#I want people to know how cool my family is

[dorliart]

Oooh.

Am I the Asshole for ruining my best friends excitement?

Im going to have to keep this very vague for personal reasons, so throwaway Account naturally.

Okay so for context, I'm originally not from The Isles and have found myself there now. (I know, I know, big deal woah etc. I'm using a vpn, and being safe, don't worry). So I've been living with some people on one of the isles, everyone has been truly very friendly and welcoming despite me not once having told them where I'm from exactly. But I feel like I've made friends and maybe even people I would consider my family. Now here's the problem. Apparently where I am now people have been really pushing the First Flight Ritual. At first it was only sort of vaguely talked about at school, and people have been bringing it up around me a lot since my wings have already fully grown in, a bit early. I had assumed it was a myth or legend or at most something older cousins tell their younger cousins when they want to look cool or intimidate them, but apparently not?? It keeps getting talked about more seriously, and even teachers and educators have started bringing it up.

Well and here's the actual problem. My best friend has been talking about it just as long, having heard about it from their big sibling a lot (which they really miss since they moved, so I get it) but they've been getting more extreme with it. They talk about actually wanting to take part in it as soon as their wings have grown in, even! If they haven't finished growing in! Like what! I thought it was common sense to know how fragile newly ingrown wings are, especially with not having been able to put any muscle strength on them?

I have been trying to reason with them for the better part of two weeks, but they won't listen at all. I've tried to explain it to them, but it was no use. And it's not like they don't know the risks either. They're so smart and they know about biology enough to know that this is not a smart course of action, they just won't admit it!

Things finally came to an all out argument a few days ago, when I all out told them how incredibly stupid this was. They could die!! But they didn't care. Just said I was selfish and was ruining what they were working and excited for, and jealous of their ambition. I'm still furious about it, but after storming off I've done a bit of reflection and while I don't regret what I've said and my stance, I do feel a little bad about having blown up so much.

So, am I the asshole for telling my friend it's stupid to participate in a ritual that is very likely to kill them?

Edit: guys I know it's a sacred ritual and everything but don't y'all think it might be wrong to continue a ritual that is actively killing people??? What is wrong with you

Edit 2: yes I will be deleting comments calling me a traitor and telling me to move down. This is not helping the conversation here.

if you're trying to get into the head of your story's antagonist, try writing an "Am I the Asshole" reddit post from their perspective, explaining their problems and their plans for solving them. Let the voice and logic come through.

[bonefall]

Howdy Bonefall!! Great work wanted to start with that

I'm trying to come with a hyena xenofiction (+ other canid-likes), and I'm struggling with like... Not doing the stupid shit Erins did with the sisters of "in a WORLD where MEN are OPPRESSED". "Actually all the guys are okay with being second class" feels like a cop out, and I don't want to erase such an interesting aspect of hyena hierarchy.

So... I guess I'm going to you sorta for advice? Because you're super cool, and the only xeno worldbuilder I really follow. If you want, feel free to use this ask as a pass to infodump about the sisters instead, instead. Like, your version or the Erins.

Sorey for the long ask bye now

This is a neat question without a totally straightforward answer, but my advice would actually be to look very closely at historical systems with rigid gender roles, and try to understand the role it played in society.

What usually makes xenofiction sexism so rancid is the way that an author states (by assertion or just by subconscious assumption) that their ""natural world"" is bioessentialist, and this is justified because It's Natural. For a clear, STARK example, the Ginga series asserts that male dogs are better than female dogs, just by matter of biology, while also assigning gendered human behaviors (vanity, whininess) to its female characters to make its point.

In Cheek by Jowl, Le Guin points this out as "cheating." The author both describes the world they're writing as "natural," while prescribing their own human biases to it.

With the Sisters, the Erins did this lowkey fascinating thing where they sort of did the reverse. They described realistic, normal cat behaviors, but they're SO repulsed by the idea of not portraying heterosexual, monogamous marriage as ideal that they got scared of their own concept.

Hence the way they've turned on the Sisters, using human values to have the Warriors react with disgust and hostility when they don't have husbands, don't raise kids in nuclear families, send teen males away at 6 months, etc. They're doing the same thing Le Guin pointed out, just in a different flavor.

So-- that's why my advice is to look at societies. If you're anthropomorphizing animals enough for them to consider high concepts like justice and equality, they aren't just working on raw biology. Gender roles can be influenced by sexual dimophism, sure, but look deeper.

WHY do those roles exist? What purpose do they serve to society? Hunting, food preparation, spreading news. Are there materials to be prepared, like clothing or tools? Are there social laws to be taught and remembered?

Are these gendered? How? Why are they divided in the way they are? Are these divisions rigid?

These sorts of questions in humans are not answered purely by biology. Gender and roles are different across cultures and, while most have common trends, nothing is truly universal. Why do Xenofiction writers assume that would be the case for fantasy animal cultures?

Be thoughtful. The phrase "Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History" wasn't a victim-blaming call to action for every girl to start 'misbehaving' to appease the historians-- it was to implore people to appreciate the contributions that women HAVE been making since the dawn of time, even within oppressive roles that downplayed those achievements.

And, I would also call for you to do some deeper research on hyenas, because here's a surprise-- the "male oppression" thing is actually an oversimplification!

Exactly like the concept of the Alpha Wolf, it's only partially true but largely inaccurate. Hyena clans are much more complicated than that.

Hyenas are not actually highly sexually dimorphic. Females are only slightly larger on average. In this way, they are quite like humans; we also aren't massively different between sexes.

Hyenas are so intelligent that they have theory of mind. Shenzi is capable of understanding that Ed likes Banzai more than Banagi, and uses that to her tactical advantage. Shenzi knows that she needs to befriend Banzai to have Ed's support, and then both of them will help her usurp Banagi.

Clans are not matriarchal, they are matrilineal. Cubs inherit their mother's rank, just below her. A male cub can massively benefit from staying in his birth clan because of this-- and that does include inheriting his mother's status.

So that thing about "highest ranking male is below the lowest ranking female" is not accurate. That applies to migrant males, not clanborn.

And here's the real kicker; size and strength is almost completely negligible to which hyena wins a fight. It's ALL about SOCIAL CONNECTION. me and the girlies attending the ides of march

Males are more likely to leave their birth clan and females are not. Leave home and your mom won't help you beat up your bullies, and you can't rely on the other males because they aren't family. This is the reason why females "dominate," they don't disperse so they've got family watching their back.

The idea of hyenas being "bizarro world" where the big, mean sex oppresses the tiny, demure sex is just as much a misconception of spotted hyenas as it is a misconception of human beings.

It would make a downright delicious concept to play with, if you wanted to make a deconstruction of gender roles broadly.

(Disclaimer: this post is intentionally discussing sex in a binary way for simplicity in how it influences gender, especially in a historical context. Sex is not actually binary. Even "bimodal distribution" barely scratches the surface of the topic)

[starvingnarcissistmusic]

thinking about mal du pays again. you’d think literally writing a whole ass song about it would be enough to cleanse my brain of this creature but no. not even close. still thinking about em. winner of the worlds worst coping mechanism award.

most readings of a post canon mdp are kind of like a moody siffrin-repression detector, which is cool and pretty fun, but my favorite part of mdp in the game was how deeply dreadful its entire encounter was.

i keep imagining a post canon au where mdp follows the gang to bambouche. with siffrin incapacitated by the events of the game, the party slowly realizes something’s following them, but are unable to do anything as it slowly encroaches upon them.

bonnie wakes up in the middle of the night, with a shadow of siffrin motionless at the foot of their bed. it speaks in their voice and tells them that they hate siffrin for letting them die. they don’t know what it’s talking about, but a deep pit opens in their stomach when it speaks. they don’t sleep at all that night, watching the thing standing motionless at their bed, scared it’ll move when they take their eyes off of it.

mirabelle keeps seeing it out there, spiral eyes staring back at her from the woods. until one night she awakes and finds it’s broken into her tent. it keeps grabbing her wrist, driving her hand into its cheek, crying “i can’t wait to never see you again.” in her voice.

isabeau wakes up one night to find it’s crawled into bed with him. and yet, even as it curls up against him, it keeps telling him (or maybe itself?) that he only loves it because it made it love him. he doesn’t really know what to do except try to hold still, and let it spin its wheels until it leaves in the morning.

odile i think would probably be the least affected by mdp. i think the mystery of it would trigger her researcher brain and override most of the horror. i can imagine she’d even go out at night on purpose just to find it. and hey, it finds her! once she gets over the weird voice mimicking thing, she finds it’s pretty docile… at least for now. although, strangely it keeps trying to get her to grab at its collar. the one time she obliged, it went limp like a cat held by the scruff of its neck.

obviously the party is concerned. despite the thing following them being… harmless, mostly, they still can’t shake the feeling that it could be dangerous. when siffrin finally recovers enough to be lucid, they’re terrified that their homesickness has quite literally followed them back onto the road, and even more so that now it’s interacting with their *family* and freaking everyone out. if he even remotely sees it, he panics and passes out.

and like. the whole party knows it’s a sadness, but they’ve literally never seen sadnesses act the way mdp does. and while siffrin is out and unable to explain, it’s up to the party to try and figure out just what the thing following them even wants, if anything at all.

(also had a fun idea that until odile does some research with it, the party doesn’t know what its name is, and so each member has their own little nickname. bonnie calls it the nightmare, mirabelle calls it the shadow, isa calls it the mirror, and odile calls it the specimen because researcher brain)

i have more Thoughts (tm) about this, but for now that’s all I’ll share for the sake of the people who follow me for music wondering why I’m infodumping about a video game lol. Uhhhh listen to my single about it and that’s about it bye

[world-of-fantasies]

"Ain't So Bad"

Words: 1578

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x FemReader

Time: Atlanta Camp

Warnings: language, weapons

Summary: When you start sitting with Daryl every night in the camp, and he doesn't push you away, you ask him to teach you to shoot a bow. Soon, you realize a new friendship is developing.

A/N: Hi! This is my first post ever after lurking through different fandoms and pages! This is just a cute little scenario and I hope someone can enjoy it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was hard to believe the outbreak had been going on for a little over a month now. In just that short amount of time it had transformed from a peaceful visit of your cousin Rick and his family before he was shot in a car chase and then the world went to shit. You were luckier than most though as you were with Lori and Carl when the evacuation happened and had stayed with them ever since. Most of the others you had found on the highway outside of Atlanta were civil enough and you mostly trusted them in camp. Some not so much but you tried to get along.

The one person who hadn’t bonded with everyone as much, choosing to sit alone most of the time, was Daryl. He provided for the camp in many ways, always the one to go into the woods with his crossbow and shoot down a rabbit, a squirrel, anything he could find. When it came to camp though, he was very reserved.

It wasn’t like you were trying to get him to open up, but you didn’t see him like everybody else did. Sometimes it seemed like people intentionally were opposed to connecting with him, his rough personality turning them away. You saw his protective nature of the group and recognized he had had a rough life so far. You were one of the quieter ones in camp, but tried your best to be friendly, always helping stoke the fire when it got chilly at night, learning to skin and cook the animals people brought back, and helping out with the laundry, although that was something some of the men forced all the women to do anyways. You especially looked out for the kids, telling them stories and playing little games to keep them entertained.

Before long, you found yourself beginning to drift toward Daryl though. Every night he would sit on a big slab of rock overlooking the quarry, cleaning up his bow or sharpening a knife, sometimes just staring out into the distance. The man intrigued you and one night you built up the courage to sit close by, pulling your knees to your chest and looking out into the night.

“What you want?” his gruff voice called after a minute.

You glanced over to see him looking at you questionably.

“Nothing, just wanted to sit here,” you responded with a sigh. “Get some air away from everyone else.”

He simply huffed and went back to his weapon, but didn’t tell you to leave so you stayed there, thinking about life.

Night after night it became a habit to find yourself next to the man. He never seemed opposed to it so you never stopped. One night, as he was checking his bow, you spoke up about the weapon.

“How’d you learn?” you shyly asked.

“Learn what?” he questioned.

“To shoot. I always wanted to learn how to use a bow and arrow when I was younger, regretting never actually going through with it now.”

He made a sound that sounded like a scoff, but had a hint of a laugh before turning to show you the tool.

“Jus practice. Buildin’ up strength and accuracy to shoot straight. Ain’t difficult once ya know basics.”

“Cool. Maybe one of these days you could teach me,” you said, not really thinking about it before catching his eye. “I mean, only if ya wanted to, was just curious.”

“Nah, ya good. Could tag along t’morrow if ya want.”

Your heart skipped a beat. He actually agreed. You felt a moment of butterflies imagining him close to you teaching you to shoot before pushing them down. The man wasn’t bad looking at all, at least in your eyes. He wasn’t the stereotypical attractive type, but there was something about him that you were drawn to, more than just his company.

“Only if you’re sure.”

“Why not? It’d be good for ya to learn it now, jus in case ya need to use it.”

Sure enough the next day, Daryl caught your eye before heading out to the forest and casually asked, “You com’n or wha?”

You quickly put down whatever random thing you were doing and followed him into the woods. It was easy to notice how at ease he felt in the forest despite his constant tracking for the new threat of… What were people calling them again?... oh right, walkers. Suddenly, caught up in your thoughts of the man you deemed more attractive every day, you stepped on a branch causing a slight snap to be heard through the air.

“Shit, sorry,” you whispered.

“It’s fine, jus watch your step, alright?”

You nodded and continued to follow him through the trees, now more aware of your steps and surroundings. After a few minutes, Daryl stopped ahead of you in a small clearing and took his crossbow off his shoulder as well as taking the normal bow to hold out to you. A bit shyly, you grabbed the weapon, feeling the light weight of it. As you tested the feel of the bow, Daryl grabbed his knife and walked over to a large tree across from you guys, using the blade to chip off the bark on the tree to show a lighter spot in the rough shape of a circle before walking back over to you.

“K,” he started, taking the bow from you to demonstrate. “Load it like this,” he explained and continued to show you each step of setting it up and aiming properly before letting it go, the arrow landing pretty much in the center of the circle.

“Wow,” you whispered under your breath.

“Your turn,” he explained, handing it to you.

Carefully, you tried to set it up just like how he had shown you just seconds ago. You set your stance similar to how he had and aimed at your target, pulling back the string. Softly, you took a deep breath and released, the arrow surprisingly landing, not on the mark, but still on the tree not terribly far off.

Daryl grunted beside you before saying, “You sure you ain’t learn this before?”

“Lucky shot probably,” you said, looking down at your feet.

“Nah, that ain’t bad. Yer stronger than ya seem. Yer a natural, just narrow in on aim. Load it up again.”

Nodding, you loaded it again and raised it up, but before you could do anything else, suddenly Daryl was stepping up behind you. His arms wrapped around you to adjust your hold slightly and you could only hope he couldn’t feel your breath pick up as he did.

“There, pull back,” he said, putting his hand on yours on the string to help you pull slightly harder, “And release.”

This time the arrow landed just outside the circle.

“Good. Yer learnin’ already.”

All you could do was nod, too nervous to speak, feeling butterflies in your stomach and a lump in your throat. Daryl had you try a couple more times and each time you did just as well, if not better. Before you guys headed back, Daryl let you tag along to find something to cook on the fire, occasionally speaking but mostly in comfortable silence.

Later that night, after the group dined on slightly burnt rabbit, you walked over to your usual evening spot next to Daryl overlooking the quarry and sat down on your normal rock. Surprisingly, he spoke first, just a couple seconds after you sat.

“Ya did good today, with the bow.”

“Oh, thanks. I had a good teacher,” you slightly smiled, shrugging your shoulders.

“Nah, like I said before, yer a natural.”

Some time passed between you two as the sun finally set behind the hills, the late evening light creeping in.  Then you started thinking about why. Why had Daryl agreed to teach you today? You imagined if anyone else had asked him like you had. You knew he probably would’ve told them to go away in the first place, wanting to sit in silence. If they had gotten to the point of asking, he probably would’ve told them to go away again or tell them to ask one of the other guys. So why was he okay with you?

“Daryl?” you suddenly asked in a quiet manner.

“Huh?” he grunted.

“Why do you let me sit with you? Why’d you teach me today?”

“What do ya mean?” he asked, putting down his knife to look at you properly.

“I mean, you’re always so independent, pushing anyone away if they try to get close to you in camp. But you haven’t pushed me away. I’ve sat here with you almost every night and then you casually taught me to shoot today. Why me out of anyone else here in camp?”

Embarrassed by your little rant, you caught his gaze briefly before turning slightly and tucking your knees into you as the silence lingered for just a bit.

“Ain’t so bad,” he responded.

“What?” you asked confused.

“Yer company. It ain’t so bad. Yer not like everyone else.”

And that was that. He looked away, not out of embarrassment or anything, but he was just done with the conversation, picking up his knife again and whittling away at the piece of wood he had. You smiled to yourself, tracing your finger along a rough spot on the rock. Daryl Dixon was warming up, at least to you, and you didn’t mind it one bit.

[r0seb100d]

Can you do a Dallas x fem!reader where she’s an actress starring in a fairly controversial southern gothic film (maybe Ethel Cain inspired 👀) and he’s like joining her at the premiere or something or he thinks it cool idk

Hii! Thank you for the request, I hope you enjoy <3 🤍

Warnings: fem!reader, tiny mentions of gory stuff

Cause love's out there and I can't leave it be

“Explain it to me one more time, doll.”

Dallas fidgeted with the buttons on his scruffy white button-down shirt, feeling like a damn soc in this attire. 

“I already told you, Dal, it's a story of a girl trying to overcome her religious and childhood trauma and the guys she meets along the way and how things end up really fucked for her. Also, stop messing around with your shirt.” She chided him slightly, laughing internally at his discomfort over wearing a shirt.

“Yeah, but you never actually told me how it ended.”

He huffed.

“Because I don’t want to spoil it, don’t be so impatient; you get to see it today.”

She adjusted her cream lace prairie dress and clasped her little cross necklace, both fitting the southern gothic vibe of the film.

It was mainly set in a decaying southern town surrounded by crumbling, abandoned churches and termite-filled homes. Looming, eerie trees haunt almost every scene, adding to the unsettling atmosphere of the story. It certainly wasn’t going to be the type of film families went to see together on a warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. 

“The writers in the paper don’t seem to be likin’ it much.”

He scoffed, skimming through some of the rather negative reviews in the magazine that criticised the film for being “immoral” and “sinful” due to its highly controversial topics and portrayal of them. 

She sighed.

“Yeah, I just hope we get some good reviews. I think it's a great project; people are too blinded by their biases and disapprove of anything that makes them feel even a little uncomfortable.”

“Don’t listen to these shitheads; I think it sounds tuff as fuck. If only you’d tell me how the rest of it goes…”

Dallas struck a match against his St. Christopher and lit his cigarette.

“Dally!” 

She turned away from her mirror to face him, watching as he sat on her clean white sheets, and he glanced up with a confused expression.

“You know you can’t smoke in here!”

“Since when?”

He raised a dark brow.

“Since always, c’mon, don’t annoy me.”

“Okay, okay, m’sorry.” 

He disposed of his cigarette in her mug of now-cold tea that rested on her cherry wood beside the table, causing her to narrow her eyes at him.”

“I swear you’re going to finish with me one day, Dal.”

Dallas gave her a lopsided smirk, enjoying how she looked when he teased her.

“Soo, you gonna tell me?”

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

“There aren't that many people here.”

She anxiously glanced around the room, picking at her nails.

“Relax, doll, it's still early; lots of people ain’t here yet.”

“I guess, I just don’t want this to damage my career, you know?”

“Hey, quit thinkin badly. I wanna see this film; I don’t give a damn about how others perceive it.”

Smiling softly, she reached for his hand.

“When did you become such a film enthusiast?”

“I’m not; I just told ya, this seems cool, not all proper and soc-like.”

She chuckled in response and pulled him into another room where some of the actors and others were gathered.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .

After the film screening was over, Dallas simply wouldn’t shut up about it.

“I can’t believe she died like that in the end, man. I knew that guy was no good; he pissed me off from the start. And how are they able to screen this film? I mean, it was cool as fuck, but man, there was so much blood and gross shit; I bet Pony would have hated all that. Did you actually have to kill that lamb, or was it fake? You looked scary at the end, you know? Dead and rotten, how did they do that?”

“Dal, calm down.”

She chuckled, loving how this weird, creepy film appealed to someone like him so much.

“You looked great in those strange ruffled dresses, doll; don’t think anyone else could’ve pulled them off like that or still look so damn pretty.”

“Thanks, Dal.”

“Was also hot seein’ ya hold a gun and looking all hot n’ sweaty.”

“Oh god.”

“I’m bein’ serious; it turned me on a bit.”

She blushed in response to his salacious comments, shaking her head slightly and leaning into his side, smelling his familiar scent of cigarette smoke and faint musky cologne.

♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ ♱ . ݁₊ ⊹ .

౨ৎ 723 words ౨ৎ

[exploring-the-cosmos]

Eddie Diaz, Queerness, and Faith

So I've had this idea floating around in my head all day following the most recent episode and with Buddie canon seemingly closer than ever, I thought I'd share it with y'all.

An interesting storyline I would absolutely LOVE for them to explore with Eddie is his relationship with Catholacism/Christianity as a whole and his sexuality, both in childhood and as an adult. I think it's inevitable that his relationship with religion would be brought up if they decide to go the route of Eddie being a repressed gay man. It's kind of unavoidable given his family history and his resurfaced Catholic guilt. I mean, growing up in Texas in the Catholic church as a gay kid??? As a queer atheist, it sounds like my own personal hell.

That being said, I think it would be really cool to see Eddie's journey to self-acceptance coincide with a restored faith in God and the church. It's not a storyline I've personally seen very often with gay characters (the only example I can think of atm is Eric from Sex Education), and I think it could be a really valuable form of representation for both progressive forms of Christianity and queer BIPOC Christians.

I don't think it's realistic given Eddie's decades-long repression for him to have this realization of feelings for Buck and just be okay with it without taking the time to interrogate all of his past relationships (romantic, familial, and religious) and how they have contributed to his repression. I would love to see him come back to LA post-feelings realization and for him to have more conversations with Father Brian about all of this. I want there to be a conversation between them about how Father Brian can reconcile being a gay man (because let's face it, he likely is, despite being celibate) and his faith in God, as well as being an active participant in the church who is guiding other people in their faith. I want to see the juxtaposition of Eddie growing up with a faith that is, at it's core, based in guilt and shame, to stepping into a faith based in love, acceptance, and affirmation (as, imo, Christianity SHOULD BE but all too often is not). I want more bonding and one-on-one conversations between Eddie and Bobby about faith, too. It would be really nice to see them bond more over something they have in common outside of their profession, especially with Bobby being a father figure to Buck.

I think his relationship with Buck could also be a way to explore inter-faith relationships. Now, I could be completely off-base with this, but Buck strikes me as a character that, while superstitious, is not religious. There hasn't been anything I've seen up to this point, that I can remember anyway, that suggests Buck believes in God. If it is the case that he is an atheist or agnostic, I would love to see how they navigate their relationship surrounding the topic, especially given the long and difficult history surrounding homophobia in the church. I don't even necessarily mind the topic becoming quite contentious (between them or brought on by external circumstances), but at the end of it all I want to see them get to a point where they approach this potential difference with love and mutual respect.

Idk I think it would just be really cool if they made this decision with Eddie's character. I know I've seen a few clips of Ryan in interviews talking about his own faith journey: growing up in the church, becoming distant from it as he got older, and then later coming back to God and religion. It would be awesome to see him being able to pour some of his own personal experiences with religion into this character, especially with how their journeys with faith would be kind of paralleled (though not entirely the same).

Anyways, if anyone wants to send me pre-existing fics or even write some based on this premise, I would love to read them 😊

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT! I want to start off by saying that I am constantly in awe of your storytelling, and I hope to one day become half the writer that you are. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.

One of my favourite things about your characterisation of Draco and Hermione is your depiction of their flaws. I’m not so sure where exactly I’m getting at with this ask — because I want to know everything about this story — but I’m very curious about your thought process in picking and choosing which traits or flaws they exhibit in canon then expanding them in Lionheart, and how you think these flaws have influenced Draco and Hermione’s relationship with each other.

You're so lovely to say so, thank you! Thank you for your generous words, they're a great honor and a kindness.

Canonically, Hermione is a proud, stubborn, smug, hotheaded know-it-all. She has a wee bit of a god complex, which has been reinforced by constantly succeeding in crackpot plans to outwit the adults around her, and she's also easily frustrated by inefficiency, which swiftly radicalizes her once she gets a look at how the Ministry works. She's dismissive, insecure, snobby, tone-deaf, and has a complicated relationship with "other girls." I also adore her with the heat of one million billion suns. I love the parts of the books where Hermione bitches out Ron for something, like, fully reasonable, because girls in fantasy so rarely get to be straight-up wrong about shit. Let girls be nasty! Let girls be mean! Let girls be flawed callous forgetful people who regret it and try to be better! Let girls have actual character arcs, man!!

And then Draco, Brat Prince of Rich City, has a full suite of flaws that compliment Hermione's. He's a proud, stubborn, smug, hotheaded rich boy. He has a god complex because his family's never let him fail at anything. He's dismissive, snobby, patently un-empathetic, and he looks down on basically everyone because he grew up at the top of his social food chain.

So when you put them together, you get this weird nucleus of snobby arrogance, and they don't fix each other, to be clear (in many ways they make each other worse!), but they PEMDAS cancel out a lot of the worst manifestations of each other's flaws. Like, Draco lacks empathy because he doesn't tend to give a shit about other people, which is not Hermione's problem. Hermione passionately gives a shit about, like, every single thing on the planet. When he's around Hermione in Lionheart, he immediately gets swept up in other people's problems, and after a while he reluctantly develops the habit of giving a shit about them, at least insofar as Hermione gives a shit about them. Hermione, meanwhile, is at her nastiest whenever someone accidentally triggers one of her insecurities, e.g. her intelligence or her pride or her poor social skills. Draco, on the other hand, is not really insecure at all; he thinks he's the hottest shit to ever breathe. So when she's around him, he naturally gives her the affirmation of being wanted and prioritized and liked for who she is by someone with a lot of confidence and social capital (as she perceives it; Draco from Hermione's POV is a lot less #cringefail than he is in his own, as would be the case for anybody. By the way, more people should talk about how incredibly hard to make someone look cool when you're writing in their head, and they literally never get to play off their mistakes).

When she has someone who genuinely would rather hang out with her than any other person at Hogwarts, Hermione doesn't feel so much like she's third-wheeling of the Ron/Harry soulmate bromance, which chills her out some. And then she also gets the reassurance that her evil morally grey plots and schemes are in fact 100% justified and smart, even though she knows Draco isn't maybe the best judge of that, which she also feels guilty about, but not enough to stop. And then Draco gets the reassurance of someone who's self-righteous definitely 100% Good and Just, Hermione, caring for him. Is this healthy? Who knows. Is this good in the long run? Who can say! But it does satisfy my brain worms on the subject.

[hoodie-rabbit]

Oh yay! A post about older trans fems

This is my Dad, Jo (any pronouns), age 52 now (her birthday was recently). She started E like around a year ago, and I’m really happy to have her in my life. I love my Dad a lot, and to see her express herself and such over this past year has really been incredible. Trans people can be older parents with adult children. Trans people can be parents with children who are brilliant people.

we DO grow old and happy. btw.

[rui-drawsbox]

manga so good i had to do my own cupidsona,,,

[shannonsketches]

Why is the anime so weird, it's not even the same series dude?? It's like,

Anime:

GOKU: I have a great idea to bring peace to the universe, and my leadership and compassion alone will unite us all. I have No Flaws and am A True Relatable Everyman :)

VEGETA: NO! I AM THE BEST AND I WILL CAUSE PROBLEMS UNTIL I AM RECOGNIZED AS SUCH!!!!

Manga:

GOKU: Vegeta what's cornmeal made of? I know it's what the corn eats, but what's it made of? VEGETA: Hey Kakarot let's play the quiet game until one of us dies.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

my greatest achievement in DA2 is maxing out Carver's friendship

and all it took was begrudgingly kissing a little templar ass in act 1 because Carver didn't want to plan a prison break if my Hawke got his ass arrested for being stupid.

[icewindandboringhorror]

I'm so heavily anti-advertising that all pitches sound goofy silly to me/I can never take them seriously, so I have no idea how I'll manage to to advertise my game even if I do finally finish it soon-ish lol...

[iamthepulta]

*crawls onto dash like an axolotl*

i- i am alone. back home. writing time.

[taegularities]

some men are textbook villains fr

[dreamsy990]

i drew silly gijinkas of my dogs

the dogs in question

[more-glitter-more-pizzazz]

I've always been a coward

And I don't know what's good for me