#but that's not necessarily a good thing for her

[dark-lord-of-awesomeness]

Since you've published "Doppelganger," I've been thinking more and more about Jon's base. Are they still in contact? Are they close/siblings? Do they know Jon's a shapeshifter? Did they die tragically to kick off Jon's CW protagonist angst? Are they perhaps the surprise villain for the season 1 finale?

The possibilities are endless. I feel like seeing Shifty's relationship with his base could have both Marcy and Jon thinking about the similarities and differences between their relationships with their bases.

Although they might have different come to the conclusion that Shifty's base is another part of why he's a bit strange even for a shifter. I don't know if this is true but it seems like Shifty had multiple bases (his parents, Stan, Carla, Dan) since he was maturing at a faster rate until he synced up with Tate.

oho! Someone has finally asked me about my boy Jon Doe! He has a very tragic relationship with his base, as the protagonist of a grim supernatural drama series.

Jon Doe does not have a base, because his base is dead. He and his original family were in an accident while on vacation when he was a kid, where he received incredible head trauma and got amnesia, forgetting he was a shapeshifter at all. Everyone thought he wasn't going to make it, and no one could find out who he was. The only reason he wasn't discovered as a shapeshifter was because of some quick maneuvering of his mentor, who then abandoned him when they thought he was going to die.

Thats why his name is Jon Doe, it was what the nurses called him at the hospital and was put on all his paperwork. Except he didnt die, and so now thats what his name became when he got shuffled to an orphanage. His shift grew from him subconsciously watching all the children around him grow, giving him strange growth spurts and weird proportions until it evened out as an adult. He doesn't look how his base would have looked like as an adult, because his form changed to mimic a lot of people around him. It did mean he had no friends and everyone thinking he was creepy unfortunately. He was unintentionally the orphanages horror monster.

Thats also why he looked at Marcy to answer all of Shifty's shapeshifter related questions, because he straight up is also still learning the ins and out's of his culture. The grim dark drama started when he entered college, after finally escaping his sad life as an orphan and finally striking out on his own, only to stumble into the horrors of the supernatural and learning he has weird abilities. Marcy is actually technically his mentor, even though he's an adult, because she's the one who finally told him he wasnt human and then had to deal with his whole panic attack from it, making him her responsibility.

Shifty and Tate's relationship definitely make Marcy think about her and Darcy's relationship. They used to be close until college, where Darcy went onto higher education while Marcy went to shapeshifter boot camp (similar to Stan's with Maurice in Doppelganger). When she finished her boot camp and came to check up on her base (not because she cares or anything, just to make sure no one snatched her) she found Jon and thought he was trying to kidnap her not twin. Then it was revealed that Marcy wasnt human, and her and Darcy had an angsty fight about how real their relationship was.

The 'arcy's both want the kind of relationship Shifty and Tate have, which is the kind Darcy thought they had as kids and the one Marcy pretended to have (and secretly was real to her), except they're from a grim dark drama, so obviously theres loads of miscommunication and angsty reasons why they cant.

You're also correct in that Tate just makes Marcy ask more questions. Because he's very obviously Shifty's base, since they're the same age, except Shifty doesnt look like Tate. Because Tate is not his only base. Technically Shifty's original base is a coffee cup, except that didn't work out long term lol, so it switched to Ford, leading to his fast growth. It only started slowing down when Stan showed him the TV, and he started mimicing all the kids and puppets he saw, then finally Tate, since Tate was someone Shifty could physically interact with. By Shapeshifter standards, he was copying all the adults around him as he grew, so they all count as his base, which explains his mixed look.

[ultimate-marysue]

No but truly, who's the other option?

Dick Grayson? He already was Batman for a while and it was obvious the toll it took on him. He became Batman out of necessity because someone had to. He has his own mantle that he has constructed around his own fighting style and values. He may be the one with the most experience, he may know Bruce the best, but Batman isn't natural to him. He can play a very convincing Batman, but he's not going to enjoy it.

I'm skipping over Jason, Tim and Steph because none of them want to be Batman and no one wants them to be. Jason has built his identity in opposition to Batman's values, Tim was traumatized by the future version of himself that became Batman and Steph... Would probably be honored and find it funny for a while but 1) just like Dick, it's not her style 2) I don't see Bruce being happy with that. Barbara is in a similar train, she has no interest in the mantle and has her own shit going on.

Duke? Much like Dick I think he would make an extremely capable Batman...but it wouldn't be Batman. Duke's thing is about rallying people and the power in collective action. It's not just that he's a meta or a daytime hero, he clearly wants to make his own path. He's inspired by Batman (mostly Robin, but you know) but even under Bruce's mentorship he does things differently.

Damian? Yeah, he would absolutely be Batman, and a good one at that... But it feels like the bad ending for him, doesn't it? He's introduced as a child that has been groomed (not even necessarily maliciously depending on the continuity) to take up one mantle or the other. He thinks it's his birthright to inherit the mantle of Batman, and we're not meant to agree with it. That's him at the start of his character journey, when his dreams are not truly his own.

Damian has always been about shaking the weight of expectations off and, sure, that could be becoming a great Batman/making Batman his own... But it feels weird. It feels weird that his arc about becoming his own person ends up in the very same spot as the thing other people wanted out of him.

I don't think Batman has to be an inherited mantle, I'm fine if Bruce is the only Batman since he created the identity based on himself: his body, his needs, his values, his training... Hell, it would be fine if a completely unrelated person inherits they share exactly Bruce's vision.

The thing is, we don't need to think of this random person that could share Bruce's mission and outlook on vigilantism. We don't need to think of someone who, not only is able to feel Bruce's shoes, but actually enjoys it just as much. We don't need to think of who could be ready and who's journey wouldn't be derailed too much by becoming Batman because she already exists: her name is Cassandra Cain.

If you don't believe me, read Batgirl 2000s. That woman breathes The Bat, she is the essence of everything the mantle is meant to represent. And she can kick Bruce's ass. Honestly, the only things she's missing are things that she's either on her way to achieve or that she can bypass thanks to her other abilities. It's way more natural for her to go on a detective training arc than it is for Dick to give up Nightwing or for Damian to regress on his characterization.

If DC weren't cowards they'd agree.

The biggest reason Cass is the only natural option as heir to The Batman comes from the fact that every other character’s growth relies on them at some point either removing themselves somewhat or completely leaving the Bat symbol behind. Cassandra is the outlier whose found a reason to live on as that same symbol.

We can argue day and night who the best vigilante, detective, fighter, hero, strategist, or whatever is but none of that changes who can survive being the symbol without losing themselves in the process of following Batman’s footsteps.

[newtonsheffield]

Should I be worried about Kate’s self esteem in this one? We’ve only seen Anthony be sincere and yet she still thinks this can’t truly be happening to her.

I feel like once they get together for real Anthony will make it his mission to get her confidence. She’s the perfect woman in his opinion, and she should act like that

I don’t think it’s necessarily her self esteem that’s the problem honestly. I think the very first time she met Anthony the first thing he did was flirt with her. And he’s done nothing but flirt with her since. So Kate kind of just thinks Anthony’s a flirt. This is who he is.

Essentially Kate thinks Anthony’s a really good actor and she doesn’t want to buy into his flirting because if it’s just flirting she’s going to look stupid.

Meanwhile, yeah. Anthony does think Kate’s the perfect woman. She’s talented and witty and she calls him out on his bullshit. She’s also absolutely heart-stoppingly beautiful and that might be the first reason he flirted with her but now it’s pretty far down on the list of things Anthony likes about her.

“I love you.” Anthony makes sure he tells her every day. He spent a year not saying it and he doesn’t really want to do that anymore.

“I love you too.”

Anthony paused, “And I didn’t tell anyone else that today.”

Kate raised her eyebrows, drawing her eyes away from the flowers he’d just given her. “What?”

“You know, because I’m such a flirt. I didn’t want you to think I told the person behind the desk at the petrol station the same thing.” Anthony smirked at her.

Kate flicked him lightly on the end of the nose. “You’re very funny. I’m in stitches.”

Anthony caught her hand out of the air, peering down at the engagement ring on her hand. “Huh. Is this the one I gave you? I have so many of these I forget.”

“You’re an arsehole.” Kate kissed him quickly.

“You’ve agreed to marry this arsehole. What does that say about you, Kate?”

“Probably nothing good.” Kate agreed with a faux sad sigh.

“Genuinely: I do love and adore you.”

“Genuinely; I love and adore you. But I think your way of flirting is pure insanity.”

“It’s effective though you can’t deny. Got me my dream job.”

“If you say your dream job was-“

“My dream job was being your husband.”

“You said it.” Kate sighed, kissing him again. “Can’t believe I fell for that.”

“But you did. And this is a no takebacks kind of relationship.”

[consultingfujoshi]

your replies to defensive markhellys are so spot on! They’ve become so patronising on twitter especially and I genuinely thought I was going crazy so I’m so happy to see I’m not alone!

I’m so sad the genuinely interesting debates fans of this show could have about autonomy and what it means to be human have been completely left at the wayside because of ship wars. So many interesting things going on with milchick, so much potential with miss huang, irving, cobel etc and it seems no one gives a crap because it’s the markhelly show now. And I’m ngl it’s the fault of the writers too for framing these interesting debates about innie and outie mark through his romantic relationships and then hyping up ships in interviews. It also just does the female characters a disservice too.

also love your comments about helly - I have no issue with helly making selfish decisions, but she was the spark that started the rebellion and her goal was always to destroy lumon by whatever means necessary. She always made bold choices knowing they could kill her, she always kept the cause in mind even if it opposed her own wants and desires. It feels pretty disingenuous to me people getting insanely defensive that she made a decision for herself because I just know if that decision wasn’t about a ship or a man, most of them wouldn’t care half as much about her wants and needs and she’d get hate. To see her and mark run away from a distressed woman who had been tortured for 2 years by helly’s company and by extension HER OUTIE, to know she’s going against her goal of killing the company just by not encouraging mark to leave, makes me so sad. I love helly, she was one of my favourites, but fellow helly fans have been so insufferable.

Sorry for the novel I’m just so happy to see dissenting opinions that aren’t necessarily related to an opposing ship

I have nothing to add anon I just wanna publish this for you. like genuinely yea everything that was interesting about this show has now been either sidelined or defanged by having it framed through a love triangle and taking no time to develop anything else. its really disappointing. genuinely this episode only feels satisfying if youre a markhelly fan which not everyone is and even then it's not even because this was good for their characters its literally just. yay the season ended with them holding hands :) like genuinely happy for you guys but im simply not interested in a show that's suddenly decided this is the only thing that matters 👍

[sukibenders]

I don't know but I'm little frustrated at how some people are painting the Severance finale, specifically that brief interaction between Helly and Gemma, and just making both of them seem catty.

Like, let's be honest, Helly, Helly R. in no way shape or form would fight over a man when she has other priorities. Miss girl has other things on her mind. I think her going to the stairwell wasn't even to try and get Mark to stay necessarily, as she looked surprised when he took her hand and led her away, but probably to just get one more second for herself because she believed that was their ending. Even the look she sends Gemma doesn't give the vibe of a woman celebrating taking someone else's man. As the show has told us, Helly was never cruel, so why would she be in that moment? I read as more of two things: 1.) Helly is sympathetic to Gemma in some way. She understood for a while that, outside of Lumon, Mark, or more so his outie, had/has a life and now, that Gemma is still alive, there's a chance that he'll want to get her back and she's been helping him get her [Gemma] back. Even outside of Gemma being Mark's outies wife, she generally was pushing for the mission even when others around her were hesitant because Helly is a good person. Now, however, she understands that with Mark's innie choosing her, his outie doesn't get to be with his wife who was kidnapped and tortured for two years. There's a melancholic feel to it all, even if she gets her happiness. 2.) Helly doesn't like outies, as we have been shown. Even if she was fighting to free Gemma, it was more so under the guise of freeing Ms. Casey because she was an innie like them. But now that Gemma is free, that's no longer the case as she's an outie. That look probably had more to do with that than it being about Mark. If s3 proves me wrong, I'll admit it, but for now, I'm sticking to this point.

Also, regarding Gemma and some believing that she doesn't know Mark has been severed and just thinks her husband chose another woman over her: I think Gemma, who even with gaps in her memory was still suspicious enough to question the place around her, immediately call out the doctor's bs lie and knock him unconscious enough to escape, was a literal Russian Lit professor, would be able enough to deduce what is going on once she's had time to collect herself after the ordeal. I'm pretty sure that she's aware, especially given the times when Mark switches expressions from loving to distant.

I don't know, maybe I just don't want to see two interesting female characters be narrowed down to being spiteful over a man.

[wisteria-lodge]

Do you think Rowling understood that she was writing Dudley to behave as like very troubled kid with as big red flags in regards to being abused as Harry’s? And if so, why did she changed the course? Why nothing happened afterwards?

Like I think as she became popular she showed her vindictive side (come onnnnn, she dragged out the Percy situation and wrote him in the epilogue ONLY to show us that Harry didn’t forgive him), but did she purposely mess with a very deliberate and very 90s description of a situation where two kids are abused, only for Dumbledore to wisecrack and do nothing? Like Harry and Dudley plotline could have been an ER episode it’s so well set up (ER ran at the same she was writing and releasing hp, that’s why I’m using it as a reference). Like two kids in the same abusive situation, both avoid going home because they hate it so much, both are quite aggressive too, but they can’t see the similarity because of the way they were treated? This feels like it deserves a more emotional ending

One of the things I find compelling about the Sherlock Holmes stories is the way that Holmes is really well *observed* but not necessarily *understood.* Watson will often say, "Holmes did a [really specific ADHD and/or queer thing]. No idea why though." But his narrative voice is so sweet and accepting that the whole thing just ends up feeling cozy.

JKR fascinates me in a similar way, just from the other direction. She's a very good *observer* of human nature. I legitimately think she writes interpersonal dynamics with a ton of psychological truth. But then she puts this very judgy, moralistic, often *mean* framing over the top, that a lot of the time seems to actually contradict the actual behavior she's putting on the page.

Like Dudley is a great example. There is so much good stuff, so much good psychological stuff about how Petunia is projecting her own psychological issues onto him, how the larger issues in his parent's marriage are manifesting as disagreements about how best to parent him, how his family is only really functional and cohesive so long as Harry is there to be the scapegoat... but the framing and the narrative voice can't quite help being a little too mean at Dudley's expense. Eventually the hole's dug too deep, so it's just too little too late when Dumbledore says that it's not Dudley's fault he's like his, and the narrative gives him a half-hearted moment of "maybe he can change" at the end. It doesn't feel satisfying or earned.

[livestock-and-bibles]

My Disorganized and Overall Thoughts on Sunrise on the Reaping

I love Haymitch's narration style! He's a hater but also very sarcastic and witty. It kinda reminds me of the Cal Leandros series which I love so much

The Capitol being canonically homophobic is both funny but also unsurprising

I love how we get to see the Covey again and they still have a fairly significant role

Not sure how I feel about Haymitch knowing Peeta and Katniss' dads. I get it because District 12 is small, but idk, kind of going into fanfiction territory with that. I'm conflicted

I would die for Lenore Dove, Ma, and Sid

This book made me actually like Plutarch lmao. I used to hate him but now. idk. I'm kinda rocking with him

Wyatt definitely has that ocd/autism combo. Prove me wrong

Louella's death and Haymitch calling her sweetheart recontextualizes him calling Katniss sweetheart in the main trilogy and it hurts so good

Also very cool that with Lou Lou we got to see a sort of proto-hijacking

I'm so happy we got to see Wiress, Mags, Effie, and Beetee (especially him, he's one of my favourite characters). It also explains how Haymitch knew them so well in Catching Fire

Ampert.... :(((. Everything about his character destroyed me. Getting reaped to punish his father, his relationship to Haymitch and how he reminds him of Sid, him trying so hard to be revolutionary like his father only to die in the worst way. It hurts. He was my favourite new character I think

Maysilee getting into a legit fist fight with Drusilla was crazy. Go Maysilee go

I've seen some criticism that Haymitch going along with the rebel plan is stupid, since he knows that his family would be punished. However, I think people missed that Haymitch was totally convinced that he was not making it out of the games. He fully thought he was gonna die so they'd be safe

Haymitch drinking an entire thing of milk to spite Snow is hilarious. Get his ass

I do wish the portion on the games themself was a bit shorter. It would give other scenes the pacing they needed. I also just believe that the games are usually the weakest parts of the books (except for the first) so maybe I'm biased

I think some of the politics were slightly heavy handed, but it's also a YA book and Suzanne Collins has never been subtle (this is /affectionate) so I'm not surprised

I don't think the scenes of his family and Lenore Dove dying had the weight they needed? They were still devastating but felt a little rushed

I would've liked to see his victory tour a little more (since it was my favourite part of Catching Fire) and his first time as a mentor, but I understand they weren't necessarily thematically significant enough

I love how the book recontextualizes the others in the series. It was a necessary part of the puzzle and answers so many of the questions I had about Catching Fire and Mockingjay

A solid 8/10. Great read. I'd say that: The OG trilogy > SOTR >TBOSAS

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 90: Vivian's Service

Previous > Masterlist

tw: mind control, hypnotic induction, blood drinking

October 1925

"And here's your bedroom. I hope you like it."

"You have a bedroom for me, sir?" asked Vivian.

"Well, of course. I did say you belong to me, now. I wasn't necessarily expecting this to happen, so we can make it a more personal room later."

"It's nice," said Vivian, feeling a little overwhelmed. It was an ordinary bedroom with an ordinary bed, a soft-looking mattress and pillows, a wardrobe and dresser, a radiator in the corner. It was roomy and cozy and clean, the kind of room she used to dream about when she was an orphan girl scraping by. That was back when she would fantasize about someone swooping her up and saving her and taking her home. She'd forgotten those fantasies so long ago. "Thank you, sir."

She sat on the bed experimentally. It was far more comfortable than the one she had at her safe house, not wanting to spend money on frivolous things like a fancy mattress when she barely had time to sleep anyway. She got up and opened the wardrobe, which had many fine dresses, the sort of thing she would never wear, but also some simpler clothes.

"I'm sure those clothes aren't to your tastes, dear," said Miss Lily, watching from the door frame. "We'll do some catalog shopping and get you clothes more suited to you. Of course, I will want to see you in a fancy dress once in a while."

"I don't look good in them, sir." She was too tall, too awkwardly shaped, and the few times she'd tried to wear a dress had left her feeling like a cat stuffed into clothing against her will.

"That's nonsense. I'm sure you just haven't had clothes with proper tailoring. You're beautiful, darling, and when I dress you up, you will look stunning, guaranteed."

It wasn't something Vivian had ever cared about -- in fact, she had been somewhat disdainful of ladies who cared so much about dresses and finery -- but the reassurance still pleased her. She wanted to look beautiful for Miss Lily, perhaps. It was a way of serving her new madam.

Miss Lily yawned wide. "It's getting late in the evening. I'm tired, I worked hard today, and I'm still healing from a wound --"

"The wound I gave you, sir?"

"Yes, but you don't need to apologize. You didn't know your place yet." Miss Lily opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a fine silk nightgown with a broad neckline, and then a flimsy floral robe. "Here. You should wash up and change into these."

Vivian realized that she was still wearing her sweaty and grimy hunting clothes, stained in places with her new madam's blood. She took the offered clothes. "Yes, sir."

"Once you've finished up, you can attend to me. My bedroom is at the end of the hallway."

"Attend to…?"

"Nothing to be concerned about, darling. Your new duties as my loyal thrall." Miss Lily's smile was intoxicating. She was looking at Vivian as though she were already beautiful, even while dirty and disheveled.

"Yes, sir," said Vivian, bowing her head. She wanted to serve so much, as if it were the only thing she had truly been put on the earth to do.

"Good girl." Miss Lily ruffled her hair, her hand stroking down Vivian's cheek and tilting her chin up. "Take your time washing up. I'll be waiting."

Once Miss Lily had left, Vivian practically dashed into the washroom and closed the door behind her. There were two washbasins, one lower than the other. She found a cloth in a cupboard and filled up one of the basins -- Miss Lily had hot and cold running water in her home. She began stripping her clothing off and dumping it in a heap on the floor, idly wondering what had happened to her bags and weapons. A voice whispered in her mind that she didn't need those any more, and the thought fled from her.

Her skin was covered in scars, not only the deep scar from the rune she carved while hunting but dozens of others, big and small, from close shaves and from offering up her blood for other spells and rituals. And now, as she looked in the mirror above the basin, she found that she had two new scars, pinpricks on her neck, the mark of a vampire's hunger. She ran her hand over them, still somewhat fresh from Miss Lily's feeding the night before. This was who she was, now. She'd lost, and now she was nothing more than a glassy-eyed, entranced thrall, eager to serve her vampire.

She'd been so frightened of Miss Lily. So many thralls had been under her spell, had had their minds dampened and twisted towards service, praising how gentle she was and how wonderful it felt. Perhaps she had been so scared, had judged them so harshly, because she knew, deep down, she was no different. Perhaps she had always known that she'd end up here, that she'd fall so easily, that her destiny was to submit. The certainty ran deeper than Miss Lily's spell -- or perhaps her spell really did run bone-deep, changing her to her core.

She might never know, now. Few hunters had been willing to try and extinguish Miss Lily, even though a great deal of information was known about her. The hunters who'd tried had all ended up auctioned off, as far as they knew, pleasantly hypnotized former hunters to serve as prizes for rich vampires. No one would be coming to save her, and even if they did, no one could undo the hold she had on Vivian's mind, not entirely. That thought should frighten her more, but instead it felt comforting. There was no going back, no undoing what was done, no more struggle. She was Miss Lily's, body, mind, and soul.

Once she had finished washing, she slipped the nightgown over her head, smooth and cool. The woman in the mirror looked so little like her -- cleaned up, wearing some frilly thing, neck exposed with the pinprick scars showing, her eyes wide and unfocused, vulnerable. The thrall in the mirror was smiling. She could finally rest. Miss Lily had told her so.

Vivian felt as though she were sleepwalking down the hallway towards Miss Lily's room, caught in a strange dream. She opened the door to a very elaborate bedroom, featuring possibly the largest bed she had ever seen. Miss Lily looked small lounging in the middle of it, surrounded by at least a dozen pillows, wearing only a lacy white slip. Vivian didn't avert her eyes, feeling very certain that Miss Lily wanted her to see her like that.

"Oh, look at you. Aren't you a picture?" Miss Lily stretched and walked over to Vivian. Her soft pale fingers began to touch Vivian here and there, inspecting her as if she were some merchandise for the auction house. She turned Vivian's head, paying special attention to her neck, then placed both hands on the tops of her hips, turning Vivian around. Even through her mesmerized calm, Vivian was bracing herself for criticism or mockery.

"You look absolutely lovely, dear, more perfect than I could imagine," said Lily. "But your beautiful hair is all tangled. Allow me to wash it -- come, come."

"Thank you, sir," said Vivian softly, not knowing how to accept that reaction. She allowed the vampire to lead her into a bathroom attached to her bedroom. This bathroom looked as though a drugstore had exploded in it, with all sorts of cosmetics, soaps, combs, brushes, perfumes, towels, and hair accessories strewn about.

Miss Lily began filling a basin with water and pulled up a chair to it, beckoning Vivian to sit. With a practiced hand, she pulled out Vivian's half-undone braid, smoothing it out and gathering it up. "Here, lean back into the water. Shut your eyes, dear. You're going to be so good for me, and you're going to feel yourself drift."

Vivian hardly ever had time to wash her hair. It wasn't on her top list of priorities when she always wore it in a tight braid and ended up sweaty at the end of each night, anyway. She'd certainly not ever had someone else wash her hair, since perhaps her mother. She found herself feeling more vulnerable than ever leaning back into the water, closing her eyes and exposing her neck in front of her new vampire madam.

"Good girl," said Miss Lily. Warm water rushed over Vivian's scalp, and then there were fingers running through her hair, making her feel so relaxed and yet so oddly excited at the same time, as though she was drinking in all of the soft touch she could. It was so easy to lose herself in the sensation, especially with Miss Lily humming a bit of a tune and occasionally whispering to her. Soon, the air began to smell of floral soap, and those expert fingers were working away the accumulated grime of her hair.

"Ahhhh." Vivian couldn't remember being treated this well or feeling this good.

"You enjoy that, don't you?" said Miss Lily. "You need this. Doesn't it feel so right?"

"Yes, sir," she agreed easily, feeling as though she would do anything for Miss Lily as long as she kept rubbing at her scalp.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever, and soon enough Miss Lily was guiding Vivian up and out of the water. She wrapped one thick towel around Vivian's shoulders and another, smaller towel around her hair, gently squeezing it out.

"Now, hold still while I brush your hair out," said Miss Lily. "As I brush, you're going to feel yourself get so relaxed that you're going to fall even deeper into my hypnotic spell, even deeper into the bliss of obedience."

Vivian was utterly helpless to resist as Miss Lily began to brush her hair, the rhythmic motion and light touches lulling her further into a trance.

"That's it, dear. Let me drain your thoughts away and replace them with obedience." Brush. "Obedience." Brush. "Submission." Brush. "Such a good girl."

By the time Miss Lily finished up, Vivian felt as though she'd been turned into mush. Miss Lily picked up a hand mirror to show Vivian her handiwork.

If Vivian had hardly been recognizable before, now she looked like a different person utterly. Clean and shiny dark hair cascaded around her shoulders, brushing the top of her silk nightgown, and her smiling face reminded her of a porcelain doll's. No one would ever guess that she had been a hunter, now that she was a picture-perfect thrall. Her life as a hunter was seeming more and more like a fading dream.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful," said Miss Lily, sounding so satisfied, both with herself and with Vivian. "Now that we've attended to you, it's time for you to attend to me."

"Anything you want, sir."

"Yes, that's exactly the right attitude." Miss Lily sat down on a frilly vanity stool, handing Vivian the hairbrush. "I usually prefer to brush my hair while dry. Do help me out."

Vivian stood behind Miss Lily, picking up a lock of her hair to brush it out. She was so close, and it felt strangely intimate to brush her hair like this. Here she was in a vampire's home, brushing the hair of her vampire madam, submissive and quiet, her mind utterly enthralled. And she felt so at peace.

Miss Lily sighed deeply, and Vivian felt a new sensation overtaking her, something different than entranced calm. It was something forcefully dulling her mind and making her want to be still, very still and docile.

Through her foggy mind, Vivian realized that she recognized this. She'd felt this way before during very close calls, and again the other night. It was the vampiric feeding aura, designed to put humans into a stupor to make them easy to prey upon. Like every half-decent hunter, she'd trained herself against it, conditioned herself to resist automatically. She could feel that anxiety building now, the need to stay awake, to get away. Her thoughts were struggling to reassert themselves -- she was more than a meal. She was more than a food source. She had to fight this.

The brush slipped from Vivian's hand as she struggled internally. She shoved herself away from Lily, stumbling over her feet, a drowsy dizziness sweeping through her as she tried to escape.

"What's happening to me?" she said, staggering and leaning against the wall.

Miss Lily was pressed up against her. "Shhh, shhh, hush now, dear. It's okay. Quiet your mind now. Look me in the eyes and listen."

Vivian didn't hesitate to look deep into those eyes, her mind eager to shut off the struggle and return to serenity.

"You're safe, Vivian. You're safe here with me, remember? You're so sweet and obedient and such a good girl for me."

Vivian nodded slowly, her desire to fight slipping away from her like sand through her fingers.

"Just take my hand and follow me. You're doing so well."

Vivian allowed Miss Lily to lead her over to the bed, sitting on the edge and looking up at her madam. Miss Lily was looking deep into her eyes, stroking her face.

"I want your mind to go very quiet and still for me now, all right, Vivian dear?" she said with a smile. "Just for now. You can have all of your busy thoughts back later, but for now I want you to set them aside so that you can relax. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, sir," Vivian mumbled, once again hopelessly caught in Miss Lily's spell.

"Take a deep breath in and out. In and out. With every deep breath, you're going to feel a little more of that resistance inside you ebbing away, flowing away. And your thoughts will slowly drain out, draining away, leaving you with such an empty mind."

She was drifting along, feeling better and emptier with every slow breath, her fear floating so far away again.

"And you're going to start to feel sleepy, dear, oh so very sleepy. Your mind knows how safe you are, doesn't it? Your mind knows that this is a safe place to be drowsy and docile. And any desire to resist will slip through that empty mind and turn itself into a desire to sleep," said Lily, drawing closer to Vivian. "You can just forget now. Just allow yourself to forget how to fight, forget why you ever wanted to fight."

Vivian looked at her vampire madam with half-lidded eyes, blinking slowly. There was still some small part of her that didn't want to lose herself, but she was so tired, and so comforted, and felt so safe. Miss Lily made it so easy to just forget.

Lily's smile turned wicked. "Now you're going to feel my desire to feed upon you. It's not going to frighten you at all -- you'll find it's very natural. You won't be able to resist at all. You're just going to feel such a deep urge to be still and docile and obedient, and you won't fight that urge. You'll simply give in."

She could feel it stealing over her again, the need to be so still and offer up her tender neck, and this time, when her mind reached for its resistance, it didn't come. Instead, she was filled with visions of fangs in her neck, craving her madam's bite. Her body slumped against Miss Lily, relaxing into it. "Please, sir, please drink from me," she said.

"You're doing so well. Good girl." Miss Lily touched Vivian's neck, her fingers brushing the place where she had pinprick scars. "I'm going to feed from you right here. You'll feel the touch of my fangs and the most lovely wave of pleasure will come over you. There will be no pain and no fear, only pleasure. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Vivian's breath hitched as Miss Lily's cold lips pressed to her neck, like a kiss followed by the strange sensation of fangs sinking in -- and then bliss. She'd never felt like this before, her brain swimming in euphoria. Through the joyous haze, she could feel her madam's will -- how strong she was, how hard she worked, how much she needed to be in control to keep herself safe, to ensure that no one could hurt her again. And underneath it all, how lonely it was.

Vivian could understand that perfectly. Hunting was lonely too. She existed outside of normal human society, unable to relate to those who were unaware of the supernatural underworld. Other hunters were difficult to get along with, and it was a mistake to get too attached, only to watch them get slaughtered or captured. The thralls she rescued were damaged and broken.

But Miss Lily was different. She was strong, but she needed help. She needed protection. That's something Vivian could do to serve -- she could protect her.

"That's so sweet," said Miss Lily in response to the thoughts Vivian hadn't realized she'd vocalized. "That's such an excellent train of thought for an excellent thrall. Yes, you can protect me, my dear. You can protect and serve me, and be utterly loyal to me and me alone."

"Yes, sir," said Vivian eagerly, even through her drowsiness.

"You don't have to do that tonight, though. You should get some sleep."

Vivian was barely aware as she climbed into the bed, allowing Miss Lily to assist her and tuck her under the covers, only remembering that this was Miss Lily's bed when she was already halfway asleep.

"You've done well. I'm so pleased to have you as a thrall," said Miss Lily, radiating satisfaction. "Sleep now, and have nothing but the most pleasant dreams of serving your new madam."

Miss Lily climbed into the other side of the bed, snuggling close to Vivian. Through Vivian's sleepy haze, she remembered that she needed to protect her madam. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around the vampire, holding her close. It felt so right. Neither of them would be so lonely any more.

Previous > Masterlist

Thank you for reading this self-indulgent chapter. Next week: Alexander tries and fails to give up.

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @wanderinggoblin

@whumpyourdamnpears @only-shadows-dwell-where-we-are @pressedpenn @pigeonwhumps @amusedmuralist

@vampiresprite @irregular-book @whumpsoda @und3ad-mutt

@sowhumpshaped @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl

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@a-formless-entity @gobbo-king @writinggremlin @the-agency-archives @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi

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@strawbearydreams @ghost-whump @tippytappytyping @natthebatt @fire-bugg14

[turmpygogosqweze]

"Men kill themselves often because of societal expectations and lack of communication" men have never communicated - in fact, in today's society communcation and sensitivity is more accepted than in any other era of history. I don't believe this is the cause, don't get me wrong, but it is necessarily a fact. What causes the depression of men is three or four factors - One, they are discriminated against (specifically white men) for jobs and roles they are as or more qualified for than their competitors - two, the economy is garbage; anyone would be sad if they couldnt make any money or improve. three, women are not good anymore. Women are most often hoes, most often careless, most often disrespectful and disgraceful. They also have a very high tendency to attempt to get with the highest status men as possible, rendering many average-looking men unable to get fit - four, men are stuck in offices and cubicles and apartments far more than they used to be. Back in the day, most people worked active jobs, but nowadays, most of one's day is commonly in an office. Not only that, but community is sorely lacking, and online community doesn't make up for it.

"Most single fathers don't have the luxury of hiring a maid, and what happens if they can't afford one?" What I'd like to happen is that they would be able to send their child to a church-run or charity-run daycare that was offered for free, if they didn't have family or couldn't afford a maid or daycare provider. Better than anything else. And yeah, but when I say "hiring a maid" it can just as well mean daycare. Same principle necessarily. What about when he cannot send his children to daycare, as well? Often a family member.

I understand your grievances, my mother isn't the best of people when it comes to caring for her children's needs before her own desires, though admittedly she wasn't as bad as your father. And I will admit this, there are weak and pathetic men who are morally worthless such as your father, but it does not mean that the vast majority of men are, at the very least, competent at keeping a household. Any man who hasn't had a woman in a serious relationship has had to take care of his own home. But, at the same time, I ask you - what does your father do for work?

holy crap your father is a complete piece of garbage lmao. I will admit, that although I think you are wrong ideologically, I completely understand why you would hate men if your father is like that. I sympathise, but understand that not all men are like that, and understand that the most of men genuinely do try to be worthwhile Human beings, who put effort into their lives.

Yes, india is a piece of garbage country. But we are in the West, where we are more civilised than the cavemen that are known colloquially as "moslems" and "hindus" in the cesspits of Asia. But we are talking in the context of White countries, of European-esque societies. I completely and entirely agree that rape is wrong in these countries, but we do not have that problem in our own locations. They will or will not fix it, and though I would gladly love such a victim (in the Christian sense) I do not see the purpose of you bringing this up anyway. The point I'm making is that we, or at least Western and East Asians are civilised, and we understand that such crimes are criminal and quite heinous. It isn't right to compare the child-sacrificing peoples of South America to the modern, refined, sophisticated peoples of Europe, North America, and East Asia, why are you comparing the abusive slaver peoples of Arabia and her sister nations to Europe and her descendant nations?

Yeah, I totally agree, and it's disgusting. But I don't know why you're blaming some random white country guy who loves his happy family for something an Indian did in India. They have different cultures, different races, different languages, different laws, different communities. The only thing in common is their sex, which men also have in common with the best and most wholesome men in the world. Focus on something that is far more reasonable to suggest, such as culture, or community, or religion, or nation, or people.

I'm not perfectly aware of the structure of these animals, but the point is that you're just saying "because these specific animals that I cherrypicked do it, it's good"

You speak ill of Arabs and then, in the same breath, speak love about the Native Americans, who were all the same as the Arabs are today, you know (quite more savage, actually). Now to suggest that the vikings didn't rape on a mass scale is quite foolish, but we can look at any typical invasion or raid on a place. In Rome, Attilla's Huns raped and pillaged a ton. In Greece, the Persians raped, pillaged, then genocided, and in Armenia, the Turks raped, and cruelly destroyed and genocided milllions of Armenian innocents. It is highly unlikely that if a group of culturally undeveloped unchristian savages invaded somewhere, they wouldn't rape on a mass scale. Now viking society had shieldmaidens as well. These were very limited, though, and most women conformed to the gender role, which actually makes a compelling case for the argument that "limited non-conformation to gender roles is okay for a society" but to say that viking society was more feminist that today's is not correct. 1. women inherited half as much as men did 2. no no-fault divorce 3. women still had male guardians (brother, husband, father) who acted as their controller 4. Women didn't have voting rights at the Thing (assemblies)

Things women created and discovered!

All men

Francium (elemental)

Torpedoe radio guidance/navigation systems

Dishwasher

GPS

Wi-fi

Structure of the Milky Way

Kevlar

The Earth's inner core

Aciclovir - an antiviral drug used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections, chickenpox, and shingles

Azathioprine - an Immunosuppressive drug used in rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and in kidney transplants to prevent rejection

Flossie Wong-Staal was the first scientist to clone HIV and map its genes.

Pyrimethamine was initially developed by Nobel Prize winning scientist Gertrude Elion as a treatment for malaria.

Disposable diapers

Child carriers

Vaccine for whooping cough

The galaxy rotation problem - important to the discovery of dark matter

Radio astronomy - Type I and Type III solar radio bursts

That stars are primarily composed of hydrogen and helium

The new outer arm of the Milky Way - In 2004, astrophysicist and radio astronomer Naomi McClure-Griffiths identified a new spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy

Radiation

Radon (elemental)

Kinetic energy

Heavy elements in cosmic radiation

Beta particles are electrons

Nuclear shell

Astatine (elemental)

Nuclear fission - helped in the creation of nuclear weapons

Rhenium (elemental)

Seaborgium (elemental)

Polonium and radium (elemental)

Scotchgard

Structure of vitamin B12

Carbon Dioxide

Bioorthogonal chemistry - the concept of the bioorthogonal reaction has enabled the study of biomolecules such as glycans, proteins, and lipids.

Central heating

Square-bottomed paper bag

Correction fluid (white-out)

House solar heating

Wrinkle-free fiber

Windshield wipers

Car heater

Airplane mufflers

Underwater telescopes for warships

Written computer program

Written (programming) language

Chocolate chip cookies

Pizza saver

Mint chocolate chip ice cream

DNA structure

Sex chromosomes

Lactic acid cycle

Transporsable elements

Gap genes

Myers - Briggs Type Indicator

[poppyplaytimeconfessions]

I know many people have said this before, but I will continue to say it loud and proud:

I AM A KEVIN DEFENDER.

Why? Because Kevin is not an evil demon from hell. he is a child who has been through hell and back. Kevin’s situation reminds me of the Chara situation: everyone in the UT fandom saw Chara as this genocidal maniac and completely ignored the abusive parents/su*cidal implications in their story, and their relationship with and genuine care for monsterkind. this is the same goddamn thing.

Kevin is an orphan, heavily implied to have had abusive parents in the past before Playcare. where do I get this information from? easy, the line that everyone associated with Kevin:

“THE GENTLE VOICES LIE!!”

this line; the use of positive adjectives for people of negative connotations; is indicative of abuse (the best example of this I can think of is Kotoko from Danganronpa, whose trigger word is ‘gentle’ because it reminds her of the s*xual abuse she went through)

pair that with another line Doey said that everyone basically agrees is Kevin:

“Everything hurts. Hurt back. ALWAYS hurt back. Parents. Scientists. Everyone.”

and we can come to the conclusion that Kevin did not have a good home life before Playcare. now imagine, your parents die, and you are sent to an orphanage; stationed underground, mind you; where you are taken to play games that test your skills and are being constantly watched by scientists. and then afterwards, you suddenly become part of a massive consciousness with two other boys that create a body unlike your own.

OF COURSE you’re not going to trust anyone!

OF COURSE you’re going to act abrasive!

OF COURSE you’re going to be angry at how you were wronged!

everyone responds to trauma differently. not everyone who is traumatized is going to be “shy” or “constantly sad”. sometimes, people react to trauma and fear with anger. anger is often how us as humans protect ourselves. Kevin was just trying to protect himself. that’s not to say aggression towards others is necessarily ‘right’, but it is understandable.

and but guess what? after the Hour of Joy? Kevin acknowledges that.

think about it. the tape created by Doey as a ‘reminder of what he’s fighting for’, most people say that’s Matthew, and while I think all three consciousnesses had a part to play in that tape, I think a lot of it was actually Kevin.

Matthew already cared for the children of Playcare. his whole deal was being a leader role for the younger children; of course he would already be fond of them and willing to help. sure, there are times when even a nice person is pushed over the edge and is develops an ‘everyone for themselves’ mentality, but look at this line for that tape:

“They mean a lot to me, a lot more than I thought they did”

and this line from when Doey’s about to die:

“I tried to be better. To be who they needed. Not smart enough, not good enough-”

Kevin, the one who has the most trouble trusting and bonding with others, would be the one to be surprised at how much he’s grown to care for the other children; other people who are now in the same boat as him and people he can now consider family and friends; these children rely on his protection, and not only that, but they value and enjoy his presence. and the sentence “I tried to be better” implies the existence of self-improvement. that line of dialogue has to either be Matthew or Kevin, but with one being labeled as the perfect child in the eyes of the adults and one being labeled as a problem child, it makes more sense that the one who was constantly labeled as a menace would think he had to ‘be better’

Kevin is not some murderous psychopath. he’s not obsessed with weapons or is ready to jump to ‘murder’ as his solution to every problem. he doesn’t trick or manipulate Jack and Matthew because he likes to see them suffer.

he‘s trying to be good because everyone told him he wasn’t.

he’s trying to be calm when he feels angry at little things.

he understandably lashed out, even if at the wrong person, because he was hurt about losing the people he so deeply cared about. the last bits of light in his dark life.

uhhhh, overall, Kevin deserves to be told he’s a good kid. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

‎

[live-laugh-legolas]

Hi, i love your headcanons so much, i literally binge read all of them. Can you do how the Fellowship would react/treat reader who is menstruating? the lack of period comfort fics with the Fellowship is criminal. if you're not comfortable with that, then maybe just a reader who is going through mood swings? if not, totally understand. hope you're having a great day/night!

My friend. My fellow menstrual sufferer. I shall feed you don’t worry (thank you so much, you’re too sweet)

The Fellowship x menstruation

Aragorn:

-Probably the most relaxed about it

-Like. He’s a healer, you will receive some random tea that supposedly helps

-If you get cramps this is they guy you want to be around

-He’s got a fix for you

-Probably tells you about how “it’s all natural. It means your body is healthy and can create life” which frankly isn’t helpful

-Kinda ignores mood swings

-Possible snorts a laugh to himself but means no harm

-He can’t help it; you crying over random things is good entertainment

-Also; totally off topic but I just totally think he has probably helped deliver a baby before

Legolas:

-Ok so, on one hand elves are so old that they basically know about everything

-But

-I chose to believe they don’t really menstruate; or at least nowhere near as often as humans

-And Legolas is a sheltered boy with no mother or sisters

-I think it’s fun to think he doesn’t really know what is happening

-Possibly thinks you’re dying

-Mood swings? Cue concerned and confused puppy face

-Cramps? Sends you to Aragorn

-Crying over nothing? Probably gives you water or something he doesn’t know

-He’s trying

-But he may also know some elvish medicine that could help

-If he thinks to use it is the real question

Gimli:

-A girls girl in the form of a fuzzy short man

-I love Gimli so much

-Immediately to the rescue should you bleed through your trousers

-Very protective of your mood swings; you can’t help it and your going through a lot

-I think dwarves in general really embrace just, life

-And by this I mean they don’t have much need for modesty, a body is a body, it does body things

-So there is no stigma with him

Boromir:

-He’s a smart guy; he’s not totally naive

-Knows what it is. That’s about it

-Probably doesn’t have much experience with someone, you know, actively bleeding from the sacred hole

-He will probably avoid you tbh

-Snap at him once and he’s like “nope. I’m not gonna make this worse”

-Probably grumbles about it but if anyone else says anything…

Frodo:

-Knows what it is

-Doesn’t give a shit

-Like

-If you are in pain or upset obviously he will support you

-But otherwise he doesn’t acknowledge it

-If you want it acknowledged he will but if you don’t he won’t ya know?

Sam:

-Ok, so

-I know not everyone agrees with my characterization of Sam but I stand by him being pretty unaware of anything outside his circle

-He knows what periods are yes

-And he’s definitely not grossed out

-But of all the members he would be the most likely to make a “bet she’s on her period” comment

-He doesn’t mean it to be rude, it’s an observation with no filter

-Like; it just doesn’t occur to him all the time that people aren’t necessarily going to know what he means and that he may sound rude

-Very apologetic tho. He’s the sweetest little dude

-Always helpful and wants you to rest

-Makes lots of tea and wraps you in a blanket with a hot water bottle mixed in there somewhere

Merry:

-I could imagine Merry being confused and kinda taken aback if you snap at him

-But then if you tell him why he’s just like “OHH well why didn’t you just say that?”

-And then totally listens to any emotional rant with uttermost interest

-Probably does the thing where a guy will mimic your behavior. Like. “It’s uterUS” but literally

-If you are emotional he probably will be too

Pippin:

-Don’t let him have a tampon

-He may eat it; may just put it in his mouth to soak up drool until his mouth is a desert

-Will bring you the most random things to use as a pad/tampon

-He may be partly joking but he also is kinda genuine about it

-Possibly thought you could hold it and just pee it out

Gandalf:

-Bet he knows some sort of magic to help with pain

-If he doesn’t than what’s even the point of him having magic

-Good to rant to

———————————————————————

I’m definitely out of habit of writing so this isn’t my best

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

so what's really fun about some of the Latino American folklore, especially around the US/Mexico border, is that the occult looks edgy to outsiders sometimes and very much isn't, but then also: it is.

by which I mean, like I often do, that the Holy Death prayed to is not primarily a sinister figure. prayers to La Santa Muerte are often for love and romance and healing and protection. or prosperity, even! perpetual concerns of your everyday type person. but then, also--and you're a liar if you don't admit this is true: La Santa Muerte is, at the same time, also a saint for criminals. no organization is entirely full of true believers and this is true there as it is elsewhere, but it's also totally true that there is a lot of very sincere narco occult iconography and it's also true that there are certain rituals undertaken with great faith. and not all of those rituals are nice. but then, also, the vast majority of prayers and altars are so on are nice. and this kind of duality happens all over the world, but it happens especially feverishly in parts of Latin America.

There's some mostly very recent attempts to distinguish some of La Flaca's specialties. La Santa Muerte clothed in red for love and passion. La Santa Muerte clothed in white for protection and purification. In gold for prosperity. In green for luck. In black for--heyooo--both sending curses and breaking them. In black for protection from violence or for violence, victorious.

In most of your more fusion type religious systems with more readily apparent African syncretism, where you have the Barons and the Ghede instead of La Santisima in all her colors, sometimes the divide is easier and more readily apparent. That is: Papa Ghede is a chill guy, good with healing kids, and Baron Samedi very cool and sexy and called on for healing as much as he is for fertility as much as he is protection from curses as much as he is for cursing the unrighteous unless he likes them better than he likes you, but then there's, like, Baron Kriminel, who is not called upon for, say, downloading ebooks or dealing in metaphors.

But to wrangle this back around, I was actually thinking about the kind of people who, in this day and age, do a lot with coyote. or Coyote, if you will, though not necessarily Old Man Coyote, who has his own culture specific thing going on.

And Coyote is criminal but kind of lower stakes criminal, because, again, immigrants crossing the border desperately searching for a way to provide for their families are big on Coyote. That is: there's crimes and then there's crimes.

Which is to say: Coyote isn't one of the narco folk saints, exactly. There are patron folk saints of, say, murder, and he's kind of just not associated with that. And he's not usually the emblem of a criminal organization, not a guy getting a lot of group prayer or ritual even if he happens to be a namesake or a mascot. To me, Coyote is a patron saint of small time hustlers. Subsistence hustling, if you will.

(And this is a fun time to look at real life animal behaviors: coyotes aren't really pack hunters the way wolves are. They can hunt in packs, and then do. But whereas most wolf tactics require at least two wolves, and often more, a lot of coyote tactics are solo endeavors. Are most magicians coming at this with an ethologist perspective? Not officially. But centuries of human observation will skew stories a certain way.)

And is a coyote a good omen, or a bad omen? Is a coyote allied person a good person or a bad one?

The only real answer here is unsatisfying to most people: it depends.

Like the black cat in hoodoo, Coyote is a multifaceted figure and he's one thing to most people and another, perhaps, specifically, to the conjurer. Mages like black cats and coyotes and other liminal shading to controversial figures and symbols. Magic thrives on ambiguity.

So it is my personal observation that a lot of people who are into coyote in a certain way are just prone to being a pain in the fucking ass. Myself included. Nothing illegal inherently, but a certain inclination to be really, really unnecessarily fucking annoying. "Well, ACTUALLY--" type shit. General antiauthoritarian type shit. Maybe a little bit of built in lying. An often indulged urge to present themselves as other than they are.

Which brings us to what I'm actually thinking about here, which is that I was creeping the socials of one of the few occult practitioners I respect--though of course I don't agree with him on everything--and I found an old series of screenshots I remembered fondly. Local PD for this guy managed a small drug bust. Among the items seized and displayed on official PD twitter was an icon of La Santa Muerte. Just your typical nice little saint statue. Sure.

And our guy here, who actually does run an official small time church focused on La Santa Muerte, tax exempt and everything, but who is also a coyote guy, this guy starts arguing with the cops on twitter about the way they're displaying the statue. Calling them disrespectful, would you do this with a statue of any other saint or are you just being racist pigs, etc etc. In nicer language. I think he threatened to call a lawyer. He might actually called a lawyer, idk.

And local PD backs down! And apologizes! and deletes the post.

(Coyote is also associated with eloquence and persuasion)

Well and good and righteous and hurrah, right?

But the fun part, of course, is that if you know this guy, you know that he might be 10000% sincere but also maybe not because he hates cops not for all the normal reason but also because he was a big time weed dealer back in the day, and now that he's a respectable family man, being annoying to cops is, like, one of his most prized hobbies.

If you know this guy, you know he had FUN. this was ENRICHMENT wandering right into his enclosure.

one time a baby bunny tried to jump directly into Ernie Dog's mouth.

this was a little like that.

But what always struck me about being very coyote about this interaction is that is certainly a way to get ATTENTION from cops...

that I know of this had no particular consequences for this conjure man. this time. but that's very coyote, too--it works until it doesn't.

and all of that is to say that every so often it occurs to me that I don't have to open my mouth about something, you know? which is a valuable lesson. but also. sometimes you WANT to open your mouth. because a baby bunny is trying to jump into it.

apart from all this and for very different reasons, I've been thinking about how coyote folklore lends itself so well to the idea of the double agent. coyote becomes an organization type guy when he's in the business of infiltrating. much to think about, artistically. much to think about. maybe he's not a working dog after all, exactly. maybe he is a coyote...

[tangents-within-tangents]

And along these lines, can we recognize that viewing and treating the clones as people is the bare minimum? It should be a given.

Like I saw a post recently that quoted a line somewhere when a jedi called the clones their men, "Men! Not clones, or troopers or soldiers, men!" and idk I'm just kinda like:

Like sorry but that isn't exactly a grand achievement (and there are plenty of examples of when the Jedi do call them "the clones" or "troopers" too. But also the clones use those words for themselves just fine so I don't think it's a problem)

Obviously it's good that the Jedi treat them well and use their names and such, I just don't think we should be overly patting them on the back for it. Can we acknowledge that calling the clones by their chosen names is such a low bar? One that plenty of characters outside of the Jedi also surpass (like Yularen, Padme, Riyo, the Syndullas, Phee, etc, and to be frank yall, even Nala Se, Hemlock, and Palpatine). Like Watto called Anakin by his name, just saying.

I'm not necessarily saying that the Jedi only did the bare minimum, just that that is all I see people praise them for all the time. And that's kinda weird.

There's this aspect of the Born Sexy Yesterday trope that I think can sometimes crop up in the way people write/talk about the clones and the Jedi

"...a science-fiction trope that's designed specifically so male heroes get to automatically be the most extraordinary man in a woman's life, because they are basically the only man to have ever been in her life."

"He does have one thing going for him though: he knows all about living life as a normal human being. Of course, so does every other guy on Earth which should make him unremarkable. Except to a woman born yesterday. Because she's presumably never met another man, he would seem like the smartest most amazing guy in the entire universe."

"Since he's the first and only man in this woman's life he gets to be the best by default. Which means he doesn't even have to try to be a better partner, a better boyfriend, or a better lover."

It's a romance trope, so the context isn't necessarily one-to-one (depending on what you're writing ig, I don't really read ship fic stuff so I can't speak to that), but I think it's a similar idea. That everyday normal things will seem extraordinary to someone who is lacking experience. Point being that treating the clones with basic human decency isn't special, it should be the norm. The literal bare minimum shouldn't be elevated just because they only have worse things to compare it to. Jedi don't get bonus moral points just because the Kaminoans are in the negatives, you know?

(And in fics and stuff, I'd say it could be realistic for the clones to view it that way. To be in awe and so grateful to be treated decently, or to try real food and have basic needs met, etc. But the Jedi's reaction to that should be 'no honey this is normal, you always deserved this' not taking praise or credit for it.)

I don't like this idea I sometimes see in fanon/discourse that the Jedi encouraged or taught the clones to be individuals and if not for the Jedi this wouldn't have happened.

The clones are individuals.

It's an inherent fact.

Like irl identical twins/triplets/etc have the same DNA and they are obviously individual people. It's the same for the clones. You wouldn't say that twins only have distinct personalities, opinions and such if their parents encourage it. The same way you wouldn't say that about non-twin siblings, or just any person. Because appearance and genetics do not define who a person is, for anyone.

And in-narrative their individuality is an inherent fact too, in that they are all unique in the Force.

The Jedi may have helped the way the clones view themselves in a self-worth sense, their leadership may have allowed for more expression by not restricting it, but they didn't create that individuality.

Treat them like individuals and value their lives as such, yes. Make them into individuals and teach them how to be individuals, no.

[haveihitanerve]

I was having sentient Gotham thoughts and I realized I mostly refer to Gotham as 'she' and I know that's not necessarily uncommon ('Gotham's knight and her prince') and that a lot of people use the good ole 'it' but the reason I bring it up is because I also had a realization that I, in my head, refer to Gotham with feminine names that start with G.

Initially it was Gloria but I've moved to jumping between Genesis (Because 'birth' and Gotham gave birth to Batman) and Grace (Because 'Her Grace').

So, that's cool :)

omg literally i was just thinking about this the other day!!!

is it like a fanon thing that Gotham is female and viewed as Bruce's protector/mother??? or is it mentioned in comics or smth that she is actually female???

in my mind shes always been Gotham, or some variated nickname like Gothy or some dumb thing- honestly like i said about her physical appearance- her name has more of a vibe in my head and not any actual letters lol

but those are suchhhhh good names i might have to steal them!

[frankierotwinkdeath]

Y’all want Taylor Swift to be gay so bad but you won’t even write femslash about her

[vakarianshepard]

Come back alive. It'd be an awfully empty galaxy without you.

Happy Valentine's Day!! 💖💖