#like i feel we could find explanations but one will have to Invent them

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

How about the nerdy girls of genshin (Lisa, Sucrose, Ayaka, Kokomi) with an S/O who's an even bigger nerd than she is?

(Genshin Impact) Lisa, Sucrose, Ayaka, and Kokomi's S/O being a NERD

Nerd? YOU WILL REFRAIN FROM SUCH UNSCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY IN MY PRESENCE.

Lisa respected that S/O could actually hold an intelligent conversation that didn't devolve into something insane, like with Alice.

They could actually speak about their inventions, while mostly theoretical, could be made with current technology, and understandable enough for her.

Such as a machine that could clean the room by itself! Something that Lisa desperately wanted.

And seeing how excited they were to showcase a new prototype to her, Lisa can't help but admire their enthusiasm.

(Lisa) "S/O, what's this one called?"

(S/O) "Well, its actual name is the RX-03 Cleaner, but I just nicknamed it the Wiper."

(Lisa) "...But it doesn't wipe anything down, it just sweeps."

(S/O) sigh "Listen, names aren't exactly the most important thing for a machine."

Lisa teases S/O to make a machine that could clean and organize the books in the library for her, but S/O refuses to make Lisa somehow even lazier than before.

Sucrose was glad to have someone who could understand what she was talking about almost completely.

It put her at ease to just speak about experiments and concoctions without being given a strange look and actually getting a proper response.

Especially since it was with someone she loved, without worry of boring her S/O to death with the minute details of her experiment.

(Sucrose) "Hm...Do you feel any adverse side effects?"

(S/O) "Nothing seems to be different in response. I'll write it down for you in the log."

(Sucrose) "Hm...Perhaps we need to increase the strength of the mixture?"

Her usual shyness and hesitance is almost gone. As helpful and patient as Albedo was, it was nice to have someone on the same level of her, at the very least.

Ayaka appreciated how different S/O was compared to most people she had met in Inazuma.

They weren't afraid to show their interests or their intelligence.

Granted, Ayaka had no idea what her S/O was going on about sometimes until they had to dumb their explanations down.

But she still wanted to learn, because it was something S/O cared about, and at the very least, she'll make an effort to be engaged!

(Ayaka) "And these fossils are...What did you call them again?"

(S/O) "Part of the megafauna that used to live in Tevyat!...At least I think they are. They predate the Archon-War, and even this skull is the size of a house! But to answer your question, they were Alces."

Ayaka leaned in with a glint in her eye, looking at the skull.

(Ayaka) "I see. Do we know anything else about these creatures?"

She didn't always follow S/O, but Ayaka still loved to hear S/O speak, hearing how energetic they were in their findings.

Archons knows how liberating it is to finally speak about things that you love, and she wouldn't deny the person she loved that ability.

Truthfully, Kokomi could appreciate that S/O was as much of a bookworm as she was.

Perhaps even moreso, considering how often their eyes were locked onto the pages, brows furrowed in that cute way that Kokomi loved as they read.

Whether it be fiction, educational experiments, or even random pieces of literature, they read it with the upmost attention.

Which meant plenty of fun conversations with S/O about the stories they read.

(S/O) "It doesn't make any sense! Why in the world would the author write the character that way when it literally goes against everything that was established earlier?!"

(Kokomi) "Hah, it won't be the last time we see something like that, dear."

It did feel nice to hold an intelligent conversation instead of it usually veering off into something weird, like with Miko's book recommendations.

Though calling them "stories" was a bit kind, sometimes.

[solarusofsun]

I think it's time for me to show this

WELCOME TO THE FOREST AU!

Before I even begin adressing stuff there is some things I wanna clarify:

First: English is not my first languague, that means some thing can be bad writen or with bad grammar, sorry for that, it will happend again.

Second: Even if my AU is serious, the writting won't be, mostly cuse Im dumb and I prefer to be informal over formal.

OK, NOW LET'S GET INTO THE EXPLANATION!!!

This is gonna be long

-> What is TheForestAU?

The Forest AU is a Alter Universe which it's inspired by those legends about creatures living in the woods. In this AU, forests are alive, maybe literally, with all type of spirits and entities which hide from the humans and only those chosen by The Forest can see them.

Basically magic stuff.

-> What is the plot of this AU?

For now, none. This AU is one of those AU where the characters are chill and don't have anyone constantly threatening them. Im planning of doing a bunch of comics about how the characters meet echaother and do world building. I love world building and this AU is basically that.

Maybe in a future I will make a more deep plot.

-

CHARACTERS

Now I'm gonna talk about the human cast of this AU, yeah, human cast.

I decided to separate all the characters between two groups, human and non-humans. I would be doing another post for the other cast, cuse there are more non-human characters and that needs more writting.

HUMAN CAST

-> Peppino Spagetti

He didn't change a lot, he's still a messy bag of anxiety, only thing is that I made it worse.

In this AU, Peppino was able to buy a local kinda far from the city, but for a really good price! And, of course, the place was near a forest. Peppino didn't notice anything wrong, open his restaurant and everything was going alright, until a bunch of weird things started to happend around him and his place, that end it up leading into insomnia and nightmares. Of course this was not good, not only for Peppino, but also for the bussiness. What could be the cause of Peppino's misfortune? It probably had nothing to do with that forest, who somehow it's feels like it's calling him everynight.

-> Scott Stick

He's practically the same lol, I give him a casual fit just so I dont have to make the suit, cuse I dont like suits very much.

Scott is an inventor who tries to sell his products everytime he gets an chance, much are not a lot. He also always looks for an chance on making easy money, that's why he work with Theodore and the reason he bring him to Peppino's Restaurant, since that place is mostly where he sells/trys his inventions.

-> Theodore Noise

Ok, now we finally have a more drastic change.

In this AU, Noise is not a TV star, but a cameraman. Apart form that I didn't change a lot of his personallity. He likes to film things and always want to film something interesting. Meet Scott after Theodore film one of his inventions and find them intresting, since then they became business partners. He likes to go to Peppino's restaurant to annoy him cuse he also like to annoy people.

-> Phillip Pepperman

HUMAN PEPPERMAN JUMPSCARE!!!!!! Yeah, I make him human cuse it would make more sense, plus I didn't know what creature should a pepper be, so he's human now.

He preserves the same personallity as the original, I didn't change it a lot. He's still a painter, but it's more focused on mythology. Since he was a child he was in love with the idea of mystical life, all his paintings have something to do with the subject.

-> The Vigilante

THE VIGILANTE IS ALSO HUMAN OHDEAR

Vigilante actually doesn't know who's Peppino and the rest (at least for now), he lives in the forest and was raised by his grandparent. He is one of the choose ones of The Forest, so that means he can see the spirits and creatures living in the woods. He is also the protector of the forest, that's why he's still has the name of The Vigilante.

-

PART 2 OF THIS

-

OHGOD

That's everything for now, I spend like two hours writting this and I only cover up the simple characters. I will show the rest of the characters later

Also, this post works as an incentive to make me work on the comic, I need motivation and showing stuff makes me wanna draw more about it

Again, sorry if something is bad written or if it's written weird

But yeah, Welcome to my own Pizza Tower AU ^^

[lu-is-not-ok]

This is just a dumb theory, but given what Xichun has said about the elders of their family seeking immortality of the mind and the ruthless competition they've got going between their grandkids, this might be the simplest and easiest explanation we have, so I'm probably wrong, but it's still a thought:

What if the elders are attempting some sort of Get Out style body hijacking scheme? Whoever the strongest, fittest, most ruthless of the kids is deemed worthy to have an elder live inside of them?

I've been mulling over how to respond to this because there's both a lot to say and not that much at the same time.

Because, on the one hand, yeah you are absolutely correct. The search for the Immortality of the mind is absolutely very likely going to lead to the exposure of new and inventive ways for the elders to exploit the younger members of the Jia Family.

This would be further corroberated by my Two in One/Daiyu-Baoyu theory, as it implies that the reason why Baoyu was so valuable to the Family and why the elders are now invested in getting him back is because the fact he was able to keep on living via a version of body hijacking could be exactly what they were looking for. And, well, if they can't achieve Immortality themselves, they still want to have their One Immortal back to force him into doing what they want.

However, I do feel like this isn't all there is to it.

My main point of contention is that I don't believe that the seeking of Immortality and the competition between siblings are inherently this closely connected. I think that, at the very least, they weren't at first.

The competition for the spot as the head of the Family feels like a kind of tradition that would go back for many generations, way before whatever kind of Immortality scheme the current elders are cooking.

After all, note the difference in how Xichun and Hong Lu talk about those two concepts. Neither of them ever really question the competition between siblings, they're fully expecting murder attempts as if they were normal facts of life. There is no judgement of it, it's as natural to them as gravity causing things to fall or plants needing water.

On the other hand, this kind of idea of normalcy is not afforded to the search for Immortality by them. In fact, they both seem to see it as kind of a bother. Xichun calls it an "old, tiresome thing", while Hong Lu is clearly not even really taking part in it, with his writing in the Rose Hunter log implying he believes it to be the beliefs of a select few specific people in his Family.

While it's implied that both concepts have been around for a long while, the normalization of the sibling competition and the lack thereof for the search for Immortality suggests that the former is an established tradition of the Family, while the latter is only a development as recent as the current elders being the ones in power.

But... there is a deeper, thematic way that the two ideas connect together, despite their in-universe connection not being as close as you posit.

Both the sibling competition and the search for Immortality, and even Baoyu being kept within the Jias' grasp - they all serve a single purpose.

To allow for the endless and cyclical perpetuation of the Jia Family and its legacy of abuse and violence.

The competition between siblings isn't just to find the strongest and most ruthless child to become the next head, it's specifically to find an heir whose personal values are the most like the values the Jia Family itself holds, and which thus can continue to perpetuate it.

The search for Immortality then is just another incarnation of this attempt to continue perpetuating the Jia Family, but in this case in a more "efficient" manner. Instead of relying on the random chance of hoping that the one heir who comes out on top will share the values of the elders, the elders can just ensure the Jia Family remains as it is by always being the ones in power. Its legacy can't die if its head never dies after all.

And then, of course, is the one Immortal in question - Baoyu. The Family likely "treasures" him so much because he's their one sure way to never let the Jia Family die. As long as they can keep him locked, as long as they can shape him into the kind of person who would blindly follow what they say, they can ensure he can keep the legacy alive forevermore.

It's... an interesting and kind of poignant smaller scale parallel to how Project Moon portrays the City itself.

Both the City and the Jia Family are, in a way, their own "living" beings independent of any of the people that are a part of it, and yet which can only continue to live on in perpetuity because those same people are the ones who perpetuate their systems of abuse.

It's not a single person's fault that they both continue to live on and cause harm. ...But there's also very few who aren't at least in part to blame for keeping them alive. Even those who are being actively exploited by those in power and have no choice but to perpetuate those cycles... well, they're still perpetuating them all the same.

[flagellant]

I remember you once giving an EXCELLENT explanation of how magic “Doesn’t Exist but is Real” and how that kind of contradiction and reconciling it is so powerful?

Whenever you feel like answering this could you restate those concepts? I am working on actually thinking about my Practice and it’s Methods more lately and I feel that I highly agree with that sentiment you gave, but Tumblr’s search sucks.

I think I’m just now understanding a lot of that much more than when it was first said so I’d like to compare when you’re able to restate it

Religion isn't unscientific at its core. I think that's how I might phrase the contradiction these days: the idea that religion is fundamentally not unscientific at its core. Whatever else you can say about it.

Religion is fundamentally magical thinking, though, or at least often incorporates magical thinking. Religion is a sort of magic, also, after all--organized or unorganized, it is belief in something else. Something unexplainable. The idea that there is something you cannot see or cannot understand, but that this something matters to you, to your world.

And looking back, we see religion form again and again, in vacuums and when cultures meet and share and intermingle or oppose. Studying history at the end of the day will always require at least a little bit of studying religion with it. It is omnipresent--for better and for worse--in the way that it affects us, changes how we think, influences how we behave, structures the societies we live in.

Humans are illogical creatures, made of emotions and subjective dread. Magical thinking is fundamentally illogical. It is an attempt to find and understand reason in darkness, to comprehend the things we only see in the peripheries of our visions--but not always. Only often.

Because just as much as religion is magical and illogical, it was often borne out of our craving for understanding, for logic or explanation. We see a rainbow in the sky and we do not know where it comes from, or why we can never seem to reach it, so we try and find a logical explanation for this apparent impossible thing. The answer is magic--fairies, gods, witches. Or perhaps we look at the catastrophe of a storm, look at the all-encompassing wreckage of our homes, and we need to find a reason why this could happen to us. This couldn't be an accident, it has to be by design, because if it happened for a reason, we can understand it; we can give ourselves, if only slightly, the illusion of control. We propitiate an angry god, or we find someone who we have decided isn't like us and blame them for it.

Because the thing is, as much as we are creatures of illogic, we are terrified of it. It becomes existential rather quickly--the idea that all of this is for nothing, for random accidents, that you or your community isn't special or noteworthy or safe? The idea that your pain is shapeless and your terror is aimed at nothing at all? That's hard to imagine, let alone to find comfort in. Gods give a shape to the suffering. The invention of them is one which lets us take the illogical thinking and turn it against illogical thinking. Yes, it is unreasonable. No, it doesn't make sense. It is emphatically unempirical and there will likely never be any concrete proof of any religion's magical thinking being definitively confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt as True.

But it isn't unscientific. It was borne out of the same reason as science, the desire to understand and comprehend. It went only in a different direction than scientific thought did.

The space between science and religion is the difference between what exists and what is real. We walk along paths of trying to understand the world around or within us, and the paths in between those two points is where magic can be found. Neither existing nor unreal.

[plumeria1]

Under the starry sky

Read listening this

Note: It's Powder's turn to shine today. This post and Vi's are really my favorites. I think I even love this one more than Vi's.

Pairing: Timebomb Powder x Fem Reader

Warning: None

Content: Fluff

Summary: You invite Powder for a dance in this Valentie's Day night

You had met Powder two years ago thanks to Vander. He thought it would be good for her to be close to another girl her age.

From the beginning, you got along well; she made you laugh when she went off on long explanations about things she invented. And you made her smile again when she was sad, thinking about her sister Vi. But over time, your feelings for Powder had evolved; you wanted to be more than just her friend.

Only you had never dared to say anything to her. After all, you weren't sure if she liked girls, and you were afraid of making her uncomfortable by confessing your feelings, so you said nothing.

It was Ekko who discovered it first. To be honest, you weren't really trying to be discreet. He had convinced you to go talk to Powder, but there was always something to stop you. An unexpected event, a person who interrupted you, or something else. You had to figure out how to do it.

You were starting to despair when, like a miracle fallen from the sky, Mylo came to find you with what seemed to be the solution to your problem. Mylo, who was always looking for a way to get closer to Gert, the pretty waitress at the bar, had come up with what he thought was a brilliant idea.

-A party for Valentine's Day.

-What?

-I'll explain; if we have a party, I could invite Gert to dance, and while we dance, we’ll get to know each other better.

-Why don’t you just invite her on a date?

-When I'm in front of her, I lose all my composure. But, if she sees that everyone is dancing, she might say yes. And you could do the same with Powder.

-What does that have to do with Powder?

-Come on, we've all noticed that you have a crush on her, seize the opportunity or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

In a few words, he had managed to convince you, and the two of you went to find Vander with irrefutable arguments. He had nothing to lose; the customers who would come would be more numerous because they would be couples, and men liked to buy drinks for the women who accompanied them. So it was a win-win situation.

After some thought, Vander agreed, but tasked you with organizing everything. You had spent the week preparing, with the help of your friends who were delighted to have a free evening. Even though some were single, it wouldn't stop them from having fun.

The night was beginning to fall when people started to arrive. You had put on your prettiest dress, simple but your favorite. You even put on a bit of makeup for the occasion. You slipped on your shoes and walked to the bar.

It was Powder who found you first and dragged you by the hand to the counter. Her hand was warm, and you wished it had lasted longer, but she let go of you as soon as you reached Vander.

-Help me convince Vander to let us have some alcohol. He doesn't want to hear anything.

-He might be right; we're a bit young to drink...

-We're 17, and besides, I don’t want to get drunk. I just want to taste.

You sighed while smiling, eventually giving in. After several minutes of refusing, Vander finally agreed, hoping you'd leave him alone. Silco had helped convince him by assuring that he would be the one to serve your drinks and make sure you didn't go overboard.

Sitting on the bar stools, you sipped your drinks while watching most of the customers dance. Silco and you were talking about the decoration when you felt a small tap on your arm that caught your attention.

-Look over there.

You couldn't believe what you were seeing; Mylo had actually managed to invite Gert to dance. Seeing that, you thought it was now or never.

-Powder, do you want to dance with me?

She smiled as if she had been waiting for this all evening.

-I thought you were never going to ask me. Come on, let's go.

She took your hand again and led you further away from the bar, but close enough that you could still hear the music. The sky was clear, giving you an unobstructed view of the starry sky.

-Look at this view, it's beautiful.

You would have liked to tell her that she was even more beautiful, but you didn't want to ruin the moment, so you stayed silent. When a new song started playing from the bar, Powder put her arms around your shoulders, and you placed yours around her waist, pulling her a little closer.

Powder rested her head on your shoulder, and the smell of her shampoo filled your nostrils. The music was slow, and you didn't need to move much. In fact, it felt more like you were gently swaying than actually dancing.

But it didn't matter. No one could see you, and you were both lost in your little bubble of tranquility.

-I love this song. I'm glad Chuck played it.

-Chuck?

-The server.

You laughed softly, your lips brushing the top of her head.

-His name's Thieram.

-Who cares.

You continued dancing when Powder pulled her head back without letting go of you. She brought her face closer to yours, her eyes moving from yours to your lips.

-It's my favorite part.

You could hear the lyrics of the song:

"Settle down with me

And I'll be your safety

You'll be my lady

I was made to keep your body warm

But I'm cold as the wind blows

So hold me in your arms, oh, no"

That's when you understood: she was sending you a message. She liked you too, and all she was waiting for was for you to bridge that gap between you.

You didn't wait any longer and finally placed your lips on hers. You felt as though the weight of the world had just been lifted off your shoulders. You felt light, and it seemed unreal.

Powder, out of breath, pulled away too soon—at least that was your opinion. When you opened your eyes, she was looking at you with a small smile, which you returned.

-Happy Valentine's Day.

-Happy Valentine's Day, Powder.

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! : ) You guys are amazing.

Sorry if this is stupid or offensive but i have a question regarding terminology describing facial diference/ disability

So my first language/ the language i write in is not english so while the terminology post is helpfull since i can translate it/ use it as a genereal guide in what to look out for it does not cover everything. I am sorry if this falls into the category of research question but how do i find good resources for terminology in my own language/ make sure its a good resource with the terms people with facial diferences in my country prefer? Its hard since my country is small and not great when it comes to ableism so there is not many resources availibel in the first place.

The second is a bit more specific. I want to include a character with cleft palate in the wider supporting cast, or at least in the background. So not a mayor/important character I can't spend much time describing them and i dont want to center their description on their facial diference. The term for cleft lip in my language literaly translates as "hare lip" into english whic is...yeah. Its probably not an uniqe case either. There might be some better term for it but i have not been abel to find it and i am not sure there is anything thats not overly medical. If that is the case should i use the medical term instead even if its jarring and include what it describes in a footnote? Does the mod team have sugestions on what else to do in this situation/ similar ones I probably will find myself in? How do i handel ableism thats literaly the integral part of my language. How do i catch terms that have ableist/ bad conotations bejond the basics since it is less called out over here i might not even notice its problematic? I dont want to make the issue any worse, further normalise bad terms by not caring about terms.

I thank you, so much in advance.

Hey! No such thing as a stupid question.

I'll just say that I very much relate to these issues considering my native language calls congenital disabilities “innate flaws” : ) so;

As for first question:

The first step would be to check if there are any organizations/groups that have resources in your language about facial differences, or checking if some international orgs have translations of their pages where they talk about facial differences. Moebius Syndrome Foundation has a page on face equality in 8 languages (+ English).

If there aren't any (high probability that this is the case unfortunately), try to see if there are any advocates for face equality that write in your language and what do they use (and in what contexts).

If you still have issues, there's always the ultimate beauty of writing - making words up. When there's nothing you can use as a reference, the best way is to just create the word that you need. I'm aware that it could be hard to figure out what's appropriate and not accidentally offensive or insensitive, but your good intentions and putting care into it are already doing a lot of the work for you.

I really like this essay - which is about a very different disability-related topic - that asks a great question in this “how do we make [language thing] good for disabled people?” sphere: what feels beautiful? What term do you feel like sounds nice and not othering or pointlessly medicalized? Because honestly, if I encountered an invented word for facial differences in my native (very non-English) language and the explanation behind it was “I thought it sounded pretty” then I'd take it. Always better than “gross deformity” that many consider neutral without thinking about it at all.

Obviously the easiest way would be to ask someone who speaks your language and has a facial difference, but I'm aware that not everyone has that possibility - still, it could be a good idea to reach out to your local disabled community if you're able to. Or just ask on whatever social media is popular where you live.

You can also send us what is the language that you're having this issue in - despite the blog being very American-centric and English-only, a lot of us speak different languages and might just happen to know the one.

Second question:

First thing I'll address is that cleft palate and cleft lip are two separate things. They are often lumped together because they very often co-exist together, but a person could only have one of them.

Cleft palate hasn't, AFAIK, been referred to as a harelip anywhere, so I'm going to assume the question is about a cleft lip.

There are a few options as to what you can do here, in my opinion;

you describe the cleft lip without using any specific term (“they had an opening/a faded scar on between their upper lip and their nostril”);

the character calls it by the medicalized term* because that's what their doctor has told them, and they could mention how awkward/long/difficult to say/no one knows what it is/etc. the word is;

the character is self-aware and points out that the term “harelip” is weird as hell to say about a person when someone refers to it as such;

or, again, you make a word up. The word “lip” probably has to stay for clarity's sake, but try to replace the animal part with something: cleft, split, parted, fissure, opening, etc.; You can also check how other terms with “cleft” are called in your language: cleft chin, cleft palate, cleft hand/foot, etc.;

or you can make up a word fantasy-writer style and describe a cleft lip but give it a completely new name that fits the setting more - [Name]'s lip, [Some sort of deity]'s blessing, you can kinda do whatever (take a look at the Terms That Suck guide below first though).

*my go-to way of finding the medical term is going through English Wikipedia (yeah, I know, but it works for this) and switching the language to the one I need. The cleft lip and palate page has 55 languages, so there's a chance it's on there - if it is, you might potentially find a nicer synonym in the “other names”.

Now for my (very personal) guide on catching if a term Kinda Sucks because doctors have some... tendencies in how they name various conditions:

does it use a word that is just a synonym for evil, or otherwise immoral or broken?;

does it have an animal connotation? (hares, wolves, elephants, fish... there's so many);

does it have a monster/fantasy creature connotation? (i.e., Donohue syndrome being called leprechaunism, Hypertrichosis being called Werewolf disease, etc.);

does it just sound rude? (my native language uses the word “maw” to mean cleft palate, which is absurd);

is it straight up racist and/or xenophobic? (like most of the historic words for syphilis were just “[nationality] disease”).

There's obviously nuance to everything (“vitiligo” is considered neutral, despite being derived from the word for “blemish” in Latin) but as a vague framework I find these to be useful. Again: what feels good or neutral will probably be the better option over “animal face disease”.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[brownieblob]

Be Careful Not to Mess With the Balance of Things"

Introductory post !!!

Max Russo x Fem!Reader

Chapter 1 (more coming soon...)

Synopsis:

When the usual becomes unusual all because of one girl…

Professor Crumbs never dropped by for casual visits. His sudden arrival carried grave news: A soul transfer by a nymph to a mortal girl, giving the mortal magical abilities. The girl, unaware of her new powers could fall victim to death or insanity if her powers were left untrained or weren't fully removed.

The Russo's weren't sure how exactly they played into this but once told that the only clue on finding this girl was her recent move to New York, alongside her family- things made more sense.

"So you want us to kidnap her?"

Naturally, none of the Russo's expected to actually bump into this girl, especially not Max. But upon bumping into the new girl at school, things took a sharp turn.

That girl was you.

Caught in a whirlwind of cheesy romance, clichéd tropes, and something as unreal as magic was you, painfully aware of how ridiculous everything seemed to be.

"Why does it feel like we're in a sitcom?"

But this wasn't a sitcom. Behind the sandwiches and spells was an ugly truth.

"You might die. Emphasis on the 'might'."

The 'might' didn't make it feel any better when everyone was so serious.

___ * ___

Y/N L/N

"What in the bippity boppity boo is this..?"

"So you kidnapped me?"

"Oh no. I have magical powers. What a catastrophe."

"Why does it feel like we're in a sit-com?

Max Russo

"So yeah, we need to not not kidnap you. So I think that means we need to kidnap you."

"You like sandwiches too?"

"I can't believe you guys thought I wouldn't do something so stupid."

"You have beautiful eyes...like olives. I think I'm hungry."

Justin Russo

"Does it not get through your thick skull? You have magic powers and need our help to help you control them. Thus, you should totally follow us into this cramped corridor. So what if we're strangers?"

"You might die. Emphasis on the 'might'."

"Since I'm the student body president, your actions affect my reputation. SO STOP THIS. Thank you"

Alex Russo

"When did the music get so romantic and WHY IS MAX HOLDING A BOUQUET?"

"Isn't it fun? You have magical powers, so what if you might explode. Yeah no, that sounded better in my head."

"Relax, without stupid people we wouldn't have anyone to laugh at, right Max?"

"Try this spell, it might work. I found it in this book- "Definitely Not Curses". See, they aren't curses."

Harper Finkle

"Like my new outfit?  Only made of bubblewrap and cardboard."

"I don't think anyone needed to see that.."

"Why does she get magic powers and I don't? Oh, she might die? Nevermind."

Jerry & Theresa Russo

"They'd make a cute couple, right Jerry?" "Agreed"

"That's it Jerry. I need an explanation, now." "Argh..! Max, word your sentences better..!"

"That girl could die." "I know."

Professor Crumbs

"No Justin, I am not taking you on an escapade."

"Oh, I didn't expect them to actually find you."

"This is quite an interesting case, truly. I just don't understand why the Nymph chose you."

"Anyone for some tea?"

__ * __

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character's from Wizard's Of Waverly Place, all credits go to Disney for the character's used from their franchise. The only characters I claim ownership of are one's I invented myself. 

Author's Note: Hello guys, I'm Brownie and this is my first story on this fandom (or anything Disney really). This is supposed to be a crack-fic but it still has a plot and is still taken seriously by me. When I say 'crack', I mean that the MC (you) is VERY self-aware- and obviously Y/N isn't Candace but that's the kind of vibe I'm going for. I'm talking about the "this is the eleventh time we've bumped into each other today" OR "Why does it feel like we're in a rom-com movie" kind of humor. BUT because I'm recently in LOVE with Max Russo, the character, I JUST HAD to start writing this. Not to mention, there's a lack of fics on this fandom and him specifically (I'm on a mission to change that)

To read it on Wattpad

My other blog (main)

[duhragonball]

Daima 2: Glorio

About a third of this episode is dedicated to having the main characters react to the whole "turned into babies" thing. This is probably a good call, since the show was promoted on this gimmick, and it's worth showing off. Everyone looks super cute, and anyone who had facial hair becomes almost unrecognizable.

It feels like a bit of waste of time, but only because the "turned into babies" thing was all we knew about the show for the year or so before it premiered, so for me this feels like we're belaboring the obvious. Yeah, yeah, we know they're babies, we've been talking about it for months. But the show has to have the moment. This is why I don't get too invested into trailers and teaser trailers and analyses of trailers, and leaks and "Everything you NEED to know about..." videos. If you spend too much time dwelling on a future release, you'll lose out on the spontaneity when it finally comes out.

It's probably worth talking about who hasn't gotten turned into babies. Well, I should clarify that. I like calling them all babies because I think it's cute and funny, but most of the affected characters are more like seven-year-olds. Anyone who was already a child is turned into a literal baby, like Goten and Trunks. Also Dende, even though he's at least thirteen by now.

Specifically, Gomah's wish applied to the ones who defeated Buu and "all of their friends." So Master Roshi got turned into a kid, but not the waitstaff at Trunks' 9th birthday party. Ox King got turned into a kid, even though he never actually fought Majin Buu. Basically, if you can be considered part of Dragon Team, you got turned into a kid.

But Korin and the Turtle seem to be unaffected. Maybe they did get turned into children, and they just don't look any different. Or maybe the rest of Dragon Team secretly hates those guys, and so they don't fall into the "friends" category of the wish. Man, that's the sort of thing that would keep me up at night. Imagine your whole friends circle gets turned into babies, except you. There's really only one explanation for that, but you can't exactly say anything, because that'd just make it worse.

Oh, what am I worried about? Everyone likes me! I mean, everyone likes Korin and the Turtle. Yes, that is what I meant to say. Heh-heh...

Anyway, as for King Gomah, he had planned on making two more wishes, but Shenron clocks out early. Gomah's like "What the hell, man?" and Shenron tells him that the second and third wishes are for regular customers. First timers only get one wish and they just have to like it. Wait, so when he offered more wishes for Sorbet in Resurrection F, was that because Pilaf was with him? Fascinating.

Gomah's pissed because this means he can't get the Evil Third Eye, but Degesu is satisfied that they accomplished what they came here to do. Remember, Degesu didn't see the Earth as a threat in the first place. Dr. Arinsu planted the idea in Gomah's head, and Degesu was willing to go along with it, but he's probably just relieved they pulled this off without anything going wrong.

But why not just have Neva do the same trick he used to summon Shenron in the first place? Normally, you have to wait a year to use the Dragon Balls again, but Neva's ancient Namek power allowed him to collect and reactivate the Dragon Balls immediately. So in theory he could just do that over and over again and Gomah can have unlimited wishes? Well, no, Neva says "Even I can't do that twice in a row," so I'm glad we got a limit on that ability. That's the lesson there. You can invent a bullshit rule-breaking power, but it needs to have it's own limits and rules in order to keep it from being abused. Kryptonite will neutralize Superman, but it's not like you can just run to the drugstore and buy a bunch of kryptonite.

The Supreme Kai, Kibito, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo all go to the Lookout to find out what happened, and Mr. Popo fills them in. The Supreme Kai realizes that it must have been his brother Degesu, and Piccolo recognizes the name "Neva" from Namekian history. He was the "Legendary Namek" who stayed behind in the Demon Realm after all the others left for the outside universe. He stayed to guard the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls, but it's not clear what he's protecting them from. If he didn't want the Demons making wishes, then why did he help Gomah use the Earth's Dragon Balls today? Curious.

Also, before Gomah's group left, he decided to take baby Dende along as a hostage. Also, as the keeper of the Earth's Dragon Balls, they believe holding Dende will make the Earth's Dragon Balls useless. I get why they'd want to do that, but I'm not sure I understand how physically removing Dende affects the Dragon Balls. When Guru was teleported from Namek to Earth, the Namekian Dragon Balls followed him there. So maybe it's like that? Or does the barrier between the Demon Realm and Earth make it so it seems like Dende is dead? The Dragon Balls become inert just like they would if Dende had died. Anyway, Neva seems to think this would go as Gomah expects, so they kidnapped baby Dende.

And Goku wants to go to Demon Realm and get him back. There you go, that's the good guys' motivation, right there. This was the problem GT had when it turned Goku into a child. It was basically an accident, so there was no enemy to fight in that situation, and Goku basically didn't care. It doesn't seem like Daima Goku is too worried about being a child either, and that's fine. Goku's a pretty laid back guy with this sort of thing. But if turning him into a child doesn't provoke some sort of response, then why do it at all?

Here the conflict is much more focused. Gomah went out of his way to turn Goku into a child because he saw him as a potential threat. And it seems that he kidnapped Dende to ensure that Goku couldn't simply undo the wish next year. So even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, he'd still want to go after Gomah, if only to rescue Dende and get to the bottom of this. It also helps that we have characters like Vegeta included in the whole babies wish, so even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, Vegeta is still highly motivated to undo the wish.

But more importantly, by doing all of this, Gomah seems to have provoked the very response that he was trying to avoid. Degesu thought there was no reason for the Earthlings to come to the Demon Realm, and now Gomah has given them a reason. He probably doesn't think that Goku's group is capable of putting up much of a fight in this state, but they already beat Majin Buu, so underestimating them seems like a bad idea.

Rememer, Dr. Arinsu was the one who planted the seeds for this whole conflict. If she hadn't said anything, Gomah never would have gone to Earth. So was this what she wanted to happen? Maybe she was trying to set off a conflict, and then Gomah would have to keep funding her research to improve his defenses. Or maybe Arinsu was counting on Goku to eliminate Gomah, so that another king would take over and give Arinsu the funding that Gomah would not.

And I don't want to spend a lot of time bashing GT with this (I already did that last year). You can kick off a story with an accident like Pilaf's thoughtless wish, and then establish a plot device that will destroy the world like the Black Star Dragon Balls. That's valid, but it's so much better when there's an antagonist in back of the problem, someone you can chase or fight or argue with over tea.

All right, so how do they get to the Demon Realm? According to Kibito, travel to and from has been heavily restricted for a long, long time. It's not clear who imposed the restrictions, or who Gomah had to make arrangements with for his own trip, but it's not as simple as teleporting or taking a spaceship. The Supreme Kai has an idea, and he sends Kibito to fetch the spaceship he used when he first came to this universe. He doesn't say where he came from, though. I'm guessing he and the other Kais all live in some other realm and he had to come here when he got the Kaioshin position in Universe 7. But maybe he was born in the Demon Realm, and he used this ship to leave? In any case, he believes this vessel will take them to the Demon Realm, except it's old and busted.

But that's okay, because we have Bulma to fix it. She takes a look under the hood and estimates it'll be a ten day job. So the principal cast is starting to take shape here. Goku is obvious, and the Supreme Kai has family on the bad guy side, so he has a clear stake in this. Piccolo is in because of the Namekian connection, and Vegeta wants revenge for getting turned into a baby. And we gotta have Bulma because she's the tech gal. I'm not clear on whether Kibito will tag along, but we don't see much of him in the closing credits, so I'm guessing he rides the pine for most of this story.

And this is great. One thing that always bugged me about Dragon Ball Super was how they kept loading way too many characters into every episode. They'd be fighting Frieza and Master Roshi has to be there. They're fighting Universe 6's team and we gotta check in with Jaco to see what he thinks about it all. They're getting ready to help save Future Trunks' world, but let's check in on Emperor Pilaf and see what he has to say about all this. Every time someone threw a punch in the Tournament of Power, the show would suddenly cut to the bleachers so Whis could explain why punches hurt.

I've been trying to find a way to describe the pacing in Daima, and it feels kind of relaxed and leisurely, but at the same time, it's not padded out the way the previous anime series were. Before, Toei would often set up B-plots and side conversations to fill time, and that's not really happening here. The cast is pretty small, and we're filling the time with exposition and just sort of letting the moments breathe. Goku goes on a little side-quest to get his Nyoi'bo, and they probably could have tightened it up, or skipped it altogether, but it's just this quiet little errand, and the show lets you drink in the ambiance.

Look at these li'l guys eating their li'l guy dinner with their mini-sized soda cans. It's great.

However, their dinner is interrupted by the sudden arrival of another Demon Realm ship like the one King Gomah used. This time, however, it's a whole other guy named Glorio, whom we saw spying on Gomah in Episode 1. He says he was tasked with recruiting Goku to defeat King Gomah in the Demon Realm. Goku's always ready to rock, but the Supreme Kai wants to know how Glorio has even heard of Goku. Glorio claims he learned about Goku from the King of the Third Demon Realm, who watched video of the Buu Saga just like Gomah. That... seems a bit curious. Later it'll become clear that the Demon Realm is divided into three worlds, so I guess it makes sense that each one has a king, and Gomah rules over them all. So the Third King might not be too happy about Gomah's reign.

But Glorio was also there when Gomah watched his own video of the Buu Saga. So it's almost like he's telling a half-truth. Glorio also says he was ordered by the Third King to come here, but when the Supreme Kai asks if he works for the Third King, Glorio says that he doesn't. The request was sent to him in secret. Well, what does that mean?

I'm guessing that Glorio's not telling the gang the whole story, or he may not be fully aware of it himself. For all we know, someone like Dr. Arinsu might have sent him the request and made it look like it was the Third King who submitted it. Whatever the case, the Supreme Kai decides to go with them, partly because his brother is involved with Gomah, and partly because he's suspicious of Glorio. He shouldn't have known about them being turned into children, but he wasn't surprised to see them in this state. To be fair to Glorio, nothing seems to really get much of a reaction out of him. He's a very low-key kind of guy.

Bulma asks to study his spaceship before they go, so she can use it as a reference for her work on the Kai's ship. Glorio insists that his vessel is a "plane", so I don't know if that's the correct term for it or if he's just a contrarian. I mean, it does more than fly in space, but it does fly in space so come on. Vegeta wants to go along, but the plane only has room for three. So Vegeta will have to wait for Bulma to finish repairing the other ship and then they can follow Glorio's group into the Demon Realm later.

I like this set up a lot. I think GT had a promising set up with a trio of main characters. Again, there's a lot to be said for focusing on a small cast instead of dumping in dozens of side characters who have to compete for screen time. But GT ran into issues pretty early on, and maybe it would have been helpful to have a second trio operating independently of the first. That way if the writers got stuck, they could switch to the second group, or have them link up later on.

I don't know if this would have done GT a lot of good, but it definitely seems like a smart strategy for Daima. This way we can focus on three characters, but there's still the promise that we'll get to see more of Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma later. If all six of them had gone together, it would have gotten dull, because at least two of them wouldn't have had much to do. This way we have something to look forward to.

[pathological-runaway]

Teth’s heart sinks, and a sudden wave of guilt and embarrassment threatens to burn them to ashes. They wince. “Why are you always assuming the worst?” they mutter to themself and grit their teeth. But it doesn’t really make the thoughts go away.

you can read the fic here or below the cut

was originally inspired by this writing prompt but evolved significantly

1

“Ugh, this is completely useless, isn’t it?” Teth winces, arms crossed on their chest. It’s loud and crowded here, and it seems like all eyes are on others’ inventions instead on theirs.

Which is unfair and extremely annoying, considering it was Teth who organised the whole damn thing.

It takes them a great effort to stop themself from kicking something — or someone, — but they manage to suppress this urge, forcing themself to simply walk away instead. As always, they think.

“You wanted to show me something?” the Prairie Elder asks, emerging from the crowd.

“No,” Teth replies dryly and looks away without really knowing why.

2

The room is awfully empty when they wake up.

Their first instinct is to make up explanations and excuses. Their second instinct, which easily drowns out the first one, is to jump to the simplest conclusion known to man.

Oh, we shouldn’t have done that, Teth thinks as they get dressed, that was a huge mistake, their heart pounds violently in their chest, an ache they have learned to live with, it's all my fault, and they hate me now. Theyhatemetheyhatemetheyhateme-

They slip out of the room quietly, steps soft and breath barely audible.

Walking up the corridor as stealthily as they’re able to, they hear — and then catch a sight of — Ayin talking to someone in that calming way Teth wishes they hated. The Forest Elder hides behind the corner and listens to the conversation, starving for information and craving escape at the same time.

“I’ll try to provide all the support I can,” Ayin tells the other person in the hall, whom Teth can’t see, “Just make sure to evacuate everyone.”

Teth’s heart sinks, and a sudden wave of guilt and embarrassment threatens to burn them to ashes.

They wince.

“Why are you always assuming the worst?” they mutter to themself and grit their teeth.

But it doesn’t really make the thoughts go away.

3

“Are you going to see the fireworks?” one of the twins asks. Teth can’t bother to look which one it is.

“No. I’ve told you already.”

“Why not?” the other twin (or maybe the same one, who cares?) insists.

The Forest Elder growls, barely containing their anger.

“Because I can’t!” is all they manage to say.

They wish the two would go away. Or, at least, would try to understand and leave them in peace.

“You keep saying that! Care to explain why?”

“Yeah, maybe we could help you out if you stopped being so damn secretive!”

The reproach in their tone is what finally sets Teth off.

“That’s none of your business!” People. “I’m not obliged to tell you everything!” People I know. People I don’t know. The crowd. “Why won’t you two take no for an answer?!” They’ll all see if I do something wrong. They’ll see it, and they’ll hate me.

Teth doesn’t hear any footsteps, but when they turn around, Samekh are already gone.

In the evening, they find themself sitting in their bedroom all alone and blaming themself, thinking that no one cares, despite having been the one to push them away.

4

“I feel like there’s something wrong,” Teth confesses, looking on the ground and stuttering. How pathetic, they think, cheeks burning, feeling like they’ve just ripped the heart out of their chest and thrown it into their interlocutor.

“It’s okay,” Ayin smiles, and Teth hopes for a split second that they’re understood and everything will be fine. “I love you.”

The Forest Elder expects euphoria, yet the only feeling growing inside their chest is sadness.

Again.

They close their eyes.

“That’s the thing: I-” they can sense Ayin’s warmth mere inches from them, and it makes everything ten times worse, “I’m… not sure I can believe you.”

They can’t see the Prairie Elder’s expression — too much of a coward to look up, — but the silence makes them imagine Ayin frowning while thinking of the best possible answer.

Teth knows them far too well for their own good.

“Maybe you will, some day,” Ayin finally responds, a note of hesitation in their voice.

What if I don’t? the Forest Elder thinks while forcing a smile to appear on their face, what if I can’t?

Locked in an embrace that feels scorching against their own coldness, they can’t help fearing that Ayin will never get it, will never be able to love the broken version of Teth that is hidden below the cracking façade.

5

The Forest Elder finds themself sitting in the corner and eyeing Ayin with suspicion while the latter talks to Daleth.

Because Ayin is the only reason why Teth even bothered to come. The only reason why they haven’t left yet.

“It’s a bit unnerving, you know,” Ayin told them, “that there’ll be so many people. I know you aren’t really a social person,” they added and then paused. “But if you came, I would really appreciate it.”

And here they are, all alone and unnoticed, while the Prairie Elder is chatting with the person who no one even expected to attend in the first place.

It’s not fair, Teth thinks and hates themself for it.

They sit there for some more time and then go away.

+ 1

“Oh,” they say. They want to add something, but their mind seems completely empty.

“I’m glad you like it,” Ayin replies.

The Forest Elder looks at them, bewildered, the small flower still in their hand.

“It reminded me of you,” Ayin said.

Teth still can’t see the resemblance, but they’ve never been a flower person. Maybe they’re looking from the wrong perspective.

They close their eyes and tilt their head, basking in the sun.

“I do love you, you know,” the Prairie Elder speaks after a pause. Teth isn’t sure how this sentence makes them feel.

“I-” they stutter. What do they say? Digging into the depths of their heart, they only find apprehension. Looking up at their mind, all they see is suspicion.

“It’s fine. I know it’s difficult for you.”

Teth wants them to continue, but they don’t. So, the Forest Elder gathers all their courage and starts talking fast enough to finish their speech before regret catches the words in their throat.

“It’s just- It’s not that I don’t want to believe you. Because I do. I really do. And it- it’s not that I don’t feel the same, I just… can’t say it. Not yet,” they add quickly, and here comes the regret. Why did they even open their mouth? Why did they start promising what they can’t give? “I have no idea if I ever will…” they mutter, hoping Ayin won’t hear.

And yet, they do.

“I’ll give you time. As much as you need.”

The laugh that escapes Teth’s lips is not one of happiness.

“And if I still don’t change, even after all that time?”

The Prairie Elder looks up at the sky before turning to face Teth.

“I don’t think I’ll mind,” they say. Their smile will kill me one day, Teth thinks, their own face lighting up shyly. “I quite like this you, too.”

Teth stares at the flower in their hand and wishes they weren’t such a mess.

Ayin’s hand reaches theirs, and for a minute or so they manage to believe that maybe, it’s okay that they are.

[seth-burroughs]

Rain Code characters if they were polish cuisine part 1

I have no explanation for this one I'll be honest. But you will understand and accept me and this post. You will. You always do

Yuma Kokohead -> bigos

Explanation: While it's one of the most basic but respectable and popular foods we got, the word "bigos" in it's slightly different use could also mean a fight or "siekanina" (word for fight involving chopping/cutting), and the original use of the word "bigos" was for specifying a way of chopping something (ex. cut something into bigos). These are some very violent pieces of cabbage and meat. Though my family uses cabbage and mushrooms instead. Then we use it as pierogi filling. This also symbolizes the way his kind finds it's best use in becoming really good filling for-

Shinigami -> cycki teściowej (mother-in-law's tits)

Explanation: Hardly anybody ever points out anymore just how crucial her huge puffy tits are to the plot of Rain Code; nobody ever listens to me anymore when I try to explain, they just tell me that "her eyes are up there". No one fucking listens to me. (also I feel like she's the kind of person to find that name funny + she's a dessert girl. a girl dessert)

Desuhiko Thunderbolt -> ruchanki z fjutem (fuckcakes with dicksauce or however the fuck you translate it)

Explanation: It's what he would have wanted

Vivia Twilight -> ptasie mleczko (bird's milk bar)

I don't like bird's milk. Everyone else likes bird's milk. I don't fucking get it. I mean I do kind of they look kinda scrumptious but I'm not much of a marshmallow guy I'll be honest. They'd hand these out at my elementary and every time I'd be the only one that refuses to eat those. I haven't met another guy that doesn't love bird's milk. They got an english wikipedia entry and they're literally brand sweets not some traditional dish so I know it's not just my people that are going fucking nasty over those. Invented by Wedel aka the Chocolate Big Boys of Poland that currently have the entire polish chocolate industry by the balls so no matter what I say it will not matter I lost the battle already. I fucking hate these stupid fucking things if I see them again I swear to fucking god

Yakou Furio -> nalewka

Explanation: Alcoholism

Martina Electro -> wuzetka/W-Z

Explanation: I didn't just pick it because they typically sell those cakes in a cubical shape. That would be overly mean of me, and I am not that, I would never be mean to an unfortunate cube-ification near victim such as her. Alright so the other reason is that ummm. Uh. Next one

Guillaume Hall -> pączki. a pączek, if you will

Explanation: She is obligated to be a pastry. She canonically makes jams in her free time so I have no doubts she'd make some absolutely earth-shattering pączki filling with those. And add ungodly amounts of glazing. Really makes you think

Yomi Hellsmile -> mazurek

Explanation: absolutely stunning, the most beautiful thing you ever saw, just, spectacularily pretty, gorgeous, outstanding. Best thing you'll ever see. However just like Yomi's actually a shithead despite his incredibly attractive, just lovely looks, like, despite just how hot he fucking is, I would also just not eat a mazurek I I think It's kinda mid actually like, just purely taste wise without all the funky little decorations on top. Like I . I'm not gonna eat that I'm sorry. Too much ingredients actually it sounds like just too much work. I'm not gonna do that. Contrary to Yomi I'm not a big fan of nuts in my cakes

Makoto Kagutsuchi -> pierogi. a pieróg, if you will

Explanation: See Yuma or something. Also the way the raincode community uses the most pierogi shaped emoji i ever seen to reference meatbuns whenever a homunculus is as much as mentioned

[stolitzsings]

Happy WIP Wednesday!!! Thanks @sunsetofdoom for the tag!

Another excerpt from my long fic "A Place to Rest," this time from chapter 1. Incidentally I sat down and fleshed out my outline this week and it looks like this one is going to be 17 chapters and an epilogue, so wish me luck 😩

In the meantime, please enjoy this scene of Blitz and Stolas being horny dumbasses at each other!

“Can you tell me what happened, Blitz?”  Blitz heard the words, but he was finding it a little hard to concentrate on them. That was definitely the concussion's fault. It definitely had nothing to do with how close Stolas’s ethereally pretty face had gotten, or how soft his hands were as he gently cleaned Blitz’s skin.  “Huh?” He asked after a moment. Yep, it was definitely the concussion. Maybe he'd lost his remaining brain cells when his head collided with that concrete floor. “I was just asking how you got your injuries, so I know how best to go about treating them. But if it's private, or you don't want to say, of course I underst–” “Bar fight,” Blitz interrupted, as though to reassure himself that he was still capable of intelligible speech. “Got into it with a couple of guys, one of them had a knife. Other one was just big.” “Oh my,” Stolas said primly, now sponging down Blitz’s neck. “That sounds quite intense.” Blitz attempted his best devilish grin. “Don’t you worry, though, I gave ‘em as good as I got.” The worry in Stolas’s face eased a little, and he let out another quiet hoot. “I'm sure you did. I remember you being quite the fearsome pirate when we were young.” Shit. He had almost forgotten about the game he invented to make Stolas his unwitting accomplice. He should have known it would come back to bite him in the ass someday. “You uh… you remember that, huh?” He laughed nervously. “Of course I do!” Stolas's face split into a wide, seemingly genuine grin. “How could I forget a day like that?” The day you accidentally helped a circus clown rob your house, Blitz filled in. He opened his mouth to offer some sort of explanation, or excuse, or lie, but Stolas went on. “Now, you clearly have some wounds on your abdomen,” he said, abandoning his brilliant smile in favor of nervously biting his lip. “Are you comfortable removing your shirt so I can treat them?” Blitz blinked. “Uh… yeah, sure.” He gingerly began pulling off his shirt, trying not to agitate any of his wounds too much. When he pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the floor (taking care not to get blood on the sofa, then congratulating himself on his excellent manners) he heard Stolas give a quiet, “Oh.” He was staring at Blitz's chest with a slightly startled expression.  “‘Oh?’ What does ‘oh’ mean?” Blitz asked, trying not to sound panicked. Stolas looked up at his face and blushed. “Oh, it's nothing,” he said hurriedly.  Blitz frowned. “Great, that's exactly what you want to hear from the guy who's patching you up.” Now it was Stolas’s turn to sound panicked. “Really, it's nothing. It's just that you're, ah… more…physically fit than I expected.” His entire face was bright pink. Blitz grinned, and felt a little heat rising in his own face. He flexed a bit to show off his pecs, and noted with satisfaction that Stolas was staring again. Royals like Stolas were probably horrified at the thought of desiring an imp, but at least Blitz could make him feel a little conflicted about it. “I get that a lot,” he purred, giving Stolas his best bedroom eyes. He swore he saw the feathers around his neck fluff up, and his eyes visibly widened until a spark of white pupil appeared in them. Fuck, that was cute. His heart started beating a little too fast for a guy who was just sitting down. Stop that!  He was supposed to be flustering Stolas, not the other way around. Fortunately, his goal was an easily-achievable one; Stolas already looked halfway to passing out. Funny, for a prince who probably had all kinds of demons fawning over him, he was easily embarrassed by a little skin.

Tagging @bookishcatcafe, @blitzwhore, and anyone else who wants to share!

[novemberthecatadmirer]

Something I recently realized is there actually is a convincing explanation for Eol’s action at Gondolin without going for “well he’s just an evil sadistic rapist”

What we know is:

A good amount of Sindar elves in Nevrast came to love Turgon as their leader and proceeded to follow him to Gondolin

Here is the issue:

It’s very unlikely those Sindar elves who left for Gondolin would be allowed to tell their kin who left behind where they went.

From the rest of Sindar elves’ pov, their kin who lived in this Noldor prince’s realm just disappeared (Said Noldor prince’s brother was a famous kinslayer)

Thingol and his court must be notified of this mass disappearance of population.

They must tried to ask Fingolfin about it and Fingolfin would be like “well I don’t know where my son and daughter are either”

How much is the chance for Thingol-who-grounded-his-daughter-in-a-treehouse to believe that as an answer.

Likely over the years there were multiple speculations about what happened to the disappeared population.

When Eol married Aredhel, he must have asked her about the matter. (And Thingol would order him to. There was no chance for Thingol to not know his vassal & kinsman & best smith went crazy and married a Noldor princess.)

Aredhel would tell him those Sindar elves went willingly and were happy and well in Gondolin.

(I really think Eol believed it was okay to marry Aredhel because he believed she was different; she left her kinslaying family to travel alone after all.)

Then Aredhel and Maeglin left for Gondolin, and Eol went out to look for them; and out of everyone he could possibly meet he met Curufin

Who basically called him an ethnic slur

(You cannot convince me “dark elf” is a perfectly neutral word for Noldor to invent to call those who never seen the tree light. It’s so very hard to imagine Sindar elves who loved the star light and suffered from Morgoth to appreciate being associated with “dark”.)

When Eol really reached Gondolin, it was heavily suggested by the text that he would be dealt with in some way if he did not announce he was the husband of Aredhel. Which rather confirms Curufin’s words about facing death.

When he got taken into the city, he must find that the Sindar elves who disappeared really were living in Gondolin. (There was a line in the book about him silently observing the city.)

And immediately after he was offered the choice between staying and death.

Now this is really a perfect situation for misunderstanding:

How much is the chance for Eol to assume that Turgon forced all the Sindar elves in Nevrast to move to his city? Or WORSE, abducted and enslaved them to build this distinctive Noldor city?

Like, Eol was not allow to left even when he was vassal & kinsman of Thingol and husband of a Noldor princess. He was basically threatened with death to stay in the city.

How much is the chance for him to assume that all the other Sindar elves faced the same choice or worse, never a choice?

I do believe Turgon was a good king. He was the only one out there who won over loyalty of both Noldor and Sindar. Gondolin in Silmarillion (not the one in “Fall of Gondolin” where people called Meglin half orc) was a good city with a mixed ethnic population and some Sindar elves as lords.

He also condemned Feanorians and likely had complex feelings about his brother jumping into fight and starting murder for redhead bestie.

Out of all the Noldor princes he was likely the one who thoroughly abandoned the idea of building fair & glory kingdom. If there was any thought about that the idea was squished when Elenwe disappeared in icy water. Most of his time in Beleriand he was trying to protect and preserve, until he got overwhelmed by the sheer hopelessness of the situation.

If he and Thingol ever met post reembodiment they might even come to respect each other.

But during his meeting with Eol Turgon was doing absolutely nothing that was not escalating the situation

Which was sadly reasonable.

Turgon was being a Noldor king in front of a vassal of Thingol (who refuse to recognize his right to rule).

When accused of kinslaying and stealing land his reply was “but we Noldor protected you from Morgoth with our swords.” Yeah but the same swords killed Teleri and you all stole ships over dead bodies to come establish your kingdoms. The worse response out there. It’s like saying “yeah we killed your relatives and build kingdoms over your land but you’ll be dead anyway without our protection so suck it up.”

(I believe his real thought was “I regret ever coming and I hate my brother for being stupid and I would love to just stay in Tirion with my nice family.” But that’s not something he could say in this situation.)

Once those words were out there was no way for Eol to trust his words anymore. Out of political reason Turgon basically took the stand with the kinslayers he actually hated.

Actually it was reasonable for Eol to assume the worst. He might even assume even if he chose to stay, it would not only be a betrayal to Thingol and his heritage, but he would also be enthralled or even murdered anyway.

Then of course he would try to murder Maeglin. In his pov his son just decided to side with his maternal kinslayer family and serve the king who abducted and enslaved Sindar elves. How could he tolerate his son turning into murderer and slaver?

Of course he would stay silent about the poison and let Aredhel die. People did not stay in Gondolin willingly. She lied and covered for her evil brother.

Of course he would call Maeglin out for “forsaken your father and kin.” Because that was what he believed.

Of course he would curse Maeglin, because how could a half-Sindar be treated as a Noldor prince when the city abducted Sinder elves and forbid them to leave? It was not a curse; what he meant was Turgon would turn against Maeglin and executed him in the same way due to his Sindar blood.

Which was all very wrong. But I don’t think anyone could convince Eol that Turgon was not an evil colonist after the “stay or die” was out of the bag.

[ach-sss-no]

SH liveblog Ch8

First chapter & explanation | Previous chapter

I had then made up my mind that men were my natural enemies and that I must defend myself. Of course it is very different here, but who knows how long it will last? I wish I could think about things as you do; but I can't, after all I have gone through. - Anna Sewell, Black Beauty You people with hearts have something to guide you, and need never do wrong; but I have no heart, and so I must be very careful. - L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

After the I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream quote I was basically out of ideas, but epigraphs are fun and I didn't want to just drop it.

I scoured for these ones. I don't remember how I got to finding these two (what made me think of Black Beauty????), but I remember I decided I wanted them to be thematically similar by being in first-person.

I also considered quoting Stephen King's Misery (the bit where she eats the rat!) and rejected it partly for that reason.

I'm trying to engage with Gollum's real trauma and mistreatment, because it does happen in LOTR and it is psychologically interesting, but you can never make him into a suffering innocent because he's just not. That wouldn't be justice to the work or the character. So I have this 'I can't trust because I hurt bad :(' quote (from Ginger- a genuine tragic innocent, by the way, she's a horse, LOL) - and it's followed up by 'I have no heart, by the way.'

But there's extra connotations here to anyone familiar with the works:

Ginger bites (it's how she got her name. Ginger snaps.)

Ginger dies of starvation and overwork :( (spoilers for Black Beauty by Anna Sewell)

Ginger is a horse. Gollum just said he hates horses in the last chapter. Cinema sin counter go up

I quoted the Tin Man, and his 'thing' is that he DOES successfully develop empathy and kindness without a heart through intentional practice.

Ahhh and we're back in Sméagol's Pastville.

So, Shrodingerbinger's is divided into three parts; they're kind of divided into body-mind-spirit? Gollum heals physically, he heals emotionally and socially and then he reaches a place where he authentically seeks moral redemption. At the beginning of Part 2 he's feeling good physically and is now escaping into Minas Tirith to relationally and emotionally discover this new life he's found.

At the beginning of each part there's also a phase of his past and I was just going through them chronologically, but through serendipity they do kinda correlate with where he is in present day. Part 1 started with Baby Sméagol, who is a pathetic traumatized orphan who just needs physical care and patience. Not much can be expected from him because he's a baby. Part 2 is child and adolesecent Smeagol and his relationship with his village and family network. In part 2 present day, Smeagol's exploring the city and his new social network.

I stay away from the Found Family tag for reasons (I HAVE AN IRRATIONAL DISLIKE OF FADS EVEN WHEN THEY ARE GOOD THINGS IN AND OF THEMESELVES) but it probably would have fit here. Oh well.

When he did start to talk, his first word was 'Why'.

Jirt describes Sméagol as overridingly inquisitive.

"I don't know," Nettle would say, "and I don't know why I'm standing here explaining myself to you. Praps I'll ask you some riddles, Sméagol, my polliwog

Aha and we have another pet name which in future Eardwulf will also independently re-invent

For quite a long time, 'Why' was the only word he seemed to feel he needed. He would also use it to forestall criticism. Nettle would catch him about to do something he shouldn't, and he would stop and feign a ridiculous look of surprise. "Why?" he would ask.

Wow, he learned to be a manipulative liar early on.

The ''Why' and 'How' only stopped when he slept. He curled up like a kitten and dropped off for a few hours at a time and then he sat up and stared at her and started asking 'Why'.

This is how Gollum sleeps in canon. Curl up -> instant off -> he's staring at you suddenly

I did meticulous research for this fic. Not on Middle Earth's history or languages or anything like that, though, just on Gollum.

Nettle taught him to read and taught him the genealogies and all of the old stories she knew. After he learned to write he went through a phase where he walked around the village with his little slate, writing down things people did. He would come back in the evening and read it all off to her. "Aunt Petunia. Cheated Aunt Iris out of one penny. Saw her drop it and she didn't say nothing. Just picked it up. That was not nice. She picked it up before I could. Not nice at all." Nettle politely asked him to stop after the fifth day of this.

Sméagol wtf

He would also eat unripe berries, eggs from trees, and things off of the top of rubbish piles if he thought they were fresh enough- which was not unusual behavior for a growing boy that thought he was invincible to food poisoning, but a bit unseemly for one under the direct tutelage of the matriarch. (Although when he brought home eggs to share, she always accepted one.)

Smeagol's grandmother eating the eggs he steals IS ALSO CANON and NONE of this vital content was in the movies

"He wants to go away on an adventure," Sméagol barked. "I never heard anything so stupid! Goblins and robbers and monsters and who knows what else out there."

Ha! I forgot about the 'Sméagol is a confirmed homebody afraid of the wide world' shtick. It is here purely for purposes of irony.

"My parents thought they could leave. And where are they now, where are they? Not here."

I could have worded that better, I know 'not here' means 'dead' but it just sounds like they successfully left after intending to leave.

And he was meaner than anyone who might be teasing him, at that. But it seemed that this time he was correct about why he wasn't a favorite.

I think I'm trying to insinuate emotional abuse/neglect that Nettle doesn't realize she's inflicting. Of course you shouldn't write off your emotionally unstable orphaned grandchild as mean and useless. It. It won't help.

Meaner than he looked, too. And in a rough old world like this one, was that always such a bad thing?

Also it seems like she taught him to be a jerk to get ahead.

We're back to present day. Gollum assumes he can just find his way out of the city he was brought into unconscous.

He drew a deep, sharp breath, despite his desire not to make noise. A city ringed by walls! He turned, trembling, to look over his shoulder, and saw what he had not seen before, soaring over another wall far behind- the high tower. It must be Minas Anor, he thought. The Tower of the Sun. Anárion's city...

Shouldn't he already know that- *checks* no because the name is different now and Frodo used the new one. ok cool.

Gollum canonically knows about Minas Ithil/Morgul and would know about the twin city (by the original name)

In fact, this city and Minas Morgul had about the same faint, sick resemblance as the faint, sick resemblance between Pippin Took and Gollum.

I picked Pippin for the comparison because they share their insatiable curiosity and quasi-hobbit-nobility. Also because Pippin does a spot-on Gollum impression without even seeing or hearing the real thing. That wasn't in the movies either we were robbed.

(It was in the Bakshi version)

Gollum obligingly reflects on his dead family now that we know who they are! (It's supposedly triggered by realizing he's in a place he's heard stories about but c'mon. It's because I told you who his family is.)

Psychologically, what's meant to be happening here is that Gollum's been burying a lot of (very real and morally neutral) pain, with the Ring, and with other coping mechanisms such as Shelob (he walked with her 'away from light and regret') and his monster boogeyman persona. Ring = gone. Shelob = renounced. Monster boogeyman persona = slowly letting go of as more trouble than it's worth. So all of the pain those things were masking is beginning to come back, starting with the grief of outliving

ALL

of his relatives.

Next, Gollum discovers that Mordor is visible from the walls of Minas Tirith and we neatly transition from his past trauma to his recent trauma!

If the wall had been soft enough to yield to his nails he would have scored deep lines into it.

Well. OK. Anything is theoretically soft enough to have lines scored into it at any pressure. This is a clunker.

"What was that yelling?" Guards. Gollum hopped over the wall and scaled it as quietly as he could. He had been quick enough- he was not discovered, despite his outburst.

Aragorn's asked the guards to pretend not to see Gollum unless he's doing something they need to intervene in. But some of them probably genuinely don't see him slip past in this chapter.

Gollum does canonically go into screaming fits when he's supposed to be in stealth mode I'm not 100% sure how he's alive.

So- I think the Minas Tirith walls are PRETTY HIGH and Gollum's climbing them a little too easy but maybe for him it's the equivalent of a walk up a hill? I don't know. He's enjoying being out and about.

There is some genuine culture shock starting to happen! Gollum compares neat and orderly Minas Tirith to other places he's been where people did wherever they want and made a mess everywhere, and is flummoxed.

Teenagers walk past chattering about hobbits. They- oh come on, that's really coincidental. They're talking about Gollum. I could have probably made this better by including somethin that cues them (like Gollum himself!) (he is right here) (looking sketch). They might even have seen him and thought he was a normal hobbit and mobbed him like a celebrity and carried the conversation to 'did you see the Ringbearer's monster?' So this could have been an easy fix but I didn't think of it and I didn't fix it, oh well.

Gollum doesn't like his reputation so he steps out and says something awkward and leaves. Again, this would have worked better if they'd approached him, because he's shy and really shouldn't have initiated a conversation, just left in a panic. No rewrites to published fic! Not ever! This one bugs me particularly because I used it as an excerpt in the summary, though. Like a showcase. And it's logistically unsound. Uwaaa

What if one of the young Men told about having seen him? He considered this, and decided there was not much risk from it- first, they had not known what he was or that anyone should be told at all, so at the worst they would only say they met someone odd in the street. Perhaps the description they gave would be recognized, but by the time such a thing happened Gollum would be too far away for it to matter. He was already too far away to be easy to find. And they would not know whom to tell about him, and might not even be allowed to speak to that person if they did. Their kind had so many rules about who was allowed to speak to whom!

I'm enjoying the shift in prose to tactical, strategic Gollum. He's not always uhhh doing the best job but he's now analytically thinking about what he's doing and making more conscious choices than he was when he was in 'I was Reincarnated As An Invalid In A City Full Of Strange Giants???' mode.

Here's a cat. Gollum toys with eating it, but he's gone soft and decides to follow it instead.

Gollum made a quick tour of the outside of the structure, and found that all the windows were boarded, and so were the doors. An abandoned house- cities at war had many of them, yes. Such prize habitats were often already occupied when he found them. If a cat was making its home in this one, though, there was likely nothing any bigger than that inside, unless perhaps there was a human owner.

I should have been more specific, I meant owner of the cat, not the house. A squatter. Also 'human' isn't a canon-appropriate term. This whole chapter feels like it's not quite as well-edited as some others. I remember I had to abruptly move to a new house halfway through the posting schedule of this fic, and maybe this was when that happened?

*checks* Yeah actually this was posted the week I found out we were going to have to find a new house, I think. I was preoccupied. Oh well.

I did not use a beta reader.

Anyway. Violence! Gollum kills and eats a bunch of mice. The house is infested.

Feeling empathy with the cat, he feeds it part of his kill and then goes into a food coma in the wardrobe.

Gollum squinted into the darkness. He was lying tightly curled on his side. A ball of fur was tucked up against his back and it was purring. "Ach!" he said, startling the cat awake. "No. No, no, no!" He took the cat by the scruff of the neck, picked her up, set her outside of the cabinet and closed the door on her before she could either come back in or get angry and scratch him.

You're "supposed" to give progress checks on your character's arc every so often. Gollum is now at 'cuddly enough to feed a cat' but not 'cuddly enough to cuddle a cat'.

[overflowchute]

you know what it is? the eyes in hc aren't part of its body. in contra the face-hugger pods are growing directly forth from the hive, it's kind of like it's attacking directly this just isn't the part of the body that does it. but in hc the heart is just beating and it's being protected by completely different organisms in the colony, so it feels more interestingly social to me and the heart feels kind of innocent on its own. it's earnestly just trying to live

hard corps is interesting because the alien cells are a terrifying and disgusting threat that could end life on earth, but the plot of every route is ultimately about them being manipulated and utilized to achieve a human's goals. they're transplanted to create a super soldier, or wired up as the sickly power source of a superweapon, or left to develop in a terrible mutated and nearly necrotic state as the warhead of a missile... it's not really they're fault they're a fleshy death infection

and in contra shattered soldier one of the insane reveals is that the inexplicable contra aliens who keep attacking earth are an artificially created species whose only goal is to protect a relic their creators invented at any cost, so they're kind of an entire species of intelligent beings that are almost "enslaved on a genetic level" - i think hard corps does a good job of bridging that gap. only the red falcon fight has any freedom of its own, escaping just to die by your hand lol

in shattered soldier lance fuses himself with an alien cell out of desperation and discovers that despite being fully intelligent, he can't break away from their guiding principle. so i think there is a sort of sympathy there? you take the alien monster shooty enemy and its like not only are they bound by the restrictions of a greater power that forced them into a miserable and thankless duty, but we started the war and all their actions could have been avoided if ppl hadn't hidden that

i've seen people say that bahamut's urge to start a rebellion for mysterious reasons and take over the world could easily be explained as him also having an alien cell infection. but honestly? having pondered this i like the idea that bahamut is just a powerhungry man better, i think it fits the tropes. though ultimately not telling us either way is the best actually, i like that both are possible explanations of his actions... maybe he was just mad at being used in a pointless war on his own!

tbh i just love the idea that all the intelligent aliens you fight in the series might feel exactly this way, like they might want to speak or explain or find some other solution and they just can't. they just have to survive. anyway! thanks for reading

[prinnamon]

Anyhoo, I consider Opposing Force very… selectively canon to my reading of HL as a whole. There are a lot of lore things about it that I l genuinely do find interesting (Adrian and therefore the existence of soldiers that never received orders to kill scientists; the in-fighting between the HECU and the Black Ops; Race X), but one thing I think Gearbox fundamentally misunderstood about Half-Life while making this expansion was the G-Man, which is why it catches me so off-guard how genuinely cool of a mystery the idea of him recognising Gordon and Adrian jumping into the same Xen portal as an attempt to create a ‘temporal paradox’ was. As per my previous ask, HL protagonists encountering each-other isn’t exactly uncommon, so why would THIS be a paradox while other encounters are not?

Well, my bonkers little theory is that it’s got to do with the player. Feel free to stop reading here if you don’t like metanarrative theories surrounding HL because my interpretation is full of them.

Most other times a playable character sees another playable character in a HL game, they AREN’T actually in a playable state at the moment, or at least not in a playable state with much freedom. Barney catches Gordon at what may be the closest thing HL has to a true cutscene. Gina and Colette get into harmonic reflux with Barney, but the player technically loses control of all of them in that moment.

Gordon and Adrian on Xen on the other hand? The game (and consequently the HL universe) can’t account for what a (very playable) Gordon would do when he first reaches Xen. In order to not break canon, this moment would require two players, which isn’t possible in a singleplayer expansion like Op4. Therefore, temporal paradox, portal malfunctions as a failsafe and drops you into the void, your observation is terminated.

The game CAN however, very much account for what Gordon is doing when the Xen portal is opening (as the only way to progress the game at that point is to jump in). This is why Adrian seeing Gordon in that precise moment, it’s not a paradox, but anything beyond that would be. This is also my explanation for the Barney-tram situation: You could argue that when Barney sees Gordon on the tram he’s playable, but he’s also locked in the tram and can’t ‘paradox’ much of anything, there isn’t a great variety of things he could have been doing in your playthrough like on Xen.

TL;DR: all of your playthroughs are canon to your versions of HL and the expansion, but that means you (the player) can only make decisions for one player character at a time. If two player characters end up in a state where the player is making significant decisions for them, the universe cannot account for that and a temporal paradox occurs.

"selectively canon" is a great way of putting it. Half-Life 2 and beyond canonizes a couple things, like Calhoun being Barney's surname (though I'm not certain whether that was Gearbox's invention or whether that's what Valve told Gearbox to use), but most of the time the series' mainline games seem to me like they walk this line of neither incorporating nor contradicting anything from the expansions.

anyway. i looove metanarrative stuff. i've written about that kind of thing before on this blog. the fact that "you" and "we" and "i" and "the player" and "[protagonist's name]" are all easily-understood and correct ways of referring to the player character is one of my favorite little things about interactive media as an art form. will never be over that very natural blurring of agency and identity.

i like your ideas about the temporal paradox :] out-of-universe i figure it was probably a reference to the fact that, from the player's perspective, the events of Half-Life happened in the past. Opposing Force may be set at the same time chronologically, but the player knows they're revisiting a story that already unfolded. to us, any changes to that story which would be introduced by Adrian's involvement would be like going back in time and rewriting the past. but the existence of a satisfactory Doylian explanation doesn't make it so that working out a Watsonian explanation isn't also fun.

smiles. Dr. Cross and Dr. Green, defying the laws of spacetime by being the only player characters allowed to interact for an extended period. good for them, good for them.

[neverenoughmarauders]

A lot of people hold James happy upbringing as an argument for why he should have been kind to Snape; and Snape’s upbringing as justification for why he joined Voldemort and bullied children.

Personally I find this hypocritical… James is as much a product of his upbringing and while it’s a much happier one, it doesn’t come without its downsides. James doesn’t have the resources to understand someone like Snape. He’s not resourceful in that respect.

We learn that James’ parents were old, rich and desperate for children. When they got James they spoiled him and set few (if any) limits. This makes him a spoiled brat, but one with great capacity for love. Exactly the sort of person to grow into a person we see capable of bullying a student who is immersed in the dark arts or for worse reasons: just because he can; at the same time as he can show compassion for someone with a stigmatised condition. James is a blend of the love he was brought up with and the lack of consequences he faced.

This is a time when the UK wizarding world is at the brink of war, and Snape does early show every sign of joining the wrong side (he doesn’t like muggles, he wants to be in the evil house - and yes in canon there is an evil house). Someone like James, spoiled, seeming himself invincible and right in everything he does, would find Snape someone he ought to hex.

James upbringing makes his bullying understandable. It does not make it right or justifiable. I won’t apologise for it. I do understand it.

Similarly, it’s easy to understand how Snape, who grows up in an abusive household with Tobias Snape and dreams of escaping, ends up making the wrong choices. I can’t remember if we know his mother was in Slytherin, but it’s at least the most likely thing.

Snape must have grown up thinking of Slytherin - the place his mother had been - as the place he’d find home. The fact that Slytherins disliked muggles won’t have bothered him all that much - Tobias made sure of that. To protect himself, Snape doesn’t develop empathy the way others do. And I will die on that hill - because it’s the kindest explanation I can find for grown post-1981 (teacher) Snape’s behaviour. It makes it easy for him to fall in with the wrong crowd. Because Snape isn’t alone at Hogwarts. He has friends - or people he hangs around with - other than Lily. It’s just these people have some pretty terrible ideas. Ideas that Snape are also partial to - or at least, he falls in with.

It doesn’t help that this boy with limited empathy sees what we know to be the good side (those that didn’t do ‘evil’ stuff, as Lily put it) to be fronted by loud bullying gits like James Potter and Sirius Black.

Snape invents pretty dark spells, including the oh so ‘James is far more evil than a death eater because he dangled Snape upside down so everyone could see his underpants’ spell. Yes that’s Snape’s invention. Had he never used it, James could never have learned it. They both used it. They were both bad in their own ways. And of course he invented Sectumsempra - a dark curse that prevents Molly from being able to heal Fred. Yes then it wasn’t used on purpose but it was invented by Snape, to be used on enemies. And he used it because Remus remarks it’s a speciality of Snape’s. But here’s the thing - Snape has gone around feeling so powerless for so long - I understand why he invents these and use them.

Snape’s upbringing makes his actions understandable. It does not make it right or justifiable. I won’t apologise for it. I do understand it.

Understanding someone’s actions doesn’t mean I endorse them. That goes for both Snape and James.