#I’m pro every witch can and should make their own decisions about it

[teawiththegods]

Apollo really was right when he said to me

“People like that aren’t worth your energy or the dirtying of your hands. They’ll cast curses on themselves. All you have to do is sit back and watch”

[kyofsonder]

Find the Word 3

I’ve been tagged by several people over the last month to find select sets of words in my WIPs. This time, I’ll find a set of words from @crypticcodexcreations, who tagged me awhile back. Thank you for the tag, and the chance to play this game again!

My Words: riveting, important, correct, halt, light

I’ll Tag: @late-to-the-fandom, @writewithfire, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @dumbthunder, @moondust-bard, @junypr-camus, @did-i-do-this-write, and as always anyone who wants to join in can use the following words and say I tagged them!

Your Words: false, side, tension, fade, worth

As always, I’m not sure how long this will get so I’ll put the actual excerpts under this cut.

I didn’t find riveting, so here’s a fun fact:

My current NaNo WIP takes place in a group of worlds collectively known as Ait'kulith, where several deities governing fate/destiny have given humans indicators to help them find their soulmates. On Ait'kulith 1B, that indicator is the voice. Hearing and deafness work normally for all other sounds, but speaking voices can only be heard between people who are connected by fate. You can hear yourself speak or sing, your fated connections speak or sing, and a small number of special exceptions can sing to the whole world but not speak outside their own fate. As a result, signed languages are the default and entertainment has taken on a slightly different form from what it is on an Earth world. For example, movies are usually either signed or "false captioned" – a term that means the actors are speaking their lines, the script comes up as subtitles on screen, and everyone has to suspend disbelief to pretend they can hear words that are actually silent to them. It's a controversial way to shoot a movie, but it's exciting and compelling to those who enjoy its fantastical reality of a world where everyone speaks without any fate-related caveats at all.

I found important in my novel WIP “To Be Honest”:

"The Island," some call him. Apparently, it's an allusion to the way he's supposedly "stranded" between places he could reasonably call home. Loyalty is the most important, the most sacred value of circle witches and it's expected that every witch is strictly loyal to the family who shares their blood. All clairvoyant Renners are loyal to their fellow clairvoyants, consulting each other about their prophecies and making decisions as a family based on the things they've predicted. All empathetically manipulative Shepherds are loyal to their fellow empaths, keeping each other's magic in check so that the family's affairs run smoothly. An empathetically manipulative Renner, following the examples of his elders and peers, should be loyal to... which side?

I found correct in my short story WIP “Kiyo”:

"I didn't mean that," I correct myself with a lie, hearing that heavy feeling in my quiet self-admonition, "You can do whatever you want, Kiyo." I make sure to use her name, too. Whether it's to show her she's seen as more than a supposedly non-sentient plant or to show I'm taking my own words seriously, either way it works. I think. She uncurls some of her vines. Disentangles them from each other. I think it's like a human sighing and letting go of the tension in their shoulders when they hear something reassuring.

I didn’t find halt either, so here’s another fun fact:

In Ait'kulith 1B, it's possible to stop hearing your fated voices. Your romantic soulmate's voice might gradually fade as your relationship deteriorates, your true family's voices might suddenly go silent when fate realizes you're meant to be somewhere else, your platonic soulmate might try to talk to you after years apart and find their voice no longer reaches you. Some say this proves that fate is fallible and shouldn't dictate your life. Others have a more pro-fate stance. Most of those who lose their fated voices just wish it didn't happen at all. In fact, one of the stories in my NaNo follows an orphaned boy who lost the voices of his parents and now assumes any adoptive parent's voice, even if he can hear it, will inevitably fade away – leaving him lost all over again.

I found light in my novel WIP “Apricots”:

"You don't have magic. None of the versions of you I've met have ever had magic. You might have close relationships with magic users -- Jess and Kade and me -- but as far as the Jaspers are concerned you're not a threat. You're not worth looking at, even. You acting unusual is just a human having trouble managing their little human emotions or having their brain fried after being overexposed to magic or whatever those arrogant, 'humans are lesser than us' Jaspers think separates witches from other people. You can go wherever you want, do whatever you need to find Jess! You can save her, and they won't give a single shit! Probably," Noah gently, urgently grabs Ian's left wrist -- his expression like someone lost in the dark, anxious that the light he's chosen to guide him might disappear. Ian doesn't shake him off, just uses his other hand to seal the heat in the mug.

I found fewer words than usual, hopefully my NaNo-based fun facts make up for those gaps. I did have fun finding all the words that were in my WIPs and coming up with fun facts, though, of course. Thank you again for tagging me!

[vivithefolle]

Hermione has more complimentary traits with Harry than she does with Ron. Hermione is logical and thinks through her decisions while Harry is ruled by his emotions and follows his instincts. She's enthusiastic/cheerful he is more introverted and bitter. She motivates him to do better, and he reminds her that there are more important things than books and cleverness. Ron's humour gets on Hermione's nerves and her cleverness does the same to him. Their differences tear them instead of balancing.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!! HahahahahahHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh that’s a good one, oh thank you dude, oh I haven’t laughed this hard in... in like 24 hours, I saw a pretty great meme yesterday, but oh thank you that was hilarious.

...

... wait you were serious?

...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHONHONHONHONHONHONHAHAHAHHONHONSNORTHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEH HAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH HAHAHAH HAHAHAH HAAHAHAHAHAAAAAA AAAAAH HAAAWWW... oh my god, oh my god... seriously you could build a whole ass circus out of that.

Alright! Now that the hilarity’s over...

Hermione has more complimentary traits with Harry than she does with Ron. 

Prove it.

Hermione is logical and thinks through her decisions 

... and sometimes she also makes very illogical decisions and acts very rash, see how she sets Snape on fire in first year which could have hurt everyone around, how she forgot she’s a witch, see how the Polyjuice plan was total bullshit and relied 100% on luck, see how she acted completely thoughtless to Ron in POA, see how she was completely harebrained at the end of OOTP due to pressure, her very thought-out reaction to Ron and Lavender being together, and such...

Harry is ruled by his emotions and follows his instincts 

You realize you just described Ron too, pal? Ron’s role in the Trio is the Heart. Harry’s the Body, since everything revolves around him, Hermione’s the Brain, Ron is the Heart. That’s how they work.

She's enthusiastic/cheerful 

......... cheerful?

Hermione?

Cheerful?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA(...)HAWHAWHAWHONHONHONHONHONHAHAHAHAHA(...)HAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAhahahaha... haaaa...

Hermione may be enthusiastic about knowledge, but she’s not cheerful. She’s not the one who makes the jokes, she’s not the one who has a snarky comment on everything, she’s not the one who makes Harry laugh, she’s not the one who laughs at Harry’s jokes. That’s Ron’s job.

RON is the cheerful one. Sorry pal, better reread the books.

he is more introverted and bitter 

Pro tip: this can also describe Hermione to a degree. Though Hermione isn’t exactly an introvert, she’s more of a socially awkward extrovert. She’s not reading quietly in a corner and demurely asking “oh please don’t talk to me, I just want to read :(” she’s more like “I READ THAT BOOK ABOUT [social injustice] AND IT’S CLEAR TO ME NOW THAT [social injustice] IS UNACCEPTABLE, DO YOU HAVE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT [social injustice], I’M GONNA RAISE FUNDS TO PROMOTE AWARENESS AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ON THIS SUBJECT WILL YOU JOIN ME, WHY WON’T YOU JOIN ME, COME BACK WE’RE NOT FINISHED WITH THIS-”

... or, I could also... show you.

From your own dear and esteemed “Harmony Bible” that is Order of the Phoenix. *snort* “Harmony Bible”... oh my god, the delusion, the delusion...

“It’s lessons with Snape that are making it worse,” said Harry flatly. “I’m  getting  sick  of  my  scar  hurting,  and  I’m  getting  bored  walking  down  that  corridor  every  night.”  He  rubbed  his  forehead  angrily.  “I  just wish the door would open, I’m sick of standing staring at it —”

“That’s  not  funny,”  said  Hermione  sharply.  “Dumbledore  doesn’t  want  you  to  have  dreams  about  that  corridor  at  all,  or  he  wouldn’t  have asked Snape to teach you Occlumency. You’re just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.”

“I  am  working!”  said  Harry,  nettled.  “You  try  it  sometime,  Snape  trying to get inside your head, it’s not a bundle of laughs, you know!”

1. Example of Hermione not appreciating Harry’s humour

2. Example of Harry not liking Hermione’s “pushing him to do better”

Oooh, surprise! It’s not just Ron and Hermione that do the silent treatment to each other, Harry does it too! What a turn of events!

Hermione  nodded,  apparently  still  lost  in  thought.  Then,  quite  abruptly, she said, “But you shouldn’t have seen this at all, Harry.”

“What?” he said, taken aback.

“You’re supposed to be learning how to close your mind to this sort of thing,” said Hermione, suddenly stern.

“I know I am,” said Harry. “But —”

“Well,  I  think  we  should  just  try  and  forget  what  you  saw,”  said  Hermione firmly. “And you ought to put in a bit more effort on your Occlumency from now on.”

Harry was so angry with her that he did not talk to her for the rest of  the  day,  which  proved  to  be  another  bad  one.

Ah, lying, avoiding the subject, refusing to consider her opinion... how harmonious. *gigglesnort*

“But why haven’t you got Occlumency lessons anymore?” said Hermione, frowning.

“I’ve told you,” Harry muttered. “Snape reckons I can carry on by myself now I’ve got the basics...”

“So  you’ve  stopped  having  funny  dreams?”  said  Hermione  skeptically.

“Pretty much,” said Harry, not looking at her.

“Well, I don’t think Snape should stop until you’re absolutely sure you  can  control  them!”  said  Hermione  indignantly.  “Harry,  I  think  you should go back to him and ask —”

“No,” said Harry forcefully. “Just drop it, Hermione, okay?”

Hmmm, funny how Harry acts more like a teenager trying to sneak out of bed on Mama Ron and Hermione’s watch rather than as “Hermione’s perfect flawless soulmate uwu”!

He  had  ended  up  saying  to  them  truthfully  that  Sirius  wanted  Harry  to  resume  Occlumency  lessons.  He  had  been  regretting  this  ever since; Hermione would not let the subject drop and kept reverting to it when Harry least expected it.

“You can’t tell me you’ve stopped having funny dreams,” Hermione said now, “because Ron told me last night you were muttering in your sleep again...”

Harry  threw  Ron  a  furious  look.  Ron  had  the  grace  to  look  ashamed of himself.

Yes, she toooootally brings out “the best” of him... the best of all he’s learned at the Dursleys, which is avoidance, lying, deceiving... ha ha ha ha ha... oh, you guys, you’re so desperate, it’s almost cute. But then I remember that you keep bashing Ron and I stop feeling merciful.

“You are trying to block your mind, aren’t you?” said Hermione, looking beadily at Harry. “You are keeping going with your Occlumency?”

“Of course I am,” said Harry, trying to sound as though this ques-tion was insulting, but not quite meeting her eye. The truth was that he  was  so  intensely  curious  about  what  was  hidden  in  that  room  full  of dusty orbs that he was quite keen for the dreams to continue. 

Oh yes, he’s totally motivated to do better. He’s so motivated in fact he’s going to completely ignore her. And guess how that first date ends? With Sirius’ death. What a harmonious pairing.

“But Harry, you’ve just said it,” said Hermione fiercely. “Dumbledore  wanted  you  to  learn  to  shut  these  things  out  of  your  mind,  if  you’d done Occlumency properly you’d never have seen this —”

“IF   YOU   THINK   I’M   JUST   GOING   TO   ACT   LIKE   I   HAVEN’T SEEN —”

“Sirius told you there was nothing more important than you learn-ing to close your mind!”

“WELL, I EXPECT HE’D SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IF HE KNEW WHAT I’D JUST —”

And and and!! Hohohoho I’m not done!! Let me show you, I have SO MUCH to show you!!

As early as Goblet of Fire... Ah, and don’t say that this is “evil Ron’s evil influence of evilness :(” because Ron literally is harder-working than Harry in possibly every way because Ron doesn’t have the luxury of being the protagonist to promote him to, say, youngest Seeker in a century. Yeah, Ron’s not a Mary Sue like that. But I digress.

"It's Christmas, Hermione," said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire.

Hermione looked severely over at him too. "I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"

"Like what?" Harry said as he watched Joey Jenkins of the Cannons belt a Bludger toward a Ballycastle Bats Chaser.

"That egg!" Hermione hissed.

"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," Harry said.

He had put the golden egg upstairs in his trunk and hadn't opened it since the celebration party after the first task. There were still two and a half months to go until he needed to know what all the screechy wailing meant, after all.

"I just thought you'd want to take advantage of the common room being quiet," she said. "Really get to work on that egg."

"Oh I - I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now," Harry lied.

"Have you really?" said Hermione, looking impressed. "Well done!"

Harry’s insides gave a guilty squirm, but he ignored them. He still had five weeks to work out that egg clue, after all, and that was ages... whereas if he went into Hogsmeade, he might run into Hagrid, and get a chance to persuade him to come back.

... but you know what makes Harry change his mind about lying about the egg? Or rather, who?

So you may argue that oh là là, Harry feels guilty for lying to his great soulmate Hermoanie and waah isn’t it so romantic...

Even though Harry can and does acknowledge that Hermione means well… it’s not enough for him. He will lie, avoid her, and go behind her back, like a child would with their parent, and even though he may feel guilty about it, it’s not enough to deter him.

Hagrid's miserable face broke into a wide, watery smile.

"Tha's my boy. . . you show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all."

Lying to Hagrid wasn't quite like lying to anyone else. Harry went back to the castle later that afternoon with Ron and Hermione, unable to banish the image of the happy expression on Hagrid's whiskery face as he had imagined Harry winning the tournament. The incomprehensible egg weighed more heavily than ever on Harrys conscience that evening, and by the time he had got into bed, he had made up his mind - it was time to shelve his pride and see if Cedric's hint was worth anything.

And of course Half-Blood Prince, and if you try to tell me “buuutt hermoanie was ooc :((((” you can put a cactus up your rear you coward.

Welp. Not Ron, not Hermione. Hagrid.

Welcome to the world, Ha... Hagry? Harrid? Oh whatever. Here you go, Hagrid brings the best out of Harry, Harry feels more guilt at the thought of lying to Hagrid than anyone else. OTP.

She’s certainly not encouraging Harry to try new stuff. How is that supposed to help him improve? How is that supposed to make him do better?

“How are you doing that?” demanded Hermione, who was redfaced and whose hair was growing bushier and bushier in the fumes from her cauldron; her potion was still resolutely purple.

“Add a clockwise stir—”

“No, no, the book says counterclockwise!” she snapped.

Harry shrugged and continued what he was doing.

For or the rest of the week’s Potions lessons Harry continued to follow the Half-Blood Prince’s instructions wherever they deviated from Libatius Borage’s, with the result that by their fourth lesson Slughorn  was  raving  about  Harry’s  abilities,  saying  that  he  had  rarely  taught  anyone  so  talented.   Neither  Ron  nor  Hermione  was  delighted  by  this.  Although  Harry  had  offered  to  share  his  book  with both of them, Ron had more difficulty deciphering the handwriting than Harry did, and could not  keep  asking  Harry  to  read  aloud  or  it  might  look  suspicious.  Hermione,  meanwhile,  was  resolutely plowing on with what she called the “official” instructions, but becoming increasingly bad-tempered as they yielded poorer results than the Prince’s.

In fact

(dyslexic!Ron dyslexic!Ron dyslexic!Ron)

Well isn’t that fun? Harry is being the “best” at something... and Hermione doesn’t like it.

Incredibly, and to Hermione’s increasing resentment, Harry’s best subject had suddenly become Potions, thanks to the Half-Blood Prince.  

she seems

The only person who did not find these charms amusing was Hermione, who maintained a rigidly disapproving expression throughout and refused to talk at all if Harry had used the Muffliato spell on anyone in the vicinity.

to hate

Hermione's expression could not have been any smugger; she had loathed being out-performed in every Potions class. She was now decanting the mysteriously separated ingredients of her poison into ten different crystal phials. More to avoid watching this irritating sight than anything else, Harry bent over the Half-Blood Prince's book and turned a few pages with unnecessary force.

that Harry is doing great.

(Oh look. Harry is irritated at the mere sight of Hermione. Well that’s definitely a hint they should marry!!! /s)

“Are you telling me,” said Hermione, “that you're going to go back—?”

“And get the book? Yeah, I am,” said Harry forcefully. "Listen, without the Prince I'd never have won the Felix Felicis. I'd never have known how to save Ron from poisoning, I'd never have—”

“—got a reputation for Potions brilliance you don't deserve,” said Hermione nastily.

And then let’s remember Hermione still nattering about Occlumency through Deathly Hallows, or how she breaks Harry’s wand and Harry is “desiring nothing more than to get away from her”, and all that... ah but of course you won’t ever see that in all your “Harmony” analyses, because there’s no way to spin that positively... ha ha ha...

Accomplishing his mission from Dumbledore? Saving Ron’s life? Nah, Hermione is more concerned with one thing: having her top spot back.

*slow clap* Friend. Of. The. Year. Why does anyone like this character again? Selfish brat.

he reminds her that there are more important things than books and cleverness 

You have again stolen Ron’s qualities to pretend they’re Harry’s/Hermione’s.

And here they come... the receipts... all the receipts...

This happens right during the Firebolt fight. It’s still Ron who cares for Hermione, even though he’s angry with her, while Harry is like “oh ok but gotta finish Snape’s essay tho”. Priorities.

“How’s she doing it?” Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books. 

“Doing what?”

“Getting to all her classes!” Ron said. “I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday’s lesson, but Hermione can’t’ve been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she’s never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she’s never missed one of them either!”

Harry didn’t have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione’s impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape’s essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood. - Prisoner of Azkaban

It’s Ron who understands that Hermione is driving herself mad. Ron, not Harry. Bye, can’t hear you over the canon facts.

“I don’t believe it!” Hermione wailed. “Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!”

“You know what, Hermione?” said Ron, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow. “I reckon you’re cracking up. You’re trying to do too much.”

“No, I’m not!” said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag. “I just made a mistake, that’s all! I’d better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry... I’ll see you in Divination!” - Prisoner of Azkaban

Later on...

Hermione looked down at her hardly touched plate of food, then put her knife and fork down upon it and pushed it away from her.

"Oh c'mon, 'Er-my-knee," said Ron, accidentally spraying Harry with bits of Yorkshire pudding. "Oops - sorry, 'Arry -" He swallowed. "You won't get them sick leave by starving yourself!"

"Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor."

And she refused to eat another bite.

[…]

"Treacle tart, Hermione!" said Ron, deliberately wafting its smell toward her. "Spotted dick, look! Chocolate gateau!"

But Hermione gave him a look so reminiscent of Professor McGonagall that he gave up. - Goblet of Fire, chapter 12

Dinner was a subdued affair that night. Harry and Ron did not talk much, but ate with gusto, having studied hard all day. Hermione, on the other hand, kept putting down her knife and fork and diving under the table for her bag, from which she would seize a book to check some fact or figure. Ron was just telling her that she ought to eat a decent meal or she would not sleep that night, when her fork slid from her limp fingers and landed with a loud tinkle on her plate. - Order of the Phoenix, chapter 31

Hmm, now it looks to me that Harry is mostly oblivious to Hermione and it’s Ron who’s taking care of her. But hey, “hArMoAnY” I guess!

Ron's humour gets on Hermione's nerves 

Fake news, it’s actually Harry’s humour that Hermione doesn’t like.

Really, just read this essay, written by someone who actually read the books without cherry-picking them, it should show you how blatanly wrong you are.

her cleverness does the same to him. 

*deep breath*

WHY YOU ALWAYS LYIIIIIIN, WHY THE FUCK YOU LYIIIIIIN, OH MY GOD STOP FUCKIN LYING

Again, a comprehensive list of BOOK QUOTES because I’ve dedicated too much time to proving you wrong: https://www.quora.com/How-many-times-has-Ron-Weasley-supported-Hermione-and-told-her-how-amazing-and-talented-she-is/answer/Issy-Dodds

Anyway Anon...

Your ‘Harmony’ is built on a pile of lies, blatant Ron Weasley erasure and a creepy fetishistic obsession with making a teenage girl look like she’s the ideal life partner for a guy who blatantly does NOT want her to be his life partner. Yall have issues.

[caecilius-est-pater]

Really now, anti's? Did the meaning change or something because I'm very sure anti means anti-pedo shipping, anti-incest shipping.

To quote that one meme: well yes, but actually no. Antis are to “let’s stop pedophilia in fandom!” as TERFs are to “let’s support women’s rights!” - sounds good in theory, but in practice ineffectual and mostly just an excuse to bully people. I’m going to choose to be optimistic and take this as a good faith question from someone who genuinely doesn’t know, so I’m going to explain why.

The ideology sounds great at the surface level, like hell yeah, let’s get rid of pedo shit! Who wouldn’t agree with that? But once you go past the absolute shallowest surface level and say, OK, now what steps do we take to accomplish that? then you start to hit snags. Legally, the only stuff that’s banned is images/videos/etc of real life children being abused. Things like ship art or explicit fics of underage fictional characters are perfectly fine. Therefore, legally, anyone making that content is not breaking any rules.

If you say, well, I don’t agree with that, I want more things to be banned, then you have to come up with new rules of what should and shouldn’t be allowed. Who gets to decide that? Is there a committee? How are committee members chosen? How do you account for biases in the committee, such as race or age or gender? Once the committee has come to a decision about the new rules, how do you enforce them? What do you do about people or groups who refuse to follow the new rules? How do you spread the news to all of fandom that there are new rules in the first place?

And what about the rules themselves? How do you define “pedo content” beyond the legal definition of featuring real children? Maybe you say, that’s easy, let’s just go with all sexual content featuring people under 18. OK, cool, you’ve now made it illegal for minors to talk about their own experiences. Minors have sex, minors fantasize about sex, minors masturbate, minors experience rape and abuse, and now you’ve just put a gag order on all those millions of people. I don’t know about you, but I think letting people draw/write fictional characters having sex (even gross, weird sex) is the lesser of two evils compared to hurting millions of real, living children.

And anyway, how do you define “sexual content” in the first place? Is it OK if there’s no graphic detail? Is masturbation OK? What about sexual fantasies? How about making out? At which base do you draw the line between “acceptable expression of sexuality” and “pedophilia”? Or is any expression of sexuality not OK? Kissing? Holding hands?

At this point you’re probably saying, gee tumblr user caecilius-est-pater, that sounds both untenable (how are we going to get all of the internet to agree to unite under One Committee To Determine the Rules?) and like an insane unending rabbit hole! Nobody could ever do that! Yep. For better or for worse, we as a bunch of randos on the internet just do not have the power to change the broad planet-wide rules of what does and does not count as pedophilia.

You can probably see how this is a problem for the anti movement, which is all about enforcing those new, stricter rules. The ones that don’t exist and realistically can’t exist. How do you enforce nonexistent rules? The answer antis have landed on is to just make them up, every man for themselves. As you can probably imagine, this... doesn’t work too well, to put it lightly.

Some people think it’s OK to write about CSA as long as the author actually experienced it, other people think it’s never OK and even real life CSA survivors are pedophiles if they write about it. Some people think aging up teenage characters is OK, other people think if they’re underage in canon then depicting them in sexual situations at any age counts as pedophilia. Some people think sexual depictions of characters who look young (art styles with big eyes, short characters, characters with high voices, etc) is pedophilia, even if the characters are canonically adults. Etc ad infinitum.

Which brings us to the two things I said antis are: ineffectual and and a front for bullying. It should be obvious how the movement is ineffectual - you’re never going to get anywhere with removing bad people from your community if nobody can agree what a bad person actually is.

The bullying comes in because it’s very hard to get people to bully someone, but very easy to get people to join a witch hunt. “Let’s all harass and doxx this person because they’re a jerk” isn’t gonna get me very far, but “Let’s all harass and doxx this person because they’re a pedophile” is going to bring out a mob with torches and pitchforks if I can convince everyone I’m telling the truth. And by the antis’ mutable definition of pedophilia that can include anything from teenagers kissing to consenting adults who knew each other as kids, I’ve got a lot of tools in my arsenal to convince people.

And the insidious part is that nobody can defend you without immediately opening themselves up to the same accusations, because if you're being called out as a pedophile for supporting a ship with a height difference, anyone who says, “hey, I don’t think that’s pedophilia” is now also supporting ships with a height difference, ergo supporting pedophilia. (And if anyone is thinking “you’re making all these strawman examples up, nobody actually believes that”, I envy your blissful ignorance but let me assure you, I am not.)

And that kind of situation leads to an atmosphere where everyone is terrified of doing anything wrong or they’ll be the next one viciously attacked, and the only way to keep good social standing is by continously attacking other people whether you agree with the extreme ideology or not, and that’s how you get bullying, harassment campaigns, and anti groups that have become genuine, legitimate cults. I’ve lost the links but there are some truly chilling twitter threads about that if you’re interested.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, whether it was a case of the proverbial road to hell being paved with good intentions or whether the movement was co-opted by people who didn’t actually care about stopping pedophilia and really just wanted an excuse to cyberbully people, the movement has evolved to a point where it’s mainly a harassment campaign with only the thinnest veneer of actually trying to prevent pedophilia. Nobody is out here running charity drives to donate to help abused children or making their own safe spaces where people can view art and fic without worrying about encountering triggering content - in fact, antis have been offered multiple sites to use as replacements for AO3 where they can set whatever TOS they want and have always refused. The only thing most antis do to combat pedophilia in fandom is callouts and harassment.

Not to mention the irony in the fact that so many of the people targeted are, in fact, minors. In their quest to avoid people potentially getting hurt by fictional content, they’re doing real, tangible hurt to actual, living people, including kids.

So that’s how we got here. Being anti-pedo and being an anti are not the same thing, and if you see a reference to the latter, it means a member of a specific pro-censorship movement focused on hurting (mainly young, marginalized) people as “activism”.

[bewitching-elizabeth-olsen]

Press: Elizabeth Olsen's Marvelous Journey From Mary-Kate and Ashley's Little Sis to Emmy Nominee

Nominated for her first Emmy for Disney+’s WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen has stepped out of her famous sisters’ massive shadow to become a force to be reckoned with in the MCU and Hollywood.

E! Online: Given their diminutive stature, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen sure do cast a massive shadow. But it’s one Elizabeth Olsen has stepped out of, becoming a force to be reckoned with as an actress and an Avenger.

Elizabeth, 32, is nominated for her first Emmy for her work on Disney+’s beloved WandaVision and it was her bewitching performance as the grief-stricken Wanda Maximoff—or Scarlett Witch if you’re into that sort of thing—that helped land the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first TV series a whopping 23 nominations. Not bad for a character some fans had initially written off as ancillary in the MCU.

Then again, defying expectations is something Elizabeth has been doing her entire life—literally. By the time she was born in 1989, her older sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley, now 35, were already household names, thanks to their shared role as Michelle Tanner on the hit ABC sitcom Full House.

The twins quickly parlayed their sitcom success into an impressive empire, starring in TV shows and movies under their own production company, as well as launching their own product and fashion lines, magazine and toys. They were running a billion-dollar company by the time they turned 20.

And Elizabeth was always there, whether on-screen or off. She first appeared in 1994’s How the West Was Fun when she was just 4 years old and then popped up in several of The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley video series—perhaps most memorably, Mary-Kate and Ashley singing “B-U-T-T Out” sang to little Lizzie when she tried to accompany them on one of their investigations.

But appearing in her older sisters’ projects was Elizabeth’s version of daycare, not the real start of her acting career.

“The one thing that people say that annoys me is, ‘It’s her first time working since doing her sisters’ videos,'” Elizabeth explained to Nylon in 2011. “When I was younger, my brother and I were both in the videos because there are four kids in my family, so after school my parents would take us to the set so we’d all be at the same place. So while I was on set [Mary-Kate and Ashley] would be like, ‘Hey Lizzie, do you want to be in this, since you’re already here? They’d be like, ‘Can we put gum in your hair?’ And I’d be like, ‘OK.’ So it always bothers me when people are like, ‘Why did you decide to start acting after your short acting stint when you were five?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“The weird thing is that everyone’s family was a part of this industry,” Elizabeth told Nylon. “Everyone is always like, ‘What have you learned from your sisters?’ But it didn’t really have to do with my sisters at all. Like, my best friend’s father [Rick Baker] is a makeup-artist with seven Oscars! Another one of my friends, her family created Days of Our Lives.”

While she was attending school, Elizabeth also did musical theater and was enrolled in acting and singing lessons. Occasionally, she went on auditions, but she almost quit acting at the age of 10 after going out for Spy Kids and being chastised for not reading the script ahead of time. Her father, David Olsen, asked her to write a pros and cons list before making her final decision.

“What’s really cool about my parents is that they’ve always been the same way with every person in our family,” she said. “If you change your idea of what you want to do it doesn’t matter as long as you give it your all. If you actually care about something, then you should try to be the best version of yourself in that situation.”

Spoiler alert: She chose to continue acting, even though she had no romantic notions about the career path she was embarking on.

“It was always very clear that acting was a job,” Elizabeth said. “I never had this twinkly fantasy of people taking photographs of me. It was a job and work and there are different ways of drawing attention to yourself that you don’t want.”

And even at a young age, Elizabeth was aware of the word every celebrity’s offspring and relative hates: Nepotism.

“During that time, I thought, ‘I don’t want to be associated with [Mary-Kate and Ashley],’ for some reason,” she admitted to Glamour UK in April, revealing she almost used her first and middle name as a stage name to distance herself.

“I guess I understood what nepotism was like inherently as a 10-year-old,” she explained. “I don’t know if I knew the word, but there is some sort of association of not earning something that I think bothered me at a very young age. It had to do with my own insecurities, but I was 10. So I don’t know how much I processed, but I did think, ‘I’m going to be Elizabeth Chase when I become an actress.'”

After attending New York University (NYU)’s Tisch School of the Arts, during which she took classes at Atlantic Theater Company, Elizabeth went on to secure several understudy roles in off-Broadway and Broadway productions, admitting to Nylon that she went through “a phase when I first got into college where I was thinking if I don’t get a manager or agent, I’ll ask the girls [Mary-Kate and Ashley] to help me. I was OK with that idea, but I never needed it.”

And she didn’t, ultimately securing an agent on her own in 2009 (though she did get her New York real estate license, just in case).

But it wasn’t until the 2011 Sundance Film Festival that the world truly discovered the third Olsen sister, thanks to her breakout performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene as a woman who escapes a terrifying cult. Critics quickly crowned Elizabeth their new darling, Hollywood had its latest ingenue and the media dubbed her an overnight success.

“My dad is so funny, when all the Sundance reviews were coming out and they were like, ‘It Girl of the festival!’ ‘Came out of nowhere!’ ‘And she’s an Olsen sister!'” Elizabeth recalled to Nylon at the time, “My dad would be like, ‘Don’t they know you’ve been doing this your whole life?! These people should be writing that you have been working on this forever!'”

Those people began making up for lost time as Elizabeth earned nominations from the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards—with many believing she deserved an Oscar nod—and racked up roles in acclaimed indies such as Kill Your Darlings and Ingrid Goes West, as well as blockbusters like Godzilla, and, yes, The Avengers, making her debut in 2015’s Age of Ultron.

Despite joining the most successful film franchise of all time, Elizabeth managed to maintain a low-profile—she secretly married her longtime love, Robbie Arnett, earlier this year, breaking the news herself in June—something she learned how to do from her notoriously private and elusive sisters.

“There are always ways you can be private—my sisters are intimately private and I respect that,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in 2018. “They showed me that you can be private, but also accessible to journalists, for those reasons. It’s helpful that I learnt my value system from them.”

And that’s not the only valuable career lesson she’s learned from Mary-Kate and Ashley.

In January, when asked on the show Off Camera with Sam Jones about a mantra or rule that she learned from her family that still holds true in her life today, Elizabeth responded, “Something my sisters always say, which might have come from my father at one point…it’s that ‘No’ is a full sentence.'”

“I really liked that, especially as a woman,” she continued. “You can just say, ‘No.’ And I just really like that in all aspects of life.”

Just consider it her superpower.

WandaVision is streaming on Disney+.

Press: Elizabeth Olsen’s Marvelous Journey From Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Little Sis to Emmy Nominee was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

[a-forgotten-spirit]

Love Isn’t An Illusion (6)

Pairing: Todoroki x Bakugou, Todoroki x Reader x Bakugou, VERY SLOW BUILD

Summary: Your final exam was a bit harder then everyone elses

Words: +-7200 (Next few a quite long sowwy)

Warnings:  Anxiety, fear of failure, feeling like everyone is against you, unfair battle, near crying, anger, panic attack, insomnia, overworking, wanting to prove yourself, swearing, battle sequences, description of a panic attack, soft Todoroki, Todoroki helping through a panic attack, stress, bad parenting, collapsing, Midnight’s being used on you, hospitals, mentions of not eating, soft Bakugou, mentions of sexuality

Tagged:  @kittycatspervertedheart​ @lemorrite​ @gwendlynn​ @marleps​ @thicctati2​ @saitamastamaticsoup​ @succulent-momma​ @aurorahoneybuns​ @imjusttireddudes​ @misconceptualised​ @ochabby​ @katsukisuwus​ @gayverlinq​ @star-witchs-blog​ @fallbb123

A/N:  I wrote this for the fans. I do not own My Hero academia or the characters, I don’t own most of the plot for this story, I had watched the show and re-written the dialogue and plot as if the reader was the main character. Everything is centred around the reader. Please comment, makes me happy. Ask if you wish to be tagged. I’m going to make a patreon for AU’s and extra little bits and pieces, give me your thoughts!

Masterlist

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

____________________________________________________________

Chapter 6

At the new information, I was receiving I stopped and put my hand up sighing out my anxiety then nodded slowly licking my lips “Excuse me” I asked slowly and stepped forward “Um everyone else gets a pair and one Pro. I get no pair and ten Pros” I was livid, I was losing my shit left right and centre. “Oh yeah” I nodded “Super fair” I had trained but ten Pros with ten different quirks and fighting styles. 

“Y/N,” Aizawa said slowly and I waited for what he was to say “You are by far the strongest in your class, your quirk can be used in any situation. Your weakness is the amount, if we are all to fight you then we can see how you are truly travelling” he explained. My hands were gripped at my sides. There was no way I was going to pass. “You have one rule” he began and I laughed my eyes still downcast. “You must show your true self to at least one teacher at all times” he explained. 

I was now just standing there nodding as I licked my lips and then sighed out, again trying to understand this information “So basically I’m failing before I even take the test” pursing my lips I blinked harshly trying to hold back my tears. I wasn’t going to pass and I knew they had noticed my change in attitude. 

“No” Midnight began and I looked down. “We are testing you, you are so strong” the teachers hadn’t thought of what would happen if I failed did they. I shook my head and grit my teeth. How could I beat ten pro heroes not to mention All Might himself? 

My peers were silent as I stood there seething in anger. What was I supposed to do? I couldn’t fight ten Pros. I was so confident about this and now I was about to burst into tears and just tear myself apart right here. All the sleepless nights, all the coffee and panic attacks, all the studying and running my body into the ground to then have an impossible task thrown at me. 

I shook my head slowly and then whispered out “Let’s just get this over with” I had to watch every single second of everyone's fights. I had to learn everything. I wasn’t going down without a fight. We walked in and I moved to the front sitting down in front of the TV my legs to my chest. I couldn’t even blink. My heart was about to combust. I felt faint. I was glad they saw potential but not ten Pro heroes potential. My objective was to escape. I was about to cry. 

The teachers were talking about how we could run away, I didn’t have a choice. The teachers also wore bracelets to add half their weight, it would slow them down but with ten Pros it wouldn’t help. The first fight was on Kirishima and Sato against Cementoss. They went for direct, a bad decision but my eyes widened as they broke through the walls of cement. They had limits while Cementoss doesn’t, Cementoss was so fast and had no limit. I would have to cage him quickly and somewhere not near cement. A cage should do the trick but they took quite a bit of brainpower. It would have to be done, I could hear conversations behind me but this was far more important. I had to pass and I had that stupid rule I had to follow. I held my legs tighter, Cementoss was long-distance and had no limit. I had to remember that. The fight was over within a few minutes. 

Then was Tokoyami and Tsu, ectoplasm had cloned. If he was in an illusion could he still use that? I couldn't even find out if I wanted to before I fought him. I continued to watch as people walked in and out. How many clones could he make, could he see through them? What was his limit? There were just so many to fight, this looked impossible. I watched as Tokoyami destroyed them, so they looked easy to destroy. I would have to find the original quickly. I knew how to control clones but were they the same as my own. My eyes widened as I saw him make a giant one of himself, how could I go around that. How could I win with a power like this? Ectoplasm also had a lot of power with close combat and distance. I had to bit that. I was shaking, my fingers digging into my legs as I leaned forward watching the next fight. 

Iida and Ojiro, Powerloader could dig underground and hide. I would have to find a way to stop him. Though the boys won fairly quickly, speed was their key. Even though Powerloader is quick underground he wasn’t too fast on land plus he needed machines for his quirk to work. I could suspend him in the air and he would be useless. My speed was good but if he made it underground I wouldn’t have much of a chance. I would have to get him out of his little machine. 

Then came Todoroki and Yaoyarozu against Aizawa. He was my biggest issue. He needed to be taken out immediately when I fought him, he could erase my quirk and I would be useless. I could rely on my physical abilities but it would still be not enough. Within seconds Todoroki was suspended and spiked objects placed beneath him with his partner now running for the exit. Aizawa also had his scarf, I had to worry about. They would come to me with everything they got. I had to think fast and hard, I wouldn’t be able to stop. His quirk stopped when he blinked, if I got caught I’d have another chance. Eraserhead was swinging through the air like it was nothing, what area would I be put in. Todoroki was still in the air as Yaoyarozu ran up to him but Erasurehead was on his way. They were yelling at each other trying to work together in the middle of the exam? Not the best time but still there nonetheless. The light then blinded Aizawa making him have to regain his sight then Aizawa was off again. Sure his quirk had lessened but it was still a lot we had to deal with. An ice wall and then Aizawa was blocked. I was only focused on Aizawa for this fight. I had to figure this out, how could I beat him? Yaoyorozu threw another scarf at him but when heated returned to its original shape, a metal. Clever but not something I could do. They won, though I couldn’t win with their strategy.

I gripped my legs tighter if that was possible at this point. I was ignoring everything and everyone around me. People were talking to their partners figuring out strategies but all I could do was think. That’s all my quirk was, thoughts projected into the world. I breathed out trying to calm myself as I closed my eyes. Ten Pros, one me. I had to think faster than ever, my brain would be having ten different thoughts at the one time. I had to win, I had to show everyone I was better. 

No. 13 was just sucking, if I put someone in front of her she would have to close, she may not be a hero today for this exercise but she would never intentionally hurt someone. I found that out when her pair competed against her. The second Uraraka got to close she stopped her quirk, still a hero at heart. I smirked, they were all still heroes at heart. 

I was still sitting as I heard Iida and Yaoyarozu walked in talking to Midoriya and Tsu. Nezu was up, I didn’t know his quirk. Then the area began to collapse around Mina and Kaminari. I was watching so closely as I heard Yaoyorozu talk and I sighed silently. He was smarter than everyone and could think faster than I could attack. Everyone had to be taken out quickly. The pair lost and I put my head in my legs to try and calm down. How in the hell could I fight someone so much smarter than me, I had to think faster then he could. 

Koda and Jirou, all sound quirks. I watched them as they ran through the woods. The camera added Mic who was unimpressed with having to wait and within a second he yelled, voice loud and barreling through the woods. My eyes widened, I could create something sound cancelling, all my illusions could be it was the fact I’d still hear him. A box may be, just place all ten teachers inboxes. Another quirk that was going to have to be ended quickly though he had to breathe, right? Or could he breathe through his quirk? I was at a loss of what to do. He made her ears bleed, his voice made her ears bleed. I was in disbelief, he wasn’t caring. The ground began to rumble beneath him and then Present Mic was covered in bugs, ok so he didn’t like bugs. Good to know. 

I knew Snipe well, his fighting style and thought process. He was fast and knew where everyone was though he struggled when we fought close combat and when I made clones. It’s going to be a lot to think about all at once but this is something I had to do. I could win, with each match I was getting more excited but nervous. 

Midnight was strong if her quirk reached me I would just fall asleep, it came from her skin, I could have to cover her in something but I had heard it worked better on guys than girls. But what if said girl also didn’t just like guys. I was screwed, I would have to keep her covered. Not too hard but still another thought I had to make, something seemingly impossible. Midnight also had her whip, I had to get her immobilized quickly and keep her there. I didn’t know how far her scent could go. Immobilization was my best bet.

Finally All Might, the top hero. Everyone knew him, I mean how could you not, he was legendary. The number one hero to this day, both Bakugou and Midoriya were versing him but I had to do it alone with other Pros helping him. Bakugou was ignoring Midoriya all together, he was mad. If he was mad about being paired with Midoriya I couldn’t imagine the anger that I gotta do it myself. They weren’t working together. With the swing of the hand, a whole road was taken out by All Might. I had to go up against that, All Might in villain form. What could I do with something like this at his disposal? Bakugou was moving too quickly but when he was pushed into the ground I stood up quickly leaning over the bars to watch more closely. Two of the strongest people in my class were getting beat. Bakugou was just walking toward All Might not a care in the world, he was so strong and confident. Bakugou had been punched and I grimaced looking away before my breathing began to pick up, I knew my peers were watching my semi meltdown. My eyes were darting around the screen as I bit my lip in anger. Bakugou looked so angry and beat as Midoriya punched him out of the way from another hit. Midoriya was carrying Bakugou with him but my eyes were darting everywhere. I was confident but now my heart only raced in fear. My whole body was shaking as I watched them. Another hit from Bakugou, more hits but Midoriya had one of his gauntlets. The hit was massive and explosive I looked around but All Might was up within a few seconds. How in the hell did he get back up, I couldn’t face him with other Pros. He was so strong I could hold him down? Place him in a box? Control him? Fear tactic? God what would work. I was biting my fingers in fear as I tried to figure out how to win. Bakugou was just kicked away then Midoriya was thrown into him. They were at his mercy. I couldn’t beat him in physical strength but I could lock him away, it would take a lot of energy but I think I could do it. Midoriya was hurtling towards the exit, I had to make it to my exit. All Might was faster even with his bracelets he was faster. Locking him away would be my best bet, my only chance at winning. I was going to win, I was going to work my body and mind harder than ever. Bakugou had such strong attacks, how could he do this. How could he use such power and not fall, how could he do this? I was at a loss, Bakugou had so much strength in his body, so much raw power and stamina. The boys were then running to the exit. They won, they both fucking won. I had to verse that, if they could win, I could win, right? 

When they won my legs collapsed as I fell to the ground, All Might would take a half an hour break then it was my go. I was shaking on the ground my breathing harsh and loud Recovery Girl ran to me. 

“Y/N breathe” I couldn’t breathe, how could I even think to breathe going up against them. “Y/N you need to breathe” I was going to fail, I was never going to become a hero. They gave an impossible mission, something I couldn’t do. I had nothing, how could I win this. “Y/N” she was yelling in my ear as I sucked in the air but never out. 

My head was grabbed and I looked up to see Todoroki on his knees and looking into my eyes “Y/N you need to breathe” he breathed slowly and I tried to copy and then just looked down as I breathed out then in Oxygen flooding my cells. 

“I’m going to fail” I looked around, Todoroki and recovery girl were the only ones here, then others I’m sure going to see Miodoriya. “I can’t win, my quirk can’t beat ten Pros” I whimpered, Todoroki now kneeling in front of my crouched figure. 

“I believe in you” he whispered and I rose my head, why was he always around when I was a mess. “You can win, your quirk is amazing, you’ve been training and studying for so long. Don’t let a little stress take away your future” he was right. I nodded as I sighed out licking my lips. 

“You’ve been watching them, I know you know all their weaknesses” I nodded agreeing “You just need to put them in use. You can do it” I wasn’t sure if she was allowed to encourage me but I appreciate it nonetheless. 

I stood up shakily and nodded sternly, I had been a mess these last few weeks. I knew how to win, everyone began to walk in as I narrowed my eyes. I had to be confident, smirking I turned to Recovery Girl “Make sure to have the volume up” she nodded. Minutes ago I was having a panic attack but I took a page from Bakugou, turning anger in power. I had to use everything every ounce of anger I had. I squeezed Todorokis’ hand as I passed and then I was walking off out the door and down the halls. 

I waited for my time, I was in the field, they didn’t think it was fair if my area had already been destroyed. Cementoss was useless here, Midnight wouldn’t use her quirk near the others, Erasurehead would try and go for me immediately I had to hide from him. All Might had to be restrained, No. 13 placed in front of someone, Cementoss. Present Mic facing Eraserhead, couldn’t use his quirk. Ectoplasm is occupied with my clones as well as Snipe. I could make more than thirty, I could make a hundred. It was all thoughts. Power loader suspended or occupied and Nezu had to be kept quiet, he is too smart he’d talk to the others. 

Once I was in the field the time started, I thought of how my mother reacted when I won the sports festival, her ignoring me for a week then yelling at me every day. I thought about Bakugou not seeing me as a threat, my mother making my life a living hell. I was walking through the forest, they wouldn’t move until they could see me I knew that. Anger was running through me, I was angry I came first in class, I was angry I was the only one doing my test. I was angry at my father for always taking my mothers' side, I was angry at my peers for not standing up for me. I was angry that after this I had to go home, I was angry I was in this god damned position. I was angry at it all. I was so mad. I spread my arms out and then there were about fifty of me. I began to run, I had to run. I had to be faster than everyone. I had to think faster, move faster. 

Coming into the field the teachers were stunned. I was hidden from Eraserhead, all of the clones moved in unison, one thought, I couldn’t see Power Loader, underground but he wouldn’t put the teachers in danger. I jumped half of the clones following I was running on an illusion, three thoughts. Midnight couldn’t use her quirk around the teachers, she had to stay with them but she also had her whip which was caught and pulling her through the field. 

Then the clones came, I was fast fighting them quickly and easily. Ten thoughts. I was looking everywhere. Though a group of myself was running forward straight at them. “You all have weaknesses” I called out smirking making sure every illusion was talking and having the same expression. 

“She is trying to keep us together” Nezu called out and they began to try and run in different directions. My hands came down to the ground sending waves through the Earth and walls around them. 

“Do you think you can run that easily” I was running again. I had to keep thinking. Faster, faster. With a swivel of my hands, Nezu had his mouth covered and was suspended in the air. All Might tried to help him, occupied. 

“I can’t see the original, she’s hidden” Eraserhead called out and then he moved to try to eliminate my copies, going physical then turning back to permeable. My clones landing hits he could not deflect. Snipe was shooting but the bullets went through the clones. 

“I’m not stupid” I screamed and grabbed No. 13 as my original self, her suit opened I moved to create the illusion of Cemetoss falling into her grasp, she screamed loud and deafening. She stopped and panicked as I placed the real one in front of her stopping the illusion. They were pressed to each other covered in mist. 

“You may be pretending to be villains but you are still Heroes at heart, isn’t that right” I smirked, Nezu was trying to escape so holding my hand tighter he was constricted with All Might trying to release the mist. I had to stay near the other teachers. Mic and All Might couldn’t use their quirks plus All Might was busy. “Real villains wouldn’t care who they hurt” I could see All Might looking around as I ran at him full force sending a weighted foot into his rib as he went flying. Nezu was left alone as I glared at the creature then running off going invisible to him, this was a lot. Maybe thirty thoughts at once. There was so much going on. I fell to the ground “Hello Mic” I whispered as he screamed. I covered my ears, they said I had to let one teacher see. I let Cementos see my body fall to the ground holding my ears.

“She’s down” and I was quickly up as another shout came bringing my body to the ground. I couldn’t hear. The illusions faulted shaking and stopping for a moment. No this is not how I would lose, my hands dug into the ground to somehow bring my thoughts back, my ears hurt so much. 

Bugs, he doesn’t like bugs. My eyes turned and then there was an army of bugs crawling up his body. Physical and going beneath his clothing, they felt real and the scream was real too. Covering my ears again as he tried to get them off him. “It’s just an illusion isn’t it” I whispered and stood to shake my head. Mic was still screaming and I turned the male towards Ectoplasm who in turn went flying to the other side of the field his clones dissipating into the air “You all care far too much” I was so mad, my head hurt, my body hurt. Forty thoughts. “You all thought I couldn’t win” I grit out and let Eraserhead see me for only a moment, not long enough to erase my quirk, I just needed a second. “You have to be faster” I whispered and he sent out his little scarf. All Might was running back over now. I simply distorted and he was crashing into Aizawa as I flipped back onto an illusion. “Power Loader is useless if you’re all in the same place, he wouldn’t risk hurting any of you” I yelled and then Power Loader was coming out of the ground. An illusion of children, his biggest fear. Not being able to save them “Watch out Power Loader, wouldn’t want them to get hurt” then they were falling and he was digging into the ground. Forty-five thoughts. 

I could feel Nezu trying to escape, he was persistent but I had a strong grip on him. Cementoss and No. 13 were doing the same I gripped them tighter. “You think you can win that easily” All Might yelled across the field and I jumped into the sky far above them landing in a piece of physical illusion. I was stationed above them my eyes moving wild as I thought of everything. Snipe and Ectoplasm on the other side fighting clones and trying to work together.  

“It pissed me off that I was the only one to do a test like this” I could see Cementoss, No. 13, Power Loader and Midnight struggling, Midnight was being held back by vines encircling her. I had forgotten about her but still kept the illusion going. Mic was still trying to get bugs off him still, trying desperately as they crawled over his body. Eraserhead looking around frantically. Nezu still cocooned. All Might was looking around as well, back to back with Eraserhead. Ectoplasm fighting a ton of clones with Snipe. “Bakugou should have got this” I called out and I was falling from the sky my legs covered in weights I came down landing a hard hit on All Mights' shoulders sending him to the ground “Todoroki as well, even Midoriya” I grit out moving to flip out of the scarfs way waving around the place. I was on the opposite side of the exit path. If I ran I could get there. I was flown back by a gust of wind, All Might. I landed harshly pain flaring in my back, landing on the ground and my illusions fell. 

“Gotcha” I tried to use them but I looked to Eraserhead who was staring straight at me the rest of the teachers following. No this is not how I would lose. I didn’t know how much time I had left. I was running full speed angry and losing my mind. 

“This was an impossible task” I screamed flipping over Cementoss and landing to make No. 13 fall to the floor. I threw myself back my hand landing on the ground as I flipped myself back a few times. 

“I can’t predict anything” Nezu yelled as he came to move out of the way as I jumped around. Making sure to always have a teacher between me and another. Then the clones came. I was moving quickly, he had to blink. He had never held it this long since the USJ. I was running out of breath and stamina. 

“You can’t predict instinct” I answered and one of the ectoplasm clones hit Mic as I dropped to the ground bending my back and then rolling the side. I was looking around frantically. I tried to push illusions as I wrapped my legs around Snipe sending myself back my hand grabbing the ground and sending him into Ectoplasm. “I never said I didn’t have physical abilities” I had to go faster. 

I felt my quirk return, he blinked. I was livid, every single angered thought I had ever had came rushing back. I screamed loud and over the field, as I slammed my hands down on the ground, there were too many thoughts. I continued to scream, the mist taking over my body. I was not going to lose, I was the best. I had to hide from Eraserhead but he would have to put in eyedrops before his next use. 

My body covered in the mist as I sent out shock waves sending the Pros back. More clones fighting, I was thinking so fast, copies moving insanely fast as I screamed “I will not lose to you” I felt my hair go over my eyes. “I refuse to lose” I screamed and then I was up and running. Running through them with speed unknown to my body. My legs ached and my head was pounding. I jumped high and sent my hand in a downward motion spiked illusions embedding into the ground “You all thought you could beat the next Number one hero, You’re wrong” I was so angry, throwing my arms out they were all collected and left in the air. So many thoughts “Now” They could all see me, eyes wide and dangling in the air as illusions ran across the field, there were so many “Watch me win” I grit my teeth and I was running off. I was on overload, my thoughts coming like the speed of light, Eraserhead couldn’t erase my quirk if he couldn’t see me. I placed the mist over his eyes. All these thoughts were my ultimate move, a move that no one could beat. I ran to the exit and with my heart racing and body shaking, I let Eraserhead see me as I walked past the threshold and turned back to them all, mist covering my body as they all stared in amazement.

I had won, I let the illusions fall and I swayed, I won, all the power faded and I felt my body ache as I looked to the teachers, I won, I fucking won. My mind was moving so quickly and my eyes rolled back as I fell forward my body giving way. I was falling quickly and then I hit the ground twitching, I had thought too much. Thoughts were running so fast I couldn’t keep up, my body couldn’t keep up with the commands. I felt my hand twitch.

 “Y/N” I was hoisted in someones’ arms. My eyes fell open but it was blurry and then we were running at least I think we were I could feel my body lightly bouncing, my arm hung over the side of whoever was holding me. “Y/N” I heard again but I couldn’t move my body. I hurt so much, was I hurting, no. I wasn’t in pain my brain was just moving too quickly for my body to follow. 

“Bring her here” I heard. I could still hear, my vision blurred but there were voices. So many voices. “Midnight, knock her out” and within seconds my vision went black and my mind went blank. The sweet bliss of sleep. 

-

I could hear people talking, my head hurt. I couldn’t open my eyes “Is she going to be ok” that sounded like Aizawa. “She’s been out for days” he added. Had I been out for that long? I did feel rested but my head hurt. Thoughts, they came rushing back and I replayed my fight. I had collapsed after it. 

“Her brain went into overload and shut down everything but her normal bodily functions. I don’t know how long she’ll be out but from the scans, she’s fine” A doctor maybe, I heard a thank you and then there was movement. 

“I knew we shouldn’t have pushed her that far” Midnight? Her voice was soft as I felt someone touch my hand the hand twitching lightly at the contact from another. “She fought so hard” I did, I put my all into it. 

“She did” Snipes’ country sounding voice rang through soft and mellow “When Aizawa erased her quirk she didn’t run, she fought. I couldn’t fight against the nine other teachers alone and yet she did with no fear” he sounded proud. Be proud of me, I won. I beat you all, I tried so hard to be the best. 

“Her parents refused to come to see her” Aizawa whispered and I heard a sigh come from my other ear. Aizawa on my right, Midnight holding my hand and I think Snipe was in front of me it was hard to gauge without my eyes open. “She’s trying so hard to be the top hero with all this stress. We shouldn’t have done it” I could hear the regret. Don’t regret facing me, I wanted it. I was scared and I panicked but during that fight. I felt alive, I felt like I could take on the world and I did, I won. 

“Why would they refuse” I felt a thumb rubbing over my hand slowly, pittily. Don’t pity me, my parents never cared there was no need to be sad. “I can’t imagine not seeing my child if they were like this” I could hear her sniffle. 

“They said they were busy” Aizawa answered and Midnights' soft hand gripped my hand tighter, I tried to hold it back. Nothing happened. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't, I couldn’t even move my lip or finger. I felt my hand twitch a few times but other than that I was still. “I don’t know how she’s coping with that and then school” 

“She’s not” was that Bakugou. His voice was deep and I heard the stomps coming into the room. Was Bakugou coming to see me? My heart fluttered and I was glad I wasn’t connected to the heart monitor. 

“No she isn’t” If my breathing could catch it would have, it was Todoroki. Had they come to see me? Who else had come to see me over the days, was my class worried about me? Did I do good in their eyes?

“She wasn’t sleeping, she came to Yaoyarozu’s study session of a day then came to Kirishima and my own of night and proceeded to go home and study. We asked her when she had last eaten and she couldn’t remember” Bakugou was outing me to the teachers wasn’t he, though his voice didn’t hold the same vigour it usually did. He sounded, sad.

“Her parents yell at her” Todoroki, why were all my secrets being placed out in front of me like it was nothing. “She got calls at study sessions and it was just her being yelled at. Her mother made her wait for hours after school to pick her up. I sat with her” was this important information that needed to be out in the open. 

“And yet she still gets up every day, trains and comes to school on time, takes notes and can get the best grades” I could hear the smile from Aizawa as he laughed lightly and continued “She deserves to be a hero”

My eyes were blinded to the light flooding my eyes, I was crying, again. I cried so much, so many emotions. At the sound of a shaky breath everyone looked to me I was moved into a sitting position as my hands came to my face and I cried. I felt Midnight rub my back as I sobbed into my hands. 

“I just want to be a hero” I whimpered and when my head rose I shook my head “I just want people to be proud of me” I wanted to save people, for someone to look at me and tell me I was the reason they were pursuing their goals. I wanted to show the world that even though I have a deceiving quirk I can still be a hero. 

“I’m proud of you” I looked up tears streaming down my face as I saw Todoroki nod encouragingly “The whole class is. We were all screaming for you during your match” I listened so intently. I always feared the class didn’t like me. “I’m sure Bakugou is proud of you,” said blonde was elbowed in the ribs. I smiled, wobbly and uneven but smiled.

“Bastard” he grits out and leaned to one side and his head fell to a tilt and huffed crossing his arms “Yeah whatever” he whispered and turned way. I would take what I could get from the angry blonde. 

“All the teachers are proud of you” My eyes left my peers and I looked to Aizawa who nodded happily a smile on his features. “I can promise you every single teacher and Pro in Japan is proud of you. Your video has been sent to agencies so they can see what they have to fight for. Something we do during the finals and we would've passed you if you just evaded getting captured but you won fair and square” I was crying again and I felt my shoulders shake as I nodded.

“Thank you” I whispered and looked up at all the people “Thank you all” I nodded and sighed out. Moving my legs as I felt the blood rush down. “I hope I can improve and be the best hero you’ve ever seen” I nodded and all the teachers did too. 

I spoke for a while more and the teachers were off “Thanks for saying I deserved to fight them all” Bakugou huffed out and I smiled moving my hand slowly to pat his. He had moved to the side of my bed.

“I meant it” his eyes widened “I’m not kidding, I didn’t think I was going to win. I mean who would but I used your anger tactic and just lit the fuse” I nodded and his face was blank “You were a major factor to my victory” my eyes moved to Todoroki “You too if you didn’t help me calm down. I don't think I would have survived until the end” I nodded. “For that, I thank you both” I nodded. 

They both sat with me and Bakugou pulled out food and I couldn’t help the laugh that rang through my hospital room. “Shut up” he yelled and placed the bowl on the hospital table pushing it over my bed. 

“Thank you Bakugou” Todoroki moved to sit on the bed as I moved to cross my legs. We continued to talk and we spoke about my fight. Partway through the conversation “You two came together” I asked moving forward to eat some rice. 

They turned to each other and I watched Todoroki smile “we were both worried about you, we’ve come for the last few days. Aizawa stayed here for a night and everyone in the class has come at least once” he explained and I nodded smiling. 

“I wasn’t worried” Bakugou yelled and I could hear a few pops from his palm, Todoroki and Bakugou began to bicker. Bakugou mostly yelling and Todoroki being his calm and charming self. 

“You were the one who asked to stay after visiting hours because you were worried” the blonde flushed and moved his hands around. They looked like a couple if I was honest. My heart did the fluttering thing. I wouldn’t mind dating them. 

I paused my mouth open rice hanging in my mouth. What did I just think, no? I thought to all our encounters, I always got happy and my heart sped up. Do I have a crush on not only one boy but two? Two boys who seemed to hate each other. I looked back to them as they argued. They acted like a couple, they did come together. Were they a thing? A secret thing? I had noticed them eating lunch a few times, walking the same way. Sharing notes. Were they together? Oh no, did I have a crush on two gay men? Or were they Bi, Pan, Demi?

“Are you ok Y/N” shaking my head I turned to Todoroki as a hand was placed against my forehead. I flushed “You’re heating up, do I need to get a doctor” his voice was so plain but I had to admit I found it appealing. It was nice and soft to the ear. Something I could easily listen too forever. 

“No” I stuttered and shook my head quickly Bakugou raising an eyebrow “I’m fine, I am” I continued and waved my arms around before digging back into the food “The food is good, did you make it,” I asked trying to change the topic. 

A cross of his arms and a firm nod he smirked “Of course I made it and it’s good. You liked the spice from the noodles I gave you so I made something similar” I smiled, of course, he was also good at cooking, why wouldn’t he be he was good at everything else. 

“You’re cooking is quite good. I like your cold soba” Todoroki nodded and Bakugou rolled his eyes. Bakugou makes food for Todoroki, I didn’t think they hung out but from the look of it, it wasn’t a one-time thing. 

“The best soba is hot and spicy not your weird ice cold shit” Bakugou shook his head and then began to retell a recipe with such great detail I followed every single word as we went along, I felt like I was making it. Then pointed out all the negatives of cold soba and positives of hot and spicy soba. 

“I still like cold soba” Todoroki shrugged and the blonde huffed turning away. Did they meet up, study or something? Were they friends. I knew Bakugou didn’t like Midoriya and Todoroki and Midoriya are friends so by relation he wouldn’t like Todoroki but it seemed that was false. 

“You can like it but it’s still not the best” Bakugou was really in tune with his food, very passionate. I could cook pretty well but from the food he had given me, his technique and skills were well above my own. 

“I beg to differ” Todoroki simply stated and then they were talking about something else. Todoroki was about the only person who seemed to be able to hold a normal conversation with the explosive teen. 

“I’m glad you two are getting along” they both looked confused as they turned to my body, holding the bowl in one of my hands as the other holding the chopsticks. They looked to each other and then looked back “I mean from the festival, you two seem to be getting along” I smiled and nodded to the two who had blank stares and confused eyes “I’m happy” 

They didn’t question it, a few more hours in the hospital, I was allowed out. Help from the boys I was asked to contact a parent to come and pick me up. I held the phone to my ear as I heard the phone call. 

“What do you want?” My mother picked up and I could hear she was in the car, the phone clicking over to the new device. I didn’t know how to respond, I didn’t want a fight but I was very lethargic and tired. 

“The doctor asked me to call a parent to pick me up from the hospital” I answered and the line went silent. I pulled the phone away from the screen flashing allowing me to know the conversation was still going, I was surprised she hadn’t hung up. I mean she didn’t want to come to visit me from the information I was provided. 

“You got yourself into that mess you can get yourself out” and with that, the line dropped. I licked my lips and turned to the doctor who in turn looked to the ground in pity. I locked my phone and placed it in the jumper Bakugou let me borrow. 

“Um, I’ll get my way home. I’m ok” I nodded and the doctor left. I looked down and sighed. I saw the boys looking me over as I fluffed the pillow anxiously. “Thanks for the jumper Bakugou. I’ll wash it before giving it back” 

“It’s fine, I don’t wear them often. I get too hot” I nodded in understanding, his quirk was sweat based so I couldn’t blame him for getting overheated. I liked it though, it was a lot better than just wearing my hero costume. It was long and much larger than I, fluffy as well. A gauntlet on the back, he said it was a gift from his dad. “We’ll take you home” the words were mumbled but I caught them. 

“I’m just fine. My mother is just busy, you know mum’s on a mission. Always out” I breathed out slowly my voice falling “And about” who was I kidding. She didn’t care, she couldn’t care less about me. 

“No, we will take you back. I was dropping off Bakugou anyway. My father has someone to drive me around. If I drop you off they get paid more it’s a win-win” Todoroki was good at convincing people efficiently and easily. Natural. 

We were out the door and loading into the car. It was fancy, a limo. His dad was the number two hero and strived to show everyone just how important he was. I guess it was a perk but I knew he wasn’t the nicest man ever. I simply sat back and let my mind rest. It was almost an hours drive. 

“Don’t you live in a rich area?” Bakugou asked when he told the driver the address, coming to sit back down with Todoroki and I. Crossing my legs on the seat I nodded. 

“Kinda, both my parents work in big businesses, they think it's a personality trait” I answered and got a stern nod like he knew what I was talking about. Maybe his parents were the same, maybe not. Maybe he was just good at people and no one knew.

We talked in the car and as I was stepping out I went to take the jumper off, I was home now. I could give it back having only worn it for just over an hour. “Keep it, it’s fine. Dad will be happy someones’ getting use out of it” he was so nice. I thanked them both again as Todoroki helped me get my bags I had brought to school. I waved “I’ll see you both tomorrow” and with that, they were off. 

_______________________________________________________________

Chapter 7

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Rewatched Madoka episode 1, and what a fucking phenomenal first episode. 

There’s just so much intrigue and mystery in virtually every element already that I know from having seen the show gets mad payoff in really interesting ways, and of course when you already know what the entire product looks like you get to go back to these earlier episodes and just revel in how fucking tight the storytelling is. Like we already know Homura is a time traveller at this point, the fact that the show opens on an ending while simultaneously not doing that is impressive enough and already gives hints at Homura’s backstory, but everything about her dialogue and body language, plus how Madoka, Hitomi and Sayaka talk about her, there’s just already so much here that makes it clear what’s up but it’s also presented with this subtle nuance to where you don’t like, know that you know. It’s so fucking good.

And actually speaking about the presentation, this show’s already so fucking beautiful. The character artwork isn’t always quite there, hence Meguca, but the character designs, world design, backgrounds, witch labyrinths, colours, general direction, and all of the animation itself, it just looks stunning. It’s such a visually striking show and I’m so happy about that.

Also like, I’m pro-Hitomi, I think she did nothing wrong and I’m against the idea that she’s a bitch, but one thing I didn’t even really think about loads until watching this episode today is just exactly how nice she is. Cause like, it’s super nice of her to give up her chance with Kyousuke for Sayaka, that much is obvious and that’s a really mature decision for her to make. But while watching her here I sorta just, paid attention to how busy Hitomi is with all the rich girl things her family wants her to do. She has to leave Madoka and Sayaka early with that “look at the time”, literally girl can’t even do what she wants because of how much her family wants her to do instead. Ergo, asking Kyousuke out is actually something she would’ve done for herself, that’s a decision she gets to make for her own happiness. And I feel like most people would jump straight at that opportunity without a second thought, which honestly is fair enough. But Hitomi, without even actually knowing Sayaka’s feelings for him, still offered her the chance to go first. So she’s nice enough to have paid enough attention to Sayaka’s feelings without even needing to be told, and then nice enough to sacrifice her own chance with the dude just to give Sayaka a shot. She didn’t have to do that. Simply going for him and being like “oh I didn’t know you were into him” would suffice, Sayaka never told her after all, but Hitomi, absolute fucking queen, is way too nice to do that.

And then going back to that narrative tightness just because this episode gives me the opportunity to talk about it, the ways this show can bring its characters to one setting is so natural and fluid. I’m gonna plagiarise @leafbladie here, except not really since I’m giving him credit, in fact here’s this analysis he wrote which you should read about the very scene I’ll talk about where he goes in way more depth and it’s super good. But I mean the tl;dr is that every character that ends up in the mall during the latter half of the episode has reason to be there. Sayaka wanted to go there to buy Kyousuke a CD, and Madoka, being her best friend, accompanied her. Already super standard, totally fair, and believable reason to have them be there, that also hints at Sayaka’s crush on Kyousuke as well as his inability to actually purchase them himself. Meanwhile Kyubey’s there, why? Because as we’ll learn later down the line, he’s after magical girls, and Madoka’s got a really high potential so he wants her badly. Homura is there then because she wants to prevent Kyubey from contracting Madoka, and particularly at this early point in the timeline she’d have an easy time tracking him down. And then last is Mami, who’s here to hunt witches, which we know she does uh, a lot. For every “how” and “why” in the show, we’ve got an answer, it’s so fucking narratively cohesive and it’s just beautiful to watch. Seriously go read @leafbladie‘s thing it goes in way more depth and extrapolates a lot about the characters in the process, it’s super good.

Anyway yeah that’s some miscellaneous ramblings on the first episode of Madoka. I’m so happy to be watching this again, it’s been far too long.

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

SPOILER ALERTS FOR THE RECENT BNHA CHAPTERS!!

I know I'll be alright, but I'm not tonight I'll be lying awake counting all the mistakes I've made Replaying fights I know I'll be alright, but I'm not tonight I lost a friend, I lost a friend

Amy and Twice and Toga:

Man... why does manga gotta do me like that...? *sigh* That was heartbreaking... 

And Amy... she was friends with Twice. And is still friends with Toga. She liked both of them even if they were villains, even if they are the ‘enemies’, even if they attacked her classmates. However, you can’t blame her for that, after all, her own fellow witches have all at least tried to kill each other (including her) several times so she doesn’t hold that against them. It all began during the Summer Training arc into the Kamino Ward Arc.

She first met Toga when the latter snuck up and attacked her, however, Amy was impressed by her speed and sneakiness and the girls instantly just started talking and complimenting each other like two girls at the mall liking each other’s outfits but WITHOUT dissing each other behind each other’s backs. Amy and Toga practically forgot that they were supposed to be fighting each other and instead just talked with Toga outright telling Amy about her new crush, and Amy picked up that she had fallen for Midoriya. As Amy told her nervously that she liked him too, Toga didn’t seem angered or jealous, but rather, ecstatic as she said ‘they had SO much in common!’ much to Amy’s delight.

However, Amy WAS aware that Toga wasn’t stable but she didn’t seem bothered by it since Amy herself isn’t that stable either. Although she was startled when the rest of the villains kidnapped Bakugo and Amy transmutated herself along into the warp in an an attempt to rescue him but ended up getting captured herself.

Toga was excited to see Amy again, and the girls greeted each other way too casually despite everything. Amy then met Twice, who she happily talked to and chatted with, much to Bakugo and Shigaraki’s great annoyance. Bakugo because they were villains and Shigaraki because they were supposed to be intimidating them, but Amy blissfully ignored them both and during her capture she spent most of her time having ‘girl talk’ with Toga while also getting to know Twice. Twice was fond of Amy’s spirited personality as she made him laugh with several of her jokes and the jabs she made at Shigaraki. Amy, although well aware that they were villains, grew very fond of Toga and Twice, and this was despite the fact that the villains put a shock collar around her neck so she didn’t use her magic.

Nonetheless, when Amy requested that the three of them take a selfie together, Toga was all too happy to get Amy’s phone (that they confiscated) as Twice snapped the picture of all three of them together (with Amy still tied up). Their friendship was also solidified with Toga fondly calling Amy ‘Ames’ like everyone tends to call her, and Amy informally calling Toga ‘Himiko-chan’ and Twice by ‘Jin-san’.

However, when Shigaraki made the offer to Bakugo and Amy to join the villains, Amy was much more hesitant because while she liked Toga and Twice, she thought about Shinsou and her other classmates and didn’t want to make a choice. Thankfully, Bakugo reacted by attacking Twice once the two of them were freed and ignored Amy’s pleas for him to not act so impulsively, but in the nick of time, the pro-heroes showed up to rescue them. Toga and Twice didn’t seem bothered by the fact that Amy was going to be rescued as Toga instead just cheerfully told Amy that they should hang out the next time they meet, something Amy happily agrees to, at least until she’s caught in the crossfire of All For One’s entrance and the debris knocks her out and is later rescued by Madison.

Afterwards, a bummed Amy would think about Toga and Twice as she found herself missing them when her classmates weren’t entertaining her the way Toga and Twice did. And when Amy quit UA and isolated herself in her mansion, she would often glance at the selfie that they took together and fondly smile when she thought of the two villains. Amy knew that they came from two different worlds, but felt that she could understand Twice and Toga more than she could her classmates due to coming from a similar street. 

Her friendship with the two of them allowed Amy to see more of the flaws of hero society, and seeing heroes beginning to imprison some villains began to bother Amy. Thinking about Twice and Toga and their pasts as she used her divination to find them, allowed her to see into their minds. As she got a glimpse of their pasts, she was overwhelmed with sympathy  With Twice being essentially left behind by hero society and never received the help he needed and Toga being forced to fit in with what was ‘normal’ in society. Amy realized that she was treated the same way, with society pressuring her to act like a hero and the fact that she, like Twice, was abandoned by the heroes as well.

As she stayed in her mansion contemplating on whether to remain with her witch sisters or go back to her hero friends, she would also wonder and hope that Toga and Twice were okay. 

Later, as Amy returned from her isolation just in time to help her classmates during the War arc, she later froze in horror upon sensing Twice’s death and Toga’s loss. Causing the girl to suffer a breakdown as she realized that one of her friends had died. When everything was over, Amy came to the realization that Cordelia was right, that hero society doesn’t deserve her because of how they treated and discarded people like Toga and Twice even though they needed help. Disgusted, Amy only helps for her classmates’ sake but lost her faith in the pro-heroes officially, even going so far as to call Hawks a ‘murderer’ when she found out that he betrayed, manipulated and led to Twice’s death. She would have even attacked him in the aftermath had it not been for Bakugo stopping her. Afterwards, the young witch retreated back to her mansion to grieve her fallen friend. 

Twice’s death ended up playing a role in Amy’s second relapse after recovering, as in the original timeline Amy did not see what happened beyond the Culture Festival arc as Michael was rising to power and it enabled her to return to Robichaux before she could intern with Endeavor. Amy and Mallory saved the world by redeeming Michael, and it allowed Amy to give the pro-heroes another chance, but unfortunately in the new timeline when they once again disappointed her she began to rethink her decision when her friend is killed.

Amy: A good man died... he was a troubled man and so he did bad things and killed people, I won’t deny that... but he was still good. Yet he was cast out... neglected by society... and labeled a villain when no one else but the other ‘villains’ accepted him. That’s not his fault... after all... what the hell did the heroes do for him? Nothing... so many could have done so much... yet nobody did nothing... but it’s my own fault... I made a mistake... I believed that the heroes could improve, I gave them another chance to start caring about the misfits, and not merely select who’s worthy of being rescued... but that was my mistake... giving you liars that chance... I should have let Michael kill every fucking last one of you...  

Amy cared so much about Twice that she hatefully muttered to herself that she almost regretted not letting Michael destroy the world because the pro-heroes still did nothing to help people like her, Toga or Twice. However, as Amy thinks of Shinsou and the friends she’s made such as Bakugo, Kaminari, Todoroki, Ashido, Iida and Ashlen (who she had yet to meet in person at the time) she then thinks about her earlier sentiment and realizes that while she lost a friend, she still has some who genuinely care about her and Amy holds back from going on another rampage for the sake of the people she loves. Although Amy had lost her faith in hero society, she still cared enough about her other friends to be on their side and hopefully make sure that they don’t end up like the current pro-heroes.

In the modern day, Amy still isn’t over it and mourns Twice whenever she thinks about him and only hopes that Toga will be okay on this path she’s on. Likewise, Amy grew to dislike Hawks for what he did to Twice, claiming that she will never forgive him for it. Most of her friends disapprove of the fact that she’s friends with her and sometimes scold her for even being kind to the villains, but an irritable Amy almost always tells them that they can’t understand how she feels and they can’t understand how SHE understood them. 

Toga might be mentally unstable, but Amy gets defensive when this is pointed out because she’s no different from her and can understand the other girl because she knows what it’s like to be told that she’s ‘not normal’. Likewise, Amy doesn’t hesitate to tell them that she can understand why Twice lost his sanity because the so-called heroes did nothing to help him like they did nothing to help her when she needed it the most.

It’s another sensitive subject for her because it further makes her think about her past traumas and how hero society failed to protect and save her too. And she cared for Twice and still cares for Toga, and she isn’t looking forward the heroes having another conflict with them because despite everything, Toga is Amy’s friend and Twice was also Amy’s friend. And in return, Toga still consider Amy her friend and Twice still thought of Amy as his friend even in his last moments.

Twice’s picture would then go in Amy’s scrapbook full of the people she loved and lost in her life.

[sharkboyandlavaboy]

38 Kiribaku Fanfics

I decided I should gather all of my fics in one spot, and I mayaswell share it with you all! Enjoy!!

❤️ = favorite

________________________________________________________

❤️ Houdini

Rating: T

Words: 14,142

Kirishima gets stuck in a closet with Bakugou for the sake of a stupid game, and it’s fine, it’s only seven minutes, what’s the worst that could happen

or how Bakugou finds some sort of excuse to make the time go faster and Kirishima realizes he doesn’t really want to get out of here

________________________________________________________

❤️ 2am Knows All Secrets

Rating: T

Words: 59,033

… It wasn’t that he was annoyed. Okay, maybe he was a little annoyed, but that was just the lack of sleep talking. Because a certain explosive punk thought it was a good idea to test the flammability of his sheets at 2 in the morning. Every single morning. (In which Bakugou’s quirk wakes Kirishima up, and Kirishima gets way too invested in his bro’s well-being.)

________________________________________________________

❤️ ❤️  The Fool’s Rush

Rating: T

Words: 40,714

Settling down with each other is naturally what comes after being dorm neighbors for years. It’s time to navigate through adulthood together, to live the daily grind of being pro-heroes, to learn more than they thought they’d like to know about each other, about themselves.

Or how Bakugou and Kirishima find a way to call each other “home” and struggle with the realization that once all their bills are on auto-pay, the only thing they still have to deal with is this pit full of feelings they have ignored for too long.

________________________________________________________

❤️ ❤️  Slow it Down (Go Easy On Me)

Rating: T

Words: 26,930

When a confrontation with a villain throws Bakugou through time, he’s forced to face a future he never imagined, and maybe something he can’t leave behind.

________________________________________________________

❤️  But I’ve Got an Angry Heart

Rating: T

Words: 40,126

Bakugou Katsuki is not going to jeopardize his future a second time, and that means staying away from anyone who gets too close. Kirishima Eijirou has never learned how not to be close to someone. Of course, they end up as next-door neighbors.

________________________________________________________

❤️ ❤️  The Lost Continent

Rating: E

Words: 97,887

Kirishima Eijirou is from a noble family of pirate exterminators. Bakugou Katsuki is rising as one of the most fearsome pirates on the seas.

When a trade goes awry, Kirishima finds himself cast among Bakugou’s crew, having to learn the ropes and the sea as they chase after All Might’s infamous hidden treasure.

________________________________________________________

❤️  Broomsticks

Rating: M

Words: 47,452

Local witch Bakugo Katsuki doesn’t have many friends and he’d like to keep it that way but the shop that he gets all his ingredients from has a new delivery boy that might just work his way into Bakugo’s fiery little heart.

________________________________________________________

❤️ Stargazer

Rating: T

Words: 3,346

Wherein every single Christmas, Kirishima and Bakugou queue up for hours to buy food. Bakugou hates it (not really).

________________________________________________________

❤️ Downhill

Rating: T

Words: 5,546

Bakugou sleeping in the common areas like it’s no big deal seems to give everyone else permission to be just as bizarre, and little by little Kirishima starts learning things about his classmates he never knew.

________________________________________________________

❤️  Quote, Love, Unquote

Rating: T

Words: 135,781

When Kirishima Eijirou’s band hits the big time, he’s not prepared for his newfound fame. He’s even less prepared to meet the actor he’s been crushing on for years, or to start dating him as a publicity stunt. The closer Kirishima gets to Bakugou Katsuki, the more he realizes he’s in over his head. But it’s hard to stop, once his heart is in it.

________________________________________________________

Melt My Heart

Rating: E

Words: 37,409

Bakugou is an elite figure skating determined to be the best in the world and, one day at the rink, Kirishima, a new hockey player, stumbles into his life (literally). No matter how hard Bakugou shakes, Kirishima just won’t let go, and after a while he stops trying; it takes him much longer to admit he needs him by his side. Their relationship strengthens as the competitive skating season goes on and slowly but steadily develops into something more than just friendship.

________________________________________________________

Hit Me

Rating: E

Words: 34,851

Around 6-8 months after being kidnapped and rescued from the League of Villians, Katsuki Bakugou is having a rough time deciphering whether his anger is normal, or if it’s caused by the trauma he experienced. It’s a good thing the campus counselor deals with his sass, and it’s a good thing he has Kirishima around to take his angry outbursts in stride. When Katsuki and Kirishima start to spar with each other to help him blow off some steam, feelings happen, and we all know Katsuki isn’t good at feelings. – Rated explicit for Bakugou’s dirty mouth and eventual smut.

________________________________________________________

Broken Bridges

Rating: E

Words: 68,766

After years of working abroad, Kirishima moves back to Japan to open his own agency, and things seem to be going well. There’s plenty of work, he gains popularity quickly, and it’s a relief to be back in his home country. Everything is perfect, until he runs into Bakugou on the scene of a villain attack.

________________________________________________________

The Unexpected Benefits of Broken Heating

Rating: E

Words: 8,581

When Bakugou’s heating decides to kindly fuck up on a freezing cold day in mid October, he has every reason to be pissed off but a particularly attractive, red headed repairman might make things a little better.

________________________________________________________

No Decision

Rating: E

Words: 32,722

Kirishima Eijirou’s a newly contracted fighter for Japan’s major Mixed Martial Arts promotion and Bakugou Katsuki’s its volatile middleweight champion. But when the two men meet in a chance encounter and discover Kirishima can’t be knocked out by the champ’s famous elite strikes, it sparks a rivalry and fascination between them that can’t be settled in the cage.

________________________________________________________

You Have a New Admirer!

Rating: E

Words: 12,792

When Katsuki is convinced (read: bribed) to try out a friend’s glitchy dating app, he’s expecting the whole experience to be a resounding failure. Instead he ends up meeting Kirishima, who turns out to be the perfect combination of sexy, sweet, and way too freakin’ earnest, all rolled into one easy-to-fall-for package.

________________________________________________________

Tonight We’re the Sea

Rating: M

Words: 60,715

Kirishima goes to a quiet seaside town to take care of his grandmother after she has a bad fall. There he meets Bakugou Katsuki and falls in love.

________________________________________________________

Overworked & Underfucked

Rating: E

Words: 11,907

“It’s just not manly to leave your bro like this, after knowing he can’t do anything about it, you know?” Kirishima blabbers some kind of bullshit excuse, and the worst part is that it looks like he’s totally convinced of it. “It’s just a— handjob,” he stumbles over the word, the weight of what he’s proposing hitting him all at once, but he doesn’t stop. “—but if you’re not into it we can pretend I didn’t just say that.”

________________________________________________________

Manly man falls for manliest man (Incomplete)

Rating: E

Words: 100,929

Kirishima brings up Bakugou one day as he and Kaminari are eating together in the campus cafeteria. Super casual, like yeah-I-saw-this-guy-on-TV-once, and not I’ve-watched-literally-every-single-interview-he’s-ever-even-been-in-the-background-of-and-wouldn’t-mind-having-his-babies.

“Oh, him,” Kaminari says. “Eh, he’s popular lately, I guess. Don’t see what all the hype’s about.”

________________________________________________________

Worth A Thousand Words

Rating: T

Words: 43,012

When a rare picture of Bakugou smiling leads Class 3A to believe he is in a relationship with Utsushimi Camie, a contest arises to see who can get the most pictures of the couple together.

________________________________________________________

I Want You to Show Me

Rating: E

Words: 3,673

“I already told you, I’m not gonna break, you don’t have to go slow.”

“What if I want to, though?” Kirishima murmurs quietly. “What if I wanna take my time with you?”

Bakugou shivers.

________________________________________________________

You Need to Relax

Rating: E

Words: 62,272

Bakugou Katsuki has always been uptight. Maybe there’s a specific reason he always looks so tense? Kirishima wants to be the friend to help. Based on a little headcanon that Bakugou’s quirk hurts him

________________________________________________________

Outshining the Sun

Rating: M

Words: 58,526

It’s the end of the semester, and UA has decided that class 2A needs a vacation after all they’ve been through.

Two weeks at the beach with his classmates sounds like a drag to Bakugou, but with Kirishima’s begging, he decides to take part in the trip. He didn’t realize that spending so much time with his redheaded friend would lead to him having to confront some uncomfortable truths that he tried to keep hidden, even from himself. And Kirishima is just trying to keep himself together.

________________________________________________________

Chitchat and Pencil Pushers

Rating: E

Words: 92,777

Kirishima starts a new office job and unfortunately discovers that he may just have a big crush on the worst person possible

________________________________________________________

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Rating: T

Words: 4,463

It’s not weird to share a bed with your best bro. It’s completely normal, and platonic, to get under the covers and to have a conversation in whispers even if nobody else is in the room.

________________________________________________________

Fire and the Flood

Rating: E

Words: 7,186

Kirishima’s good at massages and Bakugou’s bad at feelings (they both are).

________________________________________________________

In the Dark of the Night

Rating: E

Words: 84,611

Chanting sounded through the Colosseum. “Red Riot! Red Riot! Red Riot!”

“Sero,” Bakugou snapped at the Head of his Council, seated a few meters to his right in the Emperor’s box. “What the fuck is a Red Riot?”

Sero nodded his head to the pit and Bakugou followed his gaze, watching as another gladiator walked out of the gate and towards the center. “New gladiator prodigy. He’s only eighteen, but he hasn’t even come close to losing a fight since he started a couple months ago.” Then, Sero smirked. “I think you’re gonna like him.”

________________________________________________________

Just a Touch (Too Much)

Rating: E

Words: 3,330

Prompt from the Kink Meme: Kirishima gets oversensitive after using his quirk too much, and somebody (Bakugou) fucks him until he’s so overstimulated that he cries

________________________________________________________

Roses are Red and They Taste Like Shit

Rating: T

Words: 47,846

Katsuki was really fucking sick of the smell of flowers. Hanahaki disease

________________________________________________________

Tell Me I’m Yours

Rating: E

Words: 6,180

Bakugou was going a little crazy. He could grudgingly admit that it was at least in part his own fault; moving in with his best friend maybe hadn’t been the best idea. At first, it sounded great. The rent would be cheaper, grocery shopping and cooking for two would be way more convenient, and it would be easier for the two of them to hang out. The only thing was, Bakugou forgot to consider how the joys of moving in with his aforementioned best friend might be dampened by the fact that he was madly in love with him.

________________________________________________________

Brewed & Beards

Rating: E

Words: 30,729

Kirishima is starting his first year of college with his three best friends when he meets an impossibly hot barista with a really piss poor attitude. Unfortunately the man is all Kiri can think about. Too bad it looks like he has a girlfriend.

________________________________________________________

A Heart Swelled to Bursting

Rating: M

Words: 49,644

The summer training camp of Bakugou’s second year at UA descends upon him with all the untamed fury of- well, himself, honestly.

PACKING CHECKLIST:

✓boyfriend (need to figure out how much he’s willing to let him get away with)

✓people who claim to be his friends (deluded and in need of correction)

✓ptsd (that he absolutely doesn’t actually have)

✓a healthy dose of denial (say it five times fast and that means it’s true, right)

________________________________________________________

Idiots and Denials

Rating: M

Words: 44,642

Bakugou hates Kirishima’s teeth. He doesn’t think they’re cute at all. Really. Series of snapshots following Kirishima and Bakugou’s relationship.

________________________________________________________

Six Page Spread (Incomplete)

Rating: E

Words: 76,783

They’re 22 and Bakugou’s finally gotten control over his public image. Think more…“bad boy” and less “explosive asshole”. Kirishima is weak (though he always has been).

________________________________________________________

The Best Part is Falling

Rating: T

Words: 11,656

Bakugou’s had enough of Kirishima asking to sleep with him almost every night (“I just sleep better when I’m next to you, man!”) and going on and on about how nobody makes him happier and calling Bakugou the most handsome boy in their whole class and putting his hands all over Bakugou’s spine and waist in mundane, public situations, like that’s platonic behavior – he’s obviously in love with Bakugou, and Bakugou’s obviously in love with him, but does he realize that? Perhaps it is about time Bakugou corners himself into martyrdom and spells it out for Kirishima.

________________________________________________________

Say You Like Me

Rating: M

Words: 5,456

Five times Bakugou thinks his crush on Kirishima is unrequited, and one time he’s proven wrong.

________________________________________________________

I Even Like His Shitty Hair

Rating: M

Words: 54,255

“It works better if you take your shirt off, idiot,” Bakugou admonished, rolling his eyes.

Kirishima gulped, he bet it did. He just hoped he’d hear those words in different circumstances one day.

Kirishima has had a little crush on his best friend for a while and even though he liked Bakugou, he knew he couldn’t feel the same way so he didn’t want to ruin their friendship over it. Yet there was a sinking feeling in his stomach that told him it wasn’t manly to hide his feelings and that he would never know if he never tried. So he tries and learns that Bakugou gives back as good as he gets.

________________________________________________________

A Meme a Day

Rating: T

Words: 131,297

Kirishima’s always been happy to meet people and make new friends. Needless to say, he’s ecstatic when he’s informed that he’s finally getting assigned a roommate after a month of living alone in a dorm room. He’s more than happy to welcome his new roommate with a smile and help him out with anything he needs. He isn’t expecting, however, to meet a seriously attractive blonde with intense irises that shine with his favorite color, and who he also has trouble keeping his own eyes off of.

[bloodline-rpg]

Congratulations, Alexa! We have accepted your application for your OC Ericka Holloway (FC: Shay Mitchell). Please create a blog for your character and send us the link via ask box as soon as you can along with the song lyric you wish to use for Ericka’s bio.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name/Alias: Alexa

Age: 26

Preferred pronouns: She/her/hers

Timezone: PST

Level of activity (don’t give your activity a number value, please describe how active you will be as best as possible): School full time but I write whenever I’m not in class

CHARACTER DETAILS

Character’s Name: Ericka Holloway

Desired FC: Shay Mitchell

Character’s Age: 28

Character’s Species: Holistic Witch, now Immortal

Character’s Sexuality: Lesbian

CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY

Ericka came from a small community of Holistic witches that lived far from the human eye in the bayous of Louisiana. She was only an infant when this choice of isolation was made by the coven’s leader, a sage whose bone readings lead to a fear of a time of violence and death in the distant future. The coven moved out into the wilds and built a new life for themselves where they would be safe and could practice their magic and rituals in peace. For years, they were able to do exactly that as every single coven member put in the work and prayers to keep their little piece of the world hidden.

As a young adult, Ericka started to show ambition to join the coven’s inner circle of elders. She started going through the rites, the trials, everything required of her, but she would never see a payoff. One night on a full moon, a pack of wolves tore through their small community. They took down their homes, ripped apart their resources, killed, fed, and when the sun started to shine light on the bloody scene in the morning, the werewolves stole Ericka away as a prisoner.

They weren’t kind to her. She eventually learned that the pack was a group of wolves who were banished from their original, traditional packs for their opinions about witches, and how they were tired of being treated like disposable creatures. Ericka became a means to take out their hatred towards witches, and to turn her into what their old pack had wanted them to become: Nothing more than a servant.

Months passed and Ericka realized they were never going to let her free. She was to be their punching bag, their errand girl, their animal for as long as she might live. She had planned on escaping, but she overheard the wolves talking about a global witch hunt. It would cause her to take her chances with the wolf pack for a couple years more. Until their travels brought them a little too close to New Orleans, and a local witch coven caught wind of them.

It happened while the wolves were sleeping and Ericka was awake, leaning against a tree and fantasizing about killing as many of them as she could before she was inevitably killed herself– a scenario that she imagined almost nightly but she could never act out– when a small group of witches appeared out of nowhere, producing magic from their own bare hands, and drove the werewolves away. Frightened, Ericka tried to get away, but the witches promised her safety, as long as she promised she would hear out their leader.

It didn’t take much to convince her. The werewolves had stolen years from her life and made her feel powerless, two things that Thierry Astor claimed to be capable of remedying. Even with the risk of the ritual going terribly wrong, Ericka felt empowered by the coven. It was a small community like her old one, but they had abilities that the Holistic witches could never dream of. So she accepted the invitation to become Immortal with her undying loyalty for the coven that saved her from years of torture and a life that a witch should never have to lead. With that loyalty, she followed Thierry to Carden Manor without a second thought… though when she heard of the wolf pack that would be taking up residence there, a hatred that was never in her heart growing up started taking seed in her life.

CHARACTER PERSONALITY

Ericka is riding a high of finally being in control of her own life, an ability granted to her by the decision to become Immortal. She’s curious about her powers and terrified of her newfound weaknesses. The fear is live within her, that she could still lose all that she’s gained after her life with the rogue wolves. She wants to learn more about what she is so she can put away that fear for good. Her ultimate goal is to no longer have a reason to be afraid.

But riding on the back of that fear is bitterness towards the witches that look down on her and a deep seated hatred towards the wolves at Carden. Coming from a small hidden community of Holistic witches, to being a prisoner of a pack of wolves, she finds the hierarchy and the way things work at the manor appalling. She uses sarcasm and quips to express her disgust with the system. It doesn’t make sense that the person who saved her life and gave her everything is one of the most disliked figureheads at the sanctuary. It doesn’t seem right. The way the witches put their faith in the wolves doesn’t seem right. There’s much wrong with what’s going on at Carden manor, and Ericka wants to find out why.

PLOTS AND POLITICS

Learning about witch hierarchy at Carden has been a most disappointing experience. The supernatural world was more than just witches, werewolves, and the humans who hunted them. There were different kinds of witches, and most of them were revolted by Ericka’s new coven, the very one that had given her a new lease on life. It’s caused her to become bitter towards the ones who looked down on her when she’s finally become someone she can be proud of. But her true hatred lies with the werewolves. The wolves of the Devereaux pack were these supposedly infamous, highly trained soldiers, but Ericka knows better than to credit them with such an esteemed title. Wolves could never be as dedicated to serving witches as everybody keeps claiming they are. They are beasts who will all snap eventually and hide their true feelings towards witches deep within until they’re ready to strike. They’re dangerous and have no business at Carden manor.

Ericka’s goal is to learn as much as possible about her newfound abilities and weaknesses so she can ensure that the pros outlay the cons in such a way that she no longer has to feed the fear inside of her. She’s also experiencing an internal battle of what’s right and what’s wrong, seeing as she doesn’t have a whole lot to go off from. Right now, it’s simply that being a witch is right, and being a wolf is wrong. But as she watches everyone seek their own power and play their political games, she’s discovering that there’s a lot more she doesn’t approve of. She has no desire to be evil, but when everyone around her seems to have more than one face, she’s learning that evil doesn’t always come in the form of a beast.

[quietlysatan]

Can Your Friends Do This? - Watermelonsmellinfellon, AO3 (Though OP said they cross posted on FF.net too)

Link: Here!!

Rating: Mature

Favorite Quote(s): Because I love The Avatar show

"First, there are more than one dimension and more than one universe. Foolish mortals are the only ones to assume they are the only forms of intelligent life in their respective universes. This Earth we are on resides in a different universe altogether and consists of nations of people who possess an affinity with the elements. Some are born as mixes of two and use chakra to create new elemental affinities or abilities. This planet Earth parallels another planet Earth in another dimension of this universe, where there are only four large nations and each represents either fire, water, earth, or air, and with beings able to bend their own element to their advantage."

And these ones because these four are important.

1. "A lot of suicidal people didn't really want to die, they simply wanted the pain to cease so that living once again seemed worthwhile."

2. Hari was very firm on her decision. She'd always been the one rescuing people and never once realized that maybe she should have been rescued.

3. “Despite his wish to be Hokage and to be a hero, I realized that someone needed to rescue him first for that to happen. And so I took the job." 

4. "I've lost many people, and while it doesn't coincide with what others will tell you in life, it actually does get better. There aren't enough hours in the day to keep thinking about what you've lost. There are jobs to do, and people to watch over, and even your own health to consider. You won't have the time to recount every mistake you've ever made. And the pain from their distance will eventually dim and become tolerable. The only way it wouldn't get better is if you keep thinking about it all the time. People who are always depressed over the loss of loved ones are usually the very same people who think about them all the time, which ends up keeping them in their depressed states, to begin with. And then there is no progression."

A Fucking mood from Hari/Harry Potta/Potter

“I don't like exercising. I'm not meant for it."

Because Sasuke is an adorable little shit, which is, as always when it comes to him, The Best

Naruto was teaching someone Taijutsu? It was laughable at best, though he didn't actually laugh. That would ruin his image as the strong and silent loner. He couldn't afford for people to think he was nice or anything.

Because this is something important and personal to ME specifically

"This is all sweets. But they are sugar-free sweets. There are foods you can eat that will give you the energy you need without having a negative effect on your body. Bananas are a good snack. Watermelon, lettuce, leafy green veggies, they all have a lot of water in them. They fill you up quickly, can keep you hydrated, and because most are made of water, you aren't consuming fats and oils. Though do not replace every meal with these things unless you take vitamins and supplements on a daily basis. While there is nothing wrong with being vegan, a lot of vegans forget to take their supplements and vitamins. They especially need those because they keep so many important foods from their eating schedule."

Another Mood

To make it worse… she'd gotten her monthly visit from TOM. She named it TOM in memory of a certain arse who caused her a lot of pain and grief. Her Time of the Month, TOM, liked to mock her for at least five days out of every month and this month was terrible.

And last, but not least, the best thing I have read since I woke up

Potta Hari's cousin was not romantically involved with anyone, or so his sources said. Perhaps marrying someone to her would offer a better chance for an alliance between their clans?

A knock startled him from his thoughts, and he had to compose himself quickly. "Yes?"

"A letter has arrived for you, Hiashi-sama," Kosuke said from the other side of the door.

"Come."

The letter was handed over within seconds, and Kosuke was gone immediately.

When he finally got to the message however, he had to smirk in amusement. He should have known that making plans about a Seer wouldn't go as expected.

Dear Hyuga-sama,

No.

Respectfully, Potta Runa.

And this

Was Danzo literally the only bad person in this world who was bad naturally and not because he had some unfortunate upbringing, was bullied or was manipulated into being bad? 

Basically tbh 

Words & Chapter(s):  287,295 words and 20 chapters, unfinished, but worth it

Summary: Tsume Yuki's, 'Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me' prompt.

Master of Death Hari is sealed inside a genie bottle and tossed into the Veil. Only the interference of Death stops her from being enslaved. When Naruto comes into possession of the bottle and frees Hari from her prison, she gets attached and decides to help him, changing everything we know.

Score: 13, this is very amusing, and has no qualms with having humor AND seriousness whenever. Not to mention, I could honestly go back to the very beginning and read it all over again and I’d still love every moment of it in all honesty.

Pairing(s): Hatake Kakashi/Female!Harry Potter, as well as Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto, background Anko Mitarashi/Luna Lovegood

Warning(s): For all that this looks like a lot of warnings it’s just because this fic is well over 200K words, and it’s not nearly as bad as all these warnings look. There’s no major character death (Technically. A few from the HP universe passed before our MC even came into our universe. Still, only casual mentions so far)

Always a girlHarry still had to deal with all the abuse of her counterpart. The ministry betrayed her (Shocking. I know.) mentions of (CANON) past childhood abuse described three-quarters of the way through chapter three, then again in chapter four, no worries though it’s not graphic or gratuitous.

Mentions of death, and the things and ways that death may affect someone (This is a naruto universe crossover fic soooo, I don’t know what you were expecting honestly. At least it’s not as subtly/suddenly angsty as FMA fics get.), attempted murder that fails because Hari is the Mistress of Death (... Is Master not gender neutral??? I thought it was... Still, Mistress sounds cooler and more dangerous)

Mentions of porn, off-screen lemon, etc.

There IS a bit of fat-shaming from certain characters, but they eventually learn better, there are also mentions of children, and others, on diets, and also that have unhealthy eating habits and why they’re not good regardless, as well as the effects of being on a diet while also doing various exercises and rigorous training regimens, but not to worry, it slowly but surely improves.

Manipulation and grey morals, (Again shocking, I know.) which is great because my morals would go very dark very quickly if I were Hari (Because this is a crossover, and she is in Japan/The Elemental) and I’d for some dumbass reason decided to return to my original world (THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN THIS A HYPOTHETICAL WHAT-IF), but Hari doesn’t which is always amazing

World/Dimension displacement. Figured I’d add that just in case, personally I love those types of stories but you never know.

Kidnapping followed by attempted murder fails spectacularly. It is quite amusing to see for my inner sadist.

One of Hari’s family members passed away due to cancer, but it’s a small mention and there’s minimal angst because it happened years ago. The others seemed to have died in a war with the goblins which is only occasionally mentioned here and there.

Someone tries to enslave Hari as a genie. It does not work. Death seemed upset that someone thought that would work at all in the “Like, honestly, who the fuck do you even think you are???” kind of pissed

Danzo and ROOT exist. Sadly.

Also “ the lives of the many are more important than the lives of the few “ is something that seems to be a basic background of the morals of this fic. I know some find this detestable, but I would like to point out that, it’s true. It’s really fucked up, but unless that One has some very important and necessary ability, they are less important than the five-hundred and forty-two. Shitty as it seems.

There’s technically a war. If you could call the opposing sides... attempts a war. No major casualties or uber gruesome happenings though.

There are some injuries, of course, their big but not graphically described as far as I’ve seen up to the current chapter limit.

Pros: GREAT FUCKING WRITING!!! Great research and really immersive too!!!

Hari and Naruto because each others precious people, and Harry protects Naruto as best she, a civilian and witch, can.

The Japanese That Doesn’t Need To Be Written Because You’re Writing This In English And It Doesn’t Make Sense And Is Awkward isn’t present which is always a plus. 

It’s really unique and different from what is normally written in these situations (Not that there’s anything wrong with what we normally get!!!) from how a female main character reacts (Very Harry Potter-ish) and whatnot to her romance with other characters to her friendship with them, and also I love the way her relationships are with everyone! It’s just, so, refreshing for a female MC to be written like this, like getting that first bite of watermelon in the middle of summer, and jumping in the pool, or a drink of hot chocolate in the middle of a snowy night.

Not to mention! The way Hari interacts with the world around her and manages to change everything even though she wasn’t trying, and the way she still isn’t overpowered regardless for all that she can use her magic at will. UGH!!! IT’S JUST SO GOOD

Aesthetic: It’s like drinking fresh lemonade after a hard days work, like swimming in your best friends pool after you finish your homework, it’s like a warm cup of tea after a stressful day, and cuddling up to a friend or lover, like dancing to your favorite song while you’re all alone in your kitchen. It is like being alone, but not lonely, ad being with a few good friends but not ignored. It is freeing and refreshing and relaxing and exciting and new and old and so much more. It feels happy, for lack of a better word. Very, subtly, happy.

Gif Aesthetic: Oh my god yes, this is Hari

and this is what the romance in this fic reminds me of

and this somehow reminds me of several characters at once

And this one too sometimes, which is nice

and this (Except Boruto doesn’t exist obviously, I think this fic was actually started before Boruto even came into the picture actually) is what the fighting looks like

except for when it looks like this

Hari and Luna fucking everything up while everyone else watches and decides it is safest to just, not interfere with the crazy witches.

Hari, Death, and Luna/Runa planning who to fuck up protect next

Every single Rookie Nine without fail

(Scroll back up and look at how cute the slimy kitty yawns!!! She’s so cute!!!)

[ashandboneca]

Unsolicited Criticism

So a few years ago, I dealt with some criticism in my personal life over my choices. I’m a NB queer witch who is (not legally) married to two people. It was a bit of a thing, but it has ended my relationship with an extended family member. I had some other things happening in another sect of my more immediate family that I did not agree with, but I held my tongue (because it’s none of my business) which was kind of weird as well.

So I got to thinking, because I like to take things like people being assholes and turn it into a lesson that can apply to other people and other situations. There should be a way to turn something wretched into something you can learn from. It’s not about putting a positive spin on things - sometimes, things just suck and there is no turning that frown upside-down. It’s about taking the situation, removing the emotion from it, and using it as a blueprint for other, similar situations so you can have a plan for how to deal with these things that crop up in the future.

I thought it might be a good thing to talk about dealing with unsolicited criticism and opinions about your choices, your life, and your craft.

I really believe that the choices we make in this life are ours to make. I think too many people are willing to stick their noses into things they have no business being wrapped up in, and it causes more grief than it is worth. Everyone feels their opinion is valid, important, and needed. This is not always the case.

People should ask themselves these four questions before the open their mouths/type away on their keyboards:

- is it true?

- is it kind?

- is it needed?

- is it something I need to say?

Opinions or criticism should have some grain of truth to them. They should be constructive (aka kind). They should be necessary - and actually necessary, not just because you feel ‘it’s the right thing to say’, and it should be something that you feel you are required to impart to the party receiving it.

How do you know if it fulfills these simple requirements?

Firstly, and always, you need to look at where the criticism/opinion is coming from. Is it someone you trust, or whose opinion you value? Is it some random stranger? Why do you think they are saying what they are saying? Have you decided to become a drug mule or join a crime family, or did you just get your hair cut short or paint your bedroom? Most times, when these things are coming from trusted people, like family members, they are coming from a place of love. Most times. Because they are family, there is a certain expectation that their opinion carries more weight. When your old Christian aunt is telling you that you are going to hell because if your beliefs, it could be coming from a place of love. It could also be coming from a place of condescension. Maybe auntie thinks your beliefs are stupid, or silly, of that you aren’t capable of making your own decisions? The key is learning to interpret the tone of their concern, and act accordingly.

My old Catholic grandmother, gentle soul that she is, told me at 14 that I was going to hell because I would not get confirmed. It was so matter of fact, with not a lick of condescension. She merely said she would pray for me, hugged me, and we both moved on with our lives. It came from a place of love. Previous drama came from a place of condescension and foolishness, and it was rebuked.

Secondly, use your own critical thinking skills and judgement to determine if the criticism/opinion holds any merit. Sometimes people around us try to present us with situations that we may be otherwise blind to. Maybe you’re culturally appropriating something and it’s offensive to the people around you and to that group. Maybe something you present online or in person is actually super racist. Maybe your practice includes some manner of hurtful or harmful practice, and people are concerned for your wellbeing. Maybe you’re mentally ill, and off your meds, and people are concerned for you. We can’t always see things that are right in front of us, and sometimes it takes an outside observer to clue us into what we may be missing. There are valid points in being criticized - we often learn from it in a beneficial way if it is constructive and seeks to better you as a person. Hell, a large portion of my schooling was learning to take constructive criticism, which is super important as an artist who works commercially. Not everyone is going to like what you present, or agree with your own opinions.

Thirdly, you have to realize that you have every right to disagree or rebuke the criticism/opinion. If someone is disagreeing with how you are practicing, you have every right to tell them to go pound sand. Depending on the source, you should be able to decide how you want to act. It also depends on how forceful or backward the opinion is - if the person is family but is holding a bigoted and hurtful opinion, you have every right to disagree with what they are saying, and explain to them how they are incorrect. Opinions are not factual - they are not immovable, or static. They are moveable and should be ever evolving. If they then refuse to alter their opinion, and choose to continue to hold a hurtful viewpoint - for example, they’re racist, homophobic, bigoted, sizeist, etc - you can make the choice to be willing to accept that as a part of who they choose to be, or move on in life without them.

Now, I have a pretty strict policy on just cutting people out of my life. Part of that reason being I spent a large portion of my life being a doormat and letting people treat me poorly. I decided a long time ago that life was better spent with those who can respect me and love me rather than out of obligation. Life is too short for bullshit. I know I am a good person who deserves to be treated with the dignity and respect I seek to treat others with. I will not lower my standards to expect any less. Second chances are given, but if someone wounds me badly enough, no amount of 'I’m sorry’ is gonna cut it. I can always forgive, but I have the memory of an elephant and I will never forget.  (Short version: I know I’m a good person, and if you treat me like crap I will cut you.) 

How you choose to proceed is your choice. Always know that as an adult, you have the choice to have a relationship of your choosing with family or friends. Some families suck, some people have had abusive upbringings or have been kicked out by parents, and it’s not feasible to maintain a relationship. There is no obligation - no one owes anyone anything. You owe your parents nothing - the gratitude for bringing you into the world and raising you is fine, but that was a choice they made in having you. Realizing that is liberating, and can also set you up to address issues and problems that could be hurting your relationship with family. It can help to form real and lasting bonds built on mutual respect and equal footing. The same goes with friends - they are people you choose to surround yourself with. How and what relationship you choose to have with them is just that - your choice. The quote 'the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb’ comes to mind - we often build secondary families outside of our blood relations who we often have stronger bonds with because we can choose those people based on their merits and that they closely align with our own sensibilities. I have relatives that are crazy conservative, pro-life nut jobs, I have an aunt who physically and emotionally abused me as a child. I actively make the choice to disavow those people because we have no common ground to stand on - we are so vastly different there is no way to reconcile it. We are blood, but we are not family, if you get what I’m saying.

I should also point out that not every opinion should be aired. Sometimes, there are things you just need to keep to yourself. Yeah, okay, Susie’s hair does look like it was cut with a weed whacker, but telling her that will only hurt her and serves no purpose other than to be judgemental - maybe Susie likes her hair like that. Assuming you know better than Susie makes you a dick, because Susie is her own person and can do whatever she goddamn pleases with her hair. Maybe Joe’s altar looks tacky and cheap - still not your place to comment, because that’s Joe’s space and has nothing to do with you. Unless it involves the serious well being of someone or involves you directly, it may serve better to keep your opinions to yourself.

In the case of this criticism coming from an outside, anonymous source - I normally evaluate it, but often ignore it. It is hard to make personal judgements on someone without knowing who they are. If the person is actually making a really good point, even if it contrary to how I feel, I will take it under consideration and use my critical thinking to evaluate its usefulness. I try to approach all of my problems in a logical, matter-of-fact way. I often try and put myself in someone else’s shoes  - like if I was an outside observer in the situation, how would I react? If you remove the emotion from the situation, and look at the words said and the intention behind them, you can get a fairly clear sense of what you should do.

I’m not advocating cut and run - not even remotely. I am advocating personal choice, and telling you that if you are an adult, it is okay to make that choice if it is better for your wellbeing overall. Don’t keep people around out of obligation - it serves neither of you any purpose, and just builds resentment. It breeds guilt and doubt. Cut the ties, move on, and maybe someday you can get to a point of reconciliation and trust again - people grow and change as life and circumstances change.

When you are expressing your own opinions, remember those four points - is it true, kind, needed, and are you the vehicle to impart it? It makes conversations and discussions a lot more functional, that’s for sure. Anything that can make socially awkward people communicate effectively deserves a high five or self five.

[theonceoverthinker]

Season 3 Overview

Another season has come and gone. And now that the season is over and I’m all Smash Bro’d out, it’s the perfect opportuni-THREE to talk about it! XD

Season 3 was a whirlwind, but in the best way possible. Once Upon a Time really took this season to come into its own, blending the real emotions of a drama with the fantastical elements of a fairy tale. And with two seasons of developed dynamics at its back and the buildup of having all of our main characters finally on the same side though still with the same qualities that allowed for real and interesting conflict, this was shaped up to be an incredible season.

And what an incredible season it was!

Damn, it feels so sad closing the book on Season 3. Look, this is my favorite season, both critically and emotionally and rewatching it only proved that twice over for me. In terms of its final score, it got 94%, the highest of the three seasons I’ve reviewed so far. Additionally, HALF of the season scored Golden Apples, the highest honor I can bestow on an episode!

So, with all that, what more specifically did I like about it and what (if anything) went wrong? Well, let’s get into it under the cut with our Pro/Con lookback!

Pros

The Concept of Belief - Often in other seasons, belief is something that acts as a platitude and while it doesn’t bother me as much as other platitudes on the show, it wasn’t especially effective either. However, Season 3 did something different. Here, belief was made both tangible and intangible. To elaborate, it’s more than a meaningless platitude. It’s belief in something real and exuding the energy to make it happen. In Neverland, believing in each other was a strong point and that belief came through trusting others that they normally wouldn’t in pursuit of a grander cause (Saving Henry). It’s the belief that everyone wants the same thing and that there might be some strength in the others’ mindsets. This continues in the Wicked Witch Arc and it’s the reason why Regina is able to defeat Zelena with light magic. This concept is present all throughout the season and the practical terms and language that the characters use as well as the actions that follows them transforms that belief into something that can actually be used to solve problems rather than something vague that is just said because it sound right. It’s like Tiana’s dad says in the opening of “The Princess and the Frog,” wishing is only half the deal. You have to make the rest happen and by trusting each other, that’s exactly what the Nevengers did.

Villains – Season 3 had the best villains, plain and simple. I wrote an entire essay about Pan and I wanted to write one about Zelena, but to put it simply, both villains had big and hammy personalities that made them intimidating and memorable, strong connections to our main cast that allowed for them to be characters in their own right with a thematic presence, strong effects on both the plot and story, interesting motivations that lent themselves to high stakes, and satisfying defeats and “deaths.” Rebecca Mader and Robbie Kay both additionally contributed performances that positively OWNED their interpretations of The Wicked Witch of the West and Peter Pan. They were intimidating, but at the same time, had their own bits of charm that still made them villains that I wanted to see on screen. Like, they still did terrible things – their villainy was never questioned – but at the same time, I never felt an urge to fast forward past their scenes because it was so engaging to watch them do their things.

Redemptions – I feel like I could talk so much about Rumple, Regina, and Killian’s individual redemption arcs in Season 3. There’s this understanding among the writing staff of the people these characters are and what they want them to be and with that cohesion, they put their all into making that happen this season. Because of that, all three characters got emotionally satisfying developments that were carefully built up over eleven episodes. And, what I like about these developments is that those changes did account for bumps in the road and allowed for some pretty sensible deviations from those roads to redemption. At some point in the season, Rumple, Regina, and Killian do villainous things to some degree that take their redemptions down a few notches, but it doesn’t undo the work they’ve done.

Cinematography and Locations - I feel like Season 3 was the most diverse the series ever got with its locations and camera work. The camera work this season allowed for the locations, moods, and characters come alive. Storybrooke has such a rich geography and so often in later seasons as I was watching this one, we don’t get to see it. The mirror shot lake stands out the most to me and I want to give out more honorable mentions, but…well, this is why you don’t wait so long to do an overview XD! But if you’ve read my reviews, then you know that there were too many locations that I called pretty and amazing and I feel like it’s a failing that a lot of locations in the coming season just stick to the some of the more common places. The woods never look so beautiful afterwards.

Cons

Walsh’s Framing - ...Look, I had very little to complain about this season. Thematically, shit just came together nicely. BUT there was a failing or two, as small as they were and Walsh’s was a really small but strange fuckup. Like, Walsh is supposed to be framed as a bad man who got his just desserts by being turned into a monkey and later killed. The latter part of this works well enough since he does attack Emma before he dies, but the former half…well, it doesn’t. Glinda’s justification for finding Zelena’s punishment of him to be appropriate is that Walsh promised hope he could never fulfill. The only thing is that in the one instance of Walsh being the Wizard that we see, he is not only helping Zelena, but gives her something that physically allows her to do what she wants them to do, only asks for a payment as an afterthought, AND advises Zelena about her jealousy, which is just needed advice for her. He’s not shown to be callous or make unfulfillable promises. He lies about his abilities, yes, but how he keeps up his ruse still enriches the lives of others, and if it’s not, it should have been better shown. Have Walsh not give the advice, or maybe set a deadline for when Zelena has to get the item from Rumple. Like, make him more of a douche! As it stands, I just feel bad for Walsh and hope he moves on to the better place in the afterlife.

The Island of Machismo - This isn’t a critique of Neverland, per se, but dammit, this aspect of the arc was just frustrating! It feels like if one was a male in this series and present on this island, they got affected with a bug far more dangerous than Dreamshade: Machismo. At least once per episode, the men of this show would argue over something stupid for no other reason than showing that they’re a “real man” to either their opponent of the object of their affections. The dumbest example was of course the lighter fight in “Dark Hollow,” but dishonorable mentions to a lot of David’s behavior prior to and during “Good Form” and the attitude of the Lost Boy’s at Pan’s camp. Just...it really shows that this show was made by guys and as a show that normally doesn’t do this, it’s really disappointing.

...And honestly, that’s really it. As I said, in terms of broad strokes, this season gave me very little to complain about. While some episodes or scenes were off in either their framing or the sturdiness of their stories, they were more or less one offs!

Okay! Now that we’re done talking about some of the season’s less than stellar qualities, let’s go back to talking about the good shit again! That’s right, it’s time to talk dynamics! Now, like last season, these are in no particular order, and that’s because...well, when you spend the better part of two weeks playing Smash Bros, you kind of forget some of the intricacies of dynamics and thus which ones you think are better! XD But honestly, there were so many good ones this season that I could’ve extended this to a top ten without even trying (Honorable mentions go to Emma and Regina, the Charming Family, Zelena and Regina, Regina and Snow, and Killian and Henry).

Captain Charming - Killian and David’s dynamic is mostly a dynamic that develops under the surface, save for “Good Form” where it’s given its day in court. What I like about it is how David’s never portrayed in a negative light for his distrust of Killian. It comes from a sensible place given Killian’s misdeeds, but is still shown as something that he’s better off for moving on from. And Killian’s struggle to get his approval is not without its merit. Killian’s real effort is portrayed. Additionally, they have a nice bit of snark between them. Seeing these two guys grumble as they work together and comment on their budding friendship is funny and quickly becomes endearing as the snipes become just a little kinder over the season. I finally want to point out how David warming up to Killian is one of the few instances of The Island of Useless Machismo failing in that regard as by the end of “Good Form,” they trust each other enough to let the fucking toxic masculinity go for half a second.

Swan Believer - Believe it or not, a lot of what makes the Swan Believer dynamic so good is the fact that Emma and Henry are separated for so much of it. Through each other’s absences, we see so much of their feelings for each other come through. That’s not to say I like them apart but every moment that that was the case, we saw further just how much that separation made Emma determined. Henry blatantly informs every decision she makes and allows for her character to explore her magic, understanding of morality, and identity. And in the latter half of the season, we get this fantastic mix of frustration and love from Henry as he deals with the truth being kept from him. He knows his mother has his best interests at heart, but every piece of information that he knows isn’t being shared and every time he’s left on the sideline proceeds to make him angrier. And on Emma’s side, no matter what her approach is to where she wants to be, what doesn’t change is how much she wants Henry with her. But when they are together, we see just how close the two of them can be. “New York Serenade” has so many great moments where we see a possible life that Emma and Henry could’ve had and they’re so emotionally comfortable and aware of each other. One can understand why Emma wants to return to their simpler life upon seeing how cozy they were in their New York apartment. To summarize, the Swan Believer dynamic was one of the most subtle and loving dynamics of the season and I happily ate it up!

Regal Believer - Like with Swan Believer, so much of the season doesn’t involve Henry and Regina being together. But unlike Swan Believer, they get a different means of development. There are certainly similarities between the two, but I want to focus on what makes them unique. First, I’m gonna do that by pointing out a similarity! XD Just like how Henry’s absence informs all of Emma’s choices, the same can be said for Regina’s too. She puts up with the Charmings for far longer than she normally would like to, explores the type of role she can play in the group dynamic (A mentor to Emma’s magical skills and a willing user of dark magic), and faces off against all manner of dangers without a moment’s hesitation. Her determination is so fierce that one can completely understand when she’s had too much of the group and needs to hit the highway. And of course, I have to touch upon the “Save Henry” flashback. We really see that for as much growth as Regina is doing and for as much remorse as she has for her sins, she can never fully regret any of it because she loves Henry that much and we know exactly why. He gave light and purpose to her life and was enough that she was willing to put herself at a disadvantage in order to give him the love that he deserved. And that love, while held back by  two seasons of villainy, finally gets to show itself from Henry’s side. Now that Regina’s doing better, Heny reciprocates her love fully. And in the latter half of the season, watching every small interaction between the two of them as Henry doesn’t know his mother, but still really likes her company is so heartwarming and makes the moment where he reclaims his memories and they break the curse together a moment of utter triumph. They fought so hard to be together and now that they are, I couldn’t be happier.

Pan and Rumple - I could go on and on about Pan’s dynamics with practically all of our mains, but let’s focus on the best one. Rumple is a character so steeped in nuance that one has to wonder about his origins. With Pan, that was partially delivered on and so effectively at that! Pan is an utter monster who knows every one of Rumple’s buttons to push and partially because he laid the foundation for some of them. Even as Rumple tries to be noble in order to save his grandson, Pan presses those buttons relentlessly and without mercy, no matter if it comes at the cost of destroying his son’s confidence or severing Rumple’s tepid connection with Neal. Nothing is sacred. And Rumple reaction to this is fascinating as well. His hatred for Pan is without question present, but at the same time, Rumple is not entirely immune to Pan’s powers of suggestion. He nearly falls for the fake Belle’s scheme and when the doll first shows up on the island, Rumple meets it with tears. With the possible exception of Cora, no villain has ever intimidated Rumple like this before. And watching Rumple have to use every supply in his arsenal to take Pan down as it culminates in Rumple realizing the sacrifice he must make is such an integral part of his character growth this season. And every time that happens, Pan just becomes more and more of a threat to the audience. It’s a dirty, disgusting, and utterly despicable dynamics that they share and I love every second of it.

Rumple and Neal - I feel like Rumple and Neal’s dynamic really gets the attention this season that it deserved last season but didn’t get. While their time together was shorter, every second of it counted. Neal’s distrust of Rumple really gets to be explores and it was further kicked into high gear as a result of the urgency of their mission. Because Henry was taken, both an initial alliance was able to take place and in the same breath for that same reason, destroyed. And then, it was rebuilt. Rumple and Neal’s reconstructed parent/child relationship is so satisfying for me because Rumple really has to earn trust back from a situation that he got himself into. That entirely deserved bitterness on Neal’s half is given the attention it’s deserved in an entire episode dedicated to it as well as a few follow up scenes in future episodes. And it’s brutal. Nothing is held back as Neal tells Rumple exactly how he feels and why he’s worried about a chance at betrayal and every word cuts like a knife. Because of that, the moments when Rumple disproves those doubts feel so satisfying to behold and the ensuing reconciliation is applause worthy.

Okay, not that all’s been said and done about dynamics, it’s that time again! Yes, it’s time to tackle the best writer of the season! And may I just say, this season was FANTASTIC for everyone! We had TWO writers get a perfect score and A&E were just one point off from joining them! But as they did not, let’s crown our winners!

And the best writers of Season 3 are…

Christine Boylan and Robert Hull!

Both writers finished off the season so remarkably! When looking back at their work, not only did every episode get a 10/10, but ALL of them received the Golden Apple, a score I reserve for episodes of exceptional quality and a first for writing accomplishments for this rewatch. These are classic episodes like “Save Henry,” “Think Lovely Thoughts,” and “Snow Drifts,” as well as two new absolute favorites of mine like “Nasty Habits” and “The Tower.” All of these episodes have powerful and effective themes, compelling character interactions, and risks that take the story to new heights.

Well, that’s everything for you. We can close the door on this season and move on forward!

So now that Season 3, often regarded as OUAT’s best season (By myself included) is over...where do we go from here?

I love the Frozen Arc, and I’m really excited to watch it again. In fact, I’ve already started it, and I just finished reviewing “White Out!” XD The Frozen cast rocks, I get some fantastic dynamics and storylines out of it, and it feels quite balanced. I’m also excited to start this season as well because this is the point where I started watching the show live when it aired and because of that, I think my reviews and rewatch will transform into more of a discussion of my experiences and changes with these episodes and less as basically reviewing them for the first time. As you’ve already noticed if you’ve been reading my most recent reviews, I’ve condensed the format so that I can spend more time focusing on the core elements of episodes.

That said, I know there is a drop in the quality of OUAT going forward. I’m positive, but not naïve in that regard. That also having been said, I’m going to go into this new season like I always do: With anticipation for the good! And I hope you’ll be there to join me!

Thanks as always to @watchingfairytales and @daensarah! See you all...well partially through the next season! XD Puns, critiques, and gushing galore await you there!

[preserving-ferretbrain]

Shut. The. Fuck. Up. You. Smug. Bitch.

by Dan H

Thursday, 05 February 2009Dan deals with That Woman again~

A quick mea culpa, added 20.09.09: A random anonymous troll picked me up yesterday on the title of this article - okay they actually picked me up on "whining" so I suspect they were just an outraged fanboy, but they were actually quite right that reaching for gender-specific insults as a first recourse in an argument with a woman, even one you're not actually talking to, is not okay. I'm leaving the title as it is, because I don't think you should try to cover these things up, but I do actually regret the choice. It's a rather nasty silencing tactic, and it shouldn't have been my first instinct.

While Kyra was writing her review of the insestimably worthy On The Jellicoe Road, a genuinely moving book about love and pain and hope, I was reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a genuinely infuriating book about what a great writer JK Rowling is. 

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a mercifully short collection of “stories” the sole function of which is to provide JK Rowling with a vehicle to have Albus Dumbledore suck her children's book cock. 

Want to hear more? Here's a quick summary of the stories: 

The Wizard and the Hopping Pot

  Summary: Good Wizard helps Muggles with magic. When he dies, his bad son decides not to help the Muggles, the good Wizard's magic pot starts jumping up and down and annoying the crap out of him, so he eventually gives in and helps the Muggles. 

Cheap point scoring: Notice that while the hero of this story is the Good Wizard who helps Muggles with magic, and that the villain is his selfish son who refuses to help Muggles with magic, that in fact the Wizards in the world of Harry Potter never so much as think about using their magic to help anybody with anything (often including themselves – see “but why didn't they cast ...” moments passim ad nauseam). 

Favourite Lines: “'Begone,' cried the son. 'What care I for your brat's warts!'” 

Dumbledore Apologia: Rowling uses the first set of Dumbledore's notes to introduce us to two straw men who will remain with us throughout the book. The first is Brutus Malfoy who (along with many other “Muggle Haters” tried to suppress the story of the Wizard and the Hopping Pot because it was “Pro Muggle”. Because these books are about 

tolerance

 get it? The second figure that Rowling invents to make herself look good is Beatrix Bloxom who “believed that 

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

 were damaging to children because of ... their unhealthy preoccupation with ... death, bloodshed, wicked magic ... and eruptions of the most disgusting kind”. 

Do you see? Because JK Rowling writes really dark, books where dark things happen in dark ways, and some people just can't 

take

 that. 

The Fountain of Fair Fortune

  Summary: Three witches and a Muggle knight travel to the Fountain of Fair Fortune, which can reverse all your misfortunes. One of the witches is terminally ill, the other is extremely poor, the last is heartbroken. The Knight is just a Great Big Loser. They face perilous quests, get to the top of the hill, and discover that It Was The Journey That Was Important. It turns out that The Fountain Isn't Magic After All. The knight marries the heartbroken witch. 

Cheap Points Scoring: What the fuck? One of those chicks was suffering from an 

incurable fucking illness

. You don't just make that sort of thing go away with positive thinking. 

Favourite Lines: “The sky was rent with the first ray of the sun.” “The crowd surged forwards, each of them shrieking their claim for the Fountain's benison.” 

Dumbledore Apologia: The Muggle-Haters tried to have it banned again! (Lucius Malfoy this time, because a witch marries a Muggle at the end). But Dumbledore was like, no way man, because people should totally be allowed to marry Muggles if they want to. I'm so glad that JK Rowling is presenting these thoughtful, incisive comments on the nature of racism to the British youth. 

The Warlock's Hairy Heart

  Summary: Actually this one's alright, because it's essentially ripped off from other, better fairytales and doesn't have anything to do with the Harry Potter mythos. Warlock cuts out his heart, tries to marry a hot chick for prestige, she asks him to put his heart back in, he does but it's gone TOTALLY EVIL and he kills her, then himself. 

Cheap Point Scoring: Not from the text of the story, but Rowling takes pains to note in her introduction that the maiden in this story is the one exception to the rule that “Beedle's witches are much more active in seeking their fortunes than our fairy-tale heroines”. Becaues JKR is a FEMINIST. You can tell by the huge numbers of well realised, empowered female characters who get things done on their own behalf in the Potter books. 

Favourite Lines: “Though many a maiden was intrigued by his haughty mein, and employed her most subtle arts to please him, none succeeded in touching his heart. The warlock gloried in his indifference and the sagacity that had produced it.” 

Dumbledore Apologia: Dumbledore first of all tells us that the whole “removing your heart” thing isn't possible in the Harry Potter world. We had already worked this out because it was kinda cool, and Harry Potter magic sucks donkey balls. Then of course he goes on to tell us that this story is all about love love love love love love love. Because I don't know if you caught it, but the power of love was what the Harry Potter series was all about. That and tolerance. And death. Gosh they were a profoundly complex series of books. 

I should also add that Dumbledore's explanation of this story is particularly heavy handed: “And sure enough in seeking to become superhuman this foolhardy young man renders himself inhuman. The heart he has locked away slowly shrivels and grows hair, symbolising his own descent into beasthood. He is finally reduced to a violent animal who takes what he wants by force, and he dies in a futile attempt to regain what is now forever beyond his reach – a human heart.” 

Okay I know I was keeping these summaries short but what the 

fuck

. I mean, I know JKR was always keen to have people interpret her work correctly, but even I never thought she'd be this blatant. I mean she is literally, literally having Albus Dumbledore tell you how to interpret the story. Literally. Fuck. 

Babbitty Rabbity and her Cackling Stump

  Summary: Stupid king wants to learn magic. Hires a conman to teach him. Conman gets Babbitty Rabbity to do magic so that the King thinks it's him doing it. This all goes wrong when the King tries to use magic to bring back a dead dog, because death is srs bzns in Harry Potter, oh yes. So Babbitty Rabbity runs away, and then threatens the King with a curse which makes everything better. Oh by the way, witches are being persecuted in this story because it is teh burnining tiemz! 

Cheap point scoring: Babbitty Rabbity and her Cackling Stump is mentioned in Deathly Hallows. Were I feeling cheap, I'd suggest that Rowling wrote this completely fucking nonsensical story because having stuck herself with the title, she couldn't think of a remotely sensible way to make it work. I mean really “Babbitty Rabbity”. 

Favourite Lines: “Seeking a vent for his fear and anger, the charlatan approached the window of Babbitty the washerwoman.” 

Dumbledore Apologia: Dumbledore, of course, insists that this pile of nonsense involving stupid kings, fraudulent magicians and the like is all about 

the tragic and irreversible nature of death

. This set of Dumbledore Apologia is particularly hilarious because it's basically a venue for JK Rowling to say “death is totally irreversible in my books, even though you can talk to dead people, and they can come back as ghosts, and portraits of them possess all the features which they had in real life, and are capable of experiencing all the feelings and emotions that person would in real life, death is still 

totally overpoweringly important

 in this world”. 

I'm going to digress again, but the more JK tries to explain the whole death thing, the more stupid it sounds. No magic can bring somebody back from the dead. Okay, the mirror of Erised can show you your dead parents, but that's not bringing them back. Okay, your dead parents can appear out of a wand, and talk to you and give you messages from the other side, but that's still not bringing them back. And okay the dead literally watch over you in this world. And okay, magical artefacts exist which allow you to literally see the dead people who are literally watching over you. And okay, there are ghosts. And okay, if a portrait is made of a dead person you can talk to that person exactly as if they were still alive, and they'll have all the thoughts, feelings, and memories of the dead person, and you can talk to them every day, and they can express pride in your triumphs and console you in your failures, and they can make independent decisions, but that doesn't mean you can bring people back from the dead, oh no. Death is 

final

 in this world. So final that once you're dead you certainly can't show up and have long conversations with people in imaginary train stations. Oh wait. 

Basically the prohibition against bringing back the dead in the Potterverse is like that business with the British Sausage in that episode of Yes Minister. You can have your dead relatives about talking to you and walking around all you like as long as you don't say they're back from the dead, it's okay. The moment the “B from the D” label gets put on somebody, they become a hideous twisted abomination created by a man's foolish desire to cheat nature. 

The Tale of the Three Brothers

  Summary: See 

here

. 

Cheap point scoring: See 

here

. 

Favourite Lines: “It was only when he had attained a great age that the youngest brother finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son.” 

Dumbledore Apologia: See 

here

 and 

here

. 

Conclusion

  In short, 

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

 sucks whatever unfortunate item or items you might care to present to it. It's written in this faux-Brothers Grimm style which sounds like a nine year old's first attempt at creative writing. Of its hundred and eight pages only fifty-six are taken up with the actual stories (including illustrations) the rest being Rowling's self-serving introduction and “Dumbledore's notes”. 

Like everything JK Rowling wrote after 

Prisoner of Azkaban

, 

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

 fails on pretty much every level. It's not a book of children's stories. Fairytales and folklore can't 

be

deliberately created, not even by the world's best-selling novelist. No child is actually going to grow up listening to the story of the Fountain of Fair Fortune. 

Ultimately, TToBtB is not about the tales themselves, it's about Dumbledore's notes. It's about providing with yet another way to tell her readership, directly, what they are supposed to think about love, death, the relationship between Wizards and Muggles, and of course about Albus Dumbledore and the Harry Potter books. 

I rather suspect that her next published work will simply be a single note saying “having read this, you feel that you better understand the nature of love, sacrifice, and mortality.”Themes: 

J.K. Rowling

, 

Sci-fi / Fantasy

, 

Young Adult / Children

~

bookmark this with - facebook - delicious - digg - stumbleupon - reddit

~Comments (

go to latest

)

Wardog

 at 18:17 on 2009-02-05Quite frankly anyone who uses the word "benison" in cold blood deserves everything they get.

Seeking a vent for his fear and anger, the charlatan approached the window of Babbitty the washerwoman

Hello there, I'm seeking a vent for my fear and anger...

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 19:45 on 2009-02-05Happy Christmas!!!!!!!

permalink

 - 

go to top

http://rudecyrus.livejournal.com/

 at 22:26 on 2009-02-06Man, Rowling really loves alliteration and rhyming words.

Can Dumbledore just go away already? We've spent more than enough time with the old coot.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Wardog

 at 10:53 on 2009-02-09Y'know, I think it says something about the nature/quality of your Xmas present to your good friend, Dan, that you had to also give him a 

fighting fantasy book

 to 

make up for it

. =P

By the way, Rudecyrus, I've noticed a couple of comments from you scattered around the place - welcome :) I think an over-reliance on alliteration and rhyming words are yet more evidence of a mediocre author struggling to replicate a fairytale style in most superficial way way possible. Sigh.

Isabel, I'm so sad about President Roslin - 

spoiler spoiler spoiler

-

-

-

When I thought she was dying of cancer, I was actually really into her - in that context, her semi-saintly and infalliable moral compass actually worked really well for me. For the first season and a half of BSG she was actually one of my favourite female characters on TV, like, ever - I loved the fact she was strong and vulnerable, compassionate and ruthless, and generally just a strong women in a position of power and responsibility. But then she kind of didn't die and from that moment on I completely lost faith in BSG as a whole, and the character alongside it. BSG still really upsets actually because until that exact episode (Epiphany - it is branded on my memory) I thought it was one of the best shows I had ever seen. There were problems associated with it than just Roslin, of course, but the conclusion of that arc was indictative to me.

Generally I start to hate characters when they stop being characters and start being mouth pieces for the author - like Dumbledore and, I have to say, Sam Vines and Vetinari by the latter Discworld books...

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 10:59 on 2009-02-09The FF book was for Dan. Beedle the Bard was really for FB. :D

permalink

 - 

go to top

Sister Magpie

 at 17:03 on 2009-02-11

The Muggle-Haters tried to have it banned again! (Lucius Malfoy this time, because a witch marries a Muggle at the end). But Dumbledore was like, no way man, because people should totally be allowed to marry Muggles if they want to. 

Oh man, really? For some reason of all the notes this is the most egregious. Too bad it wasn't a Wizard who married a Muggle man. That would get left out for not having anything to do with the story.

Isn't there also a thing that says these were supposed to have been translated from the ancient runes by Hermione? Which makes me think Hermione's a really poor translator, but also wonder why fairy tales were ever supposed to be written in ancient runes. But I only heard that second hand, so maybe I'm wrong there.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 18:35 on 2009-02-11

Isn't there also a thing that says these were supposed to have been translated from the ancient runes by Hermione? Which makes me think Hermione's a really poor translator, but also wonder why fairy tales were ever supposed to be written in ancient runes. But I only heard that second hand, so maybe I'm wrong there.

Given that she did the translation (if I remember right) in the middle of 

Deathly Hallows

, this would imply that Dumbledore either:

a) Wrote his annotations in ancient runes for shits and giggles, rather than producing a proper translation himself - which you'd think he'd do, given that he seems to think it's important that these stories are told.

b) Dictated his commentary from beyond the grave.

c) Secretly survived the series and rode to the Moon on Hagrid's motorbike waving a middle finger at the audience and yelling 

Fuuuuuuuck yoooooooou suckeeeeeeeeeeeeeers

, leaving behind reams of commentary on the writings of the Great Rowling.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Dan H

 at 11:35 on 2009-02-12

Isn't there also a thing that says these were supposed to have been translated from the ancient runes by Hermione?

Yes, they were. A poster on Death to Capslock did point out that this actually makes the really awful style make more sense (because if *anybody* would use the word "benison" in cold blood, it'd be Hermione). And of course since "Hermione" is really JKR's self-insert, it sort of fits anyway.

As for the runes: surely you know that *everything* was written in Runes in Olden Times.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Rami

 at 16:38 on 2009-02-13Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the entire point of runes was that they were easy to carve into solid surfaces like stone or metal? So were these tales supposedly engraved into stone slabs, like the Ten Commandments Of Worshipping The Great Rowling?

permalink

 - 

go to top

http://miss-morland.livejournal.com/

 at 23:16 on 2009-02-19At this point, I'm mostly interested in the HP books as source material for fanfiction. Alas, BtB doesn't seem to have much potential in that respect...

permalink

 - 

go to top

Wardog

 at 12:37 on 2009-02-20Well, not unless you want to ship Albus Dumbledore / JK Rowling

permalink

 - 

go to top

http://miss-morland.livejournal.com/

 at 13:24 on 2009-02-21Hee. I wonder if anyone has ever written that...

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 00:19 on 2009-04-07

JK Rowling reads Beedle the Bard at the spouses of world leaders.

What I want to know is what terrible ransom the G20 paid Rowling to get her to let the hostages go. Are we looking at the world's first fantasy author with a nuclear arsenal?

permalink

 - 

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/tjLTVHEducFb4rKDHU5DukBHtQcCbTVMEEq55v0CxV4-#5e156

 at 12:54 on 2009-08-09Hm I don't think guys who are ruthless enough to become leaders care for their spouses wellbeing that much.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Viorica

 at 01:57 on 2009-11-23Having stumbled upon this article by the miracle of the random generator, I do have to defend Rowling on one point. The crazy woman who thinks that these stories are unsuitable for kids due to their darkity dark darkness is probably a parody of Laura Mallory and her ilk as much as it is an advertisement for JKR's infinite wisdom.

I actually read a series of (fanfic) stories about Hermione telling Ron about Muggle fairytales, and Ron trying to puzzle out their logic. Unfortunately, I've lost the link . . .

permalink

 - 

go to top

Rami

 at 06:09 on 2009-11-23

probably a parody of Laura Mallory and her ilk

Er, Laura Mallory? Who's that?

permalink

 - 

go to top

Dan H

 at 11:01 on 2009-11-23

The crazy woman who thinks that these stories are unsuitable for kids due to their darkity dark darkness is probably a parody of Laura Mallory and her ilk as much as it is an advertisement for JKR's infinite wisdom.

Like Rami I've never heard of Laura Mallory, but yeah, I do get that the HP books have come under attack from people who insist that The Children Must Be Protected.

The problem is that Rowling *also* likes to deny (implicitly rather than explicitly) the existence of other works of children's literature which are *far* darker, *far* more mature and *far* more disturbing than her own. There's a kind of recieved wisdom grown up in the last few years that JKR is some kind of benchmark for the handling of serious themes in Childrens' books.

I actually read a series of (fanfic) stories about Hermione telling Ron about Muggle fairytales, and Ron trying to puzzle out their logic. Unfortunately, I've lost the link . . .

Oh come on, how OOC is that. Since when has Hermione *ever* shown an interest in her Muggle heritage...

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 13:56 on 2009-11-23Google tells me that Laura Mallory is the person who claimed that the culture fostered by 

Harry Potter

 books pressures people into joining Wicca and causes school shootings. Best sources I can find for her views are a 

carefully-written Daily Mail article

 of the "we're giving this person coverage because she's crazy, but we're not going to call her crazy to her face" variety, and an 

Encyclopedia Dramatica

writeup (watch out, potentially NSFW banner ads).

permalink

 - 

go to top

Rami

 at 16:35 on 2009-11-23

Oh come on, how OOC is that

Just want to confirm -- I'm guessing OOC == Out Of Canon?

Best sources I can find for her views are a carefully-written Daily Mail article

Hehehe, carefully written Daily Mail article.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 16:38 on 2009-11-23

Just want to confirm -- I'm guessing OOC == Out Of Canon?

I'm guessing either that or Out of Character...

Hehehe, carefully written Daily Mail article.

Well, written with sufficient care to make sure she doesn't notice they're making fun of her. Not written with sufficient care to make the reader not feel talked down to. ;)

permalink

 - 

go to top

Rami

 at 16:55 on 2009-11-23

I'm guessing either that or Out of Character...

Seriously, people, the TLA namespace is crowded enough already ;-)

permalink

 - 

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/gNLVidA.xeLuPiOU_2B_USM.HYNFjA--#b0b6b

 at 15:13 on 2010-08-26Hi there, hope you don't mind a late and admittedly ranty comment. I only just got around to reading Beedle, and by god you're right: it is so smug and sanctimonious and badly-written and just plain 

infuriating

.

I actually detested The Warlock's Hairy Heart a bit more than the others. In all her gushing and spewing about how wonderful and almighty Love is, through this story (maybe not so much in the actual HP series) JK seems bent on specifically endorsing the heterosexual, happy-ever-after 2.3 kids and a white picket fence kind.

It seems so because, at the outset, this baddie does nothing remarkably bad beyond deciding that the life and duties of a husband and father are not for him. But by the story's logic, this points him towards the Dark Arts and *

wham

* - he has become a SERIOUSLY EVIL WIZARD.

Later in the story when the Warlock reinstalls his heart and cosies up with the witch, his feelings are described in unmistakably sexual terms - like his being suddenly aware of the witch's smooth, silky skin and all that. This is what the reader is expected to recognise as Love.

But of course there's no change possible for Dark Wizards: he goes and kills the girl, because 

of course

 he was just repressing himself all these years, and everyone knows that abstinence turns people into the most horrible sexual deviants.

While Dumbledore's commentary on this story is as unenlightening as usual (his powers of literary analysis do not impress me, and neither does his deep familiarity with a single quote by Alexander Pope), it does perhaps become a bit interesting when you consider it against Dumbledore's own non-heteronormativity and brush with the Dark Side. As you've pointed out elsewhere, it seems quite clear that the two go hand in hand in Rowlingland. It also becomes apparent that Dumbledore is a flaming hypocrite.

We might make concessions for Beedle himself, who was writing in a different era, and for all we know maybe wizards traditionally had no role for celibates in their culture. But for Dumbledore to esteem Beedle's late-Medieval values as some sacred, universal truth frankly boggles the mind. Jodel on the Red Hen website writes viciously about the gaping lack of a sense of history in the Potterverse, and to me it shows here very starkly indeed.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Dan H

 at 15:26 on 2010-08-27I was okay with the Warlock's Hairy Heart as a fantasy archetype (although you're right that in the context of Rowling's wider worldview it's annoying).

What're Jodel's articles? There's a whole lot of stuff on the Red Hen and I thought I'd take a look, but can't find the article you mention here.

permalink

 - 

go to top

https://me.yahoo.com/a/gNLVidA.xeLuPiOU_2B_USM.HYNFjA--#b0b6b

 at 07:58 on 2010-08-28Yeah, I see what you mean. I guess what gets to me is that the whole hairy heart thing ought to be recognisable as a fairy tale archetype, but instead it comes across as Family Values being hammered over the reader's head.

The article I'm referring to is 

The History of Magic

. Rather long, but very interesting stuff.

permalink

 - 

go to top

http://ipslore.livejournal.com/

 at 00:54 on 2011-06-03'Fairytales and folklore can't be deliberately created, not even by the world's best-selling novelist.'

'Oh,' says Neil Gaiman. 'A challenge.'

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 08:29 on 2011-06-03Neil Gaiman, 

creating

 folklore? I think you need to look again. ;)

permalink

 - 

go to top

Michal

 at 00:42 on 2011-10-13

Fairytales and folklore can't be deliberately created, not even by the world's best-selling novelist.

Ahem, 

Ruth B. Bottingheimer disagrees.

 So does Suzanne Magnanini.

 (On whether fairy tales can be deliberately created, that is. I don't think either would give much merit to J.K. Rowling). Both books were assigned for my Fairy Tale & Folklore class back in uni.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Shim

 at 07:24 on 2011-10-13I'd be interested to know what fairy tales are actually discussed (the only one I saw mention of was "Puss in Boots", which I'm not sure I quite consider a fairy tale for some reason.

Anyway, without reading the books I'm not sure if they do actually disagree, but if they did I would disagree back. I mean sure, many traditional stories, including many fairy tales were deliberately invented out of whole cloth, rather than developing from fragments through many different storytellers. But when those authors were writing them, were they actually deliberately creating fairy tales, in the sense we think of them, or just writing stories? I mean a fairy tale to us is quite a specific thing and a bit hard to define; they're fantastical but not just fantasy, they have certain types of characters and roles... lots of things written around that time are probably not considered fairy tales (bet there's loads of stuff in Grimm's nobody cares about). And I'm not convinced the category of "Fairy Tales" existed in the same way at in the 16th century. I would expect that they were really just writing stories, and somehow some of those stories came to be what we now call Fairy Tales. It's a case of evolution over centuries. Whereas someone sitting down now, in a completely different literary environment, where authorship is known and protected, and you can't easily reuse someone else's material and change it about, and it hasn't had a few hundred years to get filtered and adapted... surely they're just writing a story. It's like the old "mythology as fantasy" "Beowulf as fantasy" thing.

It just strikes me as being like trying to invent a national pastime or traditional song. You might invent something popular, but the way things achieve those particular statuses is arbitrary, mysterious and impossible to control. Also it takes a long time.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Orion

 at 07:59 on 2011-10-13But the flaw with the "Beowulf as Fantasy" meme isn't just that Beowulf is old; it's that it's largely uninterested in the things fantasy books are interested in and not addressed to the same audience. You can point to a great many differences in function between a quasi-oral poetic epic and a strictly literary prose fantasy. 

I'm not confident a similar gap exists between "stories about fairies written for print by individual Europeans from a few centuries ago" and "stories about fairies written for print by individual Europeans today"

permalink

 - 

go to top

Arthur B

 at 08:59 on 2011-10-13But fairy stories created by authors for print are an exception, the likes of Andersen and Morris arising as a response to collections like Grimm's which collected together stories originally recounted as an oral tradition. And only a very few fairy stories cooked up from whole cloth for print - most of them Andersen's - ended up feeding back into the oral tradition. (Chances are you didn't read Andersen's original text when you were little, you listened to someone paraphrasing them.)

And the point that I think Dan was trying to make in the article is that you can't artificially design something specifically to make that jump from being a story printed in a book to a part of an oral tradition retold and paraphrased and adapted by storytellers for generation after generation. The fact that Andersen's stories managed it was in many ways an incredible fluke; the prospect of Rowling's stories doing it is remote, not least because there's very little reason to be interested in them unless you've already got hooked on Potter.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Michal

 at 18:31 on 2011-10-13Shimmin, I hate to say "now that you put it that way", but...now that you put it that way, I'm not sure those books disagree, either. The audience for Straparola and Basile was not the same as the perceived audience for fairy tales in the 19th century, though you could argue that they were at least attempts at imitating oral traditions (namely, the 

1001 Nights

). I think we can blame hyperbolic book-jacket blurbs for this one, since both books contest the original source of what would become fairy tales read to children; neither claims that this was what the authors deliberately set out to write.

(In regards to authorship, 

Wikipedia

 surprisingly has a good list of what made it from Straparola's 

Facetious Nights

 into 

Grimm's Fairy Tales

. For anyone who cares, 

the entirety of Facetious Nights is available online.

 And if you want to see what fairy tales are discussed in 

Fairy Godfather

 and 

Fairy-Tale Science

, Google books has a partial preview you can take a look at.)

The point about fairy tales today is also a good one, since the term 

is

 pretty ill-defined. I hauled out my 

Spells of Enchantment

 collection (edited by Jack Zypes, who's the big name in fairy tale scholarship and all) and its got stuff from Aurelius to Straparola to Voltaire to George Macdonald to Lord Dunsany (and even Jane Yolen!), which seems maybe a 

bit

 too large a net.

I hae no desire to read 

Beedle

, since I didn't even like 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

 back when I was 11 and I don't submit myself to books I know I'll hate. Maybe someone could fill me in: what does J.K. Rowling claim? Is it just a background book going "here's the folklore traditions of a world I created", or is she actually deliberately saying "this is a book you should read to children, with helpful notes in case your kid misinterprets what I wrote?"

permalink

 - 

go to top

Michal

 at 18:34 on 2011-10-13Side note: despite the title of her book, Magnanini seems to prefer the term "wonder tale"for what she's talking about.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Dan H

 at 18:57 on 2011-10-13

Maybe someone could fill me in: what does J.K. Rowling claim? Is it just a background book going "here's the folklore traditions of a world I created", or is she actually deliberately saying "this is a book you should read to children, with helpful notes in case your kid misinterprets what I wrote?"

I'm not sure she claims anything, which I think is sort of the problem.

When I said "Fairy-tales and folklore can't be deliberately created" (which was, I freely admit, a poor choice of words - as a couple of pointed out Hans Christian Andersen managed to do exactly that, and a lot of fairy stories do in fact have a specific author) I think what I meant (and it was a long time ago now) was that you can't sit down in the present day and write an original story which will be read by a modern audience in the same way that they would read a story passed down to them as traditional, unless you deceive your audience about the story's origins (what I actually said implies something stronger - that no consciously authored story can become traditional, and that clearly isn't true).

Beedle the Bard doesn't work as children's stories, because the stories only make sense in the context of the Harry Potter books, and the Dumbledore's Notes sections are as much part of the text as the actual stories (this also raises questions about how the book is supposed to be read - a book of fairy tales can be read in any order, whereas ToBtB seems designed to be read straight through).

The book is probably best viewed as a simple tie-in. It's not supposed to be enjoyed for itself, it's supposed to be enjoyed as a companion to the series, the pleasure of reading it comes almost entirely from recognition of familiar concepts from the Potter books. It's like Quiddich Through the Ages and Magical Beasts and where to find them, it's all about the novelty of somebody producing a "real" version of an in-world text.

permalink

 - 

go to top

http://gx1080.livejournal.com/

 at 21:59 on 2011-10-13That "History of Magic" article seems like a very long way of saying:

"The protagonists do the exact same shit that the bad guys do and they are never are called on their hypocrisy"

Which sounds like yet another fall of hack writing.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Sunnyskywalker

 at 22:41 on 2011-10-13There is certainly a lot of that in the Potter books and the Red Hen article. That, and "the wild guesses the protagonists make about some people a thousand years ago based on a few scraps of hearsay should be considered factually correct and not missing any essential details." Mixing up what the characters could reasonably be expected to know and understand accurately with what the author knows about the backstory, and expecting readers not to notice the difference: also hack writing.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Andy G

 at 23:51 on 2011-10-13Anyone else noticed how angry the RSS feed looks with this title repeated over and over again on it? ;)

There was a big thing in Romanticism of artistically re-creating nature and hiding your own artistry, and I guess the same thinking was behind fashioning fairy tales that were more Volks-y and authentic than the real thing.

permalink

 - 

go to top

Janne Kirjasniemi

 at 20:10 on 2011-10-15

Anyone else noticed how angry the RSS feed looks with this title repeated over and over again on it? ;)

Yes. Now I have a feeling that I shouldn't comment on anything and also a slight sadness over my unintended smugness and the hate it has inspired in the RSS feed. 

On subject, like said, a traditional story or fairy tale or the very wide strata of literature discussed here is considered a part of story-telling heritage because several generations have upheld that tradition. So, for a modern author to write stories which in form or other qualities resembles this, it is not in any ways a bad thing and if they are succesful enough, well, they will beome traditional stories or whatnot in the future. But I suppose the problem is that J. K. Rowling did not just make up new tales as a new project, but rather made up some storytelling mythos for the Potterverse which feels like further milking of the success of Harry Potter in a rather cynical way. It seems like just a way to make parents and assorted other people to buy more of the same stuff, with the illusion that this is something new and special. Instead of writing new stories altogether perhaps?

permalink

 - 

go to top

In order to post comments, you need to 

log in to Ferretbrain

 or 

authenticate with OpenID

. Don't have an account? See the 

About Us

 page for more details.

Show / Hide Comments -- More in February 2009

[bedabug]

charmed reboot list sorry this is long

pros:

i do really love the actresses

the house being just similar enough is perfect

macy’s friend? romantic interest? is a sweetheart and i love him. more of him please

this is admittedly minor but the outfits are great

LESBIAN MEL i always thought paige should have been a lesbian so i will take the new piper as a lesbian enthusiastically

“i don’t even like dressing as a witch on halloween! not even like a slutty one!”

the piper freeze time hand motion reference was 10/10

“can we go back to the part about the apocalypse” “not really i’ve got a rhythm here”

the dialogue when not doing topical social activism awkward “see we’re a woke show” bits is actually fun and good

MELINDA WARREN PAGE IN THE BOOK OF SHADOWS!!!!!!!

mel practicing her powers on her (sort of ex)girlfriend was cute

“no ken i’m not wearing a costume” i actually snorted in laughter

cons:

having the mom death more recent (as opposed to grams being the one who passed) feels like a weird bid for forced drama/high emotions rather than just having it be about sister relationships also it adds a weird layer of animosity to their relationships since its a murder not an accident (in the original show their mom was murdered yes but like decades earlier and the death that brought them together in the pilot was grams and her death was an accident)

this is admittedly minor but what the fuck is up with the attic design having chairs nailed to the walls? it looks less like an attic and more like a funhouse

“kappa is woke” yikes like i get it was supposed to be something off-putting but the way the show is using activism-adjacent terms is very uhhh... awkward

THE WHITELIGHTER TIED THEM TO CHAIRS WHAT THE FUCK

additionally the whitelighter having a role of basically giles from buffy is EXACTLY the kind of shit i was afraid would happen by aging the sisters down. instead of being independent adult women who have to figure this out for themselves they now have a teacher every step of the way. leo wasn’t revealed as a whitelighter until the end of s1 in the original so they had to figure out most of it on their own and had already mostly hit a stride by the time of the whitelighter reveal. the buffy and giles dynamic is immediately not as fun for me. this show talks about feminism and name drops roxane gay but won’t let the main characters find their footing on their own 

whitelighters teleport is way worse and dumb looking like i don’t need them to bring back the lights but that was really bad cgi so literally do anything else please

i am really exhausted by all shows demonizing sororities like i get it or whatever but sororities actually do a shitton of good and provide a lot of support for girls who are often striking out away from home for the first time and that kind of bullshit trope of portraying them as vapid monsters while claiming to be a show about feminism feels yucky

the “wheelchair bound misdirect because actually he can stand and is evil” thats uhh not great

having the spells be in latin i’m sure made someone think it would make it seem more mystical or whatever but bleh it is more fun when its rhymes or at least understandable for why it works

that was bad bad cgi

neither pro nor con yet:

changing the power of premonition to touch-activated mindreading is weird and i’m not sure how i feel about it because admittedly premonition was the worst of the powers and had to be shoehorned in a lot but touch-activated mind reading feels just as meh

macy trying to find a scientific explanation to her powers feels like a fun killer but it COULD be fun/interesting but having to explain away fantastical elements with science is so boring and very 2009 so i’m undecided on that element

having the older sister be the sister who didn’t grow up with them makes more sense than younger but also like i feel as if it separates them more? she doesn’t need to look to the others for guidance because she’s not younger but they wouldn’t look to her for that because the other two have each other. i’m hmmm on this change. willing to see how it plays out

overall: i sorta like it. except i really REALLY don’t like the garbage whitelighter as the giles to their buffy complete with a british accent shit and his really jarring and bad cgi teleporting animation. felt like they were trying to cram TOO MUCH into the pilot because they had a lot of plot to push through so i’m definitely going to give it a few more episodes before making a decision but right now it honestly feels like it could go either way

EDIT: if harry is a fake whitelighter i’m more inclined to be ok with his dumb shit

[elizbethweir]

if you could change ten things about the writing of the originals what would you change?

Oh man,that’s difficult. I’m actually not sure I’m good at this. Iknow lots of people think they could write the show better than the writers do and they might be right,but I’m not sure I’d be able to. (Yousee, instead of writing badly, I just don’t write at all. That helps.) I know what I like and what I don’t, but being able to spot problems is not the same as fixing them, and having better ideas. Writing well is hard. I don’t know how people do it.

Anyway, I dohave lots of vague awful ideas. I’m not sure these are THE ten things I’d change, because I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot of important things. These are just 10 random things I thoughtof first.

1)      I wouldn’t introduce a new villainor threat each season. I wouldn’t constantly have them run around on the vergeof death. Characters shouldn’t always be reactionary, fleeing away from onethreat or the other; they should be pro-active too. Their goals should gobeyond just surviving. It’s not always about who you’re fighting against, but also about what you arefighting for. In s1, this was kindastill the case, with Klaus and Elijah actively engaging in plans to turn NOLAinto their home again, rather than constantly being in mortal danger. In s2 thethreat of a villain worked really well, so I would’ve kept that one. But in theother seasons I would’ve put the focus on the family and the city, thedifferent factions and all the conflicts and alliances between them. I’ve saidbefore that my favourite plots are character-driven. I like internal conflictwhere there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong side. So this means getting ridof villains like The Hollow, and focusing more on the familial relationships,the alliances, the different conflicting visions for the city (which couldstill be dangerous in many ways). It should’ve been all about making NOLA thehome they would’ve gladly raised their daughter in. And if an actual villain/deaththreat does pop up, it’s probably amore effectual one because you haven’t been oversaturated.

2)      Sort of related to that: I wouldn’t constantlyintroduce new secondary characters only to get rid of them again. A couple ofconsistent familiar faces among the werewolves/vampires/witches, even whenthey’re just in the background and don’t have a major role within the plot, areunderrated. It adds to the entire atmosphere and sense of reality of the show. TOreally only seems to create secondary characters so that later they can bekilled off again or something, but it’s not really that impactful if you hardlyknow the character, and it’s difficult to construct better secondaryrelationships if the characters keep getting replaced. By sticking with somesecondary characters for a longer period of time, it’s possible to give them alittle more depth and development. It makes them more interesting (secondarycharacters are often forgettable on TO, and that’s a shame). Josh is about theonly example of a familiar face. He’s stuck around. Even when he wasn’trelevant for the plot and sometimes didn’t appear in a lot of episodes, he stillserved as a reminder: there are more vampires than just Marcel. Sure, he usuallydidn’t add much to the plot, but if the politics of the factions had been abigger part of the show instead of the constant death threats (like I wastalking about in point 1), then these secondary characters would’ve automatically been more relevant. The show should’ve utilised the characters they already had, rather than inventing new ones all the time.(And again: if the plot were character-driven, the characters would automatically have had a role inside of it)

3)      More flashbacks. Of the Originals,but also of NOLA, and the different factions, and the Trinity. Give us somemore historical perspective. The Originals are 1000 years old, they’ve seen andexperienced a lot in their time, so it makes sense that everything that happensto them in modern times looks similar to a certain part of their lives before;after all, history rhymes. Flashbacks of NOLA in the past also makes us betterunderstand the dynamics within the city, in line with the earlier points, andcould help to expand the mythology of the supernatural beings.

4)      When Father Kieran died, I wantedCamille to take over his job as the representative of the human faction. Sheshould’ve been the bridge between the humans and the supernatural world. Tryingto make sure no humans get caught up in the mess of the supernaturals,advocating peace, balancing her obligations towards the humans with herintimacy to Klaus… it would be good. I also would’ve scrapped her turninginto a vampire and turning off her emotions etc. If she had to die, I would’vedone it in 3x10; I would’ve let her decide not to go through with thetransition. Butif I had full reign, I actually don’t think I would’ve killed her at all. Irather liked the perspective she brought to the show; she just needed betterwriting and a better purpose, and being a champion for the humans could’ve beenit.

5)      I wouldn’t have put Hayley andElijah in a romantic relationship. I have a very complicated opinion about themas a ship. There are things I like about them, though those were mostly ins1-2. I liked that they were basically these polar opposites in almost everyway imaginable,  who still had anunderstanding despite of that, and who became more and more similar as timewent on (mostly due to changes and developments on Hayley’s part). I might talkabout that some more later, because this is not really the place. But all ofthose things could still be part of their relationship if it was platonic and Idon’t think they have the type of chemistry to pull a romantic relationship off.They became very drawn-out in s3, and they kind of stopped making sensealtogether in s4. I think I would still have Hayley have a crush on Elijah atfirst in s1, since he was kind to her and protected her, but I would let thatfade away once she got closer to Jackson.  

6)      Elijah’s arc in s4 and s5. I thinkit was a good idea to have Elijah unravel in s4 just when Klaus got it moretogether, but the way in which they did it was very half-assed and the reasonfor it was not very clear. Elijah in an existential crisis because he thinksKlaus doesn’t need his help anymore is good, but that doesn’t explain whyElijah felt that way. I’ve tried to think of a reason, but so far I haven’treally come up with a satisfying one. I also would not have framed Elijah’scharacter as if he’s always been extremely violent, and this is just his realcharacter surfacing. I mean, he isviolent, but not more so than the rest, so that angle is just really odd to me.(I already wrote something about Elijah’s arc after s4 here,which I still mostly agree with – it’s kinda long though.) And the lack ofHope/Elijah scenes would only have made sense if we saw Elijah make a consciousdecision to avoid a relationship with Hope. I think maybe it would’ve been niceif it was similar to how he avoided a relationship with Marcel due to Klaus’ jealousiesand insecurities, but I’m not sure I like that yet. Idk, nothing I think of fors4 Elijah satisfies me, so I’m still unsure exactly of how I’d change it. Itdefinitely needed a lot more subtlety and a lot more screentime than it got though,that much I do know.

As for Elijah losing his memories in s5… The concept of the Red Dooris that Elijah hides things behind it that make him feel guilty, so that he canforget about them and doesn’t have to feel guilty about it. However, some of Elijah’s feelings of guilt have never been placed behind the RedDoor… like those towards Klaus. What if,  instead of making Elijah forget all of hissiblings entirely, they would just have made him forget all of the things thatmake him so blindedly devoted to his brother? All of the things that madeElijah feel guilty towards Klaus, especially Mikael’s abuse, placed behind theRed Door and therefore out of Elijah’s conscious memory. I’m really curious ofwhat Klelijah’s relationship would look like then. Tbh I’m not even suremyself, but I think it would still lead to a fracture of their relationship,because Elijah now remembers a lifetime of doing everything for Klaus withoutquite remembering or understanding why he’d ever go so far for his brother. This could still lead him to decide to live his life away from Klaus, to create his own life elsewhere. Klaus would still feel abandoned. But he’d stillbe Elijah; he’d still love his family, and recognise their faces. I think it’dbe interesting without being as infuriating as the memory loss storyline was now. It’d be more subtle.

7)      This is completely self-indulgent,but if I could choose without restrictions… I’d make all of the incestexplicit lmao. Same goes for their sexualities.

8)      I wouldn’t have got rid of theTrinity so quickly. This is also self-indulgent, because I know it wasfrustrating that they weren’t killed off because it should’ve been so easy forthe Mikaelsons to do it, but I just liked them as characters so much, and therewas so much history and potential to explore. I’d still need a plausible reasonfor how this would work, but I haven’t figured that out yet. Ah well, details.

9)      Hayley’s death. She should’ve lived. 

10)   More family moments. This is clichéand obvious so I put it last, but I couldn’t think of anything that I was moredesperate to have than that. Always more family moments.