#i know that’s kind of contradictory but like

[headspace-hotel]

The idea of Pleistocene rewilding, even though it annoys the hell out of me, is so interesting in what it implies about ecosystems.

If we accept that North America's ecosystems are "incomplete" or "impoverished" because of the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna, that implies there is a "complete" state of ecosystems. In the absolute sense, of course ecosystems don't ever have a "complete" state, but is it possible for an ecosystem to be relatively incomplete? What does that even mean?

Could an "incomplete" state of an ecosystem be recognizable without knowing what used to exist in that ecosystem, for comparison? Could a researcher tell that they were in an environment where an animal had gone extinct, without any direct evidence of that animal or knowledge of what it was? Who is to say how many taxa of a kind of creatures "should" be in the ecosystem?

Say we accept, then, that North America's ecosystems after the Pleistocene (but before European colonization, which involved intentional destruction) were "complete," in the sense that researchers couldn't detect any obvious "dysfunction," whatever that means.

But 10,000 years, compared with life's history on the earth, are nothing--- the blink of an eye. There hasn't been very much time for entirely new types of animals to evolve.

So it would imply that ecosystems have a LOT of plasticity and ability to re-arrange to absorb shock, and that animals can quickly expand their ranges and change their niches to adapt to the new state of existence.

...this, in turn, implies something strange about the introduction of new animal species to a continental mainland: that "native" and "non-native" animal species probably won't be distinguishably different in their impacts in the long term, because the ecosystem is chaotic and constantly changing to begin with.

Introducing new animals to islands is a disaster, because it's introducing an animal with a niche that didn't exist before at all, such as terrestrial predators or large herbivores. Introducing plants is a disaster in a small and unpredictable sample of cases.

But in the example of horses in North America, the impact could range from positive (horses used to be here, and their extinction "damaged the ecosystem," therefore horses being introduced "fixes" that damage) to neutral (the ecosystem adapted to not having horses very fast, therefore the ecosystem can likely adapt to having horses again very fast). Saying that horses are invasive seems to require us to believe contradictory things: that the ecosystem has changed so much since the Pleistocene that horses no longer belong, and that ecosystems can't adjust to change quickly.

Then, why indeed should we not introduce camels, or cheetahs, or lions?

Well, this is where "Pleistocene rewilding" gets on my nerves: it sees North America as fundamentally impoverished of animals, and at the same time, somehow treats different species of animal as weirdly interchangeable. We don't know if the American lion was closer to a lion or a tiger, and we don't know some important things like its hunting behavior. The "American cheetah" was not any more closely related to the African cheetah than to the cougar, and might not have been a specialized fast runner like the cheetah.

So this might apply to the horse just as well: the species of horse in Pleistocene times might have been so different from today's horse that they don't have the same role in the ecosystem. Well, is it better to be horseless or horsed?

I don't think that introduced species are inherently bad. This isn't a extreme position. Among plants, very few introduced species actually become invasive, and even some of those considered "invasive" are not actually harming the ecosystem in a way that can be demonstrated. I don't think I would recommend the introduction of a plant purposefully, though...or would I? With climate change occurring rapidly, I am in favor of moving species to areas where they can survive.

One philosophy of biodiversity is that the more biodiverse the ecosystem, the more ability the ecosystem has to absorb shock and adapt to change. Introduced species could have a range of potential to adapt different from native species, and could raise the shock absorption potential of an ecosystem. But they would also disrupt existing relationships and cause a shock to the native species that already exist.

Range expansions are an alternative to extinction for some species. We will probably HAVE to consider introducing species to new areas in the future. Well, imagine in the future we put Zebras in Arkansas, and the Zebras outcompeted the white-tailed deer in that area. Is that good or bad? Both species get to keep existing, but the deer's range is a bit smaller. Is the measure of biodiversity more important in a local area or in the world?

Makes my head hurt...

[bunni-v1]

Pls the thing with Jamil from your Yuu being wary of scarabia post and why he kept Yuu around like that. Elaborate I’m begging you it’s too interesting of a dynamic before and after. I can pay you in my adoration keep it up here!

🍓Okay so I really haven't touched twst in a long time, but this idea continues to haunt me. I think about it so frequently, and I've been into twst again because of Malleus statue, so I decided to revisit this concept. It's more of a big long ramble, but I do hope you like it <3

TW: Manipulation; Creepy behavior; Power imbalance; This IS written with implied romance (but it's pretty fucked up and toxic); Possessive behaviors; unedited

Info: Jamil x Reader; Angst

Disclaimer: Jamil is an incredibly complex character with very contradictory actions throughout the whole of book four. This is my take on his character, and it may not align with how you view him. It's important to note that the only canon interpretation of his character is what is in-game and official depictions.

Post referenced

Jamil is very aware of you far before you're aware of him. He makes it his job to know who to avoid, and you're very high up on that list. You have a reputation that he's pretty certain you're not fully aware of, and trouble seems to follow you wherever you go. It's not really something he wants to have to deal with.

For whatever reason, though, he does end up bringing you back to Scarabia. In part, this is almost a power play on his part. You make him have a sense of power he doesn't really have with anyone else around NRC, even as vice housewarden. You rely on him, and your naivety is something addicting to someone who craves power. Not to mention he also considers that you could help him sell his story much better.

Kalim abusing the magicless, helpless human from another world would only make his case for upheaval all the better amongst his dorm members. So to start it's all part of his plan, a means of stroking his ego.

However, the issue comes in when he makes a genuine connection with you. You are kind, generous, and understanding with no real ulterior motives -- a genuineness he hasn't really experienced before. Of course, he doesn't actually open up to you much. He keeps you pretty distant, despite how he does his best to play up that warm and welcoming persona. But he does give you crumbs of his real struggle, shrouded in manipulation.

He finds himself... attached. Jealous of any time you spend with Kalim, wanting to keep your attention on him, and desperate to sell the idea of Kalim as a monster to you more than others. It's an odd feeling for Jamil, who doesn't usually care for more than surface-level appearances and feelings. It's just another addition to his ultimate overblot, and he's quite terrifying when he does finally blot.

One of the very first things he does is isolate you from your "friends" (if you can count the tweels and Azul as friends at this point), making sure your attention is on him. He wants you to worship him, he wants that reliance that he craved so much in the time you spent together, he wants to feel powerful. Next to you, he feels so very powerful.

I don't even believe he would do anything violent or too cruel, mostly just worshiping and demanding attention and praise. It's not much different from what you normally go through, though a little less blatantly violent and aggressive. That's what makes it so awful to you, though.

Before everyone else was just blatantly being... evil. Jamil manipulated, lied, extorted, and so much more. You liked Jamil, you genuinely thought he wanted to be friends with you and meant well. He reveals otherwise in your time (sort of) alone with him, and it really shakes you up. It would shake anyone up.

What's worse is you don't have time to process all that terror and anger and betrayal. Everything happens in such quick succession, one moment you're being kidnapped and the next there's a grand celebration. It's all too much for your brain to process, and it only gets the chance to do so when Ace and Deuce -- your safe space -- come to get you.

Your reaction, on the surface, seems incredibly dramatic. Collapsing and sobbing until your throat is so raw you can't make noise, but after the trauma you've endured, it's wholly reasonable. Jamil falls into the former way of thinking, believing you're just being overdramatic and theatrical. You'd been through many overblots at this point, with much more powerful sorcerers... this reaction is a bit much...

After all's said and done, though, Jamil doesn't spare you much thought. Of course, there is a lingering sense of... something. Not quite guilt, not quite regret, just an ache that he doesn't have the time or energy to address himself. He's far too busy dealing with his own reputation and wellbeing to bother you.

Your sobs, though, they keep him up at night. He has dreams where he hears them tear through the silence, and they continue to ring in his ears long after he's woken up. He isn't sure why it's bothering him so much, it really shouldn't, but it does. It's a constant nag at his conscience, just a bug that he swats away when he doesn't want to think about it.

He doesn't have to confront it until he comes face to face with you during VDC auditions. The genuine terror on your face when he looks at you, like he might overblot then and there again, it's sobering. He'd seen that look a million times on his parents faces, horror as they face punishment from the Asim's. It's not a face he'd imagined he would be the cause of -- not a face he wanted to be the cause of.

It hits him hard in that moment just how... evil he was. He knew he was bad. He's fully aware he's selfish and the stunt he pulled was something unspeakable in a lot of ways. Yet, he never thought he would have to deal with someone looking at him like that, someone thinking of him the same way he thinks of his captors.

It's just his luck that he can't avoid you, ending up on the official VDC team and literally living in your space. It's not just you, either, both Ace and Deuce seem to hate his guts with a passion. Grim voices that anger all the time, and Kalim doesn't help the tension with his guilty puppy demeanor. You do end up forgiving Kalim, thanks to Kalim finally making an active effort by himself for once. Jamil won't lie and say it doesn't make him a little jealous, but he also fully understands he doesn't deserve your forgiveness.

He doesn't push or pull, he just allows you to do what you will. It's not his place to push or pull, you are the only person who can decide what you need. He won't apologize unless you seem to want him to by seeking him out, he won't ask for forgiveness unless you seem willing to give it to him. He just allows you to be, which is quite honestly the best reaction you've gotten from any former overblotees.

He, of course, ends up confessing this all to his sister. Heavily edited and censored, for her own wellbeing. Najma tells him he's a moron, but encourages him to make amends with you, or at least try to let you know he's sorry. Without him knowing, she even talks to you about it a bit when you visit the Scalding Sands. There is a notable shift in your comfortability around him after it, though he doesn't know why this is.

He does eventually get the chance to talk to you, though you have to approach him. It's a quiet night when it happens, and he just couldn't sleep and the warm air in the dorm was making his skin far too hot, so he takes a walk and ends up outside of your dorm. His guilt led him there like an idiot, a rare show of vulnerability.

You, who also couldn't sleep, saw him out there and invited him despite better judgment. He accepts, despite his own better judgment, and finally, you talk. He expects anger and hatred, but of course, you cannot manage that even against him. You are understanding and gentle, even with the way you tremble as you speak. He gets to apologize, genuinely, for scaring you and doing the things he did. Explains that he, at some point, was genuine about his friendliness with you. That he did like having you around, but all of that means nothing with what's already happened.

Whether or not you two fix things and are able to be friends is up to you, but you do both get closure.

[chaifootsteps]

gonna be real, social media is overwhelming. the bigger your audience the more you have people making contradictory demands of you all the time, treating you like a brand, etc.

it's not a good thing but it's also not a new thing. it's really not built for people who can't resist getting into Internet slapfights - that's the entire reason a number of people keep saying Viv should have a social media manager. it's understandable to lose patience with critics (especially if you have the kind of personality to view every criticism as an attack) when there's a lot of them, but that's the entire reason why Viv needs to log off.

all she's achieving by giving in to the urge to directly fight with people all the time is hurting her own reputation and if she doesn't want to be seen as someone who 'can't take criticism' just playing possum and holding her audience at a distance is an option

even for a well written show it's not realistic to expect it to be everyone's cup of tea. Tracy and Goose seem to understand that, conduct themselves accordingly and don't egg on the worst bits of their fanbase. I can't imagine Viv ever being as courteous as Goose that one time who said she'd just try to win over that one youtuber who didn't like the TADC pilot

Tracy and Goose absolutely understand that because they know how to behave like professionals/grown adults, but I think Viv's got it into her head that she can pretty much say and do whatever she wants and that she's too big to suffer the consequences. She's absolutely not -- real actual celebrities have found themselves out in the cold due to thinking this way -- and I really do think that someday, it's going to bite her in the ass hard.

[reedrfeedr]

story - but still you want more?

(You just can’t help it, you want more of you. CW: instant weight gain, mobility issues)

We met for the first time, finally, at your place. You greeted me with a bellowing “hey big guy!” and a bowling ball slam of a bear hug.

“Oof-hey,” I muttered, giving your wide back a good-hearted pat a few times before pulling away to take a look at you.

“You know…you look so fucking big in person.” Looking you up and down, the way that every inch of you looked overstuffed, even then, was impressive to witness. You stood a little shorter, so every pound looked that much more condensed, heavy, plodding on you.

“I imagine you wanna sit, don’t you?” You smiled a wry smile, your fat cheeks bunching up into your eyes.

I looked you up and down. “Yeah. I don’t think either of us are the active type anymore.” The rosy tint of a blush was just barely detectable on your wide face.

I settled into the couch, to the side of the center indent that you must’ve inhabited. “You know…this is how I know you, right?” You settle next to me, the reinforced wood shrieking in surprise from more than one pig sized ass sitting on it at a time.

You cocked your head to the side. “How d’you mean?”

“You might have that memory of the old, smaller you, but I, meeting you now, ONLY know you as this you, the one that’s sweating just sitting on the couch with me, the one who’s shirt is riding up a little, the one who’s double chin is even more prominent sitting down.” You face flushed despite yourself. “I’ve never known the smaller you that only exists in pictures. This is the real you to me.” Your cheeks blossomed into a warm scarlet.

“It’s…honestly kind of crazy.” You began. “It feels so contradictory…I feel fat, the fattest I’ve ever been, and gaining so fast…it feels so uncoordinated, like I don’t even know how far my ass sticks out, how big I look in pictures, how long I can walk before needing to take a break…but…” you trail off, eyes focused on something and nothing.

“But?” I started to lean in a little closer.

“But I feel more me than I’ve ever felt. Every pound I put on, every time the scale ticks up and the digits roll up to a new milestone, every new stretch mark and fat roll and button pop and belly grumble…it feels closer to who I really am.” You contentedly, half-consciously drummed your belly as you chuckled to yourself.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” you half-heartedly replied, biting your lip on reflex.

“C’mon, you just told me how much you love being a fat fucking pig, I think you can tell me.”

You smirked. “It’s stupid, really…I was just thinking about before I started gaining…I’d read those fantasy stories, you know? Those instant gain stories where they blow up all at once? I feel like the body I see in the mirror isn’t that far from the one I always imagined blowing up into.”

“It’s not funny, it’s powerful! You became what you wanted.”

You chuckled again, your belly bouncing from the action. “Nah, what’s funny is that I still want it. Right here, right now, as fat as I’ve gotten? I’d double my weight in a heartbeat.” Your breath quickened from the idea.

I smiled. “You just can’t say no to more, can you.”

The first sign that something was happening was on your waist. Your waistband felt constrictive, maybe it had ridden up or folded over? But you realized it hadn’t felt so tight a moment ago, hadn’t felt so restrictive, hadn’t felt so FUCKING PAINFUL.

“Uhhhhh….I don’t know what’s happening, but I need to…need to…fuck…take ‘em off…” you started mumbling as you panicked.

“Oh, of course! Better get ‘em off before you’re too big to stand.” I said, turning to get a good look.

“Wait…” you huffed, breath increasingly short.

“Better hurry up, big guy, your mobility is waning.”

Already as you began trying to haul yourself up, the mechanics of getting yourself standing were becoming more difficult and unfamiliar. You scooted your ass - was there more ass to scoot? - to the edge of the couch, and rocked yourself into momentum enough to lift upward (a move itself you’d only recently learned) only to find that your ass fat didn’t quite separate from the couch anymore, your knees wobbling from the effort of hefting your weight but not getting enough lift.

You grunted with effort to push yourself, maybe you could brute force it like you used to - only to find a new sensation of the droop of your gut making you feel off balance as you overcorrected too far forward instead. A moment later, there was a SNAP, a RIP, and a sudden relief from the pressure of your waist and thighs tightening from fabric constricting them.

“Oh, looks like you made some room. Might wanna take a load off, fatass, you-“

Before you could even think, your knees gave way and you fell back onto the couch with a large CRACK sound from somewhere within its structure.

‘Wait, wait, stop, slow it down, is this really happening, fuck,’ is what you meant to say, but I heard “w- wait, s-stop…” before you started wheezing for air, not used to the amount of breath debt you earned from the effort of trying to stand.

I looked you up and down to assess your progress. “Whoa, take it easy, big fella. Not done yet.”

Your body was having trouble processing every new sensation happening all at once - your thighs burned with overwork like you were forced to climb several flights of stairs; your dick, oh god, your dick, feeling like it was being pressed into even as it stood at full mast; the heat of your fat thighs touching the expanse of your belly as it increasingly filled your lap; the pockets of sweat and warmth tracing up your sides from rolls folded over on your love handles and where tit fat met arm fat; your fingers, clumsy and puffy; the way your face felt sunk in, so much of your chin brushing against your expanse of chest.

You felt another spot of warmth where my belly was pressing into yours from getting closer…no, that’s not right, I hadn’t moved from my spot since I sat down…but pressed into yours? That wasn’t accurate either.

It wasn’t pressing my belly into you, your belly was pressing into me now.

It was all too much. It was terrifying, chilling, so permanent and real and extreme and excessive.

It was fucking wonderful.

Slowly, you could feel your growth rounding out and slowing down, your brain still catching up to the sensations, the cumbersome bumbling of your ass bumping into something by mistake multiplied by a hundred, a thousand. At once relatable and foreign.

“So how’s it feel? Feel like you enough yet?”

“Actually, I… I want…more.”

[hasufin]

I have always been baffled by how Christians interact with their text. Understand, I'm coming at this from the perspective of a pagan who was not raised with any particular religion, so maybe this is a me thing.

I have encountered many Christians for whom two seemingly quite contradictory facts are true:

They do not seem to know the entirety of their religious texts. While they may know particular passages quite well, there are other passages which are obscure to them, even ones which they will claim are not part of the text at all until shown direct evidence thereof (and somehow finding out they are wrong about this does not in any way change their beliefs).

They say they spend truly remarkable amounts of time studying their bible. They go to church every Sunday. And sometimes other days as well. They go to Bible Study twice a week. They read the bible every evening. [or so they claim, and I have no precise reason to doubt them, however...].

Now, maybe this is a skill issue or something, but if I spent that much time studying a specific book, I would be a fucking expert on it. I would be making translations, writing criticisms or apologia, learning dead languages to suss out meanings, &c. Granted to me the idea of focusing that much on Just One Book sounds awful and boring, but okay. If I somehow did that, I just can't imagine doing so and not acquiring very deep knowledge of the subject.

What I don't get is supposedly spending years, decades, one's entire life studying that book and somehow missing huge segments of it. Just, what are you even doing? How are you managing to spend so much time reading the book and not reading it?

I do kind of have this hypothesis, but I know it's probably something they'll find offensive.

See, it often seems like they'll inform me that a given passage means something completely different than what one would reasonably conclude from the words written. And while I can sometimes accept that on the assumption that I'm not steeped in the culture, I don't really know the context, and it's all translations of translations... it just doesn't always meet the smell test, you know?

So my hypothesis is, they're approaching the bible not from the academic perspective of "What does the text say?" but from the motivated perspective, like an insurance company and their policy, asking "How can I get the text to say what I want it to say?"

In that perspective, complete awareness of the context, understanding and acceptance of the writer's intent, and academic rigor aren't just not desirable but actively working against the goal. They're picking up the bible not to find guidance, but rather for justification. And so given passages are more or less useful; ambiguities in Leviticus are useful while clarity about Song of Solomon is not. So they're not looking at the whole text, because that would not serve their purpose.

Since posting that "how many mass graves and extinct cultures" post last month, I've had multiple Christians in the notes whining that there isn't a "specific instruction of belief that Christianity needs to wipe out every other religion in the world" in Christianity's teachings, and that it's all just The Church/King James/etc.

And every time, I point to the literal text of the passages of The Great Commission.

And nearly every time, that shuts them up; the only time it didn't, it was to engage in some disgusting semantical goalpost moving.

But it's like...

Why do Christians not know the content of their own texts? Is your faith really so tribalistic and totemic around the concept of "Jesus" that you all don't bother to actually read the religious texts?

It feels like it must be--I've heard of too many instances of Christians walking out of readings of The Sermon On The Mount because they think it's "liberal nonsense" and the like, but I just find it baffling and more than a little sad that I, a Jew, apparently knows the New Testament's text better than the people who swear by it and ostensibly believe and follow it.

[ropebunnykant]

i always headcanonned all fk characters as switches but now i realize we've only ever seen firsts character portrayed as top and khaotungs as bottom yknow with the famous thrusting in ofs and kantbison red room scene. even if they had different dynamic it wasn't explicitly portrayed why is that? i wish we could see a change in the bl industry

oh yeah, it's definitely a thing in the bl industry where they classify one as the top and one as the bottom with zero nuance or change from series to series, and i think that's part of why top/bottom discourse can get so aggressive in the bl fandom. it's almost always the bigger/taller/more "masc" guy that gets the top role and it pushes such a problematic notion about how gay couples "should" interact and it's deeply annoying! especially because people in fandom will then get so attached to these ideas and the way they act about it is like. straight up mean and gross. like why do you care so much that some people think that first's characters occasionally bottom? why is that such a big deal for you?

and in a way it does circle back to the issue with people insisting on bison being a sub despite the fact that he, canonically and explicitly, is a dom. again, people have these fucked up ideas about the way gay couples should be and because bison is smaller and cuter and more feminine and we have also seen him explicitly bottoming, he has to be the sub. which is just extremely reductive and just repackaged misogyny and homophobia! (which, i've actually been thinking since the pilot trailer about how the inherent misogyny that comes from those assumptions also kind of feeds into the way misogyny was replaced from taming to the heart killers and the way those dynamics manifest in the show. like there's something VERY interesting about the lucentio/bianca couple aka the more "traditional" couple having their typical "top" as the man of the couple and their typical "bottom" play the woman vs the katherine/petruchio having the "top" playing the woman! there's a commentary going on there, i think, but unfortunately i haven't gotten to really writing anything about that cause usually there's so much else going on in the show that i kind of forget about that aspect sdkjfsdf)

that all being said, i also don't think fk's characters are necessarily forced into those boxes because of the industry at large, if that makes sense? like i feel like they're one of the few branded pairs that aren't put into those roles just because first is taller/bigger/more masculine. because the thing is, with akkayan we never actually see them having sex on screen, so we can't actually know for sure the positions they use. and while we see it with kantbison and sandray, i also think context is important.

with sandray, i think ray is just meant to be a character that has his preferences, and on top of that he's spoiled and sand is always going to give him whatever he wants. those things are part of their characters even without getting into their sexual dynamics, and one thing about jojo is that sex in his shows are actually a lot deeper than people realize - so, it makes sense that with that dynamic in mind, sand would be more "the giver" and ray "the taker" when it comes to sex, so to speak. and then with kantbison, i again think it's meant to play at the fact that bison is the dom. i think bison in a lot of ways is MEANT to seem contradictory to that kind of idea, and i also think he kind of gets off on that idea. like, i was actually talking to may @deliriousblue about this earlier, but i think it's why we see bison bottom, why we see him lean into his cuteness, why we see him call kant daddy. he likes leaning into the idea of a traditional sub while actually being the one in control! it's like a power thing for him.

i also just think firstkhao have been very lucky in the fact that in all three of the series that they've been main couples for, they've worked with very progressive and very queer directors. i mean, golf, who directed the eclipse, is trans and an activist and i believe used to be a member of parliament before they were forced out, if i'm remembering that correctly? and then jojo directed both only friends and the heart killers and jojo has never been shy about making his characters as queer as possible beyond just the aspect of having sex with the same gender, yknow? he also has never been shy about making his characters switches, either, or having them talk openly about positions, so again, i don't really view fk as being necessarily stereotyped - more that jojo specifically is a director that will use those stereotypes and the way the industry perceives things to his advantage, if that makes sense. like i think about how he chose to use firstkhao and forcebook in only friends for sandray and topmew, and then had neomark, who were an unbranded pair, for the couple that didn't end up together. like people complained about it, but again, i think it was jojo using the way the industry is set up to his advantage while also challenging those norms in other aspects of the show.

this got like. aggressively long for no reason, but basically i do agree that there should be a change in the way the industry puts their branded pairs in boxes, but i honestly feel like fk are one of the few that aren't ACTUALLY in that box, if that makes sense sdkjfhskf

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Is Ignatius Prewett Molly's father or uncle?

Now, this seems to have an obvious answer, since Sirius says this:

“The pure-blood families are all interrelated,” said Sirius. “If you’re only going to let your sons and daughters marry purebloods your choice is very limited, there are hardly any of us left. Molly and I are cousins by marriage and Arthur’s something like my second cousin once removed. But there’s no point looking for them on here — if ever a family was a bunch of blood traitors it’s the Weasleys.”

(OotP)

And in the family tree, we indeed see Ignatius Prewett married Lucretia Black (Sirius' aunt):

Them being "cousins by marriage" means Ignatius is Molly's uncle and the brother of Molly's father. Great, case closed.

Except "Ignatius" is Percy’s middle name:

“Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley — ”

(OotP)

(I love that the contradictory information appears in the same book... *grinding my teeth*)

If we look at naming patterns in the wizarding world, you'd first name a child after their parents, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles (the parents' siblings), and only then other relatives (such as a child's great uncle/aunt).

We know Bill is William Arthur Weasley, sharing a name with his father.

We don't know Charlie's middle name, but I always headcanoned it to be "Septimus" after Arthur’s father.

I headcanon Fred and George's middle names are Gideon and Fabian (Molly's dead brothers), as it makes sense with the naming conventions, and I think it's cute.

We know Ron is named after Arthur’s brother "Billius", which means that they didn't run out of brothers and grandparents yet by the time they reached Ron. It means Percy would more likely be named after Molly's father or brother than her uncle.

So, is Ignatius her dad or her uncle?

I kind of assume Ignatius is Molly's father and that JKR messed up with the Black family tree. Again. Or that Sirius remembers incorrectly if we're going for a Watsonian explanation.

I mean, it's very possible Sirius didn't bother to memorize his family tree and from the "something like" he uses when describing Arthur's relation to him, it seems he isn't 100% certain of all the familial connections. So he says "cousins by marriage" even though they're just cousins.

The other possibility and my new headcanon now, is that Ignatius is Molly's father. He had Molly with an unknown first wife and married Lucretia later. If Lucretia is his second wife and Molly had a different mother it would explain how Ignatius is her father but she's Sirius' cousin by marriage.

Now we don't know if Gideon and Fabian were older or younger than Molly. I always assumed they were older due to what is said about them by Moody:

Gideon Prewett, it took five Death Eaters to kill him and his brother Fabian, they fought like heroes ...

(OotP)

But it's possible they are her younger brothers born of Ignatius and Lucretia after they married. (They could still be in their mid-20s or even late-20s when they die in 1979 as Molly was born in late 1949 or in 1950)

So, this is my new headcanon for Molly's family.

Ignatius and some other witch had Molly, Molly's unknown mother died and Ignatius married Lucretia and had Fabian and Gideon with her, making them Molly's half brothers, if we're being technical. This makes everything about the family tree make sense.

(I really need to draw a full Black family tree with all my headcanons one of these days... I just feel like there's still stuff I haven't unpacked here)

[bluedalahorse]

Felice Week Poll: Who should be Felice’s S4 Love Interest?

Posted for YR characters month, hosted by @youngroyals-events.

This is part analysis, part poll.

I have contradictory emotions about the way Felice’s brushes with romantic relationships are handled in Young Royals.

On one hand, I like that Felice’s storyline does so much to center friendships, especially her friendship with Sara. I’m aromantic, so these kinds of stories that privilege friendship matter to me, especially in stories where there’s a heavy emphasis on a romantic plot.

On the other hand, we never see Felice in a fulfilling romantic and/or sexual relationship. Neither August nor Wilhelm treats her 100% great, and we are informed that many other boys have crushes on her, but we never get to see her enjoy casual moments of flirtation or fun.

Unfortunately, these writing choices don’t exist in a vacuum, and also I can’t help noticing that Felice’s story falls into a broader trend of Black characters frequently being unlucky or unchosen in romance. Martha Jones and Bonnie Bennet are other characters who are emblematic of this trend, but the more you look, the more you see it all over.

I highly recommend watching Princess Weekes’s videos where she discusses this trend in more depth with examples from lots of different TV shows. She does an especially good job of addressing how people will say “but isn’t it empowering for a female character to be strong on her own, without a romance?” For white female characters, who are often sheltered and framed as delicate by the patriarchy, forgoing a romance is often empowering. On the other hand… for Black female characters, it��s different. Black women and girls are often discouraged from showing vulnerability or softness and often end up as the unlucky leg of a love triangle, so it’s a departure from the status quo to actually have Black female meaningfully engage in an onscreen romance!

Which is why, in some parallel universe where YR gets a season 4—or at least in more fanfics centered on Felice’s POV and set in the future—I’d love to see her get to have a storyline where she falls in love with someone and they love her back in return. Big swoony teen drama first love stuff, like we get to see Simon have with Wilhelm and Sara have with August. Maybe with a little less in the way of princely drama, but I think you know what I mean. It doesn’t have to be a love story where we assume the relationship lasts forever, and it doesn’t have to undermine Felice’s friendships. Simon getting together with Wilhelm doesn’t undermine his friendships, after all, and Sara and August aren’t together at the end of the series. The point is it should be significant. Let Felice feel the big feelings! Let someone else also feel them back for her!

(I’m also in favor of Felice having an aro or ace storyline as long as it is explicitly named as such, although that isn’t the focus of this post. It is the focus of my fic Doubles Over Couples though.)

So with all that established, I now ask you…

I left off options where Felice would be breaking up an existing ship (wilmon or stedrika) or dating a character we assume to be gay (Nils or Marcus, who both I guess could be bi, you never know.) But you know what? If that’s your jam, go ahead and tell me in the tags. I hold nothing sacred after all.

You can also tell me why you chose the character you chose in your tags. Maybe you have an idea for giving a character a lot of development and taking their arc in a new direction. (Like, idk, why not envision a story about Felice and Alexander?) If you do, I’d love for you to share it and tell me the arc you have in mind.

Please reblog the poll for reach! This should be fun.

[hellofeanor]

LMAO okay it's past midnight and I should be doing a sleep, but. Elves.

To keep this kind of short though I'm going to complain about one particular set of names: the mother-names for Fingolfin and Finarfin. We're given contradictory information in Morgoth's Ring vs Peoples of Middle-earth, and GOOD LORD am I ever of the opinion that People of Middle-earth has, in almost all regards, the Worst Takes Ever.

In Morgoth's Ring we're presented with Nolofinwë Ingoldo and Arafinwë Ingalaurë. Beautiful. Stunning. 10/10, A+++, no notes. Which is to say, absolutely hilarious of Indis to name her kids after what colour they are, but at least it makes sense, you know? It's not like Finwë did much better than naming them both... Finwë. Etymology here of Ingoldo is given as a mashup of 'inga' and 'noldo', signifying that he's descended from both sides, whereas Ingalaurë is basically just 'golden vanya'. Cool? Cool.

But then we get to Peoples of Middle-earth and are faced with this bonkers notion of Nolofinwë Arakáno and Arafinwë Ingoldo. Let me list out the problems I have with this.

Arakáno: I actually do not have a problem with this per se. But.

Arafinwë Ingoldo: all my problems begin herewith.

Actually my first problem is that these names do not go together as a set. At all. Nolofinwe and Arafinwe go nicely together as a set. Ingoldo and Ingalaure go nicely together as a set. Arakáno and Ingalaure are just. Two random names.

The etymology of Ingoldo in this book is listed as 'i ngoldo'. The noldo. WHY is Indis calling one on 'noble commander' and the other 'the noldo'? This is just. I...

Ingoldo is ALSO listed as the mother-name for Finrod. Why would EARWEN name her son The Noldo?

BUT IT GETS FUCKING WORSE.

Is Ingoldo meant to be a callback to Finrod's earlier name, Inglor?

NO. Because INGLOR is a bloody Sindarinisation of INGALAURE.

IT SHOULD BE FINDARÁTO INGALAURE.

INGOLDO SINDARINISES AS INGOLODH OR SOME SHIT

I'M LOSING MY MIND OVER HERE >:(

Nothing in this whole section of Peoples of Middle-earth makes any sense and I hate it. We have perfectly good names and meanings behind them in Morgoth's Ring, and then this crap comes along and ruins everything. Sorry, but no. I'm not buying into this. Peoples of Middle-earth can kiss my ass. I am defending Nolofinwe Ingoldo and Findarato Ingalaure from Morgoth's Ring until my dying breath atop this highly defensible hill. And I WILL extend that to implying that Finrod should absolutely also be Findaráto Ingalaure, NOT Ingoldo. Screw that.

SO as you can see, I have extremely factually correct opinions on this topic, and may or may not have recently written a 17,000-word fic tangentially related to how much I hate Peoples of Middle-earth.

I think about elves a normal amount.

i like to think that i'm someone who has a fairly good working knowledge of lord of the rings and assorted texts but then i encounter people on here who casually use the quenya name of characters from the silmarillion and then i'm like oh no i am a little baby still learning to read compared to all you full grown tolkien professors

[mysticcomfort]

Ghostie is a lil silly, but it’s better than the alternative

[elfcollector]

I feel ill. All the fools and villains who ever fell for my ploys, they're — they're here!

[grayintogreen]

Respectfully, but a character can be and SHOULD BE allowed to be more than one thing without it being considered "contradictory", "retconning," or "negative character development."

[averlym]

no one would notice if i ever vanished // if bodies could sustain // this never-ending army // like blood pumping through a vein

(click for better resolution!)

:OOO hello. anyway since these are all posters i'd have in an ideal world or smth and i'd like to store the high res versions somewhere,,, here's the google drive folder for them? hehe ''

close up!

[windwardstar]

I know this is going to be hard for some people to understand since we're still trying to explain that a flannel button down and a haircut aren't enough to make everyone "pass" and that testosterone also isn't. But top surgery isn't always enough either.

Top surgery didn't suddenly make people start viewing me as a "man". It didn't even move the dial on how fast they continue to she/her and ma'am and girl me. It just made me look skinny. Unless I am in a patternless solid color high necked skin tight shirt where there is absolutely no way for there to be anything under there at all, the visual effect is that I just have the kind of super tiny chest that looks like I don't have one at all but nonetheless still have beneath the shirt. (I do not. I had completely flat top surgery.)

[faaun]

kind of abt to cry bc i think maybe i'm starting to believe that my friends care for me on the inside of my heart

[tatatatatara]

Me seeing posts that say Kaneki is kind: well yes but actually no