#my mind is entirely on gertrude

[occudo]

wait, yo there’s an entire mage magic system in this au? Might I ask for more details?

Sooo...

The short answer is that is a soft magic system, with no hard rules, it's just fun with the characters.

The long answer on the other hand...

I had a similar ask before, but since then some things changed, so I guess I try to explain it as best as I can.

So! This is a magical-fantasy-medieval AU, I was loosely inspired by arthurameslove 's fic This Lonely Knight, but since then I made my own version of a similar premise. The magic system is based on the original fears, the avatars are people who are affected by their magic, in one way or another. The more close to the fear the person is, the more magical effect it has.

The most known magic users are witches. They go to school to study, and from there, they can go and become advisors in small kingdoms where they can get gifted titles like Lady and Lord, but they don't get actual lands or servants.

Jon is not an advisor, but Elias' protégé and he can afford to employ Martin, who is a Knight, and previously worked for Lord Lucas. Elias is the advisor of King Magnus.

The kingdoms are based around the Fears, with most avatars being nobility or witches. (I wasn't sure if I wanted to make Simon a noble or a mage, maybe he is not so open about his skills) The witches are glass cannons- they can be really powerful in some situations but otherwise, kinda weak so is a common thing to have a designated knight bodyguarding them if they leave their palaces.

Martin is 'touched' but can't do magic the way Jon, or other witches.

If a witch finishes school, they are respected and believed that they can control powerful magic (with circles and runes) without it affecting their bodies and minds negatively - not like Jane Prentiss, for example. She was a noblewoman who got- corrupted.

Not every witch goes to serve nobility, there are plenty of small village witches, and Gertrude also tried to leave the palace and become a bog witch kinda deal.

Innisially for this au, I made the 'witch factor' the characters' connection to the eye in canon. I didn't see either Tim or Martin really eye-aligned, so I made them knights instead.

Since then I added Sky Mages for the Vast avatars- I just tought flying and stars and sky really deserve their own coven.

I'm not sure about the other fears names and schools jet. The phrase Seer Mage came from @skell3 's fanfic inspired by my comic, and I loved it so much that I baked it in my au. Also, the thought that eye-aligned mages are all about seeking truth and other's secrets, while can't really fly or fight mutch was funny to me.

So this is a loosy-goosy system that I'm still working on. I'm also open to suggestions- like with Basira and Daisy- they ended up being witch hunters.

or Georgie and Melanie

And I changed Michael from a jester to an actual noble/prince

So yeah, I hope this answers your question. Mostly a character-based, case-by-case thingy.

[blasphemous-lies-and-deceit]

"No one needs to sleep in a bathtub, that's ridiculous." for the only one bed prompt, do whoever you think would fit

"Fuck," Gerry whispered under his breath, standing in the middle of the room and staring at the bed in mild horror. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck."

He should have known that volunteering to go with Michael to some bullshit conference would be a bad idea. His interest towards Gertrude's assistant was already too much, he knew he shouldn't get too close. It was just that Michael was so...cute, and sweet, and Gerry just wanted to spend all of his time with him. More than all of his time. Like, an eternity. He was pretty sure that meant he had a crush on the Assistant, which was...new, for him. Gerry was pretty sure he'd never had a real crush before. Especially not with someone who he could, in theory, actually be close to. Physically.

Gerry swore again and rubbed at his blushing cheeks. He needed to stop thinking about that. He really needed to stop thinking about that. Michael barely knew him, and there was no fucking way anything would happen once Michael saw the real side of him. The reckless, hurt, ruined side of him, up to his eyeballs in supernatural shit, which Michael also didn't even know about, apparently. Which was something that needed to be remedied, as soon as Gerry could properly sit down and explain it all to him.

Michael interrupted his panicked thoughts by barging into their hotel room, a folder in his hands and a nametag around his neck. "Gerard, are you in here? I found the main conference room and all of my breakout classes," he announced happily, sidestepping around their luggage to stand next to him. "There's some openings in a few of them if you want to tag along- oh." He stopped when he saw what Gerry was staring at. "Oh. Oops. I, uh, I guess I forgot to ask them for a room change when you decided to come," he chuckled nervously.

"Yeah," Gerry could only mumble. The single bed in the room was decently sized, but it was only one bed, and there was two of them. The thought of actually sharing a bed with Michael was...was...it was turning his brain into jelly, and he wanted to crawl away from the entire possibility before it could become real. "I can sleep in the tub, it's fine," he muttered.

"No one needs to sleep in a bathtub, that's ridiculous," Michael blurted out. "We can, we can...share." His face turned more and more pink with every word. "I don't mind if we...share."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. "Sure," Gerry squeaked, feeling like his throat was closing in. Sharing a bed with Michael, beautiful, lovely Michael, who was grinning at him with rosy cheeks and bright eyes, might actually kill him. He would be going to his death when he went to bed that night, and there was no way he could say no.

"Okay," Michael breathed, ducking his head do his curls hid his cheeks. "Okay, great." He ducked to grab his luggage, dropping it on the bed with his folder. "Do you want to go out and explore the city a bit? We have time before the welcome speech."

"Yeah." Gerry cleared his throat, shoving down the feeling in his chest and clawing back his dignity with both hands. "Yeah, that sounds fun. Let's do that." Michael beamed at him, nearly floating with happiness, and fuck, maybe that was a bad idea too. A sort-of date with his sort-of coworker. Fuck.

It actually went better than he could ever expect. Michael bought them pastries and giggled when Gerry got flakes of icing down the front of his shirt, wiping them off for him with quick swipes of his hand. In turn, Gerry bought him a pair of sparkly earrings when he saw Michael's eyes lingering on them, despite his protests. It was fun, more fun than he could comprehend, just being out with someone he liked and seeing them smiling back at him. It filled his chest right back up with emotions that he could barely contain, almost suffocating but in a good way, stealing his breath with every giggle Michael made. Having a crush was a hazard to his health.

They were back in time for the conference to begin, which was much less fun than traipsing around town with Michael. Gerry held back most of his sarcastic snorts and sat through the entire initial lecture, if only so he could keep sitting next to Michael. The academic side of the supernatural always felt so artificial to him, distant and impersonal compared to what he'd actually seen and experienced. Michael kept sending him glances out of the corner of his eye, like he wanted to ask something, but kept quiet, even as his fingers fidgeted with his notebook. Gerry couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking.

Back in their room, Gerry threw himself on the bed with a harsh groan, feeling jittery and understimulated. He hated sitting around listening to pointless drivel. Behind him, he heard Michael digging in his duffle bag before he paused, and Gerry could feel his eyes on him.

"Gerard..." Michael paused, and when Gerry rolled over to look at him, he saw him biting his lip adorably. "You don't...you don't really believe in all of that, from the lecture, do you?" he asked uncertainly.

"That stuff, no, not really." Gerry sat up straight, holding Michael's gaze intently, uneasy hope filling his chest. "But there is stuff out there. Real things. Things that I've actually seen and experienced." Michael's eyes flicked to the scars peeking past the collar of his shirt, then back to his. "There's things out there that you can't imagine. Things that Gertrude won't tell you about, for some reason." Michael looked away, looking even more troubled, biting his lip in earnest. He had picked up on the secrets and lies, it seemed.

"I'll tell you," Gerry told him, leaning forward earnestly. "I will, I swear it. I'll tell you everything about them. If you really want to know."

"Yes," Michael agreed immediately. "I know...I want to know. I...I need to."

Of course he did. Gerry felt the tight anxious feeling in his chest relax, finally assured that Michael would no longer be walking around the world blind. "Not right now, though," he amended, falling back on the pillows. "Or else you won't sleep tonight."

"Probably won't anyway," Michael muttered under his breath, almost too quietly for him to catch. Before Gerry could ask, he blushed and yanked a set of clothes out of his bag, scurrying off to the loo and closing the door behind him.

Gerry took advantage of his absence and quickly changed into the clothes he brought for pajamas. Even without knowing they'd be sharing a bed, he'd been sure to bring a shirt and bottoms that covered his scars. He didn't want Michael to see those, not yet.

Not that Michael would want anything to do with him anyway, he reminded himself. Once he knew, once he really knew, he'd want nothing to do with Gerry. He had to accept that. He had to be ready to be disappointed.

When Michael emerged from the loo, his face was shiny with some sort of product, and his short curls were pulled back by a soft-looking headband. He was wearing only a loose tee and a pair of boxers, and it took all of Gerry's restraint not to stare at him, or tense up when Michael crawled onto the bed next to him. Fuck, fuck, he didn't know how he could possibly sleep next to Michael, he'd never shared a bed with anyone before, ever, especially not a guy who captivated him like Michael did. How could he sleep when this was exactly what he'd been dreaming of?

"Gerard?" Michael's hushed voice made him immediately roll over to face him. In the low light, Michael's eyes were huge, staring at him with incomprehensible emotion. "I...thank you for, for being here with me. I really liked spending time with you today. And..." he stopped to take a deep breath, as his cheeks turned pink again. "And for saying you'll tell me everything. I know Gertrude probably thinks I can't handle it, but you do, and I...just...thank you. Really."

"Gerry," Gerry whispered, lost in Michael's eyes.

"What?"

"Gerry. I want...you can call me Gerry. If you want." Gerry swallowed down the thickness that tried to creep up his throat, watching the realization on Michael's face grow and bloom into a wonderous grin. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Gerry," Michael whispered, and he imagined he could hear a thousand echoes of Michael's voice, saying his name again and again, in a thousand different ways. "Gerry. Of course I'll call you Gerry. Of course."

"Thank you," Gerry sighed, finally relaxing the terror in his chest. Michael had his true name now, and it felt like he'd given Michael his heart along with it, and it felt so right. "I'll tell you everything else tomorrow."

"Good." Michael reached behind himself to turn off the light, and in the darkness Gerry felt something brush his hand, soft fingertips slipping over his palm before pulling away. "Goodnight, Gerry.

"Goodnight, Michael."

[cardentist]

my hottest tma take of all:

there is no "This character would've been so much better as the archivist. they would've been smarter, they would've known better, they would've been stronger, they would've been able to resist their own curiosity to ignore The Horrors, they would've folded elias like a wet paper bag and gotten out of there."

whether you're talking about another character in tma, or transplanting a character from another universe into the archivist position.

because ! the entire point of the archivist position is to take advantage of the vulnerable. it's to groom people against their will and knowledge into becoming a horror sponge, and by the time they recognize what they've become it's too late.

he ran the institute for 200 years waiting for the right person and the right moment to come along, using literal mind reading to gauge who that someone could be (and killing them when they don't qualify anymore). jon was never chosen because he was Special, he was chosen because he was Vulnerable. and even then, elias never gave away the game of what he was and what he was doing until he was actively getting what he wanted.

gertrude was the badass no-nonsense archivist that people think jon should have been, and she was killed by a human man with a regular gun. and that's the point ! everything she did ultimately only bought Time. being a "better" archivist means waiting until you either slip up or die.

being victimized isn't a failure of will, it's something that's done To you. either your character Wouldn't do so hot as the archivist, or they'd never be the archivist in the first place.

[apomaro-mellow]

Family Planning 4

Part 3

There's a severe lack of hijinks in this chapter but I'm hoping to fix that in the next part.

Steve was caught off guard when he heard a call pull up in the morning and it was Tommy, with Carol in tow. They never picked him up, preferring Steve’s car. His dad looked over his newspaper questioningly and Steve had no choice but to go outside. Now that he thought about it, he and Eddie hadn’t made plans to go to school together today. He had just assumed, but even then he wasn’t sure why.

“Hey, what’re you guys doing here?”, Steve asked as he walked out.

“You know why Harrington, get in”, Tommy said.

He did and Tommy didn’t even wait for the door to close before asking him about yesterday. Carol interjected with her own questions. They were his friends, so he didn’t mind answering but just like his parents they couldn’t wrap their heads around Steve going through with it on his own. Clearly it was all Eddie’s influence.

“I get that he’s an alpha, but you can’t let some knot-head like that lead you around”, Carol said.

“And you know that’s all he wants right? To get that knot in”, Tommy snickered. “And he gets to pretend he’s your alpha with a pup? I bet that freak humped his pillow last night, thinking of it.”

“Eugh, gross. I do NOT want to think about Munson’s junk”, Carol said.

“Can you guys cool it? I’m the one that’s actually gotta work with him for the project”, Steve said from the backseat. Not only was it offputting, but it didn’t seem fair to Eddie. Besides the odd fashion choices and weird club, he was a nice guy.

His friends did in fact cool it, at least until they got to school and Eddie was spotted waiting by the front entrance. Without a word to either Tommy or Carol, Steve went over to him. They had to get their new sack of flour. Ms. Engels gave them what could only be called a glare and Steve had the decency to feel a little bad, but not much.

“I’ll take the little rugrat for the first couple of periods”, Eddie offered. “If you want, we can meet up at lunch to do the paperwork.”

“Sounds great”, Steve said without even thinking.

He honestly did forget about it until lunch came. And by then, he already had his tray in his hands, Tommy on one side and Carol ahead of them, going to their usual table. Steve set his tray down just as Eddie came up to them.

“Hey, you ready?”

“What’s he doing here?”, Carol sneered.

“Shit, I forgot”, Steve said. “Yeah, we can just do it here.”

Eddie’s eyes slid to the two betas who looked like they wanted to toss him in the trash. His flight response was kicking up but he knew Carol wasn’t a scrapper and Hagan wouldn’t do anything so long as he stayed on Steve’s good side. So when Steve sat down, he scooted over and Eddie slid on next to him.

“Alright first thing’s first, baby’s name. How do you feel about Gertrude?”, Eddie grinned.

Steve’s nose scrunched. “She’s not someone’s grandma. And who said it’s a girl?”

“Do you have a preference for sex?”, Eddie asked.

“Gag me”, Carol muttered under her breath.

“Hey!”, Steve scolded. “Like it or not, he’s the sire of my pup and will be until the deadline of this project. You two need to get over yourselves.” If Eddie was going to be around more, Steve wasn’t going to let those comments continue to fly. 

Carol forked her food aggressively and Tommy just rolled his eyes. “Chill out man, didn’t know you were taking it seriously.”

Steve turned to Eddie. “What about Hannah?”

“I’m partial to Isabelle myself.”

It took them about halfway through lunch to settle on Kimberly Farrah Lisbeth Odette Ursa Rebecca Munson. It was a mouthful of a name, but it all fit on the line. And Steve allowed Eddie full freedom with her middle name since he got her first name. Her last name being Munson was the traditional route. Omegas usually gave up their name when they got married.

“Hey Eddie, are you gonna spend your whole lunch here?”

Steve looked up to see one of the members of that club. Hellfire. He wasn’t entirely sure what they got up to, played some kind of game. But they were looking at Steve and his friends warily. Steve looked to the table where the rest of them were and they shared the same expressions. 

“Ummm”, Eddie turned to Steve, like he was asking permission.

“We’ve got her name and all that stuff”, Steve said. “We can figure out trade off times later.” They just had to get the papers to Engels before the end of the day. He also offered to take the flour for the rest of the day since Eddie had it in the morning.

“Well then, I guess my business is done”, Eddie said, pushing away from the table. “Goodbye little Kimmy.” He actually kissed the top of the flour sack and then walked away.

“Dude, are you actually trying this year?”

“I plan on walking that stage come spring Gare-bear”, Eddie clapped his friend’s shoulder. And if he had to do so with a bag of food on his hip, so be it.

When the end of the day came, Eddie reconnected with Steve just as he was about to walk out the doors. The moment he did, they both noticed the principal eyeing them by the exit. Eddie frowned.

“You don’t need to hover. We’re actually not doing the helicopter parent thing.”

“We said we’d stay out of trouble”, Steve said.

“Forgive me if I don’t have total confidence in the both of you. Mr. Munson especially.”

Eddie put his arm around Steve’s shoulders. “We’re gonna be the model family. Just watch! We’re gonna do so good, Steve’ll be knocked up by spring!”

Steve’s face got red and it felt like the whole hallway stopped in its tracks. Steve let out a sigh, head hung in mortification as Eddie realized everyone in a two mile radius probably heard what he just said.

“Bad timing?”

“Is there good timing?”, Steve asked. Deciding to commit, he took the sack of flour out of his bookbag and put it on his hip like a real pup. “Well sir, if you’ll excuse us.” 

He started walking and Eddie had no choice but to follow his lead unless he wanted to separate. Eddie’s van was easy to locate and it was only when they got to it did they move apart.

“Thanks for not leaving me high and dry. Sooo, how are we gonna do the trade offs?”

“I think what we did today was fine”, Steve said. Handing the baby off between breaks, giving each of them a few hours free. “Which means you get our little bundle tonight since I had her all afternoon.”

“Cool. Do you uh, need a ride or?”

Steve thought about this morning, how he’d expected Eddie to come without really communicating so. “Uhhh-”

Eddie gasped. “Steve! It’s horrible!” He opened up the passenger door to his van. “I don’t have a carseat!”

“...Okay?”

“Which means you’ll have to hold dear Kimberly while I drive!”

Steve looked around as Eddie made a spectacle of himself. Principal Woolsley was still watching from the door. Didn’t he have a life? With a sigh, Steve got in and buckled up with their pretend pup. As they drove off, the principal was joined by a custodian who gave a chuckle.

“Ain’t that project meant to discourage procreation?”

Their routine worked pretty well. Right down to who drove them each day. Whoever had the baby for the evening would be picked up in the morning. It felt like an even balance of duties. Steve admitted to himself being a little apprehensive of coming to the trailer park for the first time, but when Eddie got in, Wayne smiled at them from the door and Eddie even bid good morning to the old lady who had glared at Steve when he drove up.

Steve’s parents never came out to wave to Eddie, even when he came right to the door and knocked. Eddie didn’t come to their lunch table again, the trade usually happening either before they got to the cafeteria or after lunch was over. Tommy and Carol stopped their snide remarks about Eddie but they didn’t start singing his praises either. Which was fine.

As for the report, Steve just left the sack on his bedroom desk while he was at home. If Eddie was doing any different, he didn’t let on. But while in school, he was a doting father, calling the sack pet names and kissing it, hamming it up whenever Engels or Woolsley were in sight. 

All in all it was going well and that February deadline got closer and closer. But as Steve was crossing today off his calendar, he noticed a problem. He was about to be short on time and Eddie wasn’t going to like the reason why when he told him tomorrow.

Basketball season started soon.

Part 5

Taglist

@marklee-blackmore @aol19 @im-really-annoying @ellietheasexylibrarian @queenie-ofthe-void

@redfreckledwolf

[artificialdaydreamer]

For those asking about the TMA 2 stuff, what it would be about, here ya go

JONNY

One of the things that's fun about this particular ending is can do a spin-off in whatever universe might be fun. I would probably do something— It probably’d have to be a prequel and it would be, I think, entirely different characters.

There are some very compelling characters that would be fun to dive into a little bit more people like, oh, you know, Gertrude and Adelard Decker, and that whole, like, previous generation.

The problem with that sort of sequel is that in the original series and, you know, in most original series that have these sort of prequels, the way that the past is dealt with is very deliberate. Gertrude and Decker and Salesa and all this, sort of, previous generation, they are specifically written to be highlighting and contrasting and interacting with the actual story that's being told.

When you start to expand that out into what has to stand as its own story, then that whole aspect starts to collapse a little bit. And in my eyes, the prequel would never be able to be as good as it could be, because it's hamstrung by all this stuff that's in the original series, and the original series would be slightly lessened by the fact that there's all this additional stuff that has been built up that was not in mind when it was written.

So like, I think a lot of the obvious spin-off stuff, probably not particularly interesting to me.

JONNY

And if you ever did get all the answers for all the characters, it's incredibly sterile, it's incredibly boring. It's just this, like, weird, perfect artificial thing that feels incredibly fake.

But yeah, I would probably— I’ve had various thoughts, but I think it would probably be some alternate dimension thing.

Also, you know what? Okay everyone, let's do a series of Joshua Gillespie just not noticing creepy things.

JONNY

Oh, actually thinking about it. I also, like, I am fascinated actually in the world that we have left behind, post-Magnus.

ALEX

See, I'm deliberately dodging giving that answer for the simple reason, it's the one that I think has the actual most potential.

JONNY

I largely want to mention it because I discovered a bunch of post-post-apocalypse memes on Tumblr, which are amazing. They are in-universe memes. Created by people who have come out of all the fear dimensions.

ALEX

Oh, that's such a good idea!

JONNY

And they are astounding! They're so good. There are accounts which are like in- universe posting about someone's like, ‘Oh yeah, I'm having some real problems with like my boyfriend, because he was in space and he was contemplating the bigness of the universe, but I was in a war dimension. I got shot a lot and it's really driving a wedge between us because he's like, “Oh no, mine was really scary.” And I was like, “How many times did you explode?”’

Jonny and Alex on potential spin-offs/sequels. S5 Q&A Part one.

I know there was somewhere in one of the q&as where they said that Jon and Martin’s story was finished but I can’t find it at the moment.

Did find this tho

ALEX

Title of The Magnus Archives 2. Semi-colon 'Snogs Galore'.

[cr4btank]

guy whose main special interests are geography, archaeology, sociology, and the magnus archives. anyways here’s my extensive (perhaps slightly unrealistic for london i don’t know) ethnicity headcanons for tma and tmagp. most of these have little to no canon backing my Autism just told me

i’m going to reblog this with more later

TMA

jonathan sims: indo-surinamese

martin blackwood: i get canada from him ? specifically martimes, maybe nova scotia. also ethnically jewish because im both of those and can do what i want

tim stoker: predominantly vietnamese, dominican also

sasha james: st. lucian?? doesn’t feel entirely right but it’s all i’m getting

elias bouchard: english . maybe a bit portuguese

peter lukas (& lukas family) norwegian & russian??

gerard keay: greek

michael shelley: russian & serbian

basira hussain: bihari

daisy tonner: my mind wants me to say german my heart says aṉangu. she can be both

melanie king: ukrainian

oliver banks: xhosa

rosie zampano: italian & malaysian

annabelle cane: nyakyusa

gertrude robinson: german & polish

TMAGP:

sam khalid: sindhi

alice dyer (& luke): taíno (specifically cuba)

gwen bouchard: mostly english partially swedish

celia ripley: korean

teddy vaughn: yoruba

lena kelley: mestiza (guarayo)

ink5oul: tibetan???? mongol?? leaning tibet i think

colin becher: so very scottish (accidentally said irish whoops so edited this)

please (metaphorically) throw rocks at me if anything here is canonically wrong or just like . wrong in general

[rose-morose]

I finished Harley Quinn, and I've got to rant about Kite Man for a second

(Harley Quinn spoilers and very very long and bitter hatred under the cut)

it fucking boggles my mind that Poison Ivy would go out with this rich, incompetent, ignorant, heteronormative, entitled, arrogant, borderline, if not outright, misogynistic trust fund child who is a massive cunt, and seemingly the antithesis of everything that she stands for

most of the time she seems to find his clumsy and ignorant conduct to be endearing, which is actually understandable, but beyond that and a positive review of the sex (I think I can't remember) it kind of seemed like she wasn't fully invested in their relationship

this isn't even a "she's out of his league" thing either, he is just genuinely a terrible terrible person, and I think many people give him far more credit than he deserves

putting aside his goofy kite motif, his naive demeanour, and his clumsy antics he just has a dull shitty personality

when they first met, Kite Man spent an entire evening making unwelcome advances on Ivy despite her clear and succinct rejections of every effort he made, stole from her, and then he took Ivy asking him for an emergency ride back to her apartment to literally save the lives of children that HE poisoned for no reason as not only validation of his relentless advances, but the beginning of what he believed to be a "date" in his deluded rotting brain

upon arriving at her apartment, unprompted, he disrobed and waited for her in her bedroom to have sex, and when Ivy asked him why, his response was along the lines of 'that's usually what happens after a great date when you go back to the girl's place'

Ivy was understandably upset by this, so what happened? what changed? in what mad world is this given any amount of consideration to even be tolerable, let alone acceptable behaviour?

"I'll do all the heavy lifting so you don't have to break a nail." fuck this twat he sucks, and this is only episode 2, the first fucking episode that he is in

"I'll protect us babe!" dude fuck right off she is literally the most powerful person in the room

"If my girlfriend sees me hanging out with you hot young coeds she is going to be green with envy." people still call women attending uni "coeds" that's fucking insane, someone just put me out of my fucking misery

HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER FUCKING NAME! "Poison Gertrude Ivy" 0/3 fucker not even remotely close, and he doesn't learn her name until after the third fucking time he asks her to marry him

so what if it's played as a joke, it's still true

what am I missing here? why is this guy getting a pass, not just from Ivy, but from the fandom at large? why is there such widespread admiration of this asshole?

I tried watching the Kite Man spinoff show to figure out what people see in him, but it honestly just made him look even worse if that's possible, and while the entire show has not yet been released, it is set after the conclusion of Kite Man and Ivy's relationship so it's not even that relevant

if anyone from the Harley Quinn show deserves a spinoff it isn't this cunt

this shitty excuse of a human being maps out their entire future without consulting Ivy, self admittedly stalked her, constantly does things that she explicitly asks him not to do (admittedly Harley is also guilty of this), mansplains simple bullshit to her constantly, and takes not even the slightest bit of interest in anything remotely associated with Poison Ivy, he doesn't even really seem to know that much about her

on paper I can't see why the hell she even seems to like him at all seeing as she repeatedly rebuffed his initial unwelcome attempts to hit on her, was embarrassed to be seen in public with him, did not tell anybody she was dating him, constantly comments on how fucking stupid he is, rejected him every time he tried to take the next step in their relationship, and before they got together the nicest thing she had ever said to him was along the lines of, 'you're almost tolerable when you are completely silent' and yet in practice Ivy seems to be very loving and affectionate towards him, she even attributes her recent bout of happiness to him

yet Kite Man himself admits that he had to repeat every step of their relationship over and over and over again because she constantly rejected him at every turn

and she was the only one putting any effort into their relationship, always doing things to make him more comfortable or happy and in return occasionally getting a ride and that's it, he just breaks down and starts crying when anything doesn't go his way

Poison Ivy deserves so much better than this cunt who weaselled his way into her life, not the other way around

I saw something from a showrunner about how this iteration of Poison Ivy has self esteem issues that may have lead her to date someone who isn't worthy of her just because he was nice to her, but I don't see how he was nice to her

he's usually polite, sure, but he is super misogynistic, he asks her to drop her name to get things that he wants, he is super arrogant and full of himself, and he seems to objectify her every time he tries to give her a compliment

and that hardly explains why so many fans are all for this terrible relationship, normally supporting unhealthy relationships in media because you want to see them improve and evolve is fun, but this guy does not change, he doesn't even think that he needs to change

and I think most of the show's fans are for Harlivy, which is a relationship that isn't super healthy but is compelling and improving and is fun to root for, but why do I see so many people saying that the writers should have kept going with Kite Man and Ivy?

I don't think it's outright homophobia, or at least the majority isn't homophobia, but I just don't get it

now did Kite Man deserve to be cheated on? I don't think so, that's just a pretty shitty thing to do to someone, but why the fuck was he even here in the first place?

I guess the heart wants what the heart wants or she didn't think she deserved better or whatever, but fuck why does anyone tolerate this asshole? is incompetence really that charming?

maybe I just don't get it because I'm aroace, but regardless of what you think of the relationship or the character, Kite Man is undoubtably a shit person and a complete asshole, that doesn't make him a bad character, just a bad person, and I wish more people that liked him as a character would recognise that, it's fine to like characters that are bad people, but don't outright deny it

just my final thoughts, I would love to take this opportunity to assure all 0 readers that have made it this far that I am not genuinely upset and do not take issue with people that like a fictional character that I don't like ok thanks bye

rant over

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 19, MAG 19 Confession

The Magnus Archives reinforces my stance that religion-based horror is the genre's peak.

Yes I was raised Catholic why do you ask

Spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Father Edwin Burroughs regarding his "possession." Statement given May 30th, 2011.

Statement Notes: My biggest question is how the institute got this statement. Burroughs says it was probably difficult to arrange and is grateful for the chance to give the statement, so it implies that he sought out the institute. If so, how did he find out about them? It's also possible that the institute sought out a statement from Burroughs, but why? Gertrude would likely understand his importance or at least would have attempted to follow up on the Hilltop Road Case, so it's likely if Burroughs did not actively seek out the institute, she found him.

The idea that Father Burroughs would reach out to give a statement is really great to me, though. He's coming from a culture that stresses the need to admit every transgression in order to remain perfectly morally pure. In giving his statement, Burroughs is seeking absolution. It's literally titled "Confession."

Though likely unintentional, Jon reading this statement furthers the idea that, at least in the world to come, he is the closest thing the TMA universe has to God. By Season 5, he is omniscient, all powerful, and simultaneously merciful and punishing. He takes Burroughs confession, judges it, and then moves on. Burroughs is haunted his entire life, but Jon--the absent God--hears hundreds of people's confessions and doesn't do anything. He just watches.

Continuing with the idea of religious horror as an extension or offshoot of eldritch horror, this episode utilizes fear of the sin inside oneself really well. In my experience, the fear of going to Hell or being punished for one's sins is lesser in Catholic circles than the fear of being a sinner. The idea that something inside of you is inherently wrong or evil is a common one across religions, so it makes sense that to destroy Burroughs mind and bring his worst fear to life, the entities would make him believe there is a demon inside of him. The evil isn't attacking him, but is a part of him. His worst fear is himself.

The demon attempting to "steal" Burroughs faith is really terrifying. The implication that something so immutable and intangible cannot only be taken away, but can be used by another being. The demon isn't destroying Burroughs faith, but keeping for itself.

What I find really interesting is how different the things Burroughs describes in this statement are from the second part of his statement. The pace really picks up between MAG 19 and MAG 20, in addition to the subject shifting. Burroughs changes from an observer of other people's torture to experiencing his own. This change really amped up my anxiety as I went from 19 to 20.

Entity Alignment: Anything Hill Top Road related is immediately a mixed bag of nightmares. Being a demonic possession episode and the "mentis" writing on the wall, the Spiral comes to mind. Bethany's degrading mental health after moving into her new home does align with the environmental triggers that usually accompany a Spiral episode. Additionally, Bethany and Burroughs both lose control of their minds and bodies, in line with the Spiral.

The eventual cannibalism does implicate the Flesh, however. I wonder how often the Flesh interacts with a religion that literally consumes the body and blood of its lord. (Side note, but "We'll get to the cannibalism," is now up there with "I feel like I should be upfront with this, I'm probably a cannibal," as my favorite lines a character says within the first 10 seconds of a statement.)

Hill Top Road does implicate at least some connection to the Desolation. But either way, in MAG 20, many more entities come into play as Burrough possession and hallucinations develop. Read my next blog for some thought on that if you would like.

Character Notes: Sarcastic Jon re-enters the arena with a steal chair!

"When it is found by myself, or given the state of the Archive's mismanagement, by my successor when I pass away from old age."

Oh sweetie, you think you're going to get an old age? That's adorable

[pencildragons]

moving on from this post, i am now assigning Everyone in the archives an instrument

tim: lies and tells everyone he can play harmonica. he cannot play harmonica. was actually a concert percussionist in the london symphony orchestra for four years. he is taking this secret to his grave (he thinks) (everyone else knows. he’s only fooling himself). he once accidentally wound up winning a stras violin in a bet, then donated it to a charity shop because he didn’t know how to play it.

sasha: CAN play the harmonica, chooses not to. played cello from second grade until her first year of university, has not touched it since the Bow Incident Of 2004. tim knows. is once convinced when very drunk to try the cello belonging to a pub band member. promptly rocked everyone’s socks off. was going to start playing cello again in july 2016, but--well. the NotThem has no interest in music.

martin: does not play an instrument, but desperately wanted to learn french horn. is a very good singer, however, and was a treble in his church choir until his mother got too sick. Nobody Has Heard Him Sing Ever

basira: nothing /affectionate. she can, however, dance very groovily, a skill Nobody Else in the archives possesses

daisy: she’s actually a very accomplished pianist, but did also once destroy an entire piano so now the entire archives thinks she hates musicians and all that they stand for. she owns a 17 year old keyboard that has electrocuted her twice

melanie: was classically trained as a singer, however i know in my heart of hearts one of her parents was australian, so she can also play lagerphone, bush bass, and the spoons Very Well. once she (accidentally) played the spoons on ghuk and the audience lost their fucking minds. she and georgie secretly have a two-woman bush band

jon: i mentioned this in the post that sparked this one, but he’s a violist. he also plays at least 5 other instruments and sings very well, but fundamentally thinks that viola is the coolest. he does everything by ear. one of these 5 instruments is squeezebox and another is electric guitar. i leave you, the reader, to decide the other three. people think he only plays viola because he never fucking shuts up about it

honourable mentions:

georgie: drum-kit. she cannot read sheet music. this was, in fact, one of the original attracting forces between her and jon, who can but doesn’t want to

gerry: the obvious answer is bass guitar, However. i think he also won prizes for banjo playing

dishonourable mentions:

peter lukas: treble tin whistle

gertrude: french horn. also piano. also the trumpet. also. uhh. hmm. there is a chance she may be able to play every single instrument ever

elias: nothing. he does, however, have perfect pitch (insult)

stupid idiot motherfucking jurgen leitner: the recorder. badly.

[randompajamaalt]

I'm deeply invested in your Gerry headcannons

Care to share some more? :D

absolutely!! I love gerry so much I have so many hcs for him so I hope you don’t mind if I just.. pour em all out for a second

He makes friends with crows as much as he physically can. Whenever he spots crows in the wild he feeds them and makes friends with them so he’s constantly getting new shiny little trinkets. If he has stuff that he doesn’t want anymore he’ll give it to his favorite crow of the week. And yes, he’s named them, and yes, he can tell all of them apart.

he has heterochromia!  one of his eyes is green and the other is a mix of blue and brown. He wears dark brown contacts to cover them because he was kind of convinced they were a weird ugly flaw from a young age and never really got over it. He used to have two blue eyes, only the right one having brown in it, but over time his right eye(the pure blue one) slowly got greener as his connection to The Eye got stronger. It was almost fully green by the time he got his tattoos.

he would totally have fun in the sky vast

his familial trauma from being abused probably got him into the habit of walking silently, and that only got better with the whole hunt thing, so now he can creep up on anyone without making a single sound. He usually does it on accident

Whenever he’s in a particularly bad situation or a super bad mood the temperature around him goes down. and like- gets chilly. It’s not usually noticeable but sometimes it’s super strong 

SO YOU KNOW HOW HE HAS EYE TATTOOS ON EVERY JOINT. I personally hc they’re all around the same size- kind of small-ish. And if they’re on every joint that means they’re on his knuckles, wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, toes, and UP HIS ENTIRE SPINE. UP TO WHERE HIS HAIR ENDS. but hear me out- the jaw is also a joint. WHAT IF. He had eyes on both sides of his jaw.

He pronounces “Chamomile” like “Sha-momma-lay” and nobody has ever bothered to correct him. Gertrude caught it on tape once

I don’t actually think he has a whole lot of piercings. Maybe his earlobes but tbh not much else? Idk why but he just seems like he would prefer tattoos and then just wear fake piercings everywhere else. Like he just doesn’t see the point of going through the whole process of trying to keep the piercings clean when he can just wear cool fake ones.

He likes drawing all over himself. One time Gertrude yelled at him abt it because he was using sharpie.

He loves stickers!! Sometimes he sticks them on books, sometimes on himself, and sometimes just anywhere he can reach. Whenever he passes a craft store he can’t help but buy a bunch of stickers.

He knows a tiny bit about sewing because of all the times he’s had to repair his clothes and sew on patches. He did make a skirt by himself once! Maybe I’ll draw it sometime :D

and yeah that’s all I can think of for now! that uh. was longer than expected. But it was fun!! Tysm for asking I love sharing my hcs :D

[grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks]

20 questions for fic writers

[EDIT: sorry if you got a notification that you were tagged in this post even though I didn't tag you. Tumblr's being weird about this one.]

Tagged by @cirrus-grey - thank you! (Also, sorry this took me like three months to do, executive dysfunction is a hell of a thing)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

33

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

197,768

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The only fandom I've written for as an adult has been the Magnus Archives (and I actually have a lot of thoughts on why tma was sort of a perfect storm for getting me back into creating and consuming fanfic, but I'll spare you for now). There are a couple other fandoms I wrote for when I was in middle school back in the fanfic(.)net days, but some things are better left in the past.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie)

I'll take "A Flagrant Misuse of Beholding Powers" for 200

stay with me, hold my hand

Come, my dear, and be a part of my home

please, hurry, leave me, I can't breathe (please don't say you love me)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes. I really want to get more consistent about it, but my executive dysfunction makes it hard. My big problem now is that it feels weird to go back and respond to comments I got months ago, but it also feels rude to respond to more recent comments without ever responding to those older ones, so I'm feeling kind of stuck. One day, though, my ADHD will be properly medicated and I will get back to responding to every comment I get.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angst is one of those things that I love to read but don't always think to write, so pretty much all of my fics have happy endings atm. The only ones that can really be said to have angsty endings are the pre-Unknowing and safehouse fics where the knowledge of what will happen next in canon makes any ending automatically bittersweet. With that in mind, let's go with Hold My Hand When My Courage Fails, because I DO think a pre-Unknowing kiss makes season 4 angstier.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like I said, I write almost entirely happy endings, so it's hard to narrow this one down. I'm gonna go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because I threw in the completely unnecessary (but still necessary to me) detail that Sasha survives the Prentiss incident at the end of that one.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No! I've been very lucky on that front.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I haven't, though I might someday. As an ace person (somewhere in the sex-nuetral/sex-averse realm) I don't feel super confident in my ability to write good smut. It's really intimidating, but I'd love to try some day.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really? The only thing I've written that could be crossover is my fic where Jonathan Sims competes on Jeopardy!, but I'm not really sure that counts.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

My AO3 history should make it clear I'm pretty fond of Jonmartin, but I'm also a big Griddlehark (tlt) fan.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I've started a tma fic that's essentially a Marple AU (with Gertrude as the Miss Marple surrogate) that plays with the idea of sleuth-as-Beholding-avatar, but it's very tricky to blend all the plot threads I want to include together into one cohesive mystery, so I don't know if it will ever get finished.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I'll be honest, I don't think I'm a very good judge of my own writing, especially my strengths. It's not that I think I'm a bad writer necessarily, but I really struggle to pinpoint any one thing that I do well - especially because for every aspect of my writing I like, I can point to five writers in the same fandom who do that much better. Right now I'm just glad I'm getting stuff written at all.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I worry that my characterizations tend to be pretty thin. I also struggle in juggling more than a few characters at a time, and sometimes I will omit characters who logically should be in a fic just because I can't think of anything for them to do.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't have anything against it. I could see people running into problems if they write dialogue in a language they themselves don't speak (relying on Google translate, for instance) but in general I don't see anything wrong with it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, back when I was in middle school.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Don't make me choose!

I might have to go with Say You Love Me (Learn to Lie) because that was the most fun I've ever had writing and publishing a fic - the response to that one was really great, and since that was one of the only times I actually managed a consistent release schedule, it felt really nice having that to look forward to every Tuesday.

But SYLM(LTL) was my answer for like half of these questions, so I'll also throw out Cut My Hair and Changed My Face (I'm Learning How to Forget That Place). I did a pretty terrible job of tagging that one and it didn't get a lot of hits, but it's one of my favorites. I love s4 Jmart angst, I love Jon & Daisy's s4 friendship, and I frankly can't believe it took me so long to write a fic combining the two.

[dxppercxdxver]

where have you posted about the dad hamlet interpretation

AUGH i forgot!! life happened to me pretty much immediately after i put the initial post up and elaborating on it Completely slipped my mind

@anonamous-blue @ilredeiladri so sorry for the wait!!

ANYWAY. bit of context. my dad doesn’t generally Like shakespeare. he works in the theater industry and has done most of the big shakespeares multiple times in his career and so to keep things interesting or perhaps out of Spite. he starts wildly reinterpreting the plays just so he doesn’t hate the entire rehearsal process. he also Especially hates hamlet as a play

but his reinterpretation is genuinely very cool to me (guy who likes hamlet)

basically. we all know hamlet’s an insanely unreliable narrator (due to the Grief and the Political Intrigue and his General Mental Instability throughout the story). we also know he’s probably got some issues stemming from the death of his father, the king and also the guy he’s named after. wants to do him proud. so basically. anything we hear about hamlet senior is filtered through a really biased lens

my dad posits that hamlet senior was likely a very abusive husband to gertrude and that gertrude and claudius were genuinely in love and schemed together to get hamlet senior out of the way. thus, when hamlet senior’s ghost comes back and says Please Kill Your Uncle. it’s not out of a sense of justice but out of a desire for petty revenge instead

politically the kingdom is doing fine under claudius and gertrude seems happy. the only reasons given for that not to be the case are given by the hamlets (both unreliable)

and i just think that’s a really neat angle to play!! hamlet’s not being gaslit by corrupt forces in the kingdom he’s just Unwilling to come to terms with the fact that his father Sucked

[echoes-lighthouse]

F/O Masterlist

Okay, I'm at the point where I'm going to have to make The Big List. So this is just a list of everyone that I conceivably might post selfship content about, so if people need to block tags or ask me in advance to tag things, you're aware of the possibility! I'll do my best to update this and let folks know when it's been updated.

This is specifically a list of my romantic or semi-romantic f/os, since those are the ones people usually care about blocking. Maybe I will make a separate list for platonic/familial selfships!

Organized alphabetically by source: let's go!

Primaries

(I Have Posted About Them Before And I Will Likely Post Again)

Tate Langdon (American Horror Story - #my ghost boy), miscellaneous sideships with other Season 1 ghosts

Grell Sutcliffe (Black Butler - #don't fear the reaper)

Toshinori Yagi (BNHA- #sunflower time)

Shigaraki Tomura (BNHA- #my gamer boy)

Himiko Toga (BNHA - #bestie hours), includes a LoV polycule with Shigaraki, Spinner, Magne, Mr. Compress, Dabi, and maybe Kurogiri

Alex (Clockwork Orange - #clockwork siblings)

Penelope Garcia (Criminal Minds - tag TBD)

Jester Lavorre (Critical Role- #my sweetling)

Monokuma (Danganronpa- #my evil lil bear)

The Joker (DC/TDK - #the lover who laughs)

Dirk Strider (Homestuck - #heart of hearts)

Vox and Valentino (Hazbin Hotel - #digital poison), includes sex work with most of the main cast

Emberlynn (Helluva Boss - tag TBD)

Stolas (Helluva Boss - #secrets of the stars)

Armand, Gabrielle, Lestat, Louis, Daniel (Interview With The Vampire - #messy vampire polycule)

Val Frizzle (Magic School Bus - #val <3)

Gertrude Robinson (The Magnus Archives - #archivist my archivist)

Jonah Magnus (The Magnus Archives - #eyes on you)

Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins - #mary and me)

Jack Skellington (Nightmare Before Christmas - #my skeleman)

Zero Rick Sanchez (Pocket Mortys - #waiting in the stars), may include other Ricks as the mood takes me

Death (Sandman - #death becomes them)

Delirium (Sandman - #eyestrain pals)

Cecil and Kevin (WTNV - #listener and watcher)

Tumblr (Miscellanious Sources - #beloved hellsite)

Non-Primaries

(content about these is rare or hasn't happened yet, but it might! None have tags assigned yet, but I'll assign them if you ask.)

Garfield the Deals Warlock (The Adventure Zone)

Iroh (ATLA)

Tsuyu Asui (BNHA)

Nezu (BNHA)

Aizawa Shota (BNHA) only in a hook-up sense but still worth mentioning

Laudna and Imogen (Critical Role), currently on hold because I only got 10 episodes into C3

Hoid (Cosmere)

Celeste, Junko, Toko (Danganronpa 1)

Eventually I'll get through the other Danganronpa games and add f/os from those as well

L (Death Note)

Queen (Deltarune)

Judge Frollo (Disney's Notre Dame)

Captain Hook (Live Action Peter Pan)

Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

Oswalda Cobblepots (DC)

Thirteenth Doctor (Doctor Who)

TARDIS (Doctor Who: my partner ships with her, not me, but I might post content for them)

Fandomstuck f/os are still to be determined

Sun/Moon (FNAF:SB)

Glamrock Chica (FNAF:SB)

The Creation (Frankenstein)

Garfield (Garfield)

Miku Binder Thomas Jefferson (Hamilton adjacent?? - #insufferable pokelovers)

Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)

Severus Snape (Harry Potter)

Honestly the entire Homestuck cast is a possibility for me

The Devil (The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus)

Persephone (Lore Olympus)

Jonathan Sims (The Magnus Archives)

Michael (The Magnus Archives)

Minecraft Villager OC

Bert, Ernie, Gonzo (The Muppets)

Mae Borowski (Night In The Woods)

Haruhi Fujioka (OHSHC)

Calypso (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Erik (POTO)

Christine Daae(POTO)

Desire (Sandman)

Trencil (Smile For Me)

Rose Quartz (Steven Universe)

Charlie Bradbury (Supernatural)

Rorschach (Watchmen)

[year2000electronics]

VRAI headcanons you say? Ahem. Coomer butch trans woman. Bubby agender he/him butch lesbian. My final measage. Goodbye. Also Gordon genderfluid he/she pronouns. Sometimes she uses a more feminine name (Gertie/Gertrude) but not often. Benrey any pronouns. He doesn't give a fuck. Probably every gender also. All of them. At once. Tommy hoards xenogenders and pronouns. Darnold uses xenogenders also but WAY less of them than Tommy does. They/them Darnold even. Forzen nonbinary they/it king. G-Man agender any pronouns. Xe has heard of your human concept of "labels" and decided to ignore them entirely.

YOUR MIND.... these are very fun. the sheer concept of a guy who literally goes by 'g-man' going 'no i will not ascribe to gender' is so good

[gilsart]

Are there any books you can recommend about Friedrich? German or English would be nice.

By the way, your art is so damn cute and adorable!! I am always happy to see you on my dashboard, even if you're "just" answering questions as you seem really nice.

hi!! first of all thank you ,,, means a lot to me, i always re-read my answers to make sure i don't sound rude or anything 😭 anxiety girlies where you at

about the books, there are lots!! i recommend you also ask @kattestrophe - she knows more than i do, especially about the german books; i am neither german nor english so some of those i own aren't available in languages other than my own.

the ones from my collection that are available in english/german are:

frederick the great by william f. reddaway - this is a biography, available in english, i haven't read it all because i only needed the crown prince bit, and that one had historical inaccuracies, so be mindful. but it has images!!

king in prussia by rafael sabatini - this is fiction and also available in english! it's a book from 1944 i believe, divided in two parts, specifically before katte's death and after katte's death up until ... i think the end of the seven years war? i don't know, i haven't read it all and i will stop at katte's death. fritz is very gay in this one as far as i've read, but in a queer disney villain way, which can be fun if you decide to ignore the homophobia. also one of the protagonists is katte's entirely fictional jacobite cousin, the most annoying man on earth.

zeithain by michael roes - this also is fiction, and only available in german. i have only read five pages of it (my german is very poor) and it follows katte, not friedrich. katte is also very sad. but as far as i was told, both of them are gay, so there's that. so far hans is like "it's raining and i'm alone and last week i went to a funeral. i have prayed to the god i lost during my childhood", certainly something very different from how he behaves in king in prussia ...

katte: die geschichte einer freundschaft by gertrud von brockdorff - this is also german only, i'm not sure about the actual book being available (i was sent a pdf) although it could be available in germany?? it is pretty old tho (1934) so i wouldn't know much about that. this one is also more about katte and friedrich, again fiction, it's eight chapters, still haven't read it because this bad boy is written in fraktur and i have trouble reading that but i have had conversations about it, and boy is it queer. there is a single chapter in which katte has a small identity crisis and has a romance with wilhelmine, but after that he's back to longing for frédéric and his "wide, bright and impenetrable" eyes that bewitch everyone. fellas is it gay to think your male friend's eyes are what you need a woman to have so you can actually love her?

the sorrows of frederick by romulus linney - available in english, this is a play from 1966, still haven't read it (the package is somewhere in europe right now), i think it follows all of fritz's life? it has fredersdorf, at least. but fredersdorf here knows katte, so eh. some anachronistic thingies here and there, what's new.

der alte fritz in 50 bildern - i can't figure out the name of the authors (damn it, fraktur) but worry not: this only has somewhat cool illustrations about fritz's life and a little bit of german text. at least some of them are. others are peculiar: voltaire is shorter than fritz in these. he wishes. i'm adding a photo though, so you can see!

i also own a pretty interesting book, not about fritz but about the seven years war in general, titled "prussian army soldiers and the seven years' war: the psychology of honour" by katrin and sascha moebius (there is an umlaut on the o there; i'm writing this on my pc and don't know where to find it).

i also have "later selected poems" by sheenagh pugh, which contains "five voices", a cycle of five poems showing five different perspectives on katte, if you're interested in that. there isn't a fritz perspective, though.

he also has a short chapter in "bad gays" by huw lemmey and ben miller, but i found it to be somewhat offensive at some point, although that could be a translation issue: there is a pretty offensive slur and some things i found to be inaccurate. overall i wouldn't buy it. i only bought it because the italian edition has very cool illustrations, at a time where i did not know about this translation thing.

the rest of my books are all available in italian only (or about voltaire).

hope this was helpful!

[lizardrosen]

i just found my notebook from 2011 when i went through the entire text of hamlet line by line and took extensive notes on each scene. do you want me to share the best parts? of course you do.

Unless otherwise noted, this is my own notes verbatim, but I remember having some objectively Incorrect Takes and I'll give my current commentary on my past self

Act I, Scene 1

1.1.14-15 "Friends to this ground" "And liegemen to the Dane" Horatio is loyal to the land itself with all its history; Marcellus cares more about the current king and military leader, Claudius

1.1.46-49 "What art thou that usurp'st this time of night?" like Claudius usurped Papa Hamlet "fair and warlike" either praises war by calling it fair or juxtaposes the adjectives "in which the majesty of buried Denmark" the ghost embodied the spirit of the country but it died with him

1.1.36-37 "If thou hast uphoarded in thy life / Extorted treasure from the womb of earth" Horatio suggests that the ghost might not be perfect? current Will: I think it's more that Horatio is running through any possible reason that there might be a ghost just in case he guesses right and gets a response

Act I, Scene 2

1.2.2-3 "And that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief" Claudius acts sad because he feels he ought to and it's expected of him current Will: Wow, I gave Claudius a lot more credit than he deserves, this is clearly manipulating the social climate of the court!!

1.2.70-71 "Do not forever with thy veiled lids / seek for thy noble father in the dust" she does not know Papa Hamlet does not stay buried, and wants Hamlet to move on with his life veiled=lack of movement; seek=active

1.2.118 "Let not thy mother lose her prayers" Claudius has Gertrude speak here because he knows that Hamlet will listen to her <3 current Will: this is hilarious! even knowing that Claudius is a murderer, I still treated him like basically a good dude and missed his deliberate control of his image

1.2.150-151 "A beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourned longer" - compare to the princess bride: Did you get engaged to your prince that same hour or did you wait a whole week out of respect for the dead?

1.2.185 "I saw him once, a was a goodly king" How did Horatio see the king and what does that say about his character? current Will: there are actual answers to this question in scene one :D

Act One, Scene Two summary At this point Hamlet s not quite emo and not quite mad. He's a bit sadder than is "manly" but has the presence of mind to talk about gardens, Greeks, and galled eyes. Iago did that too, so if Hamlet is mad here, it is a calculating madness.

Well, I was half right. Little did I know that Hamlet would talk about all of those things no matter what his mental state is.

(to be continued!)