#You do not inspire solidarity in us when you do this! You inspire hatred!

[bijoumikhawal]

Saying "one of the major parties in a country trying to genocide trans people is the "most pro trans" major party in the world" as a statement of fact should inspire fear and terror, not be a call the be thankful to that fucking party. Anyway Biden is partially responsible for the current T drug class

[matan4il]

An incomplete "there's a good chance the icon you love and support is a Zionist" list

🌟 Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, whose family was murdered during it. Lemkin is responsible for coining the term "genocide," and for every legal provision that exists today against it. His work against genocide was inspired by his Zionism.

🌟 Martin Luther King, Jr., who did not only support Israel and its right to security, a fellow participant at a dinner with MLK shortly before his assassination quotes him as having stopped a student attacking Zionism, and replied, "When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking antisemitism." He also encouraged Americans in 1967 to support the Jewish state, as Egypt blockaded the Straits of Tiran, endangering Israeli citizens by cutting the country off from its oil supply.

🌟 Emma Lazarus, a Jewish American poet, whose words ("Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free") are engraved on the Statue of Liberty's pedestal, after they helped raise the money needed for its completion. Drawing from the value of Jewish solidarity, she also wrote, "Until we are all free, we are none of us free," adopted as a slogan by intersectionality (while many in the movement exclude Jews from it). She was a great supporter of establishing a state for Jews in the Jewish homeland, having argued for this idea years before the word "Zionist" was even coined.

🌟 The 14th Dalai Lama, the leader of the fight against the occupation of Tibet, who was invited in 1994 to Israel, at a time when China's communist regime did its best to prevent his visits anywhere in the world, and who came to Israel more than once, talking about the 2000 years long Zionism of Jewish culture in exile as an inspiration and role model for Tibetans. "Among Tibetan refugees, we are always saying to ourselves that we must learn the Jewish secret to keep our traditions, in some cases under hostile circumstances."

🌟 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who spoke more than once about how her pursuit of justice is a continuation of that very same thing in Jewish tradition. She had repeatedly referred to American Zionist Jews as sources of inspiration. For example, in 2018, during her fifth visit to Israel, in a speech she gave when receiving the Genesis Award, she mentioned two such women, Emma Lazarus and Henrietta Szold.

🌟 Nelson Mandela had an ambivalent view of Israel, but repeatedly recognized its right to exist, which makes him a Zionist, he also called upon Arab states to do the same, and was favorable towards the Zionist Jews who supported him during his underground days. Mandela being critical of Israel and still a Zionist is an apt reminder that criticizing the Jewish state and opposing its very existence are NOT the same thing, and only one's antisemitic.

🌟 Felix Salten, the Jewish author of Bambi (the book Disney's movie is based on). The tale was originally a metaphor for Jews suffering antisemitism, something Salten personally had to cope with. He was also an ardent Zionist, feeling the self-liberation at the core of this ideology suited his idea of how to deal with Jew hatred.

🌟 Sun Yat-Sen, who helped end the rule of China's last imperial dynasty, was its first provisional president, and is nowadays honored as an important Chinese leader in both China and Taiwan (sometimes referred to as "Father of the Chinese Nation"). He was an enthusiastic supporter of Zionism. Among other instances of expressing that, he wrote in a 1920 letter to a leader of the Jewish community in Shang Hai about Zionism that it is, "one of the greatest movements of the present time. All lovers of Democracy cannot help but support wholeheartedly and welcome with enthusiasm the movement to restore your wonderful and historic nation, which has contributed so much to the civilization of the world and which rightfully deserves an honorable place in the family of nations."

🌟 Magnus Hirschfeld, a gay Jewish sexologist, nicknamed among other things "The Einstein of Sex" and "The Father of Gay Liberation," because his medical and scientific work on human sexuality, as well as social advocacy for women's, gay and trans rights, was nothing short of pioneering. He was persecuted by the Nazis to the point where he died in exile. They broke into his institute of sexual research, where the world's first clinic performing sex reassignments surgeries was located, and burned down the institute's library. Hirschfeld had attended a Zionist conference following the Balfor Declaration of 1917, and his work on sexual liberation found inspiration in young socialist Jewish Zionist workers he met during a visit to the Land of Israel in 1931-2.

🌟 Marcia Langton, a professor and prominent Aboriginal rights activist from Australia, who has been leading the fight against racism and for her community. She spoke out against the hijacking of native rights movements by terrorist sympathizers and antisemites, and has clearly stood against all loss of life, including that of Israelis.

🌟 Felix Zandman, a Holocaust survivor whose work on resistors is integrated into many smartphones, laptops, cars, satellites, hospital ventilators (saving many Covid patients), airplanes and more. Whenever the anti-Israel crowd is scrolling social media on their phones, they're enjoying the work of a Zionist, who enthusiastically supported the State of Israel, and even introduced an important improvement to the Israeli Merkava tank, which has likely saved many Israeli lives, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, and others like him, since Israel's high tech is considered only second to Silicon Valley (going back to at least the 1990's). If they truly wish to boycott everything that's been "contaminated" by Zionism, they should probably just boycott technology.

🌟 Rosa Parks, an African American leader of the civil rights movement (and someone who personally demonstrated how one can resist without turning violent). She was one of 200 notable black American leaders who publicly organized to express their support and respect of Zionism as the Jewish right to self-determination, and Israel as the manifestation of that right.

-> Like I said, this is VERY incomplete, even just in terms of how the overwhelming majority of Jews are Zionist, and have been since the inception of Judaism, which is itself Zionist. Over the years, this led to many non-Jewish human and native rights champions to be supportive of Zionism, too. Take note of who is being vilified, when the term "Zionist" is ignorantly used as if it means anything other than belief in the equal right of Jews to liberation and self-determination in the Jewish ancestral land. Especially when it is used as being inherently evil.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[silvergreenseraphim]

The First Soldier’s/Glenn Lodbrok’s Relevance In Rebirth

—

Time for translations regarding the Glenn Lodbrok subplot in Rebirth.

Note: Once again, if anyone spots errors in my translations, please let me know!

Hello everyone! It’s been some time. Rebirth was amazing and Ever Crisis has been such a thrill to see unfold shortly after with so much new lore.

As it turns out, Mr. Glenn was very important! Our mystery hooded man was him all along.

Or was he? 🤭

This is an interesting side story in Rebirth that I can’t stop focusing on. The translations have been helpful. The Ultimania as well. I will reference both for this post.

For right now, a mix of these sources and the hints in the game all imply that it was Sephiroth revealing his will through one of the black-robed men. This would not be the first time he relied on “a vision represented by the cloaked figures.”

These extensions and visions of Sephiroth “stem from the will and conscience of Sephiroth that is at play here.”

He uses this ability to torment Cloud in Remake. In Rebirth, we can see him extending that power towards Rufus Shinra too.

Some debate this point, but let us take a look at Glenn’s introduction to Rufus where a very strange interaction occurs.

Tseng introduces “Glenn” to Rufus in Junon here:

“A messenger of Governor Suhur (Sufur) of Wutai would like to visit. Colonel Glenn Lodbrok.”

Rufus is startled, but lets the messenger in. We see what appears as Glenn Lodbrok. He is older than he looks in Ever Crisis and worn down. He also does not seem to wear much besides his heavy black cloak. Rufus sits up quickly with a surprised look. He is hit with a memory of shooting this same man in the back. Notably, the Glenn from the flashback features his Wutai garb and face. He is the Glenn of Ever Crisis.

Rufus: You’re alive?

Glenn: Most certainly dead.

Ultimania translation below:

When Rufus questions Glenn’s survival, the latter has a fit of laughter and responds with the evident truth. He is dead. Rufus can only presume this to be a joke, but the Ultimania questions this bit of humor.

Looking at this through the lens of it being Sephiroth’s will in front of Rufus, we could chuckle at his honesty. He tells Rufus the truth from the moment they meet.

But that can wait! Onto business:

“Glenn” begins to speak on the matters of Wutai and Shinra. I must note that the Japanese VA’s performance is perfect. This is not the rugged and brash Glenn of Ever Crisis. He is a theatrical announcer and speaks to Rufus as though they are planning a grand show.

He says,

“Now, President Rufus. I assume you will be taking over the vision that my Governor and the President shared?”

Rufus responds, “I intend to.”

And here are Glenn’s plans to set the stage. He gestures with flair.

“The theme of this next era will be the war over Huge Materia. Shinra and Wutai maintain tensions as through repeating clashes in various places.”

An acknowledgement of the pointless war of Wutai and Shinra, but Rufus has other plans.

“That’s fine for a while. However, the president died…and the situation has changed. We need a new vision.”

At this, Glenn sneers,

“You still love (drawing your visions), Bocchan (young master). Do you still believe in the Promised Land?”

Glenn is saying that Rufus prefers to run his own show, craft his own visions. He knows Rufus long and well for a defective colonel of Wutai.

Side note:

The term “bocchan” is explained here. In the context with Rufus, it is used to refer to a rich young master.

Glenn continues,

“Shinra’s father and son only think about pumping up Mako. If you don’t return it once in a while, the planet will die.”

Glenn returns focus to the war between Wutai and Shinra, along with its benefits. He says,

“The rage, sadness and hatred that war brings forth will spark the ultimate sense of solidarity and optimism. This spirit inspires the world, enriching the planet…”

I cannot say strongly enough that the ways that Glenn moves and his VA speak feel like direct mockery of how Shinra plots their political movements. Nothing is real or sincere. War is a show and tool that is used to create unity. Shinra and Wutai are actors on a stage that battle for audience favor.

All of the pain that war brings will cause people to rise up in unity together! This spirit of solidarity will enrich the planet’s life. Rufus looks uncertain and nearly bewildered in this scene, as if he cannot tell if Glenn is serious.

“It’s for the future of the planet. Let’s take this step before calamity.”

Glenn declares this with zeal, but Rufus protests.

“But—”

Glenn cuts him off.

“You started this. You’re not a kid anymore. You can’t just stop whatever you want.”

This line is difficult to translate with the correct nuance, but Glenn is saying that Rufus must grow up and face the consequences of the events he sets in motion. He cannot stop them because he feels like it. Glenn’s VA also loses his care-free charm for a moment. There is a dark, aggressive and dangerous tone here that betrays the deeper anger in these words.

That venom disappears after some silence and Glenn returns to his theatrics.

“Let’s deliver justice together.”

Before he leaves the room, Glenn turns with a mocking bow and congratulatory message.

“Aahh, I almost forgot about the message from Governor Sufur! Congratulations on your appointment as president! I wish you increasing growth!”

Glenn laughs at the transparent joke about Rufus being honored by a man of the same name spelt backwards and exits the room. Rufus is left feeling upset and humiliated.

——

This next scene I would like to include a video clip of because there are more hints about Glenn’s true identity here.

“(Your) dreams are still cute.”

Glenn sneers and laughs at Rufus for dreaming of the Promised Land. Rufus begins to see that “Glenn” is not what he seems. A figure wreathed in purple haze and darkness that appears from nowhere.

“What/who the hell are you?“

Glenn mock-pouts as though he is offended Rufus does not trust or know who he is.

“Don’t say it like that! (Don’t say mean things). I can see everything inside your head, Mr. President. You’re scared of me?”

With this, “Glenn” leans forward as if to peer inside the mind of Rufus. He points at what he detects.

“Uh oh, I can still see it! What’s that?”

“Glenn” lists the weaknesses inside Rufus.

“Fear, hatred, an inferiority complex in relation to your father….and the loneliness behind it all…”

“I won’t deny it. It’s all my driving force.”

Rufus is honest about his negative feelings and admits they are what motivate him. Glenn is pleased with this. After all, he had earlier mentioned how the painful spirit of war would strengthen the planet.

He says,

“Hey, that’s good! The planet needs a little bit of that bite right now. Enliven it with that power.”

Rufus is baffled and mutters to himself,

“Do you care about me that much?“

He can only wonder why this figure wants and needs to stir up his driving emotions so much.

——

(I have skipped Glenn’s TV speech because the dialogue was basically the same).

In our last scene, Rufus remembers his father and finally admits that the man was masterful.

“You were…amazing…”

Rufus is not alone. “Glenn” once again appears at his side. To Rufus’ statement he responds,

Me?

But no, “Ha. How could that be?”

More mockery. Moving on,

“So, you know Governor Suhur? (Sufur). He neglected an important press conference and we were humiliated.”

Rufus is cold and responds,

“The Governor will not stand on such a poor set.”

“Glenn” is annoyed.

“I see. Growing up a rich kid must be so difficult. Well, hey, it worked. The anti-Shinra warriors are on the move.”

Rufus has had enough. He ignores the theatrics and says something astute and strange.

“Hey Glenn…isn’t this war a toy/plaything to keep me away from Sephiroth?”

I still must praise Rufus for his intelligence, but…I do not know why he would assume Glenn was trying to aid and distract Shinra from Sephiroth. This bit is a mystery.

“Glenn” begins to clap proudly. He says,

“I was sure you’d find out.”

And then we see him. The true culprit and architect.

The voices of Sephiroth and Glenn meld together,

“But it’s already happening. Our “promised land” will be born. Good for you. You’ve surpassed your father.”

Sephiroth even sneers now about Rufus completing the dream of his father. The father he hated. Rufus stands his ground.

“I want the real thing.”

(A sentence with double meaning. He wants the real Promised Land. Not a fake. Just like how Sephiroth is playing a fake Glenn).

Sephiroth morphs back into Glenn and only says,

“Oh, don’t you think it’s fitting?”

When Rufus shoots “Glenn” in the back, history repeats. Sephiroth turns back one more time and uses the now-clear black robed man to get in the last word through Glenn’s voice.

“As good at shooting people in the back as always.”

Rufus empties his gun into the ghost.

Extra details from the Ultimania on the scene:

—

Dialogue from the Shinra board meeting scene on Glenn:

Scarlet: Then what about that Glenn-whatever?

Tseng: Glenn Lodbrok. 15 years ago, he participated in a geological survey on Rhadore. He left the army after the mission failed. 

Heidegger: Hmph, he has the air of a deserter. He’s spewing out lies!

Tseng: After, he traveled to various places. He seems to have made connections with people with anti-Shinra ideology around the country. 

———

There we are! After the conclusion of The First Soldier’s episode 1 arc, we now know what caused Glenn to defect. The death of Rosen and the Rhadorans was a crime against humanity too great for Glenn to ignore. He became an anti-Shinra warrior and politician. But how did he first meet “Sufur” and when did this same person (Rufus) shoot Glenn dead?

There are questions here we do not have answered. However, Sephiroth is a voice that provides a bitter commentary on what happened. Through Glenn he relentlessly mocks Rufus. Even in the Japanese translation. He succeeds in posing as Glenn and starting fresh fires between Wutai and Shinra to stir up the planet’s energy.

And on top of that there is a personal undertone to how Sephiroth behaves around Rufus. He mocks Rufus on a level equal to how he torments Cloud. It’s all very interesting.

I will share more analysis at another time!

[anarcowboy]

Boiling it down to any single factor is a mistake when it's a soup of dogshit

--there was substantial decrease in voter turnout between 2020 and 2024. more voters than 2016 tho, and still a popular loss. Woof. 3rd party votes did not make a difference and even if all "other", Stein, AND libertarian votes went to Harris she'd still lose (libertarian pulled from Trump more than Harris)

--running to the right of Trump on various issues normalized conservative policy, so those who they attempted to court could get the same results from Trump without having to vote blue

--those they attempted to court are also, yes, a lot of racists and misogynists. The Black vote was almost unanimously in favor of Harris. Just wildly strong polling. The Latino/Latina vote was split, men leaned Trump and women leaned Harris. The white vote skewed pretty strongly to Trump. Failing to ever address white supremacy and instead court it will never make a woman of color appeal to these people, no matter how "lethal military strong border" fascist you try to be

--Harris's campaign ruthlessly belittled her constituents. They refused to speak with people, canceled meetings, mocked them, and tried to make a fool of people in mourning, scared, devastated, yet still ready to vote for her if she gave them crumbs. She didn't. The campaign turned its back, like Clinton did before, on people willing to vote for her if she put any effort into getting their votes. But like in 2016, Schumer was confident you could replace blue collar dems with suburban republicans. it failed. twice. The whole campaign trail has been littered with contempt for their own base. Harris didn't even speak at her own rally last night and sent everyone home.

--2020 has shifted us into an era of extremism and desperation. People are angry. People are scared. Multiple people have tried to kill trump in the last few months. Many voted for him not because they like him but because they have contempt for Harris, whether reasonable or bigoted varies across the board.

--Even as min wage hikes pass, abortion passes, social security expansion passes, and "radical" politicians like Omar and Tlaib win re-elections in the same exact places Harris loses, anchors blame progressive policy for her downfall. Even now, the marginalized people used as pawns by her campaign are being thrown to the wolves for her loss.

--The dems never learn from a loss. They are a center-right party with substantial hatred for progressive policy even as progressive policy polls as wildly popular among the masses. They loathe their base, while Republicans are willing to kiss the asses of theirs.

--Trump will fail to meet all the expectations placed on him, and his base will become angry. Then rather than ever run a platform to help working class americans, marginalized people in substantial and lasting ways, the dems will court those disillusioned by Trump, until they fail to wow them next time and a new fascist runs.

--The two party system does not work, especially when both are right-wing. Trump is not the sole issue and never was. He's convenient cover. Biden is too weak to do anything, then Trump will be too powerful to stop. It repeats forever. But this dance is crumbling for people. Something is breaking and people are tired of it. We have always been a fascist nation that is rapidly becoming more fascist, and unless something truly radical on the left becomes a possibility for dems that can grab the masses and inspire hope--like say, Bernie Sanders--then we are doomed to slide ever right-ward forever until collapse. But hey, the dems certainly wouldn't sabotage and kill a movement like Bernie's, right?

To sum up: we are in a fucked up time where we refuse to reckon with our past and white supremacy and instead cater to it and then have the nerve to be shocked it bites you once again. In politics and in life you cannot appeal to white supremacy, it is a snake to defeat.

Organize, find solidarity, fight, and god while you need to stop bending over for your enemy, you'd maybe be inclined to learn from them, understand them, and realize the way to defeating them has always been with force and a "fuck you I'm here to stay" attitude.

Electoral politics are never the beginning or end of what politics is. The presidential election is even a very small part of that process. Support community work protecting the people neither party will, support organizations working to undo the harm of these parties, and stop seeing this as a team sport with black and white villains and heroes where one side of a corrupt system represents the good guys and so surely their loss can only come from Evil Forces and not a system performing as designed.

[blu3cl0v3rs]

Wojira's Ghost Season 5 Rewrite-ish

Plus the seasons before it, but whatevs-

So if you've been reading my Morrotober posts, you might remember my Day 6 prompt featuring my Wojira's Ghost AU. This is slightly inspired by someone's Storm Tether AU, which I can't find anymore.

Mostly follows canon until Season 5, but from Nya's perpective, of course with Ghost Morro being himself.

More Lloyd and Nya content, because while this is Wojira Duo centric, I love them too!

In season 3 and 4, Morro and Garmadon hang out, and it is revealed to Nya that they know each other and are quite close.

Morro acts... weird around Wu. Even the mention of the old man gets him into a mood.

This, of course, builds up tension between Morro and Nya.

At the end of Season 4, Morro and Nya get into a huge argument, and Morro leaves.

Now starting on Season 5's rewrite!

Wu and Misako (btw in this AU there's no romantic stuff between them, and the letter thing never happens) start up a tea shop together, having the Ninja help out with it when they can

Speaking of the Ninja, here's how they (and the Wojira Duo) are doing:

Kai is very happy Zane's back; he's quite clingy and protective of the titanium man. However, he also worries a lot about his younger siblings, who have been avoidant and down ever since Sensei Garmadon sacrificed himself.

Cole has been mostly hanging out with the other Main 4 and spending time with his dad. After Sensei Garmadon's sacrifice, he realizes how easy it is for his family to leave and has been more interactive with his loved ones since. He's worried about Lloyd and Nya, who have been distant.

Jay has been hanging out with Zane a bunch since he was found. He worries a lot about his girlfriend, who seems to be super upset about Sensei Garmadon's sacrifice, but Jay thinks there's something else going on. He tries his best to be there for Nya and Lloyd as they deal with what they're struggling through.

Zane has been happy, as he's with his family now and has Pixal back. He feels as if they are being a bit overprotective, though he doesn't really mind. He is concerned about Lloyd who is handling Sensei Garmadon's sacrifice rather badly. Nya is also upset about something she will not admit, so he will be patient with her nd be there when she needs him.

Lloyd has been burying himself in his Ninja duties, and when he's not on a mission or training he's in his room pouring over anything he can find about the Cursed Realm and realm travel. He mostly eats in the silence of his old room and often cries himself to sleep. He's noticed Nya's also sad about something, and sometimes they exist in the same room doing fheir own respective things in silent solidarity.

Nya spends most of her time avoiding people. The only person she's really around is Lloyd. She regrets her fight with Morro, and wishes she understood why he had an issue with Sensei Wu. She waits, hoping he might pop up and they can apologize.

Morro is no longer tied to Ninjago. By leaving Nya and abandoning his job of watching over her, he accidentally sent himself back to the Cursed Realm. He realized his mistake and regrets it immensely. The Preemminent recognizes that and preys on it, and essentially possesses Morro using his regret, lingering hatred of Lloyd getting the title of the Green Ninja, and left over, messy feelings about Wu (burnt out gifted kid-core).

So yeah, Lloyd, Morro, and Nya are not doing great...

But, Lloyd learns about something called the Realm Crystal, which can teleport you to any realm! He asks Wu about it, and Wu tells him that the Realm Crystal was in the FSM's tomb, but there was no message left behind to find it.

And, Nya discovered that she has the ability to control water! She asked Sensei Wu about it, and he confessed he didn't want to tell her, as she had already become Samurai X. They agree that her learning how to control her abilities does not have to change her being Samurai X, and she starts training.

Anyways, instead of Morro escaping, Wrayth escapes! He steals the Allied Armor of Azure, summons Bansha, Ghoultar, and Soul Archer, and show up at Wu and Misako's tea shop to steal Wu's staff. By some stroke of luck and a lot of teamwork, the ghosts get the staff and escape the Ninja.

Of course, the Ninja also had the symbols copied down, and they embark on their journey to get the Realm Crystal, both to stop Wrayth and co. and get Sensei Garmadon back (and Nya to get Morro back).

It bounces back and forth between the Ninja learning Airjitzu (CYCLONDO), getting the Sword of Sanctuary, and finding the tomb, and Garmadon and Morro in the Cursed Realm, with the last we see of them Morro becoming fully possessed by the Preeminent. Cole doesn't get turned into a ghost. Yet. Also all the stuff with Ronin happens.

The Ninja and the ghosts fight over the Realm Crystal in the tomb, and Lloyd gets taken hostage. Kai pulls the same trick he uses in canon Season 5, and Cole gets turned into a ghost by Wrayth's chain-blade-thing. The ghosts scamper off to Stiix and bring the Preeminent to Ninjago, with the grand reveal of...

Morro

Possessed, angry, violent Morro.

He's an almost complete contrast to the Morro that Nya knows, this one lashes out, yells a lot, and is very harsh. He is nothing like the soft-voiced, distantly caring ghost she grew up with. But, the weirdest part is how much he targeted Sensei.

Then, she looks over and sees Wu. Wu, who looks shocked, crestfallen, and remorseful. Wu, who knows Morro.

Wu hastily explains during the fight that Morro was his first student, which triggered a rage from Morro, who screamed about his past. The one thing he never told Nya.

The Ninja are all knocked down, save for Lloyd, who was tasked with getting the Realm Crystal and wasn't there. Wu is stuck in his head. Nya is the only one left. She talks with Morro. She apologizes. She apologizes again and again, relentless, as Morro seems to come to his senses.

Then, he screams, and a haunting, sickly sweet voice permeates the air from seemingly everywhere. It's the Preeminent. She tells Morro that Nya is lying, that no one cares for him, and that his destiny was stolen.

Nya is pissed off. She just wants her ghost friend back. So, she summons a big ass wave and drowns the tentacled horror, and Lloyd teleports back with his father in tow.

The Ninja ask how Nya knew Morro, and she explains that she grew up with Morro watching over her. Morro elaborates and tells them how Kai, as a kid, summoned and bound him to Nya. The Ninja also ask how Nya summoned that wave, because she and Wu never told them about her powers, and she tells them that she's the Elemental Master of Water, but is still Samurai X.

While the Ninja + Nya and Sensei Garmadon talk about that, Morro and Wu talk. Wu apologizes and tells Morro how he should never had made it seem like Morro needed to be the Green Ninja, and that he was already good enough just being himself. Wu also apologizes for not chasing after Morro, and that it was wrong of him as a teacher and father.

It ends with Morro meeting the Ninja and they all hang out as a big happy family

And that's how Season 5 goes in Wojira's Ghost! Let me know if you want me to elaborate on the other seasons in this AU, or character dynamics/relationships.

[bikinikillhanna]

Kathleen Hanna Roleplay Account Introduction

Scenario: Kathleen heard all her other music friends talk about blogging on Tumblr and she wanted to try it out for herself💕

Please be 15 or Older to Look at this account, Riot GRRL is a very Mature and adult movement but for the kiddy winks who are interested go watch Moxie on Netflix.

If you don't like the account then block it, simple as that but don't go harassing me or any other rock roleplay accounts because of your hatred.

This Account is all Parody, I do not know Kathleen Hanna own the rights to any bikini kill/Le Tigre/Julie Ruin songs and am only a harmless fan.

Bands

BIKINI KILL

LE TIGRE

Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the riot grrrl movement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.

Le Tigre (/lə ˈtiːɡrə/, French pronunciation: [lə tiɡʁ]; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. They mixed punk's directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. Like with many bands in and from the riot grrrl movement, many of the lyrics addressed feminist themes and ideas. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as the Need.

Bio on Kathleen

Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s, she was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill,and then fronted the electronic rock band Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as The Julie Ruin.

In 2009, Hanna made her zines, art pieces, photography, video, music, journals, and other material which focus on the early formation of the Riot Grrrl movement available at the Fales Library at New York University. A documentary film about Hanna was released in 2013 by director Sini Anderson, titled The Punk Singer, detailing Hanna's life and career, as well as revealing her years-long battle with Lyme disease. Hanna is married to Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys.

1968–1988: Early life and feminism

Hanna was born November 12, 1968, in Portland, Oregon.

At age three, her family moved to Calverton, Maryland; as Hanna's father changed occupations, the family moved several more times.Hanna first became interested in feminism around the age of nine, after her mother took her to a rally in Washington, D.C. where feminist icon Gloria Steinem spoke.

In a 2000 interview with BUST magazine, Hanna recalled: "My mom was a housewife and wasn't somebody that people would think of as a feminist, and when Ms. magazine came out we were incredibly inspired by it.

I used to cut pictures out of it and make posters that said 'Girls can do anything', and stuff like that, and my mom was inspired to work at a basement of a church doing anti-domestic violence work. Then she took me to the Solidarity Day thing, and it was the first time I had ever been in a big crowd of women yelling, and it really made me want to do it forever."

Hanna's interest grew when her mother checked out a copy of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique from the library.

Their involvement in the women's rights movement was done quietly during Hanna's childhood, due to her father's disapproval.

Upon her parents' divorce, Hanna returned to Portland and attended Lincoln High School and Grant High School.

After high school, she relocated from Portland to Olympia, Washington, to attend The Evergreen State College in the late 1980s.

During this time she worked as a stripper to pay her tuition.

"My parents didn't go to college. I felt lucky [to attend]." While at Evergreen, with fellow student and photographer Aaron Baush-Greene, she set up a photo exhibit featuring the pair's photography, which dealt with sexism, violence against women, and AIDS – issues that were heightened for Hanna when she volunteered for SafePlace, a domestic violence organization.

However, the school administrators took the photos down before they had the chance to be viewed, an act of censorship that prompted what Hanna refers to as her "first foray into activism": the creation of Reko Muse, an independent feminist art gallery, with friends Heidi Arbogast and Tammy Rae Carland.

Hanna began doing spoken word performances that addressed sexism and violence against women. Eventually, she abandoned spoken word in favor of music after a conversation with one of her favorite writers, countercultural icon Kathy Acker. Hanna recalled,

Acker asked me why writing was important to me, and I said, 'Because I felt like I'd never been listened to and I had a lot to say,' and she said, 'Then why are you doing spoken word—no one goes to spoken word shows! You should get in a band.'

Hanna then formed a band with Arbogast and Carland, called Amy Carter, which put on shows before the art exhibitions.

1989–1999: Bikini Kill

Later, Hanna started another band called Viva Knievel that toured the United States for two months before disbanding.

Upon returning to Olympia in 1990, Hanna began collaborating with Evergreen student, drummer and punk zinester Tobi Vail after seeing a performance of the Go Team (a band made up of Vail, Billy Karren, and Calvin Johnson) and recognizing Vail as the mastermind behind the fanzine Jigsaw that Hanna greatly admired and loved.

In October 1990, Hanna and Vail joined with Karren and bassist Kathi Wilcox to form Bikini Kill, which soon became part of the seminal early-1990s Olympia, Washington music scene. One goal of the band was to inspire more women to join the male-dominated punk scene.

While Bikini Kill were in Washington, D.C. during summer 1991, Kathleen recorded with two side projects, featured on the compilation cassette A Wonderful Treat: Suture (with Sharon Cheslow and Dug E. Bird), and Wondertwins (with Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses). Bikini Kill, Suture, and Wondertwins all performed at the International Pop Underground Convention in August 1991.

Bikini Kill's first release for the Kill Rock Stars label was a self-titled EP produced by Ian MacKaye of Fugazi.

Bikini Kill then toured the UK, recording a split LP with UK band Huggy Bear. This tour was filmed and the band was interviewed by Lucy Thane for her documentary, It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK. Upon returning to the U.S.

the band began working with Joan Jett, who produced their single "New Radio/Rebel Girl". After the single's release, Hanna began co-writing songs with Jett for her new album.

At the same time, Hanna recorded her spoken-word "Rockstar", released on a 7-inch single in the Kill Rock Stars "Wordcore" series; and "I Wish I Was Him", which appears on the KRS compilation Rock Stars Kill. The song, written by Ben Lee about alternative rock heartthrob Evan Dando,was originally recorded by Lee's band Noise Addict.

The first two Bikini Kill EPs were released on CD as The C.D. Version of the First Two Records in 1993.

The band released two more full-length albums, Pussy Whipped in 1994 and Reject All American in 1996, and in 1998, Kill Rock Stars released Bikini Kill: The Singles, a collection of the group's seven-inch and compilation tracks. Bikini Kill amicably disbanded in mid-1998.

2000–present: Le Tigre and the Julie Ruin

After Bikini Kill's breakup, Hanna began working on a solo project called Julie Ruin. The project was created entirely in Hanna's bedroom using a $40 drum machine. One self-titled album was released under the Julie Ruin pseudonym, and was partially inspired by the work of feminist theorist Julia Kristeva.

Hanna said of the project:

Girls' bedrooms sometimes can be this space of real creativity. The problem is that these bedrooms are all cut off from each other. I wanted the Julie Ruin record to sound like a girl from her bedroom made this record but then didn't just throw it away or it wasn't just in her diary but she took it out and shared it with people.

While in Portland, Oregon, Hanna began working with friend and then-zine editor Johanna Fateman on a live show for Julie Ruin. The collaboration resulted in the two briefly forming a band called the Troublemakers, named after a G. B. Jones film, which ended when Fateman relocated to New York City to attend art school.

Hanna soon moved to New York City, and with the addition of filmmaker Sadie Benning, they started another band called Le Tigre based upon a more electronic style of music, similar to the sampler-driven sound Hanna had begun to explore with Julie Ruin. (She later revealed to Bust magazine that she was "totally broke" at this time and ate oatmeal daily.)

Hanna refers to it as part of a "Punk Feminist Electronic genre".

The band recorded for the Mr. Lady Records label, its first recording being an eponymous album which included the singles "Hot Topic" and "Deceptacon." Benning then left the band and was replaced by JD Samson for their second album, Feminist Sweepstakes.

Mr. Lady Records folded, and the group switched to Universal Records for the 2004 release of This Island. Hanna left the band in 2005 due to illness; she was later diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease.

According to the Le Tigre website, during her time off from the band, Hanna volunteered as a band coach for the Willie Mae Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. She also taught an art class at NYU's grad school in the Fall 2007 semester and attended interior design classes.

In 2010, Hanna DJed at the Museum of Modern Art, later joining the Raincoats on stage to cover the Slits' Vindictive.

Also in 2010, Hanna announced she was rebuilding her 1997 act Julie Ruin, turning it into a full band called the Julie Ruin with Kenny Mellman and Kathi Wilcox, and that they would be creating a new record.

The band played their first show at Knitting Factory in New York City which included songs from Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and one new composition.

 From 2010 to 2013, director Sini Anderson worked on a documentary on Kathleen Hanna titled The Punk Singer, documenting her works from Bikini Kill to the Julie Ruin.

It premiered at SXSW in 2013.

 In June 2013, Julie Ruin released its first single, "Oh Come On". An album, Run Fast was released in September 2013 with the band going on tour.

The band cancelled the tour planned for May to September 2014 due to Hanna's Lyme disease condition deteriorating.

DISCOGRAPHY

 She has since recovered and begun performing again. The Julie Ruin's second album, Hit Reset, was published in July 2016 by Hardly Art.

Bikini Kill

Revolution Girl Style Now! self-released cassette (1991)

Bikini Kill  EP, Kill Rock Stars (1991)

Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah split LP with Huggy Bear, Catcall Records (UK), Kill Rock Stars (US) (1993)

Pussy Whipped, Kill Rock Stars (1993)

The C.D. Version of the First Two Records (compilation of the Bikini Kill EP and their half of the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah split LP), Kill Rock Stars (1994)

Reject All American, Kill Rock Stars (1996)

The Singles, Kill Rock Stars (1998)

Julie Ruin/The Julie Ruin

Julie Ruin, Kill Rock Stars (1998)

Run Fast, TJR Records (2013)

Hit Reset, Hardly Art (2016)

Le Tigre

Le Tigre, Mr. Lady (1999)

Feminist Sweepstakes, Mr. Lady (2001)

This Island, Universal (2004)

(Other RP Accounts)

@gardengrampa

@theeverglades

@gwenstefoubt

[butch4maryoliver]

loathe being online because so many people fight over things with no real consequence or place irl. below the cut i talk abt what specifically inspired this but it’s been everything lately really. people arguing they don’t have enough time to be nuanced while having an abundance of time to degrade and refuse and repost and react…………..

thinking currently of trans’androphobia’ or however it’s spelt…. it’s just transphobia and misogyny and sometimes even transmisogyny. sorry. that’s genuinely it. the word “misogyny” makes a few transmascs dysphoric? that doesn’t change what it is! be uncomfortable be angry, that’s our target across the board! rebranding it as androphobia is a crass misunderstanding and even belittlement of the true, real, pressing issues at hand. misogynists who (trans people, agab dismissed, can be this) believe afabs have an inherent power and privilege over amabs? that’s been used to justify the patriarchy we all (as trans people, regardless of agab) so violently know in many different ways! all the time! it becomes a representative of transmisogyny as well, because the privilege belief ultimately deals in an imagined “privilege” of a moral sociological sort that stems directly from bioessentialist views of purity/morality=genitalia; i say imagined because it exists only when convenient to the patriarchy, but never in the true aid of ‘afabs,’ (all moral purity is stripped in efforts of justice against sa, for example) especially trans. there are real actual imbalances in trans equity and yet people who only live online are yelling afab privilege and [trans]androphobia, neither of which are real. at all. if you don’t pass as ftM, or you do but outed yourself, misogyny will have an immovable presence in your life. the “male hatred” isn’t a reverse misogyny, it’s misogyny and bioessentialism and transphobia: you went to the “bad” side. “transandrophobes” make it clear nothing but being a “woman” “again” will change that. it’s terf rhetoric. they are violently misogynistic people who view transmascs as pure and potential recruits because of their genitalia, while transfems get no ‘out’—to terfs, they were always on the “bad” side and will never leave it, no matter what. you’re dealing with misogynists and violent transmisogynists, if not standard-issue transphobia. get your transsexual heads back on your bodies and stay on the ground. it’s a tangled web of trappings by the alt-right to uphold patriarchal values against the solidarity of trans women and trans men and everyone otherwise or in-between. stop clinging to agabs unless youre a tried and true queer theorist conducting research (as there are real observances and discrepancies to be seen), which does not mean “reading a tumblr/twitter post and responding”

[kittyprincessofcats]

My favourite Eurovision entries 2023 (pre-Grand Final)

Okay so before the final I still wanted to talk about my favourite entries this year so far (important - please note that these are my opinions before the final and they might change upon seeing all performances again, etc.)

One thing I want to say this year in general is that I don’t really have a clear, outstanding favourite. There are entries I like that I would describe as “good”, but nothing that I would describle as “absolutely outstanding, clearly the winner”.

(For instance, last year ‘Stefania’ so clearly blew everything else out of the park that it was a no-brainer for me - and of course like many other people I voted three times as often as usual in solidarity with Ukraine, which is not a bad thing.)

But this year, I don’t really have that feeling for any entry. Many good ones, but nothing that I would describe as “clearly the best one”.

Anyways, enough rambling. Here are the entires I like, in no particuar order:

- Austria. A song about a writer possessed by the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe. What’s not to love?

- Finland. Do I need to explain this one? They just understood the assignment.

- Norway. It’s just so freaking catchy, such a good melody and such an epic feeling, I love it!!! (Also Norway is still owed a victory from that time the juries stole KEiiNO’s win - No, I’m still not over it and I never will be.)

- Moldova. Apparently every year there needs to be one mythical/witch-y song and this is this year’s. I love it! (Also, if I’m being salty about jury robberies already: Moldova was last year’s real runner up, so if anyone should be hosting “on behalf of” with Ukraine, it should be them.)

- Croatia. An anti-Putin anti-Lukashenko song, but with lyrics that are so abstract and symbolical that they can only be understood through several lenses of analysis, therefore cleverly sneaking past Eurovision’s “no politics allowed” rule. Also the singers are aparently activists for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and against the Catholic Church. Amazing. - My only critisism of this song is that the lyrics describing (what I’m assuming is) Putin as a “psychopath” demonizes people with psychopathy and similar mental illnesses. I get that they probably couldn’t say “genocidal dictator & war-criminal” because of the “no politics” rule, but there was still probably a better word to use there. Still a song I love, but I just wanted to point that out.

- Ukraine. Dear Ukrainians... listen, we need to talk. How come you guys are just so freaking amazing and talented that you’re incapable of sending any bad songs to Eurovision? Huh? What do you have to say for yourselves? Okay no, seriously: When I first heard Heart of Steel, I wasn’t that impressed. My feelings were kind of “Yeah, this is okay, but also a bit boring.” But then I listened to it again and suddenly the entire next day, I had that song stuck in my head. Several times, I was like “What’s this song I keep singing to myself? Oh, it’s Heart of Steel.” Yeah, basically first impressions are often wrong and it really grew on me quickly. I also find the lyrics of staying strong and keeping going even in the face of hatred and “a world on fire” very inspiring - very obviously related to Ukraine’s situation and the war, but I also feel like this song (and through it, the bravery of Ukrainian people in general) can inspire all of us to stay strong no matter what life throws at us. Amazing message.

And yeah, that’s it. No, Loreen’s not on this list and I was frankly shocked to find out she’s supposedly the favourite to win... like, it’s not a bad song by any means, but frankly, I heard it once in the semi-final and have already completely forgotten it since then, so...

Oh yeah also, as a German I just want to say - I’m not going to include our own entry on this list because that’s up for all of Europe to judge (and I also haven’t listened to the full song yet so I can’t quite say if it would make this list), but I just want to say I’m glad we finally sent something that’s at least not boring.

[tressasinterlude]

𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓 #𝟑: Female Public Figures Dating Men with Questionable Views That Contradict Their Image & Alleged Politics

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥: These rant blog posts are really just reflective of my thoughts at the time that I make them and are posted here because I need an outlet to release all of this shit I have going on my busy ass mind. That’s it and that’s all. Now let’s get into it..

This rant was greatly inspired by none other than Ms. Robyn Rihanna “Tell Your Faves To Pull Up [in regards to social injustices directly affecting black people]” Fenty and her openly colorist boyfriend, A$AP Rocky. Aside from the fact that Rihanna tends to slip under the radar and is never held accountable for her problematic ways due to her conventional beauty (i.e. Her heavy usage of anti-Asian slurs, particularly targeted towards Chris Brown’s ex gf, Karrueche), it’s very alarming that a woman who has an entire makeup brand with a campaign based around the inclusivity of ALL black women is publicly flaunting a beau who once said that DSBW do not look good with red lipstick.

And yes, I’m very much aware that Rakim said this tasteless comment over 8 years ago but from the looks of it, not much has really changed with him. Don’t @ me about it neither because I don’t care.

Also peep how he compares a hypothetical darkskinned woman to a man (Wesley Snipes) while trying to explain how his antiblackness isn’t wrong because he said something about white women as well. Gaslighting at its finest. Don’t you just love it! 😀

Furthermore, you would think that somebody of Rihanna’s level of stature would know not to associate themselves with someone as messy as A$AP Rocky but... Stupid is what stupid does, I guess! I can’t even begin to place the blame on him anymore because he’s revealed his true colors and we all have made the deliberate choice to either accept it or don’t and have discontinued all support for him. Unfortunately, misogynoir is never the dealbreaker for most people and the hatred for [dark-skinned] black women is so engrained in society that it’s frowned upon when we publicly speak out against it. Very ass backwards if you ask me but that’s society for you. Now, enough about that. Let’s focus back on Ms. Vita La Coco.

As a woman who claims to be a girl’s girl and is always presenting herself to be someone who is the epitome of a pro-black feminist bad ass, it just makes her alleged activism come off so disingenuous when she’s also laying down with the same man that actively attacks the demographic she’s supposed to be standing in solidarity with. It’s “Black Lives Matter” on the IG posts but your vagina is getting moist for a man who openly stated he doesn’t relate to what goes on in Ferguson because he lives in Soho & Beverly Hills. Ferguson being the exact place where a 17-year-old black boy’s lifeless corpse laid on the hot concrete for FOUR hours after he was murdered by a police officer. He couldn’t 'relate' to the fate of so many black men, women, and children who are murdered or seriously injured from state-sanctioned violence because they’re poor and he is not or so he thought.

But then again, what can I really expect from a woman who identified as being “biracial” until as recent as roughly 6 years ago? What can I really expect from a woman who called Rachel Dolezal a ‘hero’ for cosplaying as a black woman? I’d be lying if I said my expectations for her were high in this regard because sis has always shown us she was lacking in this department. And just for the record, this is not a personal attack on Rihanna at all for the die-hard Navy stans in the back. I admire her latest fashions and bop my head to her music just like the next person but she’s getting the side-eye from me on this one.

Trust and believe me though, she’s not the only woman who I can call out for being a hypocrite. Of course not! This stone can be cast at a few others. So without further ado, why don’t we bring Ms. Kehlani Parrish to the front of the congregation? Prior to Kehlani’s recent declaration of identifying as a lesbian, her last public relationship with a man was with YG. Yes, the same YG who felt it was necessary to say him & Nipsey had ‘pretty light-skinned’ daughters to raise in the middle of his deceased friend’s memorial. By the way, Nipsey’s daughter is not even light (or at least not in my book anyways.) She’s a very deep caramel tone just like her father which makes what he said even more moronic. Yes, the same YG who thought it was clever idea to use slavery as an aesthetic for a music video to a diss track about 6ix9ine. And yes, also the same YG who has derogatory lyrics targeted at bisexual women. Just to end up sweating the red carpets with one. I swear the jokes just continue to write themselves.

This raises the question once more; How high of a pedestal can I really put a multiracial woman who has a song titled ‘N*ggas’ and when received backlash for the song in question, she used the ultimate ‘I’m mixed’ copout while not having a visibly black parent in sight?

It’s also kind of suspicious to me that many were not privy to Kehlani’s secret romance with Victoria Monét (pictured bottom right) until Victoria did an interview with Gay Times revealing she fell in love with a girl but they subsequently broke up because Victoria had a boyfriend and that girl was pregnant in a polyamorous relationship. Fans began to speculate because both Victoria & Kehlani previously candidly spoke about their sexual orientations, Kehlani had just had Adeya and they both were seemingly close. Their short-lived fling would later be confirmed when Victoria released the song ‘Touch Me’ on her last project and Kehlani hopped on the remix. Meanwhile, Kehlani’s relationship with Shaina (pictured bottom left) was very overt and all over her Instagram feed from my recollection. And as you can see, Shaina looks absolutely nothing like Victoria. They look like the complete opposite of eachother in every aspect which is kind of alarming(?) to say the least because why is it that the women she proudly claims as her partners tend to have a very racially ambiguous look such as herself but her ‘sneaky links’ on the other hand are undoubtedly black women? Again, it could just be me jumping conclusions. You know, I’m kinda good for that however something tells me I’m not. Y’all be the judge of the material though.

Last but not least, I’d like to touch on Ms. Raven Tracy very briefly. I was very weary about even including in this segment and if I should just put her in a entirely separate blog post with other women who openly date abusers despite their checkered past (alongside Nicki Minaj & her r*pist murderer of a husband, India Love & Sheck Wes etc.) being this particular blog post was based around the theme of lightskinned/mixed women dating men with extremely problematic views about DSBW. Raven obviously isn’t lightskinned or mixed however I refused to ignore how contradictory her [former] relationship with an alleged (I used this word very loosely and mainly for legality purposes.) serial r*pist while promoting a brand that is all about feminism & body positivity. This also traces back to A$AP Rocky by default being that Ian Connor is his very close friend and he came to Connor’s defense when several women came forward detailing accounts of Connor allegedly s*xually assaulting them. (I wish I could place the actual video of what A$AP Rocky said verbatim but Tumblr only allows one video per blog post. 🙄)

Back in June of this year, Ian & Raven had a back & forth on Twitter after Ian tweeted about Raven “fucking everybody” behind his back. I can only assume that he was alluding to Tori Brixx posting a video of her ex, Rich the Kid & Raven kissing on her story. Disgusted is not even the word to describe my feeling when she admitted she stuck by Ian despite of his many allegations of s*xual abuse because she loved him and her being a empath causes her to want to help everybody. Imagine aiding and abetting a predator and even paying for his bail & legal fees just to turn around and expect sympathy because this same individual cheated on you and exploited you all over Twitter for the public to see. The same man that you would get back with not even a WEEK after the fact & turn off your IG comments because it isn’t our “business” after making it our business...

That being said, I just genuinely want to know: Why do these women completely go against what they stand for in regards to these men? Maybe it was never genuine from jump street and if that’s the case, why jump on the bandwagon of performative activism? Is it because it’s profitable right now? Is it because disrespecting black women is not an immediate death sentence to your careers and more often than not actually helps you advance even further? I guess that’s the billion dollar question that’ll never truly be answered. I just want the world to stop using black women as their stepping stool to get to where they need to go and then discarding of us when we’re no longer beneficial. Support us all the way or don’t support us at all. We deal with enough disrespect as is so we’d appreciate if y’all would stop straddling the fence and partake in your misogynoir out loud if that’s what you choose to do. We have no use for fake allyship and quite frankly, it’s doing more harm for us than good. Please and thank you!

Sincerely,

- 𝙼𝙸𝚂𝚂 𝙴𝙳𝙶𝙰𝚁 𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙽 𝙷𝙾𝙴. 💋

[spasmsofthought]

rough waters (zuko x water tribe! reader)

Inspiration hit at like 3 am early this morning, but I didn’t get around to writing most of this until this evening. Technically, this can be categorized as a Part II to rituals. If you want more context to this pairing, read it first! 

If there’s anything off about how I wrote this situation, please message me your feedback so I can fix it! I want to be sensitive. 

I don’t know what it’s like to be a minority, or be a part of a group of people that has suffered destructive and violent oppression, since I’m white and American and have only lived in the US. I don’t know what it’s like to be a victim of prejudice, racism, misrepresentation or hurtful stereotyping because of the color of my skin or my background, or race. I took what my friends of color have spoken to me about when they have decided to open up to me and tried to honor their experiences and emotions and spaces in these words. I’m committed to be a safe space for them as I continue to educate myself in order to support them and fight for justice for them. 

If in any way shape or form, you do not feel that my writing reflected that, please let me know! I want to write an accurate representation in the small writings I present here in this blog. 

With all that said, I hope you all enjoy this piece! 

Like, comment, reblog! xo 

Next: Raw

-

While the Fire Nation palace was beautiful and ornate and architecturally captivating, staying cooped up inside had never been a virtue of yours. Especially considering your home growing up had been among the raging ocean and freezing snow. 

So, when you found yourself with a break in-between hefty meetings with lecture after lecture on what your life was going to look like as the future Fire Lade, you figured going out to explore the market was a good idea. 

Despite traveling back and forth from the Water Tribe to the Fire Nation before your engagement to Zuko, there had been little opportunity to spend much of your time among the common Fire Nation people. Your scarce time with Zuko, what with his duties and responsibilities, was spent in the safety of the Fire Nation palace feeding ducks or taking walks or exploring the library. 

It was obvious that to gain his people’s respect and trust as their new leader, and a leader that had recently ended the very supported and celebrated war his grandfather had started a hundred years ago, Zuko actually had to do his job. He was left time for little else. 

With the position of being securely part of his future, and the future of the country, freedom was granted to you on more occasions. Advisors had also pointed that it would be better for you to be spotted out and about every once and a while in order for people to see you and get the chance to interact with you. How could the people ever honor and respect you as their Fire Lady, especially one from another nation, if you remained so aloof and distant that they had to guess at almost every aspect of who you were? 

Thus, an adventure to the market was in order. 

A stall of fresh-looking fruit was the first to catch you eye after about half an hour of walking through the different sections of the city. You were walking down a branched path away from a main road, further away from the Palace than you had ever been before, when you saw it. 

When officials had offered you to participate in tours of the country before, they tended to stick to the places of nobility and wealth. This area looked less cleaned up and more familiar to you, a bit more like your previous home in the Water Tribe. Gone were stoned walkways and polished-up homes; you know walked cobbled streets and homes that seemed to be built with less care towards aesthetics and with more mind placed on structure and space equity. 

It wasn’t quiet like the upper villages that housed nobles and high-ranking government officials; it was beautifully less sterile. You keep your pace even, but it falters a bit as you see people from their doorways and windows watch you as you pass by. There are no smiles or friendly greetings. You try not to take it personally. You had been told from the beginning that here people choose to be reserved and stoic. Ahead of you, parents usher their children through their doorways and into their homes. 

They’re just shy and wary, Your head whispers to you. You’ve never been in this part of town before. 

You hear a soft echo of children’s laughter as the breeze ruffles your face, and you smile a bit as you stop in front of the fruit stall you eyed a few moments ago. You turn your eyes to examine the fruit that is laid out in categorized groupings. Apples, oranges, a few tomatoes, and fruit only specific to Fire Nation agriculture. 

You pick up a red apple to get a better look at it and don’t even notice the old lady sweeping the ground, positioned more in the shadows, until she speaks to you. 

“Those are expensive. And we don’t barter with foreign money.” 

Her voice sounds frail, but one look at her betrays what her voice implies. Her skin is weathered, and her eyes worn by time and emotions that aren’t able to be clearly deciphered. For a moment, you figure that the war had to have had an effect on everyone, even those who dwelt in the nation that benefited from it the most.  

“I’m sorry?” You ask, trying to get a sense of what she’s trying to get at. 

You’re wearing Fire Nation robes, rich in color but otherwise not gaudy, and to the latest style of what’s currently acceptable for ladies in the Capitol. There’s nothing off about how you’re dressed or presenting yourself. You even made sure to put your hair up properly, without your beads just this once. 

A show of solidarity, one Fire Sage said to you when they were leaving from the palace a few weeks ago and you had asked for some advice in how to move forward. 

“What’s there to not understand about what I said?” The old lady snaps at you, muscles recoiled with tension. “We don’t trade with foreign money.” 

The words are like acid to your stomach as the old lady looks directly in the eye. Her eyes drift down, and you inwardly curse; you forgot that you had on the betrothal necklace Zuko had given you just recently. Blue was not common in jewelry or as a color to wear in the Fire Nation, as you have come to know well.

The lady mumbles under her breath and begins sweeping the stall floor again, like she hasn’t even spoken, and you set the apple back down to its proper place among the others. She’s not even ashamed of her tone or at her lack of manners. It’s like she doesn’t even recognize who you are. 

It hits you: Maybe she doesn’t want to. 

There’s no point in explaining that you only carry Fire Nation money with you now; that all your Water Tribe coins are saved in a box that sits on your nightstand because you don’t know if you’ll ever use them again. You don’t know quite what to do with yourself. 

You’ve known that this country has suffered under at least a hundred years of nationalistic propaganda warding people away from associating with any other nation and promoting Fire Nation exceptionalism. You’d known there would be challenges to marrying the Fire Lord as someone from the Water Tribe, but maybe not that you’d have to struggle with changing an entire nation’s perception of your people and culture. That you’d have to prove to everyone here that you are just as equal as them. 

It’s obvious that the old lady is not going to speak to you again and wants nothing more to do with you. No one else is around for conversation or distraction either, so the choice to head back the way you came is an easy one. 

You’re turning away from the stand when you hear the old lady say something under her breath. At first, it doesn’t register as you walk away, but the further away you walk, the clearer the word becomes. 

“Savage.” 

It sends shivers up your spine and almost leaves you heaving in the middle of the street, but you refuse to cower to a word. Even if it is a word laced with a century, or more, of malice and hatred and prejudice. Your walk back to the Fire Nation palace is both long and short at the same time. 

- 

It is hours later when Zuko finds you at the edge of a pond, watching the turtle ducks swimming around in it and fishing for food. It is secluded and quiet, and he has a few spare minutes he can spend with you without worrying about his duties as Fire Lord. 

You don’t startle when he sits down next to you on the grass, but you are surprised he found a few minutes of escape from the constant responsibility and pressure that surrounds him. Usually it’s not until at least dinner time that he’s free.  

He moves one of his hands towards both of yours, signaling that he wants to split the loaf of bread you’re feeding to the turtle ducks with him. For a moment it feels almost satisfying to rip something in half. You hand him one chunk while you cradle the other. There are a few minutes of silence as it seems Zuko decompresses and you try to retrain your rage and hurt and sadness from your interaction with the old lady. 

Your mother always told you that keeping a calm face when everything is the opposite inside of you is like the ocean trying to be a wave when it’s actually a tsunami. You block the memory out and just try to enjoy the stillness and peace with Zuko. It’s not like he gets much time for either. 

“When I was younger, I threw a whole loaf of bread at a baby turtle duck and the mother bit me.” 

The thought feels a bit incomplete, like it’s bittersweet, but you don’t press him today. It’s better for him to talk halfway about memories than not talk about them at all with you. 

You chuff out a laugh but otherwise remain silent. You rip off a small piece of bread and softly throw it into the water. Soon the turtle ducks are swarming around each other for more, but you pace out the chunks enough for there to be some bread left a minute later. 

Zuko is tossing out a few chunks of his own as you begin to speak. 

“Some old lady called me a savage in the market today.” 

Again, silence greets you. But this time, it’s not about governmental officials rejecting your culture while designing the wedding ceremony. This time it’s about the fact that the person he is going to marry soon is being prejudiced against by the people he rules; the people you will also have a part in ruling in a small amount of time. 

“She didn’t exactly say it to my face,” You say angrily as you toss the big chunk into the pond, scattering the turtle ducks, and standing up. The fury can no longer be ignored. “But it wasn’t even what she said, Zuko.” 

Your growl at the same time as the tears well up and make their way down your cheeks. You’re tired of crying, but it’s one of the only ways your emotions are expressed. Zuko stays in his seated position as he watches you. Tenderness clouds his expression, but he’s also being observant.

As much as the Fire Nation teaches their people rigidity, your community, especially your parents, taught you that to deny yourself expression is to deny yourself freedom. Emotional expression is where your relationship struggles the most sometimes, due to the polar opposite cultural values and teachings. Silence in his, complete and full expression in yours. Sometimes it’s hard to find a balance. Moon and sun, right?

It’s in situations like these where Zuko really takes time to consider what he says. 

“It’s what everyone doesn’t say,” You say, swiping at your eyes, trying to make the cursed water on your face disappear. Anger feels better right now than grief. “It’s the looks and the silence about it all from those here who say they care. Like complicity is the same as advocating. Why should I suffer for the one-sided education people experienced at the hands of those who wished to destroy the world in the name of nationalism and supremacy? It’s not fair and it’s wrong and I shouldn’t have to be stereotyped because of the things other people said!” 

You huff as you throw your hands at the sky. There’s also a bit of a yell that comes out, and you’re thankful it’s only you and Zuko in this secluded part of the palace. You sigh as you make you way back down to sit next to Zuko. He glances at his hands before staring out at the water. 

“I wish I could say things will be different, but they probably won’t be for a long time,” His time as the Fire Lord has given him wisdom he wouldn’t have otherwise. Although discomfort stews in your stomach, you know he’s right. He’s suffered from this too, in different ways.

“I know,” You say back at him, laying a hand on his clothed forearm. A hundred years of war has left the Fire Nation’s own people divided and prejudiced, never mind the rest of the world. You had gone through your own journey of dismantling your own prejudice about the Fire Nation when Zuko joined you, Sokka, Katara, Toph, and Aang in order to defeat his father. 

“There is a long road of healing ahead of us, of me. I meant it when I said it the day of my coronation, and I still mean it now,” Your hand makes its way down to his, clasping it in a show of support. Zuko always means what he says. “There are changes I’m making, and while some of them are already being implemented, it’s going to take time for some of the others.” 

“I know,” You whisper again, leaning your head on Zuko’s shoulder as you both stare out at the water. It doesn’t feel like peace that settles in your stomach; it feels more temporary and elusive, perhaps because it’s a foreign feeling to you. 

It may not seem be solid, but you cling onto it for dear life. One of each of your hands is clasped together as you breath out slowly; the rage has settled now, but the pain seeps deep into your being. You know it’s going to be a while before it fades away into healing. 

“Someday things will be different.” Zuko’s tone is soft as he rests his head against your own. 

And you realize what is stirring in you: hope. Fragile and small, but still sitting there in your belly when all else seems bleak. It looks as if undoing it all will take more work than what it took to do all of it in the first place. 

But as you and Zuko sit together and stare out at the calm little pond, a little oasis of tranquility, you can’t help but think, hope, that maybe, someday, even if it’s far into the future, things will be different. 

[konietzko-sylvoran]

“In memory of so many whom we've lost, this next one is a personal message to every elf of every creed. A roué cyr act which follows meant to inspire elvish solidarity. Written and performed by the Heart of Tenacity's Konietzko Lumenstone, we give you One more Dorei.”

(Written/Timed Music Here)  

The lights are dim so all that is seen is the silhouette of Kon’s figure sitting with his back to the audience. Above him higher up than he could reach even while standing is his LED cyr wheel. As the LEDs start to illuminate, they emit a soft glow making the wheel look like a giant moon in the sky above Kon’s figure. Dangling from the bottom of the wheel is a large banner on display. Two more lights on the right and left of the stage give spotlight to the banner on display so one can see every detail of it. The Shaldorien Silk banner, embroidered with Thalassian gold threads dons the traditional colors of each elvish nation, woven together in an elegant arrangement that's certain to inspire unity in their kinship! To anyone who had ever visited the Ashes of Alar booth at any event, it was clear this was the Banner of Accord made by Tenacious Tapestries meant to represent elvish solidarity. The stage wall behind the wheel and Kon both illuminate with starlight across a vast night sky of blue and violet. Kon’s dark skin glistens from the subtle light catching hints of the sparkling paint he’s coated in giving him the desired astral effect.

With his back still to the audience as he sits there, he raises his head up to stare at the night sky and the moonlit banner above as his dreadlocks kiss the small of his back tied back in a formal knot. His deep chocolate voice speaks aloud as the music begins to play. “We elves were once all Children of the Stars. All the same Dorei, children of the same light in the sky. No matter how old or young, we are all descendants of the starborne. Today, we are a race so divided and thinned that the few remaining lights among us have become dim with hatred, sorrow, and arrogance. Many of us know and understand the reasons why. Some, like me, have lived through most of them. And yet with all I’ve experienced, all I’ve endured, I keep looking among us all no matter our creed and asking the same thing. Is it so wrong of us to call one another brothers and sisters? In a time where unity is so needed in our world, where lights go out around us at an alarming rate, I ask that all dorei take a moment in to hear me out.” 

Raising one hand up towards the sky backdrop, he arcs his hand one side to the other tracking a shooting star across the sky. “The kaldorei were once founders of Azeroth’s most magical and advanced civilization till forces out of our control came and divided us all. No matter our current race, we’ve all suffered great and tragic losses repeatedly over time and even currently. We’re no longer immortal.” He turns his head to the side to look to a single wisp as it approaches him from above and hovers at his side. Kon’s amber eyes were masked with subtle feathers and glitter along the cheekbones and eye ridges to look like that of an owl. “And yet in all the brilliance this world has to offer us, we have learned that none of it is meant to be kept. Not even our own souls. As time ticks on we each become mere flickers of light, mere moments in time.”

“I was but a boy when devastation wrought us all into several isolated groups and history continues to repeat itself as more and more dorei are created.” He holds his hand out to the wisp as it starts to slowly circle around him. “Separation, isolation, banishment, betrayals, fractured societies and exile have repeated themselves among the dorei time and time again. Each time our skin changes color, our hair and our eyes take on a new tone and the magic that we wield finds a new source changing us forever.”

“Time and history has taught us all how to fear, how to hate and how to change. But even with all our differences, rather we worship the moon, the sun, the void or whatever deity we choose, are we not still one dorei?” Slowly he rises to his feet wearing nothing but a uniquely designed legging with enchanted thread that hugs tight at his hips. “We’ve all derived from the magical in nature no matter how old our bloodlines are currently or how very new and altered they’ve become. Do we not all still have glowing eyes no matter their color? Though some have gotten shorter or longer, do our ears not all point at the end?” He reaches up and the cyr wheel lowers down towards him as he removes the Banner of Accord from the wheel. The wisp flew around the wheel and Kon both a few times before disappearing.

The magical thread along his leggings shimmer from hip to ankle as the threads change color to each elvish nation’s colors as he speaks of them. “Kaldorei, Quel’dorei, Ren’dorei, Sin’dorei, Shal’dorei and even Shen’dralar. We are all one people.” He turns to walk to the side of the stage and places the banner on a golden standard waiting there, letting it hang and display itself magnificently. “I believe in unity among us, that we need to show kindness to all and make sure no more fall. Respecting others is what we should do, who knows it might even spread more happiness too. At the end of the day even those who have strayed we are all the same. Noone is better than another, it’s not in a name.” He turns and walks back center stage as the sky illuminates in more and more stars behind him and his wheel starts to twinkle as if stars are slowly twinkling behind him. Kon faces the audience with amber eyes full of emotion and determination through his owl mask. “You never know when your life will be changed so don’t look down on others who face troubles of their own. We are all dorei, all children of the stars whose lights are just as important as all the others.” He slowly flourishes his hands out right and left. “My brothers, my sisters, a moment may be all we have left in the sky of a million stars. Care and respect are things we can all freely give. And for that last light you touch, it may even make this world a better place to live.”

In a slow, fluid motion he lowers himself down to bend one knee back through the wheel and the other forward as he bows his head. The wheel and stage go dark as spotlights go out all but the light on the Banner of Accord.

(Music for the second half here)

The cyr wheel lights back up, LEDs twinkling timed with the music. With practiced finesse, he rolls the heavy wheel on its edge, causing it to trace a slow path around him as he slowly rises up. The LEDs transition via soft fades from gold to soft blues to turquoise, reflecting the colors of the High elves, even his leggings and their magical thread match the colors. Hands both reach out then slowly curl into fists as he hugs them to his chest as if in pain. Turning his body to the side in a fluid movement, he reaches for the circling wheel then starts to slowly walk it around the stage in a wide slow circle with perfect timing to the music. His other hand rises and falls in time with the music to express a gentle magical  emotion through movement. Everything is perfectly timed as if walking through memory.

The stage wall behind him starts to reflect colors that strongly suggest the feel and warmth of the sunwell’s magic. The Cyr wheel starts to lose the blues and greens, fading into more golden with droplets of red as did his leggings. Shadows crept through the backdrop as the colors became corrupt, flickering. With athletic precision he steps into the wheel with both feet and grabs the edges with both hands. Revolving in a continuous wide pattern resembling a waltz, he spins and turns synched with the music, conveying a delicate balance and grace as colors still flicker about him. One hand releasing the wheel, he reaches it up and out as if trying to chase after or grasp at some unseen force.

The moment the base hits the wheel LEDS become a flurry of red and golden patterns with occasional green trying to sneak in then fade or flicker out. With both hands now gripping the top of the wheel in a wide outstretched grip, he raises both feet off the wheel, extending his body out while facing down. As if flying midair for two spins, one foot comes back down and then flares back out making the wheel spin faster and faster all in sync with the patterns of the LEDS conveying the flurry of intense magic and emotion at the pinnacle of Blood elven society. He suddenly locks his shoulders and forces the wheel to make tighter spins as it starts to fall with his back to the ground! Resembling a coin losing speed as it becomes flatter it seems he might fall on his back with the wheel at any moment. The LEDs a flurry of confusing flashing colors trapping him inside the chaos showing just how difficult this move and the emotions he’s portraying are. His body remains locked, keeping him from falling and at the last second he throws himself into a handspring then brings the wheel and himself erect once more.

The stage backdrop became a giant violet dome with the night sky above it. The LEDs of his wheel and leggings are now variations of blues, violets, silvers and pinks, reflecting the colors of the Nightborne. Slipping out of the wheel, he keeps it spinning as both hands push it on a course with just enough force to keep the wheel freely orbiting around him. Kon stands at the center as his head turns down and eyes close as he brings his arms up across his chest as if holding himself. His right palm presses over his heart as he quivers, eyes opening slowly as he turns his head skyward, right hand raising up reaching to the stars. The LEDs suddenly become shrouded in a dark deep violet and the dome in the backdrop becomes swaying tendrils of the same color. Konietzko grasps at his head and mimics a blood-curdling scream without sound as his wheel takes on golden elements around the deep violet LEDS strongly reflective of the Void Elves.

Spinning on his toes he comes around to grab the wheel and with one more spin he steps back into it. His ankles together on one side of the wheel, syncing with the beat and a slight bend in his knees before pushing off still in the corner of the wheel. His body comes up perfectly parallel to the stage as the wheel quickly whips up and around bringing him back down. He bends his knees while it rotates and repeats his actions as the corner thrusts and momentum increases the speed of the wheel once more while displaying his total control of where the wheel spins and lands with each rotation. The LEDs swap between the prior color groups back and forth with every thrust.

As the beat picks back up the LED’s become a flurry of every elven nation’s colors in various patterns. Each time he spins the wheel a trail of color follows as starlight starts to fall around him. Placing his feet and arms both spread wide with a slight bend in the knees he brings the wheel to a fast rotation. However the wheel starts moving in a wide full revolution around the full circumference of the stage. Faster and faster he brings the rotation as his dreads spin about with him. At the peak of his speed around the stage, the LEDs and backdrop all burst into the kaleidoscope of a full night sky with stars of varying colors. Kon brings the fast spinning wheel center stage once more, back onto its own axis. 

Using his built-up momentum he rises up suddenly, bringing himself up over the top of the wheel as one leg wraps over the top of it and the other bent and pointing in the opposite direction. He raises his hand up high as he spins among the stars truly living in the moment. The LEDs of the wheel start to take on more purple, golden and silver hues all together, the colors of the Night Elves. After a few more rotations, he unwraps his leg and lowers himself back down as he shows his athletic precision, suspending himself from the top mid-spin. Feet tucked up, he points one toe down till it softly touches the bottom of the wheel. His hand comes out while the wheel continues to spin and flourishes out towards the audience at the lyrics of who cares if one more light goes out. He then stops the wheel in a slow and graceful spin as he steps out of it and then motions to himself as his free hand places itself on his chest before he takes a deep bow before them all and the LEDs fade away into nothing but that night sky of all dorei.

((A huge shout out to @lunethdawnseeker and the Ashes of Alar vendors who have always been so wonderful and kind to Kon and Talthorn every event we meet them at! The moment the thought occurred to write this performance to inspire elvish solidarity which Talthorn and Kon are both so passionate about, I instantly knew that the Banner of Accord had to be used within it so a big thank you to Luneth and their Tenacious Tapestries for giving me permission to use it in Kon’s performance. It has a very special place on their wall at home where they proudly display it as a sign to all who enter. All credit for the banner goes to them and their original design! The following performance was written for the @succulent-tart In Memoriam show 9.18.2021  - in honor of Chester Bennington’s One More Light and every fallen elf of every race we’ve lost over the years.)) 

[rachelillustrates]

Comic review time!

Some thoughts on the Harlivy section of “Love is a Battlefield.”

(Featuring crappy cell phone photos taken as I was reading it on a computer that is not my own, so proper screencaps were not an option.)

🍃💞 Spoilers follow. 💞🍃

Okay, so even though I had read some reviews that accurately called out the toeing-the-line style queerphobia that we so often get with these two Wives, I still went and bought this. I can’t help but hope that voting with our dollars for all Harlivy content that acknowledges them as together, even if they don’t explicitly show it, will lead to more content about them that is open about their love (”Kisses, please.”) ❤

On that note - I haven’t read the rest of the book yet, having jumped right to the section on my girls. But I have been informed that the hetero-presenting couples do get explicit smooches, and that is extremely irritating, in the face of what we got here. We do get a forehead kiss, some decent hand-holding and a very interesting ending (more on that below), but it’s all written in a way that the homophobes/queerphobes could write them off as Gal Pals, again, if they really want to.

To be fair, though, if I clearly spent my whole  adult life with someone in a more-than-friends kind of way, after “accidentally” getting into bed with them after they “accidentally” propositioned me as a joke, and then ended my elderly years with them the way this ended....... that’s gay, folks. Hands down. 

That said, I did actually enjoy this story. It reads romantic to me from an asexual/demisexual perspective, which feels very Ivy to me, so that was kind of nice in and of itself (which doesn’t make the lack of obvious, undeniably physical-romantic evidence fair, per se, but we do live in a world that hypersexualizes everything, and this reads a bit like a Regency/Victorian romance in a sense, to me - with the tamer-than-usual standards of physical affection in public and the undeniable loyalty to each other, regardless. So yeah,  I couldn’t help but like the vibe). 

Here’s some specific moments I have some thoughts on, for the good:

So this one, and this dialogue, just struck me on a personal level because of how my Wife and I are together. She’s not very fond of people either, and my emotional breakdowns are a lot to handle, so I could see us here, and I appreciate that a lot. As always, the fact that Harley is ivy’s exception in her hatred of humanity never ever ever reads as anything other than romantic to me. There is an inherent queerness in that and I am Here For It. 

Again. “Accidentally” misunderstanding. “Accidentally” propositioning. You lived to touch *Ivy* again, Harls. That is specific language. Not to mention the fact that Harley touched Ivy enough to get a rash everywhere means that Ivy didn’t just shove her out of bed. Ahem. 

And as always, the fact that Ivy made a point to immunize Harley against her toxins is also inherently queer, even without the language choices noted above. If she didn’t intend to follow through with physical romantic affection, she wouldn’t have needed to do that, in that moment or in the future - she could have just warned Harley off and been more careful around her, herself. So obviously, if you put any thought into this fact at all, it’s clear what the intention was. 

(The problem is that many people don’t put any thought into it, so unfortunately we need more blatant evidence of their romance, over and over again, to shut the homophobes and denialists down. Which is SO FRUSTRATING, since no one ever questions if Bruce is with Selina, or if Clark is with Lois, whether they ship it or not - they admit that its there, regardless.)

Including this brief moment because even though it’s subtle, Ivy reaching for Harley in a situation where they’re both in danger is a nice touch. 

And same thing, here. They’ve obviously been through a lot in the situation they’re referencing, and Harley’s instinct as her Pam-a-Lamb makes an uneasy alliance is to hold on to her. Solidarity, support. Protective, too, with the guarded look on Harley’s face. I like it. 

Aaaaaaand now we get to the bittersweet ending - I’m including this shot because, even though deathbed-side hand holding can be done platonically too, it’s obviously not platonic here if you weigh it against what we’ve already seen. This is the love of Ivy’s life, dying in front of her, and it’s intense. You can see in in everything - her posture, her expression, the fact that she’s folded Harley’s hand into both of hers. 

But then:

Instead of getting very emotional about it, Ivy has already (and of COURSE she did!) come up with a solution. I’ve seen this referenced as them choosing to die together - but that’s not how it reads to me, at all. I see this as them choosing to live again, taking the chance at a brand new start.

Ivy doesn’t want to die here, but she doesn’t want to live, as she is, without Harley in her life. If they hadn’t done this? Ivy would have passed away too, eventually - the fact that she’s aged right alongside Harls is evidence of that. And then they’d be at the mercy of whatever afterlife may or may not be there - maybe not even reunited in death, if there’s an afterlife at all. 

So of course she leans on science, she leans on the Green, to give them both another chance.

They’re choosing life. And they’re choosing it in the face of the uncertainty of memory loss - what if they don’t feel the same, in their new forms?

But then Harley says this:

How can I not love that?  💞🍃🌱

(Also, fanart will be coming of their new forms - since we didn’t get that, what the hell DC - if/when I’m able to get to it. I’m very busy, but the idea of this new life for them is captivating.)

(In the meantime, more of my existing Harlivy work is available here, among other meta and inspiration posts.)

(And my original comic work is available here.)

Thanks for reading!

[theawkwardvirgin]

Official Prayer for the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to The Immaculate Heart of Mary

We pray this in solidarity with the Pope and the the bishops of the world for Russia’s conversion, Ukraine’s safety, and the return of peace to our world.

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid. That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer. Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war. Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world. Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness. Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons. Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love. Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world. O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.

[watchinglikeafangirl]

People being trapped in a circle

This is more about psychological stuff but I got inspired by this post and I thought I could dig a little bit deeper into the matter of why some characters have our pity no matter how they behave themselves.

Human beings love rules and habits. It's actually quite fun to observe people and discover their tics, their weirdness. Because everybody is weird and is ashamed for certain habits or behavior in situations.

Habits are by definition "a settled or regular tendency or practice" and new ones are established pretty slowly in life. They are hard to change and forget because the everyday-life doesn't feel the same without them. Establishing a new habit takes three months until you don't have to force yourself any more. That's why it's so hard to change oneself's style, language or lifestyle in general.

Okay, so, here comes the balancing act to TV shows. Every show (or movie) has an antagonist and you know it's a good storywriting when you're having a hard time hating them completely. They still show some humanity they have left deep inside and we mostly sympathize with them because they seem lost, unloved and trapped. Trapped where? Well, the circle repeating itself endlessly. A habit.

Everybody has a habit they can't get rid of, so everybody can relate to the antagonist in that matter. It's hard to change a habit or lose it and mostly, it doesn't work very well.

The circle out of a habit one can have is mostly the main reason for the antagonist to feel so pathetic. They can't stop but don't feel good about it.

I have two examples and of course, I'm talking about BLs because it's the genre I am consuming the most right now. The two most recent ones I can use as an example are "Lovely Writer" and "Fish Upon The Sky". I know, Pi is not the antagonist of the show but wait, it will make sense when I get to this point.

Let's start with "Lovely Writer". Here, Aoey is the antagonist and probably the most devided character I've seen in a long time. He seems good from afar but underneath this mask, he's a spoiled person and the worst, but the most pityful as well. He is the perfect example of someone being trapped in this circle of repetitiveness. His next move always means something bad and the drama always waits around the corner. It's who he is. It's his habit. But where does this come from?

Well, we've seen that Aoey's family doesn't support nor care about him. His father makes him feel unworthy of everything and that he won't survive on his own for long. His father is also the reason, why Aoey has a trauma because something happened to his ex-boyfriend because of him. So, Aoey is lost because he got kicked out. Aoey is hurt because of his ex-boyfriend. Aoey feels worthless because he feels like nobody loves him. Aoey feels pathetic because he pushes people away. He is full of desperation to find something, someone he can hold onto. He is ready to do everything in order to get that. That's why he runs after Gene who didn't make him feel bad about himself for a second. It meant relief for this second. It's the redemption and acceptance Aoey always wanted and craves for. But he is never the center of attention, not even close to it. Even playing the main lead in a TV show didn't help him to feel more appreciated either.

So, the only way to make people see him and hopefully notice how lost he is, is seeking their attention. He climbs on the highest mountain, crosses borders and screams at the world, only to be heard for at least a second. This is more than just desperation. This is helplessness.

Seeking attention is all Aoey does and he does it in the ugliest way possible because then, the attention will be bigger. It's his habit. He does bad things because people will then be forced to talk to him. A habit only establishes itself in ones life when you get something good in return. It might not look good for others. It might not be received out of good actions. But at least, you'll feel better than you did before. So, it's Aoey's habit to blow things up in oder to be noticed because he gets a good feeling in return.

This explains why he cries very much even when he's alone. Because he knows exactly that he's doing something wrong and he feels extremely guilty for it, but despite of this guilt, he can't help it. This habit is definetly a toxic one and causes him to feel even worse ever single time. The loneliness gets worse. The feeling of being pathetic gets worse. He's trapped in this circle and is drowning. But he's willing to pay this price because he'll feel good for a single moment. It's like a drug for him. That's why this habit will be extremely hard to let go. He even says in episode 9 that he's not ready to do so when he rejects Mhok who is really worried about him and sees Aoey drowning in his self-hatred.

This toxic habit he has lost himself in, is the reason why we sympathize with him. He is his own victim. It's what we believe makes him human because things are not black and white. You can see that he's not entirely bad but not entirely good either. It's an interesting storywriting for the antagonist to make him look like a human being. Habits make people unique and we sympathize with the idea of someone struggling to overcome one.

This was longer than I expected, but let me continue with my second example: Pi. The thing with Pi is that he's the main lead and he's not shown as the antagonist but he's also trapped in his circle. But when Pi is not the antagonist, then who is? There is no other option. So, I believe, Pi is the protagonist and antagonist combined because he is his own enemy.

When we get introduced to Pi, we know immediately that he finds himself ugly. He means, he doesn't like his looks but he obviously feels ugly inside... but more to that later. He feels like a weirdo. He feels pathetic. All his friends turned out to be not loyal at all, so he became a loner.

Because of the people who were close to him and turned their back on him, Pi hides. Like I mentioned here, he is very hysterical. He is loud. He snaps. His only friend is on Facebook (Or Twitter? Or Line? I don't really know). It's his habit to hide his true self because he is scared. Again, habits only exist because you feel something good in return. Pi feels better when he is not his true self. The change of his look is just the visible outcome of this habit. And it works because people seem to like him more than before. So, this is just a verification for what he always thought about himself: that he is weird and ugly. He choses to be weird and handsome instead because this change will at least cover up his flaws from the outside.

But this habit leads him to turn Mhok's friend request down everytime Mhok asks him and lets him screw up every private moment he and Nan have. He doesn't let people in and destroys situations by himself, to later blame it on the others. He is not even aware of his habit. He is too selfish to see it.

Pi dislikes himself so much and feels ungly as a person that he has become his own enemy.

Mhok sees that. He sees Pi's true self behind the mask and insists on wanting to be his friend. He keeps confessing to Pi, because to overcome a habit, you actually have to implement the thought of it in your hand. Only when your mind tells you, you should get rid of it, you have the self-devotion to do so. Pi will slowly see that he has to blame himself for screwing things up and that hiding himself doesn't necessarily mean a better life. He has to stop being his own antagonist. This is something the preview for episode 6 addresses. Pi supposedly screws up, scares Nan away and then blames himself for it. Maybe this is his awakening...

Pi is the character I dislike the most but he has depth we will get to explore. He only is such a dislikable character because he doesn't like himself but you can see this fassade fading slowly and it's again someone struggling to let go of a habit which is again something, everybody can relate to - in this context, probably more than I can count.

So, what is my point here? Habits are hard to overcome and we like antagonists because they are mostly trapped in a circle. The good feeling they receive consumes them so much that they can't let go of it even though they will feel bad afterwards. It's the price they are willing to pay. Mostly, they are self-centered characters because they don't care what they do to the others during the process. They long for something that will only make themselves happier with no sense of solidarity.

I didn't expect this to be that long...but what can I do when my brain doesn't let me sleep?

[mudwingpropaganda]

Queen Glory of the RainWings

Ye of terrible governmental implications! The replacement Dragonet of Destiny, her Majesty of the Rain Forest, and who knows what else. There’s a lot to be said about Glory, a victim of abuse, a part in the cycle of violence, and the child who knew better than an entire queendom of dragons. Glory is an unfortunate character, both personally and in the story as a whole. 

I have a lot of opinions about Glory. Bless yourself upon them if you deserve so.

Design Headcanon

Despite appearing colorful and bright, especially among her fellow dull scaled siblings, her scales are much plainer than a traditional RainWing’s. Most of which tend to have terribly neon scales correlating with their emotions. Glory tends to have disgusted green and irritable red scales reflecting her mood. The yellow is simply an accent, but mistaken by her subjects as muted amusement. Her scales easily flinch along to her emotions, but she finds that showing these colors gains the respect of her subjects, rather than lose it like she did with the guardians, who never truly did pick up on what these colors meant.

Glory has inspiration from a few different animals. Chameleons are out of the way. She also has a similar “beak” to a swan, a dark area on her face that she simply can’t change the color of. She also has dexterous claw talons, excellent for gripping onto trees or delicate dexterity. And the oddest thing about RainWings is that they initially appear wingless, similar to a draco lizard. RainWing ribs expand and and glide rather than the intense flying that most dragons do, which made her appear weaker than her fellow dragonets of destiny. She always keeps her wings flared, which is risky and makes her underside vulnerable, but it was better than being called a wingless serpent by her guardians.

Glory is a very cautious individual. She doesn’t walk until she knows where she’s going. She won’t begin to walk until she’s sure she can get there confidently. Glory is surprisingly prideful and avoids not to waste her breath, even if she chooses the wrong battles to fight.

Implication of Heritage

If I were to write Glory, I would completely boot out the idea that Glory was biologically destined for the throne. The whole moment where Grandeur spills her guts and explains the whole narrow-minded royal blood idea, that was stupid. Because it implies that all overcoming of adversity will be rewarded with the fact that all those who deserve it will be rewarded with their desires, not for hard work they used to achieve those goals, but simply because they’re supposed to.

Instead, I would make Kinkajou a convenient character in the scene to have a moment of importance, but it doesn’t mean she’ll be the new queen. But I’ll get to that later on. Grandeur will recognize Glory’s selfless and initiative as the prime reason she is more deserving to be queen. The idea that she’s fighting so desperately to help the NightWing prisoners, and that’s reflected by how she puts away the chance to win the Queen Competition for the life of this little dragonet.

Glory should have been Queen through initiative and new perspective, not the idea that she was “smarter” than the RainWings or that the RainWings were too “lazy” to have a functioning leader. She should have been a respectable character who overcomes her biting remarks to be truly selfless, put aside her needs and desires to help this tribe. Be the leader that Sunny would look up to.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

Glory doesn’t honestly get the proper respect as a grumpy character considering the trauma she’s went through and considering her entire life has been ruined as those who raised her repeatedly told her she shouldn’t exist and that they ought to kill her. Not as an empty threat! The acceptance of her situation seemed so understated (until it was revealed she had a plan) and no one really respects that she had the shortest end of the stick compared to the other Dragonets of Destiny. 

Along with that, I feel like it’d be interesting if Glory had an innate distrust or fear or SOMETHING of SkyWings. After being berated by a SkyWing guardian, being meant to be a SkyWing her whole life, Clay unintentionally claiming Peril as the missing SkyWing, and being prisoner and biggest prize of Queen Scarlet of the SkyWings, I don’t see why she wouldn’t be a little more afraid or hostile in a scenario with one. 

One headcanon of mine is that Glory has narcolepsy, a byproduct of not getting enough sun as a sun dependent tribe. She frequently lost control of her muscles during sparring practice with Kestrel, leading her to slither helplessly and worsen her image. She pardoned her sleepiness through consistent naps Under the Mountain, but it became harder to excuse after they left the mountain. Once the sun hit her scales on the marble tree in Scarlet’s clutches, she finally gave in and slept for a majority of that time, otherwise overwhelmed and unable to move. Unfortunately, along with classic form of narcolepsy, Glory also has hallucinations. She often interprets her hallucinations as Kestrel or Queen Scarlet, long after their deaths. Despite denying special treatment as the RainWing Queen, she does give into sun times to satiate the urge in her to rest.

Narcolepsy is also described as being triggered by high surges of emotion. Another reason why Glory does her best to suppress her emotions, to stay in control of her consciousness.

It can negatively affect relationships with other people by being triggered during these surges of emotion and as a result, Glory is not quite as emotionally connected to her siblings as the others are. As the consequences of the war subsides, she wishes to try making up for lost time and finally respond to her narcolepsy instead of be frustrated and angry with it.

Glory’s reign of the Rain Forest Queendom is characterized not by her inherent intelligence over the other RainWings. In fact, a majority of the beginning of her rule is learning the rich history and important traditions of RainWings from Duke Handsome. Due to her unfamiliarity with oral history, her first order is to try and record as much history and as many orders as possible to keep the RainWings’ respect and learn about her own culture. 

As well as that, Glory steels herself, with the sympathy of her siblings, Prince Jambu, Duke Handsome, and the other Queens, when ruling the NightWings. So easily could she take out her anger on these innocent victims of their own actions. But in the end, she learns it’s more important to be the bigger person and move forward in peace, not dwell in hatred.

Despite that, Glory is still apprehensive before directly meeting with SkyWing figures such as Queen Ruby. 

Glory and Tsunami probably have the closest relationship out of any of the other Dragonets of Destiny. Tsunami looks up to Glory as a queen and Glory makes fun of her lack of royal blood for it. Tsunami, after apprenticing with General Shark, also assists in the disciplining and order in the Rain Forest Queendom. Tsunami, Sunny, and Glory are the main royalty figures establishing a fairer justice system in the Rain Forest so there are no more Chameleons and that individuals like Mastermind have a place to go.

LGBT+ Headcanons

Glory, for a large part of the story we see her, is probably questioning her orientation. She’s never felt the right to be loved and never been able to emotionally connect with anyone enough to feel worthy of affection. Eventually, she comes out as a lesbian! Proudly leading her two tribes with acceptance and understanding. The Rain Forest proudly leads the largest Pride Parades with the SandWing queendom following closely behind. (Which means Deathbringer x Glory is not canon in my headcanons! He can ROT.)

Glory is also a trans woman! She did not embrace it easily with the role models she had growing up. She had always been told she was born incorrectly (for OTHER reasons, but it’s for the metaphor), but with the unconditional support from her siblings, especially her solidarity with Starflight, she was able to come to terms with her identity and be even more prideful because of it. Fully taking her destiny and her life into her own talons has empowered her more than anything after the events of the SandWing War of Succession.

[maikry]

Holli - Mud and Promises

TRIGGER WARNING: This story contains bullying between children, fighting between children, and mentions of violence/gore.

Holli sat in the mud, fists curled in rage. Unlike most children her age, she preferred to plot her revenge cautiously rather than lash out. The humiliation of being laughed at was feeding into her anger. She wanted nothing more than to deal out blows, unable to quell the seething hatred that the young girl had yet to learn the words for.

Still, she sat.

The Finisher boys had pushed her down. It was not their first offense against her; there were often days when they would call her names or exclude her from their games. This time, however, they soiled her dress. Holli's mother would be cross, dealing out a punishment that she knew would be unpleasant. This inspired her to make sure that whatever swift revenge she plotted would be just as bad, if not worse, than what she would face at home.

"Did ya see the look on her face?" One of the boys, a plump redhead with more freckles than hair, doubled over and pointed a chubby finger in her direction. One of the ginger's greasy friends slumped over him as his laughter took hold of his body and made standing difficult. This one was slim, taller, and his long thin hair was worn in a bowl-cut that shook about his head like tassels as he erupted into another fit of giggles. "She screamed like a girl!" The blonde one, who Holli recognized as Guvon, guffawed. "I am a girl, idiot!" Holli felt herself retort despite the fact she should be plotting.

The third and final boy, built like Guvon but far shorter (perhaps even his sibling), clapped the shoulder of the redhead in solidarity. It looked forced, like a movement he had seen the elder Finishers perform with their comrades and wanted to imitate. "She's afraid of a little mud! No wonder girls aren't supposed to fight. Holli wouldn't last a second out there fighting!" The hatred burned deeper in her gut. These idiots had made the mistake that her previous decisions to not retaliate were due to weakness. She'd show them. Her careful planning unraveled as she attempted to get to her feet. Holli's mud-coated dress hem clung to her, however, and attached itself to the sole of her shoe. As she stepped on it, she face-planted into the mud. This time, it splattered all over her, getting in her face and mouth. The ends of her curly blonde hair were soaked in it.

More howling echoed in the garden as the boys witnessed her failure.

The Finisher compounds capital building had the most beautiful and well-maintained garden. It was the only place in the entire city that wasn't stone. Most of the children who had yet to be shipped off to school played here. There were several guards patrolling it, as it was on the land of the most vital building in all of Aydell. Yet, when Holli looked at them for help in a moment of failure and weakness, they did nothing.

"Hey!" Holli thought this was one of the boys finding a new thing to insult, but the voice was distant. It was unfamiliar. She glanced up to meet who was sure to be another tormenter, sorry that he had missed all the fun.

The three aggressors, however, looked just as confused as she was. Their laughter petered out as they turned towards the fourth boy. Guvon, finally getting to his own two feet, nodded his head toward him. "What do you want? We're busy." "You're welcome to join us, though." The redhead, now unencumbered by the tall blonde, bounced on his heels. "We're testin' how long it takes before she starts crying!"

Having heard their plan, Holli's flushed cheeks grew hot. Whether it was the utter humiliation or another bout of anger, she couldn't be sure. Still, it gave her energy. This new kid was the distraction she needed. Even if it was another tormentor for her to punish, she mentally thanked him. Gathering the sticky fabric of her dress this time, she made it to her feet. Her shoes squelched into the thick mud, alerting one of the boys, the smallest one. This didn't matter, however. Before he could get a single word out, Holli lunged at Guvon with a mighty roar using his height as his own disadvantage. This wasn't exactly the plan she had been concocting, but she'd be lying if she said that toppling the unsuspecting bully wasn't viciously satisfying.

She began delivering multiple tiny blows to the back of his back and head. Guvon had let out a yelp of surprise on his way down, one that Holli would have mocked him for had she been able to stop yelling, but the dirt and grass in his mouth muffled any further sound he might have been making as she pummelled whatever she could get her fists on. "Get off of him!" The smallest squealed, trying to yank Holli, who was roughly his size, away from her victim. Unable to get her wriggling body under control, he looked up toward the redhead. "Help me!"

Before the chubby ginger could register what was happening, the newest boy had finally caught up to the group. Without another word, he landed a punch straight to the ginger's speckled jaw. His knees locked, collapsing the boy to the ground from which he made no attempt to get back to his feet.

This stranger turned to the smaller blonde boy, giving an icy stare over Holli's hunched figure, still raining blows on the boy though with much less vigor.

Fear in his eyes, he stumbled backward and released his already loose grip on Holli's arm. In a moment of retribution, the small one's foot hit a separate patch of mud and sent him to his butt with a firm plop, splashing bits of the dirt around him and onto his clothing.

This strange boy, not much bigger than the littlest of the three tormentors, knelt down beside Holli and grabbed her arms in succession. She wriggled harshly, unaware of what just happened around her. Guvon let out a groan from underneath her. Holli had had his arms pinned underneath her knees, forcing him to lay there and take her justice. Once her arms were unable to move, she allowed herself to look at the force that dared stop her.

"Let me go." She heaved through malice. "I'm sorry, milady, I'm afraid you might kill him." The new boy, who had pitch-black hair and deep green eyes, tugged lightly on her arms to try and get her to stand. Now that her focus had been broken, Holli's eyebrows scrunched up as her eyes scanned for the others. Still pinning Guvon, her arms being held up by this stranger, she sees the redhead curled on the grass and the smaller boy cowering, shocked and muddy, a few feet away.

Slowly, she lets the darkly cladded stranger help her to her feet. When she gets off of his body, Guvon rolls onto his side for air. The front of his clothes are dirt-streaked and grass-stained, adding to the smears of mud on his back from Holli's dress and hands. He lets out a hiss as coughs, pieces of the turf impressed into the skin on his cheek.

Confused, Holli gets defensive, straightening out her dress as if her dignity or hygiene was salvageable.

"I wasn't going to kill him," she lied, "I was merely tired of his stupid jests."

The new boy released her, containing a chuckle. "Of course. My apologies, milady." Turning on his heel, he looked at the defeated trio. "I'm sure they've learned to make better jokes."

As he spoke, the three boys began peeling themselves off of the ground. With much wincing and gasping, they eventually made it to their feet, refusing to turn their backs on the couple. The tallest one attempted to lean across the ginger for support again, but he swatted him away, his good mood soured by the ache in his jaw.

"Now," the unknown helper called out tilting his head toward Holli, "I think you owe her an apology."

The boys, both irritated and dumbfounded, begin to make their protests. Holli cuts them off. "Save your breath. Underestimate a woman again, and you'll pay for it." Though even she knew calling herself a woman was a stretch, finally standing up to her bullies had awakened a new sense of confidence in her. Holli may have been covered in mud and incredibly sore, but she was victorious. That feeling was enough for her.

As if her words weren't enough, the three looked wearily toward her accomplice. The black-haired boy, who was staring at Holli with a crooked smile, turned toward them. He seemed surprised that they were still standing and gave them a firm nod, wearing a far more sinister gaze. "You heard her." Having been given the official 'ok', they shuffled slowly toward the garden exit. Holli could hear their groans of pain and revelled in the feeling of accomplishment as the guards tried to stifle their laugh after watching the whole thing. Once they were out of sight, she turned to the stranger, arms crossed.

"Who are you, anyway? What do you want, helping me out like that?" Her eyes narrowed, wondering if this kid assisted her only to turn and torment her on his own.

"My name's Cro," he stuck his hand out, the other one slicking back his hair, "I don't really want anything. I just thought three against one was pretty unfair." Hesitantly, she gave her his hand. Cro took it and placed his lips to the top of it as if the dried mud was not even there. It was Finisher custom for a man to greet a lady this way, Holli knew, but she was too young for that. Nor had she ever seen a boy her age commit to it. Unsure how she felt about it, she retracted her hand quickly.

"How noble of you." She retorted, absently rubbing her hand where his lips had been.

If he was aware of her sarcasm, he did not make it known. "Thank you, milady. It is a Finisher's job to stand up for those who need it."

"Stop calling me that. That's what adults call each other," she said pointedly, "my name's Holli."

Cro nodded, pulling his hands behind his back much like that of a distinguished gentleman. "I can teach you how to fight, Holli. If you want, that is. Though clever, attacking a man with his back turned is hardly the Finisher thing to do."

Holli scoffed loudly, a laugh ripping through her throat. "Yeah, well, they were asking for it. Finishers don't prey on the weak like that, either. So I guess the only true Finisher in this situation is you." She began to walk away, not enjoying this boy's judgments, but stopped. Cro seemed strange but he did help her out. Not to mention whatever he had to say would still be better than facing her mother's wrath.

With a sigh, she turned back to him.

"What's in it for you? Teaching a girl how to fight?" She asked.

Cro smiled. Though it looked mischievous, Holli was beginning to think that it was just what joy looked like for him. "Nothing is in it for me. I just think you should be able to protect yourself."

"Because girls can't defend themselves?" Holli scoffed.

"No. You can obviously defend yourself. All I would be teaching you is how to do it better." He shrugged, moving his hands back to his front.

Though she sensed no lies or mal intention, she was still wary. It wasn't until twenty years ago that women were even allowed to fight for the Finishers. Being allowed to choose education at the School of the Ring (or at least the subsection: the Sisters of the Ring) in place of their at-home domestic schooling. Of course, this meant giving up a life of family and love. It was a common belief that a woman could be soiled by magic and deliver magical off-spring. If they risked their lives in the field, they were not allowed to have children or even find a husband.

Still, Holli wanted nothing more than to fight alongside other Finishers. To help her people in the great war against magic.

"...alright. But you better not be trying to make fun of me, Cro!" She pointed a finger in his face sternly. Holli hadn't seen his quick fight with the redhead and just how strong Cro had been. Had she, she might have been far less inclined to threaten him.

"I swear to you, milady, I genuinely would just like to help." He got to his knee, bowing as if he was making some kind of intense pact. Holli tried pulling him up by his shirt.

"Stop calling me that! Just, keep your word and everything will be alright, okay?" As he allowed her to help him up, he grinned devilishly. "My mom can't know, either."

Cro nodded his head slowly. "Meet me in the garden tomorrow and we can start training. I know a spot where the guards can't see us. And if nobody sees us, nobody can tell your mother."

She let out a breath, unsure if she'd show up as he instructed. Sure, right now this seemed like a great idea, but Holli might not be so sure by the time night falls. Her mom might not even let her out of the house tomorrow, anyway, depending on what punishment she decided for ruining another dress. But the fact that she wasn't committing relieved her, so she shook her head up and down.

"Great, Holli. I'll see you tomorrow!" Cro bowed to her and began walking off the way he came. Before his black hair left her view, he turned back to her and called out. "Oh, and wear something you can get muddy!"

Holli wanted to argue or yell, but she swallowed it. Even though Cro was weird, trying way too hard to act like an adult, she already knew that she wanted to be his friend. Any boy that wanted to teach her something at risk of getting in trouble was one that she wanted to keep around. Though she wasn't sure if she would make it, she was excited at the idea of tomorrow. At least Guvon and his goons wouldn't be there.

Once he's officially gone, Holli began making her way toward her home. Picking off as much mud from her golden locks as she could before she had to face her mother.