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bipp-bopp-time-to-stop · 1 month

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HTTYD LU Crossover: The Potential Plot(s)

Whilst brainstorming about this crossover, I have though up many ways for the plot to go. Some could lead to a shorter series while others would be longer. Rather than forcing myself to pick, I could just list all of the potential routes so I could not only get opinion on them but to also have them typed down to look back on.

Also, do not believe these ideas to be completely set in stone. I’ll undoubtedly continue to revise and change each idea to polish it out or make it flow better. This is, essentially, a rough draft of what my noodle has conjured up over the past few days.

Idea Number 1

The first plot idea has the Chain being the dragon riders and (Name) being something of a nomad. (Name) travels from island to island or village to village for reason xyz. They could potentially be apart of a nomadic tribe that flees from conflict and is therefore seen as a coward or they could have been exiled from their tribe. With them being an outsider, they’re obviously not trusted by others and even shunned by other tribes. This would naturally lead them to getting stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Perhaps they’re trying, and failing, to flee from a wild dragon. Maybe they’re lost out at sea on a raft and have run out of fresh water and food. They could be trying to avoid confrontation with a tribe because they’re either known to be hostile or they’ve maybe stolen supplies from them. Whatever the reason may be, they end up getting rescued by one of the boys.

Personally, I think Wind is the best fit for the rescuer. Why? Well, just because (Name) was in trouble doesn’t mean they couldn’t get out of it themselves, but Wind has something to prove. He’s both the youngest and least experienced of the dragon riders, so he takes (or makes) whatever opportunity he can get to be seen as both a hero and someone reliable so the others will start treating him fairly. When he spots (Name) in trouble, he rushes to their “rescue” and brings them back to his home island so they can be checked up on for injuries and so they can also sing Wind’s praises because he save them! Right?

Honestly, this is how the scene has been playing out in my mind:

Wars and/or Time: “Uhm… whatcha got there?”

Wind, beaming with his hands on his hips: “Someone who needed rescuing! Isn’t that right, (Name)?”

(Name), dangling precariously from the maw/ claws of Wind’s dragon: “h e l p”

As for where the plot goes after that, I think it’s sort of (Name) trying to find their place at this new island filled with crazy people because who in their right minds would tame dragons?! This doesn’t go over smoothly for a number of reasons I haven’t decided on yet. The island (of which I need to find a name for because New Hyrule feels basic) could be going through turmoil. Or, due to (Name)’s past, they’re not trusted by many but they can’t exactly leave because it’s far from the coldest welcome they’ve received. Roughly, I have an idea as to where to steer the exposition of this series but I’d still need to figure out some overarching character developments as well as the main conflict.

I should also state that this will contain not only the official boys, but also some side characters like Malon, Groose, Aryll, and Impa (might go for Hyrule Warriors Impa) to name a few. I will also include Zelda but I want to figure out which Zelda to choose. I think I may also include Tetra but as a different character than Zelda. They could be, like, cousins or something.

In this version of the story, I don’t think I’ll incorporate any of the human characters or named dragon characters from HTTYD. Because (Name) in this version has no ties to them, the most that they’ll be mentioned is as a distant, dragon taming clan. Or, perhaps one or two of the LU characters have briefly interacted with a HTTYD character. (Like one of the Chain having interacted with Eret when he still worked for the dragon trappers and mentions how he changed to love and respect dragons as well as ride one. This is a point that could be brought up when one of the boys argues with (Name) about their stance on dragons).

Also, I don’t know if (Name) will end up having a dragon of their own in this. I do want them to eventually be comfortable being around dragons, but taming and riding one would be a whole other story. That doesn’t mean they’ll never end up riding a dragon, but that’s not to say they’ll have a permanent dragon partner. If I do choose for them to have a dragon, I want it to basically be a dragon that’s distrusting in humans to mirror how (Name) distrusts/fears dragons. A slow enemies to friends kind of deal, if you will.

Idea Number 2

The second idea has (Name) being the dragon rider and the Chain being introduced to dragons through them. To explain why there wouldn’t be any HTTYD dragons flying around or near Hyrule, it could be because Hyrule managed to “sever” itself from the world for whatever reason (such as trying to contain Demise or to protect the land from outside forces). I would like to think that, due to this separation, the magical balance of the world was shifted. The people of Hyrule can still access and cast magic, but those outside cannot. The only creatures that have magic outside of Hyrule would, of course, be the dragons, and that alone is in small amounts. Magic is still present across the board, but its found in different mediums between Hyrule and the rest of the world.

Naturally, with (Name) being the dragon rider in this instance, it would make sense that they come from Berk/New Berk. I know that there are other clans/tribes/groups that are friendly to dragons, but they don’t ride them like Berkians do. The closest group out there in comparison to Berk are the Wingmaidens as they care and protect baby Razorwhips and use them to fly, but they release them once they’re old enough to care for themselves. Not to mention that the Wingmaidens were almost cannibals at one point (spoilers, I guess, if you haven’t watched RTTE).

I personally think (Name) would do well to fit in as one of the original/ second wave of dragon riders. They could be the adopted sibling or only childhood friend of Hiccup and acted as the brawn to his brain to protect him. They could have also been the first person to find out about Toothless instead of Astrid. In a way, their actions always revolved around Hiccup to an extent as that’s who all they really had growing up and amidst the conflict of the movies/ shows (they will have deep relationships with other characters but Hiccup is their closest bond and their dragon is the only one that rivals that).

So, now that they’re grown and everyone else sort of has their life figured out, (Name) now tries to be their own person. They can’t stay by their brother’s/ best friend’s side as he’s chief and has a village to run and dragons to look out for. (I will have the plot of this take place after the events of HTTYD 2 but not carry on into HTTYD 3. The reason I have for this is that the themes and certain plot points of HTTYD 3 do not match/ go against what is established in the other movies and shows. I think the movie was nice, and it did have good moments, but it just didn’t vibe with what the franchise had been pushing prior).

There would be two main points of conflict in this version of the story: (Name) finding out who they are/ want to be and their adventure into Hyrule. How they get into Hyrule is something I’m still figuring out. In HTTYD 1, the vikings couldn’t get to Dragon Island as they had no way of navigating the thick mist/smoke that surrounded the island until they had Toothless. The mist/smoke wall in this instance could also be magical so that anything that enters it is confused and unable to sense what direction is what or it makes them pass out (and end up drowning in the waters below). Another idea would be that Hyrule is in a whole other dimension entirely. To get between the two worlds, one would have to find and activate a gate/portal. How that works is still something I’m figuring out.

The dragon thing would also be a point of conflict between (Name) and Hyrule as dragons just haven’t existed there for centuries, if not longer. It would be hard to change the minds of a whole nation of people if there’s only one dragon to interact with. How dragons would slowly start coming back to Hyrule is another thing for me to figure out and which members of the Chain would actually consider taming and riding a dragon in this version of events. In this version of the story, I’d also have (Name)’s dragon be a fiercer dragon as it would both hinder and help them proving that dragons can be friends. A fierce dragon would be harder to be around without being scared, but it’d also show that even some of the scariest dragons can be befriended.

I could continue writing about each idea further, but there are some things I want to keep behind closed doors for now. Mainly because, if I explain everything there is about the plot, the characters, the dragons, and more, then there will technically be no surprises or plot twists. I will still have a few more posts such as explaining a little bit more in terms of world building and the dragon companions of the Chain/other characters.

Also, a tid-bit about the unofficial boys; they will not be included in the main story of either idea. Why? Because the character roster I’m already working with, as well as flushing out their relationships, is already a lot. Especially in the first idea as nearly everyone is going to have their own dragon and their own relationship with them. This does not mean, however, I won’t write short stories or even little mini-series about the unofficial boys in this Au.

#linked universe #linked universe x reader #lu x reader #linked universe au #linked universe httyd au #lu httyd au

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msfcatlover · 1 year

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Tim’s powers took a while to notice, because they’re rather… niche. He can still Know facts he never technically learned and people find it very hard to lie to him, especially when he has a camera on them. (I’d say his tolerance for other people’s bullshit is even lower, but Tim didn’t have any of that to start with, so…) But the power that sets him apart is that he can “capture” moments from people’s pasts. Not a story, but a single, frozen moment. It doesn’t have to be supernatural but it does need to contain something the victim never told anyone, even if the secret was just how they felt in that moment. The closer Tim can bring himself to the moment, the more effective it is. Having a photograph Tim snapped himself makes for the strongest, most visceral experience. Having personally witnessed it is the next strongest, followed by having a second hand photograph come into Tim’s possession, followed by learning of it through any other form of information. The weakest & least reliable is when Tim goes ‘fishing,’ baiting the victim with his words to make them think of something they’re hiding, then forcing himself to Know what they’re thinking about. The effects range from full-on overwhelming, paralyzing flashbacks to that feeling when you suddenly remember something unpleasant from years ago & now you can’t stop thinking about it, turning it over in your head, wondering & wishing about how things could’ve gone differently.

Whenever Tim uses this power, a small handful of pictures will appear on his camera’s film/memory of that moment, their clarity & composition directly proportionate to how powerful the experience was. Fishing, for example, tends to produce something cloudy or grainy with dull colors shot from a good distance away. If Tim witnessed the moment himself, on the other hand, the photos will be crystal-clear, artistic framing, dramatic lighting, colors & contrast emphasizing the emotions of the moment, and usually include at least one close-up of the victim’s face overwhelmed with emotions (even if they displayed none during the event itself.) If Tim is working from a pre-existing photo, a duplicate of it will always appear in the captured moment reel somewhere.

(The problem, of course, is that when Tim captures people back to those moments, to a certain degree he relives those moments too. He cannot force those emotions into someone else’s mind without filtering them through his own.)

If Tim had a photo, even one of these ‘false’ photos, he can also make people unconnected to the moment captured experience it. This effect varies wildly, is never quite as overwhelming or vivid, and has a tendency to get Tim punched in the face to make Tim stop. (Not that people don’t try that with their own memories, just that those people are less likely to realize what Tim’s doing before they’re captured, reliving the moment.)

There is one exception. It’s exhausting, only available to Tim when he’s at the peak of his power and completely “draining his batteries” every time he uses it. While it consistently overwhelms his victims with flashbacks, while still allowing Tim to communicate with them to a degree, the cost is so much greater than the knowledge earned that it’s almost never worth the risk. It leaves Tim only a little better than his victims in the wake of it, and the side-effects can linger for days. Ironically, it’s a variant of the weakest form of Tim’s captured memories: Knowing-based more so than evidence based. A predatory Knowing, not Knowing what they’re thinking about so much as Knowing the event itself. Cracking open the victim’s mind like taking a hammer to a watermelon and digging elbow-deep into what Tim finds there. And as Tim Knows it, he drags his victim along with him; their mind becomes the filter while Tim’s is the vessel for emotions, secrets, memories—

It is instinctive.

Impulsive.

Invasive.

It’s a high like no other.

It does not feed Tim, but the Eye through him. And the Entities take more than they ever give. Tim only has until he comes down from the endorphin high feasting like that gives him, before the crash begins. Tingling in his extremities. Light-headed dizziness. Nausea. Sensory overload. Headache. Fever. Muscle weakness. Hunger all over again, clawing at his insides, so intense it hurts. By the time the migraine hits, Tim’s usually already a mess, begging for whatever painkillers someone, anyone, can give him. Begging to be put under, so he doesn’t have to feel this anymore (a lie, a horrible lie, as the sensations are not physical and will haunt Tim even in his dreams; but the instinctive human concept that pain will end with sleep lingers still and Tim is far past thinking straight.)

(The victim is never the same afterwards, but whether they will be left with new traumatic memories or as a gibbering wreck on the floor comes on a case-by-case basis.)

It took so long to discover because when Tim’s powers were first manifesting, Tim was so private about his hobby. Tim’s files were for Tim alone 90% of the time, and Tim knew full well people would think he was a creep if they saw his collection. Once or twice it probably saved Tim’s life, when someone caught him snapping pictures of their crimes and their demands that Tim tell them what he was doing leading to Tim shoving them back into that recent memory & escaping while the target was distracted. Weird enough, but Tim might’ve surprised them with his age or knowledge; it’s the extra photos, from angles & distances Tim never got, that tipped him off. Tim’s smart enough to realize he’d have to limit his early testing to his schoolmates; as it turns out, that is a great way to get your backpack set on fire. (Tim’s skin felt too tight, the air too thick to breathe, the heartbreak over losing what he’d thought were some of his most expendable photographs shriveling in his chest like paper curls in fire. “I might have to rethink this,” Tim thought, as hours of work quite literally went up in smoke.) Besides which, Tim’s powers were weaker back then, as he was only just Becoming and most of his information was still acquired second hand.

(Tim didn’t mean to pull Dick into memory when Tim went to ask Dick to be Robin again. Tim just wanted to explain himself, but that night at the circus was so clear in Tim’s mind and even if the photo wasn’t Tim’s, they had both seen it. Tim didn’t even get the chance to apologize when they both came out of it before Dick was baring his fangs and hauling Tim up by the arm. “Get out,” Dick snarled, all but throwing Tim out into the hall and slamming the door. Tim was willing to deem this particular trip a failure, even before the crashing started inside the apartment. It was an accident, but now Dick was justifiably pissed and really, Tim should be grateful Dick didn’t rip Tim’s arm up while throwing Tim out. The fangs almost always accompany the claws, after all.)

(Dick’s rational mind had wanted to keep the boy, press for info, figure out how much of a threat Tim’s knowledge & powers were. It also knew there was a good chance Dick would seriously hurt Tim when Dick’s control slipped. Already overwhelmed with emotions—shock, grief, fear, and so, so much rage—over a decade of training was the only thing that kept Dick from going feral the moment the memory let him go. And Tim… meta, magician, or avatar, as terrifying as he was, Tim was still a kid. Just a kid. He didn’t deserve to be hurt.)

(Tim made the smart choice, and left Bludhaven before nightfall.)

[I’m still figuring out other moments for Tim to use his powers. It’s not so much a difficulty thing as it is being spoiled for choice.]

#tma crossover #batfam crossover #tim drake #timothy drake #prerobin tim drake #robin #red robin #batman #batfam #my writing #mine #Eye aligned Tim Drake #Hunt aligned Dick Grayson #meta!tim drake #tim drake has powers

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naraven · 1 year

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A Simple Date <3

ILY @haliyamori TY SO MUCH FOR THE AYAKA,,,

i didn't know we were both each other's white day giftees, that's very funny to me

i love talking about kaveh with you, so enjoy this little thing i wrote for you <333

wc / 800

“Kaveh, I’m coming in!”

Before he could even react, the door bursts open. The force of the wind lifts what little of the blanket was covering his legs.

“What the f- what? [Y/N]?”

“Literally who else would it be? Get up, babe, we’re going to the aquarium!”

Kaveh could feel the blood in his head moving, fully ragdoll in your arms. He yawns into your shoulder and burrows his face deeper into your neck.

“Why’re you here? Am I missing something?” You puff your cheeks and shove him upright. His head lolls backward but your grip on his shoulders is starting to scare him.

“You said we’d go to the aquarium on white day! This is the second most romantic date in the year, so get dressed. Unless, of course, I pick out something so we can match.” As you turn around, Kaveh koalas onto your back. He pushes his full weight forward, almost making you stumble into his closet face first.

“Kaaaveeeh, get off!” “No, I’d rather stay here with you than go to some stupid aquarium.”

You gasp, “Aquariums aren’t stupid! Don’t be mean to all the weird ass fish from the ocean.”

Kaveh pushes more weight onto you than you thought was possible. You yelp, trying to stand up straight.

“Nooo, let’s just get a nice breakfast first or something, going to the aquarium is too much work.”

You feel your feet leave the floor, sliding up the bed. Kaveh put his mouth on your nape and blows raspberries.

“HAHAHA KAVEH- STOP.”

You lurch forward, hitting your sleepy lover with his own pillow. He grunts and you fall onto his stomach as he does.

“Unf- Owww…” “That’s what you get babygirl.”

Kaveh cringes at the nickname and you have to hold back a laugh. You loved calling him cringe pet names, some of which made Kaveh groan in frustration. It was always so much fun with Kaveh, someone who would also be as open as you. It was fresh to see someone who wouldn’t hide themself to the world.

With that came the strange friendship with you and Kaveh’s roommate, Al-Haitham. The most he would say to you was how Kaveh seemed a lot happier ever since you two met each other and how you guys were the perfect fit for each other.

He also let you know that Kaveh was a ugly crying drunk. You didn’t know how much he could cry until you three were drinking wine after Kaveh had got promoted. Needless to say, Al-Haitham was a reliable roommate who would constantly nag at the two of you for being so childish.

Which led you to being alone in their house, as Al-Haitham wanted to get away from all the sappy couples as much as he could.

“If you want to use the house, go ahead. I’ll be at work so I don’t have to see Kaveh being a soggy blanket.”

“Thanks, Haitham. We’ll get you some chocolate, too.” “Please don’t.”

You laughed as he walked out the house. What an interesting creature…

“C’monnn, let’s go do something!” “Nooooooooo!”

Kaveh wrapped his legs around your own, effectively tripping you while still in bed. Your cries are ignored by the blond man tangling your limbs together.

“Ughhhhh, why are you so heavy for a guy that stays inside all day…”

“You did NOT just call me fat!”

“I see looks can be deceiving as well…”

Kaveh’s scandalized gasp makes you stifle a laugh. When he doesn’t say anything, you turn to look at him.

“Alright fine, we can take the day slowly. We still have the entire day ahead of us.”

“Of course I’m right. Now stop moving, I’m getting cold without the blankets.”

After some more wrestling for the blanket, you end up spooning your beautiful baby from the back. You press your face into his hair, the clips usually pinning his locks back gone.

He smells of the wood he uses for models, the scent clinging to him even now. His body is warm and heats up both you and him.

“Is there anything you’d like to eat for breakfast?”

“At this point, I think I’d rather eat a big lunch.”

“Ok then, what do you want to eat?”

“I don’t know, you pick.”

“I’m asking you because I don’t know what to pick.”

You huff. This was going nowhere.

“Maybe I’ll just order some takeout. This White Day is turning out to be just another slow day, huh?”

Kaveh hums, huddling deeper into the mattress, “But it’s still a day I get to spend with you, y’know?”

Oh. This man was going to be the end of you.

“...You’re right. I’ll pay for our food today.”

“Huh? No way, I will.”

“If you pay food anything today I will not give you any cuddles for the next week.”

“Wha- hey!”

You giggle in response to his protests. He grumbles and you can feel the vibrations of his laughs afterwards.

“I love you so much, Kaveh. I wish we can celebrate White Day every year together.”

“Mmm, I love you too…”

You can tell he dozed off. He probably stayed up all night working again, and so just for today you’ll let him rest.

You kiss his hair, gently lulled to sleep by the sound of his deep breaths.

#kaveh #hes so bbg #ENJOY THE BBG MORI #also happy pi day everyone!#enjoy pies with all your white day recipients <33 #kaveh x reader

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leaderoffestivals · 9 months

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Poltergeist Chapter 2

Natsume: To be on the safe siDE, let me advance a few words of warniNG:—Do not do anything unnecessaRY.

Do not wander off on your oWN, no matter whAT. I’ll explain in detail latER, but simply pUT, there are dangerous areas around heRE.

Scenario Writer: Akira Season: Winter Characters: Mikejima Madara, Sakasaki Natsume

Madara: Hahaha! It all becomes clear now! No wonder I’d been finding it sooo hard to breathe, it’s because there’s so much dubious debris scattered aaall over the place!

Charred wood that’s been scorched at high temperatures and the like… … So that’s what’s causing the acrid stink in the air!

I’d been wondering if there were some strange flowers blooming around here—hmmm?

Alright, alright, I get it. Let’s make our way without any more detours—

—to the ‘Dancing Cranes Home’ you mentioned earlier.

However, even though this is my own wish to the President, “I want a MaM-like job!”—I’m still feeling reeeally uneasy about this, because I’ve no idea what I’m supposed to do.

That President of ours is none too reliable, you know… … and besides, there’s no way a mere human could go around granting wishes just like God does, after all.

Natsume: Mikejima-senpai~ ♪

WelcoME~, to the Children’s Welfare Facility, Dancing Cranes Home… ♪

Madara: Ohhhh! Natsume-san! What a coincidence it is to meet you here!

Natsume: SeriousLY? Do you honestly believe this is a coincidenCE? There’s no way that would happEN. I’m here as a helper who’s been dispatched to assist you with your woRK, you knOW?

Madara: A helper? Hahaha. That’s usually my job, though!

Natsume: YeS, that just goes to show how fundamentally different this situation iS, compared to befoRE. The star of this show is MaM—in other woRDS, it’s all about yOU, Mikejima-senpai.

We are but accessoriES; supporting charactERS, so to speAK.

Madara: “We”—? Are there others besides you, Natsume-san, who’ve been sent here as well?

Natsume: YeS, but rather than hearing it from mE, come see for yourseLF. Let me show you around Dancing Cranes Home. You can meet the staff while we’re at iT—and the children tOO, of courSE.

Madara: Children?

Natsume: What kind of place do you think this iS? It’s a children’s welfare hoME, after aLL. It stands to reason there would be children living together heRE, around 30 of thEM, in faCT.

Do take every precaution not to trample on any of thEM, won’t yOU—“Giant-san”? (1)

Madara: Ahaha… I’ll take appropriate measures.

Natsume: SplenDID. Then without further deLAY, let me bring you up to speed about the things you must know as I show you arouND. I’ll brief you about the kind of work you will need to dO, tOO.

Madara: That’s great. Maaan, to be honest, I’m completely lost about whatever’s going on right now!

Natsume: I guess that must be sO. Our President is such a nasty piece of work tOO… … If this is how he is by natuRE, that would make him even worSE—The cameras are already rolliNG: the programme has already begUN.

Now that we’re past this poiNT, even if the duties of this job are not to your likiNG, you won’t be able to run away like you always dO, Mikejima-senpai ♪ (2)

Madara: … … …?

Natsume: Come along nOW. Follow behind me closeLY

To be on the safe siDE, let me advance a few words of warniNG:—Do not do anything unnecessaRY.

Do not wander off on your oWN, no matter whAT. I’ll explain in detail latER, but simply pUT, there are dangerous areas around heRE.

Madara: Umu! Yes, yes, I get what you say, even though I don’t get what’s going on.

Madara: (Hmmm. This situation is becoming weirder and weirder.

When I said I wanted to work as MaM, I meant that half-jokingly. I had no real expectations towards that wish at all.

There’s no way I can go on living the life of a proper idol now—not after everything I’ve done.

I can’t stop feeling uneasy about all of this. Something feels off.

Speaking of which, this building feels wayyy off too. For a children’s welfare home, with about 30 children living on the premises here, isn’t this place just too quiet?

Is this how it usually is? Or is it nap time now? I haven’t really been around kids much, so I wouldn’t know.

Even if I were to try and recall my own childhood, I wouldn’t be able to use it as a reference.

Right~, my circumstances were pretty unique after all.

It’s probably because I grew up bigger and stronger than other kids my age that I was forced to be responsible for the care of my frail, sickly sister, the children around me, and later on, that of the “God” as well—

Even though I was just a child myself. Hahaha, what a miserable and painfully grey childhood it was!

Well, taking care of everyone wasn’t entirely unpleasant either.

In fact back then, it felt like I was able to laugh much more brightly and innocently than I do now.

Man, oh man. When in the world, exactly, did I turn into such a twisted version of myself?)

—————-To be continued——————-

Chapter 1 / Chapter 3

Translator’s Notes:

Natsume is saying『巨人さん』here, Sora’s name for Madara.

Madara 1) has many home voice lines about how enthusiastic he is to work, 2) is known for being a hard worker by Anzu, Kunugi, Ibara, Gatekeeper, MaM50 (and more, probably). This is also set right after Tri-lights (Tsumugi centre event), where Madara spent his holiday after SS helping Switch to figure out the concept of their event.

#ensemble stars #enstars tl #Mikejima Madara #sakasaki natsume #New Color #Poltergeist #The Sketch in the Rubbish Heap

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lordgrimwing · 5 months

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Food #02

Thranduil glanced down at his cellphone, checking the shopping list once more. Hithundil called him that morning and said her work was wrapping up sooner than planned (a good sign) and rather than cooling her heels in Gondor for the rest of the week, she rescheduled her flight to arrive the day after next so she could spend the extra time with her husband and son (always nice to hear). He suggested having a nice dinner in the garden. She said it sounded lovely. That, of course, led him to where he is now, checking the produce section for fresh green beans and bok choy, phone in one hand, almost full shopping bag hanging from the crook of his elbow, and Legolas’s pale fingers wrapped loosely around his own.

“Daddy?” Legolas asked, tugging on his hand.

“Yeah?” Thranduil said, slipping his phone back into his pants pocket.

“If green beans could feel things, would we still cook and eat them?” He asked with big eyes, a finger coming up to poke at one of the vegetables in question.

Thranduil tilted his head down and hummed in thought as he selected a few packages. “I suppose it depends on if they like getting cooked and eaten.”

The child frowned, turning his fingers to the plaque advertising the beans’ apparently excellent price. Thranduil did most of the general grocery shopping at this store, so he couldn’t reliably confirm or deny if that was actually the case. He set the packages in his bag and led the way out of the produce and toward the dairy aisle for cheese.

“But,” Legolas finally said as his father added cheddar and ricotta to the bag. “How would we know?”

“Know what?” He asked, double-checking the list one more time to verify that was all they needed to get (he almost forgot the ricotta and he’d rather not drive all the way home just to realize he missed something else they needed).

“If green beans like being eaten.”

“These are deep thoughts for a Tuesday, kiddo.” He said while contemplating how one could possibly tell if a vegetable theoretically didn’t like being used as food. “I’m not sure how I’d know. Do you have any idea?”

Legolas nodded as they began the trek back across the large store. “I think,” He started and had to interrupt himself with a deep breath. “I think if the beans taste bad, then they don’t want to be eaten, or they don’t like how they were cooked and they’re upset about it, and it’s bad to eat them then because they won’t like it, but if they taste good, then it’s good to eat them because they want to be eaten and it’d be rude to just cook them and then not do what they want. And I think that if they want to get eaten, but nobody does, then they cry about it a little because they are so sad that they have to keep waiting.”

“Crying green beans?” Thranduil repeated as they walked past the racks of seasonal clothes that always filled the space before the checkout aisle. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Does that mean they don’t actually feel anything or just that we always eat them right when they want it?”

Legolas’s feet stopped moving, bringing Thranduil to a very abrupt stop in the middle of the moderately busy lane. He turned to the side to look at him, wondering what had so completely caught his attention, but quickly dropped to a crouch when he saw the tears starting to gather in his bright eyes.

“What’s up, buddy?”

Legolas could never be described as a child particularly prone to crying. He rarely cries over bruises or bumps or any of his many scraped knees; however, he sometimes cries when he thinks a part of life was too unfair for people to live with (like the way he couldn’t pick up every frog he saw because some wild animals get really stressed when held, and things on his hands could hurt a frog if he didn’t wash up first. He cried for quite a while when his dad explained that to him—frogs were his favorite).

Without answering, Legolas reached into the canvas bag and pulled out one package of green beans. He pointed to one corner, and there inside the bag, just big enough to see, was a single droplet of water.

“They just want someone to eat them,” The boy said, a faint tremor in his soft voice as he offered the sad green beans up to his father.

“Oh, come here,” Thranduil said to the beans, taking them from his son. Ignoring the surprised glances they were garnering from the other shoppers, he spoke directly to the weeping beans. “I promise that when we get home, I’ll sautee you up real nice with some peppers and rice and watercress, and Legs and I will eat you right up for dinner. It’ll be the best thing you ever experience.”

Legolas giggled a little at the impassioned declaration, which Thranduil took as a sign that the green beans were mollified and he slipped them back into the bag. “I think that’s all settled.” He said.

Legolas nodded, his long pale hair dancing with the fervor of his agreement. “Green beans are always happy when you cook them.”

“Aww,” Thranduil said, standing and resuming the walk to the register. “Thanks.”

#posted this before but tumblr ate it before i could added it the master list so here it is again #the ethics of vegetables #verbal legolas #thranduil is the house husband. no you can't change my mind #the lord of the rings #thranduil #legolas #twdd au #grimwing writes

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harrison-abbott · 5 months

Text

An old Friend [Part Two]

But when I eventually moved back to the home city there was a brief interlocking, again. He had new mates. And they were good folks, it seemed. What I noticed when we were hanging out, in group circles, was that when I said something to the group – he would look at the other people to see how they responded.

And he would make plans with me to hook up and then change his mind the night before, similarly with those excuses that something important had come up and therefore he couldn’t make it. His interest in music was waning these days and he was losing confidence in his songwriting ability. And there were five occasions when he made plans with me to make music, and then bailed on the plan a few days early. One time I was hosting this event. The venue was literally a ten minute walk from his flat. I asked him if he wanted to come and play at the event, and he agreed. So it would be mutually beneficial; for him to have a gig as the ‘musician of the night’, it being a spoken word arts joint. He said yes – initially – and then hours before he was set to play, he texted me he had the flu.

I remembered having the flu before gigs as well. All I did was tank a few beers and get up and play anyway. I come from a musical family and therefore know many songwriters and so forth. And have known many musicians in the past. And one can always tell, in my opinion, when somebody is 100% committed to their craft. Or they’re not. I see it as black and white as that. And my old friend I’m telling you about was definitely the latter. [I had another mate with who I tried, in vain, to work with musically for years. And one time he vowed to turn up for a jam – which he suggested we do, and booked the time and so on. He didn’t end up coming, because it was raining outside …]

Anyway. Time kept churning on. We lived in different parts of the city and had alternate jobs. I’d hear from him less and less. When there was a morsel of dialogue, it was often with that similar sense of his not really caring too much. Make a plan and then change his mind. I just got a bit tired of it.

Moreover, I did not see him as being particularly intelligent anymore. I mean, he was good with mathematics, and had a strong general knowledge. But emotional intelligence is the key thing in friendship, is it not?

For a while there was a period where I’d hook up with him and his friends to play football. One time, the park that the team usually played on was too busy with people, so the group decided to move the match to another park the other side of the city. I didn’t know this. So I went to the original park. No teammate was there, so I called him up to ask what the deal was? Because I didn’t know about the moving plan. And he told me where the new place was. He was still in the neighbourhood – as he lived very closeby – and I knew that he had a car. But he’d already decided to cycle across to the other place. I suggested to him on the phone, “Is your car available or is your girlfriend driving it?” And he responded, “I’m taking my bike, man.” He didn’t just think that he could give me a lift with his car, and then we would both be on time. He’d already decided he wanted to cycle and that was that.

These might sound like trivial examples, in a grand sense. I still love his person. And wish him well. It’s only that there’s an amount to how many times a pal can let you down.

For those music recording sessions that he cancelled – I would prepare for them for days and days and make demos to show him, print off the chords and lyrics, and so on. Get all excited about the creative process. Then there would be a cancellation …

He finally invited me to his wedding earlier this year. I had travelling plans already so couldn’t go. [There was no invitation to his stag do.]

Honestly, I hope he’s going grand. It’s only that it’s hard to rely on somebody that is not reliable. Would rather commingle with people who will be there for you if you need them. Just some passing thoughts.

#writeblr #stories #writers on tumblr #tumblr writers #real life stories #thoughts and feelings #musings #attempted wisdom

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

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question 16 for the tiny angry lawyer please

Ahem, I have a name, dear Anon. And for the record, I resent the implication of being tiny. From my perspective, you’re all dizzyingly massive. Would you like me to point that out every time I address you? I didn’t think so. Also, I’m not angry, that reduces many of my very well researched arguments. I am much more aptly described as justifiably holding a diabolical world in contempt for its crimes. However, you’ve won back some favor by ascribing my profession for which I don’t, as yet, have a degree for (I’m working to change that).

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get to the question… ahh, thank you for not taking the time to repost it in the ask, excuse me while I engage in the full body work out that is scrolling on this device that’s as tall as I am… please hold…

Here we are: 16. Do you believe in soulmates? Why or why not?

Ha! What a preposterous and childish notion! Of course I don’t believe in soulmates! That’s sugarcoated nonsense invented by humans who are, for some reason, obsessed with matrimony and partnership.

Where has love ever gotten me? Nowhere! Hard work, dedication, intelligence and an unshakable will, on the other hand? Those have served me much better. In my experience, emotions are fickle, irrational and often embarrassingly inaccurate fleeting moments of weakness. I try my level best to avoid them.

Logic is king. If I can find a rational, watertight argument for why I should or shouldn’t do something, that’s much more reliable than silly little feelings. So, soulmates? No. No such thing. We all drift in and out of each other’s lives and nothing ever lasts so why cling to one person as though they’ll be the solution to your problems? I rely on no one but myself. Because I’m the only one I trust to do the job right.

And yes, dear Anon, I know, I’m not exactly living as independently as I’d like right now. I’m not practicing what I preach. Thank you for calling me out. But Natalie’s only looking after me because her conscience would haunt her if she didn’t. It’s still for selfish reasons. It’s not like she keeps me around because she actually wants me there. She reminds me on a daily basis how much of a “little nightmare” I am, after all.

So, in conclusion, soulmates are a fantastical myth like Santa Claus or true love’s kiss. They’re not real. Never have been.

And I, for one, am happy to be above all of that nonsense. A focused mind is a working one.

Now you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve had a rather long day and Natalie left her sweatshirt on the desk beside me, I may use this opportunity to rest my eyes for just a moment… the fabric smells faintly of her. I wonder when she’ll come home?

Signing off now!

Yours Truly,

Alexander

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thearchivistsjournal · 11 months

Text

Day 358,

I interviewed Ka’eo today. I’ve already written down all that was said in notes to be refined later for the archival record, so I’ll spare details here. This now is more about my personal experience of the interview itself, rather than its content.

I hadn’t meant to bring Cass along with me, but once she looked up from scrubbing down the blackboard and asked where I was going in response to my announcing my intent to head out it would have been wrong to lie or to tell her not to join me. And so we set forth together, notebooks and writing utensils in hand, Archivist and apprentice out to collect the final testament of the dying.

If this becomes a custom, Lin won’t be the only psychopomp in the Village.

Lin however, wasn’t the one attending to the old blacksmith when we arrived. She was still out with Maiko somewhere, leaving Huan as the one who’s permission we’d need to gain to make our collection. Well, him and Niobe, but I had basically assumed that she would be okay with it while Huan wouldn’t.

As it turned out, my concerns were misplaced. Yes, he did greet us somewhat coldly (although now I wonder how much of that is putting on a professional mask face like Lin does rather than personal dislike) and there was a begrudging tone to his agreement that giving Ka’eo an opportunity to talk about something other than illness and impending mortality could be good for him as opposed to distressing or disruptive, but he did let us see the patient without any real argument. I got myself worked up and put this off for so long for nothing. It seems that what Pat had said the other week left an impression.

Meanwhile Niobe was the one to question why we wanted such a record. I reiterated what I’d said before about hoping to provide a pleasant diversion while also maybe helping bring peace or closure before the end, and then added that the record would be a sort of memorial. A testament to future generations that Ka’eo once lived and this was his experience. It’s something that I hope to keep doing in the future.

While Niobe was all for making the days up to Ka’eo’s passing as comfortable as possible, she found the idea of such memorialization strange. Unnatural even. It’s not in the culture of the Village to hang onto people or things too tightly once they are gone. Sure, remembering stories to learn from and events that could be relevant again in the future is well and good, but the remembrance of the departed is a private matter for those that knew them. And, now that I think about it, the Village is curiously free of memorials of any kind. No graves of course with the shades being as they are, but no statues in squares or plaques on buildings or monuments of any other sort. Only the archive and its records that may or may not get cleared out by Theo every few generations. Were such a memorialization going anywhere other than a likely-to-be-forgotten shelf in the archive or I anyone other than the Archivist, I doubt she would have agreed to it. As it was, I found myself promising Niobe that I would give her and Ka’ena the final version of whatever we wrote for their approval before committing it to the archival record.

Later on, once we had finished the interview and were on our way back to the library for the evening, Cass would confess to having felt a similar sentiment toward what we were doing but then having been caught up in the idea of doing something new and different enough that the feeling had passed until Niobe brought it back up.

Never before have I felt like such an outsider for keeping this journal. My own memorial to myself. But it’s always been more than a passive record, hasn’t it? It’s been an active tool for framing, processing, and understanding my experiences as they happen. And shaping them. Not a factual accounting of events, but the story I tell myself to understand the world and myself. And I am not the most reliable of narrators.

But I digress. Back to chronological order.

I don’t know why, but for some reason I expected Ka’eo’s room to dark and dreary. Sterile. A preemptive tomb for one who was already dead and just waiting for the body to finish shutting down.

But it wasn’t. It was, in a word, warm. The crystal lighting the room was one with an oranger hue. The window had its curtains thrown wide to let in a beam of afternoon sun that would gradually shift to the last golden rays of evening as we spoke. The walls and shelves held the careworn mementos of two lives spent alongside one another. The pillow on one side of the bed still held the impression of Niobe’s head.

And then there was Ka’eo himself. Yes, he was thinner than I remember. Yes, his eyes were sunken. Yes, he had dozed off in the time between Huan leaving his side and us coming into the room. But when Cass spoke up to say hello he roused himself quickly. His smile was bright. His eyes were focused. His sense of humor was intact as he apologized for not getting up to greet us (“but I think someone slipped a slab of iron between my sheets”).

And, okay, he did briefly mistake me for the old archivist whom he was apparently friends with, but to be fair I was wearing my “official duty” outfit that had been tailored from my predecessor’s old clothes with the pendant on full display. That confusion cleared up quickly enough though and once I explained what Cass and I were there for he was all too eager to reminisce. After some encouraging prodding anyway.

He half-joked some about not having anything important to say worth writing down, but I told him that it wasn’t about being important. It was about being him. As much or as little as he wanted to say about anything at all. He found the whole endeavor strange, but in an amusing sort of way.

He spoke of dry seasons spent helping his father in the bakery. He spoke of waking up early in the morning to greet his mother when she came home for the long night patrol. He spoke of rainy seasons spent in school making friends that lasted the rest of his life. He spoke of the ones that had gone before him. He spoke of the ones that would probably follow him over the next few years. He spoke of clear days running about the labyrinthine streets of the Village with those friends. He spoke of the day he was distracted from his play by the steady rhythm of hammer on metal. He spoke of his first time near the forge, its heat so familiar and yet so unlike his father’s oven. He spoke of the blacksmith who would become his mentor. He spoke of a gruff, taciturn man whose first and only love was his craft. He spoke of mutual respect slowly earned and built over years, despite him talking enough for the both of them. He spoke of his fear of leaving his father without an apprentice. He spoke of his father’s unconditional support once he finally worked up the courage to announce his intention to become the next blacksmith. He spoke of the young outsider who became a common sight at home after his mother took her under her wing as a junior guard. He spoke of the girl who became like a younger sister to him when she apprenticed to his father and who still runs the bakery to this day. He spoke of his pride when he handed his mother a spear with a shiny new tip he’d shaped himself. He spoke of being prodded by that outsider to dance with a girl at an equinox festival whom he’d not spoken to since his school days. He spoke of meetings with that girl becoming more frequent. He spoke of reluctantly turning down an offer to go with that outsider to Cloud Tower, but promising to help supply her and see her and her other friends off. He spoke of the strongest storm he’d ever seen appearing in the middle of a dry season. He spoke of the search for the fisher woman who went missing in the storm. He spoke of the long wait for those who never returned from Cloud Tower. He spoke of funerals that were never held for disappearing forever is not the same as dying. He spoke of moving in with the girl he danced with years ago. He spoke of their wedding. He spoke of their decision to visit the Blossom Field. He spoke of the joy of his daughter’s birth. He spoke of sleepless nights tending to a noisy infant. He spoke of the sorrow of his parents’ passing, first his father, then his mother, then his mentor. He spoke of sleepless nights thinking of words left unsaid. He spoke of works he’d crafted. He spoke of nails and barrels and breastplates he’d repaired. He spoke of his pride when his daughter first did the same. He spoke of the strange mixture of fear and satisfaction when she started spending time with that fisher boy. He spoke of how her moving out felt less painful than he’d expected since he still spent most of every day with her. He spoke of how quiet the house felt in the following months. He spoke of the night he caught a nature sprite with skin of flame and hair of metal stealing tools from the workshop. He spoke of the offerings left out for weeks afterward that were never accepted. He spoke of how he spoke to no one about his encounter that seemed increasingly like a dream. He spoke of his concern for the future when his grandson decided to be a fisher instead of a blacksmith. He spoke of the acceptance he found thinking back to how his own mentor had no child and that surely some other youth would come along one day, entranced by the sound of hammer on metal.

He started to speak of his last work, but stopped himself saying that I already knew all about that.

It was dark by the time we finished. Occasionally during all that Cass or I would prompt him, or ask questions, or just comment in response to an anecdote, but for the most part it was just letting Ka’eo’s memories flow over us like a stream from a spring. From the things Lin had said, I was honestly surprised at how coherent he was. He was clearly flagging toward the end though, making an obvious effort to stay awake through his own reminiscence. In retrospect, I probably should have told him to take it easy and rest if he needs to because I can always come back tomorrow, but truthfully I was too enthralled to think about that. Stories can have that effect, and what is a life but a tapestry of interwoven stories?

It will take time to compile all those notes into a more formal record. I don’t know that it will be complete before he’s gone. Although, after tonight I almost doubt Lin’s estimates on how little time he has left. But only almost, for he just seemed so ready to go. He even said as much more than once. Not that he was eager to die or tired of life. Rather, he just seemed so utterly accepting of the idea that he was done here and it was time to move on that I’m not sure if I’m inspired or horrified. Is that what I’m trying to emulate?

Also, Maiko. I guess I have some idea now why she was so set on taking up blacksmithing and why she was so evasive about her motivation. But is it because she sees it as a way to get closer to her mother or because she’s trying to make up for her mother’s theft? Or some muddled combination of both along with who knows what other emotions that might not even be clear to her? A part of me feels like I should talk to her about it. Make sure she’s doing it because she wants to and not because she feels like she has to. Especially if it’s going to be bad for her health. Another part of me feels like I have no place to be telling her what to do or how to feel. Like I’d just be sticking my clumsy fingers into a wound that hasn’t fully healed yet.

I don’t know. Maybe avoid bringing it up outright and unprompted, but say something if the topic happens to arise naturally in conversation?

Friendship is hard complicated.

<==Previous Next==>

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pommedeplume · 2 years

Text

So with Poly Marauders so nearly done (I’m 75% done with the second to last chapter... it’s a long one so it’s taking a bit) I’ve started to think about what I’m doing next.

Here’s a list of things in the works and when I think they might surface:

1. First off, come the new year I’m planning on purging some unfinished works from my archive. I think for basically all of those projects I’m ready to accept they either are never getting finished or it won’t be for many years and I’d rather just pull them and repost when the time comes if I do finish them. This isn’t really a huge deal but it’s a thing I do plan on doing.

2. I’m working on what I’m calling Phase II of my Drarry story, Please Swipe Right. 5 more chapters carrying on from where I left it. I’m unsure when they will come out since those chapters take a while to write given the style. But with only 5 chapters it still shouldn’t be TOO long.

3. The expansion of The Marauders’ Guide to Sexual Intercourse is coming. It’s definitely going to take a while but when it’s done I’ll post it all at once. I could see myself being done in a year but who knows really. It could go faster than I think.

4. I’m working on turning at least some of my Post Hogwarts stuff into a single unified story. Now, normally this would mean deleting all the older works but in this case I’ll probably only delete some of them. This has been something I’ve been toying around with, wondering if I could go back now with the benefit of a lot more experience and more developed head canons what the end result would be. This will likely take quite a while and WILL be something I’ll post as weekly thing ala Poly Marauders rather than dropping all at once because of the likely massive size of it.

5. A revamp of my Raising Harry AU. I began a few years back editing and consolidating some of the stories but I’ve decided I didn’t go far enough and I have new plans for the AU that’s likely going to take a while to happen. But the good news is that I don’t see that universe being as long as Poly Marauders.

6. I am working on developing a Harry’s gen alternative to Poly Marauders but I’m not quite there yet. It was going to be Please Swipe Right but after a lot of thinking I decided that I wanted to focus on quality first with that story and staying true to what I’ve already written rather than trying to turn it into something else, possibly ruining what works about it. It will develop some poly elements but it’s really its own thing and very Draco/Harry centric.

And that’s really it. I’m at a phase where I’m only really interested in big projects and stories so the future for me is likely to be lots of time spent writing stuff then dropping it at a later date. I would like to get so far ahead on something that I could both have reliable content and be able to work on other stuff but I discovered while working on Poly Marauders that that was really difficult.

#my fic #wolfstar #drarry #marauders

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musicmommy · 10 months

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Stuff

Discomfort Onsets Clockwork 🛁🎲✈️

People make such a big deal over things, and especially here in the Cleveland area now. Then, they think it’s too big a deal and trash it. They all support each other.

“Too Bad Too Sad” 😬

The people monitoring me in private are big clumsy picky Italian-Americans. Maybe, even famous people like André Rieu do things while maybe unaware of the simple fact of things I am only mad because of the people monitoring me in private.

Internet Failing 📡

It’s been out in ways since Sunday morning? It’s Monday morning. I did already expect that from this apartment but don’t find the whole thing funny, as internet is so reliable now except in some types of places or maybe areas. The phone cuts off too, called the apartment number about the internet but don’t know where I hav me the internet provider number laying around. We can walk to the office. My fairly new iPhone 14 Pro Max, highest upgrade now, I left on loading something that was unusually still in progress, and I didn’t know I’d fall asleep for so many hours, this time. It used to work after awhile, but my 2 Google Chromebooks aren’t working. I’m looking at my internet connection, too, what are you internet connection people looking at? “Adults” today working like in service jobs are dull and stare at you idly and make you worked up and merely contribute to giving you a heart attack maybe later on and don’t think they have to do or so love diddlysquat.

“Looking at” Me 🥸

I’m like the baby in “Rumpelstiltskin” the witch wants revenge on. I did the studying in school and dutifully posted online years. I feel something private alone, and it grows and develops into a sort of hype and fixation in an uncontrolled and horselike way.

My Lucky Family 🥸

My special part French Dutch German etc. family and close relatives are not there so that they can have more kids and only some of these new kids get recycled back, indicating into the best of other relationships and circles in the world and with the exchanges with strangers. Maybe, it’s only one if my family members, even, but not always me?

“In Someone Else’s Shoes” 👥

What if attractive Early Baby Boomer men and Late Baby Boomer” women had to live with young people today as their parents?

Absolutely Nothing to Eat, Anymore 🥩🥩🥩🥩🥗🥗🥗🥗🫖🫖🫖🫖🍱🍱🍱🍱🥖🥖🧈🧈🧋🧋🧋🧋🧋🧋🧋🧋

Younger people today in charge of the food industry have taken off things from the market like sweet smoothies but keep junkier candy up galore with no further options. They got stupider about new tastes and flavors rather than improved them. They don’t sell much healthy organic chocolate products or tasty fluffy thick pitas. It’s a totalitarian pattern. Only culinary artists enjoy more interesting yet still edible prize cuisine available today. You have to be a cook or one of the richest to have this taste and convenience available to you.

“What’s it to you?” Bodyparts 🫥

What are bodyparts to some Germans? I saw someone who preserved the muscles of the dead. The body parts can be used in sex.

Sensitive French People and the Like? 🤪

Are French people like André Rieu allergic to feelings about the truth seeming blatant and then that some of such people feel sex and silly etc. and maybe more him since he is from another country in Europe with less defense and is special as a person?

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dyns33 · 2 years

Text

The Devil’s Lawyer 15

Part 15 of Matt Murderdock x Nice Lawyer Reader. Part 14 here

In her profession, it very often happened that Y/N heard and saw shocking things.

That didn't mean she was getting used to it, but she was trying to cope, to stay strong, for her clients.

Insults, thefts, assaults, rapes, murders... New York, and Hell's Kitchen in particular, was constantly troubled by inhuman and cruel crimes, and everything had to be done to stop and punish them.

The police and justice were doing their best. But it wasn't perfect.

It could hardly be perfect, since most crime was committed by the Mafia, which partly controlled the cops and judges.

But Y/N didn't care.

She would fight anyway, welcoming everyone into her office without wondering if it was a hopeless case, which she couldn't defend.

Foggy was a bit desperate about this. Even though he wanted to help too, he mainly thought about the money and their safety.

"Just because Matt likes you doesn't mean we're protected and can do whatever we want."

"I know."

"He doesn't wait for me at home in the evening, assuring me of total protection."

"I can ask him to visit you if you want."

"... No, thank you. I'd rather be mugged in an alley."

Matt and Y/N had been together for almost a year now. Officially. Well, for their loved ones, anyway. The rest of the world could see that something was up, but they kept a low profile.

Despite this, Foggy still didn't trust Matt. He didn't like him at all. The years at law school were certainly still haunting him. Y/N sometimes wondered what exactly happened, but Foggy refused to talk about it and Matt just snickered evilly when she asked.

She couldn't blame Nelson. There was a big difference between the Matt she met at home, and Matt the rest of the time.

The Devil. The Kingpin.

Y/N wasn't stupid. She was not naive. They never talked about what Matt was doing, but she read the papers, she listened to the radio, she watched television, she chatted with people.

It was not good. Not good at all.

But they never talked about it. She tried to pretend like everything was fine, as if the world stopped spinning and Matt's actions no longer existed when he was in her apartment.

Yet it was not always easy to pretend not to see anything.

Like today.

Their new client had arrived, panicked, and Foggy hadn't understood at first why he had come to ask for their services.

"I can read here that you witnessed a crime, and that you gave your statement to the police, but did not file a complaint. There is an investigation underway, in which you may be able to testify if they find a suspect, but... why exactly do you need us ?"

"I don't need you yet, but soon. If they don't kill me first."

"Wow. Wait, what ? What ?!"

"The Kingpin and his men!" sobbed the man, who was shaking as he looked around him. "I... I didn't see him, he was wearing a weird mask, but I heard him. I heard his laugh, as he killed those poor guys ! I could recognize it. I told the police, I was so stupid ! They probably work for him, he's going to come and get me ! Or he's going to say that I lied and that it was me who did this ! Oh, you have to help me ! I know that you're not with him, you're the most reliable lawyers here. Please !"

"It's... Calm down, okay ? Maybe you'll be fine."

Foggy knew very well that everything was not going to be fine.

Not knowing what to do, he did what he always did when he didn't know and he let the final decision to Y/N, who hesitated a little. It was the first time she hesitated to accept a case.

Usually, this didn't concern Matt. Not directly. It was tricky, for many reasons, not just the fact that it was dangerous to meddle in the Kingpin's business.

But she couldn't leave this man. So she promised to defend him if the police ever decided to charge him with murder. Which happened after a few hours, while he was still in their agency.

At least he hadn't been killed. Not yet anyway.

Since they were already his lawyers, Y/N and Foggy had access to the whole investigation file. With their client's testimonial. Autopsy reports. Photos.

Y/N would have liked not to see these photos.

She wasn't stupid. She didn't want to think about it, she didn't want to imagine it, but she knew very well what Matt was doing.

All that blood. These wounds. The client had described the laughs. The mockeries. The terribly long time the Kingpin had taken to torture his victims. He seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Y/N didn't want to imagine Matt having fun. To take pleasure in doing evil. She kept telling herself that he had no choice, that they were forcing him, that they would punish him if he didn't obey, maybe even killing him.

Or kill her, to make him suffer.

But obviously Matt loved what he was doing.

There had to be an explanation. Y/N hoped there was one. It didn't justify the violence, it didn't excuse it, but if the guys he killed weren't innocent, if they had done something wrong, that was less bad ?

It was bad, but it was evil fighting against evil.

Or they were innocent. They had done nothing. And Matt had killed them, without remorse, without hesitation. While laughing.

Would he kill a child ? A pregnant woman ? Anyone, if they asked him ? Had he done it before ? And had he ever killed people without them asking him ? Because he wanted to ? For no particular reason, just because he could ?

Too many questions.

Too much blood.

Y/N went to vomit in the toilet.

Foggy waited for her in the hallway, hugging her as she staggered out. He offered her a glass of water, with a sad smile. Then he left her to cry as he finished reading the report.

He did not say anything. He understood.

It wasn't easy getting home that night. Matt was already waiting for her, but she walked back and forth in front of her building several times before daring to enter.

She was scared to come into her house now, great.

Yet she knew she had no reason to be afraid of Matt.

He wasn't going to hurt her because she had seen the file. She already knew who he was.

He wasn't going to be angry because she was defending her client either. It was her job. They clashed almost every week in court.

Maybe he would be a little annoyed that the man was able to recognize his voice. But a voice was not evidence to incriminate someone. It would never go before a judge.

And even though he could be very scary, that he was the Devil, who would believe that Matt Murdock, blind lawyer, was the Kingpin, who enjoyed beating people up and running around the rooftops of the city ?

The witness would be immediately accused of lying, if he was not sent to the asylum.

No, Matt had nothing to fear from the client. That was probably why he hadn't had him murdered, and he certainly didn't care whether he was convicted of the murders or not. The mere fact of being accused would be enough to scare him and silence him.

Matt had not however considered that all this would have consequences on their relationship.

But after all, why ? Why now ? He was no different than he was a year ago.

Y/N felt hypocritical. Trapped between her love for him and her duty as a lawyer, demanding justice.

When she finally dared to come in, Matt was cooking. He said nothing as she pulled out her coat. He didn't come to her to do his little ritual, with the kiss, the caresses, then the shower.

He must have heard that she was in the street. That she was nervous. Her heart was beating so fast, ever her knew that it was not good.

No doubt he knew why.

So he waited. He gave her time to calm down, and to choose what she wanted to do. Talk about it, don't talk about it.

"... I love you." she finally said. Simply. Because it was true. Even if it wasn't necessarily right.

Matt still didn't move, but he turned to her, and he seemed to be considering her confession, what it meant, in order to carefully choose what to answer.

"I know..." she continued before he could open his mouth. "I know they're controlling you. Partially. And so in the end, no matter what, you don't really have a choice. It's not your fault."

It was also true. It wasn't his fault they took him when Matt was just a kid. If they had raised him, trained him, to become a weapon, a heartless being. They had decided what his life would be, where he would live, his job, everything.

But they hadn't been entirely successful.

There was still some good in Matt. Some humanity. Y/N brought it all out, and instead of being scared, instead of running away, instead of eliminating her, Matt had chosen her. The only thing he had chosen in his life. A good thing.

"I will never let anyone hurt you." he declared with great seriousness.

He still wasn't moving. Yet what she had said should have invited him to move, to come and take her in his arms.

Matt felt she was still upset. Maybe he felt that she had cried, because of him. She had never cried. Even less because of him.

So he offered her a way out. If she asked him, he would leave. Now. Without asking questions, without shouting, without fighting. And he wouldn't come back if she didn't want him to. He wouldn't be furious. He would not take revenge. He would agree, because he didn't want to hurt her and he would do anything for her.

Forgetting the photos, the questions she had asked herself, all this shitty mess they were in, Y/N approached him, putting her hands on his face before kissing him.

Then she rested her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath.

Matt rested his head on hers.

She didn't ask. She didn't ask if the men deserved it, if he liked it, if he ever did that without having orders. She decided that she didn't want to know. It was selfish but she didn't care at that moment.

They stayed like that, saying nothing, for what seemed like an eternity. Then he lifted her to take her to the bathroom, to the shower.

Because even if the moment was a little tense, Matt probably couldn't stand all the smells she had on her after this long day. Y/N let him.

It didn't solve the problem at all, and there didn't seem to be a solution to this problem, but she let him, she let him wash away the tears, the fear, the anger and the doubts, until there was only him.

The next day, the police decided that there was insufficient evidence against her client and therefore that he was no longer a suspect. He didn't say anything, but Y/N knew that Matt was behind all this, as a peace offering. But they didn't talk about it.

#daredevil #matt murdock #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock imagine #matt murdock fanfic #matt murderdock #dark Matt #earth 65 #lawyer reader

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edenstorm · 2 years

Text

an open letter to tgc.

(aka, this wouldn’t fit in the discord character limit lmao)

I’d like to preface this by saying that I’ve been a fan of TGC for a while now, since Journey in 2012. I’ve had a huge appreciation for the effort that goes into your work - it’s honestly changed my life, and I do not say that for the sake of saying it. Truly, thank you.

However, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend with recent updates to Sky: CotL, and one that suggests an underlying issue that really concerns me. Based on what I’ve seen around I’m not the only one a little worried, so I figured I’d send something like this for the first time - I’d like to at least get it off my chest, because I have a great deal of respect for this company. If I didn’t, I’d just walk away.

I don’t think you’re at all in touch with the desires of your playerbase. In fact, I think you think you know what we want more than we do. Furthermore, it’s beginning to feel like you think we’re… stupid, for lack of a better word? Oblivious, at the very least. It’s infantilizing.

For me, it started with the whole TS debacle a while back - where you just so happened to bring back the two highest demand spirits right alongside an extremely limited high-demand 200 candle item. It would be clear to anyone looking in that this was a deliberate push to candle sales, but you still insist to this day that the TS is randomized. I found out after I made a post expressing my frustration (thinking that this was a unique case) that there are people out there who have been reliably predicting the TS for some time now, with an accuracy that would not be possible if the TS was truly random. It’s just… such a silly thing to lie about. I suppose it takes some heat off of you when people don’t get the TS they want, and it allows you to schedule expensive or desired TS at opportune times to push sales without scrutiny, but it comes at the cost of the trust of players who find out - which, to me, does not seem like a good deal. Trust is infinitely more costly than community contentment.

Next was the AFK timer. You did, at the very least, beta test it, and put it back in your pocket when people weren’t happy… but then you quietly added it into the main game later despite the backlash. Candle taxi-ing wasn’t completely killed, but it did put a significant limit on it, and for what purpose? Because people weren’t playing your game how you wanted them to? Because it meant marginally fewer sales?

And now there’s the heart limit. This is a kick in the knees to everyone, but most especially to moths and people who only add friends within the game. Hearts are already a difficult thing for most players to get enough of for base game cosmetics and holidays, and now you want to make them… more difficult? You’re locking a significant portion of your playerbase out of parts of the game because they don’t play the game exactly how you want. You’re making a certain playstyle mandatory, which, rather than fostering friendships and community, is going to drive players away.

Overall, it just seems… obstinate. You’re acting like the kid at the playground who won’t let others play with the toys you brought unless they do exactly what you tell them to. When you release a game, people are going to play it in ways you did not expect or intend. Unless outright harmful or destructive, I don’t think that should be punished. The best games will work with their players and not against them, and this latest heart update is antithetical to what the playerbase wants and needs.

If anyone actually read this, thank you. I hope you have a nice day.

#tgc critical #sky cotl #thatskygame #sky: children of the light #sky: cotl #sky children of the light #skycotl #that sky game #tgc #that game company #thatgamecompany #long post

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jade-parcels · 3 years

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idk if you did this already, if you did sorry for asking. but lately my period cramps have been killing me! could you do some comfort headcanons for period – cramps, sensitivity, chest pain, headaches, feeling more insecure than usual – involving childe, diluc and maybe zhongli (and, well, anyone else if you feel like it). it can be either in a modern au or in genshin universe. anything is ok. thank you so much!

Helping you on your period

With Diluc, Zhongli, Childe and Baizhu

I think the universe matched us up! In sync cycles gang!!

—————————

Diluc:

Thank the Pyro Archon!!

Diluc already has a high body temp but when he activates his vision and holds it against your stomach? Say bye to those cramps

Since it’s just the two of you, he’s more than happy to cuddle with you and read to you while holding you close against his chest

Anything you want, just name it. You want a hot bath? You want something sweet? You want pain killers? His staff is on it!

It hurts him to see you in pain like this cause besides letting you use his vision and giving you pain killers there really isn’t anything he can do :( so he’ll apologize a lot to you even though it isn’t his fault

If it starts to get really bad he’ll take you to the cathedral! I mean…Idk what they could do for you but he’s trying his best

Whatever commission work you had planned before your period started is finished rather quick. When he goes to check on the tavern, he’ll complete your commissions for you and bring the mora back for you! He knows how hard it can be to get good paying commissions nowadays so he wouldn’t want you to miss out

If he sees that you’re feeling down, he’ll put more effort into complimenting you and being more affectionate than usual :)

Zhongli:

Ah yes, he is experienced in this area

He’s been around for so long, he knows all kinds of tips and tricks to help make symptoms not as severe

However his remedies are notorious for taking forever to make. His sobering tea takes 6 hours to brew…and his pain killer tea takes 9. By the time he finishes making all of his herbal concoctions, your period will be over lmao

Zhongli will put a lot of effort in to make sure you’re comfortable. He’ll get you as many pillows or blankets as you need, open the window for fresh air, close the drapes if it’s too bright, read to you if you’re bored. He knows you’re miserable so he’ll do his best to entertain you and keep you as comfortable as one can be in this condition

He’ll offer to do yoga with you if you’re up for it. Certain poses can alleviate pressure in the pelvic area so he’ll do it with you! (Squats always help me out too when it gets really bad!! Doing squats, drinking water and applying heat never fails! But everyone’s different!)

When you sleep, he’ll play with your hair and rub your back :) he loves how peaceful you look while finally getting some rest :)

Childe:

He’s a little clueless but he’s got the spirit!

See, when he received his education from the fatui they didn’t really give him a course on female anatomy so…he is aware of periods and what they are but he has no idea how severe symptoms can be

So when you’re in so much pain that you can’t get out of bed?? He’s super worried about you, he’s about to go get a doctor to come here to see you

It’s kinda funny to actually go in depth and explain how bad symptoms can be, how much you bleed, how awful cramps are cause he just…doesn’t know. Most men don’t actually know! He’ll genuinely feel bad for you and by explaining it all to him, he’ll learn and become a very reliable helper :)

“You should probably take a bath, right? I’ll go warm up some water” “Stay with me…just for a few more minutes” “Okay but then we’re gonna take a bath together. I’ll make the water extra hot too, that’ll help with cramps right?” “Mhm”

He’ll try to get you up and moving when you allow it so you don’t feel stiff from sitting in the same position for too long

Ajax is very affectionate already and will become even more affectionate if he sees that your self esteem is low. He’ll make sure to reassure you that you’re still so beautiful to him :’)

He’d think you’re pretty no matter what. You could have greasy hair, hormonal breakouts and eye bags from being tired and he’d still look at you like ‘wow…’ :’)

Baizhu:

As a medical professional, he’ll insist on being at your side when you show any indication of being in pain

He’ll make you some herbal pain relievers, they’ll taste super bitter and make your tongue numb for a minute but they’ll kick in pretty quick!!

Baizhu cant afford to take full days off but he’ll take half days in order to make sure you eat breakfast and lunch, drink water and rest.

You help him out when his own illness kicks in so he has no problem helping you out :) he’s content to rub your shoulders and coach you into sitting/laying positions that may be more comfortable

If you’re more cranky or sad than usual he’ll make you something warm and cuddle with you :) when you don’t feel well, you get to see his excellent bedside manner in action! Though he is far more affectionate with you than he is with his other patients lmao

If you’re someone who worries about their symptoms and fears they have suddenly developed a rare disease over night (looking up symptoms on the Internet is a terrible habit :’) ) He’ll be there to assure you that nothing is seriously wrong

“Honey, my side has been hurting a lot” “I know dear, I’ve already told you you don’t have appendicitis” “Maybe my liver is gonna rupture!!!” “That’s higher up, I’d be able to tell due to swelling and a fever. You don’t have either of those” “But what about that pain in my neck? What if it’s a tumor Baizhuuuuu!” “Darling, I think you just need to go to sleep” pffttt

#threw baizhu in for the starving baizhu stans #they get no food #I’m here to provide #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact writing #genshin baizhu #genshin childe #genshin zhongli #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #childe x reader #zhongli x reader #baizhu x reader #answered requests!

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annabrainchase · 2 years

Text

This is not my post, but the op has deactivated so here it is:

I was just thinking about something I’ve noticed and I wanted to address it, I suppose. And that’s about how Sansa’s character has been…idealized? by fans, here on tumblr and elsewhere.

Don’t get me wrong—I am definitely guilty of this. In fact, that’s what made me notice it in the first place. I was reading a Sansa chapter a few days ago and realized that my initial interpretation of it was way off, and that I’d totally changed things around in my head. And then I started reading other meta, and going back to other chapters, and things started to unravel.

In some of my metas about Sansa I’ve been on the defensive to the point of excess. This time I’m going to try to point out some things I’ve overlooked/gotten wrong/never addressed properly. I guess I’ll start with Arya and Sansa.

// arya and sansa’s relationship

Yes, they’re kids, and kids fight. And yes, no POV is entirely reliable. But still, Sansa was quite mean to Arya at times, and I think people ignore this in order to make Sansa look better. Which is ridiculous, because I don’t think Sansa is an evil person for being mean to her sister, anyway. I just don’t really like how some people make the situation out to be different than it was—as if Arya was always the one antagonizing Sansa. And sometimes when I see people trying to raise Sansa up, they end up pulling Arya down as they do so, simplifying (or blatantly misinterpreting) her storyline and character and making it seem as if Arya is less deserving of critical attention than Sansa is. I’ve totally done this myself.

Oh, while I’m remembering ways people have changed Sansa’s character— I’ve also seen people claim that Sansa was always warm and friendly with lowborn people, for instance. And I have absolutely no clue where this sort of thing comes from:

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya like to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst…. Just the sight of him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer his company to hers. (AGOT)

But back to Sansa and Arya. These two have a troubled relationship, and I’m pretty sure GRRM has said that they have their issues to work through. And I’ve actually seen people say things such as: “Oh, Arya is the one always going after Sansa, not the other way around.” Because I hadn’t read AGOT in forever, I went back and read some chapters to refresh my memory, and found that this just isn’t true. Sansa does go after Arya.

And she is capable of saying things that are rather cruel, even after taking into account that she’s so young. After Arya flings an orange at her during an argument (which was childish, yes) Sansa responds in a way that is nevertheless pretty damn harsh for ruining a dress:

“You’re horrible,” she screamed at her sister. “They should have killed you instead of Lady!” (AGOT)

And when Arya later offers to sew her a new dress, Sansa replies disparagingly. She also rejects her sister’s attempt to comfort her in a rather volatile way. I’m not pointing this out because I think Sansa is a monster (that would be ridiculous) but because it’s definitely true that she was pretty mean to her sister. I’m aware that Arya’s not blameless herself, but I think sometimes people forget that Sansa wasn’t always the picture of kindness and courtesy where Arya was concerned. And yes, I’ve seen people point out how Sansa covers for Arya a few times, and that’s awesome. But there’s still something sad about the way Sansa thinks this:

Why couldn’t Arya be sweet and delicate and kind, like Princess Myrcella? She would have liked a sister like that…. It would have been easier if Arya had been a bastard, like their half brother Jon. (AGOT)

I don’t know—it’s just sad to me, I guess? Perhaps because she’s still thinking along similar lines in ASOS:

Sister. Sansa had once dreamt of having a sister like Margaery: beautiful and gentle, with all the world’s graces at her command. Arya had been entirely unsatisfactory as sisters went. (ASOS)

The impression I have is that Arya wanted to belong completely but ultimately decided she wasn’t able to. At the beginning of AGOT, she thinks:

It wasn’t fair. Sansa had everything. Sansa was two years older; maybe by the time Arya had been born, there had been nothing left…. Jeyne used to call her Arya Horseface, and neigh whenever she came near. It hurt that the one thing Arya could do better than her sister was ride a horse. Well, that and manage a household. (AGOT)

Which implies that Arya had tried to excel at the pursuits Sansa is so good at, and decided that she came up wanting in the end. That’s sad, too.

I think Arya and Sansa have some things to work out if they meet again. I do believe they’re a highly interesting pair and that their skills could complement each other’s in ways, but that it wouldn’t be a picture perfect reunion. I also don’t believe that they’re broken beyond repair, though. I mean, Sansa becomes pretty excited at the thought of potentially even seeing Jon in AFFC, and she hasn’t really spared him too much thought since we first met her. I think she would be incredibly happy to see her only sister. And I do hope these two meet again, I really do.

Another thing I’ve noticed wrt Arya and Sansa—making Sansa the “intellectual” side of the pair and Arya the “brawn”. Why do people do this? If it’s not apparent how intelligent Arya is to you then you must’ve been reading blindfolded. Reducing her to simple “muscle” is highly inaccurate. But anyway, onwards.

// “they wouldn’t have survived in each other’s place”

I totally disagree with this and I don’t understand why people are so adamant about insisting that both girls would have died if their situations were switched. Yes, I think Sansa would have died. I don’t see how she could be successfully disguised as a boy or weather the Riverlands. But I think Arya would have made it.

It’s true that both girls were put into the situation more aligned with their respective skills. I definitely agree with that. But to insist that Arya would die because she’d “go crazy” and try to kill Joffrey or something does not ring true to me at all. People like to say how Arya and Sansa are both survivors (and I agree), but then some are so quick to dismiss Arya’s survival capabilities, which I find kind of ironic. Because, I mean, if you look at the variety of situations in which Arya has survived—it’s pretty remarkable. And yes, she’s had help. But she’s done a lot on her own, too.

People seem to forget that Arya can put her head down and play the mouse. She did it in Harrenhal, after all:

On the road Arya had felt like a sheep, but Harrenhal turned her into a mouse. She was grey as a mouse in her scratchy wool shift, and like a mouse she kept to the crannies and crevices and dark holes of the castle, scurrying out of the way of the mighty. (ACOK)

Yes, it would be different in ways if Arya were in KL, very close to some of the people who end up on her kill list, but for a variety of reasons I really don’t see her winding up dead. Sansa, though? No, I don’t see Sansa surviving in Arya’s place at all. And that doesn’t make Sansa weak or stupid. I just don’t think there’s any way she would have made it, her being too difficult to disguise as a boy being one reason. But I know arguing these “what if” situations is fairly pointless so I won’t waste anymore time on it.

// “she lost her wolf”

This is a line that I’ve never been able to ignore. While I don’t believe that Sansa is necessarily “less of a Stark” because she lost her wolf, I definitely think it’s affected her.

"What’s wrong with the girl?”

Bran felt all cold inside. “She lost her wolf,” he said, weakly, remembering the day when four of his father’s guardsmen had returned from the south with Lady’s bones. (AGOT)

This line always worried me at the back of my mind, but it wasn’t until I read an interview with GRRM that I had any real confirmation. Of course, now I can’t find the interview, but he does indeed state that Sansa is a bit lost as a result of being separated from her wolf. “Lost” may not have been the exact word he used—like I said, I can’t find the interview—but it was something along those lines. Lady’s death was not a good thing (I’ve seen it painted in a positive sense for Sansa, but it seems that GRRM disagrees. He does add that Arya lost her wolf as well, IIRC, but I don’t think he meant that the situations are just the same. Nymeria is, after all, alive, and has a strong bond to Arya.)

What Lady’s death means for Sansa, I’m not exactly sure anymore beyond GRRM’s quote. (Which I actually just found again—the article is here. He states she is “a little adrift”.) It has weakened her in some way, however, and I don’t really think it’s something to brush off. Part of Sansa has died, after all.

// Sansa’s future

This is a sensitive subject, and I understand why. But I’ll be honest—I think some people ignore the fact that Sansa is walking a dangerous path. The other Stark kids are, too. GRRM has reportedly said the ending will be “bittersweet”, and that makes me a little anxious because when I really stop to think about it I feel like GRRM’s “bittersweet” is sort of heavy on the “bitter”.

And even ignoring that—Sansa’s chapters themselves do make me worried. She has the lovely snow castle scene in ASOS, which I do think is probably foreshadowing, and she seems to be closer to her northern roots than she was at the beginning of the series. But she also begins to identify more and more completely as Alayne, and thinks of Littlefinger repeatedly in an admiring fashion. She comes off as ultimately conflicted to me, as if her story could go in multiple directions, and argues with herself internally over her identity. And we’re left hanging, waiting on her response in her last chapter of AFFC. I think there is definitely a serious danger there. Littlefinger overestimates himself most definitely I think, but he’s also unfortunately quite skilled at some of his pursuits. He’s a predator, and Sansa? I see a lot of wavering in her most recent chapters—back and forth, back and forth. An example:

How could she doubt it? He had saved her.

He saved Alayne, his daughter, a voice inside her whispered. But she was Sansa too… and sometimes it seemed to her that the Lord Protector was two people as well. He was Petyr, her protector, warm and funny and gentle…. but he was also Littlefinger, the lord she’d known at King’s Landing, smiling slyly and stroking his beard as he whispered in Queen Cersei’s ear. And Littlefinger was no friend of hers. (AFFC)

I think most Sansa fans view this positively, but it kind of makes me uneasy. Besides the fact that she goes on to think “Littlefinger was only a mask he had to wear”, Sansa hasn’t grasped that there really is no great distinction between Petyr and Littlefinger—Petyr and Littlefinger are both horrible people. Petyr is not in truth “warm and funny and gentle”. She does think that she “would have fled them both, perhaps,” which is good, if a bit worryingly indecisive, but ends this inner monologue thinking miserably that she “has no true friend but Petyr”, and this does make me a little anxious. And the further you go in AFFC, the more she seems to trust LF.

I do believe that Sansa will best him in some way (the giant in the snow castle), and I believe that the other Starks will retain their identities. But that doesn’t mean that Sansa’s storyline isn’t going to take some further unpleasant turns. I think saying things like, “Sansa knows exactly what LF is up to and she’s not buying any of it” is wishful thinking. I reread her AFFC chapters again and I just don’t see it.

Sansa’s one of my favorite characters and I do think there’s a tendency to idealize her, which I think does her character something of an injustice and makes discussion less interesting. At least, that’s how I feel now, after thinking on it for a litle while/reading back. I didn’t go too much into Sansa’s personal flaws after all, and this whole thing is kind of a mess. But Sansa is a complex character and I think it would be worthwhile if her flaws or more ambiguous points were discussed more freely on here, like I’ve seen some other characters’ weaknesses analyzed. I know that people some off (and on) Tumblr treat Sansa like shit, but idk, I feel like discussion could be much more open, even though I suppose I didn’t address anything really controversial here.

#text

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ladyshinga · 2 years

Text

All right, cats and kittens, let's chat MISCOMMUNICATION

Actually, communication in general. Language. Mental health. Art. Music. All the things that help human beings put pieces of their minds out into the world to connect with the minds of other humans.

You see, no one will ever TRULY know your mind. Your mind is a vast whirlwind, YEARS' worth of experience, memory, trauma, joy, scars... even if you lived 100% of your life in the same room experiencing the same things as another person, that person's experience of it will STILL be different. You will still see it different, remember it differently, feel differently about it.

In order to express how WE experienced or remembered something, though, we need to communicate it. Sometimes we use words, sometimes we use art or music or something. We have a thought, a memory, a feeling, and we distill it as much as we can to make it clear and understandable to others, to make sure when another person hears/sees us, they UNDERSTAND it. We WANT to be understood, we WANT those thoughts and feelings we're putting out there to be seen and not misconstrued or ignored.

Thing is, it's not always going to work. Maybe we're struggling to understand our own thoughts and feelings and therefore translating it out into the world is harder. Maybe we KNOW what we're feeling but can't find a way to express it. Maybe we're expressing ourselves just fine but NO one we're showing it to is understanding it.

That's by far one of the most anxiety-inducing things for a human being. We're communal animals with self-awareness, having that awareness acknowledged and seen by others keeps us feeling more real, more grounded and sure of ourselves. And when we don't have that, either from isolation or misunderstanding, it hurts. Especially if it goes on for a while like that, where we're either not heard or not understood. We begin to question our own minds.

But, y'all know that. Even if you knew it in different words than I used to say it, you understand that you like to be heard and you like to be understood. We all do.

What I'm gonna chat about today is the fucking pandemic and how the 2020s are isolating us WAY more than physically

You see, before covid dropped, I had a pretty covid-friendly life. I haven't been able to drive a car in years, haven't been able to work in years. It meant spending nearly all of my time at home. I'd gotten good at that - I'd adapted. I got good at typing my thoughts out through texts and social media rather than relying too much on tone/body language/etc. I've had years to hone my art to levels where I can pretty reliably get my feelings out clearly that way. I've adapted my hobbies, my socializing, everything.

So covid was an easier change for me. Still hard, hard as hell, I've wanted to die a lot. But. Easier.

Thing is, it's NOT easy for anyone else. People spent their lives building up communication tools that suddenly they can't lean on anymore. Masks cover faces we can't watch for social clues, zoom meetings mean no eye contact, a shitty microphone might mean you literally can't tell what your friend's tone is, etc. Other methods of getting our thoughts and feelings out there? Typing them up, making art about it, etc... it takes work, work most people didn't think they had to put in because their methods were working.

It's not to say people like me have a MASSIVE advantage here, though. We have one, yes, but its becoming more and more obsolete. The longer the stress of the pandemic and associated issues (housing crisis, crumbling economy, everyone's broke, politicians are all shit, nazis are still allowed for some fucking reason, etc) continue, the more our own heads become loud and scrambled and SCREAMING.

I'm seeing it everywhere.

The communication divide, the chasm between two minds trying desperately to connect but neither person able to clearly state their own mind, and the other unable to understand. Which just makes the pain worse, it makes the noise worse, and the divide grows

I feel like I'm having to translate for people in conversations. Where I can SEE some one failing to get a thought out as clearly as they're wanting. Where I see others' misinterpreting what WAS put out there, and often getting hurt by it, which makes EVERYONE upset. The deeper that chasm gets, the harder it is to cross. Because when your communication is stifled this badly, that isolated feeling turns into defensiveness and a scrambling sense of survival. When all your words just end up making people mad? You stop trying, or you assume everyone else is already angry just to save yourself time. Even if it's illogical, you end up lashing out. Defending yourself, defending your SENSE of self. Because you're so tired, so goddamn tired of everything you've tried to communicate in the last two years is just not being... seen. That sense of self is shattered right now without the validation of community.

But I need you to know, that chasm just FEELS deep. It just LOOKS deep.

Yeah. The bridges are a little harder to build right now. We are ALL primed to misunderstand each other because we're all miscommunicating and being misunderstood. It's a cycle. But the bridges CAN be built, you're just working with new materials. You CAN express what's in your mind, and you CAN be understood, seen, and LOVED for it. And on the other side of things, PAUSE! Breathe! Did a loved one say something bad to you, OR did you HEAR something bad? There's a GENUINE difference and right now I'm seeing a FUCKload of the latter.

I'm not promising this will be easy. But pandemic life adjustments are about more than getting a decent webcam, you need to work on translating your own mind. You need to figure out which tools are available to you now vs the ones that worked for you before. Holding out until the pandemic is "over" when you can just go back to what worked before? ... Loves, you can't do that. There's not gonna BE an "over", especially not if you're American. What's in our minds is changed forever, and the tools we've used our whole lives to communicate aren't necessarily going to keep working.

Everyone is misunderstanding EVERYONE right now. It hurts to watch it happening, it hurts to get caught up in it myself. But I truly believe you can translate what's in your mind. I truly believe that you have the capacity and patience to make the genuine effort to understand when others are trying to do the same.

Go get 'em, kids

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