#and feel like I'll still be taken seriously and respected in the way I Have to be to live but its so much easier with her

[dragonji]

been talking to my transfem coworker a lot more abt our respective gender (and sometimes romance) complications/plans lately and genuinely it like. simultaneously makes me feel pretty cringe and silly to admit i do in fact want things but also its smth I never thought I'd get to have and thus kind of mindblowingly really reasurring and lovely and special. No other point to be made here just that it rly is kind of lifechanging to be a trans person w trans friends👍

[gothamite-rambler]

Did Alfred just give Jason a gun as a gift? Aww, that's so sweet!

Alfred Pennyworth opened the door for Jason Todd with a warm smile, but Jason looked confused by the unexpected invitation.

Jason: Did you call me?

Alfred: Yes, wipe your feet and follow me.

Jason (suspicious): Okay.

Jason followed Alfred through the grand halls of Wayne Manor until they reached a door that led to a concealed room. Alfred calmly pulled out a handgun and held it out for Jason.

Alfred: You want this Colt M1911?

Jason (bewildered): You invited me over here to give me a gun? I always imagined Bruce would do this, but not you. Wow, this whole room is filled with weapons.

As Jason stepped inside, he took in the sight of handguns, knives, tasers, and a variety of other weaponry neatly arranged throughout the secret room.

Jason (surprised): Shit, this is quite the arsenal. Sorry for my language.

Alfred (waving away those concerns): You’re fine. Long story short, I have no need for this anymore. I used it back in my day. Shot a lot of racists with this… It was an undocumented war, mind you. Bruce whines about me owning it, but I don’t take his concerns seriously. Still, I respect that he doesn't want me to keep this particular weapon. It reminds him of the one that shot his parents.

Jason listened intently, slightly taken aback.

Alfred: I care about Bruce and have kept this hidden, and it helps that I have an affinity for shotguns over handguns.

Jason (questioning this): This… is a lot to take in. I knew you had guns, but you grew up in England. Aren't the gun laws there strict?

Alfred (half-joking): I had many reasons for moving to America, and it wasn't for your shoddy healthcare. That's for sure.

Jason nodded then chuckled.

Alfred: You have an affinity for guns, and I might not have long for this world… possibly. I’ve never been fully against your 'kill policy' when it comes to the type of people you take out, so why don’t we count this as a birthday gift? Don’t even feel the need to answer—just keep it. Here’s a box of bullets.

Alfred handed him the gun and a box of bullets, leaving Jason momentarily speechless.

Jason: Okay, um… I’m not sure how to process the fact that my father’s butler just gave me a gun as a gift—or that there’s an undocumented war. But I appreciate this. I wasn’t aware you cared about me this much.

Alfred patted Jason on the shoulder and locked his secret gun room before leading the still-confused but pleased young man back out.

Alfred: I care for all of you, Jason. As a gun owner myself, I understand the desire for quality weapons. That gun has served me well, and it can serve you too.

Jason: That crazy homeless person on the bus told me this would happen in a vague way… never expected it to come true.

Alfred (chuckling): Interesting, isn’t it? If Bruce ever sees that gun, just inform him I gave it to you. I'll confirm it. He can’t fire me anyway.

Jason (nodding): That makes sense. Can I hear more about this undocumented war?

Alfred (checking his watch): My break is almost over. Next time.

Jason: Damn, I can’t get the war story… were they Nazis?

Alfred: It’s a long story, Jason. They weren't Nazis though, just a different type of racists. Would you like to take some pie before you leave?

Jason: Someone I trust just gave me a gun, and now I’m getting dessert. The crazy homeless man on the subway was right!

Alfred: I’m someone you trust… I appreciate that, Jason. You know what, feck it, you can take the whole pie home.

Jason (eager): Yes!

[hannahmanderr]

I haven't seen anyone else talk about this yet so I'm going to assume no one has (and if this is the millionth post about this I am so sorry), but apparently there was a leak at Viacom last month, and one of the things that got leaked was the original Danny Phantom pitch bible, and let me tell y'all, there is some interesting lore to be had. I've taken the liberty of summing up a few notable points, but feel free to read for yourself - it's pretty short.

Jack was originally written as an ex-spy, test pilot... basically if it was a daring job, he probably had it. His IQ was supposedly only one point off from Maddie's, and his bumbling was more of a result of him being more "brave than smart."

Maddie was originally written as "one of the world's most respected theoretical physicists" and the brains between her and Jack. Get this: her full name was supposed to be Madison!

Sam and Danny's psychic connection was actually a result of the accident. When he was in the hospital and still very much saturated with ectoplasm, she gave him a "get better" kiss on the forehead, which sparked the connection. The connection would've manifested in a number of ways, including a perpetual ability to "sense" the other, see visions, and hear each other's thoughts, though it was supposed to be somewhat unpredictable.

Jazz hid her brains from her cheerleader friends because she wanted to fit in with them.

Danny was supposed to be the only person able to see, hear, and interact with ghosts.

On the subject of Danny, his reputation for being a scaredy-cat was much more well-known, even to the point where Sam and Tucker gave him the nickname Danny Phantom before he even had his accident. This kid was scared of his own shadow, frogs, you name it.

Overshadowing was originally called "ghosting," and the more intelligent a person, the more difficult it would be to control them.

Jack and Maddie were hoping to break the barrier between the "Real World" (our world) and the "Unreal World" (the ghost world). They wanted to get through to the spirit realm to be able to communicate with the dead in order to help make the world a better place (think picking Einstein's brain a little more, seeing what other music Mozart has cooking, etc.). That dimensional barrier was damaged when they first tried out their experiment, and Danny - who was hiding out from Dash in the lab - would be caught in the middle.

Much like how fans have interpreted things and how the show tried to imply, Danny felt responsible for unleashing the ghosts into our world and decided to adopt the name Sam and Tucker had teased him with to help put a stop to their reign of terror.

Seriously, y'all should read this. There's a lot of interesting info in here, and really it sounds like such a cool concept?? Like I'll probably add my personal thoughts in a reblog, but there's a lot of potential for untapped creativity from the phandom here. Plus it's always nice to see what's technically official content almost 20 years after the show's premiere.

[tyttamarzh]

Missa and Tallulah

I adore the father-daughter bond that has formed between Missa and Tallulah, it reminds me so much of Missa's early days with Chayanne and it warms my heart.

But there is something very interesting in the way Tallulah accepted Missa as her father immediately, despite having lived very little with him and despite the fact that Missa never tried to impose himself on her as a father (even if he considered her his daughter since Phil told him that he adopted her).

And it is precisely that. Missa never imposed himself, he didn't try to push himself on as a father to Tallulah, unlike other people in the past who tried to "adopt" her or make her see them as a father. Missa always accepted his place in the girl's life and was fine with the "uncle" title she had given him.

He told her that he felt the responsibility of taking care of her, just as he takes care of Chayanne and he always behaved nice and friendly, but to a certain extent he kept his distance from the subject, he never wanted to pressure or make her feel uncomfortable attributing himself a role that did not belong to him.

Missa has always respected that Tallulah's father is Wilbur and although he knew that Phil had adopted her and that he directly referred to her as their daughter, Missa never intended to take that place (even in prison he referred to Wilbur as "her true father"), as much as he saw her as his daughter, he respected Tallulah's feelings and that was important for her, because she spent months anguished by Wilbur's absence, hearing jokes from others about it, like If her suffering was nothing more than a joke for everyone and although they were harmless jokes, every time that happened it seemed like it disturbed her, she was Wilbur's daughter and people didn't seem to take it seriously.

She had other people in her life, people she became very fond of, but despite that she has never seen them as a replacement for her father and she never liked that anyone wanted to see themselves as such. She has great appreciation for Quackity because she knows how important he is to Wil and out of all of them, it seemed that he was the closest to becoming her stepfather and therefore, her "second father" and in some way being close to him was a way to bond with Wilbur, but Q's presence in Tallulah's life was never stable and along the way there has been mistrust and bitter moments with him (that bond was not created, but she still sees him as someone important to Wil and is fond of him). Others have taken care of her and although she became fond of them, she always saw them as her "uncles" and although there were those who tried to be something more than her, she never felt comfortable with the idea.

It even took a long time before she directly started calling Phil dad and that was something that was born from her, Phil didn't come and tell her "now I'll take your father's place" he just earned his own place and that made the girl was the one who asked him to adopt her. But Phil already had a long history with her and a very solid relationship, so her asking him that was something to be expected but… Why did she immediately accept Missa?

The first things Tallulah heard from Missa were the wonders Chay and Phil told her about him and from the moment she met him, she realized that he was a sweet and kind man who made Chay very happy. In a way, she saw Chay's family as what she expected from a family, since they all had a very beautiful bond with each other. But still, she didn't see Missa as her father, nor as her "grandfather" (when she saw Philza like that), he was another of her uncles. But from that moment on, all the times Phil and Chay talked about him were different for her, because now she knew him and could understand how important he was to them, seeing a parallel between the longing they felt for him with the one she felt for Wilbur and that made her empathize with them, strengthening their bond.

So, the next time she saw Missa, she defended him from Foolish and Tubbo's taunts and followed him around the island, so he could reunite with Chay, because she knew that was important to her brother and that he would do the same for her. In some ways, the things that happened that day greatly influenced the way she felt about Wilbur's absence by then.

Even so, Missa was always sweet and kind to her and promised to take care of her like Chay, HIS OWN SON, without any kind of commitment, without expecting anything from her, or trying to be considered her father or take these place.

That must have been confusing for her in some way, because she didn't know how he saw her or if he considered her his family, but it kind of made her think about it: "Is he part of my family? Do I want that?" "Am I part of his family?"

Missa's absence and presence influenced the three of them in several ways, even if no one were not fully aware of it.

And this is where Phil's influence comes. For Phil there was no doubt that Missa had become another father to Tallulah from the moment he adopted her, but that could never be formalized because the three of them were never in the same room to talk about it and Tallulah never asked it directly.

Just as Missa didn't want to force Tallulah to see him as a father, she didn't want to force him to see her as his daughter. It was in the end Phil who directly made the decision to make it official, he had already talked about it with Missa before, but he didn't ask Tallulah, he just told her "he's your third father" and even at that moment, she asked him Missa was okay with it, because until then she only saw him as Chayanne's father and Missa's response was that he already considered her his daughter (which was similar to what Phil told her).

Missa was not someone who asked her to see him as a father just like that, he was someone who saw her as a daughter even if she did not consider him her father, he never fought for that title, he never expected anything in return, he was someone who unconditionally agreed to love her, even if he didn't know her, JUST LIKE A TRUE FATHER DOES.

That's why Tallulah accepted it immediately, she reciprocated that show of love in the same way.

I sincerely believe that she has been able to heal something within her heart and that being Phil and Missa's daughter makes her very happy, without displacing her love for Wilbur.

Tallulah's new side is quite important, I think that Missa's love does her quite well and was something that she needed for a long time, because now she feels part of a complete family and it is natural that she wants to protect that and now she have someone who makes her feel like she have the strength to take care of those she love.

It's incredible how both Missa and Tallulah needed each other to feel part of the family, because in some way, they were the ones who doubted their place within it.

I never expected this, but I love it.

Missa is a great father, he has always been a great father and I am willing to fight anyone who dares to say otherwise…

[dreorig]

Taiju Shiba — headcanons ;

[ nsfw | sub bottom taiju x top dom male reader | reader is said to be as strong as taiju | ive had this idea for a while now heheh i need to rail him so bad it's not even funny anymore ]

Taiju is a total brat.

In front of the others he acts like he doesn't give a shit about you or like he wants you dead (depends on his mood) but he's actually very jealous and possessive.

Humiliation kink. Call him the dirtiest names you can think of and he'll sob while dripping wet.

Taiju loves punishments, seriously. He'll do the exact opposite of what you told him to just so you'll spank him.

He talks back to you because he actually values his pride but a few minutes later he'll be whimpering and behaving nicely to get what he wants. 

Taiju blushes more during aftercare than when you're degrading him and that's because he's not used to being taken care of. He secretly longs for it every time you have sex.

It might sound weird, but submitting helps him to slowly change into a better person — who would ever think he would apologise for misbehaving?

Is he stressed? Dumbify him until he's nothing but an incoherent moaning mess.

If you put a collar on his neck and tug on the leash, he'll be on his knees to suck you within seconds.

At first he thought you were dumb for reassuring him and apologising for degrading him, but he began to appreciate it as he slowly realised that's how you showed you considered him more than a sex toy.

"Imagine what people would think if they saw you like this. How would they react to the fact that you're nothing but a dirty whore? Um? To think you act so high and mighty yet you cry because the way I fuck you is just too good. Tsk. Don't you feel ashamed?"

Taiju held back a moan. "Fuck you."

You grabbed his face and made him look at you. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" he snarled back, grabbing a fistful of your hair.

For fuck's sake, you really loved him.

You slapped his face, leaving a big handprint on his pretty face, and immediately he let go of your hair. "Don’t you fucking dare to talk back to me, slut. The only things you should do with this mouth of yours are moaning and sucking my dick, because that's all you're good for."

You pounded him harder, making every word he could think of die on the tip of his tongue. Taiju, like the little shit he was, tried to keep any sounds from leaving his lips but he just couldn't do it anymore when you leaned down to suck and grab on his chest with your free hand, still hitting his prostate like your life depended on it. Taiju closed his eyes and threw his head back on the pillow, exposing his neck full of love bites, then proceeded to let out higher moans, which at this point you already knew meant his orgasm was getting closer and closer.

“Woah,” you chuckled. “To shut you up all it takes is a slap? I bet everyone’s gonna love it when I tell them.”

Of course you'd never tell anyone but was it even sex if you didn't tease him?

 “I’m— fuck — I'm gonna kill you, asshole.”

You immediately stopped everything and just looked down at him with a bored expression. Took Taiju only a few seconds to open his eyes and protest, “Why did you stop?”

"Why the hell would I keep pleasuring a cheap whore who can't even respect his Master?"

Taiju was totally outraged, "But I was almost there!”

“Too bad, I guess.”

“C’mon, stop bitching and finish the job.”

“Keep talking like that and I'll just leave you like this. I’ll be fine if I just jerk off to some pics I took of you, although I can't say the same about you. So what do you say now?"

“Asshole.”

You loved Taiju, truly. He was such a brat, there was no way you couldn't love him. To see all his stubbornness slowly reduced to nothing but pure obedience because he just wanted you to rail him was a holy, privileged experience.

“That's not what I want to hear.”

Taiju tried to push down his hips in an attempt to feel at least something, but you were quick to hold his hips in place. Although he was the Taiju Shiba, one of the strongest men you've ever met, you matched his strength and he was too needy to try anything. Taiju was completely helpless under your grip.

You clicked your tongue. “I don't have all night, Taiju. Better decide what you want before I just leave you on your own.”

Took nearly an extra minute before Taiju’s deadly glare turned into the soft expression you always longed for. Reluctantly, he wet his lips before speaking, "Please, forgive me, Master."

A smirk quickly appeared on your face as you cupped his face and pecked his lips. “Such a good slut for me.”

[moodymisty]

Request; Guilliman's partner comforting him? He is so sad in 40k, and has so much on his plate. The Lord Regent needs cuddles when he has a break!

Author's Note: #LetRollarcoasterGhilliesuitRest. I'm having fun writing all these cute requests while I work on some Konrad stuff >:3

Relationships: Roboute Guilliman/Fem!Reader

Warnings: None apart from Cato Sicarius being an stick in the mud because that's just who he is ✨ he just born that way ✨

Word Count: 932

Guilliman's chambers remain unchanged from when he had last entered them, a massive room adorned with the symbols of his legion. It is all ornate, golden, tapestries hanging and filigree tracing the edges. It's all decorative, indulgent. But none of it is his; The room feels nothing but sterile, to him. There isn't a single remnant of his life, only his legacy.

"You look tired."

You sit small on his massive bed, Guilliman's gaze having turned to you upon hearing your voice. It's quiet in the massive room, nearly drowned out by the high ceiling.

He is tired. Incredibly so. Perhaps mentally more than physically. Though the sight of you serves to act like some sort of drug to give him a boost, abit only temporarily.

He works tirelessly, endlessly, with no goal or end in sight. The Imperium is no less rotten, galaxy no less plagued since he'd last looked. You serve to be a small candle for him, a hope for a future, but a candle can't light a cavern. But still, he hates to imagine his life without you now.

Though Chapter Master Marneus Calgar and the Commanders of the Legion had not taken well to it. To you. It seems their Primarch having wants and desires beyond his supposed godhood is upsetting. They seem to almost speak of it, of you, as if it's an illness- being in love. Wanting a life beyond war.

Gulliman still remembers Cato Sicarius' attempt to discipline you for referring to him as Roboute so casually, spitting venom at your supposed disrespect.

The holotable shined against blue painted armor and skin, sickly green blending with blue and gold. Guilliman had been expecting a moment alone with you, to voice his thoughts, though it has quickly seemed to have turned into a meeting of sorts. You moved to take your leave, as you know well you were unwelcome in the Ultramarine chapter's private dialogues. Guilliman doesn't disagree that you shouldn't overhear, but his chapter takes it much more seriously. Vehemently so.

You look up at him, holding your hands close to yourself.

"I'll be in the Librarium, Roboute-"

Cato Sicarius turned his gaze to you, searing even through his helmet. His stance across the holotable was firm and unmovable, one hand on the pommel of his chainsword. He is ever the epitome of Ultramarine valor.

"You will speak of Our Lord Guilliman with the proper respect-"

Guilliman turned to the Ultramarine, who's zealotry has been wearing on him like waves against a ragged shoreline. To him he can begrudgingly deal with it, but he will not let him trample you.

"She can refer to me however she wishes," Guilliman said, his armor making noise as he resisted balling his hands into fists. "Do not speak for me again."

The Primarch had shut the Astarte down within moments. But the burn still remains. Their overwhelming zeal has proven irritating, but in that moment it finally turned him to anger.

They treat him like a god, speak of him as such; You are the only one who still treats him like a man. Perhaps he might be far removed, but he is still human, underneath his overwhelming size and power. At least he feels he is. Sometimes he isn't quite sure anymore.

"Perhaps I am. Sleep is rare for us all." He finally responds to your comment, neither disagreeing or agreeing fully. Despite it, you look up at him with this soft, caring face- It reminds him of Euten. You gently pat the bed.

"Can you come here?"

The Primarch listens, coming closer. He gently sits on the bed to avoid jostling you, watching the way you curl your hand to gesture him closer. He furrows his brow.

"What do you have in mind?" Guilliman watches you intently, trying to read you and figure it all out. You just give him that same sweet look.

"Just come closer. Lay down." When he doesn't move, you sigh.

"Please?"

Then does the Primarch finally give in, laying back; Feeling your hands as you adjust until the back of his head lays across your thighs. Your hands brush through his hair, and Guilliman swears for a moment he could die right here and be satisfied. With such a simple gesture, you've healed him just a bit from the horrors gnawing at him.

His eyes are hooded, not quite closed as he looks off. He looks deep in thought, or tired. More than likely both.

"You have the time to sleep, if you want." If he returned here, it could only mean he finally had managed to obtain a moment to himself. He's looking away from you when he responds.

"I don't wish to weigh you down for so long." Your hand brushes across his cheek for a moment, brushing a chunk of short blonde hair behind his ear.

"I know you Roboute; You won't be asleep for that long."

The sentence makes him let out a dry laugh. You had him down to a science within months; His Legion barely knows him, and they worship him.

His hand reaches up to gently cup your face, and it swallows so much of it. You lean into his palm none the less. You put your hand on his own for a moment, before returning it to his head.

"Take a moment to yourself, Roboute. You've fought for everyone else for so long. The galaxy can spare you a minute."

He doesn't remember anything else, after. Just the soft look in your eyes and the feeling of your fingers against his skin.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

"gave Snape a stable job....despite being abusive to children (though he probably didn't perceive himself as such)"

I am a tad confused about this. How could Severus not possibly understand that he was being abusive to the kids under his care- especially Harry? Did he feel threatened by the children under his care to the point of viewing them as equals and thus justifying his behaviour to himself (why didn't the other teachers call him out on his shit)

Anonymous: am curious. You mentioned Snape likely doesn't realise that he is abusing the children under his care and mimicking his father. Does he actually feel powerless enough to justify his behaviours to himself? When he sees James in Harry and blames Neville does he see the boys as his equals/ someone above him in power that needs to be put down- thus allowing himself to continue acting the way he does? It's ironic all things considered. For all that Harry looks like James, he takes more after Lily.

Okay, so, I just wrote a post about Snape, but I'll cover here what I'm thinking about this specifically in more detail.

I'm not sure where the quote you mentioned is from, but I can say what I think about the way Snape treats Harry and his students and how he sees it.

So, Severus was abused by his father. From his behavior, what I guess is that a lot of his treatment of his students is him mimicking what he saw from his father.

Like, Severus became a professor at 21. It means his older students knew him as a student. Not to mention he was a terrorist, known Death Eater, who was saved by Dumbledore from being sent to Azkaban. And his students knew this.

So Severus felt like he needed a way to make sure his students would take him seriously. The main example he decided to draw from — his father, Tobias.

We don't know what exactly Tobias Snape did, he was a poor, working-class man who abused his wife and son. And I think when Tobias wanted to be taken seriously, he used fear, insults, and force. So this is what Severus knows.

Severus sees what he does as the only way students would treat him seriously, he doesn't really see it as abuse, as I believe he doesn't really see his father's mistreatment of him as abuse.

Severus always struck me as a character who doesn't want to get better.

I think Severus is one of the abused kids who rationalized his own abuse as something he deserved. He clearly wants to beat himself up about his mistakes. He wants to feel the guilt over pushing Lily away and then over killing her (in his mind). So, to him, in his mind, it's not abuse, it's what they deserve.

Is it good that's what he thinks? No, not at all, it actually sucks. Snape needed therapy.

Now, with Harry specifically, his treatment is different. With Harry, he really does see him as an equal and he needs Harry to treat him seriously. Like, Snape projects James on Harry way more than Sirius does. And Snape can't show anything resembling weakness to Mini-James Potter, so he goes back to his father's methods to be taken seriously. It's about Harry not seeing him as weak like James did.

And revenge, a little bit. Snape is very petty.

He still doesn't see his vengeance as abuse, because, as much as Severus wants to believe he's the one in power, he's scared of Harry more than he's willing to confess. He doesn't see a power imbalance between him and Harry, he doesn't actually see himself in a position of power, because he sees James in Harry. Harry doesn't treat Severus with the respect usually given to professors, which strengthens the way Severus doesn't really see him as a student.

Like, the fact Severus felt the need to remove memories he didn't want Harry to see when teaching him Occlumancy shows how much he fears Harry. Fears the possibility of Harry getting this information and using it against him.

Harry sat there staring at Snape as the lesson began, picturing horrific things happening to him. . . . If only he knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse . . . he’d have Snape flat on his back like that spider, jerking and twitching. . . . “Antidotes!” said Snape, looking around at them all, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. “You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one. . . .” Snape’s eyes met Harry’s, and Harry knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison him. Harry imagined picking up his cauldron, and sprinting to the front of the class, and bringing it down on Snape’s greasy head —

(GoF, 300-301)

In the above quote, Harry has these thoughts while Snape is reading his mind — there's eye contact. So Severus sees these thoughts from Harry and doesn't separate this from James, he sees it and thinks that Harry very much might actually spill his entire cauldron on him — like James might've done. So, Severus is taking every instance like this to justify his fear of Harry and his need to keep him down.

With Neville it's different. He doesn't fear Neville the way he fears Harry, I think he does see Neville as someone weaker. In the case of Neville, Severus is, I think, doing what a lot of bullies do, picking on a weaker link to feel better about himself. More in control, more capable. Neville being next to Harry is kinda part of it, I don't think Snape would've been as harsh with Neville if he wasn't near Harry, who makes Snape kinda lose it and feel unbalanced and insecure in his position because he sees him as James more than as Harry.

And I agree with you second Anon, personality-wise, I think Harry isn't very similar to James at all. And he definitely has some of Lily's traits in him, but he's not her either, he's his own person. Something Snape willfully chooses not to see. It's easier for him not to see it, so he chooses not to, so he can keep up with his petty vengeance towards a dead man.

As for why other teachers didn't call him out, well, I think the Wizarding World has a very different approach to child care than the modern western world does.

We know corporal punishment was allowed at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World at large. One of the good things Dumbledore did as a headmaster was stop the use of it at the castle, but it was socially acceptable in the WW even in the 1990s. Actually, even in the muggle UK in the 1990s caning was still allowed in private schools, and Harry is clearly aware of this fact:

“Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?” Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick’s class looking confused.

(PS, 109)

Because this is something that was still practiced in the UK. Harry actually had to lie to Aunt Marge that he was getting canned at St. Brutus school since that's something that happened there.

And it also happened in the Wizarding World until very recently, Molly says Arthur still has marks from what was most likely a caning when he was at Hogwarts:

Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll,” she said. “He got caught by Apollyon Pringle — he was the caretaker in those days — your father’s still got the marks.”

(GoF, 616)

Umbridge (and the Carrows) later returns corporeal punishment to Hogwarts, and it's quite clear there is no law against it in the WW:

“Approval for Whipping . . . Approval for Whipping . . . I can do it at last. . . . They’ve had it coming to them for years. . . .” He [Filch] pulled out a piece of parchment, kissed it, then shuffled rapidly back out of the door, clutching it to his chest.

(OotP, 673)

Molly actually beat Fred with a broom (or at least attempted to) and it's considered fine and legal and not abuse:

“Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?” said Ron, grabbing him and leading him over to their barrel. “And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven — it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick.” Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box.

(PoA, 200)

Because the Wizarding World (and the UK) in the 1990s had a very different view on abuse and domestic violence. So, yeah, I don't think Severus considered what he did abuse, he considered it harsh discipline, like he himself received as a child. The way everyone ignores Harry's (and Snape's as a child) very clear signs of being abused is also telling. A rough hand and insults with disobedient children is just considered what you do, and not horrifyingly gross behavior like we see it today.

And the other teachers don't step in, because they consider it just as legal and acceptable as Snape. Because it is in the Wizarding World.

[nanomooselet]

Little but Fierce

Now, I might be mistaken, but judging by the number of bare pectoral muscles strewn over my dash at any given moment, I'm gonna say Wolfwood is pretty popular? And that's understandable (he's a loser <3) but it's a genuinely terrible shame that Meryl gets overlooked. Especially in Stampede. Orange have done some really amazingly cool things with Meryl.

And it makes me a little nervous to say so, but I think they only could have done them by detaching her from Milly, at least for a time. Milly's still going to show up and I'm confident from this precedent they'll treat her well, so I'm at peace with her absence for now.

Nightow is unexpectedly good in many ways. He treats sex workers as human, which is a low bar that many nevertheless fail to clear, and my only serious disappointment in Maximum was in how the girls vanished for long periods. I recall an interview where he said something to the effect of being reluctant to put them in harm's way, and while I'm disinclined to take anything Nightow says entirely at face value (I don't think he's a liar, but I do think he has a sense of humour that inclines him to kindly trolling, which I respect), that would line up, I think.

I think Orange are taking the opportunity to remedy this disappointment.

It's exciting. It's the kind of writing for female characters in genre media I've always craved. I will not be silenced on how extremely gay I am for Meryl Stryfe.

Unfortunately that means for this first entry, I'll have to talk about Knives. (Whom I also love, but not in a gay way. More an affectionate revulsion. He's fascinatingly horrible, this man.)

So. I've noticed a distressing tendency for Knives's... really almost anything that ever comes out of his mouth (seriously) to be taken as the honest, objective truth. After all, they didn't call him a villain.

And what an honest face he has!

As Knives has it:

Vash is pretty, but he's useless without his brother. He's a powerless, weak, pathetically naïve, blubberingly sentimental little baby who doesn't care about the Plants, too busy enabling humanity's abuse via performing his cringing, grasping abasement before them to notice how his brethren suffer. Knives himself is the more powerful (and much less human-like) of the twins; the strongest and most righteous activist for necessary change now that, sadly despite all good faith attempts at communication, non-violent solutions have failed. He truly has only the best and most altruistic intentions: the freedom of his people, and the happiness of his brother.

Here's the problem. This has always been the problem. Every one of the statements in the paragraph above is false. Except the one about Vash being pretty.

Once more with feeling: They are completely untrue. They are supported by literally nothing. All we have is his word that they're true and there's so much existing evidence to disprove his claims that even the thought of compiling it exhausts me.

However, I did say that Zazie is a truth-teller in this story, didn't I? So let's examine some of Zazie's conclusions.

Now, I've seen reference to the surviving human communities on No Man's Land as "colonisers", and that their treatment of the Plants even before the Fall is analogous to slavery. (My strong suspicion is that Knives is purposefully invoking those comparisons, in fact.) Those are both extremely loaded analogies, culturally and emotionally, and I just want to gently, respectfully caution those who make them against overlooking the more nuanced and purposeful analogies being made. Or maybe should I say, the actual individuals to whom they apply.

Zazie is very careful to say this: Knives told them humans can't be trusted to learn from consuming their home planet. Knives was the one who said humans will have Zazie's planet next, and that only Knives will "use" the Plants correctly - so Zazie should ally with Knives.

Here's what Knives meant by "using the Plants correctly":

I, uh, think Zazie may have made the wrong call on this one! And that Zazie thinks the same.

This is what makes the interaction with Wolfwood so funny and sad - the all-knowing, ostensibly unkillable Zazie is freaking the hell out, staggering under the weight of realising just how apocalyptically badly they have fucked up. Wolfwood, who also directly instigated this disaster but under duress, is grimly amused - he did everything he did fulfilling the contract to protect the kids, even as his conviction failed, even though he would rather have died, even after Livio... and thus he personally rendered all his own efforts and sacrifices moot.

And he's just like, "Heh, yeah. That tracks." This poor boy.

Afterwards, Zazie is confused and even a little saddened that Vash was demonised in the wake of July's destruction. Never let it be said the bug fails to learn from experience: Vash is the one everyone blames? Ah, so he was in fact spectacularly heroic and clever and it's entirely Knives's fault it turned out so badly.

Also, crashing on this specific planet wasn't exactly humanity's choice. Guess whose choice it was.

Go on, guess. Better yet, guess why.

Yeah. It was also Knives who said to Zazie that both he and Vash crashed the ships... trying to stop us. From doing exactly what Knives tried to do the very instant he got the chance.

The thing is, Knives does everything he can to look like he's right by positioning himself as the most authoritative source, but he isn't ever backed up by like... facts. Or evidence. Or reality. Or anything. Ever. He crowned himself king of the Plants. He speaks and acts for them by divine right, apparently. He didn't take a vote or anything - in his mind it's self-evident only he understands the world, and Vash, and the correct way to use the Plants. Because remember that it's not using Plants he gives a damn about, even using them to death in the Last Run, as long it's him doing it. It's being dependent upon humans; he views providing for our basic survival needs as wasteful and inherently, exclusively parasitic, even if we're helping the Plants to survive in turn. Because it's humans that he's frightened of, and he wants the yucky things gone.

The thing is, when he's not being purposefully manipulative (though Vash is the only one he manipulates in person, probably because Vash is the only one he pays enough attention to for his tactics to be effective) he's being a dense fucking idiot. At very few points do his delusions intersect with reality.

The thing is, Knives is a known, proven, and entirely unrepentant liar. It's the logical extension of the way he gaslights Vash. He is in no way a trustworthy source of information.

All that he says is part of a heroic narrative about being the specialest boy evar that he came up with to avoid taking any blame or responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Knives considers himself perfect, but he's made plenty of mistakes, which I do think he would consider mistakes - among them Rem's death, alienating Vash, cutting off his arm and rendering him disabled, and what I suspect to be the large number of Plants killed in the Fall, along with the ones consumed by the Last Run in the desperation that followed.

So he tells himself... little stories. Inside his head. It's how he reconciles it. It's how he copes.

Basically, if you want to find any truth in anything Knives ever says, look closely at what he says, and believe the opposite.

Now, onto my girl and how completely fantastic she is.

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

[aihoshiino]

LIKE SHITS AND GIGGLES ASIDE it just sucks like. Ruby really didn't... have a proper arc with a proper conclusion in the end. like. i don't mind that she aborted her villain protagonist arc and deactivated her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to become a brocon because, y'know, regardless of how you feel about that stuff there IS actual discussion to be had about her feelings, if they're understandable or not, the nature of her relationship to Aqua and Gorou and how for Ruby this new life is like just a continuation of her life as Sarina due to how young she died as opposed to Aqua... like maybe i'm biased but it feels really meh in particular that Kana and Akane got their chances to really showcase their grief while Ruby didn't. like the second main character doesn't deserve a chapter to break down???

but NOPE it just. happens? and then she just becomes Ruby 2.0 which is awful bc like. like you said it's SO not a fate that Ai or honestly i think even Aqua would've really wanted for her. it was not a fate she wanted for herself. like, Ruby surpassing Ai should've been about Ruby being an Idol in her own way that made her happy, and now she's just... a liar like Ai was? it's honestly like... a really horrible outcome for her it makes me sad just to think about it.

like ONK still has a really special place in my heart i'll always love it just. man this ending needed SO MUCH MORE TIME to make it work. i really think the bittersweet/tragic ending could've worked given it's been implied since day 1 but good lord that race to the end was just ugh. i feel like ONK with two more full volumes might've been able to fix this but idk. i'm just.... maaaaan Ruby my girl you at least deserved a full chapter just to grieve

IT SUUUUUUUUUUUCKS. I feel like I was constantly ragging on Ruby in like all of my chapter reviews lol but that was entirely because I was so mad that the narrative was treating her like such dogshit. I was so so SO excited about the arc she was being set up to have during the preproduction phase of the movie arc - the idea of her being faced with the abuse Ai went through and having that literally trigger her to such a degree that it causes a similar crisis of identity/split between her and Sarina that we've already seen in Aqua and Gorou was sooooo fucking juicy and I felt like it was exactly the kind of arc that Ruby really needed, especially if Akasaka wanted her to be the major focal point of the second half of the manga as he apparently did.

But the INSTANT the past life reveal happened, it felt like that stuff all just got wiped clean with no interest in letting her naturally reconcile with it. I think I said before that like... I can totally understand if Akasaka had just accidentally dug Ruby into a bigger hole than intended and wasn't sure how to more organically get her out of it, because sometimes that DOES happen, especially in a serialized story where you're at least a little bit writing by the seat of your pants. So if that reveal was Akasaka kind of soft resetting Ruby to get her back on her feet for the Movie Arc, I totally understand needing to do that even if it's frustrating.

But even once Ruby's back in her feet, the story just... isn't interested at all in her inner world? There's no time given to her having any kind of complicated feelings about Gorou reincarnating as her brother or how she might be processing the changes this necessitates in their relationship. She just instantly pings into wanting his dick and she spends the rest of the manga not having those feelings taken seriously while also being disallowed from actually processing and potentially moving past them, because god forbid a female lead in a manga have a life outside the male lead.

Idk! Ruby deserved better is all I can really say. As frustrated as I got with her & the way she was coddled and spoonfed by the narrative in the back half of the story, those are ultimately issues with how Akasaka was just failing to respect her as a character who could stand on her own as a protagonist and aren't inherent to Ruby herself. It just sucks that her story ends on such a crappy note for her, in more ways than one.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i think i've mentioned The Magnus Archives before, but i wanted to talk about it again, in connection with Catra's redemption. The Magnus Archives is a fictional horror podcast with an overarching storyline and amazingly written characters.

[spoilers for TMA below]

one of the themes that was briefly explored in the final season was about forgiveness. it was a very brief moment but it really stuck with me so i'll share it with y'all.

this right here was so important. for context, one of the characters, Daisy Tonner, was a cop who frequently engaged in police brutality. there was nuance to this since she was an Avatar of the Hunt but simply put, she thought she was doing the right thing. regardless of her intentions, a lot of people were killed or grievously harmed by her. for similar reasons, she tries to kill Jon, the protagonist.

later after disconnecting from her entity, Daisy realizes her mistakes and feels painfully guilty about everything. she couldn't bring back the dead, she couldn't reverse anything that she had done. all she could do at that point was to just stop engaging in violence and try to be a better person.

she bonds with Jon after some time of mutual awkwardness. Jon, being lonely himself, wasn't entirely opposed to talking to her and they even form a friendship of sorts. for context, Jon has hurt people too and he could relate with Daisy's guilt and her attempts at redemption.

in the transcript i shared above, Jon is discussing her crimes with the other characters. the thing that was so refreshing about Daisy's redemption is that Jon wasn't forced to forgive her. she put him through an extremely traumatizing and agonizing situation that he couldn't forget. his trauma was taken seriously and while he had begun to consider Daisy as his friend, that doesn't mean he forgave her. and she knew that. she understood that she didn't deserve forgiveness, but she still worked on trying to be a better person.

and later on in the series, Jon even expresses his appreciation for her friendship and admits to wanting to say goodbye to her.

i feel like this is the best way to write a redemption arc. of course it's nice seeing the bad guy being forgiven and accepted by the other characters. but sometimes you have to acknowledge that some people go too far and while they deserve a redemption, they don't deserve forgiveness. the other characters can still appreciate and respect their attempts at redemption, and even become their friend but without being forced to forgive them.

contrast this to SPOP where literally all of the characters have to forgive Catra after everything she's done to them. it doesn't matter how much damage she caused, as soon as she expresses the tiniest bit of guilt, she is instantly forgiven. there's no question of how the other characters feel, their trauma is not valid.

also, i have a feeling that if any of the characters refused to forgive Catra, she would have immediately thrown a hissy fit and spiralled right back to square one. i mean, look at her reaction to Frosta punching her.

by the way, i want to add that Daisy was also a traumatized character. she was also a sympathetic antagonist and she was partially controlled by the Hunt (whether the entities controlled their avatars or not was an unanswered question but it was confirmed that the Avatars were at least 80% in control of themselves). but she still did what she did and no amount of tragic backstory could justify her actions. if only the writers of SPOP actually stopped to think this through, instead of just hyperfocusing on getting Catra and Adora together.

anyway, if you like cosmic/existential horror, lots of angst, deep psychological stuff, complex morally grey characters, and queer representation, i highly recommend TMA! it's the whole package.

[masterjedilenawrites]

On this here February 1st, I'll be showing some love for the 21st Nova Corps, a unit lead by Marshal Commander Bacara and Jedi General Ki-Adi-Mundi. I couldn't find any other named clones from this unit outside of Bacara, and I haven't written for this guy before, so I'll do some headcanons just for him :)

The 21st Nova Corps

I did a quick dive on Wookiepedia first, and here were some things that stood out to me from what's apparently already been canonized:

The 21st Nova Corps has a reputation for being relentless and exceptionally conditioned/disciplined.

This is in large part due to Bacara having super high expectations, he will kick anyone who doesn't meet them out of the squad, even without Ki-Adi-Mundi's approval.

Actually described as being "at odds with" Mundi, though in another section was said to have a grudging respect for him.

Bacara utilizes aggressive tactics and is extremely strict. He ignores the recommended GAR practice for commanders to remain inconspicuous in battle, and instead chooses to lead his troops from the front.

He's described as a loner and stern. I saw somewhere he was besties with Neyo, too, and they developed combat techniques together.

With that foundation, here are some headcanons I have for him:

Doesn't talk much, but not because he's shy or emotionally constipated. He really only cares about war and rarely meets people who are interested in discussing the topic with as much passion.

Like seriously, he has no other hobbies or interests. Music? Never heard of it. Sports? Boring. Holo-films? Food? Knitting? Yeah no, he's already walking away from this conversation.

If he is comfortable with someone though, he can talk about battle strategies for daaaays.

Fucking hates milk.

Has a mind for improvement. Not quite a perfectionist, he just won't ever settle for "good enough" when something better is still achievable.

Thus, he's constantly working angles in his head, coming up with possible solutions, thinking outside the box. Even for common, everyday situations like getting out of traffic or folding the laundry.

Jason Bourne vibes.

Has one small tattoo on his foot, will never say what it is.

Natural at picking up languages. Fluent in Mando'a but can carry simple conversations in plenty of others. 

Spends his R&Rs pouring over wartime history/strategy books in the archives, with a beer.

If someone asked him on a date, he would straight-up say "why?" So confused.

He would be a pretty good partner, though, if he ever opened himself up romantically.

And if he could ever find someone who meets his high standards...

I also read that he was featured on a GAR campaign poster, and I firmly believe he secretly has a massive print of it taped to the back of his closet door.

Can not roll his tongue. Every other clone can and it pisses him off.

Has the best laugh you've ever heard in your life. He does use it occasionally, but very randomly. Not even his squad has been able to work out what exactly his sense of humor is.

His squad... All are just as intense and passionate as their commander. When they're not fighting, they're training to fight. There's no room for shenanigans or relaxing.

Other clones keep a respectful distance. They know the Nova Corps get sent to some pretty hardcore places.

Most of them have never set foot in 79s, or any bar for that matter.

Bacara goes every once in a while, because he does like a good beer, but he's very out of place. Just... kinda sits there... not doing anything...

He gets hit on a lot because he's smoking hot but has never taken anyone home. Not opposed to the idea of getting laid, but it would take a lot to catch his eye.

Eeeevery once in a while, when life gets a little too still and his thoughts wander past all the combat tactics and weapon factoids that are usually in the way, a deep and vulnerable feeling makes its way to the surface and almost cripples him: loneliness.

He has no idea what to do about it, so rather than face it like he would a charging battalion of droids, he instead pushes it right back down and moves on.

Okay but now I'm imagining Queer Eye showing up to help Bacara find some hobbies and a girlfriend 😂

Every Character Tag: @dangerousstrawberrypie, @justanothersadperson93, @arctrooper69, @sleepycreativewriter, @techie-bear, @theroguesully, @cw80831

Other Clones Tag: @kaijusplotch, @lucyysthings, @marvel-starwars-nerd, @severalseashellsbytheseashore (it won't let me tag you), @lackofhonor, @flowered-bicycles, @foodmoneyandcats, @mishakoon

✨Join A Tag List Here!✨

🌟 2024 Clone Battalion Series Master List | 🌙 Master List of Master Lists

[notablogtwiy]

Okay this is mostly just for fun and not meant to be taken so seriously. I think shipping is okay as long as it stays in fan communities and people don't harass the actual people about it. But even then, this is mostly just fun/wishful thinking:

For a long time, I had it the back of my mind that Spencer has a crush on Angela. And for a while I didn't think it was reciprocated. But with today's video and a few recent ones I'm starting to think that it is lol.

Thank you for this message and I'm also sorry because I'll probably ramble on now because I can't help but gush when it comes to them.

I agree with the shipping thing, and that's why I was hesitant to make that Spangela moments post. It might get misinterpreted. They are simply my favorite Smosh members and I love seeing them as a duo, that's all. Does the idea of them together sound great? Sure, but it's just an idea. And it's just like you said, as long as people are respectful and know how to stay within the fandom and not make it weird, then it's cool. You can have fun without being creepy or invasive. I'm so glad they're not a "popular ship" because I don't want people sending them stuff or having them see things that would make them uncomfortable and affect their friendship and how they interact. It's very important to remember that they are real people and we do not actually know them.

But yes, just for pure and harmless fun, I've had very similar thoughts to yours, hahahaha. Spencer was the whole reason I started noticing their dynamic in the first place. I really can't explain it, but the way he is with her is just different. The way he talks about her and hypes her up. Even the way he teases her is different to me than how he does it with everyone else. It feels like he really gets her and knows her very well. It's just a feeling, of course, I know that. But to me, it's so obvious how much he admires and adores her. In what way? Who knows. I only know that it's really adorable and I very much enjoy it. I feel like with Spencer, he doesn't hide how charming and funny he finds her. Now, Angela is a little harder to read and she has such a unique dynamic with everyone, too. But you can still see the difference in how she is with him as well, especially now. You can definitely tell that they appreciate each other and that they have gotten so close and become such great friends over time, best friends, I'd say. And it absolutely melts my heart. They're very different, but they're also more alike than people may realize, and I can write an entire essay about that. But I won't, I've already made this answer too long, I'm sorry, lol.

[34saveme34]

yknow, been thinking about something

yea, this is gonna be one of those serious and critical posts cuz like

the more episodes come out, the more I see it

not to say I don't enjoy stuff in the episodes, of course I do! for example characterisation today was absolutely 10/10, I saw someone else say the pacing was really fast and- yeah but to me, I can excuse it for the effect it was giving, which was showing how Tari was slowly more and more stressed

now.... okay. alright

probably not the like, most popular opinion but like- I feel there's been a writing decision that's been to the detriment of the show, especially with how some people handle it which REALLY bothers me

which is the whole "the show is about comedy!!" thing which I think is pushing the show in the wrong direction

like. NO!! This show is a lot of things, a lot of things meshed together making this wonderfully diverse storywise show. It's not just comedy, there's also tragedy, horror and not just one type! I wish they did more horror episodes

and as I was thinking about it, I remembered something about some older episodes (older as in 2020-2022) especially the arc stuff

like when stuff was going down, it was taken seriously and jokes are kept to a minimal degree in like, serious moments

I don't know- there's something about some serious moments these days that don't feel as genuine as it did then, especially with how the lore is mentioned sometimes. I wonder if they even still respect it to begin with :(

also I guess stuff just tied together so much better back then than it did with Puzzles

like no matter what you say, compared to Puzzles but even on his own, Niles had a perfect set up and in general he had a really good like- the plot. god the plot

it felt so GOOD like plot holes are few and that I can't think of right now because it was THAT. GOOD

with Puzzles I immediately recoil in pain as I remember him pre vs post Puzzlevision

like Idk I have theories on why it's this way but maybe one day I'll like, actually look at the smaller details, as in around what was going on at these days vs now but it just feels like they have such a- different attitude. But something that never seems to change at least is there always being bad and great episodes in all eras of this damned show

anyways yea if like- someone wants to discuss/debate about the show's writing go ahead, I'll probably have a lot of words for it

despite um- I just feel like I don't know everything that is there to know yknow? I'll work on it

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

It's so annoying to see people in the tag comparing Byler to other queer ships that didn't happen like no Byler is unique and wasn't made by bad writers. Idk if you were in one of those fandoms but it would be amazing if you could explain to all those people why Byler was written differently because I am tired of the classic: "they are queerbaiting you,deal with it". I am like :" wow they queerbaited the Lgbt+ community and the heterosexuals too then because a huge majority of the GA audiences who see Byler aren't from the Lgbt+ community". They also made the "main" ship do unlikeable that it lost at least 40% of their supporters between season 3 and season 4.

Well, I can see where they're coming from, even if I don't agree.

I have never been involved in a fandom before, but I have been a fan of shows/movies where I thought "so and so would make a good couple" only for nothing to come of it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, though. This is the first time I've ever thought it was going to happen, and I've felt that way since season 2. Each season since has left me disappointed, as I don't want it to be a final episode "twist" in order to avoid losing fans, but it's still only become more and more obvious to me that it's inevitable.

I think a lot of fans get caught up in headcanons, particularly between seasons. As a result, they end up forgetting what is actually canon, and they create elaborate predictions that just don't fit the reality.

Yes, queerbaiting is a thing. I'm not familiar with many of the fandoms that this is used with, but I'll give the fans the benefit of the doubt on it. If a show hints at a queer couple, that's not enough for it to be queerbaiting. But if they continually build it up, only for it to go nowhere, then it might be. If they actively use it as a means to market the show, then it definitely is.

Without knowing more about specific fandoms, it's hard for me to make any direct comparisons. I suppose, should, somehow, Byler not be endgame, then I'll probably understand a lot better. However, I will also be extremely confused and will have lost considerable respect for the Duffers as writers.

However, Byler is a unique animals, as far as I can tell. It's something that has had seeds planted to it from the very beginning of the show. It's not some response to fans that the producers felt they could then exploit for marketing/merchandising purposes. It may not have been obvious back in season 1, but the clues were there. There was no retconning done to make Byler fit. There was no sly stoking of the flames in the fandom to get fans excited about it. That all happened organically as more and more people caught on.

I don't think the Duffers are dumb. They built a slowburn same-sex romance between main characters over the course of an entire top-tier series. As much as it annoyed me that it's taken this long, it does make the most sense, both in-universe and as a matter of mass appeal. Both the fans and the characters themselves had to come to terms with teen boys falling in love in the 80s. That's not something to be rushed if it's to be taken seriously.

Will, the one we've been told was gay, has come to terms with his feelings, only to come to the conclusion that it's not meant to be.

Mike, the one we've seen to have more-than-friendly feelings for Will, is still not ready, yet.

Season 5 will be the catalyst for Mike to realize what his deep feelings for Will really mean, so he can show Will that love is something for him to experience.

[hresvelged]

 ♫ HAPPY HOLIDAYS~ ♪ 

by all accounts, a princess and a pauper should not have much in common—two born to different destinies, forever expected to remain stationed at their respective ends of the spectrum. in spite of that, it hadn't taken dorothea long to find the common thread between them. whether one was deemed important and the other insignificant, it was still a terribly lonely path to walk. both bound by a longing for something more than what their titles afforded them, both with bright eyes fixed on a kinder future, one that might allow them to choose their own fates rather than follow the whims of wicked men.

maybe that's why she approaches her esteemed house leader in a more pensive mood this time around, though still happy to see her. "beautiful evening, isn't it, edie?" and it is, to dorothea. the sunset is remarkable, woven with lilacs and rosy oranges, the gentle gusts of wind carrying the scents of spiced goods and the season's fragrant flora. "i was hoping it would be. i wanted to give you your presents on a perfect one."

the corners of the songstress's eyes crinkle affectionately as she takes one of the princess's hands in hers, pressing something cold and metallic into her palm. a charm bracelet, which dorothea points to delicately. her finger first hovers over a musical note, for herself, before moving to the purple bear for bernadetta, a black tome for hubert, and so on. "you may be our future emperor, but you'll always be our friend first and foremost. we'll be there with you every step of the way."

once she’s sure the gift remains secure in edelgard's hand, dorothea retrieves another present from the side. a book, bound in cherry blossom pink and topped off with a silver bow. "and this is for those long nights when you can't sleep. i'm told it's a fantastic read, full of characters and plots that stir the heart." she places the book gently onto the other's lap, but not before a small giggle escapes. "you know, one day, i really am going to write an opera about you, and it'll rival everything you've ever seen or heard. only the best for my edie."

Edelgard is no songstress, but she feels fortunate that the beat of her yet unveiled tune coincides with Dorothea's. "Hello, Dorothea. It would be a shame not to take advantage of this weather." While she prepares herself for conversation, her path curves. It is rare for her to be presented with such heartfelt gifts. Oft is she shown surface level items, plastered by fake smiles and vocals coated in falsities.

In truth, these are words she has wished to hear. It is the emperor's duty to stand by themselves; to take orders from none and herald the empire. Her locked heart presses on. Yet, Edelgard has always hoped to have others to rely on. "You hardly needed..—" She begins before cutting herself off. She is instinctually drawn towards the jewelry and its finer details. Every color and charm is perfectly attuned to someone close. "I'm.. very impressed. This detailing, it's.. Truly incredible. With this.. It's as you say. My friends will always be beside me, isn't that right?"

The princess takes a few seconds to put the bracelet on her right wrist. Hesitant as she usually is to remove her gloves, she thinks she can allow herself to just this once. They lay to her side as she shifts the token proper. It brings life to her skin. While Edelgard is more than content with what she has already received, her eyes widen as she is presented with more. A laugh leaves pink lips, curiosity sparkling in lilacs. "You really do know me well," she says as her palms fall atop the book. "I could use something like this. Once I finish reading, I'll let you know of my opinion. I can even lend you this copy and we can discuss its contents. How does that sound?" Soft of a tone it may be, her usual seriousness remains ever so prevalent.

A pink blush pours on her cheeks as the mention of opera finds itself stirring the air, breaking the eye contact to peer back into her lap. ".. Let us hope that opera continues to remain in the far future. I can't imagine a time where I won't feel flustered over it." If there is a production about her, only time will tell of its finale. She may not have said it aloud, but she would like to watch Dorothea perform such a feat. Not as the the role of the emperor, but of a friend who believed in her.

".. I need to thank you properly. I'm grateful— Not only to know you, but to call yourself a dear friend. It's evident you considered me above all else. That's.. Well, it means more than I can say." Raising her right hand, she taps the musical charm with her left index finger. "You are something truly special, Dorothea." As she lowers her hands to clutch the book into her chest, she smiles: "Hm. Perhaps a sudden question, but.. What would you say to a little trip, you and I? A brief respite away from Garreg Mach. It would please me greatly if you were my company."

[marasschino]

hello! you said to ask about your femadachi thoughts and I would love to hear! when I've considered this, I wonder if she still kills people and if her victims would be men instead or a mix of men and women lol. also wonder who specifically. like she still sees mayumi on the midnight channel first considering everyone sees mayumi first but I'm wondering if she would feel inclined to do anything about that or not... much to consider...

before I start. uh obvious spoilers for p4 lol.

tbh I hadn't thought much about how different the situation or possibly even the different victims adachi would have as a woman before you asked. I'm a sucker for focusing on the changes in relationships first when I do genderbends of characters bc I like inspecting how people act w each other and being a woman would definitely affect adachi's relationships in this case (cough cough work place sexism cough but also nanako). but after giving it much thought I can say with like 83% confidence that I think fem adachi would still kill mayumi and saki. the catch? she's doing this specifically bc namatame becomes her proverbial lab rat she's torturing in the maze that is inaba and she likes the idea of being judge, jury, and eventually executioner for a man she thinks has proved that he is worse garbage then most men are. this is my thesis and I will explain in a long ass essay (under the cut) like the nerd I am.

to start I also wanna add the context that I agree w the tags you left on my art that fem adachi wouldn't be a misanthrope she is a misandrist and internalized misogynist (she's definitely been a misogynist for longer tho). also while she definitely doesn't like mayumi and didn't really have much an opinion on saki, they don't get pushed in the tv bc adachi was coming onto them, but rather bc one of her motives will not pass the bechdel test.

for mayumi in canon adachi calls her out to try and make her feel bad/punish her for being a home wrecker in a things are getting adult rated way, but for fem adachi she is doing it in a women hating women way. Obviously, I think mayumi would be way less standoffish to adachi here, and is like, "oh women that aren't taken seriously gang haha I appreciate a woman reaching out to support me??" until adachi is on mayumi's ass with, "fuck female solidarity. why, as a woman, are you so stupid and dense to let a man be the reason your life is ruined? you aren't taken seriously mayumi-san? oh, its because you threw your life in the trash for some stupid man who thought he could have his cake and eat it too. you give a bad name to women (like me) who actually try to make it in this world." obviously things get heated and mayumi gets scared, then oops! tv push! uh oh!

considering the lack of respect adachi would have for mayumi, she doesn't feel bad about pushing mayumi into the tv at all. as if it's like she gets to punish this woman for having an affair, and later when mayumi is found dead, its like punishing namatame for having an affair by killing his mistress.

for a brief sideline into man killing, once mayumi is found dead adachi probably briefly considers throwing namatame into the tv when she can get his hands on him, especially when she hears about how much this dude genuinely loved mayumi. it makes adachi sick to think that this dude had everything on a silver platter (in her pov) and STILL cheated as if he didn't have enough. but then she probably finds out namatame lost his wife, his job, any public servant opportunities, destroyed his reputation, AND adachi herself got to kill his mistress, and she thinks, "huh. maybe this dude will suffer more if he's actually gotta live with the consequences of his actions all alone. death is the easy way out for him. and if suffering alive is not good enough I'll do something about it later. (:"

so this is where saki comes in. obviously adachi still questions her bc she saw mayumi's body etc, but when she calls saki in a second time for questioning its probably to actually 100% confirm everything (at first) bc adachi here is a woman detective at an office with mostly men who do not take her seriously whatsoever (this also adds to the fact that I think fem adachi is definitely more of a workaholic then adachi in canon but not too relevant here yet). while going thru everything they went over in the first questioning saki brings up namatame and adachi is so all ears. saki says something about how he mentioned the midnight channel and he was being creepy, and adachi's first gut reaction is namatame is a freak (negative) for talking to a teenage girl, and the more she keeps badgering saki about it she realizes something.

namatame thinks he can save saki from being killed bc he saw her on the midnight channel.

now adachi cooks up a wonderful idea: what better way to make a man like him suffer then to keep making him feel like he's failing people who show up on the midnight channel? and adachi? well, she's a strong woman that isn't afraid of a little collateral damage for the sake of cruel and unusual punishment used on a man. even if the collateral damage is a whole teenage girl.

sometimes when adachi thinks too hard about it she probably feels some guilt about saki, but she justifies that by telling herself the girl was already a workaholic, she was struggling, facing the perils of rumors about her being a pathetic and easy girl (cough cough adachi is projecting cough). death was an easy way out for a girl like that. early on she tells herself she gave saki some kind of mercy killing, but the closer adachi gets to losing it near endgame she sheds any guilt she may have had about it and wholeheartedly believes that death was a better avenue for saki and it was necessary to ruin namatame (and by this point also to fuck with narukami bc whatever they got goin on is fucking weird). (a mildly relevant sidenote for saki's death: I'm not a yosuke hater, but fem adachi sure is)

regarding other possible victims, do I think adachi would kill anyone else by pushing them into the tv herself? hm probably not. Not bc she doesn't want to, or didn't derive some satisfaction or perceived usefulness out of the first two, but bc I see adachi as an opportunist killer. any version of adachi is smart as hell despite being a piece of shit, and although fem adachi would have no qualms about eventually killing namatame once he was no longer fun to mess with, getting more premeditated might leave more room for error in her eyes, specifically once she convinced namatame to kidnap people on the midnight channel. once namatame is kidnapping people she knows that means she would have to get to whoever shows on the midnight channel before he does, which is too much of a hassle. also killing someone who wasn't on the midnight channel means she would inadvertently break the pattern of the first two even if the body would be found in the same state. it could also discourage namatame, and if someone realizes the break in the pattern AND if anybody gets caught, authorities might realize there are two murderers AKA it's too risky. the other reason is it's a very tight window for adachi to kill anyone else anyway bc once yukiko is thrown in, anyone thrown in after that might get saved by the IT.

she still throws in mitsuo tho and that was probably her favorite tv toss. that kid definitely pissed her off more then mayumi, for obvious reasons, and (with the exception of narukami) I think fem adachi has a special hatred in her heart reserved for teenage boys.

for fem adachi, she is perfectly satisfied having her little rat namatame run around thinking he's playing hero and causing an absolute mess, she loves ruining a man's life <3 she also doesn't mind knowing dojima is getting put thru the ringer while they're at work, and once she realizes narukami's involved she is interested in seeing what he does bc she's got a weird thing about narukami that's way too much explaining here (but its definitely still got to do with her projecting her issues w men onto him btw). adachi's also enjoying it for the exact same reason as in canon as well. its fun to her, a miserable workaholic who hates her job and the town she lives in.

lastly, I want to thank you for the ask!! I love getting to talk about stuff like this. it's the highlight of my week, and if you personally have other thoughts to share about fem adachi, man I'd love to hear em. this goes for anyone by the way. come scream at me please. here's bonus art for making it to the bottom of this: