#so writing his internal monologue will be really fascinating

[solibrie]

having big ideas for the space between lately... i kinda wanna try my hand at writing julie and luke's big songwriting weekend... especially since that is presumably the weekend julie caught feelings

[iamgonnagetyouback]

Heyy! Happy late Halloween 🎃 I looooveee your writing !! Could you do headcanons for how marauders would react if the reader could do legilimacy? They're muggleborn so they didn't think it was that big a deal bc they thougjg all wizards could do it and casually mention it

headcanons for marauders reacting to reader knowing legitimacy

𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 tries to brush it off as if he’s totally unfazed, but internally, he's panicking.

➯His first instinct is denial—surely, you’re just perceptive, right? But as soon as you respond to something he hasn’t said out loud, he’s rattled.

➯He’ll keep "testing" you, thinking ridiculous things like "I bet you can’t hear this" on a loop, only to break into a fit of laughter when you answer with an exasperated eye-roll.

➯When he finally accepts that you can actually read his mind, he goes into full-blown soulmate mode, convinced this is destiny.

➯James decides he’s above needing to verbalize “I love you” and will start giving you overly dramatic, lovesick looks whenever he thinks it, just to see if you’ll respond.

James is deep in thought about a prank idea. You: “Exploding ink? You know McGonagall’s going to see right through that.” James: choking “H-how did you know that?” You: “Because you were thinking about it.” James: “No, seriously, who told you? Sirius?! Remus? Who's the traitor?” You: “None of them. Just your brain.” James stares at you with a mix of awe and panic. James: “Brilliant. Terrifying, but brilliant.”

𝐒𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐬 jumps out of his skin when you first respond to his thoughts, staring at you like you’ve just sprouted horns.

➯He immediately calls you a demon and insists you’re here to haunt him specifically, but secretly, he finds it oddly thrilling.

➯Within minutes, he’s running around thinking of the most absurd things he can just to throw you off, like mentally chanting "I am an irresistible god of charm" to see if you’ll break.

➯Over time, he gets used to it and will sometimes think cute things at you, but never admit it if you notice.

➯Deep down, though, he’s convinced your Legilimency is proof that you’re some kind of witchy soulmate sent from the beyond to torture him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sirius is debating in his head whether he should wear his leather jacket to breakfast. You: “Leather jacket? Again?” Sirius: whipping around “What?! I didn’t say anything!” You: smirking “You didn’t have to.” Sirius: “I’m being haunted. This is it. You’re a witchy ghost sent to expose my every cool thought.” You: “What cool thoughts?” Sirius gasps dramatically. Sirius: “Betrayed by my own mind!”

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐮𝐬, initially skeptical, quickly connects the dots when you casually respond to one of his unspoken worries.

➯His brain goes straight to over-analysis, and he spirals just a bit, convinced you’re both a prodigy and incredibly dangerous.

➯While he finds it fascinating, he's low-key embarrassed every time you catch his stray thoughts—he didn't mean for you to hear that, really!

➯He starts to watch his thoughts around you, editing his internal monologue as if he’s writing an essay for you to "read."

➯Every now and then, he’ll test the limits by thinking random trivia or book recommendations at you, silently thrilled every time you respond.

➯He’s careful but secretly loves that you can understand him on this completely new level.

Remus is mentally debating whether he should get more coffee or just stick with tea. You: “Coffee.” Remus: startles “I—pardon?” You: “Just get the coffee, Remus. You’re going to regret the tea halfway through.” Remus: nervously laughing “Are… are you reading my mind?” You: “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫, the most openly freaked out, will start squinting at you like you’re the strangest creature he’s ever seen.

➯For days, he’s looking over his shoulder, convinced you’re pulling pranks on him somehow.

➯Every time you respond to his thoughts, he jolts and gives you a suspicious look, half-afraid and half-impressed.

➯It only takes one incident of you responding to something he really didn’t want to say out loud for him to become almost paranoid.

➯After a while, though, he’ll start to use it to his advantage, asking for silent reassurance when he's worried or seeking encouragement without having to say it—though he’ll always look a bit jittery when you respond, as if he still can’t quite believe it.

Peter is internally freaking out about his Potions essay, wondering if he should ask you for help. You: “I’ll help you with Potions later, don’t worry.” Peter: jumps “How did you…?” You: “You looked like you needed it.” Peter: “But… I didn’t… I didn’t even look at you!” You: “You don’t have to.” Peter stares at you, eyes wide, before finally mumbling. Peter: “...are you like… always in there?” You: grinning “Only sometimes.”

[dirtbra1n]

I’m all ego can u directors comment on the “fascinating” convo. also it’s like Fun to me.

oh I should definitely figure out how to format these. I got excited and just clicked Answer and now I have to think about it. one sec. coming back with hindsight to tell you This gets long. I’ve hind-seen it.

first things first This ask is asking about the very first portion of the yet-unnamed tashiro post that went live on. the gray area between sunday and monday, I think. when’d I post the thing again. whatever. figure I’ll just go at this piece mail You’ll see quick that I came out the gate swinging

he kind of doesn’t know why he does it, didn’t really take the time to think about it. all he knows is that the time read 2:41 a moment ago and changed the second shirahama’s voice crackled over the phone, “what?”

so if you’re a real #DBWRITINGHEAD you might see the emphasis on the time and think Okay so what’s happening here. just happens that I drudged up the reference point recently. specifically this chunk here

so you see there’s kind of a lot already happening.

firstly it tells you that time IS an object, and that it gets blended and molded together and thrown at walls to see if it sticks. and it does. secondly though it gets you familiar with tashiro and shirahama’s banter, and this is an especially good thing because there’s a lot of it moving forward. I love to write these two so much. it comes natural and it’s a riot I could write them sniping at each other forever. third it gives you tashiro’s perspective of an event that a experienced river-reader might have seen already, while also working just fine on its own. and fourth, I guess. just because this chunk is, spiritually. to me. just as part of tashiro post as the other nearly 7k words. So I guess it’s even closer to that number than I’d thought. go figure. FOURTH. if you have this chunk’s post’s context, if you see that time and think, Aw, hell, this is just like that chunk in db’s shirahama post from a few months ago, you might remember its surrounding context and then go, hanzawa and weird situation and almost-but-not-quite confession. Maybe. in a word: foreshadowing.

it’s also, if I say so myself, a pretty strong opening line. I think kiri that I’ve shown you and sunnfish the first line in the note on my phone enough times for you to remember that it DIDN’T start with this one. that was a day-of decision. was a good one.

figure I should also draw the comparison between the two pieces while this chunk is here—shirahama kyouji’s internal monologue, both here and in its prologue-and-chronological-pre-side-and-sequel. or whatever the relationship is on paper. makes use of his given name kyouji, whilst tashiro’s is tashiro, his family name, throughout. this is because tashiro, to me, is so bad at letting people in that he kind of locks himself out too. hasn’t got the keys. just drew a little connection with this other piece in my head right this second but This Ask Wasn’t About That Post, Now, Was It? anyway tashiro’s got himself locked out. so it makes it easier for him to watch himself plummet from the outside looking in. anyway this ask isn’t about that scene either. anyway anyway. Moving on

“gonna tell you something weird.”

“…mhm…?”

tashiro squeezes his eyes shut, groggily rubbing a thumb over quick-drying salt at the outer corner of his eye. “just dreamed about hanzawa senpai dying on me.”

tashiro’s levels of awareness are always really fun to me. because he’s a strange guy in how quick he can get hit with something and roll with it, but he Knows its weird. shirahama is of course a good friend who resolves to deal with this. and boy does he deal! also of course tashiro had at least a few tears leak out of his eyes. his hanzawa senpai just died on him in a dream, after all. tangentially Have you ever been dreaming when you’re about to wake up, and something in the dream is upsetting enough at least conceptually to make you cry, but the unsteadiness of your waning unconsciousness fights the tears from coming out, so what you get is unsatisfying denied catharsis? really makes you think.

“…” shirahama breathes in; tashiro can hear him hold it. similarly, the sound of his hand being dragged over his face is crisp and loud.

the entire scene, barring the opening paragraph, operates in the present moment and its Moments, but this paragraph I feel really does the best job at demonstrating that. you are tashiro, lying in bed, fresh off the water—if you’re wondering, which you probably weren’t until just now, I haven’t written masato’s death from this first time; tashiro has seen hanzawa senpai dying before now, but the key- and weight-bearing word here is ‘on’, implying that he wasn’t troubled enough by that first aesthetically striking drowning to tell anybody—and you’re on the phone with your best friend at probably 2:43 or :44 by now, and you can hear him thinking your words over as if he were right next to you, because that’s where you’ve got your phone.

finally, he says, “fascinating.”

as you well know, kiri, this one was both recommended by and consequently modeled off you. you are tashiro, lying in bed, fresh off the water, and your best friend thinks the whole thing is ‘fascinating.’

[fablecore]

i absolutely ADORE your “her bombastic materials” series! I only discovered it a little bit ago and it has completely nestled into the creases of my brain.

Sophie is such an interesting oc, from her origins to her character development to her personality and mannerisms there’s just something about her that makes her feel so well rounded and complex and ALIVE!

and your take on female pirates in the OP universe was such a cool route to explore in your story! it’s such a gut wrenching reflection of real world news and how the world treats women and seeing Sophie become a victim of that and become forcefully villainized by everyone is so devastating bc the world will believe what it wants even if it’s wrong especially if it’s being pushed into their faces every day and i JUST WANT MY SWEET LITTLE WEIRDO TO BE HAPPY! 😭😭😭

and the interactions between sophie and law in CBA have simultaneously given me butterflies and made me so UTTERLY DEVASTATED! watching these two people who obviously love each other so much just keep having this hang up about how to protect one another makes my wanna gnaw on the bars of my enclosure. but there’s something about them that’s just so fascinating bc they compliment each other so well despite the fact that Sophie thinks Law doesn’t love her more than his revenge and Law thinks that Sophie (and basically everything else) is too good for someone like him to ever truly deserve.

AND THEIR SIGN LANGUAGE CONVERSATION IN THE MOST RECENT UPDATE ACTUALLY MADE ME TEAR UP. the way you balance the goofy dialogue with her serious internal monologue and the serious events of the story is so *chefs kiss* and so OP it’s insane.

you have such a way with words watching you slowly build up Sophie through not only the things she’s gone through and the characters she’s met but also the environment around her makes this story feel so rich and full of life.

sophie’s just a kid who knew too little and now she’s trying to know so much to compensate for her past mistakes and she is so compassionate and forgiving to everyone but herself. she is hard and soft and cautious and reckless and trying so hard not to care while caring SO MUCH she has been fighting tooth and nail ever since she escaped G-13 and the world keeps pushing her down and she has no choice other than to get back up again even if no one else wants her to.

anyway sorry for kind of blowing up your inbox lol. thank you for blessing the world with your writing and i greatly look forward to seeing what comes next! 💛💛💛

have a lovely day!!!

what a sweet letter...! i'm so moved by how deeply you've been thinking about sophie. thank you very much for enjoying the story and the worldbuilding and my writing, i really appreciate it 🤍

her happiness will come and go like all of us, but you're correct in observing that she's got no choice but to keep getting up!

i hope you have a lovely day too 💐

[mikewheelerfan2022]

Book review: I Hunt Killers

Alright, I’ve never done a book review before, but I Hunt Killers was so good I just have to gush about it. Honestly, when I first saw this book at Barnes & Noble my first response was: this looks cringy. The title and cover both turned me off. I literally judged it by its cover. But then I read the description, and was like “Huh. This looks interesting. I’ll get it.” So I did. It took a while, but I started it last night and read about 100 pages before I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. Today, I’ve been reading it on and off, and managed to finish the remaining about 250 pages. Here are my thoughts.

The book follows Jasper “Jazz” Dent, a completely normal teenager, if you ignore the fact that his father is the world’s most notorious serial killer. So actually not that normal. The book establishes very early that Jazz’s upbringing was really fucked up. This has caused Jazz to have a different thought process from most people. When a normal person looks at a body, they’re disgusted and terrified. But Jazz is cold and fascinated. That makes for a really interesting POV. He’s low-empathy, but he hates it. He doesn’t want to be like his father, in fact a major plot point in the book is how he’s trying to stop himself from turning into his father. It’s genuinely one of the most interesting thought processes I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.

At the beginning of the book, Jazz is sitting in a field, observing a crime scene with binoculars. Police are there, investigating the dead body of a woman. Jazz is intruded, yes. But he doesn’t care too much. Not until he sees what’s in a certain bag of evidence. (Minor spoilers ahead). It’s a finger. Three of the woman’s fingers have been removed, although only one remains at the crime scene. This leads Jazz to a disturbing realization: this isn’t an ordinary murderer. It’s a serial killer. The rest of the storyline follows his attempts to find this serial killer, and put a stop to the killings.

The two other main characters are Howie, Jazz’s best friend and Connie, Jazz’s girlfriend. Howie has a severe case of hemophilia, and bleeds very, very easily. I believe there’s even a passage in the book where it’s described that he’ll bleed if you look at him the wrong way. And yeah, without spoiling, there are a few situations where he does end up bleeding pretty heavily. I actually have a severe phobia of blood, and what’s funny is the descriptions of Howie’s injuries made me way more light headed than the descriptions of the bodies. I actually almost had to put the book down a couple of times and stop reading.

But anyways, on to Connie. I find her to be quite an interesting character. She doesn’t seem to care at all that she’s dating the son of a serial killer. And Jazz is thankful for that sense of normalcy. I wish I could say more about Connie, but I can’t without getting into some spoiler territory. Which sucks, because she’s such an interesting character and I love her so much. But oh well. She’s definitely my second favorite, just behind Jazz, if only because I find Jazz’s internal monologue so interesting.

There are also some more minor characters, which I won’t really get into. But practically every single one of them is a suspect, which is amazing. I constantly kept changing my guess of which one was the killer. Eventually, I just admitted “I don’t know.” Which honestly shocked me. Normally whenever I read a mystery book, I have a guess of who the culprit is, even if my guess is wrong. But with I Hunt Killers, I was genuinely stumped. That just goes to show the author is an absolute master at writing this genre. I was kept on the edge of my seat up until the ending.

Now, the ending. I don’t want to spoil anybody, so I’m not going to go into too much detail. But I loved the ending. I found myself shouting a few…interesting words in reaction to how it all played out. And you know a book is good when the first thing you do is immediately search up to get the sequels. Unfortunately my mom hasn’t put them on hold at the library yet, but hopefully she will soon. Until then, I will be desperately avoiding spoilers. If you have read the series, please don’t spoil me. If you haven’t, go read it right now. I’m serious. Right this second. Go on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and buy I Hunt Killers IMMEDIATELY. Or get it from the library, I don’t care. Either way, you need to read this absolute masterpiece.

5/5 stars!

[nokingsonlyfooles]

Finish the Feed, Plug the Thing

Hooo, this rice is spicy. They weren't kidding! But this person whom Canada is filling with "this won't actually be spicy" hubris writes a web serial! With magic! And marginalized folks! And it's super independent and unpopular! I'm trying to fix that!

Known readers: 3; 1st Goalpost: 10?

Known supporters: 2 (hi, 5th and Kith!); 1st Goalpost: 5?

In other news, I have a new favourite line I've written: “GOD HIMSELF sensed I was getting TOO POWERFUL and sent you here to RUIN ME SPECIFICALLY!”

I want that on a T-shirt so bad. But it's from the fic. I am still writing that fic that I feel I shouldn't be writing. It's very stressful right now. I'm sorry. That may be all you wind up with after two months of no updates. I have really stupid doctor stuff on my plate right now and it's eating my brain - that will abate somewhat. I might feel better next week. For the moment, I accidentally let David go someplace full of characters as outrageous as he is and I can't put it down. I challenged myself to ax the internal monologues and write music for it, too, and I'm doin it. It's fascinating. But these toys don't belong to be and I feel bad for playing with them this much.

I'm not even putting up new chapters because it all needs some complicated formatting to be legible - real bad. It's making me want to actually pen all the song lyrics from TS and SO as musical numbers too. I guess you might get that in the future. Maybe. But today, I'm just gonna try to finish this here rice, and let David torment Alastor some more.

[no-psi-nan]

@disgruntled-twig I've posted about Akechi and Kuboyasu specifically a couple of times (uh. wait a few years lol) and a few more times as a general "all the Psychickers have a huge crush on Kuboyasu" ship haha! It's on my ship chart and everything XD

I just think it would be SO funny if the Psychickers simped for Kuboyasu HARD on main and he's just completely oblivious and thinks they're platonic besties for like. Years.

The Psychickers aren't even mad about it because Kuboyasu's internal limit for what is acceptable to do with homies has been highly skewed by being in gangs from all-boys schools (imo), so they get to cuddle with him whenever he comes over to hang out. They put on their cutest fits, fight over who gets to sit on his lap this time, and flirt like hell and Kuboyasu is just like "hahaha these guys are great!".

It's just a total clown show and it's so so funny to me personally. They'll eventually get him in the polycule but the journey is long and hilarious.

So this is a thing that will canonically happen in my Moving Forward universe (I think it's already been mentioned that the Psychickers have lil crushes on him in Extra Love Stories 2 iirc?) and I've doodled it because it tickles my funny bone so much:

But as for Akechi and Kuboyasu specifically, I totally think they could have chemistry, but they need to spend more time together for that to happen.

It seems like Akechi can definitely dial down his chatter if he wants to– note how he behaves himself with Saiki's mom! So I think once Akechi officially joins the friend group post-canon, he'll try to limit his monologuing at first to give them all a chance to get used to him lol. EXTREMELY difficult for him but worth the effort since these are his Kusuo-kun's beloved friends.

Kuboyasu will be getting more patient over time, plus he'll be able to put up with Akechi a lot more once he learns to trust him and isn't on the defensive. That's the shadow leader's homie after all, if Saiki trusts Akechi then that's enough of an endorsement for him!

Once they're comfortable around each other, I think they'd get along really well! Kuboyasu is curious and kind of a romantic by nature, so I think he'd be fascinated by Akechi's knowledge of the natural world (as seen when he identified the bug in the sweet potato episode).

Akechi's nature knowledge seems to be based mostly on encyclopedias vs personal experience, so it would be SO fun for them to go hiking and find all of these creatures and plants in nature together! I usually include Nendo and Mera in the hiking club, but there's no reason why they can't go on solo adventures together haha.

Also, we know Akechi likes Cyborg Ciderman, which is an advertisement disguised as cheesy action anime (is it an anime in-universe actually?? hsfjdlshfks hard to tell). So I bet he'd have fun watching action flicks with Kuboyasu, and Kuboyasu would definitely like watching anime with Akechi, he clearly likes Dragonball and I can see them talking fan theories and stuff!

Another point of connection, and I've posted about it before but I can't find it, could be self-defense. Akechi would definitely ask Kuboyasu for some fighting tips n tricks, so he doesn't have to resort to ...chemical warfare... any more. And Kuboyasu wants to be a teacher, so this is good practice, and they start practicing and sparring.

Akechi isn't physically strong, and he'll never be as fast as Kuboyasu, but his ability to predict the opponent's moves are uncanny and he's clearly good at strategy, so he might be able to dodge and land hits unexpectedly. Not enough to rival Kuboyasu but enough to keep himself safe and be a fun challenge!

Anyways, I think it's an interesting and fun ship! Plan to write some formally eventually, just have a LOT of WIPs already and I've been more on a comics kick lately than writing so we'll see lol. Thanks for the ask!!

[stopthatfool]

Concerning getting to know one's fic writer, inquiring minds must know: 8, 16 & 18

Inquiring minds would also like you to choose one question you're hoping someone will ask and answer it! (It always pains me when I desperately want to discuss something, but the prompt is never picked! So, pick that question! :])

Thank youu, I can't wait to learn more about your writing process!! <3

Woodsy!! Thank you so much for the ask (omg i'm so excited to answer these)!!

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or ending of a story?

Hmmmm... I think when it comes to fic writing I like the middle. Because i can just keep adding things and I don't have to worry about tying it all together to actually mean something. And the beginning is very intimidating. It's like the first page of new notebook or sketchbook. And the ending is very scary too, cuz that means it's over!

It's interesting though because whenever I watch movies, TV shows etc., etc., I always like the first movie/episode/season the best!

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

I have kind of a one track mind when it comes to writing, so I'm pretty much only thinking of Your jeep. Your teeth. The coffee that you bought me. and that 'universe' (omfg why did i pick such a long name). BUT! I have been playing around with the idea of telling this story through the perspective of Ice... I would love to get up all inside his head and figure him out!

I've also been thinking about like a 'prequel' to this story. Like what happened in '86 and when 'my' Mav and Ice taught at TOP GUN together. I, of course, have ideas and I have alluded to what their relationship looked like in flashbacks and some of Mav's internal monologue, but I think eventually I would love to actually put it in writing and map it all out.

18. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with these titles?

I came up with the title of this fanfic during the writing process! And all of the titles are lines from Richard Siken's Crush-- which i had just finished rereading as I was writing the first part of the first chapter. The line "Your jeep. Your teeth. The coffee that you bought me." really stuck out to me as I was thinking about IceMav, because I've always really liked Val Kilmer's teeth (which sounds weird as i type it out.... but it's purely from an artistic standpoint and fascination). So the jeep that Ice has in the fic, along with the coffee scene after Mav is let out from the hospital were really inspired from this line!

As for the chapter titles, I decided to keep going with the Richard Siken theme. Whenever I need a break from writing, typing, or editing, that's when I begin to brainstorm chapter titles. I'll look back at my fav lines that I wrote down, or I'll just straight up reread poems to find something that fits whatever things are happening in that chapter.

Initially, chapter 6's title was "Dear Forgiveness, I saved a plate for you" because of the first scene when Mav holds out a plate for Bradley. It wasn't until guns were brought up for like the third time that I changed the title to "It's a down right shoot-em-up."

Anyway! Long story short, it's just a process of going back and forth and reading poetry!

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from emotional experience?

(the question i picked myself) I absolutely feel what the characters feel and draw from my personal experiences!! Most of Bradley's expressions of anxiety and sadness is inspired from my own teenage self (which was absolutely traumatic to look back on). Along with Bradley wearing Carole's old bracelet and Nick's old t-shirt!

One of my biggest goals within this story (along with other things), was to make these characters more human and really focus on their struggles-- therefore i write about things i know, aka my own personal experiences. Which can sometimes make things difficult to write, but usually it's okay!

Thank you so much for the ask Woodsy!! This was so much fun!! <333

[cabeswaterdrowned]

🔥

I’ll go with a TSC opinion because it’s you :). Although it is hard with such a vast fandom to completely speak on which opinions are or aren’t popular, and what’s popular here on tumblr is different from twitter is different from general opinions sometimes etc…. so I guess take that with a grain of salt! But an opinion floating around in my head right now is I don’t think that highly of the way cc writes villains generally speaking.  Ironically (since a lot of aspects of her characterization have improved since tmi to me) I think her best villains (in terms of big bads, I’ll speak on side villains separately) remain Valentine and Sebastian especially the latter. And I feel like a big part of that is how directly linked they are to the protagonists and driving their conflict, it allows them to be developed and feel vital to the story in a way a lot of her antagonists lack. As much as I adore TID it’s a very good thing so much of the story relies on the development of the protagonists relationships because Mortmain is such a lazily constructed villain, there’s like nothing there I’ve read those books like 5 times and he’s so unimpressive it’s sad… but within the narrative structure he does the job he’s meant to accomplish perfectly fine and that’s something. Malcolm and especially Annabel are the opposite: conceptually super interesting to me and awaken my imagination more than her other villains especially the backstory of their relationship which hits certain buttons for me, but aside from a few stand out moments ex: the scene where Annabel kills Malcolm after he resurrect her and he lets her, some of the scenes in Lord of Shadows of her interacting with the Blackthorns pre-the clave meeting, some Malcolm monologues in LM etc. the execution in the end is quite lacking. Tatiana is… very flat to me the only thing of interest about her is her dynamic with Grace and the framing of Grace’s pov about her and that’s underutilized in the end (that I was know for a fact is not unpopular though just while we’re talking about it). And even the tmi villains don’t quite make it to my hall of fame they aren’t say, Katherine Pierce or Mona Vanderwaal or Lilah Morgan or Carmilla or Darla or Miss Havisham (fun fact: I did also end up reading a studying GE for a class fall semester last year and found her fascinating tbh so I think that’s also contributing to my retrospect contempt for Tatiana). I do like some of her secondary recurring villains like The Seelie Queen and Camille are fun to me whenever they show up, and The Unseelie King was creepy in way that worked for me. Zara is definitely the worst of those secondary villains (of ones I’m remembering rn) but she doesn’t take away from things I like about tda as much as she has for other readers I think. Nate isn’t anything special as a villain but like I said in another post I think the way his existence is worked into Tessa’s arc and internal struggles is really great so he gets a passing grade on average. 

(send me a 🔥 + a topic and I’ll give an opinion about/related to it)

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

06/09/2024 – 06/15/2024

Sunday

Week 18 of missing Cipher Academy

I re-watched Everything Everywhere All At Once with my friend and her brother who’s seeing it for the first time, and everything about it just hits me as hard as it did the first two times I saw it in theaters years ago. The themes of choosing joy in the nihilistic chaos that is being alive coupled with an Asian family trying to reach through generational and language barriers in order to connect…yeah, it kills me every single time. I was basically non-stop crying for the last forty minutes.

Undead Unluck very good and cute this week. I love the choices for the backing band (and I hope they’ll play a more pivotal role than just comedy) and Nico’s unethical training practices are so funny to watch. And I’m fascinated by this new connection between Kaede and Kururu, I love how Undead Unluck moves its characters around so freely and spark all these unexpected relationships.

Monday

I finally finished She Who Became the Sun…I think this is the first time I’ve truly seen an anti-hero protagonist that I enjoy reading about… Zhu’s killings near the end feel so brutal, but I can see why they were necessary. I really wish Zhu and Ma could’ve had that domestic bliss, but I suppose that was never going to happen. And speaking of things that were never going to happen…yeah…obviously Ouyang and Esen wouldn’t live happily ever after…but it would’ve been nice…and their final scene is so painful…it’s fine I’ll just imagine fix-it fics in my head… Overall I really enjoyed She Who Became the Sun. It’s been a long time since I’ve read an adult fiction book that truly captivated me, and I think it came down to a perfect intersection of a setting/aesthetic I like and a writing voice that I love – I love that it sounds like it was translated from Chinese, it adds to the vibes so much. (I feel like a major gripe I have with modern fiction is how bad the writing voices are…but I digress.) At the same time, though, I do sense some weaknesses from this being the author’s debut. Zhu’s motivations were understandable when they were literally life or death, but as they moved up in the world it became less and less convincing. I bought that they feared retaliation for not being Zhu Chongba so they continued on that path to greatness, but once that problem was out of the way I found it a bit difficult to stay on Zhu’s side as they did all these ruthless things in the name of a goal that I don’t believe that they want. I guess this is why Parker-Chan emphasized the “I HAVE to achieve GREATNESS” internal monologue so much, but it didn’t really solidify Zhu’s motivations in my mind. And for being a war novel, there’s shockingly little fighting or war-time strategic battles…a lot of the time, Zhu relies on using the environment around them rather than deploying their soldiers in specific formations or anything… I guess I was hoping for Hunter x Hunter Chimera Ant arc levels of back and forth but oh well lol I really loved this book…and I’ve already borrowed the sequel so I can read it while I’ve still got all the character and place names in my head. If Parker-Chan can stick the landing, I’ll probably buy a copy of the duology for myself, so for now I’ll give She Who Became the Sun a 9/10.

Read the new SpyFam because I’m enjoying this Henry/Martha arc so much, and while I’m a little miffed that the air sirens were just a false alarm to conveniently prevent Martha from confessing, I’m obsessed with the rest of this chapter… Endo’s writing and comicing is really incredible throughout, but I love love love the sequence of Henry facing his own obstacles and slowly awakening to his feeling for Martha…the letters they exchange are so heartbreaking, and then the panel where his hands and thoughts betray his gentlemanly image is so beautifully impactful. This is honestly the most I’ve been enjoying SpyFam since the cruise ship arc happened in the manga, so I’m really excited for the next chapter.

Tuesday

Ummm

Wednesday

Two more Simpsons episodes as I try to work…it was a bad idea, because I just got irritated with the show lmao. Bart the Daredevil was a pretty straightforward episode in terms of the arc/jokes, and then the episode about Marge campaigning against the violence in a kid’s cartoon just reminded me of the current puritanism streak in media and left a bad taste in my mouth…I mean I guess the episode ended on the side of artistic expression, but I feel like it flattened the discussion too much.

Thursday

Caught up with Hibi, Kimi and it’s as pleasantly cute as it’s always been.

Akuheki…the freaky sex scenes feel a little silly now that they’ve resolved all their backstory hangups and have an otherwise wholesomely romantic relationship, but whatever lol.

Friday

Absolutely nothing

Saturday

I’ve been going through my entire chart of all the anime and manga I’ve experienced in my life as part of work (don’t ask), and I found a few that I wanted to revisit, but the only one I actually read through was Nennen Saisai. And wow I have zero memory of ever reading this (as it happens with most of the BL I read), but revisiting it as an adult was really rewarding now that I know about rakugo, because I didn’t mention it at all in my earlier notes. This was such a tightly written love story between Jugemu and Shinigami…I love the transition of Jugemu going from staying by Shinigami’s side because he wants to die and then wanting to live because of Shinigami’s companionship… And then the final twist that his name truly holds the power of immortality and how he uses it to cheat death, not to mention how he was probably inadvertently replenishing his own lifespan just by going to rakugo performances…that’s so cute and funny. It was enough to bump my score from an 8 to a 9. It’s been a bit of a weird week lol I’ve been so obsessed with work that I can’t focus on anything else…not even the weekly manga I usually keep up with. I can’t promise to do better next week, but we’ll see.

[thegreatobsesso]

Hi hi hi hi hi, I just binged a ton of chapters and I didn't make it quite to this one yet because I have to leave, but please have my livestreamed reactions to the parts I just flew through:

<<“Maybe when you’re off duty?” What am I doing? Why am I like this? And other questions I’m never going to look deeply enough into the chaos in my head to answer. “Unless you have to drive home.”>>

I’m obsessed with this moment of Brett just watching himself and having no clue what his own motivations are and barreling forward anyway in this 100% self-aware way. This is one of the things I love most about your writing - your characters think so deeply and share those reflections with us and that makes them so. Intensely. Fascinating. 

<<in the back of my mind, there’s an unfolding kaleidoscopic memory of bodies falling>>

Ugh just this

<<“Everything’s my kind of thing.”>>

<3 Brett

<<It’s so good I almost don’t want it to go any further. But also, I know it will. Because I am never anyone other than myself.>>

This is where I totally get Brett. This sort of, I should stop, but I won’t :) 

<<“We’re clearly not working through any impulsivity issues here,” she says.

“Exposure therapy.”>>

Witty, delightful, brilliant

<<“Engage with that energy? Fuck, Noah, what have you been reading?”>>

lol

<<I lie down next to you and rain whips against the window. Lightning flashes through the crack in the curtains, followed a few seconds later by a roll of thunder. “I’m here.”>>

So cozy, so wonderful. So atmospheric. 

<<I’m never sure if it really hits straight away or if there’s just a very strong placebo effect inherent in the ritual of it. >>

Omg I can be so Brett it’s crazy. I have this thought all the time about coffee. Like, there is NO way the first sip of coffee can chemically do the things it does to me. And yet, it happens. One sip and I remember why I want to be awake, what potential joy life has to offer, and how I have the potential energy in my limbs to engage with it. There’s no way one sip of coffee can do that. And yet!

<<something good-natured but argument-shaped>>

Ugh the way you describe things.

<<Last night’s storm has swallowed itself whole and now watery sunlight filters through clouds that look like a painting on a cathedral ceiling.>>

UGH THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE THINGS

<<High-end residential properties and elaborate tombs have too much in common.>>

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m running low on words about how I feel about the way you write. Only punctuation will suffice.

<<Our belongings are here, our furniture, our clothes upstairs and our choice of decor throughout, but the absence of us has permeated the walls and turned them hollow. Our habits and routines, our voices and touches, have melted and sunk through the floors and foundations to somewhere deeper out of sight and it took less than a week to happen.>>

Noah is going through it and I feel frightened.

<<Somehow you are more here than I am, real in a way I never learned to be. I would resent that if I didn’t adore you so much. Perhaps on some level I resent it anyway. I envy you. I worship you. I can’t live without you.>>

<3 

<<“I mean where are you? Because you’re not here.”

“I am.” I want to be. I’m trying.>>

This is literally so ominous tho O.o

<<“Nothing to do with anything,” you start, in that way you do when it’s going to have something to do with everything,>>

I love this bit so much.

<<Part of me feels like I should say some of this out loud>>

This is like 100% perfect for the character and for the scene, but I love how it also invokes the writerly feeling of, should this be internal monologue or dialogue? One of the most interesting things about rewriting script scenes as prose is how much dialogue turns into internal narration. And then that instantly starts to deepen the tension because they’re saying LESS to each other, so they KNOW LESS about each other, and it makes everything sweeter. Yeah. I’m digging this so hard.

<<I hit the zone sooner than usual and I can’t stop thinking about you at the hotel, then you yesterday. Days of being unshakeable and calm followed by a night of distance and uncertainty. Contrast or conflict. A gathering storm. Untethered, you said. What could you do in that state? How far could you be pushed? How far could I push you?>>

Ohhhhhhhhh goodness goodness goodness

<<The image of your face clouded with remorse and your eyes darkened by the weight of guilt that you didn’t believe yourself capable of moves my feet faster.>>

Oh I am FREAKING OUT NOW

<<Gone to Alchemy. I’ll bring home lunch.>>

OH MY GOD THIS WAS PERFECT THO. Like, you leaving me in ABSOLUTE SUSPENSE over what Brett was just about to do. The drama the tension in this bit is just sheer perfection, I’m dead.

<<And since when would something so insignificant bother me? Since when would I care about anything beyond having the house to myself to do nothing for a few hours until you came back and we did nothing together? Chances are I wouldn’t have wanted to go with you anyway. A new and unwelcome voice in my head says, “Since he did it on purpose. Since he tried so hard to leave without you.”>>

Oh CHRIST

<<I miss the dog.>>

Oh my god oh my god after he’s said he doesn’t actually miss things ever, holy shit, this is hitting so hard, Winter I don’t even know what to say !!!!!!

<<All you did was go out.>>

Sweet lord god alright I have to go now even though I have more chapters to read, but ending it on this note feels so…. Empty, and perfect. The way that …. That ….. oh my god, this chapter ends with such resounding silence. And there’s this sense of helplessness about Brett in this final line that is unfamiliar, devastating, beautiful and ominous. I know I keep coming back to that word but it’s the best word I can find for the storm cloud of dread building in my mind as I read this. It’s so palpable because you have done it SO well. And I know you’ve said these boys will not have a tragic ending but you are REALLY making me wonder if you were lying, or if I am remembering your words incorrectly, because DAMN GURL. 

And don’t tell me. Do not tell me. I so here for however this ends. SO HERE !!!!!!!

💀 Spin Cylinder / Episode Four / Chapter 04 is now live at winterandwords.com

If control is your weapon, temptation is mine.

📖 Read it on winterandwords.com HERE

💻 Book summary and tag list on Tumblr HERE

🏷️ TAG LIST @indecentpause @pertinax--loculos @revenantlore @talesfromaurea @thegreatobsesso

(new line to appease the Tumblr link gods) @thespacelizard

[apple-but-sour]

can i ask why is the staged finale so important to the story?

because if the only people who knew it was staged were dream and punz (i dont think sam knew because he seemed to truly believe the prison was made for tommy) then all the damage and trauma the whole incident inflicted on tommy, tubbo and other characters is still the same. it doesn't really make it any better. tubbo still believed he was going to die and so on.

like i get why dream apologists cling to it like lifeline- dream mustn't be all evil if it was staged right? but overall, unless they plan on doing a huge reveal and have a big arc about it, i cant see how it changes anything

btw i don't doubt the finale was staged, i just don't see how its so important and you seem like a person who knows their lore

I'd say it changes more about c!Dream's character than the story at large, but still has a significant impact on the story. This got kind of rambly and long so I am putting it under a cut.

1. This isn't my first time seeing it, and I always find it odd that the assumption of people who were never that into Staged Finale is that the main point of the Staged Finale theory has been making c!Dream "better" somehow. Morally, that is. I don't doubt it's the reason some c!Dream apologists clung to theory, but it wasn't the reason I was in favor of it. I liked the idea of the Finale being staged not because it makes c!Dream Less Evil, but because it keeps him a consistent character. BlueBell talked about how genuine Finale made c!Dream inconsistent here.

2. The Disc Finale is staged. All of it. The Attachment vault, including the Skeppy Cage, were never going to be used. The monologue c!Dream gave c!Tommy about how he needed him to continue bringing attachment to the server was a lie. c!Dream was never going to kill c!Tubbo. You are right in saying this in no way diminishes how traumatizing the event was for c!clingyduo, but as I've said, that wasn't the point of it all. All of this doesn't serve to make c!Dream morally better as much as it serves to show just how complex of a character he is. In the Finale, he ticks off all the boxes of the Stereotypical Pure Evil Villain criteria: he has the evil monologues, the simplistic motivation of control, the arrogant dramatics, etc. Staged Finale reveals that the Stereotypical Villain was an act, a persona. This gives c!Dream a lot more depth and counters the perception many in the fandom have of c!Dream as the one exception to the server's "everyone is morally grey" rule. And I'd like to clarify that by saying c!Dream is morally grey, I'm not saying all his actions are justifiable, it's just that Morally Black or Morally White characters tend to lack depth and exist mainly to fill out a role in the narrative. c!Dream is not that character. He has his own internal worldview and does not exist solely to serve c!Tommy's, or anyone else's, narrative.

3. This is more a matter of opinion, but I always found the Disc Finale kind of sucky, as I talked about here. It followed conventional story structure but did so in a manner that didn't appeal to me. The Finale being staged has massive implications for the writing of the Dream SMP and what the writers are capable of when it comes to storytelling, especially when it comes to foreshadowing and long-term planning. What people put down to bad writing turned out to in fact be intentional. One of the most fascinating aspects of Staged Finale is that to further his plans, c!Dream utilized narrative conventions, in-universe, without breaking the fourth wall, which is something I have never heard of in a story before. He handcrafted a Hero's Journey for c!Tommy, and the perfection of it all was part of what made his plan so convincing both for c!Tommy himself and the fandom. This aspect of the Dream SMP story — characters using narrative conventions in-universe — is something I find very very interesting.

4. I do not think the initial reveal is the end of the Staged Finale's impact. Other characters will likely learn about it and have to deal with this new information, which will be interesting to witness. I'm especially interested in how c!Sam will react when he learns that c!Dream trusted him not to abuse his power. Especially considering how c!Sam grasps onto every opportunity of justifying himself. It'll be a trainwreck and I am going to enjoy it immensely. So even though it may seem like not much has changed, yet, I'm sure more changes are still to come.

There is probably more to be said on Staged Finale, especially by someone more knowledgeable in storytelling than me, but this is all I have on the matter. TL:DR It massively changes c!Dream's characterization, making him consistent, has great implications for the writing of the Dream SMP and is sure to have a bigger impact on the story than what we've seen so far.

[caspercryptid]

hi cas! would you be willing to write another story about vampire jayce? i love him! 💕

You got it! CWs: Accidental Vampire Mauling, Jayce starving himself (of blood? but yknow), reference to the psychoactive effects of vampire venom and tolerances, etc. Also blood and injury. Vamp stuff. ___

Jayce had developed the unfortunate habit of.... not feeding.

It wasn’t....intentional. Exactly. He had a few people who were universally willing to donate to him if he needed. But vampire venom was like any psychoactive substance: after a while, you developed a tolerance. And that just...wasn’t something he was willing to do to Cait. Or even to Ezreal or Vi. He could drink from the bag, but it made him nauseous, and so he really only did it when he had to. He knew it was stupid to be a picky eater, but it’d only been a few years, and this hadn’t gotten any easier. He was hoping someday it would. And of course, there was the matter of not wanting Cait to build up a tolerance in case she and Vi decided to be turned themselves– they’d discussed it. It was important to consider it. If either of them went down in the field, he didn’t want them to stay down.

So... logistics. Sentiments. Complications about donation. Jayce is hungry.

He’s hungry, and in the library, and it’s two am. He has his hand over his mouth and he’s trying to breathe. He needs to pull himself together enough to get his books together and... go. He needs to go. He needs to get to Cait, or to someone, before–

Someone taps his shoulder.

“Excuse me.” A polite male voice says. “The library is closed.”

Jayce has just enough time for a single thought before he blacks out–

Fuck.

He comes to in bits and pieces. There’s a hand in his hair and a warm body underneath him, and someone is mumbling swear words in a language he doesn’t speak. There’s warmth running down his chin, and copper and sweet in his mouth, and it takes him a second to register that it’s blood, and his teeth are out, and shit shit shit shit–

“It’s alright.”

He flinches, realizing a second too late that his internal monologue has become external.

“I’m– sorry.” he manages, pulling back.

Oh.

The boy underneath him is beautiful, pale, skin dotted over in little moles like constellation. His eyes are hazy, and he’s smiling a little. Likely loopy from the venom. Jayce feels his stomach twist with guilt, and he’s about to apologize again, when the boy says–

“Is it like a mosquito's venom?”

Jayce blinks.

“–what?”

“Is it going to itch.” He clarifies, tone slightly patronizing. “The itching is–anti coagulation. This has been very pleasant, I would find bleeding out very inconvenient.”

“Oh– no it’s. It’ll coagulate faster. We’re not– murder. Predators. The murder makes it– harder to. It’s complicated.”

“I would like to know more.” He says. “And possibly repeat this. This has been excellent for my pain. If you’ve– had your fill, would you mind grabbing my cane?”

“Your–” Jayce registers belatedly that there’s a cane a few feet away, and he winces and gets it, pulling back off of the other boy’s chest. “I really am–”

“Don’t.” He’s cut off with a dismissive wave. “Help me up.”

Jayce complies, a little amused, despite his worry. Usually after he fed from other people they turned into puddles.

“Scientifically fascinating.” The other boy is mumbling, as he takes his cane back from Jayce. “I want to study you.”

“I don’t even know your name.” Jayce points out.

“Viktor.” He says, and smiles, beautiful, and Jayce feels his heart beat– just. Once. Ah, fuck.

He smiles back, and Viktor’s attention hones in on his teeth.

Well, this would be... an interesting partnership.

[eirikrjs]

Forgive me if this has been asked before but I was hoping to get some elaboration to why you think Desu2 characters are flat. I understand some are, but I feel as though most have quality, or maybe I'm confusing likability with quality. I feel like most of my issues of the game come from lack of intersection with the fate links and main story rather than the characters themselves, but I'd appreciate to hear your thoughts

So, to answer this generally, when I was writing up the character section for the Fan Myths last year, I drew upon what I was taught in school about flat vs. round characters. But one source I found said something that really left me shook, in a way:

It says in its discussion of flat characters (those that are "superficial" and "predictable") versus round characters (those that are "complex" and more like actual people) that Luke Skywalker is a flat character. I weighed it for a bit, contrasting with how Luke makes choices and changes even in the first film, but in the end I couldn't disagree. Luke is styled after mythic heroes who, while they may suffer and grow over the course of their stories, are symbols of human ideals, not realistic human behavior. Luke is likable because we can vicariously live the adventure through him and his relatable and archetypal flaws and quirks, in spite of never being allowed too closely into his headspace and emotional spectrum.

Another Star Wars character that contrasts well with Luke is honestly one of my favorites of the Disney era or anytime before really, because he's so atypical for the franchise. He's not a hero, not worthy of admiration. In fact, he's pathetic and contemptible. And, as we learned last week, he's a creepo stalker guy. Of course, he's Syril Karn from Andor.

His story is far from over, but so far he's all flaws and I've found him fascinating. His might be the narrative developments I look forward to the most every week. And while there are no internal monologues in the show, Andor's effective writing gives Syril more complexity than you would expect for a (seemingly) tertiary Star Wars character. He gets his clothing specially tailored to stand out. He desperately seeks recognition and oversteps boundaries and his own ability to earn it (it so far has always backfired). He's committed to the fascist ideals of the Empire but can only land a faceless and monotonous data processing job and only through his uncle's connections. There are more angles to Syril than these, yet Luke has just one.

I won't say Syril is a round character yet, but he has that potential. Unlike Luke, he's layered and his future is unpredictable. His story may have some logical end points but he's not a hero or protagonist, so there's no guaranteed outcomes. It is odd to think that there may be more depth to Syril than Luke freakin' Skywalker, but Andor also has a far different approach an aims than the main Star Wars movies, so it may be apples and oranges.

But as the above article states, flat characters can still be likeable. I mean, I own maybe three dozen Luke Skywalker action figures so it's fair to say I like that character. The problem with flat characters from pop culture avenues like movies and games is that their superficialities often result in overuse of archetypes. I will say I don't care for a lot of characters in games like Devil Survivor, Persona, or even SMT because I've seen their archetypes before. There often is no attempt at additional complexity because it wouldn't fit the genre and expectations of an established game series or sequel. Hence, these characters become predictable and rote, which affects enjoyment of the work.

And speaking of action figures, pop culture characters reflect them in that they are manufactured to be appealing to their audiences. Even if they are flat and superficial, they still appeal because they are designed to be, from character design to familiar archetype. And that's okay! We might lose our minds if we rejected all but the most complex characters. So if you can buy merch of them, there's a real chance the character isn't all that deep.

[lunarfly]

Essay: Harry and Hermione’s chemistry

We all know that Emma and Daniel had excellent chemistry so Harry and Hermione naturally had great chemistry in the movies. It was quite obviously visible. But many book readers have claimed that Harry and Hermione’s chemistry only exists in the movies and they felt they lacked chemistry in the books. It can be quite tricky at first since the book scenes are only imagined in our heads and we can’t see the author’s imagination and her views on the scenes and interactions. But, luckily, canon has provided us with plenty of evidence that Harry and Hermione had excellent chemistry, visible to many people around them. Let’s take a look:

“That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Granger’s,” said Cho fiercely. “She should have told us she’d jinxed that list —” 

“I think it was a brilliant idea,” said Harry coldly. Cho flushed and her eyes grew brighter. 

“Oh yes, I forgot — of course, if it was darling Hermione’s idea —” 

“Don’t start crying again,” said Harry warningly.

It’s very obvious that Cho has noticed how close Harry and Hermione are and she’s jealous, even suspicious that there’s something going on between them. It’s clear that whatever interaction between Harry and Hermione Cho has witnessed, they had chemistry. 

If this was all of our evidence of H/Hr’s chemistry, I’d ignore it and assume Cho was only jealous because of their disastrous date when Harry left Cho to see Hermione. Perhaps most of her jealousy came from that scene. But this isn’t all of our evidence. We see even more people being jealous and getting suspicious about H/Hr’s relationship:

When at last they had reached a quiet stretch of ground a short way from the Beauxbatons horses’ paddock, Krum stopped in the shade of the trees and turned to face Harry. 

“I vant to know,” he said, glowering, “vot there is between you and Hermyown-ninny.” 

Harry, who from Krum’s secretive manner had expected something much more serious than this, stared up at Krum in amazement. 

“Nothing,” he said. But Krum glowered at him, and Harry, somehow struck anew by how tall Krum was, elaborated. 

“We’re friends. She’s not my girlfriend and she never has been. It’s just that Skeeter woman making things up.” 

“Hermy-own-ninny talks about you very often,” said Krum, looking suspiciously at Harry. 

“Yeah,” said Harry, “because we’re friends.” 

He couldn’t quite believe he was having this conversation with Viktor Krum, the famous International Quidditch player. It was as though the eighteen-year-old Krum thought he, Harry, was an equal — a real rival —

Very interesting indeed. Not only is Krum so jealous that he’s “glowering” (”have an angry or sullen look on one's face; scowl”) at Harry, he also doesn’t believe Harry that he’s just friends with Hermione, even after he explained it very clearly. He still adds how much Hermione talks about Harry, he’s looking suspicious and feels the need of a reconfirmation that H/Hr are not dating. It’s possible that Rita Skeeter’s articles are influencing his thoughts and sure, Hermione talks about Harry a lot (already indicating that she’s very passionate about Harry, we talk about things we like, or feel strong emotions about) and that could be the only thing that makes Krum “suspicious” about H/Hr but would he really still be that jealous if there was absolutely no chemistry between Harry and Hermione? This is definitely a clue on Harry and Hermione’s chemistry in the books.

 Another extremely interesting detail is that Harry is enjoying this. He likes the idea of Krum being his equal, a rival! This has nothing to do with their chemistry, of course, but it’s definitely suspicious...

Still think there’s no chemistry between them? Here’s another person who noticed that Harry and Hermione were very close, a little too close:

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.

So Colin Creevey noticed how much time they spend together, but I just can’t believe that’s the only thing making him believe they’re in love! There has to be some noticeable chemistry between them to come to this conclusion.

I know it’s Rita Skeeter assuming that H/Hr are so close only because they’re dating, but Colin probably told her more than it’s written here. Would Rita believe Colin that Harry and Hermione are boyfriend and girlfriend merely because he said they hang out often? I don’t think so. I think Colin elaborated on his suspicions of H/Hr. But maybe it was just one of Rita Skeeter’s exaggerations. Either way, there’s more proof of their chemistry:

“Are you going to tell us — ?” 

Hermione shook her head warningly and glanced at Mrs. Weasley. 

“Hello, Hermione,” said Mrs. Weasley, much more stiffly than usual. 

“Hello,” said Hermione, her smile faltering at the cold expression on Mrs. Weasley’s face. 

Harry looked between them, then said, “Mrs. Weasley, you didn’t believe that rubbish Rita Skeeter wrote in Witch Weekly, did you? Because Hermione’s not my girlfriend.” 

“Oh!” said Mrs. Weasley. “No — of course I didn’t!” 

But she became considerably warmer toward Hermione after that.

So even Molly believed that Harry and Hermione were boyfriend and girlfriend (and Hermione had ‘broken Harry’s heart’)? Come on, their chemistry was so noticeable that even Molly thought it was believable enough. ...Although Molly does believe everything that newspapers and magazines say. And maybe she didn’t know them well enough because she assumed Hermione could break Harry’s heart.

Still don’t believe that Harry and Hermione had lots of chemistry in the books? Maybe you’re right, we need to actually see the chemistry, not just have others notice it. And guess what? We do get to see their chemistry. This often happens when Ron becomes suspicious of a possible H/Hr relationship. Ron, their closest friend who knows basically everything about them, suspects that Harry and Hermione are secretly in love. And he is quite rightly suspicious of them when we have moments like these demonstrating their perfect chemistry in the books:

“We’ll go down after Quidditch,” Harry assured her. He too was missing Hagrid, although like Ron he thought that they were better off without Grawp in their lives. “But trials might take all morning, the number of people who have applied.” He felt slightly nervous at confronting the first hurdle of his Captaincy. “I dunno why the team’s this popular all of a sudden.” 

“Oh, come on, Harry,” said Hermione, suddenly impatient. “It’s not Quidditch that’s popular, it’s you! You’ve never been more interesting, and frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.” 

Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry. 

“Everyone knows you’ve been telling the truth now, don’t they? The whole Wizarding world has had to admit that you were right about Voldemort being back and that you really have fought him twice in the last two years and escaped both times. And now they’re calling you ‘the Chosen One’ — well, come on, can’t you see why people are fascinated by you?” 

Harry was finding the Great Hall very hot all of a sudden, even though the ceiling still looked cold and rainy. 

“And you’ve been through all that persecution from the Ministry when they were trying to make out you were unstable and a liar. You can still see the marks on the back of your hand where that evil woman made you write with your own blood, but you stuck to your story anyway. . . .” 

“You can still see where those brains got hold of me in the Ministry, look,” said Ron, shaking back his sleeves. 

“And it doesn’t hurt that you’ve grown about a foot over the summer either,” Hermione finished, ignoring Ron. 

“I’m tall,” said Ron inconsequentially.

Wow. Hermione really made up a whole monologue about Harry being fanciable and attractive! If this conversation doesn’t convince you that there was chemistry between them, probably nothing will. Let’s analyze this scene:

Hermione starts talking about Harry and how fanciable he is, how interesting he is, how attractive looks and qualities he has, going on and on... Hermione is clearly showing her interest in Harry and basically flirting with him. But what interests me is this moment:

Harry was finding the Great Hall very hot all of a sudden, even though the ceiling still looked cold and rainy.

He’s actually blushing. Hermione’s compliments have a very obvious effect on him. But something that fascinates me more is the way this is written. He isn’t just blushing, no. Harry never said something like:

Harry was feeling his face growing very hot all of a sudden.

Instead, we have the Great Hall going “very hot”. It isn’t just his face and his blush, it’s the whole hall. This indicates clear tension between Harry and Hermione. 

You could say that all of these compliments that Hermione is giving Harry are just facts and reasons why other girls find him attractive. But this isn’t the case. There’s obvious romantic tension between them.

Another thing to note is Ron’s jealousy. He “gags on a large piece of kipper” and he keeps interrupting Hermione, saying and showing why he is fanciable too. The chemistry is undeniable at this point. 

You could argue that Hermione was complimenting Harry to make Ron jealous, that his suspicions were expected and intended. And it does seem so at first sight: Hermione compliments Harry in front of Ron, also being very impatient as if she had been planning this conversation, as well as pointing out lots of “fanciable” things that apply to Ron as well (the scars, the height), ignoring Ron to make him more jealous. You may be tricked into thinking so. But this isn’t the case. 

First of all, if she wanted to make Ron jealous, don’t you think Hermione would’ve been enjoying the reaction? Why is she giving him these “looks of disdain”(note that this isn’t the first time she has given him nasty looks)? Wouldn’t she be looking away from him, smiling to herself? At least looking a little pleased? 

And if she really wanted to make Ron jealous, why would she use Harry of everyone? Maybe because he and Ron had a lot of similarities that could be convenient for making him jealous? But this isn’t like Hermione at all. This isn’t her technique of making people jealous. 

“What’s happened to you?” asked Harry, for Hermione looked distinctly disheveled, rather as though she had just fought her way out of a thicket of Devil’s Snare. 

“Oh, I’ve just escaped — I mean, I’ve just left Cormac,” she said. “Under the mistletoe,” she added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her. 

“Serves you right for coming with him,” he told her severely. 

“I thought he’d annoy Ron most,” said Hermione dispassionately. “I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole —” 

“You considered Smith?” said Harry, revolted. 

“Yes, I did, and I’m starting to wish I’d chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman. Let’s go this way, we’ll be able to see him coming, he’s so tall. . . .”

Hermione picks the people Ron despises the most to make him jealous - like Cormac McLaggen and Zacharias Smith. Hermione had no reason to use Harry to make Ron jealous. She had no reason to make Ron jealous at all. So that argument is definitely debunked. 

Could Hermione have told Harry all of these things because she really didn’t mean them and was just pointing them out from a different teenage girl’s point of view? That just can’t be the case. Otherwise she would’ve been complimenting Ron too. If the only purpose for this speech was to show Harry his attractive traits, she would’ve laughed at Ron’s remarks and agreed that he was fanciable too in other girls’ eyes because he had many of the same “fanciable” traits. 

So Hermione was definitely showing her attraction towards Harry which is also made obvious by Harry’s reaction to it and the romantic tension between them that even Ron couldn’t deny.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the only moment when Harry and Hermione are literally flirting. Take a look at another scene of Ron third wheeling Harry and Hermione and looking suspicious:

As they came into the castle they spotted Cormac McLaggen entering the Great Hall. It took him two attempts to get through the doors; he ricocheted off the frame on the first attempt. Ron merely guffawed gloatingly and strode off into the Hall after him, but Harry caught Hermione’s arm and held her back. 

“What?” said Hermione defensively. 

“If you ask me,” said Harry quietly, “McLaggen looks like he was Confunded this morning. And he was standing right in front of where you were sitting.” Hermione blushed. 

“Oh, all right then, I did it,” she whispered. “But you should have heard the way he was talking about Ron and Ginny! Anyway, he’s got a nasty temper, you saw how he reacted when he didn’t get in — you wouldn’t have wanted someone like that on the team.” 

“No,” said Harry. “No, I suppose that’s true. But wasn’t that dishonest, Hermione? I mean, you’re a prefect, aren’t you?” 

“Oh, be quiet,” she snapped, as he smirked. 

“What are you two doing?” demanded Ron, reappearing in the doorway to the Great Hall and looking suspicious. 

“Nothing,” said Harry and Hermione together, and they hurried after Ron. The smell of roast beef made Harry’s stomach ache with hunger, but they had barely taken three steps toward the Gryffindor table when Professor Slughorn appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

Try denying their chemistry here.

Just imagine two (straight) friends of the opposite gender, the boy grabbing the girl’s arm and turning her around (the tension!!!) and her acting all defensive, and then the boy telling her something that makes her blush and admit something while whispering. Then the boy jokingly teasing her about it and smirking while the girl tells him to be quiet playfully. Yeah, that’s called flirting and they have extremely obvious chemistry. 

The funnier part is Ron noticing this and suspiciously confronting Harry and Hermione while they quickly say “nothing” at the same time and catch up with him.

I don’t think an explanation is even necessary, anyone who denies their chemistry in this scene is basically lying to themselves and is willingly blinding themselves.

Here’s another interesting scene from HBP with Ron getting jealous of H/Hr’s chemistry once again:

Malfoy looked rather as he had done the time Hermione had punched him in the face. Hermione turned to Harry with a radiant expression and whispered, “Did you really tell him I’m the best in the year? Oh, Harry!” 

“Well, what’s so impressive about that?” whispered Ron, who for some reason looked annoyed. “You are the best in the year — I’d’ve told him so if he’d asked me!” 

Hermione smiled but made a “shhing” gesture, so that they could hear what Slughorn was saying. Ron looked slightly disgruntled.

Here Harry and Hermione’s chemistry isn’t really made clear but just look at the way Hermione turns to Harry. He literally sees her expression as “radiant” (this adjective has also been used to describe Ginny’s smile) and Hermione looks simply delighted. They were clearly having a great moment here, so good, in fact, that Ron becomes jealous and annoyed and tries to pretend Harry’s compliment wasn’t a big deal. He compliments Hermione the same way as Harry did but she doesn’t have such a “radiant” smile this time, does she? Instead she shushes him(poor Ron just wanted attention from his future wife!). Ron has every right to be disgruntled in this scene.

This is the third time in HBP that Ron is third-wheeling Harry and Hermione. Whether anti-H/Hrs want to admit it or not, Ron is a third-wheel to Harry and Hermione very often and becomes very jealous of their chemistry. JKR, it really isn’t funny, where are the R/Hr flirting moments? They’re supposed to be the endgame couple, aren’t they? Why do you have so many moments between Harry and Hermione when they’re clearly flirting and demonstrating what excellent chemistry looks like?

Apparently, Harry and Hermione have had such chemistry in the past that, even when they’re not flirting, Ron still becomes suspicious of Harry and Hermione’s ‘possible secret relationship’:

“Because she was crying,” Harry continued heavily. 

“Oh,” said Ron, his smile fading slightly. “Are you that bad at kissing?” 

“Dunno,” said Harry, who hadn’t considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. “Maybe I am.” 

“Of course you’re not,” said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter. 

“How do you know?” said Ron in a sharp voice. 

“Because Cho spends half her time crying these days,” said Hermione vaguely. “She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place.”

Ron suspected that Harry and Hermione had kissed before. His suspects are quite obvious, judging from the tone of his voice. No matter how insecure Ron is, he is still their best friend, he should know that they’re not interested into each other romantically. But it seems like it’s so apparent to everyone that Harry and Hermione have something going on.

Here’s another moment showing us Harry and Hermione’s chemistry:

“Harry!” Hermione cried. 

“I know!” Harry shouted. Unable to contain himself, he punched the air; it was more than he had dared to hope for. He strode up and down the tent, feeling that he could have run a mile; he did not even feel hungry anymore. Hermione was squashing Phineas Nigellus’s portrait back into the beaded bag; when she had fastened the clasp she threw the bag aside and raised a shining face to Harry.

 “The sword can destroy Horcruxes! Goblin-made blades imbibe only that which strengthen them — Harry, that sword’s impregnated with basilisk venom!” 

“And Dumbledore didn’t give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket —” 

“— and he must have realized they wouldn’t let you have it if he put it in his will —” 

“— so he made a copy —” 

“— and put a fake in the glass case —” 

“— and he left the real one — where?” 

They gazed at each other; Harry felt that the answer was dangling invisibly in the air above them, tantalizingly close. Why hadn’t Dumbledore told him? Or had he, in fact, told Harry, but Harry had not realized it at the time? 

“Think!” whispered Hermione. “Think! Where would he have left it?” 

“Not at Hogwarts,” said Harry, resuming his pacing. 

“Somewhere in Hogsmeade?” suggested Hermione. 

“The Shrieking Shack?” said Harry. “Nobody ever goes in there.” 

“But Snape knows how to get in, wouldn’t that be a bit risky?” 

“Dumbledore trusted Snape,” Harry reminded her. 

“Not enough to tell him that he had swapped the swords,” said Hermione. 

“Yeah, you’re right!” said Harry, and he felt even more cheered at the thought that Dumbledore had had some reservations, however faint, about Snape’s trustworthiness. “So, would he have hidden the sword well away from Hogsmeade, then? What d’you reckon, Ron? Ron?” 

Harry looked around. For one bewildered moment he thought that Ron had left the tent, then realized that Ron was lying in the shadow of a lower bunk, looking stony.

 Just look at the intensity of this scene!

Firstly, when Harry and Hermione find out exciting news, they figure it out themselves and alone, they didn’t even think of Ron. Then look at how happy Harry and Hermione are feeling, their hopes high, their spirits lifted, their excitement causing the tension! Hermione’s face is “shining”!

Then they start discussing, knowing what the other is thinking and finishing each other’s sentences! The way they interact is precious, they’re “gazing” at each other, feeling something “tantalizingly close.” They start whispering. It’s so intense and full of tension and chemistry. They’re so excited. They even completely forgot about Ron(I feel so bad for him), Harry even thought that he had left.

This is one of the strongest Harmione scenes ever, the chemistry between them is incomparable to anyone else’s. Just imagine being Ron right now, watching the love of your life have this intense conversation with your and her best friend, sharing this exciting moment, experiencing all of this without you. And you just sit there and watch. Just watch. Ron’s jealousy, intensified by the horcrux, was the one thing that made him leave Harry and Hermione in the tent. And Ron did have a reason to be jealous. 

So they do have chemistry in the books, everyone sees it, including Harry and Hermione’s dates, their closest friend, their “families”, their fans. Everyone except for anti-Harmiones. I tried making up excuses for why others assume Harry and Hermione are together, that maybe I’m misinterpreting something and it’s not because of their chemistry. But when you put everything together, it should become obvious. You have to be insanely biased and willingly ignore everything to come to the conclusion that they don’t have any chemistry. 

I’m not even going in detail about physical contact between them. It would take too long. They grab each other’s hand/arm, they hold onto each other for strength and protect each other, they’re very comfortable with hugs and kisses and their physical connection is another piece of proof of their undeniable chemistry. 

Even JKR has admitted that they had some “charged moments” in DH in the tent, which is her way of saying that they had intense chemistry:

[Kloves] felt a certain pulll between them at that point. And I think he's right. There are moments when [Harry and Hermione] touch, which are charged moments. One when she touches his hair as he sits on the hiltop reading about Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and [two] the moment when they walk out of the graveyard with their arms around each other. Now the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry. So I think it could have gone that way.

In conclusion, Harry and Hermione have excellent chemistry in the books, even better and stronger than in the movies. None of the movie scenes showed their chemistry with this intensity. Their romantic tension was much better in the books. Harry and Hermione have chemistry.

[justsome-di]

Nobody Ends Up Dead in a Bathtub, Everyone Keeps Their Organs: Chapter 3

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“Dude, you’ve snapped.”

Alex walked up and down the short length of the living room. He tried to find something to distract him each round of his journey. Anything would do. He fixed the way the curtains were laying on their one window. He pulled off dead leaves from Eve’s plant. He examined the mason jar that held their savings. Eve watched with sick fascination over her video game.

“What the fuck happened?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you pacing?”

“I’m not.”

He pulled a book forward on their single hanging bookshelf and laid it in line with the others. Sometime Next Year. It was one of Eve’s. If Alex remembered correctly, it was for her queer book club—the one she always tried dragging him to but that his anxiety always held him back from. It was a good idea. She had organized the whole thing by herself, pitching the idea to her boss and scheduling the meetings and books. Alex really was proud of her. But he enjoyed his time away from Eve when she left the apartment for an extra hour every month.

And it filled him with guilt.

Damián would probably never think something like that about his brother. They binged shows together, and Damián let his brother live at his apartment rent-free. Damián probably showed him love in a thousand other ways.

“Do you want to do something?” Alex asked.

“Like, right now?”

“Yeah.”

“No. I’m trying to catch an Eevee.”

“You don’t want to get out for a little bit?”

He was bugging out. He needed to burn off all of the anxious energy that was boiling over inside of him even if it did make him look like a manic mess.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? You never want to do anything after 9 pm.” Eve raised her eyebrows and got a little evil smirk. “Did you try cocaine tonight?”

“No! I’m totally sober.” Alex closed his eyes for a second. “I’m mostly sober. We had wine.”

“Just tell me what the fuck happened!”

Alex couldn’t. He couldn’t tell her he had accidentally gone on a date with a sex worker and that the whole thing had been a set-up. He especially couldn’t tell her that he was going to hire said sex worker as revenge.

And maybe his internal monologue should have included Damián’s name. Damián. He was more than a sex worker.

Not that Alex was treating him like a real person. Fuck. He had to call it all off. He was totally using Damián.

Or maybe he wasn’t.

He was confused. Damián had consented to it. It was like he said. He was a professional companion, and Alex was in need of a companion for one night. The context shouldn’t have mattered all that much. No one would get hurt.

“Are you going to see him again?” Eve buried her face behind her game. “I think you should try. You were excited to meet him.”

“Um. Yeah. We exchanged numbers.”

“Good. You seemed happy, I guess.”

She usually did say things that made it sound like she approved his happiness.

Alex’s relationship with Eve was complicated. He loved her dearly. More than anything. But he was 14 years older than her.

He had offered her a place to stay the second she was accepting into SUNY. It was the first time they were living together in a decade. She had grown up so much in that time that it was like she was a new person.

For some reason, up until then, she had stayed in a permanent state of being a child in his mind. Every time he visited home, he assumed a 12-year-old would run up to him and show him something new she had done at school. But the day she moved in with him, she stopped looking so much like a little kid. She wasn’t running up to him. She wasn’t talking about cartoons and showing off hand-drawn picture books and instead started talking about finding a job and writing codes for Twitter bots.  

Eve never wanted to acknowledge any positive, loving emotions between them. But Alex didn’t know if they could be snappy full-time as siblings closer in age were.

It caught him off guard when she mentioned he seemed happy. He didn’t know she watched him that closely.

“I was,” he said. He had been. And now he was a mix of nerves and guilt and the residual happiness was beginning to fade.

“Then see him again,” she said. “What’s the worst that can happen? You already did the scariest part.”

If only she knew that he hadn’t.

“Can I ask you a question?” Eve paused her game and set it down. “Was he nice? Or was he an asshole and are you doing the whole thing where nice people fall in love with assholes?”

“I think you read too many trashy romance novels.”

“Answer my question.”

“He’s nice.”

“Name one nice thing he did tonight.”

There were a dozen. Damián was perfectly polite and kind. He not only comforted Alex when he was probably more justified in being upset and scared. He had led Alex through that hallway so nicely, he had held open the door and called the elevator for him.

“He asked about you,” Alex said.

“Gross. Don’t talk about me.” Eve screwed up her face. “What did you say?”

“I just said that you were a computer science student and that you’re struggling in a class—“

“Don’t tell people that! What’s wrong with you?”

“Why shouldn’t I tell people?”

Eve threw a throw pillow at his face, missed, and hit a floor lamp. Alex held his breath. The lamp rolled around on its edges, teetering from side to side. It settled back down with a rattle.

“Eve—“

“Sorry!” She was pale. “I didn’t mean to!”

“If you’re going to wreck my apartment, you can find a dorm on campus.”

She shoved herself far down into the couch and picked up her game. The paleness in her cheeks turned to bright red. It wasn’t fair of Alex. Threatening to send her to dorms was cruel. Implying she would have to spend summers back in New Jersey where their parents had moved was even crueler.

After all, he was pretty happy to have her around most of the time. The place felt a little less lonely with her stuff around. A backpack in the kitchen, a pair of black jeans in the bathroom, for some reason a bra in his room. She took up space, and while he could find it annoying, he did enjoy it. Even if he did enjoy the little moments he had alone. If she were gone for good, he’d miss her.

Damián surely would never threaten to kick out his brother.

Alex picked up the pillow and tossed it, gently, on her. She wiggled away from it.

“You shouldn’t have told your date that I’m failing a math class,” she said, quiet, like she didn’t totally want him to hear her and continue the conversation.

“I didn’t say it in a mean way.” Alex sat down next to her. “I wasn’t like, ‘And my sister is flunking math because she’s an idiot.’ I said you were struggling and that’s it.”

“You didn’t even have to say that. Is there nothing else you could have said about me?”

“I did say that you were smart.”

Eve scrunched her nose up. She didn’t want to be talked about at all, it seemed. Despite being 19, she still had some remaining teenage angst toward her whole existence. The less people outside her own little circle who knew she was alive, the better.

“Next time I see him I’ll tell him that you’re an idiot, don’t worry,” Alex said.

Eve kicked his shoulder with her socked foot. She pounded on him with her heel, but it didn’t hurt. Eve didn’t have impressive strength.

“I’ll tell him that you’re awful and that you two can never meet and that you’re just a nightmare to deal with,” he went on.

“No!”

“Fine. Then I’ll tell him you’re a wonderful princess who has never done any wrong.”

“Nooo!” Eve drew it out longer that time with a little bit more of a whine. It reminded him of someone he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

She kicked him one last time, putting all of her strength into it. Alex rocked just a little bit. Easily, he righted himself.

Eve threw her head back. She was probably too old to be acting like that, but Alex let it slide. Living with family and having limited independence could stunt one's emotional growth. One day, he would blink, and she would be a total grown-up with her own health benefits and her own apartment, and he would wonder if he got enough to taunt her and love her and threaten to replace her with a rabbit.

Oh. That was what the whining reminded him of.

“Do you want to watch Lilo & Stitch?” Alex asked.

“Ooh, fuck yeah.”

“Turn it on.”

They settled into the couch together, more comfortable, with all of the pillows where they belonged. For that, Alex was glad. He had bought the pillows not too long ago, and he wanted to get as much life out of them as he possibly could.

As the movie played, Alex wondered what Damián was doing right about then. Probably something a lot cooler than what he was doing.

He thought about their scheme, and he thought about how it would be worth it just to get out of the apartment with someone other than his sister. And he thought that it all sounded a little too selfish but that if he was paying Damián for it then maybe it wasn’t so bad to think about what he could get out of it, personally. Ethical or not, he was getting a little excitement.

Out of his boring life and into a briefly wondrous one.