#aros antithesis

[starlit-mansion]

i've actually been trying to think very hard if i've had an actual ship outside of my ocs or incidentally liking a 100% canon relationship as part of the story for the past three years and i'm coming up with like... one??? but tbh that one is 99% fan content and i like it just as much nonromantically as well

[greenbloods]

asexual characters in westeros

vaegon. too based for the red keep, too cringe for westeros (targ genes). antithesis of icky old man jaehaerys' idea of an ideal man [a hyper-militaristic strong man who has the hots for his sister-wife and enacts control over the women in his life]. peaces out of the family drama and becomes an archmaester. he and saera are two sides of the same coin. the only way to outlive the red keep is to escape it

varys. kind of low hanging fruit but cmon. though i guess this is more a show canon thing with the one scene between him and oberyn, but it still applies to book canon

larys strong. all credit to the show for making him a foot freak who mostly uses his sexuality as a power thing over alicent. however. i am just a freak for ace evil advisors scheming and conniving because the only thing they have the hots for is power and the Realm. in fact yknow what? skahaz mo kandaq the shavepate is also ace. and tyland lannister. i would make petyr ace to were it not for yknow *gestures broadly at littlefinger*

maegelle. ok so the only ways to escape jaehaerys and alysanne is to refuse to play the game of marriages, right? and you either do that by being saera, or by taking vows against marriage like vaegon. maegelle was promised to be a septa at a young age so i dont know how much being ace played into that decision, but i think it's a nice parallel between her and vaegon and rounds out the trio

maegor. nah im just fucking with you. but imagine, right?

stannis. ok canonically he does share melisandre's bed willingly and not just for shadowbaby making purposes but to me he is ace. marching off to bed like robert would march off to war, the opposite of robert in every way, ice to his fire. plus it would make the baratheon brothers bi ace and gay respectively and thats something.

cheese of notable gang 'blood and.' yep thats right diversity wins your local ratcatcher childmurderer is ace <3

meera reed. zeroooo evidence for this i just like positing stuff <33

qhorin halfhand. soorryyy to all the manceqhorin truthers out there but when when mance said "the Halfhand was carved of old oak, but I am made of flesh" that was all the confirmation i needed. plus half the watch is gay so i think everyone was looking at qhorin like he was the odd guy out who took his oath to the watch too seriously while everyone else was rolling their eyes at old man Q too proud to get it down in mole's town

blackfish. 100% ace and aro this is literally canon he doesnt want to get married hes not interested in it. in this world where to be a be a woman is to marry and to be a man is to marry and to marry is to consummate he refuses to participate in the system outright!! he takes a nice nepo uncle job with his niece in the vale and settles down for 20 years as the seven intended. aroace blackfish is real to me.

[nepcoinz]

SEX DENIER FLAG

[pt: SEX DENIER FLAG]

[ID: flag 1 ID: an image of a flag made up of the colours mauve/purple, white, black, and grey. the white encompasses more of the flag than the other colours. the flag has a thin red "X" (cross) ontop of it. flag 2 ID: an image of a flag made up of the colours mauve/purple, white, black, and grey. the white encompasses more of the flag than the other colours. end ID]

read pinned post before interacting !!

the sex denier flag, can also be called the antithesis of sexual attraction flag is an exclusively ace/acespec term related to this post where one literally cannot get anyone to have sex with them, however much they try. it is against there power to even get anyone to try have sex with them. igot OP's permission to make this.

OP is @abcwordsurge (feel free to ask to be removed !!) (sorry for posting so late !! ive been busy recently !!)

(https://www.tumblr.com/abcwordsurge/750959547026407425/im-not-so-much-sex-repulsed-as-i-am-a-sex-denier)

[pt: the sex denier flag, can also be called the antithesis of sexual attraction flag is an exclusively ace/acespec term related to this post(link) where one literally cannot get anyone to have sex with them, however much they try. it is against there power to even get anyone to try have sex with them. igot OP's permission to make this.]

aro version

(https://www.tumblr.com/nepcoinz/751481806505787392/romance-denier-flag)

[pt: aro version]

keep in mind blog owner of this blog is a minor and does not make sexual terms. thank you.

[pt: keep in mind blog owner of this blog is a minor and does not make sexual terms. thank you.]

pinned post

(https://www.tumblr.com/nepcoinz/750797364194885632/id-a-thin-very-light-blue-divider-end-id-dni)

[pt: pinned post(link)]

[just-a-carrot]

hiii!! just was wondering as an arospec person !! probably not intended hkdjhek but i just wanted to let you know that orlam and cecil to a certain extent read as very aro coded to me? i think that's why orly also appeals to me on.a certain level because their dynamic is SOO inchwresting because they are each other's antithesis in a way. anyway much love to the game just wanted to let you know !!

fhdhdh I have officially stated that Orlam is grayromantic!! admittedly only in a few posts I think. also iggy is demiromantic. I see Iggy as needing a deep connection before he can develop any romantic feelings or connections. while with Orlam his connection to romance is very undefined (and even he doesn't fully understand it) and can also differ wildly with different ppl or in different contexts

[fuckmeyer]

Do you think the Volturi would ever get desperate enough to make their own newborn army to continue being in power?

yes, but actually no

Yes

the Guide says they overthrew the Romanians by "launching a successful war." really, they just convinced a bunch of vamps to go to war for them for 100+ years on the premise that it was mutually beneficial for everyone to follow certain laws.

here's the thing. the tactic of newborn armies didn't exist until Benito tried to pull it off in the 1800s. end result: the Volturi came in full force & exterminated the newborns. this lil anecdote in vampire history tells us that 1) while the Volturi have gone to war, they have not experimented with newborn armies. & 2) when faced with a challenge to their doctrine, they do attack.

fast-forward like 200 years. in Second Short Life of Bree Tanner, they threaten to punish Victoria for creating a newborn army but give her the chance to destroy the Cullen clan first. it seems, given the right adversary, the Volturi are willing to bend their rules...

they have a history of starting wars, combat, & breaking their rules.

But actually no

their whole shtick is noninterference & secrecy. they've gained power through soft diplomacy & quiet hard diplomacy. (amassing an arsenal of talented vamps, spreading their doctrine, solidifying their reputation etc). potential problems are resolved quickly & discreetly. a newborn army is the antithesis of their mission & their strategy. bottom line, they would lose a lot of power & credibility by openly flouting their own philosophy.

"ok but 'yes, but actually no' is a non-answer"

NO, the Volturi would not get desperate enough to create a newborn army. they would prefer an elite, highly trained team of talented statesmen & gifted vampires over a hoard of volatile newborns. under the right conditions, however, they might wage a proxy war.

imo, they would be at their "most desperate" when they lose everything: the guard, the coven, & the reputation. even then, i don't think they would resort to outright creating a newborn army.

from the Guide: "Aro called his soldiers “the Volturi guard,” making it clear that they were subservient to the actual coven of five." there are 9 permanent members of the guard & more transitory members, all of which he views as his "collection." "Ambition was [the coven's] bonding element. [...] Rank in the guard is decided by power."

there's already tension among the guard fighting for their rank within the system (or to be a permanent member).

post-Breaking Dawn, the Volturi's reputation has taken a hit. covens have lost faith in their ability to lead. morale is down in the guard; perhaps some transitory members take a hike. the Volturi already rely heavily on vampires who modify relationships & mental states i.e. Chelsea, Corin, Marcus. they're all in this stupid club for ambition & power's sake; imagine one of them is dissatisfied with the Volturi's loosening grip on power? imagine the Volturi must quash an exodus in their guard, leading them into a vicious cycle of lost trust & draconian measures? imagine the guard fights with itself as some begin to turn on the Volturi...?

if the core Volturi coven don't have their guard, what do they have? a telepath (Aro), a relationship identifier (Marcus), regular-ass Caius, & two regular-ass wives who don't even want to be there. in addition, they have their reputation & their abilities as statesmen. that's it.

[consider this: "If a vampire remains unmoving often enough over thousands of years, dust begins to petrify in response to the venom-like liquids that lubricate his eyes and skin." Bella notices this milky film over their eyes. she also doesn't notice any vampire scars. it's probable the kings have seen little to no combat in centuries, if ever.]

if the guard turns on them, & they've lost reputation with the other covens, what would they do? the wives might dip bc being stuck at home for hundreds of years kinda soured them on the whole "being married" shit. Marcus would ask for death lmao. that leaves Aro & Caius. (possibly Jane/Alec/& other loyal guards.) considering the guards' experience w/ newborn armies, really the only way out of this is negotiating the kings' freedom. openly creating their own newborn army would permanently destroy their reputation, & their ties with other covens will become their greatest asset when the guard turns.

tl;dr worst case scenario, in response to an existential threat i see them saving their own hides & fucking off into obscurity while they figure out their next moves (which would largely involve diplomacy, rebuilding their "collection," & proxy wars).

[imatardyfreakngeek]

As an aro ace I feel so seen. This is like the antithesis of that gay James Bond music video (which does, I must admit, slap)

No I’m not attracted to you. Quit your evil putting your finger under my chin to make me look up at you. I know I’m your nemesis and all but we really need to set some boundaries when you’ve got me tied up like this.

[unlimited-sciuridae]

Yeah im gonna complain a second into the void. As an asexual it's frustrating to see "im ace/aro im using alastor to explore myself" and then read the most cringe inducing Amatonormative adjacent BS I've seen in a long time.

If you can only conceive of a relationship as romantic and/or sexual and are unable to imagine anything else you are boring. At least give me some text about the nebulous nature of attraction for an a-spec but so much out there is indistinguishable from allo nonsense. To say nothing of the porn without plot. But alas it's porn it's the equivalent of barbies smashing against each other without any introspection.

Thankfully I have seen genuine exploration of Grey areas and """"non traditional""" relationships, even content about how kink things work for aces...I've found the antithesis to everything I'm complaining about. But I'm just frustrated at the moment.

Another thing with the Fandom sense of "he's hot so I can sexualize him/hes hot i want to romantically have him" which listen. 99% of the time I'm laughing at in good humor but that 1% of the time I've been reminded of how """hot""" a-spec people irl get treated and it sits wrong. Which again fictional character and all that yadda yadda.

And Thankfully I can just rant into the void and get it out of my system. I'm not gonna go after anyone or anything like that it's just

Frustrating and boring sometimes you know?

[dumbpoemjuice]

Mania

So first of all, I know this makes me an idiot, or a fool, for feeling this way at all. For feeling this way about you. For letting these feelings be real, take root in my heart and spread like a plague into my mind, leading in its wake to the most disastrous decaying of any semblance of rational thought.

In that way I suppose it's not much worse or far surpassed by any other inability of mine to act on logic or think with reason.

But in its own way this little thing has become so large, outgrowing my ability to contain it, to keep it bottled in, and now this beautiful thing rears it's ugly head and I still don't know what to feel, how to feel, or what feeling even is anymore.

To call this love would be to laugh in the face of what you are. But to ignore this love is pain, but pain is nothing compared to not knowing what this love is. I know I love you. I know you want to be loved. But what I worry more each passing moment when I don't speak my heart is that my love may never be the right shape, square peg in a round hole, to fill your heart.

But when did this become about you. Your careful tentative sips of an unknown substance and the years that it will take for you to decide. The world always a little too bright and loud, washing out your complexion and drowning out your voice. Weighing down on your fragile mind until it all becomes too much. Your fragmented self put together with parts of these and bits of that, each page in your endless sea of books painstakingly inked and tenderly turned.

But when did this become about you. Just as much I too am made of bits of this and parts of those, though I might face this world a little brighter and louder than you, still my pages are untrimmed, rough around the edges with what I surely save by refusing to discard. My fragile mind has grown a shell, this hollow home to what I know would just as soon be squished without. But now I am a shell, just a home because no longer is it clear to what I call this home.

This is agape, but no, because to me you are worth more. This is philia, but to claim such a grand and consuming thing would come so easily could never be all the truth. So then this is Eros, the antithesis to Aros though, so then I have no choice but to accept the truth. This is Mania. All-consuming love.

[aros-antithesis]

A new design is up on my store! https://www.redbubble.com/i/sticker/Surrealist-Antithesis-by-Aros-Antithesis/129500202.EJUG5

[chissjedi]

I mentioned being ace because my default is NOT to ship characters. I have many headcanons that characters are aro/ace and ships in queer-platonic relationships.

But I understand that shipping is a fundamental part of fandom culture. To gatekeep which characters you are allowed to imagine together is the antithesis of fandom.

So, yes, I am often annoyed by shippers, but that is no excuse to bully real people over fictional characters. Stay in your lane, block words and users you don't like, and have fun.

this is a PSA from your neighborhood ace asking you not to be an asshole

[nepcoinz]

ROMANCE DENIER FLAG

[pt: ROMANCE DENIER FLAG]

[ID: flag 1 ID: an image of a flag made up of the colours dark green, white, black, and grey. the white encompasses more of the flag than the other colours. the flag has a thin red "X" (cross) ontop of it. flag 2 ID: an image of a flag made up of the colours dark green, white, black, and grey. the white encompasses more of the flag than the other colours. end ID]

please read pinned post before interacting !!

the romance denier flag, can also be called the antithesis of romance attraction flag is an exclusively aro/arospec term related to and the opposite of this post where one literally cannot get anyone to have a romantic relationship with them, however much they try. it is against there power to even get anyone to try have a romantic relationship with them. igot OP's permission to make this.

op is @abcwordsurge (ask to be removed !!)

(https://www.tumblr.com/abcwordsurge/750959547026407425/im-not-so-much-sex-repulsed-as-i-am-a-sex-denier)

[pt: the romance denier flag, can also be called the antithesis of romance attraction flag is an exclusively aro/arospec term related to and the opposite of this post(link) where one literally cannot get anyone to have a romantic relationship with them, however much they try. it is against there power to even get anyone to try have a romantic relationship with them. igot OP's permission to make this.]

ace version

(https://www.tumblr.com/nepcoinz/751374449011572736/sex-denier-flag)

[pt: ace version(link)]

pinned post

(https://www.tumblr.com/nepcoinz/750797364194885632/id-a-thin-very-light-blue-divider-end-id-dni)

[pt: pinned post(link)]

[theo-the-cat-guy]

Are people being pissy about terminology that includes them just as an inherent part of it's being an antithesis to another term? Again? A term that defines itself exclusively in relation to another term can't be offensive or derogetory unless the root term inherently includes offensive or derogatory undertones (ie. Defining blackness in relation to whiteness, which was made up almost exclusively as a way to other people and portray them as lesser, as with just about every historical racial divide). Unless you are somehow saying that being aro or ace is terminology that oppresses or proclaims the superiority of those under its umbrella: I don't understand the issue here. Also there is absolutely allonormativity I have no idea what you're on about with that one, lesbians and gays deal with a similar issue from straight people all the time in the form of homophobes trying to sleep with them or date them, and an aroace person would definitely have the same issues in that situation, there is an expectation that people experience the desire for sex and romance, to the point that people (like me, I'm aromantic) who don't are portrayed in media almost exclusively as fundamentally lacking in humanity, this is actually a huge issue in historical portrayals of women who have a whole ass trope of being broken and not whole because they don't love anyone and they don't want to but the big strong man protagonist will save them from their own life to live his instead. Maybe I don't get what you're trying to say but there is absolutely a need for the term to exist, and even if there wasn't: who cares?

as an entire queer trans allosexual i think it's weird when other allosexuals don't like the term allosexual for themselves. it just means not asexual. smacks of cis people who scream and howl and pee their pants about being called cis

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

how would you rank the volturi from least to most cringe (minus afton, of course because Cringe Georg is an outlier and should not be counted)?

I was going to say, you left out the most cringe one.

But alright, let's do this.

Caveat that we don't see much of the Volturi canonically, so this is my going on some major limbs here.

Caius

Look, Caius will light his own witness on fire with 0 regrets. The man defies cringe because there's only brutality and not a single moment wasted questioning it.

There's being certain of your decisions then there's being Caius.

Chelsea

While Chelsea failed when it came to making people like Afton (he was that cringe) she herself can tune relationships such that you don't find a cringey person cringe. That puts her towards the top of the list.

Heidi

By her gift, Heidi is the antithesis of cringe. She is so hot, you want to party with her and buy her timeshare/sketchy vacation package. You don't even question it, you're the one who feels cringe in her presence.

Demetri

Given Demetri's gift and his role and what we see of him, I imagine he's an extrovert and tries to stay on good terms with everybody. It's more or less his job to meet and greet, party, and make the rounds to make sure the Volturi can find who they need to.

To do his job properly, Demetri cannot be cringe.

Aro

While eloquently spoken and amiable from what we see of him, he did spend the entire meeting with Bella and Edward gushing about Carlisle. Neither Bella nor Edward noticed, but it was mildly terrible of him and gets him this spot in cringe jail.

Marcus

Canonically, Marcus is too depressed to function. The man can't say words, he's so depressed. Now, this isn't really cringe, as Marcus is too depressed to be cringe about anything, but it is really weird and probably uncomfortable in prolonged exposure from an outside point of view.

Bella got two seconds of him and she noticed the guy staring into space.

Felix

Canonically, Felix has said cringey things, such as telling Bella she looks hot as a vampire.

That was not necessary, Felix.

(He ranks higher than the others in that we only see him do it once and he's not necessarily cringe by his very nature/position. Had Felix gotten more lines, he'd be bumped up the list).

Renata

We don't see Renata much in canon. We know her backstory from the guide, which has uh some interesting details, and we know she guards primarily Aro.

This means most of her time is spent hanging around Aro, listening into conversations she wouldn't otherwise, and always being there in the room for... awkward moments such as someone's execution or painful conversations.

It's not so much Renata's cringe herself, but her very presence in moments where you'd just want to be talking to Aro, Caius, or Marcus means she's there too.

Corin

Corin isn't so much cringe herself, but she brings cringe with her. Her very power is to get you stoned. Corin is constantly the one sober person at a party, surrounded by people too drunk to function.

Jane and Alec

They're twelve forever. Twelve is the cringiest age in the world. Imagine being cringe forever with no hope of escape while also being two lethal death machines. The only person who will talk to you about pokemon is your sibling.

Eleazar

This one's more of a topic of hot debate, as our narrators think kindly about Eleazar but reading between the lines he was politely shown the door.

Afton

Look, he has to get mentioned. Infamous for being universally disliked and entirely useless.

[queer-queries]

hello all! welcome to my queer advice blog!

this is my blog where i will do my best to give any advice on queer-related topics to those who need some! i know there are plenty of blogs like this already, but i wanted to make my own because i know that if i had had someone to ask these questions to when i was struggling, it would’ve saved me so much pain, so i want the chance to be for someone the person that i wish i’d had! below is some basic information about me and this blog!

about me-

- my name is reign and my pronouns are she/her

- i am a queer/genderqueer aroace sapphic bi lesbian

- i am autistic and have ADHD, OCD, depression, and NPD

- i am not a minor, but i am not really an adult either. i don’t pretend to be some queer expert, especially since i’m young, but i still have some knowledge and advice and want to put that to good use.

- i love music, writing, poetry, songwriting, queer theory, and queer studies

- i am a staunch inclusionist when it comes to the queer community. i think policing queer terms is the antithesis of queer solidarity and does literally no good. sometimes lesbians are bisexual and/or guys. sometimes trans women use he/him pronouns. sometimes your gender is related to flowers. get over it. i will not tolerate exclusionism on my page.

about this blog-

- you can ask for advice on anything queer-related

- you can vent about negative experiences or share positive experiences

- you can ask respectful questions about queer topics/identities you don’t understand

- i will post about queer validation, queer solidarity, and queer joy

- i will occasionally share my own experiences

- i will not give medical advice (so if you need medical advice in terms of transition, i highly recommend the blogs @genderpunks and @transgenderteensurvivalguide )

boundaries-

- do not use they/them pronouns on me

- do not send me discourse. i will delete it.

- do not interact with me if you are bigoted in any way.

- if you are a queer exclusionist but you still need advice on something, you can send an ask and i will still answer you because all queer people deserve kindness in their questioning. but if you bring your exclusionism into it or try to invalidate me or others, your ask will not be answered.

that’s pretty much it for now! could i get a boost? @justlgbtthings @genderpunks @transgenderteensurvivalguide @trans-mom @stopcannibalizingourown @genderkoolaid @wearequeer-andwearehere @makingqueerhistory @1000lesbians @soft-sapphic-love @kenochoric @neopronouns @sapphicspoonie @sapphic-sprite @intersexfairy @queerasfact @queercutlureis @our-queer-experience @aspecpplarebeautiful @genderqueerpositivity @aroace-people-are-lgtbq @aro-culture-is @aroaceconfessions @transenbyconfessions 

[therealvinelle]

You've said before that you think Meyer is a good writer. I'm neutral to her myself but you're the first person in the fandom to say that that I've seen and I was wondering what your reasons were.

Sure thing.

First of, some referential links. In this post I explain why I like Meyer’s worldbuilding, and in this one I explain (in the last reblog - you can get away with skipping the previous posts) why I think her character creation is well done, and in this one I talk about why I like Twilight in the first place, though that post got a bit off-topic.

So, let me first do the disclaimer that I do not think Meyer is perfect.

Her greatest flaw, I’d say, is that what she intends to write isn’t always what ends up on page. Edward is for instance supposed to be the ideal man, chivalrous and the very antithesis of toxic masculinity. His relationship with Bella is supposed to be a love story on part with all the classics. Jacob, too, is intended as a dreamboat. Alice is the ideal BFF, Rosalie is the bitchy Regina George, Esme is the ultimate mother, and all the Cullen relationships are wonderfully happy. Aro is supposed to be a sinister villain and the Volturi are all corrupt.

Now, all of the above is how Bella perceives things, and I’m all for unreliable narrators. All narrators are, to a point, unreliable, and inferring things from fiction is one of my favorite things to do (as you can probably tell if you’ve been following this blog). However, so far as I can tell Meyer didn’t intend for Bella to have no clue what’s going on at any given time.

As it happens, I also think this is one of her strengths. This woman is living on a different planet, her mind is on a level I can’t follow at all, only spectate in silent wonder. What I’m saying is, no author in their right mind would write Twilight. No one would write Edward as delightfully unhinged as he is, for starters, not without toning him down significantly (just look at how the movies toned him down). To say nothing of how Bella would be a much more functional person, and in turn much less interesting. Aro would be an actual villain, and Twilight as a whole would not be so overwhelmingly bleak.

Her strengths come through in that she’s consistent about it, and while she interprets things differently than I do, she is still the creator of this bizarre universe and one who knows it intimately well. Does she think Edward is great, yes. Did she also write Midnight Sun without pulling any punches, also yes.

I’d put it this way, the flaw of hers that I’m trying to get at is that she creates this rich and horrifying universe and gets full credit from me for that, but she views it through rose-tinted glasses. Which in turn leads to some interesting writing and plotting decisions.

She has one other significant flaw that comes to mind. She’s not good at cutting things.

This goes for both scenes and plotlines. There’s a lot of filler in these books, from Bella making enchiladas in Twilight, to New Moon taking far too long in Jake’s garage and with Bella’s depression before things start happening again, to Breaking Dawn being 2/3rds filler (the wedding, honeymoon, and vampire euphoria especially come to mind.) There’s a lot of stuff in these books that weren’t necessary to the plot. The Host suffer from this as well.

To say nothing of the bigger things she should have cut, like Jake’s involvement in Breaking Dawn. He’d played out his part, Bella chose to become everything he hated, we were done. The book had more than enough story with Renesmée and the Volturi happening, and Jake’s involvement only served to lower the book’s overall quality. And introduce a pedophilic storyline, which, Meyer no.

Then there are decisions she made where I would have chosen differently, such as Bella returning to Forks at the end of New Moon.

However, this all being said, I am a very difficult person to please. Meyer was never going to tick all my boxes, and while I have points of contention with her, my overall impression is a positive one.

(Just to stress how difficult I am to please: I read Good Omens a few days ago. I liked it very much, but it wasn’t perfect. Shadwell, Madame Tracy, Newt Pulcifer and the Them could all have been cut, for starters.

I’m too critical of everything, and it’s not just Meyer that I think should have cut significant parts of their respective stories and made them into something fundamentally different.)

So, now that I’ve torn her apart, what do I like about her? What, for that matter, do I think constitutes a good writer?

To list a few things I like about her as a writer:

She’s good at writing Her prose is very good, her characters are interesting and engaging people, she’s very good at establishing a scene or a character, and she’s evocative. Her prose never bores me, and it makes me feel things.

She has good ideas Self-explanatory,  really. Her lore is extremely original, her characters are interesting, and she comes up with great backstories and worldbuilding. The Southern Wars, for instance, brilliant.

She’s consistent She’s described this herself - she doesn’t get to decide what her characters do, sometimes they do things she very much does not want them to do and she’s quite put out about it. And that, I think, is the key to why her characterization is so consistent - she doesn’t do that dreaded thing where the author forces a character to do what they must to force the plot along, like cramming a square through a triangular hole, she just lets her characters decide for themselves. As her characters are already delightful people, this works out beautifully (Edward conspiring with Jacob that they should forcibly abort Bella’s baby so Jake can then impregnate her comes to mind. Or Aro, whom she views as a powerhungry maniac, showing up at the battleground and being absolutely devastated about that fact.) as they never do anything they wouldn’t do, and their characterization does not change from one book to another. (Counterexample: look at how Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker turns towards the light when we’re closing in on the end of the movie. It’s unconvincing, to say the least, and runs contrary to what has previously been established about him. The movie does not bother to explain why this happens now, what it is that’s so special about one chat with Han and a duel with Rey that makes him turn his life around, nor why it couldn’t have happened sooner. He is redeemed because the trilogy is nearly over, not because it made sense for his character.)

Her plotting is generally good Her plots make sense, I’m invested in them, and they’re reasonably adapted to her characters’ power levels (The clusterfuck that was the Department of Mysteries showdown in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is an example of the antithesis of that).

Of these virtues, I’d place the most emphasis on Meyer’s writing and character creation.

As for what makes a good writer…

It’s difficult for me to pin down.

It’s chiefly whether I think their writing is good, and that means prose, characters, and plot. As Meyer fulfills all of these three, that puts her in my “good writer” box. She’s not perfect, but she has earned her place as a published author.

More, I enjoy reading her books and care about the story and characters she creates. This is a matter of personal preference, but I’m down for what she’s putting out. It would be disingenuous for me to do that and then say “... but of course, she’s a terrible writer”, in part because I feel that’s become a bit of a disclaimer when it comes to Meyer. It’s like the Emperor’s New Clothes. Stephenie Meyer is a bad writer, everyone knows that, if you think otherwise you have bad taste. She has written things, I’ve enjoyed them all, and I’m giving her full credit for that.

[volterran-wine]

How would the kings react to a chaotic witch mate?

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬, 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐭

Now this is a message that has been sitting here for quite a while in my drafts. Apologies for it taking so long.

I have talked about how I find the integration of "Witchcraft" and "Witches" into the canon quite difficult. Research into the matter is also a huge undertaking, because there are various disciplines, traditions and practices. There isn't ONE witchcraft that exists in our world. If I were to write about witchcraft in the Twilight-Verse at length I think I would have to make my own lore and that is a huge responsibility. Because when I do anything in life I do it properly. This would mean I'd either have to create a separate Lore-Verse from the one I currently write, or somehow combine the two. I am not against the incorporation of it into the world of twilight, but it is a fine balance and needs to be done properly in my opinion.

Another side to it is that I have a huge respect for any spiritual practice, wether it be religion or witchcraft. It is not my place as a white woman with her own moral code to deeply elaborate upon and write those kinds of stories. I do not wish to offend or make light of something that is quite personal to others. I do not write things I do not know. History and mythology is one thing, spiritual practice is another.

But, I always strive to answer questions I do get. So these are my general thoughts of chaos, witchcraft and how that would relate to the kings and The Volturi as a whole.

Chaos is the antithesis to The Volturi. While they have their own moral code at times, they still go by "above all the law". There is nothing less chaotic than the law.

Chaos doesn't have a place in the Volturi court so to speak, because the balance of the world is the most important thing. I imagine Aro would probably the one most welcome to it, he is a deeply curious individual. But anything that could lead down a disastrous path he might nip at the bud. I imagine Caius as deeply skeptical, and not necessarily fond of that sort of practice. He is a man of science, and likes to keep it that way. Marcus I think would be protective regardless, despite his disposition he takes his duties seriously. He might have some curiosity for it like Aro however.

I will not stop answering requests that mention witches, but do know it might be exceptionally vague and will have a deeply fantasy aspect to it. I am truly sorry for rambling, but I just had to get my thoughts out somehow. Perhaps in the future I can wrap my head around the topic in a better way. Then maybe I have my own Magical-Verse I can draw inspiration from.

As a recommendation from me however, @loyalmuse has some excellent stories about how Aro is a witch. @wallwriterstuff also has a wonderful series on Demetri x Witch!Mate that made me cry. I am not as talented as these people when it comes to witches, so send them some love from me.