, even if  I have to  drink the blood of all the unicorns in the Forbidden Forest! " she shouted, wriggling to free herself.

"It can't be said that she doesn’t give me satisfaction!" Voldemort stroked her face and she calmed down at once.

“What about me, my Lord? Haven't I pleased you?" Barty asked, his feelings stung.

“Oh, Barty, you have been indispensable. It is only thanks to you that I have been able to have that coveted alliance with the Volturi that I have been craving since the days of the First Wizarding War. You have been the most precious bargaining chip," Voldemort explained. “You must know that our dear Aro had set his sights on you since you took the Dark Mark, but at the time it was I who opposed it. You were still too young. But when months ago I learned you were in danger, I was finally able to combine business with pleasure for him." He paused, looking at Aro. “I would never have given up such a precious and valiant soldier like you, Barty, if it weren't extremely necessary. ''

Barty was beside himself with delight at all those compliments.

"My Lord, I have no words to thank you, but even if at a distance, I will always be your soldier. I will always rush to you when you call me," he assured him. "I'm just sorry I didn't stop Potter in time on the day of the Trial ...."

"Oh, don't worry, it'll be more fun to hunt him and his friends," grinned the Dark Lord. "Speaking of which, Bella, did you pick up that thing as I asked you?" He turned to her.

"Certainly, my Lord."

"Then go get it."

Bellatrix did not question his orders, but swiftly left the room. After a few minutes, she returned with a very ancient and precious-looking cup.

"Excellent! Now give him the Tosca Hufflepuff Cup," Voldemort urged.

"But, my Lord ..." she protested. She was happy he was pleased, but loath to surrender the prize to another.

"I can feel Your essence in there, my Lord," Barty noted, looking at the cup with curiosity and devotion.

“And so it is, my boy. That's a Horcrux. There are many ways to achieve immortality. There are those, like me, who break their souls seven times and those, like you, who find faster methods. I must also say, not only faster, but more pleasant methods." He made his witty remark, gesturing at Aro. "You said, Barty, that you are still my soldier, after all ..."

"And so it is, I will defend this Horcrux at the cost of my unlife!" Barty swore.

"I could have been a very good guard too, my Lord!" Bellatrix yelped.

"What if I told you that I have other plans for you, Bella? And that, in a few months, you will be a little… too busy to keep a watchful enough guard?" Voldemort made her understand his plans by stroking her belly. Bellatrix jumped for joy, without any effort to hide her triumph. This was perhaps the only thing Barty couldn't compete with her on.

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

Barty and Aro had returned to Volterra months ago. This was an evening like any other.

Aro was sitting in the damask armchair in his bedroom: barefoot, with his black clothes widely unbuttoned, in full relaxation, with a glass of blood in his hand, while he watched his pupil, intent on what was now his favorite activity. He had lured a victim on one of his usual walks and was now slowly bleeding her out. He was also testing some of the new spells he had learned from his Dark Lord.

At that moment he was sprawled on the carpet, dressed in a white shirt, a color he was beginning to like, perhaps because it created a strong contrast with his soul black soul.  And then, the blood on the white stood out even better. His shirt was half covered as he licked the blood off his thumb and then moved on to his other fingers, unhurriedly,

"You know, right, that to feed on humans we aren’t forced  to kill them?" Aro commented.

"Of course I know, but it's more fun this way ... and then you can't expect me not to kill Muggles!" retorted the other. 

“You will end up staining  my carpet! Look, it's a prestigious tapestry! "

"Bloody hell, what a fuss! It just means I will use a Cleaning Spell. Happy?" 

"Nope. I’ll be happy when you bother enough to come here to me and let my arms claim you."

Barty purposely continued to bleed his victim a little longer.

"I'm fine right where I am!" he said,  playing hard to get.

It was just a game. Before Aro could even utter a syllable of protest, he found Barty in his arms, his lips on his, each tasting the blood the other had drunk.

"Aro?"

"Yes, puppy?" he murmured against his mouth.

"Ask me again what my feelings for you are," Barty urged, caressing his long raven hair.

"Why?" His Sire looked at him with great expectation.

"Because I'm getting closer and closer to that word starting with L." His Childe smiled, kissing him.

EPILOGUE 

A FEW YEARS LATER

"No!" Barty thundered. "But first of all, I would like to understand how this could have happened!"

"I am perfectly free to go to London as much as I please and I most certainly do not have anything  to account for!" Jane stood up to him.

"Yes, if in your mind there’s a spoiled, spineless kid! I don't even know how my Lord could have even thought of making him a Death Eater!" he grumbled.

"Maybe your Lord was pleased to have such a gorgeous little blond in his ranks!"

"My Lord values other ideals far more important than physical beauty!" Barty was getting nervous.

"Are we really sure? You're so gorgeous, too! " she winked shamelessly.

“What's all this noise? I remind you that Caius, Marcus and I are in the middle of an important meeting!" Aro rushed towards them.

"Oh please, you're just waiting for Heidi!" Barty belittled the importance of the issue, making Jane chuckle.

"So I see that someone here wants their prey ration halved!" his Sire threatened him.

"Later, in bed, you’re going to pay for this!" Barty growled in his ear.

“Oh, my puppy, is that supposed  to be a threat? It strikes me more as a promise!" Aro clicked his tongue, winking. "As for you, my dear Jane, I deduce this is the period in which you go into heat ... again!" he teased her.

"I don't think it's too much to ask for a reliable mate  when you have eternity ahead of you. You've found yours!" the blonde retorted.

“I understand, but not with Draco! I will NEVER want to be related to a Malfoy! " Barty made it clear. "I mean, I'm a Volturi now, right?"

"Love, if after fifteen years you still have doubts, it means that I have to refresh your memory for good!" Aro murmured, hugging him from behind and nibbling his right ear, which sent him into raptures. "You are a Volturi, for all intents and purposes."

"And anyway, Jane, I think you are wasting your time with Malfoy. When I was a Professor at Hogwarts , I realized how he was always around Potter all the time. His pretense of contempt for the Half Bloods has never convinced me and over time things have only gotten worse, in my opinion! "

"I believe so too," muttered the vampiress. "What if I was  related to the Riddles?" She already knew she was playing the trump card with him.

"Huh?" his eyes widened, more than usual.

"Oh well, Delphi is growing so well ... and we get along so well!" Jane chuckled.

"I am her Godfather after all. I still find it hard to believe that I was my Dark Lord’s best man at his wedding. I've got it! That's where you must have met Draco!" Barty accused her.

"Yes, but that's not what we're talking about!" Jane pointed out.

"You are right. I was saying, as her Godfather, I only want the best for Delphi and you do look  like the best,” he smiled at her.

"A reason to further strengthen the alliance between Volturi and Voldemort. Certainly he too would be happy!" Aro approved.

"An alliance more than vital. That damn Potter and his friends have destroyed five Horcruxes in only one year!" Barty remembered. “Okay, one is Potter himself, but he still doesn't know that. At least I think he's still ignorant of it. Or maybe he's dead. Anyway, I don't trust him. I expect an attack from him at any moment, even if he knows he couldn't possibly escape! "

“I know, puppy. But in that case, Alice would warn us in time. I still remember when, years ago, you revealed to me their fears. Young Cullen was afraid of hurting his Bella. She was afraid of dying old and withered. Sweet Alice feared a war with us. In short, having them join us was so easy,  I could almost have done it without your power! "

Barty growled his disappointment.

"I said 'almost'!" he specified. "You have no idea how precious you are to me, Barty."

"And you have no idea how much I care about continuing to be precious to you, love." Barty smiled at him, kissing him.

“What do you say, puppy? Is eternity a long enough time?"

-

END

Notes:

Barty Hearty and BellaFreaks play a lot on assonance, I am very proud of those nicknames and in my opinion they are pure canon lol Torturing Fudge is well and good >: D I have never read' The Cursed Child " but I wanted to wink at a happy and dark-fluffy Bellamort family, more than the first word, the parents will have awaited her first Crucio (and one thing does not exclude the other) .. awww tenderness XD as for Jane, she sends me bisexual vibes I could not resist the Drarry hint #sorrynotsorry I leave it to your imagination whether Harry (or his lineage) will return to the attack or not or what happened to him, I like him, so I like to think he is alive; P

Would you like to see these characters again, maybe some missing moments? Because I have some...

thanks for reading :)

#barty crouch junior #barty crouch jr #aro volturi #twilight #harry potter #crossover #crossover fanart #fanfiction #fanfic #barty crouch fanfic #aro volturi fanfic #dark #what if #alternate ending #plot twist #vampires #vampire turning #rating: nc17 #bloodplay #voldemort #bellatrix lestrange #bellamort