#so he can't just outright say 'forgive her because i said you should' that's not genuine

[secretgamergirl]

A Refresher on the Whos and Hows of Harassment Campaigns

The other day someone said something that reminded me of a particularly good work from a friend of mine, so I said "hey, you might like this," and was met with, roughly, "that does sound good, but ooh, I recommend that name, I don't want to support that person at all." Now, perhaps you'd think I'd be taken aback by this, and curious why the person I was talking to had such a huge problem with my friend, but I knew exactly why.

The friend in question has been the target of a massive life-ruining harassment campaign for something like 15 years, primarily rooted, as these things always seem to be, in DARVO tactics. That's an acronym for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender. Or put more plainly, painting the target as an evil monster who needs to be stopped. But there's a difference in knowing that this is ubiquitous for victims of harassment campaigns, and KNOWING how it works.

I don't want to say anything identifying about any of the many friends I know in this situation, so forgive the vague details, but let me walk through the major points of one of the clearest cases I've seen so you can hopefully learn to spot this crap.

Years ago, someone I knew messaged me out of the blue to alert me that A Bad Person had responded to some social media post of mine, which was just a perfectly nice pleasant little response. This was the first sign that this was not, in fact, A Bad Person, but a DARVO victim. The first rule to completely destroying someone's life is really aggressively cutting off any possible support network they might have, and making sure either through personal actions or more often establishing some weird sort of perceived norm that all good people need to be mindful of these things, one way to do that is jump in there anytime the target is being introduced to new people they could maybe become friends with.

Personally, I'm not inclined to avoid people just because someone tells me I should, even if it's someone I know and trust, and I encourage this as a value to others. Being an evidence demanding sort though, I was shortly presented with Some Evidence. This is another general truism with DARVO campaigns. Everyone pursuing them tends to have ready access to Some Evidence in the form of a link to, in most situations, like a 30-100 page long blog post, filled with links, images, and detailed date stamps presenting someone as an evil monster. And here again, my personal and professional experience with this has lead me to the possibly surprising conclusion that when someone shoves a link like this in your face, you can just go right ahead and assume the subject of it is the innocent victim of a hate campaign.

First of all, when someone is ACTUALLY a monster, it takes basically no evidence to prove it. Like, take J.K. Rowling. She's one of the most horrifically evil people on the planet. Hates trans people. Wants to see us all dead. She'd rather not have that as her public image, so she'll loudly object to any accusations along those lines and insist she's all puppies and rainbows, but in spite of that, she can't go more than like 10 minutes without an unhinged rant about how much she hates trans people. Like, she'll do it in written defenses against how she does that. You can glance at her social media pages and see just outright clear cut hate speech, or how she follows an astounding number of out and proud fascists. You can look at any news coverage she's tangentially involved in. Life is not a detective novel or a cheesy thriller where evil people manage to keep it completely hidden from everyone except one brave reporter.

So part of he deal with Some Evidence is relying on the reader being familiar with this sort of big info dump as really important in fiction and subconsciously viewing it through that same lens. The substance of Some Evidence is generally irrelevant. A Bad Person, you see, is guilty of a Crime! Whoever put together this very very very long blog post has clearly gone to a Herculean effort to expose this. They have a detailed timeline, they have all these links and screenshots to forum posts. They've hunted down every single user name A Bad Person may have ever used, and provided documentation to prove it all! Look how many links they have! How many bullet points! Look how passionate they are about the seriousness of this matter, and how terrible a thing this Crime is!

And the weirdly insidious thing about this is it isn't just about spamming you with so much text you aren't going to actually bother reading it. What they're hoping is that you DO read all of it, and in the process of doing so, you get so swept up in the narrative they're presenting that you internalize the fact that whatever Crime they're accusing this person of is exactly as evil and terrible a thing as their breathless recounting is portraying it to be, when in reality, I'm having a damn hard time thinking of any time I've seen one of these where the Crime is... anything really. You'd think if someone was going to accuse someone of a crime they didn't commit and make a big deal over it, they'd pick one of the real big ones like murder or defrauding a charity or terrorist bombings or something, but no. Real serious stuff is way easier to prove didn't happen if anyone cared, so the go-to strategy is to make a mountain out of a molehill so small that skeptical types won't even bother checking if it even happened, but make such a stink about it that the people who get suckered in still treat it as the most serious of things.

Actual examples of the Crimes I've seen in this sort of thing, off the top of my head: Sleeping with several men, just you know, at some point or other. Disliking A Good Person. Having once spoken to A Bad Person, or just being vaguely associated with them in some vague way. Criticizing a work of fiction over how it handled a subject (bad trans rep, colonialist values, weird depiction of another culture, whatever), drawing fan art or writing fan fiction where someone is off-model or not in character or, anything at all romantic or sexy happens, dressing up in a goofy costume, and standing near A Good Person in a photo who clearly wouldn't want to be seen anywhere near A Bad Person (and yes that last one DOES involve more circular logic than usual). Some of the most effective campaigns I've seen have had Crimes that go past not being any sort of offense to anyone from a rational perspective but are outright good things for someone to be doing. Spin is a hell of a drug.

It should also be noted that while Some Evidence generally puts a huge emphasis on noting the exact dates when the Crime and various other data points occurred and how great and terrible an offense this was to The Real Victim In All This, you basically never hear about this from someone who has even the most tenuous connection to The Real Victim In All This, and it tends to be presented as breaking news, even when Some Evidence pretty clearly points out that if the Crime even happened at all, it did so anywhere between 1-20 years ago. I don't know that I've ever seen one of these campaigns even get started over something in recent memory. Picking or inventing something far enough in the past that nobody who was allegedly there is going to have really clear memories one way or the other is ideal for the key point of making it both difficult and a low priority to actually get a first hand account of the Crime from anyone.

Also I really have to stress that this sort of thing doesn't tend to all come down to one crank with a grudge personally pushing the whole hate campaign. The goal is to execute all this in such a way that the overwhelming majority of harassment, isolation, and reputation tarnishing isn't done by whoever set it all into motion, but by well-intentioned rubes who get swept up enough in the narrative not to question any of it. They don't know the first thing about the target here, but they're going to go around saying things like "I had no idea this person was A Bad Person until someone sent me this link. They stopped me from maybe getting involved with someone really scary, so now I'm just paying that forward as much as I can by warning other people."

So hopefully if I'm succeeding here in getting you to think critically about this sort of thing, you're maybe thinking hey, if the random accusations people write these novel-length blog posts about generally boil down to the sort of stupid crap that'd maybe get a person banned from the cool kids' table in high school rather than anything that would actually spurn efforts to completely destroy a person's life, what's the real reason they do this crap? Well, sometimes, it's just going to be some completely irrational thing like deciding someone represents a vague threat to the orchestrator or someone they're weirdly stalking, or good old fashioned bigotry, but I think honestly the number one true motivation for this sort of thing might be that whole bit about isolating victims from any possible support network.

Stripping away support networks is, if I recall, literally the first thing suggested by the abuser's handbook. It's an actual guide, I have a copy of it that was getting shared around to help nazis coordinate back in 2014, but I... don't want to actually double check the ordering of bullet points. It's important though. If you want to end the life of Susie, you need to make sure Susie is completely alone, with nobody to turn to for aid or even just basic emotional support. And so if you notice that Robyn is out there defending Susie from your mass harassment campaign, and every effort you've made to drive a wedge between them or intimidate Robyn out of defending Susie, that means Robyn's gotta go. Time to write a new novel-length blog post, get as much of the world as you can convinced that Robyn is a monster. Hell, it's even worth it to try and convince Susie.

A weird little quirk that results from this is that honestly some of the most horrible, longest lasting attacks of this nature I've seen have been against people who otherwise seem like they'd be impervious to this sort of hate-mobbing, but they make an active point of standing up for trans people. Now like, obviously, I know a truckload of trans people literally driven out of public life by this crap because the average person is just entirely too willing to accept that any given one of us is some sort of evil shapeshifter if given the slightest push, and we'd probably be more prominent examples if we didn't just kinda get disappeared, but yeah if you're cis and it's known in the right circles that you've used your platform to give me a shout-out or treated me to dinner odds are pretty good you're in the top 10 of people I personally know that people have been trying to bring down with total BS for the past decade or so, and you know, we see you, we support you, thanks for fighting that good fight.

If this has all been a bit much to read, here's the short version. Do not ever go around talking crap about someone you don't know just because someone told you they suck. I don't care how much you trust the person you're hearing it from. I don't care if they show you Some Evidence that it'd take you three days to read through. If you can't (or don't want to bother to) look them up directly, on your own, and see them doing evil crap out in public, leave them the hell alone. Don't go spreading rumors. Don't say you've "heard some things." There are no acceptable casualties in this. Be 100% sure or mind your own damn business. ACAB still applies when it's self-appointed community policing. Oh and it should go without saying that obviously this doesn't apply to stuff like a friend telling you they're in an abusive relationship or they've been assaulted or whatever. I'm talking about crap like warning people not to read books or watch reviews or whatever from people you have no personal connection to here.

And of course here's the point where I remind you that I have been out of work for years and have had to change my name and address multiple times to avoid being freaking murdered thanks to the sort of campaigns I'm talking about here, and it would really do a lot to help me continue being alive if anyone felt like maybe heading over to my patreon and throwing some cash my way.

#darvo #whisper campaigns #harassment #abuse #isolation #anti harassment

[cbrownjc]

What do you think of the Twitter discourse that they are gonna stop watching the show if lestat becomes the main character or that he doesn't deserve redemption.

This is even after it was established that louis is an unreliable narrator just as the books and now they keep saying that if Louis' events turn out to be false it's racism

It's really putting down my excitement all this toxicity

Hey Anon,

My quick advice? Stay off Twitter.

That's pretty much it. Because I frankly don't care what those over there saying these things think. I haven't really given it any thought or paid any attention to what's being said over there.

I've said it once, and I'll repeat it: people looking for absolutes when it comes to these characters? And some kind of cautionary tale or something wrt the story? This was never going to be the show/story for them anyway. All the vampires in Rice's world are all various degrees of immoral, toxic, and unethical. They are monsters. Beautiful monsters. But monsters. Including Louis.

And if people don't want to see or accept that at this point? Well, then, they probably should stop watching. Because no, I don't think those facts about these characters are something that should ever be changed.

And frankly, trying to chalk Louis up to being an unreliable narrator as racism is just, to me, looking for an excuse to not see any of these faults in Louis' own character IMO.

And look, I understand. Sometimes we, as black people, can be overly sensitive wrt black characters' portrayal in media, with good reason. Racist stereotypes, sidelining black characters in stories, etc. To this day, they are things that are rightly talked about and called out. Because they do still happen.

But sometimes, on rare occasions, it can also lead to not wanting any nuance whatsoever wrt black characters too. For a way to avoid any deeply significant character faults that can't just be waved away.

And Louis, as a character, has those types of faults to a T.

That's always been his character. The race change has added more layers to Louis' character (particularly his pre-vampire life traumas). Still, the core of Louis' character from the books - the snobbish hypocrite, the catholic guilt, the most human yet ruthless killer of them, the unreliability of his story as a way to deal with his depression and guilt - remains the same in the show. And that is not racism.

And frankly, I don't think we'll need to get to the Lestat POV-focused Season 3 for those truths about Louis to be hammered home even more wrt his character. Season 2 will do it just fine (if you know the ITWV story.)

I know this all has to do with EP5. And just let me be clear no, I don't think they are going to say Louis lied about the fight or something. The majority of the fight was shot from Claudia's POV. So it DID happen. But we never got Louis' POV about it as it happened - only the very end when he was taken into the air and the aftermath. So there is something purposefully being kept from the viewers about it. But whether it happened or not, isn't it. Again, it was shot from Claudia's POV, so it did happen. The unreliable narrator part of Louis isn't going to be used to declare that it didn't. Only that there was something about it that Louis was holding back from talking about.

Just like many other things he held back on talking about (when he wasn't outright rewriting things to cope with them i.e., Claudia wanting to burn Lestat and Louis attacking her, in a manner similar to Lestat, to prevent her from trying to).

Anyway, if a viewer wants to forgive Lestat or not for what happened, that will be up to them. But that should not dictate whether the show should adapt the books in the vampire chronicles that are told from Lestat's POV or not. If some people don't want to watch those stories, fine, again, their choice. But those books shouldn't be tossed aside just because Louis isn't the main POV character anymore.

We already know there are no plans for Louis to disappear entirely from the story in the tv adaptation of those books (which is a plus given how little he's in some of them - looking at you, Memnoch.) And anyhow, Lestat is already a main character on the show. It's just his POV that we haven't gotten to hear/watch yet.

And do you want to know something? "Redemption" for Lestat doesn't mean he's going to stop being monstrous altogether or something. Hell, one of the lessons he learns after his adventure in the book Tale of the Body Thief is that not only is he a monster, he would have chosen it if given the choice. He enjoys being a vampire - being a monster.

He and Louis' relationship will be better, less toxic, over time, yes. Their time apart will help them both so that, when they finally do come back together, it'll be much healthier than it ever was before. That will be redeemed, as it were.

But if some non-book readers are under the impression that Lestat will become some moral figure wrt his redemption? Haha, no. That's not what that means.

So yeah, anyway. If some of those people stop watching after Season 2, fine. They can do what they feel is best for them. Don't worry about it. I'm not and don't.

#louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #loustat #interview with the vampire #amc iwtv #iwtv #racism #racism in media #fandom #ask #ask and answer

[bonesandthebees]

Let the intense grilling begin [“Really? You wanted a third option so you went with the thirteen year old who has zero clue what the fuck he’s getting into?” Schlatt jumped in,] perfectly establishes how stupid this decision is and Schlatt’s exact personality. This scene establishes all the characters really well btw.

Sam is short-sighted and living in his own head, he doesn’t think things through and based on this line [“And between those two, who would you say I should choose as my heir?”] has no idea who to pick.

Schlatt is brash and overconfident, yet he perfectly knows his own value and what power he holds. He’s rude, because he knows that Sam can’t do anything about it when push comes to shove. He needs Schlatt’s family’s money. He’s probably also the only person actively backing Quackity (as a first choice that is), and I am looking at that and the cannon dsmp interactions (especially the nickname).

Hannah is more reserved, but definitely backing Niki. She’s also clever enough to figure out the implications and speak up about them (also I forgot what he title was already. Was it economics?). Anyway, Hannah supporting Niki says more about Niki than her.

Phil nor Techno show there cards, I think they are backing Niki, but I can never be sure even if they were to outright tell Wilbur. [Don’t speak without thought. Stay quiet. Observe.] This line sums both of them up pretty well. They hold their cards. Phil and Techno do prod Sam, but they also know perfectly when not to do so, either because it will piss him of or if they know that someone else will ask.

Wilbur pretty much does as he’s told, he’s there to observe and learn. He holds his tongue and does not share his opinion like he has been taught. Also, Phil knows exact when Wilbur needs to be held back and can do so with one look. Very interesting compared to the start where Wilbur was trying to catch his eye, but al Phil’s attention was on Sam.

Then there’s Bad. He knows Sam the best and has the Lea way to call him out on his bullshit (and does so without being harsh like Schlatt) [“Okay, forgive me if this seems… upfront, but I have to ask. Are you actually considering Tomys as an heir, or are you just trying to make a point?”] he nails it right on the head (minus possible buying himself time) yet Sam doubles down.

I wonder if Phil figured this out but couldn’t say anything because Sam’s rebelling against him (like a teenager or a little child). Phil calling him out would not help the situation at all, but Sam does need to be called out on his bullshit, so it!s good that Bad and Schlatt are there. It’s also good that Phil knows when to rein everything in and get to business.

(3/3)

-🎄

aaa thank you, I definitely wanted to use this scene to establish everyone like you said. especially schlatt. he's such a fun character in this and I was so excited to really show how crass he can be even in very formal settings like this. he just doesn't give a shit because he doesn't have to. he's a nepo baby who inherited his role from his father, and sam can't do shit about it because he's rich. schlatt has always known just how far money can get you, and he's not afraid to push that to its limits.

hannah's role is lady of justice, meaning she's the person who oversees laws in the kingdom and the management of criminal trials and things like that. her entire thing is focusing on what's best for the public as a whole, so yes, to have someone like that backing niki shows just how competent niki is perceived to be.

techno for the most part tries to stay out of the heir debates. he's not really a politics kind of guy (in fact he definitely has a few choice opinions on the entire concept of a monarchy but that's neither here nor there), he's just there to take care of the library and talk about history if sam needs counsel in that sense. while he definitely has his opinions, he'd rather not get involved. that's phil's job. and even if in theory techno's role is to serve sam like the rest of the council, he's really just here for phil and pretty much everyone knows it

and of course phil keeps his cards close to his chest. even if he were to support one heir over the other you'd never know if he was actually telling the truth, or if this was just another attempt to move more pieces around the board.

yes, wilbur struggling to catch phil's attention in the beginning contrasting with phil knowing exactly when to shoot wilbur a look reminding him to shut up was intentional but I'll let you guys draw your own conclusions about that :)

bad knows sam extremely well and he also knows how delicately he needs to go about calling him out on this. of course it still doesn't work, but at least he tried. bad is kind of like techno in that he usually chooses not to get involved in the court drama. he's the head of sam's royal guard. he's more focused on keeping sam alive than anything else.

#ask #spruce anon #rose ch 3

[thyandrawrites]

More and more in bnha it seems like it's coming down to ochako and by extension toga to actually change anything in hero society. Because none of the other heroes seem to even consider the thought of anything from the villain's perspective or see the need for change.

Mic. Saying kurogiri/shirakumo should disappear as a good memory if he tries to help tomura, despite the fact that mic. Knows something of his old friend is in there because kuro/kumo told them about the hospital.

Shouji saying 'don't let them exploit your wounds' while not committing to protect any more heteromorphs from getting those wounds in the first place other than being cool/a shining light or something.

Deku saying 'I'll bring it all back", truly the exact opposite of what the current society, current world needs. Mind-blowing that deku hasn't realized that by now despite everything he's been through, or rather that he's written that way.

I'm not really sure where shouto's plot line is going honestly, seems like dabi left already.

It's getting down to the wire for even the promise of something better. Do you think ochako and toga will pull through as something more?

Unpopular opinion here but no, I don't think the current Uraraka is any better than the other three, no. I've seen some place faith in her to react differently, but they seem to be forgetting that Ochako said this about Toga not too long ago:

She does acknowledge that Toga is a person, which is a baby step in the right direction, but in the literal same train of thought she then confesses to watching the destroyed landscape to remember Toga by the atrocities she committed first. So that she won't accidentally sympathize too much with a monster. A monster with emotions, but still a monster nonetheless.

I don't read this as any differently from the self-righteousness of the other three because it's the same sentiment. It's dressed up as something slightly nicer, but she also opened said speech with this line:

"Look what they did to the city. She's a villain who helped them snuff out people's lives. Their happiness. The thought of just forgiving her? Nah."

Which is the same accusation the heroes and the kids keep throwing in the villains' faces.

"you took innocent lives and I can't let you keep doing that"

At the end of the day, any attempt at a dialogue always dies down quickly because the heroes approach this from the wrong angle. They're mostly here because they're acting according to their ideals as heroes. According to their moral codes, they can't let people die if they can do something about it. All of them have stated this as a main motivator for their actions at some point or another. I don't remember if Ochako did outright, but it doesn't matter because the same attitude is implied in her words above.

In her eyes, Toga Himiko is sympathetic, but her desire to understand the tears she saw in her eyes isn't enough to override Ochako's heroic drive on its own. The destruction Toga is complicit in is the cold shower of reality that prevents her from really putting herself in Toga's shoes long enough to get a glimpse of her motivations. So she doesn't understand her, and doesn't really try to. Like the other three,

She shuts down the conversation right at the start.

And like the other three, she's probably going to fail too, at least at first, because this approach isn't going to work. It didn't with Dabi and with Spinner, and it won't with Toga, either.

#Ali replies #Bnha #Bnha spoilers #My post #Meta:toga #Meta:uraraka

[the-resurrection-3d]

rambling thoughts on the finale now that I've watched it again (spoilers, of course)

Even as I was watching initially on the discord, I was shocked by how quickly things were going by -- Luz gets murked not even 25 minutes in, for instance. I've been thinking over the series's cancellation -- I've seen it argued Dana should have cut more stuff out, but in fairness, it's hard having to make drastic cuts in a short amount of time, especially when cutting out certain characters would have meant redoing plot elements, not to mention skipping over or rewriting entire characters' backstories.

I think about Luca vs Encanto -- Luca had a lot of ideas pulled out, whereas Encanto very obviously tried to cram an entire mini-series into one movie. I like Luca better than Encanto for a bunch of different reasons, but I have to ask, Should you try to tell a simpler story better or a truncated story as best as you can? The answer seems apparent, but there is something to be said about Dana putting as much as she could on the table and all but outright asking fans to enjoy rebuilding her vision in their own. It's one thing when certain characters and ideas can be taken and made their own standalone stories, but not everything can, and given the state of the animation industry, the chances of that new show happening would've been slim, anyway.

A show like The Owl House -- a queer story cut short by a company that funded homophobic politicians while chasing woke brownie points for good publicity -- feels like the best-use case for Jenkins's idea of fanfic as repairing culture, as fans are now left to take this obviously compromised text and show our love by doing the reparative work of trying to fill in the cracks. Even if you don't engage with the fandom much, your perception of the text is still informed by these cuts, so there really isn't a reason not to think of the show as the sum of its canon and your own reparative fandom experience.

I compare TOH to SU a lot in my head, and the reason I'm willing to be so forgiving towards TOH for having a lot of dropped threads and blank spots is because, unlike SU/SUF, I don't feel like the creators wasted their time. Arguably there are episodes in season one that can be cut, but it's nothing like SU, which spent just so many episodes across every season prioritizing Steven's relationships to the humans in Beach City and neglecting its actual main cast, only for SUF to then stand up and admit it was all for fucking nothing.

Speaking of SU, though, the Collector fucking off back "to the stars" at the end gave me similar vibes to Spinel leaving with the Diamonds, though I will give SU the point here. Literally why is the Collector leaving when they've just NOW found a support system and friends? When their powers would be immensely helpful for rebuilding the Boiling Isles? "to the stars" TO SEE WHAT. WHOM. even on my first watch I thought this was fucking lame.

My main issue is that I felt like there was a big Belos-Luz beat missing, especially when their confrontation in the throne room was just him saying "oh you can't beat me." I would have rewritten that line, at least. I needed just a little extra, especially since he ended TTT with telling Luz he's doing this "for the good of [her] soul." I loved the death scene though (he's so mentally ill <3), as well as Arin Hanson's Titansona responding to Luz asking if they're "just as bad" as Belos with "do you smoke crack?"

[iviarellereads]

Harrow the Ninth, Chapter 8

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one!)

(Slashed Fourth House icon)(1) In which we run it back on book 1 again.

Harrow sips tea, overwhelmed at the flavour of it,(2) while Nigenad recites the Ninth House intercession at Canaan House.(3) Teacher asks that the Ninth grace them with the Ninth prayer, and Harrow is furious that she can't remember it. Nigenad, however, steps up and recites it. While he does, Harrow thinks about the constructs, how she hates that they've been dressed as it smacks of whimsy. She was also horrified to realize that the constructs leading them into the atrium were dropping plant matter.(4) As Ortus wraps up, the priests smile, and Harrow realizes that the First and the Ninth are the only Houses that had to learn how to wait for something that will never happen. Teacher fawns over Nigenad, while Harrow hates everything.

This time, when the keyrings are distributed, the Ninth ring comes with a key already on it: a completely uninteresting key with a triangle head and two teeth.(5) Then Teacher tells them about the history of Canaan House and the research facility. It was meant to be the palace for God, in the time before the Lyctors. They were ten disciples, at first, half necromancers. The King Undying kept them alive with his power, but they had to stay close to him for this to work, and they wanted to serve in his name elsewhere. Others took up the position, while some left and became the first cavaliers, or honed the craft of necromancy. He says that this, Canaan House, is where the research took place to discover what would become Lyctorhood.(6)

At this, Abigail Pent exclaims her excitement that the path to Lyctorhood is independent research (one of the kiddos "made a sound like an exhausted balloon squeal"), but Teacher cautions that it is only part of the path. The other part is silence and care. The Sleeper lies in the heart of the facility, and is their greatest threat, "for although they lie in sleep… in that sleep, they walk."(7) The Sleeper cannot die, may not even be wound-able. Their best defence is silence and traveling in groups.

There was no pause here, just a perfect babel: "--isn't how it--"(8) "How much sound is--" "--doesn't make any--" "--what kind of cack-handed--" "I do not know the answers to any of these questions," said Teacher calmly. "Only that, already, you are being too loud."

At this, everyone stops speaking, and even Harrow and Nigenad, who had not started talking, grow more still. At this, Teacher says he's making a joke, they're all perfectly safe up here, on this side of the hatch. Only down in the facility is there danger. However, he adds that he can guide them no further, "this place has changed beyond [his] ken." Still, he wishes them all luck, and constructs lead them away.

As they are escorted to the Ninth accommodations, Nigenad wishes Harrow had chosen someone else. She says there's no changing it now unless he can summon Matthias Nonius, whose service she will only take "if he promises not to speechify." Harrow notices that the constructs are TOO good, they do things that are beyond her ability and thus impossible for anyone of the Nine Houses.(9)

Nigenad asks outright why Harrow chose him. She says there was no one else, and his affect slips. Exasperated, he says "You never did possess an imagination," then he gathers his composure and asks her forgiveness. He says he does not know yet how to die, and he forgets his graces so far from the Locked Tomb. Harrow says to forget about dying, and get on with the task at hand, because the Ninth "should not let our hearts falter or fail regarding some fiendish somnambulist", and if something happens he can simply recite his poetry at it, which should solve any insomnia. Nigenad says Harrow is humorous, and he understands.

The skeleton construct gestured to them both as they made the initial step to follow, and Harrow was struck when it opened its yellow-molared mouth. "Is this how it happens?" it said.(10)

=====

(1) There isn't a specific use of or focus on the Fourth in this chapter, the only remark we get out of one of the teens is a noise. I think this icon is in use because of the Fourth part of the opening poem about the Houses: Four for Fidelity, facing ahead. Also, there's a pattern to the icons: the ones in this side story are all slashed or cracked, depending how you want to interpret the chunk missing. (2) You may recall that Gideon was super into flavour in the previous book, but had never had anything at the Ninth that wasn't bland. I wonder if an oversensitive palate runs in Harrow's family, or if it's just a trait of hers that the whole House accommodated because she's so important to them. (3) Have you found a pattern to Harrow reliving Canaan House in this strange almost retcon way? (4) Imagine growing up in a place with almost no water and nothing green, and seeing someone throw flower petals at a wedding. Horror indeed! (5) This doesn't match any key described in Gideon the Ninth as far as I can find, in case you're wondering. (6) How much of this is truth, how much is fiction in this undefined side story? Certainly, he never mentioned the facility the first time around. Why would Harrow's brain rewrite it this way? Or is this something other than a dream? (7) That is definitely, absolutely, and entirely new. (8) Hmm, now what was that? What isn't how what? (9) We know otherwise, but it's interesting that the skeleton constructs are even more whole and unusual than the ones in Gideon, which were already pretty weird being souls bound to constructs and not simple automata. (10) And here's why I don't mind drawing attention to the sentence in the atrium babel. The Body also said this in the first part of this strange side story: "This isn't how it happens." The reader is absolutely supposed to know this is more than it seems. A construct talking is downright absurd, they don't even have vocal folds! So, if you're reading with me for the first time, what do you think is going on here? Why are things happening differently?

#the locked tomb #tlt #harrow the ninth #htn #harrow the ninth spoilers #htn spoilers #harrowhark nonagesimus #ortus nigenad #teacher (gtn) #abigail pent

[the-cat-at-the-theatre-door]

While I don't mind the Grizabella was a past mate of Deuteronomy/Deuteronomy's child and therefore that kinda explains his connection with her HCs at all, I gotta say there is something...infinitely powerful about a Deuteronomy who has no biological or romantic/familial connection to Grizabella whatsoever, but has so much love in his heart - so much capability for openness, for forgiveness, for acceptance - that he just...does. Just forgives her for whatever it was. Just loves her as his fellow cat. Just listens to her, and opens his arms to her in acceptance. Gives her the same chance as he would any other cat because she *deserves* a chance like any other cat. Point blank.

I don't need a *reason* to forgive you, to love you, to hear you out, to welcome you back, I just *do*.

#i'm sorry but apparently this week has been deuteronomy week #i'm not saying that deuteronomy can't be flawed but i *am* saying that one of those flaws is not hatred - is not holding grudges #for any reason #you know??? #like...these cats are his family all of them #he wants to teach them the power of forgiveness wants them to understand in the end that individuals do deserve second chances #wants to pass this on #so he can't just outright say 'forgive her because i said you should' that's not genuine #he enlists jemima and victoria's help because they represent this idea of letting go of what the future can look like #(and i love it when actors play up this angle) #deuteronomy doesn't know how to pass the message along so he gives it to those who can #who they will listen to and *hear* not just listen to and *obey* #anyways old deuteronomy...good #like i absolutely play around with the former headcanon for sure and have played with other familial connection hcs #but like...to deuteronomy all cats are precious #all are his family #you know that scene in tlk2 where kiara says 'them us. look at them they /are/ us' #'what differences do you see?' #it's like that #extemporize back chat #it's the idea that you can love someone and value their life but without it needing to be romantic or familial #also...giving the quality of unconditional love and forgiveness to a male charcter #when the concept of these sorts of traits is more often reserved for women and female characters and shunned in men #like...gah #honestly there is an argument i can make that deuteronomy was the first to forgive grizabella *unconditionally* #but i will refrain

[zutaraplatter]

Avatar: The Last Airbender Critique

There are already a million of posts like this one, and I might be saying things that’ve already been said a million times but I’ve recently become reheated about the ATLA ending and wanted to let it out -_- No one asked, this is true, and this may or may not be a way to stall from this final project I still have to complete, but here’s 10 things I didn't like and/or would change about the show that likely shouldn’t need changing because they should have been done in the first place.

1. Katara should have apologized to Sokka after TSR

It should have happened and it didn't. In my canon-avoiding mind, Katara and Sokka have a heartfelt conversation where she apologizes for the awful things she said, Sokka says he forgives her and he's sorry if he wasn't as there for her as much as he should have been, which he follows up with "but I'm happy you listened to Aang and took his advice," leading into my next point

2. Katara should have said that not killing Yon Rha was her choice

And thats why it was the right one. Not because Aang already said it was wrong. No no. It was the right choice because that's what she chose. I love my mom to death and can't imagine losing her in any way, let alone the way Katara did. And I can't say for sure that if I was in her shoes that I know what I would have done f that yes I do I would have killed that motherfucker. But I also know that if Katara decided not to kill him, then that was one of two correct choices because they were Katara's choices to make. Not Aang's or anyone else's and this should have been clarified. I know it's a kids show but I said what I said. Next point.

3. Katara should have said more after telling Aang she was unsure at the Ember Island Players

Katara hasn't had any trouble saying how she feels, especially when it comes to helping others and making them feel better, whether she was right or wrong. But she holds back or overly softens blows and seems to even shrivel up at times when it comes to Aang. And me no likey. I had a boyfriend who I adored and admired and just genuinely looked up to. I'm also a shy and anxious person who hates confrontation, but because I loved him, I never refrained from telling him when he was wrong. I might have been a little shaky about it but I did it tho because when you want to be with someone you walk through the grass and stomp through the mud. And I personally feel like either in that moment or later on in an added scene that Katara should have voiced to Aang how unheard and disrespected she felt about his words before TSR and his actions on the balcony. I hate being uncomfortable and my secondhand embarrassment is toxic but I would love to see a scene of this. I always imagined Katara saying stuff like "But I'm not you Aang, and I'm not an Air Nomad," or "Zuko could understand why I needed to go, and I'd hoped you would too," or...I'm out of ideas but you get the idea. And you know what, I know I'm a hard Zutara shipper, but them having this conversation would honestly make me respect their relationship a whole lot more should it be believably written to end on a good note (I don't see how it could be but hey I'm an open minded person and I did think they were cute together once upon a time). Basically, all I'm saying is that Katara is no small voice and she should have been written that way when with Aang. Boyfriends can make you shy but should never make you weak. Period. Next point.

4. No rock! ONLY GROWTH!!!!!!!!!!!

I still squint my eyes whenever I remember that rock that unblocked Aang's chakra. What even was that? The laziest writing possible in my opinion. That's what. And Aang deserved better. What should have happened should have been that Aang started to lose to Ozai. And then as Ozai's about to deliver the finishing blow, Aang has flashbacks of everyone he's trying to save and honor, ending with a very prominent flashback of Katara with the guru's disembodied voice reminding Aang to let go of his attachments to become all he needs to be...then BOOM! Baby boy is back on his feet, chakra unblocked, he kicks Ozai's ass, I'm crying hysterically on the floor, as are the rest of us, and he wins. Then at the end of the series, instead of a kiss, he gives Katara an apology. She accepts, everyone else comes to join them on the balcony, cinematic group hug, camera pan into the sun. I don't know lol. Basically what I'm saying is that Aang did not deserve some deus ex machina. He deserved to grow and become his best self like everyone else got to.

5. Aang should have heard differently in The Storm

Katara is a very fate-minded person and this is when I saw potential for her to become a toxic character in regards to Aang. When he admits that he ran away from home 100 years ago, Katara tells him that that was basically a good thing because he was meant to be here and now. Like...no? What Aang did, though understandable for someone so young, was still wrong. Yes he would have maybe been killed but I'm like 10000000% sure they had a plan to protect and evacuate the literal avatar. And what was technically "meant to be" was a new avatar. But hey, what's done is done and kicking Aang while he's down is a no-no in this household. But that doesn't change the fact that Aang needed and deserved honesty. Maybe the fisherman could have said this, I don't know, but I feel like Aang should have been told by someone that although running away was wrong, it's a blessing he and Appa were able to survive and be able to help save the world now with his amazing friends found-family. Maybe this is too harsh, and maybe even outright wrong, but I felt like Aang deserved a truer answer here to support and comfort him.

6. MAILEE!!!!

Do I even need to go into detail?

7. Spiritual sigh*

Don't make me go into detail -_- I will say though that although Aang and Katara are both amazing individuals capable of earth shattering things, they were not a healthy fit for one another. This is evident in the original series and especially in their children from LOK. They both deserved the best but better than one another.

8. ZUTARAAAAAAA

This is a Zutara blog you KNEW this was coming, as it should. There's just too much. There's too damn much. I would give a real paragraph to this too, but, I mean, there's already so much proving that this was the pair. Fics, metas, rants, this site. Scroll through my blog or any of the ATLA related blogs I follow and...dude. These two were meant to be together and I'll mourn the narrative brilliance WASTED for no good reason every day for the rest of my life. No reason these two shouldn't be married with three kids. sob. I will take this part to say thank you to the amazing fic writers that gave Katara, Zuko, Mai, and Aang what they deserved that the writers didn't have the guts to give them themselves. Next point tho.

9. AANG AND ONJI

Good God almighty. Why not this? WHY NOT THIS? I'm putting on my bullet proof vest and I'm going to say this; Aanji is cuter than Zutara. Now before you scorn me or whatever, let me explain. Zutara for me is like steak. No. Chicken parmesan. I like chicken parmesan better. The point though is that Zutara is savory. You know? I don't see them as cute, I see them as Obviously. Aanji on the other hand is like a bag of my favorite candy. They are like a brownie. A cookie. Girl Scout Samoas!...I don't know what words are anymore. This post got way out of hand. I guess what I'm saying is that for Zutara, I scream, but for Aanji, I squeal. I hope that makes sense. But here's the main point I want to make. Onji never knew who Aang really was. And Aang was always, at his core, himself. She very obviously had a crush on Aang for his personality and that was crazy cute and frankly preferable to Katara's "I...guess he is." (you know exactly what I'm talking about) Anyway, I kept wanting more of them together. I wish all the time that we'd gotten to see her again, with a more fleshed out character and all. And in the way that I imagine the show should have gone, she could have been the perfect love interest for Aang, during this episode or way later, even in the comics! Another WASTED opportunity for greatness and I will, again, never recover T-T

10. Iroh get your ass back here

Maybe this is a misguided critique but I hated that Iroh just left Zuko alone in the fire nation at the end of the series. Baby was in trouble in every sense of the word and Iroh was just like "See ya! You got this nephew." I'm expected to believe that? I'm expected to accept that? No no no. He should have at least stayed for a few years to help Zuko stay upright and, you know, alive. And by "upright" I don't mean "good." I just mean been there to support him because Lord knows he needed it, at least in the beginning of his reign. It was cute that Iroh was able to settle down with his own teashop after all those years of violence and mourning and running and this and that. I was more than happy for him for being able to have that peace finally. But I still think it could have waited a little while longer so he could support Zuko.

That's it I guess. I know not everything I've said makes the most sense in one way or another, but I enjoyed putting it together all the same. Thank you for reading and have a great day. I'll go finish my final now.

(Edited for a typo)

#zutara #katara #aang #aanji #avatar the last airbender #uncle iroh #onji #on ji #Im wasting more time with these tags #avatar the last airbender critique #avatar critique #mai #avatar mai #ty lee #avatar ty lee #tylee #avatar tylee #the southern raiders

[wowsoboring]

Deconstructing Baseless Harry Potter Arguments#2 (i) : Harmione Edition

Obviously I once again do not mean to target all Harmione shippers. I know quite a few who're very good human beings and tolerant and accepting above all. However these aren't. In this case, you might sense quite a bit of levelheadedness in the beginning, however you must not be fooled as it goes south and takes a nasty turn very quickly. Don't get your hopes up, this is some of the worst shit I've ever seen, especially the way in which it progresses through its course. Naturally, for this post I have picked my own style of writing which will match that of those redditors. Reddit is the perfect breeding ground for all these weird cults, honestly. I shall be resorting to a formal language and style of conversation, very much like a debater would to sound as pretentious as these do. These posts are found on the instagram handle toxicharmonyshippers who gather such toxic musings and sayings for Harmione shippers while respecting the ones that are nice.

1)

Oh yes, let's use words like 'vehemently' to sound smart, why not? Of course, this little tidbit of the highly stupendous post seems more or less civil at the start. They also have the common decency to say "some Romione shippers" rather than generalizing all of us. Very nice of you, how very saint like. Let's wait till they drop the act and show us their true colors. Harkening back to the argument, I have but one question for you, "where do you find these people?". Where's the proof? Who are these radical Romione shippers who worship Ron and dislike Hermione? I haven't seen any such shippers and I am surrounded by Romione shippers on tumblr, instagram and fan fiction sites as well and haven't met the people you speak of. Some point out her flaws, yes, but no one hates her or dislikes her that much. I have seen two or three Romione shippers across hundreds and thousands who're skeptical of Hermione's perfection. Skeptical. Not hating, disliking, or anything. Of course, unlike this person, I have evidence: find these pi charts for your referral (clickable): https://imgur.com/a/QfPnQbB

you can, through these, see the amount of Hermione bashing across Harry Potter fanfiction and you can see that even in Romione fanfiction there's more Ron bashing. Hermione-bashing is a non-issue. That's what it is. Regarding the "nagging" statement, where's the lie in that? "Annoying" is somewhat subjective, I personally don't find her annoying at all. Who are these people and how often do you find them? "Mary Sue" is only reserved for Movie!Hermione. I have only seen book fans call her that. No one has ever called Book!Hermione Mary Sue. The movie does paint her as a flawless, all-rounder who's also drop-dead gorgeous. Only things she's bad at are flying and divination, all of which she denounces as useless, even though flying is like biking for wizards, divination, sure, not that important. with a teacher like Trelawney, even I would denounce it as hokum.

2)

Remember what I said about waiting for them to show us their true colors, well here they are. Bask in the glory of their senseless arguments. Why, I am from reddit, heck I have 25 thousand karma points on there, I just left because it was too stupid for me but I can argue like them very well. And in this case I would like to say that these people are under the impression that Ron is just there in the story for the sake of existence. And he doesn't work hard. That argument is of course, wrong. Because Ron (in no particular order):

1) fights a troll when he's 11

2) is willing to sacrifice himself when he's 11

3) stands up for his friends

4) makes sure Harry feels like he belongs in the family

5) worries about Harry and rescues him from literal jail

6) stands up against Draco rather than by-standing and enabling his behavior

7) tries his level best to make sure Norbert the dragon is in safe hands and carries it out, albeit not in perfection

8) is with Harry every step of the way in his confronting the basilisk

9) sends Harry and Hermione long letters and calls them often to check up on them

10) stands up on a bitten leg to defend his best friend

11) always apologizes for any of his mistakes and is forgiving when others wrong him

12) works his way to join the Quidditch team unlike Draco who most certainly bought his way in

13) destroys at least 2 horcruxes

14) finds out how to defeat a horcrux

15) has an excellent enough memory and observation to notice Harry speaking parseltongue and also using it to his benefit which proves he's resourceful

now since I have 8 more such pictures to rebut and I do have a life, I will stop. These aren't even a twelfth of the remarkable things Ron has done though, so rest assured.

oh wait what did you say about him just existing and not working for anything? If I recall correctly, he did just as well as Harry did in school and didn't score well only in subjects he didn't care about. Which is true for most people except for Hermione who has an eidetic memory which not everyone has, understandably. Rote memorization is not the best way to get by in life, by the way.

what are the "so many reasons" behind why Harry is the best fit for Hermione? Kindly share so I can rebut those too, I'm rather free nowadays, my finals have been cancelled. You say there are so many reasons but don't even give one, yet you want me to take you seriously. I'm afraid that's impossible.

Romione shipper here, i don't dislike Hermione. I haven't met or seen many people in the book!romione fandom who dislike Hermione (except for Movie!Hermione). The question of someone you like ending up with someone you dislike doesn't particularly make sense. In Friends, Chandler ends up with Monica: now I'm not the biggest Monica fan (I don't hate her but I don't like her very much either) but they are my favorite couple because they make sense. It's about compatibility and character traits, not liking or disliking because that's just a set-up for a ghastly invitation for people to pair up hideousness. "Oh yeah, I like Harry and I also like Hagrid, they should be together. I mean it would be very very disgusting but that's my logic, now, you can't fight it. "- that's how you sound. Please read what you write. Your logic is just...abysmal. That's all I can say without breaking my resolve and berating you with colorful profanities.

3)

This is without the doubt, the easiest one to rebut. It's a delight to see such terrible arguments at my disposal. Come on, dear Harmione shippers, write something that makes me question my choices, not things that make me scoff in disbelief.

In this case, you're essentially providing us with theories. Unproved theories and speculation of what you believe because you'd say anything you like. Where's the proof of your theory, though? Where is that crazy radical Romione shipper who does this? Kindly show me these people. Oh yes, you wanna say we objectify Hermione and disrespect her and view her as a prize. This aches me, that you believe this. No one has ever insinuated this, ever, in the history of anything. What is this winner-loser theory? How do you round off Harry Potter to "an alpha-male ends up with lead-lady" trope and still say you're a fan of the series? Harry Potter doesn't fit in with that format. Ron, Hermione and Harry are co-heroes. Similar to how there's no main character in Friends or the Heroes of Olympus series or the Avengers. We're not living in the 80s anymore. Hermione will be a hero, invariably whether she ends up with Harry, Ron or no one. She ends up with Ron and that's it. Talking about her like this doesn't make you sound any better either. Now you're calling me a misogynist because I don't support the ship of two people who describe themselves as siblings. That's very mature of you. Well here's the thing- I'm not a misogynist. It's as simple as that. I believe that women are capable of anything and everything. I believe Hermione is an amazing person and she is a hero and a different person. I believe the series would be impossible without her. I believe she is no one's prize. There's no requirement of a prize. I just think, similar to canon and the truth and her romantic interest, she will have a great relationship with Ron. There's nothing complex or deep about it, really. No personal weird-thing, no psychological complex, no internalized misogyny. There's nothing deeper than what I said. I am not sexist. I am a feminist. I am all for women empowerment. I love women with the fabric of my being. I love Hermione. I think she's amazing. You only become sexist when you ship people with unstable power dynamics, a bully-victim relation or something of the sort. Neither Romione, nor Harmione are sexist. Heck if you paired Neville with Hermione you wouldn't be sexist. And I hate talking about this so much, I can't even tell you. This talk does make it sound like I treat Hermione like an object and I assure you I respect her and I normally won't talk like this unless someone just outright calls me sexist for something that's not sexist. And this is that situation.

4)

in the case of Romione, no one is too good for anyone. Both are amazing people who're heroes and have done amazing work. That's all I have to say. There's no league, they are romantically interested in each other. I have no intention on sounding lame, but, in love there is no league. As long as you're not putting in any effort and are extremely lazy and leech off of your partner, there is no such concept and no, Hermione is not "too good" for him. Unless of course you're talking about movie Hermione, who is too good for anyone.

5) (halftime!)

oh yes they try to pull this off and wonder why we hate them. Classic. This person likes to sound british, so let's switch up our language, yeah? At least then I won't be out of my element. Let me correct ya, Ron at his best is an amazing, loyal, friendly, brave, strategic hero. There you have it. Ron and 'git' can't be used in the same sentence. Now if you talk about Ron's achievements, I re-iterate you to point two. If it's too much work, here:

1) fights a troll when he's 11

2) is willing to sacrifice himself when he's 11

3) stands up for his friends

4) makes sure Harry feels like he belongs in the family

5) worries about Harry and rescues him from literal jail

6) stands up against Draco rather than by-standing and enabling his behavior

7) tries his level best to make sure Norbert the dragon is in safe hands and carries it out, albeit not in perfection

8) is with Harry every step of the way in his confronting the basilisk

9) sends Harry and Hermione long letters and calls them often to check up on them

10) stands up on a bitten leg to defend his best friend

11) always apologizes for any of his mistakes and is forgiving when others wrong him

12) works his way to join the Quidditch team unlike Draco who most certainly bought his way in

13) destroys at least 2 horcruxes

14) finds out how to defeat a horcrux

15) has an excellent enough memory and observation to notice Harry speaking parseltongue and also using it to his benefit which proves he's resourceful

hey, see, I like Ron and I took the time to copy-paste this instead of asking you to scroll up. And I'm a lot of bad things but I am not lazy. I stick to my deadlines like Hermione. I start my homework in library class and continue it during phys ed the day its given. And I am not exaggerating. Bloody hell, I wish I was. I'm the ceo of deadlines, mate, don't tempt me! So you can see that Ron is much more than just a "nice bloke". And being a "nice bloke" isn't a bad thing either. He's all the things I said: intuitive, strategic, helpful, loyal and on top of that he's also a nice person. Yes, I do see a bit of myself in Ron. I do. I see the insecure side. I waste my time hating myself and criticizing myself and undermining myself, telling me I'm no good. But Ron overcomes that. He inspires me to appreciate myself. Is that a bad thing? Are you going to shame me for having a low self-esteem? Do you want to worsen my low self-esteem and make me feel more like shit?

Now the person who replied to your comment saying, "he isn't a nice bloke most of time.", he is. He is not being nice twice in a span of 7 years. How often do you act rudely or with jealousy? Wasn't Harry yelling at everyone in caps lock in OOTP. Now I don't condemn him for that because he's a fucking hormonal teenager like me and that would make me a hypocrite, but by your logic why don't you condemn him? Or why not condemn Hermione for saying "I only date good Quidditch players" and shoving canaries at Ron's face because someone else kissed him, while she kept using Krum and Cormac to make him jealous. She wasn't being a nice girl, then, was she? Now, once again, i don't dislike her or hold that against her because guess what, mate, I'm a hormonal teenage girl who gets jealous most of the time and would probably react in a similar fashion in the spur of the moment (Not defending her actions here, just putting myself in her shoes.) In short, Ron is a nice bloke MOST OF THE TIME.

6)

It would be misogynistic to think that. The thing is, NO ONE DOES my dear friend! My dear daft friend. I have never heard anyone say that! why are you so hell-bent on portraying us as misogynists when no one ever says that? Stop assuming. Just stop. You are crossing a limit here, aren't you? Yes you are. You cannot say these sort of things. We never said that or believed that, no one ever said this to be a reason to ship Romione. God what is wrong with you? Literally, stop fucking ASSUMING god damn it! Do you want me to assume things about Harmione shippers? Do you want me to go there? Because I will go there! I will go there the moment you tell me to. Just challenge me.

Ron is not a perfect best boi , the reason why so many of us like him is that he's imperfect and tries to become better through the course of time. You are once again assuming and I am once again asking you to stop.

Ron might be an ordinary wizard. He might be poor, sure, but he's a pure-blood and won't face much if he chose not to fight. But he did. He fought. Now I identify with Ron's attitude a fair bit, but I am also likely to spend my day in a library without noticing. People aren't one dimensional. Stop trying to act like you're a psychologist, i know you're not. I don't even think Hermione's overbearing at all! You just insulted someone you're a big fan of. Jesus.

Both Hermione and Ron are strategic, jealous, passionate, feisty, argumentative, intellectual...

that's like 6 similarities. They aren't polar opposites in the slightest. Their differences are just: workaholic, not workaholic. Nerd, not a nerd. Like that's fucking it, man!

8)

being relaxed doesn't make you less independent or driven. A relaxed and levelheaded Hermione will think through things, not be impulsive, not panic etc. She doesn't need Ron. I don't understand your obsession with acting like we ever insinuated that. Then she doesn't need Harry either lol. Stop shipping her with Harry, then or like shut the fuck up. Being a bit relaxed won't stop her or anyone from hitting great strides. Just don't get relaxed to the point you're lazy and casual about everything, that's it.

9)

What do you mean? Ron is balanced. He does finish his work on time. And even if he does procrastinate, she could also help him not and be more driven. Of course, this is an open invitation for you to call me a sexist bitch because I said that she could help him and now you'll think her goal is to help him become better yada yada yada. Fuck off. Defeating the horcrux taught him enough. He respected her. He remembered about the elves when she didn't. He begged to be tortured instead of her. He wouldn't need it because school work and jobs are different and the same person might perceive those differently. Calmness and relaxation doesn't hinder your potential. Not caring and laziness does. You can't function if you work and are stressed 24/7 with zero breaks. Period.

10)

No i do not want (nor does anyone want) Hermione to become Ron. Being slightly calmer doesn't change up your personality. I'm sure many people dislike those sort of fanfics without a doubt. I hate OOC and I don't want Hermione to lose her intellect with Ron because that makes no sense. Ron himself is intellectual and loves arguing with her. They'd boost each other, more like it.

-------

okay thats it i am exhausted as fuck. thanks for reading, i appreciate it. notes and reblogs are appreciated, this takes work.

#harry potter #romione #harry potter books #harry potter movies #harrypotter #ron weasley #hermione granger #ron #harry #hermione #hp #hp fanfic #fanfic #ron weasley appreciation #ron weasley defence squad #ron weasley deserved better #ron weasley defense squad #toxic harmony #toxic harmione #anti harmione #anti harmony #ron x hermione #hermione x ron

[literatigifs]

Anonymous asked: Unpopular opinion but I really hate in 6x18 when Jess says "you said everything was fixed... you came to Philly alone" I don't think either of those things are her flashing a green light I'm single, especially when the invitation was delivered to the apartment she lives with Logan in. The idea that those things are Rory leading Jess on just feels so misogynistic to me? She doesn't owe him anything and I think the fandom sometimes acts like she does

Yeah, I actually agree with you on this one. Part of the reason why I think that Rory genuinely just wanted to go and see him and Truncheon is because Jess never outright asks if she's single now or not, and yeah, Rory didn't mention Logan and she probably should have, considering her and Jess's track record with unexpected visits, but Jess also never asks? I don't necessarily think that he expected her to come with Logan if they were together, since the last time he saw Logan, they got into an argument, so I'm pretty sure that neither Rory or Jess would want to be subjected to that. But I do think that his point about coming alone to Philadelphia is that she took a longer trip to see him while she was in a relationship with someone else, and even though they're of course friends, the way the trip ended was less than ideal for both of them. Either way though, you're definitely right that those weren't signals that Rory was single, and I think that Jess took a risk of his own kissing her in 6x18, even if she also kissed him back.

But one thing I can also note on in that episode is that even after Jess says that he doesn't deserve being treated like this by Rory, which I don't think it's him saying she "led him on" so much as not really being honest with him about her still being with Logan, to which she obviously agrees with, it's still significant that he says he's not sorry that she came here. Of course their meeting didn't end well, but I think that Jess's "It's what it is." line meant that even when them meeting like this ends badly, which has become a bit of a recurring thing for them, he still accepts it and isn't sorry that she came to see him. I often view it as him basically 'forgiving' her for coming to see him, in the sense that he's probably always going to accept any visit from her, even if it leads to this. It's why I'm always weirded out by people hating on Rory for visiting him this episode or even saying things like "she doesn't deserve him!" when pretty much all of Jess's actions, especially in this episode, make it clear that he would still and always want Rory in his life, even if they can't be together. The issue with a lot of fans of this show is that they sometimes place a lot of attention to Rory's boyfriends than to Rory herself, and even ones that proclaim they love her have no problem blaming her or even faulting her for being badly written in the revival, since she "isn't good enough for Jess now". I've seen this similar kind of attitude from r*gan shippers as well, to the point where some even consider Rory to be some villain in not giving L*gan a reason to leave Odette, as if Logan isn't a 32 year old man who should be more than capable of leading his own independent life? There's always going to be misogyny in fandom spaces because even if it's populated by women, almost all have zero issue with placing more emphasis and love and attention towards male characters than female ones, and since this is a show centered more around women, this often comes to the detriment of Rory. It's also something that I'm never going to understand because if you really love and respect Jess as a character, and not just for what he represents to you, you'd also respect his choice in not being sorry that she came to see him and 'forgiving' her, in a way. Jess is always going to love her even if they're not together, and by the end of it it's made clear that he doesn't outright expect them to be together in order to continue being in each other's lives. The revival even further made this clear, since they reconnect as old friends. Jess loves Rory throughout his entire screentime, so any dumb arguments like "he deserves better" or "he should find someone more like him" are just null-void to me because I simply can't ever imagine him wanting to be in something definite with someone else. And like, I don't think that Jess remained celibate or whatever strictly for Rory, he obviously doesn't have his life put on hold for her. But to me, it's obvious that he's always going to care for her, regardless of where she is in her life or what she does, and that to me is partly what makes their relationship my favorite one.

#anonymous #answered #I'm sorry I didn't answer this sooner I woke up now #also sorry that I swerved into another topic while talking about this #hope this answered your question though

[wrathfulspark]

@dabrowskievolution

          Revenge was more than likely running through Kiki’s mind, and although Stanislav much preferred to mitigate any damage from her volatile passion, he himself understood that word. Revenge. Part of it had been one of the various reasons, an explanation for the vampire’s political title. Being king had nothing to do with it--mostly. Though this was another story, one that Stanislav felt no need to bring up so long as he silently acknowledge his own vendettas had lead him to his current position.

            “More than likely she has confided within her friends. As she should, seeing as they are necessary to providing her with a cushion of safety.” It went without saying that Stanislav wasn’t the best at comforting others, especially with words, and both money and physical affection could only do so much to mend a broken heart. Let alone quell the howling for blood.

           He made a mental note of Tamryn’s knowledge, though he knew better than to approach the High Alpha. She’d never seemed that interested in the wiccan’s affairs, and she carried herself with an articulate mean-streak that reminded Stanislav greatly of a man he used to be. While he knew nothing of Elidi’s exploits, he wouldn’t be one to judge her in the first place.

                Giving a nod of acknowledgement, the vampire felt it to be wise to drop the conversation altogether. They’d bound themselves to their code, and it was Stanislav’s intention to follow it. After the masquerade the vampire would make an effort to attune to Kiki’s feelings, observing her behaviour for any abnormality. 

             “Pardon me, Miss Elidi...but I do not think Kiki has ever spoken of how you two made acquaintance. You needn’t answer of course, but I am interested in what made you so inclined to take Kiki as a student.”

                 

Elidi nodded along in agreement, part of her wondering if having friends by Kiki's side would make a world of difference. For Elidi she was always alone, would outcomes vary if she had had someone by her side at the time? The closest thing she had to a friend and mentor was her former boss, Kisara. The only person Elidi had turned too when she received her new elemental powers. If revenge was something Kiki desired, Elidi couldn't help but wonder how it would affect the younger woman. She adored Kiki immensely, but the few times Elidi has seen her upset or cry, left her thinking Kiki had a weak heart. The witch didn't think she could stomach it. No matter what this horrid man did to her.

His question catches her a little off guard, though she supposes it is to be expected, seeing as she asked Stan one as well, a much heavier one at that. "I met her at the fair, I was stuck managing one of the ring toss booths. She won a prize that night." Her brow arches, a faint chuckle emitting from her, "She asked if I was a witch, and said she wanted a teacher to help her in activating her wand."

She supposed she didn't really have a reasoning as to why she took Kiki on a student, perhaps because she was bold enough to ask so outright? Elidi had never taught anyone before, at least with magic. "She was striking. In a way she is probably unaware of, a childlike candor, innocent almost. I met with her a final time, before I fully agreed to take her on as a student. I wanted to see where her mind stood, I can't have just anyone running around with my magic after all." Her lit gaze lifted up to meet his, "Though I've made it clear if she does anything that displeases me, I'll be swift to reclaim it." Her posture straightened, her head shaking dismissively, "I doubt she'll give me any reason too however."

"She is a quick learner! I need to teach her more spells, I tend to try and cement one in her mind permanently before I move on to another one. Practice until it is perfect. Well, as close to perfect as one can be. Ah forgive me, I feel as if I have rambled on insistently."

Outside from her view of the window, she spots the gentle gust of wind, tossling the leaves of a tree. A faint smile quirked her lips, aware of the emotion that flooded through her, that kicked up the air to run through that greenery, consciously tranquil, in control. Deciding to change the conversation, she flipped through a rolodex of topics in her head, she didn't think he'd discuss Kiki much more anyway.

"How long have you known Garridan? He's mentioned you once or twice." A smile returned to her lips, intrigued to what the vampire king would say, especially since Garridan seemed wary of the older vampire.

#her: ok lets talk about garridan #but watch it cause that is bb #trch: stanislav

[astoria00]

Salem and Cinder's connection is deeper than we think

So, in another post I talked about the possibility of Salem having shared some of her magic with Cinder to keep her alive. Now, I don't want to entirely debunk my other theory, but maybe what Salem shared with Cinder wasn't so much her magic, but a part of her aura/soul. And having a part of someone who is literally immortal attached to them...tends to keep one alive as well.

The show even offers us possible facts that could strengthen this theory. So for the sake of this argument I will go through them chronologically, starting by vol 3 episode 7, our very first Cinder flashback episode.

Besides Cinder's semblance (yes, I still attribute those explosions to her semblance), which resembles Salem's own signil eerily enough on certain occasions and which she could use way before obtaining the Fall Maiden's power, there is a short little dialogue I want to point out:

“The huntsman severed the connection before it was complete.

Yes...it's an emptiness. It burns...like hunger... I like it.

Yes...I will claim what is ours.

Thank you.“

That whole scene was, of course, a black screen scene and for a while I had just assumed Cinder would talk to Salem via a scroll or this seer grimm, but let's be real. Salem doesn't strike me as someone who owns a scroll and Cinder was definitely not talking to Watts or Tyrian here. A seer grimm might be possible, but...it depends on where Cinder was staying at that time and how many of these type of grimm Salem even has. So yes, it's still possible for this to be a one-sided phone call of sorts, but it could also be our first clue for Cinder's and Salem's connection. This whole conversation could have been telepathic...in a sense.

But let's look at another scene. In vol 3 episode 10, we see Emerald, Mercury and Cinder on the rooftop with the latter telling Mercury to focus on the Atleasian knights. When he states he will, Cinder adds this little tidbit.

“Good, continue the broadcast until the end.

(Ground/rooftop shaking)

And do not miss what happens next.“

This is of course referring to the giant grimm dragon breaking from the mountain. Now, Salem could have told Cinder about it and how to get it to emerge, but this shaking could have been anything really. Maybe one of the elephant grimm trampled over a house and it crashed into another, or an explosion caused a little quake in its aftermath. So Cinder knowing exactly what the shaking meant was pretty...specific and well timed.

But it gets even more interesting in vol 3 episode 12 when the grimm dragon first lands on Beacon tower:

“Shh...this is your home now.“

Now, first of all, the dragon seems to know exactly where it has to go. It could be beacuse Salem ordered it to...but why would it look so grimmly at Cinder then, when he first spots her? Why would Cinder need to calm it down? And more importantly, Cinder CAN calm it down! Sure, she could have just said it because she felt like it, or she thought it could help, but the dragon literally reacted to her words, its growl even softened somewhat. And who else have we seen talking to grimm like this? Salem!

So what does all of this have to do with Cinder and Salem's soulbound connection? Well...let's first try to find out HOW they talk to grimm.

In all honesty, I haven't seen other people in Remnant who attempted to talk to grimm, nor were they mentioned (well maybe Merlot did, but we're not counting him XD). And how would they even understand one? They are soulless creatures, but...they are drawn to negative emotions. Which means they have a 'higher' empathic sense of sorts. We also know they are somewhat intelligent. So maybe Salem is able to communicate with them via that sense. Yes, we have seen her directly talk to some of them, but talking helps us visualize or feel certain things, so this might have been for her own or Cinder's benefit. And we should also keep in mind that the seer grimm gave his report...via his clicking noises...so...the trick behind that 'language' could be interpreting certain feelings and pictures that are send via that sense.

We haven't seen Ozpin being able to do the same, so it could be an ability Salem aquired after jumping into the fountain of the god of darkness.

Now, if Cinder is being able to communicate with grimm as well and Salem is the only other being in Remnant who is known to have this ability, it certainly could allude that it got shared when Salem attached a part of her soul to Cinder.

Also, if we look further at her fight with Pyrrha, the grimm dragon tries to help her somewhat and not once did Cinder look surprised by that. Not when it suddwnly flew away, nor when it changed its course to speed up back at them to crash into the dome of the tower.

So why did I talk about how communication with a grimm might work? Because I believe Cinder and Salem to be able to communicate on the same level, via that empathic sense.

But let's take a look at vol 4 where we actually see both of them interacting.

We have vol 4 episode 3 where Salem gives Cinder a 'control your new arm' lesson. What exactly is she saying there again?

“Do you feel it?

Don't fight it, girl.

It can sense your trepidation.

You must make it dread you!“

Trepidation...alright... How do you know that, Salem? Cinder doesn't look frightened at that scene at all, a bit uncomfortable and probably in pain, but I wouldn't have said she was afraid. So not only 'it' was able to sense Cinder's trepidation, Salem could as well it seemed. And if we watch a bit longer we get the whole :

“Did you kill Ozpin?“

A question Cinder has to answer all by herself, even though she clearly can't really talk at the moment. And why was that important for Salem? Because Cinder literally wouldn't be able to lie to Salem's face if they're in fact connected like this and it would also explain why Salem looked so pleased after she gets her answer. She doesn't question it, she simply believes her when she says yes. Furthermore, there is this moment where Salem raises her voice and slams her hands on the table...but Cinder doesn't even flinch, as if she already felt something like this would happen.

Speaking about lies. In vol 4 episode 11 we have another instance of...interesting phrasing from Salem:

“Enough!

I thought you were the girl that wanted power.

Did you lie to me?

Then stop holding back!“

Stop holding back? Well, to me it certainly looked like Cinder gave it her all, no holding back, just being tired because she clearly pushed herself very hard, so I ask again...how did Salem know that? She would only be able to make that point if she either already witnessed Cinder handling her powers and knows she can do better, which didn't seem to be the case with how frustrated Cinder got at the end, or like with her trepidation in ep 3, Salem was just able to feel it. Something else that stood out to me in that scene was Cinder's reaction to Salem's: Did you lie to me? She flinches. Not when Salem says it's 'Enough', not when she throws Cinder's desire for power back at her, no, she flinches when she is accused of lying. And if we go with their connection theory...she literally wouldn't be able to pull that off, because Salem would know it immediately...somewhat like a lie detector. So Salem asking her this, was kinda a dig at her that she couldn't.

If we keep focusing on Cinder here when Tyrian comes back and begs for forgiveness, she only looks at him for maybe a split second, before her attention is solely on Salem again. And Cinder seems to look almost uneasy....lost of sorts? But why would she? Tyrian is the one getting focused on by Salem for now. He is the one in trouble. So could it be, that Cinder actually picks up on Salem's 'emotions' again, as she may have in ep 3? If they do have this bond, then it probably goes both ways. So Cinder might get some puzzling or worrisome readings from Salem in that scene, and we know from vol 6 just how much Salem can repress her anger...well until she doesn't, but still XD

Another scene that might strengthen this theory happens in vol 5 episode 2, when Lionheart tells his report to Salem. After she gives her orders to all of them and ends the 'call' she immediately looks over to Cinder, as if she knows right away that something is troubling her.

“You are free to speak your mind.“

She even sounds somewhat amused and as we have already seen, this isn't the first time Salem is awefully intuned to Cinder's feelings.

There are a few other small things that I have found throughout the series, but these are the most interesting ones I think, so let me talk about how I even got this idea in the first place and let's jump straight into vol 6 now.

After we got our first episode with Cinder it was clear that she had woken up a month after the attack at Haven. And she immediately seemed to know what to do. Sure, a lot of people were saying she couldn't very well go back to Salem empty handed, and although I'm not really agreeing with that, even if that is the truth, what stops Cinder to contact Hazel and get where Ruby and co. are from him? Or Emerald and Mercury? What stops her from reaching out to them? Her scroll seems to work just fine. Is she aware of Salem wanting her to “toil in her isolation“?

When we got episode 4, Salem is indeed aware of Cinder being alive. A lot of people seem to believe the reason for that is Cinder's grimm arm. Personally I don't agree with that. Yes, Salem is the master of all grimm and can control them, but firstly, we don't know how much at once and at what length she can do that. Secondly, she probably is not able to connect to a soulless creature, not even mentioning having the ability to keep tabs on them. 'Talking' and controlling them? Sure. But being outright able to feel when one of them evaporates? That would mean she would be able to keep tabs on all the grimm over the world...and I don't think that's the case.

So Salem attaching a part of her own aura/soul to the girl she definitely needs to survive against all odds and keep somewhat control over her, does sound plausible to me. It would certainly explain her leniency towards the Fall Maiden and why she is not even questioning her loyalty once. It is hard to betray someone who you're directly tied to after all.

But then again, that's just me theorizing again. I could be proven wrong next episode, but hey, analyzing these things is fun XD

#cinder fall #rwby spoilers #rwby theories #salem rwby #rwby volume 6 spoilers #just my theories #i need a new au for this #salem's one scary mom xd #that's some way to monitor your fire daughter xd #team firefly

[punkscowardschampions]

Ali & Ro

Ali: what's wrong Ro: What do you mean? There's nothing wrong Ro: I'm fine, thank you Ali: why aren't you talking to us then Ro: We are talking Ro: As for her, I have no idea who she is, so forgiven me for being hesitant Ali: She goes to School with us Ali: has done for like Ali: ever Ro: Well, I've never seen her before Ali: now's the perfect chance to meet her then Ro: When she's taken god knows what, I don't think so Ali: whatever she's taken doesn't impair your ability to be courteous, does it Ali: she was being perfectly nice to you and you were quite rude, frankly Ro: Telling me how pretty I am isn't nice, it's superficial Ali: you don't lose humility points by accepting compliments, come on Ali: if anything, what did Shakespeare say about protesting too much Ro: If anything, I lose credibility for accepting compliments that are clearly that false Ro: Particularly from someone who won't remember the interaction tomorrow Ali: How is that clear Ali: at all Ro: No girls are that nice, not to me Ro: Whatever she's setting me up for, I wish for no part in Ali: not to her either, if you cast your mind back, I'm sure you'll recall her name and the bitchery attached if nothing else Ali: that's just how she is, or how high people are, if you'd prefer Ali: it's genuine Ro: Oh, that's who she is. Now it makes sense why you've taken her under your protective wing for the day Ali: excuse me? Ro: You are very much a patron saint of lost causes at times, dear sister Ro: It's genuinely to be applauded Ro: I can do that from afar though Ali: Can you? Ali: because you're doing a poor job if you claim you are currently Ro: All I'm claiming at the moment is that the spectacle of the two of you is a little much to witness in such close quarters Ali: we're enjoying the BBQ Ali: it is meant to be a party Ro: It's a family BBQ, there's very little cause or need for celebration attached Ali: that might be how you wanna do it Ali: but not me Ro: Clearly Ro: It's very apparent you wish to have your cake & eat it, regardless of whether or not you leave the grill well enough alone Ali: I'm not sure you're very sure of anything right now Ali: least of all what you think of me and my intentions Ali: just ask me Ali: or say what you mean, at the very least Ro: I'm sure I don't see your girlfriend here, and yet, I somehow I almost do Ro: The next at the very least Ali: For one, Carly is straight Ali: and for two, I'm not going to make you break up with her for me, even if I was, so there's no need to concern yourself with that Ro: I'm not sure you're very sure of her of her or her intentions, Ali Ali: I take people at face value Ali: for better or worse Ali: I'm not forcing you to do the same but surface level is a little beneath all of us, no? Ro: Is she not a little beneath you? Ali: no Ali: who is Ali: what do you even mean by that Ro: Would you or would you not be in this vastly inappropriate state right now if she was not here Ro: She's bad news is what I therefore mean Ali: I'm high, I'm not Ali: shouting racial slurs or denying the holocaust, Lord Ali: and I've been high, plenty of times Ali: a second ago you didn't know her now you're certain she's bad news Ro: I know what everyone says about her Ro: That she doesn't deny any of it, quite the opposite Ali: so? Ali: like you said, everyone says things about you too Ali: doesn't make it right, even if any of it's true Ro: I'm not proud of being scapegoated, she obviously revels in her reputation, true or otherwise Ro: Is that how you want to be now? Ali: so she should revel in shame instead? Ali: maybe it's how she deals with it, I don't suppose to know Ali: but I don't suppose to say either of you is right or wrong, either so Ro: I'm not saying she's wrong, I'm not saying anything Ali: you don't need to Ali: I know you Ro: If you knew me even slightly you wouldn't be asking me to socialise with her Ali: I'm not asking you to be her best friend, or to even say much of anything at all Ali: just not be outright rude to her when she was polite to you Ali: shy or not, there's no need Ro: I don't know how to respond to that, is all Ro: you wouldn't take it so personally if you weren't so invested in this girl all of a sudden Ali: yes I would Ali: you being rude to any of my friends Ali: or guests, frankly, as I said, no need Ali: even if you have to resort to an awkward laugh and a thanks, your reply doesn't have to match in sincerity Ro: Knowing me, as you claim, you'd be aware that I was not rude in the slightest Ro: Walking away when you have nothing nice to say is in fact the polite approach, supposedly Ali: so now I don't know you? Ali: this is just silly Ali: but fine, if that's how you'd like it, I'll take a leaf from your book Ro: You're in a silly mood & not one that I'm here to entertain, that, indeed, is what your guest is for Ali: A silly mood Ali: Patronizing, for a start Ro: Well, again, you'll have to forgive me because that is how Tess is choosing to behave towards me in light of your every action and the frustrations for her therein Ro: You get to do as you please & I have to wage war over quantities of salad that have or have not touched my plate & so Ro: Here we find ourselves Ro: On opposite sides of this party Ali: I suddenly have control over her Ali: she'd pull you up on that regardless, you know she would Ali: perhaps more politely or gently but seems tempers are flaring as hot as the weather calls for Ro: You have control over yourself, or would, if you were not intoxicated by & with your guest Ro: & I would have someone to distract me from the torment if you remembered that I'm also on the list of invited people Ali: you don't know what I'm on, even, nor the effects Ali: again, if you'd have just asked me, I'd tell you Ali: I can't very well leave her alone as soon as we arrive Ali: especially when everyone is being as unwelcoming as possible Ro: You can very well leave me alone & yet still expect me to be welcoming Ali: I've not left you alone Ali: I was trying to talk to you Ro: You were trying to get me to talk to her, it's entirely different Ali: again, what am I going to do Ali: tell her to go away for a second whilst we have a private conversation Ali: we have all the time for that Ro: You invited her, you could have not, or warned me that you were Ali: okay, I could have told you, I accept that Ali: I didn't see it being the issue it is but fair Ro: I accept that I was abrupt & could've made her uncomfortable, in spite of it not being my intention Ali: okay Ali: that's fine then Ro: I'll resolve to try harder when I'm not in as much of a trying situation as this Ali: alright Ali: do you want me to talk to mum Ro: No Ro: I want her to stop talking about me like I'm being a problem Ali: I know Ali: that just makes her think she can solve it Ali: if she puts it like that Ali: it's a her thing Ro: Why am I even a topic of conversation, aside from not having one with Carly I've done nothing wrong Ali: they just worry Ali: that's their job Ali: has to be about something Ro: She has plenty of actual things to worry about or real problems to solve Ali: well you know Ali: glutton for punishment or whatever Ro: Well, she should go be a glutton for burgers before the flies are Ali: 😂 Ali: very true Ali: and good idea Ro: My IQ may not match yours point for point but it's sufficient enough for a 💡 or two Ro: On occasion Ali: 😏 okay okay Ro: Even when my enthusiasm has dimmed because Tess is trying to fatten me up for the new school year Ali: it is autumn term Ali: anyway Ali: amount of celery in it there's like, no gain Ro: Anyway, there are no such thing as negative calorie foods Ro: Celery still has 10 per stick Ali: yeah but burn that off by giving mum dirty looks whilst nomming Ali: easy Ro: if you could burn calories with looks she'd be a lot thinner Ali: savage Ro: & Bea would be invisible Ro: Alas, she can very much be seen Ali: not for much longer Ro: Mysterious Ali: not really Ali: uni beckons Ro: She'll still have to show herself, he's here Ali: of course Ali: wouldn't be surprised if he ends up there though Ro: Very little would surprise me when it comes to the two of them Ro: if they actually parted ways for good perhaps Ali: seriously Ro: Cathy & Heathcliff wish they were that intense Ali: what actually constitutes a moor Ali: have to check Ro: Typically, uncultivated hill land Ali: Hmm, reckon we're safe then Ali: technically moutains so Ro: & there are no low lying wetlands either which also constitute moors in the south of England Ali: is where she's going so Ali: cracked it Ali: not about the prestige at all Ro: If she packs a flowing nightdress it's proven Ali: I'll get her one Ali: going away present Ro: I'll embroider something fitting on it, just give me enough time Ali: but of course Ro: I'm sure it'll be extremely appreciated Ali: 'bout all I can afford, sadly Ali: have to get a sugar daddy herself Ro: You could always regift her the work itself, we have a copy that doesn't have too much marginalia as yet, that's free Ali: you should Ali: it's a good idea Ro: Potentially Ro: There are lots of other books I could add too, as applicable in their own ways Ali: quite how she's taking all the stuff she has as is Ali: da will probably have to drive Ro: She'll probably become a minimalist just before Ro: Take almost nothing Ali: with all those clothes? Ali: good luck Ro: Capsule wardrobes are very on trend, apparently Ro: Especially for students Ali: I'll have to Ali: though I'll miss the dressing up cupboard 💔 Ro: You don't have to take shoes, that'll leave room for costumes Ali: 💡 #2 Ro: Just believe, all you have to do Ali: 🙏 Ro: 🌠 Ali: [the fraze stuff happens] Ali: I'll see you later Ali: gonna party on Ro: Oh okay Ro: With or without your friend and brother? Ali: I highly doubt he's going anywhere without Bea's say-so Ro: Is she going to follow you or her wandering eye? Ali: I don't know Ali: she's got the deets Ro: & that's fine with you Ali: Not her keeper, like Ali: no doubt any of 'em will take great delight kicking her out if she don't go of her own freewill Ro: You don't think it's odd that you consider me rude for refusing to engage in conversation but not her for flirting with your brother right in front of you when you've been flirting with each other since you arrived Ro: & goodness knows how long before that Ali: I consider it rude to Bea, at best Ali: just embarrassing for me, and the rest of us Ro: I told you, she's got no shame, you'll need to take a leaf from that same book if you're going to be friends, I think Ali: let's not Ro: Fine, but it's not me you're mad at, let's not pretend that you don't need to address this with her Ali: I'm not mad either Ali: it is what it is Ali: I don't know what you propose I should do Ali: or should want to do, even Ro: It's obvious what you want to do Ali: is it Ro: Yes Ro: To you & the rest of us Ali: It just makes me sad, if anything Ro: You're allowed to be sad that she's not immune to Fraze's charms Ro: We were all hoping for better from her Ali: very droll Ro: Very accurate Ro: I thought she only had her head turned by travelers Ali: it's not that deep, babe Ro: I did say head turned, not heart stolen Ali: like I said, not a big deal Ro: If that's true, why are you sad? Ali: I'm sad FOR her Ali: not because of Ali: that she feels the need to do these things, and would continue without any indication that she should Ro: Earlier you didn't suppose to know how she feels, now you do? Ali: I'm not that dense Ali: can continue to think it's a joke though Ali: I don't care Ro: You can't have it both ways, either it's 'not that deep' & she's free to emerge relatively unscathed as are you, or it is, & it needs to be addressed Ali: Jesus Ali: you don't get it Ali: it's not that deep like Ali: if it wasn't Fraze it'd be someone, anyone else Ali: he's irrelevant to the equation, she's not picked him to be malicious or some shit like that Ro: I understood that perfectly well Ro: & either you're both fine with that or you aren't Ro: Which is it to be Ali: just because it is doesn't mean anyone has to be fine with it Ali: never said that Ali: that's not how life works Ro: if you like her, tell her Ro: that's how life works Ali: it really isn't Ro: Yes it is Ro: pick up a book, turn on the TV, look around Ali: that's not real Ro: Every relationship started with a confession Ro: There's nothing more real Ali: just stop Ro: She'll do it for you eventually, if you're willing to wait & pine Ali: when have I ever pined Ali: you're just being stupid now Ro: Exactly my point, why start now Ali: you were giving me plenty of reasons earlier Ali: I have a girlfriend, she's straight, main two Ro: She clearly likes you too, however she identifies Ali: it isn't that simple Ro: You're making it complicated Ro: before you're even spoken to her Ali: no, I've spoken to her Ali: it was you that hasn't Ro: Oh okay & she said she wasn't interested in you romantically Ali: yeah Ro: Fine Ro: Because you've got a girlfriend or because she prefers boys Ali: because she likes boys, only Ro: Perhaps she's just a tactile person and genuinely very complimentary Ro: But that sounds way less real than anything I said that you disbelieved Ali: I dunno, okay Ali: why are you suddenly so for it though? Ro: Why wouldn't I want you to be happy? Ro: That's rude Ali: isn't she gonna drag me down Ro: I've never made any secret of how I feel about anyone you've chosen to date thus far, just because my feelings are negative towards them doesn't mean yours are Ro: Or should be Ali: neither have I Ali: Carly's going out with Ronan, you know Ro: I doubt she's going out with him Ro: not in any committed way Ali: why Ali: you know exactly how committed he can be Ro: She wouldn't be flirting with you or Fraze if she felt similarly Ali: maybe they're chill like that Ali: can't all be Bea and Fraze Ro: Change committed to traditional in that instance Ali: don't blame them Ro: Of course you wouldn't, if their relationship is open, you have your opportunity to be with her back Ali: charming Ali: I'm not that scheming Ro: I'm not sure your absent girlfriend would agree but I'm not saying that you are Ali: what are you accusing me of on her behalf then, like Ro: I'm not accusing you of anything Ali: 👍 Ro: It's Carly's motives you should be careful of Ro: If you're so certain she's not interested, well, she's definitely enjoying your attention Ali: it's no effort for me Ali: she can have it Ro: Until it makes you sad Ali: it won't Ali: no more than I can handle Ali: don't worry Ro: That's impossible, telling me not to worry is like telling the stars not to come out or trying to change the tides Ali: well Ali: I know that Ali: but you don't need to worry about me, yeah Ali: like you said, more important, real things, yeah? Ro: it is real, I saw it Ro: & you're my favourite person to worry about, on account of being my favourite person that exists beyond the pages of a book Ali: 💚💚💚 Ali: I'll come for Hermione etc crown one day Ro: You'll need strong magic Ali: I know you're never doubting my magik Ro: I like to hope nothing's changed that much Ro: but the moon's not that forthcoming when I ask her about it Ro: The cards do tell me not to doubt you however, you'll be glad to know Ali: it hasn't Ali: good Ali: I'll be asking plenty questions of my own Ali: once I'm back Ro: I'm wishing on everything there is to make them on, with fingers of course crossed, toes too Ro: You should Ro: They've cleared a lot up for me so far this summer Ali: they always bring clarity, even if not obvious at first, or the desired clarity Ro: You remember that, it's a good start Ro: Perhaps you are still in there Ali: come on Posy Ali: I've not gone anywhere Ro: You have undeniably left, the where of which is unknown to me yet Ali: only literally Ali: physically Ali: just going to a house party Ro: No, it's as true figuratively, emotionally etc Ro: The distance exists and is only widening Ali: don't say that Ro: It's happening whether I speak it aloud or not Ali: only if we let it Ali: which I won't Ro: So I'll see you tomorrow Ro: that's a promise Ali: of course Ali: 'less you're planning to pack your bag and run off into the night Ali: need t discuss who's books, clothes, everything, is whose so you can't really Ro: Not unless I can also capture a star to use as a sufficiently bright torch Ali: wait 'til sunrise, sensible Ali: Rocky's probably gonna be jumping on mum and dad's heads but don't mean they'll notice anything Ro: After yoga, of course, I have a schedule whether or not running away has been penciled in does not necessarily mean it's prioritised above all Ali: again, so sensible Ro: It is me you're speaking to Ro: wise beyond her years or precocious, if you'd rather & it's not too late for that to still apply Ali: 😂 Ro: Well goodnight, if I'm to get up with the rising of the sun for my great escape, I'd better rest a while Ali: Oíche mhaith, codladh sámh 💚 Ro: Tú grá geal mo chroí 💞 Ro: be careful tonight Ali: 🤞

[so-caffeinated]

for the amelian prompt- jules meeting amelia for the first time! can't wait to see how jules reacts to will being so smitten with someone else :)

I used a random number generator to pick a prompt and this is the one that won. Incidentally, it’s almost identical to another one I got! Obviously, nothing is proofread. This takes place immediately after an upcoming one-shot, so… exceedingly minor spoilers for that. Let’s do this thing! (Writing time was an hour and fifteen minutes) cc: @dust2dust34​ …

June 2036

Amelia’s hotel isn’t far from the restaurant the girls had picked for brunch. That had been by design. She remembers college and she knows full well how many mimosas the three of them can put away when they get chatting. And they had. There’d been laughter and good-natured ribbing and innuendo and a whole lot of spiked orange juice. 

But there had also been something incredibly sobering about the brunch that leaves her half wishing she’d downed a few more glasses and half wishing she’d had one fewer. Her head is foggy right now and she wouldn’t mind either a full on giggly buzz or outright sobriety, but this halfway point is just annoying. 

Starling City’s weather is gorgeous, though. Crisper than she’s used to for June, but that’s global warming for you, and the bright sunshine makes for a fabulous excuse to don her sunglasses and take her time lingering outside. In spite of the fact that she’s not originally from Starling, that she’d only moved here for a job after college - for the job after college - when she sucks in a deep breath of air it smells like home. It doesn’t make sense, but there it is anyhow. Central City has been good to her… very good. Her job, her boyfriend, her life is exactly what she’d wanted. 

But part of her is here. Part of her wants to be at this restaurant every weekend with Celeste and Maggie. Part of her wants a tiny, one-bedroom flat to herself in the trendier part of the arts district. Part of her wants… well, part of her wants something else entire. Another city, another life. 

It’s childish. 

That’s what she decided years ago.

Life is short - life can be so short - and if you sit idly by then all your goals for it will slip right through your fingers. She’s making a difference in Central City. Her work is invaluable. She has a real impact on policy, on people’s lives. She doesn’t have time to entertain ‘what ifs,’ to linger on silly yearnings that can’t go anywhere.

“What the hell makes you so special?”

Amelia jumps at the voice, turning to find one very skeptical looking dark-haired girl leaning against the outside of the restaurant, scrutinizing Amelia like she’s been put under a microscope and she can’t quite figure out what she’s seeing.

“Excuse me?” Amelia asks. Her voice is uneasy and defensive. She’s not prepared for this conversation in any way. 

But then, she thinks Julianna Queen might relish it all the more for that.

The younger girl pushes off the wall and saunters forward, all lithe grace and confidence that Amelia absolutely does not feel in this moment. She’d look dainty if not for the black leather biker jacket and combat boots and her matching unaffected expression. But Amelia suspects that’s an act, an affect put on for the sake of her image. 

She’d know. She does the same professionally on a regular basis. 

“You,” Jules says again, folding one arm in front of herself and resting the elbow of her other on her hand as she worries her fingers together like she’s trying to physically sort things out. Amelia’s seen her father do much the same thing while working. “What is it about you that has my brother tied up in knots.”

Thank god for sunglasses, but Amelia can’t credit the mimosas for the sudden color in her cheeks.   

“Maybe you should ask him that,” she replies. It’s clipped, uneasy, and Amelia can feel her spine stiffening at the sense of an impending conflict.

“I think he’s put up with enough shit without me quizzing him about why he’s still mooning after you like an eon after one dance,” Jules scoffs.

“A year,” Amelia responds without even thinking about it. She could kick herself when she realizes what she’s said. She suspects that Julianna Queen is not the sort of person you expose your vulnerabilities to, but it’s too late now. “It’s been a year since we danced, not an eon,” she clarifies. 

Jules cocks her head to the side and looks Amelia up and down like she’s trying to figure out if she’s something she needs to scrape off the bottom of her boot or not.

“A year,” she allows a moment later. “Have you even seen him since then?”

Amelia swallows hard and looks out to the street. Cars hurry by like ants, unaware and going about their business, life on a mission. There’s no one on their side of the street, but there are plenty of people going in and out of the mom-and-pop coffee shop across the way. It’s the stuff of daily life, the ins and outs of a city’s lifeblood. It’s routine. But her moment right now is not. 

“No,” she answers. She doesn’t have to, she knows that, but for all her familiarity with the Queen men, she knows very little of the Queen women besides Moira. 

“And a year later he still looks at you like you’re the only person in the room,” Jules points out. There’s no missing the annoyance in her voice and Amelia can’t deny the truth behind her words, inconvenient though they might be. “And you sit there looking right back at him exactly the same way. Seems to me like the two of you are still dancing.”

God, there’s a thought. Amelia’s head swims at that memory - or maybe the mimosas - and the breath she lets out is a shuddering exhale before looking back to meet Jules’ gaze. 

“Your brother is a fantastic guy,” she allows.

“But, what? Not good enough for you?” Jules challenges. 

“What?” Amelia asks. It comes out on a disbelieving laugh. “What are you even talking ab-”

“You,” Jules announces angrily. “You with your high-powered job and important life. Just because he’s a firefighter instead of a doctor or a senator or something. Just because he’s a bastard. You think you’re so high and mighty. So much better than-”

“He doesn’t think that, does he?” Amelia cuts off. She doesn’t give a damn what accusations are being thrown at her, doesn’t care in the least what Jules Queen thinks about her. She doesn’t owe her any explanations. But, God, if that’s what Will thinks. If that’s what he believes, what he has believed for years, she’s not sure how she’ll forgive herself. 

But Jules doesn’t answer directly. Not right away. 

“My brother is better than all of us. He’s the best man I’ve ever met.”

“I know that,” Amelia blurts out. It’s painfully, gut-wrenchingly honest. But, God, she does know that. She’s seen it. His devotion to his family, to his job. His commitment as a brother, as a son. She’s seen it. She’s heard about it for years. Little Nate had rambled on about him all summer as he’d poured coffee around city hall years ago. Aside from his… varied romantic history splashing across the tabloids, she’d also seen much of his dedication to his siblings, his coworkers, his city written out in black and white - complete with an accompanying photo of him in uniform, covered in soot and carrying an infant out of a burning building. 

If you want to talk about good men… Will Queen is prime, always has been.

“I’m not… I know I’m not better than him,” Amelia continues, licking her lips. “I’ve never thought that. Not once.”

“Then what the hell are you doing?” Jules asks. “Why the hell are you still dancing?”

She can remember actually dancing with him, can still smell the hint of his cologne, feel the heat of his palm against her back, remember the rush of his breath as he exhaled her name out against her cheek. She dreams about it sometimes. Waking up is always brutal those nights and her boyfriend’s warm embrace is far from what she wants in the quiet, honest cover of night. 

“Dancing is wonderful,” Amelia admits aloud. “It’s fun and it’s… it’s a fantastic escape, but it’s not life.”

“Funny,” Jules says, folding her arms in front of her. “It’s my career, actually.”

Amelia thinks she’d known that, but she’s not certain and she nods her head allowing the other girl’s point. “It’s not my life,” she clarifies. 

“Because your life is all big important things without any art in them? Without any joy or expression?” Jules snorts. 

“I get a lot of joy out of my work,” Amelia bristles. 

“No,” Jules sighs. It’s a pitying noise. “I don’t think you do. I think you get satisfaction and it’s been so long since you’ve had joy instead that you’ve forgotten the difference.”

“You don’t know me,” Amelia tells her angrily - correctly. 

“Sure I do,” Jules scoffs. “I know you very well. You’re… pedestrian. You’re a person who hits the same coffee shop at the same time every day and hurries to be at their desk an hour early. You leave late and take papers home to work on at night. You probably haven’t taken a vacation since you started your job. You screw your boyfriend like clockwork twice a week just because it’s been a few days and you feel like you’re supposed to-”

“Excuse me”

“-You aren’t exceptional, Amelia. You’re ordinary. And worse, you like it that way. You’re nowhere near good enough for my brother, so quit dancing with him. He deserves better.”

Jules turns to leave at that, content to have the last word. Amelia will never know what it is that makes her speak up, but she knows she can’t allow this to stand. 

“You’re jealous,” she announces. It’s too loud, too sharp, and the incredulous look on Jules’ face when she turns around feels very, very dangerous. 

“You want to say that again?” she asks slowly.

“You are,” Amelia tells her, doubling down and pushing her sunglasses atop her head. “You’re so used to being the most important person in his world and you know I’m a threat to that. Because he does look at me and it’s like nothing exists but us, for an instant, not even you. Because you see us together and you know it could be so much more than just this, you know it could last, could be something real.”

Jules shakes her head, eyes wide and disbelieving as she runs her tongue along her teeth and takes a step closer until their toe-to-toe.

“Oh yeah?” she questions, looking up at Amelia.

“Yes,” Amelia replies firmly. 

“Fine,” Jules acknowledges, raising an eyebrow. “Then prove it.”

This time, when she turns to go, Amelia lets her have the last word. She’s not sure what she could possibly say to that anyhow.

#ficon #ameliam #ficlet #jules queen #amelia prescott #prompt response #flashfic friday