#it’s an established phenomenon trust me

[johntorrington]

one thing about antarctic exploration is that there will always be three men in a tent. with various consequences.

[cecilysass]

The Penultimate Partner Episode: Analyzing the Second-to-Last Episodes of Seasons 3-7

So I was thinking about the show’s tendency to do an episode that is explicitly about the Partnership—about the deep abiding bonds between Mulder and Scully—right before the season finale.

This doesn’t seem to happen in season 1 and 2 (the penultimate episodes are Roland and Our Town, respectively, which don’t seem to play the same role). And something different is happening in season 8 and 9, so I don't think they fit as well.

But during the show’s peak popularity, seasons 3-7, the second-to-last episode seems to be setting up baseline emotional stakes for whatever plotline is about to hit. These episodes are giving us the state of the partnership, reminding us how devoted they are to one another. They also tend to have to do with one or both partners having a distorted perception on reality that requires the other partner's intervention in some way. I’m calling them the Penultimate Partner episodes.

So can we look at the themes of each of these Partnership episodes and see development over time? I think yes. It’s gonna be long. I rewatched them all, so buckle up.

Season 3: Wetwired - partnership as trust Season 4: Demons - partnership as loyalty Season 5: Folie a Deux - partnership as shared madness Season 6: Field Trip - partnership as touchstones Season 7: Je Souhaite - partnership as happiness

Season 3: Wetwired  (right before Talitha Cumi)

This episode, like several in the Penultimate Partner episode category, involves a X-file that distorts perception. Because Scully can’t trust her own senses due to the mind control, she also can’t trust Mulder, calling into question the key tenet of their partnership. (And by season three, they have definitely established trust as the bedrock.)

Her gradual mistrust of Mulder in this episode is tense and painful; you can see on her face how much she argues with herself about it even as her mind is tricking her. Others who fall victim to this mind control phenomenon wind up murdering their romantic partner, but in the end of the episode, when they’re discussing what happened in the hospital, they both seem pretty unsurprised that Scully’s paranoia focused on Mulder. They both know, late season three, how crucial trust is between them. They understand that it’s Scully’s worst fear that Mulder would betray her. It’s not even news to them.

What Mulder’s worst fear might be is also hinted at, although it’s unsaid. He’s furious that her life is put at risk by the mysterious informant. When Mulder believes Scully may be dead and he’s going to identify her body, his reaction is chilling. He seems to completely shut down emotionally, not even showing any reaction to the Gunmen. Tellingly, when he is offered a choice between getting answers and going to ID Scully’s body, he doesn’t hesitate—he chooses Scully. (Sometimes people claim Mulder doesn’t show this kind of commitment to her until much later, even until Home Again in season 10, so it’s interesting to see it so unequivocal here.)   

I want to say that Scully’s anxiety about trusting Mulder in this episode is foreshadowing aspects of the cancer arc in the next season, but I don’t think that’s really what’s happening. This episode seems more like an entirely season 3 cap to the Anasazi / Blessing Way / Paperclip storyline, especially the murder of Melissa. Scully’s paranoia calls back Mulder’s in Anasazi, and Scully explicitly blames Mulder for her sister’s murder when she’s drawn a gun on him. Even just the fact that we're there with Maggie, who has a picture of Melissa displayed prominently, tells me that loss is supposed to be on both partners' minds. (Actually, the interaction between Mulder, Scully and Maggie is pretty amazing in this scene; they’re an emotionally complex trio who seem to be communicating on some other level. I love how when Mulder and Maggie are talking to freaked-out Scully they almost sound strangely unreal, almost like they really are speaking falsely. It allows us to imagine the scene as it looks from Scully’s point-of-view, as a massive betrayal.)

Wetwired is, technically, a mytharc episode, as this whole mind control thing seems to tie back into X and the Syndicate. Personally I think the episode’s ending, emphasizing the mytharc-related plot and X’s involvement and whatever tf was happening there, was a little misguided. For my tastes they would have done better to play up the more personal, character-based themes a little more. But I also think this episode was the first real Penultimate Partner episode, and it was setting some patterns that were going to be expanded on.

Season 4: Demons (before Gethsemane)

From the cold open, we can already tell this is already a more personal episode than Wetwired. Mulder is the one having perception problems now; he wakes from a disturbing dream, covered in blood, muddled memory. This is also technically a mytharc episode, but much more concerned with direct impact on character than Wetwired was. 

Scully instantly rushes to Mulder’s aid—walks right into his shower, for heaven’s sake—and absolutely never wavers in loyalty to him, even when he looks real, real guilty and a "rational" person would be suspicious. She is in fierce, must-protect-Mulder mode throughout this entire episode, from the moment she shows up palpating his head with her hands to her back-off behavior with the cops to her badass cold “I know what you do” comment to Dr. Goldstein. She also helps Mulder see through his distorted perception, telling him "this is not the way to the truth" as he holds a gun on her.

In this Penultimate Partner episode, we see something more than simple trust going on, although there’s trust, too. Maybe the word is loyalty or devotion. We see Mulder coming apart and Scully completely and utterly devoted to him. It’s actually very clear foreshadowing for the following week’s episode, Gethsemane. Mulder isn’t stable, and he needs Scully to keep him from “los[ing] his course,” as she says in Demons’ end narration. Gethsemane will follow up on the Mulder losing-his-course idea, and also will explore the idea that Scully’s bottomless support of Mulder isn’t always good for her. (This idea is voiced especially by Bill.) 

There are some ways in which this episode is a neat little bookend to Wetwired. In Wetwired, Scully flees to her mother’s house, desperate and paranoid; in Demons, Mulder, similarly unhinged, seeks out his mother at her house. In Wetwired, Scully sees things that aren’t there, and in Demons, it’s definitely implied that Mulder may be seeing things in his past that weren’t actually there. In Wetwired, Scully pulls a gun on Mulder, and in Demons, Mulder pulls one on Scully. 

I adore this episode, even though it’s definitely vulnerable to the critique that Mulder acts like a self-obsessed loon and Scully a hopeless enabler lol. Especially because it comes before the Gethsemane / Redux three parter, I wish the episode would have explicitly connected his behavior to the cancer arc, as I feel like that would have made his wild choices seem more understandable. If he felt like he needed to find answers faster because he knew Scully’s time was running out and he saw it all tied together with her fate, then we would get why he was acting so rashly. It would also tie more nicely into Gethsemane, which misleads the audience into thinking Mulder has killed himself, in part, because he believes she’s been given cancer to make him believe. But again, I love this episode. Scully showing up and putting that blanket around Mulder when he’s shaking. Her hugging him at the end when he’s desolate on the floor. This shows a partnership that’s been through Paper Hearts and Memento Mori—that’s moved beyond trust alone.

Season 5: Folie a Deux (before The End)

This is another episode about perception—about one partner seeing things the other can’t. Unlike in Wetwired or Demons, however, in this episode the altered perception actually represents the real truth, something everyone else fails to understand. The episode plays around with the tropes of earlier episodes like Wetwired, at first encouraging us to think that it's a delusion that Pincus is a monster, but then convincing us, through Mulder’s eyes, that the delusion is actually reality.  

As other people have observed, this episode ends up being a nice little metaphor for the whole show: Mulder knowing what no one else does, being ostracized and considered insane, asking Scully to find evidence to corroborate him and ultimately convincing her to believe him and see what he sees. Their partnership is, quite precisely, a madness shared by two. 

It’s a monster of the week, not a mytharc, so there’s no distraction of elaborate mytharc plot, just characters and monster. And this is a Vince Gilligan operation, so our focus is definitely on character. From the first scene with Mulder and Scully, we sense that we’re going to be talking about the partnership. Skinner gives them an assignment in Chicago that Mulder doesn’t think is worth it, and he complains in a particularly self-centered way to Scully, which she observes (“You’re saying I a lot.”) The episode is going to be very explicit that while Mulder might be monster boy, they are in this unhinged partnership situation together. Another important moment comes later, when Scully is calling the perp crazy for thinking he saw a monster, and Mulder says, “Well, I saw it, too.” Scully’s careful about-face after that, her delicate avoidance of implying she thinks Mulder is actually crazy, is part of the dance they’re doing at this late season five stage of their partnership. She doesn’t quite believe him, but she doesn’t knee-jerk not believe him either. 

And the foreshadowing of what’s to come in this one, whoo boy. Most obviously, we must acknowledge that 1013 knew exactly what they were doing when Mulder tells Scully “you’re my one in five billion.” A mere seven days from now, a mysterious beautiful ex who believes his theories is going to show up to immediately cast doubt on that claim. And this episode is also toying with the question of whether Scully actually does always back Mulder up when it’s important, when she has to accept she saw something illogical. At the end, does she tell Skinner she actually saw a giant bug in Mulder’s hospital room? We don’t know, but I think it’s implied she doesn’t. That’s all presaging what will happen in The Beginning coming off of Fight the Future. It’s Scully’s little way of resisting the madness, but it also hurts Mulder and damages the partnership, which will be a problem in season six. 

Season 6: Field Trip (before Biogenesis)

Full disclosure: this is my favorite episode. So I’m going to make some big claims about it. This is the ultimate Penultimate Partner episode—the one that best knits together what it wants to say about their partnership and what it wants to establish for the finale. It's a monster-of-the-week episode (another Vince Gilligan ep, with John Shiban) but refers to the mytharc often. It’s also one of the best episodes about their partnership, period. 

This is yet another episode about distorted perception. This time, however, under the influence of a giant mushroom, both partners are unable to perceive clearly, to determine what is real and what is a lie. And when they’re confused, they critically turn to one another to help them see what the truth is.

Coming off of season six, the partnership is rocky. Mulder is frustrated that after so many theories of his have borne out, he still can’t get the benefit of the doubt from Scully, something he explicitly says in the dialogue here. Scully has felt like she’s not been trusted or heard, like Mulder has turned to others (Diana Fowley, for example) rather than his partner.

This is an episode about how they absolutely need one another to be able to make sense of the world—that individually each of their points-of-view are not enough. In Mulder’s hallucination, Scully accepts his claims about alien life forms too completely, not applying enough skepticism, not pushing back against him. In Scully’s hallucination, a world without Mulder, everyone is unacceptably unquestioning of the status quo, refusing to dig deeper, lacking Mulder’s critical acumen and drive. Neither partner likes the feeling of being unopposed, and it makes both of them suspicious about the hallucination’s reality. They may think they want their own view to prevail, but they need one another to be a whole person.

The theme of what’s real and what’s not – and needing one another to discern the truth–is exactly what is picked up and developed further in the Biogenesis-Sixth Extinction-Amor Fati arc that follows this. Scully’s skepticism has to stretch to incorporate more of Mulder’s worldview to make sense of what she sees in the Ivory Coast, and of course, Mulder calls on Scully’s worldview to see through his misleading dream world in Amor Fati. In fact, you could argue Field Trip is really about the idea that Mulder and Scully are one another’s touchstones—the people they need to know what’s right and real. 

Incidentally, this episode also plays around with some of season 6’s other subtextual throughlines: Mulder and Scully’s anxieties about possibly entering a non-platonic relationship, their unease about what a normal, domestic life might even be for them. For the entire episode they’re directly compared and juxtaposed with the Schiffs, a young married couple who died on Brown Mountain. The Schiffs are a tall man and a redheaded woman. They even die hallucinating lying together on a hotel bed after she asked him to “hold her” (although I do seriously doubt 1013 was intentionally foreshadowing a full year ahead). The last shot is of Mulder reaching out to take Scully’s hand across the ambulance, suggesting a kind of partnership beyond just, you know, partnership. Which takes us to the next season.  

Season 7: Je Souhaite (before Requiem)

Truthfully, I don’t think this episode fits quite as well in the Penultimate Partner category. It doesn’t share some of the same traits as these other episodes—it’s not quite as notably about perception, for instance—and it’s not fundamentally about the partnership in the same way. But it does end up commenting on their partnership (even their relationship, really) as part of its theme, so I think we can include it—especially because its position right before Requiem ends up being important. 

Je Souhaite (btw, written and directed by Vince Gilligan) has a bit of an unsettled feeling to it because it was kind of treading water, waiting to see what happened with DD and the series. Nothing too monumental could happen with the partnership or the plot because it wasn’t clear to anyone what would happen next with the show: whether it would end or continue, whether DD would be involved or not.

So we have a story about Mulder and Scully making peace with not having a significant impact on the world—e.g. not bringing about world peace, not introducing invisible bodies to science. Instead, they are content to delightfully share a beer and comment that they have made one another “pretty happy” (as Scully says about Mulder). Through the jinni character, they seem to take the lesson that they can enjoy being with one another, accept the simple happiness that their relationship brings them. Rather than wish for success that comes too easily, they take joy in the little things with one another.

Comparing this episode to the Penultimate Partner episodes that come before, we can really see how Mulder and Scully’s dynamic has evolved by season seven. We have a Scully who is much more open to supernatural phenomena, for example, and whose skepticism seems more like a reflex or a defense mechanism now. Scully’s move towards belief is partially reflected in the plot of the episode: the X-file here really isn’t even science fiction. It is just straight up fantasy or magical realism. Aside from Scully's brief mention of a disease to explain what happened to the mouthless man in the cold open, no plausible scientific explanation for the jinni's long life or wishes is really even floated.

Scully is delighted by the discovery of the invisible body, and Mulder is visibly delighted by her delight. He’s also frustrated by her retreat into doubt when the body disappears, of course. But even the reversal into her old skepticism is half-hearted, as she soon after she's engaging in discussion with Mulder about what his final wish was. This is consistent with the overall blurring of the old hardline believer-skeptic dynamic we see in season 7. It’s also peeking ahead to Scully’s coming role as resident basement believer in season 8. 

The last scene, with the beers and Caddyshack, is meant to be a callback to djinni Jenn’s comment that she wishes she could “live my life moment by moment... enjoying it for what it is instead of... instead of worrying about what it isn't.” Mulder, we see, is taking a cue from her. (And good for him, as we almost never see these characters do this. Except on rare baseball-related occasions.)

However, this episode’s position right before Requiem—and right before the events of season 8—ends up giving this scene a real bittersweet bite. We know, after Requiem, that they were probably a romantic couple at this time. We know, after Requiem, that this time is going to be their last happy time together for a long while. Later in season 8, we learn that one lingering wish of Scully’s in season 7 is that she wanted to conceive a child with Mulder. And of course we know, after Requiem, that she gets her wish—but with a vicious catch, with a terrible side effect, much like what happens with the jinni’s wishes. 

So that’s my academic thesis on that. I know others have pointed out the existence of this type of episode before. What did I miss? Do you think I am wrong to leave out seasons 1, 2, 8, and 9? Why do we think these episodes focus so much on distorted perception? Interested to hear others’ thoughts (if they make it through this lol).

[sasquapossum]

On my mind: why has there been such an increase in adulation and loyalty toward obviously defective people like Trump and Musk? Have people become more gullible than they were when I was younger? Seems unlikely. We internalized all sorts of stupid shit too, but it wasn't so focused on personalities. Then it struck me: the problem is that we've lost faith in institutions and personalities are what's left. Consider...

Politicians: believe it or not, we used to trust that they were at least sane and working generally for some vision of public good, even when we disagreed. Not since Nixon, Reagan, Dubya, etc.

Journalists: we used to trust them to report the facts in a reasonably objective way, even when that isn't necessarily what they were doing. Then came Fox and that all went out the window.

TV/radio media became all about engagement, a form of entertainment, not actual reporting. Now it's all podcasts and TikTok or YouTube, but basically same. There are some who believe one particular favorite speaks the truth, but few who would say these folks in general are trustworthy.

Print media failed in a different way, partly by being partisans for the establishment (e.g. NYT and the Iraq war) but mostly by totally missing the boat on going online. They could have agreed on a single shared subscription or micropayment system, but they each had to be greedy with their own paywalls etc. So their lunch got eaten by social media (who bear their own share of blame for eroding trust), and the press got even more unhinged about it.

Science, engineering, academe: we used to believe promises about new miracle materials, chemicals, drugs, etc. Even before anti-vaccine lunacy became a thing, a long string of disasters - microplastics, DDT, thalidomide - changed that.

Unions: they've experienced a resurgence very recently, but that's almost a "dead cat bounce" after being moribund for decades. Some people would blame Reagan and PATCO. I think the collapse of major union-heavy industries - auto, steel, mining - had more to do with it, but the result was the same.

I could go on - there's a whole other post I could write about the mixed role of churches in this context - but you get the idea. The fact that in many cases there were good reasons to withdraw our trust doesn't change the fact that such a general withdrawal creates a vacuum which we've filled with hero worship instead. That's where people like Musk and Trump come from.

Here's the kicker: it's not an accident. Undermining trust in institutions has been part of the authoritarian playbook since forever. Julius Caesar is the earliest example that most people would be familiar with, hence the silly illustration, but the phenomenon goes back much further than that. Creating that vacuum is central to authoritarian strategy. Remember Reagan's "nine most terrifying words"? Some people think of that as a libertarian statement but, with the so-called Moral Majority and various militia groups (then as now galvanized by immigration) behind him, that misses the mark. It was part of an authoritarian strategy, demeaning the administrative state and permanent civil service (i.e. institutions) in favor of raw executive power (i.e. personalities).

I'm all for unions, co-ops, mutual aid, etc. but they can't stand alone. Never have. Without a government enforcing rules (including against itself), anarchy will always evolve toward autocracy. If you think the role of government should be minimized, then congratulations, you're part of the Reagan Left ... or worse. A red hat with a hammer and sickle on it is still a red hat. You are effectively supporting authoritarianism whether you mean to or not. Also, since there's no significant left-authoritarian element in US politics - no Stalin or Mao and thank FSM for that - that means you're supporting right-authoritarians. You should stop, especially if you're a member of a group that would suffer most under such a regime.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Illuyanka - Day 91

Race: Dragon

Arcana: World

Alignment: Light-Chaos

August 12th, 2024

This one is for me, dammit. Illuyanka carried me through SMT IV.

Dragons and mythology go hand-in-hand (or maybe hand-in-wing) in many different cultures. I'm not sure what made the idea of a giant serpent so common across so many cultures throughout the world, but they were everywhere, once upon a time, in many different shapes and forms. Unfortunately, much like in Dark Souls, this phenomenon ended up dying out, but we have some fascinating stories connected to it throughout history due to this odd fascination ancient humans had with snakes. Of course, there are many examples of this throughout the world, but for today's Demon Spotlight, I want to focus on Hittite mythology's odd, half-alive dragon, Illuyanka. Trust me, it'll make sense when we get to it.

I am, admittedly, not very knowledgeable on this subject, but Hittite mythology is mostly adapted from a group they conquered, the Hurrians, with several deities throughout being separate incarnations of said Hurrian gods. Due to this, some of the cuneiform tablets referenced in the ultimate collection of said tablets, Catalogue des textes hittites, have different incarnations and stories to tell despite having similar figures in said stories. This leads to an odd branching timeline effect, sort of like different canons, where stories may have separate outcomes depending on the tablet selected. I'm not sure if this was as a result of the adaptation of the Hurrian stories not translating well to the Hittite's pre-established mythos or if they basically went "Nah, I'd win" with their own characters, but it makes for a very strange read with Illuyanka in specific.

This snake experiences a severe case of this in the fable of its battle with the Hittite god of storms, Tarḫunna, (Though it might've also been Tarḫunz? I'm genuinely not sure, as the Wikipedia article refers to Tarḫunz, who appears to have been a god of the Luwians. Another case of Wikipedia being unreliable, I guess) in which, depending on the tablet, it faces two punishments. Each one describes differing variations of the same general tale, though, that of the storm god and Illuyanka, an immensely powerful monster that matched with the god in strength. At least from what I can tell, the battle's beginning has not been given any explanation- they just began duking it out, I guess. Their first duel ended when, in the first tablet, the dragon simply defeats him. To quote,

When the Stonn-god and the serpent came to grips in (the town of) KiskiluMa, the serpent smote the Stonn-god.

In the second tablet, though, it's said that the Storm God was beaten so badly he had an eye torn out, as well as his heart, and both were taken as trophies by Illuyanka. In both tales, though, they end up consorting with other gods for assistance. In the first, he ends up striking a deal with the goddess Inaras, who ends up getting the dragon extremely drunk and filled with food before summoning the rest of the gods to kill him. In the second, the now-dead god ends up possessing a mortal and marrying the daughter of a poor man. After the two got married and had children, he ensured a gift of prophecy on his son to go retrieve his eye and heart from Illuyanka, to which the kid did it without much fuss.

Now back at his full power, the Storm God has a long-awaited rematch with the big ole' snake, and ends up defeating it. However, just as he was to land the killing blow, his son appeared, upset about being used by his father, and the kid demanded that the god take his own life. Teshub, the Hurrian storm god who is the one described in this tale, (likely insinuating that this was the older version of said tale,) didn't really care, and ended up killing both the dragon and his son. All in a day's work, I guess. Teshub was a prick, who knew? Either way, though, the fearsome power of the dragon in both of these stories cannot go understated- Illuyanka was a powerful enough serpent to match up with, and even kill, a deity!

This myth also plays into an odd theme that I've noticed throughout a lot of mythology- what is it with storm gods fighting dragons? Thor vs Jormungandr, Zeus vs Typhon, Susanoo vs Orochi, and now this. It's an oddly recurring theme, and I don't really have much of an answer past 'I'unno.' Still, this is one of the oldest versions of said story we have on hand at this point, and a rather interesting and unique one at that. It may have been the metaphorical progenitor of all of those other stories of storm gods killing giant snakes.

Not much to comment on with the design, as it's, well, a giant serpent, but I do like the water theming with it, especially with the gradient and the waves making its body. I'll be back home by the time I'm writing the next few DDS's, so look forward to that, and until then!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Cox at American Storylines:

Watching the clips from Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, what struck me more than anything else is how utterly unrecognizable the Republican Party has become under Trump. A party that once stressed the importance of honesty and integrity is gone. The rally speakers engaged in unrestrained vitriol and bigotry.  It’s not all happening on stage either.  The Washington Post interviewed Craig Dumas, a T-shirt vendor at one of Trump’s campaign events. His best seller? “Say No to the Hoe.” Variations of this message can be found at Trump rallies around the country. When the Post reporters talked with Brian Howard, a Trump rally-attendee, about his “Joe and the Hoe Gotta Go” T-shirt, he replied: “We can joke. We can wear crude shirts. Everybody here is having a good time.” 

Hilarious.  How much is Trump to blame for the type of nasty, derogatory rhetoric that has become a mainstay of American politics? I would argue more than a little.   But worse than the normalization of casual cruelty is the way Trump has subverted the importance of character in politics. In our late summer poll, we found that 44 percent of Americans believe he committed sexual assault. A Marquette Law School poll conducted over the summer found that 62 percent of voters believe Trump is corrupt. Only 41 percent of voters believe Trump could be described as honest and trustworthy. Even a quarter of Republicans do not believe Trump is honest.  Most Americans who are supporting Trump recognize that he has deep personality flaws, that he is not a good role model. The central animating question of the Trump era has always been: How can so many Americans support Trump for the country’s highest office when so many Americans have such a low opinion of his character? 

All Politicians Are Corrupt and Dishonest 

From the very beginning of Trump’s political career, he has sought to position himself as a brash outsider against a corrupt, effete establishment. At the same time, he never promised to restore honor and dignity to the presidency. Rather, he promised to wade into the swamp and fight dirty. Plenty of Americans were receptive to the message.  It’s not hard to see why.  Trust in government has plummeted over the past few decades. Part of the reason this happened is that Americans increasingly view their elected leaders as unethical. This is a fairly recent phenomenon. Twenty years ago, only about one in four Americans rated the honesty of members of Congress as low or very low. Most Americans rated the honesty of their elected officials as average, and one in five rated it as above average. Today, most Americans do not believe members of Congress are honest or ethical. In 2023, seventy percent of the public rated the honesty and integrity of congressmembers as low or very low. That’s a massive change and it has profound implications on the voting decisions Americans make. If elected officials are viewed as universally dishonest, then integrity is no longer a useful metric in assessing their worthiness for public office. 

Who benefits the most from this? The candidates who are most ethically compromised. Officials who engage in the most egregious acts of public corruption. 

[...]

Polarized Voters Want Pugilistic Politicians 

It's been well documented that Americans have become more polarized over the past couple decades. This has been especially evident in the negative views partisans have about those across the aisle—a phenomenon political scientists define as affective polarization. Republicans and Democrats have come to dislike each other much more in the modern era.  A couple years ago I wrote about the dramatic change occurring among partisans during the Trump presidency. Republicans and Democrats not only believed their opponents were simply wrong or misguided, but that they presented a threat to the nation. In 2017, only about half of Democrats and Republicans believed their opposition represented a threat to the country—a worryingly high number. By 2020, three-quarters of Republicans and nearly two-thirds of Democrats said the other side posed a threat to the country. 

More recent polling suggests things may be getting worse. A new poll by Johns Hopkins University found that nearly half of Republicans and Democrats believe the opposing party is “downright evil.” And a recent NBC News survey found that 8 in 10 Democrats and Republicans said their opponents are so dangerous they pose a threat that would destroy America as we know it.  The growing hostility that partisans feel towards their opponents has altered the way voters respond to deficiencies in their party’s candidates. As partisan animosity toward their political opponents grows, Democrats and Republicans become less concerned about the behavior of their own leaders. It becomes easier to overlook disqualifying attributes, because the political alternative is always worse.   It has also led partisans to prioritize candidates who would go after their opponents. If character no longer matters amidst heightened partisan hostilities, an ability and willingness to destroy the other side does. Trump excels at this type of combative politics. He relishes it. 

The real tragedy is that more Americans have come to believe that honesty and integrity don’t matter. Trump has convinced many Americans that being a good guy in politics is not only unnecessary, but undesirable. It’s a sign of weakness or capitulation. An unsurprising result is that more Americans discount a candidate’s character when making political choices. In 2011 most Americans believed that elected officials who engaged in immoral acts in their personal lives would not behave ethically in carrying out their public duties. Now, most Americans believe the opposite. The shift is far more pronounced among Republicans, but it’s not exclusive to them.   Whether he wins or loses, Trump’s legacy will be forever wrapped up in his bizarre, belittling and bullying behavior, and how he transformed our expectations for political leaders. When Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, talked with Jared Kushner about Trump’s behavior, he received a startling reply. “No one can go as low as the president,” Kushner said. “You shouldn’t even try.” It was a compliment. 

Daniel Cox of American Storylines wrote a stark reminder that character and morals were jettisoned with the rise of Donald Trump in GOP politics.

[as-u-w1sh]

Lovely as you Are. Wanderer x Y/N

Genshin Impact Wanderer X Y/N Oneshot!!!

Summary: y/n and Wanderer go to Sumeru's festival where he attempts to confess his feelings to you. Auntie Nahida helps Wanderer sort how he feels and they conjure a plan for his courtship towards you!

Type: Oneshot and Fluff! Little hot at the end but nothing to burn your loins off! <3

Warnings: Nothing! Just a little steamy at the end! Helpful auntie Nahida trying to help Wanderer live his best life!

Word Count: 4.3K!!!

-----

Wanderer x Reader (y/n)

: Lovely as You.

The days haven’t changed, and the sun still rises with every daily cycle. There are days in that the atmosphere is clouded but that doesn’t mean that the sun ever leaves despite the nimble nimbus. The forest rustles with the wind as the sound reflects that of the unwavering waterfalls of Sumeru. The animals frolicking and upkeeping with their natural selves as they have done since time. No significant changes with anything external except….

“Amane”, a voice softly called within my daydream.

“Amane”, the mirage dissipated quickly. Real life taking within its wake. The green eyes of Lesser Lord Kusanali curiously examined me as she checked on me, “are you alright?”

I brushed her off,” I’m fine, let’s get back to- “, she chuckled, nonetheless.

“What’s so funny?”, she smiled.

I’ve been working with Lesser Lord Kusanali with what she generally asks for help with. Certain input or more tedious subjects such as establishing stable systems for Sumeru since the abolishment of the Akademiya’s corrupted roots. Weeding out the pests so that Sumeru could come back from the infestation that I took part in a bit ago even if I did wipe myself from the memories of everyone I had encountered. It is the least I could do but even I think that my sins cannot be atoned for.

It’s in the past now.

Currently, other things have annoyingly occupied my mind. I scoffed mentally, how absurd. How could one person plague my mind? How could one person nudge themselves into my whole being so easily as they did? Why does it anger me that I…don’t know what to do…with them? With me? With…us?

“If I may, I would like to ask what troubles you?”, Lesser Lord Kusanali promptly questions.

How do I explain this? Is there way to even explain this strange phenomenon?

“I- Not sure. It’s isn’t of importance, let’ just- “, she interrupted me, “it is of importance because you are my friend”.

“You have helped me countless times, so it is fair that I care about you”, she smiles widely. I couldn’t help but be taken aback by her sheer outpour of care towards me. Lesser Lord…no, Buer…is a benevolent and wise god. I should. After everything…I can…count on her?

“I- “, I sigh while pinching the bridge of my nose. I could feel this unfamiliar rush within my body, within my face, within all parts of me. Buer still looked at me as if she expected an answer. I still couldn’t bring myself to speak but she read me with ease.

“This has to do with y/n?”, she gently grins with her eyes closed with glee.

“How…?”

“It hasn’t been difficult to deduce that you have feelings for them”, she fidgets with her fingers.

“Feelings as in?”, I cross my arms waiting for this conclusion of hers. I trust her judgement in this because I have no clue as to-

“Love”, something within me chokes and I cough while gawking at her. Buer still happy as can be, how can she make such an accusation? “I doubt it- I”, she cuts me off, “you feel affection for y/n. It’s perfectly normal for one to develop a connection with others like this when wanting and yearning for a partner. Tell-Tale signs such as sweaty hands, increased heart rate, or constant thoughts of them”.

I could feel my breathe somewhat grow erratic and my hands shake.

“Amane, this isn’t bad. Listen to me, it’s perfectly fine”, she attempted to reassure me as I sat down on the floor dumbfounded.

“I’ve never felt this way. I don’t know what to do. How can I remove it?”, I asked solemnly.

I felt her small hands hold my cheeks as she guided me to stare at her, “is that really what you desire?”

I opened my mouth and paused before I spoke, “No”.

Truthfully, no.

Never. I like this rush. It makes me feel alive. It makes the air vibrate. It makes me feel like I’m within the seemingly never-ending sky. They make me feel alive. They gave me a name.

Amane.

_

“How about ‘Amane’? I really like the name. It suits you”, they put their finger to their chin as they brainstormed as to what to call me.

“Call me whatever you wish. It does not matter to me nor does it matter genuinely”, I shook my head. So much effort just for a name? So much effort just for me? What a waste. I don’t need it. I’m just a Wanderer. A nobody, no one to rely on me, and no one to rely on. I don’t exist anymore.

“Hey, you could at least pretend to be happy?”, they huffed. I rolled my eyes, “you get worked up over the smallest things, didn’t you just hear me? There’s no need for pleasantries” I waved them off to try and dismiss them.

“It is a big deal. It’s you. You need a name. Not just because it’s a code-word of who you are but because it’s something you own. You aren’t supposed to reflect the name. The name is to embody you.

Amane…is…peace

Ba-dump…

Amane is heavenly

Ba-dump…

Amane is the tranquil sound of rain

Ba-dump…

Amane is You.

You exist to me as Amane. The embodiment of heaven’s loveliest sounding rain”.  

All I could think in that moment was despite the strange rhythmic murmur in my ears or the tingling in my fingertips down to my inner core. I could only take in awe of them.

‘I wish I could be as lovely as they are.’, I thought.

And just like that. They ultimately tied who I was to them. I knew that no matter how many years passed; I could never forget them.

And if they did, this tie would forevermore bring me back to them, one way or another. Even if I was named after the so-called heavens, I would rage my own hell if they ever took them from me.

_

Buer grinned once more as if she could read exactly what was running through my heart-sick mind, “there is no need to try and rid yourself of something just because it is new”. There was a creeping panic, “what if they don’t like me?”

All she responded with was, “What if they do?”, she tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

“You won’t ever find out if you don’t try.  It would be best that even if you don’t get the response you want then at least you got some sort of answer. Even so, do not let one sour event deter you from experiencing all that is good in this world. Do not let your past hold you back”, she confidently lectured me while her small hands went to her sides.

I was just about to say something to contradict her but she quickly put a finger to her lips as if to shush me, “I have a feeling though that they feel the exact same way”, and that one sentence transformed my entire mental process. Buer is knowledgeable but I also know she can tap into one’s mind if she wanted to. Whether she has but never told anyone is something she will keep to herself but that was the confidence boost I needed.

Because what she meant was,

“They feel the exact same way “

Just as quick.

Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump!

As if she knew, “let me introduce the concept of courtship and must I mention that there will be a festival tonight in Sumeru”.

“I don’t understand why I need to court if they feel the same wa- “, I scowled.

“Hush now and learn!”, she swiftly quieted me with a determined expression and dragged me away to her data table to show me archons knows what.

I’m having an archon give me dating advice…

How irritating.

*Y/N POV*

“Well goodbye Traveler! Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay for the new Sumeru festival? Nahida wants the community to grow a little closer and to bring some new fun for everyone! I’m sure she would love if you came. I’m sure though, that if you can’t make it, she will definitely understand- “, I’m cut off as I heard incoming footsteps on the pavement within Sumeru’s City Square.

“Hello, you two!”, I heard a familiar voice.

“Nahida and Amane!”, Paimon cheers as I turn to see Nahida and Amane come towards me.

I sucked in my breathe as I laid my eyes on Amane. Sure, we have known each other for a bit now. A few months as well as when I got my memories of him as Scaramouche. However, that isn’t him anymore. Now, he is Amane. Me and the Traveler decided on the name even if I was the only one spouting any good ideas. We just decided to go along with it.

Even so, I couldn’t help but start noticing him more differently.

He is beautiful.

Even if he is a puppet, he is…breathless.

I can’t take advantage of him though.

I’ve never felt this kind of attraction for anyone though.

He is intoxicating.

He came slightly behind Nahida. His eyes immediately met with mine and I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. I clenched my hands as I tried to calm down my palpitating heart. I like to think that I’ve always been weirdly attracted to him but as of lately, it is unbearable. He ‘tched’ a small smirk as I looked away from his intense gaze.

“I was hoping to speak to the traveler about something, could I perhaps borrow them for a bit?”, Nahida kindly asked. The traveler nodded and Paimon followed as Nahida led themselves away from me and Amane. We were alone. I followed their backs as they disappeared and never once did Amane tear his sight from me. Archons help me. Nahida how dare you leave me alone with him while I feel like this!

“y/n come on”, Amane grabbed my hand and dragged me.

“Eh-? Where are we going?”, I asked puzzled as to why he just yanked me like that.

“Let’s go to the festival”, he plainly said as I looked at the backside of his head. Sure enough, he led me to the entrance of the festival. String banners and lights decorated the stalls to advertise a variety of items, foods, and who knows what else. The sunrise in the distance giving off the rainbow glow of the sky as laughs were heard throughout the area. Children ran around as they played games such as toss and pin the slime. It was such a nice and exciting atmosphere.

I glanced down to Amane holding my hand. His hand was slender and cool. I ran my thumb on one of his knuckles and it was soft. No calluses, no roughness, just dainty delicateness. As soon as I did that, he flinched ever so slightly, he turned to face me. He had taken away his hand fast. He ogled inquisitively but gently at me, “what was that?”

I couldn’t help but be embarrassed, “I’m so sorry! I err! I- “, I stuttered. He sighed and took my hand holding it up. He then put his hand up to it as if to compare them, “you wouldn’t even be able to tell that one of them is fake”. His eyes holding a distant semblance as if he contemplated his existence once more like he always did. “I think that it’s just as real as the one holding it”, I squeezed his hand once. Again, he took his hand.

He scoffed, “Shut up, you seriously say some of the weirdest stuff. How do you even think of that?”, he cleared his throat. I shook my head, same ol’Amane. Still can’t handle even the slightest bit of care or affection.

“Hurry up, let’s go enjoy the festival, or I’m leaving you”, he falsely yawned as he strolled away from me. I was broken of my heartfelt spell by his annoying attitude, “just when you’re finally nice to me, you go back to your old ways”, I groan.

“You should know I am no saint. Besides, I’m being nice by taking you to the festival”, he stuck out his tongue while I ran to catch up to him. Why I ought to-! I was stopped by a savory smell. I stopped dead in my tracks, “Potato Boats! Ah- I love me some spuds!”, I follow the smell.

“Oi, don’t just wander away! You’re going to get lost!”, Amane scolds me as I find the potato boat stall. I ignore him as I see the vendor cracking open some spuds and adding mushrooms with cheese! I run up and observe him while Amane walks to the vendor, “I’d like to buy one Potato Boat with everything”.

“Wait wait! Hold on- I left my mora at h- “, I panicky tell Amane but he shoots me a ‘are-you-serious’ look. “I wouldn’t have brought you to the festival if you were to pay for it. I brought mora, you moron”, he complains. On another serious note, he ‘brought’ me to the festival? I’m extremely confused as to what the context is.

I felt the slight flutter of butterflies in my chest slowly making its way up my throat. I couldn’t help but smile, “I’ll make sure to pay you back”.

“Don’t worry about it”, he made his way back to me with the potato boat as it held two spoons. Two spoons? “It’s so good!”, I cried out in ecstasy. Amane then had a bite. Once more, I was confused. Amane had expressed that he wasn’t really a fan of food in general besides bitter tea… Why would he…” It isn’t bad I suppose”, he shrugs. “It’s okay…You don’t have to force yourself to eat things I like, I know you don’t go for these types of flavors”, I remind him.

“I-It’s not that I hate it or anything, I just- sigh I’m not sure how to do this. Can you tell I don’t do this often?”, he asks a little disheartened.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He gave me an expression of shock, “I don’t get- “.

“Doing this with you is all that matters. It is the meaning that you are willing to try my favorite foods even if you know that they might not be to your tastes. I like this. This makes me happy, thank you”, he breathes out almost a sigh of relief as he chuckles to himself.

“By the way, you eat so sloppily”, he uses his thumb to wipe away some cheese from the corner of my lip as he sucks the cheese off his thumb, “I think it tastes better now somehow”. He smirks while the fluttering feeling in my chest starts again. He must’ve not have realized…calm down.

Calm down.

After devouring my potato boat, we decided to walk by some more stalls.

“Come now! Fortunes of all! Health or love! You decide!”, a young girl advertised while two cats sat near her.

“You! Come here! I hear Harut and Marut wanting me to guide you into the next fortune you desire!”, I pointed to myself and she nodded frantically. I looked to Amane and he just shrugged. Oh well, never had my fortune read before. I decided to take a seat before her.

Should I really trust these types of things? The cats were purring and rubbing up against my legs, “Harut and Marut! I realize you have a message but let me get to it!”, the young girl exclaimed.

“Nabiya! Nice to meet you! I have but a small message for you!”, she pointed to me again.

“About?”, I asked skeptically.

“Health? Not really important…let’s see…You will be pretty good in that aspect”, she mumbled as her cats meowed, “Love! Now, that’s super juicy! Now tell me about your love life”.

A kid is asking about my love life?!

*Amane’s POV*

I couldn’t help but snicker as y/n was put on the spot. I’m so glad it’s them and not me. I’m not sure I really trust what this ‘fortune teller’ has to say but I must admit I am intrigued as to what will be said. I don’t think I’ve heard much about y/n’s love life. Archons, what if they are already with someone and I haven’t even-

“It’s as dry as the Sumeru desert. There has never been anyone and there is no one”, they confirm.

The girl grows into a mischievous smile as her gaze flickers to me.

What?! There is no way that this little brat could possibly-

“Well, I would say that’s going to change fairly soon. It’s really close actually. Could’ve been with you this entire time actu- “, I cut her off as I grab y/n, “alright, that’s enough”.

The girl laughs as her cats’ howl with her. I’m sure the only reason why she didn’t ask for payment was because my expression was payment enough! That too close. Ugh. I have more important things to attend to at the moment. I nearly had my cover blown because of a girl and two cats.

This is so annoying.

“Wait! She didn’t even finish yet!”, y/n groans, “she was so close! You know that even I get lonely too, right? I want to know if I have a true love!”

Oh, if only you knew y/n.

(Time passes) *Y/N’s POV*

“Man, I wanted to win that prize so bad!”, I moaned as we exited the festival. “Those games are all rigged anyways besides why would you want a cheap prize?”, Amane raised a brow as we walked into the forest. “It’s the effort that counts! It meant that I would’ve won something! You wouldn’t understand”, I grumble.

“You’re right I wouldn’t. Because that is such a trivial and insignificant reason to want to spend an insane amount of mora”, Amane shakes his head. We walk deeper into the forest, not knowing where on Teyvat’s name we are going to. Erm-

“Um, where are we going?”, I turned to him.

“Give me your hand”, he held out his hand.

“Sure, where are we AaaaHHH-!”, I yelped as he grabbed a hold of me, and we went into the air. I gripped onto him so tight as we soared through the air, “heh, there’s no need to be nervous. I’m just taking you to a vantage point”.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as his hand moved to my lower back and waist. I could see the design of his hat behind his back as the wind gushed and fueled our flight. “Oh Archons, Oh Archons, we are flying. I’m flying. YOU are flying. You better not drop me, or I swear, I will have Nahida tear you to shreds if I can’t!”, I squeaked.

“Relax, as if I could ever drop you”, his tone sounded offended as I dipped my head into his neck holding onto dear life. I opened my eyes as we flew and admired the stars. Usually, the trees are massive to the point that it can be a little difficult to see the sky in certain parts of Sumeru. I fell in love with the view even as I clasped onto Amane. This truly is a gift. Even more, that my chest was fluttering. I begged internally that this would last longer. I’ve never been this close to Amane. His body is sturdy and lean. I lovingly sighed at the way he held me into him.

“We are here, listen to me. Hold onto me because I’m going to land, alright? Don’t do anything stupid, moron”, sure enough, I felt my feet touch the ground. I let go of Amane and I instantly felt empty.

Empty.

Empty and devoid of him.

I turned and saw the entirety of Sumeru and the shining lights of the festival we were just at.

“How is it? The scenery here should be breathtaking. There’s no need to thank me. I see little point in it”, he breathes out as he sits down on the hill. A tree that we are under as we overlook the beauty of Sumeru.

A tear ran down my cheek. I began to cry.

Amane jumped up as quick as he had sat down and came to me, “hey what’s with you?”

“I’m so upset that this is so beautiful. I’m upset that I had so much fun. I’m upset that this is all over. I’m upset…that I didn’t win that stupid cheap toy. How will I remember how much fun and happiness I felt with you tonight?”, I wept.

I could feel Amane grow silent and heard him take off his hat.

I wiped away my tears as I felt a small nudge against my arm. I sniffled and a small object was put into my hand. I blinked a few times so I could get a detailed view of what was in my hands. It was made of cloth and it had some limbs? I could feel that much.

I looked and it was a tiny doll. Not just some tiny doll, it looked like me. The same hair and the same colored clothes I wore. I looked to Amane and he was looking down as he tried his hardest to hide his face, “you made this…for me?”

A minuscule nod was barely made as he looked towards Sumeru’s golden lights. He looked up to me with the smallest of twinkles within his vulnerable eyes. “You told me you have one of your own…that looks like you. You made me one too?”, I breathed out.

“I…I’m not good at this. Yes. I did. I understand if you do-“, I tackled him as took him to the ground. He made a small ‘humph!’ sound.

*Amane’s POV*

“What gives?!”, I huff. I just decided to give them the doll and they decided to put me on the ground. What kind of thought process is going through-?

I look up and I’m frozen.

They are smiling so wide. The golden hue of the city decorating their face and their old tears as one fell on my cheek. The starry sky behind them as they had me pinned under them. The gentle breeze flowing through both of us as we just were here staring at one another.

I could never be as lovely as they are.

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Just then, something took a hold of me. Inches to nothing between us.

I straightened myself up as they straddled me, the twinkle of the universe in their eyes as their cheeks flushed a vibrant red hue. I’ve been selfish as the previous version of myself. No disregard for the lives of others and I had vowed myself to start caring a smidge more. I vowed to not be as selfish even if I am the epitome of being a massive disgraceful persona. Right now though, I laughed at the world to forgive me for being selfish. However, I would beg for them to forgive me for my selfishness this time. Just this once.

I broke the distance and followed what human instincts I have even if I couldn’t possibly be one.

Even if every piece in me wanted to cower and run away this once.

Yet, I couldn’t dare tear myself away.

I gripped their lower back as I ran my hand to their neck and kissed them.

I’ve never been completely sure if anything I have ever done was right.

But this.

This was…right. This is right. They made a soft noise of surprise as I clashed into them. My hold on their body tight as their lips enveloped my own. So wet…kisses are so sweet though. This is…another taste I can acquire with just enough…just enough…I panted as I craved this taste even more. They whimpered as I bit their lip. Their hands scratching into my chest as they dug their nails into my black suit. My…heart is racing.

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

I felt the slight flick of their tongue as they welcomed my own into their hot mouth.

Oh, Archons.

The smooth wet muscle dancing with my own. I sighed as they drank every ounce of me. I would definitely ravage the heavens if they took this from me. I would bring down the sky if they asked me to. I fought back as they pushed into me, tch, seriously. Who do they think they are? I grabbed their cheeks and broke our heavy kiss. They panted as their chest rose and fell.

“More than friends, huh?”, I chuckled.

The blush on their face and the half -lidded look they presented me with drove me insane.

“You…I- “, I ran a thumb down their wet bottom lip and my mouth watered.

They then leaned into the crook of my neck as they grabbed the doll they had set down.

“That’s a good way to end our first date”, I breathe out.

“Date?! This was a date?!”, they shrieked.

“Don’t tell me you seriously- “, I face palmed myself as I groaned. This idiot was oblivious the entire time! Why else would I take them out? Why else would I endure their idiotically cute- I mean, stupid shenanigans?! Archons help me.

They shyly mumbled, “I didn’t think you would like me in that sense. I’m…glad you do…I feel the same way. Thank you for everything. This was the best day of my life…Amane. I love you”, they confessed.

I think I might combust.

“Well. I’m glad this is a successful start to our courtship”

“C-Courtship?! As in marriage?!”

“Well duh. I’m not going to waste my time on anything other than that endgame in a relationship aspect of a partner”, I scoff.

They should’ve known. Either way, they are furiously blushing clutching onto their doll.

Idiot.

My idiot.

---------------------------

The End.

[30fishmen]

Unknown / Nth analysis

My post got some notes so now you must all read my Hozier lecture. You have no choice.

SOME DISCLAIMERS: I am currently in the process of reading Dante’s The Inferno so most of the information about it is pulled from the internet/prior knowledge that might be completely wrong. Feel free to correct me/add to the post with more information that I left out because I am sure I will leave out something. Also, most of this is my own personal feelings on the matter, art is subjective!! And if you disagree, I would love to hear it, discussion is what makes art and music and fandom fun. With that, onto the lecture.

BACKGROUND: As Hozier himself says in this interview, the song is about Treachery, the ninth circle of hell as Dante describes it in his Inferno. It depicts feelings of betrayal, loneliness, and longing as told from the perspective of God freshly betrayed by the one he most trusted, Lucifer. This is where most of the imagery in the song comes from. (I think that is super cool). I’m also gonna talk about my own interpretation of the song from when I first listened to it, since even without the background knowledge it’s such a powerful song. For convenience, the person singing the song is gonna be called “the speaker” and the person they’re singing to is gonna be called “the betrayer.”

You know the distance never made a difference to me – right off the bat Hozier is crushing our souls. This first line establishes so much love and longing its almost painful- feelings that have persevered despite past obstacles and will continue to persevere for the foreseeable future. The speaker has been separated from the betrayer before (past tense MADE implies this is not a new struggle to them), and the betrayer knows that.

I swam a lake of fire, I’d have walked across the floor of any sea – again, the speaker is proving their devotion by professing the things they have done, and what they are willing to do in the future (I SWAM a lake of fire, I’D HAVE WALKED across the floor of any sea; past tense to future). What I realized after Hozier talked about the inspiration for the song is: this line is referencing how Lucifer got into hell. The “lake of fire” refers to the punishment/imprisonment he received for his betrayal and what he has already endured by being separated from God, the literal and metaphorical hell that he had to go through in order to be in the position he is in. The “floor of any sea” refers to the frozen ocean he is trapped in, the one he is constantly trying to escape. God created this prison, and yet he would have been willing to traverse it.

Ignore the vastness between all that can be seen/and all that we believe/so I thought you were like an angel to me – This line is talking about the reality of the situation versus the image the speaker has in their mind of the betrayer. If they ignore what is actually happening (all that can be seen), they can still remember the betrayer as an angel (all that we believe). Incorporating the divine a little bit, this line could also be talking about the distance between heaven, the mortal realm/earth, and hell.

Funny how true colors shine in darkness and in secrecy – Pretty straightforward as far as the verses in this song go; a slightly ironic tone that acknowledges a betrayer’s tendency to never fully reveal themselves until it’s too late.

If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of me – Though again ironic and slightly self-deprecating, the message is heart-wrenchingly simple. The speaker loved the betrayer so much they couldn’t see the warning signs of their deceit/ chose to ignore it in favor of looking at all of their goodness. This line begins a phenomenon that I like to call “the Humanization of God.” God is supposed to be all knowing/all-powerful/whatever else you attribute him with. Yet he didn’t see the warning signs of betrayal from his closest friend, something painfully human.

Where a blinding light shone on you every night/and either side of my sleep/where you were held frozen like an angel to me – The “blinding light” this is referring to could mean three things (or all of those things at the same time): 1)it represents a pedestal/spotlight that the betrayer was put upon by the speaker, which is why red flags were so easily ignored. The speaker looked up to the betrayer so much they couldn’t fathom them possibly being anything other than perfect. OR 2) In the third installment of the Divine Comedy, Dante is enveloped by a “blinding light” that raises him up to heaven and allows him to see God. Therefore, the blinding light could reference the divinity Lucifer held before his betrayal, something that God thought would mean he was stuck as (FROZEN, even) an angel, and therefore unable to betray him. OR 3) this verse is talking about Lucifer after he’s already been trapped in hell, with the “blinding light” being the surface he’s trying to escape to. This interpretation would be especially sad because of the line “you were held frozen like an angel to me”, implying that even after his betrayal, God still sees Lucifer as an angel, not as a sinner or a demon. Even without the biblical context, the speaker still holds good memories of the betrayer after all is said and done, choosing to remember them as an “angel” rather than reflect on their horrible acts.

CHORUS TIME- there’s a quote that I always think about when I listen to this chorus: “To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God.”

 It ain’t the being alone/It ain’t the empty home baby/You know I’m good on my own -  the speaker has very clearly been alone before, which is sad because it implies that the betrayer is the one who alleviated this loneliness, providing company where there previously was none. Now that they’re gone, they’re back to being alone. Also the implication that the speaker confided in the betrayer about this past loneliness (YOU know I’m good on my own) makes their abandonment so much more heartbreaking.

Sha-la-la, baby, you know, it’s more the being unknown – Something new to the speaker, though, is the feeling of being unknown. God has always been placed on a pedestal, with no one to keep him company except his angels. Lucifer was the first angel, known as the angel of Light, and was someone God trusted and confided in. God thought he knew Lucifer, just as Lucifer knew him, and now with his closest friend gone, he must return to that lonely position of power, unknown to any other angel or worshipper as anyone other than God- distant, all powerful, unapproachable God. And maybe this betrayal is what forced God up into heaven in the first place, doomed to never again be known as he was by Lucifer. In a way, that’s almost exactly like the punishment he’s given to his betrayer.

So much of the living, love, is the being unknown – This line reads surprisingly hopeful to me. It’s an acknowledgement of the situation, sort of saying “oh well, that’s life” to the most famous betrayal of all time. The most important part about this line is the tone; there’s no bitterness, no resentment of the circumstances or the people that have led them to this situation.

You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me – This line is talking about the first time the betrayer and the speaker met, and how that interaction affected the speaker. It also speaks to how much one person can be changed by another’s affection. As soon as the speaker was called angel, their heart was no longer their own, trusted entirely to the betrayer to use as they will. It also seems the decision was at least a little bit unwilling on the speaker’s part (the phrase “leapt FROM ME” implies unwillingness; the speaker didn’t GIVE their heart away, it jumped from their grasp). Point is, the speaker was definitely in denial about how close they were to the betrayer. Another instance of humanizing God in the context of the story, for though he is often depicted as loving, you never really think of him as having a heart to be broken or to be given away to his most trusted.

You smile now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth – the imagery in this line is insane; the speaker’s heart was literally chewed up and spit out by the betrayer by their act. The fact that literal scraps are seen in a SMILE shows the betrayer still deceiving, trying to placate/make friends with the speaker even as their heart is in literal pieces because of their mouth. This is also another reference to the Inferno- Lucifer is described as a three-headed demon, with each of his mouths chewing on the bible’s/history’s greatest betrayers: Brutus, Longinus, and Judas. Brutus and Longinus are being punished for their role in Julius Caesar’s assassination by being stuck feet-first in Lucifer’s mouth. Judas receives the worst punishment of the three; his head is being chewed on while his back gets scraped up by Lucifer’s claws.

And what’s left of it, I listen to it tick/every tedious beat/going unknown as any angel to me – This. Line. Oh my god. Even in the teeth of their betrayer, torn to shreds, the speaker’s heart is still beating and alive, just as their love for the betrayer is. And after thinking it over (“listening to their heart”), they realize that maybe they don’t know their own heart as well as they thought. Because what heart would love a betrayer? (A HUMAN ONE, PROBABLY. HUMANIZATION OF GOD.) Also, the use of angel, not as a term of endearment as it was previously, but in reference to a group (unknown as ANY angel, rather than MY angel or THE angel) indicates both God’s realization that he didn’t know Lucifer as well as he thought and a resolution to never trust or hold another angel as close ever again.

AND NOW FOR MY FAVORITE PART!!!!!!!! BY FAR THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE SONG IN MY OPINION. Setting aside the lyrics and the meaning of the song, just the pure power of Hozier’s voice in this section gets me every time. So much of a change from the easygoing guitar that’s made up the rest of the song- there’s like a heavenly chorus behind him, he’s singing at the top of his lungs louder and higher than any other part, it’s just so…. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s so good.

Do you know I could break beneath the weight?/Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you – Personally, I think the “goodness” that is being described here is the speaker’s hope that the betrayer is still a good person, deep down inside. It’s a hope that is futile and slowly “breaking” the speaker, because the deed has already been done, yet the speaker still carries it. In addition to that, I like to think that the responsibility of heaven was shared between God and Lucifer before his betrayal, and now without him, God is forced to carry the weight and pressure of being the divine creator of the universe all alone.

That I’d walk so far just to take/The injury of finally knowing you – Referencing the line earlier in song (I’d have walked across the floor of any sea) and again stressing the lengths the speaker is willing to go for the betrayer. The best part about this line is, again, the acknowledgement of pain by the speaker. They specifically say “the INJURY of finally knowing you”, meaning that fully, truly knowing the betrayer as they want to would cause lasting harm. Also, the realization that, as things currently stand, the speaker DOESN’T know the betrayer (hence the use of the word finally, implying future), and to know them completely would mean to know the reasons WHY they betrayed the speaker, which would certainly cause “injury.” Yet the speaker DOESN’T CARE. They don’t CARE how hurt they are by the betrayer, how much it WILL HURT in the future, they just want to be with them and if that isn’t the saddest thing-

The closing chorus is mostly the same as it was before (it ain’t the being alone/it ain’t the empty home baby/you know I’m good on my own/sha-la-la, baby, you know, it’s more the being unknown) except for the final line.

And there are some people, love, who are better unknown – my initial reaction to this line was that it sounded surprisingly hopeful considering the rest of the song, much like the line in the first appearance of the chorus. I took it to mean that the speaker accepted the fact that the betrayer was bad for them, and maybe it’s better off that they don’t know them. But looking back at all the analysis about how far the speaker would go, all the injury they are willing to put themselves through, that just doesn’t make much sense (Plus the fact that the speaker still says “love”). No, that wouldn’t be the Hozier way. Instead, I think this line is the speaker blaming themselves. Saying that THEY are the ones who are better unknown, because they’ve tried the whole love and trust thing and look how that turned out. Consider the character of the speaker that’s been built throughout the entire song: someone who gone through hell and is still willing to go farther for someone who clearly won’t do the same, someone who ignored red flags in favor of focusing on the good, someone who trusted their heart to a person who chewed it up without a second thought. This is definitely a person to take betrayal personally, to turn on and blame themselves rather than get angry at the betrayer, the actual person at fault. The rest of the chorus and previous analysis supports this too (speaker is ok with being alone/on their own, but they are NOT ok with being unknown. So, to inflict that on themselves is a fitting punishment). Also, the speaker being the self-blaming person they are, this line could be read as sort of an apology; if they hadn’t let themselves be known, let themselves open up to the betrayer, maybe neither of them would be hurting this much in the first place. It might’ve been better if the speaker had STAYED unknown and alone as they were before knowing the betrayer.

This whole analysis is a cumulation of all the thoughts that have been fermenting in my brain for the past month, so if it’s a bit nonsensical I do apologize. Also, huge shoutout to my friend for listening to my insane ramblings and also helping me edit this, she doesn’t have a tumblr but I appreciate her immensely.

That’s all I got for now, if this gets some traction maybe I’ll post my thoughts about some other Hozier songs (because holy shit are his songs amazing). If you got this far down thank you so much for reading! It feels really good to put all the words down and actually organize them, and knowing that there are people who actually want to read it is so cool.

people who asked to be tagged: @freddykicksasses @allegedlyunmagical @iwillgotoheavenforyou

[bug-the-chicken-nug]

At the risk of sounding egotistical, I just had what strikes me as a relatively small but still pretty poggers, perhaps even galaxy brain rwby idea:

Oscar now being Ruby's one actual pre-existing friend, an underclassmen from Signal, so that there's actually someone she's talking about when she brings up Signal friends early on, and so that we get some idea of who Oscar is and why he matters without Ozpin inside of him.

He hardly even needs to literally show up at first, just have Ruby writing and calling him periodically, especially when she needs advice and wants someone more level-headed than Yang to chime in.

Establishing that even though he's younger than Ruby, Ruby still thinks of him as responsible, down-to-earth, and wise beyond his years, drawing an early comparison between him and Ozpin.

(Especially funny if you don't reveal him beyond his writing for a bit, and Ruby's regard for him builds up an expectation in you that he's her wise senpai, or perhaps some sort of teacher's aide she was on good terms with... And then reveal this person who is apparently so smart and insightful and helpful to her is fucking 13.)

On his end though, this is largely because he just has a big case of Forced To Grow Up Too Fastitis, because he's only lived in Patch since he was 10, before that living in the canonical farm with his aunt AND his actual, still-living parents before an attack not by Grimm, but bandits. (Which then CAUSED a followup Grimm attack due to the commotion, but still.)

Leading to him and his aunt being the only survivors and fleeing to stay with a different relative in Patch. Except his relative lowkey kinda thinks he and his aunt are a burden, and his aunt's grief has made her emotionally unavailable and somewhat neglectful, and so Oscar's new home life.... kinda fuckin sucks tbh!!!!

So now you've got this sullen, grieving boy who doesn't want to deal with other people, wanders off into the woods alone, and nearly becomes Grimm chow (with an uncomfortable implication that this wasn't quite an accident and he sort of had a death wish).

But Ruby happens to be out there because she ALSO likes running off to be alone sometimes (and also sometimes she likes to secretly run experiments with the kinds of weapons tests so risky that neither Signal or her father ever actually approved of them)

So she saves Oscar and his eyes go from dull and lifeless to big and sparkly as he pretty much just kinda. Metaphorically stuffs Ruby (and the whole ideal of Hunting she now represents to him) into the gaping hole in his heart and makes it basically his purpose in life to be like her (his idealized version of her) now. (He is soooo normal and mentally healthy. This is such a normal and mentally healthy thing to do. Please believe him.)

The specific fact that his main tragedy was really caused by bandits is something I did because I also wanted him to develop trust issues (Oh would you look at that, Ozpin parallel again), and also to like. More quickly and strongly establish that bandits are like. A tangible and threatening phenomenon in their world that harms people the viewer actually cares about, rather than just relying on a sudden plot with Weiss being kidnapped for that.

So Oscar kind of has to balance his having seen the worst in people and his underlying misanthropy with "I don't want anyone to suffer like I did" and his desire to be a True Hunter, which in his mind should involve Loving And Protecting Everybody.

And then in v3 he actually like shows up in the present day, having Absolutely Fucking Not been content to watch the Vytal Festival from home if Ruby would Actually Be There

Which is all well and good and Ruby is glad to see him and he seems like kinda just a fun little guy to have around, but then Shit Goes Down and Oscar, full of a Perfect Cocktail of Survivor's Guilt, Hero Complex, and The Need To Impress Senpai, goes "DON'T WORRY. I CAN HELP."

Ruby, eyes going cartoonishly huge and popping out of her skull: DO NOT!!!!

Which he fortunately disobeys, giving him time to show off his own self-made weapon and his fighting style and his other little quirks, and luckily he actually does manage to be decently helpful!

But then he eats shit and gets in trouble so uh. Not yay.

Also not to be an edgelord but I feel like it could be interesting here if Oscar specifically eats shit because of Roman... And then...

It REALLY IS Ruby's fault Roman dies?

Like it is still kind of an accident, he has Oscar in a chokehold and Ruby really just wants him to let go, but he gets cocky, does a villain monologue, lets his guard down, forgets just *how* super Ruby's super speed can really be when you piss her off, and-

She pulls a flawless *teleports behind you* and then, she just swings her scythe as fast as she can in a single-minded adrenaline-and-Semblance-fueled fugue state, and because his guard is down, uh,

OOPS.

So then Ruby and Oscar gotta unpack all this at some point, but NOT NOW, cause Oscar passes out from injury, shock, and exhaustion, and the next time he wakes up, our good ol' Ozzed Pin is in his head now.

Also I like the other edgy idea I have where this Oscar got a Semblance, only for it to turn out that when Ozpin gets into your head, he involuntarily "eats" your Semblance, and/or part of your Aura, to help stabilize and restore his own soul, because dying and transferring hosts is a traumatic process that causes him to accrue spiritual/metaphysical "damage" and "wear" over time. As not every host can offer enough to fully offset the wear, this is another reason why his magic keeps weakening over time.

Basically just to make it more immediately and obviously a serious and uncomfortable conflict to be emotionally invested in. (And to be something to contribute to stoking the fires of a more believable anti-Ozpin uproar from the other characters, who wouldn't immediately know or all initially believe that Ozpin doesn't absorb part of your power on purpose, and literally can't give it back.)

[overlordraax]

Why I didn't like 'Rise of the Beasts'

(Warnings: spoilers for ROTB and also mentions of character death)

This is just a little rant essay talking about why even though I wanted to like ROTB I quickly stopped enjoying it.

It all comes down to a simple reason: I love 'Bumblebee' (as in the 2018 film). That still stands to be my favourite Transformers movie. No shade to anyone who enjoys the Bay movies but I did not enjoy them (the casual sexism was so drastically off-putting for me as a teenage girl when it first came out), so I was overjoyed when Bumblebee came out and the movie was nice and sweet and made me really care about Bee and his connection to Charlie.

So when ROTB came out I was hoping it was going to be a good follow up and 'Bumblebee', and it was quite quickly apparent that it wasn't. It seemed that while 'Bumblebee' got the best overall reviews of any TF movie, it also didn't do that well at the box office (since it came out against the first Spiderverse movie which ended up being such a massive phenomenon). It seems Hasbro considered it a failure because ROTB doesn't feel like a sequel to 'Bumblebee', it feels more like it is trying to be a spiritual successor/sequel to the Bay films (probably evident by how the main threat is Unicron, who was the teased threat at the end of 'Last Knight').

It just doesn't quite have the spirit and sentiment of 'Bumblebee' but what made it a true disappointment for me was actually in the movies treatment of Bumblebee itself.

I came to this film because of 'Bumblebee' and I wanted to see how Bumblebee's story continued.

Then he dies in the first fight of the film. It wasn't even that in itself. It was the way they approached it in the story. The actual moment held surprisingly little weight, the characters seemed at best mildly upset by one of their comrades dying. There was no depiction of proper sadness or grief which you think you would expect for one of the main characters of the movie being actually dead, especially when they emphasize these Autobots potentially being the last of their kind.

This is even more severely undercut after the fight is over and they instantly establish that there is a way to bring Bumblebee back to life. Oh, so that's why no one was acting as if they cared, it's because the story already told us not to bother about it.

This was the point for me when I emotionally checked out of the moved. I found that it completely undercut the depiction of death in the film. In fact why should I bother getting emotionally invested in any death in the movie after that? The film seemed to want me to care when Airazor died, but why should I? Why can't she come back as well? All it would take is an excuse from the writers. Why should I care about Mirage's sacrifice? How could I trust that that moment with heavy narrative weight would actually matter? (and actually for the record I didn't mind Mirage being brought back at the end, because it was at least made clear Noah went to some effort in repairing Mirage and bringing him back. I just felt that the moment would have had more impact if they hadn't pulled that same trick earlier).

The annoying thing is I think there would have been a very easy fix: In that first battle, just have Bumblebee wounded and in the state of dying rather than actually dead. Then the characters can be like "Quick! We need to find the energon maguffin in order to revive Bumblebee." The rest of the movie would have gone exactly the same with a nice ticking clock for tension, but the premise of death itself wouldn't have been severely undercut.

I think there is a problem overall with how a lot of media handles death (though I feel I am mostly talking about US made media), but especially in franchise stuff it's become too weightless and ephemeral. Characters are killed and brought back to life with relative ease because there are probably corporate overlords demanding these characters come back so they can continue making money off their image.

[modesttreat]

The Possible Impossibility of Successful Connections

I always felt like it was impossible for me to convince people I was cool to be around. Even though I thought I was nice, fun, thoughtful, and respectful of others, it never felt like it gave the impression I wanted to establish a relationship with them. The struggle to make friends was real. I was either the target of light bullying or nobody paid me any attention. I was a team player, involved in sports and clubs, happy to hang out with others. I maintained a place in a clique but still the one that wasn't invited to parties. All those years I could never establish the relationships I longed for from my peers.

This is a phenomenon that has plagued me for decades. My narc mom conditioned me to isolate from others, trust no one and remain suspicious. As her kid, I wanted to trust her. I believed, "Well she's my mom she would have my best intentions in mind right?" Instead, she shamed me and gaslit me everyday. You know what she would say? She'd say, "People are just jealous of you. They aren't mature enough to understand you." At least, sometimes she would say this. Other times it was, "You aren't trying hard enough to be liked." The shame I had for being unsuccessful with friends mixed with my mother's inability to provide the basic need for connection left me feeling alienated.

I think the consequence of those circumstances established the frequent comment I get of, "you're hard to read." Likewise, I don't have the same capacity as others to read people. I struggle with expressing myself both in physical and emotional ways. Therefore, I constantly worry about my body language, tempering my movements, and over analyzing my speech. Kind of like being uncomfortable in my own skin, only its about my personality instead of my aesthetics. Initiating is of particular difficulty for me because I am over thinking about how someone is possibly going to misunderstand me. If I don't see an apparent indication that they are satisfied with my presence, example they aren't smiling, I become judgmental towards myself. I'm thinking that I'm boring them. I protect myself from people because subconsciously, I feel there is no way at this point that they will get me anyways.

I think this is in direct correlation with having a difficult time communicating with my mother. We only got along because I was either quiet or agreed with everything she said. If I expressed myself differently, she would shut that shit down. Then, there were times that suppressing my emotions was the only way I could feel in control of my mom's triggering chaotic behavior (not that I REALLY had control over it.) From being in such a damaging and unpredictable environment during my most essential developmental stages of life, I'm not certain it's possible to shake the feelings that I find uncomfortable with myself as an adult, nor fully predict the emotions of others.

Years of confusion has me to the point of giving up. Giving up on believing that I can show people that I can be charming, relatable or fun to be around. I have resorted to gift giving as the only effective way I can reach people. Let them know I like them by giving them something tangible to work with. I know as human beings we are malleable. More so as kids, absorbing information like a sponge. But how far can we take that as adults? Can we continue to learn and it be effective enough to alter our social construct?

[crazylittlejester]

I'm glad that you enjoy daily brainrot as much as I do. :) I look forward to 7:00 pm every day because that's when I start typing things up in your askbox. I even have a designated section of my notes app to make sure I don't forget things before brainrot time rolls around.

Also, the fic that I wrote about Warriors having low blood pressure/low blood sugar has bitten me in the butt because now I'm under official orders to solve the exact same problem with almost exactly the same solution that was proposed in the fic. The Ao3 author's curse has finally gotten to me.

I'm fine, it's just very funny to me that literally a month ago I poked around and made up a fantasy Gatorade recipe that I forced upon the poor guy. To be honest, I wouldn't trust Wild and Sky's first attempt, either. Anyway, since I don't trust my own fantasy Gatorade recipe (look, orange juice and salty water can't taste very good) I'm going to try and get something from the store or at least some flavoring from the store.

Getting on to proper brainrot territory, I've been thinking about the suggestion you gave me about writing Time (that he's just the older version of Mask) and I think I'll be able to swing it if I can just get my paragraphs in order. I have some nice snippets here and there that I've written out, it just needs to be organized and properly lined up.

Related to that, I have been considering the development of STEM in the different eras (the arts can wait for another day). Slightly off-topic, the main reason why there's so much Warriors & Sky & Wild in my Emotional Support Loftwing fics is because I feel that they'd have the most medical knowledge because they're knights. Warriors was a soldier in charge of 2 kids, knights in Skyloft were about as close to first responders as you could get, and Wild was the personal knight/bodyguard to Princess Zelda right around the apocalypse.

The others also have fairly good reasons to know stuff, but I feel like the overlap of knight training and the information available in their eras is significant enough to make a difference. This is a whole thing to me, and I will die on this hill willingly.

But back to the point. I think that Warriors' era was probably the closest to the Renaissance, Age of Enlightenment, or whatever it's called. That period in time when people were learning stuff left and right. The scientific method has been thoroughly established, people are starting to consider technology more, medical knowledge is being expanded to better society, and the war is making all of this happen at an accelerated pace because that's what happens during war. It's a documented phenomenon.

Skyloft, on the other hand, is much smaller and more isolated. They're very self-contained, so I feel like their knowledge is more likely long-term accumulation of information. There are fewer people to study subjects and peer-review things, so I think they've got more advancements in subjects like math and certain types of engineering and architecture. Medicine probably sticks closer to treating injuries from accidents and management of acute and chronic diseases.

Of course, Wild's era is really weird so it's kind of hard to say what all they have exactly, but I feel like most of their STEM stuff leans into technology, engineering, and the natural sciences (biology, geology, etc.) based on what I know of Purah and Flora. I think most medical knowledge or other hyper-specific information would have been salvaged based on the whole apocalypse thing with the Calamity. I also don't know exactly how the Shrine of Resurrection works, but I don't think he'd have forgotten how to do things like math, he just lost his memories. So he'd still have any first aid knowledge he got during his training. And I've seen some cool ideas in fics about the Shrine of Resurrection and the Slate using data for the magic-y stuff, and if that's the case, then maybe the weird blue Shrine juice was just liquid information. Maybe Wild knows a little bit too much about certain topics that Flora is 99% sure weren't part of his training program. (I also think Wild's era has the most information on seizures, but that's because of ✨the vibes✨ and not a specific detail.)

I look forward to 7:00 pm every day because that's when I start typing things up in your askbox <- ALDKDWKKFL I start frantically checking my askbox around 8 😭

The Ao3 author's curse has finally gotten to me <- NOOOOO im so sorry 😔

I have some nice snippets here and there that I've written out, it just needs to be organized and properly lined up <- oooooooh thats good!!

I feel that they'd have the most medical knowledge because they're knights <- YESSSSSSSSSSSS YES YES YES

Warriors' era was probably the closest to the Renaissance, Age of Enlightenment, or whatever it's called <- IM SO WITH YOU ON THIS

They're very self-contained, so I feel like their knowledge is more likely long-term accumulation of information <- I SO AGREE

I feel like most of their STEM stuff leans into technology, engineering, and the natural sciences (biology, geology, etc.) <- yes yes yes yes i love how you broke all this down and the different areas of knowledge you’re so right i agree with you 100%

THANK YOU FOR THE BRAINROT :3

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 98 - Baby Daze Part 3

Xander wants to go for a jog and get some fresh air, and he figures Gemma could use some too. That, and it means Ophelia can work on grinding out lyrics, which takes way too damn long. And sometimes your progress just disappears? Maybe the Watcher will download a mod to fix that.

Maybe Xander's recent health kick has been inspired by the kiddo strapped to his back. He knows his parents were older when they had him, but he wants to make sure he's around for a long time for his little girl. Gemma's happy to tag along, though she eventually konks out.

Ophelia's had more coffee in the past week than she's had in her entire life combined. She's exhausted, but she keeps pushing, just like she always does. She wants to provide the best possible future for her daughter, and royalties from her own original music will help a lot.

When Xander comes back and takes Gemma out of her carrier and sits her on the ground, she's not exactly subtle in her dissatisfaction. Do I sense a high-maintenance trait in her future?

Have you guys heard of the Mariko Aoki phenomenon? I swear, Xander has the same effect on babies that Barnes and Noble does on people. I feel like he always gets the dirty diapers!

Xander: Don't give me that innocent look. That smell's not coming from me so it has to be you.

After changing her diaper, Xander leaves her alone to play for a moment to take care of his own bladder need and misses her next milestone. Gemma can babble now!

Splish splash, Gemma's first bath!

Gemma says rise and grind 💪 No days off! She's flexible enough to stick her toe in her mouth.

Xander's on wakeup duty today.

Xander: Good morning, princess. Mommy's out in the backyard. Why don't we go keep her company?

Xander: Lemon Cake, you've barely taken a break the past few days. Why don't I take care of the gardening today?

Ophelia: Thanks, babe. Sorry, I'm meeting up with Drew later to go over the new song and I want it to be perfect.

Xander: I get it. Just don't burn yourself out.

As much as Ophelia loves her career as a musician, she adores being a mom. Watching Gemma learn something new every day with a smile on her face is so heartwarming. She loves spending time with her girl. No song she ever writes is going to be as wonderful as she is.

During lunch, Xander gives peek-a-boo another try.

Xander: gasp Where's Daddy?

Ophelia: Stop, she always cries when we try peek-a-boo!

Xander ignores her and reveals himself with a 'boo!' to Gemma, who surprisingly likes it this time. She almost falls over from giggling!

Ophelia: Okay, I stand corrected.

Xander: I knew I could make her laugh!

Ophelia: Watcher, are you still upset you missed the first laugh?

Xander: No, I just want Gemma to know who the funny one in this relationship is.

Ophelia: Daddy's silly, isn't he, Gem?

Gemma: :)

Xander: Y'know, now that she can sit up, we can finally put her in the high chair and try giving her some actual food.

Ophelia: Ooooh, let me feed her something before I leave.

Xander: …I don't like that look on your face. What are you up to?

Ophelia: Nothing… 😇

Look at Gemma, so trusting of her momma.

Ophelia: My gran fed this to me when I was your age. I can't resist…

Ophelia spoons up some of the smashed lemon and feeds it to Gemma.

Ophelia: What do you think, nooboo?

Ophelia tries to feed her more but at this point we've established Gemma doesn't exactly hide her feelings. She pushes the spoon away before it reaches her mouth. That stuff was yucky!

Ophelia: Yeah, I don't know what I was expecting. Sorry, Gem. Okay, Mommy has to go meet Pibs. I'm sorry I played a mean joke on you, sweetie. Are you mad at Mommy?

Gemma: Buh.

Ophelia: Guess I can't blame you.

Xander: That wasn't very nice of Mommy, now was it? Don't worry, I've got something I know you'll like.

Xander spoons up some ice cream and waves the spoon around, making airplane noises as he does so.

Xander: Open wide! Here comes the airplane!

Gemma complies.

Xander: Was that yummy?

Gemma: :D

Xander: You deserved a treat for being a good sport for Mommy's little lemon prank. That's enough food for now. Want to be Daddy's gym buddy?

Xander's workout session is a little… painful, but they say pain is gain! I don't think falling on your face is the kind of pain they were talking about, dude. Gemma works on some solo Tummy Time and practicing her right hook.

Ophelia comes home just in time for Gemma's bedtime routine. She takes over so Xander can take a shower.

Xander: Good night, muffin. Daddy loves you.

Ophelia didn't think she could love Xander more but seeing him become a dad proved her wrong.

Ophelia sits down and rocks Gemma, telling her all about her time working with Pibs Drew on the song. She's taking Marcie's words to heart and cherishing her time with her baby while she's little.

Judging by those faint green fumes, she's not going to cherish this diaper change.

Ophelia comes into the bedroom as Xander is exiting the en suite.

Ophelia: Whoa. Hello, Daddy.

Xander: You don't have to call me that when Gemma's not around… unless you want to.

Ophelia: Yeah, I'll pass. Since when do you have abs?

Xander: Since like 3 hours ago.

Ophelia: You said in your vows you wanted to be my trophy husband, but you didn't have to lose weight. I liked your little tummy.

Xander: I appreciate it, babe, but I wasn't really trying to lose weight. I just want to make sure I live a long time for you and Gemma.

Ophelia: I want you to stick around for a while too, but just know I think you're handsome no matter what, okay? You're a total DILF.

Xander: Don't you mean DILW?

Ophelia: That doesn't sound as good.

They've been so busy, they haven't be intimate in a while…

It's been a while, but they get right back into the swing of things!

[clatoera]

Hiiii!! Huge fan of the story so far and could not help myself from hopping over here to ask questions after commenting (@flimflamflame ty for responding with such thought out replies💖💖)!

LOVEEEE how you write them so physically affectionate with one another both bc it’s a huge sign of comfort and trust in a relationship and also it’s super cute!! Sets them apart from Katniss&Peeta’s style of intimacy/romance right of the bat I love the distinction. (Side note I ADOREDDD the little “white dress trying to burn in into his fingertips” moment I think I actually keeled over from how beautiful that was omg).

I would guess Clove’s especially touch-starved and wary with the absence of her mother (even if Enobaria is helping to fill that familial gap). Would you mind describing how you think their relationship would evolve from strangers/friends/lovers and the role of Cato in facilitating physical touch (ex: constant contact thru sparring)? Thank you!!

I personally about keeled over when I saw this ask I fr lit up. LIke I am so so excited to get an ask about this and talk about them and my au but also thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment and reach out ❤️❤️❤️

Okay so full transparency I am VERY long winded, as you can probably tell by 20 page chapters and 500 word comments. So bare with me, I just get really excited about these things :')

So thank you for noting the physicality of their relationship. Part of it absolutely makes Katniss and Peeta's relationship look fake in comparison, because these two are very physically affectionate. I think it comes from a possessiveness on both of their parts too, they aren't leaving a question of if the other is taken/spoken for. They're also very proud I think, of each other, and that shows in the way they are physically very (for lack of better terms) touchy. It's very opposite Katniss and Peeta, especially Katniss who looks like she wants to crawl out of her skin at touch.

Thank you for the part about the dress. I wanted it to evoke like..him processing and facing things and desires he didn't know he has, and accepting that he may never see them. So if this mental image of her in this little white lace dress is the only thing he's going to have to hang on to, in imagining a life that for the very first time he is both realizing he wants and also realizing he very well could lose, he is going to cling to the feeling of that lace and the promise it represents to him.

I think touch starved is a great way to describe Clove, in the most literal and clinical sense of it. Clove loses her mother and in doing so, she loses her comfort. She is a baby who learns that crying won't matter because noone is coming to help her/comfort her, which quite literally leads to an attachment disorder. There are studies on the phenomenon, and Clove would absolutely be in the category of attachment issues because of the emotional neglect she faced. The neglect is even sadder to me with the like..consideration that her mom loved her so much, and no one continues to love and protect her in honor of the woman who loved her so. Resentment and blame falls on this toddler which leads to her being the way she is.

And so I think knowing that she is in fact not given affection after the death of her mother, even physical touch has to be a little jarring at first.

The facilitation of that by Cato I think is a gradual process. I consider that in the academy people end up with like..a partner. I think Cato and Clove as very young kids were out performing their peers, and some of the older kids. Through mixed pairing and competitions the trainers found that the ONLY competition they had was in each other. I don't think they were the first pair like this but they are one of the last. Probably when they're around twelve they're established as okay this is your training partner, this is your competition, you need to make each other better, and then ultimately you will be tributes together. At first I think they didn't like each other in terms of he was already a cocky pre teen and she was a reserved, quiet girl who didn't care about making friends she just wanted to train. The initial physical contact is the training, and then I think it becomes that sort of teasing and taunting that comes with becoming a little older. He was bigger than her and could block the doors so she had to slam into him to get past. He could hold her favorite knife over her head. She could give him a sharp jab in the ribs, or take him out by the knees. Interestingly I think the training and the positions they ended up in while physically fighting each other REALLY facilitated the natural teenage curiosity they had to have. Hands lingering on the others wrist a little too long, staying ontop of the other once they pinned each other for a few extra seconds. I think those shifts happened around 15. I think it's usually his initiation from 12-15. He's the one holding her down in practice, the one holding something so high she can't reach until she pokes his ribs..etc. The same moments of him lingering a little too long sort of...shift once they're 15. Those hands end up dragging from her arms down her sides after they've pinned her own above her head. When she's pinned him down his hands end up on her hips and hold her by the waist. The touch is shifts from innocent training to something more but still manages to maintain a playful undertone. It's gradual. From training to more, but all follow a progress from those initial physical moments in training. On that same note I think the lines blur sometimes He'll have her against the wall by the throat, but his thumb ends up running along her jaw. She'll have her hands on his shoulders with his face to the ground and her nails just sink in to skin of his back.

I think on that same note, for all they have fought in training, trained outside, he's teased her, he's touched her, he has never done anything with the intention to like aggressively harm her. Yeah, they fuck each other up in training, but thats how it goes. Thats part of the job. But he's never trying to hurt her outside of just training injuries. That's refreshing, because I don't think that can always be said. I think things get messy in the academy they train in, and he's seen her hurt and vice versa. Theres tension with all these trained kids, and they're sometimes out for blood. The same goes for her. She isn't hurting him to hurt him or because she doesn't like him. They are VERY much in the category of "noone else can hurt you, only I get to do that." Noone else in that academy can lay their hands on them with intention to hurt without risking the wrath of them both. They like to watch each other win, but they don't like the risk of harm to someone they care deeply for (even if they wont admit that). They don't want to hurt each other, beyond training and practice. And I think part of their secret affection comes from the other getting hurt, and the way they react. Someone hurts her and he's going to give that person a black eye the next day. Her knife is going to slice a little too close to skin if someone gets carried away with him. That feeds into their possession. Thats His/her partner and no-one hurts her/him but him/her. Noone touches them.

That...physicality... carried over into their love life. He doesn't ever push her too far, because I do think she has some hesitation on actual sex for a while, but he genuinely loves to actually touch her. He loves it. He's an initiator. I don't know how much detail i'm allowed to go into on tumblr but. He respects her and her boundaries.

All that to say, there is a flip in there somewhere (around 15-16) where Clove also initiates the touching. She grabs his arm to calm him down when he gets a little too carried away. She grabs him by the face and pulls him down to her. She'll snake under his arm when they're laying together. Thats a big deal, Clove beginning to take on the facilitation of touch.

Clove was not given the same comfort in touch as a child should. She has to re learn that touch is safe, and it can be comforting, and it is okay, and it can feel good. She has to learn that she is allowed to want it and to crave physical interaction with another human in a non violent way. He is the only person (save for Enobaria, really) who gets the honor of any of those things. She has to learn that touch is okay and safe, and he gets to be the one to teach her.

I'm so sorry that was so long and verbose I just love to talk about them and this au okay thank you again so so SO much ❤️

[the-dalseum-duet]

I’m going insane

@svwhssftr late night kohlsposting meets queer girlie music taste tag

oh God. oh god KILL ME

bags… i’m not like the biggest Clairo fan ever but i really liked her in middle school and now that bags is blowing up I’m reminded of just how baller her music is. she’s just so airy and cutesy and nostalgic and it makes me want to gut myself. i actually have insane cuteness aggression. i see something cute and i resort to extreme forms of violence. can’t have anything good around here without getting it a lil bloody

(the first time i heard this song was in a rory x paris edit and they’re my one and only comfort ship. they’re so. grrrrr I love them dearly like it physically hurts me that both are “”���straight””” BITCH THEY KISSED anyway this is not about the most goated gilmore girls ship. those academic rivals are LESBIANS!!! the writers are SO WRONG)

but i keep seeing posts like “men who listen to Clairo are the most manipulative people of all time” and it’s funny in theory. but. ideas. IDEAS. GRAHHHH

so. this leads me to noeul. Naturally. Manipulative man ever. But noeul does indeed have a soul buried deep down inside him. He is naturally inclined to do things that bring him genuine joy. He is a hopeless romantic bitch HE IS I’M SO SORRY. NATURALLY. HE IS. HE WAS NOT BORN INTO A POSITION WHERE HE COULD FEASIBLY BE ONE. BUT HE IS REGARDLESS. AND HE DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THIS

like he obviously has a strong romantic attraction to Charlie. he stays in dirty motels to see her and blindly trusts her multiple times. he proposes to her. that’s a massive fucking deal coming from him. Living in Eden Grove gave him a sliver of life as a normal human being, and he fell head over heels as soon as he had the opportunity. Charlie made him feel safe. But like. In the way that you feel it’s wrong. It’s very queer even though he’s a man. And she is a woman. They are the gayest straight couple ever. It’s a hard phenomenon to describe but it’s so strong and it’s so conflicting but it’s so warm and hopeful and. ughhh. tl;dr Noeul has emotions he knows he should have but knows he can’t have 

but he suppresses these HARD once he returns to Dalseum. he has to be cutthroat again and maintain the image he had with the Council. this only worsens once his father dies. this is why he cheats on Charlie with Sonnet because he feels like he should be with Sonnet. Sonnet is a prominent community member who will blindly agree with him. Charlie is this nobody who opposes his authority. So he freaks out and just throws her in prison so he doesn’t have to think about what could have been. Sonnet is who he realistically should end up with. He cannot afford to do what makes him happy and, in turn, a better fucking human. 

Oh yeah. He absolutely has a breakdown once he learns about the existence of Crow. Also why he actually realizes that there is room for kindness inside of him. Crow’s existence as their child. But that’s neither here nor there rn i just love torturing this man. 

But. Here’s where we torture him more. Kai. Kai fits this into a way that makes me want to bash my head into a wall even more. 

Noeul sleeps around in a feigned attempt to crush his romantic tendencies. He’s not supposed to be sappy. He’s supposed to be cold and all exchanges with others must be neutral, if not beneficial to only him. Which is how he meets Kai. This was established previously. At one of Gale’s shows. 

And. Throwing this out there. Just to toxic-ify this yaoi even further. Noeul actually really fucking likes him. Like he gets flustered occasionally around him. Kai is a dumbass (affectionate) and doesn’t pick up on this but Sara absolutely does and picks at Noeul for this. But Noeul definitely picks up on Kai not actually caring for him so Noeul acts like he doesn’t care either. But ohh hohohoho he does!! This little whore DOES care so much!! He WANTS romantic dates out on the town and he wouldn’t trade the mornings they wake up next to each other for ANYTHING!! HE LOVES HIS STUPID BITS AND THE WAY HE SMILES AND THE WAY HE PERFECTLY FITS INSIDE HIS ARMS!!!! HE LOVES THAT DAMN SHARK BOY!! But Kai’s just oblivious. He’s just like “eh he sleeps around with Everyone. he just wants to have some fun and I’m cool with that. he’s just like that” BUT HE’S ACTUALLY NOT LIKE THAT. THAT’S WHAT HE WANTS EVERYONE TO THINK. THAT’S WHAT HE WANTS EVERYONE BUT KAI TO THINK!!

that’s it. that’s all. 

just. picturing Sara walking in on Noeul violently sobbing face planted onto his bed with Bags by Clairo playing on repeat in the background 

“…are you okay?”

“WHY DO I FEEL LIKE THIS”

“hungover?”

“worse.”

“kai?”

“NO”

“you’re in love, sang. I’ve never seen you act like that before. stay in denial all you want”

“fuck off sara”

“I’m just saying. It’s better if you figure it out yourself. I’m just pushing you in the right direction”

“there is no right direction here.”

“is that fucking pheobe bridgers?”

“NO!”

“oh-“

“it’s Clairo”

“oh my bad?”

[georgegraphys]

Warning : Heavily opinionated as I speak from my experience (which may be lacking) as someone who worked and studied in PR/Marketing sector so please take it lightly as this is just for a fun agree-to-disagree discussion

Okay let's talk about it

To some grussell sprouts, the development of George's "meme" persona to the general fans might be an annoying phenomenon because we often see George being reduced to nothing but memes and people just talk about his funny moments, like him for his looks or underrate him.

But what if I said it wasn't all that negative? Career wise.

F1 is a sport where you have to establish a personality or strong branding to shine there. It's not only about skills and talents sadly (let's face reality). We all know that not all F1 figures decide to go down this road but at the very least, they all do and they must do especially the current ones. After his Sakhir 2020 performance and pre-Mercedes era, I'd rank George's marketability somewhere around 6-10 on the grid. People know he is talented but often times, they do not know him enough to know about his personality. Very different from the likes of Norris or Ricciardo (in a good way). I won't blame anyone and their moms for this because George is in a Williams back then, which may lack some spotlight to it compared to the Williams nowadays.

Then he came to Mercedes. And he acts like usual. Like what he did in Williams. He has always been George the way he is since forever. But people are shocked when they know more and start to come to their own conclusion and stereotype him as "bitchy", "tory", etc. Why does this happen? Because they know he is there on the grid, he is famous but they don't know him enough to know his personality. And so he got stereotyped and people got the wrong idea of him.

But George's personality starts to show more to the general fans eyes as the "george russell is the type of guy..." memes appear and the intro pose soon follows. People are getting to know him through liking his "new" funny personality. It isn't anything new actually. George is being George but they just got to know him aside from his radio, race personality, and face. They just got to know more of George through his personality that is "goofy" for them even though it is honestly nothing new.

Then the hair part rolls in. Believe me, hair theory exists and works. It is a part of marketing and PR sometimes. George's hair made him look friendlier than before to the general public as it was a style they are more familiar with. Me and you, as George's fans, honestly do not care whether he wants to use 100 gels or go bald (We'd still like him) but to the general public that doesn't really know him? It matters. So you need to understand that even though those don't matter to you. They matter to the general fans and help them to like him more.

There's also the part where the sponsors actually start to know the direction they'll take with George. This is shown clearly by the way Tommy, Ritz, Marriott, Puma, etc produce/direct his recent ads/photoshoots/etc. If you are able to notice, they seem to have a clearer perspective of the direction where they are taking things with George and trust me, it is a very positive sign. A brand who knows what to do with its client is a sign of longevity and new strength in their partnership. They have these visions because they are starting to see the market and buzz building up, alongside with more chances that he gets to show his personality off-track through interviews, events, etc that he is invited to. This is actually a very good form of personal branding. And honestly, the trend is going upwards and this is actually helping him career wise because with the way he is and the more people get to know the real him and his personality, he will attract a lot of sponsors that fits him too. Not only team sponsors but also individual sponsors in the future as well 👀

I understand that some grussell sprouts might not view this favorably because there are some people who will only like him for their looks, are toxic, etc but there are some positives to take from this "seemingly new but nothing new" boom that he got from the past 6-10 months. For the real grussell sprouts out there, let's root for him the way we always do! 🩵💓🩵💓

[dcwnthercbbithcle]

Thinking about Doe’s crepuscular nature in TLB’s verse. Now! Historic vampire-lore aside (given how fickle a standard it poses given the wide scope of the myth in cultures and folklore) It must be said, nature wise there is massive precedent, most predatory creatures in nature, from lions to foxes, bear, jaguars and even raccoons are crepuscular! It's not something out of the picture and it feels truly fitting!

I also find it fascinating with Doe, she gets extra time but it’s not exactly the clear cut benefit you would hope it would be. In terms of energy and wakefulness, she WILL drop off in the middle of the night, growing sluggish and seeming 'out of it', and will choose to retire to a hunting burrow or hidden alcove for a cat nap until prey passes by and she catches hint or she can muster back energy she needs to feel on the ball.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, and I recently learned about this, many crepuscular animals will alter their sleep schedule and internal circadian rhythm in response to the activity of prey and predators in the area where they’re active! Sometimes it’s to work with the competition, other times it’s following prey and sometimes it’s just a ‘human beings disrupt everything’ sort of deal but regardless I do feel this phenomenon DOES effect Doe too!

Or at least whenever she’s choosing to live in the dorm room they’ve chosen to occupy as a second base of operations and in direct and frequent contact with humans.

On that note, Doe's body and her routines won't necessarily prioritize logic over instinct when it comes to her sleep routine. I mean, let's be real, waking up extra early into possible daylight is a piss poor plan for survival. But Doe's nature is ground dwelling and burrowing, her body assumes she's underground, burrowing, and hunting from there. Following the feeling of footsteps and scents back to homes to wait until night cover has drawn. Meanwhile Doe, in actuality is often playing RA and dormroom babysitter. And on that note, even when shielded by curtains and by the shade of buildings, Doe is still, well, she's a vampire! Resistant, yes. But immune? Absolutely not, she burns out quickly and her sunburns are severe, even second hand and even running in low light has its risks. But the vulnerability is par for the course, a constant reminder of the dangers of her human-centric lifestyle and deciding to go against the long evolved instincts.

Also RE: The Janette incident, it was 1000% lowkey Doe’s fault but not due to willful negligence, she had a human-centric schedule formed around the beginning of the school year and establishing her character (or so to speak) on the campus, so when the humans were suddenly wanting to pull all nighters and party through the night. Doe couldn’t keep up, she couldn't stay vigil at the watch, and the minute she needed to be on guard and watching for intruders, she was asleep!

Frosh week is hard and by all rights there should’ve been more than just two of the girls on guard, but the others wanted to follow the party to Santa Carla and feed and Doe wasn’t gonna tell them no, she's not their mother, or their leader (god knows she doesn't want THAT responsibility)

Of course every chicken farmer gotta know: you’re gonna lose *one* to the foxes now and again, even with all the livestock guardian dogs, gizmos and gadgets. But that doesn’t make the sting of failure and the anger at the Audacity of the wayward vamp any less!

Groups of vampires are, surprisingly, often less of an issue than a single vampire because a pack gotta think about the repercussions for all members! They don’t have the ability of moving light and inconspicuously. Is a single student worth the possibility of losing one of your own? Absolutely not. But the starving half-vamps and the single survivalist vampires aren’t so easily deterred

And TRUST ME it’s absolutely the deal, Doe will say as much when she’s the person doing the confronting. You’re not welcome here, you can try to snag a few, it’s not like we have eyes EVERYWHERE but trust me, we know your faces and we WILL take one from your pack for each student you make off with.

*it should be noted, when students leave the school grounds and territory the girls consider them free game for anyone. They care little for students once they’ve strayed beyond their territory, a sort of mental transition from kept livestock to wild game, and god knows! That’s Where THEY hunt too! it’s just the school and both their territory within and around that’s barred as a hunting ground for any of the similarly afflicted vamps!

Thinking about Doe’s crepuscular nature in TLB’s verse. Now! Historic vampire-lore aside (given how fickle a standard it poses given the wide scope of the myth in cultures and folklore) It must be said, nature wise there is massive precedent, most predatory creatures in nature, from lions to foxes, bear, jaguars and even raccoons are crepuscular!

I find it fascinating with Doe, she gets extra time but it’s not exactly the clear cut benefit you would hope it would be. In terms of energy and wakefulness, she WILL drop off in the middle of the night, growing sluggish and seeming 'out of it', and will choose to retire to a hunting burrow or hidden alcove for a cat nap until prey passes by and she catches hint or she can muster back energy she needs to feel on the ball.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, and I recently learned about this, many crepuscular animals will alter their sleep schedule and internal circadian rhythm in response to the activity of prey and predators in the area where they’re active! Sometimes it’s to work with the competition, other times it’s following prey and sometimes it’s just a ‘human beings disrupt everything’ sort of deal but regardless I do feel this phenomenon DOES effect Doe too!

Or at least whenever she’s choosing to live in the dorm room they’ve chosen to occupy as a second base of operations and in direct and frequent contact with humans.

On that note, Doe's body and her routines won't necessarily prioritize logic over instinct when it comes to her sleep routine. I mean, let's be real, waking up extra early into possible daylight is a piss poor plan for survival. But Doe's nature is ground dwelling and burrowing, her body assumes she's underground, burrowing, and hunting from there. Following the feeling of footsteps and scents back to homes to wait until night cover has drawn. Meanwhile Doe, in actuality is often playing RA and dorm babysitter. And on that note, even when shielded by curtains and by the shade of buildings, Doe is still, well, she's a vampire! Resistant, yes. But immune? Absolutely not, she burns out quickly and her sunburns are severe, even second hand and even running in low light has its risks. But the vulnerability is par for the course, a constant reminder of the dangers of her human-centric lifestyle and deciding to go against the long evolved instincts.

The incident with Janette serves as a prime example of this, it WAS Doe’s fault but not due to willful negligence or oversight. Doe had a human-centric sleep schedule formed around the beginning of the school year out of need, given she needed time to establish her character (or so to speak) around the campus, so when the humans were suddenly wanting to pull all nighters and party through the night. Doe couldn’t keep up, her circaidian rhythm couldn't and wouldn't allow it. She couldn't stay vigil at the watch with so many people coming and going between open house style dorm parties, and the minute she needed to be on guard and watching for intruders, she was asleep!

Frosh week is hard and by all rights there should’ve been more than just two of the girls on guard, but the others wanted to follow the party to Santa Carla and feed and Doe wasn’t gonna tell them no, she's not their mother, or their leader (god knows she doesn't want THAT responsibility)

Of course every chicken farmer gotta know: you’re gonna lose *one* to the foxes now and again, even with all the livestock guardian dogs, gizmos and gadgets. But that doesn’t make the sting of failure and the anger at the Audacity of the wayward vampire any less!

SIDENOTE: Groups of vampires are, surprisingly, often less of an issue than a single vampire because a pack gotta think about the repercussions for all members! They don’t have the ability of moving light and inconspicuously. Is a single student worth the possibility of losing one of your own? Absolutely not. But the starving half-vamps and the single survivalist vampires aren’t so easily deterred

And TRUST ME it’s absolutely the deal, Doe will say as much when she’s the person doing the confronting. You’re not welcome here, you can try to snag a few, it’s not like we have eyes EVERYWHERE but trust me, we know your faces and we WILL take one from your pack for each student you make off with.

Doe's philosophy, and by extension the philosophy of the Belles is simple: students are welcome within their territory, come and go as they please, do whatever! but once they venture beyond the school's grounds and the territory, they become fair game for anyone. The girls consider themselves "livestock" keepers within their territory, but beyond that boundary, they transform into hunters. This mental transition is a crucial aspect of their nature and the pack mentality they have going.