#its a stand in for conflict person with best argument wins the end

[jjinpang]

THE ANSWER

Superman would win the first fight, but Goku would win on rematch

[gusty-wind]

“It does not actually articulate or force the articulation of a strategy for how to end the conflict to begin with. So you basically have a blank check — or a near blank check — for a strategy that’s completely gone off the rails.”

Lee called out his Republican colleagues for sending aid to Ukraine at the expense of America’s own interests.

“By voting yes and passing this bill now, it empowers drug cartels, it dissolves our borders, it spends insane amounts of money that we don’t have on the priorities of foreign countries all at the same time,” he said.

Lee also slammed the bills’ proponents for defeating an effort led by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to increase accountability and oversight of the aid to the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian government through appointment of an inspector general.

“These are not choir boys,” Lee said. “These are not Boy Scouts. These are not Girl Scouts. These are people who have really set world records for corruption. It’s an art form over there.”

Vance laid out the arguments from Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for rushing the aid through without further accountability measures.

“The basic argument is that we have to rush resources to Ukraine immediately, or they’re liable to fall to Russian aggression,” he said. “And it’s all basically an argument made under the gun that unless you approve this appropriation of resources and weapons, then you will allow Russia to win. So it’s a kind of moral blackmail.”

Supporters of yet more aid to Ukraine can not admit the reality that the war is not winnable for Ukraine, Vance continued. “They can’t admit that this isn’t going well because if they admitted that, it would cause too much psychological harm, and they’d have to cut bait.”

Johnson added that proponents argue that it is in politicians’ naked political interests to support the aid because “it’s helping build our industrial base, and so it’s creating jobs in your state. And I call that a depraved justification.”

Musk, who noted his contributions to Ukraine’s war efforts, echoed the assessment of the trio of senators that the war is ultimately not winnable and that a peace deal is in their best interests.

Ukraine is ��losing people every day,” he said. “And if you’re going to spend lives, it must be for a purpose.”

Musk continued:

There is no way in hell that Putin is going to lose. If he would back off, he would be assassinated. And for those who want regime change in Russia, they should think about: Who is the person that could take out Putin? And is that person likely to be a peacenik? Probably not. They’re probably gonna be even harder, even more hardcore than Putin if they took him out.  Ramaswamy detailed additional “unacceptable” risks to American and global interests from continued “endless funding” of the fighting in Ukraine, arguing that Americans see “daily strengthening of the military alliance between Russia and China, which, when combined, is the single greatest increase for the risk of World War III that we’ve seen in the post-World War II era.”

If the foreign aid passes the Senate, as is expected, the House must still act. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) would likely face a rebellion from members of the Republican conference if he brought the bill to the floor.

Monday night, after the conclusion of the X Space, Johnson seemed to throw cold water on the Senate’s package, echoing earlier statements that Congress must address American border security first.

“In the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” a Johnson statement read. “America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.”

The timing before Monday night’s vote is important, sending the message to any on-the-fence Republican senators that a vote on the unpopular aid package would imperil their political standing for legislation that will not become law.

Some Democrats have insisted they will use all the parliamentary tools at their disposal to bring the bill to the floor, although a path forward for the legislation in the House is unclear.

Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

[tinyozlion]

“Honor, Justice, Strength, Integrity” - Why Wufei’s 'Honor' is Different

Here’s an analogy: 

Someone stands up proudly in the debate club. They say “Today I’m going to be arguing strenuously for a topic I know almost nothing about and can barely articulate my stance on, but I’m going to opine about it at length and with great authority.”  

And you’re like: …Why?

Do you enjoy being humiliated? Do you like losing? Is this something you do often?

Why? Why stand up at all when you have absolutely no chance of making your point?

This is how Wufei feels about fighting. Wufei, after all, IS a debate kid. 

People who have no way of defending their argument should stay seated. They shouldn’t be here in the first place. If you’re too weak to win, you’re only a detriment to your own cause; when you’re weak, you make your cause look weak, when you lose, your cause loses.

So sit down. You’re in the way. You’re embarrassing yourself.

--If most of us look in our hearts and think of something that we would, honestly, truly, stand up and throw a punch / take a punch for, our ability to WIN the fight isn’t necessarily part of our criteria for doing it. If you gotta punch a bully, you gotta punch a bully. We view that as having integrity. 

Wufei would not agree– if you punch the bully and the bully wipes the floor with you, does it mean anything to anyone but you? And does your feeling of validation make it worthwhile to participate in a conflict that hands your enemy an easy victory? The bully is still Evil, he wouldn’t say otherwise. But you didn’t change that by getting your ass kicked;  the bully lives to bully another day. 

Why throw your life away for something you can't change? If the only thing you can do for you cause is die for it, then you need to get your priorities in order-- you should get better at fighting so you can WIN for what you believe in, or get out of the way of those who can, so you don't become a liability.

If a cause is worth fighting for, then as its champion you'd better commit to being strong enough not only to achieve victory, but to defend and enforce it– or don't you believe in your stance firmly enough to follow it through? If you can't bring yourself to implement it without hesitation, then your cause is not a worthy one. If you don't fully believe in the cause you're fighting for, then indecision will make you weak, and you will fail.

And it will be right that you fail. Because fighting without a unity of both commitment and moral authority is how you lose your way. It’s how unnecessary conflict and Evil are born: from the disorder left in the wake of those who fight without understanding of what they're trying to achieve or lack the resolve to implement it without compromise. To him, that internal unity of purpose is the measure of integrity. Never go to war without it.

“Honor” for Wufei is different from the “aretḗ” of Zechs and Treize. For Wufei, honor is a score you’re keeping with yourself and your family and your clan and your ancestors and your dead wife who’s spirit you idolize. It’s not glory, it’s not chivalry– honor is your reputation. It’s a designation of value assigned by your community; it keeps you accountable to them. If you are humiliated in battle, it disgraces you AND your community, and it is therefore their right to ostracize you. Honor is something you can lose-- not just by failing to meet your personal standards, but by by failure in general.

A circumstantial loss is one you can strengthen yourself against and bounce back from-- but a true defeat, one that ends with you knowing you've been bested by a far superior opponent? That is a failure. A deep and bruising mark of dishonor that makes you unfit to wield a weapon.

There’s an interesting, if perhaps cynical, description of “honor culture” that identifies it as a response to living in impoverished, tenuous, often remote conditions where there is minimal or no law enforcement. Your mileage may vary on that assessment, but one thing’s for sure, Wufei’s colony, the A0206 colony of the L5 cluster, fits all of those criteria. 

The Long clan’s reputation for great strength led them to be exiled by an insecure government to a decrepit, 200 year old relic of a colony teetering on the brink of extinction at the very edge of civilization. They have no money and few resources, their population is dwindling, the life support systems grow more tenuous by the year. The Alliance / OZ think of the people still living in L5 as vermin skittering around space trash. The Barton Foundation’s original plan for Operation Meteor designated A0206 as the colony destined for earth drop.  Both Earth and Space seem in agreement that his home is scrap metal waiting to be disposed of. The only resources of value Wufei's clan have are the few young people like him who are capable of fighting, and their honor as a people. (…And one Gundam with no ammunition.)

The Long Clan is depicted as being very strict, proud, and extremely conservative. They adhere to a Confucian tradition that values obedience to social hierarchies, and the acceptance of one’s social role within that hierarchy. It is understood that those with superior standing should maintain virtuous and moral conduct, and that those who are subordinate should obey them as long as this remains true. Civil order and peace is the expected result of maintaining this propriety. It is also expected that people strive for perfection and harmony in every aspect of life, with the understanding that perfection is a state that can be achieved. It’s very likely that the strict adherence to these very traditional precepts is what helps A0206’s small, endangered population maintain cohesion in the face of constant peril, and it would explain why these traditions have close to a religious significance for those living there, including Wufei. 

The hierarchies of this system are fundamentally patriarchal. Meilan is considered the “strongest in her clan”, but this seems to be something of a ceremonial designation, as she is repeatedly told not to fight in real battles on account of being a woman. In fact, it she seems to be the only woman with a visible presence in the colony. It’s possible that women are a rarity in the declining state of A0206, thus giving her increased value and status and making the rest of the clan overprotective of her-- but whatever the case, she must take on the spiritual mantle of Nataku to transcend her status as a woman and fight.

This is partly why Meilan finds Wufei so deeply infuriating when they first meet: she and Wufei are the strongest and perhaps ONLY members of their generation who are able to fight, and he (the one allowed and expected to fight by virtue of being male) refused to do so. Wufei did not see the point in fighting for a subjective concept– “Justice” lacks an absolute, universal definition, and therefore could not be defended.

--Like I said before: debate kid. 

Besides being an infuriating nerd, Wufei risks his whole clan’s reputation by refusing to commit to the fight against the Evil. (…Also, they were about to be exterminated by the Alliance, so choosing to let everyone die rather than be rhetorically incorrect was a bit of a dick move– as his mentor Doctor O astutely observed). When Meilan shames him, it is specifically for being a failure as her husband, as well as for shirking his duties as the most capable member of the Long clan. For both of them, propriety is of key importance.

But unlike Wufei, Meilan has no trouble reconciling her conviction to fight with her sense of justice. To her, it’s obvious that the universality of justice is infinitely less important than making one’s own idea of justice a reality. 

She isn’t having any of that what-about-ism bullshit– she is unhesitatingly ready to fight for what she understands to be true: that those who kill indiscriminately and oppress others for gain are Evil, and must be stopped so they cannot continue to do harm. And she fights also because… that is their way. The last and most enduring thing her people have is their identity, as ones who fight to uphold justice.

Ultimately, Meilan is killed while protecting the colony and Wufei. She is strong enough to win, but not strong enough to survive the victory. Their colony, their clan, and one the last few beautiful things they have managed to cultivate in spite of dereliction– their field of flowers, are safe for another day. If she hadn’t leapt to their defense first, Wufei would not have followed in the Gundam, and the population of the colony would likely have been killed en-masse by the Alliance, or decimated by OZ. She was directly responsible for their survival. Evil did not win, and yet, she died. She was strong, and yet she died. She was weak, and yet she was Justice embodied.  Such a contradiction meant the universe had gone insane. It lost its way, it stood in need of correction.

Wufei does not handle contradictions well. His ideology consists of absolutes and has no room for failure or extenuation. When the weak fight, they die, or they get in the way, so they shouldn’t fight. But Meilan– Nataku, was strong, and so, her spirit must live on in the Gundam, undying. It is her strength, her justice, which carries HIM to victory by lending him the strength of the mobile suit she died protecting. He must believe this, not only to honor her memory, but to preserve the structure of his ideology. 

When he encounters women in combat who remind him of her, he reacts with outbursts of sublimated anger and grief that is redirected into misogynistic vitriol. Women who fight will die, don’t they understand? They continue to pick up arms and fight anyway, even when they’re weak, even when they cannot possibly win. They’ll foolishly rush ahead because they believe in what they fight for, and it will kill them. But he will not be the reason for it. He will make them understand that they are weak, so they will stop fighting.

--But they don’t. And he has no idea how to deal with it. Just as he has no idea how to deal with his own defeat, until once again, a woman finds it worthwhile to help him regain his conviction and sense of justice, by demonstrating her own. 

He is a trad-i-tional boy, living in a trad-i-tional world.  

<-Back! —————————- Onward!->

[megashadowdragon]

redraw of emerys son of merlin and gudako

source : www . reddit . com/r/grandorder/comments/199cxqc/redraw_of_emerys_son_of_merlin_and_gudako/

original bio:

Gudako X Merlin: Son

Name: Emerys

Age: 17

Personality:��Annoying to the people who don’t like him, but reliable to his allies. Emerys is a smooth talker who can worm his way out of almost any situation with just his words alone. To the unaware, his words and logic make sense, making him win almost any argument, but to those as smart as him, he is a sly fox who they know from the start not to engage with a verbal debate with. While he is no stranger to a fight, he prefers to avoid combat if possible. Mainly due to the fact he would rather avoid pain. This however comes into conflict as he can’t help but rile people up. He also likes to do things that are cool and not exactly practical.

Other Stuff: Born due to Merlin having fun aka [REDACTED] with Gudako . He specializes in elemental and dream magecraft. Using several staffs that he plagiarized made himself. Because he is a smooth talker, he is better at High-Speed Incantation than his father, this is useful when his is running from someone and he needs to cast a spell quickly in order to escape. Speaking of which, running is the one practical thing he excels at. While Myriam is someone who prefers to teleport away and get herself immediately out of danger, Emerys will simply outrun his chasers. As he enjoys the feeling of leaving them in the dust. This has worked 70% of the times he was running from someone.

Bio: Of the many children of the Fujimaru family. There are six the stand out as being a special case due to their relationships with each other, or more specifically, the parents and their connection to the Land of Paradise and Hope. The two children of Morgan: Timothy and Calisto, the two children of Castoria: Cayde and Alina, and finally, the kids of both the male and female Merlin. Through this loose connection, they are known as the “Children of Avalon”.

With the birth of Emerys, the power balance settled. With one boy and girl for each “person” associated with Avalon. Naturally, alliances and relationships vary. And on a spectrum of responsible to troublemaking, the Morgan kids occupy one end, the Castoria kids occupy the other, with the Merlin kids somewhere in the middle.

When compared to his “sister”/cousin Myriam, Emerys is a natural strategist with a diverse set of skills that makes him unpredictable. Meanwhile, Myriam has untapped leadership potential and more powerful magic circuits, she has less ways to use them. Emerys on the other hand is an all around who uses elemental magecraft as well as dream magic that he learned from his father.

Emerys likes to accessorize, to an often unnecessary degree. He carries things in his coat that he generally does not need, from things like mystic codes, to a small magnet. The most obvious example of this is him owning multiple staffs. Rather than use a single staff for all his spell casting, he has around 6 that corresponds to a specific element or magecraft. But since he can’t carry them all at once, he had a special vault made where he keeps them, and has the ability to send the specific staff he needs anytime he calls.

However, once it was learned that his staffs he made were all just ripoffs of one that already existed. The owners fo the originals were less flattered by these imitations and more slighted by them.

There is a reason why Da Vinci won’t allow him in her workshop.

Quotes:

“I must warn you, I have developed a secret technique, one that was passed down from father to son. A skill that is brilliant in scope, and highly effective in execution. And its name is-”

“You like my staffs? They’re totally original BTW.”

“They say my smile is worth a thousand words, all I have to do is speak and I have already won this conversation.”

Relationships:

Father: Father is father. I learned some of my best tricks from him.

Mother: Mother will never admit it, but she gets so flustered around dad, I bet that even without Incubus blood, he could have seduced her in seconds.

Carina: My closest friend and family member. Sure her ego is through the roof, but I can’t call her out since I have one as well. I’m confident in saying we’d make the most powerful sibling duo in our entire family, in theory anyway.

Myriam: We often joke that we are genderflipped versions of each other. Heck we even tried disguising as one another with illusions to see who could keep up appearances the longest.

Calisto: She considers herself Myriam’s arch-nemesis. And I can agree with that statement, those two are gonna be very close as sisters growing up. Just in a different way.

Timothy: Do I consider him my rival? Maybe, if he was anywhere near as good as me….whats that? He’s standing right behind me?

Cayde: He tries so hard at being a ladies' man, he often wishes he had my smooth voice. Although that might be more trouble than its worth if he had my way of speaking

Alina: Why is so serious all the time, I get having Calisto for a sister is rough, but its not the worst thing in the world.

Lavender: I once tried to borrow her staff, but then I remember her mom is a vengeful Goddess who doesn’t like people messing with her kids.

Finn: He made me an offer to make high-quality unique staffs if I did some favors for him. Just what were they? Sorry, the clause in the contract says I can’t tell.

What people think about him:

Da Vinci: I started copyrighting all my stuff once I saw his newest “staff”.

Morgan: *Statement removed due to overuse of vulgar language and insults*

Miles: He can run fast, thats for sure

Carina: He may not be a child of my father, but if anyone says he is only half my brother, I will paralyze them for a whole day. He is the greatest brother I could ask for!

Timothy: I heard you were talking %$#@ about me.

Victoria: There is a reason why Myriam is the court mage and not him.

Duran: I honestly wished big sis made him the court mage, he makes the best jokes.

[astaroth1357]

Ok but like, what if MC's fandom starts to make ships with MC and the guys. Just think about the ship wars, the fancams, the fanarts, the absolute CHAOS when the brothers find out. It would be even worse if they start shipping MC with the undatables, one day everything is normal and the next day there are ship wars fighting over MC x Barbatos vs MC x Solomon (who are both very smug about it)

The MC's Fanclub are… Shippers?!

Perhaps… The italics blurb has been fulfilling its greater purpose all along…? Perhaps in its state of existential angst, it has in fact developed a plot of its own… An arc of introspection and self-discovery in which its own longing for purpose has forged a meaningful identity… It now has… a story…

Lucifer

As if they couldn't get any MORE frustrating…

He's not an otaku. He's not a part of ship culture. He's not even sure why anyone would care about who dates who around this school, but apparently it's a big deal to some people...

He only became aware of their interest in him and the MC's relationship through some very… subtle clues…

Like the groups that would follow them around in the hallways with their phones out.

Or the multitude of fan rumors about their relationship that Satan spams him with from time to time just to irritate him.

"MC refused hug from Luci in halls today!! Are they bout breakup??? 🥺"

"Tots got pic of kiss today!! Relationship upgrade??"

"IS ARE MC+LUCIFER SECET LVRS?!? PLEASE RESPOND"

It only got worse after he found out the MC gets shipped out a loooooot….

If he had to pick his least favorite ship, it'd be MC x Mammon. He can kind of see it with any of his other brothers (admittedly, Levi is also a little mystifying) but the idea of them ending up with Mammon makes his skin crawl...

He once found a drawing of the MC and Mammon in an… explicit position in one of the classrooms and he was so disgusted that he wouldn’t even touch it. He just set fire to the paper outright. Disgusting...

Mammon

Shipping, eh…? More money making opportunities!

Has some passing idea of what shipping is from Levi and, from what he knows of it, shippers eat cutesy couples stuff right up!! If all he's got to do to make bank is to look all couple-y around the MC then sounds like a win-win to him!

He'll happily pose for a photo or two (paid in advance) of him throwing his arm around the MC or something. Want him to hold their hand? Sure thing!

But since this is still Mammon we're talking about, the second MC actually starts getting into any of it he'll still turn into a blushy, stuttery mess...

For WEEKS the headline picture on so many of their fans' blogs was an image of him turning beet red while the MC kissed him on the cheek. (A fan really got their money's worth there... 😏)

Though he doesn’t exactly like the MC getting shipped with other people, he'll still totally sell pictures of any of them together. He almost paid off an entire credit card with the money he got from the t-shirt sales of the MC and Satan!

If he had to point to one ship he doesn't like it's either MC x Asmo or MC x Levi. His opinion, but Asmo won't treat them right and they could do waaay better than a shut-in. Like him. Ship the MC with just the Great Mammon, got it?

Leviathan

… Lowkey super active in the MC shipping community but is a self-shipper to the extreme.

Like, he never uses his real name on anything (and would probably die from embarrassment if anyone ever found out) but a lot of their fans probably know a couple of his aliases.

He does everything from mod forums, runs a couple blogs, even anonymously posts his own work of him and MC that are totally not his secret fantasy dates or AU versions of themselves, shaddup.

It’s a lot easier for him to keep his involvement secret because he’s hardly at RAD, but the few times he does show up he tries to keep an eye out for anybody prowling for pictures so he can get in a good pose and save the image later.

Mind you, his version of a “good pose” rarely gets more spicy than linking pinkies, but even then he’s still lit up a Christmas Tree throughout.

Naturally, he’s also not a big fan of any ships that aren’t just him and MC and he can find a reason to be jealous at almost anything. But he keeps a special corner of hate for MC x Mammon and MC x Diavolo. Like, the first one doesn’t even need an explanation but MC x Diavolo?? Really??? Do those two even talk?? (please, please, please make sure they never actually talk because a guy like him versus literal royalty? He’d lose MC for sure….!! 😫)

Satan

He hates to actually agree with Lucifer on something, but their fans are starting to get out of hand...

Knows what shipping is in concept, he may have done it once or twice to characters in his books, but he was kind of surprised how it could evolve into such a… group activity?

He was pretty quick to pick up that the MC’s fans had a bit more interest in them together than they did when they both were apart…

I mean, those hideous shirts that Mammon was pedaling were kind of a dead giveaway…

Considering he finds their fanclub all rather annoying, even without their bizarre interest in his love life, when they started actively meddling with him and the MC he was ready to smash some heads.

No. He will not stop for pictures. No. What things they do together is none of your business. No. He has zero interest in seeing your explicit fanart and if you don’t start running that will be the last question you ever ask.

He DOES, however, appreciate the cringy “annoy Lucifer” ammo. They could keep that up for a lifetime... 😏

He doesn’t have a least favorite ship because he doesn’t care about any of this, leave him alone. (That’s a lie, it’s MC x Lucifer. He pokes fun at Lucifer, but he can’t stand it either. Big shock, I know 🙄).

Asmodeus 

Oh he is shamelessly a part of the community, are you kidding?? 

He could practically call “Shipping the MC” one of his favorite pastimes. He’ll openly gossip with their fanclub about who they’ve been with, who they’re seeing, who’s got a chance, etc… He lives for this shit!

He’s the only person who knows that Levi is also in the community and what his aliases are (not because he told him, but because Levi’s not as subtle as he thinks he is… Who else would call themselves “SupremeRuri666” and speak mostly in outdated chat lingo?) but he doesn’t out him because he thinks his very obvious crush is kind of cute. 

Plus, Levi needs the outlet waaaay more than him…

Doesn’t stop him from constantly trolling him and getting into arguments over who the MC would be better with though (the two are “virtual nemeses” as far as Levi is concerned).

Appreciates all forms of expression that comes out of the community (especially the saucy kind 😏) and will happily feed into his own shippers without a care in the world.

Truthfully, Asmo will say that there isn’t a ship he doesn’t like but if someone mentions one that he thinks is kind of “eh,” he’ll just add himself into the mix. “Oh, you like MC x Barbatos? Well how about Asmo x MC x Barbatos? That sounds loads more interesting doesn’t it??”

Beelzebub 

Oh, Beel… Sweet, sweet Beel… Beel doesn’t even know what their club is doing…

Because Beel has a reputation of being pretty protective of MC - and against the fanclub in general - the club keeps a healthy distance… but that doesn’t mean they’re not going to sneak in some picture or make a SHITLOAD of fanwork about them.

Between classes and practice Beel is a busy guy, so sometimes he just doesn’t notice that there’s people hiding behind trees when he’s out with MC. 

Honestly, his complete ignorance of it all makes it even cuter because when he acts sweet, it’s not just for the camera. That’s the real deal.

Mammon was the one who eventually let it slip that there was even shipping happening and Beel was… kind of creeped out because isn’t this stalking? But also kind of weirdly happy(?) that MC x Beel was so popular… Very conflicted boy here.

He never actually acknowledges the community, though, and just keeps on being Beel (which still gave the fans more than enough material so all’s well that ends well?)

Beel genuinely doesn’t have a least favorite ship (because he believes the best ship is whoever makes the MC happy) but his second favorite under himself is probably MC x Belphie. They look very cute together...  😊

Belphegor 

Ride or die, Beel x MC x Belphie. 

Just kidding (kind of), Belphie isn’t into the shipping but if asked he’d be pretty okay with that one.

His campaign against the MC’s fanclub and their attention stealing ways means that he found out about their shipping thing only slightly ahead of Beel when Mammon was trying to get pictures of them napping together…

Honestly, he couldn’t care less if a bunch of weirdos were weirdly invested in their relationship, but he’s not about to let Mammon just make a quick Grimm off of it. Belphie makes sure that he gives him NOTHING to work with. 

Since Mammon is the main dealer, the shippers in both the MC fanclub and Belphie fanclub aren’t nearly as well fed and pretty desperate for anything... You best believe he plays that to his advantage (because it’s okay if he does. He’s not Mammon).

Really helps that MC x Belphie is legitimately a very cute looking couple, carried by Belphie’s cuteness alone if nothing else. Add an adorable MC and you reach levels so cute it could actually melt people into puddles of goo... They could be a registered weapon.

Least favorite MC ships are any that don’t involve him or Beel. Any others may as well just not exist, he won’t even acknowledge them. MC x Who? Yeah, that’s what he thought.

[macachee]

Technoblade and Tubbo were treated like NPCs, and not as people, by both their allies and the viewers at the festival.

A general overview of events: Schlatt discovered Tubbo was a spy for Pogtopia, held a festival to execute him under the guise of a grand celebration, and forced Technoblade to do the deed for him, thus introducing mistrust into the organization. Tommy and Wilbur, their allies, stood on the sidelines watching the entire confrontation but failed to help.

Let's start with Tubbo. Tubbo was the spy for Pogtopia. He was the one that was murdered up on the festival stand. He was reassured by both Wilbur and Tommy via whispers in the chat that nothing would happen to him, that nothing would go wrong up on that stage. He paid for this with one of his three canon lives.

Afterwards, although angry at Techno at first, he quickly grew to understand Techno's side of the story, explicitly forgiving him soon after. This could also be to calm the discontent growing rampant through their ranks, but he forgives Techno in front of the others regardless.

Both Wilbur and Tommy show little to no acknowledgment of the validity of Tubbo's forgiveness, and Tommy in particular continues to be actively hostile despite the fact that he did nothing to stop Tubbo's execution. He ignores Tubbo's agency in his decision to forgive Techno, and ends up dying (noncanonically) as a result, due to their fight in the Pit. He acts as if Tubbo's feelings aren't valid, and aren't a factor despite the fact that he was the one the wrongdoing affected, not Tommy.

The fandom often reacts the same way that Tommy does, either ignoring that Tubbo forgave Techno or directly putting words in Tubbo's mouth that he never said. Interpreting people's actions in a way not shown in canon, such as saying Tubbo never truly forgave Techno, in a fanfiction is fine, but using that in an analysis is another.

Looking at Technoblade, we can see a few more examples. Tommy and Wilbur completely ignore the fact that he has both feelings and faults.

At the festival, while constantly sending messages of reassurance to Tubbo, Techno recieves no orders. He stalls as long as he can roughly over five minutes, likely waiting for a rescue or a plan, but no one comes. Wilbur and Tommy assume that he knows what to do, that he would come pre-programmed with a brilliant plan of escape like a machine that can calculate actions perfectly, and without fault. Tommy constantly insists afterwards that Techno could have killed everyone on the stage and escaped with Tubbo, ignoring the fact that Techno is a person, not a god with limitless powers.

While it may have been possible, Techno was scared and unsure of his abilities at the time. He had even remarked earlier that his rocket launcher was a prototype, and he was unsure of its capabilities. Tommy insists that Techno could have just flown out of the situation, despite the fact that it was not physically possible, as he can only due so in the rain. (This also ignores the fact that, had he escaped, he would have left Tubbo to die nonetheless.)

Tommy ignores all concept of emotion (mainly anxiety, fear) or error (believing he could win against an army without an issue), essentially dehumanizing him. Tommy and Wilbur are scared that he is a weapon and they don't know who might be pulling the trigger, them or Schlatt, again ignoring that he is a person with opinions, emotions, and relationships, not an object that can be passed from side to side and cast away if it malfunctions.

When Techno goes along with Wilbur's idea to fight Tommy in pit (which they mutually agree to) in order to cease the conflict between them, Tommy ignores this as well and continues to yell at him, once again ignoring his words and feelings on the matter.

Wilbur, of course, does nothing except provoke Tommy during the entire encounter, showing little to no concern or care for either Tubbo or Techno throughout the entire confrontation.

(This is not even mentioning the fact that Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo would have willingly left Techno to die in L'Manburg had Wilbur found and pressed the button).

All of these arguments are ones that I have heard from the fandom as well as the characters. I find it ironic that while one of Techno's main themes is dehumanization and the concept of personhood, the struggle to be seen as a valid person, that while conducting analysis, the fandom largely discards any thoughts, feelings, or emotion he has in any situation, which is one of the classic signs of dehumanization. He is expected to know the best course of action in every situation and carry out those plans perfectly, mechanically. He oftentimes isn't even considered a person by the audience.

To summarize, both Tubbo and Techno's expressed feelings regarding the festival were largely ignored and invalidated by both the characters and the audience, even though they were the ones most heavily affected by the events. They are treated as NPCs, vehicles for a plot instead of fellow allies, or as people.

[dragongirl642]

I really love your writing and noticed your asks are open (i think). And, I checked your masterlist and didn't see RE8 listed as a universe you write for, so you can ignore this if you want. But, could I request Heisenberg, Donna, and Lady Dimitrescu reacting to a male dragon-shifter reader who has decided to make the character's residence their hoard, and as such, going to extreme lengths to protect them and the residence?

OOOHHH 😮😳 How did you know dragons (and by extent dragon shifters) are my favourite things in the whole wide world!!!!!

As a treat, you get all four of the Lords' reactions. 😎

For extra drama, the dragon-shifter (you) basically crash land nearby (after a loooooonnnngggg flight) and decide to take up residence in the nearest abode while you rest, and end up getting comfortable and liking the area so decide to stay.

You have a full human form, fully dragon form, and an in-between form.

Also, you have like saintly levels of patience.

Heisenberg

It takes him a minute of staring to figure out that the giant dragon in the factory, is not a hallucination, induced by either the drinking he was doing the night prior, or a trick of Mother Miranda's trying to destabilize him mentally.

However this quickly turns into a lot of yelling "what the F are you doing in my factory!" and "What the F are you!" while chucking metal at you.

You melt the more dangerous pieces and yell at him to "Cease this nonsense! You can't hurt me like this."

Heisenberg.exe has stopped working.

He's partially re-evaluating his life like...did I just get sassed by a giant lizard.

You take the initiative to tell the small angry man telekinetically chucking metal around to chill. "Listen, I'm just going to rest here a few days then leave. You leave me alone, and I won't Incinerate you."

He quickly weighs up how much he doesn't want you here vs how much it will piss Mother Miranda off if he uses the giant dragon crash landing in his factory as an excuse to do absolutely nothing for her.

He's a bit annoyed about you taking up all the room by the forges so he can't make new soldats but...

Hate for Miranda wins!

He actually uses this as an excuse in his next report and Mother Miranda comes to 'get rid of the problem herself since Heisenberg cannot'...you almost incinerated her and she checked out. (He's putting that down as one of the best days of his life).

Since he now has nothing better to do he either leans on a nearby balcony or stands on a floating gear and starts trying to get your attention.

Will ask you everything from your name and where you came from to your favourite colour and if you have a specific favourite scale on your body.

You're distrustful and annoyed at first but soon warm up to this obviously lonely man.

You get so comfortable you decide you just might never leave.

The first time you feel comfortable enough to shift back to your human form Heisenberg is like (o_o) hot person! Two for one deal, annoying Mother Miranda plus Eye Candy!!!!

Makes a joke about having you turn into your dragon form again so he can keep making excuses to Mother Miranda. Which gets you curious and you ask about her, and he explains about the cadou, the experiments, and what she did to him.

He will make a bunk for you, so he can get back to work and you can stay near the heat of the forges, (absorbing the energy from the flames speeds up recovery and/or keeps you charged at 100% so you're always ready to burn a b1tch...specifically Miranda).

You both talk about whatever while he works. Lots of late night chats. One time he accidentally doused the forges and you just blew into the chamber and they re-lit immediately. (Mechanical Heart Eyes)

Since you start considering the entire factory to be your hoard, sometimes you claim a random object as your specific favourite piece for the day, maybe one of his tools or a specific piece of scrap. If he needs to use it, you won't let him and a small argument can be had. A solution is soon found though, you can't have a conflict of interest if your favourite item is him.

When you protect him, he's super flattered and hypes you up.

Cue him on the sides cheering you on.

If you two have started dating he will definitely yell "that's my boyfriend!" and gush about you to whoever happens to be standing next to him. (Bonus points if it's any of the other Lords. Especially Miranda, she is dying!)

Definitely makes a sign saying 'Beware of Dragon' to put on the fence.

Sometimes you jump to his defence even when he's in the middle of handling the threat. He gets huffy, saying he can take care of himself. You respond by telling him you won't let anything harm what's yours and once again, Heisenberg.exe is experiencing an error.

Alcina Dimitrescu

She is absolutely dismayed and angry at the giant lizard that barged its way through the doors and took up residency in her hall. It's tracking in mud and snow, burned the curtains, and took a good chunk of the wall, (letting in the cold).

Her daughters can't handle the cold, damn you!

Tries to fight you...fails. Turns out she's not immune to incineration and loses quite a few limbs (they grow back...eventually).

When she sees you shift to your human form, she's doubly-incensed...not only did you barge into her home but your also a D I S G U S T I N G M A N T H I N G !

You shift back whenever she tries to kill you so eventually she just gives up. (According to her she's waiting for the right opportunity NOT giving up.)

Wants to kill you, calls Mother Miranda for help and well, the same thing happens if you had crashed in the factory...she checks out!

Refuses to leave the castle for any reason, she's not leaving you along with her daughters.

Resigns herself to yelling insults at you from the balcony.

You respond in kind and it slowly devolves into a competition to come up with the most creative insults.

Your dragon form radiates heat...like...a lot. (Even counteracting the cold coming through the hole in the wall, which you attempted to fix.) This of course attracts the Dimitrescu daughters to the hall (against their mother's will).

If Alcina sees you lying their in dragon from, her three hive-mind children chattering away happily with you encouraging their curiosity, (Bela is half-asleep by your side, Daniela is complimenting your claws and asking about your bone structure, while Cassandra proudly proclaims her mother's are better than yours), she partly reconsiders her stance on you being a filthy, horrible, disgusting lizard man thing to just a filthy lizard man thing.

Seriously, your filthy, take a bath.

You quite enjoy all the little luxuries that can be found in the castle and decide to stay. Alcina almost shreds her hat in exasperation.

You get more comfortable and she starts to tolerate your presence, although she will take a swipe at you if she thinks she has a chance at killing you in your human form.

Jokes on her you can partially change and still fit through the hallways.

You never told her you've claimed the castle and the Dimitrescu family as your hoard but she does notice you being oddly friendly to her and she is "suspicious!"

You've met a few vampires and have a few suggestions for a more sustainable food source (buying blood donations from villagers instead of killing them). She's skeptical but considers it.

The first time you defend her is actually against Mother Miranda...over the phone. You have sharp hearing...and you don't like what you're hearing.

She's both flattered you would defend her so, and disgusted with herself for accepting a man thing's help.

When she realises she likes having you around, she starts to rationalise to herself that you're not just any man thing, you're her dragon man thing and therefore okay.

Gets more comfortable with leaving you with her daughters. You treat them well and keep them entertained?! That's a free babysitter if ever she's seen one.

When she sees the more extreme lengths you will go to protect the castle and her family, she is impressed and flattered and a little scared, and acts like it was her idea to have you stay.

"Oh, haven't you heard, that's the Dimitrescu Dragon."

Definitely rubs it in Heisenberg's face that she has a dragon and he doesn't.

Donna Beneviento

What are you!?!?!

To protect Donna, Angie is ready to fight you or die trying!

Just kind off avoids you and sends the pollen at you to make you leave.

The only one of the four Lords most likely to actually defeat you.

When you speak though, telling her to "release (your) mind, witch, or (you'll) incinerate everything", she's surprised and scared enough to actually do so.

Asks if you'll be her friend. Angie is cussing you out.

You see how scared and lonely she is and just *adoption mode activated*.

You only need to rest a few days, why not do so on friendly terms with your host. (keep telling yourself that).

It takes a day for you to shift to human form, partially because you don't want to have your measurements taken because Donna wants to make you a giant bonnet, (You reason it's a waste of resources, you'll only be here a short while).

Jokes on you, this is your home now.

You've never hoarded dolls before, but there's a first time for everything.

You will spend most of your time in human form since your dragon form kinda scares her.

Even though she's still scared of it, Donna does find your dragon form interesting and will ask to sketch you (from a distance...no fire please).

Make various over-exaggerated poses and joke about "draw me like one of your french girls" and she will laugh, (even though she doesn't get the joke).

She makes a plush doll of you. It turns inside out to shift between human and dragon.

The first time you protect her, she's scared. The flames take her straight back to her childhood, she's crying and she hides. You shift back to human form very quickly and find her, holding her close and apologising for scaring her over and over.

Will tear a man apart in human form to avoid this (or almost human form).

She slowly works up to being comfortable in your dragon form, the first time she falls asleep against your side is a good day.

You start insisting on accompanying her to meetings and escorting her whenever she has to meet another Lord. They start talking sh1t, they get hit (or burned...you let Donna choose).

Angie cheers you on.

Salvatore Moreau

He is terrified of you when you first show up.

You basically tear your way into the mines for shelter and he is frantically plugging the entrance to his home with the enzyme to hide.

Calls for "mother" to save him and that's how you find him.

You see this small deformed fish man crying in the mine and think, "i'm not gonna ask."

You settle in the slightly larger chamber and just lie down for a rest.

He soon realises your not going to attack him and ventures out to stare at you. He just keeps staring at you for like an uncomfortably long time, peeking around a doorway.

Eventual you snap and ask him to stop staring.

He slowly comes out of hiding and starts asking the basics.

"You can talk?" "Who are you?" "Why are you here?"

Seeing no reason not to, you tiredly answer all his questions.

Hearing about your long journey has him curiously asking about the places you've been to.

He quickly figures out you must have some sort of human form since you end up on the topics of favourite foods or movies and your favourites are all distinctly human. (He's the fastest at figuring this out and the least surprised when you shift).

Terrifying (hideous) creature going through an unnerving transformation into a humanoid form...he can relate. Although he's slightly jealous of how 'normal' you look when you shift to human form.

You two have a movie night where he proudly shows of his collection. It is in the middle of him analysing the context of THAT ONE SCENE that you decide, Yes...This one is mine.

The entire reservoir and mine is your territory and if anything comes anywhere near it they will be ash in 30 seconds.

When you protect him from danger, he's shocked that someone cares enough about him to f-ing incinerate a lycan for even looking at him weirdly.

You act like its natural and eventually he starts to get used to you.

Has self doubt and questions your motives...you tell him he's worth it or that he's your jewel.

C O N F I D E N C E B O O S T

Starts talking back to the other Lords when they insult him. It's easy with you hovering menacingly behind him, veins glowing with barely contained R A G E.

One source of friction however, is the fact that he doesn't like that you keep trying to kill Mother Miranda and he will latch onto you sobbing until you agree to spare her (for now...you'll get her when he's not around).

However, the longer you two know each other, the more self-confidence he gains and the more you talk through what Mother Miranda did to him and why he deserves better, (pointing out her manipulation, analyses whether she's ever 'cared' about him, etc...), the less bothered he gets. (Give it a few years, he'll cheer you on alongside Heisenberg).

Bonus:

The second you see Mother Miranda...it is on sight. (Especially if you know what she did to the Lords).

Cue you shifting to dragon form and preparing to unleash a volley of flame, "I smell the blood of children on you."

You may be comfortable(ish) with the actions of your housemate but you have STANDARDS.

Alright 😊 Hoped you like these headcanons, jaychirps. They were really fun to write and grew quite a bit. 😅

(I feel like Moreau's a bit ooc but I don't know enough about him to dispute that claim....)

Oh and p.s. ... asks are open.

[oddnub-eye]

The Emer Post

Emer, wife of Cú Chulainn, is fucking rad. Personally, she’s one of my favorite characters in the Ulster Cycle, tied only with Cú Chulainn himself. And this makes sense, given that, at least in my readings, they seem to parallel each other in several ways.

The build up to the introduction of Emer seems to emphasize this, “Cuchulaind said that no woman should go with him but she who was his equal in age and shape and race, and skill and deftness, who was the best handworker of all the maidens in Erin”. The buildup to Emer emphasizes that she is more or less “his equal in her own fields”. Where Cú Chulainn has established himself as the best of the best of warriors, he seeks a wife who is the best of the best among them, with Emer fulfilling those conditions. Their actual “introductions” parallel each other. Emer is introduced with her foster-sisters, the daughters of the lords around Forgall’s dun. She appears to be the leader of the group, as she is teaching them, teaching being a position that implies more experience, or superiority. This is similar to how Cú Chulainn’s interactions with the boy-troop of Ulster is described in The Boyhood Deeds of Cú Chulainn; Cú Chulainn defeating all the other boys in the games they play, and taking them under his protection, proving himself to be the best of the bunch. They both, at separate points, are established as “the best” of their given fields and the best among their peers.

This shared superiority in their fields and abilities is reaffirmed in Bricriu’s Feast. While the major plotline and events of the story focus around Cú Chulainn fighting over the “Champion’s Portion” with Conall Cernach and Loegaire, Emer competes with their wives in a battle of words to try and claim who is the best. Emer takes the opportunity to assert her superiority and that she is the “the standard of women, in figure, in grace, in wisdom; None my equal in beauty, for I am a picture of graces...”. As if to be a visual metaphor of Emer winning, where Conall and Loegaire lift one of the building's pillars to allow their wives to enter the house, Cú Chulainn lifts the entire house off its foundations, “till the stars of heaven were to be seen under the wattle.”

Emer, however, did not view Cú Chulainn in the same favor or equivalence that he saw in her. When Cú Chulainn approached her for marriage, she did not immediately agree to his conditions, laying her three famous marriage conditions, “until he has killed a hundred men at every ford from Scenmenn ford on the river Albine, to Banchung - the “Woman’s Yoke” that can hold a hundred”, “until he has done the feat of the salmon-leap carrying twice his weight in gold, and struck down three groups of nine men in one stroke, leaving the middle man of each nine unharmed,” and “who hasn’t gone sleepless from Samain, when summer goes to its rest, until Imbolc, when the ewes are milked at spring’s beginning.”

She does come around after Cú Chulainn agrees to attempt to fulfill these conditions, even shooting down her father’s attempts to marry her off to Lugaid. She also marries Cú Chulainn after he fulfills her marriage conditions.

Arguably, Emer’s shining moment as a character comes in Serglige Con Culainn, otherwise known as The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn. Which seems strange at the outset, considering that it's arguably the story where she’s at her most unlikable. Most versions of Serglige Con Culainn you can find are pieced together from two separate tellings, with the role of “Emer” being filled by the woman Ethne in the first half. However, Emer begins to be used in the back half as the primary character, and arguably is the protagonist over Cú Chulainn for this portion of the story. And in this half after Emer starts being used, much of her actions don’t come off as those of a particularly likable or even those of a character we would deem as “in the right”; for the some-odd year her husband has been suffering wasting sickness, she’s not been by his side (Ethne was described as such, but Emer explicitly needs to be fetched from Emain Macha by Laeg), she shames Laeg (who traveled to the otherworld to seek information about curing Cú Chulainn) for not returning with a cure, she badmouths the Ulsterman who had stayed by Cú Chulainn’s side for not fixing the problem, she shames Cú Chulainn for “lying prostrate for a woman’s love” despite knowing their was fae bullshit and involved, and then, in probably the crowning moment of “what the fuck” in the story, despite spurring Cú Chulainn to go to Fand, and knowing full well that Fand both beat wasting sickness into her husband and that Fand wants to marry Cú Chulainn, reacts rather violently when she finds out about the tryst between Fand and Cú Chulainn.

Let me repeat this for emphasis. Emer knows that Fand wants her husband’s hand in marriage, having established that as a consequence of him doing what he needs to do to free himself from the wasting sickness, shames Cú Chulainn for having wasting sickness, sends him to Fand, and then reacts violently when all of that ends exactly how you think it does.

However, the interesting thing is, Emer is not portrayed as incorrect, foolish, or negative in any way for that. In fact, it is instead another thing meant to establish Emer as “the bestest wife”. She is “the hero” of this part of the story. In her debate with Cú Chulainn regarding Fand, Emer wins. She’s the one with the most iconic line of the story “Yet fair seems all that's red; seems white what's new alone; and bright what's set o'erhead; and sour are things well known…”

And this is because Emer isn’t actually meant to be the sole hero of this story. Indeed, we are supposed to sympathize with Fand in her plight as well. That is why the detail of Fand’s dissatisfaction in her marriage with Manannan is included. We are supposed to sympathize with Emer for Fand’s interference and her life, and her response to Fand’s status as a threat to her position, as well as sympathizing with the plight of Fand and how it isn’t necessarily wrong of her to seek Cú Chulainn. Fand’s love for Cú Chulainn is equated to Emer’s in the text, shown through both of their attempts to yield him to the other. Likewise, both Emer and Fand are established as “ideal wives”, described as having the traits of one, for the sake of both Cú Chulainn’s arguments to Emer, and to further drive home how both Fand and Emer are meant to be viewed as sympathetic. It is something that is driven home even further when Fand confronts Manannan, reminding him of her status as “the bestest wife” echoing Emer’s assertion to Cú Chulainn during the actual conflict of the story.

A minor thing that’s intriguing about this is how it almost seems to mirror the “myth moral gap” that is present in so many other stories about ancient heroes. The values these heroes adhere to are different from ours, and this is present across nearly all ancient stories. Emer and Fand’s “hero-like” position in this tale proves no different; beating wasting sickness into the object of your affection, shaming your partner for getting his ass beat, badmouthing the people who stayed by his side when you did not would hardly be considered behaviors of a “good” partner, much less supposedly the “best of the best”. But, they are not framed as slights against Emer or Fand within Serglige Con Culainn.

Emer is fucking rad. She’s a pretty interesting character, via her parallels to Cú Chulainn and her proactivity across various stories; even appearing as what could be described as “the hero” of a few of them. Fair is the plain indeed, as Emer stands above several of her compatriots in the Ulster Cycle in terms of interest and being pretty damn awesome.

Source List:

Early Irish Myths and Sages; Jeffery Gatz

The Tain; Thomas Kinsella

Fled Bricrend (The Feast of Bricriu); George Henderson

The Wooing of Emer by Cu Chulainn; Kuno Myer

The Sickbed of Cu Chulainn; Maelmuiri mac Ceileachair

[afterthegreatunknown]

personal headcanons a go-go!

Widdershins Family Book-Verse Edition

VFD/Schism/General World Building Headcanons

The World of ASOUE is an alternate world that first diverge during World War I, and again around World War II. That divergence brought in “VFD’s golden era”. It’s really a subjective term. Still, for the late 1940’s to 1950’s the world was “quiet”. VFD members of this era are ‘The Golden (Quiet) Generation’.

The VFD United States branch in 1960 started to have internal conflict. It spread to other VFD headquarters/locations around the world because they found the same arguments. The Schism happened in the 60’s, just in different ‘phases’ that make it one whole.

Via a butterfly effect, the world enters a strange apocalyptic world until the mid-1970s where stability came back. The new world leaders look at the first half of the 20th century through rose tinted glasses, leading to the present ASOUE period of being “timeless”.

The City is located in a former state of the once United States, now know as the Land of Districts (the once former state is the Land of Districts, not the former country); the Kingdom of Arizona is one of its neighbors.

Captain (V.) Widdershins

Captain of the VFD Submarine Queequeg. The Queequeg was built by him and most of the STEM members of his generation, with Kit Snicket being the main one.

His decade long apprenticeship on a VFD submarine gave him navy skills. Captain isn’t referring to his rank. It’s referring to how he’s in command of a submarine.

(French) Chinese Cambodian on Father’s side, native Cambodian on Mother’s side; neither are part of VFD. The V is the initial of Widdershins’ first name; if anyone asks him what the ‘V’ stands for, he says not to bother, telling them to call him by his new surname instead.

Left Cambodia as a refugee with his mother. When he came of age, Widdershins applied for citizenship. He is a proper citizen by the time of ASOUE.

Due to a long apprenticeship, Widdershins has a habit of sneaking off to land to visit a few of his friends associates. He took a risk on informing Lemony what happened to Kit, as Widdershins got caught sneaking off last time (he got caught this time around too).

Alongside a minor interest of poetry, he has a minor interest in fringe science and mythology/folklore. Widdershins knows more about the Great Unknown than he lets on.

Widdershins was a former ‘patient’ of a VFD eye-doctor akin to Dr. Orwell’s. As it was the early years of hypnotism, it didn’t took hold of him, but it did left side effects. The main one that never went away is his inability to remember people’s names and events.

Near the end of his apprenticeship Widdershins was given the (non-paying) job of Fernald’s babysitter (later ‘chaperone’). Widdershins had a collection of poetry books he and Fernald would read together whenever Fernald’s parents were at work.

Parenting Skill Level: ‘Decent, Doting Stepfather’ to ‘Stepfather Who is Struggling; Why You Trying to get your Kid take a Minor Interest in your Job’ to canonical ‘You’re Not Going to Win Stepfather of the Year You Know That Right?’.

Widdershins realizes off-screen during the events of TPP he hurt his stepchildren many times in the past. As such Widdershins put family first for the first time in years over VFD, for he didn’t want to lose family again, and realize VFD gave him bad priorities.

Post-Canon, Widdershins takes a job at the docks in the Fish District, as well as delivering seafood to restaurants and other places. He has an expired driver license, so he had to get it renew upon returning to land.

Fernald (Jules Marie) Fernald 

The Baby-Sitting Charge of Nightmares; Fernald was the (then) child of two working VFD member parents. VFD didn’t elect to kidnap recruit him but sent babysitters, and Fernald would drive them away after a week or two. Three days was his best record.

Fernald once upon a time liked Widdershins; Widdershins survived Fernald’s antics, leading to Fernald to treat him as an older brother figure. When Mom and Widdershins began dating each other, Fernald was freak out at first, but soon calmed down.

Discovered his interest of poetry via Widdershins; the two would read poetry together. When it was time for Fernald to enter his “apprenticeship”, he managed to convince his parents to convince Widdershins to be the ‘chaperone’, stating VFD may not have one available (which was correct because VFD at this point is becoming a bigger mess).

Was absolutely excited when getting told by his parents they were going to have another child. Fernald hated being an only child and wanted a sibling who he can teach things.

His fashion senses of a [trench] coat came from admiring Jacques Snicket (from afar). Despite the article written about him and the broken pedestal, Fernald never did change fashion senses until surviving the Great Unknown (he ditched the trench coat).

Blames Widdershins for indirectly killing Mom in the Anwhistle Aquatic fire. He also believed at one point Fiona is his half sibling. At least until Post-TEE Pre-TVV, when Fernald accidentally learns something of Widdershins that has Fernald going, “Oh. Well fuck.”

Post-Awhistle Aquatic Fire, Fernald “agreed” to put up an act of ‘all is well’ when visitors show up, as well dance around the issue themselves. It’s only until Fernald turns 17 did the fights happened, as Jacques bringing up Gregor accidentally set Fernald off.

Fernald hates his surname. He had to deal with people going ‘Oh there’s Fernald Fernald!’ He blames his misery on his parents, who Fernald knows they consider the name ‘Friday’ for him. Granted, Fernald can’t see himself as a Friday.

Lost his hands after joining the fire-starting side: he had to set another fire to get rid of evidence (a body), and in the explosion, Fernald’s hand got injured to where they had to do a fast amputated. The hooks were used because it was what they had at the time.

Annoying had to fake a resume for TEE to pose as the 667 Dark Avenue door-man. But as luck would have it, he gets another door-man job Post-Canon.

Fernald’s ‘favorite’ Baudelaire is Sunny because he was amused with watching her struggle to bite or not bite his hooks in the cage. Fernald’s ‘favorite’ Quagmire is Duncan, for Fernald enjoys his spunk. Isadora is a close second due to her interest in poetry, but things got awkward when he almost accidentally stabbed her eye out.

Fiona (Una) Widdershins

Fiona as an infant never needed glasses. But when she became six, Fiona did needed glasses. Her stepfather allowed her to use the frames she got from him as an infant.

Lived the first five years of her life on land. The Queequeg during this period never went out to sea. At six, the Queequeg went out to sea, but always return back to land fast.

Likes to steal the grass from the sand playground to have a ‘garden’ on the Queequeg as a child. Fiona Post-Canon gets herself a green thumb in gardening.

Fiona has few memories of her mother. The memories Fiona think she recollect are a mixture of Fernald, her stepfather, and her own memories mix-match together.

Fiona had a VFD tutor who lived on the Queequeg to teach her, starting at six, ending at fourteen for her technical-apprenticeship (which is also when the Queequeg fully went out back to sea). Fiona’s interest in mycology came from reading mycology books she found hidden onboard when she should be listening to her tutor.

Did not like The Woman Who Turned Out to Be a Spy. The Spy join the Queequeg when Fiona was ten. The Spy was pleasant at first, but after a few days, the Spy begins trash talking about Fiona’s mother in the most passive-aggressive way possible (leading to Fiona doubting the manatee story) that’s almost borderline insulting to Fiona.

Fiona’s 13th and 16th birthday were wild. Fiona at 13 finally got evidence of the Spy being awful and the Spy trying to steal important VFD documents, leading to everyone play a game of hide and seek to find the Spy and throw her out. Fiona at 16 had her birthday cut short, as during the party the news of Gustav’s confirmed death broke out, which all happened during a storm out at sea.

Fiona has no idea how to socialize with her own peers since first grade. This resulted in her being rather shy and quiet around those her age. With most of her company being adults, Fiona ends up learning a few swear words (mostly via Stepfather), but she rarely uses them unless she feels it’s truly appropriate + actually wants to swears.

Fiona loves shore leave because she is allowed to visit the City (or Lake Lachrymose) for fun. She’s upset it shrinks with each passing year. Before, it was the whole month of April and September. By ASOUE, it just became one week in April and September.

Fiona genuinely likes Klaus, but it’s only after she and Fernald double-cross Olaf, did she finally asked herself if she like Klaus romantically or as a friend (with Fiona scared she may have just ruined his life if he didn’t like her romantically with their kiss).

Despite the mass complications between Fiona and her stepfather (not truly approving about her mycology interest, lack of peers her own age, keeping secrets from her, etc), Fiona still loves her stepfather (he just gets a nickname of trashcan and variations Post-Canon). Fiona honestly think he shouldn’t have left in the first place (the swimming woman is an explanation, not excuse), but the fact is, Fiona is glad he came back (and that’s important to her).

Bonus: The Once Happy Couple That Is...

Mrs. Widdershins (F) and Thursday

Mrs. Widdershins’ first name is Frigga (not Friga), maiden name McAlister. Thursday’s full name is Thursday Fernald. Fernald and Fiona’s naming scheme came from their mother.

In-between members. Both were 14 when the schism broke out

Both were 19 when Fernald was born (Frigga got pregnant at 18). They didn’t marry until Fernald was two. They were perfectly fine with staying girlfriend-boyfriend, but eventually had to get married or else Thursday’s mother (Monday) wouldn’t give him his inheritance

They originally wanted their son to be name ‘Friday’. ‘Fernald’ is a misunderstanding. 

F has a lot of jewelry, and she prefers necklaces more than anything else. In fact, Thursday proposed via necklace. F never took said necklace off until after she and Thursday started  the process of their divorce.

F was a mycologist; Thursday is a dendrologist (he studies trees; he hates getting calling a botanist). Before that, F was a teacher in the City, while Thursday was the principal’s secretary at Prufrock Prep.

F being a mycologist led to a rumor she went all ‘mad scientist’ and made psychedelic mushrooms. It’s true, but it was an accidental experiment. Said accident later got her involved in the creation of the Medusoid Mycelium, co-creator with Gregor Anwhistle.

Another (nasty) rumor is F cheated on Thursday with Gregor (work romance affair), and Fiona is Gregor’s daughter. This led to the divorce between F and Thursday.

Thursday believed the rumors because after Fernald’s birth; the couple swore to never have another child again because VFD’s recruitment methods could lead to their death and tried to take precaution since (mostly via condoms).

F quickly realize her decision to date Widdershins could make the rumors worse. She was scared the ‘news’ Widdershins wanted to tell her was the ‘Fiona being Gregor’s daughter’ rumor, and he wanted to break up. F was secretly relieved hearing it was about Lemony Snicket because Snicket’s problems finally took attention off her. 

Thursday is technically the only known (Original) Schism Generation member left alive; he’s 49 by ASOUE.

[drsohinisastri]

Nakshatrasakshatras or Lunar Mansions and Their Wishes

Nakshatras provide an effective mind to find auspicious times for every imaginable human activity. They’re also useful for avoiding actions on a day when results are likely to be frustrated. To find that date when the cosmic vibrations will be just perfect for you to make that big career move, buy a car or plant your garden, you need a panchangam —an astrological calendar—calculated for your region.

The Moon’s nakshatra is the same all over the world at the same moment, but the human conventions of time zones and the International Date Line make the calendars produced in one place inapplicable to another. Panchangam in hand, you can proceed to research dates according to the following recommendations.

 In general, activities will bear more productive fruit if the Moon is waxing, that is, moving in the brightest phase toward full moon day according to the best astrologer in Delhi. A terse summary of the nature and tendencies of persons born when the moon is located in each of the 27 lunar mansions.

 1. Ashvini (Beta Arietis): Passionate, impulsive, attractive, and intelligent, people whose birth Moon is in Ashvini can also be headstrong and extravagant. They enjoy travel, are often s, killed workers and may have healing abilities. The Ashvins are Vedic gods of light, healing and inspiration.

 2. Bharani (41 Arietis): Bharani folk are usually healthy, happy, skillful, and conscientious. They also tend to be somewhat impatient and self-indulgent, and find it hard to forgive. Setbacks can shift their priorities from material preoccupation to spiritual transcendence.

 3. Krittika (Alcyone 2-Pleiades): Krittika types are fiery, full of creative energy, highly ambitious, dedicated to divine service, self-motivated, and “think big.” They stand out in a crowd and can become quite famous. They’re prone to eating too much.

 4. Rohini (Aldebaran): Rohini gives a loving, truthful disposition, serenity, a sense of responsibility, and a love of the arts, beauty, and culture. If the Moon is afflicted, they may be prone to stubbornness, anger, selfishness, and fault-finding.

 5. Mrigashira (Lambda Orionis): Gentle, sensitive, highly perceptive, drawn to romance, music and the arts, Mrigashiras prefer a quiet, comfortable life, can be very hardworking and are frequently drawn to spiritual life. Some are haunted by self-doubt or egoity.

6. Ardra (Betelguese 7): Full of vitality, good athletes, Ardra’s live life with enthusiasm and intensity. Sympathetic and helpful, they’re often drawn to the study of esoteric laws. If the Moon is afflicted, they can be cruel, lashing out at others unfairly at times.

 7. Punarvasu (Pollux 11): Good-natured, generous emotionally, prudent financially, content to live a relaxed, uncluttered life, self-disciplined, yet playful. They need to guard against complacency and watch their health. They make good friends.

 8. Pushya (Delta Cancri): They are stable, easy-going personalities, prosperous, well educated, popular, virtuous, nice looking, forthright, intelligent, and wise. Can be overly rigid, selfish, and arrogant. Productive and caring people who make good teachers.

 9. Ashlesha (Epsilon Hydrae): Self-reliant, excellent communicators, capable of great concentration and penetrating insight. Their candor can turn to tactlessness, and they may manipulate the truth to protect themselves. Don’t humiliate them; they will never forget it.

 10. Magha (Alpha Leonis): Regal, ambitious, pleasure-loving, physically strong, they easily rise to leadership positions, honor tradition, and pursue noteworthy projects. They enjoy being served more than serving, and they can fall prey to a voracious desire for sex.

 11. Purva Phalguni (Delta Leonis): Magnanimous, loyal, delightful conversationalists, earthy, attractive. They get their way without intimidating others. Often they are wanderers, drawn to the arts, and enjoy life to the full. The body is usually healthy, but the mind is so active and creative, they tend to leap before looking.

 12. Uttara Phalguni (Beta Leonis): Likeable, generally well-to-do, earning substantial salaries through their exceptional intelligence. Make wonderful friends, and are always ready to help their companions. Success, courage, and love of adventure may appear, but romantic escapades may lead to trouble.

13. Hasta (Delta Corvi): Hard-working, industrious, and exceptionally resourceful, they make fine artisans, specialists, business people, and teachers, but are not often leaders. May display intelligence, a sharp wit and healing ability, also a lack of patience, and a determined effort to manipulate others for their ends.

 14. Chitra (Spica 16): Charming and stylishly dressed, drawn to anything new or out of the ordinary. Magnets to the opposite sex, often artistically gifted, surround themselves with beautiful things. May at times become self-indulgent. These are intelligent, honest, efficient, substantial people.

 15. Svati (Arcturus 17): Independent, generally quiet, nice people who control themselves in public. They are helpful, pleasant conversationalists and rarely hold grudges. Like travel and strongly attracted to religion or philosophy. Sometimes they experience chronic discontent.

 16. Vishakha (Alpha 2 Libra): Purposeful, forceful, commanding in appearance. An excellent public speaker who enjoys making money. Courage, ambition, and one-pointedness carry them quickly to their goals. They revel in turmoil and enjoy a good argument.

 17. Anuradha (Delta Scorpio): Well-to-do, they dislike austere lifestyles, but have a deeply spiritual nature. They value family and friends, enjoy organizing projects and managing people. The less mature are prone to jealousy and depression.

 18. Jyeshtha (Antares 18): Deeply passionate, able leaders, renowned for their adherence to virtue—and their testy temperaments! Generally cheerful, but quite irascible when provoked, they gladly fight to defend the helpless.

 19. Mula (Lambda Scorpii): Set in their ways, clever, soft, and happy disposition, but somewhat suspicious of other people’s motivations. They tend to find their way to money, or money finds its way to them.

20. Purvashadha (Delta Sagittarii): Patient, independent-minded, convincing in speech, proud, lucky in love, outgoing people who will stick with their friends. Value their own opinions over others.

 21. Uttarashadha (Pi Sagittarii): Popular, idealistic, influential, stable, introspective, and ethical. Good both at starting projects and completing them. Drawn to work that uplifts others. The less mature may be lazy, easily distracted, or stressed out.

 22. Shravana (Altair 20): Intelligent, well-educated, and prosperous. A degree of fame usually comes their way. They love to learn, make good teachers and enjoy traveling. Often drawn to religious life, or a life of service, but they may become rigid or fanatical.

 23. Dhanishtha (Alpha Delphini): Courageous, generous, often prosperous, upbeat, ambitious, and with a universal outlook. They bring people together for a worthy cause. Not easily fooled, they carefully analyze any proposition put to them. Can be aggressive, rash, or overly conservative.

 24. Satabhishak (Lambda Aquarii): Blunt but honest, disinclined to conform, almost always get their way. Drawn to fields requiring penetrating insight such as science or philosophy. Can become a mindless workaholic, private, hiding their real thoughts. Most devoted to the service of humanity, whether recognized or not.

 25. Purva Prostapada (Beta Pegasi): Fine speakers, good business skills, can make money and hang onto it. Generally fairly serious people, yet may act impetuously or have a hard time sticking to a decision. The less mature can be phobic, cynical, or may strike out vindictively at others.

 26. Uttara Prostapada (Gamma Pegasi): Well-balanced and ethical people, kindly, self-sacrificing, supportive, very convincing in discussions. They sincerely enjoy family life and like to help others. When conflicts or competition arise, they are likely to hold the winning hand. Young souls can be lazy, irresponsible, and envious.

27. Revati (Zeta Piscium): Healthy, intelligent, with a sweet disposition, and artistically gifted, they love people, wish harm to no one, and nourish those in need. While they don’t seek much for themselves, wealth and joy are often spontaneously bestowed on them. The less mature may display an inferiority complex, a servile nature, or fall prey to continual disappointments these are concerned by the famous astrologer in Delhi.

[fandom-junkie2020]

Unbreakable

Draco Malfoy x Reader

Summary- Y/N, sister of Cedric Diggory, once hated Draco Malfoy with a burning passion. Well, that changed and when tragedy strikes the Diggory family, Draco is there to comfort her. 

Unedited

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

Hogwarts had always been a dream come true. Every day was filled with magic, friendship, and best of all conflict. It was never a dull year at Hogwarts, which meant that some catastrophic event had to occur. Although nothing damaging had happened so far, there was still one thing that made this year different than most. 

The Triwizard Tournament. 

Y/N sat at her house table, the Slytherin table. Being in Slytherin was something to be proud of--being in any of the houses was something to be proud of--yet most looked down upon Slytherins because of the stereotype that came with the house. The pure hatred that most had for the Slytherins made it difficult for those who were in the house to make friends beyond their group.  

Not one had expected Y/N to be in the Slytherin house. It wasn't because of her unusually bubbly attitude or her determination. It was because of her brother. 

Cedric Diggory. 

Cedric was a year older than Y/N and belonged to the Hufflepuff house. Everyone, including the Diggory family, had expected Y/N to follow in Cedric's footsteps. However, she unexpectedly was chosen to be in the Slytherin house. Even though her family was disappointed by this outcome, they supported her nonetheless. Making friends was more difficult than earning her family acceptance. 

At the start of the year Y/N was subject to bullying. She stood by her brother's side and often chatted amongst his friends instead of trying to make her own. This worked out nicely for a while, but like any older sibling would, Cedric got annoyed. Why did she have to always hang out with his friends? She was in first year for God sake, making her old enough to find her own friends. She didn't need to latch onto his life just so she didn't feel lonely. 

Although this was somewhat harsh thinking on Cedric's part, this benefitted Y/N.

The astronomy tower was dark. The moon was shining and there was a light drizzle outside. The air nipped at Y/N skin as she sat against the cool metal floor. She sat there with her knees tugged toward her chest. Her hands clung together, desperate to hold onto something. Tears slowly streaming down her face. 

Her brother had turned her away. Her only friend, the one person that is supposed to be there for her, told her to leave. She didn't know where else to go. She didn't want to go back to her dorm. The other girls continually picked on her, stole her robes, and even poured water on her bed so she couldn't sleep in it. She could head back to the common room, however that might be worse then the dorms. Most likely, the Slytherin prince himself, would be sitting in one of the armchairs, his goons close by to defend him. If she went to the common room she would be subjecting herself to an even worse fate than that of the girls dorms.  

Malfoy was always good at tormenting every student he deemed necessary. Y/N was someone that Malfoy deemed inferior, worthy of torment. Although their paths had barley crossed, the boy still decided to pick on the poor girl. She was an easy target. He got all the information he needed from the gossip smothering the school halls. Anything he didn't know, or needed to know, could be easily at his fingertips with one order to Crabbe and Goyle. 

Going to the common room wasn't an option.

Going to the dorms wasn't an option. 

Going to her brother wasn't an option. 

Going to the astronomy tower, however, was an option. 

She had been sitting there for quite some time. Alone, wondering if her time at Hogwarts would get any better. How could it? Everyday she was tormented. How could the life she was living possibly get any better? Life always disappoints doesn't it? Everyone says life is going to get better. That one day, you won't be sad anymore. How can that be? There are always going to be people who want to destroy you, to rip apart your happiness. 

"It sucks here," Y/N said to the stars. The stars, of course, remained silent. 

"Yeah for you."

Y/N whipped her head toward the stairs that entered the astronomy tower. 

There appeared the Slytherin prince. He stood at the entrance and leaned up against the railing of the stairs. His arms crossed and his eyebrows were tilted downward, forming a frown. Y/N looked and took in Malfoy's appearance. He was in his night clothes--not the ones provided by the school of course. These looked to be of a soft material and the stitching was done tightly and neatly. On his left breast was an embroidered Malfoy family crest. The details were delicate and precise. 

"Easy for you to say, Malfoy," Y/N sneered. Normally she wouldn't dare to speak to Prince Draco in such a negative tone, for this would cause her to be in more trouble then she normally was in. But tonight, exceptions were made. 

Malfoy scoffed, "Well maybe if you weren't such a baby about everything then you'd actually understand the importance of the Slytherin house and embrace who you were meant to be, a Slytherin. Then--and only then--will you actually have some here at Hogwarts."

As Y/N sat, looking over at Malfoy, she pondered why she didn't stand up for herself. Cedric always stood up for her no problem. Why did she have such a hard time with it? What does she have to lose?

She rose from her seated position, took a few steps towards Malfoy, clenched her fists, and spoke. 

"Well, Malfoy, if you weren't such an outright wanker then I wouldn't be alienated by my own house!" Y/N yelled. 

Malfoy thought tactically about his text words. He paused, looked Y/N up and down and said, "If you weren't such a disappointment to Slytherin then maybe I wouldn't have to be a twat all the time."

 Much time had passed since that awful night and Draco had gotten over his irrational bullying. Now things were much different. As the years progressed so did Y/N and Draco's relationship. Instead of being enemies, the two had grown closer than anyone had ever imagined. No one expected Y/N Diggory, sister of Cedric Diggory, to start dating Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin Prince. Even though the two had become good friends before they started their relationship, no one could understand why a Malfoy would date a Diggory. The two of them were good at ignoring everyone else because at the end of the day all the pair cared about was 

However, after the start of the Triwizard Tournament, there was more attention on the couple than there ever had before--Rita Skeeter was a lovely help with that. Cedric was consumed in the “celebrity life.” He was being showered with attention from dozens of girls from multiple different houses. His friends were the epitome of the name “Chad.” Altogether, Cedric time was being consumed with studying for the torment and trying to catch the perfect date for the Yule Ball that was scheduled for the winter time. Since Cedric was dragged into the spotlight, his sister was as well. The usual great hall buzz shifted from that evening's outlandish happenings to Y/N and her relationship with Draco. 

“Such things are unnatural. No Slytherin should be seen with the like of a--a Diggory.”

“I can’t believe that he chose her. Did you see what she was wearing last week.”

“Diggory and Malfoy? Ugh that whole relationship is disgusting. At least they’re both pure bloods right?

“He’s gorgeous. Maybe slippin’ him a love potion or two will make him forget about Miss Y/N Diggory.”

To say that their comments were rude would be an understatement. Despite the harsh tone fluttering about the Great Hall, Draco and Y/N were able to discount the murmurings. They would sit quietly chatting with each other while Crabbe and Goyle sat across from them, engulfing their time with the freshly baked pastries. While those around them would be projecting hate onto their relationship, they would be avowing their love for one another. 

“You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re so pretty.” 

“You’re amazingly smart.”

“You are everything I’ve always wanted.”

“You are worth everything in my life and more.”

While the two were together, everyone around them disappeared. No one else mattered. It was them and only them. They could spend hours defying the expectations of their fellow classmates. While they were together, nothing could touch them. They were unbreakable. 

 The final task, the most important task out of the three. The area was filled with hundreds of students, staff, and family members of those who were entered in the tournament. There were dozens of flags representing that of whom the individual wanted to win. Trumpet blasted its music through the area as the crowd cheered for the entering contestants. 

Out of a doorway, hidden beneath the audience, appeared Cedric, Fleur, Victor, and finally Harry. Cedric, accompanied by his father, looked into the stands in search for his sister. They had been growing apart in recent years, however, he wanted to know that she was there. That she cared. His eyes weaved through the Slytherin crowd. The search didn’t last very long. All he needed to do was find the boy with the platinum blonde hair. His sister, Cedric knew, would be right next to the boy. 

Once he locked eyes on his sister, he smiled and waved. For half a second Cedric would have sworn that she wasn’t going to wave back. Then he saw his sister’s eyes light up. She stretched her arm high up into the air and shook her arm back and forth. Her smile stretched from ear to ear. Then she turned to Draco, excitement flooding her expression. They exchanged a few sentences with each other before she turned back to continue waving at her brother. 

In that moment, hope filled Cedric’s heart. Maybe--just maybe--he could mend the relationship he broke long ago. Maybe he could talk to her and tell her how much he loved her. Maybe they could forget the countless arguments between them. Then Cedric began to wonder if his sister had meant to react with such excitement. Maybe she wasn’t thinking clearly. She was obviously having her fun with Draco. Surely she didn’t mean to acknowledge him with such energy. 

Regardless, I’ll talk with her later, he thought. 

 Y/N sat next to Draco, her hand intertwined with his. Fleur and Victor had already been illuminated from the tournament. Surely, Cedric and Harry would be done soon? 

“I’m worried,” Y/N looked towards Draco. 

He looked back at her, his eyes crinkling downwards, “Why?”

“Well,” Y/N paused as she gazed at the center of the arena, “they should be back by now. The task couldn’t take that long.” 

Draco rubbed his thumb along the top of Y/N’s hand, “Probably working extra hard to ensure Potter doesn’t win the cup.”

Y/N let out a puff of air, “Ya you’re probably right.”

Just then, out of thin air, Harry and Cedric appear in the center of the arena. The crowd cheers, the trumpets let out load notes of upbeat, champion music, and everyone stands. Including Y/N and Draco. At first she cheers, glad that her brother made it out of the maze with the cup, even though he and Harry were together. Then she looks closer (as close as she can from the distance she’s at). Harry lays on top of Cedric, an arm wrapped around his shoulder. Cedric, positioned on his back was unmoving.

“Draco,” she reached over to her boyfriend who, like the others, was immersed in cheering.

He glanced over at her, continued to clap, and asked, “What?”

“Draco.” 

Then someone let out a strangled cry.

Dumbledore ran towards Harry, pulling him away from Cedric.

“No! No!” Harry cried as he continued to latch onto Cedric’s body. 

Everything stopped. 

The music. 

The cheering. 

Everything. 

“Draco,” Y/N whispered, her eyes grew watery. Cedric hadn’t moved from his supine position. 

Y/N like many of the professors pushed past the crowd of people, attempting to reach her brother. A hand grabbed hers but she yanked it out of the grasp that was trying to keep her from moving forwards. She reached the bottom of the stairs.

“He’s back! He’s back! Voldemort’s back! Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back! I couldn’t leave him, not there!” Harry yelled frantically as Dumbledore attempted to console the distressed boy. 

Y/N paused, listening to what Harry said. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look, saw Draco, and continued walking forward. Her feet carried her faster the closer she got. Everything moved in slow motion. The sounds around her were barely audible. She could only focus on her brother laying in the grass, lifeless. 

She reached Cedric’s body just as Harry was being pulled away. She kneeled down, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“Ced--Cedric,” she said forcefully.

This must have been another one of his stupid pranks. He was no Fred or George but he loved to pull a quick joke on his sister, no matter how cruel. 

“Cedric, this isn’t a joke, come on,” she insisted. She shook his shoulder. 

Nothing. 

She shook harder. 

Nothing. 

“Y/N,” a voice behind her said softly, “Y/N.”

She turned around slightly, her eyes still trained on her brother. 

“Y/N,” a hand was placed on her shoulder. She whipped her head around, her watery eyes overflowing. Draco stood above her. His blonde hair glistened against the light from the torches. His eyes were filled with sadness. He knelt down, grabbed the hand that she had placed on her brother's shoulder, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 

“Y/N, come on, we should go.”

She looked at her brother then back to her boyfriend, “But, Draco, he--we can’t leave him here, Draco. He--he--I need him--we have to--” Draco looked sadly at his girlfriend as her voice began to crack. The tears that were streaming down her face were getting heavier. 

“Come on, love. Let’s go somewhere else, ya?” he suggested, voice slow and carefully punctuated, almost as if he were talking to a child. 

He carefully grabbed her upper arms, lifted her from her knelt position, and engulfed her in a hug. Her arms quickly found themselves around his waist, her head tucked downwards in his shoulder. The tears seemed to be forever flowing as they soaked into Draco’s robes. 

“Let me through--that’s my son! That’s my boy! My boy!” Y/N’s father’s agonizing screams burst through the crowd as he too pushed through the sea of people. He reached his son, sobbing as he kneeled down. His screams penetrated the ears of everyone in the arena. 

Y/N moved her arms from around Draco and placed her hands over her ears, eyes shut tight. Draco squeezed her shoulder with one arm and raised his other hand to cradle the back of Y/N’s head. Her sobs, much like her fathers, were cut off by harsh breaths. 

“He’s dead, Draco. He’s dead,” she whispered continually into Draco’s chest. 

Draco pulled away momentarily, cupped Y/N’s cheeks, and brought his forehead to hers.

“It’s going to be okay, love. I promise.”

One thing was for sure, she was broken, 

but they were unbreakable. 

[obwjam]

the tiniest jedi

okay folks, here we go... i’d like to introduce you all to my oc, Jedi Knight Jayla Nor’al! she is five inches tall, 22 years old and the former padawan of good ol’ yoda. she was knighted so she could fight in the clone wars, and now she’s off to help command her first-ever battalion! 

when i rewatched clone wars recently i basically took note of episodes where a tiny could fit into the plot (spoiler: there’s a lot lol) so this is part 1 of the first installment of me recreating the filoniverse into the obwjamverse

i hope y’all enjoy <3 love you all sm

the hidden enemy, part 1

>> part two

To say Jedi Knight Jayla Nor’al was nervous would be a tremendous understatement.

It had taken a lot of convincing that bordered on begging to get the council to agree to this. Having Anakin vouch for her seemed like a good idea in theory, but in practice it usually ended with Obi-Wan rubbing his eyes while the council fiercely debated the merits of Anakin’s argument. 

Anakin was always sticking up for her. She was a few years older than he was, but more than anyone, he understood what it was like to have a tough life. They first met one day when he was a padawan, no more than 13 years old. Obi-Wan was sent off on a mission by himself to retrieve a holocron and a disgruntled Anakin went to Yoda to continue his training. He was far more advanced than the group of younglings he was with, but before he could complain too much, something -- no, someone -- caught his eye.

She was standing on a table at all of five inches tall, arms crossed in a dim corner of the room. The other younglings were practicing basic combat stances. She looked rather bored with it all. Anakin would have probably glossed right over her if it wasn’t for the tunic she was wearing.

“Master Yoda, who is that?” Anakin asked while the group was taking a break. She had now sat down, cross-legged, with her eyes closed and her shoulders relaxed. He marveled at how her tiny silhouette almost blended in with the scenery entirely.

“My padawan, she is,” Yoda stated. 

“Padawan?” Anakin was shocked. Obi-Wan never told him Yoda had a padawan.

Yoda hummed. “Surprised, you are, hmm?”

Anakin could only nod as Yoda trotted over to her. “Well, it’s… she’s…”

“Padawan Nor’al, ready, you are?” he asked quietly. Anakin gasped at how Yoda practically towered over this tiny person. She calmly opened her eyes and gave a single nod.

“Younglings, gather here,” Yoda called out to the group. He nodded to Anakin, who curiously followed. He heard a couple of the other younglings snicker in disbelief. “Demonstrate Form III, my padawan will. Close attention to footwork, you must pay.”

Anakin’s eyes widened as a training remote whirred to life. To a normal-sized person, practicing with a remote could sting if you didn’t know know what you were doing. But she was not a normal-sized person. That remote must look like a tank to her!

“Master Yoda--” Anakin started, but Yoda held his hand up.

“You may begin.”

What Anakin witnessed next may or may not have changed his life. 

It was like she knew where the blasts were going before they were even fired. She was so quick that Anakin’s eyes could barely adjust to the blinding speed she seemed to be moving at. She firmly stood her ground as she deflected blast after blast, her eyes moving wildly as she deciphered the shooting pattern of the remote. She found her opening, charged forward, leaped up and sunk her lightsaber straight through the metal. The droid sputtered and sparked before falling to the table, lifeless. She hopped down and gave Yoda a small bow as if nothing had even happened.

“Thank you, padawan. Continue to practice, younglings. Much work to do, you have.”

Still in shock, the younglings picked up their sabers and began to practice, some yelping in surprise when the blasts stung at their legs. She had made it look so easy.

She was taking note of the younglings’ form when she paused to raise her eyebrow. Anakin was still standing there.

“Staring is rude,” she said shortly. Looking at her up close, Anakin could clearly see how she was nervously eyeing him.

“That was really cool,” he said, crouching down a bit so he didn’t loom too large. 

She gave a small smirk. “Master Yoda is a good teacher.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Jayla... Jayla Nor’al,” she said, giving Anakin heavy side-eye. What does he want?

“My name’s Anakin. I’m Master Kenobi’s padawan.”

“Anakin Skywalker?” she asked incredulously. “What -- what are you doing here?”

“My master is on a mission and didn’t want to take me.” 

She scoffed. “That’s silly. Padawans should always be with their masters to learn.”

“Tell that to Obi-Wan,” Anakin sighed. “Does Master Yoda take you on missions with him?”

Anakin’s lips pursed into a frown as she sat down, looking dejected. “Mostly, yeah. But sometimes I think he thinks I’m too… well… you know.”

“Too small.”

She gave him a surprised look. “Yeah.”

“A little ironic, coming from him.”

Jayla laughed. “You can’t say that!”

Anakin laughed back. “Sure I can.”

It was hard for Jayla to really grow close to anyone, no matter how hard she tried to befriend the others. Anakin knew exactly how that felt. The two were lonely, and they found each other. Their friendship only grew stronger as they got older -- Jayla helped Anakin learn to trust in the Force more and Anakin helped Jayla grow her confidence. Obi-Wan admired how well they complimented each other.

Yoda eventually began to take Jayla on more dangerous missions. Spending time with Anakin and Obi-Wan had diversified her skill set more than most padawans and, as the Jedi Council sensed the growing discourse between the light and the dark, Jayla and Anakin were both knighted so they could fight in the Clone War.

But everyone had underestimated the fierceness and enormity of the conflict.

It was evident from the beginning of her training that Jayla was fearless -- that she would not let her size stop her from doing anything. She was a fierce negotiator; a skilled fighter; she had a deep and powerful connection to the Force. And yet, her size was the very thing stopping the council from giving her any responsibilities outside of putting together training recordings, teaching younglings and spearheading negotiations.

“I can’t believe this,” Jayla groaned to Obi-Wan one rare quiet day on Coruscant. Anakin was off on a recon mission. Obi-Wan had duties to attend to, but he would always take a pause to talk with Jayla.

“If Master Yoda and the council feel this is for the best, then you need to listen.”

“I didn’t become a Jedi to play it safe. I just… I don’t understand why Yoda keeps babying me.”

“You’ve only recently become a Jedi knight,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “You need to be patient.”

“Yeah, the council did that so I could fight in the war.” Jayla got up, pacing around the windowsill. “I mean, it doesn’t make sense! I’m trained in combat. I have useful skills. I’ve been out there before, Obi-Wan! Why spend my entire life telling me ‘size matters not, hmm’, then use it as a reason to hold me back?”

Obi-Wan frowned. He hated how her frame seemed to get swallowed up by the bustling backdrop of the Republic captial outside.

“Can I be honest?” Obi-Wan asked slowly. Jayla’s expression softened as she plopped down, resting her elbows on her knees and meeting Obi-Wan’s gaze a few feet from her. 

“Always.” 

“Well, I shouldn’t really tell you this, but I think it’s important that you know. The council has its reservations, but they mostly agree that you are more than capable of being a general. It’s… it’s the Chancellor who has persuaded them into keeping you here.”

“The Chancellor? Why would he care?”

“It’s my understanding that many in the senate feel it would be a sign of weakness if you were to command a battalion.”

“That’s ridiculous! It’s not even the senate’s decision to make!” she cried.

“On military matters, it is. And until Chancellor Palpatine changes his mind, then I’m afraid there’s nothing that can be done.”

Jayla tried to forget about that conversation every time she got upset. But as the conflict raged on and Republic forces took beating after beating on the Outer Rim worlds, Obi-Wan felt the situation was becoming dire. It was less about who had strength and more about who had the tactical advantage. The better strategy. The better intelligence. 

Yoda too felt desperate. He was engulfed in the war and convinced that winning it was the only way to save the galaxy from certain doom. He heard the plight of his former padawan day after day, to the point where he began to question if his gut feeling was really right. He hadn’t been meditating as much lately. The Force always gave him the guidance he needed. Between Anakin, Obi-Wan and her own former master, the council was able to convince Palpatine that allowing her to lead stealth and recon missions was a perfectly reasonable starting point.

Since it was nearly impossible to plant a conventional spy into the droid army, Jalya and Anakin had conspired and came up with the idea of using her as a spy. Mace Windu was concerned about her being captured. Anakin argued that her life sign registered so faintly on scanners that capture wasn’t as easy as it seemed. Ki-Adi-Mundi feared she would get lost in the blur of so much violence. Obi-Wan said that all she needed was a wrist comm and someone to use as transportation and protection.

So after months of debating, planning, talking to Yoda and gear-building, the perfect situation had arisen. Today, it was finally going to happen.

And she… didn’t know how to feel.

She was accompanying Anakin and Obi-Wan on the Resolute to Christophsis, where the GAR was getting whalloped day after day. Most recently, a secret plan was thwarted before it had even gotten underway. It was obvious that the Separatists were somehow accessing Republic intelligence. And it was Jayla’s job to find out how.

“You’re not nervous, are you?”

From the comfort and privacy of sleeping quarters, she was perched pensively on Anakin’s shoulder; which, in retrospect, was probably a bad place to be with the way she was fiddling with her hands and bouncing her leg. 

“Don’t ask me that when you already know the answer,” Jayla mumbled. 

“I didn’t, actually, but thanks for confirming it for me.”

Jayla groaned. “I’m not nervous about going into the field.”

“Good. You shouldn’t be.”

“It’s…” she started, but couldn’t bring herself to admit. She was hoping Anakin could connect the dots.

“It’s… what? It’s the ship?” Anakin knew how much she hated flying.

“This isn’t my first Star Destroyer. It’s the starfighters that make me sick.”

“Okay, so it’s not the ship. Is it Obi-Wan?”

Jayla sniffed a laugh. “Why would it be Obi-Wan?”

“Well, it took a little bit of convincing to get him to agree to this.”

“You mean a lot of convincing,” she sighed. “I can personally guarantee you that Obi-Wan is not making me nervous.”

“Well, Tiny, I’m at a loss--” 

Anakin was cut off at the sound of his wrist comm beeping. She quickly grabbed onto a stray piece of his hair for support as he moved his arm up.

“Anakin, Jayla, come meet me at the bridge. Captain Rex will be arriving here shortly.”

“Copy that.” Anakin turned his head slightly to meet Jayla’s gaze, and the Force flashed in a brief moment of worry. Anakin furrowed his brows.

“You’re nervous about Rex?”

Jayla sucked in a deep breath. “No -- not particularly -- no. No, I’m not nervous about Rex.”

Anakin knew she was lying, but he wasn’t about to push it. After all, he didn’t want Obi-Wan lecturing him for being late. Again.

Jayla clung to Anakin’s robe as they made their way through the gray halls of the ship. Even from her perspective, the walls seemed suffocating, so Jayla kept her eyes trained on the ground, avoiding the gaze of every trooper that passed. The rigidness of clone armor was… off-putting.

As they approached the bridge doors, Jayla cautiously took a seat and closed her eyes. When all else failed, the Force was always there for her, guiding her and bringing her to a place where she felt at ease. Going into this mission with any apprehension would be fatal, and she knew it. The Force was pulling her toward the battlefield -- to Anakin, to Obi-Wan, to the citizens of the worlds they were helping to protect. The Jedi Order was her life, and that meant she was forever in service to the people of the galaxy that needed her. She was chosen by the will of the Force; bestowed this great power that so many lusted after. In the galaxy’s biggest conflict, she could finally start making a difference. She could finally be worthy of the gift she was given.

“There’s gonna be a lot of clones in there, you know.” Anakin’s tongue-in-cheek remark broke her from her meditation. “You could always turn back and let me and Obi-Wan handle this.”

Jayla sniffed a laugh. “And let you have all the fun? I’m alright, Anakin, I promise.” She paused, took one glance up at her giant friend, and stood up. “I’m ready for this.”

Anakin smirked. “Well then, here we go.”

The vastness and buzzing energy of the bridge brought about a sensation that Jayla would never get tired of. There were clones on the lower levels punching buttons and pulling levers; there were clones standing around tables, going over strategy and making sure they were ready for the fight. Then there was Obi-Wan, standing in front of a star map and pretending to read it. His mind was occupied with other things.

Anakin nodded his head to Obi-Wan. “Master.”

“Ah, Anakin. And here I thought you’d show up late.”

“For Tiny’s first mission as a general? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Is now really the best time to bring up nicknames?” Jayla groaned. It was times like these she was glad she was small; nobody could see her blush.

“I thought it’d help loosen the tension.”

“Sure you did.” She wasn’t going to admit it, but in his weird Skywalker way, it did help bring her back down to earth. This was her first mission as a military general. She outranked nearly everyone in the room. To the clones, that meant everything. Even if they didn’t want to listen to her… they had to.

It was then she noticed a tiny brown bag on the holotable below. Just poking out of the side was something that looked like armor. 

Armor fit for a tiny.

She slid off Anakin’s shoulder and flipped down to the holotable. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but grin as she pulled out two shoulder pads, two wrist guards, a pair of black gloves and a torso pad. They fit perfectly.

“We couldn’t have you going out in the field unprepared,” Obi-Wan said as she practiced some stances in her new armor.

“Huh. You look like a tiny Obi-Wan,” Anakin smiled.

“I thought we were done with the degrading comments,” you said smugly.

“Oh, very funny, you two. It’s a wonder the council took this long to allow you both to work together.”

Jayla was prepared for another quip when the main door slid open. Her eyes first fell on the wide shoulder wing, then to the Jaig eyes painted on his helmet. She had never seen clone armor quite like what Rex was wearing. She blinked and straightened her posture.

“Captain Rex. Nice of you to finally join us,” Anakin joked.

“Sorry sir. Needed to help Fives find his other blaster.”

“He lost it again?”

“...more like misplaced,” Rex clarified.

“Good to see your troops are on top of things, Anakin,” Obi-Wan quipped.

“Sorry sir,” Rex repeated. Jayla could sense… unease. “So, where’s the new general?”

Anakin’s lips curled into a smile. He had told Rex that the 501st was to be accompanied on this mission by a Jedi knight who was a master of stealth. When Rex asked who it was, Anakin refused to say. He wanted it to be a surprise.

“Rex, I’d like you to meet Jedi General Jayla Nor’al.”

Rex was glad he had kept his helmet on, because the look of confusion on his face would not have done him any more favors. 

“Uh… sir?” Rex asked cautiously, trying his best not to sound too lost. Is this some kind of joke?

“You know, I think it’s helpful to scan the entire room before saying something.”

Rex’s stomach dropped. That voice… that voice was coming from the holotable. Ever so slowly, he tilted his head down. He tried to keep his body language as neutral as possible, but he had a sinking feeling that all three Jedi in the room could sense his surprise.

“Oh,” was all Rex could utter for a moment. It was like this Jedi had stepped right out of a holoprojector and onto the table in front of him. This has to be some kind of test. She’s only a few inches tall! She won’t survive five seconds out on the battlefield. 

Anakin cleared his throat. Rex snapped back to attention.

“Right. Uh, sorry about that, sir,” Rex fumbled, giving this General Nor’al a nod of acknowledgment. “Nice… nice to meet you.”

Rex tensed up when Jayla ever so slightly rolled her eyes. He was surprised he could even see her do that.

“Likewise, Captain. General Skywalker has told me all about you.” She smiled softly when she sensed Rex’s heartbeat escalating. “All good things, of course.” 

She turned to Obi-Wan and, without either of them saying a word, Obi-Wan placed his hand next to Jayla and she casually stepped on, using his thumb for support as she was lifted up from the holotable.

“You’re going to be offering General Nor’al support in the field,” Obi-Wan said, tapping the holotable to life. “We’ve drawn up a plan to get her to the chief tactical droid stationed here to extract information and battle strategy.”

“I think we can finally turn the tide if we can get ahead of the Seps like they seem to keep getting ahead of us,” Jayla added. “Once I get the information, I’ll need an extraction team to get me out of there quickly.” Without warning, her tone shifted from stern to somber. “The last thing I need is to be caught by those stupid battle droids.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin exchanged a brief glance.

“I’ve got to finish some mission prep,” she said quickly. “When are we getting to Christophsis?”

“Should be there within the hour, sir,” Rex replied immediately. 

“Great.” She tried to peer through Rex’s helmet, but unsurprisingly, she only had the downturned expression plastered on the front to work with. Rex was not expecting to see a five-inch-tall Jedi -- that much was obvious. Her worry lied more in the possibility that she was embarrassing him just by being here. 

“I’m sure Anakin will become bored and come join us in, oh, five minutes or so,” Obi-Wan cut into her thoughts with a smug smile, throwing a glance to his friend as he walked out.

“For mission prep? You know me so well,” Anakin shot back with a smirk, turning back to the window. 

Before Obi-Wan left the room, he turned to Rex, who was all but frozen to his spot.

“Do come and join us when you’re done here,” he said shortly. Rex could only nod.

Once the doors finally closed behind him, he stiffly made his way to Anakin’s side and took off his helmet.

“Rex…” Anakin sighed, already prepared for the conversation they were about to have.

“Sir, you know I mean no disrespect…” Rex paused to see if Anakin would say something witty to that. He didn’t. “...but I’m not sure how well my men are going to respond to taking orders from someone who can fit in the palm of their hand. Especially someone who hasn’t done this before.”

“Rex, she’s a Jedi knight, just like me. She wouldn’t have achieved that rank if she wasn’t fully capable.”

“I--I believe you, General. It’s just… well, they’re used to the way things work. We’re used to a Jedi leading us through battle.”

“And she can’t do that?”

“Well, it’s not like she can cut through clankers like you or General Kenobi.”

Anakin was prepared for this, but it still didn’t change the awkwardness of the conversation. He knew how fierce of a Jedi she was. Rex didn’t. He was hoping this mission could change things. He knew as well as anyone else that a warrior of her size would wreak havoc against the Separatists if used properly. Plus, he knew how painfully boring it was to be stuck inside the temple all the time. He wanted this to work for her.

“Her strengths lie in other areas. She doesn’t need to cut through droids like me and Obi-Wan,” Anakin said, putting his hand on Rex’s shoulder. “Given the world she’s grown up in… the things she’s had to overcome… I’d say she’s the bravest out of all of us.”

Rex hummed and turned his gaze to the front of the ship. He never really grew tired of the swirling brilliant blue of hyperspace. He found himself wondering if it looked any different five inches off the ground.

“...I should go brief the men,” Rex said finally. 

“Yeah,” Anakin said, pursing his lips. “You probably should.”

[mediocre--writing]

Hi! I love your writing and your blog, I was wondering if you would write a second part for "and he loved you back" following the rest of events + a little epilogue when they are already married with kids? But just if you want! I just loved those headcanons so much, thank you! ❤️

Harry Potter x Gryffindor!Muggleborn!Reader

Summary: You and Harry are officially together (ish) but war can get in the way, though it can’t stop your happy ending

Word Count: 4367

Warnings: mentions of scars, torture, starvation, and war

I may have gotten carried away again, and I also may have added a few tweaks on the storyline because I believe in second chances and people being alive :)

Part I: And He Loved You Back

after you went back to school for the rest of 6th year, you and harry were back on your bullshit

joking around and being together

but in the happiness of the moment

you never really discussed

what

exactly

you

were

so you were in that weird gray area of bf/gf or just flirting???

everyone thought you were just getting over an argument because this is how you always were with each other

then

after a spectacular quidditch win

right in the middle of the common room party

you kissed

every

single

person

watched

ew

but it wasn’t like it was an important kiss, you’d been stealing kisses here and there since your night on the couch so it wasn’t anything big

though little colin

(who wasn’t very young anymore)

snapped a quick picture

he gave copies to you both that morning in the common room

yours was put in your pocket every day, no matter where you went

it was your favorite picture ever

the year remained pretty neutral

until

dumbledore died

you, ron, hermione, and others that were in dumbledore’s army were trying to fight off death eaters with the order of phoenix

it was terrifying

you were cornered by a wild woman with even wilder hair

she looked deranged and it wasn’t until she was standing over you with a wand pointed to your face that you realized

that was bellatrix lestrange

you knew she was at the department of mysteries with you all

but you never tried to remember her face

neville blasted her off you

you almost cried in relief

you hugged neville really tight when the hallway cleared out

he was so awkward but it was ok

then you sprinted off to find harry

he was crying over dumbledore’s body

you’d never been emotionally close to the headmaster

so his death wasn’t too life-altering to you

i mean nobody was safe anymore

but you didn’t feel like you were losing a friend

you were dragging harry away from him

when he saw snape

who he chased after

and got knocked down

multiple times

then bellatrix decided to make matters worse

and use the cruciatus curse

and we can’t have that now can we

so while she was being yelled at by snape for trying to get harry

you shot your own little curse at the mad woman

and you

sort of

kind of

maybe

used the cruciatus curse right back at her

oopsie

her screams of agony were what brought the other death eaters to turn around

and even though you were the one to cast the spell

you were the most shocked that you did it

your anger at her for hurting harry had controlled your feelings

you didn’t even know you knew how to do the spell

you just did it

and then one by one the death eaters started disapparating

and one whispered into snapes ear before disapparating himself

and snape strolled up to you and harry

you were defensively standing in front of harry, who was still in a great deal of pain

snape grabbed your arm tightly and disapparated

with you

harry screamed your name

but you weren’t there to hear it

you were being dragged into voldy’s headquarters

the malfoy manor

you were sick of those dumbass blond boys

utterly sick of them

you were oh so kindly greeted by a variety of death eaters, including, but not limited to:

snape

bellatrix

big malfoy

little malfoy

a man you assumed to be fenrir greyback

two other scary looking men you’d seen on wanted posters a time or two

and

the man of the year

old voldy toes

your wand was taken out of your hand with more aggression than necessary

and you were trying to stand up with the best posture you could muster

but you hadn’t eaten breakfast that morning and had gone through a lot in the past two hours

so it was a bit hard to maintain confidence

and consciousness

when you were being swarmed by scary adults

and you just got the ability to use magic outside of school

it just didn’t seem fair

but you didn’t have much time to dwell on it when there was a creepy, snakelike voice

“go on, bella”

then a high pitched giggle was heard before the world went fuzzy

you felt like there were a million pins sticking into every pore on your body

and you heard screaming

it sounded distant

but it was you

you were writhing on the floor screaming louder than gryffindors after a quidditch match win

after the third round of her torture,

you were laying on your back

clutching your head

trying to bang it on the floor

as if that would stop the pain

bellatrix stopped after because what was the point in torture if they died before it began?

so you were aggressively carried/thrown down to the cellar

it was dirty and gross and was barely lit

but you didn’t regain consciousness long enough to really survey the room

and that’s where you stayed for the next few days

you could barely stand the first day

your head was bleeding and your muscles felt more worn out then ever

blinking seemed like too hard a task

your vision still felt fuzzy

after the third day, you could move all your fingers individually at will again

which was more of an accomplishment than you would think

and then you realized

there was an odd bulge in your jean pocket

it was a crumpled piece of paper

but not just any paper

it was a picture

an amazingly wonderful picture

the wonderful gryffindor common room in all its glory

and right in the center

drawing the most attention

was you and harry

sharing your first public kiss

and you wondered if he was looking at the picture too

you wondered if he was looking for you

a part of you didn’t want him to find you because you didn’t want him to be subject to the same torture you had

and you cried quietly that night

you couldn’t stop

you were slumped against a dirty cement wall, tired and hungry and thirsty and you couldn’t stop crying

apparently your sobs were louder than you thought

because you could hear the stomping of someone’s feet on the stairs

you tried to stop crying and tried to hide the photo back in your pocket before the person got to the creepy door/gate thing

but you were still sniffling and you couldn’t get the photo back in your pocket while sitting down

and when you saw the platinum blond hair outside the gate, you tried to shove it into your pocket faster

he opened the door quietly and made eye contact with you before slowly walking towards you

you looked back down, not wanting to look him in the eye

until you saw a shiny, green apple to your left

slowly, you looked up and saw draco handing you an apple, pity in his eyes

you took it cautiously and he turned and walked away, back to the entrance

he looked over his shoulder once again

you were staring at him, eyebrows scrunched together

he mouthed two words before locking the door and going back upstairs

“i’m sorry”

the days went on

every once and a while, when bella was feeling particularly aggravated or thought you looked a bit too happy, she would torture you a bit

the day when she found the photo in your pocket was the worst

she craved the word “mudblood” into your arm

so now you had a werewolf scar and umbridge’s “i must respect my superriors” on your left arm and the messy carving of “mudblood” on your right

it went on for almost seven months before you finally gained a bit of hope

you were with the company of luna lovegood, ollivander, and a particularly crabby goblin

but one day, when you expected the same routine of one of you guys being pulled from the dungeon to be questioned or tortured

(though those were basically the same thing)

you heard bellatrix’s cackling before anything else

then some yelling

then a name

harry potter

your heart twisted in both longing and regret

he was here, but at what cost?

there was no telling how this would play out

voldy has been trying to kill him since he was born but harry had a knack for getting out of sticky situations

meanwhile, upstairs, harry was on his knees, ron and hermione were being held back, and draco was more conflicted then he ever had been

he knew it was harry

it was more obvious than the fact that he, himself had platinum blond hair

but he got flickers and memories every time he blinked

he saw the way you would clutch onto your picture when he would bring you an apple or a small piece of chicken from dinner

how sad you looked when you were writhing on his living room floor while being tortured

how, after christmas break during sixth year, you both looked absolutely unbothered by any upcoming war or disaster when you were in one another’s company

so he stalled

he knew that granger was smart

he knew that ron and harry had a strange way of getting out of trouble

so he waited for any of them to make a move

to do something so he wouldn’t have to

but the distraction came from the snatchers, though it did buy some time regardless

and as harry and ron were struggling to resist against being pushed down the stairs, draco felt a small pinch on his heart as he knew that harry and you would be reunited

you were laying against the wall, tired but not sleeping

sleeping during the day was like insulting bellatrix right to her face, and sleeping at night was almost as terrifying

but suddenly, you didn’t feel so tired anymore

because you saw it

the bright red hair that could only belong to a weasley

and with the mention of potter you heard echo through the house

it could only mean one thing

so the second the door was shut and nobody was left on the stairs, you stood up as quick as you could, not that it was very fast with the lack of food and sleep you’d had

but the sound of your footsteps caused harry--

who, no offense to him, looked hideously deformed--

to turn around

and he swears to this day that he could have cried in that very moment at the sight of your thinning body wobbling towards his, tears in your eyes, and arms reached out to him as he ran faster than when he was being chased by snatchers, just to hold you tight as possible in his arms

the sweet moment, however, was interrupted by hermione’s screaming, pulling a pitiful whisper of “no” from your lips

ron was banging on the gate and screaming for hermione, so was harry, but he was also switching between looking up the stairs and staring at you

it took a while, and a little help from dobby, but you all got out of the cellar and were in a kind of battle with the death eaters upstairs

you were barely able to do anything, given your wand was in the possession of one of the death eaters since you’d been there, and there was no way you were any good at wandless magic

but nothing seemed to hit you

and then you realized

while everyone was fighting each other

without the other knowing, both harry and draco had been taking turns sending defensive spells to whoever targeted you

hermione was in bellatrix’s grasp and there was a squeaking sound before dobby had released the chandelier, and you had sprinted to hermione to push her away

you both barely made it out from under the broken chandelier, and your legs were on fire from using them so vigorously after barely standing for the past few months

but you were all safe, and dobby had gotten you, hermione, harry, and ron into a cluster to disapparate, when two things were thrown at you before you could get away

a knife, thrown by bellatrix, was lodged into dobby’s stomach when you got away, sadly killing the sweet house elf

the second object, a wand, your wand, was laying on the sand beside you all

draco had had your wand and thrown it to you before you escaped

that night was rough

you were helping hermione, because you knew that the pain didn’t really go away after the spell stopped, 

it lingered and it didn’t feel like you were in your own body

you also made light of the carving that now graced both of your arms, yours was more healed over, of course, but the discoloration and raised skin still stuck out like a sore thumb

hermione fell asleep quickly that night, the mental and physical exhaustion and having a comfy bed again mixed and she was out like a light

you, however, were in the living room with harry, each of you talking about how your past seven months had been without the other

you sat with your back pressed into harry’s chest as he ran his fingers along your arms and shoulders

you were freshly showered for the first time in a while and you were in one of bill’s classic weasley sweaters and fleur’s sweatpants and fluffy socks and couldn't have been anymore comfy than you were in that moment

harry held you tighter when you talked about bellatrix

he loosened his grip when you talked about luna and ollivander

he felt a pang in his heart when he heard that you had looked at the picture frequently, just as he had done while with hermione and ron

he wasn’t sure how to feel when you talked about how kind draco was, how he was genuinely scared

he didn’t like draco but he was also glad that he had given you food and a bit of company or hope while you were stuck there

he felt happier than ever when you had fallen asleep in his arms, steady breathing lulling him to sleep as well

you weren’t allowed to go to the ministry with them, because you were still too malnourished and bill, who was more like his mother than he cared to admit, outright refused to let you do anything but eat homemade soup and lay on the couch with a book

you were grateful for his kindness but also anxious to know how harry was

you’d felt good as new after a day, thanks to fleur, who was really extremely talented at healing potions

the order was called to hogwarts to aid harry, and of course you weren’t technically part of the order, but you were good as

so as you all made your dramatic entrance, harry had a gleam of pride in his eyes as he looked at you, standing tall and with a dangerous glare that made him feel lucky you were fighting on the same side

the fighting began before you could realize

you had gone with fred, george, and percy to the courtyards, protecting any younger students who were still there or anyone else on their side

while fighting, you and george had taken one end of the courtyard and percy and fred had taken the other end

you had a twisting feeling erupt in your stomach, not the one that was there before, but now it was worry for something about to happen

and that’s when you saw the wall start to collapse right over fred and percy

“aresto momentum!”

the words came before you even realized, and the bricks were hovering over fred and percy as they ran towards you and george, then the bricks fell as you took your wand away

you felt more relieved than ever, until everything died down a bit and you made your way back to the great hall and saw the true destruction

you saw professor lupin and his wife, tonks

you saw poor colin creevy who, albeit being a little annoying, had a soft spot in your heart after he gave you your favorite picture

you saw lavender brown, who annoyed the living hell out of you, but never deserved to die

you grabbed harry’s hand when he came into the hall, scared he would all of a sudden drop dead too

and when harry said he was actually going to meet voldemort in the woods, you were going to be the reason he dropped dead

but you couldn’t truly stop him because it was his choice, so you told him everything

“i love you, and i know you know that, but it’s important that you go into this knowing that everyone here isn’t getting hurt because of you, they’re getting hurt because the cause is important, and you may not believe it, but everyone here cares about you. i care about you and i can’t lose you, too, h. please be cautious and safe and, if you can help it, don’t leave me.”

“marry me.”

“excuse me?”

“when i get back, marry me. that’s how i want the rest of my life to go, so marry me and we can live in a small house, or a big house if you want, and we can have a family-- or not, whatever you want-- but i want to be with you forever, so when i get back, let’s get married”

“of course, when you get back, i will marry you, harry”

“i love you”

“i love you as well”

so harry set off with a light ignited in his heart as he walked to what would surely be his last breath

and it wasn’t until students and order members were standing around the courtyard watching as voldemort and his army were walking with hagrid, who was carrying something

that something turned out to be a dead harry potter

you were standing in the crowd between with the twins to your left and draco malfoy to your right

your heart broke and you decided that nothing would feel as dreadful as this moment

as voldemort was making his official speech as if it would encourage everyone who had just been fighting him that they wanted to do a full 180, a certain long-haired blond began calling over draco

draco looked close to tears as you inched closer and closer to him

his dad was begging him to come across the courtyard to the death eater side and draco took a single step forward before you grabbed his elbow

he hadn’t been paying attention to anything but his father and the stares of the students

your grasp on his arm startled him

you raised your eyebrows at him as if saying “this is your choice, not his”

and that was all he needed

draco needed someone to see the good in him, to tell him that there were people who cared for him beyond whatever use he may serve as a weapon or soldier

he needed a real friend

he needed you

and so he didn’t move

and neville made his grand speech

and harry potter lept out of hagrid’s arms

and the war commenced, ending quite sooner than anyone had thought

once their leader was dead, the death eaters seemed to realize it was a losing battle

so the order and the students were all rallied in the great hall, the hallways, and sparsely in the courtyards

narcissa, who seemed to be the only one dressed in black robes at the castle, was looking for her son when she ran into you

“i’m sorry dear-” she apologised as she ran into you

“you’re fine,” you stopped when you realize who it was “draco is in the great hall, had a scratch or something so he’s getting checked”

“thank you” she hugged you as tight as she could, and you could feel the tears on your neck as she held you close “i’m so sorry and i couldn’t be happier that you stopped him from coming over, i couldn’t bare-- i don’t want him to be hurt--”

“i understand, mrs. malfoy”

“narcissa”

“ok, well he’s probably waiting for you, so,”

“oh, yes, well thank you darling,”

“it was no big deal. everyone deserves a second chance,”

you had made your way to harry, who was standing with the weasleys, and you kissed him like you had never done before

it was almost better than your first and almost as magical as the one in the common room

“so…” harry blushed

“so… i guess we’re getting married!”

you embraced once more, holding onto each other for dear life

it was barely two months after the war when harry finally told you about remus and tonks making him the godfather of their son, edward remus, and that he’d been staying with tonk’s mom, andromeda

harry wanted to make the young boy’s life better than his own

not that he had any doubt of adromeda being an amazing mother, but she had already raised a child, and didn’t need to start over again

you both relieved andromeda of her duties and kept young teddy with you full time

neither of you were too eager to get a job just yet, as harry could do basically anything he wanted, and you, while not being the best student or anything, were insured a job at weasley’s wizard wheezes once you felt like it

you both got married in the fall, outside the burrow

you wore a simple, lacy gown, and harry wore a simple set of dress robes

everyone wore casual clothes, as it was a very, very small wedding, including only the weasley family, ron, hermione, a few other gryffindors from school, and the malfoys

just draco and narcissa

who had only showed at the reception, as they didn’t want to intrude, even though they were invited

it was a little tense

but everyone knew that draco was on their side from the little thing at the battle of hogwarts

you and harry were happier than ever

you had two more kids besides teddy, who you loved like your own son

(and how that boy ended up being exactly like remus without ever truly meeting him, you both will never know)

your other children, twins, were james sirius and lily minerva

of course you don't name them after a teacher who bullied his students and a headmaster who didn’t do what was best for anybody

who would do that?

it’s just stupid???

ron and hermione had rose and hugo and lived close to the burrow

fred had never married, claiming that he was built to be the fun uncle to every niece and nephew

which he did flawlessly

a little recklessly...

but that was good ‘ol uncle fred

george and angelina had two children, fred and roxanne

the entire weasley family believes that george named his son fred just to cause a little more chaos during holidays

luna and ginny had gotten together about six years after the battle, living together for three of them, and molly wondered how she didn’t figure it out sooner

neville, along with harry, worked at hogwarts teaching

neville taught herbology and became gryffindor’s head of house after mcgonagall had decided that being both transfiguration and head of house was too stressful

harry took up the post of dada professor, in which he taught with remus in mind

you had gone on to work with fred and george in the joke shop when you could, along with working on products at home when you had to watch the kids

you still kept in close touch with draco malfoy, who had married a girl in the year below you, astoria, and had a son, scorpius

you made sure to meet up as often as possible, especially since your children were close in age

draco had become the potions professor at hogwarts, and was actually a favorite to most students, given he was an amazingly intelligent man and held kindness and compassion to the younger kids, making sure they all knew they had choices on who they were in life

you would visit the castle frequently once your kids all got out of the house

while you still had fred and george at work and the others to talk to sometimes, it got lonely in the big house that was usually filled with noise

you would go to the castle and sit in a student’s desk while mcgonagall taught, waiting for her to notice you

which she did, every time, as it seemed age never brought her personality down a bit

you would chat with neville and draco on their breaks, and you always went down to see hagrid when you were there, enjoying his big, bad, teddy bear persona

and you loved to watch harry teach, because he was so in his element that it made you feel a deep-rooted sense of happiness just being around him

and you made sure to come around every year, around the week before christmas break started, and you and harry would share stories of the war with the sixth and seventh years who were curious

but your favorite part of the trips to hogwarts was embarrassing your children, just as god intended

you would wave to and sit with teddy at the hufflepuff table and share stories that made his face turn as pink as his hair

you would go up to the twins, who had both been sorted into gryffindor, and pinch their cheeks and somehow mention the fact that you had baby pictures of them in the bath together

life was peaceful now

you still had the scars from your teenage years

and harry still had his lightning bolt scar on his forehead

but he was never mentioned as “harry potter: the boy who lived” anymore

he was now “cool professor potter”

and, occasionally, if a student was annoyed, they would call him “y/n l/n’s husband or whatever” (a nickname started by teddy lupin himself)

their life was small, and filled with gory details, but they wouldn’t change it for the world

[theseerasures]

YOu have a lot of interesting thoughts abt Winter what dyou think will happen with her this season?? Iknow you already said she won't die but. other stuff?? What do you think of the idea that she defects to salem

y’know, anon: i was actually gonna write something to this tune unprompted before the hiatus ended? i didn’t, because when it’s inevitably revealed that i was wrong about Everything and the village children throw their eggs and laugh i didn’t want to give them any more receipts, but now that someone has asked i might as well

quick disclaimer before i start! these are subjective speculations about a character who has thus far been--particularly in 8.1--sparsely and ambivalently characterized, on purpose. i am spinning from the same subtext as anyone else, and if i am reading it differently, then all that means that i am reading it differently. Mr. Teeth is not sending me secret data. i am not the Steve Kornacki of RWBY Defections, as hilarious as it is to imagine someone like that existing.

okay? okay. below are some ideas and theories about where Winter could be going this season

The Defection (no not that one yet)

yeah, i’m still an “AceOps defect as a team” truther. this one actually has the least to do with Winter, and most to do with story economy. and the story of the AceOps is this: under Clover they were “the perfect team”--efficient, powerful, professional, and the perfect emblem of Atlesian values. law and order above all else. the mission matters more than the team. don’t get attached.

Clover’s absence from the team begins in late season 7, which means all that shiny varnish is stripped from Atlas at the same time it’s stripped from the AceOps. it turns out that the law isn’t always right, it turns out it’s super easy to turn “the needs of the many” into “the needs of the few who have many,” and it turns out once you go even a single inch past their facade the “best Huntsmen in Atlas” are conflicted, directionless, and squabble like children. they have a better showing against Penny this season, but their continued dynamic shows that fault lines--particularly between Marrow and Harriet--are reaching crisis. The AceOps model is unsustainable, in the same way that all of Atlas is ultimately unsustainable.

then Ironwood puts Winter in charge, and at first i did think: well, this is probably just to accelerate the inevitable fallout. they are, by their own testimony, emotional strangers to each other, and now some of them disagree on ideological grounds to the point where they can barely stand to be in the same room; slapping an abrasive volatile live wire on top of all that is pouring gasoline on Rome while Rome burns.

but the revelation of Renvision was that they’ve been lying--about HAVING feelings, but also about their feelings with and about each other. moreover: Winter’s own emotions mirror theirs. they’re speaking, in whatever horrifically repressed way, a similar language.

i’m not going to discount the possibility that this kind of ice-water-in-the-face moment might not be enough for some of them; one thing i’ve always respected about RWBY is its unwillingness to flinch away from the idea that sometimes it IS too late for people. but when it comes down to the AceOps, i think the operating question isn’t “will they pick JOYR over setting off the bomb,” because they’re not ready to make that kind of decision together as a team yet. no, the operating question is: if it comes down to one of them, or setting off the bomb, what will they choose?

Clover would set off the bomb, without hesitation or remorse. the mission and protocol HAVE to come first, and in this case there’s a compelling argument that it’s the right call. the team under Clover would have followed suit. the team without Clover would have likely done the same.

the team under Winter...

well, the thing about Winter is that she’s NOT Clover. not a perfect soldier, but--let’s stick with “not a perfect soldier.” she cannot lead in the same way Clover did, with that infuriating mixture of self-assurance and personal charisma, but i don’t think she thinks of herself as any less in command, which means that for the time being, the AceOps are her team. i can’t be certain what Winter would choose in this situation--whether her personal feelings can win out against years of consequentialist thinking--but i do feel fairly confident in saying that she’d be more willing to sacrifice HERSELF in order to choose both.

and in this crucial moment where the AceOps are forced to re-evaluate how they feel about each other, and the team, that might count for something.

so tl;dr #1: the AceOps find a team identity separate from the Atlesian structure. whether they defect to the RIGHT people, or survive defection, and whether Winter counts narratively as one of the AceOps by that point, i’m less sure about, but a cursory stab in the dark would be: yes, not all of them, and no.

The Return

how much do the writers care about the Winter-Ironwood dynamic? probably less than i do, but i also care more than any human should be permitted to under the law, especially since people have moved onto speculating about all the hot NEW abusers she could have in her life. whatever--it is something that needs closure, and i think the writers know that. my preference is still that they confront each other in person, at Atlas Academy (Qrow having fucked off via either healthy decision making or force). if this does happen, i don’t think there’s any chance that both of them will make it out alive; Winter would ONLY confront Ironwood if she’s forced to--either by him or other forces--and both of them are too rigid with themselves and with each other to offer any kind of give, or forgiveness.

that’s what i’d prefer, but it no longer seems the most likely option; Winter clearly has no plans to make it back, and the queue for “people who want to slug it out with DILF Jimmy” just keeps getting longer. it’s possible that they’ll end on the same personal-impersonal teeter-totter which they’ve always resided, where they’re just voices in each other’s earpieces, and she’s giving him a report, and he is issuing her orders.

there’s a way to make that meaningful, though: Winter HAS just disobeyed an explicit order--the first she’s done when she fully had the capacity to carry it out. her own treasons are piling up, and it’s a secret that he should know, for plot and character reasons. the obvious choice among the AceOps to tattle is Harriet, but i also think there’s a nonzero chance that, if asked, Winter herself will tell him. for all her flaws, i do think Winter is capable of owning up to her decisions (it’d make a nice parallel with Yang telling Ironwood about what she and Blake did during Gravity, but that’s neither here nor there), but even more importantly...i think she’d tell him because she wants to be reassured. that she did the right thing, but also that they’re still on the same page, and that he’s still the same person he always was, with her.

he won’t reassure her, of course. especially after he finds out that she disobeyed him for Ozpin. she’ll have no one left.

tl;dr #2: Winter and Ironwood have to reach some kind of End by the finale. whether it’s with a bang or a whimper i’m again less certain of, but if it DOES end with a bang one of them will die, and it’s going to be Ironwood.

Winter Alone

i, like many others, assumed going into the season that Winter’s core dilemma would be something like “her family or her family,” meaning: her sisters or her (adoptive) father. but i think as far as the show’s concerned that conflict was resolved when she let them go in The Enemy of Trust, and it’s not worth re-litigating. since the season started she’s just missed Weiss and/or Penny TWICE by narrative contrivance--during the Amity heist, and the abortive recovery mission--and she’s been sent away from Ironwood. it’s increasingly looking to me like Winter and Weiss will not talk to each other at ALL this season (do they have Scroll reception in the whale? i guess they must if Watts talked to Tyrian), or at most will only catch a tantalizing glimpse of each other before being whisked away again. all of this points to the issue not being “whose side will Winter choose,” but “what kind of person IS Winter, when she doesn’t have anyone else’s ideology to fall back upon?”

which is very exciting to me! the What You Are in the Dark trope is an obvious staple, but i’m especially a sucker for it when it happens to characters like Winter, who lucked out in the sense that their more selfish motivations (protecting herself from Dad) have never quite conflicted with doing Good (protecting other people). the cognitive dissonance for that with Winter has already been played up to the max, so for it to come to a crisis for her, at a point when EVERYONE WHOSE OPINION SHE CARES ABOUT HAS ALREADY FUCKED OFF, is just great drama. it’s made all the better by the fact that RWBY specifically has a lot of villains whose backstories involve them being put in a similar situation, and choosing wrong: Adam chose spite. Raven chose cowardice. getting to see someone make that choice in the story proper, then, adds to and complicates what RWBY has to say the conditions of possibility for heroism and villainy.

furthermore, and this might be where my biases become delusions: that Winter is being maneuvered to make these decisions for herself, BY herself, points to the possibility that she might be graduating from a mostly region-locked character (Ilia, the Belladonnas, Beacon staff and students) to full-on supporting cast (TRQ, Maria, the villains). if Weiss and/or Penny reach out to Winter in a climactic confrontation this season, then the story isn’t NOT about Winter, but it would place more emphasis on Weiss and/or Penny, as main cast members, and their ability to save a person they love. but if their relationships are given more space and time for breathe (or fester!)--if Winter gets to change away from Weiss in the way that Weiss changed and grew away from Winter in Mistral, for example--then it points to a greater parity in terms of their mutual importance in the story.

tl;dr #3: Schneester Bowl might have to wait at least another season, because Winter’s too busy trying out independent thinking. now, whether Winter will make the RIGHT choice, or the story will LET her make that call after she’s decided...

2Defect2Salem

i actually touched on this before, so tl;dr #4.1: i do not find the ways that people talk about HOW Salem gets Winter to defect to be very convincing. the idea that Salem could easily manipulate Winter because they have similar backstories makes me...tilt my head, but i think that’s more due to my personal belief that people who are similar in those ways actually tend to be each other’s blind spots (i also think this about Blake and Winter, FWIW). more to the point: my personal reading of Winter locates a streak buried deep within that is unyieldingly CATEGORICAL. despite being embedded within Atlesian rationality, despite her mentor being James Ironwood, there is something in Winter that instinctively judges an immediate instance to be right or wrong, and she’s never been able to suppress that all the way.

and with that in mind, i genuinely don’t think Winter is enough of a long-term, big picture thinker to give herself over to despair for Atlas as a whole. oh, we see her parrot “for the good of all, not just a few” just fine, but if she was already having trouble internalizing that when it was coming from IRONWOOD, a man she loves and trusts, then why would Salem--a person she is predisposed to distrust--be better at convincing her that the ends justify the means? why would she believe that submission is preferable to extinction from someone that EVERYONE SHE KNOWS considers an enemy? it’s hard for me to conceive of a Winter who, perched at the lip of the despair event horizon, will a) think enough of herself to make a decision for everyone and b) accept that the decision is imperfect and compromise, when she could just do what soldiers do, what she’s been asked to do, and die for an impossible cause.

(also not to belabor the point, but: ...how is she supposed to deliver Atlas to Salem? are we assuming that the Atlas Military works via Klingon Promotion, or that Ironwood gave her all his passwords?)

this is not to say that i think Winter will completely no-sell Salem (though that would be VERY funny). assuming that she and Salem do end up in the same room (which is still up in the air), i can easily picture a scenario where Salem manipulates Winter into making a bad decision (though honestly, Winter’s been doing just fine with that all on her own), but the distance between “a bad decision” and “a decision that she knows will help the Big Bad” is still quite far. i can similarly picture a scenario where Salem gradually sways Winter--not a single Anakin-style dramatic reversal, but an Atris-style descent-by-inches, through a million little non-choices--but that’s the thing: manipulation takes TIME, no matter how good at it you are, and we’re running up against the fact that the season ends in 6 episodes, and Winter is only one of about a trillion dangling threads.

tl;dr #4.2: the only way i can see Winter defecting to Salem THIS SEASON, then, is if it’s not her choice at all. for me, this makes the most thematic sense--that she’s been playing keep-away so long with her own agency, and Salem ends up resolving the issue by taking it away from her completely. that she wants so much to be sure she’s making the right choice, or to not have to make the call, and Salem gives her exactly what she wants. she’ll never have to think for herself again. we know Salem is capable of something like that, because we’ve just seen the Hound. Winter won’t be another Hound, if only because churning out the same horror will only yield diminishing returns, but she might be...something else.

regardless, tl;dr #4.3: if “Winter defecting to Salem” shakes down in any way--either as originally posited or as i just described--it would be an FANTASTIC story and character engine. i’ve already talked about the potential conflict this could create within Team RWBY, but like...imagine Weiss talking to ANYONE about her sister. imagine Weiss talking to Emerald, who would have just joined the heroes, whose decision to cut herself off from Cinder would feel like a portent. imagine Winter with the villains! not just Salem, but Cinder! imagine the subtextual parallels between the two becoming TEXT. imagine the two of them having to work together! imagine how Cinder would feel to lose Emerald and get Winter. imagine how Mercury would feel! can you imagine Winter and Mercury bonding over their daddy issues?? because i can’t! but i wanna. my love for Winter isn’t contingent on her making the right choices, but on her getting the right material. this would not only be the right material, but A LOT OF IT, and if the writers do choose to go in this direction, i trust them enough to be excited about where it might go.

[jackoshadows]

The Expanse and GOT Spoilers.

I have been doing The Expanse re-watch to prepare for the best season ever - season 5 - starting on the 16th. And the writing is so good, even for the secondary characters and their relationships. I can’t help but compare it to the garbage writing on the more popular Game of Thrones.

Watching season 3, and the character dynamics between Camina Drummer and Klaes Ashford is what I think Benioff and Weiss wanted between Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in seasons 6 and 7. There is a tug of war for power and leadership between Drummer and Ashford and the same holds true for Jon and Sansa. Scene for scene there are parallels of the conflict between the characters on both shows.

But context matters. Drummer and Ashford actually work because she’s the new, younger leader in charge of the Behemoth and Ashford is the older, more experienced leader who thinks he should lead because of his experience. On the other hand, it does not work at all with Jon and Sansa. In their case, Jon is the older, more experienced and knowledgeable leader and Sansa is the younger sibling trying to make the case that she knows better than him and therefore should be the one making the decisions.

The Expanse actually lays out and explores in detail the conflict between Drummer and Ashford. They spar and argue with witty dialogue and good delivery of lines that makes the case for both of them. Each character knows and is clear about where the other character stands. They know what the other character is trying to do. That makes their scenes exciting and interesting to watch.

Ashford: Camina, you have nothing to worry about from me. I am here to be your first officer and I have no problem with that.

Drummer: You believe you should be in command.

Ashford: Ah, of course I do, but this is not about experience. It's about politics and perception.  Fred has Protomolecule, Dawes has Cortazar, and they both need this ship.  And neither one of them cares if you or I are happy with the arrangement.

Drummer: Ah, finally, some truth.

Ashford: I haven't lied to you...

Drummer: Yet...

Ashford: But my point is that we both have orders to follow, which means we have to work together. For the good of the new Belter state, ke?

We never get a similar scene or confrontation between Jon and Sansa. Sansa hides information about her Vale army from Jon so that she could get the credit of the victory, leading to the needless deaths of thousands. And Jon just shrugs it off with a kiss on the forehead. Imagine if we got a game of thrones in Winterfell between Jon and Sansa - like we got between Tyrion and Cersei in KL? Where both characters know what the other is trying to do and try to outwit each other? But D&D never really committed to what they wanted Sansa to be on the show and their Jon was written as a gullible fool and so we got scenes that made no sense.

Remember when Sansa undermined Jon in front of the other houses and later Arya observes that Sansa was trying to get the Lords on her side rather than Jon’s. Again, the show hesitates to commit to what Sansa is doing. Jon is made out to be the bad guy for requesting that Sansa not undermine him and Arya comes off as being the mean sister for pointing out that Sansa is not supporting her brother.

Meanwhile, on The Expanse, we clearly see what Ashford is doing and so can Drummer.

Sansa wants to punish the children of the traitors. Jon wants to pardon them and give them back their lands. Drummer wants to throw the drug dealers out of the airlock. Ashford disagrees. He asks for a private word with Drummer and orders their audience to step back - he then persuades Drummer to change her mind but it’s clear to the people watching that he made the decision. Both the audience and Drummer can see that Ashford is indeed undermining Drummer here, but he’s more sly about it.

They have several such arguments. Ashford questions Drummer’s decisions within hearing of their men. Ashford wants them to hear his disagreements.

Ashford: Oh, and it's just too bad we don't have our chief engineer to build us some probes.

Drummer: You have something to say?

Ashford: Yeah, I said it. We needed Nagata here, and you let her go.

Drummer: This isn't a slave ship.

Ashford: No, it's a warship. The Belt's first and only.

Drummer: And I'm its captain.

Ashford: Yeah. Yeah, you are.

Drummer: We have a few autonomous farm drones with chemical samplers for soil. We can convert those into probes. A captain must know their ship.  Hmm?

Later one of those men approaches Ashford. He trash talks Drummer to Ashford and insinuates that Ashford should take over.

Diego: Bossmang...

Ashford: Yeah, what's up? What's the problem, Harari?

Diego: I na like da ting Drummer say to you... or how she say it.

Ashford: Uh... a captain can run their ship however they choose to.

Diego: Captain should be you.

Ashford: Tread carefully, good my boy.

Diego: You been bossmang from da time before me or half the Beltalowda on this ship was born.

Ashford: Yeah, that's true. I have. And I've drunk real Earth whiskey out of a UN Admiral's mug and then scuttled her ship. I flew dark past a Martian battle group, and they never even knew I was there. And I've seen friends breathe the vacuum and watched my only child burn. So when I tell you to tread carefully, you would do well to stop talking.

This scene parallels the Northern lords saying that they should have made Sansa queen instead of Jon. Sansa listens to their complaints and then says that Jon is their king and they can only do what he says. We see Arya observing this and later confronts Sansa in a scene where Arya comes off as being unnecessarily harsh and wrong. I am not going back and watching this trash, but if I recall, Arya actually gets angry at Sansa’s fashion choices here! Like why? What does that have to do with anything? What does that have to do with Sansa trying to win favor from the Northern lords while not supporting Jon’s decisions as king? Again, the show never commits to exploring Sansa’s decisions here.

But Drummer knows what Ashford is doing. She’s clever.

Ashford: I understand why you let Nagata go. If I had a chief engineer who didn't want to be here, I wouldn't want them around, either. But she was your friend.

Drummer: She is my friend.

Ashford: No, I always treated my friends harder... harsher, to show the crew I wasn't playing favorites... even if I was.

Drummer: You just can't stop giving me advice, can you?

Ashford: I'm trying to help you.

Drummer: Yet, still you call me out in front of the crew.

Ashford: Yeah, I could've done that better.

Drummer: You did what you meant. You put it in everyone's head. And after I left, I bet you were all praise for me, yeah? How important it is to respect the captain and so on. That way, when the turn come and you take over, they all know it was because you had to. No choice.

Ashford: Oh, we have a problem. And we need to work it out.

Drummer: Or else what?

Oh, how I wish we got this sort of confrontation, conversation, a similar scene between Jon and Sansa after he got back to Winterfell.

And the beautiful thing about Drummer and Ashford is that we can actually see where they are both coming from. They are both looking out for their people, they both want to do right by the belt. The older, more experienced Ashford thinks he should be in charge and knows better than the young whippersnapper Drummer. Smart Drummer is actually capable of being a good leader and can see through what Ashford is trying to do. They end up helping each other. And in the end, Drummer turns out to be right, Ashford acknowledges this and in the next season they work together.

In GOT however, we are just supposed to accept that Sansa is right, despite Jon making the right decisions to tackle the problems facing them. Sansa’s actions are never challenged by anyone. Jon just floats around like a gullible fool and Arya’s real issues with Sansa in season 7 are never again mentioned. And because there is no resolution to the conflicts and drama, in season 8 we get Arya suddenly and inexplicably thinking that Sansa is the smartest ever, Jon continuing to trust the person who lied to him and undermined him and Sansa continues to win despite being wrong about everything.

Drummer and Ashford are secondary characters in The Expanse and yet their character dynamics, the conflict, the resolution is all so well written and played out. Meanwhile, Jon, Sansa, Arya and Bran are all main characters and Littlefinger is a main antagonist and yet that whole story in seasons 6 and 7 was so badly written and nonsensical that it’s absolute trash. Ultimately Benioff and Weiss did not know what they wanted Sansa to be - they wrote her one way, did not want to commit to the character they wrote, and wanted the other characters (and audience) to see her another way.

It’s clear that the writers and showrunners of The Expanse are invested in their characters and good storytelling. And that’s why it’s a far more enjoyable and entertaining show with likeable characters than GOT.

[ichihime]

ANONYMOUS ASKED: I was following along a thread on twitter and an anti said when Ichigo laid dead on the ground with a hole in his chest in the Lust arc, that he didn’t say “I can hear her..stand up..I will protect her” before hollowfying. They claim he instead said “I can hear..stand up..I have to protect” using no pronounce directed at Orihime, hence NOT coming back from the dead because he wants to protect her specifically but because of his instincts to protect and he would’ve done it for any of his friends. They also said that Orihime didn’t scream “help me” but instead said “help” which triggered Ichigo’s instincts to protect, making him rise from the dead, hence once again making it clear this was never about Orihime specifically but about Ichigo’s instincts responding when hearing a voice in need (and this voice could’ve been from anyone amongst his friends) and how the hollow would not allow him to die regardless. Basically the English translations are incorrect and the raw version in kanji never used pronounces during these scenes. Is this correct and how would you respond to this?

There are a couple really important factors to address in this translation and why its English counterpart would supplement with pronouns specifically referring to Orihime; first, that Ichigo’s speech is meant to be broken and fairly incoherent because it’s conveying the idea that he as a human is focused on this sole objective as he’s dying. Second, that in Japanese, there isn’t necessarily a requirement for subject pronouns to form a sentence talking about a subject (the subject in question being Orihime) —this is a particular grammar rule that has no translatable equivalent in the English language, because they’re ultimately different structures entirely. I drop this phrase a LOT on here, but again, cultural context is important. Since you also sent this ask to my friend @ichinoue​​, there’s been some really excellent fan feedback about the structure of Japanese language and how it differs from English —this post in particular.

Now — onto the actual question:

I think there’s definitely a possibility that Ichigo would have done this for his other friends, but only if this moment had also been preceded by Ichigo vowing to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” those other friends. Kubo did write a scene like this, and made a pretty big deal about it, but that scene involves one specific character —not all of his friends.

This hollow transformation was written as a climax in Ichigo’s narrative arc for the Hueco Mundo saga —as the ongoing theme during this arc was about his struggle with his identity against his inner hollow as an ever-present threat. This could not be a more clear theme throughout this specific arc. There’s a lot of specific focus placed upon this struggle, his cooperation and subsequent training with the Visoreds, his lack of control despite his best efforts, and his juxtaposition of this struggle for control in his actual fights against the Arrancar and Espada. This is important to note, because in response to this, there is only one scene with one character that both:

Involves him promising to “definitely protect” or “protect without fail” a friend he cares deeply for (using the same character for “protect” that’s his namesake, no less —I’ll get into this tidbit more further down).

Functions as a foreshadowing tool, and is later double-downed upon as a foreshadowing tool by the same character as mentioned above.

When it comes down to it, the grammatical inconsistencies that come from translating between languages don’t have any particular bearing on this specific scene, because the intent was already made clear as early as Chapter 196. That’s how foreshadowing works —even if we as the reader don’t realize it’s happening until after the fact. What’s more, this is how Japanese functions as a language; it’s constructed around making sense of the context, which is why it doesn’t necessarily need subject pronouns to function or convey meaning. (Though I can understand why this goes over most Anti-IHs heads... their arguments depend almost entirely on pulling things out of context, which obviously doesn’t work.)

That said —

This scene says a lot. And even though Ichigo is speaking directly to Orihime so we understand she is the subject of what he’s saying, there’s a lot of additional meaning we can derive from this scene by reading (you guessed it) the context. 

Ichigo is characterized early on by somewhat brash, irritable (though this is conditional), impolite, “punk”-like mannerisms. His speech tends to be informal (cultural context) as does his body language. However, we also know that he doesn’t say things lightly when it comes to promises and protecting others. These words carry weight, but there’s an additional sense of conviction conveyed through his respectful and formal gesture of bowing, his unwavering eye contact, and we as the readers can understand this without needing an explanation.

This is especially interesting because if IRs want to get smart about raws, then they should also already understand the additional importance placed on this scene when it comes to Ichigo’s word choice. Ichigo uses the character “護” (mamoru / ”to protect”) to convey his intentions. There are a lot of different ways to write “protect” in Japanese, many of which Ichigo uses when he makes these promises or talks about protecting others throughout the series. What makes his choice of “護” especially significant and piles on more and more contextual importance is that this is the same character for “protect” that is his namesake and the basis for his core character motivations. This is also only time throughout the entire series Ichigo specifically uses “護” to refer to protecting someone. 

If the intention of this to act as a foreshadowing tool wasn’t clear enough, it is again referenced by Orihime later —just at the beginning of the fight between Ichigo and Grimmjow. 

Already, we have a precedent set by Orihime’s direct involvement. This is the second scene in a pattern of foreshadowing the events of the Lust Arc. 

The intent is clear; this is a theme in Ichigo’s narrative arc that involves Orihime, because it also involves the development of their relationship. Her fear of hollows, her fear of Ichigo losing himself to his hollow side, Ichigo’s struggle to expose himself to this power he relies on to win in battle while also trying not to lose himself. There’s an underlying theme of Ichigo and Orihime struggling to communicate with each other, desperately wishing to protect each other and going to whatever ends to do it, but ultimately thinking its a burden they must shoulder alone. They are both concurrently struggling with feelings of uselessness (Ichigo isn’t strong enough, Orihime can’t do anything) throughout this arc, acting as foils even if their individual journeys take different shapes. Even so, these conflicts are juxtaposed by the theme of “The Heart” (the bonds between people) that also keep appearing. They’re both frightened, they’re both feeling weak, feeling desperate, and yet still — they can understand one another.

So we have this pattern now:

Ichigo vows “Next time... I will protect you... without fail!” to Orihime with a sense of personal importance conveyed through the use of his name that is unmatched throughout the rest of the series.

Later, Orihime notes very plainly that “Whenever he uses strong words, it’s like he’s making a promise. I believe that he makes a promise to himself. I think that he expresses his words in feelings so that he will follow through.” The important takeaway being of course the forthright meaning, but also “When Ichigo says he’s going to [do something], he will [do that something] for sure.”

We all know what happens next —the character conflicts, the miscommunications, the belief that these are fights that need to be handled alone, the struggle against the powers of a hollow, the fear of exposure to that power... all culminate into The Lust Arc.

— CONTENT WARNING for canon-typical gore, blood, impalement, and body horror.

With the above established foreshadowing, we can see how it leads to this; When Ichigo says that “he will protect you without fail”, he will protect you for sure.

“To be clear, a total transformation to a hollow, is neither evil or good; it’s more like pure power .. so I made a voice of pure-hearted power that is unrelated, beyond the concept of good and evil so I screamed from a clear pure heart yet, at the same time there is some sadness and thought of Orihime in my head.”

— Masakazu Morita (Ichigo Kurosaki’s Japanese VA), on how he voiced Hollowfied!Ichigo during the Lust Arc.

 “The perfectly hollowfied Ichigo ruminated over Orihime’s screams and was bound only by that objective.”

— Bleach UNMASKED

If what I outlined above wasn’t clear enough, Ichigo goes as far as to stab Ishida, his friend. It couldn’t be about anyone else. This specific theme has always very clearly been about Ichigo, Orihime, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to hollowfication as a concept.  

I want to also be very clear here as well; with the established theme of Ichigo always fighting against his hollowfication, and Ichigo’s Hollow being motivated solely by self interest — it isn’t Ichigo’s Hollow responding to Orihime’s plea, it’s Ichigo’s humanity. Ichigo’s Hollow finally getting an opening to take over his host (to become The King and Ichigo, The Horse) is what revives Ichigo. But his vow to Orihime and his desire to fulfill that promise is what allowed him to cling to his humanity. The Hollow is motivated by survival instinct, not any desire to protect —that’s all Ichigo, just as it’s always been.

I think anyone who is still willfully misinterpreting this and holding Japanese language structure to English rules and conventions is seriously pathetic. Even in English, the pronouns have zero bearing on what’s being conveyed here. They can try and disprove IchiHime as much as they want as far as I’m concerned. The fact remains that at the end of the day, giving the Ichigo/Orihime relationship as much attention and dissection as they do goes to show that (a) they still perceive it as a threat and (b) there’s such a large volume of Ichigo/Orihime content to comb through to begin with —a fact they’ve vehemently denied for years.

Also like, IchiHime is canon. They’re happily married. They have a family together. Just tell them to take the fucking L. I get secondhand embarrassment from watching them rehash the same old bullshit time and again.