#i've had a couple of questions addressed to harry

[ahgasegotarmy116]

He Doesn't Deserve You | A Jeon Jungkook Series | Chapter Two

Summary: You decide to finally do something for yourself and ease your mind Pairing: Noona reader x Jeon Jungkook (She's 28 and he's 22) Word Count: 3.5k Warnings: Not too much for this chapter in particular besides mentions of domestic violence BUT yändere, manipulation, self harm, cheating, explicit language, smut, angst throughout the rest of the story a/n: Since you guys seem to be really liking this story I worked hard to get chapter two out quickly! Let me know what you think! p.s. Fuck me y'all I literally deleted chapter 2 but luckily I write on wattpad and I was able to restore it. I was literally about to cry Requested by the lovely: @kkusadmirer 💜

We had another fight. 

Honestly I don't even remember what it was about, something stupid like I left the door open after I came in with the groceries and forgot to lock it. Or maybe it was the fact that I actually left the house and got them instead of just ordering them to get dropped off on the doorstep. 

He always tells me it's too dangerous out there or that I should just wait for him to go with me instead. If I did that though we would never have any food here and I'm not about to order takeout for every meal. 

I don't understand why leaving the door open would be such an issue. We live in a relatively nice complex and our neighbors always make sure to look out for me so I don't understand why something as simple as that could set him off. 

But then again it doesn't take much to set him off these days, I guess it was something I should've expected. 

He hasn't been home for two days and at this point I've decided that maybe it's time I went out for the night. Nothing crazy or anything but just, out. 

Putting on yet another turtleneck I make sure that the old and new marks are covered. I've taken it a step further and put some makeup on to make sure that no one will notice. Although I doubt anyone would notice me anyways since I usually fade into the background. 

But tonight isn't about feeling insecure in myself. Tonight is the night where I finally do something on my own and get out of the house. 

Taking out my phone I look up the address for the local pub I've decided to go to, making sure to wear comfortable boots since it's a little ways away. I'm luck that it's winter right now so bundling up is normal, making my outfit even less suspicious. 

Taking a couple of deep breaths I reach for the handle, unlock the door and step outside. 

'Should I really be doing this?' I question but before I'm able to second guess myself I hear our next door neighbor unlock her door as well and step outside her door.

"Oh, y/n. What a pleasant surprise! It's been a while since I've seen your pretty face" she says scanning my features, clearly having heard the fight we had had the other day and making sure that I look okay. 

"Hi Mrs. Mitchell. How have you and Mr. Mitchell been?" I ask, returning her warm greeting but feeling awkward talking to someone that isn't Taehyung or my editor. 

"As well as we could be I suppose. Harry just turned 73 last month so he's been complaining about how old he his and how his knees don't work the way they used to. What can you expect when you get to our age?" she says, chuckling at her husband who is a few years younger than her.

"Seems like no matter how old men get, they still whine and complain whenever they get sick or injured" she continues, clearly trying to lighten my spirits. "I guess so" I say, not daring to bad mouth Taehyung since he's probably already gotten a pretty bad reputation around here with everything we've been through over the past few years. 

Sometimes I'm surprised by the fact that we haven't gotten evicted with all of the noise complaints we've gotten. 

He always makes me answer each and every call from our building even though he's the one responsible for a majority of the noise but he always makes sure to stand close by to make sure I don't ask them to send help no matter how severe things have gotten. 

"Where are you off to?" she asks taking note of the fact that it's getting late in the evening. "I figured I might just head over to the pub a few streets down and see if I can clear my head for a while" I say, not bothering to give more information than necessary. Not that there would be any more information to give. 

"Good for you dear! It's always good to go out and get a new perspective on life. Let me know anytime if you need any help alright? Oh and I'm so excited to read your next book!" she says and with that last part catching me off guard. "You've read my books?" I question, taken aback and almost embarrassed at the fact that a woman of her age would be reading the type of genre I write, let alone my own. 

"Of course dear! As soon as I found out that you were a writer I went straight to the bookstore and bought all of them! You really are very talented" she finishes, with a glimmer of admiration in her eye. 

"Thank you so much, your support means the world to me, truly" I finish and she quickly shoo me off, apologizing for holding me hostage. 

"Next time I see you I'll sign your copies if you'd like" I offer and the look on her face is absolutely priceless. 

"I'll make sure to have them sitting by the front door with a pen in hand!" she beams and I wave one last goodbye before I make my way to my destination. 

~~~~

Walking in the doors of The Blue Pearl I'm greeted by the sound of soft rock being played in the background and a low murmur of the small amount of people spread through out. This pub seems to be a little old fashioned so I guess it's not a big draw for the younger rowdier crowds. Which was exactly what I was looking for. 

Just a slow night to clear my head and a strong drink to drown my sorrows. Knowing me though I'll probably stop after one or two drinks. 

I decide to sit at the bar on the stool closest to the wall and wave the bartender over. 

"Surprise me, something sweet but something strong" I say trying to sound as confident as I can. "You got it" she says and comes back soon with a pink drink of some sort a few moments later. "What is this?" I ask after taking a sip, already dying for another one at the fruity but subtly sweet drink. 

"I like to call it The Slut Puppy" she says with a proud smile. I tilt my head when I look at her, confused as to how she came up with the name. "I'm still workshopping it to be honest but your reaction to the name definitely played true to the puppy part. I laugh realizing that I subconsciously played into her game and she laughs right along with me. 

"Long night?" she asks after I've settled in, using her bartender powers to see right through my act while walking away a bit to clean up the shaker she had used to make my drink. 

"Try long life" I say, rolling my eyes before taking a sip of my drink again, sighing in contentment. "That bad huh?" she laughs bitterly, knowing one way or another that what I'm dealing with is beyond fucked. "Let's just say the best part of my week so far has been this drink" I and steal a quick glance at her, embarrassed that my words are flowing so easily to a complete stranger. 

"But it's Saturday night" she say with her brows pinched together. "Exactly" I say and before I can even ask she decides to grab another shaker and makes me another drink which I accept with a somber smile. "I put some extra ice in this one so don't worry it's not gonna go straight to your head" she says, looking out for me as if she were someone I had known for my whole life. 

"I'm y/n by the way" I say, hoping to move from strangers to acquaintances at the very least. "Rae" she answers before tending to another patron. 

"So y/n" she starts as she makes her way back over to me "what do you do?" she asks, maintaining conversation but not trying to pry when it comes to what I'm clearly upset about. 

"I'm a writer" I answer and her interest is immediately peaked. "A writer? Really? What do you write about?" she asks, leaning up against the counter so she can hear me a bit better. 

"To be honest my stories are pretty fucked up romance novels" I say scratching the top of my head feeling a bit awkward at the confession. 

"Sounds like my type of book" she laughs. I let out a breath, thankful that I won't have to explain myself to her since this genre isn't everyone's cup of tea. "So what are some books that you've written? Maybe I've read one before" she says going back to cleaning up a few things, making sure to use her time wisely. 

"Well 'Trials of the Broken' is one of them. It's my best seller at the moment. I'm actually working on writing the sequel right now" I respond, embarrassed but proud of my achievements all the same. 

"I think I've heard of that one! My friends have been trying to get me to read it but I never got around to it" she says, surprised at her chances of meeting me. 

"If you ever get around to it then let me know what you think" I say, now kicking myself for putting on the pressure for her to read it. "I definitely will" she says and makes her way over to the other side of the bar to serve some more patrons that just made their way inside. 

Glancing over at them I notice one that is a few steps behind the crowd, making me question if he's come here alone but I go back to looking at my drink, trying my best not to stare. 

My eyes somehow manage to drag themselves over toward him as he places his order and waits for Rae to make it. 

He takes off his hood and I'm met with first, the sight of his sharp jaw, then his shaggy hair he ruffled as soon as the hood dropped and finally his lips, the bottom one pierced twice rested in a soft smile. I realize though that the only way I would be seeing his full on smile would be if he was looking back at me and I make somewhat panicked eye contact with him before quickly turning my head in the other direction. 

'Great job y/n, drooling over the first hot guy you see. He's probably going to think I'm some sort of creep now' my thoughts thought are interrupted with the sound of what I believe to be is a drink set down on the counter a few seats away from me. 

"Is it alright if I sit here?" a smooth baritone voice says, making butterflies fill my stomach. 

"Um yeah sure" I say, taking a sip of my drink before glancing at him, quickly looking away again before I start to stare again. 

"So how's your night going?" he asks, clearly in an effort to make small talk. 

"It's going. How about yours?" I question back and see that he's no longer looking at me, instead watching as he swirls his mystery drink around in his cup. "About the same" he chuckles, clearly amused with both of our lack of effort to divulge any details. 

We sit there for a second or two in silence before Rae walks over and gives me another drink. I watched her make it and I can tell she she went even easier on the alcohol this time and makes sure to question nonverbally if I'm alright to which I nod. 

"What are you drinking?" he asks, smiling at the visual of the bright pink drink with two cherries placed on top. "You're gonna laugh" I say, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear, feeling a little apprehensive saying words like this to a complete stranger (a hot one at that).

"It's-" "It's called a Slut Puppy" Rae interrupts from the other side of the bar, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was clearly listening. "Um yeah, that" I chuckle, taking a big sip of it to hopefully calm my nerves. 

"A slut puppy?" he asks, flashing an amused smile at me, sending my heart beat into overload. "Her name, not mine" I laugh awkwardly. Trying, but failing at sounding normal but from the looks of it he doesn't seem to mind. "Right" he says dragging out the first syllable before taking a sip of his drink. 

"Do you guys know each other?" he asks, curious as to who our not so secret eavesdropper is. "Kinda. We just met. Although it almost seems like I've known her my whole life" I say smiling at her, thankful for the fact that she was able to lift my spirits so easily. 

"It's nice when you meet people like that" he says and when I bring my attention back over to him I can tell that he's been looking at me for a while, making me shy all over again. 

"Oh, I'm Jungkook by the way" he says holding out his hand, and I turn my stool towards him and shake it, fixing what would've been an awkward angle if I had stayed in place. He after seeing what I had done decides to turn as well, angling his body towards me and I notice now that there's only one seat between us. A respectful distance, making me feel a bit more comfortable talking to him. 

"I'm y/n" I say and he gives me a soft smile, whispering my name under his breath, almost as if he were trying to keep it as a secret all for himself. "So y/n, what's your story?" he asks, withdrawing his hand at almost the same time I do and goes back to taking another sip of his drink, making sure to keep his sparkly eyes trained on me. 

'Sparkly? Y/n you are a married woman. You shouldn't even be talking to this guy'.

"My story? Well to be honest there's not much to tell. I grew up and went to school in the city and now I'm a writer. There's not much else to my life if I'm being honest" I say, doing my best to maintain conversation but also not give away too much. 

"That ring on your finger says otherwise" he says, nodding towards it and playing around with his straw. Not in an abrasive way but more as if to remind me of something else that I might've forgotten.

"Oh, um yeah" I say, showing him the ring up for a second to confirm his suspicions but pull my sweater down to cover it up a second later, hoping he won't ask anything else about that aspect but unfortunately luck is not on my side in that department tonight. 

"Is that why you're here? Needed to get away for a while?" he asks, curious but not insinuating anything that I would expect a guy of his age would be asking me. "I guess you could say that" I say taking a deep breath deciding that if he's asking I might as well get the male perspective while I can. 

"With being a writer and everything I'm pretty much cooped up in the house all day. Which for me is fine and it's been like that for a few years" I say, taking a second to try and figure out how to formulate my next words carefully, not wanting his to worry or judge the situation too much.

"I'm sensing there's a 'but' here" he chuckles and takes another sip of his drink and waves at Rae in an effort to get both of us both another drink without me noticing to avoid protest. "But" I start out, confirming his suspicions. "with my husband being used to me doing that all the time he tends to get a bit, how should I say this..." I trial off, still not sure how to phrase it. 

"Controlling?" he offers, a bit more blunt than his other responses. "Worried" I counter, although his word is more accurate than mine. He nods a bit, clearly not believing my words but doesn't press in hopes that I will continue. "He's worried that something might happen to me if I go out alone. That someone might recognize me because of my books and try to do something like kidnap me" I say, fully confident in my words.

I hear Jungkook snort beside me a second later, leaving me looking over at him with my brows scrunched up. "What's so funny?" I ask, confused and almost annoyed by his reaction. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry continue" he says doing his best to calm down. "No, what about that is so funny?" I press as I can clearly see that he's still trying to hold his laughter in. 

"I'm sorry y/n it's just, well isn't kidnapping a little bit of a stretch?" he says, clearing his throat and breathing through what he thought was a ridiculous excuse. "Woman and children get kidnapped everyday! Look up the statistics!" I retort, trying to convince him that there's truth to Taehyung's argument. 

"Yes, I know that it happens a lot, but you can't let that keep you from going outside and living life. It's a horrible thing and I don't understand why anyone would do such a thing but you can't use it as a way to cripple yourself from ever leaving your house" he says, this time being completely serious and trying his best to convince me that I shouldn't be living like this. 

"I'm out now aren't I?" I argue, and to that he nods his head but presses further. "How long has it been since you've been out like this though?" he asks and I just let my head droop a bit in response before taking a sip of my new drink. 

"Well I'm proud of you for coming out tonight and doing this for yourself. And look, you're completely safe. Plus seems like you've already made two new friends tonight" he laughs motioning to himself and Rae and when I look over at her all I can see is her bright smile, happy to see me getting more comfortable. 

"Who knows though, you might just be acting nice to me just so I'll let my guard down so you can kidnap me" I tease and at that he acts like he's offended, throwing his hand over his heart as if I had shot him. 

"You hurt me with your words. It's a shame though, I was just in the market for a new best friend" he says, wiping away a fake tear. "Or in the market for some fresh meat" I continue laughing at his act. "Twist the knife why don't you" he says, now resorting to pouting. 

"Aw, it's okay I didn't mean it" I say patting his shoulder in an effort to apologize. "You better not" he says looking at me, still pouting. "Come on, let's turn that frown upside down. Why don't I buy you a drink?" I ask as a way to make amends. 

"No that's alright, I've actually gotta get going" he says, pulling out his wallet and placing some cash on the counter to more than cover his drinks. "Let me get you some change" Rae steps in, quick to help since she is otherwise unoccupied. "No it's okay, use it to cover us both and then keep the change" he says as he straightens out his jacket a bit. 

"No you don't have to do that" I argue and go to take some cash out of my purse as well. "It's okay I got it. But if you want to make it up to me I'll always take your number as payment" he says with a cheeky smile. 

"Just as friends of course! I would never want to seduce a married woman" he says, jumping over himself, making me sure I know his intensions are pure. 

"Can we do email? I spend most of my time on my computer so it's easier for me" I say, making excuses as to not giving it to him. "As long as you promise not to mark my messages as spam" he jokes and hands me his phone so I can add it in. "I promise. It was really nice to meet you Jungkook" I say handing it back to him, our hands touching a few moments longer for it to be seen as something with the promise of being platonic. 

"Take care" he says giving me a soft smile and then waves at Rae, clearly seeing her not even bothering to hide that she's staring at us. 

"Bye" I say under my breath, not knowing how to feel about anything now that he's gone. 

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[exhuastedpigeon]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Not gonna lie, I've been really struggling to write since I wrote my last fic. It kind of feels like all of my writing beans left me when I posted it, but this lil game makes me really want to write.

How many works do you have on ao3? 155 (holy shit????)

What's your total ao3 word count? 682,114

What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Mostly 9-1-1, but occasionally Teen Wolf stuff

Top five fics by kudos: 1. Queer Robins Club 5246 kudos DC | Mature | 4.9k words

2. Dustin's Dad(s) 3783 kudos Steddie | Teen | 5.2k words

3. give me a sign, I want you next to me 2528 kudos Buddie | Teen | 7k words

4. let me see them tan lines 2399 kudos Buddie | Teen | 2.8k words

5. On the Ropes 2349 kudos Sterek | Teen | 5.4k words

Do you respond to comments? Yes! I try to respond to every comment!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? With a Whimper probably. It's also the only first person POV fic I've ever written lol.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Basically all of my fics have happy/hopeful endings? Maybe there ain't no turning back?

Do you get hate on fics? I have before but not recently!

Do you write smut? I do :)

Craziest crossover: Back Alley Deals is a crossover between Batman and Teen Wolf where Stiles goes to Gotham and ends up hooking up with Jason Todd.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yeah a couple times in the Sterek fandom! I don't found out because some friends found them.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! A few of them have been. I'm always open to translations.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! There was a Jaytim WIP exchange last year that I took part in.

All time favourite ship? I can't pick one? Either Sterek or Buddie probably.

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Right now it feels like all of them, but probably my fic affectionately titled The Repression Symphony where I go through the movements of a symphony and dive into Eddie's religious trauma.

What are your writing strengths? I think dialogue and descriptions probably.

What are your writing weaknesses? Endings are hard!

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't really do it because I only speak English I don't want to use google translate to write it.

First fandom you wrote in? Harry Potter

Favourite fic you've written? I can't pick one!!!

give your heart and soul to charity Teen | 12.5k | Buddie Eddie finally address his Catholic trauma and guilt.

lay your cards down, down, down Mature | 6.3k | Buddie Buck and Eddie wake up married in Vegas

there ain't no turning back Explicit | 28.3k | Buddie Buddie healing road trip, my beloved

every road and every highway led me right back to your door Teen | 2.5k | Sterek A woman gives Derek a baby and then turns to mist, he calls Stiles.

it hurts to hope for more Mature | 15.6k | Buddie Buck experiences a major non-romantic heartbreak and is forced to look at his life in a new way.

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[selfproclaimedunicorn]

Hi, first of all your fic is amazing, well written and just perfect. But I have couple of requests - 1. Can you describe to me how the children of Yorick's and Ella's children ? - it will be really cool. 2. Can you write Rhaenyra more kindly - I know that you lean more to the green side (me too) but I just feel that you are going to make her "evil" - but she isn't, she is indeed very self absorbed but she was groomed by daemon. (Don't get me wrong not all blame is on him, but still). So I just wanted to ask from you to not make her "evil" - just human with problems and etc.... ( of course, only if you wish too ) 3. Can you make Yorick's and Ella's children to be friends with Rhaenyra's children too ? 4. How does their children ( Yorick and Ella) see their grandfather daemon ? Do they even meet him ?

Again, your fanfic is amazing and I really really like it, one of the best in the fandom. So thank you for this beautiful fanfic ❤️

Oh my God, this is so incredibly sweet thank you so much for taking the time to send this ask! I'm gonna answer in parts since it's so long & you have so many questions (which, I am not upset about, I genuinely enjoy in depth talks about my fic. I just don't want to forget to address something!

So, the fic is going to go on long enough that we meet & spend time with Yorick & Ella's children & some of them are going to get POVs! I don't want to spoil all of that, so I'm going to keep it kind of vague, I hope you don't mind!

Yorick & Shireen are going to have 7 by the time we reach the end of season 1/they're done having kids: Rhea (who's face reference is Anna Popplewell, & she has hetrochromia like her Aunt Ella. I have some art of her here. She's gonna be shipped with a canon character, feel free to speculate 💕), Stannis (he's introduced as a toddler in the chapter I'm currently working on & am maybe half way done with? His face reference is Skandar Keynes & I've written about his relationship so I feel like I can just drop his relationship with Helaena here), Baldric (who's face reference is Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, & he's the same age as Daeron & Jace), Myranda (who's face reference is Georgie Henley. There's a distinct pattern going on here, lmao), Yorbert (no face reference, because he's super young & I don't like looking for FCs that young), Argella, & Laenor.

Ella & Robert are going to have 3 kids: Griffith (who's face reference is Harry Gilby), & the twins Aerea & Adrienne (who both use Olivia Hussey as a face reference).

Stannis, Griffith, & Baldric are gonna be Aegon's Teenage Bro Squad, with Stannis & Griffith very much being the voices of reason in this squad. Rhea is going to develop a friendship with Helaena, as well as being besties with her cousin Abby (who was made by the lovely @emilykaldwen), & I honestly don't know if there is a voice of reason in that friend group. The girls are doing great though. Myranda & "The Rose Twins" are a bit up in the air beyond "I know they're friends with each other," but honestly I've got so much time to figure them out. Those girls are all only 14/13 by the time The Dance starts.

Hard agree with you on Rhaenyra not being evil & just being a flawed individual who had some of her worst traits exacerbated by her grooming & relationship with Daemon, as well as Viserys enabling her at most turns. I think the issue with my writing of her seeming mostly uncharitable in this particular fic is just that we aren't really delving into her POV & we're just seeing her actions as interpreted through those on the receiving end, for better or worse. That said, I would definitely be open to writing side drabbles & rehashes of scenes from her POV if anyone had suggestions or the like. If you're super interested in a Definitely More Overtly Kind reading of our dear Rhaenyra, my next fic I plan on working on might be for you! Once SOTF is wrapped up (y'know, eventually), I'm going to sit down & plot an AU about a sister-by-Aemma OC, & that fic is going to be as much about their sisterly relationship (& it's improvement over the years) as it is going to be about the OC's relationship with a certain Master Of Ships. I've already written a drabble set in that fic from Rhaenyra's POV if you want to check it out!

TBH, I am not 100% sure what the Yoreen & Robella kids' relationships with Jace & Luke is going to be. They're not really going to have as much exposure to them as they are the Targtowers just by virtue of the slow degradation of Rhaenyra's & the Twins' relationship, but they're not going to be unfriendly to them, they don't really have a lot of reason to be. Honestly, it'll probably be like my relationship with my own cousins "I like them when I'm around them, but we never spent time together growing up, so we aren't close." If it makes you feel better, my very unserious but incredibly fun modern AU has Rhaenyra's sons as fully integrated parts of the friend group. Everyone is doing a lot better in the modern AU & no one dies (well, except Alicent's mom & Aemma. RIP queens, y'all served while you were here)

And hoo boy, the Grandpa Daemon question. I was actually talking about that with Nat/emilykaldwen this morning so you have wonderful timing, lmao. It's very complicated. The ones who are alive at the time (Rhea, Stannis, Griffith, Baldric, Aerea & Adrienne, Myranda, & Yorbert) don't meet their grandpa until Laena's funeral, but they're all kids & Yorbert is only 3. The two youngest (& in a way, Yorbert too) don't meet him until Rhaenyra & Daemon come to King's Landing to push for Luke inheriting Driftmark.

The oldest ones all know "we don't talk about Grandpa Daemon," & they do their best to keep the youngest ones away from him while their child brains are only parsing that they don't want to get in trouble with their parents--they don't know the reasons for anything yet, they just know "we don't talk about Grandpa Daemon." It gets more complicated for them as they get older & learn more about their family history, & honestly I don't think any of the oldest ones like him, but in that kind of abstract way where "someone I love doesn't like this person, so I don't like them either even though I don't know them like my loved one does." Myranda has the best relationship with him because she's mostly neutral on him. She actually seeks Daemon out at Laena's funeral because she wants to meet her other grandpa, but they never really bond. He would like to bond with his grandkids, I think, but he kind of burned that bridge of having that particular family when he murdered his oldest kids' mom. Like, he looks at Yorick's kids & Ella's kids, & even though he hasn't met them he's just sprinkled all over that gene pool, & he can see it & he wants to interact, but those kids have all been told not to hang out with him & it's just really messy & honestly kind of sad within the fic's existing/upcoming text. Once again though, modern AU is very different. He's in his grandkids' lives in that one & he is thriving because he's not being deprived of Favorite Grandkid Myranda Who Thinks He's Great & Tells Him Every Day.

[theroundbartable]

Who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them...

Haha XD ships aren't fun if they are canon, are they? xD

To me, anyway. I love getting together stories with loads of pining. And I prefer it if it could possibly align with canon. If a ship turns canon... it kinda ruins the purpse. Because... It's already a thing. It's fixed. I dunno, maybe I'm just not imaginative enough XD

Funnily enough, I'm often right about which ships turn canon XD

1. Merthur (BBC Merlin)

I have to say that, don't I XD

2. Mergwenthur (BBC Merlin)

I ship them in all variations.

3. Klance

A 3 year obsession. XD i'm half glad they didn't become canon and I am soooo frustrated too. Also, I think Allurance wasn't done Justice. It felt very one sided and that makes me sad for that boat. They could have gotten better and they should have.

4. Drarry (Harry Potter)

*Sighs frustratedly* you know? I am fine with them not being canon, but it should have been addressed! It made sense, even if it was unresolved/unrequited, whatever. nothing would have had to change!!!! On the same note: Wolfstar. But that one is a bit out of my interest zone

Gajevy (Fairy tail)

My first real shipping experience. And I loved their story arc. Especially Gajeel grew so much and it's the one time I think a bully actually deserved to be forgiven. He really worked on himself to do right by his friends.

Zosan (One Piece)

I ship this for the shits and giggles XD

Lumity (The owl house)

Luz and Amity are just so cute together and I love them and it's only downside is that it's already canon :( the show moved too quickly. Had to... But still

Ineffable husbands (good omens)

Do I need to say more?

Morgwen

The reason I put this so late is that I can't imagine them having Problems? I dunno. Perfect fit, no fallouts. it's all hearts and flowers and not leading me into a hellhole of pining idiots. Cause they are smart. It's difficult

Venom x Eddie Brock (Venom)

Vor reasons unknown to me... I like it. It's the one ship where allo aces and monsterfuckers Shake hands and it's wild. Love it. XD

This is what I've got so far. At least they are living in my head rent free. I think there is a theme in the characters I ship romantically. I have some pure platonic ones too XD

Thank you for your question anon :)

[duchessofostergotlands]

I don't know if you've addressed this before, but is there a reason why Gustav of Sweden had all his children get married and the heirs and monarchs were invited? I was looking at clips of Victoria, Madeliene and Carl Phillips wedding and monarchs and heirs attended all 3 weddings. But I've noticed that other royals families all reserve sending those invites(to other monarchs and spares) for the heirs and the spares don't get that same level of important attendance(Harry, joachim, iman etc) ? Sorry if this question is confusing. 😆 🤣

I wouldn't say you're completely accurate on this. You're essentially making two big statements:

Victoria, Madeleine and Carl Philip's weddings had similar level of attendance to each other

That the difference between the siblings is substantially less than the difference in other royal families, where monarchs/heirs won’t go to spares’ weddings

These figures might not be 100% accurate because different sources include different people but it's a good ball park:

Victoria's wedding had 53 royals from 11 reigning monarchies. Of those who attended, 28% were monarchs/heirs (I haven't included spouses).

Madeleine's wedding had 15 royals from 6 reigning monarchies. Of those who attended, 20% were monarchs/heirs

Carl Philip's wedding had 15 royals from 6 reigning monarchies. Of those who attended, 20% were monarchs/heirs

So you can see there Victoria had a lot more royals, from a lot more monarchies, and a higher percentage were monarchs/heirs. There was a difference between the three of them so the first point I would say is a no.

For the second there are certainly some royal families where there are far fewer royals in attendance than the heir in their country or the spare in Sweden - Iman, for example - but there are others where it's pretty much the same. Let's look at Norway, for example. Haakon's wedding had 39 royals from 8 reigning monarchies. Of those who attended, 31% were monarchs/heirs. For his sister Martha-Louise's wedding there were 22 royals from 8 reigning monarchies. Of those who attended, 23% were monarchs/heirs. So actually by comparison there was a bigger gap in representation in Sweden than in Norway.

As I mentioned, there are some monarchies where there is a bigger gap than Sweden but the answer to that is what it is for most things: they're different countries, different people. Countries will send invitations as they see fit - that will depend on status, size of the wedding, personal choice of the couple, diplomacy i.e. the Scandis will always have the Scandi royals there etc. And then countries will send who they want to send. You notice with bigger royal families they send lower down people - Sophie and Edward in the UK, Hassan or Sarvath in Jordan, Takamado in Japan - but if the invite for a wedding in, let's say, 2015 went to the Netherlands they only really have three working royals. They could theoretically send someone like Laurentien or Constantijn but they aren't regularly working royals so it would be different to sending someone like Edward and Sophie. So of course there's a good chance it'll be a monarch or heir because they only really have the monarch, heir, and the spouse of the heir!

[dawnsbreaking]

Harry spends Hanukkah Shabbat with Rose's family.

oneshot pairing: Harry/CMC Rose word count: 4,818 read on ao3 want to be tagged in future works?

NOTES this is *technically* a sequel to 'different, but the same', but it can be read as a one-shot! there are a few references to Rafi, but you just have to know know that this is a post-villa fic in which Rose (MC) won Love Island in a couple with Rafi.

also, this is a Hanukkah fic and I am not sure that many people in the fandom are Jewish, so all of the terms that aren't defined in the text are defined below. the fic is entirely in Harry's POV so as to be easily understood from an outside perspective.

thank you for reading, if you do! this is one of those fics that was written because I, the author, am the target audience. so it's maybe a bit more niche than anything I've posted before.

*** glossary Shabbat/Shabbos - (Shabbat is the proper term, Shabbos is yiddish, used colloquially) a weekly holiday celebrated by Jewish people from sundown on Friday night to sundown on Saturday night. if the holiday is fully observed, certain tasks are forbidden in order to keep the holiday. in reform communities like mine (and the Prichard's), observance varies. some reform Jews may choose just to limit use of electronic devices in the spirit of the holiday, like Rose does in the fic. Chag sameach - (khag sam-ay-agh) lit. happy festival/happy holiday

“Good morniiing,” Rose drawled, traipsing into Harry’s new office with her coat slung over her arm. It was snowing outside and Rose still had a few telltale flecks of white dusting the ends of her hair that hadn’t been covered by her coat’s hood. She was still carrying her work bag, too. She must have come straight to him from outside. She was unusually chipper for so early in the morning.

Harry leaned back in his desk chair, regarding her with a questioning look. The giant office chair he’d inherited from his boss made him feel just a bit like a Bond villain. He’d be right at home with a mean, white cat in his lap.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Enjoying the weather?” Rose asked, avoiding his eyes as she crossed to the window. The sill was wide enough that she could perch comfortably against the glass and watch the steady traffic six floors below them.

When Harry had taken over as lead for his current project, his boss had pulled strings to get him an office on the same floor as Rose’s. Carl Sullivan, chief operations manager for LI-Com, had turned out to be a closeted superfan of Love Island. He’d told Harry on one or two occasions that Rose had been one of his favorite winners of any past season. That only barely lessened the blow of Carl having forgotten Harry’s appearance on the show completely.

Harry watched the snow fall just past his girlfriend, waiting for her to tell her why she was acting strange.

“I’m not a fan of snow,” he said, prompted by a too-long silence.

She whirled around, finally meeting his eyes, flashing an impish grin. “Me neither.”

“You’re acting weird, Rosie.” He reached for her hand and brushed his thumb over her knuckles. It wasn’t often anymore that Harry had to worry about Rose being upset. They hardly fought and even when they did disagree, both of them were too honest to let things build for very long before addressing the issue. It helped that Rose knew he could see right through her.

Rose frowned, caught in playing up a carefree attitude Harry knew she didn’t mean. “I’m just a bit nervous to ask you something.”

This was a surprise. They’d been together officially for seven months and had overcome most of the big milestones, leaving very little to be nervous about. Harry had met her brother, she’d had dinner with Harry’s family when they’d come to visit. His parents loved her. That only left…

“The professors want you to come to Shabbos dinner during Hanukkah,” Rose blurted, confirming his suspicion before the thought had even fully formed.

The professors were Rose’s parents. Rose’s mother was a literature professor who primarily taught courses on Shakespeare while her father taught in the anthropology department at the same university. Rose and her siblings referred to them affectionately by this joint nickname, as did most of their family friends.

Harry had yet to meet the professors, but Rose spoke of them fondly. He didn’t see a reason for Rose’s nerves.

“I’d love to.” He dropped her hand, reaching instead to smooth the crease between her brows with his thumb. “What are you worried about?”

“Hanukkah’s late this year, Shabbos overlaps with Christmas eve.”

Harry failed to see the problem. He liked Christmas, sure, but spending a good portion of his childhood in the foster system had placed his expectations for the holiday nigh underground. He also enjoyed the parts of Rose’s religion that had seeped into his life through her. He’d thoroughly enjoyed the few Shabbat dinners she’d hosted at her apartment when her brother was in town.

He liked eating the food that Rose and John cooked and watching Rose light the candles, as well as the quiet evenings together that followed.

Growing up reform with lenient parents, Rose didn’t strictly keep the rules of the Shabbat, but she occasionally enforced a no-electronics rule for the weekends she held dinners. To an outsider like Harry, the traditions were ideal. Good food, no work, no outside distractions.

The only downside was not getting to play video games, but Rose and John made up for it by playing Magic the Gathering or short Dungeons and Dragons campaigns with him—analogue nerdiness, it seemed, was totally kosher.

“I don’t mind,” Harry said. “My parents are staying for Christmas in York and I wasn’t planning on travelling to see them this year.”

“You’re sure?” Rose perked up a bit but, as always, she was slow to trust an easy break.

Harry knew that the Holiday season was annoying to Rose and that she harbored some frustration about constantly being overlooked as someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. Her hesitation made sense, it might seem like a hard ask to prioritize one holiday over another.

He also wondered if, on some level, she saw this as another milestone itself. It could be difficult, he imagined, to let someone into a tradition that so few people understood.

“Of course I’m sure,” Harry said, choosing his words carefully. “I’m excited to meet your parents. And Juliet.”

He had yet to meet Rose’s younger sister, either. From what Rose had told him, he knew that she was in her first year of University, studying Marine Biology and she sounded every bit as fun and interesting as her siblings.

Rose rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure I’m ready for you to meet Jules. She’s probably got dirt on me that she’s dying to share.”

“That’s exactly why I’m excited to meet her,” Harry teased.

“God. Okay.” Rose laughed, standing from the windowsill. “I’ll let them know we’re coming, then.”

She glanced sideways, checking through the glass door of Harry’s office for watchful eyes. Finding the coast clear, she bent down and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Rose was always chaste when she kissed him in the office and people were around, she was a rule-follower to the highest degree. Harry only sometimes wished she’d indulge him in being less careful.

She pulled away. No such luck today.

“Love you,” she said, ruffling his hair.

Harry grumbled, “Do you have to do that every morning?”

“I do.” Rose laughed. “It falls right back into place, doesn’t it?”

His coarse hair required very little styling, it fell in whichever direction it had dried. 

“Even still.”

She gave him an expectant look and he relented. He could never pretend to be mad at her for very long, even if it was funny.

“Love you, too. Give the professors my regards.”

“Attaboy. Will do.”

She was out the door, leaving just the faintest trace of her glow lingering around Harry. He was excited for this step in their relationship. He loved her, and meeting her parents and participating in her traditions were both new ways to experience her. He couldn’t wait to see his favorite person in a whole new light.

-

The train journey from London to Cambridge was just over an hour. Harry played games on his phone while Rose listened to an audiobook. She couldn’t read on the train or in a carwithout getting sick so, any time they traveled, she listened to books while resting her head on Harry’s shoulder, watching whatever game he was playing.

FuryStone mobile wasn’t as fun as the real thing, but it was good for passing the time.

“Are you nervous?” Rose asked, pausing her book when they were nearing their stop.

Harry considered for a moment, taking Rose’s hand and threading their fingers together. She’d painted her nails one of the usual colors—light blue, as opposed to her other favorite, sage green. He loved all the things about her that were becoming predictable to him now. The way she alternated nail polish colors and the way she checked on in him when she needed reassurance herself.

“I’m a bit nervous to meet your parents, yeah, but I’m mostly excited,” he said. “Are you alright?”

She squeezed his hand, grateful that he’d caught onto her mood. “It’s just been a bit since I’ve seen my parents. No big deal.”

“Then it’ll be alright, then?”

Harry felt her nod, her hair tickling his face as she did. She was still leaning to the side, head resting against his shoulder.

“You know how I was shy and hard to read at first?” Rose asked.

“At first?”

She let out a sharp breath, as close to a laugh as Harry was going to get under current circumstances. “Right. Well, my parents are like that. Mum’s going to ask you a hundred questions about your favorite Shakespeare play and Dad’s hardly going to speak at all.”

“What if I haven’t got a favorite Shakespeare play?”

Rose pulled away, face gravely serious. “Did you read one in school?”

“I don’t remember anything about any of them, bar maybe Romeo and Juliet.”

“Oh god, don’t say Romeo and Juliet. Despite the fact that she named two of her children after characters from Romeo and Juliet, Mum’s got some strong negative opinions. Not pleasant.”

“So, what do you suggest?”

“Hamlet. Just agree with anything she says about Ophelia or Gertrude and you’re golden.”

“And you couldn’t have given me time to study?”

Rose huffed a laugh, shaking her head. “Not worth it. She’ll lose you in the first ten seconds but she’ll probably make a comment about that being my favorite Shakespeare play and then I can save you.”

“Hamlet’s your favorite Shakespeare play?”

“That and Much Ado, every Prichard’s got to have at least one.”

“Christ.” Harry chuckled. “I feel like I’m understanding you more by the second.”

Rose glared. “How do you mean?”

“You’ve got all these idiosyncrasies—which I love—but I think I’m beginning to trace the origins of them.”

“Hah.” She rolled her eyes. “Oh, also, no referring to Hanukkah as ‘Jewish Christmas’ or anything of the like. That’s annoying and my dad will lecture you on the historical significance of the holiday. You’ll get a few words out of him but at great cost.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

As the train pulled into the station, Rose checked her phone. Her brother and sister were supposed to be picking them up.

“Jules says they’re already here,” Rose said. “Bless her. If it were just John in charge of being on time we’d have been waiting for ages.”

Outside, standing against the bumper of a little blue coupe was John and Juliet, recognizable only by the fact that she looked like if Rose were shrunken a bit and dipped in pink. The mousey brown hair shared by the twins was missing on Juliet, instead her hair was bleached and dyed a convincing strawberry blonde. Her bright raspberry coat was made even brighter by the light snow falling around them.

“Jules! Your hair!” Rose shouted, taking faster yet still careful steps toward her sister. So the color was new.

Juliet smiled, flipping the shoulder-length curls with the back of a well-manicured hand. “It’s cute, right?”

While the girls caught up, Harry clapped John on the shoulder. “Good to see you, man.”

“You too!” He smiled wide. Speaking with John Prichard was a little like looking at Rose in a funhouse mirror. If Rose’s usual energy level was a four or five, her brother broke the scale. He was lively, bordering on hyperactive. But the twins had the same crinkles around their eyes when they grinned.

He’d heard stories of Rose and John’s childhood escapades, and about John’s tendency to overshadow his sister in social situations. Harry saw that first hand, too. The insecurities Rose talked about sometimes made perfect sense when confronted with her twin.

Of course she didn’t feel like the brightest person in the room when she’d spent most of her life in lock-step with someone who naturally demanded so much attention.

Harry had grown fond of John, though. Even if he reserved the right to choose Rose as his favorite Prichard twin forever and always.

John asked, “Did Rosie warn you about Shakespeare?”

“Yep. Hamlet’s my favorite.”

“Is it really?” He bounced on the balls of his feet with the question. Golden retriever, this boy was. Full of energy.

Harry laughed. “Nope, but Ro’s got good taste.”

“Harry.” Rose pulled him by the hand over to Juliet, disregarding her brother entirely. “This is my sister.”

“Hello,” he said, holding out a hand for her to shake.

“Jules, this is Harry.”

“The boyfriend!” Jules gave his hand a firm pump, she’d put every businessman Harry had ever met to shame. “It’s nice to finally meet you!”

It was almost a farce, seeing his sweet, gentle, analytical Rose next to her own flesh and blood—two of the most energetic personalities he’d ever met.

The image became even more strange when Harry met the professors. In direct contrast to John and Juliet, Barbara and Martin Prichard were exactly what Harry would expect from Rose’s relatives.

They were shy introducing themselves, soft voices and careful smiles. Harry hoped they would warm up to him as he got to know them, he couldn’t imagine that they’d possibly stay so reserved all weekend.

There was also the other thing. The reality television consideration. Harry tried his level best not to think about the fact that the professors once watched him make out with their daughter on a roof terrace. And a daybed. And there was that time in the pool…

“Everything okay, baby?” Rose squeezed his hand as she pulled him aside to put their things away and wash up for dinner.

Rose led him down the hall and into a bedroom. The walls were painted a powdery blue and a shelf of young adult books stood in the corner. Otherwise, the room housed only a double bed and nightstand.

“Your old bedroom?” Harry asked, hopeful he’d get a good snoop in before their visit was finished. 

“Kinda. John and I switched a lot.”

He gestured to the bookshelf. “Your books?”

“Mostly.” Rose tried again, “Are you alright?”

“Just remembering how much we made out on the telly.” Harry shrugged, though the warmth of a blush found his cheeks. “Forgot about that ’til just a second ago.”

“I…” Rose giggled. “I’ve got to put that so far out of mind. I think Johnny made them skip steamier bits, at least.”

“Were we ever steamy enough to skip, you reckon?” He looped an arm around her waist, pulling her in. The question was mostly rhetorical, he knew that they’d only done just enough to make him embarrassed to meet her family. The real steamy bits would have been later, with Rafi.

Rose completed the embrace, tucking her head in the crook of his neck, soft giggles of embarrassment escaping as the absurdity of the situation occurred to her.

“I promise my parents aren’t being weird because of all the times they saw us snogging on Love Island,” she said, lips grazing Harry’s collarbone as she spoke. “They really are just aloof at first.”

“Do you think they’ll like me by the time we leave?” Just beneath the diverting tone of the question, there was a real hint at a fear there. Rose’s parents hadn’t just seen him kissing her on Love Island. They’d also seen him pieing her off for other girls, breaking up with her for silly reasons, angry and jealous when she chose Rafi over him. He wanted to make a good impression with the Prichards, but a worse version of him had gotten a head start.

“Baby.”

Harry loved when Rose called him that. Her soft voice instantly put him more as ease. He pulled her tighter to him, breathing her in.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was nervous before but...“ He trailed off.

“I promise they love you already. They hear how fondly I talk about you.” Rose kissed his cheek and pulled back, looking into his eyes, cheeks tinged pink from the effort of sincerity.

“Alright.” Harry gave her a decisive nod, full of newfound determination at her encouragement. “Let’s get cleaned up, then.”

-

It only took Rose’s mother an hour of mingling in the kitchen to ask Harry about his favorite Shakespeare play. He answered as Rose had instructed, earning Barbara’s approval.

Rose swooped into the conversation before her mum could get too deep into the weeds of a dissertation on the women of Hamlet. “Are we making challah or did you buy it?”

She was rolling up her sleeves and rounding the kitchen island after a mixing bowl on the counter as if she anticipated the answer. When Barbara confirmed that, yes, they were going to bake challah fresh, Rose clapped her hands together.

“I’ll do it, then. Clear out.”

As Harry made for the living room with John, Rose stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Not you, you can help,” she said. In direct contrast to her usual characteristic meekness, Rose seemed at ease with her family, holding her own and taking charge of interactions. He liked seeing the sense of humor that he usually shared with her in private come out for other people she cared for, too.

Harry washed his hands as Rose instructed and joined her at the counter where she was already assembling ingredients for dough from the cabinets and fridge.

“Doing alright?” She asked, passing him a metal whisk and a small bowl.

“Doing alright,” Harry affirmed.

Rose’s parents were already more cordial with him after a short time, so he reckoned he’d make it through the holiday dinner unscathed. He focused his attention on following Rose’s instructions, surprised she could put together bread entirely without a recipe.

“I love doing the cooking at things like this,” Rose said, finally breaking the silence as she folded the mixture in a bowl and dough began to form.

Harry hadn’t done much of the work, but he enjoyed the quiet moment with her while her family chatted without them a room away.

“For the same reason you like working at all the parties you attend?” He punctuated the question with a tap on her nose, purposefully leaving a tiny flour fingerprint.

Rose frowned, leaning over to wipe the dust on the shoulder of Harry’s t-shirt without missing a beat. “Exactly. it’s good stage business.”

“Stage business?”

“That’s what John calls it, at least. Like, stuff actors do on stage to seem busy. It’s nice to have something to do for the sake of it.”

“Ah.” Harry didn’t have a great grasp on the depth of Rose’s social anxiety. He’d seen the edges of it and heard her talk about it, but the thought of what she might be feeling always surprised him. She was put-together on the outside, so he never quite knew what to think when she shared coping strategies for problems he wouldn’t even guess that she had.

It didn’t help that he wasn’t an anxious person, that he couldn’t even guess at her feelings from personal experience. He was completely in the dark with no choice but to accept the information as it came to him and do his best to mitigate the effects when Rose allowed it.

He wished more than anything that he’d understood this when they first met. There may have been less heartache for both of them if he’d known about her tendency to duck and evade conflict or perceived her discomfort in social situations enough keep her from being overwhelmed.

For the most part, Harry did his best not to harbor regrets about how he and Rose came together. He’d needed the extra time between the villa and the present to become the right man for her, and she’d needed the time with Rafi to discern what it was she needed from a partner. Even still, it was tempting to imagine all of the ways he might have mitigated harm if he’d been a bit less self-absorbed.

“Would you wash these while I knead the dough?” Rose asked, gesturing with an elbow toward the bowls and utensils they’d used as she spread a layer of flour out on the countertop.

Harry nodded, taking the dishes to the sink, wondering presently if she was assigning stage business for the anxiety he’d expressed earlier.

-

With the challah sorted—Jules insisted that she do the braid instead of the elder Prichard sister—Harry and Rose went to the living room where John was engaging in a playful argument with his parents while scrolling through Netflix.

"We always watch the David Tennant one when we're together, I've seen it a billion times." Rose jumped in, catching the gist of the disagreement immediately. "We watch that one because it's good. I'm completely game."

"Ugh." John rolled his eyes with a great measure of drama before settling his gaze intently on Harry. "We should let the guest have a say." Harry laughed. Though he wasn't entirely sure what was going on, he trusted his girlfriend's judgement. "I'm going to side with Rosie, sorry."

"Dammit."

"You're outnumbered, kid." Barbara stood from the couch, smiling at having gotten her way. Harry recognized the expression from his own opinionated Prichard.

"I'm going to start dinner," she said, "but unless we want to keep Shabbat, I think we should follow tradition." "Exactly." Rose grinned, taking a seat on the couch and motioning for Harry to join her. "Tradition." Harry leaned over, murmuring to Rose for clarification, "What did I just agree to?" "We're watching a BBC dramatization of Hamlet after dinner. It's tradition."

"Oh good," Harry chuckled, "I'll finally get to see my favorite play."

John wheeled around, eyes wide with a facetious look of fear. "Don't let mum hear you."

At that moment, Rose's father, Walter, spoke, looking up over the top of a paperback science fiction novel. The man had yet to say more than five words since Harry's arrival. "Ro tells all her friends to say Hamlet. Mum sees through it anyhow."

"Then why does she still ask?" Rose ssked, though she didn't seem surprised to learn that her Shakespeare coaching had been in vain.

Walter shrugged. "S'pose she's holding out hope someone’ll say Romeo and Juliet. She loves to give that play hell."

"See." Rose took Harry's hand, giving him a playful smile. "Told you she's got nasty opinions about that one."

"Could be worse," John cut in, "she's even more weird about Macbeth—“ Rose darted a glare at her brother and he amended: “—er, the Scottish play."

It was at this point that Harry realized he was in just a bit over his head. The twins were trading inside jokes about Shakespeare, laughing about theatre traditions and their parents' superstitions. Strangely, though, Harry wasn't uncomfortable being left out. He liked seeing Rose like this. And, even if he only understood about half of what the twins said, the cadence and animation with which the jokes were delivered was enough to make him laugh and try to follow along.

“Anyway. We’re not in the theatre, I can say Macbeth all I want,” John concluded after a short pause.

“But all the world’s a stage,” Rose argued, “so…”

“That’s enough.” John chuckled. “You’re scaring your boyfriend.”

Harry shook his head adamantly, though he realized that he must seem shell-shocked in his uncharacteristic silence. “No, I’m enjoying the banter, even if I don’t completely follow.”

“It’s bad luck to say Macbeth in the theatre,” John explained, “but Mum and Rosie insist it’s bad luck in general.”

“I didn’t think you were superstitious,” Harry teased. He squeezed Rose’s hand for emphasis, giggling at the resulting pensive glare.

“I’m not, it’s just the principal of the thing, you know?”

“Right.”

Rose blushed, scrunching her nose as she glared between Harry and her brother. “Oh, now you’re both making fun of me. Forget it.”

“Forgotten,” John quipped. He tossed one game controller at the couch where it landed just next to Harry and then another gently into his sister’s lap. “Let’s play a few rounds before dinner, yeah?”

-

After a few rounds of FuryStone—and an agonizing conversation trying to explain the lore of the game to Rose’s father, who asked strangely specific questions about the game’s fantasy world—Rose volunteered herself and Harry to set the table.

Rose did most of the work, particular about the aesthetic of the place setting, while Harry stood back in the kitchen, chatting with Jules.

“Is this your first time celebrating Hanukkah?” Jules asked, rifling through a drawer in search of a box of matches.

“Yeah, my family did a non-denominational sort of Christmas growing up. They’re atheists, though.”

“Ah, well it’s nice of you to spend your Christmas here with Ro.” Jules paused, examining Harry as if sizing him up for what she was about to say. Finally, seeing him fit for the remark, she added: “She’s not invited anyone home for Jewish holidays before. It’s sweet she feels comfortable for you to be included.”

Harry could feel himself blushing. He gave Jules a noncommittal thanks and made a mental note to run this information past Rose later. He understood, though, the impulse to guard things like family and culture.

It wasn’t something he’d ever considered before meeting Rose, but he wanted to let her into those parts of his life, too, when he got the chance. Perhaps his parents would let them visit to celebrate the Lunar New Year in January. If not, he thought, he and Rose could still celebrate together at home. The idea excited him, the beginnings of building a life and sharing traditions with Rose.

“Jules, would you mind if Harry and I did the menorah candles?” Rose asked, ducking in from the dining room. “I know you usually do because you’re the youngest, but—”

“Nah, I’m not bothered,” Jules interjected, “I’ll do the Shabbos ones if Mum doesn’t want to.”

“Right, then, we’re all set up.” Rose checked her watch. “Sundown is soon.”

Jules took her hint, handing Rose the box of matches before moving quickly to gather the rest of the family in the living room. Left alone, Rose came to Harry’s side, wrapping her arms around his torso.

“I love you,” she said, speaking into his chest.

Harry chuckled with surprise, squeezing her shoulders. “I haven’t done anything.”

She looked up at him, eyes twinkling. “I just love that you slot right in with my family.”

“Hardly. I feel a bit out of place.”

“No, I just mean... I don’t know—” Rose shook her head, frowned as she tried to find the words. “There’s no one I’d rather have here with me. Thank you for being here.”

“Ah.” Harry swallowed, overwhelmed just a touch by her declaration. He managed finally, “I love you too.”

-

Getting to help light the menorah felt only a little less special to Harry after Rose explained that it was a task assigned to children in their house. He didn’t care, though, he was excited to have a hand in the tradition.

It was the fifth night of Hanukkah, which meant that they’d only be lighting six candles. One, Rose explained, was the shamash or the helper candle, used to light the other five.

After listening to Rose’s family recite the blessing, Harry and Rose lit the candles. He held the shamash as Jules lit it with a match, then Rose covered his hand with hers to guide him lighting the other five. It was a bit cumbersome, since he was left-handed and therefore obligated to use his left hand while Rose helped with her right, but they managed it without major issue—Rose standing just in front of Harry so they could reach more easily.

By the time they finished, Harry was beaming, watching the lights flicker in the windowsill.

“Chag sameach,” Rose said, kissing his cheek. “Now, let’s have dinner.”

A similar ritual to the menorah lighting took place at the dinner table, this time one Harry was familiar with. The family again recited another blessing while Jules lit the two Shabbat candles on their holders placed at the center of the table. Then, they blessed the bread and wine before finally having dinner.

Latkes were Harry's favorite, little potato pancakes that he paired, like Rose, with sour cream. John favored applesauce with them, to which the rest of the family greatly objected.

In direct contrast to the picture Harry's anxiety had painted for him earlier in the day, Rose's parents were completely at ease--if a little quiet--around him. They asked him questions about his job and how he and Rose had come to be reacquainted, all of which were fun and easy to answer. They also tactfully avoided any mention of Love Island, giving Harry the benefit of having grown out of his broadcasted flaws. In the light of the candles, this moment was better than his best case scenario.

He took Rose's hand under the table and held it in his lap. He loved being hers.

thank you again for reading <3 if you are Jewish, happy Hanukkah! happy holidays, otherwise!! I hope to have more holiday fics out soon but I was happy to get this out on schedule. thank you, also, to all of the sweet people in the server that encouraged this little bit of self-indulgence, it was definitely a good break from the other things I'm working on.

[microsuedemouse]

you know what? I'm convinced that Joe knows Steve has feelings for Danny. and I'm convinced that in 9x10, he's trying to tell Steve to act on them.

now. obviously there's gonna be some Interpretation here. but I have a whole-ass Bachelor's Degree with Honours in English, so Interpreting Media is basically the one thing I am certifiably, academically good at. so let me do some Interpreting here.

Steve has been very open about Joe being one of the very few people who's been around for his whole life. Joe's as much a parent to Steve as John or Doris - arguably more so. Steve has said many times that Joe was there for him all the times that John wasn't, and honestly as the audience we don't need him to say that Joe's been more there for him than Doris ever has. whether you like Doris or not, she's been absent the majority of Steve's life, and their relationship is complicated at best. Joe White pretty much undeniably knows Steve better than John or Doris ever did.

Joe knew Steve through the years that he was close with Freddie Hart. Freddie and Steve served under Joe's command together. and I've said it before - in the episodes where Steve is remembering Freddie, it is very apparent that there were feelings there. Steve may not have realised it then, and he very possibly still doesn't know it now, but he absolutely had feelings for Freddie. we see so much fondness between them, we see such heartbreak in Steve over Freddie's death - hell, we watch the complicated emotions on Steve's face when he learns that Freddie impulsively got married to his high school sweetheart.

the last time we saw Joe before this episode was in 8x24, when Steve rescued him from Nigeria. that episode had a lot of flashbacks to a mission they were on together years earlier, in which we see Joe tease Steve about the chemistry he has with Cath, and talk Steve into asking her out. so, knowing that Joe was paying that much attention to who Steve spent his time with, knowing he saw the attraction between them... you really can't tell me that Joe never noticed what was happening with Steve and Freddie. I'm certain that he knew.

and he's spent enough time with the Five-0 team to see it between Steve and Danny, too.

so, in 9x10, when Steve finds the picture of Joe with the woman he's been seeing and starts to ask questions, and Joe rather seriously tells him not to wait until he's old... not to wait for things to be behind him before he finds someone to love... I don't think he's talking about Catherine. Joe knows that they gave it their best shot, and that it ended. but I don't think he just means 'find someone' in general, either. Joe knows his boy, and I think he means: you've got someone close. make the move. and Steve goes quiet at that, because he does have something to think about, there.

and when Danny shows up in 9x11, and finds Catherine there with Steve... yeah, you could argue that he called her in because Joe made him think of her. but you could also argue that he called Cath because he didn't want to deal with what Joe knew, and what he himself knows. he has every excuse to say that Catherine is his best ally in avenging Joe, because she's known Joe a long time, too. because she's Navy and she's got the history in Intelligence and she's got the experience. and because Catherine has always been the most convincing distraction from Steve's feelings for Danny. none of Steve's other romances have been as big a deal in his life since he met Danny as Cath has.

with Catherine around, Steve doesn't have to think about Danny. he doesn't have to think about the fact that Joe, a man who knew him better than almost anyone else ever has, saw what Steve has always tried to hide. he might even be able to convince himself that Joe meant Catherine, rather than... anyone else.

(and let's not address the fact that when Harry gives Steve and Catherine covers as a married couple in their ongoing avenge-Joe-White operation, Danny and Steve are the only ones who don't seem amused. that's not relevant to what Joe saw; it just happened to come up about as I was finishing writing all this out.)

Steve held Joe while Joe died, at the end of 9x10, and Joe told him: 'I couldn't be prouder of the man you've become.' and yeah, of course there are a lot of reasons for him to have said that, as a surrogate parent to Steve for over 20 years. but just... consider how meaningful it would be, if amongst everything else, Joe was saying: I know. I know what you weren't telling me. I know that you've always loved men the same as you've loved women, and it makes no difference to me. I still love you, I'm still proud of everything you are.

[darkness-holds-eternal-light]

So as life feels too hard to handle at the moment, I am once again back with the waist-deep Snape discourse! 😌😁

(By the way, whenever things seem so hard and you are trying to accomplish something important and you feel discouraged, I always remember that it took J.K. Rowling about 12 attempts at getting her book published and everyone rejected it until finally she found a publisher that would take her book and things went well and I'm eternally grateful for that. ❤)

So the Snape discourse is basically the situation in the fan community at the moment that got me thinking. 🤔 We don't have to go into the extremely deep, scary parts but I'd like to address some of the shit that the haters are constantly throwing at us. (I'm saying "us" as in Snape-fans, specifically the actual Snape from the books. I'm aware that I'm blocked by quite a few Snape fans here on Tumblr because of some of my opinions I suppose. Which I recently found is not necessarily a bad thing because it gives me a bit more freedom not having to avoid certain subjects in fear of bullying and stuff.)

I think it's quite wonderful to have such a complex character as our favourite because it leaves so much room for exploring and expanding. For example I had recently thought about what it would've felt like to actually be in Snape's position when he yelled the terrible "Mudblood!" thing. I'm a huge fan of acting/ trying on roles and I'm even curious how other people would experience that if they put themselves in the role! I haven't gotten further there yet but I think that the antis are throwing these hateful things at us because they believe that it would scare us to actually look at them. I'm in Slytherin for a reason, well for many reasons, but I'm interested to look at this. So thankfully this is all fiction and we can look at it from a bit of a distance and learn through imagination. I love that.

So I've been thinking, what would it be like to actually be in Hogwarts? And to actually sit in Potions Class? I've been re-reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" so far very attentively especially in terms of how Snape is truly written.

How would it be to sit in Potions Class and wanting Professor Snape to like me? I'm an adult now, so this is an entirely different scenario. Cue the fanfictions. ;) But as a student, obviously in my head he would like me and we'd have a great connection. But I'm somewhat willing to look into the possibilities here, akin to the book. I've met men like him in my life. What do you do if he stands in front of your desk and tells you that you're doing a miserable job and your potion is rubbish and you look silly and he threatens to give that potion to your beloved cat? Like, this is hard, I'm willing to think about this mean question that the haters are often throwing. I know I would love him no less. But my cat comes first, always. If we leave out the question of a third party, an animal or a human, if it is just him being mean at you, what do you do? I've had to solve this situation a couple of times in my life and I can't say that I have found a satisfying solution thus far. Which is part of why I can understand Lily's choice to a certain degree and I don't blame her. I assume that Snape would like me and I think that is fair but we know that that doesn't necessarily protect you from his cruelty. This is scary but maybe, with the safety of imaginary play, it would be worth playing that role for a moment to find out where we would go with this? I'm definitely curious and as extremely creative as fanfiction writers and fanart creators are, I'm sure that there can be a healing solution to this eventually. Fiction has more possibilities. 😊 I'm creative too, so maybe I'll try for myself.

Still, I like that Snape is a fictional character and we can watch him from a bit of a distance and even if we go closer, he'd obviously like us. :) And this world is entirely our own, and this place is loving. 💚 Maybe that is also the message to ourselves, that it doesn't have to be argued free from "real life's" constrictions to be true and beautiful and lovely.

[neverforpickles]

To the anon, I accidentally deleted your ask. I'm sorry. But if I remember correctly, you were asking wether I would watch DWD and MP.

To answer your question, I will not be watching Don't Worry, Darling in the basis that the promotion of the said film is highly questionable. I will not contributing in the profit made when the film is all about rape, non-consensual acts towards the women in that film, to be specific towards Florence Pugh's character and have it promoted as female pleasure and feminism. Feminism is not, and should not be compromising our dignities and fall into the trap of having our personal experiences be marketed as females being the only one who can reached climax in the film , as per the Olivia Wilde's words. I will not be giving Wilde a chance from my end to use me, as female, in a film she had directed, which is of dubious nature, be only wrap into constant stream sex sex sex and gain profit from me. And also, she made it seem as if that rape is all about female pleasure turning into this gaslighted and manipulative behaviours towards it. Her choice of feminism left behind the lives of many people who have been sexually abused and gained no justice, that never sits right with me.

Second, the promotion of the film is a clusterfuck, which started in the height of COVID where many lives have been lost, people are isolated and forced to be in the same place as their perhaps rocky familial and household situations, which may be stuck in the same place as their abusers, and the many people have lost their livelihoods to, just for her and a bunch of Harry and his team to go attend a wedding which is clearly an entire set up. Those many photos that have circulated on the internet alone were enough to turn me off of the film. It is very disrespectful and insensitive to the lives of many.

Thirdly, the entire relationship couple goals things with Olivia and Harry was enough to make me not want to watch the film at all. The fact that they had spent more time galavanting in the many big cities in the world whilst every one would die to do so as well just to see their family at the height of COVID was another reason. It's the lack of awareness that came into this promotion. And the surrounding attitude from the casts towards the director itself and the obvious Elephant in the room from the premier itself was just the toppings on the care.

Lastly, "but Harry is in it! You're not supporting Harry, you're just here when it supports your chosen narrative." or "he's gay and closeted! he has no choice!" : to address them, I support Harry just fine. I like him, I've seen that man grow and I will still be here. A lot of things done by him and his teams have pissed and disrespected me off over the years, and that's understandable, he does not owe me anything nor do I owe him anything - that includes watching everything he does just because I am a supporter of his. I have no narrative, even if I have, it does not change the reality of everything DWD is. My role as a fan, is to channel my support where it is needed and appropriate, DWD is not one of them. Do not follow and support celebrities just because you like them, you're not a sheep. I know for sure Harry is not straight and closeted, however the "no choice" is not working on me - it is a reason that does not applies here. He may have gotten into this stunt with good hopes but it surely is turning out the complete opposite. I understand closeting, I am a Larrie, aren't I? Still won't make me watch DWD. I will watch MP, all because it was promoted in a respectful and professional way as far as I have seen. I usually take longer to warm up on a film, which means, it might take me two years or so to watch it like I did with Dunkirk.

My support of Harry is depending on where it fits on my personal values and preferences therefore, I will not be watching anything that goes against them.

[bllsbailey]

Kamala Goes Babbling in Philly With Tim Walz, Opens Mouth and Inserts Foot

Kamala Harris has finally made her selection of her running mate, and it was probably the worst choice — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, someone who isn't well-known across the country, except perhaps for his failure to properly stop the riots in 2020 that burned Minneapolis. Not exactly the best thing to be known for. 

There are a ton of clips of him saying things that most Americans would find bizarre and/or disqualifying, as well as a lot of other baggage. It doesn't seem a very smart choice for a far-left candidate to double down on the far-left. That might get some folks in Michigan, but it could well cost them Pennsylvania. 

After the announcement, Harris and Walz held an event in Philadelphia that showed off how cringy they would be together. She was her regular bizarre self, and he was giving off Tim Kaine vibes. You know how that choice went. 

READ MORE: Tim Walz Addresses the Crowd in Philly Following Announcement As VP Pick - I've Got Good News and Bad

He also made me think of Howard Dean and the infamous scream. 

Harris immediately went straight to the cackle and incoherence, repeating over and over again, "Good evening!" as Walz looked Dean-like and weird in the background, making weird faces and smacking his hands together. 

Harris claims she launched her campaign for president a couple of weeks ago, leaving out the coup on Biden and that she didn't get one primary vote for the position. 

So much for the "We want to save democracy" crew. 

It sounded like a lot of what she said was from the speech she normally gives, once again raising the question, just like with Joe Biden, how much she can speak off the cuff.

Then she spoke about what she wanted to do, including helping people buy a home, own a business, and "build wealth." 

That was possibly her most ridiculous statement since everything that she and Joe Biden have done since they took office has worked against people's ability to buy a home, own a business, and build wealth. Homes are out of reach for many because of the high interest rates and inflation. It's hard to "build wealth" when you need to use your savings just to keep afloat and buy groceries that are so expensive under Biden-Harris. 

Harris and Walz also chanted they were "not going back." 

Yes, that's the problem. "Back" under Trump, we had low inflation and more peace in the Middle East. We had good foreign policy and a secure border versus the chaos that Harris helped to bring in. 

Where do they want to go into the future? Harris opened her mouth and inserted her foot. 

Now that she's embraced him, she's embraced all of his radical beliefs along with all of his failures, including the Minneapolis riots — where she also promoted the bail fund for people arrested during those riots. 

Does she really know what she's hooked herself to? Does she think socialism is like neighborliness, too? Does she think the red state areas are mostly "rocks and cows" like he does? That should work well, just as "deplorables" did for Hillary Clinton. 

READ MORE: Here Are the Damning Tim Walz Comments the GOP Should Run on a Loop

JD Vance Response to Walz Pick Shows Just How It Should Be Done

This is going to be great fun, with all the ads they'll be able to do on the weirdness, the bad statements, and the bad policy. 

Bailey: Only a dumbass democrat would vote for a dumbass  to be president. This is why the America people are suffering, too many dumbasses run our government.

[ask-spiderpool]

How did Harry react to Spider-Man coming out publicly as bisexual?

You're in the wrong place to ask Harry questions, anon dearest! He has his own blog @ask-harryosborn - though, whether he wants to talk about Spider-man...

[awesomefringey]

Hey Sabine, I'm a larrie but after louis' dm I feel really unsafe in his fandom or being his fan. Idk why he is so pressed about a ship in the fandom. And so desperate to tell people that kid is his when he knows how it was pushed in the media. He just looks bad with this. How does he expect us to believe thats his kid? I don't understand how are all the larries still larries? Can you tell how you changed or are you just ignoring that that happend? Anyway I want to be in the fandom as a harrie but I don't want to follow solo henries

Hi nonnie, I'm so sorry you feel this way. Everyone has to find their own individual strategy to handle BBG for sure. And if you take Louis' behaviour as the final straw to leave the fandom or stop supporting Louis altogether, then this is what you have to do. Don't feel bad about it. Fandom should be fun, and overall something that's adding value to your life.

I hear you asking me to describe how I handle it but I'm not sure if it would help you. I don't feel unsafe and strangely enough, I don't even feel addressed by the whole thing. I won't suddenly un-see BBG, this is for a totally different target group. (TikTok Larries in this case.) I can understand that plenty who haven't looked into BBG, or are newer fans or younger fans, will be impressed enough to not question his fatherhood in the future.

I've got a lot of emotions towards the whole thing myself. And while I'm trying to make sense of it, I also know I often only understand these things in hindsight. But for now, I was mainly very angry that something that should've been so pure and sweet (an artist meeting their youngest fan) was used for something entirely different. Not saying that it coincided, but it was around the time when the ink was barely dry under the BMG contract and with LTWT on the horizon, it feels like a preemptive crowd control measurement. (Also knowing now for certain, BMG has signed Louis, the queer het indie artist.). That's why I also believe his team expected Bentley's mum to share her experience (and the dms) much more openly right after, since she's not one to keep those things to herself. I'm glad she didn't because that paired with the Christmas crap, I don't know how it would've impacted the vibes for the live audience only a couple of months later.

Today, I'm glad that for this tour we proved Louis' fanbase is able to work together, we've established beautiful (rainbow) lights projects, some even inspired Harry's shows. I know, I didn't expect it at all either. I was so worried for those who brought a tiny rainbow flag in the beginning of the US leg of LTWT. It was Harry's birthday and fans singing a birthday song in the queue were harassed to stop and that was only the first show... I'm so sure Louis had no idea of what to expect either, so he must've been blown away by the outpouring of support and seeing how much he means to so many (Larries or not). Louis did point at at all those rainbow flags, those Larry signs, those TPWK merch wearing fans (looking at you @lululawrence) and sang about Larry on stage every night. He LOVED interacting with Larries, he did encourage all of us. And I'm not even getting into his coded fashion because that was unhinged and I love him for it. And I love Helen Seamons. She's a genius!

I hope now - after over 78 shows - Louis and his fans are less intimidated by one another. So it's even more unfortunate that we're ending this tour on a note that isn't celebrating us as a united fandom (even if it's been only for his shows), being proud of Louis, the band, the crew for everything they and us have accomplished. Instead it led us back to before tour angst, feeling disconnecting from one another, scared and confused, with questionable faith in the future.

A stubborn part of me wants to forget about a stupid dm that was written before tour because so much has changed since then. Louis and us have grown together over the last months like we never expected, we've built so much trust, he would even jump into the barricade every night, and I really don't want to ever forget that. It means so much more to me than Louis enforcing LT(TM) to a fan on TikTok last year. I'm sure I'm not making enough sense for many, but this is where my heart is at and that's why I'm not only very okay but very confident where I stand in the fandom.

[daydreamrry]

I've seen other anons pose this question in a roundabout way, but I don't think I've seen you answer it concisely. If Olivia is everything you say she is, how can you still be a fan of Harry's? I mean, you & your anons seem to think that everyone in Harry's life is awful and fake. Yet, you seem to still like him, or at least, want to like him. Why does he get a pass when no one else does?

we actually have discussed this before, but i understand being too lazy to scroll.

olivia and harry are a different situation than harry and, i don't know, jeff. we think that harry and olivia are PR, we do not think that they hangout strictly outside of what we see, we do not think that they hangout or talk on the daily, we do not think that he spends most of his free time with her, we do not think that they are best friends or a couple, we do not think that they have a close relationship. as for someone like jeff, he's considered to be a close friend of harry's, he has known harry for years, he works with him, they hangout outside of his "business" life, they spend most of their free time together, they probably talk or hangout on the daily. i don't think that jeff is an awful human being, but his family doesn't really have a clean name.

and please, do not put words in our mouths. we say that majority of his business and industry friends aren't good people. we have never said that "Everyone in his life is awful and fake." there's a difference between hanging out with someone on the daily and seeing someone once in awhile. "Oh, well Harry still agreed to do PR with Olivia and is openly hanging out with her," yeah... that's the point. he probably didn't do a background check on her to see if she has ever been problematic; in fact, he probably found out the same time as we did, when she was exposed and continued to be exposed afterwards. i genuinely feel like some of you do not understand how PR works. you are obligated to hangout with the other person involved, you need to be seen with them once in awhile, that's the whole point. he can't just take himself out of this situation, he needs to continue this until it officially ends. there's no way you can compare a PR relationship to a genuine friendship that he has with someone.

another example: kendall jenner. not sure if her and harry are still friends but after dating (real or fake) they've been on good terms. she isn't a good person. yeah, her and harry do not hangout on the daily, but he has still kept that friendship with her which yes, does make me side-eye him. maybe they're not friends anymore, maybe they've become distant, not sure, but we do know that they have been on good terms for awhile, and he has some kind of friendship with her. kendall's problematic actions and behavior have nothing to do with harry or anyone else but herself. not saying harry, or anyone close to her, is innocent for still keeping in touch with her, but there is no way that you can take the offensive things that she has said and done and reflect that back onto him when he has nothing to do with it.

also, "If Olivia is everything you say she is," there is no "if." she IS a racist, she IS a homophobe, she IS transphobic, she IS lesbophobic, she IS an ableist, she IS a supporter of misogynistic men and abusers. there is no "if" in this situation, she is problematic and an awful human being. i also do not understand why people always drag harry into this or even jason. like olivia being a disgusting person has nothing to do with anyone else, it's all on her. this is solely about olivia, she has said and done these things, it doesn't involve anyone else.

i know that i probably got off topic, but there were a lot of things that i had to address about this ask. olivia being problematic has nothing to do with anyone else but herself, that's her own problem. harry being in a fake relationship with a problematic person isn't the same as him having a genuine friendship or relationship with someone else. yes, he is still being side-eyed for associating himself with these people, nobody on here has given him a free pass. if you actually paid attention to what we discuss, you would know that we have addressed this topic before. and why would someone who actually has offended multiple communities get a free pass anyways? for what reason? unless harry also does something problematic HIMSELF, i don't see why he's on the same level of 'awful' as someone who has constantly offended multiple communities.

[oneofthosecrazycatladies]

How to import fandom and maybe other stuff from Norway

After Skam I know Norway became rather popular, and while you can take Norwegian courses, it doesn't help much if you can't actually use it (and know from own experience that talking Norwegian online to foreigners feels weird even if you know they understand Norwegian if they introduced themselves in English >////>, here on Tumblr I mostly write in English even to my Norwegian friends as it feels more natural). Some of you might even while not being interested in learning the language would like to import something fun to have something new and exciting in these often same-feeling days. Some of you might even just be after to support your favorite Norwegian artists. So if you are after more than just food on eBay, here ya go.

So, not many Norwegian online shops ships outside Norway as Norwegian shipping prices are pretty steep. So I've looked far and wide, and found 2 (4 if you include a sketchy souvenir shop I saw, but all the books they had were 2 translated Harry Potter books, riveting, and a grocery store so unless you are desperately after some weekly magazine do they not have much, unless you want some snacks, which is understandable). So the two I found are:

- Ivo Caprino

For you puppet/stop motion fans out there. They sell region free DVDs with Caprino's fairy tale inspired movies, and Flåklypa (my personal favorite). The DVDs include both sub and dub. Not much more can be said.

- Bokkilden

I didn't find this one on my own, it was Dina Norlund who found it. They have more than just books, so you can look at them too. But unfortunately the site, like the grocery store is it only available in Norwegian, but fear not! I have translated how to fill it here! After filling the cart:

I ordered a couple of books to some Youtubers I watch to test it, more about that below. They have no place to put state/province I thought (and you can't add it to zip/postal code as it only accepts numbers and one hypen), but the ekstraadresse (extra address) field I put it in there. In there it appeared two places, on top as a C/O, and further below right under the postal/zip code, then I clicked on endre adresse (edit address) and could remove the C/O field while the extra one below remained. Their shipping cost seems to be 200nok no matter what to other countries, just so you are aware.

As always, use a currency calculator when buying from other countries!

For those of you wanting to import something but doesn't want anything in Norwegian (yet), or you @fjordsoncomic fans out there, here are the volumes! In English! (they are in the souvenir section of book stores here)

Other recommendations from me personally:

Ruben Eliassen, especially Phenomena (Mare is unfortunately only available as downloadable audio books)

Odin Helgheim

Dina Norlund

Charlotte Sandmæl

Malin Falch

H. L. Phoenix

Siri Pettersen (her first big book came out in English recently yes, so you can read them side by side if you want)

Kjell Aukrust

Jens Bjørneboe

Anne-Cath Vestly

Alf Prøysen

Ole Lund Kirkegård

If you wonder about their legitimacy, I ordered from them to send to

I ordered from Caprino in March and Bokkilden now in April, so if they show up in upcoming videos, we know they're legit. I ordered from the grocery store some time ago, but they're kind of weird as you can see.

And to German Phenomena fans, in 2019 the 8th phenomena book finally came out, but Eliassen had to self-publish it. He's currently selling it through vipps (and conventions before you know what), but as vipps is only available to people with a Norwegian social security number, can you ask him on Instagram or Facebook if he please could start taking PayPal payments or something, could be useful for me too as I don't trust vipps.

If you are interested in the graphic novels and want them in English (and sold in bookstores where you live so you don't have to import from Norway), how about filling Seven Seas' survey (they count as #NordicManga) or send a mail to Dark Horse or something. If they first come out in English, they'll likely come out around the world not soon after.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

- @alchemydragon (my ask box is glitched though so I might not be able to see your name before I answer...)

[cantquitu]

Do you answer all your asks? I've sent a few and don't know if you always get them orrrr... I don't want to annoy you. Love your blog!

Hi, and thank you! I'm sorry if I haven't answered some of your asks, and I'm sure you weren't annoying me.

I don't answer all my asks, no. I answer most of them...most of the time :) I don't get a huge amount of asks but I do get them every day, and whether I answer or not really depends on a number of things.

The main asks I don't post are things I've mentioned before; like I don't tend to answer asks that are about Twitter fandom, or are links with no context, or asks that are really horrible about any of the 1D members (though occasionally I will post them to call them out - v rarely though).

But sometimes I just don't post cos I don't have time to give a full answer, or there's another conversation going on on my dash. Or I've answered the question or addressed the comment many times before. Or I mean to answer, but by the time I get round to it the moment has passed and it would be weirdly out of context.

And then sometimes I don't answer cos I just don't want to draw the conversation to my inbox/dash. But that's a tricky one, cos sometimes if I don't answer my asks about a certain topic, anons will assume that I've just never been asked the quesiton and they'll keep sending asks on the same topic. That's why I often answer in tags to try to address it and shut it down. That only works if I do it quickly so the anon knows it's for them and other anons know what I might be referring to. Unfortunately it pisses other people off cos they think I'm being secretive or shady. It's a kind of win/lose scenario. Also it's hard to get full meaning across in tags. And something I've discovered is that the person sending the asks often forgets exactly what they've written or how they've worded it. So if I don't publish it, they take my tag-answer in the wrong context. Like I might say "I don't agree with x" and they'll forget how they worded 'x' and think I mean something completely different....

...it's basically a minefield, and I think blogs who don't get a lot of asks find it hard to understand. Also, anons often presume you know who they are, or you know that they're the same anon who said something else. Most of the time you just...don't. And then others think they're clever and pretend to be different anons when it's clear they're the same person :) Sometimes it's easy to tell, sometimes it isn't. Like, I've been accused of sending asks to blogs that I've never even heard of! I remember one Harry blog posting about asks she'd got from 'me' when I literally had never even heard of her url. No clue! She seemed genuinely convinced. A couple of tinhats used to say it about me too, though with them it was hard to know whether they were lying or if they really believed it was me. Generally, with my blog, I don't bother trying to guess and just take the ask as it comes.

That was longwinded, sorry....

[itsclydebitches]

Why do you like Lore Olympus? I'm genuinely curious because I've seen a lot of harsh criticisms toward the comic, from its inaccuracies regarding its use of Greek Mythology to the plethora of harmful queer stereotypes. I tried reading it myself but honestly, if you took out all the Greek Mythology references and naming, it just seems like another "far older man courts a barely adult woman" love story with bad queer rep thrown it.

Happy to explain! Let’s tackle what’s perhaps the most complicated aspect first. 

As a former Classics major I can tell you that there is no “Greek Mythology.” Meaning, there is no singular Greek Mythology that can be referenced and consulted in any uniform way. Which is a really difficult thing to conceptualize in an age of print publications and careful record keeping. Unsure about whether Harry ever cursed Draco with such-and-such hex? Re-read the Harry Potter books to find out. Want to claim that Sherlock was horrible to Watson and frequently insulted him? We can comb through Doyle’s shorts stories and novels, tally every insult, and find out. These are canons and, as messy as the term “canonical” has become with more adaptations and transmedia storytelling, most characters have a set, fixed existence that we can return to and use as evidence. Not so with Greek Mythology. Born of oral storytelling, there are a hundred different versions of every myth, some changes more stark than others. Some of those versions were written down. Then written down again (differently). Then written down again (differently still). Then we realized they were almost all being written down by men and huh, I wonder if that has any impact on how they framed the story (spoiler: it absolutely does). And all of this doesn’t even take into account the issue of translation. Regardless of what Ovid may have put down on the page, you’re going to get a different experience depending on whether you read Melville or Gregory. There’s a reason why everyone was so excited over Emily Wilson being the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. Her perspective and her experience as a woman by default changes the way she approaches the text. Even something as simple as a single description can have a HUGE impact depending on how it is translated. Take this excerpt from a NYT article: 

“The prefix poly,” Wilson said, laughing, “means ‘many’ or ‘multiple.’ Tropos means ‘turn.’ ‘Many’ or ‘multiple’ could suggest that he [Odysseus] is much turned, as if he is the one who has been put in the situation of having been to Troy, and back, and all around, gods and goddesses and monsters turning him off the straight course that, ideally, he’d like to be on. Or, it could be that he’s this untrustworthy kind of guy who is always going to get out of any situation by turning it to his advantage. It could be that he’s the turner.”

Is Odysseus a poor victim turned around by monsters and fate, or is he a schemer capable of turning it all to his advantage? It all depends on how it’s translated and whoever wants to make a case for Odysseus being a “good” or “bad” guy can point to this translation as evidence… or another. Or another. There are just too many versions for anyone to definitely say what these gods and others are “really” like. 

I put so much emphasis on this because the biggest criticism I’ve seen leveled against the comic is the characterization of Apollo. He would never rape Persephone! How dare you twist his character like that! Except Apollo isn’t a character that exists in a fixed canon. He belongs to an overwhelming corpus of complicated, contrary, contrasting myths… and yes, in some of those he raped. Arguably. It, again, comes down to translation and interpretation. Take this excerpt from Nancy Rabinowitz’s paper “Greek Tragedy: A Rape Culture?” 

Creusa, raped by Apollo years ago, conceived a child and abandoned him… For the purposes of this paper, I have to address the question of whether Creusa was in fact raped by the god. Hermes mixes the terminology in the prologue; he asserts that the god Apollo “yoked the daughter of Erechtheus in marriage (γάμοις)”, but he also says “by force (βίᾳ)” (10-11). Ion later (1524-25; cf. 341, 325) wonders whether Creusa was really raped, or whether she was just alleging that the god took her by violence to cover up an indiscretion of her own – a similar situation could be imagined in our own day, where false allegations may arise from young girls’ fear of confessing consensual relations to their parents. Lefkowitz argues that women tend to cooperate in their seduction by a god. While it might seem obvious that Ion is simply wrong, there is the further implication that though Apollo raped Creusa, she also desired him” (11-12). 

So if we’re looking for evidence that Smythe’s interpretation of Apollo is the “correct” one, it exists… depending on what you read and how you choose to interpret it: whether a mortal woman can ever truly give consent due to the power difference between her and a god, whether it was safe to say no, whether she might have lied to protect herself, whether it was something a part of her desired but perhaps didn’t entirely want, etc. It’s that last bit in particular—those difficult questions—that Smythe explores in her comic. Persephone wants to explore her sexuality. She wants a way out of her virgin obligations. But she’s also pressured into sex by Apollo. He doesn’t stop when she expresses discomfort. She doesn’t feel safe asserting herself and telling him to stop. It’s rape, but it’s a far more complicated situation than the rape scenario of “Evil man forces himself on woman in the back of an alleyway” and Smythe treats the tragedy with nuance and respect, even in a comic filled with so much humor. 

The people I see most upset about Lore Olympus are those who talk about the gods and their associated mortals as if they’re characters out of a book. They read one version once—or maybe two—and, as is natural in the 21st century, decided that This Is How The Story Goes. Even though every academic would be losing their mind over such definitive statements as, “Such-and-Such would never do this.” That’s simply not how records this ancient, sporadic, political, and downright messy work. So as someone with some knowledge of how Greek Mythology functions, I’m not at all put off by the comics’ “inaccuracies.” Because they’re simply not inaccuracies, just interpretations. Not liking those interpretations is fine, but that doesn’t mean Smythe was wrong for providing them. 

As for the rest, I’ll try to limit myself to bullet points: 

The age difference between Persephone and Hades is definitely A Thing and I admittedly didn’t realize that was the case when I started reading. I assumed that Persephone, like most of the cast, was hundreds/thousands of years old and just had a child-like personality. I basically realized around the time Hades did that she’s so young. That being said, the issue of age differences changes for me once you reach such insane ages. That’s why I still ship Ozqrow: Ozpin is hundreds of years older than him but at that point he’s going to be older than everyone. Always. Limiting his ships to only those who are close to Ozpin’s age means you can’t ship him at all (unless you ship him with Salem post-grimm pool and… no). It’s a similar situation with Hades. Yes, there are plenty of gods his age that he could date (and indeed he does) but he is always going to be thousands of years older than Persephone. She can literally never catch up to him, so if someone has an issue with the age gap then they have to accept that it will simply never go away. They can never be a couple in which case yeah, then the comic just isn’t your thing. 

Really, I think the bigger issue is not the gap itself but Persephone’s age, period. Again though, I appreciate that Smythe treats the situation with a great deal of respect. This isn’t a story of a much older man hunting a younger woman. It’s the story of a much older god who, like me the reader, assumed he had fallen for a slightly younger goddess… and then freaked out when he found out he was wrong. He’s called out for his ignorance. Others are incredibly protective of Persephone. They both try to stay away from one another and find themselves struggling. Which, to be frank, is an interesting dilemma to me. And it’s one I’m more interested in with gods as characters as opposed to humans. Because it feels less predatory to me. A man going after a much younger woman is threatening in part because we’re mortals who have so much to lose, including our youth. If you enter an abusive relationship that alone is horrible enough, but it also means you’ve lost all those years and all that experience to toxicity. When a god goes after a much younger goddess… they’re kind of static. They have eternity stretching out before them. Persephone potentially “losing” ten years to a relationship with Hades just isn’t the same thing as a mortal losing ten years to a relationship of their own. Gods, though they seem quite human, simply aren’t and thus for me questions of morality and what’s ethical in any given situation changes. We have a cast who, when Eros gets upset and murders a whole bunch of humans, Zeus shrugs and says they’ll just make more. Their concept of right and wrong differs from ours and it invites the reader to apply that to every situation: is it as wrong for an older god to go after a 19yo goddess as it would be for an older man to go after a 19yo woman? Many readers may decide it is—to some extent the text decides it is—but the story still possesses ambiguity and invites the reader to grapple with it. That’s compelling. 

Connected to this, I like how much agency Persephone has throughout the series. She’s very much a character who defies expectations, particularly when it comes to her sexuality. Far from being a meek, vulnerable woman who is preyed on by Hades, she is making constant, active decisions about her own romantic and sexual encounters. Even if that decision is just acknowledging how unsure she still is: does she want to remain a virgin? Does she want Apollo? Does she want Hades? Is it okay to make out with Ares? Wear this very short dress? Get drunk? Explore a city? Invite this person over? Have feelings for your boss? Persephone is grappling with a lot of questions that don’t have easy answers and the fact that the story gives her the room to do that grappling is fantastic. I’ve spoken before about my dislike of the Strong Female Character—someone who is not just physically intimidating but who also never, EVER hesitates. She knows precisely what she wants and she’s going to take it! Which is a great portrayal of one kind of woman… but I’m not that kind. I hem and haw and am anxious like Persephone. So for me it’s refreshing to see a story that paints uncertainty as strength. She’s allowed the space to be unsure and confused and is never belittled for that. 

Honestly I’m not sure what the issue with the queer rep is? Beyond the fact that Lore Olympus doesn’t seem to have any (unless I’m forgetting some. Very possible). Which, admittedly, is far from great, but if I dismissed every story due solely to a lack of queer characters I would limit a lot of my potential media. So for me, personally, that’s not a deal breaker. Taking a stab in the dark, I’ll make an assumption that people are upset about certain characterizations like Eros? Which, fair. But we also have the flip side that effeminate, flamboyant men do exist. It’s another complicated, touchy subject, but there’s a fine line between enforcing stereotypes and acknowledging that those stereotypes often do arise out of something. Some people hate the media image of the queer kid decked out in rainbows. Other people look at their own wardrobe and backpack and go, “Actually… yeah. That can be accurate.” For me stereotypes are primarily an issue given their prevalence. It’s an issue when that’s the only way queer characters are portrayed, but Lore Olympus doesn’t have that problem because, again, it’s focused on het relationships. Eros might potentially be a (non-confirmed?) queer stereotype… or he’s a battle-hardened warrior who also likes to gush about gossip while baking, the sort of complex gender portrayal that people claim to want. It depend on how you approach it. So no, Lore Olympus isn’t breaking any ground with queer rep but, as said, I do appreciate how it treats sexual assault—among other sensitive, relevant issues. It’s a trade-off. No piece of media is going to be perfect. I could say the same thing about so many great stories. The Mandalorian doesn’t have any queer rep! No, it doesn’t, but it is giving us a fantastic story about a bounty-hunter turned dad that challenges a number of Western gender assumptions so… trade-off. 

I likewise enjoy that characters call one another out on shitty, toxic behavior without completely losing who those characters are. (Again, supposedly who they are based on the lecture I gave at the start lol). Meaning, it would be kind of weird if Zeus wasn’t a womanizer. That’s what we expect of him, so changing that would likewise change one of the most fundamental aspects of what makes Zeus-Zeus in the general public’s perception of him. But we still have scenes of Hera and others calling him out on that shit, so it’s a balance between modern sensibilities and character expectations. 

The characters overall are just wonderfully complex. Persephone doesn’t seem so at first glance, but that’s partly the point: she’s nothing like what everyone assumes she is and it’s those assumptions that she’s learning to push back against. But overall Smythe has a real knack for emphasizing the human (or god) complexity. We hate Eros for helping Aphrodite punish Persephone. Then we feel bad for him because of his sob story. Then we pull back because he’s called out for being a dick and making himself look like the victim. Then we come to the realization that his side of the story was still accurate in many ways and finally end on… he’s flawed. He’s just a flawed person. He’s not a saint. He’s not the devil. He’s a guy who screwed up one moment and did something good the next. Perhaps it’s just me coming out of the nonsense that was Volume 7 of RWBY, but it’s refreshing to read a story where that complexity is emphasized and (most) flaws are forgiven while still being acknowledged. 

Overall I just find it to be a fun, entertaining story! lol. The artwork is beautiful. The humor is great. There’s a nice balance between plot and introspection. There are issues with the series, sure, but none thus far have kept me from enjoying the experience of reading it. I fully support anyone’s right to go, “Nope. Not for me.” For any reason. But I also feel like Lore Olympus is a good example of Tumblr’s recent emphasis on pure media: it must be PERFECT. Otherwise chuck it in the bin. Lore Olympus does a lot of the things that people on this site call for. Respectful depictions of assault. Emphasis on mental health. Storytelling from a woman’s perspective. Numerous types of woman characters. Being careful about who engages with sensitive material and how (each chapter that contains such issues has a trigger warning at the start, impossible to miss). Lore Olympus does a lot right… and some things wrong. Which is what we would expect of any good story. So it feels disingenuous of me—if not outright dangerous—to paint it as worse than I actually think it is. I want media to continue to improve, but I also don’t want to scare off authors from even trying because they were raked across the coals for not creating perfection. Smythe, to my mind, is definitely trying and that should be acknowledged.