#THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON ANYONE i just wish people didn't set themselves up

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

Whyyy are people surprised about the whole "devil on your shoulder" thing. While it is obvious that Solas is a tragic and complicated character who's not without reason and is in his right to believe what he does, he's still the antagonist. A lot of us sympathize with him yes but the game is still (allegedly) about regret and fixing mistakes, not about being right.

Like I'm genuinely, unironically sorry to every Lavellan ever who wanted nothing more than follow Solas and help him tear down the veil, but so far it's clear we'll be playing against his ideals. That's the set direction of the game - to change his mind/stop his plan at all costs (whichever you chose), and every attempt to sway us will probably be framed by the narrative as him luring us to the dark side. I'm not saying it's a 100℅ good thing or something, I'm just saying that's probably what it'll be like.

Like I understand why some want him to succeed, I really do, but I also fear people might be setting themselves up for a disappointment. And the impending fallout of it all scares me.

[axel-ambassador]

So someone made an hour long video (that I didn't watch) about why Whatever It Takes is the worst song in Hazbin Hotel

So I'm gonna talk about why it's one of the best.

Disclaimer

Again, I haven't watched the video, so I don't know what their points are. But I'm not here to argue with their opinion. I'm here to get my own contrary opinion out there. Whoever they are is entitled to like and dislike whatever song they desire, even if I personally disagree. I have nothing against them and this is not made to antagonize them in any way shape or form.

Alright let's get into it

So let's start with Carmilla since there's a bit less to talk about compared to Vaggie.

The song starts as a soft ballad. As it progresses, we get to see more insight into who she is as a person, and not just as an overlord.

I always thought

That I would keep blood off my face

But when that thing attacked

I had to act

To cross that line and keep them safe

She is not a violent person. She never meant to kill the exorcist that attacked her and her daughters. She never wanted to, but she had to, because family is what's most important to her. Not money, not power, not souls, but family.

To further highlight this we get

But if anyone knew

Then all of Hell would rise to war

And who's to say who'd survive the fray?

I might lose the ones that I was killing for

As much as she's willing to fight for those that she loves, it scares her. She doesn't want to fight, because any possible gain that could come from it pales in comparison to the mere thought of putting Clara, Odette, and even Zestial in danger.

It's agonizing.

It's a rare moment of vulnerability from her. All the cards are on the table and her heart is on her sleeve. All in front of the people she cares most about. She may be vulnerable, but she's still secure about herself and is willing to share her deepest fears with them.

She will do whatever it takes to keep them safe, even if it means going to war and fighting until they no longer can. She will make every mistake if it means keeping them free from harm.

This is where we begin to draw the parallel to Vaggie, who we'll get to soon enough. They both make promises to protect their loved ones even if it means putting themselves on the line.

Carmilla is loyal as a fault to the people she cares about. A trait that can be dangerous if you don't have enough self preservation when the time comes to fight tooth and nail for your life.

Which is why she ends up doing something that goes against her morals: Killing.

And this is why Vaggie benefits so much from having her as a mentor, but more on that later.

So from a few verses we clearly understand who Carmilla is as a character. She's fierce, loyal, protective, and not afraid to put her morals aside if it means protecting her loved ones. Her parallel to Vaggie sets up for an interaction later down the line, where their similar yet different mentalities meet.

Speaking of everybody's favorite fallen exorcist...

If you ask me, Vaggie's part in this song hits so much harder for a multitude of reasons.

Let's start with the abundance of wonderful foreshadowing.

When I saw your face

You made me feel like a stranger in a brand new place

And it felt so good to be understood

But there's so much I wished that I could say

On its own, it makes you question what's below the surface. What is she talking about? What is she hiding? There's certainly more context that we're yet to see.

And then once we learn who Vaggie really is and how she met Charlie...

Suddenly it has so much more weight.

Charlie is an understanding person, she said so herself. In that moment, it didn't matter who Vaggie was or where she came from. All that mattered was getting her the help she needed.

So I

I'll be your armor

Do whatever it takes

I'll make the mistakes

I'll spend my life being your partner

Vaggie is eternally grateful for this. Because Charlie both literally and metaphorically saved her. Charlie becomes her rock, her world, and she does the only thing she knows how to in order to repay that kindness.

Serve and protect.

And I will try to make your dreams come true

Whatever we go through

Many call Chaggie's dynamic toxic because of this, which is not the case. Their relationship is not toxic. Vaggie has a toxic mentality that the only reason worth living is to be of service, but that does not make their relationship toxic.

Charlie never exploits this trait. She never takes advantage of Vaggie's giving nature, because she is also a giving person and treats Vaggie with the same love and adoration that Vaggie does. Yes, she can be dismissive, yes, she can be lightly oblivious to people's feelings, but never is there any intention of malice behind it. And when Charlie oversteps any boundaries, they talk things out.

Chaggie is not toxic. Vaggie is toxic towards herself.

Vaggie, unlike Carmilla, is insecure. She is alone. She's hiding things.

She can't possibly tell Charlie how she feels, because that would involve explaining everything she had been hiding, and in turn losing everything she had. She's scared.

She, like Carmilla, is willing to put everything on the line if it means keeping Charlie safe. The difference is that Vaggie was made to fight. It's the only thing she knows. She doesn't cast her morals aside, because fighting is her morals.

Carmilla and Vaggie are 2 sides of the same coin. Both are willing to put their life on the line to fight for their loved ones.

Carmilla doesn't want to fight, but is willing to put that aside for the sake of her family.

Vaggie only wants to fight, and thinks that's the only thing she can do for her family.

So when they finally meet, their ideals clash, and they make a compromise.

And this was all established through one incredible song.

Character moments aside, there are some other things that cement this song as a Top 3 Hazbin song for me.

Up until this point in watching the show, I wasn't fully onboard with the musical aspect. My friends and I would groan and complain every time a song came on and disrupted the plot. Up until this one.

This was the first song that really piqued my interest. This was the first song I watched and said "I'm gonna listen to this later."

This was the first song that I listened to for hours on loop on Spotify as I did my homework in my dorm. This was the first song that made me say, "wait a minute, these guys know what they're doing."

This song made me fall in love with Hazbin Hotel.

Maybe I'm biased because I love Vaggie and Stephanie Beatriz but frankly, I don't care.

Whatever it Takes is a wonderfully underrated song and I'm happy to share why I personally love it.

Thanks for reading ^⁠_⁠^

[olderthannetfic]

I've read up about sensitivity readers as a service but something about it still feels off pouring to me? I get the concept and I guess on paper it's a noble cause, but idk if stories should be striving for "sensitivity" on the basis of a single reader/editor. Do you have any particular feelings or insight on the practice?

--

Sensitivity readers have been around for a while. When operating as intended, the practice is both good and not a big deal. They're just a cultural knowledge beta with a more inflammatory title.

The version that exists within a thousand miles of YA twitter and its ilk is a hot mess.

--

See, in the ideal circumstance, what these people should be is a paid editor who does a read for specific cultural gaffes.

They'd be working alongside the main editor who'd hopefully have time for developmental notes (okay, they never do this now, but ideally), copy editors, etc. A bunch of people are taking a look at this book before it goes out into the world. The sensitivity reader is merely more familiar with some particular area, probably their own cultural background, so they can spot things the rest of the editors and the author might miss.

It's just the more professional version of some dude writer being like "Hey, female friend, would you mind reading my manuscript and telling me what you think of the female characters?"

--

Now, near the cesspit of groupthink and intellectual incuriousity that is YA twitter and in other places like that, people have come to behave as though one sensitivity reader can read for everything, not just their own personal background. They talk as though there is one objective standard for whether something is offensive and as though causing offense is the worst crime in the world.

This attitude is poison, and it's how you get assholes passing themselves off as authorities on all ethnic strife ever, then writing cartoonish villains the minute they include a setting outside of the US.

(As a sidebar, it is deeply unsurprising to find that this jackass complained about women profiting off of m/m. Beware the people who think they personally are the unique arbiter of everything. It always devolves somehow into "Buy my book, not theirs".)

A lot of loudmouths desperately wish to do this work, always talking about it as though it's a beautiful opportunity to browbeat others for a lack of wokeness. It's always the biggest clowns too. (Mardoll, for example, while whining about the attack helicopter story.)

--

And yet, sensitivity readers exist outside of the toxic waste dump that is book twitter. I can see why the idea puts your back up, but it's time to unclench.

Yeah, one member of a minority is not the ultimate arbiter of what is Objectively Offensive Forever, but that's not actually a sensitivity reader's job. They're one set of feedback among various. There's no guarantee a copy editor will catch absolutely every typo either. If you had time for 5 sensitivity readers, maybe that would be useful, but it's probably more useful to pick someone you trust. Evaluating and paring down all the feedback you get is one of the major jobs of an author after all.

It's really no different than having a cop read over your crime procedural for silly Hollywood nonsense you didn't realize was false and a cliche.

We do this kind of double-checking over less fraught topics all the time without a problem. Writers just get very tense when they hear the term 'sensitivity reader' because it makes them think of mobs of wokescolds and of their book being secretly irredeemably racist. In reality, a good quality sensitivity reader might tell you that a joke doesn't land because of some cultural detail you missed. They're not there to harass you. They're a professional you hired to help with your book.

Sensitivity readers are fine as long as we treat them as what they are—cultural betas—and not as an official guarantee of Not Problematic And Can Never Offend Anyone.

[v3nusxsky]

You’re safe with me

*Authors note~ so after posting "They still haunt me" on here and tumblr a part 2 was requested. I am happy to oblige with this after speaking to the original requester. So please if you ever have any prompts or requests feel free to shout at me and I'll do my best to make them happen read on darlings*

Trigger warnings ~ mentions past abuse , panic attacks

Prompt ~ part two for they still haunt me ~ aftermath of r finding Lesso's letter and the conversation that follows.

☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾

When you felt your body rouse from the land of sleep you were confused. Light seeped into the room through the small gap in the curtains, seemingly highlighting a piece of parchment that laid neatly on your bedside table. You hadn't left anything out? What happened last night? Cautiously, you reached out to grab the parchment gasping in shock when you caught sight of the unmistakable penmanship."Dearest y/n come and find me in the morning I wish to speak with you about what you've been going through and find a way to support you, just know you're not alone and won't ever be alone again. You are safe here little one. You're safe with me. Lady lesso"

You read over the words in shock, that had really happened last night. How embarrassing! You had appeared so weak in front of the great Dean of Evil. If it had truly happened you had seen a side of the women you didn't truly know and that absolutely terrified you. In your experience people were only nice when they got some kind of benefit from that. Where was the benefit of last night? Maybe this was all a cruel joke? If your mother taught you anything in life, it's that you can't trust anyone, no matter how nice they portray themselves to be.

You still couldn't help the tears that spilled at the thought of the women possibly somehow enjoying your display of weakness, yet you were unable to forget the kindness she showed you and the feelings she brought out in you. It was frustrating and scary and ultimately all you could feel was the overwhelming need to hide.  And that's exactly what you did. You got yourself ready for classes that day and made sure to try and relax, her kind words flowing round your mind constantly reminding you of the exact issue you were avoiding.

Somehow throughout the day you managed to seem more irritated if that was even possible. Your panic rising as the day trickled on. Each lesson closer to hers. Do you go? Do you stay? Do you seek her out at all? You had no idea what would be best. On some level you wished to confide in her, lay all the secrets bare for her to see. But on the other hand, you wanted to run away and hide, never to face Lady Lesso again. The internal wore you were battling continued to rage on throughout the whole day. By the time your Curses and Death Traps lesson was due to start your anxiety was at an all time high. How on earth were you going to make it through this lesson sane?

In your panicked state you did the only thing your exhausted brain could come up with is to run. And run you did. You completely evaded anyone who could possibly interfere, running in a desperate attempt to quell the internal war. You ended up running up your very own little hide away. To your knowledge no one knew of this little space. It was tucked away in the tallest spike of the building. The compact space soothed you as if it were a waited blanket. The walls laid bare showing how unused yet simplistic this space was. Another calming fact to the room was it held no disturbances for you. The one place you truly felt safe. Here in your nook no one could harm you. You often wonder if this is how your childhood should've been. And that was the thought that caused your break down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~flash back~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were cowering away hidden between your bed and the small set of draws that held your clothes, tears streaming down your face and your little mind tried to understand what was happening. Your chest heaving, feeling as though rocks were weighing it down, all you could do is cover your mouth with your sleeve in an attempt to muffle your cries.

It really wasn't your fault. Honestly you knew that you hadn't caused this. But her words, well they were convincing you otherwise. Your mother had not long met her boyfriend, the mere thought of his name disgusting you, and she had introduced you to him instantly. Thinking back you remember how terrified you were to meet a strange man. You wished for your mother's happiness so you gave it your best shot, you were polite and respectful but something about him meant you couldn't trust him. Soon enough he proved that feeling right.

When your mother was out what he did, the way he treated you was most certainly not okay. Even your smaller self knew that. At first you kept it a secret I mean would anyone believe you? You weren't so sure. Your mother was constantly furious with you for not getting along with him which made it all so much worse. Her punishments for that would quickly become physical and you grew to have a strong dislike for the women she was turning into.

Then you tried to tell your trusted therapist. As a child of divorce you attended regular sessions and she had become some what of a friend to you. Do you opened up, showed her the bruises and relived all the despicable things you had experienced. You thought she was in your side, that she believed you, that you were safe. But oh how wrong you'd been.

No. The therapist broke toe confidentiality rules, she went to your mother and disclosed everything you had told her. She explained it was simply you dealing with the split between your mother and birth farther and children your age often tale fibs as a coping mechanism. Which wasn't true! Why didn't anyone believe you when's you we're literally covered in the proof? What else were they waiting for? You didn't know. All you knew is that no one, absolutely no one is trust worthy. If you were to make it out alive you'd have to do it alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~end of flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You could feel your mind being pulled back from the painful memories but unsure why. After all you were the only one who knew this place existed. Or where you? It was the voice of Lesso that was pulling you back. Only then did you notice the irregular breathing, tears streaming down your cheeks and unrelenting shaking.

Lesso had been looking for you after you didn't arrive in her class. Worry trickling away below the surface as she tried to maintain her usual facade. As soon as the rest of the Nevers flocked from the room she set off in a search. Where on earth were you? And more importantly were you okay? She searched all the usual places you where known to hide. Yet you weren't there. Panic now rising, she picked up her pace and stalked around the castle scanning every possible hiding place she could think off. Until she came to the tallest point of the school. Now she made a habit of not telling her students about this, it was sort of her sanctuary, being just the floor above her office it just made sense. So you can imagine her utter shock when she spots you curled up in a corner clearly having a panic attack.

"Little one? Can you come back to, follow my voice darling, that's it good girl" she cooed on a repeat hoping to provide some sort of comfort. She truly cared for you and that's the moment you realised. You threw yourself into her arms, In which she wrapped around you instantly. "Hush little one I have you. You're safe. It's okay. I'm not mad." She reassured while bringing her hand to mess with your hair in a soothing manner. You didn't know how long you sat in her embrace, soaking up all the reassurance you could. And there seemed to be a never ending supply of it which allowed you to hide for a while.

Only when your breathing had completely evened out and the tears had now dried did she pull back to see you. You were broken. A broken dove sat in her lap, looking up at her with those pleading eyes. You needed help. And she was determined to give that to you. But if anything Lesso knew what it was like to hide, to keep secrets and too feel alone so she knew that if she pushed too hard you'd leave. Although patience was not something Never's normally practice, Lesso sat and waited for you to broach the conversation. And you did in your own time. You broke down once more, explaining everything to her while in the safety of her embrace. She never once interrupted you, just allowing you to let it all out while she rocked you. Only once she was sure you were done did she speak up and reassure you that you'd always have her and could trust her implicitly. Lesso would never allow you to be hurt again. And when she said those words, cradling you in her embrace, for the first time you actually believed them

Word count ~ 1607

Taglist~ @lestrange188

@theslytherindoctor

[chaserpucey]

Hogwarts Legacy NPC Starter's ( 1 / ? )

I bet Durmstrang students don't have to put up this this kind of stupidity.

Haven't we enough chaos without Peeves?

It you singe my robes -

Pleasant bit of magic, isn't it?

Why, you cheeky little charmgrinder.

Next time it shrieks I shall bake the thing.

Would you mind putting me back down.

You call that an attack?

Perhaps you might set me down, moonmind!

Isn't a broom good enough?

Oh, I'm just out and about. Riding a Graphorn.'

Riding a Hippogriff's all well and good till it throws you.

When is _ going to learn to stay away from the Restricted Section?

Striking up a friendship with , are we?

Why would you want to spend so much time with ? Do you feel sorry for him?

I'm still struggling with antidotes. Startling to me that so many of them use Mandrakes. I'll be sure never to go into that line of work.

That reminds me, did say we could borrow the book overnight, or that we'd get detention if we had it out overnight?

The people I feel sorry for are the ones who don't receive any owls, poor things. Have you seen their little faces at the table?

If anyone needs help with an essay or assignment, I don't mind lending a hand. I wrote two inches for Binns yesterday while I was eating my lunch.

That poor first-year trying to get into the Gryffindor common room. I swear the Fat Lady was having them on. Poor thing had to wait till next day.

Someone was trying to come up with some sort of pepper hex the other day.

I like to keep a bit of Wiggenweld Potion under my bed. Not naming names, but someone's bought a few too many tricks from Zonko's.

Try working with a wand that's been passed down from three unruly sisters.

Well, my father naturally assumed I'd be a strong Seeker, just like him.

Thank Merlin Quidditch was cancelled.

I took my copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi to Herbology and I left it in the greenhouse, by the Mandrake seedlings. _ was horrified I didn't have it for class. Said I need to get my priorities straight.

What's the point of even learning about Herbology if we can't get ourselves into some trouble with Gillyweed?

If I haven't personally met a mermaid by the end of term, I can tell you, I shan't be happy.

Any of you know where I can find some Leaping Toadstools?

Did you get your Bitterroot from Pippin's? Or did you pick it yourself? I'm desperately in need of some.

I heard some chatter near the girls' lavatory about Boomslang skin. Do you think they're looking to brew a Polyjuice Potion?

I suppose I'd be curious about a Beautification Potion. What? Not for me, moonmind. For a friend of mine.

Don't be stupid. How do you look at a rock and say, 'Oh, I think I'll drink that.'?

Those French don't even hold their wands right so I don't know what they're teaching at Beauxbatons.

Almost makes you want to send them one just to give them a thrill.

Me? I'm dripping with owls.

Is there anywhere in Hogwarts you haven't explored?

I thought I was a good duellist, but I wouldn't dare cross you.. .

It was brilliant how you defeated _ in that duel.

Where did you and run off to?

Almost got me expelled, that did.

My father used to say that I looked part Erumpent. It's not funny.

If I Transfigure my poor toad into a goblet one more time, I think he's going to insist he stay that way.

Professor _ going to quiz us on rare water beasts next week.

Can't wait to tell _ I actually saw a Kelpie in Ireland over the summer.

Don't know why the common rooms all have secret ways of entering. Who wants to go into someone else's common room anyway? We were sorted for a reason.

Someone's parent sent homemade Cauldron Cakes and they shared them in the common room. Think they mistook salt for sugar, mind you. Half-eaten cakes everywhere for days, there were.

Our dorm's atrocious. I do wish people would clean up after themselves once in a while

A Bundimun destroyed my homework last night.

If I didn't know better, I'd say they were raised by trolls.

I was distracted by Peeves and ran face-first into _ the other day. Our books went flying. Think it made Peeves' entire week.

_ caught me making faces behind his back. It was awful – not to mention losing so many house points.

I need to get some dragon-hide gloves for Herbology. I refuse to handle Chinese Chomping Cabbages with bare hands.

Going to harvest some knotgrass from the greenhouses today. Did you know that it's used in Polyjuice Potion?

I'd like to open a shop in Hogsmeade myself one day.

I'd wager it was something to do with their time as an Auror.

Every time she pretends not to see me in the halls, I cast at her with a Trip Jinx.

I was trapped on the Grand Staircase for an hour the other day waiting for it to move.

My friends and I like to spend our evenings watching the sun set from the Quidditch pitch.

That’s all the pitch is good for this year, sadly.

Have you been to the Owlery lately? House-elves have fallen a bit behind in the cleaning this week.

I heard an ex-Auror lives in a hamlet outside of Hogsmeade. Think I'd want a quiet life too after years fighting Dark Wizards.

I'd like to retire to Hogsmeade one day. Open a pub. Bore future Hogwarts pupils with tales of my childhood.

Any news about the dragon near Pitt-Upon-Ford? Be enough to make me move, to be honest.

I met some of my best friends in Flying. Nothing creates a bond like thinking you're all about to die.

_ promised me his old broomstick once he's saved up for a new one.

I practised doing a loop-the-loop on my broom all summer.

I miss going to matches.

Cheering everyone on was magnificent fun.

The Chudley Cannons are going to be unbeatable next season; you just wait and see.

_ glanced at me the other day in the Great Hall. I spit out my breakfast. Not sure it sent the right message.

I used to write to my parents every week. Now I can't remember the last time I sent them an owl.

Wish I'd brought a pet owl to school.

So many letters arrive every day and none of them is ever for me.

I rather enjoy Transfiguration myself. The complexity – the precise nature of it; truly something to be admired.

Professor _ is a marvellous teacher. Never requires us to write more inches of parchment on a topic than necessary.

If I can just stop vanishing my notes when practising Evanesco, I think I can get an O on my Transfiguration O.W.L. this year.

Wish I had your skill. I'm like a drowned Billywig at Crossed Wands, I am.

Just curious, were you born with a broom?

Oh, you shouldn't be using that sort of magic. You'll get into a lot of trouble for that

[true--north]

I have finally watched Wish 2023.

Good things: A++ costuming. Medieval style of the movie is awesome, there is nothing to compare to it. Also, scenery is pretty impressive. I wish Arendelle and Northuldra costuming were that good.

I like the meta of Wish, they tried to make a prequel set up for other Disney fairy tales: Asha is the first Fairy Godmother, a woman from the town is that seamstress that created the fashion book from Sleeping Beauty, Magnifico is the face into the Evil Queen's mirror, the wishes floating up looked like the lanterns in Rapunzel, Asha's cart's transformation looked like Cinderella carriage's, etc. The classic fairytale book opening was beautiful and nostalgic.

That's all.

Bad things: where to start?

Animation Style. As I feared since the early gifs, this combination of styles is not my cup of tea. The combination of simple flat drawing and 3d models for me ruined the immersion and created a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" weird effect. Even worse. Because in the Rabbit the drawn characters remained drawn. and the real actors remained actors. In Wish, the characters could be 3D one moment and flatly drawn the next. Or have 3d face but flat dress, 3d clothes but flat simplistic hands, etc. The way they acted against flat painted sets like at a theatre stage was just weird. Maybe Disney was trying to tribute their two eras of animation this way, but it didn't work for me. I kept noticing the changing styles and found it annoying.

Asha is uninteresting as a heroine. I wasn't moved by her at all, there's nothing special about her(except that she has a living mother, but still her father is dead and she's ready to talk about him right at the interview.) There are "no like other girls" heroines, but Asha is literally the opposite. Maybe they tried to make her generic on purpose, like she's a proto-princess as well: laughs like Rapunzel, is awkward like Anna, talks to animals like Snow White and Aurora, runs like Elsa in Let It Go, has the same colour palette like Isabella, has similar scenes with "Be our guest" and "Under the sea", but she didn't inspire me. And she is too adorkable. Her friends have more personality and coolness than she.

Her goat is just awful, I'm serious here. Not only is he ugly, but he talks in a weird for a baby goat manner and makes stupid jokes. In fact, the jokes in Wish are really cringe. The chickens and eggs, the goat's tail in Asha's face…no, thanks.

Magnifico. I absolutely do not miss "classic villains", especially if they are going to be like him now. I don't know how the old Disney did it but Queen Grimhilde and Maleficent were a way more understandable and "justified" in their hatred than Magnifico, even though we know nothing about them. They had something in them Magnifico doesn't. Lady Tremaine and Ursula are just geniuses, super bosses and icons in comparison to him.

He has no reason to be so paranoid and do what he does other than a mental illness he got as a child. He has no reason to fear being attacked by the citizens, he had no reason at all to fulfill/continue fulfilling anyone's wishes, what for?

What he was doing did nothing at all to prevent his fear of being attacked he developed when he was a boy. Holding wishes back doesn't protect the city from war that was not going to happen, actually. If Magnifico had been drinking energy from wishes from the beginning it would make much more sense, but no he started doing this only after he opened the book of forbidden magic. Although, he indeed had the right to decide what is worthy to fulfill because it was his magic, not everyone's.

He's ugly and yes as I've noticed before he looks like older Prince Hans.

I found the final moral that magic is unnecessary and we should do everything by themselves, that people can't live well with it and are asking too much, discouraging and too didactic rather than inspiring. If wishes are not going to be fulfilled in the end and it's painted as good, then why Asha was sad when she found out that Magnifico didn't want to fulfill all of them? Magnifico at least fulfilled a % of the wishes, now they have zero. The problem that sometimes wishes just can't come true and it will hurt you is not addressed as much as it should. Oh, and the collective wishes have magic and are good but individual wishes should be achieved by hard work thing...Idk.

What was that all about?

And all the songs are not catchy at all. "I'm a star" has some unpleasantness in its message I can't put my finger on.

⭐⭐⭐ experience. Only its aesthetic made the movie for me. Sorry, Lee, Buck and friends 😗 I just hope that F2 wasn't your last good piece of art and that you'll make better than this for F3 and 4(one of the Wish directors is a Frozen storyboard artist. Mark Smith, do better, please.)

[jessimiko]

My thoughts on the idea of resurrecting Penny

So first off I'd like to preface this with clarifying that this is not an attack on anyone or your theories, I don't want to ruin your fun and if you disagree that's fine! I just wanted to discuss my own thoughts on the matter and my opinions on popular theories. If you don't want to read about like, me criticizing the idea of Penny coming back then this is your warning, I guess?

So right off the bat, I'll say that I think brining Penny back again would be a bad writing decision. It takes away any possible stakes for not only her, but for everyone else too. If we set this precedent that people can just be brought back to life over and over again, even in a human body, then is there really anything at stake anymore?

Two, it goes against the main conflict of the story. This all started when Salem just refused to take no for an answer and wouldn't let Ozma rest. Now, you can think whatever about the Gods, that they punished Salem appropriately or they're total dicks or something in between. But like surely we can all agree that Salem was in the wrong in bringing Ozma back? Like... when she first went to the God of Light and begged for her beloved back, that I can understand. Obviously she's heartbroken and she's mourning, she didn't do anything wrong there. But like, the God of Light was right, life and death is a delicate balance. And I guess you could argue it's different in a fictional world where it IS possible for the Gods to bring people back to life, but... Accepting death and mourning your loss so you can move on is a part of life, no? Like I'm having trouble putting what I mean into words but y'know, the circle of life. Two sides of the same coin. Etcetera etcetera.

Where I'm going with that point is that bringing people back from the dead upsets that balance. And it's because Salem disrupted that balance that this is all happening. We've already seen what happens in universe when people are brought back from the dead. And it's uh.....BAD. Plus, as you'll remember, the God of Darkness brought Ozma back and he was freaking out and and screaming "Where am I?!" So like, people coming back to life is potentially an absolutely horrifying experience for them, so maybe lets not???

(You could also argue that the Gods themselves broke their own rules and disrupted the balance by punishing Salem with immortality. That's it's own discussion but like we all know the Gods fucked that one up. Because it lead to....*gestures at The Lost Fable* But that doesn't mean Salem was in the right for bringing Ozma back. And yeah, the Gods are capable of bringing people back to life, doesn't mean they should.)

Thirdly, it takes all the weight out of the absolutely crushing defeat of the volume 8 finale. It makes it all kinda meaningless. Y'know how frustrating it is when a story ends with something like ✨and it was all a dream✨? It's like that. Plus, I can't really see them putting Jaune through the horrifyingly traumatic experience and the subsequent emotional turmoil of killing her, only to be like "lol jk"

(you could argue that Penny being killed disrupts the balance of life and death, but bringing her back would just be another thing that disrupts it, they wouldn't cancel each other out)

Now, I'd like to also put in my two cents on some popular theories about it happening. Again, I'm not making fun of you or anything for having these theories and ideas, this is just how I feel about them personally. But I'm glad y'all are having fun theorizing /gen

Pietro will give the rest of his aura and sacrifice himself to bring Penny back.

It makes sense. Pietro loves Penny, and it's obvious he would do anything for his daughter. And that's exactly it, he would do anything for her.

This is how that scene went, and what Pietro said specifically:

Ruby: You gave her part of yours?

Pietro: Yes. And each time I rebuild Penny, it takes a little more. If the people get their wish and she's destroyed, I won't be able to--

There's obviously no sacrifice that Pietro won't make for his daughter. If he could sacrifice his own life to bring her back he would do it in a heartbeat. But he can't. He won't be able to.

Whether it's that he doesn't have enough aura left, or it's literally not possible for him to give up ALL of his aura, it's very clearly not possible.

They will take part of Pietro's aura and/or the part of Penny that's inside Winter to bring her back.

So the "part" of Penny that's inside Winter is linked to the winter maiden's power, and based on volume 3 I assume that the maiden's power, magic, is bound to your soul. There's no separating it from your soul. Hell, the reason Oscar can use magic is because of his soul merging with Oz's.

So what the idea is here is that they put Winter in the aura transfer machine thing and rip her soul apart to put the maiden powers in someone else? Y'know, literally exactly what Cinder did to Amber? Yeah, I can't see them doing that.

Part of Penny is inside Ruby because of what she said to Ambrosius "We kinda want to keep her around a little longer than that."

I...don't really understand how this idea came to be, to be honest. Like Ambrosius' whole thing is that he's very literal. He'll give you exactly what you asked for, not what you meant, not what you might have meant, exactly what you asked for. I don't really think Ambrosius like, reads between the lines and creates his interpretation of what he thinks you meant. Also sticking a piece of Penny's soul inside of Ruby isn't creation, and wouldn't it have y'know...fucked her up? Maybe both of them? So yeah, this one doesn't make sense to me, sorry.

Penny's swords should have disappeared when she died, but they didn't (I guess the theory is that she survived somehow?)

Okay but like, we have no reason to believe they should have disappeared. Sure we have no reason to believe they should still be around, either, but hear me out. We've seen two other maidens create weapons with their magic (not their aura, if they did it with their aura then anyone on Remnant could materialize weapons out of nothing.) Raven, and Cinder. Raven we've only really seen make that huge sword at Haven, and Cinder is making weapons for herself all the time. In both of these instances, these weapons were probably deliberately destroyed, I mean a distinct part of the way Cinder fights is she makes weapons and throws them at people and makes them explode. We've never seen these weapons disappear after a maiden's death, obviously, because Cinder and Raven are still alive. Thus we don't really have a reason to believe that Penny's swords should have disappeared.

Edit: seems like I was wrong about the swords disappearing! Still, we never actually see them dissipate/disappear, so maybe they went flying off the edge or something? And I still highly doubt her swords/the one Ruby found are like the secret to reviving her, like containing some of her aura or soul. Why would that be the case?

The way Penny said "Trust me." to Jaune must have meant something

I don't really know what to say here, either. Is the theory that she came up with some plan of how to survive or bring herself back or something? But like...how?

I think it's more likely that she was just convincing him , I guess? Choice was actually a pretty big part of Penny's narrative in volumes 7-8, and how she struggled with not being able to live her life the way she wanted to.

Penny: I was the protector of Mantle. But now, I am much more than that. And I wish I was not.

Even becoming the winter maiden, she chose to do that, but because she didn't really have a choice. She didn't want that responsibility. And once she had it, she wanted to use it to help her friends, and to help with the mission. But even her father wouldn't let her at first. And when Penny explains to him that she's trying to live her life, but he isn't letting her, Pietro understands and let's her do what she wants, even if it puts her in danger.

And then we get this shot:

She feels so free. Even if what she's doing is dangerous, she chose this.

And she chose to sacrifice herself to keep the winter maiden's power from Cinder, and by extension, Salem.

Edit: She also got to choose to give the winter maiden's power to Winter, rather than letting them go to Cinder or someone random if she just bled out.

And it was tragic, but I think, narratively, it would be a disservice to take that choice away from her.

Penny's character allusion, Pinocchio, came back twice, so it makes sense for her to come back twice, too.

I'm sorry I really hate to rain on your parade, but like... she already came back twice. The first time, after she "died" at the Vytal Festival, and the second time was when she was saved from the virus, which would have killed her, and became a "real" girl.

Plus, how would they bring her back when she died in a human body? Just doesn't seem possible to me.

Little is Penny

While I think this idea is super fuckin cute, I don't really understand. Why would that have happened?

Like, I totally get it y'all are GOING THROUGH IT, and I'm not here to ruin your fun or fight with you or anything. This all just been sitting in my brain and it wanted to come out. Again these are just my thoughts and I understand if you do not agree. I hope you keep having fun with all this 🙏

[egg-emperor]

all people do online anymore is find people being “problematic” and make drama over it. that’s their only only hobby alongside twitter. they’re miserable. they’re doing nothing of any actual help to real people. they’re simply harming others. it’ll be okay julian. just focus on the people on your side!

Yeah they really do. It's depressing how much of fandom has come to this. Applying good morals to their tastes and interpretations in characters and creations, and every bad thing they can think of to anyone who's own differs from theirs too much. They also tend to seem to be extremely limited creatively because of the restrictions they place and harm others if they don't follow for how they put down anyone who falls out of line of what they want, which is why there's so little variety anymore besides the clean sanitized and wholesome.

It doesn't seem like an extremely miserable and performative way of existing in and experiencing fandom. Especially because I can confidently say that a lot of people are fake, two faced, repressed, and even extremely hypocritical as a result. And I didn't want to be like that so the moment I decided I didn't want to hide parts of myself and expresd myself freely, I was punished for it under the guise that they're in the moral right and doing everyone a favor to me, someone they paint as a threat with very extreme and serious but baseless accusations.

I really hoped I wasn't going to become a target of this behavior but I also saw it coming because I knew some people would use my fascination in the evil and dark against me at some point- despite it literally being on the subject of a villainous character. You can have all the logic and reasoning in the world and they'll still use it as a chance to demonize, to make themselves look like the better people and make people that think their beliefs and takes on something are the right ones to have in comparison.

Nothing about my interpretation and writings about Eggman unintentionally making people uncomfortable will ever be worse than them deliberately setting out to hurt me and taint this passionate project of mine. And that's why I'm not going to let them win, I'm going to keep being the type of writer/artist/creator in fandom I wish we could get more of without people like them attacking and seeking to erase it. And I hope that still expressing myself despite that will encourage others to do the same.

Thank you! Anxiety has a way of eating me up a lot over this but I'm trying to fight it with the thought that this won't last and I'm appreciating all of you that are still here with me. I'm thankful that I can be honest with you all here and even more for the kind support. 💜

[kob131]

Apparently, it's possible to become a Beast totally unwillingly! It's revealed that Camazotz, the Bat God that's been antagonizing Chaldea in LB7, used to be a human king but after ORT began attacking, all of humanity (and I mean ALL of it) collectively sacrificed themselves to grant him the power to defeat it so at least other lifeforms can continue living on Earth, (of which he actually did, but it took him millions of years and only managed to put it in a dormant state by tearing out its heart). This granted him total immortality and the Beast Class as the Beast of Oblivion, despite him not wanting it and wishing to fight for humanity's survival/last wishes. In essence, he became a Beast despite wishing for humanity's survival and whose very "birth" rendered humanity extinct. Ironically, he's also the only Beast that technically succeeded in destroying humanity despite wanting its survival.

Utterly fascinating. To reiterate for anyone reading this who doesn't know what we're talking about- Beasts are a class of 'Servant' in the Nasuverse that embody certain sins (not the usual Christians but ones like Pity, Regression and Retribution). Much like any other Servant, the Beast class cannot be attained by just anyone and has certain requirements that must be met in order to acquire the class. For Beasts, this is twofold- a love for humanity and a drive to destroy it stemming from that love. For example, Beast II wanted to destroy humanity because in myth they rejected her love and she can't let go of them.

Now, anyone familiar with the Nasuverse should know that the rules of the setting...aren't as hard set as the writing makes them appear to be. In the case of Servants, people can qualify for certain Classes out of technicalities, like a famous hero being summoned as a Saber despite not being known as a swordsman just because he has a sword. Even Beasts are subject to this. One of the Beasts, Beast III/R, became one even though she didn't love humanity. She did this by defining humanity to mean just herself, thus allowing her to skirt the system.

Camatoz seems to be the inverse of this. Whereas Beast III/R was a Beast that lacked a love for humanity, Camatoz never had a drive to do destroy them. If I had to guess, the qualification for the Beast Class might not be 'a drive to destroy humanity' but 'the cause of humanity's demise' instead. He even still embodies a sin of mankind- the willingness to die and be forgotten, despite how counterintutive that is. It's also ironic in a sad way. The Beasts all tried to destroy humanity because they lacked something to truly understand mankind and what was best for them. Camatoz likely did know what was best for them. And yet he's the only Beast to have technically killed humanity.

To be honest- I wasn't really a fan of Camatoz. He's not my type (I prefer guys like Arthur) and his introduction was him near fatally wounding and mentally violating the innocent Kingprotea. I was just waiting for his humiliating end. But leave to Nasu- I feel bad for the guy. The Beast Class must be like the Avenger class cracked up to 11 and beyond. It has to be hell on him to exist in that class alone, even ignoring the guilt he must feel for being the last remnant of humanity. And yet he still fought on to honor their wishes, which while something you shouldn't emulate is still a noble one. And any guy willing to face down ORT for millions of years for any reason, let alone one as thankless as that, has my respect.

[elvensorceress]

✨️💫🌿🤲🕯

If you're so inclined 💙💙

Ro, beloved! Thank you! (Sorry this took a few days. Work is 🫠🫠🫠)

✨What’s a fic you’ve posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

The Orpheus/Eurydice inspired series.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

My favorite comments are when people point out their favorite parts or when they tell me what they enjoyed, how they felt, what moved them -- those kinds of things. :) I also think it's fun when people get really analytical and find little details I threw in or even when they ask questions about my thought process or how the story came to be.

I'm also very fond of all the comments from people telling me the way I write ace/demi!Eddie makes them feel Seen. I know it's helped me work through and accept a lot of things about myself, and I'm always so so happy when people tell me it's helped them, too. Identifying as ace/demi has always been something that made me feel very weird, wrong, insufficient, etc... and if it helps anyone else feel better about themselves and their own sexuality, there's nothing more rewarding.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

Lovely! Expressive and fulfilled. 🥰

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

I mentioned this some when I wrote about why I write, but it's an emotional outlet for me as well as something therapeutic where I get to put thoughts, feelings, ideas into characters and make them tell a story. It brings me joy being able to write difficult things but give them happy resolutions, and one of the biggest things that made me want to be a writer was telling stories about people who don't typically have stories told about them.

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn’t think it would take you?

Most of my bigger, longer fics took turns that I didn't expect. I usually go into a fic with an idea in mind but sometimes when I go to write, it ends up completely different. Either the characters take over and come out differently than expected or something comes up that wasn't planned but seems interesting so I go along and follow it.

Now to answer more specifically, we're going to put this under a cut. I ramble a lot. I'm sorry 💕

Unless You Ask Me To is absolutely one of these. It started, conceptually, as a little, maybe 25K kind of fic (yes, this is little to me 🤣) where Eddie goes on a couple dates with a guy, Buck gets jealous, and they get together. I had a whole first draft and it was supposed to be simple, straightforward, over and done thing, and it wasn't even 20K.

And then I started thinking about it. And wondering about the other things I could do with the set up that I had. Such as, what if this random guy becomes Eddie's boyfriend and Eddie has to work through relationship issues like his traumas from past, his worries about abandonment, his difficulties with vulnerability and emotional intimacy, and (because this is me) him struggling with asexuality and wanting sex vs having sex, coping with having had sex that he didn't want but essentially forced himself into because it was something his partners wanted, and taking his canon anxiety/panic attack(s) and making him confront this in more depth.

And because I put him in a relationship with someone who was not his best friend, partner, coparent, love of his life, it let me play with things that imo wouldn't necessarily come up were he to be in a relationship with Buck. Or wouldn't come up in the same way since it's set somewhere beyond season 6 or at least beyond 6a, so Buck and Eddie are already SO very devoted, committed, and in love with each other. Even though they have yet to realize this. 🙃 But they're already in a place where even though they haven't addressed many of their Issues, they are veryveryvery close and vulnerable with each other and turn to each other for most everything.

So, this one has become difficult to write just because it is so massively flipping long now and there are a lot of struggles with sex, with panic and anxiety and bad triggers, with relationships, with self-worth that are not easy things to feel or confront. (There is also the whole part where I made two of Eddie's worst nightmares come to life, and it put him in a very very depressed broken state.)

But it's also been one of the most rewarding fics to write? It feels like people have connected to it and like they've been enjoying the whole epically long journey. I mean. We're over 150K now and the boys are still not together and 🫠🫠🫠🫠 what is that about. That's a hard thing to stick with when that relationship is the favorite core thing for most of us.

But that's been another fun, unexpected thing I got to play with -- because Eddie had a boyfriend for a good half of the fic, I really got to lean into the juxtaposition between a relationship that was good and healthy and didn't have issues per se, and a relationship that is the biggest best most beautiful and most right soulmate supreme kind of love. It's easy to write a messy incompatible disaster relationship and say that one with his best friend would be better. Obviously it would lol. But I think it was interesting and more telling to show him in a relationship that wasn't bad (and in fact eventually helps him resolve some issues) but it just wasn't right. And it makes the Buddie relationship shine all the brighter for it.

Anyway, this is a lot of midnight rambling 🤣 but tl;dr - Unless went completely off the rails, but I've really been enjoying the journey and I hope everyone else does, too.

And the next chapter should be finished and posted around Wednesday this week. It's going to be a very fun one. ;)

Thank you so much for the questions! I love and adore you and hope you have a wonderful week! 💕💕💕💕💕💕

[casspurrjoybell-18]

The Vanilla Scented Rogue

*Warning Adult Content*

Chapter 5: Rogue and Vanilla

B E N E D I C T - S T A P L E T O N

They all deserved to die, they all deserved to feel pain in their last moments alive. They all deserved to be hated, to be known as the most despicable species alive and as I sat in my chair studying the male in front of me, I could only see him as one of them. It didn't matter that his rogue scent was somewhat hidden because his natural scent, the scent he would've had if he was never a filthy rogue, the scent I could only describe as vanilla, wasn't the only smell that emitted off him. I doubt anyone else could smell the vanilla scent radiating off of him and I would've liked to have that privilege because the only reason I smelled the vanilla scent he emits was because I was his mate.

I was this rogue's mate which meant his scent was heightened for me and for me alone and I hated that fact with my whole being. I didn't want to smell the vanilla scent he still somehow held. I wanted to smell the boy like how everyone else smelt him, I wanted to look at him and smell a rogue so it would be easier to discard our bond. I didn't want a scent to make me actually like a disgusting rogue but my wolf was howling for him, he wanted me to make the boy ours, he wanted me to ignore the fact that the boy still smelled like rogue. Impossible.

"Brother."

I turned my head, my eyes catching on my sister who was tasked with bringing the rogue to me. Apparently, my mate was the only rogue who got captured by my warriors. Most of my mate's brethren were killed during the attack because they couldn't defend themselves against my warriors but I was told some did end up escaping the attack that they had started.

The only thing that calmed me at the moment was the fact that although some escaped, not many did or would even survive the night with the wounds they were given. I trailed my eyes over my mate's body before realizing there was a blood stain on his shirt. He looked to be in pain because of the no doubt nasty wound hiding beneath his shirt.

'Good.'

The rogue in front of me was the only rogue that was taken because he was unconscious and was deemed not a threat, so my warriors decided it would be best to bring him here so I can get answers out of him but I wish he was killed last night so I didn't have to see him today.

"Sit," I said through gritted teeth.

My sister smiled at me as she walked my mate to the seat in front of my desk. I watched as she let my mate sit down on the chair, making sure he was situated before coming to stand by me.

'Remind me to throw that chair away later,' I mind-linked my sister who continued to smile at the male in front of me.

'Be nice, brother,' she answered me, not taking her eyes off my mate.

"Name?" I sighed, as I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen.

He didn't answer me, he simply continued to sit in the chair as he looked down at the ground.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be," my sister spoke, softly.

"Micheal," he eventually spoke, lifting his eyes from the floor.

"Micheal what?" I sighed again, looking into his tired eyes.

"Micheal Davis."

His eyes quickly darted back down to the floor, as he answered me.

"Where is the rest of your pack located?" I asked, as I wrote down his name.

"We don't have a camp set up, we were just passing through."

"So there's was about fifteen members of your pack, including you?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Because there were eleven dead bodies and my warriors said about four or five people escaped."

"Yup," he said shortly, not moving his eyes off the floor.

I looked over at Beatrix who had her eyes trained on Micheal, her eyebrows knit together.

"Will they come back for you?" I asked, looking at Micheal from the corner of my eye.

"No, they probably think I'm dead," Micheal said, looking up and looking at me with a straight face.

"They won't come back now with such low numbers," he spoke in a quiet voice, like he knew they wouldn't come back for him but at the same time, he couldn't believe that they wouldn't.

I ran a hand through my hair before turning away from Beatrix, my attention solely on Micheal.

"Fine," I say, shortly before picking up my cell-phone and dialing my Beta.

"You wanna do this the hard way? We'll do this the hard way."

"Hey, Sammy," I spoke, as soon as he picked up.

"Hey, Benny," he answered. I growled at the nickname, which made a chuckle escape his lips.

"What's up?" he spoke casually.

"I need more warriors patrolling the edge of our land," I spoke with my eyes trained on Micheal.

"In one specific area or do you mean to assign more warriors all around the perimeter?"

"Assign more warriors all around the perimeter," I clarified.

"I also need a few groups of warriors to go outside our territory and hunt some Rogues that are nearby and tell them, I'll be joining them."

"Alright," my Beta said, before ending the call.

I stood up from my chair, before walking around my desk and standing next to my mate.

"I don't believe a single thing that has come out of your mouth, Micheal."

I bent down, speaking into his ear.

"I will find the rest of your pack and I'll kill everyone you have ever loved, then I will kill you."

I smiled and he shivered as my breath hit his ear, his lips pressed tightly together.

"Set a date for his execution," I spoke as I stood up straight.

"Because I doubt it will take long for us to find his pack and exterminate them all."

I smiled as I walked out of my office that now smelled like a mix of rogue and vanilla.

[nathank77]

5/2/24

4:12 a.m

My heart has been fluttering. I'm not going to the ER it's fucking 4 a.m. this happens way too regularly... I mean probably once a day. Regardless of if I drink red bull or get stressed.

Can you have panic attacks without having anxiety? Idk I don't get it. Maybe it's more than that.

I'm not happy, I mean the HDCP thing threw me through a loop and then I decided it wasn't worth it to game for the rest of the night bc I'd get too immersed in Bully. Instead I decided to shower tonight which I wasn't going to do bc I was going to play video games all day.

Now I might set up my sleeping pill so I can enjoy tomorrow with some red bull and Bully. I mean after the post office and Therapy with Erin if she doesn't cancel.

I can't wait to get the heart monitor. The palpitations came after and are still happening currently. I just showered like 20 minutes ago. I didn't even worry about it and then it started happening. So idk anymore.

I'm not happy ingeneral. I'm lonely. I'm miserable bc I have no one to talk to. I can't find anyone who finds me attractive. I mean it's frustrating cause like people say, "people notice when you hate yourself or when you have low confidence and it's basically a repellant to people."

I hate that saying, "if you don't love yourself, how can you expect anyone to love you." Katie couldn't love me bc of my self hatred at the time which is fucked.... I want to be loved even if I hate myself.

Well I love my appearance. I love my will to fight and what a good person I am. I'm funny, I'm strong, I'm genuine, and I'm selfless.....I also think I'm fucking hot. So confidence is a check, self love is a check. I dont get it. I feel so alone and idk why people don't want to get to know me. I wish i didnt have 500 doctors appts/aka so many problems so I could do community service or a meet up. It's hard making time for gaming sometimes cause I focus so hard on getting stuff done with my fucked circadian rhythm.

My heart is still fluttering. 4:17 a.m.

Something I loved about Elise is if she really dedicated that song I won't listen to Know That You Are Loved by Cleo Sol. She loved me when I hated myself. I always wanted that kind of love cause it's real. Loving yourself doesn't need to be something involved as long as you fight for yourself. Cause I get how someone not doing what they need to do to take care of themselves is hard to get behind although I think that's true love when you love someone who is truly broken. At their worst.

Thats how I wanted to be loved.

Either way I love myself now, I just hate my broken my brain so where are the ladies cause I mean, I'm smart, I'm attractive and I'm a fighter and I'm amazing with kids. I might as well be a pollen and the kids are bees. They fucking love me.

4:22 a.m and it's still happening but whatever.

[niragixpsych]

That's when you change to the better, picking yourself up instead of keeping to whine. You've developed a good mindset. Could be words from me once again. Maybe you're my soulmate, ever thought about that? Just kidding, I don't really believe in soulmates. That's definitely too cheesy to be true.

When I set the fire then it's definitely interesting to me. Or when I push someone else's head under water. Then water is interesting as well. That's all I gotta say about fire and water.

Yeah, hate is the most powerful feeling ever. A huge fuel. And you certainly had still a task to solve on this world that needed to be fulfilled. However, guess Satan needs guys like us as weapons so we're still existing even though we actually shouldn't be.

True. But that's just their survival instinct. I'd never expect anyone to try to help me before they helped themselves. Everyone can turn into a backstabber. As for me, I certainly risk things to protect someone weaker, I'd rather watch myself catching a bullet than a child, for example.

That other world sounds interesting actually. As if it's like some purge-night. I'd love to go around and shoot some pedos in the head. Those fuckers never get the punishment they deserve. This pisses me off.

Loyality is one of the most important things to me. I barely forgive disloyality. What are other expectations you have when it comes to a friend?

Could sign that once again. It gets troublesome if people try to tickle something out of me they mostly fail. But yeah, I'm open for new experiences, more than I've been in the past. Too much stubborness didn't do me good.

I decided that I'm done backing down. I would consider myself lucky in a way that I'm walking on a wire so to speak. I'm up high enough to not be bothered by others attacking me. Sure they can dream of hurting me, but I'll end up hurting them instead. Also I was about to say you didn't strike me as someone that believed in soulmates. If such a thing existed you would think you would hear and see of it more. But I guess it's simply wishful thinking from humans.

Of course those things are only interesting to me if I'm in control of the situation. I know how it feels to get burnt and I definitely prefer to set things on fire. Also water can be used to get people to talk.

Sometimes I'm convinced fate sent back to make others suffer and I'm not complaining about it. I will be here for as long as I can and then drag everyone down to hell with me I deem worthy of it. Sure I'm haunted by my own demons, but I learnt to live with them a long time ago. Maybe that's just to remind me of where I started or as what I started, who knows.

It sure is true that everyone can turn into a backstabber so it's best to never fully trust anyone. I wouldn't say I'm fond of weak people, but I guess it depends on in what way they are weak. Strangely enough I can see myself helping a child out, because I remember how it is to be one and not get help. And maybe also in rare cases those that can't help that they are weak. I don't think I would help someone that didn't try first and just calls themselves being weak as an excuse for not trying in the first place.

This place has no law, no one that will hold you back from doing whatever the fuck you want. Sure there are some rules to obey, but they only have to do with the games you have to play there. Play to stay alive or die trying. Some just give up though because they can't take it being there. Maybe one day I will show you because I can go back there at will. I know you will find a lot of people worth shooting.

A friend, huh? Trying to befriend me... something people rarely dare to try. I want that person to be honest with me and be their true self. And not try to change me. I'm not for everyone and I prefer to be that way. So if someone tries to therapy me they have to go. I know I'm not normal and I don't want to be normal. I know I'm repeating myself but whatever.

I'm trying to be open to things and to people I see as interesting. If I sense someone just wants to use me I will either drop them or use them instead. I also learned that sometimes if you try to nice, well as nice as you can be, people won't see it as that what it is. It makes you less willing to try.

[alarajrogers]

What we actually need to protect "cis women from men who get into the bathroom to rape them" (who do not pretend to be trans women to do this; generally they just walk in there) is alarms in bathrooms.

In my college days, every women's bathroom on campus had a "rape alarm", a pullcord that ran the length of the bathroom and was accessible from any stall and also on the walls that were not in the stalls, which would set off an alarm that would summon campus security. I don't know if they were in the men's bathrooms too, but they should have been, because:

men can be sexually assaulted by men

men can be physically assaulted by men

boys use the men's room and can be sexually or physically assaulted by men or other boys

Meanwhile policies to keep trans women out of women's rooms would fail to provide sufficient protection because:

women can be assaulted by women

girls can be assaulted by women or other girls

by the way did you know that a lot of people with disabilities or health conditions could use an alarm to summon help if they feel themselves passing out or they can't get off the toilet or something? not everything is about assault

So let's say you're a person who hates trans people and wishes they didn't exist, so you're not going to be moved by "making trans men go to the women's room puts them in danger" or "making trans women use the men's room puts them in danger." You think everyone's problems would be solved if only people of the same biological sex used the bathrooms. And it's not intrusive at all to imagine a cop making you pull down your pants so they can check to see if you have a pussy before going in the bathroom, and cops would never misuse that to creep on women, right?

Every other reason I mentioned above why alarms would be a better solution still applies. Women can attack women. Men can attack men. Adults can attack children of the same sex. Children of the same sex can attack each other. Elderly people, people in poor health, and disabled people can have things happen in the bathroom where they need help. None of these problems would be helped by having some means of checking biological sex to let people into bathrooms, but all of them would be helped by letting people pull alarms if they are actually in danger. (With clearly posted penalties for false alarms. You pull it because it's funny or you're swatting someone or you're scared because a black woman just came in the women's room with you and you're a racist, that should be a misdemeanor with the threat of fines or jail time.)

Anyone who actually cares about keeping people safe in bathrooms and isn't just coming up with a straw man to attack trans people should be in favor of bathroom alarms. What's that, they cost money? Well, shit, did you think having security patrolling the bathroom area to keep people with the wrong genitals out was gonna be free? Security guards cost a lot more money than an alarm system.

"Oooh, you want the scary trans men to go in the bathroom with innocent cis women" is a bad argument. I recognize the desire to use irony to invert the existing bad argument, but it is, in fact, throwing trans men under a bus to try to protect trans women, which is unnecessary because the actual solution to the problem is bathroom alarms and penalties for misusing them.

btw, do you have any posts or can you talk about how using transmen or transmascs as a "gotcha!" when discussing using bathrooms is actually a really bad argument, especially in light of what happened to nex?

i hate the way people use passing trans-men as an example, bc they almost always word it like, "you want these men in a bathroom with women?!", like a) now that they pass they've suddenly become a misogynist abuser who cis women are in danger of, b) that trans men are a danger to cis women and not vice versa, and that c) all trans men pass, when a good chunk of us cannot use the male bathrooms and we are in danger in both.

like please stop throwing us under the bus and posting one photo of a transman who can pass, esp with the way it's always implied that now that we /do/ pass we are inherently violent, or disgusting to women. idk it's pretty obvious to me the underlying rhetoric in this is that as soon as we pass we're somehow something to be feared! and i want to people to think about why they think of trans men this way!

Nex isn't the only one who has suffered because of this. Noah Ruiz, a Latino trans man, was beaten by cis men for using the women's bathroom in accordance with campground policy, after a cis woman saw him and became upset. & in Australia, Onyx John was attacked by cis girls trying to bash him in the bathroom, part of a larger bullying campaign which led to his suicide. (Trans men&mascs are also victimized in the men's bathroom as well: see Caesar Lewis, Tobi Yandle, and this California trans boy).

Honestly, its very representative of how many activists relate to trans men&mascs that they do not see the danger in forcing visibily trans people into the women's bathroom in this political climate. The assumption that trans men are emotionless beings incapable of being hurt is one based both in patriarchal views of manhood & in the way transmascs are not seen as valuable or attention-worthy by society. People love throwing around images of bulked up guys with huge beards as a gotcha, and never question the idea that trans men are invulnerable to violence physically and emotionally.

[orangesuitlove]

The howl of the Night Ep.1

Run.

Hide.

or Attack.

As I watched Ari and the other children, I was repeating the knowledge they had learned throughout their lives.

It was the first three rules that they had to be in practice.

The first three rules that make them powerful hunters.

I have always admired them. I would like to go out on the field and take lessons like them. I've always wanted this the whole time since I've lived here.

And that option was never given to me.

I always wondered why. Then I stopped wondering. Questioning too. I just served to my dear family.

I washed the dishes. Cleaned. Cooked.

And made my family happy.

Like the things I will do for the hunter I will marry in the future when the time comes.

Lorianne. that was exactly who she was. A normal person.

A loser with no hunter blood.

After my parents died, my uncle took care of me and my little brother, Toby. Since that day, we had to carry this show of gratitude on us at all times for their reputation. But the things were different in here.

Toby was a little boy and could hunt with other hunters if he wanted to.

I was the one who is different.

When the hunting days came, I would be alone here in this town.

I wish I could go up to them or at least ask how they are. But throughout my existence here, I always sensed something different in the way they looked at me.

They didn't have a hatred for Tobi, only for me. At first, I didn't mind this, I even thought it was a trait of being a hunter.

But it was weird that they were just using it against me.

While all my peers were struggling to prove themselves in the arena, I was here doing the housework that my aunt gave me.

Sweeping the goddamn garden.

Maybe it was one of my favorite chores out of housework. At least I could see what people were doing outside.

As I was getting ready to go inside, I saw Ari stepping out of the work area. He waved goodbye to the others and started walking towards the house. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes from the exciting activity he had just experienced.

That was until he saw me.

He immediately turned his head in the direction which I wasn't there. "Is Toby inside?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Went out with my uncle."

With a grunt of approval nod, he walked in without another word.

Ari had the potential to be one of the youngest and most talented hunters out there. He was the only son of my uncle and was raised with the awareness that one day he would continue the leadership that uncle is going to pass him, so he was a tough build and did not talk much to people.

Also, he hates me so much.

Unlike the people outside, feeling the negative gaze of someone from home on me every second was an unbearable challenge at first. In addition to the cold attitude of others towards me, the feeling of hatred that one of my own blood pressured on me hurt me very much.

Then I learned to ignore it too. Or that's how I consoled myself.

Taking one last look at the training area, I took a deep breath and stepped inside.

As I made my way to the kitchen, I heard the front door's opening and then closing. The familiar footsteps began to make their way into the hall. Right next to him, another person was advancing, with more hasty and frequent steps.

Uncle and Toby.

Toby quickly rushed upstairs to his room. I didn't know what it was for, but I felt it was probably because of one of my uncle's assignments.

And then the bell started to fill the whole house.

"Is the dinner ready?" Uncle asked without looking at me as he checked the time in his pocket.

''Yes.''

The sun was setting.

The gates of the our village was closing again, with the sound of the bells added with each new year in town.

  This would not have come as an abnormal situation for me, my uncle, or anyone else in this village. It was as if I had grown up with this bell right next to me since my birth.

The sound we heard had two meanings.

Warning for insiders.

Awakening for the outsiders.

Before I set the table, I looked out the window at the setting sun.

The outsiders...

The beasts...

After a while, the howls that followed the bell were close.

"Lorianne."

With my uncle's warning tone, I made my way to the kitchen and got to work serving his meals.

While I was preparing the plates on the counter, I was listening to the table conversation with one ear.

"I heard you had another successful training session, son."

Ari did not answer for a while as he sipped his water from his glass. I could imagine his facial expression. I could feel his lip curling upward in an egotistical manner, giving his father a triumphant look.

He's been like this since he was little. He despised people and looked down upon them.

"It wasn't a different outcome for me, Dad."

I knew how proud my Uncle Bryan's only son was to be the shining youth of his town. He could never help but enjoy the pleasure of reliving this feeling over and over at the dinner table every evening.

My aunt still hadn't left her room, but I shared her family's favorite soup, which she had prepared in the morning, in bowls and brought it to the table.

Be careful, be careful Lorianne. I was telling to myself those words again and again.

But in the end, as I set my uncle's soup on the table, I quickly backed away as my fingers gripped the wrong side of the bowl and I couldn't take the heat any longer.

With my sudden movement, my uncle pulled his chair back and stared at me.

''I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Lorianne! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" As my uncle roared, I dropped the other bowl of soup on the table and stepped back to get away from him.

I heard Ari say, "Fucking stupid human," shaking his head and grimacing in disgust.

My uncle sat back in his chair, pinching his nose with his fingers. "I don't want to deal with this bullshit now. Go get a new one."

I hesitated when I opened my mouth to say something.

Why did I want to respond?

Stop giving me orders.

I held my breath. I felt something inside me tense, even tempted to resist.

"Lorianne. Why are you just standing there? Do what I told you.''

I lowered my head, blinking my eyes. I swallowed and tried to step forward, forcing my body as if it didn't want to move.

What was I fighting for?

To disobey?

Nonsense.

That's what I thought as I picked up the half-spilled soup on the table and headed for a new one.

Lorianne Montagreen. The older of the two children that even her family gave up on loving and left her in the unknown.

All this time she had let people crush her and turn her into whatever they wanted.

Why had she begun to question herself now, the night before her birthday, as if in existential pangs?

Nothing had changed before. Even if she is the only one who remembers that day. Even Toby had stopped celebrating her birthday a long time ago.

What had changed? Had she not wanted to refill the soup she had spilled that had changed her?

What was the thing that she doesn't want to do?

I glanced briefly into the silence outside. I looked at the bright moon that lit up the sky and the night was covering everything. It looked scary outside when the bells weren't ringing. And if I'm not mistaken, there was a full moon tomorrow.

I sighed, looking at the soup, which I don't even like the smell of.

I thought it was all bullshit.

And  nonsense just like my existence.

[xprojectrpg]

Moment of Awesome - Ben Russell/Shatterstar:During psychic defense training, Shatterstar asks Haller a very personal question. And gets an equally personal answer.

Jim took a deep breath and set the soda down again. "Something about people with systems like ours," he said, trying to decide how to articulate what he wanted to communicate, "when we work together, we're incredibly resilient against psychic attack. I've survived things that would have killed any other telepath because I had Jack. The others, too, but especially Jack. It took a long time, and I still wouldn't say we even like each other much, but once we finally agreed on our priorities fucking with us got a lot more difficult. You don't always need to get along to have common ground."

He tensed, as he always did when anyone brought up the fact that they knew he was a system. Shatterstar twitched like he was ready to attack, but Jim was like him. That was why he was willing to work with him at all when it came to anything in his head. "We have common ground," he replied automatically, defensively. "We get along fine." It didn't sound convincing even to him, even though they had been getting along fine before coming here. Their system had worked. Shatterstar protected them and Benjamin stayed back and let him.

He mulled over the advice. They would be stronger if they worked together, that made sense. He just... He should be able to do it for them. That was why he was there.

Shatterstar opened his mouth like he was going to ask a question but closed it again. He tugged at his hair for a moment and then said. "I'll do it better next time."

Jim gave him a faint smile. "I know, because you did great this time. And just keep what I said in mind, okay? Sometimes things can get confusing even when everyone's on the same page." He wished he had a better idea of what Shatterstar's system was like, but he didn't even know how many they were. From what he'd said to Cyndi there was at least one other, but his reaction made it clear Shatterstar was not interested in disclosing anything else. Anything he trusted Jim to know would be given in his own time.

Shatterstar just nodded and silently ate his sandwich as he thought about Jim's advice and what could have been done better. Mostly though, he was forming the best way to ask the question he had. (He was also willing the universe to have Jim not leave before he asked it). Finally, after two minutes he haltingly started to ask what he had wanted to before.

"I don't want... I mean... Do you have, you know, in your system. Kids."

The older man froze in mid-sip. Well, he'd wanted Shatterstar to feel safe enough to tell him about his system, hadn't he? It was only fair that Shatterstar get to ask about his. Jim could almost feel a finger curling on a monkey's paw somewhere. He lowered the can and gave Shatterstar his full attention again.

"Yes," Jim said, attempting to ignore his instinctive discomfort. "His name is Davey. He's been with me since I was seven. He's the only one I'm not co-conscious with. Jack looks out for him."

"And you wouldn't want him to have to protect himself," Shatterstar said slowly, not sure if he was appealing to Jim or Jack. He wasn't upset Jim hadn't told him about Davey. It was the responsible thing to do, to not let anyone hold the kids in your system against you- or worse be able to hurt them. He wished he could promise to never hurt their Davey.

He let his implications speak for themselves.

Shatterstar knew Benji wasn't always that little kid who he had formed to protect but he wasn't always the teenager who had locked himself inside either. It was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't want him to have to protect himself, ever.

"No. We don't." Jim studied the can like it was hiding a roadmap for wherever this conversation was headed. He sighed. "But Davey also makes his own decisions. He comes out when he needs to. He's careful about who he shows himself to, but he uses his judgment, not mine. I owe it to him to respect that. It's his life, too."

That was hardly the answer Shatterstar wanted to hear and he sneered a little to hear it. That shouldn't be how it worked. But Jim was more experienced with this, and Shatterstar did respect experience above just about anything else. Surely he must know what he's talking about. "I just wanna protect him," he mumbled, not even realizing he was speaking out loud as he started to clean up his meal.

Jim nodded. "I can understand that. But if it's causing tension . . . you should ask him how he feels. How much protection he wants, or needs. There was a long time there where David wasn't able to handle anything on his own. Others stepped in because he needed them. But eventually I got stronger, and I realized I wanted to take things on again. We restructured, figured out new roles. There's no point in hanging on to a structure that doesn't work anymore."

Shatterstar got a little lost in Jim's explanation and it all sounded a bit like a crock of shit, but it also frustratingly made sense. It's just, if the structure was broken what happened if he wasn't needed anymore? What would happen to him. But Jim said they figured out new roles. That was, that was possible. He had reinvented himself before by changing from a carbon copy of Gaveedra-Seven to Shatterstar, who was almost a real person.

"We'll do it better next time. Both of us. If he isn't a dick," he said finally, conceding slightly to Jim's points.