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saintsenara · 7 months

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Thoughts on Ron and Hermione as a ship?

thank you very much for the ask, @thesilverstarling!

i’ll state my position straight away: book ron and hermione are the best of the canon couples.

they will have a long and extremely happy marriage made rich by great and stalwart love, lust, fun, and faithfulness, rather than held together by duty and couples’ therapy like so many readers and authors (including jkr, who seems to have decided to spend the years since the conclusion of the series failing to understand anything about her own characters) tend to think.

i will state another position straight away: lest i seem like i’m just a fan with blinkers on, i think this even though hermione is, by far, my least favourite member of the trio. if she were real i would detest her, and i dislike how she is treated by the narrative as always justified in her negative characteristics. i like fanon hermione - perfect and preternaturally good - even less.

as a result, i think that it’s ridiculous that jkr has said that she thought ron needed to ‘become worthy’ of hermione. they belong together as equals - which is what they’re set up in the narrative as being from the off - and i hate seeing that undermined.

because ronald weasley? he’s an icon. and he doesn’t get anywhere near the respect he deserves in fandom.

there are multiple reasons for this - ron’s narrative purpose is to be the everyman sidekick, and so he is able to be less special than harry or hermione (the helper-figure); the amount of aristocracy wank in this fandom means that the weasleys’ ordinariness is less appealing to writers than making harry have twenty different lordships and call himself hadrian; the narrative interrogates ron’s flaws - especially his capacity for jealousy - much more intensively than it interrogates either hermione’s (cruel, inflexible, meddling) or harry’s (reckless, self-absorbed, judgemental) - but one i feel is particularly significant is that ron is such a british character that many of his traits are not understood as intended by non-british readers.

in particular - as is outlined in this excellent meta by @whinlatter - ron’s sense of humour isn’t indicative of immaturity or a lack of seriousness, but is, in fact, evidence that he’s the most emotionally aware of the trio.

ron is shown throughout the series to understand how both harry and hermione need to have their emotions approached - and i think there is no piece of writing which says this better than crocodile heart by @floreatcastellumposts:

That was what she liked most about Ron, she thought vaguely. He was very good at being suitably outraged on your behalf. For Harry, for her, for Neville. That sort of thing mattered, when you were hurt or embarrassed or wronged in some way. You needed to have someone else on your side, to be as emotional as you felt, maybe even more so, so that you might feel a bit more normal. It was very decent of him, and she was not sure he realised he did it.

ron’s inherent emotional awareness is an enormous source of comfort to other people. he does the work which isn’t flashy or special - he makes tea and tells jokes and is just there - but which is needed in healthy human relationships far more frequently than a willingness to fight to the death for the other person.

[as an aside, this normality - even though i think it is assumed rather than justified by the text - is also what ginny provides for harry. if you believe that hinny are a good couple but romione aren’t… i can’t help you.]

but let’s look at some specific reasons why ron and hermione belong together:

their communication styles mesh perfectly. ron is the only person hermione knows who feeds her love of being challenged and debated, and who is able to engage in this way of communicating without becoming irate when she refuses to back down. ron is good at picking his battles, but he’s also good at recognising that hermione’s tendency to argue isn’t intended to be confrontational a lot of the time - it’s just the way she works through feelings and problems. he’s far more easy-going about her tendency to nag, interrupt, try to provoke arguments, or speak condescendingly than he’s given credit for - and hermione evidently respects this, since when he does tell her not to push a situation (above all, when she’s trying to needle harry into talking about sirius), she listens to him.

that ron and hermione’s tendency to bicker is taken by fans to be a bad thing is because it’s something harry - from whose perspective the narrative is written - doesn’t understand. harry is extremely conflict-avoidant - he tends to take being pushed on views and opinions he has to be insulting; and he has a tendency to assume that he is right which is just as profound as hermione’s. he and ginny communicate not by debating, but by ginny having no time for his rigidity and refusing to indulge it - but ron and hermione bickering about everything is not a negative thing within their specific emotional dynamic.

[as another aside, this glaring chasm in communication styles is why harry and hermione would be a disaster as a couple.]

they each provide validation the other needs. it’s clear - reading between the lines - that hermione is a tremendously lonely person. the friendlessness of her initial few weeks at hogwarts seems to be a continuation of her experience as a child, and - outside of ron and harry - that friendlessness endures through her schooldays. i’m always struck, for example, by the fact that, when she falls out with ron in prisoner of azkaban, she has no-one else to spend time with, and that this is only avoided in half-blood prince because harry decides not to freeze her out. i don’t think her friendship with ginny is anywhere near as close as fanon seems to imply (ginny has no interest in being nagged either), nor do i think that she’s anywhere near as close to neville (not least because she is so condescending to him) as she’s often written to be.

and this loneliness seems to stretch beyond hogwarts. the absence of hermione’s parents’ from the narrative is - in a doylist sense - clearly just a device to maximise time with the trio all together, but the watsonian reading is that she doesn’t have a particularly good relationship with them. hermione’s obviously upper-middle-class background - the name! the skiing! the holidays in the south of france! - can be presumed, i think, to come with a series of expectations from her parents which she feels constantly that she’s not entirely meeting, particularly expectations attached to academic success.

[for example, the grangers - were she a muggle child - would undoubtedly have ambitions for her to attend an elite university and then go into a prestigious career. tertiary education of the type that they’re familiar with doesn’t seem to exist in the wizarding world - most careers seem to be taught by apprenticeship - and this, alongside all the other divides between the magical and muggle worlds which contribute to the distance between them, would be one very obvious area in which she felt the need to prove herself to them.]

ron, too, has quite a difficult relationship with his position in the family - voldemort’s locket is not wrong to point out that he seems to receive considerably less of his mother’s emotional attention than ginny or the rest of his brothers - and he too is constrained by expectations which he doesn’t know how to explain he has no interest in - above all, molly’s desire for her sons to achieve top grades and go into the ministry.

he also suffers while at hogwarts from being ‘harry potter’s best friend’, something which harry never appreciates. but hermione does. she recognises ron’s jealousy and never allows harry to minimise it (and she and ron are very much aligned on having no respect for harry’s saviour and martyr complexes). she appreciates ron’s strengths - above all his kindness and his sense of humour - and makes him feel as though he’s achieved things with them. and ron does the same for her; he is hugely observant when it comes to her, and he challenges and defends her.

the two of them clearly spend a lot of time together one-on-one while harry’s involved in his various shenanigans (including outside of school - hermione has often arrived at the burrow days or even weeks before harry, and they seem to write to each other frequently when apart). they do this within a relationship which is fundamentally equal. one issue with hinny is that, post-war, harry is going to have to get used to seeing ginny as a peer, rather than as someone he has to protect. but ron and hermione never have that issue - equality is baked into their relationship from the off.

because, to be quite frank, fandom overstates the role that jealousy plays in their relationship. it’s true that ron certainly doesn’t acquit himself brilliantly when it comes to hermione’s relationship with viktor krum (it’s because he’s bi and doesn’t know it yet), and a tendency to externalise his insecurity into trying to make others also feel insecure is one of his primary negative traits (hermione does this too, via her patented lofty voice when she’s trying to condescend to people). but this is often taken as the initial red flag for how the relationship would crash and burn, and ron’s toxic jealousy is often used in fan-fiction as the trigger for emotional and physical violence towards hermione which, frequently, seems to drive her into the arms of either draco malfoy or severus snape… who are, of course, the first people we think of when we hear the words ‘not prone to jealousy’...

but i think it’s important to point out several things in defence of ron’s jealousy over krum. firstly, hermione evidently regards his jealousy as ridiculous - she’s upset by it, yes, but her upset must be understood as being caused by the fact that she wanted him to ask her out. she doesn’t think he’s being possessive, she thinks he’s being stupid. secondly, hermione is equally as jealous over ron’s crush on fleur delacour and relationship with lavender brown. she behaves just as cruelly when it comes to lavender as ron does when it comes to krum - and the narrative only treats her actions as more sympathetic or justified both because harry dislikes lavender too, and because, by that point in the series, jkr has dispensed with any inclination to ever criticise her.

but, outside of this teenage pettiness, ron is never jealous of hermione over things which matter. he is never jealous of her intelligence or competence or ambition or success (indeed, he defends her constantly from attacks designed to undermine her in these areas). for someone who struggles with being overshadowed by harry, he is never upset at being overshadowed by her. he is clearly going to be happy to support her in any of the career ambitions she can be written as having post-war.

and, on this point, i think it’s worth interrogating why so many readers still seem to feel uncomfortable with the idea of ron and hermione having a dynamic where she is the more ‘powerful’ one. [it’s always a bit trite to say ‘but what if the genders were reversed?’, but actually that’s not irrelevant here]. if hermione ends up taking the ministry by storm and ron becomes a stay-at-home father or has a job which is just to pay the bills, what, precisely, is wrong with that? why, precisely, should hermione regard ron making that choice for himself as a negative thing? hermione so often seems to leave ron in fan-fiction because of a lack of ambition - something which seems to be particularly common in dramione - but, in canon, she is shown to not particularly care if ron and harry do the bare minimum when it comes to studying etc. she nags them to do their work so they don’t get in trouble. she doesn’t nag them to do it to the same standard that she would.

and, actually, i think that ron being less ambitious than hermione is something which is key to how well they work. because ron provides not only emotional support, but emotional clarity.

hermione is shown throughout canon to - just as harry does - have a tendency to become obsessive to the detriment of her own health. she is also often - as harry is - emotionally or intellectually inflexible, and finds it hard to move on when what she feels or believes is proven to be wrong. both she and harry are micro-thinkers, who lean towards knee-jerk assumptions and stubborn convictions (and, indeed, hermione has a remarkably hagrid-ish tendency towards blind loyalty).

ron is none of these things. ron is a big-picture thinker (it’s why he’s so good at chess). he’s a pragmatist. he’s the least righteous of the three. he understands that faith and loyalty are choices, and that sometimes these choices will lead to outcomes which are bad or hard. he is the one of the three most willing to own up to having made mistakes. he is the one least likely to act on gut instinct (and, therefore, the hardest to fool - i think it’s worth emphasising that he clocks that tom riddle is tricking harry immediately, the only one of the trio to do so). he understands that things are a marathon, not a sprint. he is the least obsessive.

and these traits contribute to aspects of his character which are underappreciated. ron worries about hermione making herself ill during exams, or when she is using the time-turner, and makes an effort to get her to set healthy boundaries and redirect her anxiety. ron stands on a broken leg in front of sirius or goes into the forest to fight aragog not out of righteousness, but out of choice. ron takes over the burden of preparing buckbeak’s defence when it is clear that hermione is approaching burnout. ron is completely right that harry hasn’t done any long-term planning for the horcrux hunt, and his anger does force harry to tighten up after he leaves the trio. ron has a clear head in the middle of battle. ron makes harry and hermione laugh. ron is unafraid of human emotion. ron arrests harry’s tendency to brood over the little things by looking at the bigger picture. ron will always come back.

ron is bringing his politician wife regular cups of tea and making sure she doesn’t work all night. he is helping his lawyer wife to feel less upset over losing one case by reminding her that she’s won ten others. he is noticing stress creeping in and whirling her off for a dirty weekend, or even just a takeaway on the sofa. he is teaching his daughter to be proud of her ambition and his son to treat women as equals and both of his children that all you can do when you fuck up is apologise and try to do better. he is making hermione smile on the worst days of her life. he is helping her strategise her long-term goals when she gets stuck on the short-term ones. he is telling her straight when she needs to get it together. he is seeing a misogynistic head of department call hermione a ‘silly little girl’ and choosing to tell him exactly what he thinks of that.

ron is the ultimate wife guy. hermione is a very, very lucky lady.

#asks answered #asenora's opinions on ships #romione #ron weasley #hermione granger #ron is a wife guy #also may i be clear #ron is evidently unbelievably hot #the text says he looks like bill #who is so fit that harry can barely see when in his company #hermione you lucky thing

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redhoodinternaldialectical · 4 months

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"Murder is Werewolves" - Batman

I don't got the SPOONS to do this thought train justice, I have seriously been trying to write this thing for MONTHS so just, idk, have this half baked skeletal outline of the essay I guess:

I don't believe that Batman's no-kill rule is primarily about rehabilitation or second chances.

His refusal to believe that Cassandra could have killed someone when she was eight years old because "how could a killer understand my commitment not to kill" is absolute fucking MOON LOGIC from a rehabilitationist standpoint. No jury on the planet would think for even a second that she could reasonably be held accountable for her actions in that situation! Her past cannot condemn her to being incapable of valuing human life under a rehabilitation centering framework. However, Batman's reasoning makes perfect sense if he believes that killing is a spiritually/morally corrupting act which permanently and fundamentally changes a person, and that corruption can never be fully undone.

Dick Grayson killing the Joker is treated both narratively and by Batman as an unequivocally WIN for the Joker. The Joker won by turning Nightwing into a killer. Note that this is during a comic in which the Joker transforming people was a major theme! Batman didn't revive the Joker because the Joker deserved to live; he revived the Joker to lift the burden on Dick.

His appeal to Stephanie when she tried to kill her dad is that she shouldn't ruin her own life. He gives no defense of Cluemaster's actual life. Granted this is a rhetorical strategy moment and should be taken with a generous pinch of salt, but it fits in the pattern.

When Jason becomes a willful killer, he essentially disowns him, never treats him with full trust ever again, and... Well, we can stop here for Bruce's sake. Bottom line is that his actions towards Jason do not lead me to believe that he thinks Jason can become a better person without having his autonomy taken from him, either partially or fully.

The Joker is, for better or worse, the ultimate symbol and vessel of pure, irredeemable evil in DC comics now. He hasn't been just another crook in a long time. He will never get better, he will only get worse. If you take it to be true that the Joker will not or can not rehabilitate, then there's no rehabilitationist argument against killing him.

Batman does not seem to consider it a possibly that he'll rehabilitate. Batman at several points seems to think that the Joker dying in a manner no one could have prevented would be good. Yet Batman fully believes that if he killed the Joker, he himself would become irredeemable.

Batman's own form of justice (putting people into the hospital and then prison) is fucking brutal and clearly not rehabilitative. He disrespects the most basic human rights of all criminals on a regular basis. It is genuinely really, really weird from a rehabilitationist standpoint that his only uncrossable line is killing... But it makes perfect sense if he cares more about not corrupting himself with the act of killing than the actual ethical results of any individual decision to kill or not kill.

In the real world cops are all bastards because they are too violent to criminals, even when that violence doesn't lead to death. Prison is a wildly evil thing to do to another human being, and you don't use it to steal away massive portions of a person's life if your goal is to rehabilitate them. In the comic world, Batman is said to be necessary because the corrupt cops are too nice to criminals and keep letting them out of jail. I don't know how to write a connector sentence there so like I hope you can see why this bothers me so damn much! That's just not forgiveness vibes there Batman!!

I want to make special note here of the transformative aspect. You don't simply commit a single act when you kill, no, you become a killer, like you might become a werewolf.

The narrative supports this a lot!

Why did Supes go evil during Injustice? He killed the Joker. Why did Bruce become the Batman Who Laughs? Bruce killed the Joker. Why was Jason Todd close to becoming a new Joker during Three Jokers? Because he killed people, to include the Joker.

Even if these notions of redemption being impossible aren't the whole of his reasoning (people never have only one reason for doing what they do) it is a distinct through-line pattern in his actions and reasoning, and it is directly at odds with notions of rehabilitation, redemption, and second chances.

So why does he give so many killers second chances?

Firstly because this doesn't apply to all versions of Batman. Some writers explicitly incorporate rehabilitation and forgiveness into his actions. You will be able to provide me with examples of this other through-line pattern if you go looking for them. The nature of comics is to be inconsistent.

Secondly the existence of that other pattern does not negate the existence of this one. People and characters are complex, and perfectly capable of holding two patterns of belief within themselves, even when they conflict to this degree. You can absolutely synthesize these two ideas into a single messy Batman philosophical vibescape.

Finally and most importantly to this essay: he has mercy on killers the same way that werewolf hunters sometimes have mercy on someone who is clearly struggling against their monsterous nature, especially if they were turned in exceptional circumstances or against their will. They understand that they are sick, damned beasts, cursed to always be fighting against themselves and the evil they harbor within. It is vitally kind to help them fight themselves by curtailing their autonomy in helpful ways and providing them with chances to do some good to make up for their eternal moral deficiency.

I think in many comics Batman views killers as lost souls. Battered and tormented monsters who must be pitied and given mercy wherever possible. (The connections to mental health, addiction, and rampant, horrifying ableism towards people struggling with both is unavoidable, but addressing it is sadly outside of the scope of this essay.)

Above all, the greatest care possible must be taken to never, ever let yourself become one of them, because once you have transformed the beast will forever be within you growing stronger.

To Batman, it is the most noble burden, the highest mercy, the most important commandment: Thou shalt suffer the monsters to live.

#batman #batman negative #batsalt #okay hopefully that will let peeps who don't wanna see me rant against bats avoid this?#i could write several books on the moral and ethical philosophies at play in the Batfam tbh #I'm like kinda mostly happy with this #pretty good for being slammed out in three hours while baking brownies #inspired muchly by my friend's talk about Batman acting in accordance with Presbyterian predestination #and how he is one of the most carceral of all superheroes #all people merely revealing through their actions what sort of person they already are #punishing them in the hopes they can suffer enough penance on earth to escape hell #how that can look like rehabilitation or redemption at a glance #but functions in a fundamentally different way #anyway hope this mess was an interesting read!#damian's tomfoolery

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dduane · 1 year

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What inspired you to write Young Wizards? A relative, a dream you had? Did the story come to you as you were writing it, or was it hammered from bits and pieces of thoughts made plain on text? Were there parts you struggled with, parts that came easier than others? (Have you already answered these questions in an interview you can link to?)

What inspired me to write So You Want To Be A Wizard?

Partly humor. Partly rage. (More about both under the cut...)

The subject's come up in interviews every now and then, but let's tl:dr; it here.

The humor: Often enough while I was nursing, and seeing the bizarre things people would do to their own bodies, I wished out loud to various fellow health-care professionals that human beings came with some kind of instruction manual or new user’s management guide. Now, I'd known the "So You Want To Be A…" series of (US-published) career books from my childhood. One day when I was thinking about them—possibly while trying to figure out what the title of such an instruction-and-advice manual might be—the word "…Wizard" plugged itself onto the end of the title template.

Instead of a simple instruction manual for people, I gradually found myself considering what a wizard's manual would look like. Where would it come from? Who would it have come from? Might it, itself, be an entirely bigger manual than the one I'd been joking about—but one containing the full instructions and background material you'd need for (maybe) understanding life and the world, but (definitely) doing magic? A book as big or as small as you needed for the work in hand, and full of the answers to questions you never thought you'd get answers to? ...

From that basic concept, the wider concept of wizardly culture built itself up over the next couple of years. ...Naturally I'd read Le Guin's "Earthsea" books years before, and I'd noted (but decided to pass on) the concept of a school-for-wizards. While it was interesting enough, it'd already been done by a writer far more skilled. What interested me more was a DIY-ish approach, where you learn by yourself, do things that interest you, and join up with other like-minded practitioners when the mood moves you or circumstances require.

Anyway, now comes the rage. While all this was percolating in the background, I was finishing up a YA series by another writer. When I hit the end of it, I was profoundly upset by the events of the series’s closure. They seemed to me to have treated strong and resilient young characters as helpless creatures without agency, subjecting them “for their own good” to an amnesic end-state they absolutely didn’t deserve. I got mad about this. I dove into the writing of the first Young Wizards book with the intention of treating my young characters a whole lot better—since if there was anything I knew about kids from my nursing, it was that a lot of them were tougher than many of the adults around them.

Once I was started, the writing went straightforwardly from book’s beginning to book’s end (because as I was already a screenwriter, and screenwriters outline, the novel was naturally outlined too). The writing took about six months, as right then I was also writing for Scooby and Scrappy-Doo to pay the rent. I turned in the book and didn’t think much more about what might happen next (though I knew there was quite a lot more story to tell) until I ran into Madeleine L’Engle at some event of my publisher’s. She took me aside and said, “I read your last one. I liked it a lot! When’s the next?”

That was when I realized I had a problem... so I got busy. :) ...And I’ve been busy with the Young Wizards universe ever since. I’m busy with that universe right now, though it may not look like it. And I expect to be busy with it for years to come.

HTH!

#Young Wizards #Young Wizards meta

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avinwrites · 1 year

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IDV Men and their Love Languages pt. 3

Characters included: Victor, Andrew, Luca, Edgar, Ganji

Victor Grantz

Victor’s intense Scopophobia as well as nervous habits made determining his love language difficult. Despite his inability to talk, as well as his social anxiety, I believe his love language is, in fact, words of affirmation. At first, I vetoed this, since he doesn’t take words at face value and believes that words written and passed back and forth mean so much more. And this still applies! He is overjoyed the first time he receives a letter addressed to himself, and this carries over to receiving letters in the manor. There’s so much one can say to him, and he doesn’t have to trip and stumble through social conventions to get the message!

-You take notice of this early on, not too long after he arrived in the manor

-You thought it’d be cute, or a little funny, to give him a welcome letter and say some sweet things and encourage him and teach him a bit about the games, since he’s a postman.

-He sends a letter back saying how thankful he is for the letter and reveals to you that he isn't one for face to face conversation

-So, you both get to know each other very well though letters

-but he observes you in conversation with others

-he believes that your genuine self comes through when you write letters and that sometimes you pretend to be different around the others

-He really wants to understand your true self better

-To do that, he writes you a letter, basically outlining his thoughts

-after a long time of correspondence, he’s come to trust you

-He asks you to meet him in a quiet, pretty place, like the garden

-There, he writes down a few questions that he expresses his wish for you to respond to them in your own voice, not to write them

-When he realizes that you speak to him the same way you write to him, he gets a little flustered

-One, he feels bad for doubting you, and two, he’s over-the-moon that you entrusted him with your true self practically without hesitation

-That's when he notices you, just as flustered as he is, for seemingly no reason

-“Victor, I have to tell you the truth about something.” You were going to do this through another letter, but now seems like the perfect moment, after having confided in each other with deep feelings and secrets.

-“I’m in love with you.” The words come out before you’re ready. You’re almost breathless, like the words were ripped from your lungs by the impenetrable claws of truth.

-He sits there for a moment, stunned, red gradually spreading across his entire face

-Then, he furiously scribbles something on the paper on front of him, scratches it out, writes something else, scratches it out as well

-Then, finally, he slides the paper towards you

-amongst the messy scribbles, four words in his distinct handwriting

-“I love you, too!”

Andrew Kreiss

He is initially afraid of affection. Previous to his life in the manor, he could only rely on his mother for comfort, and now that she is gone, he couldn’t imagine the care of another. The letter sent to him to invite him to the manor gave him hope for the first time, and in this place, he isn’t ridiculed or mocked. He still has trouble interacting with people, but he’s growing as a person. In fact, while he is living in the manor, he discovers his love language!

-When he was young, he can remember his mother pulling him close in her lap, petting his hair and whispering such sweet things to him

-He really misses her

-Sometimes, he wonders what she would think of his life now

-despite doing some immoral things in his life, then taking a sketchy offer to go to an unknown location, he thinks he’s doing ok

-Surprisingly, he’s bonded with a few people while having to live here

-the main one being you

-You were so kind to him when he first arrived

-You were the first person he met that didn’t treat him harshly or whisper behind his back about him

-It was no question that he’d become close to you

-You engage him in such interesting conversations as well

-Particularly, the conversation the two of you are in now

-“Hey, Andrew, what do you think your love language is?”

-“What is that?”

-Shocked, you explain to Andrew the main 5 love languages and what they entail. He genuinely has no idea.

-“I think you best receive love through words of affection, but I also see that makes you uncomfortable, so I’ve been having trouble figuring it out.”

-“Do you think about everyone like this?”

-“Only certain people; people I care a lot about!”

-He’s blushing, maybe it is words of affection

-“Your kind words… remind me of my mother.”

-His pale face rapidly turning red, you can’t help but test the limits of his reception of intimacy

-You pull his calloused hands into yours, watching his face intently for any sign of discomfort, or appreciation

-He stares like a deer in headlights at your hands, but does not pull away

-“Maybe you like physical affection then?” You say, coy

-“I… I think,” he’s stammering, throat dry and nervous, “I think so long as it’s you… I’d be fine with anything.”

-Ah, now he’s got you blushing

-Guess you’ll have to show him different types of affection more often!

Luca Balsa

Luca spends a lot of his time working. He’s desperate to remember his old ideas, and often forgets to take care of himself. The best way to show that one loves him is through Acts of Service. He doesn’t need someone to take care of him, but he understands the difference between pity and genuine care.

-Drag him out of his room when he’s been holed up in there for too long, he’ll fight, but ultimately, he’s appreciative of it.

-He forgets to eat and drink, too focused on other matters. Tell him some silly joke about how “perpetual motion can’t exist without some kind of energy!” and make him eat.

-If he’s having a particularly stressful day, migraines and amnesia making his brain swirl into oblivion, bring him a cold hand towel and a drink

-Sit with him until he’s feeling better and encourage him to get some fresh air

-He can’t think of anything but his invention until you come along and distract him

-now all he can think about is how thankful he is for your care

-He does things for you, too.

-He likes to do gentlemanly things for you

-Like pull out a chair for you, or lend you a coat if he happens to have one

-It reminds him of his life before the accident

-While his love language is acts of service, there is one particular thing he likes to do with you that doesn’t have much to do with that

-You notice he’s particularly chipper one day, practically bouncing up and down with energy

-“What puts you in a good mood today, Luca?” You laugh, he pulls you up from your seat with a hand and leads you to a large open space in the foyer

-“I remembered something earlier, something I wish to share with you!”

-“Then by all means, lead the way!”

-Once you reach the foyer, he doesn’t let go of your hand, instead positioning you close to him, he places your other hand on his shoulder, then moves to hold you soft on the waist.

-“You remembered a dance?”

-He doesn’t respond, almost as if he is trapped in the memory itself, he begins to twirl you around the makeshift ballroom

-Suddenly, he beams, laughing gleefully as he lifts you and spins you around!

-Its infectious, his smile, you laugh with him, enjoying your moment together

-When he slows down, he rests his forehead against yours, giving you his signature lopsided grin

-“Thank you for all that you do for me.”

Edgar Valden

Edgar believes that any “time” that he gives to someone else should be considered quality. But what is quality time to him? He thinks back to his younger years, his brothers always pestering him, telling him to do things or wanting to spend time with him. Back then, he would’ve called “quality time” being alone with his painting supplies, full of inspiration and ability. Now, he has a different idea of quality time.

-When Edgar met you, you sparked the remembrance of his sister in him.

-His poor, sister whom he lost so early in life, just after his mother left

-It was his first major inspiration since being in the Manor

-He tried to work using only his memory, but that was unreliable at most times.

-So, he asked you to come meet him where he could see you and paint

-He sets up an easel outside near a bench in the gardens

-Back in Britain, he made a comment about how the weather was always against him, he hates rain

-But today, everything seems to be going in his favor

-The sun in its radiance directed itself in his muses direction

-You sit there in front of him, nervous, but excited to see the outcome of his painting

-He’s in quiet concentration, you hesitate to break the silence, but you feel a little uncomfortable sitting as he stares at you

-“The sun is brilliant today! Don’t you think so?” You say, awaiting his response. At first he looks like he’s going to tell you to keep quiet, then his gaze softens ever-so-slightly

-“I like the sun as well, rain is uninspiring.”

-The silence continues for a short moment before he speaks again

-“I used to have a friend, my cat, Mary. She loved sunny days like this, too. I can almost see her curled up, soaking up the rays.”

-He spends a short amount of time reminiscing of his past, remembering when Mary was young and his close siblings would run in the yard and chase after her.

-That didn’t last for very long

-He and Mary grew up similarly, as they grew older, they became slower and more content to be alone

-“I’ve never remembered so much in such a short time.” He comments. You almost don’t hear him.

-“Good memories, I hope!” You pipe up from your seat across from him.

-“Bittersweet.” A sigh, then a light breeze picks up, bringing with it dark clouds.

-When thunder rumbles in the distance, he groans.

-“It seems the weather always has it out for me.”

-“That’s ok, we have plenty of time together! Let’s do this again!” You help him carry his things indoors before any rain picks up.

-When he’s back in his room, alone, he rethinks his definition of quality time.

-He would like to experience this day again. And again.

Ganji Gupta

Words of Affirmation is Ganji’s love language. He likes to be reassured, and though he has a bit of a short temper, his anger is resolved with relative ease. He is also one to use his words to show appreciation. Despite looking displeased most of the time, Ganji is a perfectly pleasant man to be around.

-His favorite thing to do is compliment you during a match

-Sometimes, it will distract you, which entertains him

-He likes the playful banter that comes with competition

-If you’re containing the hunter, he’ll run by and hit the hunter at the perfect time

-then direct some quip at you about how he “saved” you

-It is the opposite when he has to use his rampage skill

-he hates being so angry and violent, but he has to in order to gain strength

-so, once you’re both safe, you comfort him with your kind words, reminding him that he’s not a monster, and that he is a kind person

-the only part of his rage he appreciates. That is, the fact that you always comfort him.

-A lot of his attachment comes from open communication

-honesty is a really big thing for him

-If he has a problem with something, he’ll come out and say it

-but he’ll be cordial about it until it turns into an argument

-that doesn’t happen very often, though

-and rarely ever with you, he feels very guilty if he ever directs his anger towards you

-if, is the keyword, it really is unlikely for you to get in a fight with him

-he cares about you so much that only sweet words will flow from his mouth to your ears

-he makes sure of it!

Hi! Thank you all so much for reading and supporting my works! This will be the end of this "mini-series" if one could call it that! However, for the characters I didn't write for, I'd be happy to revisit them if requested! ヽ(✿ﾟ▽ﾟ)ノ

Characters not included: Ada, Vera, Murro, Emil, Orpheus, Luchino, and Frederick, as well as any hunter.

#idv #identity v #idv x reader #identity v x reader #victor grantz #idv postman #andrew kreiss #idv grave keeper #luca balsa #idv prisoner #edgar valden #idv painter #ganji gupta #idv batter

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wonryllis · 2 months

Note

please give writing tips too

sure love! everyone’s different so in no way would the same things work for all but these are some tips that have helped me improve and just you know expand my horizons.

feel free to add your own points to this to help people more!!

001. READ READ AND READ (I CAN’T STRESS ENOUGH ON THIS BUT THIS IS THE MAIN KEY). be it fics, or novels or normal story books even non-fiction. reading will help in expanding your vocabulary and grammar, and give you an idea on how to build words in different kinds of scenarios. how to set the mood and what kind of details will have the most impact.

002. for expanding your vocabulary i would suggest searching up words you come across and don’t know the meaning of. don’t skip them, search them up and try understanding what they mean and look through what other words have similar meanings(synonyms)

003. CONSTANTLY PRACTICE WRITING. even if you’re not going to post it anywhere, just try writing a little bit on different themes. in that way you will be able to find out more about your writing style and flair as well as what points you need to work on.

004. STOP HESITATING TO REWRITE. there’s hardly anything one gets right at the first shot. and the same goes for writing. rewriting pieces will help you figure out what you should’ve added that you didn’t the first time and how changing the order of words or adding new literary devices(metaphors, similes, anecdotes etc) can make more of an impact.

005. DON’T BE AFRAID TO EXPLORE DIFFERENT GENRES. just 100 words can also help with experience. search up different genres that interest you and try coming up with a short scenario if you can.

13 points more under the cut!

006. TRIAL AND ERROR. don’t be let down if you fail to write a specific type of au, theme or trope. it takes certain amount of time and experience to be able to write different genres or anything as such. you need to have exposure to that topic to be able to create imagination on it.

007. with that being said, when you pick up a certain trope, au, theme or any topic you want/plan to write on: DO PROPER AND A LOT OF RESEARCH. trust me, it helps a lot.

008. as well in relation to the point above when writing a story, make sure to plan a rough outline. what kind of characters you’re going for, what events are going to define your story, how do you want the ending and the beginning to be. what your protagonist(s) is going for, what all they would be facing throughout and such.

009. SET A MORAL/POINT OF VIEW YOU WANT TO CONVEY through your writing. it helps you have a basis, a particular aim and drive behind what you wish to leave an impression through. it could be anything complex like dark themes of toxicity or even anything as simple as comfort. you just need to know what you’re writing for.

010. for inspiration i would suggest, LISTENING TO SONGS. any song you’re listening to, try thinking of a story behind it. for example let’s take taylor swift’s “no body no crime” go through the lyrics, the vibe and think what type of story could have this as background music. or what kind of a story could have that type of no body no crime summary?

011. KNOW WHEN TO SHOW THINGS RATHER THAT TELLING THEM. too much of anything is never good. when writing, it’s important to keep the balance between descriptions, narratives and dialogues. try thinking what are the things that would be better when described, for example the relationship between your characters: it’s something which is better shown than told. like how they treat each other, how they see each other, their dynamics in general is not something that can be told through a big lengthy dialogue or JUST one paragraph(short drabbles being an exception)

012. an additional point to the one above would be, try keeping yourself in the reader’s position and see what pulls you in more. what makes you feel the emotions better.

013. PICTURE THE SETTING YOU WANT TO WRITE ON. close your eyes and think of any type of place that you would like to write the story in. a suburb? or an abandoned city for an apocalypse? this will help in brainstorming for ideas.

014. INTO THE CHARACTER’S MIND. this is a very important point. explore the world within the mind of the character, something that defines them. THIS IS ANOTHER BIG KEY TO IMPROVE, pull your readers into the character(s)’ mind, show them the fears, the memories, the feelings, the thoughts, the hopes and dreams. it helps them understand the character and get into the story.

015. when using dialogues keep in mind that the DIALOGUES SHOULD ALWAYS BE MEANINGFUL AND REALISTIC. unnecessary talks aren’t often attractive so write what is necessary, needed. even with humor, excessive fun is not always impressive. and short but impactful dialogues always literally always leave the best impression.

016. CHALLENGE YOURSELF. try starting off strong since the very beginning. strong meaning starting off with words that leave a lasting impression. or words that pull you in with intrigue.

017. LEARN TO PACE YOURSELF. first of all it’s okay to take a break. actually its very important. pushing yourself beyond limits would never give positive results. know when you need to stop, cause being tired is not going to give better ideas or better word building. let yourself go into writer’s block, don’t fight it. you’ll come back better than when you’re forcing yourself to stay put and continue.

018. and last but not least. KNOW THAT IMPROVEMENT TAKES TIME. don’t be disappointed or discouraged if you are not good today. not being good today doesn’t mean you won’t ever be good. keep trying and with little to little progress over time, you will see yourself getting there. don’t lose hope🤗! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

#﹙あり.﹚ 𝓯𝐚𝐞𝐫𝒾𝐞 𝓰𝐨𝐬𝐬𝒊𝐩 !#﹙⪩⪨.﹚ 𝒎𝒚 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐬 ˃̵ᴗ˂̵#🦢̼ࣳ ⋆ ٫٫ ⁽ anon ₎#WRITINGtips #enhypen imagines #txt imagines

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eriquin · 1 year

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Okay so the Superhero AU

Back in October, I got into a fanfic brainstorm on discord with @kedreeva, @whydamnitwhy, and @fiore-della-valle about a Steddie Superhero AU. And @captainhaterade has been telling me to just post the ficlet/outline ideas I have instead of letting them waste away in my drafts folders, so here it is.

Warning tags? Deals with injuries, blood, fighting, secret identities, and mind-wipes.

(you are here) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

...

Hellfire (Eddie) shows up at Steve’s apartment, bleeding and in costume. He comes in through the window, or maybe the skylight. He’s got a full-concealment mask that also covers his hair, and Steve knows who he is based on his costume. He also knows that Dustin and the Party run around with him sometimes. Hellfire asks if he’s the EMT that the Party knows, and if he can do some quick stitches for him. He’s wobbly on his feet and wouldn’t have asked but... And he just shrugs and doesn't explain. Like he didn’t know where else to go. “Just something quick to keep me going and I’ll get out of your hair.”

Steve has never been able to turn down someone in medical need so he gets his kit out and has him sit on a bench or table, under some bright lights so he can work. But Steve is also grumbling the whole time. Like “I’ll help you but I’m not hiding how annoyed I am about it.” He wants to know what happened and if the party was involved. Hellfire says that they weren’t. It was just him versus some goons and one of them got a lucky hit. Steve sees that it’s much more than a lucky hit. It’s a deep puncture wound and will need more than stitches. It’s between the ribs and even through the mask Steve can tell that Hellfire isn’t breathing right. He thinks it’s a punctured lung. Hellfire says that’s fine, ‘cause he’s got two of those, right? And the full-concealment mask is one of those hard shell ones, but Steve can see blood from the bottom of it. He runs his fingers under Hellfire’s chin to show him, and then Hellfire is swearing and laying down on Steve’s table, obviously much worse off than he thought. He doesn’t pass out but it’s a close thing, and Steve is very sure that he’s not going to be able to fix this here.

He does a minor patch-up job but it’s going to need more. He wants to call someone, and there are definitely places that Hellfire could go to get this treated without revealing his identity, but Steve also knows that Hellfire tends to not trust people and wouldn’t understand how Steve would know about those places.

It’s all moot when the people pursuing Hellfire break into Steve’s apartment.

They’re counter-heroes; third-tier heroes who police the vigilante scene and administer some sort of “justice.” Steve thinks they’re basically no different from vigilantes themselves, but they have better press. But they also have some rules they’re supposed to follow, and it’s much closer to police rules. He tries to hide Hellfire in his bathroom and tell the counter-heroes that they have to come back with a warrant, but they push their way with a shout about him harboring a dangerous villain. He says that he’s a medical professional and that they’re violating... Well, he can’t actually remember what law they’re violating, but it’s definitely one. They try to push past him or subdue him. That’s when he goes into fight mode.

It’s rough, but Steve’s a bruiser and knows how to go for knock-outs. He also has plenty of makeshift weapons around the house. So the three person team that’s geared towards sneaking around and taking out a summoner gets their ass handed to them by a barbarian. Even the one who has side-step powers and a stiletto barely manages to scratch him before he’s grabbing them by the throat and smacking them repeatedly on the table. He does take a few bad hits, but by the time it’s over he’s already healing. And Hellfire is watching him from the bathroom door. He still has his mask on but Steve hears him mutter “oh shit” before he slumps over and passes out.

Steve’s on the wire to Robin to get an emergency crew together for cleanup at his apartment and medical help. Robin’s like “oh damn.” Then Steve’s double checking Hellfires’ wounds. He’s definitely bleeding too much. He manages to get the bottom part of the faceplate off so he can check on Hellfire’s breathing and he’s bleeding from his mouth. Steve’s worried about him choking on it. He swears the whole time but decides to use the wound-absorption power on him because he’ll heal a punctured lung faster than Hellfire will, apparently. So he’s sitting next to an unconscious vigilante when Robin (name? Parrot? Canary? Swift? Let’s go with Swift so she can make baby-eating jokes and then complain that no one gets them) and Nancy (Hot Wheels) show up, teleported in by Erica (Lady Applejack).

Erica and Nancy take care of the counter-heroes that Steve has taken out, removing them and promising to get someone to mess with their heads so they don’t know where they got beat up or what they were doing. It’s probably going to be Argyle. He’s great at that shit, even if he primarily uses his mind-altering powers on himself.

Robin helps get Steve somewhere comfortable while he heals and then drags Hellfire to the couch. She complains about having to do physical activity the whole time, since he’s the one with super strength. He’s like “Okay, we’ll trade. I’ll carry him, you can sit around healing a punctured lung. Sound good?” She rolls her eyes at him. She asks if she should go get his mask (does he even have one) but Steve reasons that Hellfire came to his apartment, so he knows his face already.

Robin comments on him having taken off part of Hellfire’s mask, like that was a major no-no, but Steve shrugs it off. Medic’s privilege. He does send Robin away so that Hellfire won’t realize someone else saw part of his face. Robin tells him to keep on the comms with her and let her know what happens.

Steve hangs out until Hellfire wakes up. When he’s healed up (maybe 20 minutes?), he does a quick check to make sure he didn’t miss anything critical on Hellfire, but the guy is just napping. He eventually does wake up, seemingly from a nightmare. Hellfire sits up abruptly and checks his wounds really quick. Then freaks out about his mask being half off and glares at Steve. Steve can tell he’s glaring by his frown. He wants the rest of his mask back.

Steve keeps holding onto it: You’re welcome, by the way. Hellfire: You know the deal. Hand it over. Steve: The deal is you fucking thank someone for going out of their way to help you. Hellfire: I thought I was going to a god-damned EMT, not— Steve: I am an EMT, asshole. Hellfire: You’re a super. You’ve got, what? Super-strength and fast healing? What are you...

Hellfire sees the bloody spot on Steve’s shirt that matches his own and prods at his side again. He knows that Steve didn’t get stabbed while he fought and realizes what must’ve happened. He’s done enough research to know that sympathetic healing is not a common ability. Steve is uncomfortable in the silence and holds his mask out to him.

Steve: Look, you’re all better now. Right? So get the hell out of my apartment. Hellfire takes his mask back and mutters, softly: Thank you.

He leaves through the skylight again after putting himself back together. Steve relaxes and complains over the comms to Robin about being bruised and ruined clothes and having to clean up a bunch of blood. He spends the next hour getting everything back in order before he goes to bed.

...

I've got the rest but I'll put it in another post, I think.

#steddie #my writing #outline only fics #gearing up to post more of these #stranger things #superhero au #part 1

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ccrisntok · 11 months

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TW// Blood, Implied Death, Suicidal thoughts/actions, Violence, Homophobia, Mentions of SA (Basically all the stuff that happens it Heathers: The Musical.)

this is really long and you kind of have to know the plot of Heathers to understand it. Major spoilers for DRDT and Heathers btw

Ayoo, I'm here with some doodles and basic story outlines based off of @another-danganronpa-fan's DRDT + Heathers au! I took some like, creative liberties I guess. Didn't really change things at all, but added a lot of things! Sorry if I messed with your au a bit too much haha. (Also this is probably not the only doodles I'll make about this au it has snatched my brain.)

I'll explain some stuff along the way.

Xander as Veronica! (He still has his eye, its just sensitive to light and a different color). I feel like you could switch Xander and Teruko and the au would still work, but as the creator of the au explained, Xander just *barely* makes more sense as Veronica. He's more optimistic than Teruko is, and more willing to trust others. Also, David is a Heather in this au, so it makes sense that Xander would idolize them. Also also, we see canonically that Xander hates murder, but will do it if he really thinks it's necessary. I don't think he would kill people in this au on purpose though, and still feel as bad, if not worse about it than Veronica does.

Teruko as JD: Pretty obvious. Troubled family past, prone to violence if necessary, extremely distrustful of others? i don't really know if her luck would be a factor in this au, but if it was, it would probably explain why her life is so messed up. She'd kill some bitches.

Arturo as Heather Chandler. I feel like he's the only person in the cast who would be a big enough dick to be Heather C, and his obsession with beauty could be a factor of why he treats everyone like minions instead of people. He would probably die the same way, and for the same reasons as Heather C. Poisoned after making Xander and Teruko mad. His red ribbon... tie, thing would be the "red scrunchy" of this au.

David as Heather Duke: Yeah. Like, I feel like he fits her to a tee. After Art dies, he takes place as the leading Heather, and becomes a total asshole (probably similar to his breakdown in cannon). Also, since Arei is Heather Mac, it would make sense for him to try and force her into suicide, since that's what he insists he does in cannon. He may give Xander some hair-clips as a show of friendship.

Arei as Heather Mac: This one seems weird at first, but this Arei is in the middle of her redemption arch (for reasons that will be explained later). She's more snarky than cannon Mac, but also is going through a lot of mental turmoil. I'd say her sisters are still around. and her home life is pretty terrible, so she relishes in the power being a Heather gave her. Until she meets Eden, and realizes how little being powerful in high school matters.

Eden as: Martha! I made quite a few changes to her character, because her being in love with the Ram of this au wouldn't have worked. So I made her in love with Arei. Obviously, in cannon Heathers, Veronica helps forge a love confession to make a fool out of Martha, and I feel like Xander would be pressured to do the same thing. In doing this, he could also end up outing her publicly, admittedly probably not thinking about that as a factor (can you tell this part of the au is where I'm most passionate hflkas).

I feel like Xander wouldn't have bad intentions with outing Eden, but he still does it accidently, probably being like "THERES MORE GIRLS IN THE SEA BESTIE, FIND A BETTER ONE" in a crowed room while wasted.

I also feel like these feelings would be ACTUALLY mutual, unlike Martha's feelings for Ram. I added this in because I just don't think Arei and Arturo would be very close, or "Ram and Kurt", but seeing Eden's recent public humiliation added to her "friends" deaths might push her over the edge. It also would give her a reason to soften up, and fit the Heather Mac role.

Also, hearing about Arei's suicide attempt could also influence to Eden's suicide attempt later, since she doesn't really care about the other people's deaths in this au.

now to my least favorites...

...Ace as Ram, and Levi as Kurt. Hu as Mrs. Fleming makes total sense and I support that wholeheartedly, but Levi and Ace.... are kinda the only ppl who could fit the roles so 💀

I made quite a few changes to these two, the huge, major one being they don't try and SA Xander. There was no way in hell I was making them rapists, in any way shape or form. They're still pieces of shit, just not in that way (fuck Ram and Kurt in actual Heathers frfr I HATE those men oh my god JD was so based.)

Now, Ace and Levi are most definitely still jocks, and bullies. Ace would probably more of a harasser, while Levi is the one beating people up. As mentioned in my little doodle, Ace is only popular bc he "plays sports", rides horses I guess, and is rich, and Levi hangs out with him for only those reasons. Also probably a little gay idk

Instead of trying to SA Xander and lie about him sleeping with them, in this au Ace and Levi lie about Xander beating up Ace for no reason.

Levi is actually the one who beat up Ace, and idk, either Ace lies about it out of spite to Xander, or just doesn't remember and assumes its Xander. I'd say the remaining Heathers, Ace, Levi and Xander get super drunk in the woods or something (idk why Xander would be invited or show up but why not) and Ace said some dumb shit and got beaten up.

This gives both Teruko (for beating their asses before) AND Xander a violent rep, and Xander hates that, so he's pretty pissed. I'd say Xander would challenge them to a real fight, Teruko would bring the fake (very, very real) gun, and hilarity ensues (Ace and Levi get shot.)

Since Xander thought this was a harmless prank, he's pretty traumatized ofc

Then ofc, Teruko and Xander forge a suicide note. It would probably be like "oh yeah we were gay or whatever but levi beat me up so i killed him then myself."

ofc Xander is haunted by the ghosties he murdered <3

uhhh I haven't drawn the saddest parts of the au yet so get ready for a part 2 😈😈😈 which will also prob include better refs.

this was so long omg I'm sorry. this is gonna take tons of tags djssfklafhdls

#drdt #drdt fanart #xander matthews #teruko tawaki #drdt spoilers #heathers #ace markey #levi fontana #arturo giles #david cheim #arei nageishi #eden tobisa #i spent way to long on this #help

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project-sekai-facts · 1 year

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Me and my friend had a crazy idea. Since every prsk character is depressed and needs therapy, could a sekai be representing therapy through music???

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!!!

I don't think it's a crazy idea at all and I would say there's definitely truth to that statement actually! The Vocaloids in each SEKAI all exist to help the characters reflect on and understand their feelings, even the SEKAI themselves do this sometimes (e.g: the sky in School SEKAI changing with the girls' feelings, the stuffed toys in Wonderland SEKAI being influenced by the troupe's emotions). While not all the character's problems are solved directly through music, music and community does tie it all together, and of course, the SEKAI is directly tied to Vocaloid. So yeah, the SEKAI does seem like a stand-in for music therapy, even more so when you consider that songs based on the character's emotions actually manifest within the SEKAI. I think this whole system helps them a lot with processing their emotions and understanding themselves, in the same way therapy does.

I do just wanna correct one thing there and say that not every character is depressed. Yes, they all have their low points, but no way are they all depressed. You look at someone like Kohane, who I would consider one of the most mentally healthy characters. She's very she and has quite low self-esteem early on in the story, but I wouldn't say she was depressed at any point.

I do think though, since they are all in that later part of their teenage years where you're getting closer to adulthood and there's just so much stuff going on, that the SEKAI are a really good outlet for them. They just need to get their feelings out sometimes and therapy can be really good for people in that age range even if you aren't depressed or otherwise mentally ill.

I think Empty SEKAI is the most obvious example of being a theraputic sekai. Even if it's not conventional or the greatest at times. Most of the virtual singers are standoffish and definitely don't handle things in the right way, but they still do help the characters come to terms with their feelings. Specifically outlining KAITO in immiscible discord here. Don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read it so I'll be quite vague. But that is not how you handle a situation like Mafuyu's. Yes, it was something she needed to face, and deep down knew (KAITO is derived from Mafuyu after all), but he was extremely harsh on her when what he was telling her should've probably been let down on her much lighter. I'm not to familiar with the work that the event song is based on but it shows that Mafuyu is slowly accepting what KAITO was telling her - she hates what she has become because of how she let people treat her and even if she isn't ready to outwardly accept it entirely yet, deep down she has, and the SEKAI has created this song to help her reach that acceptance. The song is surprisingly aggressive which makes a lot of sense when you consider that KAITO is the featured vocaloid.

On the better side of Empty SEKAI you have Miku. Miku is really interesting to me because she is mainly a source of comfort rather than a guide or a therapist. She's always there for Mafuyu and will do anything Mafuyu wants or needs. Because, especially when the SEKAI manifested, Mafuyu just needed something. Miku is actually very similar to Mafuyu in that she doesn't feel a whole lot and she's learning about all these new emotions at the same time as Mafuyu re-learns them. It's a journey they're taking together and although it's not conventional, I think it helps Mafuyu a lot to just have someone there to walk the same path as her.

I think it's especially interesting that the only song in the SEKAI at first was the one Kanade wrote. Although she wanted the other Niigo members to stay out of her business at the time, the song still meant something to her. There was someone who cared enough to try. She didn't truly grasp that that was how she felt, but Miku did, even if she wasn't entirely aware of it either. Music is an integral part of Mafuyu's recovery in particular, since not only do N25 and OWN act as a way for her to put her unspoken feelings into words, but the SEKAI can do it for her - it can get all those repressed emotions out of her since the SEKAI is her in a way, and I think it's such an effective way for her to confront how she really feels and slowly understand and recover from her depression.

So in conclusion I think you're right OP and I went REALLY offtopic there sorry about that I just ended up getting into the feel of it.

This is worded really badly bc it's late and I'm tired but I hope it's still kinda understandable

If any of the immiscible discord stuff is wrong 1. i'm tired 2. i read the event through google translate so correct me if im talking bullshit

#thanks for the ask!#mod talks #asks #mod has depression before anyone comes and has a go at me

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ikeromantic · 6 months

Text

Alice and the Beast pt 4

For my IkeRev 1K Follower Celebration! Apologies. I am apparently incapable of keeping to a word count, an outline . . . or a deadline! This story grew as I wrote it and, well, ok, I'm only half sorry. I really enjoyed this one. So. Part 4 of Alice and the Beast, a Fairytale AU featuring the Red Army guys. 4/5 Approx 2100 words

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Alice settled into her routine at the Beast’s manor. Breakfast with Edgar and Kyle, dinner with Lance, evenings spent reading in good company. Some days she spent with Lancelot, as he showed her around the estate. And some nights they talked long until nearly dawn about books they’d both read. Those comfortable days turned into weeks, and in no time at all more than a month had passed.

She found that she did miss home. Her father and her friends, Jonah and Zero. But life at the manor was good, and she’d made new friends. Close friends. Though she would never admit it, Alice loved spending time with Lance. He was, she thought, so much more than a Beast. He was quietly passionate about his ideals - protecting those he cared for, the duties of a noble, doing the right thing. He made her want to be better, to be more, and never made her feel like she was less.

But there was one thing still bothering her. Unsatisfied curiosity, a mystery that burrowed under her skin and haunted her thoughts. What was the rose in the glass and gold dome? And why would no one talk about it?

“Edgar,” she said on one cold winter morning, “why won’t you tell me about Lance’s rose?”

The teasing smile on Edgar’s face turned to something secretive and unreadable. “You know, with it getting colder, we should make sure the Creeks have a nice warm place to sleep. Want to help me with the coop?”

“Sure! Wait . . . don’t change the topic, Edgar! I really want to know.”

He sighed. “And I want to tell you. But that’s something you have to ask Lance.” He shrugged, his smile returning. “So, are you going to come help me or not?”

Alice let it go for the morning, and went out to help Edgar with his little Creek house. It was basically a chicken coop, with hay to insulate, a solid roof, and insulated walls. The ducks seemed to love it. They quacked and waddled around the courtyard while the work was being done.

Kyle stopped by to watch them for a bit. He didn’t help, but he did toss some peas to the Creeks. He wandered off at some point, complaining that it was cold and he needed to find some ale to warm his bones.

The two of them finished the little duck-home by early afternoon. Edgar sat on one of the garden benches to watch the Creeks explore their new winter house. “Thanks, Alice.” He held out his familiar little bag of weird candies.

Alice picked an orange one, which turned out to be a very sweet tangerine flavor. “No problem. It was fun.” She petted Mrs. Creek when the duck came over to see if there were any treats to be had. Her mind was still on Lancelot’s rose. “Edgar, do you really think it will be ok to ask Lance?”

Edgar knew what she was talking about. He was quiet for a long moment. “Yeah. I think he might even tell you.” He flashed her a reassuring smile, kinder than his usual playful grin.

She took a breath and then nodded. “Alright. I’m going to go find him.” Alice waved a quick goodbye to Edgar and the Creeks.

Lancelot was in his study, reading through magical texts. He often worked long days, studying law and magic, though he would say little about it. Alice had gathered that before the curse, his family protected the lands all around their estate. Keeping people safe, providing help when they needed it. Since the curse, Lance had devoted himself to trying to understand his curse, and preparing himself for the day when it might be broken and he could resume his duties.

Alice took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs. She didn’t want to interrupt him, so she took out a book to read. It was a good story, all about a girl that accidentally traveled through time and ended up living in a mansion full of vampires. It was a love story, and an adventure. She got so into the drama that she didn’t even notice when Lance set down his studies and began watching her.

Eventually though, the feeling of being watched settled on her and she looked up from her book. As soon as she met Lance’s intense gaze, he looked away. “Umm. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were done.” She closed the book and tucked it back into her pocket.

“It’s alright. You looked so happy. I didn’t want to interrupt.” Lance gave her a slight smile as he looked up again. “You take so much joy from things. It makes me enjoy them as well.”

She felt heat staining her cheeks. Alice didn’t know what to say to that. “Well . . . you do. Too. Take joy.” She fell silent, not wanting to sound any more like an idiot than she already did. Lance’s opinion meant a lot to her.

He gave one of his low, rare laughs. “More so than I used to.”

Those words set a warmth burning in her heart and for a moment, she really was speechless.

“Would you like to walk with me?” Lancelot stood and held a hand out to her.

Alice took it, still feeling ridiculously giddy as he led her out to the garden. It was winter, and nearly all the plants were either covered by snow or bare sticks, ice slick and empty of blossoms or greenery. But walking here with her hand held in Lance’s, everything was beautiful. She could see the sparkle of afternoon light through the shrouding ice, and see the hues of blue in the snowbanks.

Lance peered at her from under his wide brow. “You’re very quiet today.”

“Ahaha, yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“About what?” Lancelot stopped and turned to face her.

Alice took a breath, trying to order her words. She knew she needed to be careful how she asked this question. “There are so many things I don’t know about you. You’re very mysterious.”

He tilted his head, as if he didn’t quite understand. Or didn’t want to.

“I know you care about the people in your domain. About your duties. But you hide yourself here. Alone. Some people aren’t even sure if you are still alive. They think this place is haunted.”

Lance frowned. He pulled his hand from her grasp and folded them behind his back. “This place is haunted. It’s better if people forget me.”

She shook her head. “No! If they met you, they’d know how -”

“Ugly and bestial I am. They would hate me.” Lancelot sighed. “You don’t need to worry about this.”

“But I do! I ca- I think you are really kind and smart. And if you let other people get to know you, they would see it too.” Alice watched him, hopeful.

Lance gave her a tired smile. “I am happy you see me that way. It’s . . . it is more than I could have expected. But I can not share your optimism. People fear me. For being a noble. For being a magician. For being cursed.”

This was dangerous territory, she knew. He might close up and walk away, unwilling to talk.But in all the time she’d spent here, it was the first time he’d spoken of his curse. “Lancelot . . . what is your curse? Can’t we break it?”

“We?” He raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“Well, yes. I mean, I am your - your friend. And friends help each other.” Alice smiled at him, hoping he would see that she meant it.

“There is no breaking it. I have tried. Kyle has tried every vile medicine he can think of. Edgar searched his uncle’s archives. We found one spell, but it would take more magic than we can gather.”

Alice’s eyes widened. “Wait. That’s why you asked for all those magic crystals!”

Lancelot didn’t confirm her suspicion. Instead, he turned toward the forest, his eyes focused on the distant glow of the magic tower. “Do you know how I came to be cursed?”

“There are a lot of stories.”

He nodded, his lips curling in a self-deprecating grin. “I am sure there are.” There was a moment of tense silence before he went on. “My father had a deal with the Magic Tower. One that was not . . . I could not continue it.”

“What- what was it?”

“To provide the tower with subjects for their experiments. And to undermine our neighboring domains and take them over.” He still would not look at her.

Alice remembered her father talking about the battles in his youth. How there were always soldiers. And how sometimes, even now, people in town would disappear. She shivered.

Lancelot looked down, his expression serious. “I refused. I told them there was nothing they could threaten me with to change my mind. I thought I’d won. They stopped sending acolytes. But . . . Edgar’s uncle came to visit one night. He wanted to talk with me. And he brought me a gift.”

“What was it?”

“The rose. The cursed rose.” Lance laughed. It was a cold, hard laughter. Nothing like the man Alice had gotten to know. “As soon as I touched it, my body began to change. It hurt. I grew. Stretched. Broke.”

She touched his arm lightly, wanting to offer comfort, but unsure how.

“He told me I was a fool, to give up all that I had to protect people who didn’t care if I lived or died. That I would regret turning the Magic Tower’s offer down.” Lancelot glanced at her, a heavy weight of sorrow in his eyes. “He said I would have until the last petal falls from the rose to change my mind. And that if I don’t . . .”

“No.” Alice spoke in a quiet voice full of conviction. “I won’t let that happen.”

Lance smiled at her, though the expression did not reach his eyes. “You are a very kind girl, Alice. But the last petal will fall soon. I hoped there was a way to stop them, to protect people -” He unsheathed his claws, and then let them relax again. “But there is nothing I can do. I won’t agree to the Tower’s terms. And I cannot fight them.”

Alice felt hot tears sting her eyes. She tried to hold them back, but they broke free and rolled down her cheeks. She turned away, but Lance caught her in his arms and held her. So she buried her face in his chest to hide her tears.

He stroked her back gently, his wide, rough hands gentle. As if she were a fragile creature. As if she were the one that should be crying when it was his end that neared.

***

In the village, Zero and Jonah plotted ways to bring Alice home. Her father believed he could get the 300 crystals, but Jonah knew better. And if there weren’t 300 magic crystals to buy Alice’s freedom with, that meant he would have to find another way to bring her home.

“You said the manor just has 2 servants and Kingsley?” Jonah’s expression was deadly serious.

Zero nodded. “I didn’t want to leave her there, but she agreed to stay.”

“Only because she had to. I know Alice. She would promise anything for her father.” Jonah frowned. “You can’t seriously suggest she wanted to stay there with that - that beast?”

“No . . .” Zero’s gaze was distant.

Jonah’s frown deepened. “Then we need to get her out.”

“Shouldn’t we just ask her?” Zero’s gaze moved back to Jonah. There was an unusual sharpness to it. “We don’t know what Kingsley wants with her. Or with 300 magic crystals.”

“It can’t be anything good.”

Zero considered that for a long, quiet moment. “We don’t know, though.”

Jonah clearly did not want to accept that answer. He liked Alice. Liked her company. She was the strangest girl in town, the only one that didn’t seem to care about what he could buy or how he looked. And he . . . he really liked her. There was no way she could possibly choose to live out on some distant estate with a hermit-beast and his henchman. Not when her other option was staying in town and spending her time with him.

“There is only one way to know. We’re going to go out there. And we need to be ready to fight, if she wants to leave and that Beast won’t let her.” Jonah’s amber gaze was ablaze with determination.

Zero didn’t entirely agree with his boss, but he would never say so. Jonah had rescued him, after all, so many years ago. And he owed Clemence for that. He would follow him, no matter what. “Alright.”

Part 5

#ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikerev AU #ikerev Lancelot #ikerev Kyle #ikerev Edgar #ikerev Jonah #ikerev zero #fanfiction #fanfic #otome #otome guys #follower celebration

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jeanmoreaux · 9 months

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one thing i have been thinking a lot about (very fleetingly yesterday while i was watching, but quite a lot today) is the way nick’s “coming out story” contrasts with (and partly) mirrors kit‘s own. i cannot even imagine what it must have been like for him to play that role, given everything he went through not so long ago. i think this season really reflects on kit’s experience within the fictional context of the story and its characters. i’m not even sure if they actively chose to do that or if it just unintentionally happened as a consequence of exploring the facets of modern queerness (and the source material—an example of life and art bleeding into each another). and it’s so weird because you’d hope that people would be better about respecting someone's right to share information in their own time (or, frankly, never). but like charlie’s dialogue in the last episode mentions, it is surprising how queerphobic people still are… especially the subtle queerphobia that goes on in plain sight and people’s latent queerphobic attitudes are definitely things they've played with as an occasional backdrop this season.

it’s probably most obvious when you look at how they used the background characters this season (e.g., truth/dare scene, prom preparation scene, online comments etc.). they are used to indirectly call-out a subset of viewers who have major issues with respecting people’s boundaries. while there is lots of queer happiness and joy, there are always those few moments where we see someone invading the privacy of a queer character that ground us in sober reality. because believe it or not there are still people out there who treat us as if we solely exist for their entertainment and consumption, as a piece of interesting decor in their heteronormative world. there is nothing inherently wrong with being curious about people or their experiences as queer individuals, but curiosity becomes a problem when it pushes against the outlines of someone’s humanity. when people ask invasive questions, when peers think they are entitled to every piece of information about your love life simply because you are queer, when people believe you owe it to them to tell them about your queerness because they equate not being out with dishonesty—that kind of behaviour disregards an individual’s right to privacy and agency. and that’s dehumanising. that’s the problem.

you’d think people would understand this basic thing about human decency, but they sometimes don’t. the questions & comments about your identity and the demands to explicitly state your queerness for the sake of straight people never stop—whether you are actually queer or just rumoured to be. being bullied into visibly displaying your queerness for everyone to see is a very messed up way of social control that only serves to make straight people comfortable. because that way they don’t have to fear queerness—it cannot surprise them. and if their perceived safety comes at the cost of queer people being uncomfortable or forcefully outed or made to feel unsafe that’s a price they are willing to pay. and some of this season's heartstopper background characters do create uncomfortable and potentially unsafe situations that leave the queer characters feel worse. they show that even people who might not even think of themselves as queerphobic contribute to hostile environments that dehumanises and ostracises queer people. and if you see your own behaviour reflected in any of them you need to take a closer look at how you treat the (queer) people around you.

#woops would you look at that. i have been sitting too long with my own thoughts again #this is very word vomit-y but i had to get it out because it has been eating at me ALL DAY #heartstopper #mish rambles

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eldrai · 2 years

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you know I think the reason I like autistic!Jack so much as a concept – it's not really a headcanon to me because we don't see too much of Jack, more like a what if type thing – is because it's all about healing from and breaking the cycle of generational trauma and decades of ableism, whether internal or external.

because you have hotch, who navigates through life easily enough most of the time, it just took him a couple of years (decades) to figure out what exactly it is he needs for that. and he's happy! he's fine as he is. and sure sometimes it bothers him a little that there seems to be this... ease that he's lacking when it comes to trivial things but really, it's a minor thing.

and autism isn't mentioned, because why would it be? he knows what it is, in that vague sense of outlines from what he's read and heard over the years, but it isn't particularly relevant to him. it's other people and other people's children. and there's nothing wrong with that. he just isn't like that.

except then he has a son.

and then his son has signs.

hotch is back to looking and this time it's with fresh eyes. this time he knows what he's trying to find out, because jack isn't autistic (and there's nothing wrong with that if he was, but he isn't). right? and jack gets a little older, the signs stay, and hotch isn't too concerned. so what if he walks on his toes and lines up his toys? he'd done that as a kid and he's fine.

after haley, jack's school counsellor suggests that some signs she thought were results of grief might actually be something else. hotch disagrees because jack is just a kid, he doesn't need some label slapped on him. he agrees to let them do it though, because they say the assessment will give them a better understanding of his needs regardless.

see, if jack was autistic, that would be bad. not jack himself but the condition. it's shameful. it's the kind of word hurled around as an insult. talked about in hushed tones. the kind that got his father to storm out of a paediatrician's office that time he was ten. and it's flapping hands and obvious signs that might as well be a crosshair on his back and hotch can't let him go through that, that isn't who jack is, and he'll outgrow it in a year or two anyway.

then jack is autistic.

hotch researches like he's never done before. even the uncomfortably familiar parts. even the stuff he thought was pathologizing normal behaviour. the habits he grew (was forced) out of. the tendency to run in families.

and...

that's him, too.

it's still a shameful word when he searches online for providers who assess adults. still when he hears them say it. and the letter he receives at the end of all of it, well, that's a strange mix of relief and shame.

mainly relief.

so you have hotch and jack. a loving father and his son. and hotch is beginning to see the effects it had on him when he was treated as diseased, broken, bizarre for who he was. they didn't know it by name but it was there all right. he knows what it's like growing up inside those rigid boxes.

he can change jack's path though. he can research more, he can talk to reid and garcia about jack, then the team, he can understand the difference between jack's actual needs and what everything, everyone says he should let him have. and he can watch jack's face light up because his uncle spencer and aunt penelope are like him!!! for all of five minutes until he goes to show them the new toy he got the other day. the companionship sticks with him though. gets him through the handful of kids who try and tease him sometimes. he can listen as jack tells him this, and his heart hurts and swells with pride both at once.

autistic doesn't remind him of shame. it makes him think of his little boy.

and it's harder to implement what he's learnt into his own life, breaking the patterns far far older than jack, to lend himself the same compassion and understanding. hotch tells jessica first, and she isn't really surprised. neither are reid or garcia but he'd seen that coming. jj, prentiss and morgan are just relieved that what he said he had to tell them (accidentally quite ominously) was nothing bad. dave is legitimately confused not at his being autistic, but his sudden decision to let him know 'now' because dave had twigged it within about a year of meeting hotch and just assumed he was keeping it to himself.

they're compassionate when he can't find it in himself to be.

and jack never knows any different. sure, there are the kids out there and their snide parents but what does that matter when his family are there, their love unconditional? when three of the coolest people he knows in the entire world are like him, why would he be upset?

it's a hard journey for hotch. it's worth it all when he can sit back and watch his son absentmindedly stimming watching tv and knows jack will never think of himself as lesser.

#autistic hotch #autistic cm #autistic aaron hotchner #autistic headcanon #jack #just me rambling #and totally not projecting here at all nope

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missingcarrion · 1 month

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carrion//ch5 secrecy

tw implied SA from previous chapter, discussion of said SA

note: i want to be clear and say that this is all a rough draft, if there is an issue with my portrayal, please let me know and we can work together to make it better. It's difficult to write about something like this with a character that has no idea what is wrong/why it's wrong, and why it happened at all. I do intend to further flesh out this experience with Shepherd the further he begins to understand.

taglist : @tapioca-milktea1978 @neapolitantoebeans

masterlist

Aasimar toys with the edges of Shepherd’s hair, comforting, and understanding. Ghostly, barely there touches. He has not left since the middle of the night, since he marred that woman’s face, since he made an example out of them.

Shepherd hadn’t realized how sharp his nails were until he saw how easily they drew blood, and how viciously and easily he made it all seem. But… his claws are withdrawn now, careful as he gives Shepherd comfort. He’s nothing like the vicious man that had hurt that woman for what she’d done. He was calm and quiet, meditative.

This was the duality of humanity – their cruelties and their kindness, all in the same night. He ought to hate them all, but there’s safety with Aasimar. He had stopped it before it went too far.

“H – How did you know?” Shepherd gulps, his mouth dry and his chest thrumming with a fiery quick heat.

Aasimar doesn’t meet his gaze, but his brows furrow slightly, like he wasn’t even sure why Shepherd had asked that question. “You called. Do you – You don’t remember doing that, do you? You sent a plea for help, I assume Hannah received one too, but she’s out, visiting family, I think.”

“So, you came?” Shepherd whispers, brows creased in confusion. “Would you not have taken advantage, too?”

“What? No,” Aasimar inhales sharply, “I would – people are cruel. There is one thing you must remember, above all else, that humanity is cruel. But not everyone will be cruel and unjust, some… some know the cruelty themselves and swore to never be like that to another.”

“Is that why you’re still here?”

“I’m here because it is clear you have feelings, you have opinions and desires and wants. You do not deserve to be alone.” Aasimar’s tone is remarkably even, but Shepherd’s gaze locks onto the tick in his jaw. He’s tense, behaving like a caged cat, poised to strike. “I should have done something to keep you safe – I’m sorry, Shepherd. Perhaps our first lesson will be self-defense.”

Shepherd sits upright, knees pulled tight against his chest. His violet eyed gaze traces the outline of Aasimar’s face – the face that refuses to meet his gaze, to acknowledge his own failures. But there’s something exceptionally sweet about the way he’s here, carefully poised, offering comfort in a way that Shepherd finds comfortable. He isn’t human – far from it – and yet, Aasimar treats him like he is. He treats him like he would Hannah, with kindness, with a gentleness he had never known possible. Humans bonded through touch, through co-existing, through words. And yet, Aasimar is careful, mindful.

“Thank you,” Shepherd murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper, “I don’t…. I don’t understand what happened… why it happened. Why did she…?”

Aasimar falters, and he finally looks at Shepherd, “if we knew why people did anything, we would not suffer as greatly as we do. I wish I could tell you, I wish I could offer more than just platitudes. I wish I could give you more than what I can.”

Shepherd watches him, and the way his hands clench, conscious of his own claws. Fascinating things, his nails, painted a deep purple – the kind that looks different under the light. He was vicious. Cruel, admirable in his protection.

“You hurt her, them, for me,” Shepherd murmurs, eyeing Aasimar’s hands, “you hurt them. I’m just…. I’m just a robot. Why?”

“I – You do not truly believe that, do you? Shepherd… you are not a robot, and you know that. A robot does not find himself suffering, or asking questions, or wondering why. A robot does not thank. You are something more, something different altogether,” he pauses, and bits his bottom lip – baring the sharpened canines, “you are more. You will be more than the Institute.”

Shepherd pauses, and slowly he reaches towards Aasimar, the edges of his fingers curling around his. He has seen this – humans do this, for comfort, for connection. This is important, and he’s mindful of his claws. It’s a small gesture, but it feels big. He feels scared to have even done it, but Aasimar returns the gesture with a squeeze.

He thinks, focused, what was done to him, he knows it is meant for intimacy, yet it was weaponized against him. His hold on Aasimar’s hand tightens.

“I don’t want you to tell Hannah what happened,” he says, and withdraws, although the absence of warmth against the pads of his fingers leads him to wonder what else he’s capable of missing. “Please.”

Aasimar’s expression shifts from a nervous calm to confusion, “she is our friend, Shep, but… if that is what you want, I won’t say anything without your say so. You are safe with me.”

“That why you hurt that woman? To make sure I was safe?”

“I hurt her because she thought her needs were above yours,” he bristles, “she took what was yours and yours alone to give. I hurt her, and her partner, to remind them of their places.”

“You are… protective,” Shepherd muses, a meek attempt to dissuade the feelings burning in his chest. It feels… weird, but in a good way. Since his waking, all that was expected was that he give. He was to give and be used and be treated like an asset, but Aasimar? He treats him softer, like he’s real. He sings to the part of him that longs to be remembered – the part of him that’s been screaming at him to run since day one.

“You’ll understand that the world is cruel and unjust, but you will not be alone,” he says softly, and there’s a flicker of something in his eyes – familiarity. He must understand the suffering in a way Shepherd has yet to really understand. “I will also say, you do not have to tell anyone what happened unless you feel comfortable. I will ensure the assailants are dealt with – but beyond that, you are in control.”

Control… It’s something he’s not had the taste of. The Institute has made it more than clear that it’s not him who holds the power, but them. He could never be in control, not here. But Aasimar gives him what little control he’d otherwise never have.

The silence is comfortable when Hannah comes barreling in, hours later, cheeks flush. She stares between the two of them, out of breath, before her gaze aggressively focuses on Aasimar.

“Why are you here? What happened?” Her gaze switches to Shepherd, “are you alright? I got your emergency message. Is everything okay?”

Shepherd bristles and he feels Aasimar’s worried gaze on him, “I – yes. Aasimar helped me with my issue. I’m sure you’d rather have been unburdened by my issues.”

“I – I wouldn’t…. Shepherd you’re not a burden, if something happened, you can trust me, too,” Hannah glances at Aasimar, staring oddly at the space between them, how little and close they are to each other. “Is everything really alright?”

“Yes,” Shepherd rushes, and realizes too late that it feels like the opposite, “I don’t – nothing happened, I just… please, can we not talk about it?”

“It’s all been taken care of, darling,” Aasimar waves his hand dismissively, and a fascinating façade of amusement decorates his charming face. Shepherd would call it beautiful if not for the way he knows these thoughts are unusual. He shouldn’t look at another and see their beauty – it’s odd and unusual. It’s peculiar. He has no concept of beauty, no understanding, and yet when he looks at Aasimar, there is an underlying understanding that this man is beyond ethereal. Is he even a man? Does he relate to Shepherd because he’s not like everyone else either? “How was your night out?”

Their conversation draws Shepherd’s mind elsewhere, and when Aasimar stands he mourns the loss of that shield, that armor of protection. Hannah’s presence makes him nervous in a way he can’t describe – like his body thinks she had hurt him instead of that Clare woman even if her face bares no markings from Aasimar’s wrath.

“Uh,” Hannah looks between the two of them before she shrugs, “it was good, I guess. Same as it always is. Friends and family trying to convince me to find another job. But who else is gonna put up with you, Aasi?”

He snorts, a smile tugging at his lips, “Shepherd is very kind. I think he wouldn’t mind putting up with me, would you, Shep?”

Shepherd feels delighted to hear that nickname, it feels right. “I suppose I could put up with him. He doesn’t seem all that bad.”

“Oh, don’t flatter him, it’ll go to his head,” Hannah snickers, “listen, I’m a bit hungry, either of you wanna come get something to eat?”

He doesn’t point out that he doesn’t need to eat, but it occurs to him that Aasimar had spent most of the night and early morning with him. He must be starving, and yet… he stayed… he stayed and sat with him and he didn’t once indicate he needed anything.

“I would… I would like that,” Shepherd spares Aasimar a quiet, almost questioning look, like he’s asking for permission, “I’d get to explore more, right?”

Aasimar is aware, far more aware than Shepherd had given him credit for, and the look he gives is gentle and understanding. “Of course. The mess hall is on the other side of the Cybrell compound, so you’ll get to see more things.”

“Hm, alright,” he nods and stands, feeling a bit out of place with how small the pair is beside him. “Let’s go.”

Shepherd pointedly stands closer to Aasimar, trailing him like a lost puppy as they wander to the mess hall. No one stares at him like they’d done the previous times he’d been out and about. Maybe its because of Aasimar, or maybe it’s because they’ve just gotten used to him shuffling around.

The compound is relatively beautiful once they leave the laboratory sector. There’s a massive courtyard with sprawling trees and beautiful flowers – some scientists and other people in uniforms he doesn’t recognize, wander about, paying him little mind. It feels … nice to be ignored. To blend in with people around him. Right now, in this moment, he is no different than his two companions.

It’s jarring – seeing the scars that line a woman’s face, held together by medical tape and willpower. But the moment his eyes land on her, Shepherd knows better than to question what had happened to her. This was the woman. This was the affront to all sentient beings.

Aasimar visibly tenses, and when Clare looks at them, at him, she scurries away, head ducked and shielded from their gaze. Good, Shepherd thinks, be ashamed. A dark thought comes to the components of his mind – he wishes he had been the one to hurt her, he wishes he had been the one to mar her flesh with a reminder of what she’d done.

“Aasi,” Hannah’s brows furrow and she looks at him, “what did you do?”

The man says nothing, almost panicked that she’d noticed the obvious scarring on Clare’s face. He looks away and shrugs, “I did what needed to be done.”

“He was protecting me,” Shepherd says, pulling their attention to him, “she was cruel. Aasimar just stood up for me. He was just trying to be a good friend.”

Hannah’s eyes widen and she looks between them, but neither budge to share more of what had happened. “A – Alright, then…. I’m sorry Aasimar, I just – the Institute is very peculiar about their employees not trying to kill each other.”

“Mm, yes, I’m aware, I’ll be on my very best behavior, dear,” Aasimar waves his hand dismissively and forces his gaze elsewhere. “I’ll be a good little lamb, I swear it.”

Hannah snorts, “you’re fucking ridiculous.”

Shepherd watches them – observing the casual way they banter. It’s charming, and he wonders if he’ll be able to fit in somewhere. Aasimar made space for him, will Hannah do the same?

#carrion project #carrion [wip]#ch: aasimar #ch: shepherd #ch: hannah minsheng

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asoiaf-essays-collector · 11 months

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'Is anyone in the ASOIAF fandom outside of the 100 people on tumblr connected to reality?' You hit the nail on the head. They are not lmao. So much time has passed with no book content that these people are pathologically married to their 'metas' aka headcanons and think they know what GRRM will do better than himself. Also, it absolutely sends me how everyone outside of Sansa/J0nsa fans ignores the show because they didn't get their headcanons catered on a silver platter and all their theories got blown the fuck out of the water. I once saw someone say that ASOIAF discoursers will not stop aggressively ignoring the show and treating their theories as more canon that the actual tv adaptation based on years worth of conversations and notes between the author himself and the showrunners. People really believe those main character endgames came out of thin air as if a multi-billion dollar corporation like HBO wouldn't have clauses in place in the event GRRM shat the bed and didn't finish the books (which he did lmao) for him to give the writers his notes/outlines as to the ending.

It's sunken cost fallacy at this point and fans being extremely embarrassed they completely misinterpreted the kind of story they were reading. The fact that Sansa fans of all sections of the fandom got a vast majority of the themes and endgames correct is even more salt on the wound for these people lol.

Dear nonny, the thing that slips over the heads of fandom majority (pretty obvious thing) that both ASoIaF and GOT are very complicated and complex works with a lot of different circumstances around them that require at least a little bit analysis to understand.

It's very easy thing to say that that GoT was bullshit and not mention it ever again. It doesn't require this thing called thinking. And it seems that most people in this fandom took the easy way out of the reality. Because as we wait Winds of Winter it's just so easy to skip, for example, I don't know, Sansa's chapters and then go discuss with 10 000 anti sansa fans that she's so unimportant and stupid.

I really think we should see the fine line between giving show too much credit and not trusting it at all.

You know, back in the days, I remember seeing somewhere that D&D were given just a paper (or even a half of it) of those outlines. For this massive story with a dozen focal characters and 50 more characters that are also very important, just important and kinda important. With those peculiar connections through sometimes littlest events. And who knows which of those points they were given made it to the show end and which did not. I'm not saying they blatantly ignored the commandments by GRRM, there are a variety of reasons they couldn't just make it happen.

For example, what if the seemingly unimportant character D&D killed or wiped off earlier suddenly made it to the end - we know a bunch of them. Robb's wife, Doran Martell, princess Arianne, Young Griff - those are just the politically very important figures and those are just from top of my head.

Second reason not to trust the show in some instances is the pressure of the fandom that GoT was under at that point. Like yeah they couldn't change the fact that Dany that was previously established in the show as this big feminist progressive icon is suddenly big bad evil guy of the series. But I also can absolutely imagine them not being able to kill someone like Tyrion because killing both fan favourite #1 and fan favourite #2 was too much - although I don't think he's gonna end up dead, it's just an example.

That is also why I think it was impossible to end show with Jonsa. (1) for some reason fan favourite chemistryless Jonaerys (2) lack of any establishment that cousins can marry in Westeros and it is not viewed as incest and (3) therefore big bad backlash from fans they couldn't handle. Also it would have contradicted the badass feminist course they were taking with Sansa.

But at the same time - season 6 is the last decent season of the show. There are reasons to believe that big events happening there are gonna happen in the books - Battle of Bastards, doom of the Great Sept etc. Jon meeting Sansa too, btw. There is background for it, there were premises in the books.

So regarding the show - to see which show events are to expect and which are not a fan has to a) remember the circumstances around said event both from book and from show, b) remember the themes of the story and tools the author uses to show those themes, and c) understand and interpret them correctly.

Sounds like a lot of mental work, right?

So no wonder people just can't handle it.

Except for Sansa and Jonsa stans - because for us it is a way to exist in this toxic fandom.

You know the funny thing - as I was reading the books, I treated Sansa as a regular character. I liked her but not much more than the rest of the bunch. It was when close friend of mine said to me "Urgh, I hate Sansa" and I started the whole discussion "But why?" with them that made me feel defensive about her. And then I saw that the part of the fandom that likes Sansa have to do absolutely the same on the regular basis. And all of them are very nice people that have to do "you see that theme, and that happened because of that, and it correlated with that theme of this character, and the logic of Sansa's arc and etc" - regularly. I mean the database for every Sansa and Jonsa theory is huge, including every possible evidence - book quotes, themes, background, show clues, another characters arcs, interviews with actors and GRRM himself - everything. And all they usually get as a response are misunderstood events and misinterpreted themes - the nicest of them see Sansa as a cautionary tale (and don't they get the point? It was Robb who had the cautionary tale arc, and he didn't get the POV).

I'm sorry, the anwer happens to be so much longer than I intended. It's just that I have seen a lot of Sansa and Jonsa shit around here, I'm sure you have too. And I'm so sick of it, really. It's so unfair to the nicest people in this fandom.

And the sad thing, it won't be over after WoW and DoS are released (if ever). They won't be able to just shut up and admit their ignorance - even if the themes are catered to them by author himself in actual books.

Because guess what - there are GRRM interviews when he said that Sansa is important and discussed her themes. There are characters in the books that said that Sansa is important. And there are still takes that I see here "nah, Sansa's gonna stay in vale till the end, that's all she's good for"

#sansa stark #sansa stans

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happiestplacehq · 1 year

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Task Eleven → Intro & Connections

Welcome to our first mandatory task! As I’m sure you have all heard me wax poetic about by now, this task has been created with the intention of helping you all connect better to your fellow writers, and to give you and your partners a head start when it comes to plotting and coming up with connections for your characters. Below you will find a list of plot and connection ideas to help you get started. Now, let me explain the task at hand.

Firstly, treat this like you might do an intro post.

Using the template below as a guide (you can set it out any way you wish, this is just to help you get started) each player must create a post detailing things they are looking for for their characters. There are suggestions in the template for what other things may be useful to include. Anything that is required is marked in bold with an asterisk*. I would then like this post to be pinned to the top of your character blog, or added in some way to your current pinned post, so it is easily accessible to all players. It is up to you if you link it in your theme.

For each character you should have a minimum of 3 connection types, and a further 3 fleshed out plot ideas you are looking for. The more specific you are, the better, but I understand that sometimes a vague title is enough. If there is a plot you really want for your character, put it here! The people need to know.

If you have multiple characters you do not need to fill this out for all of them immediately, but should all be completed by the end of next month. Start with your characters that have less connections when in doubt. Please note that your connections should be varied, and not all focus on shipping and romance, in order to get a good range to work within.

I’m borrowing one of Paige’s as an example of a more fleshed out connections & intro post [here]. This one by Claire is also in depth [here]. I know a few of you have similar posts already but please take the time to make a new post for this task so I can reblog it to @redwoodhollowreview and make sure to tag the blog as well!

Please tag your posts with #happiestplacetask and #happiestplacetask11 so everyone can see. This task is mandatory and will be reblogged.

TEMPLATE

Character Information*

Brief outline about your character, as formal or informal as you like.* Can be paragraphs or bullet points. Include Name, Age & Occupation

Outline of their personality & how they vibe with others.

Anything that you think is important about their past or present that will affect plotting.

A link to their bio on the main, or a more in depth description of their history if you want.

Wanted Connections*

Connection 1

Connection 2

Connection 3

Another? 👀

Wanted Plots / Plot Ideas*

Plot Bunny Number 1 - Short Description, 1 paragraph. You can link inspo posts if you have any.

Plot Bunny Number 2

Plot Bunny Number 3

Taken Connections (like Naomi’s post [here])

Connection 1 e.g. The Best Friend, Name, Info about connection

Connection 2 e.g. The Enemy, Name, Info etc.

If you think a connection is important or may help connect your characters to other characters through mutuals, this is an excellent way to go.

Other

One character from the open tag [here] you would like to see taken / added to the Most Wanted page*

One Character you want to see a bio for in relation to this specific character

Plot Ideas

Plot ideas should be fleshed, giving specifics of ideas you’ve had for your character that you want to play out but haven’t found someone to write them with yet. For example, they can be as simple as a thread idea (Muses visiting IKEA) to something more long term (Muses are mortal enemies but have to pretend they’re best friends in order to progress in their job).

[helpersofindie masterlist of plot/ connections masterlists]

[The Plot Masterlist Tag]

[More idea masterlists by winterhelps]

Connection Ideas

Childhood Best Friends / High School Best Friends

Colleagues (current or former)

Neighbours

Roommates

Ex Partners - on good terms, or bad terms

Ex Friends - on good terms, or bad terms

Mortal Enemies

Tinder / Grinder Match / Old One Night Stand

Previously been through a traumatic experience together

Previously been through an amazing experience together

The one person that just really, really gets on their nerves

The secret crush

Their school bully

Confidant

Role model

Classmates

Ride or Die

One part of a wider friend group

Secret Friends

Cousins / Aunts / Uncles / Related through marriage

Friends because their parents, siblings or grandparents are friends

Attend a club together such as bowling, swimming or yoga

First Kiss

Childhood Crush

Publicity Partner

Someone they hired either recently or in the past

Frenemies

Rivals - in the same field of work, in a club like swimming, in a group of friends, over the same love interest

Share a secret - they share a secret and both are always on edge the other will tell the secret

Study Buddies / Tutor

Have mutual friends - they either do or don’t get a long

Babysitter

Thanks to [Connections Masterlist] by shroyers for some of the inspo, [iridcscenceq] and [Character Connections] by activisthelps for more ideas.

If you need any help with this task or just want some help coming up with ideas, don’t hesitate to ask me!

Please like this post once you have read it !!

#disney rp #disney roleplay #lsrpg #ouat rp #fairytale rp #town rp #mystery rp #happiestplacetask #happiestplacetask11 #did i proof read this? absolutely not

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youareinlove · 2 months

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I don’t know if you’ve ever done it, but have you ever wrote one long analysis of cardigan and the whole teenage love triangle?

i have a breakdown of folklore as an album that touches on the teenage love triangle, but i didn't go as in-depth as i would like to and talked more about how the songs related to folklore's overall themes as an album versus individual inspirations. also i think my opinion on some of the inspiration behind it has become more well-rounded so i'll put more of that here

so i think most people know by now that augustine, betty, and james are the main players of the folklore love triangle. cardigan = betty's perspective, betty (song) = james's perspective, and august = augustine's perspective. the most fundamentally important part of understanding the love triangle is that taylor is all three of them.

cardigan so cardigan is the first we hear of the teenage love triangle on folklore, which i think is so interesting because it's not the obvious choice. while betty (song) and august are narrated by teenagers (and you can TELL), cardigan is clearly narrated by an older betty who has done some maturing. the story's told from the perspective of someone who has processed what happened, while the other two (especially august) feel like active processing. cardigan tells the same story that betty (song) does, but in a much more vague way, which confused me initially but now makes sense to me because the song isn't really about the events that happened, betty (song) does that job. cardigan is an intensive look at how those events impacted betty as a person. betty, presumably in her teenage years and during the bulk of her relationship with james, is outlined as someone who doesn't have the ability to validate herself and needs to get that from someone else. we can assume that this is because of 1) daddy issues ("leaving like a father") and 2) the world invalidating her perspective ("when you are young they assume you know nothing"). she gets that validation from james, her boyfriend ("hand under my sweatshirt, baby kiss it better," "and when i felt like i was an old cardigan, under someone's bed / you put me on and said i was your favorite"), but loses it very suddenly when he cheats on her and breaks her heart ("a friend to all, is a friend to none / chase two girls, lose the one"). it's a formative moment for her because the relationship was her lifeline in many ways and not having that hurts her all over again ("you drew scars, around my scars, and now i'm bleeding"). the bridge talks about james rushing to fix things, but also it isn't really about that because it isn't about him. it's about how she had to learn to give herself what she was looking to james for, and she does ("cause i knew everything when i was young"). she honors her own perspective, voice, and agency, and the fact that she was perfectly capable the entire time. the point isn't that he put her on and said she was his favorite, the point is that she doesn't need him to do that anymore but had to learn that the hard way. starting the story with cardigan seems like a questionable decision because of how mature it is, but it also makes sense in a lot of ways because knowing how the events of the story affected betty is pretty crucial to understanding betty (song). also i think there's something to be said about how she chose to begin with the woman's perspective.

august next we get to hear from augustine. augustine is the "other woman" or the one james cheats with, and her sympathetic portrayal is very, very important (more on that later). we get to know that she was really in love with james and didn't feel casual about him at all, but was treated casually because he just didn't like her the way she liked him. the song is very much her processing this and feeling used and discarded, but also kind of dejectedly recognizing that she never had a shot because he was never really hers. august and foolish one really are sisters in that way. also there's like, a heavy implication that james was her first time (iykwim) and that's part of why it hurts so much that it ended the way it did. i think the best part of august is the way that she shows us without directly telling us the differences between how augustine and betty experienced their relationship with james. betty gets closure, augustine doesn't. betty (in cardigan) has verse after verse of different moments with james, because she was with him for years, but augustine talks about the moments during the summer (many of which are from like, the same day) over and over because that's all she had. it's subtle but it's there

betty (song) there is something so very intentional about the guy getting to say his piece last (i have no other elaboration lmfao, just wanted to start off with that). so betty (song) is like, the most clear-cut about What Happened which i believe is because betty and august have to process and think about how it affected their life and their person but james just gets to think about the story because he was the one fucking around and hurting other people. he knows he needs to apologize, and i don't feel the need to elaborate on that apology too much because it's like, in the lyrics lol. but i think betty (song) showcases the closure betty got that augustine didn't. whether or not she took him back is up for debate, and whether or not the apology is good is also up for debate, but at the end of the day neither of those things matter because the point is that it's an open-ended resolution to the story. you get to see how much he cares about betty and how little he cares about augustine (just a summer fling indeed).

the gender of it all it's impossible to ignore gender here because it's SO important to the story, specifically for betty and james. a lot of betty's initial struggle of being invalidated and diminished is because she's a smart teenage girl, and there's nothing society hates more than a young girl with opinions. they're both young teenagers, but the dichotomy of how their youth factors into their story is very intentional. for betty, she's told she "knows nothing" because she is young. her perspective is considered less important, she's made to doubt herself as so many young girls are when it comes to their instincts. even though adult betty is able to recognize that she was right the whole time and "knew everything when i was young," one of the greatest pains of the relationship for her was the way she was forced into that recognition. for james, he gets to say "i'm only seventeen, i don't know anything." he gets to dodge responsibility and make excuses for himself because of his age, and society is like "ok makes sense." his wrong perspective is only propped up and validated, which is a stark contrast to how betty feels. for augustine, as the "other woman," it would be easy for the narrative to encourage the popular and kinda sexist narrative that she got in the way of the relationship and was a homewrecker/evil mistress. but instead, she gets to be a teenage girl who was hurt. the narrative tells you that she's a kid who maybe made a mistake but it doesn't blame her. that's a luxury that's usually only afforded to men (and the luxury james takes advantage of).

real life inspiration i have to keep this part short bc i'm about to hit character limit but there are shades of her relationship with jake in august (having your first time and it feeling special but then being discarded and feeling kinda used) and some of the hurt around it. her relationship with harry (see: 1989 vault) feels like a driving force around the love triangle as well, because it's a very similar story. and i also think that the summer of 2016 with joe is a part of all this. people have said that august feels a lot like if cruel summer went the other way and they're right (again, there's some bits and pieces that are more sex-adjacent but that's another thing). and some of the references to betty's mental health and how james made things feel ok is very her & joe in 2016. it's kind of a lot of different events in her life and i think writing the love triangle helped her unpack how some of them led to each other. also impossible to ignore the similarities between how the world invalidated her for years and how the world invalidates betty

#folklore #august #betty #cardigan #asks #anon asks

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