#it's that nova that makes them true to read about

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

When you understand who your OC is in a quiet room. When you hear their voice for the first time and can't hear your own reflected back at you. When you understand all the ways their trauma does not define your OC and yet is an indelible part of them all the same. When you write a joke that you hate just because you know your OC would make it, the same way they wear that awful shirt. When you realize what a dustrag they are. When you see the side of them that is a sopping wet cat. When you see them in their complexity, unconstrained by simple words like cool or smart or edgy and see how these myriad facets are shown to and picked up by other characters in the story.

Do you hear me? Do you understand? Have you seen what I am so normal about right now? I am being so normal about the little people in my brain right now.

[lhuxlux]

Meeting the right people in the wrong time, unfortunately. It happens a lot, that's just how life is. They were happy together as a couple, but they had flaws and they couldn't learn from them and grow as people. Things could have been better, according to Betty. But there are no regrets.

I think it was a beautiful moment because it's true things can always be better once you realize your mistakes and have a happier outcome for the two of them, but that doesn't mean they were miserable. That's just how we learn things. And they learned they had different points of view and their own flaws, which made the relationship not as equal as they thought.

In Adventure Time, we see Betty finally realizing her own mistake, all the things she has done for Simon, she had to neglect her own needs. No one forced her to do that, it was her own decision. Simon was repeating Betty's mistakes in Fionna and Cake, he became obsessed with the idea of having her back. And I think Betty making Simon realize his flaw was cute.

She didn't hate him, she never blamed him, because she understood it was just an honest mistake and he didn't realize until he had to choose between two options in the book he was reading with Beth.

The book itself is a nice metaphor about life choices, there are no do-overs, choices aren't inherently good or bad, but you have to face the consequences later on, maybe you dislike the lack of options to choose from if you aren't careful. Beth said it clear, maybe if Simon paid attention to Nova (Betty's representation) and not only Casper (Simon's representation), things would have been different and he could have had more choices.

But now he cannot hold onto the past. He needs to live, and not for Betty's sake. She didn't want that when she finally managed to undo the crown's wish. Betty wanted to do that because she felt like it wasn't ok leaving Simon cursed.

The bus scene is so powerful, because it shows you the better outcome for the two of them (but maybe not for characters Simon finds later on like Marceline), but he knows it didn't happen like that and there are no do-overs. That's when Betty says her last words, showing no regret and gratitude to Simon for being in her life. Simon doesn't get on the bus, they don't share the same objectives anymore, and they have to take different paths. It was a beautiful goodbye. Some people make us happy when they appear in our lives, but they aren't meant to be in our lives forever.

[dilvuc]

𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

Sebastian was still upset though and hadn’t spoken to the taller male in a minute. [Y] break the silence, “...I see that you find your new master. How is he?”

“...Like hell, but I'll manage…” Sebastian answered in a harsh tone and then it went silent once again. Damn, the demon is pissed off. Why?

“...Are you mad at me?” [Y] sweatdropped.

“We should stop talking and prepare some feast, Sire [L].” The butler ignored the question as he removed his coat and wore an apron, then rolled up his sleeves. “If you wish to talk then leave…”

“You are mad at me…” [Y] whined before removing his tailcoat and hanging them up. Sebastian pressed the peeler to the male's chest, “Peel them then wash the potatoes.”

“O…ok…” the taller male shuttered awkwardly. Just as Sebastian's order, [Y] begins peeling potatoes. It was an awkward silence once again. “Shit…He's really pissed off with me. Why? Is he in a bad mood?”

“...That child…” Sebastian spoke, grabbing the taller earl’s attention. “Is he yours…?”

Outside of the kitchen, Mey-rin was rushing with a bucket in hands. She was demanded to clean up, but she stopped and nearly tripped when she overheard Sebastian and [Y] talking in the kitchen.

“You mean Nova? Yes, he's my son.” [Y] answer Sebastian's question. The butler pouted as he aggressively chopped the carrots, nearly cutting the board in half, “I see…”

“Ah…Is that what he was mad about?”

“Did you break your promise and have an affair with someone else?” Sebastian questioned, swiftly chopping the carrots. “It's cruel to cheat on your lover like that.”

“L-lover?” Mey-rin gasped. The chef, the gardener, and Tanaka peek into the kitchen, startling Mey-rin. Baldo raised his eyebrows, “What are you doing? Spying?”

“Shh! Shh! I've heard that Sire [L] and Sebastian are lovers!” Mey-rin whispered harshly.

“What?? No way! I couldn't imagine Sebastian having a lover!” Baldo furrowed his eyebrows. Finny tilted his head, “Sebastian never talked about it before.”

“Not like he will talk about his personal life.” The chef huffed.

“Just listen!”

“Sebastian…Here I thought you could read the atmosphere.” [Y] deadpanned. Sebastian flinched, “W…what are you on about?”

“He shutters???” Baldo blinked owlishly.

“You mistakenly thought I was cheating on you with someone else. Nova…is my adopted son. I'm not in an affair with anyone.” [Y] stated, causing the butler to harshly chop the head of the carrot. The taller male flinched as the angry energy got stronger, but it quickly went away.

“I see. You certainly got me there! I was close to ending you with this knife~” Sebastian laughed joyfully. [Y] sweatdropped, “Don't laugh so joyfully!”

“Sorry~ I was starting to become jealous or perhaps angry that I want to rip your heart out.” The butler beamed, while waving the knife. “I'm just genuinely happy that you're not cheating on me with someone else~”

“Why would I cheat on you when my eyes are only on you?” [Y] winked. Sebastian chuckled with a soft blush, “Your charm haven't gone away~”

The [h] haired male then wrapped his arms around Sebastian's waist, then snuggled his face against his, “I was feeling lonely when you left, so when I found Nova, I decided to adopt him just so I wouldn't feel lonely.”

“So…that makes him my child as well?” Sebastian asked.

“We are married, aren't we?” [Y] grinned.

“Married?!” the three servants gawked, grabbing both the lovers’ attention to the door. Sebastian sighed with disappointment, “Of course they'll be spying on us.”

The four servants bowed before the butler with bumps on their heads. Sebastian huffed with his arms crossed, “Eavesdropping on conversation will lead to consequences. May I ask why you are eavesdropping?”

“I overheard you two talking, so…I got curious…” Mey-rin sweatdropped.

“Are you really married to Sebastian?! I can't imagine!” Baldo asked the taller male. [Y] chuckled, “True. Proposed to him two years ago…”

“Seeing Sebastian this happy is weird. I've never seen him like this.” The cook deadpanned. Sebastian glared, “Oh? Is it wrong for a butler to get married to an earl?”

“I just thought you're not the best type—” the cook received a shoe in the face before he could finish the sentence. The butler in black sighed, “Now that you all find out, you must keep this from master. We didn't want our relationship to be released in public.”

“You must be madly in love with Sire [L], Sebastian!” Mey-rin beamed. Sebastian blushed softly with his hand clasped on his cheek, “...I-indeed…”

“He shutters again. He's a simp.” Baldo whispers to Finny, earning another kick in the face.

“I think it's cute! I think you two make a great couple!” Finny beamed, clapping his hands. Mey-rin nodded with agreement. The cook recovered from a kick, “I don't think I will get used to this…”

“You might as well need to.” Sebastian huffed before turning to his husband, “We should continue preparing the feast. Master might be waiting.”

“Ah, right…”

▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬

“Your name is Nova, correct? You and your father don't seem to look alike…” Ciel narrowed his eyes at the child, who's reading a book. Nova whined, startled by Ciel's stare, “...A…adopted…”

“Adopted? So, you were adopted…?” Ciel questioned.

“Papa found me alone on the street after mummy left Nova to die because Daddy left her for another woman…” Nova explained. The earl was shocked at the answer. The four year old continued, “Papa raised me and fed me good food. Mummy never gave me good food before. She left me nothing but dog food…”

“I see…What made you enjoy books?” Ciel asked. “What sort of books do you like?”

“Fantasy.”

The earl hummed with interest, “Fantasy, huh? You must've enjoyed reading something like that. Are you homeschooled?”

“The servants back home educated me while papa was working. They teach me how to read and write. They even help me write a letter to Papa whenever he's working.” Nova smiles softly.

“Ah. They taught you really well…” Ciel praised the child. How about you pick out some books? You can take it home with you, but promise you'll bring it back.”

“O-ok, Ciel-nii.” Nova nodded.

“...!” Ciel flinched before looking away with a soft blush, “Don't call me that…”

▬▬ι══════════════ι▬▬

“Everything doing alright at the manor without me?” Sebastian asked the taller male while stirring up the cream. [Y] smiled as he chopped the potatoes, “Yeah, but it still feels kinda lonely…”

“You miss me that much?” The butler chuckled.

“Very much. What about you? Did you miss me?” [Y] teased. “I'm sure you do~ I can imagine you being excited about my arrival.”

“...” Sebastian blushed, looking away from his husband, “...Perhaps I do…”

The taller male wrapped his arms around Sebastian and snuggled his face with the raven haired butler, “You're so cute~ I love that about you.”

“E-enough…” Sebastian whined, feeling his husband’s soft face against his. The servants had never seen Sebastian act so cute before. When [Y] around, the cute side of Sebastian has been exposed. The cook twitches his eyebrow at the scene, “Look at him acting all cutesy…”

“It's adorable, yes, it is!” Mey-rin beamed, clasping his hands together.

“By the way, are you free tomorrow? I would like to request if you could watch over Nova while I'm working?” [Y] clasped his hands together. “I'll be away for three days during a business trip.”

“Three days? Didn't you just got back last week?” Sebastian tilted his head. The taller male scratched the back of his head, “Well…there had been trouble at the factory in another country and they needed me to handle a few things.”

“I see. How disappointing. I was looking forward to spending more time with you.” Sebastian sighed with disappointment. [Y] smile, then whisper in the butler’s ear, “Say, how about coming over at my manor tonight when your master and Nova fall asleep? Meet me in my room tonight?”

“...Ah…You don't mean…” Sebastian's eyes widened with realization.

[Y] smirked as he gently wraps his arm around the butler's waist and intertwined his fingers with his own, “Right~ I'll be taking control tonight~”

“...!” Sebastian's face turned entirely red. This human of his will always be the one and only person to make a demon flustered. “Y…your charm is one my biggest weakness.”

“Oh-ho~ Is it?” [Y] purred.

“T-the servants are watching. Please stop…” the butler looks away, but the taller male doesn't care and pulls the butler closer. “Who cares~ Let them watch, just to let them know that you're mine~”

Sebastian used his free hand to push his husband's face away, “[Y]...! E-enough!”

Too late, the [h] haired male is already getting freaky as the servants watch, covering Finny’s eyes.

SEBASTIAN, MY BELOVED! WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!🙇🏿

╰┈➤ 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

➤previous

[lord-squiggletits]

*sighs deeply and turns to the microphone again*

I'm reminding IDW1 readers that the reason Optimus felt pain when first bonding with the Matrix has nothing to do with him being "unworthy" or the Matrix thinking he's "not a true leader" and has everything to do with the fact that when he bonded with it, he felt the collective emotion of every single Cybertronian in existence and the strongest emotion all of them were feeling was pain and suffering.

I'm further reminding IDW1 readers that the Matrix doesn't have any divine power or godliness at all and the ability to wield it is solely based on how much a person believes in their own worthiness to wield it, which is exactly how literal colonizer, mass murderer, and caste system creator Nova Prime was able to wield the Matrix back in his day.

Literally the entire climax of Lost Light by JRO is Rodimus doing a pep talk to get everyone on the ship hyped/confident enough to feel worthy to wield a bunch of Matrixes. The whole fucking point of that ending was to show that "worthiness" isn't something only to be bestowed on a single chosen hero but rather a sense of self-worth that anyone is capable of achieving with enough faith.

Can people please please please stop with these insinuations/misbeliefs that because OP felt pain upon bonding with the Matrix it's somehow a sign of his inherent sin/unworthiness/shittiness/narrative evilness and actually read the comics they're making assumptions about? I beg.

[servantofclio]

Looking back at 2024

I check tumblr quite regularly, but I haven't posted anything much in ages. The end of the year seems like a good time to do a bit of a retrospective on what I have been doing, though!

I wrote only the teeniest amount of fic. When the Veilguard info started coming out in the summer, I reread basically all my DA fic, and tuned up some small things and posted them to AO3, but new words have been few and far between. Perhaps that will change into the next year, we'll see!

I finished Baldur's Gate 3! Like, last week, and yes, I'd been playing it on and off for nearly a year and a half. I should maybe make another post with thoughts about this game, because it's a great game, and I like my character very much, and yet I found certain combat scenarios so absolutely infuriating at certain times that it really slowed down my progress on the game as a whole. I also found it difficult to write much about my character as it felt necessary to see how character arcs resolved before writing anything romance-related.

Lost and I played lots and lots of board games. We probably played Ark Nova more than anything else, but we really kept up playing games on a regular basis much more consistently than any time in the past. It's been nice taking the time to do something together in our precious free time. We also went through our game collection and made a nice tidy spreadsheet listing everything we own, which is... um... kind of a lot. But it is a very tidy and satisfying spreadsheet!

Crafting: I did knitting and sewing intermittently -- I sewed Lost a cozy flannel robe, and made skirts for both of us, and knitted an assortment of socks and shawls and things. I got an inkle loom and tried out tablet weaving, which I really like and want to make more time for (also true of sewing).

Other life highlights of the year: We took a trip with a group of dear friends to a dream location and it was really, really great. We had social time with other delightful friends pretty regularly, and had some short visits with family. I took a research leave in the first half of the year and did a ton of reading toward prepping a new course. I still have a week and a half to pull everything together before actually teaching the course (laughs nervously), but I'm excited about it.

[forestlingincorporated]

I’m pretty new to Megaman, so I haven’t gone through all of the canon media yet but I am enjoying your comics so… what’s NOVAS, what’s up with, and why is it bad?

Aaah, Novas Aventuras de Megaman....

Novas was a licensed Brazilian Mega Man comic book developed by Estúdio PPA and published by Editora Magnum in the 90s. It's well-known for being... bad. The kindest words I can use to describe Novas is "edgy" and "unprofessional."

I'm interpreting this quesion to be not just "what is Novas" but also "WHY is Novas" so I did a little bit of research to get you a full answer, and not just my horrified reaction to it.

The book was published not long after the Ruby Spears cartoon. Apparently the book's early writer and editor, José Roberto Pereira and Sérgio Peixoto had been in touch with Character Toy Trade, who licensed Capcom products to Brazil. Upon hearing of the Ruby Spears release, Pereira and Peixoto pitched a comic to Editora Magnum.

Apparently, they wanted to do this so badly that, to convince Magnum's execs to enter a publishing deal, they offered to work... for free, earning nothing for the first ten or twelve issues.

While it's not unusual for a comic run to use multiple artists and contain varying art styles throughout, most of THIS title was drawn using unpaid labor from fans solicited through the magazigne it was published in, Animax, and it shows. Readers were prompted to submit their art tests to the publishers, and out of those the best of the lot was selected. To participate, the candidate had to send 6 pages of comics, 2 in pencil, two finished art and two colored. Contributing artists were compensated with a copy of the published issue to use in their portfolio. Quite literally working on spec for exposure.

Most of it is, simply put, not the quality you expect from a publisher. Fair is fair, though, and I would be remiss not to aknowledge that some of these artists went on to be very well-respected comic artists, such as Daniel HDR (who did MM2 and 16, and has now worked for Marvel, DC, Dynamite Ent. and Image Comics, was the winner of DRAGON AWARDS 2020 - BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL for Battlestar Galactica: Counterstrike, and is the CEO of Dínamo Estúdio art School in Brazil) and Érica Awano (who got her start with MM4, and now known for her works related to the Tormenta universe and has recieved the Troféu HQ Mix).

The art... is the least of their issues, though. I've read plenty of webcomics where the art began, let's say, amaturish, but the story and writing more than made up for it. I can't say the same is true for Novas.

It's baffling that Pereira and Peixoto fought to have this book, given neither of them appeared to give a single shit about the source material. My understanding is manga and anime was very popular in Brazil at the time. I'd call it a cashgrab, but they weren't paid for most of it. Editor-in-chief Sérgio Peixoto admitted neither he nor Pereira had ever played a Mega Man game before and all they knew about the story was some information they got from someone who played the games. Further more, despite the first two issues including promotional art from Ruby Spears and official art from the games, including a large centerfold poster that remained for two additional issues, Pereira believed Ruby Spears was "very bad." He didn't think much of the games' plot either, what little he knew of it.

Pereira's distaste for American media and adaptations is painfully obvious within the text of Novas, which takes the time to address the audiance to soapbox about imported media. This is, in part, done in a self-depricating sort of way, but seems to be the driving force behind the decision to even make Novas. Peixoto admits Character offered them "the original Megaman manga" (the Shigeto Ikehara "Rockman" manga, I believe) but he turned it down to do a Brazilian-made book. They wanted Megaman to be drawn by Brazilians and in the manga style - very fixated on being a "manga" rather than a "comic." Despite apparently knowing the product is low-quality, Peixoto appears to be proud to have "made 16 editions of the first manga magazine created entirely in Brazil, using a world-famous character."

I suppose that's the tipping point - "a world-famous character." No care for Megaman, no, but care that he's famous. Pereira apparently had every intention to have his own OCs take over the book after Megaman got readers in the door - apparently intending to kill off the megaman characters in graphic ways - but he left the project after #5, citing that he couldn't actually write his "own" story and... well, lack of payment. Peixoto wrote number 6, and Orlando Tosetto Jr. was brought on to do 7-16.

The desire to provide opportunities for local writers and artists is admirable... in theory... but... hardly anyone got paid and it's not exactly a book I would be proud to have my name on.

But enough about Novas' unpaid labor, quesionable motivations, and poor research. The writing is just... bad.

The plot is all over the place. There are so many dropped plot threads, tone shifts, continuity issues, and retcons in only 16 issues, it'll make your head spin. It reads like a 15-year-old boy made a megaman comic because he thought there should be more swearing and naked girls.

The least of the writing's issues stem from the fact that they barely knew the plot, so character backstories, personalities, relationships, etc. are all over the place. Forte/Bass is named "Slasher" and he takes on a Protoman-type role as a Light bot and sibling, while Protoman is implied to be this mysterious mastermind-type character pulling strings behind the scene, Roll used to be human and is super special for some reason, Rock's an asshole, and X is a horny whiney pissbaby asshole...

It's crude.

It's bloody.

It's horny.

Sometimes downright disgusting.

And one can't ignore the incest.

There are... MUCH more egregious panels, I'm trying to keep it tame. There's a LOT of pointless nudity, including a scene near the end where they're kidnapped and tied up but only the women are stripped naked... for no discernable reason, I can't even say it's because their kidnappers are being disgusting, because they're not, even X is behaving himself for once.

I'd love to say the incest was an accident, but it's not, they actively call each other brother and sister.

Occationally the comic veers into dark topics, but the ever shifting tone and oversexualization makes it hard to tell how I - the reader - am supposed to feel about it. While I'm busy being horrified, I can't help worrying someone's getting off on child abuse and murder.

Maybe this kind of misogynistic gross-out shock-value was funny at the time. I've seen a few people remark on this comic's run fondly, saying they liked it when it came out. I can't imagine ever thinking it was good.

If anyone would like to know more about Novas without subjecting themselves to reading it, Mechanical Maniacs does their best to summarize.

[halfratsalready]

The Unhinged Jack x Wanderlust Conspiracy Board Explained

A few days ago I posted this silly conspiracy board I made for a slideshow night with my friends where I talked about how Ubisoft loves to deny Jack x Wanderlust and everyone seemed to like it so here’s an in-depth (and I mean in-depth) explanation of everything on it.

We start, of course, with Si’ha Nova and the Traveler, and Wanderlust wearing his dad’s cape at the beginning of Canned Heat because it’s super cute.

And you can’t talk about this ship without the moment from Majesty that perfectly mirrors the moment from Save Your Tears because genuinely why would they do this if they didn’t want people to ship these two? (Rainbow flag added for ✨flavor✨)

I also thought it was worth mentioning that the only time we ever actually hear any of these characters speak across all 14 lore playlist maps is literally Wanderlust calling out Jack’s name.

And now it’s time for the part that I like to call Ubisoft’s crusade against a monster of their own creation (because look at those last two points and tell me they didn’t do this to themselves. You can’t.)

Now in making this I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Ubisoft isn’t being as harsh on the ship as we’ve been thinking, because “they’re such good friends” and “best friends” with a thumbs up automatically reads as very sarcastic and joking to me, like all the memes about “historians will say they were close friends.”

Then there’s the infamous in’s and out’s New Years post, but what I hadn’t picked up on until I saw this screenshot from Twitter is that the inclusion of “normalize being evil” on the in’s list is rather suspicious and that, according to Just Dance, “this was posted by Night Swan’s army.” So I feel like that’s worth mentioning, because it casts a different light on all the other things on the lists. As in including Jack Rose in the in’s list since he’s the only one she didn’t corrupt yet and she wants to do that this year? And putting stanning Jacklust on the out’s because she’s evil and doesn’t want us to have nice things? Not too sure but hey, if someone better at analyzing things wants to look into that, I’d be down to read it.

(I also think it’s worth mentioning that “worrying about getting a Megastar” is included in the out’s list when the tweet just before that one is encouraging players to get Megastar on Zero to Hero, so some more contradictions there, but that might not mean anything, given that Night Swan’s whole thing is perfection and I feel like she would definitely be in favor of worrying over getting Megastar.)

Plus there’s the pretty popular belief that they’re just pointing out how stupid of a ship name Jacklust is, but I’m personally not at all sold on this being the reason, even if Jacklust is a stupid ship name. (I told my friends the ship name during this presentation and one of them said “Really? Wanderrose was right there.”)

Lastly, I threw Night Swan in there because of the theory that Ubisoft is denying Jack x Wanderlust because the Traveler is Jack’s father. Now, I have opinions about this theory and I hope it’s not true for obvious reasons, but I feel like if it is, it’s a serious oversight on Ubisoft’s part.

Firstly, if they’re half siblings why did they recreate the move from Save Your Tears in Majesty? Seems odd to have half siblings recreate a pretty iconic romantic duet moment.

There’s also the fact that we can clearly see that Wanderlust takes physical traits from each of his parents - his mother’s blue skin and his father’s dark hair. If the Traveler is Jack’s dad, why don’t they share any physical characteristics? At the very end of the beta for Sweet Dreams (spoiler?) we see Night Swan with green eyes, unlike the yellow eyes she has in the rest of the dances we see her in. (While this could just be an older design choice, I personally interpreted this as meaning that her eyes were green before she went evil and then they turned yellow.) In all of his character artwork, Jack’s eyes are green, which I take as meaning that this is a trait he got from his mother. So I personally feel like it only makes sense for his father to have red hair (and we’ve got plenty of options to pick from with that criteria).

But hey, that’s just a theory… I don’t need to finish that part, you’re already thinking it. Thanks for reading my insane ramblings!

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

Three more bodies were retrieved from Gaza by the IDF and identified. At least two of them were Israelis taken hostage on Oct 7, who were seen alive in vids published by Hamas as they were being led away, and today it was confirmed that they were murdered in captivity by these terrorists. They were both 19 years old. On the right is Ron Sherman. On the left is his friend, Nick Bizer. In the middle are the last text messages Ron sent to his mom. They read, "Bye mom, I love you all" (followed by five heart emojies), then "That's it," "They're here" and "It's over."

The third body was identified as 28 years old Elia Toledano. He was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nova music festival on Oct 7. As far as I can tell, there's no confirmation yet of when he was killed.

May their memories be a blessing.

The IDF revealed today how Hamas is trying to lure Israeli soldiers into an ambush in a booby trapped area, with armed terrorists lying in wait: by using child-shaped mannequins, school bags and speakers playing recordings in Hebrew and of sobbing, to make the soldiers think hostages might be held there.

Yesterday, the IDF finished a 60 hours operation in Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority is supposed to be responsible to fight against Hamas and terrorism, but in reality, the PA does nothing. This was the longest IDF operation in Jenin since Opoeration Defensive Shield (Mar to May 2002, which started following a wave of suicide bombings, and specifically after the murderous terrorist attack on Park Hotel in Netanya, where Jews eating a Passover meal together were targeted and murdered). During the operation that ended yesterday, the IDF uncovered 10 shafts leading to terror tunnels. That's not in Gaza. Let that sink in.

Also, if you see anyone saying, "But Hamas only operates in Gaza!" you'll know they're either ignorant or lying. Hamas only rules Gaza, but it absolutely operates outside it.

Another case in point for that last statement, that Hamas operates outside of Gaza, too. Remember that I posted in my daily update yesterday about the people arrested for having intended to carry out a terrorist attack against Jews in Denamrk? We have more info about that now, and it turns out that 7 people were arrested in total, not just 4, and that they were arrested in 3 countries, not just 2 (so in addition to arrests in Denmark and the Netherlands, terrorists were arrested in Germany as well), and most importantly, the people arrested included Hamas terrorists.

Again, let that sink in. When we tell you that Hamas wants to kill all Jews in the world, that's not just idle talk. It's not just a recent statement, either. Here's a Hamas senior stating as much back in 2019, and they also said as much in their founding charter.

Maybe just as importantly, these terrorists were taken down thanks to the Mossad's work.

So when we tell you that Jews are safer with Israel existing, that's not just in the case of Jews finding sanctuary from danger in Israel. That's true as well. But there can be Jews, even anti-Zionist Jews, who will lead their entire lives outside of Israel, never realizing that behind the scenes, an antisemitic terrorist attack that could have killed them, was stopped thanks to the fact that the Mossad (Israel's equivalent of the CIA) is in charge not only of protecting Israelis worldwide from terrorist attacks, it's responsible for the safety of all Jews. That's the kind of protection people would rob Jews of, when they advocate for the destruction of Israel, or even "just" the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state.

I thought this was a great response. From Letters to the Editor, Los Angeles Times:

Hanukkiahs lit in honor of the Israeli hostages, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, on the last night of Hanukkah (the song is Come Back by Idan Raichel, performed by Roni Delumi, and its chorus goes, "Come back, come back, today / I so wanted you to arrive / I wish you'd come without announcing it this very day"):

These are 26 years old Yovel Sharvit and 27 years old Mor Trabelsi:

They married exactly a month before the Hamas massacre. On Oct 7, they were at the Nova music festival. Yovel survived, but Mor was shot to death in front of her eyes. Yovel participated as a model in a special fashion show, meant to call attention to the victims of Hamas, and especially to the sexual violence perpetrated that day. Yovel wore a wedding dress reminiscent of her own, with blood stains on, and groping hands. The dress also features sentences in Hebrew and Arabic that Yovel heard on or about that day. The dress is torn at the top, as per Jewish mourning customs. The make up artist recreated Yovel's real wounds on her back, and just as importantly, the deadly gunshot wound that killed Mor, on Yovel's forehead.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder]

Here is my take on The Atlas trilogy characters after reading the first two books.

SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

Libby Rhodes - I find her type characters annoying, but omg I loved her in The Atlas Paradox, and while I ind Ezra interesting, you go girl kill his ass. Also I need more of her alone, mainly using her power alone, but I want to see that from both her and Nico, while they're both physicists, I think it would be cool to see even more differences between them.

Nico de Varona - I feel so bad for my man his boyfriend is being hunted and his girlfriend got kidnapped and his bestie is having god complex issues LMAO, no seriously love him, liked him in the first book, loved him even more in the second, him AND GIDEON love it. Also nearly cried when it was said how alone my guy is, he needs family and he will look for it no matter what

Reina Mori - her god complex is so fun yet so crazy to watch unfold, while she is on the side I think her inner monologue is very interesting to read. Not my favourite character, but she and Callum are imo a great duo, need more of them. She and Parisa should just kiss and be besties.

Parisa Kamali - An icon, a legend, gave us the spiciest scenes in the book so we love her for that. Her power and character is perfect, mainly her decline and her helping my boy Nico. Didn't care for her and Dalton that much (overall I didn't care for Dalton) BUT very excited to see more of true Dalton (The prince?) in book 3

Tristan Caine - GET YOUR FUCKING DADDY ISSUES IN CHECK PLS AND THANK YOU!!!! Jk I love all my bitches equally, but him getting so close to all male figures in his life... nope, him and Atlas could make an unstoppable duo but worry not! His gf is back :) Overall Tristan was always a very hit or miss character for me, can't put a finger on why.

Callum Nova - I love him, like forreal, he is my new obsession, he is absolutely hilarious, I love his energy, the shit he causes, he is there to just do shit and I live for it!! Also made me cry, and you know I love blonde bitches that make me cry (cough cough Howl). Overall I need to read more books about Callum Nova type characters, because yes please. Also dw you don't have to hide your hairline from me I will cure your alcohol addiction <333

Ezra Fowler - girlbossed too close to the sun, very interesting tho, but I love Libby more

Gideon - LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVEEEE pls stop talking to your mama

[sonicstargaming]

Just Dance Story Character Headcanons

Wanted to share my headcanons on The Just Dancers and Night Swan, so here they are.

Wanderlust:

Wanderlust & Jack Rose became friends after JD23, but could only hang out in secret due to Night Swan

Wanderlust has obvious feelings for Sara, so Jack tries to get him to confess to her

Unfortunately, neither Wanderlust nor Si'ha Nova know about The Traveler's prior relationship with Night Swan

Is actually the oldest of the group, but his goofiness makes him seem younger than he actually is

Night Wanderlust views Night Swan as his mother

Night Wanderlust follows every order that is given by Night Sara with no hesitation

Sara

Sara is the youngest of the Just Dancers by a year

Sara still keeps in touch with the Just Dancers through the Just Dance Controller app when she is not able to go into the Danceverses

Sara has obvious feelings for Wanderlust, so Brezziana tries to get her to confess to him

Night Sara is the leader of the Night Just Dancers, and is the only one to get her orders directly from Night Swan

Brezziana

Delvin is the self-proclaimed "Brezziana's #1 Fan", even though she is nowhere near the top 10

Brezziana is partially deaf in her right ear, which requires her to use a hearing aid, although she does know how to sign

Between the events of JD23 and JD24, Brezziana was in an abusive relationship, which she was able to get out of it with the help of Mihaly, and they have grown closer because of it

Gabriella is Brezziana's sister, and they have introduced their new friends to each other

Night Brezziana HATES Night Sara, as she thinks that Night Sara is too arrogant

Mihaly

The Temple of Master Panda is for Mihaly almost like Limbo is for Magik (Marvel fans, specifically X-Men fans, will understand the reference)

Mihaly has autism, so they are more susceptible to overstimulation and social anxiety (hence the earbuds), and they tend to stim when they are excited

Mihaly had feelings for Sara in the past, but has since suppressed those feelings after they found out about her and Wanderlust's feelings for each other

Whenever they are harnessing The Flow, their skin will sometimes turn light blue

Mihaly is very sweet and calm, that is until you make them angry (especially when their friends (especially Brezziana) are in danger)

Mihaly and Brezziana are around the same age, but Mihaly is the older of the two

Due to harnessing The Flow, Mihaly is an empath and they can also read other people's souls, which is how they were able to help Brezziana through her abusive relationship

Brezziana was the only person that knew about Mihaly's panda form up until Night Swan infiltrated their mind

Night Mihaly has a lot of rage due to their weakened corruption, so they tend to throw things, as well as scream and punch the walls in their room

Jack Rose

Cygnus is Jack's father

Jack is the second-oldest of the group, only being younger than Wanderlust

Layl is actually Jack's half-sister, but neither of them know it yet

Jack was angry at his mother for thinking that he was a narcissist, as he knows that was not who he actually was

When Jack found out that Night Swan had corrupted his friends, he went into a state of depression for a time since he felt that his true family was taken away from him

Night Swan

Night Swan still has feelings for The Traveler, but The Dark Flow has since suppressed those feelings

Night Swan knew about Brezziana's abusive relationship and her bond with Mihaly, which Night Swan uses to punish Night Brezziana for not following Night Sara's orders

Night Swan knows that Night Mihaly is trying to fight off the corruption, so she isolates them from the rest of the Night Just Dancers in hopes of either A. Mihaly will eventually break free, but won't get to the other Just Dancers before they are captured again and subjected to a stronger corruption, or B. Mihaly will run out of energy and will eventually succumb to the corruption

[iheartgod175]

Some Thoughts (Mostly ZP, but still)…

—I’ve kinda hopped back onto the Zula Patrol train again since writing Turnabout, but I am planning on doing art and stories for other fandoms, too, of course ^^ I actually worked on chapter 4 of DCR and some more of Love Language for the first time in a month! Which is amazing progress since I had both writer’s block and worries that maybe a lot of folks aren’t interested in the story. But even if that were true, it’s not going to stop me from posting stories, especially about my favorite childhood show ^^

—I went a bit in depth about an OC who gets some focus in both DCR and a few other entries, Firestorm, who’s a military commander in one of the other Zulean branches (I’ll detail my own headcanons on the structure of the Zulean government in another headcanons post) and is one of the few people that Bula gets along with outside of his team because like him, she doesn’t tolerate the BS/corruption that goes on in the government. And somehow, I got the idea that in an alternate universe, they end up as a couple. It has me cracking up because now, I have three potential love interests for Bula: Zeeter (with whom I can see happening even in canon), Bonnie (my old OC whom I’ve revamped and even have a solo story for), and now Firestorm (who might get teased in the future). Bula’s literally building his own harem, LOL XD

—And then it got me thinking that if Bula’s a typical “clueless harem protagonist” (although unlike them, he makes himself useful and isn’t admired due to some random skill he has out of nowhere), Ricochet would be the “smug harem protagonist with a heart of gold” in that he dated Denise, Diane, Melissa, and many other women before he settled down. Also, in a few AUs, he does have a better relationship with Serena, Denise’s outlaw sister, and their relationship borders on UST. Silly thoughts are silly, LOL

—I’ve also had an idea regarding the Third Sight ability. Originally, this ability has no offensive capability in any field whatsoever. But then I had a thought: what if there was a way, theoretically, that a user could hurt/even kill someone with their mind? It came about from a thought that DS! Elfilis (with whom Multo interacts with in my latest crossover) could totally do this easily, since he’s basically seen as a god (although he’s mortal) and he’s a lot more powerful/experienced with his psychic powers. Not to mention that between him and Multo, his cruel streak is not only bigger, but also more terrifying. It got me thinking that the Zuleans who have the Third Sight can do this same thing, namely in a moment of pure distress/fury, stemming from the desire to make the perpetrator feel every ounce of pain they felt at watching their loved one get hurt/killed. The name for this attack is called “Flashpoint” (or at least, it’s a working idea for a name). I had the idea that Multo accidentally stumbles across this ability after someone got the great (read: stupid) idea to hurt Zeeter or any of the others in front of him, and unable to physically defend them (due to being trapped), he’s filled with both horror at his loved ones being hurt, and pure rage at the perp, wanting nothing but for him to feel that same pain and worse. Cue that happening to the perp, with the guy literally losing his mind. With Multo being the kind of person he is, he’s shocked/horrified that he can do such a thing. One of the villains in my current WIP, Nova, takes an interest in Multo after finding out about him using this.

—And now, a part of me wants to do an alternative version of Multo that’s evil. That would be pretty terrifying. O.O

—Oh, I’m also thinking of getting back to The Return of the Phantom Empire soon, thanks to working on Firestorm’s profile. Just trying to work on the general plot of the side story, which focuses on Quick Draw McGraw, and possibly Quack-Up, namely in regards to the trauma he suffered before he joined the Galactic Guardians. This chapter isn’t gonna be quite as long as the first three chapters, but that might change, lol XD

[secret-fungi]

untitled wtc wip

book: time catcher

pairing: vesper x nova [duh]

Rating: M

tw: mentions of cutting, hanging and other forms of harm, emotional distress, the idea of smut but no smut.

@rc-catalog

It was quiet now, in the catcher’s now barren room, A heavy silence hung, swinging in the air as the two stood before the other, simply staring, waiting for the last song to end, and as it did, the pair came close, as they often had, neither one questioned if this was the last. Because there was an end.

That finite line where ‘I love you’ blurred and faded into ‘I’ll forgive you… one day.” It was hidden where the sky met the sea. 

This was the catcher’s idea, her silly version of redemption that didn’t match any definition Vesper held to be true. Some idea put there by a mad man, the idea no doubt had been carved into the Catcher’s being, engraved on the inside of her rib, right above her heart so that with each beat his words would scrape against her and deafened all other words.

They fell upon the bed,  as they had times before and as the older woman smiled down at the catcher, and the catcher looked up at the other, watching as the breeze pushed a stray strand of hair around they both had a similar wish – a soft prayer that tomorrow would wait awhile. 

Vesper left a trail of kisses from the catcher's lips down to the center of her chest, stopping for a moment to kiss the side of her breast. And in that moment the catcher looked at her, her fingers reaching out to play with a strand of hair that had fallen into the woman’s face, that same affected smile remained on her lips as looked down at her. 

Against her lips she could feel the woman’s heart speed up with every move her hands made. 

“Stay.” she whispered into the catcher’s chest. “I can’t.” came the wavering response. 

It felt to Vesper that the man had made the catcher’s being his stone tablet, cutting through flesh and muscle, down to the bone and when she ran her hands over the dip of Nova's hip she could almost feel the jagged letters he had etched into bones, though she kissed the catcher’s sharp hipbone, right where she felt those dips and carvings, they didn’t go away. She tried to read them, tried to guess which ones she had used whenever she heard the catcher’s father in her.

It was her when she said ‘I’m with you.’  

It was Him when she said ‘No one will accept me.’

And it was Him whenever she said that she hated her eyes. 

Him when she said ‘The brush is ignorant to the scene the artist makes’

But it was Her when she said ‘I love you’ Vesper knew that for sure, but when it came to “I can’t stay.’ She hesitated and found that she couldn’t make out the one who said it.

She pressed another kiss against the other’s heart, if only to let the weary thing know it had a home.

When she looked at the woman, the worst part of it wasn’t that she didn’t love her. It would have been easier if she felt that the woman had no feelings at all. It’d make this all easier if she could believe that she was an unfeeling monster, it would be much easier for everyone, if Nova was just enemy and not someone that was trapped behind a door, locked within a dark, damp closet that smelt of mold and was overrun by things that gave all children a fright. Even when she no longer was trapped behind that door, she clawed desperately at it. She didn’t mean to hurt you when she tried to escape, but as she flailed about trying to stop herself from drowning, her arm still smacked you, and her nails still ripped the skin from your flesh.

It would make everything easier if she didn’t love her. Because she wouldn’t look at her like that, like watching tears streaming down her cheeks had almost made her stay– If Nova was just an enemy, then Vesper wouldn’t bring her arms to wrap around her in an attempt to make her stay and her hands wouldn’t shake when she did, but even that wasn’t the worst part. No, the worst part was that she loved her, just not enough for it to make a difference.

But Vesper didn’t blame her, even if she wanted to, because she understood.

She really did, afterall She knew that Nova could be having the same thoughts about her, because Vesper loved her, Just not enough for it to make a difference. 

Maybe, we were all running from a place we could never escape, where we grew up. Where the world stopped for the first time, or maybe the last. Nova didn’t know if there was a difference, Because it stopped all the same. 

Maybe – we never escape from that place, any progress was simply an illusion, a red thread to the bottom of a tar pit. 

There was no escape, there was no end. 

But even still…. This moment was gold. 

The woman's nails dragged up and down her back, looking at her through her lashes. You could tell she thought that it was a horrible Idea just by the way her lips were pressed together. You could tell she had more she wanted to say. But neither one said anything. 

There was an end, there always was. But just for a moment, when the women laid face to face, so close that their noses almost touched, close enough to count the moles and notice the lines forming, to notice the gold in amber and the green in gray. The woman looked at her so intently with this calm sense of knowing, and it made Nova wonder if she could see her own heart in Nova?

“Vesper.” The catcher pleaded but not knowing what for, the name had spilled from her lips before she could swallow, in that instant the woman almost seemed to flinch.

She always said her name like a prayer, desperate and fragile, uttered in such a quiet reverence as if said in the middle of the night or like a man too far from salvation. Guttural, and mourning. 

[quetzalpapalotl]

I've been saying that I think Shockwave had some admiration for Nova, given that his idea on how to fix the planet relied on finding a true prime to set things right. He is quite old, but I don't think he was there to witness the first civil war, so when he was born he was surrounded with all this idealization of Nova Prime. If he blames the Council and Senate for how things are now, it makes sense to want to go back.

Amd well, Shockwave was always motivated by a genuine concern with Cybertron. When his emotions got muted* he became fixated on fixing Cybertron's energy crisis. And when he got his emotions back and recontextualized the last 4 million years, his goal became "Cybertronians cannot help but fight so we should do war forever but turn that outside instead of fighting between us", which is... interesting.

Screwing over other races is a common sentiment across Cybertronian history and basically normalized across every aspect of Cybertronian society we've seen, except the Autobots (and even then they can be bigoted). We don't know anything about Senator Shockwave's thoughs on aliens except that he kept friendly relationships with some of them. But even if he doesn't hate them, I don't think it would be unreasonable to say he would always put Cybertron first, it makes sense with how he was always willing to do morally questionable things for his greater good. And again, this is a guy who lived under Nova's rule and still idealized the Primacy, Nova who had grand ideas about expansionism.

So what I'm getting at is that I don't think Shockwave's willingness to screw over other planets was created along the way. I think it's one of those murky aspect of his person that was always there and then just got much much worse.

*Shockwave is not completely emotionless because he does display emotion and also you do need emotion to be motivated to do anything. However, his emotional processing doesn't work the way it should, given that neither Ravage nor Soundwave can get a read on him.

[dragonjanusisthebestjanus]

The Dragon Lord

Pairing: Janus x Logan (Loceit)

Logan becomes the first ever mage to study in the dragon lands.

Trigger warnings: Fire, depictions of violence, attempted drowning.

Read it on ao3 here!

Taglist: @prince-rowan-of-the-forest @sleepy-nova-tea

Logan quickly tucked the mail into his messenger bag. He raced back up the stairs to his dormitory, attempting to avoid any students in his way.

“Excuse me, Pardon me, coming through!”

He finally reached his room and threw open the door.

“Patton,”

His roommate looked up from where he was studying his potions textbook.

“It’s here!” Logan gleefully plopped down next to Patton and dumped his bag all over his bed. Quills, ink, scrolls, binders, papers, and multiple letters fall from the bag. Logan quickly snatched the one sealed with a green stamp, and quickly opened it with a letter opener that had also come from his bag.

“What’s it say what’s it say?”

“They… I… I…” Logan put the letter in his lap, eyes wide and jaw agape.

Patton slipped the letter out of Logan’s hands. He read it and then wrapped his friend in a hug.

“Oh my gosh Logan! They said you can go! You get to be the first wizard to study in the dragon lands in a thousand years!”

“I get to, I’m; I’m,”

Logan’s smile widens. He returns his friend's hug; then stands and spins them around their room.

“I GET TO GO STUDY IN THE DRAGON LANDS!”

…

Logan hugged his roommate again as Headmistress LeFay opened the portal to the Swamplands.

“You’re gonna do great, Lo. I know it.”

“You are too! You get to study potions with Matilda the Swamp Hag!”

“I know! And it’s a dream come true for me! But it’s nothing like what you get to do, Logan. You have to tell me all about it next semester!”

“I will Pat, I promise.”

The roommates let go and Patton waved goodbye as he stepped through the portal.

“Alright, Crofter. You’re the last one. Are you ready?” Logan nodded at Headmistress Le Fay. She opened a new portal, and Logan took a deep breath as he stepped through.

“Good luck.” Headmistress Le Fay said.

“Thank you, Headmistress.”

The portal closed behind him. A few moments later a large, golden dragon descended in front of him. Logan stood in awe as the dragon transformed in front of his very eyes. A bright, golden glow appeared, then a man about a foot shorter than Logan appeared.

“Logan Crofter, I presume?”

“Um, yes, yes sir.”

The dragon chuckled. “No need to worry, Dragon’s don’t bite.”

Logan continued to stare in awe.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I tried to engage in what you humans call ‘humor’. Was that, was that not humorous?”

Logan shook his head. “I’m sorry. Yes, I suppose it was, humerus. I apologize, this is, this place is, amazing!”

The dragon around and took stock of his land.

“Yes, yes I suppose it is.” He turned back around. “So, you are Logan Crofter, correct?”

“Oh! Yes. Yes. I apologize again. I am Logan Crofter. Do you have a name? There isn’t much information on dragons in our realm,”

The man held out his hand, stopping him. “Yes, something I am trying to rectify. Beginning with allowing you to study here.” The man took a deep bow. “I am Janus, the New Dragon Lord. It is my pleasure to welcome you here, Mr. Crofter.”

…

Logan had the best time of his life.

He had learned Janus had recently won the title of Dragon Lord in The Gauntlet of Fire, after the previous Dragon Lord died of old age.

“So, you’re Dragon Lord for life? The old Dragon Lord’s child won’t try and usurp the title from you?”

“Of course not. I won the title fair and square. Is this not how it works in the human world?”

Logan shook his head.

As it turned out, The Previous Dragon Lord had been the one who kept the dragons isolated from the rest of civilization. Janus was now determined to reunite them with the rest of the world.

“It can only make us stronger. Why wouldn’t we want to be the best we can be?”

Logan had learned dragons were extremely vain. It made sense, from all the legends about them collecting gold.

Or other pretty objects.

Logan didn’t miss the ever-revolving rotation of pretty boys who left Janus’s chambers every evening.

“Janus, do dragons usually partake in…”

Janus had laughed from his throne. “As many sexual escapades as I? No. But being Dragon Lord certainly has its perks. And honestly Logan? I don’t even have as many as you think. Most come to me for this.”

Janus pulled down his shirt collar and showed Logan a bright red gemstone.

“Whoa…”

“Whoa indeed, my little mage. This is the last remaining Fire Ruby. It is the only thing that can heal any ailment any dragon may suffer. It is my duty as Dragon Lord to protect it.”

Logan sat on the armrest of Janus’s throne. “May I?”

The Dragon Lord nodded. Logan unbuttoned his shirt, fully exposing the Fire Ruby.

“It’s gorgeous.” He said.

“So are you.”

The mage allowed The Dragon Lord to connect their lips. Janus pulled him into his lap, and ran his hands under Logan’s shirt.

“Wait- wait.” Logan pulled away.

“Is everything alright, Logan?”

Logan stood up and took several steps away. “No, no, I just-“ he shook his head and sighed. “I don’t want to be another notch in your bedpost, Janus.”

Janus rose from his throne and took the human’s hand.

“Have you learned anything about how dragons court, Logan?”

“N-No.”

“You know dragons are jealous, possessive creatures Logan. If a dragon wishes to court another dragon,” he pulled the human back towards him. “They attempt to make the other dragon jealous by…bedding others.” He pressed kisses to Logan’s neck. “I understand now humans don’t see it that way, but,”

Logan’s eyes widened. “You’ve… you’ve been courting me?”

Janus nodded. Logan turned and pressed their lips together again.

…

Logan’s going away party was supposed to be magnificent.

Janus had mandated every dragon in the land show up. He spared no expense to make sure it had the best food, decor, and entertainment in all the lands.

“You promise you’re coming back?” Janus was in his halfling form, with his wings covering them both, his tail wrapped around Logan’s waist, and claws tangled in his hair.

Logan chuckled and pressed a kiss to his lover's ear. “Yes Jan, I’m coming back I promise. But I have to return to school and present my findings. Then I have to see my family for a little while.”

“Hmmm. I don’t see why I can’t write to the Headmistress. Insist you need to stay here. Then your family could come stay here! You can all be under my protection.”

“A tempting offer. However I doubt my Aunt Patty could make the trip. And before you offer to fly her here! I doubt she could manage the rocky terrain either.”

Janus grumbled and nuzzled back into his lover’s neck.

“I promise Janus. I will come back to you.”

The day was supposed to be perfect.

Logan happily watched the party from beside Janus.

“Why does that weak human get to sit by the Dragon Lord?”

Janus had gripped Logan’s hand.

“Yeah, like this whole party is already for him. Let someone else have a turn!”

Logan placed his other hand atop of Janus’s.

“You know, I could probably eat him in two bites! If we were allowed to be dragons, that is.”

“You know, the human probably knew we could! The human probably convinced the Dragon Lord to make the ‘halflings or humans only’ rule for the night.”

Janus had started to growl.

“You know they won’t try to do anything. Not with you around.”

One thing Logan knew: as self absorbed as most dragons were, nobody challenged The Dragon Lord.

The thought seemed to calm Janus. He slithered his tail around Logan’s waist again, although it was much more possessive than it had been that morning.

The two dragons that had been gossiping soon moved on, allowing Janus and Logan to resume enjoying the party.

After it was over, Janus and Logan indulged themselves by taking a long walk along the river outside Janus’s castle.

“You promise you’re coming back?”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Yes, love. I promise I am-“

A fireball appeared in the air. Janus quickly shifted into his dragon form and tackled Logan to the side.

“What the-“

Another fireball headed towards them. Logan quickly cast a spell, reducing it to nothing.

“Hold on,”

Logan hugged Janus’s neck as he took to the air.

“WHO DARE FIRES UPON THE DRAGON LORD?”

Another fireball came, specifically aiming for Logan. Janus spun in the air, allowing the flames to breeze past them.

Logan closed his eyes as he felt fire literally form in Janus’s throat. He let out a blaze all around the cavern, reducing several rocks into ash.

“SHOW YOURSELVES!” Janus roared.

Another fireball was launched. It would have hit Janus’s wing, had the dragon from earlier not came and swallowed it.

“You?”

“I’m, I’m sorry my lord! I was… I was aiming for the human.”

Janus snarled at the dragon.

“How dare you,”

The other dragon from earlier flew out and knocked Logan off of Janus. Logan watched the two dragons struggle for a moment before he cast a floating spell.

“Janus, look out!”

The second dragon came flying back around. He bared his teeth and bit Janus’s right hind leg. He kept it between his teeth as he dove towards the river, only releasing The Dragon Lord when his wings were in the water.

“Janus!”

Janus was struggling to keep himself above the water. Logan flew down near him, but ended up having to dive into the river when the dragon came back.

“Gostir, what the hell are you doing?”

The dragon didn’t reply to his friend.

“Logan! Logan!” The Dragon lord started thrashing violently, creating large waves in the river.

“Janus, Janus calm down-“

Logan was swept under by one of the waves. He tried to cast another spell, but his head hit the side of some rocks, knocking him out.

…

When Logan awoke, he was laying in a plush field beside a forest.

“Logan, Logan thank the gods! I thought I’d lost you!”

Logan coughed and tried to sit up, but Janus pushed him back down.

“You’re, you’re bleeding.” Logan pointed to Janus’s leg, which had bright red patches all down it.

“I don’t care.” Janus pulled his lover into a hug. “I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.”

Logan returned the hug, but noticed something.

“Janus, the Fire Ruby?”

Janus shook his head. “It’s… it’s gone. I-I lost it going after you.”

“What? Janus! You-you should not have done that! The Fire Ruby is much more important!”

“Not to me.”

The two managed to somewhat pull themselves together. They tried to travel into the woods, back towards the Dragonlands. However, it soon became apparent that Janus’s leg was going to be a problem.

“Love, you’re, you’re limping. Here, let me make you a walking stick,”

“NO!”

Logan was taken aback. Janus had never yelled at him before.

“I’m, I'm sorry my love. But I am the mighty Dragon Lord. I have a reputation to protect.” Janus looked around, and eventually spotted a small cave. “Why don’t we stop there and rest for a while?”

Logan nodded. He took Janus’s hand and led him into the cave.

He worried about when they would be able to come out.

[dell-amor-te]

“Of Blood, Bindings, & Burdens Halved”

Part 2 of 2. (Part 1 here.)

Word Count: 2,449.

Warning(s): Canon-typical injuries, literal hurt/ comfort, no beta but I try my best.

Pairing: F!Rook x Lucanis Dellamorte.

Summary: Healers make the worst patients. And ancient elven gods make for the worst to ask for straight answers from.

🐦‍⬛Read the whole thing on ao3.

It couldn’t be right. Surely.

Lucanis kept scanning the book, over and over and over again. He was certain his eyes were tricking him somehow. They had to be.

Maybe he was jumping a line, or mixing two of them up. But then he would trace his finger from one line to the next, and they would match.

Over and over and over again.

Ma vhenan…My heart.

She had to have lost too much blood. She couldn’t have meant that. Her head had been resting against his chest. Maybe she had heard his heartbeat. She couldn’t have been referring to him himself, though. That was impossible.

Wasn’t it?

True, she had flirted with him. But Nöa had a certain way of disarming people that came naturally with looks like hers. Yes. She was beautiful. Perhaps the only thing conventional about her were her features.

Classically alluring, some would say. Lucanis would agree.

It was also true that at times he almost thought maybe, just maybe. there was something there. Between them. He was always quick to kill those thoughts.

Because it was impossible. After all, most people considered Crows heartless. And he was a very good Crow. How could anyone think of him as their heart?

How could she think of him as her heart, when her own hardly fit in her chest?

Lucanis sorted the book back in its place. He couldn’t keep looking at the page. He’d drive himself mad. Plus, Nova’s shift was nearly over. Caterina’s cane had beat far too many lessons into him, and one of them had been to always be punctual. Whether it was a contract or a social obligation made little difference.

Lucanis hurried down the winding stairs, footsteps echoing against soft stone walls.

Step. Ma vhenan. Step. My heart. Step. Ma vhenan. Step.

By the time he had made his way to the infirmary, his heart was pounding. He stood outside the door for a moment, taking a deep breath. Once he was confident he could at least feign normalcy, he opened the door.

“Thank the Maker, you’re back!” Nova said dramatically, practically slamming his hands into his hips. “She’s your problem now.”

Lucanis raised an eyebrow, pulling the door closed behind him. “What did you do?” He questioned.

Nöa smiled innocently. “Me?”

Lucanis hummed a dubious confirmation.

“Yes, you.” Nova marched up to Lucanis. “Don’t let her have her way. There’ll be no living with her if you do.” He threw his hands in the air before making his exit. “Damn master assassin and yet he caves the second my sister bats her eyelashes.”

Lucanis chuckled, watching the other Volkarin elf leave. “Did the skeletons teach him that?” He asked Nöa.

“No, that’s all genuine Casanova, I’m afraid.” She told him. “You can’t teach that kind of theatrics.”

“But what did you do?” He asked, leaning himself against the cot.

“Nothing!” Nöa insisted with a shrug.

Was that the first time she had shrugged in a week?

“I just mentioned it might be nice to get some air.” She said at length. “Maybe stretch my legs?”

“Nöa.” Lucanis drawled.

“Baba said to give it a week as long as I kept improving. Now look at me.” Nöa hung her legs over the side of the cot. “It wouldn’t be far. Just around the courtyard and back. I’ll even tell you if I get tired so we can turn back early.” She vowed. “Jumper’s honor.”

Lucanis sighed. “If you get me in trouble with your father…” He warned, raising an eyebrow.

Nöa practically beamed up at him, knowing she had won. “It’s all on me.” She assured him. “Besides, I wouldn’t lie to you.” She was already putting her feet to the floor.

Lucanis offered his hand to her so she could stabilize herself. She hadn’t been up in a week, after all, save to go to the washroom. Honestly, the fact that she waited this long before pleading to make an escape from the infirmary was a miracle.

Her right arm remained in a sling, that way her muscles in her shoulder wouldn’t be pulled while the skin and artery mended.

“I’m good.” She said quietly.

“Alright. Tell me if you get light-headed.” Lucanis walked by her, at the ready should she need him.

“I will. Worrywart.”

Lucanis smiled in the face of her harmless ribbing, moving away from her only to open the infirmary door before returning to her side. Nöa didn’t bother with the slippers she kept by the door, in favor of leaving her feet bare.

They walked together. Slowly.

The second they made it out in the open air of the central courtyard, Nöa took a deep breath, soaking in the open air. She loved the infirmary, she did. It was her space, her own little pocket of the Fade. She had chosen it as her quarters for a reason. But she had missed the fresh air.

“What do you think? Want to have a go-around?” She nodded to the empty training circle on the far side of the cobblestone yard.

“Not a chance.” Lucanis shook his head, still smirking. “How do you feel?”

“Good enough to joke with you about having a sparring match.”

He laughed sardonically.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking.” She answered a little more genuinely. “I know it got worse than you all want to say. I was the one who almost…” She bobbed her head.

“Died.”

Lucanis didn’t want to say it. He had known it every step of the way back to the Lighthouse. At one point, he thought she was gone, however briefly. He didn’t often utilize Spite willingly, but his wings had more than come in handy on that particular flight.

“Yeah, that.” Nöa said softly.

Silence lingered for a moment.

“Tired?” Lucanis asked the further they strayed from the main body of the Lighthouse.

“Are you kidding?”

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

Nöa chuckled as she led him onward. Ancient cobblestone with grass growing in between was nice and cool, spreading through Nöa from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Every so often, when she could be bothered to wake up early and greet the dawning day, the breeze in the Fade would shift just so, and she would yearn for Arlathan.

She missed the marriage of the quiet and the chaos of the forest. But the Lighthouse made for a fine substitute. For now.

At Lucanis’ quiet insistence, Nöa took a break, resting on a stone-carved bench near the very fringes of the courtyard. The nothingness of the Fade below hung close at hand. She wasn’t going to make the attempt, but Nöa almost wondered what would happen if one of them were to fall…

“Did you say something?”

Lucanis’ eyes studied her. “I just thought you looked like you were thinking about something.”

“Nothing important.” She assured him with a quick laugh.

Lucanis almost laughed back. He settled for shaking his head, amused. “It’s good to see you…back to being you.” He said in a very guarded way, in a way that immediately caught Nöa’s attention.

That’s not what you meant to say.

She smiled anyway, though he caught the slightest strain in the look. “It feels good to feel like me again.”

“Good.” He nodded, pretending to survey the empty courtyard. He cleared his throat, but he didn’t say anything else.

“Thank you, by the way.” Nöa offered, scooting a little closer to him. “I don’t know if I’ve remembered to say that in the midst of all of this.”

How nice. She appreciates you. That must be a new feeling. Usually people curse your name.

“You have. Quite a few times.” He assured her, ignoring Spite’s nagging. “Your fever must have fogged up your memory a bit.”

“Well, it bears repeating, anyway.”

“It wasn’t a problem.” He said.

Aren’t you two precious?

Nöa and Lucanis spoke at the same time.

“Quiet.” Lucanis hissed.

“Shut up!” Nöa scowled at the demon.

Lucanis’ attention snapped to Nöa, Spite entirely forgotten.

Uh-oh.

The moment they both shot their glares at Spite, the demon cackled, and then vanished, his cruel laugh echoing after he was gone. Lucanis’ gaze remained fixed on Nöa. Nöa didn’t shirk away from his gaze, though her shoulders tensed.

“You can see him.” Lucanis said quietly.

It wasn’t a question.

Nöa didn’t answer him, but Lucanis could see the way the muscles of her jaw tensed. They both knew what it meant for her to see Spite.

“Do you want me to apologize? Because I won’t.” Nöa said firmly.

“What were you thinking?” He was almost seething.

“A demon shared is a demon halved, right?” She tried to no avail. More seriously, she said: “I was thinking that this was my chance to help you.” When he opened his mouth, she raised a finger. “Don’t you dare say that you don’t need help. You want him gone. I want him gone. I swore to help you get him gone.”

“I was ready to die to make sure that he was gone.” Lucanis shot back. He didn’t raise his voice, but he rose to his feet. “I can’t very well do that now that your life is on the line, too, can I?”

“And why is that?” Nöa didn’t back down, standing toe to toe with him. “Why are you willing to die when it’s your life, but the second it’s anyone but you, you can’t tolerate even the thought of it?”

“It’s not just anyone. It’s you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” She scoffed. “Why would that matter?”

“Because I can’t lose you!”

The air around them went silent once the echo of his words faded. Deathly silent.

“What?” She said softly.

“You know.” He shook his head, at a loss. “Surely you must know.”

A terrifying reality, one more horrifying than the thought of her fate being bound to his own.

“Did you mean it?” Lucanis asked deliberately.

“What?”

“Vhenan. Did you mean it when you called me that?” His words were insistent, urgency speeding his cadence. Practically begging her to put him out of his misery.

Nöa’s eyes widened.

She remembered saying it, then. At least he knew that much. Even if her lips were loosened by the moment, she was clearly aware she had said it.

“You can’t know what that means.” She shook her head. “How do you…”

“I know how to read. And we live in an ancient safe haven of knowledge.”

He closed the gap between them slowly, until it was Nöa’s turn to fill with anxiety. He took her face in his hands, impossibly gentle for the wickedness those same hands had wrought. And yet her cheeks fit so well in his palms, and her blush-warmed skin felt so good against his fingers.

And when he looked into her eyes all he could think was…

“Anima mia.”

Those words tasted so right on his tongue.

“I…don’t know what that means.” Nöa’s words were faint, carried on a breath that smelled of coffee with far too much milk in it.

“Let me show you.”

“Oh…okay.”

Everything he felt went into his kiss, and Nöa could feel it all at once. His trepidation. His certainty. His uncertainty. His frustration. His adoration. His hope beyond hope. His fear.

It was all-consuming.

Nöa shared in every inch of it, matching his intensity with ease.

It was the sort of kiss you didn’t want to end.

Lucanis pulled away, just barely, his face only inches from hers. Her face still held safely in his hands, she laughed shakily, exhilarated.

Lucanis couldn’t help but laugh, too. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Nöa asked softly, breathless.

“I’m not the best at that.” He admitted. “That’s…that’s the first time I’ve kissed someone because I’ve wanted to, not because I had to. Not for a job or to get information. Just because I…”

Maker, he had wanted to kiss her for so long.

“I never thought I’d see you again.” Nöa said, leaning into him, awkward as it was to have her arm tucked between them. “At the Ossuary, seeing you again…”

“I know.” He pressed another kiss into her hair, his fingers twisting through half-curls. “I…I dreamed of you.”

“Made an impression, did I?” She half-laughed, eyes flooding.

“You did.” He answered earnestly. “Honesty is hard to come by in a world full of knives in the dark. You were honest that night, and every moment since. You were you. And you’ve allowed me to be me. I…”

What did he mean to say? That he had dreamed of her, and yet getting to know her had exceeded any dream? That he was fairly certain it was that spark of affection, that glint of hope he held onto so desperately in his darkest hours, that had been used to corrupt Spite, to bind the demon to him that she now shared with him?

“You…mean a great deal to me.” He said at last. “More than I know how to say. But I’d be happy to show you, if you’ll allow it.”

She took one of his hands in her unhindered one. She kissed his knuckles, calloused and worn. She reached up on her toes, kissing his lips again.

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me now, Dellamorte.” She said, earning a soft laugh from him.

“I’m still not thrilled about the circumstances…but there are worse fates I can think of.”

“We’ll figure this out.” Nöa assured him. “No death required. But I’m afraid a life might still be.”

Lucanis caught her meaning immediately. “A burden shared, a burden halved, right?” And he was more than glad to share his life with her. “I leave myself in your capable hands, my lady.” He said confidently, kissing her hand just to make sure she knew he meant it.

“Maybe just a hand for a while.” She teased gently. “But they’re both yours. For as long as you’ll hold them. I told you, didn’t I? I believe in decisions, not destiny. I’ve made my decision, and I’ll stand by it.”

Decisions, not destiny.

Lucanis pressed a kiss to the center of her brow next.

“My turn.” She stroked her hand along his cheek before kissing him again.

Lucanis closed his eyes, melting into her. He wasn’t sure what decisions he had made that could have ever led him here, to this point, to this moment, to be with her…but he was glad for them, no matter what pain had made them all worth it.

She was worth everything to him, and now he knew she felt the same about him.

And for the first time since this all began, Lucanis felt hopeful.

[serial-serializednovelreader]

Nova’s Notes - North and South Weekly - Chapter 7

In which the Hale family finds a new home…

“In such towns in the south of England, Margaret had seen the shopmen, when not employed in their business, lounging a little at their doors, enjoying the fresh air, and the look up and down the street. Here, if they had any leisure from customers, they made themselves business in the shop—even, Margaret fancied, to the unnecessary unrolling and re-rolling of ribbons. All these differences struck upon her mind, as she and her mother went out next morning to look for lodgings.”

Already, Margaret is noticing a stark difference between her beloved Helstone and this new town. Here, they keep themselves as busy as possible, with no time for leisure or enjoyment. Here, the colors are less vibrant and everything has a purpose: no frills. Margaret may be of a practical mind, but I can tell she won’t like this change.

“Their two nights at hotels had cost more than Mr. Hale had anticipated, and they were glad to take the first clean, cheerful rooms they met with that were at liberty to receive them. There, for the first time for many days, did Margaret feel at rest. There was a dreaminess in the rest, too, which made it still more perfect and luxurious to repose in.”

Yikes, Mr. Hale didn’t plan ahead on the hotel costs, hm? Not off to a great start, but I am glad they have rooms and Margaret is able to rest at last. For the first time in weeks, she’s able to let herself breathe and not be stressed by her parents’ problems. Good for her!!!

“One evening it was arranged that Margaret and her father should go the next day to Milton-Northern, and look out for a house. Mr. Hale had received several letters from Mr. Bell, and one or two from Mr. Thornton, and he was anxious to ascertain at once a good many particulars respecting his position and chances of success there, which he could only do by an interview with the latter gentleman. Margaret knew that they ought to be removing; but she had a repugnance to the idea of a manufacturing town, and believed that her mother was receiving benefit from Heston air, so she would willingly have deferred the expedition to Milton.”

Unfortunately, it can’t last :( I’m not sure I agree with Margaret’s “repugnance” to Milton, but I understand this is part of her arc and I’m eager to see how she’ll react once she learns more about the people of the town. ALSO, Mr. Thornton mention!!! 👀 I may not have read the book before, but I happen to know he’s an important character, hehe…

“Quick they were whirled over long, straight, hopeless streets of regularly-built houses, all small and of brick. Here and there a great oblong many-windowed factory stood up, like a hen among her chickens, puffing out black “unparliamentary” smoke, and sufficiently accounting for the cloud which Margaret had taken to foretell rain…

“…People thronged the footpaths, most of them well-dressed as regarded the material, but with a slovenly looseness which struck Margaret as different from the shabby, threadbare smartness of a similar class in London.”

The language Gaskell uses here is very negative and solemn, reflecting Margaret’s true feelings regarding Milton. Some of this may be an honest depiction of how Milton looks, but I know more of it is through Margaret’s biased and negative perspective of the town. “Slovenly” (or, “dirty”) is a lot worse to be than “shabby” (or, “in poor condition through lack of care”).

Margaret and her father take a look at the available houses in their price range and much like the drama of HGTV, they don’t know which one to pick. Every one seems wrong for some reason. However, Margaret once again activates her “problem-solving” mode and comes up with a way for them to make house #2 work, though it’ll come at the cost of ugly wallpaper and Mr. Hale having his own study (if you think I feel bad for him here, you would be wrong). Again, I absolutely love seeing her in this mode!!! She’s so in her element and it’s great to see her so at ease after the stress of these past weeks. This line in particular is my favorite, though:

“‘Oh, wait a minute. I am overpowered by the discovery of my own genius for management.’”

YES GIRL 👏👏👏👏👏 SELF-CONFIDENT QUEEN (she could just mean “penchant”, as opposed to “brilliance” but still — I’m glad she knows she’s good at this). The wallpaper is not something they want to compromise on, and they hope to have Mr. Hale charm the landlord into letting them re-papering it. Not the guy *I* would have charm people (that’s not on my list of attributes I’ve seen from him), but hey he was a pastor. He should be good with people…so I guess this makes sense.

So, Mr. Hale leaves and Margaret is hoping to get a bit of rest…but there’s no time for a petty thing as rest!!! Mr. Thornton has called for them!!! Well…her father. But still 👀

“Margaret opened the door and went in with the straight, fearless, dignified presence habitual to her. She felt no awkwardness; she had too much the habits of society for that. Here was a person come on business to her father; and, as he was one who had shown himself obliging, she was disposed to treat him with a full measure of civility.”

If there was ever a list of benefits from staying at her aunt’s house, this would likely make the top of the list. Her bearing and manner meeting a strange man radiate confidence and owning the room. You would never know the stress she’s been through in the past few weeks because she won’t let you see it. She will be polite and business-like, but Gaskell uses such…I want to say, almost sharp language here — she almost feels intimidating in this moment.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so. We get a new perspective, from the viewpoint of Mr. Thornton. Let’s hear how he feels about Margaret’s entrance, shall we?

“Mr. Thornton was a good deal more surprised and discomfited than she. Instead of a quiet, middle-aged clergyman, a young lady came forward with frank dignity,—a young lady of a different type to most of those he was in the habit of seeing…

“…He did not understand who she was, as he caught the simple, straight, unabashed look, which showed that his being there was of no concern to the beautiful countenance, and called up no flush of surprise to the pale ivory of the complexion.”

He sounds like she jumpscared him or something 😂😂 and I guess she kind of did. But yes, he does seem to find her more than a little intimidating, with how he perceives her looks (from her beautiful face, I might add) as indifferent to his presence instead of the civility she’s going for.

Oh no, she’s being misunderstood again! And predictably, I’m dusting off my neurodivergent lens to analyze this. So, a lot of times ND individuals have difficulty making the proper facial expression to reflect the emotion they’re feeling (or expected to feel, depending on if they’re masking). This can lead to others perceiving their emotions as different from what they are (not to mention many NDs have difficulty understanding facial expressions in the first place, so they don’t even know what face they’re supposed to make in a given social situation).

Speaking of masking, I would say Margaret is masking — heavily. It’s touched on later in the chapter, but she is very tired at this moment. She was expecting to rest, and she is not given the chance because of this interruption. Now, she is forced to be civil to this random guy. This might be another reason for his misinterpretation of her emotions — her “civil” mask might be cracking to reveal her “tired” or “frustrated” face. He’s still not entirely correct in what he thinks she’s feeling towards him…but it’s a bit closer. Good for him, I guess?

And because I don’t like to leave stones unturned, we could also switch this lens to Mr. Thornton and wonder if perhaps part of the reason he’s misinterpreting her emotions is because he himself is neurodivergent and has difficulty reading facial expressions…(does that mean I’d have to do the same for everyone who misreads Margaret? Maybe. I’m still keeping an eye on Thornton, though.)

“Mr. Thornton was in habits of authority himself, but she seemed to assume some kind of rule over him at once. He had been getting impatient at the loss of his time on a market-day, the moment before she appeared, yet now he calmly took a seat at her bidding.”

She’s just met him, yet already has the ability to calm him, hmmmm??? I love this 👀👀👀👀👀

“Mr. Thornton had thought that the house in Crampton was really just the thing; but now that he saw Margaret, with her superb ways of moving and looking, he began to feel ashamed of having imagined that it would do very well for the Hales, in spite of a certain vulgarity in it which had struck him at the time of his looking it over.”

LOL, him looking at the house before: “yeah, I mean it’s good. Not the best house I’d pick, wallpaper is ugly, but the Hales will like it I’m sure.”

Him, know Margaret - A QUEEN - is going to live there: “*screaming internally* that’s a horrible house for her how could I have thought otherwise 😭😭😭😳😳😳 she deserves better” <- Margaret does deserve the best, he is right about that.

Anyway, I already love this dynamic. He’s spoken one sentence to her and he’s already smitten what the heck this is so cute 😭😭

“Margaret could not help her looks; but the short curled upper lip, the round, massive up-turned chin, the manner of carrying her head, her movements, full of a soft feminine defiance, always gave strangers the impression of haughtiness.”

Ahhhh this actually makes a lot of sense! Poor Margaret being judged like that just because she has a “look” of haughtiness.

“She was tired now, and would much rather have remained silent, and taken the rest her father had planned for her; but, of course, she owed to herself to be a gentlewoman, and to speak courteously from time to time to this stranger; not over-brushed, nor over-polished, it must be confessed, after his rough encounter with Milton streets and crowds. She wished that he would go, as he had once spoken of doing, instead of sitting there, answering with curt sentences all the remarks she made.”

All my “this is cute” being said, it is funny that he’s met her when she’s in a tired state and actively wants him to leave (and he kind of knows it?). This makes any conversation more awkward, but hey, they can work from this. I’ll take “not over-polished” over Lennox’s gilded comments (which have nothing substantial underneath) any day!

“She sat facing him and facing the light; her full beauty met his eye; her round white flexile throat rising out of the full, yet lithe figure; her lips moving so slightly as she spoke, not breaking the cold serene look of her face with any variation from the one lovely haughty curve; her eyes, with their soft gloom, meeting his with quiet maiden freedom.”

It’s cool seeing this from Mr. Thornton’s eye and how he perceives her. This whole time, we’ve been told she’s not pretty or considered beautiful among society, but to him, she’s a gem. Even when we saw Henry’s POV, he didn’t mention anything of her beauty, just how she blushed in his attempts to woo her. I know beauty isn’t everything, but I happen to like that he sees her beauty. It doesn’t feel overstated, either. He’s not describing her as “the most beautiful woman ever” or anything. He just notices she does have beauty. And I do notice the use of “quiet maiden freedom”, which — to me — parallels with her earlier use of “high maidenly dignity”, used back in chapter 3. Both times were used when about to talk to men they didn’t relish talking to…I don’t think that’s a coincidence. It’s cool that Thornton can actually see this within her.

“He almost said to himself that he did not like her, before their conversation ended; he tried so to compensate himself for the mortified feeling, that while he looked upon her with an admiration he could not repress, she looked at him with proud indifference, taking him, he thought, for what, in his irritation, he told himself he was—a great rough fellow, with not a grace or a refinement about him. Her quiet coldness of demeanour he interpreted into contemptuousness, and resented it in his heart to the pitch of almost inclining him to get up and go away, and have nothing more to do with these Hales, and their superciliousness.”

Thornton, NOOOOO, she’s just tired bro 😭😭😭 at least he kind of understands he’s trying to struggle with his feelings of admiration (and maybe feelings of more?) within himself, contrasted with her “indifference” towards him (which could be considered true, she really does want him to leave and that could be considered indifferent — or worse — towards him. In that case, he’s the first to guess fairly close to what she’s actually feeling). I can understand him, though. No one wants to talk with someone who’s looking down on them, especially someone who they actually want to connect with. And I hate him dismissing himself as rough and unrefined :(((( someone get this man’s confidence up please???

“Just as Margaret had exhausted her last subject of conversation—and yet conversation that could hardly be called which consisted of so few and such short speeches—her father came in, and with his pleasant gentlemanly courteousness of apology, reinstated his name and family in Mr. Thornton’s good opinion.”

Ok, add “good at talking to people” on Mr. Hale’s bingo card. I’ll give him this, he somehow turned this disastrous meeting into…well, Thornton not running away from Margaret. You get exactly 1 point from me, Mr. Hale: don’t screw it up.

Unfortunately, Mr. Hale was not able to persuade the landlord in removing his tacky wallpaper (people like him are why Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote The Yellow Wallpaper /j) and they have to let it stay. Margaret immediately starts thinking of ways to hide it (ever the planner!), while Mr. Hale tries to invite Mr. Thornton to luncheon with them.

“It would have been very inconvenient to him to do so, yet he felt that he should have yielded, if Margaret by word or look had seconded her father’s invitation; he was glad she did not, and yet he was irritated at her for not doing so. She gave him a low, grave bow when he left, and he felt more awkward and self-conscious in every limb than he had ever done in his life before.”

Sorry, dude, Margaret is busy trying to figure out how to hide tacky wallpaper 😭😭😭 I love so much that Mr. Thornton like “it would be so inconvenient for me to eat lunch with them (and also Margaret’s been haughty/indifferent to me this whole time), but also how dare she not invite me to lunch too. 😒😠” yeah, you’re already down bad, Thornton. You’re just in denial :D and awww he’s self-conscious 😭😭

“Well, Margaret, now to luncheon as fast as we can. Have you ordered it?”

“No, papa; that man was here when I came home, and I have never had an opportunity.”

I’m glad Margaret defended herself here because…yeah, when would she have had the time??? Mr. Hale, I am TRYING to be nice to you…kindly do better so you make my job easier, PLEASE. In his defense, he didn’t press the issue or blame her after she said that.

When they detail the day’s events to Mrs. Hale, they ask her what Mr. Thornton is like. At first she’s like “I hardly know what he’s like 🙄” but then she says this:

“‘About thirty—with a face that is neither exactly plain, nor yet handsome, nothing remarkable—not quite a gentleman; but that was hardly to be expected.’”

“‘With such an expression of resolution and power, no face, however plain in feature, could be either vulgar or common. I should not like to have to bargain with him; he looks very inflexible. Altogether a man who seems made for his niche, mamma; sagacious, and strong, as becomes a great tradesman.’”

…it looks like our Margaret took a little more notice of Thornton than she let on, hm? 👀👀 I actually love that Gaskell shows us and doesn’t tell us Margaret’s notice of him; it’s far more interesting to think she was just tired the whole time and uninterested with a sudden twist of “actually he’s strong and powerful-looking etc. etc.” rather than Gaskell telling us both of them were taken with the other from the first moment. Plus it made me do this -> 🤭 IRL so that’s always fun.

“But when they removed to their new house in Milton, the obnoxious papers were gone. The landlord received their thanks very composedly; and let them think, if they liked, that he had relented from his expressed determination not to repaper. There was no particular need to tell them, that what he did not care to do for a Reverend Mr. Hale, unknown in Milton, he was only too glad to do at the one short sharp remonstrance of Mr. Thornton, the wealthy manufacturer.”

EEEEEEEEEEEE 😍😍😍😍😍🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭 this line right here is AMAZING and ICONIC. Get you a man who will get ugly wallpaper removed from your rented house. Thornton!!!!! I knew you liked her!!!! Hehehehehhee. This is what rom-coms were inspired by, I’m convinced.