#i should write an entire essay about how much i love my brother

[anonbinaryweirdo]

crying/pos

[ramblingoak]

A Few Scratches

Mushy May in Lucifer's Hollow: Day 18: Holding Hands

Copia x Aether

This fic is set in an alternate universe in a town called Lucifer's Hollow. It's sort of like a Satanic version of a Hallmark town. For Mushy May I'll be using the prompts to post little snippets of life for the humans and ghouls that live there 💙 Thank you to @forlorn-crows for putting Mushy May together!

~ ~ In Lucifer's Hollow Copia teaches history at the high school and Aether is a firefighter. ~

Warnings: some whump here, mentions of injuries from a car accident, but it's mixed in with some mushiness, sfw, 960 words (thank you to @ghuleh-recs for the dividers!)

The steady beep of the monitor was the most reassuring sound Aether had ever heard.

So was the feeling of Copia’s hand in his, the skin soft and warm.  He hadn’t been able to let go since the doctors had let him in the room.  Aether hoped Copia could feel it, he hoped that despite how scared he was still his presence was soothing in some way.  He knew Copia was going to be fine despite the stitches on his forehead and the cast on his leg.  The doctors had reassured him multiple times they were only keeping him overnight as a precaution but Aether still hadn’t been able to shake the fear that was making his chest feel tight.

It was different when it was someone you cared about, someone you loved.  Aether cared for everyone in their town whether he knew them or not but Copia was different.  Copia had quickly become everything to him and when he’d gotten the phone call from the hospital that afternoon it had felt like his entire world was crashing down around him.  Without Secondo there he might not have made it to the hospital.

He dropped his head down onto the bed, taking deep breaths to try and relax.  Copia shouldn’t be here.  He should be at home singing to ABBA in their kitchen or in his office lamenting the essay writing skills of his students.  Aether was never going to forgive himself for not driving him to work that day.  His other hand clenched in the bed sheets and if it wasn’t for the calming hand on his shoulder he probably would have started tearing them up.

“This isn’t your fault.”  Aether shook his head against the bed before sucking a breath in through his teeth and straightening up.  Through the tears in his eyes he saw Secondo standing there, a cup of coffee in his hand.  “Stop blaming yourself.”

“The only reason he was driving was because I locked my damn keys in my car.”

“Something we’ve all done before and something Copia has done many, many times.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that the one day I don’t take him to work this happens.”

“If you’re going to blame anyone you should blame that turista idiota.  Accidents happen.”  Aether didn’t respond so Secondo dropped a hand onto his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  “Especially to my fratellino, as you know.”

He couldn’t help but laugh, thinking back to the first few times he had met Copia.  Both due to the man getting distracted and setting his kitchen on fire.  Satanas, he loved this man so much.  A sob escaped him and he leaned forward again, this time laying his head on Copia’s chest.  Beside him Secondo was a silent sentry, one hand still resting reassuringly on his shoulder as he cried.  Aether stayed that way until he began to feel fingers carding through his hair.

“Aether?”  Copia’s voice was quiet but strong.  When Aether lifted his head Copia’s hand fell from his hair and cupped his cheek instead.  “Stai bene, tesoro?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”  He sniffled and scrubbed a hand over his face, grabbing Copia’s hand in his when he was done.  “How are you doing?”

“Like someone ran a stop sign and destroyed my car.”  Copia tried to sit up but immediately stopped, groaning as the movement jostled his leg.  “And me.”

“Non essere un bambino, fratello.”  Secondo smirked down at his little brother and took a sip of his coffee.  “It’s just a few scratches.”

“Come closer and I’ll give you just a few scratches.” 

“Cumulus has your car at her shop already.  I’m sure it’ll be good as new soon.”  Aether squeezed Copia’s hands, bringing one up so he could place a kiss on the back of it.  “You on the other hand need lots of rest.”

A soft snore was his only answer so Aether let go of one of his hands, gently lowering it onto the bed.  He adjusted Copia’s blankets, smoothing out the wrinkles as best he could.

“If he wakes up again, tell him I will check on his rats.”  Aether looked up at Secondo and nodded, feeling incredibly thankful to have this man as not just his boss but his friend.  The man gave him a stern look but Aether didn’t need to focus on his quintessence to feel the emotion behind it.  “Follow his lead and get some rest.”

He nodded, watching Secondo leave the room and close the door quietly behind him.  Copia was snoring softly, the pain meds thankfully doing their job.  Aether fidgeted in his seat briefly before deciding he didn’t care if anyone got mad at him for what he was about to do.  He let go of Copia’s hand long enough to untie his boots and then climbed onto the bed next to him, taking care to avoid jostling his leg and where Aether knew the bruises were.

When he was settled he took Copia’s hand again, smiling when he felt him squeeze it briefly.  His tail moved on its own accord, wrapping around Copia’s leg and making the man snort in his sleep.  Aether shushed him when his eyes blinked open and he mumbled something in Italian.

“Go back to sleep, love.”

“Mmm, don’t leave.”

“I won’t, I promise.”  Aether kissed Copia’s cheek and then rested his head next to his on the pillow.  “I’ll take care of you forever.”

“Forever, eh?”  Copia yawned then, wincing when it bothered a small bruise on his cheek.  “I like the sound of that.”

He was snoring again shortly after, his head turned slightly towards Aether’s.  The ghoul couldn’t help but kiss the tip of the nose he loved so much before settling down again.

“Me too.”

If you'd like to be added/removed from the tag list (or if I accidentally left your name off) of this fic or any of my others please leave a comment or send me a dm! Thank you 💙

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More fics in the Tales From Lucifer's Hollow masterpost

[marlequinncos]

Now that HOTD Season 2 is over, I have a lot of thoughts about what has transpired. Full disclosure: I basically wrote an essay, so long post ahoy! I have read the book, meaning there are a couple book spoilers in here along with show spoilers. Also: there are all my personal opinions, so you may agree or disagree.

The Good

The show is beautifully shot and the cinematography is excellent. We've gotten some really gorgeous shots this season.

The dragons look great, they're animated well, and I like how we can really see their different personalities and their relationships with their riders.

The acting is solid pretty much across the board. Folks like Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, and Olivia Cooke are excellent as usual. The standout for me this season, though, is Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon. He's thoroughly fleshed out his character and given him some really interesting shading and depth and I really enjoy watching him on-screen.

Some excellent new additions to the cast! Ser Simon Strong is a national treasure, Gwayne Hightower is a mood, Alys Rivers is who I aspire to be in life, and the Hull brothers are both interesting (especially their dichotomy) and they better show more with them as per the book.

Rook's Rest gave us our first real dragon battle of the show, and I thought it was really well done. I was concerned that it would be the kind of fight that's hard to follow visually, but it was clean and worked nicely. I also love that they made Aemond torching Aegon a conscious choice.

The costumes are, once again, beautiful.

The embroidery title sequence kicks a lot of ass, and I like how they're adding to it with major events.

I do really like how they've made Helaena a dreamer (which they started in season 1) and how she's a tragic Cassandra figure. However, I do have some issues with her that I'll talk about later.

The Red Sowing was done well. I was hoping we were going to see some people get incinerated to really underscore how dangerous claiming a dragon can be, and that did not disappoint.

Little Oscar Tully verbally suplexing Daemon through an announcer's table was everything I've ever wanted.

I really like the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent. That said, I think there are some real issues with the writing that I'll discuss below.

Big fan of them putting Tyland Lannister in Situations.

Aemond committing war crimes and serving cunt as ye olde Sephiroth. 10/10 no notes.

While I do think the tripping balls in Harrenhall arc went on for far too long, I like how the show is leaning into the magic of the world with the weirwoods and insane visions of the past, present, and future.

Women kissing

The Bad

The pacing. Listen, I like a slowburn (one of my favorite horror movies is The Witch which many people find boring), but the slow pacing has to build to something, and this entire season felt like it was just build-up with no payoff. Last season ended with a consequential event (death of Luke), and this season began with another (Blood and Cheese), yet I don't feel like those events have managed to push the plot forward. Even Rook's Rest, which seemed like we were finally getting the ramp up to all-out war that's been teased for one and a half seasons due to Aegon being burned and Rhaenys dying, didn't really ramp up the stakes. We're still waiting for the war, and it feels like Season 2 was just a giant teaser for Season 3 rather than a stepping stone of the whole story. Think of it this way: season 1 ended with a build-up to the war and yet somehow this season also ended as a build-up to the war. It doesn't feel like progress was made; we're essentially in the same spot. The season should have ended with either the taking of King's Landing or the Battle of the Gullet.

Blood and Cheese. There is a reason this event lives in infamy for book readers. It's essentially the Red Wedding of the Dance of Dragons, because of how truly heinous and horrifying of an event it is. But the show toned it down a lot, and I think that was a mistake. Not to mention the fact that the death of Aegon's heir, who was a literal child, only seemed to be an issue for about an episode, and then everyone kind of forgot about it. Frankly, I don't like how the deaths of Luke, Jaehaerys, and Rhaenys were somewhat glossed over other than an episode of some characters being sad. Those deaths should have reverberated with long-ranging consequences and I don't feel like that's the case.

The writing. It's just not as good this season. Yes, I know the writer's strike probably affected it, but still. The conversations are nowhere near as engaging or interesting as they were in season 1, and I'm someone who loves dialogue scenes of political intrigue. I also think some of the character decisions they've made don't work. The biggest issue I have in that regard is with Rhaenyra. I don't actually hate the scene in the Sept (even though I think it is kind of silly how Rhaenyra managed to sneak into KL without being detected), because I like how they establish that Alicent knows that was wrong in her assumption about Aegon and yet she doubles down and they both realize that war is now inevitable even if it all began because of a misunderstanding. But book Rhaenyra is both far more active and ruthless than her show counterpart. There's a reason they call her "Maegor with teats". I thought we were getting some of that "warrior queen Visenya" Rhaenyra during the Red Sowing episode, but the fact is that she's spent most of the season trying to decide on a course of action and trying to do everything peacefully. She should have thrown that out the window after her conversation with Alicent in the Sept. It's especially weird considering she ended season 1 out for blood for the death of Luke. I feel like the writers are afraid that having her sometimes make nasty decisions will make her unlikeable to the general audience. But by doing that, they've also reduced this fascinating woman into a shell of who she should be. Look at Dany and Cersei from GOT; both of them were women in positions of power who did not hesitate to make (sometimes bad) decisions and/or commit horrible acts to further their goals and guess what: for the most part, the audience liked them! Give me "blood and fire" Rhaenyra! Support women's wrongs! Make characters morally grey! LET WOMEN BE AWFUL!!

I also think that the writing is doing Alicent a disservice. They really don't know what to do with her, and its a shame because Olivia Cooke is great. She just feels rudderless to me.

It really looks like the show is cutting Nettles entirely and giving her plot to Rhaena and I don't like this choice. Nettles is an amazing character in her own right, and her relationship with Daemon is key for him to start changing his Targaryen supremacist worldview and for his arc as a whole. Plus, this takes away the significance of Rhaena and Morning at the conclusion of the Dance.

While I like Helaena being a dreamer, they need to give her more screen time and dialogue. Girl had almost nothing to do this season.

I wish we had seen more of Jace and Cregan in the North and the Pact of Ice and Fire. Not saying we need 20 minutes of that, but 5 would have been nice.

I like the idea of that big vision of the future in the finale, but knowing how GOT ended does soften the impact quite a bit. And I don't love that Daemon and Aemond kind of already know their fates?? That's definitely going to hurt their arcs going forward.

The season should have been 10 episodes. Having it be only 8 really messes with the pacing of the story. Not loving the 2 year breaks between seasons either.

The "Let's Wait and See"

Aegon said that Sunfyre is dead. I really hope he's wrong about that because boy howdy that will have major plot implications if Sunfyre really is dead.

DAERON REAL. It would have been nice if he had been mentioned in season 1 and actually seen in season 2, but at least we know he exists and isn't a cryptid. Hopefully we finally get to see him in action in season 3 because poor dude has just been implied for two whole seasons.

I hope we see more of the book's excellent side characters like Black Alys, Benjicot Blackwood, and Sabitha Frey (who we did technically see briefly, but if you're a book reader, you know what I'm talking about). I'd also like to see more Cregan.

Overall, I think the season was a mixed bag. I hope season 3 fixes some of the issues with pacing and writing, because they have a great cast and a show that looks beautiful.

[ladyazurith]

Thoughts on and Headcanons for Rook Hunt

Rook is a very divisive character for me, and I’ve gone back and forth on how I feel about him. I absolutely hate how he treats the nonhuman students. I also hate the vin where he comments on Vil gaining weight when it wasn’t even noticeable to someone with normal eyes. That’s not a healthy mindset. Nor can I ignore the wall of hidden photos we see peaking out behind the wallpaper in his (canon) room. 

I do not like how he handled the end of Chapter 5. The way he gushed about Neige and revealed his obsession, right in front of Vil, after everything that had just happened. I know people get upset over the fact he voted for RSA, and while I think it was a dick move for him to have revealed that it was his vote that cost them the show. It’s more that he hid something like that from Vil, and given how they talked about everything related to the theater together, and he knew Vil’s connection to Neige it just feels…really shitty that that's how it came out. 

On the other hand, I really do think he cares about Vil. I have never truly shipped them together (the only time I’ve written them in a relationship together was in a poly with Cater) I do think he loves Vil in a brotherly fashion. And I think they’re important to each other. Vil especially I think values Rook’s friendship more than he wants to admit. (This is also kinda why I think his actions at the end of chapter 5 were so crappy)

At the same time, I think he suffered from character assassination at that point. They needed Rook to do what he did to thematically fit the narrative and his role as the royal Hunstman. And they cared about that more than if it was something Rook would truly do. As much as I love twist and the story, I find myself having this complaint often. They’re more concerned about the overall narrative than what actually makes sense for the various characters. I could write an entire essay on this especially where Cater is concerned, with him and his interaction with the other characters and his place in the overall narrative. (Again a subject for another time)

On a less serious note, as far as romance goes, I’m reminded of a line from a very old Christmas movie called “White Christmas” where one of the main characters goes. "I'm not the marrying kind or the engaging kind, I'm more the I don't mind pushing my best friend into it but I'm scared stiff when I get anywhere close to myself kind" I can see Rook endlessly encouraging Vil to pursue his heart (With me it's him insisting to Vil he does have feelings for Cater and should give him a chance) But the idea of his own actual love affair terrifies him. He’d rather just watch other people fall in love. 

I do think he has several secret perches around campus that no one knows about. 

I also think he and Cater would be absolutely great and chaotic friends, that would strike fear into Vil’s heart. They both share a love of photography and him. I can just imagine Vil having to endure the two of them talking about him while he’s sitting right there lol. 

I also gave them an anonymous magicam account where they post pictures of student life on campus (Mostly taken by Rook, but some by Cater) 

I developed Rook’s Family for a fanfic I wrote a while ago. So some of this comes from that. I know if we ever get to meet his family this will all be obsolete but its still fun to work with. I also won't go into to much detail here, because his Family could be an entire post on its own. (Just like Cater’s) 

His father works directly for Leona’s brother (And previously their father) as head of Royal Wildlife Management in the Savanah, a position his family has inherited for generations after they made the move there.  A position his eldest brother will inherit one day. His eldest Sister I made a traveling exotic vet. 

Rook himself is a fraternal twin. Reinette (the name I gave her) also has magic but doesn’t attend NRC because it (appears) to be an all male school. But she acts much like Rook did in his Savanaclaw days. Longer hair, sunbaked skin, and loaded with freckles. 

His younger brother I named Florent and idolizes his big brother, and is the only other Hunt child to have magic. He’s set to go to NRC as a first year when Rook is a 4th year. 

His youngest sister and the baby of the family is Fleur, and shares Rook’s and their father’s love of theater, albeit for the more technical side, and also has more than a slight obsession with Vil.

At his core, I don’t think Rook really feels like he fits in anywhere. Pomefiore and Vil have come as close as it gets for him, but it’s still not right. He’s restless, and is still searching for his “home”. 

As an adult, I’d given him the profession of a wildlife photographer (French Steve Irwin is how I described it) It’s something I think he’s well suited for. 

That’s probably enough for now, thank you if you made it this far ^^

[madraleen]

Delicious in Dungeon - Ryōko Kui Vol.9: The one where I write a Mithrun essay.

-mithrun cover! beautiful, magnificent, extraordinary, sublime-

-the way marcille insta-changes her vibes, i relate to it so much, i see myself in so many of her expressions

-SPILL IT OUT, MARCILLE! TELL US ABOUT YOUR PAST AND YOUR DREAM! ffs, keeping silent after drilling chil like that

-laios and marcille are so sweet together

-eheheheheheehe laios' ideal is marcille, cute cute cute

-MONSTER marcille is laios' ideal?! boy would he find his place on tumblr

-...do we trust the winged lion, do we really? do we trust "power"? i can't tell.

-is that. is that baby kabru? HE'S SO CUTE

-mithrun, sir, are you aware that you are the most beautiful character in the manga, sir?

-AHAHAAHA NO, "IDENTICAL" KABRU ACCORDING TO MITHRUN OH NO

-the fact that mithrun has no idea what kabru looks like but knows there's a mushroom around his leg

-yes, a week of just kabru and mithrun, that's all i want, that's great

-kabru: pls tell me how i can tend to you properly. mithrun: *proceeds to tell him his entire backstory* like, you didn't have to, my man. you didn't have to.

-the "others. others. mithrun" is me when reading dunmeshi

-aw past mithrun has longer hair, lil bb

-mithrun going from "i can't sleep without spells or potions" to just dropping asleep on the floor, everyone say "thank you kabru"

-"barometz soup. ingredients: barometz." i burst out laughing. senshi is sensing this and crying somewhere out there

-surely you can't expect me to see mithrun in his domestic era with his disheveled hair and his little bow scarf and his little spoon and his puffy sleeves and not love him? surely?

-wait so, mithrun's beloved is still alive out there, and she's with his brother?

-i wonder what mithrun’s non-abridged story is.

-lol at how the elves feared for mithrun's well-being, when instead they should have been fearing his spilling every single ancient secret to a guy he just met with arguably conflicting interests

-NO RESCUE, NO RESCUE I SAY, JUST KABRU AND MITHRUN!

-ah. oh man. mithrun asking kabru "what do you want to do?" hit me some way

-MITHRUN LOOKS SO SOFT WHEN HE TELLS KABRU "right. then let's do that." MY HEART! OH MY GOSH MITHRUN IS STAYING WITH KABRU. and kabru doesn't even question it, lmao, "of course my elf man would stay with me, wdym"

-okay, hold up though. i'm interested in how mithrun makes choices like that without desires. can choices be completely devoid of desire? if you choose something over something else, especially so blatantly, like mithrun choosing kabru over the expected course of things, ie his rejoining the canaries, that entails preference, and doesn't preference correlate to a want, to an extent? we don't seem to be differentiating between want and desire, so... is the want in such choices so minuscule that it doesn't count as a want? you could argue that choosing isn't necessarily wanting- you could be neutral about all choices and just pick one to get it over with, but mithrun wasn't asked to choose. kabru didn't invite him along, he didn't even imply he wanted him along. the canaries were like "come, captain, pspspsps" and mithrun asked kabru what *he* wanted, and then mithrun's actions were like "well, i don't have wants, but i'll trust *his* wants over my team's that i've known for years if not decades, so... bye bitches." which is heartwarming, to say the least, for someone like me who loves the mithrun/kabru duo.

or maybe, is mithrun’s choice completely driven by desire for revenge? but that would be easier to obtain if he stayed with the canaries. or could it be an extension of mithrun needing things and his actions being dictated by those things, just without mithrun registering consciously that he needs these things? eg his body collapses when he needs rest, but in *his* perception, he just collapses randomly, he doesn't register the need for rest. so maybe something in him needs to confide his backstory to kabru, needs to join kabru, and it doesn't register consciously as a need, he doesn't care to know the reason for acting on it, but his actions/choices are dictated by it all the same. is this elaborated on later and i'm babbling nonsense, or is it never addressed and i'm just overthinking it. i wonder.

-on a lighter note, i really love the tidbits of "meanwhile laios' party" 'cause it's so cool seeing "oh this is why they found the fire, this is why the dullahan lacked a horse" etc.

[stormiclown]

Master post (& fics I’m planning to write)

Ladies and Gentlemen: My take on Adrien having his own antagonist like Marinette has Lila and Chloe. A new transfer students makes an enemy of the entire class, but Adrien seems to be his main target.

Part 1 Part 2 Headcannons

Status: Completed (maybe)

Let Her Eat Cake: A one shot in which Lila is exposed as Hawkmoth’s ally, which opens up questions about Francois DuPont. In other words, Bustier is accused of being Mayura.

Read Here

Status: Completed

Lila’s Reflection: A one shot in which Lila has a twin sister who she feels inferior against. Includes Lilanette, Male Marinette, and Lila angst.

Read Here

Status: Completed

Marion Dupain-Cheng: Ice Cold: So we know the umbrella scene where Adrien basically pulls his “sad boy” card to make Marinette feel bad for him? Realistically, she shouldn’t have fallen in love with him just like that. I think she should have been wary of him because of his association with Chloe or outright hate him after he scolded her for being happy that Chloe was leaving. Or in ’Bubbler’ when all he cared about was having a party and not that adults we’re literally being launched into the sky. Or in ‘Despair Bear’ after a day of forced niceties he laughed when Chloe insulted Mylene’s macaroons. Long story short, Marinette shouldn’t have tolerated Adrien for as long as she did much less have a crush on him. If she did, it should’ve been obliterated by now. (This is a Drabble)

Read Here

Status: Completed

A Beetle’s Blossom: The members of the Justice League have seen many things. The deaths and resurrection of some of their comrades, alien doomsdays, off planet missions, and the literal destruction of the world. But the boy who *strongly* resembles Bruce in more ways than just his appearance has them stumped, especially Bruce himself.

On AO3

Status: On going

Fics That Are Coming Soon

The Most Hated Girl in Paris: An AU where instead of getting off Scott free, Chloe is legally punished for the Train Incident and has to deal with the fact that’s she’s Paris’ most hated girl. She must decide if she wants to continue living this way or if she’s going to claw her way to redemption. Long term project.

Tumblr Concept

Status: Not started

Not So Miraculous After all: Tired of citizens justifying their reckless behavior with the Miraculous Cure, Ladybug stops using it, making sure that consequences get left behind.

Status: Not Started

The Fall of A Queen (C. Bourgeois): An Au where Andre isn’t re-elected as Mayor. This changes everything. Long term project.

Status: Not Started

Cuisine Paradise: Seeing as both their parents work in the food industry, Alya and Marinette decide to start a YouTube channel together to share their recipes; Marinette’s pastries and Alya’s dinner recipes. It all in good fun and they accidentally become famous. Long term project.

Status: Not Started

New Boy In Town (Remy Gasteau): The son of the Prime Minister transfers to Francois DuPont and takes an interest in Marinette. Extremely long term project.

Based on an ask I submitted to @mcheang

Status: Not Started

Civil War (Paris Edition): No matter how hard Lila tries, the class refuses to turn against Marinette, believing that Lila was just confused and there was a misunderstanding. In an attempt to get the girls to help her with Adrien, she insists that Marinette would go great with Luka. It was a brilliant plan— until war breaks out over the class. Lukanette vs Adrienette. Short term project.

Status: Not Started

Round the World Trip: After winning a series of contests, essay challenges, and competitions, Marion unintentionally earned his class a fully paid global trip over summer vacation. Includes Male Marinette and shenanigans. Mid-length project.

Status: Not Started

Damian’s Secret Brother: After ruining any chance at a brotherly relationship with Tim after his murder attempts, Damian Wayne is determined to prove that he wasn’t just a brutish assassin. The discovery of his newest biological brother provided him with the opportunity to show everyone that he could be civil with new family members. But he didn’t think he would get attached to the friendly baker’s boy who had ambitions to be a fashion designer. Male Marinette and bio-dad Bruce Wayne. Mid-length project.

Status: Not Started

[ekkoh]

15 Questions and 15 Mutuals

literally LOSING MY MIND that i was tagged in this 😭 thank you @outer-edges

Were you named after anyone?

no, but my older brother told me i was named after a vacuum cleaner brand and i believed that for a couple years. 💀

When was the last time you cried?

today!! i cried over the end of nimona. one thing you should know about me is that children’s animated movies are constantly destroying me. (see: puss in boots 2, both spiderverse movies, the sea beast, fantastic mr. fox, i can keep going—)

Do you have kids?

nope! no nieces or nephews either. idk what i’m gonna do when i become an aunt bc i don’t know how to talk to kids. 😭 i feel like kristen stewart in that snl duolingo for kids sketch.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

not online but i feel like A LOT in person. maybe too much.

What's the first thing you notice about people?

this is weird but… hair color? where i live, natural brunettes are dwindling because everyone’s dying their hair blonde. 😭 whenever i meet a natural brunette in the wild i always feel an instant kinship. we are bonded for life. we can never dye our hair.

What's your eye color?

blue!! i’m irrationally proud of it because my entire family has brown eyes. i’m cool. i’m ~different.~

Scary movies or happy endings?

HAPPY ENDINGS!!!! this is because i don’t watch scary movies, ever. any movie that is slightly “scary” is off-limits bc i am a huge coward. i can’t even watch the nightmare before christmas.💀

Any special talents?

i’m really good at hitting all the best rides at disneyland without waiting in lines longer than 15 minutes. it’s an art form that i’ve mastered.

Where were you born?

CALIFORNIA!!!! (california gurls we’re unforgettable)

What are your hobbies?

i love creating incredibly specific playlists for incredibly specific emotions. i collect pins!! one of my prized possessions is a limited edition tangled pin. i also like to write fic, although real ones know i only write it in my head because i’m always disappointed by my skill when i actually type it out. 💀

Have any pets?

an orange cat named winston! not from new girl, i just thought it was a cute name. he is my light and my life, and yes, he is dumb.

What sports did you play/have you played?

i did jazz and hip-hop as a kid, i was a cheerleader (backspot) for one year lol, and i played volleyball (middle) for two years. i sucked at everything. i’m not athletic. 😭😭

How tall are you?

my government height is 5’6.5” but i like to tell people 5’7” because it’s a neater number. 💀 my height is actually one thing about me that i love. i’m on the tall side but not super tall, y’know? great for concerts. i can see the stage but i’m not feeling guilty bc i don’t block other people’s views.

Favorite subject in school?

ENGLISH NATION RISE UP!! i was the kind of girl that everyone hated in english class bc i was always commenting in discussions. also, not to brag (i’m bragging) but i always got the highest scores on essays.

Dream job?

this sounds stupid bc i literally worked at a dinosaur museum and then quit because it sucked but. i want to be a museum tour guide because i love teaching people about things i’m obsessed with. not a dinosaur guide though. i hate dinosaurs. (sorry to the dinosaur kids)

no pressure tag @sotvtaughtmehowtofeel (if you’ve already done this i am so sorry don’t look at me i would be so embarrassed)

[windandwater]

still thinking about this. a while ago I went through a bunch of old papers and homework from when I was a kid, including all my old journals and stories. if you’re a writer and you’ve never gone through your childhood stories, I can’t recommend it enough, it’s both hilarious and adorable.

I used to avidly read fairy tales, folklore, and mythology as a kid (what baby queer didn’t pick up Greek, Roman, or Egyptian mythology at some point? tag yourself) and there’s a certain period of my writing where I’m just writing my own folktales. some of them are more creative than others; some are just rewrites or takes on common stories.

in one of them that’s the latter type, three sisters leave their shitty dad and go on an adventure where they happen to meet three brothers who are perfect for them and they all get married, the end. and my teacher wrote in the margins “why do they all have to get married?”

and I know that she was trying to get me to think outside the patriarchy and subvert conventions and become a better writer.

but as an adult I also read that and want to fire back “it’s the genre!” because as an adult I read that story and was like, holy shit, this 8 - 10 year old kid has managed to write a perfectly crafted folktale that follows genre conventions down to the letter.

of course there’s stuff in there that today we would find problematic. of course there is!

I’ve written entire essays as an adult about how folktales and fairy tales reveal the values of the time they were written in. nowadays if I were to write those essays there would be an entire preface about how there is no “original version” of a folktale; these stories by definition are transformative through time. they are meant to be retold. they started as oral tradition and even now that we have writing I would argue that they are intended to be retold throughout time, always changing to reflect the changing cultures they’re told in and the people they’re told by.

so what my teacher was really saying was, write according to your culture’s values.

it’s a whole genre of its own, now, to rewrite fairy tales in our modern values. she was trying to teach me to write in that genre, and I was writing straight folklore, exactly what I was reading. I think at that point I may or may not have already been reading novels like that but what’s interesting ultimately to me here is the difference between what we as writers write, and what people think we should be writing.

look, I’m not ragging on my teacher for taking a minute to push a kid to subvert genre rules and the patriarchy and question what makes a happy ending truly happy.

but ultimately--what was I trying to do? probably just complete a goddamn assignment to turn in. write in a convention I was very familiar with--which I did very very well.

if the ending didn’t sell, why not? because that’s not an ending modern readers understand as automatically “happy” anymore. but would another ending wrapped up just as neatly in a bow be any less trite? if I said they all went off to find careers would that be less abrasive? if you think about that, that’s just as bad--is work all we’re good for? why is finding work any better than ostensibly finding love?

then do I expand the whole thing into a much longer story with fleshed out characters and backstory where we get to know each of them as individuals and we understand what would truly make them fulfilled and happy so that when I give them each their own personalized ending we can understand that it’s truly happy and fulfilling? lady, I’m ten (nine? eleven?) and this assignment has a page limit. I don’t know how to do that yet.

what I learned is the narrative symmetry: three sisters, three brothers. genre rules. assignment followed. I give myself zero notes and my teacher can suck it.

but also sometimes it’s just not that deep. sure, as an adult, I would want to clarify some stuff and make sure these women had agency and personality and choice in my story--after all, these are the values of my culture, and myself.

and also when you’re a writer, christ, everyone’s agenda is not your agenda.

write in my culture’s values? why? what if my culture’s values are shit, too? what if I want to challenge my culture’s values? what if the old culture’s values have a point? what if both of them are crap and I just want to do what the fuck ever without it being, like I said, that deep?

because sometimes you’re just writing a fun little genre story and if it doesn’t work out perfectly to make everyone happy that doesn’t necessarily mean you did a bad job--sometimes you were just writing what you wanted to write. and while, yes, you should probably not write something actively offensive or where everyone gets married because that’s just how it has to go--while you should probably make that ending believable and sell that ending--sometimes that’s the genre and it’s fucking okay to write what you want to write.

[whichpercydoyouthink]

I love watching queer, LGBT+ movies and shows, especially as more and more well-thought-out, complex stories are released. Generally, I love to write about movies I love. Movies that make me want to recommend them to everyone I know. Movies that rip my heart out and then make me thank them for doing so. Movies that make me smile or sob uncontrollably.

This was not one of those movies. I have complicated feelings about it therefore I shall vomit it all here for any passer-by to glance at.

Lost to Shame (2016).

I went into this thinking it might be something like Method which I have also written about. It... wasn’t? Honestly, I haven’t tried to compare the two too much because I don’t want to compare them.

The story: young actor, Oh Song Joon auditions for the role of Judy in Dark Life, a play about the pain of being a transwoman. In preparation for this role, Oh Song Joon studies the struggles of the trans community and meets Kang Yi Na who helps him understand her world. With the help of Yi Na and his dancer brother Oh Song Hyuk, Song Joon gets the role and things seem to be looking up for him until one day he finds out something about his brother and his best friend that has him questioning things he thought he knew about himself. Sometimes, we don’t even realise we are pretending until that pretence is tested and our fear reveals our true self.

Before I get into the negative, I just want to say how much I loved Kang Yi Na. She is a beautiful character and I loved seeing how confident she was as herself, how she had a loving community, and how strong of a character she was. She isn’t made out to be weak or a pity project for the main character. I also respect her for not standing any of Song Joon’s bullshit when he reveals his hypocrisy and for cutting him off completely when he a hundred percent deserves it. She doesn’t make any excuses for him just because he’s her friend and she doesn’t allow him to maintain his double standards in staying friends with her but rejecting his brother and his friend.

Which leads me to the main problem of this movie: Oh Song Joon. I’m not going to write an entire essay about how I hate his character and all the things he did wrong. I understand that the story is about revealing his hypocrisy and the struggle between what you thought you knew and your true fears that are forced out into the open. That being said, I do not enjoy watching straight homophobic main characters beating up decent LGBT+ characters just because their feelings are hurt, and then not even apologising properly or showing remorse. If they keep secrets from you then maybe there’s a reason and reacting in a toxic and cruel way only justifies their fear of telling you.

Another thing is that I did not enjoy the ending of this movie. Song Joon fails to reconcile with his brother who says he’ll die in the military because of what he’s done. Song Joon apologies to his co-workers but in a way that to me felt forced and self-satisfying. He plays the role of Judy for the last showing of the play and sees, Sung Wu Jae, the friend he beat up, in the crowd with a massive bruise covering half his face that Song Joon put there and he gets angry, asking what he did wrong in a way that blends his pain with that of Judy’s. But they are not the same. Not at all. Which frustrates me because it feels like he is victimising himself and then he cuts the blade into his wrist claiming he should die. Am I supposed to feel sorry for him? Am I supposed to worry about whether he will actually die or not? All I was concerned with in that scene is Wu Jae watching this all and what he thought. Why had he gone to see the man who had beat him up and then not even bothered to apologise? Was he supposed to see how much pain Song Joon was in and forgive him? How when the man hadn’t done anything to resolve anything? He’d never tried to talk to him or truly understood.

Maybe I misunderstood the ending of the movie or whatever the director’s intentions were but I was very dissatisfied and felt that the characters of the brother and the friend deserved better. So much better. And in the end Oh Song Joon is just a weak hypocritical character. The emotions of this movie... they don’t feel powerful or touching to me because we see everything from the eyes of the self-victimizing, straight cis male main character. He loses everything and learns nothing. It just feels like a hopeless movie that I found hard to see the beauty in. But that’s just my perspective.

Maybe someone else can enjoy it.

[my-friends-in-bantry]

Cory McBrown: Year 2 - Chapter 3

16th of December, 2002

First day of the last week of school before Christmas break.

Sam, John, and I go into English class. We all got A’s on the book reports we did last week. Our new assignment is to write a five page essay on what our parents mean to us.

I don’t know what to do with that. My mum is the only parent who’s really been there for me. Edward is my stepdad. I suppose he counts, but I’ve never really thought of him that way. He’s basically just Mum’s live-in boyfriend to me. He is Jenny’s father, but he’s not mine. My own left when I was six so I don’t know what he means to me, or what he might have meant to me had he stayed. Bart has sort of been a half parental half sibling figure to me since my dad left. But in the context of this essay, I don’t know if he counts.

And what about Sam and John? Their parents died when they were three. Since then they’ve had numerous foster parents. I think the Conways are their sixth.

We discuss this at the lunch table. “I just don’t know what to do here.” John says. “I don’t have any memory of my parents.”

“Really?” I say.

John shakes his head. “I guess I could write about the Conways, but I don’t really think of them as parents. Actually, your Mum is more like a second parent. To me, at least.”

Sam nods. “I know how you feel. I remember our parents a little, but not much. I don’t know that I remember enough to fill an entire essay.”

Trudy comes to our table. “Are you guys talking about the assignment?”

John nods. “I don’t know what to write, because I don’t remember my parents at all.”

Trudy rubs John’s shoulders. “I know.”

“I don’t know what to write because I really only have parent to write about.” I say.

Trudy nods. “Aye, me too. Ever since my mum ran off with that guy to Argentina, I really only feel like I have one parent.”

Sam looks at everyone. “Wait a minute… What if we wrote about what we were just talking about?”

“How do you mean?” John asks.

“Write about how we don’t have conventional situations with our parents.”

“Is conventional anyone’s reality?” I say.

“‘70s sitcoms would have you believing that.” John says.

“I think you have a really good idea, Sam.” Trudy says. ‘I can even write about how my Da showed up for me when Mum left.”

Sam nods. “I could write about what little I remember about Mum and Da. I remember them being good parents. They were loving and attentive.”

“Maybe I write about how I feel about our different foster homes.” John posits.

I sit there, thinking. “What’ll you write about, Cory?” Sam asks me.

“I don’t know. My Mum is the parent I feel is always there for me, but Bart has sometimes held a parental role in my life.” I say.

“So write about that.” Sam suggests.

I nod, musing as we finish lunch.

That night, I attempt to write my essay, but nothing’s really coming to mind. Why did my parental life have to be so complicated? Mum and Dad divorce, Mum gets remarried. Dad isn’t even in the picture. Older brother takes on a parental role.

This is why I do not want to get involved in romantic relationships. I don’t want to create a situation so tangled and messed up for a kid. Maybe I’ll meet someone one day who’s willing to donate their sperm and that’ll be it. Or I’ll go to a sperm bank. I’ve always wanted to be a mum. Like, since I was four. I actually pretended to birth one of my stuffed animals. It was a girl. The animal was a moose. I still have it. If she were a real kid, she’d be nine. If I could have that without the messy relationship part, that’d be my ideal.

17th of December, 2002

Yikes! It’s cold today! It’s so cold that as I write this in my math class (aye, I know, I should be paying attention to the class), I’m literally wearing my coat over my uniform and my mittens on my hands. I’m literally just doodling words because math is so boring!

Whoops! I missed something important, I think. The teacher’s calling on people…

False alarm. They didn’t call on me. The bell rings, and I rush out. Math is just not my subject.

In the hall, Bart meets up with us. “Hey guys, I gotta do some errands today, so I can’t walk home with you. You guys okay walking home today?”

“What kind of errands?” I tease.

“Nothing to do with you.”

I nod sarcastically. “Uh huh.”

“It’s not. I’m shopping for Mum. Now shush. Are you guys okay to get home?”

“Aye, Bart. We should be fine.” Sam says.

“But it’s cold!” John says.

Sam gives him a funny look. “Do you think it’ll be any less cold if Bart walks with us?”

John doesn’t answer right away. “I guess not.”

Bart nods. “Alright. I’ll see you at home, then.”

Bart starts to leave. “Wait, but we have one more class,” I say.

Bart looks back. “I know, but I’m not gonna see you when you get out. I’ll see you later.”

He leaves. I look at Sam and John. They shrug. And off to Civics we go. It’s better than math, but it’s not my most favorite subject.

We get out of school, and the three of us bundle up tight.

John shivers. “I think you should’ve called your Mum to come get us.”

“She’s working.” I say. ‘She had an evening class.”

“Speaking of which, do you want to go home or to the Health Center?” Sam asks.

I think for a moment as we walk. “Well… Home has hot chocolate.”

Sam nods. “Good choice.”

“Besides, I’m not in the mood for doing yoga today. I’d rather curl up with some hot chocolate and A Very Merry Pooh Year.”

John perks up. “Ooh! I love that movie!”

“Then let’s get home and watch it.” I say.

We continue to walk through town near our neighborhood, and when we’re a few minutes from home, something- rather someone catches my eye. A boy of about 14, maybe, leaning against the outside of a liquor store across the street. He looks a little worse for wear. His clothes are dark and disheveled. He looks kind of thin, too, and his dark hair is messy and in his eyes. He’s struggling to keep warm in the baggy coat he’s wearing. I see him light up what looks like a joint, which is confirmed when I catch a whiff of it in the cold, December air. Despite all this, there’s something that makes me want to go over to him. He looks like he needs help.

“You see that boy over there?” I say to Sam and John.

Sam looks at him. “Aye, I do. I think we should keep walking.”

“I want to go see if he’s alright.” I say.

“Cory, when Brienna said to keep an open mind about relationships, I don’t think she meant a stoner on the street.” Sam argues.

“Sam, he can’t be more than 14. He’s a kid. What kid who isn’t troubled would be on the street smoking weed?”

“None, you’re right. But it’s not something you should get involved in.” Sam still tries to talk me out of it. “Right, John?”

“What if he’s packing heat?” John says.

Sam looks at him. “You’ve been watching too many cop shows.”

“Okay, maybe not that. But he could have a knife. This could be dangerous.” John reasons.

I sigh. “I think you’re both wrong. I’m going over there.”

Sam and John try to protest, but I’m already walking across the street. I approach the boy, slowly and cautiously, cause I don’t know how he’s gonna react.

He’s in the middle of a drag when I reach him. “Hi.” I say. “Are you okay?”

He glares at me, distrusting. “What do you care?” he says, taking another drag.

I decide to be kind to him anyway. “Because I care about people, especially kids. You look like you could use some help, so I want to help you.”

Now he looks confused, still frowning, but softened from a glare. I notice his maple brown eyes, which look sad, but still sparkle, especially in the Christmas lights. “Why?” he asks. “You don’t even know me.”

I smile at him. “I could. What’s your name?”

He takes another puff of the joint. I think I made him uncomfortable. “I don’t want to tell you my name.”

I try to make him feel more at ease. “I don’t have to tell you my real name if you’re more comfortable that way.” I say. I try to think of an alternative, then say: “Some people call me Brownie.”

He continues to frown in confusion. He looks like he’s thinking deeply, like I’m the first person who’s ever been kind to him. “Why?” he asks.

I shrug. “For fun.” Actually, no one’s ever called me that before. I just made it up. His eyes made me think of it. I was thinking about maple syrup, which is sweet, and so are brownies. My name is McBrown.

He stares at me for a moment. It seems like he’s looking me over. As he does, my stomach flutters. Was that-? Was that what I think it was? My heart feels funny, too, and I feel a wave of heat go up my neck. Is this what blushing feels like?

Finally, he smiles. “I like you… Brownie. You’re cute.”

I smile. He called me cute! Wait- why do I care?

He continues, ignoring his joint. “My last name is Smith, so I guess you can call me Smithy.”

I giggle, and he smiles even bigger. He has a wonderful smile, wide and genuine. There’s that flutter again. What is happening to me? Is this what Sam meant? We lock eyes for a moment, and I feel very nervous all of a sudden. My heart skips a beat and my hands get clammy in my mittens. “So you said you wanted to help me? How?” he asks.

I forgot I had said that. It’s like I looked at his eyes and my brain short-circuited. I take a deep breath. “I want to give you love, and care.”

Uh oh. That made him frown. I may have gone too far. “What does that mean?”

Maybe he just doesn’t know what it’s like to be cared for. I put my hand on his shoulder, and my heart flutters. He looks at my hand. He looks scared. “Emotional love. Like, friendship. I’m saying I want to be your friend.” I realize I sort of flubbed what I probably should’ve said. But I’m suddenly very nervous.

He looks at my hand for a moment but then brushes it away. “What makes you think I need that?” he still looks scared.

I try to keep smiling, even though I feel like things are getting tense. “Well, I’m very good at sensing people’s energy. You have a very sweet, but pained energy.”

His shoulders tighten. “Okay, first of all, I don’t believe in that energy crap. And secondly, you’re treading on ground that’s none of your business.”

He starts to walk away, taking another drag. My heart sinks. For some reason, I put my hand on his shoulder again, trying to stop him from leaving. “But I want to help you.” I say.

He turns around. “I don’t want your help. Leave me alone!” He pushes my hand away, a little firmer, and Sam and John come up and get between me and him.

“Come on. Let’s just go home.” Sam says.

The boy, Smithy, and I just stare at each other for a moment. I feel like I’m gonna cry. I know I shouldn’t let it, but it kind of hurt when he pushed me away.

Except he looks like he wants to cry, too. I hesitate, but follow Sam and John back across the road. Looking back, he’s still watching us, and I can see the tears roll down his face. Before we round the corner, I see him stare at his joint for a moment, then back at me, and then he takes another long drag.

I actually cry as we round the corner. “Are you okay?” Sam asks me.

I try to shake off my tears. “Aye, I’m fine.” It doesn’t work. They still fall.

Sam doesn’t say anything else until we get home. While John makes hot chocolate, Sam talks to me. “What did he say to you, and do I need to kick his ass?”

I lean against my hand, resting my elbow on the couch. “Nothing… I mean nothing that deserves an ass-kicking.”

“I know you wanted to help him, but sometimes there are people you can’t help… Or, shouldn’t if you’re only 13 and have no training,” Sam continues.

I’m silent for a moment. Then I look at her. “I guess you’re right.”

Sam pats me on the arm. “I love you for wanting to help people in need, though.”

I nod silently as Sam gets up to put the movie in. I’m quiet for the rest of the movie. Somewhere between jingely-bells and Tigger hiding under Rabbit’s bed, Bart comes home with Mary. I tried to be talkative, but I wasn’t feeling like it, and Bart could tell.

After the movie, he tells us. “Mum told me to make you dinner cause she’s gonna be a little late.”

I nod. “Are you okay?” Bart asks me.

I look at him. “Aye, I’m fine.”

Sam looks at him, too. “She saw this kid on the street outside a liquor store, smoking a joint, and tried to help him, and he pushed her away.”

Bart raises his eyebrows. “He pushed you?”

“He pushed my hand off his shoulder. He didn’t push me.” I say.

Bart gets up and goes to the door. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go tell him off.” Bart says.

“You’re going to what?” I say. “Bart, no!”

“Cory, people don’t get to push you around without answering to me.” Bart leaves.

Mary follows him. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything he’ll regret.”

I slump in my chair.

[none-ofthisnonsense]

THE COUNCIL OF ELROND: PT 2 (BOROMIR TO BILBO)

I love this chapter.

And it would be well for all to know what passes there. For few, I deem, know of our deeds, and therefore guess little at their peril, if we should fail at last. 

[i chose a very small extract to keep myself from putting his whole speech]

I haven’t watched the movies in a while but they did him dirty. I want well-spoken earnest Boromir!!!! And the hope he represents! And the man (not the Man, that’s Aragorn) who goes through such a long journey. And the guy who’s friends with the hobbits and who STARTS OUT AS A GOOD GUY I’M LOOKING AT YOU PETER JACKSON

'I was in the company that held the bridge, until it was cast down behind us. Four only were saved by swimming: my brother and myself and two others. But still we fight on, holding all the west shores of Anduin; and those who shelter behind us give us praise, if ever they hear our name: much praise but little help. Only from Rohan now will any men ride to us when we call. 

I’m suddenly reminded of Tolkien, who fought in WW1. WW1, where help wouldn’t come. I have read letters from soldiers that describe the terrible waiting, the stagnation. I think of “much praise but little help”, and how actual that is.

The same values have existed all through our lives, and decades later it’s still relevant.

Loth was my father to give me leave, and long have I wandered by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond, of which many had heard, but few knew where it lay.' 

It’s sad how this is really an example of knowledge that was once known but that’s forgotten. (And how actual this is. I will never shut up about history and lost knowledge.)

'And who are you, and what have you to do with Minas Tirith?' asked Boromir, looking in wonder at the lean face of the Ranger and his weather-stained cloak. 

“looking in wonder”. “in wonder”. Boromir is in awe of Aragorn. It’s really well-done how he’s impressed by someone that most people would ignore (cf. Bree). His first thought when seeing this person with a mythical sword isn’t disbelief. It’s to suspend that disbelief and hope. (I could write an essay about hope in Tolkien. I don’t have time for it but I will rant about it here and no one can stop me.)

'Then it belongs to you, and not to me at all!' cried Frodo in amazement, springing to his feet, as if he expected the Ring to be demanded at once. 'It does not belong to either of us,' said Aragorn; 'but it has been ordained that you should hold it for a while.' 

“It does not belong to either of us”. That’s the thing with the Ring - every owner it’s had has felt the need to call it his. “My precious”, “mine”... all used to describe the Ring. That’s how Gandalf saw how deeply Bilbo was affected by it: he was repeating Gollum’s words and calling it “my precious”, and that’s how he realised that it was much more urgent that he’d foreseen. So Aragorn tries to distance himself from that, and Frodo, too, because if they start calling it theirs it’s the end. (And for Frodo it’s somewhat already started: he springs to his feet, as if to defend it. Now, I believe he would have given it, especially since he’s appeased in Rivendell and the shard’s been taken out of him, but the point still stands.)

There was a hush, and all turned their eyes on Frodo. He was shaken by a sudden shame and fear; and he felt a great reluctance to reveal the Ring, and a loathing of its touch. He wished he was far away. The Ring gleamed and flickered as he held it up before them in his trembling hand. 

WHAT DID I JUST SAY. FRODO WE’RE TOO EARLY IN THE BOOK FOR THIS also loving the dichotomy between him wanting it for himself and hating it. It’s the entire power of the Ring.

Frodo felt Bilbo stir impatiently at his side. Evidently he was annoyed on his friend's behalf. Standing suddenly up he burst out: All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken: The crownless again shall be king. 'Not very good perhaps, but to the point – if you need more beyond the word of Elrond. If that was worth a journey of a hundred and ten days to hear, you had best listen to it.' He sat down with a snort. 'I made that up myself,' he whispered to Frodo, 'for the Dúnadan, a long time ago when he first told me about himself. I almost wish that my adventures were not over, and that I could go with him when his day comes.' 

Oh, Bilbo, I love you. (And I love this rhyme. Why can’t Bilbo make poems all throughout the book! But seriously, I recited this in school and decorated my notebooks with this rhyme. I love it.)

'That shall be told,' said Elrond. 'But not yet, I beg, Master!' cried Bilbo. 'Already the Sun is climbing to noon, and I feel the need of something to strengthen me.' 

If anyone needed proof that Bilbo’s a hobbit.

[onetoomanyfandomfixations]

OBEY ME BOYS W MY COMFORT MOVIES

which of my comfort movies they would watch w you, and enjoy ✨✨

LUCIFER

Les Miserablès

Appreciates the art of it

Read the book and Loved it

I could never have u seen how Thick that bitch is

Prefers live performances to the movie, but likes the accessibility of the movie

Really loves how complex all of the characters are

Fave character is Javert

Can be found humming ‘Stars’ and ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ while he works

MAMMON

Legally Blonde

L o o k

He’s got a secret thing for chic flicks idc

Relates to Elle

Is underestimated, is pretty, can be scarily smart

Can quote that One Scene in its entirety

You know the one

Cheers when Elle and Emmett get together

Every Time

LEVIATHAN

Ponyo

It’s just,,,,,

So wholesome,,,,,,,,

Such a feel good movie

And the animation?????

We Love

Sings along with the ending

Got Mammon to make him the ramen once

It was too spicy

SATAN

The Princess Bride

Love it to Pieces

Doesn’t care about how bad the special effects are

Or how bad the acting is in moment

It just hits the hopeless romantic within him

Can and will quote the entire movie

As he should

If y’all are ✨romantically involved✨ he unironically says “as you wish”

All 👏 the 👏 time 👏

ASMODEUS

Mamma Mia

Here we go again

This is His Moment

He is the Moment

Does not shut up the entire movie

Is either singing or commentating

HARDCORE believer that Harry is the bio father

Will fight people on this

BEELZELBUB

Not a movie, BUT

Nailed It

As much as watching cooking shows makes him hungry, he also finds the process of cooking calming

Judges based on whether or not he would still eat the desserts

Thinks Solomon should compete for an easy win

Very few dishes make him lose his appetite

But it has happened before

Thinks Nicole is funny

BELPHAGOR

Again, not a movie but

Buzzfeed Unsolved

Find’s Ryan’s voice soothing

Hc him as a secret true crime nerd

Has been known to fall asleep to it before

Prefers true crime over paranormal

Will watch paranormal if he needs a laugh though

One of the few things he’ll rewind if he falls asleep

Bonus: VALENTINA

Barbie and the Diamond Castle

LIVES for the nostalgia

Watched it religiously growing up

Will write a 2000 word essay on why Alexis and Liana are in love and happily married

Adores the music

Can be caught humming it around the house

Gags every time the dragon is on screen w his weirdass head dongle

Forced the brothers to watch it for family movie night

[hellofeanor]

Fëanorian Quenya

Hey friends! Do you like elves? Do you like the Silmarillion? Do you like Fëanor and co? And most of all, do you like spending hours thinking about minor details pertaining to made-up languages??? If so, boy do I have a treat for you! Let’s delve into the weird world of Fëanorian Quenya and explore some history and mechanics of why they talk Like That.

I’ve seen a lot of posts joking about the Fëanorian lisp, which is about as funny as a joke about a speech impediment can be. 👍 It’s important to understand, though, that this IS a joke. No, they didn’t really speak with a lisp. Yes, they did pronounce some S sounds as TH. That’s the critical disclaimer here: SOME. It’s not a blanket pronunciation. There’s a lot of background research that goes into determining which words would be pronounced with S and which would be TH, and that’s what we’re going to look at.

So if this is something you’ve come across in fandom and you’re not totally sure on the details, or if you ARE sure and just want some more in-depth info, read on.

The stuff probably everybody knows already

For anyone who’s been hanging around the Fëanorian corner of the Silm fandom for more than three minutes, there’s about a 100% chance you’ve heard of Fëanor’s penchant for retaining an archaic TH pronunciation after the majority of the Noldor went ahead and started pronouncing this sound as S instead. You may also know that this sound is represented by the letter thorn (Þ) in HoME, but since thorn doesn’t exist in modern English orthography and it’s a pain to keep typing the ALT code, I’m sticking to TH here. Anyway, all this was due to the fact that Fëanor was a huge mama’s boy, and his mom Míriel Therindë (later called Serindë, which made Fëanor want to punch walls and possibly also fellow elves) was an outlier who retained the TH after it fell out of use. Her son Fëanor, in turn, kept this up to honor her. Now, whether or not he would have bothered if this sound hadn’t literally been a critical part of her name is debatable, but that debate is outside the scope of this essay.

Fëanor continued to use the TH pronunciation until his death, and required his sons to use it as well. Finwë, however, switched over to S after the death of Míriel and before his marriage to Indis. Fëanor, reasonable and level-headed as he was, took this as a personal insult and decided that anybody who rejected TH likewise rejected him. So presumably, his loyal followers would have obeyed his totally reasonable demands not to give in to the seductive S-shift.

Why tho

Why did the Noldor decide to alter their pronunciation from TH to S? Great question. Nobody really knows. For the hell of it? IDK. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But the important thing to understand is that elves, and especially Noldor, were really committed to making sure their language sounds cool. This is why it changed so much and so comparatively quickly for an immortal population: they were actively invested in changing it. They liked inventing new words and exploring new sounds and messing around with grammar.

So at some point some influential Noldo might have been like, hey y’all, let’s stop saying TH and say S instead! And everyone (except Míriel I guess, who was known for her elegant manner of speech and didn’t want to muck that up by changing pronunciation of a whole letter) was like, whoa, capital idea my good egg. And they went with it. Previous ideas along these lines included ‘hey y’all, let’s stop saying KH and say H instead’ and ‘hey y’all, let’s stop saying Z and say R instead’, and those went over swimmingly. Nobody could have foreseen the problem this TH to S business would cause.

Now here’s a fun fact. There was another change to Noldorin pronunciation that happened AFTER Fëanor’s birth, that he himself was involved in. This one was all about bilabial to labiodental F. And those sure are some words, so if you don’t know what I’m talking about (I don’t blame you), BILABIAL is a more whispery sound that happens when you say F using only air passing through your pursed lips, and LABIODENTAL is when you say F with your top teeth touching your bottom lip. Going forward I’m going to use PH to represent the bilabial sound, and F for the labiodental.

So F got on the radar of the Noldor via the Teleri, who used this sound in their language. And ol’ Fëanor figured it would be awesome to incorporate it into Quenya because he thought the PH sounded too close to HW, and the two were getting confused by lazy speakers. Why did he care? Because of his dad’s name and his own, of course. If people started to get lazy in their pronunciation, we’d end up with Hwinwë and Hwëanáro, which would be terrible and stupid and unacceptable. He accused the Vanyar of leaning down that road, and he wanted to stop that kind of shift before it happened to the Noldor. How to do that? Why, by instigating a different shift from traditional Noldorin PH to Telerin F!

“Hey y’all, let’s stop saying PH and say F instead!”

“Whoa, capital idea my good egg.”

Moral of the story: Fëanor is only concerned with Quenya pronunciation insofar as it affects his own name and the names of family members he likes. He does not care whether it’s staying the same or moving to a new sound so long as it personally makes him feel good and his name sound cool. Therefore the true way to piss him off would be to call him Curuhwinwë Hwëanáro, son of Serindë.

Okay so here’s how it works

Now that history is out of the way, let’s get back to how TH was used by the Fëanorians. As I mentioned earlier, TH wasn’t a blanket pronunciation. It all depended on the original form of the word, and whether the root had a TH or an S. And some very similar-sounding words come from different roots, so this can get tricky. A great resource that’ll give you this information is Eldamo: Quenya words where the S was originally TH are marked out with the Þ (thorn) symbol in the wordlist.

Some examples:

Súlë (spirit, breath) comes from the root THŪ, which means it would be pronounced with a TH. Silma (white crystal) comes from the root SIL, so it and related words like Silmaril would be pronounced with an S. No Fëanorian would say Thilmaril. Isil (moon), however, is a similar-sounding word that comes from a different root: THIL. Olos (mass of flowers) comes from the word LOTH, but: Olos (dream) comes from the root LOS. Fëanorian pronunciation would immediately differentiate between these two words.

While Fëanorians may have retained the distinct pronunciation of TH vs S, other Noldor can still differentiate between original S and S-that-used-to-be-TH in their writing. There are specific tengwar to use depending on the word’s original form. Silmë (the one that looks like a 6) is used for original S, while súlë (or thúlë, the one that looks like an h) is used for original TH.

Which other elves used this sound in their speech?

Fandom has really latched on to this TH as a Fëanorian thing, but it wasn’t that exclusively. The TH sound was actually ubiquitous in other elven languages, and in Valinor, only the Noldor dropped it. It was still used in Telerin and in Vanyarin Quendya. The Vanyar retained the TH not because of anything to do with Míriel, but just because they were a little more conservative and their language didn’t pick up on all the changes that the Noldor made. They also noped out of the Z to R shift the Noldor initiated, opting to keep the Z around.

When Indis married Finwë, she stopped using the normal Vanyarin TH and switched over to S as a gesture of loyalty to him and his people. Finarfin, however, out of love for the Vanyar and Teleri, switched BACK to TH. I like to think about how much it would have annoyed Fëanor that his snot-nosed kid brother was speaking correctly, but for the wrong reason. Go down one more generation, and Galadriel very specifically did not use TH. But this time it was absolutely a choice made as a glaring middle finger to Fëanor.

What this means for your fanfic or whatever

The big takeaway here: you can’t just have Fëanorians replace every S with TH and call it a day.

If you’re inventing names for your Fëanorian OCs or coming up with phrases for them to say, it’s important to look into the history of all Quenya S-words you end up using to determine if they should be S or TH. If Fëanor got mad about somebody saying Serindë instead of Therindë, he’d get equally mad about somebody saying Thilmaril instead of Silmaril and assume they were mocking him. Remember: this is a dude with no chill. (On the other hand, if you WANT somebody to be mocking Fëanor, Galadriel would 100% do this because she has an equally negligible amount of chill.)

It’s also important to note that the TH isn’t a true shibboleth, since pretty much all elves EXCEPT the non-Fëanorian Noldor use it. And even the S-preferring Noldor would still be able to pronounce the TH. Those who went into exile would go on to use it commonly in Sindarin, and those who remained in Valinor would still encounter it among the Vanyar and Teleri. So if you’re writing a scene where somebody has to pronounce a TH word to prove their loyalty… yeah, everyone can pass this test. And in the opposite direction, you can’t use TH to prove somebody’s an evil Fëanorian, either. They might just be Vanyarin or something. Or, like. Really Old.

Would the sons (and followers) of Fëanor keep using TH after his death? Oh hell yeah. This is an entire family unfamiliar with the concept of not dying on hills. They will keep using it unto the ending of the world. Actually, with Sindarin becoming the common language of Middle-earth from the First Age, probably not a lot of change happened in exilic Quenya. It became a lore language: a piece of living history. It would have been preserved as it was when the original speakers left Valinor.

(And then, thousands of years later, Galadriel finally returns home to Tirion like, Long have mine eyes awaited this most blissful of sights, and ne’er hath my sprit soared with such grace, for I am returned! And all the Amanyar Noldor stare at her like, whatchu bangin on bout, eh? Because they had nothing better to do in the peace of Valinor than push Quenya to brave and frankly questionable new horizons.)

Anyway, there you go: a somewhat brief history of Fëanorian Quenya. I hope you found this informative and useful, or at the very least not boring. Obvs this is super condensed and, uh, not particularly scholarly, but I promise I know what I’m talking about. I have a university degree! (Not in anything even remotely related to what’s written above, but I hardly see how that’s relevant. It’s still a DEGREE.)

Questions? Need clarification or want more info? My asks are always open!

[peachyysugaa]

troublemaker

― dancer youtubers!lee heeseung x gn!dance major!reader

sparks fly when the top two dancers on youtube collab!

genre: slow-burn fluff, s2l

wc: 3.9k (omg i'm sorry) + 2 twitter pics

warnings: probably some wrong dance terminology, slightly suggestive (the dance is just 😳), short timeskip, it's cheesy please bear with me

part of my youtuber enhypen series, the fifth upload! feel free to read on its own~ ♞──────────────────────────♞

you finish off your last move with your arms wide open, your chest heaving up and down from lack of breath. smiling nevertheless, you know you absolutely love the feeling of getting your breath taken away after dancing because you know it meant you did your best. you walk towards the camera lens and peek at the comments through your open laptop.

"did you all enjoy that?" you ask breathlessly grinning. the flooding comments are filled with compliments from your cover of nct u's boss. however, one comment, in particular, caught your eye as others seemed to reply to it.

heeseung ✔ 2s ago wow that was amazing do you wanna do a collab sometime? 😊

line break insurance you've failed me 5x already

your eyes widen as you let out a gasp. "is that the lee heeseung?" you accidentally say out loud. you wince at the realization of your mistake. the comments are both praising you for your success in getting noticed by the other top dancer on youtuber and relating to your remark.

heeseung ✔ 3s ago haha yes it's me dm me if you want to hear more about it 🤍

"oh wow... this is really cool..." you state before blinking to get you out of your stupor. "well everyone, that's going to be all for y/n's motion of dance today! thank you so much for tuning in, love you!"

you wave goodbye for a few more moments and then shut off the broadcast, closing your laptop as soon as you do. you blink twice and suddenly let out a scream.

you stop with a gasp and cover your mouth with your hands because you cannot believe you forgot that your dance studio isn't the most soundproof of places. "sorry, other dance students..." you whisper to them but more for yourself.

taking a look around your escape, your passion, you can't believe you've made it to where you are, being praised as one of the top dancers on such a vast social media platform like youtube. if anything, you guess it runs in your family, after all, you are related to choi yeonjun, who is considered 4th gen's it boy.

though people were skeptical of you at first when you came on the youtube scene as a dancer after your older brother started taking more to modeling and acting, you quickly proved them wrong by showing them your talent and bloomed from then on. of course, you can't forget to mention the person who skyrocketed just around the same time as you.

and that was the aforementioned lee heeseung. you sigh as you finish packing up your clothes and things to head back to your dorm, glancing out the window to see the sun beginning to set. it seems today was a rare early finish for you.

"i could go for a coffee... i need to finish my classics essay anyway," you mumble to yourself, throwing your bag over your shoulder before hitting the showers and changing into a more casual set of clothes. the finishing touch is a baseball cap that sits snug on your head. tightening the strap on the back and grabbing your backpack and dance bag, you finally take your leave of your beloved dance studio and return the key on the way out. fresh air meets your face, allowing you to take a whiff of the cherry blossoms that have been blooming for a month or so as you make your way to the campus café.

ding ding, the coffee shop's calm doorbell welcomes you as your nose is hit by the sweet smells of freshly ground coffee beans. "welcome!" one of the servers calls at the counter, smiling at your figure that walks closer to order. "what can i get you?"

"hi, may i have..." you scan the menu quickly for a familiar drink. "a honey cinnamon iced latte please?"

"of course, name please?"

"choi y/n," you reply.

if they recognize you, they don't make any notion of it, simply scribbling your name on the plastic cup as you make your payment. you're grateful for the normal interaction and the peacefulness of the café, especially after a surprising stream. "i'll call you when your order's ready, choi y/n-ssi," they inform you with a warm grin.

"thank you," you smile back before going to find a seat. spotting a relatively private area close by with only a pair of boys sitting at the booth, you decide to take the booth two spaces away from them. one boy, you notice, sits taller than the other, but his face is covered by a baseball cap. the other looks like a freshman, his cheeks accentuated by a pair of deep dimples.

as you take your seat, you can't help but think the boy with dimples looks rather familiar but can't seem to place your finger on it. shrugging, you simply begin preparing to write your essay by taking out your laptop and notes from your classics ge. the moment you finish is when you hear your name being called.

"choi y/n-ssi, your honey cinnamon iced latte," the server's voice calls. on your way to receive your awaiting drink, you can finally hear the voices of the two boys sitting two booths down from you.

"did your crush just say choi y/n?" the one with the hat says.

'yes, that's me,' you think to yourself nonchalantly.

"weren't you just watching their stream, heeseung hyung?" another voice says as you pick up your latte and thank the server.

wait, heeseung? as in lee heeseung? it's when you turn around with your drink in hand that you notice the two males looking straight at you. now you're able to make out the features of the boy with the cap, and there's no mistaking it.

"lee heeseung?" you mutter out loud at the same time he speaks out yours.

well, maybe that wasn't what you were expecting today, but hey, life is full of surprises, even if they are one after the other for you. after that unexpected encounter, you and heeseung acquainted yourselves, he invited you to sit with them, and now you're sitting at their table, awkwardly sipping on your latte.

"right, so should i leave?" the other boy, who you found out is studytuber and vlogger yang jungwon (which is why he looked familiar to you), blurts out. you chuckle as heeseung shakes his shoulder lightly. "what? you two clearly have to talk about something, i need to study."

"yea, yea, lover boy. make sure you say bye to your crush on the way out," the male dancer teases, causing the younger one to turn bright red.

"don't call me that, hyung," he mutters before picking up his bag and leaving the booth. sure enough, you watch as jungwon passes by the counter and erupts into a nervous mess the moment the server beams at him.

"ah... so he likes them?" you think out loud.

"yup, it's been almost four months now. i'm the reason he even knows this cafe and that server exists," heeseung mentions, making you nod courteously. he turns his attention back to you with his hand placed under his chin. "but their relationship is besides the point. let's talk about us."

"d-did you have to put it that way?" the forwardness catches you off-guard, and you suddenly have a harder time swallowing a sip of your coffee.

"sorry," he says with a teasing smile. "i just think the collab i mentioned would be good for both of us, and it'll be really fun too."

"i agree, people who like you will come to me and vice versa," you nod. "but do you know what we would be dancing to?"

"so does that mean you're in?" he asks, smile starting to grow on his face. wordlessly, you roll your eyes and hold out your hand for him to shake. that's when his full smile comes out, causing your cheeks to heat up as you think about how much more handsome it makes him look. taking your hand, heeseung shakes it with his vigorously. "alright, dance partner, we have a deal."

after much deliberation and research, the two of you finally agree on troublemaker by the duo hyuna and hyunseung. heeseung suggested this song, stating that he always wanted to do the choreo with somebody and that it's destiny that both males have a name that starts with h and ends with seung. quite frankly, it's not like you could find much anyway, besides some cool music bank mc stages, it is cool that troublemaker was originally an opposite-gender duo in the korean entertainment industry.

the choreography however is an entirely different story. at many points, hyuna's body is touched by hyunseung and vice versa, but if they can do it and stay professional, then you believe you can too. besides, dancing will always be just dancing. heeseung also assures you that if you want, the two of you can just have your hands hovering, which makes you feel relieved to have an understanding partner.

hours pass by, and you and heeseung decide to meet at your usual dance studio daily after all your classes, which wasn't hard because he also frequented the same one.

"i still can't believe we attend the same university," you say aloud as the both of you pack up your laptops and supplies.

"i know right, you would think one of us would recognize the dance studio we go to 24/7, right?" he laughs. "although, i've seen you use a different one sometimes."

"do you really watch my covers and streams often?" you ask baffled. he and you wave the workers goodbye and make your way to the brisk evening air waiting outside as the staff sends you off.

"i do, is that so hard to believe?"

"a little," you reply sheepishly.

"well, let me walk you to your dorm and prove to you how much of a choi y/n stan i am," he boasts, and you let yourself laugh freely as you walk beside him to your destination.

it's strange, knowing a famous youtuber you watched also knew and followed you, but then again, you're not exactly nobody either. when heeseung drops you off, he admits that he actually lives a few floors above you and that you two can walk home together after each rehearsal. it's even stranger, knowing a famous youtuber literally has been on your campus, in the same dorm building as you, and this whole time, the two of you have both been clueless as to the other's existence as an ordinary college student.

speaking of which, he can't be a dance major, right? otherwise, you would've already seen him! these thoughts keep you tossing and turning to the point you don't register when you fell asleep. when you wake up, you feel as if you didn't get any sleep at all, but get up and ready nevertheless, going through another regular day as a dance major.

by the time your classes are over, you walk out of the studio yawning about to stop by your dorm to freshen up and maybe fit in a nap. you're holding a hand over your mouth mid-yawn when a voice starts talking to you.

"good thing i stopped by to get coffee." you open your eyes and close your mouth to see lee heeseung holding two cups of coffee. he's dressed in an oversized white shirt and grey sweatpants, a common dance practice outfit, so why is your heart skipping so many beats. "yo, choi y/n."

"heeseung," you say, still shocked. he hands you the coffee, which is actually the same flavor you got yesterday. "thanks."

"no problem," he replies coolly. "maybe we should take a break before we get to it?"

"i'll be fine, how about we can start watching the choreo?"

"they're always ready to dance," he nods with an impressed smile. "as expected of a dance major."

the two of you walk inside and book a studio for a few hours as you raise an eyebrow at him. "wait, what major are you?"

"music production."

"that makes so much sense!" you say relieved, stepping into the studio room for the umpteenth time. "i was racking my brains wondering what major you were."

"so the famous choi y/n is curious about me?" he smirks. you groan and facepalm in response. "i'm kidding, i'm kidding. let's watch the video on my tablet?"

nodding, the two of you watch carefully, eyes glued to the screen at your respective roles. you hold your breath at some touchy parts but also notice that both idols were able to shine in their solos.

"a few tweaks here and there, and it'll be perfect," heeseung comments once the video is over. "but let's go over some boundaries, yeah? let me know what you're comfortable with and what you're not."

"right," you agree, once again relieved to have such a safe and understanding partner like him. "well, i think i'm okay with you touching my arms, shoulders, and hips like hyunseung did to hyuna. i just need some time to get used to it."

"alright, that sounds good," he says nodding with a hand under his chin. "then for today, i'll just hover my hands over the places they need to be."

"what a gentleman," you tease.

he rolls his eyes playfully at you. "let's start marking."

and so that's what the two of you start on. with the video on the tablet, you go through the motions with the speed lowered, eventually picking up more moves until you're able to follow at the normal speed. as expected of the top two dancers on youtube, the two of you are quick on observing and learning the dance and get done with basic marking within 20 minutes or so.

after marking, you take a quick water break to watch the video again in full detail, officially beginning your first real practice. as promised, throughout the entirety of marking, heeseung has kept his hands to himself, but you've become comfortable enough to have him do a little more.

before you start practicing for real, you decide to speak with him. "hee," you call him as he puts down his water bottle.

"hm?" he confirms that you have his attention, looking up with his large doe-like eyes while wiping his mouth off from some excess water.

"uhm.." you fidget with your top a little before mustering up some courage. "you can do light touches now for the choreo."

"really? are you sure?" you nod at his question, causing him to come up to you and ruffle your hair lightly. you bat his hands away with a pout, smoothing out the mess he made as he laughs at you. "that's great, y/n," he says with a bright smile, unknowingly making your heart beat a little faster as you nod again. in your head, you rush to cover up the physical reaction with an excuse that it's just from the amount of exercise you've done.

the two of you stand in front of the mirror, ready to go. before the music starts, heeseung turns to you and says, "just let me know if i make you uncomfortable at all."

"i'll be fine," you reassure him with a small smile. that's when the song begins, and the sparks start to fly. every move flowed like water, yet every touch between the two of you was like electricity as if the two elements were working together instead of fighting. even though the touches are light, they still put chills up your spine, in a way that you can only describe with the phrase "meant to happen."

was fate moving its course to put this match together, or were you imagining it? you're not sure, but you grin while catching your breath once the first practice is over. falling to the floor softly, you sit with your hands splayed behind you and let out a relieved sigh. "ahh... dancing is so... great!"

heeseung chuckles at your reaction and offers a hand to get you up. "i'm glad you think that because we got a lot more practice ahead of us, partner."

"yup!" you say with a widening smile. the moment you took his hand, you felt an electric jolt that almost made you let go. getting up, you shake it off and barely catch the expression on your dance partner's face. "is something the matter?"

he blinks a bit before he's shaking his head with that charming smirk of his. "nope! let's practice!"

practice, practice, practice. that's how the next few hours go. and just like the day before, heeseung walks you to your dorm building, this time the conversation about how excited the two of you are for the recording.

that's basically how the next four or so days go, now that heeseung came into your life. your daily routine of wake up, eat, class, dance, repeat was shaken by him, because now he was a part of it. it's an indescribable feeling, hanging out with him. the best word, or phrase actually, is the same one you used while dancing with him: meant to be.

so when you finally get to the day of recording, you almost don't want it to end. at least, that's what you're telling your best friend and makeup artist, kim sunoo.

"friend, you're telling me that you and this guy have been following along to..." he tells you to look up as he curls your eyelashes. "a dance like that for four days and you've been getting shocks this whole time?"

"i mean, yeah?"

"y/n, i love you, but you're missing a little something, aren't you?"

"wha-!?"

"pucker up, sweetie, we're making your lips look kissable," sunoo commands. you do an eye-roll but do as he says. "if you don't ask him out or do something by the end of this, you can at least kiss your best shot at a boyfriend goodbye with luscious lips."

he finishes applying the color and asks you to rub your lips together and make that pop sound. "perfect," your best friend compliments. "go out there and get your mans."

"thank you, sunoo!" you say, gazing at your reflection in the mirror and loving the way he accentuated your features. "by the way, you're all talk. you should ask your celebrity crush out when they appear on your channel."

"i'll get there when i get there!" he whines and starts pushing you out of his dorm room. "just go get 'em, tiger."

with that, you make your way to the dance studio where heeseung is waiting for you, dressed in hyunseung's iconic suit with the leopard-patterned blazer. your heart quickens, seeing how much more handsome he looks dressed up, hair slicked back and some makeup done. he looks up upon hearing the door open and his mouth slightly hangs open as well.

the both of you are silent as you approach him, in your equally bedazzling outfit, sheer to mimic hyuna's stage dress. "you look amazing," the two of you say at the same time. stunned at the simultaneous sentence, you two immediately start guffawing at how this was unlike your usual interactions.

"that was so awkward!" you blurt out, unable to contain your laughter.

"yea, not like us at all," he admits while he wipes a stray tear from laughing too hard away. smiling at each other, you admire the way his eyes reflect your image and sparkle. "you ready to get this show on the road."

"ready as i'll ever be." the two of you get into your positions on the opposite ends of the room, and heeseung starts the camera and the music soon after. you take each step slowly to meet him in the middle as he takes your hand and brings it up to his lips to give it a kiss while smirking. you keep your face professional as the two of you take a few steps forward, the back of his fingers curled over the front of yours.

starting back-to-back, you walk forward a bit before the beat drops and heeseung's part begins. you're on autopilot as you dance your fingers from his chest to his shoulders, and then the chorus comes. hips swaying, you're able to feel his hands' light taps on your body as the two of you lose yourself to the music you've danced to hundreds of times this week.

then, it's your killing part as you lipsync hyuna's rap and take bold steps around heeseung's body, ending up behind him to bring your hands over his shoulders and make a scratching movement across his chest. you step towards his side, do your thing, and walk away as if playing hard to get.

you wait for his part during the bridge and make a side glance towards him before moving towards him and performing the hip-heavy part of the chorus together. your partner moves his face up along your arm, taking it in like you're a statue. you then act like you brush him away when heeseung gets close enough. after this second chorus, you're leaving him to do his big solo, watching carefully as he makes his every move precise and crisp yet flow well.

it's the last chorus now, and this time, you can't take your eyes off each other as you finally face one another. you stay drowning in his shades of brown without a single misstep until you have to walk away from him. you wait for him to come towards you, back slightly turned away as he jaunts forward, making his way to be captured by your hand behind his neck.

the last breath of the song is the one where you're supposed to turn your head away as his own chases yours, but this time, you brave forward and lean in close. the music fades away, but all you hear is his breathing, feeling it against your own.

you stay like this, ensnared in each other's arms, forgetting about everything except the person wrapped close to you as you feel his every breath against your lips and every inhale and exhale under your hand. he searches your eyes, looking for some kind of sign. "do you mind if i—"

that was all you needed before you're pressing your lips against his. it only takes seconds for him to kiss you back, moving his hands from their previous position on your hips to hold your face. becoming breathless from dancing was one thing, becoming breathless from kissing heeseung was another thing entirely, it was in a league of its own you note as you pull away and rest your forehead on his.

"we'll have to edit that out," you say after what seemed like ages of taking each other in while chuckling.

"i have a better idea than editing."

"oh, and what's that, handsome?"

"look at you getting all bold, troublemaker," heeseung replies with that smile of his. he shakes his head, moving away from you and taking your hand in his. "how about we go on our first official date as youtube's top dancer couple?"

"that does sound like a better idea," you agree, your own smile widening.

"then let's make it happen, sweetheart."

bonus! - click for full images

taglist: @cha-raena @imjustme-things @misoiishi @rikitaiyaki send an ask to join the taglist! :3c permanent taglist: @fiantomartell

a/n: wow this was a long one!! i'm not sure if i detailed all the movements well, but i hope you all enjoyed it nevertheless <3

[jackoshadows]

 “You,” Ned said, kissing her lightly on the brow, “will marry a king and rule his castle, and your sons will be Knights and princes and lords and, yes, perhaps even a High Septon.” - Eddard, A Game of Thrones

My featherbed is deep and soft, and there I’ll lay you down, I’ll dress you all in yellow silk, and on your head a crown - Arya, A Storm of Swords

“Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them.” - Kevan, A Dance with Dragons

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So this is an essay of sorts on my speculation/theory that Arya is going to end up as a leader of the North by the end of the series. I will split this into several parts:

Arya and leadership

Arya and Northern leadership

Arya and Nymeria

Skillsets

Importance of being a Warg/Skinchanger

Succession

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Arya Stark and leadership

“Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.“  - Arya, AGoT

Arya has always been a leader rather than a follower. Just like Jon at the wall, she initially chafes at having to follow orders instead of doing what she thinks is the right thing to do. Despite Gendry and Hot Pie being older than her, she’s the one giving the orders and making the plans. She manipulates or forces characters into doing what she wants – getting Gendry to leave Harrenhal and forcing Jaqen to help her free the Northmen.

Arya took the lead, kicking her stolen horse to a brisk heedless trot until the trees close in around her. Hot Pie and Gendry followed as best they could. From time to time Arya glanced over her shoulder, to make sure the two boys had not fallen too far behind, and to see if they were being pursued - Arya, ASoS

Like most of our protagonists, Arya is ambitious and interested in being an active participant at the top. She wanted to become a King’s councilor and build castles. That entire little speech that Varys gives about the ideal candidate for ruling fits Arya to a T.

Arya has gone hungry, scrubbed and cleaned, cooked and kept house, sewed and mended clothes, bound up wounds, been hunted, been scared for her life – and done all this with limited protection. Just survived on her wits. Arya can wield a sword, is fluent in several languages and has studied with a Septa.

We also see war torn Westeros and the suffering of the smallfolk through Arya’s eyes in ACoK and ASoS. It doesn’t matter if it’s Stark or Lannister, the smallfolk suffer the same – Septon Meribald’s ‘Broken Men’ speech in AFfC embodies what Arya observes. After Arya frees the Northmen using weasel soup and Vargo Hoat betrays the Lannisters, there are reprisal killings, torture and rape enacted by Stark bannermen and the sellswords. The smith, Maester and the head maid are executed for merely serving Tywin – something on which they had no choice. Gendry points this out to Arya and she feels guilty for her part in all this.

“I hate this lot worse. Ser Amory was fighting for his lord, but the Mummers are sellswords and turncloaks. Half of them can’t even speak the Common Tongue. Septon Utt likes little boys, Qyburn does black magic, and your friend Biter eats people.”

The worst thing was, she couldn’t even say he was wrong. The Brave Companions did most of the foraging for Harrenhal, and Roose Bolton had given them the task of rooting out Lannisters. Vargo Hoat had divided them into four bands, to visit as many villages as possible. He led the largest group himself, and gave the others to his most trusted captains. She had heard Rorge laughing over Lord Vargo’s way of finding traitors. All he did was return to places he had visited before under Lord Tywin’s banner and seize those who had helped him. – Arya, ACoK

"It’s not a village, it’s only black stones and old bones. “Did the Lannisters kill the people who lived here?” Arya asked as she helped Anguy dry the horses.

“No.” He pointed. “Look at how thick the moss grows on the stones. No one’s moved them for a long time. And there’s a tree growing out of the wall there, see? This place was put to the torch a long time ago.”

“Who did it, then?” asked Gendry.

“Hoster Tully.” Notch was a stooped thin grey-haired man, born in these parts. “This was Lord Goodbrook’s village. When Riverrun declared for Robert, Goodbrook stayed loyal to the king, so Lord Tully came down on him with fire and sword. After the Trident, Goodbrook’s son made his peace with Robert and Lord Hoster, but that didn’t help the dead none.”

A silence fell."  - Arya, ASoS

"Wolves, she thought again. Like me. Was this her pack? How could they be Robb’s men? She wanted to hit them. She wanted to hurt them. She wanted to cry.” - Arya, ASoS

The smallfolk in the Riverlands are caught between the Starks, Tullys and Lannisters with no good choices. And on the ground level, Arya sees this, understands this and acknowledges this. Her actions benefited house Stark and no one else. She understands the cost of war.

Arya is also very keen on justice. In that she not only thinks that characters deserve justice, but she wants to actively participate and deliver justice. She considers the execution of Dareon from the NW as a just one.

Dareon had been a deserter from the Night's Watch; he had deserved to die. - Arya, AFfC

“Guilty!” Arya shouted with the rest. “Guilty, guilty, kill him, guilty!” …

Arya could only think of Mycah and all the stupid prayers she’d prayed for the Hound to die. If there were gods, why didn’t Lord Beric win? She knew the Hound was guilty… - Arya, ASoS

Her father beat her so often and so brutally that she was never truly free of pain or fear until she came to us.”

“Did you kill him?”

“She asked the gift for herself, not for her father.”

You should have killed him.“ - Arya, ADWD

Arya drew back from him. "He killed the slave?" That did not sound right. "He should have killed the masters!" – Arya, aDwD

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Arya and Northern leadership

I would sooner my men die fighting for the Ned’s little girl than alone and hungry in the snow, weeping tears that freeze upon their cheeks. - Hugo Wull

The North has famously never had a female leader in House Stark. So is it possible for valiant Ned’s precious little girl to become the first Lady Stark to lead the North?

In terms of personality, Arya resembles some of the other female leaders/members of Northern houses. She is bold and forward like Lyanna Mormont and Wylla Manderly. She has trained with the sword and learned how to use a bow and arrow. She proactively engineers her own escape like Alys Karstark. Characters like Ygritte and Alys remind Jon Snow of Arya.

Arya venerates Ned Stark. She follows his advice as much as Robb, Bran and Jon do. Even more so. She executes a NW brother for desertion. And that is important for the Starks.

I should kill them myself. Whenever her father had condemned a man to death, he did the deed himself with Ice, his greatsword. - Arya, ACoK

The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. - Bran, AGoT

“The Starks do not use headsmen. Ned always said that the man who passes the sentence should swing the blade, though he never took any joy in the duty.” - Catelyn, ACoK

“Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold.” Robb lifted the heavy axe with both hands. “Here in sight of gods and men, I judge you guilty of murder and high treason. In mine own name I condemn you. With mine own hand I take your life. Would you speak a final word?” - Catelyn, ASoS

The pale morning sunlight ran up and down his blade as Jon clasped the hilt of the bastard sword with both hands and raised it high. “If you have any last words, now is the time to speak them,” he said, expecting one last curse. - Jon, ADwD

Arya is one of the Starkiest Starks of the whole lot. She is also the only Stark to actually have the Stark look. She is stubborn and determined to do things the Stark way. She often uses her father’s advice to guide her way.

Her father used to say that a lord needed to eat with his men, if he hoped to keep them. “Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.“ - Arya, aGoT

Arya had loved nothing better than to sit at her father’s table and listen to them talk. She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms.- Arya, AGoT

Whenever her father had condemned a man to death, he did the deed himself with Ice, his greatsword. “If you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him go look him in the face and hear his last words,” she’d heard him tell Robb and Jon once. - Arya, ACoK

Now there are theories that it is future Bran who was communicating with Arya through the weirwood at Harrenhal, but she does gain strength from her father’s words when she prays to the Old Gods.

Gooseprickles rose on Arya’s skin, and for an instant she felt dizzy. Then, so faintly, it seemed as if she heard her father’s voice. “When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives,” he said. “But there is no pack,” she whispered to the weirwood. Bran and Rickon were dead, the Lannisters had Sansa, Jon had gone to the Wall. “I’m not even me now, I’m Nan.” “You are Arya of Winterfell, daughter of the north. You told me you could be strong. You have the wolf blood in you.” - Arya, ACoK

And while Arya is travelling incognito, GRRM keeps her connected to the North, house Stark and the Northern plot. She starts her journey from KL with a NW brother Yoren. She’s disguised as a boy like Danny Flint, Manderly requests a song about brave Danny Flint at Ramsay’s wedding with ‘Arya’. In the Riverlands, Arya’s plot intersects with her father’s bannermen, she participates in the capture of Harrenhal for house Stark and is there for Roose Bolton’s war council. She meets both Roose Bolton and Aenys Frey – our antagonists in Winterfell facing off against Stannis in ADwD. She meets Robett Glover – who is currently in White Harbor - when she lets him out of the dungeons. She gets Jaqen to help her father’s men.

“Vargo Hoat’s come back with prisoners. I saw their badges. There’s a Glover, from Deepwood Motte, he’s my father’s man. The rest too, mostly.” All of a sudden, Arya knew why her feet had brought her here. “You have to help me get them out.” – Arya, ACoK

Arya looked. She knew all of her father’s men. The three in the grey cloaks were strangers. Arya, AGoT

Twin towers. Sunburst. Bloody man. Battle-axe. The battle-axe is for Cerwyn, and the white sun on black is Karstark. They’re northmen. My father’s men, and Robb’s. - Arya, ACoK

Harwin?” Arya whispered. It was! Under the beard and the tangled hair was the face of Hullen’s son, who used to lead her pony around the yard, ride at quintain with Jon and Robb, and drink too much on feast days. He was thinner, harder somehow, and at Winterfell he had never worn a beard, but it was him—her father’s man. Arya, ASoS

“I bet there are Winterfell men too.” Her father’s men, the Young Wolf’s men, the direwolves of Stark. - Arya, ASoS

Arya is also involved in betrothals/marriage – first to Elmar Frey and then married off to Ramsay Bolton to hold the North. As a side note, her connection to all these bastards is indeed interesting - Elmar Frey, Ramsay Bolton, Gendry and Jon Snow. Is GRRM trying to say something here?

We now have the Northerners and Freys that Arya sees in Harrenhal transposed to Winterfell and ‘her father’s men’ rising up for Arya Stark.

Now, we can speculate and assume that these Northerners would have done the same for the other Starks, but that’s not the point here. In the books, GRRM has written this story to revolve around Arya. The mountain clans are marching for ARYA. The Northern houses are fighting alongside Stannis for ARYA. When lady Barbrey Dustin points out the anger of the Northmen at the treatment of ‘Valiant Ned's precious little girl’ she is talking about ARYA.

GRRM has Stannis wanting to rescue Arya for Jon. He has Mance trying to rescue Arya for Jon. He has Jon breaking his vows and dying trying to rescue Arya. A large part of what drives this plot forward is that it’s Arya, and her special relationship with Jon Snow influences a lot of what is happening south of the wall. The story only happens this way with Arya in the North. And that’s why it’s Arya’s story and not that of any other Stark. Superimposing this or that Stark in place of Arya to make a case for why they would be leader of the North makes no sense. GRRM writing in the marriage of Arya Stark to hold the North makes the case for why Arya is important to the North.

So, Arya has actively helped free Northmen in the Riverlands, engaged with important Northerners and Freys at Harrenhal and drives the plot to take down the Boltons in the North. With her leadership skills, her ability to wield a weapon and fight, looking like Ned, following in Ned’s footsteps and advice, her fierce personality, her loyalty to bannermen, her desire for justice and to help the weak and powerless, her huge direwolf - she would be like the Kings in the North of yore.  I think the Northerners will be fine with Arya Stark being the Stark in charge.

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Arya and Nymeria

“What if the wolves come?” “Yield,” Arya suggested - Arya, ACoK

The direwolves are an important part of the books, and an important aspect of the Starks.They are as much a part of the Starks as Dany’s dragons are a part of her. They cannot be ignored as unimportant pets who will end up serving no purpose.

“He is part of you, Robb. To fear him is to fear you.”  - Catelyn, ASoS

Ghost did not count. Ghost was closer than a friend. Ghost was part of him - Jon, ADWD

“Part of you is Summer, and part of Summer is you. You know that, Bran.” - Bran, ACoK

“Wolves and women wed for life,” Haggon often said. “You take one, that’s a marriage. The wolf is part of you from that day on, and you’re part of him. Both of you will change.” - Varamyr, ADWD

You have five trueborn children,” Jon said. “Three sons, two daughters. The direwolf is the sigil of your House. Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord…The direwolf graces the banners of House Stark,” Jon pointed out. -  Bran, AGoT

“Roose Bolton has Lord Eddard’s daughter. To thwart him White Harbor must have Ned’s son … and the direwolf. The wolf will prove the boy is who we say he is, should the Dreadfort attempt to deny him.“ - Davos, ADWD

GRRM has mentioned several times that they are important.

The Lannisters are always likening themselves to lions, for example, and their motto “Hear me roar” speaks of a certain way of looking at life. But I think for the Starks it goes a little bit beyond that, especially in this generation, with these direwolves. It’s more than just a handy metaphor with them - GRRM, interview

"Wolves have been part of European folklore, of which America's descended, going back thousands of years. In Rome, Romulus and Remus -- there's always been this relationship between wolves and men." That relationship is seen time and again in Martin's series, and it's one that will Martin says will continue as the last two books are eventually released. Arya's wolf, Nymeria, in particular, will play an important role. "You know, I don't like to give things away." says Martin, a grin spreading across his face. "But you don't hang a giant wolf pack on the wall unless you intend to use it." - GRRM interview

The direwolves are important especially for Arya whose theme is ‘The lone wolf dies but the pack survives’ and there are constant mentions of the pack in her POV chapters. Nymeria is an alpha, a leader of her pack like Arya is a leader of hers.

“She says there’s this great pack, hundreds of them, mankillers. The one that leads them is a she-wolf, a bitch from the seventh hell.” - Arya, ACoK

Throughout ACoK and ASoS, Arya mentions the wolves in the Riverlands. They appear to be just ahead of her or behind her. In her chapters there are mentions of wolves eating people, of Roose going wolf hunting. It’s almost like the wolves are traveling with her. They even help her escape – the wolf howl giving the signal – from harrenhal. And it’s possible the pack was picking off Roose Bolton’s riders chasing Arya because they were following right behind.

She could hear the sound of her own breath, and the wolves as well, a great pack of them now. They are closer than the one I heard in the godswood, she thought. They are calling to me. - Arya, ACoK

Once, from the crest of a ridge, she spied dark shapes crossing a stream in the valley behind them, and for half a heartbeat she feared that Roose Bolton’s riders were on them, but when she looked again she realized they were only a pack of wolves. She cupped her hands around her mouth and howled down at them, “Ahooooooooo, ahooooooooo.” When the largest of the wolves lifted its head and howled back, the sound made Arya shiver.   - Arya ASoS

Nymeria keeps amassing this huge wolf pack and Arya being a strong warg can sense this

She was no little girl in the dream; she was a wolf, huge and powerful, and when she emerged from beneath the trees in front of them and bared her teeth in a low rumbling growl, she could smell the rank stench of fear from horse and man alike. - Arya, ASoS

She dreamed of wolves most every night. A great pack of wolves, with her at the head. She was bigger than any of them, stronger, swifter, faster. And her brothers and sisters were with her, many and more of them, fierce and terrible and hers. - Arya, ASoS

In her wolf dreams she was swift and strong, running down her prey with her pack at her heels. - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

The wolf dreams also helps Arya connect to Bran, Jon and Rickon. We see Ghost able to sense the other direwolves and Bran trying to communicate with Jon.

Nymeria is a grey wolf and the stark sigil is a grey wolf on a white background.

 “The rain had washed the guard’s blood off her fingers, she wore a sword across her back, wolves were prowling through the dark like lean grey shadows, and Arya Stark was unafraid.” - Arya, ACoK

“Arya had her father’s eyes, the grey eyes of the Starks.” - Reek, ADwD

What’s in a name? I have already mentioned in another post, the symbolism of the names for the direwolves and them being an indication of the future for the Starks. Arya’s direwolf is named Nymeria – a Rhoynish warrior queen who led her people to safety. Something that Arya may well do in the future when the North is under attack from the Others.

More importantly, Nymeria in Dorne changed the customs and rules of house Martell to follow those of Rhoynar and allowed for female rulers. Nymeria herself was the first female leader and was followed by her daughter. Nymeria changed the norm for Dorne and we could see the same happening with Arya Stark in the North.

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Skills and Education

Look with your eyes, Syrio had said, listen with your ears.- Arya, ACoK

Education at Winterfell:

Arya was mainly taught by Septa Mordane and received the same education as Sansa. She would have been taught history and about the Faith by the Septa, she can read and write, and is good with sums. She’s better than Sansa at managing a household. She can ride a horse like a Northman and is an excellent swimmer. She knows some high Valyrian. Besides the Septa, Arya also hangs around Ned Stark when he is teaching the boys. Many of his words of wisdom that she remembers is from when he is teaching the boys. She mingles with her father’s men, the cooks, the stable boys etc.

Kings Landing:

Water Dancing style of swordfighting from Syrio Forel.

Harrenhal:

Being incognito allows Arya to move around like a mouse or the ghost of Harrenhal and observe and learn things. She is privy to Roose Bolton’s war council and listens to them discuss the Northern campaign against the Lannisters. We get the first inkling of the Red Wedding in these chapters between Roose and the Freys.

Arya observes the different people, analyzes their movements and figures out how to approach them.

The night she was caught, the Lannister men had been nameless strangers with faces as alike as their nasal helms, but she’d come to know them all. You had to know who was lazy and who was cruel, who was smart and who was stupid. You had to learn that even though the one they called Shitmouth had the foulest tongue she’d ever heard, he’d give you an extra piece of bread if you asked, while jolly old Chiswyck and soft-spoken Raff would just give you the back of their hand. - Arya, ACoK

And as lords and ladies never notice the little grey mice under their feet, Arya heard all sorts of secrets just by keeping her ears open as she went about her duties. Pretty Pia from the buttery was a slut who was working her way through every knight in the castle. The wife of the gaoler was with child, but the real father was either Ser Alyn Stackspear or a singer Lord Lefford made mock of ghosts at table, but always kept a candle burning by his bed. Ser Dunaver’s squire Jodge could not hold his water when he slept. The cooks despised Ser Harys Swyft and spit in all his food. Once she even overheard Maester Tothmure’s serving girl confiding to her brother about some message that said Joffrey was a bastard and not the rightful king at all. “Lord Tywin told him to burn the letter and never speak such filth again,” the girl whispered. - Arya, ACoK

She aids in the escape of the near hundred Northmen imprisoned in the dungeons and even Roose is impressed enough to make her his cupbearer. And the next time, she conceives of, plans and executes their entire escape all by herself. She plans for the logistics – weapons, transportation, people, travel route, what to wear.  She makes sure she is warmly dressed, takes the map from Roose’s chamber, uses her position of cupbearer to manipulate several men,  manipulates Gendry into escaping with her, takes down the guard and leads them away. It’s an endeavor that showcases her intelligence, cunning, determination, ability to strategize and lead.

Arya also shows a lot of restraint and keeps her secrets. She doesn’t trust the Glovers or any of the Northmen in Harrenhal - and considering the Red Wedding, it’s a good decision.

Their captors permitted no chatter. A broken lip taught Arya to hold her tongue. Others never learned at all. - Arya, ACoK

Arya watched them die and did nothing. What good did it do you to be brave? One of the women picked for questioning had tried to be brave, but she had died screaming like all the rest. There were no brave people on that march, only scared and hungry ones. - Arya, ACoK

On the road Arya had felt like a sheep, but Harrenhal turned her into a mouse. She was grey as a mouse in her scratchy wool shift, and like a mouse she kept to the crannies and crevices and dark holes of the castle, scurrying out of the way of the mighty.- Arya, ACoK

Braavos:

Arya’s education here is not limited to killing for the Faceless Men. She is also educated in poisons and languages. She improves on her high Valyrian and is now fluent in Braavosi and other Essosi languages. She learns acting/mummery. Not showing emotions on one’s face, detecting emotions in another person.

“A man does not need to be a wizard to know truth from falsehood, not if he has eyes. You need only learn to read a face. Look at the eyes. The mouth. The muscles here, at the corners of the jaw, and here, where the neck joins the shoulders.” He touched her lightly with two fingers. “Some liars blink. Some stare. Some look away. Some lick their lips. Many cover their mouths just before they tell a lie, as if to hide their deceit. Other signs may be more subtle, but they are always there. A false smile and a true one may look alike, but they are as different as dusk from dawn. Can you tell dusk from dawn?”

Arya nodded, though she was not certain that she could. “Then you can learn to see a lie… and once you do, no secret will be safe from you.”  - Arya, AFFC

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People skills

“I will remember, Your Grace," said Sansa, though she had always heard that love was a surer route to the people's loyalty than fear. If I am ever a queen, I'll make them love me.” - Sansa, ACoK

Arya’s ability to make friends wherever she goes highlights her people skills. And Arya is able to communicate and connect with people from all walks of life.

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. - Sansa, AGoT

She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen. Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their children., Arya, AGoT

Her father used to say that a lord needed to eat with his men, if he hoped to keep them. “Know the men who follow you,” she heard him tell Robb once, “and let them know you. Don’t ask your men to die for a stranger.“ - Arya, AGoT

Cat had made friends along the wharves; porters and mummers, ropemakers and sailmenders, taverners, Brewers and bakers and beggars and whores - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

Her girls were nice as well; Blushing Bethany and the Sailor’s Wife, one-eyed Yna who could tell your fortune from a drop of blood, pretty little Lanna, even Assadora, the Ibbenese woman with the mustache. They might not be beautiful, but they were kind to her - Cat of the Canals, AFfC

She’s also loyal to her pack. She doesn’t betray Jon even to her father. She helps free her father’s men. Despite Gendry talking of leaving Lommy or Weasel behind, she refuses. And despite the odds, she tries to help Gendry.

It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that they had Gendry. Even if he was stubborn and stupid, she had to get him out. She wondered if they knew that the queen wanted him. - Arya, ACoK

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Importance of being a Warg/Skinchanger

She was the night wolf, no scraps of skin could frighten her. - Arya, ADwD

Since this is a fantasy series, magic is a big part of the story with a magical existential apocalyptic threat on the horizon. The North is the first bastion facing this threat. Jon and Dany both have magical pets and prophetic dreams. Bran is the 3ER. They are leaders or will become leaders by the end. Arya is a strong warg/skinchanger. Apart from Jon and Bran, she’s the only other Stark to use these abilities so far. As GRRM as indicated, having a direwolf is going to be useful in battle – we are going to be seeing direwolves involved in the battle for Winterfell for example. Arya is able to warg Nymeria from all the way over in Braavos. She skinchanges cats and sees through their eyes, when she is blind. She is deft with a sword, knife and decent with a bow and arrow (she could be better now using her FM senses). She would be an effective fighter to have against the Others and her warging skills could prove useful in battle.

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Succession

I’m not a lady, Arya wanted to tell her, I’m a wolf. - Arya, ASoS

And finally we come to succession. This is the hardest part and entirely speculation and we need the next book to get an inkling of where GRRM is heading towards. I am also basing all of this on Hibberd more or less confirming that King Bran on the Iron Throne is GRRM’s ending.

So of the true born Starks, Arya is pretty much last in line. With the inclusion of Robb’s will, we have 5 Starks left. Bran is the rightful heir to the North. Taking him out of the running, leaves Jon, Rickon, Sansa and Arya. Assuming Jon ends up North of the wall – in his dreams the Old Kings in the North in the crypts reject him, maybe foreshadowing that he doesn’t belong in Winterfell - that leaves Rickon, Sansa and Arya.

As for Sansa, again there is a plot significant reason for why GRRM has put an obstacle in her path, allowing for Arya to jump the queue. Sansa is currently married to Tyrion Lannister, a marriage that cannot be easily annulled (With an enemy regime in KL) or ignored like the show did. Robb Stark has most likely disinherited/removed her from the line of succession and named a legitimized Jon Stark his heir and Lord of Winterfell. If he has the support of the Northern houses who want an experienced, older Stark to lead them, Jon Stark could well be the next KITN over Rickon Stark. I don’t think a 7 year old Rickon would object to Jon in charge. So that makes it Jon Stark, Rickon Stark and Arya Stark.

Does Rickon have to die for Arya to become Wardeness of the North? It’s possible Rickon dies, but it’s also possible he doesn’t.  It could be that Rickon does not want to lead the North – by the end of the book, he would be 8 or 9. Of course there’s the argument of a regent doing the job for Rickon until he’s ready. Or, he could just give way to his sister because he wants to. Something similar to Aemon refusing the throne and it passing to his younger brother Aegon.

Or we could have the traditional situation where Rickon becomes lord of Winterfell as next in line, while it’s Arya who is involved in running the day to day affairs. However, that would very much be status quo - with Rickon at WF and Bran down south in KL, it would be men ending up in positions of power everywhere once again, except maybe Dorne. If this happens, then Arya would be a leader of the North, but the Stark line would continue with the male line.  

It’s possible Jon Stark as King could change things for the North. Jon treats the spearwives the same as the brothers of the NW, he respects Val’s abilities, he trusts in Alys Karstark. If Rickon refuses the mantle, it could very well be that Jon Stark relinquishes his position to his favorite person ever, Arya Stark, to be the next Wardeness of the North.  Thus paving the way for Arya Stark to be the first female leader of the North like her hero Nymeria in Dorne.

It would be fitting for the character who introduced Jon Snow to equal rights for women.

“The Lannisters are proud,” Jon observed. “You’d think the royal sigil would be sufficient, but no. He makes his mother’s House equal in honor to the king’s.”

“The woman is important too!” Arya protested. - Arya, AGoT

Could King Jon reverse Sansa’s disinheritance after her marriage is annulled when KL is in friendly hands? Sure. But we don’t know how the Sansa/LF/Vale group will react to Jon as KITN and whether they will mount a challenge in Sansa’s name. And if Jon has to choose between Sansa and Arya as to whom he wants in charge of Winterfell, we know who it is he will think is more capable and will always choose.

I do think Winterfell succession will not be as clearcut as many Stark fans are hoping. Too many factions supporting the different Starks. GRRM loves to write about dysfunctional families and the Starks are not anything special in that regard. TWoW will tell us of whether there will be any kind of Stark civil war.

Is Arya too young for all this? I predict that by the time we get to the end of the books, about 5 years would have gone by. At 14, Arya would still need a regent – one of the many lords of the houses in the North. But I think considering her experiences, skillsets, a huge direwolf, Ned Stark’s wisdom and strong connections to the North, she will be an able leader. As GRRM said,

“[Arya is] older than some of the 40-year-olds in the book.” - GRRM

Either way, whether she gets Winterfell or not, Arya will end up as a leader in the North. Either she rules for Rickon and takes care of the day to day responsibilities or she does so in her own right as Lady of Winterfell/Wardeness of the North. She’s not going anywhere or sailing off on a boat. The show’s ending makes absolutely no sense for a character yearning for home in 5 books after going on the nightmare ‘adventure’ from hell. She will be in the North, in Winterfell, being a leader and continuing Ned Stark’s legacy.  She will counsel her brothers and build and her people will love her just like they loved her father.

So in conclusion, I think there is enough story, character build up, characterization and set up for Arya to go North and take over as a leader of house Stark to face the threat of the Others along with Bran, Jon, Dany and Tyrion.

[h3rmitsunited]

Ignore me just having Thoughts™ about Todd Brotzman again, but also don't because I'm on a freaking roll rn.

Okay, like God everyone loves the hospital reunion scene right, am I right? Yes I'm right. Look at these sweet hearts.

Theyre perfect and I love them so much.

Okay my rambling thoughts about Todd in this scene and shirt/jacket meaning and how it relates to Todds whole deal under the cut because I'm thinking so much...

Okay, so now that I've got your attention, walk with me for a minute back in Todd's history.

The big freaking elephant in the room. The pararibulitis lie that he has kept up for years. For years, which means thousands of little lies keeping up this big lie, constantly, to his parents, to Amanda, to his band, up until the moment he confesses to Amanda, his existence, his entire life purpose has been focused around the effects this lie has had on his life. Because what was he doing? He was working a minimum wage dead end job living in a shitty apartment to try to give as much money he could to support Amanda out of guilty obligation because he used up his parents savings. That's not just one thing it's thousands of little moments.

So because of this, Todd says he's an asshole. He isn't a friend, he isn't a good person, he's shitty and toxic and pathetic and a huge asshole. I mean he's got thousands of moments that he can point to and say, "see I'm an asshole for doing that and that." And like fair, like I'm not saying that what Todd did isn't shitty, like it's pretty shitty, but like just getting into his mindset here. When he tells all this to Dirk, he's still lying to Amanda. He's still keeping up this whole charade, and Dirk tells him, you're making excuses for your excuses. You're not an asshole forever because you've done bad things. It's not a permanent title, it's something that you can change by stopping doing bad things, and the way that you do this is by making things right and telling Amanda the truth.

Dirk makes him feel like he can be a better person and that's great.

Okay, right, don't worry I'm getting around to the hospital thing, it's a short detour.

So Amanda, right? The confession. Goes not so great... Okay, so Todd, thinking, yes okay, telling Amanda, this will make things right. He feels like this is a sign from the universe, Dirk said he should, and he's got it in his head that he's going to fix everything. He'll say he's sorry and fix things. But oh shit. Todd's magic superpower comes into play and that's called I am an unredeemable asshole liar and my words are worthless, so apologizing for what I did is going to fix absolutely nothing. But ta-da, he's got a lottery ticket. He stole money and lied, those are the major issues, so if he gives money and tells the truth, then that solves both problems, right?

Except the issue isn't that simple, obviously, and anyone that was not Todd could probably have been able to tell that this confession was never going to end with a happy hug and forgiveness. It was a major betrayal of trust, all those thousands of moments, years of their relationship tarnished by the rot of those lies that were just sewn into their past together. Todd becomes the monster to Amanda, taking the place of a loving brother that she thought that she had.

Now all of that leads into the argument on the pier, etc etc... but the parallel here and the takeaway I got from Todd's confession, his apology, his attempt to make things right, was the addition of the lottery ticket, a peace offering of sorts, not a bribe or a gift, but Todd trying to bridge the deficit he created with his lies. It doesn't fit the bill, it's not enough, it's not the right offering.

OKAY, now back to the hospital scene. Now I could write a whole hundred other essays on this scene, so I'm just going to focus on the bit that pertains to this meta and that's Todd and taking what we saw with his Amanda apology and finding the parallel and finding how he learned and what it means.

Let's set the scene. Todd comes to the hospital to find Dirk, he stops at Dirk's apartment and brings his yellow jacket and brings a Mexican funeral T-shirt. He's subdued here, asking Dirk how his injury is before responding to Dirk's confusion by presenting him with these peace offerings.

And oh boy, I am going to overanalyze the crap out of these, okay? So get ready.

First, yellow jacket. Why the yellow? It was the first jacket we see Dirk in. Todd fighting this wacky weirdo that came through his apartment window, escaping from a crazy guy with a gun, confronting said guy on a bridge, feeling that first burst of excited adrenaline after saving Farah. That first taste of what working a case with Dirk is like. I feel like him bringing the yellow jacket, is not only the show trying to be like okay this is the Dirk look so we bring it back around from the first episode, but also Todd saying like hey, let's kind of start over here, I said some things, you lied about some things, but I like you and I like detective cases and working with you and you're kind of a weirdo but that's what I like about you, so put your wacky detective jacket back on and let's go. It's kind of Todd saying I accept you and all the weird that goes with you.

And then the Mexican Funeral T-shirt. A shirt that symbolizes Todd's lies, his past, his mistakes, his asshole days, and he gives it to Dirk. Dirk, the man that told him that he didn't have to wear that label anymore, that he should be better, he should be honest, he should let himself move forward and break the pattern. Todd doesn't want to wear that shirt anymore, but its also something that he knows is a problem for him, a habit that he's had for years and giving the shirt to Dirk is him saying you made me better and I'm letting you wear this to make me want to hold myself accountable for you. Now, like this also kind of leads into season 2 Todd and his kind of elevated perception of Dirk and like the pressure he kind of adds on him with all this, so like there's some like unhealthy dynamics at play, but moving on.

The one other thing with the Mexican Funeral T-shirt, is that like Dirk says, holding the shirt up in front of him, "Didn't you say this band hated you?" And Todd is like, well yeah, (so do a lot of people and I deserve it). But I think there's something to say about this man that has shown how much he cares about Todd after knowing him a week, that wants him to be a better person, wants his friendship, being given a shirt of people that hated him. I have said a lot of words here, so what it is to say, I don't know, but like... there's gotta be something right?

Okay... and then Todd ending his apology, not by saying I'm sorry, because words... right? Todd feels like a fuck up, he's just going to screw things up again. He acted like an asshole to Dirk, so what does he do? He tells Dirk, "I am your friend." A parallel, a reference, to that scene in 1x05, after Dirk had told him he doesn't have to be an asshole forver, just don't do shitty things, don't make excuses for your excuses. Todd wants to be better, he wants to put asshole Todd that lashes out when he's backed into a corner away, and he tells Dirk, I'm your friend, I remember what you said and I want to be better for you.

And I think that means more to Dirk than I'm sorry (even if I think he does deserve an I'm sorry. Like Todd you can't just tell someone they're a monster and deserve to be alone). Also like Dirk doesn't have a lot of experience in the field of apologies or like friends so like he's just like you're being nice to me, I love you and stay with me forever please.

I mean Todd does use his words to say I'm sorry in season 2, but also he acts like a more supportive friend to Dirk and tries to understand where he's coming from, up to a point where they butt heads against Dirk's own trauma, which like stressful situation and I'm not going to blame either of them for their behavior when they got into Wendimoor. His stuff with Amanda progresses and I think he gets his head more wrapped around her hurt from what he did after they talk, and understanding that their relationship isn't ever going back to how it was before.

So, yeah, okay. I guess the end then? This sort of turned into a super long essay... in conclusion, Todd sorry? 😬👍