#and treating it like that would be a good indicator for her intelligence????

[tumblezwei]

Arcane fandom on twitter so bad it's making me actively dislike talking about Vi

[andhumanslovedstories]

An intro to doing crosswords for complete beginners

as told by someone who didn’t do any before this year and now has gotten so deeply into them

with examples pulled almost entirely from crosswords published in American publications this week

A crossword is not a measure of general knowledge or intelligence or skill with words anymore than a Mario game is a measure of how good you are at plumbing. It certainly helps to have the same cultural reference points as the puzzle, but you can brute force your way through a lot of it if you just know how crosswords work

Easiest on Mondays and then get harder over the week

The answer is in the same verb tense as the clue (ex. “doesn’t float” is “SINKS” while “didn’t float” is “SANK”)

If there’s an acronym or abbreviation in the clue, the answer will have one as well (ex. “Toothpaste-approving org.” is “ADA” because that the short way of referring to the American Dental Association)

If the answer is in written like a text from a teen girl with her first flip phone, the answer will be a common texting abbreviation (TMI, OMG, LOL, LMAO, BRB, TTYL, etc) (ex. three letter word with clue “i can’t believe u told me that” is “TMI”)

If the clue is in quotes, it’s dialogue and the response should also be dialogue (ex. the clue “‘That’s it for me!’” is “IQUIT”)

An answer can be multiple words, (see above) so some correct answers can make you second guess yourself because it creates letter combos that seem impossible to be in one English (mostly) word or mess you up bc it’s ambiguous where one word ends and another begins (ex. you have the letters “OWFO” and the answer ends up being “PILLOWFORT” or “UDAT” being “BERMUDATRIANGLE”)

Treat clues with a question mark like they’re going to be puns that make you groan so think about other meanings of the words in the clue (ex. “Volumes you can hear?” is “AUDIOBOOKS” or “Not fancy at all?” is “HATE” or “Remained under cover?” is “SLEPTIN”)

Clues that add hedging language line “they could be called…” or one might use this as…” are telling you to think very laterally. These are the ones that make you a little mad when you get them (ex. “They might be said to be dancing or raging” is “FLAMES” or “They admit they might be punched” is “TICKETS”)

The word “maybe” usually indicates the answer will be an example of the clue, not a synonym (ex. “Pet, maybe” is “CAT”)

If a person is in the clue and a person is the answer, the answer will be from the same part of name as the clue (ex. Trevor Noah replaced John Stewart on the Daily Show. So the clue “Stewart’s successor on the Daily Show” is “NOAH” while “John’s successor on the Daily Show” would be “TREVOR”

No word in the clue will be featured in the answer (ex. “What Beyoncé Knowles goes by” could be “ONENAME” but could never be “BEYONCÉ”)

A answer can be a phonetic spelling of a letter (ex. “Epic finale?” is “CEE”)

Not every clue is going to be tricky and clever, don’t rule out an obvious choice just because it’s obvious (ex. “Do ___ disturb” is “NOT”)

Roman numerals pop up a lot but typically only in clues where a Roman numeral makes sense, so “finale of a play?” could be “ACTII” but “Number of Stooges” is not going to be “III”

There’s a ton of really common clues. If you do enough crossword puzzles you recognize them. (ex. Literally almost anything about oil is going to be OPEC, any variations on “things on a smartphone that someone can download and use” is going to be “APPS”, and anything about a european capital city is probably “OSLO”)

If a clue can be about a cookie, the answer is almost certainly “OREO”

[martian-astro10]

D9/ Navamsa chart observations - Part 5

Moon in 1st house gives a spouse who is emotionally expressive, they can also be very moody. If you're attracted to men, then this can also mean that your husband might be a huge mama's boy, so marry someone whose mom likes you. With this placement, if you manage to maintain a good bond with your MIL then you'll have almost no problems in your married life. Your spouse can be prone to jealousy as well.

Sun in the 5th house gives you an extroverted spouse, I feel like this works the best when the person who has it, has a really high self esteem, because if not, you can be jealous of the attention that your spouse gets. You can also feel as if you're not good enough for them.

Mercury in the 4th House can mean that your spouse will be working as an advisor. They may also come from a family where education is given a lot of importance (I know a few people with this placement and their spouse's family was super adamant about them completing their master's before marriage, this is true for both men and women). If you're an academically intelligent person then your in-laws would be more than happy to help you establish your own business, I have noticed this to be true in a lot of cases.

Venus in the 5th house.....can give you a spouse who may be a little too obsessed with themselves. I used to think this was a good placement but then I met a lot of people who have this and their spouses always downplay their achievements and play the victim in social situations. I know a couple where both of them have this and they constantly talk about things that the other has done wrong and it's like a competition of who is sadder, it makes me soooo uncomfortable. One good thing is that, your children are gonna be SUPER creative.

Mars in the 11th House is great in regards to finances, your spouse knows how to earn AND save money, and even though they may like to live a luxurious life, they're well aware of the limitations. They may also have friends in high places and be good at climbing the social ladder. One negative of this is, that they can be TOO focused on earning money, but if Jupiter and Venus are well placed then you have nothing to worry about.

Jupiter in the 3rd house can give you a jolly spouse, they can also be the youngest in their family. They may be really close to their family and after marriage, they would like to live close to them. Your family will treat your spouse as their own child. You know those couples where a person's family ends up becoming closer to their spouse than them, yeah, this is what happens when you have Jupiter in 3rd. You guys may also travel a lot together. I think this placement is really cute.

Saturn in the 2nd house gives you an ambitious spouse, very hard working and tough love type person. They may earn a lot of money but refuse to spend it, OR they refuse to spend money on themselves but have no problem spending it on you. It depends on other factors. ( I know a woman with this, and her husband is so fucking rich but doesn't get new clothes for her, and doesn't buy anything for her, I feel so bad ��, Its giving "ballerina farm") BUT you can also get a spouse who is like "here's my credit card, buy whatever you want"

Rahu in 4th is a strong indicator of moving abroad after marriage, I know people who were unable to get a student visa, work visa and then they got married and were able to settle abroad. This also shows that your MIL may be very involved in your married life, whether for good or bad depends on several other factors.

Ketu in the 5th house gives a spouse who won't be that interested in raising kids. They may also be a little emotionally detached, and can believe in traditional gender roles.

I was thinking of not putting this observation, but then.... precaution is better than cure, so...90% of the female celebrities who have been cheated on by their husbands have Jupiter in Gemini/ Aquarius in d9. So if you have this, be very very picky about who you marry, this is for everyone, but especially for those who have this.

© martian-astro All rights reserved, 2024

[khattikeri]

one of my favorite things about mdzs is that for how heavily its plot involves politics of classism and misogyny... even the characters most directly impacted by it can't and don't free themselves from it. literally the closest exception is mianmian.

meng yao being the "son of a whore" wasn't some sort of commie awakening for him that led him to wanting everyone to be socially equal. he played the political game, climbed the ladders, sucked up to and backstabbed and murdered people, including other prostitutes who actually had nothing to do with how he and his mother were treated at the brothel he grew up in.

he put in so much extra excessive effort for even a fraction of the same respect that members of gentry cultivation clans got. and he did deserve to be treated more humanely! but he feeds into the exact same system that created him, leading to his own undoing.

his efforts were for a fragile upward mobility that was never going to hold up. he never surpassed his origins nor did he empower others in similar stations, because the society he lives in is not one that would accept that.

the second he got caught and all those crimes exposed, he was scapegoated to hell and back, replacing wei wuxian as society's terrible one-sidedly evil boogeyman overnight.

speaking of not-quite male gentry, i think it's interesting that wei wuxian explicitly doesn't try to climb the ladders in BOTH lives, knowing full well that anything he does will be punished just for the sheer fact that he is wei wuxian.

wei wuxian is scolded for giving intelligent and correct answers in school. lan wangji does the same and is praised.

wei wuxian occasionally lounges around with fellow disciples and is punished. jiang cheng does the same and mostly escapes.

wei wuxian refuses to carry his sword around in public (after losing his golden core, which nobody knows) and is scorned as an arrogant upstart. nie huaisang has been doing the EXACT SAME THING for YEARS and nobody bats an eye.

unlike jin guangyao, wei wuxian knew subconsciously from the start that his acceptance was superficial and that he could be cast out any time. when he was 10 and recently taken in by the jiangs, he canonically would not eat or use "too much" food and water because he thought they'd find him a nuisance for "wasting their things" and kick him back out.

now away from just the classism, yu ziyuan is a proud and strong noblewoman in a society that belittles and derides women for everything they do. her strong cultivation doesn't matter. she's victim to the vicious rumors of her husband loving another woman who is strong like her but apparently had a more likeable personality.

it doesn't matter even if jiang fengmian didn't cheat or that wei wuxian is wei changze's son with cangse sanren; yu ziyuan can't bear with the humiliation of herself (and by extension her children) not being "good enough". she's ridiculed for "failing" in that one duty as a wife, mother, and woman.

she lashes out and takes out that anger on everyone present for years, giving her children lasting trauma and also being a key element in how the jiang family and yunmeng jiang sect are effectively wiped out at the hands of the wen clan.

madam jin doesn't even have a name outside of the fact that she's married to jin guangshan. i don't even remember reading anything that indicates if she's a strong or weak cultivator, or what, which in itself proves that to most people, it doesn't matter. she's "just" a woman.

of course she's angry at her husband's affairs and all the bastard children they bring in. but she also can't do anything about them, so she lashes out at the few people she can: servants. non-cultivators, probably. those very same bastard children.

shoutout to meng yao getting shoved down a flight of stairs at age fourteen, because if madam jin tried that move against her husband instead, it would make her lose even more face, which as a noblewoman she'd never do.

and that's not getting into how jiang yanli is consistently sidelined for being physically weak.

that's not getting into how mianmian was actually a good cultivator, but was mocked by everyone around her for trying to stand up for wei wuxian when everyone was turning on him. how everyone scoffed at luo qingyang's words as "just some lovesick woman" who "obviously wants to marry or bed him since he saved her".

luo qingyang is the only one of these characters who HASN'T died. she didn't play society's games like jin guangyao. she didn't dig her heels in confidence of her own abilities like wei wuxian.

she didn't bitterly lash out like yu ziyuan and madam jin. she didn't gently accept it like jiang yanli.

she just LEFT.

she married an ordinary merchant and cultivates separately from mainstream cultivation society, and therein found her own peace and happiness.

mxtx doesn't bother with particularly class conscious or feminist vocabulary to hand-hold readers into understanding these disparities, but that choice highlights them & the deeply entrenched politics of their society even more. i really love it.

[antebunny]

a cuckoo in the nest

(Aka the Fae!Tim fic that I decided not to finish and thus am dumping on Tumblr)

The creature that the Unseelie Queen forces on Bruce is disguised as a human child. Worse, it resembles Bruce’s two current children. Skin on the lighter side, lighter than either of his kids, black hair, blue eyes, and a light sweater and sweatpants combination that either Dick or Jason might wear. It is quite the contrast to the wild fey flashing too-bright teeth at Bruce.

“You will welcome it into your home,” the Unseelie Queen commands. “You will treat it as you would your own son. You will do nothing to indicate that it is anything but a human boy.”

One gnarled claw curls around the creature’s shoulder. The creature’s expression remains eerily blank. Another point in favor of its otherworldliness. A normal human child would show some reaction to the Unseelie Queen’s possessive presence. This creature stays perfectly still.

“In return…” the Unseelie Queen crooks one finger of her free hand in a come here motion and a figure stumbles out of the dark trees surrounding their little clearing. 

It is Jason. Injured beyond belief, blue eyes red and weeping. Bruce’s knee jerks, but he forces himself to remain within the small summoning circle. A thin line of salt and iron protecting him from the Unseelie Queen’s unfathomable powers.  

“You get your son back.” She presents Jason to Bruce like she’s selling a prize horse at an auction. One hand on the back of his neck. “Alive and well. As he was before his death. The memory of his death will remain, but dulled. That is my bargain, Batman.”

Bruce is not fool enough to give the Unseelie Queen his real name, nor is he stupid enough to lie to her. Using his nighttime alter ego presents the perfect compromise. Batman is not his real name, nor is it a lie. So it is Batman’s black gauntlets that curl into fists as Bruce considers the Unseelie Queen’s deal. 

It is the height of stupidity to take a creature he does not know the abilities of into Wayne Manor, and pretend it is his son. Given what he knows of the Unseelie Queen, such a creature could cause unfathomable damage to his family, to Gotham. This is a bet of Bruce’s own intelligence against a fey hundreds of times older than Bruce. He could very well end up losing both of his sons this time. 

“B,” Jason sobs. “Wha’s goin’ on?”

But the alternative is to walk away from a chance to have Jason back. This is not the universe where Bruce is capable of such an act. At least with the Unseelie Queen’s bargain, Bruce has a chance to limit any potential harm. Perhaps he can even outsmart the creature and prevent all damage whatsoever. If she had asked him to kill someone, or something more direct, Bruce wouldn’t stand a chance.

Bruce uncurls his fists slowly. “I accept.”

With those two words, both the creature and Jason are invited into the circle. The creature steps forward calmly, Nike sneakers passing over the salt and iron easily. Its arms are flat by its sides, and its head comes up to Bruce’s chest. If it were human, it would be around the same age that Jason was when Bruce caught him stealing the Batmobile’s tires. A blatant attempt at emotional manipulation on the Unseelie Queen’s part. 

Jason is shoved forwards by the Unseelie Queen. He trips over his own feet, but Bruce is there to catch him this time, to gently fold him in his arms and check him over for injuries.  

“I’m getting you home,” Bruce promises. 

And if he has to bring home the Unseelie Queen’s little spy as well to make it happen, then that is a price Bruce is more than willing to pay to have his family whole again.

~

Tim finally has the chance to be part of a family again, and it is the best family he could have imagined. He can scarcely believe his luck as Mr. Wayne–Batman, for now–leads Tim and Jason (who doesn’t look so good) into the Batcave. Tim is so caught up trying not to gape in awe at everything that he misses the hushed conversation that Mr. Wayne has with his butler, and the slightly louder, much longer conversation he has with his eldest son. The original Robin is standing all of five meters away from Tim! He’s going to be Tim’s older brother!

A lifetime ago, when Tim was still fully human, with parents and the last name Drake, he’d been obsessed with Batman and Robin. Had followed them around pitch black rooftops, through the streets buzzing with neon lights and vices, just to get a glimpse of his heroes. Discovered Robin’s true identity shortly before Bruce Wayne adopted Jason Todd, and a new Robin came to roost in Gotham’s skyscrapers. 

Then Janet and Jack Drake gave their only child to the Unseelie Queen in exchange for money and power, and Tim lost his name, and his home, and his entire world. 

 “What is your name?” Mr. Wayne interrupts Tim’s memories. He looms in front of Tim in an empty Batcave. Mr. Pennyworth and both Robins are long gone. It is only Tim, in his ill-fitting human clothes, and Batman. 

Tim knew this question was coming. Mr. Wayne must think that Tim is a human child, and that asking for his name is a simple exchange of pleasantries. He cannot know that Tim is no longer fully human, and his name is no longer free to give or take, nor his own anymore. Luckily, Tim prepared a response. He does not want to lie to Batman, after all, but as much as he wishes he could trust Mr. Wayne with his name, he knows better.

“What do you want to be called?” Mr. Wayne amends, when Tim fails to answer fast enough.

Carefully, Tim purses his lips and whistles. Hoo-ooh. A sharp ho followed by a lower, longer oo sound. The call of a common cuckoo. Hoo-ooh. Hoo-ooh.

Mr. Wayne frowns in response. Tim panics briefly–did he not get the call right? He practiced so much!–and tries again, a little faster. Hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh, hoo-ooh. Please accept me. I know I’m an unwanted interloper, an imposter. Please accept me anyway.

“Do you have a name in English?” Mr. Wayne asks. He repeats the question in a few more languages. Tim recognizes the Spanish and Russian, but he’s not sure what the others are. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Tim nods frantically. He swallows with difficulty, and then whispers: “Tim.” 

It is not a lie, and it is common enough that hopefully Tim can remain anonymous. He is a common cuckoo bird, after all, not even remarkable in his imposition. 

“Well, Tim,” Mr. Wayne says, voice dropping to an ominous growl, “I will uphold my end of the bargain. But do not think for a second that I can be tricked into trusting you. And if you give me even the slightest indication that you intend to hurt a member of my family in any way, I will not hesitate to take you down. Do you understand?”

Tim has not cried in years, not since his parents gave him away. But tonight a peculiar wetness pricks at the corners of his eyes as he nods. “Yes, Mr. Wayne, sir,” he says quickly. “I understand.”

It isn’t as though Mr. Wayne is wrong. Tim is an interloper, here to trick Mr. Wayne and his family into caring about Tim. All Mr. Wayne did was make it clear that he will continue to pretend that Tim is part of his family and that he will not be tricked. There’s no reason for Tim to get emotional about it. 

It’s just that Tim hoped, if just for a moment, that it wouldn’t be pretend.

The Wayne family, aside from Mr. Wayne himself, is very easily tricked. Mr. Pennyworth (“call me Alfred, Master Tim”) lets Tim follow him around even though he won’t let Tim help with chores no matter how much he insists that he can do it. Tim is fine with that, really. For now it is better to be tolerated, if not liked, than not to be tolerated at all. He has noticed that even Mr. Wayne defers to Alfred in household matters, so it is good to have the real head of household somewhat in his corner.

Most days, Tim sits on the kitchen counter while Alfred cooks, and awkwardly attempts to answer questions about his previous life. It is mixed, as far as conversations go. The questions are very stressful for Tim, who is never sure how much he should say, but smelling and eating human food after so long without it still brings tears to his eyes. 

Simmering tomato floats through the air as Alfred adds a pinch of rosemary to his soup. Tim’s mouth waters, and he swallows before talking. 

“I had a really long argument with a rosemary plant, once,” Tim recalls ruefully. “It was dumb. But I was so desperate for human food that I’d’ve said just about anything.”

The rosemary plant refused, in the end. Everyone was too scared of the Unseelie Queen to help Tim. 

Alfred stirs his pot carefully. “You had an argument…with the rosemary plant?” He clarifies neutrally. 

“Yep.” Tim’s legs swing back and forth a bit faster. “I told you, it was really dumb. I would’ve tried with the mushrooms, but they’re mean and scary, really scary. And old.”

Some of the mushrooms are even older than the Unseelie Queen, which makes them even scarier. Except that the Unseelie Queen has Tim’s name, and the mushrooms do not. 

Tim blushes all of a sudden, mindful of his audience. “I didn’t mean being old makes them scary,” he mumbles, furious at himself. He is supposed to be trying to get Alfred to like him, and instead he insults him! What is wrong with him?

“It is quite alright, dear boy,” Alfred says. “I assure you no offense was taken. Now, what is it you were saying about being desperate for human food?”

Mr. Grayson (“call me Dick, everyone else does!”) is the easiest to trick into caring about Tim. He is actually not sure what he did to pull it off. Dick stays at Wayne Manor most weekends, and the first time he comes over, before Tim has a chance to enact any of his thirty-four “Trick Robin Into Liking Me” plans, Dick asks if he wants to get ice cream. Tim accepts eagerly, and Dick smiles so brightly that Tim nearly forgets about Mr. Wayne scowling in the background. After that, Dick always makes a point to seek him out. Tim is pretty sure he makes a bumbling mess of himself every conversation, but somehow Dick keeps laughing it off and taking Tim out for another slightly reckless and exceedingly enjoyable excursion. 

Jason is a bit harder to trick. He is still healing mentally and emotionally from his death, so he’s off-duty as Robin. Since school is out for the summer, this means he spends most of his time curled up in the library. Tim once hovered behind him for hours, trying to work up the courage to start a conversation, when Jason turned and snapped what so aggressively that Tim immediately ran away. 

In general, he is surly, defensive, angry, and reluctant to accept affection from his real family, much less Tim. Eight plans to trick Jason into caring about him are complete failures that end in Tim further earning Jason’s ire. Another fourteen plans are thrown out before Tim can enact them, after the humiliation of the eight failures. 

Eventually, Tim turns to Dick for help. Dick has alluded to a rough start with Jason, which sounds fake to Tim. Dick was Robin, how could anyone not like him? But maybe he can give Tim advice. 

It is a sweltering Saturday in late July when Dick pulls away from Wayne Manor in some type of fancy car with Tim in the co-pilot seat. 

“I need advice,” Tim says nervously as Bristol’s mansions flash by. Tim did his best not to look at the Drakes’ manor. He succeeded in not looking, but he wondered whether his parents started staying in Gotham more often once Tim was gone, and the question won’t leave him alone.

“What’s up?” Dick asks easily. He lazes in the driver’s seat, two fingers on the steering wheel. It is this nonchalance which convinces Tim to go through with his question. 

Tim’s hands tap out some pattern on his forearms and elbows. “How do I get Jason to like me?”

Dick curls his right hand around the wheel and glances at Tim quickly. Tim still struggles reading expressions, so he has absolutely no idea what’s going through Dick’s mind. Maybe he’s thinking that there’s no way that Jason will ever like him. Maybe Dick doesn’t like Tim. Maybe he’s only acting like he cares about Tim because he’s so nice.

“Jason doesn’t…” Dick sighs. “Not like you. He’s just going through a lot right now. On top of the stuff with his birth mother, he also, well, you know.”

“Died,” Tim supplies.

Dick’s shoulders inch towards his ears. Veins in his forearm pop as the hand on the wheel tightens. “Yeah. So, just, give him some time, yeah?” 

But Tim doesn’t have time. He has until the end of the summer, approximately two more months. To the fae the end of summer is not a specific day, but rather a sensation. Decay on the doorsteps, rot in the wind. Hot breezes melting into simmering afternoons. The crisp crackle of a leaf underfoot. 

If he cannot trick every member of the Wayne family into loving him by the end of summer, he must return to the Unseelie Queen, this time forever. That was her bargain. This is Tim’s one chance to escape her. 

Tim looks out his window at the cold, unfeeling mansions and nods miserably. “Okay.”

Jason does not like the new kid. Everything about him is just slightly off. He walks like he’s surprised that his feet come back down. He talks like he’s describing a dream and expects everyone else to understand. He’s constantly watching Jason silently with those eerie, unblinking eyes of his. Despite living in the same house as Batman, Tim is quieter still, always popping up unannounced and thrusting a trinket or a book at Jason. 

This isn’t even getting into the part where Jason knows he died but doesn’t quite remember it and keeps having nightmares he doesn’t understand. He vaguely recalls a forest that wasn’t a forest and a hand that wasn’t a hand, curling around his shoulder. Bruce won’t stop treating Jason like glass and Dick still looks weepy sometimes, but neither will let Jason out as Robin. All three are letting Jason get away with everything except the things he actually wants to do. It’s infuriating. 

In other words, the summer is off to a great start.

“Bets on the new kid,” Jason says. He’s in the middle of making himself peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, because he is the only one that Alfred allows in the kitchen. 

Dick is draped dramatically across the counter, because according to him it’s so tragic how Jason never wants to do anything fun. Jason hit him over the head with a spatula in response. Dick whined about that, so Jason hit him even harder. 

“What are we betting on?” Dick asks.

Jason half-shrugs. “Like…he’s clearly not human. What is he?”

Dick sits up on the counter. “Yeah, he keeps talking about talking to plants.”

“And plants are always a little bigger and shinier after he leaves the room,” Jason adds.

“Maybe he’s got some relation to Ivy,” Dick suggests.

This entire conversation would not be necessary if Bruce would just cough up the answer. But he responds to every question about Tim with some variation of “hmmm” or “I cannot say.” Jason even sucked up his pride and asked Barbara, but she doesn’t know what’s up with the new kid either. Jason suspects that Bruce promised Tim he wouldn’t tell, because–

“Have you seen his reaction to food though?” Jason asks rhetorically. “It’s like he’s so shocked he’s being fed.”

And he lets that hang, because maybe it’s true, and not a joke. 

Dick scratches his chin. “And he says ‘human’ like he’s not one.” 

“Okay.” Jason sets his mixing bowl down on the counter Dick claimed as his seat. “My theory: he’s a metahuman whose parents–or guardians–or whoever was in charge of him–treated as less than human, and he made B promise not to say ‘cause he doesn’t know we ain’t shit like his parents yet.”

“I mean.” Dick scoots off the counter when Jason comes swinging with the baking tray. He attempts to help Jason spread the parchment paper until Jason glares at him. “He thinks you hate him.”

Jason freezes in the middle of scooping a handful of cookie batter into the tray. Guilt curdles, expired milk and broken egg shells, in his stomach. “I don’t.”

“I know.” 

Dick doesn’t mention the part about Jason dying, because he’s ultra sensitive to that sort of thing. Jason has debated making extra jokes about his death just to force Dick to get used to it, but he hasn’t gone through with it. He’s never seen Dick cry like he did when Jason came back. They haven’t talked about it, because Jason is allergic to big emotions and Dick is nothing but an oversized bundle of big emotions. But it lingers in the back of Jason’s mind, everytime Dick pretends that everything is fine. You mourned me. It’s so obvious, said like that. Of course he mourned Jason. But it’s not an experience Jason ever expected to live through.

Not even Jason knows how he came back to life. He suspects Bruce had something to do with it, but Bruce won’t say. The continuous silence from him is driving Jason to insanity where the Joker and dying failed. 

“Fair tidings.” Tim’s head pops up by Jason’s shoulder and he forcibly suppresses a surprised reaction. Another weird-ism of Tim’s: what sort of American kid says fair tidings? “Can I help?”

“No,” Jason snaps immediately, curling one arm around the batter bowl. 

Dick makes a noise, and Jason winces. He didn’t mean to snap at the kid. It’s just that everything about Tim sets off sirens in Jason’s head. And usually by the time Jason is ready to invite the kid in, he’s run off. 

“Fine,” Jason grunts. He shoves the bowl at Tim. “We’re making cookies.” 

 Tim stares at the bowl with owlish eyes, and Jason clamps down on the urge to yell at the kid again. 

“Hey, Timmy,” Dick says faux-casually. “I never asked. You got a last name?”

Tim’s head snaps up. “Why do you want to know?”

Jesus, he sounds one wrong word from breaking into tears. Jason exchanges a glance with Dick, who is taken aback by the uncharacteristic bout of aggression from the weird kid, and reluctantly decides to intervene. 

“It’s ‘cause we wanna get to know the baby bro better,” Jason says gruffly. “Ya know. Bondin’ and shhhh, uh, stuff.” 

Tim’s blue eyes widen into twin moons. “You want to be my big brother?”

The naked hope in his voice is really not helping with Jason’s guilt. 

“Yeah.” Jason throws down a few more lumps of cookie dough a bit more forcefully than required. “Ain’t no way B is returning you to the kid store.”

Actually, he’s only seen Bruce interact with Tim once, and it was super awkward. But he’s pretty confident that Bruce wouldn’t take in a kid if he didn’t want that kid to be his kid. 

Dick is smiling dopily, so Jason is pretty sure he said enough right words in the right order. “So?” Dick prompts. “Got a last name, baby bird?”

Tim’s hands float to his elbows and start tapping out an unknown pattern. “It’s, uh. Drake.”

“Tim Drake,” Jason tests out, and neither he nor Dick miss the way that Tim does his best impression of a wooden plank at the sound of his name. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“Dunno.” Dick snaps his fingers and points at Tim. “Wait! You’re our neighbor!”

Tim gives Dick his weird blank stare, so Dick points at Jason instead. “The Drakes are our neighbors,” he explains. “The parents were always out of the country for vacation or something, but I remember they had a little kid tag along with them once or twice. What happened?”

“Bruh.” Jason shoves the tray in the oven with his bare hands, because he isn’t a wuss and he’s also not stupid enough to touch the burning hot metal with bare hands. “They supervillains or something?”

Tim shakes his head. His hands press flat against his legs. “They sold me.”

He says it so flatly that Jason exchanges another look with Dick just to make sure he heard right. But Dick’s jaw drops in outrage, so clearly they heard the same thing.

“How? When? To who?” Dick’s eyes narrow. He’s dropping into protective big brother mode. Jason has had the dubious pleasure of experiencing it first-hand a few times. “Does B know about this?”

But Tim shakes his head again. “I can’t say.”

“Are they threatening you?” Jason jumps in, pretending his tone isn’t leaning in the same big brother direction as Dick’s is. “You know B has Supes on speed-dial, right? Ain’t no one in the world who can get away with threatening you now that B’s got you.”

Tim shakes his head a third time, and Jason really has no idea if Tim actually means no or if he’s just moving his head. 

Dick and Jason exchange another worried look, but this time Jason isn’t sure what Dick is thinking. Mostly because Tim just gave them about a thousand more questions in the process of answering one. 

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on the live-action adaptation of The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, Episode 3: Risk Assessment:

(It's really critical this week, folks; please, if you have any interest in this show, read the books, they're so much better)

I am somehow less impressed with this episode than the previous two. My primary comfort at this point is that there are 7 more episodes and also the episodes are extremely short, so it's not a major time investment.

I know part of this is book accurate to a degree, but I dislike that the story is focusing more on Murderbot's disgust with humans - particularly from a sex angle - than it is on Murderbot's paranoia about safety and its criticisms of the company it works for and its relatively nonchalant attitude about how shit everything is. The line, "Equipment failures aren't unknown" is almost an afterthought, without any clarification on why that's a thing, and focus is more heavily emphasized on Murderbot as a danger than the company in general as a danger. Compare this to the scene in Chapter Three of All Systems Red:

“Pin-Lee was calling up specs for the beacons. “Aren’t the emergency beacons designed to trigger even if the rest of the comm equipment is destroyed?”

The other good thing about my hacked governor module is that I could ignore the governor’s instructions to defend the stupid company. “They’re supposed to be able to, but equipment failures aren’t unknown.”"

Just... tonally. Completely different.

Yes, Murderbot is potentially a threat, and it notes that, and wants PreservationAux to be aware of that, purely from the sense that it isn't made well, has gone rogue in the past, SecUnits are dangerous, and the company is not looking out for PreservationAux, but rather their own interest. There's just, again, this heavy emphasis on PreservationAux being weird hippies and Murderbot's primary issues being human grossness rather than, you know, it's company property and humans treat it that way. Again, the show has one character say, "It's slavery" and then that's it for the episode, basically. Mensah is overbearing (I love her but she is), Ratthi is tactless in a way that's infantile, Pin-Lee and Arada (though mostly Arada) are being guided (like Ratthi) by their sex drives rather than, you know, their scientific focus (like wtf with that "first" line? Yes, I'm glad it's openly queer, but with everyone acting like sex-driven children and the focus on PreservationAux as free-loving hippies, it's just... ugh), and Gurathin is just fucking weird, and that, generally, is the focus of the episode. 1968-100a was right on the money when they said everyone is far less emotionally intelligent in the show. And understanding that's likely because they're going to get development arcs is not encouraging because they've been so screwed up that it's not enjoyable to watch.

I would say maybe I'm being too picky about the tone, but also around when episodes 1 and 2 aired, articles popped up indicating the showrunners stated they handled Murderbot's tone by ignoring it. This was not reassuring last week, and it's less reassuring now that episode 3 is out, and I'm less than enthused about what is to come in the rest of this series.

Again, I appreciate the focus on the fake soap operas. It's cute. I'm less enthused that it's so dominating the story when other important things - like the evils of capitalism - are sidelined. For instance, there's really no interrogation of why Murderbot is getting ideas from the soap operas it's watching, e.g., that it wasn't trained in a lot of ways that would help keep humans alive, because of cut costs and the company being focused on its own assets and money rather than actual safety, and the company has an agenda in not necessarily keeping people alive all the time. Also that SecUnit is security, not a medical unit of some kind. The specific role of agenda and who has one and what it is and how that conflicts with ethics and personal safety is an important one in Murderbot. It's somewhat gone in the show, and warped for... whatever Mensah talks about with the Company hoping they'll fail or whatever.

About Ratthi asking the awkward questions: he doesn't frame it the way he does in the show. He doesn't say, "Wooow... Does that mean you have like, human feelings, too?"

This is the scene in Chapter Four of All Systems Red:

“We heard—we were given to understand, that Imitative Human Bot Units are . . . partially constructed from cloned material.”

Warily, I stopped the show I was watching. I didn’t like where this might go. All of that information is in the common knowledge database, plus in the brochure the company provides with the specifics of the types of units they use. Which he knew, being a scientist and whatever. And he wasn’t the kind of human who asked about things when he could look them up himself through a feed. “That’s true,” I said, very careful to make my voice sound just as neutral as always. "That's true," I said, very careful to make my voice sound just as neutral as always.

Ratthi’s expression was troubled. “But surely . . . It’s clear you have feelings—”

I flinched. I couldn’t help it.

Overse had been working in the feed, analyzing data from the assessments. She looked up, frowning. “Ratthi, what are you doing?”

Ratthi shifted guiltily. “I know Mensah asked us not to, but—” He waved a hand. “You saw it."

There's such a leap of relative respect in the difference here. Ratthi in the show is like a hyperactive child driven by his dick with a bit of progressive flavoring. Ratthi in the book is a scientist trying to figure out how to engage with a new team member he doesn't quite know how to handle, who is considered property by most of society. It's awkward, it's still got issues, but it's way more emotionally mature than he is in the show.

The whole thing with Gurathin at this point is just... why? I like that he reached out to Bharadwaj. That's nice. But the rest is just... why? The funniest thing about Gurathin doesn't even feature Gurathin: it's when Murderbot insists it's more of a machine than Gurathin is as a point of pride. That actually made me chuckle.

The crabs were neat. Random, but sure, if you've got a CGI budget, go for it. However, why is Ratthi acting like a child? Why is everyone on this show acting like a child? Why did PreservationAux bring... gifts on their check-up to see if DeltFall needed help? (I know it's for the stupid hippie shit). Why is Murderbot lying to Mensah about the status of the residents of DeltFall? Mensah is supposed to be watching its feed, she knows what Murderbot is seeing, and also it's a way to get Mensah to leave when it explains??? Also, why are they using hand communicators? The impression I always had was that everyone has coms in their heads, similar to what Mars Express and Ghost in the Shell do.

Where. Are. Murderbot's. Drones??????

The end fight was fine. It's partly why I'm more annoyed with the soap operas at this point, though because less focus was given to Murderbot's competence as a security unit - or where it wasn't competent because the company was cheap and didn't care to train it in certain things - and more to the soap opera stuff. We did at least see more of Murderbot's competence this episode with guiding and insisting the humans stay behind, as well as its competence in the fight. But it's treated less like someone who's cagey and more like someone who struggles with basic moment-to-moment existence for things it should be better able to hide/mask, particularly in relation to its job. Yes, Murderbot is awkward and struggles to relate to humans and figure out what it wants, in a way that is frequently obvious when its helmet is down and even in conversation. It is however, not as obvious as it is on the show. I get that seeing its face is going to be a different experience to being in its head, particularly when Murderbot is an unreliable narrator, and exaggeration is normal for visual media. I understand that. But given how much dialogue they're rewriting and adding and how they're modifying things, and how much of the tone and themes they're modifying, this just doesn't work. It feels too clueless. Too caught out. Too... incompetent.

One thing that really got through to me, though, is how much better this series would be as a video game. Certainly, imagining that was far more interesting than watching episode 3.

From a broader standpoint, and I know there's not really dodging around this because it's a book point (and it was always uncomfortable in the books): it's uncomfortable to know this is a U.S.-made show with a central plotline about a character wearing a face covering being strongly asked to keep the face covering off so other people can see their face. Racism against various groups wearing headcoverings which specifically target head coverings in the U.S. is old hat, and that's on top of the whole anti-mask thing a lot of people have been pushing throughout COVID. It's just... It's uncomfortable to see. And it makes me far less kind to Mensah than I have been.

I don't know what to think. I'll probably still watch episode 4, though I'm not exactly looking forward to it. The end fight was at least fine. Please read the books. They're so much better. Kobo sells DRM-free copies, too.

Other thoughts:

Episodes 1-2, Episode 3 (You are here), Episode 4

(Reply)

[samthegreenapologist]

Rating: Explicit

Tags: background alicole, manipulation, pnv!sex , Oral F receiving, doggystyle, Targaryen princess OC, Criston’s depressed inner thoughts, toxic alicole relationship, sad ending

Word Count: 3.5k

“Lord hand?” The Queen’s strained voice called out in his direction. It took the knight a moment to realize that she was speaking to him. He still was not completely wrapped his mind around the position that Aegon had bestowed upon him. He was hardly used to even sitting at this table with the small council let alone being asked his opinion on a topic. Alicent noted his dazed expression right away when he met her urging gaze and restated her sentiment.

“The princess has been increasingly restless, perhaps it is best we allow her passage home.”

He understood now why the queen was calling for his opinion, she wanted his support. That had been something he had always given to her without hesitation or any concern for the scrutiny he might face for following her commands fully. She was his Queen, he had sworn to protect her, to serve her… and in her candle lit chambers kissing her flesh he had silently sworn to love her as well. 

“Rhaenyra will only feel we are taking another child from her,” The men around the table were grumbling, her words were not swaying their opinions. “Perhaps sending her home would grant us the ability to speak reason with Rhaenyra? It could avoid further escalation.” 

The other lords were looking to him for comment, for a decision on this matter. To let him be the one to cast aside the Queen Regents illogical suggestions.

“It would give her cause access to another dragon.” 

He did not look at the Queen as he stomped down her suggestion by stating the obvious. He did not care to see her big brown eyes shocked from this action, that he knew she would view as a betrayal. But he did not think she had much of a right to be so irritated with him. It was becoming increasingly difficult to continuously support somebody he felt was not making intelligent choices and who did not show any indication that she even had a small level of appreciation for the sacrifice and attention he had shown to her for years. People snickered at his dedication to her and he was beginning to feel she treated him as a toy, especially as of late now that she was bitter about her life and position of fleeting power. She expected him to follow her like a dog, piping in to support her claims during the day and scurrying into her chambers once the hour of the bat arrived. There just long enough for her to ride atop his lap or plant herself over his mouth…just to reach her release and then fuss about the hour and how these actions were wrong and send him on his way with a scolding. 

Ser Criston was unable to stop the cyclical thoughts about his frustration regarding the queen as he took the steps in the tower two at a time, his eyes focused up the spiraling steps towards the chambers the princess had been confined to for moons now. 

"Princess," 

His knock upon the hard oak door had her rising from her spot by the small window at once and the simple gown she chose to wear most days flowed back down over her stocking covered feet just as the Knight entered. She stayed silent as he placed his helmet on the small table beside the doorway, finding it best to let him guide these discussions. In the past he had simply left her alone if she started up right away with the begging or weeping to be sent home, free from this chambers and far from the Red Keep. 

“We discussed the performances at night, have we not? The carrying on only makes the council feel you would scorn us all should you be allowed leave.” They had spoken of this many times before, she claimed her desire was just to go home and mourn her brother with her family insisting that she wanted no part in this war. 

“Yes My Lord.” She had made sure to call him that since he began appearing with the necklace of hands around his neck. It did her no good to disrespect his position especially when she knew he had been her mothers sworn shield. Her mother had selected his name to be written in the book so surely he was a good knight, an honorable man. He could help her…at least that was what she prayed for and what she had begun to believe was true since he initially mentioned the idea of being able to slip her out in the night.

Criston Cole looked to the small window for a moment as he sighed, weight dropping from his shoulders as the air left his lungs. This room was a respite for him, though it was a cage for her. 

“I am doing what I can,” he lied stepping a bit closer to her “But you must play your part too, the sweet girl.” he reminded and his eyes seem to notice the simplicity of her gown, practically just a nightgown with the addition of cloth stocking on her feet to keep them warm against the cold stone floor. Her light lilac colored eyes flickered up at him, some hope in them given his comments. 

“Forgive me,” she shook her head, scolding herself some. “It just…it becomes so lonely when you do not visit, my days melt together. I could not sleep.” she explained to him her pale hand coming up to delicately touch his chest plate, fingers light as if he could feel her touch even over all the armor. 

“You’ve missed my company?” His voice’s stiffness almost faltered and gave away how desperately he had needed to hear that. Affirmation that she needed him, that she looked forward to his company. It made something deep within him stir.

She simply nodded and rose up onto the tips of her toes to make her tall enough to kiss his cheek just above where his beard began to sprout on his face. The lord hand did not take a moment to reflect on the fact that he was the only company she ever got other than the maids bringing her necessities and coming to help her bathe on occasion. Aemond, the reason she had been here in the first place certainly did not come to her chamber. He likely felt relieved that this conflict had kept their betrothal from moving forward. Criston was the only person who seemed to care to speak to her and so she had realized quickly that he was who she needed to convince to free her. 

“You look lovely” His hand came to hold her cheek, the leather of his glove cool on her face, keeping her close to him. A fondness had developed. Performative at first on her part but true closeness had developed due to the contact and sprinklings of hope he gave to her. 

Alicent did not let him compliment her, she only wanted his mouth on her cunt, or his cock to ride. The queen had not kissed him at all the last few times he had been in her rooms after dark. She simply seeked his company for self satisfaction and then looked at him with disgust or shame. It made him feel like a whore. 

Used. 

“The queen spoke of releasing you,” a truth. “I’m getting through to her,” a lie that he did not dwell on because he had pressed his lips to her jaw and bit at her some before soothing the flesh with a kiss. 

“I always had faith you would.”

The airness that developed so quickly in her voice made the knight smirk slightly as he began to remove his armour. They had done this enough times now that she knew how to help him with the latches and knots so he was free of the hard material in a short time. She could see how hard he was breathing now that that armour was pulled away, with it the silver chain of hands too, revealing only his hairy bare chest and golden pendant. She reached to fiddle with the chain but his hands had found her waist and pushed her back until she could feel the hardness of the wall behind her. It was her chest turn to pound.

“I do not want you to feel so neglected you weep at night.” he said simply. As if bedding her now was a favor he did exclusively for her. Perhaps it was easier for him to imagine it that way. That he was helping her, helping her with all of this. Pleasure for company and empty promises for peace of mind?

Her eyebrows raised up at the front and pinched together in the most entrancing way when he would squeeze at her sides. She was not ashamed of his touch, she lavished in the moment of connection. Alicent was the Queen Dowager, but she could be his princess.

“Then do not neglect me”

Gods, She has so much of the quick wit her mother had. To avoid that thought he let his hands explore up her bodice and grope at her chest as his face dropped down to kiss upon her collar bones, his nose settled in the crook of her neck taking in her soft scent.

Criston was breathing hard. The air puffing out over her neck and warming her flesh a great deal as his hands pulled at the back of the gown. 

“Criston-“ she wanted to ask if he was alright, but his lips silenced her right away. She should be used to the intensity and eagerness he always had when he came up for a visit, but it always seemed to increase in intensity.

The tenseness of his shoulders made it so her fingertip could barely push into the skin when she grasped onto him so she knew he was quite a bit stressed, more than normal. Perhaps something that happened in the war? She wanted nothing more than to ask but he would get closed off if she questioned what was happening to much…weary likely that this was all some attempt at acquiring information for her mother. 

He was completely lost in her chest now, his large hand was keeping her firmly down against the windowsill so his face could enjoy her breasts. Mouthing freely at her flesh until he lapped at her nipple, warming one before moving to the next and as soon as he heard her soft breathy whimper he bit down. 

“Whining at night…” he huffed out a bit breathless as he regrettably pulled back from her chest  “does my princess need her knight every evening?” He growled looking down at her and his hand slid up her soft sides feeling her skin shift with his hand until his thumb was rubbing at the thin column of her neck. 

“Can you spare that time for me?” Her chin raised up and her heart pounded. That answer clearly pleased him because he had started to rut himself against her lower half. Harshly enough that she needed to wrap her legs around him so she was not pressed against the glass of the window too much. He couldn’t help but seek more of her after a question like that. She needed him, she appreciated that he was busy but she clearly wanted to be selfish and ask for his company more. She was the opposite of Alicent…she valued him.

The both of them needed connection and hope enough that they could use one another for these small moments without having to reflect on the greater actions at play. She could imagine her white knight would kiss her and set her free and he could pretend to be the longed for lover that saves her. 

Criston's trousers were shoved down by his own hand when he let her up so she could move to the bed and before he could reach her he was treated to a delicious show of her pale tights being bared to him as the stockings were removed. He all but growled at the sight. She was prettier than her mother had been at this age and so much more appreciative. His thick cock was bobbing with anticipation at the view of her and he made an audible noise of need when he caught a glimpse of the silver swatch of hair against her pink cunny. 

She was stretched for him by this point and he found a great bit of pleasure in seeing the small gape she had. He would have a lasting impact…her body would not be able to forget he had been there and in a world where his lovers…the women he worshiped casted him aside he needed to know that she wouldn’t be able to forget how he had fucked her…how he had made her feel. That would not fade like bruises from overzealous kisses on a neck. Their chest slid together as he came down overtop of her his hips nestled between her spread thighs and they kissed one another for a long while.

His golden pendant and some of the chain pooled in the valley between her breasts while his shaft slid between her folds, his tip reddened with blood bumped at her tender bud as he readied her, waiting to feel she was damp enough to take him. She did not rush him, there was no fast rump between meetings nor hushed encounters late at night when the maids left. He had her all to himself here, he was the one in charge. Most times he had her suckle at his cock to make it wet but on days when her release was mentioned he’d opt to kiss her, and hold her like this…perhaps to convince himself that she enjoyed this closeness enough that he was justified in keeping her here for these selfish reasons. 

When her whimpers turned into outright moans he knew she was ready. That point was punctuated by the fact that her pussy had swelled and gotten heated…she was so very reactive to him. He fought the urge to lap at her cunt…to taste the pleasure that was leaking from her. He would save that to help her reach her peak. He always ensured she came, no matter how roughly he took her he did still want her to experience that numbing bliss. His hands easily lifted her up, grabbing her wide bottom and placing a few kisses at the shell of her ear.

“Turn around” 

She yelped at the bite that accompanied his demand and compiled instantly. Crumbling back down to the bed but this time on her stomach for him. It took three swats to her ass and a solid pinch to her milky thighs for her to raise her butt up and open her knees for him. The words of praise he gave her were drowned out by the loud gasp pulled from her lips because of how abruptly he had entered her. His cock had been lined up expertly so with a bit of pressure he was able to seat himself fully into her. He swore Targaryens had the warmers cores, it drove him mad and had him gripping onto her hips harder than he needed to. Her forehead was pressed down against the quilt on the bed and she panted against the fabric as Ser Criston pulled his hips back and then shoved them back towards her at a rapid pace with quite a bit of force. He outright growled when he realized that her noises were being muffled by the fabric so he sent one hand up her back to the nape of her neck and let his fingers slide against her scalp, her silky silver hair filling in the spaces between his fingers before he pulled his hands back to lift her face up. 

“Ahh! Gods Ser-mmm,” she was devolving to incoherence…which he quite liked. He loved that he pushed her to a point where she could not keep herself buttoned up. She let go, not bashful of the noises that she made, certainly not concerned about the lewd sound that was occurring between his pelvis and her cunt. The wet slapping would be enough for anybody to know what was occurring within these walls. But she was his princess…he had been tasked at handling her, just him. Feeling how she cried out and her hips twitched against his hands made him pull her completely up so her back was to his chest and with a panting breath he growled into her ear. 

“You’re mine” he told her, with no room for debate in his tone.

When her core began to clench around him and his tip throbbed within her he did seem to sober up enough to realize he needed to remove himself from her. Gods know he wanted to fill her, wanted to see his seed drip down her swollen folds. But then things would be ruined if she was with child, people would notice and she wouldn’t be his princess in the tower anymore. So he panted as he mustered up all his good sense and  pulled himself out. She knew to stay in her spot, her cunt on display for him and he could see her small breasts hanging just slightly down below her stomach as she caught her breath and her core constricted over and over around nothingness while he fisted his cock. Making long strokes and groaning quite vocally as his sensitive tip was stimulated by his foreskin moving up and down. 

“Let me-“ the princess began, about to suggest she suckle at him, but his hand, the delicious view and her concern for his own pleasure sent him over the edge and the knight's thighs trembled as his seed ended up splayed across her slightly reddened bottom. 

“Seven hells.” 

Both of their panting was filling the air for a minute or so while he rubbed his hand up and down the side of her leg and circled her hip bone. Then once he regained enough air in his lungs he released her hair from his hand and started to lean his head down to press a kiss to her engorged clit and felt how she was twitching. It wouldn’t take much to get her to her peak. It was easy to urge her into her back, and instantly he braced his hands on the underside of her knees and pushed her legs towards her upper body which opened her up completely to him.

“We can’t have you whining tonight princess….” He murmured with a smirk as he ducked down and licked a swatch over her dripping core. She was nodded down at him quickly.

“I w-won’t.” She swore to him raising her hips up as much as she could in this position and he praised her promise by doubling down on his efforts and pushing his greedy tongue into her core savoring the taste as his nose nudged over and over at the underside of her clit until she had begun to clench against him once more. His grunts and breath only made for vibrations that sent her further into overstimulation. The princess whimpers turned into trembling moans again. She cried out, her stomach sucking in as she reached her peak and then puffing out as she rutted once more against his face before her muscles went limp.

He pulled his face back and wiped his hand over his mouth and some of his beard, a breathless grin on his face as he took in her weakened state. She clutched to him after her release and he lavished in these moments. When she held to him, not one thought in her mind to push him from the room like Alicent always did.

“I will miss this.” She was still catching her breath as he wrapped her up against his chest. The comment made Criston nod stiffly and hold her a bit tighter.

“As will I princess.” She looked up at him, her pale lilac eyes filled again with hope. He could not crush her “Soon you will return home, let me arrange a few more things.” He lied as she smiled and gently fiddled with the chain of his necklace as she settled against him, rest coming easy to her due to the comfort of those vows. 

Ser Criston Cole would not have to choose between his own self interest and being her hero for in a weeks time the marcher would set course for Harrenhall. He would not feel her soft flesh again, not see her eyes so desperate to be free, he would not ever pick up on the soft undertone of sadness in her voice as she bid him a goodbye and luck on his day of activities. He would never need to lie to his princess again for he would not return to the red keep and she would never leave it. 

[hollowed-theory-hall]

hello 👋👋👋

thoughts on Blaise Zabini? there is some scenes in HBP when he's cold pureblood who is looking with hate on Harry

in fics he's usually portraits like pretences boy, no biggot, but in canon he's like it actually

wanna read your opinion ;)

Okay, I actually really like Blaise Zabini and find excuses to write him into my fic. Like I think he's a bitchy bigoted asshole but I love him anyways.

I love the conversation we have with him, Pansy, and Draco at the beginning of HBP, since it's our best look at how the Slytherins interact with each other. I used it a lot in my Theo Nott meta because it's a really good piece of character work that I really like. Like, it shows how none of them are really friends and I'm here for it. I love their scathing friendship where they would all sell each other for one corn chip.

With all that, let's talk about Blaise:

He's good-looking. His mother is mentioned as being incredibly beautiful and clearly her son got it from her:

He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting eyes;

(HBP, 143)

He can be cold and aloof. Like, Blaise is often described as looking bored or indifferent, and it's not common that he shows much of an emotional reaction:

Crabbe and Goyle were gawping at Malfoy; apparently they had had no inkling of any plans to move on to bigger and better things. Even Zabini had allowed a look of curiosity to mar his haughty features.

(HBP, 151)

(Haughty is a word often used for attractive characters in HP, to my above point)

Now, Blaise is intelligent. Like, he seems very aware of people and what bothers them most (which he uses to be an ass). He's not quite a bully like Malfoy, but he likes knowing what's going on with everyone. In the other quotes I bring up I'll mention that as bored as he looks, he's clearly interested in the gossip. He loves having information others want. He likes having that power over Draco, particularly since they seem to have a kind of ego war going on on the down low. (in my opinion, Zabini wins since he's the one who actually manages to look cool and collected).

We also know he's in NEWT potions, so, he likely had an O in Potions adding to the point about him being intelligent.

As I mentioned, he is kind of an ass:

Zabini did not make any sign of recognition or greeting, nor did Harry or Neville: Gryffindor and Slytherin students loathed each other on principle.

(HBP, 143)

“Of course,” said Slughorn, watching Harry closely, “there have been rumors for years. . . . I remember when — well — after that terrible night — Lily — James — and you survived — and the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary —” Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused skepticism.

(HBP, 146)

As he pushed past Harry into the darkening corridor, Zabini shot him a filthy look that Harry returned with interest. He, Ginny, and Neville followed Zabini back along the train.

(HBP, 147)

But he's an ass in a very different way from Draco. Draco is in your face with mean comments and making fun of things in an obvious very verbose way, Blaise is an asshole in an aloof kind of way. Like, he thinks himself too good to go out of his way to bully people, and he doesn't need to actively do anything. He's all scathing looks and raised brows and subtle acts of minimizing and belittling people.

He isn't actually close to the other Slytherins and treats them not that differently from how he treats Harry.

It was fortunate that Goyle and Zabini were snarling at each other, [...] “So, Zabini,” said Malfoy, “what did Slughorn want?” “Just trying to make up to well-connected people,” said Zabini, who was still glowering at Goyle. “Not that he managed to find many.”

(HBP, 149)

Blaise doesn't have respect for Draco, Crabbe, or Goyle, and he doesn't need to say it, he shows it. He snarls at Goyle like he would at Harry (who he disrespects and thinks less of). He says there aren't many well-connected people, clearly meaning everyone in the compartment besides himself. He's a dick.

Like I mentioned in the post about Theo, the Slytherins aren't actually friends. Draco uses Blaise's last name, not the first one. They aren't close and they're both aware of it. @indigo-scarf wrote a great post about how Draco and Blaise aren't actually friends, but it isn't unique to them. Crabbe and Goyle turn on Malfoy instantly in book 7 when they think him weak. Even in OotP, they do nothing to help Draco when Harry and George attack him. And Draco clearly doesn't actually trust any of them as in HBP, his main confidante, and friend is Moaning Myrtle. All these Slytherins hang out together because it serves them, not because they like each other.

Similarly, Theo clearly hangs out with Draco in books 5 & 6 only when he has no choice. Pansy is dating Draco, but is making eyes at Blaise like Draco is her second choice. But Blaise doesn't seem interested in Pansy in any way and thinks she is lesser than him as well. Blaise and Theo clearly aren't friendly either as they never hang out and Blaise calls him by his surname, etc. Basically, none of them actually like each other, though I assume some of them do respect each other (to different levels throughout the books. Though I headcanon Blaise and Theo have some grudging silent respect for each other as they consider each other intelligent and on the same level, while they both look down on most of the rest of their year including Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle).

Malfoy sat up very suddenly, knocking Pansy’s hand aside. “He invited Longbottom?” “Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there,” said Zabini indifferently. “What’s Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?” Zabini shrugged.

(HBP, 150)

Here again, Blaise is ridiculing Draco subtly. Basically saying "well, duh, don't be an idiot," without outright saying that but making Draco feel it all the same.

He's also showing how he ravels in getting an invite when Draco didn't. Blaise likes having the cards and power in a situation.

“I wouldn’t bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott’s father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently, but when he heard he’d been caught at the Ministry he didn’t look happy, and Nott didn’t get an invitation, did he? I don’t think Slughorn’s interested in Death Eaters.” Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.

(HBP, 151)

And Blaise knows how to get to Draco who is clearly upset. Draco wishes his snide comments were on Blaise's level. I just really enjoy how Blaise shows his disdain for people. And how he thinks of himself as better.

“And you think you’ll be able to do something for him?” asked Zabini scathingly. “Sixteen years old and not even fully qualified yet?”

(HBP, 152)

Again, in the above quote, he belittles Draco and shows his doubts about him and how much Voldemort actually wants him in his service. And he's 100% right that Voldemort is expecting Draco to fail, something even Draco didn't quite realize yet.

All this isn't friendship. It's acquaintances who dislike each other but need each other is what it is. I know that when I'm writing them, that's what I go for. They were raised to see other people as connections or tools, not as friends. So real friendship is rare with these sorts of purebloods, it exists, but it's rare. Like, some of them probably like each other and enjoy each other's company, but I imagine they wouldn't like, actually trust each other.

Ginny calls him a poser and she is somewhat correct. I think Blaise does believe in everything he says he does, but he isn't as cold and bored as he appears. I think he likes knowing gossip and information others don't even if he appears nonchalant about it. That is definitely a pretense, but the bigotry isn't.

I know many fics paint Blaise as someone who isn't actually a bigot (because he's black) but he is. I think he is one of the characters who's honestly an unapologetic blood purist:

“A lot of boys like her,” said Pansy, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction. “Even you think she’s goodlooking, don’t you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!” “I wouldn’t touch a filthy little blood traitor like her whatever she looked like,” said Zabini coldly, and Pansy looked pleased.

(HBP, 150)

He sounds exactly like Bellatrix "Blood Traitor is right next to Mudblood in my book" Lestrange.

Obviously, he says what he is supposed to and what he's been taught all his life, but I think these are his honest views from what he knows. Like, in the Wizarding World skin color clearly doesn't matter much, but blood, oh, they care about blood.

This is somewhat interesting considering the Zabinis aren't among the Sacred 28, whether it's because they immigrated to the UK after Cantankerus Nott wrote the pure blood dictionary or they really are not pure-blooded enough, is unclear. I headcanon it's the former and that the family moved to Britain more recently, after the dictionary was written in the 1930s. And, it kinda makes sense. Like, if the Zabinis were in the continent and backed up Grindlewald, and then after he fell they needed a new start someplace that didn't have as strong feelings about Grindlewald and them, so they moved to the UK. Grindelwald never reached the UK and therefore, they could live there without that stain attached to their name. That's like, my headcanon about the Zabini family.

Despite all his Slytherin tendencies and intelligence, Blaise is quite arrogant. I mentioned he's prideful and thinks himself better than Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle for example, but he thinks himself so above others that he's untouchable. You see it in how loos-lipped he is regarding his mother's crimes:

Zabini, who was interrogated after McLaggen, turned out to have a famously beautiful witch for a mother (from what Harry could make out, she had been married seven times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds of gold).

(HBP, 145)

Like, how do you accidentally let that slip in casual conversation?

It's clear he thinks he and his mother are above the law and that no one could do anything to them. He believes in this so much that he doesn't care outright mentioning she maybe murdered her husbands in a room filled with people who don't like him. He feels that secure in none of them doing anything or being able to do anything. (I bet his mom bribed a ton of people).

In my headcanon, Blaise and his mother are pretty close and are each other's only confidantes. Like, they sit together to gossip and judge people. She asks him whether he thinks this next husband is good enough or rich enough. I headcanon she's also cold, bitchy, and arrogant and Blaise models his persona after her (and perhaps her brother or father, but only relatives on her side).

I also imagine he knows his mother killed his father and that she sat him down and explained why so he does back her on that decision. He has his doubts deep down about his mother's ways, but he isn't ready to examine them, or planning on doing so any time soon.

So, yeah, I think Blais is an asshole pureblood bigot who doesn't really have friends and is so incredibly arrogant. But he isn't a bully, he shows his disdain through cold looks and indifference. He also has the potential for interesting character dynamics with his mom and I like him a lot.

[triangletoothedlockpick]

Off the Devil spoilers under the cut

I keep thinking about like, how Morgan portrays herself versus what actually seems to be apparent from her unspoken words, actions, and beliefs.

One part in particular is when she talks about the industrial disaster that killed >400,000 people. She uses it to justify her murders, sure. The thing is, she 'did the math' she says, to calculate how long it would take to reach that kill count. She's good at mental math because of gambling, sure, but that's a massive stretch.

Which suggests she thought about it ages ago, not on the fly. And she remembered the exact figures. That's hard to commit to memory if it's just make a point.

So I have to wonder, does that specific event mean something more to her? We know from her later musings that she tried to fight what she perceived as her nature. The depiction of her ASPD/sociopathy/whatever you want to call it is not pedestrian or poorly researched. The focus on having her be challenged on her beliefs about herself (by Emma, by Serra) indicates it to be a major narrative focus of the story.

Which means she probably wasn't actually born destined to be a murderer, she's just more capable of it. If this girl was once trying to have feelings the way 'normal' people do, she probably tried having a moral code too. So why did she stop, or at least not take up one that allowed for 'human life is important'. Partly unable to control her urges, so had to pick something that allowed for killing, sure. I think that's part of it, but there's more.

Maybe also events like the industrial incident killed off her already limited faith in humanity. She is constantly cynical about the state of the world. It may be that it actually bothers her a lot how people treat each other, on a social level. That she sees the way corporations and authorities get away with it all, and she hates it. Maybe it even affected her directly, we don't know - her past is still mysterious.

She'd never admit that but it feels plausible to me. There's a lot she doesn't know about herself. She portrays herself as confident, intelligent, above it all, the only one who really knows how it is... but she doesn't. She's as blind as justice.

I could be wrong, naturally. We will have to see how the story plays out. But that's just my 2 cents.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Mansfield Park - Henry Crawford and Fanny Price

I want to lay out how I see these characters and their relationship, because to me they seem to be set up as a deliberate contrast to Pride and Prejudice. At the tine of Henry’s first proposal, they are in a similar place to Elizabeth and Darcy at the time of Darcy’s first proposal, albeit with extremely different personalities than those characters: Fanny refuses him despite his wealth and her economic precarity because she cannot like or even respect him. However, Fanny, who is far shyer than Elizabeth, cannot lay out in direct and specific terms the foundation of her disapprobation of him.

From there, Henry sets out to win her regard in ways that very closely recall some of the events between Elizabeth and Darcy.

1) He does a great favour for a relative of hers. In his case, it is getting his uncle the admiral to have Fanny’s brother William promoted to lieutenant; in Darcy’s, it is saving the Bennets from disgrace by getting Wickham to marry Lydia. Darcy’s favour is far greater, and much more personally unpleasant for him, and he keeps it intentionally secret; he does it out of love of Elizabeth, but not to make her feel obligated. Henry’s takes only a few days of his time, its goal is get to Fanny to like him better, and he leverages it both at first and later to make her feel obliged to him.

2) He changes his manners to suit her. In Darcy’s case this means being polite rather than rude and haughty; in the case of Henry, who has always been charming and gregarious, it involves softening his manners to suit Fanny’s shy and quiet personality and engaging in more serious talk. In Darcy’s case this is a fundamental change in response to Elizabeth’s reproof; in Henry’s, it’s a simple adaptation to one person’s taste rather than another. He’s intelligent and able to engage in serious conversation when he wants to, but that’s not indicative of any fundamental change in his thinking.

3) He is polite to her family (the Prices, in Portsmouth) even when they are embarrassing.

4) He speaks with Fanny about reforms he is making on his estates to make sure his tenants are being treated fairly. These feels like a parallel to Elizabeth’s improved opinion of Darcy upon visiting Pemberley and hearing how well his servants speak of him. The difference is that Darcy has always been like that, whereas we are told early in Mansfield Park that Henry has been little on his estates during his adulthood: “To any thing like a permanence of abode, Henry Crawford had…a great dislike”. Darcy is acting in line with deep-seated principles; Henry is doing it as part of his courtship of Fanny, so he can bring it up to her and look good. He also tries to get her to counsel him to continue in this current vein, to engage her in a desire to fix/improve him, which Fanny shuts down laudably: “I advise! - you know very well what is right,” and when he reples that he always knows what is right when she tells him: “We all have a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it, than any other person could be.” The weakness of Henry’s motivation is seen in the ending, where he puts off a visit to his estates to set matters right there in order to flirt with the now-married Maria Rushworth.

In short, Darcy is already good in many concrete ways, and sincerely improves in the ways where he is faulty, not in order to get Elizabeth to love him but because he thinks about her criticisms, agrees with them, and wants to be better for its own sake; and he helps her family solely out of love for her and deliberately hides it. Henry changes his manner and talk as part of his courtship, but his deeper values and attitudes do not change, and everything is directed at getting Fanny to fall for him.

The second area of contrast is in what the heroines object to. Elizabeth’s aspersions on Darcy’s character, regarding his interactions with Wickham, are found to be mistaken; her legitimate objections are to his attitude and arrogance, and he amends this. Henry’s manners are impeccable and his company charming; Fanny’s objections are to his character. She sees him deliberately flirt with both her cousins at once to a degree that implies an intent to propose, and play them off against one another; she sees him make some very deliberate and mutually-understood innuendo towards Maria, signifying that she should break off her engagement and be with him instead, all with zero intention of actually proposing if she did do so; she sees him use the theatricals to continue this pursuit of Maria. And this is very usual behaviour for Henry; his sister says he has broken many hearts, and when he starts courting Fanny his goal is to make her fall in love with him and then leave her “feeling she will never be happy again”.

This is what makes me judge Henry much more harshly than his sister Mary. Mary can be selfish, but she is not malicious or cruel, and she can be kind when it doesn’t inconvenience her (and one of her better traits is that even when she is unhappy or disappointed she never takes it out on other people). In contrast, Henry’s principal diversion and entertainment for years has been deliberately making young women miserable, leading them on, getting them to reject other suitors in hopes of him, and then departing without a care, to please his own vanity. He is, in truth, doing not once but habitually, what Willoughby did to Marianne: always implying enough to seem on the edge of an engagement but never following through, and then pretending it was all nothing. It’s a casual cruelty he finds amusing as a proof of his skills. In short, he’s a deceptive playboy. Even after Maria is married, he can’t resist flirting with her, which is what leads to her disgrace and social destruction.

Even though Austen lays out an alternative scenario where Henry might have married Fanny if not for that final flirtation with Maria Rushworth, all of the above does not lead me to believe she find that scenario desirable. She’s painstakingly laid out all the contrasts with her previous novel that make this scenario a very different one from Pride and Prejudice.

In addition to Henry’s serial seductions, one of the biggest red flags is his attempt to make Fanny responsible for his character, with an attitude of ‘you’re such an angel, you can make me do whatever you want’. This gives me Tenant of Wildfell Hall vibes, where Helen’s aunt tries to warn her off thinking that an older man of the world will let himself be guided and led by a younger woman who is in his power. Fanny rejects this idea: Henry knows what is right, can make his own choice to do it, and she will not let herself be appropriated as his conscience. Henry isn’t debauched like Huntington, but if Fanny married him the chances of him feeling bored after some years - when he no longer has the thrill of the pursuit to keep him interested - and pursuing other flirtations and affairs to Fanny’s misery, seems pretty high based on his character; and he’s skilled enough at skirting the line that he could easily brush away any objections from her as “oh, it’s nothing, just being sociable.”

On top of all the faults of character - even if Henry did reform, I have trouble seeing Fanny and Henry being happy together. At the core of his personality is a need for change, for stimulus, for challenge (the latter, rather than sexual desire, is the main thing driving his string of conquests), and for company. Fanny, in contrast, very much prefers quiet and the company of a few people she is close to, and I think this is her genuine personality, not something that needs to be overcome by “bringing her out of her shell”. Henry would be bored to misery living the kind of lifestyle that Fanny is comfortable with, and Fanny would be deeply unhappy living in the social whirl and flurry of activity that Henry prefers. In contrast, Fanny and Edmund are both “me after a quiet day in: time for a quiet night in” people.

So, with all this, why is Henry/Fanny a popular AU? Apart from fannish dislike of Edmund (which I don’t share), I think part of it is that we don’t get an open confrontation between Fanny and Henry, the way we do between Elizabeth and Darcy, where she lays out her objections to him: I saw you flirting with both my cousins at once, I saw you making them both unhappy for your own amusement, I saw you repeatedly tempting Maria to break her engagement with no intention of following through if she did, just because you liked the challenge of winning an engaged woman. And the lack of this naturally raises the question of: how would Henry react if this confrontation happened? Which provides fertile soil for AUs.

[maxdibert]

Do you have any headcanons on the 'gang of Slytherins' Sirius mentioned and said Severus was involved with? Were any of them classmates or just spread out across all years? Lucius was part of the gang, Bellatrix too. Perhaps the older ones preyed on the young ones and tried to see and pick who has the potential to become a death eater with proper grooming methods. Then the ones who were chosen might have recommended and involved their friend who also has potential etc. Like a quiet secret game that relies on connection, manipulation and trust. I think it was a game of trial and error and their preying was slow and careful. They definitely weren't public but were still shady enough that people were wary and noticed them.

Lucius and Bellatrix were older, and I suppose they had a good relationship, perhaps even considered each other friends, although I think Lucius must have had a calmer, less impulsive, and more strategic personality. You can see him welcoming Severus during the Sorting ceremony, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he acted charming and approachable toward new Slytherins as a strategy to get close to them and recruit them. The war wouldn’t start until much later, but it’s not far-fetched to think that many pure-blood families were already plotting and using Slytherin as a base for their intrigues — a sort of breeding ground for future soldiers for their cause.

I’ve always thought that, upon realizing where Severus came from — something Lucius would have spotted immediately because, honestly, people of a certain social class can recognize someone with no money in a split second — he figured that if he gave him the right tools, he could turn him into someone useful. And I believe this perception must have increased significantly when he saw that the boy was talented and intelligent. I’ve always thought Severus must have been some sort of "project" for Lucius, very Emma Woodhouse-like: taking this kid with no money, no class, no family name, and no blood status and turning him into a worthy member of their sacred Hogwarts house. A sort of social project for rich people with no real understanding of the issue.

That would explain why Severus, despite how the Marauders treated him and despite being a half-blood himself, had a group to hang out with in Slytherin, and there’s no indication anyone there bullied him. It would also explain how he got into the Death Eaters so easily and why he quickly became Voldemort’s spy. To me, Lucius was his social patron, and at the same time, I think knowing that Severus had his protection and acceptance made things easier for him in Slytherin. I also think that’s why Severus felt some affection for the Malfoys, something clearly seen in how he treats Draco or reacts to Narcissa’s visit — even the fact that Narcissa knew where he lived in the Muggle world. I mean, Narcissa Malfoy, in the Muggle world, in a very poor working-class neighborhood, moving around confidently? She had clearly been there before, and that indicates a close relationship. Honestly, I don’t think Severus would have let people like the Malfoys see Spinner’s End (or anyone, really, except Lily — and only because Lily lived nearby and was his childhood friend; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let her either) unless he truly had a close bond with them. To me, Lucius turned Severus into his personal project, and the fact that Severus turned out to be so capable made him grow fond of him. I also see Narcissa as a kind of older sister — a bit frivolous but ultimately fond of the kid because, well, look at him — like an abandoned street puppy.

I’ve always thought that Avery and Mulciber must have been in his year because not only is it mentioned that Severus hung out with them, but also because Lily references the incident with Mary McDonald, who was also in the same year — or that’s the implication. I think they were classmates, maybe even roommates, and that Severus adapted to what they did and laughed at their antics, much like Peter or Remus did with Sirius and James, just to have a place to belong in a hostile environment.

It’s true that Rowling mentions, "Severus wanted Lily but also wanted Mulciber," and that could be interpreted in many ways. Maybe he had a closer relationship with Mulciber, or perhaps he wanted what Mulciber had — what Mulciber represented in contrast to what Lily represented. I do think he probably considered him a friend at some point, and much like Remus would later excuse his friends’ terrible behavior when talking to Harry, Severus likely did the same with his own friends.

I also think that after what happened with Lily, the only people he still felt some regard for and considered close were the Malfoys, despite how contradictory that may seem. But Severus has always been deeply loyal to people who, from the start, showed him affection, kindness, or even just sympathy. He demonstrates this with Lily, with Dumbledore, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it were the same with the Malfoys. I don’t think his favoritism toward Draco was just a cover; I believe that in the same way he hated Harry because of how his father treated him, he also liked Draco for the same reason.

[essaytime]

I think the main thing that absolutely infuriates me about the "Romeo and Juliet were just dumb, horny teens" take is this implication that because they were so young, their relationship had to boil down to them being dramatic and inventing some great romance to moan about, or lust and hormones. As a teenager, it makes me want to tear the speaker apart with my bare hands. Interchangeably with stabbing, maybe.

When you look at the text, you can clearly see that there is some emotional connection between Juliet and Romeo. Their first conversation is literally a sonnet - which already indicates some sort of understanding and mutuality, and it's also beautiful poetry. They are the only characters in the entire play that they are really fully comfortable talking to. The adults are caught up in the feud, Nurse loves Juliet, but cannot understand her (and makes a dirty joke at her expense in Act I, which for a person Juliet's age would be awfully unpleasant), Romeo's friends, though I Iove them, don't get his sensitivity - Mercutio laughing at it and Benvolio worried by it - which Juliet, in turn, appreciates. They speak of each other with respect and admiration, quite unusually in Verona, where all is conflict and even Juliet's own father insults her: look at the sonnet, the balcony scene, Romeo comparing his sweetheart to the sun or a jewel (in contrast to his earlier quotes about Rosaline, which are literally a compilation of clichés stacked on top of one another). Even when Juliet awaits their wedding night, in a speech clearly centered on sexual matters, there is a visible softness and affection with which she treats Romeo ("cut him out in little stars"...). She waits for the night because it's him, not "I want to sleep with someone because I want to sleep with someone". The two genuinely care about each other, and are fond of each other. Of course, we can wonder if this love would last if they were given an opportunity to grow older, but when the play takes place, this love is there, and it's beautiful.

(Off-topic, I'd also like to note that this is an Elizabethan play that takes place in even earlier times, presumably late medieval - early renaissance Italy. They wouldn't live in the modern world where you can date many different people and settle well into your thirties or fourties. The average marriage age for girls in Shakespeare's time was about twenty, in fifteenth century Florence it was eighteen. Both of them were from wealthy families, so they'd likely be expected - even if Juliet's parents did not force her into a marriage with Paris - to marry earlier, for financial and political purposes. There couldn't be a "growing older" like we imagine it. Even their hypothetical different relationships would be early relationships for today's standards)

And it makes my blood boil when the visible genuine bond between these two is reduced to just "dumb kids being horny". The motive behind these words being partly, of course, the high-school-acquired All Required Reading is Nonsense edginess, but also a deeper issue - the inability to comprehend the fact that teenage love is also often real love.

Being capable of having deep and meaningful romantic relationships does not come baked into your birthday cake when you turn eighteen or attached to your first ever bill. Not every single feeling a teenager might harbour is at its core shallow lust and wanting to get laid. Of course, there's lots of cases of shortsighted infatuation where the pair really have nothing in common! I could name at least a few examples I have seen personally. But still, on every street and every corner of the world, and often a few metres from these pointless infatuations, teens fall in love because there's something more to it. Because they find they have a lot in common, because they get along well with each other, because they are able to see the good in the other person - their kindness, their intelligence, their enthusiasm, you name it. "Teens" including the younger teens, from thirteen to fifteen. And this love is a deep emotional bond. Sure, in most cases it will not last until death (and to be honest, relationships not working out is not really a teenage-specific phenomenon and a sign that young love of all is inherently doomed and it has to die so the curse of growing up is fulfilled), but it doesn't make it less of a love when it still remains, and it includes all the things love is about. Young couples go on dates, and have fun. They confide in each other. They support each other through hard times, they show care, they sometimes make sacrifices for their loved one's good. As any person in love does, at any age.

When I fell in love four months ago, I did not fall in love because I wanted to sleep with someone so bad. In fact, I do not want to - not for the next several years. I realise it's something I might want someday, but it's not today; and above all, I'm way too young. If anything, what I want is to kiss someone, or run my fingers through his hair, or read with his head in my lap - but it's not something I'd go out of my way and date a random person to get, come on. I fell in love because he is actually the first boy that reminds me of myself so much, the first I can understand so well. Because I also have a penchant for history and writing, I also tend to use formal and flowery language in very informal situations, I also enjoy people's attention (though I seem to worry more about being a potential inconvenience than he does), I also believe that we should judge people as individuals, because there's too much nuance in one person to make proper statements about large groups - and I find in him so many things that I can relate to, though of course I can't say I know him well enough to speak much for sure. Besides, he's simply a wonderful person, not flawless, of course, but he has a good heart. He is always kind, and well-mannered, and intelligent, and you can laugh with him. I think he would care if something bad happened, no matter if he says that he wouldn't. I think I know him well enough to say this at least. And if he loved me back (a thing I consider unlikely for now, but not entirely impossible), would we stay together forever? Heaven alone knows! Maybe not! It is up to the higher power. But even if we broke up, that wouldn't erase the fact that I loved him, and I would have done a lot for him, and we were able to have meaningful conversations. Just because a love isn't forever, doesn't mean it was never there.

Because - what the "dumb kids" people don't seem to grasp - teenagers are also human beings with a functioning, even if not fully developed, brain, capable of having complex feelings and thoughts just like an adult. Note that Shakespeare's leads, at least Juliet, actually do that - hence the pre-wedding night monologue, the "deny thy father and refuse thy name", her statement (I don't know the English original of that one, to be honest) that she is too soft and loving towards Romeo already, but it's because she has such profound feelings for him she can't even pretend to be strict. It's noticeable that she has some emotional maturity, at least - she shows some critical thinking abilities, she understands the consequences of many actions, she is able to see that the feud is pointless and a name is just a name. She's a teenager, and someone in their teens is also a Homo sapiens specimen, not a being from a different planet. Teens think and feel. It might not be the same reality as the adult one, and they don't deal with emotions with such ease as an adult would, but that doesn't mean they are unable to truly love and care, to enjoy talking to someone and want the best for them, like grown-ups do - as developing an affection for someone that makes you happy is a very human thing, and I can guarantee you a thirteen or fourteen-year-old is a developed enough human being to experience it.

So, to sum it up, if I hear any "Romeo and Juliet were just dumb kids being horny" on my watch, the author of this statement will presumably be mercilessly killed, and then I'll do as Fulvia allegedly did to Cicero and stab something through their tongue, except instead of a hairpin, I'll probably use one of the darts my little brother got for Christmas. They are very sharp. We have several holes in the floor already.

[jerzwriter]

This is a fictional answer to @tobias-carrick-appreciation-week's What Would Tobias Do? question for day 6: What would Tobias do if he was dating someone he was (surprisingly) really into, then he found out they were a porn actress. This has me changing his dating history, because this is officially part of my HC. lol I hope you enjoy this flashback to The Hopkins Years fic!

Book: Open Heart (Pre-Series / Johns Hopkins Years) Pairing: Tobias Carrick x F!OC Other: Ethan Ramsey Rating: Teen - maybe Mature to be safe. Nothing explicitly. Words: 3,027 (sorry...) Summary: Tobias Carrick wasn't known for taking relationships seriously - at this stage of his life - he was there for a good time, not for a long time. Then he meets Stacy, and things change. He's finally accepted that's OK when a secret from her past threatens to blow it apart. How will Tobias react to the news, and what impact does it have on the couple?

A/N: I have additional A/Ns at the end. But participating in @julychallenge Pink: Romance, Vulnerable Black: Attraction, The Unkonwn

Ethan stood over the stove wearing no more than his old, blue terry bathrobe. His disheveled hair, stubbly beard, and raspy voice all indicators of how raucous last night had been. The fact that he was standing and cooking could be considered a medical miracle in and of itself, or so it seemed, until Tobias emerged from his bedroom.

They had similar nights, but Tobias looked no worse for the wear. Already fully dressed, with a bright smile on his lips,  he waved to his friend and roommate as he continued a conversation on his phone.

“I’m making eggs. Do you want any?” Ethan hollered, but the question went ignored.

“It was great,” Tobias grinned. “I’m so glad you thought so, too.”

Ethan rolled his eyes as he tended to the eggs; this uncharacteristic behavior had become more common in recent weeks.

“Do you have plans today? No? Well, I was thinking of taking a drive to Kent Island. I’d love the company if you’d like to come along? All right... great! I’ll pick you up in an hour?”

Tobias sat at the kitchen counter, where breakfast awaited him. He didn’t say a word until the weight of Ethan’s stare became too much to ignore.  

“What?” he asked, almost annoyed.

“I took the liberty of making eggs for you,” Ethan scowled.

“So I see,” Tobias smiled. “Thank you.”  

“I asked you wanted any... of course, you didn’t answer.”

“You asked?” Tobias asked with confusion.

Normally, Ethan would have been annoyed, launching into a tirade about how Tobias doesn’t appreciate his contributions, but today, all he did was smile. It was a novel treat to see his roommate behaving this way.

“It’s Stacy... isn’t it?”

“What?” Tobias gasped, not willing to confess the obvious. “No! I’m just in a good mood, that’s all.”

“Yeah! Because of Stacy! No need to hide it; I can’t blame you at all. She is stunning.”

Tobias looked as bashful as he was proud; Ethan only wished he could be recording this.

“She is, isn’t she?” He replied with a grin.

“She’s also intelligent, funny, a great conversationalist....”

Tobias leaned back in his chair. His smug persona on full display.

“Most of my women are, Ethan...”

“Please,” Ethan scoffed. “Beautiful? Yes, but the rest... very debatable.”

Tobias chuckeled as he finished his eggs, but he didn’t argue Ethan’s point.

“It’s OK... you know... to like her more than for a night.”

“I know,” his friend replied matter-of-factly. “I’ve been seeing her a while now... and I’m taking her out again today. But thanks for the permission, buddy.”

Ethan shook his head. “What I meant is you can like her seriously. It’s all right to think long-term; it’s OK to consider commitment. You’re not getting any younger, and it’s not every day you find someone as special as Stacy.”

“Yes, Mom.” Tobias dismissed.

Tobias knew his friend was right; in fact, it’s all he had thought about since he met Stacy two months before. It scared the shit out of him, but if he was being honest, the prospect was a little less frightening each day.

“Well, I never said we’re getting serious,” he argued. “I...I’m just... I like her, you know?”

“I know,” Ethan grinned. “And you could do worse. Have fun at the beach,” He said with a smirk. “Should I expect you home late?”

Tobias smiled like the Cheshire cat. “Maybe you shouldn’t expect me home at all.”

~~~~

Stacy heard Tobias’s car from nearly a block away. The beautiful weather meant his car’s roof was down, and Rhianna blaring from the speakers was the only calling card Stacy needed. She was already walking down her steps when he arrived, and God, she was a sight to see.

Tobias did his best to maintain his composure, but that was a tall task as she sauntered his way. Her long auburn hair glistened in the sunlight, and her white sundress hugged every curve. And that smile—innocent as an angel’s yet irresistibly inviting—left him utterly speechless, and Stacy didn’t miss a thing.

She hopped into the passenger seat with a giggle; not wasting a moment, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a deep, passionate kiss, and her effect on the man was instant.

“Mmmm,” he growled. “You need to stop that, or we’ll never make it to the beach.”

“Oh, we’re going to the beach,” she insisted. “Of course... who knows what we’ll do on the beach.”

Tobias held her hand most of the drive; he was both astonished and ashamed of how he felt. How was he falling so hard that even Ethan saw it? At any other time, he would have cut off all contact at once to stop whatever crazy feeling was happening, but with Stacy, it was impossible.      

It wasn’t just her beauty or the way the sound of her voice drove him insane. It was her quick-witted sense of humor that often left him and everyone else in stitches. It was her tender heart, like the time Tobias had to cancel a reservation he called in a favor to make just so they could tend to a wounded bird she spotted on their way. It was her brilliant mind, the head of her class in biotechnology; she could talk him under the table. He encouraged her to go to medical school, but she had already planned another path in painstaking detail. He didn’t want to admit it, but she could well be the whole package... and he was nowhere near ready for that... but he was already enchanted, and there seemed to be no way to break free of Stacy’s spell.

“Have you ever been to Kent Island?”  he asked.

“No. But then, I’ve only been to the beach once since moving to Baltimore.”

“What?” Tobias was stunned. “You’ve been here two years and been to the beach once?”

Stacy shrugged. “We can’t all be you, dear!” she teased. “Some of us have to put in a lot of effort to stay at the top of our class... not to mention some of us have to work to pay for Hopkins.” 

“Hey, I didn’t mean any offense,” he said with a kiss on her hand. “But I’m hoping you’ll let me spoil you a little.”

“Oh, what do you have in mind?” she cooed.

“Do you mean today or more long-term,” he smiled.

With his eyes on the road, he hadn’t seen Stacy’s face. If the words surprised him, they surprised her even more.

“Uh, let’s stick to today... for now...”

“All right, how does a walk on the beach and dinner at a great little seafood place, I know of, sound? We could spend some time on the boardwalk and maybe give me a chance to win you a prize.”

Reaching over the console, she placed a kiss on his cheek. “And here I thought you were my prize.”

“You’re good for a man’s ego,” he beamed as she placed her head on his shoulder for the remainder of the ride.

The day went as planned... better than planned... neither could remember the last time they had such fun so effortlessly, and they didn’t want it to end. Tobias rented a room at a local bed and breakfast where little sleep was to be had. After making love the night through, they woke up and showered together, only to decide to use that comfortable be once more before getting in the car to return to Baltimore.

Tobias was beginning to push his fear aside, and the stupid grin on his face made that perfectly clear. He was so wrapped up in the pastel summer haze he found himself buried in that he didn’t notice how quiet Stacy had become. She left his car rather quickly when he dropped her off, but he chalked it up to being exhausted... after all, they hadn’t had much sleep.

When he walked into the apartment, Ethan looked up from his studies and smirked at his roommate.

“So, your day at the beach turned into a weekend at the beach, I see.”

“Did you miss me, boo?” Tobias teased.

“Hell no! I loved having the place to myself. It’s so much more spacious when your big head isn’t here.”

“Hahaha,” Tobias ?. “Like your head doesn’t take up a ton of space.”

“Oh, it does!” Ethan concurred. “That’s why it’s more comfortable when only one of us is home. So... are you ready to admit that you really like this one?”

“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me, bro... but I do... I haven't told anyone this, but Mandy called to hang out the other night, and you know what hang out with Mandy's mean... and I passed. I could have gone, but I passed. Who the hell am I?”

“It’s not the worst thing in the world,” Ethan chuckled.

“That’s the scary thing,” Tobias said with a yawn. “I’m starting to see that. I even mentioned it to Stacy this morning.”

“You what?”

“I told her I was falling for her and asked if she felt the same... I can actually see myself wanting... more with her.”

“Wow,” Ethan grinned. “If I knew this was going to happen, I would have added the earthquake rider to our rental insurance policy. Sure, the idea of an earthquake in Baltimore is far-fetched, but right now, not so much.”  

“Shut up,”  Tobias chuckled, heading toward his room. As enlightening as the conversation was, he was desperate for some shut-eye. And luckily, he got a little in before his doorbell rang several hours later.

Ethan had headed out to work, so Tobias wiped the sleep from his eyes as he groggily answered the door. Though he was delighted to see he was disturbing his sleep.

“Stacy,” he beamed. “I didn’t expect to see you again today?”

She bit on her lip, then a hesitant smile formed on her lips. “I hope it’s OK that I dropped by unannounced. I tried calling you, but....”

Tobias took the phone out of his pocket. “Sorry, I turned the ringer off so I could take a nap. But you’re always welcome, come,” he said, opening the door. “Come on in. What brings you by?”

After assuring they were alone, Stacy took a seat on the couch, holding Tobias’s hands in hers. “I came by to talk about... what you said this morning... about wanting more... with me.”

“Oh,” he replied, noticing her apprehension. “Well, if that’s not what you want, it’s OK, I didn’t mean to frighten....”

“Tobias,” she smiled, holding a finger to his lips. “Let me finish. The thing is... I do... want more with you, too... but I’m not so sure you’ll want more with me.”

“But I’m the one who...”

She shot a look in his direction, and he was silent again. “There’s something you should know first.”

Retrieving her phone from her purse, she pulled up a video, then closed her eyes -  pressing pause – both on the video and her conversation.

“Hey... are you all right?” Tobias asked, placing an arm around her shoulders. “If you don’t want to....”

“No,” she sighed, it’s important. “I hope... I hope you don’t hate me.”

She handed him the phone and watched as his eyes grew three sizes. There on that little screen was Stacy – his Stacy – naked and having a great time – with someone that definitely wasn’t him. Peeling his eyes away, he pressed stop and turned to her.

“All right, hon, I’m not going to be mad at you and an ex having a sex video... that’s nothing I’ll judge... but why the need to show it to me.”

“He’s not an ex,” she said with a deep sigh. “He’s an actor... just like me.”

A wrinkle appeared on Tobias’s brow, showing his utter confusion, and Stacy swallowed hard before she continued.

“See, if I tell you my screen name, you can Google me... and you’ll find a whole lot more where that came from... I... I’m a porn actress.”

His eyes grew again, and his face was ashen. “You’re an... oh,” he fumbled for words.

“Look, it’s not that I’m ashamed,” she continued. “It was a choice I made... a choice that allowed me to attend college, a choice that made going to Hopkins for my masters a reality. A choice that helped get my family out of poverty...though I never really told them why. I told them I won the lottery and, well... I didn’t.”

“Stace,” Tobias started, “You really don’t owe me any explanation, I....”

“You’re right,” she interrupted. “I didn’t... until this morning. If you want us to be serious – you have a right to know. You don’t deserve to learn by some jackass telling you he saw me in Throbbin’ Hood.”

Tobias lowered his eyes with a little chuckle. “Now I saw Throbbin’ Hood, and you were not in that,” he joked, not sure what to say.

“So you’re a connoisseur, and you’ve never seen my work,” she half smiled. “I don’t know if I’m relieved or insulted.”

“I... I’m not sure what to say,” Tobias faltered. “I mean, I don’t judge you; as a connoisseur, I’d have to be a pretty big asshole to judge you...”

“Well,” she chuckled sadly. “You’d be surprised... most connoisseurs are quite judgemental.”

“Well, I’m not,” he said, taking her hand. “It’s just....”

“It’s just I’m not exactly what you had in mind when thinking about something serious.”

“No! I didn’t say that!” He insisted. “It’s just... this is a bit of a surprise, and I, can I have some time to process it?”

“Sure,” Stacy grinned, leaning over and placing a peck on his cheek. “Take some time and let me know what you decide, but Tobias?”

“Yes?”

“If you decide you don’t want to go further because of this part of my past, I’ll be sad, of course, but I’ll be OK. The person I’m meant to be with... they won’t hold it against me, and if you do... then you’re not my person. I just thought it was only fair to let you know before things go any further between us.”

After a hug, Stacy headed home, leaving Tobias in a daze on the couch. She had told him her porn name, and he was caught between temptation and horror at the thought of searching for it. In the end, horror prevailed, and he put his phone away. He was still in a state of astonishment when Ethan arrived home, immediately noticing the change in his friend’s demeanor.

Tobias wasn’t about to break Stacy’s trust, but if there was anyone he could trust to keep this between them, it was Ethan, and he needed a trusted friend’s opinion. Ethan did his best to conceal his own shock at the news.

“It’s OK, buddy,” he half-smiled. “I think my jaw was on the floor when she told me, too.”

“It’s just that I... I didn’t see that coming,” Ethan sighed. “Wow... of all things. So, does it change how you feel?”

Tobias sat back thoughtfully, then shook his head. “I meant what I said; I’d have to be a total dick if I watch porn, but judge someone for making it.”

“Agreed,” Ethan nodded. “And while I’ve never been in porn....”

“Of course you haven’t,” Tobias teased, attempting to add levity to the conversation. “Who the hell would want to see you?”

“And while I’ve never been in porn,” Ethan repeated loudly, ignoring his friend’s interruption. “I understand what it’s like to be poor and not sure if you’ll be able to live your dreams. I’m not advocating nor judging the choices she made... but my advice to you is not to pursue things further unless you can really say you don’t care. She doesn’t deserve to be with someone who will hold it against her, even if it’s subconsciously.”

“I agree,” Tobias replied. “And the truth is, I don’t think I would.”

“There is one other thing to consider,” Ethan injected. “Your family. I don’t know how the Carricks would take to their heir dating a former porn star. Ultimately, it’s not their choice, but...”

“Oh, I’ve given that thought,” Tobias interrupted. “But I’m not exactly proposing; we haven’t gotten nearly to that point. In a way, the idea of pissing them off is rather enticing, but I don’t think that would be fair to her.”

“No, it wouldn’t be. At the end of the day, it’s your choice, but for what it’s worth, this conversation stays between us, and I, for one, won’t think of her any differently than I did this morning, and I certainly wouldn’t judge you.”

Tobias smiled the first genuine smile he had since Stacy had left earlier in the day. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate you listening.”

The following day, it was Stacy’s turn to open the door to an unexpected visitor. She wasn’t sure if her heart was about to be filled with joy or break when she saw Tobias at the door. Which might be why she couldn’t utter a word.

“May I come in?” he finally asked.

“Yes, of course!” She muttered as he stepped into her front hall.

Noting her puffy eyes, Tobias wanted to put an end to her worrying as quickly as possible; that’s when he pulled the small bunch of flowers he had picked up on his way over from behind his back, and Stacy broke into tears.

“Hey, hey!” He said, pulling her close. “Yeah, they’re supermarket flowers, I could do better next time, but it was kind of an impulse decision.”

“Next time?” she asked with a cracked voice. “So these aren’t a consolation gift when you tell me you never want to see me again.”

“No,” he replied with a kiss to her forehead. “They’re an apology for causing you what I’m sure was a very stressful night. And they come with an invitation – could I take you to dinner  tonight?”

“So, you still want to see where this goes?” she smiled.

“I’m willing if you are,” he grinned, and she replied by running into his arms and sealing the deal with a kiss.

“So, where are we going to eat?” he smiled. “Your pick!”

“In that case, order in a pizza and a six-pack,” she beamed. “Because tonight, I want you all to myself.”

A/N 2: OK I feel like some of my Tobias readers will be disappointed because this isn't humorous. But even back in Hopkins, I think he was having a good time, but I don't think he was a total asshole. He wouldn't have judged her, and he would be a hypocrite knowing his body count was definitely much higher than hers. College Tobias? Maybe he would have been a bit more of an ass, but he was mature enough by this point to handle it better.

While I won't write more for the pairing, my HC is that they dated exclusively for a little while, and they were happy during that time. But eventually, split up. Toward the end of med school the competition between Tobias & Ethan was turning toxic, and that colored his world and impacted his decisions (usually, poorly). Further, Ethan and Vincenza had broken up, and Tobias was being her shoulder to lean on. He realized how strong his feelings for Vincenza were, and didn't feel it would be right to string Stacy along. Basically, he wasn't remotely ready for anything like this. Stacy was disappointed, but it was an amicable parting.

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.

[the-gateway-to-madness]

Jack Frost Headcanons

Jack likes strong flavors, be they spicy, sweet, or savory. He likes mild stuff too- point is he'll try any food, pretty much.

Jack has good coordination and steady hands, and as such is very gentle when he handles most objects (and animals, and people).

Jack is a Ravenclaw with ADHD: he's not ambitious or trying to join the Guardians, who are powerful and well-known. His fighting style is more about maneuvering and strategizing than guts or power (unless you really upset him like when Sandy died). The being-easily-bored and good sense of humor would indicate intelligence as well.

Jack has a great sense of rhythm but dances like a dork on purpose.

Jack is a night owl.

Jack creates a proper hideaway for himself in Burgess after the movie. Something about the forming and confirmation of his identity in the movie makes me think he'd be ready to make a nice little home or even just a safe spot afterwards.

Jack's main love language is quality time, North's is words of affirmation, Bunny's is acts of service, Tooth's is gifts, and Sandy's is physical touch. Yes, I know North seems like he should be the gifts type, and he definitely does gifts like no one else- but he comforts Jack by talking with him, and Tooth tries to comfort Sophie with a (horrendous) gift.

Jack never yells during arguments. He's seen what it does to people who've been abused, watched kids and lovers be hurt and tried to stop it- so he refuses to even risk scaring anyone that way. Even before becoming a Guardian, Jack would never raise his voice in a fight- at the very least, never face-to-face.

Jack has a handful of scars, mostly from dumb accidents or crash-landings. He refuses to tell the stories. Everyone assumes they're horrible and traumatic, but in reality, Jack was just terrible at paying attention to stuff when he first started out as a spirit.

Emotions like anger, embarrassment, or attraction raise Jack's body temperature just enough for his blood to thaw and his heartbeat to get going. It startles him every single time.

Jack is fascinated by folklore and mythology and studied them extensively to try to track down other spirits to befriend, with little success.

Jack played at least one instrument in his past life (his hands would be suited to violin or piano, especially) and instrumental music still calms and focuses him.

Jack was a farmer in his past life and still has lean, strong muscle hidden under his hoodie. He could absolutely win an arm wrestle with Bunny.

Jack is a little insecure about his Adam's apple.

Jack's powers are stronger at night due to the lack of apricity.

Unlike the animosity that a lot of the fandom portrays Jack having with other potential seasonal spirits, I think he's buddies with the other seasons, they just don't see each other much due to minimal domain overlap. The spirit of autumn is his favorite, but he's very protective of spring (mirroring the fact spring relies on winter to nourish the earth). The other seasons all treat him like their baby brother.

Jack dips french fries in Wendy's frosties unironically. He probably dips their chicken nuggets in the frosties too.

Sophie made Jack watch gen 4 My Little Pony with her and he didn't think the songs were half bad. He would never admit this to Jamie or anybody else in a thousand years.

Jack thinks birds are cool.

Cats see Jack more often than dogs. He doesn't know why, but he's willing to pet most things that move.

Stay tuned for what will probably be a lot more of these-

[raayllum]

Very non-consequential, but still fun question: what animal do you associate with each of the main trio? (plus anyone else you feel like doing!)

I overthought this question because I couldn't just do animals in general and had to go with specific species so:

Callum is a bird, obviously. The boy loves his Ocean arcanum too but birds have the wings, and the intelligence and mating for life bonds (more often), and sharp little beaks that can gouge your eyes out. Man has teeth. Let's leave them there.

From there it was whittling down which bird to pick, so I learn towards either a standard Rock Pigeon or a Clark's Nutcracker bird.

Rock Pigeon

Rock pigeons for a few reasons.

Elegant but not overly pretty, which fits Callum pretty well. He's grown into a handsome boy but he'll always have a tiny bit of awkwardness, and the green sheen nicely ties into his eyes

Callum's name means dove, and pigeons and doves are very similar overall. However, Callum is less squeaky clean/outright peaceful than just a dove would indicate, so pigeons have a more grey/black down to earth colouring felt right. "Dirtying yourself with dark magic" and all that

They mate for life, which is a memo re: Rayla Callum has definitely gotten on board with lbr here

Pigeons are very smart, remembering faces, see the world in complex colours (artist anyone) and able to navigate complex routes to find locations / their way home (hence why they were used as messenger birds during wartime).

At his best, Callum is very communicative, has a great memory, and will eventually learn to navigate his own path away from others' imposed destinies on him

Clark's Nutcracker

They're in the Corvidae family like crows and ravens, which makes me happy, as those are two of my favourite birds

Again has the intelligence that our boy needs/deserves; these guys in particular are very good at prying seeds apart with their beaks, which gives me key of Aaravos / Callum unlocking secrets vibes

Sharp pointy beak to bite/stab people with. It's what he deserves

They also mate for life hell yeah

I also feel like they somehow match him better aesthetically but Idk why so grain of salt

Rayla I defaulted pretty easily to either a wolf or honestly more likely an arctic fox.

I wanted something smaller and more solitary than a wolf, since even within her village community Rayla has always been an outsider

Also very influenced by aesthetic (white, fluffy, slim) in addition to being loyal the way canines tend to be + a hunting animal bc like look at her swords

They also change colours as their coats update with the seasons, which felt very on par with how Rayla has transformed her wardrobe colours and herself / tries to take on different faces and identities depending on where she is on her arc

Constantly shifting like the moon amirite?

They are described as playful, cunning, cheeky, and curious

Bc they're heavily arctic animals / places with long winters, they depend more than other animals on hiding and stowing food away for later, which makes me think of how Rayla is pretty consistently carrying secrets / stashing the coins away in Stella's portal

Ezran to me is a Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog.

I chose this one cause I feel like an amphibian of some sort would best reflect Ezran, given his associations of being torn more explicitly between two worlds and two things. On the one hand, he's a child and should be treated/respected as such, and on the other hand, he's also a king and should be treated/respected as such. So amphibians having water and land, the way that Ezran does well both in times of conflict and times of peace (the latter being something Rayla really struggles with in particular) is well reflected. Also Bait, obviously

I went with orange > red even though Ezran wears the latter, cause orange feels warmer than the danger! zone red puts in, as well as mixing well with Ezran's brown hair. The touch of blue is for his eyes and his connection to Zym, and a tropical lil guy who likes sunshiney weather. Frogs are also pretty slippery and fast and Ezran (esp pre-series) is pretty wily and mischievous, getting into nooks and crannies he shouldn't be and then getting out of hot spots later on in show, so that matched up in my head

Other notes:

Viren always makes me think of serpents, and Claudia and Aaravos always make me think of spiders, so I'll toss those two in as well (although I feel they're more self explanatory symbolism wise / more offered within the text itself).

[pegaace]

Analysis on Witch from Mercury, Colonialism, The Tempest, and Caliba(r)n

Okay I know this is my first post ever but I was tryna find somewhere to put my thoughts after seeing a bunch of people everywhere slander Caliban and why that is not it and how my boi is innocent, good actually. For qualifications I did an undergrad lit class that covered The Tempest like 2 years ago so that's fine right (apologies to my profs if I fuck any of this up)

Okay so for starters yes by now everyone knows WfM is The Tempest, Prospera is Prospero (or Prospera actually, there was a 2010 film adaptation that had the gender switch already), Aerial is Ariel, etc etc. So therefore Caliban has to be this villainous, "monstrous" creature right?

Haha no sit down cos no that would be boring. (and also kinda racist as I'll explain) Notice how in the original Prospero isn't the villain of the story, not really, he's just getting revenge for being wronged years ago and trying to ship the kids together. But if recent gwitch is any indication, Prospera truly is the villain of this story, breaking hearts and stopping at nothing to destroy the Benerit group AND earth. Now I wonder which other adaptation of The Tempest has Prospero as the big bad HMMMM :thinking:

Enter Aime Cesaire and A Tempest. Written in 1969, it deals with a lot of the more unpleasant connotations of Shakespeares play. Let me lay it all out for you. So you're saying Prospero, a white dude, comes to this island, uses his western magic to overthrow the native witch (Sycorax), wrecks the land of its magic, and then enslaves her son to do his work for him, constantly insulting his appearance and intelligence? HMMMM seems pretty sus (racist and colonial) to me.

Cesaire, writing during a time of decolonial movements throughout the world, was rightfully really mad at colonizers for forcing their way upon natives with violence, and especially with the use of language to control said populations. Caliban has also been repeatedly dehumanised through previous adaptations of Shakespeares work slowly turning him from a man into a monster, not even human. This is similar to how non-european people have constantly been treated in the past.

Now like wait... Forcing communication through a set language? Dehumanisation? Colonisation of oppressed peoples? Where have we seen that before...? HMMMM

(its almost like... permet scores and gundam technology... Calibarn being free of permet links is like Caliban refusing language...)

And here's where I see the great potential of a Gundam Caliban. Gundam is certainly no stranger to decolonial movements (shoutout to my fave Gundam ZZ and the bois in Blue team and the African liberation front) and I think having Caliban as the Gundam to finally end Spacian oppression (perhaps in a sequel idk if Suletta is getting that far after bonking her mom by the end of the season) would be a great take.

As a side note, Aerial is kinda portrayed negatively in Cesaire's work for choosing to work for Prospero in exchange for their own freedom, as kind of a sellout who makes things worse and is ultimately tricked and trapped anyways and... hey! She's in a giant coffin now and Suletta is unhappier than ever! Oops.

Also like I qrted this on my twt but like its important to remember that Caliban is human too, and will respond to accordingly. They (and this might be where i disagree with @adracat a lil on their otherwise excellent posts) arent just a violent unthinking monster, thats just unfortunately how racism often portrays people of colour. If Suletta shows compassion and humanity towards Calibarn, like how she did to Aerial, and how Eri was able to connect with Lfrith in the prologue when Vanadis had failed, I'm sure she'll be able to bring Calibarn over to her side. And because they can connect so fully via human emotions and love (this is where I do agree with adra that love is the answer and key to open the door) (wooo yeah another love powered robot!! G Gundamming time) I dont think Quiet Zero will be able to stop them, as Suletta will have made the ultimate, unmediated connection between woman and machine, becoming one with it in the way Cardo Nabo had always truly hoped for. To don Gundam and live in space.

Okay sorry for the disorganised post but like one last thing I know I said it'd be nice for Calibarn to show up again in S2 but the other theory I have (which might or might not be true cos lets be real gwitch only rhymes, never copies, and i dont even know where schwarzette fits into all this [goatmom gundam my beloved i miss schwarzletta theory still]) is that the ending of A Tempest has Prospero send the girlies off as usual, but then still choose to stay on the island to fight with Caliban forever, till he can finally fully dominate him, cos racists are shit like that. This continues for a rlly long time cos his magics kinda prevent him from just dying of old age and he lives on, like a vampire sucking life from the island (wow capitalism huh) and its implied he and Caliban are just locked in this long struggle to the death until the day he finally croaks and the colonized can finally be free. Now what other gundam has an eternal struggle with fascism hmm?

idk just thought it might be cool for the gundam sisters to push suletta out of the way (maybe out of quiet zero?) whilst trapping prosperas grudge within it for all time, that would also be dramatic and neat lol. Come to think of it if Prospera does it itd be like ZZ again too lol with Haman pushing Judau away.