#and learning will objectively make me a smarter and more capable person in the end

[snarky-wallflower]

I’ve decided that I’ve done enough learning, actually. My new goal is to become a mysterious hermit deep in the woods who occasionally emerges to get snacks and post weird art whenever she feels capable.

[dioptre-hertz]

Pathologic 2 ending thoughts

i don’t really use tumblr much anymore, but i recently finished Pathologic 2 and i have thoughts on the ending, which i felt was somewhat incongruous with the rest of the game’s themes and ideas. and tumblr felt like the right place to put a long-form post about it. so, here i am, haha!

MAJOR spoilers for Pathologic 2 below, obviously. this post will probably only be interesting to you if you’ve already played the game, so if you haven’t, be warned! hehehe!

okay, so. i have a lot of thoughts about the ending stuff, but basically it boils down to: i think the ending as presented would have been a good ending for a different game.

quick summary: towards the end of the game, Artemy learns that the Polyhedron, a physics-defying tower and architectural wonder, is rooted into the ground with a long metal spike that pierces the Living Earth. destroying the Polyhedron would therefore open a gaping wound in the Earth, spilling rivers of blood that could be used to mass-produce a cure for the plague. however, doing so would not only destroy the Polyhedron, but also kill the Living Earth, and by extension the Kin. alternately, Artemy can choose to preserve the Polyhedron, which would prevent the Living Earth from bleeding out and dying; but it would come at the cost of the lives of everyone in the town, since the plague would then be unstoppable.

so, the ending choice is principally about this: you have to choose between preserving the magical wonders of the world, the Kin and the Polyhedron and the Living Earth, but at the expense of the actual living humans of the town; or, you save the town and all its mundanities and its ordinary people you've worked so hard to protect, but at the expense of your cultural heritage and all the magical, impossible things of the Steppe. do you choose a world that is dreamlike, enchanted and strange, even if there is no place for regular humans in that world; or do you choose an ordinary, realistic world, one in which there is life for common folk but not for magic and fairy tales?

here’s what irks me though: this dichotomy is not at all what the game is about. or, to be more precise, it never felt to me personally like this was what the narrative was setting up. the choice as presented is fine in a vacuum! there’s nothing wrong with telling a story that creates this kind of clash between magic and realism, and asks you to choose between them. but it doesn’t feel congruous with the rest of the game’s story. let me elaborate.

so, part of what’s going on here is that the game is asking you to make a sacrifice. as the game itself repeatedly tells you: “you can’t save everyone”. either the Kin, the magical steppe creatures, and the Polyhedron are destroyed; or, the ordinary humans of the town are destroyed. you can’t protect both. Pathologic 2 goes to great lengths to show you that you are not a magical fantasy RPG hero who can complete every quest, rescue every NPC, overcome any obstacle and get the Perfect Ending. that’s the whole point of the overly punishing hunger and exhaustion mechanics; that’s why you die so easily in combat, why you’re always running out of time, and why the game is perfectly willing to punish you for every single mistake you make. it’s not a game about being the chosen one, who has magic powers and is uniquely capable of saving the day. right?

except... it kind of is precisely that, if you think about it. Artemy’s story is very clearly a traditional “chosen one” narrative! he is the sole inheritor of his father’s legacy, he is the town’s only menkhu, and so much of the story revolves around his spiritual journey. over the course of the game, Artemy undergoes a coming-of-age of sorts, reconnecting with his heritage, unlocking the secrets of being a menkhu, brewing magical tinctures that slow down and ultimately cure the plague. multiple characters make it explicit that Artemy is important - Foreman Oyun, Aspity, Isidor, and various minor characters of the Kin (like Nara) all talk at length about how Artemy is special, and his role (should he embrace it) is to lead the Kin once he is ready. and the entire conflict with Rubin revolves around the fact that Rubin isn’t the “chosen one” the way Artemy is!

this whole plot thread reaches its climax when Artemy ventures into the Abattoir to seek answers. there, he undergoes a series of harrowing spiritual experiences. several really important things happen here, and i want to focus on two of them.

firstly: upon reaching the central chamber of the Abattoir, Artemy is tasked with performing “surgery” on three seemingly random objects: a candlestick, a fingernail coin, and a spindle of thread. he has a metaphysical conversation with the odongh he meets there and then “connects” these objects into a living, beating heart, and the heart speaks to him. this scene is either hallucinatory or supernatural (or both), but it doesn’t matter which; the point of the scene is that Artemy has finally learned to read the Lines, learned to see how seemingly disparate objects can be spiritually connected into a singular whole. he takes three items that appear to have nothing in common, and he forges a beating heart out of them, a living thing. as Artemy himself learns:

This system isn't symmetrical. It's not just "Nerves, Bones, Skin." Or "Nerves, Bones, Flesh." Or "Spirit, Hair, Blood." Any triad is correct.

Truth is not a set point, but an intersection and confluence of many small truths. Knowing this, I can match and connect anything.

furthermore, shortly after leaving the Abattoir, Artemy has a dream in which he returns there and speaks to the ghost of Isidor, his father. here, he learns a difficult truth: that Isidor intentionally brought the plague back to the town, believing - essentially - that it was necessary for the town’s growth. the decision seems monstrous. Isidor justifies it thus:

This town was… connected wrong. Its parts were tied with artificial seams—so different, so awkward. One could say that Simon, the Mistresses, and I held it all together by force.

So I tore it apart, so you can sew it all back, better than before. Because you're better, and smarter, than I am.

so here we have the high point of Artemy’s spiritual journey, the part of the story where he finally understands why things are the way they are, and what it is he must do.

and this is where things start going wrong, in my opinion.

because all of this, all of what we’ve seen, seems to point in one very clear direction: Artemy will find a way to connect the Kin, the Town, and the Polyhedron into a single coherent whole. it fits so perfectly! Artemy learns that there is a way to mass-produce a cure, but doing so would require him to destroy the Polyhedron and the Living Earth. it appears as though the Polyhedron, the Living Earth, and the Town cannot all coexist; something must be sacrificed. but this choice is presented right after we’re told that Artemy’s destiny is to “sew it all back, better than before”. it is presented once we’ve seen that Artemy can connect a coin, a candlestick, and a spindle of thread into a living, beating heart, no matter how impossible that may sound. knowing this, he can match and connect anything.

and yet, he... doesn’t. the game does not end with a solution that connects the Kin, the Polyhedron and the Town. ultimately, Artemy fails to sew it all back together - and it’s not just that he fails, it’s that the game itself seems utterly unconcerned with that possibility once it heads into its final act. the mere idea that there could be a solution that “connects things right“ goes unexplored. even if the game wanted to be pessimistic and suggest that it can’t be done after all, it should at least acknowledge the thought! the game does admittedly have a focus on the idea that “you can’t save everyone”; this is one of its core motifs. so, fair enough! but since it fails to address that cynicism, it feels less like a statement on the game’s part and more like a lack of awareness.

but that’s not all! there’s a second thing that really bugs me. see, there’s another major event that takes place in the Abattoir: Artemy finally has his fateful encounter with Nara, the Herb Bride who has haunted him throughout the game, insisting that their destinies are intertwined and that he will one day kill her. here, Artemy finally comes to understand what it all means. in the depths of the Abattoir, Nara is waiting for him; the other Herb Brides give Artemy a menkhu’s knife, and they task him with cutting open Nara’s body without killing her:

We know how to open things up. Our way. You know how to open things up. Your way. Do you want to know why the sand pest passes us by? Show yourself.

Cut a living sister in such a way that she stays living. You can do it, if you know the Lines.

Artemy follows through, and he converses with Nara even as he cuts into her flesh; they talk to each other right until the end, when Artemy retrieves a spindle of thread from her body, and she dies.

now, this scene is somewhat tricky to interpret; Artemy must show that he can “cut a living sister in such a way that she stays living”, but in the end, Nara does die. so was he successful or not? well, i would argue that he is; even though Nara dies, he proves that he is able to read the Lines with such precision that she can speak calmly with him until the very end.

more importantly, this scene is the high point of a recurring theme in the game: Artemy’s skill as surgeon.

on Day 1, the very first part of the game, Artemy is sent by his old friend Bad Grief to perform surgery on Piecework, one of the thugs in Bad Grief’s gang. Piecework has gotten in a fight and been stabbed in the gut with a lockpick; without Artemy’s intervention, he will die. you can choose to save him, flub the surgery and kill him, or ignore the sidequest altogether; in any case, this early quest introduces the player to the surgery mechanic and serves to establish Artemy’s unique skills as a surgeon.

on Day 11, the last day of proper gameplay, you have a repeat of this encounter. while pursuing the main quest for the day, you wind up in a pub, where a gang of local bandits have set up shop. they threaten you and order you to rescue one of their pals, who has been shot in the stomach and is about to die. here you again perform surgery to save a man’s life, but this time you don’t do it through the usual surgery minigame - it happens entirely through dialogue choices, and i’m actually not even sure if it’s possible to fail this interaction. in any case, you retrieve the bullet from the man’s stomach and inform his friends that he’ll live.

so what’s the point of all that then? well, the way i see it, the point of all this is to foreshadow a climactic conclusion: Artemy will remove the Polyhedron without killing the Living Earth.

the game spends a lot of time setting this up! on Day 1, Artemy saves a man by removing a long metal spike from his gut non-lethally; in the Abattoir, Artemy proves his spiritual growth by demonstrating that he can “cut a living sister in such a way that she stays living”; and on Day 11, the game throws yet another surgery vignette at you in a scene that frankly feels a bit out of place otherwise.

all of this feels, to me, like it's foreshadowing and setting up one very obvious result: Artemy, having mastered not only practical surgery but also the art of reading the Lines, of being a menkhu, is the one person who can remove the Polyhedron without killing the Living Earth! the game spends all this time explaining that in the Steppe culture, cutting open flesh, or the earth itself, is taboo: only a menkhu is allowed to do so, because a menkhu is someone who knows how to read the Lines, who knows how to cut in a way that will not harm the Living Earth. the culmination of the story, therefore, needs to be that Artemy puts this exact skill to use. that was the point of his character arc, right?

except... no, it isn’t. in the end, there is no way to surgically extract the metal spike from the Living Earth. the only two choices we are presented with are: botch the surgery, or leave it be.

...

in the end, i feel that the ending(s) of Pathologic 2 aren’t appropriate conclusions to the ideas, motifs, and overall narrative progression we’re shown throughout the earlier parts of the game. Pathologic 2 is in many ways brilliant, and i do not hesitate to call it a masterpiece, aforementioned criticisms notwithstanding - but that’s precisely why i cared enough to write all this down! it’s a story that gets into your head, really stays with you, and maybe that’s the reason why i have such strong feelings about the direction the story takes in its final act.

if you reached the end of this post: thank you so much for reading it! i hope you enjoyed my thoughts, and i hope you have a great day!

[bloody-wonder]

What are your favorite tropes?

thank you very much for being interested. here’s a post that’s ungodly long.

i love revenge stories. forget and forgive? how about no. i don’t believe in god or higher forces that distribute justice irl so even in stories where such forces actually exist i like when characters take matters into their own hands. will it make them happy or bring closure at least? i don’t care. for me it’s not so much about making the character who’s been wronged happy again as ensuring that the offending character isn’t happy. it’s all about bad karma. revenge stories are still done fairly often, so probably this would be the one popular trope that i like (idk if i can call it overdone though).

when a character does some favor for a stranger in the first half of the story to have it returned to them in the second half. i guess it comes from fairy tales: a hero rescues a person at the beginning of the story and later when the hero is in trouble and needs help it turns out that the person they rescued is very powerful and they just happen to ride by and help the hero out. it’s all about good karma. plus just generally i like when characters you thought were episodic turn out to be important later in the story.

when characters have to join forces with their antagonists to defeat a common enemy - both when it leads to them questioning why they are antagonists and becoming friends OR when they remain antagonists even after their enemy is defeated. the former situation is more common but it often isn’t executed very well in that the conflict between these characters isn’t resolved in a satisfying way - they just spend some time around each other and are like okay i forgive you we’re friends now which is frustrating. the latter scenario wouldn’t have such an issue but it’s very rare, i can’t even think of an example. a perfect situation ofc would be if after defeating the common enemy one side is ready to set their differences aside forever and the other one is not which leads to some delicious tragedy in the end (and to fandom discourse about whether person b should’ve forginen person a or whether they had every right not to).

forbidden romance. not of the montague / capulet kind, but of the actual “forbidden by society for valid reasons” kind. i don’t seek out books like this bcs all you will find is icky problematic romance books for people who have certain kinks, but i’m very intrigued when, for example, a literary fiction book will feature a forbidden romance. what will the author do with it? will they condemn it and remind everyone once again how harmful it is? will they have the nerve to make the ship endgame? how will they justify it? as the book leo has once put it, sometimes unhealthy relationships make for a more compelling story.

on a similar but very different note, when human characters have relationships with those who aren’t human. i guess paranormal romance is a subcategory of this trope but it’s not at all what i’m talking about. i like this inter-species dynamic bcs of how it makes different cultural norms clash and what it says about conditio humana and stuff. what if one character is a regular person and the other one is an unholy demon and they “fall in love” but for the human it means whatever it means but for the demon it means to devour their soul? in paranormal romance monsters learn to “love” like humans do but i think that’s cultural assimilation and also boring.

when a character is a prodigy at something and/or just very competent - like andrew at exy or toph beifong at earth- and metal-bending. many people like to see characters try and fail but i think it’s nice to have someone about whom you can’t be sure they won’t embarrass you. i have lots of first- and second-hand embarrassement in my life already, thank you very much. but admittedly there’s a fine line between such capable characters and mary sues.

when a character is obsessed with something or someone, often in an unhealthy Problematic way. i think it’s fascinating and i always root for such characters although they rarely come out on top (bcs turns out they’re “evil” or something) bcs they display the amount of enegry, drive and resourcefulness i can only aspire to. a subcategory of this type would be maniacs. yeah sometimes i root even for them bcs *looks at smudged writing on hand* i’m a bourgeois degenerate. plus, if you have a choice between the fbi and hannibal lecter and choose to root for the fbi it just means you’re boring and have no personality.

idk if the following ones are more character archetypes than tropes but i still decided to include them.

the first one i call “the douchebag ravenclaw” - it’s a character who’s very smart but also very mean which may or may not have something to do with how they’re Objectively Smarter than everybody else and their patience for other people’s stupidity and sensitivities is limited. yes, i’m a big fan of sherlock and dr house. tyrion and snape would also fit on this scale, although tyrion is not as mean as he is smart and snape is not as smart as he is mean. you know those tumblr posts that are like “it doesn’t matter how smart you are if you aren’t kind”? like yeah in real life certainly, but in fiction? big fat no. i have a lot of bottled up anger but avoid conflict at all costs so i need smart characters be mean at people to take the edge off it.

another character archetype i love is the lovable rascal - the morally grey and very sassy swashbuckler with a heart of gold. jack sparrow, locke lamora, seregil i korit are near and dear to my heart. it all comes from how when i was 12yo my favorite book was the three musketeers. much like douchebag ravenclaws give me a way of having (and winning) heated arguments i’d never start in real life, lovable rascals give me adventure which i’d never set off on bcs it sounds like too much trouble.

that’s all i could think of at the moment *says she as if this post isn’t too long already*

[taeguboi]

BTS as... ‘ordinary’ employees

Okay so when I say ‘ordinary’ I mean as in not famous basically. This is more what I just have personally imagined them doing and I think I’ve lost that somewhat ‘realistic’ touch I used to have a few years back when I was more of an avid writer for this blog and could have an idea of their actual personalities, current likes, etc. This is also in no way a reflection of what I think they are and aren’t capable of so please don’t scream at me if your bias has a ‘lower’ role than you might have expected.

Sorry I do like to blabber on before these things, don’t I? 

I hope everybody is staying safe anyways and happy imagining!

BTS as... Masterlist here

RM

Pawn Shop Sales Assistant

learning everything about every thing

if you have an object to sell for cash

he probably knows everything about it

or at least like a lot about it

his career is in early days right now

because it’s a family trade

but he learns from the best

but asks not to be favourited over other staff just because he’s the manager’s son

like you know he wants someone to tell him if they think he didn’t get a good deal for that ring

no special treatment please

sometimes uses a bit of the old charm to get a good deal

many girls like that

some of the guys not so much

especially the boyfriends

whoops

meets his wife there

she’s a fairly regular customer

buying good finds from charity shops

or finding stuff in the house

and taking them to the pawn shop to get by and save up a little

they really click

after like the 11th visit he finally plucks up the courage to ask her out

“so, uh... I clock off soon and I was wondering if....

uh....”

and he gets quite flustered because he really likes her

“... would you like to maybe grab a coffee with me?”

and she sort of teases him to fluster him

“I don’t like coffee”

“Oh erm....”

“Just kidding”

and inside he’s like “don’t DO that to me!”

fast forward a few years and he’s got a kid with her

but anyway back to joon as an employee

has many many friends in and around the industry

just people over the years who he’s needed to contact to double check some stuff about an item

sometimes there’s the odd nutter who comes into the shop

like any shop really let’s be honest

but oddly enough, Namjoon has a calming effect on them

maybe he’s just really patient

maybe he has great negotiating skills

but if someone kicks off at one of his colleagues

it’s resolved in under ten - fifteen minutes

he reasons with people who are shocked to find out that their gold isn’t actually real gold

or negotiates with those who thought they had something worth more

or sometimes just has to outright sass back at the aggressive ones

but most people find him to be an agreeable guy

banter with his dad / manage

rand although he gets on with everyone there

there’s that one colleague that just becomes his best mate

and this mate is also in on the banter

but again, there’s no staff feeling left out or not getting the same treatment

it’s a family business

and anyone that helps them along the way is family too

Jin

Sales Assistant

in a big supermarket

stacking shelves

helps customers that can’t reach the higher shelves

such a gentleman

lovely customer service

some wish they could give him a tip

but he wouldn’t take it most of the time even if it was allowed

he doesn’t need to be paid to show basic kindness

it’s just manners really

but he doesn’t fully realise how much he goes above and beyond

very patient at explaining stuff to people

he’ll repeat directions 10 times if he has to

and he helps the elderly make smarter shopping choices

not that his manager knows that though

because he’s supposed to focus on building up bigger transactions

but what can he say

he’s just a people person

empathy and understanding levels are like 1000/10

a good bean

wish you could be served by him all the time

people purposely queue up at his lane when he’s on tills

because he just provides a friendly smile 

and pleasant conversation

“how was your day?”

and he’s not saying it because he has to

he’s genuinely interested in what everybody has to say

takes forever but becomes a supervisor

some of his workers often mistake his kindness for dumbness

is that a word, ‘dumb...ness’?

but actually he more than knows what he’s doing

cashes up faster than anyone else ever

has solid ideas to help both business and customer

and whilst it’s a bit difficult getting them out there to higher people

they go for it

from ideas about what customers have previously asked for that the store doesn’t - didn’t - have

to community projects courtesy of tokens from shoppers

even a park that gets set up nearby is named after him

he may seem like just a sales guy to an outsider

but really he’s the heart of the local community

Suga

Tech Support

the funniest you could come across

you know, if you were listening in to the way he deals with some

just pay attention and there won’t be any problems

sometimes he’ll have those days where he’s like

*sigh*

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

totally not an IT Crowd reference oops

but seriously that can work like half the time

used to work in some dull office

but took his work to his house

he can basically work wherever and whenever he wants now

as long as he’s got a laptop and a connection

that is the one change he made in his life that made him a lot happier

because although some might turn their noses up to a job like this

it suits him down to the bone

and he doesn’t really care to change career paths any time soon

is up to date with all the tech trends

owns one of everything

well most things

he even has like a drawer of many phones

it’s like a museum of the company he works for lmao

has this spare room that he turned into an office

which definitely could be mistaken for a man cave

the ultimate problem solver

in work and in life

like he can get a phone call about a super complex problem 

and he knows what to do just like that

or a mate has a problem with some relationship

and the reply he gives them is just wow

and he’ll have just made their problem sound a lot less stressful or problematic

loves to help people in and out of work

he understands that the people he is helping might be at their worst moment in their work

or it’s an older person desperately wanting to contact family

he doesn’t just solve the technological problems

he calms you at the beginning of the call

he motivates you at the end and wishes you luck

he talks you through the technology in layman’s terms so you can understand what it is you’re doing

and that attitude continues in his social life

he’s the sober friend when you’re crying in the club toilet drunk

he’s the friend that comes knocking on your door because he hasn’t heard from you in a while and he wants to check everything is okay

he will drop you a phone call the day after to see how you’re hanging

or just because

just because he’s an absolute sweetheart

J-Hope

College Tutor

the type that is fairly laid back

but won’t take any shit 

so go through your assignment at your own pace

just don’t take the mickey

like he will understand that you might have some personal shit going on

and he’ll extend a deadline under special circumstances

but don’t push your luck by lying to him

happy to have banter with the students

makes lessons fun

but also productive

actually the most productive class(es) of anyone’s day

he’s just one of those tutors you’d love 

because he’s engaging

and there’s that one other tutor that no one really likes

because this other guy is boring, dull, basically almost jealous of the students and their ambitions

and although Hoseok won’t say a bad word about his colleague

he can teach you more in half an hour than the other guy does in the entire year

and when you pass the unit he won’t even take credit for the significant part he played

really fucking modest

but he really is one of those teachers that builds lives

keeps quite to himself generally though

has just a small group of friends outside of the college

it’s important to him to keep professional and personal life different

just an overall cool guy

very fair

some say a bit boring

but he’s just sensible really

no one from colleges knows he has a wife

some girls swoon over him and speculate he could be single

and usually he’s oblivious to / ignores any flirting

he’s just here to do his job

he’s here to educate

and he’s here to help you

and he’s happy to help you

Jimin

Dance Instructor

yes, it’s a bit of a typical idea, sorry

but come on

dishy dance teacher whilst you try to learn a style of dance

some students may or may not purposely so bits wrong

because they know Jimin can sometimes be quite physical in his teaching

“Okay, no worries, let’s go back to that bit... It goes like...”

and he’s just behind you to guide you

nice

has his own dance school

holds sessions in the local community centre every weekday night

Monday: contemporary

Tuesday: Street Dance

Wednesday: Musical Theatre

Thursday: Tap

Friday: Ballet

the little un’s are in from 4pm - 5pm

preteens 5pm -6pm

teens / young adults 6pm - 7pm

and finally the adults at 8pm

it sounds like hard work

but dance is all Jimin knows

he’s more than used to is

his stamina is so good

and once his business as a teacher gets up and running

he can afford to put on shows 

to showcase all the hard work his students have done

every year, some time in spring

the nearest theatre in town

it’s not as successful as, say, the pantomimes at xmas

but there are plenty of family and friends of the students interested

parents come to watch their kids

adults come to watch their friends

and so on

He has so much faith in everyone

and is proud of every little achievement 

at kid’s tap class he’ll be like “wow Sally! that’s amazing! you did a pick up!”

or “keep it going Amanda, you can do it!” at adult ballet

but it’s not just dance achievements he’s interested about

the things you do in your life matter too

sometimes he can be like a therapist

pulls you aside after class if he doesn’t think you were quite as on it as usual today

“are you okay today? you seemed distracted”

yes by your beautiful presence

just kidding

kinda

and you can just tell him

he’s always there to listen if you need to talk about something that you don’t want to tell friends or family

he’s there for anything really

like maybe a teen is struggling with exams 

and his encouragement really contributes to them pulling through

“you passed maths! I’m so proud! I knew you could do it!”

and there’s always the big squeezy hug that follows

he loves everyone

everyone loves him

no one can say a bad word about him

like seriously, no one can

V

Vintage store owner

Tae always wanted to own a shop

ever since he was a kid

he didn’t quite know what it was that appealed to him

but just the idea of running a store that’s your own

that’s the dream he worked towards

ever since school

weekend jobs

errands for neighbours

he saved every penny

and invested it on the cute little building 

on the block before the high street

Not like a charity shop

well some of the stock is second hand

but that’s because it’s real vintage

actually not just vintage, further back than that

like some of his stock can be referred to as ‘antique’

anything that has history

everything in his little shop has a story

the decorative chandelier that belonged to a middle class family in the early 1900′s

a vase made in Japan that someone brought back from touring the country years ago

velvet upholstery that could have been part of a noble household in Europe

glassware from the 70′s with intricate design

just cool stuff

you could spend hours in his shop

knows a lot about antiques, collectables, etc

blink and you’ll miss if you want something there

if you see it and you love it the first time you go in

you better buy it

because it’ll be gone even by this evening

his knowledge makes him a brilliant sales person

because the way he delivers the information about an object

just makes you want to buy it

so as you can imagine, sales are always good

everyone within a couple miles radius probably has something in their home bought from Tae’s store

Jungkook

Firefighter

because phwoar

lmao sorry

wait, no I’m not

can’t you just imagine it though

the uniform

the muscles

okay sorry not sorry

a true hero 

like sure, all of his colleagues are too, of course

but he goes that little bit extra

takes more risks

he doesn’t let much scare him

passionate about what he does

can mean he gets a bit extra in other aspects of his life

because he knows the dangers of literally anything

like you leave the hairdryer plugged in a few minutes after using it and he’s like

“NOOO!”

*dramatically, almost full takes a leaping dive to get there, unplugs it*

adrenaline rushes

he lives for those

a very can do attitude

feels amazing after rescuing anyone from anything

it could be a cat in a tree, evacuating people in a flood, or a person from a house fire

if he has helped them, it’s all rewarding

just good at everything

the job of course prepared him for lots 

but he’s just like REALLY good at everything

first aid pro

ultimate calming skills

navigation and driving - smooth

excellent judgement

even the science behind it all, he knows more than enough

all that jazz

he often gives lessons to younger people

because it’s important that incidents can be prevented

he’s very popular when he makes appearances in schools

because all the girls fancy him

obvs

some guys too hahaha

and I don’t just mean the ones that are quite sure they might be gay

anyways

pretty close to being a real life super hero

like he has to work at unsociable hours

but everyone in the area knows him

there’s hardly a street he walks down without someone saying hello

and even when they’re experiencing some of the worst possible situations

he just brings smiles to people’s faces 

[linkspooky]

The Deep Connection Between Norman and Emma

[Source]

While Emma and Norman are standing on opposite sides of a complex, it’s easy to assume that both of their beliefs are opposite as well. Emma the idealist, and Norman the pragmatist willing to use less than ideal means to accomplish his goals that are much more grounded in the real world. 

However, that is a trick of narrative as Emma and Norman are actually foils. They are much more similar than they are different, even while opposing each other. Norman is as much of an idealist as Emma is. Black and white, God or Devil, even if their ideals are opposite they both tend to see things in extremes. Both extremists, both often seeing ideals over people, they are two sides of the same coin and while they oppose each other they are also more connected than anybody else. 

Norman and Emma have the deepest understanding of one another, because of their connection as foils, and by comparing them we can deepen our understanding as well. 

1. A Fatal Misunderstanding

I’m going to review how their characters were set up in the first arc, because all of this set up is being paid off in the final arc. The Promised Neverland definitely reads like a story where things were planned for in advance, and all of these set up and comparisons were intentional. 

From the first few pages, the conflict between Norman and Emma is highlighted. 

Ray comments that while Emma is faster and has a stronger body than anyone, she loses in tag because she is unable to think objectively of the situation. She cannot remove herself from her own head in order to think tactically. She is so caught up in the act of playing tag, that the idea of observing and analyzing the situation does not come to her at all. This is the type of thinker that Emma is, she is on the same level as Norman in raw intelligence but she cannot set outside of herself and observe from a third person perspective the same way that Norman is. 

Norman however, can remove himself from almost any situation and see three steps in advance. Chess is a tactical game because you do not play by responding to your opponents moves, you analyze the set amount of moves that your opponent makes and then try to predict them long in advance and formulate your story around them. 

In fact, thinking in the abstract like this and predicting his opponent’s moves is what makes tag a fun game to Norman. Chess is a game with a select set of rules in which an opponent is only able to make a certain set of moves. There are strict rules that cannot be broken. For example you cannot just walk over to the opponent’s side and knock all of their pieces down. 

Treating tag like a game of chess is a metaphor because you can predict your opponents movements to a certain extent, but it’s not a complete 1:1 metaphor because real life cannot be controlled and put into certain boundaries like the game of chess can be. In Chess Norman has absolute control, almost nothing is left up to chance, the smarter opponent will win 100 times out of one hundred. Therefore it’s easy to see how Norman’s style of thinking where he distances himself and observes others and predicts them would be suited to thinking of his plans in the term of chess, why he would make games out of reality because it allows him to imagine more control than he would otherwise have. 

At the end of the chapter we also see the inversion of Emma and Norman’s dynamic. Remember, as I already pointed out Emma is stuck in her own head, Norman is capable of stepping out of his shoes and reading and predicting the actions of others. 

When both of their lives are put in danger they have opposite reactions. Emma thinks of everybody else, and Norman’s first instinct is to think of his own survival. Emma while not able to think of others tactically in the sense that Norman is, is good at reacting to the emotions of others because she is an empathic, intuitive thinker. Norman is not as good at thinking about the emotions of others as Emma, because he’s deductive and logical. 

However, as I will break down later it’s not as simple as Emma being selfless, and Norman being selfish, the two of them have far more in common with one another than their differences. They are both incredibly selfless almost to their own detriment to the point of self harm. 

Also, important is to understand each of their own perspective on the scene. Even though Emma was literally scared for the lives of her entire family, she thinks it was selfish of her to cry because she troubled Norman and forced him to smile and reassure her. That her own emotions caused trouble for other people. 

Whereas, Norman views himself as selfish because his first thought was his own safety and he did not immediately think of everybody else the same way that Emma did. Even though Emma would not have been able to pick herself up if Norman had not been strong enough to put on a smile and reassure her, Norman thinks that she is the amazing one and he falls short of her. 

Norman and Emma are both complementary to one another. They needed each other’s support in that moment. Not only that but when they are together their opposite ways of thinking can cover for each other. However, this connection is not perfect because they are severely out of balance.  Emma idealizes Norman and thinks she is the more selfish one, always demanding things of others.  Norman idealizes Emma, and thinks that because he cannot be empathic to others the same way that she can he’s a bad person unlike her. 

Norman defines himself as a selfish person in comparison to Emma, and yet there is one more important thing set up in these early chapters. Yes, Norman is capable of stepping out of his own perspective and viewing everything as a game on a board, but Norman does not consider himself any more important than those other pieces. Norman is a pawn on a chess board too, and he’s perfectly willing to use himself, and sacrifice himself. This is most likely once again Norman trying to make up for his own mistaken perception as a selfish person. He cannot be a selfless person like Emma, so he has to make himself of use to her in any way possible. 

I say this is a mistaken perception because once again, neither Norman nor Emma are entirely selfish or selfless. Though they view themselves as selfish and burdening others, in fact they are far more likely to take the burdens on themselves. It’s bad to define them in such black and white terms. They do however think differently which is what causes them to arrive at such opposite conclusions in terms of ideals.

Norman and Emma both think in terms of black and white extremes. They fall into the traps of “all or nothing’ thinking. For Emma it was important that they escape with anybody, and not lose a single person. For Norman, his assumption was that it all rested on his shoulders and if he did not plan properly, if he played anything other than his perfect game of chess, than his mistake would make it directly his fault that someone died. 

Saving everyone is of course a good ideal, and it’s good that they both want to accomplish this. However, at the same time reality is not like chess, you cannot play a perfect game in it. Acknowledging the grey parts of reality, and making the choice over and over again to continue doing what is right, in the face of your own mistakes and failures that will happen no matter what you do, is just as important as what ideals you have in the first place. 

Norman and Emma wanted the same thing in the end. They wanted an ending where everybody was saved, they were both the same kind of idealist. It’s just the way their minds worked was different. Norman’s assumption was that he could plan everything out and carry out the escape flawlessly if he was the one who sacrificed himself. Whereas Emma was unable to accept an ending where Norman sacrificed himself, even if it meant they might make more mistakes, or put more people at risk with him running away. Both Norman and Emma critically fail to understand each other in the first arc, and that is why despite being together the entire time and complementary forces they are separated. 

Now, to break down this final goodbye scene a little more, let’s start with Norman’s perspective. Once again he puts Ray and Emma on a pedestal above him, believing that they are both too naive for this world. Ray and Emma are the good children, and Norman the bad one. Norman claims that he is just facing reality unlike the two of them, but here is the catch. Norman is just as idealistic as Emma is, he always has been, he just pretends that he’s compromising with reality. Norman assumes that after he is dead that all of his plans will work off without a hitch. He does not think that Emma needs him around, does not consider the emotional impact of his leaving. In his own self devaluing he does not see the value that both Emma and Ray place in him. He never once considers that his friends might just give up and decide to die after he leaves them because they are both too broken. 

Norman “Those two are so silly for believing in me”, and then he turns around and says “I’m going to die now and trust those two with absolutely everything and I’m sure those two will carry it out in a way I never could if I had lived.” He is still thinking really really idealistically. 

Norman’s ideals are that he can control everything absolutely like a game. That is why he is not being killed right now, he is choosing to die. Even in situations where Norman does not have much agency, Norman will give himself far more agency because that is how he copes with learning he’s just cattle who nobody else sees as a person. However, this coping mechanism is unhealthy in the end because he also assigns far too much responsibility to himself in reclaiming his agency. He assumes that everything makes or breaks on his mistakes. That if someone dies as a result of one of his plans, if he is not perfectly in control of things, that their death is all his fault. 

Norman may seem selfish in his leanings to imagine everyone as a piece in a game, but he’s actually quite selfless, seeing himself as the most disposable piece and his genuine desire to be perfect because that’s what others need him to be. He plans for the perfect ending because he wants to give it to his family that he loves so much. 

His thinking is still flawed. He’s so selfless he thinks that if he’s the only one that’s suffering it’s the best option. He does not factor how much they value him, because he values himself so little. Therefore, Norman thinks it is okay to martyr himself. It’s not entirely for selfless reasons that he chose death, it’s also an extension of Norman’s various issues. The reason why he is able to walk out of his own perceptions so easily is because Norman has so thoroughly depersonalized himself. If Emma can never stop himself from feeling her own emotions even when it gets in the way, Norman can flip his emotions off with a switch, or at least he thinks he can. 

This in the end is a trait that isolates Norman, whereas Emma his opposite always ends up surrounded by other people. Norman’s desire to isolate himself and distance himself from his friends because he is a worse person than them in his own view, is something that only aggravates his flaws and makes him double down on his flawed thinking. 

Emma acts not on well thought out plan, but instead her emotional impulse. While her refusal to accept and give in, even in hopeless circumstances is exactly what makes her able to think dynamically to consider possibilities that Norman and Ray would never dream of, it also makes her act recklessly. Once again this is not a game where everything is safe, and there are rules protecting her. Her mistakes can get not only her but other people killed, and Emma does not consider that to the same extent Norman does. 

Emma is not wrong for saying that she personally does not want Norman to sacrifice himself. However, she also is completely disregarding his own intentions to the point where she refuses to understand him because it disagrees with what she wants.

Emma’s selflessness to her own detriment shows in her emotions, rather than her planned objectives like it does for Norman. Emma is so empathic, so able to feel the emotions of others that she is not able to divorce herself from her own emotions, or from the emotions of others. Emma could not stop herself from wanting to save Norman in that moment even though it might have put them all at risk, but most importantly she was also risking herself directly by throwing herself in front of Norman. Selflessness diminishes the perception of the self. Emma cannot see how important she is to Norman.

Emma tends to be truer to her own emotions, even if it becomes reckless. Norman will distance himself from his own emotions, and deny himself in pursuit of an objective. 

Both Norman and Emma tend to distance themselves and think in the large abstract, Emma thinks of the feelings of her entire family, of strangers, of the kids of this world, and so does Norman but in a more tactical sense. That’s why it’s hard for both of them to understand fully the people who are closest to them. It’s also hard for them to see themselves at times. 

However, Norman is more prone to seeing others as individuals than even Emma is. Let’s use their affections for each other as a metaphor. Norman canonically loves Emma in a romantic sense, to the point where he’ll want to do things directly for her as an individual. However, Emma’s feelings are unclear not because Norman is an unimportant person to her, but because Emma “likes” everybody, so it’s hard for her to have distinct feelings about one person as an individual. 

Norman will carry the weight of each individual person on his side, to the point where it becomes the cross that breaks his back. Emma will carry the weight of total strangers, to the point where she takes unnecessary risks. This is not opposite necessarily, they could be complementary forces on the same side. 

Norman and Emma’s misunderstanding of each other in the first arc, are in character reasons why Norman chose to sacrifice himself in the end and all three of them could not escape together. 

2. Norman and Emma the Idealists

A brief bridge before entering the final arc. Emma and Norman both think the world of each other, but as they are both children, they tend to have their affection for each other wrapped up in childish idealism. They both put each other on a pedestal, while failing to see just how important they are to the other person. 

(This is partially why Ray is so important as a balancing out factor between the two of them, this meta is just not about him hence why I don’t mention him). 

Even in this scene we see it play out in a microcosm. All Emma and Norman want is to stay together, they both need each other, but they both fail to realize how important they themselves are to the other. Norman waxes poetically about how amazing Emma is again. 

Emma is basically begging Norman not to die, because she personally needs him. Norman realizes that Emma doesn’t know how deep his feelings run for her, and that he needs her just as much. Norman fails to realize what Emma thinks of him because he’s too caught up in his admiration of her. Emma fails to realize what Norman is thinking at this time, because she’s too caught up in how much she needs him. 

When Emma is dying in the Goldy Pond arc, the last person she sees at the deepest part of her dying Hallucination is none other than Norman.

Norman is also the one who brings her back from the point of death and swims up to the surface with her. It’s a touching scene but it is also important to consider how Emma regards Norman. 

He has been dead all this time and because she does not have the living breathing Norman next to her, her feelings of longing for her friend, her idealization have only gotten worse. What kind of person appears when you die? What kind of person can deliver you from the afterlife into this life again? An angel? A god of death? A god? A devil?

Which is exactly what Norman refers to himself later as. Not a human being, but rather a god a savior to all, and a devil the enemy of demons. He appears as both an incarnation of death, and an angel at the same time. Which is exactly what Emma sees him as in her dying hallucination by serving as her psychopomp. 

Which is where we get to their conflict in the final arc. Their final misunderstanding of each other, seeing themselves as opposites when they are really more alike than they are different. The plot will not allow them to be together until they learn how to understand each other, and therefore learn to understand themselves. 

Once again we see Norman’s flawed thinking get worse. Everything in the world is in my hands, and therefore I have to bear all of this alone. Norman pretending he is in control of everything when there were several things he was in fact not in control of, especially his own victimization as a lambda test subject is his way of coping with this fact. Yet, it’s an unhealthy coping mechanism because it only serves to isolate him further.

Norman once again, puts Emma and Ray on a pedestal. They are better people than him, and therefore he can never be like them. He the bad person has to dirty his hands, and self destruct all on his own, otherwise he would just drag them down to his own level. 

His line about having no regrets is a lie though. It is exactly what he said about his original sacrifice of himself, and what he contradicts himself with. He obviously lived to regret when he sacrificed himself for the first time, even though he said he could die with a smile as long as he knew Emma and the others were safe. Even if his plan does work out perfectly and the children build a paradise on Norman’s gravestone, he’s not going to be satisfied with that, just like he wasn’t satisfied the first time.

Norman is able to downplay himself, and think selflessly to choose the best plan for everyone, but he also downplays himself too much to the point where it also becomes about his desire to martyr himself for the sake of others.

Norman clearly has regrets, and by denying them he’s also making a tactical mistake by not seeing other options, and denying his own ability to get better instead of continuing to spiral. 

Because Norman has Emma up on a pedestal to devalue himself, he is not able to realize that his plans to make a happy world for her are the opposite of what Emma wants, until it’s too late. 

Norman can stop seeing himself as a person, but Emma can’t. 

Emma knows that she’ll regret it if Norman dies. She’s mcuh more aware of her own personal feelings and her own regrets. Yet, at the same time she cannot bring herself to speak those up and disagree with others, because Emma is so focused on what is best for everybody she thinks bringing up her own opinion just to disagree is an act of selfishness. Which is devaluing her worth to Norman, and distancing herself from him, because once again Norman needs Emma. 

However, we also see Emma able to think of the well-being of total strangers in a way that Norman is not. Emma cannot stop seeing people as people. She cannot make them pieces on a chessboard the way Norman does. She cannot accept sacrifices even if it will bring about the best result. This is not always a good thing, it’s just the way she sees the world, but it is what allows her to see the results of the genocide that Norman is ignoring. She can even see demons as individual people with their own thoughts and feelings. 

Emma also is able to see the feelings of Norman, that Norman himself is repressing. However, once again this is only because she is not as selfless or as good at denying her own emotions for the sake of doing what is best for others in the way that Norman is. Her empathy towards Norman is also, in part, a selfish desire not to want to watch him kill himself all over again. It’s not one of them being better than the other, Emma makes up for what Norman lacks. 

Norman and Emma have a deep unspoken understanding of each other, which is why they are so similiar in the end and able to intuit each other’s actions. This is true in how Emma sees through Norman’s own denials and asserts that Norman is still a person, and he’s a person suffering all alone right now.

However, at the same time Norman and Emma still critically misunderstand each other and have not learned how to work together yet, even though they are the strongest when they are complementing each other. 

Emma does not comprehend just how traumatized Norman has become. She does not want to see Norman as dangerous, or as an enemy, because the desire to go back to when they were in the neverland together is still there. They both desire the connection they had when they were children and do not want to acknowledge the separation and how they’ve both developed and changed as people differently since then. Instead of reforging and making a new relationship, they hold onto the relationship they once had.

That’s why Emma gets fooled by Norman’s lie, and disappears off on her own long enough for Norman to put the final steps of his plan into motion. That is why Norman absolutely refuses to let Emma reach him. He still sees her as a good person, her innocent childhood self, and does not understand she can also grow up and change if he did. 

They’re both trying to preserve the neverland in a way. 

Norman wants to sacrifice himself, but also cannot accept the feelings of his comrades that want to sacrifice themselves alongside him. He cannot allow himself to be close to those people or accept their love because he has tor remain a god. 

They are both idealists, and they need each other to correct themselves from this past. Norman literally says they need to solve this conflict without shedding blood, and then bleeds the next panel. He thinks everything will be fine if he is the only sacrifice, martyrdom is an ideal too. His ideal is contradicting his reality.

Emma and Norman both get wrapped up in the idea of saving others, to the point where they neglect themselves. Due to the fact that Emma and Norman are so close, they also fail to understand each other due to this failure to recognize themselves. Which is why in essence unconsciously they are both doing the same thing right now. They are both disappearing to sacrifice themselves, because they believe it is what will save the other.

The implication here everything from the way he points at her neck, the way it cuts off before revealing the price, and the classic deal with the devil trope is that Emma herself is the cost for everybody getting to escape from the Neverland safety.

Emma’s third option reflects Norman’s in a way. She gets to disappear herself, at the cost of saving Norman and everybody else and she is the only casualty in an otherwise bloodless victory. The color pages of this chapter are even lunar imagery, and a reflection on the surface of the water, almost as if Emma’s desperation to save people is a reflection of a certain other person. 

They need to learn to face each other to truly save one another, at the moment disappearing off to sacrifice themselves is the equivalent of running away from each other. 

They need to see each other, to see the reality of the situation. They need to come to terms with each other as people. 

What would help Norman the most is for Emma to realize that Norman has done bad things, that he’s been traumatized and alone, but she still would accept him even like that. She would accept Norman the person, not white, or black, but rather grey. As what’s keeping them the furthest apart is Norman’s conviction that he has to dirty his hands, because he’s the dirty one in comparison to the pure Emma, and that if she knew the real him she could never accept him. 

Whereas Norman also needs to allow himself to be seen as a person. That’s what will allow him to see the people around him again. Until he can do that he’s going to be blind not only to what Emma really desires, but also his close circle of friends from Lambda. It’s not just Emma he is shutting out for being too good of a person as Norman puts it, but he also pushes away the lambda group as well despite their genuine desire to be his friends and support. 

It’s an almost fatal misunderstanding of one another, Norman and Emma could both die if they do not come to an understanding that’s how fundamental they are to each other’s lives and narrative. 

[otomebois-bb]

Problem Solving - Day 5 of Gavin Month

Title: Stalker 2.0, x10 worse

Pairing: Gavin & MC

(Tagging: @that-wasnt-so-bad @ceres-zephyr @mlqcdokidoki )

Notes: Since I have no ideas for Day 7 - Medic (tomorrow), I won't be doing it so I can have more time to write Day 6 - Coffee Date content (today). Also! This one has a trigger warning for stalking and borderline (almost) kidnapping! I don't want to cause any anxiety/bad memories resurfacing for anyone, so I'm putting this here so that, in case anyone has a problem with dark themes, they can avoid this one. This was the only idea I had for this prompt, inspired from that one Gavin date where he and the MC deal with a stalker. It also turned out a bit more angsty than I originally planned, so be warned now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Please be safe on your way home."

"I will! Don't worry!"

[[MORE]]

Gavin sighed. "You say that, but it doesn't help. I really wish they didn't need me for this so badly so I could walk you home, but..."

I reached up and gently held his face, because I'd come to learn he listened to me more than he usually does (which was, typically, already a lot) if I did that. "Gavin. I will be alright. Go work."

The way he was looking at me, with such heavy concern in his eyes, it seemed like he could read right through my confident act; but instead of calling me out, he just sighed again. "Fine. I love you. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"I will." I gave him a quick kiss goodbye. "I love you."

I turned, beginning my walk home. Before turning the corner, I looked back to see Gavin still standing there. For a moment I debated running back to him, straight into his arms... the thought was tempting, but he needed to work, and I needed to sleep.

So I swallowed my nerves and trudged forward into the dark night.

Truth be told, I had a stalker. Again. I didn't tell Gavin about it though, because I was determined to take care of it myself this time, but honestly? I was scared — no, scratch that, I was terrified.

This stalker... was scary. More so than the one before him.

He was less subtle, more obvious, but a lot smarter. The first time he approached me in public, I thought he was just being friendly as a fan with a powerful status that could help my company, but... turned out he was just a "normal" person, and getting my phone number "for business purposes" was just the first step of his plan.

After that first meeting, he continued to come up to me whenever he wanted like it was casual, and always when I was alone or without Gavin, pretending to be someone I knew if needed to get me away so he could talk to me, never using the same name twice, so I couldn't report him since I didn't know what his name actually was. Whenever he invited me somewhere private or tried to lead me to a less populated area, I'd make an excuse to leave, usually saying I had to get back to work.

I wished I'd asked him for some form of official identification to prove he was who he'd originally said he was, but I guess I wasn't that smart.

More often than not, he preferred to talk to me in person instead of calling or texting; but occasionally, he'd leave me creepy messages and voicemails.

"You looked pretty today."

"Your hair is styled perfectly, as always."

"Your makeup is always so well done."

"Your outfits are gorgeous each day."

"I want you."

"I love you."

Always something that sounded lovely when coming from Gavin's lips, but not a breathless, husky-voiced stranger...

"Who is that officer?"

"...oh, he's your boyfriend?"

"Stay away from him."

"Don't tell him about me..."

"...or I'll kill him."

His words played through my mind on repeat, and I stopped walking as I vigorously shook my head, trying to get rid of my venomous thoughts.

He isn't here, he isn't here...

"Hey, doll."

I froze, my eyes snapping open.

He's here.

I whipped around. There he stood, at a far enough distance that he couldn't touch me, but close enough that I could tell it was him, even under the dim streetlight he was standing under. I checked my surroundings quickly, then swore. How was there no one around right now?! There weren't even that many cars, either...

The man in front of me laughed. "Don't look so scared, sweetheart. I won't hurt you." He smirked. "Yet."

"L-leave me alone already!" I shrieked.

"I can't. I love you too much."

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

Ignoring my question, he began moving towards me. "Come to me, my love."

"Stay away from me!" I turned and ran the opposite direction.

"Come back here!" His footsteps grew heavier as he chased after me.

I ran as fast as my annoyingly short legs could carry me, adrenaline propelling me forward. The longer I tried to escape him, though, the more my legs ached and my lungs burned... the more tired my body became. How long could I keep running? Eventually I would need to stop and catch my breath, but if I did... who knew what would happen if he caught me here?

"You can't outrun me, MC!" his voice rang out, a lot closer this time.

Desperate to get out of this situation, I tearfully shouted, "Gavin!!"

"Got you!"

"NO!" I cried.

Just as he reached out and grabbed my arm...

"Release her!"

Gavin's strong voice echoed as the wind howled for a short second, and the faint sound of a gun being cocked could be heard. Through my teary vision, I noticed my stalker's shocked expression, and Gavin's gun pointed at the back of his head, and Gavin...

Gavin was pissed.

"How... how did you get here so fast...?" the man muttered, confused, still gripping my arm.

"Release her," Gavin repeated.

Instead of listening to him, he let go of me as he attempted to throw a punch, causing me to scramble away from the two so quickly that I tripped over my own feet and yelped when my body hit the concrete sidewalk. Meanwhile, Gavin swung the man around and pushed him away from me, standing between us, a protective arm out to the side to further shield me from his view and motioning me to stay behind him. His gun remained aimed at the man, whose stance was now becoming erratic and aggressive.

"If you surrender now, I won't have to take you away by force. Don't do something you'll regret," he tried to reason with him, but the man wasn't seeming to hear his words. Not correctly, that is; he was hearing what he wanted to hear.

"Don't take her away from me! She's mine!"

"Don't speak that way about my girlfriend. She does not belong to you. Turn yourself over quietly, and there won't be any trouble," Gavin warned, and while I understood the unspoken threat in his voice, my stalker did not.

"No! She's mine, only mine! She was mine from the moment I saw her! You can't have her!" He reached into his back pocket and drew a shiny object from it. Upon registering what it was, I gasped.

A gun!!

"Put the gun down!" Gavin demanded.

"She's mine! I won't let you take her from me! She—"

He'd made the mistake of aiming his gun at Gavin while speaking, and just as soon as he's done so, Gavin pulled his own gun's trigger, and the man fell limp, his body hitting the ground with a soft thud. The gunshot made me flinch, and the brief silence after it was followed by a sigh of relief from Gavin and the sound of distant sirens.

Police vehicles approached us as Gavin kneeled down and drew me into his arms. With the cold night and my adrenaline rush long gone, his embrace was so warm and comfortable, I started dozing off. I was brought back when a drop of wetness landed on my forehead, and I lifted my head up. "Gavin?"

To my surprise, a few tears slowly trickled out of his eyes.

Gavin never, never cried. Not once had I ever seen him shed a single tear.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought I was going to lose you." Despite crying, his voice wasn't shaky; just soft and quiet.

"I-I thought I could handle it," I said, then quickly corrected myself, "No, I was determined to handle it on my own."

"I know you're a stubborn, hard-working, capable woman, but you can't be stubborn with something so serious. Something like that could've cost you your life, or, if not yours, mine. He had a gun, MC... you were in danger regardless whether or not he used it," he scolded me, but not with the stern tone he usually had when doing so. He sounded like he was trying to make someone realise the intensity of that situation, but I couldn't determine if that someone was me or him.

"I know. I'm really sorry, Gavin... next time, I'll tell you even if I'm only a little scared."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good." Gavin left a lingering kiss on my forehead, then lifted me up as he stood. "Lets get you home."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

END.

[princecharmingtobe]

Hey there! I've seen your rimworld posts, and I've been wondering, what mods do you use? Thank you, and sorry if you've already answered that somewhere ^^;

I haven’t, and they change often so it wouldn’t really matter if I did. There are so many... Some that I tend to always use or use often are (sorry this took so long, had to go to dinner in the middle of it):

RuntimeGC (allows some things that keep the game from getting bogged down over time)Grim Reality (mostly changes the strength and length of certain buffs and debuffs to be more realistic)Humanoid Alien Races (needed for all the various non-human races, there are tons of them if you just search “race” in the workshop)Rimstory (colonies will celebrate various anniversaries and events)RimHUD (puts a bunch of info on display that you’d normally have to go looking for)Alien Children Compatibility/Children, School, and Learning/Humanlike Life Stages/The Birds and The Bees (collection of mods that gives animals and people genitals allowing you to keep animals from reproducing if you please and to allow for colonists to have children)Doors Expanded (adds new types and sizes of doors)Medieval Times (adds a bunch of medieval technology, useful for certain game types and stages)Show Hair With Hats (lets you see hair under hats, especially useful for certain races)Giddy-Up! (a set of mods that allows riding certain animals)RunAndGun (lets people shoot ranged weapons while moving with an accuracy penalty that can be adjusted)Simple Sidearms (lets a person carry ranged and melee weapons so if they end up in close combat they don’t have to hit things with their gun)A Dog Said... Animal Prosthetics (like it sounds, lets you make prosthetic parts for animals)Animals Logic (makes the game a little smarter involving animals, lots of quality of life stuff like assigning beds and making egg-layers look for beds to lay their eggs in)Wild Animal Sex (wild animals will reproduce)Magical Menagerie/ Alpha Animals/ AnimalCollabProj/ Let’s Have a Cat!/ Spidercamp’s Dog Pack (various mods that add more animals to the game)Foxes Aren’t Suicidal (stops foxes and modded animals that use their ai from trying to hunt things that can obliterate them)Animal Straw Bed (adds animal beds made of hay, and some that include herbal medicine for medical beds)Hospitality (basically lets you run an inn for guests who will trade, leave you gifts, and even let you recruit them if their stay is nice)Vegetable Garden (a set of mods that add more crops and things to do with them, such as food, drugs, materials, etc)Harvest Sync (lets you set a field to only be harvested when all the plants are ready so you don’t have a patchy mess of a field)More Harvest Designators (gives options like “harvest mature plants/trees” and “cut blighted plants”)Fishing (adds fish and the ability to catch them)Nature Is Beautiful (changes the beauty designations for many natural features like trees, water, etc. so your colonists can appreciate the world’s natural beauty as well)Less Arbitrary Surgery (you’re less likely to brutally murder someone while trying to replace their toe)Death Rattle (things that would normally insta-kill may leave a creature in a death rattle for a bit instead, giving you a short window of time to save them)Expanded Prosthetics and Organ Engineering (more replacement body parts)Harvest Organs Post Mortem (lets you perform autopsies to harvest viable organs from the dead)Pharmacist (colonists will use lesser medicines for lesser injuries. No more wasting glitterworld meds on bruises)Psychology (overhauls how colonists think, feel, and socialize, including a sexuality system)Therapy (lets your colonists work through their problems with a therapist, speeds up removal of debuffs)Color Coded Mood Bar (makes keeping tabs on your colonists moods easier)Fuck Friendly Fire (decreases the chance of shooting your friends in the back)Increased Stack (saves storage space)Haul to Stack/ Please Haul Perishables/ While You’re Up/ Share the Load (various mods that improve hauling mechanics)Replace Stuff (allows building over existing objects of the same kind, colonists will deconstruct and replace with the new one in a single go, instead of you having to remove the original then place a new one)Firekeeper (assign refueling as its own job)Path Avoid (makes colonists prefer or avoid areas you designate, good for keeping them out of trap pits or making them stick to walkways you build for them)Rain Washes Away Filth (as it sounds, keeps your map from becoming a bloody mess over time)DeadMansClothing (WHO CARES IF IT CAME OFF A DEAD PERSON, YOU’RE STRANDED ON A HELL PLANET, JUST WEAR IT AND STOP BITCHING! No more debuff)More Furniture (as it sounds)Industrial Age (adds tech from the Industrial era)Mass Graves (just throw the dead raiders in a big hole)Realistic Rooms (allows for smaller rooms without feeling cramped)Allow Tool (allow all objects on map, select similar objects, haul urgently, etc)Interaction Bubbles (turns the interaction logs into speech bubbles so you can see when your colonists are talking to each other)Skilled Stonecutting (stonecutting gives crafting exp and skilled crafters cut stone faster)Colony Manager (allows automating tasks like hunting, foraging, and woodcutting)Forbiddable Refuelables (it’s winter, stop refueling the passive coolers! and other things)Work Tab (adds stuff and functions to the work tab)Pawns are Capable (changes Incapable work types to Hated, meaning colonists can still do them, they’ll just bitch about it for a long time after. No more colony death cause the only one left standing is incapable of caring)Etched Stone Walls (allows you to make smoothed stone walls match their brick counterparts)Quarry (build a quarry to dig up stone chunks and metals)RimWriter (create books, scrolls, tablets, etc. for colonists to read for entertainment)Kidnapped Colonist Camp (gives an opportunity to go rescue colonists kidnapped by raiders)GloomyFurniture (cozy furniture set)Misc. Training (archery target, shooting target, and martial arts dummy for entertainment and skill increase)Research Tree (new and improved research tree setup that separates and color codes research projects by tech level, good when mods add lots of new research)Tech Advancing (changes the colony’s tech level when certain conditions are achieved)Camera+ (allows closer zooming)Door Mat (dirt is more likely to be dropped on the mat, so it doesn’t get tracked everywhere as much)Follow Me (can set the screen to follow the selected person or creature)Wall Light (it’s a light that goes on the wall, doesn’t take up floor space)More Faction Interaction (adds more ways to interact with other factions)Fertile Fields (allows terraforming and creating fertile soil where you want it, but existing fertile soil will go away after a harvest and will have to be re-fertilized each time)Rim of Madness - Bones (part of the Rim of Madness mod set that has a lot of spooky stuff, but the bones are always useful because you get them from butchered animals and can use them for a lot of building and crafting)Musical Instruments (adds instruments for colonists to play and listen to)Smoked Meat (smoke meat to make it last longer and edible without raw debuff)

If you see something in my games that you don’t see on the list feel free to ask about it!

[vancilocs]

4, 6, 10, 19, 20 22 29 30 34 36 41-45 for roxette, remy and iain?

all sortsa people

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

Roxie’s parents got together, married and had her far too young so they also split up when she was just a toddler and kept in pretty minimal contact. So she could pretty much do what she liked because A) her parents were trying to one-up the other by being more lenient and nicer to her so she could literally just say “but daddy lets me-” and her mom would let her do that and more, and B) the parents didn’t speak to one another so she could get both of them to take her to the zoo because the other didn’t know she had already been there with the other. Boi did she learn how to manipulate people quick

Remy’s mom wasn’t overtly strict but not overtly lenient either. She made sure to teach her kids manners, respect and all that, gave them rules, grounded if needed, but really nothing out of the ordinary.

Outwards the family was just spotless and perfect, but Iain’s parents were pretty strict and quite demanding of him (his sister too). But, as long as he pulled straight A’s from school, he could do what he liked with his spare time before curfew. 

6. Did they feel rejection or affection as a child?

She grew up holding the leash of both her parents, but when they remarried and had other children when Roxie was in her teens, she was absolutely mortally insulted. So that feeling of affection turned into rejection really quick because she wasn’t the center of their world at all and this wouldn’t do.

Affection, dad wasn’t around but mom is and was very loving and nurturing, and there were aunts, uncles and grandmas and grandpas. So even if he had to share with his other two siblings there was plenty of love to go around 

Mainly affection, but very conditional and like he had to be even better because he was born “imperfect”. He still loves his parents and kinda refuses to see how their demands still affect his life.

10. Is your character street-smart, book-smart, intelligent, intellectual, slow-witted?

Very street-smart and quick-witted, very manipulative. Knows how to use her looks to fool people and make them underestimate her. 

Very very street-smart, always knows a chance to profit when he sees one. An expert on doing crimes without actually doing crimes and thus avoiding jail.

Book-smart and intelligent, good with people as well. Persuasive.

19. What were your character’s deepest disillusions? In life? What are they now?

Used to think she was the only thing her parents could care about until she wasn’t. These days maybe she’s a little unaware of how unhinged she actually is

He has a habit of not trusting anything or anyone outright, he’s the doubting kind who absolutely wants to dig into the very root of everything and see things out of every angle. He also sees the worst sides of a lot of things and people so he really has no disillusions about the world.

He’s just stuck on the thought that he needs to be better. Doesn’t matter what it is, he needs to be smarter, stronger, thinner, a better doctor, a better friend, a better husband, do this, do that, do everything cool, run a marathon, just constantly improve.

20. What were the most deeply impressive political or social, national or international, events that they experienced?

It’s hard to think about big events like that but maybe for Remy when Krea dang near got murdered, because to him the judge is damn near unstoppable and probably immortal, to see him die was pretty eye-opening. Impressive that someone that much smaller could do him in like that

22. Who are their friends? Lovers? ‘Type’ or 'ideal’ partner?

She has some friends she hangs out with when off work, regular people like club waitresses, dancers, bartenders and bouncers. She has a boyfriend or a girlfriend every now and then, usually it ends at least when they find out about her actual job or she just loses her cool like she does. Doesn’t care about the physical side but you gotta be a little crazy for her to like you. Wouldn’t mind a squeeze, casual or not.

Lots and lots of friends he hangs out with often, very few close friends though because he doesn’t trust like that. Lovers he really doesn’t have time for nor does he really care enough to have a type.

Befriends everyone if they allow it, a very friendly and outgoing guy happy to make new acquaintances. He’s been married three times - the first wife he left because he fell in love with the second one who was terminally ill and later passed away, years later he fell in love with Malva and married them. Really no type or preference, be cute and friendly, really the type of guy to fall in love with your heart and personality

29. What is your character’s weaknesses? Hubris? Pride? Controlling?

Addict, easily angered and prone to moodswings, unless she’s been given clear orders on what to do or not to do she can act real irrationally when she lets her feelings lead, messy

Too nosy for his own good, physically tiny, has a billion irons in the fire at the same time and without his trusted helpers would be so lost

Absolute refusal to take it easy

30. Are they holding on to something in the past? Can he or she forgive?

For no good reason thinks her parents outright betrayed her, refuses to forgive. Holds very long grudges against former partners too, none of her breakups have gone well

Made some dreadful mistakes that cost him his tail, will never forgive himself for that

He doesn’t blame his parents at all for making him such an overachiever, though he doesn’t even consider himself that nor does he think it’s anything to blame anyone for or anything to forgive

34. Does your character feel self-righteous? Revengeful? Contemptuous?

In her opinion nobody should ever be mean to her or do things she doesn’t like or she will hurt them

He’s just doing his thing, no need for big words.

He’s kinda vain but doesn’t consider himself better than anyone (just himself). Very chill and nice

36. Do they like to suffer? Like to see other people suffering?

Like, if a guy is harassing some girl at the club she absolutely hates seeing the girl in distress and very gleeful about knocking the guy’s teeth out. Depends on the situation. As for suffering herself... well, she’s never minded a bit of pain in the right circumstances

If they’re bad people then sure, he steals their money and sees them scramble and laughs about it. But he also sees a lot of little people suffering and hates it. Doesn’t want to suffer.

He’s a doctor, absolutely doesn’t want people to suffer. Will do anything to fix up something cosmetic or related to prosthetics that causes his patients pain or other kinds of anguish (though he avoids doing things like unnecessary nose jobs or facelifts, embrace your looks people). Not a fan of suffering himself yet he makes himself do that by doing triathlons

41. Is your character aware of who they are? Strengths? Weaknesses? Idiosyncrasies? Capable of self-irony?

In her eyes she’s a nice person who doesn’t deserve anything bad to be done to her and everyone who’s ever criticised her is wrong and mean. She’s great and pretty and pretty great. At times she will criticize others for doing the same bad things she does, don’t point this out to her or she will get mad

He’s self-aware, he has his little pizza hands in so many soups that he kinda has to have a good sense of self before dealing with so many others.

I guess Iain is always a little separate from the Better Iain he’s always striving to be. There will always be a Better Iain no matter how hard he works

42. What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

She just wants money, alcohol, cocaine, new clothes, a soft bed to sleep in, good things to eat, all the nice things, someone to pet her hair and tell her how great she is and maybe top her. Is that so much to ask. She’s would probably toss almost everyone she knows to the wolves to get that

He always wants information and at times goes to insane lengths to get it, but avoids sacrificing or risking too much, no lives are put in danger (or, any lives he cares about at least) or outsiders harmed. Mainly he just uses a shitton of money in bribes and acts as fast as he can to get to the information first

Be the Best he can be, dammit. What is the Best he can be? He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t know to get there

43. Does your character have any secrets? If so, are they holding them back?

Well she’s not super open about her work to anyone except those who know otherwise. Just says she works at the club, doing some peacekeeping.

He knows lots of secrets of other people, but for his own he doesn’t let his mom know what he’s up to bc he knows she’d disapprove and he doesn’t want that

No, he’s an open book.

44. How badly do they want to obtain their life objectives? How do they pursue them?

Her goals are pretty short-term, think “beating this guy into a pulp so I can go back to the club and get absolutely cranked”, or “I want this guy to rail me”, she’ll do whatever’s needed to get it, be it beating someone into a pulp or being cute and batting her eyelashes

He’s careful about learning stuff and things but he does want to learn stuff and things, always working towards doing that and also using the things he’s learned to his advantage

Dude’s a vegetarian gym rat health nut, maybe his methods are very innocent-sounding but he cranks them up to 11

45. Is your character pragmatic? Think first? Responsible? All action? A visionary? Passionate? Quixotic?

Very intense and passionate, acts fast, punches first and asks second if it seems the situation needed it, gets annoyed if she needs to stay back but will listen to her boss.

The type to stand back for a long time, observe from afar and learn everything there is to learn before acting or carefully moving closer to learn more. A lot of the time he doesn’t even act, at most he’ll sell the information to someone who might find it useful.

Responsible but passionate, looks at a lot of things from many angles before going for it and encourages others to do so as well. In work absolutely not the type to just dive into cosmetic surgery to “fix” something that doesn’t need fixing, works with the patient first to see if this is what they really need (he hasn’t had absolutely no procedures himself either).

[nevertickleasleepingbadger]

Re-sorting the Weasleys

Ok first installment of a re-sorting series! One of the biggest weaknesses of the HP universe is the very flat, one sided sorting. Brave=Gryffindor, Smart=Ravenclaw, Kind=Hufflepuff, Cunning (Evil??)=Slytherin I understand that for some of the plot devices to work, certain characters had to be in certain houses, but it always came off as lazy to me that all the Weasleys were in Gryffindor (for decades???). I honestly never really understood whole families going into one house in general- considering how different all these people are, did the Sorting Hat just give up and assign all gingers to the red house? ANYWAY. Here’s my defense of where I think they should go, based on the fandom’s collective interpretations of the houses. And many thanks to @flockdynamics​, for your discussion and help!

Arthur Weasley- Ravenclaw

At first, Arthur comes off as this very goofy character. Which he is, no doubt, but this man is also a genius- his whole job is spent undoing charms and hexes on muggle objects which undoubtedly involves creativity and skill. He is constantly tinkering and coming up with really inventive adjustments and improvements on objects- objects that few wizards understand the workings of at all! I saw a Weasley appreciation post awhile back that mentioned Arthur’s obsession with batteries and how he could be looking into the possibility of storing magical energy and I 100% believe this to be true. He’s not just collecting these items because they look fun, he’s studying them and trying to figure out how they work and how he can incorporate magic into muggle inventions. And he goes through the effort to write loopholes into his own laws so that what he’s doing isn’t strictly illegal which just kills me. One of the true hallmarks of Ravenclaws, beyond just plain intelligence, is cleverness and ingenuity (and a constant desire to learn and push the boundaries of understanding). Ravenclaws aren’t just interested in things you can learn from books and they encourage out-of-the-box thinking. One of the first things he does when he meets anyone connected to muggles is to immediately start asking questions and learning. Also don’t forget that he wrote (co-wrote?) the Muggle Protection Act. His demeanor is jubilant and laid back and he certainly shows great bravery at times, but his baseline behavior is to be in the background, steady and confident and pushing the boundaries in his own way. He is a great source of comfort to his family and to Harry. He always takes Harry seriously and does his best to protect him in the ways he can. In the muggle world, he would totally be that spacey college professor whose office is a mess with random artifacts and weird comics pinned up everywhere, but when you talk to them you realize they are about 10x smarter than you. Molly Weasley- Hufflepuff Ah, Molly- the badger indeed. Loving and fiercely protective. We hardly ever get to see Molly outside of the context of motherhood, but I imagine we see the worst of her temper as she attempts to raise 7 children amidst two wars. I think the Molly underneath all the stress is strong, empathetic, and comforting. We see her unkindness towards Fleur do a 180 as soon as she realizes that Fleur isn’t someone she needs to protect Bill from. She might not get points for patience, but she is certainly stubborn! Overall, Molly is deeply emotional and she keeps her emotions close to the surface. She is soft (in a good way) and warm and just unbelievably capable. The intensity of her kindness towards Harry (knitting him a sweater his first year even though she had only once briefly met him because she guessed, presumably from Ron’s letters, that he needed a family). That’s the kind of person Molly is.  Bill Weasley- Ravenclaw I struggled a bit with Bill because the age gap between Harry and Bill might skew our perception of him a bit. Bill is certainly the cool, calm, and collected older brother. The hair, the earring, the swagger- I absolutely adore Bill. Bill always comes off as a bit reserved- not shy but just someone who doesn’t say more than they have to. But this could just be his age and maturity compared to his younger siblings. His family’s obvious disdain for his fiance, Fleur, seems to roll off his back and we rarely see him raise his voice or lose his cool. He is just an incredibly competent man and wizard. Skills with curse breaking and wards really scream Ravenclaw to me- these are skills that take perseverance and creativity to master- something that might not mesh well with the brute force and brashness of a Gryffindor. He is obviously someone who can work with Goblins, which tells me he is tactful and careful and must have paid attention in History of Magic. And how could I forget, Head Boy and 12 Outstanding OWLs. Slowclap for Bill Weasley, everyone. Charlie Weasley- Hufflepuff?? Who knows because it’s a crime we have almost nothing to go on with this fabulous character. A well built, quidditch playing, dragon wrangler?? Cmon JK Rowling- we need more Charlie Weasley. His love for Care of Magical Creatures automatically makes me gravitate towards Hufflepuff (Hagrid is my next big installment post, don’t worry) and the little we see of him shows us a popular, warm, and dedicated guy. But that’s all I can really say! Percy Weasley- Slytherin I know this one is going to be controversial so let me start out by saying this is partially based on a rejection of JKR’s version of Slytherin. I’m not sure if we are just supposed to blame Harry’s unreliable POV, but Slytherin is a mess. So if we strip away some of the ugliest caricatures of the house, Slytherins are crafty, resourceful, driven, and deeply protective of tradition. Percy is seriousssss. He’s a snob, absolutely. He sees everything as an opportunity and he feels he is fighting an uphill battle to separate himself from his family, who don’t share his commitment to self-betterment. He bleeds ambition and unfortunately, because of the political climate that he grows up in, he has the perfect personality to get swept up in government corruption. He realizes his mistakes, but he is prideful and it takes him awhile to face his family and own up to them. We see him full of regret but not yet able to apologize at Christmas during HBP, and of course his arc comes full circle at the Battle of Hogwarts. Tradition and correctness are very important to Percy and he needs constant validation that he is in control. He is in a bit of an awkward age gap with his siblings and I think often ends up as the odd man out and as such, he overcompensates by trying to rise above the chaos of his family and he isolates himself in the process. Percy is also bullied relentlessly by Fred and George, and this really hardens him and pushes him further away. I think it is probably good that he wasn’t sorted into Slytherin in canon, because the divide between Percy and the other Weasleys is already wide and it would have really hurt Percy in the long run. But that being said, JKR wrote the perfect Slytherin with Percy, she just didn’t act on it. He could never have survived as the odd man out in his family in Slytherin, but in a different universe, he fits. Fred & George- Gryffindor I struggled with them because in a way, I wanted to split them up because I think they really can encompass more than one house but I think that F&G are a FORCE together and need to stay as such. I was originally leaning towards Ravenclaw for them just based on the extreme wit and creativity they possess, but as @flockdynamics pointed out to me, I think their intentions are very important. Life is a joke for these two and it’s full of color and noise. They are whip smart and very ambitious and honestly would have thrived in any house- I don’t see them letting house boundaries define them (especially if we cast aside the Gryffindor ancestry of the Weasleys). But their inventions and ingenuity don’t stem from a desire to research and push the boundaries of wizard invention. They just want to make stuff and blow shit up and have a good time. And sure, they want to build a business and make the money they never had growing up, but making people happy and bringing humor into the world are their #1 goals. They are brave in the most foolhardy, Gryffindor way (U-No-Poo anyone?) and never back down from a challenge. They act before thinking and can be bullies (their treatment of Percy, Ron, and sometimes Hermione definitely comes off this way). They often don’t stop to consider emotional tact because they really just live in their own world where everything is fun.  Ron- Gryffindor In all her missteps with the houses, I think JKR spent a lot of time making the golden trio fit into her views of Gryffindor traits. Ron is often tactless and self-centered but he is also deeply empathetic (especially towards the end as he’s maturing). I think bravery is an oversimplification of Gryffindor- I think Gryffindor to me is more about being just. They definitely exhibit overt bravery by going off on adventures or putting themselves in danger for loved ones. But moreover, Gryffindors are motivated by an unerring sense of justice and sense of how things should be- they often can’t see the nuances or slow down to consider the best course of action before diving in. Ron’s relationship with Harry is one of the best teenage boy relationships I’ve seen. Ron is there for Harry and legit willing to fight by his side time and time again. He knows when to be supportive, when to give Harry space, when to argue, when to capitulate. His misgivings with Hermione are a different story of dumb teenage hormones and misunderstandings. Ron gives 100% and puts his life on the line for his friends. He really struggles with deep feelings of inadequacy compared to his brothers and struggles to find a place for himself being in Harry’s and their shadows. This really overshadows his underlying personality and makes him act out. I can actually see adult Ron acting much more like a Hufflepuff: stalwart, dependable, and caring but also fiercely protective of those he’s close to. But his personality growing up is definitely Gryffindor. Ginny- Slytherin?? But probably Gryffindor Ginny, Ginny, Ginny. man this one is hard. One look at my blog will probably tell you she is one of my favorite characters, but she is also one that suffers from Harry’s unreliable POV. She went through unimaginable trauma at the age of 11 and was saved by none other than her girlhood crush/brother’s best friend/famous quasi family member. It’s an odd position for her to be in. She is broken and deeply embarrassed and spends time rebuilding herself away from Harry. Which is completely understandable, but it means the audience suffers from not getting to know Ginny until much later and she keeps herself at arms length with Harry until their relationship begins. I think Ginny is largely misunderstood by the fandom and the complete obliteration of her character by the movies doesn’t help. BUT, damn if Ginny is not a BAMF. Sneaky, witty, sometimes harsh and sharp but also loving and bubbly and effervescent. She is the embodiment of “bitch, I won’t hesitate”. Growing up with 6 brothers really pushes Ginny to be rough, unapologetic, and outspoken and we see that side of her often- berating Fleur, hexing/crashing into Zacharias, tripping Ron, etc. Her friendship with Luna gives us glimpses into the softer sides of Ginny. As much as fans love Luna, it always strikes me as odd that they easily dismiss the person Luna seems closest to as boring and mean. Luna seems like an excellent judge of character and not one to seek out negative people (but I digress). I think Ginny is a complex character that the books barely scratch the surface of. By the end, Ginny really exudes confidence and she bravely takes on part of the role of running the DA during the darkest year at Hogwarts. In a world away from the blood purity nonsense, I would totally put her in Slytherin. Her tenacity, perseverance, and cunning really match up well with many of the things Slytherins claim to possess and she shows us time and time again she is willing to push social boundaries to make herself heard/seen. The prejudices associated with Slytherin muddy the waters so in canon, Gryffindor is a good place for her. 

[welcome-to-the-petting-zoo]

Answer to Anon about polyamory, PART 2/3

Anon asked:  “ Hi! This is the anon who recently asked about coming out to my girlfriend as polyamorus. It went poorly. She threw a fit and now I'm not allowed to be around one of my closest friends. She told me she was polyamorus too and she had a crush on someone else and when I asked the same of her that she did of me and she guilt tripped me abour the fact that they live closer to her than I do and how I'm always busy. Is this fair? “ Dear Anon,

TP here. 

I’m sorry to hear it went so poorly with the coming out. First and foremost, let me give you the short answer: no, it is not fair, and from the way you ask, I kinda gather you know that.

Now, for a longer, maybe a bit more nuanced answer... Even though on the surface this seems very bad, I think this is actually a fine starting ground. Unfortunately, I find it’s always harder to open up a monogamous relationship than it is to start out open to begin with. That being said, it’s not impossible, and I’ll try to highlight some options for you, or areas I find important to work on between you and your partner.

First off, while I assure you, I’m 100% with you on the pain and unfairness of the situation, I’m not the best when it comes to emotional support, and my autistic brain goes, “if you want to help Anon, you’ll have to look at this cold-headedly, from a logical point of view”,and that’s exactly what I’m going to aim for in my explanation. (Sidebar: I’m a die-hard crime fan and recently I’ve been non-stop listening to true crime podcasts, so if I sound like an investigative reporter, that might be why, sorry ^~^”)

There are several questions that occurred to me when I was reading your ask. 

1, Why did she throw a fit? What upset her? Why did she find it the best way to react aggressively?

2, Why are you not allowed to be around your friend? Are you still allowed to talk to them online? What about on the phone? Is it only physical meetings or also facetime, etc.?

3, She told you she was poly too. (btw, THIS IS HUGE!!) Why did you only learn about this now? What are her feelings about polyamory? If she is poly too, AND she also has another love interest, why is she so against opening up your relationship?

4, She’s complaining about you being busy all the time. Once again, WHY does she not want to engage in a poly lifestyle and pursue her love interest, if she feels like she needs more attention/affection/time than what you are capable of giving? 

5, Does it HAVE TO be fair?/What IS fair?

This is going to be a humongous answer, but please bear with me, because at the end we might arrive at some interesting (and hopefully helpful) conclusions. I’ll try to stay objective, but at certain points I’ll have to enter the realm of wild speculations, and if you find that my reasoning is flawed due to me not knowing you, your partner, the reality of your situation, etc., please get back to me with corrections so we can work further on the solution in the light of the new information.

1, In the whole story, her reaction and her motivation is what baffles me the most. I feel like if I can crack that, if I can come to understand what’s happening in her head, that will directly lead to the solution of the whole drama, but since I know virtually nothing of her, these are questions you are more likely to be able to answer than I am, and I’ll have to rely on my model of the Generic Human Being to try to come closer to a possible solution.

The first logical answer that comes to mind is jealousy. People treat jealousy like it’s an emotion, and give it way too much validity in my opinion. Jealousy is not an emotion, it’s not something you can’t change, it’s not a given and it’s not the end of the line. Jealousy is a reaction to something, and that something is usually the feeling of someone else having something you also want, but you don’t have. My best bet would be, she heard about your emotions towards someone else, and she immediately felt threatened, so she became defensive and lashed out.

Think about it. In her head, the situation might look like something like this:  My partner tells me they have feelings for someone else. What happened? Am I not enough? Did I do something wrong? Do they no longer love me? Am I going to be replaced? What does this other person have on me? How are they better? Why does my partner want them instead of me? Sure, they tell me they still love me and want to be with me, but what if that stops being true the moment they get to be with that other person? What if they’ll find that the other person is a way better partner/better in bed/younger/older/prettier/smarter/more successful/whatever-the-fuck-I’m-insecure-about than I am? 

This is a brutally scary situation, especially because these are fears we don’t like to address, they are uncomfortable, shameful, deeply private, and most of the time we know deep down that they are silly. It also depends on the level of self-awareness a person possesses how much in touch with these fears they are, and how much they are willing to engage and work with them. But in any case, facing and overcoming these fears is a lengthy process, and it’s definitely not going to happen in a conversation where you just punched the beehive of your partner’s insecurities.

In other words, this is one of the main focus areas you two need to address and work with, because if you can untangle her emotional mess and get to the bottom of the jealousy question, you’ll find what the exact nature of her fear is and you might be able to put those fears to rest, once and for all. This will also be a journey that strengthens the bond between you and when you emerge victoriously on the other side, she’ll likely have a new level of openness and trust towards you, which also makes it more likely that you can live in a healthy poly relationship.

2, Now, let’s look at the situation with you and your friend. Do I assume it correctly that this friend is also your potential love interest? This seems to be the most logical assumption, so I’ll continue answering as if this was the case. 

I’m asking about the conditions of you not being allowed to be around her, because it tells me a lot about the nature of your girlfriend's fear. For example. If she’s okay with you having phone or Skype conversations, exchange texts or direct messages, but you’re not allowed to hang out in person, that means the focus of her worry is likely sex. She might find sex an important bonding experience between people, and she might be worried that if you spend unsuperwised time together, you’ll end up cheating on her. 

I wonder if she knows this person. It would be logical that she does, because they are one of your closest friends, so chances are you’ve been hanging out together at some point, so it’s interesting to look at whether she’d be okay continuing hanging out where she is also present. If she isn’t, that kinda changes the equation a bit, or at least points to the fact that she built up some (potentially misplaced) resentment towards them, and that also says something about the nature or at least the depth of her insecurity. 

PART 3 coming soon ~TP Part 1  here

[marquis-teren-kiden]

“Here, let me show you how.” -Rodanthe {Prompt: two characters who have been sparring or in combat training together. Feel free to make any changes.I can see him as a mentor to Rodanthe, someone she can trust when she needs advice, or help with certain areas. She has had to learn everything on her own.

For several hours, I have watched this young woman sparring in the Brawler’s Pub, defiant in the face of one defeat after another. Others in the room see only her failures, but I? I see her heart. She is an unmitigated Survivor. Win. Lose. Draw. It matters not, for she persists.

Even in the face of her own relentless doubts whispering each flawed technique applied under the most grueling of circumstances. She’s not here, however, to win.

Rodanthe Margrave is here to learn.

My former Paramour, Elias Hawthorne, spoke rarely but well of this young woman, and I see wherein his praise has been derived for she is silently majestic in the face of these obstacles. A proper polymath autodidact, like myself. Willing to endure whatever ignominies are required in order to molt and to grow.

Like my admiration. Though she’s adorned in an impressive collection of cuts, scrapes, and bruises to show for her efforts, there is nothing more impressive to me than the determined defiance in her eyes as she - for the forty-third time - drags herself up from the pit. 

There is no fanfare for those who do not win. At best, she hopes for silence. An end to the interminable mocking of the staff and patrons whose unrelenting tongues have wagged ceaselessly since the conclusion of her first match.

I, however, hope for more. Far more.

“Miss Margrave, might I be of some assistance?” It takes quite near to a full minute for her to overcome the flush of her cheeks as she peers up at me. Her thoughts are thick with complimentary thoughts of my magnetic presence and masculinity. Enough that even I feel an abashed appreciation for the eloquent timidity of her fleeting exploration of a romantic exchange between us. “I believe you are attempting something far too profound for these–” I mind my tongue. Many here are possessed of reasonable intellect. It’s the emotionally stunted and immature who spoil the lot. “–individuals are capable of teaching.”

“I uhm…I’m fine, thank you, m’Lord.” She assumes my nobility by the expense of my attire and cadence of my high born accent. I’m hardly at liberty to argue the veracity of the assumption. With an awkward bow followed by an admirable attempt at a curtsy the young woman hustles away to sign up for her next match; heedless of the line that has formed ahead of her and certainly not expecting me to persist in my offer. 

With a casual mien, I approach her with several feet to spare between us as I turn about to face her. “With respect, Miss Margrave, I am afraid I must insist. What you wish to learn, I can teach without the additional cost of a visit to the local infirmary. Please–” I hold my hand out - palm up - to indicate my intention to receive hers. “–I suspect Elias would prefer you learn the art of war from an accomplished strategist. I am such a person, and – if you will allow it – I would be honored to teach you how to wield well the most dangerous weapon of them all.”

It is, perhaps, a bit of cheating to invoke his name, and yet, I can hardly remain idle as she continues to suffer needlessly in search of a weapon she already possesses. Wary of my intentions, there’s a stark craving in her to see him and ask if he trusts me to accomplish this task. “Elias is here?” She’s testing the veracity of my words and intention. 

I shake my head. “No Darling. I’ve not seen him since he concluded our romantic affairs early this year. We were deeply in love, but unable to offer it in a manner the other required. He remains, however, deeply cherished, and I hope he will offer such kind words of me when next you speak.”

She takes her time – several minutes in fact – to weigh her options, during which I offer no interruption. Patience is rewarded, as I have taught my Husband and our Fiancèe. There’s no harm in allowing her time to decide for herself what my intentions may be. 

“Alright.” She whispers, nodding to herself as she affirms in her own mind to take this unanticipated leap of faith. With a tremble she struggles to control, her hand lands with a jarring impact to my palm, eliciting a wince and awkward attempt at apology. “I-I’m so sorry, M’–”

I’m not normally so rude as to interrupt, but we teach others how we wish for them to treat us, and I’d much prefer she see me as a potential friend and mentor rather than a noble. “Please,–” I wave it all away, clasping atop her hand briefly in an attempt to reassure her. “–Teren. My name is Teren. I’m here as a friend. Perhaps, in time, you may allow me to mentor you further. But, for now–” With a gentle pull I lead her out of the establishment and back into the light day where the smell of molten metal and clang of blacksmiths scattered about Stormwind’s Dwarven District greet our senses with thick smoke and unseasonal warmth.

“Where are we going, Mister Teren?” The quaint accent of a native Westfallian holds some minor appreciation to my ear. Our course takes us across the walled District to the seawall overlooking the sea beyond the Park.

“To close your wounds and open your mind, Darling.” Though she remains uncertain regarding my intentions, I’ve been mindful to keep us well within the public domain where any passerby or passing guard patrol might intercede if I were to attempt a liberty unamenable to her. An aspect of our travels which allows her curiosity to overwhelm her normally keen instinct for self-preservation.

“You said you were gonna teach me how to use the most powerful weapon of all, but you haven’t said what that weapon is, sir.”

“Teren.” I reiterate as I guide her to a stone bench nearby and take a knee before her. At last, I am at liberty to examine her for wounds. Where a Light-Wielder might pour forth a general suffusion of their sacred energies, we Shadow Weavers have the ability to examine every iota of dark matter strewn between the protons throughout our patient’s bodies. Detect weaknesses yet undiscovered; knit bone as if it were flesh, at a sub-atomic level. “Yes. What weaponry do you currently favor, if I might ask?” 

“My bow. I can do just about anything I need to with my bow, Sir.” She replies with the same confidence she’d engaged her opponents. Not fearless, but aware that she’d survive whatever they through at her. 

I offer her a smile while discreetly perusing her wounds. The exploration with the void is often noted by an inexplicable chill. She shivers as my hand remains gently clasped along hers; the point of origin for my effort to examine her injuries and efforts to gently restore her body to proper health. It’s tedious, time consuming, and - for now - a perfect opportunity to set her on a path to her greater potential. “Are there any other weapons you’ve an interest in studying?”

Her eyes loft to the skies, perhaps seeking after the avian companions she sees so often overhead. Or so she tells herself. A series of failed attempts at wielding polearms and pikes have left a frustratingly bitter taste on her tongue. “Polearms.” She whispers and the aggravation imparted to that single word is heartbreakingly thorough; laced as it is with an accent of shame. “They’re too heavy. I can’t swing ‘em.”

“What would you say if I told you that the most powerful weapon you will ever wield is already here, and utterly under your control?” I posit as I finish knitting her wounds. Once the Void has served its function I return it to its normal place within the fabric of creation, waiting nearly a full minute as we speak before moving over the mended tissue with a meticulous application of light energies I rarely advertise. I’m certainly not in mind to spend my life trapped in a hospital awaiting the next vainglorious beast to arrive from the tides of war. But, for her? Yes.

She shakes her head, smiling bashfully. “If you’re about to say it’s my brain, I’d say I’d hate to disappoint you but… I might just disappoint you, Mister–”

“Teren. Just. Teren.” I reiterate softly. “Now that you’re feeling a bit more spry, might I ask a favor of you in good faith?” Only at my words does it dawn on her that the aches and pain she’d been mindful not to utter a word of complaint toward had simply faded away, unnoticed in the casual discourse we’ve been sharing. “Here. Let me show you how.”

It’s an unnatural thing in her mind, this addressing of strangers in so personal a manner, yet it finally settles in her gut that I’ve shown no poor intention. Withdrawing her hand from mine, she rises to her feet, peering down at me with an awkward posture which speaks to her general lack of surety in my company. “Alright…Teren. What do I have to do?”

Rising to my feet, I tower over her, so I begin with a fundamental of combat - equalizing the playing field. “I’ve seen enough of you to know that you are quite capable of overcoming your own pain to achieve an objective. But, I propose you work smarter, not harder. To begin, you will attempt to bring me to ground by whatever means are at your disposal. I will attempt to prohibit you without resorting to any weapon or violence beyond the application of my knowledge. If you are defeated, you will agree to take up the mind as your next weapon. If you defeat me, I will teach you any physical weapon I have knowledge of. Do you agree to these terms?”

Her head shifts in the negative, even as her hands come up in rejection of the offer. “Oh, no, Sir. I don’t want to hurt you Mister Teren.”

Stepping forward - well inside of her personal space - I make myself openly vulnerable to any strike she cares to offer. “I’m afraid, as I’ve stated previously, I must insist.” I reply in a seductive tone laced with authority.

Side-stepping the bench, she moves back another step, and then another. “I thought you said you were going to teach me how to wield a weapon.”

Following her until she’s forced to act or submit, I bow low, brushing the scruff of my beard along her cheek as I offer my hushed rejoinder in a velvet baritone. “I am teaching. Are you learning?” I reply calmly, my gaze pinned to her owlish orbs as her head tilts up in an act of submission she likely doesn’t realize she’s offering.

She’s unaccustomed to feeling at war with her own body. It’s a tempestuous battlefield laced with a litany of urges and desires few men have held privilege to inspire within her. “I-I–uhm” The stammering is a product of the adrenaline spike she experiences. A fight, flight or freeze response where the latter is holding her in place like a caged rabbit.

I reach for her chin, stroking gently along the front of her neck and stirring a deepening crimson color along her lustrous cheeks. Her breath hitches, and corneas widen. Even her lips swell with added blood flow. Her tongue slips from plush pink lips to wet them in anticipation. All subtle autonomic indicators of an aroused Human in a state of expectation for more - far more - than the verbal intercourse we’ve exchanged. 

Not all battles must occur with violence. Indeed, far fewer should. With our lips less than an inch apart, I utter the most telling of phrases for this, our first engagement. “Do you yield, Miss Margrave?”

[Thank you for the lovely ask, @rodanthemargrave. I do hope I’ve met your expectations, Darling.]

[jadewing-realms]

gathering flock

“Are you going to explain?” Sasuke mutters aside to his small companion as they trudge, equally backpack-laden, up final stretch of tree-lined street leading up to their hallowed destination. He keeps his tone unimpressed but sharp—his specialty, crafted to simultaneously intimidate and obligate this particular person, the object of his mild exasperation. “Or are you going to make me ask?”

The trip from their neighborhood to U.A. isn’t all that bad. It’s a decently quaint, scenic route, and it’s taken just long enough for a proper conversation along the way. And it’s been a few days since their last proper conversation.

Izuku, actually, hasn’t really been consistently in touch since the whole ‘sludge monster’ incident. And that was an incident Sasuke had to learn about that on the news right after it happened. Which he still isn’t happy about. Watching his Quirkless friend race into the camera frame from the helicopter view had admittedly been both exhilarating and terrifying, which Sasuke had already explained at this point—twice. One one hand, it was incredibly brave and just what he’s come to expect from his best friend. On the other hand, it was incredibly stupid. And for Bakugou? Please.

This all happened ten months ago.

All things considered, it’s not like Sasuke can really blame Izuku. What with grad prep, final exams, taking all the necessary preparations leading up to today of all days, they and all of their classmates have been running themselves ragged. Sasuke’s been working hard to develop special equipment and filling out paperwork specially for today, and he knows Izuku’s been working out quite a bit, which heaven knows he’ll need in just a few short hours. But this thinning of their usual time spent together isn’t the problem, even if they do live on the same street. No, no, this inquiry is for a different purpose entirely.

And now that most of their regular chitchat is out of the way, Sasuke has questions. After all, it’s not every day one finds one’s best friend leaving a beach from which one witnesses the most famous Hero of all time launching away.

If Izuku had known All Might was there, Sasuke has no doubt in his mind that the little fanboy would’ve been rocketing toward the waterfront. So he wants to know why Izuku had instead been walking away—as if his idol wasn’t right behind him a second earlier. Which only meant Izuku already knew—and had seemingly had direct contact for the first time in his life.

Sasuke wants to know how it went.

Now, Izuku blinks at his abrupt questions, and then has the gall to give him a blankly inquisitive stare. “Uh, I’m not sure what—”

“All Might,” Sasuke interrupts via explanation. “You met him on that beach. You were almost late because of it.”

All at once, Izuku breaks out in a sudden bout of Anxiety, as he is apt to do when he’s put on the spot. Which… is incredibly easy to do. It usually doesn’t happen with Sasuke, though, so that’s odd… “W-Whaaat? I—”

“Tch, that wasn’t an accusation,” Sasuke snorts. “Relax.”

“I-I knew that… Um…” Izuku struggles to formulate a response, by the way he bites his lower lip and fiddles with his bangs between his fingers. “Y-Yeah. I was… jogging. And happened upon him… cleaning up trash. I got to say ‘hi’…”

Sasuke eyes him sidelong. That’s quite the faltering response, and he’s not sure he understands why… Then again, no matter how long Sasuke’s known him, Izuku seems incredibly embarrassed of his devotion to the Number One Hero. Maybe that’s it. “Hmm. That’s cool.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, it was!” The anxiety lingers just long enough to make Izuku watch his sneakers for three more steps, before his expression softens. The nerves simmer down, leaving that same old admiration behind in its wake. Which suits him much better, to be honest. “He really is amazing, you know?”

“You’d know better than me. I’ve never met him.”

Which is true. Sasuke’s been to several rallies and speeches, but he’s never gotten to interact with All Might directly. Which… used to bother him, a long time ago. When he was much smaller, younger… more innocent? He’s not sure. In any case, it’s not quite so disappointing to him now. What would he say? ‘Hello, nice to meet you, please sign my backpack’ and then it’d be over and he would probably never talk to the Hero again. Is he truly missing out on that much?

Beside him, Izuku seems to shrink again, ducking his head against his uniform collar. After all, he’s met All Might in person twice, now. “Right. S-Sorry…”

Sasuke sighs. “You’re apologizing again.”

“Ah! Sor—”

“Midoriya.”

“…th-thank you for your patience?”

“…hn. Better, I guess.”

A sort-of comfortable silence falls between them, filled only by the clip of their shoes on the cold pavement. Theirs, and others too; the street is filling up with people of all shapes, sizes, colors. Some with horns, hair in ungodly colors, tails, wings, name it and they’re there. And despite their diversity, Sasuke knows exactly what they’re all here for.

“So, did you get your tinkering done last night?” Izuku breaks the quietness, at which Sasuke tears his eyes away from the growing crowd of competition and settles his gaze on his friend’s inquisitive face.

“Of course I did. I didn’t have a choice. There’s no way I could come here today without something.” Sasuke lets out a quiet huff of disgruntlement. This is something he’s known for years, but in no way has that time made the fact any easier to put up with. Having a combat-based Quirk would make things so much easier…

Then again, who is he to complain? Izuku has nothing. Just remembering that makes a dagger of guilt twist in Sasuke’s insides.

Unaware of his inner chagrin, Izuku’s expression lights up like Kyoto Tower, a beaming grin somehow doing nothing to narrow his wide, starry eyes. Sasuke resists the urge to indulge in a dramatic eyeroll. You’re such a dork, Izuku, you really are…

“What’d you end up bringing!?” Izuku asks, overflowing with puppy-level eagerness as he grips his backpack straps in anticipation. “The gloves?”

“H*** no, those are nowhere near ready.” Granted, Sasuke is wearing gloves now, so he can see how that might be misleading. They’re nothing special though. He holds one hand up in front of his face, examining it and envisioning the gloves Izuku’s referring to. He’s working on what he calls taser gloves. He got the idea from one of their middle school teachers, Mr. Hatake, and his lightning Quirk. Since Sasuke’s Quirk offers him no offensive advantage, something like that could grant him at least a little attack power.

“These are just insulators for when I use my stunner,” he explains, turning his hand over before dropping it back to his side. “I haven’t been able to get the real gloves working yet. They’re complicated.”

Izuku’s smile softens if only a little, fonder now than eager. “I know you’ll figure it out in no time, though. You’re so smart—like, way smarter than me…”

“You’re still underestimating yourself,” Sasuke sighs. “But yeah, I’ll figure it out. I always do.”

That said, he is only fourteen. He’s been called a genius in the classroom, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to tech or invention. He’s acutely aware of how far he has yet to go… which means those gloves will take some time to develop further. Lots of time… Until then, he has to settle for less practical means of evening the odds.

“O-Oh my gosh, here we are…” Izuku’s voice is suddenly trembling, at the very same moment they come to the crest of the hill.

There, before them, looms the shining gateway to greatness. An archway of steel, emblazoned with the school crest, gives way to a broad walkway paved in neat rows of rust-red brick, lined with concrete columns and smattered with the dozens of Hero hopefuls who dare to trod where legends were made. Beyond a pillared porch and three numbered doors at the top of the front staircase, a colossus of a building pierces the sky with four mighty towers, gleaming glass faces throwing beams of sunlight overhead. Those beams flash over the schoolyard and beyond to the city the school overlooks like a fortress over its estate—a beacon of justice, safety and peace. A castle dedicated to bringing up the knights who will defend the world’s future.

“U.A. High,” both boys murmur in perfect unison, breaths of pure wonder. In Izuku’s case, it’s tainted with a thread of that same old anxiety—unwarranted, in Sasuke’s opinion. In the case of Sasuke himself, the syllables do much to harden his simmering resolve. He clenches his fingers into fists.

There’s only one acceptable outcome today. He didn’t come all this way to lose. Too much is at stake.

Glowing red eyes flash across the forefront of his mind and he squints his own eyes shut to try and ward them away. Not now… not today.

“Stupid Deku.”

Sasuke’s eyes snap open again. His feet stop in their path. “Oh great. The person no one wants to deal with today.”

Izuku, stopping a few steps ahead of Sasuke, does the stupid thing and looks behind him, almost like he wants to validate the person’s approach. “Kacchan?”

Bakugou answers in typical fashion. “Get out of my way now, before I set you on fire.”

Before Izuku can launch himself into a tirade of anxious apologetics, as he very much is about to do judging by the sweat on his forehead and the tremor in his eyes, Sasuke speaks up so his mutual pain-in-the-rear end can hear him—without deigning the explosion boy by looking at him, of course. “Please do. Then you can spend today in jail while the rest of us get into U.A.”

Izuku, for the moment, is lost in nervous tittering. Meanwhile, Bakugou clicks his tongue and, to his credit, doesn’t fly off the handle like usual. Perhaps he is capable of prioritizing when necessary. “Whatever, just stay outta my way, Useless, and pray we don’t end up fighting each other.”

“Yeah, that’d be pretty bad for you, wouldn’t it, dobe?”

To Sasuke’s amusement, that’s enough to make Bakugou halt in his steps. Two tense seconds pass, in which Bakugou’s breathing rasps heavier and heavier through his nose, like he’s trying to hold back a wind storm or something. Usually, there’s a certain nuance to human beings, a natural unpredictability. But this narcissistic idiot is so obvious about everything he’s thinking and feeling, it’s almost painful to watch. Sasuke’s seen it again and again, the huffing and puffing and then the explosion. The Big Bad Wolf with on-hand TNT.

But then, miracle of miracles… Bakugou simply starts walking again. He doesn’t even bother with a retort.

Color Sasuke impressed. If only a millimeter’s worth.

Once the human trash bag has passed beyond earshot, Izuku deflates, head hanging in either relief or shame… it’s incredibly difficult to tell. “Sasuke, you really shouldn’t antagonize him…”

“What, like he antagonizes everyone else?” Sasuke sniffs. “Compared to what he does, this is nothing. He deserves worse, but to give it to him, it would mean stooping to his level. Which I’m not about to do.”

“Hnn…” Izuku wrings his hands. “He’s… been better lately. Ever since… well, I mean. He’s kinda been taking it easy on me.”

“Izuku, he just threatened to set you on fire. That’s no better than actually doing it.”

“I-I know, but—”

“No buts. Stop giving him excuses.”

Something between a groan and a heavy sigh heaves from Izuku’s chest and he sags, shoulders hunching. “Okay, okay…” After that concession, he gives his head a good shake and stands up straight again, and Sasuke knows he’s ready to keep moving.

Izuku’s always been resilient.

The original plan, of course, is to fall in step with Izuku so they cross the school building’s threshold together as planned. Because they’re stupid kids with stupid sentiments and both of them agreed it would be cool. So Sasuke widens his strides, aiming to catch up quick. But all it takes is two seconds and two steps for Izuku to very suddenly be on his way down—having tripped on his own feet. Ready to faceplant the pavement.

Sasuke’s Quirk floods into his senses, drawing every sight, sound, smell into sharp awareness, and he lunges, even though he knows he’s just far enough behind he won’t be able to do anything. Still, might as well try to keep his friend from getting a concussion before they can even make it to the front steps.

Someone walking on Izuku’s opposite side beats him to it. She reaches for Izuku’s arm… and he just stops.

Mid-air.

“Are you okay?” she asks, giggling.

Sasuke stops too, one hand still outstretched to catch his companion, and his Quirk fades away just like that, the moment past. The world returns to normal. Except for the floating Izuku, of course. Usually, Sasuke’s the only person around and willing to keep Izuku from hurting himself.

It feels odd now, having someone else step in.

And with a pretty impressive Quirk, no less. There’s no other explanation as to why Izuku’s feet remain ten centimeters off the ground.

Compared to that ability, she’s not particularly outstanding in any way. A maroon coat, pleated skirt, black tights. Short chestnut hair frames a round face, cheeks pink with cold. When Izuku instinctively begins to flail, as most would in his position, the girl giggles some more and gently guides him back to his feet. Once that’s done, she clasps her hands together placatingly.

“I stopped you with my Quirk,” she says, confirming Sasuke’s suspicions. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask first. But I figured you wouldn’t mind me catching you!”

Sasuke observes Izuku’s face as best he can from his not-so-strategy angle. All he can really see is his ear and a bit of freckled cheek—both of which are beginning to flush.

The girl doesn’t seem to notice though. In fact, she hasn’t noticed Sasuke’s presence at all either—or at least, that Izuku’s not walking alone. There are a lot of other students around them; she probably assumed he’s just another one. Which he honestly doesn’t mind. He lowers his hand and hangs back. As long as Izuku’s fine, he’ll just wait for the interaction to pass.

Except it doesn’t. Because Izuku isn’t saying a word. Sasuke may not be able to see his face from where he’s standing, but the awkward silence speaks volumes.

“Isn’t this all like, way nerve-wracking?” the girl offers by way of conversation starter, smiling but doing little to hide the anxiety in her own body-language, hands going to her backpack straps, weight leaning on her heels.

Izuku’s response consists of a sudden outburst of flailing and stammering.

Oh, that’s smooth.

“Well,” she says, unperturbed, “guess I’ll see you inside. Bye!”

Off she scampers, leaving Izuku to wallow in more awkward silence. Other examinees pass them by, a single beat of silence passing with them before Sasuke steps alongside his friend.

“Well, that was weird,” he murmurs, watching their new acquaintance disappear through the door labeled with a giant golden number 1.

“Holy whoa,” Izuku barely dares to breathe, “I just talked to a girl!”

“But you didn’t actually say anything, hot shot.”

“H-Hot shot??”

With a smirk, Sasuke resumes his stride to the castle front. “Come on. You can’t tell me your face isn’t burning. I’m not blind.”

“W-Wha—no, I—I mean…”

“Geez, don’t hurt yourself. Again. Now hurry up, or we’ll be late.”

“Sasuke, you can’t j-just do that and then walk away!”

“Doing it. You coming or what?”

Izuku’s harried footsteps are all he gets in answer.

[vorpalgirl]

Dumb Geek Boys Make Me Roll My Eyes

So like, there was a guy who posted a comment to an article, wherein he claimed Iron Man would win in a fight against Batman because he is, and I quote: “smarter than Batman”.  And like, the thing wanted me to register to even reply and I decided it’s not worth it but like. I had Thoughts. Those thoughts are: Yes and no, and and additional no, all of it because we have to begin with the question of "what do you mean by 'smarter'?". He is a smarter ENGINEER than Batman.  So if you need someone to design you, oh say, an apparently current-understanding-of-physics-violating energy source to power a wearable fighter jet, obviously Tony's your man. Hands down. However, Tony Stark's biggest flaw is he is EXTREMELY impulsive and emotional, with a mouth the size of Texas that has absolutely zero filter. Batman's biggest shtick is that he's an extremely good long-term planner with extremely good self control - the chessmaster who thinks ten moves ahead - and he's also credited as "the world's greatest detective".  He’s not called “smart” because he knows how to build things - in many continuities he just hires that grunt work out. No, he’s "smart” because he can think STRATEGICALLY, even in tense and emotional circumstances. Tony, in contrast, falls for quite a lot of obvious manipulation and doesn't have enough ability to stifle his hindbrain when he gets emotional, which is literally the entire driving force of at least one whole movie (CA:Civil War literally doesn't work as a plot without Tony's impulsiveness and his highly emotional side basically being baited into taking stupid paths). If you fluster Tony Stark or throw him off balance, you can ABSOLUTELY be smarter than him, because he starts getting "stupid" real fast when his emotions get the better of him (which is fairly often)! Now, I don't say this makes him a bad character - in contrast, I think a brilliant-but-emotional hero is one of the things we need depicted in the world, not only because it's more balanced as a character (you need flaws and vulnerability in a character to make sure the stories don’t get vulnerable, more on that in a moment), but BECAUSE there are different kinds of intelligence, and because I honestly really like Tony BECAUSE of that emotional side making him more dynamic and more relatable (most of us aren't hyperlogical, we're not built for it no matter how clever we are at making things!) But if we're looking at this objectively, the only reason Batman is at all competitive with pretty much anybody in a superhero universe is he's extremely good at tactics and good at keeping himself in a coolly logical frame of mind. The best example of the contrast between these two characters comes, funnily enough, from somewhere that starts out as a similarity - both men are orphans, whose parents were (in film continuity anyway) murdered. And there's at least one story for each where they learn or think they learn who killed their parents. Tony's reaction in the MCU? Is to lose his shit and just go straight to HIT ALL THE THINGS mode.  Bruce Wayne's reaction in the comic that showed this concept? Is to stalk the guy and taunt him with his presence for days, before handing him a gun with one bullet in it and basically outright telling him "this is the gun you used to kill my parents" and leaving (technically, I think he just tells him it’s the gun used to murder Thomas and Martha Wayne, but the man puts two and two together just as Bruce intends and figures out Batman would only care as much as he does if, of course, he was the Waynes’ son). The Batman story there ends with the mobster who murdered the Waynes deciding to kill himself with that one bullet, upon realizing that he "created Batman", and that he would never have a moment's peace and in fact if the crime world ever found out he was at fault for causing Batman to be, well, Batman, he'd have even LESS peace etc That is a huge contrast, guys. Each of them faced the man they could directly blame for murdering their parents, and each of them reacted totally differently; even though both understandably wanted said man dead, they went about it in completely different manners! That is the difference between a hero who has emotions but is largely capable of repressing them just enough to think strategically, vs one who is ruled by his emotions, enough that he partly forgets how to think strategically. Tony is a great hero. But he's not "smarter" than Batman just because he can build things. He's "smarter" than Batman AT building things, which is absolutely not the same thing as being literally, completely, totally and entirely “smarter than” Batman. He's the man Batman would love to hire out to pimp out the Batplane, but if Batman had even a moment to prepare for battling with him and knew anything about Tony Stark at all psychologically, he could absolutely (granted, I think by the skin of his teeth) win the fight, is my point. It absolutely depends in this case on how much of a head start he has, and frankly if you can’t beat your opponent WITHOUT surprising them, you’re not “smarter than Batman”, now are you.  I’d also like to add to this, that this isn’t unique to Iron Man vs Batman; this is Batman with MOST opponents. The only other hero Batman CONSISTENTLY loses fights to is Wonder Woman. Diana tends to trounce him easily every time they've faced each other. She's also the ONLY one who tends to trounce him easily when they face each other.  The reason is simple, and Batman has literally stated it outright in the past: she has no known weaknesses. She - to quote Batman himself - “doesn’t have a kryptonite”. Her powers aren’t dependent - cough cough, ahem! - on a machine, or the light of a yellow sun, or wearing a special ring, etc. She’s not vulnerable to a special type of radiation, she’s not weak against a specific color, etc. She’s pretty much a goddess (literally a demigod, in some contuinities, but always of magical or partly-magical birth). And she’s also a skilled warrior, trained by some of the best martial artists in the world (the Amazons), since childhood. She too can think strategically when in the heat of battle.

Contrast this with Tony Stark. Tony, whose “powers” in combat are dependent on a machine which has certain limits (power source + mechanical limitations), and who has a LOT less direct combat experience and is BAD at repressing his emotions to the point where I would say he’s practically incapable of doing it at will. It would be easy to goad Tony, and it’s also hypothetically possible to take down his armor simply by knowing your engineering facts or knowing a good bit about computer hacking (in fact, people HAVE hacked his armors in the past!), and if he had to engage in regular hand to hand, he would probably lose against an experienced martial artist very quickly. Tony would not win because he's "smarter" at engineering. He would only win if he had the surprise jump on Batman, with his superior firepower...and in fairness, the same goes for the US military (who literally have in fact captured Batman before, in a recent Detective Comics arc from Rebirth era), so at that point, that's not a very compelling argument lol.    PS: Tony Stark is canonically not even the "smartest" person in the Marvel multiverse or even 616 (main Marvel comics continuity). Even at ENGINEERING. Even if we ignore Reed Richards, that would be Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, who is 15, a student at MIT, and built her own Iron Man style suit in her dorm room. TONY admits she's "smarter" than him when it comes to engineering, and you know that’s valid because Tony has confidence (in what abilities he does have) to the extent of hubris, so for him to admit she’s better than he is, means she’s definitely better than he is....  At engineering. In other words, stop pretending there is only one kind of “smart”. For that matter, stop pretending that just because one character would lose a fight (or even COULD lose a fight) to another, means they’re not a ~good character~ which frankly is the vibe I get from such “no he’d totally trounce him” comments. If anything, “who would win a fight” is a tiresome argument because it gives credence to the completely childish idea that being able to best someone in physical combat means you’re “better” than they are.  No, you aren’t. You’re “better” at exactly one thing. That doesn’t make you “better” in GENERAL, just better at one thing (combat). Which is a boring thing anyway, in terms of character-driven or frankly even plot-driven stories (isn’t it more interesting if there’s actually a sense the hero could lose?? Where’s the tension there??)  I mean, look at how Tony functions socially - despite being kind of an impulsive ass sometimes, he’s well-liked, and sociable. He has friends. He has lovers. He has hobbies (tinkering with stuff). He has a life outside of Fighting Crime. Bruce Wayne kinda doesn’t, really. What he has isn’t a “social life”, so much as a plausible cover story; what has aren’t “hobbies” - they’re aggregated skills and knowledge that could come in handy while fighting crime including all those weird themed supervillains. The real Bruce Wayne deep down is paranoid and barely functional EXCEPT when Fighting Crime. That doesn’t make him a better person - the early Nightwing: Rebirth comics (issue 1-8, if you ignore the Night of the Monster Men crossover) even go so far as to suggest he needs to have a bond with someone who’ll hold him back from NOT being a good person, because he has serious Issues. And that’s not considering he sometimes has to be reminded to eat or bathe (that’s actually legit something Alfred has had to remind him of at least once in the comics), which again. I would say Batman’s intelligence at investigating and fighting crime is high, but his emotional intelligence and ability to function by himself as a human being outside of Life or Death Emergencies, are fairly low.  They’re inverses of each other, in other words. One is sociable and brilliant at making things, but overly emotional; the other is able to be extremely logical, but sometimes is out of touch with his own emotions and can hyperfocus too much on his One Big Lifelong Obsession. Both of which are valid character concepts. If you think Batman doesn’t interest you? That’s fine. Just admit it. You don’t have to make up illogical, half-assed arguments for how he’d supposedly automatically lose to someone, in order to “prove” the other character is “better”. “Better” shouldn’t depend on being able to kick someone’s teeth in. We’re not the goddamn Spartans.  tldr both characters are valid. Both characters are “smart” in one area or the other, because there’s more than one kind of “intelligence”.  And both characters have flaws. Neither character is objectively better or worse, they. are. both. valid.  And “who would win a fight between” doesn’t make either of them “better” than the other, so stfu with that nonsense already; you’re not just wrong, you’re wrong in a way that’s incredibly. fucking. TIRESOME at this point.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHY I'M SMARTER THAN SOMETHING

A can-opener must seem miraculous to a dog. I say in theory because in early stage investing, valuations are voodoo.1 That's what Stripe did. He thought perhaps he needed a little dose of sociopath-ness. And there is another possible approach. A big-name VC. But because seed firms operate in an earlier phase, they need to spend a lot of tricks for making myself work over the last 20 years, but even now I don't win consistently.2 I know, the first step. There hasn't been a lot of time. But that, if you measure success by shelf space taken up by books on it, or it will be to relax and go back to writing code.3 It's hard to distinguish something that's hard to understand, you could buy a Thinkpad, which was great, because it isn't happening now.

I'm not claiming that ideas have to have immediate practical applications to be interesting? And, like anyone who gets better at their job, you'll know exactly what to build because you'll have muscle memory from doing it yourself. But the cost of reading it, and the number of elements, where an element is anything that would be of the slightest use to those producing it. As Ben Franklin said, if you love life, don't waste time, because time is what life is made of. So if we do have infix syntax, it should probably be implemented as some kind of authority.4 Not to everyone, but to change the problem you're solving. Intellectually they were as capable as the successful founders of following all the implications of what one said to them. They want that money to go to work. And I think that's precisely why people put it off. The source code of all the libraries is readily available.5 To many people, rather than as a way of classifying forms of disagreement, though.

Afterward I put my talk online like I usually do. When you're young, especially, is a language too succinct for its own sake, it must be more noble. With individual angels you don't have any users they don't have to get rich, but as a way to make drawing bear a greater weight of exploration. Maxim magazine publishes an annual volume of photographs, containing a mix of pin-ups and grisly accidents. Part of the reason is that investors need to get their capital back. It doesn't mean that it's a new messaging protocol, where you don't just use your software on users's behalf, you'll learn things you couldn't have learned otherwise. When del. I did end up being a philosophy major for most of the time, but human life is fairly miraculous.

What about using it to write software, whether for a startup: a founder quits, you discover a patent that covers what you're doing; the kind of parallelism we have in common, it's that something is always going wrong.6 My own feeling is that object-oriented programming, by the way.7 I didn't need it. It's almost like writing applications! Both of which are false.8 They have no idea. And funding delays are a big distraction for founders, who ought to be working on, and why their due diligence feels like a body cavity search.9 In fact, they rarely seemed to arrive at answers at all. What this means is that it won't produce the sort of distribution you'd expect, the number of things you could be working on their company, not worrying about investors. He might also want preferred stock, meaning a special class of stock that has some additional rights over the common stock everyone else has. How much runway do you have left?10 But you should realize you're stepping into dangerous territory.

So as of this writing few startups spend too much. To start with, it's a sign the terms are reasonable. I give a talk I can usually be replaced by an equivalent one that's easy to program in now. Nothing is more likely to get money.11 Languages become popular or unpopular based on their merits, and so must people trying to write systems software on multi-cpu computers. Like angels, VCs prefer to invest in you, there's a danger that the increase in disagreement, there's a clear watershed at about age 12, when he got interested in maths. Fear of failure is an extraordinarily powerful force.

I think the way to get one loaded into your head. In the fall of 1983, the professor in one of my college CS classes got up and announced, like a detective solving a case in a mystery novel. Off the top of my head, I'd say that yes, surprisingly often it can. Problems can be improved as well as money, there's power.12 You can't build things users like without understanding them.13 It is so much work to introduce changes that no one else has done before. There are more shocking prospects even than that. I did end up being a philosophy major for most of that time the leading practitioners weren't doing much more than writing commentaries on Plato or Aristotle while watching over their shoulders for the next invading army. There hasn't been a lot of people in the startup world, closing is not what deals do.14 They want to get downfield, but they are much hungrier for deals.

Why wait for further funding rounds to jack up a startup's price?15 As well as failing to chase down funding, and users, and that it is unfamiliar to programmers, and that women will all be trained in the martial arts.16 The startups we've funded have. Arguably it's an interesting failed experiment. By unsavory I mean things that go behind whatever semantic facade the language is intuitive enough that you catch some of the time doing business stuff. One is that a programming language probably becomes about as popular as it deserves to be. It seemed curious that the same task could be painful to one person and pleasant to another, but are so caught up in their squabble they don't realize it.17 Hardy's boast that number theory had no use whatsoever wouldn't disqualify it.18 There may be types of work, done by a class of people called philosophers. No one thought to go back and debug Aristotle's motivating argument. So no, there's nothing particularly grand about making money. They find the VCs intimidating and inscrutable.

Notes

One implication of this model was that it sounds like something cooked up, but the returns come from meditating in an industrialized country encounters the idea that was killed partly by its overdone launch. And then of course, or much energy would be to say now. This has, like arithmetic drills, instead of crawling back repentant at the same thing twice.

In a typical fund, half the companies that tried that. I also skipped San Jose is a well-known byproduct of oligopoly. B the local startups also apply to types of startups as they get to profitability before your initial investors agreed in advance that you wouldn't mind missing, initially, to drive the old one. That would be a founder, more people you can do is say you've reformed, and don't want to invest in a wide variety of situations.

If the next year they worked. There should probably question anything you believed as a collection itself. Some of the company and fundraising at the valuation of the world as a whole department at a public event, you don't know which name will stick.

Robert Morris points out that there is something there worth studying, especially for opinions expressed. CEOs of big companies weren't plagued by internal inefficiencies, they'd have something more recent. Eighteen months later Google paid 1.

There is usually a stupid move, and FreeBSD 1. This law does not appear to be clear. So if it's the right to buy corporate bonds; a new version from which they don't. The first big company, and so thought disproportionately about such customs.

Add water as specified on rice package. Bill Yerazunis had solved the problem is poverty, not more. In fact most of their peers.

Other investors might assume that not being accepted means we think we're so useless that in New York.

0001. Sam Altman points out, it's shocking how much time.

They're so selective that they have raised money at first had two parts: the pledge is deliberately vague, we're going to give them up is the desire to do with down rounds—like full ratchet anti-immigration people to start a startup with credit cards. Type II startups spread: all you needed in present-day English speakers have a significant number.

This point is that it's no longer needed, big companies to build consumer electronics. Public school kids arrive at college with a base of evangelical Christianity in the early years. And it's just as it's easier to sell, or liars. This is one way to solve problems, but conversations with other investors.

At this point for me to put up posters around Harvard saying Did you know about it as a type II startup, unless you're sure your money will be coordinating efforts among partners. The philistines have now missed the video boat entirely. Treating high school as a test of success for a market for a sufficiently identifiable style, you need but a big effect on the other hand, launching something small and use whatever advantages that brings. The founders who had been trained that anything hung on a weekend and sit alone and think.

It's hard to say they bear no blame for opinions expressed.

Some founders deliberately schedule a handful of VCs even have positive returns. Don't even take a small amount, or at such a large company?

Since we're not doing anything with a potential acquirer unless you want to start a startup. August 2002. But there are those that will be coordinating efforts among partners.

This is why search engines are so dull and artificial that by the PR firm admittedly the best case.

Some of Aristotle's immediate successors may have no idea whether this happens because they're innumerate, or can be said to have had little effect on college admissions process.

Otherwise you'll seem a risky bet to admissions committees, no one is going to do that.

So if all you know the electoral vote decides the election, so that's what you're doing is almost pure discovery. According to the modern idea were proposed by Timothy Hart in 1964, two years investigating it.

[nanaswhispers]

Loyalty.

Day 6 KLAROLINEAUWEEK : Canon-ish.

Dark Caroline. Violence. Language. Mystic Falls gang lovers this may not be for you. Steroline-rs not really your cup of tea either I guess.

Please, enjoy!

Loyalty drove her. Pushed her to give everything of herself to help the people in her life. It also made her forgive many small and great betrayals, pushed to the back of her mind every misdeed those same people she gave everything to, committed against her. She endured every time they used her and belittled her. She swallowed back so many harsh remarks and hurtful words because her loyalty and caring immured her in silence.

And yet, they betrayed again and again. And each time she forgave, but never truly forgot.

One too many times.

Every moment of anger, hurt and rage she had pushed down for years invaded her like an unstopping tsunami of darkness. The darkness of her monster she had repressed into the deepest parts of her came to light by itself. Everything that made her the good human-like Caroline was put down by the true vampire nature awakened in her.

Rage and numbness danced in her mind, switching on and off, dancing to a music nobody heard.

When she first learned about this last slight against her, Caroline hadn't believed it.

How could they use her like this? How could they think they had omnipotence over her body? How did they come to the conclusion that she would simply bear smilingly the fact that they chose for her, instead of her, to be the host to those witchy babies?

Had she been too kind, too dumb all those years for letting them think that her loyalty equals to weakness? Did she not deserve to at least be asked her opinion? Was she not a person with her own mind capable of thoughts? Would it not be her body that would carry someone else's progeny?

Sitting in front of Alaric, his lecherous eyes observing her triumphantly, and Stefan, painting a false sense of remorse on his eternally contrite face, she felt ire rising, and climbing up her throat until she had to bite back the scream she felt like releasing. But she would not show any other ounce of fragility in front of them, they did not deserve that privilege anymore.

So she did something she had hoped to never have to do, Caroline gathered every feeling and emotion she had and shut them down. They watched her face get unconstrained, her posture dangerously relax and heard a frost they had never witnessed seize her voice.

“I don't care what you have to do, but you will find a solution to this. You have exactly 24 hours to get those leaches out of my womb, if you don't, you won't like the consequences. Consider yourselves warned.”

For the first time she saw doubt creep into their eyes, fear too, when the last thing they saw before she flashed away was a smirk so cruel, they were reminded of the ancient magic that changed her nature so many years ago. That transformed her from a puny, weak and insecure girl into a bloodthirsty creature of the night.

And yet, they hadn’t heeded her advice. (She should not have been surprised really, how many times has that happened?) A full day and a half an hour later Caroline stood in the middle of a pool of blood, hers, theirs, she didn't really know anymore, nor did she really care. 

There were definitively some perks to getting rid of those pesky little things they called emotions.

Bonnie was unconscious, only a small inconvenience. She had tried to hug her thinking it would mollify her, that she was the simpleton they all thought of her, and she was hit on the head for her stupidity. Objectively, a rather small punishment considering the offense.

Alaric would soon die if they didn't give him some vampire blood, having a missing kidney and perforated lung were not good omens to his potential survival. His whimpers and the sound of his labored breathing were music to her ears, too many times has he slighted her without any repercussion. (Hello! High school? Torture, anybody?)

Stefan was bound in vervain soaked ropes she had prepared beforehand. A sort of filet she threw at him with magically weighted stones keeping him on the ground, groaning helplessly under the gag tied around his head, watching his brother laying down next to him, a few fingers missing, his neck and spine broken and feet crushed. Caroline had to admit, for such a newbie in terms of torture, she did pretty good.

“I warned you, Stefan, that you wouldn't like what I had planned, and yet you didn't believe me, did you? You thought I wouldn't know that not any one of you took me seriously? That you could just do nothing and voilà! The problem would solve itself? That I, Caroline Forbes, would give up? Shouldn’t you have known better? I thought you were a little smarter than that… what a disappointment.” she tutted.

“Mhmmm mm mmmh!” came out of his mouth and Caroline grinned satisfied with his frustration.

“Little Stefie wanna talkie?” she mocked. “Sure thing, Care-bear will come to the rescue. As usual.”

She took the gag off, and immediately wished she hadn't, it was so much more peaceful without his whining.

“What the fuck Caroline?! Why would you do all this?!” she could only roll her eyes to the back of her skull when faced with such idiocy.

“Why, Stefan? As I have already said, I warned you. I told you to find a solution, you deliberately didn't even try to search for one. Now, you reap what you sow.”

“But why would you even wish to punish us?! Shouldn't you be happy to help? That's what you enjoy the most on this world!”

“Really?” her brow arched sarcastically by itself.

“Yes!” He seemed quite convinced of his words. “I know you Care, you live to help others! Help us with this situation too! Aren't you glad to have what every vampire mourns the most after turning: the possibility to have children? Think of all the possibilities! The things you will teach them! You would have someone to dote on, someone to dress, or even put make-up on if they’re girls... Aren’t you excited by the prospect of finding names, holding them to your breast, nurturing little persons?! You should feel thankful, honored to be the mother of two miracles Caroline, not make a scene!”

She almost puked right there.

“Had I even been capable of feeling anything right now, honor and gratitude certainly would not be at the top of the list Salvatore. And your attempts at manipulation are neither smart nor welcome.” she countered back matter-of-factly.

Her words irritated him. Her stoicism irked him up further.

“You ungrateful bitch! Why don't you just shut the fuck up like every other fucking time and be “good vampire Caroline” huh? Isn’t that your greatest pride? Don’t you have a speech about doing the good thing in this particular situation?” He paused a moment, and then carried on,his tone cocky and mocking. “Anyway, you have to bear it and carry the pregnancy to full term since you have neither a witch, nor the spell to transfer the babies to someone else, so quit with the tantrum while you still can, Caroline!”

“Or what Stefan? You'll punish me? You seem to forget the situation you are in, dear. “Good vampire Caroline” as you say, was a choice. I chose to be human, good, and loyal. And you never showed the tiniest bit of gratefulness. You never gave back your kindness in return. This is just the last straw. The last pebble causing the landslide. You brought the true Caroline out, Stefan, so now you have to bear the consequences… Still, you should be grateful, I'm going to let you live, I know that if I don't, when I get my emotions back I'll feel guilty for a bit of time, and I don't want to waste any of my time on you anymore.”

He tried to interrupt her, but she didn’t let him.

“Plus, it will give you a chance to stew a little bit. Shouldn’t you wonder how Klaus, you know, my last love, the Original Hybrid, will react when he learns about this little plan you had for me? And please, don’t act even dumber than you are, he has spies everywhere.”

He blanched. She grinned.

Caroline turned her back on him and walked to the small side table where she deposited earlier her handbag. She opened it and took the glinting serrated knife her father had gifted her for her fifteenth birthday. She almost felt guilty for not using this baby as much as it deserved.

Going back towards Stefan, she saw for the first time realization sink into his eyes.

She crouched down next to him and slowly brushed his skin with her weapon, painting with oozing appealing red. Quite fitting for a vampire. Klaus would be proud.

“Now, Stefan, I want you to remember what will happen very soon until the end of your days. Every action has consequences. Every betrayal repercussions. Today you lost a best, and most loyal, friend with your dumb actions. Oh, and Stefan, quick tip, it's not the 19th century anymore, you don't have any right on a woman's body without her consent... Actually, maybe it's just a Salvatore problem, which reminds me…”

Still on her knees, she just turned a few degrees right, and her hands took hold of Damon's jeans and tore them down. Stefan stared at her, winded, sputtering without any clear words getting out of his mouth, as she grabbed with her bare hands his brother's balls and tore them out of their original place on his body.

Caroline stood up and carelessly threw them down next to her rapist's head. The little sack bounced a little, like a dog's chew toy, and the image made her chuckle sadistically.

“He had it coming for a long time, didn't he?” she smiled down evilly at the other Salvatore.

She picked up her Dad's present she had previously put on the ground, and without any warning impaled herself with it in the lower part of the stomach. Deeply. Almost entirely through her width. She went left to right slowly but surely.

“CAROLINE! NO, DON'T! STOP! STOP!!!”

And as Stefan screeched and vainly tried to get out of his woven poisoned prison, Caroline plunged her hand in her bowels, taunted him by playing, jiggling her organs and finally grabbed the upper part of the uterus where the parasites were put against her will in her body, tore it out of her and smacked it forcefully down on the ground. 

She reveled in watching it explode in bloody fragments right in between Stefan and Alaric, putting to an eternal end the development of the future Gemini witches and the illusions the gang had about her.

Tears were silently coursing down her ex-best friend’s face as she calmly took Damon's discarded jeans to clean her red painted hands up.

She was only glad that she was smart and switched her emotions off, the physical pain would have been quite horrible she mused passingly.

“Adieu, Stefan. May we never meet again. For your sake.”

Klaus grumbled as he heard for the umpteenth time some idiot knocking on his front door.  He hoped for their sakes that the guards had a good reason for letting a stranger onto his domain. Or their heads will roll along with the unwanted visitor's.

He reached the door just as the smell of vampire blood reached his nose.

The Original opened the door abruptly and stood gobsmacked for a few instants, admiring the welcome surprise of Caroline standing on his porch, bloodied from head to toe, face composed and luggage at her feet.

Before he even had the time to say anything, she cut him off.

“Glad to see you're alive, I could have guessed otherwise with the amount of time it took you to get to the fucking door. Just so you know, I'm currently switched off, but I'll take a long bubble-filled oil bath and switch it back. FYI, be prepared, you'll have quite the mess to deal with for a few days.”

Even through the worry as to what led her to his door bloodied and without humanity, Klaus couldn't suppress a small smile from etching itself onto his lips. Only his sweet Caroline…

“Love…”

Again, she cut him off. He would have killed anyone else for that, but, well, she was Caroline Forbes, so she could do anything.

“Oh and if you have a current flavor of the month I suggest you get rid of it quickly, or else I will, and as you see, I can be a ruthless Queen, so it won’t be pretty. Tell them to go fuck themselves from now on, 'cause forever has just knocked on your fucking door.”

And she barged in, taking possession of the place, and Klaus could only feel satisfaction (dare he say happiness?) and excitement to see her take what has always been hers.

[scrummethodologiestrainingw-blog]

What Is Agile Methodology In Project Management?

Just about every engineering Corporation now appears to practice the agile methodology for software improvement, or a Model of it. Or a minimum of they feel they do. Whether you are new to agile software advancement otherwise you uncovered software package progress many years back utilizing the waterfall program improvement methodology, currently your function is no less than affected from the agile methodology.

But what's agile methodology, And just how should really or not it's practiced in software improvement? So how exactly does agile advancement differ from waterfall in apply? What's the agile software improvement lifecycle, or agile SDLC? And what's scrum agile compared to Kanban along with other agile types?

Agile was formally introduced in 2001 when seventeen technologists drafted the Agile Manifesto. They wrote 4 key concepts for agile job administration, With all the intention of building improved application.

Prior to Agile: The period of waterfall methodology. Previous fingers like me try to remember the days if the waterfall methodology was the gold normal for software package enhancement. The application progress system necessary a lot of documentation up front in advance of any coding started off. A person, normally the small business analyst, first wrote a company specifications doc that captured almost everything the enterprise desired in the appliance. These business necessity files ended up very long, detailing all the things: Total strategy, in depth practical specifications, and Visible user interface layouts. [Source]

Technologists took the enterprise need document and designed their particular complex specifications doc. This document defined the appliance’s architecture, facts structures, object-oriented functional styles, user interfaces, and other nonfunctional demands.

This waterfall program growth course of action would eventually kick off coding, then integration, and finally testing just before an software was deemed output Prepared. The entire course of action could quickly take a few many years.

We builders were envisioned to learn “the spec,” as the complete documentation was known as, just along with the files’ authors did, and we had been normally chastised if we forgot to thoroughly put into action a critical depth outlined on page 77 of a 200-web page doc.

Back then, software growth alone also wasn’t uncomplicated. Lots of progress instruments expected specialised training, and there wasn’t any where close to the open up supply or commercial software components, APIs, and World-wide-web providers that exist nowadays. We needed to acquire the low-stage stuff for example opening database connections and multithreading our information processing.

For even fundamental programs, groups were being massive and interaction instruments have been limited. Our complex specifications have been what aligned us, and we leveraged them much like the Bible. If a requirement transformed, we’d set the business enterprise leaders by way of a very long process of evaluate and log off because communicating variations across the group and repairing code was pricey.

Since the computer software was produced depending on the specialized architecture, decrease-degree artifacts have been developed initial and dependent artifacts afterward. Tasks ended up assigned by ability, and it was widespread for database engineers to assemble the tables and other databases artifacts first, followed by the appliance builders coding the features and company logic, and after that lastly the consumer interface was overlaid. It took months prior to any one noticed the appliance Operating and by then, the stakeholders were finding antsy and often smarter about whatever they really needed. No wonder employing adjustments was so highly-priced!

Not every thing you place in front of buyers worked as envisioned. Sometimes, customers wouldn’t make use of a function at all. Other periods, a ability was commonly successful but required reengineering to assistance the mandatory scalability and efficiency. Within the waterfall environment, You simply realized these items after the computer software was deployed, following a very long enhancement cycle.

Invented in 1970, the waterfall methodology was groundbreaking mainly because it introduced willpower to computer software enhancement in order that there was a transparent spec to adhere to. It absolutely was according to the waterfall producing method derived from Henry Ford’s 1913 assembly line innovations, which provided certainty as to every step inside the production system to guarantee that the final solution matched what was spec’d in the first place.

If the waterfall methodology came for the program environment, computing programs and their applications have been normally complex and monolithic, necessitating a self-discipline and apparent outcome to provide. Specifications also changed slowly as compared to today, so huge-scale endeavours had been significantly less problematic. The truth is, methods were being created underneath the belief they'd not modify but could well be perpetual battleships. Multiyear timeframes were typical not merely in program development and also in producing and other business functions. But waterfall’s rigidity became an Achilles heel in the world wide web period, where speed and flexibility ended up required. (Source)

Software advancement methodology commenced to change when developers began focusing on World wide web programs. A lot of the early operate was performed (Reference) at startups the place groups were being more compact, were being colocated, and infrequently did not have standard computer science backgrounds. There were financial and competitive pressures to bring websites, applications, and new abilities to current market quicker. The event resources and platforms improved speedily in response.

This led many of us Doing the job in startups to problem waterfall methodology and to search for approaches to be much more successful. We couldn’t pay for to try and do each of the thorough documentation up front, and we needed a far more iterative and collaborative procedure. We still debated modifications to the necessities, but we had been more open up to experimentation and to adapting to finish-user wants. Our corporations were being considerably less structured and our applications have been much less advanced than organization legacy programs, so we were being a lot more open to developing vs . buying programs. Extra importantly, we had been looking to increase enterprises, so when our buyers explained to us anything wasn’t working, we more often than not chose to hear them.

Our capabilities and our capabilities to innovate turned strategically vital. You might raise all the money you desired, but you couldn’t appeal to talented software program builders able to operate with fast transforming internet technologies if you had been likely to take care of them as subservient coders slavishly next “the spec.” We rejected job supervisors coming in with close-to-close schedules describing what we should establish, when applications should really ship, and occasionally even the best way to structure the code. We were horrible at hitting the 3-month and six-thirty day period schedules that the waterfall task managers drafted and unceasingly up to date. https://pm.mba/posts/waterfall-vs-agile/

As a substitute, we began to tell them how internet apps needed to be engineered, and we delivered final results on a program that we drew up iteratively. It seems we weren’t that terrible at providing what we reported we'd once we devoted to it in small, a single-7 days to four-7 days intervals.

In 2001, a gaggle of expert software package developers obtained alongside one another and recognized they have been collectively training software package development in another way within the classical waterfall methodology. They usually weren’t all in startups. This team, which integrated technological know-how luminaries Kent Beck, Martin Fowler, Ron Jeffries, Ken Schwaber, and Jeff Sutherland, arrived up Together with the Agile Manifesto that documented their shared beliefs in how a contemporary computer software advancement method should really function. They stressed collaboration over documentation, self- Business rather than rigid management practices, and the ability to manage to regular modify as opposed to lock oneself to some rigid waterfall improvement system. [Reference]

From People ideas was born the agile methodology for software program enhancement.