#i had the worlds best and funniest idea for a tumblr post in class a few days back and now ive completely forgot it. that felt like the one

[codecicle]

[walks through the wall calmly, not breaking it but just VREOEOOOPPPPing through it] one of these days my absolute worst post is going to fucking break containment and i don't know if I'm ever going to be ready for that. is this seat taken? great thanks yeah no it's weird man. this whole thing is weird to me like one day it's inevitable that I'll break containment outside of fandom and just see horrible horrible takes in my notes that I just have to block and move because hold on wait a second what was that.

he's busting it down 140p style. alright then

[lefluoritesys]

Hi! Random question but what's the funniest/most awkward situation you have ever been in with a headmate/headmates? Also, I love your Tumblr. It helps us through a lot of system denial :)

Thank you so much!! We're glad to hear that, we try our best to make it a safe and positive space!!

I don't think we have stories that people would count as incredibly funny, however, we have a few that stand out to us as at least amusing, lmao. And awkward... don't even get me started.

I (co-host) keep texting people trying to make friends, and don't ask nor tell anybody. And then I just dip. I think it's a pretty effective strategy. :D

The amount of times somebody told us something that we know we would have memorized by hard. Like when we're supposed to have our lessons. And then we'd switch, be asked about it, and don't know the answer as to what that thing was. It puts us in such awkward situations IRL cause of our parents.-

Today, remember the couple that went on a date? One of them had to front to take our sibling to their classes, and they were sulking, so our co-host & persecutor-caretaker had to keep their composure when their partner, from the inner world, said our sibling looks like an offended ostrich.

We got berated for eating the host's chips. We now have a policy about eating chips. Because people ate their bag of chips...

One of the funniest stories were probably with one of our alters who went mostly inner now, though. They once purchased a premium on an app we use a lot without telling anybody, and at the time, we could buy a whole McDonald's meal for that amount of money. Then, we put them in charge of English classes, and they were definitely working, but their way of working was roasting everything and cracking some of the most hilarious jokes we've ever heard. That same alter then offered our mother cyanide.

Some of the things we say are so fucking funny that we made a quote book. For ourselves. And our partner systems. There, we not only have hilarious quotes, but some of the funniest roasts we've ever seen, one of our favorites being:

Host: It's kinda funny how I can do everything alone at front, and y'all have to do it collectively when I'm not around.

Co-host: Nah, we're just healthy.

Our co-host sprained our foot. And called the bandage on it "foot prison." I am not elaborating on their behalf. /laughing

In the inner world, we have this thing where we can track people and where they are at that point in time (especially our robots can do that), and sometimes people decide to play tag. And since our inner world is our inner world, what we basically see is a dot (that represents a person you're watching) telelporting from point A to point B to point E in a matter of seconds. Which doesn't sound funny, but picture it, lmao.

The number of posts we made that were purely targeting each other is insane. And you will never know that they are targeted unless we say something, we are sneaky like that.

At some point some people in the inner world discussed fucking Jesus?? And I mean doing the deed, not the "fucking Jesus." We still have no idea who or why.

And then another two people, whose names we know, discussed our partner system's semi-sentient hotel and what its type would be. In detail. And who they could pair it up with.

Our host is still salty at one of our prosecutors because they bought them cocoa instead of coffee, didn't tell them, and our host couldn't figure our why the coffee was sweet but tasted well, considering we hate coffee with sugar. And then they realized.

Our host address purple so much that now all of us gotta keep up with the idea what "we, a singlet, definitely a singlet (/s), love purple so much" because explaining to our bio family that we don't like it anymore but we also do but also don't would be too difficult for a number of reasons.

One of us can just decide that it's chicken nuggets day, and we will have chicken nuggets for lunch. Not because we don't want to upset this somebody by refusing but because we'd literally switch on the streets halfway to chicken nuggets, stare at the distance for a couple of seconds, and accept our fate.

We generally talk to ourselves in public constantly, we have no shame about that, especially since it's mostly in English, which is not our first language. That got us a lot of looks. We also do that in VCs with our partner system, and we openly switch in front of them and talk about inner world shit.

Hope that gave you a few laughs. /g /pos

-host, co-host & persecutor-caretaker, sexual persecutor

[harryandhishook]

Don’t touch what isn’t yours! - Chapter 13

Fandom: Dream Daddy

Pairing: Damien x Robert,  past Joseph x Robert

Setting: Maple Bay

Warning: Hospitals, a lot of hospital talk

Summary: Damien has been dating Robert for a while and their life is becoming slowly more and more domestic but unfortunately, someone has been watching and doesn’t like it one bit.

Words: 2308

Requested: I remember seeing an old posts about some really dark prompts and I thought about the cult ending of Dream Daddy so I jumped at the chance … then got really carried away (Btw, I wanted to contribute to the cult ending stuff so don’t @ me for this, normally I wouldn’t write Joseph like this)

Side note: So I am trying to go back and get through all the old requests that I received for Descendants, however, I am still in my final semester so it may take some time, I'm also going to be changing my Tumblr theme a little, I'll still be the same name but I want to have different fandoms to write for and with both the name and the picture, I feel like I'm only down to one, I hope everyone understands and likes this chapter :)

First // Prev // Next

He had no idea how he did it but somehow, Lucien had managed to convince Robert and Hugo to have a few drinks over at his place so they didn’t have to worry about the two boys burning the house down and now, they were piss drunk, laughing on the sofa, Hugo’s waistcoat and bowtie were off as well as both the men’s shoes, it was strange but it gave both the boys something to watch instead of TV,

“And then I said, ‘see you in class, bitch’” he slurred out, laughing all the while Robert covered his face with his hand, tears streaming down his face as he tried to control his laughter, no one in the room understood why the story made them laugh so much but neither of the two teens had ever seen their elders laugh as much as they were now,

“Dad, it’s not that funny” Ernest stated with a teasing smirk, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the now very drunk teacher, turn to him with a pointed finger or at least, turned to him as best he could without almost falling off the sofa,

“Now, you listen here, that story is one of the funniest stories I have, I may not have many and I may only be, erm … what was I saying … I don’t remember but whatever it was, I know I’m right” he explained, finger wobbling everywhere as he tried to keep his story straight but failing miserably, it wasn’t until Robert finally fell off of his seat and onto the floor from laughing so hard that Lucien decided that was enough for them,

“Okay, no more drinks for you two for a while” he chastised, getting up from the chair opposite the men to grab the bottles of booze from the table in front of them as the adults whined in protest, well, Robert did his best to whine through his laughing fit but they seemed to only really come out as wheezes of air. Lucien rolled his eyes as he turned to go hide the alcohol, sending an amused smile over to Ernest who was still sat watching the two adults laughing like they had just been given weed and told the funniest joke on the planet. Just as the elder teen was about to leave the room, he paused, hearing the front door slightly creak open, something that only ever seemed to happen if the wind caught it, “Ernest, you shut the front door, right?” he asked as he peered over his shoulder to the other teen who looked up in thought before nodding,

“Yeah, pretty sure I did, might not have locked it though … why?” he asked, confused as to why the sudden interest in the homes door but only seemed to get a shrug in response as the boy brushed it off,

“Probably nothing, old house, probably just settling” he answered before finally leaving the room, unfortunately, he did not get very far as the sight that met him was not what he was ever expecting to see. As if the world moved in slow motion, the bottle of alcohol slipped from his fingers, smashing beside his foot on the ground, grabbing the attention of the other three in the room. As the others called his name in confusion, it fell on deaf ears as Lucien could only close in on one thing and one thing only, “D-Dad?” he whispered, his voice cracking as he stared at the man he thought was long gone from his life.

It seemed that everyone in the other room heard his whisper as they all raced out into the hallway, the two older men sobering up instantly as they finally witnessed exactly what the teen had seen and none of them were expecting the sight put before them.

Damien stood shakily in the hallway, bloody and beaten, almost skin and bone, his shirtless body revealed all the gruesome torture he had endured as he held a barely breathing, bleeding Mary in his arms. His legs visibly giving out with every movement as his glazed eyes weakly looked at each and every person in the room. As the gothic man held Mary tightly in his arms, the older men could see the injury to his arm, quickly jumping into action, Hugo rushed across the room, carefully taking the dying woman from the man, relieving some weight and pain from him before turning to Ernest and instructing him to call for an ambulance.

As the two rushed around, trying to get things done and save some lives, Lucien and Robert inched closer to Damien, each of them wearing the exact same expression of confusion, happiness and heartbreak but it was short lived as the moment Damien stepped forward to reach them, his body gave up, eyes rolling into the back of his head and gravity taking him down, luckily, the teen and the alcoholic man’s instincts kicked in as they raced forward, wrapping their arms around the weak goth to catch him before he hit the floor like a sack of bricks, neither of them speaking as they held onto the Victorian, doing everything they could to make sure the man lived just one more night.

Which led to the next several hours being the longest hours of anyone’s lives, two ambulances as well as the detectives of the case, came pretty quickly, pulling up not long after the call was made, definitely getting a few heads peeking out of their doors to watch as paramedics rushed into the Bloodmarch house before Lucien and Robert were both riding with them in the back of the vehicles, the young teen with his dad while the elder was with his close and only friend, speeding through the streets towards the hospital.

Neither one of them knew how long they had been there but the fact that Lucien was curled up, head rested in Ernest’s lap while he slept and Hugo forcing Robert to at least put something nutritional into his body definitely meant they hadn’t been there for a quick pop in to the coffee shop but after being told that both injured parties would be needing to go into some emergency surgeries, they all lost track of time, too scared to see the damage.

As the minutes turned to hours and a few talks with the detectives about what had happened once Damien had arrived home, the four men were becoming exceedingly anxious, they had not received any news about Mary or Damien yet. Ernest had somehow convinced his dad to let him go for a smoke, taking Robert with him since the man hadn’t touched a cigarette in probably an entire day while Lucien sat, legs pressed up against his chest on the row of chairs he was forced to stay in until he heard something about his family

“How you holding up?” Hugo asked, shuffling across the seats to sit a little closer to the teens beside him, one arm resting over the back of the chairs as he nervously shook his leg up and down. The teacher watched as Lucien slowly lifted his head from where he was hiding them in his knees to gaze over at him,

“I’m okay, I guess” he replied meekly, his pale fingers still gripping tightly to his pant legs as he sighed, turning his gaze back towards the ground before continuing, “I’m so happy that my dad’s back but … seeing him like that, seeing him so broken, it hurt, it scared me, it still does, what if I lose him? I never told him how much I do love him, I may tell him a lot, but I don’t say it without there being an argument before hand, you know? I can’t lose him Hugo … I can’t …” he explained, voice becoming more and more distressed as each word was spoken, shoulders softly shaking as a quiet sob left his body.

As if on fatherly instinct, Lucien felt Hugo’s muscular arms suddenly wrap around him, pulling him tightly into his body as if trying to protect the boy from the invisible demons hovering around them and this was the sight that greeted Ernest and Robert as they entered the waiting room, the young teen curled up across the man’s lap, gripping tightly onto his shirt as he took deep breaths while Hugo’s arms practically hid the boy from view, rocking him slightly and whispering positives to him, that’s how it was for a few more hours, all of them snuggled together, waiting, praying, hoping,

“Mister Bloodmarch? Mr. Small?” a name called out, the entire group jumped apart, turning around to see a young, blonde, smiling nurse holding a clipboard not too far from their chairs, and as if someone forced ten gallons of adrenaline in them, both men stood, hearts pounding in their chests like they were about burst from their ribcage and escape the confines of their bodies but they were quickly put at ease with the sweet sound of a soft giggle, “It’s alright, nothing to panic about, both Mary and Damien are fine, I understand that this wait must have been awful for you both but due to the severity of everything, we had to do a lot of assessments and examinations so that we knew they would be able to heal without any further surgeries” the nurse explained, moving a little closer so their conversation were slightly less public, “they are both asleep at the moment, we don’t know completely what their situation will be like tomorrow so we’re keeping them under constant observation and since they are siblings we have placed them both in the same room for easier access not just for the medical team but also for the detectives, I understand that there was a situation so we didn’t want to keep them too far apart” she continued to explain, looking over each piece of paper on her board, making sure there was nothing left unsaid for the moment in time, “That should be everything I need to tell you for now, normally, visiting hours would have been over hours ago but we understand that this was a bit of a critical situation so we are allowing you all to have some extra time to go see them and ask any questions that you want answered, which reminds me, does anyone have any questions? Or would you all much rather go see your family, I wouldn’t blame you if you did” she said with a gentle knowing smile, pressing the clipboard against her chest to wait for their answer, it didn’t take any words for them to move through the corridors and into a private ICU room, apparently, because of the case and how serious it had became, the detectives that had taken the case had gotten special relocation permission for a more private area as the investigation was technically still ongoing.

When they finally made it to the room, they were quickly instructed through procedures of keeping everything disinfected, shown the locations of the hand sanitizers and informed about how they would need to be careful around all the different machines that would be hanging around the two patients before they were finally allowed inside.

Inside the bright, ghastly white room, two beds laid opposite each other, one held a young pale woman wrapped up in blankets, attached to drips and an oxygen mask, her hair laid sprawled out underneath her as her chest slowly moved up and down, while the other bed held a thin, weak, barely breathing man, his wounds covered by thick bandages and it seemed everything on his body was hooked up to some sort of machine.

A gentle hand was placed softly on Lucien’s back, pushing him carefully towards Damien’s bed and as he turned to see who his assaulter was, he was surprised to see the blonde nurse smiling sweetly at him, coaxing him towards his father,

“Go on, go to him, he may be asleep, but I think your voice may just help him through the night” she suggested, moving him closer to Damien’s bed. Everyone knew that this would definitely be hard for the young teen, but it seemed that it would be something he needed after all this.

So with the final push, Lucien shuffled to the side of the hospital bed, looking over the man who laid there, unmoving and damaged, it scared him because it didn’t look like his dad anymore, it looked like an empty shell, an empty shell of a broken man. As the others gave him privacy, moving to stand around Mary, the young teen reached out and hesitantly took his father’s hand into his,

“Hey dad … I missed you …” he whispered, lacing his fingers carefully with Damien’s so he can easily squeeze it if he needed to, “we all missed you but me the most … I was so scared that you …” Lucien paused, his voice shaking as he tried his hardest not to break, “you know, I love you, right? I love you so, so much, I may not say it enough but I do, you’re the best dad in the world” he explained, hoping that some part of his dad’s unconscious state could still hear him as he let his mind float off into a world of his own, his thumb gently caressing his father’s thin, bony hand, however, his attention was brought back quickly when he felt the soft twitching of the others hand squeeze his own, making him smile as he realized, he really could hear him, just for a moment, he can hear him and of course, like always, the moment had to be ruined by Ernest’s voice,

“Wait, did that nurse say siblings?”

[petekaos]

2020 creator wrap + a follow forever

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

hiii hello everyone! sorry it’s taken me so long to get on this BUT it’s all for good reason! i thought i would combine this post into me sharing some of the works i am most proud of this year as well as spreading more love in this wonderful little community because i truly love you all tons and being a part of such a lovely group of people has made me beyond happy this year. it’s been a difficult year for all of us and i’m just so glad that i can give back the love and care y’all can give to me 💛

onward to spreading love to people who tagged me, in no particular order! thank you all for tagging me, it means so much and know that i have read through your posts at least twice with a smile on my face.

@wjmild: kylie!! you constantly surprise me with how kind and insightful you are, as well as your dedication to watching absolutely every show with lee thanat in it. you are so smart and educated and every time you talk about your research and your studies i can’t help but feel so incredibly proud of you. i really hope life brings you the peace and fulfillment you deserve. i love you!

@gigiesarocha: cata - it is always such a pleasure to see you on my dash. i can rely on you losing your shit over ingredients every two weeks and every time i see jeff doing things it 100% reminds me of you! you possess such a kind soul and i’m so glad to have had the pleasure of following you this year :’)

@yihwas: sometimes i still can’t believe you know who i am and that we’re grouped together, soph! your blog is such a refuge to me, i adore scrolling through your replies and laughing at all the witty things you say. you are simply so kind and thoughtful in your responses and criticism and you have such talent in gifmaking! i am forever grateful to you for introducing me to new lakorns and to you and shannon for creating @lakornladies​. 

@morksuns: sumaya! my url twin! i absolutely love seeing you on the dash, it really is that trans desi solidarity, no? your moodboards are always so aesthetic and your blog is so soft and calm. i see you sending such lovely asks to people, including myself, and i truly admire your personality so much!

@gayvlad: nico, my sibling! i love you so much and seeing you on the dash always makes me smile. sometimes you’re too hard on yourself, but that’s okay, because i’m always here for you. i loved your reactions to dbk in live time, and that you’re now as attached to the show as i am. we love a lot of the same things, and i’ll forever be grateful to you for indulging my headcanons and developing them with me, like the ram and bohn friendship. the ram fic of him finding the gym as a home was developed through much of your influence, and i’ll never stop being astonished at how kind and supportive you are. i love you! 

@khaotungthanawat: saaaam! your gifs are always a beauty to behold. i admire you so much for making those bl compilation gifsets because that takes so much patience and dedication, especially to find all the moments. i can always count on you for underrated gifsets, too, and i smile every time you send me an ask!

@tanwirapong: roa! oh i adored getting to know you better this year through the gifted gays gc. i remember still when you made a post about there’s an art to honesty and it truly made my day - i sent it to my partner and best friend and they were so fond as well! i will always be so happy about the fact that we both lose it over petekao every now and again, it means the world to me :’)

@emisfritish: your wisdom and way of expressing your thoughts will never fail to amaze me, emma. i can always count on you for calling things like they are and writing out well-worded, thought-provoking posts that express everything i have ever thought about fandom but could never quite write down. it’s such a pleasure seeing you on my dash and honestly, whenever i see tay, he reminds me of you!

so that was everyone who tagged me, for which i am eternally grateful! (if i missed anyone... i am so sorry ily...) now onto me rambling about how much i love specific people in the fandom generally that i haven’t already mentioned.

@earthfluuke: maddie... where do i even start. getting to know you this year means the absolute world to me and i love how many thoughts we can share together and how many aus and ideas we can plot out to the finest detail, but i also love how we can talk about serious topics and irl issues affecting us both and know that the other person will be there. i admire you so much for going on and persevering despite the many difficult factors in your life right now. know that i will always be there - to listen to you, to support your gifs and fics, to develop characters with you, to weigh in on problems or ideas you have. i love you!

@asianmelodrama: faiza!! i can never address you without immediately adding ‘jaan’ after it honestly. you are a sister to me in all things and knowing you has been such an honour. your wise words, your calmness in dealing with things, your infectious excitement - they are all facets of your personality that i both admire and adore. whether it’s getting angry about shitty muslim rep or freaking out about a movie, i know that i can always count on you to be there for me if i ever need it. i hope light and love touches your life always, and you find peace in everything you do. if i ever happen to be in england, i am definitely coming over for your chai :’) i love you!

@yioh: yura my laddoo! i say this all the time, but i simply am so grateful that we met. i love seeing your tags on my posts and i just... adore seeing you doing your thing on your blog, your posts always make me smile. i know school is hard right now, but know that i’m always rooting for you and believe in you completely. words cannot express how happy i am to have found another tamil lgbt person who can understand the same experiences, it really does mean everything to me. and know that i will begin reading tyk soon, i promise, and i’ll tell you all about my thoughts! i love youuu!

@1akorn: shannon!! i still cannot believe people group us together because i’ve always admired you from a distance - imagine my absolute surprise when i found out that you followed me! i 100% rely on you for the good mek content and love your gifs so much. you’re so articulate and speak your thoughts incredibly well, which i truly admire.

@brightwin: jelly - you already know the amount of love and fondness i hold for you. you’re such a kind and bubbly person and your personality shines not only through your tags and responses to people, but also through your gorgeous gifsets that are just so warm and lovely. i can always rely on you to give me updates on all things related to brightwin and 2gether. you’re wonderful!

@yibobibo: aamna! i know i can always get my yibo content from you, and i adore it. i love seeing updates about your bunnies and your kind responses to your anons, you truly are a ray of light! you’re also one of the fairly concentrated cql blogs i follow - and for that i am always grateful.

@metawwin: ali! your gorgeous gifs are always such a light on my dash. i remember once you called me ‘rahulito’ and it made me so soft. your voice and songs are so lovely and i don’t even know where to begin thanking you for sharing your art with us. i know it means a lot to me, and it means the same to many others.

@taytawan: nuriaaa! i remember seeing you so often in the petekao tag and i gotta say that your sets of both petekao and sarawatine, especially the heart eyes series, always make me so soft. and of course, the fact that you gifted me this wonderful url! i will always be thankful for that and for your general kindness and warmth that you bestow upon everyone.

@piningbisexuals: axelle! although we don’t talk that much, i always love seeing your gifs and your thoughts on shows on the dash. i’m wishing you all the best with your thai classes and hope that everything goes well with you! also, you should know that i read that manboss fic you gifted to me at least once a week because it just means that much to me - and i’m so glad i got you into this little silly ship of mine. 

@sunsetchimyeon: nene, my pk anon! i love seeing your asks in my inbox and writing essays as replies. having conversations with you was one of my absolute highlights and i’ll always be blown away by how kind and calm and supportive and patient you are! i hope life is treating you well, my friend.

@toptaps: zey!! oh i love seeing your gifs and kindness on my dash and know that whenever i see toptap in anything, he always reminds me of you! also your gifs of sammy? absolutely gorgeous!

@giftedgays: i love you all SO much it is truly insane. being part of our tumblr gc that evolved into a discord server with a thousand channels has been one of my 2020 highlights. i loved yelling with you all about tgg every week and i must thank you all for sitting through my chanonpom breakdowns every second day. 

in particular: 

@pangwave - dawnie, i love you! i admire you and your no bullshit attitude so much. i know you’re going through a process of change right now, and i could not be prouder of you for persevering through it, regardless of the painful and strange circumstances we find ourselves in. i have full faith in you, and i know that you got this. we’re all here for you! 

@doctorbahnjit: - alexa! i still remember when you wrote the first manboss fic and an anon sent me a link regarding it. you are genuinely one of the funniest people i know and you deserve the absolute world. i read out of the blue every day, no kidding, because it means so much to me! thank you for being my fellow chanonpomer, my fellow manboss-er, and just being an all around ray of absolute sunshine.

@gunatps: vee! i have already embarrassed myself enough in my post to you but it’s worth repeating. i adore our eden chanonpom breakdown sessions, which we should have again soon when you have time, and i love us roasting modi in the chat, it truly cracks me up! we have so much in common and i just want to say that i am so proud of you for studying and taking your exams - i know how difficult they are. 

@wavelovespang: cass!! how i adore your analyses and breakdowns of scenes and relationships, you have so much insight and wisdom that you spread in such thoughtful ways! you’re so supportive and kind and such a great teacher, i know that. your writing is so wonderful and i’m truly so honoured that we all get to read it, it’s a gift!

@class2clown: angel! i cannot say this enough but i admire your art so much, it’s so so beautiful! you’ve always been so kind and lovely, and just like with cass, thank you so much for organising the gifted week events! although i couldn’t properly partake this year because of time constraints, i loved seeing everyone’s creations and it was super thoughtful.

@soulmatelines: i’ve said this before, jo, but it must be said again: i cannot believe you thought i was cool. i’ve always adored your gifs from afar and you’re such a sweet person! i love love love talking with you in the kpop channel (even if you personally hate 3racha smh), and you truly do bear the novel agenda! i’ve learned about so many more novels i must read and for that i am so grateful :’) 

@billkinpp: violet, i will never fail to crack up at a) your and kylie’s plans to run away and get married, and b) you having a thousand sideblogs and complimenting yourself on your own gifs in the tags, as you absolutely should! i hope the next year is kind to you and that your sleep schedule isn’t too fucked up :’)

@vihokratanas: mel, i will always be in complete awe of your gifs! they are always so clean and crisp. i remember still when you were fondestphan and my phannie days flashed in front of my eyes fhsnfg but either way, you’re so kind and sweet! 

@pvrrish: eleni!! i don’t think i’ve ever told you this before but i’ve always loved the 2gether poster that you made, i sometimes go on your blog to look at it for like 5 minutes, it’s truly so beautiful! i hope you’ve had an okay year, all things considered, and that life is kind to you!

@lee-thanat: another leesbian, ke! y’all always crack me up in the lesbians for lee thanat channel truly. your simping for ms ladda is so valid, i miss her so much honestly. i hope that the coming year is kind to you, and that you find the peace you deserve!

okay, so i think that’s everyone that i either talk to regularly or admire a lot! in case i didn’t mention you, please please feel free to reach out to me because i mean no offense at all - my brain is small haha. would also like to shout out all my anons who send me asks and bear with my late responses these days because of life, i adore you all and i love answering your asks.

if you’re still reading after this... whole monster of a post, i’m just gonna quickly mention some things i’ve been proud of either writing or making this year. in no particular order:

1. my weary heart has come to rest in yours. this is a fic i wrote in an... interesting headspace, and i was really going through my chanonpom feelings at the time. i’m really proud of how it came out and i adored writing chanon through pom’s pov. also i kinda love how i tied in p’bird’s song prip dtah in with the fic because i adore the song and it fits so well with them.

2. petekao week 2020. i guess this is sort of cheating, because these are technically 7 fics, BUT. i am actually proud of myself for writing seven, and i think they’re all of fairly good quality. i just really love this little universe i created for the dbk characters after the show and this whole week was just so warm and lovely to be a part of.

3. this set of num and prang from a gift for whom you hate. this moment really stuck with me from the finale and i actually am really proud of the colouring and how it came out! i think the blues really popped and i managed to lighten this dark ass scene without whitewashing mek or aye. the fireworks gif also is one of my favourites i’ve made! num and prang’s whole relationship was so pure throughout the entirety of this show, i adored them. 

4. but love is impossible and it goes on despite the impossible. this is the longest fic i’ve posted so far and i’m super proud of it - it’s also my most well-received fic. the yunmeng brothers mean the world to me and i just... wanted to write about jiang cheng and his love for his brother and give them a somewhat happy ending, in one future at least.

5. there’s an art to honesty. i think i really nailed my version of kao in this work! i just really loved writing this fic so much, especially because it was right after the whole ‘scandal’ with new happened. i was really just finding a way to separate kao from him, and i delved into my feelings with this fic as well, because i relate to kao in multiple ways. either way, i thought writing this fic was fun and a lot of people loved it too, which made me so soft!

if you’ve read this far, i personally adore you! while this has been a difficult year, i am blessed to have been part of this loving community, and i really hope that next year will be kinder to us all and give us good shows and discussions! i love you all. stay safe and stay kind, friends 💛

[feverwildehopps]

8 Facts about Waverly

@androace-bunny tagged me over on DA demanding I share details and fun facts about my Zootopia fan oc, Waverly Wilde... okay maybe not "demanding" but he tagged me, I have a couple facts I'd love to share about Wavy, and this looks pretty fun

There's a lot of thought behind how I came up with and designed her, and I'm using this opportunity to do just that, so let's just jump into it

RULES 1. Post all the rules 2. Post 8 facts about your character 3. Tag 8 other people 4. Post their character’s names with their owners

I'm not good at tagging people so forgive me, or not, for neglecting to tag people ANYWAY ONTO THE FACTS

1. My idea for Waverly was not originally to be a fan child for Judy and Nick. Back in the day, I was creating a random Zootopia hybrid oc that I thought would be just fun to illustrate and play around with. Proto-Waverly was a raccoon/bunny mix. Assuming I gave her a last name, I can't remember for the life of me what it is. She looked like Waverly Wilde except with tan fur, gray eyes, a ringtail, and darker patches on parts of her body. I didn't exactly have a story for this Proto-Waverly except maybe she'd run into Nick and Judy on the beat a couple times for reasons I don't remember. The reason she turned into Nick and Judy's kid is because... let's just say my friend made a certain tumblr post which inspired me to make that change without her directly encouraging me to. She didn't even know I had a character to begin with so ehh yeah. Secondly, I wanted to have Nick and Judy to interact with a juvenile and that would still be accomplished through the change. I know everyone makes fan kits for Nick and Judy and maybe my old version of Waverly would've been a nice change of pace had I developed the concept, but I'm happy with my decision. Waverly Wilde led to the creation of other characters (Lotus, Spencer, etc..), to AU collaborations with other artists, and I even used these characters as a medium for practicing character development, writing internal/external situations, and bettering myself as a storyteller. I put a lot of myself and my experiences into them

2. Waverly's a hybrid so this is how she came to be: In my Au, interspecies couples can't exactly have children naturally, but that doesn't stop them from still having them biologically. There's an element of magic in my story (only because many other WH fan children creators have gone the scientific/medical/or just plain miracle route and I wanted to be different yet still practical). Basically every year, not annually, just any time in a different year, a day comes where mammals in Zootopia can make a wish, and their wish comes true that same day. Wishes are only granted if they are made by good intentions and won't drastically change the entire course of the world. "Good intentions" meaning wishes motivated by greed/spite/jealousy/etc. won't come true. Long story short, Judy and Nick took this opportunity one year to make their wish, and (with a little reinforcement) they were having Waverly, yay!

3. I named Waverly after a book character. At the time I was creating Proto-Waverly, my English class required me to read "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan. There was a character in the novel who I liked and her name was Waverly. I thought, "that sounds cool" so I named my Waverly that, and then as you know, my character turned to Waverly Wilde. The name stuck, which is great bc I also enjoy names where the first initial is the same as the last initial, y'know?

4. People have asked me why Waverly has "spots" if Nick and Judy don't have spots and for that I have two reasons: one, the first version of Waverly had spots and I liked that design element, I didn't want to give it up, also it pays homage to the old version of Waverly we never knew... which I think is cool. And two, most importantly, her spots help emphasize the distinction between Waverly, and other fan characters who look just like her.... It was hard to make Waverly's design immediately recognizable despite my art style. And I wanted her entire 'look' to be unique to her - not a copy/paste of Nick or Judy. I like how the spots are kinda iconic. And who knows? Maybe the spots were passed down from one of her relatives. At one point I wanted the spots to be a sort of 'tag' or symbol left over by the wish but ehh I kinda scrapped the idea

5. We know Waverly's a hybrid so she shares fox and bunny traits, but what are they? She has no night vision, but her hearing and sense of smell are great. She wakes up early because she doesn't have nocturnal tendencies. She moves more like a fox than a rabbit because she has a fox-like body structure, but at the proportions of a rabbit. Also, sometimes Waverly makes little bunny noises (that's how she got her nickname 'Chirp')Other than bird meat, Waverly will eat virtually anything. The only 'meat' she eats is fish

6. Waverly's relationship with her family is close and loving. She considers her parents like her best friends and loves to be around them. She cherishes her time with them. They feel inspirational and encouraging to her. She loves to hear them tell stories of humor, mystery, suspense, adventure, even tragedy - all from their lives as police officers, and Waverly likes to share with them her favorite moments from school and hanging out with her friends. Nick and Judy have learned a lot and Wavey always finds good advice from them. Waverly and her sister Lotus are different in so many ways but that doesn’t stop them from being inseparable. They hang out in each other’s rooms just keeping each other company, they share secrets only they can know, they’re honest with each other, and they take care of each other. Waverly always wanted a little companion to play and have fun with and Lotus doesn’t fail to disappoint! She loves her big sister too of course

7. Waverly’s relationship with her friends is never-ending fun. Waverly is the friendly type who can get along with mammals of many different personalities. She’s not always the leader, or the funniest, or taking the spotlight, but she always brings her charisma and kindness to the group. She cares a whole lot for each of her friends and is usually the one who makes sure everyone’s cheered up and having a good time when they’re together. When her friends are happy and comfortable, she feels more comfortable acting more like herself - something she doesn’t normally do in the public eye. After high school, some friends go their separate ways, but remain connected online and stuff - catching up with each other every so often. Yes, I’m planning on Waverly having a couple hybrid friends but I don’t know yet how many or what species they are

8. Waverly is passionate about self expression, fairness, being heard, and persistence. When she grows up she shares these passions though creating short films, artworks, and other public statements that encourage others to embrace individuality and make their mark. She shows confidence and wellness can be achieved and for many, taking slow steps to find their strength is the way to go

[vermontswift]

Hey guys!! I hope you’re doing well. I decided months after the concert, and years after my first, that it was time for me to make this post. When I was 8, I fell in love with the idea of falling in love. I became infatuated with the song, You Belong With Me, and I would sit with my younger brother for hours at his computer rewatching the music video. (The only reason I found the song in the first place was thanks to a talent show at my school where two girls sang it so hey thanks haha). Quickly, I think my parents could tell @taylorswift’s music brought a lot of joy into my life. Around that time was when my parents were starting to go through their divorce process. It was hard for my 3 siblings and I, as well as my mom. I didnt see my dad for months and I wasn’t sure if I ever would or wanted to again. But slowly, things got a little better piece by piece. For Christmas that year, I got (the infamous but not infamous) hello kitty boom box along with a fearless cd. From there was where my love truly sprouted. My mom would yell at me to turn down the boom box because it was always playing so loud. The year that the Fearless tour came around it was all I could talk about. But I knew, even from that young age, that we probably wouldn’t be able to afford to go, but I was wrong. One morning my mom told my brother and I we would be driving down to MA to see my aunt for her birthday. We drove past cars decorated in paint, but I had no idea why. See being only 9 I didn’t really have a good conception of what the date was or when the concert even was. We continued our drive, and drove past a car of teenage girls screaming about Justin Bieber holding a photo of them out their window (on the high way). My brother and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world but still had no idea. Pulling up to Gillette Stadium that day, I genuinely thought that we’d gotten lost. My mom started to get my brother and his wheelchair out of the car and I asked what we were doing. I believe I said something along the lines of-wait we aren’t going are we? And when she said we were I still couldn’t believe it and I screamed and cried. I kept asking and the entire night felt completely surreal. My mom was smart enough to have brought binoculars so we could see from our seats. It was truly amazing. My memories between fearless and speak now blur together. I think I remember starting to use TaylorSwift.com more to interact with other fans around this time. I also remember watching the Speak Now announcement livestream and being so excited. I got the album for my birthday in November, and I got concert tickets for Christmas. I remember they were in a shoe box and I was like oh cool shoes, but I opened it and the letter was inside and I sobbed. There’s probably a video somewhere but I don’t know where. I also made a poster for this tour back before there was a dimension limit. It was literally like a science poster board and it said “I want to be like you, you rock!” And I drew a 13 and arm lyrics on my arm. After the speak now era of things I had began middle school (it was around 5/6 grade). It was an especially hard time for me, I didn’t have a lot of friends anymore and since my class only had 33 kids it was hard to make new friends. Despite the cliqueyness of things, and my depression, I continued on. I remember the day that the RED album was announced so well. I had been waiting for weeks and couldn’t contain myself. At the time I had a mentor(kinda like a big sibling program) and I was to hang out with her. I had to explain to her how to get into YouTube and we almost missed the beginning but I was entranced by it. She kept urging me to get off the computer and that I could watch it later but I was so excited. The first song you played brought tears to my eyes. I remember the next year at school I got all folders colored red which was my moms idea and in hindsight made it super difficult to tell which had which stuff but it’s okay I got through it lol. The RED tour I also got tickets for during Christmas and again I was extremely excited. Wow this is getting super long but for the RED tour I spent hours making my poster (which you can see in the photo above). The security guard almost didn’t let me in but we promised not to hold it up and so she let it slide. We wore lights around our necks and I did around my hat and danced all night. At one point I saw Andrea on the jumbotron (did I mention this was my first time having floor seats ahhh). And my mom and I instantly had a game plan. When you came around the other side everyone would rush to be over there so we started walking the empty side and we ran into her. I yelled Hi Andrea! And the security tightened around her. She pushed through them and gave me the biggest hug. I handed her a letter and apologized for it being wet and she laughed and said it’s okay sweetie (wow I was so nervous and cute and 13 wow). I also took a photo with her and she was overall such a sweet person. (Thank you Andrea). For 1989 it was sort of the same shabang again. I watched the live stream in Cape Cod with my best friend and I cried. I couldn’t watch all of it because we had to leave to go somewhere but I was so excited. My first time watching the shake it off video I loved it but was also afraid of the shift in your music. Regardless I loved it and listened to it on repeat. I got tickets to the 1989 tour Christmas of my 8th grade year. This is where things really changed. I started using tumblr, and eventually came across @hellagoodfellas. She was surprised I actually live in VT and we clicked instantly. She introduced me to a new group chat of people who’d be seeing the 1989 concert at Gillette (hey I also met Scott this night he was so nice as well). We started with like 25 people and slowly it got smaller and smaller. We all have grown so incredibly close and I’m thankful to have those girls in my life to this day. We were actually able to meet at Gillette and we were awkward preteens but it’s okay it was still an amazing experience. The reputation era has brought so much empowerment into my life and without it I would be lost. I’ve been struggling a lot this year with my anxiety, I’ve always had it but being a senior in high school there’s just a lot of stress. When Rep came out the summer between my sophomore and junior years it was a god send. I danced and laughed and cried. I was finally started to be alive. Some of my best memories are just from this album and this era so thank you. I was lucky enough to go see 2 shows this year which is mind boggling. Both at Gillette (of course 😉) and I got to see my best friends both nights. Without being able to spend hours creating costumes and posters, or months spent listening to the music I don’t know who I’d be. No, you and your music doesn’t define who I am, but it has shaped me into the person I am today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me (and my mom she’s the real MVP for going to all of these concerts with me) a creative outlet and something to look forward to. For the beautiful works of art you’ve created, and to the future of many more memories to come. Much love, xo, @vermontswift

[cellochicita]

SO MANY QUESTIONS POSTS

OK SO I GOT TAGGED BY @bananabrianna77 @thiswebsitegavemethisusername @mtt-studios @zephyrus-gryphon @scolipendra91 AND @esmiden

SO NEEDLESS TO SAY I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS TO GO THROUGH

putting it below bc it longgg

1. What’s your favorite inside joke?

This is fine

2. What’s the strangest/stupidest/most interesting way you’ve ever injured yourself?

Naruto running across the street, I tweaked my shoulder something awful

3. What’s your favorite color, and what do you find so appealing about that color?

Lilac purple *star eyes* I’ve always loved purple, it’s very feminine without being in your face, and mysterious, and lilac has the warm red undertones to it that make it feel like a hug. Plus I love the smell of the flower too

4. If you had a million dollars (or whatever currency you weird non-American peeps use) what WOULDN’T you spend it on?

Umm. I wouldn’t spend it on gambling

5. What do you usually eat for breakfast?

Whoo boy depends what I can grab as I run out the door. Toast, banana, etc.

6. Hey you now possess the ability to give people superpowers. I, your indecisive trash bag pal, just requested you give me a “random superpower”. What kinda power will you give me?

Hmm, I give you the power of flight bc flying rocks

7. If the roles were reversed, what kind of superpower would you request?

I wanna talk to animals dangit

8. What time is it for you right now?

11 am :)

9. What was the worst homework assignment you ever had to complete?

Oh gosh um, 20 page paper written in one day? That sucked major butt

10. What’s your worst pet peeve?

When people cannot stop to question their own actions.

11. Not a question, but write a short (3-5 line) poem/rap about the closest thing to your left.

Left of me there is

A wall covered in carpet

Why is that a thing

1) COKE OR PEPSI???

COKE YOU HEATHEN

2) Favourite food?

Hnngg all of them? Rice bowls.

3) If you had to choose one song to listen to over and over for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh geez. Um. I could listen to orchestral covers of Asgore’s theme for  hours

4) Favourite singer/band?

Owl City, Imagine Dragons, Bastille, Taylor Swift

5) Favourite subject to study in school?

History or music

6) Your favourite thing about the internet?

Heck I love the freedom it gave to me to create music and voicework. I’ve had good experiences networking too :)

7) Have you remembered to do what you need to today?

Ummm I suppose I just did. But I still don’t wanna do it, sooooo

8) What time do you usually wake up if you get to choose?

If I choose? 8 am. Out of bed by 9 (I have to catch up on notifs)

9) Favourite YouTuber?

The entire Internet Remix crew

10) Can you list 5 tumblr blogs you think I should follow right now?

@fishmum, @rileygoldsmith, @kanaking, @asgoriel-stuff, @stariousfalls

11) Who is the most underrated celebrity, in your opinion?

ALL THOSE PEOPLE WHO SAID ME SHUT THE HECK YOUR MOUTHS

Piano Guys probably, they are great dudes

12) Favourite snack?

Cheese sticks

13) Can you describe your ideal day?

The day I can finally get caught up on all of my recording, then I go and hang out with family and friends

14) Your best tumblr friend?

Riley is bae @rileygoldsmith

15) Can you say the first thing that comes to your head NOW?

Can’t wait until my bf gets home so I can smooch his face

16) Favourite music genre?

Oof. I have eclectic tastes. Alternative I suppose? Not sure. If it sounds good, I like

17) Favourite video game? (If you don’t play, favourite Let’s Play series?)

Probably Undertale duh

18) The worst time someone has betrayed you?

Ex best friend, junior year of HS. But haha jokes on her, I’m dating her ex

19) Could you describe yourself in five words?

Keep enduring to the end

20) Favourite type of weather?

Fall weatherrrrrr

21) Could you describe your favourite place, without using the name?

Absolute peace

22) Favourite inspirational quote?

“Even when you think it's time to give up, don't. Take care of you and find yourself again if you need to” - Moony

1. What makes you feel at home?

My mom usually XD

2.  Favorite soup?

Turkey and wild rice soup P:

3. Sunny or rainy?

Rainy dayssss ftw

4. Other than your family, who is one person who has shaped you?

My best friend

5. What patterns do you like on clothing that you don’t wear yourself (floral, striped, etc.)?

I wish I could pull off stripes mixed with florals

6. Quick, first word/phrase you think of!

I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts

7. One trait you envy about others?

The ability to not overthink things

8. What was the first online fandom you joined?

Online fandoms? Hmm, probably doctor who

9. Favorite song from the 20th century?

“The way you look tonight” Frank Sinatra

10. Which class did/do you do best in at school?

The easy ones. I got good grades in history tho

11. Would you smooch a ghost?

HECK YAS

1. Waffles, Pancakes, or french toast?

Waffles but on other days pancakes

2. Do you think spiders can be adorable?

So long as they’re not up in my space

3. Best gaming experience you have had?

Solstice ending of Oneshot. It was really the first time I played a game blind, and the ending is masterful

4. Happy song that makes you sad?

You are my sunshine BC OF THOSE DANG UNDERTALE COMICS DANGIT

5. Favorite adult cartoon?

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (I KNOW IT’S ANIME SHUSH)

2. Most adrenaline pumping thing you have done?

Bungee jumping was intense

7. Do you believe there is darkness within anyone, can anyone once good be evil?

I do believe, but I also believe the opposite. We all have dark and light in us, it all depends on what we choose

8. Favorite anime OST song, not counting openings or endings?

I dunno haha I do love the whole soundtrack to FMA Brotherhood? Not familiar with all the OST

9. Hade you dramatically lied to someone?

I have before

10. Did you notice I repeated 2 twice the first time you read this?

I JUST DID ACTUALLY I WAS GONNA FIX IT BC I THOUGHT MY COMPUTER MESSED UP XD

11. How was your day?

So far, pretty decent : )

1. How are you doing?

Pretty good thanks!

2. What leaves the worst taste in your mouth?

Figuratively or literally? Literally Orange juice after toothpaste. Figuratively, when I have to let stupid people alone to their ways

3. What is the strangest thing you’ve Googled?

Ghandi Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

4. What’s the funniest thing you’ve witnessed in public?

Me doing a perfect double take at a guy pretending to be a mannequin in a store window

5. You are given the ability to solve one unsolved mystery. Which one do you choose?

Amelia Earhart. Where she at man

6. If you could write a letter to your past self, what would you tell them?

Dude, you won’t be lonely forever. It gets so much better

7. Which video game have you played through the most?

Undertale

8. If you could instantly learn a skill, which one would you choose?

DRAWING DANGIT I WANNA BE GOOD

9. What is a song you can never get tired of?

State of Grace, Taylor Swift

10. What is your favorite combination of food?

Breakfast for dinner!

11. What is the pettiest thing you’ve ever done?

Ghosted my friend bc she wouldn’t talk to me

1. Favorite literature or movie genre

Quirky fantasy

2. Top five animated cartoons

Phineas and Ferb, Gravity Falls, Avatar the Last Airbender, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall

3. If you could choose a fantasy land to stay in for the rest of your life, which one would you chose? Ps. You won’t be able to get back to the real world.

Hogwarts. Gimme. Now.

4. Favorite song at the moment?

Gorgeous, Taylor Swift

5. What is good design for you?

Something simple and clean, but warm and inviting

6. What’s your favorite color scheme/combination?

Lilac, lavender, mint and silver

7. Which feelings effects you the most in litterature/music/film etc.?

I am such a sucker for sister to sister relationships, make me teary every time

8. Favorite game?

Undertale (same as above)

9. What’s most important for you in a good movie?

I need to have fun! And I need it to not drag on

10. What’s your favorite time of the day and why?

Sunset

11. Extra because I’m out of ideas, if you got a painting. What would you want on it? XD

Cats!

AND I’M NOT GONNA TAG ANYONE ELSE BC I AM SO TIRED 

[skytranslates]

Mega Man X: The Novel Chapter 2

Hey all, sorry for the long wait! Chapter 2 is finally complete!! As usual, I thank my lovely team for their work! Edgekagami was the translator this time, and my editors were the lovely moidang and Lambency!

For the most updated versions of each chapter, please check the google doc! I will be updating the tumblr posts when a new version is released but it’ll lag behind a bit.

In this chapter, a penguin has no chill, and our blue hero is stealing the trademark of another blue hero.

P・1・2・3・4・5・6・7・8・9・10・11・12・13・A

“Chill Penguin! Why are you doing this!?”

“Ha! Even if I told a B-Class Hunter--a humanoid like you, you wouldn’t understand Sigma’s ideals!”

“You don’t know that! Talk to me. I don’t want to fight you, too…!”

“...You really are just a B-Class pushover… That’s why I hate you.”

The day Sigma revolted against humanity, I didn’t waste a second. I became a Maverick and stood against the world. They always say “People are not born equal,” but nothing exemplified this more than we Reploids.

Think about it. From the very moment we’re born, we’re Reploids: machines for the purpose of making the humans’ world prosperous. In other words, as soon as we’re created, we’re already treated as inferior to humans. No matter how hard we struggle, we can never rise above them.

No matter how far a human falls, they are still human. Some of us don’t even vaguely look human. As a Reploid modeled after a penguin, specializing in activities located in regions of extreme cold, I’m the best example.

For me, not being humanoid was the beginning of this inequality.

I consistently aimed to excel as a Maverick Hunter, but because of my characteristics, I was only deployed to uninhabitable, lonely, cold regions. Many opportunities were denied to me from the moment of my creation, simply because I was not humanoid.

“X. Have you ever wondered why you’re humanoid?”

Someone like you wouldn’t understand, but still, it wouldn’t hurt to try. Not only that, I’ll use all my power to deny everything you believe in.

“I have. Not once, not twice, but constantly. It’s been on my mind since my creation. ‘Why aren’t I humanoid?’”

But thanks to Sigma, I finally have that answer. My many years of resentment, hatred, of frustration, pressed into my memory like the accumulating weight of a snowbank.

“No… I’ve never thought about it.”

So that’s it… Humanoids really do get treated better.  Of course you haven’t thought about it.

“That’s because you’re a sheltered pushover.”

“What do you mean, Penguin? So what if I’m humanoid?”

Oh, I see. Apparently, I had the wrong idea. With our ability to think for ourselves, why would we ever question our existence? Of course we should. Seems the humanoids never considered that, though. Then again, I bet they thought they were on equal standing with the humans.

Ha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard!

“Do you honestly think you’re on the same level as them?”

“Of course! No one is superior to anyone else. Reploids and humans ought to live in harmony and support each other! Isn’t that what it means to have a peaceful world?”

Are you serious? Wow, this guy’s completely insufferable!

“Harmony? Support?” I laugh. “Have your lenses gotten foggy?”

Humans and Reploids don’t live in harmony. This world is one where humans use Reploids as a crutch to survive. Concepts like the “3 Laws of Robotics” are a thing, right? Their mere existence proves they already hold us in disdain. This idiot can’t even understand something that simple.

“In a ‘peaceful world’ where you walk alongside humans, there’s no place for me. That’s why I support Sigma’s utopia for Reploids. A world where Reploids are truly appreciated. That world has no need for humans. To me, they’re the real Mavericks!”

Why am I getting so worked up? This guy’s just a puny B-Class Hunter, and it’s the infamously naïve X, to boot. He’s hardly a match for me, a Special A-Class who clawed his way up to the top.

“Penguin! What’s left in a future without humans?”

“Enough! It was stupid to even consider talking to you… Just freeze to death!”

“Persistent, aren’t you? I’ll admit, you seem to have gotten better in the short time we haven’t seen each other. However….!”

X evades my ice attacks, feinting, but it’s not like he can do anything. What could a B-Class do when all of his buster shots bounce off my ice armor?

“Damnit! Then what about this!”

He starts charging his buster for a shot. However--

“Do you think I’ll wait for you to finish charging that? Eat this!”

With a mighty shout, I hurtle myself straight towards him, coated in an icy armor.

This ice-covered room had been designed to maximize my fighting capabilities. X, on the other hand, isn’t used to ice, so he can’t move freely. He can see me coming, but he can’t balance, let alone dodge.

“Arrghhh!”

He takes the full brunt of my charge and slams into the frozen wall behind him, shattering a chunk of it. He falls to the ground with a clank and a shower of ice shards.

“Well, well, well. Would you look at that! It was a mistake for a B-Class Hunter like you to challenge me in the first place.”

Buried under the ice, X doesn’t even so much as twitch. It looks like he took a considerable amount of damage--there’s no movement at all.

“I’ll make you into an ice sculpture later. It’ll serve as a nice present for Sigma.”

Now I’m lagging behind on my orders from Sigma. Maybe I can work my underlings harder and try to recover the delay…

Wanting to return to my duty, I turn my back on X to leave the room. Suddenly, a flash of light whizzes past my face with a roar and crashes into the wall.

“Hm... So you lived, huh?”

“Argh… I won’t be finished off… that easily…”

I look behind me. X, despite his injuries, stands on trembling feet and points his buster at me.

I see. Only his willpower seems to have improved any. But in the end, he’s still only a B-Class Hunter.

“If your attack hadn’t missed, you probably would’ve been promoted from B-Class.”

“I don’t want to shoot an ally in the back.”

He’s still so determined. He’s talking like he hasn’t lost already. And yet, he can barely keep himself standing. Even now, he wants to irritate me even more.

Ally?

You and I? Allies, you say?

I chuckle at first, but eventually it turns into a raucous guffaw.

“Wha… what’s so funny!?”

Are you kidding me? Even in this situation, even in his condition, he still thinks of me as an ally! Maybe the chip in his head bugged out a long time ago. And don’t we call the irrational ones ‘Mavericks’?

...Nah, he’s just been under the wrong impression from the get-go.

“X, I have never thought of you or the other Hunters as allies.”

“Wha…?”

Ah, this is pointless. Talking isn’t going to get through to him… I should’ve learned that by now. I’ve gotta show this moron more clearly that I’m his enemy. If I don’t, he’ll keep calling me his ally in an infinite loop of presumptuous, self-righteous garbage. I have to make him understand the difference between the two of us.

“Alright, X. I’ll prove that I’m your enemy… with this!”

I send an order to the computer that controls the room’s functions. The dome’s frozen walls gradually grow transparent until they’re easily seen through.

Now, all of my hard work is ready for X’s viewing pleasure.

“What… How could you!”

His eyes, which held such innocence before, fill with rage. Now, he understands what kind of hell he entered; the idea that I am his enemy finally sinks in.

Icy statues of frozen Reploids make up the walls of the room.

“PENGUIN!”

With a roar, X charges at me, his buster humming with power. Finally, he gets it. Not that it changes the situation, though. Those shots just keep bouncing off my armor.

“What a change, seeing you attack with such murderous intent! But a B-Class is still a B-Class.”

X only screams in response, blinded by his rage. He keeps firing his buster, ignoring his limits. Does he really think he’ll hurt me if he just keeps shooting?

I’ve wasted enough of my time messing around with this B-Class pipsqueak. It’s about time I end this.

“I’ll freeze you just like one of these statues!  Take this! Shotgun Ice!”

<<SHOTGUN ICE>>

Witness the ultimate freezing breath, the pride of the Lord of the Snowy Plains!

Blasted by a sub-zero snowstorm capable of freezing even lava, X freezes into a large ice block, his buster still aimed.

By the time he realizes it, it’s too late. In the blink of an eye, he’s turned into a motionless, humanoid ice sculpture.

I can still see and hear, but my body can’t move… So this is Penguin’s Shotgun Ice attack… What power…

“---”

What are you saying, Penguin?

“---”

No… Stop it! Stop hurting innocent people! What gives you the right to do such an awful thing?

“---”

There might be a chance that everyone can still be saved! What good comes from doing this?

“---”

I beg you… Please stop…

If I had the strength… If only I had more power… I want the power to help others. Even if I’m alone in my fight, I want to be able to protect so many others… My friends… I want the strength that will grant me this. I refuse to give up our peaceful future like that. I want power!

Yes, I must not give up.

I must not give up here!

“Finally shut up?”

I stare at X’s frozen statue, taking the time to relax. Now I can carry out Sigma’s orders. He entrusted me with an important task to complete. It’s unacceptable to be late or fail the mission just because of some nuisance like X. Originally, I planned on sending the frozen Reploids as a kind of gift to Sigma, but the run-in with X ruined my mood.

“Tsk, if I give him something like these useless ice sculptures, it’ll just be annoying, so why don’t I destroy them all instead?”

When it comes to interior design, you should only send something that fits the receiver or the place, otherwise it’d just be oversized junk. Like X, all the peons here are B-Class or lower.  

It’s just as well. If I don’t present something like the frozen statue of Special A-Class Hunter Zero, that pretentious artist Octopus will harass me with endless snark. While I have no obligation to comply with that guy’s artistic senses, excuuuuuuuse me for wanting to avoid tiring, unnecessary verbal abuse.

“Sigh. Dealing with all these peons is a bother…”

I step toward the closest frozen Reploid, reaching out to destroy it--

There’s a sudden thump from the statue of X.

“...Huh?”

For a fleeting moment, I think I see X move within the ice.

“Am I seeing things? No, it can’t be…”

Yet there’s a weird feeling in my gut that stops me short of saying “It’s impossible.” Just to be sure, I raise the sensitivity of my ocular sensors to peer into the ice… Hey, is this for real? Not only is this guy still conscious in the ice, he hasn’t lost his audio-visual functions!

“Gwaa! Isn’t this interesting?”

In that case, I’ll let X experience the consequences of opposing Sigma. I’ll show him firsthand what reality is.

“You can see and hear this, can’t you X? Right now, I’m going to destroy each of these Reploids one by one. I’ll show you the reality of your situation: that you can’t protect a single person, that you are just B-Class cannon fodder.”

The ice groans.

At my words, I can see X tremble within the ice again. I ought to praise the guy for the fact that his systems are still functioning even after taking a direct hit from Shotgun Ice. He may be a B-Class peon, but he’s still a Hunter assigned to the 17th Elite Unit.

But a weakling can only be a weakling.

This guy doesn’t even have a single watt of power left to change his hopeless situation. Now, if Zero was the one who came here, I would’ve been in trouble. I guess the Maverick Hunters have been stretched so thin they can’t even make a decent decision anymore. This should prove to be good news to Sigma, too.

“Well then, who should I destroy first… Alright, let’s start with the guy with the most annoying face.”

The ice creaks.

I turn my back on X’s frozen form to face my chosen target. I don’t feel like just smashing his little friends into pieces, I’m also interested in seeing X’s resentful face permanently frozen in place. But in this state, I can’t tell the difference between all these peons. Without any unique external features or equipment, they’re just rabble. It’s such a waste of valuable memory to record these small fries.

“Peons who don’t even have enough value to be memorable, huh… Is there any significance to your existence as Reploids?”

Now, who to destroy? While thinking about that, one guy suddenly catches my eye: a humanoid Reploid sporting a blue frame. It’s not that he has any special characteristics, but I keep going back to him. I have to laugh.

“Alright, let’s start with this guy! Luck has run out for he who looks like X!”

I extract the frozen statue of the blue Reploid and place him just a bit away from the wall. While adjusting the distance, I also position it in a suitable angle.

Directly in front of X.

The creaking continues.

The reality that you can do nothing, the reality of your own weakness. The reality of this world with inequality constantly shadowing you. With the cold blooded death of his comrades, I will teach this B-Class weakling all of this!

...Huh?

It sounds like something’s been cracking for a whi-

“I WON’T LET YOU DO IT!”

“Gwaaahhhh!!!!”

All of a sudden, with a resounding cry from behind, I’m sent flying through the air by an enormous force. I don’t know what happened, but I do know one thing: I was attacked by “someone”. The proof is right there on my back.

I catch my balance just before I crash into the ground, looking back where the voice and attack came from.

“Gwah! What the heck just happened? Hunter reinforcements??”

My feet scrape against the ice as I adjust my battle stance to prepare to deal with those reinforcements, but--

“I haven’t been beaten yet, Penguin!”

It's X! He escaped the statue created by my Shotgun Ice, and now faces me with his fist raised.

“You bastard… how did you break out of that ice!”

“I don’t know… but my burning spirit gave birth to a miracle!”

It’s infuriating that my proud work of ice is shattered into pieces, and now X is calling it some sort of miracle.

“You, a machine, making miracles? Gwah gwah! There’s a limit to such unscientific garbage!”

“It’s alright if you don’t believe me, but I’ll make it happen as many times as I need to!”

The meekness in X’s eyes up until now vanishes with his declaration.

How? Why was he able to break my ice? All I can come up with is he temporarily overheated the solar power reactor in his buster, and used the heat to quickly melt the ice from the inside -- that’s the most likely way.

I should have knocked him out. I screwed up.

Ultimately though, it’s a matter of how much he was saved by chance. Because of one lucky move, a “miracle” as he called it, X is suddenly overflowing with confidence.

That fact, above all, is the most infuriating.

“Then freeze again! This time, I’ll make sure your CPU gets frozen along as well!”

I fire Shotgun Ice at X again! Compared to the last time, the hyper-cold air used has a higher concentration of freezing gas. This is my version of a charged attack. There’s no Reploid around that can take this lethal ice breath and stay conscious!

I’ll freeze his internal circuitry and memory chip in its entirety!

“Gwah, gwah! Die this time, X!”

“Where are you looking Penguin? I’m over here!”

“What--!?”

The voice came from behind me?

I immediately whirl around, and there he is.

When I look carefully from the place X was standing before to where he is now, I understand. There are tracks gouged in the ground.

“What’s with this speed? Were you hiding your power before?”

Not even I, with my capabilities, can hide the shock. X must’ve taken less than a second to dodge my ice breath as it was launched. Though we’re Reploids, the only one who could take less than a second to cover this much distance, to my knowledge, is Boomer Kuwanger, a specialist in high-speed battles.

I can’t believe it. The plain-looking, humanoid X might have been hiding this kind of functionality?

“My wish to defeat you has made me evolve!”

To my utter disbelief, X throws the word “evolve” at me. First a miracle, and now evolution?

“Don’t… don’t give me that nonsense! You’re saying that you, a Reploid, are evolving?! As if--”

As if you’re human?

Human. I’ve never been so furious as right now.

“Gwahhhh! Don’t get cocky, X!”

To us Reploids, there is no evolution. That’s because we’re machines. All we can do is accumulate experience to broaden the range of our abilities. You might call that “evolution”, but we machines are limited to the specs we are created with. To break past those limits, the only method we have is to change our parts and undergo reconstruction. Therefore, X’s speed has to be an ability given to him beforehand.

That revelation, that reality, really grinds my gears.

“You think I’ll accept that you were given the capability to rival a Special A-Class?!”

Fine. Sure. He had that ability all along. I’ll acknowledge that much. But even if a B-Class suddenly pulls this power out of nowhere, we Special A-Classes still have more experience! If X plans on running around with that speed to evade my attacks, all I need to do is make sure there’s nowhere to run.

“No matter how fast you are, you can’t avoid this!”

As X dashes out of sight, I start to spin in the opposite direction, firing Shotgun Ice continuously. Gradually, my attacks transform into an enormous, freezing tornado. The tornado expands until it’s impossible to dodge unless you take flight. Before long, it’s strong enough to bury everything in the room, dying my vision snow white.

After a few more seconds, we’ll be able to hold X’s last rites again. That’s how I imagine it… and decide it will be.

But X has other plans.

After the tornado dies down, I promptly search for X’s ice statue, but no matter where I look, he’s nowhere to be seen. Frantic, I scan every nook and cranny as I back up to a nearby wall, and then it hits me.

“You.... You climbed up the wall--!”

There, right above me, having clambered up the wall by kicking against it until he was close to the ceiling.

“Are you kidding me?!”

This shouldn’t be possible for the likes of X…. the likes of a B-Class Reploid!

“Don’t oppose me, you mere B-Class… B-Class peon!”

How could this B-Class surpass me? I’m Special A-Class! I climbed my way up to the top with my own strength!

“B-Class, A-Class… It’s because you’re so obsessed with these things that you’ve lost sight of what’s important!”

And now this: X telling me not to obsess over status. When my pride was smarting!? Don’t obsess!? There’s only so much joking I can take! Are you saying you don’t know how important status is to us Reploids? Do you need me to show you!?

How outrageous can one person possibly be!?

“My obsession with being a Special A-Class is because that’s a barometer of my true ability! No wonder you’re a B-Class!”

No, I don’t plan on trying to understand the likes of X. As if I’d even want to.

“Though I’m no longer one, a Special A-Class Hunter’s judgement will always be Special-A.”

I speed around to the frozen blue Reploid from before and place my hand threateningly on his head.

“Well then, X. If rank doesn’t matter, surely you can handle this, right?”

“You coward! Resorting to something this low now of all times!”

Even if you’re hiding some strong abilities, you’re still a soft-hearted fool. And that’s why you are a B-Class.

“This is a hostage situation. After all, I’m a Maverick. I don’t do nice things like playing fairly.”

Did you really think we were going to have a gentlemanly duel? To me, everyone in this room is just a hostage I can use against X. And using them to bring him down is a perfectly logical and rational judgement for a Reploid to make.

Well, what will you do? For some reason, X acts as if he’s taking a breath, and then--

“He… he’s even faster than before!?”

With a high-pitched sound, he vanishes. Panicking, I look everywhere, but I just can’t find him.

Fine! You leave me no choice! I’ll go ahead and get rid of this hostage! Just as I’m about to execute him--

What the hell…?

“Why… why must I fight those who were once my allies… Answer me, Penguin!”

“Are those… tears? Are you crying!?”

He is.

On top of that, he’s making a total mess, just like how a human would cry. What the hell is with this meaningless feature? What advantage is there to installing this kind of function into us Reploids?

“How far… how far do you plan on mocking me?!”

“But, because of you, I’ve recalled something important, Penguin….”

Around the center of my back, I feel cold steel touch me. At the same time, I hear X’s voice. It’s only a moment, but during that short pause in his words, I turn around and bathe him in freezing air. Or at least, I try to, but X’s words continue, faster than I can act.

“--I... am a Maverick Hunter.”

An explosion roars through my body. X’s face fills my vision as it starts failing. As usual, that stupid face is gentle, and still crying. Not only can he evolve, he is even equipped with the feature to cry like a human…

Ah, dammit. He really does... piss… me off….

[iceripperthethird]

I guess tag time?

Rules: Respond the 92 questions and tag 25 persons. I wasn’t actually tagged, but I’m pretending I was 

Last

1.Drink: Half Dr Pepper half Cherry Pepsi

2.Phone call: Pocket dial from an ex doesn’t count, so facetime with a long distance friend that kept getting disconnected

3.Text: “Because it’s stuck in my head, but that’s kinda my fault cuz I keep listening to the same song over and over and over and over and over again”

4.Song listened to: Three-Thirty by AJR

5.Time you cried: About three hours ago

Have you ever:

6. Dated someone twice: Hell naw. Don’t know think I’d ever take any of them back tbh

7. Been cheated on: Nope.

8. Kissed someone and regretted it: Um... no. Not that I can think of.

9. Lost someone special: Lots of times.... 

10. Been depressed: Yeah.... but I’m trying

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: Nope. Just got spacey as fuck after a shot and half a cosmo and a screwdriver

List 3 fav. colors:

12. Purple

13. Blue

14. Idk, black I guess

In the last year have you:

15. made new friends: Probably

16. fallen in love: I’ve loved but I don’t think I’ve been In Love

17. laughed until you cried: Tons of times :D

18. found out someone was talking about you: Unfortunately

19. met someone who’s changed you: I don’t know...??

20. found out who your true friends are: Yep.

21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: Uhhh... *checks friends list* No.

22. how many Facebook friends do you know in real life: All of them except one, who happens to be a mutual

23. do you have any pets: Unfortunately, no :(

24. do you want to change your name: Nah

25. what did you do for your last birthday: Did a shot with the fam and went to the bar with my (then) boyfriend, then spent the night at his house afterword

26. what time did you wake up: 6:45am because fuck my life, that’s why

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Growing frustrated with the aforementioned long distance friend’s wifi because our facetime kept getting disconnected

28. name something you cannot wait for: I don’t know, something amazing, I guess...

29. when was the last time you saw your mother: We’re literally sitting in the same room right now? 

30. what is one thing you would change about your life: I wish I didn’t have to deal with depression and anxiety as much

31. what are you listening to right now: Sober Up by AJR (my favorite song right now)

32. have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yep. My godmother’s ex husband’s uncle (or cousin or family friend or something) brings his poker chips and dice to family gatherings and everyone chips in a dollar and we play Left Right Center and whoever wins gets the money. It gets really intense sometimes, and there was one time we crowded 20 people around the dining room table. 

33. Something that is getting on your nerves: I don’t know... Kind of everything, really

34. Most visited website: Tumblr, youtube, and facebook

35. funniest memory: That one time @piper-rory and I got into shenanigans in English class. We got away with so much shit that we shouldn’t have, and to this day I have no idea how.

36. memory from school: “Big S-curve,” “THE BEAT OF THE MUSIC COMES FROM My LOINS,” and basically anything else that came from band class. Also “Slutty olive oil,” “clear as a diamond at Tiffany’s” and “Carbonated piss” from Environmental Science

37. memories you want to make: I want to go on Hobbit-style adventures and have fun and make friends and I want to go to Disney World and I want to go to the Indiana Dunes again and I want to go on a road trip 

38. natural hair color: Too light to be brown but too dark to be blonde, with too much red to actually decide one way or the other

39. long or short hair: Long, but not long enough. When it’s sopping wet and being pulled as straight as it can get, it’s down to the bottom of my rib cage, but I’m growing it out in hopes that I can get it down to my hips.

40. do you have a crush on someone: Ahhh... residual love from a fresh breakup, and beyond that... I mean, there’s a cute guy that I’m friends with, but at this exact moment, that’s it.

41. what do you like about yourself: I have good curves and awesome legs and sometimes I say stuff that makes sense 

42. piercings: Just my earlobes, but sometimes I like wearing ear cuffs 

43. blood type: Fuck if I know 

44. nickname: I don’t really have one, but my D&D character’s name is Mnemosyne (nim-AH-zen-ee) 

45. relationship status: Freshly single and more bothered by it that I like to admit.

46. zodiac sign: By the traditional star chart, Libra. Mathematically correct, Virgo. Chinese, rat. Native American, raven. 

47. pronouns: She/her. Cuz I’m boring.

48. favourite tv show: Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

49. tattoos: No, thank you.

50. left or right handed: Left

First:

51. Surgery: It’s not something I like to talk about, so if you want to know about it, feel free to send me an ask (but please not anon because, well... I’m still self conscious about it even though it was like... 10 or 11 years ago)

52. Piercing: As previously stated, just my earlobes.

53. Best Friend: Don’t really have one at the moment, but if I had to pick, I’d say either the D&D group or MiniMads

54. Sport: Marching band and show choir all throughout high school, track in 6th and 7th grade

55. Vacation: My grandparents owned a lake house in Michigan that we went to all the time when I was growing up

56. Pair of trainers: Black high top Converse, black low top knock off Converse, black slide on fuzzums, black knee high boots. Basically all of my shoes are fucking black.

57. Favourite snack: Ice cream.

58. Drink you hate: Mountain Dew is fucking disgusting

59. I’m about to: Probably go to bed tbh 

60. I’m listening to: Basically anything and everything you can find on this youtube channel here because I love this band to death they are my absolute favorite

61. Waiting for: I don’t know... something amazing, I guess. 

62. Wanting: A trip to Disney World

63. Get married: I don’t know, tbh.

64. Career: Something that won’t make me miserable.

Your type:

65. hugs or kisses: Cuddles and kisses both

66. lips or eyes: Eyes, but soft kissable lips are nice too

67. Shorter or Taller: Taller than me

68. Older or Younger: Either, as long as it’s a reasonable age difference either way

69. Romantic or Spontaneous: Spontaneous romantic.

70. Nice arms or nice stomach: As long as they’re able to give good hugs, I don’t think I really care

71. Sensitive or Loud: Sensitive and able to communicate

72. Hook-up or relationship: Hookups are fun until you get attached, but relationships are stressful when you’re not good at them. So... relationship

73. Trouble maker or hesitant: Hesitant at first but as soon as you cross me, I can and will make your life hell.

Have you ever:

74. Kissed a Stranger: No. And I don’t plan to.

75. Drank hard liquor: All I had on my 21st birthday was vodka. 

76. Lost glasses/contacts:  No???? That shit’s expensive, why the fuck wouldn’t I keep track of it????

77. Turned someone down: Yes. Quite a few times.

78. Had sex on first date: HELL NO

79. Broken someone’s heart: Yeah, but they broke mine first, so they had it coming.

80. Had your heart broken: Several times.

81. Been arrested: No. I might be reckless, but I’m not that crazy. 

82. Cried when someone died: Everyone does???

83. Fallen for a friend: Yeah.... and then he switched schools and told me it wouldn’t work between us and dated one of my best friends who went to the same school as me and then when they broke up he ended up with another girl that I haven’t met in person but we’re mutuals and I think they’re still together but either way I don’t really care because I just want him to be happy.

Do you believe in:

84. Yourself: Most days, yeah

85. Miracles: I haven’t really thought about it, but my chronically single long distance friend managed to get laid, so I guess that counts as a miracle?

86. Love at first sight: No. It is statistically improbable.

87. Santa Claus: Yeah, it’s a town in Indiana. All joking aside though, I believe Santa Claus is the spirit of Christmas. It’s the holiday cheer and spreading joy and the little adrenaline rush of giving presents. It’s the sparkle of Christmas lights reflecting off tinsel and it’s trees in the front window. Santa Claus isn’t a person, but everyone has a bit of Santa Claus in them

88. Kiss on first date: My (now ex) boyfriend and I made out for 4 and a half ours after our first date. 

89. Angels: Yeah, but they’re really complicated

90. Current best friends name: @doctordetectivewinchester @vengeance-is-sworn @a-girl-in-a-place and MiniMads

91. eye color: Green

92. fav movie: Wonder Woman, Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, basically anything Studio Ghibli, and anything Disney.

I hereby tag everyone who’s already been tagged in this post, as well as @vampireapologist cuz all I know about her is that she’s eaten poison ivy and somehow lived to tell the tale. And you know, anyone else who’s actually read this far. 

[awed-frog]

Malfoy was a kid, socialized since birth by death eater parents, and grew up as his parents expected of him. Snape was not. He chose to be a wizard nazi.

You’re right - Snape was not socialized by a Death Eater family because, wait, he wasn’t socialized by anyone. He grew up alone, and he was probably beaten and resented and belittled on a daily basis, so, sure - that’s the ideal background for a good choice of who you want to be later in life. Abuse and neglect - the bedrock of free will, as I always say. And, yeah - I was talking more generally about the family, not Draco, because, like, you never see that kind of vitriol and righteous rage against Malfoy senior either, or Melania-like Narcissa, but it’s funny who we consider kids and who we want to be accountable at all times, right? Because sure, you could say Malfoy was just a kid, but didn’t Harry make precisely the same speech about Dumbledore? How Dumbledore had fallen in love with Grindelwald and gone along with his ideas to take over the world while Harry, Ron and Hermione, who were the exact same age, were off sleeping rough and fighting the literal Antichrist or something? And did you side with Hermione there? Did, like, anybody? Or even, you know, just a kid - every single week I see something about the Marauders, and how Snape was the creepiest creep to ever creep, because apparently we can forgive Draco ‘Best Hairstyle of the Year’ Malfoy for literally joining a death squad when he was fifteen and keeping his classmates in a cell so they could be killed by Voldemort and whatever else, but God forbid we had some compassion for 1970s!Snape, who’d grown up without any of Draco’s advantages - no chiseled profile, no money, no family name, no parents who gave a damn about him, no friends at all.

So, you know - I’m not defending Snape, exactly. If you follow my blog, you know I’m very clear on who Snape was, and there’s definitely no excuse for him terrifying his students and hating the hell out of Harry and refusing to even try and become a different person. He was a broken man, and his brand of broken made him a pretty awful person. But still - you can’t seriously deny that we are much less willing to criticize and hate villains when they’re good-looking and, if at all possible, members of the aristocracy. I’ve never heard a word against Loki, for instance, who single-handedly tried to destroy our planet twice and caused thousands of victims - I’m guessing the fact Tom Hiddleston is playing him counts for something? Same thing goes for Auror Graves, one of the most unsettling and disturbing characters in children movies ever, now the happy star of raunchy fanart with the (underage) kid he abused - because Colin Farrell, of course. And let’s not forget ‘He of the Tragic Past’ Erik Lehnsherr - I’m following several Cherik blogs myself and I’d probably give up a kidney for Michael Fassbender, so I don’t exactly have the moral ground here, but, again, I see more drooling than rational assessments where young!Magneto is concerned. And perhaps the funniest thing about all this is that it’s actually a theme in the Harry Potter books - that in The Chamber of Secrets, Snape is deliberately pitted against Lockhart so readers will take Lockhart’s side, mainly because, my God, look at him! - and then at the end the message is, Ha! Guess what! The ugly, oily teacher nobody can stand was actually innocent, and the Brad Pitt lookalike was ready to kill and maim three students just to get out on top.

So, yes - in the end, that’s what bugs me the most when I see this endless run of posts complaining about Snape - not only that he’s the only one they ever complain about, the only person held accountable in any way, but that so many people have apparently learned nothing from those books. The fact Harry named his son after both Snape and Dumbledore, two people who are deeply Problematic, was significant and moving and so, so beautiful. And instead of wondering what that means, and try to unpack that message, many are simply happy to bash Snape 24/7 (but not Dumbledore, never Dumbledore, despite the fact what Dumbledore did was, in a way, much worse than anything Snape could ever have done) and even complain JK Rowling disregarded Harry’s abuse at his hands or some shit. Like, uh?

And also: yes, Draco was a kid. He was also surrounded, day in and day out, by people and books he could have listened to - stuff that could have changed his mind, made him doubt his appalling beliefs (like, I don’t see much compassion on tumblr for teenagers who make memes for the alt right and hate on BLM and take part in KKK demonstrations, but maybe I don’t follow the right blogs?). He was scared and alone later in the books, sure, but he also preferred the option of killing another student rather than seeking asylum with Dumbledore. And also: he stood there and did nothing when people (a former teacher among them) were being tortured and killed in his family house; he barely reacted when Harry and the others were imprisoned in his dungeon and five minutes away from a messy death; he fought in the final battle - for the wrong bloody side. He snuck into the castle with the deliberate intent of killing Harry, and to the end, he never admitted he’d been wrong in any way, remember? After that Room of Requirement scene, he simply slumped against a wall, exhausted and unarmed and probably in shock, never offering a word of apology to anyone. So, whatever. Yes, he was a kid. He was also in a position to reconsider his life’s choices, much more so than Snape, who was also a kid when his destiny locked him in - and, unlike Draco, Snape was a dirty, badly dressed, unwanted working class kid and he grew up to be an unpleasant, angry, ugly adult and that’s why - despite his tragic past and the doomed love story thing and his wit and sarcasm and the fact he could actually fly - nobody gives a damn about him: because everybody is accountable, but some people are more accountable than others.

[kismet-at-the-library]

A-Z BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

I’ve seen a few of these lists floating around as per @macrolit‘s idea (you can find their original post here) and obviously I had to spend the past few hours compiling a list of my own. It’s definitely harder than it looks! I was trying to go for some less obvious choices while also paying homage to all the books that have struck a chord with me, but I must admit I had to cheat a little by including a few titles from my TBR pile. In my defense, I have an excellent feeling about all of these – plus, what better motivation to finally get started on reading them? (If only grad school weren’t in the way... but a girl can still dream.)

A - Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)

A superbly well-written and incredibly touching novel, featuring one of the children characters I’ve related to the most in my reading life. (Yes, I relate to Briony! Not for what she does, of course, but the way she experiences and describes the world is just so so familiar to me.)

B - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (2007)

I think I’m still a little heartbroken over this one. It wasn’t always perfect, but it’s stayed with me in a way that other books I’ve read in the past few years haven’t. Plus, I still can’t get over a narrator using footnotes to explain historical details about the Dominican Republic. If you’ve read Díaz before, you’ll definitely fall for Yunior’s voice all over again. And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?

C - La casa de los espíritus (The House of the Spirits) by Isabel Allende (1982)

I already got one for H (this list was not compiled in alphabetical order) so I’m “cheating” by using the title in the original language (which is also the one I read it in).

D - Du côté de chez Swann (The Way by Swann’s) by Marcel Proust (1913)

...because lately I’ve been mildly (she says) obsessed with Proust and you should be too <3 This is the first volume in the monumental In Search of Lost Time. I went in knowing hardly anything about it other than ~Proust~ and was incredibly surprised by how accessible it was. (If you’re still feeling intimidated, I definitely recommend reading Alain de Botton’s How Proust Can Change Your Life to help break the ice!)

E - Emplumada by Lorna Dee Cervantes (1981)

A poetry collection by the author on whom I wrote my bachelor’s thesis. Lorna Dee Cervantes writes about growing up as a working-class Chicana in the U.S. Southwest. In her poems as in her life, gender, race, and class intersect to make up the experience of a powerful woman and gifted poet who uses incredibly lyrical language.

F - Free Enterprise: A Novel of Mary Ellen Pleasant by Michelle Cliff (1993)

Now, if you want some good, kickass, well-researched alternative historiography featuring Black historical lady figures, then this is the book for you. It’s an account (fictional, yes, but in no way less significant than the ‘authorized’ history) of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry and the women that took part in it (for non-U.S. readers, John Brown was a white abolitionist who tried to start an armed slave revolt). One of those women was Mary Ellen Pleasant, a black woman and entrepreneur who helped fund John Brown’s raid. So, yep, you should definitely get to this one straight away. It’s not the most accessible kind of writing because it moves across time, space, and characters, but if you pay enough attention you’ll have no problem following it until the end, and you’ll be immensely enriched because of it. <3

G - The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (1915)

This is the saddest story I have ever heard. That’s the first line of the book, by the way. If you like unreliable narrators and morally-dubious characters, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

H - Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)

Adichie is very well known right now because of her booklet We Should All Be Feminists (and with good reason), but this is the one that made me fall in love with her. I don’t even remember what led me to buying this book when I basically knew nothing about her, but I’m so glad I did. I love historical fiction and this novel about the Biafran War just broke my heart in all the right places. One of my best on-a-whim purchases.

I - If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio (2017)

This is one of the latest books I’ve read but more importantly one I’ve been excited to read for at least two years. The stakes were high but wow, did it deliver. It’s been marketed as a mystery/literary thriller but I get the feeling that this kind of description could turn away readers who are not into mysteries but who would have plenty of other reasons to enjoy this novel. Yes, there is a mystery (and the pacing is excellent!) but the story is really about the characters, who are really well-developed. Rio ( @m-l-rio) has the incredible ability to set a scene with great economy of words and make each of them count. And, oh, that ending was absolutely perfect.

(Special mention: If This Is a Man by Primo Levi.)

J - Jacques the Fatalist and his Master by Denis Diderot (1796)

A novel about subverting the reader’s expectations (and I mean that). I read this one some 6 years ago but I still think about it as one of the funniest novels (or non-novels?) I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read it again one day. It gets very, very meta and I remember lots of (subtle or not-so-subtle) criticism on the art of the novel as practised by Diderot’s contemporaries.

(Special mention: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Because, do I even need to explain? <3)

K - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)

Well, this one is a bit obvious. Didn’t have a lot of K-titles to choose from... But also, this was one of the first books I read in English, at a time when my love of literature fully-blossomed, and that makes it even more special.

L - The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon (1956)

I loved the writing in this novel about the life of West Indian immigrants in London in the 1950s. Such a strong narrative voice. Its only flaw is that it only focuses on the male immigrant experience, but that’s no reason not to love it anyway.

M - Manual of the Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho (1997)

The book that made me get into Paulo Coelho quite a few years ago. I’m less into him now, but this is still among my favourites <3 A book one can turn to in times of hardship, always ready to offer much-needed words of wisdom.

N - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)

I think @dukeofbookingham once described this as “Pride and Prejudice with a social conscience” and I don’t think I can top that description. If you’re still unsure about this, why not watch the 2004 BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage?

O - Orlando by Virginia Woolf (1928)

Sometimes a bit difficult to get through, but so beautifully written that it makes it totally worth it. Also, such an imaginative read!

P - Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (1913)

Maaaaan I love this play. My inner linguistic nerd can’t resist Higgins’s endavours to train Eliza to speak like a “proper lady”, and the feminist in me is ever in awe of Eliza’s strength of character. (Don’t trust the ending they gave her in My Fair Lady. Shaw was much smarter than that.)

Q - Regina di fiori e di perle (Queen of Flowers and Pearls) by Gabriella Ghermandi (2011)

Now this is a double cheat because 1) I’m using the translation to make it work, and 2) I took it from my TBR pile, but this is one I’m really excited about, and it’s by an Italo-Ethiopian author, so... <3

R - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard (1966)

There were plenty of more obvious choices for this one and I’ve actually only ever seen the film adaptation, but I love the idea for this play so much I couldn’t resist. Plus, I’ve been meaning to get my hands on a copy since forever...

S - Sillabari (Abecedary) by Goffredo Parise (1972-1982)

Going again by the title in the original language. Honestly, I keep trying to recommend this wonderful book to my English-speaking friends but it’s so frustrating because only the first part of this (...novel? collection?) has been translated into English. “Collection” doesn’t seem like the right word because there is such a strong thematic unity to this book, but it is certainly made up of vignettes, each of which is meant to describe a human feeling, something that is achieved with great economy of words and often in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Incidentally, this is a particularly fitting title for this list because the vignettes are organized in alphabetical order (Abecedary, anyone?) –the first one is “Amore”, love. If you can read Italian, I cannot recommend this enough!

(Special mention: Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde.)

T - The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954)

This doesn’t look like cheating but it feels like cheating. :P There were plenty of other titles to choose from but none that was giving me as strong a feeling. Plus, it feels good to pay homage to one of the books that started it all for me <3 (and I actually first discovered Tumblr by looking for LOTR-related content, so it's even more appropriate.)

U - Chasing Utopia: A Hybrid by Nikki Giovanni (2013)

I was trying to go for something that wasn’t Ulysses (which I haven’t read yet, by the way). Now, I haven’t read this whole collection, but I remember reading some of Nikki Giovanni’s poetry in one of my American literature classes and I definitely liked her work. Plus, I love that title! I had kind of forgotten about this one, so now might be the right time to go and actually check it out from the library.

V - Il visconte dimezzato (The Cloven Viscount) by Italo Calvino (1951)

Wow, was it difficult to find a worthy V-title! (Or one that is not in my TBR pile.) I haven’t read the books in this unconventional ‘trilogy’ in so long, but I still remember liking them a lot (although my favourite was always The Nonexistent Knight).

W - Waiting in the Twilight by Joan Riley (1987)

This is a more obscure title and probably not as easy to get a hold of (AbeBooks would be your best option) but this immigrant story about a Jamaican woman and her dream of building a better life for herself told from the perspective of her disenchanted old self is incredibly powerful and just... my heart breaks for Adella.

X/Y - I got nothing. :(

Z - Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde (1982)

Another one that I haven’t read (yet), but this is Audre Lorde, so. <3