#sometimes getting better is so cruel

[feathers-little-nest]

.

[the-phoenix-heart]

okay so I've been spending a lot of time thinking about Harry Potter recently and trolling the wiki for reasons and I have the weirdest observation about the series.

What is JKR's deal with Ravenclaw women?

I mean consider our main Ravenclaw girls: Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang (and Marietta Edgecombe). Luna in the movies is portrayed as whimsically queer, and that's not inaccurate to the books, but in the books she is more often a punchline than anything. She's a parody of the Ravenclaw ideals of creativity and openminded-ness to the point where she believes crazy conspiracy theories.

But she's our most positively portrayed Ravenclaw. Which is more than I can say for Cho and Marietta. Cho is portrayed as a pitiable character, someone so emotional and loyal that she is sympathetic, but the narrative portrays her overemotional nature and loyalty as bad traits. She's so emotional she'll blow up over perceived threats, and dwells on trauma, and it makes her a drag to talk to. And her loyalty is a bad thing because she chooses to be loyal to Marietta. Marietta is ESPECIALLY treated awfully. Marietta is scared for her mother's job that she rats out the DA and for her choice she is forever branded a traitor at 16, and this is completely justifiable. Like, if Hermione can jinx a paper to disfigure a person's face than couldn't she just jinx the paper to make it physically impossible to reveal the DA, except perhaps under the influence of veritaserum? Like the film did? But no, Hermione is instead more preoccupied with punishing than preventing (an insane thing for me to say, I'm sorry Hermione it's not your fault that your author is kinda insane about women).

(And just as a sidebar but Marietta is also given an illustration that makes it clear she was kinda ugly before the pimples which is so rude, but also so like JKR.)

Then you have very minor characters like Padma who are just generally portrayed as kinda bitchy. Padma gets off better than her sister in terms of being treated as bitchy, but it seems like Padma always carries the stigma of being disappointed by Ron at the Yule Ball.

But this goes back even FURTHER, to the oldest Ravenclaw student we are introduced to, Helena Ravenclaw.

In the films, again, Helena's scene with Harry is haunting. She's treated with respect and tragedy (almost all of the dialogue in the film is original). But in the books, yes we actually get her tragic backstory, but she is portrayed as haughty, vain, and prideful.

You can also add in Trelawney there as a Ravenclaw who is treated like a joke (crazy* and alcoholic).

And consider that the two women we know were almost in Ravenclaw, Hermione and McGonagall, end up going to Gryffindor and are portrayed as better off for it.

And like there is more to explore here. The four Ravenclaw men we really get to know are Filius, Ollivander, Xenophilius, and Lockhart. Xenpohilius is a conspiracy theorist (and a death eater sympathizer I just know it) and Lockhart is a buffoon who only really upholds the Ravenclaw wit and is skilled at memory charms.

(There's this crazy part of the Ravenclaw wiki page that actually compares Lockhart to Cho Chang because they both wanted to be popular. WHAT.)

Meanwhile you have Ollivander who is a positive Ravenclaw character, but is also barely in the books and Filius Flitwick. And Filius is a positive character but it is also canon that the Sorting Hat almost put him in Gryffindor, which seems like a pointed attempt to make it clear he's better than most Ravenclaws. Because he's got something of a Gryffindor edge to him.

I don't really know what the whole point of me going on this rant was about, other than just to point out that JKR is weird about Ravenclaws and the women in general. Almost all of them aren't allowed to actually uphold the actual values of their house: Wisdom, Intelligence, Learning. The only traits they ever really uphold is Wit if they are popular and Creativity, which seems to be a nice way of saying they're crazy conspiracy theorists. The only characters that really get anything good out of the house are Minerva and Hermione, and them being hatstalls is only meant to emphasize their intelligence in comparison to their Gryffindor peers. Otherwise Ravenclaw seems to just be JKR's go to bitchy/we need a villain who isn't Slytherin house.

*When I say "crazy" in this post I am referring to how JKR treats the characters. Babbling, loony, conspiratorial, and not in their right minds.

[chatxkilluaxnoir]

I have Gravity Falls and Etc. fic(s) idea(s)

Which, I am going to write now while I am having this fic idea (probably going to be a short one, but in the future I might make a revised expanded version or something. Who knows).

I actually have multiple Gravity Falls and GF TAU and Reverse Falls and etc. stuff that stems from this specific The Book of Bill thing.

Specifically stuff exploring Dipper's nightmares.

(I have some other ideas for the other dreams and/or nightmares too. Sometimes even in relation to Dipper's in some way).

I love my boy, and his nightmares hurt my heart.

But also because I love him, I want to explore even more of issues/trauma/suffering and/or to do Dipper angst. And etc.

Because I want both happiness and/or suffering for my faves/the characters I love very much.

Like Dipper.

So he is going to be getting even more of that from me, probably.

Because he is great and I love him.

[copepods]

i love suns and pebbles canon dynamic in my head its kind of weird and fucked up and i wish more people depicted it as that (tag ramble incoming)

[icewindandboringhorror]

"We can get through this by working together, reach out to your friends, community is all we have, a social network will be your security in the world, now is the time to lean on others!"

I do agree, and it's scientifically sound (pretty sure there is data about how people with better social networks live longer and etc) but also....augh..... what about the severe social issues, difficulty to leave the house, physical issues which lead to like zero socialization energy a majority of the time, etc. etc. Social support can be a replacement for structural support, but.. I guess I just wish it didn't have to be. Community is extremely difficult to build, even moreso if you're someone who has issues with social cues or group conversations or even just being around others in the first place. And blah, nuance, of course I'm just complaining or maybe being too negative or maybe misunderstanding, but, I hardly have the energy to brush my hair once every 2 months.. how am I supposed to maintain a wide social network and be active in a Community and Join Groups lol... sometimes it kind of feels like "er.. well if thats my only option then...... ruh roh". It's overwhelming

[thorntopieces]

trying to dispel the curse of (irrationally) feeling unloved and unwanted by reading my friends' messages to me vs my parents being inconvenienced by me asking for the bare minimum of help

[sparklejumpropekitty]

Credit to: xxjdesu on X

(Eng Trans) JAMESSU AT PONDONAIR EP4

#PondonairXJamesSu

- James: Facing the Storm and Finding Strength -

MC: Have you ever encountered a very serious drama? Can you tell me about it?

James: Which one should I tell you about?

MC: The one that you feel was the most difficult, the most overwhelming, the most extreme.

James: The one about my decision to become a solo artist, that was a very difficult matter, so difficult that I was completely lost.

James: Because everything was discussed beforehand, but because I am a public figure, I cannot say everything. I cannot sit here and talk about all the inside stories, all the behind-the-scenes. I have to save the feelings of the people who work with me, my feelings, and the feelings of my team.

James: So it resulted in that conclusion. Which I want to say that there were both people who understood me and people who didn't understand me, people who were disappointed in me, and people who were ready to give me encouragement. There were both.

James: At that time, it could be said that I was attacked until I almost lost my mind.

MC: You mean you were criticized?

James: Criticized, cursed, things like that. Everywhere I opened [social media], I would find [those comments]. The feeling was like, "Why did you choose this? Why did you leave from there? Why did you abandon the other person?" or whatever.

James: Which I want to say that there were discussions beforehand, a very long time ago. There were many things that many people could not know, and I could not tell, because it was related to the company. It's not just what everyone sees.

James: What I encountered made me feel that I didn't want to see anything anymore. Looking at the balcony of the room and thinking, "Will it end? Will everything end? Are my parents' debts all cleared? My sister is almost finished studying. Should I leave this lump sum of money for them?" Things like this. I was thinking like this, what should I leave behind so that it wouldn't be difficult for them.

James: I was thinking like that when I woke up. It was the incident on the day that it was announced and the next day I thought about it.

James: My name was trending. The news was on every channel, on X, on TikTok, which I tried to avoid it, but could not avoid it. I saw everything and I thought, how will I continue living?

James: And there were many impacts that I encountered, whether it was about work, whether it was about my own blemishes that I had. It was very uncomfortable and I could not say it. There were only people in [the know] who knew. Outsiders didn't know because I chose to explain it like that. But after the matter passed, everything got better.

James: To be honest, I almost don't believe how I got through that. When it was the most difficult, I didn't call anyone at all. There were only Yok and Boat that I called. (His sister and sister's bf)

James: And during that time, it was also the time that my leg was injured. I fell on the stairs and had to get 16 stitches. Everything happened at the age of 25, in February. On my birthday, after that, I fell on the stairs. And there was already a plan that [the news] had to be announced on which day.

James: As soon as I fell down the stairs for two days, I had to announce the news and then encountered the drama. My phone's notifications didn't stop at all until I had to turn it off. I supported myself with a cane, stood on the balcony, looked at the sky and thought about things. At that time, I was completely lost.

James: I felt that at that time I was very lucky to have Yok and Boat who were near me, have my mom and dad come to see me, stay with me almost every day during that time, buy food for me, play games in the room together, take me to get my wound dressed.

MC: How long did it take to get through it?

James: I don't know how long it took, but during the first period, it was extremely torturous to get through each day. I wanted to sleep and warp through this period. There were people who gave me encouragement, but what I saw was much more with people who criticized me, plus the discomfort that I could not say some things. It made me suppress myself.

James: But now I feel that everything is good. The fact that we separated our paths, it's not that we are separated from each other. We can still be good friends to each other. Everyone can be friends with each other, including until today, we are still friends.

[genshin-projection]

i don't think i can be normal about Sunday guys

[65ths]

let characters be human. let them be messy and nonsensical and feel things that might not be rational or completely aligned with who they are. we all feel things, we all say things, and we all do things that sometimes do not have a reason or explaination-- or one we are conscious of at least. let people snap and be short with each other. it's who we are, it doesn't make us any less kind or smart or deserving of good things to be that way

[residualmanifest]

remembering the . i forget which sonic character post that says dont trust thoughts past 9pm cause i started being like ouughguuh aughghuhh uguhhh this is my life forever everything is actually bad my brain will blow up . and while i was having this happen it was 2am and i also needed to eat and i needed to take my last dose of anxiety meidcine before bed

[jrueships]

stefs ass is SO fat..... HOW isn't there more fanfiction of diggs/allen. im gonna thr*w up

[llycaons]

I got mad about how genuinely pretentious and condescending people on here about things that honestly don't even matter that much and so I went oh I know and I went to a mutual in law's blog because I KNOW they have the exact same views as me on them but they articulate them so much better and bam I got like six posts in a row of excellent compassionate measured responses to the very mean-spirited and meaninglessly cruel culture on here surrounding 'anti-intellectualism' and also calling people virgins in a derogatory way. like thanks! gotta jet

[soft-serve-soymilk]

idk why my brain is suddenly hung up on torturing dism but i'm here for his fraught and tortured questions :)

[deancoded-deangirl]

hello can nick and i get married yet just asking for a friend

[skrunksthatwunk]

hey real quick bc i haven't seen anyone really talk about it; fuck Hoarders. what a disgusting fucking show. like i know a lotta content boils down to "let's gawk at mentally ill or poor or whatever ppl" but this one specifically really peels my paint. it's sickening. let's spend an hour walking around someone's house and going "wow!! look how fucked this is!!! i can't believe you live like this (despite having done like 13 seasons of this)!!!! you really need to get your act together, buster!" and then interviewing the family to get sound bites demonstrating how much of an Unreasonable Burden the subject is and (without actually helping any of the mental health issues that may lead someone to hoard) roll their eyes at them when they are upset at someone taking and trashing/destroying their precious belongings (or are made to do it themselves). and then half the time in the where are they now segment it's like "yeah they relapsed lol idk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" like??? no shit dumbass.

i don't care how strange their homes or habits are. these people are deserving of compassion and real, honest help. they don't need people to marvel at how Kooky Wacky Bonkers™ they are, and they don't need people to hurt them just because they don't understand what they see in their possessions or are embarrassed by knowing them or whatever.

we don't need another voyeuristic savior-complex charade where the condition for The Most Half-Assed Help You've Ever Seen is being publicly humiliated and having to destroy things that mean a lot to you. what the fuck.

[ahalliance]

i don’t get how people can complain about the writing “doing Martha dirty” when that same writing gives her an ending that addresses her treatement over the course of the season, allows her to finally put her to foot down, to establish her self-worth as an individual and to air out her grievances, and gives her the most respectful and satisfying exit from the TARDIS we’d yet seen in the show . like it’s one thing to dislike the direction the writing team took with her arc and to criticise it (perfectly fine) and another to somehow miss it entirely lmao . the ‘martha feels out of place, second best, and like a rebound’ is an intentional piece of writing that gets resolved by the end of the season . like that wasn’t smth they threw in for shits and giggles, it had in-story repercussions