fucking OBSESSED with orpheus being dream and calliope's son and the detail that calliope blamed morpheus for his death is sending me bc it's like. taking the myth interpretation where orpheus looks back out of excitement, out of hope and out of love, and eurydice smiles, and doesn't blame him, because she knows she's so loved — like that orpheus as dream and calliope's kid, and the sheer power of a parallel that makes with dream. orpheus, who is full of hope, who's flaw is loving too much; and dream, who is, arguably, humanity's hope personified ("i am hope") and who's greatest flaw, too, is loving too much

Hello, I have a new sub (he’s new to all kink, including hypnosis) who is definitely experiencing hypnoamory.

I keep trying to explain to him that hypnoamory is not safe but I don’t fully understand the risks myself so it’s difficult to explain them to him.

I can’t find much online and you have amazing insights and I’m hoping you can help explain it to me, so I can explain it to him?

Thank you, in advance.

-A

Reader's follow up message for context:

"A here, I asked about the hypnoamory. It seems almost like he’s falling in love, and it’s been obscenely fast.

He keeps mentioning (undefined) feelings, and is expressing them strongly. Wanting to constantly be with me, even if it means breaking his own rules of not being on a Zoom call while his sister (his roommate) is around. (I nipped that in the bud and said I didn’t consent to that.)

When I suggest caution, and bring up, hypnoamory, it’s quite hard to explain to him why it’s risky when I don’t fully know myself.

(I’ll admit, some of these (undefined) feelings are reciprocated, and that also worries me, because how can I take care of him, if I’m also dealing with it.)”

Answer:

Hi anon!

Thank you so much for this question! I'm really excited to answer it. Not only do I (apparently) have lots of thoughts here, I'm really excited to hear about what others have to say on this topic. Hopefully we’ll create some good discussion about hypnosis and love and consent/safety- I know I’m really curious what people with different experiences have to say about this!

ON HYPNOSIS AND LOVE

For this response, I’m going to assume “hypnoamory” means love or attachment that is created primarily or largely through hypnosis play. I know someone on one of my Discords defined “hypnoamory” as a “speed run to intimacy”- another definition that can really be fitting. It makes sense to be concerned about a partner who seems to be feeling too much or moving too fast. How do you manage a relationship with someone who seems to feel so much so fast?

So- to back WAY up: We tend to think of love as this magical, enigmatic thing that just happens to us, but there's actually a fair amount of research on variables that may lead to greater connection and even love. There’s no one formula that applies to all people, but there are some actions that seem to make love more likely. Sex is one- a good orgasm involves dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin and these are all neurochemicals linked with attachment. Of course, people often HAVE sex to express their love so the attachment is already there but it's also seemingly common for people having casual sex to fall for one another.

Emotional intimacy is another common precursor to love. You may have seen this list of 36 "questions that lead to love" floating around (https://www.verywellmind.com/unpacking-the-36-questions-that-lead-to-love-8559179) . This list of questions works (when it works) because it speeds up the natural process by which people build intimacy. It invites sharing and listening and vulnerability and trust. Those same things will happen naturally over time in a healthy relationship, using the questions is just designed to speed that process up.

These ideas may be a good framework to start thinking about hypnoamory. Hypnokink play is often full of things that are known "love triggers" for many people- things that would naturally make them more likely to bond or even fall in love. Hypnosis itself seems to release some of the same neurotransmitters associated with love- dopamine, GABA, serotonin.* There's often sexual arousal and sex/orgasms that make people feel good. Happy calm feelings. Happy safe/cared for feelings. There's novelty and learning. There's communication and trust. There's engaging in an activity both people enjoy. There can be feelings of danger, leading to physical arousal and then emotional/sexual arousal. There's dependence. There’s intimacy. In fact, the whole process of hypnotizing someone is giving them the illusion that you're in their brain. What could be more intimate than that?

Then there's the kink aspect. Pretend someone has gone through their life with this secret, hidden desire. It’s something they dare not talk to anyone about for fear that they’ll be mocked or shamed. No one else in the world seems to get their kink. They don't even know if the thing they want is POSSIBLE.

Then, one day they meet a person who DOES get it. Not only does this person get it, they seem to want the same things. And, better yet, not only does this person have similar fantasies, they actually want to DO the thing. With YOU.

How could you not fall in love?

Here's a personal anecdote:

When I fell in love with my wife, it happened slowly and gently. We dated, we got to know each other, we hung out more and more, and then I turned around about a year later and I was in love. I was like a dropped feather- slowly drifting downwards until I gently landed on the ground. Happily and safely eased into love.

I fell for my first hypnokink partner like a rock falls from a cliff. It FELT like those teenage romances from books and movies- Romeo and Juliet, Buffy, Titanic- landing with a big "thump" of feeling and obsession. I was well into adulthood when it happened, fortunately, so I didn't do anything too disruptive or embarrassing with it. I was in a situation where I could talk it through. But- I remember being able to finally understand how people in love could do crazy things. It DID feel a bit like an addiction. I was going about my life and then- completely knocked on my ass. Nothing I had done before prepared me.

All of this is to say- hypnoamory definitely exists. It doesn't happen all the time** but in my experience it happens frequently. And, just like love "caused" by sex or answering the 36 questions or, say, surviving a disaster together, I wouldn't say hypnoamory love is inauthentic. In fact, I don’t think love CAN be inauthentic. We feel what we feel. What I WOULD say, though, is that most people caught up in that initial high are experiencing a particular stage of love called "infatuation". (Around the community you may also hear the term “new relationship energy” or “nre”- it's basically infatuation but make it poly). The infatuation is fun but can also be a cause for caution.

People contrast infatuation*** with "real love" but IMHO that’s short sighted. For many people, infatuation is actually the first stage OF being in love. When someone’s infatuated, attraction feels almost overwhelming. Your whole neurochemistry (dopamine, norepinephrine, phenylephrine) is driving you to spend more and more time with the person you love. You think obsessively about the other person. You feel bad when they're not around. It feels a bit like an addiction.

Strong infatuation actually resembles being high in some ways. Like when you’re high, your amygdala isn't quite working right and thus your judgment can be impaired. This is the phase where people can sometimes feel extra compelled towards bad decisions. They may do things like move in with someone they just met, leave a long-established relationship for someone new and hot, or stop doing things to take care of themselves****. They may neglect other important parts of their life and people in their life. In kink, someone who is infatuated may push for strong attachment play (brainwash me!), push for constant contact/play, or disregard boundaries that were pretty firm before. They may want to jump into the most intense kinky play more quickly.

For most people, infatuation is a phase. It can last from days to weeks to years depending on the person (and the research you're looking at) but- ideally infatuation will settle down into a more stable relationship in time. It’s not the strong impairment of being drunk (or being hypnotized)- it’s still pretty accepted in the hypnokink community (and in general) that someone who is infatuated can give reasonable, legitimate consent. That consent may just take a bit more discussion and thoughtfulness.******

Also- on the positive side, infatuation can be really fun! And being in love feels great! Being infatuated doesn't automatically mean someone is immature or unintelligent or incapable of having a kink relationship. Infatuation is just a possible side effect of hypnokinky play (and kink play)(and having a relationship)(and life).

A NOTE ON SUB FRENZY

In addition to “nre”, another term you might here around the community is “sub frenzy”. Sub frenzy is the tendency for new subs to want to do ALL of the things (and often play with all of the people) when they first get started in a kink. It's like infatuation, but for an activity instead of a person. My friend @daja-the-hypnokitten (who suggested and really helped out with this part of this answer) described it for me as being like someone who always thirsted and never got water- but now that they HAVE water they might gulp it down and drink so much that they make themselves sick. Someone who is in sub frenzy may push for tons of play in a way that harms them/where they neglect other things and may push for the most intense play ASAP.

A lot of the suggestions I talk about below might help with both sub frenzy and regular infatuation for a person. My friend suggested that what's often most helpful for her is having logistical conversations about her stronger desires- (ex. “Hey, if I give you a fetish for the color red, how might that work practically? What problems may come up? What safeties might we need in place?”) That way, she knows an idea is being worked on (which can soothe that craving for more more more now) but is also thinking about it in a practical way instead of just as a hot fantasy.

COPING WITH INFATUATION

So- infatuation is common in what we do, especially if you are someone’s first kinky partner. That being said, I definitely understand your caution with it. You're looking out for your sub and not wanting to influence them unduly. You don't want to continue a relationship dynamic that may be unhealthy for them. It speaks well of you as a dominant that you are paying careful attention to how your sub is doing and what may be influencing them/their consent.

Here's how not to handle it:

1. DON'T go for a magic cure. For some people, it would be tempting to want to cure this by hypnosis itself- to hypnotize your partner and give them a suggestion to not feel love for you anymore. That would be a BIG mistake. Repression tends to cause more problems than it answers and trying something like this could lead to really bad consequences. Also, especially if you tried this without your sub's conscious consent, it would be a big violation of their personal autonomy and their trust in you.

2. DON'T go radio silent or start backing away from your sub without talking about it. If you felt responsible for your sub’s feelings or actions, you might be tempted to limit your contact with them to not do any more "damage" to them. Shame or regret may make you want to back off. If that’s happening, I urge you to reconsider it. You can have kind intentions, but if you just disappear one day, your sub will likely blame himself and that would create problems in future relationships. He might think about you MORE after being ghosted or feel more in love with you in unhealthy ways. For some people, that sudden drop can keep them ruminating about the relationship for YEARS. You'd also lose everything that YOU have invested in this relationship, as well as the chance of it being healthy and rewarding relationship for you. Your sub being in love with you isn’t something you’re doing TO him, it’s just the situation you find yourselves in. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad one.

(This isn't to say you shouldn't be able to set boundaries for your mental health and even safety- I’ll talk about this more below. There might even come to a time when going radio silent is the best option! Hopefully, though, disconnecting without speaking would be a last resort if other attempts at boundary setting didn’t work .)

Here are some things to consider instead:

-DO have a big ole conversation with your sub. Several conversations. MANY conversations. ONGOING conversations. It sounds like you've already started having these. Great! It's totally fair to express your concern about his feelings using some of the language and explanations in the first section. That being said, ultimately neither you nor he are going to be able to control what he feels. Being infatuated is usually not something someone can just decide to stop doing. That’s not how feelings work. "I'm worried you're in love with me because of our hypnosis play" may be a good place to start a conversation but- it doesn't give him a lot to respond to. He can't just choose to not be in love with you any more- just like he can't choose to make you not worried. It may be helpful to think more about WHY you’re worried- what do you think might happen? Do you want him to change his behavior towards you right now? Are things OK now but you’re worried how this may affect things in the future?

A lot of times, starting from concrete observations might help start a conversation. Ex: "I know you've been talking more about how much you care for me. You've seemed more willing to push your own boundaries- like having your sister in the room when we talk." From there, you can move in to what you're worried about. (ex. "I'm worried you're getting so caught up in our play that you aren't studying", "I'm worried you seem to be neglecting your other relationships", "I'm worried that you're ignoring your boundaries and that you'll end up either regretting it or getting hurt.")

After you state your concerns, give him time to talk and listen to what he says. Ideally, you'll be able to both express your point of view and understand each other's by the end of the conversation. From here, you may be able to work out a plan together to address what’s going on. Or, you might be in a place where the plan is to keep touching base about your feelings- or even in a place where the hypnoamory doesn’t feel so worrisome. I know for me and my sub, we'll have frequent "hey, am I influencing you too much?" check ins. At this point, those check-ins seem to function primarily to provide reassurance to me as the domme- but that’s ok! They're also good chances for both of us to discuss how our D/s is going, what we’re feeling, if we have any new boundaries we need to set, etc. Even if I’m initially nervous about bringing something up, I usually feel really reassured when a conversation is over.

HEY, ARE YOU INFLUENCING YOUR SUB TOO MUCH?

I didn't say this above but I'll say this here- I doubt your sub's strong feelings are due to the way you're doing hypnosis or hypnokink. A lot of things probably have more influence on how he is feeling and responding than your play together. After all, people naturally get closer and have looser boundaries and pick up each other's preferences/habits/mannerisms the more time they spend together even without kink. In hypnokink we sometimes romanticize some of these natural responses as part of “brainwashing” but- in actuality, they’re normal parts of many longer term relationships. However, I don’t want to ignore the role hypnosis and kink play may have in influence. Here are some things to consider if you are worried that you are influencing your sub too much in play:

- How ARE you wording your suggestions to him? Are you telling him that he's enraptured, helpless against you, worshipful, obsessed with you, etc? Are you implying or saying you're the only one that can make him feel this way? There's a lot of language that people regularly use in hypnokink that wouldn’t be out of place in a particularly saucy Victorian love poem. I doubt these words alone are creating love whole-cloth, but this kind of flowery kink talk is also packed with suggestions and suggestions can have effects. Even the harsher-sounding kink talk- things like "You are my property" or "You're worthless without me" can create dependence and feelings of love. Flowery sexy hypnotalk suggestions can linger sometimes even if you are "just" role-playing or if you give suggestions to “cancel” those previous suggestions at the end of a session. They also might not! It really depends on the person! (Example- Think of a sad movie you've seen. You can often still feel the sadness now even though you KNOW the movie itself wasn't real.)

If themes around romance/dependence/worship are coming up in your scenes, it's a good idea to be mindful about them and how you're using them. Is this something that you both consciously wanted as a theme in play or did it just kind of sneak in because those are typical tropes? How are you both feeling about those themes now? I wouldn't say to stop speaking in ways that are hot to you both, but talking about how and when and why might be a good next step. Sometimes even both consciously and verbally setting intentions about what you want the relationship to look like outside of scenes helps. Know that even in really self-knowledgeable subs, there can be "bleed" of emotions from in the scene to out of it- so it’s good to keep checking in! “Positive” emotions especially may have this tendency to linger.

Putting limiters around a scene may not work perfectly, but it may help prevent some emotional bleedover. Some ways you might do this could include setting up fantasy scenarios/ role play, consciously undoing suggestions at the end of a scene, or "locking" suggestions to limit them to a certain person/certain time/certain place. Doing good check ins after a scene and aftercare can help you discuss lingering effects- especially if the aftercare moves someone out of a submissive headspace and into a more normal one.

- Are you doing long term conditioning? If you're doing any suggestions that linger outside of a scene, those suggestions have the chance of tying the other person to you (even if unintentionally). Here’s an example that seems really innocuous: Pretend that I give someone a suggestion that every time he walks through a doorway, he will touch his nose. This person does this a bunch of times during the week. Fun! Silly! But also- there's a secret sneaky second trigger in here. While this person is touching his nose, he is also likely thinking of me, the hypnotist who gave him that suggestion. Maybe he thinks of how much fun we're having together or how hot it is that I've compelled his behavior. It IS hot and fun! Now he’s thinking of me in hot/fun ways a bunch of times a day -every time he walks through the door, in fact! It might not have been my intention, but I’ve accidentally conditioned my guy to think of me in positive ways all day every day. No wonder he might start feeling attached! And this is just a basic example. Imagine the associations that could happen if he had to ask me before he had an orgasm!

Conditioning happens outside of play too. Are y'all talking all day every day? Are you doing positive things at each other randomly and unpredictably? Those actions are probably making you feel closer. (Those unpredictable rewards are POWERFUL.) None of that has to be malicious or consciously manipulative, it’s just how humans bond.

Again I want to emphasize- Feeling close is not a bad thing! Nor is falling in love! And even if you have been engaging in some of these actions, you aren’t responsible for your sub’s actions or emotions. These are normal things for hypnokinksters to do and normal risks for us to take. The question isn’t one of blame (for yourself or him)- it’s where you both want to go from here.

COOLING THINGS DOWN

Hopefully you will both talk together and come to a mutual decision/conclusion. Let's say that you and your your sub talk and you both decide to cool things off a bit. What might work?

- Coming to a true mutual decision about your goals and strategies for cooling things off. Open, non-judgemental, and ongoing communication about feelings here would be helpful. What does “cooling things off” look like? How will you know when it has happened? It’s ok to modify expectations as you go.

- Setting stronger boundaries. If y'all are playing all day every day, you might instead schedule a time to play once a week. You might limit unpredictable suggestions or times where you're texting during the day. You might table bigger relationship step conversations (collaring, moving in together, exclusivity, heavy brainwashing play) for a period of time to settle into the relationship and how you relate to each other after some of the initial intensity has passed. You may also table types of play for a time (for example, if themes of begging and worship are contributing to his strong feelings maybe you both want to back off those for a while pending further conversation).

-Developing trustworthiness in yourselves and each other- If you're worried about him having impaired consent because of love or hypnosis or kink or any combination of these things, talk about this specifically! Make sure you make a relationship where setting boundaries feels really good and comfortable- and where bringing up those conversations feels safe.. I know I try to be really verbally grateful when a partner sets a boundary or even gives critical feedback- it lets me know that they trust me and I can trust them to be taking care of themselves. You can even frame this as part of submission ("you're my property so you need to take care of what's mine") or your partnership/consent ("I worry when you keep changing boundaries because I would feel guilty if I hurt you/our relationship accidentally"). Trust usually increases bonding, but making fertile ground for boundaries can help you both have the conversations you need to make sure the relationship doesn’t feel like “too much”.

- Playing with other partners. Are you worried that your sub may be more in love with kink/ hypnosis itself than they are with you? Sometimes it takes time and experience for new kinksters to really distinguish for themselves if they’re having strong feelings for a person vs strong feelings for an activity. Encouraging his own introspection may help, but playing with other hypnotist partners can help him figure this out too. If you decide to take this step, y'all would want to do it within your own comfort zones and he would want to be careful about who he played with. Suggesting playing with others should never be a command- more of a helpful idea. There's unfortunately some ill-meaning hypnotists out there- so if he’s interested in playing with others, passing on information about finding safe partners and taking care of his subject agency might help him with branching out.

-Talking to other experienced subs. If your partner talks with other hypnosubs, he is likely to be able to find people who can relate to how he is feeling. Sometimes even hearing from someone else who has had similar experiences may be helpful. He could also potentially get tips on how other subjects manage strong emotions in their kink dynamics. Ditto for you talking to other dominants. This is a known issue within the community- many people have dealt with it and can offer empathy and ideas.

YOUR BOUNDARIES MATTER

I’ve been talking a lot in this response about his boundaries and your mutually agreed upon kink boundaries but- you get your own boundaries too! We sometimes skip talking about dominant/top boundaries in kink but- it’s very important that you are paying attention to your own comfort zone and needs. Boundaries help both of you continue to play in a way that feels fun/safe/enjoyable for everyone involved. This may sound harsh but- just because your sub is in love with you, that doesn't necessarily have to change what YOUR boundaries are (unless you want it to). Similarly, just because your sub is wanting to ignore his earlier boundaries, it doesn’t mean that you have to change your boundaries if that makes you uncomfortable. (In fact, I tend to be the brakes in a relationship more often when I'm topping than bottoming- and I think that's pretty common for a lot of switches.) For example, I'm really glad that you were clear and firm about not having his sister around on calls. If he’s doing things that are dangerous to himself in a way that pushes YOUR boundaries, it’s OK to say that and set conditions. (Ex. “I know you are really invested in our kink play, but if you drop out of school because of it, I won’t want to play with you any more.”)

If you’re worried about managing sudden boundary changes on his part, you can always give yourself pauses to think and decide what’s comfortable for you. For example, let’s say that he contacts you right before a scene and wants something that would push his previous boundaries. It would be OK in that case to say if you’re not comfortable with that- that you’d like to think about it and discuss it later. Or you may even say “no” outright if it's uncomfortable for you. You might even consider a new relationship rule- if he (or either of you) want to do something that pushes previously-held boundaries, you need to have a sober discussion about it first.

Lastly, if he’s pushing your boundaries and KEEPS pushing them after you try to talk, you might have to set stronger boundaries- up to and including breaking up with him. Being in love can explain his intensity, but if he can’t take a “no” then we’re moving into something really unhealthy. (I like this little worksheet about separating a healthy relationship vs an unhealthy one vs an abusive one- it’s not kink specific but has good information in general about what each of these relationships may look like- https://idas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Healthy-Relationships-Checklist-2.pdf )

I know this was a lot of information anon! I hope it helps! Please feel free to write me with follow up questions (and that goes for anyone reading). Also- I only know things here from my own experience and life philosophies- I hope other people will read this and add their perspective/knowledge! Between all of us, I hope you find the knowledge you're looking for!

Thank you to @linnybeenaughty , @ultinath ,@dancercoder , @spiralturquoise , and especially @daja-the-hypnokitten for the beta reads!; I appreciate your thoughts and help checking this for me! Any grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes or general wonkiness are my fault, not theirs.

Footnotes (for Nerds)

*I realize I’m leaning a lot on neurotransmitters here so- just to say, MANY activities release these neurotransmitters, not just hypnosis and love. Neurotransmitters are always swimming around in our head- they help our brain through its daily functioning. People especially sometimes talk as though things that trigger dopamine are innately addictive but- brains are much more complicated than that. I probably get a dopamine hit from brushing my teeth. It’s a piece of the puzzle here, not the whole thing.

**Side note- That being said, if you've never experienced intense hypnoamory, that's OK too! There's nothing wrong with you and it doesn't mean you don't care about partners. You just fall in love in a different way.

***Other/similar words and concepts it might be helpful to look up- limerence, nre (new relationship energy), puppy love. It isn't exactly "sub frenzy" but learning about that might be helpful too. :)

****Infatuation can make therapists really nervous sometimes because that’s when people do things like stop treatment, go off medications, relapse on drugs, make huge life decisions, etc. It can be hard to balance being infatuated and still working on yourself!

******Infatuation and being Infatuation-impaired is actually its' own subkink. A lot of pro work is out there on that theme. It's edge play and I'm assuming not what you're writing about, but I wanted to acknowledge down here that it exists.

Not disputing you ofc but do you remember the exact line about ron looking like bill perchance? I would love it for referencing purposes

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

and i am afraid that you're getting a more long-winded answer than you may have been hoping for...

male weasleys are split down the middle into two camps, physically:

charlie, fred, and george are described as being short and stocky [although "short" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, since they're all taller than harry: fred and george shrink when they take polyjuice potion to transform into him in deathly hallows].

the implication - i think - is that charlie and the twins look like molly, who is described several times as short and plump in build. ginny is also described numerous times in the books as short and is said in chapter thirty-three of order of the phoenix to resemble fred and george facially, which, since's she's described in deathly hallows as having her mother's brown eyes - which probably triggered some sort of freudian shudder in harry - means i think we can conclude that this half of the family all look their mam.

[and also that molly is a hottie herself. she often gets turned by the fandom into a fairly sexless being - even though she didn't have those seven children immaculately, did she? - with a strict, prudish vibe. and - to do some discourse for a moment - we all know that the fact that she's described as fat is the direct cause of this. but several men are canonically ready to risk it all for ginny - and it's time we all acknowledged this is because she inherited her bonafide baddie powers straight from molly.]

percy and ron - on the other hand - are, like arthur, described as being tall, thin, and gangly. bill is never explicitly said to be slender, but he is described in the fifth chapter of goblet of fire as "tall" immediately after harry has stated that charlie is short[ish] and broad - which allows us to reasonably infer that he's on the arthur-weasley-skinny-legend side of the family.

and we can also assume - since ron is never said to resemble molly, nor [to harry's great relief] ginny, facially - that his features - his long nose and blue eyes - come from his father, who is also the source of percy's short-sightedness.

and, while harry [the narrative perspective] never says that he thinks arthur is hot - because why would he? - nor percy and ron [although i think it's worth noting that he doesn't consider it ridiculous that both of them manage to pull - and it's never suggested that penelope clearwater and lavender brown aren't cuties] it's actually possible to justify the idea that they are canonically fit using more than pure hot air...

[harry does - obviously - think bill's a babe. he sees fleur checking him out and immediately thinks... same.]

because a very striking narrative choice that the series makes is the idea that all pureblood nuclear family units look identical to each other - which serves as a visual metaphor for the importance of blood-status and lineage within the wizarding world. this is why narcissa malfoy is as pale and blonde as lucius and draco [even though bellatrix and andromeda are dark haired] and why molly is a redhead even though red hair and freckles are stated in the text to be weasley - rather than prewett - traits. harry's resemblance to his pureblood father eases his passage through wizarding society. voldemort's lack of resemblance to his pureblood mother does the opposite.

the weasleys and the malfoys are narrative mirrors within the series - with the fact that ron and draco are both so near-identical to arthur and lucius as to be immediately identifiable as each man's son by anyone who meets them part of this mirroring. it makes sense, then, that since the non-ron weasley children don't have a specific malfoy mirror, the same general principle applies, and the three weasley brothers who are built like arthur also strongly resemble him facially - and that bill also has a long nose [and a long something else, i'll wager!] and a cracking pair of baby blues.

or that if bill is hot, arthur is hot - and therefore if arthur is hot, ron is hot.

[where bill outpaces his brothers, i fear, is that he clearly has rizz - whereas ron's seduction skills are famously weak before he gets his hands on a copy of twelve fail-safe ways to charm witches - i.e. when he cockblocks harry spectacularly by beefing with cho unprovoked about the quidditch team she supports, which always sends me - and percy is... percy.]

[if ron had simply played it cool he could have finessed going to the ball with fleur, and i'll die on that hill...]

HP Rec Fest, Day 30

Here we come with more @hprecfest! Today I’m only reccing rare pairs since I couldn’t think of any pre-canon Drarry fics 🤔 I wonder if canon divergent / canon rewrite applies?? I don’t read them often either way, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to boost lesser known fics. I think this is my favorite rec post for the fest so far - there’s something so poetic in reccing these two specific fics alongside each other since Little Compton Street verse was my first (unforgettable, devastating) contact with Prongsfoot and 5 years later here I am reading them again - this time welcoming the pain. More embarrassing emosh blabbing below!

Day 30) a pre-canon fic:

empire builders by shecrows (James/Sirius, E, 25k)

Say, James, he rehearses in his head. Remember that time we were both roaring drunk at the end of term, and you put your cock in my mouth, and I came so hard I still get tingly thinking about it? Was that just a one off, d’you think, or did you want to do it again sometime?

Prongsfoot my beloved 😭😭😭 sometimes I feel like I’ll never feel as strongly about a ship as I feel for them which sounds so crazy because I don’t even read it! or, well. after being utterly ruined by Winter of ‘79 (curiously a fic within LCS verse as mentioned below) I promised myself I wouldn’t look for this ship anymore bc the inevitable tragedy of it depressed me way too much. I locked them away in a secret space deep within my heart and only allowed myself to re-awaken those feelings this year, with the brilliant empire builders. what a fic! a few lines in and I was hooked and completely obsessed with Sirius’ unbelievably spot on voice, the peak friends to lovers dynamics, and the unbearable sexual tension mixing guilt and devotion (my favorite shippy combo btw). fuck, they are so young and so lovable, and so attuned to each other it makes me wanna cry. never before a 25k fic has felt so short, I’ve read it in a frenzy and couldn’t stop thinking about their love for days. the best word to describe my state after this fic is “tormented” which might as well be the best compliment I’ve ever given in a rec.

Play Me Like A Love Song by @writcraft (Minerva/Will, E, 67k)

Minerva McGonagall doesn’t believe in love at first sight, which is why her instant attraction to drag king Wilhelmina ("Will") Grubbly-Plank is so unexpected. War tears apart the wizarding world and as one battle ends Minerva and Will must fight once more, this time for the lives of their friends on Little Compton Street. A love story spanning five decades defined by music, laughter and tears, in which love is not always easy, but it’s always worth fighting for.

truly a masterpiece of lesbian fiction, this fic is more like a religious experience, bold, brutally honest, romantic, eye-opening and necessary. I never thought I’d care so much for a ship like Will & Minerva but they worked their way inside my heart and I’m deeply moved by how their story encompasses everything that’s inherent to the queer experience: love, loss, resistance and hope. there’s so much joy and grief walking hand by hand, and it is our privilege to watch the characters mature and experience life as individuals and as a couple. Writ crafts oh so thoughtfully two stunning character studies (Minerva’s voice omg, please don’t @ me on my competence kink) while taking us by the hand into the magical universe of Little Compton Street, which is so completely irresistible and healing. I adore the atmosphere, the imagery, the soundtrack, and how this seductive setting allows them to explore their queerness in such a free, proud and joyful way *getting emosh* I feel like nothing I add here will make this story justice, it’s such a poignant and transformative fic but sadly deeply underrated like it happens to so many wlw tales. I hope this rec inspires at least one person to check it out and while at it please also check the entire series with a Drarry piece and a Prongsfoot piece, a perfect trifecta!

Regarding Hold every memory au!

Since Ghost in this au is shown to have mystic powers and can actively harness it (ie: the geometric shapes on his arms in the first fic and the threads of his bros) what else can he do aside from threads? Can he do smth similar to Donnie’s Ninpo if he pushed himself ? And how did he get that mystic stuff? Did he always have it but never manifested as strongly due to the nature of the 2003 verse (like the dragon thing ) or is this current mystic power a result of his long term exposure in the 2018 verse? Also how do you think his bros will react to their bro’s Mystic powers that he definitely didn’t have before?

Ps: I love your AU so much. Your fics are so well written and characterisation is so good. Ghost in the shell is such a well written story but it’s so, so very sad 😭 its makes me so happy to see a world where is Ghost happier out there. Also sorry for the long ask I’m just extra curious, Ghost being actively aware and sorta using the mystic energy inside him is so interesting and has so much potential hehe. Like imagine a scenario where Ghost/Don in a fit of protective rage either cuz of the tots or his bros or both does a boom of mystic and everyone goes HUH??

Hello!!

I want to start by saying the usual disclaimer that anything I'm about to say applies solely to Hold Every Memory, because the more this AU grows, the more of my own ideas and wishes and things get fed into it.

Also, very little is set into absolute stone until it appears in a HEM story for sure - a lot of the time, as I'm writing, things will spin a little differently than I expect because they need to for character or plot reasons, or words will randomly appear on the screen and I'll learn how things work directly from my subconscious, which is exciting. But still! I have been thinking about this stuff, so I'm really happy to have the opportunity to ramble :D

And don't apologize for the long ask! I loved it! I just hope you don't mind a looooong reply. Lots of stuff in here that some might consider spoilery, as a heads up!

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I think Don had a groundwork of some different type of mystic potential from his own universe, but environmental exposure to empyrean/mystics over the years, maybe more direct exposure courtesy of Big Mama?, brought it from a latent capability to something much closer to the surface, significantly strengthened it, and shaped it a little to fit his new universe. Connecting to his brothers in the Battle Nexus, that rush of soul energy and powerful love, unlocked it! Battle Nexus went boom.

I think at a base level, he's capable of doing standard mystic stuff - activating and using mystic weapons and devices, like how Splinter could use the ōdachi in "Battle Nexus New York," for example. Casting some spells, too, and using common mystic techniques. If he were to practice or be trained specifically in the use of mystics in battle, he could use it to boost his speed and strength. He'll never be as powerful as a Hamato, though, with that well of ninpō power at their disposal.

Creating the threads wasn't any sort of innate, specialized ability at the time. It was an act of desperation. Don's burst of incredible willpower in that moment shaped his soul and his suddenly active mystic powers in ways they weren't originally made to be used. Over time, though, like stretching a muscle, the threads become central to his mystic 'specialization,' as it were. So if Leo = portals, Raph = energy projections of himself, Don =… connection? Possibly?

(In SAINW, there's a moment where Michelangelo mentions that "without you, it just didn't work," framing Donny as the lynchpin keeping his family together. (I do think it could have happened if any of them had disappeared, but let's focus on Donny for the angst and the parallels here.) And in HEM, Don is the one tying together his old family and his new family. Always at the center.)

If he wasn't constantly stretched between realities and everyone was in the same universe, he'd always know where they were, instinctively. They could be across town or half a world away, but if Don thought about them, his head would turn unerringly in that precise direction. It might include some amount of empathy/telepathy too.

One thing I'm solid on is that he has to come into contact, spiritually or physically, to someone to develop a connection, a thread. It might happen quite quickly and almost thoughtlessly with the counterparts of all his old family and friends upon meeting them, and for any new friends he meets it might happen once he truly considers them family.

(Which makes me think of how funny it would be if he met Foot Recruit and found himself with a spontaneous thread to her, too - who the heck is she supposed to be??? Too late now, though, she's family, whether anybody including her wants her to be or not. Assigned Splinterson-Hamato At First Contact.)

Can he use powers similar to Donnie? He might be a teeny tiny bit of a technopath! I'd like to think that was one of the potential directions his mystic powers could have headed before the threads threw them out of wack. Infusing portals with mystic energy, a little boost when hacking the EPF's bank accounts, etc. Very little things, but enough that he and Donnie can have a little similarity to bond over as a treat.

As for surprising his brothers with his mystic powers, finding out that he had landed in a universe with witches and yokai and superpowers blew their minds, but it was all wrapped up in the overwhelming difficulty of processing that he was alive at all. They know he's been using mystics in the development of his more recent portal attempts, vaguely, but they for sure don't realize/understand the extent of what he can do. There's really no reason for him to use mystic powers in the astral plane, nothing for him to do with them and the real risk of unbalancing the delicate threads, so he just doesn't. I think seeing him use mystic powers for real would delight Mike to no end, all surface-level envy and deep excitement, Raph would think them awesome and possibly want to spar while Don is mystic boosted to see what he can do, and Leo might be proud and fascinated and maybe a little quietly jealous. If - and this is really just something I'm tossing around for fun - if Don could actually pool and distribute mystic energy through his threads, those soul-to-soul connections, then they could all benefit and get a level-up, so no jealousy for long. Honestly I think all the brothers would be super cool with Rise style mystic powers but Mike would make me a little nervous, haha

---

When I was originally starting to bounce this whole thing around in my head, I ended up with a little example snippet of what his powers could look like in practice. The telepathy/empathy bits, at least.

P.S. Thank you so much!!! It sends me over the moon, like full on walking on air for days, to hear when people like my writing style and characterization. I'm still new to putting myself out there in this way, so I stress out over it all way more than I should, and getting this kind of message makes it all worth it :D

I love GitS to death and this AU is born out of the most incredible affection for it. I wouldn't change a single thing about any of it even if I could, all those aching bruises and all, but writing an alternate universe branch where Everything's Beautiful and Very Little Hurts is just cathartic as heck. I'm just glad reading this AU is scratching the same itch for some people that writing it has been!! Because it really is a joy to write.

What do you like best about each of your current favorite ships?

heyheyhey! i was actually pondering my fandom history recently so this is eerily on the same brainwave anon lol

currently on this pseud i'm still very much loving supercorp and avatrice and the thing that hits me with both of them is just the kindness and forgiveness they give each other and learn to give themselves, yknow? it's a very beautiful thing for both ships

for supercorp in particular, there's that element of each of them learning to grow past the horrible things they've done and actively choosing the light, and how they help each other in making that choice everyday. in my head there's this image of being able to set down one's burden, yknow? and as much as i wish they'd done the reveal differently in canon, there's something about them working through what they've both done to each other, as in, the forgiveness they give on a personal level too. i mean, how powerful is that, to be told, "i forgive you and i love you, even now, still"? it's moving in a humbling way, imo

for avatrice — and i feel like this also applies to supercorp but/and i feel it strongly with avatrice due to my personal feelings for the characters, particularly bea — it's how they each allay each other's fears (not by like, overcompensating but just by being fiercely present and truthful), which at its core is the acceptance of who they are, the love of who they are - without strings, without conditions, without shame. it's something like, "you're more than enough; no you're not too much; of course i choose you" along with this current of healing, yknow? it's something sacred in a way, to be able to provide healing, to allow yourself to be healed, to trust in the process of healing

ah idk if that was the kind of response you were looking for anon, i hope it made sense? very much appreciate the ask <3

(also while i'm here, thanks everyone for the kind support, both here on tumblr and on ao3 - it still blows my mind every time i see a like, a kudo, a reblog or a comment - truly, y'all are great)

Why I think Anna destroying the dam in Frozen 2 is (kind of) an act of true love.

small disclaimer, i don't really think any of this was done intentionally by the filmmakers. This is more of me having fun connecting Frozen 1 and 2 because i love both films so much :)

To start off, I believe that, in some ways, the message “fear will be your enemy” that is stated in Frozen is still relevant in Frozen 2, and this is through Idunas lullaby, All is Found. The part that I'm referring to is “In her waters, deep and true, lie the answers and a path for you, but can you brave what you most fear? Can you face what the river knows?” and "Dive down deep into her sound, but not too far or you'll be drowned."

Elsa is in Ahtohollan, and this is where she finds the truth, as stated by the lullaby. She discovers her grandfather killed the Northuldra leader and built the dam to weaken their waters. Additionally, he says his reason for this is that “magic cannot be trusted” which is something that hurts Elsa on an extremely personal level, considering it took her 24 years to finally come to terms with with her powers, and accept them as a part of her. She responds to him bitterly, saying it's fear that can't be trusted. This is something she knows all too well. I think Elsa is scared and overwhelmed in Ahtohallan. She's feeling this extreme guilt for her parents' death, just discovered her grandfather is a murderer, and caused the forest to close. It's up to her to fix this problem. What can she do? How can she free the forest and fulfill the promises that she made?

Elsas fear is what causes her to freeze Annas' heart. Her fear is what causes her to lose control and hurt the most important person to her. Throughout Frozen, Elsas fear manifests externally through her powers because they are so strongly intertwined with her emotions. Even in Frozen 2, we see her freeze her hands to the railing when Kai catches her off guard right before Some Things Never Change. However, by Frozen 2, Elsa learned how to control her powers. Additionally, she didn't have anywhere she could project her fear outwardly. She was alone in Ahtohallan. This could be why she froze. There was nowhere, and no one, for her fear to manifest externally (not that it would anymore, Elsa has grown so much since the first film,) so we see this manifest internally, and Elsa freezes. If you know anything about the Broadway musical, the saying "fear will be your enemy, and death it's consequence" applies right here.

The last thing Elsa does is send out a message to Anna, showing her what really happened. I think we can almost view this as a plea, Elsa was stuck and didn't know what else to do. She uses her last bit of energy to tell Anna what happened, hoping it would help. Anna, as the other side of the bridge, is able to figure out that they need to destroy the dam, because its the only thing left of what her grandfather did years ago, and so she destroys it. I think we can view this as an act of true love.

In Frozen, the act of true love that thaws a frozen heart is Anna sacrificing her own life to save Elsas. Anna was willing to give up her own life because she believed in Elsa, and she loved her more than anything. This unconditional love is what saves the two of them in Frozen. In Frozen 2, Anna tells Elsa she doesn't want her to die trying to be everything for everyone else, but that is exactly what she does. She died after discovering the truth that would save the forest. Being everything for everyone else.

Elsa sends Anna the truth, the truth that she died for, and Anna uses it to set things right. Even though it would mean her kingdom would be destroyed, everything she worked for, Elsa worked for, and her parents worked for would be washed away to nothing, and she still did it. She had just lost her sister, the most important person to her, and with that Olaf, but still decided to leave the cave and destroy the dam. When she made that decision, the decision to do the next right thing, she wasn't sure where Kristoff was or what he was doing. She had lost everyone, but still had the strength to get up and destroy the dam, knowing what it would do, because this is the truth Elsa gave her life for, and it was the only way to set things right. She did the next right thing, even though it was the most difficult thing she could've done.

I think Anna sacrificing everything in her life to set things right, using the message Elsa died for, could be read as an act of true love in itself. She loves Elsa and wasn't going to let the message she died for go to waste. She was going to do the right thing, even if it would hurt her, which is similar to what she did in the last movie. In Frozen, she was ready to die to save Elsa, and in Frozen 2, she was willing to give up everything to fulfill Elsas' promise. And what does an act of true love do? It thaws a frozen heart!

again, this is mostly just fun. also, im sorry if there's any formatting issues, im new to tumblr and don't really get it yet, haha

OC Meme - Vharloth Zal'arin

(Baldur's Gate 3 version)

Tagged by: No one directly, but @ex-textura's gorgeous boy Ilztaufein inspired me to do this for yet another OC

Tagging: Everyone who wants to do it and hasn't been tagged directly!

B A S I C S

Full name: Vharloth Zal'arin. He chose the name for himself. He'd rather cut out his tongue than ever speak his birth name again, since he associates it with nothing but misery.

Gender: Cisgender male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Pronouns: He/him

Class: Oathbreaker Paladin

O T H E R

Birthplace: One of the greater cities in the Underdark, but I haven't decided on a specific one yet.

Job: None at the moment. Before his escape, he was being kept as a slave and gladiator.

Phobias: He bears an intense fear of seeing loved ones suffer or die, but since that fear isn't irrational, it's not quite a phobia.

Guilty pleasures: There's not much that brings him pleasure to begin with, but he doesn't feel guilty about anything that does.

Hobbies: He doesn't know himself well enough to have many real hobbies yet, but what he does know is that he enjoys singing - mostly where nobody else can hear it, though.

M O R A L S

Alignment: He still has to figure out where his free will will land him, but probably along the lines of chaotic good.

Sins: None of the classic deadly sins fully apply to him, but negative traits of his include jealousy, apathy/reluctance, as well as a tendency towards judgmentalism, all of which he's aware of, and actively trying to overcome.

Virtues: Patience, tenacity/resilience, hope, and the willingness to learn and improve

T H I S  O R  T H A T

Introvert / Extrovert

Organized / Disorganized

Close-minded / Open-minded

Calm / Anxious / Restless

Disagreeable / Agreeable / In between

Cautious / Reckless / In between - strongly depending on the given situation, and whether or not there are lives at stake other than his own

Patient / Impatient / In between

Outspoken / Reserved / In between

Leader / Follower / Flexible

Empathetic / Unempathetic / In between

Optimist / Pessimist / Realist - not quite applicable. His past has left him with a pessimistic streak, but he's actively working on getting rid of that, forcing himself into a more hopeful mindset.

Traditional / Modern / In between

Hard-working / Lazy

R E L A T I O N S H I P S

OTP: None so far

Acceptable Ships: Vharloth x Halsin. They're not an absolute OTP, but they'd work nicely together, at least from Vharl's point of view. Halsin's grounded, wise, and kind nature is something he'd feel himself strongly drawn to. Maybe even Vharloth x Astarion. I don't think they'd last for very long, but they could bond over some of their past trauma, and misinterpret their understanding of each other's emotions as romantic feelings.

OT3: Vharloth x Halsin x Lythia (another OC of mine). Lythia is a young half-elf, her father being Aozhan, my main OC. She's sweet, gentle, kind, accepting, and has a strong heart. Halsin and Lythia are the actual OTP here, but since they've agreed to let each other roam if they wish, and since they've both got elven blood, I can also see them with Vharl.

Brotp: Vharloth x Karlach. Vharlach, if you will. Vharl gravitates towards people with a positive mindset, since he himself is actively fighting to allow optimism into his own life, so he'd probably enjoy spending time with her. There wouldn't be romantic feelings from his side, though, since he only feels those towards other elves or half-elves.

Notp: Probably a good few, but the most obvious one is Vharloth x Minthara. Being not only a female drow, but also a Paladin of Lolth just like he himself used to be, he'd be terrified that she'd make an attempt to take him back to the Underdark and have him punished for his insubordination, to a point he'd refuse to stay with the group if she was part of it.

B A C K S T O R Y

I don't have his full story developed, but here have some facts about him that I do know for sure - in no particular order.

He's the firstborn child of a rather well-respected family, but not of noble background.

He used to have a younger sister. She was his everything, but she was killed during an attack at a social event hosted by one of the high houses, which he was also present at. His parents never forgave him for failing to save her, and neither did he.

After those events, he was pretty much disowned by his family, and eventually ended up enslaved under another matriarch.

"His one redeeming quality," as his parents often stated, was that he was talented with the sword, which led to his mistress sending him into coliseum fights for the upper class's entertainment, and eventually he was encouraged to swear the Oath to Lolth. He didn't keep it out of true conviction though, but for the fear of consequences.

For almost his entire life, he's secretly dreamed of a life on the surface. The only person he ever told about this was his sister, whom he used to have a close bond to.

Having made it to the surface now, he's in a strange mental place, having bouts ranging from internal emptiness, to radical longing for any sort of experience for experience's sake.

A quote of his is: "I'd rather go blind from seeing the sun just once, than never getting to see it."

At some point in the future, he will renew his oath, but this time he'll swear it to Lathander, and this time, he'll mean it.

Gwen x Arthur

oh, here we go. strap in friends (this is so dramatic of me, please don't take me too seriously)

send me merlin ships

i was quite nervous about getting an arwen ask, because i do talk about them a lot and i do love them, but in the spirit of full transparency - i didn't like them on my first watch. not like. hated them. just didn't feel too strongly about them. but, rei, what changed, you may wonder. and i'll tell you! at first i really didn't know what my issue was, because even as someone who is a big, let's say, merthur shipper, i'm not usually one to dislike already existing or other pairing ships. but as i rewatched the show and could focus on more details i figured it out. (this is about to get so off topic, i'm so sorry) a qualm i have with the series is that the relationship building, especially the intentional kind, often lacks a certain solidness. and this can be applied to so many ships. if anything, arwen are a bit of a divergence, because i love the overall storyline, but where i often think there should be more of something, with them i missed a certain something.

i don't agree with the take that it came out of nowhere, but some lines that were given to either of them didn't feel right to me. as they built their arc, some choices of dialogue felt stiff. there are only a few instances in the series where it gets like that, but it would take me out of the story immediately. clearly, i got over it, chose to ignore it in the favour of their love that is wonderful and so, so, so good. i mean, it's a loser himbo with kindness the size of mountains and the most wonderful woman you've ever seen who stands her ground and loves so deeply, and gets flustered once her rationality catches up to her. it's no secret i see them as potentials for other pairings too, but something about their love is just so light and unwavering. there's no denying they care deeply for each other and they are so stupidly weird around each other, especially mr prince. they are sweet and so caring. there's a lot of give and take between them too, which, really, i don't think gets talked about enough. they're both very smart in their own ways, arthur with something more tactical and gwen with something more emotional, and they keep each other in check when the other gets tangled in something they're less familiar with. i'm quite tired right now, so i'm not 100% sure if it makes sense, but i hope it does. again, as with all, i could keep going forever, but it's getting too long already, s o we'll stop here.

tiers: F-S; rating: 0-100

tier: A

overall rating: 87

steadfast, sightless - chapter one

Max wakes up. Lumax fic. Post-Season 4 Vol. 2. No warnings apply.

Three months. That’s how long it had been. Three months since Lucas had felt Max’s life go out of her while she trembled and choked in his arms. Three months since he heard her bones snap. Three months since she died. Three months since she came back to life. It felt both shorter and longer than that. The time had passed in the blink of an eye, sure. But Lucas spent most of his waking hours here, in this dingy little hospital room. Next to her. It was better than being out there. In this bizarre, Upside Down version of Hawkins they now lived in. The only reason Lucas' parents even allowed him to leave the house was because they knew he'd just come here. School wasn't happening right now. Not with everything going on. Many of Hawkins' residents had evacuated the town. Those who had remained were destitute. Trapped in the gym at Hawkins High. That was the other reason why they weren't in school. It was being used as a shelter. It was where Robin and Steve spent most of their time now. Since the vast majority of Family Video’s customers had evacuated the town, the business had closed its doors for the time being. Robin had felt particularly strongly about wanting to help at the de facto shelter in Hawkins High, and so Steve accompanied her.   Hopper had since returned to his shack, and was currently attempting to make it livable again. El was still living with Joyce, Will, and Jonathan, who had taken up residence in their old home, which had since been renovated and then abandoned as Hawkins residents had flooded out of the town. College was, understandably, on hold for both Jonathan and Nancy. At the least, they seemed to be around each other frequently, as when they came to visit Max it was usually together. Mike and Dustin’s families had remained in their homes. His family had too. Lucas knew they would have to have a sit-down with their parents at some point and explain all of this. He had hoped that Joyce and Hopper would shoulder most of that since they were the adults involved. In any case, Lucas felt they would be taken more seriously now that the Upside Down was unfolding before their very eyes. Lucas knew that Max might not know he was there, much less know that Hawkins and the Upside Down had officially converged. Not that she needed to worry about any of it right now, with the state she was in. All Lucas hoped for was that Max could sense his presence. Somehow. He read to her often. They’d gotten through The Talisman and were about to finish Salem’s Lot. Both Stephen King, obviously. He knew she would love that. If she knew it was happening. And of course, the little doodle she’d drawn him was still on the wall next to her bed. Her acceptance of their movie date. The shy little smile she’d given him as she had shown him her work. And the understanding that had passed between them: that there was hope yet for them as a couple. How optimistic and hopeful they’d been that they would make it out of their encounter with Vecna in one piece. They’d survived, at least. But at what cost? She probably didn’t know how many people had been there to see her besides him, either. Her mother, of course. Jonathan and Nancy were here just about every week; sometimes separately, sometimes together, sometimes with Robin. Steve and Dustin, too. Mike and Will, even more. And El…El visited at least three times a week, visibly hoping she’d be able to find Max’s consciousness somewhere in her mind. He knew how Eleven felt. That look of despair when he told her she hadn’t awoken yet. And that the doctors didn’t know when that would be. If that would be. It wasn’t like El hadn’t tried. In the first month, she all but burst into the room nearly every night, eager to travel into Max’s mind, to see if she could be found in there. He’d watched her face go from hopeful to haggard as she’d open her tear-filled eyes and shake her head. And often, Lucas wept with her. In the second month, El became increasingly desperate, even suggesting that they try alternative methods – piggybacking, implanting memories, even suggesting transferring some of her powers to Max. If that were even possible. But none of these were possible without Max being in there. And right now, she wasn’t. By the third month, El had stopped trying. She would still show up to hold Max’s limp hand and talk to her. But her eyes were blank. Lucas understood. It was too painful to keep up hope that she would soon wake up. But she must wake up, Lucas thought. She has to. They had just started to reconnect. It wasn’t that he had ever stopped loving her. They’d just lost their way for a while. It’s not your fault, she’d told him. I disappeared. Lucas had shaken his head. No. I just didn’t look hard enough. He couldn’t put into words how much he regretted that now. He should have always been looking for her. And now Max might never find her way back. Lucas checked his watch. 8:30 pm. He had to get home in an hour or so. It had been a long day. They’d hooked her to another bag of fluid, and they’d changed the bag for her feeding tube. Another clear tube ran under her nose, connected to an oxygen tank. Helping her breathe. Her flesh tone neck brace had more color in it than Max’s actual skin, which was still sickly pale. She was gaunt. Sunken. And Lucas was sure she was thinner underneath the thick white casts on her arms and legs. Max looked so small, so sick, just lying there motionless on the bed. A shell of herself. Lucas could feel his eyes filling with tears. It was familiar. He often cried when he was alone with her. It was so cruel to think that a few months ago he had only wanted to fill his gaze with her. And she might have let him. And now filling his eyes with this sick, pale, broken version of her was more uniquely painful each day. Would it have been better for her to stay dead? Lucas felt terrible for letting the thought enter his mind. No, of course not. He would always remember the horrible, gutting feeling of the life draining from her, the quieting of her struggle for breath. He would never forget it, no matter how desperately he wanted to. But this life? Was this better? A flutter. Lucas’ heart stopped dead, his eyes glued to Max’s face. It could have been a trick of the light, his rational mind warned him. He’d been fooled before. So eager for her to wake that his mind kept trying to make it real. Another one. A flutter. Now he was sure he was imagining things. The first flutter of her eyelashes was something he’d conjured up out of hope, and this tricked his mind into seeing it again. Even knowing this, Lucas was at her bedside at once, hanging on to any sign of movement. Please, Max. Please. Please. There was no mistaking it this time. Very slowly, Max’s eyelids began to open. He watched her pale lips part ever so slightly, and a shaky breath leave her mouth. Lucas grabbed at her limp fingers. “Max?” He watched in desperation as, finally, Max’s eyes opened. Amid his joy, Lucas also felt an immediate sinking feeling. Her eyes were no longer the vibrant blue that he knew and loved. Immediately Lucas was transported back to that night as he saw those same milky white eyes, wide and terrified as she lay broken in his arms, gasping for breath, trembling with pain. Lucas was brought back to present day by Max, whose breath began to quicken as she too seemed to realize she couldn’t see. The heart monitor near the bed began to beep in more rapid succession. “Max? Max, can you hear me?” She whimpered, the most pitiful sound he’d ever heard. Lucas watched her fingers clench and unclench desperately in her casts, her breath coming in short little gasps, the heart monitor alerting them that her heart rate was increasing to near-dangerous levels. Lucas lowered his voice. “Max, it’s okay. Calm down.” He could see that she was attempting to thrash about, but her casts were preventing this. Her cloudy eyes swiveled to and fro in her head, wide, frightened. Lucas leaned down toward her. “Max. Shh. Shh. It’s Lucas. I’m here.” He gently took her fingers and entwined them in his own. Max’s eyes grew even wider, and he saw tears start to glitter at their corners. She weakly squeezed his hand. “Good,” he said, tears starting to swim in his own eyes. “Good, Max. That’s good. Just breathe.” Max’s lips parted once more, and then closed. Lucas’ heart broke a little more when he realized that she must be trying to talk. “It’s okay. Don’t try to talk.” Slowly, gently, Lucas placed his hands on her pale cheeks. She flinched, and he immediately felt remorseful. She had no warning for him doing that as she could not have seen it. He swore not to forget this next time. “You’re in a hospital,” he said, his voice cracking a little. “You got hurt, Max. Bad.” Max’s face crumpled, letting out a strangled noise that he thought might be a sob. Her sightless eyes were staring desperately in his direction, wet and brimming with tears. “I’m right here, Max,” he murmured. “You’re okay. I’m right here.” Max’s tears slid right into his palms. Her fragile body trembled with the sorrow and the fright and the utter grief of it. He could only imagine how scary it was to only see darkness after taking so much residence there. I’ll run toward the light, she’d told him all those months ago. And now…how could she run toward the light if she couldn’t see it? “Ah – ah – ” Max was trying to talk again. Lucas knew she desperately wanted to. Her mouth open and closed, trying to make the words come out. He felt panicked. Why couldn’t she talk? “Sir?” Lucas whirled around to see a nurse standing in the doorway, looking bewildered. “She’s awake,” he said, and then, insanely, he laughed. “She’s awake!”

The Prime of His Youth: Book II: The Quest for Fire: Ch02: The Quest

Jack looked at Sirenia, "The second ammendment involves the right to bear arms."

"The right to bear arms is limited to the warrior class." Windblade quickly asserted.

"Which I guess you are not going to move on?" Jack rhetorically asked, and looked back to Sirenia.

"The third ammendment is about quartering, and between Cybertronians and Humans, and with independent cities, I do not see how it could apply. The fourth is a man's life, liberty, and property shall not be impunged."

"Already on the books." Windblade stated.

"Of course it is." Jack stated, "How do trials work here?"

Amalthea was the one that spoke up, "Each party is given access to an archivist, and allowed to plead their case."

"To who?" Jack asked.

"To whoever is willing to listen." Amalthea stated.

"So, jury duty is voluntary?" Jack asked.

"A decent summary." Sirenia stated.

"What about a judge?" Jack asked.

"And who would be fit to judge?" the Mistress of Flame asked, and Jack really didn't know what to say to that.

"You don't have people trying to abuse the system?" Arcee asked.

"If there was, we would remove them." Windblade stated.

"Voluntarily?" June asked.

"Or otherwise." Windblade strongly stated.

"So, your legal system is designed to avoid abuse?" Jack asked.

"I would hope so." Windblade stated.

Jack looked back to Sirenia, "I apologize." she stated.

"About what?" he asked.

"There is a missing element from the first ammendment."

"And what is it? he asked.

"I am so sorry. It is just not normally brought up with the others."

"Sirenia." he said judgementally, and she stopped talking, "Just tell me."

"Oh?" she asked, her eyes growing wide, "Freedom of religion."

Jack looked over the assembly, and a palpable silence rang out.

"This raises question of how Humans fit into the Way of Flame?" Apple Eye asked.

The Mistress of Flame stepped out, "On such an issue, I would prefer to defer to," she said, and stopped, quickly turning to look at Jack, "a Prime."

"Wait, what?" Jack asked. "I can't... I've never had the Matrix of Leadership."

"You had the Key to Vector Sigma?" Windblade strongly asked.

"I took it to... Vector Sigma." Jack stated.

"Were you not gifted with the wisdom of the Primes?" she asked.

"Anything that happened went into the key." Jack stated, "When I gave it back to Optimus, after convincing him he was worthy, he had his memories restored."

Silence reigned as this was thought over.

"Have you tried to go back?" Windblade asked.

"Have I tried to what?" he asked.

"Go back?" Windblade asked.

"The Key showed me the way?"

"You were there?" she asked.

"Cybertron was a very different place when I went."

Windblade then stepped around her lecturn, "Then you need a Cityspeaker."

"It's... it's not..." Jack voiced, "It's not that easy. Humans need food."

"I can carry what you need." Sirenia stated, and he looked at her curiously. "Energon?" she asked.

"Bulkhead?" Arcee asked, as she stepped forward.

"How much can he carry?" Windblade asked.

"Bulk - head." Arcee simply stated.

"Will you be accompanying us?" Windblade asked.

"Us?" Jack asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Arcee harshly asked. "Of course I'm going."

"We're going?" Jack asked.

"What's the matter?" Arcee asked him, "You don't want to go for a drive?"

"A drive?" Jack asked her, both a combination of love and annoyance.

"See the sights?" Arcee asked.

"Alright," Jack replied, "let's go. But the trip here is long and expensive."

The Mistress of Flame looked about the assembly, "Motion to support this endeavour."

Windblade raised her hand, along with Whitehead, Tethys, Helia, Amalthea, and Apple Eye.

"Against?" the Mistress of Flame asked, and no one raised their hands, "Abstaining?" she asked, and Michaela, Molana, and Ridgehopper raised their hands. "Motion carried!" she shouted to the assembly. "Caminus will support our Prime's expedition to Vector Sigma!"

* * *

Jack was in a haze when he walked out of the Parliament. June was behind him. Arcee and Sirenia beside him. He heard an engine noise and looked back, only to see Arcelia approaching him. She transformed, though only to 10ft. "I have been practicing."

"Tsk." Arcee stated.

Jack snapped out of his haze, and looked at Arcee, "It was your idea." Arcee developed a sour look, but didn't say anything. Jack looked back to Arcelia.

"I would like to accompany you on your quest."

"Quest?" Jack asked.

"It does sound like a knight's quest." Sirenia stated.

"You don't exactly look like a fighter?" Arcee said, stepping forward to look her deep in the eyes.

"Of course not." she replied. "I am an archivist. I believe all Cybertronians have a right to know what goes on here."

Jack stared at her. First in the eyes, then down her body, and then back into her eyes, "Alright," he said, as he came a conclusion, "You cannot reveal anything about me until we get back to Caminus."

"Agreed." she quickly stated.

"Don't even have to think about that?" Arcee asked her.

"I will have to compile my report before it is released." Arcelia simply stated, "And I believe the young Prime has the right to ignomity, at least until he succeeds."

"You think it will work?" Arcee asked.

"I honestly have no idea." Arcelia stated, "This is so completely and utterly unprecedented. But, by your own testimony, along with that of The Last Prime and even Megatron, he was essential to the rebirth of Cybertron. At the very least, Cybertron is likely to be gracious."

"They did pay him quite a sum." June stated.

"I don't mean Cybertron, the people, I mean Cybertron the planet."

"It is Primus." Arcee stated. "Maybe? Probably?"

"My expectation is that something is going to happen of great import." Arcelia stated.

"This is going to be far away from a romantic getway." an annoyed Arcee stated. June looked up at her, "Yes, I know, it will help him survive. Anyone else want to come?!" she shouted into the air.

"A medic?" Sirenia asked, and Arcee sighed.

"What's next, Destiny's Child?"

"I thought he had earned your respect?" Sirenia asked, and Arcee sighed.

"He did." she stated.

Jack then turned to his mother, "What did you want to do?"

"I honestly don't know?" June asked. "I suppose if you're going to Cybertron, I can take the Star Bridge and wait on Terra. On one condition."

"Promise to keep him safe?" Arcee asked.

"Two conditions." June stated, "You pick me up on Earth as soon as you get back."

"On the Forge of Solus Prime, I swear." Sirenia stated.

"On the Forge fo Solus Prime." Arcelia added.

The two femmes looked at Arcee, "I'll decide what to swear on when..." she said, and gestured to Arcelia, "..whatever happens." She then turned to June, and kneeled down to hug her. "June knows I love her." She then stood back up again.

"Like you love Jack?" Arcelia asked.

"Like a mother-in-law." Arcee stated. It was clear by the look on Arcelia's face that she was aware of the concept, but did not really understand it.

Jack looked up at Sirenia and she looked down at him. "Master?"

"When will the next ship arrive?" he asked.

Sirenia's face went blank for a moment. "Aproximately two cycles."

"Plenty of time to build your forces." Arcelia said, and Jack sneered at her.

"I'm sorry." he said

"You shied from the limelight." she stated. Arcelia then looked at Sirenia, "A lot of people do the same." She then looked back down at Jack, "But, unfortunately for you, you have a higher calling."

"You really believe that, don't you?" Arcee asked.

"How could I not? Arcelia replied. She then looked at Sirenia. Sirenia said nothing, but the look on her face said she felt the same way.

Wednesday (2022 Netflix show) is a weird little thing. I really love it, I am hoping we'll get a second season sooner rather than later, and I can strongly recommend it. But at the same time, there are also things that I feel just don't work. And I think a lot of that can be boiled down to:

It's a good show, but it's not a great Addams Family adaptation.

To a certain extent, that's unavoidable, as it is tonally completely different. The Addams Family is, at its core, not horror. It just looks like it, and that's where the humour comes from.

On the other hand, Wednesday (2022 Netflix show) has strong horror elements. There's a monster in the woods, and it's out to get you, it might kill you, and Wednesday (girl) considers this to be a problem, instead of trying to befriend it.

As a result of that, the relationships have shifted. It doesn't make sense for Wednesday (1964 series and 1991 and 1993 movies version) to have beef with her family and to want to get out from the shadow of her mother. That's never the relationship they had, and I'm not sure how they'd get here. They changed it, and that makes it feel weird.

The whole world is also fundamentally un-Addams like. I'm not just talking about how they took the labels "normie" and "outcast" and turned them into different species, basically, but also attitudes. Gomez is accused of murder, and… that's a problem, somehow? He didn't want to kill the guy? That's #notmygomez.

The weird thing is that this actually works for the show, except for having the Gomez and Morticia labels applied to these very different characters. The inverse of that is that the show generally gets better if it lets itself breathe, and is just about Wednesday, Thing (love Thing!) and the new characters. It's not a revelation or anything, and I genuinely think Stranger Things season 1 was better, but it is still good, and Wednesday herself picks up a lot of the slack.

But there is a particular way in which this whole thing rears its head, and that's a problem that I like to call, "Wednesday is just saying shit".

In the '90s movies, it is a running gag that Wednesday will say things that are overly educated, highly morbid, and usually both. She talks about taxidermy, execution methods, funerals and so on non-stop, and that's a thing they copied to the new show. But in the original approach, it was usually either not the focus, or backed up by something.

Wednesday really did try to kill Pugsley, several times, in a highly comedic fashion. And when the second movie did "Wednesday against the Pilgrims", something they seem to have been inspired by here, she genuinely went for it, tying people up, causing property damage, and setting things on fire.

Her weird statements were believable in the reality of the old movies. I totally buy that she researched the best methods to kill kittens in her spare time, and that just happened off-camera.

In the Netflix show, we don't get any moments like that. She only attempts murder once, in the pilot, and her parents treat that as if it were suddenly a problem. In the school, she consistently makes morbid remarks and issues threats, but they're all just empty. She promises to nailgun Ajax's heart if he breaks Enid's heart, but when he does, she doesn't even attempt to go through with the threat (as far as we know, that's a good fanfic opportunity right there).

In the movies, Wednesday is genuinely creepy in a comedic way, because the threat of comedic violence is always there, and we see her attempt to deliver on it. In the Netflix show, Wednesday is just saying shit.

Again, I think it's unavoidable to an extent. It would be highly consistent with Wednesday's stated character to build a secret guillotine to behead Enid in her sleep, or at least scare her out of the dorm immediately. But that doesn't work if Wednesday/Enid is going to be the emotional core of the show, and I do genuinely like their relationship.

At the end of the day, this show isn't an Addams Family show, it just looks like one, and the mismatch caused by that can be a bit jarring at times. But it is a good show in its own right.

I am interested: why do you like Emperor Hadrian so much and when did you start liking him?

Thank you so much for asking! It's not something I've thought about a lot, but here's what I came up with today:

I really became curious about him seeing his influences on Roman art, which i was referencing and researching a lot a few years ago. I was reading a lot about Hadrian through his relationship with Antinous, which led me to learn a lot more about him as an individual. I felt like we had things in common during this time in my life, when I was around 14 years old. I liked art and books, I wrote a lot, and I had just read Plato's Symposium and became obsessed with classical Athens. I also think coming into my lgbt identity was related to it in some way but that isn't something I've explained to anybody before, and not really something I can verbalize right now :/ there was just a connection that made sense to me.

The first thing I think of these days is that Hadrian's inner life is truly mesmerizing to me. Because he enjoyed writing, he seems like an expressive, creative person who would offer a thoughtful perspective on his life and circumstances. He was adopted, and there were a few scandals at the beginning of his reign over his legitimacy and relationship to Trajan; then his relationship with his wife is also very complex, and many sources disagree over how they felt about each other (and I think Sabina is a powerful and fascinating figure in her own right); and I still find the love between him and Antinous a really compelling subject, and a good example of how Hadrian challenged Roman traditions and morals. Reading about all of these things humanized him so much in my eyes, and it's impossible not to think about everything we still don't know. I really wish his autobiography had survived (if one existed), but the fact that it doesn't at least gives all of this some mystique😉

In case it needs to be said, I don't agree with any of the Roman emperors politically, but I do think Hadrian had a unique and sympathetic policy focused on securing and culturally enriching the empire's existing territory. I liked that he traveled so much and kind of decentered Rome as the Caput Mundi, which shifted the culture of the time a lot (we can see this very strongly in sculpture from this time period, for example, which show strong Greek influence in both popular fashions and artistic techniques). He promoted learning and the arts, and gave cities including Athens more self-determination. His Philhellenism interests me a lot since although many Romans admired and learned from Greece, Hadrian studied, applied, and accessorized aspects of Greek culture in very different ways from his predecessors, to the point where it became characteristic of his empire and his own identity. His contemporaries made fun of him for this, and I think his use of Greek culture sometimes seems fetishistic, but it also contributed to his liberal attitudes and focus on improving the quality of life for his subjects.

Lastly, I am also very interested in his reception from historians and modern people. Many historians acknowledge that he was an authoritarian and scheming and power-hungry, but that he was also a dedicated student of art and literature, and he wanted to understand the people he ruled. It's not easy to find other historical figures treated with such nuance (in my experience).

I hope that answers your question!! I'm always happy to talk about him and I'm always learning new things, so I appreciate your interest🥰❤️

To be fair, we can't actually know how Jensen really feels about he finale. I do think the at least 4 or 5 different times he talked about his negative feeling regarding the finale were pretty intense by his standards (he's not usually super open about his feelings). Losing sleep over it, calling up and discussing it with various people and his comments about "coming around to it" very much sounded like resignation to me, like he was forcing himself to make the best out of a situation he didn't like. Which could mean there is still some lingering resentment or unhappiness about it there.

I don't see this in contraduction to him being proud of some of the moments in the finale either (like he has said he is), because both of these things can be true. I also think he is way too professional to make a big deal out of barn ops, even if he really did hate them.

Ultimately, I'm not bothered about his feelings regarding the finale either way. If he really does love it now, I'm happy for him, if he is still unhappy about it, I don't blame him (because I hated the finale too for various reasons and I'm not even a heller) and hope he can work towards something he feels more satisfied with.

Oh, well, if you wanna go ahead a do a silly thing like add nuance to the conversation! But yes, you do have a point. Did he really completely come to see it as the best choice, or was he just talked around into accepting it as good enough and has specific favorite parts that he can choose to highlight to keep things positive? I don't know. However, it is a bit of a different question, because what is being claimed by certain people is that he definitely said he hated the finale they filmed because of the way he reacted to what was pitched. Those are very different things.

J2 flew down to talk to the writers with the idea that they were going to have input in what was written, and were given a take-it-or-take-it pitch of what was already decided. Which I think would have been a bit jarring even if he'd been completely on board with their ideas. On top of that, Jensen has specifically said part of the issue was being confronted with The End in concrete form was harder than he'd thought (on top of more specific reservations). By comparison, when they got the actual script for the finale, they were able to change around some details here and there to put their own stamp on it. They'd also already been shooting for months, dealing with the reality of winding down and having last times for X,Y, and Z. There's also the difference between hearing a vague idea and seeing how it's actually written out in detail. Not only that, but he told the same story about having an initial negative reaction to the pitch several times, not quite verbatim. Now did he repeat it that many times because he felt that strongly and wasn't as sure about being talked around as he said he was? Or did he repeat it because they did a whole slew of press for the finale and both Js have always had a tendency to give rote answers for questions they get over and over? Could be either, could be both. The only time I can recall when his phrasing significantly changed was when he said something at one con to the effect of having been on both sides of loving and hating the finale at different times.

Furthermore, everything I can recall that he's said about what they actually shot has been positive. Sure, some of it was promotional so there's some obligation to be positive there, but that doesn't really apply to cons to the same extent - especially with the show being finished. Contrast it with how he's bluntly talked about the Michael vs. Lucifer wire fight. Hell, compare it to how he talked about telling the writer of that climactic scene with Mary in 11 about how he'd finally put together the whole arc of what they were intending with that scene and the writer was like, 'what are you talking about?' Now, that may have been a joke, but Jensen saying he had no idea what they were trying to do with Mary that whole season is hardly complimentary. I could be entirely wrong, but given that he was so open about his initial feelings being that negative? I do kind of suspect if there were still major points he hated, especially as he admitted to knowing it was divisive in the fandom, he'd likely have at least hinted to them by now. I also think there's an important difference between focusing on the positive aspects to avoid the negative, and actively bringing it up himself. Several times there have been questions about his favorite things across the whole series and he's chosen to bring up the finale without prompting. No, he's not going to be unprofessional and refuse reasonable photo ops, but there's a difference between going along (see some of those shipper ops where he's all but rolling his eyes) versus hamming it up and an even further difference versus volunteering to do the pose.

All of that said, I'm not super invested in the idea that Jensen wholeheartedly loves the finale. Maybe even a bit because while I don't hate it like you, I myself am just kind of ambivalent about it. However, Jensen also said at one point he was disappointed they didn't get to do the whole Roadhouse Heaven idea and I fucking loathe everything about that with the fiery fury of a thousand suns, so I don't need to be on the same page as him to remain his fan. I hope he is genuinely happy with it because it'd be kind of sad for him to have ended fifteen years of work on a truly disappointing note, but I can see the possibility that he still would have picked something else given the choice but is making the best of things.

What I'm sick of is You Know Who claiming he was gaslit and forced into changing his weak-willed mind, and insisting they KNOW how he REALLY feels while actively misrepresenting some of what he's said and pretending they didn't hear the other things they don't like.

I was watching a lets play of SDRA2's Chapter 6 and I discovered that, in the "Akane's choice" and "Sora's utopia" scenes, both Sora and Akane respectively tell the other something on the vein of "Are you seriously giving up that easily!? We still need to beat Mikado and save everyone?" when they get in a funk because of the world-shattering revelation that they got earlier.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 6 spoilers

[Narrator voice: This answer gets delayed as Sirius spends 6 hours rewatching chapter 6 and crying over how much she loves it at everything over it]

*coughs* Alright back to here. I will try to be coherent.

Yess!!!

I really love the duality beyween in order for the best ending to be reached both Akane and Sora help each other and motivate each other to pursue justice/right the wrongs of the past/stop innocents from dying.

One thing to note is that, while Sora is on the "driver" so to speak and Akane can't control her, Sora's desire to save everyone manifests itself at first with Akane Taira appearance. There is something really... idk how to articulate but really touching and poigant in that in Akane's Decision, Sora represented the drive to save Yuki and stop Mikado, and how said situation reverses itself when it is Sora turn, with Sora desire to confronting the truth and saving everyone manifesting as Akane.

Both of them confront the other to not give in to the easy path, the one with despair and in which they look away from the victims of the killing game.

Just. *starts gesturing with hands* it is just!!!!

As you said too, both of them try to get the other out of their funk by showcasing their... it is difficult to articulate i dont know the write words, but strong personalities ? In the sense of confronting the person strongly.

(Akane part should have showcased below her "There IS HOPE")

Notably too, one key note i notice is that while both are... hmm confronting each other into not giving up, it is interesting too that Sora's perspective that Akane also knows when to apply a softer touch (idk how to describe but more in the sense that Akane, due to probably having more experience in the world in general, with more experience with emotional things). Although all things considering Akane in that part was Sora herself so it can be kind of up in the air this.

And I JUST LOVE THAT. I LOVE THIS PARALLEL OF BOTH BEING IMPORTANT / DRIVING EACH OTHER TO NOT GIVE UP.

I also do find it cool how Utsuro goes Hinata's catch phrase or Utsuro manifestation in Akane and Sora's subconsciousness also hints at Akane and Sora's ability to chose their own future and how it is Utsuro's image that appears when Sora, after proclaiming her desire and determination to save everyone, is the one that once again hints at Sora/Akane having the true Divine Luck.

Thank you for this ask!

His Majesty King Harald's speech on New Year's Eve 2023.

Invisible hands helps us, writes Jon Fosse, our own Nobel Prize winner in literature, in one of his poems. These invisible hands can be so many different things: Love, friendship, a belief in God, will, hope.

We all need some invisible hands. And many of us need them a little extra now. Both here at home and in the world around us.

Tonight I want to encourage you to light candles.

A light for all who suffer in wars and conflicts.

A light for people we miss.

And a light for hope.

Hope that a better world, where we can all live in freedom and peace with each other, must be possible. Hope that what is difficult in our lives must become a little easier to live with.

For me, there is a defiant hope in this one word: We.

We is a small but spacious and beautiful word. For us, it embraces us all. It is the opposite of us and them. The opposite of putting each other in stalls.

Together, we contribute to creating a good environment at school, at the workplace and in our local environment. Together, we have agreed that in Norway we must take care of each other, so that we all have the opportunity both to give and to receive during our lives. Together we create an understanding of right and wrong so that we can behave properly towards each other and take care of the trust between us.

To bring about this community for real, we need

To listen

To speak the truth about reality

To be patient.

I strongly believe in listening. Listening gives hope for a community with room for everyone. Because something a little magical can happen when we actually listen to each other.

We will be seen.

We are taken seriously.

We straighten our backs.

It's almost too easy and good to be true! And that is something we can all achieve.

It worries me that a number of young people, but also older people in Norway today do not feel seen, understood and counted on. I fear it will create anger and frustration that could harm our community.

To each and every one of you I want to say: I don't know what it's like to be you. But I would very much like to understand. Hold on to the fact that you are a whole person for better or worse, like everyone else - especially when others forget to remind you.

Accept help when you need it.

And be helpful to others when you can.

I hope you feel that invisible hands are supporting you. Maybe not always. But that you have something or someone that gives you strength and hope. Remember you have a voice. Use it when you can!

Listening is connected with speaking the truth about what has happened, and acknowledging each other's reality.

It was also a prerequisite for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's work, which was presented this summer. There, shocking stories were told about the injustice committed against the Sami, Kven and Forest Finns through the brutal policy of Norwegianization - which lasted from around 1850 until well into our time.

People were deprived of their language, their culture, their self-confidence and their identity. For some, it cost them their lives.

And all this was done in the name of nation-building – in a Norway that at the time itself needed to build self-confidence as a nation after 400 years of Danish rule. The Norwegianization was a loss for all of us.

A loss of a cultural wealth that belonged - indeed belongs - in our own country. Looking with open eyes at what has actually happened is crucial for the reconciliation work that must now follow in the wake of the important report.

This also applies to other relationships in life - and in conflicts in the world around us. We must acknowledge what has happened, what cannot be undone. And what we have to build on together - after all.

Listening, and speaking honestly, I think is crucial for a community. And then we need the difficult patience.

I've lived long enough to know that things take time. Both in society, between people, and in ourselves. Much of lasting value has no quick fix. It has taken us generations to build the society we know today as ours, of which we are proud and feel at home.

A foundation in building society is about how equipped we are as a people and a nation to face dangers and threats. Both internal and external. Our most important protection is a robust and persistent people who can withstand a blow.

We cannot take peace and freedom, resources and common goods for granted. We must stand guard! Norway's preparedness is, when it comes down to it, the sum of each individual's resilience.

We build on this positive force all the time through good partnerships. Through strong local communities. By standing up for each other, in the belief that there is a common good. It gives me great hope, because this is something we can all be part of. Both with invisible and active hands.

But then there are areas where the last thing we need is more patience.

Many young people write to me and express concern that not enough is being done to take care of nature and our earth. Young people are giving up on adults who don't take strong enough action, and not fast enough. I share the young people's concern and their impatience. The hope is that the new goals the world's leaders have set must be followed by action.

We now need everyone's impatience before time runs out for us. I cannot express this strongly enough.

Dear everyone,

When it's cold and dark, it's important to remember all the warmth, strength and good will that we humans share with each other on a daily basis.

It is natural for us to help each other. To comfort. Sharing.

We must cherish this good spark within ourselves.

Because this is us, this is us.

My New Year's hope is that we will be the invisible hands that support each other.

Happy New Year!