#forever will be one of my favourite characters ever

[mangled-by-disuse]

also like

The Worst Witch (Jill Murphy) and the Chrestomanci series (Diana Wynne Jones) are books that seem to have inspired a lot of Harry Potter, and do it better.

Worst Witch is mostly for younger readers, but if what you like from Harry Potter is the "whimsical magical school, hapless protagonist becomes embroiled in Shenanigans" vibes of the first couple of books, Mildred Hubble is your girl. Also, because it's set at a girls' school, it has a lot more diverse female characters, and avoids a lot of HP's weird gender politics around womanhood, motherhood, etc., while letting girls be messy and stupid and smart and brave and also actual friends.

Chrestomanci is better if what you want is the "political machinations and worldbuilding, also corruption at the heart of power" that comes in on the later Harry Potter properties. It's still funny, but a lot more dramatic and high-stakes than Worst Witch, and has a lot more plot. Plots, actually, since most of the books in that universe are partly or fully stand-alone stories. You want a Chosen One? we got a Chosen One! you want dark wizards? we got dark wizards! you want vaguely historic British aesthetic theming that gives you lots of fun visuals? we got that! you want "the non-magical world also exists and there is hostility and secrecy about magic"? read Witch Week.

and, like, her other stated inspirations that i will vouch for as Also Good Books, if you want to see the bits you liked in Harry Potter without [gestures loudly at the everything]:

Sword in the Stone (T.H. White) - personally one of my favourite books of all time, has a clear inspiration for Dumbledore in certified classic old man Merlyn, also deeply politically curious about power, knowledge, and violence in a way that (imo) HP aspired to but never accomplished. also if you read the rest of Once & Future King you get queer icons like Sad Bi Lancelot and Whatever Is Going On With Pellinore, Grummore, And Palomides.

Enid Blyton's novels - particularly the Famous Five because, while obviously filtered through the lens of 1940s gender politics, George is an actual GNC/trans icon. (But if you want "British boarding school mysteries", it's the Malory Towers or St. Clare's series, which are the ones Rowling used to mention as inspirations)

E. Nesbit - another author where the book Rowling cites as an inspiration (The Story of the Treasure Seekers) isn't actually the one I would recommend, because the whole Psammead trilogy (5 Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet, and The Story of the Amulet) honestly fit so much with what I did enjoy in Harry Potter, which is to say: magical worldbuilding, fantastical creatures and situations, and a general sense of vague background sinister-ness. Again, you're not going to find radical politics here, it was published between 1902 and 1905, but it's a lot of fun for "magical kids' books with a slight edge".

Molesworth (Geoffrey Willans) - ok honestly i don't see the link beyond "it's about being at boarding school" but JKR did say at one point that it was an inspiration and i just like recommending Molesworth, the most quintessentially 1950s English thing to ever exist, and absolutely embedded in my brain forever. helo tree helo sky sais fotherington-tomas who is a wet and a weed. (do NOT read molesworth for comfortable modern progressivism it is a comedy from the perspective of a 10-year-old in the 50s)

like i am not a fan of "if you liked X, you'll love Y!", but from my own childhood experience: I liked Harry Potter, and I loved these books.

Seriously. I'm starting to block y'all on sight it has been quite long enough of a campaign to get you weaned off this terf's books and shows (and now games!)

[neverpathia]

"come, quench my boredom," oh, I sure will:

How about some Thorn for the character list game? >:]

FIE! HAVE AT YOU. HAVE AT YOU ALL.

I'm probably not gonna be getting at these as fast as I'd like. Clearly I had a lot to say about Para but at least he's out of the way, and now Thorn...Damn you, Everest Gale. Damn you. (I have gotten my vengeance with the Paranoid ask on you, though. My time had come.) /lh

[checks who's up next] OH COME ON BROKEN TOO?? MY THREE FAVOURITES IN THAT ORDER???

With that said. This one's probably going to be a little bit short because I've thrown out all my energy on that Paranoid post + analysis lol. Sorry, my beautiful creature plant wife, you deserve so much better.

favourite thing about them

I rummage through every facet of her character and I...don't pull my hands out from the drawer, because it's that hard to choose.

But if I really do have to pick, I'd probably go for her character development and what it represents. The Thorn, as a chapter, tells you that things don't have to end at hurt. That there's always hope, even after you act and react, and act and react, and act and react again. That pain isn't the end. That the cycle doesn't have to keep moving, because it can always be halted. That it's never too late to let go and start anew.

And that doesn't mean that the pain was insignificant, because yes, it's always been there. Inflicted, passed on, released outward, turned inward. If dismissed away, it could grow and remain forever. But it could also be dispelled, and one could finally heal.

I'll also point out that she's absolutely adorable, pretty as all hell, and just smoking hot. Because she's the fucking Thorn. And the sheer symbolism—the way the roots of the wild sprout anew and morph into prickles, contorting around herself when she directs her pain inward. The way she finally sees her poppies for the first time when you both let her recover. I'll be fucking sick.

least favourite thing about them

A single crow glides across this part of the post, idly dropping a single white splatter before fluttering away with three wing-flaps. Nothing to see here, carry on.

(I'm very lax when it comes to others' Thorn characterization, because I never really get her character right myself. But it doesn't bother me too much because I rarely post Princess content anyway. And I do think I'm improving with her writing.)

favourite line

"I'm so tired of the bad blood between us. But it's hard to let it go. You've hurt me. ... And I've hurt you."

I think this just encapsulates so much about her arc. She doesn't want this horrible cycle to keep happening anymore. And she's just as accountable as you are. But at the same time, that doesn't mean she's not reluctant. It's all she's ever known at this point, and it certainly doesn't help that the grievances between you still exist either way.

She's not letting her guard down so easily, not here and certainly never as the Witch. But she wants to try. It's hard, but she's already so resigned. And she does want it to stop.

Also she sounds so tired here and it's kind of hot but you can still hear the guilt, the grief, the single sliver of hope...Thorn I really do love you. Thorn, I love you Thorn. Marry me Thorn. Thorn-

brOTP

Thorn and Cage. They're the two most prominent princesses in my post-construct AU (alongside HEA and Razor. sorry Cheated) and they're definitely close as all hell. Both of them get how it is to be trapped in a hopeless cycle, and how it is to break it.

They're like a cat and an office lady. Thorn spontaneously finds stuff in the woods and brings, say, a dead rat to Cage's doorstep for the sake of friendship. Cage dangles a chain over Thorn's head and she gleefully swipes at it.

Thorn twirls around in a flower field as Cage sits in place and smiles, weaving stems into a flower crown. Then Thorn slides onto her stomach beside her, observing as she playfully kicks the dirt. She's a very whimsical lass.

And let's not forget the scars. Cage is always there for the sudden aches and pains, and she's always there to soothe them with some salve and bandage them with meticulous precision. As for Cage's disembodied head...Thorn did try to seal it back together with a few slivers of plant stem, but it never holds for very long. Not for lack of trying, though. They're always best friends.

Thorn is so whimsical and Cage is so stoically silly and oh my god yes. Just yes. And they're both pretty women.

otp

Cheated x Thorn. I've gone over this before but holy shit I love them. They're the ship I've probably drawn the most? I'm pretty sure. I'm definitely not projecting onto Cheated. Don't look at my current account theme.

But either way I really love them together. Just a couple of flawed, faulty people who have been hurt and chosen to hurt in turn. And yet they're changing. And yet they're recovering. They can't find much solace at all, but they're learning to find peace and sometimes that's enough. The little moments they share are few and far between but so very cute and cathartic and- squealing.

But Cheated isn't immune from Thorn's catlike, playful side either. She randomly paws softly on his coat for no reason. She sits cross-legged on his unfinished game of solitaire. And he actually isn't too mad about it, no matter what his lighthearted grumbling might suggest.

However, they both have trust issues and aren't prone to surprising each other that much. This is another one with horrible will-they-wont-they tension. Thorn eagerly brings him little gifts (some less necessary than others) and tells him she loves him so many times a day, but when it comes to actual physical affection...it takes her a lot of courage. But then she kisses him. And then he, flustered beyond all hell, completely short-circuits.

It's a bit like sunshine x grumpy, although it's also chaos x chaos. Both of them are unhinged. They match each others' freak.

nOTP

Mai (@/hello-universe-lovers) would be very disappointed in me. Dramatic drumroll: Oppythorn.

Well, this is a hundred percent attributed to how I write these fucks because, dramatic reveal: My Opportunist is gay. Achillean. MLM. Swings the other way. He's so fruity Disney-villain coded, so how could I not? (No hate to the gays, by the way. I have better gay voices.)

But my version of these two can't be left alone in a room without engaging in a silent dirty-look competition and shooting obscene gestures at each other (if Smitten is present) or devolving into a dishonourable brawl (if Smitten is absent.) He doesn't understand how Thorn's attempting to redeem herself. Thorn doesn't want to engage with him and return back to those dark times.

They hate each other, but they are mirrors. One retreating further into the dark, one letting herself reach for the light. Opportunist is everything that the Thorn wants to leave behind. They're like toxic exes to me.

random headcanon

If Witch is feral, Thorn is domesticated. She purrs when you give her back scritches. She randomly plops herself down on your table for no reason. She finds boxes and wordlessly declares them her new home. And she does not like baths (though she's willing to sit through it if she trusts you enough. And after a while, she begrudgingly appreciates how the water soothes her scars.)

Just because she's perfectly capable of sitting down with you over a cup of tea and holding a conversation, doesn't make her any less of a chaotic little creature.

At the same time, she desperately tries to be kind anytime she can. She bombards the people she likes (especially Cheated) with gifts and favours. She tries to use kind words, but sometimes she hesitates for too long trying to find the nicest thing to say. She's still trying to grapple with the notion that conversations aren't battlegrounds. No more scheming and plotting. Just words. Just people.

I also like to think that her control over the thorns is actually pretty high. As in epic-anime-fight-scene level high. Thing is, in-game she's too dejected and tired to actually excise any control over them by the time you see her, so she just sits there helplessly in this prison of her own making. She sealed herself in there. She didn't even know if she deserved to escape, and she certainly didn't think so. God. Love you.

unpopular opinion

I'll just echo what everyone else says. She's not just a softie; she still has her claws. People need to remember that she stemmed specifically from Witch.

We need more creature Thorn content.

Maybe she's deliberately trying to be more civilised and get rid of her cat-like mannerisms. Perhaps she gets a little bit embarrassed when she's caught engaging in kitty stuff, and quickly corrects herself. Or maybe she just doesn't care. Being a scrunkly little creature doesn't have to interfere with rehab, right?

song that reminds me of her

For some inexplicable reason, Sweater Weather reminds me of her. Maybe it's the voice, I don't know.

Love Like You and I'll Call You Mine also strike me as pretty Thorn-coded, though I'm frankly not that good at picking out songs for characters.

favourite image

Oh I am so glad you asked because-

LOOOOOOOOOK AT HER SHE'S SO PRECIOUS AND THOSE EYES THOSE DOWNCAST EYES THE SHEER GRIEF AND REMORSE AND THE WAY SHE'S STILL CLUTCHING AT THE KNIFE DESPITE IT ALL AND- dead.

Special mention goes to these, though.

Godddd she looks so cute and defiant in the last two, and so small, and so vulnerable, and so adorable, and so-

Yeah. I think I'll leave it here as I proceed to scream to myself about her. Just her.

[polygonsarchive]

🌷🌷🌷

[hinamie]

the sirens are turning red

[dragon-wishes]

cynder - fear

[catraafterthewar]

I think I'm hilarious 👀

[olasketches]

[thinks about yuuji and sukuna for too long]

[bayofwolves]

Yeah I am mad about how the authors treated their sweet angel Abeke actually.

Bad things that happened to Abeke:

Mom, only person to understand her, died pre-series

Dad and sister are emotionally abusive

Tricked by her enemies and roped onto the wrong side

Distrusted by the rest of the Four and believed to be a spy

Targeted by Meilin in particular

Kidnapped by obnoxious pre-teen boys

Gets frostbite

Gets concussed

Gets stabbed

Gets captured

Gets beaten up by Meilin

Lied to and betrayed by her dearest friend

Meanwhile dad DISOWNS her

Understandable depressive episode

Makes up with dad because he apparently decided he wanted to keep treating his daughter like shit

Mauled by cougars

Loses Uraza to arch-nemesis Zerif

Another extremely understandable depressive episode

Nicknamed "hollow-girl" which tells you a lot

Almost killed by Uraza on two separate occasions

Friend* killed by Uraza

Denied proper resolution with said friend

Doesn't get to kill arch-nemesis Zerif

Doesn't get to use her Rain Dancer powers a single time

Attacked by ants

Mid bond token

Can't even keep her cat

Justice for Abeke.

[cure-stars]

at the edge of the universe

[nemmet]

question: how did you discover/get into scooby doo?

this is something i'm always so interested to hear, being that there are few people who don't have at least some small tie to the franchise. whether you would consider it one of your biggest current interests or it's just something nostalgic from your childhood, i'd love to know how you found scooby and what it means to you!

[sskk-manifesto]

What a good episode. Maaaaaan

[franeridan]

this might just be an unpopular opinion in the jjk fandom but i love how little seriously things happen for the most part since the culling game started, like i miss being seriously emotionally invested in it a little bit ngl but i love the way the newer characters will just open their mouths and say things so much, they were all forced in this game against their will and the only ones that survived long enough to make it in the cast are the unhinged ones that makes so much sense to me. maybe I liked the plot until the shibuya incident a little more but tbh some of my favourite characters in the whole manga have been introduced or have been made relevant during the culling game, some of these guys are just pure gold on legs

[soothingmoonlight]

.

[teafiend]

Am happily surprised to find that this latest drama adaptation has my favourite portrayal of Guo Jing (although the actor is not really my cup of tea visuals wise but am more concerned about portrayal and characterization than looks when it comes to my favourite male fictional characters. Aesthetics wise, though, I think Ci Sha is a perfect GJ as is described in the books. And the actor is very compelling and attractive in his own ways).

Ci Sha brought out the Guo Jing of my ideals and I am enamored with his portrayal, an especially steady and composed version of GJ, yet still wonderfully kind and gentle, earnest, chivalrous and generous. And he is so expressively devoted and loving *squee and swoon* towards HR 😍🤩✨🫡 Also a super-dogged bodyguard extraordinaire who can take instructions well ✨🫡☺️🥰 And his Wuxia moves are exceedingly magnificent and cool 👏🏽

This version is also particularly amazing at highlighting the relationship dynamics between my favourite OTP. So many little details in the pairing to make me squee in shipper-fangirl delight ✨🫡🥰☺️

(To be fair, I think all the versions of JingRong - and individual GJ and HR - did the pair justice, and simply a matter of preference which who one prefers. I love all the JingRong I have ever watched, and each brings a different flavour of fabulous to this evergreen pairing/and characters).

I just LOVE, LOVE them to bits ✨🤩🥰☺️🥹 They are literally the perfect canon OTP (JingRong forever✨)

[cuntstable]

whats the fucking point of having a character deal with pain and trauma and grief in a story if they dont go fucking insane and handle it in the most destructive bad way possible also!!!!! argh!!!!!

[lovetheviking]

When he says, 'In the coffin, that you left me in..' I wonder if he thought that Louis would burn him.. Of course he would have survived it, as it is canon in the book, but, Louis didn't know that.. Louis opted NOT to burn him, he couldn't burn him. So, it IS a story of love. A gloriously, gothic and fucked-up story of love. That is why Lestat is there at the trial. Despite the fact that Louis never declared his love as Lestat did. Read between the lines. #whatatimetobealive

Take us back to the beginning, if you will, of this story of butchery.

Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 2.07: I COULD NOT PREVENT IT.