#it kind of obviously seems purposefully lacking | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aficionadoenthusiast · 2 years

Text

I've seen some dumbledore defenders saying that a reason people don't like him is they were disillusioned from his apparent omnipotence

but if you think about it, that's really his unravelling because this realization allows people to fully realize his incompetence as a leader

cause legit, there's so much he seriously dropped the ball on:

the prophecy

hiring decent teachers (snape, trelawney, binns, most of the DADA teachers...)

lockhart (dude deserves his own bullet point, the dipshit)

figuring out the real traitor

taking james' invisibility cloak at the worst possible time

his own hubris

grindelwald

making sure harry's living arrangements were not, you know, abusive

literally tom riddle's first and second rise to power. if the wizarding wars were wwi, riddle is germany and dumbledore is the uk and france relying on hope and prayer that voldemort is following the treaty of versailles (edit: i do not support the analogy of death eaters to nazis; this metaphor is specifically referencing this one event in history)

opening hogwarts up to ministry influence, not once, not twice, but four times throughout the series

and we know none of this was just lack of experience or naivety/gullibility because he made the exact same mistakes multiple times throughout a nearly 80 year period - it's hard to believe this kind of repetition wasn't on purpose - especially the later ones

that last point is particularly important in the disillusionment argument. how could dumbledore stop the ministry - one of the few entities that had more power than him? well, obviously, he can't, but that's the problem. cause he's either super powerful with a ton of sway in not just the wizarding world, but the ministry as well, or he's just a guy that rose to power for no other reason than he was smarter than the alternatives.

but that doesn't make a leader - that makes an arrogant man with an unjustified amount of power.

and back to the repeated mistakes argument - the idea that dumbledore "collected" people that would be useful to him in the future is really appealing to me because

1) remus and the other marauders - despite not being able to see the future, dumbledore seems to have the uncanny ability to tell where a person will end up.

a. toward the end of the first wizarding war, james and lily went into hiding, yes? they were no longer helping the cause, but their son, if the prophecy was true, had the potential to destroy voldemort, making harry useful, which leads into peter

b. dumbledore could see peter was pulling away from the order - he knew about all of the missions, and peter certainly was not on as many as he said he was, which meant one of two things - he was deserting, or he was the traitor. why not investigate at that point? pull up his sleeve, give him some veritaserum. it wouldn't have been hard. bringing me to sirius

c. dumbledore let sirius rot in azkaban for 12 years without a trial and with not just reasonable doubt but solid evidence that sirius was not the traitor - and even if he didn't have that info, all that means is that it's one more thing that dumbledore dropped the ball on. this is not something that he could only have known if he was omnipotent or could see the future - it was literally his job to know/figure out sirius wasn't the traitor. and again, if the problem is dumbledore didn't actually have a hand in any of this, that only proves he was lying about the amount of sway he had in the ministry, a problem in and of itself. bringing me to remus

d. man, there is so much I could say about dumbledore and remus, but I'll try to keep it short. dumbledore purposefully made remus feel like dumbledore was his saving grace. without dumbledore, he would have been homeless, penniless, probably running around with a pack of werewolves or dead by bigoted wizards. but, honestly, dumbledore just did his job as a teacher. oh, wow, good for him, he gave a kid an education, let's give him a cake and award ceremony - no. this is not special, but remus was conditioned to think it was - and despite it all, dumbledore never advocated for werewolf rights. he never admitted another werewolf or tried to help adult werewolves get an education. it makes a person think - what was so special about remus? probably nothing. he was just the right age. but dumbledore made him completely obedient, and he knew about his missions with the werewolf packs, yet didn't defend him when everyone thought he was the traitor. he was useful until he wasn't, and then he was useful until he died

2) dumbledore also seems to have the uncanny ability to find the most powerful people with the most potential

hermione

harry (this one I'll give it to him as an accident, but the point still stands)

again, remus

tonks

mad eye moody

mcgonagall

kingsley

trelawney (but only for the prophecy)

hagrid (this is more a case of manipulation, but hagrid brought the giants and made the forbidden forest creatures loyal to him (sort of) so I'm including him)

legit most of the teachers

there is no denying dumbledore is a strategist - but how far was he willing to go to defeat voldemort?

101 notes · View notes

foundationsofdecay · 4 months

Text

On Vessel and Falling Knives

Canonically, we know that Vessel made a deal with Sleep, a minor and possibly deteriorating god. He gave Vessel a new form and power, and in exchange Vessel would devote himself to worshiping Sleep and provide offerings to bolster His strength. In addition to the songs that he offers as part of this worship, he is also depicted as being a weapon for Sleep. Specifically, he's described as being a figurative sword. Perhaps cutting into our own hearts like a blade through these offerings and rituals is part of this, but there is far more to their turbulent relationship than that.

Let's examine the motivations and earliest stages of this bond through the lens of the financial metaphor of catching a falling knife.

In finance, "catching a falling knife" refers to the strategy of purposefully buying into a stock that is plummeting in value. This carries the risk of it hitting the proverbial floor and staying there, the company possibly folding entirely in the worst-case scenario, but you accept this risk with the hope that the stock's price will rebound and "bounce" back up when it hits that low point, earning you a sweet profit later down the road when you're ready to divest some or all of your investment. Either way, there's almost always going to be a period of time where you will be in the red.

The trick is figuring out the right knife to catch, the one that will end up recovering and become profitable after it reaches its floor. The higher it bounces, obviously, the better. An equally important aspect to this is that you want to make your move when you think the stock is at its lowest point, which is difficult to determine and part of why this is an extremely risky strategy, beyond the difficulty in choosing a knife that isn't going to simply cut through you and continue its downward trajectory.

Sleep, perhaps due to a lack of any great 'currency' of His own due to His lack of great status, has decided that Vessel is the one that He is going to invest in by making this deal. For Sleep, this is especially risky given just how much Vessel is hurting, but He still seems to have decided that Vessel is capable of turning things around and becoming stronger than he was when Sleep found him "already on the ground", thus become something He can profit from. The greater the amount that Sleep initially 'spends' on Vessel, through body modifications and other powers, the greater His later reward, should Vessel prove himself.

Not only that, but if Vessel belonged to Sleep to a great enough degree, if he was His in the end, it would be extremely important that Sleep remains satisfied with this arrangement. If Vessel cannot perform to Sleep's satisfaction, it could prove disastrous. Vessel himself admits that he owes Sleep, has steep debt he needs to pay off, even as Vessel insists that he's giving more in return as it is. Were Sleep to abandon him, or even just pull far enough back, Vessel would likely suffer or completely crumble under the sudden loss. He would effectively become another falling knife.

In the case of Sleep and Vessel, this could also very likely be considered a hostile takeover, with so much of Vessel dependent on Sleep that he has no choice at the time but to keep Him happy and follow His directions. Whether or not they're beneficial for Vessel's long-term health, he's "caught up in [Sleep's] design". Even if he is giving Sleep some kind of profit the way that he believes, there could be other assets - other vessels - that are more appealing. They would be "new weapons to cut those final strings, just to watch [him] fall back". Does Sleep like that, the sway He has over Vessel, this person that was losing all sense of worth before Sleep reached for him and took this huge gamble in raising him up? Does He like how He can "refuse to shelter [Vessel]" despite everything Vessel gives Him in return?

Of course He does. In the end, profit means everything. He needs strength, to gain power. Not just that, though, He needs someone who will be "watching all [His] enemies" and provide security for this newfound power. He needs devoted followers. He needs worship.

What Vessel has to do, at least at the outset, is to become important enough to Sleep that He would never want to let him go, to hold onto him just as tightly as Vessel is holding onto Sleep.

Disclaimer: I am not an investor and avoid personally engaging with the stock market, though I find it morbidly fascinating. Anything I'm referring to when it comes to investment strategy is based on explanations I've gotten from people that do trade, or who are studying to be financial advisors. Make of that what you will when it comes to how I'm discussing those aspects.

Also, I really didn't intend on this being as bleak as it turned out. I guess that's just what thinking about the stock market does to you.

#this is a sadder view of their initial dynamic than I generally go for but it was interesting to examine it from a more canon-focused angle #or one-sided i guess? idk #eepy toking

9 notes · View notes

vro0m · 8 months

Note

I'm really late to the whole George/Lewis discussion but I just read thru your anons and your answers and I do agree with everything you said but one thing I wanna add is that Lewis also isn't comfortable in the car. Do I think George is a good driver? Yes. But I think when Lewis finally feels 100% in control of that car, like he did in the old regulations, he will be a lot more dominant over him. Because Lewis knows the car is tricky, I don't think he gives it his full 100% ALL the time cuz he's aware that if he pushes too hard, the car could end up in the wall and he'd obviously rather finish the race. It's like with Verstappen now. He knows that car is good, and he's not afraid to push to the absolute limit if not teetering on the edge. I know there have been at least two times where he was like "oop almost lost it" cuz he basically zoned out but bc that car is so good, he obviously is able to regain control so quickly. Lewis doesn't trust it like that. He basically has to focus more on making sure the car behaves rather than fully pushing it (not that the W14 is that fast anyway). If that makes sense?

Hi! Yeah he's not confident in the car. It's showing AND he said so. Honestly I kind of purposefully avoided this topic yesterday because I might be too biased about it.

I am inclined to think it might not be so easy for George to keep up with Lewis once the car works better, because Lewis will be able to try more things racecraft-wise and that's where he's making most of the difference, like you. At the same time, like we were saying yesterday, George is currently making too many mistake and lacking self-control when it comes to racing. If they were to suddenly have a RB level of car performance tomorrow, I think Lewis would come out on top. But also I deeply wish for it to be so, so I don't trust myself to see all the elements feeding into it and confidently assert that it would be the case and justify it with anything else than essentially "I personally believe that Lewis is currently the most complete racer on the grid".

One thing that's undeniable and works in Lewis' favor is the fact that Lewis has so much more experience than George, both when it comes to racing and when it comes to racing at the top. Like we also mentioned yesterday, the young drivers tend to unravel a bit once they get there because of the added pressure and like Anon very aptly said then (I really liked the way they put it) :

"I think experienced drivers like Lewis and Alonso are like sharks drawn to blood when they sense someone is possibly prone to mistakes under pressure"

So I think it will depend in part on when they get a good enough car and whether George has more self-control by then. It also depends on George's actual optimal performance, as in : when driving at the top in a competitive car, which we haven't seen yet and is therefore difficult to estimate at this point.

Finally, there's also the possibility that Lewis won't ever get a car that fits him as perfectly as the ones he had with the old regs. I believe they will eventually get a competitive car again but first of all, once again : when? and second of all : competitive doesn't necessarily mean as good a match as he had then or Max has now. So there's also the question of George and Lewis' adaptability and that's also difficult to discuss because we don't really know what it is they have to grapple with in setting up the car etc. It is said Lewis has tried more extreme set-ups last year. All in all, it seems a lot of the times George has had a better set up than Lewis this year, at least for quali? Like I said yesterday, even with a difficult car, it's still an upgrade for George whereas it's a downgrade for Lewis. This is completely arguable because I don't have enough elements to have an informed opinion on it, but maybe George has less difficulty adapting to the car at the moment than Lewis. If that's the case, that might or might not change as the car gets better, depending on the car's characteristics and their interaction with their personal driving styles as well.

So I find it difficult to make that call with a good enough level of confidence, but I hope and want you to be right! Deep down in my heart, I subjectively believe you are.

#f1 #lewis hamilton #2023 #vro0m's asks

11 notes · View notes

mamamittens · 1 month

Text

Recently had a really fucked idea for zombies/parasite where eventually the invading entity consumed the body too quickly to properly complete their life cycle so started finding ways to prolonged themselves. The hosts kept falling apart too quickly from damage or necrosis kind of thing. Perhaps a lack of energy because their brain was so fucked they couldn't readily identify food anymore. Had a vague idea of the parasite taking over the brain first and then converting the body into a singular, parasitic entity capable of housing/birthing more. But obviously this going too fast just wound up with a brain dead host and a body decaying around them, trapping them unless they can eat their way out fast enough onto to be stranded without a host. So they evolved a Neat But Fucking Horrifying Trick.

Like, it worked better with certain people, but basically fucked with their brain. Enough that it tripped the reward center and socializing parts of the brain. Causing delusions that resulted in people purposefully trapping, tricking, and eventually eating people they're close to and really enjoying it. Like, leaving the host just aware enough to sell the illusion that they're just a little sick maybe. Some sniffles, perhaps. And this was a horrifying evolution specifically developed after they infected humans because of how innate the human desire to socialize is.

And in the grand scheme of the story this isn't realized for a while because it tended to look like victims were just dumb enough to think their former loved ones were actually just sick as opposed to being deliberately tricked for consumption.

So what ended up happening is that excessive interest in socializing with familiar people was marked as a sign of possible infection. Or infestation I suppose is a better word in the case of parasites.

But in some individuals they noted that despite being infected, they held up remarkably well and this was due to their brain chemistry already being fucky, basically. Sociopaths, people with brain damage, mood disorders, and other mental illness problems effectively became carriers. The parasites unable to fully develop and control the host or feast on their brains, I suppose. This was not much of a good thing as the drive to spread the infection was still active and their relative normalness made them incredibly effective at this without the tale tell overt signs of infection.

Sounds like an arg or something but idk, seemed like a neat and spooky idea.

Maybe with someone infected but in control going somewhere people don't know about the infection and having to explain it all without revealing themselves. Having to break it to them that their loved ones falling ill but 'acting normal if clingy' was actually just a plot to infect THEM. Maybe some folks not listening only to fuck around and find out.

Side idea of the parasites having a hive mind and the infected person being essentially a rouge agent the hive is trying to reassimilate for a better spread. Basically figuring out how to act human enough to take out everyone without losing precious resources, maybe setting up a Matrix scenario where they can thrive indefinitely pretending to be human.

Idk.

It's a whole thing.

My mind goes weird places when I'm bored.

#mittens rambles #horror idea #really fucked up lol #tw parasite #not terribly pleasant to think about to be honest #would be a really neat book tho with such a dramatic reveal #grizzled survivor not actually being a survivor twist #body snatchers meets zombies ig???

6 notes · View notes

psychopasss4 · 6 months

Note

You know I never say anything because people will call me a hater but the inclusion of Frederica is so bizarre to me.I have been saying for years that I’d like Akane’s design to be a little mature and her to be a part of field action?Lo and behold Frederica’s grand entrance in SS3.Not only does she have the greatest design among the female cast,she is an experienced fighter who can fight in red stilettos,a great sniper who handles a Barrett m95 like no one’s business.She also has a background in psychology and profiling(but she mostly used Saiga’s class to obsess over Kougami lol).It’s like the writers took everything I wanted for Akane and gave it to her.Also she got fanservice scenes with both Kougami and Ginoza eg the water bottle scene with Kougami in ss3 and the providence explosion scene with Ginoza.Also lots of shots of Frederica in ss3 where you can see her naked,taking a bath,or wearing pretty lacy underwear so I guess fanservice is okay if it’s Frederica?A lot of shippers pretend Kougami barely tolerates her but from what I see Kougami gets along so well with her(can’t blame him because obviously she’s sweet and pretty and flirty and also a great boss,things Akane was never allowed to be)and the horrible part is I can actually see them being a good couple.Even Ginoza was smitten enough to arrange a cafe for her when she’s stressed and he thinks she’s so cool that she’s the female Kougami?Wow.Is this about to be a love triangle?!!!But if I point these out obviously I’ll be called jealous and hateful.But this is what I have wanted for Akane for years now.I feel sad and disappointed and I can’t even talk about it.

~So sorry for the late reply, Anon. 😔 I've been hardly checking my inbox. And just catching up to post PP logs.

Anyways, as a fan's PoV, when Sinners of the System first came up, I remember Dir. Shiotani wants to intentionally introduce new characters who would play a major role. And when the fans pointed "Akane's lack of screen time" since SSS trilogy upto S3/FI, he said he purposefully wants to feature other characters as protagonist.

I would say Frederica is not a coincidence nor a side character. Once the PPP novel and Season 4 is out, I would expound on that one. For the meantime, I will patiently wait in silence 😅.

I don't consider her as a love triangle for KoAka (a.k.a. Shinkane) because Kogami x Akane is not a thing. As confirmed by everybody in Psycho-Pass Production Committee even the Seiyuus themselves (*Coughs* Seki-san 😷).

I leave it to my fellow fans' "profiling" and/or "deduction" abilities. But I think most of us have that gut-feeling already. But again, it's too early to say something and I can't speak on behalf of the PPC.

During the promotionals, I made some ノイズログ which expresses my personal opinion as a fan in this Tumblr Space. Because I don't want fans to feel betrayed. And at the same time, I can't stand the growing "misdirection" of some KoAka fans (Japanese Shinya x Akane fans) which they twist some points of the story. It seems like they only watch PSYCHO-PASS for Shinya x Akane only, instead of enjoying the overall plot.

For now, it is what it is until the official novel and potential Season 4 is released.

Meanwhile, I enjoy and cherish the interactions of Shinya x Akane as they are portrayed in the anime.

For the writer's and production crew, I understand about the marketing strategy but I think they should be sensitive on how the fanbase will perceive things before they start "selling out" those merch 🤭 P.S. no pun intended. [i.e selling KoAka merch while low-key supporting Fredegami 😅]

I don't have beef with the J-KoAka's, because there's no wrong in betting on our fave ship. But we should be open to all kinds of Interpretation the Production Committee is trying to convey.

Let's just wait for the next Season. And no matter how it turns out, Shinkane/KoAka fanbase will always remain as solid as ever 💖!!!

WE FANDOM ARE THE UNSINKABLE SHIP❣️

#psycho pass #kogami shinya #akane tsunemori #shinya kogami x akane tsunemori #anime and manga #film review #character analysis #psycho party

5 notes · View notes

cookinguptales · 2 years

Note

i agree so much! i had hopes up until 4.09 that the writers were going somewhere with all of these (seemingly) loose threads they've been dangling. but now... it seems like we were just reading into things. i still like the show. but i've seen so many posts bending over backwards trying to convince ppl 4.09 was brilliant writing actually, that it wasn't supposed to be funny or make us laugh and that the lack of humor was by design and not rushed writing or editing. "i'm going to write an episode that is so humorless" said NO comedy writer ever! it failed to balance the dark with the comedy. but ppl defending it saying "that's the point!" give me big annie from community vibes like "the dean is a genius. he has to be. if he isn't i've given two weeks of my life to an idiot and that's unacceptable. therefore he's a genius and i will die protecting his vision!" like... it's ok to admit sometimes writers mess up or things get cut in editing or a subplot gets thrown out that makes things less satisfying that originally envisioned

Well... with the caveat that I haven't been reading the tag or other people's meta very much, nor have I seen much of Community...

I do agree that I just don't buy the theory that the episode wasn't supposed to be funny. They've brought up deep emotional turmoil and such before on this show, but always in a way that was funny. That's one of the greatest gifts that the writers usually have -- managing to pair serious topics with jokes that will make you just about cry laughing.

I feel like there would have been ways to actually signal that this wasn't supposed to be funny episode. Y'know, seeing Marwa's last moments. Getting hints that there might still be something in there left of her. Lingering more on the psychological trauma this might've done to Freddie, dick as he is. Seeing more lasting effects of any kind, honestly. Hell, even just engaging with some of the themes and characterization choices they've been making over the course of the season would have gone a long way in making this episode feel weightier.

But that doesn't happen. Plus, I mean... the jokes are there. They're all throughout the episode. They're just not particularly funny, nor do they distract from the very unfunny (but not serious, either?) shit that's going on. We don't really get any wham moments that aren't paired with jokes that just... don't really land.

I think the closest moments we get to things that feel purposefully not funny aren't in the writing at all, nor the framing, nor the direction. They're all Harvey, who decided he was going to play Guillermo's trauma as straight as humanly possible in an episode that otherwise treated the situation very lightheartedly.

Even that, I think, was probably supposed to be funny to a degree. Like they've tormented Guillermo tons of times before, made him cry, hurt him, almost killed him... and they usually manage to tell him he looks like wet undies at the same time. I think Guillermo's genuine emotions were kind of supposed to be a contrast to the silliness and they were supposed to heighten the humor. They just... didn't.

Like... Guillermo asking if they could turn the camera off hurt, but it's paired with the Freddies' silly Palatine Hill conversation. Guillermo lying in bed desolate hurt, but it's paired with Nandor's dumbass "and so he could have sex with him."

They are attempting to pair humor with these scenes, just like they always have. That humor just isn't funny enough to cut through the very real misery of it all.

To me, there was a surreal sort of disconnect while watching it, and it didn't feel purposeful. I didn't think "oh, they put this moment in for a record-scratch moment; they put this moment in to make us question this character, etc." I thought "oh... they don't realize that this is a topic that isn't funny to most of the viewer base."

Marwa was the biggest offender, obviously, and I really disagree with anyone who said that we were supposed to see her exit as horrifying. We did, obviously, but her treatment in the episode was such a fucking footnote that I think the writers saw her as a disposable plot device and assumed we would, too. But the implications of how they disposed of her were... a lot.

I'm thinking about what I think is probably the best use of "you were supposed to be laughing but you're not supposed to be laughing now" in any piece of media I've ever seen, and I think it was probably Disney's animated Mulan? Where they're singing a lighthearted song about war only to be confronted with the ugly reality of it right in the middle of the song. They stop singing. They do not sing again for the rest of the movie. This moment is treated as deadly serious and no one is telling any jokes, nothing silly or magical or hijink-y is happening. It's just desperately sad.

And no, that did not happen in WWDITS. Nandor kept being a dumb puppy whose stupidity we were supposed to laugh at. Laszlo returning with Colin was segued into a joke about the clown sucking his own dick. Guillermo's final stab in the heart was the HEIGHT of WWDITS's sort of weird hijinks dark humor.

Just... none of it was funny. When you add that to the shallow plot device characters, the pile of coincidences that were easy for the writers even if they didn't make sense for the plot (like Guillermo bringing Freddie back to the house in the first place), forgetting previous details from earlier in the series (Nandor sucking at hypnotizing people), the over-reliance on magic and hypnotism to smooth out plot holes/characterization struggles, and the blatantly awful treatment of Marwa...

I don't want to make it sound like I'm trying to be a dick out here shooting down other people's theories in the fandom or something, but like... Like. I personally do not buy that this was on purpose. I don't see anything in the episode to signal that this was supposed to be serious as opposed them trying to make it funny and just not succeeding. I can understand that drive to make sense of the writing decisions, but... honestly, frankly, I think the writers were just sloppy. I hate that it's true and I might be able to look past it, but I'm not going to pretend like it didn't happen. : /

#tbh I've talked about it on here before #but these days I mostly don't read in the fandoms I write in #it interferes with my creative process #sorry to sound like a douchebag but it's true #if I read too much of other people's writing in the same fandom it kills my drive to write myself #and that mostly applies to fic but it's a meta thing too #so I just avoid those things #and hang out in my head and dream my dreamy little dreams lmao #replies #wwdits tag #wwdits s4 spoilers

23 notes · View notes

communistchilchuck · 8 months

Note

obviously i don't have the proper context but this seems like the kind of thing that'd be a physical metaphor for jp's (subconscious?) intention of relinquishing control to/mantling "azrael" - the act of putting on the suit is synonymous/often simultaneous with him lowering a mental block

oh yeah, definitely. regardless of how much context you have and what reading one applies to jean-paul and azrael’s relationship (i like to consider a couple different angles, regardless of if i’ve talked about them publicly) you hit on something that i’m sure o’neil intended in his writing that also goes along very well with how the batman comics around the time often discussed the symbolic significance of “the mask.”

and i’d say it’s both conscious and subconscious — sometimes he’s in a situation that requires The System’s abilities and he’ll purposefully try to surrender control, which often emphasizes the role of the costume, and sometimes it happens without his meaning for it to in a dangerous or needed situation, which can happen with or without the costume. so i’d say the metaphor lies partially in his intention. choosing restraint vs. choosing uncontrolled action, but even then there are abilities within The System he can access through dissociative states and meditation-through-prayer, or just that he knows on the spot. i imagine a lot of it has to do with repression and trauma, as well, causing those continued mental blocks. not wanting to fully face what he is or what he’s been through or what he’s done. there’ve been moments where he can’t, no matter how hard he tries, “become” azrael because he tells himself over and over that he is not azrael, which required going through the motions that first made him aware of The System in the first place. Re-removing that (this time, self-imposed) mental block. and giving him back the costume.

i dislike the costume stuff from an in-universe perspective because i feel it does the character no favors in his narrative — regardless of whether you see azrael as a character or azrael as a part of jp he compartmentalizes away from himself and personifies. it’s frustrating to watch it further drive a wedge between jp and azrael when the gap needs to be bridged for positive development rather than divided further, but as a metaphor it definitely serves a purpose, and i do think it was intentionally supposed to be a negative thing to put so much emphasis on, fed into by those around jp who had good intentions but lacked understanding.

i’d love to talk more about this or do another read with this reading more in mind sometime, or at least go back through moments of interest and see what there is to read into them. here’s some old panels i saved from the first mini that kind of touch on it a bit more i got reminded of:

#twitchytyrant

2 notes · View notes

pl9090 · 8 months

Text

D'jinn, Propaganda, and Placement

All constructive feeback and criticism is welcome as always. 1.The Book of the War The Djinn Are part of same Book of Enoch Azazel/EIblis led Gallifreyan rebels that settled in the east. It's not sure whether they rebeled against the anchoring or Rassilon specifcally. Somehow controlled by King Soloman in a manner seen as magic. The Peri Their halfhuman offspring, Mal'akh like the Nephilim. "Giants who suffer from a devouring hunger but do not eat". Percieved abilities: Illusion mastery, dust storm control, shapeshifitng, and limited space tiem maniulation. The leadership, (the Ifrit) are the most powerful and possibly seperate from the Edimmu.

2.The Head of State The 1,002nd Night, (written by Lolita as War propaganda to both sway the reader to her side and get Dave Larsen to murder Matt Nelson so it's historical accuracy is highly suspect). Seems to be an nonsensical narrative that combines the historical events of both the anchoring and the Earth's creation as a Spiral Yssgaroth plug with a new narrative about the Azezel/Eblis rebels somehow breifly stealing either the Eye of Harmony or the Untempred Schism taking it to Earth before Rassilon was convinced by maybe a Shift that the best way to protect it was to bury it on Earth, (which obviously didn't happen).

Thoughts Quelch's presence, (a detail Lolita had no reason to invent and her behaviour is consistant with her other appearance) and the lack of any reference to Lolita's consumption of the Eleven Day Empire's means that the events of the, "The Head of State" take place before those of, "The Eleven Day Empire" and, "Shadow Play". This paired with the knowledge that Lolita at some point met and was mutated buy the Yssgaroth, (hinted in Mujun the Ghost Kingdom and stated in, "Preternatural Nights") suggests that becoming President was not only part of her being important authority figures throughout history attempt to fit the enemy's, "a new kind of history" description but also enable her to meeting the Yssgaroth with the 1,002nd Night and the project name being purposeful confusion/misdirection making people think she was on a wild goose chase for an none existant other Eye of Harmony, (it worked on the Shift). Making the Timelords call their own progress and worth into question by insinuating that they, "cheated" would also be inline with the nature of the known propaganda weapon of Xenoprediction.

"The Runaway Bride" shows us that the Earth was created by a Racnoss vessel purposefully making itself the new planet's core. This can be retconned by having Omega manipulate the Racnoss into, "doing most of the hard work" of creating an artificial planet to serve as a containment shell for him by getting them to believe they could harness the energy that leaked through to maintain their systems while in statis. This would give extra meaning to his statement in, "Interference: Shock Tactics" that he hoped no one would ever try drilling to the artifical planet's core would unleash something dangerous, both the Yssgaroth and the Racnoss. The parallel universe's Inferno Project didn't unleash the Rachnoss because either the Leader neutralised the threat beforehand or they had died out due to a stasis system failure. I personally agree that Lolita was on her own side and that is she won it would be bad for everyone. Thankfully she took several hundred assailants to the face and, "would not be a problem again".

#book of the war #faction paradox #doctor who #bbc doctor who #whoniverse #racnoss #nuwho #omega #lolita #the book of the war #head of state

3 notes · View notes

imjustli · 6 months

Text

I just came to think of a video that some (probably right wing) YouTuber put out after/during the BLM protests in 2020. Even at the time I was questioning the scientific integrity of this "study", as he was a white man conducting it. Now, with more experience and knowledge on scientific field work, I will go through and explain why it was fucking trash.

He is a white man. If you want to compare the reactions you get from carrying a Black Lives Matter sign in a white neighbourhood, and carrying an All Lives Matter sign in a black neighbourhood, you can't be a sole white man doing this, but you would also need to have one black person (since the white person was a man, this should also preferably be a man) helping out. You can perform it together or separately, maybe both for the sake of comparing more sets of reactions. Though it should be mentioned that both the white person and the black person should be in both places on their own, if the study requires them to perform it separately.

In the white neighbourhood he stood outside of what looked like a convenience store, while in the black neighbourhood he stood by what i think was some kind of sport area, like a basketball court or a skateboard park? These places are obviously not the same, as the convenience store is likely going to pull more matured people, who are less likely to get into fights, and more likely to understand they are purposefully being provoked. The basketball court, on the other hand, are mainly used by teens and young adults, who's brains are still not fully developed, and who are therefor more likely to start a physical fight with a person who is trying to provoke them.

Taking photos of, and filming strangers, even with scientific intent, should be avoided when it can, and their faces especially shouldn't be visible. If i remember correctly there were multiple faces in that video, or at least there were a lot of side profiles that would've been easily identifiable. I doubt the people in the video gave consent.

The amount of people shown in the video was also disproportionate. There were a lot more white people shown, but the clips stayed longer on the black people. This again, goes back to location. Was this the optimal place to find a similar amount of people in a similar demographic? Also, by the looks of things, more time passes in between the clips of the black people, and they seem to take place during a longer time frame. Those clips are also noticeably out of order, as they jump back and forth between clips of the same people. The clips of white people seem largely unedited. Was this because there were less reactions from black people? Or were the reactions less of what he had hoped for? The differences in the editing of these two places makes is less believable that this video was an accurate representation of what happened. Though, in his defence: This was in 2020, still at the height of the pandemic. Most of the anti-vaxx and anti-mask movements were found among Trump supporters, who are, you guessed it, mostly white. This would affect the amount of people at a store, and what type of people he found there. Was this an optimal time to perform the study? Not by a long shot. But this was also the height of the BLM movement, and so the choice was understandable. If that was the reason why the editing styles are so different, it should've been disclosed that he didn't meet as many black people that day.

Like I said above, the time frame seems very different between the white neighbourhood and the black neighbourhood. Did these happen on the same day? Were there other things people were involved in that would make a difference between how many/what demographic of people he met at that specific time? Lack of transparency between what day and time he was at a what place is in general something that impacts the scientific integrity of the"study".

The amount of locations were insufficient for a question as big as he made it. He was studying the difference in how anti-BLM and anti-ALM aligned people (it might've been BLM protesters, versus ALM protesters. But I honestly can't remember, and God I hope not, because if so he went about it in the completely wrong way) reacted to him with these signs. This would require him to visit several neighbourhoods in several cities, in order to get the most accurate result, and even then he probably could've only made the comparison for a specific US state. If his question had mentioned the city where he conducted the experiment, he still would've probably benefited from looking at a few different neighbourhoods, but the result would've been slightly more accurate.

Except, of course: that's still not what he actually studied. While it is a fair assumption to make, that the people in the black neighbourhood were aligned against ALM, and that the people in the white neighbourhood were aligned against BLM, just making that assumption is not really sufficient. What he really studied was how people in a specific majority-black neighbourhood, reacted to someone with an ALM sign, compared to how people in a specific majority-white neighbourhood reacted to someone with a BLM sign. The result is still not accurate, due to all the reasons listed above, but at least that is what he tried to study.

#black lives matter #ethnology #i guess #im dissecting a yt video i barely remember instead of reading the texts i need to read for school #im really good at this procrastination thing guys

0 notes

sokkastyles · 3 years

Text

Abused kids are often not aware of or have trouble regulating their own emotions but tend to, conversely, be hyper aware of and tapped into the emotions of others. This is a survival mechanism in people who grow up with an abusive parent, because any sudden changes in the mood of the parent could indicate danger. See the scenes of Zuko when he is with Ozai, particularly in "The Awakening" and in the flashback to the war meeting in "The Phoenix King," when Zuko carefully measures his responses to his father's praise, because even accepting praise is dangerous and could be a trap.

Although Zuko is often oblivious in social interactions, he actually shows a pretty keen insight when it comes to mediating and understanding what the others need once he joins the gaang. He figures out that the loss of his firebending is connected to his change of coat, he helps Aang overcome his fear of fire at the same time he overcomes his own mental blocks with regard to his element, and he realizes that Sokka will go on a foolhardy mission to rescue his father no matter how much Zuko warns him that it's dangerous, so he resolves to go with him. Particularly in "The Southern Raiders" he pretty astutely figures out that the source of Katara's anger was her unresolved feelings about her mother's murder, and knew how to help her. He also shows keen insight into what Katara needs. Aang, though he means well, responds to Katara with moralizing that just makes her angrier and more determined to go her own way. Zuko offers her the means and lets her lead the way, and defends her to Aang after Katara had made it clear she did not agree with Aang. Zuko, in fact, gets angry at Aang on Katara's behalf, and interestingly, Katara, the person who regularly told off anyone who ever said a bad word to Aang and who, a few episodes ago, threatened to kill Zuko himself if he ever hurt Aang, says nothing in response to Zuko’s sarcastic words to Aang, only thanks Aang for understanding in a tone that implies that she doesn’t think Aang understands at all.

Zuko also seems to be aware of the tension between Katara and Aang at the end of the episode, as he purposefully leaves Katara on Ember Island and goes to speak to Aang himself about what happened when they confronted Yon Rha. This implies not only that Zuko knew Katara needed space to process her feelings, but that he knew that Aang and Katara would need time away from each other after the angry way they parted, and it also implies that Zuko wanted to explain Katara's perspective to Aang, fearing that Aang would misunderstand. Aang actually misunderstands anyway, wrongly assuming that Katara had forgiven Yon Rha, and Katara angrily tells him that she will never forgive her mother's murderer, but does forgive Zuko.

Zuko tells Aang that he was right about Katara, although that is contradicted by what Katara just said and the events of the episode. I know some people theorize that this was a result of a lack of unity in the writing, but I also don't think it's out of character for Zuko to say this, even though he also ultimately disagrees with Aang's stance on violence. Zuko is again playing a mediator role and playing both sides a bit, because the episode positions him between Aang and Katara, but he also leaves Aang with a challenge to his moral absolutism.

So I don't think it's a stretch to assume that in the very next episode, Zuko was also picking up on some tension between Aang and Katara when he sat between them. I'm not sure he knows about Aang's romantic feelings for Katara - although he would when he hears his actor on stage call Katara "the Avatar's girl" and sees Aang nod. But he does seem to pick up on Aang's irritation being about more than just a taken seat, as he responds with unprompted anger. Zuko also takes note of Aang’s increasing anger throughout the play, with a concerned expression on his face.

Remember what I said about abused kids being hypersensitive to the changing moods of others? It might be that, or Zuko might be feeling anxious about his role in the play and feeling like he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, or it might be that Zuko is hyper aware of the conflict between Katara and Aang carried over from the last episode to this one.

Actually, this shot is particularly interesting because the rest of the gaang is laughing at the portrayal of Toph, including Katara, until Toph shows that she’s pleased by the play’s portrayal of her. Then we see Katara frown, her attention shifting to Aang.

Katara is unhappy that her attempt to get even with Toph backfired, then when she notices Aang as the camera pans to her left, she looks even more unhappy. Then we see the shot above of Zuko looking at Aang with clear concern over the situation. I’m pretty sure that Zuko is aware that something is going on between Katara and Aang at this point. Especially since Aang’s anger at being played by a girl (which is made worse by Toph’s happiness at being played by a boy) is linked to his insecurity about his relationship with Katara, and the play keeps making jokes about it, meant for us to feel sorry for Aang for being put in the “little brother” zone.

I think Zuko was generally anxious going into the play. You can see when they walk in that he has his hood pulled up, to hide his face, because he's aware there's a chance someone will recognize him. So even before the play starts, with its incriminating and humiliating portrayal of him, he is probably already on alert and wants to draw as little attention to himself as possible. Aang's outburst is the kind of thing that would draw attention, and Zuko tries to minimize the attention by insisting that Aang just sit next to him. Zuko also reacts with defensive anger, as he is wont to do when he is anxious or upset, which of course would have the opposite effect from drawing attention away from them. But Aang acquiesces in frustration, and Katara, interestingly, notices the dispute, but just like when Zuko defended her to Aang in "The Southern Raiders," says nothing. Katara also is facing away, fidgety, and looks unhappy while the confrontation is going on. This is also consistent with (and probably contributed to) the way Katara reacts to Aang’s pushiness and accusations later on.

Zuko spends much of the back part of season three physically close to Katara, which is a visual way for the animators to show how close they have grown. It’s not necessarily an indication of romantic Zutara, although there is nothing wrong with interpreting it that way, and I find it hilarious how threatened some people are by shippers gushing over the idea that he wanted to sit next to her, particularly in this episode because this episode actually intentionally plays up the “love triangle” for the purposes of getting the audience to sympathize with Aang and root for him to “get the girl.” Regardless of whether we interpret it in a romantic context, I think it is a good indication of how Zuko feels about Katara once he has gotten her forgiveness. Given Zuko’s social ineptitude, it would make sense that he would be likely to want to stick close to the people he felt closest to, especially in situations where he is surrounded by potentially hostile strangers. Witness his behavior in “The Beach,” where he spent most of the time awkwardly glued to Mai’s side and it was when he was separated from Mai at the party that he ran into trouble with the other partygoers, who make fun of him. That might explain why Zuko, although he comes from the opposite direction when they enter the theater as everyone else does, walks all the way down the end of the aisle to sit next to Katara.

It might also explain why he wants to sit in between Katara and Aang, as these are the two people who he now feels closest to. It also is very likely that he is subconsciously picking up on the tension between Katara and Aang, which comes to a head later in this very episode. It’s worth noting that Zuko is often positioned physically between Katara and Aang throughout this episode, which is meant to communicate to the audience Aang’s anxiety over Katara not returning his feelings (and Zuko plays an indirect part in that, or at least, his stage actor does).

Zuko is also positioned narratively between Aang and Katara as a mediator and comfort to Katara after her fight with Aang in the very next episode, “The Phoenix King,” in which Zuko tells Katara to let Aang figure things out for himself when he runs away after yelling at Katara.

So no, I don’t think the deliberate positioning of Zuko in between Aang and Katara is a coincidence, nor is it “lol Zuko is clueless!” I’m actually very tired of seeing people talk about how clueless Zuko is, especially since a lot of his reactions come from trauma. Even if Zuko didn’t pick up on Aang’s romantic feelings towards Katara he very obviously picks up on and reacts to and interacts with the dynamic between them. And it’s very telling that certain fans will complain about the “infantilization” of Zuko when it’s traits that make him seem sympathetic, but then talk about a traumatized abuse survivor as if they’re completely incompetent.

#zuko #katara #zutara #anti kataang #atla meta #abuse cw #the ember island players #the southern raiders #the phoenix king

854 notes · View notes

maraudersftw · 3 years

Note

Claudia — this prompt!!!!!!! 💕✨

1. Two characters haven’t seen each other for a while, one keeps rambling about something insignificant and the other one kisses them because “Shut up you’re rambling just kiss me.”

Omg, M, so excited to receive this from you! 😂💜 And I had a blast writing it, so obviously it got long (1.5k words). Thanks for the prompt. Hope you enjoy!

Glittering Darkness

The Butterbeer is a slide of warm froth down his throat, easing up frozen insides brought on by the biting January cold. He smiles, grin stupid on face, hazel eyes bright behind glasses, and listens to Sirius yammer on about Quidditch and teams and players—

“The Canons don’t stand a fucking chance this season, mate,” Sirius repeats for the thousandth time that week, to the audience of Remus’s rolling eyes, Peter’s enraptured gaze and James’s dazed attention. “I have my bet on the Arrows. I mean, have you seen Crossby’s performance lately? Not missed a single bloody snitch so far in. That’s gotta be some kind of record, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? Oi, Prongs!” he snaps, brows instantly furrowed at not receiving James’s immediate response, no matter that Peter’s vehement nodding probably dislodges the boy’s neck. “Someone throw a Confundus at you? That’s a dumb expression on your face, if I’ve seen one.”

James sighs, leans back, embraces the lovely chatter of his peers around The Three Broomsticks. “I’m just having a good day.”

The boys are instantly suspicious, each choosing to express such emotion with a varying degree of subtlety.

“How come?” Sirius asks, sounding almost put off at not being privy to the answer already.

“Well, I get to spend such a lovely afternoon with you lads. What more could I want?”

“To get laid,” says Sirius, a phrase that is followed immediately by Peter’s loud snort of laughter.

“By a very specific person,” Remus can’t help but add, amusement quirking his mouth in that typical way of his.

“Nonsense,” he waves off, another gulp of Butterbeer tossed back. “I’m perfectly content.”

“Okay, I take it back. It has to be a cheering charm,” Sirius ponders solemnly, just as a group of familiar Gryffindors enters The Three Broomsticks, huddling together as they brush off snow from thick robes and gloves.

Such a sight is by no means a rarity, given that the pub has already been crawling with Hogwarts students since the start of day. But James’s eyes are quick to lock onto a very specific person, a flash of red hair, pink cheeks, bright, bright laughter. No one around him seems to notice the tectonic plates shifting under their feet, nor the way that colour splashes, vibrant and sudden, painting the world afresh. No, they carry on with their conversations and snark as if air hasn’t suddenly become easier to draw in, as if her mere presence hasn’t literally lit up the room. He supposes, after a second of reflection, that she’s indeed his personal cheering charm.

Lily nods to the girls—Mary, Dorcas, Marlene—and points to a booth somewhere at the back. He can’t be arsed to check the exact location; not when it means taking his eyes off a much better alternative. But instead of moving away with them as they take their seats, Lily, curiously enough, breaks off from the group, face blank, easy grace and gait as she meanders off to the loo. Her eyes don’t travel to him, not once.

And yet, James spots that minuscule quirk of lips right before she disappears from view.

Oh.

Very well then.

He’s instantly on his feet, wooden chair scraping back with a loud groan, cutting off Remus mid-speculation as to the reason behind James’s jolly disposition. Three heads turn to him; curious, amused, perhaps even a little concerned.

“Um, you okay, mate?”

“Brilliant,” James replies, feels a thrum of excitement shiver through him, and wonders if it’s openly visible. “Perfectly brilliant. I just need to take a leak.”

“Well, alright, Mr Potter, you’re excused.” Remus laughs.

He takes the time to roll his eyes, but not the effort to dim his smile. It’s probable he looks like a complete loon on a sugar rush, but James truly has never cared about anything less. “Yeah, yeah, have your chuckles, Mr Moony. We’ll see who’s laughing by the end of the day.”

“I genuinely have no idea what you mean, and you sound completely unthreatening with that ridiculous beaming going on.”

James scoffs, walks away from another bout of laughter. “Fuck off.”

The hallway leading to the loos remains mercifully empty; luck that he doesn’t take for granted thanks to the crowd spilling inside the pub. With a quick manoeuvre honed over years of efficient marauding, he pulls out a shrunken invisibility cloak from his robes, enlarges it to its normal size, and disappears beneath the silvery material, feeling its strange softness like a second skin. And then he flattens himself against the wall, scooting around until he’s strategically placed within an alcove near the entrance to the girls’ lavatory—far away enough to give a wide berth to anyone he doesn’t want to alert, but near enough for an encounter with his target.

His target, who he presumes is not nearly as unsuspecting as she’d let on.

It takes only about ten seconds or so before he sees the swish of her robes, witnesses the easy smile on her face as Lily rounds the corner, nose teased red from cold, freckles scattered like stars, and finds the walls of his chest tighten like concrete slabs at the sight.

In a flash of movement, he’s got a hand wrapped around her wrist, sliding to her waist, yanking her firmly against his body without so much as a whispered greeting. Lily’s impulsive screech of surprise dies down the instant the cloak falls over her head, enveloping them both. The tension of her muscles melts away beneath his fingertips, and she’s quick to plant her hands on his chest, brush indelicately closer, space shrinking enough that he tastes the mint on her breath when she speaks.

“Rather indecent of you to accost me like this, Potter.”

He bends down, appreciates the excited gleam in the green of her eyes. His thumb finds her nape, massages gently. “I had something very important to discuss with you.”

“Mm,” Lily purrs. “That’s better. How may I help you?”

“You see,” he starts, chokes slightly when she grinds against him purposefully. “You see, I was just leaving the castle this morning, ready for a lovely outing with my mates, when a witch who looked remarkably like you all but shoved me into a broom closet, declared her undying love for me, and then snogged me into oblivion. And well, you’ve got to understand what that sort of thing does to a bloke’s mental state.”

“Huh,” she remarks, lets her upper lip slide over his bottom one, nothing but a ghost of touch. “I don’t know much about undying love proclamations, but do go on about this snogging into oblivion business, please.”

James drops his head, sucks on the pulse that jumps beneath the skin of her neck. “Oblivion. Abyss. A whole lot of glittering darkness,” he confesses. “And since this witch resembled you—”

“Remarkably,” she moans, soft.

“Remarkably, of course—I thought it only proper to inform you of such an occurrence, y’know, for reputation’s sake. You’ve got that Head Girl image to maintain. Can’t have imposters of you running around making out with the Head Boy. Doesn’t look too good, to be honest. And I’m saying this purely out of selflessness, of course. If, on the other hand, you were to shed some light on this act and admit to...I don’t know...a lack of an imposter, it would mean a whole other thing—”

Lily slams him back against the wall, hand shoving his chest, mouth dangerously close to his. “Shut up, you’re rambling.” She smirks. “Just kiss me.”

And almost as if unable to sustain any patience to allow him to follow the directive, her lips crush over his in a kiss that somehow burns through his every molecule, scorching the very skin he wears, rivalling even the best kiss he’s ever had in his life, which was, incidentally, shared with the same person naught but two hours ago. Lily’s hand curls over his collar, twisting the fabric, giving her purchase to devour him alive. He reciprocates with a tightening grip on her waist, tilting her jaw, slipping his tongue inside to brush over the warm wetness of hers. A mad rush of breath, of gliding mouths and hands and softly uttered moans passes between them, the air under the cloak sweltering despite the cold outside.

Eventually, James wrenches himself away long enough to get the word out; her name. “Lily.”

“Mm,” she manages, lips on his cheek.

“I’m going to need you to spell it out for me.”

The breathless sincerity of his tone gives her pause, and she pulls back, eyes dark and confused. “What?”

“Do you,” he swallows past the cowardice, the thump of his heart. “Is this happening for real? You actually want...me?”

A beat passes, a long one, and Lily stares and stares and stares. Eventually, a smile spills, and he’s reminded of that abyss; glittering endlessly. “Yeah, James. I want you. Wholly. Fully.” She kisses him again, trails the honey on his lips. “I’m just letting you enjoy this outing with the boys, because once we’re back at the castle…”

She’s trailed off, left him to articulate thoughts. “What then?”

Lily grins, glint of teeth so cruelly delicious that it steals his breath, especially when accompanied by the roll of her hips. “I’ll let you fill in the blank.”

#claudia writes #claudiawrites #jily #jily drabble #jily fic #jily canonverse #jily kiss #jily first kiss also I guess #james potter #lily evans #james x lily #jily flash fic #glittering darkness #hodgepodge #mlw10 #claudia answers #asks

256 notes · View notes

lunar-wandering · 3 years

Text

reverse reverse

so, i wrote a one shot for my Uno Reverse Card Swap AU- and i’ve decided to put all my oneshots and drabbles for it in one fic on ao3.

...anyways though, boom, heres the fic, bon appetit-

Word Count: 1.4k

Read on Ao3

MK tossed the staff as hard as he could, his frustration at his lack of progress seeping into the move. Wukong briefly looked shocked for a split moment (a very rare sight to see), before he ducked down, letting the staff sail over him.

Having missed it's initial target, the staff crashed into the electric panel on the wall, loud enough to grab Mei and Red Son's attention, from where they had been training on their side of the room.

"....Uh." Red Son said, watching how the electric panel sparked and hissed. "That's probably not good."

And then the training room doors slammed closed.

"Ah. That's very not good." The fire demon holstered the water gun he'd been using, walking over to inspect the damage.

"I'm sorry!" MK said, running over and pulling the staff out of the electric panel. Surprisingly enough, he didn't get shocked, instinctively twirling the staff in a circle before sliding it into his pocket. "I'm- I'm really sorry, can you fix it??"

"...If we were on the other side, yes." Red Son poked the panel, pulling his hand back just before a stray spark could hit it. "As of right now...I'd say we're pretty much trapped."

"What if somebody needs Dragonmist or Spitfire though?" Mei asked, "We won't be able to help if we're stuck in here."

"..I'm sure Sandy or my parents could do the job just fine..." Red Son mumbled, barely paying any attention to what Mei was saying, as he turned on the electronic band on his arm, a holographic screen appearing in front of his face. "I think I can get the doors to open again if I can reactivate the system....But with all the changes I had to recently make to prevent a certain few hackers from getting in the system again it might take me a while."

That seemed to be all the incentive that Mei needed, and MK watched in confusion as she took a few steps back.

Said confusion changed to comprehension just seconds before Mei took off, running at the door at full speed.

...And slamming into said door, falling backwards and landing hard on her back. The loud clang made MK cover his ears, and startled Red Son out of his focus.

"You- did you just try to break through the door?" Red Son knelt beside Mei, poking her to check if she was still alive (which she was). "The door that I specifically designed to be unbreakable?"

Mei only groaned in response, accepting MK's help in lifting herself back up into a standing position. As MK steadied her, he looked over her shoulder, noticing how...quiet Wukong had been the whole time.

The Monkey King was just standing there, exactly where MK had left him, in fact, it didn't seem like his mentor had moved at all.

MK lightly tugged on both Red Son and Mei's jackets to draw their attention over to Wukong

Just in time for Wukong to let out a scream of frustration, taking the fake circlet off of his head and throwing it at the wall- karma immediately playing it's hand as the circlet bounced off the wall, flinging back to hit Wukong on the nose, before reverting back to being a strand of hair.

"Fuck." Wukong hissed, staring at the hair that now rested on the floor as though it had personally offended him.

"....Monkey King? Are.....you okay?" MK quietly asked, Red Son and Mei also looking at Wukong in concern.

"I'm fucking fine- Leave me alone!" Wukong glared at them, before turning around and sitting on the floor, cross-legged, his tail swishing back and forth in irritation. MK, Red Son, and Mei shared a worried look.

"...I'll get back to trying to unlock the doors?" Red Son said, "Also Mei, please do not try slamming yourself into the door again. It's not going to work, and I really don't know why you thought that was a good idea in the first place."

"I didn't think it was a good idea, I just thought we might as well try it." Mei shrugged, "I did think it might go faster than just you trying to hack your own system though."

MK tuned out the bickering between his two friends as he focused in on Wukong's back. The Monkey King's fur was all....bristly, standing on end, as though he'd been startled. In between that, his little outburst a few moments ago, how his tail was rapidly swishing from side to side, and the fact he was chewing on his thumbnail, well, MK could only conclude one thing.

Wukong was scared.

As for why he was scared, MK had a few guesses. Most of which pertained to mountains and furnaces.

MK wondered if he should give Wukong some of the advice Macaque had given to him during their last therapy session- but almost instantly dismissed the idea. Wukong would definitely pick up on the fact that MK was quoting Macaque, and the Monkey King simply refused to take any advice the shadow monkey handed out.

MK couldn't just walk over to Wukong and try to distract him either. For one, he had no idea how to even start that kind of conversation, not to mention that Wukong didn't look like he wanted to talk to anyone right now. He couldn't tell Wukong that he knew that the Monkey King was scared either, from what he'd manage to garner about Wukong's personality, that would surely just send Wukong down a path of denial and overcomplicate the whole situation.

Which only left one option. Waiting.

Many people didn't know this, because of how quiet and reserved MK tended to be, but he absolutely hated waiting.

"Hey, Red Son?" MK asked, interrupting Mei and Red Son's petty bickering. "...How long exactly will it take you to hack the doors back open?"

"Uh...." Red Son glances at the holographic numbers hovering over his arm. "...I think the shortest amount of time I could do it would by 15 minutes, at most about 2 hours."

Out of the corner of his eye, MK could see Wukong's back tense, and something tells MK that even 15 minutes would be just a bit too long.

...This was all his fault. If he'd been paying more attention, hadn't gotten so frustrated, they wouldn't even be in this mess.

MK pulled the staff out of his pocket, looking at how it lay small and innocent in his hand. He looked back over at Wukong, who was still resolutely facing away from the rest of them.

He took a step towards the control panel.

"...MK." Mei noted his movement. "MK, what are you doing?"

MK doesn't give a response, the staff extending in his hands.

This was his fault. He's going to fix it.

"Wh- hey, MK, you'll get yourself electrocuted you-" Red Son takes notice of MK's actions a moment too late.

MK shoved the staff into the electrical panel, ignoring the way the electricity made his arms go numb and his nerves tingle. He'd been forced to get used to the sensation a long time ago. Focusing as much as he could, he grabbed hold of the warm power that lay within him, channeling it through the staff and into the control panel.

He didn't stop until he heard the whoosh of the doors opening, and was certain that they would stay open.

He pulled the staff out of the control panel, setting it down as he rolled his shoulders, shaking the tingles out of his arms. He registered Mei and Red Son staring at him in concern, but purposefully ignored it.

A breeze went past him, and suddenly Wukong was standing on the outside of the room, rocking back and forth on the heels of his feet, wearing an obviously fake smile.

"So uh, MK, the next time you fight me-" (Wukong' refused to actively call it training, instead saying that MK was simply fighting him for real. Since he was actually somewhat teaching MK now, nobody dared to call him out on it.) "Try seeing if you can catch me off guard on Flower Fruit Mountain, yeah? Yep, okay, uh- fuck, I forgot something with the monkeys, should make sure they didn't fucking destroy it, so uh, bye!"

Wukong vanished, leaving behind no trace that he had even been there. MK blinked, processing the Monkey King's parting words.

Did.....did Wukong just invite him to Flower Fruit Mountain for the first time?

#Monkie Kid #Uno Reverse Card Swap AU #my writing

98 notes · View notes

audreydoeskaren · 3 years

Text

History of Chinese standing collars (part 3: post republican era)

Quick recap: I was debating with myself whether “Mandarin collar” should be a thing because standing collars throughout Chinese history looked different. I went through the Ming and Qing dynasties in part 1 and the republican era in part 2, now I’ll look at what comes after that. I numbered the styles in parts 1 and 2 but they’re only guidelines so you don’t have to remember anything.

So in this post we’ve kind of reached the end of the era where fashion consisted of a single silhouette in any given year and all hell ran loose. I’m having a lot of difficulties classifying things as Chinese or Western because the distinction is really blurred, and I also ran into problems explaining why certain historical European things looked so similar to Chinese ones so there will also be a lot of confusion.

1950s & 60s Chinese application

Summary of 1950s fashion, mainland and others.

Because of the communist victory in the Civil War, fashion in the mainland was different to other (capitalist) areas populated by the Chinese diaspora such as Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan etc.. Let’s look at capitalist area fashion first; I’ll be referring to Hong Kong because Hong Kong was the center of cheongsam making at the time.

Collars on 50s Hong Kong cheongsam grew taller on the basis of collar style 10 but retained the rounded, tapering edge, resulting in a v shape gap down the middle that weirdly recalls collar style 6 from part 1 and part 2. It’s basically completely identical to collar style 6 but stiffened and extremely form fitting. It’s usually closed with one pankou at the base but because of westernization, 50s cheongsam often had no visible pankou----everything is closed with snap buttons, zippers or hooks and eyes/bars. An important aspect of collars of 50s and 60s Hong Kong cheongsam is that they left out the binding around the neck. All cheongsam prior to this point were bound around the exterior edge, the side closure, the slits and the collar seam (on the bodice not the collar), 50s cheongsam collars purposefully neglected the binding at the collar seam for some reasons. This makes the collar look like it’s one continuous piece of fabric with the bodice, which it isn’t. A lot of modern representation of cheongsam or any Chinese inspired clothing (in video games, books and anime etc.) do this, even if the character is from before the 1950s. It REALLY bugs me. If you are an artist or writer and designing costumes for Chinese characters prior to the 50s, please include binding/trimmings on all three seams, it’s an easy way to bump up historical accuracy. With that said, completely plain collars without any binding or trim was actually the most common. Let’s call this collar style 13.

Source here

1954 photograph of Li Lihua and Clark Gable. Collar style 13 with stiffening and no collar seam binding. You can see how firm and neck hugging the collar is, contrary to a lot of modern cheongsam collars which are saggy and loose.

The popularity of collar style 13 continued into the 60s. When the cheongsam fell out of popularity, it ceased to exist as well.

Source here

60s cheongsam with collar style 13. I’m really not a fan of the nude/light lipstick trend of the 60s, like, as a person with no lip color definition it makes me look like a potato.

Now moving on to mainland collars. In the 1950s, cheongsam with the 40s collar style 12 were still occasionally seen, but the fashionable collar shape also became taller and was similar to the Hong Kong collar style 13. Interestingly, some 50s mainland cheongsam retained the binding around the collar seam, making them look more “traditional” in a sense. However, collars both with and without collar seam binding existed and it was just a matter of personal preference.

Source here

1950s photograph of a mainland lady in cheongsam. The collar is taller and closes with one button, much like Hong Kong collars of the era, but the neck binding is present.

Aoku robe collars from the 1940s onward mostly had the 40s style low collar, although in the 50s and 60s they rose in height very slightly.

Source here

1964 poster showing a girl in aoku, the robe has a low, rounded collar.

However, garments with a standing collar became worn a lot less frequently in the 50s and 60s in both mainland and non-mainland areas, since a lot of people adopted Western fashion.

Source here

1950s photograph of a group of mainland people wearing jackets of Western construction. Some of them seem to be wearing informal military jackets, commonly known as “Mao suit” or “Zhongshan suit” nowadays, with folded collars.

Source here

1950s photograph of some women in Malaysia, some in cheongsam and some in Western New Look dresses.

Western application

I think it’s also quite important to discuss how Chinese standing collars were perceived by Western designers, because the Western fashion industry does hold a lot more power globally and also reverse influenced Chinese collar designs in the post 1960s era. So, in the 1950s and 60s Western designers thought cheongsam was really cool and produced a lot of affordable sewing patterns for their versions of cheongsam. I think this is also because pre-1950s cheongsam didn’t use the Western construction method and patterns needed to be individually drafted so it was difficult to make mass produced sewing patterns. From all the sewing patterns I have seen personally, the super tall standing collar popular in Hong Kong was not really appreciated by Western designers at all?? Western cheongsam sewing patterns all had the very low 1940s style collar, combined with an hourglass silhouette New Look bodice and skirt, looking rather anachronistic. These collars also didn’t have binding/trim around the collar seam, in line with fashionable Hong Kong cheongsam of the day.

Source here

1950s Advance sewing pattern for cheongsam. The collar is low and has rectangular edges, something about a decade out of fashion in Hong Kong and Shanghai. No collar seam binding.

Source here

1950s Simplicity sewing pattern for cheongsam. Likewise with super low 1940s collars. Collarless cheongsam died in China in the mid 1920s, yet it lives on in the imagination of Western designers. By the way, the frog closures with a quatrefoil shape are not Chinese, I’m gonna write another post about this. I love the look in the middle it’s very glam.

1970s and later

The post 1960s era is what ultimately created the confusion around standing collars nowadays. Around this time Western and Chinese fashions started to merge and become one, and garments made completely in the historical Chinese method were more and more difficult to come by; Western construction techniques reigned supreme.

From the 70s onward, most “Chinese collars” had the 40s rounded edge shape but were either medium low or medium height. The lack of collar seam binding persisted into the current day, which is something I kind of lament because without this binding collars easily read as Renaissance doublet... (more on that later)

I usually avoid calling any standing collars from the 1970s onward Chinese/Mandarin because 1) standing collars were never a uniquely Chinese thing to begin with 2) since cheongsam was no longer fashionable among actual Chinese people, designers who made cheongsam pulled all kinds of shenanigans without any historical precedent whatsoever. Also, since clothes with structured/stiffened standing collars stopped being a staple in the average Western person’s wardrobe, white people started calling everything with the most remote hint of a standing collar Chinese to further stir the pot, emboldened by the cultural appropriation craze of the 60s and 70s. Ok that’s very loaded, but it’s true that in the 60s and 70s there was a lot of Western clothing designs that took inspiration from other cultures without permission. Westerners could totally design and wear Chinese style clothing given that the intention is respectful and they know about the garment in question, but a lot of times the accuracy of the designs leaves much to be desired. There was also a lot of Orientalist inspiration in the 10s and 20s but the borrowing back then wasn’t so... literal. When I look at so called cheongsam sewing patterns from the 70s onward, I sometimes seriously have trouble identifying if something is meant to be Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Polynesian or any other region/culture...

I’ll just find pictures of Chinese inspired clothing from the 70s onward with a “Mandarin collar” label and point out their source of inspiration.

Source here

1972 Simplicity sewing pattern for cheongsam. It’s the same Western collar from the 50s and 60s just slightly taller. Oh and the closures used on the two designs in the middle are again likely not pankou. After the 60s, this neck design with a oval shape keyhole cutout became quite common and that persisted to the current day. Don’t know what the purpose of that was, just because you show 5 square centimeters more skin doesn’t mean your cheongsam is sexier?

Source here

The description of this 70s Simplicity pattern says “Mandarin collar” but the source of inspiration is obviously Japanese military/school uniforms, AGAIN. The collar’s height and rectangular edges, combined with the placement of buttons above the waist on the bodice, everything about this reads as Japanese. The frog closures on the left are once again European and not Chinese pankou (sheesh I really need to make this other post). The original designer probably meant for it to be Japanese but the seller mistakenly labelled it a Mandarin collar design.

Source here

70s Teresa Teng (rest in power legend) in a theatrical cheongsam with a similar collar, either a stretched version of the 40s collar or a shrunk version of the 50s/60s one.

Source here

Google search result for “Mandarin collar dress”. Same Western low collar from the 70s. A new problem with modern mass produced cheongsam is that the collar oftentimes doesn’t fit the wearer and appears too baggy. Or maybe it’s not mass production, just that people nowadays are very unaccustomed to wearing tight fitting standing collars so they assume there needs to be some extra space? As someone who wears stiff standing collars on a regular basis I have to say it actually isn’t uncomfortable at all and elongates your neck a lot better. This is what most cheongsam collars nowadays look like, even the self proclaimed “traditional” ones, they literally originated from 1950s/60s Western sewing pattern companies’ interpretation of contemporary Chinese cheongsam collars.

Source here

Baidu search result for “Mandarin collar suit”. This, is, literally, almost a replica Japanese uniform. The seller is also using the tag Zhongshan suit lmao (I’ve explained in my 1950s mainland post what a Zhongshan suit is not supposed to look like), delusion is not a fragrance I guess. Why is it so hard to let Japan be Japan and China be China??

Conclusion & afterthought

Another thing I need to mention is that standing collars are by no means unique to Chinese historical dress; they were also widely used in European historical fashion, long before standing collars became worn with uniforms of “Mandarins” or Chinese officials, which further proves my point that “Mandarin collar” is not a valid term. Also, standing collars in Europe have always been stiffened/structured, whereas Chinese collars only started to become stiffened around the 1890s, possibly due to European influence as well. For example, the 1950s collar with rounded edges and no collar seam binding reads as European Renaissance doublet very easily. To be fair though, a lot of the collar shapes seen in early 20th century Chinese womenswear had been done before in European Renaissance fashion and during that time period in China only the OG Ming Dynasty collar mentioned in part 1 was used sooooooo

Source here

1630-40 English doublet. The collar looks mighty similar to 1930s Chinese women’s ones. I know next to nothing about Renaissance fashion so I’m not sure how it’s constructed, but it proves the point that collars like these were not a uniquely Chinese phenomenon.

Source here

Meanwhile the Mandarins in China. He’s wearing a crossover collar robe underneath a round collar robe, no standing collar here.

Source here

1780s French men’s coat with a standing collar.

Standing collars were also commonly used in Victorian and Edwardian women’s everyday fashion without any connection to China whatsoever.

Source here

1860s fashion plate for a gown with a low standing shirt collar peeking underneath.

Source here

1887 fashion plate from the Journal des Demoiselles. Bustle gowns with standing collars.

Bonus rant

I have come to the actual point of this series of posts, to answer the question: should “Mandarin collar” be a thing? In which case I’m gonna have to go with no. In the three posts I made on the topic I categorized a total of 13 collar styles, each distinct from each other and some being inspired by Western clothing, and showed that the use of the term “Mandarin collar” nowadays is very vague and ambiguous. I don’t understand why people in the fashion industry give my ancestors all the credits for a design feature as basic and common as a standing collar... Maybe it’s a marketing gimmick like how Sternhalma (a German board game) is advertised in the US as “Chinese checkers”?? Or maybe it shows that a lot of fashion designers lack a basic understanding of historical fashion? Either way it makes no sense. I think the concept is also slightly offensive since it simply ignores the diversity of actual historical Chinese standing collar designs, kind of reinforcing the racist stereotype that non-white fashion histories are static and never changing.

If I do have to pick a most traditional/iconic style of Chinese standing collar, I would go with either the original Ming Dynasty soft collar with metal buttons or the 1940s short collar with collar seam binding used on aoku, cheongsam, changshan and magua. In the mainland Chinese countryside, the 1940s style collar was preserved and actually still made today, but in the post-Mao era it became increasingly seen by the mainland population as 土 (a derogatory term for Chinese folk stuff meaning tacky or cringy) compared to the exciting new Western fashions being imported at the time. As a result, more traditional items of clothing like aoku for women, changshan and magua for men were neglected in favor of more westernized cheongsam designs, leading to some cursed contraptions.

Maybe this is a hot take, I personally really don’t vibe with the concept of 土 because it’s very loaded and usually the gateway drug to massive internalized racism. I’ve heard so many people bash aoku and magua constructed in the historical method and put post-60s Western inspired cheongsam on a pedestal even though the former is grounded in history and the latter is an Orientalist mess. There is nothing wrong with making aoqun, aoku, magua, changshan, cheongsam or any other historical item of clothing in the historically accurate method, they’re charming in their own ways and don’t need to be “modified”. In my opinion, the puckering under the armpits caused by the lack of a shoulder seam and the rounded shoulders are what makes historical Chinese clothing beautiful to begin with :3 I think there’s something inherently modern and authentic in the pedantic, antiquarian pursuit of historical clothing, like you know how whenever a revival happens it actually brings something new to the table? It’s not problematic to wear modern cheongsam designs per se, it’s just important to keep in mind that it doesn’t have much to do with actual Chinese history and represents more of the status quo of Chinese fashion nowadays.

Ok I’m going off the collar track but it’s time to finish this post. Thank you for reading, and as I mentioned, the next post will be about Chinese pankou. I’m almost finished with that one as well and I’m really excited with what I have planned next :D

#historic fashion #chinese fashion #cheongsam #vintage fashion #chinese history #1950s #1960s #1970s

195 notes · View notes

redrobin-detective · 3 years

Text

Like You

Trequel to Half Of and The only ghost in Amity Park

“We need to talk, Fenton,” Valerie hissed, slamming Danny’s locker shut in his face. He pursed his lips and lowered his gaze but said nothing. Manson scoffed and stepped right up, putting her finger in Valerie’s face.

“He doesn’t owe you anything, Val so lay off. If he wants to talk to you, he will, not because you demanded it.” Val grabbed Sam’s wrist, strong but still such delicate bones. The goth flinched a bit as Valerie applied pressure.

“Only my friends,” Valerie hissed with a hard look over at Danny, “get to call me Val. But I guess we’re not friends if you kept something like this from me.”

“Val...erie, let her go,” Danny mumbled quietly. “We’ll talk after school, meet me by the equipment shed behind the football field.”

“Alone,” Val said, flicking away Sam’s wrist. “None of your adoring, enabling entourage, new or old.”

“No way in hell,” Sam said, clearly resisting the urge to hold onto her injured wrist. “Like we’d trust Danny with someone like you.”

“What? Human?” Valerie asked back. Danny stuck his hands between them and forced them apart. Now that Val was looking, the entire hall was watching them. Whatever, they didn’t matter.

“Cut it out,” Danny frowned, looking over both of them. “Sam, I’ll be fine talking to her alone.” He turned back to her with his blue eyes. As long as she’d known him, Danny’s had a presence about him. She took it as growing up in such a strange house and later her growing crush. But there was no way to explain away the icy, electric feel of his gaze holding her own. “3:30, equipment shed, just talking. Okay?”

“Fine,” Valerie said, turning and stomping down the hall so she had the last word. The rest of the day passed slowly as she gripped the sides of her desk and bounced her leg, thinking about Danny Fenton. How long had Danny been a ghost or half of one, how was that even possible? Had he always been that way and she simply hadn’t noticed? Her? The best ghost hunter in Amity? How much of Danny was real and what was just a cruel ghostly joke? That’s the question that burned the most. Danny seemed to be the only one who liked this new, more grounded Valerie. What would she do if her closest friend was just messing with her?

Finally, school ended and she stalked purposefully towards the equipment shed. Interesting choice of location, it was almost never used since most every day sports gear was stored in the locker rooms. Did he chose it because it was isolated? Danny didn’t seemed worried about confronting her alone, what abilities could he have that he wasn’t scared of her? That made her pause once the shed came into sight. She’d only heard about Danny’s powers, never having ever seen them firsthand. Valerie took an ectogun from her bag and slipped it in back waistband of her skirt. Just in case.

Danny was sitting on the roof of the shed, weirdly enough. It would be next to impossible to climb so he had to have flown. She’d already heard of him floating but the idea of Danny Fenton and superpowers still didn’t add up in her head. He was rubbing at a tear in his jeans when she approached. Danny gave a little awkward half smile that, a few days ago, would have sent her stomach into somersaults. Now seeing it just made her sick.

“Are you gonna hide up there all day?” She asked curtly, hands on her hips.

“You could always join me up here,” Danny shrugged, getting more comfortable on the roof. Val raised a disbelieving eyebrow, eyeing the lack of handles and the broken splinters on the old shed. “We’re far enough away, no one will see you use your hoverboard.” Just when Valerie thought he was done being surprised. She gaped open mouthed at Danny who got nervous and rubbed his hands anxiously. “You uh you wanted to talk so I thought we ought to lay all our cards on the table.” He took a deep breath, “I know you’re the Red Huntress Val...erie.”

“How!” She demanded, activating her board without thought to get to the roof. She grabbed Danny by the shirt and hauled him forward until their faces were inches apart. His body radiated a soft chill that brushed against her skin. He held up his hands in surrender.

“Since the start, Sam and I, we saw you in the park, remember? You caught us uhhhh,” Danny trailed off, looking away with a blush. It took Val a minute but she remembered one of her first outings with the suit, she was chasing Phantom and his stupid dog only to find Danny and Sam kissing in the bushes. She hadn’t cared about the love lives of losers at the time. It had only become relevant when she started catching feeling for Danny but he’d assured her multiple times that he and Manson weren’t a couple. “It wasn’t real, the kiss I mean. It was Sam’s idea, you surprised us and we didn’t have time to hide so you didn’t...” he trailed off.

"Didn’t, what?” She demanded. Valerie gasped when Danny simply phased out of her grip and assuming his previous position on the roof. She stared for a moment at her hands before looking up again at Danny who was back to fiddling with his clothes. There it was, irrefutable proof that Danny wasn’t human. It felt like her heart was being chipped away with a hammer.

“Look, this has been kind of a hard week for me,” Danny groaned, raking his hands forcefully through his hair. “I get my powers outed, I need to convince my parents not to kill me the rest of the way, keep the ghosts off my back for a period, get the government to acknowledge my existence all the while dealing with everyone’s stares and questions at school.” He tucked his knees closer and flopped his face into them. “I said I would be honest with you and I’m trying but I’ve already had to give so much of myself this week and... I don’t know, what do you even want from me?”

“I want answers!” Valerie tried to demand but it came across as more whiney. She pushed back any tears that were threatening to come. “I want to know what was real! Was our friendship real? Our feelings? Are you even real? And if you knew I Huntress all this time then why... why would you even talk to me? Were you just playing with me? Spying on me? What did you want with me?”

“I’m real, Val, I promise,” He held out his hand and she reluctantly took it. His hand was chilly but there always where, it was also solid with knobbing bones and ropy muscles. Beneath it all, there was a sluggish but persistent pulse. She squeezed his hand, it was a human hand and yet it had also passed right through her. How could he be real and not real at once?

“As for what I wanted, just a friend really,” Danny said, keeping his head on his folded knees but turning towards her. She read nothing but sincerity in his eerily blue eyes. “Sam, Tuck and I, we have serious history. We know each other inside and out. But you, you were someone new. I loved hearing about your interests, your dreams, finding out who you were as a person beyond that jerk who made fun of me the second week of Freshman year for wearing my dad’s jumpsuit to school. I liked being able to be a normal person with you, I think I had started to forget with the whole ghost thing going on.”

“What happened?” Valerie couldn’t help but ask.

“Lab accident,” Danny said quietly, “Sam and Tuck were there, wasn’t pretty. Thought I was goner for sure. I survived somehow but I got some freaky powers out of the deal. There’s downsides but some sweet benefits,” he tilted his head back and looked longingly up at the sky. “Flying is the best.”

“Yeah,” Val couldn’t help but sigh in agreement. She could almost the feel the sensation of the wind whipping against her suit. Hear the roar as she soared through the clouds. It was hard to imagine Danny flying but his eyes shined with understanding she usually only saw in the mirror. “So why did you hang out with me knowing I hunted ghosts?”

“It just sorta happened, You obviously sensed that Sam and Tucker weren’t too happy about the risk.” No kidding, Val had gotten warmer welcomes from freezers. “But you were cool, Val. Plus you,” he paused and seemed to consider his words. “I felt like once we got over the hump you would get it in a way the other don’t. You know what it like to balance two lives, to have insane power at your fingertips, to feel like if you take even a second break that the ghosts will overwhelm the town. It’s just... a lot to deal with alone, Sam, Tucker and Jazz, they try to understand but they just don’t.”

He looked over at her, “I guess it was nice to know that there was someone like me out there,” he blushed, “and that someone uh liked me. For being me, y’know?”

“Clearly I didn’t know everything,” she grumbled watching as Danny winced. Val frowned, she probably wasn’t being entirely fair, she hadn’t exactly been honest with Danny either.

“So you fight ghosts, huh?” Valerie couldn’t help was ask with a little smile. Trying to picture it. The Danny she thought she knew wouldn’t but this Danny... “Is that why you’re always running out of class?”

“Isn’t that why you leave?” He teased back hesitantly. “I’m honestly a little surprised no one figured me out before. I was really bad at hiding at first. Of course it’s only when I get the whole ‘secret identity’ thing down that I get exposed.” He huffed, the ends of his hair lifting out of his eyes.

“Secret identity, so you can turn into a ghost?” Danny was silent. “Have I seen you out there?” More silence. “Have I... have I shot at you?” Everything seemed quiet save for their asynchronous breathing. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“It stung but not enough to keep me down for long,” Danny said, flexing his arms but his smile was strained. There was something about it that was haunting, familiar. She turned to look at the woods because if she stared any longer she’d realize which ghost Danny turned into and neither of them was ready for that right now.

“So now what?” She asked.

“I don’t know,” Danny sighed. “I’m kind of taking it one day at a time. Mom and Dad are nervous, jumpy, I’m not sure if they’re more scared of me or of themselves and what they did. My sister and friends are being annoyingly overprotective. People who hated me last week are suddenly in my face asking questions and demanding demonstrations. The government wants to kill me but,” he snorted a little, and tilted his head towards her floppily. “I'm also talking to you about this part of my life for the first time. Lying was a necessity I never grew comfortable with, I think I could do with a bit of honesty.”

“Yeah me too,” Valerie said, straightening up and looking Danny in the eye. “I’m still not sure how I feel about this. I don’t like ghosts and I likely never will. I’m going to continuing being Huntress and keeping the town safe. But I’m willing to give you chance, give you time to open up completely. It’ll give us both times to come to terms with everything, and maybe then we can figure out where we stand.”

“I’ll take it!” Danny beamed, “I was worried you were coming here to off me with that ectogun you have stashed in your skirt so this is much better!”

“How did you-” She gasped.

He winked and tapped his forehead, “I’m pretty sensitive to ectoplasm, especially out here in the real world. Gotta admit sometimes when my energy was low, I sought you out. Did you know your suit radiates a low level ectoplasmic field, even when you’re not wearing it?” He twisted his face in thought. “Now that we’re talking-talking, I should warn you what side effects excess exposure to ectoenergy can cause.” He twisted his hand and a small green ectoblast formed in his palm briefly before dissipating. “If that worries you, my parents can hook you up with some sweet ghost hunting equipment that won’t contaminate you.”

“So I could have powers like you one day?” She asked carefully, looking over her hands thoughtfully.

“Maybe, I don’t know. Mine was a kind of one in a million accident, well, two,” he made a face. “That’s whole other story, don’t ask. But we could maybe find out together, Val,” he winced. “Valerie.”

“Val is fine,” she said quietly, still thinking too many things. “We have a lot of things to figure out but in the meantime, you can keep calling me Val.”

“I’d like that,” he smiled. “So uh, do you want to come to movie night tomorrow? It’s at my house this week. I uh always wanted to invite you before but Sam, Tuck and I usually end up talking ghost stuff during the movie so we couldn’t before but if you’re interested... could be fun to have you there. We’re watching The Shining.”

“That movie is like a billion years old,” Val laughed with an eyeroll.

“It’s a classic, I was named after the kid in that movie!” Danny defended. “I’ll text you the details but its up to you. Either way, we’ll uh, we’ll keep talking. See you around, Val.” And just like that, he vanished. She swiveled her head around but Danny Fenton was truly gone.

“Jerk,” she grumbled but there was no heat to it. She heard a giggle above her and knew Danny, in his secret ghost form, was probably flying. And it was too nice a day to walk home. She activated her suit and took to the skies herself. Valerie didn’t know if Danny was with her or not, she just turned off her brain and fell into the motion of aggressive loops and high speed dives around her town.

Everything had turned upside down with the knowledge that Danny wasn’t who she thought he was. But again, things had been crazy since the ghosts first came to town. So she and Danny were at a stand still, not friends and not enemies, not open but not secretive either. It was a weird state to be in but Danny was probably used to being in a state of half life himself. But she’d worry about all that later, for now it just her and sky.

#surprise bitch bet you thought you saw the last of me #why am I adding to this series when I have so much else to be doing #anyway tada #if you liked Danny seeming okay and feral the last two parts #get ready for Danny whos actually really stressed and emotionally vulnerable #I actually was gonna have Danny confess everything to Val #but that line that 'he's given so much of himself away already' hit me deep #and I realized neither of them weren't ready yet #Val needed to adjust to this newer danny before learning hes phantom #and danny needed time before he had to let go of more of his carefully hidden secrets #they're at a standstill #who knows how long they'll remain as such #and if Val sat down and thought for .2 seconds she would know #but she *doesn't want to* not right now #at some point she'll make the logical leap but for now she's digesting as much as she can #if you thought Val was taking it too well #I just put faith in that past her anger Val is ultimately a good person and never really wanted to hurt the only friend who never abandoned

83 notes · View notes