#but i love how horrendously huge the older siblings get

[rpvlix]

📐 6'0 baseline - compare to Braso, Sol, Kym

Sent 📐 + your character’s height to compare with one or more of mine!

//aaand altogether in one shot, for easier direct comparing

//Kym's quite a leap compared to the other two!

[blueikeproductions]

I’m gonna be honest, I’m falling a little out of love for EarthSpark because of the last batch of episodes. Part of it is the same reason I didn’t like Cyberverse: the absolutely crap pacing and decision making.

Now EarthSpark did start off well enough, I think the first two episodes remain my favorites because it sets the tone and world up pretty nicely. After that it starts getting … messy. Nitpicks abound! As much as I do enjoy the Terrans, Thrash remains the forgettable one to me. He’s just kinda there and has nothing really to do. He gets overshadowed by his siblings being more memorably quirky (Hashtag and Twitch) or having their own arcs (Nightshade and Jawbreaker). Thrash being the somewhat immature, lackadaisical, older brother IS fine, I just wish he had something to help stand out more.

Megatron’s redemptive antihero role is pry the best it’s been written. Not even Roberts, who ushered it in, really handled it that well since it was somewhat forced and skewed into Twitter/Tumblr stereotypes. Imma be blunt: Cyberverse didn’t even try when they did it. The staff patted themselves on the back for a repenting Megs, but didn’t even bother explaining it in-show, instead giving a lengthy explanation on TWITTER. Stuff like “Oh Bisk got arrested because he beat up another Transformer he lost to at a space video game event” is harmless fluff, describing a major component of what your story is trying to do meanwhile is just mind bogglingly horrendous. Not helped is despite this, Megatron is still torturing Autobots, smacking lunch trays and being a huge dick, which runs counter to him having changed upon seeing his worse Robo-Robotnik counterpart. But CV Megatron was still his more traditional villainous self intentional or not, and I do think ES trying to keep Megatron as a heroic character is hurting the overall series. Transformers has a huge villain problem currently, and it’s only gotten worse with modern media trying to make all the Decepticons sympathetic. EarthSpark, the longer it went on, really seems confused as to what role the Decepticons are supposed to have. Are they still trying to cause trouble, are they just trying to survive, were guys like Breakdown simply on the wrong team in the first place? It’s all very muddled, and I NEVER liked the idea that the Decepticons are just slightly more irritable Autobots because you loose the franchise’s defining good vs evil dynamic that’s helped keep the thing going this long. Even stuff like Superlink, RiD15, and the G1 cartoon make it clear the Decepticons are stubborn and refuse to give up to prove a point. They WILL conquer the galaxy, dammit. And stuff like EarthSpark is just… taking the fight out of them. Which gets to my next nitpick…

So the Decepticons, understandably, are locked up by GHOST for their crimes, and the humans are trying to study them/torture them to make weapons. Naturally, the already angry robots would be pushed to the brink, want to escape the fleshies’ grasp, and lay down the pain similar to Dreamwave and Bay, and while we do see a bit of this, at the end the Decepticons just decide they’re suddenly friends with the Maltos? Something here feels very rushed, along with Shockwave also suddenly wanting to be pals after initially finding the Terrans disgusting. The pacing here is just odd, and a deleted scene shows Shockwave petting Fluffy Ears after he was just about to turn her into hamburger meat a moment before. It’s funny out of context, but it still doesn’t make sense. It skews uncomfortably into Diamond territory for me, where I get the logic, but how they got there doesn’t work (at least for me). You CAN have redemption stuff, heck Decepticon like robots like DragoBurst from Daigunder came around, but they, for the most part, properly built up to this. The Decepticons being “good” feels like a split second decision that had no real pay off. Because again, in the past, if the Decepticons helped the Autobots, it was an enemy of my enemy/Earth is where we keep our stuff thing, and they’d go right back to trying to destroying it once the third party was dealt with.

And I feel like EarthSpark may have had some internal problems with the story. How much of this was Nick not being cooperative ala Rise of the TMNT or just genuinely bad planning I’m not sure. The biggest issue for me was Ravage, and, to an extent, Starscream too. Early on they had Screamer, Wave and Ravage concocting a scheme by letting the dog-cougar cassette out into GHOST to snoop around, Starscream laughing evilly with his glowing red eyes. Inexplicably, Starscream’s eyes are blue, even in flashbacks, which has confused a lot of people, and the show doesn’t address this. A characters’ eyes turning red to accentuate a point isn’t a new thing in animation, but I don’t think that’s what this was…? I was assuming it was Allspark Affinity, but I don’t think it’s that either. More than likely him having blue eyes is meant to show he’s a good boy deep in his shell, similar to IDW’s “true inner Starscream” thing. …However, and this comes back to Ravage, Starscream was originally planning to sic Shockwave on Megatron for what amounts to the usual petty revenge on Starscream’s part. Ravage was sent out to get the remote that controlled Shockwave’s stasis pod, but this scene was cut entirely, instead explaining Shockwave’s escape as simply poor upkeep on his pod. The scene was cut for time, but … WHY? There was surely a better means to incorporate Ravage snooping around instead of just turning it into a dropped sub plot. The show attempts to course correct by suggesting via Swindle this was an attempt at a prison break until Hashtag and Mandroid initiated it instead, but Ravage is unaccounted for. I’m assuming this was a plot point that was debated on, as the official guide book INSTEAD says that Soundwave had Ravage snoop around for info on the Allspark due to an agreement they had with Prime and Megs when they got arrested. It feels like they just couldn’t decide on what to do, and chose neither, and while they could have Ravage later reappear and go “Hey guys I found the Allspark’s location and a whole bunch of ancient Cybertron relics on GHOST’s computers!” in S2, that’s fine, but I don’t trust the writers atm to do so…

There’s also turning Starscream into a trauma victim. Again sort of that Steven Universe/fandom mentality made canon thing that bothers me, BUT I completely get what they were going for. The problem for me is that even in the 80’s, Starscream’s constant beatdowns were played for laughs, and frankly a lot of the time Starscream had it coming in the first place. Starscream may have had more common sense than Megatron, but he was also driven by his pride, ego and his comedic sense of self preservation. Starscream also would bite off more than he could chew by messing with relics like the Enigma of Combination, Omega Lock and the Underbase, usually destroying himself in his quest for godhood to simply one up Megatron and show how much better he is at being evil and/or just being a petty glitch. So to play the dynamic straight and make Starscream more of a domestic abuse victim feels… wrong, especially when I’ve seen plenty of Megscreamer ship art of the G1 and Prime versions that suggests… a bit of hypocrisy in the name of a ship. I think Micron Legend Starscream handled the idea the best, though there Screamer was more a young warrior looking for approval, but Megatron thought he was weak and selfish, and the two would fight, but it was more of a anime warrior’s honor kind of way and not the more slapstick marriage falling apart way G1 and other shows did it. I do like Starscream becoming friends with Hashtag, reminds me a bit of ML Starscream becoming friends with Alexis, and I think that’s handled well enough. At the very least Micron Legend shows what EarthSpark wants to do with Starscream CAN work, it just needs a bit more fine tuning to make sense, and I feel internal decisions saw the clearly G1 and Prime inspired Starscream hugely rushed into a role he’s not ready for or arguably suited for. It’s a similar problem I had with Donald Duck in DuckTales 17: he’s barely in the show, clearly has a chip on his shoulder over Scrooge’s role in Della’s disappearance, and off screen he just sorta changed his mind and is suddenly wanting to help Scrooge. I get that part of his decision was influenced by how it was affecting the boys, but I never liked how we never saw Donald change, he just … does.

Mandroid’s descent into villainy is also rushed. Starts off well enough and him Roboticizing himself into a monster by the end makes sense, but it feels like some steps were skipped to get there, which was the same problem I had with IDW Megatron going on this big quest off screen we never saw. Also, a plot point is the Terrans don’t actually use Energon, and instead power up with Emberstone blessed Earth water… but there’s a few instances that contradict this, such as Mandroid’s Doomsday Project that shouldn’t affect the Terrans at all, but it… does anyway. Like… what? Also Mandroid and Alex knowing each other doesn’t appear to be addressed either. Especially notable when Mandroid went out of his way to AVOID killing him, only to not have this qualm anymore. It feels like a step was skipped, I get Mandroid is too far gone but even that was a huge leap in context.

Not a big deal, but do the Sharkticons Transform? Their design seems to skew to Terrorcon Rippersnapper, RiD15 Hammerstrike, and the Street Sharks style Sharkticons of Cyberverse, but I never liked how the later didn’t Transform into a robot or a speedboat or something. I get Mode Attachment, but even guys like RiD15 Grimlock and IDW Leviathan walked around in Robot Mode once in awhile.

Similarly, Jawbreaker scanned an actual fossil to get his Beast Mode, but doing so was new to Grimlock… who has a dinosaur Beast Mode which has left fans puzzled. Fans theorize Grimlock may have scanned a toy of a picture, similar to Nightshade, or that Wheeljack helped reformat the Dynobots into Dinobots as a G1 nod. However a stylized flashback shows Grimlock in Beast Mode on Cybertron, which makes me think in RiD15 terms that Grimlock may have already BEEN a dinosaur, just a “space” one. Though that runs contrary to the discussion how alt modes can help define a Transformer, and Grimlock is shown to be reluctant in the current era to Transform, as he can’t quite control his Beast Mode due to anger and PTSD caused by Mandroid. I never liked FOC’s Hulk like take on Grimlock though, and seeing that be an influence here kinda sours Big Grim for me, especially since my favorite incarnations, G1 toon and RiD15, LOVE being dinosaurs. Grimlock is still handled well otherwise though.

A lot of modern shows like this I’ve noticed have this out of balance tone where they can’t decide what they should be. It’s either super weird and cutesy or hard core darkness and angst. The one time I’ve seen this handled well was Bomberman Jetterz of all things, and that’s a kids anime about a little bomb throwing goofball that was never brought over here. It organically builds up to its darker elements, while the show starts off fairly goofy and weird it still lightly explores some things early on like Mighty’s sense of self and successfully builds on it.

Also Nightshade. Oh poor Nightshade. They continue to be the punching bag and poster child for some why this show is bad because it has The Gay TM. I do think kids can handle the concept of being gay, and I think kids can understand to some degree why a person would choose not to identify as either gender. But I also understand why parents don’t want to have such a conversation and there’s a time and place for this sort of thing, especially in kids media. (Blue’s Clues’ Pride parade animation was well intentioned but a little too… much for preschoolers. Same sex couples, sure, the nitty gritty stuff beyond that, not as much… And I say that knowing an older lesbian couple in college who thought what Adventure Time was doing with PB and Marcy was inappropriate for kids). Nightshade has more stuff going on besides their gender, but those stirring up trouble and even the owl’s supporters tend to ONLY focus on their being non-binary, which isn’t helping. The show only focused on it twice, and I think the first time was enough to set the tone. Optimus wasn’t sure if Nightshade was a boy or girl, NS and Moe clarified they/them, and Optimus warmly accepted, and that’s really all you needed for a children’s. Easy to understand for the target audience. The show then has Nightshade learn the definition of being non-binary by a human teen they help out and become friends with. The scene is fine, but I think it’s a tad over-explained keeping in mind the target audience. It also feels like an artifact of the original intention that was scrapped. In the planning stage, Nightshade simply identified as Terran because gender wasn’t important to their identity as a robotic being. Keeping it simple for the kids at home, as well as for those who might feel like Nightshade where they can go “I’m a Terran!” The official guide book also goes with this explanation. With Nightshade then learning about being NB from Sam makes a little more sense with this older concept in mind, but I think a simpler “Thanks for the save, uh…. I wanna say mister…?” “Oh I’m a they/them! Nightshade the Terran, at your service~!” “No way, I’m they/them too! I’m Sam!” “Ooo, delightful! Oh do you like the Winged Sentinel too?” “Do I? I run a big fan blog about it and Changaliens!” “-Nightshade Transforms and makes happy owl noises-“ sorta thing. At the very least, that’s been my experience being reintroduced to a friend that’s now trans or NB. “Oh you’re a dude now? Sweet! So what’d you think of the latest Digimon episode?” is a typical exchange. Unfortunately no matter of simplifying it is going to keep people from disliking the character as being a form of “indoctrination”, and I worry that’s affected the availability of the toy. I’ve seen people show they have Nightshade’s toy, but locally I’ve not seen Nightshade’s toy at all, and I wonder if controversy has led to stores refusing to carry it. That being said I’ve not seen the Arcee or Hashtag finger puppet toys, the Deluxe Grimlock or the Twitch One Step Changer, but I have seen Shockwave and Jawbreaker, and they went quickly, and as of typing weren’t restocked. So could be crap distribution again, but I can’t help but worry the toy is functionally “banned”. I may not be NB, but I do jive with Nightshade being a reclusive, yet happy go lucky nerd. I enjoy their swagger too, something I wish I had, so there’s plenty to like on top of them having a owl beast mode. I was a Beast Wars kid so Beast Modes rule, man.

Anyhow, going back to another point, this is why I like RiD15 so much. It knew what it wanted to be, a mostly low stakes action comedy, and even when it leaned a bit into darkness, it still felt tonally correct with the show. Here we have a wacky episode about an Energon parasite possessed bear, and then they jump into heavy handed discussions of racism, violence and post apocalyptic disaster the next. That’s not organic, that’s just being indecisive on the tone of your show. It’s this awkward trend of trying to make your kids cartoon into a mature, sophisticated thing, but no one has the patience or finesse to pull it off anymore and it drives me nuts. And I don’t think kids care for it either. The age range for EarthSpark I spoke to are watching the Super Mario movie, classic cartoons and older Disney movies (a lot of them, especially boys, were into Princess & The Frog and Moana in particular as it happens) when it comes to western animation. Last time I saw kids interested in Transformers was Prime, Rescue Bots, RiD15 and Bumblebee. Outside of RotB, I don’t think recent stuff has been doing it for kids, as I haven’t found any kids hugging an EarthSpark Bumblebee like their life depended on it like I did with RiD15 Bee.

I want to be clear I still like EarthSpark, and I like a lot of the characters like Alex, Mo, Jawbreaker, Bumblebee, Frenzy and Nightshade, but the cracks have been starting to show and grow larger. 26 episodes and the end goal still felt very rushed as if they thought this would be like a long running anime and didn’t utilize their time the best, and with the current strikes as of typing, I fear that’s not gonna bode well for season 2’s production either. I am very skeptical atm we get a S3, so I hope they were more careful in crafting the next phase of the story. A second season was greenlit when the first season was still being worked on, so it seems odd to me they still felt the need to rush through things as if they didn’t have time. Maybe they didn’t due to other factors? Still I hope for the best, but I’m not as exited as I once was, and a possible Prime style Relic Hunt potentially being next makes me concerned…

[bigsnzstanacct]

I would love to hear more about the Slab and Tiny characters or the dad sneeze couple!

Wellllllll first off, randomly I stumbled across the tweet that inspired Dad Sneeze Dads (they gotta eventually become dads, right? I am sort of thinking they foster and eventually adopt older siblings, like maybe 4 and 8 when they come into each others lives, and also maybe one of them was in foster care and/or adopted at some point? But the non-horny story points are admittedly fuzzy).

Anyway, I saw someone tweet this:

and that has lived rent free in my head ever since until it eventually manifested as the Dad Sneezes (eventual) Dads. In the little drabble I wrote about them (“Nap”) I think I called them Paul and Marcus but in honor of this random poster who inspired this perhaps I will call them Paul and James. Definitely sticking with the idea that Paul has these horrible tormenting buildups and false starts that culminate into a sneeze well-worth all the preceding drama (and the worse allergies of the two) while James has these sudden eruption sneezes that are so vocal and harsh and almost yelled (like HEYYYY-SSHHHHAAAWW!!) and while he’s generally somewhat sneezy/sensitive nose, besides a few triggers and getting generally sneezier when he pollen count is high, he doesn’t have allergies like Paul’s that can have him sneezing in fits on and off until he gets away from whatever’s making him sneeze. He does however catch at least one or two horrendously sneezy colds a year, that feel like the tickle doesn’t leave his nose for three to four days straight, he feels like he’s on the verge of a sneeze the whole time but only occasionally does it sharpen to a red-hot point and instantly catapults two to five sneezes in a row from him (and his rare cold sneeze fits get louder and stronger and harsher with each sneeze, like he’s intentionally leaning into it to blast the sneeze out.) Haven’t settled on how they look yet but I imagine both are pretty big and stocky and hairy, James probably Black and more of a classic bear type with more fat all over and Paul somewhat more of an “otter” type. But all that is subject to change, just kind of what I’m loosely envisioning now.

I gotta think about more options for Tiny and Slab, I really do like their dynamic but I kind of haven’t fleshed out their world/setting yet so it’s tough to figure out their contexts. I do find the idea of them covering for each other’s allergies/sneezes VERY hot. Like Slab is having a bad allergy day and he’s barely holding it together and everywhere they go all day Tiny goes in first and does a sweep for anything that will set him off. Or like Tiny signals to Slab across the room he’s having nose troubles, maybe at some big fancy fundraiser (what if they throw fancy fundraisers?? Honestly what if Jamie and Paul do too??) and Slab just smoothly takes Tiny’s place in whatever conversation he was having while Tiny disappears to deal with his itchy nose that was ready to blow the whole party down… yeah. Something about the transfer of responsibility that is both eroticized in a d/s-ish way AND performed in a simple emotional caring way really gets to me. I may have exaggerated their d/s dynamic, or at least how common it is, a bit. But it’s definitely a game they play, and sometimes even on purpose on days when they know one or both of them in going to have an itchy, sneezy day. Also, haven’t decided what makes Tiny sneeze most often but slab DEFINITELY has pet allergies. The tinier and cuter the dog/cat/whatever, the more allergic Slab is to it, just because I loooooooove the idea of a huge man absolutely reduced to an itchy watery sneezy mess by the tiniest lil creature. Slab’s also the more sensitive to scents/perfumes of the too, while as I mentioned Tiny is pretty sensitive to spices, including pepper. Maybe he’s also one who sneezes when he eats spicy food (which, of course, he loves to eat).

[soufre-de-paris]

okay i said this in a tag as a joke but the longer i play, the more i'm convinced i'm right. literally so much is just copy/paste. animations are the most obvious, but also mobs (like the shiny little critters that run away from you but drop neat loot! or the annoying mosquitos that hang out over the lake of rot!) or items like the sacrificial ring/twig and some unique weaponry, so on.

elden ring is a fix-it AU fanfic of dark souls.

i'm not talking mechanics so much as plot/storyline/dramatis personae. so much of what happens in both games feels like the two games are in direct conversation with one another: for example, what does it say to compare Brother Corhyn with Griggs, and therefore Goldmask with Big Hat Logan? (I have a lot of thoughts on these points, actually, but this is long enough as it is.)

spoilers (sort of? i guess?) for both games, though i name no names and don't explain much.

PEOPLE

The Guy Who Traveled This Path Before You is dead. He had a very specific style of armor. You were dead, and awoke in a graveyard, and now set out to blah blah blah.

A young practitioner of certain mystical arts worshipfully over-idealizes a wiser older man. The younger man declares himself a servant of the older man, who is literally just doing his own thing and doesn't seem to even notice the younger man's presence or lack thereof. The older man goes where he pleases, and the younger man struggles to follow.

A practitioner of occult arts wants to know more than is advisable. You help them achieve their goal, and they lose their mind.

A guy with a sharp, bird-like helm and straggly hair flips head-over-heels with a greatsword. He is OP AF. Black corrupted blood follows him as he fights. Long ago, he was something pure and his name was synonymous with righteousness, and he was indefeatable. Then he fell victim to an unstoppable and eternal force, and is now corrupted and (comparatively) weak. He fights in a coleseum-looking hall. A woman mourns him. Or does she?

A guy(s?) decides to fight against you to preserve the status quo, which is fucked up because he's supposed to be on your side.

A Sister waits patiently for the return of her missing Sibling. She doesn't seem to know the Sibling has been transformed into something horrendous, wooden, and unrecognizable as they're unable to leave, so she waits.

An enormous smith works on a comically tiny anvil. Hiding his face is a helm that looks like a straight-sided bucket. He is one of the few true "innocents" in the game.

There is a guy known by the epithet of THE FIRST OF THE DEAD. He lives in a necropolis. He has too many body parts. He is unpleasant to look at.

The icarus man has looked too long at the sun (BONUS POINT: this transitions from the literal to the figurative) and got way more than he was bargaining for, at the expense of himself. He is the closest thing to a male love interest in the game.

The insane leader of an institution of learning has a Daughter who makes her home in a removed mountainous region protected by a huge fucking dragon and inaccessible by non-magical means. The Daughter wears a snowy, furry cloak.

There is a boss that looks like it was taken straight out of Evangelion. It has long spindly, spidery arms that end in orbs. It is the most inhuman looking boss in the game; its existence has long-reaching implications for how Power truly works in this world. Locking onto this boss will get you killed as this fight is about maneuverability.

Sorcerers come from one magical city. eViL aSsAsSiN sOrCeReRs come from another magical city, but their city is eViL and sEcReT. Heretical flame magicians don't get to come from somewhere special.

Black-clothed knights once served the grizzled Leader of a massive city. Now, in this age of ruin, they wander, seemingly lost, still serving his will. They are generally OP, and tend to show up in unexpected places.

PLACES

An enormous city sits empty and dead. The only "living" people there are religious fanatics dedicated to defending the tenets of their faith.

Cities generally have nice pretty circular walls around them.

An enormous kiln the size of a city fills a dead city with its ashes. Parts of that city are melted by dragonfire.

All giant trees hold secrets. Sometimes that secret is a powerful woman. Sometimes that secret is a whole city. Sometimes that secret is a secret heretical sect. Sometimes it's more than one. Sometimes it's all of them.

A city once hosted forbidden magics. For this heresy, the entire city was sealed away, left to fester and die and be forgotten. The colorway of this city is silver and black.

Something very powerful is hidden in the depths of a crystalline cave. One must jump around on huge crystalline platforms to reach it. You will fall, a lot.

A mostly-destroyed blood-drenched fort has the dead on spikes for display. The leader of the fort is not fully human. Some of the leader's servants are afflicted by horrible, infectious rot. The leader can only be accessed by touching a magical portal.

An annoying maze-like Institution of Learning that has been sealed up. Everyone knows the leader has lost their mind. Crystals are the major motif. The mobs use crystals to fight. There are crystals growing out of control everywhere. Some areas are blocked because there are too many fucking crystals. Some practitioners of this magic become more crystal than person.

THINGS

"The ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ Eye Quivers" when near Something which, according to the morality of the "singular" religion, needs to be killed. Whether it does need to be killed or not depends on your opinion of the validity of this religion as a whole.

THEMES

It is important that you go back where you started from with a special key so you can get an important—albeit damaged—item.

"May the ⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️⬛️ Guide You"

One natural consequence of power is being (or becoming!) a tree.

The various duties of peripatetic white-robed maidens include becoming fiery sacrifices.

Someone Is Killing Maidens! Who Would Do Such A Thing?!

A black and terrible occult weapon was once made to kill a god. The truth of this was covered up.

The hunting of dragons is an oft-futile, and inadvisable pursuit. But oh, how beautiful they are! It is the highest level of a warrior's skill, to defeat something like a dragon…

That being said, you can also choose to worship dragons. Dragon body parts are part of these rituals.

You can choose an ending in which you become part of the problem.

"FLAME OF CHAOS" take the world? (BONUS POINT: there is an inversion of what being engulfed in flames means.)

EXTRA

The English Localization Team Really Needs To Learn The Difference Between Thee/Thy/Thine. Please. You're Fucking Killing Me.

FUCKING PATCHES KICKS YOUR STUPID ASS OFF A CLIFF

play dark souls! we have:

big titty goth god girlfriend

a snoring giant snake with floppy beagle ears and absurdly large teeth who carries you in his mouth

the himbo who is in love with the sun says something like "haha i thought you were flirting with me! unless"

[newtonsheffield]

A little something to, I hope, cheer you up after your horrendous day 🧡

This did cheer me up! Thank you very much.

Now, for you to feel better. Here's some Good Girls Benophie

Sophie knew it was stupid to be nervous to meet Ben's family. Actually no, it wasn't. On their second date Ben's fingers had twitched nervously when she'd said

"What's your family like?" Trying to sign the words that she'd learned online to her preprepared questions.

"Um... Big?" He'd said, his fingers moving in time with his hesitant voice.

She'd rolled her eyes, "No, Really, what are they like?"

"My Dad died last year." He'd stuttered out and Sophie had instantly felt terrible.

"Ben, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay." He's brushed it off, clearly not wanting to discuss it. "My Mum doesn't work, and I have seven siblings."

"Seven?!" She'd practically squawked. and ben had laughed, sending her heart fluttering

"Yeah there's a lot of us, I'm number 2."

"and your Mum doesn't work? What are you guys rich?" She'd said it as a joke, but ben's face had gone bright red.

"We're... well off."

Standing in front of his house now, 5 weeks later, Sophie could see that was a vast underestimation. The Bridgerton house was practically a mansion, a backyard sprawling out into the distance, and Sophie felt anxiety swirl in her stomach. This was exactly the kind of place she didn't belong, with her stained sneakers, and her nose ring, and the rainbow hair that had seemed like a good idea at the time, and she loved it, but now would make her seem irresponsible and flighty she was sure.

A loud clap to her left caught her attention, and Sophie practically fell over spinning around. Ben was leaning against the front door, a curious smile on his face.

"What are you doing Out Here?" Ben signed in time with his words.

"Just Thinking."

Ben had rolled his eyes, "My Mum is really excited to meet you."

Sophie had nodded, forcing down the anxiety in her stomach, taking the hand he offered her and letting him tug her inside though her legs felt numb. She'd put on her best jeans, her best sweater, and that didn't seem anywhere near enough as she stood in the entrance hall.

"She's in here!" Ben signed excitedly, tugging her towards the kitchen and Sophie felt Her stomach lurch suddenly not very sure what she was doing at all.

Suddenly a huge boy, a little older than Ben blocked the path. He wasn't taller than Ben, now that she looked closely but something about him seemed so much bigger, his biceps seemed huge, a tattoo wrapped around his right arm piercings shining in his ear, a cocky smirk on his face as he started to sign.

Oh is this Ben's pretty girlfriend?! Oh look at her hair Ben! So many colours, have you asked to paint her yet? The Boy grinned.

Sophie bit her lip, Anthony this must be, clearly didn't realise Sophie had been learning sign.

Fuck Off Anthony! Ben signed, his cheeks burning.

Anthony was grinning, and Sophie just couldn't help herself. She cleared her throat. Hey Anthony, I'm Sophie, It's nice to meet you.

Anthony froze, his mouth hanging open as Ben chuckled. And then Anthony guffawed, his laughter barking through the hallway, "Oh I like this one!"

Anthony pushed off the doorway, snatching a motorcycle helmet from the side table spinning back so Ben could see his hands as he said Can You tell mum I'm going out?

Ben Rolled his eyes, Tell me you're not going to stare at Princess?

Anthony shot a rude Hand gesture. I told you not to call her that!

And then he was gone, whistling as he went and Sophie couldn't help but realise why ben had laughed yesterday when She'd asked if she should dye her hair to meet his mother. If this was his brother, his Mum wasn't likely to be much bothered.

Ben let out a huff. Sorry about Him.

Sophie shrugged, a smile coming to her lips at the sibling banter she'd seen, even as part of her ached for the family she'd never have. Who's Princess?

Ben let out a laugh, A girl he's been in love with forever

Sophie was momentarily distracted by how terrifying this girl must be if Anthony was in love with her, so much so she barely had time to feel nervous again as Ben tugged her through the kitchen Door.

Inside was the most beautiful kitchen Sophie had ever seen, gleaming and shining and perfect, and Sophie ached to touch it to get in there and make something, anything. There was a woman standing behind the stove, two young children at the kitchen table. Ben leapt forward excitedly, tapping the woman on the shoulder.

Mum! This is Sophie!

Mrs. Bridgerton's eyes widened, a kind smile on her face as she took Sophie in.

"Sophie! It's so lovely to meet you. Ben has told me so much about you!" She wrapped Sophie in a tight embrace before she could blink, soft and warm and motherly, and something about it made her chest ache.

"mrs. Bridgerton, it's great to meet you."

Ben's Mum waved her off. "Your Hair is so lovely. You're just so pretty! You'll have to excuse me, none of my boys have ever brought a girl home to see me, I'm afraid you're copping the brunt." She signed so effortlessly in time with her words, Ben's cheeks burning.

"Mum!"

Sophie laughed suddenly feeling far too settled in this home already.

"Can I help you with Dinner?"

And as Sophie was pulled into the kitchen settled behind the stove with Ben's Mum, she couldn't help but feel this was somewhere she might belong.

And she also desperately needed to find out who this girl was so she could tease Anthony.

[vivithefolle]

Is there anyway you could share the entire livejournal essay about Hermione's reaction to Ron coming back in DH? The few paragraphs that you referred to in your recent answer sound extremely interesting.

[The “recent answer” that goes back to... last December. Oh my god I’m such an ass I left you hanging for so long I’m so sorry.]

Okay, okay, so here goes! KEEP IN MIND: I DIDN’T WRITE THIS. I FOUND THIS ON LIVEJOURNAL AND PICKED EVERYTHING THAT I LIKED ABOUT IT, AS WELL AS SOME COMMENTS THAT INTERESTED ME.

This “essay” was actually more of a “reading the books” thing with the person sharing their thoughts and ideas about it. The person was clearly a Snape fan, but they had sympathy for Ron too. I’ll try to formate it as accurately as I can remember it.

And now, here it is:

---

ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

[About Ron being made a prefect.] The essayist: It’s sad, but this probably is the first time Ron’s beaten Harry at something. And the last time.

A commenter: Ron's had a really difficult life, and this is the book that proved it for me. It made me a Ron fan. Just look at the interactions he has with Fred and George. This is commonplace. I know a lot of people don't like Ron, but just look at this book, this chapter especially. People have accused Ron of being lazy, unambitious, having no emotions, and being a big stupid boy. It's just not true. Look at how Fred and George needle him out of jealousy. Look at how they treat Percy. Imagine Ron having to grow up with two older brothers that will not hesitate to bother, torture and torment people that stand out or that get more attention than they do or that cross them. He saw it happening with Percy, so what's he going to learn? He'll learn to shut up unless he wants to have something happen to him. He'll learn that standing out positively is rewarded with cruelty. I can understand how Mrs. Weasley could not have fully protected him from those two. Not all the time, not while trying to also care for Ginny, keeping up with her other kids in school, and running the household. Worst of all, punishing F&G doesn't seem to do anything. Those two just don't care/they crave the attention, negative or positive. The best thing she could've done would be to give them no attention, but that's so against her nature that unfortunately she just fed the monsters. No emotions? Is it really difficult to understand that sensitivity wouldn't be encouraged in young Ron? He's got these two bullies that only want a reaction out of him. If he cries, it'll only encourage them. Any reaction is encouraging to them, but he has to go with anger. It's a survival thing- puff yourself up, make yourself look bigger than you are so the predator messes with you a little less. Look at the pride Ron's showing in his badge. The desire to do well is there. He likes the good feeling that comes with it, but he's been hard-wired since birth that it's better to be "middle of the pack". In later chapters, I know you'll have to point out the way the power makes Ron behave, so I just want to start on the defence now. It's all Ron knows. It's all he's been taught. It's a huge character flaw, but it's what makes him so human. Rowling did develop this in the book, but only accidentally. We're never going to get a good look at Ron's psychology except through these hints because it's, as usual, All About Harry. Ron's flawed, but I hope we remember that he has a reason why he's got those flaws. It doesn't excuse him, but it really explains him. So yeah... that's why I defend Ron.

...

“I’m not Percy,’ he finished defiantly.”

The essayist: Mmmm-hm. Ron feels nervous at the thought of his good fortune inspiring anger in someone and what's his first defence? "I'm not Percy"? Man, the evidence that the Twins' psychological torment has left lasting scars on Ron could not have been more obvious if he'd shielded himself and said "Please don't jinx me, Fred! ... I mean Harry. ... Shit, what'd I say?"

...

“Excellent,”  said  Ron,  with  a  kind  of  groan  of  longing,  and  he  seized the nearest plate of chops and began piling them onto his plate, watched wistfully by Nearly Headless Nick. “What  were  you  saying  before  the  Sorting?”  Hermione  asked  the  ghost. “About the hat giving warnings?” “Oh  yes,”  said  Nick,  who  seemed  glad  of  a  reason  to  turn  away  from  Ron,  who  was  now  eating  roast  potatoes  with  almost  indecent  enthusiasm.

The essayist: Ron’s not being very restrained with his eating, is he?

The commenter: I don't know if it's accidental or not, but this is one of those moments that I love, one of the tellings of Ron's home life via his behavior. In this scenario, he's totally a kitten who just got adopted to a house where he's the only cat. He's at a table with food, so his instinct is to eat as fast as he can or his siblings will yoink it. It doesn't help that there are many other people around, encouraging the "get the good stuff fast or you'll have to sate yourself on bread or whatever nobody wants". Ron is so much more human than Harry! How can Harry not be showing any signs of his "horrendous abuse" for eleven years? Well... I guess he sort of does when he buys all that stuff in his first year. And I guess Ron has to go back home every summer where it gets reinforced. But Harry goes back every summer, too... what the hell?

...

“What’s going on?” Ron  had  appeared  in  the  doorway.  His  wide  eyes  traveled  from  Harry,  who  was  kneeling  on  his  bed  with  his  wand  pointing  at  Seamus, to Seamus, who was standing there with his fists raised. “He’s having a go at my mother!” Seamus yelled. “What?” said Ron. “Harry wouldn’t do that — we met your mother, we liked her. . .” “That’s  before  she  started  believing  every  word  the  stinking  Daily  Prophet writes about me!” said Harry at the top of his voice. “Oh,”  said  Ron,  comprehension  dawning  across  his  freckled  face.  “Oh . . . right.” “You know what?” said Seamus heatedly, casting Harry a venomous look.  “He’s  right,  I  don’t  want  to  share  a  dormitory  with  him  anymore, he’s a madman.” “That’s out of order, Seamus,” said Ron, whose ears were starting to glow red, always a danger sign. “Out of order, am I?” shouted Seamus, who in contrast with Ron ‘was  turning  paler.  “You  believe  all  the  rubbish  he’s  come  out  with  about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he’s telling the truth?” “Yeah, I do!” said Ron angrily. “Then you’re mad too,” said Seamus in disgust. “Yeah?  Well  unfortunately  for  you,  pal,  I’m  also  a  prefect!”  said  Ron,  jabbing  himself  in  the  chest  with  a  finger.  “So  unless  you  want  detention, watch your mouth!”

The essayist: Note how Ron’s first reaction is to side with Harry.

The commenter: Not surprising because of the best friends thing (some might argue) but I say it's not surprising considering how Hermione and Ron were treating Harry like a ticking time bomb. Survival!

...

“Hello, Harry!” It was Cho Chang and what was more, she was on her own again. This was most unusual: Cho was almost always surrounded by a gang of giggling girls; Harry remembered the agony of trying to get her by herself to ask her to the Yule Ball. “Hi,” said Harry, feeling his face grow hot. At least you’re not covered  in Stinksap this time, he told himself. Cho seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “You got that stuff off, then?” “Yeah,”  said  Harry,  trying  to  grin  as  though  the  memory  of  their  last meeting was funny as opposed to mortifying. “So did you . . . er . . . have a good summer?” The moment he had said this he wished he hadn’t: Cedric had been Cho’s boyfriend and the memory of his death must have affected her holiday  almost  as  badly  as  it  had  affected  Harry’s.  .  . Something  seemed  to  tauten  in  her  face,  but  she  said,  “Oh,  it  was  all  right,  you  know. . .” “Is  that  a  Tornados  badge?”  Ron  demanded  suddenly,  pointing  at  the front of Cho’s robes, to which a sky-blue badge emblazoned with a double gold T was pinned. “You don’t support them, do you?” “Yeah, I do,” said Cho. “Have  you  always  supported  them,  or  just  since  they  started  winning the league?” said Ron, in what Harry considered an unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice. “I’ve supported them since I was six,” said Cho coolly. “Anyway . . . see you, Harry.” She  walked  away.  Hermione  waited  until  Cho  was  halfway  across  the courtyard before rounding on Ron. “You are so tactless!”

The essayist: So Harry meets Cho, makes a complete faux pas and reminds her of her dead boyfriend. Ron quickly steers the conversation away onto something more happy, i.e., Quidditch, before Cho can get too upset. Nevertheless, Ron is apparently the insensitive jerk around here, not Harry.

[If this reminds you of something, then yes, I absolutely took what the essayist was saying and elaborated on it. I confess, I am a dirty thief.]

...

“Well, I suppose he could’ve played better,” Harry muttered, “but it was only the first training session, like you said. . .” Neither Harry nor Ron seemed to make much headway with their homework  that  night.  Harry  knew  Ron  was  too  preoccupied  with  how  badly  he  had  performed  at  Quidditch  practice  and  he  himself  was having difficulty in getting the chant of “Gryffindor are losers” out of his head. [...] And so they worked on while the sky outside the windows became steadily darker; slowly, the crowd in the common room began to thin again.   At   half-past   eleven,   Hermione   wandered   over   to   them,   yawning. “Nearly done?” “No,” said Ron shortly. “Jupiter’s  biggest  moon  is  Ganymede,  not  Callisto,”  she  said,  pointing over Ron’s shoulder at a line in his Astronomy essay, “and it’s Io that’s got the volcanos.” “Thanks,” snarled Ron, scratching out the offending sentences.

The essayist: So Ron’s getting basic facts wrong in his essays.

The commenter: This is going to look so contrived, but I genuinely believe it, and maybe after these reviews, your standards for contrived have dropped enough for me to pass the bar :3 But... he's not putting in any effort. His ego can't take another beating at the moment (even punching bags have limits). Imagine it- after the Quidditch humiliation with his friend the Star Athlete (when he really was trying) he tries to distract himself by doing school work 1. which he isn't very good at anyway, 2. with the Star Athlete of Academics/Slytherin Spectator Crowd best friend Hermione there 3. with Hermione there to set it right anyway (it sounds as if Hermione isn’t so much correcting their essays as writing them herself). If he tries his best at this and then fails at that, Ron probably would start to consider suicide. It's self-preservation at this point to put in zero effort. This kind of fail is literally "I'm not trying because I have given up."

...

She  wrenched  her  bag  open;  Harry  thought  she  was  about  to  put  her books away, but instead she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects,  placed  them  carefully  on  a  table  by  the  fireplace,  covered  them  with  a  few  screwed-up  bits  of  parchment  and  a  broken  quill,  and  stood back to admire the effect. “What  in  the  name  of  Merlin  are  you  doing?”  said  Ron,  watching  her as though fearful for her sanity. “They’re  hats  for  house-elves,”  she  said  briskly,  now  stuffing  her  books  back  into  her  bag.  “I  did  them  over  the  summer.  I’m  a  really  slow  knitter  without  magic,  but  now  I’m  back  at  school  I  should  be  able to make lots more.” “You’re leaving out hats for the house-elves?” said Ron slowly. “And you’re covering them up with rubbish first?” “Yes,” said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag onto her back. “That’s not on,” said Ron angrily. “You’re trying to trick them into picking  up  the  hats.  You’re  setting  them  free  when  they  might  not  want to be free.” “Of  course  they  want  to  be  free!”  said  Hermione  at  once,  though  her face was turning pink. “Don’t you dare touch those hats, Ron!” She left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door to the girls’ dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats. They  should  at  least  see  what  they’re  picking  up,”  he  said  firmly.  “Anyway  .  .  .”  He  rolled  up  the  parchment  on  which  he  had  written  the title of Snape’s essay. “There’s no point trying to finish this now, I can’t  do  it  without  Hermione,  I  haven’t  got  a  clue  what  you’re  supposed to do with moonstones, have you?”

The essayist: This doesn’t seem like a particularly open-minded and enquiring position to take, although I suppose that Hermione’s open-mindedness has always been something of an informed attribute.

The commenter: This trope among fans has got me riled up beyond belief because they use the "Hermione's word is gospel" thing to make unfair assumptions about other characters: Ron's "emotional range of a teaspoon" thing comes to mind, and right after that, Lavender supposedly being silly about believing Trelawney about her dead pet (Hermione never considered that maybe the thing Lavender was dreading was bad news from home or bad news about her pet). Regarding house elves: This is one case where the fans ought to have seen that Hermione was being very thoughtless as far as strategy. Ron has lived all his life up until this point thinking that there was no problem with house elves and she literally expects to be able to just tell him "it's wrong" and he's supposed to change instantly? Talk about your cultural insensitivity. In this case, maybe Ron knows better than you do, Hermione? You didn't even know about house elves until you were at least twelve (but more likely, she didn't know until this year). She must understand the concept of "he doesn't know it's wrong". That was how she defended Crookshanks when he was chasing Scabbers. ... Hey, Hermione thinks Ron's smarter than her cat. That's something, I guess.

...

The commenter: Competition is seriously the worst thing in the world for Ron. He's got wa-a-ay too much baggage. Do well so they'll love you. Do well so they'll notice you. If they notice you, you'll get praised. And tormented by Fred and George. Then if you fuck up, you'll have let everyone down. My brothers never let anyone down. That's the standard. Oh God, I can't live up to that. Which do I want to chose- being ignored or scorned? I could do well. Then I'll be good enough to be called "just like them"! JFC, when's it ever going to be "Good like Ron"? Chess. Literally everyone else has one thing they shine in, even Neville with his Botany and Dean with his art (and... and I'm going to ignore the fact that Hermione and Luna are the only two I can think of with non-appearance based special stuff... someone please help me out? I guess Tonks' doesn't really count as a shallow one because it makes her a master of disguise...)

...

HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

...

Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry.

The essayist: “Hermione spared [Ron] one look of disdain before turning back to Harry” pretty much sums up her relationships within the trio. It’s no wonder Ron’s so insecure and keeps worrying that she really fancies Harry.

...

“And you’ve been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway...”  “You  can  still  see  where  those  brains  got  hold  of  me  in  the  Ministry,  look,”  said  Ron,  shaking  back his sleeves.  “And  it  doesn’t  hurt  that  you’ve  grown  about  a  foot  over  the  summer  either,”  Hermione  finished, ignoring Ron.  “I’m tall,” said Ron inconsequentially.

The essayist: Ron’s so adorably pathetic here, the way he’s obviously feeling inferior to Harry and being ignored by his so-called friends. *hugs Ron*

...

When they left the Gryffindor table five minutes later to head down to the Quidditch pitch, they passed  Lavender  Brown  and  Parvati  Patil.  Remembering  what  Hermione  had  said  about  the  Patil  twins’  parents  wanting  them  to  leave  Hogwarts,  Harry  was  unsurprised  to  see  that  the  two  best  friends were whispering together, looking distressed. What did surprise him was that when Ron drew level with them, Parvati suddenly nudged Lavender, who looked around and gave Ron a wide smile. Ron blinked at her, then returned the smile uncertainly. His walk instantly became something more like a strut. Harry resisted the temptation to laugh, remembering that Ron had refrained from doing so  after  Malfoy  had  broken  Harry’s  nose;  Hermione,  however,  looked  cold  and  distant  all  the  way  down  to  the  stadium  through  the  cool,  misty  drizzle,  and  departed  to  find  a  place  in  the  stands  without wishing Ron good luck. 

The essayist: Hermione keeps belittling Ron and doing him down, and reacts quite strongly when he even so much hints at losing interest in her and showing attention to another woman. Can we say “abusive relationship”, anybody?

...

“Harry! Ginny!” Hermione was hurrying toward them, very pink-faced and wearing a cloak, hat, and gloves. “I got back a couple of hours ago, I've just been down to visit Hagrid and Buck--I mean Witherwings,” she said breathlessly. “Did you have a good Christmas?” “Yeah,” said Ron at once, “pretty eventful, Rufus Scrim—” “I've got something for you, Harry,” said Hermione, neither looking at Ron nor giving any sign that she had heard him. “Oh, hang on--password. Abstinence.”

The essayist: Wow, Hermione’s just being so childish here, ignoring Ron when he’s talking directly to her. Incidentally, Ron’s speaking to her like a normal friend, it’s Hermione who’s doing the blanking. Still, I’m sure this argument is all Ron’s fault for daring to go out with another girl. Hermione is totally blameless.

[Just in case: the essayist is being sarcastic, they’re pointing out the double standard of the HP fandom blaming Hermione’s immature behaviour on Ron.]

...

DEATHLY HALLOWS

...

“I think you’re right,” she told him. “It’s just a morality tale, it’s obvious which gift is best, which one you’d choose—” The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, “the Cloak,” Ron said, “the wand,” and Harry said, “the stone.” They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused. “You’re supposed to say the Cloak,” Ron told Hermione, “but you wouldn’t need to be invisible if you had the wand. An unbeatable wand, Hermione, come on!” “We’ve already got an Invisibility Cloak,” said Harry. “And it’s helped us rather a lot, in case you hadn’t noticed!” said Hermione. “Whereas the wand would be bound to attract trouble—” “Only if you shouted about it,” argued Ron. “Only if you were prat enough to go dancing around, waving it over your head, and singing, ‘I’ve got an unbeatable wand, come and have a go if you think you’re good enough.’ As long as you kept your trap shut—” “Yes, but could you keep your trap shut?” said Hermione, looking skeptical. “You know, the only true thing he said to us was that there have been stories about extra-powerful wands for hundreds of years.” “There have?” asked Harry. Hermione looked exasperated: the expression was so endearingly familiar that Harry and Ron grinned at each other.

The commenter (?): Actually, I thought that Ron was proving the errors in the story. Because he’s right. The eldest brother didn’t die because the Elder Wand had corrupted him (like the One Ring). He died because he was an idiot. He died because he randomly decided to start blabbing about his new toy.

“You talk about wands like they’ve got feelings,” said Harry, “like they canthink for themselves.” “The wand chooses the wizard,” said Ollivander. “That much has always been clear to those of us who have studied wandlore.” “A person can still use a wand that hasn’t chosen them, though?” asked Harry. “Oh yes, if you are any wizard at all you will be able to channel your magic through almost any instrument. The best results, however, must always come where there is the strongest affinity between wizard and wand. These connections are complex. An initial attraction, and then a mutual quest for experience, the wand learning from the wizard, the wizard from the wand.”

The essayist: Harry’s wand has to think for and protect him because he’s too stupid and incompetent to think for and protect himself! Ollivander’s the expert, and he just admitted it. He said any halfway decent wizard can perform magic with almost any wand. The reason Harry could only work with the holly wand is because of the phoenix feather core it shares with Voldemort’s wand. That is, it wasn’t Harry doing the magic with Harry’s wand! It was the Voldemort soul piece! Once Harry was forced to use wands that didn’t have that core, the soul piece couldn’t do the work for Harry any more. He was forced to rely on his own magical powers and competence, which are clearly minimal. This is proven by his inability to do effective magic with any other wand. It’s also proven by an incident from Philosopher’s Stone. Remember when Harry was being chased by bullies and inexplicably found himself on top of the shed roof? That was the soul piece allowing him to fly like Voldy. Lily could slow her descent from a height, as if she had an invisible parachute, but that is not the same as flying, and we have no evidence she could fly. Only Voldemort and Snape fly without assistance! The evidence is overwhelming that I am right. How many spells can Harry do effectively? Expelliarmus, Expecto Patronum, Protego--that’s it. Even as a young adult, he is incapable of doing the basic healing or cleaning spells a young child should have down pat before going to Hogwarts. Of course, we’re told the Patronus spell is difficult and advanced, but who told us that? Remus Lupin, friend of Harry’s father, sycophant, and notorious liar, particularly when it comes to flattering Harry. Recall Lupin also said Snape didn’t like James because Snape was envious of Potter Sr.’s Quidditch prowess, and we know that was a lie. Given this evidence, anything Lupin says that cannot be confirmed by an independent source, especially regarding the Potters, should be dismissed out of hand. True, Hermione has trouble with the Patronus spell, and she’s super-competent. Doesn’t that prove it’s a very difficult spell? Not at all. To take an example from a different field, Beethoven was a virtuoso organist, the greatest pianist of his day, one of the greatest pianists in history, and probably the greatest improvisational musician ever. But he was only a decent violinist. Everybody has areas of weakness, no matter how good they are overall. In addition, Hermione is very gullible where authority figures are concerned. If a teacher tells her, “The Patronus is a very difficult, advanced spell that many people can’t ever master,” she’ll believe that, which may create a self-fulfilling prophecy. A couple of years ago, another DTCL member and I facetiously suggested Harry was less intelligent than his wand. We didn’t know we were right. It rarely happens, but this is an occasion when I would have preferred to be wrong.

...

If only there was a way of getting a better wand... And desire for the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, unbeatable, invincible, swal-lowed him once more... They packed up the tent next morning and moved on through a dreary shower of rain. The downpour pursued them to the coast, where they pitched the tent that night, and persisted through the whole week, through sodden landscapes that Harry found bleak and depressing. He could think only of the Deathly Hallows. It was as though a flame had been lit inside him that nothing, not Hermione’s flat disbelief nor Ron’s persistent doubts, could extinguish. And yet the fiercer the longing for the Hallows burned inside him, the less joyful it made him. He blamed Ron and Hermione: Their determined indifference was as bad as the relentless rain for dampening his spirits, but neither could erode his certainty, which remained absolute. Harry’s belief in and longing for the Hallows consumed him so much that he felt isolated from the other two and their obsession with the Horcruxes. [...] As the weeks crept on, Harry could not help but notice, even through his new self-absorption, that Ron seemed to be taking charge. Perhaps because he was determined to make up for having walked out on them, perhaps because Harry’s descent into listlessness galvanized his dormant leadership qualities, Ron was the one now encouraging and exhorting the other two into action. [...] But not until March did luck favor Ron at last.

The essayist: MARCH! That’s right, ladies and gentlemen. The first fifteen pages of this chapter cover three months, and during that entire time, Harry Potter does nothing, nothing, but sit on his ass fantasizing about the Elder Wand and trying to connect with his Voldie-soul mate. Oh, wait. He also tries to open the snitch so he can get the stone out of it. (Nothing gay about that, either.) I wish he’d succeed in that, too. Maybe he’d swallow the stone, and it would end up in his scrotum. He sure needs something that works down there. Harry doesn’t have the right to bail out on his society like this. He can’t have it both ways. He can’t have the adulation that goes with being Mr. Boy-Who-Lived-Chosen-One-Wizarding-World-Savior and abdicate the responsibilities that go along with those titles and that adulation. Look at what happens in this chapter: Harry becomes obsessed with finding and uniting the Hallows, so much so that he withdraws from his friends, bails out on the job his idol Dumbledore gave him, and spends all his time brooding and trying to connect with the Dull Lord. In other words, he acts clinically depressed. Ron and Hermione were exposed to the same information Harry was, but they didn’t become obsessed/depressed. Ron was mildly interested in the Super-Wand, but not enough to distract him from the Horcrux hunt. Hermione dismissed the whole DH story as nonsense and continued following Dumbestbore’s orders. So why weren’t they tempted?

...

The essayist: Harry opens the locket using Parseltongue--interesting that this never occurred to him before now--and two ghostly figures emerge. They’re Voldie-versions of Harry and Hermione, and they articulate Ron’s worst fears: “Least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter...Least loved, now, by the girl who prefers your friend...Second best, always, eternally overshadowed...” I’ll say it again: When you’re right, you’re right. The evidence is overwhelming that Molly Weasley treated Ron the worst of all her children. And if Rowling doesn’t want us to ship HP/HG, she needs to quit throwing them together and making them leaders, with Ron either in the background or absent entirely. JKR obviously wants us to automatically dismiss certain statements just because they’re made by “bad guys” such as Voldemort and Rita Skeeter. There are two problems with this: (1) The “lies” make perfect sense, far more sense than what we’re supposed to believe. (2) Even pathological liars sometimes tell the truth, typically when it won’t hurt their own interests to do so. For those of us who live in what cartoonist Garry Trudeau calls “the reality-based community,” the evidence is what matters, not what we’re told by authority figures. Those of us in the higher stages of spiritual development are funny that way.

...

The essayist: Well, whose fault is that, Ms. Rowling? You’re the one who’s spent the last four books making Ron dumber and dumber, depriving him of any meaningful activity, while you shoved Harry and Hermione into increasingly dominant roles.

The commenter: Are we supposed to look down on Ron now so that we can condemn him for leaving Harry and Hermione? Because if so, then that’s just unfair. Every time Ron tries to come up with an idea, Hermione criticizes him or shoots him down. And the twins have done a fine job of intimidating Ron into remaining mediocre and modest so that he doesn’t remind them of Percy, so what is he supposed to do? How is he supposed to come up with ideas when he’s surrounded by people who basically tell him to shut up and sit down?

The essayist: Just then, Hermione comes out of the tent with cups of tea, with tears running down her face and looking terrified her “friend” is going to curse her with her own wand.

The commenter: So, Hermione will snarl at Ron all day long, but cower in fear when Harry gets mad. Is she projecting herself onto Harry and assuming that just because *she’s* quick to hex people who anger her (Ron, Marietta, etc.), Harry will do the same to her?

The essayist: The evidence is overwhelming that Molly Weasley treated Ron the worst of all her children.

The commenter: And blatantly showed favoritism to Harry while snarling at Ron in the same breath. Of course, Horcrux!Tom doesn’t bring that up, because JKR would have to admit that there might be something wrong with Molly favoring Harry the way she does. The essayist: Hermione acts so crazy Harry has to put a protection charm between her and Ron.

The commenter: Yeah…sorry, it’s not “slapstick” anymore when somebody actually has to stop her from hitting Ron. When Harry feels that the situation is dangerous enough that his intervention is necessary. That’s not funny. That’s a true-crime episode. What gets me is that Hermione's tantrum lasts for days. It goes on for several pages into the next chapter. She doesn't start acting normal again until she comes up with the idea of visiting Xeno Lovegood. The essayist: Hermione tells Ron she still hasn’t ruled out attacking him with birds again.

The commenter: *flatly* So, all of the fans who cooed about how “great” it was for Hermione to show “girl power” by sending Ron to the hospital wing in HBP or breezily dismissed the scene as just tired teenage melodrama? Can put a sock in it. Hermione has clearly learned nothing, JKR clearly feels that that scene was funny, and at no point are we supposed to think that Hermione is an abuser. Even though, if the genders were reversed, fans would be calling for Ron’s head on a platter if he dared lay a finger on Hermione. No. This isn’t funny. This isn’t charming. Hermione hurt Ron so badly in HBP that he had to go to the hospital wing. And she tried to repeat the damage she caused here. Is she going to attack him with birds again after they get married? Is she going to do it in front of their children? Will it be “cute” and “funny” then? No, if a man is an abusive monster for losing his temper and trying to hurt his girlfriend, then Hermione is an abusive monster for losing her temper and trying to hurt her boyfriend. Not only did Hermione land Ron in the infirmary with the first attack, but she wants to do it again at a time when they are on the run. She will NOT be able to take an injured Ron to Hogwarts infirmary, nor to St. Mungos. In other words - she intends for him to remain injured and stick with them while camping, or else he must apparate away while injured, risking another splinching so he could be healed.

...

The essayist: Ron and Harry go back to the tent, and Harry fades into the background so as not to interfere with the lovers’ reunion. That’s a mistake. After Harry wakes Hermione, she shows her delight at Ron’s return by--attacking him? She punches him over a dozen times while yelling at him and screaming for her wand from Harry. Remember last chapter, when I talked about how immature Hermione is? Here’s your proof.

[The essayist quotes an article that I haven’t been able to find, but paraphrased: it speaks of a father who came to pick up his 4 y/o daughter from daycare, a little later than usual, and the daughter reacted by punching and hitting her father, upset at his being late. Additional read:  “The parents must know that physical aggression is a common yet natural problem faced by toddlers.”]

The essayist: So there you have it: Hermione Granger, know-it-all supergirl, is so immature she acts like a preschool child when the boyfriend she’s been missing finally returns. I’m not suggesting she has a father-daughter relationship with Ron; this kind of anger is found in other relationships, too. What I am saying is that her way of expressing her anger is appropriate for a very young child. While adults may certainly feel this kind of anger and desire to hit when reunited with a loved one under similar circumstances, they don’t act it out. That restraint is what separates adults from children. Hermione acts so crazy Harry has to put a protection charm between her and Ron. I frankly found her behavior so out of control as to suggest mental instability. She engages in two full pages of histrionics before throwing herself into a chair, sitting so tensely I’m surprised the circulation isn’t cut off to her arms and legs. She remains in a bratty snit until the end of the chapter, which is another six pages.  Hermione is still pouting the next morning. I’m wondering if her real problem is not that Ron left, but that she didn’t. Is she angry at him because he had the guts to admit they were blowing it and take a time out, while she just kept trailing along after Harry like a lost house elf? I think she’s definitely mad because she’s always controlled Ron and their relationship. How dare he assert his independence of her! Who does he think he is? Her equal? In an AU, maybe. This is called the Potterverse after all, not the Ronverse.  Hermione’s having a bad month. First Ron runs out on them; then she saves Harry’s life, but he’s an ungrateful jerk about it; then Harry asserts his independence; then Ron comes back but doesn’t grovel sufficiently for her taste. All this mistreatment is going to give her the idea she’s just a normal character and not an Author’s Darling.   While Ron was gone, he was captured by bad guys called Snatchers, who are bounty hunters for Voldemort. In getting away, he got a spare wand, which he gives to Harry. Of course, it doesn’t work as well as Harry’s “real” wand, so Harry’s still in a snit about that, and with Hermione in a snit, too, they’re a cheerful bunch. Honestly, I don’t know why Ron puts up with these two. The Hs are so spoiled and self-centered, they deserve each other, but I don’t think this is what HP/HG shippers mean when they proclaim the two as an OTP. Sane, normal Ron doesn’t deserve either one of them. Run, Ron! Run while you still can!

...

The essayist: As an interesting aside, ròn is the Celtic word for seal. In Druid lore, seals represent love, longing, and dilemma. No more appropriate totem animal could be imagined for this boy whose sense of selfhood is undermined by his longing for love from a rejecting mother and inadequate father, and who, like the selchie wives of folklore, is faced with the impossible choice of being who he truly is and being rejected, or denying the best part of himself to gain love. Ron’s intelligence and independence threaten his insecure wife (and best friend), just as the selchie’s identity as a seal-woman threatens her human husband; Ron imprisons himself by hiding who he is so the Hs can feel smart and in charge, just as the selchie’s human husband imprisons his wife by hiding her sealskin in a trunk.

[wonderwomanfantasy]

Teacher’s pet

Fuyumi is such a good chracter I love writing for her

Fuyumi x Fem!Reader

warnings: none

word count: 1,000 (about)

summary: you and Fuyumi have the hots for each other and Shoto is stuck in the middle. 

It was rare that Fuyumi got alone time with her youngest brother. Shoto was so busy all the time and seemed to prefer to spend his free time by himself, or with their mother. So she cherished the little time they got. Maybe she hadn’t done a good job of bonding with her siblings when she was younger, but she could make up lost time now. 

It was a beautiful bright spring day when she took Shoto to the farmers market. Neither of them had been to an outdoor market like this one before. Someone who worked for their father had always done the shopping but Fyuyhimi saw the appeal. She was having fun just walking around and window shopping, buying things that caught their eye here and there. 

Suddenly Shoto stopped, freezing in place beside her. “What is it?” Fuyumi asked, concerned. She followed her brother’s gaze to a stall where the most beautiful woman she had ever seen was standing. 

You were wearing paint-splattered shorts and a loose-fitting button-up with the sleeves rolled to your elbow. You were just holding a box of strawberries examining the fruit while you talked idly with the vendor. 

“She’s my teacher,”  Shoto grumbled. Well, that changed everything. 

“We should go say hello, it’s polite,” she decided, grabbing her brother’s arm and marching him forward. Shoto sighed reluctantly trying his best to keep up with her. 

You seemed to sense their approach and looked up, your lips spreading in a huge grin when you saw them. 

“Good morning Todoroki, I wasn’t expecting to see you today,” you greeted bubbily then your eyes shifted to Fyuyimi, and she felt her face go red. 

“Good morning to you too,” you said warmly. 

“This is my sister Fuyumi,” Shoto introduced.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Fuyumi blurted stumbling forward to shake your hand.  “I’m Shoto’s sister,”

“I already said that,” Shoto snipped. 

You shook Fuyumi’s hand and ignored the younger Todoroki’s comment 

“I didn’t know Shoto had an older sister, this is a pleasant surprise,” you chuckled.

Shoto wasn’t the most intune with other people’s emotions but it wasn’t like he was blind it was clear his sister was in love with you. 

“Well, it was nice seeing you Ms. (L/N) but we should go let you get back to your er strawberries,” he said. Tugging on Fuyumi’s arm trying to get her to let go of you. 

“Oh, well I’ll uhm see you later,” Fuyumi stammered as she was pulled away from you. 

“So Shoto, tell me about your teacher.”

Shoto thought it was bad enough to get this crap from his own sister, but when he came back to school you cornered him. 

“It was nice seeing you this weekend Todoroki, you and your sister,” you said trying to sound casual. 

Shoto groaned internally as you grilled him for information on Fuyumi, how old she was, if she was single, what she did for work, so on and so on. It was a similar list of questions that his sister had asked about you just a day ago.  At least the feelings were returned. 

After about a week of playing middle man to your horrendous flirting, Shoto had enough. Both you and his sister were hopeless and he was honestly sick of it. 

“Hey Midoryia, if you were going to ask someone out how would you do it?” Todoroki asked cornering his green-haired friend.

“W-What?” Midoriya stammered his face instantly turning cherry red

“What is a good way for confessing your feelings?” he rephrased

“Well uhm i’d definitely start with a gift or something like flowers or chocolate to get their attention- or maybe some all might merch if thery were into that sort of thing-” todoroki nodded to himself as Midoriya rambled about the complexity of love. Shoto already had his answer. Flowers

“Hey Todoroki what’s up?” you greated casually seeing him enter your class after school.

“My sister likes to press flowers,” he said bluntly, you’d say you were supprised but you hadn’t been subtle exactly asking about Fuyumi, it would be an understatment to say that you were infatuated with her. 

“Pressed flowers huh?” you asked. Even though you’d only met her once, and only knew about her from what Shoto had told you, but that seemed to fit, it was elegant and beautiful, just like her. 

“Thats right, so if you’re going to ask her out give her a bouquet she can press, or better yet, press a flower for her.” It was more of a demand than a suggestion, but you were still thankful for his help. 

“I’ll take your advice shoto, thank you.”

Fuyumi was surprised to say the least to see a small brown bag waiting fot her on her desk. At first she had assumed it was a gift from one of her students but when she unwrapped it she saw it wasn’t the case. 

It was a simple picture frame with a beautiful pressed Pansey against white paper. It was gorgeous. Then she saw the note attached. 

Did you know Pansey’s symbolize feelings of love? They’re also used as get well soon flowers but lets focus on the feelings of love and affection. I’d like to take you out soon, if that’s something you’d be interested in, It is important to rembebr that I already have your brother’s blessing as well. I hope you like the flower.

-(y/n)

(xxx) xxx-xxxx

[ask-those-dumbasses]

Lore Post About The Gods

There are many gods in this universe, we are only going to be talking about the relevant ones. Otherwise this is gonna turn into the Greek God family tree very fast and trust me we don’t want that. So, let’s talk about some gods!

The God of Time - Avus Tempus (Grandpa Time)

General information: 

The oldest god and the god that interacts with people the most, Avus Tempus is the most well known. He is the keeper of time, making sure it passes normally with no great disturbances. He watches as time passes, but does not interfere with mortal disagreements, even if he disapproves. He says that it is not his job to interfere.

Avus is older than time itself, and is the creator of the other gods. Avus was also the creator of the first Time Demons - which he calls his children with great glee. He has been given many nicknames over the years, with the most common being “Grandpa Time.” The limits to his powers are unknown, but is it commonly known that he can control the flow of time, and can open portals to different dimensions or various periods throughout time by roaring. People also know that he, with the help of his two direct children, Moíra and Apeiro, killed the Titan of War during his rampage.

(Bonus: Grandfather clocks were named after him)

Appearance: 

Avus appears as a long serpent like dragon with no arms or legs, green scales, golden horns and eyes, with long white hair down his spine and on his chin, making a beard of sorts. Legends say that his body extends forever, able to loop around the earth. Avus himself jokes that he has not ever seen his own tail. His fur is said to be as soft as clouds, and his scales are so tough that no spear could pierce it. However, despite being immortal, Avus himself is not completely immune to the effects of time. His eyes are pale and milky, showing that with age his sight has gotten very poor. Today he would be considered almost legally blind.

Where they live:

Avus lives in a huge palace on the top of the largest mountain on Earth. The mountain is called “Mortum Manga,” and is on the “Multi Ossa” mountain range. Inside his palace are intricate carvings on the walls that tell the history of the world, from Avus’ creaton on to current day. There is also a fountain which is called the “Fountain of Youth.” Contrary to popular belief, this fountain does not make you immortal or young, but instead heals all sicknesses. It was named the Fountain of Youth because it was used to cure a large plague that was mostly killing children. 

Along the side of the mountain is a small village called “The Village Of Lights.“ These people often interact with Avus directly. In fact, every 5 years they hold a festival where they light various sky lanterns and send them into the sky. Afterwards, Avus comes down to the village and talks to them. He specifically likes to meet with all of the children - who he likes to call his grandkids. 

Personality: 

He is an extremely friendly and passive god, often inviting people to come and have tea with him in his palace. Overall, Avus is very polite and is more than willing to shelter anyone if they ask. However that is difficult for most - since not only does he live atop the highest mountain, he also does look very intimidating. In reality he just wants to talk about how your day has been going. Avus is most certainly the kindest god that mortals can talk to. 

He tries his best to keep up with new terms, words, controversial topics, etc. Because of his old age it can be hard for him to keep up. He ends up coming across as that overly supportive and sweet grandparent that doesn't understand but is trying to. (Ex: “Are you a boy or a girl? I cannot tell. My vision isn’t what it used to be. Oh wait - are you one of those non-berries? Not binaries? So sorry I don’t remember.”). Because of his age he is also considered very knowledgeable and wise, and people will sometimes come to him or pray to him for advice and counsel. 

Avus is mostly considered to be extremely patient and calm, however there have been reports of him being fiercely protective of his “little village.” Those who have dared to harm those living or seeking refuge there have mysteriously ended up turned to stone. 

The God of Life, Death, and Fate - Apeiro

General Information:

Apeiro is the god of life and death, which means it’s their job to make sure life is balanced. Apeiro can keep populations down through plagues, famine, natural disasters, or other means. Aperio can also bless certain times with good crops, more births, or other means to make sure populations stay up if need be. It is important to remember that Aperio’s job is NOT to make life/death fair.  Apeiro also makes sure that spirits end up in their proper afterlife. Apeiro can also tug on the strings of fate, not manipulating them completely, but pushing them where they want it to go.

They stand against large acts of necromancy, however, they made a deal with Alita long ago. In this deal, Totems Of Undying were allowed to be created and sealed deep inside Jungle Temples. It is unknown exactly what Apeiro got in exchange for allowing this to happen but people have speculated that it has something to do with the existence of Wither Skeletons, which guard Nether Fortresses, and Withers, which can be made with a combination of three Wither Skulls and Soul Sand. 

Apeiro also assisted Avus and Moíra in taking down the Titan of War. 

Appearance:

They have a dark gray cloak/robe that wraps around them and flows dramatically to the floor. It drifts behind them, rippling and waving like there’s constantly a breeze. At the edges of the cloak there are dozens of tiny white stars. They don’t have a face, just a black shadow that flickers around the edges when you look directly at it (which is something you should never do). They do have hands that look like skeleton talons that float separately from their body since they do not have arms. They also have horns that used to merge as a sort of crown above their head. Now, from previous battles, those horns have been splintered and broken in two.

Where they live: 

Apeiro lives inside a castle, which has the foundation of the skeleton of an ancient colossal dragon. They live with their younger sister, Moíra. Apeiro specifically lives in the head - which has been remade into a massive throne room mixed with a fancy ballroom. The neck leading up to this room is a very long hallway that has many statues of many different people. These people are referred to as “Champions,” and they are previous winners of the Champion’s Cup. 

This skeleton castle is called the “Fossa Palace” and it can be found in the middle of the “Decaying Wastelands” desert. It is unknown what killed the colossal dragon, but rumors have spread that Aperio did it themselves and decided to make it their home. Regardless, when the wind blows in the cold of night, people say they can still hear soft roars and hums of the dead dragon. 

Other than living with Moíra, Apeiro lives completely alone and does not normally travel outside of their castle. They only do so in big emergencies such as universal threats or large acts of necromancy. 

Personality: 

Apeiro is very dramatic and adores big and grand theatrics. The Champions Cup itself was created out of boredom since messing with mortal lives from the sidelines can only entertain a god for so long. Speaking of which, Apeiro finds great entertainment in watching mortal lives, and loves to play with them. Whether this is good playing or bad playing, depends on their mood. Apeiro finds it amusing to poke and prod at people’s lives from time to time, and is considered a being of madness from a few of their victims. Apeiro laughs as a witness to human wars, and sees all mortal conflict as beneath them. They will sometimes even find glee in watching other gods squabble over petty things. 

The Goddess of Karma, Justice, and Fortune - Moíra

General Information:

Moíra is the goddess of karma, justice, and fortune. This means she mainly watches over humanity and tries to keep people’s lives fair, even, and balanced. She gets very angered when there are big atrocities happening in the world, or even just when excessively unfair things happen to good or bad people. She is often the judge and jury and innacts justice as she sees fit. Moíra is a very patient force as well, and ensures that eventually, in one way or another, that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. karma is a patient force. 

She also blesses those she sees fit with various fortunes (whether this be money, something more spiritual, or something emotional will depend), or will take away from those who have committed horrendous crimes, 

Moíra also helped Avus and Apeiro kill the titan of war, and was the main one leading the charge against him. 

Appearance:

Moíra wears an extravagant white robe with golden patterns of leaves as an accent. She appears as a youthful human woman with dark skin and curly hair, but is very unnerving to look at. Her eyes are pure gold, dripping liquid gold down her cheeks. She has large curling goat horns which are decorated with various gems. Moíra also wears a laurel headpiece as a crown, with a bright red ruby in the center. She constantly floats just above the ground in order to keep herself clean. 

Where they live: 

Moíra lives inside a castle, which has the foundation of the skeleton of an ancient colossal dragon. She lives with her older sibling, Aperio. Moíra specifically lives near the top of the rib cage - which has been remade into a large fighting stadium. This stadium is where a tournament called the “Champion’s Cup” is held once a decade. There is an observatory hanging from the top of the dome ceiling, this is where Moíra resides. However she can also commonly be found with Aperio, or in the castle's library. Moíra does travel outside the castle for business purposes and works with people a lot.  

Personality: 

Moíra is much more careful about keeping balance then Apeiro is, and is much more responsible with her powers. Moíra also tends to scold her older sibling very often and is not very trusting of them. People think that the only reason Moíra lives with Apeiro is because she wants to keep a close eye on them.

By and large, Moíra is a very patient and slow god. She takes her time and thinks her actions through for a long time before acting. She thinks, a lot, and makes very calculated decisions like some sort of gamemaster. Moíra is willing to play the long game and waits for the pieces to fall into place so she can enact her plan properly. 

Moíra is also very vengeful, and remembers all of the little wrongdoings people have done. However she is very fair with her punishments, at least, she sees what she has done as fair. 

The Goddess of The End and the Keeper of The Void - The Enderdragon 

General Information 

History says that long ago there were Colossal Dragons; dragons that were born small and slowly grew throughout their lives until they were bigger than mountains. They have largely gone extinct because food became scarce and they were unable to eat enough to maintain their size. Some of their skeletons can still be seen to this day.

People know whispers of an old tale, about a dragon larger than mountains who rules The End as queen, and controls the Endermen as slaves to her will. That long ago she attempted to wipe out all life on this planet, but failed due to an intervention from Moíra, along with Avus who both banished her away from the Overworld. They say that one day, The Enderdragon will return, and have her revenge on everyone who dared forget her name. 

The majority of people don’t even believe she’s real, and some have never even heard of her. Most people believe The Enderdraon is a made-up myth tale that was made by man to explain the unknown creation of Endermen. Some people see The Enderdragon as a sort of boogeyman figure, a tale Dragon Riders will tell their children to get them to behave; Others believe she’s just some rumor made to prevent people from exploring The Stronghold. The only thing people know for certain, is that people who have dared to enter The End have either been never seen again, or come back with horrifying stories and with their children being cursed and becoming Endermen hybrids.

Appearance:

In stories she is illustrated as a large black dragon, bigger than mountains, with large grey horns and wings. The wings are usually torn, along with many scars from various battles decorating her body. The most prominent feature is her bright purple eyes. It is said that she breathes hot purple fire. 

Where they live:

In the End, one of the many different dimensions in this universe. It is mostly illustrated as many floating islands made of pale yellow sand. There are various crumbling purple buildings, along with purple plants that grow an odd fruit with teleportation abilities called “chorus fruit.” Endermen in the overworld are sometimes seen holding these. In the center of these islands are 10 tall obsidian pillars- each with an odd crystal that contains healing abilities, but only for The Enderdragon. 

Underneath the islands of the end is an endless void of darkness. It is unknown what could possibly be down there. Those who have tried to find out have never returned. 

Personality: 

In the legends, The Enderdragon is painted as an angry, vindictive, and spiteful dragon who wants nothing more than to watch humanity burn.

The Goddess of Magic - Alita 

General Information:

Alita is the keeper of all the different types of magic. There is Protection Magic, Elemental Magic, Combat Magic, Enchantments, and Necromancy. Alita is the higher power that can control all of these types of magic over others, and because of this is considered very dangerous. She can grant magic to people if they sacrifice something of great value. If she gives you magic then your spells will always appear as pure black.

Alita can also freely travel through the different dimensions - The Overworld, The Nether, and The End. She also creates permanent portals that are scattered all throughout the world. One of these portals is The Stronghold - which is a permanent portal to The End. It is unknown where others may be.

Alita is also the mother to all Kitsune, each born under a different type of magic. Kitsune are made to help Alita watch over the Overworld since she lives deep underground in The Nether. However, it is not uncommon for Kitsune to diverge from this purpose and instead do their own thing. Alita does not see a problem with this, since not only can she freely make new ones, but if she really needs to she can force her will onto the Kitsune that rebel against her wishes. 

Appearance:

Alita appears to be wearing an elegant masquerade mask that looks like a peacock. You can barely see one white eye and a small beak peeking out from the mask. Nobody, except for a few other gods, knows what she looks like under the mask. Anyone who has seen does not remember. Alita generally appears to be avian-like, being part Peacock. She has peacock tail feathers that fan up whenever she gets angry. However, the eyes seem a little too real, and people have reported getting headaches from looking at them for too long. Over her body is a beautiful silk purple dress with silver accents on the ends. She also wears many different rings and necklaces that have been given to her. 

Floating around her are five multichromatic flaming orbs that flash different colors. Each one stands for a different type of magic. Protection magic is represented by an icy blue, Elemental Magic flashes between red, dark blue, and light green depending on the element, Combat Magic is represented by royal purple, Enchantments is represented by orange, and Necromancy is represented by a dark green.

Where they live: 

Alita lives very deep underground in the nether, in the darkest caves surrounded by bubbling lava. Various bones decorate the entrance to her cave and she has a massive throne made of gold.  

Personality: 

Alita is described as the cruelest of the gods. While Aperio may mess with fate, that is their job and they ultimately keep some semblance of balance. Alita will play games with the mortals who dare to visit her simply for the fun of it. She is very playful and likes to toy with people, forcing them to make extremely difficult decisions and pay the price for their hubris. 

Alita can be won over with attention and praise however. She adores it when people grovel and give her positive attention just for a silly favor. While she may not often go out into the world, Alita is always open to visitors of any kind. After all, the visitors are often very entertaining. 

The Titan of War, also known as The Blood God - Sanguineous 

General Information:

Not much is known about the Blood God. He has mostly been lost to ancient legend. They say he was an old titan that became more powerful the more he killed. So, he became power hungry and so full of bloodlust that he attempted to wipe out all life on Earth. Because of this, he was killed by Moíra, Avus and Apeiro. His name is only known from old tapestries and ancient texts; Sanguineous.

Some say that he is not dead, but is simply resting for the right time to strike again. Some say his bones are what made the Multi Ossa mountain range. Some say that his presence can still be felt to this day. Some people do know that those who have been touched by his presence have pure red eyes. Other rumours tell of pockets of underground lakes that still hold the old Titan’s own blood. There are whispers that those pockets hold unimaginable power, if only someone could find and harness them. 

Appearance:

Old paintings and tapestries depict the Blood God as a creature made purely of bone - but only an upper body up. His chest is shown to be a human skeleton, with the hands mutated into large claws. His head, however, is depicted as a large ram skull, with humongus black horns and glowing red eyes. Sometimes, he is depicted holding a large netherite axe which he attempted to split the earth with.

Where they live: 

Since the Blood God is dead, he does not live anywhere. When he was alive he did not live in any particular place. He simply wandered the Overworld.

Personality: 

The only thing known is that he wanted nothing but for blood to be spilt from each end of the earth. 

[sapphirelass]

What family is all about - Weasley FamilyxWeasley!Sister

Hiiiiiii!!! It’s... been a while. Again. Let’s face it, I’ll never be able to post as often as I’d like. I just don’t like rushing stuff, or posting anything I’m not happy with, so...

Anyhow, I LOVED writing for the Weasley family, and I’ll most likely do it again soon. Bill and Charlie are both underrated characters in my opinion and I had a ton of fun letting them ‘shine’ (despite this being a sort of sad story, but that always seems to be where I end up... XD)

Also, I might have to edit this once more, but it’s late, I have not posted in about two weeks and I just want to go to sleep XD That being said, take it for what it is, and I’ll try to correct any grammatical errors later. Good night! <3

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

Please note:

1: I don’t own any of the gifs used, nor any already established characters, so credit to the authors and original creators - You have done a phenomenal job :)

2: English is not my native language, as I was born and raised in Sweden. I have, however, studied English for almost a decade, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I just thought I’d let you know ;)

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Word count: ≈ 2800 (they just keep getting longer, don’t they? XD)

Warnings: Light swearing, blood, angst

Enjoy! :)

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That’s what family is all about 

“How big did his tongue get?”

“It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!”

The sound of laughter was heard from the kitchen as Elwira Weasley entered her childhood home. She worked as an arithmancer, and had been stationed at a research-facility in the northern parts of Sweden for the past few years. Her work took up most of her time, but she had just travelled home to go see the quidditch final with her dad, older brother Bill, twin brother Charlie and all their younger siblings.

“It isn’t funny”, her dad shouted. “That sort of behaviour seriously undermines wizard-muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of muggles, and my own sons-”

“Are just a wee bit too daft to understand that!”

She walked through the door and found her entire family, plus two other people she didn’t know, all sitting or standing around the kitchen table.

“Ellie?!”

Her older brother and twin, with whom she had always been extremely close, both made their way across the room and pulled her into a hug so tight she could barely breathe.

“Blimey! ‘ello Bill, hey Charlie! Long time no see, huh?”

“Certainly!”, their mother exclaimed while pushing the two oldest sons to the side as she tried to get a good look at her grown-up daughter. “Not a single visit since Christmas, Elwira Weasley, we’ve had to do with owls for six months?!”

“Sorry, mum, there’s been a lot of work to do… I thought I’d stay for the rest of the summer though, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course, dear! Have you eaten yet?”

“No, I’m famished!”

Mrs Weasley went off to get another plate, and Ellie, after greeting everyone and being introduced to Harry and Hermione, took a seat between her dad and youngest brother.

“So Ronald? Had a good term?”

“Err.. Sure? Nothing interesting except for the stuff I wrote to you about, though.”

“Well you’re going into your fourth year now - almost halfway through!” She paused for a moment and turned to her father. “You good dad? You seem a bit… tense?”

Arthur looked up from his plate and sent his daughter a kind smile.

“Don’t worry about it, darling. Hosting the world cup comes with a great deal of problems all with the need to be solved. Admittedly, it’s not really part of my job, but the entire ministry becomes quite chaotic when something like that is days away. I’m a bit stressed, that’s all. How are things up in Scandinavia?”

“They’re… somewhat slow to be honest. There’s so much work to do between like October and February, but in the summer it’s mostly filing and other boring bits of paperwork.”

“Elwira?”, Hermione asked. “Sorry, I’m just curious, what is it that you do? Ron’s never told us…”

“That’s probably cause Ron doesn’t understand what I’m doing”, she smirked, “but of course, I work with, and study, arithmancy which, as you might know, is part of what’s called ‘natural magic’.”

“Great!”, mumbled Ron quietly, making sure only his friends and older sister heard. “Hermione, there are four rules in this house, okay? One: Don’t ask Charlie about dragons, Two: Don’t ask Percy about anything, Three: Don’t ask dad about muggles, and Four: Don’t ask Ellie about her job. Break either and you’ll be stuck listening to a five hour lecture.”

 Hermione didn’t seem to be bored though, so Ellie ignored her brother’s comment and continued. 

“It’s the type of magic that has been studied and worshiped since ancient times and has a very strong connection with nature. The natural phenomena with the strongest affiliation with magic is, while they in themselves have what the muggles would call a ‘scientific explanation’, the northern lights. Meaning it’s only when they’re visible that we can make any significant progress.”

Ellie paused and glanced at the younger girl, trying to see whether she had caught on or not, and was happy when realizing that she had.

“And... “, questioned Hermione, “the northern lights are only visible north of the polar circle and b-”

“Between September and March, exactly… Meaning there’s sadly not that much advanced research that can be done during the rest of the year…”

“It’s still a fascinating subject though. I only started last year, but I love it.”

“I’m glad! At least some people appreciate the wonderful art that is arithmancy, Ronald!”

Ron looked up at the mention of his name and met his sister’s gaze. 

“I just don’t find it interesting”, he said.  

“Right, because you ha-”

Ellie didn’t get to finish her sentence before being interrupted by her twin brother.

“Hey, Ellie? Must have been fun watching the Nordic versus Germany, huh?”

“Oh shut up, Charlie!”, she groaned while putting her head in her hands. “Holy Merlin…” The Nordic National Quidditch team, of which she had become a huge supporter in the last few years, had suffered a HORRENDOUS loss against Germany, and it had certainly not been a fun night. 

Her brother, however, did not shut up, but instead burst out laughing.  

“Charlie, it’s not funny!! You should have been there though… You’d have done a much better job than the stand-in seeker we had.”

“What were the results again? 700-20?”

“... 520 actually”

“520 to??”, Bill said mockingly

“You’re idiots both of you… 520-0, happy now?”

Ellie hadn’t realized that everyone else around the table had been listening in on their conversation, but was made aware when Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Arthur began laughing loudly.

“Why is this so funny to everyone? England lost badly too, and neither Romania nor Egypt even qualified to compete?!”

“Yeah...”, began Fred.

“But none of them lost with 520 points.”, finished George, earning himself a furious look from his older sister who stood up and shook her head.

“I’ll go see if mum needs any help…”

~~~~~~

Ellie loved her family, and therefore all her slightly annoying brothers, beyond everything, but being away from them for months and then meeting them all at the same time was TIRING! Having no desire to sleep through the world cup, she decided to go to bed early the night before, and she had barely closed her eyes before she fell asleep...

~~~~~~

“3, 2 ‘shhhh, quiet!”

Ellie took notice of the obnoxiously loud whispers, but it wasn’t enough to fully wake her up.

“We’ve got one more chance, 3, 2, 1, ELLIE!!!!”

She woke up instantly and sent a blast of blue sparks towards her older brother, barely missing him by an inch.

“What ‘ru doing, El? You can’t just go attacking people?!”

He tried to sound angry, but failed miserably, a heartwarming laugh escaping his mouth.

“You bloody idiots?! Why’d you scare me like that? You’re 21 and 23, not five?”

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it? Do you remember-”

“Yes, I do!”. She rubbed her eyes slowly, “‘85, look can you two please let me sleep?”

“Sorry, sis”, said Bill. “We’re leaving in half an hour. The kids and dad left ages ago.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to be late do you? Not when you can cheer for a team that might not loo-”

“Charlie, I swear!”

~~~~~~

The match was fantastic! Ellie would never admit it to her brothers, but it was nice to watch an even one for once. Watching and cheering with her family brought back fond memories of childhood games at the Burrow or Hogwarts, and she realized just how much she had missed actually playing. They stayed up late discussing players and tactics, but eventually their father ushered them all off to bed. 

~~~~~~

“Ellie?”

“Ellie??”

She stirred slightly and pulled the sleeping bag tighter around her.

“Ellie! Damn it, wake up!”

She opened her eyes slowly and saw her twin brother bent above her. The sight made her sigh.

“Charlie”, she mumbled. “We see each other once- or twice a year nowadays, do you really feel obligated to wake me up every time you get the chance?”

“Elwira, I’m serious! Get up!”

This caught her attention. Sure, the twins often used their full names when messing with each other, but it didn’t sound like Charlie was joking at all. She sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned loudly.

“What’s going on? Wha- Charlie? It’s still dark out? Why’d yo-”

“Ellie, c’mon. We have to help dad. Someone’s attacking the muggles.”

He threw his sister a jacket and pulled her out of the tent. Arthur, Bill and Percy were all waiting outside.

“Dad?”, she asked. “What’s happening? Charlie sai-”

“We’ve got to help the ministry!”, he said while frantically trying to count everyone and make sure they were there. “Fred, George, you make sure the others are safe. Go wait in the woods and I’ll come for you when the situation’s under control. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Ellie, let’s see if there’s something we can do.”

Nobody questioned Mr Weasley’s instructions, and immediately left in different directions. There were people everywhere though, and the two directions quickly became three, four, six. Spells and curses were fired left, right and centre and Ellie found herself disarming and stunning at least a few death eaters. There weren’t that many of them, roughly thirty or so, but the insane amount of witches and wizards fleeing the campsite made it difficult to fight back. She couldn’t risk hitting any random bloke.

While duelling a tall man in a black mask, Ellie suddenly stumbled forward, a particularly nasty curse having hit her straight in the back. Falling to the ground felt way more painful than it should have, and her wand landed well beyond her reach. She groaned as a burning pain spread through her lower back, but made an effort to get back up anyways. She did, however, not make it very far before the sharp end of a wand dug into her throat.

The death eater behind her sniggered and pulled her up by the collar of her shirt.

“Well, well, well… Why’re you trying to ruin our fun?”

He stood way too close for comfort and Ellie felt his breath on her neck. She tried to answer, but the curse that was shot at her must have hit its intended target, as all that came out when she opened her mouth was a strained cough and warm blood.

The bloke holding her let out a dark chuckle and threw her to the ground. She could barely keep her eyes open, and a thick, red liquid oozed from the wound in her back.

“Not so high-and-mighty now, are we?”

Ellie lacked the strength to fight back, and to the death eaters that seemed to take all the fun out of the situation. They set off back towards the campsite, leaving Ellie on the ground next to a few pines. She tried her very best to sit up, but ended up passing out…

~~~~~~

“Charlie?!”

Bill ran up to his younger brother and pulled him in for a quick, one-armed hug.

“Charlie, you okay? We’ve got to get back to the tent. Where’s El?”

“Wha-, I-I thought she was with you?!?”

“What? Last I saw her you were together?”

The brothers shared a lock of utter terror.

“Bill, we have to find her!”

“I know… Dad went to get the kids and Percy’s back in the tent waiting.”

“There’s no time to waste then. Let’s go”

~~~~~~

They had been running around the camping grounds for half an hour, and there was still not a trace of a living soul - let alone the special one they were searching for. At first, they had been shouting her name at the top of their lungs, but were now walking silently. That was, at least, until a shout made both of them turn around.

“Bill! Charlie! What are you doing? I told you to stay in the tent?”

Arthur Weasley came running towards them, with Harry, Ron and Hermione following close behind.

“Dad!”, Charlie shouted. “Have you seen El? We can’t find her?”

“What?”, asked Arthur. “But she was with you, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, at first, but we must have gotten separated… Dad, is that? You know?”

He threw a dark glance at the skull and snake decorating the night sky and said, “Yes. Yes it is. Look, I’ll take Ron, Hermione and Harry back to the tent, and I’ll meet you back here in ten minutes, okay? Don’t go too far. Come on kids!”

~~~~~~

Just as the brothers were about to give up, go back to the clearing, wait for their dad and hopefully find both their sisters safe and sound, Bill noticed something. A glimpse of red in the moonlight…

“Charlie? Get over here fast!”

The younger brother followed Bill’s gaze and immediately set off through the forest when his eyes found a mess of ginger hair sticking out from behind a rather large pine. Bill followed closely behind.

“ELLIE!!!?!!”

Charlie stumbled to his knees and turned his sister around, trying to get a better look at her. He pressed his hand to her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief when he found a pulse.

“She’s alive”, he mumbled. “Bill, she’s alive!”

“Good. I- Good.” Bill was lost for words too and mumbled a quick “Let me see”.

He pushed some hair out of her eyes and searched for any clues to what had hit her. He was a curse-breaker after all, but that usually meant working with curses placed on things or places, not people. 

“Charlie, I-I don’t know what that is… it’s not a curse I’m familiar with and I’m no healer… You want to carry her?”

“Of course”

Charlie brought his twin into his arms and picked her up, her bruised, limp body threatening to fall unless he held on tight enough. The brothers walked back to the clearing where they’d promised to meet their dad, but kept a close watch on their sister. They would apparate, though at the moment none of them felt like they had much time for ‘Deliberation’. It wasn’t very far anyways.

~~~~~~

“DAD!”, Bill shouted as soon as they noticed Arthur in the clearing where they were supposed to wait.

“Boys! Didn’t I tell you t-”

“We’ll take that later, Dad, you’ve got to help her!?”

Arthur Weasley was speechless, which had most likely never happened before, and Charlie felt so helpless. This was worse than his worst nightmares, and there was nothing he could do. Had it been a wounded dragon, sure, he knew loads about them, but this?

“Dad?”, asked Bill. “What can we do?”

“Right. Er… I suppose there’s no use trying to get you to wait here?”, he said while looking at Charlie who frantically shook his head. “Right, Bill could you go back to Percy and the kids? Fill them in on what happened? Then Charlie and I’ll take Ellie to St Mungos, okay?”

Bill didn’t look too happy with the idea, but nodded nonetheless.

---

“Charlie sit down!”

“Fred, he can’t”, said George. “Hey, I think you missed a spot over there, Charles”

“Shut it both of you! Honestly, why am I the only one that’s worried?”

Arthur stood up and put an arm around his son.

“Listen, we’re all worried, but walking back and forth isn’t helping anyone. Just sit for a moment, huh?”

“No, dad, you don’t understand! It’s my fault. We were supposed to stick together! I let her out of my sight...I-”

“Charlie, we all-”

“No, Bill, you don’t get it either, I should-”

“-let your sister sleep for once? That’d be greatly appreciated, thank you.”

The entire family turned at once, and found the oldest daughter struggling to sit up.

“EL!!”

Charlie stumbled over and put a hand on his sister’s back, trying to help her up, but unfortunately placing it right where the curse had hit her.

“Auch!”

She moved away from his touch and he pulled his hand back immediately.

“Blimey, Ellie I’m so s-”

“Charlie, it’s good. Don’t worry about it.”

Ellie pulled her brother into a hug, though he was now extremely careful, and she looked over his shoulder at the rest of her family. Her eyes met Bill’s and he sent her a kind smile. She gestured for him to come join them, and eventually the whole family found themselves in a loving group hug. Molly did her very best to wrap her arms around all her children, desperately trying to convince herself that they were all there - safe and sound and loved. 

Because if there was one thing the Weasleys had a lot of, it was love and that is, after all, precisely what family is all about.

~ L

Masterlist

[jessiewre]

Day 22

Sun 26th Jan 💜

It’s been a year to the day since we lost Nanny. That’s mad isn’t it. Miss that legend.

Woke up at about 5am because we’d gone to bed too early, but managed to power through and stay in bed till 7am. Phil got up and continued researching his new obsession - a half marathon near Kilimanjaro - and I joined him at 8:30am for Spanish omelette breakfast included in our 25$ a night room. Good deal that init. People say that in London you’re never further than like 5 meters away from a rat. Well thats like me and good deals, there’s always one close by for me to sniff out. Maybe I’m more like one of those pigs and the deals are truffles.

I digress...

The hostel manager was now wearing a chefs coat and I realised he was now the chef. What a multi-talented chap he was. I threw him into a frenzy by asking for salt, pepper, ketchup and chilli sauce, and eventually went into the kitchen myself to assist.

The ketchup was in a huge bucket bottle in the fridge and he gracefully glugged it out into a plastic squeezey bottle that he couldn’t find the lid for. Yum.

Shout out to Stella and Helen who will surely boke at that description of keptchup.

We got bodas to the Woman’s Centre for the recommended walking tour starting at 10am - but there was a big bike race on believe it or not, and so road blocks meant we had to walk the last kilometre. Phil was loving the bike race, I could see his legs twitching like he was imagining himself on a bike that moment, but I soon snapped him back to reality by power-walking ahead to avoid us being super late to the walk.

The sky was rapidly turning a dark shade of grey but Phil assured me that the weather report he’d checked stated that there would be no rain until midday or later.

You may be able to sense where this is going.

We arrived at the Centre and sat in the sofa area for the introduction, and the exact moment the woman began to talk and tell us about the community, the rain began to thunder on the metal roof and no one could hear a word she said. After 10 minutes, the intro finished and the rain actually calmed down a little, but then it went totally crazy again and me and Phil looked at each other like...hmm should we just not do this walking tour.

Another English girl there was thinking the same thing and the 3 of us decided to ditch the tour and head back the next day, while the 3 older people and a young American woman went off in the torrential rain with umbrellas. Umbrella’s are all good and well but I couldn’t see another soul on the streets so I seriously doubted how good a community walking tour would be in this weather. We chatted to the English girl, Esther, and she was ending a weeks work doing research for the Princes Trust who she works for. In a nutshell, she creates programmes for local groups in different countries to integrate technology into their lives to improve their prospects and quality of life. Really interesting! Phil mentioned that she should hang at our hostel later if she wanted as we were planning on trying out the bowling alley on site, and she was really up for that, especially considering she was in Kigali on her own and it was her last night.

The rain eventually calmed down enough for us to jump on a boda and we decided that considering the rain, it would be appropriate to visit the Genocide Museum at this point. We knew we were going to visit it at some point so made sense to be inside during the rain.

We were really hungry though and didn’t want to rush through the museum, so thankfully there was a cafe on site where we had a vege burger and vege panini, both with chips. We decided we’d try and lay off the chips for a while after that meal, it was the chip that broke the camels back.

The Rwandan Genocide museum was a harrowing and necessary visit.

The below information is upsetting, I’ll warn you now.

genocide

noun

noun: genocide; plural noun: genocides

1. the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular nation or ethnic group.

To briefly summarise, the problems began when the country was ‘colonised’ - or should we say if we’re being honest, when the country was invaded against its will. The Germans were first in 1899 then the Belgians in 1916 and then the Belgian’s decided to split the country into three different groups. Ultimately this created a sort of competition between the groups of people that had never existed before and this was what they say sparked the issues in the country. Fast forward to 1994, and the genocide officially began, over a period of 100 days - neighbours were murdering neighbours, friends were murdering friends. Relatives even betrayed each other. By turning people against each other, the ringleaders were able to sit back and watch the killings happen for them.

Being in the country now, its very difficult to imagine it happening, as it feels vibrant, friendly and safe. But the images in the museum leave you under no illusions. People were mindlessly slaughtered, no one was spared - children, pregnant women and men. It was absolutely mind-blowingly horrendous.

The museum talks a lot about how the international community sat back and let it happen, like Rwanda was on another planet that no one cared about. There is obviously a lot of pain from that which was difficult to read about.

But there were also a number of people who put themselves on the line by hiding people in their houses and gardens, saving many lives. Unfortunately, there were not enough of those people and over a million people were killed. They are still uncovering mass graves today.

There were videos playing with interviews from survivors talking about the guilt they feel from being the only member of their family who survived. But incredibly, they spoke about forgiveness and said they would like to forgive the perpetrators if they were willing to ask for forgiveness. They spoke about moving forward with only peace in mind, as this was what would move Rwanda forward in a peaceful way. By seeking revenge, the violence and pain would continue, they said. It’s unbelievable to hear that from someone who watched their innocent young siblings and mother murdered by machete in front of their very eyes. You can’t even imagine what this person has gone through.

One of the most difficult parts of the museum was The Children’s Room. This section had beautiful photos of child victims printed in large portraits displayed around the room, with a small plaque underneath each one with bullet points of information about the child, like:

Name

Age

Favourite Snack

Best Friend


Then the final point for every child was

Cause of death

The descriptions here were detailed and distressing.

Obviously there is a huge amount of detail missing from this account of the genocide and I urge you to have a read about it if you have time and are interested.

We left there after a few hours taking it all in and went to find the Inema Art gallery, as we’d read about it being a really cool artists space that has had a lot of international interest.

It was different to what I expected, as there wasn’t actually a lot of pieces in there - more like a few extremely large pieces, each priced around $5000. So obviously, we bought two and headed off.

Well anyway, some of the artists were there stood near their art in smart clothes and were hoping for a super rich muzungu coming in and buying everything. That was not going to be us, so we thanked them and headed to the cafe for a little coffee.

Not before I asked them if there were any female artists there.

One guy said No, the women in Rwanda seem to stick to the craft-making and THEN he said that even though many are good at art, he thinks they are lacking in passion.

I said Hmm perhaps you means Confidence, not passion.

He was like Oh yeah, maybe that.

Yeah MAYBE THAT mate.

We boda’d back to the hostel and Phil donned up in his gear for a run. Just before heading off, he finally booked himself a spot onto the Kilimanjaro half marathon in Moshi, Tanzania on 1st March. FFS. Better get practicing on my excited supportive girlfriend look then.

Meanwhile I sat in the hostel garden watching videos on how to use Procreate on the iPad. Suddenly realised Phil had been gone AGES and then he rocked up having run like 10 MILES and then said Oh also, I may have tripped over and potentially broken my toe.

He’d taken out his phone to check the map and ended up kicking a bit of metal sticking out of the group, and then he’d fallen over and made a few new cracks on his phone screen (to join the 5 that were already there).

Wicked.

Phil had a quick shower and change while hobbling around on his bad foot (I hear broken toes are brilliant for half marathons), and Esther arrived at the hostel, so we went searching for a restaurant open on a Sunday. After a few fails, we eventually stumbled across a place called Afrika Bite and negotiated the 10k per person meaty Rwandan platter down to 5k each for a vegetarian version for all of us. It was so good! Garlic potatoes, peanut sauce, rice, vegetables, fried banana, salad, plus some ‘fish fingers’ ordered as an extra. Such a welcome relief to eat something local and delicious. Shout out to those who are reading this blog mainly for the food descriptions.

We went back to the hostel to play in East Africa’s 2nd bowling alley (the only other one is in Nairobi!) and Esther made sure she mentioned she had a ‘bad neck’. That would explain her unbelievably bad scoring thats for sure. Ok now to be fair, Phil the physio also advised that she use the heaviest ball available which turned out to be truly awful advise and after a stagnant run of about 2 points in 6 goes, she tried a really light ball - and actually hit some pins! Go Esther.

Can I also mention that this bowling alley had a system where a bloke hidden at the end would organise the pins and reset them for us manually using a kind of lever system. He always managed to move his hands out of the way before the ball struck the pins of course.

Esther headed back to her hotel and we ended up playing basketball on the two hoops game with Desire the manager. Our quick game of ‘How many can you score in 1 minute’ managed to take over our lives for over an hour. My record was 23, Phil’s 24 (he’s taller init) and Desire managed 33 (well, he works there so ya know). Was addictive and super fun and I got the impression Desire will spend the next year working on his pb.

[all-blue-headcanons]

More Charlotte brothers questions ❤️ Which brothers do you think would be cool with having a stepchild? Do you think any would be completely against it?

Thoughts on the Charlotte Brothers dealing with a stepchild

- As the eldest child of the (huge) Charlotte Family, Perospero I feel would be alright with his partner having a stepchild already, but might feel a little sad at the same time? It’s not that he’s afraid of dealing with another child; this man’s practically helped raise all his younger brothers and sisters since Big Mom isn’t really the maternal type, but having gotten to his middle years, the idea of his beloved’s child not being of their blood is something he’s a little… down about. Not that he’d ever admit it, of course! That child is half of his partner as well! It’s just that with so many responsibilities to handle, Perospero knows that he probably won’t be there for them as much as he’d like, and might not get the opportunity to truly bond with them either. Many fathers are already out of the picture in Totto Land, and Perospero doesn’t want to be another one of them…*Blue’s thoughts: Actually okay with it, especially since he’s getting on a bit in years and the idea of having a biological child with his partner might be even worse in regards to being able to bond with babies! He finds it important to be able to build up a good relationship with family along with happy memories, so while the stepchild isn’t of his own blood, Perospero accepts that it might be his only chance at being a parent and does his best. Accepting, tries his hardest to be a caring father whenever he can. - As the second son and most esteemed brother in the Charlotte Family, Katakuri is another who is actually alright with the idea of his partner having had a child from a former relationship, but worries for different reasons than Perospero. The Sweet Commander is often busy, an imposing man who towers above all. The thought of his adopted stepchild being afraid of his new father is something Katakuri isn’t sure he can handle terribly well - and that’s without taking his fanged jaws into account! Nonetheless, Katakuri would be a pretty decent parent towards the stepchild what with having also had a hand in raising his many brothers and sisters. Possessing Observation Haki helps a lot in gauging his child’s reactions, leading Katakuri to find various ways to be able to interact on friendly terms. Admittingly, it’s kind of… nice for him to have his own little one to look after for a change, though Katakuri would probably want at least one biological child of his own so that the stepchild can learn to become a good big brother/sister towards his and his partner’s baby!*Blue’s thoughts: Despite not being that much younger than Perospero, Katakuri is a strong man who hasn’t yet felt that ‘midlife’ crisis so would be fairly agreeable in regards to accepting his partner’s child. Blood matters in the Charlotte Family, but with such mixed blood going around already, it’s not really that big of a deal if his partner and stepchild can be trusted? He might not always be there for the stepchild, and would want to spend time with his partner whenever he’s got the opportunity, but he’d be caring enough and would make sure to spend time with them as well to keep the mood in his own little family sweet.- Surprisingly, Oven is a pretty decent sort in regards to accepting a stepchild. He’s a busy man also what with being one of the eldest brothers, but didn’t really take up the mantle in becoming a big brother figure like Perospero and Katakuri. It’s a new opportunity for him, and it helps if the stepchild is a little older as that means there’s less mess involved unlike babies and younger children. Oven can be a pretty tempermental man at times so an older child is definitely much easier to handle and reason with. Like Katakuri, Oven would also like to have his own child someday with his partner so he takes it all in stride, learning what to do and what not to do in regards to raising children. He can be a little too stern at times, meaning his partner may have to step in once or twice to help him cool down, but ultimately the man means well and tries his hardest given that most of the Charlotte Family never really knew their own fathers or how to behave like one. Definitely the sort who’d make a good effort; partly to show his lover that he’s ready to become a father again, and that he finds he genuinely enjoys a spot of one-on-one bonding.Blue’s thoughts: I know I ragged on Oven before in the DIFL edition, but I genuinely think he would be a surprisingly good father towards his partner’s stepchild despite his horrendous treatment of Pound and Chiffon?? Familial duties are extremely important to the man, and we know emotions can overcome reason at the best - and worst - of times, but Oven seems like the type who is man enough to take on a child not of his own blood and would at least be tolerant if he’s not that keen on the stepchild initially? Slow to warm but at least would be considerate, if only because of his partner. He’s no Vernon Dursley, and after all, what’s one more child in the ever-increasing Charlotte Family?- Daifuku… I honestly don’t know about this guy? He’s like Oven in that he takes family issues incredibly seriously so it could go either way with this man in learning how to become a good father, or always being… distant because he cares more about his partner than he’d ever care about his stepchild? I can see him being more fun than Oven though; that Genie looks like it could be a lot of fun to play with, so Daifuku may yet have a hidden side that only his loved ones would get to see! I can definitely see him being an uncle figure at the very least, and while he may or may not be as fatherly or hands-on as his brothers, Daifuku would at least be patient with the stepchild since he’s not as tempermental as Oven or concerned about his age like Perospero. Daifuku likely knows he’s likely got a lot to prove to his partner in that he can be a capable man who can be trusted with future children should they ever be lucky to have some themselves, and hey, even if they don’t, it’s still pretty cool to have an older child around whom he’s not had to handle the icky stuff already. Babies are gross.Blue’s thoughts: Kinda-sorta like Oven again here, in that Daifuku’s probably capable of being a better father than expected even if the stepchild isn’t of his own blood? As an elder son, Daifuku’s seen a lot of children growing up already and may have had a hand in bringing up some of his fellow siblings, so it’s a nice change when his partner’s child has grown past the obnoxious stages and can be pretty much left to themselves if he doesn’t feel like playing with them. He’s a busy man after all, and his partner needs attention as well, but the stepchild can at least rest assure that Daifuku wouldn’t be excessively cold or cruel. He’d be distant at worst, and with his position in the family, it would probably end up that way whether they like it or not.- Personally, I think Cracker would be the MOST accepting of a stepchild? Sure, he’s a proud and vain man, but as the youngest of these brothers who have been listed, it’s likely that the Biscuit General would find the prospect of dealing with a child not of his blood to be a fairly simple task. There’s a lot of children in the Charlotte Family already and he’s pretty sure he can help raise a great kid with his partner! He doesn’t always have the time to be hanging around, so it’s nice for his partner to have some company while he’s gone and the knowledge that when they’re ready, they are capable of having more children together and will be raised well while he’s off working. When he’s not running errands for Big Mom, Cracker’s probably the most engaging stepfather, wanting to play with the stepchild or help them get accustomed to their role in Totto Land; they may need to learn how to fight, especially to help defend their parent so the Biscuit General finds it to be a good test run on how he’d act as a father should his partner feel ready for a second. Definitely the type to play games with the kid, having them ride around on his Biscuit Suit’s shoulder as they wander around Totto Land to see all the great sights of dad’s homeland!Blue’s thoughts: I like Cracker, and he seems like the type who’d be most excited to be a father what with being the youngest brother listed here and having a lot of energy to help up with his demanding role? Plus he enjoys being revered by his family. The fact that he’d get along so well with his partner’s child just goes to show what a great man he really is, both for enjoying playing as dad and being good at it too. He likes to spend time with his partner but won’t say no to helping his stepchild with any issue that comes up either; Cracker was looked after reasonably well by Perospero and Katakuri during his youth, so he’d have a vague idea on what would be needed and how to help with whatever’s wrong. Sometimes acts more like a big brother than a stepdad!

[divinefelt]

                                                ❝     i  have  cried  all  my  tears .                                                              all  that’s  left  is  anger .     ❞ 

 ―  pin board.

STATISTICS.

name :   zahra azhdeha kabiri.

age :   2,581 years , appears mid 30′s.

gender :   cisfemale ( she & her ).

orientation :   homosexual , demiromantic.

species :   dragyn , ethereal dynasty.

occupation :   performer ( fire dancer ) at the haus of millennium.

residence :   sherman lofts in sioux falls - 1 bed , 1 bath.  lives alone.

//  more statistical info found here.  

BIOGRAPHY.

zahra was once a meek girl born the bastard daughter to the king of the persian empire.  she’d be sold to an egyptian general older than even her father as soon as she was able as a token of good faith.  with the birth of her three children and their safety on the line , she took a dagger to her husband.  she’d then travel home and slit the throats of the king and every male heir.  she’d be crowned empresss and would rule with a good heart.  but another being would turn his eyes towards her and turn her into a horrendous dragyn.  zahra would have fire and blood for her enemies , but while she attempted to be good towards her people , some still only saw her as a beast. 

so , appearing as a divine saviour , a macedonian king would gather an army and look towards the persian empire.  at the peak of which , she’d be chained and thrown beneath a mountain.  zahra would spend nearly two millennia trapped underground before she’d awaken to find the chains unfettered.  it’d take years for her to gain a semblance of her previous strength back while at the same time looking upon a vastly different world.  her children , previously transformed into gargoyles , surely hadn’t survived.  yet she searches for them anyway.  one journey had her run into the performers of the haus of millennium , and with a heart needing family , she joined them.  

the troupe has just moved to south dakota , though zahra is restless in this place.  there is a familiar sense pulling at her that she’s only felt twice before.  it’s naive , but she’s hopeful that this may be the place where she’ll reunite with her children , and follow that sense towards the one who put their lips to her hand all those years ago and started her on this bloody journey.

//  more biographical info found here.

CONNECTIONS.

GENERAL SPECIES VIEWS

the gargoyles / the dominion :   zahra considers gargoyles friends , unless personally shown otherwise.  her first glimpse into the world of the supernatural started with the knowledge of such creatures.  her bias for them only grew as she became friends with astarte and as her children were turned into gargoyles so they could stay together for eternity.  as for the dominion as a whole , zahra knows little about the organization save that they are very influential and that several of astartes’ children are in it ( as well as her own son , but that’s not known to her yet ).  i’m sure that members , or at least high - ranking members of the dominion have heard rumors of zahra floating around.  so whether or not they see her as a threat , or an asset is up to the organization and the individual.  i’d love any connection from friends to enemies , to using her as a weapon or all banding together to kill her idk but i want it all

the weyrs :   way back when , when she was still learning about the supernatural world , zahra first thought that perhaps she was related to the weyrcreatures.  they both had other animalistic forms hidden beneath a human visage and perhaps by learning about them , she could learn about herself.  little came of it though besides a shared camaraderie in hiding who one truely was behind a passable visage.  (  though zahra doesn’t know this yet , her eldest daugher , nazli , was killed by a weyr pack like 1500 years ago.  the pack is probably extinct by now , but if there’s some connection there ya can think of , hmu.  also , when she learns of that she isn’t going to be too friendly to them 0.0 )

the wytches :   when her possible relation to the weyrs didn’t pan out , she sought out wytches next.  though hesitant , she had several ancient rituals performed on her to figure out her origin , but all pointed towards the heavens.  this was interpreted different ways by different casters , but zahra eventually came to the conclusion that whatever cursed her was something divine.  

the meyrfolk :   zahra hates large bodies of open water with a passion.  she hasn’t met many meyrs due to this reason though she still finds them fascinating.  basically someone needs to convince zahra to go for a swim or take her to the aquarium or smthng

the dieties :   she had turned her mind away from the heavens after she’d become the beast she is today and a frutiless search for the one who’d done the deed.  but they have not turned away from her.  her master , father , creator ; whatever you want to call them , is still watching.  they were the one who gave the usurpers the chains that were able to bind her , and the one to release her a mere century ago.  though she doesn’t know , his eyes watch on from afar , though coming closer and closer , and surely other dieties have noticed the beast walking their earth and the way their sibling is always watching.

the hunters :   in the eyes of hunters , dagyns are actual mythical creatures.  or at least , they’re so rare there hasn’t been a proven sighting in several hundred , perhaps thousands , years.  apart from otherworldly beings , dragyns are the creatures to kill if you want your name to live on forever amongst other hunters forever.  so , i’d love if a crazy , foolhardy , valiant hunter came after zahra.  either to actually hunt and try to kill her , or maybe to just do research on her species to write down in some hunter field guide !

INTERPERSONAL CONNECTIONS 

the haus of millennium :    true to her nature , zahra is a fire dancer. when she performs , she feels some semblance of her old life again. the worry and memories that plague her stop for the few mintues that all eyes are on her.  the only time she can breathe is when being bathed in her own inferno.  so if there are any characters that are in the haus , or patrons coming to watch and notice her on the street , ect , ect

the secret  :    she may be millenna old , but anger is still alight in her veins. a persistant fan follows her home after the show.  she yells at them to leave , but steps continue in her direction. a shout comes from the small woman , a hand is lifted and then the fan is alight in an inferno. it burns for only a few mintues before nothing is left behind but ashes on the wind and scorched asphalt. the woman shakes her head and continues on her way , not knowing another was watching from afar with a camera in hand and an impossible event captured on photograph.

a diety :   they’ve noticed how the olympian watches their creation from afar.  they know they are prone to death and destruction , so what better way to deliver such than a creature of fire and blood ?  whether this diety wants to urge on the olympian’s plan , or as taken a liking to zahra , ect , ect

a friend with benefits :   needs are needs , especially after a hugely disorienting rest under the earth’s surface for two millennia.  they were acquaintances first and fell head first into something more physical.  whether or not her partner feels the same , zahra is struggling with maybe feeling something more ?

a budding romance :   it’s not truly a feeling she’s ever felt before.  sure , she holds love for her children and the wind beneath her wings , but a romantic love isn’t something she’s too familiar with.  already , it’s all-encompassing and she can’t get your muse off her mind.  it’s annoying , but she finds she loves it.  and now awkward flirting and dated courting will ensue.

++ everything else y’all throw at me cause i actually suck at plotting and connections so pls come yell at me 

[flabwahn-blog1]

I’m starting a blog for me. I don’t actually want anybody to read it I just need somewhere to dump because I can’t afford counselling and my support system is just non existent. Since my 25th birthday I came to this horrible realisation that my support system (barely if any) was a complete fraud and I watched it crumble before me leaving me feeling like I have wasted the last 10 years on people who have no respect for me whatsoever.

I am one of 6 children with a broad range of personalities. The eldest Michael, is hardworking, has never touched drugs or cigarettes, rarely drinks and lives with his wife and has been with her for over 10 years and for this I am so proud of him. He has achieved the most considering he was dyslexic and has been called thick his whole life with people constantly reminding him he could never achieved anything. Now, he is above and beyond all of us by leaps and bounds. However, he has realised this and sits very highly on a pedestal. In his eyes, he cannot do any wrong because of the stark difference between him and the rest of us siblings. The result of this, he has the absolute incapability to apologise, recognise his flaws or acknowledge he can upset anybody because he feels so strongly about his opinions, which isn’t a bad thing but it causes huge grudges within the family. When he has a thought in his head - a mild assumption - he believes it too be true, This is turn results in this thought becoming verbal, and he has no hesitation in telling all family members this thought as if it’s the truth and he really does believe it himself. I picked my nose in his car, and he thinks I had been sniffing cocaine. Rather than discuss this with me, he told the whole family this was the truth when it wasn’t. Now we don’t talk, because I wanted an apology. This may seem very high and mighty, which I understand. But when we upset him he refuses to speak to anybody unless we apologise and kiss the ground he walks on. So without an apology, I will not entertain the relationship anymore. I was so hurt, and as I am getting older I am beginning to realise that you may be my brother, but that doesn’t mean anything. If someone in the street did this to me, I wouldn’t accept it. Having the title of brother means nothing, it doesn’t give any right to treat or accuse me like this. So that’s the first relationship that died for me. Michael was my favourite brother, I always admired his honesty and his big heart. I miss him so much, but my stubbornness won’t falter right now because I’ve always been a doormat, and now I have stood up to him our relationship has gone.

My brother Craig, the second eldest is again a hard working man, he has respect for women and in recent years I have noticed how good he can be. Me and him are very similar where as we feel like the black sheep of the family. I can’t relate to him though, his experiences have been more horrendous than mine and I would never say I can imagine how he felt because that would be an insult to him. As the black sheep growing up, he was subjected to bullying day in and day out from members of his own family, his support system and his own parents. I am ashamed to admit at times I was involved and is probably one of my biggest regrets considering the place I am in at the moment with my family. If you ever see this Craig, know I am sorry from the very bottom of my heart. You are a good man and you didn’t deserve what happened to you. But to see you achieve now with your skating, your beautiful girlfriend and home, I know you’re so much stronger now and I am so proud of you. Out of us 6, you probably are the most empathetic brother I have, you listen to me and don’t make it a competition of who has had it worse or try to invalidate anything I have felt. You are a good ear and the rest of this family doesn’t see you for what you are, because you detached yourself from us all, and I don’t blame you. Sometimes you think you know it all, but you’re just you. I accept it when we chat, but I know it’s you demonstrating that you only have my best interests at heart. 

Then it’s Paul. I don’t think I have ever come across anybody in the street like Paul. But then again if I did, I wouldn’t see that side I see with Paul with anybody else because I don’t live with them. Hate is a strong word, and believe me when I say I hate him. I know he is my brother but again this is just a title. This doesn’t mean I have to like him or love him. In his world, Paul is number one and nobody will ever come first not even his own children which just baffles me. He is a bully, he shouts and shouts when you try to confront him about just about anything because he knows he will win. To a point where he knows this, and knows no one can be bothered or have the guts to confront him anymore because of his reactions and he abuses this. Not many people can bring the worst out in me but he does each and every time and I am so ashamed he can do this to me. My dad works long hours and hard days, he has no issues with waking him up every morning whether its making a cup of tea, blowing his nose (he has a cocaine problem and if anyone knows a cocaine addict blowing their nose it’s not quiet) or just moving around. And he generally believes it does not matter because he needs to do those things and does not care about any consequence, he is completely incapable of recognising he has the ability to upset people, acknowledge it or even show any remorse for it. I moved back home a month ago, and my only lay in is on Saturdays. He wakes me up around 6am every single weekend without fail. I came home from an 18 hour shift, and the dog had wet herself indoors. I came indoors and trod in it, and noticed footprints around the whole home from him where he’d seen in, walked in it and ignored it and my heart just broke. I looked at that pile of wee, and knew exactly what he thought of me and that is a maid. His opinions of women are very outdated in the sense we have a place in the home and he would not dare lift a finger because that’s not his job. And that’s how he sees me, just a maid who belongs at home and couldn’t even take 5 minutes to clean it up because he felt it was my job. It broke my heart my own brother thinks so little of me, I can’t grasp it. He has the complete inability to even clean up after himself unless it benefits him directly such as his own bedroom. He refuses to wash up because he strongly feels that is my job and makes no hesitation to remind me that this is my job not his. Whenever he gets a girlfriend I feel so sorry for them because all they do is blame themselves for his actions when they don’t realise he has always been the same. He was bullied when he was younger massively, and in turn this made him into a bully. He is so scared about being the victim again he makes damn sure that everyone around him knows hes the alpha male to make sure this never happens again to him. The lack of respect for everyone around him just baffles me again. I would happily never ever speak to him again or see him again, and if he dropped off of this planet I would feel no remorse or grief. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I am only human.

Then there’s Jack. Jack is a wonderful person, the biggest heart and genuinely cares for anyone he loves. I have never met anybody that dislikes him because he makes you feel so valued and that you matter. Jack has empathy, sympathy and knows how to make you laugh and diffuse the situation. But this side of him I rarely see anymore, because he has a serious and big problem with cocaine. I lost the Jack I loved because of that drug, watching the mood swings, the thieving, to come second to the drug itself broke my heart. But I knew he needed help and because of how he was I knew he deserved the help and did everything in my power to give it to him. I tried to build his self-esteem, his self-worth and his confidence. But time after time over the last 8 years, he has stolen from me, degraded me, abused me and more. He doesn’t work and hasn't done so consistently for the last 5 years. I took him to get his haircut every month to give him some self worth, we went to dinner every week, everything I ever had I shared with him because I knew he had nothing and I didn’t want him to go without. I shared my cigarettes, my weed, my soul, my paycheck with him in a desperate attempt for him to realise he could have those things himself and to try and give him confidence to know he deserves more than what he is currently doing. But on my birthday we had an argument, only petty for throwing rubbish out of my car and I told him off - he sent me multiple voice notes telling me he hates me, I’m a slag, I mean nothing to him etc. After spending so many years doing what I did, hearing that made me snap and I gave up. I feel guilty every single day worrying where he is, what he’s doing, if he’s safe. But I realised at some point I had to come first for me, because I knew I would never come first in his world only the drugs. I keep a picture of him with me all the time, but I know I am waiting for the day when  I get a call telling me he didn’t make it. Because I know before he’s 30 this will kill him. But I can’t sacrifice myself anymore for him, it was destroying me. 

I can’t finish this tonight. I’ll finish this tomorrow. I need somewhere to put my story.

[dopecoffeetimemachine]

So this will be an incredibly long blog post.

This is my story. It’s like 3 pages, so take your time to read it if you are interested. It is the reason I need people to be aware of sexism and vow to stand up against it. Please join me here and irl, my next posts will be short ;)

Hi! I started this blog, because the past few days I started to feel obligated to educate the people around me about sexism. How do you do that? And when is the right time to stand up against these kinds of situations? I decided to write about the daily sexism I experience in my life to make the situation of mankind a little bit more clearly for those who don’t (want to) see this side of life. Male, female or other, I hope we can all see the world a little bit clearer and not get discouraged, but empowered to stand up. So one day, sexism will be unfathomable to our kids. Or even ourselves.

So, first things first, what is my story? Well, my story is not like that of anyone else (or at least anyone’s I’ve heard of). One of my parents is from a family with a lot of abuse. Amongst other things, they were sexually abused from a very young age, as were their siblings. As they went on in life, each of them chose different ways of adapting to deal with the cruelties that were done to them. It now so happened that one of my parents brothers started to have some feelings for children that he didn’t want to feel. Having a kid on his lap made him feel sexually aroused, among other things. Horrified as he was by these things that he felt, but didn’t want to feel, he did the thing that makes him one of the most courageous people I know: he told my parents. He felt that the only way of making sure that he wouldn’t commit such a horrendous crime as was done to him in his youth, was to warn the people that were his closest family. He wanted to protect their children at the chance of being thrown out of the family. But my parents didn’t do that. They chose to love him as the victim he was, but at the same time never let me or my brothers alone in a room with him. We never went over to his house, never had sleepovers, we were always with our parents when he was around. They tried to give him a chance to heal from the assault he suffered, while at the same time protecting their children. They loved, but they were not naïve.

However, something went horribly wrong. You know how sometimes people say: when I was a kid for a long time I thought life was like this or that, because I didn’t understand the grownup world and I reasoned like the small kid I was and I totally misunderstood? Well, I had that, but in a funny anecdote kind of way.

Because I was a very affectionate child, my parents decided to explain to me why I couldn’t hug my uncle anymore like I used to. They said: “You know how you always hug your uncle when he comes visit us? Well, you can’t anymore, because when you do that, he feels things that (I don’t know exactly how they explained it, but my six-year-old self knew they were talking about sex).” Of course, I was shocked by this and firmly promised that I would never do that again. I mean, no six-year-old wants to be involved in anything sexual ever. After this, we never spoke about the situation again and this knowledge started its own life. You see, even though the explanation of my parents could be interpreted the way they meant it, it was very vague. What I got from it was this: 1) you shouldn’t hug men, because you will make them feel sexually aroused; 2) you are the one that should take the responsibility not to make them feel aroused. Otherwise, if something happens to you, it’s your own mistake; 3) you are not safe within your closest family or with the people you love and trust. Could my parents know that this would happen in my mind? Probably not. Should they have spoken more about this situation (more extensive, talk about it at other instances, etc.)? Maybe. But as one of them was a sexual assault survivor, it is not very hard to understand this was a tough topic to guide their children around. It still hurts, though, because it could have prevented so much pain.

Anyway, as time went by I got more and more scared of men (I think this is the one and only advantage of the very heteronormative surroundings I grew up in: I never thought women could feel sexual attraction towards a girl). Now someone who doesn’t see the sexism surrounding us might ask: why would you? They didn’t assault you now, did they? No, they didn’t. But here’s the thing: NOTHING IN SOCIETY SPOKE AGAINST THOSE ASSUMPTIONS I MADE IN MY HEAD! I was told to sit up straight, because it would be weird if I lay down on the couch on a birthday (Why? Boys can lay down? Is it too sexual?). I wasn’t supposed to wear clothes that were ‘too tight’ or ‘too revealing’. Did my clothes make me a risk for my own safety? What is wrong with the female body that I cannot show a little cleavage but my brother can wear tank tops that have armholes so wide the only thing you cannot see is his belly button – at least until he bends over? Apparently boys didn’t get raped for having a body. Why was I not allowed to bike home alone from a school dance when I was 15, but it was okay if my 12yo brother with a bowl cut (sorry bro), horrible braces and barely reaching my shoulder accompanied me home? He definitely couldn’t defend me, however much he would try (love you man), so it just had to do with the fact that I was a woman?

All these things confirming that solely being a woman was enough to be unsafe in this society and that it would be my own fault too, resulted in behavior that can only be described as distorted. As I grew up, I refused to wear my hear in any other way then pulled back. Wearing your hair down is sexual, we all know that. As soon as I started growing boobs, I started to wear shawls. The bigger, the better (the shawls I mean 😉 ). At some point I had more shawls than pants or shirts. When I was older and started to work in a supermarket, I never made eye contact with any male customers. If one of the male customers smiled at me, just being friendly, nothing weird, I felt terrible. Why did I do that? Now there was an even bigger chance he would feel like he could take me!

All this time I didn’t know this shit was shit. And I was scared of every man in my life. The only person I was not scared of was my dad (and maybe two friends). Notice that not even my brothers are on this list. I remember one time I was like 12 and me and my younger brother were having a good time, as you do as siblings between yelling how much you hate each other. He has always been a very loving sweetheart, so he wrote me a note that said: I love you sis. It scared the shit out of me. I threw it back into his room, screamed at him and locked myself in in my own room. As I grew up, I was scared of my friends, my brothers, my teachers and most of my family. And it could be that way, not only through the horrible things that were done to my parents family and the trauma that followed from that, but also through the casual sexism ever so present in society.

Around the time I was nineteen, I was lying in bed, thinking about the world as one does, and suddenly realized that none of my female friends were scared of their uncles. I had been to their birthdays and they just laughed with them, hugged them, played rough house. It started to dawn on me that my situation wasn’t the usual. Not all men were like that. And that might mean that I have been thoroughly misunderstanding a lot about life.

Realizing that this might become a huge shifting point in my life, I decided to push it away. It had to wait until the holidays I had planned with my best friends. These girls are my safe house and I knew I would need them when this was about to go down.

The first day of that week I gathered all the courage I had, not knowing if I was stupid or overreacting or actually mentally disturbed or whatever. So I told them about all my fears and how I was not sure if they were normal and what they thought about it. And they were the sweetest, most caring and loving friends I could have ever asked for, supporting me in every way. They hugged me, were understanding, cried with me as I started to realize how fucked up my mind was and how all these years of fear were for nothing. They promised me one of the most helpful things anyone had ever done for me to help me recover: I could tell them all my fears and disturbing thoughts and they told me if they were true. Now I could wave goodbye to the fear of being snatched away and raped by that man standing behind me in the crowd. I didn’t need to be afraid of making eye contact, no normal man would take that as a sign that he could have sex with you even when you’d fight him. I started to gain perspective and that helped me to discern my thoughts when I was alone, so I could keep fighting this battle in my mind. It has been a terribly hard fight, with many (mis)understanding counselors, shocked but supporting friends and many other people along the way.

And it made me think. How could I protect other girls, growing up in this world, trying to understand this big thing called life? How could I make sure they had no reason to be afraid of the loving, good men around them, thinking their safety is at risk at all times and that it would be their fault? Of course, I can’t make sure no one ever grows up in a family with victims of sexual assault.

But I can work at a world where sexism isn’t natural anymore.

No (implied) inequality, sexist jokes, different expectations and standards, no ignorance. So I will do that through this blog. It might not be read by people not actively looking for this content, but it will remind me to speak out to the people around me, and maybe it will do the same for you.

Feel free to react!

[bienready2122]

Top 10 Christmas Gifts for 2010 - Who Is the Person?

Unequaled Great XMAS Gift Ideas that are for any one. For the Family, For Business, for Employers, for Neighbors and for Friends. It's the Art of Giving. A little blessing to improve the Holiday. Offer your Thanks. Or on the other hand on the off chance that you are outright stuck and can't think of a thought, we have a lot of Unique Gift Ideas. I'm certain one will suit your needs. So here's to wishing you and your friends and family a Great Christmas, with bunches of affection and Health for what's to come

Consistently we start considering what are the Top 10 Christmas presents in 2010 that we can provide for our loved ones. This causes us a touch of perplexity, regardless of whether we know the individual well overall and do know their advantage. Take my dad for instance, each year in the past before he quit driving on the off chance that you asked him what blessing he needed he would state "vehicle tires", it turned out to be such a joke in our family that despite the fact that he is 83 and doesn't drive any longer you will at present hear him state "vehicle tires". We never got him vehicle tires. I ought to have given more consideration, he may have been upbeat, had I gotten them. So rule number one... tune in and if it's too costly check whether other relatives all need to take an interest in the blessing. Or maybe purchase a Xmas present that is needed and required Meet

Christmas Gifts for Babies

Picking presents for babies are continually going to be fun, since every one of the blessings and garments for babies are so adorable. We really end up with beyond what we can deal with these little nectars. The closer the connection to the child the higher the spending cost of a present, immaterial of whether it's a cool Christmas present, or not. The present infant stores are a delight to stroll through there are interesting Christmas present thoughts, the pastel hues are exceptionally engaging the human eye. The new infant toys and adornments you truly need a salesman to disclose them to you, as new things are imagined for getting teeth, for comfort, for carriages and bouncers and for conveying babies.

Christmas Gifts for Pre-school

At this age they are lively extremely inquisitive and absolutely cute (with the exception of the horrendous two's) Little young ladies are doing the girly thing and Little young men are full scale there, some the very sort where all sort of home games and assemble it anticipates will go over well overall, and other is the windbag cheerful sort, give him the ball the water gun and the bicycle. Its troublesome making the best 10 Christmas present rundown of 2010 for this gathering, as you have your record-breaking works of art and afterward the new modes and trust me the children are state-of-the-art on this one.

Christmas Gifts for Kids

This age bunch is 6-12, yes that is a major contrast in age and difficult to sum up when purchasing a blessing, as a 6 and multi year old are completely different, except if they are siblings you will find that the 6year old needs everything that he's sibling has, so kindly don't think they are infantile and get a whimsical endowments. A multi year old is a major kid he is in school as of now. Christmas presents for kids are in reality simple to purchase and the decisions are extraordinary. The Idea of having a kid make a Christmas list for Santa is with the goal that you get Xmas present thoughts of what is at the forefront of he's thoughts. This age bunch is about pattern, what is cool Christmas presents are likewise what the mainstream kids have and wear. Game things both for young ladies and young men, there is no distinction with regards to that, they all need a kick bike kid and young lady, its quicker to get around with particularly if their companion lives not far off. Be that as it may, don't purchase a young lady a ball that is for the toys for young men.

Christmas Gifts For Girls

We are en route to be little women, we are particularly mindful of our looks our preferences or we are little Tom young men, never the less the Tom kid perspective is simply young ladies that like to do the energetic things that folks are doing. For this we have various games products that still have that dash of coolness.

Christmas Gifts for Boys

As our Top 10 Christmas presents 2010 grows we keep on young men. This age bunch is between 8-12, young men and their toys. I really think that its a lot simpler to purchase young men blessings. Taking a gander at the kid's character will reveal to you which bearing you ought to get into. It is safe to say that he is the games type? That just makes it simply that a lot simpler as there are huge amounts of various games items, just as frill that go with the games item, model, you purchase a bicycle, he will require the bicycle defensive protective cap as well. In the event that you purchase roller skates he will require knee protects and a head protector. So as a family join one can purchase the bicycle and the other the head protector. The genuine youngster will be content with a PC, workstation, and games, for the most part PC games, contingent upon the age. In any case, consistently have different games that are even more a social game for more than one individual to play.

Christmas presents for Teens

The more seasoned they get the more specialized we get, this is the people to come, beginning to blossom, they are currently well-spoken and PC sharp, they can type and send SMS's at the speed of light, the new dialect of sms' is a workmanship, another English. They know their music, so expedite the iPod, iPhones, and PCs. They are face bookers or another online life member. They are getting cosmetically instructed in expressions of the human experience of make-up, or shaving just because. They are likewise hormonal and need their excellence rest. They are awesome, approach them with deference and you will never feel the reaction of this age gathering.

Christmas Gift for Women

She will illuminate your life. Christmas Gift for Women are been shown all over the place, they are the objective of the style business, they are free and finding, the better things in live. They may be single they may be hitched they may be your mother.They are the light in each home the home producer. Toward the finish of a day a decent book or out with companions or accomplices. How about we assist her with unwinding and be valued. As she is meriting endowments. Ruin her with novel Christmas present thoughts. Discover her the strange blessing thought, and put that grin all over.

Christmas Gift for Men

Top 10 Christmas Gifts for Men, Unique Christmas Gift Ideas for Men, Around this Season there are cool Christmas presents online for Men, Xmas present plans to enable the entire family to settle on their decision Men are great animals, I as of late read a book called "Why Men Need..." and "Why men don't have a clue.... why Men don't listen...." by Allan and Barbara Pease. These books are entertaining, and I energetically prescribe it to both male and female. Other than the profound comprehension of our fundamental needs that appear to be misjudged by the two sides the book is brimming with cleverness and jokes and it had my companions and I engaged for a considerable length of time (joke-model) What men need ladies to know...... "Indeed" and "No" are splendidly adequate responses to pretty much every inquiry!! So to the men Out there we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Gifts for Mom and Dad

To the Mom's and Dad's all over. You are the Jacks all things considered, as child rearing expedites new abilities we never realized we had and a significant number of them we needed to catch on quickly. You are the Providers that should be a specialist, a caretaker, a housekeeper, a cab driver, a promoter and the rundown goes on. Your compensation back is that there will in every case just be one Mom and Dad. You love unequivocally and are adored genuinely. Despite the fact that it takes kids a long time to acknowledge and acknowledge guardians, consistently realize that the Love you give, is the Love you will procure. Any blessing will accomplish for guardians, when it originates from the heart it is constantly valued. The Top 10 Christmas presents 2010 are many. Presents for guardians will be among every one of the classes of ladies, men and grandparents.

Christmas Gifts for Grandparents

We may be getting Older however are still brimming with live and happiness for living. We appreciate Family events all the more now days as we love to see the grandkids growing up. However, give us a Trip, Allow us to travel we have the opportunity to appreciate that now. That would be the top Christmas present for grandparents. Ruin at that point and love them. It is additionally never past the point where it is possible to get them to appreciate the most up to date contraptions out there like the Kindle iPad, give them PC exercises as a blessing, as getting around probably won't be so natural for a few and the web offers another universe of diversion.

[spookyshake]

I'm REALLY sorry I don't want to seem like a weird stalker or anything but I was looking through petpages and I really wanna know.... is the reason why Imawa looks the way he does because of the fireworks? What's his connection with the twins? (I assume they were the two little kids in the picture w/ young!Imawa) And what does the hissi inn keeper/cult leader do in terms of cult stuff? I really love your ocs and your art!

NO WORRIES!! I’m extremely flattered you’re interested in them, so thank you!(and honestly I’m quite a bit of a petpage stalker myself hahaha)

Brief answer: -Imawa and the Twins are siblings! Imawa is the eldest by a large margin.-The fireworks are more of a recurring visual symbol/theme than anything else-The Innkeeper uh…she and the cult are outwardly altruistic, BUT SHE DEVOURS PEOPLE……

Long answer: I actually have some concept art/material that I’m currently working on for them, so here’s a REALLY HUGE barely coherent dump of some details I’ve been mulling over. Things are subject to change as I go along and refine it, but the general ideas are here.(warning:  heavy-ish stuff ahead…?): 

[Imawa and the Twins]-They’re siblings!Imawa is older than them by about 10 years or so, and acted more as a caretaker/parental figure.-They’re a bit of a (perhaps overly) tragedy-wrought family.-From a remote farming village in the mountains of Shenkuu, their family was ostracized within the community on account of an ancient offense from generations ago.The offense, the crime, the taboo- whatever it was that occurred in the past was clearly no longer relevant in the present, but in such a sequestered society, it was simply convenient to have a scapegoat for ill happenings and misfortunes.Thus, the family lived under extremely poor conditions.-Scorned by the community and avoided like the plague by the villagers, the only thing they could rely on was each other; family was the most important thing.-The Twins were the lights in Imawa’s bleak life. He wanted nothing more than for them to have a better life, and often went out of his way to keep them entertained by crafting little trinkets and toys with whatever he could find.He’d probably do ANYTHING for them.(the general basis behind the Fireworks images/short script)-The Twins themselves were often perplexed by the odd rules they had to follow in order to stay out of trouble with the village, as they didn’t understand the nuance behind the shunning they experienced.They were blissfully unaware, and were mostly content to just spend time running around and playing in the mountains as kids do; but they were also very curious.-The family consisted of the 3 siblings, and their parents. -Was very close-knit despite their hardships, and maintained a meager but otherwise peaceful existence on the very outskirts of the village settlement.

[EXCEPT THINGS ALWAYS GET WORSE]-While the twins were still very young, their mother had succumbed to an otherwise curable illness; they weren’t able to get any medical attention due to the taboo placed upon them by the villagers.So she died a tragically preventable death :’ (-This was the true start of everything going down hill, though it wasn’t immediately apparent. -Their father fell into a deep depression after the loss of his wife, but he tried his hardest to keep going for the sake of the children. A listless and meek man, he always made it a point to warn the children to stay out of trouble with the villagers.-Imawa became extremely protective over the twins after the passing of their mother-He felt a great anger towards the cold-hearted villagers and a helplessness towards their situation. -(Around this time is when the past-firework image is placed chronologically)-(Some drastic(?) series of events happen that causes the 3 siblings to end up at an orphanage run by the Cult; still working the exact details of this part out)

-(The whole family is so miserably prone to misfortune, big or small, that I’m fairly certain there’s something more sinister going on in the background of the village, which I might expand on later from a different perspective)

[Imawa - Then and Now]-Originally a Grey Kacheek. -Weak of constitution, he couldn’t really help his father out much in the fields so he took to doing household chores and looking after his younger siblings.-KIND OF A ‘MOM’…..since their mother died while the twins were still very young, he sort of naturally took on this sort of role (perhaps unknowingly) to fill that void. 

- (This quality remains at his core even in the present day. While generally unfriendly and distrustful of others, he really looks after those that are close to him (Paskur, Delivery Grundo) and hides surprisingly high domestic skills. Also kind of obsessive about keeping places tidy.)

-Was always very resourceful and mature for his age, and quick to learn.-Young Imawa initially hoped to take the Imperial Exam and get a governmental job at the capital, in order to improve the family’s living conditions and just get away from the poverty and scornful villagers. …Things didn’t really pan out in the end.

-While at the orphanage, he was scouted by some shady Virtupets officials for his unusual intelligence (the non-civilian, Dr.Sloth-associated Virtupets?)Desperate to grasp at any opportunity to help his siblings lead a more normal life, he took their offer to be trained and employed at the Space Station, on the condition that the Twins would be properly cared for at the orphanage through his salary.

-He failed to take into account how his absence would affect the young twins. -Shoyru Boy, too young to understand how their older brother was looking out for them, became increasingly distraught as he felt convinced that Imawa had all but abandoned them.This lead to his great fear and anxieties towards abandonment; family was always the most important thing, but what can you do when even family leaves you behind? Their mother, their father, and then Imawa- it was far too much for him to handle.-Kacheek Girl became inevitably chained to her twin as his keeper; while they’ve always been at each other’s side, it took on a much graver meaning as she was now his only mental support. She had to quickly take on a role of responsibility, though she kept holding onto a vague hope that Imawa would come back for them soon.

-While working for Virtupets, Imawa willingly elected to be mutated, as his frail body was starting to fail him– he couldn’t afford to die.-It was largely successful, and granted him a body with an enhanced metabolism and sensory processing. His previously failing eyesight became exponentially sharp and clear.BUT…. it also made him extremely sensitive to light and sound, and prone to crippling migraines.(He LITERALLY can’t quite see the fireworks the same way as he did before :( )-By taking this decision however, he became very afraid of returning to the Twins, and having them see how horrendously he’s changed. Kind of dug his own grave, in a way.-Convinces himself that he’s monstrous and hideously twisted at heart and his mutant appearance an apt reflection of that…..BUT he’s actually very much soft-hearted, with a rational perception of morality and common sense.….However, that doesn’t mean he won’t follow through with questionable or morally reprehensible orders. 

[The Cult]-At the surface the cult appears as a sort of charity organization, and often runs food drives, charity events, volunteer programs, and other humanitarian (N…neopetarian??) efforts. -They have a pretty good reputation and nothing seems very suspect, save for the sometimes EXTREME sense of self-sacrifice the members seem to display.Maybe a bit TOO friendly, as well.- The Twins play a part in this by hosting charity concerts and personally helping out at events. The cult supports and organizes their idol activities, and the staff members consist almost entirely of cultists.The plan is to spread the influence of their ideology through mass-media (and in doing so, roping in new members)-The cult tends to target and appeal to those that are in bad situations and are prone to influence; the poor and displaced, youths with issues, those fraught with heavy worries and problems, individuals without a place to belong, etc. Sometimes you also have the types with savior complexes that need fulfilling, or just general do-gooders who are drawn to the idea of doing good for the community.-The cult provides a tightly-knit, supportive community structure bound by the idea that ‘Everyone can help each other if you give your selves willingly’

[What’s actually happening behind the scenes]-Hissi Innkeeper has a delusional belief that she’s a manifestation of the Thousand-Year Martyr, an obscure altruistic figure from a local legend whose story acts as the foundation for the cult’s ideology.-She idolizes the Martyr as her ideal of true beauty– Self-Sacrifice.In fact, she’s so enamored by the very idea of the Martyr that she’s come to believe that SHE /IS/ THE THOUSAND-YEAR MARTYR.She’s both a worshipper, AND the idol of worship itself.-In order to fully ‘become’ the Thousand-Year Martyr, she’s gone to excessive lengths to prolong her life and maintain her beauty– emulating the supposedly immortal figure.-Initially her methods were pretty benign.She dabbled in things like traditional medicines, cosmetics, charms and potions, weird diets, prayer and offerings, spells, etc.But when they didn’t have the effect she desired, she began dipping into more…questionable, occult practices.-More bluntly: She EATS people, under the belief that their flesh and blood will give her new life.-She’s one step away from becoming a real monster.

-While she truly believes in and endorses the cult’s main ideology of Self-Sacrifice, it also serves as a perfect ideology to condition her most devout followers into willingly offer up their flesh and blood.-The conditioning process usually starts off with smaller, secret gatherings that call for ritual offerings of blood, which gradually escalate as the devotees become entrapped in the mythos of the process.-Some of the funds that support the cult were gained by devotees who gave up their worldly possessions, as part of the gradual sacrifice process.-Not everyone in the cult is aware of the more sinister side; there are many peripheral followers that just attend the seminars and charity events, and don’t go much further than that.

[The Cult’s Structure, summarized]—Outer Layer—-Charity organization.-Ingrains members into the community through kind acts and philanthropy, and introduces them to the altruistic(?) ideology behind the cult.-Relatively benign, but often uses peer pressure as a tactic to indoctrinate new members.

—Middle Layer—-The actual ‘Cult’ level. A cult of personality combined with a mystery cult.-Cultists are initiated into the secret rituals and formally introduced to the ‘mythos’ behind the cult.-The Innkeeper/Cult Leader serves as a proxy and avatar to their idol of worship (Thousand-Year Martyr), and adds an occult/mystic element that asks for the cultists to offer up their blood in the name of the Martyr.-The Martyr itself is characterized to the cultists as a sort of conceptual being or divine force that exists within everyone– omniscient, benevolent, sympathetic, compassionate, forgiving, and able to bring about miracles….but requires the worshippers to first show their own ‘kindness’ in return.

-The cool bonus is that you get your very own pretty cultist garb, made from Hissi Innkeeper’s (shed) skin. WOW WHAT A DEAL!!

—Inner Layer–-Hissi Innkeeper’s personal circle.-If you’re here you’re either really high up in the ladder, or completely ready to be served up as dinner.Maybe both.

[Innkeeper and the Twins]-The Innkeeper considers the Twins to be like her very own children, and she dotes on them dearly.-She took in these unfortunate twins from the orphanage (sponsored by the Cult) during one of her visits, and she’s since raised them as her own and indoctrinated them into her cult.-….However, she’s not above using them for the purpose of the cult. They act as her close agents for monitoring and spreading the cult’s activities at a wider scale.-The Twins also participate in and sometimes lead the blood rituals.-While Shoyru Boy is completely loyal and unquestioning, Kacheek Girl holds a fear that one day they may be next on the platter.She can’t really run away or even confront the Innkeeper though, as she does feel a deep appreciation and obligation towards her for taking care of them. There’s also the fact that she couldn’t ever leave her brother behind and betray his trust….-A bit of a complicated ‘Hansel and Gretel’ sort of situation.