#some of these are snippets of my essay i wrote on the two in a fit of rage after seeing tigerheartstar fans attack harestar fans

[hadescabin]

TW// GROOMING, MANIPULATION breaking down tigerheartstar and dovewing and why i think its awful ik I said that I dont really like warrior cats anymore but recently i've been thinking about some stuff regarding the series and its fandom and there's one thing that's been particularly bothering me. dovewing and tigerheart. it's just crazy to see the shift of support for tigerdove considering early 2010s warriors fandom seemed mixed on them. now there seems to be this equivocal support for them, probably because most of the fandom's exposure to the couple has been the recent books which frames them as man who loves his wife x burnt out prophecy kid who will do anything for her malewife. which theres nothing wrong with that dynamic, i think it's cute, but people really seem to forget about how tigerheart straight up groomed and treated dovewing awfully throughout oots and even in tigerheart's shadow. it seems to be a forgotten fact that tigerheart was a full grown warrior by the time he was pursuing dovepaw, who was a newly made apprentice. for perspective, this was a 6-7 moon teenager with someone almost the age of her mentor (a little younger). people try to use the excuse "oh but they're cats" and "the age gap isnt that bad" but even the recent books acknowledge with frostpaw and splashtail, that a warrior and apprentice dating is WEIRD. tbf oots was released in the early 2000s, but the fact that canonically speaking the age gap is seen as a teenager and adult relationship gives me the ick. it really puzzles me to see people get on ships like dustfern and bramblesquirrel (both of which i hate btw) for their age gaps but come up with every excuse in the books to defend tigerdove. its not even just the age gap too, again, their relationship has consisted of tigerheart manipulating and grooming dovepaw to do what he wants. in the first two books (esp the second book of oots) dovepaw is presented as someone who got attached to the cats from the journey and doesnt necessarily understand why they must act like they shouldnt exist anymore due to the borders. this is something that tigerheart LEARNS and actively takes advantage of when dovepaw questions why hes at their borders (tldr its dark forest stuff). he shifts the topic and then goes on about the journey and how he felt that they almost became friends, and that if they were in the same clan things would be easier. this may not seem like a big deal, but this goes on for the rest of their interactions whenever tiger needs to pressure her to do something she doesnt want (meeting up, trusting him, etc.) He realizes that the subject of different borders resonates with her and uses it to his advantage whenever he wants something out of her. This can especially be seen in the next book, “Night Whispers”, which kickstarted their relationship. Dovepaw accidentally ran into ShadowClan territory while hunting, and Tigerheart happens to find her there. Once again, he gives her a speech about borders being meaningless, before asking her to meet up with him before the ShadowClan patrol catches them. There’s also other examples in later books where he coerces her into meeting up or trusting him since “that’s what friends are for” or even later in that book, where he manipulates her into using Ivypaw as a captive for herbs. 

When you take this into account, plus him as a full grown warrior, starting a romantic relationship with a barely apprenticed Dovepaw who is shown as having a childish/ immature perception on romance/mates (such as her argument with Ivypaw and claiming that she should “find her own mate”), Tigerdove feels very much like grooming to me. According to the dictionary definition grooming is, “the action of attempting to form a relationship with a child or young person, with the intention of sexually assaulting them”. Of course, in this case, since it’s a young adult book, it’s to form a romantic relationship, which could also be another goal of grooming. Groomers tend to display manipulative behaviors towards the victims in order to coerce them into trusting them more. Whether that be through compliments, gifts, trying to resonate with them or make them feel special. They tend to try to get them to keep and “share” secrets, which is another tactic they utilize both to isolate the victim and to get them to feel more comfortable. 

A lot of behaviors that Tigerheart displays towards Dovepaw falls under this, including the examples I mentioned. There are a couple of other comments that he makes which come off as creepy such as Dovepaw “being his favorite sister”, which as I established, is something a groomer would say in order to make the victim feel as though they’re special and garner their trust. Which is especially the case when you note that he makes that comment in reference to Dovepaw asking about his ties to Ivypaw, which he actively lies about, and quickly reassures her that there’s nothing going on. 

This tactic of manipulation, where he either makes her feel special, or even love bombs and dissuade her from standing up for herself, doesn’t stop when she’s an apprentice. It continues when she’s a warrior, and is constantly used throughout OOTS and “Tigerheart’s Shadow”. At one point in the series, Dovewing and Tigerheart get into an argument about Dawnpelt wrongfully accusing Jayfeather of murder. When Tigerheart defends his sister, Dovewing stands up for Jayfeather, which prompts Tigerheart to try and manipulate her out of the conversation. He jumps straight to talking about how much he loved and missed her, and guilts her by asking why they had to argue like this, and why they couldn’t just “meet like before”. As for Tigerheart's Shadow, he actively goes against what she wants (to raise her kits outside the clan) and actively pressures and guilts her into coming back, before she finally relents. He doesn't care about what SHE wants, it's always about him. Whether it be secretly meeting up, or in The Last Hope, he tries to pressure her to date him again (which she FINALLY refuses and scolds him for thinking about his own needs when they're right before a final battle. as she should). It's especially upsetting in the newest book that tigerheart seems to be the only think at the center of her character. when she argues with ivypool, it's less about the two sister's interpersonal conflicts and more about her and tigerheart's relationship. which...feels like a lot of missed potential to me? i want them to argue, i want dovewing to stand up to herself against ivypool, but why does the entire conflict have to revolve around him? why can't dovewing have her own thoughts and feelings without it tying back to her awful husband?

#☕.txt #txt #some of these are snippets of my essay i wrote on the two in a fit of rage after seeing tigerheartstar fans attack harestar fans #i might share it with the world if i care to one day #dove revolving her character around tiger is unfortunately why i dont care for her canon character because it feels mostly shallow #however it isnt the poor girl's fault just the erins' incapability of writing women but thats a talk for another day #if i were to rewrite the books (which i have some ideas on) i would definitely get rid of this god awful relationship #warriors #warrior cats #tigerheart #dovewing #tigerheartstar #tigerstar #tigerdove #warior cats

[shadow-pixelle]

Braided Fates (DCxDP AU)

This fic was supposed to just be a scenelet that I wrote and only shared because my friend liked the worldbuilding. And now it's... not that. A lot not that.

Currently the story starts in the middle of things, so I can't really call the first few snippets as 'part one' 'part two' etc, because they're not actually the start of the story... but these are the currently posted bits.

It doesn't have a summary right now, mostly because it starts in the middle of things, but the currently posted stuff is about the Team Phantom Trio in the DC universe, causing problems entirely by accident.

So! I am now posting the early parts of this story, since I've figured out how we got here. Still don't have a summary, though.

The start of things;

First post

Second post

The stuff that's already posted that's set later in the story;

First snippet I posted

Second snippet I posted

Third snippet I posted

All of the stuff above is in chronological order, so if you want to follow the story through chronologically, you can.

And some extra stuff that's useful for either background of the story or similar

Kalicofox's Fraid/Fright versus Grief mini essay

#dcxdp #fic writing #my writing #braided fates au

[nadiawritessomething]

I just want to say I love your writing and analysis on elements from the world of Earth-42 from Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. As a fellow Miles G. fan it's really cool seeing how you go in depth and talk about stuff based on the snippets of information we've got from the artbooks, the end of the movie, and other context clues. It's really inspiring for real 👏🏾💜✨

Also that one time when you put that analysis from that one poll I made on which atsv character would win in a race, I read it and I was grinning and smiling the entire time XD <3

Love your stuff ^^/ 💜✨

OMG THIS POST LITERALLY MADE MY DAY/srs. I have rly interesting story with E42 actually, cause it was the last thing I thought about after leaving the theater, lol. But then I just wrote something about "We need to talk more about 42Miles" on 11th June 2023 (almost right after my birthday lol) and...well, here we are, looking at the 3 pixels on the screen and REWATCHING the whole movie like six times (??) only for ten last minutes shown.

I am going into the depth cause I can't understand how you can like a character and an universe with little to know information and DON'T try to analyse everything you possibly can cause that's the only food you can get. Every time I see Miles G mischaracterized I am loosing one of my zero lifes. And I'M REALLY GREATFUL that you noticed the effort I put in it, seriously 😭💓. I know there's a thing I need to know more about, like cultural part of his upbringing, cause I am not Puerto-Rican, nor African-American, nor even just American to start with, so I will always be glad If ppl can correct me on that part!

Also I'm happy to be an inspiration! I love your posts op, rly, even though I don't always answer to all of them (there's still some I want to REBLOG but they're too old😔 YES, two days is old enough/hj).

Oh, and that poll, yes. I looked at it and were like "I'M GOING TO BRING SOME ESSAYS INTO THIS FUNNY UNSERIOUS FANDOM POLL". Well, that's what I did. I actually vote for Miles G well knowing he wouldn't stand a chance against spider-people If they were running like, on grass and that's all, but I voted for him because he's my son and I believe in him no matter what.

Love you stuff too, should interact more often 🤲💓

#across the spiderverse #atsv #miles morales #miles 42 #prowler miles #inbox #my stuff #this post are giving me so much inspiration #I have some mental problems and stuff and sometimes I think I'm a horrible person for just being me or smth #but gosh this 'thank you' give me so much inspiration and love and I just 💓💓😭😭😭 #/SRS POS #LOVE YOU ALL GUYS RLY

[if-confessions]

I've been in the IF fandom for almost two years now, and I don't think I've ever found a fandom I've liked as much. I like the community here, the stories, creativity, how diverse the games are compared to other media I see.

I like reading IF, but more than that I'd really to create an IF game myself. I've been creating stories since childhood and I've always wanted to tell them to other people. However, I was never able to find a suitable medium for doing so. Creating video games is a passion that met reality and died too fast, writing traditional books makes me incredibly anxious, and comic and visual novels require way too much drawing when I'm a concept artist at best. And IF... IF seems to be exactly what I was always searching for. But here's a twist.

I'm not a writer. I'm really not. The amount of writing that I've done that wasn't for my studies is... not a lot. Which makes me extremely self-conscious of my writing, and I'm a very anxious person to start with (and English not being my native language doesn't help). I just don't know where to start, I've never even written fanfiction. And then if I end up actually writing something and posting it for people to see, I'm afraid of what they'll say, of me not being good enough, or of people being uninterested in anything I create. It's dreadful really. And I know that this feeling is possibly shared by so many other people, but I just don't know what to do about it.

I had wanted to post this earlier, but Tumblr ate my essay again...

Welcome, Anon, to the wonders of IF! Have a seat, and a cookie, and enjoy the ride! It's quite the experience, you'll see...

Totes understand your worries. With so many good projects out there, it's easy to not feel... adequate (in writing or proficiency); and with many in the community having opinions, to be unsure whether to publish said work.

But here's the thing: many of us in the IF community (especially as hobbyist) have not studied writing (for a while or at all)* or are writers either, and quite a few of us are ESL (hi, hello!)**. So you are in very good company!! *sidenote: some of us consider ourselves game dev/creators before writers too. **Dear... you wrote an essay of an ask with no mistake (that I could find) - I would not have guessed you were not a native speaker, if you hadn't said it before.

To relieve those anxious feelings, here are some advice, from one ball of anxiety to another one:

You don't have to publish anything you don't want to have public. If you prefer to write for yourself and yourself only, it's more than fine. Having fun is what matters.

There are ways to "hide" your project from searches (on itch or tumblr) to have a bit more privacy, as well as disabling replies/comments/ratings...

Setting boundaries from the beginning with people interacting with your projects (whether it is in asks, or doing beta/feedback rounds/etc...) can also be quite helpful (even if some people don't follow them...).

Join writing groups and share snippets/ask for feedback. It's helpful to get some boosts of confidence and get pointers on how to improve.

Have beta/playtest rounds for longer feedback needs (like when you are ready to upload/update a demo, to catch bugs or typos and stuff).

Joining game jams with small projects can help with testing ideas/stories/gameplay, and get comments/feedback from people.

Anyway, we all start somewhere, and very often (most always) that somewhere is not good at all. But that's ok :) There's always room and time for improvement and change (until you're finally happy with it). The beauty of online games is that you can always tweak it and fix it when something doesn't feel right. Nothing is ever set in stone!

Good luck :)

#confession time #project concerns #writing concerns

[zilabee]

I've really enjoyed 'Read the Beatles', a collection of essays, interviews, snippets and such of people writing about Beatles through the years. I've posted a few bits from it recently. It's a really nice mix, including quite a few things that were published at the time, which I find more interesting in a lot of ways than people in the 2000s looking back.

But. Now I've reached the section of the book where she collects together some bits about each Beatle individually.

John:

An excerpt from Ray Coleman about John's early life

A bit from Gimme Some Truth, the John Lennon FBI files

A bit from the David Sheff Playboy interview

A bit from the Last Lennon Tapes by Andy Peebles

An obituaryish essay from Simon Frith about Lennon's meaningfuness and genius

A poem from Adrian Henri

An excerpt from Skywriting by Word of Mouth about John being happy being a house husband.

Absolutely lovely. I think that's a really nice collection.

Paul:

A 1982 interview where he talks about John's death

Here Today - a song he wrote about John Lennon

An interview from 2004 called 'McCartney: My Life in the Shadow of the Beatles'

Look at that. Three pieces, less than half of John's. And none of them are even about him. They're all about John. Nothing about his early life, because John wasn't in it. Nothing about Wings because John wasn't in it. Nothing about anything. It's appalling. And yes, I'm SURE it was harder to find things written about Paul than it was about John, especially in 2006. But all the same. (And for people who have come to Beatles more recently and think it's weird that Paul fans have such a bee in their bonnet about stuff like this, it's because of stuff like this! You only see articles now about Paul McCartney's legacy because Paul fans had a bee in their bonnet for a really long time.)

I've not read George and Ringo's sections yet so I can only take them from the contents page. Under the cut:

George:

A section from 'Before He Was Fab: George Harrison's first American Visit'

An excerpt from 'Mystical One: George Harrison' about the attack at Friar Park

An article called: The Unsung Beatle: George Harrison's Behind the Scenes Contributions to the World's Greatest Band

An obituary titled: George Harrison: World-Music Catalyst

Ringo:

An article from 1965 about interviewing Ringo on the set of Help (titled: Domesticated Beatle)

An excerpt from 'The Beatles As Musicians' looking at Ringo's skills as a drummer.

There's lots missing from both of them, I'd say. And yes it's poor that Ringo only has two pieces, but I do notice that they're both ABOUT HIM. And the same with George.

I'm so peeved.

(Saying all of that though, just reading those lists shows you how much stuff there is in this book. Added together these only make up a tiny portion of the whole thing, so it is a great book that I've really appreciated. It's just I might print out and paste in a few bits about Paul's early life, about him writing a symphony, about Wings, about his melody, about his legacy. Something like that.)

#beatles books #paul mccartney #Read The Beatles #edited by #June Skinner Sawyers #the beatles

[wqtson]

all of the sinners the same | explicit | 6.7k | Harry/Draco | HOCKEY AU | Winner's Room

When the staffer approaches him just as he’s pushed his way out of the jubilant locker room, Harry doesn’t let himself think twice before muttering, “Malfoy.”

my very first foray/gateway effort into the hockey fic world, written for the incredible @lagerloutfic. thank you to @itsjamethyst for the incredible cheerleading and beta!! horribly soppy oversharing under the cut.

read all of the sinners the same on ao3!

largs, i said i wrote an essay for the notes and i was serious! little snippets of it:

i’m more than excited to write this because it’s creating a gift for one of the best gifts fandom has ever given me.

creating this work for two fandoms i am so deeply invested in genuinely makes my heart beat faster. i cannot believe that i get to feel these feelings!

i woke up in a cold sweat at 2:36 am on friday and typed a note into my phone. two words: DICK PIERCING

i’d never even considered being anything but ashamed of my interests, keeping it safely secret from anyone whose opinion matters to me. that’s stupid, i know – people love you for who you are and not what you watch/write/read. but that was just a theory, something i thought i’d work on at some unidentifiable point in the future. you turned this so around for me, showing me that not only is there no shame, but also when you put it all out there you might actually find people who share your interests?? all my past therapists would be proud.

this was an exercise not only in maintaining the joy and shock of surprise for you, but also seeing how much of a role external validation plays in my creative process. turns out i can do it on my own if i try! the thing is, though, i don't want to. sharing ideas and details, especially with the right people, elevates the whole experience so much.

i'll say it a million times: i'm SO lucky to have met you!

oh and JESS, i'm so excited for your hockey journey. it's going to be amazing. you're never going to get anything productive done again. okay end of fic diary! <3

#drarry #drarry fics #harry x draco #draco malfoy #harry potter #drarry fanfic #smut #fanfic #m/m #harry/draco

[queerregulusablack]

do u ship regulily or jegulily and if so do u jave any headcanons or anything ud like to ramble about them hehhee (or mayhaps a snippet if you've written anything 👀🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽)

My friend I will ship anything if it's cute enough lmao.

I've written some bits and pieces for Jegulily! Through The Veil is Jegulily, and so is my poor neglected Blind!Regulus AU. I am a stuanch supporter of the 'Love triangle? But [CHARACTER] has two hands' philosophy. OT3s reign supreme.

Hmmmmm let me grab some Regulus introspection from the Blind!Regulus AU for you.

-

He’d not lied to Lily, saw no point to lies most of the time. He did think she was beautiful, and James too, and Remus and Barty and Pandora. He thought Evan was beautiful as well, and Wilhelmina Lavrentyeva, with the curls so prominent in her hair that he could feel them when she let him muddle through braiding it, and Jisoo Cho in Hufflepuff, with her carrying, cackling laughter. He thought plenty of people were beautiful, once he knew them well enough to decide they were.

He didn’t… have any frame of reference, any more, for what other people classified as ‘beautiful’. Regulus was reasonably sure his mother had been thought to be so, but the only lasting image of her that he could conjure up was that final one, with her brow scrunched and her mouth twisted into a sneer.

But with Lily and James it was also different. 

James, once Regulus had managed to move past his defensive anger at the other boy stealing Sirius from him, had been the first person Regulus had ever thought of as beautiful. His laughter was hiccuping and helpless, and he leaned all of his weight against Regulus when he talked to him, and his gait was bouncing, ever so slightly, unmistakable whenever he walked toward him. His palms were stocky and square, and rough with callous, and he smelled like broom polish. He was beautiful, in the way hope was beautiful. In the way steady, soothing things were beautiful.

Lily was beautiful in the way Regulus imagined forest fires were. It was impossible not to know that Lily Evans was beautiful. To know her was to be consumed, or devoured, or- overwhelmed, he supposed, like getting caught in a riptide. Words didn’t do her justice. She took Regulus’ hands in hers when he made her blush and held his fingers to her cheeks so he could feel the warmth of it. Her hair smelled like lavender, and when she was annoyed she clicked her tongue against the backs of her teeth, and she hummed under her breath when she wrote her essays. 

Much as Regulus could - and did - judge the way he’d gone about it, he couldn’t judge James for how infatuated with her he always had been. Really, the greatest mystery to Regulus was that it was taking her so long to feel the same way in return.

#owl post #QRABs fic #jegulily #blind!regulus #I've GOT to finish this thing I'm so *close* to being done with it

[aibloomie]

hi there!

i saw your reblog to my kazuha fic and just wanted to stop by and leave a message! sorry in advance if this shit is lengthier than expected…

first of all omg…YOUR COMMENTS WERE SO SWEET💔😔 when i saw your notifications it made me SO happy and your reblog even more! saying my writing feels gentle and flowery LIKE— STOP AHHH that’s now one of my favorite compliments i’ve ever been told of my writing FOR REAL.

also very glad to meet a fellow royal au lover. when i tell you im obsessed with them man…i could make my whole blog dedicated to just royal aus (which i honestly have considered before lowkey LMAO). IDK SOMETHING ABOUT PRINCE KAZUHA JUST MAKES MY HEART GO 💞⁉️💓‼️📈 IT HAS ME ON THE TIGHTEST CHOKEHOLD EVER LORD. even when i wrote out that whole tucking a flower behind your ear kinda thing i was all giddy and kicking my feet (figuratively)!!

because yes prince kazu is a gentle and kind hearted soul but mans will not hesitant to flirt with you. will for sure make an excuse to be around you like purposefully visiting the gardens the same time as you and call it a coincidence. then after some convincing you’ll teach him about floral and herbal stuff and he’ll just look at you babbling on and on about herbal shit with a loving/awe gaze “were you even listening to anything i said?” “no, i was listening, until you started talking about the biological aspects…” “that was at the very beginning??” “yes..that’s when you lost me. although when i was watching you talk…i noticed the way your eyes glinted with excitement and how your entire face lights up like the sun which i thought was very adorable.” FOLDS

yes as you can see i brain rot very hard on prince kazuha hcs because he may as well be one (i love him sm). that one is definitely my favorite of my writing pieces i’ve posted by far :’) okay im gonna stop now before i write a whole damn essay my bad🏃🏽‍♀️

THANK YOU SO MUCH ONCE AGAIN & I HOPE YOU HAVE/HAD AN AMAZING DAY<33

HII <333 no need to apologize i got all excited when i saw how long this ask was AHH i reread it like ten times

and yes your writing is so incredibly gentle…idk something about it gave me the same feeling as putting on a warm blanket or laying outside and basking in the sunlight. it put me at peace like i forgot all about my homework and stuff and just went straight to daydreaming LMAO

YESYESYES royal au’s are amazing and kazuha literally just SCREAMS prince with his natural elegance and kindness. oh to live in a kingdom and be granted the opportunity to see prince kazuha taking a stroll </3 or dancing with him under the moonlight as a romantic rendezvous instead of at a public ball. and even despite the pretty scenery and star lit sky, the two of you only stare at one anotherSJDHDN

and a blog centered around a royal au would be so cool WHAT

EEE THANK YOU FOR THE KAZUHA SNIPPET??? the dialogue…i’d die on the spot if he said that with the sweet voice of his and a dreamy look in his eyes. all my information on herbs would vanish PLEASE MY MIND WOULD TURN TO MUSH

i agree, kazuha is the definition of a prince even mother nature adores him 😟

NO PROBLEM, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THE FIC <33 YOU TOO HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/NIGHT thank you for sending this in omg

#「 🍄— inbox 」 #「 💌 — cherished mutuals 」 #i just about died when i saw you followed me back 😵‍💫 HAD ME SMILING AND EVERYTHING #excuse any typos 🥲 #kazuha getting all lovestruck when you go on about your passions…oh my god #prince kazuha brain rot is contagious apparently i feel like it has now been passed to me </3 #your blog in general is just really soothing !! your aesthetic and everything <33 SO PRETTY

[helloescapist]

Hello, I'm sorry for sending this now, I know you're busy. I just have a question regarding your "Parallell Paths" story. What sources did you use? I'd like to do some research on congenital syphilis in the Edo period myself

hello, hello!

I would be happy to share! I'm actually working on a ask for Parallel Paths, pt 2 set in the modern era, so this has come at the perfect time! Be warned, this is a bit of a research dump, but I hope you find something beneficial to your research. feel free to send any sources you come across as well! We can be research buddies.

Bulletin No.23 (u-tokyo.ac.jp) - a wonderful source utilizing the exhibition of various sites throughout Japan, including Tokyo. This source focuses more on the pathology, and skeletal remains. In this you will find the documents of examination including the age ranges (including small children), photographic evidence of the damage syphilis impacted on the inflicted (photographs of skeletal remains).

The History of Infectious Disease in Japan: The Answer Is in History — To What Degree Are Protective Hygiene Measures among the Japanese Effective? - Discuss Japan (japanpolicyforum.jp) - will contain mentions of other prominent disease of the period, as well as the more recent pandemic information. This was my starting point of finding resources (the mention of Tokugawa Hideyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave me the best time measurements to calculate my eras to look in data books, as well as the introduction to syphilis being referred to as the Hizen disease).

237th_Special_Article_02_X.pdf (jef.or.jp) - pages 3 and 4 paints a small snippet of the day to day life of the average individuals that would become affected.

A Wish for the End of the Infectious Diseases | Edo no Taihen (great pivotal events of Edo) | EDO TOKYO Digital Museum - Historical Visit, New Wisdom. - depictions of the artwork during the outbreak eras that offered an insight into how the time frame affected the individual belief (such as the warding of spirits to prevent disease), plus the pictures are just breathtaking. Highly recommend flipping through if you're interested in the Edo period.

江戸物語 — Random Edo Period Fact of the Day … ... (tumblr.com) - speaking of, if you are interested in the Edo period--- you have to stop by this tumblr. This should take you directly to a small essay they wrote on syphilis as well as their resources (perfection by the way), but their site is just fantastic for Edo research.

Bodies and Borders: Syphilis, Prostitution, and the Nation in Japan, 1860–1890 on JSTOR - I don't know if you have access to a college database, or library database, but if you do consider giving this a look over! It reflects upon prostitution (the Red Light District).

Syphilitic infection in a pre-modern population from South Korea (19th century AD) (jst.go.jp) - kind of a lump sum of everything I've shared. While it is specifically tied to South Korea, syphilis had entered Asian in a nearly exact timing (all consuming) contains imagery of skeletal remains.

Yoshiwara District: Two Faces of a Coin – Digital Humanities and Japanese History (japanese-history.org) - does mention syphilis, but broke down the full expectations of the Yoshiwara District, the very same district in which Daki served.

Syphilis and seiseinyū: manufacturing a mercurial drug in early modern Japan | The Recipes Project (hypotheses.org) - the title really explains it.

The remainder of my research mostly just repeats everything that these articles expresses, or is tied to modern understanding of the disease (the spread of, symptoms, long term effects, and so on).

#🍡tsuyospeaks #parallelpaths #gyutaro

[carewyncromwell]

"Everyone’s a writer -- painter -- poet! Everything is avant-garde or chic!

We’ll be in the know before we know it... When you’re in the know, it’s -- Oh, it’s magnifique! To find in Paris what you seek..."

~"Paris Holds the Key (to Your Heart)" from Anastasia (musical)

x~x~x~x

Jacob Cromwell's graduation from Hogwarts truly was an underdog story, to most people's minds. After getting roped into the likes of R, losing his two closest companions to petrification and death respectively, getting expelled, and finally getting trapped in a magical portrait for seven years, it was something of a miracle when he was able to turn it all around with nothing but his astounding intellect and magical talent, graduating with full honors in the spring of 1991. Many presumed that after the trauma he'd undergone, Jacob would settle into life at home with a respectable new career in the Wizarding World -- his sister Carewyn certainly did, taking a much more peaceful job at the Ministry of Magic as a lawyer.

Jacob, however, celebrated his graduation and freedom by traveling the world and doing and learning as much as he could -- and in those travels, he ended up making quite a name for himself, not as "that delinquent Jacob Cromwell," but as a freelance magical researcher. One of those people who took immediate notice of Jacob's brilliance in this regard was a witch who ended up becoming a very good friend of his -- the statuesque Headmistress of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Olympe Maxime.

It all started when Jacob finally -- after pecking away at it off-and-on for about two years around his travels and random Cursebreaking expeditions -- finished a scholarly essay applying the principles of Muggle chemistry to various Potions ingredients. It was a subject he'd first experimented with in his fifth year at Hogwarts (right in the middle of his Potions OWL, ridiculous as it was), but Jacob had felt more prepared to return to the subject after doing more research and even covertly sitting in on a few Muggle chemistry classes while traveling abroad. Then over the span of the next twenty months, he wrote out a full piece on all of the research he'd done, adding in some theories about a variation of the periodic table possibly being applied to various Potions ingredients and how applying the principles of organic chemistry to Potioneering could spur the invention of new Potions. Jacob sent a copy of his essay to his former professor and friend, Horace Slughorn, and the ex-Potionsmaster reacted with great enthusiasm.

Pleasantries aside, though -- Jacob, my boy, your essay! I spent an absolutely lovely afternoon reading it over a glass of brandy, and I was simply enraptured by it! I hope you don't mind, but I've already sent a snippet of it off to a friend of mine who writes for The Practical Potioneer, to see if he'd be interested in publishing the whole thing in some future edition -- such a thing awaiting your explicit consent, of course.

Jacob enthusiastically gave Slughorn the "go-ahead" to send the rest of his essay along, if his friend expressed interest in publishing it. Later that year, when Jacob came home for Christmas, he was able to surprise his mother and sister with their own first editions of the potioneering magazine containing his essay. Lane was so delighted and proud that she actually ended up bursting into silent tears.

"The Practical Potioneer," she breathed, her wispy voice choked with emotion. "Oh, Jay...I used to read that every month, when I was in school...whenever the Hogwarts library got in a new copy that I could check out...and now..." She brought her hands up to cradle her son's cheeks, "...now my little Blue Jay's gotten published in it!"

Jacob opened his arms in anticipation of the big hug his mother gave him, squeezing her tight. Despite being just as strong of a Legilimens as Carewyn, he'd never been as good at sensing people's emotions as she was -- but in this moment, he was positive: his mother was so, so proud of him. And that feeling filled Jacob up with so much vindication and warmth that he too felt close to tears.

Both Lane and Carewyn would put Jacob's article in positions of honor. Carewyn framed all four pages of Jacob's essay and mounted them on the wall of her office under a print of Hogsmeade village Badeea had painted for her. Lane herself left the magazine with her son's essay out on the side table by her favorite "reading window" for the rest of her life, and she shared it with every single one of the few visitors she invited to her cottage.

x~x~x~x

As fate would have it, a French Potioneer traveling abroad on holiday picked up several Potioneering magazines from the countries he visited, so as to read them on his long train ride home. One of those such magazines ended up being that very edition of The Practical Potioneer, and the French wizard was thoroughly charmed by the theories presented by the British researcher called Jacob Cromwell: so much so that he translated the essay into French and then sent it and the original magazine to the French Wizarding World's main newspaper, Le Cri de la Gargouille. The paper then published the translation of Jacob's essay in their paper in February 1994, specifically as part of their Mode de Vie Magique section -- a section that was, in fact, a favorite of one Olympe Maxime.

About a week after Le Cri de La Gargouille printed Jacob's translated article, Jacob received a letter via owl post that was sealed with a light blue seal marked with a cursive "B" over two crossed wands.

Monsieur Cromwell, Firstly, I must apologize if this letter reaches you more than once. When seeking out an address for you, I was informed that you currently have no permanent address, and so I had to get creative to find a way to contact you directly. Fortunately it seems that the Owl Office in Paris is most resourceful in locating witches and wizards while they are on holiday abroad. But now, to business. A week or so ago, while reading La Cri de La Gargouille, I came across your essay regarding the application of Non-Magic chemistry to our own Potioneering, and to put it simply, I found it absolutely enthralling. I profess no expertise in Non-Magic science, aside from the psychology books I've read by Non-Magic authors, but your knowledge of the two subjects is clearly thorough, and your conclusions in comparing the two were fascinating. Your application of Non-Magic chemistry to Potioneering is a subject I would like very much to share with my older students, in preparation for their entry into the Wizarding World. And so it is because of this that I cordially invite you to the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic for a high tea on the afternoon of March 1st, at 3 o' clock. Please RSVP as soon as possible -- I hope that since my return address is so prominent, your response should not take long to reach me. Chaleureusement, Olympe Maxime Directice of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

x~x~x~x

To say Jacob was thrilled at the prospect of visiting the famous Beauxbatons Academy would be an understatement. He was so over the moon at the prospect that he sent letters to Carewyn, Lane, his best friend Olivia Green, Horace Slughorn, Filius Flitwick and Madam Rosmerta about it, before he finally calmed down enough to remember that he hadn't even RSVPed to Madame Maxime's invitation properly.

Salut, Madame Maxime! Mon français n'est pas très bon, mais j'ai pensé que je devais répondre dans votre langue, parce que vous m'avez écrit dans mon langue. Le français est une belle langue aussi -- c'est ma préférée des langues gallo-romantiques. J'aimerais beaucoup te rendre visite! J'ai lu beaucoup de livres sur votre école. Je ne peux pas attendre! À bientôt! Jacob Cromwell

Jacob then had to immediately set about making travel plans to France. First he took a boat from Rebun Island (his current location) to Tokyo; then he took a very long plane ride from Tokyo to Frankfurt, Germany; once he'd gotten his bearings, he then took a train to Paris, where he was able to take the Floo Network from le Place Cachée to the Wizarding village of Lapinfort, by the outskirts of Lourdes. It was in Lapinfort that Jacob was handed a response from his sister Carewyn, which had arrived via owl the previous day.

Dear Jacob, I just got your letter. I can't believe you're actually going to visit Beauxbatons Academy! I know how much you've always wanted to go there, and to know you've been invited there by Madame Maxime herself...I'm so proud of you! I'm not exaggerating when I say I'm rereading your letter as I'm writing this and I can't stop smiling. Truly, though, I hope you get on with Madame Maxime, and that your lecture for her students goes well. I met Maxime once when she accompanied my school friend Penny's penpal Aurelie Dumont on a visit to Hogwarts, and she's a very glamorous woman. But please, Jacob, I'm begging you, don't make ANY comments about her size -- she's even taller than Hagrid, and I get the feeling she's secretly very self-conscious about it. The last thing I want is for you to make a bad first impression!! As the French say, "bonne chance!" Write to me as soon as you get this, and then be sure to also write to me all about your meeting, after it's over -- I want to know everything. Love you, Carewyn

Jacob wrote Carewyn a quick note to let her know of his safe arrival. Then, once he'd finished, he went into town and found a carriage led by flying horses that could take him over the Pyranees mountains and to the famous Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.

It was truly as beautiful of a school as Jacob's books had claimed. Just as Hogwarts was a mysterious, grand stone castle, Beauxbatons was likewise a kind of palace, though one far more ornamental and delicate: a true French chateau, framed by elegant gardens trimmed with fairy lights.

As Jacob disembarked from the carriage, he found himself enchanted by the tiny seashells embedded into the cement paths that led through the gardens. He soon found himself wandering the left of these paths, rather than looking for the entrance properly, and found himself embarking on a quest to locate the center of the hedge maze he'd found himself in. It wasn't until about a half-hour later that he found his way back out and to Beauxbatons' entrance.

When Jacob reached the grand, white front doors, they sparkled with silver sparkles as they opened for him. Clearly the school knew this was a welcome guest, rather than an enemy -- Jacob's eyes lit up at this thought, and only became brighter seeing the school's interior.

The ceilings were even high than Hogwarts's, and shining as bright white as a spring-time sky full of angelic clouds. The halls were framed by large, beautiful, painted marble columns trimmed with gold, as well as countless living portraits trimmed with ornate ivory frames. There were crystal chandeliers decorated with colorful glass flowers and ivy that sparkled with even more fairy lights. Living statues were mounted in displays of honor down the hall, and they all turned their heads to look at Jacob as he passed. Everything was so bright and pristine, and yet not flimsy. There was power here, inside of this ageless, seemingly fragile beauty: the kind found in the Greek Parthenon or the palace of Versailles.

"Ah...Monsieur Cromwell."

Jacob looked up, startled, to find a very foreboding, but beautiful woman dressed all in light blue satin with a white feathered-shawl around her shoulders, approaching him. She was large before she got close, but once she had, she towered over him, nearly as tall as the ceiling.

Like Hagrid, Jacob recalled.

The thought of the friendly gamekeeper, as well as of Carewyn's letter, made Jacob grin from ear to ear.

"...You must be Madame Maxime!"

"Oui," she said lightly. "You are late, Monsieur Cromwell -- I expected you 'alf an 'our ago."

The Directice's dark eyes flitted over the much smaller man, taking in his incredibly informal white t-shirt and jeans with muted disapproval.

Jacob, however, was blissfully unaware of this.

"Oh yeah -- sorry about that!" he said brightly. "I was just exploring your gardens -- fabulous hedge maze you've got, on par with the one at Villandry Castle. I think I found at least one of its treasures in my wanderings -- that is, if you don't count the absolutely beautiful Herbology specimens...nearly got caught in that French Devil's Snare, when trying to examine your color-changing peonies. But at the center of the maze, I found your garden of wood nymphs -- "

Maxime looked very startled. "You found eet?"

"Yeah! Bloody brilliant use of Concealment Charms, though -- took me about ten tries, before I got the order of turns right...but yeah, so I found the garden in the center, and that tree...absolutely stunning! I don't even know what breed it is exactly, maybe a variation of Wiggentree, but it's exquisite! Is it unique? It surely must be -- I've never seen one so big! Anyhow, the wood nymph Queen wasn't so keen on me getting close, but once I showed her I meant no harm, she pointed the way out for me...who knew wood nymphs would be so keen on Whitney Houston? Though really, I don't blame them -- Whitney's got a wicked set of pipes -- obviously I couldn't do her song the same justice she would've, but hey..."

Many a person had found Jacob's talkativeness exhausting to deal with, in the past. Even Jacob's first friend and love Duncan Ashe had frequently had to tell Jacob to shut up now and again, whenever he'd go off the deep end in rambling. Surprisingly, however, Madame Maxime didn't seem the least bit uncomfortable or overwhelmed -- if anything, her expression bloomed into something a bit more intrigued.

"You zaid zat you not only found our garden for ze wood nymphs in less zhan an hour," she said, "but zat you also earned zheir favor? Monsieur Cromwell -- I do not zhink you are aware of quite how rare zat is."

Jacob cocked his eyebrows, smiling fully. "Why, because of your Concealing magic? Ah, well, I am a freelance Cursebreaker, a lot of the time...puzzles are my favorite thing. And magical creatures are always groovy -- you should meet my friend Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts, he's swell with creatures..."

"What I mean is zat conquering zat maze is a test all seventh year students must face 'ere at Beauxbatons, in order to graduate," Maxime said, her smile spreading more fully. "And most only reach ze garden, before 'aving to quickly leave it. Ze wood nymphs are very protective of zheir tree -- which, yes, is a one of a kind specimen: I rescued it on a trip to Greece myself," he eyes twinkled with a bit of mischief.

Jacob blinked. Then his face broke out into a bigger smile than ever, his skull-like light blue eyes positively alight with delight.

"So does that make me worthy of touring the hallowed halls of your Academy, Directice?" he asked, raising his eyebrows eagerly.

Maxime beamed. "Quite worthy, Monsieur Cromwell."

"Groovy!" cheered Jacob. "Because I was meaning to ask about your school's architecture -- everything I've read about Beauxbatons states that it was built in the 13th century, but all of the decor and landscaping I've seen since I got here is distinctly Baroque -- more properly, Rococo-inspired, which wasn't popular until the 17th century at the earliest. I would assume Beauxbatons has gone through some structural changes thorough-out the years -- understandable, given the history of war on France's borders, in contrast to the isolated Scottish Highlands where Hogwarts is situated -- but are these original from that period, or was it brought back in a revival, after the fall of Napoleon and the virulent anti-monarchist views held by the common man had calmed enough that such beauty could be celebrated again, rather than solely condemned?"

Maxime indulged Jacob's questions as they walked down the long hall and then up a grand staircase to her office. Once there, she offered Jacob some tea (which Jacob drank to be polite) and a dish of endlessly duplicating chocolate madeleines (which Jacob couldn't stop eating). While drinking their tea, Maxime asked Jacob some questions of her own about the kinds of magical research he'd been working on, which prompted Jacob to go off on a tangent about poisons and antidotes, which in turn got Maxime eagerly talking about the perfumes she mixed herself, using the flowers grown in the Beauxbatons gardens.

"Truly, it iz also not zo different from your non-Magique 'chemistry,'" said Maxime. "Just as with Potions, you zimply need zome zort of essential oil, a proper base, and zhen different 'notes,' to achieve ze desired effect. Combine jojouba oil, lavender, and rose with just a 'int of Lady's Mantle as a top note, and voila! You have a perfume zat not only makes you feel relaxed and beautiful, but makes you both smell and appear even more beautiful, to ze people around you."

Jacob's eyes lit up. "Using Beauty Potion ingredients in perfumes! What a groovy idea! I can't wait to tell my Pip -- she's always liked lavender as a scent..."

Maxime beamed, clearly very pleased by Jacob's enthusiasm. "You can zee why your piece about applying non-Magique chemistry to Potions interested me zo much. I would frankly love to 'ear 'ow you'd explain your theories to my students...if you would be willing to let me 'sit in' on your lecture."

"Of course!" Jacob said at once, without any hesitation. His grin was so big he could hardly contain it. "Mais oui! I'd be honored!"

Maxime and Jacob would go on to talk for another whole hour, long after the tea was gone. It was only then that Maxime brought Jacob downstairs toward the Potions classroom, where a set of seventh years had just filed in, and introduced Jacob to the class before settling in the very back of the room as he started his lecture. Although Jacob went on quite a few long tangents in his lecture, his enthusiasm captivated the French students, so much so that they couldn't even look down too much on the weird Briton with the crazy hair and sloppy clothes. He was so animated and intelligent when he talked that soon all of the students were raising their hands and engaging with him, asking follow-up questions and even challenging his conclusions, which Jacob reacted to with almost more enthusiasm than he did to the questions. By the time Jacob's lecture was through, Maxime's eyes positively radiated with how charmed she was by this tiny, quirky little wizard with the messy curls.

"You will have to visit again, when next you publish anozher zuch work," she said insistently.

"Oh, totally!" said Jacob eagerly. "I'd love to come again sometime. Even just to explore some more -- your school really is smashing! I'd love to see your library next time..."

"Mais oui -- but of course."

Jacob's enthusiasm clearly pleased Maxime greatly. It made her give a slightly-too-hard pat to Jacob's cheek that ended up more feeling like a slap.

"Au revoir, Monsieur Cromwell," said Maxime with a warm smile. "I do 'ope zat you shall visit France again soon."

Jacob blinked. Then he smiled a bit more awkwardly.

"Well, uh...my travels kind of keep me on the move. I don't really know when I'll be anywhere a lot of the time -- I just sort of figure it out as I go along. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to come back sometime, obviously! And until I do, I could always send you letters, if you'd like. I love sending letters," Jacob added with a grin.

Maxime cocked her eyebrows. "You do not zeem to like receiving zhem quite so much, if you do not have a proper return address."

Jacob laughed uncomfortably. "Oh no, it's...not me not liking receiving letters, I just...keep forgetting to file for a proper collection box, with the Owl Office. Pip's always getting on me for that -- she ends up getting most of the letters for me, and she thinks it'd be a lot easier if people just sent them straight to me, rather than her having to figure out where to send stuff to me based on what I tell her of where I'm next going..."

"Your 'Pip' iz right about zat," said Maxime with a cool smile. "I would zuppose she is just too nice to tell you to stop making 'er pick up after you."

Jacob laughed a bit more fully, though still rather uncomfortably.

"Yeah...yeah, I guess you're right..." He smiled a bit more fully. "All right -- when I get a proper collection box, I'll let you know straight away."

"Good," said Maxime. "I would not like to 'ave to zend three of ze same letter again. I am not ze zort of woman who likes to appear desperate."

Jacob laughed again despite himself. "Desperate? I wouldn't have said that. I thought that it just made you determined, honestly. It sounds like just the sort of thing my Pip would do, to make sure she reached me."

"I have met your zister before, Jacob Cromwell, however briefly," said Maxime, her wry smile widening a bit. "Zo I know, both because of 'er and because of your clear esteem for 'er, zat your comparison is a great compliment."

Jacob grinned. "Better believe it is."

Sure enough, with Madame Maxime's prodding, Jacob opened up a collection box with the Owl Office and enchanted it so that his mail could seamlessly appear in a collection tray on the desk inside his portable room in a suitcase. With this, he was able to receive and send letters a lot more quickly and efficiently -- and it was because of this that Jacob received the news of Cedric Diggory's death so quickly from both Carewyn and Maxime and he was so quick to return home to the United Kingdom in the spring of 1995. Jacob would lose touch with Madame Maxime when she went with Hagrid to negotiate with the giants, but they would reestablish contact after her during the War and especially after, when they no longer had to send messages in code.

The two would remain friends for many years to come, sending letters and gifts to each other while Jacob was traveling. One of Jacob's favorite gifts from Olympe Maxime ended up being a custom cologne she brewed for him, made of cocoa beans, leather, Egyptian musk, and Lady's Mantle. It was a scent Jacob wore chiefly on dates, when he really wanted to look and feel his best, and whenever anyone asked him about it, he was always incredibly proud to boast about his talented friend, the stately Directice of Beauxbatons herself.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #my writing #jacob cromwell #madame maxime #carewyn cromwell #horace slughorn #lane cromwell #yay jacob content! #I kind of felt like exploring jacob's dynamics with certain characters the way I did for carewyn with umbridge #though this one's obviously a much lighter example #another relationship I wouldn't mind exploring is the bill and jacob relationship #because yeaaaaah jacob kind of resents bill even though he knows he's not a bad person and he's his sister's bestie #but bill kind of 'replaced' jacob in carewyn's life to a degree as older brother figure for a while and that stings #and because bill is so like carewyn in a lot of ways there are definitely points where jacob has secretly felt #as though bill was a better 'brother' for her than he was #not that it'd be easy for him to articulate that either because of his own pride or because he's not as smart emotionally as carey is #but yeah anyway I find it funny how much easier it is for jacob to make friends with people who are older than him than his age #rosmerta flitwick slughorn...even mia who I've written about elsewhere ends up seven years older than jacob thanks to the portrait thing

[artsyjesseblue]

Sleeping Allura

There’s a scene in VLD, Season 8 Ep 10 (Knights of Light Part 2) that keeps sticking out to me with all sorts of red flags, indicating that there was more to come, but the rest was cut out. Not by the will of the very talented people who wrote, produced or animated this show. And I’ll prove my point below.

This time, it’s not a hard-evidence discussion on drawing flaws or animation issues. I rather base it on the logic of how movies, shows, anime, cartoons etc, are built.

(To recap the events, the Paladins traveled into Honerva’s mind, where they found out that she had been keeping the Old Paladins trapped. Together, they unveil what her ultimate plan was: she wants to find her perfect reality. At the end of this episode, all ten manage to escape Honerva’s mind by uniting to form Voltron. The present-time Paladins wake up in the real world, but Allura is collapsed on her chair, unconscious. This is the last shot of the episode. A dramatic violin music accompanies the scene.)

First, basic stuff:

— both Allura collapsed in her chair and the dun-dun-duuun violin orchestra finale (more about the music later) makes this a glaring cliffhanger, with the implied promise of a payoff in the upcoming episode(s).

— not to mention the desperate voices of the Paladins yelling “Allura, Allura!”, trying to wake her up. Cliffhanger with capital C.

— a more subtle observation: the color scheme and contre-jour effect create mystery and drama. Where can that lead to?

— why would someone pay the animation studio to make this scene, other than with the intent to continue it with some sort of reveal?

OK, now let’s move on to see what the “reveal” consisted of in the iteration of Season 8 we were presented with:

▶️ In the next episode, we are shown Allura in a hospital bed on Atlas, with the Paladins and Coran gathered around her, while she’s still unconscious. Coran scolds them with “I told you so”, etc etc. Nothing about what Allura experiences in her dream/coma/trance/whatever-this-is.

▶️ Later in the episode, Lance comes at her bedside with the classic “I need you,” and she finally wakes up. Honerva appears and says “the princess has awakened.”

▶️ Then we see Lance bringing a visibly grumpy Allura to the main deck of Atlas, where asked how she is feeling, she says “A little weak, but I’ll manage.”

▶️ Subsequently, the chase after Honerva unfolds, with the same information we were left off, which is: Honerva wants to find her perfect reality; and she will use Lotor’s mech to pierce realities.

And that was it. The big reveal of the cliffhanger. Huh?

We do not gather any new knowledge after this deep sleep Allura had gone through. Seems like a lot of wasted cinema time to concoct these scenes and pay an animation studio to do them.

OK, so here’s the common-sense question: Would you put your character in a deep sleep, make everything revolve around that event like it’s life-changing (including color schemes, musical theme), and then wake your character up to just say “I’m a little weak, but I’ll manage?” As a writer, producer, director, would you do this? Even a novice writer would not do that. It’s absolutely nonsensical. Maybe a child would write a third-grade essay like that.

To the ones that say the writers and producers did not know what they were doing, I say: they knew exactly what they were doing and someone else forced them to butcher their work. And the proof is the simple fact that this snippet of their work still exists in canon.

Simply based off of reading and watching movies and TV shows, I can tell you there are at least a couple of viable options for how a reveal should be handled after such a big suspense scene. 1) Either show the viewer what she actually experienced in her unconscious state. 2) Or make her recount in some way what she has seen, during or after a certain turning point of the story, as a final “mystery-solved” tension release. None of these two have happened.

And now on to more meta about the color scheme, music and some additional thoughts:

- Take a look at the red glow of the sky in the image I attached in the beginning, with Allura in her chair. The Dark Entity is red. Allura already followed the lead of the Entity all the way through Honerva’s mind for two episodes. It would make sense that she would still follow where the Entity drives her, if this is such an important cliffhanger. I do not believe they chose this red color because she was going to dream about picking juniberry flowers. Also, this red glow is not a pure, warm glowing red. It is a desaturated, muddied kind of red (and a dusty pink where the light hits through), fitting the color gamut of the Entity.

- Try to listen to the music background of this scene (again, for reference, S8E10, very last part). It is the musical theme used around Lotor scenes in S8. If you don’t believe me, try watching the scene where Allura sees Lotor in her dream in S8E8 - Clear Day and listen to the musical theme.

- Logical deduction: there were 10 Paladins when they punched out of Honerva’s mind at the end of this episode. Five are alive, five are deceased and exist only as “ghosts”. The ghost ones were trapped inside Honerva’s mind, but the real life Paladins saved them. They ALL pierce out of Honerva’s mind and are free. After that, we are left with only the real life Paladins. So, then, where did the ghosts go? (We eventually see the ghost Paladins at the very end of the series, bunched up together with Lotor as a farewell, and I hypothesized in a previous meta that they don’t belong there and that Lotor does not belong among them. We most likely were supposed to see the scene with the Old Paladins saying their farewell after this cliffhanger. Would make a lot of sense and would close the arc of the Old Paladins beautifully).

- Lotor tells Allura “Follow me!” at the end of her vision in the Clear Day episode. We never actually get to see her following him. It would make sense narratively for her to finally meet him in spirit now, as a closing arc for that path initiated in her visions. And who knows what they discuss. Important stuff, for sure, because she wakes up pretty worked up. Or maybe they discuss about picking juniberries (tongue-in-cheek). Oh, wait, he already told her stuff about juniberries in Clear Day.

- When Honerva says “The princess has awakened”, it makes no sense in the context in which it was inserted. So, listen: in the canon we’ve got, Allura is sound asleep, beauty-resting, she has no more visions (because we’re not shown or told about any). Everyone around her is freaking out. And here comes Honerva, who is also watching from a safe distance, stalking her through that Dark Entity. And they actually animate a scene in which she remarks that Allura has awakened. To what conclusion? Honerva was worried about her beauty sleep?

- OK, this last one is a bit more interpretative, but I’ll throw it in anyway. After Allura wakes up, she is escorted to the Atlas bridge by Lance, who looks kind of like “hey, I’m the nice guy, taking good care of her, but watch out, she’s a bit on the edge.” She looks um… dignified and angry I would say. The only hint that she might be a bit weak is Lance holding her protectively. A weakened state is usually when someone does not hold their spine and head straight. She walks straight as a pole, arms very close to her body, not in a relaxed manner for sure. Body language is important. And when she enters the bridge, she looks directly at Keith… Did he ever have anything to do with accusing Lotor of a lot of stuff in Season 6? What if Allura found out more in this little trip she had, and it’s going to challenge Keith’s initial assertions about Lotor?

This is all for now. I’m forever thankful to the #teampurplelion research and metas, which sparked my inspiration for writing this. This mini-meta of mine is a detail-focused analysis, based on a small part from @leakinghate ‘s work, “Seek Truth in Darkness”.

#voltron meta #allura #vld #i had to rewrite part of it because it didn’t save the first time #lotor deserved better #FREEVLDS8

[bi-bats]

💫 🦋 and 💌 for the fic writer asks?

hey bestie!!!!! I thought I'd see you in here 😂 thank you for reblogging the same post so I could ask you a few too!!! 💖 okay here we go:

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I have a very specific favorite comment format and it's so fucking needy of me so no pressure to anyone reading to comment like this!!! but my favorite kind of comment is 1000000% when it's formatted like this:

["Snippet of something I wrote"] the commenter's reaction to that specific bit

Sincerely, I've said it before and I'll say it again: in the least creepy way possible, I would watch everyone react to every line of my fic if I could. Sometimes I just write a line I'm really proud of and I want it to be the line that makes someone laugh or shout or tear up and I love when people tell me what parts made them feel things!!! Also sometimes people point out lines that I didn't think twice about, ones that just came naturally, but they still make people lose it and I love that just as much!!

a close second favorite kind of comment is just when people leave me a really, really long comment about the things they loved in the chapter. Seriously, every time I get a comment that's an essay it makes me want to never stop writing 😂 Basically, much like my Jason, I'm a sucker for praise.

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

Oh noooooooo I have to be vulnerable??? Fuck. Okay, fine.

I'm usually the most insecure about the way the tone of the scenes flow together. I'm a bit of a freak about the plotline? And when I say 'a bit of a freak', I mean I have a full-size corkboard with all of the plotpoints of Know Yourself on it. Like I'm Charlie in that one gif from It's Always Sunny with the insane red string conspiracy theory board. Below is the Evidence in case you thought I was joking (I blurred out everything that was a spoiler, don't worry. Or sorry):

...Yeah. It's a lot. Sometimes I just really struggle with feeling like the moods/tone flows from scene to scene. If they're mad at each other, I need it not to feel like they're forgiving each other too easily. If they have a huge argument, they can't just go back to exactly how it was before (looking at you, chapter 7 of Know Yourself, which is giving me an absurd amount of trouble). Thus, the corkboard. It lets me quickly look at everything I've already written (without reading all *squints* 50k words I've posted, jesus fucking christ) and figure out if everything I'm working on makes sense with what came before that.

And yeah, it is a lot of work and dedication for the silly little fanfics I write, but it's sort of like a puzzle to me? It's satisfying to untie all the tangled ideas I have and make them into something pretty.

That said, TimKon never gives me as much trouble as JayTim. I should really post some of my TimKon stuff lol

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Oh my god, this was cruel. You may not have known this was cruel, but this was cruel. Because the last time you sent me an ask, I knew I had a ton of ideas and I teased like two of them, but since then, the JayTimWeek prompts went up. And I promised myself I wasn't going to write something for every day, but then I blinked and I had ideas for every single day.

So, what to do? Do I post a snippet from one of my JayTim week WIPs? Do I post a minor spoiler for Know Yourself that you asked about in one of your comments? Do I drop all 6k words of chapter 1 of a long TimKon fic that's been sitting in my drafts for months? Do I tease an idea that I'm submitting for a zine? Do these questions count as an answer to the prompt, because I can't decide which I'm the most excited about?

No, I'm not that mean 😂 Here are two of the lines I'm most proud of from the next chapter of Know Yourself, which are in the same scene but not next to each other and don't spoil anything:

Jason was the one who had overreacted in the first place, filing Tim’s teeth to a sharp point in the hopes that he’d bite.

But then he fucked it all up. He’d done what he did best: tried to freeze over his white-hot anger, and still managed to be surprised when the ice cracked and steam shot out.

Thanks for the ask!!! I love doing these so thank you for making me answer and giving me an excuse to rest from writing (although @lovetimdrake is going to send me a meme in like 3 hours bullying me (rightfully) about how I'm supposed to be betaing their fic lol)

#📷 jpeg #<- you get a tag bestie #batsasks #bibatrambles #lol I have to be up for work in 5 hours and I'm currently running on 3 hours of sleep #I should stop acting like Tim Drake is a role model for a good sleep schedule #probably #<- spoken by someone who knows they won't start sleeping better #I was like this before I even met him tbh #okay sleepytime goodnight #thanks for the ask!!!!

[perexcri]

hello!! 19 and 24 for the writing asks 😊

HELLOOOO FRIENDDDD i promise i haven't forgotten you!! you sent this right when i decided i needed to cut myself off from laptop time last night lol

also thank you for all of your aftry comments this past week they were so fun to read so thanks for reading it :] 💜💜💜

now: i actually answered both of these here and here! but i have more i can add, so add more i shall 😌

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

i'll answer for the bumps along the way question :D

um,,,yes. there was this big bump called COLLEGE that completely destroyed any ability i had to think or do anything creative for the better part of four years. because my degree was in a social science and a language, i didn't have a lot of time for pleasure reading, and even when i did read, i resorted to a lot of nonfiction because that's just kinda where my brain was at with my education. this trickled down into my writing, where i just,,,could not come up with story ideas. i spent most of high school writing things for fun and then had four years of college where all i could write were personal essays. i also journaled a lot and wrote a decent amount of poetry, but no fun fictional writing. that combined with the nonfiction books made it so by the time i graduated i was convinced i was just never gonna read or write for fun again. turns out i was just super burnt out!

but i digress: i graduated in spring 2021 and finally started reading for fun again in late-summer 2021 when i read the entire Death Note manga! and then a few months later i was finally able to start creatively writing again. in fact (since you just got done with aftry lol), the main idea i was working on when my writing initially started to come back was one of the predecessor ideas for aftry!!

so yeah, this is all to say college ruined my ability to write for four years. but at least i learned some cool things and made some wonderful friends!

24. How much prep work do you put into your stories? What does that look like for you? Do you enjoy this part or do you just want to get on with it?

[warning: there are spoilers for to hell and back again and a flower that resembles you in this answer!!]

like in my previous answer to this question, it all depends! i'll give you some snippets of my two completed longer fics' outlines/prep pages and let you see for yourself lol

so first off: to hell and back again! this one's weird because i'd have long sections outlining minutia and then just like. one sentence for a major plot point. like below! here's them in the closet at Steve's vs. when Will gets taken by Vecna 💀

and now: a flower that resembles you!

i had absolutely no outline for this fic. i just had random notes at the beginning of the doc. come join me in viewing the chaos!

yeah absolutely no plan here it was just Vibes. also so much changed from the notes i had here but oh well

ANYWAY - thank you for the ask!! i hope you're doing well and that the outline screenshots were amusing heheheh~ :] 💜💜💜

#ask #ask game

[dual-domination]

I cannot into asks agshdjdjs BUT: Perfect Guy? 👀👀👀

Is my Fantasy-DarkAcademia fic for an old fandom, mostly written for my best friend. (No Beta, so Ç_Ç) Over 65k. The snippet:

The schoolyard was starting to be covered in leaves, dragging one over the other with the wind that warned of a coming rain. While it didn't arrive and all there was was a sky in many shades of gray, the two boys took advantage of what was left of their lunch break to sit outside, on a bench near the trees that circled the patio, or rather, Jackson was sitting on the far end of the bench, Heath had taken the liberty of lying on the rest, his head in the other's lap and the literal "stroke my hair" when he'd done that. Now the Elemental had his attention turned to the way the clouds moved above his cousin's head.

- Have you finished your Literary Scots notes?

- No, that will take time. Mainly because there's a guy distracting me and taking my attention away from research.

- Which guy?

- You.

- I can give you space if you ask. But you need to get off of me first...

- Jack… no way. It took work to get this place, the research can wait.

- At some point you'll need to get out of here.

- Only when I have a good reason.

- Is the next class a good reason?

- No. But I'll be obliged, so...

- It's class in the library.

- I know, so what?

- Isn't that a good reason?

- I'll make one thing clear: there is no good reason to leave here. Regardless of what I said. But, as it is an opportunity for us to go through the back shelves and find some contribution to research, I take into account the undeniable fact that you match books. Especially the poetry ones.

- Why?

- How can I say? It must be the image of the artist, it is truly poetic. If you were to translate your paintings into words, they would not be prose, they would be poetry…

- I try.

- Try?

- Poetry. I try, it's really the other language besides painting that I like to try.

- My God, you write poetry?! - He almost jumped from where he was, wanted to shake the other by the shoulders with the revelation, but held in place.

- It's not extraordinary, you write essays.

- Poetry is poetry, Jack. It doesn't require me to do a dissertation on why it's extraordinary, it just is.

- You're embarrassing me. -Jackson was sure what color his face was, he smiled awkwardly, still stroking the other's hair.

- I'm upset, I've seen some of your paintings, but none of your poetry… - Heath pouted as if he wasn't going to ask, but was already asking.

- There is no pen or paper here and poetry is not written on the cell phone.

- There is a pen. - He shifted on the seat to reach into his jeans pocket and grab a ballpoint pen, handing it to Jackson.

- And where do you suppose I write?

- Anything I can keep.

- All right, extend your arm.

The redhead wasn't sure if the other was going to take the request seriously or not, but he tugged on his shirt sleeve and offered his forearm anyway. From the angle he was at, he couldn't read as the Londoner wrote, pausing briefly between lines, the tip of the pen touching his skin so lightly it almost tickled, but he stood still, watching Jackson's right hand move the object, for a moment remembering that Holt was left-handed. Same body, opposite sides - in so many ways.

When the pen stopped, Jackson thought it best not to give himself time to regret and just let the Elemental see the words, done in impeccable handwriting even in the condition in which they had been produced.

“Let me write poetry in you

let the pen kiss your skin

as I wish I could

and the ink in old fading blue

in traces and shapes so thin

as I ever should

give you a touch so true.”

Heath read and reread, slowly taking in the meaning and looking for a possibility that he wasn't correctly understanding what was etched into his skin.

- This doesn't seem like something you remember from what you've written...

- You didn't say you wanted me to reproduce something I've done before. If it's to be kept, even if only for as long as the ink lasts, then it should be yours alone.

- Why did you write a romantic thing just for me?

- Because you created a possibility that I never had before: that of writing something romantic for a real person. A person who understands.

But whether Heath had fully understood the entire confession it meant, Jackson had no way of knowing.

…

While the classmates were distracted at the front of the library, trying to circumvent the professor's explanations to talk and fiddle with their cell phones, the two boys had already slipped into the back, where the high shelves darkened the environment and the bronze lamps at the top from the wall cast a little pale yellow light only in the centers of the corridors. The golden filigree on the spines of ancient books still managed to glisten. The distinctive scent of the old collection mingled with the English boy's subtle, woody scent, something Heath only knew well now because, except for rare accidents, he couldn't get too close to Holt when he only changed after he'd left the house. Holt's scent was very different, strong and citrusy-sweet, a scent to draw attention from afar. Jackson's scent seemed made for an indoors and a connoisseur who could get really close.

Very close was where Heath was now, trying to look over the other's shoulder and find out what was interesting about the book he was leafing through.

- Jack, let me see.

- We have underrated poetry here, my dear ginger. - He turned another yellowed, smudged page of a copy with a brown cover and split spine, the filigree few and indistinguishable, already faded.

- Little-known author? Published more than fifty years ago? Remarkable lyricism? - Heath tried to turn around, but as Jackson was almost leaning against the bookcase, he ended up just getting to the side.

- Perfectly. We seem to share the sense of what "underrated poetry" is. - And turned another page, without letting the other see the contents of the book. Heath felt challenged, and put mock disdain into the words, just to try to provoke.

- Underrated poetry could become yours if you continue to spend beautiful verses in the arms of a careless ginger you found around on an unfortunate visit to the New World.

Jackson chuckled inwardly at the tone the conversation was taking, remembering some of the classic authors he liked and had discovered were on Heath's bedroom shelf as well. Still sober, eyes on the book that he had not closed in his hands, he decided to raise the level of that game that could well be the dialogue of the pages of any of the books of that session.

- I found him in the New World, it's true. However, I must remind you, avid reader, that the careless ginger is Scottish, it shows in his vivacious and vehement spirit, despite a certain obliquity to pity and tragedy. - He closed the book in his left hand, turning to approach the Elemental, who ended up with his back on the shelf staring at his cousin's eyes behind the lenses of his glasses, the fragile light of the lamps reflected in the grayish blue. - I also shall add, although I believe it is remarkable to you, that he inflicts on me such emotion that I would not be modest to spend all my verses on him.

- You are hopelessly British, sir. Your accent really deceives my ears, I want to believe that I heard more tempestuous affection than I believe is prudent to a man of your nature. -The redhead reached for the book, his body leaning much closer to the Londoner, his fingers sliding in caresses over the hand that held the object, insinuating itself between the other's fingers.

- Is it not your merit to set fire to even what is considered untouchable? You managed to touch the innermost being of an artist, the deepest inspiration. - Jackson lifted his free hand to touch the Elemental's face, the naturalness of the contact he'd been having with him on a daily basis was very different from that intentionally provocative closeness. With his hand on the redhead's chin, lifting his face slightly, he touched his lips with his thumb, for a long moment his caress and his eyes did not leave there. He approached his face slowly, knowing how irresponsible it was to carry out this game in the place where they were. However, Heath lowered his face back down, gently kissing the finger resting on his lips before whispering.

- Not here, my lord. There are eyes on those shelves, looking for our recklessness to be revealed and our weakness to be shown.

- I will not fear this, my dear. My reason abandoned me when your breath got so close to mine. - He approached again, just until the tips of their noses brushed, he would not advance from there without clear consent, the conversation proceeding quietly.

- Answer me first, is art broken if the artist dares to touch the muse?

- Does the artist break if he doesn't dare?

- If you cannot be prudent, I beg you, my lord, to be kind to this careless servant who holds you in high esteem, and I urge you to heed my childish wail: not here. - And his words had a certain anguish, one that was not part of the game, it came from the impossibilities that his thoughts brought.

- How could I hurt you by an unusual outburst? If one day I win your permission, free from reluctance, all the touch of my affection belongs to you. - Jackson pulled back as the hand that had been on the other's face ran the caress down his arm, until he reached his hand and lifted it between his, placing a gentle kiss on the back before letting go completely.

“Not here… not yet, while I owe you what I owe you. I can't let that happen, no matter how much I want to."

…

#sometimes i forget to finish a fic #but this one is almost done #one day i'll finish for sure