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BLESS GENETICS.
#thє vípєr hαs nσ nєєd fσr wíngs ( visage )#nymxros tag tba.#elia martell tag.#rhaegar targaryen tag.#pagosfotia ( self-promo ) tag tba.#|| not me staring at these photos and concluding#rhaenys' genetics are *flawless*#also behold how much she looks like her parents#*flawless genetics*#not only did she inherit her parents good looks#she also inherited their burdens anxieties and pressures#:))) <3
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"Just relax," the words feel ironic coming from him, always on edge. But when he's around Chiyo, it's easy for him to relax just being in her presence (or just being Physically close to her in any way). Now it was his turn to help her. Timmy's fingers graze against the other's scalp, letting his nails gently scrape away any anxiety or pain she feels, "Just keep your eyes closed, I'm here, not going anywhere," Timmy's motions continue while something random plays on the tv in the background. He can't hear what it is though, all he's focusing on in the steadying of Chiyo's breathing, "Let me know when you want me to stop."
UNPROMPTED | @ninjassin's timmy helps chiyo!
if someone were to ask which parent chiyo takes after more, the obvious answer would be her mother -- from her eye shape to the way she sometimes snorts in the middle of her laughter, she resembles her mother. when it comes to personality, though, she takes after her father most of the time ( the care she takes to notice what others overlook, how easily she offers a hand and accepts it may not be reciprocated ).
to her great misfortune, chiyo also inherited his migraines. and god, do they suck.
today she was supposed to go out with timmy, go eat something yummy, but the mere thought of food makes her stomach churn right now. or maybe her stomach was already churning? she can't say for sure when her head feels like it might split open, when thinking ( you know, the thing she does too much best ) hurts.
" i can't go today, " she tells timmy, no doubt sounding every bit as miserable as she feels. she would've just texted him, but staring at the bright screen of her phone doesn't do her head any favors. " i'm really sorry. "
chiyo expects that to be the end of it and to handle her migraine just as she has before: shutting herself in the comforting darkness of her room, pressing a heat pack against her temple, and taking nice, long nap. it works... some of the time. it'll be fine, she's sure, because it always is eventually.
but timmy shows up at her door, and she's close to tears when sees him ( whether from relief or guilt or the pounding in her head, she can't be sure ). " you didn't need to come, " she says, voice a lil watery as she lets him in anyway. her words are waved away. it isn't a big deal when she seems to be in such a rough spot.
he doesn't realize it, but that sort of talk stokes a warmth deep in her chest, sets her at ease.
what can he do to help? her chocolate-colored gaze falls to the floor. she hates to ask, but---
" can you massage my scalp? "
which is how chiyo finds herself curled up on the couch and her head in timmy's lap. she's stiff at first, uncomfortable not only because of her head, but because she isn't used to this -- being taken care of ( how long has she done it all on her own, made do to avoid burdening others?). timmy must notice because he tells her to relax ( a little rich coming from him ), gently scratching at her scalp and reassuring her he's staying put.
chiyo really could cry, she thinks, but she doesn't. it'd make her migraine worse, and she'd rather not show her ugly crying face to timmy when already he's doing her such a big favor. he could be relaxing, doing school work, literally anything else, yet he's here ( he's choosing her, and she feels more sensitive to that knowledge than she should ).
slowly she melts into his touch, humming her response and trying to concentrate on the gentle pressure of his fingers rather than the pulsating pain in her temple. it isn't easy, but eventually the pain lessens, feels a little more bearable, and sleep beckons chiyo to sweet, sweet oblivion. softly she sighs, peaks open an eye, and turns to look up at timmy before grabbing one of his hands and pressing a kiss to his palm. she doesn't let go of it, either, intertwining their fingers instead as her eyes slide closed again.
" thank you. " man, she's sleepy. " so much, really... "
#ninjassin#do not ask me why i wrote so much bc the only answer i have is brainrot ASDFG#I'M JUST SOFT OKAY#SOFT AS HECK#interactions | chiyoko#a chain reaction in your heart | adulthood | chiyoko
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how about a grandkid round up... of stresses and anxieties each of my madrigal kiddos experience. a lot of this has improved and nowhere near as bad since the rebuilding of castia, but there's still a lot to process.
starting off with antonio : he's a little kid so like, he doesn't have it as bad as the others but unfortunately things are still a bit rocky. he feels a strong desire to make his family proud, but he feels worried that since he's the newest madrigal it has more pressure on him. he also knows that his mom wants him to talk to others more, but it's hard outside of family and animals. he feels that he understands animals better than people, honestly. but overall? he LOVES his gift and just loves helping out others and is generally okay. a bit more shy and reserved than most other kids, but he'll get there.
moving onto mirabel : we had an entire movie y'all.
andddddd camilo time : he struggles a lot with his feelings of usefulness. his gift isn't super helpful, it's more abstract. he knows that there isn't an inherit usefulness in his gift. the niche he found with babysitting and entertaining the children was something he crafted himself, rather than being told by abuela or his parents. and honestly? he has insecurities that people only like him when he's someone else. not camilo, but rather whoever they want him to be. he wants to be dependable and responsible like lusia, useful like isabela and dolores, and confident like mirabel. but he's just not. he's more at home in the spotlight and entertaining others bc that way he doesn't have to look within himself. it's easier to become others. also, he was frequently scolded (he deserved it more often than not, he was kinda a difficult child), because he wasn't well behaved like his cousins or older sister. he feels yet again pressed into a mold of what others want, rather than being just camilo. is camilo enough? he also LOVES his gift. he loves helping out and making the family proud. he just wonders if he's making them proud as himself or rather what he's told to be.
isabelaaaaaa ur stress is here~ : again, we had a movie.
and finally... dolores : holy fuck where do i begin. first off, she hates her gift. full stop. she despises it. the time rebuilding casita was great. sure being able to help is great, but the things she hears she doesn't want to hear. it's all so overwhelming, all the time. there is a constant barrage of noise, everything hurts. constantly. she's developed a crazy high tolerance to the pain. her room is the only respite (and sometimes bruno's room, bc all that sand was easier to listen to and tune into). when she can't escape to her room, she usually forces herself to listen to just one thing. it's hard, but she does. her gift ceremony was kinda a bummer. like, a real bummer. for her at least. only nobody knew, because dolores hid the pain after her initial panic attack. moving on from the struggles of her gift, she feels like she is constantly in isabela's shadow. she loves isabela, she loves all her family, but it seemed that isabela always came first. even with her love, she came first. dolores shouldered a lot of burdens, she shouldered everyone's burdens. so many secrets she kept, so many nights she's spent awake hearing things she can't control. hearing and seeing her cousin getting the life of her dreams, while it seems she is doomed. however, she has learned to suffer in silence. to serve her family, to put her pain on the backburner. all for the family. everyone had their own issues, they didn't need dolores's. plus, she was lowkey gaslighted for ten years. when she was younger, she would constantly told people she heard bruno. she was told she was imagining things, hearing something else. yet it was so clear to her. but not to everyone else. she knew she was right, but it was hard to keep that belief when everyone was telling her she was imagining things. it didn't help that they weren't allowed to talk about it. so, like many things, dolores learned to suffer in silence. while things are better after castia's rebuilding, the pain from her gift is still present. the mold she has been forced into isn't so easily shed. she has mariano, sure, but that is a balm on a lingering wound. if she still flinches and cowers away from fireworks, longs for the quiet away from overwhelming crowds, then that's her business. her secret.
#a big animal guy ~ antonio musings#won't stop 'til he makes you smile today ~ camilo musings#the miracle is you ~ mirabel musings#what else can i do ~ isabela musings#can hear a pin drop ~ dolores musings#un ceptional ~ ooc
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❝Be the change you wish to see in the world.❞
MEET…
Kacie Kingsley
Age: 28
Birthday: March 9, 1993
Gender/Pronouns: Cis Female, She/Her
Hometown: Salem, MA
Length of time in Salem: 5 years
Occupation: Counselor at All Colors Community Center
Faceclaim: Halston Sage
THEIR STORY
tw: depression, anxiety
Blonde haired, brown eyed little angel, the only daughter to the Kingsley family, Kacie had always been her father’s favorite. Growing up she didn’t see the way that her parents often favored her or gave her special treatment. Being the only girl made her Daddy’s Princess and her mother’s little doll to dress up. When her older brothers would fight it seemed like Kacie had some kind of magic touch and could calm the storm in her household. From a young age it was clear that the little girl had an empathic heart and was good at helping other people. She may not have seen the value in that when she was little but as an adult it proved to be one of her greatest strengths.
As she got into high school, Kacie excelled at academics but it bored her and she wanted to focus more on other things that brought her more joy in life. At first that was cheerleading and volleyball but by the time she was a junior in high school, Kacie’s eyes were set on one thing and one thing only, Jacob Meyer. Jake was a year older than she was and he was cool and reserved. He had a mysterious charm about him that made her feel wonderstruck. It wasn’t long before she caught his eye and the pair were all over each other from the minute she asked him on a date. Kacie was rarely someone to wait for the other person to make the first move and if she wanted something she would go after it. She never saw the potential harm in anyone, especially not the cool older guy who would end up being her first heartbreak.
When he graduated, Jake broke up with Kacie so he could head off to college in New York, and left Kacie devastated before her senior year. But as was the Kingsley fashion, Kacie picked herself up, dusted herself off, and put on her best award winning smile to face the next year without him. From then on, Kacie dated less and she kept her heart tucked away from where anyone could hurt her, until the next boy came along. And then the next. And then the next. It seemed like she was in a never ending loop of letting her naïve and flawed perception of love get her hurt.
After graduation, Kacie moved to New York City to attend NYU in the fall of 2011. She blossomed while at university and fell in love with the city. She learned to step out of the shadow of her parents name and to be her own person. The pressure of being a Kingsley didn’t follow her to New York and for the first time in her life, Kacie felt free. She started to live her life without thinking of how it might look or what others would think of her family because of her. Of course, all good things must come to an end eventually, and for her, it was the day she ran into Jake at NYU. He was there studying film and it was hard not to feel absolutely stricken with longing when she saw him again. Suddenly the idea that they had parted ways over something as silly as distance felt stupid. However the anxiety he had left her with after a string of broken hearts, wasn’t something she could easily push aside and Kacie made the decision to keep her distance. She never let herself get too close to him again, or anyone for that matter, but there was always an aching in her chest, something missing that she couldn’t put her finger on.
After she finished her bachelor’s degree, Kacie decided to move back home, missing her friends and family too much to stay away for good. She started working at All Colors Community Center as a counselor to underprivileged and troubled teens and fell in love with it. She got to be a mentor to teenagers who needed a positive role model and gave her a purpose she’d been missing before. And being home meant that she got to be closer to her parents and her siblings which made her happy. But it also meant that most of her high school friends were getting married and starting families, and Kacie was looking around at her life and wondering where she fit into it now. She felt like she was alone in a crowded room of familiar faces. That aching in her chest continued to grow and grow and eventually she felt so lost that she decided to go see a therapist.
These days Kacie keeps up with her therapist, who diagnosed her with anxiety and depression, something she would never burden her family with. The Kingsleys had a reputation and Kacie always maintained a very well put together image so that no one had reason to believe that the only daughter of Maxwell and Sophia Kingsley was anything less than perfect. She’s extremely close to her older brother Jamie and he’s always the first person she calls when she needs something. Her life in Salem is exactly as she expected it would be. She’s the third in line to inherit the family business at this point and she hopes she never does. Her purpose and her happiness comes from helping others and she recently started a Master’s program to become a licensed therapist.
PERSONALITY
+ Generous, Compassionate, Forgiving
- Naïve, Anxious, Careless
Kacie is played by ANDI.
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A Court of Nightmares and Starlight //Chapter 9//
(Chapter one) (Chapter two) (Chapter three) (Chapter four) (Chapter five) (Chapter six) (Chapter seven) (Chapter eight) (Chapter nine) (Chapter ten)
(tags: @thron3ofbooks, @df3ndyr, @courtofjurdan, @art-e-mis, @herondamnn, @the-third-me, @im-still-trying-here, @emikadreams, @paytin77, @mis-lil-red, @sleeping-and-books, @lucieisabooknerd. Let me know if you would like to be added!)
A week was all Azriel needed to gather the information we hoped wasn’t true. However, after the first few days, the spymaster realized he would have to gather intel on those closest to Keir without arousing suspicion. When low-level sentries turned up without any knowledge, Azriel moved onto interrogating the stewards' personal army of Darkbringers. Together, he, Cassian and Rhys were able to interrogate the captain of Keir’s army—Rhys wiping his memory clean after every session. He hated to do it, but after gathering details of Keir’s plan and his alliance with Kallon, he knew it was necessary.
There was indeed a coup rising against the Court of Dreams.
We filled Mor and Amren in immediately after Azriel broke the news to us, but decided it was best to leave my sisters unaware—for now. Nesta was finally in a good, albeit still cold, place after the war that took place a decade ago and Elain was also finally returning to her normal self; who she used to be before being forcefully made. My sisters were healing, and the last thing I wanted was to reopen their old wounds by revealing that their lives were once again at risk. Nesta, as observant as ever, knew something was amiss but thankfully didn’t press for any information. For now, and until we had a set plan, we could leave them in the dark.
I did my best to hide my worries in front of them, instead allowing Elain to fuss over me and the baby while Rhys and his brothers gathered intel. With all the anxiety of the coup keeping me on edge, I hardly noticed that my previous symptoms weren’t affecting me as they had before. Granted, I was still so fatigued that I slept in until noon and my nausea still plagued me from time to time; at least I was finally starting to feel some relief, which reassured everyone—especially Elain. Now that I was feeling better, she began begging to help plan the nursery. Years ago, before the completion of the construction on the estate, she asked what we should do for the room attached to mine and Rhys’s suite. I originally wanted that room to be our nursery, but at the time I decided to make it into a sitting room. Knowing that an empty nursery sat just beyond the double-doors in my suite was too painful at the time. So, in the meantime, I wanted to make some kind of use for it; despite Rhys and I hardly ever even using it anyway.
After telling Elain where I wanted the nursery, she focused all of her energy into creating the perfect space for the baby. While the Illyrians focused on gathering the information from the Court of Nightmares, I did my best to shift my attention back onto my pregnancy. At first, I went with Rhys to Hewn City to be present for the interrogations with the captain of the Darkbringers, but we hadn’t taken into account the effect winnowing would have on me during my condition. With my powers being so drained, I couldn’t do it myself, so Rhys had winnowed us in. Upon arrival, I had nearly fainted in my mates’ arms. Alarmed, he winnowed us back to Velaris, causing me to actually faint. Once I regained consciousness, a guilt-ridden Madja was there and informed us of that unfortunate side-effect she forgot to mention at our previous appointments. In her defense, said side-effect didn’t usually develop until later in pregnancy, but thanks to my tendency towards extreme fatigue, it developed sooner. There was no explanation as to why winnowing was so taxing on a pregnant female, but Madja theorized that whatever magic it originated from was the culprit.
We decided then that he would go with Cassian to Azriel’s interrogations of the Captain, and once they had the information we needed, we would schedule our official visit to Hewn City. Fortunately, Madja explained that as long as I gave myself at least an hour rest between winnowing—including some recovery time after the initial trip, that it would be safe. A part of me was grateful that I didn’t have to be there for the interrogations, because after every session Rhys returned physically and mentally drained. Even as he recounted every detail to me, I couldn’t imagine the burden and the guilt weighing on his shoulders. The Night Court was his home for centuries; he made many painful sacrifices for the sake of his people. While he did his best to separate himself from the Hewn City, they were still his people; still his court and his ancestors' court. As High Lady for over a decade, it hurt deeply to imagine the threat of a civil war, especially for the innocents here in Velaris. As High Lord for as long as Rhysand was, I knew the pain was worse for him.
“You don’t have to do this every night you know,” Rhys drawled quietly from his place in the tub, summoning me back from my thoughts.
He was leaning on the edge with his chin resting over his crossed arms while I gently scrubbed at his delicately powerful wings. I smiled at his comment, continuing to clean the dirt and debris off his wings. After the first few days of seeing how drained my mate was, I took it upon myself to spoil him with a hot bath—together, to unwind while I cleaned him.
“You won’t let me do anything else since I got pregnant, the least I can do is take care of you,” I replied, dabbing at the other wing with a soft washcloth.
“That’s precisely why. You’re pregnant, and it should be me cleaning you,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at me.
I rolled my eyes, “I’m not the one doing all the heavy lifting.”
“I beg to differ,” he said as he glanced at my belly, still a small swollen mound.
I tried not to smile. “Your son isn’t that heavy, yet. I’m growing a baby, but you’re,” I paused, not wanting to bring up the ugly business of the day during the time I dedicated just for us. “Doing everything else…”
He was quiet until I finished cleaning his wing and turned to face me before cupping my face in his. “You’re working just as hard as I am Feyre, on top of being pregnant,” he said.
I gripped his wrist lightly, “I know that, but just like you’re taking care of me, I want to take care of you too. This time is for me just as much as it is for you.”
His smile was crooked as he responded, “Fair enough.”
I returned his smile and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. We stayed silent for the duration for our bath, not wanting to disturb our peace, but as soon as we were back in our bedroom, I couldn’t resist bringing up our upcoming plans for our visit to the Court of Nightmares.
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?” I asked as I pulled out a light nightgown from my dresser.
Rhys sighed, “After lunch. Cassian and Az want to go over the reports and statements from Keir’s general. We’re trying to piece together a timeline, and Azriel will go alone to finalize details with him while we’re at court.”
I nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed after slipping on my nightgown. Now that we had most of the information we needed, tomorrow we would travel to the Hewn City and announce my pregnancy. This would be our way of reminding Keir who he served and would continue to serve. We’d solidify our reign by furthering Rhys’s lineage.
I watched as he dried himself off and changed into his own night clothes, a simple pair of black shorts, and smiled as I imagined what our son might look like at his father’s age. Would the image the Bone Carver gave me continue to evolve to resemble Rhys? Would he have some semblance of me as well? Regardless, I dreamed of him growing to look and act like his father. But the thought of my son one day being High Lord, of having to put on the same cruel façade as the rest of us, made my heart clench and Rhys noticed it in my face. He perched on the space in front of me and gingerly placed both hands on my ever-swelling stomach.
“We’ll teach him well. After all, you had a pretty good teacher, if I do say so myself,” he said with a smug grin.
I rolled my eyes, “Maybe he’ll inherit my humility, because you’re hopeless.”
Rhys threw his head back with a bark of laughter before taking hold of my face to capture my lips in a deep kiss. He held me there for a few seconds, resting his forehead against mine.
“We won’t expose him to the Court of Nightmares until he’s ready and comfortable with it. I won’t put any pressure on him, I promise,” Rhys reassured.
“I know you won’t,” I sighed. “I just...can’t picture that yet. I think.”
“Well we haven’t officially met him,” Rhys said with a smirk. “We’ll take it one day at a time.”
I nodded and looked down at my stomach. “For now, I guess you have no choice but to be part of the act, but daddy will make it up to you,” I said with a smile and looked back up at Rhys, who had visibly stiffened at the new word I referred to him as.
He mouthed the word silently as I grinned and brought his hands back to my stomach, “That’s what he’s going to call you, you know.”
He nodded, matching my grin with a wicked one and wiggled his eyebrow, “I wouldn’t be opposed to you calling me that once in a while either.”
I laughed as I shoved him away, his laughter matching my own as he tackled me onto the bed.
X
Rhys and I stood alone at the gates outside the throne room in the Hewn City; Mor, Cassian, and Azriel already inside waiting for us at the base of the dais. They had gathered all the citizens of the city inside, on the order that their Lord and Lady were making a notable appearance today. I stared at the dark, cruel, scaled beasts carved on either pillar and ran my hands over the gentle swell of my belly. While getting ready this morning, Rhys pulled out a delicately midnight blue, floor-length, long sleeved gown fashioned of tiny sparkling crystals made to resemble lace. I nearly sobbed when my mate revealed that it was a maternity gown his mother made for me.
The impossibly soft fabric hugged my every curve, the patterned lace forming a deep ‘V’ shape over my breasts and opened in the back, allowing my tattoos to be on display. The sleeves capped at my wrists, the lace blending perfectly with the tattoos on both arms. More importantly, the gown hung over the prominence of my stomach; accentuating it enough to send our message without words. The High Lord and High Lady of the Night Court were expecting.
A dangerous announcement to make so early in my pregnancy, but a necessary one thanks to the current looming threat. While we initially feared it would enable Keir to push his and Kallon’s plans into motion sooner than we hoped, now we had our timeline and knew what to expect.
“Ready to be wicked?” Rhys purred as he rested a hand on the small of my back, jolting me from my thoughts.
Glancing again at the beautifully dark and brutal carved beasts on the gates, I nodded with a smirk and turned to him. “Let’s go.”
Both straightening to our full height, Rhys moved his hand to hold mine up as he escorted me into the throne room as the gates groaned open to reveal us to our court. The gathering crowd grew eerily quiet as Rhys and I ascended across the dark marble floor. Then the gasps came as they slowly, one by one, took notice of my stomach.
Though my shoulders were already squared, I tilted my chin up a little higher as the new weight of their observations fell over me. Over the decade I had gotten used to their stares, their murmurings, every time Rhys and I visited. This time was different. A pregnant female was rare and seeing as it had been centuries since a child was born into the ruling family of the Night Court, their gaze almost felt...scandalous. My façade remained as solid as ever as Rhys escorted me to our twin thrones, the crowd ceasing any whispers of my condition as we turned to face them. I sat first, but Rhys remained standing as his eyes met with Keir’s. The male stiffened the second he saw my belly and by the murderous look on Mor’s face, standing at the foot of the dais with the two Illyrians flanking her sides, he must have revealed his immediate disgust.
I could feel Rhys’s front cracking a bit, his dark powers slowly filling the room with shadows as he stared down the steward—who, thankfully, wasn’t sneering this time as he stared back.
“Bow,” was all Rhys said, struggling with the effort to reign in his overprotective instincts from misting Keir on the spot.
While the crowd moved immediately at his order, Keir did so reluctantly, Mor’s mother at his side and following his lead. I sent a gentle wave of my power down the bond in an effort to calm my mate. Don’t let him get to you.
He didn’t respond, instead tightening up his veneer, shadows dissipating, and sat in his throne before waving an idle hand to the court. “Rise,” he commanded.
The crowd moved together as one, and he waved a hand nonchalantly in dismissal; allowing them to return to their business. Keir dismissed his wife and remained across from us before clearing his throat. “I see congratulations are in order,” he commented, his sneer returning as his eyes shifted from our faces to my stomach.
I couldn’t help the protective hand I placed over it, wanting desperately to shield my child, but I instead moved my hand to the top—just below my bust line, emphasizing it more.
“Indeed, though you don’t actually mean it, do you?” Mor drawled, her voice and face fiercely calm.
Keir ignored his daughter and returned his gaze to Rhys, apparently choosing to outright ignore my presence as well, “I take it this means your lineage will pass onto the child?”
“Did you not expect my mate and I to produce any offspring? That I would simply pass my crown onto someone who wasn’t of my blood?” Rhys replied, keeping his stare dark.
Keir shifted on his feet, “I was always under the impression that a powerful High Lord such as yourself would choose not to procreate, why create any direct competition to your rule? Just take a look at the Autumn Court; so many sons all vying for the same throne by any means necessary, including murder.”
His words dripped with disdain, his insinuations mocking. “And yet you chose to try and secure an alliance with the court you warn us of now. From the look of it, you rather idolize the idea of a son overthrowing his father, or vice versa.” I replied, my tone as icy as my mask.
Keir’s shoulders stiffened at my words, his formidable gaze meeting mine. Through the bond, I could feel Rhys’s dark shadows creeping in the corners of the room. Mor and Cassian watched us, their stares deadly and ready to intervene. Azriel was already gone to attend to his mission while we remained.
The steward tilted his head forward in a slight bow, finally acknowledging me. “I would never presume such a thing, milady. As always, I am at your service,” he said, his voice tight.
It took all of my strength not to scoff at his words or snap his neck. Instead, I slowly stood from my throne, leaving my hand on the curved apex of my belly. “My son will inherit this very throne. And if neither I nor my mate grow weary of your existence by then, you will serve him as well.”
“I’m sure your son will rule just as sufficiently, my lady.” He bit back.
The aura in the room shifted as Rhys’s dark shadows were overpowered by my own. I blasted out dark talons of my power and sank them into Keir’s mind, painfully seizing him in place as I took a slow step onto the foot of the dais just a few feet away from Mor and Cassian, who now held their breaths as they watched me. Rhys remained in his throne, his own dark power emanating with mine as I felt a silent nod of approval down the bond.
My heart pounded in my chest from the effort of my display of power, and I felt my knees shake a bit as I continued staring at Keir with an icy smile. “My son will be more than sufficient; I promise you that. As you said, he's the son of a very powerful High Lord. I should also remind you of the power of your High Lady. With the combined powers of all the High Lords in Prythian, including your High Lord, just imagine what his powers would be like? Won’t that be a magnificent sight to behold?”
I tightened my grip on him, and he did his best not to cringe in pain as he managed to hiss, “Yes, milady.”
My power slipped from him immediately as I was unable to hold on, my forehead gleaming with sweat, and it took me a few silent deep breaths before I smiled cruelly. “That’s good to hear.”
Rhys was at my side in a second as my knees trembled again. The exertion it took to intimidate Keir was draining, much more than I had anticipated. I was grateful for my floor length gown hiding my trembling legs as Rhys perched his hand on the small of my back.
Are you okay?
Yes, I just need to sit down. I reassured.
We’re leaving now, don’t worry
Keir was catching his own breath as he stared us down. As much as I didn’t want to reveal any weakness, neither did he. After a minute, he straightened again and tilted his head towards Rhys in a bow. “Is that all you needed milord? Your visit was last minute, and I was in the midst of gathering your reports.”
Azriel had showed up only seconds prior to Keir speaking, giving a silent nod to me and Rhys, indicating he gathered the last of the intel we needed. Rhys waved an idle hand at Keir, “The High Lady and I wanted to share our news and be on our way. Go. Continue to serve me as you have,” he said as he began escorting me back towards the gated doors, Mor, Cassian, and Azriel trailing behind us.
We stopped before stepping into the frame, looking back over his shoulder at Keir--who remained at his same spot before our thrones. “Unless, of course, we grow tired of your existence,” he drawled before we continued out the doors.
The minute we were out of view of him, and the rest of the court patrons, he scooped me up into his arms and flew us into the palace above the mountains, the others right behind us. Amren was waiting in the open hall, seated on a settee, but popped up immediately when she took in my pale features.
“What happened?” She asked, but Rhys ignored her, sitting me gingerly on the settee and kneeling before me to check over my condition.
“I’m fine,” I reassured him and the others as they gathered around me, the jasmine scented breeze already doing wonders to soothe my tired body as I breathed deeply. “That took a lot more effort than it used to, that’s all.”
Mor sighed in relief before grinning smugly, “You did a damn fine job though, the look on his face was priceless.” she boasted.
Cassian crossed his arms over his chest, “I have to admit, you even intimidated me a little bit.”
I smiled tiredly as Rhys stood, facing them. “It intimidated him for now. Maybe that’ll be enough to stumble his plans with Kallon for a while. That alliance explains why he’s been more and more arrogant these past years, but our news of the baby today threw a wrench in their plans. A temporary one at least.”
“Did you get everything you needed?” I asked Azriel.
Everyone turned to the shadowsinger, who nodded. “I went over our timeline with the general, he confirmed the details, but revealed one more possible player.”
We all paused, and Rhys frowned, “Another alliance?”
Azriel nodded, causing Cassian and Mor to curse. Amren crossed her arms, “Let me guess. Beron?”
He nodded again, and Rhys cursed as I sighed. “He really wants that damn alliance with Beron, doesn’t he?” I asked.
“Did the general know what Beron’s role in all this is?” Rhys asked.
Azriel shook his head, “He only knew that they’ve been exchanging letters. No one seems to know what the letters say, or any other context, but it's rumored that it has to do with the coup.”
“We need to keep interrogating the general,” Cassian said. “He’ll find out eventually, and we need him to keep relaying information.”
Rhys nodded in agreement. “I’ll keep my grip on his mind, making sure he forgets but also start leading him to inquire about the letters.”
“I can get one of my spies to keep tabs on Keir,” Azriel insisted, but Rhys shook his head.
“This is a better way in. We can’t let Keir know we’re onto him. We already have your spies trailing Kallon and monitoring the camps in the mountains. Kallon thinks it’s part of our normal rotation. If Keir notices the same presence, he’ll connect the dots.” He explained.
Azriel and Cassian nodded in agreement. “So, what do we do now?” I asked, and one by one everyone took notice of my hand idly caressing my stomach.
Now that the Court of Nightmares knew of my pregnancy, word would spread quickly over the entire Night Court, including the Illyrians. Those behind this rising coup would find a way to regroup and create some new plan of action, that was guaranteed. The news of a potential new alliance with another court meant that their numbers were even greater now. My eyes met with Rhys’s as we both realized at the same time what our next move was.
“We need to call on our friends for an early summit meeting.”
#feysand#rhys x feyre#feyre x rhysand#feyre archeron#feyre cursebreaker#feyre darling#high lady feyre#high lady of the night court#high lord of the night court#high lord rhysand#illyrian#cassian#azriel#mor#nesta archeron#elain archeron#nessian#acotar#acomaf#acowar#acofas#acofs#amren acotar#acotar fanfiction#a court of nightmares and starlight#a court of thorns and roses#a court of mist and fury#a court of war and ruin#a court of frost and starlight#court of nightmares
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I know I don’t post but I wanna praise My Hero’s world building so bad / a Bakugou Katsuki appreciation post.
I wanna talk about society, specifically it’s views on heroism.
Bakugou and Deku are products of their society obviously. But what I don’t think people see is that they’re meant to be different extremes of the same problem.
Hero worship.
The problem is that society has given a specific set of criteria that defines a hero... ie a Licence. It’s the whole thing Stain despised, the idea that a hero no longer can be defined by their deeds or who they save but by a government issued card for passing a test. It completely takes away from the concept of a hero existing for the people and turns it into straight capitalism.
There’s a quote that I heard and can’t remember where it came from that goes along the lines of ‘A villain can exist without a hero, but a hero cannot exist without a villain.’ Which I think is true, being a hero revolves around the existence of villains but that’s entirely ignored in BNHA’s world.
And those heroes are glorified. Put on a pedestal by civilians, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t be, they’re heroes but what it results in is expectations for the next generation to live up to. So children are encouraged to be like those hero’s and unwittingly the parents place value on children based on their quirks. They’ve internalised this idea that Good quirks = greatness. And it’s not something new, often times fiction is a reflection of reality, because reality gives context for the issues within that fictional world. You’ll always find things that remind you of the real world. Here this idea that what you’re born with biologically determines greatness reminds me of how Chinese family’s used to value male babies over female babies, simply because that’s part of my culture. Others might read into it differently. These issues are transcendental, that is why there can be so many interpretations.
Anyway, willingly or not, the adults perpetuate this idea of Good Quirk = Greatness, thus stigmatising No Quirk/ bad Quirk = Failure.
Deku is quirkless, he’s the opposite of what society wants and therefore suffers at the hands of hero worship. He’s pushed aside as the minority, and if you think about it that 20% of the population being quirkless is going to mainly consist of the older generation since quirks are genetically inherited so he’s really insulated, I wouldn’t be surprised if the first person he met his age who was also quirkless was Melissa (From The Two Heroes movie). His own mother telling him she’s ‘Sorry’ after he finds out that he’s quirkless only backing up this idea that he’s different and that he should be pitied. And we look up to our parents, so coming from Inko, Izuku was on the way to internalising that view also. And in some ways he has, I might be wrong about this but when he finds out that Melissa is Quirkless he apologises to her also, he’s doing to others exactly what had been done to him because that’s what humans do, we replicate behaviour.
Bakugou is exactly what they want and from the moment he’s gotten his quirk he’s not only been put on a pedestal by peers but by adults too, adults who should be his superiors are putting him above themselves, no wonder he gets an inferiority complex. He’s told he ‘will be a hero’. Unfair expectations to ever put on a child who hasn’t had the real world experience to decide his own career just yet. And so it manifests into an inferiority complex that the show actually admits to him having. He was never given any other option than to be a hero.
He was told for his whole life he’d be the best so to see someone who was always behind him move forward made him feel inadequate obviously, his lashing out isn’t excused by society’s involvement but can explain it. He’s working on it though. Working with Deku. Helping him improve. He’s shown character development. And it’s not just that, he’s driven solely by the idea of ‘winning’ which some might see as conceited but ‘winning’ is vague, it has no meaning, he chooses the challenge, he’s the only one who can define what ‘winning’ means to him. Some might think ‘winning’ means glory, or money or fame and he wants to be No.1 so there’s an aspect of that but it could just mean no casualties, everyone surviving, everyone being saved. Which I think is interesting.
Something else I think is admirable is that in his mind all opponents are just that, opponents. That’s why he goes all out when fighting Uraraka during the Sports festival, he said it himself. That it doesn’t matter that she’s a girl, she’s a girl that shouldn’t be underestimated. He doesn’t see her as weak. Even when the crowed and Present Mic got mad at him for being rough while fighting her. A fucking feminist Icon.
And he’s not just the typical 2 dimensional bully. He’s canonically got the best grades in the class, above Iida even. He goes to bed at reasonable times (8:30) most of the time. He studies, he even helped Kirishima. He works hard and it’s not just a natural talent which makes his character even better.
He feels guilt for being the catalyst for All Might’s down fall. They both idolised the hero and he felt like a fucking BURDEN. The self awareness he has is impeccable, understanding that he cannot control everything and being so angry about it, and why? Because he was told he could do anything he put his mind to, and he was discovering for the first time that that was a lie, that those adults were liars.
And when the villains kidnapped him he told them to fuck off. He was a hero through and through. He wouldn’t join them.
He’s a hero. A terribly misguided hero born from unrealistic expectations of children
He’s the epitome of gifted kid syndrome. He’s got a complex and major anxiety issues because of it. Imagine being told that they’re better than everyone else your age as a kid? You’ll believe it. Of course you’ll think you’re better bc the adults told you you were.
And it contrasts so well with Deku, Because their issues are due to the same societal pressure albeit different sides of that same scale.
That’s why ppl like him. He’s trying but just like Deku he was given an unfair disadvantage
He’s as much of an underdog. He’s a child who’s unlearning everything he’d been taught about himself.
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Character of the Day #0 (Intro)
Here are the Main Characters for Mae and the Kingdoms of Seasons!
Mae, the Titular Character
Mae is a young adult who struggles with severe anxiety. Because of her anxiety, she is selectively mute, and she can sign. She is adopted, and therefore is an only child which is unusual for Seiki. She has two moms, and is bisexual herself! Her best friend is Dolly, her mentor is Noble, and her partner is Joel.
Asha
Asha is a Seiki from the past era who had a fierce spirit. She swears the most out of any character and doesn't act very "lady-like," which she learned from her strong mother. Sexism was rampant at that time so her disposition was seen as inappropriate for a girl. However, her outgoing personality made her extremely popular with her peers. She took shit from nobody, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind. When she met Thatcher, he sadly took those qualities out of her. She spent the entirety of her afterlife following her family tree down and searching for a way to make up her past mistakes. She passed down a letter explaining what really happened to Ruben, but nobody in her family took it seriously... until Mae.
Ruben
Ruben was a bright-eyed student who really loved learning. He was an only child just like Mae, except for him it was because his family was extremely poor and the rest of his parents' eggs didn't make it. He's neurodivergent and struggles in social situations, but he just really really wants friends. He's picked on a lot but doesn't often realize that he is, he'll talk to anybody to try and befriend them. He'll often brag about his good grades and intellect as a way to impress people and make them like him, but others usually find him annoying. He wanted to grow up to do something so great that everybody would love him. He's overwhelmed by his own feelings, feeling too happy or too sad burns him out and causes him to shut down. When he starts to feel 'too much' he'll hide his face in his scarf. he studied with the human because he thought it was a great idea and that he was going to help everybody. He never intended things to go so south.. and even when he was reformed he never intended to hurt anybody.
Joel
Joel is Mae's partner, and one of her closet friends! He is pansexual, and completely mute because he was born without vocal chords. He learned how to sign when he was in elementary school thanks to his twin brother, Jeremiah. He grew up in a horribly abusive household, his mother thought that the Gods were punishing her for giving her a mute child. She tried to get him to talk by hurting him, and disapproved of him signing. He has a scar under his headband from his mom, from when she pulled so hard on his antennae that one split open. She would verbally and physically abuse both of her kids as 'punishment' for being 'such a burden to her,' and her husband just went along with it not bothering to stop her. One night, when he was 12, she was so mad that she kicked him out of the house. He only was able to take one of his journals with him and some food scraps and spent a while wandering around the kingdom homeless. Eventually, he stumbled upon an old man who helped him build a small shack to live in. He then found Mae's middle school, and watched the kids go in and out for a few days until a teacher noticed him and brought him in as part of the class. He met Mae when she walked past his house one day, and when he signed to her she signed back. He had never met another person besides his brother that could sign before and he instantly started crushing on her. The two became close friends in high school, and Joel was pining for her hard the entire time. Mae returned his feelings, but they didn't get together until during her big journey. Joel is a writer! He's mainly a poet, but he's been writing ever since he was little and is what he does for his job. He wrote the book "Tales of Kingdoms Past," which was about the other three kingdoms and what they did during the 200 year gap in communication. Joel has serious trauma from his past but denies it. He just wants his mom to love him and believes it's because he wasn't good enough, and was his fault.
Dolly
Dolly is Mae's best friend! They've been super close since they met in kindergarten. Dolly comes from a wealthy, higher-class family that has 5 daughters, her being the oldest in the litter. She's super upbeat and easily excitable, and loves getting to know knew people. She's very popular in her school and is invited to a lot of things, but she always makes sure to spend time with Mae and stick by her side. Dolly's parents are neglectful despite their family's "perfect" appearance. Her dad wanted a son, so he doesn't give them the time of day, and her mother doesn't bother to get to know them and is always away. Her parents usually leave her money and then leave for a couple days. Dolly and her sisters constantly want their mom's attention, but because Dolly was born looking the most like her mom, she's the only one that gets the sliver of attention. This affection is superficial and meaningless, and leaves her feeling empty, but it causes intense jealously between her and her sisters, they don't get along well at all. Her mother always advised her daughters to marry someone rich like she did (which is an indicator of what her parents' relationship is like), and to always appear submissive and weak because guys are 'turned away from powerful women.' Because of this, Dolly always dated higher-class boys her weren't the nicest. Several of them would try to take advantage of her because they knew that her dad didn't care enough to go after them. She'd always break up with them within a few weeks or so, they weren't her type at all but she was only following her mom's advice. Dolly is a very talented seamstress and sketcher, and wanted to own her own boutique one day. However she never thought she could because her mother would tell her women shouldn't work. When she graduated she met Anthony and started dating him, and she was able to be herself around him. The two got married very quickly on a whim, and then immediately after accidentally made a litter of 7 babies.
Anthony
Anthony is Dolly's husband! He's very timid and has a slight stutter. He comes from a notoriously wealthy family that is known for their extremely successful sons. Their family consists of two litters, the first being of 4 boys, Noble being the oldest of them. These are the 4 sons that are so famous. The second litters is of all girls except for Anthony. His sisters are very successful too, but outsiders always forget about Anthony and don't recognize him. He's very smart and loves math, and studied outside of school to become a tax collector for the queen (in this kingdom, taxes are only for the rich). He loves his wife and kids very much, and loves making horrible math puns.
Noble
Noble is the Captain of the Royal Guard! He is also Mae's mentor, and is gay and autistic. He is close friends with Queen Dahlia. He's the strong quiet type, a man of few words. He's strict and knows how to command his men, not somebody you'd want to mess with, He's well respected for his skill and leadership. He was a prodigy, and started learning how to use a sword when he was three. He was mentored by the previous captain of the guard himself, September. When he was in middle school, he was allowed into the guard program early. He lived away from home in the guards quarters from then on. While he was growing up there he figured out he was gay, but the royal guard is generally full of unaccepting people. He worked hard and was chosen to become September's successor, being the kingdom's youngest captain. He values his reputation a lot, and is terrified of people finding out his sexuality. He eventually gets together with Jeremiah, and is outted to the guard by somebody.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah is Joel's older twin! He's quite poor, and lives in a worn down one-room house where he runs his business, "Jeremiah's Shipping and Deliveries." He delivers tools and building materials to those who request it. Jeremiah was the one that was left behind with his mom after Joel left. Growing up, he always tried to act as the tough one and would stand up for his little brother when he was picked on. He's also queer, liking both girls and boys, but heavily denied it. He always picked fights with others that he couldn't win, and was used to getting beat up. When Joel was gone, he became very lonely and even more self-destructive. He became more violent and did horribly in school, he became friends with his pervious bullies and got into a lot of trouble with them. When he was a sophomore his dad left, and he had to deal with his mother by himself. He inherited bipolar disorder from his mother but he doesn't know that. When it came time to graduate he left home and never looked back. He's an alcoholic, he drinks to numb his feelings. He sleeps around with girls all the time, only to feel loved for one night. All these things just leave him feeling worthless and empty. Eventually, he reunited with Joel after seeing the book his brother published. He loves Joel and Mae so much, and is afraid of messing up his relationship with them. He has horrible self-esteem and constantly worries that he only has a bad impact on others. Eventually he meets Noble, who helps him accept himself and starts dating him.
Dahlia
Dahlia is the current reigning queen of the Seiki Kingdom. She's close friends with Noble. It was her controversial decision to send Mae out on her journey, but she was pressured into making a hasty choice by her brother and royal advisor, Cedar. Dahlia is quiet and regal, and tries to keep her emotions to herself. The entire purpose of her birth was to become the next queen, so she never had the chance to be a child. From day one she was taken and raised to be the perfect ruler. She's constantly under the pressure of Cedar, who is mean to her behind closed doors. Later on, Cedar pressures her to make an heir with somebody since she's getting older. She chooses Vincent for that job, but the two actually fall in love and she appoints him as her and her newborns' official doctor so that she gets to see him again.
Thatcher
Thatcher..... is basically the worst person. He is one of the worst villains in this universe. He was Asha's husband in the past era. He's a sociopath and a misogynist, and very rich. He's albino, which makes many see him as unique and attractive. Thatcher is incredibly clever, and nows how to manipulate everyone around him into thinking he's great and can do no harm. In reality, he has a violent mind with dark desires. He's the kinda guy to fantasize about keeping a girl in his basement. He owns an expensive store that sells jewels and holiday items. He met Asha when she was about to leave on her holiday trip. He noticed how loud and outgoing she was, and he thought that it'd be fun to "break/tame" her and force her into the role that he thought a woman should have. He flirted with her that day, but she rejected him. He saw this as part of the fun and proceeded to stalk her for the rest of the day. The entire time she was gone, he never stopped thinking about her and what he wanted to do to her. When she came back in tears after Ruben was "killed," he used that chance to act as her shoulder to cry on and worm his way into her life. They started dating, even though she wasn't very into it. Her mother and her friends encouraged her to marry him because of his status within their community. She did, but once they were married shit hit the fan fast. Thatcher was abusive to her, he'd slowly add onto what he could get away with. He'd pressure her into intimacy, and eventually would force himself onto her. He wanted kids, so he forced her to have his. She tried avoiding it for a while by using contraception without his knowledge, but when he found out he started getting physically abusive. Eventually, Asha became a shell of who she once was. Thatcher succeeded in breaking her, her fighting spirit was gone and she was quiet and numb. When their kids were four, Asha took her own life. Thatcher had pushed her too far. The loss of his wife was Thatcher's biggest regret, he couldn't take that back. But to him it wasn't the loss of his love, it was the loss of his favorite toy. He tried to regain his pride by manipulating his kids into believing that their mother passed because she didn't love them.
Verity
Verity is the current reigning queen of the Kitsuga kingdom! She was a strong warrior and leader, but her life was changed forever when the plague attacked. When Ruben's plague got to her kingdom, it killed many of the Kitsuga warriors, including her husband and the king, Clay. Her two kids Sato and Mana managed to hide, but many other Kitsuga were injured. Her son, Sato, decided to cocoon early to get his wings and encouraged many of his young peers to do so as well so that they could be more useful to the kingdom when they emerge. Verity is not silent most of the time, and just stands watching the kingdom from her den. She's still grieving the loss of her husband. She treated Mae like her own daughter, and was the one that taught her Mae's signature dive-bomb technique.
Marvin
Marvin is a Hachitsu, he's an inventor! He's autistic, asexual, and aromantic. He loves loves tinkering with machinery, coming up with ideas, and making friends. He's super passionate about his work and showing people what he does, but he sometimes is oblivious to social cues and accidentally oversteps some boundaries. He's broke, and can just barely afford the rent on the garage he lives in. He bakes in his free time and sells his pastries to get a smidge of income. His sister, Pamela, is the only sibling that visits him regularly and makes sure he's taking care of himself. He's the only one in his family without a "real job," so his siblings and parents think that he's a disappointment. He met Mae when she came to the kingdom and was wandering around lost, unsure why people were ignoring her/acting rude (she was flying, and since the Hachitsu can't fly its considered rude to fly in their kingdom instead of using the stairs and pulleys). He saw this as an opportunity to finally make some money and made her pay for him to show her around. He ended up giving her her money back after she saved him when the plague attacked the Hachitsu, and the two became close friends. The two remain pen pals! Marvin's dream was to create an invention that would finally allow the Hachitsu to fly, he spent months trying to get the design right, and he just finally succeeded in creating a glider.
Charlotte
Charlotte is the current President of the Hachitsu kingdom, and she has been since she was 14 (Hachistu can run as many times as they like). She is the daughter of the previous president, who passed away when she was 14. Her mother encouraged her to become the next leader in her place. Her mother was killed by wasps, which gave Charlotte an intense fear of wasps ever since. She really loves bees! Bees are like dogs to them, they're dangerous to all other forest spirit species except for the Hachitsu, their bee-like colors and pheromones let them exist harmoniously with wild bees. Domestic bees are nice to everybody, regardless of species. She had several guard bees that she loved dearly, when the plague came, infected wasps came after her. Her bees gave their lives to protect her by fighting them off, but became part of the plague themselves. Charlotte is bisexual, but not very interested in dating. She's outspoken and very confident in herself, she's been runnin' this job for a long time and she believes she knows what she's doing.
Bel
Bel is an elderly Kameshi. He's the first and only Kameshi Mae ever met during her journey, although she does meet more later on in life. During the 200 year gap, the Kameshi kingdom had a civil way that led to its destruction. Now, the kingdom is just ruins, and Kameshi live on their own scattered across the forest. He lives in a cave near the remains of the cabin, and often goes through it to find human items. He's a collector of human things, and his cave is littered with various human objects. His scarf is made of a green cloth and thread that he found in the dirt near the cabin, and is actually where Mae's needle came from! When Mae found her needle it was attached to a green thread, it was the very same one. Bel approached Mae because he noticed the needle on her back, and he wanted to get a better look. Bel is everyone's grandpa, he ofc treats Mae like his own granddaughter and is protective of her. He was the one that encouraged her to look inside the cabin to help with her journey. Mae came to visit him over a year later with Joel, and Bel didn't like Joel much sbhjdshsdshd simply because he was "dating" Mae (they were already married at that point lmao). He had also adopted an orphaned 5-year old Kameshi girl who he named Scamp. He gets his own arc later on in the series when he finds a hidden village of Kameshi, and he reunites with his past love, Tuft.
#OC#Mae and the Kingdoms of Seasons#Character of the Day#tw abuse#tw self harm#tw suicide#Mae#Ruben#Asha#Dolly#Joel#Jeremiah#Noble#Dahlia#Bel#Verity#Marvin#Charlotte#thatcher
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I know this borders on a whole lot of ‘stating the obvious’ territory, but the psychological / symbolic implications are Important(TM) so we’re talking about them anyway
Now that the episode’s been out a week, can we just look at the contrast between both times Ruby’s ‘seen’ her mom ? Yes I’m using the full images so I’m putting this under a read more but I’m holding every single one of you at gunpoint to read it----
There’s some debate as to whether this is supposed to be an actual memory or some kind of insight/connection to Summer or if it’s just Ruby’s mind’s eye, but I don’t think the answer is entirely important --- it’s still something we’re seeing from Ruby’s point of view. For the record, though, I personally think these scenes are both entirely indicative of Ruby’s mind’s eye. In volume 6, thinking of her mom is the climax; Maria told her it was integral to think of the people that love you, the people that you love --- to fill yourself with warmth, essentially. When her mind races and brings her right to Summer, it’s a triumphant scene --- the sun is rising ( or setting, whichever ) and lights up her mother’s figure brilliantly. A trail of petals in the wind seems to drive home the ephemeral nature of it... As does the fact that the place Ruby sees her at is where her grave marker is. As morbid as it is, this is one of Ruby’s strongest memories of her --- because so much of her life was spent recounting events to that gravestone. So all in all, she strikes a comforting figure and a welcome presence --- even if Summer still feels a bit too far away to leave the impression of intimacy one might expect from a daughter reflecting on her mother. This might be because in that moment, when Ruby’s doing her best to steady herself and her mental state, her mother intuitively pops into her subconscious as if to tell herself ‘now think, what would Mom do’ --- once again idolizing the mother she never quite got the chance to know.
This season... It strikes us entirely different. Summer is no longer standing on the edge of the cliff as if she might disappear any moment; she’s dead center of the shot, and the angle of the cliff against her anchoring point gives us ( or at least me ) an uncomfortable sense of tunnel vision, like there’s a source of anxiety and claustrophobia there that you can’t quite put a finger on. The grass is spotty but overgrown, unkempt, left to ruin; the sky is overcast, downright stormy --- but there’s also hints of smoke there, as if there’s destruction just beyond the horizon that we can’t see. Summer looks on much like she did last season, but her stance strikes us much differently when it’s angled to the side like this; her body language looks more tense, as if she’s powerless to intervene. Whereas last season Ruby’s mother came to mind amidst a triumphant resurgence of hope and love, she’s now being prompted to think of her in a fit of fear --- tainting the ‘ideal’ image from before. The skies are just as indicative of the state of Remnant as they are her mental state; Ruby’s been holding herself together well, but in this one moment of weakness, we can see exactly what she thinks about their odds and the situation as a whole. Not only that, but it’s a stark reminder of just what kind of burdens she’s inherited from her mother... Something Summer almost seems aware of in this scene. As brief as the scene is, it really does remind me of the dichotomy in Red Like Roses pt. II --- the daughter rightfully accusatory, the mother trying to explain her choices without excusing them and doing her best to steer her daughter away from them. Ruby just happens to be acting out both parts in her mind.
Last season, we see Summer slowly turn towards her daughter as she tucks some stray hair behind her ear, smiling all the while. Not only is her body language --- the slow turn, the fall of her arm --- open and loving, like an embrace waiting just off-screen, but her smile is utterly maternal and encouraging. It seems to say ‘there you are’ and ‘you’re doing just fine’ all at once. The music swells behind her, as does the sun --- like I said, it bathes her in a downright angelic light. It’s an entirely idealized version of her mother, but I wouldn’t consider this a bad thing ( nor an unexpected one ); losing her so young, it took Ruby a very, very long time to see her in a positive light in the first place. There was a bout of extreme confusion and anger there, particularly in her preteen years, that took a lot of patience and... Eventual acceptance of the situation to overcome. Because she’s so close to the edge of the cliff, we also see the ocean in the background, fully completing this sort of vignette of hope and possibilities --- now that Ruby’s starting to get a handle on her emotions and come to grips with her silver eyes, there’s so much more she can do to help. It’s uplifting.
This season is entirely Not that, that’s the short version. What little we can see of the ocean is grey and intimidating, cold and lifeless. Summer looks much less motherly and much more waif-like, powerless. There’s no swelling music, no gentle transition --- there’s a high-pitched screeching right out of a horror movie, and instead of one near-continuous shot, the scene cuts painfully between Ruby’s grief-stricken face and her mother. It’s abrupt and uncomfortable, just as the situation is for Ruby. Her emotions are nowhere near as stable as before, about as choppy as the sea behind her mother; as opposed to finally overcoming her anxieties, even if only for a moment when she needed that clarity most, her mother comes to her with all the significance of a Banshee: this path is harrowing, it’s been tread before, and it only leads to death. The destination --- Salem --- is standing right in front of Ruby, even if she’s only an illusion. In real time her silver eyes are going haywire in a way we’ve never seen, and it’s my belief that she’s on the verge of a panic attack brought on by an incredibly triggering situation; whereas the near-panic attack she had in volume 6 was brought on by memories she could at least somewhat control combined with a moment of intense pressure/stress, this is an attack brought on by really traumatic information as well as trauma she’d long-since buried. The close-up shot of her mother shows us Ruby’s internal panicked state in the form of the angle of the cliff ( as well as the aforementioned screech ), as if something’s closing in --- even if we’re not quite sure what. Her mother doesn’t look at her directly, not right away; she’s looking at something we can’t see. While her expression’s forlorn, she doesn’t leave the impression that she’s ignoring us intentionally. When she does look at Ruby directly, though...
Her mother gets closer, but we almost don’t want her to --- it feels like something might reach out and grab us or her any second. This is the expression I’d expect from Red Like Roses pt. II. This is a mother looking on as her child panics, virtually alone in her own mind. But this is also the image Ruby constructs of her, so the conflict of having a mother so clearly longing to help --- or at least showing extreme regret and empathy --- but not moving an inch... It’s really, really heartbreaking. Summer doesn’t look anxious or fearful, like she’s glued to the spot or anything, but there’s a sort of resigned pain and remorse there. It’s the role of a mother who has all these reasons, but has no intention of making excuses for leaving her daughter with all these burdens and battles. It’s a mother who both did what she could to fiercely protect her in life, but knows the harsh truth is that she should be there right now --- so her daughter didn’t just inherit a legacy, but directly learned and grew from it thanks to the one who already walked that path. No matter how fiercely Summer fought in life, the harsh truth is that she’s useless in death --- and Ruby knows it’s cruel, but it’s true. It’s real, it’s a raw and real emotion from one of the daughters left behind. Combined with Qrow’s mention that she went somewhere that not even Ozpin knew about... Neither Qrow nor Salem are the people she should be hearing this from, and Ruby knows it. Her inner projection of Summer knows it. To see a child --- a seventeen-year-old girl --- have the mental and emotional intelligence to both see her mother’s absence for what it is but also understand her mother’s intentions up to her death, and how she’d likely carry herself... It’s impressive, but a heavy weight. Like so many other things going on around Ruby these past couple of years, she can see how fucked up things are --- but still continues to cling to an attitude of ‘but it is what it is’ and tries to confront each twist and turn with resilience. It makes it all the more painful when the only thing this moment results in is her breaking down and letting out the most visceral, heart-wrenching wails I’ve heard in a long time.
Not only is this an indication of her mental state in that moment, but I think it’s also a strong indicator of where her mental state will go in the future. I hold tight to the headcanon ( barely even a headcanon at this point ) that Ruby has depression, PTSD, and anxiety --- and those do not a great combination make. She has absolutely no time to actually process and come to grips with her encounter with Salem, and while she once again tackles the newest problem --- read: Ironwood --- with the utmost resiliency, that same trait that makes her a great leader is incredibly worrying. It’s an indicator that eventually the elastic’s gonna snap back .
#* hc.#* hc but bigger and important and stuff.#yall im so UPSET please read this i wrote a lot i have carpal tunnel now#support your local emotionally wounded protagonist and her mun
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Love, Anarchy, and Drama: The Classical Anarchists’ Adventures and Misadventures in Polyamory
Like many contemporary anarchists, many anarchists of the 19th and 20th centuries maintained relationships with multiple romantic partners, or were involved with partners who did so. Just as it does today, this often precipitated gossip, heartache, jealousy, and interminable emotional processing. A complete history of anarchist polyamory drama would be nearly as ambitious as a comprehensive history of the anarchist movement itself. Here, we’ve limited ourselves to a few poignant anecdotes from the lives of a handful of classical anarchists. There is a great deal more to be told—for example, the love triangle involving Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Johann Most, or Voltairine de Cleyre’s writing about ownership and possessiveness in relationships.
Why revisit all this, you ask? Certainly not just for the salacious thrill of letting the skeletons out of the closet to dance a little on holidays. No, we return to these stories because our antecedents were just like us, flawed and fallible yet capable of greatness. They were responsible for both heroic acts and gross stupidities (let’s not forget Bakunin’s anti-Semitism). In studying their lives, we might recognize some ways to improve ourselves.
A membership card for Emile Armand’s “International Association of Combat against Jealousy and Exclusivity in Love.”
“We want freedom; we want men and women to love and unite freely for no other reason than love, without any legal, economic, or physical violence. But freedom, even though it is the only solution that we can and must offer, does not radically solve the problem, since love, to be satisfied, requires two freedoms that agree, and often they do not agree in any way; and also, the freedom to do what one wants is a phrase devoid of meaning when one does not know how to want something.”
-Errico Malatesta, “Love and Anarchy”
Mikhail and Antonia Bakunin and Carlo Gambuzzi
One of the most influential anarchists of the 19th century, Mikhail Bakunin famously asserted “I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free.” In his Revolutionary Catechism,1 he devoted a section to the abolition of compulsory relationships, marital or otherwise:
Religious and civil marriage to be replaced by free marriage. Adult men and women have the right to unite and separate as they please, nor has society the right to hinder their union or to force them to maintain it. With the abolition of the right of inheritance and the education of children assured by society, all the legal reasons for the irrevocability of marriage will disappear. The union of a man and a woman must be free, for a free choice is the indispensable condition for moral sincerity. In marriage, man and woman must enjoy absolute liberty. Neither violence nor passion nor rights surrendered in the past can justify an invasion by one of the liberty of another, and every such invasion shall be considered a crime.
There was a 24-year age difference between Mikhail’s father and mother; they had become engaged when his mother was 18 and his father was nearly 42. This was not particularly unusual in Russia at the time. Mikhail grew up surrounded by four sisters, from whom he learned a variety of intellectual pursuits and, above all, the importance of women’s autonomy and self-determination. He came of age fighting alongside them against pressure from their parents to get married to men who did not share their philosophical or artistic interests.
When Mikhail was living in exile in Siberia after being sentenced to death in three countries for participating in the revolutions of 1848 and 1849, he met Antonia Kwiatkowki, the daughter of an exiled Polish teacher. When they married, she was 18 and he was 44.
A few years later, Mikhail pulled off a daring escape from Siberia, circumnavigating the globe to arrive in Western Europe, where there was not yet a price on his head. Antonia joined him, and the two lived together in Sweden, Italy, and Switzerland.
At this point, Antonia was in her twenties, while Bakunin was in his fifties, prematurely aged by years chained up in solitary confinement. Antonia began a tempestuous relationship with one of Bakunin’s young Italian comrades. In the following letter to his Russian friend Nikolaj Ogarev, Bakunin describes the considerable challenges that ensued. His complicated feelings will be familiar to anyone who has struggled to set boundaries regarding a partner’s volatile relationship or struggled to balance the demands of two very different relationships.
Mikhail Bakunin.
December 16, 1869 Locarno, Switzerland
Antosja arrived. I went to meet her in Arona, the first Italian city at the end of Lake Maggiore, and I spent two and a half days in great anxiety, expecting her at any moment. Contrary to date on the telegram I had received from Naples, she arrived two whole days late, as a result of the storm in the Mediterranean. She traveled by sea, on account of the low price. The poor woman was quite shaken. Imagine yourself in this situation: alone at sea with an eighteen-month-old child, eight months pregnant and of an ideal disposition for seasickness. She spent days without moving on the boat until Gaeto, despite terrible sea turbulence. She arrived to me exhausted and sick. The child is also sick. I took them to Arona with great difficulty. Antosja took a little rest, the little one as well. But in four, three, or perhaps two weeks, she will deliver. You understand that in these conditions, my head is spinning.
Dear friend, I want once and for all to explain to you my relationship with Antosja and her veritable husband. I did a terribly stupid thing, even more than that, I committed a crime by marrying a young girl almost two and a half times younger than me. I could, to justify myself, invoke many extenuating circumstances, tell you that I pulled her out of a vulgar provincial dump, that if she had not married me, she would have become the wife of a monster, of a Siberian police chief. But a fact is a fact, a mistake a mistake and a crime a crime. Antosja is a kind person and a beautiful soul, I love her as much as a father can love his daughter. I managed to wrest her away from the world of trivial ideas, to help her human development and save her from many vulgar temptations and loves. But when she met true love, I did not believe myself to have the right to enter into a struggle with her, that is to say, against this love. She loved a man who is completely worthy of her, my friend and my son in social-revolutionary doctrine, Carlo Gambuzzi. Two and a half years ago, Antosja came to tell me that she loved him and I gave her my blessing, begging her to see me as a friend and remember that she had no better nor more sure friend than I.
A few months later, at the Congress of Geneva, after a long struggle not only on her part, but also on the part of Gambuzzi, a struggle in which furthermore I did not interfere in any way, that I deliberately ignored, Antosja found herself pregnant. Due to lack of confidence, she hid her pregnancy from me, she endured terrible torments, deceived everyone and, under the pretext of going on a trip, went to give birth in a village near Vevey, exposing herself, as well as the child, to great danger. Informed of this without my knowledge, Gambuzzi arrived and took the child with him to Naples. Antosja recovered; as for me, I still suspected nothing.
One year ago, in October 1868, an incident revealed everything to me. The fact that I did not learn this earlier is not the fault of Antosja but of Gambuzzi. From the beginning, she wanted to tell me everything, but he demanded of her and pleaded with her not to talk to me about anything. In this respect, as in many others, he showed himself to be below her. Raised in the bourgeois world of Italy, he still can’t free himself from the cult of propriety and from the point of honor, and often prefers small winding paths to the long straight road. I will say in his defense that the thought of aggrieving and offending me actually terrified him. He has a filial attachment for me and an undeniably warm friendship.
Anyway, having learned the essence of things, I repeated to Antosja she was entirely free and asked her to decide her own fate, without any consideration of me, in the manner that she believed best: to stay with me as a wife—a wife of course only insofar as the public is concerned—or to separate from me and live in Naples openly as the wife of Gambuzzi. She decided on the first option for the following reasons: above all, she is accustomed to me, and the idea of living apart seemed unbearable to her; second, she feared being a burden for Gambuzzi, feared to put him in a situation that he would not know how to extract himself from with honor, given his social prejudices.
So all three of us decided that everything would remain the same as before. The child would spend the winter in Naples (this decision was made in October 1868) and, in autumn, Antosja would travel to Italy, supposedly with a sick Polish friend who would “die” in the summer and entrust her son to Antosja. This fall, Antosja traveled to Naples with the child, and what happened was what was to be expected and what I had predicted: once again, she became pregnant.
She was in despair. So Gambuzzi proposed that she come to give birth in Naples and leave the new child entirely to his guardianship; renouncing him completely, she would return with me after the birth, with the son, our adopted child of the deceased Polish friend (of course a myth). Antosja rebelled against this proposal and stated categorically that for nothing in the world nor for any consideration whatsoever would she abandon her child. A fight began between her and Gambuzzi. They appealed to me as judge. I took the side of Antosja, of course, and wrote to Gambuzzi that his plan was monstrous, that a mother capable of abandoning her child simply for social considerations would be a monster in my eyes.
So Antosja addressed this entreaty to me: leave Geneva, come to Italy and recognize the two children as my own. I did not reflect on it for long and agreed. I felt obliged to accept, because I could see no other way to save Antosja; and having committed a crime against her, it was my duty to assist her. That took place in July or August of this year, precisely at the moment when I announced to you that I had to leave Geneva.
After the Congress of Basel, Antosja pressured me. I hastened to leave and, as agreed, I went down to Locarno, began looking for a home, a nursemaid, and telegraphed Antosja that she could come, that I was waiting for her. For over two weeks, I received no word of reply to my telegram, nor to letters sent after it. I realized that the struggle was continuing between them; I wrote them a synodic letter in which, while describing our mutual situation to them in its true light, I indicated two options for them and demanded that they choose one or the other, namely: either Antosja, renouncing once and for all the love of Gambuzzi and contenting herself merely with his friendship, return immediately to me with my son and my future child, or else she should remain in Naples as the wife, known to all the world, of Gambuzzi, with the two children of their relationship also recognized by him. I offered my stamp of approval for either decision, but I demanded they choose one or the other without delay and stated that I would only agree again to do the first provided that it come into effect immediately.
Antosja arrived. Gambuzzi offered to stay, but she declined the offer.
Friendly relations on my part, as well as on the part of Antosja, continue with Gambuzzi. Their romantic relationship is over. I adopted the children of Gambuzzi, without denying his incontestable right to take charge of and lead their education alongside Antosja. Life here is inexpensive. He will pay 150 francs per month into the common fund and I will do the same. We will stay together, Antosja and I, as long as the revolution hasn’t called me. Then I will belong only to the revolution and myself.
In fact, after this letter was sent, Antonia maintained a romantic relationship with Carlo Gaumbuzzi and gave birth to a third child with him. Mikhail and Antonia continued to live together, and Mikhail participated in raising all three children as if they were his own. Antonia stood by Mikhail even when political conflicts and financial mismanagement alienated him from many of his other comrades and created considerable difficulties for their household. After his death, she finally moved in with Gambuzzi, and the two had one more daughter together.
Errico Malatesta, Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli, and Giovanni Defendi
While still a teenager, Malatesta met Mikhail Bakunin and joined him in helping to organize the First International and other early anarchist efforts, including armed uprisings in 1874 and 1877. Targeted by the Italian police forever afterwards, he was compelled to spend a great part of his life in hiding or in exile, especially in London.
Around the same time that he met Bakunin, Malatesta had begun a romantic relationship with the anarchist Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli. Little is known about their relationship, but they likely began seeing each other as early as 1871,2 as Malatesta was involved alongside her brother in the Mazzinist student movement and then the Neapolitan section of the First International. Emilia followed her brother to London in 1879 and began working as a seamstress.
A comrade of theirs, Giovanni Defendi, had gone to France in 1871 to participate in the defense of the Paris Commune, for which he was imprisoned for eight years. After his release, in 1880, he moved to London. That year, he and Emilia announced that they were entering into a union libre:
The undersigned make it a point to announce to you that, on May 8, 1880, they will enter into a free union, in the presence of some socialist friends invited and gathered simply to receive communication.
The reasons that determined them to dispense with legal marriage, as well as religious marriage, are that they view them as bourgeois institutions created for the sole purpose of settling questions of property and inheritance, not offering any serious guarantee to proletarians of either sex, consecrating the subjugation of women, committing wills and consciences for the future, without taking into account the characters involved, and opposing the dissolubility which is the basis of any contract.
The question of children will be settled later in the manner most in accordance with justice and according to the situation that bourgeois society imposes upon them.
Fraternal greetings.
-Giovanni Defendi, Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli
Malatesta had already been living with Emilia before this; he joined the couple at their residence in London in 1881. He lived with the Defendis for much of the next four decades. The British police, scandalized, reported that there were rumors that Malatesta was sleeping with Emilia despite her relationship with Giovanni.
Errico Malatesta.
The house and the business of the Defendi couple, where Malatesta lived, 112 High Street in Islington, was a convergence point for everyone that arrived in London. How many stormy and brotherly discussions were had in the little kitchen through the grocery store of the good Defendi family, which served as an Athenaeum!
-Luigi Fabbri’s Life of Malatesta
Emilia had six children, some of whom she may have conceived with Malatesta—including her son Enrico, born in 1883, who accompanied Malatesta when he went to Italy in 1897, and her daughter Adele, born in 1892. When Emilia fell ill in the aftermath of the First World War, Malatesta stayed by her bedside for months, nursing her until she passed away.
In contrast to the dramatic difficulties that beset Mikhail and Antonia Bakunin and Carlo Gambuzzi, the relationships of Errico Malatesta, Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli, and Giovanni Defendi appear to have been healthy and stable, providing a solid foundation for their decades of political activity. Knowing that Mikhail Bakunin mentored the young Malatesta, we can’t help wondering if the two ever discussed affairs of the heart. Could Malatesta’s graceful conduct in relation to his partner’s marriage have been informed by advice or anecdotes from Bakunin? We know they discussed the political and martial aspects of liberation, but we know less about their discussions regarding its personal aspects, which are just as fundamental to the anarchist project.
Likewise, though Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli was an important participant in the Italian anarchist movement in diaspora across several decades, we have little documentation with which to understand the substance of her contributions. On the basis of what we do know about her role in organizing, though, we know they were considerable.
“Let’s eliminate the exploitation of man by man, let’s fight the brutal pretention of the male who thinks he owns the female, let’s fight religious, social, and sexual prejudice. In any case, [in the anarchist future] the ones with bad luck in love will procure themselves other pleasures, since it will not be as it is today, when love and alcohol are the only consolations for the majority of humanity.”
-Errico Malatesta, “Love and Anarchy”
América Scarfó, Severino di Giovanni, and Émile Armand
If we don’t know as much as we might wish to about the perspectives of Antonia Bakunin and Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli, we have a full record of the thoughts of América Scarfó, an Argentine anarchist who began a romantic relationship with a married man while she was still a teenager.
Born in a middle-class immigrant family, América already shared anarchist ideas with her brothers Paulino and Alejandro by the end of her adolescence. Their family rented out a room to an Italian anarchist who had fled with his wife and three children to Argentina on account of the rise of Mussolini. He and América began a vibrant intellectual exchange that blossomed into romance. But then a police raid forced him to go into hiding along with Paulino and Alejandro.
Frustrated by the interference of the state, her parents’ opposition and, worst of all, the criticism of other anarchists, América wrote the following letter across the Atlantic Ocean to Émile Armand, an interanationally known anarchist proponent of “revolutionary sexualism” and camaraderie amoureuse. Armand had revived Zo d’Axa’s individualist anarchist publication L’En-Dehors, largely as a vehicle to promote what today we might call relationship anarchy.
In sending this letter, América was publicly declaring the legitimacy of a relationship not sanctioned by the church, the state, or her parents, just as Giovanni Defendi and Emilia Tronzio-Zanardelli had done before her. But more than that, she was taking revolutionary measures on the terrain that was available to her as a young woman in Buenos Aires: challenging the norms around intimacy, gender, and affective relations in society at large, in her birth family, and in the social circles of her fellow anarchists.
Revolution is not something that the party implements in the parliament or the workers carry out in the factories—it is a project that concerns every single aspect of life, and therefore, every single person, wherever she is situated.
América Scarfó.
Buenos Aires, December 3, 1928 To comrade E. Armand
Dear Comrade,
The purpose of this letter is, first of all, to ask your advice. We have to act, in all moments of our lives, in accord with our own manner of seeing and thinking, in such a way that the reproaches and criticisms of other people find our individuality protected by the healthiest concepts of responsibility and liberty, which form a solid wall weakening their attacks. For this reason, we should act consistently with our ideas.
My case, comrade, is of the amorous order. I am a young student who believes in the new life. I believe that, thanks to our free actions, individual or collective, we can arrive at a future of love, fraternity, and equality. I desire for all just what I desire for myself: the freedom to act, to love, to think. That is, I desire anarchy for all humanity. I believe that in order to achieve this, we should make a social revolution. But I am also of the opinion that in order to arrive at this revolution, it is necessary to free ourselves from all kinds of prejudices, conventionalisms, false moralities, and absurd codes. And, while we wait for this great revolution to break out, we have to carry out this work in all the actions of our existence. And indeed, in order to make this revolution come about, we can’t just content ourselves with waiting, but need to take action in our daily lives. Wherever possible, we should act from the point of view of an anarchist, that is, of a human being.
In love, for example, we will not wait for the revolution, we will unite ourselves freely, paying no regard to the prejudices, barriers, and innumerable lies that oppose us as obstacles. I have come to know a man, a comrade of ideas. According to the laws of the bourgeoisie, he is married. He united himself with a woman as a consequence of a childish circumstance, without love. At that time, he didn’t know our ideas. However, he lived with this woman for a number of years, and they had children. He didn’t experience the satisfaction that he should have felt with a loved one. Life became tedious, the only thing that united these two beings were the children. Still an adolescent, this man came to know our ideas, and a new consciousness was born in him. He turned into a brave militant. He devoted himself to propaganda with ardor and intelligence. All the love that he hadn’t directed to a person, he offered instead to an ideal. In the home, meanwhile, life continued with its monotony relieved only by the happiness of their small children. It happened that circumstances brought us together, at first as companions of ideas. We talked, we sympathized with each other, and we learned to know each other. Thus our love was born. We believed, in the beginning, that it would be impossible. He, who had loved only in dreams, and I, making my entrance into life. Each one of us continued living between doubt and love. Destiny—or, better, love—did the rest. We opened our hearts and our love and our happiness began to intone its song, even in the middle of the struggle, the ideal, which in fact gave us an even greater impulse. And our eyes, our lips, our hearts expressed themselves in the magic conjuring of a first kiss. We idealized love, but we were carrying it into reality. Free love, that knows no barriers, nor obstacles. The creative force that transports two beings through a flowery field, carpeted with roses—and sometimes thorns—but where we find happiness always.
Is it not the case that the whole universe is converted into an Eden when two beings love each other?
América Scarfó in 1929.
His wife also—despite her relative knowledge—sympathizes with our ideas. When it came to it, she gave proofs of her contempt for the hired killers of the bourgeois order as the police began to pursue my friend. That was how the wife of my comrade and I have become friends. She is fully aware of what the man who lived at her side represents to me. The feeling of fraternal affection that existed between them permitted him to confide in her. And he gave her freedom to act as she desired, in the manner of any conscientious anarchist. Until this moment, to tell the truth, we have lived really like in a novel. Our love became every day more intense. We cannot live altogether in common, given the political situation of my friend, and the fact that I have still not finished my studies. We meet, when we can, in different places. Isn’t that perhaps the best way to sublimate love, distancing it from the preoccupations of domestic life? Although I am sure that when it is true love, the most beautiful thing is to live together.
This is what I wanted to explain. Some people here have turned into judges. And these are not to be found so much among common people but in fact among comrades of ideas who see themselves as free of prejudices but who, at bottom, are intolerant. One of these says that our love is a madness; another indicates that the wife of my friend is playing the role of “martyr,” despite the fact that she is aware of everything that concerns us, is the ruler of her own person, and enjoys her freedom. A third raises the ridiculous economic obstacle. I am independent, just as is my friend. In all probability, I will create a personal economic situation for myself that will free me from all worries in this sense.
Also, the question of the children. What do the children have to do with the feelings of our hearts? Why can’t a man who has children love? It is as if to say that the father of a family cannot work for the idea, do propaganda, etc. What makes them believe that those little beings will be forgotten because their father loves me? If the father were to forget his children, he would deserve my contempt and there would exist no more love between us.
Here, in Buenos Aires, certain comrades have a truly meager idea of free love. They imagine that it consists only in cohabiting without being legally married and, meanwhile, in their own homes they carry on practicing all the stupidities and prejudices of ignorant people. This type of union that ignores the civil registrar and the priest also exists in bourgeois society. Is that free love?
Finally, they criticize our difference in age. Just because I am 16 and my friend is 26. Some accuse me of running a commercial operation; others describe me as unwitting. Ah, these pontiffs of anarchism! Making the question of age interfere with love! As if the fact that a brain reasons is not enough for a person to be responsible for their actions! On the other hand, it is my own problem, and if the difference in age means nothing to me, why should it matter to anyone else? That which I cherish and love is youth of the spirit, which is eternal.
There are also those who treat us as degenerates or sick people and other labels of this kind. To all these I say: why? Because we live life in its true sense, because we recognize a free cult of love? Because, just like the birds that bring joy to walkways and gardens, we love without paying any attention to codes or false morals? Because we are faithful to our ideas? I disdain all those who cannot understand what it is to know how to love.
True love is pure. It is the sun whose rays stretch to those who cannot climb to the heights. Life is something we have to live freely. We accord to beauty, to the pleasures of the spirit, to love, the veneration that they deserve.
This is all, comrade. I would like to have your opinion on my case. I know very well what I am doing and I don’t need to be approved or applauded. Just that, having read many of your articles and agreeing with various points of view, it would make me content to know your opinion.
Her letter was printed in L’en dehors on January 20, 1929 under the title “An Experience.” Émile Armand printed his answer alongside it:
“Comrade: My opinion matters little in this matter you send me about what you are doing. Are you or are you not intimately in accord with your personal conception of the anarchist life? If you are, then ignore the comments and insults of others and carry on following your own path. No one has the right to judge your way of conducting yourself, even if it were the case that your friend’s wife be hostile to these relations. Every person united to an anarchist (or vice versa), knows very well that she should not exercise on him, or accept from him, domination of any kind.”
Severino di Giovanni.
The lover that the 16-year-old América Scarfó refers to in this letter was, of course, the anarchist Severino di Giovanni, Argentina’s most wanted criminal. When she sent this letter, he was living underground, accused of carrying out a string of bombings targeting the Italian Consulate, the US embassy, the Ford Motor Company, and a monument to George Washington, among other targets. By the time he was captured in January 1931—along with América and her brother Paulino—he was also accused of the most dramatic robbery in contemporary Argentine history and the shootings of various police officers.
At that point, a military coup had taken place in Argentina, Hitler was headed for power in Germany, and the whole world seemed to be sliding rapidly towards fascism. In such a context, we can understand Severino’s actions as a rational attempt to carry out much-needed revolutionary measures on the terrain that was available to him, just as he and América were doing in their romantic relationship.
When the police captured Severino, they rushed him to a doctor to treat his wounds, so as to be sure he would die at precisely the hour they decreed, after the proper show trial. The police reportedly tortured Severino, but none of the arrestees cooperated with the state by informing against their fellows. After the trial, Severino’s lawyer was arrested, dismissed from his post in the armed forces, imprisoned, and deported.
The novelist Roberto Arlt witnessed the scene of Severino’s execution:
He looks stiffly at his executors. He emanates will. Whether he suffers or not, it is a secret. But he remains like this, static, proud.
Only after the execution did they call over a blacksmith to unfasten his fetters—and another doctor, this time to make sure he was dead. Then they executed Paulino Scarfó, too, for good measure.
They had released América, deeming her unfit to stand trial on account of her age.
Severino di Giovanni under arrest.
On July 28, 1999, after 68 years, the Argentine government finally returned Severino di Giovanni’s letters to América Scarfó. América passed away on August 26, 2006 at the age of 93. Her ashes were buried in the garden beside the headquarters of the Argentine Libertarian Federation in Buenos Aires.
There are many different risks to loving fiercely and outside the prescribed lines. Perhaps the only thing worse than these terrifying risks is the deadly certainty that comes of not daring to love.
“For us, love is a passion that engenders tragedies for itself.”
-Errico Malatesta, “Love and Anarchy”
Further Reading and Viewing
Anarchist Individualism and Amorous Comradeship, Émile Armand
The Knights Errant of Anarchy: London and the Italian Anarchist Diaspora (1880-1917), Pietro di Paola
Anarchism and Violence: Severino di Giovanni in Argentina, 1923-1931, Osvaldo Bayer
Daiana Rosenfeld and Anibal Garisto have produced a documentary about América Scarfó’s relationship with Severino di Giovanni entitled Los ojos de América (“The Eyes of América”).
Thomas Nast cartoon attacking Victoria Woodhull, advocate of free love, member of the First International, associate of anarchists, and, incidentally, the first woman to run for president of the United States.
Bakunin’s Revolutionary Catechism is distinct from Sergey Nechayev’s Catechism of a Revolutionary, which is often mistakenly attributed to Bakunin. In fact, there were serious differences between the politics of the two Russian revolutionists, as Bakunin set forth in this letter to Nechayev. ↩
See Errico Malatesta da Mazzini a Bakunin, la sua formazione giovanile nell’ambiente napoletano (1868-1873) by Misato Toda. ↩
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Flommy. Soulmate AU of sorts. Kiiiind of canon divergence, very loosely.
First, the canon divergence:
So all the pre island shit still happens. Rebecca Merlyn dies when her son is eight years old. Her husband abandons their child to gnash his teeth on a global tour and develop his plan for class warfare and eventual class genocide. Thea Queen is conceived and born. Tommy Merlyn grows up under neglect and contempt as his father manipulates and strong arms his fellow one percenters into committing to his deeply shady undertaking, becoming more criminal and morally bankrupt the deeper they all get into Malcolm’s plan. Oliver Queen grows up lost and misunderstood and acts out as badly as a rich white boy can until he’s looking to sabotage every relationship he has (that isn’t with Tommy) because he doesn’t like himself and doesn’t know who else to be.
Instead of boarding a boat to China that Malcolm sabotages, setting into motion the chain of events that make Ollie into the Hood, the Queen men elect to fly. (Not sure yet how Sara is involved but she probably is; also the flight thing might not be how it goes down) and Malcolm has them kidnapped before they reach the airport.
It’s a huge national story. Billionaire CEO and playboy heir abducted and missing for three weeks. No calls for ransom. No leads. So many tabloid stories being nasty at Moira and about Robert’s history of infidelity.
Meanwhile, Oliver and Robert are held at an obscure facility as both are interrogated and at times tortured, as Malcolm seeks to know how, he believes, Robert is planning to betray him.
Robert gives away nothing, but two weeks in, Oliver is in terrible shape, often tortured to try and break Robert. Robert in their cell does his shitty confession and putting his burdens on his son, making Oliver memorize names and dirty deals and connections and giving him cryptic clues to a cache of incriminating evidence against Malcolm and all the others. Then Robert makes a half assed escape attempt, wresting a gun from a guard and trying to force them to set them free. When it’s clear that won’t work, he apologizes to Oliver and shoots himself in the head, hoping that with no more reason to hold him, they’ll let Oliver go.
Oliver, crazed by grief and days of torture, violently assaults the remaining two captors, disabling one. Little does he realize the authorities have found them and the FBI sweeps in just as Oliver finishes beating a guard to death.
This helps get him into the situation that comes next.
Oliver ends up turning state’s evidence. To protect his mother and sister, to get revenge for his father, and because he is threatened with a trial by agent Amanda Waller.
So, traumatized, changed forever, and on a mission, Oliver can’t bear to return to Starling. When Tommy tries to visit him, before it’s known it was Malcolm behind it all, the encounter goes very badly. Oliver is dark, angry, obsessed. They feel impossibly far from one another. Tommy goes home heartbroken and feeling abandoned again. Oliver pursues revenge disguised as justice. This however leads only to more pain.
Two revelations come at the same time: his mother was as deep in as his father and therefore could be subject to prosecution, regardless of the pressures that put her there. Also, at last, the man behind it all. Malcolm Merlyn, his best friend’s father.
Oliver knows this will destroy Tommy’s life. For that alone he would hesitate. But. But. Malcolm is poison. A monster. And he has only one chance to broker a deal to save his mother, and giving up Tommy’s father is it.
And so, the Undertaking is averted, but its full scope revealed to all. Malcolm is arrested and charged. Oliver could only bring himself to tell Tommy at the last minute. The two are in such hurt and anger they do not speak for the next few years. Still, Tommy does testify at his father’s trial. For the state. He corroborates details and speaks to Malcolm as a father: cold, cruel, exacting and contemptuous. Tommy is dragged in the press plenty on his own. The final nail in the coffin of it all is when Malcolm flies into a rage at the Merlyn house the last day of the trial and almost kills his son.
Malcolm is sentenced to life in prison for numerous crimes, including conspiracy to commit domestic terrorism and attempted murder of his own child. In prison, soon after, he is killed in a prison riot (actually dead or orchestrated disappearance? Who knows.)
Meanwhile Tommy is left to grieve and process and pick up the shattered pieces of his life. The Queens leave Starling, and Oliver becomes almost a hermit to, like, bodybuild and try to psychologically heal and hopefully stay out of Waller’s clutches. Tommy stays in Starling, his trust and assets and inheritance tied up or seized at large by the federal government, the board of Merlyn Global desperately seeking a rebranding or possibly overall firesale, and the city and world in general associates his last name with violent class hatred and corruption.
Years pass. Oliver and Tommy don’t talk. Oliver does not return to Starling. Tommy regains fractions of his fortune over time, maybe opens a business, definitely opens several clinics, charities, and nonprofits across the city. To some he is a hero, a prince of redemption. To others he’ll never shine bright enough to be free of his father’s shadow. Laurel is his good friend and he has been quietly repressedly in love with her for some time, and doing nothing about it.
Now, the concept:
Soulmates happen, though they’re referred to as soul bonded. They’re not always romantic relationships. It’s a metaphysical bond between people uniquely suited to understand, support, and be complemented by one another.
Being bonded is not a given. It happens, not infrequently, but not so much so that everyone can assume it will happen to them.
Being bonded also doesn’t mean there can’t be breakdowns in the relationship. It’s still something you have to choose to work at. Being bonded just means really that this is a person so well suited to being a vital part of your life, why wouldn’t you choose to work at maintaining it?
So. The way it works. You encounter a person who is your bond partner in the wild, and a mark appears, typically near the chest region, often over the heart or center of the sternum (anomalies do occur.) You can’t miss it because it appears with a feeling almost like you’ve been branded, and it’s described by those who experience it as an electric current tethering you suddenly to your bond partner. You become hyper aware of them.
To outsiders, the bondmark is unmistakable. They couldn’t draw it or describe it in detail, but there is something visceral in the human brain that recognizes it, and recognizes when they match. Even when directly photographed, this holds true to observers.
In this way, bond marks cannot be copied or forged. They cannot be imitated with tattooing or obscured by scars or burns.
(Because even in stories I’ll never write I go hard on world building.)
The bond does confer certain unique connections. Not like telepathy or viewing through one another’s eyes or walking in dreams. But that hyper awareness of your bond partner doesn’t go away. It’s almost an empathetic awareness. It hums, and it carries non verbal understanding, and it feels most settled and right when the partners are together and spend time with one another as best suits who they both are and the dynamic they establish between them.
New bonds are tricky. They are intense and absorbing, and can even be uncomfortable and strange and almost obsessive at times. This newness can last for a period of typically three to eight weeks. This period is referred to as “settling.”
It’s the time during which the new bond through physical and psychological stimuli encourages the new partners to get to know and become comfortable and familiar with one another.
This is typically characterized as a time when new bond partners have difficulty focusing on things unrelated to their partner for long stretches, and a need to not just be in each other’s presence, but often physical contact. This may mean cuddling, sitting closely, thoughtless, casual intimate touches. Ignoring or denying these settling urges can lead to physical discomfort, anxiety, and emotional and mental distress.
Bond partners who are romantically or just physically suited often get rapidly intimately involved during this period, though that doesn’t always mean it will stay that way, and it’s not a given.
(You can be bonded to more than one person, of course. Multiple people can even be bonded to each other. For now the idea is Flommy but let’s not pretend OT3 isn’t always an option with me and it’s definitely an option this concept allows for.)
That’s the other thing, though. First: bonds do not manifest until after maturity, typically no earlier than age 20.
Second, and this is the thing least understood: bonds most often manifest when mature partners first encounter one another. BUT not always, especially with people who knew each other prior to maturity.
There’s a lot of theories, most popular that the bond manifests when both partners are ready to be bonded, or in other words, have grown into the version of themselves truly suited to their partner. But no one really knows. It’s not an exact science.
And plenty of scientific research has indeed been done on soul bonding. There’s a department of the national health organization dedicated to it, legal provisions made for bonded partners, including work and school accommodations for those in the settling period.
(Settling can typically be physically measured through hormones via bloodwork.)
There are societal benefits to bonded relationships after all. Bonded partners tend to be more stable members of society, the possibility of your bonded being anyone promotes empathy, outreach, and social safety nets being extended more broadly, and on the local scale, many studies have shown that bonded partners have a stabilizing, sometimes even calming effect on their immediate social groups and environments.
And of course, there’s plenty of media romanticism of bonded relationships. It’s the biggest subgenre of romance books and films, but is often prevalent in all other genres, especially popular in law enforcement/war story/etc stories.
Now for the actual story:
Tommy visits Queen Consolidated one day to try and woo the board into partnering with one of his charities. He leaves uncertain if they will take it as an opportunity for redemptive PR or treat associating with a man named Merlyn like bathing in radioactive waste. On his way out through the lobby, he literally runs into a cute blonde he wouldn’t have really glanced at twice.
And nothing will ever be the same.
The bonding is instant, electric, and undeniable. However, it is also... unwelcome.
Neither of them is remotely happy that it happens.
Tommy is in love with Laurel and has been talking himself into making a real move. This is the worst timing. And bonding or not, the idea of letting someone get close to him like that is terrifying. He has been abandoned and betrayed and discarded his whole life. In his mind, not even a bonding can make someone want to keep him around in any capacity.
And if they do, he would think it was only because they “had to” because that bond. That’s not how bonding works, but it’s a popular and persistent misconception.
And new bonds can put serious strain on preexisting relationships. When opposite sex, attraction-compatible partners are bonded, the general public has a hard time believing it’s not sexual and/or romantic, and even still insecurity and jealousy from nonbonded romantic partners can complicate matters.
So Tommy is exasperated and suspicious and unhappy.
Felicity is no happier, however.
New bondings require mandatory paid leave from work during the settling period and Felicity has been trying to make advancement finally happen in her career at QC. And bonding leave has historically had a more negative effect on women’s career trajectory than men’s.
It’s still our world, unfortunately.
It’s no different than women starting families.
Beyond even just the career implications, however, Felicity has never wanted to be bonded. Not in any way she’d admit to anyways.
Her parents were bond partners. And still her father walked away from them when she was six.
Her mother, when she is drunk and feeling reflective, will admit they were never meant to be romantic partners. He was her best friend. They rarely slept with each other after settling, but it wasn’t never. The pregnancy wasn’t planned. Donna was delighted. Her husband had never wanted children.
And while he loved Felicity, he never really took to fatherhood. The strain broke down their relationship. And even bonded, when you stop communicating, and circumstances are adverse to both partners’ needs being met, and you stop working on your relationship... no relationship is perfect or safe forever from hurt. Not even a soul bonded one.
(Because in my concept, being soulmates isn’t a magical fix for everything. It’s too much an easy button sometimes. I find that dissatisfying.)
Now, what happened between Felicity’s parents isn’t impossible. It’s even understandable, if tragic nonetheless. And her father still made cruel choices in abandoning them and never returning.
But Felicity was six and it hurt her deeply while her ideas of the world were still forming. She decided as she grew up that bonding was bullshit and looking to be bonded so you could feel safe or be happy was asking to get your heart broken, a fairy tale you would be stupid to trust.
So now here she is, bonded to someone whose last name is almost synonymous with domestic terrorism, who doesn’t want to be bonded either, and is in love with someone else. And right when she’s trying to take control of her career, too. Add to that how impossible it will be to maintain her happily anonymous life when bonded to one of Starling’s most infamous sons and none of this looks like a good time.
But you can’t take back a bonding. You can’t undo or break it. Some people are made to have a home in your heart, and the best you could do is evict them and board it up. Still leaves a chamber empty. You can live with it, but you’ll always feel it. And the settling is unavoidable. Even if you choose to never see each other again after, you have to get through settling first.
(You cannot, by the way, be bonded to someone who would truly abuse you. If they would rape or willingly harm you, they’d never be the person so suited to you that you were bound.)
Like there are ways to get through settling on the bare minimum. If both partners are not interested in fostering their connection to its full potential, they can do the least possible to get through settling with minimal discomfort, then simply choose to drift apart and not keep up with each other or stay in contact. (Even then, though, you’re still bonded. Sometimes you’ll just Know something is happening. You’ll feel the urge to reach out, to look in on their life. Hearing about them will always make you pensive for a while. But it’s up to you what to do about any of that.)
Felicity got this far forcefully assuming she’d never be bonded with anyone. Insisting to herself and anyone who asked that she actively didn’t want to be. Tommy had always thought if he bonded with anyone it’d be Oliver. And when that didn’t happen at 20, and things fell out as they did, he assumed... well. He was too broken. Too fundamentally unlovable. Too tainted by the loneliness of his childhood and the selfish monstrosity of his father. His parents weren’t bonded. They chose each other completely on their own, was how his mother put it. He used to think that was even more romantic. As he got older he talked himself into believing it was because of how terrible and cold a person Malcolm was, incapable of bonding equally to anyone at all. Talked himself into believing he must be enough like his father to be similarly incapable of bonding.
(And you know, in every soulmate au I’ve ever toyed with that’s held true. Tommy has always assumed it would be Oliver.)
So when the bond happens to Tommy and Felicity completely out of the blue, two perfect strangers, oh they are pissed. And resistant. They assume they will get through settling and never bother one another ever again if they can manage it.
They want very much to keep it quiet.
That lasts less than a day.
After all, it happened in public. Bondings aren’t entirely commonplace but they’re not rare. If you’ve ever witnessed one, you knew it. That sense of electric connection isn’t imaginary, and at point of contact, can be felt like a ripple by those around the connection. Like holding your hand up to an old tv boxset screen just after turning it off.
All it takes is for someone to follow the feeling back and realize they recognize one of the people now staring at each other with their hands on their chests.
A call to a newspaper or tabloid. “Tommy Merlyn just got soul bonded in the lobby of Queen Consolidated!”
The news is spreading before Tommy and Felicity are even properly grappling with it. By the time they’ve had their first conversation and already decided they want to settle quietly and go their separate ways, it’s already a Twitter rumor and the trashiest tabloid in town is putting out speculation about the mystery bond partner of the infamous Merlyn son.
So. Tommy and Felicity don’t get to settle quietly. The first dent in Felicity’s knee jerk hostility towards Tommy is when he immediately works to do what he can to keep her identity concealed once it’s out there that she exists, just not who she is.
Things get complicated fast too. They can’t keep her identity hidden for long at all, though it matters that Tommy tries, and when higher ups at QC find out that the new bond partner of Tommy Merlyn is an employee of theirs (and a bonafide trending topic), it shifts their standing on his proposal for partnership.
He was right that they were leaning towards not partnering with his charity out of a conservative desire to keep the Merlyn and Queen names still separate. It’s only been five years after all. But as interest in Felicity grows it will be impossible to avoid connection since she works there, and if they fired her to try and cover their asses they’d open themselves up to a lawsuit and public backlash. It’s bad optics to make employment decisions based on a person’s bond partner(s), and if provable is illegal in certain circumstances. It’s also wildly unpopular with the public.
So they pivot to cozying up and trying to maximize on it. They’ll do the partnership and even go over the requested funding, but only if Felicity agrees to participate in the PR push. They intend to go with the partnership/redemption/community healing spin.
And won’t it look pretty to partner with a Merlyn charity for lower income health care initiatives with Tommy Merlyn showing up with their employee, much closer to that class than his own, on his arm.
All of this is complicated by the initiative rolling out the pr push during their settling period, a time most new partners choose to stay out of public by and large.
It can be pushed back slightly, but not enough.
So that will be Felicity’s first public appearance as bond partner to Tommy Merlyn, at a donor gala soliciting funding for free clinics and other low income healthcare initiatives.
In the meantime, they have to actually deal with their settling period, and hope they can be balanced enough at the time of the gala not to be petting each other in front of the press corps.
After all, what happens when you have two deeply lonely and desperately touch starved people bonded at the soul level?
Intense need and desire for physical contact.
Most new partners actually move in together during their settling period because need for prolonged physical contact between bond partners is extremely common.
Think Tommy running his hand up and down Felicity’s arm. Felicity absently playing with his hair when they’re alone. And Felicity’s gala dress will have a plunging neckline (showcasing the mark) and an even more plunging back. Tommy will not be able to stop running his hand down her spine. He isn’t even conscious of it most of the time. She hardly is either, just unconsciously leaning into the instinctive comfort of it. But there will be plenty written about it before press time the next day.
The touching starts soon in the settling process. Before they realize it tbh. They’re angrily telling each other they don’t want this and yet they keep touching each other. Hand on her arm to pull her out of the lobby to talk privately. Pushing at his chest to underscore her point. Etc.
He probably guides her to an unused conference room or whatever and she probably immediately ignores him to start unbuttoning her shirt in a panic, looking for her mark, brand new and right smack in the middle between her breasts. Tommy wigs out at that and they’re on the wrong foot from the jump.
(Tommy’s is upper left pectoral. Literally right above his heart)
“Whoa! Whoa whoa whoa, I did not drag you in here for sex, stop undressing!”
“Shut up! I need to see it. Don’t you need to see it? I can feel it. Oh my god. Oh my god, this can’t be happening to me. Do you see it? Tell me this isn’t real.”
They probably argue until the frustrated tears in her eyes lead him to suddenly unbutton his own shirt and prove to them both the marks are real.
But every second since the bonding that electric hum ratchets up til it’s an impossible to ignore itch. They part ways at some point, within hours after, but it’s hardly dark out before Felicity is getting in her car. She tells herself she’s just too damn ansty to be still and needs to go driving. She winds up outside his apartment building without even knowing that’s where she is. He thinks he’s gone downstairs to take a walk and sees her instead.
So Felicity goes up to Tommy’s place once they realize they were literally being drawn to each other. She spends the night there. They talk long into the night, admittedly a lot of it arguing and snarking, but once they’re sitting on the couch with no space between them he starts playing with her fingers without even realizing it. Once they do, they both just watch his fingers toying with hers in loaded silence until she abruptly bursts into tears.
He’s startled, panicking and trying awkwardly to comfort her and please tell him if he did something wrong. But she’s so frustrated with her tears and it’s making her cry harder. She only barely, figuring it out out loud, manages to articulate that she can’t remember the last time someone just touched her like this, and it’s killing her, and she doesn’t want him to stop and that scares her.
And he terrifies himself by nearly crying too because fuck he gets that. He wants so badly for her to just please let him keep touching her like this, because it hurts how much his skin aches to touch another person so simply, just simple human contact, and he’s not sure that’s okay and why would she want to let him touch her, and how do you even ask for things like that without sounding like a creep?
And she doesn’t look at him like he’s evil incarnate, or the son of it. It helps that she moved to Starling after it all happened. She heard about it, but in the abstract way you hear about local taxes going up, or how everyone hates that one sports team.
He was an abstract concept. She didn’t research him or read the articles or follow his big moves into charity work.
He’s just a person to her.
He’s just himself.
Everyone has baggage.
His is just larger scale as far as she’s concerned.
Not that they get into that right away. That first night is still kinda awkward. The getting to know you small talk mixed with late night slumber party deepness interspersed with bouts of silence and a whole lot of cautious casual touching.
But it does make them realize that they’re going to have to deal seriously with being bonded and especially settling.
Whiiiich necessitates certain moves.
First, Felicity has to deal with work. Before the board has moved on their big idea, she puts in her notice of bonding, starting the paperwork to initiate her government mandated settling leave.
The process is completed by a doctor's note stating that bloodwork shows she is indeed in the settling phase of bonding.
Which precipitates their next stop.
Most hospitals and clinics have specialists for this sort of thing. Not just for bloodwork but for sort of... entrance counseling. They talk to the partners separately, confirm bloodwork, provided documentation legally recognizing the bond, and if the partners choose, they can then also be counseled together. It’s the point at which most people get their questions answered about both being bonded and the settling process.
In his individual session, Tommy is probably asking questions about the practicalities of settling, and how to maintain relationships outside a settling bond, and what to do about being in love with someone else while the bond is making you focus on a different person entirely.
(His doctor, a handsome black man in his later thirties, smiles in amusement at that and reminds him not all bonds are romantic and they are certainly not automatically exclusive of other relationship possibilities.)
But Felicity.
Felicity is after the numbers and statistics. How many bondings go badly, what’s the average length of a settling period, what percentage are platonic vs romantic, and do bond partners who are attraction-compatible always end up romantically or sexually involved or can they remain platonic from the start?
So many questions. Her doctor is a youngish Latina woman, close to 30, maybe a little past, and she takes Felicity’s frenzied questions in stride, patient and reassuring but not condescending. When Felicity asks that last question the conversation veers a bit.
“Do you want the speech I’ve already given you about your continued autonomous freedom to choose and control over your actions? Or do you want more numbers and statistics?”
“Numbers, please. Unknowns bother me. Not like scare me, but they bother me, I just need to know, I need cold, hard numbers. Numbers are trustworthy, numbers are reliable.”
He doctor gives her a tolerantly skeptical look. “The cold, hard numbers it is then. In most studies and surveys, the numbers have been pretty consistent. This doesn’t change anything I said about choice or your control over your decisions, but statistics wise? Typically, for attraction-compatible partners, in all honesty, it’s above 80% odds that the partners at some point become romantically or sexually involved. It doesn’t always remain that way, but that’s the odds of involvement at some point over the lifetime of the bond.”
Felicity gapes. “Eight... eighty percent? More than eighty percent?”
Doc nods. “More than 80%. Of course, that does include brief flings and even oneoff intimate encounters. Are you ready for more numbers?” Felicity gulps and nods. “About 93% of those partners get romantically or sexually involved during the settling period. Even if it never happens again, if it’s going to, the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of it being during the most intense period of the bond, while it’s still new and the partners haven’t found their balance quite yet. After all, it’s a very absorbing, intensely emotional period.”
Felicity sits there looking poleaxed. The doc looks at her a little pityingly. “Still prefer those numbers?”
Felicity groans and falls backward on the examination table. “So I’m definitely going to sleep with him? Or, ugh, fall in love with him?”
The doc shakes her head, rolling her eyes heavenward while Felicity isn’t looking. “Not definitely. But it’s a strong possibility.” Felicity muffles a low scream in her forearms. The doc snorts and, when Felicity sits back up, smiles brightly. “But hey, even if it does happen you don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. Protection is still best in all cases, but an aspect of the hormone cocktail that indicates the settling period does preclude the possibility of successful conception.”
Felicity is not really reassured by this.
So Tommy asks the existential questions at the clinic and Felicity asks how screwed (ha) they are by statistics. Neither is feeling particularly awesome about things after their individual counseling sessions but because they are stupid they opt not to also be counseled as a pair.
They’re morons who are resisting the trust and communication aspect of being bonded.
Idk if I’d end up splashing plot around on this thing or just focus solely on the relationship aspect.
Regardless, even if plot, large focus would be on these two getting to know each other during settling and slowly realizing that the bond—and each other—might be exactly what they needed in their lives. It would be hellaaaaa slow burn.
And then there’s the option to expand.
Tommy and Felicity settle before I’d let Oliver butt in, that’s certain. Adding him to the mix too early would be a disaster.
So big focus on Tommy/Felicity relationship development. Lots of talking and cuddling and minor metaphysics. Eventual shift towards the romantic, and its undoubted accompanying angst.
But also possibly some at least minor plot developments in regards to Felicity pushing to further her career, and plenty of entanglement with Tommy’s reputation and unearned notoriety as well as his efforts to make up for his father’s sins by furthering the legacy of his mother’s life’s work.
I’m thinking there miiiight be an incident of some sort at the charity gala.
Not sure if like... an actual attack aimed at Tommy or like disgruntled people going too far.
And I have this line in my head of them like hiding out in a dark spot somewhere and Tommy miserably apologizing for dragging her into his family bullshit. “You were living a normal, safe life until I happened to you. I’m so sorry.”
And Felicity is half ignoring him as she tries to figure out how to help the situation, and just smirks at him wryly. “Please don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re the most interesting thing to ever happen to me.”
And of course at some point in the chaos they’ll get separated and it will drive them crazy, frantically searching through the crowd until they find each other. The photo of them clinging desperately to each other once reunited probably makes a few front pages.
Laurel may or may not be there, and Tommy will no doubt end up deeply conflicted about that.
Felicity at some point follows him around on the job with his various charities and nonprofits he’s either started or is deeply involved in and she develops a troubling passion for the work he does. Troubling because she initially wonders if it’s her own passion or something she’s picking up from him.
She starts making mental notes of things that could be improved.
Not on purpose. But when she notices things that could help she can’t just not tell him of course.
And that’s it that’s the meta thus far.
@abuiltinremedy @sweetme86 @illgiveyouallofme @arrowsgirlfriday @folly1977 @memcjo @it-was-a-red-heeler @karolstrange @hungrytiger11 @adeusminhacolombina @lfcoffee @trinket-the-bear @tosailuponthesea @julandran @fiore-della-valle @deathandindignitybedamned @obscure-sentimentalist @dullbittylife @posterchildforinsanity @msbeccieboo @mell-bell @thebravething @lemmyeatspeaches @soaringcities @inevermindyou @sickandtwisteddoc @acheaptrickandacheesyoneline
#arrow#arrow meta#flommy#felicity smoak#tommy merlyn#oliver queen#arrow au#arrow fic#arrow fanfiction#flommy soulmate au#cover photo from unsplash
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on ‘lady bird’, ‘love, simon’, and teenagers’ relationships on film
(Plug: this new YouTuber is way better at analysing film/TV than I am.)
I just watched Lady Bird and Love, Simon on a flight to New York, and since both films are deeply preoccupied with teenagers’ platonic, romantic, and familial relationships, I wanted to look at what I thought was original and fresh about these films’ perspectives – and what was more derivative and inauthentic.
i. parent-child relationships: attention and complexity
Lady Bird is centred around the titular girl and her developing identity, relationships and aspirations through her final year of high school. Easily the deepest and most emotionally arresting aspect of Lady Bird is Christine’s, or ‘Lady Bird’s’, relationships with her family, particularly her mother, Marion. This film works hard to expand a turbulent mother-daughter relationship past the simple archetypes of ‘moody teenage daughter’ and ‘unreasonable bitch mother’, into a more complex, three-dimensional whole which incorporates both the faults and the humanity that both characters have. Not only are both characters viewed singly as well as in relation to each other – LB is not solely ‘Marion’s daughter’, Marion does not solely exist as ‘LB’s mother’ – the film moves past a simply summed-up conflict into a more complicated picture, where both LB and Marion are driven by desires, fears and anxieties they can’t completely articulate to themselves, but which drive conflict both through difference in perspective and through inability to communicate.
There are painful, powerful, intense moments in Lady Bird where LB and Marion are struggling to communicate, to reconcile their differing views and convey themselves properly. LB’s confused but intense desire to go to New York, a place where she believes she will experience things which constitute ‘life’, exists alongside Marion’s grief at LB’s ostensible rejection of the life she has worked to give her, and neither are made out to be ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. They love each other deeply, but they can’t articulate the fears, anxieties, and stubborn desires which complicate their relationship, so their silent moments of shared, intense emotion – like the audiobook at the beginning of the film – are coupled with frustrated moments of crosstalk, mutual misunderstanding, hurt, affront, and anger. LB, as a self-centred, self-discovering adolescent, often fails to think about how her actions and speech are affecting her family, whilst Marion’s worry and care about LB manifest in being overly critical – she seems completely incapable of speaking positively to LB, including a deeply painful moment where she refuses to compliment LB’s prom dress.
They both reminded me of real people I know, real pangs of discomfort I’ve felt hearing a family friend speak slightly disparagingly about her daughter’s university chances, or an old acquaintance roll his eyes at his parents’ careful efforts to help him. It felt so refreshing seeing that complexity get handled on film – often parents are just supplementary figureheads in their child’s story (or vice versa), and if the film is interested in the parent-child relationship, it rarely gets its teeth into the sheer nastiness which can come out in certain parent-child relationships. There are, of course, teenager-centric films which get into complex parent-child dynamics – the differing burdens of childhood illness on parents and children, like in The Fault in Our Stars; parents’ work intersecting with children’s feelings of neglect, like in Coraline; radical inability to communicate or understand, e.g. The Virgin Suicides – but that richness of both love and frustration on both sides is a rare thing to see.
Love, Simon isn’t aiming to be as deep on this matter as Lady Bird, but it still has its own insights. Mostly Simon’s family is pretty happy and saccharine, but when Simon comes out, I think Simon’s father’s reaction – garbling a joke, panicking, leaving, shutting down – showed excellent acting and direction: it did what most good acting does, which is to break down a dichotomy of response (here, between the coming-out reactions of ‘I love you and everything’s fine’ and ‘BEGONE FROM THE PREMISES, DEMON GAY’). That confused, choked response conveyed the rush of forces acting on Simon’s father: desire to defuse the tension, desire to support, desire to downplay the situation, confusion, shock, grief at the reality of change, grief at the loss of a presumed similarity, grief that he hadn’t realised sooner. I’m sure more realistic reactions like that have happened in films before, but I haven’t personally seen any, and I found it refreshing: it broke down the scripted feel of both overly saccharine and uniformly harsh reactions, both of which close the door to further growth and development in the parents’ reaction to their child’s queerness.
ii. romantic relationships: centrality, development
In Love, Simon, there are tropes present, but I liked how it approached some aspects of teenagers’ romantic relationships. The ambiguity about Blue’s identity meant that we got a different model for how relationships can develop, pertinent in an age where dating is conceptualised as mainly visual (think the structure of apps like Tinder) and connection is determined through in-person interaction, but where, conversely, deep, lasting relationships have developed without that visual focus since the advent of the internet (through MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, for instance). The bit at the end was cheesy, but that’s what they were going for, and it was so sweet to watch.
Most of the other romantic stuff was pretty run-of-the-mill – the couple who like each other but things keep getting in the way; the unrequited crush; etc – but there’s one other aspect I’d like to mention, which is how Simon’s falling-out with his friends is handled about 2/3 of the way through the film. A less nuanced film would just have Abby, Leah, and Nick getting pissed that Simon meddled in Abby and Nick’s relationship, without them understanding about Simon’s bind due to Martin’s blackmail. But what I liked was that both Abby and Leah acknowledge the pressure that the blackmail put on Simon, but they make clear that it doesn’t excuse his disrespect for both Abby (by treating her like a ‘piece of meat’ to be given to Martin in exchange for his own safety) and Leah (by sending her on a date with a man he thought she loved, knowing that he wasn’t interested in her). It’s not the tired ‘it’s all a misunderstanding, guys’ conflict: they understand what happened, but they still argue that Simon’s disrespect for their own romantic lives and autonomy wasn’t okay.
While Love, Simon is dually focused on Simon’s coming out and his budding relationship – though the two threads aren’t separate – LB’s relationships in Lady Bird are significant but aren’t the central focus of the movie, which I liked; while it makes sense for a romantic relationship to be central to Love, Simon, since it’s a sensible mode within which to discover something like queerness (which is intrinsically tied up with your relationships to other people), Lady Bird’s focus on self-discovery works better with the romantic relationships not being central, otherwise it would perpetuate the tired stereotype that a woman’s ‘coming of age’ has to be pretty-much-entirely experienced through falling in love with a man. (It being central is fine, but I don’t like the implications that somehow, teenage girls cannot Mature into Full Human Beings unless a dude and his dick shows up.) LB’s two relationships are with the too-perfect-guy and the douchebag-who-doesn’t-give-a-shit, neither of which provide really new perspectives on teenagers’ romantic relationships – neither character has much depth in the film, either – but I thought the sex scene and its aftermath was very well done: LB’s recognition that the performative significance she’d given her first sexual experience was different from the reality, and her recognition that the guy she’d slept with wasn’t worth the language she’d inherited for it, rang very true. (Also, the situation bore out some excellent humour. ‘I was on top! Who the hell is on top for their first time?!’)
iii. friendships: the status problem
I think Lady Bird is a great film, but the part I found the least inspiring was LB’s friendship arc. I’m pretty sick of this formula: protagonist is best friends with good, loyal, but low-status friend/s -> protagonist manages to get in with the popular kids and abandons their low-status friend/s -> protagonist realises popular kids are shallow assholes and they’ve made a horrible mistake -> protagonist apologetically returns to low status friend/s, there is a bit of anger and conflict, but eventually they all make nice. I’m sick of it because I feel like it doesn’t ring true.
Now, I have been through secondary school, recently though not overly so (I graduated from sixth form in 2015). I know that status is a thing in secondary school and that it exerts an influence. But I dislike this ubiquitous storyline which implies that a) every school conforms to a rigid hierarchy of popularity and that b) literally everyone gives a shit about improving their status. I found Love, Simon’s group of four much more authentic in this regard: ultimately, Simon’s group of four just enjoy each other’s company, rather than being rigidly grouped based on status or fitting a recognised ‘type’. Depicting popularity as being present but not all-encompassing seems to resonate more with how my school worked, where there were recognisable groups but a lot of boundary-blurring, and where different subcultures could - usually - peacefully coexist alongside each other.
Because it adheres closely to the student-social-climber model, the astounding depth of familial relationships and notable depth of romantic relationships in Lady Bird isn’t replicated in LB’s friendships. Not every character needs to be an incredibly complex seventeen-year-old (I’m fine with Kyle just being a bit of a bored poser), but I feel like the film either tried and failed to give Jenna depth or just agreed she wouldn’t have any, and I feel like it would have really served the story for LB to realise that the girl at the top of the totem pole actually had problems and internal conflict, despite her status and wealth. As it is, she just stays ‘bored rich chick’ from beginning to end. Julie isn’t given as much depth as she could be either – all her appearances just seem to reinforce ‘sweet nerd archetype’, and no attention is given to her own brief romantic relationship and romantic turmoil - though I don’t begrudge them the prom scene (it was very sweet).
Overall, I didn’t realise just how refreshing it would feel to see a group of friends who experience growth, development and conflict, but who also just really like getting iced coffee together! And the fact that it did highlights a problem with friendship stereotypes in high school movies.
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My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 10 Review: That Which Is Inherited
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This My Hero Academia review contains spoilers.
My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 10
“The time has not yet come”
Patience is an extra special virtue in anime. It’s a medium, especially the shonen genre, that’s notorious for dragging out conflict. Patience is something that’s been integral right from the start of My Hero Academia since it engages in what’s ostensibly a superhero origin story. Characters like Midoriya understand that they won’t become the Number One Pro Hero overnight and that it’s a very gradual process.
My Hero Academia season 5 manipulates patience in new ways, largely with the tournament style structure to this Joint Training Arc. Audiences understand that they’re going to need to wait until certain characters are allowed to fight. Additional anxiety is felt over other elements that have been teased in this season, like Dabi’s crusade, the All For One situation at Tartarus, or Midoriya’s prophetic dream with the former One For All bearers. “That Which Is Inherited” still emphasizes the necessity of patience, but the “time has come” and some big changes are in store.
“That Which Is Inherited” finally allows Midoriya to let loose in battle and showcase his strength against Class B. This season has played a patient game with Midoriya and an appreciated perk from this episode is that much of the supporting cast weighs in on their fight predictions based off of their previous performances from their own battles. Even Midoriya’s team develops a strategy that compliments the work of the previous Class A teams, but still cultivates their own approach on how to dominate the battlefield.
It’s somewhat fitting that Midoriya is the centerpiece of this showdown where every student is especially keyed in to observe the results. There’s even higher stakes present because of the bragging rights that Midoriya will receive if he’s able to actually outdo Bakugo’s performance from the previous match. Pressure and expectations mount and it’s advantageous that My Hero Academia takes their time regarding when Midoriya gets to be the hero here. The payoff to this arc is more satisfying if it culminates with Midoriya’s battle rather than it kicks off the Joint Training Arc.
Class B’s team has Shinso, who has been positioned as a major obstacle for Midoriya as early as this season’s promotional art, but Monoma and his Copy Quirk are just as cumbersome. Monoma has been a delightfully unhinged live wire across the first half of this season and he’s occasionally barked out Shakespearean-esque monologues to the sky as he anticipates his next battle. He and Shinso engage in a fascinating conversation about imposter syndrome and how acting like a hero for long enough can fool both others, and yourself, on the matter. These two affirm one another and they do excellent work in this battle, but their oblivious confidence feels slightly dangerous. Monoma might not be the most stable individual that Shinso should necessarily take advice from.
I’ve singled it out in practically every episode of this season, but “That Which Is Inherited” continues to feature incredible combinations of Quirks that are ideal for conflict against each other. Uraraka, Mineta, and Ashido of Class A elegantly combine their powers together against Yanagi’s Poltergeist Quirk and Yui Kodai’s Size Quirk, which are an equally volatile pairing. This leads to some fast-paced airborne theatrics as heroes catapult themselves from floating debris and launch themselves at each other. A lot of episodes from this season are structured where the one or two strongest fighters from each team duke it out while the rest of the supporting players engage in a battle royale. “That Which Is Inherited” begins in much the same fashion, but then everything takes a radical detour once Midoriya’s Quirk goes all haywire.
The “malfunctioning” of Midoriya’s Quirk has been teased all the way back to season four’s finale, which means that this event isn’t exactly surprising, but it’s still a very pivotal moment for the character and the series. This sensation around Midoriya gets undercut to some extent due to how these episodes mark the debut of many new powers from characters, but All Might’s concern and his insistence to preemptively end the battle speaks to how Midoriya turns into a ticking time bomb.
Visually, the second half of the episode is a masterpiece. Midoriya gets flung throughout the air as if he’s some flimsy appendage to his Quirk. The physics of this just look incredible and there are bursts of energy spider-ing out of Midoriya’s body at every moment. It’s frightening, but it helps that this perplexing transformation is hard to take your eyes off of. Curiously, two separate approaches are simultaneously taken to calm the storm that brews inside of Midoriya. The more unexpected of the two is Uraraka’s “power of love” strategy.
The earlier seasons of My Hero Academia teased a possible romance between Midoriya and Urakaka, which has basically devolved to Uraraka blushing and internally imploding whenever Hatsume or any other female character exhibits a passing interest in Midoriya. The brief flashbacks surrounding Uraraka’s hero motivation and how she strives to be the best support for the heroes around her doesn’t exactly feel necessary, since it’s always been a prominent aspect of her character, but it does make her sacrifice to help Midoriya gain a little more weight. Midoriya and Uraraka both try to shoulder the burden of his growing power, but the more plausible defense revolves around Shinso’s Brainwashing Quirk.
Shinso has the ability to manually shut down Midoriya by getting into his head. It’s another brilliant example of how My Hero Academia very carefully establishes all of these Quirks, many of which at the time just seem benign, only for them to be the exact solutions to later problems. Shinso can use his Quirk to just knock Midoriya out, but the consummate hero that brews inside of Shinso instead tells him to channel Midoriya’s power against himself. He wants to simultaneously prove both his own strength as well as why he’s the embodiment of a hero when he decides that he’ll extinguish this problem himself.
Midoriya ends up solving this problem on his own, in a way, by discovering that it’s not really a problem at all. The most interesting sequence in “That Which Is Inherited” involves a pep talk from previous One For All users to help give Midoriya the power and confidence that he requires to understand that he’s “not alone” in his endeavors anymore. This new Quirk that manifests turns out to be Black Whip, a power that’s evidently ideal for Midoriya’s current battle against Monoma. It’s a fascinating concept that Midoriya’s body has become so naturally attuned to One For All that it can assess what previous One For All Quirk works best and then manifest it though him, like he’s some One For All Swiss army knife.
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This will surely still be a long work in progress for Midoriya and it’s unlikely that he’ll suddenly turn out a handful of new Quirks throughout this season. However, this is the right approach to finally explore this rich material and Black Whip seems to be a helpful stepping stone that helps Midoriya better understand his purpose, but doesn’t leave him overpowered or a totally different person. I also really love the idea of Midoriya appearing in this vestige-like state to empower some future One For All user, generations down the line. The glimpses of these larger than life heroes are always so enjoyable and Midoriya’s enthusiasm already makes him fit in with them so well.
“That Which Is Inherited” is My Hero Academia at its best and it’s a triumph when it comes to the action, animation, and the revelations that come out of it all. It’s a tricky episode that abruptly pauses the battle to engage in lessons around Midoriya’s new strength while it sets up the next entry as the real fight and payoff to everything.
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The episode’s supporting battle is satisfying, but it’s just very clearly a distraction to the episode’s larger conflict with Midoriya. The action guarantees that the episode never stops moving and there are times when installments with this structure can feel very telegraphed, but “That Which Is Inherited” handles its exposition in a very natural manner that’s still laced with excitement. It’s a successful episode that builds tremendous excitement for what might have otherwise been a perfunctory fight.
The post My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 10 Review: That Which Is Inherited appeared first on Den of Geek.
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Name: Chione Alter(Formerly Chione Blanco)
Title: Summer Maiden
Age: 24
Height: 6″
Weight: 65 kg
Blood type: O+
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Red(Maiden Power Suppressed), Yellow(Maiden Power Unrestrained)
Handedness: Ambidextrous
Sexuality: Homosexual
Bust Size: D
Build: Athletic
Notable Physical Trait: Hermaphrodite
Known Disorders: Hypersexual Disorder (Caused as a response to trauma from the Battle of Beacon)
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Attire: Almost same as Main Verse Chione, but with black metallic vambraces and greaves
Nationality: Atlesian
Occupation: Huntress
Personality: Chione Alter, as compared to who she once was, has much more of a silver tongue, which adds up to her charisma. However, while charismatic, she does have the tendency to be extremely blunt.
Furthermore, her cockiness is more pronounced than before, but she still could remain at a level head. Chione Alter also eventually turned into a compulsive liar throughout the years, as well as doing things or using people for her own benefit.
When back in a corner with no other choice left, she’ll be glad to resort and revel in violence. That, and even when she is indeed backed to a corner of placed into a compromising position, she is one to not show any signs of tension or anxiety, and hence, is most likely to remain calm.
Upon encountering people with a morally good alignment, or overall “goody-two-shoes”, she relishes on the thought or actions that would lead to them eventually breaking, and thus, would do everything in her power, be it subtle or not, to break them.
Likes: Music, Night Skies, Learning, Things going her way
Dislikes: Obnoxious People, Extremists, “Goody-two-shoes”
Positive Qualities: Charismatic, Brave, Blunt, Cunning
Negative Qualities: Manipulative, Cocky, Stubborn
Fears: Loss, Death* (*Already overcame both)
Phobias: Chilopodophobia (Fear of Centipedes), Brontophobia* (*Already overcame both)
Favorite Food: Salad, Steak
Favorite Beverage: Jasmine Tea
Favorite Liquor: Rum, Vodka
Notable mannerism: Hair grooming
Team: BLEU
Rating:
Offense: 10/10
Defense: 10/10
Aura: 10/10
Speed: 9/10
Agility: 8/10
Teamwork: 6/10
Charisma: 9/10
Weapon Proficiency: 10/10
Weapons: Khalkotauroi, the Flame Generative Combat Scythe**(FGCS), Yuki-Onna, the Frost Generative Short Scythe* **(FGSS) (*Slightly shorter than Khalkotauroi’s length)(**Both are family heirlooms), and Gorgon, the High Velocity Toxic Revolver***(HVTR)(***Custom Made)
Weapon Forms: Static, Unchangeable
Semblance: Winter’s Embrace (Causes Chione to turn invisible for approximately around ten seconds. While invisible, her footsteps would be less audible, depending on how clear one’s auditory senses is. The one drawback is that it is basically ineffective against faunus with animal ears, hence the sensitive hearing they possess. However, if Chione attempts to attack, she would break from invisibility. This Semblance was inherited directly from Boreas, and only her and Orithyia had inherited such.)
Improved Semblance: Cold Snap (Invisibility can be held for about an hour and a half at maximum, along with it able to mask out Aura traces)
Known Relatives:
Boreas Blanco(Father)
Shiva Blanco(Mother)
Poli'Ahu Blanco(Younger Sister, is on her third year on Atlas Academy)
Hodr Blanco(The youngest of the four siblings, is on his first year on Atlas Academy)
Orithyia Blanco(Eldest sister)
Bio:
Basically almost the same as Main Verse Chione, but with but a slight, yet crucial twist, mainly during the Battle of Beacon, in which, instead of Eris taking the mortal injury, Chione, instead would be the one to take the brunt of it and be mortally injured. And, unlike Eris, who seemed to have gotten a discount Arc Reactor back then to keep her alive, Chione, however, had to have the powers of the Summer Maiden transferred to her to keep her alive. Chione would then wake up a year later, and was greeted with some physical therapy, along with a briefing about her newfound powers and accompanied burden as a Maiden right after recovering from therapy.
At first, she was able to handle things just fine, not that she could do anything about it, anyway, but soon, her mental health took its toll in time due to the heavy amounts of pressure she had to endure, and thus, one day, she snapped, to which she simply had left Atlas, but not without leaving a messy scene behind.
Thus begins her journey on venturing on alone, doing her best to survive, all while honing and training her newfound powers, which would then be up until the present time, that is.
After time had passed, she was still being looked for by Atlas, since they’re the one seemingly responsible of her, but alas, it’d be doubtful that they’d be able to easily take her in at this point, for she is changed now. Long gone is the Chione they knew.
What was left is something else, entirely.
Something else that’s on a whole new level.
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( i’m sobbing she’s precious )
hi guys, i’m jules and i’m so excited to be a part of this rp !! i just saw that my app was in all caps by mistake bc my phone likes to fuck with me like that and i’m cringing omg. so i applied a few days ago but life got super hectic and i only just reapplied now that i’ve come up for air rip. but this is my eternally fucked, lowkey honey girl kiran who thinks she’s stoic and intimidating af but more often than not has the smallest of smiles at the v least on her face. here’s some basic — & extensive, sorry lmao — info about her ( TW: death, self-destructive behaviour, adjustment disorder/situational depression ) :
born seong kiran/kiran diana seong on march 12, 1997
scarborough, canada born and raised to first-gen korean-canadian parents
the epitome of a bitter smol™ that’s prepared to fight over everything (stubborn brat )
has twin five year old siblings that she fucking adores, which is a big deal since she doesn’t care intensely for many people
her parents were both only kids that ventured into science-based careers; her mom was a pharmacist at her late grandparents’ small clinic and her dad was a neurosurgeon at toronto gen hospital, so they were upper-middle class you could say
s u c k e d at making friends in her formative years and when she did, they didn’t stay for v long
plenty of chances for her to find new friends though since the gta is huge and has a ton of other kids around so it wasn’t all in vain
also her vanity when she was a kid was prob a turn off for others lol
smart af, like english? a’s. math? a’s french? a+
eventually didn’t suck at the whole friend thing and had a small group of people she grew rather fond of
she ended up graduating as valedictorian and was accepted to mcgill to study pre-med and become a neurosurgeon just like papa seong
always wanted to follow in his footsteps, so it came as no surprise to her parents
( TW: DEATH ) during her midterm break in her first sem, her parents decided to take the family to their cabin near muskoka for a weekend away from the city/suburbs
they were a little over halfway there when her dad tried to veer the suv away from a moose in the middle of their lane, but wasn’t successful
kiran was conscious during the whole thing, though she sustained a concussion and the twins were unharmed in their carseats; however their mother died on impact and their father suffered from a cranial injury ( .. i only just realized how ironic and morbid this is after working with this muse for a while oh my g o d )
she went with the twins to the hospital and was inconsolable over the loss of her mother alone, while her father was in critical condition and the outlook was promising, though not certain
he was put in a medically induced coma after being operated on and she and her godparents ( who advised her on the whole thing since they were docs themselves ) decided to hold out hope for a recovery
the twins were put in her care and she was left to deal with the burden of their loss, her education and the obvious, her brother and sister’s newfound dependency on her
she withdrew from the few people she became close to over the years, her grades began to slip as well, and she was always weighed down by grief and anxiety
she tried to stay in school while taking care of the twins, but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. she just managed to keep her head above water throughout the rest of the first sem though
moved out of res, into an apartment and relocated the twins for the time being to see if she could pull it off
( TW: SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ) add the fact that a part of her began to question if she could really follow in her dad’s footsteps, and that she let further anxiety from the pressures of making her parents proud get to her and she was soon on a downward spiral
she slipped away from her academics and was slowly becoming a poor guardian; soon, kiran was partying too hard and winding up in the hospital or a stranger’s dorm, skipping labs, and was generally a lost cause when the twins were under the care of a sitter
failed a couple of courses by the end of the second semester and had her godparents flying out to crack down on her dumb ass
felt hopeless and lost, but especially so when she posed the risk of losing the only family that she had left, realizing how selfish her actions were and trying to amend her mistakes
dropped out of mcgill for the time being and took up a job as a retail clerk to provide for the three of them ( despite inheriting their mom’s estate and all, as she put the money that came from it into the kids’ savings )
was soon in the clear in her godparents’ opinion and has tried to do right by her parents and siblings since then
after losing herself for a while, she found that she was right back to where she started with friend-making, but rather than it being her just not knowing how, it was that she didn’t want to let people in after everything that had happened
she didn’t remain a loner, but she didn’t have a ride or die by any means
for the sake of her a.d and bc of the bad memories that t.o and mtl held, she found herself relocating to greenville of all places
but deep down she knows mama seong would be happy about the kids growing up in a smaller town than near dt toronto
about four months after settling in, she began attending a nearby college in what would have been her fourth semester and has since maintained a high gpa after retaking the courses she fucked up in
her dad has since woken up, but he’s going through extensive forms of therapy to restore his motor, neurological, etc functions
she’d be back in t.o if her godparents hadn’t advised against it since it was still rly overwhelming for him and his three kids ( two of whom wouldn’t rly know him either ) coming back prob wouldn’t help ??
still has nightmares from the accident, the girl’s scarred for life and is thankful that the twins were too young to remember
sees a psychiatrist at the behest of her godmother bc she rly can’t cope by herself in all of this but she doesn’t like to burden others with her problems ( doesn’t like people knowing much about her regardless but )
now to her personality and extra facts ig ??? this has gotten so out of hand already, sTOP ME
the most stubborn chick alive, will never admit she’s wrong unless you weasel it out of her with some heavy guilt-tripping
she used to be a fucking NIGHTMARE to most people before everything went awry, still can be but it’s more or less an act with a little bit of it also being herself
a true instagram addict, which makes sense bc she can be p vain at times
rather intuitive tbh
can be insightful as well
feigns annoyance and boredom with people/their antics
some weird ass detachment method on her part that she didn’t shake, but question her on it and she’ll shut it tf down
but is still genuinely, easily irritated all the same ?? not even i understand this chick
curses like a sailor is she isn’t too curt in her responses
has a problem with trusting others, feels like she can only truly rely on herself so if you break through that barrier then congrats ig
she won’t make it obvious though, she’s a sociable being and will actually take to you if you pique her interest with free booze or a wild story
just don’t expect her to surrender much of her life story, but she’ll also get a bit offended if you don’t offer a bit of your own ??
the most annoying internalizer of emotions ever if you’re actually friends with her, 110% will not confide in you if you’re not one of four or five people in her life
also fears loss more than anything, so she isn’t close to many people for BOTH the trusting aspect, as well as wanting to spare herself the pain of watching more loved ones die or leave
but if you’re one of the v select few people she’s let in completely, she’ll never let you go. she’s the definition of loyal and will legit die for you
so so devoted to her little brother and sister, like she loves them more than anything and does everything so that they can succeed when they’re older
all of the sports acceptable for kindergarteners, music lessons, ballet, you name it, she’s got them registered
puts them before herself all the fucking time, her mom wouldn’t be impressed with her putting herself last as opposed to finding equilibrium
anyways, point is, you’ll never see her be more affectionate and joyful than with her family, godparents included
her being good with other kids though ?? she’s been working on it and she’s coming around
still can’t stand screaming brats though lmao
will be super polite to even her enemy’s parents mostly bc fuck that person.. unless their parents aren’t pleasant people either, then she’ll be unpleasant right back lmao
trust me when i say that she has a heart of gold and will do what’s morally right, is so so soft but will forever be in denial like i cannOT STRESS ENOUGH
defensive pessimism at its finest
fluent in french and korean
memes are lowkey the way to her heart
well, memes and food ofc
such a poutine hoe™
sci fi junkie
here for aesthetically pleasing everything
her place is almost never in disorder, oddly enough
quite the party girl, though not the same as when she was a frosh, is able to control herself when there aren’t too many stressors plaguing her
queer af, doesn’t know what her sexuality is but she knows she isn’t straight ( but for all intents and purposes, she’s pansexual )
she just needs someone else to take care of her honestly, she still doesn’t know what she’s doing with herself lmao
trying her best™ to be better in general but change doesn’t happen overnight so she’s not rushing into it, aka she’s still comfortable with being a bit of an asshole for as long as possible
you sometimes won’t know who she is from one day to the next, kind of the personification of a wild ride
so that’s kiran, if you’d like to plot just hmu or like this and i’ll come to you !! i’ll link some possible connections later bc my laptop’s about to die and i can’t find the charger anywhere ? @my mom, pls stop moving my stuff, it’s giving me more heart palpitations than my econ final last month
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alert: noeul choi has accepted your request. she is currently twenty-one years old, cisfemale and a retail assistant but aspires to be a cardiothoracic surgeon. they are described to be steadfast & reticent. rumor has it that [ redacted ]. could it be true? we’ll find out. — ( jeon somin, k, she/her, at )
in the box: a brand new, 256gb macbook air to replace the laptop that she’s had for years. she felt the need to hold off on a necessary upgrade to be able to support herself and her family
( .. her cuteness kills me )
hey everyone, i’m k and i’m excited to be a part of this rp !! so it’s wednesday and yet i’m still as emo as ever about bts at the bbmas bc mY BOYS !!!! anyways this is my eternally fucked, lowkey honey girl noeul who’s been through some shit. here’s some basic — & extensive, sorry lmao — info about her ( TW: death, self-destructive behaviour, adjustment disorder/situational depression ) :
born noeul emilia choi/choi noeul on march 12, 1996
pronounced “no-ewl” but she goes by “noel” for the most part since it’s easier for most lol
etobicoke, canada born and raised to first-gen korean-canadian parents
the epitome of a bitter smol™ that’s prepared to fight over everything ( stubborn brat )
has twin five year old siblings that she fucking adores, which is a big deal since she doesn’t care intensely for many people
her parents were both only kids that ventured into science-based careers; her mom was a pharmacist at her late grandparents’ small clinic and her dad was a cardiothoracic surgeon at toronto gen hospital, so they were upper-middle class you could say
s u c k e d at making friends in her formative years and when she did, they didn’t stay for v long
plenty of chances for her to find new friends though since the gta is huge and has a ton of other kids around so it wasn’t all in vain
also her vanity when she was a kid was prob a turn off for others lol
smart af, like english? a’s. math? a’s french? a+
eventually didn’t suck at the whole friend thing and had a small group of people she grew rather fond of
she ended up graduating as valedictorian and was accepted to mcgill to study pre-med and become a cardiothoracic surgeon just like papa choi
always wanted to follow in his footsteps, so it came as no surprise to her parents
( TW: DEATH ) during her midterm break in her first sem, her parents decided to take the family to their cabin near muskoka for a weekend away from the city/suburbs
they were a little over halfway there when her dad tried to veer the suv away from a moose in the middle of their lane, but wasn’t successful
noeul was conscious during the whole thing, though she sustained a concussion and the twins were unharmed in their carseats; however their mother died on impact and their father suffered from a cranial injury
she went with the twins to the hospital and was inconsolable over the loss of her mother alone, while her father was in critical condition and the outlook was promising, though not certain
he was put in a medically induced coma after being operated on and she and her godparents ( who advised her on the whole thing since they were docs themselves, i have a huge backstory for even her parents haha ) decided to hold out hope for a recovery
the twins were put in her care and she was left to deal with the burden of their loss, her education and the obvious, her brother and sister’s newfound dependency on her
she withdrew from the few people she became close to over the years, her grades began to slip as well, and she was always weighed down by grief and anxiety
she tried to stay in school while taking care of the twins, but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. she just managed to keep her head above water throughout the rest of the first sem though
moved out of res, into an apartment and relocated the twins for the time being to see if she could pull it off
( TW: SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ) add the fact that a part of her began to question if she could really follow in her dad’s footsteps, and that she let further anxiety from the pressures of making her parents proud get to her and she was soon on a downward spiral
she slipped away from her academics and was slowly becoming a poor guardian; soon, noeul was partying too hard and winding up in the hospital or a stranger’s dorm, skipping labs, and was generally a lost cause when the twins were under the care of a sitter
failed a couple of courses by the end of the second semester and was under investigation by cps for her lack of responsibility over the kids
felt hopeless and lost, but especially so when she posed the risk of losing the only family that she had left, realizing how selfish her actions were and trying to amend her mistakes
dropped out of mcgill for the time being to prove herself to the twins’ social worker and took up a job as a retail clerk to provide for the three of them ( despite inheriting their mom’s estate and all, as she put the money that came from it into the kids’ savings )
was soon in the clear and has tried to do right by her parents and siblings since then
after losing herself for a while, she found that she was right back to where she started with friend-making, but rather than it being her just not knowing how, it was that she didn’t want to let people in after everything that had happened
she didn’t remain a loner, but she didn’t have a ride or die by any means
noeul eventually returned to mcgill in what would have been her third year and has since maintained a high gpa after retaking the courses she fucked up in
her dad has since woken up, but he’s going through extensive forms of therapy to restore his motor, neurological, etc functions
for that reason, she figured that she should transfer guardianship to her godparents for the time being, as she wanted to see her family ( or what remained of it ) reconnect more than anything and that would be impossible while her dad’s in toronto and she and the twins are in montreal
relocated to la on impulse ( .. dumbass ) bc she felt like mcgill held too many bad memories ( that and warmer weather ?? fuck yes ) so she transferred to ucla
still has nightmares from the accident, the girl’s scarred for life and is thankful that the twins were too young to remember
sees a psychiatrist at the behest of the social worker bc she rly can’t cope by herself in all of this
now to her personality and extra facts ig ??? this has gotten so out of hand already, sTOP ME
the most stubborn chick alive, will never admit she’s wrong unless you weasel it out of her with some heavy guilt-tripping
she used to be a fucking NIGHTMARE to most people before everything went awry, still can be but it’s more or less her being herself and not putting on an act
a true instagram addict, which makes sense bc she can be p vain at times
rather intuitive tbh
can be insightful as well
feigns annoyance and boredom with people/their antics
some weird ass detachment method on her part that she didn’t shake, but question her on it and she’ll shut it tf down
but is still genuinely, easily irritated all the same ?? not even i understand this chick
curses like a sailor is she isn’t too curt in her responses
has a problem with trusting others, feels like she can only truly rely on herself so if you break through that barrier then congrats ig
she won’t make it obvious though, she’s a sociable being and will actually take to you if you pique her interest with free booze or a wild story
just don’t expect her to surrender much of her life story, but she’ll also get a bit offended if you don’t offer a bit of your own ??
the most annoying internalizer of emotions ever if you’re actually friends with her, 110% will not confide in you if you’re not one of four or five people in her life
also fears loss more than anything, so she isn’t close to many people for BOTH the trusting aspect, as well as wanting to spare herself the pain of watching more loved ones die or leave
but if you’re one of the v select few people she’s let in completely, she’ll never let you go. she’s the definition of loyal and will legit die for you
so so devoted to her little brother and sister and still takes on the role of guardian despite them not being together for the time being
you’ll never see her be more affectionate and joyful than with her family, godparents included
her being good with other kids though ?? she’s still working on that
will be super polite to even her enemy’s parents mostly bc fuck that person.. unless their parents aren’t pleasant people either, then she’ll be unpleasant right back lmao
defensive pessimism at its finest
fluent in french and korean
memes are lowkey the way to her heart
well, memes and food ofc
such a poutine hoe™
sci fi junkie
here for aesthetically pleasing everything
her place is almost never in disorder, oddly enough
quite the party girl, though not the same as when she was a frosh, is able to control herself when there aren’t too many stressors plaguing her
queer af, doesn’t know what her sexuality is but she knows she isn’t straight ( but for all intents and purposes, she’s pansexual )
she just needs someone else to take care of her honestly, she still doesn’t know what she’s doing with herself lmao
basically you won’t rly know who she is from one day to the next, the personification of a wild ride
so that’s noeul, if you’d like to plot don’t hesitate to message me, or like this and i’ll come to you !! i’ll link some connections in a bit
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What Causes Lifelong Premature Ejaculation Dumbfounding Unique Ideas
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