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#devon was fine. but only fine.
mermaidsirennikita · 11 months
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saw the "who's your most underrated Kleypas hero" question getting bandied about (again) today, and I must say, the only answers I'll accept are:
--John McKenna/Again the Magic (I'd argue that AtM is not the DEEP CUT newer Kleypas readers think it is; before I read it, it was definitely upheld as a classic of hers, but people who want the softer boys she writes in the Ravenels... may not like this one; however, McKenna fucks RIDICULOUS lbr)
--Alex, Lord Raiford/Then Came You (yes... he calls her a bitch.... and I'll be real this made me love him more... he carried her over his shoulder outta Craven's and bought her a bear I'm VERY confident in this choice)
--Kev Merripen/Seduce Me at Sunrise (thought he'd kill Win with his massive dick, tied her up and took her to his fuck cottage, is Heathcliff if Heathcliff wasn't horrible basically)
--Leo Hathaway/Married by Morning (fun bout wounded king, "haha" in the streets and "oh shit" in the sheets, notable for making Catherine ask him to touch her pussy in explicit and specific language)
#romance novel blogging#besides rhys winterborne............ ravenel heroes are kinda mid! i'll be honest!#'but what of five feelings tom' his book bored me i'll try it again someday#west ravenel is the greatest disappointment of my life#gabriel and keir struggled under the weight of their father's slutty slutty legacy#devon was fine. but only fine.#don't even talk to me about ethan#mostly bc i don't remember a single defining feature#i just think the ravenels is a perfectly fine series#but to me it is truly dumbed down kleypas#it's kleypas for people who can't handle sebastian kidnapping lillian#or derek craven fucking that sex worker#or derek craven doing a minor stranglehold on a very bad lady#or alex calling lily a bitch (THERE ARE REASONS)#or kev refusing to take responsibility for tittygate bc he was very down on himself and also bc his dick might kill her#or mckenna spending literal years plotting aline's downfall lmao#leo is honestly p normal but he WAS a sad alcoholic!!!#(never mind westcliff being like 'well she seems into when she's blackout and that's good enough for me')#i just think the ravenels was written with the idea of appealing to people who don't go hard w historicals basically#and that doesn't mean you can't like it! i like several! including the one everyone hates!#but even the ones i like.... aside from MW i feel like there's some magic missing#and i think the magic is a lack of inhibition#and don't get me wrong lol she published bad books before the ravenels#books much worse than the ravenels#but like. idk. i just don't know how you can read like the ravenels#then go back and read the wallflowers or DoY or AtM#and not notice... a quality difference
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atopvisenyashill · 9 months
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on my father's wings
i was bored at work and had the quest for camelot soundtrack stuck in my head so now you all have to suffer as well. yes i will continue to compare asoiaf to children and teen's media, i'm a children and teen librarian, all i read are picture books now sorry.
(if you haven't seen quest for camelot, it was a children's adaption of The Kings Damosel. It is LOOSELY based on the book though, and it was a critical flop because people have no taste. the music is amazing, very celtic and it started my love affair with cary elwes!!!)
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if you were with me now i'd find myself in you if you were with me now you're the only one who knew
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i want to live my life the way you said I would with courage as my light, fighting for what's right like you made me believe i could
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this world i'll never see my dreams that just won't be
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Some day with his spirit to guide me And his memory beside me I will be free
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So I will fly on my father's wings To places I have never been There is so much I've never seen And I can feel his heart beat still And I will do great things On my father's wings
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devondespresso · 7 months
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might have to dip my toes into the marmalade fandom because looking back the whole movie feels like a thrilling engaging act 1 to a whole 3 act series. I desperately want to follow Otis through the arc he could be having after that ending. I want those handful of shots with gears clearly turning to be the story, the possible implications of every hesitation. It feels like we stopped at the beginning of act 2, screw kung fu panda 4 or moana 2 i want a marmalade trilogy
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petew21-blog · 3 months
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Revenge possession
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Devon was your normal college guy, who also had a god like body on the other hand. His life wasn't very special in many ways. He had two brothers and one sister. All born in USA, moving the states a lot. All had an unproblematic childhood. Everytime a problem occured it would be solved by itself almost immediately or the parents would take care of it. Speaking of the parents I have to mention one tiny detail.
Their parents. How to put this? Their parents were a lovely pair, highschool sweethearts, very good looking. The only downside was that they were serial killers.
And that brings the story to me. Hey, I'm Jake and I was hitchhiking in California back then when Devon's seemingly fine parents picked me and then brutally murdered me in the forest. Kinda dark right? Yeah. I was a 21 year old guy with my life ahead of me and they ended in a few minutes just to have some thrilling disgusting moment in their life.
My ghost has been roaming the world for another 20 years. I was trying to find the family to have my revenge. But everytime I got close they moved their family to another state. That also included the problems the family didn't have. The parents would always eliminate the one who caused the problems.
But now I found them. Or atleast their children. Even though I had 20 years to plan my revenge, but I couldn't plan much. I was going through the house. The parents were on a holiday if I understood correctly. So I had time to find out a bit more about their life
I was exploring the house when I found Devon here, playing videogames in his room. He was playing just in his shorts. His shirtless body showed his tense muscles as he was getting really into the game
This could be it. I don't have to possess the parents. I could have my revenge from his body. And it would be kind of poetic justice. My life ended when I was 21, if I possess their sons body and take away his life it would be a perfect revenge. Of course, I would still have to interrupt the killing of the parents.
Now or never. Revenge awaits
I sunk into him. His controller fell on the ground, the inactivity making him loose. He was really tough. Maybe I should have practiced the possession on someone weaker, but I couldn't risk that I would stay in that body and couldn't get my revenge.
We fought for an hour. His body contorting on the couch, sweat dripping from everywhere. His socks wet. Fuck yeah! I can feel His feet already. I moved them. They were mine! This little moment of win gave me enough power to push and place Devon in the back of his mind. I could still hear him. He was begging me to stop. Begging to let go. But no. This is my body now.
"I... I am Devon" I said with a mischievous smile. I looked down at the sweaty body. My enormous arms searched the trail of sweat. I flexed them. I could feel how tired Devon got from the possession. Hell, I was tired.
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But I had much to do. Revenge couldn't wait. Then my eyes trailed the abs I now possessed. "Maybe revenge can wait"
My new hand got very close to my waitsband. I lifted it up to find a beautiful uncut 8inch dick
"Daaamn son, you're packing"
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I got hard and wanted to jerk off right there. This beautiful thing can't be left unattended. But I got really thirsty. The fight left Devon's body in a horrible state.
I went to the kitchen. The only cold thing I found was a can of beer. I chugged it instantly, my new mouth still not used to me didn't respond very well, so most of the liquid poured over my chest right down the trail of my abs.
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"Time for shower"
As I was standing in the shower I was in awe and glee. So many years of wondering where my killers were. Years of being a ghost and not enjoying life. Now I have this amazing gift of a body.
As the shower sprayed water over my muscles I jerked off my hard monster with both hands. Furiously and pressing it hard. I hoped that no one else was home today, cause I was screaming in pleasure. So many years without orgasms. I felt Devon in the back of my mind trying to resist it. He felt the pleasure too. But didn't want to let go of the rest of the control he had.
"Don't worry Devon. I'll take care of your body. I don't wanna hurt you. I just wanna hurt your parents"
My big balls had to work overtime. I jerked off three times at that shower. Almost no hot water left for anyone else to shower, but I didn't care. I stepped out, not even cleaning the cum on the glass and the floor of the shower
I approached the mirror and with my hand scraped a hit of the fog on the mirror to observe myself.
Damn what a fine specimen I am right now. This is gonna be so amazing
"I can help you" echoed in the back of my mind
"Help with what?" I answered
Devon:"I can help you pass as me more easily to fool my parents so that you can get revenge on them. While you were jerking off I saw your memories. And I also know what my parents do. Or atleast I suspected it for a long time. Now I have proof"
Me:"So I am to believe that you'll just let me be in your body willingly and help me get your parents? How can I trust you that you won't warn them?"
Devon:"You can't. But I can offer you my body. We can share it. I always felt alone in my life and sharing a body with a likeminded person isn't such a bad destiny for myself. I really enjoyed the shower session. And if you give me a tiny bit o lf control I can show you something that you haven't done in your body back then"
I hesitated. All this time it was only about revenge. I never thought about what would happen after. Now I had an amazing body and I could do the right thing. If I would just possess him entirely I wouldn't be better than his parents. I would take his life from him just like they did with me. The co-piloting thing wasn't a bad idea. But what if he rats me out to them?
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Me:"Ok, I'm in. I don't want to hurt you kid. But I can't let your parents hurt any more young guys like me. If they are on a killimg spree again we have to stop them"
Devon:"I agree. But they are coming back in a few days and until then, I can show you what you were missing"
I gave him control. He didn't fight, which was a good sign. And now he went back to his room, opening a drawer. It contained sk many sex toys I never even had a chance to know and feel
Devon:"Revenge can wait. It's time to have some fun"
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copperbadge · 2 months
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how did u psych urself up to go to therapy? my executive function has been awol for like 2 years and it's gotten to the point where it's wrecking my ability to do anything. i'm scared to waste a bunch of time and money going and getting told i'm just lazy or that the problem is just me
Happy to talk about that! But this is really two issues, so I gotta do a fly-by real first on "scared of getting told I'm just lazy". :D
It sounds to me like you're aware intellectually that laziness isn't the issue. You know this is an executive function issue and not a personal flaw, but I definitely get that it's hard to internalize that. So I'm going to drop links here to some discussion of "laziness":
How do you know you're not just lazy? (ask sent to me -- it's long, but you can skim for the laziness bits if you want.)
Lack of motivation means you are avoiding pain (second ask in response to the first)
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price
These are essentially my proofs when I want to remind you that laziness is a label that stigmatizes an innate behavior -- inability to act is real, laziness is not. If a therapist tells you that you are lazy, and ESPECIALLY that you are the problem, you should fire that therapist. Don't even stay the rest of the session if you don't want to, just say "I see we are not compatible," and bounce. I don't think the odds are high that you'll encounter that, but on the off-chance that you do, that's a bright neon sign that they're a bad therapist.
In fact I would open with that pitch: "I'm struggling with executive function and the self-perception that I'm really just lazy. I need help with the actual executive function issues but also with how I view myself because of them." The therapist's response will tell you a lot about whether they'd be a good fit.
So with that out of the way...
I eased myself into therapy with the speed of a small child entering an extremely cold lake. It helped a lot that all of my therapy has been virtual via Zoom, so a lot of stuff that would have been a barrier, like going to the physical appointments, discomfort in a strange space, etc. were swept away.
I didn't even want to see a psychiatrist for my Adderall prescription, but I knew I needed help and medication seemed to be my best option, so with the assurances of several people that it wasn't therapy so much as mental health maintenance, I saw a psychiatrist. And he was lovely! (I just met with him yesterday to go over my next few months of scrip.) For a while that was all I did: talked every month to a kind person who asked specific and measurable questions about my mental health -- mood, sleep patterns, ability to work, hobbies -- without getting especially personal. I thought, okay, I can handle this, I can probably handle more, so I asked him for a recommendation for a therapist.
He looked at the network of independent practitioners he belonged to (Clarity Clinic Chicago, if you want an example of a good network) and found me a couple of options. I got extremely lucky to find someone I felt was appropriate for me right out of the gate, though some of that was also knowing what criteria I had: I wanted someone who explicitly stated they specialized in adult ADHD and disability, and who seemed like they were interested in addressing a whole person and not a single issue. When we met she seemed nice, wasn't pushy or judgey, was familiar with spoon theory and disability activism because she also has ADHD, and didn't blink (or ask overly invasive questions) when I said I was very uneasy about therapy because of past experience. She was comfortable with the ambiguity I brought -- I basically said "Look, I think this is something I need but I'm not entirely sure what my goals are yet, it's just I only recently found out I have ADHD and I am rethinking a lot of stuff," and she was like fine, let's rethink it together.
It still took me a long time to start talking about anything meaningful, but she handled the non-meaningful stuff as if it was serious and important, which helped. Admittedly I have really good insurance so I pay $20 a session for therapy, which also helps; it's pretty negligible in terms of health costs for me. I can afford to dawdle.
So, all that said...my path may not be an option for you, but I think it indicates the kinds of options you have. You don't have to jump into serious and heavily emotional processing first thing if you don't want to. You can shop around for therapists and you can drop any bad ones you encounter speedily, or if you find one you immediately like you can still spend time getting comfortable before dropping into the heavier stuff.
I would suggest that if you have a prescribing psych or doctor for any kind of mental health meds, ask them if they have a recommendation. If you don't have that, ask around people you know or believe have access to therapy and see what they think. If those aren't available to you or you're uncomfortable with that, I'd do a search for licensed therapist and your health insurance, or see if your workplace has an employee assistance program that can recommend you someone.
Good luck! I hope you get what you need. Lord knows I've been there.
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felinefractious · 5 months
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Speaking of hairlessness the previous ask reminded me to ask. Does it cause any health issues in cats besides being cold/lots of yeast infections? In rabbits the symptoms of it range from mild to very severe depending on which gene is causing it (specifically there’s one gene that usually results in kits only surviving to up to a few months.) Was curious how’d they compare!
This is probably among my most controversial breed takes but… no, I don’t consider Sphynx to be particularly ethical.
I wouldn’t say they’re on the same level as “can’t fucking breathe” Exotics or “every moment is pain” Folds and obviously not anywhere near as bad as what you’re describing in hairless rabbits… but it’s (personally) still a hard no from me.
I wouldn’t consider yeast infections a minor or benign issue. Yeast infections suck, anyone who’s had one can tell you that. They’re itchy and uncomfortable and all around unpleasant.
A Domestic Shorthair comes in with a yeast infection and it’s a problem that you treat, a Sphynx comes in with a yeast infection and it’s a breed trait that yes you try to treat but understand it’s a uphill battle that’s not likely to completely resolve for an extended period of time.
Overproduction of yeast and hairlessness in cats go hand in hand.
Cutaneous carriage of Malassezia species in healthy and seborrhoeic Sphynx cats and a comparison to carriage in Devon Rex cats
Malassezia pachydermatis and M nana predominate amongst the cutaneous mycobiota of Sphynx cats
Without a hair coat the natural oils produced by the skin just sit there, which is why Sphynx cats require frequent bathing and wiping down. Skin issues are a practically a feature of the breed, no amount of bathing or wiping can replace the function of a natural hair coat.
Video of an 8 week old Sphynx being groomed.
The same thing goes for the ears and nail beds, they require very frequent cleaning but you’ll never be able to keep them as clean as a coated cat. The fur is there for a reason, it works 24/7 while manual cleaning is only present periodically.
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They’re also more prone to ocular issues like corneal sequestrum and entropion, I would think this is related to the lack of eyelashes and eyebrow whiskers which serve to protect the eye from debris (similar to our own eyelashes) and alert the cat when something is near their eye and they should close it to avoid a jab.
Prevalence and characteristics of ocular diseases in Sphynx cats: A retrospective assessment (2012–2021) and comparison with non-Sphynx cats
This all tracks with my lived experience with Sphynx cats. This is a very popular breed where I live and we see them frequently. We see repeat, long-term Sphynx owners and we see new Sphynx owners.
I used to be fine with Sphynx cats, I thought they were just another breed with higher grooming requirements - not a big deal, many longhair breeds also have increased grooming needs! But working with them gradually shifted that opinion, and then I began to see these issues where I’d missed them before… how even breeding cats shared by their cattery often have black, dirty nails or how well-known Sphynx owners discuss dermatitis as just part of the breed you treat as needed.
I realized these issues are the rule and not the exception - and it sucks, because pretty much every Sphynx I’ve met has such a good personality. They’re awesome lil’ guys!
Anyways, these are just issues related to their lack of hair - it isn’t touching on other concerns like the insanely high prevalence of HCM in the breed.
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drdemonprince · 1 month
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Hi Devon! I read your work published on substack on autism and asexuality (really great stuff!) and then found your Tumblr and came across your own experiences navigating sexuality and kink, and they made me wonder if you have any advice for a fellow asexual on the spectrum who struggles socially but is interested in experimenting with sex/kink for the first time? People usually find sexual partners on dating apps or at the club but that seems so daunting I've been entertaining this fantasy of finding a community of people with a virgin fetish just so I don't have download tinder
Abandon your fantasy that anything fulfilling will occur without a massive amount of work. Running one's own sexual life requires a high caliber of communication, negotiation, and self-promotion skills, as well as a significant amount of time and experience. If this is worth it for you, venture forth! If not, maybe now is not the right time.
I will have a much more in depth guide on cruising written sometime soonish, but in the meantime I do have some tips.
Do not use fucking Tinder. That is an incredibly vanilla, heteronormative site. You might have a negative impression of your chances finding what you want because you've only had a glimpse of the most normie places and your friends' experiences with them. To find the kinky, experimental kind of sex you want, you'll instead have to educate yourself, and go looking for the freaks.
Fetlife is a good place to start. It will be overwhelming to navigate at first, but keep pressing. Fill out your profile with your interests, take a few sexy photos (whatever that means for you), and join local groups. Follow people who post things you find interesting, read lots of posts. Pick up some books on leather and kink history, and study up. Jack Rinella is a favorite of mine, but I am deliberately keeping my recommendation list lean so that you will dig for what you are interested in, yourself.
Look up local groups interested in rubber, leather, kink, etc, find local dungeons, attend local munch events (these are low-pressure social hangouts with no kinky play, but for kinksters to meet eachother), and find out where the gay bars are in your area that have backrooms in them, as well as cruising spots. Check out spaces where people do kinky or sexual stuff together and just watch.
After considerable information gathering and self-searching, put yourself out there and take agency over your own sexual life. Message people you find interesting, and I do mean just interesting. Learn from other bottoms if you're a bottom. Trade stories with other subs if you're a sub. Learn techniques from other Doms if you're a Dom, or some combination of all these things if you're verse or switchy. If someone shares some interests with you and seems compatible, make a specific suggestion for play, like: Want to meet up and practice our rope tying? or Would you like to practice your spanking technique on me? or I don't like having sex, but I'd love to use you as my personal footstool.
Remember that you get to set the terms for the engagement, and the other person does as well. If they reject you, that means consent has successfully happened, everybody gets a pat on the back, good job. The same goes for you. If all you want is to drag a human puppy around on a leash, don't settle for someone who keeps pressuring you for sex. Just end the interaction. There are a whole lot of freaks out there with a whole array of interests, and most people who are kinky eventually learn to be gracious and work with what a prospective partner is into, but we also all have our dealbreakers. That's fine. You don't want to play football with someone who insists on tackle when all you want is touch. It's the same thing. This is just silly pretend games. So find someone who wants to play a game you want to play.
And yeah, you can expect it to take about two years to really find your footing in this world and really know what you want and how to articulate it successfully, at least. That doesn't mean you won't have enjoyable (or at least interesting, informative) experiences along the way. But it is a lot of work. I find it is better to lead off with realistic expectations because many people rush out hoping that someone will just magically appear who will fulfill all their desires, and that's not how the world works. Every person that you speak to in a kinky context is a full human being with their own anxieties, sexual traumas, shame, areas where they lack experience, and desires that might strike them as impossible to realize.
In kink, you have to learn to navigate really complicated interactions with each one of them as its own independent thing. A lot of us make the mistake early on of thinking everyone else out there is a more seasoned, confident, sexually voracious being than we are, and that all we have to do is find the right person to give us a good time. But with our actions and negotiations WE make it a good time, us and our partner of the moment, together.
If you don't put the work in, you get nothing out. But the more you reveal of yourself and stay present in the interaction and honor it as the specific, unique thing that it is, the more benefits you reap -- not just sex or kinky play, but friendships, community ties, self-knowledge, and social skills.
Have fun out there! I hope you learn a lot.
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itsawritblr · 3 months
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Fuck "sensitivity readers."
I see that a couple of my Followers and other writers on here are obsessed with writing POC "correctly."
As a full-time professional writer of fiction and nonfiction who's also Hapa, I need to point out:
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So you're paranoid that you're gonna write something and POC are going to come after you, calling you "racist" or "insensitive" or that you're "appropriating culture."
The only reply you need to make is in 2 steps:
Say:
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Then:
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There's is no "right way" to write any group of people or any race or ethnicity. Know why?
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I've seen this happen. A Black writer will tell white writers how to write Blacks. Then another Black writer will say, "Wait a minute, I'm not like that, my family's not like that. We're not all Urban BLM hip-hop lovers. I'm Christian, I'm against trans in women's spaces, I have several White friends, and I listen to classic country music."
So who's right? Both.
A "sensitivity reader" or some on this hellsite will tell you HOW to write POC. When all they're telling you is their POV. They can't speak for everyone. (A perfect example.)
If you want to write about a person of a race or ethnicity other than your own, sure, do a little research, as you would with anything. If a sensitivity reader tells you your Jewish character should be celebrating Shabbat, a little research on your own will tell you that not all Jews do (as it happens, I learned this from my Jewish boyfriend, whose family never celebrated Shabbat). So that "sensitivity reader" would have given you misinformation because of her or his POV.
Do not panic that you're gonna be canceled or yelled at for "getting it wrong."
There IS no wrong. Look,
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All you need to remember is:
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Writer and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz was told not to write Black characters because he's white and Jewish. This stunned him. He was supposed to leave Black characters out of his work? But if he did that he'd be accused of not having Black characters.
He didn't obey. In fact, I'm reading his current novel, and he has a perfectly fine Black character in it.
Read this article:
No, Authors Should Not Be Constrained By Gender Or Race In The Characters They Create. by Lorraine Devon White, Contributor
This was the BBC.com headline:
Spy Author Anthony Horowitz ‘Warned Off’ Creating Black Character:
Author Anthony Horowitz says he was “warned off” including a black character in his new book because it was “inappropriate” for a white writer. The creator of the Alex Rider teenage spy novels says an editor told him it could be considered “patronising” ... Horowitz, who has written 10 novels featuring teenage spy Alex Rider, said there was a “chain of thought” in America that it was “inappropriate” for white writers to try to create black characters, something which he described as “dangerous territory”.
Dangerous territory, indeed.
What are we to make of this? Is an author limited to only writing characters within their race? What about gender? Religion? Age? Ethnicity? Sexual orientation? Where do the boundaries stop?
The old adage, “write what you know,” is a thesis that implies a writer should limit their imagination to the parameters of their own life and experience. But does that maxim still hold true today? Certainly in these times of viral accessibility, contact, research, knowledge, and interaction with people, places, and things far outside our own proximity is as every-day as 24/7 updates from the farthest corners of the globe. Our ability, consequently, to gain perspective sufficient enough to write outside one’s own “house” is not only doable, but, perhaps, universal and insightful, presuming one does it well.
But is it “patronizing”? Are we, as writers, simply not allowed to write outside, say, our culture, regardless of how well we might do it? Has society become so compartmentalized, so hypersensitive, politically correct, and wary of triggering repercussion, resentment, or misinterpretation that reaching beyond our own skin ― literally and figuratively – has become verboten to us as creative artists?
Interesting questions, these; particularly when you consider that men have been writing about women since time immemorial without particular societal concern that they couldn’t possibly know, couldn’t authentically muster, the requisite experiential perspective. It was a given that they could get the job done; accepted without debate. Yet the specificity, the sensitive and unique nature of being female, could be considered as disparate from the male experience as being black is to a white person, but that hasn’t stopped male authors, from Vladimir Nabokov to Wally Lamb, from creating their women of note.
Which is fair. Because the explicit job of an author is to climb inside the experience of LIFE, real or imagined, to tell compelling stories that reflect the incalculable diversity of detail, nuance, thought, and emotion of any variety of people, places, and things. And the creative mind can find and translate authenticity whether writing about Martians, coquettish teens, dogs who play poker, or characters who exactly mirror the author‘s gender or race.
I’ve had my own experience with this interesting conundrum: my last novel, Hysterical Love, was told through the first-person point-of-view of a thirty-three-year-old man, and it goes without saying: I’m not one of those. Yet I felt completely capable of infusing my story with authenticity by relying on my skills of observation, as well as my experiential knowledge as the sister of five men, the mother of a son, the wife of a man; my years on the road with rock bands, and the immersive research of being a close friend to many, many men throughout my life. I’ve been told I pulled it off, even by the men who’ve read it, so my conviction proved out.
But is the divide between cultures, races, wider than that of gender diversity? Does a white writer delegitimize their prose by including black characters? Is the reverse true?
I don’t think so. I think it depends on the writer, the quality of their work; the depth and sensitivity of their depictions. Those are my initial responses. But I also understand the question:
About two years ago I had an article up at HuffPost titled, “No, White People Will Never Understand the Black Experience,” a piece that became a flashpoint for much conversation on the topic of race. It was written in response to events of the time, particularly the egregious injustice of Sandra Bland’s arrest and subsequent (and inexplicable) jailhouse death, and the cacophony that arose amongst, amidst, and between parties on both sides of the racial divide as a result. My own thesis, my perspective on the tangible limitations we each have in perceiving and assessing the realities of life outside ourselves, is made clear by the title alone. But while there’s obviously much more to that debate, here and now we’re discussing the issue as it relates to the job of being an author and I have some specific thoughts on that.
Inspired by the many responses and conversations that ensued after the aforementioned article, as well as others written on the topic of racial conflict, bias, and injustice, I took one of the stories referenced, about an interracial couple’s experiences with police profiling, and developed it into a character-driven novel called A NICE WHITE GIRL, a title that reflects commentary made within some of the conversations I had.
This “sociopolitical love story” is told through the intertwining points-of-view of a black man and white woman dealing not only with pushback to their new and evolving relationship, but the ratcheting impact of police profiling that ultimately leads to a life-altering arrest. It’s a story that’s human, gut-wrenching, and honest, built on the foundation of my own experiences in a long-term interracial relationship earlier in my life, as well as journalistic research and interviews, personal interactions, even friendships with members of the black community. Given a commitment to creating the characters outside my demographic as authentically and sensitively as I possibly could, without watering them down or pandering to political correctness, I believe I served both my story and its cultural demands well. Did I?
Every author relies on, taps into; mines the wealth of thought, opinion, perspective, and acculturation of their own unique life experience. Certainly that’s true. But as artists, as observers and chroniclers of life by way of prose, we go beyond that pool of reference. We reach out, we expand; we explore plot lines and include characters that stretch our imagination, that dig deep into worlds, events and experiences, imagined or real, that can pull us onto less traveled roads that might demand the challenge of research, of specific observation, even outside consultation. We take these extra steps, even for fiction, because we want to infuse our work with inherent realness. Particularly when writing characters outside our culture. That was certainly the demand I faced when embarking upon this latest novel.
But I am a white woman who’s written a book with a black male character, inclusive of his mother, his sister, and various friends. I’ve depicted their family life, their interactions, relationships, thoughts and feelings. Do I not have the creative right to do that? Will I be seen as patronizing, insensitive, off base, and inappropriate? Will this make my book too controversial for representation, for publishing, for sale? Will it garner derision and disdain from members of the black community? Even members of the white community who may resent the harshness with which I depict some of the police?
I don’t know. Maybe. But it was a story I felt passionate about, compelled to write; that took the many debated aspects and elements discussed in my articles and put them into fictional form, with imagined characters who embodied and borrowed from people I knew, from conversations I’d had, from ideas, agendas, politics, and passions that had been conveyed to me by real people expressing essential and sometimes controversial perspectives. I was determined to honor them by candidly, honestly, and without apology, telling the story.
But perhaps, as Anthony Horowitz was told, I’m entering territory that is off-limits, that puts me at odds with those who might frame me as presumptuous and patronizing. “A nice white girl” who’s stepped outside of culturally acceptable boundaries.
I hope not, because I, like Mr. Horowitz, see that as “dangerous territory.”
Just as brilliant male authors have gorgeously written female protagonists; as female novelists have conjured male characters ringing with truth; as writers of one ethnicity have honestly depicted another; as fabulists have invented entire worlds of imagined wonders, authors must be limited by... NOTHING. Not a thing. They must be free to create without fear of cultural naysaying, societal judgment, threat of reprisal, or the discomfort of crossing cultural boundaries.
The only mandate to which they’re obligated is GOOD WRITING. Writing with wit and clarity. Honesty. Authenticity. Sensitivity and depth. Engaging prose, compelling plots, and visceral emotion. And, if need be, if determined helpful, the use of “sensitivity readers” who can ascertain if the writer got the cultural references right.
But just as Idris Elba could certainly make magic as James Bond, as Anthony Horowitz could create an intriguing black spy for his books; as I can write characters both male and of a culture outside my own, so must every author of merit and worth be allowed to view the entire panoply of life as fuel for their imagination. Anything else is antithetical to the mission of art... and stymying art serves no one. Not the writer, not the reader, not the myriad members of our diverse world hungry for stories that reflect their lives. Art is imagining; creating, mirroring, and provoking... all of which can and must be achieved by artists free to explore without the limiting effect of creative and cultural boundaries.
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99musings · 1 month
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the bear, kai havertz
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genre: fluff, domestic fluff.
summary: kai struggles more than your son does on his first day of primary school.
warnings: none.
this fic is a repost of my old previous work on 808heartz.
"I can't believe this is happening today," Kai murmured to you, for the fifth time, while his eyes fixated on the road. He let out another deep breath, one that was riddled with an unshakable anxiety.
Your hand took his into yours, intertwining your fingers as the pad of your thumb began to rub his knuckle. You couldn't stop the slight smile that curled up your lip, trying to bite it away before you let out a laugh. Your eyes met his gaze, a quick look he gave to you with an annoyed eye roll while he murmured about the severity of the situation.
"Kai, look at him," You shook your head with a soft smile as you motioned to your son, who sat in his car seat quietly while he played with his bear—a gift from Kai that he's never been apart from, his favorite source of comfort. "Devon's gonna be fine, honey. We've prepared him for this day for a while now." Your words were reassuring, but not enough to settle the nerves that tickled underneath Kai's skin.
"I'm just worried about how he'll adjust."
Your mouth opened to speak, a rebuttal brewing— wanting to ask if your fiancé if he was really worried about Devon or rather how he was going to adjust to Devon's absence—but the gentle jerk of the car being placed into park had stopped you from speaking. You turned to Kai, who had already been looking at your son with a slight pout, and you squeezed his hand to get his attention; he turned to you and sighed, nodding that he was ready.
He had no choice but to be.
The click of your seatbelts undoing had made Devon perk up in excitement, and he was quite eager to get out of his seat, which Kai couldn't even pretend that he didn't notice. He opened the backseat door, unable to contain the smile that rose onto his lips from the sight of his son, his little clone at that, and undid his seatbelt to scoop him into his arms.
Kai sighed as he grabbed the little Bluey book bag, that contained nothing but his lunch and other necessities, and slung it onto his other shoulder.
He looked down at Devon, who was completely content in his arms as he held his little bear. "Are you excited, vögelchen?" Kai asked softly, smiling when his son had only responded by cuddling into his arms more while he hid his face. He pressed a gentle kiss against his temple, rubbing his son's back. (little bird)
As relieved as Kai was that you were near now, he wished that you were still in the car, rummaging through your purse for a document that the school needed; anything to prolong dropping off Devon, wanting to savor the little minutes he had with him before he worried about him for the rest of the You ruffled your son's brown locks, beautiful strands that resembled his father's, while smiling up at Kai. "Alright, baby, it's time!" You cooed lowly, trying to remain as calm and collected as you possibly could, not wanting to stress out Devon and Kai.
Despite the short walk from the parking lot to the front of the school, Kai was reluctantly to let go of Devon, and carried him the whole time.
Even inside.
The walk to the classroom made goosebumps rise along his forearm: hearing the laughter of excitement from the older children, accompanied by the cries of terror that got closer with every step to Devon's class, and when the three of you reached the door, the warmth from his son's teacher still wasn't enough for Kai. He felt as if the sound fizzled out, unintelligible as you spoke to Devon's teacher, when he looked down at his son, and he could feel his lips begin to quiver when those big brown eyes stared back at him. The gentle wiggles of his soft body trying to get out of his grip made it too real for Kai, watching as Devon grabbed your hand when his teacher kneeled down to his level to speak to him.
The sound restored when Devon turned back to look at him: the laughter, cries, and footsteps came back to hit Kai like a freight train. He kneeled down and opened his arms, gnawing on his bottom lip to hold back his tears as he engulfed his son into a little hug. He murmured reassuring phrases in German to him, and before he let him go, he pressed a gentle kiss onto his forehead. "It's gonna be a good day," Kai whispered, holding his hand while his eyes watered. "I promise."
Devon nodded shyly as he clutched his bear in his hands, afraid to let go of it, and though he didn't have to, he did.
"Daddy's," He murmured, holding the bear out for Kai to take; shocking you, along with Kai, who had to blink back his tears an insurmountable amount of times, when he took the bear into his hands.
Kai kept a tight grip of the bear, wanting to make sure this was real, even after the final goodbyes for the day and the blurry walk to the car from all of his tears. He sat in the passenger's seat, unable to drive now as his head rested on your shoulder, and he held onto the bear for comfort; trying to stop himself from looking at the school that Devon would be in for the next six hours-which felt way too long to Kai.
He completely underestimated his emotions.
"It's a good thing I didn't go to training today."
"I don't think you would've survived the day if you went," You teased, trying to lighten up his mood as you looked down at him. His smile was small, but still as bright as ever, and you pinched his cheek after wiping away his remaining tears: murmuring about how you missed his smile. "Only five and a half more hours, Kai. He'll be with us again before you know it," You spoke quietly as you ran a hand through his hair.
Kai sighed and nodded in agreement: the two of you could only wait, as agonizing as it may sound for him. He looked down at the bear, keeping it close to him as he thought about how he couldn't wait to hear about Devon's first day later, and it made him laugh almost-worrying about how Devon would adjust, when really, Kai should've worried about himself.
tag list: @lettersofgold @afterpills
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centralkvetchmonolith · 7 months
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This page from Unmasking Autism by Dr. Devon Price is a great example of why I can't stand Price's writing. Validating autistic existence (and complaining about how autistic behavior gets pathologized) is eminently possible without lying/swinging hard into the opposite absolutes.
Not only does he say "completely harmless" about behaviors that have readily identified harms, he labels common autistic behaviors (which should absolutely be understood, & contextualized as part of human experience) as "healthy", which at its most innocuous is saying that these behaviors are present in otherwise unremarkable autistic people but which I interpret to mean he believes these are *necessarily euadaptive* behaviors. The absolutism of "complete[ness]" and necessity has no place in serious writing about psychology.
Anyway that's the point I wanted to make, but here are some specifics about how these normal and understandable behaviors (many of which I exhibit) aren't harmless:
1) Not noticing surroundings can be super dangerous! Not noticing that people are trying to talk to you is mildly inconvenient (which is a harm)!
2) *Needing* to know what to expect implies that being thrust into an unfamiliar situation w/o information causes distress irrespective of the actual contents of the situation. That's a harm (despite merely being an extreme version of a universal part of human experience)!
3) The more rigid a structure is, the more catastrophically and frequently it breaks. Rejecting deviations often means rejecting necessary activities like eating, or like leaving a dangerous situation.
4) Taking a long time to fully respond to a question is fine. Giving no sign that you're considering — or have even heard — the question is distressing to yr conversational partner. I highly recommend going "hmm" or cocking yr head to the side when you think about things, if this is true of you.
5) Taking information into consideration is a healthy behavior. It is physically impossible to know literally all information about a decision. Depending on your definition of "all", this behavior may lead to spinning your mental wheels while never making an actual decision, which mad sucks to experience and to cooperate with.
6) Alexithymia (i.e. not knowing how you feel) also sucks to experience! Just because you can't name or even identify the existence of a feeling doesn't mean you don't have it! Like the other behaviors I've mentioned, alexithymia has no inherent moral weight.
Anyway! I love being autistic, and wouldn't choose otherwise even if I could, but some parts of it are maladaptive even when the only other people you interact with are also autistic, and I wish Dr Price would acknowledge that.
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sergeifyodorov · 9 months
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would u do a little analysis of how each team has done so far this season … i trust ur opinions so much
EACH team okay... under the cut bc i am not subjecting the masses to 32 nasty little thots cody edition
Bruins: RIP patrice of course but the bruins are steamrolling as ever... i think that if there is any evidence of the universe simply not caring abt good things it is that the bruins slip and stumble and have some of their best players retired and still manage to put up a 50 win season every year. <- salty leafs fan but ANYHWAY the bruins are easily a Playoff Team. simply "there" 5v5, strong power play, they make their money off finishing (pastrnak you filthy animal) and goaltending (swaymark you filthy animals). they have been trending downwards of late so i'm not entirely sure of like their final standings place but with this kind of head start they're staying up.
Sabres: currently in what we the people call a "decade of darkness." might be a "two decades of darkness" if we're going to be honest. the active player with the most playoff points with the sabres is tyler myers. 7 points. yeah the tall one most famous for having a subreddit that posts the gamescore card every time he's on the bottom of the gamescore card. sabres are really hard to fix because their first real step to contention is "hoping devon levi turns out really good." not promising. bad enough that by selling a piece or two celebrini is in sight. maybe that'll help? a third 1OA?
Red Wings: presenting the mid-season Season Ruining Unforced Error Award early by saying: not that they were going to be as good as their first few games of sniping suggested, but signing patrick kane tanked any realistic hope they have of playoffs. is patrick kane good? he's actually alright. maybe this time the surgery worked. is the team made better by having him on it? it surely isn't! a few REALLY BADLY TIMED dylan larkin based misfortunes have made it go from bad to worse. they were in A2 like a month ago and now they're Out. strengths: finishing. weaknesses: everything else, including morale.
Panthers: okay you've probably clocked this by now but ive been Generally Salty so far and that is bc a) im easily tempted to haterhood and b) currently discussing each team in the atlantic which does nothing to make me less Tempted To Haterhood. that being said the panthers are Good and For Real About It. they can do everything except finish chances, which is fine when the other team has way fewer chances than you and your goalie doesn't let any of them in. fuck ALLL the way off. place your bets on these guys having a deep playoff run. cross your fingers for them not having a deep playoff run i can't stand chuckyposting again it's RAN ITS COURSE. (also: machuk is probably still injured and absolutely Not doing as well as he did the last few seasons. maybe because he's just not that kind of guy but it's probably at least mostly the broken chest thing)
Canadiens: they are bad EXCEPT when it comes to overtime + the shootout. also much like the sabres they're going nowhere fast. i expect at least one of their goalies to be gone at the deadline... furthermore i think ppl who are ragging on slaf's slow development are simply expecting all 1OAs to be like an auston or a connor type (pick your connor) where they come in and immediately adapt -- slaf rings very reminiscent of quinton byfield to me, who was picked 2OA in 2020 and is only now starting to break out. give him time he's a baby...
Senators: despite how much literally everyone talks up all their players constantly, they are not good either. like the sabres or the habs... atlantic is 4 teams in the genuine hunt, 3 teams who suck and have sucked forever and will suck forevermore, and the red wings who haven't made up their minds yet. the sens actually Do have a singular Biggest Problem though and that's goaltending, but they're not a good enough team otherwise that getting a quality goaltender is going to make them playoffs worthy, especially not in the very short (this-season) run.
Lightning: the lightning are weird to me because like i think they're still making up their mind as A People what they want to do. kucherov is the best player in the league rn, this is stamkos' ufa season and he hasn't been offered an extension, vasilevskiy is back and vasying his levskiy... i fully believe they have the capability of getting a playoff spot, maybe even A3 if they want. we've all seen them in the playoffs, we know how they can turn ~It~ on at will. as always they're a deeply mid 5v5 team powered by very strong special teams... the goaltending numbers say goaltending is shit but they've been playing in front of the genuinely unplayable jonas johansson most of the season so i think it'll be fine.
Maple Leafs: as the team ive watched the moast i can talk about these guys for evar so for all of our sanities i will be brief: Auston Matthews, Baby, Look At Him, That's Auston, Auston Motherfucking "Sexy Mustached Bitch" Matthews!!!!!!! powered by an extremely strong power play and very good offence, and defence and goaltending that is held together by Morgan Rielly and a dream. possibly the only reason they're in a playoff spot is the fact that martin jones didn't get claimed on waivers three months ago and i am being dead serious about that. for some reason they're at their best when they're down by two. they do really need both their #1 goalie to come back from injury and to make a splash for a genuine nhl-calibre defenceman, but they're stubbornly determined to win games even through nasty flu.
Hurricanes: their usual selves -- analytics darlings, can't buy a goal. this year they can't buy a save either -- Freddie is out with a medical condition, Raanta is straight up not good, and Kochetkov is... well, he's Kochetkov. they're not far out of a spot but they'll need a hot hand if they want to get comfy... which i don't expect, frankly. they're good enough to make the playoffs, but they're not really a team that goes on heaters, so they'll be bubble until the end.
Blue Jackets: genuinely not sure they know what they're doing like... okay. from an outside pov they are obviously Tanking. they're bad in every way that matters except for finishing and the standings show it. but also like... they're at the point in their development cycle where they shouldn't be tanking... or at least are on the verge of Shouldn't Be Tanking. and again, because they don't know what they're doing, they hired mike babcock for this... if they know what they're doing they'll toss kekalainen as soon as they can and, following this year's draft, start Fighting. but let's be real i doubt that. adam fantilli it's your time to shine... sorry sweetheart!
Devils: see Hurricanes. Great on paper, can't buy a save. They've obviously been stunted by Timo, J'accuse, and Nico all being injured at various points, but goaltending is their biggest and most solvable problem. Unlike the Hurricanes, though, the Devils are fully capable of going on a heater, so the gap between them and WC2 isn't as big as it looks (probably.) Luke Hughes is going to be something special.
Rangers: Looks like Lafreniere is finally getting his feet under him -- but the Rangers have always been far more about getting old, known players to get a second wind with them than they've been about prospect development, and Quick and Wheeler are both showing this pretty definitively. Another one of those teams that's run by special teams and finishing/goaltending. Easy playoff spot, likely solid run. Nothing too interesting here.
Islanders: On the other hand, the Isles are interesting because... like... how did they get There? They have a negative goal differential, for heaven's sake! Their special teams are godawful, their defence is a sieve, they blow leads like that's what actually gets you points in this league, and they're somehow second in the Metropolitan??????? Is it Horvat? Barzal? Sorokin? (It's probably Sorokin.) They'll make the playoffs but i doubt they'll succeed in them.
Flyers: This one's also weird. They have the power play and offence of a peewee team in the big leagues, but have become defensively Actually Super Competent and are somehow good because of this? I'm going to theorize -- because you've asked me to but also because I really want to -- that this is due, at least in part, to somewhat of an inverse Kane-on-the-Red-Wings effect from their offseason removal of Provorov and DeAngelo; without them, the team is now not only better defensively on paper but also better as a team in the locker room. They're [uncle voice] playing with heart now! I doubt they're a real contender, but I think they might actually make playoffs.
Penguins: ...this one's also weird. They're good on paper. Like, really good on paper? Defensively "just okay" but offensively great, goaltending is fantastic, special teams are shutdown. They just can't buy a goal and they can't buy a good sequence.
Capitals: This one's weird, too, but in the opposite way -- aside from the power-play, the Caps are actually godawful on paper, especially when it comes to finishing (because when Ovechkin takes such a high percentage of your shots but he isn't scoring, your team REALLY suffers) but somehow they've managed to pinpoint sequencing luck (win close, lose ugly) and are somehow in WC1. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? Absolutely not -- if either the Devils or Canes step up, the Caps are the odd man out -- but it might be fun to see them try. Or hell, I hope they win-close-lose-ugly their way to a goddamn Cup final. Would be funny as fuck for Ovi's second-longest ever playoff run to come at the fresh young age of thirty-eight. Dude looks ragged out there. I'm going to shut up now before I start talking about finding him sexy
Coyotes: Simple on paper: bad at running play, good goaltending and finishing. Essentially what the Canucks are doing at a smaller scale. The Leafs should never have let Kerfoot walk and I mean that unironically. Okay, anyway, the Yotes are a bubble team and won't make higher than WC1 because of the logjam at the top of the Central, but holy fuck do I want them to make WC1 (or a playoff spot in general.) People ask "how can we grow the game" a lot, and when it comes to what the NHL can do directly, the number one biggest thing is win in small markets. Arizona has already created one of the sports' biggest stars -- Auston! -- and it's an absolutely massive TV market and a potential hotbed of new fans and new, great players. Arizona making a playoff spot -- or even better, going on a run -- would be amazing for the NHL. And it would be funny. And I would like that.
Blackhawks: shoutout to dave !!! dave who works for the hawks!!! anyway the hawks are very obviously tanking and good at it. Their only real point of interest is their Sacred Child, and holy fuck is their Sacred Child going to absolutely fucking smash it when he's given a team that's not entirely made up of scrubs. i think his analytics, especially his defensive numbers, are, like, fine? but accounting for his leverage (all situations, especially the difficult ones), his teammates (his best linemate is Anthony Beauvillier, and tito... is a third liner), and the fact that he's all of eighteen, he's definitely on track to be a Real Force. i kinda love him... okay moving on.
Avalanche: All-over good: finishing their biggest obvious strength, but hockeywise they don't have any real weaknesses... although there is some serious Drama brewing in that locker room and i think it might just be getting started. with landeskog gone for at least until the end of this year (and possibly forever) and ej a sabre, there is absolutely no one in there capable of actually emotionally running a team: makar lacking in a leader's magnetism, rantanen an idiot, toews and mackinnon far too high-strung and competitive, and no one else with seniority. they're a good enough team that it's not really affecting them right now, but ... i don't know, i can kind of feel it coming. They'll make the playoffs, but when the pressure is on they'll either step up or completely fall apart.
Stars: See above: all-over good, but saving their biggest obvious weakness. I think most of this is spurred by Otter being out -- Wedgewood is a serviceable backup goaltender, but obviously not capable of being a real starter, and the team is stuttering because of it. I doubt it'll be for long or too much difficulty (they're a good defensive team, so it's not going to affect them a lot, but they might lose a game or two they might have won with Otter, especially if he's out for a while), but it's going to keep them from taking a step on top of the Central. Easy playoff team, probable contender.
Wild: They are bad! Penalty kill is their worst weakness, but they're not great in goal either and the combination is kicking their ass. As much as I respect how well they've done with that giant cap-space penalty from the Parise/Suter buyouts all those years ago, it's... kind of time to throw in the towel. Get Flower those final few wins, because by god are they devoid of much other success. Right at the tail of a competitive arc. RIP. Tank incoming.
Predators: Weirdly good, even though Saros hasn't been his usual self? O'Reilly esp has been an absolutely fantastic addition for the team over the offseason. No huge strengths, no significant weaknesses. Not an amazing offensive team, but it's Nashville so they were never going to be -- the place practically breeds defensive forwards and all-around dmen. I don't expect they'll seriously contend, but they'll make the playoffs (unless someone offers the farm for Saros).
Blues: I genuinely think so little about the Blues .... that whole thing with Jordan Kyrou has been the most I've thought about them for a bit. That and the fact that only three of their games haven't been decided by the first goal? They're not good and they're really boring. Yeehaw.
Jets: THE JETS let's get JUICY. Jets' biggest strengths by far are a) 5v5 defence and b) finishing/goaltending. Even with Kyle Connor out they're sniping and Hellebuyck and Brossoit are both absolutely on it. The Jets have always seemed to have this problem where on paper (take a shot every time I've written "on paper" in this post if you want to die of alcohol poisoning) they seem fantastic, then January onwards they absolutely plummet. And it's not January yet, so that might still happen, but that kind of thing tends to happen because of a dramatic morale shift, and now that Lowry's captain and Wheeler's left for New York... that might not happen? They've banked enough points that unless they're historically bad from here on out they're still a playoff team. If they keep up what they have going so far, they're a contender, but if it's the same Winnipeg with the same problems, then they're not.
Ducks: Taking a step in the right direction with Carlsson and Mintyukov, but still bad! I really hope Carlsson recovers well, he seems like a sweet boy. Also: what on Earth are they doing with Zegras. Is he a defenceman now? Are they making him play defence? Are he and Dixie D'Amelio still dating? I have many questions. I just hope whichever high draft pick they get is an idiot. I feel like they need another dumbass baby on the team.
Flames: The Flames also appear to have no idea what's going on. And frankly, neither do I! They're too good to be obviously tanking, but not near good enough to be a bubble team. They're definitely reluctant to sell, but their best hope to win soon absolutely should be selling. They have one of the worst contracts in the league on their payroll (wow... I hope the guy in charge of my favourite team didn't sign that!) and a bunch of really solid late-round picks and prospects cutting their teeth on the NHL. In short: they aren't going to make the playoffs and should be leaning into that, but they don't seem to have realized this yet.
Oilers: For the sake of not gloating, I'm going to sum this one up with a Marek quote: If you have a goalie, it's 70% of your team. If you don't, it's 100%. They've had finishing trouble, but considering they absolutely run the show at 5v5 AND special teams (they put nearly SIXTY SHOTS on Vasilevskiy the other day) a little finishing shouldn't be quite so dangerous if they didn't have two sieves minding the net. McDavid might hit 150 again and the Oil might still miss the playoffs. If they get in, they're going far, but at this point it'll be tough as fuck to make it in.
Kings: Average penalty kill. No other weaknesses. Kopitar 4 Selke.
Sharks: This is an absolutely glorious tankjob. No other way to put it. This is the pinnacle of tank design. This is the Wayne Gretzky of tankjobs. This is the Casablanca of tankjobs. This is the Saturn V of tankjobs. Nothing has been so beautifully engineered to suck since Sir James Dyson patented his vacuum or Nancy Reagan walked the earth. It's beautiful. It's gorgeous. I am in awe. They deserve Celebrini purely because of how flawless the tank is. I don't care if he has a warm undertone and would look pink in that fantastic teal. The boy needs San Jose.
Kraken: Good defensively at 5v5, bad pretty much everywhere else. I'm going to be honest with you all, last year was kind of a flash in the pan -- Seattle isn't great and they're neither headed upwards nor downwards. Not a bubble team, probably won't pick top ten. They haven't decided whether or not to build up or tank. Beyond the fantastic aesthetics and four-unranked-lines shtick, they don't really have a whole lot of competitive mojo: no star forwards, no goaltending. Wholeheartedly mid.
Canucks: oH BABY!!!!! The 23-24 Canucks made us all learn what PDO is. The 23-24 Canucks are first in the motherfucking league after being one spot out of being in the Bedard lottery. The 23-24 Canucks are on track to have the best shooting and saving percentage in league history. The 23-24 Canucks' leading goalscorer is Brock Boeser, the guy they've almost traded practically every year since they drafted him. The 23-24 Canucks started the season by naming the Wettest Little Man On The Planet captain and they haven't looked back since. I think they're an easy lock for a playoff spot -- but within the playoffs, do I know what they're going to do? I absolutely do not. They could PDO their way to a Cup or they could bow out in four games flat. Either is equally likely. They have thoroughly embraced Good Chaos. Quinn Hughes might win the Hart. Everything's coming up Vancouver.
Golden Knights: Not as good as they were last year. Ultimately still pretty good. Easy playoff spot. Definite contender. Jack Eichel is better than ever and I love him for it, the dickhead.
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romione-trope-fest · 7 months
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Speak Now
Title: Speak Now
Author: adenei
Selected Trope: Weasley Weddings
Summary: In the midst of trying to navigate what life looks like following the defeat of Voldemort, and the loss of so many, there’s one thing glaringly missing. The irony of it all is it takes someone else’s wedding to give Ron the kick in the pants he needs to go after what—or rather *who*—he wants.
Word Count: 1988
Rating: G
TW: mentions of character death (all canon)
“Ron, I need to ask you for a favor.” Ron’s hand stops on the doorknob, the floorboards creaking under his feet. 
The thick piece of wood is the only thing separating him from a much needed afternoon nap. Sleep has been evading him. Nightmares torturing his mind as he tosses and turns on the lumpy old mattress that’s been his for as long as he can remember.
He shoots his brother a withering look, letting go of the handle as he turns to face him. “Right now?” 
It’s been two weeks since the Battle of Hogwarts. Two weeks since Fred died. Two weeks since Harry defeated Voldemort. And two weeks since he and Hermione kissed.
Every waking moment has been filled with funerals or meetings, and helping around the Burrow to ease the load on his mum, who’s completely overwhelmed with grief. And if he’s not doing his part to ensure the household is running smoothly, he’s taking a shift with George, making sure he doesn’t do anything rash or stupid as he navigates a world without his twin.
Because of all that, he’s barely seen Hermione, let alone had a chance to sit down with her. Every time they cross paths at the Burrow, he feels like he’s not making enough of an effort to make her a priority, yet how can he when everything else is just as important right now? She always smiles and nods in understanding when he’s pulled here or there, but sometimes he wishes she’d speak up and be selfish, asking him to come with her for once instead.
“Yes, right now.”
Ron sighs, trying to prevent the eye roll that sneaks out anyway. “Can’t you ask—”
“No. Bill is with George, and this really needs to be addressed by the end of the day.”
“Fine,” he groans, opening the door wide enough to welcome Percy inside his room.
He’s so busy ushering Percy inside that he doesn’t notice that there’s someone else already occupying the space—more specifically, his bed.
“Oh! Hi, um, sorry. I was just waiting for—do you need me to go?” Hermione’s brows knit with worry.
Ron could curse Percy all over again for needing him now—especially if he’s missing another opportunity to talk to Hermione. His brother stares at the girl he longs to be his girlfriend, contemplating her presence until he finally decides.
“No, actually, I’d like you to stay. I think that would be best.”
“Percy, what is going—”
The uptight redhead straightens his tie and clears his throat. “I have an appointment at the courthouse in Devon in thirty minutes, and I need someone to come with me.”
Ron’s not sure why, but he suddenly realizes that Percy’s dressed up—in Muggle garb.
“What did you do?” Hermione’s eyes widen as the question slips out of her mouth.
“I—nothing. I’m—er—getting married.”
“What?” He and Hermione both exclaim in tandem.
“But you’re not even seeing someone! Right?”
“I—I know it seems rash and maybe rushed, but it’s not. I’ve been seeing a—a Muggle for about two years now. Her name is Audrey, and I truly love her. She knows about me and our world. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing, dating her amidst the war, but—now that things are, well, over, I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Ron balks at him. “You’re seriously going to get married without the rest of the family knowing?”
“Er, no. They don’t. And that’s the thing. I do want to tell everyone…eventually, but Audrey and I had talked about eloping before things got really bad. We’ve been living in a Fidelius protected home and I had to be so careful not to get caught. Otherwise, I would have tried to make amends sooner too. But—Merlin forbid something were to happen again, I don’t want to miss my chance.”
Percy rarely gets flustered, but when he does, he is very much like Hermione. His train of thought tends to bounce all over the place and he doesn’t always make sense. Ron shakes his head.
“That still didn’t answer the question.”
“I am going to tell them. When the time is right. And we can have a reception or whatever else Mum wants to plan when she’s ready, but right now, I just need it to be me and her. We don’t want the fanfare.”
“So, why are you asking me to come with you?”
“Because we need a witness. Her best friend was supposed to come, but when I got the paperwork this morning to file the marriage license with the Ministry, we realized the witness needs to be magical for our end of things. Lara is still planning on attending, but…please, Ron?”
Ron stares at his brother, who looks at him with pleading, hopeful eyes before his gaze flits to Hermione. She nods gently.
“Fine. But I don’t have—”
“Oh, Merlin, thank you! Here.” Percy pulls his wand out and Accios something from the other room. It’s another muggle suit. “Hermione, you can come too, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything for you to—”
“I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“No, please, I’d like you there. It would make me feel a little better knowing that some of my family can be there.”
Ron’s heart constricts in his chest. Does Percy really consider Hermione family? Even though they aren’t even together?
“I—I’ll go look in Ginny’s room to see what I can find.” Her cheeks are rosy as she climbs off the bed and slips between them, exiting the room without so much as a backwards glance at either of them.
Percy looks back to Ron. “I’m sorry if I interrupted something.”
“It’s fine. You…didn’t.” 
Not technically, anyway.
“Er, right. Well, I do appreciate this. Truly. Thank you. I promise it won’t be long.” Percy glances down at his watch. “We need to leave in ten minutes. I’ll meet you in the garden and we can Side-Along?”
Ron nods. “Sure.”
As Percy disappears into the hall, shutting the door behind him, Ron has trouble wrapping his head around everything. 
Percy’s getting married. To a girl no other Weasley has ever met before—a muggle. And he and Hermione are the ones being asked to bear witness to it all.
* * *
The ceremony is just as Percy said it would be: brief, quiet, and intimate. For someone who always wanted all the pomp and circumstance of whatever position he held, this is uncharacteristically unassuming and private. And Ron can’t help but feel a little guilty upon seeing how the war—and the estrangement from his family—has changed Percy.
But when the justice of the peace asks them to say their vows, there’s a spark that comes to life in Percy’s eyes when he looks at Audrey, and even though Ron thinks his brother’s rushing things, it’s obvious they share something special. He doesn’t blame Percy for not wanting to wait anymore.
After all, hadn’t he said as much to Hermione in the Room of Requirement? ‘It’s now or never?’ Except it’s turned into ‘it was now, but then we had to wait a few weeks and he’s starting to think it might be never.’
Ron glances at his best friend, whose eyes are glassy with unshed tears as she watches Percy and Audrey share their promises with each other. He’s struck with an overwhelming feeling that he can’t quite place. Relief, maybe? Hope? Maybe it doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have the word to describe it. Until it’s obvious.
Love.
It’s against all odds—the fact that they’re here. They made it. Even when one, or perhaps both, probably shouldn’t have. Ron’s been so caught up mourning the loss of everyone who gave their lives to protect their world that he’s forgotten why they died in the first place. Fred, Tonks, Remus…they wouldn’t want everyone to grieve them so much they can’t get on with their lives. What good would all that fighting have been for? 
Maybe Percy has the right idea, marrying Audrey. Perhaps this is part of his journey of healing and moving forward on his own, and eventually he’ll find a way to fuse his life with Audrey to the one he’s working to repair with his family. Ron wonders if he should follow in his brother’s footsteps, and find his way to happiness again.
As Percy and Audrey are pronounced man and wife, Ron knows exactly what he has to do. He offers a genuine smile as they share their first kiss, signs the documentation as their witness, and congratulates them.
“Thank you for being here,” Percy extends his gratitude again as they walk down the steps exiting the courthouse.
“No problem. Just, er, maybe don’t keep this from the rest of the family for too long. I think they could probably use something happy to latch onto.”
Percy’s mouth forms into a thin line as he nods curtly. “I’ll…try not to.” Then, he turns to his new bride. “We’re going to head back to our flat, unless you need help getting home?”
And there’s Pompous Percy, back to play.
Ron rolls his eyes. “I think we’ll manage.”
Percy and Audrey wander off down the road as Ron eyes the park nearby and nods to it. “Care for a walk?”
“Sure,” Hermione agrees.
They meander side by side, and all of the things Ron wants to say storm through to the front of his mind, but he can’t latch onto a single one long enough to start a conversation. After harboring his feelings for years, how is he supposed to finally tell Hermione how he feels?
Their fingers brush as they walk, and Ron brazenly slides his hand into hers the next time the sway of their arms sync up.
“That was unexpected,” Hermione offers.
“It was.”
“But also really sweet.”
“Yeah.”
Hermione slows her pace and turns toward him, forehead crinkled in concern. “Are you alright?”
“I—yeah—”
“I feel like we’ve barely seen each other, let alone spoken since—”
“I know.” The hand that isn’t still holding hers moves to slip around her waist. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“No, but—I’ve wanted to talk.”
“About what?”
Us. The kiss. The locket. What happened at Malfoy’s. Shell Cottage. Everything that’s ever happened between us since the fucking Yule Ball and what it could possibly mean. All of it.
He supposes any of those could be a good starting point, but that’s not what slips out of his mouth. “I want what they have—Percy and Audrey.”
“Oh?” The singular syllable catches in her throat as she looks at him in surprise.
“With you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
He’s not sure how, but Hermione manages to move her body closer to his. “Me too,” she breathes. “I’ve been hoping—”
But Ron doesn’t give her a chance to finish. Dropping her hand, he brings it to her face, tilting her chin up as his lips graze hers. It’s much more gentle, tentative even, than their first kiss, and he relishes every second of the leap they’re taking.
“I never thought…” she starts to say when they finally break apart, but the words drift off and she bites her lip instead. 
He knows exactly what she means though, even without saying it. “I know. But here we are.”
“Here we are,” she agrees.
“Reckon we probably shouldn’t jump to marriage right away though,” Ron jokes. It’s the first time he’s genuinely been able to since—well, before they broke into the Ministry.
The crack brings a smile to Hermione’s lips. Merlin, he’s missed making her smile. “No, probably not. But I don’t see a problem with dating.”
“Neither do I.”
“So, it’s settled then.”
“Yeah, I guess it is.” Then, a wide grin spreads across his face and happiness bubbles up from his heart. “I finally get to call you my girlfriend.”
She nuzzles her head into his chest. “I like the sound of that.”
“Me too.” He kisses the top of her head.
For now.
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Chasing the Wind
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a/n: I am so excited to actually be doing this. I did not go into this movie thinking I would want to write something, but came out of it in love with Kate Carter. Unfortunately, the gays need to be fed and there were next to no wlw fics with Kate so I took it upon myself to write one. I don’t know how far into this I’ll go, but I’m planning on going all the way through the movie and after. Reblogs and comments are much appreciated!
Pairing: Kate Carter x fem!oc
Summary: Carol was content with the way her life had went after the accident. She had a fun job chasing storms and a good family around her. Her whole world changed when a meteorologist from New York comes riding into her life leading her on the chase of her life.
Warnings: mild language, incorrect meteorology
Word Count: 2.6k
“Ty, get your heavy ass body off of me.” Carol shoves the man off of her half asleep body. The sun was barely peeking over the motel parking lot, lighting the inside of the trailer with a warm glow. The sunlight neary blinded her, but Tylers figure laying on top of her blocked the sun’s rays from hitting her face
Tyler chucked. “Come on now Carol, you know you love me.” Tyler shimmied his way off of Carol’s bed putting his hat on his head. 
“Do I now?” She rolled off of the bed getting ready for Tyler’s bullshit. He stuck his finger in her face jokingly, “Yeah, you do,” but quickly pulled it back when she went to bite it. “Hey,” He yelped, waking up Boone in the process. “I need that for my very important job.”
Carol smirked up at him, kicking Boone in the shin, “Come on Booney baby we gotta get up and running so Tyler doesn’t lose his very important job” Boone mumbles something incoherent from his position on the floor, pulling his blanket over his head. Tyler laughs sarcastically making his way out of the trailer. 
Carol tied her hair up in a low bun and followed him out of the RV jumping on his back. Tyler groaned at the extra weight, but wrangled her onto his back. “So Tyler, what are your plans for today? Woo more women by putting your face on a T-shirt?” Tyler’s body shook with a chuckle and let out a long sigh. 
“You say that as if you don’t do the same thing Caroline.” He said, drawing out her name with an obnoxious drawl. The woman turned her head to face him, an offended look on her face. 
“First of all, don't call me that,” She glared, “Second of all, I will have you know, I can get some without slapping my face on a t-shirt.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ve got some good looks and even better southern charm” She shot him an innocent look. He dropped her off her place on his back, leaving her to catch herself before she fell to the ground. 
“Hey!” She exclaimed. He chuckled at the glare she sent him. 
“Yea, you’re a real charmer Devon!” He yelled over his shoulder on his way to wake up the rest of the gang. 
-
“Alright Wranglers, this is Ben. He's gonna be doing a piece ‘bout how we live on this side of the pond.” Carol introduced the nervous man standing between her and Tyler. “I want y’all to be on your best behavior. That means you Ty.” 
The man in question rolled his eyes at her crossing his arms over his body. He threw a smirk at her, inclining his head. It was a silent promise that he wasn’t going to be on his best behavior. The group watched as the two spoke silently to each other using only their weird facial expressions.
“Yes and I hope you’ll be taking precautions to ensure my safety.” Ben’s face twisted into concern realizing what he’s gotten himself into, or who he’s gotten himself into. 
Dani laughed at the nervous man, teasing him. “Don’t get too skittish around the tornadoes Ben. They don’t bite.” Carol chuckled at Dani, looking at the British man whose face turned white as a sheet.
 Carol shrugged, “She’s not wrong, you’ll be just fine.” The man dabbed his forehead with a napkin nervously. 
“Don’t worry too much Ben, you’ll ride with me.” Tyler patted the man on the shoulder and hopped into his truck. Ben followed shortly after, with Carol taking the front seat. 
“And if you fear it...” Tyler trailed off, turning his head to Carol, grinning.
“Ride it.” Carol finished beaming at the blond man beside her. Tyler whooped rolling down the windows and sped off the motel parking lot, kicking up dirt behind them.
Carol started recording on all of the truck’s cameras and her handheld camera, pointing it at Tyler. “DJ Carol, what are we rocking with today?” Tyler said in an announcer voice. The girl just smiled, shaking her head at his antics she put her favorite mixtape into the sound system, turning the volume up to blast Luke Combs out the windows.
Sticking her head out the open window, Carol hollered out into the wind. There was nothing better than this. Just her, her family and the beauty of the storm. The wind whipped her hair in her face as she took in the morning air. 
Tyler drove in front of Dexter and Lily towards the best lookout in the town, the local gas station,  where everyone scoped out the sky. Carol pointed her camera at Tyler, “Ty, the people want to know, what product do you put in your hair to keep it so pretty?” He let out a full belly laugh before answering to the camera with a smirk.
“Sorry y’all, it’s all genetics. I’m just naturally pretty.” Carol laughed at him and his teasing. She pointed the camera towards herself. “Guys, he wants the edits. Someone edit that.”
They pulled up to the lookout where groups of people dressed in rain gear and cameras hanging from their necks waited for them to pull up. “Looky here T, it’s StormPar.” Carol hung herself out the window and restarted the Luke Combs song, capturing on the camera the groups of people that came in to go chasing.
“Hey StormPar, we’re live on Youtube, say something cool!” The woman showed the live stream the members of the pristine looking group of storm chasers. 
“Blow me.” One of them shouted out to her. Carol laughed at the man and turned the camera back to herself, smirking. “You wish I would. Come on, science is fun, right?” She whooped out at the crowd of people. 
Exiting the car, Tyle was swarmed by the crowd of fans. Boone ran up to him, pointing the camera at him. “Hey T! Tell the folks at home how you’re feeling.” Tyler smiled at the sky.
“I’m feeling pretty good, Boone” He turned to the crowd with a smile on his face. “And if you feel it…” He hollered. 
“Chase it!” The crowd yelled back at him. 
Carol looked at the crowd standing on the other side of the truck. Standing on top of the truck she yelled into the crowd, “He said if you feel it…”
“Chase it!” They screamed back to her, cheering. Carol hopped down next to Tyler. Boone pointed the live stream at himself and Tyler. 
“Oh, it’s a beautiful day.” Tyler said, helping Carol down into the crowd. 
“Beautiful day!” Boone exclaimed to the camera. 
Carol turned to look at the crowd of people and locked eyes with a blond woman standing with StormPar. Tyler patted her shoulder turning her towards Dani who busted open the door to the RV. “Hey, you tornado nerds! Who wants a T-shirt?” The crowd cheered, pulling a laugh out of Carol. 
She turned back to look at the blonde woman only to find that she was already looking at her. Carol tipped her hat at her with a smirk. She looked way too serious to be storm chasing, but since she was standing with StormPar, she probably needed to loosen up a little. 
“Hey Dani!” Carol yelled to her friend, “How many shirts of me do we have left in stock?” The woman disappeared back into the RV for a second.
“We’ve got three left. Why?” Dani came back out holding three shirts with Carol’s face on them depicting her corralling a tornado with a lasso and some cheesy storm chasing line on it. 
“I’ll sign the last three shirts for the people that buy them.” She told the crowd. She was met with yells of excitement and cheering from the group. She heard Tyler laugh from next to her. 
Boone pointed the live stream at her, pointing a finger at her grinning face. “Casanova strikes again. T, I don’t think you’re the heartthrob of the group anymore.” Carol laughed at Boone’s teasing, sticking her tongue out at Tyler.
She walks over to the people who bought her shirt and signed them, taking a picture with a few of the folks. “Alright, I’ll see you guys out there. Be safe!” She turned away from the crowd only to find the blonde woman walking off looking at the sky. Tyler came over to her and followed her line of sight. 
Looking back and forth between the two, Tyler saw a look he hadn't seen in a long time. He nudged her with his shoulder raising his eyebrows at the shorter girl who just rolled her eyes. “I know that look.” He swayed back and forth on his feet. “If you don't do it I will.” 
Carol looked at him surprised. They both knew what that meant. “You need to get out there Carol.” He mumbled. 
Without saying a word she started walking towards the blonde. Carol watched her delicately pick up a dandelion and let the seeds fly out of her hand.
“You know I used to do that.” Carol strode up behind the woman, trying not to startle her. The blonde looked back to her for a second then turned away looking mildly annoyed. Carol looked out at the sky. “Compare the wind direction to cloud movement. Get you a feel for the shear.” Carol looked at the cloud formation in the east, then the one in the west, then back to the woman who still hadn’t given her a second look. 
Carol walked up to stand next to the blonde. She was slightly taller than the woman, but that might have just been because of the lifts in her boots. She put her hands on her hips, looking out at the sky again. “Yea. I believe old ways are better than the new sometimes.” 
The blonde looked up at Carol for a brief second, then turned back to the sky, comparing the two cloud formations like Carol had done. Realizing that the woman wasn’t going to say anything, Carol pushed a bit more. 
“So, where you coming in from? California? Cause I think y’all got enough natural disasters going on over there.” Carol said somewhat jokingly. The woman next to her swallowed and let out a curt, “New York.”
Carol looked back to the woman next to her, scanning her side profile. Slightly surprised that the woman answered her question.  “Well, you’re a long way from home, city girl. You come out all this way to see our slice of the country or do you like working for StormPar?” 
Carol turned to look at the fancy trucks StormPar brought and back at the woman who turned to look back at her. Before either of them could speak, Ben jogged up to them. “Caroline, do we know which storm we’re going after yet? Tyler said you would know.” Ben was slightly apprehensive to even ask. 
Carol turned to look at Ben. “Carol is fine.” She said, turning to look at the woman she still didn’t know the name of. “Well why don’t we ask-” She trailed off pointing to the blonde standing next to her.
“Kate.” 
The woman turned around to greet Ben then turned towards Carol. Pleased with her progress, Carol gave Kate a warm smile, making eye contact. “Hi, Kate. I'm Caroline, but everyone calls me Carol.” She stared unabashedly at the shorter girl. She was fascinating. 
Kate
Beautiful was out of the question, anyone with eyes could see that she was absolutely stunning. The way her hair fell perfectly framing her face. Her lips were pursed in annoyance, but Caol could see how kissable they looked. Kate’s brown eyes locked with Carol's green ones and she could swear that she couldn’t look away if she tried. 
Kate
Ben looked back and forth between the two women. He reached his hand out to shake, introducing himself. “And I’m Ben. I’m a reporter doing a piece on American storm chasing.” Ben stuttered slightly introducing himself. Kate shook his hand firmly,giving him a polite smile.
Breaking out from her daze, Carol caught up with what was being said and looked down at her hands, fiddling with them. “Yeah.” 
“Caroline and Tyler are letting me ride along.” He said with a nervous, but excited smile.
Carol looked back up at Ben with a smile “Yeah, Ben just had to promise to write nothing but good stuff about me. And call me Carol, Ben.” She patted him lightly on the chest with a chuckle. 
Kate looked politely between the two before dismissing herself. “Well, good luck with that.” She started walking away from the two, when Carol stepped in to stop her. 
Carol didn’t want the short conversation to end. “Hang on.” Kate stopped and turned back around to make eye contact with Carol. Carol looked down, not being able to hold eye contact with the shorter girl for long. 
“You didn’t say which way we were going yet.” She chuckled. Looking around at the sky, Carol pointed west towards the double formation. “Now, from what I gather, west, we double our chances.” Spinning around gesturing behind her. “East, well,” She looked back at the shorter woman, "it's high risk, high reward.”
Kate nodded in a mocking manner, clearly unimpressed with Carol's quick explanation. “Well, go for the reward.” She told her. “You don’t want Ben to think you're boring.”
Carol nodded in agreement with a small smile. “No, boring is not usually a problem I run into, Kate.” Kate just nodded, struck with just how egotistical Carol was. Two could play at that game.
Kate turned to point towards the left, “The two cells to the west are fighting over the same inflow.” She took a few steps closer to Carol to square up to her with a cocky smile. Kate looked at Ben, seemingly to explain to him, but really to show Carol, she knew what she was talking about. “They’ll choke each other out.”
She looked at Carol and nodded her head to the east, pointing at the clouds. “This one to the east, well, she has the sky all to herself.”
Kate tilted her head to look around Carol’s larger figure. Carol followed her line of sight, looking out at the clouds there. “Moisture, wind shear, instability.” Kate looked up at Carol again who stared back at her impressed. “All the things you need to give Ben a good show.” 
Kate turned and started walking back to the gas station, proud of her show of knowledge. Carol was stunned by Kate. Not only was she beautiful, she was alluring. Knowledgeable and quick witted. 
“Well color me impressed, city girl knows her stuff, Ben.” Carol said to Kate’s retreating form. After getting no reaction, Carol repeated louder, “I said city girl knows her stuff, Ben.”
Kate whipped around with a proud smile, “Thanks. Maybe if I work real hard, I can be a tornado wrangler, too.” She said sarcastically, with a shrug walking back towards the rest of StormPar. 
Carol watched her retreat back to her group, taking in the whole conversation. 
Kate
‘I want to see her smile like that again.’ Carol thought to herself. Maybe if she made a fool of herself by chasing a tornado who’s cap would never break, Kate would smile at her like that again. 
Carol watched Kate approach Javi and Scott, talking to them about where they were going to chase today. 
Tyler walked up to her, watching the StormPar trucks roll out. “So,” He said looking at her dazed expression, “how’d the chase go?” She looked up at his amused smile. 
“Shut up.” She punched the side of his arm while he let out a laugh.
Ben looked confused at both of them “I thought she told us east.” He looked back and forth from the retreating trucks to Tyler and Carol. “She going the wrong way?” 
Tyler looked down at Carol, who broke into a smile. Putting her sunglasses on her face she looked at Ben, “Nope.” 
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lover-of-mine · 6 months
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Okay, so, I don't know if I'm typing this out to make myself feel better because I can't believe THIS is the thing I'm gonna be right about in this fucking show BUT back in May last year, I added some tags on a post about how Buck is in Eddie's season 5 arc, so he would break up with Natalia pretty early on and Eddie and Marisol would go off to build stuff together (It's the only post I can find that proves I had the thought before all this because I don't know if I put that in a meta or not, I think I did on a post talking about how Buck and Eddie mirror each other narratively, but I cannot find it) but the thing is, season 6 for Buck mirrors season 4 for Eddie, which would put them in season 5 but from Buck's side. It was the main reason I kept saying I believed Natalia would have the same treatment as Ana, and go away early on in the season to open space for Eddie's journey of self-discovery, which is what happened, Natalia went away to open space for Buck's self-discovery journey. I was betting on a Buck breakdown, but bi Buck works. Why did I had that thought the second Eddie called Marisol in the s6 finale? Well, Buck and Eddie are literally running parallel to each other but slightly misaligned. You have tiny things like the way the first loss on the job for both of them is someone falling to their death, but Devon didn't want to live and the gross dude did. Or the shaky relationship with their parents that runs opposite because Eddie had too much responsibility placed on him while Buck was literally treated like he was invisible. Or more aggressive things like the way the well mirrors the lightning (set on that if you need help visualizing), with the way both of them volunteer into the rescue, the well is in the middle of nowhere, Buck gets struck in the middle of the street, Buck is in the sky, Eddie is underground, the rain aspect, the 118 as audience, they are even on mirrored sides of the frame, and I think even the way Buck needs to choose to get out of the coma mirrors the way Eddie saves himself. There's also the breathing things since Eddie almost drowns and Buck's lungs stop working. The well mirroring the lighting put Buck in season 4 for 6b, the "'I'm fine' *narrator voice* he wasn't fine" era, which would put Buck in season 5 now, the "I'm dealing with what makes me who I am" era, which he is, go Buck.
Well, this works with love interests on a ridiculous level. We have the ABSOLUTE MADNESS of the way Shannon comes back, next episode Ali shows up, Shannon dies, next episode Ali is gone, Eddie meets Ana, Buck keeps complaining about the struggles of being single (while Maddie totally sets him up with Josh, because now that Buck is canonically bi, the fact that they are in blue and green is too on the nose for me to ignore), nothing comes of Eddie and Ana, they both stay single, Eddie asks Ana out, next episode Buck is dating and Taylor comes Back, Buck starts dating Natalia, Eddie starts dating Marisol. The only ones who are not aligned are the breakups with Ana and Taylor, because Buck chooses to hang on for too long. We also the way they have the first love who left them and never really gave them the closure they needed, we have the inconsequential girlfriend they only got because people kept telling them they had to move on. Shannon works for Eddie the same way Abby works for Buck. Ana works for Eddie the same way Ali and I guess Natalia do for Buck. That means Eddie needs a Taylor. Someone he meets on a call who comes back later on. Check. Someone he's supposed to work with in theory but never had a real fighting chance. (I say that because if Taylor were as intense about Buck as she is about the job, they could've been a very interesting installment of golden retriever boyfriend/black cat girlfriend, but they never try). Something about their personal journeys is that Buck tends to take longer to learn, while Eddie tends to need a stronger hit. Buck's takes more time and Eddie's tends to be more intense in a sense. Like the way Shannon dies and Abby just leaves, but they actually kinda paint Buck as hung up on Abby all through seasons 2 and 3. Or the way Taylor goes away for a whole season, just to come back and stay for 3 half seasons. So the Marisol of it all. Taylor had more dept in the helicopter than Marisol has right now, but sure, let's say the point here is to make Eddie do something stupid in the name of not being alone. Because that's what Taylor is. The whole time, Taylor is about Buck being scared of being alone, even hooking up with her the first time is about how he didn't have Abby to hang on to anymore. Taylor and Buck are also fundamentally incompatible.
Again, I know nothing about Marisol. They gave her no dept beyond being a glorified babysitter. Nothing in her relationship with Eddie so far has been about Eddie and her. Even their dates seem to be something that will be about watching other people. I don't wanna say buddie canon, because Lucy is her own category (I miss her) but, Eddie looking at Buck and Tommy and making the very harsh decision of asking her to move in "I'm gonna die alone" moment, I don't wanna say makes sense, but could work, even more considering that the Buck/Tommy/Eddie/Marisol date seems to be mirroring the colors of the Buckley-Diaz family + Taylor dinner in outside looking in, and the next episode is a madney episode. It's the same progression of events. I doubt Eddie is gonna cheat and panic ask Marisol to move in, but they are not so on the nose with the actual storyline parallels. I don't have the brainpower to come up with any theories about what he might do, but considering how rocky his relationship with Buck could be, considering the last episode, I can absolutely see Buck triggering that (that would make me accept I am right and Eddie is aware of his feelings and I won't give that up even if the show explicitly says he wasn't) because Eddie's abandonment issues make him overcorrect. And that's never a good thing. Do I think Marisol is going past the season finale? No. Eddie's understanding arcs are usually shorter than Buck's. How would she leave? No clue. The fact that Taylor hurt Buck's family, in a literal sense with Chim, and the focus on her relationship with Chris as someone taking care of him, also the ominous shots of Chris and the whole theory that Chris would get hurt last season makes me scared tho. It could be something that's not her fault that she doesn't reach Eddie instantly, like, Chris cuts himself or something and she doesn't call, that can even work to push Buck and Eddie closer, and put buddie explicitly in a parental role together. My brain keeps saying appendicitis for some reason, but no idea why, maybe I just don't want to believe the show would make someone purposefully endanger Chris. Eddie kind of snapping in a hospital makes sense? Let's say Chris gets sick while at school and someone calls the house trying to reach Eddie because he's not answering and he chews her off. But that's just like, the only thing I can come up with with the correct energy.
So, yeah, Marisol is Taylor. I'm too tired to keep typing, but I can't believe the one theory I don't fully type out is the one the universe is gonna give me oaksoaksoaksoaksokasa
If you read this I love you. I don't know how this made you feel, but I hope it makes sense.
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fodenswhore · 2 months
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Cobra Kai Season 6 PT 1
(discussion/rant???)
- seeing as i did a rant over cobra kai season 5 on here, it’s only fitting that i do the same for part one of season 6!
🐍- as only one half of the season has been released, it wouldn’t really be fair to form a stalemate opinion on what i’ve seen so far. i didn’t hate it, i didn’t dislike it, i didn’t love it - it was just fine. in my opinion, it didn’t have the same exciting vibe as the previous seasons, not sure what it was but it just felt like something was missing. i’m hoping part 2 will feel different.
pregnancy storyline - my opinion on this storyline has and will not change. i still find it unnecessary, i still find it predictable and i still believe the trope ruins any book or movie that it’s worked into. however, that being said, it’s been interesting to see johnny’s character development this season. he’s fully embracing the whole pregnancy and baby vibe and it is pretty sweet to see.
johnny - like i said, it’s been interesting to see johnny’s characters development this season. i really liked the version of johnny we got to see. he got a job!!, he and daniel worked well together (in brief moments), he was supportive of both robby and miguel and he encouraged and supported devon. it was nice to see him getting his life together.
kreese - he’s a wanted man. how did he manage to travel to two different countries? UNDETECTED????
mr miyagi - i was a little baffled by the mr miyagi storyline. it’s so great that they still include him and talk about him because he was such a vital character in the karate kid movies, but i’m not exactly sure where they plan on taking this storyline?? i wonder if maybe mr miyagi used to train/work with sensei kim’s grandfather? we obviously saw that he entered the Sekai Taikai tournament so maybe they entered together?
daniel - ugh he was low-key irritating. miyagi do is supposed to be a partnership between eagle fang and miyagi do, however it just seems like it’s purely miyagi do. i feel they could’ve merged the names and become miyagi fang? i get he wants peace but he was basically causing rifts with johnny for the most stupidest of things. hoping he does better in part 2.
tory - the way no one ran after her when she walked out of miyagi do?? not even robby, her boyfriend?? everyone knew her mum was the only family she had (besides her brother) so i cant believe they just left her to fend for herself and grieve alone. honestly i don’t blame her for joining cobra kai again. it’s hard to say whether she would’ve won the female captaincy if she stayed at miyagi do but she definitely would’ve ended up hurting sam during the fight. i loved the friendship she and sam were forming so hopefully she comes back to miyagi do and they become friends again.
hawk - no WAY did the former all valley male champion not get into the final six for the Sekai Taikai on default. i was so shocked when hawk didn’t get into the group automatically with tory, sam, miguel and robby. and then he only got a place because tory quit like whatttttt! he’s one of the strongest fighters in my opinion, miles better than devon and demetri.
demetri - irritating. never stopped yapping about MIT. thinks he’s the shit. i usually like him but not this season.
kyler- nice to see character development from kyler because he was an absolute prick in the other seasons. he’s still cringe but was cool to see him getting along with miguel and the others.
devon/kenny - devon was annoying, i get the Sekai Taikai is a once in a lifetime opportunity but practically begging for a spot isn’t a good look. she needs to believe in herself and needs to stop worrying about how good others are around her. and the cheating to get into the tournament! like if she can’t win fairly at the challenge to get into tournament, how is she gonna be decent at the tournament at all. kenny deserved that chance to go to the Sekai Taikai, he’s a much stronger and aggressive fighter and it would’ve been perfect for him to show his real potential. i can’t believe the writers made him shit himself and look like an idiot.
so overall, i liked the season so far but i wasn’t overly amazed with it. as always the karate fight scenes were amazing! and this is not hating on the show or the actors this is just me giving my opinion.
find my season 5 rant here :)
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purplerakath · 2 months
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Cobra Kai S6 - Tory and Sam
(But mostly Tory)
Complete 180 on yesterday, let's gush about how good the girls have been so far! Spoilers and such but this is just- yes good.
Talking about Sam First
Sam's growth is a little more subtle, and her utilization this season a little less focused, but she's still good. Nothing thus far is about her, it's all been her and Tory. But that's fine, the two of them being unable to fight each other after calling a truce, both afraid the peace won't last (but not wanting to break the peace) matters.
Both airing out how the other hurt them, and owning their parts matters.
About the only thing missing is Sam should have recognized Tory wasn't okay going into the fight. But all in all they did an excellent job making the pair of them believably awkward at each other.
Okay now for our Queen Cobra
Tory's character has always been shaped by how little life gives her, how much she has to fight for. Making that a core memory of her's, a part of her mother loving her, is really solid context to give before she goes Cobra again.
The episode isn't perfect, largely because it needed more showing that Tory is pushing them away (them, not just Robby) than it showed. That she's so used to the fight, and so used to being alone, she can't ask for help. And putting her on team Cobra means that she's set-up to be opponents of both Sam and Devon in Part 2.
And, personally, I hope that Johnny will get through to her in Part 2 after Danny fucked it up so badly in Part 1. Because it'll also be a measure of self-rescue. If he can save another angry blonde from John Kreese.
The other Problem...
Because these eps are all conflict, no resolution (see my post on Sunday about what I mean) it means nobody could go after Tory in the moment. They all got to be surprised by her being team Cobra. This is due to Amanda, Johnny, Sam, or Robby talking to her would be a resolution of some form. And we don't have time for that.
Ep 5 was about ten minutes longer than every other ep so far and it still cut stuff that they needed. Which says something about how much is going on.
I expect between Sam, Robby, and Johnny we'll get a resolution and a final heel-face turn for Tory. But having Tory sink into the darkside after her mother died is just- very very right for this show.
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