#some of them are cheating on each other. some of them are bigoted. just a lot of bad traits which are revealed

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

still thinking about my ideal horror game

[theonceandfuturequeenoftarts]

Harry really should’ve expected something like this, but he’s still bewildered.

(And more than a little pissed off.)

Of course some bastard managed to enter him as the fifth champion in the Triwizard Tournament.

...Well. There are four schools participating, but “Quadwizard Tournament” doesn’t have the same ring to it.

There are several people shouting at each other and him in a variety of languages, and while he has no idea what they’re saying, he gets the gist of it: how did this scrawny fifth year have the audacity to trick the Goblet of Fire and enter the prestigious (and deadly) tournament?

He wishes they’d ask him so he could clear up that he hadn’t done that, and he doesn’t want to take part in this tournament, and they’re all being world-class prats right now.

Well. Except for Cedric Diggory. He just looks a bit confused, bless him.

Dumbledore asks him if he put his name in, and he says no, and maybe he overestimated these people because pretty much all of them scoff and don’t believe him. 

The Koldovstoretz champion’s voice cuts through the hullabaloo and says, in barely accented English, “If he is required to participate, why not let him forfeit?”

Thank Merlin, there’s a voice of reason in all this idiocy.

All eyes turn to the tall young man – Tom Riddle, Harry’d heard the name said by his love-struck peers enough times since the other schools arrived to remember it – who looks politely disinterested in the chaos around him.

“That sounds good to me,” Harry says, hoping that’ll be the end of it.

But of course it isn’t. 

The Durmstrang headmaster sneers something that sounds awfully rude at Riddle in a language Harry doesn’t recognise, which makes the boy tense and darkens his eyes. And then the shouting starts up again.

For all that the gathered headmistresses and headmasters and students were arguing against his participation before, they’re now demanding that he take responsibility and not besmirch the tournament’s prestigious history nor the Goblet’s choice by bowing out. Harry is once again of the opinion that there is no continuity or logic in the thinking of magical people, so he zones out like he does when Uncle Vernon wants to rant at him.

As the group finally quiets down and Dumbledore explains what the next steps are for the champions, Harry tunes back in to listen with half an ear. The other schools’ representatives send him dark looks as they depart, while Cedric gives him a pensive frown. Dumbledore ignores Harry’s attempts to catch his eye and disappears as soon as the discussion ends.

Well that’s just great.

Harry decides to head back to the Gryffindor common room – he needs to vent his anger at this madness to his friends, who will hopefully have his back.

(Though, the look on Ron’s face when Harry’s name had been called… No. Ron knows him better than that.)

Before he gets too far, he hears a voice call, “Harry Potter.”

He turns reluctantly, hoping it’s not another person ready to call him an attention-seeker or cheat, to find Tom Riddle.

Feeling his shoulders lower from his ears where they’d risen in pre-emptive defensiveness, Harry manages a half-hearted smile for the older boy. “Hey. Thanks for trying to help, back there.”

Riddle shrugs and somehow makes the motion elegant. “It was obvious you did not want to be chosen." 

Harry thought so, but apparently they're the only two of that opinion. “What did the Durmstrang headmaster say to you?”

“Nothing I didn’t expect,” Riddle says dismissively. When Harry doesn’t relent, he clarifies, “Igor Karkaroff rejected my application to Durmstrang because I’m not a pureblood. I’m sure you can imagine his opinion of me – and my blood – hasn’t changed in the intervening years.”

Harry can feel his hackles rise. Yes, he can imagine – he’s heard what the pureblood bigots have said about Hermione and the other muggleborn students over the years.

“Well, there’s only one thing to do, isn’t there?” Harry says, grinning sharply. “We’ll both just have to–” absolutely crush them all “–prove them all wrong.”

Riddle’s eyebrows rise slightly and one side of his mouth twitches. “I suppose we will.”

Harry holds out a hand. “May the best champion win.”

Riddle accepts the handshake. “Indeed. I’m glad to have your support.” 

Delivered in a perfect deadpan, it takes Harry a couple moments to realise the other boy is making a joke. He laughs, and Riddle finally lets his face break into a grin.

—

When Riddle uses parseltongue to get past the Peruvian Vipertooth (“What were they thinking, including a human-eating dragon?” Hermione demands when Harry first sees her after the first task) and retrieves the egg in less than two minutes, it causes an uproar. How did someone with Slytherin’s gift, who was born on British soil, not end up going to Hogwarts? The details of Riddle’s first introduction to magic and meeting with Professor Dumbledore are splashed across the front page of the Daily Prophet the following day.

Needless to say, the headmaster is in a bit of hot water with the Hogwarts board of trustees and the pureblood crowd.

(Karkaroff is looking decidedly pale, too.)

Harry thinks he’s the only one who sees the vengeful grin on Riddle’s face while everyone else is staring at Dumbledore getting dressed down. When Harry congratulates Riddle later that day, he knows the older boy understands it’s for more than just retrieving the egg the fastest.

(As for his performance in the first task, Harry’s content with how he did against the Hungarian Horntail, even if he’d gotten a little singed. He might be in second place, but he’s nipping at Riddle’s heels.)

[findafight]

It is tiring to be regarded as a 'homophobe' when you claim to not like a queer ship or say you do not think a queer ship is going to be canon & should not go canon. ST fandom has this type of fans especially Bylers and recently Ronancers. Sorry that I do not think Byler has a chance of being wrapped up in a nice way when the writers actively refused to even breakup Mileven in this season and intentionally added a confession scene on the show from Mike to El. We literally have 1 season left with everything else going on in a limited time frame but I am expected to be okay with the possible resolution of this whole thing, and should expect a nice wrap up where we supposedly will see Mileven break up, Mike and El moving on from each other, there will be a time for them to adjust to that, for Mike to consider dating Will HECK even for Will to consider confessing and dating Mike, for the writers to make that all believable to the audience in a nice way within the narrative.... and I am expected to like Ronance when Stobin is one of the most important platonic relationships on the show and we canonically know Nancy and Steve's break up was bad, and that Steve still has feelings for Nancy. I want to see representation, I really do but it feels like the fandom itself is bending any logic and sensibility to make a ship seem reasonable and make sense within the narrative... when it really does not.

God. Yeah. Like sure queer people can have internalized homophobia or intra community basis (like bi/a/trans phobia) etc but to say someone's a bigot just because they don't like the a fictional ship, or even that they just don't think it will be canon, is just silly and causing problems on purpose.

The intense blr shippers have really turned me off the ship, honestly. I have a few asks from them saved as drafts just to get them out of my inbox, and they're saying the same as others "we're fighting homophobia" "you're just as bad as people saying why don't we shut up about blr and ship mlvn if you don't think this has been part of a grand and epic master plan for the greatest romance ever" as well as just not understanding what the very specific phenomena of queerbaiting is, all telling me I don't belong in the ship because I don't ship it correctly. So. Makes me feel bad and really disappointed. People who ship mlvn (which my original post was also tagged, because it discusses them too) DIDNT come to my inbox and call me names or a fake shipper when I said I thought they should break up. Make of that what you will.

As much as Will and Mike getting together would mean to people, putting that much emotional weight and expectation and emphasis on a single aspect of a show, a single ship, is not healthy. It also, if it does happen, will not be the epic romance planned from the start they think it is. (We remember tjlc, right?? RIGHT??) If it happens it will possibly be slap dash and rushed, because you're right. There's a lot happening, the show struggles with ending/starting romances, and they are NOT the only characters that matter. The breathing room required for both Mike and El AND the audience to make the breakup feel real and that enough time has passed to not make Mike look like an asshole for immediately dating his ex's brother (and for Will not to look like an ass for dating his sister's ex?!?) Is now insufficient given how short the seasons are, and as you said, they should've broken up in S4 to pull that off.

And then the fandom would likely feel a bit cheated after building it up so much in their heads, only for it to be a bit of a flop. But I guess a lot of people don't mind how Nancy and Jonathan got together, so with the way some of the people in my inbox were talking about El then it could be like that too. Just. Not giving a shit if someone, a character I personally love, was really hurt and betrayed by her recently ex boyfriend and her BROTHER.

Pretending it was all fine because romantic love is the most important thing ever to them I guess. When it's not, especially in the show! Non romantic bonds are so important to these characters! It would just ruin it for me, because what I was originally saying was that Will, Mike, and El all mean so much to each other and actively try to not hurt one another (even if the do accidentally or end up hurting themselves) and that, because Will and El are siblings now, Will might think twice about dating Mike so soon after he broke up with El. It would make them look cold hearted and selfish tbh. That's why a good ending would be Will feeling comfortable enough to come out, and being accepted by his friends. (All of them not just Mike) and that final emphasis on the Party as a whole rather than individual Romo relationships.

It's actually very important to consider other people's feelings in everyday life, I think. Sure, ultimately they shouldn't dictate all your actions, but there will be consequences for some of them. They can lose friendships, or other relationships. It can also make a character look REALLY BAD.

For rnce, people go on about how Robin absolutely does not need to consider Steve's feelings in pursuing a girl. (Ignoring other issues people have with the ship that have nothing to do with Steve, lol) And sure. Okay. For every girl but the one that broke his heart, cheated on him, and who he still has feelings for that Robin herself encouraged. People are out here saying they could be endgame without completely ruining stobin's friendship like huh??? Do they understand Robin "what if we just combined" Buckley? Do they not care about the most important relationship in her life? Do they not care about her beyond how she can hype up Nancy instead of one of those icky boys?

A problem I have with rnce is that a lot of the writing saying it could be canon (which, lbr, it won't be. While I think blr may be canon just in a kind of disappointing way, I don't think there's any chance of rnce happening, especially with Vickie right there blushing and flirting with Robin) only focuses on how it would be good for Nancy, or if it's trying to make it seem good for Robin ignores their personalities and other relationships. Like Nancy isn't annoyed by Robin until Robin's speech gets them into Penherst, or that Nancy wasn't dismissive of Robin's ideas, and Robin wasn't clearly nervous and apologizing for being annoying in order to get Nancy to like her (tbh I think Nancy should have been the one pursuing a friendship with Robin instead of the other way around but alas). Tbh I could go on about how Nancy and her relationships and her needs/wants inside those are often misdirected? Misidentified? By fandom, and how that feeds into Robin being reduced to someone who supports Nancy (which, if people complain about Robin considering her bffs feelings about her dating someone, shouldn't they complain about her becoming a glorified cheerleader for Nancy...oh. it's because it's romantic. And some parts of this fandom value that most.) In rnce, which strips Robin of her personality and makes it boring. But this is already long haha (Not to mention it'd be super weird for Nancy to be dating her ex she cheated on and never actually told she cheated on him's best friend. Awkward!!)

I used to not mind rnce that much, tbh. I didn't get it and did think it was weird but the art was cute! And now it's sort of an alarm bells for people being weird about stobin.

Steve and Robin's relationship, like so many platonic relationships but more glaring with just how obsessed with each other they are, is often devalued by the fandom by virtue of the idea that a romantic partner needs/should be someone's number 1. Even though those two want to combine, and are seen taking active roles in trying to get them a romantic relationship, and are really the first person the other felt they could be completely themself around. They're the most important person to the other, regardless of their romantic relationship status.

[citadelofmythoughts]

With each passing day, it grows harder and harder to not believe that many people are just colonizers and grifters to their very core.

Every day they choose to steal, cheat and eliminate everyone who isn't like them, treating our existence, our work, our everything as their own personal grab bag to take and take and never give back.

Like I know genetically people aren't evil, but I can't help but feel like so many have been poisoned down to their very being, and they want to STAY poisoned because they don't WANT to care about other people.

You're right, humanity at it's core is not predisposed to evil but you're also not wrong that some people see others as things to be exploited and drained until they're an empty husk to be discarded and unfortunately many people like that have a considerable amount of power and influence and in my heart I have to believe people like that just can't be reached.

BUT there are more decent, loving, caring people than bad. Unfortunately it's our nature to remember the negative interactions more than the positive ones. Always remember that the grifters, the bigots, the abusers WANT us to feel defeated.

Do what you have to do to take care of yourself, to rest, recharge and avoid burnout but don't ever let them take your will to keep fighting.

"The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice." - Dr. Martin Luther King.

[unhingedhearties]

So to recap, When Calls The Heart's lead actress Erin Krakow posted a photo on her Instagram for the first time since the actor's strike celebrating the end of filming the latest season. It was an innocuous photo of the ground and her shoes, plus mountie boots that belonged to actor Kevin McGarry. Some fans were happy and some fans…

You'd think Erin dropped the atomic bomb on Lucabeth fans with how some of them reacted. Phrases like "rubbing salt in the wounds", "a slap in the face", "insensitive", "distasteful" "offensive", "cruel" and "heartless" were casually tossed around. The consensus among unhinged Hearties was that Erin intentionally picked this photo, rather than one of her and actor Chris McNally, with the sole intent of mentally and physically hurting fans of the relationship between the fictious characters Elizabeth and Lucas.

Well if the shoe photo was Little Boy, this next one is Fat Man. A few days later Erin posted a short video of Chris comically jumping in the background and photo bombing her. So you would think that the same people accusing Erin of being malicious for NOT posting a photo of her and Chris would be ecstatic when she does.

Nope.

One thing these disgruntled Hearties can't stand is selfish, self-centered behavior and that's why you'll never see them act like that.

I'm not going to show each time this statement comes up because I've seen if a hundred times, but these people say they're not interested in the "teacher/mountie" story even though that's the entire point of the show and books. That's like watching The Sopranos and saying you're sick of seeing the "balancing being a mob boss with being a family man" aspect of Tony and just want to see episodes of him being a father to his dumb kids.

</3 ad nauseam

Aaaaaaand there it is. "YOU'RE AN EVIL, HEARTLESS WOMAN FOR NOT POSTING PICS OF YOU AND CHRUCAS! WE WANT TO SEE PICS OF YOU TWO TOGETHER" "NOOOOOOOOO! NOT LIKE THAT!" Whenever someone calls out their shitty behavior, they always try to wear it like a badge of honor but you know the second they get any kind of push back or people treating them the same way, they'll fold like a piece of paper and cry victim.

Literally sick you guys :(

"Why Erin Why??? We would have loved you till the end." Geeeeeeez. Pretty sure the Bible says a thing or two about not having false idols or something. They should follow it a bit more so they don't sound like scorned stalkers. A fight breaks out over whether Elizabeth is a stronk female character or weak. "Emotional cheating" comes up again, so take a drink. You'll notice this weird implication with some people that it's wrong to end a relationship if it's not working out instead of "trying to make it work". It must be nice that these people have never been or known someone in an abusivie relationship and be completely unaware at how harmful their words are.

Well gee-golly, it sure is a good thing that the other side of the When Calls The Heart fandom isn't exhibiting that kind of behavior (but if they are, it's totally justified because reasons). And let's not pretend there weren't a ton of Team Lucas fans making it known that they wanted Nathan paired up with Faith (a white woman) over Mei (an Asian woman). Weird how the majority of this "TPTB are RACIST BIGOTS for not pairing up Nathan and Mei" seems to have sprung up only after Elizabeth and Chris broke up. You'd think 90% of the cast on this show didn't exist since most of the Hearties only ever talk about the same 2 or 3 characters, but boy do they love bringing up the characters who aren't white when it suits them.

For some reason a lot of Hearties have gotten it into their heads that these two are never, ever going to share a scene together again. I'd actually be really impressed if the writers figured out a way to have a major character not interact with the lead.

Damned if you do post pics of Chris, damned if you don't.

Someone with some sense replies. Of course the unhinged fans can't stand it.

[fatedechoes]

Selective indie low activity RP multimuse blog. 18+ to follow, please. Call me Val or V. they/them.

Alan Wake: Alice Wake. FFXIV: Alisaie Leveilleur, Allie Baelsar, Athena, Carosa wir Galvus, Osha Chaliapoh (non-WoL oc). God of War: Laufey. League of Legends: Katarina du Couteau, Leona, Isolde. Tekken: Anna Williams, Reina.

Blogroll: @hopewrought @lightflown

Portrayal notes and verses TBA. Rules below cut.

Triggering topics may be present; namely, subjects and themes present in the source series'. They will be tagged with a cw. NSFW content, should it ever happen, will be placed under a cut. If you need anything specific tagged, please don't hesitate to let me know. I do not and will not write incest, pedophilia, dub/noncon or cheating plots.

This blog is selective, low activity, and I will only plot with mutuals.

I am very OC and crossover friendly, and love AUs! Also, I do not have duplicate anxiety. Twin AUs and AUs interacting with each other are things I've had fun with in the past on other blogs! Though, generally I will not follow first unless your comfort level with dupes is stated.

Tracking the tag #fatedechoes. I appreciate using it and @/ing me where possible to be sure I saw any relevant posts! I will do the same in return.

General RP etiquette applies, such as not reblogging threads you are not part of, etc. I block personals that interact with my posts unless an RP sideblog is clearly indicated!

I use the beta editor as legacy is completely unavailable for me.

Shipping: Not all of my characters are available for romantic ships. Some have an exclusive partner (Alice, Athena, Carosa, Laufey, Isolde) and others are closed to shipping (Alisaie, Allie). Outside of that, I'm open to considering anything if we have a comfortable ooc rapport!

DNI. Please don't follow or attempt to interact if: You associate with any of these people - Miles (r.eapcrbunny) Valentine (r.oyalgore) Bunny (c.elestieu) Ares/Jay (t.aleswritten) or Mox/Bowie. All of them have a documented history of abusive or predatory behaviour and their callouts are linked. I only support callouts in these kinds of severe cases and not when it is just interpersonal drama or disagreements. You hold bigoted views/isms. You are not willing to tag triggers. You use AI generated material on your blog.

Thank you for reading my rules! If I have followed you, I have read your rules page and will respect them.

[cescalr]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

I'm going through my drafts because I completely forgot about half the asks I had that I never did <3 whoops! Sorry everyone. And you, bestie. Sorry <3. Gets a little long bc of image size, so I'll put it under a cut.

So, difficulty here is I've done this more than once, and the list hasn't really changed? FWIW, GTTAU, etc etc. So I guess this time, I'll list favourite WIPS? I mean, FWIW will still be on there, but... still? I'll try not to put any repeats.

For What It's Worth.

FWIW is a project I started because frankly there is not enough ronarry out there. This fandom has atrocious taste <3. So I figured, you know. Be the change you want to see, and all! FWIW is my favourite little guy. I will update it eventually </3. Just, er, probably not until after uni's over.

Ab Epistulis

Something a little different from a gif, since we've all seen the same damn five steo scenes like 1000 times already; an old moodboard I made for the tumblr rpc side of fandom!

Steo my beloved <3 As for the fic; 'If only summer vacation were like in the movies. At least Stiles has the internet to entertain him, right?' It's just a little canon divergent steo au set around the idea of Theo putting in the work to get Stiles on his side earlier than canon. It's a fun idea and I really like what i've got here, just haven't had the time to write more. It'd take a lot of plotting, and I'm, to be brutally honest, a terrible planner. We'll see when I can get back to it, because I definitely want to!

And The Universe Decrees: Second Year.

Heh. Yeahh....... really need to find the time to get back to this one. Love a good canon divergence.

Better Now.

Another prompted fic! My girls <3. Ginny/Cho coffee shop au in the muggle cliché continuity. it's fun. I really like this one.

Post ST4 AU[s].

This is... sort of cheating, lol, but they're all in... they're almost all in the same continuity, so it's kind of like FWIW; I think the side-fics amissum and amortencia are part of the fic, they're canon to it, they should be read with it, they're just not in it bc they're not ron pov. This is maybe more similar to GTTAU, though, because some fics here fill in blanks in each other, so they should all really be read together, whereas you could miss AV and Amortencia from FWIW if you wanted to [ :( ] yk? Whilst Herd Culling & Kneel and Disconnect are in different timelines, they're spouses. They need to be read alongside each other to get the full picture. Literally a really important scene for K&D is in HC and will never be shown in K&D bc of the narrator being who she is vs the narrator of HC being who he is, yk? It's. They're married. Do you get what I mean? Anyway; I'm really putting this here for Herd Culling, if I'm being real. Carol sucks to write because she's just so awful, which is why I had to tone down Tommy a bit for some relief from writing an 80s bigot (he's. still a bigot, though. 80s. Indiana. You know how it goes :/), and as a consequence its easier to say I like the fic because it's just more fun to write. Both K&D and HC are about grief, about the trauma of bereavement and how people do or don't deal with it. Carol's spiralling makes her meaner, more self-destructive, and so does Tommy's, but it's expressed in different ways because of their different methods of navigating life, which I think is interesting. Character study is like my favourite thing to do, which I guess wouldn't be hard to notice from my back catalogue, lol, but still, should be noted. HC is an... easier? read than K&D, though, as a result of the content warnings on them both. Tommy's less reflective than Carol, so his internal narration is less direct - less room for him to spout bigoted shit if he's just not thinking in the first place. They're also at different stages of grief. Tommy's just started entering anger; Carol's been angry for a long time, just... simmering in her misery. It shows. They're both still horrible people, though, no denying that. These fics are more of a test of my ability to write a redemption arc for someone that says and thinks reprehensible shit. But it's also a kind of... study of what it was like to live in a time and place like Stranger Things' setting, and how the cultural, social systems at play hurt literally everyone. Plus, yk, Stranger Things' own refusal to really care about intra-season continuity and propensity to ignoring incredibly traumatic events because that's not the character they're focusing on this season, and they don't know how to write consistently for as large an ensemble cast as they've given themselves in a netflix acceptable timeframe. (I miss 22 episode seasons.) Anyway; the ST Post-S4AU is my most current WIP, as of time of typing this out.

<3

[thalthanmadanus]

Definitely, most of the hostility comes from other houses and 90% the reason why is because of house points, because the Slytherins used to cheat in matches, and Snape showing heavy favoritism.. That's besides Gryffindor's general principle of just not getting well with Slytherin (according to Harry in the sixth book)

I think though that Slytherins are actually the outcasts of the houses, not just by actions made by the other houses but also by actions Slytherins also make themselves. It's a hateful cycle.

Outcast not as an uwu underdog misunderstood meowmeow house, but just a heavily disliked one. I don’t think we see any kind of good interaction between Slytherins and the other houses (minus the time Draco made badges and Hufflepuff wore them, but honestly I bet 100% that if Harry was Slytherin the hate he would've got in GOF would've been worse)

(Also which house wasn't invited in the DA? but tbf can you blame Harry)

I don't think we see in the books Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff being too competitive or hostile to Gryffindor even after they won many times?? Yet in the first book, we're shown Gryffindors literally making outcasts of Harry and Hermione because they lost points and Slytherin got the lead.

So much for being a righteous house. We also see that Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw went with the hate bandwagon on literal 11 year old CHILDREN because Slytherin was winning.

While I don't think that slytherins were bullied by other houses (I mean who we are kidding, they're the ones doing most of the bullying), the three houses still express so much hostility towards them (I mean we have Fred and George hissing at fresh 11 year old slytherins after being sorted)

We can see individuals from a house, say Hufflepuff (Zacharias Smith) being an ass and so being disliked by students from other houses or for example Ravenclaws being bullies to Luna, Hufflepuff being shit to Harry in gof. We are given many examples of students from the three houses being ass to each other but that doesn't translate to hating the WHOLE house AS A PRINCIPLE like we see with Gryffindor and Slytherin.

The Slytherins also don't help their case because they also choose to stay outcasts, or at least that's how I see it. (In the fourth book, at the end, while the three houses raised their goblets for Dumbledore's speech, the slytherins didn't)

At the end, in the battle if Hogwarts, the three houses were there but not Slytherin (no matter what jkr says in her interviews).

All of the students who were in the Umbitch Snitch group were Slytherins.

At some point you gotta ask can you blame the other houses? but you also think Can you blame Slytherin??

It's a cycle. An unescapable chain reaction.

The teachers of the other houses don't penalise other students like Snape, but we aren't shown them doing anything actively to stop this hostlity between the houses. They're very passive about it. and imo, Inaction itself is an action. The house points system itself is very corrupt and lowkey doesn't make sense and is the main catalyst for the hate. The teachers could at least talk to Snape to stop being an ass because like I said 90% the reason why the houses hate Slytherin is because of house points.

It is so funny,. because to us the readers Slytherins are evil because they're full of bigoted children who grow up to be death eaters. to the Hogwarts population, Slytherins are evil because they cheat in Sports.

GET RID OF THAT HOUSE POINTS SYSTEM AND SEE HALF OF THE PROBLEMS IN WIZARDRING ENGLAND GONE!!!

Feel free to correct me though if you found instances contradicting what I said.

was there actually anti-slytherin behavior by the hogwarts staff in the books? I know Snape definitely showed favoritism towards them, but I can't remember if this was compensation in a way, or if he was being totally unfair. (remembering the house cup fiasco from first year, it makes me wonder)

Hmmm, I'm going to go ahead and say no. I think that there's a general "Slytherins are bad" air permeating the books but teachers and authority figures don't generally penalise them.

The heads of houses are shown favoring their own students so, like, McGonagall is biased towards Gryffindor (allowing 11 y.o. Harry to participate in quidditch is crazy unfair, as is gifting him a broom), but she doesn't actually go out of her way to over-punish Slytherins the way Snape does. I like to think that Snape is somewhat compensating from the favoritism that other heads of houses give their own students but at the end of the day lot of his behaviour is mostly driven by pettiness (also I think being a dick to children is highly entertaining to Snape so I kind of see it as his hobby).

In the books Harry is often in the role of the underdog because of the actions of Slytherins so it makes no sense for the story jkr wants to tell to have the people most often putting Harry down be discriminated against since that would humanise them too much. I think the most you can say about anti-Slytherin sentiment at Hogwarts (as intended by jkr) is that Slytherins don't seem popular with students from other houses but even then I wouldn't go so far as to say they are outcasts, you know?

In the before-Harry times Slytherin was out there winning the house cup and the Quidditch cup left and right and it feels like the houses had a pretty normal amount competition; I'm curious as to what everyone else thinks but to me it feels like it's Harry's (and Draco's) presence at Hogwarts that somewhat exacerbated the whole house rivalry thing and maybe took teacher favoritism to a whole new level as well, idk.

Take care friend, and thank you for your question

xoxo

[nativeofsumeru]

Genshin Impact Fanfiction Ideas

A/N: These are just some fan fiction ideas that I had in my head (some are more fleshed out than others), I don't think I'll write them out tho so I put them all here because I like said ideas

There are gender neutral reader and male/female reader stories

(This list is in a random order)

~~~

Pantalone:

-Being his sugar baby or partner, either living with him and him spoiling you or him basically buying you your own house(he would still spoil you)

-maybe the Fatui take a keen interest into his personal affairs and he has to act as if you're really nothing special, you overhear this conversation and this miscommunication leads to fights, you end up storming off and being put in harm's way

Dottore:

-this little shit

-reader running away with a baby they had with Dottore scared of whatever the doctor might do if he got his hands on said baby

-"I don't trust what you would do them." "You trust me with your own body yet you won't trust me with my own creation?"

-running through some snowy woods late at night in Snezhnaya as he calmly with a smirk on his face hunts you down, it's a little game of Hide & Seek, at the end of the day though he's probably the victor

Itto:

-fem!reader is the daughter of an Inazuman noble family, reader has made and caught feelings for an oni friend/acquaintance she knew from childhood and they start a secret romance as her family would never approve

-one day her family comes to here and excitedly proclaims that she is betrothed to Kamisato Ayato and are so happy about the honor and status it's brought her family

-reader is obviously devastated and entrusts with Itto what happened, reader is married to Ayato and although he was kind and didn't force her to do anything she didn't want to, he didn't seem all too invested in this marriage either

-itto and reader continue meeting up in secret and reader low-key feels guilty that she's technically cheating on her husband and even if she didn't want this in the beginning no one deserves to be betrayed like that

-reader makes a decision to tell Ayato about her relationship with Itto, only to find him and Thoma being romantic with each other (this is awkward)

-eventually everything is talked through and there are apologies and laughs about the whole ordeal(no hard feelings and everyone understands the feeling of being scared to be open about their relationships due to public opinion, head commissioner with a lowly housekeeper?! the disgrace!)

-Ayato explains the reason behind such a rushed marriage was because with (insert national/international conflict here that he has to partake in) and Ayaka not being interested in marriage at all(which is perfectly fine in his eyes) it's up to him to make sure there's an heir for the Kamisato clan as his life is most definitely going to be in danger

-idk where it would go from here, but no one in this story is malicious and I'm sure Ayato, reader, Thoma, Ayaka, and Itto team up to make a plan to quell the threat and solve everybody's issues

Childe:

-Childe finds himself getting romantically attached to a prostitute he frequently spends time with, however the last thing he wants is another personal relationship put in harm's way

Itto again:

-reader and Itto being discriminated against cause he's an oni, he feels awful for being the cause of reader having to go through this

-reader explains how they don't mind and they knew what they were getting into, how others bigoted minds aren't his fault etc.

-a big fluff fic

Yae Miko:

-Modern AU

reader has an on and off relationship with Miko and is very flirtatious, they like to see Miko's reactions when she gets jealous

-one day either Miko has enough or reader goes too far in their "make her jealous" attempts and shit hits the fan

Kazuha:

-the friend trio was Tomo, Kazuha, and reader

-reader and Tomo were very close, practically lovers at the time of his death

-Kazuha has to relay the terrible news to them and they breakdown, Kazuha hides out in Inazuma for a bit trying to stay on the down-low, it's during this time that reader and Kazuha start getting closer

-Kazuha starts to get feelings for the heartbroken reader and feels guilty because they were Tomo's partner

-Kazuha eventually has to leave the country and reader is left alone in Inazuma

-Kazuha returns during the Irodori Festival and sees a familiar face in the crowd of civilians hanging out with Yoimiya

Kuki Shinobu:

-inspired by the song "Jenny" by Studio Killers

-fem!reader is best friends with Kuki, reader has started going out with Itto

-Shinobu and reader later runaway together leaving behind the cares of the past knowing they would probably be figuratively crucified by those they were close to

Kaeya and Diluc:

-m!reader and Kaeya share a drink at the bar

-trio is Diluc, Kaeya, and reader

-I do lowkey love Love triangle tropes

-reader gets close to both men separately and slowly uncovers the story of their separation from each other being conflicted as to who's right or wrong while also catching feelings for both

Kaeya:

-m!reader

-Yuri on Ice but with reader and Kaeya basically

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Hi! So I was driving in my car today and was listening to misery business by Paramore and I just feel like it would make a good one shot for a Eddie and reader fic!

So the reader would be the one kinda singing it/thinking it!

So say Eddie and Chrissy were together and the reader was just Eddie's friend and then chrissy cheated on him with Jason? And Eddie finally saw the reader and felt all the feels!

Does that make sense?

Love this, sorry that it took so long for me to write! It's a bit angsty and a bit fluffy. This is so long btw.

Watching from the sidelines is one of the worst experiences.

Watching the person you're in love with be so oblivious to you and so obsessively in love with someone you consider a friend, someone who's not good enough for him.

Eddie was in love with Chrissy the minute he found her, standing there in the middle of the clearing in the woods. She wasn't much younger than him, doe-eyed, soft, beautiful and most importantly kind. She had a lot going on at home, enough to pursue Eddie and I remember the night he drove over to my house in a hurry just to tell me about his interaction with her.

His eyes were gleaming in adoration, heart pounding, a nervous sweat running down his back. Falling in love with Chrissy was like a fever in Eddie's body, the words 'I love you' wanting to spill from his lips like his body sweating a fever out. He was desperate for her, clingy and boyish- he was so different with her than he ever was with me.

He's always treated me like a friend, a close friend, shoulder bumping me, giving me high fives and playfully picking on me. But before Chrissy, it would be more than that- subtle touches, longing looks, lingering lips on my temple or forehead.

But it all went away when she became the object of his affection.

Chrissy had been my friend for years, since middle school when the both of us were pretty ugly and fairly annoying. But then she got prettier and started gaining the attention from everyone and anyone around her and, again, I was in the background.

So when the two of them started dating, the choices were either third wheeling or being alone.

I tried to hang out with them for a while; going to the movies, the bowling alley, smoking in Eddie's living room. But it just never fit and when I stopped coming, they just didn't notice because they were too busy gazing at each other and kissing each other.

It was torture.

They didn't reach out, they didn't realize, they didn't care.

That is, until Chrissy and Jason were forced together as prom king and queen and the two of them connected over being jocks and blonde. I can only imagine the intelligent conversations shared between the two of them with the amount of hairspray and hair-gel seeping through their skulls and absorbing into their brains.

Eddie wasn't too thrilled about Jason's existence in his girlfriends life so he came back to me, ranting and rambling about his insecurities and worried. He worried that they would have more in common, that they would get together behind his back and he would be left 'alone' again.

He only ever needed me when he didn't have anyone else filling that hole and I was pissed when I realized that.

But the love for him takes precedence over the anger, especially now, as I stare at my phone, waiting for his call after my ten voicemails I've left him. He's been MIA for days now, not returning my calls, not at the music store or the arcade, and Dustin claims that he hasn't seen him in about a week.

It's hard to be mad at someone who you're in love with because, even though they're the person inflicting the pain, they're the only person you want to comfort you.

My knuckles rap against the door as I rub my arms, my jaw trembling in gentle shivers. The fall weather is some of my favorite weather but this season is just different without Eddie making us hot chocolate, without us going to pumpkin patches and then smashing pumpkins on the front steps of racist bigots in our town.

I can see Eddie peak through the curtain on the window, his eyes meeting mine briefly as I raise my hand in a small wave but he's gone before he can see it. Moments later, the door in front of me opens and Eddie yanks me into the trailer.

"Jesus Eddie- where the fuck have you bee-" I pause, my jaw dropping as I look around at the state of the trailer, shocked at the strong smell of booze and weed, beer bottles tossed all around the living room. There's a discarded pizza box on the counter and a ton of tissues scattered across the floor. There's also soft music playing over the speaker, the opposite of his normal heavy metal.

I turn to him with frantic and frightened eyes, the words on the tip of my tongue not forming as I take in Eddie's physical state. His eyes are tired and red, emotionless and bottomless, as he stares at me, his shoulders rising in a sad shrug.

"She cheated on me. With the Jason kid." My heart aches in my chest as he sniffles loudly, reaching up to tug at his curls. "Didn't want to tell you cuz I knew you wanted us to break up anyways." He chuckles bitterly and my brows furrow, lost at his sudden anger.

"Eddie- I... what?"

"Was I just not good enough for her? I know you've been friends for a while but you and I have been best friends- like 'follow you into Mordor' friends- since we were in pull-ups." He grits, his wide eyes frantically searching mine for answers that I don't have and I shake my head, reaching up to cover my face as I try to process what he's implying. "So was it me? Was I not good enough for her and y-you said something to her about how Jason was better?"

"Are you seriously blaming this on me?" I snap, watching his face soften a bit as my hands shake furiously, anger coursing through my ever vessel. "Eddie, I wanted nothing to do with you or her." I take a step closer to him, throwing my hands up in the air as he watches me with the same sense of confusion and betray in his eyes. "Or your relationship for that matter. Yeah, I didn't want you guys together but it had nothing to do with you. Get your head out of your ass and remember who you're fucking speaking to." He looks taken back by my sudden outburst, a tragically sad expression flashing across his face as his shoulders droop.

"W-what? Why didn't you want us together?" He asks, voice cracking as tears tip over his waterline, dropping down onto his flushed cheeks and his bottom lip wobbles. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Did you ever even ask me what I thought about your relationship?" I ask, dropping the 'get well soon' bag full of spaghettis and shitty comics to the ground and I fold my arms over my chest. "No, sorry- you weren't asking me anything because you forgot that I existed for almost six months." I laugh, suddenly feeling so stupid that I came all the way out here with presents for him, just to be accused of sabotaging his relationship.

He frowns, his lips parting as if he's going to say something, to argue, but he doesn't. His gaze just drops to the floor, his cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"You don't care about me as soon as you have someone else-"

"That's not true-"

"- and the minute they leave you, you're back to me, missing me, confiding in me. I'm just a fucking back up." I cry, angry tears spilling down my cheeks as he stops, a heartbreaking frown on his face. "You only have room in your mind, your heart and your dick for one person at a time and you abandon everyone else you care about when you find someone knew."

"Stop." He pleads, taking a step closer to me as he reaches out to me but I just shove him off, knowing that I would just crack if he touched me. "You make it sound like I think you're re-"

"I am replaceable to you so don't argue that." I hold my hand up to him and my coldness makes a shiver run down his spine, his shoulders trembling briefly as he reaches out to take my hands in his. I let him, my eyes fluttering shut as I enjoy the weight of his hands around mine, not realizing until now that I missed him more than I've been angry at him.

"You're not replaceable. Stop." He says again, sternly.

"I've been here, ya know?" I whisper, letting silence consume us as my stomach twists in anxious nausea, never thinking I'd be in the position to tell him this- to tell him about how I feel. "Being your emotional and physical fluffer, letting you use me for affection and comfort- while I would just count down the minutes that you leave me for someone else." His head shakes softly at my words, big, brown doe-eyes staring down at me as he leans down to wipe his nose on his shirt. "And you always do. So if you want to talk about someone not being good enough, it's me." My lips curl in a sad smile, a weight leaving my shoulders that I hadn't realized was there.

A few moments of silence goes by, awkward and tense as Eddie looks at me, a mixture of shock and relief passing through his gaze. I just take a deep breath and give him a gentle shrug.

"You would've never know-"

"I should have known." He nods, gulping as he lets go of my hands but doesn't give me a moment to worry, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me up and into his arms. I fold immediately at his touch, caving into him as he holds tightly onto me as if I'll leave in a moments notice. "I'm sorry, I should've known."

"I'm really good at hiding things." I chuckle weakly.

"I just feel so stupid." He laughs, pressing a simple kiss to the side of my head before leaning back to look down at me but he doesn't let me go, holds me tightly to his chest with a fond, sad smile. I give him another shrug but he just shakes his head. "I was in love with you and was so fucking scared to tell you because you in middle school and tried to tell you in a Valentines card but I accidentally put it in locker 228 instead of 288. So... Suzy in our eighth period science class got it instead." I look up at him with wide eyes but take a deep breath, not wanting to freak him out with all of my feelings especially after getting dumped and cheated on. "That was really fucking hard to explain to her."

"Typical." I snort, reaching out to playfully punch his shoulder as he feigns hurt, laughing tearily at me. I make my way over to the couch, throwing myself down onto the cushions and I press my face into the mattress, my eyes fluttering shut in relief but also because I'm overwhelmed by the amount of questions running through my head.

"Forgive me?" Eddie asks as he sits down beside me, running his fingers down my back.

"Oh buddy, no. You've gotta work for that shit."

"Yep, that's fair- alright."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- Taglist: @bubblebuttwade @rafelover2405 @leslienjazzy @sorceresss @grxnde-dwt @alex--awesome--22 @bunnietoof @niyamar1e @serialghost @plantlungs @geniusohn @akaliltimmytim @lilaalouuxx @xshariex @elliotsbeigeguitar @elle4404 @lelieja @srhxpci @joselyn001 @taysirene @spinkspanther @thedivineuphoria @peter-maximoffs @tsukishimawhore @poohkie90 @szlaco @distantsighs @nstyles4299 @wolflover384 @givemefoodandlovesstuff @vane2828 @yeswhatever33 @amirrahfranson @vvaalleennttiinna @f-mu @yaspillz @jeyramarie @skylievin@abbybarnes17 @jointherebellion215 @visiondaddy @steezysimfinds @its-ya-gay-boi-luigi

@crunchytoenailsyum@glizzymcguirex @beth123lg @melovesmut @rafecameronswhore @ariianelle @write-from-the-heart @vampviolets@haylee-e@popehaywardssecretgf @honee-chai-tea @lokiandbuckywife @smoke-and-fire @officiallyunofficialperson@heyaitsklaudia@rosepetalsparks @bluetreecloud20 @scenesofobx @double-shot-of-tequila @1dluver13xx @colbysbrocks @iamasimpingh0e @smoke-and-fire386 @loveshineslikethesky @id-3-kbro @diorsitgirl @errorfound101-allideasburnedout @neverwillknowme18 @ellyskey @taylors-folk @loversjoy @myaloveee @thyris-is @lagataprrr @aaaaslaaaan @minjix @luvrosee @storytellingwitht

[michaelenscombe]

What I personally love about destiel is that their characters, both in canon and in fanfiction, are failures. A lot of fan-favorite characters are especially capable in some way; they are either the genius, the most powerful wizard, the bookworm who knows everything, etc. etc. They're the speical ones. Their fanfiction writes itself. They outsmart everyone else by definition because that's their character defnition in the first place.

But deancas? Dean's a good hunter, but he's not the best. He dies in a hunt, six months after Chuck's protection expires. Cas fails every time he tries to do something good for Dean and for humanity's sake, because he's a broken angel who cannot predict the future, he's not even an archangel, he's utterly powerless and rendered idiotic in the face of countless creatures more powerful than him.

That's why their fanfictions are largely written based on their character traits that are other than their special abilities (their capabilities), because what makes them them is not their capabilities but their tenacity for love. They, both in canon and in fanfic, fail, countless times, and they still shine as them because despite their failures and their shortages, they never stop to love. Even after being divorced, cheated on, betrayed, Dean in fanfics always finds happiness and love when he sees little kids running around because he can't not. Even after being abused by religious families, forcibly outed by bigots, his own self shutting himself from meaningful social interactions, Castiel loves bees, plants, the little depictions of life, because that's who he is. And when the two of them fall in love with each other, those are the things that make them fall. Their shared ability to love.

I personally love this character dynamic because it relates to the more realistic part of life. Nobody in real life is defined to be "the smartest in the room." That's not how life works. Intellect is multi-faceted, talent is multi-faceted, you may be the best in some scenarios, but some are going to be better in others, and even the areas that you consider to be the best in, someone else's gonna be better than you, if not now than in the near future. That's just real life.

You may be smart, but that can never be something that defines you, and destiel kind of tells you that it shouldn't be something that defines you. Being smart, being better than someone else, that's just a bonus. The most important thing, the most beautiful and the most fundamental thread of a human's soul, is the ability to love. The ability to love others, to love things, objects. And to realize that is so rewarding. It makes world a colorful place, a lovely place, not a world of competition or a place where your worth is decided by what you are capable of. I think destiel shows just how much rewarding that is. They find love in each other and it makes their love so much more real, so much more beautiful.

[strangestcase]

Ok as a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen enjoyer i 100% think the movie was better. the comics are built on three amazing concepts:

-all fictional characters are actually real (great for cameos, references, and meta stuff)

-the parody of the adventure novel and its tropes over the years

-the deconstruction of the superhero team by casting a variety of characters with totally different backgrounds and moral compasses as the designated heroes and forcing them to interact

and then it fucked them over by:

-making these characters ooc or just treating them terribly in increasingly cynical ways for edge’s sake instead of properly exploring them

-unironically leaning on the bigoted elements it was supposed to parody (SO MUCH RACISM)

-not caring about the characters enough for their clashing to be properly dramatic. they’re all assholes except for Mina; its just predictable.

The movie, however:

-makes the characters less ooc by virtue of changing the plot enough for all of them to be realistically involved in it and actually getting more people to revise them (Mina regains her spine, Nemo regains his moral core, Jekyll regains his shadiness, and Skinner feels more like Griffin than his comic counterpart did)

-subverting the elements Moore failed to critique (debatable since its a 2003 family friendly movie far removed from the comics but it felt more authentic to me)

-making the team actually work by finding ways they can connect to each other (ill forever be salty they cut out Jekyll and Nemo’s best interactions!!!!)

IDK. The movie did do some things wrong (moving the focus from Mina to Alan, for instance) but I felt less cheated. At least I got what I wanted from it.

[spxllcxstxr]

Cold to Cozy • R.L

(Gif not mine)

Request: oshdskdhkshs what about Remus being really patient, loving and gentle with the reader who’s insecure and anxious to open up to sb and be with someone after she had just got out of the toxic relationship? Sorry for my English. Love you so much. — anon

Summary: After a rough break up, you wind up at the top of the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night. Remus joins you.

Warnings: toxic relationship mention (not with Remus), more along the lines of emotional abuse, not physical, crying, but it’s mentioned and Remus comes to comfort you, but please stay safe

Word Count: 1.1k

A.N: Relationships are hard to write when you’ve never been in one. I hope I did this request justice! Could be read as platonic since it’s more focused on like comfort and not really a relationship, but who knows? Read how you’d like to! I think gn!reader. I also still don’t know how to end these things oops. Hope you enjoy, and I love you all ❤️

****

You don’t remember why you even started dating William Mulciber in the first place.

It was a well known fact that he was a bigoted asshole, and anyone with a brain wouldn’t even touch him with a ten foot pole. The only friends he had were Avery, Rosier, and Snape, and even those three needed a break from him sometimes.

But he made you feel wanted in some twisted way—at least at first.

He would flirt with you in class and stare at you across the room instead of getting assignments done. Mulciber would comment on your figure, mostly lewd remarks that had your eyes widen in shock. But he assured you that these were compliments, and who were you to say otherwise, especially in public when all eyes were focused on you?

You’d get embarrassed and duck your head towards the ground as he and his little group laughed at whatever crude joke your little admirer thought of this time.

But he was the only boy to ever outwardly express any sort of interest in you so you felt obligated to accompany him to Hogsmede. And after your little date, even though you realized that the two of you didn’t really have anything in common and he did enough talking for the both of you, you felt obligated to kiss him in front of the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

And your relationship with him was fine for about a whole two seconds before it became damaging to your entire being.

So that’s why after only a few months of being berated and judged by someone who persuaded you that it was all out of love, your relationship, if that’s what you would call it, ended after hours of shouting and flinging insults at each other.

It’s also the reason you’re crying into your house scarf at the top of the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the cold night.

The wind bites harshly at your exposed flesh, your fingers frozen and the tips of your ears completely numb.

Your legs dangle over the side, arms looped securely around the brass banister as your tears drip into your scarf.

The striped fabric is useful in muffling any rogue sobs that manage to escape.

“Rough night?”

The soft questioning voice coming from behind you has you furiously wiping your face in an attempt to look somewhat composed.

“You could say that.” Your voice cracks as the person sits next to you.

Glancing over you can tell it’s Remus, the sleeves of his thick blue jumper bunched up around his hands. He’s shivering very slightly, but is otherwise unbothered by the weather.

He nods silently, and you can hear your teeth chatter. Shyly, you bite your lip in an attempt to stop.

“I heard about you and Mulciber.” Remus speaks up, glancing at you before quickly looking back up at the cloudy sky.

“Oh yeah?” You snort, staring at his scarred face. “And what exactly did you hear?”

Remus looks back at you, the whites of his eyes illuminated in the blue glow coming from the tip of his wand.

“That you’re, and I quote, ‘a cheating bitch.’” He rolls his eyes.

“Oh yeah, because talking to Davey Gudgeon about our upcoming Herbology project is categorized as cheating, and him snogging that sixth year behind the Quidditch shed isn’t.” You scoff, balling your fists around your scarf in anger.

Of course he was spreading lies about you to make himself look like the victim. He was never in the wrong and you always were.

“That’s terrible.” You hear him shift closer to you.

“Yeah, well, that isn’t even the worst of it.” You mumble under your breath, a frown tugging at your lips.

“You don’t deserve that, (Y/n).” He tells you softly.

“But—“

“No, no one deserves the utter shit he put you through, alright?” Remus insists fiercely.

Your throat tightens as you turn your gaze down to your fingers. Nervously, you rub them together, trying to defrost them in order to find feeling again.

“You do know that, don’t you? That what he made you deal with wasn’t love?” Remus continues to press.

Noncommittally, you offer him a shrug, still avoiding those warm honey brown eyes of his.

“I’m sorry, I’m being a little too forward, aren’t I?” Remus sputters at your lack of response. “I just get so frustrated thinking about how he treated you, but if I’m overstepping—“

“No, no, it’s fine, Remus, really.” Finally, you look up, waving away his unnecessary panic. “Just...he was my first...everything, y’know? I think he’s ruined love for me.”

Remus’ face falls at your meek response. His sandy curls wave in the wind and you watch as he tries and fails to tame them behind his ears.

“Love isn’t whatever rubbish he gave you, (Y/n). Love is this warm and cozy feeling that makes you want to wake up in the morning. And makes you want to run around laughing in the pouring rain.” He rambles, marred hands waving around as he talks. “It’s a breath of fresh air and a million little kisses in the middle of the night. Honestly, I wish I could be a little more poetic, but it’s almost midnight and my brain is fried after that Potions exam.”

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.

“No Remus, that was—that was beautiful. It certainly wasn’t what we had.” You smile at him, something you haven’t done in ages at this point.

Truthfully, his little rant had a warmth blossoming in your chest, something you can’t exactly explain. You felt comfortable with him, nothing like you’d ever felt with Mulciber.

With him, it was nothing but ice, sure the occasional dull spark was ignited when his arm was slung securely over your shoulders, but that was rare.

All Remus had to do was look you in the eye and you were a melting mess.

You liked this new feeling.

“You know, you should’ve brought gloves.” He gestures to your numb fingers, shivering in the wind.

“Well I wasn’t exactly planning on going through a break up tonight, Remus.” You sarcastically retort, trying once again to bundle up your hands.

“Here, let me help.” Remus’s large hands lay atop your own, warm palms pressing against your chilled fingers.

You study your joined hands before slowly lifting your gaze back to his eyes. Your hands start to thaw.

“This is nice.” You tell him, just above a whisper.

His face is a bit closer to your own, and you can see the pink blush rising on his cheeks and tinting the tips of his ears. His nose adopts a redder hue from the brutal wind.

“Yeah.” Remus agrees at a similar volume. “It really is.”

•

All Character Taglist: @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @cherie-draco @mullthingsoverinthehotwater @catching-the-train-to-hogwarts

Remus Lupin Taglist: @lunalovecroft

[inrainprose]

Okay here’s one more meta for the road because I can’t let it go and this got away from me so warning it's long.

I can’t help but think about what must be going through Pran’s head on the rooftop, and Pat’s too for that matter and like. I imagine it must dawn on them how much of the pain and anguish they grappled with growing up was just… meaningless. That there was no good reason for it after all. Like their parents did have reasons to be angry and to resent each other, but the way they made their sons bear it too was just unnecessary. And everything good Pat and Pran could have had instead, they have to come to terms with the fact that they missed out on them for no worthy reasons.

I guess it’s the same as being raised in a homophobic, racist or generally bigoted household. They were told “you see that kid next door? That kid who is the same age and goes to the same school so your lives are basically the same and you couldn’t escape each other even if you wanted to? Well you can’t like that kid. Worse, you are obligated to hate him. Why? Because I just know he and his family are bad people. I just know, you have to trust me. And you have to be better than him. Scratch that, you are better than him, that’s a given, but you have to be sure to show it, and don’t you dare fail. Beat him every chance you can.”

And they did. Why wouldn’t they? Your parents are right about everything, and why would they lie? So they did, even if they didn’t like it, even if it made them miserable at times. They must have figured that “yeah, I guess he is kind of annoying with his all-time smile and teasing” and “yeah, I guess he is kind of weird with his nerdy vibe, always on his own”. Can only imagine what kind of turn it could have taken at times. Did they cheat, did they try to sabotage the other or get them into trouble? Did they stir others’ opinions? Were some people at their school convinced one of them was a terrible person, just because they followed their lead?

And then they grew up. They started questioning it. They discovered that the other really wasn’t that bad. Pran saved Pa and it was incomprehensible to Pat because Pran was supposed to be a bad kid right? So they thought about it and obviously they eased up on the competition, when they could get away with it. And they couldn’t help interacting, couldn’t help liking each other. Again in this their parents were so cruel, so selfish, like why did they keep their lives so intertwined? They could have just moved away and been done with it. But I guess neither wanted to cede ground first… But then they could have just ignored each other’s existence. But no, they had to double down, they had to repair this slight somehow, and not by confronting each other or demanding reparation or an apology, but by pitching their sons against each other.

Because what, it would prove something, if one beat the other? Pat and Pran couldn’t go against it. Even if they didn’t actively pursue this rivalry, their parents would keep pressing, keep asking about the boy next door and “be sure you beat him, yeah?” And there was no end to it. Did they hope that they could please their parents at least, could appease this all-consuming fire if they were good enough, if they tried hard enough? And not for any reward other than their parents letting it go at last.

I wonder if Pat and Pran always believed there was something more to it. Something their parents weren’t saying that would totally justify all this. When they set out to uncover the truth I wonder what they hoped to find. Maybe a true, meaningful feud that would justify it all, but then again of course neither of them wanted to think of their parents as the ones in the wrong. Maybe they hoped it was all a tragic misunderstanding, that this could all be resolved actually, that their parents were just mistaken.

But not only did their parents have no reason to put them through this, they still both held on to it when they were confronted. It’s possible they will come back on that of course, maybe apologize, but on the spot it was clear that they didn’t think what they did was wrong. “Have you thought about my reputation”, Pran’s mother said and “His father put a lot of pressure on him too”, Pat’s mother says. They do believe it was totally their son’s role to fight that battle for them. To win against the other in their place. With a complete disregard for what they would make them do, they believed they were justified in their actions.

Pat and Pran could have been childhood friends, they could have grown up together, been close. Or they could just have been distantly aware of each other and maybe gravitate toward one another, or not. But no. They had to play this rivalry, they had to revolve around that other kid for some reason. Pran was sent away for failing to comply with this order, and they both suffered the abrupt separation because they couldn’t hate each other enough. Pat said he felt some sort of relief having Pran finally out of his life, having this looming shadow finally gone, but they were so dependent on each other by that point that they couldn’t even enjoy this newfound freedom. And their parents are surprised they’re so deeply ingrained into each other’s life? You did that!!

Is it also part of the reason why Pran was so careful with getting closer to Pat at first? It’s understandable after all. If they became friends, then what was the point of it all? He was the one hit the hardest, as he had to change school and leave the few friends he had, and he didn’t have any siblings, he must have been terribly lonely. And getting closer to Pat meant discovering if he was, or wasn’t, bad for him like his mother warned him. In the end it meant finding out one of two cold hard truths – that his parents were right, or that they weren’t.

And now on that rooftop the answer is indisputable. Their parents were just wrong. They made the wrong decision, they dealt with this the wrong way. I guess we’re all doomed to realize our parents are not as infallible as we thought they were, but here it goes beyond – they were bad parents, and they were bad persons, for the way they clung to their rage and need for revenge, for the way they projected it all on their sons, for their lies and the cultivating of this bitterness and toxicity. They simply put their personal vendetta before the well-being and happiness of their children and they forced them to act it up. They were wrong and they caused the mess Pat and Pran have to deal with now, and they cost them time and joy they will never get back.

Imagine the regrets, imagine the what-ifs. Finding each other again after these confrontations, looking at each other on this rooftop where they had such a hard time reaching out, being honest, doing what they truly wanted to, do they think of the struggles they could have been spared, had their parents been kinder to them? Had they not been so self-absorbed and set in their way? "If you don't go to therapy your kids will" so just go, just work things out, just leave them out of it, and they have tried to think about justifications and excuses but at this point they must realize that their parents just failed them.

Thanks everything that they have each other at least, that they don’t have to go through it alone… But it’s also terrible that they have to share this pain. I just want peace for them both.

[angelhummel]

brittana and finchel

Brittana: Don't Ship

1. Why don’t you ship it? God where to start. Obviously I just don't like Brittany at all. She's an awful character and an awful person and she and Santana make each other worse. Santana doesn't need to be reassured that everyone else is dumb and wrong and she can be as bigoted mean as she wants all the time. No lol. Also how is it morally right for Santana to date someone who doesn't understand what a toilet is, or understand how to brush her teeth? Emotional maturity my ass. Santana manipulates Brittany for at least half their relationship. From tricking her into cheating to hiring a fake gf to make Brittany jealous. It's gross. And everyone on the show has done some fucked up shit in relationships but Brittany really released their sex tape without Santana's permission and ends up getting thanked for it. Fuck off. That would be gross as hell even if it wasn't child pornography. Which it also was

2. What would have made you like it? Look at everything I just typed and tell me if there's any fixing it lmao. Maybe if Brittany had some concrete characterization beyond "if i was math genius. i'm not bc i am. no i'm not ❤️" and maybe if she had equal footing in their relationship at any point prior to s6. Santana gets forcibly outed and disowned by part of her family and Brittany has more lines to Kurt about the fucking election alskfsljks make her do SOMETHING omg it's so infuriatinggg

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? They have some good songs. And some good background moments in s1 before they're supposed to be a real couple. So thanks Heya I guess

Finchel: Don't Ship It

1. Why don’t you ship it? Again, I just really hate Finn. I think he's an awful human being and I hate how he treats all women. His number one adjective for them is "crazy". He can never make up is mind, and it gets exhausting to watch. Like a little baby that throws away one toy for another, then pitches a fit when he sees someone else playing with the toy he threw away. I just don't want him near any girl with his violent outbursts honestly. And the whole, forcing Rachel to go to NY then ghosting her for months then getting pissy when he shows up unannounced and sees her with someone else. Boy. Also they're just really incompatible and they never would've worked in the long run whatever RM's shitty fanfic ideal ending for the show would've been

2. What would have made you like it? If Finn wasn't such a piece of shit and they did anything in their relationship besides argue

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? No.

[shieldofrohan]

Jaehaerys the douchebag was the real surprise of Fire & Blood. From him creating the whole Targaryen exceptionalism bullshit so he could bang his sister. And then of course there is his horrible treatment of his daughters. The callouness with having one hundred men strip naked in front of the one who was mentally disabled was just "dad of year". And this is the best king?

Hello @eonweheraldodemanwe ,

You have no idea how much I hated that Fire and Blood book and Jayjay was one of the biggest reasons. That annoying piece of sh*t lived that long just to p*ss me off.

This book made me rooting for Maegor. He really should have killed idiot Aenys' whole brood to save all of us from misery.

I don't even want to talk about that book. Yes it tells that ALL Targs suck but Martin really put very problematic and disturbing ideas in that book which totally ruined the series for me.

Anyway... That idiot Jayjay and fake feminist Alysanne were so fcking annoying and selfish. They married despite of the political situation Westeros in because of Targs' desire to fck each other and I was like: WHY? Selfish weirdos used their nukes to shut people up and came up with that Exceptionalism bullsh*t to shut people up for longer. Their daughter Daenerys dying of shivers and our beloved Khaleesi now shitting on grass really proved that TaRGs aRe sPeciaL.

What really bothered me with that book was that it felt like a joke. Yes, to certain degree that book was satire but written as a Targ propaganda. So it had two aspects of it.

1- This a Targ POV, therefore a propaganda so don't let it fool you.

2- This is a satire about how in subtext Targs sucked.

But it was also obvious that Martin tried to give an example of his ideal/good king with characters like Jayjay. Even though he makes sure that Jayjay was also an a*shole, he gives the hints of him being a good king.

I think (!) Martin believes that a good ruler doesn't have to be a good man and this is fine... I don't believe this idea, but I can respect it.

My problem was those hints of a good king. Because they didn't feel developed naturally.

[Btw, Martin sees Jayjay as a good king, I didn't come up with that idea: source]

Martin's attempts to paint Jayjay and Alysanne as good king and queen were laughable.

I know that Martin prefers the peaceful kings.. the ones who don't fight etc.

OK. But I find this idea unrealistic. Not all wars are for money and fame. His idea of a king who only cares about improving economy and good harvest is a little utopic.

And I think he cheated a little when he tried to show that Jayjay was a king who chose peace over fighting. Because that little sh*t didn’t have to fight in the first place. Meagor suddenly dies, so does Septon Moon, Joffrey Doggett starts serving him with tears in his eyes (WHY?) and Faith Militan got disbanded because let's incest weirdos who think they are gods defend the Faith. Aaaaand now you have a kingdom without any defiance. Wow Jayjay... you worked too hard dude, go fck your sister for a while.

Martin was like: "Hey this bloodpurist weirdo loves reading and talks about tax policy... obviously best king ever!".

Him wasting pages for his tax policy was such a weak attempt to make his point about Aragorn's tax policy. Because I didn't care about Jayjay's kingship in the first place. Yes a lot of awful leaders in the history managed to come up with good economical or whatever policies but those people actually sucked in the long run so we don't remember them as good leaders, therefore awful people can't be good rulers imo. Sorry not sorry. When I read Jayjay's reign, I didn't consider him as a good king for a second.

And his sister wife was even worse. She was like I HAVE TO BE HIS QUEEN!! Why? Because. Yeah ALIEsanne, only you can be a good queen, you freak. Let's be disrespectful and selfish to Westeros' people.

She was like: "I ended that barbaric first night tradition (I wonder why Martin insisted on some "myth" about Middle Ages...) because look at the poor women who suffered because of barbaric Northern Lords (she works on this after her visit to North was so?????). What would Westeros do without some white imperialist bloodpurists who are more sophisticated than barbaric Westeros lords???"

And she got surprised when Valyrian lords were also into prima nocta but HEY, women in Dragonstone were happy about it because Valyrians were not some simple lords! They were GODS!!! Such a blessing! Because women love being used by "gods".

She was like: "Women can RULE too" But she usupers her sister's right. And Martin tries to paint her as a good queen because she let women speak. She believes she is superior!!! Who cares about her fake woke white feminism?!

ANYWAY. Both Jayjay and ALIEsanne were awful and I didn't read them as good king and queen. I think Martin's philosophy of "bad people can be good rulers" wasn't for me. Because I believe that a ruler who believes he/she is superior than normal people can't be a good ruler. Ofc, good ones makes mistakes too but were talking about: Bloodpurism, racism, nuclear weapons and imperialism here. These are not some normal human faults. These are the recipe for a really awful rulership.

Another yikes about that book was that all anti Targ people were AWFUL or they died while they were fcking a horse!?. Only perverts, mad people, sexist pigs and bigots were anti Targ during the whole book. And people of Westeros were ok with Targs... Yeah who wouldn't love some white people with nukes come to invade your land? This is some white American thing, I guess...

When people of Westeros killed some geckos because some old smelly mad man provoked them to do, they felt bad afterwards!?!??! Literally all book was a joke and you can't force it to make sense by only saying that this was written as a Targ propaganda because Martin CHOSE to write this way. And I can't unsee the problematic aspects... This book screamed: "AN OLD WHITE AMERICAN WROTE ME".

I love Martin, but I wish he didn't write this book at all. If I sound bitter about him lately, this book is the reason. I wasn't expecting sth this awful.

And the book wasn't even pleasing to read. It had no literary value. Just bunch of unnecessary information (like the Septa who wrote a naughty book) about annoying and awful people.

It lacked the aspects that made Asoiaf great like the psychological side of the characters or character developments and arcs and beautiful POVs...

But it shares one of Asoiaf's weak points: NO POV from anti Targ people. He failed to give a POV to people in Essos against Dany in main books and this created the DANY THE WHITE SAVIOUR. He makes the same mistake in this book too and I hated it... I wish he wrote this book from different perspectives in Westeros. But too late.

In conclusion: I HATED THAT BOOK. But at least it showed one thing clearly: ALL TARGS SUCK.

Thanks for the ask.