#i tried to make the asks fairly versatile if anyone else wanted to use the prompts :3c

[ask-the-scrapper]

December Asks

Some winter prompts/asks for the holidays!

-Throw a snowball at muse

-Mistletoe kiss

-Give muse a gift or muse gives someone else a gift

-Give muse a cookie

-Bundle up! Pick an article of clothing to give- scarf, gloves, jacket, etc.

-Build a snowman together

-Share hot chocolate

-Decorate a tree (or whatever is available)

-Dress up! Examples: elf costume, deer onesie, santa costume, etc.

~

-Holiday curse (pick a condition to break the curse or a certain amount of asks the curse stays for)

Examples: turn into a nutcracker or become small, tell the truth, can't get warm, frequent sneezing, hair color change (pick a color)

-Holiday blessing (same as holiday curse but good)

Examples: feeling comfortable, make a simple wish, eat a pleasant meal

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Hi C!!! It's meeee

Anyway I don't know why but I just kinda want to put this out in the world. You got me on Jercy (I'm not kidding I hated Jercy before you) but Percabeth is my OG ship like they started me ok fanfics and they're like my first real ship period. And I hate all the hate Annabeth gets because I really love her so I just wanted to ask you if you could go more in depth with why you aren't big on her/Percabeth please

Love you!! ❤❤

Hi my Gretch seeing your username (on any of the platforms) makes me forever and eternally happy. Okay onto this beautiful, intense ask:

First things first: I love Annabeth. Like Annabeth as a character? wonderful, incredible, unreal. She is so versatile and full of so many things that make us human and I see her character and character arc as a complex web full of intricacies and weaknesses (yes i said web on purpose).

My favourite things about her:

1. She always has a goal, whether it be long term or, I'm just trying to stay alive in this second. For people like me who kind of go through life on vibes and a vague sense of what they want it is awing to read about and meet people who have solid, planned goals that they live, breathe, and perform by.

2. She is proud of her friends. Since her fatal flaw is pride it is very easy to see the downfall but there is also an upside in that she uses that well of pride as an extension of her and it reflects on others. We know she is proud of Percy, and grover, and Thalia, and why Luke’s betrayal hit so hard for her

3. She continues to break stereotypes. Not just as the dumb blonde (which was admittedly a big thing at the time of the book’s release) but also in her being a girl who saves herself, who goes on the dangerous quests, who isn’t helpless. I never had a lack of female role models in my life but adding Annabeth to the mix only did me more good.

4. She thinks things through: I am kind of impulsive when it comes to certain aspects in my life and I have some thought process for other parts but Annabeth is not impulsive. As much as she has ADHD, in which impulsivity is fairly common, she doesn’t present with it. And it’s refreshing and exciting to see this character that thinks through plans and decisions and tries to predict the outcome, not only so she can change it if need be but also to prepare herself for what is to come. Narratives (especially at the time of those books) were full of impulse and quick decisions and always being on the spot. Hell Percy was exactly this kind of narrtator. And while I love dit because I mean what ten year old doesn't love fast-paced intense excitement? it was so truly wonderful to read about someone who thought further. It allowed you to connect to the next page, chapter, book. 

5. She is a complete badass. And I love it. I love badass women. I could never get enough of them and I think they should rule the world. And I love smart people. I love them. Smartness, intelligence, is so attractive to me. Because it means you have passion, and the ability to think beyond your surroundings. Annabeth Chase is hella smart.

What I've been having a crisis over for the last few years is Percabeth. It is summed up most accurately here but just to continue my thought:

Rick changed the percabeth dynamic so much in HOO that it became almost unrecognisable. I think in the bid to have this whole, everyone is a couple and everyone deserves someone (which boosted Leo’s narrative but was also the cause of great conflict in everyone else’s narrative expect percabeth) he forgot to make them friends. And that was the basis of percabeth. It was the reason percabeth were so godsdamn cute in PJO. Because they were friends who ended up becoming a couple. In HOO they were just a couple. And it sucked out the life of their friendship so that we could only focus on their relationship.

And unfortunately it is Annabeth’s narrative that really brings this home for multiple reasons (all of which we can blame Rick for):

1. This is the first time we got other points of view beside Percy which means everyone’s flaws were much more obvious. Annabeth’s fatal flaw specifically was really played (the entire reason she went on that Mark of Athena quest; why  they landed up in Tartarus). it made focusing on her harder especially because Percy’s Fatal flaw is loyalty so he spent a lot of his narrative focusing on others. this one is mostly my bias as I prefer to have a character’s narrative that also focuses on the happenings of others with the characters personal thoughts. Annabeth was the kind of narrator who focused on herself first. 

2. The entirety of HOO was about relationships. Rick didn’t bother to form any actual friendships with any of the characters (something he was undoubtedly great at in PJO) so when we got to percabeth scenes it was things like: Piper being jealous of them; Percy being worried about them; Annabeth being worried about Percy as a person or herself in her quest; Leo being sad that he was alone; etc. It made liking any of the couples extremely hard.

3. As you (and my other Tumblr babies) may know I don't believe Percy and Annabeth’s fatal flaws work well together. I think Percy is often the one to sacrifice himself and Annabeth sacrifices her wants (material things) and it is not the same. Percy is loyal to Annabeth. But Annabeth’s pride continues to rule her life. For example, if Percy had gotten in the way of Annabeth rebuilding Olympus I fully believe she would have attempted (at the very least) to get rid of him. I don't necessarily mean kill him I just mean he wouldn’t have been in her life. Don’t get me wrong this does not mean she did it or there was even a possibility that she could have. but the reason for that is because Percy is loyal to her. So he wouldn’t have gotten in the way of her dreams. And I think there’s something fundamentally dangerous about sacrificing yourself for someone else’s dreams. If Percy became loyal-to-a-fault towards Annabeth and she then decided to join Luke’s army he would not have stopper her. In fact it’s quite possible he would have joined her. And Annabeth has so much pride for Percy, but her pride-to-a-fault does not lie in people it lies in material things. So she would have gone after her own goals if Percy did not follow. It just seems like it’s luck that they continue to work well together. Percy sacrifices himself. Annabeth sacrifices herself. But only cause their goals align. What happens when they don't?

Please do not make the mistake of thinking I hate percabeth because I don’t. I cannot hate them when those books were the heart and soul of my life for so many years. Percabeth was such a big part of them, to hate the ship, would mean to hate the books and that is absolutely not the case. Annabeth and Percy’s friendships is so important to me. 

TL:DR I love Annabeth she is an absolute badass; I am not a fan of the percabeth dynamic especially in HOO; my bias is present in everything I do. I acknowledge it and try to work to bring all the facts together.

I hope this answered your question Gretch! And do not hesitate to ask if you want me to elaborate on a anything further.

I, of course, also welcome dispute from anyone but remember we do things nicely on this blog.

[seigaku9th-blog]

my computer broke months ago, hence the lack of updates. apologies for that! i tried writing up a quick summary of my latest trip to japan on my phone despite that, since i really wanted to share some details with everyone.

i was in japan from february 1st to 21st! during that time, i saw tenimyu’s VS higa six times, which i will talk about in a separate entry. so for now, let’s talk about bungou stray dogs on stage, stage oofuri, mononofu & nostalgic wonderland, as well as spi’s valentine fanmeeting!

02.03 BUNGOU STRAY DOGS what better way to start one of my japanese theater pilgrimages than by going to see my #1 boy, hideya (7th tezuka), less than 24 hours after landing in japan? i also had the chance to see teruma (6th inui) & kuwano (2nd shishido).

what most impressed me about this production was the choice casting. people i usually am iffy on were given very fitting roles that they rocked in, and of course, hideya was able to shine as the very popular & multidimensional character that is dazai. i was really happy to hear so many audience members gush about how good he was during the intermission! i think it’s one of the greatest compliments for an actor when fans of the original work & characters enjoy their portrayal.

i also enjoyed all the effort & wit put into the staging, the supernatural aspect of the franchise put into motion in such smart & artistic ways. also hideya is fantastic, gorgeous, versatile, charismatic, perfect.

when i got home, i found out that ryosei (8th inui) had went to see the show at the same time as i did...

02.11 OOFURI ️ oofuri was such a lighthearted & fun stage play, which really carried the energy of the source material. fantastic casting decisions were made here, i had a lot of fun both discovering actors i knew less and also seeing actors i’ve known for a while in person for the first time!!

i was mostly inclined to see the show because mashu (7th momo) & junpei (2nd marui) were in it!!!! i love them so much and was really happy to see them perform. they have very sparkly eyes and mashu is just such a delight to watch.

ps. ino hiroki is ridiculously handsome

02.12 SPI’S FANMEETING this was my first time going to an event without any tennis motivations, but spi is just such an amazing guy who’s always been very welcoming and inclusive towards his foreign fans, so i thought i’d honor that by attending his fanmeeting. well, of course, i also think of him as an amazingly interesting person and a fantastic performer!!

he had an entire talk section dedicated to sharing toumyu gossip, which i loved. he notably mentionned how arayan (2nd inui) is The Greatest Senpai Ever, that mario (7th eiji) has hilarious over-dramatic reactions of relief and keeps complaining about how tired he is when they’re finally done training, and that imari yu has this tendency to wrap his arm around whoever is sitting next to him...

otherwise, it was mostly spi showing off his wonderful voice with a variety of english songs. including a one direction song. help. he made a few jokes about english stuff, like how funny he thought the lyrics in real love story (tonbokiri’s solo) were, and each time he would look into my direction in a moment of north american bonding... i felt like i couldn’t unleash my full fanboy self bcuz we had an unexplainable bro bond now

after the event itself, much like for tenimyu, we had to wait our block’s turn to get out of our seats for miokuri. while waiting for my turn, an older lady came up to me and started talking to me in english, asking me where i was from, if i liked tourabu, if i’d go see take me out, saying her friend & her saw me earlier and thought i was cute, thanking me for coming, etc. now, i���m not going to assume anything, but spi did make a joke at the start of the event asking if there were mothers in the room (said lady cheered), and i also know for a fact that spi’s mother is an english teacher... hmmm...

afterwards, i got to meet spi! he handed each of us a rose since it was valentine’s day, which i thought was absolutely adorable  i was getting ready to ask 英語でいいですか？ before saying anything in english, just in case, but he was the one who super excitedly started talking to me in english, asking me where i was from & all!! we talked for a surprisingly long while considering it was just a miokuri! i was really happy... i also went WOW YOU’RE SO TALL I’M SURPRISED bcuz i’m never prepared for anyone that isn’t an inui to tower over me

02.16 MONONOFU  i went into this show excited to see so many of my favorites gorgeous boys, notably tsune (2nd atobe), kubohide (2nd niou), arayan (2nd inui), kent (3rd shinji) & sugie (2nd yuuji). since i didn’t particularly enjoy or understand the previous titles of this franchise which i had seen on DVD, my expectations for anything other than eye candy were fairly low. i ended up pleasantly surprised, as a fan of japanese history & the bakumatsu era in particular! this segment of the story covered the shinsengumi’s fall, with kondo isami’s execution & okita soji’s death at the hands of illness. i actually ended up crying along with everyone else in the theater, the actors’ performance & dramatic staging allowing a really emotional, honest & down-to-earth portrayal of a story we all love so much.

and of course, tsune was incredibly hot and kubohide really does look like that and arayan is so cool and kent is ridiculously handsome and sugie is a charismatic angel. but everyone was really fantastic! i knew ryosuke from kamen rider ghost, but his portrayal of okita really touched me. i also thought it was super cool how katsura’s actor was a legit kabuki actor! so impressive to watch!

02.17 NOSTALGIC WONDERLAND oh this show. THIS!! SHOW!! you guys!! this was undoubtedly one of my favorite things i’ve ever seen on a japanese stage!! okay, i might be a little biased because i’m a really big fan & collector of all things 60s~90s, but really!! this was just a bundle of joy, nothing but singing & dancing & casual talk segments between the actors.

the story here is actually pretty funny. i initially didn’t get a ticket for this, thinking “okay this would be fun but i already saw miura (3rd atobe), ikumin (3rd oshitari) & masa (1st niou) in person and i’m not supposed to spend money on anyone other than seigaku anyways”. then my love for miura amplified tenfolds. then my friend was like hey i have an extra ticket. then i was like i shouldn’t. then i watched shinken ranbu sai. then my love for miura amplified even further. then i was like okay please. i need that ticket. then my friend is like okay sure here is a pic of your ticket btw! and i see. the words. “Guest: Yata Yusuke”. written on the ticket. i have never been so happy to have ever decided to go see a show.

so, yes. i had the chance to watch yata (7th fuji) perform in person. he sang Open Arms by Journey, which was an absolute delight. a song i love and a voice i adore. i actually found myself crying while listening to his singing. listen... y’all know how much i love 7th cast. this meant a lot.

during the talk segment, miura was extremely excited to introduce yata, and is so jumpy, happy & clingy near him! it’s adorable! these two have been senpai & kouhai before miura’s days in tenimyu and continue to work together to this day. yata, in classic 7th fashion, was incredibly entertaining & hilarious in all of his crude honesty and lack of fucks. notably just saying “i don’t know these guys” about everyone who wasn’t miura, ikumin, masa & utsumi (2nd saeki), being absolutely exasperated and lacking in any efforts when asked to do cute fanservice, and also getting upset at masa for talking so much instead of letting him sing his solo. beautiful.

but my favorite moment was when miura exposed ikumin as a being a huge fan of yata! saying he always sings yata’s tenimyu songs when they karaoke! ikumin was incredibly flustered, but he confirmed this and straight up said “yata’s fuji is the best”. he then proceeded to kneel on the floor and reinterpret yata’s boku wa kawaru from VS shitenhoji for at least half a minute. i was howling with laughter, i can’t believe this was even allowed to happen?? where is the tennis police?? (too scared of miura and a 7th, probably.)

back to the actual show! they performed a wonderful variety of our songs, from The Karpenters to Blondie to Elvis and the Backstreet Boys as the great finale. absolutely incredible content. we all know the range of singing and/or dancing talent from our tenimyu boys, but the other actors were also really incredible singers, one is a trained ballet dancer as well, and another could play a wind instrument! sheer talent all around. miura & the other dancer, rui, had a contemporary dance number together, a very sensual one at that!!

there was also a lot of fanservice & audience interaction! and of course, i wound up with an alley seat. let’s start smoothly. i got a wink from masa when he stopped at our row during the final number!! and a big smile from ikumin during his solo!!

but what still has me *ahem* Shook to this day... is miura. yeah. during his solo — a cover of Venus by Frankie Avalon — he walked thru the alleys, doing cute fanservice with a few audience members, up until he stopped right in front of our row. i was smiling so widely from 50% happiness & 50% nervosity, and then he ended up looking right at me. held out his hand towards me. and smiled so beautifully as he continued singing. i think my heart actually stopped beating in that moment. and my hands were still shaking by the end of the show. i’m fine. yeah. uh huh

[duhragonball]

Tournament of Power Update, DBS #121

Universe 3 was erased in the most recent episode, so we’re now in the final stretch of the tournament.   Eight fighter, two teams, and nine minutes to go.    I only started writing these updates to keep up with the large number of competitors and shifting strategic objectives, but now we’re down to more manageable numbers, so this will probably be the last ToP update I do unless something really weird happens.   From here on out, this fight looks like a standard DBZ movie battle, with Goku and four allies taking on a boss character and a couple of henchmen.  It shouldn’t be too hard to follow.

UNIVERSE 7 (The Dragon Ball Z Universe)

Members Remaining: 5

Son Goku

Vegeta

Son Gohan

Frieza

No. 17

No. 18

Android 18 eliminated herself to save 17, presumably because she felt he would be more valuable to the team than herself.   I don’t say this lightly.  18 is extremely practical, to the point of ruthlessness.   If she didn’t think 17 was stronger, she would have let him take the fall. 

Still, 18 performed exceptionally in the tournament.   She tossed out an impressive number of fighters, but she also coordinated her attacks with her teammates and helped protect other teammates when they needed it.   I don’t think U7 consciously planned it this way, but they worked it out so that the five weakest members of their team managed to keep the five strongest members alive until the very end.  18′s efforts embody this unspoken plan, and if you asked me, she’s the MVP of this team.   So if she thinks 17 can do even better against the Pride Troopers, I like his odds.

That said, I’m assuming that either Gohan or 17 is the weak link now.   I’m fairly sure Gohan is stronger than 17, but 17 has a more versatile power set either way.   I’m not knocking Gohan by any means, but he doesn’t bring much to the table that Goku and Vegeta can’t already do, while 17 has the advantage of unlimited stamina and invisibility to ki senses.   If I could only pick four out of these five to face the Pride Troopers, I’d very reluctantly give Gohan the boot.  And then I’d spend the rest of the tournament wondering if I had made a terrible mistake.

Because let’s face it, Gohan’s the Man.  He’s Mister Dragon Ball Z.  He headbutted a tree when he was a damn baby.  People complain about him getting soft on his training, but that’s ridiculous.    At his absolute softest, Gohan fought the friggin’ devil to a stalemate.  Then Frieza wrecked him, and he decided it was high time to whip himself into shape, and look at him now.   He’s on fire.  He might not be as strong as Goku, Vegeta, or Frieza, but we really won’t know for sure until we find out, will we?

Strictly speaking, Frieza ought to be the least dependable member of this team, but he’s also the freshest, and U11 knows the least about him.   Everyone’s been worried about Frieza double-crossing Universe 7, but I fail to see how he could, since the tournament rules are absolute and Frieza has to win the tournament before anything else he wants to do.   U7 has gotten this far with Frieza, so we may as well see where things go. 

Vegeta is probably the key to this whole endgame.  I doubt he’ll learn Ultra Instinct anytime soon, but he’s the only other U7 fighter who possibly could, and even if he can’t learn it, he’s the best bet to run interference for Goku until he can bust it out again.   Critically, we know Vegeta can take on Toppo and Dyspo, because Goku’s managed to beat them with forms that Vegeta knows how to use.  So even if Vegeta can’t help against Jiren, he can ensure that Jiren gets awfully lonely. 

I figure Goku has one more Ultra Instinct left in him, which he’ll probably bust out when he’s at his most desperate.  The trick is to keep him on the board long enough for that to happen.   

If I could call a time out and give these guys advice, I’d tell them to take out Dyspo first.  Gohan or Frieza would be a good choice for that job, but everyone else needs to keep Jiren and Toppo busy while that happens.   Do that, and you extend your lead over U11.  Then focus on taking out Toppo. 

The point is that whatever happens between Jiren and Goku is inevitable, but you want to try to focus on the conditions you can control.    Deny Jiren any resources that you can. He may not need Dypso or Toppo’s help, but if you can make it five on one, that means Jiren has to eliminate the entire U7 team to win, and maybe he can’t pull that off in the time remaining.  Make him work for it, right up to the very end.

Not that anyone on Team 7 would listen to me, but that’s what I’d tell them.

UNIVERSE 11 (The Pride Trooper Universe)

Members Remaining: 3

Toppo

Jiren

Dyspo

If I had to tell these guys what to do, I’d remind them that Universe 7 doesn’t need to beat them, because they’re ahead right now.   The only way U11 wins this is by eliminating at least three members of U7′s team.   If they lose any more of their own team, that job gets even harder.   They do not want to get stuck in a five-on-one situation, because time is on U7′s side right now.   Jiren might be able to whip five guys in a fight, but can he do it in nine minutes or less?  It’s a question U11 doesn’t need to be asking right now. 

My advice would be for Jiren to take on Vegeta while Toppo and Dyspo watch each other’s backs.   If they can eliminate anyone else in the process, great, but the objective is to stay alive and provide a tempting target to draw fire away from Jiren.    That way Jiren can mow down Vegeta and hopefully move on to Gohan or Frieza.   Take out either of them, and bam, it’s three against three.   At that point, Toppo and Dypso can fight more offensively, and double team someone to score another elimination, and then they finally take the lead, and can run down the clock.   

What they do not want to do is try to go after Goku first, because Universes 2 and 6 made that mistake and paid dearly for it.   When U6 tried it, Goku just managed to tap into Ultra Instinct again and took out their best chance of winning.   When U2 tried it, Goku’s teammates swooped in to help.   The Pride Troopers can withstand either of those things, but they don’t want to waste time on those kinds of contingencies.   There’s no quick, guaranteed way to bump off Goku right now, so any attempt can only eat up precious time on the clock that would be better spent taking out Goku’s allies. 

In fact, if they managed to take out everyone else, and it came down to Goku against all three of them, I’d tell the Pride Troopers to just avoid him for the rest of the match.   Don’t fight him, just wait for the time to run out.    Because fighting Goku only gives him more chances to tap into whatever hidden powers he has.  Time is the real enemy here. 

[savrenim]

So I got a whole lot of awesome questions about ifmlam from, I’m assuming the same anon? They contain spoilers through ch 27, and thus are appearing under the cut.

So in the universe where timeline 2 happened what were Seers essentially for? Were there more wars happening due to their advantages? Did scientists follow after Franklin's footsteps and ask questions about their research to the Seer in hopes that they would say something that might confirm or further the theory? Also I couldn't help but think that the hypothetical Hamilton play in that timeline focused a lot on Alexander being the reason for Aaron's death but what about Phillip's death?

Si, so I was scroll down your page and I stumbled upon the 'timeline 2 happened in this universe' post and I was wondering what Seers are universally known to have as an ability? You said that Aaron was 'one of the more powerful Seers' which implies he's not the most powerful Seer? So I was wondering what the most powerful Seer is like and what abilities do they all share? You emphasized a lot on versatility and so I'm assuming that Seers with weaker abilities can't adapt very well?

P.2 What determines a strong Seer? Or how a Seer gets their abilities? Is it a random scramble of powers mixed together and slapped onto them by God? Or is it carefully chosen due to some higher power deciding that 'ah yes, this will surely suit them the most. let's give them the power to predict nature diasasters but not human ones', etc,etc,etc?? And since you labeled Aaron as the first Modern Seer, does that mean he's the first Seer to display his power in such a successful and powerful way?

So to preface this all. There is a…big problem to answering fully pretty much 50% of the questions asked here? And the problem is “what are Seers, what are they for, why do they exist, what are the implications of the rules of a universe that works this way” are pretty much the plot of the tentatively-planned sequel that would be set ~250-300 years in the future and deal with both society dealing with the consequences of Burr’s actions as well as with both the consequences and figuring out the rules behind what makes Seers tick.

I want to be very careful not to promise a sequel that may or may not ever exist, there are just A Lot Of Cool Ideas That I Have and stuff that I’ve outlined that, like, for now as there seems to be a fairly reasonable chance that they might get used are something that I’d rather keep close to my chest, you know? Especially because the way that they’re set well in the future and based only on the ideas of the fic and not really the actual musical, I think I’d just write as original novels, and while I’d definitely post them online for free because I think it’s really shitty to take a story that people have been excited about that’s just been online for free and then go “so if you want to know how this story continues you have to pay,” because at this point they’re novels I don’t really want to be posting novel ideas online just to have the concepts stolen and somebody else write said novels.

That being said, here are the answers to all of your questions.

What were Seers essentially for? That’s one of the things that takes a couple hundred years to figure out.

Were there more that were happening due to their advantages? In terms of history going differently? Um, yes. Very much so. Except because I am not a history major and dear gods historical speculation is hard I’m leaving a lot of that up in the wind and mostly only have been charting the progression of science and technology that’s been different because those are the things that I solidly do know inside and out because that is my actual field of study. (Well, math and physics are my actual field of study but I try to learn alongside the important discoveries, when they happened and what led to them happening, because that’s fun to know..)

Did scientists follow after Franklin's footsteps and ask questions about their research to the Seer in hopes that they would say something that might confirm or further the theory? Yes, yes they did.

Actually, the biggest thing that Burr contributed to any timeline so far follows from round 2/the first repeat that is the offhand comment that Aaron Burr makes when Franklin tries to explain the light particle vs wave argument and Burr throws his hands in the air and goes “can’t there be both.” Pretty much the biggest revolution in science and technology in our world came at the cusp of the 20th century in this order: Maxwell figures out the equations for E&M waves and it implies that the speed of light is constant —> Einstein does relativity; at the same time, light=particle vs light=wave theories are having trouble explaining all phenomenon and there are things like the blackbody radiation problem, to which Planck figures out that if you restrict energy levels to specific quantities, it gets solved. —> Einstein also works off of this and quantum physics is born. All of this is helping create models of the atom and tests and being done and Einstein from general relativity figures out the mass and energy are basically the same, which leads eventually to the nuclear bomb being developed.

Now, take into account that “light being both particle and wave” plays massively into quantum stuff because electrons let out light when going down from energy levels and what-not, as well as it would potentially speed up the discovery of Maxwell’s equations and just all of this theory that led to the creation of the nuclear bomb. Possibly by the time WWI rolled along, which, like. Just would vastly reshape pretty much the entire political map and now can you see why I really, really, really hate doing historical speculation it is freaking CHAOS to track all of the things and come up with how the hell politics would have gone just going forward a century.

Also I couldn't help but think that the hypothetical Hamilton play in that timeline focused a lot on Alexander being the reason for Aaron's death but what about Phillip's death? I actually wrote a post about this! http://savrenim.tumblr.com/post/154913162666/wheeee-mkay-latest-anon-so-i-am-paranoid-about

Si, so I was scroll down your page and I stumbled upon the 'timeline 2 happened in this universe' post and I was wondering what Seers are universally known to have as an ability? That’s one of the things that takes a couple hundred years to figure out. Actually, that’s pretty much the single fact that all other things revolve around.

You said that Aaron was 'one of the more powerful Seers' which implies he's not the most powerful Seer? “Powerful” in this context means “how much did they affect global politics/ how much did their abilities allow them to affect global politics.” It also means “to what degree are their abilities directly testable and consistent.” Burr has an incredibly specific and consistent power, he is the first person that the world was able to prove was a Seer since Joan of Arc, and pretty much the entire fic is about look how much Aaron Burr can affect American and global politics, so that one speaks for itself.

So I was wondering what the most powerful Seer is like and what abilities do they all share? You emphasized a lot on versatility and so I'm assuming that Seers with weaker abilities can't adapt very well? Oh god so I mostly haven’t decided what the most powerful Seer was like, simply because there is a heck of a lot of non-Western culture that I am not that familiar with and Seers have popped up around the world. I kind of wanted to leave this open-ended so that people could pick their favorite historical figures from their own cultures or cultures that they love and have studied, and headcanon them as Seers in this world, and who am I to tell you that they weren’t.

(For anyone doing this, the single rule is that there is only one and always one Seer alive on the planet at any given time. Otherwise, headcanon away.)

Seers with weaker abilities tend to never be identified, or to be thought of as crazy and depending on their location and the people around them, either live a quiet life as the local crazy person or are thrown into a madhouse. It really sucks.

What determines a strong Seer? Or how a Seer gets their abilities? So there is the single overarching ability that all Seers have and that links all Seers, which is not figured out for a couple hundred years and is what the sequels are about. How the Seer gets the abilities that they naturally manifest are pretty much “they express themselves in whatever way best suits the Seer’s psychology and personality.” Hence why there are a lot of religious Seers in the Western world in the last couple of centuries (mostly John Calvin and his whole predestination thing, and Joan of Arc and her whole visions of angels telling her about battles thing.)

Is it a random scramble of powers mixed together and slapped onto them by God? Or is it carefully chosen due to some higher power deciding that 'ah yes, this will surely suit them the most. let's give them the power to predict nature disasters but not human ones', etc,etc,etc?? There is no evidence in the universe as of the time of ifmlam or the sequels to suggest the existence of a God or higher power. There is also no evidence against the existence of a God or higher power. The fact that Seers exist and what they see can be somewhat explained by science in this universe, and eventually is. Whether or not people still choose to believe in things, and whether or not those things are true, is entirely up in the air, much as I at least personally consider it to be in the real world.

And since you labeled Aaron as the first Modern Seer, does that mean he's the first Seer to display his power in such a successful and powerful way? Nah, first Modern Seer very specifically refers to the fact that he is the first post-Enlightenment (or at least co-current with the Enlightenment) Seer and thus pretty much the first real proof at the same time that (Western) science is rapidly advancing that this is actually a thing to consider in terms of trying to map out how the universe works, as well as pretty much the first Seer that anyone ever got to ask questions of “how in the world does this work” to.

[tigresjumeaux]

As per the request of @my-insanity-is-irrelevant​, here goes nothing. Not even gonna reblog the ask meme post bc I’m literally answering every question rip

1. What is you middle name? Marie. #basic 2. How old are you? 19. 3. When is your birthday? May 31.  4. What is your zodiac sign? Gemini. I’m actually two people and they’re both snakes.  5. What is your favorite color? I honestly don’t have one, they all have their perks. I do tend to favor cooler and darker colors tho 6. What’s your lucky number? 7 and 9, but odd numbers tend to treat me nicely in general.  7. Do you have any pets? Three! A Boxer named Buster, and two 14 y/o cats named Asheley and Nadia. Here’s hoping for many more in the future. :’) 8. Where are you from? Born in Seattle, raised in the greater St. Louis area, and going to school in Muncie, IN.  9. How tall are you? 5��6″ 10. What shoe size are you? 8 in American women’s size. 11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Oh lord. Probably like 15 because I refuse to get rid of any, but I only wear like 4. 12. What was your last dream about? Roller coasters and an ex being nasty. DJ Khaled was there.  13. What talents do you have? I’m fairly good at reading people, and also drawing. I’m also a quick learner, if that counts as a talent? 14. Are you psychic in any way? I wish. I have a weird force of karma that seems to follow the people who have hurt me around, but that could be coincidence. I’ve helped check other people’s energies (as well as my own) before, but my knowledge is limited and I don’t think I have the sense of self to pursue that right now. 15. Favorite song? At no point in my life have I had just one, but “Fury” by Muse and “Love is Mystical” by the Cold War Kids are up there right now.  16. Favorite movie? Wonder Woman was so, so good, y’all. I also like  17. Who would be your ideal partner? daisy ridley right now, my standards are both really low and really high. Just...someone I get along with and who gives a rat’s ass?  18. Do you want children? I think I might, yeah. Depends on who I end up with, but I like the idea of making small humans and showing them how the world works. Teaching others has always helped me figure shit out, anyway.  19. Do you want a church wedding? nooooo thank you 20. Are you religious? Not in the sense that I participate in organized religion, but I do believe in aspects of many different religions. I’m particularly fond of reincarnation. 21. Have you ever been to the hospital? I had to have my chin stitched up when I was like, 3. And also I had my tonsils out at 10.  22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? Nope, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.  23. Have you ever met any celebrities? I met Paramore the summer before my junior year, and I met Jensen, Jared, and Misha from SPN my senior year! 24. Baths or showers? Showers. 25. What color socks are you wearing? au naturale i’m barefoot bitches 26. Have you ever been famous? one time i did a drawing and it got 100 notes 27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? noooooo maybe C-list at most 28. What type of music do you like? I’ll listen to just about anything, but I lean towards alt rock, metal, punk, some indie if it isn’t too hippie-ish. 29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? nah 30. How many pillows do you sleep with? Like...7?  31. What position do you usually sleep in? On my stomach with my top half wrapped around a pillow or a blanket.  32. How big is your house? Two-story, four bedrooms. Parents raised three wild kiddos here 33. What do you typically have for breakfast? A smoothie or a sandwich when I’m actually up in time.  34. Have you ever fired a gun? No, but I’d like to at least try. 35. Have you ever tried archery? yes and i ain’t no katniss 36. Favorite clean word? Maverick (that’s one of many) 37. Favorite swear word? Fuck. it’s just so versatile 38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? 60 hours or so 39. Do you have any scars? On my heels, chin, thighs, hips, and over my wristbones. I’m clumsy, have pets, and have self-harmed. 40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? An anon flirted w me on Tumblr but it was someone in my French class, lel. Wasn’t a secret for too long. 41. Are you a good liar? White lies, yes. Big lies, noooo. 42. Are you a good judge of character? Generally? 43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? Not a whole lot on my own, but I’ll pick up anything I hear regularly. 44. Do you have a strong accent? Not really? I just kinda talk and drop bits of different accents here and there. I don’t think I have that much of a St. Louis accent. 45. What is your favorite accent? I have a soft spot for slight Southern accents. Eastern European and Australian are also awesome.  46. What is your personality type? sad 47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? A $120 jacket from Zumiez. It’s HUF brand but I bought it for the wolves on it tbh 48. Can you curl your tongue? Yes and it comes in handy w girlfriends 49. Are you an innie or an outie? Innie  50. Left or right handed? Right 51. Are you scared of spiders? I used to, but I’m getting better. They startle me but I’ve carried a wolf spider outside so 52. Favorite food? changes by the hour tbh tho chicken is always good 53. Favorite foreign food? Shepherd’s Pie.  54. Are you a clean or messy person? Clean, but disorganized. My room is cluttered but not like, dirty.  55. Most used phrase? "Oh my god.” 56. Most used word? like 57. How long does it take for you to get ready? depends. not usually over 45 minutes unless I’m getting Fancy.  58. Do you have much of an ego? Not really.  59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? Yes. 60. Do you talk to yourself? More than anyone else. 61. Do you sing to yourself? Yes, especially when I can’t hear my own voice. 62. Are you a good singer? N o 63. Biggest Fear? Forgetting and being forgotten. 64. Are you a gossip? drama that don’t involve me is the best drama 65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? Goodwill Hunting aaaaaa 66. Do you like long or short hair? On myself, defs long. I love pulling it back too much for short.  67. Can you name all 50 states of America? Yep! I 68. Favorite school subject? English. Also psychology.  69. Extrovert or Introvert? Extrovert with trust issues, abandonment issues, and that shuts down a lot. and also clinical depression 70. Have you ever been scuba diving? No, but I’ve been snorkeling! 71. What makes you nervous? Anything has the potential to make me nervous, tbh. But not knowing things is The Worst 72. Are you scared of the dark? Oh god yes 73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? I do when it’s something small. Big mistakes are things you gotta figure out for yourself. 74. Are you ticklish? Less and less over time, tbh.  75. Have you ever started a rumor? Never on purpose. I’ve heard a few things I’ve said get distorted and spread but I try to Cut That Shit Out Quick 76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I was a President of a few clubs in high school, captain of the swim team, and a manager for the track and cross country teams.  77. Have you ever drank underage? Whenever I can, tbh. Not even to get drunk, necessarily, it just tastes good 78. Have you ever done drugs? Only weed with a close friendo of mine. I also may have saved a few narcotics from my wisdom tooth removal for a rainy day 79. Who was your first real crush? My best friend in middle school. That was a doozy.  80. How many piercings do you have? I have doubles in my ears, so 4. I’d like triples and possibly a septum piercing.  81. Can you roll your Rs? Yep! Sometimes I do it by accident when speaking 82. How fast can you type? Not very tbh 83. How fast can you run? That depends on why I’m running. 84. What color is your hair? Dirty blonde. 85. What color are your eyes? Blue-gray. 86. What are you allergic to? Certain kinds of deodorant and also tumblr 87. Do you keep a journal? I mean I scribble down stream of consciousness shit when trying to Cope w things, but I don’t keep one regularly.  88. What do your parents do? Dad’s an engineer, mom’s the HR person for a whackass ad company w fun people 89. Do you like your age? I mean I’d rather be able to legally drink, but I’m a legal adult but it doesn’t feel Real yet so I guess it ain’t all bad 90. What makes you angry? When people are mean for literally no good reason. 91. Do you like your own name? it’s aiight. people trying to pronounce my last name is amusing 92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? I like the name Oliver a lot for a guy? But really I guess it’d depend on my what my wife likes 93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? dog 94. What are your strengths? I know people and can communicate pretty well, and I’m generally good at being pretty friendly. Also I can swim so if someone throws me in the water the joke is on them 95. What are your weaknesses? Can’t be left alone for long periods of time, relying on one person for everything, and ignoring myself and other friends, compulsive tendencies, and an overall obsessive personality. 96. How did you get your name? Named after my dad’s grandma, iirc. Except Claire instead of Clara.  97. Were your ancestors royalty? I’m sure someone was idk 98. Do you have any scars? didn’t I answer this already 99. Color of your bedspread? Black and white at home, orange and purple in my dorm. 100. Color of your room? Very dark forest green. I like it lots.

[jennycalendar]

grand romantic gestures (6/6)

“you’re telling me,” buffy was saying, “that ms. calendar recreated the ritual to restore angel’s soul, and then angel killed her for it.”

“yep,” said willow’s voice.

“is…gil okay?”

“i, um,” gil had a feeling willow was glancing over at her closed office door, “i don’t know.”

this chapter: gil and jenny work through some issues

“Ow,” said Gil weakly.

“Oh my god,” said Buffy angrily. “Gil, what the hell were you thinking?”

Gil opened her eyes. She was lying sprawled on the concrete. Next to her was the vampire, much more bruised and bloody than Gil herself felt. It seemed as though the vampire had attempted to lessen the blow of impact for Gil when they hit the ground.

“She was holding on really tightly,” said Buffy, seeming to notice where Gil’s attention was directed. “I think she wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Did she have her soul?” Gil asked tentatively.

“I don’t know,” Buffy replied. “I don’t think it mattered.”

The vampire’s eyelashes fluttered. “Ow,” she said softly, in a way that didn’t sound at all like a soulless, evil creature.

“Don’t get too close,” Buffy warned her, but Gil was already moving towards the vampire, pulling her gently up into her arms. “Gil, do you want to die?”

Gil kissed Jenny’s forehead. “Darling,” she said softly.

“Roberta,” Jenny murmured, resting her cheek on Gil’s shoulder. “I’m so tired.”

“It’s all right.” Gil stroked Jenny’s hair. “Buffy, do you have a car?”

“I borrowed Cordelia’s,” Buffy replied. “Is—does she have her soul?”

Gil didn’t answer.

Jenny looked up at Gil, eyes very soft. “I love you,” she said, voice thin and fragile. “Did you—know that, baby? I love you.”

“I love you too,” Gil whispered. “You’re going to be fine.”

Jenny reached up and stroked Gil’s cheek. Then, unexpectedly, her eyes glowed golden. She reeled before falling back into Gil’s arms, completely unconscious.

Gil stared, breathing hard.

“That wasn’t Jenny,” said Buffy quietly. “That—”

Gil knew who it was that had confessed her love. I’m dying tonight. You’re not. I won’t let you. “She really did love me, I think,” she said. “In her own way. Certainly not in a safe or sane way, but she still loved me very much.”

Buffy was quiet. Then she said, “I’ve never known a vampire who used their last words for love.”

“Good and evil are very simplistic concepts, Buffy,” said Gil. “As are love and hatred. There is nothing in this world untouched by either, I expect—not even vampires.”

Jenny stirred.

Gil forgot everything else that she had meant to say. “Jenny?” she whispered.

Jenny uttered a sharp, pained breath and held tightly to Gil. “Hurts,” she mumbled.

Gil started to cry. “Jenny,” she murmured tearfully. “My Jenny.”

It was so strange, remembering that this small, fragile woman in her arms was the cold, forbidding figure that had so calmly stood at the second-floor window, watching Gil punch a hole through her windshield. Jenny looked up at Gil with soft, dark eyes that were full of love and pain, and Gil felt like some missing piece of her had snapped back into place.

“Oh, god,” Jenny whispered. “Oh, no. Roberta—”

“It’s all right,” Gil tried to say, but she was crying, so it came out a little less coherent than she’d have liked.

“Roberta, I remember.” Jenny’s voice shook. “What I did.”

Gil kissed Jenny clumsily. Her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, peppering her face with off-center kisses. “I love you,” she whispered. “I love you. I love you.”

“Stop.” Jenny pulled back. “I—you could have died. Running into a burning house like that—”

“You’re here,” Gil whispered.

“You can’t do that, okay?” Jenny sounded like she was trying to be authoritative, but also like she was trying not to cry. “Promise me. No more doing reckless shit just to save me from my own poor decision-making.”

“Perhaps now isn’t the time to request this sort of thing of me, dear,” said Gil vaguely. “We do n-need to have a serious conversation about—our relationship—but I just—” She pulled Jenny very close.

“Okay.” Jenny sniffled, hugging Roberta back. “Yeah. Good point.”

Buffy awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Right!” Gil pulled back a bit. “We should—”

“Get going,” Jenny finished.

“Yes,” Gil agreed softly, and kissed Jenny properly for the first time in nearly a month. “Yes,” she said again, pushing Jenny’s hair back. Jenny all but melted into the kiss, placing her hands on either side of Gil’s face—

“Guys,” said Buffy gently. “I think Ms. Calendar probably needs medical attention.”

“Mmno, ‘sgood,” Jenny mumbled against Gil’s mouth.

It was the most difficult thing Gil had ever done, but she broke the kiss, standing up slowly with Jenny still in her arms. Jenny nestled her head against Gil’s chest, closing her eyes.

“Right, then,” Gil said. “We’d best head back to the library. I’m sure everyone’s quite concerned.”

“Probably.” Buffy smiled shyly at her. “I—I’m sorry, Gil.”

“About what?”

Buffy winced a little playfully. “All those times I said Ms. Calendar was your best friend seem reeeally incorrect all of a sudden.”

“Really,” said Gil.

Jenny giggled softly.

There was quite a lot of commotion when Gil returned with Jenny cuddled in her arms. Or—more accurately, the most commotion came from Willow, who shrieked very loudly, knocked over a stack of books on the table as she jumped up, and then immediately started whisper-panicking to anyone near her about whether or not she’d been too loud and upset Jenny’s new super-senses. Cordelia’s eyes went very wide, and for the first time, Gil saw a soft sympathy in them. Angel looked down and didn’t say anything.

Xander stepped forward. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly to Gil. “I—I just miss Jesse. Makes me wonder, you know—if he’d lasted as a vampire, maybe we could have saved him too.”

“I understand,” said Gil simply. She couldn’t imagine the kind of hurt she’d be feeling if Jenny had died before the spell could take hold.

Jenny stirred. “Hey,” she murmured. “We in the library?”

“Ms. Calendar.” Willow sounded near tears.

“She’s all right,” Gil reassured the room. “A bit banged up, but she should be fine.”

“I’ve had worse hangovers,” quipped Jenny.

Gil kissed the top of her head. “I’m sure you have, dear,” she agreed. “Buffy, would you be so kind as to get the first-aid kit in my office?”

“Roger that,” Buffy agreed, throwing a quietly happy look over her shoulder as she left.

Gil sat down in one of the library chairs, Jenny in her arms. “I expect I’ll have to find a more permanent solution in regards to keeping sunlight out of my apartment,” she said quietly, “but I’ll draw the curtains tonight when I take you home.”

“I like the sound of that,” Jenny all but purred.

“Wh—oh, dear lord, Jenny, you just fell out of a burning building,” said Gil, trying to sound exasperated but mostly coming out a bit tearful and happy. God, she’d missed this woman. “How can you possibly be coming on to me right now?”

“I’m versatile,” Jenny replied, nuzzling Gil’s neck and pressing a quiet kiss there.

“Okay,” said Xander. “Just to make sure we’re all on the same page here—you guys have a gay thing going on, right? It isn’t all in my head?”

“It’s more of a bi thing, actually,” Jenny corrected. “But—” She looked hesitantly up at Gil.

“We’re in love,” Gil clarified.

“Wh—oh!” Jenny smiled, eyes sparkling. “Yeah, um, yes. Apparently. That’s—yeah.”

Gil kissed her.

“All right, let’s get you bandaged up,” Buffy announced, coming out of the office with the first aid kit. “Come on, guys, didn’t you do enough of that in the car?”

“Why, do you have a problem with girls who date girls?” said Willow in a high, somewhat nervous voice.

“Not at all!” Buffy sounded positively indignant at the concept. “I just have a problem with gratuitous making out when Ms. Calendar really does need medical attention.” The last part of her sentence was punctuated with a very pointed look at Gil and Jenny, who reluctantly broke apart.

“Oh.” Willow exhaled, smiling. “Good.”

Gil shifted Jenny in her lap so that Buffy could reach a few of the bruises. “Mostly superficial,” she said. “It doesn’t look like any bones have been broken.”

“I guess that’s that vampire strength for you,” Jenny replied with a small, tense shrug.

Something occurred to Gil that she didn’t all the way like. “Jenny,” she said suddenly. “I—never gave you the opportunity to—choose.”

Jenny frowned. “Choose what?”

“Whether or not you wanted to be brought back.”

“What?” Jenny blinked, and then her face softened. “Oh. Oh, honey, no, don’t worry about that, okay?”

“It’s a fairly significant decision, Jenny,” said Gil quietly. “It’s not something I can just brush under the rug.”

Jenny shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said. “I—had a lot of things I wanted to do, before I died. I wasn’t at peace when I died. Granted, this isn’t exactly the way I’d have chosen to come back, but it’s also not something I’d change.”

Gil didn’t feel convinced.

“Roberta,” said Jenny gently, a playful note in her voice. “Look at me. Don’t you think I’d tell you if I thought you did something stupid? You know how good I am at that.”

“I—”

Jenny kissed Roberta’s nose. “We’re going to work this out,” she said. “I’m here, and I’m going to find a way to anchor the curse so that we can have sex, and—”

“Definitely didn’t need to know that,” said Xander.

Gil walked down to Jenny’s grave, hand in hand with her lover. “Is it—strange?” she asked haltingly.

Jenny shrugged. “It is and it isn’t,” she said. “It’s not like I feel a big emotional attachment to Jenny Calendar, No Birthday, No Date of Death.”

“I’m sorry,” said Gil quietly. “I—wasn’t very involved in the funeral process, or I’d have—”

“Roberta.” Jenny squeezed Gil’s hand. “I—I’m not the same person who got put in that ground. You know that, right?”

Gil turned to look at her. There was an unusual vulnerability in Jenny’s eyes, one that she hadn’t seen for a very long time. “I’ll love you no matter who you are,” she said softly. “Even if you don’t know who that is yet, I’ll be here. I can promise you that.”

Jenny gave Gil a flicker of a smile, stepping into her arms. Gil held her. It was enough.