#granted there certainly may be ppl who are!!!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

payoff of being embedded in a unit of authoritarianism since birth is sure then being able to go like "wow this is just like dynamics & phenomena i experienced up close & personal, repeatedly, in many contexts & configurations in my first two decades of life" plus also beyond that in abuse culture world & the noncoincidence that even interactions beyond the confines of the home(tm) reinforced / did not contradict the hierarchy & concomitant abuse within....but then like hey yeah also the Larger Units of hierarchy & abuse / authoritarianism (ft. their logics & practices necessary for continuously & continually shoring up that hierarchy) can also make it like hey yeah the Two Parent abusive nuclear family more like the Two Party [the US is also a one party state but in typical american extravagance they have two] where right wingness is defined by the degree of directly embracing white supremacy & "left wing" is "anything else" hence like wow The Left is always infighting (everyone with any ideas besides "umm christofascist white ethnostate?" so like yeah there are many other ideas) vs The Right's admirable cohesion (simply re: the white supremacy idea which also necessarily embraces all other Out Group / Nonperson paradigms & practices b/c that's what all already has been necessary for shoring up the [when has the US been a nongenocidal non white supremacist non oligarchy])

like obviously individual experiences & contexts vary but like narrowing in on [the Family as immediate relations ideally cordoned off into nuclear households] ft. [Parental Authority the top priority of which is preserving that authority, ideally patriarchal, an abusive mother e.g.? hey, that ought to be the father] times it's like, think people tend to struggle re: having the "nicer" / "safer" parent who was also shitted on as well but also at the end of the day would always side with the "meaner" "more dangerous" parent, even in whatever terms most sympathetic to the abused parties, with the underlying logic that we're always just going to have to deal with them so some secret strategic mitigation is the best that can be done, perhaps the equivalent of being sent a ":(" after an Onslaught Of Expressed / Enforced Authority(tm) event....the tendency to see the best in any lack of actual intervention / protection on the assumption That Could Never Happen Anyway & forever At Least that the one parent isn't as bad as the other [the Not That Bad / Could've Been Worse infocation, like free bingo square in manifestations of minimization if not outright abuse denial] & all the sympathy for, you know, being human & doing their best(tm) &c which sure might all be true but the abused parties (oft children, more vulnerable than adults, by virtue of being children i.e. considered legal property of some specific adults & theoretical property of any adults in general (the paternal logic in any "protect [xyz]" like maintain one group's supposed ownership / control over [xyz] "for their sake" then? great) & also generally smaller & newer at being alive in this world) but who are liable to not extend that sympathy to themselves (or certainly not be extended that sympathy....when is "they're doing their best / they're only human / they mean well or whatever / they love you, they're family" successfully deployed the Thwart an abusive parent like it is to tell an abused child to not be too resentful of this situation, when is it actually deployed toward the abusive parent at all really. & again in the lack of boundary between the authoritarianism within many individual family households & that of the state they exist in (here re: the US) like that naturally one encounters the logic of abuse expressed just as "common knowledge" & the Assumptions of other people, e.g. the rejection of a parent having zero access to a child, the reinforcement of automatic apologia deployed for whatever a parent could possibly do, argued for "family", yet not deployed the same way to automatically defend anything thee child(tm) could do, thinking emoji lol....see: like the non boundary between [the Patriarchal home/family(tm)] & capitalism when uh oh capitalism the system of continuously maximizing exploitation Needs various forms of labor to be unpaid, uh oh another lack of boundary when white supremacy is used to also shore up the patriarchy that shores up the white supremacy, e.g. that even if in some "inferior" class it's treated as More Important that at least you're not that And black, the theoretical ideal/normal white man is a person while a white woman is a woman while a black woman is black, white women could have any legal property via chattel slavery which needed white women's participation to help enforce, the specter of sexual violence all coming from nonwhite & especially black men & it's up to the genteel white man to Protect Women (see prev, implicitly white or you'd have to specify otherwise)

anyway that is to get around to pointing to the Two Parent System wherein so shockingly the results are the same as the One Parent System re: abuse maintaining The Family (properly, i.e. unquestionable & certainly undeniable parental access to children, & "ideally" ofc again the patriarchal Father as ultimate authority w/ownership over the Mother, who in turn is theoretically honored for that motherhood (at least you own your children, insofar as it doesn't contradict w/what the father wants to do with his superior claim to ownership) & then finally all the obviously shittiness from being in that position in a patriarchy is in turn dumped on The Children who are ungrateful & owe the mother everything Because of what the broader society & immediate personal expressions of that abuse have done to her. see also ofc that two adults likely don't have the resources to raise a child in time or money or energy, maybe there's only one but also even an extended family's worth of adults aren't enough, is it enough when a child is sent to school for some other adults to be in charge most of the day, or even if someone is hired to look after them beyond that, all this ofc with the assumed premise that a child is always limited to the various Domains of The Adults In Charge, & from there i segue into how naturally being in gay baby jail unless & until adults are no longer recognized as Legally In Charge Of You (the grand like 5 minutes it's relatively been since the ideal timeline of a woman's life wasn't being legal property of her father until asap passed along to legal property of her husband. still considered ideal ofc but like with "maybe you can have a bank account" now & "maybe you can become 29 before you're in Old Maid danger" Maybe, i said, Maybe....anyway that obviously adults(tm) being divided up (atomised. spritz) into Households isn't even supposed to be enough to live on their own, re: necessitating Marriage, much less uh oh having kids who are stuck with their parents who are stuck with them, but then all the obvious actual problems & abuses inflicted on Adults to have to have their family households & exploited jobs are dumped on the children who Must appreciate & be loyal to the parents (i.e. never Deny Access) while yknow kids have Fake Problems they're whining about, the one Real Problem of having to pay a bill gets the payoff of leverage to tell your children to shut the fuck up or perhaps the more vulnerable spouse

hm didn't segue right into "so shoutout to like The Ratchet Effect diagrams lol, the "Two" Party System where its supposed left wing Blocks Movement To The Left, right wing Moves Everything To The Right" but even that is like, mm, conferring a passivity to what democrats do in the continual movement to the right (won an election? lost an election? the lesson either way is The Right Is Right; exact same logic as in "winning or losing" "the war on crime" like the collection & analysis of whatever statistics show the trend of some "crime" is increasing in frequency or magnitude? show that it's decreasing? the lesson either way is Cops Need More Power) like the institutional effort of democrats to push a candidate nobody wants through primaries (did we even do that this time around. oh great that the assumed candidate even graciously agreed to not force themself as The Candidate, & now like 5 min left with the Next In Line candidate dumped on everyone now with the lesson for the left(tm) to shut up already lol) & then it's up to Grassroots Voters. it's up to Unity & well we all Need to listen to the white supremacists, points were made, in the "elections" with voting as limited as possible & with the electoral college & supreme court as Safeguards against democracy & here's the senate, eternally thus, & again the conclusions will always manage to be moving To The Right, paraphrasing from twitter like democrats are about to be or already at the point of "in the name of unity we will no longer be running against republicans; it's too divisive :(" which yknow is already The Statements of all of yesterday from various like "i'm the republican official white supremacy agree-er now" after also the entire campaign of "no, I'm the fascist" where like wow shocking that the appeal to the fascists didn't win a) the fascists who will ofc want the even more overt fascism, why wouldn't they or b) the people who want antifascism actually, and do not want fascism; who could have foreseen? & it's always the fault of being Too Antifascist for the actions of the fascists or the Diplomatic Comprimises the other party makes with the fascists &/or their Failure to thwart them....the Nicer, Safer party in power is surely doing their best & at least they're not the Meaner, More Dangerous one but at the end of the day they'll always side with that party over america(tm) & those bearing the brunt of the actions of State Power can be told to keep their chin up or else to stop acting out b/c how do you expect that state power to respond, cmon, you bring it upon yourself, & you Have to work with them & understand all their feelings & your role in resolving those feelings by being lesser inferior property, you do Have to understand, b/c in the end this is All About Family, surely Good & Necessary, whoops i mean in the end this is All About America

anyway yeah i'm like damn my "nicer" (also shitty) father who was also the even more sexist & racist (& certainly no Less ableist, queerphobic) parent was basically the democratic party of the Two Parent System of Family Government lol. b/c we Need to perpetuate this Family, no other logics much less actions are acceptable....& people struggling with the Parent / Adults in their life like that who were the "safe" & "protective" ones who markedly failed to protect & minimized the harm afterwards but also in general, never to confront the reality of the situation, or do damage control like "aw some points were made at all :( ah i see you have Feelings about this :( hmm yes the Parental Power is gonna have to make some changes" & then as soon as possible (assuming reeling in the party who was deviating too much) these changes(tm) are already compromised or diminished if done at all, & then oops things incrementally might be right back to how they always were, no guarantees it won't be Worse b/c the Power is even more insecure / aware of weaknesses, & the only way this is thwarted is if the Wayward Parties can actually leverage new boundaries / less vulnerability, not b/c the supposedly sympathetic parties, who never came through where it counts & likely would also become overt antagonizers / wielders of whatever power within the Family hierarchy / turn on the more vulnerable parties to Get Them In Line, actually came through. movement Away (more disruptive to the maintenance of The Family, The State) is blocked, incrementally only ever moving everything back, & then Further....& despite this being what the power structures are, & do, the Disruptive parties liable to be scapegoated lol, can't believe the scapegoat child is ruining everything for everyone, this Family would totally improve & start being everything it could be otherwise & we ignore who actually has the power & is actually enforcing the hierarchy harming everyone to point to that scapegoat; can't believe thee left is destroying america (republican voice) can't believe the left is destroying america (democrat voice) So You See? The Undeniable Consensus. just like how i believe it was my fault my family unit was Like That & i had those experiences, according to the vast majority of Input from that family & even others who, knowing nothing, would say how Lucky i was to be relatively close to home, or just of course that oh well parents love their children & mean well & try their best. just like how i believe that being treated like i've been generally as a neurononconforming person, i.e. hated & the interpersonal abuse & bullying & ostracization & [attention possibilities: ignored, responded to but negatively, interacted with to get something from] & actually rewarding interactions or just actions being liable to get Deluxe authority responses as disruptive(tm) & ofc disobedient(tm) like hell fuckin yeah lol. just as i don't think that other people who have similar experiences or ones i don't have, i.e. assessed race being automatically seen as wrong / inferior, being isolated & undermined from all around? well gotta be their fault then, cmon lol....Abuse is actually normative, not extraordinary, in every Arena of interactions, & so are the logics / apologia / assumptions

anyway lol re: like yeah people struggling with the like betrayal of the "nooo i'm on your side, i sympathize, i'm the one who's nicer & you Need so that things aren't even worse" party, not even One Big Novel betrayal, but rather that that's what's Been done the whole time & doesn't stop. that supposedly if you have Any sympathy for that party you have to be like aw :( keep doing your thing (necessarily reining everyone in) or if you have Any sympathy for the people who also want things to improve but blame & take it out on the more disruptive parties (more disruptive to an abusive family e.g., btw. & not like i see Cohesion as necessarily some Good rather than neutral? when i'm autistic / my existence is supposedly antithetical to this? or when i'm able to look at a zillion hypothetical or actual situations & recognize how "cohesion" isn't the best goal / a destructive one / a vague concept anyways like cohesion Between Whom? on what basis? recognized & pursued how? why? up next: same as vague shit like "family" or "community" &c) then it's like yep gotta be Responsible for their feelings too if you're at all sympathetic & capitulate, The Only Possible Action, vs the idea of those in power actually making things shit stopping, much less being stopped / having to stop in the various ways that can happen....one way being "oh no, adult children who choose to be no-contact with parents" which is seen as A Tragedy, & sign of a Deteriorating Society, take me back. ah jeez oh no, look at the divorce raaates....Oh No, twentysomething women aren't pursuing marriage enoughhhh....again the undetectably identical echo when people peak vaguely talk about "conflicts" that thwart "community" or whatever, ugh nobody will date anymore, commit anymore, be friends anymore, hang out as coworkers anymore, talk to me if i want to talk to them anymore, &ccccc....

the real tl;dr is like wait ""two party"" (one party) US electoral system, just like ""two parent"" maintenance of thee family lol. ratchet effect raise your hand if you've only ever experienced Movement Away from the abusive family blocked, forever incrementally ratcheted back in to the desires & pursuits of those most in power / top of the hierarchy / thus of course most invested in the abuse, that's what the power & hierarchy is made of, sustained by, perpetuates....sorry doing our best :( sorry that's just all that's realistic, no other choice Really. cmon. kind of Your Fault if you don't agree to that & whoops now Everything is the fault of whoever doesn't agree & cooperate enough :( now look what you've done & brought upon yourself :( & we'll just forget the eruption of violence suppression happened & will happen again & be the overhanging threat all in the meantime

[worldofkaeos]

one random deep thought lead to another, and im just thinking of what each character in lockwood and co taught us:

Lockwood: grief is an ongoing process; it never ends, but it can get better if you dare to face it, to open up, and to ask for help. even if on the surface, a person looks sprightly and confident, that person may be broken inside. and it kinda makes me think about the people around me, that they may be hurting inside even if they seem like they don't, and we should be kind to everyone around us, because we dont know what theyre going through.

Lucy: feisty is normal for a teenage girl. if you want to do something, just get down to it. dont wait for others to reach out to you; you should take charge of your own life. if you feel something about a situation, never let anyone get you down.

George: never judge a book by its cover. listen to the logical side, even when the world seems like a raging storm (and your emotions are threatening to overwhelm you)

Flo: trauma is hard. but never give up. (shes so badass 🤌)

Holly: sometimes you have to put up with bitches (lucy), just know that they probably have a lot of things going through their heads, and they just arent matured yet. they will know later, and they'll regret their actions. also misunderstandings happen all the time and ughhh it sucks

Skull: no one is truly evil. good can come from the most unexpected places. (also, be funny. it makes life more livable)

Quill Kipps: I cant believe I didnt add him in: LOOK AT HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. He's certainly gone through a lot — losing ppl in his life, losing himself. At some point in time I hc that he abused alcohol. He's a depressed boy who's lost so much and has no one around him left. Then he's faith is renewed again when he joined lw and co, you can see this through his excitement over the pair of goggles and also people who care about him again — it's almost like he's been granted a new chance at life. So, lesson? No matter your situation, it is okay to experience ups and downs. Sometimes your downs are so low, but don't ever lose faith. It's okay to lose yourself, it's okay to grief, but know that there's always some hope left if you look out for opportunities instead of lying in the shadows.

[sootyships]

Since both of you mentioned how I project my cultural identity, I wanted to talk about it, bc I believe that it's beneficial to foster a cultural identity... But it's not always easy. So I wanted to share some advice!

1. It may be necessary to wake yourself up to your culture.

If it's your everyday, and you have little interaction with anyone who views it as anything other than everyday, one easily ends up taking their culture for granted, becoming almost numb to it. Interacting with people from different cultures, asking them "hey, do you do this thing we do?", and finding content about your culture by immigrants are good ways to shake yourself awake!

2. National culture, good? Bad? *vague hand gesture*?

There are things that most Finns have in common—certainly Finnish tumblrites!—but I'll always prioritise the culture of a smaller local population and a landscape over that of the nation-state. National culture is by necessity homogeneous (to foster a sense of national identity), and while regional cultures are encompassed by "culture of the nation-state", they're not the national culture! National culture tends to have a core—in Finland, the southern shores, aka Uusimaa and historically the Turku region, have the greatest influence on the culture, being where the capital is/was—and regional cultures further from the core tend to be more distinct, which also leaves the people local to those regions with a stronger regional identity. Meanwhile, regions closer to the core may go through a loss of an active regional sense of identity; in Finland, my home region of Tavastia is adjacent to both Uusimaa and the Turku region, and people tend to have a much weaker identification of themselves as Tavastians as compared to Ostrobothnians or the residents of Kainuu or Finnish Karelia (the Karelia thing is complex, in short there's ppl who identify as Karelians as a national/ethnic identity and those who identify as Finns + Karelian as a regional identity) or non-Sami Laplanders.

If you're from one of those regions that have lost some sense of regional identity, it may be necessary to do more shaking yourself awake to notice what is regional. In my case, it's mostly the foods that my family, in particular one of my paternal aunts makes for holidays, that I found out were specifically associated with this region. Iirc there's a type of netted bag associated with Tavastia as well. There's also bobbin lace from my municipality of birth! (My gma made bobbin lace.) Many municipalities in Finland also have mitten patterns associated with them, and both many municipalities and most regions have their own men's and/or women's national dress designs. Ideally the designs are based on museum pieces originating from the region, but humorously my birth city's dress is both beloved by many and confusing, as it apparently has at least some features that are not present in local museum pieces. 🤔

Also, since moving to Ostrobothnia, I found out that certain turns of phrase that I use were unfamiliar to the Ostrobothnians. 😂 "Jurmu, what the fuck is that?" (And nowadays I definitely use some Ostrobothnian and Kainuu turns of phrase, which in turn are odd to the ear of other Tavastians.)

3. Well, the above actually got into it, but research&recognition.

Someone at some point has probably studied regional differences and jotted down what things are associated with what region. I don't necessarily think it's valuable to look at these lists with a mind of "I will incorporate these things into my life!", I rather prefer their use as reference for recognizing what things already in your life are culturally informed.

4. Ancestors?

I'm a huge proponent of people doing genealogical research. Look, even if your living family fucking sucks, once you get into the dead and buried ancestors, it's just... Interesting. IMO. I know it's not accessible for everyone, there's family you don't speak with and there's unknown fathers and lost or destroyed records and whatnot, but if you can, I'd recommend looking into it. I can give some pointers that are likely to be applicable in multiple countries... *smacks your hand* Hands off those atDNA kits! They're a last resort or a supplement, most people who use them are fucking useless when it comes to the actual genealogy aspect, and the percentages just mean you share some DNA markers with the current population of some region, and that's essentially meaningless culture-wise.

(Granted, the long dead and buried ancestors do tend to also be essentially meaningless culture-wise, as only those who can influence you can pass on culture. But y'know, my mom still knows tell about my great-great grandma, and some vague legends even further back that I've been able to find possible confirmation for. It can still help foster a sense of continuity and connection, so I still think it's a good practice.)

5. Community!

It's not just your family who pass on culture, though! Everybody in your life can. That family friend, that neighbour's granny who babysat you, the traditions they gave you are yours. If you have an inkling of a cultural identity but your family is super assimilated, seek out a community to help you reconnect. Culture is found in people, not blood.

6. Spite.

Partially, I do all of this out of spite. In terms of the state, there's much to improve, and yet it feels we're sliding downhill. Still, due to being queer and trans, I'll rather remain a Finnish citizen than become a Russian one any day of the week... And that is the extent of my nationalism. But I don't accept racist, queerphobic Persu-types claiming cultural pride as theirs; certainly not, when they barely show their faces anywhere relating to loving Finnish culture! One of the prevalent Persus even called culture a luxury! This is mine, and you are posers.

7. Love.

But I also do it out of love. I love the landscape I grew up in, the language (you have to go out of your way to misgender someone!), the idiosyncrasies my people share. I love that these forests could feed me if I knew them better, but even with what little I know, I can get the occasional snack thanks to the right to roam. I love the recipes my mom used as I grew up; the ones I learned and made mine. I love our holiday traditions and our feast foods. I love my FUCKING AMAZING traditionalish boots. I'm even proud of the little positive accomplishments of my state, my fellow countrymen who have been part of changing the landscape of technology, and that one soldier who pumped himself full of Pervitin and skied 200km, ate a bird raw and went on to live to 70. 😂

And I wish everyone could have something like that! It doesn't need to include the nation-state—sometimes there is nothing to love. Really, no part of this is mandatory. 🤔 But I see people bemoaning their lack of culture and envying those who live theirs, and it makes me want to shake them. YOU HAVE CULTURE! ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS LIVE IT!

[stephanythedramaqueen]

Icarus is my favourite darklina story out there 🖤🖤🖤!! I am not exaggerating. Is it possible to get a snippet while we wait for chapter 2?? But I totally get it if u don't want to! Thank you for sharing your talented writing with us!

omg I’m so flattered??!! I’m shook bc darklina has a plethora of better written, more interesting fics out there! Like there are legendary, iconic fics read by practically everyone and you like mine? I’m blushing and giggling and kicking my feet and everything! thank you! thank you! thank you!

idk why I haven’t thought of it before to release snippets for ppl if they asked!

here’s not one but two snipps, one featuring Nikolai and Aleksander toe to toe! The chapter is lengthy so umm, prepare for lengthy snippets lol

“Darkling.” Nikolai vehemently declared, lest the man get it in his head that he was at all intimidated. “Come to finish the job, have you? Going back on your word to abstain from murder now that Alina is in your custody?”

The tsar eyed him for a moment then sighed, dismissing his guards and the pair of heartrenders both. “You are all so predictable,” he shook his head. “Do you truly think so little of me?”

Nikolai smirked. “Oh, how rude I am. How could I ever think ill of the man who usurped the throne from my family and doesn’t hesitate to kill his own for power? Wherever are my manners?”

The Darkling didn’t bother to comment on Nikolai’s sarcasm. “I’m sparing your life, the least you could do is extend the courtesy I’m sure your governesses beat into you.”

“They were not allowed to put a hand on me.” Nikolai countered to prove he didn’t need to extend the Darkling anything.

“On your whipping boy, then.” The Darkling shrugged it off. “Surely he did not suffer your beatings for nothing if you don’t know better than that.”

“Certainly you agree that I won’t need to be civil with a perfidious felon like you?”

Nikolai expected the Darkling’s anger, for him to lash out and bring credit to that homicidal reputation that he heard about the Black General all his life, but the Darkling looking seemingly amused was definitely not the reaction the prince anticipated.

“Felon?” The Darkling repeated, as if the accusation was preposterous. “Enlighten me, how so?”

Did the Usurper think himself witty? Did he take Nikolai for a simpleton? “You killed my parents, Darkling.” The prince hissed, barely withholding the urge to lunge for his throat.

“Your parents? Hardly.” His scoff was condescending enough that had Nikolai seething. “The man you may believe to be your sire was a licentious, incompetent, egotistical man who abused his position constantly. Do not fool me by saying you could withstand him. You ran from his court as soon as you came of age.”

“He was still the king. Regicide is a felony, as far as I can remember.”

The new tsar was unmoved. His voice hardened into steel, sharp and lethal. “Death was the least he deserved. Do you know how many servants he forced himself upon?” At this, a flame of real anger flashed in the Darkling’s grey eyes. “I granted him the mercy of a quick death. If he were not the king, any other man would have been gelded and hanged for his crimes. Do you deny that?”

Nikolai glared at him and said nothing. It was not the punishment he would have given his father, but punishment he deserved nonetheless. “You expect me to sympathise with your treason, Darkling?” He charged instead. “To clap you on your shoulder for a job well done? For murdering my mother and brother in your coup for the throne?”

“Neither were innocent from their own misdoings.” The Darkling said, ever ruthless. “And your half sibling Vasily, would have been much the same as the old king.”

Nikolai would not sit by and let this usurper speak slander of people who were not here to defend themselves, especially since he was the cause of their deaths. “That is calumny.”

But the Darkling would not have it. “Your supposed father assaulted most women he came in contact with against their will and your mother knew about it. She did nothing to stop it.”

Nikolai glanced down. “She had no say against the king.”

“Then do you see why Pytor Lantsov needed to be disposed of? He was nothing but a weak man on a weak throne, making the country look weak in turn.”

...to be continued!

And here’s the other one. One again thank youuu for your kind message! I hope you enjoy.

A pair of oprichniki, fully armed, stood aside to let them in. “Moi tsar,” they saluted, giving the same deference when Alina passed through. “Moya tsarista.”

Not that Alina could acknowledge their respects when she was too shocked by this place. She was led into a corridor that was perfectly furnished, nothing at all to what she expected to find in some underground hallway.

The wallpaper was the same baroque Zemini-lilies akin to the ones up in the palace, warm lamp light shining from the ceiling, even a carpeted floor. She thought this far underground, whatever she would find would be granite stone all around her, the chill of darkness never quite warmed by fresh air, or moss on the ground with rats and insects skittering from sight. This was a hallway as if they built more of the palace meters and meters below surface level.

“What is this place?” Alina couldn’t quite believe the existence of this lone hallway and the Darkling walked through it as if he had done so a thousand times before, the pair of oprichniki following their trails behind them.

The Darkling told her nothing but to nudge her along with him into the long path that had no left nor right corners, but was otherwise as perfectly clean and warm as any one in the palace. A couple of paces further however, a thick gate, with iron rods going through the ceiling, walls and ground, barred them from proceeding undisturbed through.

Alina shifted a little closer to the Darkling. She had no idea where they were and why this long corridor looked like this, but to have a gate so randomly in the middle of the path was ominous.

“What’s happening?” She whispered to his side. The place was so quiet, it seemed odd to break the silence.

“Nothing alarming.” The Darkling assured her, but his tone was too reticent for Alina to trust him on it.

Another couple of oprichniki appeared from the other side of the gate. “Who goes there?!” The question was asked as if they couldn’t clearly see that the king and queen stood between them.

“The tsar and tsaritsa of Ravka, our eternal monarchs.” The guards behind them answered.

Beyond the iron gate, one of them wrote down their presence in a log book before the key was presented and the iron gate was opened. Then and only then, did the oprichniki standing guard defer to the two royals.

Alina looked completely bewildered and the Darkling finally deigned to remark upon her evident confusion. “Everyone who comes down here is noted, for security's sake.” He said. “Even us.”

What was down here that even the sovereigns were to be accosted for so strictly? “Why?” Alina’s voice stayed small, unwilling to be overheard at how ignorant she was of the palace.

The Darkling gave her something of an amused smirk, urging her along the corridor with a new set of oprichniki at their back. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

There were two more similar gates down the hallway, both also locked and guarded by heavily weaponized oprichniki. Alina could only follow along as their presence was noted in the silence of this place, until they finally, eventually, reached the end that opened up into a spacious, but empty room. There was nothing in it, but at the back of it was a giant circular door of a vault, one bigger than Alina could ever imagine, reinforced with steel bars.

Alina gaped at it. “Is that… what I think it is?”

The amused smirk the Darkling sported only grew. “That depends on what you’re thinking of?”

Alina couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild. “A dark dungeon full of potions and sorcery books with a cauldron boiling a suspicious mixture?”

That almost got him to smile. “Not quite.” He waved at the oprichniki to open it, requiring quite a trick to do so involving two sets of keys and a combination of numbers, but the huge wheel was twisted open soon enough, and the thick, enormous steel door was opened for them.

The Darkling took her hand, careful as if she was fragile spun glass, and guided her into a place Alina could only describe as paradise.

While the insides was dim, as soon as she set foot into the vault, light flickered on above her, revealing all that was within with blinding clarity.

Alina could only stare. Stare and stare at the copious amount of priceless jewels presented before her.

On velvet cushion and faux mannequins, diamond crusted crowns and tiaras blinked at her, gold and rubies and crystals were on everything; earrings that would droop past her shoulders, rings of solid gold, bracelets of silver studded with gems, necklaces made of pearls and precious stones in all colors of the rainbow, chains so heavily ornamented it must’ve weighed a ton.

Besides that, there were even weapons displayed beneath glass cases; a long sword with a pommel fashioned after the double eagle of the Lantsov, with lapis lazuli for its eyes. A golden mace with scripture engraved on the globe written in Old Ravkan, several armors of plated steel she’d only seen drawings of in picture books. One armor set with griffins, one with an eagle taking flight, another set with a curling dragon forged of silver and gold, in clear honor of Sankt Juris.

Alina was surrounded by splendor and riches, and the place seemed endless, a stretched, underground cavern with lights pouring down to allow the radiant effect of the sparkling jewelry. The illusion was made grand by the fact that one side of the walls were only of mirrors, so all the grandeur was doubled by the untrained eye.

It had its desired effect on Alina, who could only breathlessly take in all the beauty in front of her, much more than her limited mind of an orphaned child growing up in the poorest part of an already poor town could ever imagine.

It was so much of it, too much of it. Who knew that they were living above a treasure trove so bounteous it could feed the entire country?

“The royal vault,” the Darkling intoned flatly, clearly not at all bedazzled by all the wealth and beauty. “There’s another one like this, housing all the collected money from the coffers.”

Alina swallowed thickly. There was a place like this filled to the brim with roublii coins? The part of her that grew up poor and wanting cried out in greed. She never had new clothes or shoes that quite fit her right. She had gotten scraps of food when there had not been enough to go around and now she could have all the money to burn.

It was an arrogant, dangerous thought and she could see why kings and princes grew up with swollen egos knowing they could buy anything in the world.

“I suppose this should go into some record book.” The Darkling continued. “There hasn’t been a king nor queen down here for generations.” Thinking themselves too important to make the journey, they usually requested their jewelry to be brought up to them.

“Why did you bring me here?” Alina’s mouth felt dry.

The Darkling then looked at her, sterling silver eyes prettier than anything in this vault. “I want you to pick whatever you want.” He made a gesture to all the jewelry in front of them.

Alina couldn’t choose a star in a night sky, how is she to make a choice of any sort from all this opulence? “B-but why do you want me to pick anything?”

The Darkling glanced around the width of the vault, as if the display of luxury fell in distaste with him. “Most of this,” he waved at the dozens of crowns and chains and rings, “is going to be sold.”

“What?!” Alina looked further into the vault. There were things of unspeakable value in here. And he’s going to sell them? “Why?”

“We have a debt to the Bank of Ketterdam, you recall.” The Darkling said, and Alina was not like to forget. Six hundred million roublii, with double interest, per her own signature. “A debt mostly made by Lantsov kings. It would only be apt that it’s paid with Lantsov heirlooms.”

And what such heirlooms they were. Alina shuffled carefully through the vault, afraid that even her very presence would break something as she took in all the jewelry. There was a kokoshnik so grand and stunning, it took Alina’s breath away.

For just a secret second, she envisioned herself with it; the crown would add another handful of centimeters to her height, all of diamonds so clear it seemed to emit a light all on its own.

She would look surreal and fantastic and worthy to carry the title of queen.

Alina felt ashamed at that train of thought. The Darkling had already crowned her tsaritsa, albeit against her will, she did not need to let herself become vain as well.

This was the corruption of the Lantsovs on display in front of her. Alina remembered the food shortages that plagued the country for years, but became even worse last year as bread prices rose while she could choose from a table with a succulent buffet. She had worn hand-downs all her life while Queen Tatiana arrived at the Winter Fete encrusted in jewels.

It was a startling revelation to know that while Ravka suffered through its long history, with people too poor to move, children dying hungry in their beds and serfs not allowed freedom, monarchs were meanwhile bedecked in gold and silver and feeling good about themselves.

Struck with this revelation, Alina felt almost unjust with herself and with the war she so readily wanted to wage.

“Why would you let me pick anything then, if it’s to pay off our debts?” Alina wondered demurely, set down by her own beratings.

“And leave my queen short of her own jewels?” The Darkling wouldn’t have that. Not when it came to her. “I don’t think so.”

“Imagine the stories the people will make,” Alina thought more so to herself than in response to the tsar. “The pauper queen.”

This time, he did smile.

...to be continued soon!

[convenientalias]

I Rate Cdramas on Quality of Revenge

Now and then I rate cdramas I've watched based on some arbitrary quality. It occurred to me lately that a LOT of cdramas I've watched have a vengeance theme. (This may just be something I'm into.) So today, every cdrama I've watched... rated by how good the revenge is.

Ancient Detective--1/10, not a revenge drama but some of the murder cases do have revenge as a motive.

The Disguiser--1/10, also not a revenge drama but has its moments. For example, Ming Tai murdering the head of the Wang family as his first secret agent mission even though he's really doing it for personal reasons? I don't even remember what he had against that guy but that's revenge baby.

The Flame's Daughter--10/10. I generally describe this as a mix of intrigue and romance but honestly? It's a revenge drama. About 40% of the cast is motivated by revenge. Lie Ruge must avenge her parents! Zhan Feng wants to avenge HIS parents (but is misled). Anye Luo wants to get revenge for Anye Ming marrying someone else. Lei Jinghong wants revenge on a lot of ppl. The Dao family wants revenge on Lei Jinghong. Ji Jinglei wants revenge on Anye Jue. Yu Zihan looks like he's not out for revenge but then he has that one episode where he absolutely snaps and DESTROYS his own brother for killing a courtesan who previously showed up in only the first couple episodes. All of these revenge plotlines come to satisfactory fruition, though not always through the characters being successful in their search for revenge. And honestly I think it's really impressive just how many grudges the show's writers were able to balance in here.

Granting You a Dreamlike Life--3/10, it's not really a revenge drama but Xu Xingcheng thinks it is and it's fun to watch him being a spiteful jerk.

Handsome Siblings--4/10, the main characters don't want revenge but the whole plot is still driven by the main antagonist wanting revenge for a romantic betrayal that happened like sixteen years ago. Dedicating sixteen years of your life to raising the son of your ex-lover just so you can eventually convince him to fight his twin to the death is certainly a Choice.

Joy of Life--4/10, it's not about revenge but I do love how wild Fan Xian goes over the death of Teng Zijing. A lot of shows would say, "well, he's just a bodyguard, casualties happen in political intrigue" and let it go after a couple episodes. Fan Xian does not let it go. But I won't be truly satisfied unless season two has him standing over Li Yunrui or the Second Prince, saying, "this is for Teng Zijing," and then murdering them. It's what we deserve!

Love Is Not Only a Word--0/10, only on this list for completion's sake.

Nirvana in Fire--9/10, it's fucking Nirvana in Fire. I only took off a point bc ppl can say it's more about justice than vengeance, which is fair. Mei Changsu does also hold back in some cases (e.g. not killing Xie Yu, although that accident's pretty suspicious). But as far as revenge plots go, Mei Changsu's is elegant and well-planned. The pieces click into place little by little, and every move he makes is focused on the goal. Mei Changsu's whole life is about seeking justice/vengeance--he's willing to give up his life, his health, his identity. The focus on Mei Changsu's mission is how this drama is able to have such a large cast, and be 54 episodes long, and still feel streamlined. It's just good revenge plotting!

Sword Dynasty--3/10. This drama spends its whole runtime pretending to be a revenge drama and it really seems to be going somewhere and has some good revenge-y moments and then at the last second, the protagonist decides that even though the emperor has killed basically all of his friends, allies, and students, he still isn't going to go the last inch and kill the guy because hey, he's the emperor and a protagonist must be a patriot. Fucking disappointing, a betrayal of all the comrades' efforts.

Weaving a Tale of Love--6/10, I enjoyed watching Liuli scheme against Zhuo Jiniang but when she finally got her revenge, it was really just because she was in the emperor's good graces, not because she had solid evidence to offer of Jiniang's crimes. That said, Liuli had made some good revenge attempts (or attempts to restore her mother's honor) beforehand, so it's not like she was sleeping on the job. Also, when she watched Jiniang get taken away to be executed without the slightest visible emotion? Cold as fuck, beautiful.

Winter Begonia--1/10, again really only included for completion's sake, but I mean, Shang Xirui does hold some grudges and Get His on multiple occasions, so I won't give it a zero either.

...I'll be back whenever I finish Long Ballad and/or Rise of the Phoenixes lols.

[twstheadcanons]

Do you have any lore and headcanons for ramshackle? Like what the rest of the dorms layout is like and little special features you might find there. Or if you feel like it what Disney villan and key moral it might be based on. I've heard it might be based on pete the cat (who was Disneys very first villan and mickey's rival ) or mortimer mouse instead of mickey. And even the lonesome ghosts too.

Not to be niche, but in Are You Alice?,

 the world of Wonderland is distorted, incomplete with Carroll refusing to continue the story after Alice's death, and mangled by contradicting, discarded plot ideas that further confuse and warp Wonderland's world and characters.  In an attempt to regain control of it and most importantly save the character of Alice, the White Rabbit becomes tasked with 'assigning' character roles to people who have lost their way (being on the brink of death, mentally broken, etc).

It has nothing to do with D1zknee, but the overall concept seems to match a lot of people's belief Twisted Wonderland represents a world where certain people must fulfill certain roles - i.e. the Overblot characters manifesting the antagonists as their blot apparition.  This turn of events isn't necessarily desired, but given the worship of the Great Seven, and the emphasis of dorm leaders (or rather, the people best representing their respective Seven's main driving force) upholding those values 'fulfills' a role. At the very beginning Crowley mentions them all 'almost out of time', which implies some sort of balance has been tilted.  

Whether this is PART of the prologue or in media res like the 'Grim Overblot' is frankly questionable.

Epic Mickey: this one's obvious.  The recurring theme of blot distorting characters and dropping magical gems easily made its way through TWST.  The fact that in the game televisions act as . Given mention of Jamil's younger sister, it's clear the series doesn't shy away from the occasional game reference.  Granted it's currently unknown if his sister is a younger twin sister like Nasira is to Jafar.  If it goes more Epic Mickey for the antagonists, a Mizrabel type antagonist may show up.

D1zknee would've gotten nowhere without Mickey, so by that logic Twisted Wonderland depends on his existence too.  If something truly is altering its stabilisation, it's Mickey's absence.  And without him you have options of, of course, Pete taking advantage of that, Oswald (scrapped concept of Mickey, referring back to the Are You Alice? tangent), or if it goes further with Epic Mickey allusions, Mizrabel - all three are solid contestants for somehow conceptualising a world where villains flourish as ideals. Or, you could go the more meta route.  Toboso makes it clear she wants the Overblot antagonists to have nuanced motivations and trauma that contribute to their actions, instead of embodying the genuine malice Dizknee villains embody.  

This is something ppl who like villains will also explore - deeper motivations and what-if scenarios (see: the novel series by ).  If we go this route, TWST really only exists so long as those beliefs in Yuu's world are strong enough to stabilise it as well, hence dragging Yuu into it somehow.   What with the glitches and visions Yuu starts having as of Ep5 instead of strictly dreaming, it's very likely, if not canonically, some metaworld shit going on. For all we know, it could be a complex combination of two or all these options (and let's be real, that would certainly elongate the gacha game's lifespan and bank deposit).

If Ramshackle has a theme, I'd go with 'recreation' or ‘, given the revisions Mickey underwent before becoming the Mouse he is today, and Yuu's involvement trying to help certain characters overcome mental obstacles presented by their hardships.  It also lends to the theme of Villains being idolised as 'good' figures instead of villains to begin with.  Yuu also pushes previously overlooked concepts into NRC (teamwork and cooperation).  It would further contribute to the idea of either Pete, Mizrabel, or Oswald being a key factor later on, seeing as this sort of 'reformed view' initially benefits them.  Personally, I’d prefer a Mizrabel type antagonist, but it’ll probably go a less obscure direction.  The dorm itself is based off the Thru the Mirror room, featuring the ghosts from Lonesome Ghosts.  So even if the antagonist isn’t a force like Mizrabel, that leads the question if it could logically be represented by Pete to begin with, since he has no involvement in either short. 

Everyone is tired of Crowley is Sus posts, but, honestly, even if it’s not intentional, I lean towards the Are You Alice? approach, where one of the characters themselves has an intrinsic, vital connection to a certain character that could throw everything out of whack, like Crowley’s association with the Evil Queen (the first full-length, coloured animated villain of the princess move franchise), presumably as her crow.  Although, strictly speaking, both the Grimhilde and Maleficent’s bird buddies were ravens, not crows.  The only crows in major animated Dizknee nostalgia-boner movies are from Dumbo.

[booasaur]

i’m closeted around my family and seeing ppl say stuff like “if they won’t come out to their parents they don’t love you enough, extenuating circumstances only apply if they’re financially dependent”. it’s a really hard difficult situation to be in and it’s not abt the s/o so much as it is abt the person themselves. don’t we deserve the freedom to choose who and how we share ourselves?

All right, back to answering these! Sorry I took so long.

Honestly...your ask really made me rethink some things I’d always taken for granted. First I’ll just preface this by saying I’m mostly thinking out loud and offering questions, I’m not insisting on or condemning or judging anything, and certainly not dismissing what people’ve lived through or their choices.

So my original answer to this was going to be to loosely agree with your points and then use them to pivot to John’s speech about everyone’s coming out journey not being the same, because as you both said, it’s not about the partner at all, and was going stay focused on the movie but you’ve really made me consider what coming out and closeted even really mean, on a much larger scale. Because Harper has come out where she lives, right. She’s not hiding herself there, she’s affectionate and loving and by Abby’s own account, a totally different person than with family. So we don’t just mean she has to come out, we mean she has to come out to her family. Why? Like truly, your last point, how come this doesn’t get the same treatment about consent and privacy as everything else? And let’s not say, oh, of course it’s up to you when you come out, nobody should out you, because the message from all directions, within the community and without, is very much that you eventually do have to at some point.

Even in this movie, John’s lovely speech STILL does imply that this is an end destination someone has to be “ready” to finally get to. If they don’t, that’s a failure to get there. And this is of course oversimplifying the fact that some people may come out to a sibling or one parent first or only them ever. But like, really, as you said, why is it seen this way, to prove people aren’t ashamed of themselves, of their gayness, of their partner, that literally, if they love their partner, they have to risk losing their family? Because what else is that saying? Knowing John’s own story, knowing that Harper had just admitted she was scared of telling and losing them, what did Abby’s I want someone who’s ready then mean, if not that? Someone ready to tell their parents and risk losing them, no? And this isn’t at all bashing Abby or even the movie, it’s just this overriding expectation. She’s of course valid in wanting to date someone out (though, again, in the ways that most affected Abby’s life, Harper was out--leaving out this trip from hell that it would also be completely understandable to want to escape from) but in the context of that moment, what else did it mean? And this isn’t the only media that does it, so many stories out there do.

I remember we briefly discussed this because of April from TBH, and even there, a character who is financially dependent on her family and with a conservative, violent father got some flak for not coming out. GLOW did this recently too, and Little Voice, where the queer person who wasn’t fully out is hiding their True Selves and ashamed and how no out person will want any part of that. And then the person comes out and hardly ever is the reaction as bad as it would most likely have been in real life, including for Harper. Why is this narrative so pervasive? “Just stop being a coward and it’ll all turn out okay.”

I mean. I do get WHY. It is an incredibly important step. For a lot of people, their family are the first and closest people they feel like they have to and want to tell, especially if they're young and/or live at home. And if we don't tell them, how do we push things forward for the community, and we've fought for so long to live openly like this, gay pride is what it is for a reason, and what good is being loved without being known and ultimately, it is traumatizing being closeted. People want to share this and have others share with them and keeping this huge secret that you know is unjustly forced upon you does take a mental toll. Agreed, agreed, agreed. But then why make it even worse by adding shame and guilt and pressure on top of it, you know? Surely there’s a middle ground. I get that there needs to be a strong motivation sometimes, otherwise people might stay in a kind of closeted “comfort zone” and end up missing out on surprisingly positive experiences, but maybe people shouldn’t be pushed either way. Some of us who think we might not ever may still yet decide we want to, but I have confidence that those people coming out in their own time would do so even without this stigma attached to the closet. Nobody stays in there because we want to.  We all feel that same need to tell our families, all those reasons above apply to us, too. Circumstances are just different sometimes.

And the funny part is, I do think Harper is a person who should come out to her parents, because it matters that much to her. She’d never be happy without telling them. It goes without saying she shouldn’t have lied or brought Abby within a hundred miles of them before it was all sorted. But, say, a different person in her situation, one who told Abby she had no plans to come out to her parents anytime soon and either went home alone or not at all...is that so bad? 

[pan-de-queer]

their story, esp the first part of the post before same sex marriage was legalized in the usa, reminds me of this post by Filipino musican Nica del Rosario, a queer singer who was introducing her newest song

[Image ID: First picture is a screenshot of Twitter user Nica del Rosario with two screenshot images of a message written on a note app.

Second and third pictures are the message itself which reads:

The night before our flight back home to Manila after getting married in Sydney, we had to fill out an online tracing form called One Health Pass (PSA: fill this out in advance if you're traveling home so you don't get stuck in the long line of people at the airport).

As I was going through mine, I stopped at one question: marital status. It stared right back at me, almost mockingly, like it knew that despite our magical, joyful wedding just a couple of days before, I had to begrudgingly mark myself as "single".

It was a small, simple action, but it crushed my heart like a stone. It represented the reality that was waiting for us back in Manila: that the vows we exchanged in Sydney will not be honored in the place we call home. The joy of getting to legally commit ourselves to spending the rest of our lives together is mixed with the bitterness that according to the laws where we reside, that doesn't mean anything.

But to us, it means everything. Remembering that moment in our hotel room, filling out that form, spurred me to write this song. Because despite that small yet sad moment, there's comfort in the fact that we're married in Australia, in the US, in Canada, and several other countries. There's comfort in the fact that we share a love that some people spend lifetimes trying to look for. There's comfort in the life and the family that we built together.

I don't know when our laws here will change; maybe we'll be like those old lady couples in the US rushing to the courthouses on the day that same sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states. Maybe it will come in 10 years. Maybe we won't live to see it. But we have today, and our love and our family. And for now, that is enough.

"*Balang Araw" is for every person in our community who continue to hope and fight for what we stand for: to be treated as human beings, to be given the same rights as everyone else. *Makukuha rin natin ang ating "balang araw", pero sa ngayon, mahalin muna natin ang isa't isa. /.End ID]

Translations:

Balang Araw = someday

Makukuha rin natin ang ating "balang araw", pero sa ngayon, mahalin muna natin ang isa't isa = We'll also get our "someday", but for now, let's first love one another.

everytime I remember that lesbian couple that have a marble statue of the two of them embracing and sleeping on a bed together over where their graves will be because the artists didn’t believe they would be able to be married before they died, so what they couldn’t have in life they could have in death, I fucking breakdown

[neostalgia]

Dude mdzs is fiction, stop making it about fetishizing a relationship, religion or real life politics. It's not. It's a work a fiction. Stop ruining it. Because the fandom is actually nice. But well then there are ppl like you. (And I'm not religious at all so that has gotten nothing to do with this shit. Plus what about people being genuinely interested in chinese culture. You wanna seclude your country from the world? Go off but dont bother the fandom with this)

Hi there anon, I’m gonna work off the assumption that you’re talking about my post here. I spoke in very broad terms, so I’ll do my best to shed a little more light on my concerns of the matter. What I wrote on that post operates as a reminder for members of the MDZS fandom to exercise caution lest we continue perpetuating harmful racist and homophobic stereotypes in the content we create, nothing more. I only wish to promote the respectful demonstration of Chinese culture. All types of media, fictional or otherwise, mold real-world mentalities and have real-life consequences. Books are dangerous! That’s why they get banned, and that’s why LWJ and WWX’s relationship was censored by the Chinese government.  

Sure, it’s easy to write MDZS off as an apolitical fantasy novel set in ancient China, but the source material itself is full of socio-political commentary, which debunks the idea that this novel is mere fiction. On a surface level, the novel is about the power dynamics and struggles between five large families: is that not political enough? But if you dig even an inch deeper, it’s very clear that MDZS is rife with anti-Japanese sentiment. That manifests through the Wen Sect, what with their red and white clothing and their association with the sun: MXTX specifically recontextualized a piece of ancient Chinese folklore and grafted its imagery onto the entire Sunshot Campaign in the novel. The name of the Nightless City is likely a reference to a tonally incendiary letter that a Japanese diplomat sent to the Chinese emperor at the time wherein he began with the line: “The Son of Heaven where the sun rises [Japan], to the Son of Heaven where the sun sets [China], may good health be with you.” MXTX was very heavy-handed in using the sun motifs as a means to propagate those anti-Japanese mentalities. 

Regarding homophobic attitudes: what MXTX imbedded into MDZS makes no sense in Chinese historicity. Her choice in vilifying MXY (as seen with other characters’ treatment of him in the novel) holds little historical sway considering that homosexuality was something akin to normal at the time. Moreover, the general attitude of treating WWX as the “wife” in their relationship only further imposes heterosexual standards on a same-sex relationship, which really isn’t great, now, is it? Granted, MXTX did force that standpoint, but it certainly was exacerbated when some translators decided to ignore the gender-neutral term for “married couple” (夫妻 in the original text) and decided to call WWX and LWJ as “husband and wife.”

Religiosity is important, too. I’ve seen a lot of content where the Lan sect is portrayed as Catholic (for which I can see the parallels, considering the Lan’s propensity for repression and extreme punishment) when they are canonically Buddhist: why partake in the erasure of this fact in favor of a colonialist and racist narrative? 

The thing is, I am happy that MDZS has attracted mainstream attention. So far the book and the attention it has garnered––internationally speaking––has promoted the spread of Chinese culture, which is something that has been sidelined in modernity. It’s nice to see people return develop a genuine curiosity for it. That said, navigating the realm of Chinese culture and history is difficult because it is uncharted territory for so many people, which is why I, as a Chinese lesbian who grew up in mainland China, wanted to bring attention to some concerning patterns of behavior I see. I truly mean no ill will, and only hope to educate and discourage laziness within non-Chinese consumers as respectfully as I can. 

I implore of everyone to please listen to Chinese––and Chinese LGBT+ voices––around the discussion of MDZS and anything tangent to Chinese culture. Their voices, opinions, and concerns take precedence.

[fairycosmos]

im just wondering do you have any darknesses in you? meaning like parts of you that need to come out and be hateful or angry that scare you? i have such moral insecurities and anxieties i try to be kind but i just feel sometimes some monster in me so i try to let it out in private, but it seems like so many people like u are so certainly unfalteringly good and i cant understand how!!! i wanna be like that!!!! if you dont wanna answer or this is weird i totally understand lol

oh dude..........absolutely. dont make the mistake of thinking i’m like idk.....someone you should want to be like. i know i answer anons asking for advice sometimes, but that’s usually just me suggesting they seek professional support bc i can relate to them. i’m sure the ppl who follow me on here have a very one dimensional image of me as i do in regards to the people i follow, due to the nature of social media. but i can definitely vouch for the fact that i’m a fucked up person and i have a lot to work on, a whole lifetime of shit to work on. while it’s easy to be amicable with people online when they’re giving you that same positive energy, in real life i’m basically too insecure and bitter to be as open and vulnerable as i am on here.  i have internalized so much crap and it comes through in most of my interactions. i’m selfish, i have a million complexes, i’m insecure, i cringe away from everything, i’m emotionally unavailable at the best of times, i’m moody and neglectful. i’m a COMPLETE coward. sometimes i dont think about the shit that i say, i take things for granted. i freeze and avoid avoid avoid to the point of toxicity. i never know where to start or how to conduct myself naturally - to an embarrassing extent for someone who is a whole ass adult. and i’m angry, too. which is a human emotion not a flaw. but people tell me my resting face looks like i want to fkn kill somebody, i dont have a good aura :( there’s a lot of reasons i’m so isolated, i guess. besides all of that though, i also don’t think we as humans can be categorized as ‘entirely good’ or ‘entirely bad’ because most of us carry both inside, always. we’re complex beings made up of shades of grey, rather than of black and white. and the different environments we find ourselves in (usually due to factors outside of our control) tend to bring out different parts of who we are, negative or otherwise. everyone you pass on the street has that same ‘face’ they only wear when they’re alone. we see others in a very shallow way on a day to day basis, so it’s easy to think they’re not holding anything back, but they always are. nobody gets through the world unscathed and having insecurities, especially ones you’ve learned growing up, is completely normal.  the only thing you can do once you recognize that they’re there is try your best to dismantle the toxic mindsets that have been forced upon you, through therapy or self help or even just with time. and it’s alright if that’s a life long process. you’re allowed to be pissed off, you’re allowed to be hurt. it doesn’t make you a monster at all. the whole point is that you are trying to be kind despite it all and that you are working with what you’ve been given. if you were really some evil unimaginable beast, you wouldn’t even be willing to put forth that effort. it’s good that you’re looking inwards and trying every day to be a better person, but sometimes it’s good to take a step back to breathe. don’t over analyze your existence too much love. it all just ends up becoming so convoluted and unclear when you judge yourself for every single trait you’ve ever observed in your behaviour/personality. because growth is constant and you’re experiencing it subconsciously every single day. and then there’s the issue of perception. everyone you meet sees you through their own lens. some will see good, some may see the parts you want to keep hidden. but either way you’re a whole person, and so it’s natural to have sides of you that conflict. you don’t have to be unfalteringly happy and positive all the time. in fact it’s impossible and may be a disservice to your mental well being in the long run. ultimately i think it comes down to this. i PROMISE i wouldn’t be quoting h*rry p*otter in 2020 if i wasn’t moderately sleep deprived but i am so. it’s one of the most famous lines and it applies - “we’ve all got both light and dark inside us. what matters is the part we choose to act on. that’s who we really are.” the son of a bitch was right. and you’re doing far better than you realize, just by prioritizing kindness and trying to extend it every day. you’re a good person because you’re attempting to be, and that’s more than enough :)

[his-mother-is-lightning]

I have one (1) question about Harry Potter

At the beginning of the first book, why did they take the philosopher’s stone out of the vault? 

Before you say “because they knew/suspected it would be stolen”, let’s think about what that would mean; 

1. they suspected/knew Quirrell was going to steal the stone for Voldemort, and decided the best thing to do was to bring the stone to Hogwarts and have Quirrell, a man working for Voldemort, work at Hogwarts - making it much easier for Quirrell to get to the stone (surely it would be harder to slip away to Gringotts during the school year, right?). Oh and yeah, he’d be working with children. Specific children, like Harry Potter.  

or 

2. they suspected/knew that someone wanted to steal the stone. But, how did they know that someone was going to try to steal it that day? How could someone have tipped them off when presumably, the only ppl who knew about the plan were Quirrell and Voldemort-in-Quirrells-head. And if they didn’t know it was going to be stolen that day, what made them think that this random moment - this one point in Flamel’s very long life - was the time someone would steal it? You may say, “maybe they were worried bc Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts?”, to which I respond “then why would they bring it to Hogwarts?!”

Other possible explanations: 

- Dumbledore wanted Quirrell to try to steal the stone (either for himself or for Voldemort) for some reason - to catch him in the attempt? Was all of this really necessary to arrest Quirrell? Sirius Black was sentenced to life in Azkaban bc he was near Pettigrew when he “died” - I highly doubt it would take much to arrest someone like Quirrell if you wanted to. This also runs the risk of granting Voldemort eternal life  

- Dumbledore genuinely thought that Hogwarts was a safer place to keep the stone, and it just so happens that this is the day he decided to move it. The problem here is, despite what everyone says, Hogwarts is like, the worst place to store your valuables (students regularly die, it’s right next to a forest named “The Forbidden Forest”, Lucius Malfoy has access to the castle, etc etc.). There’s certainly no reason to think Hogwarts would be safer than a bank that uses DRAGONS as security

- Maybe there were concerns about the security at Gringotts. This begs several questions, like “why?” and “why now?” and “shouldn’t you tell someone about this bc it seems like this bank controls ALL WIZARDING CURRENCY”. It also doesn’t address the question of ‘how the hell did Dumbledore know about this?’

I welcome debate on this question bc it’s one of two (2) bits of Harry Potter that I just can’t wrap my head around. 

[couldnt-think-of-a-better-name]

Chapter 141 Spoilers

We have the following text spoiler so far:

The Demon[!God] says, “Fine. But give me a reward.”

People from 1000 years ago explain that the “reward” is compensation for having your wish granted and whatever is asked for you must not refuse.

There are 6 people in a meeting during the battle 1000 years ago who look like they’re from Dragon Quest or something.

One of them named Julius proposes offering a portion of the humans as a method for peace.

Everyone disagreed and that was stopped.

Various countries and cultures are all combining powers to fight! We’re finally beginning to see a chance of victory! We’ll end this war in our generation!

They’re excited but in the end Leuvis kills everyone but Julius.

Julius wants to make a deal with his majesty.

The tragic beginning of a betrayal by a comrade in arms.

We have an image as well, and I would like to point out how similar their clothing/armour look to Norman knights from history 😎:

This fits with most early medieval european fashion, but I keep getting excited because I made a theory on the first Ratri leader who made the promise being Emma of Normandy, who was an important ruler just around a 1000 years ago, when the promise was made. The manga panels again fit the clothing of a norman lady:

So it looks like the Ratri clan may be a descendant of the Normans after all! Fierce warriors who used to be vikings until they settled in the French area of Normandy, around a 1000 years ago, under the rule of viking chieftain Rollo, who was apparently a man too big for any horse to carry (perhaps the big guy in the back on the manga page?).

To me it sounds like that Norman knights would fit the bill for being able to and wanting to fight demons. It sounds like they were badasses.

The only thing that bothers me is the mention of Julius... Is this a reference to Julius Caesar? However he lived almost another 1000 years earlier, so I don't think it could be actually him.

When looking for Cuvitidala, Ray discussed an old book that was identified as the diary or various ratri clansmen during the ages. The most ancient parts were written in latin or mirrored latin.

Latin was however not only the language of the romans, but during the early medieval ages in europe everyone wrote in latin, even if they spoke their native languages only. Most people were illiterate though, only a select few learned to write.

So maybe Julius is a mistranslation, or just unrelated to Julius Caesar, or just a small nod to him being betrayed.

In terms of the price of reforging the promise, the spoiler has some contradictions:

No matter what reward demon!God asks for, it must be given. This implies that demon!God decides the price, and the negotiator has no say in setting the price.

Julius suggests offering part of humanity. So then after all, does demon!God only decide if they accept what the negotiator offers? Without demanding anything?

Perhaps there is a bit of haggling involved? Either case, Emma has seen demons make what looked like offers to demon!God in exchange for their wishes...

Emma is only speculating on this, but it seems reasonable that demons used to go to Cuvitidala to talk to demon!God through visions. Otherwise, why would the vision mechanism activate automatically, if it wasn't set up for that?

The question is: why doesn't it work anymore, why did the demons abandon it, and why did it work for Emma?

In the previous chapter's, 140's analysis I discussed that Emma's faith was important to reaching demon!God. She believed she could do it, and she did.

So what if demons have abandoned Cuvitidala because they have lost faith in demon!God, and couldn’t talk to demon!God anymore?

Sure, they still hold tifari, but perhaps that festival isn't about worshipping a God anymore, but it is a social gathering they hold as a tradition now? They certainly don't seem to know anymore what demon!God actually wants of them if they keep sending dead people, and demon!God is much more interestes in playing with living humans...

Now, I know a lot of ppl expect Emma to offer herself as sacrifice to the demon!God, but even if she is prime quality and supremely delicious, I doubt that a one-time snack is really worth much to a God...

What might be worth a lot more though may be getting their followers back, and perhaps expanding them to humans as well?

So maybe Emma could become a priest/prophet of demon!God and convert demons and humans together to demon!God's religion? Maybe Mujika could help. After all, Mujika's religion forbids eating cattle humans, and if humans and demons share a religion; then they should not fight or try to kill each other anymore.

I think that one might be a neat solution for uniting them, and also pleasing demon!God. Plus it fits with the Bible theme where in the new testament Christianity becomes available to everyone, not just the jews anymore.

(I will get back to asks soon, sorry that I haven't been answering them yet! Have quite a few in my inbox!)

[sunnysaylorboy]

okay okay okay so my roommate and i were discussing this

∙ i’ve seen a few harry potter!aus written about kpop idols where they’re attending hogwarts

∙ but realistically, wouldn’t they attend the japanese school, mahoutokoro? its closer and it makes no sense to travel that far to learn magic in english

∙ so my theory is that they would attend mahoutokoro, but this still presents a few problems, mainly the language barrier

∙ my roommate and i came to the conclusion that since there is only one official wizarding school in Asia (mahoutokoro), that most Asian students would strive to go there, as it would be the best education for them

∙ however, there are several small magic academies that exist in Korea (and presumably other parts of Asia and in other continents too) for ppl who simply can’t afford to go there

∙ unfortunately since these academies are not part of the eight official wizarding schools in the world, some rich snobs people have the tendency to look down on students who go there, and it is harder for graduates to achieve high-paying, governmental jobs (but not impossible)

∙ but these academies do provide a better education than some give them credit for, and students who graduate from magic academies can and certainly do grow to become great witches and wizards (they just have to beat the stigma that they aren’t as smart as their mahoutokoro counterparts/that they come from a poor background)

∙ now for korean students who do go to mahoutokoro (and by default, other Asian students from China, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, etc)

∙ their parents send them there bc they KNOW it will look great on their resumes and it will open up so many more job opportunities for them when they graduate, so even lower-middle class parents will scrape together every cent they have to give their children the education they deserve

∙ at first korean first years just had to do their best to learn japanese all while learning magic

∙ but after the number of international, non-Japanese students grew exponentially after a decade (and after some of the more influential intl parents complained), the school added many of their classes in Korean (and Chinese, Thai, etc) and also added Japanese language classes for all ages, starting from first years, and just overall made education more accessible

∙ i’ve also theorized that the rich korean parents who can afford this, will also have the option to send their children to Korean prep schools before their first year at mahoutokoro for a few years (like maybe ages 5-7, before they start at mahoutokoro at age 7) where they take japanese and learn the basics of magic

∙ so when they do go to mahoutokoro even though they’re not fluent in japanese yet probably, they’re ahead of most korean students (and can skip to higher-level japanese classes) AND they’re ahead of all students, japanese and korean and other asian students alike, in terms of magic (this does happen to be the most expensive/privileged option)

∙ (i should mention it says on the mahoutokoro wiki page that students start there at age 7, and go to age 17, so unlike hogwarts they have at least ten years of schooling. it also says that they don’t let students board until 11, but i believe they’d make an exception for international students who can’t just fly back to korea or china every day)

∙ but not all hope is lost for witches and wizards in Korea who long to study at mahoutokoro (aka all the hermiones)

∙ my roommate did point out that language is not really a barrier when you reach non-verbal spells

∙ so we agreed that once Korean students have learned/are learning nonverbal spells, they can go as “exchange students” (usually on scholarship) to mahoutokoro in their 8th year (aka about 15 years old) to finish the last two years and graduate there (i know in hogwarts they start learning nonverbal spells when they’re 16, aka in hogwarts’ 6th year, but in my head canon I'm setting it back a year)

∙ so to recap, the options for Korean students (and probably other Asian, non-Japanese students) are: a) study at a smaller, less-respected but still decent Korean academy and graduate from there, b) study at a Korean academy until 8th year, when you go on scholarship to finish schooling at mahoutokoro, c) go to mahoutokoro and just learn japanese along with magic when you get there, or d) go to a Korean prep school early on to prepare you for mahoutokoro, so when you get there you already know most basic spells in Japanese and can speak basic Japanese.

∙ now whats interesting is that i think this may cause some tension between korean students based on class, namely the “prep” students and the “exchange” students

∙ like prep students are like “oh pls exchange student what do you know, you’ve been at mahoutokoro for a year and you think you’re smarter than me? i’ve been working for this since i was five” whereas exchange students are like “listen prep students i’ve worked for this too, you’ve never had to prove to ppl that you’re not dumb and poor. just bc i don’t have parents to ship me off to prep school doesn’t mean I'm stupid, your privileged will never know what actual hard work is like” etc

∙ 8th year would be real interesting for everyone

∙ unfortunately i think there would be some tension too between the japanese students and the korean ones (regardless of their class status)

∙ (personally i think the korean students, determined not to take their education for granted, would work incredibly hard and on average score higher than the average japanese students)

∙ like the japanese students might be like “these korean kids think they’re smarter than us, when they’re the ones going to prep school and they’re the ones getting scholarships bc they’re desperate to study here” versus the korean students who are like “lol you can call me dumb when you’ve also achieved top grades for years now in classes all while learning another language, it aint my fault that you can’t do magic for shit”

∙ i think there’d even be a history of fights and maybe even bullying, usually from japanese students, bc of the constant rocky relationship between japan and korea

∙ (but i don't wanna go too much into detail about that, bc i’m neither korean nor japanese, i only know about korean-japanese relations bc i’m an east asian studies major, so i don't wanna expand on that bc its not really my place and i don't want to be presumptuous)

∙ and anyways i think that japanese-korean relations have improved over the years, so maybe it was a problem when korean students started coming to mahoutokoro, but as with all generations, younger kids don’t care about that as much and are just happy to make friends obv

∙ but anyways!!

∙ i appreciate all of your hogwarts aus with kpop idols but pls!! consider them at mahoutokoro!!

∙ don’t be afraid to include idols of other ethnicities, like thai and chinese and taiwanese and japanese idols too, who can show them the ropes!!

∙ give me twice at mahoutokoro, and momo, sana and mina are prefects who help out a very confused exchange student named nayeon!

∙ give me a pentagon au where yanan, a chinese exchange student, and hyunggu, a korean exchange student, are assigned Yuto, a shy 9th year, as their guide

∙ pls give me ten, a thai student and a genius who knows like 5 languages, who loves to goof off but still manages to get top grades... then give me yuta, who hates ten, who busts his ass to get his nearly perfect grades, but is still one point lower than ten every time, who is in a constant mental competition with him to be the best

∙ give me a iz*one au where 10th year yabuki nako (often mistaken for a 4th year) actively works to learn korean so she can talk to her best friend jo yuri in her native language

∙ give me all of the hardest working idols who receive their pink robes on the first day that they arrive to school, who immediately resolve to make that robe turn gold in a few weeks time (the sign that they’re the top of their class)... and they do

∙ give me an innocent, sweet idol who no one ever suspects to be evil- and then one day in their tenth year their robe turns white (an indicator that they’ve practiced dark magic) and they’re expelled just weeks before they would have graduated

∙ give me the mahoutokoro quidditch team practicing in brutal conditions, through rain and shine, just bc its worth it when they graduate to make it to the actual major quidditch leagues and see the look on those british peoples faces when they beat them at their own game

∙ pls just give me idols at mahoutokoro

[bisexualgendryas]

gendrya + jonsa au: bastard lords and hidden ladies (part 1)

so, this is very much not the whoooole concept as I practically just switch from Cat!Arya to Alayne!Sansa (this post is basically just Gendrya + Alayne!Sansa, sorry, not even written Jonsa, but I promise the full concept includes happy married!Jonsa (two versions, too, lol)), but I am tired af whilst simultaneously being really pumped that ppl wanted to see this idea so here’s (much of) the longass outline of the thing I posted about earlier:

au wip, a legitimized-boys, secret-identity-sisters canon divergence piece, where: Stannis becomes king (and keeps Gendry alive), Arya accepts Jaqen’s offer to work for a courtesan and Gendry finds her while on business for the Crown, Jon gets legitimized after taking Ramsay down, and Baelish makes a betrothal for Alayne to Gendry that she later basically manipulates Stannis into changing into one with Jon after Gendry and his true love ditched the whole ass crownlands. It’s got a lot of book plot overlap too but I have no true concept of the timeline in terms of when different canon events happened. If you want more of this or have ideas or anything, feel free to share them!

Instead of Gendry having to escape from Stannis, Shireen finds out that her father’s found a cousin of hers - a true one, not one of Cersei’s bastards but one of her uncle’s - and especially with pressure from both her and Davos, Stannis ultimately decides he’ll keep Gendry alive, have him taught to behave properly, how to manage lordly duties, and so on.

Jaqen realizes that Arya may not be perfectly cut out for being Faceless, and makes her an offer - that he could find her employment of a different sort. As he’s noted, she’s taken by the allure of the courtesans, whose jobs include far more than just the sexual duties shared by those who work in brothels.

At first, Arya insists she can get better, but then Mercy!Arya ends up becoming friends with a girl who works on one courtesan’s ship, and after hearing many stories about how the women play instruments and tell stories and sing songs, she decides that perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing to try out. She talks to Jaqen, tucks Needle in a belt, and makes friends with Mercy’s friend with her own face, as Cat, and then the friend convinces the courtesan that Cat’s a charming young woman who should come work with them.

Stannis first loses at the Blackwater, but then with assistance from the Iron Bank and much of Westeros, as well as some more magic, he later manages to topple Tommen and take the Throne.

Needing to be sure of where the Crown stood with their Essosi allies, Stannis sends Gendry and Davos to Braavos to speak with the Iron Bank. As the Starks were always so keen to remind everyone, winter was coming.

And, ahem, the men sent with Gendry and Davos certainly intend to as well. And, only naturally, after a couple nights of well-enjoyed brothel trips, some of them decide they all ought to take advantage of their being in Essos and seek out some renowned courtesan as well - they had Westerosi lords and knights, after all, one of whom was in line for the bloody Iron Throne! Surely someone would love to host them!

Spoiler: yes, someone absolutely would. (Especially considering that Robert had quite the reputation - not as a particularly fun partner, but definitely as a man who’d finance the purchasing of a week’s worth of alcohol in two nights and come back to bed every pretty girl an establishment had afterwards.) How many Braavosi courtesans or whores can say they were bedded or courted in any manner by the son of a Westerosi king? Not many.

Contrary to expectations, Cat ends up being one of them, though not so much while they’re in Braavos. And as sweet and reassuring as it is that her friends, her companions in training, are certain that this lord immediately realizes how pretty she is, she knows the moment that Lord Baratheon meets her eyes he can see Arya, buried deep beneath Cat, and when she speaks in response to the courtesan he and his men are visiting, he hears her as well, though she’s glad to see he’s smart enough not to have his shock blatantly on display.

After a couple visits, his men return to the brothels, the enchantment of listening to old songs more lost on them than the enjoyment of fucking - but Gendry keeps coming to the barge, even though it’s only him and his uncle’s Hand at that point, and after a couple nights of only them, trading stories with the women and listening to songs in languages that have barely been heard since Westeros’ common became, well, common, he actually asks to have time with only Cat.

And of course, the parts of them that are closest to the Arya and Gendry they once were have an awkward but heartfelt reunion - but the parts of them that have grown up are acutely aware of how different they are, how different their places are. Still, he’s not surprised she became an assassin, and she’s not surprised he doesn’t enjoy the vast majority of what’s involved in being at court. They don’t share everything, but they share quite a bit, almost falling back into the sort of friendship they’d thrived off having. On following nights they talk more about things - about Shireen, about the Hound, about the Red Woman, even a bit about King’s Landing girls and Braavosi dockworkers.

It takes a couple more nights, but after a while she decides to remind him that, while it’s not something guaranteed simply by seeking out a courtesan, he is allowed to bed her. (With permission from her employer, of course, as payment and whatnot would be arranged, but…it’s him, her friend, grown and handsome, so Arya doesn’t mind giving the suggestion.)

He asks, though, what would be the cost just to kiss her. For all the time she’s spent learning people, especially men, it’s embarrassing to be caught off guard as she is, but she manages to gather herself and say that it would depend on who he intends to be telling. She doesn’t really let him consider that, though, not the first night, because she simply does kiss him.

They don’t explicitly tell people they’ve started kissing, but they’re terrible enough at hiding their affections that they’re quickly the talk of their respective social groups. Everyone among them, and probably others who view the barge consistently, knows that he keeps coming back, after all…until their few weeks in Braavos are coming to an end, at least, Iron Bank negotiations and all other necessary business of the Crown having been handled.

But then, before Arya’s really made to think about the fact that he found her on the other side of the world and inched closer and closer to becoming a lover only to have to leave her again, Gendry asks her to leave with him. He can’t give her back her home or her family, but if nothing else they can live safely, together - and more than that, he simply wants not to leave her, ever. From what he’s said of his own family, she doesn’t imagine she’ll get a warm welcome, but she can’t stand the idea of him leaving her either, so she packs up what few belongings Cat has and says farewell to her friends, and to Braavos.

Other than the scandal of her coming with, none of the men seem to think much of her taking a place in his cabin. It’s there that he ultimately decides he’s free enough to bed her for the first time. They’ve not yet made it to King’s Landing by the time he realizes he’s completely and irrevocably in love with her.

Arya’s mainly right to think she won’t get a warm welcome; both Stannis and Selyse almost immediately denigrate Gendry for following his father’s path, the path of foolish men, for what kind of lord openly brought a whore to their castle? She’s not actually a whore, he cares to remind them, even though it stokes the fire of the fury. He has his own to match Stannis, though, and it’s clear and it’s spectacular in its own way. So, too, does Shireen - lovely, kind Shireen who’s so happy for the prospect of a friend that she again begs her father on Gendry’s behalf, and reluctantly, Stannis allows Cat to remain, with some strict guidelines, many of which Arya has no complaints about meeting.

Up North, though, Jon has heard about Arya’s marriage to Ramsay, and decides to reach out to Stannis for help on the matter, help of some sort, any sort. It’s not immediately granted, especially as Jon is already asking for Other help, but ultimately, Stannis starts to consider it. Ramsay was only ruling in the North because of a series of betrayals against those who would rightfully rule it - if the last known living child of Ned Stark, a man who died for speaking the truth of Stannis’ claim and denouncing Cersei’s bastards, was asking for help, to save his family, was it not Stannis’ duty to give it?

He does decide that having Jon as an ally is his best move, and begrudgingly he sends some troops North with Davos and Melisandre, to assist Jon’s wildlings in taking back Winterfell. The Night’s Watch doesn’t all take kindly to the Lord Commander’s priorities, but by the time mutiny drags down Jon Snow, Melisandre is in residence at Castle Black and she brings him back, having seen him at battle at Winterfell in her flames, knowing it needs to follow.

He takes Stannis’ sent men and his wildlings and begins to march south, only for a broken Theon to bring to him Sansa’s friend Jeyne, whose identity Theon had hid so that she could be believed to be Arya. The battle is hard-won, but they win it still, and Stannis gives him his father’s name for the victory, but it’s hollow.

Hollow, too, is the love promised to sweet Alayne, whose false father seeks out his best excuses to wed her to the highest bidder, a title claimed all too soon by the king and queen, part of their plan to change the behavior of the king’s nephew and part of Petyr’s plan to return to power in King’s Landing. A bastard lord for a bastard lady - to Stannis that’s like to sound fair, but to Sansa, it’s everything but. She’s learned to pay attention to whispers and rumors, and with this…Petyr intends to mold her into Cersei, it nearly seems. A Baratheon with a temper and a love, and he’d have Alayne marry him, if only to return to seeking the power of the crown. She knows he’d been speaking with Lord Bolton, which still boils her blood even now that she knows it wasn’t her sister who had been made to be his poor wife - she’d doubted it always, especially with the recollection of how Arya had once raised her own sword even to Joffrey - but he still will drag her back to residence in King’s Landing rather than let her go home…unless she can work something out with her betrothed, and perhaps she can.

Not that he intends to give her the chance, though - the moment that Stannis informs him of the betrothal is a bigger, louder fight than they’ve ever had. Stannis might be king, but he owns Gendry no more than he ever could his brothers, and Cat even less, and he won’t be allowed to forget it. There’s a ship bound for Braavos in the bay, and soldiers intended to take her to it, soldiers who are meant to grab her from Gendry’s chambers while she’s alone there and escort her so that he doesn’t get a say.

Stannis, though, doesn’t know that only some parts of any woman are soft, and Gendry’s the only man with rights to ask for any of her softness. Even without real context she knows the soldiers are only obeying their king, so Arya focuses on injury and little more, rushing down underneath the castle, down where she’d ran when Syrio had told her to do so. And, as if by magic - perhaps, actually, by magic, for she wouldn’t know - Ser Davos finds her. He takes her to a dusty corner, hands her a wine skin and one of Cat’s other dresses, and tells her to wait for him to come back…and so she does.

She waits until the entire area is getting dark, only the trail of the sun and no lanterns or sconces to show her the possible way out, and holds tight to Needle until after the sun is set and he scurries back to her, Gendry at his side, rushing to her like never before. Davos has given him clothes that once had belonged to a son of his, and grabbed them some food.

They make it out of the city on a ship manned by one of Davos’ other sons, a trade ship headed for the Riverlands - straight for Hot Pie, as far as they’re concerned. Arya might cry, in part from feeling terribly anxious and in better part because he’s so terribly kind.

Alayne and her father arrive in their carriage a few days later, to a very apologetic royal party, and Alayne spends much of her first days back in the city thinking how horribly fed up she is with men for all their machinations. Princess Shireen, though, is very clear that while it’s a pity someone was hurt by it, her cousin is deeply in love, and in their private company she calls her father foolish for thinking he could ever sway him. It’s so very Sansa of her, that Sansa herself is easily swayed to their side, though she knows Petyr is having much more difficulty accepting the rejection.

It’s all very much a lovely love story to Sansa, though, as it is to Shireen, and Alayne bonds with the princess easily. She even enjoys Shireen’s stories about this woman Cat, and finds herself wanting to know more and more, especially as she realizes that in a way she has taken the other woman’s place, just in Shireen’s life as a friend as opposed to in her cousin’s. Stannis and Selyse, though, really do stew in their displeasure. Petyr does a better job of hiding his, but she knows that’s only because his intentions are about power and not family, let alone love.

Then, one day, about a fortnight after their arrival, Stannis mentions a part of the plan she’d been unaware of, one she might be able to use.

He wanted to secure the Vale support so that he could support Jon - Jon Stark, now, newly legitimized Lord Stark, warden of the north, the man who had beaten down House Bolton but needed more of his king’s support to fight a larger, more pressing battle, one against the dead, one for the living. As Petyr says, the details make it sound like madman’s words, but King Stannis has magic on his council and more importantly, this was Jon, and Jon was…Jon. Surely if he declared that the dead could be raised by some unnatural force and made to fight the living, he was speaking the truth of it.

She confronts Petyr in private - had the Vale not already been sworn to House Stark? He disagrees, cautiously - House Arryn had been truly bound by House Tully, and Jon had no Tully to speak of.

“Jon Arryn, my uncle, fostered my father, Jon’s father. He called his banners against House Targaryen in defense of Rickard Stark and his children, and Jon is as much Ned Stark’s son as Robb or Bran or Rickon, no matter where your loyalties lie.”

“Your cousin -”

“My cousin trusts his beloved stepfather not to mislead him,” she finishes, proud that she can see in his eyes how the remark wounds him, and then she takes a walk to the godswood to get her head around her situation.

She wounds Petyr again the next day, by bringing to court a proposal of a marriage between her and Jon - she prefaces by saying that she and her father had spoken of it, just gently enough that no one would doubt her, for Lord Baelish keeps his expression so very static, his surprise just barely visible to even an educated viewer. It’s a good offer, to Stannis, and on the surface it’s good for Petyr as well, though no one would say it’s better than putting his future grandchild in the line of succession for the Iron Throne.

Stannis, though, is perhaps realizing he’s glad to have removed a contender from his line, and he’s quick enough to agree to write to Lord Stark with little more than Petyr’s confirmation that the Vale would give its strength in this war of Jon’s.

Petyr makes his displeasure known, but Sansa is sure enough that Jon will side with her that he agrees not to raise a fuss. She knows she’s made the potential error of keeping either of them from an heir, but if it allowed her to go home with her brother, she’d manage what she had to manage.

Jon, too, agrees, surprised for an offer but happy for it all the same, writing back to Stannis days before he’s actually set to leave for Dragonstone to mine dragonglass on the island, another part of their deal. Jon would remain the ever-vigilant guard of the realm, and Stannis would provide him what he needed to hold such a position well - that was how Ser Davos had said it.

They could figure out heritage when this great war was won.

[comicteaparty]

February 3rd-February 9th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 3rd, 2020 to February 9th, 2020.  The chat focused on Park Planet by Sammy Newman.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Park Planet by Sammy Newman~! (http://parkpla.net/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until February 9th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

first impressions are that the art has an attractive newspaper-comic style and is very clean for being a rare traditionally drawn comic

RebelVampire

Attractive newspaper style is a good way to describe it. What I like about the art the most though are the unique merger of the complex designs and the simplicity. For example, the faces are a bit simple to match the tone and overall nature of the comic. Yet at the same time, there's all these interesting alien designs throughout that are all very unique. But everything fits so seamlessly together. Which I feel is kind of the strength of the comic. Is it does a really great job with balancing different aspects. Complexity and simplicity, serious drama and comedy, etc. It's one of those comics that feels like warm soup because it has a bit of everything.

Ranger

Indeed, thus far it blends individual vignettes with characterization very well to remain fresh while still maintaining enough coherency to be enjoyable. Will definitely keep reading it

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I think "warm soup" is a great way to describe the comic! It has this cozy, nostalgic feel that you'd get from a well-written Sunday newspaper comic - but the concept is also super unique and intriguing on its own! - Can we talk about how great of a character Paisley is? She's got the whole emotionless robot vibe going, but she's one of the kindest characters in the comic despite that. And the way her character develops over the course of the comic is super satisfying (e.g., getting a date at the dance)!

FeatherNotes(Krispy)

I'm in love with the charming stylization of letters and layout so far-- its easy to sink in a read some pages during downtime and pick right up for the next read. Page 5 of 'craft time' made me snort out loud, these jokes are always landing and play out well! And as far as fav character, Paisley is so sweet and is def hitting chords for me!

varethane

I love the end of this page where Paisley lights the fire with her eyes to impress the campers!!! http://parkpla.net/index.php/page/book-0001/004-paisleys-day/

RebelVampire

I do like the interesting blend Paisley has going on between being robotic and being human. I actually like that the story doesn't go too serious on the whole theme of humanity when it comes to non-humans. Although my favorite moment regarding Paisley is when the translators break and Paisley's joke is to speak in binary. It's definitely one of my favorite things about the beginning of the comic since I think it really captures both the comedy and unique alien aspects of the comic.

However, if I had to pick a favorite character I'd go with Wurlitzer. Cause I can't even. This is legit one of the most unpredictable characters to me, and I enjoy every moment Wurlitzer is around, because its just the sort of character that causes conflict by being in the same room as any other character.

I'd actually even say my fave moment is the company get together where Wurlitzer is doing introductions and is just kind of oblivious to everyone's attitudes and awkwardness. It's both funny, but also makes the social awkwardness relateable since it's easy to imagine having a boss like this. Overally, though, I also like any moments where the alien thing is brought up. This to me is the best part of the content cause there's so much to explore here and it just brings this really unique concept to webcomics by combining it with a park.

Ranger

Paisley is a favorite thus far

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Everybody loves Paisley and so do I

I think "warm soup" and "Sunday comic" are great descriptions

But the world with the non-human characters brings uniqueness

Found a mistake on this page:

http://parkpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/SM5_tumblrtest.jpg

The dialogue randomly changes into type

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I love this art style

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

i think the type is intentional

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

That might have been an intentional choice if the artist was pressed for time or something

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

she's talking like through her teeth and mumbling

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I thought that may be the case, but his text also changes into type? So I think the author typesets by hand tracing over typed text, and forgot to do it here, maybe?

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. What do you think happened to the humans and Earth? What do you think necessitated the creation of the park, and do you think it’s helping to preserve what’s left of Earth?

10. What moment of the work mixer did you relate to or enjoy the most and why? What about the entire scenario in general captures what it’s like to socialize at events like this?

11. What aspect of human-alien interaction have you enjoyed the most so far? How has this changed or given context to your thinking in how much of our lives are culture based?

12. What do you think this comic can teach us in general about fitting in with others, especially when we personally feel socially outcasted?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

To address one of the prompts I didn't get to, I like seeing Wurlitzer interact with basically anyone. I never really know what I'm going to get when it comes to Wurlitzer, so any strip goes to unexpected and fun places in those cases. Onto story stuff though! As for what happened to the humans, definitely some sort of mass extinction event. Probably something like climate change not fixed because of the fact they're also trying to preserve animals from earth as well. So I have a distinct feeling Earth isnt habitable in the comic's setting. >_> I also mentioned my favorite moment from the mixer earlier. However, in regards to the second part of the question, for me what really capture what its like to socialize at events like this is the facial expressions. Every single person is just a bit stiff, and even if they arent miserable, theres this hint in their expressions that they don't really want ot be there. And I feel most ppl feel that way about company get togethers. It's more tedious than it is fun. XD For human-alien interactions, it's actually probably this strip http://parkpla.net/index.php/page/book-0001/005-upcoming-events-at-hartwood-park/ Particular the last panel where the alien is making fun of ice cream for being so filled with sugar. I kind of feel this comic in general is a good reminder that "normal" is malleable. What's normal somewhere really isn't normal elsewhere. And it's usually the stuff we take for granted as normal. Like I'm sure one day there'll be aliens who see us eating with forks and go "WTF are these weirdos doing they have perfectly good hands." But either way, I kind of feel the comic shows a lot of scenes like that where just a bunch of mundane things are novel and weird to aliens.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

In regards to what this comic teaches us about fitting in, i think for one, it's difficult. However, I think it also shows a little bit that we'll never fit in if we don't try. Like certainly the mixer was awkward, but imagine if nobody had gone to it. Nothing is ever gained by not trying. Also, I think this comic also kind of teaches a bit of self fulfilling prophecies. In that if you think too much that you won't fit in, then you probably won't fit in because the confidence just isn't there. Anyway, what I'm most looking forward to the comic I think is just learning a bit more about the human situation and also just seeing in general more human-alien interactions. I think this is the most interesting part of the comic since there's so much you can do in regards to questioning what is universal and what is just being human, and the writing is pretty all around great with this interesting aspect.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Park Planet this week! Please also give a special thank you to Sammy Newman for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Park Planet, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://parkpla.net/

Sammy’s Shop: https://www.sammynewman.com/shop

Sammy’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/otterlogic

[the-greatest-sun]

i’m tired

i’m tired of not feeling safe in a community that was meant to protect one another

i’m tired of seeing people scream at others for how they want to express their genders and/or orientations

i’m tired of seeing people decide that they have the right to dictate who has the right to be a part of and protected by the lgbt+ community

just let people exist. if someone is aro/ace and you think they’re not a part of the community, shut up and sit down. these are people who aren’t accepted by straight people and therefore are part of our community and need to be protected.

same with poc lbgt ppl, same with anyone under the non-binary umbrella, same as people with unusual/new pronouns, same with CAMP PEOPLE OF ALL THINGS. you may not like or accept it, but the cishets certainly don’t either and no one needs to live with coming under fire from both cishets AND the community that was meant to love and protect them

i’m tired of gatekeeping. we take what little safety we have for granted and i’m sick of it. learn your history and stop letting kids think that they don’t belong anywhere, and if you genuinely think that that’s all okay, buddy, you’re an asshole and need to sort yourself out