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ciestessde · 5 years

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Phantasma Magica Ch. 4

STORY SUMMARY

Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”

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Danny floated, invisibly, back into the Great Hall, where all of the students were preparing to sleep. The memory of dripping green liquid mocked him from behind his eyelids.

What did he just do?

He just…

‘I just…’ Danny shivered.

He had only meant to get Peeves to tell him what he knew about Black. But when Peeves said those things, he just…! ‘No!’ he thought furiously to himself, ‘Don’t even start! That was YOU! YOU did that! Don’t you DARE try and blame anyone else!’

Danny shook his head, trying to clear it. ‘It wasn’t that bad. He’ll heal just fine. I didn’t hurt him too bad…’

And he hadn’t, really. A few light burns. Some scrapes and cuts. A few, admittedly pretty bad, bruises. But nothing a poltergeist wouldn’t heal from in a day-or-two. … Not that that was really why Danny was panicking, but it did help to distract him. The pulse in his core slowed; he was calming down, finally. ‘I need to focus… Peeves didn’t know anything about Black… So what next?’

His friends’ safety once again occupying his mind, he floated down to check on them more closely. At the very least, he could be nearby if something happened.

They were just moving their sleeping bags into a corner. “… Black’s still in the castle?” Danny caught the end of Hermione’s anxious whisper. “Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be,” said Ron. “It’s very lucky he picked tonight, you know,” Hermione said, as they settled into their bags to talk, rather than sleep. “The one night we weren’t in the tower…” “I reckon he’s lost track of time, being on the run,” said Ron, “Didn’t realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he’d have come bursting in here.”

But while the students began to discuss how Black might have gotten in, Danny was trying to solve a different question. Was Black’s attempt to get into the empty tower really a mistake? What were the chances he’d pick “The one night” the students weren’t there… by accident? No. The opposite seemed much more likely to the teenage predator: ‘That’s WHY he picked tonight… But why did he want – or need – the dorms empty…?’

Knowing his friends were safe for the moment, Danny decided to go look around the Gryffindor dormitories to see if he could figure out anything the intruder might have been after. But even after looking through everything he could (being careful not to leave any trace of him moving things around), he didn’t have a single idea. ‘Maybe he just wanted to get in quietly so he could hide, then kill (or kidnap?) Harry in his sleep? No, then tearing up the painting makes no sense…!’

Giving up, he decided to check on the Trio one more time before morning. Floating in, he noticed Dumbledore talking to Snape and… someone he recognized as one of Ron’s older brothers. “…-we had, Headmaster, just before – ah – the start of term?” Danny had to strain more than usual to hear what Snape was saying. ‘Does he not know how to whisper or something?’ Danny thought to himself, irritated. “I do, Severus,” Dumbledore’s tone had a hint of warning in it. “First a phantasm, then Sirius Black. It seems – almost impossible – that the two could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed-”

“While I agree that, in light of our recent breeches, our security needs to be checked – I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it,” Danny shivered again. Dumbledore’s tone made no room for arguments. “I must go down to the dementors. I said I would inform them when our search was complete.” “Didn’t they want to help, sir?” asked Ron’s brother. “Oh yes. But I’m afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster.”

Danny couldn’t help but add “or phantasm” to Dumbledore’s statement – and his voice and expression were so cold when he said it that, for the third time that night, Danny shivered.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with the idea to guard Harry. After the attack on the Lady, he was watched so closely, in fact, that talking to him became all but impossible. Still, if anything, this was a relief. At least Danny knew he was safe. And if anyone wondered why Peeves would sometimes fly away suddenly (when he sensed the phantasm’s presence nearby), no one looked into it. And as the days passed on, Danny began to get used to life at Hogwarts.

That is… until the Quidditch Incident.

Danny wasn’t fond of sports himself (thanks to a bad experience as a mascot while he was still human), but he knew Quidditch (a wizard game) meant alot to Harry, who had some important position on the Gryffindors’ team. The night before a match, Crookshanks the cat kept trying to get into the boys’ room – presumably to eat Ron’s rat Scabbers. There were two reasons why this was bad. First, of course, was keeping to Clockwork’s warnings – he needed to “watch out for the rat.” The second, though, was what bothered Danny more: If the cat made it into the room, the rat would run away, the cat would chase it, and the boys (Harry) would wake up and lose sleep. Because of this, Danny spent the whole night keeping Crookshanks from doing exactly that. So that the day of the game, Danny was exhausted, and his temper was short.

… At least, that’s what he told himself caused it. There was an absolutely TERRIBLE storm that day. Danny would never understand the wizards’ determination to just… have the game anyway. Even he, who had much better eyesight, btw, could barely see the other side of the stadium! But he did have better eyesight. So he was the first to notice the approximately one hundred dementors enter the stadium. And, at least to Danny’s eyes, they were heading straight for Harry.

Danny was exhausted. He was angry. And suddenly, he was. Very. Hungry. With a roar that shook the players on their flying broomsticks, and an unmistakable flair of green light, Danny dove at the horde of black cloaked figures. He was so focused on killing and devouring his enemies – that he didn’t notice Harry fall off his broomstick.

Luckily, Dumbledore had, and he slowed the boy’s fall before he reached the ground. Danny was really lucky to have Dumbledore. There was no way he could have defeated that many dementors; that should have been Danny’s death. He only succeeded in tearing a bite out of three, and killing another five, before Dumbledore interfered. But Danny didn’t feel lucky. Because Dumbledore did not attack only the dementors. Granted, it was only aimed in his general direction; even Dumbledore couldn’t capture a phantasm AND fend off a horde of dementors at the same time. But that was the only reason he was able to get away. Danny gained a new fear that day; Dumbledore’s anger seemed able to rival even Clockwork’s. And it didn’t lessen any when Lupin informed him that the “professionals” he required to deal with this “dangerous creature” – didn’t exist.

He was the talk of the castle after that. The phantasm hadn’t left Hogwarts after all. Was this its new “haunt?” And if so, what were they to do? Were any of them safe? But he hadn’t attacked anyone yet. And Dumbledore could protect them! These were the conversations he heard – and tried not to listen to.

After he woke up, Harry had mixed feelings about his fainting: On the one hand, at least they were having a rematch. (Apparently, “Diggory had just spotted the snitch” before Danny’s wall-of-sound had distracted him – which seemed to translate to “the other team was about to win.”) But on the other hand, Harry’s broom (which was apparently an expensive one) had been destroyed.

To Danny, these three students were amazing. Twice now they had seen what he was capable of, and they still chose to call him a friend. “Well, of course!” said Harry, when he got a chance to ask why. “You protected me against the dementors – twice, now!” “Yeah, you bloody idiot! Why wouldn’t we thank you?” said Ron. Hermione nodded in agreement, smiling, the comforting time aura radiating from the time-turner under her shirt.

And Danny decided right then and there: whatever direction Clockwork’s mission was supposed to take him – he had his own priorities. He was going to help these three no matter what!

If you like this, please REBLOG!

(Updates every Wednesday until completion.)

Other places you can find this fic: Fanfiction.net/~ciestess ArchiveOfOurOwn.org/users/Ciestess/profile Deviantart.com/Ciestess

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#harry potter #danny phantom #phantasma magica #phicc #atrieisan

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koreanstudentiseul · 6 years

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A polite request.

This is not aimed at anyone in particular, any usage of you is vague/generic/lack of a better word, and while this is not dissimilar to my Language Learning Q&A (Negative Questions) post from back in April, because this is also related to upsetting things people say in relation to language learning but it’s more statements than questions and yeah I’d just like this off my chest.

1. Please stop assuming why people are learning a language.

It’s okay to ask someone, that’s fine. If you see someone studying, or know a friend is studying by all means ask what they’re doing if you’re curious. Walking up and saying something to the effect “Oh, you’re learning -insert language here-, that’s pointless. You’ll never use that, you’re wasting your time.” or “You’re only learning -insert language here- because it’s popular/everyone’s doing it/you want attention/a band’s getting lots of attention from that country and you’re bandwagoning to seem cool.” <- don’t say any of these. Yes, sometimes they're true, that’s life. Maybe they’re learning to speak to family that don’t speak their native language, maybe they have to learn cause work, or they’re moving to the country and want to be able to ask what’s in a product if they have allergies or special requirements. Maybe they just want to learn for fun, and no one has the right to belittle that.

2. Please don’t assume how long someone’s been learning a language.

Full disclosure, I’ve only seen this with Korean but it’s annoyed me enough to be included. The amount of time’s I’ve heard “You’re only studying it because BTS are popular.” <- PLEASE don’t. Just, please. I get that so often and it’s like wtf, I’ve been learning Korean since 2012, which btw is before BTS debuted so cannot be the reason I started learning cause they didn’t exist then they debuted the year after. Don’t get me wrong, I like them, have since No More Dream, but not everything revolves around BTS. Just saying.

3. Please, please stop feeling you have the right to comment on someone’s language learning.

Sort of tied to the first one, but the amount of people who ask about your studies just to mock is unreal. I don’t care if someones learning Spanish, Japanese or Klingon, it’s their choice. It either is out of necessity, or just for fun and they really enjoy it, neither reason is an opening for someone to comment on. If they choose to share this with you, they trust you, don’t betray that trust. A language, whether you understand it or not, is a personal choice, it’s self improvement, it can help with mental health, and can help with mental ageing (though no guarantees), it’s so beneficial to the learner and yet people see fit to try and take that away.

4. Please stop thinking that someone learning a new language has anything to do with you.

Oh boy. This one. The amount of people I’ve seen get really upset that someone they know has started learning a language is ridiculous. They get upset because they spend less time with them, you know cause studying. They get upset because they talk more about learning the language(s), this usually being annoying because the person likes the attention on them or themselves to be the topic but granted not always, sometimes they just don’t care and don’t want to hear about it which is not really any better. These being true for both self studying and at college/uni I’ve seen it for both scenarios. Don’t take it personally if someone decides to study a language because I guarantee it has nothing to do with you, whether you like it or not. Although, certainly one way to spot friends you may want to stop interacting with.

5. Please stop the language hate/snobbery.

If nothing else, this is the one I would really really really like to change. And the sad thing is, this one, isn’t exclusive to people who don’t learn languages. People can be really snobby with languages and it hurts to see/hear. People can be so elitist with languages, if it’s not a classic language it doesn’t count apparently. Like you of all people should understand the joy of learning a new language, there’s more to the world than Spanish, French and German so why are they the only ones you think count? If you want to learn them, by all means, go ahead and good luck to you but if someone wants to learn Chinese that’s no less valid. There is no such thing as a bad language or a wrong language, if you want to learn it, that’s it, go learn it. It bothers me so much when people put stupid restrictions on something they really have no say in, like “you’re not a real language learner unless you’ve done x, y and z”. Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were the real language learner police, may I see your credentials please?

Getting sassy with the last one I’ll stop there, but seriously that one really bothers me, probably the most of all of them. I know these don’t apply to everyone and not everyone they do will do all of them but still they’re all really common and not just online I’ve had people say this to my face it’s ridiculous. Again, I know that probably no one will see this but even with the slimmest chance it will help someone understand or stop someone degrading someone’s hobby/interest then this will have been worth it.

If you made it though all that, wow, thank you! Have a cookie! You’re awesome! But I’m going to leave it here so thank you for reading and happy learning~ ♡

#StudyLog #KoreanStudyLog #studyblr #langblr #language #language blog #langblog #learningkorean #rant

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tonystarktogo · 7 years

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Can you give me a Villain! Rumlow going on dates with (kidnapping) Tony and the Team not being supportive even though he starts assisting Iron Man on the field and practically lives in the tower Maybe post CA:CW for the angst?

Brock and Tony? Why, of course, darling! I will always support this pairing!

Btw this is my 1000th Post!!! So of course I had to make it a little longer :) I even managed to add in some light bitter Sunday-ness, but I kept it very light, mostly just focused on Tony moving on. I think you should be able to enjoy this no matter how you stand on the CW fallout, but let me know if you disagree and I will tag it accordingly.

Also tagging @darkly-stark and @susieeslei because Brock and Tony.

It starts with one of Tony’s spur-of-the-moment decisions that always end up being either phenomenal or catastrophic, and never anything in between. The vote is still out on this particular one though.

Because Tony is seated in his favourite restaurant when he walks in–more like slams the doors open and pushes a startled waiter out of his way as he strides towards Tony’s nicely decorated table. And just as he’s been served his main course too.

For a long moment Tony blinks up at Brock Rumlow who is positively brimming with volatile determination, then looks back down at his plate. The food, as always, looks delicious.

“Why don’t you join me?” Tony blurts out before he can think better of it.

Rumlow stills, a flutter of what might have been confusion briefly flashing across his face.

“Please, sit down,” Tony gestures towards the unoccupied chair, having already decided to roll with this. He’s not been gutted yet, which can only be a good sign. “My treat of course.” He flashes his brightest smile and–much to his surprise, not that he’ll ever admit it–Rumlow does indeed sit down.

He looks as surprised as Tony which makes Tony feel better about this situation. Resisting the urge to gape–go with it, go with it, totally going with it–Tony turns and waves over the first waiter who crawls out from where he’s taken cover under a table.

“Could you get me another menu, please?” Tony asks with all the nonchalance his life as a public persona has trained into him. “Oh, and another whiskey.” He takes one look at Rumlow who is sort of glaring–or maybe that’s his normal expression, who knows–at the menu and adds, “Make that two.”

Rumlow spends most of the meal glaring daggers at anyone and anything unlucky enough to catch his attention. Tony spends most of the meal expecting a fight to break out any second.

The food is delicious though.

From one moment to the next the bar goes silent. It’s Tony’s first clue that something is wrong. The second is the slow, measured footsteps cutting through the silence, definitely, definitely heading in his direction. The third is the one everyone turns in their chairs to stare at him.

Tony refuses to turn around from where he’s sitting at the bar, slumped over an almost empty glass. There is probably a gun aimed at his head by now, but fuck if he cares.

It’s been a shit day long before lunch time got around. Tony is in no mood to entertain anyone, would-be killer or otherwise.

“Want a drink?” he asks, not bothering to look whom he’s offering it too.

Another moment of silence passes, before a familiar voice grumbles “You’re paying, Stark,” and well.

That’s how Tony finds himself sharing a drink with Brock Rumlow for the second time this month. It’s not as bad as it probably should be.

It wasn’t supposed to be a thing. Really. Tony doesn’t even realise it’s become a thing until the bartender at his standard I-want-to-disappear-and-not-have-anyone-talk-to-me-the-whole-time-I’m-there bar greets him with a “Your usual?” and fills two glasses.

The worst part is, when Rumlow slides into his seat next to Tony a couple of minutes later, he’s not even surprised.

It has definitely become a thing.

Tony likes to think he’s quite good at keeping his private and professional life separated–whether or not the evidence supports this statement is another matter.

In any case, despite Brock Rumlow’s unfortunate status as a villain, meeting up with the man semi-regularly for a drink and a long, surprisingly comfortable silence, has been uncomplicated. Almost suspiciously so. Tony has JARVIS on the look-out for any trap Rumlow might be trying to lay, but so far nothing has come from it.

Tony isn’t about to let his guard down, of course, but for the time being figuring out Rumlow’s hidden motives isn’t a top priority. He’s got more urgent problems. Like that giant, ball of a glibbering, highly corrosive mass currently eating away at this suit. His metal suit. At a disturbing pace.

If Tony had still been able to move, it might not have been such a big problem. He probably could’ve gotten out of this whatever-it-is before the acid reached his fleshy parts. As it is, the suit is down. So is the communication. And Tony is effectively trapped.

It’s not the kind of death he would’ve wished for himself, but genius or not, he’s rapidly running out of time and options.

There is a sudden jolt, and then Tony is flying. He hits the ground hard a moment later, accompanied by a lot of creaks and cracks, the suit far too damaged to bear the weight of the fall the way he usually would.

His suit is little more than a deadweight still, dented and torn open in several places at this point, and it takes Tony a couple of minutes to bend the emergency release lash to his will. Literally. By the time he’s managed to free himself, the battle is finally over, and the rest of his team are looking for him.

Tony brushes them off with a quick and an easy smile. Just another near-death experience, hitting it close but not too close. He’s getting used to that. It’s not a big deal.

Later that night, Tony has JARVIS pull up any and all surveillance data on the fight. Until he finds the hooded figure reaching into the corrosive goo and pulling him out. Until he identifies the gait, the self-made claw-like conceptions used to drag him free.

He deletes all the evidence moments later, a pensive frown on his face.

Two days later Tony buys Brock Rumlow another drink. Neither of them mention the last Avengers’ mission.

There’s a dirty spot on the bar, right next to a small bowl of cashews. Tony would know. He’s been staring at it for the past seventeen minutes. At least it hasn’t moved.

A drink is set down in front of him with a soft click. His usual order. Except he’s never been to this place before.

Tony turns around, only to come face to face with Brock Rumlow.

Absently, Tony notes that he’s not even surprised.

Still. He raises a questioning eyebrow.

There’s no ‘Sorry your team is broken beyond repair’ or ‘Must have sucked to get back from a Siberian bunker without a functional suit, how’d you do it?’ or even ‘Fine mess, those Accords, huh? How’re you holding up?’.

All Tony gets is a non-committed shrug, and a grumbled, “Figured it’s my turn to pay the tab.”

Somehow, it’s enough.

There’s another mutant kid running around midtown, that wants the world to pay for all the unfulfilled hopes and crushed dreams, for all the times it was scorned and abandoned and left behind.

Tony can relate. He refuses to stand by and let it happen all the same.

Vision and Spiderman are slowly finding their rhythm in a fight, but the Avengers–what’s left of them–don’t hold the same kind of power they used to anymore.

When Crossbones joins the fray, Tony finds himself hoping he won’t have to fight on two fronts. It’s the first time in a while that his hopes are met.

Officially Tony can’t turn Crossbones’ help down, whenever Rumlow feels like offering. It burns, just a bit, even now, that for all that it presents a convenient excuse, it’s also true.

Rhodey is recovering, but it’s a slow process, and three players in the field aren’t enough. Especially when you’re on the defence and have civilians to protect.

Unofficially working with Rumlow isn’t bad, not that Tony would ever admit such a thing. Maybe he’s a little too fond of violence sometimes, a little too careless when it comes to collateral damage, but he works well with the team–are they a team yet, when Tony can’t ever bring himself to refer to them as such?–and hasn’t let them down yet.

After one of their less destructive skirmishes, Tony hands Rumlow a transmitter for one of their frequencies–not the official one of course. It’s as close to an induction as they get, with the UN committee for inter- and extra-national security watching them closely.

Rumlow settles a lot of their shared tabs these days.

He pays.

Tony used to check. He hasn’t bothered in a while.

The first time Rumlow kidnaps Tony is right after a gruesome battle that almost costs Spiderman his life. He just–takes Tony.

Once Spidey is confirmed to be alive and well, Tony doesn’t even have the strength to fight him anymore.

It’s not as bad as it could have been. There are no evil lairs, to terrified minions, no threats. There’s just a beach–Tony has forgotten how much he missed it, the crashing waves, the smell of salt and water, the wind–no people as far as Tony can see, except for them. They drink iced coffee, and kick sand at each other’s feet, and Rumlow never comments on the fact that Tony doesn’t go deeper than ankle-height into the water.

The public is freaking out. General Ross is frothing at the mouth. Spidey sends a ‘Back at school now will you stop having FRIDAY set my alarm already?’ text, followed by a lot of glaring emojis.

Rumlow hands him a virgin Pina Colada.

Tony hasn’t felt this warm since Siberia.

They come back eventually. His former team mates. It was always going to happen, Tony knows. Eventually. He’s been preparing for this day from the beginning, perhaps even before they ever fought at that German airport.

Doesn’t mean Tony is ready when it finally happens.

Rumlow isn’t there when the plane touches the ground. Tony grits his teeth together and smiles for the cameras.

Working together again, the new Avengers side by side with the old ones, goes about as smoothly as you would expect. Which is to say not at all. They’re out of sync, and it becomes painfully obvious the first time they’re sent out together how much it affects them in the field.

They win. Barely.

Tony sends Spidey home before Rogers even has the chance to announce a recap. He doesn’t want the kid around when the shouting starts, and there will be shouting. All of them are too frustrated with their less than stellar performance for a calm, rational discussion.

At least, Tony assumes they are. He’s never gets the chance to find out for sure. Because that’s when Crossbones shows up.

With minions. A lot of minions.

It takes Tony approximately fifteen seconds to work out that they’re a distraction. It takes the rest of the definitely-not-a-team half a minute longer.

By that point, it’s already too late: Crossbones and Iron Man have disappeared without a trace.

“You can’t keep kidnapping me every time I’m–” Tony trails off. Can’t quite bring himself to say the unspoken ‘about to be alone with them’ out loud.

It would reveal too much. Acknowledge too much. Tony isn’t very good at acknowledging what he doesn’t want to be true. Or what he wants too much to be true, for that matter.

“I’m a villain,” Brock–he’s been Brock for a while now, and Tony still isn’t sure whether he likes that or not–snorts disdainful. “I can do whatever I want.”

There’ll be a lot of screaming later. A lot of accusations and rumours and arguments. Of that Tony has no doubt.

He leans a little closer with a teasing smile all the same. “Oh?” He hums thoughtfully. “And what is it you want right now?”

The world is a mess. The Avengers are broken beyond repair. Crossbones loves violence a little too much. Brock has a nice smile.

Tony is warm.

Tony Stark’s spur-of-the-moment decisions always end up being either phenomenal or catastrophic, and never anything in between.

Sometimes, on rare occasions, they are both.

Please let me know what you think, guys! Have you boarded this particular rare pair ship yet?

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wonderland-studies · 7 years

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this is for whoever is going to be starting their alevels this year! if you’re starting gcses, I also have a post for that [here]

click on if you want to read it, I won’t make you scroll through this really long post if you don’t want to

General Tips

haha did you think you knew what stress was during gcses?

this year has probably been the most stressful year of my life

but dont let that put you off! if you follow these tips you’ll have a better time of it

you will be absolutely exhausted in the first term, so try to get enough sleep

be prepared to break your back, you’ll be carrying a lot of shit.

BUY (or make) HIGHLIGHTERS, FLASHCARDS AND DIVIDERS

if you aren’t already good at taking notes, fucking LEARN. if you can’t look back at your notes and easily see what you meant, you’ll be fucked by the time mocks come along. consider typing them up

if you’re not an independent worker, become independent. colleges/sixth forms don’t hold your hand! (they will help you a fair bit though)

don’t fucking continue with a subject if you hate it! you’ll have the opportunity to switch subjects, so test them out properly, or you’ll start to really hate yourself

get into the habit of not using contractions (i.e. can’t, isn’t, shouldn’t), especially if you do English. although, saying that, it was my psych teacher who got the most annoyed when she saw a contraction (ik I’m using them here but I can easily switch)

you can’t really afford to half-arse homework, soz. it will, 9 times out of 10, form the basis of that lesson, so if you don’t put effort into your homework, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage, and that’s just stupid

avoid missing lessons. teachers genuinely don’t care what your reason is, even if you recently got decapitated, they’ll email you the work, and you’ll need to complete it for the next lesson, ON TOP OF the homework. :) have fun with that

look into unis asap! get a careers appointment if you’re unsure. it’s easier to go to open days in the first term than in June

you will most likely perform awfully in your first term. that’s just the way it is. but you will improve! I got an E in my first psychology test, and I got an A* in my end of year mock.

oh yeah, btw, a pass at alevel is an E. anything under an E is pretty much a U. (and even though an E is a pass, no one wants an E)

join some extra-curricular things! it’s just awkward to get to writing your personal statement and having absolutely nothing to say, so join a society, a drama club, do sports, whatever the fuck you want. show you have passion and dedication (also do an epq! can win you extra ucas points)

this is when you really need to get a grip on procrastination. leaving homework until the night before just won’t help you, it is way too stressful

^ so use your free time effectively!

don’t, whatever else you do, keep your work only on a memory stick. in secondary school you could leave shit on your area but bc you have more free time/fewer contact hours you’ll be required to do more work at home. use a memory stick, that’s fine, but TRANSFER YOUR DOCS!!!!!!!!!!!! I lost (but then found) my memory stick recently, and I was despairing at how much I had to rewrite. or use iCloud/Dropbox/Google Drive/email and keep all your docs on your home computer

keep your goddamn folder organised

actuaLLY REVISE FOR TESTS! even if they’re seemingly irrelevant, you will get good feedback. if you don’t put in hard work, you won’t get the grades. at gcse you can somewhat afford to laze around, but even the most intelligent student will get caught out at alevel

use the goddamn resources you’re given! fucking hell, the college pays for a lot of that shit, USE IT

if your college lets you wear your own clothes, have fun exploring your style, and dye your hair like I did!

start revising for end of year mocks at EASTER. it’s so hard to revise during the term because the teachers do NOT ease up the work load, so use the holiday effectively

you might be allowed to leave the exam hall early, but I wouldn’t advise it unless you’re confident you’ve answered every question perfectly. lots of people who left early ended up feeling disappointed

oh yeah and you won’t have a summer holiday lmao. my summer has literally been entirely work (ok except when I went abroad). think back on your summer fondly. you won’t see that again until you finish your alevels

English Literature tips:

learn terminology! v v useful, will earn you lots of marks

make sure you know what happens in each scene/section of the texts you study. this is VERY important when it comes to extract work

coursework: work as hard as you can on the first draft! you have way less time on the second draft, so you don’t want to be slaving away in front of the computer every night

History tips:

make flashcards as you go, because there is a LOT of content. at least do it for dates

Tudor history, if you do it, uses VERY different skills to gcse history. you have to interact with sources and the debate

tbh the entire course requires you to debate and evaluate, not just name and describe. if you don’t have the skills, you’ll get very little marks from just having knowledge

Psychology tips:

ok research methods are awful and really fucking boring, so if you do those in the first term like I did, you’ll start to question why the fuck you picked psychology. BUT, if you get through it, it’ll only get more and more interesting.

make sure you understand research methods! they form the basis for evaluation in each topic, so you use them ALL the time. also, they make up 25% of the grade, so they’re pretty fucking important

again, there is SO much content, so try to keep it warm, or you’ll be fucked by the time mocks come along

EPQ (extended project qualification) tips:

so this is basically a project you do for a grade that’s equivilent to half an alevel

pick an interesting topic! you won’t have motivation otherwise. I’m doing a pirate novella ;)

aim to do work for it every week, and KEEP TRACK of what you did each week! otherwise you’ll be sweating when you have to put your folder/portfolio/scrapbook together

yeah so that’s pretty much it, if anyone has any q’s, feel free to ask. I might be able to help for other subjects too, but I have a limited knowledge

good luck with the year ahead!

#wonderland-studies #posts #tips #masterpost #studyblr #studyspo #studying #study #alevels #gcses #areistotle #educatier #studylou #studybuzz #studypetals #highschoolering #obsidianstudy #tbhstudying

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vixianna · 7 years

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Hey, I just wanted to say that I really loved your post explaining the different aspects of marginalization. One thing that struck me though was when you mentioned that an aspect of invisibility is silencing tactics and preventing oppressed groups from developing language to describe their oppression. I think this is absolutely happening in Ace Discourse, but I wanted to know your thoughts on situations where maybe the invisible group is coopting a hypervisible group's language? (/1)

I’m not talking about the word “queer” because I think that that has a much more far reaching definition by now, but terms like “coming out” or the recent argument around using the chant “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” by aces. Do you feel that language of marginalization is universal enough to have such language shared across groups like that? For example if, such as your example, Asian groups started using terms created by black groups, to describe their marginalization? (/2)

Hey there anon! I waited a few minutes to make sure all your messages came in, so I hope this is your full question.

The answer is “it depends”. Some language of marginalization is universal, but some is not. “Racism”, “anti-X race” language, “X normativity”, ect are much more universal and is based around talking about roots of oppression itself. Specific language that quantifies a unique expression of a group’s oppression, for example “mammy” stereotype or “lotus flower” stereotype, are not shareable. Even if the root is an exoticification, othering, depersonalization, ect process, they are not the same stereotypes, nor do they have the same exact implications even if they have the same root.

Both of the phrases you talked about fall into different categories. “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” is a radical rallying cry. It’s purpose is political and aimed at LGBT+ liberation and meant to be focused on straight cis oppressors. It’s not appropriate to use for intracommunity brouhaha, no matter how satisfying it might be for people on either side to say it to someone else.(and this is mostly aimed at inclusionists, don’t do this please.)

On the other hand, “coming out” describes a general LGBT+ experience. It’s about “leaving the closet”, becoming visible when heterosexuality is the assumed default and assumed state of everyone. This isn’t an experience specifically tied one LGBT+ identity. The experience is about refusing invisibility. Some group members then become hypervisible as a result of claiming their identity, but others are then rendered invisible. That is, the forces of oppression then try to deny their existence. This is similar to being in the closet(a state of invisibility), only this time it’s directly coercive and enforced through violence. NBs are typically subjected to enforced invisibility when they attempt to come out.

The question then becomes, are aces/aros denying invisibility by stating their orientation, and are they then assaulted by being rendered either hyper or invisible?

I haven’t seen anyone in discourse claim ace/aro identities are “visible”, in fact even the most determined exclusionist say Ace/Aro problems are “mostly about visibility”. So, we know they are “unknown”. Do ace/aros when they assert their existence get subjected to violence meant to either render them silent, deny their existence, or ignore their presence? And I’d say the answer to that is yes. Not just in the discourse, in fact, rarely in the discourse on tumblr itself(though there is a growing concerning movement regarding this among discoursers that I’m going to address when it comes to conversations about radicalization of politics mmhm. Omg I keep promising more posts whhhyyyyy...) Generally, Ace/Aro are subjected to social violence/backlash intended to deny their existence, deny their reality, ignore their experiences, ect. That sort of behavior is subsets of “invisibility making”. That being the case, I think the usage of “coming out” is appropriate when talking about ace/aro labels. (when seen in the context that “coming out” describes a LGBT+ experience surrounding their manifestation of normativity and normativity enforcement.)

As a final note, I’d like to talk about the coopting of language as a consequence of enforced invisibility. A direct way to enforce invisibility is to remove, ridicule, suppress, ect the language of the oppressed.(and this is especially useful for enforcing internalized powerlessness on the group in question as well.) Language is power, and the denial of language removes the person’s ability to accurately describe, relate, and change the situation they find themselves in. This is the underlying insidious danger around Newspeak in 1984. To remove the ability to even think crimes, to render thoughtcrime(the idea of rebellion and the destruction of the oppressive system) impossible. Enforced invisibility around NB genders is meant to directly prop up the system of binarism over which a lot of patriarchal foundations rest. (Binarism, that there is only two genders, as opposed to being binary. They are very different things. Binarism is a tenant of radfem terfs for example) Enforced invisibility around ace/aro identities is likely used to reinforce heterosexism. You can not merely “opt out” of the system by “not experiencing” these things/desires. You MUST have these desires, so that these desires can be uncatalogued and you sorted properly. So that this proper sorting can be used to enforce other kinds of violence against you. This, btw, is ultimately why I think the system of heterosexism doesn’t like ace/aro IDs. You are not allowed to “opt out”.

A result of the denial of language though, is the group in question then trying to make their own. If this language and experiences aren’t allowed to be discussed/recognized/are actively fought against, you leave the groups with little choice but opt to use other language. The group will likely recognize that the language of the oppressor group doesn’t fit, it’s why they tried to make their own. They will then opt to use language from a different group, typically groups rendered hypervisible(as their language and culture is plastered with neon and put under a microscope.)

This isn’t something I support or think should be done, but it’s like my octopod friend says about the difference between primary and secondary aggressor in abusive situation(though they know more about this than I do, the comparison is apt.) “Mutual abuse” doesn’t exist. There is a primary and secondary aggressor. They might be hard to differentiate, but it exists. Once the primary aggressor and abuser stops, the secondary aggressor’s behavior stops. The secondary aggressor’s behavior is dependent on the violence of the primary aggressor, the primary aggressor enacts abuse for internal reasons.

In this way, the coopting of hypervisible groups language is a result of the primary aggression of enforced invisibility. If these groups were allowed to develop language of their own, they would stop using hypervisible groups language. Now, hypervisible groups aren’t the primary aggressors here, they aren’t the abusers(heterosexism is the abuser here), but as a result of the different way this abuse manifests, you see different behavior from each group. I’d also like to state that playing into enforced invisibility to counter productive. I see a lot of discourse going out of the way to ridicule aro/ace language or NB language. I see a lot of discourse around how “problematic” a term is, often for the implicit purpose of rendering a group silent. I even see discourse that directly contradicts the idea that the group in question exists and has specific experiences to relay that need language.

This is especially unfortunate coming from other LGBT+ people, because all of the nasty angry screaming they do about Aces/Aros “Stealing” LGBT+ language is only exacerbated by their refusal to allow specific ace/aro language, or their constant regular ridicule of that language(and this is truly mostly aimed at exclusionists. There is a lot of ridiculing of Aro relationships and their language/words for it. And there is a lot of language and posts aimed at claiming aceness isn’t real/doesn’t need to be an ID/isn’t a coherent experience. The latter of which as an enforced form of invisibility is what a lot of inclusionist discoursers have been referring to as “gaslighting”. I can pull up specific examples if need be, but generally claiming an experience doesn’t/isn’t happening, or doesn’t need specific words for it involves enforcing invisibility.). If you want Ace/Aros to stop using “LGBT” language, you have got to let them develop their own words. Without ridiculing it because you think it’s “dumb” or “what everyone experiences”. Without denying that these things happen to them or they are feeling this way. Without being threatened and claiming that every attempt at actualization is Xphobic(this only happens on tumblr, but I’d thought I’d mention it) using tedious, ignorant, illogical statements. Let them make their own language, and they’ll stop using yours.

#Anonymous #oppression dynamics #enforced invisibility #hypervisibility #ace discourse #NB discourse

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real-faker · 8 years

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i just saw the headcanons about guuzma and the galiospod. i just wanted to point out that, post game, its implied that guuzma was the one swinging the golf club at his dad, not the other way around as we initially thought. then again its coming from guuzma's dad, so we can probably take that with a grain of salt, should we wish to?

Okay look, I had a feeling someone was gonna’ message me about this eventually, so lemme’ just lay this out.There is nothing during game OR post-game that heavily implies that any character has beaten another character with a golf club. There’s just some flavor text on a sack of golf clubs in Guzma’s childhood home that says “there are a number of broken and bent golf clubs in the bag…”. This could mean anything. A lot of people took it to mean that Guzma used to smash a lot of shit with golf clubs when he was younger. Some people even thought the opposite; that he was uncontrollable and abusive towards his parents. Now, the reason so many people assume Guzma’s dad was abusive is because of his dialogue when you speak to him (which doesn’t change post-game, btw.) : “I tried to set that boy of mine straight, but when I did, I was the one who got beat…”. Again, this could also mean literally anything. This could even mean a fuckin’ pokemon battle, considering, y’know, it’s pokemon. (Also, again, this is his dialogue REGARDLESS of when you talk to him. During game or post-game, it doesn’t change.)But the reason so many people immediately assume his dad is to blame is because if you’re trying to imply physical abuse in media aimed at a general audience, you don’t come right out and say it; you have to use coded phrases like “set that boy straight”. It hints at the issue without being explicit, because abusive people sometimes speak like that, and your audience can pick up on that without having it spelled out for them. As for the last half of his quote, “…but I was the one who got beat”, again, that could imply literally anything, but because it’s a clause referring to the first part of his statement, and because it uses the more deliberate “got beat” verbiage, people automatically assume “got beat” correlates with “set him straight”, and it’s not very… f-farfetch’d… to imagine that that was the intent. NOW, ALL OF THAT HAVING BEEN SAID:I ALSO don’t think it’s farfetched to assume that Guzma was an aggressive little shit-head of a kid, and maybe his dad didn’t know how to handle that, so they both took it out in destructive behaviors. That’s more or less what I was trying to insinuate in those drawings. For example, Guzma isn’t just chasing off that Ratticate, he’s throwing rocks at it. And all the progressively broken/destroyed shit in Guzma’s room I imagine was broken by him; I realize that’s a difficult thing to communicate but I tried to do so by showing things carved onto his bed frame that were obviously done by a kid, and by filling one of his drawers with bottle rockets (I’m only so creative, guys, haha). I also tried to communicate that his dad wasn’t actually hitting him, he was just breaking stuff. It might not be super obvious, but he’s supposed to be just caught up in a rage, swinging shit around and Guzma is caught in the crossfire. I tried my best to keep the drawings vague so that people could interpret it how they see fit… I mean, that’s kind of what the in-game dialogue it’s based on is going for too, right? But in my mind at least, when I was drawing it, that was my thought.AND, you know, what it all really comes down to is that I’m just some rando on the internet who felt like drawing a headcanon. I’m not asking anyone to agree with me on it, I’m not asserting it as fact, I just wanted to draw a dumb comic about a douchey kid standing up for a helpless, shrimpy pokemon and that pokemon returning the favor by evolving out of necessity and protecting him in a time of need. I’m just… a fuckin’ trashy fangirl… leave me be… y’all can have whatever headcanons you want, haha. So yeah, take it with a grain of salt, whatever, it’s all intentionally vague anyway; that’s what they wanted. Pokemon games aren’t exactly known for their deeply emotional storylines.—(ALSO. Just a bonus fact for y’all, the only dialogue that changes post-game from Guzma’s family is that his mom is hanging out in his room, and if you talk to her she says she’s heard a lot of crazy rumors about her son that she doesn’t believe are true–which is kind of hilarious; her boi can do no wrong, she doesn’t know he was a gang leader–and she gives you one of his old TMs called Swagger. That’s literally it.)

#ask #personal #The Comic™#that thing has like 42k views rn it's alarming #pokes

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xavieralexander1980 · 7 years

Text

A Guideline to Reading My Work and Generally Blowhard Post About Poets, Activism, and Performance Art

(Written for Facebook were I post usually)

(Warning, I was drinking coffee and just started writing to clarify some things. It has turned out to be an EXTREMELY LONG post. You might want to visit later if you care and have the time):

--I stared into the sun one time for three or four hours. For a long while afterwards there was a floating blue and red dot or floater in my field of vision, but my eyes adjusted. It's kind of a miracle that I can see at all. I completely destroyed my macula. That is why you often see mistakes in punctuation. I think it is a comma when it is a period. I was delusional when I stared at the sun.

--I started writing poetry at 15 in 1995. In 2008, I branched out to poetry films in grad school, which you can see those films on my page, Caruso Films. That is a long time of writing only poetry.

--After reading David Foster Wallace in 2011, I branched out into nonfiction, memoir, and experimental essays. Some of those essays have been published in journals, such as "Sugar Mule" and "And/Or". However, it has only been 5 years of truly writing prose, so if you think my prose is weird or rough or shaky, it is because I am an amateur experimental essayist.

--In poetry and experimental writing, there has to be an entry point into the author's style. Every day if you are following any of this, I am experimenting. One thing I notice is that I try to be as clear as a fucking idiot who is grasping for words in my prose. I don't want you to think I am being condescending at all. Or that everything I write is somehow profound. Because it isn't usually: Being profound or not, after a while, I have learned, in writing is all the same. In learning the craft of writing, writers say that you have to "earn" interesting and profound points and ideas. There is no shortcut in earning something, as you know. It is all doing and work hours.

--Writers usually don't show the world their work hours. What you see is the finished, polished product. In a sense, I don't see my writing as "nonfiction" in any conventional sense. Since this is Facebook, and it is like town hall square in olden days, I have always intended it to be performance art. I am a great admirer of performance art, such as spoken word, magic, jesters, busking, impromptu comedy, jazz, or even ballet. I see poetry as my strength, prose my weakness. At least, that is my opinion. I don't want to impose that, though. I notice people actually prefer my little blogs and essays. I also notice people prefer brevity, but here's the thing about that: this is all published, and can be perused by anyone on earth later. I don't hide my profile or any status updates.

--As an activist, which much of my writing is political, and I would argue Facebook, as a public forum, is all political and social dynamic, I have always enjoyed independent and maverick art and statements, such as Neil Young or Lou Reed or Emerson or Thoreau or just about any poet in World Literature. While poets have come in groups like the Beats or Romantics or Dadaists (the first punk rock artists), within those groups, there have always been individual and political differences between poets, such as Ginsberg and Kerouac, or Byron and Wordsworth, or Marcel DuChamp and Tristan Tzara. I try to allude to poets and literature I admire, btw. Here is a compendium: (I sort of went hogwild. Skip for time sake.) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Welsh maverick and alcoholic prodigy, Dylan Thomas, my first love. To know more about his style and who he is, see Gerard Manley Hopkins and John Donne, both Protestant ministers.

2. I prefer World Literature. a. Russian poets: Brodsky, Mayakovsky, Mendlestam, Voznesensky, and Pushkin (Shakespeare of Russia). b. Germanic, Polish, Eastern European and Jewish: Goethe (Shakespeare of Germanic Literature), Paul Celan, Maria Wisława Anna Szymborska, Edmond Jabes are good starting points. c. Western European poets come in schools: French Symbolists (who invented free verse and influenced TS Eliot), Surrealists, Dadaists and Futurists (who opened poetry to all the arts), and British poets you know. d. Although not technically World Lit, American Southern Poets are not discussed near enough: John Crowe Ransom, Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren are like the Willie Nelsons and Johnny Cashes of the South.

3. American Schools and Poets I would recommend: John Cage (John Lennon and Yoko Ono), David Antin (who didn't write but spoke all of his poetry and recorded it), Language School, and Black Mountain School.

4. For Queer poets: Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman, Jack Spicer, are the big guys. Lesbian poets: you should know are Sappho and Adrienne Rich. Just talk to your gay and lesbian friends about poets they like.

5. For Black and African lit, "Negritude" school, see amiri baraka and Aime Cesaire, who are, to me, very important for their poetic styles. Check out your local Spoken Word show. There are a million things going on.

6. I don't even know where to begin with Asian Literature. Haiku poet Basho and Korean poet Yi Sang are two big poets. In China, poetry was the literature of the scholar class. Prose wasn't invented until 1900 and it was considered pulp. I would refer you to my Professor Walter K. Lew for all Asian and Buddhist Literature. Lao Tzu is phenomenal, in so many ways. From religion to spirituality to poetry, it is all one and the same.

7. Spanish poets I like are Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda (His sonnets are the best love poems), Brazilian Poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade, and to know these poets, check out Federico Garcia Lorca from Spain. It doesn't hurt to know the first novelist Cervantes, who birthed the modern novel, Don Quixote. I like the 1940s translation by Samuel Putnam. Critic (Big Blowhard of English Lit) Harold Bloom considered Cervantes the only equal to Shakespeare, who both were writing at the same time (and didn't know about each other).

8. Middle Eastern and Persian poets: Rumi, Ghalib (who wrote ghazals, one of my favorite forms). I can't say I am too familiar with Contemporary Middle Eastern poets, but you come across them in literary journals. See the Koran, as well.

9. For Feminist poets, see Anne Sexton, HD, Gertrude Stein, Diane Wakowski, and Adrienne Rich, again, to name a few. Although not a poet, see Renaissance Italian writer, Christine de Pizan, and her fictional story, "The Book of the City of Ladies", which birthed Feminist Literature.

10. The Bible, Torah, Tao Te Ching, Koran, Gnostic Judaic and Christian Books, Bhagavad Gita , Vedas and Upanishads, and Homer, (Most Buddhist Literature was orally passed down but all we have is prose versions. Except certain Chinese Buddhist Schools: See Haiku and Renga forms): all of which is technically poetry. And that is a different entry point or lens into those important works. I think in this day of organized religion it is very important to remember that spiritual texts and myths were written as poetry, and translated into all languages. People have noted some of my religious views, but I do so from poetry.

(I don't know why I just gave you a compendium of poets and authors. I got excited and took a trip down memory lane. I prefer World Literature translations. I just have always gravitated toward them and learning about the world through their poets.)

In case you don't want to go through all of World Literature, here are anthologies I would recommend: 1. Norton Anthologies, of course. 2. Poems For the Millennium by Jerome Rothenberg and Pierre Joris (Most of the poets I mentioned can be found in the first two volumes and it is a great starting off point). -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--Personally, I have always enjoyed anthologies and literary journals over individual poets. I enjoy poems over poets, generally speaking. The best guide to literary journals is New Pages.com. Everything from experimental writing to traditional writing can be found there. The big thing now or in the last few years is "hybrid' writing, which is basically not identifying the style of writing and blending all the styles. So just to be obvious, my Facebook page could be quote hybrid. The other big thing is a more "personal style". To paraphrase Frank O Hara, why write a poem when you can just call your friend on the telephone?

--My father has told me a million times that he doesn't get my poetry. And my father is more intelligent than I am. He is a doctor. I really don't have an answer or explanation. I read poetry like I read an article in the Washington Post. I read poetry on the toilet. I try not to "comprehend" it. Sure there are different ways to analyze it, and there are scholars who do that all day long. I have done that and can do that. But the difference is kinda like hearing "Kind of Blue" and studying it. I just appreciate the album, I don't know Jazz Theory. Most of the time, I just feel or listen to poetry. School and scholarship is the time and place to scan, do close readings, and theorize poetry, in my opinion. I am not a scholar. I am not a critic. I am an artist. I create. Most of theory and criticism stifles me. And I would recommend both scholarship and theory for any artist, but I wouldn't bog myself too much, not until you are interested in it. There are people who have been doing that all their life. And so much more power to them.

--Last point: I have Bipolar Disorder. I have coped with this illness all my life. Mental illness is a debilitating illness in the sense of functioning in conventional society. You know someone who has a mental illness, beside me. And not much is truly understood about mental illness. David Foster Wallace hung himself due to chronic depression, and he is arguably the greatest nonfiction writer in the last twenty years. Dostoevsky suffered from fits of seizures in which he had profound revelations. Hemingway shot himself due to alcoholism and some underlying mental illness. Sylvia Plath committed suicide due to a mental illness and I believe it was un-diagnosed bipolar disorder (I could be wrong). Emily Dickinson suffered from agoraphobia and stayed home for most of her life. While I am not saying I am like those geniuses, and it is a misnomer to think that everyone with a mental illness is an artist or genius, I bring it up because artists I admire had mental illnesses. The point is to show that sometimes society is wrong about things, as you know. Blacks, immigrants, queer folk, women, veterans, homeless people, poor people, and virtually every marginalized group I can think of society has been wrong about. And many of these marginalized people are starting to come out of the closets and say, guess what, society doesn't quite get me. And they are doing so in art and argument.

"In conclusion," LOL, these are guidelines and entry points for readers. For the most part, I believe people don't care actually. But neither do I most of the time. I also have been drinking coffee this morning and I get rolling with thoughts, which explains the length of this post. LOL.

#blog #essay #experimental essay #prose #poets #activism #performance art

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