#but i do like to think that since dh still has the powers too that not everything is entirely lost

[wcvensouls]

" you must forgive me, " for he found it hard to establish the past from the present in the features carried on by dan heng, he who held such uncanny resemblance to someone jing yuan himself had to witness the downfall of. " for while i do understand that you are dan heng, the remanents of your past --- your ancestor --- stir up emotions within me i find it hard to establish. "

regret, mostly, flooded his bones at the sight of dan heng's regular features. not due to his mundane self resembling that of dan feng the most, but due to knowing that behind that exterior was the lingering presence of someone jing yuan had once seen as a dear friend. it brought an uneasy feeling around, blending in with the lingering regret he carried with him despite all this time.

" i cannot expect you to understand , nor i will encourage you to. " for he had simply summoned dan heng to a private audience in order to clear the air of its uncertainties. " however , i wish to share the reason for my ... well , approach to it all , and while the memories of the past might have come flooding to you i ... i only want to say that despite the outcome , the price that had to be paid for the treason , i respected and admired dan feng for what he was and the strength he had. he was a dear friend of mine, dan heng. "

returning to the luofu was strange, even though this place had once been his homeland. although dan feng had gone through the cycle of rebirth and was no longer in this world, dan heng still bore the punishment that was given to his predecessor, as well as the burden of the consequences of his actions, in more ways than one. he should have been cleansed from the sins commited by the previous high elder upon being reborn... yet he understood that things were not quite as simple. he could tell the general that he was not dan feng as many times as he wished, yet there was a part of him that simply understood. perhaps there was also still a part of dan feng lingering inside of him somewhere, one that made him feel a sense of familiarity upon looking at jing yuan's face and made him see a person that should be a stranger as someone he unexplicably cared about.

still, dan heng reminded himself that he was no longer the same person & that the person the general missed was not himself, but an echo of the past that he happened to bear great ressemblance to. when being summoned by jing yuan for a private audience, he had already imagined what would be discussed — and dan heng felt a sense of uneasiness take over him even before arriving here. if he was not dan feng in any way, then why did he still feel a certain sadness whenever he was around the other, seeing the way that he would look at the face he shared with the high elders of the vidyadhara? sometimes, it was as if he was missing an old friend, even though such memories did not truly belong to him.

dan heng had kept his head down for a moment or two as he listened to his words, before he dared to look up and meet the other's gaze, an indescribable look on his features. " general... " he spoke in a quiet, yet serious tone — with a hint of a softness that perhaps was a bit unexpected to even dan heng himself. " you need not explain yourself to me. " he paused for a moment before continuing. " i understand that dan feng's presence, as well as his sin, cannot be so easily erased through rebirth. and i can understand that my own presence here makes things rather... complicated. " whether he was still around or not, there were still people on this place that would remember him — and, in this moment, dan heng realized that, perhaps, jing yuan was the only one that could still remember the good in him.

@avaere : unprompted asks .

[starshifter]

notes for chp 5. come listen to me ramble

-

Blade is such a fucking mess in this chapter. No one emulate this self-destructive idiot.

Blade take a shower challenge. That’s fucking gross, dude. (Walking around with blood still on him is taken from in-game, actually. Bailu made that comment about him smelling like blood when he visited her, but not seeming injured, and that’s majorly colored how I see him interacting with his injuries. He can’t be bothered to take care of them all, because they just happen so much and he doesn't have the energy. Relatable, I guess. Still a biohazard.)

Why didn’t Blade call Welt directly? Honestly, I forgot he could do that lol. My terrible depression brain can’t remember anything. So clearly, Blade also forgot because he also has that. He’s been through a lot, forgetting things is normal. He also probably just wanted something familiar and comforting at that time, so he called Silver Wolf. She would have the answer, wouldn’t demand payment (looking at you, kafka), and would still be awake (firefly deserves what sleep she can get).

I fully believe that Silver Wolf is a disgusting goblin because she is a hardcore gamer. I don’t care how “gamer fantasy” she dresses. She’s a little gremlin who touches her gum and then puts her spitty little hands all over things. Disgusting. Someone spray her with a hose.

So I made the incorrect assumption that the Express had facilities for guests onboard. Since, you know, it’s a train that had passengers cycling on and off it in the past. Hell, in the present as well, based on the guests we picked up on Penacony. Where the hell are they staying??? Are they sleeping on the couches and borrowing the Trailblazer’s bathroom?? We just don’t know. Maybe there is a guest section, but that wasn’t good enough for a Nameless. Idk man. Nothing makes sense around here I’d honestly originally assumed that sleeping cars with additional rooms for passengers appeared and disappeared by the power of the Trailblaze depending on how many people were staying on the train. This was wrong. I also assumed they had public bathrooms since I didn’t see any attached to the archive’s or March’s room. Also wrong. Go figure. What the actual fuck was Himeko thinking? She deadass just looked at the half rebuilt train and was, like, three rooms is enough, right? And then she launched the Express into space without waiting for anyone to respond.

Yes, that was Himeko’s very polite version of a shovel talk. She does not have to resort to direct threats of violence to get her willingness to tear people apart across. Her power is just that great. I fucking love her, honestly. Her desire to tear Shush into scrap metal with her bare hands and impressive restraint fully justified my characterization in this scene.

They’re like…weirdly co-dependent despite being estranged for like 700 years?? Which is way longer than they’ve spent together. What’s up with that?

Also, there was a very fun gossip session held between the Trailblaze trio about DH’s crush on Blade that involved him sort of admitting that he did like Blade. He did try to stay silent and admit nothing, but eventually they started saying such outrageous things that he spoke up just to make them stop being so wrong.

The Trailblazer trio definitely all bully each other. Dan Heng gets bullied the least though, so he’s earned this. Let the girls repay his many sarcastic remarks 2k24. ….wait what’s the amber era in star rail again? Let’s try this again: let the girls bully Dan Heng back 2k157

I don’t know anything about archival work. However, I have two friends who work in archives. I still don’t really understand metadata (like, it’s shit like the day something was created. Useful and all, but I’m sure there’s more too), but they seem to think it’s a big deal. So Dan Heng cares about proper metadata maintenance. (I could have just asked them what they do, I suppose, but then I have to confess the existence of this fic and these are, like, college friends. Not fandom friends. I might combust on the spot if they asked to see the fic)

It also amuses me greatly that Jing Yuan is low-key haunting the narrative. Smuggled Blade off the Xianzhou… Sent DH those books to help him reconnect with his past… He’s out here playing 5D chess to help his friends while everyone else is still playing checkers.

DH did not decide his bed was lacking. At least not for the reason Blade thought. He doesn’t really care about having a big fancy bed, in fact he thinks it might make sleeping more difficult, he just wants to leech Blade’s warmth lmao

OK, so the suicide attempt was added on the edits, but I also debated adding an additional scene with Pom-Pom confronting Blade about it because they sensed the death happening on their train. Ultimately, I decided Pom-Pom was the wrong choice for this scene. Blade would not deal well with the Conductor lecturing him in that scenario. And! It was an excuse for more Firefly! I didn’t feel like I had enough of her in these last chapters and that annoyed me. So, more Stellaron Hunter feels, the whole fucking reason I started writing this damn fic before Blade hijacked it with his Dan Heng obsession smh

Seriously, this was supposed to be just Blade and Firefly going on an adventure together, and then I realized that they would both like to see their respective Trailblazers, so I added them, and then it spun completely out of control. As these things go…

Kafka’s bad romance choices were also added on the edits. I have a LOT of headcanons about Kafka and her disaster of a love life. Almost all of them are highly concerning. Oops. Kafhime might actually be more fucked up than Renheng the way that I would write it. That’s tragic. ….if I knew more about Kafka’s backstory, please know that I would ABSOLUTELY be writing kafhime right now. I crave my toxic lesbians, but I currently feel like I would have to make up way too much backstory with no supporting evidence and I don’t like doing that. ….maybe I could make an AU? No, bad, Des. Stop right fucking there. ….except… pirates……? NO. FUCK

[wordrage]

Have you read the essay "Harry Potter and the Cauldron of Media Illiteracy"?

If not, you should, it’s a great, fascinating read that tries to take a more nuanced look at the critical reexaminations of the series following Rowling's descent into basically fascism.

The author's thesis statement basically amounts to "Rowling has become a terrible person, her transphobia is awful and inexcusable, and there is a LOT to criticize about her books and a lot in them that's aged poorly… but the inability to focus on those legitimate problems in favor of just doing a blanket statement of 'Harry Potter was always bad and all of Rowling’s messages were always ontologically evil' undermines those criticisms."

Also, it made me see the books in a WHOLE new light when the author detailed how Harry, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Draco and Snape are all not only direct foils for one another, but also all embody the books' overall message about the redemptive power of love, with the final book's "who does the Elder Wand REALLY belong to?" mystery even hammering this point home.

ALSO it came to me at a PERFECT time, because I was going through a "I need to hate Harry Potter in order to support trans people" thing at the time.

Thanks for recommending this essay! I apologize for taking so long to answer this, but work has been incredibly draining for the past few weeks. 😩

I really liked it! I very much agree that people are retroactively trying to make the books more flawed than they are in order to justify their dislike of JKR. I agree too that a lot of the criticism circulating is superficial or, what really annoys me, criticizing decisions and portrayals the films did and not what is in the books. Looking at you YouTube video essayists 😐

The books are not perfect, of course. There's plenty of flaws or themes/plot/characters I would have wanted to see executed differently. Fans have been criticizing the books since they were published.

People are going to feel how they feel. I recently returned to the HP fandom (I had moved on after DH came out) and I was really moved to see fans, both old and new, are still having lots of fun engaging and creating with each other. HP was one of the first not openly hostile queer online spaces accessible to myself at that time, and I'm grateful for that.

When I think of HP, I think of the story and characters I enjoyed as a kid, and enjoy rereading as an adult. I have good memories of the fans I met and interacted with in the past as well as the present.

The HP fandom ≠ JKR.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I was reading the post on Harry being the master of death (and absolutely loved it ❣️) but I want to ask few questions if you don't mind:

1. What do you mean by the cloak not working for anyone other than Harry? His friends has also used it and it had worked pretty well for them... And also when he passes the cloak to his kid (James) will it not work for him properly?

2. Draco disarmed Dumbledore and then become the owner of elder wand? But did the wand really chose him? As it did with Harry and not change it's alliance when voldemort (unsuccessfully) killed him? Or after Dumbledore it shifted it's alliance directly to Harry?

3. If Harry doesn't want to die (which is very ooc, but still) will he not die?

4. What other things Harry would be able to do as master of death?

Sorry for so many questions! 😅... But I simply love your analysis and how you tell so much about something no matter how very little it's mentioned which completely makes sense!

Lots of love 💝

First of all, thank you so much!

Lots of love to you too 💕

I definitely don't mind asks, love them actually, though it might take me a while to answer them 😅

As for your questions:

1. Okay, so I mentioned it here, it's not that the cloak wouldn't work at all, but I headcanon/speculate it wouldn't work to its full potential. What I mean is kinda like how the Elder Wand behaved with Voldemort, where it worked as a wand, but not anything extraordinary:

“My—my lord?” said Snape blankly. “I do not understand. You—you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand.” “No,” said Voldemort. “I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand. . . no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Ollivander all those years ago.”

(DH, 551)

I kinda feel the cloak would be the same at the hands of someone who wasn't its master, it will work like any other invisibility cloak, but for its master, it could probably do more. For example, hide him from death, hide him more completely in a way a regular invisibility cloak wouldn't. I think it just does what it does to a lesser effect to anyone other than its master.

And when Harry passes it to his son, it'll work for said son like it did for Harry (once Harry dies) since that's how the ownership passes.

2. I talked about the Elder Wand and how it chooses its master here already, long story short, it's playing favorites and chooses who would win the duel so it could go with the winner. The wand picked Harry, so Draco was never really its master, I believe (neither was Voldemort for that matter).

3. I think so. I think he would remain alive for as long as he wished to, just like the first owner we of the cloak, Ignotus Peverell. He hid from death until he was ready to move on and Harry could do the same. Eventually, Harry will choose to die though, otherwise, he wouldn't be the Master of Death (as I talked about in the original post).

4. I don't think being the MOD gives you that much extra abilities or power. I always thought of it as something subtler. It's not like Harry would practice necromancy or anything like that (the necromancy we see in the HP universe is all a perversion of death and goes against its rules, no way is the Master of Death creating abominations like infri). He won't die unless he wishes to, I think he's the only person who could go into the veil and walk back out. But I don't think it gives him any control over ghosts or anything like that (I should probably write about ghosts at some point but they are not quite in death's domain, so I don't think being the MOD would help Harry with them) nor do I think Harry could summon spirits from the afterlife. In the HP world, it seems the dead are dead and can't come back once they move on, and there are very few circumstances that would allow a MOD to do something about someone who is already dead.

Basically, being the Master of Death is mostly about yourself and your ability to die, and less about any unique magic that allows you to influence the world. At least, that's what I headcanon/see it as. Especially considering how I see being the MOD like Ignotus Peverell's "greeting Death like an old friend", that's really all there is to it, I think.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Sorry to bother you with this but the ship game you were doing got me thinking about the HP ships and it reminded me why I dislike Krum as a character.

I didn't pick up on it during my first few read throughs as I was still young, but it hit me when I re-read the books when I was a bit older and it has to do with his relationship with Hermione and what he says about Ginny in DH.

His age gap with Hermione wasn't too big but the fact that he was legally an adult and she was a minor didn't sit well with me especially when it's revealed he asks her to visit him in Bulgaria over summer, which sounds like an adult luring a minor.

It wasn't until DH that it hit me when he points out Ginny who he says is "very pretty" she's 15 and he's in his early 20s but it's this line "what is the point of being an international quidditch player if all the good looking girls are taken" that drove it home for me. It reminded me of all those famous celebrities that seemed like good people only for people to come forward with stories of how they were taken advantage of by the celebrity. They would use their fame and the power imbalance to get what they want.

I know that this is probably not what was intended with the character of Krum but it's something I can't stop seeing when I read about him and is why I dislike his character.

Yeah, I don't particularly enjoy Krum's character, though I think DH made him a worse person than he was originally.

One of the reasons why the appropriateness of age gaps, with certain objective limitations, can be up for debate is that we establish what's right and wrong depending on the maturity and life experiences we expect at a certain age.

But, for example, here in Italy we finish high school at 19, in other places you are already in college, most likely away from home. That does make a bit of a difference, no?

Krum is 18 when he goes to the Yule Ball with 15-years-old Hermione, which is not ideal, but it's definitely not the tragedy some people make it out to be. The fact that Krum is an international Quidditch star seems to make the situation worse. That must bring him a lot of life experience, right? I don't think so. Hermione, who he barely knows, is the thing he would miss the most, he mustn't have had many friends. And it makes sense, he needs to balance being a professional athlete with still being a student (also, he definitely doesn't seem to have a charming and charismatic personality to help him out). The Krum we get to know in GoF is a social inept. A fumbling fawn who has just stepped out into the real world. Just think about that conversation he has with Harry about Hermione.

Is the invite to Bulgaria bad? Hermione would be nearly sixteen. If Krum and Hermione were in a relationship for the entirety of GoF since the Yule Ball, I don't see a problem with it more than I'd see a problem with that relationship frankly. Unfortunately, we know substantially nothing about it. I mean, casting the ages aside for a second, from what we know, it seems that it's Hermione the one who is stringing him along, to be honest.

But what about DH!Krum?

Now Krum is 21, he is not a student anymore, he probably had time to get around a bit more.

Ginny is ten days away from being sixteen at the wedding so I think we can make the executive decision of saying that she is 16. A dressed up sixteen-years-old can easily look a year or even two older, especially from a distance. Also, let's not pretend you can actually tell the difference between a sixteen and a seventeen years old. Seventeen is when you come of age in the wizarding world. At eighteen you start working and being financially independent. So, do I think Krum looking at Ginny and finding her attractive is creepy? No. Krum is still a pretty young guy and he doesn't seem to know Ginny considering how he asks about her to Harry, or maybe he doesn't recognize her, the last time he could have seen her she was 13 and there are a lot of redheads at the wedding.

But. But. Hermione and Ginny together start to create a sort of pattern. If this was a real-life court case, it would be extremely easy to defend him, two girls a few years younger definitely don't make an actual pattern, but this is a book, and it seems the author doesn't want us to think anything nice about Krum.

Until this though, I still consider him kind of redeemable, nothing he does is that bad. But then there's that line about him being a famous Quidditch player and pretty girls that really sinks his character. Because any angle of legitimate doubt comes crashing down. We maybe don't have enough to sustain that he creeps on younger girls but we definitely have enough to say he became a bit of a piece of shit.

[fika-drw]

Snarry Chan (17) Rec List [ 1 ]

Please read the [ Master Post ] before proceeding. A gently reminder that you don't have to read something if you don't like it and if you don't have anything good to say don't say it at all. That's all and enjoy!

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Haunted Jaded Eyes by DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFan

Rating: Mature || Words: 271,172

Summary: The wards around Privet Drive fall, and Harry is taken by Voldemort after the Dursley's are brutally murdered. Saving Remus Lupin from doing it himself when he realizes the extent of the abuse. Harry is rescued by Severus and returns to Hogwarts seemingly a different man. It's time Harry shed his mask and became who he was always meant to be - a Slytherin. One that just might be able to win the war. Harry finds the Founders Portraits - what awaits to be learned from the most powerful wizards and witches the magical world has ever known? This is Slash and SS/HP as well as MPREG and lets not forget Manipulative sort of perverted Dumbledore YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!.

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Willing by DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFan

Rating: Mature || Words: 486,471

Summary: Harry's been missing since he was 9 years old, the wizarding world have been looking him for seven years. Since he was eleven years old and did not come to Hogwarts. He's Seventeen when they find him, but they are in for a shock if they think he'd do what they wanted. Turns out Harry has known Severus for years, he's a metamorphamagus. Dumbledore's manipulations are found out, the world is in for a shock. I want to show a caring side to Dom/Sub so there won't be a rough side to be seen here.

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Rumours by WalkingThePlank

Rating: Explicit || Words: 77,077

Summary: Harry's been missing since he was 9 years old, the wizarding world have been looking him for seven years. Since he was eleven years old and did not come to Hogwarts. He's Seventeen when they find him, but they are in for a shock if they think he'd do what they wanted. Turns out Harry has known Severus for years, he's a metamorphamagus. Dumbledore's manipulations are found out, the world is in for a shock. I want to show a caring side to Dom/Sub so there won't be a rough side to be seen here.

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Severus's Omega by Ttiiggeerr

Rating: Explicit || Words: 4,397

Summary: Requested by AngelColdHeart on ff.net Prompt: Snape imprints on Harry as a baby but Harry is resisting. Will Snape be able to seduce him and prove his love? A cute two-shot of Harry and Severus falling for each other and creating a family of their own Read time approx. 25MIN

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Orphans of the storm by gonattsaga

Rating: Not Rated || Words: 127,297

Summary: Harry haven’t finished packing. It had just seemed too good to be true, when he’d read Dumbledore’s letter, the prospect of leaving Privet Drive again after merely a fortnight! Of course, he didn’t know what this safe house would be like, and with whom he’d share it, if anyone, maybe it would turn out to be even worse than staying with the Dursleys, although he’d sincerely doubted it. Still, he hadn’t been able to entirely shrug off the feeling that something was going to go wrong – whether it’d be that his reply to Dumbledore’s letter would somehow go astray, or this Professor be held up and unable to come, or worse still: the whole thing might even be a trap. AU:HBP - Dumbledore does send Harry a letter telling him that he'll be leaving Privet Drive early, however it isn't Dumbledore who will show up and it isn't The Burrow that Harry will spend the remainder of his summer... And as this fic has really taken me for a ride, this will continue into DH as well (not Epilogue compliant!)

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The Apple Tree by Philo

Rating: Mature || Words: 282,376

Summary: Harry returns for his seventh year determined to change the status quo. A tale of romance, betrayal, initiative and derring-do!

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Fair Game by JenTheSnarryShipper

Rating: Explicit || Words: 8,168

Summary: Harry is getting some extra-lessons from his most hated Professor: Professor Snape. Will the two work things out? Perhaps they're more alike than they foresaw. WARNING: RATED EXPLICIT FOR A REASON--SMUT. HARRY IS 17 IN HIS SIXTH YEAR SO THIS IS TECHNICALLY UNDERAGE, EVEN THOUGH HE IS 'OF AGE' ACCORDING TO NEARLY ALL OTHER HP FANFIC IN HOGWARTS. Preface: Harry’s sixth year. Harry is 17 years old, and Voldemort has gone into hiding. Many horcruxes have been found, and Dumbledore is alive and well. Harry knows about Snape’s efforts in the war on the side of the light. Ron and Hermione are together, and Harry has never been with Ginny (because she’s awful). Snape still teaches potions, and Albus is the Headmaster.

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Soulmates by immortalje

Rating: Mature || Words: 27,128

Summary: Harry comes to Hogwarts with the intention of ending it all after saying goodbye to his one love Severus Snape. This isn't for Dumbledore lovers... MPreg and miscarriage mentioned.

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Tears of the Sun by Eriador117

Rating: Explicit || Words: 66,915

Summary: AU, Harry is rescued from Privet Drive when he is five years old by - a penguin?

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The Way Home by Eriador117

Rating: Explicit || Words: 60,012

Summary: Written as gift fic for Littleroo based on her plot bunny. The Dursleys sold Harry when he was four years old, what happened to him? JK Rowling owns the Potterverse, I am just playing in it from time to time. Beta'd by Rakina, thanks!

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[Next ≫]

[honeymouthedtales]

hii cla!! first of all, congratulations on 15k kudos, as someone who has been here since the beginning of hm and who has followed you through both aprilclash and pududoll, i am so so proud! i can’t think of anyone who deserves this more than you <3

i’m gonna be honest i feel like you’ve given us wayyy too much power because we don’t want to let go of our happy little mahae. that being said, i would love to have a chapter dedicated to dh showing mk around his favorite places in coraline (a little bit how mk wanted to take dh to the top of the clairs). i know dh struggles with feeling like he’s good enough to be marks mate so i think it’d also be so cute to see his clumsy attempts at courting (either a ritual from the islands or from the clairs). honestly, i would gladly take something as simple as dh and mk going to the shore and dh gracefully climbing and jumping between rocks and mark trying to brute force it and getting his foot cut (do the southern islands have beaches? or is it all rocky shores?).

alternatively, i’d love to see mk and dh throughout their childhood through maybe dongsoon’s eyes? who knew both of her brother’s feelings and how soft-hearted mk was. i think that would also create for some really interesting character exploration.

as you can see, i have many many thoughts and ideas for this extra chapter we’re getting T-T i know that whatever eventually gets chosen i will thoroughly enjoy! <33

This is really cute! Someone also asked for a date in the Islands so I'll just blend your asks together in the poll.

I would really love if a Dongsoon pov won because I love her and she's so sharp and idk with mk and dh most of the times they're so frustrating always running in circles and not understandin each other, but she would be able to see both of them at the same time and realize specifically what isn't working in their communication, so we would get a better insight on both of them.

also, since the beginning ;; SINCE APRILCLASH? that's a long, long time, how are you not tired of me already? i'm very happy you're still here <3 thank you so much!

[beesandwasps]

Wrong from the first sentence. Most people assume that MAGA basically is the Republican Party at this point. And they’re not really mistaken.

It’s worth pointing out, though, that in 2016 both parties ran blatant liars who had dumb ideas about how to run a government. If you like you can claim that Democrats are more resistant to lies and so they didn’t go for Hillary Clinton the way Republicans did for Trump, but I don’t think that’s really true; if Democrats didn’t support liars they would not have nominated her in the first place.

(Her first time in the national spotlight, after all, was in the Gennifer Flowers scandal, before Bill even got the nomination in 1992. Bill was caught on tape trading government jobs for sex and Hillary was trotted out to tell a lot of nauseating lies about how It Was A Momentary Aberration and Bill would Never Cheat On Her Again because they Loved Each Other So Much. A liar from the start and we would all be much better off now if instead of believing her, the Democrats had given Clinton the boot like they did with Gary Hart four years earlier.)

The real reason for the enthusiasm gap was that Trump was smart enough to at least pretend he agreed with his base and wanted the same things they did. With the best will in the world even his biggest fan could still tell he was lying (provided they were paying close attention) because he constantly contradicted his own statements in order to please every crowd he talked to. Hillary? Believed (and still believes) that she was the smartest person in every room, despite getting basically every major issue wrong (examples: Iraq Invasion, War On Drugs, Creation of DHS and ICE, Austerity) and failing on every major policy initiative (examples: 1990s Universal Health Care Attempt, Libyan Invasion) for the previous 25 years, and since she was so beholden to the rich and to corporate interests, she couldn’t even be bothered to tell lies that would please the Democratic base; her entire message was: I’m not going to do what you want, I’m going to be very quiet and do nothing and maybe these scary Republicans will give up and go away. And that last part was a blatant lie, too — anybody who had been paying attention for the previous several decades knew that the scary Republicans were only getting more powerful whenever Democrats rolled over and conceded to them.

It would be nice to think that the Democratic Party had learned its lesson, and would either stop choosing blatant liars or at least choose blatant liars who encourage their own voters, but in 2020 in order to avoid nominating the guy who actually wanted to do something about climate change and the 1% and the out-of-control military budget, they lined up behind a confirmed plagiarist who loves cops, hates abortion, and didn’t want to do anything about climate change, the 1%, or the out-of-control military budget. And now they’re wondering again why voters aren’t enthusiastic when he has funded cops, let abortion become illegal, expanded the military budget, and done nothing significant about climate change or the 1%.

[cs300]

big big Archer Normandy infodump (im insane)

1. What genre of music do they listen to the most? Would people assume they would like that style of music or is it wildly unfitting to their appearance? (ie; cutesy pastel girl likes heavy metal)

hehe he has a playlist JUST for this. but he mostly listens to like... indie/alt stuff..? like guitar n bass heavy. and usually in minor chords.

i think it fits tbh, he looks like an indie kinda guy

2. In terms of power scaling in-universe, are they about as strong as everyone else, stupidly overpowered, extremely weak, etc?

now this kinda depends on which Archer we're talking about.

see, there's actually TWO Archers. from two different universes/stories. like he acts differently enough in each version to be classified as an entirely separate character

so theres Demon Hunter Archer (DH) where he is, you guessed it, a demon hunter.

and there's Spider's Den Archer (SD) where he's kind of a... nosy jack of all trades type with no powers at all nd hes just a regular person

DH Archer? significantly weaker than his peers. doesnt use his abilities properly, can do stuff on his own but its like. nothing spectacular. hes very mid power wise here.

SD Archer is also like, not spectacular. he is lacking in physical strength and stamina and endurance but like. his smarts? insane. i ranked the main cast based on intelligence and Archer was up at the top, tied for first place with two others (a seeeecwwet). but apart from that hes pretty mid too actually. a bit LESS mid than DH Archer but still mid

3. Their playlist. Drop their playlist (or, if it's extremely long, the most fitting songs on it) and include specific lyrics from each song you consider to be the most fitting. Explanation not required but you can if you feel like it! Do not care about cringe. It is fun.

hehe here's this bad boy

as mentioned, most of these are songs that he'd LISTEN to, more than like... songs that describe him. and also theres a mix of DH Archer + SD Archer who are basically like.... two different characters with how they act.

i'm currently fixated on SD Archer BUT. DH Archer actually DOES have a song tht best describes him. "switch it up" by the happy children. and its mostly the chorus (i forgor the lyrics) but about needing to get ur face smashed on a truck, u know. like something about his hopeful nature and that he's willing to get up and try again

SD Archer doesnt have a defined theme like that BUT. out of these... I Wish actually fits pretty well. surprisingly.

5. If their personality has changed drastically over development, what's something that was once true about them that is now absolutely absurd to imagine and false?

i wouldnt call this a personality change since its more like... him being a different character depending on what universe hes in. BUT.

the key difference between the two? DH Archer is more bright eyed and hopeful and is more willing to fight for the future. SD Archer is shit miserable and pessimistic and full of malice and evil (makes pipe bombs in your garage). also SD Archer is more deadpan and aloof at first (like when you meet him before he warms up to you). DH Archer is more... awkward.

6. When it comes to food, are they more into savoury, salty, sweet, sour, spicy etcetc food? Are they picky with their food or will they eat just about anything that isn't spoiled?

he'll eat just about anything, but he prefers savoury stuff the most

7. In your opinion, do you think if they were real you would be friends with them or not?

oh god no he'd think im cringe and annoying and would tell me to kill myself

8. ^ Relating to above question, do they consider themself easy to get along with, and is that actually true?

nope and its kinda true

10. Do you have a voice claim for them?

"bubblegum" by the happy children

11. What's their "theme" color? What color do you associate with them? Is it in their color scheme or just a color that reminds you of them?

red :) its in his DH colour scheme cause thats the colour of his uniform, but you dont see it as often in SD. in SD he's more black n white n monochromey, but sometimes he has a red shirt on

12. Would you consider them well-liked in universe, or are they more an… acquired taste

an acquired taste for SURE. he has a tendency to be aloof and off putting, ESPECIALLY around people he doesn't know/just met. so everyone that doesnt know him just thinks hes an ass

13. ^ What about outside of canon? Are they one of your more well-liked characters?

if i had a fandom, Archer would be. divisive. you either love him or you hate him, for similar reasons as the above question. i love him to bits tho hes my babygirl

15. What would their theme song/leitmotif be titled? What would it sound like, if you have an idea?

HMMM... his theme/leitmotif would be like... bass guitar heavy. thats His Instrument. and it would probably start out all like somber n sad, but then devolve into something... violent and angry? but finish off in a hopeful kinda way..

look its vague but it makes sense in my head okay

and as for a name... Missed Target? why? well. well.

16. Are they a projection of yourself in any way? How similar are they to you?

OH GOD YEAH. yeah. he has all of my mental issues and hes trans n gay and also seems aloof and quiet at first until you get to know him. hes super heavily based off of me but with like... a little touch of his own flavour. he is different from me in his own way

funny thing, Archer's character actually started as a self insert for a demon hunter story. when talking about him, id refer to him as "i" or "me". but he ended up becoming his own thing with time, completely separated from me :]

17. Are they capable of holding their own in a fight or are they laughably easy to beat?

UHHH depends on which one we're talking about again

DH Archer can hold his own against like... weaker, fodder type enemies. but with stronger n a bit more intelligent ones? ehhh not so much. and probably not much against other demon hunters either.

SD Archer isnt one for physical altercations at all. he'd get his ass beat. he'd probably end up getting enraged and try going for low blow fury type attacks, like going for the eyes or just hitting whatever's in the way, but like. he's really easy to deal with

18. Do they swear often? On occasion? At All?

all the time also he says slurs

19. How do they text people? Lots of exclamations? All lowercase? Very Serious And Grammatically Correct? 1 Billion Emojis? Cutesy uwu speak? Etc etc.

he types in all lowercase, doesnt shorten his words (you -> u, tonight -> tonite, etc.) and uses apostrophes. he doesn't use emojis unless its ironic and you rarely see him using punctuation of any kind.

he talks super blunt and just say what he means. no typing quirks, we die like men

20. How easy is it to befriend them? How easy is it to make them hate you?

hard to befriend for sure, mostly because he's so closed off at first. if youre enough of an extrovert or spend a long enough time around him he'll grow to like you tho.

WAYYY easier to make him hate someone though. he holds grudges like a mf

21. How do they prefer to be referred to? First name, last name, nickname, another alias entirely etc?

he does not care at all as long as its a variation of his name. most of the time he doesnt have a reaction to nicknames, but if its someone he likes romantically he'll like... blush a lil but not say anything

22. Compared to the rest of your cast, are they tall or short?

he's average. like super average. the middle of the bunch

23. Are they a dog or cat person? Neutral? Do they prefer another animal entirely?

neutral but has a sliiightly bigger preference for cats. just likes how quiet they are

24. Do they know what a sigma male is. Be honest

yes and he thinks theyre stupid and insults them

25. How do they react to being loved and/or cared for? Similarly, how do they express their love for others?

he's unsure of how to react.. in the moment? he'll blush and get slightly flustered, and later spend time overthinking what happened and if he understood the intentions correctly. he's most likely to brush it off as him just misinterpreting it and it mot meaning anything

when he loves someone he drops the aloof persona, becomes more talkative and actually starts smiling for once. he's more of an.. acts of service guy? im not sure actually because i can picture it clearly but cant put it into words, so just trust me ok

26. How do they react to being disliked? Similarly, how do they express their distaste for others?

depends. if it's someone he doesn't know, he couldnt give any less of a fuck about it. however, if it's someone he knows (and likes) he'll think about offing himself for DAYS, maybe even WEEKS.

the exception is his family he does not care about them he hopes they explode if they dont like him

27. What Pokémon type(s) would they be?

normal/electric

28. Are they the type to be chaotic and reckless or are they more the type to think before they act?

chaotic and impulsive wildcard type for sure

29. Are they an open book or hard to read emotions-wise?

hard to read because his expression rarely changes

30. Can they keep a secret?

yes, absolutely

31. What are some things you associate with them? Certain aesthetics, items, colors, feelings, tastes etc! Anything goes!

the colour red

the feeling of finding out something new/piecing info together

handguns

32. What role do they serve in the story? Are they a main character, side character, antagonist, protagonist etc?

main character/protag in both DH and SD. the special boy :]

33. What's the meaning behind their name?

there is none i just picked what sounded cool to me tbh

34. What inspired you to create them?

a dream i had abt a demon hunter world, in which, upon fleshing out the world with me bf, my first self insert was a demon, and his was a demon hunter.

well, with some time nd development, i decided to make a demon hunter self insert of my own and this bad boy was born

35. FREE SPACE! Drop some miscellaneous fun facts, tell us their backstory, do whatever! Go crazy.

SD:

he's been obsessed with a certain missing person's case for 5 years

has a knife he got as a gift from someone that he treasures dearly

used to draw nd make stories when he was younger but lost his spark completely and can barely think of a name for a character nowadays

has two fursoneys [deer and a mink/monkey thing]

undiagnosed autism [the "i make bombs" kind]

DH:

has lightning powers

comes from a military family

has chain knives he uses for combat

[vivithefolle]

I just wanna ask, and don’t get mad at me cause I’m genuinely curious, how do you stan Ron? Like, I like him, but he is definitely misogynistic (slut shaming Ginny, treating hermione like she owes him something and being mad that she kissed someone years before, always objectifying Fleur, and acting like girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much). Like, by DH I feel like he definitely has mostly grown out of it, but still 6/7 books he’s kinda unbearable IMO

how do you stan Ron? 

Like this:

OH MY GOD HAVE YOU SEEN. HAVE YOU SEEN HIM DID YOU SEE MY BABY OH MY GOD. WHEN HARRY’S ARM HAD GONE KABLOOIE BECAUSE OF LOCKHART AND HE. RON. HE WAS. HELPING HIM GET DRESSED???? OH MY GOD BABY???? HHHHNNNNGGGG. AND. AND. AND ALSO WHEN HE. OMG. WHEN HE WAS PUTTING FOOD ON HIS FRIENDS’ PLATES LIKE. MOM FRIEND ALERT MOM FRIEND ALERT MOM FRIEND ALERT. AND THE WAY HE’S ALWAYS BLUSHING AND BEING EMBARRASSED AT THE SLIGHTEST PRAISE BUT ALSO HE’S SO DESPERATELY SEEKING IT BUT HE KNOWS HE CAN’T TAKE IT AND EEK EEK EEK THAT’S SO CUTE SOMEONE HOLD ME IT’S ADORABLE RONALD WEASLEY YOU ARE SO GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME IT’S ILLEGAL TO BE THIS CUTE!!!!

Ok and then.

he is definitely misogynistic 

No. And here’s why.

slut shaming Ginny 

Yes, that was wrong. And guess what, that’s also something he probably - scratch that, definitely - picked up from his mother. And also his brothers, recall how Fred and George too don’t like to see Ginny go around with boys. There’s also something to recall: Ron was there when Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets and learned later that it was because she had trusted an older guy. You seriously wouldn’t be paranoid about who your sister dates after that? It was wrong. Yeah. And he more than learned his lesson when Ginny clapped back by virgin-shaming him and basically told him that he was childish because he hadn’t have a relationship yet. So would that make Ginny sexist too? Or is it just for Ron?

treating hermione like she owes him something 

..................... uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh... when? When the fuck did anything like that happen?

He made a prat of himself at the Yule Ball, that much is obvious. But he didn’t tell her anything like “you should be with me” or didn’t insinuate anything of the sort. He was a jealous bitch but kept attacking Krum, not Hermione.

If you mean in sixth year when he treated her with “icy, sneering indifference” for the course of two weeks, yeah that was bad but that’s not “treating her like she owes him something”, the fuck?

being mad that she kissed someone years before 

Yeah. I know. And that was bad, ooooh you got me to admit Ron did bad stuff, that’s what you want to see, right? And I reckon he was also mad that she hid it from him, and that he had to learn it from his sister of all people. We see Ron handles what he considers betrayals terribly. I have some meta discussing the possibility that he has a form of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria.

always objectifying Fleur 

Um... no, he doesn’t. He makes a stupid comment about her once in GOF then stops. Let’s also fucking remember that Fleur is a Veela, she literally makes guys stare at her as part of her powers!! I’m not blaming her because she’s literally born that way, but you can’t blame someone who is under magical compulsion either.

acting like girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much 

So tell me why he was friends with Hermione then?

Because Hermione wasn’t Emma Watson the super hawt sexy model goddess. Hermione was Mrs Generic. Until this once at the Yule Ball when she got the pretty princess perfect Mary Sue makeover but then stopped because she had to remain ~relatable uwu~.

Again. Ron made stupid sexist comments. But it’s actively shown that he doesn’t follow up on them. If he did indeed live by the motto “girls who aren’t pretty aren’t worth much”, explain to me why he wasn’t simping and drooling all over Padma Patil who is explicitly stated to be one of the prettiest girls at school when she was his date? Why exactly did he ignore her and was a miserable twat the whole evening instead of basking in the joy of having snagging a girl that was “worth it”? Well surprise, it’s because HE ACTUALLY ISN’T LIKE THAT AND WHAT HE SAYS IS MAYBE SHIT HIS “COOL OLDER BROTHERS” SAY AND HE THINKS THAT BY EXTENSION IT WOULD MAKE HIM COOL TO REPEAT IT. MIMETISM, THAT'S BASIC FUCKING HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY FOR FUCKING TODDLERS MY FUCKING GOD.

Like, by DH I feel like he definitely has mostly grown out of it, 

............

...................................

...............................................................

so. so why. so why wouldn’t you. use that. as a reason. to stan him.

like.

fuck all the “hurr durr ron weasley the boy who made it out of the friendzone!!!!” bullshit, let’s start going with “Ron Weasley, the Boy who became a Man, and not one of those 'uugghh im such an alpha male’ ones but one that’s got the balls to say ‘hey love, I’ve got an idea, what if you kept doing that job you love and feel passionate about while I support you and do the majority of the childcare while also working a smaller job on the side so we’re never short on money’“

Why you people gotta be “yeah I like Ron BUTT” when you know full-well this fucking awful fandom will rake him over hot coals over the slightest mistake he does - worse, will actively go out of their way to interpret his positive moments in the most negative way possible??? Fuck off with that bullshit. Ron dared to say bad stuff omygah big deal, he was forgiven for it all and you’re just all cowards looking to feel “pure” by telling yourself “oh yeah but he was problematic once uwu”. FUCK. THAT. NOISE.

but still 6/7 books he’s kinda unbearable IMO 

And IMO he’s not, funny how that works

So.

I guess it’s impossible to stan Ron because he was problematic uwu.

Ok.

Then I hereby decree that it’s impossible to stan Hermione Granger because:

“I’ll bet you wish you hadn’t given up Divination now, don’t you, Hermione?” asked Parvati, smirking. [...] “Not  really,”  said  Hermione  indifferently,  who  was  reading  the  Daily Prophet. “I’ve never really liked horses.” She turned a page of the newspaper, scanning its columns. “He’s not a horse, he’s a centaur!” said Lavender, sounding shocked. “A gorgeous centaur . . .” sighed Parvati. “Either  way,  he’s  still  got  four  legs,”  said  Hermione  coolly.  “Any-way, I thought you two were all upset that Trelawney had gone?” - Order of the Phoenix, ch 27

wow casual use of a racial slur yay!!! A+

And it’s also forbidden to stan Harry Potter either since:

It was raining hard now, and she was nowhere to be seen. He simply did not understand what had happened; half an hour ago they had been getting along fine. “Women!”  he  muttered  angrily,  sloshing  down  the  rain-washed  street with his hands in his pockets. “What did she want to talk about Cedric  for  anyway?  Why  does  she  always want to drag up a subject that makes her act like a human hosepipe?” - Order of the Phoenix, ch 25

and

“Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna!”  “What’s  happened  to  you?”  asked  Harry,  for  Hermione  looked  distinctly  disheveled,  rather  as  though she had just fought her way out of a thicket of Devil’s Snare.  “Oh,  I’ve  just  escaped  —  I  mean,  I’ve  just  left  Cormac,”  she  said.  “Under  the  mistletoe,”  she  added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her.  “Serves you right for coming with him,” he told her severely.  “I thought he’d annoy Ron most,” said Hermione dispassionately. “I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole —”  “You considered Smith?” said Harry, revoked. - Half-Blood Prince

Victim-blaming! Nice Harry, nice. Always classy.

Ok, Ginny stanning is already cancelled because she virgin-shamed Ron, right, so who’s left, who’s left... ah yeah:

“There you go,” said Fred proudly. “Best range of love potions you’ll find anywhere.” - Half-Blood Prince

Selling date rape drugs proudly ouh là là. Bye Fred.

"Do they work?” she asked.  “Certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a time depending on the weight of the boy in question...”  “...and the attractiveness of the girl,” said George, reappearing suddenly at their side. “But we’re not  selling  them  to  our  sister,”  he  added,  becoming  suddenly  stern,  “not  when  she’s  already  got  about five boys on the go from what we’ve...”  “Whatever you’ve heard from Ron is a big fat lie,” said Ginny calmly, leaning forward to take a small pink pot off the shelf.

Assuming that only girls use love potions, and only on boys. Men never rape in JKR’s world, only women do, you heard it from George Weasley here folks, I’m just passing on the message. Ah and I hope you’re also starting the Fred And George Hate Club given how he’s also slut-shaming Ginny.

“What’s this?”  “Guaranteed  ten-second  pimple  vanisher,”  said  Fred.  “Excellent  on  everything  from  boils  to  blackheads,  but  don’t  change  the  subject.  Are  you  or  are  you  not  currently  going  out  with  a  boy  called Dean Thomas?” “Yes, I am,” said Ginny. “And last time I looked, he was definitely one boy, not five. What are those?”  She  was  pointing  at  a  number  of  round  balls  of  fluff  in  shades  of  pink  and  purple,  all  rolling  around the bottom of a cage and emitting high-pitched squeaks.  “Pygmy  Puffs,”  said  George.  “Miniature  puffskeins,  we  can’t  breed  them  fast  enough.  So  what  about Michael Corner?”  “I  dumped  him,  he  was  a  bad  loser,”  said  Ginny,  putting  a  finger  through  the  bars  of  the  cage  and watching the Pygmy Puffs crowd around it. “They’re really cute!”  “They’re  fairly  cuddly,  yes,”  conceded  Fred.  “But  you’re  moving  through  boyfriends  a  bit  fast,  aren’t you?”  Ginny turned to look at him, her hands on her hips. There was such a Mrs. Weasley-ish glare on her face that Harry was surprised Fred didn’t recoil.  “It’s none of your business. And I’ll thank you” she added angrily to Ron, who had just appeared at George’s elbow, laden with merchandise, “not to tell tales about me to these two!”

Ah, good on you for defending yourself, Ginny, but remember, Ginny stanning is prohibited because she’s been problematic in the past and is gonna be problematic in the future and that’s baaaaaaad. Careful kids, don’t get ideas. It’s problematic to like people who’ve done problematic things.

So I guess nobody can like anything or anyone now. Sorry guys. Liking things is evil, what if the thing you liked had, OR USED TO HAVE, *gasp* flaws, can’t take that risk, ohmygah.

[incorrect-dishonored-quotes]

Do you have a favorite level within each game or even one out of all games / is there a specific level that stuck in your mind since you first played it?

Mine would be the second to last I think in DH1. The one, where you walk over a bridge and it's all orange light on one side and deep shadows on the other. In daud's dlcs it would be the boyle mansion, because I love the flooded building. I've loved the edge of the world in DH2 because Karnaca's atmosphere is such a breath of fresh air and the trail of whale blood through the bright and sunny district reveals very much about the game's world. For DOTO it would either be the bank job or the royal conservatory. It may sound pretty weird but the atmosphere within the bank job gives me vacation vibes lol. Also the moment you take the twin bladed knife feels amazing every time. I also really like the hidden features in the royal conservatory.

Thank you for running this blog, it really means a lot to me. Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈

Honestly all the levels in the DH series has a lot of personality in them, and so much visual storytelling. Each one has a different feeling to it while all matching up to eachother perfectly. Never do I feel like one doesn't belong with the others, they all feel part of the same world, and they feel so lived in too.

Everyone has their favorites, and you picked some good ones. I think youre refering to Kaldwin's Bridge which is a very well done level and is certainly pretty to look at, but its rather big with a lot of loading points, and it's a bit choppy and tedious for me. I do like the area around Sokolov's house though. The test subjects imprisoned in the streets and the crumbling buildings around his perfect apartment is great environmental storytelling. Personally my favorite in Dh1 is The Flooded District. The reflection it paints for Corvo, that after everything, things can still get worse and there's still a light at the end and he can't give up. That even after hating Hiram Burrows and wishing death on him, Daud hides there, in the mass grave Burrows made, protected by the rats, flood waters, rivercrusts, and weepers. It's just *chef's kiss*.

I think the one in Daud's dlc's is actually Brigmore Manor, which is one hell of a level. We learn that Daud and Delilah have a lot in common just by the way they work. They both have large followings they share their power with, hidden under everyone's nose. Dispite this, the difference in atmosphere tells the player that Daud is trespassing here. He's met someone who can match him, maybe even best him, and he has to be careful not to lose what little he has left. Brigmore is probably my fave too, but The Surge comes very close. Being in Daud's base, cutting up Overseers, and freeing his Whaler kids is very satisfying.

Edge of the World is a great intro to Karnaca. You get a feel for the atmosphere, learn about smaller power struggles (Howlers vs Overseers), and get a feel for just how bad things are there. I love taking my time in this level, finding the runes and talking to Mindy Blanchard just because it is a very pretty level that's fun to explore. I also like how it ironically leads you to Addemire, which is dark and claustrophobic. My fave in DH2 though is Crack in the Slab. Going between timelines wasn't something I'd done in a videogame before, and it made learning about Aramis Stilton and the rest of Delilah's allies extremely interesting. I love the little details you can mess with in the past to convenience you in the present too. There's a lot to go though twice over in that level, and I always find something new each playthrough. Also, in the ambience music in the present, you can hear a rhythmic banging, and I theorize you can hear the miners being overworked from Aramis' home.

And then there's DOTO... DOTO, my beloved. This game really brought Billie Lurk's character to life and I enjoy every second of it. My fave here would be Follow the Ink, for reasons similar as to why I like Edge of the World. It's nice to explore and there's so much to do story-wise, and even more to just find or interact with. I do wish the story flowed from one point on the map to the other, like how Edge of the World slowly lead you to the black market, wall of light, overseer outpost, then to Addemire Station. I find I'm going back and forth a lot in Follow the Ink, but that's nit-picking. If anything, it gives me time to stumble across things more. I will say though, The Bank Job is probably the strongest level in the game, and the writing is the best there. Billie getting a hold of the knife, pointing a finger in The Outsider's face and telling him she's coiming, no matter what it takes, only for The Outsider to look her in the eyes and tell her that Daud, the closest Billie had ever come to family, is dead?... Heartbreaking. I'm racing back to the ship. I know he's lying, and he has to be, right? But nope, he wasn't. Billie burning her ship called Dreadful Wale, an anagram for Farewell Daud, as his pyre hurts so much. I love the very ending too and how Daud is low chaos option, and to be honest, I shouldn't have been surprised by that. Ironically, mercy and forgiveness were themes in the background of Daud's dlcs.

Some honorable mentions would be:

-Bottle Street/Holger Square: Learning about Overssers, Slackjaw, Granny Rags and you get to see my man Geoff Curnow! Please switch the poison btw.

-Lady Boyle's Last Party: You fuck around with guards and rich ppl bc they think you're one of them and that's quite the critique on the upperclass huh. Don't forget to sign the guestbook as The Empress' alleged assassin!

Return to The Tower: Hiram Burrows is finally his own undoing, and his worst nightmares have come true! What a satisfying downfall. How poetic. Bitch deserved everything he got.

-Light at the End: In high chaos, Martin shoots Pendleton after calling him inbred and that's hilarious to me. Also in low chaos. Emily will scold Havelock and tell him to "sit in the corner and think about what [he's] done!" In honesty, it's a good climax.

-Eminent Domain: Timpsh's downfall in low chaos is one of the most poetic and well written eliminations in the games. Seeing him faint in front of a General of the City Watch always makes me laugh.

-Coldridge Prison: Revisiting the place as Daud and seeing how it's changed since Corvo's escape was very interesting. There's a lot of details to interact with like other prisoners, executions, and doomed escape attempts.

-Addemire Institute: The Crown Killer was an interesting antagonist, and there's a lot of notes and clues to what Addemire was like before The Duke ruined it. The entire situation is very tragic, but not all is lost!

-The Dust District: It's just really fun to explore Karnaca ok? Also Corvo's old house is there.

-Hole in the World: I love how it hints that there's a low chaos option, but you don't realize it until you talk with Daud’s spirit and all the hints come together. I like wandering around the place too since we don't get to see The Void this much anywhere else.

Sorry this was so long, but I really love how well thought out these game are, and I really rambled! Happy pride to you too!

[starshifter]

this it it...all the notes for the main fic... wow....

-

This chapter is titled "It Never Ends" in Scrivener….if that tells you anything about how much this fic spun out of my control 😅 whoops. I had zero of this except the very last scene in my plans for this fic. I told my friend he should take me out sniper style if I tried to add even more because I’d already spent two months on writing this and had all my editing to go back and do still. He did not stop me from adding more. Betrayal.

But yeah, there wasn’t originally any Belobog, much less any getting into Blade’s stalking and brief appearance as Smiling Black Dragon. I couldn’t resist the opportunity though, especially since I don’t think that event is very well known? Maybe it was just me who didn’t know though, cause I joined the fandom late.

Did Serval canonically ever visit the Express? I know we had that quest about her planning to join up, but she didn’t go through with it. I don’t know if she ever got around to a casual visit, so I’m saying it still hasn’t happened. Also that Himeko and Welt still haven’t visited Belobog. All for the sake of one dumb joke about people mistaking Blade for Welt cause they’ve never met Welt. I’m not funny -_-

The entirety of belobog: is it rude to ask a hero why they suddenly have horns and pointy ears? Maybe this is normal for people from beyond the sky? I think it should be shared somewhere that one of my edit notes on this fic was: "Make Shard Sword his emotional support sword." Because I am still laughing to myself about that They are both losers. DH had to go to the girls for date ideas because he is a nerd with nerd hobbies. Blade, meanwhile, has no hobbies other than stalking because depression and PTSD. And they want to date??? Tragic.

Dan Heng can be impulsive and emotional (still laughing about Taoran, though there was definite forethought put into that one. Get fucked, shit-breather), but at the end of the day, he’s a very rational and level-headed person. I think I struck a decent balance between these things in that last argument… But I do worry that I’ve made Dan Heng too much of a doormat at times 😭He’s not being a doormat, I promise. He’s just trying to think things through and be understanding. He doesn't like to act before having a decent idea of the full picture.

Also, for all that Blade very much doesn’t worship Bibi, he really puts him up on a pedestal sometimes. Like, damn, son. You know he’s just some guy, and you still think the whole world of him. That’s gay.

And talk about finding the most creepy, stalker-ish way to say “I love you.” Guess that fits Blade tho lmao Also wtf you mean you got nothing else left? Smh, you got all of the Stellaron Hunters at your back and you know it!! Ugh, talk about self-centered and idiotic

I know in my heart that DH’s briefcase is filled with books rather than anything sensible. I know it. The writers of the game came to me in a prophetic dream and told me directly.

Not me pushing my ‘preceptor conspiracy’ theories (…theyre basically confirmed at this point, right? Maybe not the bloomborn scion thing (yet) but the sedition being a set up, yeah?)

Blade has the opportunity to do the FUNNIEST (read: most fucked up) thing on their anniversary (the literal heart presenting thing made me laugh more than it should. Just imagine dh’s traumatized expression and blade not understanding the problem. Kafka said this was what you’re supposed to do… Ah, fuck, wait)

Why is the Astral Express playing the Farming Game? Because it was the first thing that came to mind when I needed a random game to give them. I considered Catan as well, but I didn’t feel like looking up the rules and it’s been a while since I last played. I don’t know how you would cheat at the farming game. I honestly do not. The Nameless are just that powerful.

Kafka’s relationship with Blade strikes me as more distant than the other two Hunters just because Kafka is like that. She holds everyone at a distance. She’s Blade’s friend, for sure, but she’s the person he goes to when he wants a distraction from his thoughts. She’s not someone he calls just to chat with or hang out. They're working on it tho

No smut for y’all. Like, two thirds of the tag is smut, so I feel no guilt over this. My ace ass does not need to find out if I can write convincing porn yet. (Because I refuse to serve anything except the finest quality smut, but I’ve never tried writing it before, ok? Maybe someday in the future I’ll give it a shot, but this fic has already become far too long)

I fully and truly believe that Blade would not have been ready to accept anything except murder-suicide with Dan Heng if he hadn’t had the Stellaron Hunters to support him moving back towards being human. You know the drill: found family, cold dead hands, etc, etc

I don’t think Blade’s suicidal ideation can be solved so easily. He’s spent too long suffering and wishing for death. That kind of thing lingers. He’s going to continue wishing for death, but now he’s willing to live as well, and I think that’s real progress plus a good place to leave him.

[headcanonsandmore]

One of the fairest criticisms that I’ve heard about Ron is against his why-even-try attitude. While it is understandable how he got this defeatist mindset being the youngest boy of 7, some people sensibly reprimand him for not even trying to stand out instead of brewing in learned helplessness. If he felt like he wasn’t enough, then that insecurity should have encouraged him to work harder to be enough.

While I completely understand that perspective, something I think that is not thrown into the narrative is the fact that Ron is not the only Weasley dealing with “middle child syndrome”; Percy is too. Percy is also insecure about his place in the family, and his insecurity did encourage him to work harder and succeed academically. And, this actually did work for Percy; he arguably became one of his mother’s favorite kids alongside Ginny (who had the gender advantage).

However, this recognition caused the twins (also dealing with “middle child syndrome” and becoming troublemakers to garner attention instead) to turn on and openly “hate” Percy. The twins pranked and berated Percy for being stuck up and pompous (which he definitely was at times) all the time. And Ron grew up with this.

It’s obvious throughout the HP books that Ron really cares and values Fred and George’s opinion of him a lot (too much honestly), even if they do prank him. This culminates to Ron not wanting to be anything like Percy, so he can avoid the twin’s hatred. (As an adult, it’s easy to understand that the twins don’t have anything against Percy’s ambition but rather his gloating and bragging. However, Ron is even younger than the twins, so he would have generalized it, not acknowledging the nuance.) Therefore, since Ron associates Percy with ambition, Ron ends up wanting to not be ambitious. Unfortunately, this also prevents Ron from using his insecurity to better and find an identity for himself, which leads to serious thoughts indicative of depression later in life (shown explicitly in OOTP, HBP, and DH).

I definitely would love to hear more thoughts in this discussion. (Can you tell that I’m a Psych major? lol)

~~~~~

I think you make a lot of good points. 

It’s all well-and-good people saying that Ron should try and do well, but -on the occasions where he does exactly that- his accomplishments are largely ignored. Both of his Quidditch victories are breezed over because something else was deemed “more important” (Grawp in OOTP, and then Harry and Ginny getting together in HBP). That’s not even getting into the fact that -by HBP- Ron has been given an award for special services to the school, fought out several death-eaters and helped stop Voldemort’s various rises to power, but is still ignored by Slughorn in favour of Harry, Hermione and Ginny. 

Even on the occasions where Ron does try and do well, no-one seems to be interested either way, so what’s the point? 

Like you say, Ron has clearly internalised the idea that ambition = being mocked and disliked, and this has had a big impact of how his development as an individual. He can’t do badly or he’ll get criticised by his parents, and he can’t try really hard or his siblings will mock him worse than ever, so he does just enough work to do well without standing out too much. 

Thanks for the message!

[senadimell]

If you've got time to share, I'd love to hear more about your thoughts around Snape and Lupin.

@deathdaydungeon, here you are!

After a conversation with @frederick-the-great, I’ve been thinking about Lupin, Snape, and what they say about morality in HP. I’m not talking about the troublesome white hats, black hats morality, but am instead looking at from this angle: Lupin is nice and well-liked, but often lacks a backbone, whereas Snape is mean and disliked, but incredibly brave. Which is more important? I find Harry’s last sacrifice to be a useful point by which we measure their impact.

Lupin and Snape useful to compare on several important fronts.

As foils for each others’ teaching methods

The way they deal with social disadvantage

Their connections to Harry’s father and how they pass on James’ legacy

1) They both teach at Hogwarts, and are foils for each other in many ways. Snape is mean and takes away points. He’s seen as selfish. His classes are hard and unpleasant for Harry. He’s mean to Neville, and rather than encouraging him, mocks him and belittles him, which just adds to the overall disaster of Neville’s poor self-esteem mixing badly with potions class.

However, even Umbridge admits that Snape’s teaching methods work, and she’s working for Fudge who doesn’t like Death Eaters and has been defied by Snape in GoF, so we know he’s effective for a lot of people, if not Neville.

Yet, for all that, Snape saves Harry’s life multiple times. On top of that, Snape wants to keep the fact that he saved Harry’s life a secret.

“Very well. Very Well. But never--Never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it, I cannot bear...especially Potter’s son...I want your word!

My word, Severus, that I will never reveal the best of you? Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape’s ferocious, anguished face. “If you insist...”

DH 679, The Prince’s Tale

Conversely, Lupin is nice and rewards points. He’s seen as generous. His classes are fun and interesting for Harry. He’s kind to Neville, and expresses confidence in him that leads him to succeed and do well. That confidence is a huge part of Neville’s character development. I doubt he’d grow into the resistance leader in DH if not for the many times teachers expressed confidence in him, like Dumbledore in PS, Lupin in PoA, Fake!Moody in GoF, and Harry in OotP. Harry certainly approves of his methods:

“You’re the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had!” said Harry. “Don’t go!”

PoA 424, Owl Post Again

However, it’s worth noticing that Hermione does worse on his exam than we ever see. She fails the Boggart test, and she and Harry were the only two people not permitted to experience the Boggart in class. Lupin’s teaching methods aren’t foolproof. Despite that, he’s overall seen as a nice guy and good teacher.

Yet Lupin endangers Harry’s life. The secrets he keeps are dangerous: his secret to keep is that he’s a werewolf and  actively endangered three students lives with his negligence, as well as the fact that he hid a secret about a believed and convicted mass murderer to save face with Dumbledore.

“That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you’d given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?”

“A thought that still haunts me,” Lupin said heavily. “And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless--carried away with out own cleverness.

“I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore’s trust, of course....he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmasters would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others’ safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month’s adventure. And I haven’t changed...

Lupin’s face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. “All this year I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn’t do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I’d betrayed his tryst while I was at school, admitting that I’d led others along with me...and Dumbledore’s trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it...so in a way, Snape’s been right about me all along.”

PoA 355, Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Plan is emphasized because those trips that ended in “near misses” weren’t some impulsive romp. They were planned and coordinated in advance.

“I just saw Hagrid,” said Harry. “And he said you’d resigned. It’s not true, is it?”

“I’m afraid it is, said Lupin. He stared opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents.

“Why?” said Harry. The Ministry of Magic don’t think you were helping Sirius, do they?”

Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry.

“No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives.” He sighed. “That was the final straw for Severus. I think* the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he--er--accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast.”

“You’re not leaving because of that!” said Harry.

Lupin smiled wryly.

“This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents ....They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you...That must never happen again.

“You’re the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we’ve ever had!” said Harry. “Don’t go!”

PoA 424, Owl Post Again

What strikes me about this conversation is how Lupin shifts the blame around. This doesn’t start with an admission of guilt. He’s not leaving because the parents are right. He’s not leaving because he’s seen how dangerous he can be, or because he owns up to making an incredibly dangerous decision. He’s leaving because Snape forced his hand. If Snape didn’t do that, he would do the same thing he’s always been doing: sweeping his misdoing under the rug and promising himself privately that he’s going to change, but never doing it.

It’s always someone else’s fault for Lupin. That’s a neat tie in to the next point of comparison:

2. Lupin and Snape both experience marginalization in wizarding society, but in very different ways. Lupin faces socio-legal** marginalization and Snape faces socio-economic marginalization.

Lupin’s a werewolf. We see how prejudice affects his life, from his inability to find a job and his worn out clothes to his people-pleasing nature. He’s always acting nice and harmless. He does nothing to play into the condemning stereotypes he’s faced since childhood. Despite that, he still can’t find a job. Nobody will hire him, and people are scared to interact with him. From the way he talks about werewolves, it’s implied that this prejudice is held blindly across Wizarding society. Both Ron and Hermione are horrified to learn Lupin’s a werewolf. *** Later on, he’s legally limited in the kinds of jobs he holds and the kind of magic he’s allowed to perform. Lupin has no control over his transformations, and did not choose his condition.

Lupin’s not really wrong when pities himself. The odds really are stacked against him when he’s treated as if he’s a wolf 24/7, not just a few predictable times a month. His prospects are honestly awful.

The problem is, his condition is dangerous. Thus, the issue of victim blaming is particularly thorny for Lupin. He can’t just accept that he’s a monster for something he has no say over, and yet he can’t escape the fact that sometimes he is monstrous for reasons out of his control. He feels guilty for the people he could have hurt, but also seems to resent that people blame him for something that’s not his fault. The problem is that he carries that lack of accountability into spheres where he should be accountable, like not taking his medication and endangering children because of it.

Snape’s story is very different. He is poor in both the wizard and muggle worlds, and half-blooded, and was sorted into Slytherin as a child. He doesn’t have one condition against him, but checks boxes that make it hard for any one side to accept him. He’s too impure and poor to survive on his own for the Slytherin, but is a Slytherin with Death Eater friends and housemates interested in dark magic, which means he’s never going to fit in with the Order of the Phoenix crowd, especially when some of its members torment him at school. ****4

 This essay makes a convincing point that the wizarding world is not a meritocracy, and that people like Snape need powerful patronage to advance if they don’t have the money to support themselves.

I don’t consider the sorting a proper choice. I know Harry does, but I’m of the opinion that at age 11, very few people have been taught how to analyze different perspectives and make an informed decision. Most 11-year-olds are trained to obey their parents and accept their family’s ideology. Harry’s choice rests on very little evidence--most of what he knows is what Hagrid told him, and that he doesn’t want to be sorted into Voldemort’s house along with Draco Malfoy, someone who reminds him of Dudley. I don’t think Snape was very informed either (I’d love to know why), because he doesn’t realize why it Lily wouldn’t be sorted into Slytherin.

“You’d better be in Slytherin,” said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little. DH 671, The Prince’s Tale

Either the pureblood rhetoric just wasn’t strong in those days, or his mother didn’t tell him about that.

...“Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?”

James lifted an invisible sword.

“’Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.”

Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.

“Got a problem with that?”

“No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy--”

DH 671-2, The Prince’s Tale

It seems that most people just follow familial preferences. As to why Snape wants to be in Ravenclaw over Slytherin, my preferred interpretation is that he had a family legacy, knew that Slytherin rewarded the ambitious and clever, and that Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house, had a knack for making the kind of connections that a poor, clever boy would need to succeed.

Nevertheless, once Snape was in Slytherin, the odds were stacked against him. The house in that era was full of people who would later be Death Eaters. “Dark Magic” wasn’t frowned upon among his housemates, and siding with Voldemort wasn’t yet widely acknowledged as a transgression by wider society.

“No, no, but believe me, [Sirius’ parents] thought Voldemort had the right idea, they were all for the purification of the wizarding race, getting rid of Muggle-borns and having pure-bloods in charge. They weren’t alone either, there were quite a few people, before Voldemort showed his true colors, who thought he had the right idea about things.…” OotP 112

Additionally, people like Bellatrix were in the years above him, and given how Fred and George acted with younger students, I think it’s highly likely younger students had to find a place in the hierarchy or be the target of ‘pranks.’ He was a halfblood, after all, and dirt poor.

Snape knew these people. He ate with them, slept with them, and went to class with them. It is so much easier to understand and befriend someone you spend time with. I’d say that most people who subscribe to problematic ideologies aren’t just awful to be around all the time, or else these movements wouldn’t gain any traction. They’re likely funny and nice to be around if you’re not on their bad side.

In addition to strong peer pressure to befriend the people who would be death eaters, he was also bullied four to one. His bullies received protection from the headmaster when he was nearly killed or permanently maimed. They were popular and well liked.

The best analogy I’ve heard to describe Snape's Hogwarts situation is that he’s a kid in a rough neighborhood who joins the local gang. It provides protection and the hope of social mobility, and from his perspective, the other gang fights just as dirty (his treatment by the marauders). He doesn’t stop to think that the system is flawed, or that the gang’s very existence indicates the failure of authority and threatens its members. He just sees himself as a kid with nothing who needs help with protection and advancement. We know that Voldemort hasn’t shown his true colors, and it’s possible he showed different faces to different people.

‘Now, yer mum an’ dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an’ Girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst’ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get ’em on his side before ... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin’ ter do with the Dark Side.

‘Maybe he thought he could persuade ’em ... maybe he just wanted ’em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Hallowe’en ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an’ – an’ –’ (“The Keeper of the Keys”)

Dumbledore’s cited as the reason they turned him down, not their blood status. I think there’s evidence that the wholesale anti-muggleborn campaign wasn’t a huge part of the first wizarding war, and wasn’t implemented until the second, even if there was anti-muggle propaganda. (Muggle=/=muggleborn). It’s implied that Tobias is abusive and that Snape hates him for what he did to him and his mother; it’s implied that faced class prejudice by the muggles around him as well:

“I know who you are. You’re that Snape boy! They live down Spinner’s End by the river,” she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address  a poor recommendation.

DH 665, The Prince’s Tale

When you read stories about people who are able to escape cycles of gang violence and poverty, there’s almost always someone who lifts them out. There’s someone who pushes them, or extends a hand, or believes in them. There are community outreach programs, or churches, or an English teacher that pushed them to do better and try out for a scholarship. That person is usually someone who knows what it’s like and knows how hard it is to get out.

Snape doesn’t seem to get that support anywhere. Slughorn doesn’t seem to notice him, for whatever reason. Lily doesn’t approve of his friends, but also doesn’t understand at all what the pull is--that it’s hard to swim against the current of what everyone else is saying, despite the fact that she feels the same pressure to end her friendship with Snape.

“… thought we were supposed to be friends?” Snape was saying. “Best friends?” “We are, Sev, but I don’t like some of the people you’re hanging round with! I’m sorry, but I detest Every and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Marry Macdonald the other day?”

DH 673, The Prince’s Tale

In the very same conversation, the fact that Snape is not allowed to share what happened to him with Lupin and the werewolf incident means that Lily will never be able to understand what Snape is facing: That the leader of the good guys makes excuses for and protects people who recklessly endanger the lives of others.

“And you’re being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Wollow, and James Potter saved you from whatever’s down there--”

Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too!...”

DH 674, The Prince’s Tale

Later in the year after SWM, she tells Snape this:

“None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you.”

DH 675 The Prince’s Tale

She expects him to reject all of his classmates and stand against the tide, despite the fact that she knows how hard it is to do that and can’t comprehend why he sticks with his classmates. She expects him to be grateful to James Potter as if what he did was altruistic, because the Headmaster swore Snape to secrecy and he keeps his promises, despite the fact that someone else was spreading the story. (The fact that she says she heard it instead of talking about it like its common knowledge implies that she heard it from a friend, so our friends the Marauders likely weren’t keeping their lips zipped even if Snape was.)

I don’t say this to shift the blame away from Snape to Lily in regards to Snape joining the Death Eaters. I just want to point out that Lily wasn't someone who could help him break the cycle. He didn’t squander some chance she offered him. She just wasn’t enough to break him out--not empathetic, motivated, or well-informed enough. (I think the fact that they were peers plays a big role in that).

Ultimately, Snape did choose to join the Death Eaters. He did yield to peer pressure. He did obey his assignment and report the prophecy to Voldemort. He spent his youth yielding, following the path in front of him, and choosing what was probably the easier choice: stick with your group, find powerful friends, do what they want, and don’t ask too many questions about their methods. That’s what makes his decision to betray Voldemort so powerful to me.

Here’s part of the passage when Snape betrays Voldemort:

...The adult Snape was panting, turning on the spot, his wand gripped tightly in his hand, waiting for something or for someone...His fear infected Harry too, even though he knew that he could not be harmed, and he looked over his shoulder wondering what it was that Snape was waiting for--

Then a sliding, jagged jet of white light flew through the air. Harry thought of lightning, but Snape had dropped to his knees and his wand had flown out of his hand.

“Don’t kill me!”

DH 676, The Prince’s Tale

He was terrified. He knew he was caught between the world’s two most powerful wizards, but it was worth it if he could save his childhood friend.

Then when Lily dies:

“Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the share and color of Lily Evans’s eyes, I am sure?”

“DON’T!” bellowed Snape. “Gone...dead...”

“Is this remorse, Severus?”

“I wish..I wish I were dead....”

“And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly.

DH 678, The Prince’s Tale

Whatever motivation Snape had before is gone. A person’s life who is not his own is worth more than his own, and he’s drowning in guilt. From now on, Snape works to be useful in saving Harry’s life, and later many lives, at risk of death. His choices are a black mark on his record, likely making it difficult for him to get a job when he’s been tried as a Death Eater, and all of his wizarding connections are Death Eaters or their associates. He has no money or influence. Dumbledore hires him.

So Lupin has a single ailment and faces constant social and legal discrimination. He constantly tries to undermine people’s expectations about werewolves by being mild, but unfortunately is too afraid of rejection and its consequences to stand up against bad behavior or take full responsibility for his failings. He has friends who support him, but do it by engaging in risky behavior. He does not stop them. Perhaps he fears exposure and expulsion. Perhaps he just likes belonging for once. Either way, he does not come clean until forced to.

Snape is different; instead of facing outright rejection, he’s from a poor background and grows up surrounded by peers who join something somewhere between a gang and a cult while being bullied by people groomed by a rival organization. The headmaster of his school supports the rival organization and swears him to secrecy about an incident when they endangered his life, sending the message that his life is worthless. That same group continues to publicly bully him. He continues down this path until he realizes that it endangers something he cares about, and makes a decision that puts him at risk of being killed by the two most powerful wizards alive. He changes course.

Snape seems to view his problems as challenges facing him, whereas Lupin sees his problems as part of who he is, and not something he can change. Lupin seems to accept what happens to him in a fatalist kind of way. He sees what happens as inevitable and somewhat out of his control, whereas Snape never seems to blame his circumstances for him becoming a death eater, even though they clearly limited his options. I think that attitude matters. However, because Lupin’s facing a fictional magical malady, it’s difficult to fully blame him for that attitude.

Both Lupin and Snape have to react to powerful societal pressure that makes it difficult for them to succeed. Comparing them is apples and oranges at best, because their circumstances were so different. I don’t think you can judge either’s morality based on group identity, though.

3. Finally, they both act as a window on James: who he was, and what he means to Harry, who never knew him. That means in some way, they help pass on his parental legacy to orphaned Harry.

Hogwarts is Harry’s home, which means that the teachers are more than just teachers, but play a symbolic parental role in his life.

Hogwarts was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here.

DH 697, The Forest Again

You can’t understand Harry without realizing what he lacks: a loving home and living parents. He’s always looking into the past to find his parents, and is saddled with a legacy he struggles to understand--why did he live, who were his parents, and what does he need to do now?

Lupin and Snape also share a connection with Harry that goes beyond a normal teacher-student relationship, unlike McGonagall or Flitwick. Snape and Lupin are more personally connected to Harry than the other professors because they know Harry’s parents and went to school with them. I will mostly focus on James from here on out since we know so little about Lily personally and Harry mostly tries to emulate or avoid his father’s behavior and legacy.

They’re also the last people who knew James to survive, and they die almost at the same time. They’re the only teachers apart from Dumbledore who give Harry private lessons. More importantly, these lessons are all tied thematically to Harry’s past. Harry’s experience with dementors and the patronus charm are his first re-encounter with his parents and his past.

Terrible though it was to hear his parents’ last moments replayed inside his head, these are the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he’d never be able to produce a proper patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again.

PoA 243, The Patronus

In the end of PoA, Harry sees himself and mistakenly thinks it’s his father.

“Come on!” he muttered, staring about. “Where are you? Dad, come on--”

But no one came. Harry raised his head to look atet he circle of dementors across the lake. One of them was lowering its hood. It was time for the rescuer to appear--but no one was coming to help this time--

And then it hit him--he understood. He hadn’t seen his father--he had seen himself--

Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out his want.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” he yelled.

PoA 411, Hermione’s Secret

So the patronus itself is linked up with Harry’s past, and his coming-of-age. He doesn’t rely on others to save him, but must do it himself. (Though Harry’s never really trusted the adults to save him.)  It’s interesting to note that Harry actually learns the Patronus charm under Lupin’s tutelage.

On the other hand, Snape introduces Harry to the unpleasant side of his father’s legacy. Through Snape, we see that James wasn’t just a little cocky, but a bully.

“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. “I don't want you to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, rounding on James. “You're as bad as he is.” “What?” yelped James. “I'd NEVER call you a--you-know-what!” “Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can--I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.” She turned on her heel and hurried away.

....

He had no desire at all to return to Gryffindor Tower so early, nor to tell Ron and Hermione what he had just seen. What was making Harry feel so horrified and unhappy was not being shouted at or having jars thrown at him; it was that he knew how it felt to be humiliated in the middle of a circle of onlookers, knew exactly how Snape had felt as his father had taunted him, and that judging from what he had just seen, his father had been every bit as arrogant as Snape had always told him. OotP, Snape’s Worst Memory, emphasis added

It’s interesting note that Harry fails to learn Occlumency from Snape. (In fact, we never see Harry use magical skills he learned from Snape apart from Expelliarmus, which is...important). At the same time, he gains an important perspective.

You can’t have James without this part of him. However kind James was to Lupin, however brave James was when he saved his wife, he was neither kind nor brave when he bullied Snape. It’s uncomfortable and awkward, but it’s important.

When he had finished, neither Sirius nor Lupin spoke for a moment. Then Lupin said quietly, “I wouldn’t like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen —”

“I’m fifteen!” said Harry heatedly.

OotP

Harry rejects the idea that actively bullying someone is just folly of youth. He knows what it’s like to be disenfranchised. Regardless of what Snape and James’ relationship was, he didn’t deserve that kind of humiliation. And Lupin watched, and defends him. Harry has to grapple with that.

Ultimately, Snape and Lupin do more than just connect him to his past. They also teach him his two signature spells, Expelliarmus and Expecto Patronum. One saves his soul, and one saves his life and frees the wizarding world from Voldemort because of Voldemort’s fractured soul.

Snape and Lupin as moral counterpoints

How do we evaluate this:

“I’d never have believed this,” Harry said. “The man who taught me to fight dementors--a coward.”*****5

DH 213, The Bribe

and this?

“Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.

DH 758, Seventeen years later

Ultimately, I don’t think it’s really that useful to pit two people with different backgrounds against each other. At the same time, they represent two different halves of a question: when it comes down to it, should we try to be kind or brave? I don’t think you have to pick one, but when pursuing the two, there are bound to be moments of conflict.

I always come back to the lyrics to Last Midnight from Sondheim’s Into the Woods.******6

You're so nice You're not good You're not bad You're just nice I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right I'm the witch You're the world

Snape doesn’t care about being nice. I think this is where most non-Snape fans start pulling out the pitchforks and torches. Snape isn’t nice, and he’s not nice to kids. He’s not nurturing.*******7 He’s abrasive, allergic to coddling, and petty when he can get away with it. In fact, most of the people he’s ‘nice’ to are significantly more powerful than him, or someone he needs to be on good terms with.

Lupin is nice. He’s mild. He’s often kind. However, he often picks being liked over standing up for something.

What does that result in? He doesn’t stand up for Snape. The bullying continues and keeps Snape firmly on his path. He wins the respect of the Gryffindors with the Snape Boggart incident but loses whatever credibility he had to tell Snape to ‘put their past behind him.’

On the other hand, Neville’s bravery in DH was nurtured by Lupin’s confidence. Neville kept hope alive and led a rebellion. Lupin is one of the few adults that Harry fully respects and trusts up until the Grimmauld place confrontation. (He likes Hagrid and Molly, but doesn’t necessarily trust them to make decisions in their best interest, while he usually respects Lupin’s judgement). Harry loves him, and it’s because he loved him and watched him die that he needs to act and fight back against Voldemort.

Ultimately, Harry’s relationship with James and the adults who pass on his legacy is one of the most important symbolic relationships in the book. The thematic resolution of the series is Harry’s act of sacrificial love.

He did not know what to feel, except shock at the way Snape had been killed, and the reason for which it had been done....

...He could not bear to look at any of the other bodies, to see who else had died for him. He could not bear to join the Weasleys, could not look into their eyes, when if he had given himself up in the first place, Fred might never had died...

He turned away and ran up the marble staircase. Lupin, Tongs...He yearned not to feel....He wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside of him.

To escape into someone else’s head would be a blessed relief....Nothing that even Snape had left him could be worse than his own thoughts.

DH 660-662, The Prince’s Tale

He rushes to the headmaster’s office to escape into Snape's memories. His memories convince Harry that sacrificing himself is the expedient thing to do, and he heads to the Forbidden Forest. To enable is last sacrifice, he uses the Resurrection stone to witness his parents and his father’s friends. Their combined testimony is enough to ameliorate his personal fears about following through with this final act.

Lupin and Snape leave entirely different legacies behind. Lupin encourages and inspires. As an authority figure, he gives people like Neville space to grow and his compassion towards Harry gives him the strength to face his demons. Harry’s decision in DH to die must have something to do with the kindness he was shown, and the sacrifices people who loved him made for him, of which Lupin is a part. Despite what he saw in Princes’ Tale, Snape wasn’t one of the people who’d make an appearance with the Resurrection stone.

Yet Snape sacrificed his life for Harry and the wizarding world, entities that Snape didn’t seem to like and that certainly weren’t kind to him. His form of bravery is about endurance, tenacity, and willingness to do what is right even when you hate your allies and no one else is going to credit you for what you do. And that’s very Harry. Even if he hates Draco, he’s not about to let him die if he can help it. Harry has much more in common with Snape than Lupin, I think.

Since this is about souls, let’s return to the Patronus charm. Snape’s not the kind of person who typically inspires that kind of emotion required to cast a Patronus in others, at least from what we see in Harry’s perspective. Yet because he has experienced that love, he can cast it and shows Harry what needs to be done. Snape enables Harry to dive under the ice. Lupin’s the kind of person who can inspire a patronus, but isn’t the one to make the sacrifice play until after Harry confronts him about his duty to his family. Ultimately, though, they both sacrifice themselves in the Battle of Hogwarts.

* Ever since I realized how blatantly tangential Order of Merlin must be to Snape’s character motivation, that line has frustrated me to no end. There’s no way frothing-at-the-mouth PoA Snape just really coveted that Order of Merlin. He’s often petty, yeah, but if Lupin believes it’s just about that and has nothing to do with Snape’s real conviction about how dangerous Lupin’s actions were, he’s deluding himself. I hate that he passes it on to his students.

**Yes, I am making up words today. Lupin’s faces prejudice and discrimination on a social level enforced by increasingly powerful discriminatory laws.

*** It’s worth noting that if we take every book as equally valid canon, then there’s either widespread ignorance towards lycanthropy, as Lockhart convinces everyone he was able to “cure” the Wagga-Wagga werewolf, and as teenage Horcrux!Riddle said Hagrid raised werewolf cubs under his bed, or else lycanthropy is actually a wide range of conditions under a wolfy umbrella ranging from treatable to incurable. Lupin is our primary source for lycanthropy: he’s the one who tells us about Greyback, for example. If we hold the first two books as equally valid, then perhaps we only know about Lupin’s particular type of condition. That’s the Watsonian analysis, anyways.

****4 These footnotes are getting ridiculous. Basically, there’s no consensus on what Dark Magic is, and on what basis it’s Evil. This essay goes into things that are labelled as curses. I’m inclined to believe that the vast majority of Dark Magic is just Magic We Don’t Like for Reasons.

The definition of what is and isn't considered Dark Magic is never explained: often it just seems to mean "a curse I don't approve of".  Even "curse" has never been satisfactorily defined, but we can certainly say that not all curses are regarded as evil, since some appear to be on the Hogwarts curriculum, and are certainly performed without censure.

*****5 While I paired the quotes at the top of this section together for dramatic effect, it’d be a shame not to look at the context of the Lupin fight.

“I thought you’d say [that your mission was top secret],” said Lupin, looking disappointed. But I might still be of some use to you. You know what I am and what I can do. I could come with you to provide protection. There would be no need to tell me exactly what you were up to. Harry hesitated. It was a very tempting offer.

Hermione then asks about Tonks.

“I’m pretty sure my father would have wanted to know why you aren’t sticking with your own kid, actually”... ...“I’d never have believed this,” Harry said. “The man who taught me to fight dementors--a coward.”

...“Parents shouldn’t leave their kids unless--unless they’ve got to.”

...“I know I shouldn’t have called him a coward.”“No, you shouldn’t,” said Ron at once. “But he’s acting like one. “ “All the same...” said Hermione.

“I know,” said Harry. “But if it makes him go back to Tonks, it’ll be worth it, won’t it?”

He could not keep the plea out of his voice. Hermione looked sympathetic, Ron uncertain. Harry looked down at his feet, thinking of his father. Would James have backed Harry in what he had said to Lupin, or would he have bene angry at how his son had treated his old friend?

DH 213, The Bribe

Harry feels personally betrayed that someone who has a family and child would abandon them. Here he is unyielding and accusing to someone he cares about in the hopes that they re-evaluate what matters. It’s a rather Snape-like tactic, actually. Or else a Dumbledore one.

I love the dialogue in this scene, but have some major issues with how Harry’s internalization drops out the window for shock value. JKR does the same thing when has Harry pull the Veritaserum trick in HBP. I don’t like it.

******6 The witch and Snape aren’t perfect analogues, since she’s decidedly more amoral in my opinion, but they’re both contractually-motivated characters whose humanity is shown by their (platonic/familial) love for a more “innocent” character and the guilt at the innocent character’s sacrificial death. Guilt doesn’t lead the witch to do anything productive, and for Snape it does, which is where they diverge on the character path.

*******7 Draco may be an exception to this. However, watching Snape struggle to build rapport with Draco in HBP leads me to think that while Snape’s been on Draco’s side, he’s still not “nurturing,” or in other words, good at cultivating trust and encouraging the strong and wholesome parts of someone’s personality to grow.  

[paynnincorporated]

All this musing about how much Word needed Zulay and the Dragon Eyes post exile for both company and villainy is making her death in canon even more tragic istg. These were their evil plans for the world. Her passing probably really fucked up Word from really being able to carry out his dragon human war plans until a little later.

Anyway, some extra headcanons on Word + my ideas on reworking his character no one asked for but will get anyway:

His clawed hand is a prosthetic, after his hand got blasted to bits from Zulay’s accident. (This is canon btw) Someone else had the headcanon that he also lost his hearing due to the blast, resulting in the crown being some fancy hearing aid.

Since the show’s not suuuper clear on wtf Word’s actual motive is for a DH war, I’m going to chalk it up as purely an innocent accident. Made a comic for this, but retconning that haha.

Zulay’s accident traumatised Word into being paranoid about untested/experimental gear. Funnily enough, Paynn Inc gear undergoes the most rigorous safety tests out of the Big 3 companies (Saurcom, Leviacorp, Reptilico), and is one of the most reliable and safe on the streets. In Changelings, Moordryd stealing his gear probably led to a looooooooot of offscreen panic and rebuke.

Some more angst is that he doesn’t deal with grime/mess on himself very well (Having your wife and her dragon’s remains blasted onto you will do that). Also that he doesn’t take medium/raw meat very well, the bloody taste reminds him a little too much about the accident.

Let’s not make him cartoonishly terrible to Moordryd, even downright physically abusive. My characterisation of Word is that he cares and tries to be a better parent. Moordryd is his only son and reminder of Zulay. Dude wanted a kid, and they were going to have this empire to themselves until tragedy struck. Turn him into the sort of evil parent that would ravage the world for his family. Does that mean he’s a good parent? Not necessarily haha. He’s still a grouch, and the two of them still yell at each other, but he makes the effort to care and show affection in his own way.

Word’s a research buff. Cue post-cult Word digging into reading and researching just to understand and fit into society better. It doesn’t work very well, and Zulay finds him to be an endearing dork. This is also the case for literally any aspect of his life lmao. Probably poured through a lot of books on pregnancy, child care and so forth when Zulay was pregnant with Moordryd. (I’ve joked about him hooking those labour simulation devices onto himself to experiment haha!) Probably attempted XYZ ways to bond with Moordryd after reading about “How to communicate and build healthy relationships with your children” and then failing many many times XD.

Post-cult Word was barely scraping by on the streets with Abandonn, the dragon he grew up with from the dragon priesthood. Dirt poor and maybe a little feral from being ditched with nothing by his supposed family, his scramble to win races is powered by his early, scrappy versions of gear.

This ultimately attracts the attention of Zulay (leader of the Dragon Eye crew) and he gets pulled under her wing. Cue some very cute shenanigans of Zulay showing him the ropes around not just surviving, but thriving, in Down City. This is a very good time for them both, with the Dragon Eyes becoming stronger under Zulay’s leadership and Word’s tech. Zulay and some of the Dragon Eyes quickly become Word’s friends (Abyll). With their backing, he sets off starting Paynn Inc.

I initially thought Word and Zulay would be more rivals to lovers but it’s honestly business partners to friends to lovers. Word didn’t really have anyone besides his dragon until Zulay, she means very much to him. Meanwhile, Zulay was probably charmed by his “innocence”, ingenuity and ambition. Who knew people with dubious morals would fit so well together?

Unfortunately, post-Zulay’s death, the leadership vacuum in the Dragon Eyes and Word’s inability to lead causes their numbers to dwindle. The crew’s initial strength diminishes great. It’s why Moordryd’s current crew is so small, it never could quite recover to its heyday when Word was at its helm. Word is secretly proud his son has his ragtag group of friends as his crew, it’s very much what Zulay had going on with the Dragon Eyes in the past.

His own past with the priests colours his want to be a better parent-ish for Moordryd. Ie. Moordryd would never not be provided for materially (Unlike Connor pft). He does forget his son’s existence at times though, when throwing himself into work/schemes. Ooft.  True abandonment is the furthest from his mind, however. (Think Wraith Booster but Word forgetting his son has white repel gear and what do you mean he’s crawled out of the safety dome-) The affection/emotional side of things is also a huge struggle.

I’m not sure about his and Zulay’s motivations for a dragon human war, but I’ll take a stab at it. Quite a bit of Word’s want for a DHW is due to the Dragon Priest’s influence. Growing up learning that war was coming what with the direction of how humanity was treating dragons, he probably thought instigating that conflict and then offering aid like some benevolent ruler would likely stop it and secure some semblance of “true” peace. Maybe the priests had him and connor grow up with abused dragons. Abandonn as Word’s main companion and the knowledge that he was mistreated made Word develop some general misanthropy. Ofc, getting together with Zulay and co who are also morally dubious, their plans leaned more towards selfish goals of power and control than peace. They do love dragons, but the ends justify the means and wraith gear is a necessary evil. *shrugs*

Maybe I shouldn’t think too deeply into these characters so much haha.

[pebblysand]

It’s me again! You gave such a thorough reply that I wanted to first say thank you and second elaborate on devastating and maybe also expound on why i love castles so much.

So honestly what i most appreciate in post-dh hp fanfics is the exploration of what happens after the war- particularly the trauma and healing process. I’ll be frank in that I’m probably projecting my own mental health issues but that’s neither here nor there.

Castles strikes me as particularly interesting and unique because it delves into Ginny’s trauma from the war as much as Harry’s. Very often in other post-dh fics we see that Ginny is the stable one, she is Harry’s anchor, they show her understanding and forgiving him without question. Which I understand and love but your fic sheds a new light on other possibilities. When I say devastating i mean the internal turmoil, the truth that recovery and healing and growth are agonizing processes. (This is me projecting again, that last three years have been A Lot). And i really appreciate that, personally and narratively. The ordeal of healing and healing alongside people you love and at the same time hurting and being hurt by those same people, and the harsh reality that none of this is linear is something that I just find so compelling in your writing.

Man that’s the most coherent I’ve been in a review in AGES - not just feral screaming. Needless to say, I am very very excited for your update and I will literally wait however long it takes, because you can’t rush genius.

Aw thank you so much for your kind words. I'm glad this fic is resonating with you. This is going to be long, so buckle up under the cut.

Thanks again for what you've said, I truly appreciate it. Without blowing my own horn too much, I will say that castles does seem to "speak" in that way to a lot of people in terms of trauma and healing, which as a writer is immensely flattering. I think as authors, all we ever want to do (or at least all I've ever wanted to do) is to write things that are faithful to human emotions and human experiences (as Sally Rooney puts it, we want to write books about "people"). When we get that right that's honestly the most rewarding thing in the world.

To tell you the truth, though, I never really set out to write about that. To give you a little bit of backstory on Castles, it's a story that's been more of less brewing in my head since I was 14 years old, which is when DH came out. I remember sitting there at the end of it and even then I couldn't stop thinking about the 'what now?' question. Obviously there is the epilogue (and I will come back to that in a bit) but I always had a question mark drawn on the direct aftermath of the battle. I think most HP fans have their own little corner of obsession, right? Like, some people are obsessed with Marauders, some with Next-Gen, some with the Death Eater side of the fight. The Post-War world has always been mine.

I believe that the reason for that, as much as I hate to admit it, is that as humans, when something bad happens to us, we have a very easy way out: death. I'm obviously not trying to encourage anyone out here to kill themselves and if anyone who reads this is having thoughts along this line, please seek help, but the truth of the matter is that in the human experience, death is always a possibility. We could choose it, embrace it, and end our own suffering. Yet, like Harry at the end of DH, most of us don't. For the most part, we tend to hang onto to life. Because, truth be told, it's full and wonderful and deserves to be lived, despite the fact that, objectively speaking, it's bloody hard. And, as a writer, that's the space I want to be in. I want to understand and describe why we make that choice, every day, to get up and carry on, rather than giving up. I find that absolutely fascinating. I'm not a writer for the sensational stuff (some people do that much better than me), I want to write the quiet and the silence and the dirt and the blood that's dried and the grief and the powering through and the not giving up. To me, choosing life despite trauma is the epitome of bravery which, as a Gryffindor, is probably the character trait I value most in people.

Obviously, from a narrative perspective, this interest of mine lands itself to a post-war exploration very well. There's an old interview of JKR where she says she insisted on the epilogue being included at the end of book seven (even though she knew it was going to piss people off) because she wanted to show that they made it through. That, as I put it in Castles, 'They lived, for better or for worse.' And, in that interview, she talks more specifically about soldiers and PTSD, and says that 'getting over that kind of war, that's the hard part.' I remember watching that interview and thinking: yes, exactly. And, that's the thing about the epilogue. It's not so much about the content of it, the who-ends-up-with-who rather than the symbolism of it. It's not only about the fact that they fought in a war and won it, it's about the fact that they fought another war afterwards, a quiet one with the world they were trying to rebuild, along with rebuilding themselves, and they won that one, too. It's about showing that bravery isn't always this sparkling, flashy thing. It's also overcoming the silences and the grief and the struggles and making it to the other side.

And, so, yeah, I suppose that leads me to write about trauma. Although that isn't the initial endeavour, it's certainly part of it. And as you pointed out yourself, that road is full of ups and downs because "living" is fucking fantastic, but it's also fucking hard. I find the phrasing you used about Ginny typically being the "stable" one in other fics particularly interesting. I'd never thought about it that way, but I see what you mean. And, the thing with Castles is: none of them (and I mean H & G but also Ron, Hermione - hell even Kingsley) are particularly stable or unstable. To me, they just are. They exist and they live and they try to put one foot in front of the next the best way they can, with very little sense of plan or strategy. They sort of make do, which to me is the only realistic way I can envision the post-war world. They're kids who've just lived through the apocalypse. It's unrealistic to me that any of them would hold all of the answers, or even come close to having their shit together.

To me, it was and is very important to show all sides of that spectrum. Although they likely all wouldn't have suffered from acute PTSD, they would certainly all have struggled with something. Not everyone deals with everything the same way, and I want to show feelings of guilt, and bravery, and confusion, and fear, and determination which are all as unique as the individuals who experience them. I also wanted to show that not everything has a clear-cut explanation for it. For example, when Ginny breaks up with Harry in chap3, she says some truly horrible things. But, what she does say is also the one percent of everything that lies under the surface. She says she breaks up with him for Reason A but it's actually Reason A. 1, A.2, B, C, D, etc. Because, truth be told, that is what happens in life. People rarely give you a neat little list of all the reasons they do something, especially if, again, they've just lived through something huge. Often, you only truly find out the real reasons for people's actions months later, and often, that's because they themselves don't even know, haven't made sense of it in their heads. So, of course, I think it's incredibly important to write all of them as going through something, because to me anything else would be deeply unrealistic.

And, truth be told, I've thought about this extensively every time I've re-read the books in the past. Throughout the years, I started countless drafts on this topic, which I often gave up and left unfinished, until now. I think what motivated me this time is honestly the pandemic. I re-read the books during the first lockdown, then set out to find The Perfect Fanfiction which would deal with all of that. I'd never been in the Potter fandom before and thought to myself: 'there's like a million fics in that fandom, someone must have written this.' And, to this day, I still sort of believe that? Like, I've had a lot of comments in the past year telling me that they like or dislike Castles because it has a unique "tone" and a unique "mood" as well as themes but I'm always like "really? someone else must have written this," haha. But, despite spending a lot of time looking, I never found it so I suppose that's when I decided to write it, haha.

And, here we are, lol.