#i mean idk uk law of course

[island-in-the-shadows]

I've been seeing posts about that last scene between Oliver and Venetia and I definitely think it's a scene worth highlighting more. And yes, she's right for a LOT of it. And yes, it's very interesting that Oliver was openly crying even before he has his Category 5 Hurricane level breakdown at the grave. One of the things I personally find interesting is her scoffing at: you only knew him 6 months. Yes, that's true. And yes, Venetia is drunk and grieving and she lost her brother so comparatively Oliver crying so much would be silly. If I lost one of my brothers and some guy who'd known him six months was having a breakdown I would feel like that person is being ridiculous and that their grief means nothing compared to mine because I knew my brother for a whole life. I understand her perspective very well.

But I also think about things from Oliver's perspective. Of course, Venetia doesn't know that Oliver has (gonna go with has cuz 15+ years later he's still into Felix) these consuming feelings about Felix. She belittles his grief and, by extension, his love. Six months is not a lot of time. But six months is also PLENTY for people who fall in love. And if we include the time he was smitten but didn't actually interact with Felix, Oliver has been actively high on Felix for at least nine months at this point. I say high because that's (in a chemical sense) basically what happens when you're in love or super into someone.

So yeah he killed Felix (and I still think part of him held out for it not working at all). And yeah, he knew him for only six months. But, to him, the grief is seriously intense. All those good chemicals in his brain that were high on Felix are depleted and he's in a state of withdrawal. Is it any wonder he was wearing Felix's aftershave or wearing his clothes? They are tangible ways to feel like Felix is still there. And yes, I know there's also he partially wanted to be Felix thing but that's not what it is here. Smell is powerfully linked to memory. Smelling Felix's aftershave could easily trick his brain into believing Felix is there. Wearing his clothes has him feeling connected. Idk I just find his grieving process interesting as fuck especially given the circumstances and that he's trying to stay at Saltburn no matter what (though, again, I personally view this as going back to Felix).

TL;DR: Venetia is Mother for calling him out. Six months is quite a bit when you're in love with someone so Oliver probably felt belittled when Venetia dismissed his grief.

[coolcattime]

re: Mianite Noir au

I have had some Ideas

Andor

Andor is a law student when he first meets the gang, I think. His father, an influential CEO or something, is pushing him to pick a specialty that benefits the company and the family, but Andor doesn't want to do that. Don't get him wrong, he likes studying law, but he'd rather use his degree to help people.

Conflicted, one day he follows the pigeons and ends up at Jordan's bar. Jordan, of course, clocks him as soon as he walks in. For one, he's younger than the usual clientele and two, his clothes are more expensive than the bar. Still, maybe it's the way the kid's wings shine purple in the light, or maybe it's a glimpse of the purple and black writing on his gun (it's his grandfather's old gun, too big for Andor's hands), but something draws him over to the kid. So, he waves Andor over to the bar, offers him a drink, and at one point, manages to lean just so to make his necklace fall out of his shirt, just for a second. (I think it was a necklace, anyway).

It's a while before Andor gets introduced to anyone else in the gang, tho, and when he does, Jordan only refers to him as "my brother." ("You have a brother?!? Since when?" "Two weeks ago :)" ). At some point, Andor makes his decision to specialize as a defense attorney and he gets cut off and disowned. It's Jordan and Capsize who help him pay for the rest of his schooling after that.

In the end, Andor ends up working part time at Jordan's bar and part time as the best defense attorney ever seen. He takes a lot of cases pro bono, refuses Tom's recruitment attempts, and just generally lives his life. Jordan is grateful to have some help around the bar. The patrons think that maybe this means the bar will be open all week now, but nooo, Jordan just had to hire the one guy who worships the same lost goddess that he does. He eventually even gets a gun that fits him better. I'm thinking a shotgun, but that's tentative.

2. Martha

I think Martha is some kind of magic prodigy who went to actual school for it, and is now like, a researcher or something. She's a bit of a snob about it and would absolutely have a heart attack if she saw how Jordan used magic. She doesn't necessarily support her brother's company, but she keeps quiet about any kind of corruption or shady shit she's seen.

3. Waglington

100% he's an assassin. He's a really fucking good one, too. Officially, he doesn't discriminate in employers or in targets. Unofficially, he won't kill kids. I'm thinking kinda along the lines of Deadpool-style, but still Wag. Does that make sense? His official legal job, tho, is architect, part of a firm with the rest of Fyre UK. Are the other wizards also hitmen? Idk, I haven't thought that far.

4. Farmer Steve

I haven't given this one much thought, but I think he's the gardener for Helgrind's mansion. That's how he met Andor, and, once Andor left for university, Steve quit working for Helgrind. He probably ends up working for Tom somehow, maybe as part of a body disposal team?

That's all I've got right now, but the au is giving me some ideas lol.

Okay okay okay! Yes yes yes yes yes to all these ideas!!!

Andor

I love love love everything you've written for Andor! I had in mind him helping Jordan out with the bar, but didn't know what else he could be doing. And I just absolutely love the idea of him being a law student/eventually defence attorney - it feels so very him.

I really like the first meeting between him and Jordan that you've written. Andor feeling lost in what to do, finding his way to Jordan's bar and immediately getting clocked by Jordan as needing help. Jordan just knowing that he's an Ianitee being like yep, gonna help this kid. (Jordan having a necklace with Ianite's symbol wasn't originally in his character description, but that's almost always an accessory I give to Redbeard and I can definitely see him giving either his necklace or a very similar one as a thank you for letting him and Capsize use the backroom).

I just love the little Ianitee found family thing going on with Andor, with Jordan basically adopting him and Jordan and Capsize paying for his schooling after Helgrind does his typical bastard man behaviour and disowns him. It's just got the very best of vibes and got me like 😭 in the most /pos way. (Also Tom being like “Have you considered joining the mob” and Abdor just being like “No :-)” is so good 10/10 no notes).

Martha

Oh I always love the vibes of Martha being like a university researcher, it suits her so well. She is absolutely a bit of a snob about magic due to her general talent with it as well as being formally educated. Oh she almost definitely walks into the bar so she can meet the man whose taken Andor is, sees Jordan haphazardly mixing magic into cocktails and wants to scream.

Waglington

Yes yes yes yes! Assassin Wag best Wag!!!!! I do absolutely live the idea of him appearing on the story because someone has ordered a hit on someone in the group and now they need to deal with him while they're trying to track down a serial killer.

I also love him still being an architect. It's how he gets in and out of place without being seen, he designed half the city. Tom hired him for architecture reasons a couple years ago and is baffled to learn that he is an assassin.

Steve

Oh this has vibes! I really like the idea of Steve working for Helgrind then immediately quitting when Andor does because he was only sticking around to make sure the kid was okay. He gets himself a small fortune from selling all the secrets he's gathered about Helgrind over the years right to Capsize, and yes definitely ends up working for Tom. I can definitely see him working in body disposal (though officially he's the gardener of one T. Castle - a cover that buys him quite a few months of not needing to tell Andor that he's working for the mob when he re-mets the kid until Andor gets to know Jordan and meets Tom).

I'm so glad you like the AU!!!! These ideas are so great thank you for sharing ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[vigilskeep]

sorry about part 2, idk why it kept getting eaten, but the gist of it was that the viking influence irl stayed in a lot of uk stuff bc they conquered them for a long time (300 years) and then settled. and the main difference I notice in da is that ferelden seems more anglo saxon, the marches (and upper class fereldans) lean more late 1400s-1600s england. and yeah, god, the qunari. I remember gaider(?) calling them ottoman borg or smth and like. you can tell that was the process (derogatory).

HI sorry anon i totally forgot to answer this one

and yeah that’s interesting! ferelden’s anglo-saxon influence was very obvious to me. any viking influence i think feels less notable because there isn’t really an obvious viking parallel in the way that the alamarri and their counterparts parallel the movements of western european peoples and their conflict with rome by which i mean tevinter.

i have very little expertise about the vikings except the pop culture portrayal and a year of vaguely related study when i was like 15 and um a lecture i had like two years ago but to very broadly summarise: the viking conquest of england leaving its customs behind wasn’t evenly spread across the whole of england because the whole of england was never conquered. instead it was predominant in the north, in a region called the danelaw, which continued even under saxon kings to uhh operate under viking custom and law, use anglo-norse dialects, etc. and all that was because of the settlement that had taken place during the danish raids. it’s still pretty apparent from the norse origin of northern place names and such today. the point of all this being that to argue for a similar divide between the free marches and ferelden i think you would still require a viking-equivalent external force to influence one and not the other, which isn’t really something i’ve seen in dragon age lore at all. so i’m not sure i can ultimately say that’s a major factor

it’s of course actually tevinter who historically conquered the free marches. i have seen people suggest a more mediterranean redesign of the waking sea with that in mind and it would be fun to dig up my notes on imperial rome’s legacy on um dark ages europe and apply that to kirkwall. the free marches have of course been variously conquered by, like, everybody—tevinter, orlais, nevarra, the qunari, you name it—which i think is partly the game’s reasoning for the free marches lacking a truly distinct identity. even their name isn’t really a unique identity, it just presents them in opposition to their conquerors and their own past. i’m not sure off the top of my head how realistic that portrayal of a much-conquered region is though

anyway apologies you activated my nerd trap card and now i’ve written paragraphs

[schlurp-schlurp]

realised a trans guy i know hates trans women & children irl and i gotta say, jesus christ, i ????? idk what i even want to say, i just want to scream at the void and check i'm not going insane

dude came out like 8/9 months ago and i've ended up being somewhat of a mentor for him regarding wtf UK laws are and answering questions about binding, packing, etc. had no clue he was so vile / slurping up misinfo on the side.

anyway i was at the pub when we found out a mutual acquaintance is transphobic (he thought the other trans man was a GNC girl and that i was a cis guy, topic never came up before) so i was started to gently guide this guy towards less extremist views and just kind of like?? explain that trans people are people?? i was exuding a pretty chill aura and tried to basically hold his metaphorical hand and be patient.

anyway, i was fully expecting the conversation to be uncomfortable, but jesus christ it got so bad so fast because the trans man i know started expressing HIS opinions on trans people and hoooo boy. hoo boy. ohooooo boy.

if he ever has a trans child he won't let them go on puberty blockers, particularly if their future hypothetical trans child is A Female because "it's important they go through puberty" and went on a rant about bones????

he completely refused to listen to me when i explained that PB's as a kid require biyearly bloods and x rays and that there's 101 ways side effects can be prevented *if there are any at all*

he went off about how you can't know you're trans until you're over 18, but specified that "females, sorry, yknow, like biological females, yknow, people like us" (brother in christ, there is no "us" rn) actually can know they're trans earlier because their biology means their brains develop faster so they can have kids early, while "male" brains don't develop properly until they're 25 or older because ?? well, there was no weird bs explanation for that, he just decided that trans women specifically have to suffer for an extra 7 years if they need to medically transition or access any kind of therapy.

i bought up that this is literally the same talking point that transphobes are using to restrict trans healthcare in the UK, referencing The Cass Review ("what's that?" - HOW HAVE YOU NOT HEARD ABOUT THIS???) and how there are suggestions to disrupt the trans healthcare of adults between 18 - 25.

i also mentioned that, yknow, i knew i was trans at 13 and came out a month later at 14. hells, i would've known i was trans earlier if i knew what the word trans was.

he claimed that he *always* knows if a woman is trans based on her looks ????? fucking what??? bro. buddy. what the hell.

i rebutted this by trying to explain that for all he knows, all our friends could be trans. he won't 'clock' trans people that pass, so of course he's only going to notice the ones that don't pass.

it's dumb as balls - i know so many stealth/somewhat stealth trans men and women. hell, just this week i found out one of my mates is also a trans man LMAO, i've known him for a year and had no fucking idea. he also had no idea that i was trans until this week. monumental spider man moment

claimed that trans women are inherently dangerous bc cis male rapists can pretend they're trans women and advocated the idea of making trans people use the wrong bathrooms until they'd had bottom surgery.

seemed to be completely confused by the concept that if trans women are made to use the men's and trans men are made to use the women's, all those hypothetical cis male rapists can pretend to be trans men to get into women's spaces. plus they could just walk in, or claim they're a janitor.

he also had no fucking clue this would be enforced when i questioned wtf the plan would be. he seemed to believe that "you just know" when someone's had bottom surgery. how????? what????? dude, if you want to root around people's pants to check their genitals, you do you, but i'm quite happy just using the cubicles regardless.

he bought up transtrenders. i had flashbacks to 2016 tumblr ngl. hnnnngh why??? why??? ??? gods.

ironically, if he was on tumblr back in the horror days, he absolutely would've been called a transtrender and gotten death threats - like me! thank u random tumblr and instagram users for telling me to kill myself as a 14 year old wearing a flowercrown who was already being bullied irl and just wanted to experiment with his fashion style.

but yh, he wears fishnets and skirts and eyeliner - he absolutely rocks them, but like, bro how are you gonna complain about trans people not conforming to strict gender norms and how every trans man that's pregnant/wears skirts/touches a colour is a dirty faker bc they didn't immediately kill themself while you're literally rocking a GNC look?? bro. BRO.

on the topic of transtrenders - he mentioned a cis woman we met at a pride event, a lady with PCOS & facial hair - he claimed that she "wasn't even trying" to pass as a woman, and that he thinks she's faking being trans.

SHE'S NOT EVEN TRANS!!!!!!!!!!! bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! gah. hells, even if she was it's still fucking stupid to decide someone's gender based on whether they've got hair coming out their face ffs.

said u shouldnt medically transition until you've had trauma therapy, and explained that that's why he's having trauma therapy, bc he wants to make sure he's "all good" before the NHS "rushes him" into treatment. buddy you've got another 4 years MINIMUM before you even get seen. i'm glad he's seeking therapy for his issues, but his experience isn't a bloody monolith for all trans people.

TLDR - i can't. i can't even exist rn. this happened last week but it's just been killing me.

[what-if-nct]

(cw // mentions of sh in case anyone is triggered)

hii it’s christmas where i live meaning it’s probably not christmas for you (unless you waited hours to finally reply back) but i just wanna say merry christmas and thank you for being there with me during my hard and mentally draining days. it’s so hard being on social media without bumping into negativity such as real life news, people debating about bare minimum things such as rights for body autonomy, gay rights, etc, and especially for my case, being shunned by a community of people i thought were friends simply for talking about jonghyun on my posts that solely rely on users to create posts in order for the app to work.

while i wish i don’t want to be super negative all the time, this was exactly how i felt this year. i felt violated, stripped from my pride and tormented — yet i’m expected to be happy all the time and put up a brave face all the time.

the truth is, i hated turning 18 because i couldn’t bare the responsibility of being considered an adult at the face of the law, when i had my childhood partially taken away from me. nobody was there during my mental breakdowns. just because it wasn’t 2022 anymore, doesn’t mean i didn’t face cyber bullying and faced targeted harassment simply for talking about my bias just like any other kpop fan, and people liked to downplay it by telling me to “keep it to myself.” i didn’t get to do my dream course at my new college due to my grade, and i felt so fucking shit because i’ve done everything in my willpower just to get the same score 3 years in a row, nobody took my mental breakdown seriously. i was sexually harassed and taken advantaged of by several men, because they did not respect my boundaries, used me as my drunken self, and tried to contact me via twitter acting like a kpop fan from london in the comments, when he was a 25 year old man who only saw me for my body. i was overwhelmed with the way the job centre was treating me and making me feel worse for simply asking a question to prevent email spams by sending me to a centre that could help me get to know the basics of using technology. i had a job, but got scammed for 2 weeks worth of work and i never got paid. i lost £500 which i rightfully worked my ass for, even almost passing out due to walking upstairs and having my feet ache over the constant standing for 8 hours for 3 days a week. i never got to go to france and meet my cousins. it’s sucks because i was planning this since summer and i’ll never be able to go since my parents took the only savings i had to go to africa for a month due to how expensive plane tickets are. i even got fucking pregnant and not to mention, my mum started to act weird around me… and just the way i was treated after turning into an adult… i don’t really wanna go there.

i know it has been a long year, but idk if it’s gonna change at all or if it’s gonna get worse. i just wanted to have a peace of mind for once. that’s literally my wish for 2024. i just want to be free, to have amazing friends, having a normal life, just like everyone else so i don’t have to always compare myself to people on snapchat who show off their day or shout out their friends for their birthdays. i wish i could get rid of my anxiety symptoms, because now notifications, messages (especially pending ones) and anything that shows a number next to an icon would get me really fucking nervous that it would be a harassing message. i just don’t want guys to take advantage of me, i just want a loyal and sweet first boyfriend/girlfriend that is genuinely there and physically as well as emotionally. i just feel like i’m missing out on life just because some stupid systemic ableism in the uk where i was forced to learn at home and be in a special needs class, which can explain why i’m socially awkward and don’t know how to be a normal friend.

basically saying… i just want to be happy. (i’m so sorry for the vent i didn’t expect it to be this long loooool)

Merry Christmas!! there's about 10 minutes till Christmas for me. I am so sorry that this past year has been so hard on you. And its horrible that you had to endure all of that I can't even imagine how hard it's been for you. You deserve so much better than what you've received. You deserve respect, care, love, understanding and you deserve happiness and it breaks my heart you've been treated like this by so many people. I just send you the biggest hug and I'm proud of you, I know life has been hard but I'm proud of you for continuing. And I can't promise when, but things will get better and one day before you know it you will have the happiness you want and deserve and I will always be here to listen and talk to you.

[finelinevogue]

h and y/n are like cuddled on the sofa having deep convos and they’re like massaging eachother?? super duper fluffy please!!🌷🍰

okay for some reason this is both sad and fluffy, and idk how we got here

warnings: touches on sensitive topics in the current news

May 24th 2022

The BBC News was playing in the background and the clock struck 10 PM.

You and Harry were snuggled down deep on the couch, Harry spooning you from behind. One of his arms was helping keep his head up to peer over your body, whilst his other draped casually around your waist. You were both facing the TV, but neither of you were actually watching it.

Brixton ONO had finished a couple of hours before and you couldn’t be more proud of him and what he’s achieved. The rest of the band had gone out in London to celebrate, along with crew and some members of management, but Harry decided to come home with you instead.

He would always come home to you.

“The news is so sad at the moment.” You pointed out after watching the headlines.

“It’s because the world is so fucked up at the moment. It’s just, we don’t see it daily because we live on our little familiar bubble.”

“I just struggle to live every day freely when those people are suffering in Ukraine and there’s school shootings to innocent children. Then the cost of living crisis in the UK. It’s all just so fucked, H, and it makes me terrified to bring this one into the world.” You took his hand and rubbed it over your still flat belly.

You were only a few weeks into your pregnancy so there’d be no bump for a while. Harry couldn’t wait for it to start showing though. So much so he would make you wear the tightest top he could find and judge whether there was any difference in bump from the day before. You kept reminding him that it was just your extra belly pouch. He loved on it all the same though.

“I would hope that our love for this little one would be enough to keep them safe and healthy.” Harry answered, calming you down by kissing along your neck.

“You’re going to be such a good dad, H.”

“Yeah? And you’ll be an even better mum. In fact, y’already are. Keeping them all safe and warm.” Harry squeezed your belly a little tighter, as is he were giving the baby a hug.

“H, it’s a literally just a blob right now.” You laughed.

“A blob that I love.” He laughed back, kissing your cheek because he couldn’t quite reach your lips.

“Okay, off topic, but that reminds me. Have you seen all that shit with the abortion laws in America?” You felt Harry’s arm tighten around your stomach.

“Yeah. It makes me feel so sick that men in high powers think they can just take away womens rights, as if they’ve ever owned a uterus before.” Harry shook his head.

“And if we’re raped it still doesn’t constitute an excuse for an abortion? I mean what kind of sick and medieval law is that?” You exclaimed, feeling yourself get riled up over this issue.

You turned so you were now laying on your back instead of your front and turned your head to face Harry, who was looking at you with awe. His hand stayed placed on your stomach and your hands went and sat on-top of his.

“I know, baby. It’s fucked, I’m sorry.”

“Harry, it’s not you who should be apologising. I mean of course I, we, have a voice in this, but we shouldn’t be louder than the people who actually have been through these situations. Their stories need to be heard and they are the ones that deserve apologies.”

“You’re right. Do you know anything that we can do?” Harry asked, always wanting to be the first one to join the rally.

“Spread awareness on the media. Sign petitions and call up local offices. Voices need to be heard, so make everything as public as possible.” You explained and Harry nodded his head in agreement.

“I could donate to some women’s rights visitors too.”

“We both can.” You raised your hand to cup his cheek, because you wanted to remind him that it were a team and you’d face all of this together. “Sorry, by the way.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed and he slid his hand underneath your t-shirt so he could softly rub the skin there. “What for?”

“For you having to lay here and listen to me rant about sad issues, when you could be out with your friends celebrating your success.”

Harry chuckled, leaning down to kiss your lips softly. It had been ten minutes too long since you’d last tasted his lips and you couldn’t help but moan at how good he still tasted. He was so perfect and his plump lips fit perfectly between yours.

“You could never be sorry for that, baby, because I would rather be here, with you, than out there, with them. I celebrate my success by spending time with you and getting to be happy. Seeing that smile on your face is success enough.” He kissed your lips again and you let it last a little longer this time.

“You’re the best, ever.” You smiled up at him.

“And I thought that was you?”

[ms-hells-bells]

what do you think about this study? does it prove radfems wrong that we shouldn't allow males in female spaces? idk what to make of it https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna911106

this is from 2018, so i'm sure radfems debunked it back then.

firstly, this is just in massachusetts.

secondly this is just based on police reports, a majority aren't reported, let alone when the women are scared of being attacked for 'transphobia". look how people reacted over the wi spa incident when an entire group of women were saying that a male was walking around with an erection. this own study states that "reports of privacy and safety violations in public restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms are exceedingly rare" which we KNOW is not true, many women and girls have experiences of violations relating to bathrooms and other vulnerable spaces. websites are full of spycam porn of women in bathrooms. the study discredits itself in showing that police reports are not an accurate measure of sexual violations.

thirdly, 2018 was before many more people became aware of and CONFIDENT in gender neutral laws, knowing that they wouldn't be arrested for indulging in their fetishes and violating female spaces. more men hear about it, more men do it. like how many places have had laws allowing 'transitioned' trans women into female prisons for years now, but it's only been in the past few years when things have been brought to the forefront, where men have been 'transitioning' en masse to access female prisons. media exposure and legal precedent (like women complaining and losing, or women being assaulted and the rapists protected or the prisons trying ot cover it up) has a massive effect.

fourthly, the study doesn't make sense, because of course the crime rates are going to remain the same, because before women would be able to report men if they entered female spaces, and it'd be a crime, but gender neutral laws mean that they have decriminalised that. it'd be like decriminalising battery, and then going 'see, the crime rates didn't increase just because we made battery legal! just look at the number of police reports, in fact, battery has gone down!".

and fifthly, because the reports of these crimes are, by the study's own words "exceedingly rare", this data is useless. there is not enough data points to say if this study is accurate and representative of the real world. they had so little to work with that they had to change their analysis plans partway through.

and all of this is just from reading the abstract and notes, because the damn study is behind a paywall. i'm not even getting into how they qualify someone as "trans", whether trans people are actually entering the spaces under inclusivity laws, or women are taking it upon themselves to make them unwelcome, and what i think is very important, the rate of space use. women and girls actively talk about how when males are allowed in their spaces they avoid them. in the uk, multiple schools that allowed males to enter female bathrooms, had major issues with girls staying home on their periods or getting utis from not using the bathrooms. if males move in and women then take measures to avoid males in the spaces, like not using them, or walking out if they see a male, then of course the crime rate is gonna stay the same, but women are suffering for it.

and in the end, even if the crime rates remained the same, women don't feel safe, they feel uncomfortable, violated, and mentally stressed. women shouldn't have to be getting raped a bunch for their safety and comfort to matter.

[forabeatofadrum]

On a happier River fic note, I was once again thinking about my OCs for that fic (as you do) and of course it’s the classic “side character in canon, main character in my heart” thing, so here’s some random facts about the lekker met de meiden klainen groupschat ladies.

Femke Cheng

25 years old, so slightly younger than Kurt and Blaine who are 27 in the fic

her parents moved to the south of the Netherlands (aka Limburg) in the 70s or 80s so Femke is born in the Netherlands

yes she speaks Dutch with a slight southern accent and even though her accent was never really that deep, she refuses to lose it, even though she’s lived “boven de rivieren” for almost a decade

she understands Chinese and she can speak it, but she doesn’t do it a lot. (is there a name for the Dutch version of ABC aka American-Born-Chinese? DBC? Dutch-Born-Chinese?)

I honest to god have no clue what she studied at Radboud University or what she’s currently doing in Rotterdam but she is Thriving

chaotic

Bella Kim

baby

no I mean, she’s the youngest of the bunch, she’s 18

aka baby

i am now having the shocking realisation that this means she’s born in goddam 2002 and she’s younger than my younger sister what the fuck

her parents moved from Korea just before her birth

also wants to study law because she has the aspiration to change the world

she grew up in Liverpool, lived in Lancashire for a while, but moved back to Liverpool before leaving the UK to study in Rotterdam

she probably has an older sister, idk man she just gives off “youngest sibling vibes” to me for some reason

she is also fluent in Korean

Adeola Ajayi

she’s just turned 20 before the fic

born and raised in Nigeria and she moved to Rotterdam for her studies, but I also have no clue what she’s doing

she speaks Nigerian English and Yoruba

she’s probably the most levelheaded out of the three of them

[NSYNC tune] bi bi bi

her favourite colour is purple

[rein-ette]

Howdy! I'm going to ask your awesome question back at you ;) what do you think of England, both as a character and as a country? Do tell me all of your feelings towards the grumpy man 👀

Short Answer:

To borrow a phrase from my favourite writer/historian Barbara Tuchmann, if Canada is the country of my birth, England has always been the country of my heart.

Long Answer:

I actually fell in love with England the country a long time before I even knew England the character, but Hetalia certainly reinforced my infatuation ten-fold. I can't say when or how it started because I think I was pretty young (I remember my mom making me take notes on Greek and Roman history when I was like, 7, and uh, let's just say my obessession with Europe only grew after that). It's also kinda difficult for me to parse why I like the country because it's been a constant in my life for so long, but I'll try my best.

I think it might have begun with my fascination with WWII history. There's this Chinese idiom -- 乱世出英雄 -- which kinda encapsulates why the world wars and British history in particular so enchanted me. The literal translation of it would be "heroes emerge in turbulent times" but I think a better figurative approximation is the phrase "for darkness shows the stars." The world wars, British participation in the world wars, and British history in general has many, many dark episodes and in many ways exposes the worst of humanity. But I think it's also true that British history also brought out the best of us -- exposed the "heroes", so to speak. I refer not only to household names like Churchill but also the commanders on the ground, the suffragettes, the workers in the factories, and naturally the common soldier. Of course this is not a phenomenon unique to British history, but it was through British 20th century history that I first fell in love with history in general, so it holds a bit of a special place in my heart.

From a more objective perspective, Canadians are really steeped in British culture, ideas, and history, even if we don't realize it. I mean, most of the ideals we embrace, such as the rule of law or constitutional monarchy, as well as the things we celebrate -- the abolishment of slavery, for example -- stem from Britain. One cannot teach Canadian history in school without learning British history, and when you consider that Canada's massive sacrifices in the world wars also played a defining moment in its national identity, it's really no wonder that many still feel a kinship with the UK. Plus, like I mentioned in the response to needcake's ask, a lot of being Canadian is trying to differentiate ourselves from Americans, and one primary way we do that is by pointing to our loyalty to England and shared monarch.

I'm not sure if this is really obvious from the other side of the pond, but Queen Elizabeth also, like, plays a really insidious role. Idk if Aussies or Kiwis feel this way, but we really love Queen Liz and can't imagine a world without her on our money and all our fancy buildings and occasionally making her speeches. I was an air cadet as a teen too! We had to play God Save the Queen for closing parades every night, and I remember thinking, gosh, one day we'll have to sing God save the king, and they'll have to change all the lyrics and coins and bills and what not, and that's really weird.

But yeah, besides the history and the environment in Canada, I also follow British politics to some extent? It's not as common as following American politics here (if you talk to Canadians ab the American president it's not uncommon to hear people say "why did we elect him" etc.) but it isn't rare either. I mean, I read the Economist (no i'm not 10 billion years old) and I've done courses in British politics, read British authors, a lot of people like British actors and films and shows...the culture is just really widespread, I guess. I also have close friends who lived/live in London...oh, and I went to a British international school when I was young for a year. That might have played a role too. I should say here that I've never actually been to England in person so I can't comment on what its actually like, but it feels so familiar that sometimes I honestly forget i haven't been. I hope to actually study in London soon, actually, so if you have any advice/warnings, hit me!

Alright, onto Arthur. I just? Really? Love him? In particular I really admire his pragmatic worldview, even if I don't always agree with the conclusions it leads him to. When it comes to knowledge and analysis, he's someone who refuses to turn away from the truth, no matter how incovenient. Yet when it comes to his own emotions he's the complete opposite. That mix of cynicism and then escapism to relieve the emotional burden of his own cycnism is just...fascinating. I also really admire his intelligence in general, as well as his work ethic.

Perhaps what I love the most about Arthur, however, is his spirit. I mean, he's just so alive. Whether he's furious or devastated or overjoyed, he's someone who lives life so intensely, so fully, with such fury. When I write Arthur, that's often the feeling I try to capture: someone who cannot help but see all the suffering in life, but someone who cannot help but fight on, regardless. In a strange way, Arthur embodies hope at its most irrational. As Samuel Beckett wrote in the Unnamable, he's someone who is always telling himself: "You must go on. I can't go on. I'll go on."

Absolutely no one asked for fruk, but I'm just gonna seize this chance to throw out a little headcanon. I think this intense, somehow mortal quality of Arthur is what first captivated Francis. As I've written about a bit before, Francis to me has the most "eternal" feel out of the all the nations. He loves humanity and life as a whole, whereas Arthur lives like every second counts. For someone like Francis, who just adores beautiful, wild, transient things, Arthur is like mortality in a bottle -- so utterly enthralling that once he tasted it he could never get enough. Unlike Joan or other real humans, however, Arthur has proved far more durable to wear and tear :P

My final thought on Arthur is that he has so much contempt for fate, its actually both funny and admirable. If I may quote Tuchmann again, "no man ever lived who was less willing to be the victim of events." Arthur's someone who simply refuses to be bullied, even by grandaddy destiny itself, and I think we all love him for that, a little.

[messrmoonyy]

Hi, I hope you'll answer this even if it isn't a writing request. I LOVE your account, your writing and your genuine love for Remadora and, because I love what you do, I'd like to ask you something. I'm doing a research for my job and I need information from people that do not live in my country. What would you think of a governament that, after months of work, don't approve a law that protect the lgbtq+ community like Germany do and exult for the "death" of the law? Ty for the attention :)

This was a lot all in one ask 😂🤍 but hello! Thank you so much stopping by my corner of the internet and reading my stuff! It means a lot!

Idk if I fully understood the question but basically what do I feel about governments that are against protecting LGBT folk? If that’s not what you meant please feel free to drop me a dm and I’ll a set it properly!

But anyways:

I’m not gonna do some some long rant ( even though I defo could ) but of course I absolutely do no and could never support a government that didn’t want to protect queer people. As a queer person myself it’s really fucking scary seeing how many queer people on a daily basis get attacked just for being in love with who they want to, so knowing a government wouldn’t want to help keep people safe? It’s awful. And my heart goes out to anyone living in a country where it’s not safe to be who you are. Things aren’t fantastic in the uk but they’re definitely better than some other places on the world

Being queer shouldn’t mean you are any less worthy of being able to walk a street safely. Everyone deserves to feel safe and able to live freely without the fear of getting hurt and then not having your own government protect you.

I hope this helps with your research and if you’d like anymore from me please feel free to send me a message!

[colourofthekites]

I don’t mean for you to take offense, but can you explain exactly what the royal family does? It seems hugely expensive without much return. Just wanted to be more educated.

I can only do so much, anon, but I can provide what I do know. You can always google stuff if you need to. Buckle up cause i’m gonna go into some backstory.

So firstly, we need to establish 2 quick things, the monarchy and parliament. The monarchy is the royalty, so the queen, past kings etc etc. Parliament is essentially the people who make the laws and all that, so elected officials. 

Since the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, the political power of the monarchy has been reduced. Before that, most laws and political stuff went through the monarchy. Over time, the monarchy had less and less agency in the political landscape of the UK (with some exceptions) and more power went to parliament. In 1721, the first prime minister was set in, meaning that the monarchy was quite reduced at the time, and the “leader” of the country was the prime minister. When a new bill is proposed and sent through the parliament, it won’t become law until the queen signs off on it, so I guess that is the core point of her queen rn, just signing in laws.

Politics aside, i guess the point of the monarchy was to act as a unifying force or like the big thing people do stuff for. The phrase “for queen/king and country” kinda alludes to that. But this was mainly prevalent in times of war so WW1 and 2, and not so much now cause not many Brits really regard the royals in that way, unless you are in the military. And of course when the British Empire was a thing, the monarchy was a figurehead and all that.

In present day, however, the royalty does very little. They are an elite family, hoarding wealth and being significantly out of touch to so many. Very few royals would actually make connections with others, which is why Diana was so loved cause she would interact with the people, not just the elite. Idk specifically if we do pay taxes to provide the royals money but they are nothing but a tourist trap, a relic from a time long past. only the queen actually does anything “useful”, signing in pre-approved laws and knighting people.

The royals are meaningless, just rich snobs who are so out of touch with reality, they think we need them. But we don’t. To a common brit, there is no return, just exuberant people who pop up every so often and sponsor something inane. With the Oprah interview of Meghan and Harry, it’s becoming even clearer that the royal family are racist, horrible people and the right wing media just encourage that. 

Apologies for the long post but i wanted to make sure i got what I could and say what they used to mean vs now. This isn’t everything and I am not a history person so I only know so much. Hope this helps!

[in-tua-deep]

Umbrella academy hogwarts au? I feel like 5 would be a slytherin. Would he be in a younger year than everyone else, kinda like in your pride and prejudice AU?

HMMM i think if i was ever to go for a real hogwarts au and not just gently dumping all the characters into the hp world for a laugh (they make it so easy with five’s mystery jump at the end of s1 lmao) then it would have to start from like. the very beginning and together. as Actual Kids.

(p&p au is a bit different bc it’s a no-powers-period-drama type au)

we’re not going to explain why hogwarts is getting some american kids bc i don’t have the brainpower rn to think of why. maybe reginald trained them in the US in this au and then moved them to the UK in the months preceding their debut for whatever reason which officially makes them a Hogwarts Problem now idk

lemme put this under a read more

so instead you have Five at like, ten-and-three-quarters years old. They’re scheduled to debut in front of the entire world very soon. Five has bruises on his skin and anger in his heart, even as young as he is.

(He’s not the worst off. Klaus has screaming nightmares and bags under his eyes so dark he looks like a raccoon. Ben hasn’t spoken a word in two weeks after his last special training session with their dad. Diego’s arm is in a cast where sparring with Luther went wrong a week or so ago.)

And Five is the curious child, the challenging child. He’s a constant buzz of need to know, have to know, have to move move move and part of that is knowing everything that’s going on in the house. With his power to jump, he knows all the good spying spots. He knows which rooms are above the others, knows which vents have sound that carry, knows the spots he can prop himself in and see but not be seen.

So when there’s someone knocking on the front door, Five sneaks into one such spot and looks - because no one knocks on their door, ever. Reginald’s door is never knocked upon by girl scouts or friendly neighbors or salesmen. It’s like, a rule. So he’s curious who it is, and he crouches down to watch and to listen.

Grace is the one who answers the door (Pogo tends to keep out of sight of guests, when he can) and offers the severe looking woman a dazzling smile. Five thinks she’ll be turned away, but Grace nods and gestures her inside and tells her to wait right there as she fetches Mr. Hargreeves - 

His dad comes, looking just as severe as the woman does and twice as intimidating. And then the woman opens her mouth to speak and - 

Magic?

Them?

A boarding school?

And Five doesn’t really think they’re magic. Yeah, unexplained things happen around them all the time (Klaus’s lightbulbs were constantly being replaced when he bolted out of a nightmare screaming and they blew or shattered or whatever) but that’s just part of their powers, right?

But a boarding school. That’s promising. Even if they aren’t magic or whatever, even if this school is for insane people - anything is better than here. And it’s not foster care, right? If it’s a school then there’s no issue of them being split up, being torn apart. They’re a family, and Five has been trying desperately to think of a plan to get them out since he was seven-and-a-half

Of course, Reginald says no. Denies everything. Refuses to acknowledge the woman and sends her out.

And Five has about three seconds for his quicksilver mind to run back over the conversation, to pick up on the woman’s bristling and comments about control and community and you can’t hide magic forever and -

Five jumps, in a flash of blue, and pops out in front of the woman outside. She startles with wide eyes. “What on earth - ”

“What happens if a magical child wants to attend but their non-magical guardians do not.” Five asks the woman, hands clenched into fists by his sides.

The woman stares at him for a long time, “It would depend on the circumstances - ”

That’s a bullshit answer if Five’s ever heard one, and he cuts her off. “If a magical child needs to be trained, could they achieve that going around a guardian? What are the laws concerning education?”

The woman looks over her shoulder, back towards the manor. She looks bemused that this tiny slip of a child is confronting her like this outside of the knowledge of his parents.

Five grits his teeth, because this is a low risk high reward situation. If the woman leaves - whatever, no skin off his back or however that saying goes. If she can get them out and going to this fancy boarding school so that they’re only within Reginald’s sphere of influence during the break times - well. 

Five has a hunch, and plays it without mercy.

“He’s not our biological father. He bought us. We have - we do things no else can do. Magic? He wants us to be superheroes. He’s got something planned, to show us off to the whole world. Us and our powers.”

If the woman’s face had gotten tight at the beginning of Five’s words, it’s aghast at the end of it. So Five is correct - if magic was real, then Five should have already heard about it. If it is and he hasn’t, that means that the magic people are exceptionally good at keeping secrets. 

Which means Reginald and his planned publicity works in Five’s favor. 

“I’ll see what can be done.” The woman says grimly.

But there’s something Five needs confirmation of, because it’s important. “If one of us goes, we all go.” He tells the woman, feet planted shoulder width apart and hands curled into fists with the thumbs on the outside. Ready for a fight. “We stay together.”

(Vanya doesn’t have powers, like the rest of them. But Five will be damned before he leaves her behind in this house by herself, not when Reginald hardly cares if she lives or dies.)

The woman blinks, waves her hand like that was never the problem. “There are seven children at this address, yes? If that’s all of you, you all have places at Hogwarts.”

Five, who was geared up to defend his position and smuggle Vanya with him in a suitcase if necessary, melts back. “There are seven of us.” Five says, cautious and careful, “But - yes. There are seven of us.”

(He almost tells her that Vanya isn’t magic, but if they think she is then he’s not going to try and persuade them otherwise. He’ll figure something out for later, when they realize she’s ordinary. He’ll find a way to fake magical powers for her or something.)

“I’ll be back.” The woman tells him, looking serious. Then she raises a stick in the air (what?) and something happens and she just - warps in place and vanishes. It makes Five jump back, startled.

What was that? That wasn’t - that wasn’t jumping. Not the way he does it. But - she vanished? There’s no blue light but it looks so much like what he does that he can’t help but doubt. Are there variations of his power? Are there lots of people who can jump?

Suddenly this whole ‘magic school’ thing is looking more like something exciting to look forward to instead of just a convenient escape route.

Five hovers for a few seconds, before jumping himself. It wouldn’t do to be found lurking outside of the manor when he isn’t supposed to be permitted outside at all, after all. 

He waits with baited breath until a week later he wakes up to yelling and scrambles for the door. He can see his other siblings coming out as well in the pajamas, all of them exchanging looks and agreeing as one to creep quietly to figure out what’s going on.

What’s going on isn’t quiet at all. There’s a dozen men and women downstairs, including the woman that Five spoke to the week before. They all looks very official, and they all have sticks like the woman did. Does. 

Reginald looks furious.

They’re all crouched in Five’s spot, the good one where if you stay still no one would notice you between the banisters but you get an unobstructed view. The key is if you stay still. One of them moves, or makes a noise, or whatever and one of the people’s eyes snap up to look directly at them.

They all freeze.

“You might as well come down here, children.” One woman says, looking distinctly unimpressed. “This involves you, after all.”

They look to Reginald, but he says nothing. He doesn’t even look at them at all, though they can see the muscle in his jaw tightening. 

The travel carefully down the stairs, single file, in order. Klaus and Ben hold hands as they go down, and Five looks back frequently to make sure that everyone is present, including Vanya. 

“I’m afraid,” The woman from the week before speaks up in her Scottish brogue, “That is has come to our attention that… your guardian can no longer provide you with the necessary education you require by law.”

She keeps going, explaining to them about magic. Five can see Vanya at the end of their little like, getting more and more pale by the second. Five heard most of this speech the day before, so it’s easy for him to duck out of their little line and bump Klaus and Ben over so that he can stand by her side.

He takes her hand in his, not caring about how Luther and Allison are shooting him looks. He squeezes tightly and, after a second, she squeezes back.

They’re in language classes with Grace together, so it’s easy to him to tap against her hand.

n-o g-o w-o u

Not going without you. Vanya is still pale, but she squeezes Five’s hand and stops looking like she’s going to pass out on the floor. 

“As such,” The woman is continuing, “You will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You will be staying with me until the start of the term, during which time we will sort out permanent living arrangements.”

“We’re not coming back?” Luther demands loudly, looking frightened. Five would almost feel bad if he didn’t remember the fact that Luther was still recovering from a concussion from private training that he still would talk about. “But - what about dad?”

“Your father is not equipped to deal with magical children.” The woman tells them, actually quite diplomatically. Five can read between the lines though to where she’s actually saying this man is an abusive fuck who shouldn’t have been permitted to care for a cactus let alone seven entire human beings.

“We stay together?” Five pipes up, staring holes into the strangers in his house. “No matter what, we stay together, right?”

The woman inclines her head, “We will do our utmost to ensure it, Mr. - ”

She pauses for him to fill in his name, and he can feel the panicked look Luther is shooting him. He’s the worst one to ask for his name, because he gave up his chance for a name so Vanya could have one.

Luther is shaking his head, trying to get Five’s attention to signal him to not answer, but Five lifts his chin up high. He is not ashamed as he puts the final nail in Reginald’s coffin.

“Number Five. I’m Number Five.”

The expressions on every adults face are priceless and drive home just how not ordinary that is. Just how terrible it is to have a number instead of a name. Five doesn’t understand it - he likes his name, thank you - but that doesn’t mean he’s not willing to use it as a weapon to put another knife in Reginald’s back.

And that’s how, against some of their protests (mainly Luther, who protests leaving Reginald, and Diego, who protests leaving Grace) all of the kids end up in the house of “Professor McGonagall” who at this point is just. resigned to these kids being weird as fuck

(to be valid she first met Five apparently apparating with a) 0 training and b) without even a wand what the fuck)

They’re all just. Really confused? They all report for breakfast bright and early and McGonagall hasn’t even had her morning coffee yet and she’s just kind of like “yeah you kids do whatever, settle in and all that. we’ll go to diagon alley and pick up school supplies and all that later”

and it is bizarre. The kids stick close to one another, watch all the weird magic shit going down with careful eyes, and then they get their wands. Five almost has a fit because what if they find out Vanya isn’t magical and he’s about two seconds away from using his own shiny new wand (that had let out a bright blue light reminiscent of the one that came with his powers) when Vanya picks one up and waves it and manages to blast through three shelves.

The wand maker looks absolutely delighted at this destruction of the shop and all of them gape at Vanya because they were not expecting her to be magical. And clearly Vanya wasn’t expecting to be magical either, because she’s pale and shocked as the wand maker plucks the destructive wand from her hand and pops another one in.

All seven of them walk out with their brand new wands, and Vanya and Five hold hands tightly. Half in relief and half in alarm.

When they talk later, hushed whispers camped out in freshly transfigured beds, they come to the conclusion that some witches and wizards just need the stick to do things and that the rest of the Umbrella Academy is kind of weird. (McGonagall lectured Five at length about apparating and not doing it while he made various faces)

The kids survive until term starts and Professor McGonagall takes the to a train station and drops them off and tells them that she’ll see them at the school. They take up an entire compartment by themselves and talk at length about what magic school is going to be like.

Luther is still withdrawn and sullen over being taken away from Reginald, Diego is still sad about Grace, Allison has her head held high and is determined to make a good impression and finally meet some new people outside of her siblings, and Klaus is loud but in the way that means he’s anxious, Ben is speaking again but is still far too quiet, Five has read all of their schoolbooks already and is practically vibrating in place with the need to know everything and Vanya - 

Vanya is off her meds. She didn’t want Professor McGonagall to decide she was broken or not good enough or anything because she was on anxiety medication. Any mishaps within the McGonagall house have so far been chalked up to accidental magic (and some of it actually had been). This is important for later.

They change into their robes (just another uniform) and disembark and get to Hogwarts and stand in the Great Hall and listen to the Sorting Hat sing and then - it’s their turn to be sorted.

Luther is all Gryffindor bullheaded stubbornness and an insistence on what he thinks is right, proud and strong. Allison is Slytherin ambition and drive to her bones, clawing her way to the top and making sure she will stay there. Diego is Gryffindor impatience and need to prove himself, doing what is right even if it is outside the law. Klaus is Slytherin cunning and resourcefulness, sneaking out and getting what he needed under the nose of a tyrant (though since leaving the house, drugs have been noticeably absent from his possessions). Ben is Ravenclaw knowledge and hiding behind books, quiet words and hungry eyes. Vanya is Ravenclaw hard work and well gained knowledge, passion for her difficult art and determination to be good at something.

Five gets up there, and the Sorting Hat hums. 

Five is made of loyalty that could weather an apocalypse. He is a boy who had a power perfect for running away and keeping away, but who stayed because he couldn’t bear to leave his siblings. Five is a child who, every time he got knocked down, he got back up again. Five is a child who has hard work pressed into the marrow of his bones, who never gives up and never gives in.

Five is driven by knowledge and a need to know. His hunger consumes him, always pushing at boundaries that perhaps would be safer for his health to leave untouched. Always testing and twisting and seeking more. He is bright and smart and one of his very first words was why. 

Five is cunning and careful, twisting words and bending rules and scraping everything he can from a bad situation. He is the boy who had a split second to think, who jumped outside and confronted a stranger and went off of a hunch and won it all. The boy who had so few resources to work with, but twisted and pulled at them until they were enough. If getting his entire family out of Reginald’s house intact was not the very definition of ambitious, then nothing is.

Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw. Slytherin.

Choose your own adventure, choose your fighter.

Five would probably prefer Ravenclaw, in a house with two of his favorite siblings. Perhaps he would choose Slytherin, because Klaus is fragile and he doubts Allison will protect him and Five has always been protective of his family. 

(Klaus is stronger than the family thinks, away from the mausoleum and the memories. He’ll have Slytherin house wrapped around his finger before they know what hit them, will eventually fall in love with a Hufflepuff transfer student named Dave, will eventually be happy.)

Maybe Five is alone in Hufflepuff, a house too kind and too soft for the sort of jagged edges he has. But maybe that’s what he needs. Maybe he doesn’t need a house to sharpen his claws against, to sharpen his words or his mind. Maybe he needs somewhere safe, where people take his hand and show him how to tickle the pear to get into the kitchens and teach him how to play exploding snap and who look the other way when he sneaks out to visit his siblings at night.

(Whatever they can do outside of their wand waving, they discover, it isn’t magic. Or at least, not what the magical world seems to consider magic. They figure this out because apparently Hogwarts is warded against apparating within the grounds.

This doesn’t seem to stop Five.)

There’s so much that needs to be done. The wizarding world is still rebuilding. It’s 2000, scarcely three years after everything went down. 

Vanya’s “magic” seems to act up and no one can figure out why (even the family doesn’t realize it’s because she has non-magical powers like the rest of them. how could they? their entire lives Vanya had been ordinary.)

(when the revelation comes, Allison remembers her orders, remembers a small quiet room she was brought and told to say terrible things. They all weather the storm of Vanya’s fury together, magical shield summoned in a technique probably too advanced for their age but Ben is a natural until they finally managed to stun her. 

later, they all sit together in the hufflepuff common room, curled up on the sofas with mugs of hot chocolate stolen from the kitchens, regardless of if any of them are even in the house. at the very least Five has a talent for wriggling his way into areas he isn’t supposed to be in. they drink the hot chocolate, and contemplate their lives living with a man who would order something like that. 

they are grateful, even luther, of the turn their lives had taken. it would have been so very easy for McGonagall to walk away, to trust that they would be homeschooled or sent abroad or whatever. they are free, and they are thankful)

there is, of course, still the issue of what to do with the seven magical children once their first year comes to an end. they could stay with professor mcgonagall again, perhaps. despite being generally no nonsense, she’s always had a soft spot for the troublemakers (and the Hargreeves, despite best efforts, fall soundly into that category)

maybe they end up staying with some empty nesters. Molly and Arthur Weasely have no children left staying at home since Ginny moved out, and they’re used to dealing with large numbers of magical children. Diego would thrive under Mrs. Weasley’s attention even as he would feel guilty for loving anyone but Grace. 

maybe McGonagall calls in a favor, maybe she contacts her old students. She knows a boy who was an orphan himself, who knows what it means to be too skinny and too wary and to not want to go home at the summers. An orphan boy with wealth enough to take care of seven orphans with no problems, who would be glad to take on several wards if it was a favor to his old professor. 

(Harry Potter is only 20, but the war aged him. Aged all of his generation, really. There are lots of orphans in the wizarding world, and he is one of them.)

or maybe their arrangements are something else entirely.

The important thing though, is that despite everything they stay together. They might not have the Academy anymore, they might not belong to Reginald, but they are family and they stick by one another.

They protect one another, through means both magical and not.

(If you think Diego is giving up his knives, you are very incorrect about that.)

[luminous-studiess]

hi! firstly, i wanted to say i love love love your blog. you’re so inspiring and your posts are beautiful. i’m an a level student and i was just wondering if you could explain like the pros and cons of a law conversion. i’m probably going to study english with history at uni but i’m also considering just doing a law degree as its apparently a LOT of content to cover in just one year. do you have any advice? thanks so much!

god, thank you so much. this means a lot. also, terribly sorry for the late reply as i was off tumblr for the holidays.

to answer your question:

oooh well. my system of education is american (because the philippines was colonized lmaoooo), so i’m not very familiar with a-levels and conversion and such. i’m so sorry.

that said, i can walk you through pros and cons and some considerations!! long post ahead.

CONSIDERATIONS: what are you more interested in? i had to receive a uni degree in english before entering law, but if you have the option of jumping straight into law, it is a good idea IF you truly know you want to be a lawyer.

so you have to know if this is something you really want to do, as even i have regrets (ish) even after going through a full english degree and finally entering law school. you also have to consider what kind of person you are and how you work. personally, i’m very free spirited and creative, and this makes me struggle in law school, whereas in english, this was something that helped. consider what your personality makes you more naturally suited to!

if you are unsure, english is a good time to decide on what to do. if you realize you prefer it, you can continue! if not, go straight to law or transfer in.

ENGLISH DEGREE, PROS AND CONS

PROS:

- if you like academia, and are considering teaching someday, this is definitely for you.

- lots of research interests, can branch out into more popular topics. i did a paper on spirited away and alice in wonderland once.

- the people are great. for some reason, english professors are some of the most interesting people i know.

- lots of reading.

- makes you an excellent writer and researcher, and very articulate. if you want to continue into law, you will have a wonderful and clear command of language.

CONS:

- lots of reading. often you will be reading boring things. but you still have to write long papers about said boring things.

- this shouldn’t scare you, but it’s tricky to get a job that pays well afterwards. this is what i know from experience, at least. even in the academe, especially in the UK, teaching positions, especially at unis, are hard to get.

- can be lowkey elitist in the works that are considered “worthy of study”

LAW DEGREE, PROS AND CONS

PROS:

- it’s interesting in its own way. it’s a very dynamic field, and a very dynamic course. cases are sometimes fun to read (in my country, theres a famous “small penis case) everyone reads, and the pedagogy is intense.

- what youre doing seems really tangible. in the sense that you know where you want to go, and what youd like to do, and maybe how you would like to help people. this is different from english where i seemed to have had an existential crisis every week about if what i was doing had a point.

- (whispers) can be very very well paying if you’re a good student

- you’ll meet very intelligent and inspiring classmates and professors who will challenge you to do your best.

CONS:

- if you go straight into it while not knowing if it’s for you, all the hard work seems pointless and you may feel demotivated. (from experience, sadly)

- it is very, very, very, very, VERY hard in law school. memory work? cold calls? mountains of things to read? mean professors? yes.

- everyone is brilliant so you generally feel like a flaming piece of dog poo. if you’re unlucky to be placed with people who are mean and competitive, then it’s going to be hard to do well.

- certain types have a harder time adjusting. like i said, it’s much harder for people who can’t sit down and study for two hours. you need to be super disciplined and be ready to get things done.

- idk about the Law School atmosphere in your country, but in mine, professors like to terrorize the students. the passing grade is 75 percent. it’s not fun.

- one has to be accustomed to failure. it’s not something bad, it just happens regularly.

that’s it from the top of my head!!!! please don’t hesitate to message if you have more questions, and please update me as to which one you choose. i know you’ll do well in whatever it is. best of luck, love.

[carolinemckay]

✦ MEGAN FOX, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER ✦ CAROLINE MCKAY the THIRTY-FOUR year old has been in Manchester for TWELVE YEARS. The LAWYER is said to be WITTY but also SHORT-TEMPERED but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves.

general

full name: caroline amelia mckay

age: thirty-four

date of birth: april 9th, 1986

hometown: london, uk

sexuality: heterosexual

current residence: manchester, uk

appearance

hair color: dark-brown

eye color: blue

height: 5'7”

biography

caroline mckay was beautiful. that’s what people had said about the woman her entire life. that she was beautiful, never that she was intelligent or kind or gracious, but that she was beautiful.

born to an upper middle class family, her mother the doting housewife to her father, a financial broker, the earliest memories caroline has of her childhood are in dressing rooms, her mother spraying her down with far too much hairspray, and the bright flashes of spotlights a queue to smile wider. she’d done pageants for as long as she knew, some days it felt like all she knew. but caroline had always been so much more than that.

throughout her childhood and teen years, she was rung throughout the competitive pageant circuit, everyone assuming it had been what she wanted to do. and maybe it had been, for a short time, but in between dress fittings and rehearsals, caroline had her head in the books, a surprise to anyone who saw it.

but having a practical job hadn’t been in the cards for care, who was homeschooled until she graduated, pageants becoming her full time job. she remembered arguing with her parents in her early teens, as silly as it was, that she wanted to be something beyond just beautiful. they turned their nose at it, acting as if caroline had purposely wasted all their money that had been put into her ‘future.’ she hadn’t wanted to hurt her parents, so she stuck around, smiling for the judges and telling everyone what they wanted to hear. she’d gotten awful good at that too, reading people, knowing just what they wanted her to say. it became a second nature to her, even if it wasn’t quite the same as lying. perhaps the only time she felt herself telling the truth was when she was on stage, ironic as it is. 

at age 21, it finally happened. it had been what everyone was waiting for, caroline had been crowned miss england, chosen to go onto compete in the miss world competition. everyone in her life was ecstatic for her, everyone except her, of course. maybe it was the reality that had set in, the reality that if she went on, this would become her life. she’d remain a pageant girl, known for that and nothing else. but there were no good words to say, no words that would explain that caroline wanted out, while keeping everyone else happy. 

caroline couldn’t have been more relieved to lose the miss world competition. even if she had placed in the top 15, there was something about the event, seeing the tears stream down her mother’s eyes that gave her the guts to tell her that she was leaving it all behind, london included.

when caroline returned home following the show, she packed her bags and moved to manchester, enrolling herself into university, going on to later get her law degree, using the money she’d earned from placing. naturally, she got a few looks here and there, but caroline was more than determined to show that she was far more than just a pretty girl

headcanons

very headstrong, does not like to be told what to do. hates compliments about her appearance, despite being programmed to always look nice. 

has an older brother!! he plays for manchester united, though the two have never been very close considering how busy caroline was growing up ( wanted connection )

definitely has a weird relationship with her parents. they get along, but under the surface you can tell that there’s a lot of tension and caroline has a bit of resentment towards them for dictating her life for so long

definition of the “smart than she looks” trope. always has to be right. always has to win. 

kind of at the point of her life where she wants a family, but at the same time there’s so much built up childhood trauma she never dealt with <3 so she got some dogs instead but anyways

is nice, like don’t get me wrong, but has a lot of walls up. caroline unintentionally just has to be perfect at all times because that’s literally all she knows how to be. so sometimes she comes off as??? idk??? detached?? she doesn’t mean it though i promise dkfghdfk

as for wanted connections, caroline is brand new now so i’m open to literally anything

[welcome-to-latveria]

Werid questions but do what do you think would happen if lex and Clark got into a custody battle for Conner?

Omggg it would be the most dramatic thing ever ekajfkdlf I'm laughing just thinking about it.

Okay, now I imagine that Clark is just living his life normally when one day he gets a call saying that Lex Luthor wants to meet him. Cos this call comes thru at work Clark just assumes this is a newspaper thing and turns up as expected. However this is actually just an excuse to get Clark alone and as soon as he walks in Lex is just like 'right this is a mediation session sit down *gestures to Mercy* this is our mediator'. Idk how child custody works in America but in the UK you must have tried mediation before you can go to court.

Anyways so Clark is super confused until Lex explains this is about Kon and where he should live etc. Needless to say the mediation session ends w/ Clark storming out the room after the two of them argue. Clark just kinda assumes Lex isn't rly serious and probably forgets all about it until he gets a court order thru his door asking him to appear before a family court to decide custody of a child.

At this point I imagine Clark is just *laughs nervously* and he rocks up to Wayne Manor in a panic like 'BRUCE OMG LEX LUTHOR IS TRYING TO STEAL KON?? IS THIS A SITUATION YOU HAVE EVER HAD TO DEAL W/ BEFORE PLEASE HELP ME!!' Bruce has in fact dealt w/ this sort of situation before and of course has an army of lawyers ready for this type of thing. Bruce is probably like 'Clark I warned you this could happen and you didnt take me seriously' cos u know what Bruce is like but he helps Clark anyways. Tbh Bruce can't rly do much apart from provide legal advice that Clark desperately needs (I imagine Clark is woefully unaware of how family law works unlike Bruce who has been thru the adoption process).

The time comes around for the first court hearing and Clark is just sitting there in shock as Lex narrates how Clark 'refused to acknowledge Kon as his son' and 'refused to allow my contact with our son' as well as 'refused mediation sessions' and the whole time Clark is just like 'have I walked into a parallel universe?? Is this rly happening?'

In custody cases the court will also make contact w/ the child and get their opinion and I imagine that Kon finds this whole thing hilarious. It's probably his fault tbh like he probably said something to Lex like 'you're not my dad, I dont live w/ you!!' and that set him off. Secretly Kon is also quite pleased that Clark and Lex r arguing about him cos it means they care about him and it means they want him as their family and he needs that reassurance sometimes.

In the end they get joint custody and Kon is super excited because he gets to spend time w/ both his dads now. Also after this I imagine Clark and Lex do that thing where they try and one up the other parent and generally just act like bitter exes around each other. This of course leads to Kon forming the idea that he has to get them back together a la Parent Trap or something

[bond-villains-are-winning]

There is NO Capitalism.

There is just Socialism. mainly four types...

1. Socialism Only for Banks (USA, post-Brexit UK),

2. Socialism Only for Party Bosses (Communism: Vietnam, China. Plus the Old USSR and the Warsaw Pact)

3. Socialism Only for the State (Fascism: Turkey, Brazil, Philippines, North Korea. In the past Mussolini Italy, Hitler Germany, Tojo Japan, Franco Spain, Salazar Portugal)

4. Socialism for Organized Worker Resistance and, incidentally, everyone else(E.U.,Japan, Korea, Singapore, Cuba. The USA 1946 to 1973, UK 1926 to 1960)

[This is a LONG post]

US Socialism Only for Banks - a History

US Bank failures prior to 1913 & the Federal reserve:

When checks from one bank are cashed in another bank, unfortunately, actual printed paper money does not relocate from bank to bank.

Nor do the banks handle accounting for liabilities as must any other business.

The Originating bank issues a check and sets up an account for the bank that cashed the check; an IOU has been issued to the 2nd bank.

The check cashing 2nd Bank books as “Income-available-for-loaning-out” the IOU from the originating bank. That IOU becomes, through the miracle of accountancy, “available” money. A current “asset”. Not a future “receivable “ as it would be in any other business.

When the second bank uses the money for one of its depositors’ checking accounts which issues a new check to pay a third party - that 2nd IOU becomes through “deposit” in the 3rd bank magically transformed into 2x the money available. Because “it”now exists in 2 banks as “an asset”.

And so on 3x) and so on (4x) an so on (5x) and...

The originating bank may be making the IOU based on a deposit or a loan

If the Originating bank makes a loan, it books as “Available-for-loan-today” both the principal and anticipated interest not due in full for many years in the future.

Any, any, any hickcup in cash flow in any bank in line creates a domino affect with the IOUs. Sufficiently sized hickups and bank failures and the various multiple Panics, five “Great Depressions” and 40+ Recessions 1782 to 1912.

(See Fed Reserve article at end of post)

Socialism Only for Banks post-1913 from the Establishment of the Federal Reserve until 1935.

Same as above (what? You thought...)

PLUS Socialism Only for the 1/3 of Banks that had joined the Reserve.

The Reserve bailed out its members after the 1929 Crash and the stronger non-member Banks at the taxpayers expense.

The taxpayer depositors lost whatever they had in the non-bailed out banks.

The St. Louis Fed Reserve in 1930 declined to bail out non-members. Triggered catastrophic failure. That failure which in turn gave rise to bank robber folk heroes Bonnie & Clyde, Ma Parker, Dillinger, Nelson, etc in the mid-west.

Continued over-extension by Banks led to continual bank failures even with Bailouts 1929 to 1934

Socialism Only for Banks 1935 to 1980

Same as above except...

FDR establishes the FDIC in which the ordinary taxpayers get to replace their own bank-lost deposits in banks to a preset imited amount - of course at the taxpayers’ expense, not the Banks’.

FDR Administration took over 1 million mortgages from failed banks at lower rates. The other million who families who applied...well...

The tax payers through the magic of doubletalk borrowed from their future tax payments to pay through the FDIC to the Bank to put back the taxpayer’s own money the over-extended bank had lost.

Anything not covered by FDIC was lost.

All banks are part of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve. Both of which essentially do the same thing without “reserves” or actual “insurance deposits”.

Regan screws us all: Socialism for Banks Only 1981 to 2007

Same as above except...

In the 1980s Speculators paid Congress to loosen banking regulations and anti-trust laws.

Massive Ponzi scheme involving Speculators purchasing Savings and Loans or “junk bonds”, making loans on wildly inflated property values, losing everything, then declaring bankruptcy 1984-1994.

The ordinary tax payers got to bail out the S&Ls through a couple of new federal agencies. The taxpayers once more borrowing from their future taxes to bailout their own current mortgages.

With Savings and Loans the 25 national commercial banks were “forced” to take over mortgages. By 2008 we were down to 6 national commercial banks.

Couple of 1990-era debacles. Building the cell phone network but somehow lost the investors money. Then overinvestment in early dial-up internet startups which lost the Investors money.

Important gibberish: “... the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 repealed significant aspects of the Glass-Steagall Act as well as the Bank Holding Act of 1956, both of which had served to sever investment banking and insurance services from commercial banking. From 1999 onwards, a bank could now offer commercial banking, securities, and insurance services under one roof.” (Investopedia)

Oh goodie! No more cumbersome “guberment reg-jew-laysions”!

In next to no time Commercial Banks came up with a dictionary full of gibberish (derivatives, tranches, MBS,negative amortization ) to cover bundling and selling mortgages for up to 3x any possible future payments or conceivable property value (just like S&L debacle above - see, business as usual)

In 2004 the Bush Administration “relaxed” the net capitalization requirements at the behest of five Wall Street Banks. (Less than four years later three of these experienced financial geniuses went under while two were saved by brillant...just kidding, two had “friends” in high places and were bailed out)

In 2006 the bottom fell out of the real estate market.

In 2007 no Economist saw the Iceberg ahead.

Socialism Only for Banks 2008 to Present

Same as above except...

In October, 2008 the largest single Ponzi scheme in galactic history collapsed taking down most of the world economy.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but when we were told about the $700 billion “bailout” of 2008...no one mentioned that - according to Forbes (see link at bottom) - it was just the first installment on the $4.6 TRILLION paid out as of 2014 of the...are you sitting down?...$16.8 TRILLION the Geo W Bush Administration committed.

As I’m sure you remember, when the Banks got their Special Socialism Bailout they humbly awarded themselves Multi-Million$$ bonuses. ($132 Million$$ in 2010 when they weren’t loaning)

Then the Banks foreclosed on 16 MILLION HOMEOWNERS who were victims of Predatory loans(see graph below) Over 10% of all households.

I forget, who bailed out the self-bankrupted Banks? Oh, yeah, the US taxpayer. But at $17 Trillion also we taxpayers’ children, grand children, great grand children, etc, etc, etc, etc to sometime in the 22nd Century.

It’s not just the Banks...

Did I mention that when the Banks obtain the money to pay interest on our savings by “investing” in that Great-Ongoing-Ponzi-Institution we call the Stock Market? That 80% of all stocks are owned by the Banks - not the Super-Rich?

The Super-Rich only own about 5% of Stocks The Super-Rich own voting stocks however, unlike the stocks owned by the Banks. So the voting stocks give the Super-Rich “control” with minimal investment.

That of the $700 Billion$$ per year Congress insists the Pentagon spends, $100 Billion is for all service personnel here and abroad living in aging decrepited bases. The Lion’s share of the Budget the Pentagon doesn’t want goes to military contractors (who are, coincidentally, BIG Congressional campaign donors) for obsolete armaments no other country has or wants. Such as sitting duck’ Nuclear aircraft carriers Russia can hit from 300 miles away ; nuclear attack subs with no enemy fleets to attack; $400,000,000 temperamental fighter jets that required a week of maintenance after an hour in the air; etc, etc, etc. ( You didn’t really think we spent trillions and trillion$ fighting Iraq oilfield workers or Afghanistan farmers did you?)

When the Super-Rich screw up as they do with appalling frequency, they pay Congress to take our future tax payments to pay for today’s bailout. Or Subsidy, Or Taxcut. Or...

Of course, thanks to the Bank bailouts, Corporate bailouts/subsidies, and tax cuts for the One-Percent, we are told by their bribed stooges in Congress that “we” have to “do something about Entitlements”. By which “they” mean “gut everyone’s Social Security and Medicare”.

Also “we” “can’t afford Universal Healthcare”. Even though EVERY COUNTY with Universal Healthcare pays HALF or less than the $11,000 per person Private Insurance “Choices” costs the US Insured ($11,000 which doesn’t include “co-pays”, “not covered”, “covered, but denied”, “deductibles”)

Every country pays less. Every country in Europe including Russia. Every country in the world receiving US military aid including Israel. Small Island Nations like Grenada and Fiji with populations of 100,000 (I’ve been there and spoken to the ordinary people).

Same goes for Veteran Care, the Homeless, the Hungry, Education, etc.

What about the Future?

Idk about you, but at $17 Trillion for last decade’s imbecility I don’t think we can afford Banks, Stock Markets, Military Contractors, Big Insurance, Big Pharma, the Fossil Fuel Industry and the Super-Rich anymore.

In the near future when the Predators’ Ponzis fail, we could use the 22nd or 23rd Century’s taxpayers’ money to bail out ONLY our own 21st Century asses.

This next time let the banks fail. Break up the Mega-Corporations. And tax-like-its-theft whatever the Super-Rich have.

At this point it’s ALL been paid for with our great grandparents tax money. Our grand parents tax money. Our parents tax money. Our current and future tax money. Our children’s , their children’s. Their children’s children’s, and, of course, etc.

Otherwise...the same as above.

The Fall of World Capitalism:

Lenin was apparently correct when he predicted in 1912 the imminent collapse of late-stage Capitalism which Marx earlier predicted would be in the form of Imperalism. The First World War errupted as countries chose up “teams” to steal the other “team’s” overseas empires.

The losing side’s colonies were redistributed to the “winners” who had bankrupted themselves to achieve “Victory”. The British Empire, the French Empire, the Dutch Empire, the Belgian Empire had entered their Twilight Years.

The true winners of WW1 were the US and the USSR which took no new territories. Russia exited the ‘War to Steal Colonies’ as the USSR to save what was left of its population. That exit threatened Billion$$ the US had loaned the Allies if the Allies lost. As a result, and not for the first or last time, the US came up with a pretext to enter the war the very next month. (Google “Zimmerman Telegram”. 200,000 US casualties resulted).

“Loser” Turkey came out better as well. Their post-war nationalist revolution was evidently happy to be out from under the burden of maintaining the Ottoman Empire.

WW2 or (the Death of Late-Stage Capitalism part 2) grew out of the disaffection of number of “Victorious”countries and independence movements that felt cheated in the redistribute or in remaining colonies: Italy, Japan, China, India/Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, China.

Of course, Germany and Austria had fought to a stalemate - not a defeat. So the anger of over being blockaded during the supposed 1919 Peace Negotiations with subsequent starvation of friends and families created the Nationalists who helped fuel Part 2.

Part 2 might have been avoided had the Czar spent more on transportation infrastructure for moving food. Then the October 1917 Revolution might have gone on to inflame half or all of Continental Europe and a large part of Asia. As it was, the Soviets couldn’t move food fast enough. So Lenin accepted the British bribe of food to feed the starving. In exchange for continued food supply he backed off on international revolution. (“BS”you say having not read of Revolutionary uprisings n the 1920s in Germany and England).

For a time in the US when labor had strengthened through the war years, the White working class enjoyed a “Socialism for Organized Resistance.” era 1946 to 1973. The rise of Civil Rights to join the Resistance split the White working class organized labor. Thus the downward spiral back into “Socialism Only for the Banks”.

Qualifications:

I have not researched the developing nations such as India and Africa. They may be experimenting with macroeconomic organizations different from anything above.

The Basque region of Spain continues the Anarchic economy that began in the mid-1930s. Evidently very successfully. But I regret I’ve not researched or traveled there - yet.

I have classified Cuba based on the apparent (to an outsider) Social stability and healthcare as something separate from ‘Socialism Only for Party Bosses.’ Perhaps more like Leninism before Dzerzhinsky, Stalin & the Terror?

I fear that Japan and perhaps Korea are closer to the US/UK.

I wanted this Post to be about matters I believe most of the readers don’t know about. So...

I’ve left out tax cuts. I’ve written extensively about tax cuts elsewhere as have many smarter than me. . It’s unlikely anyone who believes in Tax Cuts for the Rich will read much or any of this post.

I’ve left out how our post-Regan Oligarchical Economic System allows the suppression of wages and supplier prices while allowing price-fixing inflation. Others have written whole books. Suffice to say it is the lower half of our countriy’s economic strata who have suffered the greatest loss - about a third to a half of their comparative buying power. The same US Mega-Corporations pay Australians or Germans half again as much per hour than they pay their US workers for the exact same job.

I have left out how specifically Cartels can stagnant wages. In the decade 2008 to 2017, wages generally did not increase while we experienced 16% inflation. A few corporations in each economic sector at the top of the supply chain are in a position to fix wages and supplier prices which fix wages and supplier prices down each tier of the supply chain

I’ve left out Inflation. As has the Media for 20 or 30 years while Inflation has made us poorer but the Rich wealthier. The affect of the Banks multiplying the money supply is in economic gibberish “inflationary”. But the effect is not expansive. “Inflation” decreases the buying power of any money. As buying power decreases, the worker must work more hours to pay the same rent, buy the same food, buy the same utilities, buy the same gasoline. And/Or cut out some purchases. An argument can be made that it is the Banks and Corporate Oligarchies that are driving inflation and not the Governments generally. But I’m not up to the task.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LINKS

Clarity from the Federal Reserve about “business as usual” and “fictitious reserves”: “One cause was the practice of counting checks in the process of collection as part of banks’ cash reserves. These ‘floating’ checks were counted in the reserves of two banks, the one in which the check was deposited and the one on which the check was drawn.2 In reality, however, the cash resided in only one bank. Bankers at the time referred to the reserves composed of float as fictitious reserves. The quantity of fictitious reserves rose throughout the 1920s and peaked just before the financial crisis in 1930. This meant that the banking system as a whole had fewer cash (or real) reserves available in emergencies (Richardson 2007).”

https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/banking_panics_1930_31

The COST of the bailout of 2008:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/mikecollins/2015/07/14/the-big-bank-bailout/amp/

Foreclosures after 2008:

http://static.realtytrac.com/images/reportimages/foreclosure_activity_historical.png