#mine isn't...you know...a mass murderer

[spacelazarwolf]

Hey there! I’ve really appreciated your posts and perspective over this past month, I’m having a hard time (as so many Jews are) and your voice helps.

I’m hoping you can help me with reliable resources. A friend of mine condemned the Hamas attacks etc (as they should, to my relief) but is under the impression that Israeli govt is doing genocide to the Palestinians. I’ve no idea how to approach that to verify (or not), I don’t even know where to start looking. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you.

thanks! this is a really tough question, but i'm going to do my best to break it down. also if anyone's thinking of clowning on this post without reading it, inb4 "omg ur denying genocide!!!!!!" bc this post is literally outlining, in detail, all the ways the israeli government is, by definition, committing genocide.

this is really long, just a heads up.

a big frustration i have with a lot of progressive or leftist spaces is the tendency to throw around words like genocide without being able to define the term or properly apply it to the situation in question. this isn't just a semantics issue. if all you're doing is repeating the buzzwords you've heard on social media, your "activism" is going to be less than useless. it is crucial that if you are going to talk about the current genocide in gaza, you must be able to define exactly what a genocide is and how it applies to what's happening in gaza.

i'm paraphrasing from this article by the united nations. the word "genocide" was coined in 1944 by raphael lemkin in his book "axis rule in occupied europe." it was developed partly in response to the shoah, but also to previous instances of what we would now define as genocide. it was recognized as a crime under international law in 1946, and codified as an independent crime in the 1948 convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide.

the definition of genocide

(from article II of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide):

in the present convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

a. killing members of the group; b. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; c. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; d. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; e. forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

the 10 stages of genocide

a model created by gregory stanton, the founding president of genocide watch

classification - people are divided into "them and us"

symbolization - when combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah groups.

discrimination - law or cultural power excludes groups from full civil rights: segregation or apartheid laws, denial of voting rights.

dehumanization - one group denies the humanity of the other group. memmbers of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects, or diseases.

organization - genocide is always organized... special army units or militias are often trained and armed...

polarization - extremists drive the groups apart... leaders are arrested and murdered... laws erode fundamental civil rights and liberties.

preparation - mass killing is planned. victims are identified and sepaarated because of their ethnic or religious identity.

persecution - expropriation, forced displacement, ghettos.

extermination - it is 'extermination' to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human.

denial - the perpatrators... deny that they committed any crimes.

application to the crisis in gaza

to start with the first definition from the united nations:

a. killing members of the group - YES

the death toll in gaza has risen above 8,000 according to the associated press. as far as i know, as of writing this post, there has been no ceasefire so the death toll will continue to rise.

b. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group - YES

over 20,000 people in gaza have been injured, and gazans - particularly children - suffer incredibly high rates of ptsd.

c. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part - YES

the israeli blockade of gaza has had devastating consequences for gazans. they are running out of food, water, fuel, and medicine, and this is costing additional lives.

d. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group - unclear but leaning toward YES

whether or not it is the explicit goal, the current bombardment of gaza has put the lives of 50,000+ pregnant women in gaza at risk, along with their babies. babies who need incubators are also in danger as generators begin to run out of fuel.

e. forcibly transferring children of the group to another group - as far as i am aware, NO

according to the us embassy in israel, the palestinian authority ministry of social development is the only authorized entity regarding adoption of palestinian children. this doesn't mean it isn't happening, it just means i was not able to find any credible sources.

the 10 stages of genocide

classification - YES there is a long history in israel of othering palestinians, both socially/culturally and legally. former israeli minister of interior and minister of justice ayelet shaked shared a racist quote from netanyahu's former chief of staff explicitly framing palestinians as "the enemy."

symbolization - not yet there are no overt symbols palestinians, even within israel, are required to wear to outwardly identify themselves, but there are identifying features on their ids. in fact, the opposite has been happening, with far right members of the israeli government attempting to pass legislation making it illegal to publicly display palestinian flags.

discrimination - YES there is, again, a long history of discrimination against palestinians within and by the state of israel. it is difficult for palestinians from the west bank or gaza to gain status in israel, israeli work permits are used as a form of control, and often forcibly separate palestinian families.

dehumanization - YES former israeli deputy minister of defense eli ben dahan said of palestinians, "to me they are like animals, they aren't human."

organization - YES israel is currently carrying out an organized and brutal attack on gaza.

polarization - YES from extremist groups like hamas, to the corruption in the likud party in israel, there are very clear signs of extreme polarization. israel's siege against gaza has caused polarization across the entire globe.

preparation - YES gazans in particular are unable to leave gaza without a permit, and now with the blockade from both israel and egypt they are essentially trapped.

persecution - YES gaza in particular could absolutely be likened to a ghetto. as stated above, (in "usual" circumstances) they are unable to leave without a permit, and since hamas took control it is nearly impossible to get an israeli work permit.

extermination - GETTING THERE if the siege continues and gazans are unable to get out of gaza, there will be catastrophic casualties.

denial - YES i often hear that "israel has a right to defend itself" but i cannot possibly find a way to frame the current siege as "self defense."

so in conclusion, israel is - by multiple definitions - committing genocide against gazans. and it's very important to be able to identify specifics, especially if you are planning on having discussions about it. and i've said it in the past, but if you are not directly affected by what's happening - palestinians in particular, but israeli citizens and jews and muslims in the diaspora are also getting hit hard - it is IMPERATIVE that you are able to talk about this with a level head. escalating tensions and pushing away potential allies is only going to make things worse. find common ground, form connections, and then have a productive discussion.

[unbidden-yidden-deactivated20240]

I have gotten so many messages from folks who see what's happening to Jews right now, how literally any statement from us that isn't straight up "death to Israel!" "tear it down!" "river to the sea!" etc. - no matter how tempered in other ways or critical of the Israeli government it is - anything even mildly supportive of the terrorism victims/their families in their grief and/or Israelis deserving to live is getting dog piled to an absurd degree. And yes, that primarily targets Jews (because we're the ones primarily speaking on it) but it definitely is also hitting anyone not Jewish who says this as well. Immediately, overnight, the left has made any position that respects everyone's human rights and allows Jews room to grieve our murdered and missing family and friends without telling us they deserved to die in terrible ways completely radioactive. Like literally even the most milquetoaste statement attracts numerous hysterical commentators. And because it's so toxic, people are afraid to speak up.

And I've now heard from a lot of gentiles that they had no idea how deep the rot of leftist antisemitism went, how they've been seeing this unfold with horror, and are afraid to speak up.

Here's what I'll say: those messages give me a lot of strength, because they help me remember that I'm not insane, that this is horrendous, and we are seeing in real time exactly who would have helped the Gestapo find us if they were sufficiently convinced that this is "decolonization." That yes, the backlash really *is* that bad. I hear that affirmation and I appreciate it, and I understand your fear, because it was mine too. I myself strongly considered at the beginning not saying anything about this until I could do so without being harassed. (I decided against that because I am physically incapable of shutting up when it pertains to my people, but I understand the sentiment.)

Here's the thing: this is never going to end - those people who take seriously the question "are Jews people?" are going to be the vocal minority unless and until we all speak out. Jews are 2% of the US population and 0.2% of the world's population - there are literally more self-identified Nazis in America than there are Jews. I would honestly be surprised if there weren't more horseshoe theory leftists in the world than Jews also.

That being the case, we really do need our allies to speak up with us. I think if we all spoke up at once, it might be enough to break the silence-taken-as-agreement and shame everyone but the avowed antisemites (rather than the thoughtless and opportunistic ones) back into keeping their antisemitism under wraps. Which does have the effect of bringing the mob under control. Jews have faced a ton of mob violence in the form of pogroms throughout our history and backlash to Jewish victimhood. (Tl;dr - "How dare you make me consider how I might have benefited from or been complicit in hurting Jews? This is actually the fault of the Jews." is a disturbingly common thought process.) (You may also be wondering what I mean by "opportunistic;" I can explain in another post if people are interested.)

I know it's scary. I am well aware that you might lose friends from this. I personally decided that if those "friends" valued Jewish lives so little, they were never my friends to begin with, but it's different for non-Jews. They may genuinely be your friends. I'm not demanding you do this for me or my community, but I am asking you to consider what your line is for your friends. And if you are able to talk to them, to ask them what makes this group different from all other groups in terms of deserving compassion and human rights, it may just help us to quiet the mob.

And, if nothing else, just privately reminding those of us who are speaking about it that we are grounded in reality and compassion helps combat the mass gaslighting going on.

[xoxobuckybarnes]

May 2024 Reading List

Completed

Mine is the Shining Future (Rated: E, Words: 48K) by brideofquiet / @bride-ofquiet

Summary: He could have a life here, but what would it be? He could be a grocer; he could marry a girl who remembers hearing his name on the prayer list nearly every Sunday mass. He could fill sketchbooks in his spare time and stuff them into a trunk under his bed when he’s exhausted their pages, never to be seen again. He could live and die on Friary Street. It would be a fine life, if a simple one. Something similar was enough for his mother. It should be enough for him, too. Is it? In late summer of 1937, Steve Rogers immigrates to America.

Somebody to Loveverse (series) by @deepspaceprincess

Somebody to Love (Rated: E, Words: 27K) Summary: Natasha sets Steve up with at home cooking lessons when he botches Sunday night dinner. Steve isn't actually that reluctant, especially when his teacher is so easy on the eyes. Hard Days Night (Rated: E, Words: 3K) Summary: Steve comes home from an extended mission to find that Buck waited up for him.

That's What You Get For Waking Up in Vegas (Rated: E, Words: 96K) by Oh_i_swear / @oh-i-swear-writes & ThePirateStorm / @fsbc-librarian

Summary: An Avengers fundraising event in Las Vegas takes a left turn, and Captain America wakes up with a brand new spouse and no way to get a divorce. Coupled with Tony Stark's current obsession with reality dating shows, obviously nothing can go wrong, right Bucky Barnes isn't even Tony's PA - Pepper is his actual boss - and he does not have time to even date anyone, let alone be married to one of the most famous people in the world, especially not with a sick sister and precocious niece at home depending on him. He just needs to keep his head down, and wait it out til they can get a divorce. Easy, right?

I Know You Don't Sleep At Night (Rated: E, Words: 62K) by @humapuma

Summary: Bucky Barnes is a high class call boy working for Red Room Escorts. One night, while out with a new client, he witnesses a murder. The detective who interviews him is big, blond, and beautiful, and makes Bucky want things he shouldn't. Little does he know, they've met before. Steve Rogers is a detective in Brooklyn, called to investigate a murder at a nightclub. The witness he's told to interview is a hooker. When Steve enters the room, he can hardly believe his eyes. Bucky is lithe and beautiful, even at four in the morning after witnessing a homicide. He knows the witness and the rules say, he must recuse himself from the case. How many rules is Steve willing to break to keep Bucky safe? Every. Single. One.

Transcript: Steven Rogers and James ‘Bucky’ Barnes' appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, February 4, 2017 (Rated: G, Words: 2K) by deliciousblizzardshark

Summary: Rogers: Nice to meet you, Stephen. Colbert: And you, Steven. Rogers: The future is so touchy-feely. Colbert: Is that right? Rogers: Yeah, people are always hugging each other. In my day we avoided physical contact. Colbert: Yeah? Rogers: Didn’t want to catch Polio. Colbert: Oh, are we at the joking about Polio stage of the interview already? That was fast. Rogers: I like to cut to the chase.

You remember that time? (Rated: T, Words: 3K) by kingandlionheart / @steveybucky

Summary: “You remember that time we had to ride back from Rockaway Beach in the back of a freezer truck?" Steve gets jealous, buys his weight in hotdogs, and cuddles in the back of a freezer truck.

Steve Rogers. Cheerfully Slutty. (Rated: E, Words: 20K) by @relenafanel

Summary: Steve Rogers. Cheerfully Slutty. But not going to take your shit about it. Bucky Barnes. Voted most likely to fall in love first.

1A (Rated: E, Words: 27K) by tinzelda

Summary: Steve and Bucky are together before the war. Kind of. Bucky sure wants to be—he knows how he feels about Steve. Steve, however, hates that Bucky has to take care of him, so he can’t give himself over to the relationship. Steve desperately wants to enlist, but when he finally gets that 1A stamp, it isn’t the validation he thought it would be. When Bucky sees Steve transformed, he thinks he’s lost him for good, but Steve needs Bucky to look after him more than ever. He drives himself hard to feel worthy of being Captain America and keeps just enough distance between them to drive Bucky crazy. In other words, Steve still has something to prove, and Bucky has the patience of a saint.

[the-rainbow-lesbian]

Hi @menalez, you know I thought I was being courteous by keeping quiet about my grievances with you and not airing them publicly but I guess that isn't mutual, if you really wanted to have a conversation with me you could've talked to me on discord, you're not blocked there.

when October 7th first happened I was unwell tbh and very confused, I thought the world went mad when a massacre against the Jewish state and Israelis (both Jewish and Arab but the majority were Jews and they were targeted for being Jewish) somehow made them hateful against Jewish people, even the diaspora, I was also very confused when the "feminists" of the world even the radical feminists remained silent on the mass rape used as a weapon against Israeli women or tried to deny and minimize it. This is gonna sound dramatic but I haven't been the same person ever since because I lost my trust in people, I don't trust anyone who has no sympathy for others based on their ethnicity and nationality.

and when I went to tumblr I saw that you were also sharing content from antisemites, although you tried to distance yourself from it, sure Hamas did kill babies and rape women, but it wasn't as bad as the media is making it out to be, as if there is a number of raped women and murdered babies that needs to be met before we recognize this as a genocidal act by Hamas? I tried to read what you shared and honestly the people you tried to refute (badly) made more sense to me.

I spent a huge portion of my time watching content about the conflict even when I am working, reading about it, talking to my friend about it, I sought out another friend of mine who is retired professor who has visited Israel multiple times to learn from her, I listened to Jewish people and Israelis and also to Palestinians, I shared articles from Palestinian authors and a Muslim woman about the war, I am reading a book by Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas' founders, I didn't listen to the ones who cheered on October 7th which is fair, terrorists and their supporters don't have integrity. so even though you said I "admitted I don't know shit" and I am "willfully ignorant" I am really not, I am not an expert, I wish I could read and learn more than what I am already doing but I work full-time on 5-6 hours of sleep then travel on the weekends to see my girlfriend, so I am sorry I didn't know much about Christian Zionists? I'd rather not run on my mouth over something I don't know much about, it doesn't make all of my other opinions invalid somehow. I've always been the type of person who tries to do at least some research before forming an opinion and being outspoken about it.

you also said I am brainwashed by my country's antisemitism and I am "rebelling" (which is so fucking condescending I am not a child trying to prove a point) but actually I never agreed that the holocaust was good and that Hitler was a hero like the majority of people around me did, even if I had problematic beliefs I would never agree with genocide. it's also interesting that you refer to this rightfully as propaganda but do you know which news channel was funneling this and playing in my house? it was Aljazeera, and you share from them all the time without a hint of scrutiny, of course anything Israel says must be met with scrutiny but anything coming out of Hamas and Qatar is trustworthy even though both are islamofascist that don't allow any freedom of press, very interesting.

so mena, as an Arabic speaker why don't you look into Aljazeera's Arabic websites and articles where they don't sugarcoat the antisemitism for the western audience and share them with your followers? or anything from Hamas' leaders? are you intentionally misleading them or just lazy? not sure which is worse.

I do have sympathy for middle eastern women and that includes Israeli women! Which is why I'll never support an Islamic state, they are the worst for women. There is more going on in the middle east than just western imperialism, not everything is the west's fault and even if it was we should have more accountability and not just overlook terrorism and other problems we have, prophet Mohammad didn't need Zionism or western imperialism to massacre the Jews of Banu Qurayza, which was so horrific I decided to fully become an ex-muslim after reading about it and I was questioning my faith for two years at that time.

You accused me of supporting genocide which is..... wow there is a lot to say about that, but I won't get into it now, you said this isn't in character for me as an "empathetic and intelligent woman" you're right, maybe the genocide accusation against Israel is blood libel and unfounded, because why would I support genocide? have you tried to read anything besides Qatar and Hamas approved propaganda? have you listened to other opinions in good faith without plugging your ears calling them Zionists (as if it's a bad thing to want self-determination and not be a dhimmi anymore) and blocking them?

I don't know where you get the audacity to say that I am ignorant and should do the "decent thing" and shut up, do you have any Jewish loved ones? do you worry about them on a daily basis because of antisemitism and how antisemitic hate crimes have increased to an insane level? I can't go a day without seeing new incidents reported, which you have ignored of course, because the only good Jew to you is a Jewish person who just affirms your beliefs so you can delude yourself into thinking you're a good person, but after that you don't really care, do you think antisemites ask Jewish people if they're Zionists before they harass and assault them? get off your fucking high horse, I don't owe you shit and you have no right to judge me, if anyone should shut up it's you, the rhetoric and the blood libels you share is the same fucking rhetoric inciting the increase in hate crimes, sincerely fuck off :)

[the-path-to-redemption]

You know what keep me up all night?

The fandom sympathizing Cinder over Adam.

Before I get into this Yes. Cinder is white. Her VA is also white. I have seen people say she is Asian because she wore a Cheongsam in volume 4-6 buts that's the bare minimum. As non Chinese people can wear Cheongsam as long as they are wearing appropriately and are mostly used for formal or everyday wear.

There is no cultural ties on the name Cinder. Only the fact she is based of Cinderella.

We good? Okay let's get into it.

They cared more about a white girl over Adam. The same Adam who is poc coded former slave that was branded by white girl privilege family.

Don't get me wrong Cinder story is upsetting as it hold alot of abuse and child labor. I'm upset over the fact that Adam didn't get that same treatment until after his death and we gotten glimpse of what his life was during WF but not before.

Even then when his brand was revealed I remember how people were more focus over Bumblebee than the fact Adam has every right to be upset with society and the treatment of Fanus (even though that volume butcher his character).

Long Post Ahead

This isn't hate or anything, anon, but I do understand where you're coming from with Cinder. While there's no harm in making her Asian (as there are multiple iterations of the Cinderella story across many cultures, mine also have one), it's important that we all remember that Cinder is an in-universe majority. She is a human, so you are valid in your sentiments toward how she is received by the FNDM while practically sharing a similar childhood as Adam, who is an in-universe minority, no matter how much the FNDM tries to deny it and call him white.

It's still extremely problematic and hypocritical to sympathize with only one character between two very similar backstories when said character is a majority, while not extending the same understanding to the actual minority character. I say understanding because no one has to pity Adam, that's valid for them, but to say that he is less sympathetic than Cinder, who also abused a (presumably) younger woman under her care (Emerald), committed mass murder multiple times, blackmailing someone else by murdering his men in front of him, and did so much more, is fucking stupid.

This is extremely common unfortunately; I've even seen people denying that Adam wasn't a slave, somehow deluding themselves into headcanoning that he's a human faking to be a Faunus to use the WF's goals to satiate his own bloodlust (not even being subtle in their racism there), and that he's not somehow the only Faunus we've seen with an actual proof of the systematic oppression that they faced on-screen, which is a brand over his eye. There are also instances of them not taking abuse on male victims as seriously as female victims (most notably Oscar, Mercury, and Ozpin), but are willing to brush off any abuse that female victims inflict on others (Cinder, Neo, Salem, and Blake). It's bigotry, full stop.

But this doesn't end with the FNDM; yeah, Adam's death was to serve a ship between two characters who either do not give a fuck about what people like him have to go through or made the same people believe that their continuous oppression was their fault for not asking for their rights nice enough.

Fuck the implications that Blake knew that Adam (not excusing any abuse he put her through here) was branded and disabled for longer than they've known each other yet did nothing to actually change the brutality people like him have to go through. Fuck the fact that now Yang knew, and neither of them brought it up to Weiss so that she can keep her word to change the SDC (the fucking company that branded Adam) in Atlas and opted to go party with a team that they disliked. Nothing makes sense here, and we're in hell.

[mdhwrites]

Can a Wittebane special ever air on Disney Channel? I wonder how they will tackle the religious themes and murder of Caleb while keeping it Child friendly.

HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Oh, wait, you actually think it'd focus on Philip?

Sorry for the mocking statements but that is the long and short of it. To keep it child friendly, for what is most compelling, and for what would be most in line with TOH, the way a Wittebane special would go is actually pretty easy to map out, at least with the moments that we know about:

You start with a teenage boy looking gaunt and exhausted as he prepares for a day in the woods to forage for things that he can get and wood to chop. He needs to make money for him and his little brother, Philip, after all. He hasn't really gotten to eat much more than scraps for the past couple days but hey, that's okay. Philip gets to eat and that's all the nourishment Caleb needs. He wants his little brother to have a proper childhood and he'll give up anything for that.

While out in the woods that day though, he catches a smell. An absolutely divine smell. He follows it to its source and finds a woman in a cloak feeding the animals of the area. The bread she has smells like heaven but how she speaks to the animals reeks of the devil. His stomach gives him away though and she turns with a wry grin. She isn't afraid of him but intrigued because he didn't immediately attack, something she calls out when he won't eat her bread because of his suspicions. They strike a deal that Evelyn will tell him a truth in return for the bread. That way he knows his soul isn't the price of it. "Are you a witch?" "Yes." And that moment of pure honesty makes Caleb pause. Then he runs. He runs fast and hard, racing back to town to be sure that he can tell everyone and potentially get his brother away. To keep him safe from that which threatens them all. However, he is stopped by the fact that his little brother is sobbing and soaked. One of the other kids tricked him into the river and said they shouldn't have bother to be washed up onto the shore. They should have just drowned in the ocean because if God wanted them, they would still have... have... Caleb holds him tight before looking at the sole remaining photo he has of all four of them. The next day he is in mass, his leg shaking as he listens to the fire and brimstone the preacher speaks of. He can't focus on the words though. Not as he looks at how the kids that hurt Philip are at the front of the pews while they sit in the back because no one wants them near them. There's anger and hate in this room and it gnaws at his gut just as badly as his hunger does.

And so now we get some time of Philip and Evelyn bonding, romancing and we see the seasons pass in a sweet, effective montage to speedrun their romance, especially if this is just a 44 minute special or the like, let alone if it's 22. This montage could easily also show how the two growing older and contrast Caleb's joys of embracing the other with Philip's growing anger as he spends time in town and is indoctrinated, all without having to say what he is being indoctrinated for besides imagery of burning fires.

Then finally, we have Evelyn asking when Caleb plans to tell his brother. Caleb doesn't know. At first it was to make sure Evelyn was actually safe. Then never finding the right time because of fear of someone in town hearing. Now... Now Philip is so converted to witch hunting that he doesn't know what to do. They're even considering making his little brother witch hunter general because of just how committed he is. Caleb feels defeated and tired and all he really feels like he has left is Evelyn.

"Well... Maybe it's time to find your own path then. Your brother will be fine at your home and... And maybe you'll be fine at mine. With the rest of the witches."

It then cuts to Philip, furious, slamming open the door to the house. He has a ritual dagger in his hand... Because he has been named a lead hunter while one of those brats from when they were younger is Witch Hunter General. Just another time where the town decided to choose the people over parents than him. Over the one with the purest soul in town. At least, he thinks as he picks up the family photo and tries to calm himself, one of them. He needs his brother. He's gone again. He wishes Caleb would let him take care of him now. He makes enough money through the church to support them after all. He doesn't have to keep risking his life in the woods anymore.

"With the rest of the witches."

Philip's heart sinks. What? Who is this woman? He's never seen her? Wait, if she's with the witches, his brother is in danger! But the rest of them? If he waits for them to go he can find all of them and they'll HAVE to make him witch hunter general! But that means risking Caleb's life. He can't allow that, even for his own-

"You're right. Philip will just be happier here and... And maybe just best that I vanish. He'll just blame a witch for it anyways and trying to say goodbye would only put as all in danger." Tears come down Philip's face and his knuckles turn white as rain begins. A familiar door opens up next to Evelyn and she turns the key we all know in it. The shine of the portal illuminates Philip's face before a bolt of lightning has it change to Belos' mask and the special ends.

And that's it. It isn't a fun version of it but there's literally no version of the Wittebanes, without major retcons, that can be told in a fun way. They are orphans from a super conservative colony who majored in witch hunting before then having a schism between them be formed due to that witch hunting. This potentially, because it's up to interpretation, led to Philip killing Caleb. Bare minimum, something happens to Caleb that leads to him being dead and haunting his brother while Philip is left stranded on the Isles with no way of going back without finding his own way. The only part of that story that could be fun or comedic is the romance plotline with Evelyn and Caleb. It's also the one that allows the most to be left in obscurity about Belos, thus enabling the show not to contradict its own lore that way. Worse yet, it's also just the best story to tell there besides the rise of witch hunter Belos but those themes are indeed incredibly dark and SUPER not fun to tackle directly so it's better that it happens mostly off screen. Also, you know, it makes sure that the show doesn't glorify bigotry and hate by having us see the rise of Philip into bigoted witch hunter from his perspective. Instead, the story focuses on being critical of such things and accepting the other, which is theoretically in line with TOH in general.

It could be an effective special but I don't think it'd end up being what Belos fans want and for people who don't like Belos, the most they'll get out of it is ANOTHER quirky romance from TOH that mirrors Huntlow too much to feel unique or special. In other words, it's mostly a lose lose situation, especially since none of these elements will make the base story any deeper. It'll just add to the confusion some feel for the fact that they believe Belos is a victim and a product of his society who has a sympathetic reason for his anger but then is just a one note, pure evil villain in the main show.

This is honestly the problem with almost anything that addresses anything we saw in the show. The contradictory nature of the base product's writing, and how it slaughtered concepts at the root, means that expanding on these concepts can only make the contradictions worse. It can only make the base work worse or have MORE people screaming "WHY WASN'T THIS INCLUDED!?"

It's like how me and my Discord finally settled on one option for a lore book that could actually work for TOH if they wanted to release one for the show: One that tells us all about the Isles we didn't see. We see so little of it after all that just telling us about all these neat towns, the ways they operate, or expanding on the forms of magic that never got to do anything, could be neat. It doesn't fix the base show's lack of creativity or consistency but it doesn't inherently conflict with it either. It would just be there as harmless lore that also would have a bad hook for any readers because unlike the journals for Gravity Falls or Amphibia, they wouldn't expand on a character or the like.

The best route for TOH to go is to pull a Harry Potter, again (I hate how often this show forces me to bring up that stupid series) and make Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them. Either the movie or the book as either are at best tangentially related to the series but mostly just have the name of the series on them for brand recognition because the authors of both works didn't make a good enough world to actually tell anything more compelling within it after the story was done. Not without making the base product look worse.

And that includes the story of the Wittebanes.

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What sucks is that I actually do like the plot I wrote up for the Wittebanes. Like this could genuinely be a really interesting story to make. However A: I wouldn't do fanfiction for it because of the requirement of one killing the other eventually that effectively demands no nuance between Caleb and Philip, forcing their dynamic to be very basic and B: it still suffers from having to be basic because Belos is a basic bitch evil guy while all signs from the show point to Caleb having been an absolute paragon. I made him about as gray as I could in my write up and it's still not much.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[fallloverfic]

TGCF donghua Season 2, Episode 10 thoughts

This episode T-T T-T T-T T-T. Spoilers for the show and the book below. CW reference to suicide.

The dude being racist to An Le looks vaguely like a love child of Feng Xin and Nie Mingjue (the donghua version) roflmao. Animators have made little references to The Scum Villain's Self Saving System this season so I would not be surprised if someone snuck in a reference to the Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua, too lol And this is similar enough to at least one Meng Yao + Nie Mingjue scene that I can see why they'd do it here.

So the Xianle goons licking their lips is because, I imagine, whatever was in that pouch Qi Rong brought An Le infected them or maybe it was these actual soldiers or something. Makes it less mmm... Strange. Having seen recordings of an attempted assault on a principal government building with government officials inside and what bloodthirsty folks bent on literal murder of said officials get up to around that, I mean I guess it's not that..... strange......

Someone here let me know that the servant/friend is the same official from S02E01 who ran past Xie Lian to help Lang Qianqiu, which makes sense! I totally forgot he showed up then and wondered after S02E07 if he was An Le acting funny (though by the end of S02E09 he is clearly not). He does show up in the novel in that S02E01 scene, but he's not named so far as I can tell, and I don't think we see him in Yong'an flashbacks like we do here. It's neat to see the development of this side character, and how some officials reward people who support them in life (besides Xie Lian and Yin Yu).

Xie Lian seeing the guy nervously looking for Lang Qianqiu and then being like: -sigh- young love is such a trial. You should spend more time studying the blade!

Oh shit, we get a preview of Xie Lian's parents' suicide. Wow. Will we get the donghua that far please T-T

I'm just in love with Fangxin's cape. It's so beautiful trailing behind him.

I'm sorry but An Le screaming in the same way Nakahara Chuuya does whenever he's mid-Corruption in Bungo Stray Dogs made me laugh so hard roflmao Unexpected (and likely unintentional) cameo lol

Imma keep saying it, the animation in this episode is really good. The fight scene is wonderful. When they go back to Qi Rong cackling is good. The show is just pretty.

Qi Rong: "Why is everyone here so fond of crying!"

This man is tired. Can't you do a little mass murder and gloating in peace? Honestly. Hard times.

Qi Rong: "You want your parents? I haven't gone asking for mine yet!"

Aw Qi Rong, babe...

Qi Rong got anime slashed. Who could have foreseen??? /end sarcasm

Xie Lian having a sad moment about Qi Rong, thinking he died. I'm wondering what the crying scene is from, or if that's something new. Qi Rong did cry I think in one flashback (I think where he's complaining about something) but this looked sadder? And less "spoiled".

Xie Lian sadly reaching out for Lang Qianqiu T-T

Xie Lian: "Is the truth so important? . . . What's the use of him knowing that? If I killed a few less people, would that make my reasons more justified?"

I really do love this so much. Just... sometimes the truth isn't important. Sometimes the truth is more painful/results in a worse outcome. Being bluntly honest isn't always the answer. You could argue that Xie Lian sacrificing himself isn't the answer either, and it's better overall that Lang Qianqiu knows things, but I love how this story brings up this idea, that maybe ignorance was better. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and Xie Lian did still intentionally murder two people, as part of a cover-up.

Also, "You'd rather be right than be loved," is something I think about a lot from personal experience. It's not Hua Cheng's intention, but this kind of thinking can lead down that path so easily.

Hua Cheng really feeling that "fucked around and found out" part of this whole thing. Like I don't necessarily disagree with his goal here, and Xie Lian's plan is kind of well... imperfect (to put it lightly). But I do think this is a nice moment of Hua Cheng realizing that yes, he is Xie Lian's #1 fan, he is Xie Lian's strongest believer, and Xie Lian clearly cares deeply for him in return, but this does not mean that Hua Cheng understands Xie Lian perfectly, or knows all his thoughts (does Hua Cheng know a lot about him? Yes. But Xie Lian hides a lot of what he thinks, and has done so throughout his life). When thinking about Hua Cheng, I often think of Sosuke Aizen's line in Bleach chapter 170: "Admiration is the state furthest from understanding."

Unlike other people, Hua Cheng sets himself apart by not forcing his views on Xie Lian or trying to get Xie Lian to change to suit him, and he's realizing, "Oh shit, I fucked up with that here, didn't I," because in his quest for justice, to protect Xie Lian, he did just what he hates other people doing (to an extent, it's not nearly as bad as other folks). One thing I love so much about their relationship is how much they listen to each other, and learn from each other, and how Hua Cheng tries to see Xie Lian in ways other people don't. Even here, he's seeing Xie Lian (I really love that they focused so much on Hua Cheng's expressions here, even if he's not visually doing as much as Xie Lian, it's the little clear signs of upset that mean so much). He's not interrupting Xie Lian, he's not arguing his case (though to be fair, he already mostly has). He's trying to learn and be better. They recover from this because of that. And I love that about them.

Xie Lian: "I deserve whatever punishment I get and I can't die anyway. So why not put all the blame on me?"

T-T Crying in the club, folks. This man...

Xie Lian realizing he's being mean to Hua Cheng and apologizing got me T-T He's so scared of himself and what he's capable of - and incapable of, given all his work to try and save lives and mend old anger has come to naught, and he can't fix it. He always doubts himself before others. The scars of Bai Wuxiang are all over this episode, and Xie Lian himself, figuratively and literally. All this episode I cry T-T

Xie Lian's Chinese voice actor has done such a good job. Everyone is amazing (Qi Rong's VA doing amazing), but dang, he is phenomenal this episode. You can really feel Xie Lian's desperation and sorrow.

All in all the subs were also better this episode! They still call Qi Rong the "Green Immor" for some reason, but outside maybe one slightly awkward sentence, I think it was okay! But that doesn't necessarily mean anything cause they've been good and then got worse again lol

An excellent episode. Truly phenomenal. I think one of my favorites, particularly for this ending bit with Xie Lian and Hua Cheng talking to each other.

Other episode thoughts for season 2 (didn't start till episode 3):

S02E03

S02E04

S02E05

S02E06

S02E07

S02E08

S02E09

S02E10 (you are here)

S02E11

S02E12

[still-a-morosexual-help]

You wrote "A big part of pulling free from expectations put on women is by breaking genderstereotypes, which leads to men being able to wear dresses, makeup, heels without being mocked for it because everyone should be able to present themselves in a way that makes them comfortable & happy." OK. But that's not attractive. I'd never fuck or be in relationship with a man who's not masculine. And people like you are erasing masculinity by promoting this mindset. I need traditional, masculine men in life. Because I'm a feminine woman. Men should be happy to be men, and live in their masculine energy. Men are mocked for being men in today's messed up society. That's why we need people like Jordan Peterson and other positive influences to lead them to the right path.

If you're attracted to masculine men, I'm gonna tell something that's very important. Listen up:

GOOD FOR YOU

I genuinely do not care.

Your preference and tastes are your business and like cool man. I'm not trying to dictate your life. Your life is your life. (Obviously as long as it isn't hurting others;) You deserve the freedom to be who you like, act how you like and well do who you like ;)

...get it.... ?

Understand that everyone should be extended the deceny and humanity to be who they want to be ? (Adding this again, because I know you're just the type of person who'd jump through hoops to twist this into saying I'm excusing like mass murder or whatever: as long as it isn't hurting others)

So once again;

Understand that everyone should be extended the deceny and humanity to be who they want to be ? Even men?

If a man wants to be "traditional" then sure cool good for him. If he wants to wear a cute little dress then sure cool good for him. It's not up to anyone else to dictate that choice. Definitely not you and me.

Girl if you like 'em traditional then go find a traditional man. Surprise, Surprise they still exist. They're not some endangered species or whatever you think is happening. I'm not out here hunting them for sport. Coming and complaining to me won't help. If you can't find a traditional man then I think that speaks about some problem from your end not mine :/

Okay but I love how I said that everyone should be able to be "comfortable and happy" in their own skin and you immediately followed that by "OK. But that's not attractive." !?!?!?!??! DUDE!?😂😂😂😂😂😂

Men (and anyone really) aren't just inanimate objects whose sole purpose for existence is to be attractive to you. They deserve to be comfortable and happy even if you don't find them attractive.

That's like someone saying they have a preference for I dunno blond men or whatever? And then believing every man in the world should dye their hair blond just so they'd appeal to that person.

....do you see how unhinged that is?

...how much of a dick move that is?

Maybe that's why you seem to be having trouble finding a traditional man🤔

Sorry! Sorry! That was below the belt. But I dunno a person's chances of getting a date usually shoot up when they're not blatantly an asshole. When they're not putting their partner's sex appeal to specifically them above said partner's happiness & comfort....

Here's my question, I'm an Obey Me! blog right?

How the fuck did you get here? "Traditional" men really are an extinct species in that game😭 did you get lost? are people putting hits out on my name? sending you in here? like genuinely how did you end up here?

Also side note, because I find it really interesting; the characteristics of "traditional men" and "traditional masculinity" has a tendency to change between culture & time. It doesn't really change the flow of our conversation because that's not really the point of it, but it's something interesting to read about if you wanted

Okay well, good luck I guess ❤️✌️

[the-grand-av3]

What crimes have you committed, will you commit more? If you haven't, why? If you won't, why?

Oh good grief

Easy! I've commit blasphemy, mass murder, cannibalism, desecration of corpses, torture, slavery, cheating, theiving, stealing, taking what isn't mine, lying, murder, slaughter, manslaughter...

Uhh SA but let's not get too into that, hm?~ Also drugging and a bunch of other stuff~

..And let's not forget about the cannibalism, oh my!...

i commit suicide which... apparently is a sin?? also I stole a lot, fraud, you know..

...The black magic was one of my bigger sins, however, there was a time I turned a man into a frog!...

Cult leader need i say more

And finally I did voodoo. Which isn't as bad. I will continue to sin. Just not in Charlie’s presence.

Awh, you gone soft (BUT NOT FOR ME?! ILL KILL THAT BITCH)

No, she just has a spray bottle.

Oh

oh

[purplink8]

Well, idk if you've read the entire thing, but Light does NOT follow his own code at all, and completely breaks them whenever he deems necessary. Case in point: Ray Penber, the FBI, Naiomi, not to mention his own Task Force or his family members if that ever had to be the case.

Also, his purpose to kill people was not to make it a better place, but mainly for him to RULE said world with the power he obtained. He isn't someone like the Punisher, who does mass murder of criminals to "protect the innocent" and to prevent scum from causing someone a bad day at the park like how they did to him. Punisher knows what he's doing is wrong, but he's so fucked up and hell bent on his mission to stop scum whatever the cost he doesn't CARE, he'll gladly reunite with his wife and kids once someone skilled enough can take him down, and until that day comes he will keep the streets clean.

Compare that to Light, who makes it very obvious that he's solely doing this to "become GOD OF THE NEW WORLD HAHAHAHAH" as he puts it. If he truly cared about justice and not his ego, he would've covertly written names in the notebook, in his room, and any prompt by L or the law would be ignored so that he can continue justice as long and effectively as he can. But does he? No, because he's bored and wants a challenge so he rather go down that path where he gets as CLOSE AS HE CAN to L, leaving any innocent people who are involved in the case directly in the crossfire of his battle of wits with L.

The only time Light himself brings up his morals or the innocent, it's directly after someone accuses him of being a monster. It's more of a defense mechanism to justify his actions rather than being an actual purpose to his actions.

...I've been staring at this ask** in my inbox for a while now & I still can't comprehend which post of mine warranted this??

** - There's no question in this ask, just your opinions. While I do not mind such asks at all, I am nonetheless baffled since I haven't made any posts recently of Light following his 'code'.

Also, I haven't read the Punisher or whatever so this is confusing to say the least. No offense, but you do know that you can make your own posts right? Like you don't have to gain approval from me (if that is what you're seeking? Forgive me if that's not the case but I can't see why you'd willingly send such an ask to me & how I'm supposed to answer this), or anyone else for that matter, for your opinions.

[lamentingocean]

Female Jaha X Subordinate Reader

__________________________________________

Warning: gore and blood, violence, thirsting over the mc, and typical maniacal jaha bullshit,

+Work made by your favorite rotmd blogger- Ocean!+

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Master Jaha. A Madwoman in nature and possibly one of the most powerful martial artists in china to be able to harness qi like a vacuum to take qi but to have it as her own. she's resilient, she's strong, and she's more crazier than a schizophrenic psychopath but is capable. I had a lot of reasoning to understand her ways of waging war just for a sex sect, defeating nachal dae due to his control over the heavenly generals, the defeat of the old black sea wolves master, the defeat of the cloudburst clan master, she works her ways like clockwork. As a subordinate. Her ways of killing threats are so trivial that it even makes a master of cards cry in despair, thus making her unpredictable and quite hard to follow. I try to analyze her actions just by following her lead and maybe trying to see what's going on in that insane brain of hers. To see if any type of normality speck is shoved into her brain since she's capable of running two sects on her own two hands. But I can't help but believe that she's hot as hell.

Even after threatening to shove a knife up a drunkard's ass because they keep flirting with her. she's insane Yes, but her attractiveness is also a highlight of that reoccurring active insanity within the locks of her mental mindset and brain working like a machine towards who she wants to kill. it's not like she's a bad person in nature since murder is a terribly frequent necessity to human's power over control. But she does have priorities and boundaries for many men murdering innocent people without a care in the world. This isn't a thirst trap. I'm just simply analyzing master jaha even though those red hot eyes.

They look like the bottomless pit of hell in which there is no escape. It looks like hell's fire bottled up into two beautiful looking eyes that gaze at a man's soul, and it will terrify them. shattering their heart into peices until they realize they can't mess with a woman more crazier and more powerful than most grandmasters of china. And to be honest. I been simping like a silent pig. I also know she doesn't like slutty men who simp over woman like a dog so I need to keep this quiet. I saw her getting some debris and dirt off her mask once she went into war with more enemy associations that claim to underestimate her motives into becoming mad demon. enemies are like flies to her. easy to swat but hard to get to. it's only a matter of time before she openly admits that she's into woman or man who will stand by her.

I shaved the iron bits off my weapon to buy off some time, only to see dokgo walk behind me to spill out some news from his mouth like spit stuck on your throat. "Master jaha needs to see you." I unintentionally tried not to blush when I heard that name spill out of his vocal cords only to shoot mine like an innocent human being. I stood up and thanked him for informing me about her. I remember she resided at the training grounds alone while she watched her disciples get their bones broken while they screamed in physical pain.

I walked out to see the beautiful nightsky. I remember the cloudburst clan/ elder dragon king war she had to deal with on her own. her insanity was on her peak that night. her glare resonates with mental insanity and a killing intent to kill every one of the gaurds. even their blood is spilled upon the ground due to one swing of her blade. her crimes of arson and mass murder are nothing more than the elimination of pure evil masters who are obsessed with control. pure evil doesn't exist in this world. But ones who are evil enough to hurt innocent people without any reason is enough to be much evil than most governments.

I remember those days like the back of my hand. Her unthinkable unpredictability about slapping a man inconsistently due to his appearance is nothing but fun. I saw her jet black hair swarming around in the air like an ocean tide while her red attire fit her appearance entirely. I came up to her slowly while my mind was pushing away my simping for her only to act normal.

"What did you need me for master jaha?"

"What do you think about getting into another war? I have one that's about to rain down upon the black rabbit clan."

I stared back at her, her eyes looking at the moon while her firey pits of hell camouflaged as eyes were shining in the moonlight. Her long black hair was swirling in the ground, but instead of thirsting over her like I usually do in my free time. I thought about it for a second. Those who double cross jaha will be dragged into the depths of hell while they are burning for all eternity. Those who claim their existence as a proud pure evil sinner wouldn't live long enough to see the ends of the earth. She doesn't tolerate it but giving the fact that her blade is often stained with the blood of her enemies.

No matter if it's a war, a duel, or a fight. I'll always see her stained with newer blood than ever, like red velvet chocolate dip with strawberries. let's put it this way.

Jaha drizzling chocolate all over the strawberries . The strawberries are her enemies, and they never stood a chance against her abilities and power. only to be devoured and crushed in the drooling depths of her mouth because they thought they could fight a madwoman like her.

The worst opponent to have. but my overthinking is over and done with as she waited for my response. staring at me with a slightly annoyed look but keeping her low term patience for a small subordinate like me.

"I mean... we dealt with a lot since you've taken control of the black rabbit clan. So...as long as we die and as long as our army stays intact, then it should be fine..war is inevitable and destructive, but it can be overcome."

"Thanks for being honest with me. It's not like I'm anxious. But I got a lot on my plate, so it's too much to deal with both the Hao sect, the southern alliance, and the black rabbit clan. so I'll murder those fuckers faster than hell towards picking up their sinners."

I went closer to her without trying to make it seem like I'm flirting with her. I don't want to die due to a stab in a chest just because of my crush on the legendary master jaha Lee of Jaha inn. The cute little errand girl who can be pampered like a good little slu-

You know what? I'm gonna shut the fuck up.

"Why are you so closer to me?💢"

"I was just friendly. There is no need to get so hostile."

"Tch."

I was about to say something back until we saw a full deck of spears and swords rose up in the front gate. me and her both saw it and was callous to see what it was. I stayed on my spot when I saw her walk up to the front gate to open it. her sword was ready to strike whoever is at the door at this time. her eyes looked to the front of the door to see the alliance she's at war with.

her eyes were peppered with angry faces.

"Why are you here dipshit? this war doesn't start until tomorrow."

"Look just open the fucking door or I'll bust in here.💢"

"no. Take your delusional mess somewhere else."

at this point. I wanted to help her, but I'm too busy staring at her ass while she's still talking to those weirdos on the door. god fuck me down to hell.

"Open. the. door. fucking errand girl or else."

"Or else what? Going to kill me?"

the alliance leader suddenly didn't give a flying shit about breaking the door down until he did. His spear was coated with fresh blood, almost like he committed a mass murder nearby without any reasoning for it, so I guess jaha just assumed that he hurt the people of ilyang while I'm just sitting here wondering whats happening here.

"How many people did you kill in ilyang?💢"

his eyes glanced to his spear dripping of blood from the innocent, falling to the concrete training grounds like it's a net catching fish in a fresh river. He had no redeeming explanations to this before his death hour, so he tried to lie right to her face, thinking that she's dumb enough to buy killing multiple animals nearby for breakfast tomorrow.

"I was killing animals for tomorrow's breakfast. don't worry about it master jaha. All I'm focused about is killing you agonizingly.. do you understand me?"

he glanced at her after looking at the spear, and all he saw was a death stare full of madness and anger, her fist trembled out of this situation like she isn't a boss at keeping her composure and nonchalance towards dangerous situations. her grin wasn't full of kindness. It was full of darkness in that grin. she had full of thoughts in her head that could gut this man down like a dead fish. that can purposefully snap off his limbs if he said one more word full of lies.

His skin shivered at the sight of her red eyes stabbing directly through his soul since he didn't know openly lying to the mad demon's face is a terrible idea and is a ticket to burning in hell for such a small lie. But it isn't a small lie. It's a lie that costs the lives of multiple people, I'm sure. but he tried to cover up his fear by putting on his shit eating grin in order to seem fearless to the mad demon's wrath.

"You didn't kill animals. You killed people in order to assert your power to the black rabbit clan were you..? To assert domination to my power?"

that caused him to keep his mouth shut, forcing him to remove that shit eating grin off his lips and put on a face full of fear and devastation for his lifespan, while the alliance men were pointing their spears at master jaha thinking they can have a chance of standing up to her abilities no matter how much the definition of "one army one army" can be important at this very moment.

jaha slid her finger through her sword with a chuckle of hidden intentions, glaring her eyes into the patterns of the sword like she's reminiscing about what to do about the alliance in her mind like it's a paradoxical way to torture someone, the air was silent somehow..like time had been stopped under the gaze of a terrible moment with a master of their word under madness.

For the first time ever. the alliance leader felt despair for his life. He slowly felt an existential terror over having a body since he might get brutally mauled into death by the mad demon. I mean...who wouldn't feel this way if they fucked up by poor decisions?

jaha pointed his sword directly to his heart to signal his death with her lips curling in insanity and hatred for the man's existence in her very eyes..she can't help but feel disgusting by him.

"I...I have two options. You can either..go home and never associate with the black rabbit clan ever again, or I can kill all of you. a quick and easy death. How does that sound? Surely, the man having the intentions to come here, harassing me out of a war, won't...run away like a little bitch. that seems pathetic to me."

all of it was like one big action movie in my eyes. if the alliance leader didn't make a decision within the next 3 seconds, then it's over for his life. he continued to stall, considering the despair the men were feeling when their leader was silent about his decision, like he's purposefully trying to send his alliance up for devastation and horrible death all in one.

" I don't have time for this, so let's get straight to the point."

a big splat of blood came out directly from a fresh human body. the alliance men were horribly mesmerized by the head flying through the air only to fall down to ooze blood over and over like it's an existential loop of reality,

her blade was full of blood. a murder to show off her real domination, a way to let them know that jaha doesn't take shit from anybody or anything. the rest of them started to back away in fear, heading to the door as an act of betrayal for.."always being on the leader's side at all times." it's complete torture to see you have nobody by your side in a horrible situation.

"This is my warning. get out of here and never associate with my clan ever again if you even try to touch a single soul of the citizens of ilyang. I will fucking tear you apart you disgusting son of a bitch. You understand me?"

"Y-yes ma'am."

He ran out with his tail between his legs like a scared little puppy. while I'm thinking..damn.

jaha is so hot, I swear.

she glanced at me with a tired look, some spot of blood were dripping down her skin.

she sat right next to me with a crushing feeling of silence between us. i guess her anger still hasn't dissipated yet since I can still feel it resonating around her, so I'm deciding what to do to ease this haunting atmosphere.

"Do you... want to get some candy at ilyang..? If you want. I'll issue the heavenly generals to watch over the clan for us."

"...fine. tanglulu sounds really good right now to me."

I stood up to reach for my hand, waiting for her to grab it so we could go. never have I ever grabbed the hand of someone who probably snapped necks before with their bare hands. I shouldn't be careful around her, but at the same time, I should.

She grabbed it out of her usual silence and stood up along with me.

"Let's go. I need to take this blood off my face anyway. things like this always never fail to set my rage to the highest point in me."

"Sure."

-END-

(I try so hard to study jaha's personality for this a bit more since he's a hard nut to crack. but I'm so proud to be in this fandom)

[thewackypegasus]

i ramble about soul-based magic in ye olde hallownest

alrighty so i've been thinking about the state of magic before the fall of hallownest, because while spellcasting is a significant part of the game and the knight's journey, it's also not... super common among other characters? the only other characters who seem to practice it (unless i'm forgetting someone) are the snail shamans and the mages at the soul sanctum. it's also not a significant part of the infrastructure of the kingdom (except for the soul totems, which i'll get to later because i forgot they existed until just now). and i think this sort of makes sense, since the easiest and most plentiful way to gather soul is to wound and/or kill other creatures. when most of the creatures around you are infected husks, this isn't so bad, but when most of the other creatures around you are alive and sapient bugs, murder becomes a whole lot more iffy.

now, i do think it's possible that mages in ye olde hallownest farmed or hunted non-sapient bugs (like vengeflies, baldurs, crawlids, et cetera) for soul to use for spellcasting. i think this is especially likely for the snail shamans, as a.) when you go to their mounds in the game, they are filled with non-sapient bugs who can be fought for soul, and b.) i feel like if the snail shamans were murdering people en masse, we as players would know about it.

why, then, would the soul master decide to use sapient hallownest citizens for his experiments? two reasons: 1.) he's a fucked-up bastard, and 2.) sapient bugs produce more soul. i think it is plausible that sapient bugs produce more soul than non-sapient bugs because many of the non-husk sapient enemies in the game (moss knights, mantises, denizens of the hive) take more hits to kill than husks or minor non-sapient enemies like vengeflies, and therefore give more soul in total if you fight them to the death. there are, however, regular mosskin who take just as many hits to kill as husks, who are outliers here, and it is also plausible that the other sapient enemies take more hits to kill because they are more trained in combat.

back to soul farming—and not the kind the soul master did where he murdered countless innocent bugs! if creatures could be raised as livestock to farm soul, that begs the question: why didn't the bugs of hallownest do this? i mean, first of all, there's just the fact that there isn't much evidence of farming in hallownest in general aside from the hive. i also imagine soul farming was just impractical compared to the other resources the denizens of hallownest had at their disposal. i mean, the pale king was literally a god, and both his innovation and the innovation of the bugs he granted sapience begot elevators and trams and mining equipment and whatnot, which seem to run reliably without needing a power source as difficult to gather as soul. soul totems do exist, but there are a relatively small number of them, and most of them have a limited output before they presumably need to refill. farming soul would require a lot of labor for a power source that is not nearly as reliable as the power that already runs most of the tech in hallownest.

i do wonder exactly how many bugs practiced soul-based magic in ye olde hallownest. it seems to be a significant tradition among snails, as evidenced by the fact that most of the magic practitioners we findin hallownest are the snail shamans. however, the existence of the soul sanctum implies that other bugs studied soul-based magic as well, and the snail shaman at the burial mound seems happy to share his knowledge in exchange for some basic pest removal. it may not have been commonly used by most bugs in everyday life, but there is evidence for it being accessible to those interested in seeking it out.

tl;dr: i think raising livestock for soul in ye olde hallownest would have been possible but not necessarily practical for large-scale projects, and overall it doesn't seem like soul-based magic played that big of a role in the life of the average bug before hallownest's fall, but it definitely did exist as a tradition that is cool to think about

[coffee-in-veins]

Hey, I'm that new player anon from the other blog who asked about Tardif enjoying baking. Thanks for your detailed answer.

I'd like to ask, why do you feel the DD2 interpretations of the characters feel squeaky clean? I have heard from others that DD2's backstories comes off as trying to make them similar to Dismas' (feeling remorseful for their past and trying to find redemption), is that true? Characters like Sarmenti don't feel like they're particularly different, but I can see where they're coming from with Paracelsus or something

Hello hello! o/ welcome to the fandom and thank you for the ask :}

Sorry for the late reply, i was promptly reminded why i shouldn't type big answers in a browser and had to re-do this answer a few times ^^'

i'm happy that my bits of historical anecdotes were of any interest to you, if you have anything else you'd like to know, ask away, i'll do my best to answer. i researched DD's possible cuisine for my writing, so i'm more than happy to share and have an unhealthy amount of interest in Crimson Curse

Now, regarding your ask…

Oh, the characterization... well, i am working on a huge and detailed answer for another ask regarding Dismas in particular, and it's taking me a while because i have feelings and i need to dig out DD2 barks for factual comparison, but in general, for me this is because of three things:

removal of the character's agency;

removal of moral ambiguity;

re-writing of established facts that contradict 'heroism';

You see, before DD2's shrines, all the fandom had to work with were hero's comics, their barks (lines they say during specific afflictions and/or actions) and descriptions on some of their personal trinkets (namely, Crimson Curse sets). All of those were vague and open to interpretation, but painted quite a dark picture for any given hero. The only more or less 'cinnamon rolls' (aka victims of circumstance but arguably good-aligned) were Baldwin (leper), Misendei (arbalest), William (Houndmaster) and Bigby (Abomination), who were wronged but tried to keep their goodness intact. And even those supposed cinnabuns had some quite questionable lines when stressed enough, revealing that sure, they did their best, but even they weren't spotless.

However, everyone else was either a selfish ass, or a coward, or mass murderer, or someone else equally shitty and their 'key backstory moment' was painting them in a dubious light.

Fresh examples that pop up in my head and have mirrors in DD2 are Paracelsus (Plague Doctor), who was rather obsessed with her work on the human body, and her barks show how she is absolutely determined to keep her notes and research private but in a rather "this is my achievement, only mine!" way. She's arrogant and shoves her way around others whenever she's stressed, feeling them all beneath her.

For example:

(sigh) My time is too valuable for these trivialities!

You halfwits are interrupting my concentration!

Uneducated brutes! The ignorance! The idiocy!

Hmmm... deformed at birth or merely hideous?

So many useful organs... all wasted on you.

Why bother? You are all little more than meat.

Medicine marks a new age, ignorant barbarians!

Sure, her comic shows her hard working, not denying that, but also having the bloodied handkerchief of her professor with her (from the 4th panel onward, it's always with her); which can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, not excluding her poisoning him just to be able to work on his body and further the study. We can't see her shunned and debated as it was shown in DD2, and she isn't portrayed as a singular woman character in the university setting. We can't see her professor dying of natural causes – we just see him dead and her coming to witness that, already with books and clutter at hand. It can be seen as if it was her own scheme. For all we know - yes, she is the mad scientist (tm.) and it wasn't her trauma or making a zombie which pushed her out of university and into Hamlet, but her arrogance, very Victor Frankenstein style.

However, in DD2 a lot, and I mean a LOT was made to make her softer, mellower, less over the top and more sympathetic: how the professor disregards her theories; how she's the sole woman in the class; how she is mocked, debated and considered 'scandalous' (based on Shrine quotes); how she lost her will to pursue medicine; how she was a poor little meow meow after shrine 5 who cannot focus and get the screams out of her head (which contradicts heavily all of her characterization in DD1...); you get the idea. Even her negative barks aren’t as vicious:

You bicker as a child does!

You! Reckless! You threaten us all!

I've had better company in the morgue!

If I bleed out, who will staunch your wounds?

By my calculations, you misjudged that.

Sure, it can be because DD2 is still in the making, but… they have a different attitude, don’t you think?

A lot of work went into making this character as beaten up and sympathetic as possible instead of an over the top, cocky, somewhat mad scientist with absolutely unhinged love and fascination for bodies and bodily fluids (she’s asking her teammates for their piss during camping for god’s sake, that woman has no understanding of social norms, or no use for them) - but in doing so, Para lost what... well, made her Para, in my opinion. Para in DD1 goes through bodies, piss and blood to further her goal of medical enlightenment; Para in DD2 is a tormented soul who went in over her head and got broken, and now atones for... well, making a zombie out of an already dead man and genuinely i fail to see how is that use any worse than a regular autopsy. It's not like her professor felt it, or was trapped in that body or was turned into a zombie by a bite or something. He was already dead. So... dunno, maybe it's just me, but the sudden complete breakdown was... odd. Para I knew would’ve been motivated to push even further, to make that mistake count. Para from DD2 broke and gave up – which, in turn, makes no sense, since the timeline is DD2 backstory -> DD1 -> DD2, so she had to go to Hamlet and continue her experiments there and… alright, the timeline is another beast altogether, and I am not poking it here.

Another example is Audrey, the Grave Robber. In DD1 she was flamboyant and cocky, teasing and taunting enemies and allies alike, concerned about her clothes even in the heat of battle and undeniably selfish, in there for a thrill and money. She still referred to herself as a Lady, and was quite cheeky with everyone. We saw her backstory comic, and all it showed was the poverty of a high class lady, a presumably dead husband (?) and how she turned to grave robbing due to him being buried with his jewellery. Her barks referred to tea, ambergris and other high-end luxuries, so it was an easy timeline to map: a noblewoman (the title of Lady was only reserved for a wife of the currently ruling Lord, and I’d better stop here before I start poking heraldry and title inheritance) who got into debt for some reason (maybe even her own spending) and was facing eviction and social humiliation, and who decided to change her fate. That was it. No domestic abuse (although, I cannot argue that it wouldn’t be setting- and time-appropriate), nothing about her husband sexually assaulting her, nothing. Only her love for baubles and luxuries. For all we knew, she had spent the family fortune on those. I don’t think there’s any indication in DD1 which points to her killing her husband, really. Hell, we weren’t even sure it was her husband, some people headcannoned the guy from the portrait as her father.

But in DD2 she is shown as exclusively a victim – at home, she’s a victim of abuse, then she’s a victim of circumstance, she’s a cornered woman, desperate to get out and get better. It’s not her fault she poisoned her husband – he abused her! It’s not her fault she became a grave digger – she was forced into it! She isn’t a bad person. She was forced into those circumstances! She’s a good person, a hero! She was just in a very bad spot, really, please sympathise with her.

You mentioned Sarmenti, and I want to poke that one a bit, too. He, too, is very different to what was portrayed in DD1 and DD2. In DD1 his backstory was one of revenge for the humiliation he was faced with during his work in the court of the tyrant. However, it was never shown how or why would he come there. Again, for all we know, he worked there, and his barks about serving at children’s birthday parties supported that. We knew he was a jester and he worked as a jester. He was humiliated and took revenge by killing the court. How he summoned spears of dubious origin was never explained or addressed. With all the constant laughing he had in his barks, it sounded almost like he had PBA (pseudobulbar affect). If he actually had it, becoming a jester was really one of the few available options for him.

But in DD2 he is shown to be specifically a musician who became famous enough to become a curio, was tricked into coming to court, caught and kept there, humiliated in ways even Narrator refuses to specify and supposedly driven absolutely insane by the combination of that and some eldritch music magic he got. He wasn't even employed there. He was tricked, lied to, then abused. Again, an absolutely normal, arguably good person, driven up a wall due to horrendous inhumane circumstances to do evil— sounds familiar by the third time, isn’t it?

And this is why I call them squeaky clean. Heroes in DD1 were the agents of their downfall. They were arrogant, they made decisions which ended up in disasters, they were led by their greed, obsession or vices. But they had agency. Sure, they weren’t good people – but they were active forces in their lives, and what they did or didn’t do was just that – their action, their decision, their agency. It was never exclusively circumstances offering only one solution which happened to be a bad one. It’s not that they chose bad action because it was easy or they didn’t care or something else caused by heroes – they were put in circumstances where this was the only course of action they could do, and thus, they cannot be considered morally bankrupt for doing the only available thing. All of the backstories are now there to evoke sympathy and say “wouldn’t you do the same if you were put in the same awful circumstances?”. And this, to me, cheapens and flattens the heroes by a huge margin. Frankly, I’m even a little bit surprised the ‘redemption’ bit is intact, considering how much they distanced the heroes from the actual horrible things they did. Arguably, Alhazred is the only one who still does his backstory completely selfishly, but they don’t really show him as remorseful, too, and because of that it’s not as jarring.

But then again, heroes in DD1 didn't always seek redemption in Hamlet. For some, it was just... money, fame or a job. The high moral horse was a factor only to a selected few (looking at you, Dismas). It wasn't ubiquitous. And frankly, it made the motley lot more believable. People are different. People react to bad things differently. Hell, people cannot even agree on what "bad" is. Damian's favourite pastime for all intents and purposes can be Bigby's nightmare. Having different heroes having different reasons in their backstories helped them stand out against each other more, in my opinion. The way all of the backstories became only focused on redemption, and only pushing hard for sympathy after DD1's diversity is frankly a bit odd for me.

Again, RH are the canon makers and if this is what they wish to do with their property, more power to them. But to me as a writer it is disappointing.

I hope this explains it ^^ but feel free to ask more if you want to

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

POEM AT WAR Gaza and Jerusalem

i.

The world minds for awhile, is dismayed, (dismay a momentary stay against the world's minds mining the words they make from that which is at stake for us, O Lord, says a friend on the other side of the

ii.

line): the world loves what it knows, it glows in droves of pharmacies, walls of balms to no end, the mystery of this so-called calm we bend these sides of the line. The lines.

---

My dear friend Annie Kantar Ben-Hillel, a wonderful poet (in addition to being an educator and mom and activist and friend and all sorts of good things) recently released a book that is very worth reading (and owning, link for ordering in first comment). It includes this poem that really speaks to this challenging moment (to hazard an extravagant understatement). Like almost all poetry I love, it rewards reading aloud. Poetry must be heard. It's music is fundamental to its ability to move us. So, please read aloud. Most of you probably won't. I think. But I truly urge the minimal effort to maximize emotional/spiritual impact. I love that this piece isn't about trying to paint the horrors in words. It doesn't indulge in sensation to the point of sensationalism. Rather, it hovers above, yet without detachment. And in doing so, it blurs the line between the heart and the head, reflection and immediacy, which is the place where I locate hope.

(An additional piece of context, intentional or not, is the image of the pharmacy. A very high percentage of pharmacists in Jerusalem are Palestinian. Nurses and doctors as well. But every time someone Jewish here in Jerusalem throws out "they really all want to kill us," I ask them when they last had a prescription filled. Because if Palestinian Maqdsi [Jerusalemites] wanted to mass murder Jews, they could pick one day amongst them and poison tens or even hundreds of thousands of Jews. When someone fills your prescription, you put your very life in their hands. I take medications daily. I'm still here. And when I go to get them filled, I don't see anyone in line looking nervous or hesitating to ask questions. Again, I don't know if Annie was thinking of this. But idea of pharmacies and walls of balms in this city i inseparable for me from the many compassionate and competent Arab professionals who regularly assist me with my health. Keep that in mind and read it aloud again. And again. And...)

[Ori Hanan Weisberg]

[project-isles]

a whole bunch of incorrect aga quotes

mostly freddy and goldie.

goldie: Are you mad? freddy: No. goldie: So sharpening your knives at 3 in the morning is just a hobby?

freddy: goldie, what is the ONE thing I asked you NOT to do tonight? goldie: Raise the dead. freddy: And what did you do? goldie: Raise the dead.

freddy: goldie, can I ask you a question? goldie: You just did. freddy: Okay, can I ask you two questions? goldie: You just did. freddy, frustrated: OKAY, CAN I ASK YOU FOUR QUESTIONS?! goldie: You just did. freddy: When?! goldie: Just now.

goldie: I wish I was a cat, but not in a furry kinda way, more like a “I can sleep all day and hit people with no consequences” kinda way.

bonnie: Why would you think any of this was a good idea?! goldie: Probably because I’m a dangerous sociopath with a long history of violence. bonnie: Oh… freddy, from across the room: I don’t understand how you keep forgetting that.

bonnie: Can I get a waffle? freddy and goldie: fighting and yelling at each other bonnie: Can I p l e a s e get a waffle?

goldie: Here you go, freddy, a nice hot cup of coffee! freddy: It's cold. goldie: A nice cup of coffee. freddy: It's horrible! goldie: Cup of coffee. freddy: I'm not sure if this even IS coffee. goldie: C U P.

goldie: Any questions? freddy: Uh, yeah, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? goldie: Uh, a plan, duh… bonnie: freddy, chill, I know it’s weird, but goldie has a point. freddy: freddy: THAT WAS LITERALLY A PONY DOODLE WITH A HAT!!

freddy, teaching goldie to drive: Okay, you're driving and bonnie and chica walk into the road. Quick, what do you hit? goldie: Oh, definitely chica. I could never hurt bonnie. freddy, massaging their temples: The brakes. You hit the brakes.

chica: Did you take out goldie as I requested? bonnie: goldie has been taken out, yes. chica: You have my grat- bonnie: It was a great restaurant. bonnie: We had a romantic candlelit dinner. bonnie: goldie proposed afterwards- we’re filing the wedding papers.

goldie: I am your king, long may I reign! freddy: Well I didn’t vote for you! goldie: You don’t vote for kings. freddy: Well how’d you become king then? goldie: bonnie of the Lake, their arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, goldie, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king. freddy: Listen. Strange people lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

chica: Why are bonnie and goldie sitting with their backs to each other? freddy: They had a fight. chica: Then why are they holding hands? freddy: They get sad when they fight.

freddy: Hey! Wanna hear a joke? goldie: Sure. freddy: Your life! goldie: Actually, my life isn’t a joke, jokes have meaning. freddy: goldie, no.

freddy: You can’t have a gun on stage! goldie: WRONG AGAIN! I can have a gun, and I must have a gun, that’s the rule of Chekhov’s Gun: have a gun. And now that it’s been seen, I will have to shoot someone before the end of the play.

goldie: Crushes are the worst. Whenever I’m near mine, I start acting stupid. bonnie: You always act stupid. bonnie: bonnie: Wait…

bonnie: You are the love of my life and I would do anything within reason to make you happy. goldie: I would be happy if you ate, stayed hydrated and got a reasonable amount of sleep. bonnie: I said within reason, goldie. How about I murder that guy? goldie: So murder is in reason but proper self care isn't? bonnie: Well, duh. What kind of question is that?

goldie: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos- bonnie: I wrote you a poem. goldie, already crying: You did?

goldie: Ok so, apparently the "bad vibes" I've been feeling are actually severe psychological distress.

goldie, ordering Starbucks: Hey, I just got my heart broken, what do you recommend? freddy, who’s running the drive thru: … freddy: Tequila.

bonnie: Did you have to stab them? foxy: You weren’t there. You didn’t hear what they said to me. bonnie: What did they say? foxy: "What are you going to do, stab me?" bonnie: That’s fair.

goldie: About to do something incredibly stupid bonnie: I know I can't stop you, but I won't let you go by yourself.

[nebulouscoffee]

bashir garak or ezri

Oooh great picks! I shall answer for all three😊

Julian

one aspect about them i love

That whole backstory with Kukalaka is SO endearing honestly; it really just gets to the heart of who he is, even by itself- but when paired with the whole 'Jules' reveal, it takes on a whole new poignancy

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I've seen Julian described as naive a lot, usually because he "assumes the best of people"- and I'm not saying that isn't a valid read, but it just feels very incomplete to me! Yes he's childish sometimes, but he's not a baby lol- he's just strongly, strongly driven by the belief that people can always become better. We see him get VERY angry and snarky and (fearlessly) combative with people he believes are in the wrong; people who don't show any flexibility in their perspectives. But the moment a person shows any sort of inclination towards growth or evolution? He puts everything aside and believes in them. To me, this is not naivety- this is courage; even if (especially if!) he may get it wrong sometimes. DS9 (like the real world) is full of people who'll insist that wrongdoers will never change and only deserve to be punished for their mistakes- and imo, Julian makes a fascinating, refreshing, and essential foil to this. (On a more specific note- he does NOT hang out with Garak because he doesn't fully understand the atrocities Garak committed!! Not beyond 'The Wire', anyway. He literally heard (and at the time, fully believed) multiple stories involving Garak being 1. a Gul during the Occupation, 2. a mass murderer (with victims both Cardassian and Bajoran), and 3. an interrogator of literal children. If not the exact details, he certainly knows the magnitude of Garak's crimes- he just chooses to go to great lengths to save his life anyway. This says something way more interesting about him, I think- about his inclination to believe in anyone he thinks would grow better if given the chance, and his willingness to be the one giving them that chance. Which, incidentally, is also why I struggle to see him cutting off his parents, though I do understand why people find value in reading & writing stories like that)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

He is a polyglot, but this is one skill he very much keeps to himself. The reasons why are complicated, and linked with how his ideas of home and family and lineage and history and Earth and connection and talking and talkative-ness and "skill" are all somewhat tainted by the discovery of what his parents did to him

one character i love seeing them interact with

SO many options, but let's talk about Jadzia- I love how they moved past the initial awkwardness of Julian's crush on her into this deep, supportive, fun (!!!) and extremely loving bond. There's a lot they have in common (Extreme Imposter Syndrome Buddies :D) which means they always know when the other needs a good pep talk, and it's adorable. I love how they have no boundaries sometimes (Jadzia buying him porn will always be funny), I love that they're in cahoots, I love that they make each other laugh- they care about each other so much!! I honestly think it was one of the best-written friendship arcs between a male and female character on Trek, which is why I'm always so *sighs deeply* about Julian's feelings for Jadzia being dredged up again in- ///cuts myself off because you've heard this rant before from everyone and their moogie haven't you///

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

Fascinating conversations Julian Bashir and Kira Nerys could've had (my beloved): long-term health issues in Bajoran mining victims & Resistance fighters; nature vs nurture and their "dangerous" Augment/Mirror selves; Sisko as Commanding Officer vs Sisko as Emissary; nerding out over Bajoran music; why must Jadzia Dax be so beautiful; complicated connections with cultural roots; Kirayoshi & postnatal care; the concept of "forgiveness"; revisiting that "frontier medicine" scene to highlight how much they've both changed; Kira offering a kinder approach to "Jules Bashir died in that hospital" through the concept of a pagh

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

He never, ever let the whole Jem'Hadar thing go. In fact, he actually set up this secret rehabilitation centre in Goran'Agar's name after the war, which now provides intensive care for all the Jem'Hadar and Vorta left behind in the AQ. He told me himself :)

Garak

one aspect about them i love

It's been years since my first watch, but I'll never forget how excited I got every single time I saw "Special Guest Star Andrew Robinson" in the credits lol. You just know you're in for a great one; he's such a fantastic and scene-stealing character!

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

I just feel like, for a character whose most famous line is "They're all true, [especially the lies]", there is WAYYY too much discourse about him that approaches him from extremes? And it always misses the point imo. Garak was a spy, assassin, interrogator and torturer for the Cardassian government, who participated in (or at the very least, aided) a colonial and genocidal occupation, and expresses supremacist, xenophobic and fascist beliefs for the majority of the series. Erasing any of this is would be erasing not just who he was, but who he is. But the lack of imagination re how to move forward with him if we are engaging with such themes is equally, if not more, frustrating to me. Sure, a lot of the cutesy art and fanfics can have him behaving overly sincere and out of character- but the counter response is always "how dare you woobify this racist war criminal he's violent and dangerous and bigoted and therefore he would NOT do or say or feel any of that!!!", and- okay, so is the idea of him designing and sewing dresses out of character, then...? Is the image of him debating books over lunch with a bib tucked in too woobified? Is the notion of him trying to set up a fellow (Bajoran!!) business owner on a date too fanfic-ey? Because guess what- that's literally how he behaves on the show! Garak is a self-aware self-woobifier, that's literally the whole point, he's "just a plain simple tailor" wink, wink- and without at least some element of that comical mundanity, that sort of absurdist domesticity, the character just isn't recognisable imo. Garak is the con artist who fell for his own con; he's spent so long playing various roles that he now over-performs everything and has no idea where the performance ends and the genuine begins, literally what makes his character work is that you're looking at this war criminal just doing benign stuff like sampling drinks or watching a tennis match or gifting his friend chocolates and wondering just WHAT is going on inside his head- and, "he did horrible things and therefore must be incapable of any form of sincerity or affection or regret and the perception of any of those things is woobification" is such a reductive (and boring!) approach to him imo. I don't mean any of this as apologia; there are many, many ways in which a person can be bigoted and cruel, and Garak is those things- I just feel like people often misrepresent the manner in which he is those things (usually by making him unfunny and weirdly macho, which I just cannot understand at all😂)

TL;DR- Garak the poor sad misunderstood baby who never enjoyed any of the bad things he did and only thinks about Julian Bashir 24/7 is out of character, sure- but Garak the violent emotionless villain who treats all Bajorans abusively 24/7 and will never ever grow or change is... just as divorced from canon imo (imo!! Emphasis on "o"!!)

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Garak himself doesn't always fully remember the details of his past; he has this very Cardassian ability to specifically delete anything he wants to from his memory, and he's better at it than most (though, still not always successful). Only thing Garak regularly tops is the List Of People Garak Lies To basically

one character i love seeing them interact with

Well, apart from the obvious- I think every scene between him and Odo in IC/TDIC is incredibly immersive and top tier! The actors are SO good together, and the only reason Odo isn't in the next category is I actually think it's perfectly in character for both of them to just never bring up the whole torture thing ever again

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

KIRAAAAA but tbh, I'm more interested in their post-canon dynamic than anything, so instead I'll go with Sisko! Every time these two are on screen together, amazing. The effortless back and forth. The intellectual battling. The subtly flirty line deliveries(!!!) The palpable shifts in the power dynamic. The oddly respectful snarking. Again, the way these two actors are SO GOOD

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

Some may claim that Garak hates the more outlandish civilian outfits that Jake and Julian wear. I say he made them

Ezri

one aspect about them i love

The sheer impact of actually getting to spend a whole season with the next Dax (after years of only hearing about Curzon) just cannot be overstated imo. Like, we the audience got to experience firsthand what it was like for Benjamin to first see Jadzia walk out of that shuttle; for Jadzia to wake up one day and find herself the newest link in a long-revered chain- we actually saw the new host struggling to adjust, reconciling all those lifetimes of memories all over again, rekindling and redefining Dax's old relationships (the relationship with the audience very much included!)- and then on top of that, the new host wasn't even trained to take on the symbiont?? What an incredible character premise! I was obsessed from the moment she said "Hello Benjamin it's me Dax"

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

Ezri is Jadzia's successor; not Jadzia's replacement. She cannot replace Jadzia- that's literally the entire point of her arc, that she should stop trying! She's a fascinating character in her own right, and also extremely interesting to think about and discuss independent of whom she will end up/should've ended up with

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

Ezri Tigan was not "anxious" in a rambly nervous way like Ezri Dax, but more hyper-competent and "I'm always unhappy because everything I do HAS to be perfect so I'm never satisfied and I hate myself" (which was definitely how she was trained to think by her mother). For this reason, joining with Dax actually ends up being good for her in the long run! Nothing drives an oppressive voice out of your head quite like suddenly having eight other voices in there lol

one character i love seeing them interact with

I know some people don't like her and Worf mistakenly thinking they're in love and hooking up and then realising they work better as friends, but I actually think it's very understandable for both of them, and the friendship they form afterwards is so wholesome. That scene where he asks for her advice and she just calls out corruption in the Klingon empire is one of my favourite Ezri scenes ever :D

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

It is my firm belief that Sisko and Ezri's S7 arcs should have revolved around each other. Ben's journey at this point is so tied up in his ever-growing disconnect from linear time and corporeality, and imo nothing grounds this better than his three-lifetime bond with Dax! He should have talked about the Prophets and Benny Russell and the whole concept of destiny with his favourite old worm. It also would've been revelatory for Ezri, who herself is trying to adjust to the non-linearity (300 years of memories she can't easily get in order) and non-corporeality (whose body IS this anyway???) of being Dax

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

I know we all have our theories as to why and how and when exactly she and Julian break up, and while I do enjoy the drama sometimes, I still fundamentally feel like it would be short and amicable and they'd remain close friends for life. Or maybe I'm just a big sap hehe