#though he's absolutely not using it correctly or ethically or responsibly

[metvmorqhoses]

This is a letter submitted to me by the previous anon. I was left nothing short of appalled by it. In a few paragraphs this person managed to take everything I ever said on this blog about art, literature, gender, ethics, or even myself as a person, twist it to their own biased and, quite frankly, worrying perspective and use it to accuse me of being, at best, a Nazism and antisemitism apologist.

I’m very open minded, I’m able to understand most point of views even without sharing them, but this is another matter entirely. This is being unable to read reality correctly anymore. This is dangerously and hurtfully spinning things out of proportion. This is being unable to form a pure critical thought in a reality that is already mad and confusing enough.

I read extensively in the past few years about the plummeting of comprehension of the written word among all demographics, but that an educated peer of mine, mirror and parrot of too many others, could genuinely reason like this will always be beyond me.

Anon, you are right. I wouldn’t normally publish or entertain such profound drivel, but the things you just accused me of are not only absurd, but beyond serious and grave. You cannot throw such ideas and words so lightly at another human being, especially not inventing yourself every single reason for doing it.

So I’m going to answer, word to word, in the hopes to make you, or at least someone else, wake up from the horrors of a brainwasing this society is, at this point, irremediably affected by.  

“i do not think that your response to me displays “good disposition”, so i will be sure to match you in tone. you do not have to answer this, or even read it; i hope that you will read it though, if only to momentarily consider someone else’s perspective. quoting you verbatim from a previous ask/answer, “I absolutely hate to contradict the canon”. you’re right, the original books don’t glorify nazism, mostly the new content does. however, you say voldemort is the true hero. he is driven to exterminate specific groups of people for his personal gain. whatever depth you want to give him, that is still canon. you don’t deny it. you might not find it the most interesting part of him, but it is still there, and you still call him hero.

i and many others will never know most of our families because of a man and his followers who worked exactly like that. so don’t think of this as me trying to cancel you. i will not be reaching out to your friends or trying to get you banned from anywhere, that’s not what i’ve come directly to you for. i’d like to know what it is about two blood supremacists that you see not only so much inspiring complexity in, but yourself in as well.”

Honestly anon, considering what you are accusing me of, the hinting of which I had already perceived in your previous ask, my disposition towards you was and still is way better than it should be. I’m taking pity of your way of thinking and still hoping to somehow help you understand how wrong this is on every possible level.

I’m very glad you seem to agree the Harry Potter books are no Nazi hymn, but I unfortunately have to contradict you right away. I never, ever, glorified Voldemort’s figure or called him “the true hero of the story”. If you had taken the time to actually read the things the person you are accusing of terrible and very real things has always written about that fictional character, you would have noticed the whole point of my metas is, on the contrary, to underline his twistedness, his monstrous and yet very present humanity, his unfillable voids, his abysses in negative with still a wisp of something else enduring nonetheless.

You would also have noticed that I’m utterly uninterested in and rarely mention the blood-purity movement, not because I think there’s something literary wrong in constructing fictional evil after Nazism (nor, again, do I think there’s anything wrong in finding Nazism intriguing as an historical event and as a study of human nature), but because, as I previously tried to make you understand, I find it psychologically uninteresting in regard to him and not what his character is fundamentally about.

You also just took an ask in which I said I’d have liked to rewrite Harry Potter with Voldemort as the real protagonist (protagonist, not hero, the difference is huge - I linked it for you), and twisted it to construct this huge delusion about my preaching the bloodthirsty ideology of an evil wizard from a fairy tale. Voldemort went around even repeatedly trying to kill a child, why not accusing me of seconding infanticide too, since you are at it? Or seeing antisemitism everywhere is your main fixation since it touches you closely?

I would never call Voldemort a hero, and you know why? Because it would be incredibly dull. Voldemort is a villain. I appreciate him precisely as such. I’m not interested in finding his actions (at least not his monstruosities) correct or admirable, it wouldn’t be riveting. What makes villains compelling is their darkness. And this is because, most importantly, unlike all the people you are mentioning, Voldemort is the bad guy in a children book. Voldemort is not real. His darkness has no consequence whatsoever.

As for why I find Voldemort and Bellatrix compelling, if you had bothered to read my writings before accusing me of absurdities, you’d already have your answer. You’d know that it’s their character as people and mutual relationship that I find intriguing, not their ideology.

As to why I said I see myself in them, those are personal reasons I would never disclose to someone who cannot seem to count to ten, let alone understand utter complexity of certain childhood circumstances or unusual personalities, but (even if it’s obvious, even if I stated it multiple times for the thick idiots in the back) it’s obviously not their fictional murderous/blood-purist/unicorn-blood-licking tendencies I see myself, a real person, in.

I equally see myself in Dorian Gray, Heathcliff and Catherine, Frankenstein’s monster. I trust no sane person would believe I’m inciting the masses to make deals with the devil, traumatize children or set the world on fire out of spite towards human nature (even if the latter is tempting and people like you are making it even more so, I would admit).

“i am not always just an anon on the internet. i am a real person with a real family, real experience with antisemitism and racism in my everyday life. real books i like to read, real foods i like to enjoy, real fears and angers and excitements about the changes i’m seeing in politics and in the public these days. i am, in real life, affected by the ease with which some of my own friends can tell me “jews control the media” just because they’ve heard it on tv enough, from movies or talking heads or whoever.”

As it so happens, I’m a real person just as well. You don’t know anything about me. You for example don’t know that my grandmother spent World War II with real Nazis invading her very home, robbing her of everything and using her farm as a militar base. You don’t know the story of my family, you don’t know that I share many, too many, concerns and fears about the world we are currently living in too and I’m genuinely sorry about what you have to go through, because even without being Jewish I know something about it first hand. But this doesn’t give you the right to behave how you are behaving. You are in fact being just part of the big cultural problem you are denouncing. You are going after innocent people, judging them out of invented nothing. Even if you are surrounded by ignorant and racist people for real (I wonder to what extent, since you seem to highly exaggerate things), this doesn’t mean you have to blindly assume the whole world conforms to it by default, twisting everything you see to make it about you and your current, perhaps justified, fixations.

“consider also that you are a woman. you’ve said you don’t feel very strongly about any part of your visible identity, which is fine. but others around you likely perceive you as a woman. you will be treated differently by different people based on how they perceive you. you have to exist in the context of the world around you whether you want to or not. do you call it activism or wokeness to tell someone off for treating you poorly because you’re a woman, or do you call it standing up for yourself? now what if that person is andrew tate or jordan peterson, whose sexism reaches and influences many, many people around you? telling them or their parrots to think before they speak is not being woke. that’s recognizing a lack of respect and responding to it appropriately to shut it down before it gets worse.“

Again, you took something I said and completely failed to understand its meaning. I never said “I don’t feel very strongly about any part of my visible identity”. I actually feel my womanhood deeply, to extents you couldn’t imagine. What I said is that I don’t care to conform to this, in my opinion quite pathological, trend of labeling everything you are and put it on display for the world to see and use, in the hopes of creating an ever-more vacillating sense of identity, belonging and validation. I firmly believe everyone has the absolute right to be true to themselves and I have no problem embracing anyone who wants to intruduce themselves with a ten minutes-long list of pronouns, gender, sexuality, heath-status, ethnicity and religious beliefs, but this is not something I’ll be ever taking part of, nor the kind of circus I’d like the world to turn into, merely because for some reason I feel like this is more a show (a dangerous one, too) than a real quest towards inner truth.

Calling out idiocy is not being woke, anon. I confirm. Not agreeing with powerful people spreading dangerous ideas is one thing, making up the 99% of those terrible crimes in order to have a scapegoat for your witch hunts is another thing entirely.

“so why can’t i criticize your purposeful decision to deify a character who can all too easily become a model for others who want to take their hero worship of people like him further than tumblr?”

Because you are making this “deification” entirely up, anon. And the fact that you cannot seem to understand this simple fact is very concerning. If I preached Voldemort’s blood-purity ideology, you would have every right to criticize me. You are even totally entitled to have opinion about others tastes. You are not entitled though to make things up to further your own ideologies and worldviews and you should actually be capable, fairly educated as you are, to understand what you read.

“i guess i am not judging you for the art you enjoy, but the way in which you talk about it. people who are actually affected by these views have to be most wary when decent, intelligent people begin to repeat and think them. unfortunately, for my family, this was indeed the way real life worked in the 30s/40s. their kind, smart, beloved neighbors could still turn on them after being exposed to enough nazi propaganda, to films and papers and gossip. and now i have to feel like this in the present day because it is media like this, which “minorities” like us have always, always made our worries clear about (you can’t tell me discussion of cho chang’s name or the subtext of sex-aware staircases is new, because i was around to see when it began), which seeps into good people’s brains and creates opportunities for them to turn on us. this is why white supremacists and fascists use dogwhistles, why they won’t speak the quiet part out loud and will use whatever media they can to further their message under the radar.”

“The way I talk about it” is not at all what you are describing lol If you had actually taken the time to read what I wrote you would have (I hope) noticed.

Oh, yes. Calling a character “Cho Chang” is a terrible crime against humanity. Entire generations of children are traumatized. Also, oh my! Sex-aware staircases! Call the police!

No, anon. Good people don’t let anything seep into their brains and “turn on you”. Good people are good people. People that out of the blue, only because society validates them, turn against fellow human beings, for whatever reason, weren’t good people in the first place. Ideologies give permission for the real self to show, they don’t create anything from scratch.

“analyzing media is about opening your eyes to the context in which it sits. i’m afraid, and i think you’ll agree, that critical analysis skills are degrading on a mass scale these days.“

Yes lol I deeply and absolutely agree.

“i’m afraid that these books have always contained subtle problems, but those of us who were affected by them did not have such a free internet to express ourselves and were otherwise shouted down by fans at the time. i’m afraid that these books have always existed in a context in which antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia have only been on the rise. i’m afraid that someone like you, who is writing a novel, who has some reach now and who may gain even more of a following in the future, who touts herself as not only intelligent but a lover of ethics, may end up contributing, whether you intend to or not, to the mass of people who will turn around to hurt people like me.

i can understand the notion that voldemort simply used a preexisting Other that he despised anyway to further his own drive for power. lots of scholars would say hitler did the exact same thing. my question for you is not even why you see yourself in that, because i suppose it is understandable as a strategy to get yourself support for something by finding like minds already headed the same direction. but the key point there is like minds. no, my question is, why do you call him the hero?

not protagonist. not something akin to humbert humbert per nabokov’s original purpose.

hero.

a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

b: an illustrious warrior

c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities

d: one who shows great courage

at this point, it isn’t the harry potter books that praise nazi ideology and strategy. it is you. even if you don’t see it that way, i’m here to tell you that i can interpret your words this way, and if i can, then others can too.”

Apart from telling you, again, you are completely making up this way of mine of praising Voldemort as a hero and that you should probably read other people’s writings before judging them, allow me to “tout myself as intelligent” once again, and enlighten you with a banal fact.

Media, fiction, art is for the most part a mirror of who is consuming it. The fact that you can interpret, as you are doing, my words completely wildly, incorrectly, insultingly, tells a lot more about you than about me. If a person isn’t able to apply critical skills to what they are reading, again as you are doing, they are going to find exactly what they want to find in anything. Mind creates reality and you are a marvelous example of it.

It’s the same old debate about morality and amorality in art. Not very intelligent people keep bringing it up again and again through the eras, but the truth about it doesn’t change. I can use a knife to surgically save a life, cut bread or kill a person. None is inherent fault or merit of the knife, but of the hand who wields it.

I remember distinctly when Hannibal came out, the woke police wanted it cancelled because it romanticized murder and cannibalism. Everyone was afraid people would have gone out eating each other. What happened instead is that no raise in cannibalism was detected. Cannibals became cannibals regardless, perhaps feeling a little more represented in media. Decent people remained decent people. I hope you get my hint. Nazism didn’t become Nazism when writings of the Golden Dawn came out, talking about the superior race. Nazism became Nazism when a government used those writing as the mass excuse to unleash the most basic and terrible instincts of humanity to further its own political and economical ends.

I guess your vision of the world, in which the big evil blogger on Tumblr is going to write a new novel without perpetually denouncing every other word everything problematic anyone could possibly read in it and the good people around you will suddenly turn to eat you against their will because brainwashed by my subtle suggestions, could be a quite childish way to justify somehow a world that terrifies you, in which evil isn’t banal and everywhere, but has a tangible and therefore preventable reason.

I’m sorry, but the roots of persecution are as old as human nature, and you actually could even find something really akin to them in your own behaviour if you look very closely.

“in your response to me, you have strung together many lengthy ways of telling me what a brainless lemming i must be for having concerns about how people analyze media, but you couldn’t manage even the simplest ‘i do not support nazism’ after saying you find the history interesting. it’s not your interest that concerns me, but your inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to just confirm that interest is where it ends. unless you deliberately, explicitly, and vehemently deny this, others will continue to misinterpret you. you might be tempted to say that this will only be an issue with people who aren’t as smart or literary as you. let me inform you now that i am at least “a normally intelligent and educated person”, as you put it. we’ve read all the same books. i enjoy a lot of the same media you do. yet i am still not confident you will clearly denounce nazism even now that you have been asked. now imagine that you have even one follower who cannot be described with your above quote. it only takes one misguided person to be the next john hinckley jr., or robert gregory bowers, or dylann roof, or so on. you care not about morality, but about ethics. consider the ethical ramifications of this kind of public hero worship of a character who so easily maps onto a real life perpetrator of genocide without some sort of discussion about him ultimately being wrong. do i think we should all have to disclaim that we don’t condone what villains do? no. do i think you should have to say it every single time you talk about the subject? no, of course not. but if i cannot find it anywhere on your blog, then it has to be said somewhere.”

I’m sorry anon, but after everything you just said I cannot help but conclude those same books on you had very little effect. Maybe try to read them again. I dread what you might have made out of them.

[yourfaveisyanderematic]

Do No Harm

Haha...oh, man.

WARNING: Cioccolata being Cioccolata.  Next to no gore, surprisingly, but needles are used inappropriately and bad things happen to veins.  

Those who become doctors do so for one of two reasons: the love of life, or the love of power.

When you graduated medical school and took your first steps on the path to becoming a surgeon, you were certain that you would be surrounded by peers like yourself, peers who respected life and worked to save it when they could and protect its dignity when they couldn’t.  What other reason was there to attend all those torturous years of studying and sleepless nights?  What other reason was there to endure the constant sight of flesh being sliced open and stitched back together, the terror and grief of loved ones forced to wait outside the operating theatre, the unrelentingly ugly reality of the dying?

The longer you worked, the better you knew.  You heard the cruel laughter of other doctors as they mocked their patients and traded stories.  You were there in the operating room when another surgeon walked in, flipped up the sheet to admire the patient’s breasts and continued his conversation with the nurse like nothing happened.  You watched the hope and energy drain from those around you, replaced by cynical and shrewd opportunism, until you barely recognized the people you began working with.

Granted, that could have just been because everyone kept transferring.

“I’ve finished my residency,” Doctor Bisco had told you with an unapologetic shrug as he carried his box down the hall like a trophy, “and I got a great offer from San Giovanni.  I’m outta here.  You’re sure you want to take over my current patients?

What, like you’re still going to take care of them?  You wanted to say, but held your tongue.  It wasn’t wrong to want more money—nobody would deny you were being overworked, least of all you—but something gnarled and angry stirred in the bottom of your heart when you heard him talk about numbers and connections, like it was all that mattered.  Like the politics of the administration mattered more than the people.

When you opened the door to your office and found Doctor Cioccolata Torte sitting in your chair and drinking coffee out of your mug, you started to wonder if maybe they did.

“Doctor Amaretto!  Having a good shift so far, I hope?” the man exclaimed as he set your mug down and smacked his lips, giving you a very obvious once over.  You felt your jaw twitch.  Rather than say the impulsively stupid first words that came to mind, you took a moment to wonder if his black lipstick was that shiny because it was freshly applied.

“Doctor Torte.  I’ve asked you not to use a nickname with me,” you ignored his question and walked to the desk, unable to shake the feeling of being a visitor in your own office.  You moved your mug away from him and resisted the urge to immediately throw it in the garbage can—even if the lipstick came off, you weren’t sure you were willing to drink from something he touched no matter how much you washed it.  

“I’ve also asked you to remember boundaries.  You’re not supposed to be in here when I’m gone…”  Were these papers in the order you left them in?  What else had been touched?  Torte frowned, but it apparently wasn’t at your rebuke.

“I keep telling you to call me Cioco-lata!” he whined.  “We’ve worked together too long for you to be this formal!”

“Well, I keep asking you not to call me Amaretto,” you said evenly.  “Use the name I have, not the one you gave me.”

The nickname, while cute, wasn’t a flattering one.  You had rankled at Torte’s dismissive bedside manner and the way the hospital administration blatantly favored him.  He was their celebrity surgeon, the skilled doctor called upon to take care of the politicians and rich businessmen when they needed medical care, and in exchange for high-profile success (and the large donations that followed) was given next to no real oversight.  Most of your peers were happy to follow suit, trying to curry favor with either him or those in power.

Those who love life and those who love power will never be friends.

“That’s so cute of you!” Doctor Torte had laughed, seeing the grit of your teeth when you caught him videotaping a patient’s agony-induced babbling, “You seem sweet, but you’re bitter.  Just a little bitter.  Well, Amaretto?  If you have a problem, surely you should go and tell the director?”

The taunt echoed in your ears even today, silencing the comment you were about to make about knowing for a fact that the door was locked when you left.

Shouldn’t you tell the director?

A long moment passed as Torte leaned back in his seat, toying with one of your pens as he regarded you thoughtfully.  There had always been something unidentifiable in the way he stared at you that made your skin crawl.  You knew what lust looked like, and you’d definitely caught it in his face before, and you’d seen amusement when he watched you mentally grapple with the fact that no complaint to administration would touch him.  This was something else.

This was something that only showed on his face in the rare moments the two of you were alone, and the unsettling sense that it was just barely restrained made your gut twist in a nameless reaction that could only be called fear.  

You wanted to open the door behind you, but that would require you to turn your back to Torte.  That was out of the question, so instead you took a deep breath.

“What can I help you with?”  You felt your tone get even more clipped, stretching the limits of professional politeness.

“I want you…” Torte paused, tasting the words, but then apparently remembered the rest of the question.  “I want you to change your scheduling.  Give your cases to Madeline, or Pignoli—I’ve seen the patients you’re supposed to work on!  You’re one of the brightest surgeons on this staff and they fill your days with cholecystectomies and artery bypasses for riffraff that would just get sick again anyway…” he waved his hands, words no longer sufficient for his contempt.

“I ch—“ you began, but he continued as if you hadn’t.

“You’ll never grow as a doctor like this.  You could be brilliant, but you’re too worried about cleaning up the trash.”

The phase change from ‘strong dislike’ to ‘outright hate’ was like a plunge into icy water, powerful enough to make you dizzy.  You felt yourself flush as your heart hammered behind your ribs, and in the next moment realized you’d moved forward to lean over the desk, close enough to Torte’s face to kiss.

“I chose,” you repeated slowly, carefully, determined to make every syllable sink in, “to treat them all.  Everyone I could, especially the ones people like you would ignore.”

His eyes were so dark.  Wide and black and empty, like a shark’s.  How had you never noticed before?  How had you never seen the nothing behind his eyes?

“I am a doctor, and that means I heal people.  I will heal whoever I can, no matter how trivial their condition is or how little they can pay, until my heart gives out.  Are you hearing me?  Keep your politics and connections to yourself.  I’ll work in the ER until I drop dead if I have to, because I’ll die first before I become anything like you.”

“I understand completely,” Torte muttered, voice soft.  

“Great!”  You straightened up and walked away to throw the door open.  It hit the wall with a bang, rattling the pictures of your dogs in their frames.  You gestured with a sweep of your arm.

“Get out of my office.”

Doctor Torte left quietly, almost meekly, pausing to study your face on his way out.  It wasn’t until you heard the sound of his footsteps recede completely that you began to breathe normally again.

—

You couldn’t help but sigh as you finished dropping off your tools at the decontamination area.  The end of your shift was finally, finally in sight.  The only thing holding you up at the moment was sheer willpower, and when you made your way back to your office all you could think about was collapsing into your chair, getting to rest.

“Doctor Amaretto!”  Hurried footsteps as someone rushed for you from behind.

“What?” You jerked your head, a rebuke on your lips—I don’t care if he does it, you can’t call me that—and paused when you realized you didn’t recognize the wide-eyed young nurse in pale green scrubs, mask pulled up almost over his eyes.  You sighed and ran a hand through your hair as he kept pace alongside.

“I’m so sorry about that, you must be new and I’m very tired.  Amaretto is…an office nickname, one I’m not fond of.”  You tapped your nametag. “Call me this instead, okay?”

“You’re needed for a surgery in the new wing,” the nurse replied instead of answering, “I’m supposed to take you there.”

It was enough to make you stop dead.  Now?  But nothing had been scheduled.  The image of your beloved office chair loomed in your mind.  God, you needed to sit down…

“It’s an emergency,” the nurse offered, “life or death.  You’re the only one who can do it.  Won’t you come?”

You felt another sigh escape you.

“Alright.  Lead the way…ah, you’ve forgotten your nametag…”

“Secco,” he replied, picking up speed to lead you away from the main operating theaters.  You made one turn after another—this hospital was the oldest in Milan, and the layout could get confusing—until you started looking for signs or familiar faces to try and figure out where you were.  Fewer and fewer doctors milled around as you walked, and soon the only people in the hall were you and Secco.  Finally, just when you were sure he had gotten the both of you lost, Secco pulled a door open and stood aside, a mute invitation.

The operating theater was empty.  You blinked a couple times to check if maybe you were hallucinating (you weren’t).

“I don’t understand.  Where’s the patient?”  You turned, hoping for an explanation, directly into a savage blow as Secco struck.  Your vision filled with white as he drove his fist into your temple.  A strangled half-cry of pain echoed in the theatre as you collapsed, gracelessly falling to the floor until your head rested on the cool tile.  The blurry silhouette of a man wavered in your vision, looming over you.  In the next instant, it was two.

“You’re so funny, Doctor Amaretto,” Cioccolatta Torte laughed, an unnaturally high pitched sound as Secco stepped away to shut the door, “she’s right here.”

He drew his leg back as if preparing a kick, but you blacked out in the moment it connected.

—

You were so cold.

The sterile air was absolutely freezing, wafting over your bare skin (what happened to your coat and scrubs?).  You were reclining, resting in a chair, and for a foolish moment you let yourself believe that you were back at your office, waking up from an unproductive nap and a disturbing nightmare.

Whatever your head rested on was warm, someone’s shoulder.  That someone’s fingers were trailing through your hair, moving it away from your face, and that forced you to open your eyes.  Nobody touched you like this.  

The first thing you registered was the lens.  A camera loomed in front of you, fixed on your face, held by that nurse—if he even was a nurse—capturing every minute expression in your face.  And if he was here, then that was…

You recoiled, pulling your head as far away from Doctor Torte as you could.  This turned out to be a few centimeters, because you weren’t reclining in a chair, you were bound to it.

“Did you have to wake up so soon?  I was enjoying that.” Torte pouted, having the nerve to look hurt, and then looked at Secco.  “It’s recording, right?  Plenty of battery?  I won’t forgive you if you mess this one up.”

Your breath came in shaky gasps, but you forced yourself to look around.  The lights here were bright, too bright for you to make out much more than the men before you and a small table of surgical tools.  You had no idea where you were, but the feeling in the air made you worry that it wasn’t anywhere in the hospital.

“Doctor Torte—“ you began, but the words died in your throat as he grabbed you, cupping your cheeks in his hands and forcing you to look him in the eyes.

“I keep telling you,” he breathed, “to call me Cioccolata.  When you’re begging, when you’re pleading, when you’re screaming, you’ll say Cioccolata, or the first thing I’ll do is take the tongue out of your head.”

Were you going to die?  The frenzied intensity in Cioc—Torte’s eyes seemed to promise nothing else.

The moment passed, and he took a deep breath and stepped away.  “You’re just trying to get me worked up,” he mused with a smile, “that’s what this is.  It won’t work!  This is going to be special.  It’s like a first date.”

You heard the camera whir as Secco zoomed in, taking in different parts of your face with shaky glee.

“Doctor T—Cioccolata,” you hated the waver in your voice when you said the words, watching him select a large needle and an IV bag from a box (they didn’t gag you because it didn’t matter if you screamed, nobody was coming and that meant nobody would save you if he really did cut your tongue out).  “This is insane.  This is murder—“

“Exciting, right?”  You recoiled at his clammy touch when he put his hands on you again, poking at the flesh of your elbow.  He plunged the needle in without any preamble, eliciting a spasm of agony; he’d missed the vein.

He frowned as your face twisted in pain, but the camera was still going.  “Oops.  You know, you really should hydrate better if you don’t want this to happen.”

“Why are you doing this?” you hated, hated how your voice had become a whisper.  All the angry courage you had in your office this morning had completely evaporated, leaving you weak and trembling and alone in front of Death and his sycophant.  

And every instant of it was going to be preserved, forever.

Cioccolata sank the needle into your arm again, this time a cold pinching sensation instead of the electric pain you’d felt before.  He taped the tube in place and attached the IV to some point behind your head, somewhere he couldn’t see.  He stood, pausing to caress your jawline before his fingers wandered down to the frantic rhythm of your pulse.  

“You’d die first, right?  That’s what you said.”  The words he threw back at you were casual, infuriatingly so, as if their significance was no greater than the date and time of an appointment.  He walked back to the table, laid out with all its implements, and selected a syringe from a styrofoam box.  

“I wasn’t sure what to do with you, at first.  I thought about cutting the median nerve in your wrists and taking your talented hands from you forever…” he chuckled to himself and tapped the syringe, watching the clear liquid flow around, “but that seemed wasteful.  Maybe I’ll do it if you’ve been bad, but I didn’t want it to be what made you mine.”

“In fact, until this morning I wasn’t sure what I would do to you.  I knew what I wanted to build up to, but not how to start, what that first operation between us should be…and then you had a brilliant idea!  You’re so smart.”  he winked.  The needle gleamed in the light, laden with unspoken promise, but it was that look on his face again—the one you saw in your office, the one that only came out when you were alone and there was nobody to help you—that really frightened you.

You couldn’t help it.  You writhed in your restraints, desperately, as he approached, though they were tight enough that moving even a half-centimeter was out of the question.  You watched, helplessly, as the needle plunged into the IV, delivering its payload straight into your veins.

“What is that—what is—don’t—“ you babbled, even though it was far too late to do anything.  Cioccolata didn’t reply, just stroked your head.

“You’ll be fine.  You’ll be fine…when we watch this together later, you’ll laugh at how hysterical you were over this.”

You wanted to throw up, but you forced yourself to try to control your breathing, to steady your runaway heart now beating fast, too fast, out of control, rushing toward the edge and plunging into hysteria…

And in that next instant, your heart stopped.  You felt yourself change, from being a living person to a conscious mind trapped in a cooling corpse.

The light, too-bright before, was now unbearable, burning into your retinas as your pupils expanded unnaturally.  You felt the blood pool in your legs and arms, a sensation you wanted to regard with mind-numbing terror but could only manage detached curiosity.  You gasped for breath, once, twice, but no relief came with the action—air was coming into your lungs, but it wasn’t going anywhere.  You were dying, you were dying, you were dying, your mind wheeled frantically, scrambling for a way to save yourself, but you had nothing.  There was nothing you could do.

Ciocolatta had severed the strands holding you to life—how frail!  How incredibly easy to cut!—and now you were in free-fall, plummeting into the yawning mouth of the grave.

In the instant your heart started again, Ciocolatta’s dark lips slammed into yours, stealing the breath you would have gasped as you felt life return, a hazy euphoria blanketing your body and filling the void in your chest.  

His hands came up to your face, holding it steady as he continued to kiss you, pressing hard enough that they could feel your returned pulse.

“Didn’t that feel incredible, Amaretto?  Don’t you feel amazing?”

You didn’t feel anything at all, actually.  Shock made you dazed and pliant, submissive to his touch.  

“Cioccolata…!  You’re getting in the way of the shot!  You’re covering up her face!”  Secco, forgotten until now, made his complaint known as a petulant whine, stamping his feet and forcing the camera closer, almost delivering a kiss of its own.  You couldn’t help but stare at yourself reflected in the glassy lens, a trail of lipstick smears covering your mouth and continuing towards your neck.

“What did you…do?” you struggled to get the words out.

“You’ve dropped dead!” he clapped his hands in glee.  “You won’t be healing anyone anymore, you’ll be playing with me.  That was our little promise, remember?”

He regarded the IV, still hooked into your arm, with an expression you would learn to recognize is dark intent.

“If you have a problem with it, though, we can do it again to make really sure.  You’ve got a strong heart, you can take it.”

[piracytheorist]

Since the first thing that strikes me about re8, story-wise, is that it seems to be all over the place? Again, I’ve no idea how it ties to previous games but it feels like this parental/mother-child theme is just hanging there with no resolution at all? I mean yes, Ethan saved his daughter, presumably breaking some sort of abuse cycle, yay, congrats, but what about his wife/gf? Isn’t she supposed to be like the main protagonist of the story of a mother bereaved to the point of tyrannical madness

Or rather, this specific story is not the right choice for his character since there’s SO many ethical and philosophical issues and questions implied but never properly explored because of Ethan’s ‘fuck you, idc’ attitude (which is completely understandable in those circumstances but adds virtually nothing to the plot and arguably even ruins it a bit). Heisenberg could’ve been an excellent ally with fascinating grey morality (provided the writers wouldn’t push him to the point of absolute insanity and let freedom, not power-hunger be his main goal and motivation for rebellion).And again, aren’t the lords supposed to represent child development stages? In which case Ethan what? Kills the possibility of some evil version of Rose? Or his own chance to experience fatherhood throughout all of those stages? Either way, it seems a bit… weird to have a Parent destroy multiple people whose main relevance to the plot is that they’re children of an abusive antagonist in a storyline so extremely focused on parent/kid relationships.

I feel like the main theme of re8 is not just parenthood/motherhood, but the relationship itself of the parent to the child. There's a lot of mentions to "children being used". Miranda kidnapping people, experimenting on them and mutating them and then treating them like they're her kids; Miranda kidnapping and practically killing Rose; Dimitrescu making daughters out of reanimated corpses she experimented on; Heisenberg wanting to use Rose's powers, etc etc.

And it's important that Miranda is at the center of this. There's something very interesting she says to Ethan in her boss fight:

"Why do you interfere? Surely you have no need of Rose now, so close to death?"

And that's where her mistake was. Ethan wasn't doing all that because he needed Rose herself. He was doing it to save her, fully aware that he wasn't going to be a part of her life cause he knew he was dying. Miranda was way too dependent on her love for Eva - and like, I honestly get it that losing your child can devastate you (if anything my fear of that is one of the reasons I don't want to have kids) - so much that her life literally revolved around her child. Once Eva died, Miranda wanted to die. Once she found the Megamycete and discovered she maybe had a chance to bring Eva back, she dedicated her entire life and ruined multiple others to do just that. Her one and biggest need was to get Eva back. It wasn't a simple want or wish. It was a need. She'd get her child back, damn everyone else - including other people's children.

Miranda had no-one to blame directly; Eva had died from the influenza, it wasn't like she had any chance to change things. Ethan's case was different; he had people to blame, particularly, the one who kidnapped Rose and dismembered her, and her lackeys who kept said parts and fought him for trying to take them back.

So on one end, you have a parent who lost her child due to a tragedy, and ended up destroying other - innocent - lives in order to get her back. On the other, you have a parent who lost his child due to a crime, and ended up going after the criminals responsible in order to get the child back. Like, it wasn't even revenge, and it wasn't that he "needed" Rose in his life. He simply wanted to save her and ensure she'll be alright.

I fully agree it could have been Mia as the protagonist in re8, and that it was a wasted opportunity to simply fridge her and have her in the sidelines angsting over her husband. But whether it was Mia or Ethan as the protagonist, I feel like the theme that I explained above does offer a resolution, showing the opposites of Miranda and Ethan, and ending Miranda's tyrrany of her "need" to have her child back through Ethan's determination to ensure his child's safety and happiness - even if he doesn't get to be a part of any of that later on. Miranda showed obsession; Ethan showed dedication.

And this is how I see the abuse cycle breaking and the resolution is reached; an obsessed parent hurt a good parent's child to bring their own child back - the good parent's dedication stopped the former, allowing the former's tyrrany to end and their child to grow up safe.

Seeing as this is a horror game, I don't tend to focus on the morality issues (if I'm interpreting your second message correctly). Like, the developers are making a grant effort to put us in Ethan's shoes, first-person POV, plain character protagonist and all; our child got kidnapped and practically murdered, and we have the chance to bring her back. We'll absolutely raise hell to the people who are responsible for it and we will get our child back, fuck any moral dilemmas we might have. When someone is threatening your life, you have the ability to kill them to defend yourself. In the case of a caring parent, that ability may multiply by a lot when the threat is towards their child. And I feel that this is what the game explored in the end. Though the whole survival issue is taxing on Ethan, he doesn't give a damn about who he has to kill if it means saving his daughter - but again, it's only the responsible parties. We see how watching all the people at Luisa's house die affected him, and even before Elena died, he wanted to ensure her safety before he went searching for Rose; he is sympathetic and morally rational, but also capable of cold-blooded murder if someone is threatening his child. To a lesser extent, we saw that in re7 too. With his life on the line, he killed Jack (multiple times) and Marguerite, and at the end he recognized how they were actually victims of Eveline. But they were still actively trying to murder him so he wasn't given the chance to help them. With Zoe, he promised to send help, and he did, even wanting to talk to her once she'd been rescued by her uncle and Chris. The same applies to re8, but as I said, it's multiplied since it's his daughter who's in danger, and the end of re8 proves he cares for her safety more than his own.

Now, all that said, I think it's important to note how it's stil a Resident Evil game. I haven't actually played or watched any playthroughs of other games, but the basic concept in these games, from what I understand, is that the player shoots zombies; ex-human beings who have lost any human mentality and will just come for your throat if you don't kill them first. They're not humans anymore, they can't be reasoned or sympathized with. It's not really an issue of morality, ethics or philosophy. Your life, and the life of your child in the case of re8, are in danger. You don't give a shit. You just start shooting and hope for the best. Again, I don't know if the morality issue is explored in other RE games, but to be honest... Resident Evil doesn't sound like the kind of franchise that's thematically into going super deep into the morality of shooting zombies to save your life.

I have to admit I haven't thought of the Lords being representative of child development stages. I think they could be put as Moreau being a toddler, fully dependent on their parent - funnily enough, the Greek word for baby is "moro", pronounced almost exactly the way "Moreau" is pronounced in the game - Donna as a child, Heisenberg as a (rebellious?) teenager, and Dimitrescu as a late teen/young adult (if anything, Dimitrescu seems to behave like the eldest child of the bunch). But I'm not sure the connection that has to Ethan as a father, if anything because the bosses are fought in complete random order of age, if my analysis is correct. Like, I understand the symbolism behind the Lords' behaviours, maybe as you said they represent the obstacles Ethan had to overcome. In one single day and with his life on the line, instead of in the course of Rose's entire childhood and adolescence, but that's exactly why he hated being a protagonist of a horror game, lol.

Anyway, yeah. All in all, I don't think Resident Evil is a franchise where we should expect to sit down afterwards and ponder whether we were right to shoot the zombies that were trying to kill us. Again, I'm not the right person to ask this, since I don't know anything about other RE games, but that's the conclusion I'm making in a meta-thinking way.

[nexyra]

What is your take on rwby chara's mbti types? I think

Weiss - xSTJ, thought that she was ESTJ at first but ISTJ makes a lot of sense too.

Winter - ESTJ

Pyrrha - ESFJ

Emerald - ISFJ (I've seen some ppl type her as INFJ but I don't see how she is a Ni dom?)

Whitley - ENTJ? I'm honestly not sure abt that..

Adam - fucked up xNFJ, probably INFJ (seen him typed as xNTJ but his delusional thinking process imo screams unhealthy Ti and I think his manipulation of Blake and the WF is more Fe than Te

Qrow - was thinking ISTP but with the more recent volumes I'm really not sure..

Penny - ENFP

Ozpin - Uuuuuh INTP maybe?? But I've seen some people type him as INFJ. INFJ 5w6 would make sense as to why he might appear as an INTP but idk..

Bartholomew- ENTP

Jaune - no fucking idea honestly

Ironwood - ENTJ

Sun - Seen ppl type him as ENFP but I don't see any Ne at all..,,ESFP?

Yang - ESxP, maybe ESTP

Cinder - INTJ

Mercury - ISTP

Oscar - ISFJ

Ren - ISTx?

Hello anon ! I see my love for typology hasn't gone unnoticed 😂 Thank you so much for the ask !

I prefer enneagram over MBTI because I find it easier to type; so fair warning that I'm not an authority on MBTI-typing. But I do have have an ongoing RWBY typing that includes MBTI sooo... here goes !

(I'm putting my ennea typings along with it, but not explaining them on this post)

➸ RWBYJNPR

Ruby • xNFP 6w7 9w1 2w3?

I just can't decide between the two fors Ruby because... it kind of goes both way ??? Like Ruby definitely feels as INFP for the first half of the series; she's got a clear Fi > Ne preference... But then when she develops her Tert in V6 it's just... Te ? And she really doesn't show much Si actually she fits more the Si inf vibe in the form of forgetting about bad memories and her mom until people dig it up and she's like "nooo !" ?? So it looks like Te > Si but also Fi > Ne; conclusion idfk

Weiss • ISTJ 1w2 6w5 3w4 sp/so

Clear Fi tert rearing its head along with the 1 so I'm going with ISTJ; I also never really saw any Ne. Her type isn't too disagreed upon so tell me if you want a lenghtier explanation.

Blake • ISFP 6w5 9w8 4w3 (in some order)

Wooh this might get the anger of some (i have experience with the INFJ typers) but Blake goddamn REEKS of Fi. Less so recently but for the first seasons oh my god. She straights up catch you by the shirt and tells you "I'm doing the right thing"; and said right thing is so heavily dependant on her own subjectives values, which is why Blake can't reconcile with the current White Fang; because she doesn't have a strong Je vision of "what objectively works in the end", she only sees actions in terms of immediate right and wrong, and this b&w dichotomy stems from herself. What the WF is doing is wrong and the circumstances don't matter for judging the morality of their actions (of course I'm not talking about murder here bc that's pretty wrong ALL THE TIME but for example the stealing occuring in V1 bc of the WF is a better example)

Yang • ESXP 7w8 8w7 2w3

I'm sorry about that but I can't help you on that aspect anon, I still can't make up my mind about whether Yang has Fi or Ti. I have seen arguments for both, and i'm not the best at picking up on Ti so it's hard for me to tell.

Jaune • ESFJ 6w7 3w2 9w1

No strong opinions on his MBTI, it's kinda just based on vibes

Nora • ENFP 6w7 9w8 3w2

Textbook ENFP, not much to say here x))

Pyrrha • XXFJ 2w1 1w2 6?

In my list Pyrrha is currently written down as ISFJ but that's mostly based on the general consensus and me wanting to get rid of the XX. I don't actually have any convincing arguments to decide on Ni or Si, so I could go either way if someone else makes their case well. I feel like she's Fe aux more than dom, but even about that I could change my mind. Pyrrha didn't have that much screentime in the end :((

Ren • ISTJ? 9w1 5w4 4w5

Ironically I'm not sure about his type, kind of like you. I've mentionned I'm not very good at picking up on Ti right ? And Ren was a background character before V4 really. I had him written down as ISTP for a while but I've seen some convincing arguments for ISTJ so I might lean toward that actually but who knows. The thing I'm very confident about is his 5 fix = )

➸ Faunus bonus

Sun • ESFP 7w6 2w3 9w1 so/sx

I don't see any Ne at all either so I don't understand the ENFP typings...?? Maybe the 7 stereotypes ? Imo Sun is just a very good boy; certified ESFP 7 himbo; triple positive sunshine !

Ilia • Ti-Fe axis ?

Again, not enough screentime for me to make an educated guess. My only certainty is : not high Fi. It's the source of their conflicts. Blake confidence in absolute right & wrong, tracing lines in the sand between acceptable & unacceptable. Whereas Ilia can only shake her head and say "Because it works", or cry out "I don't know what else to do !"

Adam • 3w4 8w7 6w5

I honestly don't really have much of an opinion about Adam's MBTI, i'm sorry anon ;; I don't know enough about how he thinks

➸ Oz-related things and his circle

Ozpin • INFJ 5w4 2w1 1w9

I would personally call him an INFJ. I... never really got INTP vibes from him ? I don't see the Fe inf work out with his interactions : he's always rather at ease, he knows how to navigate around people... His focus inherently lies on doing what's best for the "group", the people, humanity. Fx functions are both concerned with ethics, in different ways, and I think Oz reflects that well. He IS concerned with the moral weight of his actions, but it's a more adaptable and unpersonnal concern than Fi people. He regards Ironwood's soul machines as something wrong, but can still agree to use it if the situations demand it for example. So... if the INFJ + 5 makes sense to you, well that's what I'm typing him personally. I also feel like Ni fits him more than Ne. Ozpin has a very linear way of planning, he does use his fair share of symbolism in every day conversation... Even when taking decisions, he... kind of cares about the meaning of things a lot ? It's hard to explain but like; the way he highlights the difference between an army and a guardian, and the emotionnal response it brings. I don't know it feels like there's some Ni vibes in there x)

Oscar • ISFJ 9w8 6w7 3w2

Oscar's type honestly isn't the one I would have the easiest time explaining in lenght but yea. It's mostly vibes; also just like Ozpin he doesn't seem to have a particularly Fi reasonning. And he feels more grounded, I don't really remember any Ni so... yay ?

Ironwood • ENFJ 6w5 1w2 3w4 (pre-Vol8); ENTJ (post-Vol8)

Might be weird if you think he was a dictator from the start, but I kind of entertained the idea of Ironwood being Fe dom ? From his very first interaction it was very clear that he was a Je dom to me; he's all about objective results; he doesn't give off the "internal framework" or "personnal values" vibe AT ALL; so it was more a matter of picking Te or Fe. He LOOKS super Te don't get me wrong; but he also has an enneagram tritype that is very common amongst XXTJs (and TJs stereotypes thus derive from it). And just like Oz, his focus at all time seemed to be the greater good and doing what's best for the people still. So I was like... Eh, a "harsh" ENFJ I think that's interesting ? Plus Fe ethics actually derive from their environment, kinda like "everyone agrees that Y is wrong", and if you consider that James is from Atlas... Well his way of thinking and ethics align pretty well with the military.

His character took a turn for the worse in V8 (whether too quick or not depends on who you ask) and past that point he's a clear ENTJ; but I feel like it was more debatable before that. Idk though I might be overthinking this in the hope of making more interesting combinations xD

Qrow • ISTP 4w3 6w7? 1w9? sp/sx

I don't really see anything else than ISTP for Qrow... But he's not a character I would want to find Ti arguments for either.

Raven • ENTJ Cp6w5 8w9 3w4

Most villains get called ENTJ at the first occasions tbh zlqfznhqzkf but I think it fits Raven for the most part actually...

➸ Atlas

Winter • ESTJ 1w9 3w4 6w5

The whole Schnee family has the same enneagram tritype in different order/different wings, it's ridiculous I think she has a higher Te than Weiss, and Fi inf fits her more. She struggles more to reconcile with her emotions and the idea of a personal right/wrong than her little sis.

Penny • ENFP 4w3 6w7 9w1 sx/so

Perfect example of a healthy 4, she's a great friend a cutie pie. ... Sorry we were talking about MBTI x) Well again, textbook ENFP. Not much to debate here.

Whitley • 3w4 1w9 6w5?

Not enough material for me to guess a MBTI type correctly either, sorry... I could see some kind of xNTJ yea but it's really just vibes and not enough concrete.

➸ Antagonists and Extras

Cinder • 8w7 3w4 6w5

Never cared to guess her MBTI type. I hereby type her as insufferable qkfqskfq. More seriously, I don't really know sorry Anon :/

Emerald • 2w3 ?w? ?w?

I never got Fe vibes from her tbh, I just think she's a 2. And Fe as a function is very infused with 2 stereotypes. So yea. Like, she isn't even that worried about the morality of her actions or anything more than the other villains. She just cares more about her personal relationships and being loved, so she automatically looks much nicer, especially with 2 mechanisms of trying to make herself useful and needed. Also because she's surrounded by 8-ish people xD

Mercury • 8w9 7w8 ?w?

ISTP doesn't sound too farfeteched, but I never MBTI-typed him either, sorry.

+

Bartholomew Oobleck • xSxJ 5w4

The only vibe he gave me is Si somewhere because of all his talks about learning from the past and everything repeats itself and it's a mine of informations at Mountain Glen... That's really the only time I tried to put down anything for him, and it was Si + 5. He could be some kind of xNTP nerd too for sure, but that's more vibe and I couldn't make an actual argument for it.

[robininthelabyrinth]

NMJ is in Cloud Recesses while LWJ is being punished for visiting WWX at Burial Mounds. LXC tells him what happened, and the 2 decide to go there to see with their own eyes exactly what is going on. A-Yuan has them wrapped around his little finger in .5 seconds, and NMJ is not inclined to put him down. Also, WQ takes one look at him and tells him he's deviating and he's gonna die in less than a year if it's not cured. He might just be in love.

“Your brother is being punished?” Nie Mingjue asked, more than a little surprised. “Your brother? Did we switch brothers again?”

Lan Xichen had to press his lips together to stop from laughing at the reminder of that time when they’d tried to swap the two babies (well, baby and toddler) while their elders had been distracted during a discussion conference – Nie Mingjue’s father was always complaining about how weak and low-energy his new son was, while Lan Qiren scowled about how much noise Lan Zhan made, and they’d thought it was a perfect solution to both problems. It hadn’t worked, of course, given the difference a year made for very young children, and they’d both been punished (while their elders coughed badly-suppressed laughter into their sleeves), but all in all it’d been an interesting first meeting.

“He visited the Burial Mounds without permission,” he explained. “Uncle was very upset.”

“Your uncle isn’t sect leader,” Nie Mingjue said, a little sharply. He’d had some struggles for control and respect when he became sect leader himself, given how young he’d been – at the time Lan Xichen had thought they were being ridiculous, though in retrospect he realized with a pang exactly how much of his friend’s childhood had been lost to a responsibility exceeding that of even most adults – and it remained a sensitive subject. “And merely visiting a place isn’t against your family rules…you approved the punishment, then?”

Lan Xichen hesitated, because he hadn’t. Approval wasn’t considered as necessary in the Lan sect as it was in the Nie; elders were allowed to discipline juniors without consulting the Sect Leader even when it was outside the family rules – the two of them often argued whether such a system left openings for abuse (Nie Mingjue’s position) or encouraged trust (Lan Xichen’s view). 

“Well, he went without permission,” he temporized.

Nie Mingjue snorted, seeing through the excuse at once. “He hasn’t needed to get permission to go places even before he fought in a war, Xichen,” he pointed out. “He was a very good general.”

That was very high praise, from Nie Mingjue, with particular emphasis on Lan Wangji’s reliable judgment; otherwise, he would have used different words.

“It’s the Burial Mounds,” Lan Xichen insisted, still trying to defend his uncle’s judgment. “Wei Wuxian is dangerous –”

“So is night-hunting.”

“You’re just being contrary for the sake of arguing with me,” Lan Xichen said. Nie Mingjue didn’t deny it, though he wouldn’t: it was a measure of his trust in Lan Xichen that he would break etiquette enough to casually pick a fight like this. “Fine, have it your way: I’ll put an end to the punishment now, and we’ll go ourselves to Yiling. If it’s more dangerous than night-hunting, the punishment resumes; if it’s less, it’s absolved, and I will apologize to Wangji myself. Agreed?”

“How did I get roped into this?” Nie Mingjue pretended to complain. “What business is it of mine how your Lan sect teaches its disciples…? But since you insist, I will of course accompany you.”

“Your acquiescence is appreciated – even if a less polite man than I might speculate that you just don’t want to meet with all the minor sect leaders that routinely take advantage of your visits to come by with requests.”

Nie Mingjue didn’t smile – he never did, anymore, which was a pity – but his brow wasn’t furrowed in anger for once, and that was very nearly the same.

Lan Xichen was just as inclined to avoid the inevitable pestering as Nie Mingjue, so he put his plan into action at once and headed out before his uncle could notice what was going on outside his door – not that it was a problem if his uncle objected, of course, he was the sect leader now, but still, why start trouble that could be avoided? Especially since Lan Xichen was going with Nie Mingjue, which significantly lessened the chance of danger; there was little that could stand up against the two of them together. Including Wei Wuxian’s defensive arrays, brilliant as they were, which shattered after a few gestures - after all, it wouldn’t be much of an evaluation if there was time for the Yiling Patriarch to cover things up while they were waiting for permission to enter.

Not that there seemed to be much to cover up.

The Burial Mounds weren’t anything at all like what Lan Xichen had heard, and judging by the increasingly black look on Nie Mingjue’s face, the same was true for him; the ragged collection of farmers tending to an even more ragged collection of crops was far away from the roving army of fierce corpses Wei Wuxian was reputed to be raising here.

“He’s not raising people,” Lan Xichen murmured.

“Well, one,” Nie Mingjue said. Lan Xichen turned to look, but it appeared that what Nie Mingjue was referring to was a small child, buried waist deep into the mud and beaming about it. Lan Xichen gave Nie Mingjue a look, because now was not the appropriate moment for his friend’s deeply buried sense of humor to re-emerge as if greeting the spring…great, now he was making planting jokes, even if only within his own mind. “Xichen, there are hardly any cultivators here.”

“The remnants of the Wen sect?” Lan Xichen guessed, politely ignoring the piece of spiced meat Nie Mingjue had taken out from his pocket to give to the child, who was trying to wiggle his way out of the dirt in order to demand a ride on Nie Mingjue’s shoulders. “I hadn’t realized they were quite so reduced. Rumor seems to have blown things quite out of proportion…”

“Don’t touch him!” a woman snapped, and they both turned; her clothing was faded, but still recognizable as the colors of the Wen sect, and Lan Xichen could feel the way Nie Mingjue tensed, the way Baxia, on his back, began to quiver in anticipation. “A-Yuan, come here, quick.”

“No!” the child said, clinging to Nie Mingjue’s leg. “I wanna ride!”

“I don’t give rides to radishes,” Nie Mingjue said, his eyes still fixed on the approaching woman – Wen Qing, if Lan Xichen is recalling her name correctly. A doctor, once. “Didn’t you say you were a radish?”

“I’m human! I’m human!”

“If you’re a human, you need to listen to your seniors. Get her permission first.”

“You don’t have it,” Wen Qing snapped. “Get away from him at once, A-Yuan. That man is dangerous.”

“We don’t mean any harm,” Lan Xichen interjected quickly before things went south.

“You may not,” she said. “But the one next to you is halfway down the road to a qi deviation; I wouldn’t trust him with any child, least of all one of blood that he despises.”

There was no way to salvage this, but Lan Xichen was determined to try regardless. “Lady Wen –”

“If I recall correctly, her title was Supervisory Office Leader.” Nie Mingjue’s voice was cold and biting. “In Yiling, no less. If I recall correctly, Office Leader Wen Qing refused to dirty her hands by raising a sword directly, and, valued as she was by Wen Ruohan, he did not force her. And so Yiling became a place to keep prisoners – isn’t that right?”

“I was a doctor,” she said, voice equally stiff. “I cared for all sick and injured without distinction –”

“Until they were well enough to be executed –”

“We are guests here, Mingjue-xiong,” Lan Xichen reminded him desperately. “And the war is over, and Lady Wen is a civilian now.”

“She’s still a cultivator,” Nie Mingjue said through gritted teeth. “I do not generally permit cultivators of any sect to say that I harm children; would you prefer I challenge her to defend her words against my saber? I am willing – Office Leader Wen can name the time and place. Unless she prefers to continue to hide behind the cloak of the powerful?”

This was a disaster.

“No one is fighting anyone,” Lan Xichen said firmly. “Lady Wen will apologize for the implication, said in a moment of anger and out of concern for her…for her young relative; in return, we will apologize for arriving without an invitation or forewarning, and then we will all limit ourselves to saying only polite things.”

Both of them open their mouths to protest, and he adds sharply, “Now, if you please.”

He shot Nie Mingjue a look, urging him to recall that he was here at Lan Xichen’s invitation, and his friend scowled but begrudgingly nodded his agreement. Lan Xichen turned his stare onto Wen Qing next – her lips were pressed tightly together, unwilling to yield, but after a few seconds, she finally gave in.

“The implication was wrongly said, and inappropriate,” she said begrudgingly. “Sect Leader Nie’s strict discipline and ethical code are well-known. Even in battle, I’ve never heard of you attacking children…your qi is unsettled, though.”

“That isn’t any of your business,” he said, and she shrugged.

“You’re right, it isn’t, except that you’ve challenged me as a monster when I believe myself to be a doctor,” she said, and now it was her turn to cross her arms. “My own ethical code demands that I treat any injury in those I see; if I fail to do so, then my forbearance during all those years of war will be rendered meaningless and I’d be as guilty as you say I am.”

“I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts as a doctor,” Lan Xichen said, deciding to ignore the way the two of them were still glaring daggers at each other. “I’ve read your works before; they were highly innovative.”

They both looked at him as though he was absolutely crazy, pretending that there hadn’t been a war since the last time one of Wen Qing’s medical texts had been passed around at a discussion conference, but Lan Xichen was determined to ignore the awkwardness until it passed and he smiled that determination right at the two of them until they both gave in.

“You may as well come in for lunch,” she finally said. “We don’t have much, but we’ll share it.”

“We can share our provisions as well,” Lan Xichen said. “Thank you for the invitation…is Wei Wuxian not here? I would have thought he’d have come running with all the noise we’re making.”

“No, he’s down the mountain,” Wen Qing said, rubbing at her nose and turning to lead them further into their camp – there were some tables set out, clearly made by those lacking experience in carpentry. “His shijie’s wedding is coming up soon…he’s trying to find materials for a gift.”

Lan Xichen hummed agreeably, and elbowed Nie Mingjue. His friend scowled further, but obediently picked up the line of polite conversation. Or, his view of it, anyway. “What are you planning on sending?”

Wen Qing stopped and turned to look at him. “What? Me? Why would I send anything? I don’t know her.”

Nie Mingjue looked at her in disbelief. “Your benefactor’s shijie is marrying, and you’re not sending anything? Do you want to be accepted by the cultivation world or not?”

“I don’t think a wedding present is going to be the thing that helps convince the cultivation world that we’re not all blood-sucking demons.”

“Why not?” Nie Mingjue said. “My ancestors were butchers; you think the gentlemen cultivators of the other sect, whether yours or Xichen’s, accepted them as a legitimate sect at the start? The only way to win legitimacy is to force everyone to accept you as you are.”

Wen Qing had an expression on her face that suggested she hadn’t thought of that.

“They call Wei Wuxian the Yiling Patriatch,” Lan Xichen said thoughtfully. “A patriarch should have a sect beneath him, shouldn’t he? And it’s the sect leader’s right hand’s duty to send gifts on behalf of the sect, in addition to any personal gifts sent on behalf of the sect leader himself.”

“…even if I wanted to send something on behalf of - of Yiling Wei, or whatever, we don’t have anything.”

Lan Xichen smiled. “Neither did the Cloud Recesses, during the years of war. You’re very fortunate: etiquette covers that precise situation, and suggests you reach out to another sect to borrow something. That helps bind your sects closer together as allies in the future – and before you say you don’t have anyone to ask, you have two Sect Leaders right here.”

Wen Qing appeared dumbstruck. “Would you share?”

Nie Mingjue huffed. “We’re not so poor that we can’t afford to lend out wedding gifts,” he said. “Even to a criminal. If you’re a sect, you’re a sect - this would hardly be the first sect that hosts someone I want to see dead.”

“I’m pretty sure that would be most of them,” Lan Xichen laughed. “I’ve seen you at parties.”

Maybe this wouldn’t be a complete disaster after all.

[gallavictorious]

Once again the fandom coming together to daydream about Mickey helping Ian out and seeing him back on track to become an emt again but why is that on Mickey? Why does he always have to do things to make Ian happy when Ian's usually nothing but annoyed by Mickey and does nothing to make Mickey happy? Truly shows which character y'all care about more.

This got absurdly long, because I am who I am and did take the opportunity to go off on a tangent about valid conclusions and what not, so I put it under a cut. Read at your own risk! Oh, and I also do address the actual question about whether or not Ian's career is on Mickey, and whether or not Ian never does anything to make Mickey happy. ;)

For the sake of clarity, I got this ask in response to this post.

And I gotta say, nonnie, getting this ask perplexed me to the point of running off to Trusted Fandom Friends, demanding to know how my undying love and loyalty for Mickey could ever be doubted. Had to laugh at myself a little, actually, and the strenght of my befuddlement. It reminded me of the time I went on a trip with people from the 501st (cosplayers dedicated to the bad guys in Star Wars) and Rebel Legion (cosplayers dedicated to the good guys in Star Wars) and a lot of people assumed I was a Rebel sympathizer simply because I had friends in that group and those were the people who had invited me. Excuse me, I didn't yell, I have like 30 Darth Vaders in my damned home, how dare you question my allegiance? I was so used to always being known as a diehard Vaderkin fangirl that the mer fact of strangers failing to recognize me as such genuinely fucked a little with my sense of identity. My love of Mickey isn't anywhere near as deeply ingrained into my sense of self, since he's only been an occasional presence in my life since 2016 while Darth Vader's been my main man since 1994, but it was still a little jarring to suddenly find myself (mis)identified as an Ian stan.

Being a fangirl is strange.

And I want to make it clear that I do love Ian. He's a fascinating character and, to me, he's a character that's often much harder to understand than Mickey. He rewards careful analysis and discussion, though, so I guess I tend to talk a lot about him? I don't need to spend as much time considering Mickey's feelings and motivations because they are (almost) always pretty obvious; I don't need to tease them out. But at the end of the day, Mickey is my favourite. (Though I'll always love Ian and Mickey together more than I love either of them on their own. It's like fresh cilantro and mint – each perfectly lovely in their own right, but the combination of them creates a flavour that's just out of this world.)

Now, you might argue that you don't follow me and so have no idea who I am and what I like to post about, and that going only by that single post (which, in fairness, was tagged with 'i just want ian to be happy okay?') I give off the general impression of an Ian stan. And that's fair enough; I'm an obscure blog in a decently big fandom and you're not required to keep track of anyone. However, if you want to throw around passive aggressive accusations of caring more about one character than the other, I will ask you to do your research first. Reacting to one single piece of data without considering the context is a common but highly unfortunate practice that needlessly complicates meaningful conversations, and we'd all do well to abstain from it.

Oh, you don't want to spend a lot of time and energy on consdering every single thing a specific Tumblr blog has ever said on a specific topic just so you can draw a valid conclusion about their stance? That's perfectly understandable, nonnie, and easily sorted: refrain from making unsubstantiated claims about what other people think or don't think and you won't have to. Ask them, if you wonder. If you see a tendency in fandom to put the responsibility for Ian's wellbeing and career or Mickey's shoulders and want to discuss that, that's totally cool! I am game (and will address that question below)! But it's very possible to do that without somewhat rudely ascribing perferences and opinions to other people, and you'll get better answers for it (for instance, you won't have to wade through me rambling on about valid conclusions and my memories from other fandoms... ).

It seems to me, though, that this touches upon a long-held frustration of yours. If I interpret your ask correctly, you think the show gives us an Ian who is mostly annoyed with Mickey and doesn't do anything to make him happy, and you think that the fandom responds to this by relegating Mickey to the role of Ian's caretaker, whose sole purpose is to serve Ian's needs without any regard for what might Mickey himself happy. Have I got that right?

If so, it should be noted that I don't agree with either of these takes: I don't think that's the Ian the show gives us (a point I will return to below), and I don't think that fandom at large only cares about Ian's happiness, and I particularly don't think that my post can be used a evidence of the latter.

For instance, when you sent me this ask the post in question had all of 40 notes. As I write this, it has just over 70. ”The fandom coming together” seems to be slightly overstating the case, don't you think? There are certainly fans who care more about Ian and only see Mickey as valuable as long as he contributes to Ian's happiness, just as there are fans who care more about Mickey and only see Ian as valuable as long as he contributes to Mickey's happiness - but this single post with less than a hundred notes does not support that either of these stances would be predominant within the fandom. (And, while on the topic, I'd like to state that I don't actually see a problem with either of those stances; these are fictional characters that exists for our entertainment and we don't have any moral obligations to treat them equally and fairly. Don't ruin other fans' fun by dumping on either of them in the character or shipping tags or on character and shipping posts and this is not a problem. It might be a somewhat unpopular opinion, but I don't think you have to love or even like all characters in a ship to ship it: I refuse to drink plain tea because it's nasty but put a splash of milk in it and its my favourite thing ever. You can love a combination without loving all the seperate pieces on their own. And yeah, I do revert to food metaphors a lot. I like food.)

Secondly, whether or not the post can be said to represent the feeling of the fandom at large (it cannot), I think that reading a post specifically about ”Mickey helping Ian out and seeing him back on track to become an emt again” and then extrapolating from that that Mickey ”always have to do things to make Ian happy” is a little wild. The very first thing I wrote for this fandom was a vision of Ian offering Mickey comfort, goddammit. (Ian giving Mickey a hug is so high on my list of desires, you can't even imagine)

As for your actual question (and, ah, imagine how much shorter this post would be if you had just left it at that) – of course that's not on Mickey. That much, incidentally, I've actually explicitly stated in another post. Ian might have his issues but he's still an adult and responsible for himself. That being said, I don't see it as particularly strange that someone would go out of their way to help their partner when they see them struggling? If I realize that someone I care about is unhappy and there's a way for me to help, I would want to help because I love them and want them to be happy, even if it's – ethically speaking – not my responsibility to do so. Pretty sure Mickey, who is action-oriented and so very protective of the people he loves, feels the same way.

Of course, if it's a one-sided thing – if one partner is always the one to do stuff for the other and never receives any support in return – that's not a healthy relationship, and I assume that this is what you're seeing in the show and taking exception to?

Only... I can't help but wonder who this Ian is, this uncaring, selfish version you see – because I don't quite get how it can be the Ian who emptied his bank account for Mickey, or the Ian who was ready to throw his parole and stay in prison for Mickey even when they were in the middle of a fight specifically because Mickey said it would make him happy, or the one who kept trying to talk to Mickey and win him back after Mickey punched him in the face, accidentally broke his leg, and took off with a new lover (I'm not taking sides in this one, btw – I have a lot of sympathy and understanding for both of them and their actions throughout this whole sorry affair), or the Ian who immediately wanted to marry Mickey protect him from the consequences of a murder Ian thought he had actually comitted, or the Ian who went along with arranging a real wedding even though he initially didn't at all understand why this was important to Mickey and who had someone come serenade him once he did, or the Ian who chose At last for Mickey to walk up to the aisle to, or the Ian who keeps trying to reach out to Mickey and to touch him and discuss their issues in a mature way even when he's (justifiably) upset about Mickey using all their wedding money without telling Ian. (Though Ian deciding for both of them that they're saving the money isn't great either.)

I mean, Ian's absolutely done shitty things, as has Mickey. They're human, and they're the products of a chaotic and often hostile enviroment. They do mess up a lot; they've hurt each other rather badly over the years. Depending on your perspective and preferences, you may think one or the other have behaved worse, but as far as I can see, the claim that Ian never does anything to make Mickey happy is simply not supported.

Ian has seemed unusually annoyed with Mickey this season, I'll give you that, but while that's not always the most fun thing to watch and I strongly sympathize with the wish to just see Ian look at Mickey with that fond look again, I don't find him being frustrated right now all that weird, given the circumstances. I'd argue it has less to do with Mickey and more to do with a general frustration over thwarted ambitions and not being able to hold on even to a really shitty job, though Mickey's attitude doesn’t exactly help (which is not to say that I think that Ian's the one in the right here, becasue Ian's way of handling things hasn't always been been stellar either). However, I do have faith in them sorting this out – because even though they fight and bicker and get annoyed with each other, there's never any indication that they're not both committed to making this marriage thing work. They certainly stumble, they misunderstand each other and lash out, but they calm down and go to sleep in the same bed and compromise and keep trying. Every day, they – both of them – choose each other.

I'd like to finish this off by noting, even though it's not entirely relevant to my argument, that that the number one thing that does make Mickey happy is being together with Ian, and even when Ian is pissed at Mickey and withholding sex (which was very ill-advised but says a lot of interesting things about his character, I think!) no one's sleeping on the couch, there are no nights away from the house and each other, and even in the middle of an argument they sit and stand next to each other. I think that's pretty telling of Ian's dedication, especially given his propensity for running away from his problems.

Phew. Okay, nonnie – though we don't agree and I doubt you'll find this answer satisfactory, I hope you see that I have done my best to understand your point of view and treat your arguments fairly and give you a thoughtful response. If you'd like to get back to me and elaborate on your stance, I'd ask that you show me the same courtesy. :)

[cowtale-utau]

I know a certain Violet Queen who will be happy to see this go up ;p. Here are the basics of CT’s SwapFellPurple!Sans, aka Doc’s relationships.

Undertale Sans/Ace – These two ran into some conflict pretty early on. Doc is used to running things his way, and completely, where as Ace was not backing down. Eventually things settled down, as while Ace was the “leader” and would always have final say, he was also willing to let someone else do most of the work, so long as they worked in his allowed parameters. Doc deals with all the “menial administrative shit” that Ace hates. There is still a little of a grudge there but its at least a grudging acceptance. Undertale Papyrus/Lief – Lief is soft in ways Doc doesn’t always appreciate. While never needlessly cruel, Doc can be demanding, exacting, and abrasive. He expects people to do as they’re told and do so correctly. Lief is a much softer touch and often goes about “consoling” any “hurt feelings” after Doc has made his rounds. This is more than a little frustrating, and Doc often feels undermined. There have been arguments over it, and the two largely avoid directly interacting. Outside of “work” the two can be cordial, and while they will likely never be friends, there isn’t any animosity. Perhaps a little bitterness though.

Underfell Sans/Chisel – Doc doesn’t particularly care one way or another at this point. He doesn’t dislike Chis’s personality, in fact they do have some things in common, and can have decent conversations. There was a time Doc was very put off by the laziness of some of his counter parts, Chisel included, but has since let it go. Chis does work hard when he really needs to and his mechanical knowledge in invaluable. His opinion ultimately sits between appreciate, exasperation, and neutrality. Underfell Papyrus/Spur – These two did butt heads a fair bit at one point, but have since settled in to camaraderie. There was some issues with respective bossiness, both used to being in control. However Spur quickly caught on that he was never really “in charge” in any kind of practical way, and was in no way prepared to be now. While he was used to issuing orders, he had no expedience actually making people work. Once he acknowledged this, and that he had no interest in changing it, they got along much better. They often train and discuss techniques together when Doc has some down time.

Underswap Sans/Scout – Exasperation might be the kindest thing Doc feels for Scout. Very vaguely, distantly, fond exasperation. While he appreciates that Scout can work very hard, he is also frustrated by how erratic and easily distracted he is. It doesn’t help that Scout would sooner laugh than actually do any work he’s given by Doc. Underswap Papyrus/Piper – While there isn’t any particularly strong attachment here, Doc doesn’t mind Pip at all. He’s mostly quiet and largely stays out of Doc’s “circle”. He does his tasks well and is largely non-disruptive, which Doc appreciates.

Swapfell(Red) Sans/Whip – These two get along a lot better than most would expect. Doc has a surprising level of understanding of Whip’s mentality, and knows how to not only manage his moods but work with him on them. While neither would ever admit it, they can be found some mornings being catty gossips over coffee. Swapfell(Red) Papyrus/Coyote – Doc doesn’t mind Coy. When given a task, he does it well, and Doc appreciates that. Most would assume Doc would be annoyed by Coy’s “lack of initiative” but honestly he just see him as being rather ‘lost’ most of the time, something he can understand. While it was never really an issue for him personally, he does understand that the world and their place in it has rather been up-heaved and adjustment can be hard.

Horrortale Sans/Tender – They don’t interact one on one very often but they get along well enough. Doc pushes people and expects a lot, but he also actually quite reasonable and very understanding of different people’s limitations. He understands what Ten can and can’t do, and as the gang’s primary healer he makes sure to keep track of any changes. Tender is somewhat limited, but also very dedicated to what he can do, and Doc appreciates that. Horrortale Papyrus/Cook – Doc appreciates Cook. He has his role, and he does it to the absolute best of his ability without pushing himself too hard, important traits to earn Doc’s respect. They don’t have a ton in common, but they get along amicably.

Swapfell(Purple) Sans/Doc – Doc is confident, self assured, and comfortable. He knows himself, and what he’s capable of. While Underground, Doc never gave much thought to his “self esteem”, keeping a single minded focus on making sure he and Flint had the best they could in any given circumstance. Upon reaching the Surface, he found he was quite satisfied with who he is. He does have the rare moment of insecurity, where he questions whether he actually deserves what he has and is, given his methods were not always the most morally upright, but it doesn’t take long for him to shake this. He did what he could and had to with what was available, and he refuses to apologize for it. Swapfell(Purple) Papyrus/Flint – Things have gotten much better for these two since surfacing. While they were always close, and often codependent, Doc was often also at odds with Flint over Flint’s addictions. It became a matter of “as long as it directly interfere in anyway, I’ll ignore it” for a long time. When reaching the surface, there was a fair bit of arguing but Flint has started getting it together, as many of the stressors he had previously are gone, and Doc is proud of his little brother’s efforts.

Fellswap Gold Sans/Haze – Somewhere between solid friendship and grudging respect. There is a certain measure of playful competition between them, which as Fells can come off at times hateful to the outside eye. However it is something Doc has great fun with, and considers Haze a dear friend. Fellswap Gold Papyrus/Cirrus – Doc doesn’t mind how soft Cirrus is, but Cir does find him a bit intimidating. There is always an expectation that Doc will start bossing Cir around, and while at one point that may have been a possibility, Doc leaves Cir entirely to Haze. He appreciates Cir’s artistic talents, but has little time of his own for such pursuits. There is no dislike but Doc has firmly placed him in a “not my responsibility” box, so as to avoid any conflicts.

Underlust Sans/Shine – These two aren’t friends as far as Doc is concerned, but they do get along somewhat well. There are parts of Shine that grate deeply on Doc, but he is exceptionally clever in regards to all matters of the mind, and Doc can appreciate this. While confident in his own abilities, Doc does occasionally reach out to verify that his approach shouldn’t have adverse effects on the people involved. Underlust Papyrus/Calico – Calico is a strange and enigmatic sort, and Doc is largely ambivalent to him. While he doesn’t especially mind Cali, there is something unsettling to him that puts Doc, who much prefers the concrete to the esoteric, on edge.

Dancetale Sans/Shuffle – Doc and Shuff bond over their mutual like of children and teaching/guiding. They don’t have much else in common but will happily swap tips/stories. Dancetale Papyrus/Foxtrot – Fox is a bit much for Doc. He doesn’t hate him, but his energy is a bit off putting. While he would find his work ethic impressive, his tendency to ignore his own and others limits irritates Doc as it is inefficient. Doc usually just redirects Fox to elsewhere so as not to deal with him more than needed.

Outertale Sans/Saturn – There is no particular feelings either way here for Doc. They don’t see each other often enough for them to develop a bond or aversion. In the rare interaction, Doc doesn’t mind Saturn, and they can make comfortable small talk. Outertale Papyrus/Mercury – An amicable relationship. They don’t see each other often, but Doc doesn’t mind Mer at all, and will hold a decent conversation with him.

Farmtale Sans/Sage – Doc holds no animosity towards Sage. Doc holds not much of anything towards Sage. If his view could be defined in a singular word, it would be “disregard”. Most are surprised to find Doc cares not at all about Sage’s seemingly lazy and resistant nature. The fact of the matter is, Doc doesn’t care. He has completely dismissed Sage as being beneath effort or even notice. It’s not his job to fix Sage, and he doesn’t care to try. Farmtale Papyrus/Thyme – There is a good bit of mutual respect here. While they are careful to avoid the topic of Thyme’s brother, they both greatly appreciate how hard the other works to keep everything moving smoothly in their respective areas. Both also appreciate matters of the home, and the wish they could indulge in the peaceful domestics more often. Doc does often chide Thyme for not balancing work/life more efficiently, and they are as close to friends as they can get given how infrequently they directly interact.

G!Sans/Aurum – This one is a mixed bag. Aurum is impulsive and often unthinking and it drives Doc batty on the rare occasion he has to deal with it directly. Even more infuriating is that things typically just “work out” for Aur, when by all accounts they should not have. Doc views Aur largely as an unruly barely-adult, and must constantly resist the urge to lecture. He normally just would, but Doc has found the task pointless, and it’s much more effective to simply set Vir on him. Despite all this, he can respect Aur’s drive and work ethic, even if he finds it’s direction often questionable. G!Papyrus/Viridis – Friendly, when they manage to see each other. Doc appreciates Vir’s calm and intellectual nature. They often compare research findings and enjoy discussing assorted healing techniques, mundane and magical.

(Two in a day, as I know a certain someone was excited to see this)

[alternatefandom]

Cunning and Ambition, or: At heart, Mu Siyang is still very much a Slytherin.

Between the manga and 2019’s live adaptations, I think Tezuka Kunimitsu’s character is one who changed the least. While Fuji Shuusuke has different vibes from Zhuo Zhi, Mu Siyang remains unmistakably Tezuka, albeit a softer, gentler, more human version of him. His stoic façade is the same. His tendency to assign laps is the same. His determination to take his team to the nationals is the same, which is why whenever I think of the Hogwarts House that would suit Tezuka, my instinctive answer will always be Slytherin. And even though Mu Siyang has a gentler attitude than Tezuka ever has, at his core, he is the same driven person who forged a team that hasn’t made it past the provincials in years into a team that can topple the reigning Hai Guang Kings from their throne.

But before we get to Slytherin, let’s discuss the reason why I didn’t put him in any of the other houses.

The first house I dismissed as a possibility for Mu Siyang is Ravenclaw. While it’s true that Mu Siyang is brilliant and clever, we never see him value learning and knowledge for its own sake the way a Ravenclaw would. In the manga, Tezuka is noted as being at the top of his year and student council president to boot, but in the 2019 live action, there is no notable trait or event that suggests that he is the Ravencclaw sort. He is brilliant, he is clever, but this doesn’t make him a Ravenclaw because we don’t see him value knowledge as a Ravenclaw does.

The next house we’ll discuss is Hufflepuff. Now, there is absolutely no doubt that Mu Siyang is a very disciplined person, and a hard worker. He is also as kind and loyal as anyone else on the team, even though he’s not particularly outstanding for those traits. However, he is not particularly honest or fair. He lied like a champ about the condition of his arm to everyone involved. As for fair… his tendency to assign laps for… arbitrary reasons comes to mind. In fact, I think Tezuka might be fairer than Mu Siyang in this aspect, because if I remember correctly, while he does assign laps, he doesn’t really do so without solid reason (but I might be wrong). In short: He is a hard worker, he is disciplined, kind, and loyal, but he’s probably not a Hufflepuff.

Pictured above, Mu Siyang punishing Huang Jing after playing an unofficial match, which he allowed to begin right in front of his own eyes. 

The last house I considered and dismissed is Gryffindor. Now, this is not a particularly easy house to dismiss. Gryffindor has that reputation of being the house of heroes, leaders and protagonists, and Mu Siyang is very much the Big Good and the Leader of his team. However, just because someone is a leader, a protagonist, and brave, it does not mean they are a Gryffindor.

Let’s step back and look at what Gryffindors are. Gryffindors are known as the house of the brave, daring, and chivalrous. They also has a reputation for being reckless. And while Mu Siyang displayed these bravery, daring, and recklessness in spades during his match with Ji Jingwu… these bravery and daring isn’t about doing the right or honorable or chivalrous thing as it is with Gryffindors. It’s about something else.

Namely, his ambition to take his team to nationals victory. His team. Not himself, his team.

Mu Siyang doesn’t display particular bravery and daring in any area other than tennis. He is brave, daring, and reckless only when it comes to tennis. Other than that? Not really. He’s not reckless in his personal life, nor is he particularly chivalrous. He is fairly just and ethical, but unlike Lu Xia and Zhuo Zhi, he doesn’t go around defending or saving people whom he has no responsibility for, through tennis or otherwise. There is only one thing in his mind: national victory, and he will do anything to accomplish it. His bravery and daring only comes out when it’s needed to further his ambition, which leads me to my final verdict for him: Slytherin.

Slytherin is the house of the cunning and ambitious, but one should not forget that it is the house of leadership and determination as well. And if there is one thing that defines Tezuka Kunimitsu in all his incarnations, it’s his drive to lead his team to win the nationals. Mu Siyang, for all his softer edges, is no different. Remember, it was he who first came up with the goal to lead Yu Qing further in the nationals, not Dachi. It was he who encouraged his team to strive to win when the rest of the team are feeling down. Mu Siyang is the driver of his team, and everything he does can be traced back to his wish to have Yu Qing win the nationals. He doesn’t hesitate to put Lu Xia into the ranking matches, potentially kicking out one of the main players whom he has known for longer. He needles Zhuo Zhi and tries to find his buttons, from pointing out that he could’ve lost to Lu Xia, to appealing to his sense of teamwork. He risks his own arm and future in a match against Ji Jingwu with no regrets, because the match achieved exactly what he’d always meant it to achieve–to set an example and to inspire his team, specifically, Zhuo Zhi and Lu Xia.

As for cunning, I’m going to bring up the fact that Mu Siyang is a savant in the dynamics of his team and always knows exactly what to say to get people to let him do what he wants to do. He has no problem lying for that, either. I mean, look at how he lies to the rest of his team about his arm injury. If that’s not enough, one only has to look at his ultimate technique: Absolute Area, which requires him to predict exactly how his opponent will hit the next ball to Siyang before Siyang himself even receives the ball. Without the cunning required to predict his opponent accurately, Mu Siyang would not be able to put the correct spin on his next ball, and therefore, he won’t be able to use Absolute Area.

Lastly, Slytherins are known for their loyalty their own, and Mu Siyang is no different. No matter how his coach and his friends cajoled him, he has stated, plenty of times, that he will not leave Yu Qing when they needed him. He tells them that he will fight for them and with them. He is willing to risk himself for that. His loyalty to Yu Qing’s tennis team cannot be doubted for a single moment.

Indeed, despite the gentleness and fairness that tempers his actions, Mu Siyang displays plenty of ambition, determination, and cunning. Like a true Slytherin, he is loyal to and looks after his own people. He’s also resourceful, capable of getting no less than four unrelated schools to train with Yu Qing in his absence. While he does display a lot of the qualities of the other houses, in the end, Mu Siyang stands for his unrelenting determination to chase his goals, and he will do exceptionally well in Slytherin.

[heyktula]

Closer, Chapter Four: Kink - Bonus Features

Chapter four of Closer, the first installment in Somewhere in Canada (the Terror kink AU)... is now up! It's a plot-heavy chapter! There's some platonic kink! There's the plot to an entirely different story if you squint!

Technical notes first, story notes after, line notes to finish it all up.

Alright, here we go.

Technical Considerations:

Chapter Titles: So I didn't have any particular chapter titles in mind when I started this story. The original structure I'd planned for was one chapter for Friday, one for Saturday, one for Sunday, with Jopson POV at the very beginning of chapter one, and then again at the very end of three.

Obviously, uh, there was too much story for that to fly. So I cut it where I needed to cut it, and swapped my structure to have Jopson POV at the beginning of every chapter (and bonus Jopson POV at the end of the chapter). So I needed five chapter titles. First I couldn't think of anything good, and then it occurred to me that I could name four of them after the RACK acronym (Risk Aware Consensual Kink), and then it was super fascinating from a storytelling perspective because of the way the chapters lined up. Like, Risk deals with the risks that Edward didn't take because he totally ducks out of talking to Jopson that first night. Aware covers them starting to know each other. Consensual covers the dungeon scene, Kink covers platonic kink, and also the very normal way that both of them have integrated kink into their regular lives, and how it leads to these intimacies that are normal for them, but would be strange from a vanilla perspective or in a vanilla relationship. And then, finally, since I needed a fifth chapter title, Aftercare seemed like the obvious solution, which cracks me up because the entire chapter is, uh, well. I mean, it's aftercare for them. But yeah.

Mornings: So I wanted the structure of this fic to be all chronological in order--ie, no re-covering events that have already happened from someone else's POV within the same fic. (The Tozer/Irving fic, obviously, will be covering many of the same events, but it'll be different enough that it won't matter.) Which led to an icky bit for me, because I split the chapters differently than I anticipated (see above), and needed to start the day out with Jopson-POV even though I already had this lovely Little-POV drafted out.

Thankfully, Jopson came in for the win with that one, because he's a morning person, and Ned isn't, and their alarms were set for different enough times that I could go right from Jopson's wakeup to Ned's wakeup without having to retread the same information or the same section of the day (technically, there's a small chronological overlap, I think Jopson is probably eating breakfast when Little is trying to resurrect himself from his bed, but I've decided I Don't Care).

The Three Bears' Bed: This is such a smol technical note, but I wanted to bring it up because it's one of the really fun things that you can do with deep POV. It's implied (and confirmed in the next chapter) that Jopson and Edward are in essentially identical hotel rooms. But if you squint--they both describe their beds very differently. Jopson's bed is "too big", ie, he clearly sleeps on a single at home, and it's probably not as nice as the hotel bed. Edward's bed, a carbon copy of the queen bed Jopson is sleeping in, is "too small", ie, he's clearly got a king-sized monstrosity for himself back at home. I absolutely live for these kinds of things that are literally too minor to be noticed (nor should they be, they're meant to fade into the background), but which communicate so much about the characters.

(Ah, god, there's going to be so much adjusting for them to do in London. Their lives are very, very different. Jopson is starting to clue in, and he's going to have to sit with that once he has a clear head and lets all the subconscious stuff he's been picking up on actually gel together. Right now, he's very much in the 'whoa that looks expensi--hooooly fuck Ned Little is hot' phase. He'll have a Moment in London, though, where he'll sit bolt upright in his single bed and go wait a minute he put fifties in the donation bin when I blacked his boots and didn't even blink, he just casually throws large denomination bills* around.)

*I grew up low income, and I never carry anything bigger than a twenty in my wallet. People who are used to having more money, in my experience, tend to carry larger bills in their wallets. I know a fifty isn't actually a large denomination bill, but it is when you aren't used to carrying that kind of money around. Fifties make me tense until I break them. If I have a hundred, it's because someone gifted it to me, and I am gonna stress about it until I get it to the bank to deposit. Twenties are good for me, thanks.

Story Considerations:

Jopson's Work Ethic: Jopson's work ethic is in full force here, and I love to see it. I also love to see how firm he is about not hiding it. Like, Blanky understands how rare it is for Jopson to find someone he connects with the way he connects with Nedward, and was perfectly willing to skip the dungeon* to give Jopson another go at it. But Jopson, at some point, has transitioned from 'perfect, a weekend hookup' to 'perfect, I would like Ned in my life always'. (Gonna guess it was that post blowjob cuddle-nap that tipped it over, to be perfectly honest.) And Jopson knows that for Ned to be in his life always, Jopson needs to be realistic with him about what his life actually looks like--so he's going to work the long hours that he usually works, and he's going to run Blanky's booth so that Blanky can head to the dungeon tonight, and when Edward asks to be told literally anything about Jopson's life, Jopson moves immediately to telling Ned about his job.

(You'll note that Jopson has a schedule for working in the morning, the afternoon, and also the evening, ie, decidedly more than an eight hour day/forty hour work week. He did not mention that he frequently goes to Terror, and then shows back up at three am to do more work in a haze of subspace, but I'm sure he'll get around to it.)

I think it's important to Jopson that Edward accept him as he is--that is, no arguing about what comes first (it's work), or what Jopson's priorities are (also work), or how much availability Jopson has for a relationship (all of it...after work). So in that sense, this is pretty much a trial by fire--Jopson is saying 'look, this is what my life is like, and if you fit, you can stay', and Edward, in turn, is saying 'please just let me sit next to you, I like it here'. (I'm sure Tozer would be irritable about Edward's changed loyalties if he weren't currently sorting out, you know, every bad decision he made the previous night).

*This is not a Blanky-specific thing. If Esther were here instead, she and Jopson would have the same arrangement. I think either Blanky or Esther would be equally fun to play with, don't you?

Duty and Responsibility: I also love the differing approaches to duty and responsibility, as displayed by Joplittle--Edward talks, multiple times, about his duties and responsibilities here as something that he needs to shoulder, like it's a too-heavy pack that he's hauling around behind him when he would really rather just pull the covers over his head and stay there. Jopson, however, is thriving under his.

I would posit that, perhaps, if Edward managed to distance himself further from Hickey's bullshit, that maybe his responsibilities wouldn't suck so much. But for Edward to get away from Hickey's bullshit, that would mean Tozer would also have to put his foot down, and Tozer has been ambivalent about doing that, so far.

Sadomasochism, and the ‘Gold-Star’ Dom: Oh, Edward, my sweetheart, my dear, you have a track record of dating terrible people, and hanging out with people who kinkshame you, and I am so sorry that it's come to this.

There's this really fascinating (by which I mean it's incredibly toxic) culture difference between old guard spaces and the "newer" spaces. For people Francis' age who grew up in old guard leather kink scenes, they would have come up in the scene submitting first, and then either continuing to submit, or transitioning into being a dominant as they gained experience. However, for newer spaces--and here, I'm talking about something that was starting to happen for people around Fitzjames' age--there started to be a shift toward just doing one or the other*. By the time we get to people in the same age range as Little**, Tozer, and Jopson, the emphasis on picking one or the other is much more prominent. You should 'know' your orientation when you enter the scene--and then that's typically where you stay. There's no requirement for a dom to have ever subbed--and there's no requirement for doms to be familiar with the business end of their implements either. (If I had a dollar for every talk I'd been to where a dom was proud that they've never actually tested gear on themselves, I would have a lot of dollars.)

This leaves Little in an awkward spot--he's got no interest in submitting (as per the way he nopes out of any sort of cuffs or protocol with James Clark Ross), but, unlike Tozer, who tolerates getting hit in the context of fighting but doesn't particularly like it, Little actively enjoys the pain of getting hit. Based on how awkwardly he discloses that to Jopson, we can infer (correctly) that it's gone down badly in previous hookups.

(The general stereotype that dominant-sadist-top*** and submissive-masochist-bottom are one scale instead of, you know, three different scales, is not helping Ned at all here.)

So Ned is in this spot as a sadomasochist dom where he's had a hard time finding a partner that is willing to accept that he has a masochist streak as well. Enter Jopson...

*I think, though I'm not sure, that part of this shift was kink culture moving into the straight scene as well. Heterosexual kink tends to avoid the formalized learning process, and focus strictly on I Have Always Been A Dom.

**For the purposes of kink!AU, I'm going with approximate show ages for everyone--I think I saw somewhere that historically, Little was older than Fitzjames--but I'm going with an older Fitzjames and a younger Little here, for Fitzier Reasons.

***Note that I’m talking about top and bottom in a BDSM sense here--the one who wields the flogger vs the one who has the flogger used on them. The penetrator/penetratee during intercourse is an entirely separate thing, which....you guessed it....is also unrelated to the above-mentioned scales.

Service: Jopson thrives when he's engaged in acts of service. I really loved working with the translation of canon-to-kink!Jopson, because it's really fascinating to dig into how those canon aspects of his personality translate. Like, the long hours as a steward translate directly to the long hours that he works for Francis. But those acts of service translate really easily into submission as well. (I would posit that, for people who pursue more 'lifestyle' kink as opposed to 'bedroom-only' kink, there's a great chance that they'll pursue jobs that play to those strengths.)

The particular benefit to this that's working in Ned's favour here is that Jopson loves nothing more than to arrange things for people to make sure they have what they need. So this intersects perfectly with Ned's typical methods for managing his top drop--if Jopson can leverage his connections to make sure that Ned has access to people that will let him bottom-but-not-submit for them when he needs it, well, that's a win for both of them.

(I would hazard a guess, if you squinted, that Ned is sexually monogamous, and generally dates other monogamous people, which sometimes makes the negotiation of play with other people outside the dyad a non-starter. I would also guess that Jopson wouldn't consider monogamy to be a particular value of his, and so anything he can do to make sure Ned is looked after is perfect for him.)

Top Drop: Pretty much any kink conference that even slightly touches on educational aspects will have a talk about subdrop, typically led by a sub or a panel of subs, or sometimes by a dom/sub pair, discussing how to properly care for one's sub, how to deal with subdrop, and all those coping kinds of mechanisms. I can guarantee Edward has attended a number of those talks, written at least one blog post, and probably could speak on it if you really bullied him into it.

Those same conferences typically do not talk about top drop. I've been to lots of talks on sub drop. I've only ever been to one on top drop, and it was so horribly done that we’re still talking about it years later. Even googling when I was brushing up on my research for this fic didn't give me much.

Anyways, it's good that Jopson works for Crozier, who treats drop as something that can happen to anyone regardless of position. In turn, this means Jopson is able to recognize it happening to Ned, and will just merrily bulldoze and/or gently bully Ned until he gets the information he needs to be able to help.

RACK and SSC: Ah, look, it's the author picking a pedantic fight in the middle of their fic using their POV character as a mouthpiece. SO. When I was first getting into kink in the early two thousands, SSC (Safe, Sane, Consensual) was the name of the game. It essentially means that the activities you do under the BDSM umbrella should fit all three of those criteria.

The issue that I and many others have with the acronym is that it doesn't particularly fit that well for a lot of the activities in BDSM. After all, what's really safe? You can trip walking down the same stairs that you've walked down every day of your life if your shoelace is loose, or if your ankle goes weird, or if you're just not paying attention. What's sane? No, really, what is it? What defines sane? Should we be using mental health terms to determine whether or not something is a good idea? What's the opposite of 'sane' in this context?

(I'm not gonna bicker about consensual, obviously, that one I still hold to.)

How do you practice edge play under SSC? Can you safely punch someone? Is it sane to do so? (God, I hate the inclusion of 'sane' in the acronym so much.) Can you consent to something that doesn't fit the first two criteria? If you decide an activity fits all three criteria, does that guarantee nobody gets hurt? (Absolutely not.)

So, there's a shift in the scene to use RACK instead--Risk Aware Consensual Kink. RACK is more focused on assessing the risks to specific activities, and consenting to do those activities even though the risk exists. You can definitely punch someone under RACK--because RACK supposes that you've discussed the risks of punching them, you're both doing your best to manage those risks, and you've both consented to the activity while recognizing that it’s inherently risky to do it and you’ve taken as many precautions as you can.

Sir John 'actually the expedition is outfitted for seven years and we don't need any rescue' Franklin is clearly focused on SSC, with an emphasis on no further risk assessments once a particular activity is deemed to be safe. This isn't to say that everyone who practices SSC ignores possible risks--but it is to say that the acronym doesn't encourage active risk assessment the same way that RACK does. (Doing X is safe, therefore, I don’t think about the risks while I do X, because it’s safe.) I personally think that RACK is a more robust way to assess kink activities, but, as you can probably infer from, you know, the entirety of this fic, I take part in a lot of activities that don't fit under SSC, so I'm biased.

I do not blame Edward one bit for getting into that argument with Sir John. I do feel pretty certain that Blanky surreptitiously filmed it, though, so that he can send it to Francis. I also am pretty sure that Francis’ own stance on RACK, which comes through pretty clearly in his books, would have informed Edward’s stance as well, so, you know, full circle there. (Do you have any idea how many people you’ve informally mentored via your books, Francis? It’s *cough*JamesFitzjamesAlso*cough* a lot.)

Florentine Flogging: Here's the reference video I was using for Florentine flogging! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGCQGsxbwtw

Sharp eyes will notice that this is a very similar skillset to spinning poi, which I thought was really neat.

Line Notes:

Jopson will be back in six months to give his talk, and Edward is going to be right there in the front row to support him, and that means that nothing can go wrong this weekend.

It...doesn't actually mean that. I mean, obviously, yes, not being banned from Canada is a requirement. But not having the booth open wouldn't have killed anybody.

Irving dragged you home—please advise how, he’s half your size?

This is funnier once I did some googling and realized that Ronan Raftery is six goddamn feet tall, which makes him two inches taller than Matthew McNulty, but I decided to let Edward's inaccuracies stand because they're pretty goddamn funny. Also, I maintain that Irving gives off smol energy.

“Oh, good,” Irving says, the tension instantly melting off his face. “I’m so glad he made it to bed.”

Tozer did not make it to bed, but, tbh, I wouldn't correct Irving at this particular moment either. Especially not in front of Lady Jane Franklin.

“Who’s this, then?” Lady Franklin asks. She’s wearing a vintage dress from a decade Edward should probably recognize, but doesn’t. (Jopson would, he’s sure of it.)

The 1950s, Edward. It's literally the most easily recognizable decade.

“…he’s fine,” Edward says, more confused than ever.

Edward, Edward, Edward. Both more confused than ever--and completely unwilling to do any followup on this whatsoever, because why ask questions when instead you could eyefuck Jopson. (In a sense, though, this is Tozer's problem, so Edward's ability to disconnect from it completely is probably an improvement from, say, Edward of a few years ago.) Normally, leaving plot threads hanging like this would bother me extensively, but because I'm drafting the Tozer/Irving fic as we speak, I'm comfortable just letting all of this just hang for a bit. These plot threads are important to include because they happened, but they're not important to resolve, because Edward doesn't give a shit.

Nothing fancy—just Ned, with a little handwritten squiggle next to it that’s almost a heart, if you squint.

It's definitely a heart. Jopson just channeled the patented Francis Crozier technique of 'if I make a vague line here, people can interpret it how they want'. Not very characteristic of Jopson--but, as we discussed last week, poor boy is carting around some baggage re: his affection, so we’ll just let him have this.

It’s probably the goddamn bruise from yesterday’s fuckup. Well, that, and the fact that Tozer isn’t there. Or maybe Edward’s just fucking up something else that he’s completely unaware of.

I'd like to propose option four, which is that Edward is hot as fuck, dressed in leather, and was part of a scene that gathered a respectfully distant crowd in the dungeon the night previous. Edward is not aware that option four is an option, but I would like to reassure him that option four is, in fact, an option.

“What do you do for aftercare?” Jopson asks curiously. “Like—what did you do last night, after you walked me home?”

Bold of Jopson to assume that Edward spent two seconds looking after himself. (He won't make that mistake again--Edward's blog entry on aftercare was detailed enough that last-night!Jopson made the endorphin-blurred call that Edward had his own routine sorted, and is now finding out that Edward has no such thing.)

Edward sighs, starts to mentally assemble an apology. He’s done it again—let his guard down, said too much. The apology has never worked in the past. But he’ll have to try. There’s always a chance Edward will get it right this time, even though he’s not remotely ready for this (it was going so well), but he has to, he has to start, he’ll just—he’ll start by—saying—

In true Ed Little fashion, Edward is assuming that the reason this conversation has never gone well in the past is because of him, instead of the more rational suggestion that perhaps he's just trying to hook up with people who aren't actually compatible with him.

Jopson’s face is very pink. “Quite the mental image,” he says. He swallows, visibly. “You and Tozer were, uh. Both holding back during the demo yesterday, then.”

Ah, yes, the look and sound of a man who is rather quickly realizing that a wank fantasy he'd watched unfold in real time yesterday was actually just the tip of the iceberg.

Jopson’s eyebrows shoot up. “Why?” He scrunches his nose, frowns. “Was that meant to be a joke?”

Can't get all sad about Edward's past of attempting to have relationships with people he wasn't compatible with until we also get sad about Jopson's history, which apparently includes men he thought were tapping into his fantasies, only to find out that they were kidding. Ouch, my heart.

“Only if you want,” Jopson adds. “We could also, um. Go for a run?”

I don't believe that Jopson has ever gone for a run in his entire life. I appreciate that he's trying to help, though. That's very kind of him.

Jopson turns. “Hi, yes.”

Jopson cannot let a customer go unserviced, and I, for one, admire his dedication to looking after other people's booths as well as his own. I also think, although this action here is entirely instinctual, it's also a good checkpoint--had Edward reacted poorly to Jopson stepping in, well, that might not have been awesome. As it is, Edward is grateful, so he just keeps landing in Jopson's long-term prospect box.

“You know that huge guy they have on security?”

It's Tuunbaq! Also, Tozer should cool it on the whole "he doesn't speak English" thing, because it's not like Tozer speaks Inuktitut. (And while we're talking about Tozer, yes, he is wearing the equivalent of his mutineer hoodie.)

“And I’m like, yeah, I know him, I was drinking with him last night. And they just look at me. And they look at each other. And then the doctor guy is like ‘we had some concerning reports about his behaviour’, but I don’t know who would have said anything, the only other person there was Irving. Fuck, man, I was answering questions for an hour.”

Tozer, look, buddy. You can have a pass because you're as hungover as shit and I'm sure you've been contemplating death since you woke up, but you answered your own question there. The only other person there was Irving.

The only other person there was Irving.

One would hope that this might, you know, cause you to rethink your association with Hickey, considering that someone else's assessment of his behaviour has resulted in all of this, but I guess we'll have to chill on that for now until we get some Tozer POV.

Edward frowns. “He doesn’t drink?”

Pulled this bit directly from canon, and because I also think it's a fascinating bit of character development. Adam Nagaitis had such insights into his character in the AMC interview (https://www.amc.com/shows/the-terror/talk/2018/04/the-terror-qa-adam-nagaitis-cornelius-hickey) and I really think it's interesting working with that in a modern AU as well. So--this version of Hickey doesn't drink either. I think it's also interesting in how Edward and Tozer deal with this--Edward has known Hickey for years, and never noticed. Tozer knows--and still gets shitfaced anyways, even though he's drinking alone.

Tozer’s eyes go distant. “It’s the weirdest thing,” he says after a moment. “I think I told Irving about Heather.”

We can assume, for better or for worse, that Tozer's memory of last night is a bit spotty. I am sorry, though, that this is one of the things Tozer remembers. It's further away in kink!AU than it was in canon, but I don't imagine Heather's death was any easier for Tozer here than it was canonically.

(Also, the choreo of Tozer physically shifting Edward's hand off his arm was a late addition, and I hurt my own feelings adding it.)

Tozer raises his eyebrows, and then winces, goes back to squinting. “Hanky code,” he lectures. “Black is for S&M. Your proclivities aside, I don’t figure you meant to flag sub. And stuff it if you tell me it’s a fashion choice, I ain’t got headspace for that bullshit today.” He glances upward. “I swear they turned the fucking lights up in here, Jesus. I’ll see you after, I gotta go.”

Edward, you absolute himbo of a man. Jopson has been trying so hard, and I'm sure that you have a blog entry about hanky code buried somewhere back in your archive, but you also buried the information in your head, and thus did not access it, and all of Jopson's efforts were wasted.

“No, you misunderstand me,” Edward says. “I love that. Christ, the fuck did he finally do?”

Edward, Edward, Edward. Jopson has the right of it with his missing stair comment--but you're just as complicit as Tozer is in this, because by saying nothing and waiting for the problem to go away, you've been rubber-stamping Hickey's behaviour. I feel as though there's going to be Discussions about this in London.

“Honestly, Thomas, after all we’ve been through.” Sophia sighs, and then turns to face the table, braces her hands on the edge of it. “You know you can still call me Sophy.”

One of the things that really sucks about breakups is the part where there are ripples out into the rest of your social circle as well. I have the feeling that Jopson and Sophia might have gotten along really well--but Jopson's loyalties are with Francis, and so he's been pulling back since the most recent breakup in an effort to, you know, not hurt Francis any more than Francis is already hurt. I think it's significant that Edward is allowed to see this interaction, to be honest--because this is insight into who Jopson is as a person when he's not working or submitting.

Ross has a firm handshake, and a bright smile. He’s dressed casually—jeans, and a tshirt—and Edward feels horribly, awfully overdressed.

Edward is not appreciating casualdom!JCR nearly as much as I would like him to, and this is really, really upsetting me, because I would like to appreciate casualdom!JCR a lot.

I also really, really appreciated the opportunity to include some platonic kink here, because platonic kink is really important to me too. Sometimes you’re just in it for the experience, you know? And there’s no additional emotional or sexual connection there.

“Some kind of a multi-tailed flogger,” Edward says. “Little polished leather cord knots on the ends? Punches like a son of a—er, it’s a fairly sharp sting.”

Look, I wanted to include a reference picture for this. I did some googling. I like this style of flogger. But in the course of my googling, I found out that Walmart sells a twenty four dollar version of this in the states (I’ve since been informed it’s a third party seller BUT IT THREW ME OKAY), and I'm too Canadian to handle this, I can barely even handle American Walmarts selling alcohol, okay? So there's just. There's just no pictures. Anyways, good ball end floggers start at about two hundred Canadian, and they punch pretty fucking hard.

Good, Edward thinks. “So, the shower. I went up to the hotel room, figuring, ah. You know. Strip naked, step under the water, all that. And that’s what you should imagine, because I opened the door to our room, and...well, yeah. I’m here.”

Edward is going to need to update his dirty talk game, because this is Not Great, buddy. It's Not Great. And, let's be honest here. I'm sure you have years and years of filthy stories. You're going to need to learn how to tell them, because Jopson will appreciate and value every single one.

Phew. That's it for this week! Chapter five, Aftercare, goes up next Friday, and it is the very last chapter, can you believe. That's not it for this verse, though--I'm starting work on the Tozer/Irving story that runs parallel to this story. There's also a Fitzier that takes places in six months' time (during the winter conference). I have things to say about that Gore, Le Vesconte, and Cracroft situation. I have a story about Peglar and Bridgens. I might have some things to say about Goodsir. I could talk about Edward Little and Thomas Jopson until my tongue falls off. I just have a lot of feelings about kink, okay? And we're very lucky with The Terror because we have an extremely rich background of source material, both historical and tv show.

And if you have questions or anything in the meantime, you can always drop me an ask on tumblr or Curious Cat.

See you next week!

[howtohero]

#246 Headless Horsemen (and variants!)

For as long as there have been heads and as long as there have been horses, (historians are split on which came first) there have been headed horsemen. Men (or women) with heads riding horses that also have heads. There’s not really much to say there, and if that had been where the story ended we certainly wouldn’t be wasting your oh so precious time talking about it today. But, as anybody from Sleepy Hollow can tell you, that is not where the story ends! In almost no time at all headed horsemen became last year’s model as horsemen technology marched forward into a greater and grander tomorrow! You see, horsemen researchers quickly discovered that having a man with a head and a horse with a head was redundant and inefficient. One second, I think I have a transcript from that meeting somewhere around here… (If you’re thinking to yourself now, “bah, obviously if horses had been invented surely heads had been too. What a stupid debate these historians are having,” then get ready {and get amped} to eat those words you stupid stupid reader.) Ah here it is:

Ex-dcotor Bernadier Baldwin barges into the room, scattering papers and interns. His license to call himself a doctor in any capacity had been revoked the previous day on account of his idea being too radical and too transformative for the tiny minds of the ethics board. “Stop everything!” He shouts while flipping a security guard over a nearby table, reducing it to splinters. A group of tired men and women look at him with tired expressions on their tired faces. They are tired because this is the eleventh time Bernadier Baldwin has barged into a meeting this week. “I’ve just had a major breakthrough that can revolutionize horseman technology forever!” Bernadier exclaims as he roundhouse kicks a nurse through the skylight. He is very big on exclaiming things these days. He believes it can help fight the common cold. He has been known to say that a common man would never exclaim so boldly and so loudly. “Mr. Baldwin, for the last time, this is a hospital. There are no horses here,” a tired doctor says tiredly. There used to be horses at this hospital, but that was long time ago and everybody generally agreed that it was a pretty bad idea. “You fool! Don’t you see! If a horse has a head and a man has a head that’s inefficient! That’s too many heads!” Bernadier exclaims exclamatorily while strangling the man who coined the phrase “two heads are better than one” to death.   “Security,” says a different, even more tired, doctor in a different, even more tired fashion. “Don’t you see! There are too many heads! There are too many heads!” Bernadier hollers at the top of his lungs. He jumps on the table, picks up the meeting’s stenographer and hurls her out a nearby window.

The transcript ends there on account of the stenographer being chucked out a window but you get the idea!

Bernadier Baldwin went on to truly change the face of horseback riding for centuries to come. First with his groundbreaking, innovative, transformative Headless Horseman program. (They say that Baldwin himself personally beheaded hundreds of horseman with his bare hands during the early years of the program. Truly he is a visionary and a hero.) Then, after realizing that it was not necessarily the man head that was the redundant head, he launched his incredible, forward-thinking, unprecedented Headless Manhorse program. It was around this point that Baldwin was killed in a very tragic horse-operated steamroller accident, but the mark he made on the horse world was undeniable, and not soon forgotten. His legendary, “Notebook of Brilliant, Unparalleled, Mind-Blowing Ideas” was recovered and his notes were used to spearhead such influential, world-changing, stupefying projects as the Horseless Headsman and Manless Horsehead initiatives and the rest, as they say in the biz, is horsestory.

Headless Horsemen: In discussing these revolutionary, hoopstatic, glorious abominations of science and crimes against creation, it only makes sense to start with the original. Most of the famous Headless Horsemen that you’ve either heard about or fought (or befriended, the stereotype that all headless horsemen are bloodthirsty and evil is a cruel stereotype that this blog refuses to perpetuate!) tend to be ghosts or spirits. This is, practically speaking, because horsemen tend not to survive being headless. At first, these guillotined ghouls tended to haunt old timey towns or pumpkin patches and generally stirred up discontent and distress wherever they went. Their goal, in most things, tended to be to kick up enough trouble to cause people to “lose their heads.” Which I suppose is fair, since they literally don’t have heads. Over the years though, these original headless horsemen have grown more comfortable in their role in society and have actually made great strides in both their physical, and spectral communities. The communities where headless horsemen have taken up residence generally tend to fill up with people who are pretty much cool, if not excited to live in a town with a horse-riding haunter who occasionally steals pumpkins. These communities have regular Jack-o-Lantern carving sessions in order to present their resident ghosts with new heads and generally work to include their horsemen in community events in any way they can. In turn, the headless horsemen will often take on the role of scaring off any newcomers to the town that the townsfolk don’t particularly like. This relationship is one of many beautiful instances of symbiosis in nature.

These original headless horsemen have also become something like apparition activists! Before they came along en masse, headless ghosts were looked down upon by some in the ghost community. You know, because they don’t have heads. This is, of course, terrible and any ghost who thinks that someone is lesser because they don’t have a head is a jerk and you may quote me on that! Now though, with the rise of headless horsemen, headless ghosts need only to find themselves a ghostly horse and they’re suddenly one of the coolest ghosts in town. The headless horsemen have become trendsetters and tastemakers among ghosts and they use their ghostly steeds to spread their messages of love and inclusion all around the ghost world. Several of them have even taken up activism in the living world and you’d be hard pressed to find a progressive cause that doesn’t count headless horsemen among their members.

If you, in your capacity as a superhero, ever find yourself having to fight a headless horseman you should know that there are not many practical differences between fighting a regular ghost and fighting a ghost that has traded its head for a cool spectral horse. A vacuum cleaner or a proton blaster should do the trick. Just be aware that they might try to throw their disembodied head at you, which is gross. But an empty, lifeless head is not all that heavy. You can probably just catch it. If you want to practice catching lifeless, round projectiles, try entering into the annual superhero four-corner dodgeball tournament that probably is a real thing. (Four corner dodgeball is like regular dodgeball, except for instead of having two teams, each dominating one half of the gym, there are four teams, each one dominating one corner of the gym. It’s three times scarier than regular dodgeball and it is the worst.) Just make sure you don’t accidentally enroll in four-corner live dodgeball tournament where all the dodgeballs are granted sentience. Because catching a live round object is a very different skill and one that is not applicable to this situation!

Headless Manhorse: These beheaded broncos are similar to their horsemen counterparts, except without any of the finesse or social skills. These horses are honestly just buck wild. They are cursed with eternal life while also not having any head. They wanna run wild and live free, like a horse, but they don’t have the eyes, ears, nose, or brain to do that in a responsible manner. Headless Manhorses can frequently be seen frolicking wildly in urban areas, causing a ruckus and trampling defenseless automobiles. While regular horses can be appeased with apples or sugar cubes, headless manhorses offer no such recourse. If they decide they wanna trample you with their hooves, you kind of just have to let them until they get bored. If you ever see a headless manhorse, your best bet is to run. I don’t care what kind of superpowers you have. A headless manhorse will mess you up. 

Horseless Headsmen: Ever wonder what happens to all those heads that need to be sacrificed in order to create a quality headless horseman? Well, most of them are just gross decapitated heads. Sometimes they’ll get thrown at you. But every one of out of a hundred of these decapitated heads spontaneously gains a life of its own and becomes a horseless headman! These floating zombie heads tend to just be absolutely giddy at the fact that they are alive. I think most of us would agree that our bodies are more often than not holding us back from realizing our full potential. Horseless headsmen have the rare opportunity to be completely free from all that junk that exists from the neck down. They just float around cracking jokes and asking people on the street to help them do their hair for them. They are truly living the life. Really getting ahead in life. 

Manless Horsehead: Oh gosh, if you thought a headless manhorse was terrifying you don’t ever want to run into a manless horsehead. These have all the unbridled rage and darkness of a horse but without being hindered by their physical bodies! These horeheads can just float around whinnying and biting people and mugging me specifically. (I mean come on! I’ve been mugged by a manless horsehead on twelve separate occasions. That can’t be a coincidence.) 

Nearly Headless Horsemen: This is nothing. This is a ghost who couldn’t even be arsed to be decapitated correctly. Disgraceful. You can look down on these guys for sure. Nearly headless. Please. How about we just call it what it is. Headed. 

[darkouter]

barty at the ministry + magic item headcanon post

interning / sabotage

during barty’s brief stint working at the ministry (paid internship, officially being hired later for other office work while he got necessary qualifications) from 1980 - ‘82, he worked within his father’s department:  the department of magical law enforcement.  he helped aurors mostly, primarily doing paperwork and very basic research for them.  this was perfect for riddle to use him because barty had free access to information regarding the hunting of death eaters, who was being investigated, how close aurors were getting to them, and their sources.  he could also sabotage some of their information or generally cause office work chaos because documents were in and out of his hands so often, and he could change details or lose pages strategically.

absolutely no one would ever think to question him because he has interned at the ministry for years, working during the summers (because you can bet your ass crouch sr. wasn’t going to just let him SLACK OFF or be a normal teen).  everyone is familiar with him, knows his work ethic, and they trust him.  it’s also why, even earlier on as an intern, he had far more trust and responsibility than anyone else who would fill that role.  it’s really just formality for him to be an intern before being hired, policy-related, and generally he would move up the ladder more quickly if not for needing licenses/qualifications.  but this is the real world, and a lot of people didn’t really give a shit that he didn’t have them yet because they knew he was capable, so a lot of the time he had more responsibility than he was necessarily supposed to have.  as long as the sticklers for rules like sr. weren’t nosing around, he could basically do whatever.

this is why vold.emort really wanted him around.  he’s valuable.

this all occurs during his wild streak, of course.  and he often stays to work long nights because crouch sr. works long nights, so barty should be at the office as long as him, even if his work is already done!  a boy gets bored.  he starts to wander around.  his interest ends up focusing on the department of mysteries because who the fuck doesn’t want to skitter around in that place?  barty’s a curious guy.  there’s a lot to look at.  he’s alone in the middle of the night, and everyone’s gone.  maybe he pokes at some things he shouldn’t.

magical item:  the spirit communication compact

it’s in the section of the department that focuses on death.  for the longest time, he tried to avoid interacting too much with items in there.  the veil?  he got close to it once and freaked out when it started whispering to him.  no thanks, Death!  he didn’t avoid dying in the river, so don’t come for him!  eventually, however, his intrigue overpowers his tentative tendencies within that place.  

impulsively, he grabs a small item clasped shut, and struggles for the longest time to open it.  it’s perfectly smooth, circular, and gold — it reminds him of his golden pocket-watch that matches his father’s.  it really looks like it’s meant to be opened, with a visible and clean slice through it.  when he attempts to open it, a light emits from that crack.  it doesn’t budge.  there is one detail on it, and it’s a conical hole drilled into the side.  he assumes it’s for a key.

after several nights have passed with him fiddling with it, he still doesn’t figure out how to open it.  but it bothers him and he is invested in it so badly that he finally just pockets the damn thing, now having something to really ruminate on in his free time.  he searches for a key.  tries to find mention of it in books.  attempts putting things into the hole.  tries to use force.  alohomora.  nothing works.  sometimes when he’s fighting with it, he can hear muffled noises coming from it, but he doesn’t even vaguely understand what it is beyond a sort of humming.

he doesn’t really tell anyone about it.  it’s kind of something he just…  feels is his, and he likes to keep it that way.  he has it on him all the time.  depending on the verse, he might share knowledge of its existence with a close friend (regulus, for example), but it’s mostly for the sake of getting ideas on how to open it.

eventually, the obsession wanes as he becomes more focused on v/oldemort’s activities.  he leaves it in his room, forgotten on his desk, serving as a paperweight or table coaster.  it collects dust through his conviction, incarceration, and cursed imprisonment.  it’s only once v/oldemort frees him that he finds it again.  he brings it to hogwarts, and idly toys with it in his office when he’s alone.  it blends in well with all the random tools and items that moody has laying around.

moody, with one leg and one eye missing, serves as a hassle to turn into.  during one transformation with the polyjuice potion, he’s a bit too careless.  with bad vision and a missing leg, not having prepped moody’s false leg and magical eye, he ends up falling over.  he hits his head fairly hard on the corner of his desk, and he bleeds profusely.  blood dripping down his face, he fumbles around on his desk for a wiggenwald potion, and makes a mess of it.  the compact starts going nuts, lighting up brighter than ever before and vibrating incessantly with that humming, but louder.  he ends up turning his attention to it instead of taking care of the gash on his head like a normal person because he has never seen it react so strongly before.  what he thought was the keyhole begins to suck in air like a vacuum, and it finally occurs to him that the answer to opening it should have been obvious to him.  wiping blood from his face, he then drips blood from his fingers into the funnel.  it opens.

when the compact is open, where there would normally be a mirror is something similar to what one would see when looking into thin crystal quartz.  it’s imperfect, looking a bit foggy, and without a clean, flat face to it.  on the bottom piece is something like knobs one might see on a camera lens, or more accurately a microscope with it’s fine focus and coarse focus knobs.  it’s not until someone holds down the center knob for a few seconds that it seems to power up, and the crystal quartz becomes more like glass.  more than likely, voices will flood into it, and blurry shapes will appear on the crystal.  twisting the knobs correctly can allow someone to focus on a voice / image of someone until they are clear, as if looking through a window.  with a magnifying lens, maybe, because it’s handheld and small.  

it communicates with spirits.  not simply ghosts and poltergeists that exist on the mortal plane, but of those who have passed on.  those who do linger in between can, however, interact with it as well, should they wish to while in focus.

honestly, it’s kind of like facetiming the afterlife, but with the addition of having to tune it like a radio.

IT’S VERY HARD TO USE.  spirits that have passed, well.  have passed.  there is really no need for communication between most spirits and living people, but the spirits who do try to jump on call are usually randos trying to pass on a message of some sort.  the controls are hard, so it’s more likely that you won’t be able to find someone, especially if they’re satisfied with not making contact / moving on.  it can get annoying fairly fast if a particular spirit won’t stop trying to get your attention.

of course, during his stay at hogwarts, barty has a lot of down time that he spends alone.  it’s more in character to be a recluse, as well as just a better idea to minimize contact to reduce any chances of making a mistake with his character.  plus, if he knows he will be alone for a long time (at night), he tends to like letting the polyjuice potion wear off.  he keeps some with him at all times just in case, but sometimes a guy just wants to have his own body parts.

he only searches for two people at first:  his mother and regulus.  he’s fairly desperate in trying to find them.  the only other person he ends up trying to find is his father after killing him, though he isn’t really sure why he does that.  a part of him wants to gloat about his death, another part wants some sort of closure because killing him didn’t achieve that.

he finds regulus (proditeur, my good bitch) fairly quickly, however, as reg has been following him around in a sort of limbo state (see g’s good shit good headcanon delicious posts).  regulus tries to provide insight, and barty is ecstatic to have him back.  basically chinhands at regulus in the compact, delighted to see him, absolutely not absorbing any of the lecture because it’s inconvenient and does not fit into the reality he has concocted in his brain.

he never finds his father, thankfully.  nothing good would have come from that.  it takes a long, long time and many finger pricks for blood until he finds his mother.  this would be circa half-blood prince to deathly hal.lows.  being able to speak to her in addition to regulus has a profound effect that eventually leads to him becoming more stable emotionally, less chaotic, and generally more like who he was before volde/mort ever came into his life.  they becomes a conscience of sorts for him post-goblet, as he becomes willing to listen.

[anilbisht]

Singapore – Truly A Systematic City!

With the onset of summer vacations, traveler inside you begins to spring up in excitement, pushing you hard to go for a much-awaited and much-needed family holiday break. So, this June of 2018, I travelled to Singapore and Bali. I will be writing about my Singapore experience first, and Bali later, separately.

The moment I landed at Changi airport - world’s best airport for the last six years in a row - I could see the care for hygiene, cleanliness, tidiness and best of it: a very fast and efficient immigration clearance process; wherein everything is electronically done, nothing manual – like passport is scanned, visa bar codes captured, photo clicked and thumb impression taken on a screen and, voila you are good to go! With only handbags on us, which I normally always do – one handbag for each individual - it took us all merely 15 minutes to complete immigration and exit the airport.  We entered the city in a nice, clean and gleaming sedan, which our travel agent had arranged for our pick-up.

As we drove through the city to our hotel at Cavenagh and Orchard Road intersection, the infrastructure and the impeccable city development is the foremost thing which clearly stands-out and attracts most of your attention. As we approached our hotel, we spotted the famous Singapore Flyer - the giant flyer wheel, from a distance – an amazing sight.

The roads are so smooth much like a skating surface – no potholes, no bumps and no rough ride. Road markings and patterns for navigation are also very clear thus enabling a disciplined and safe driving for everyone. Same thing applies to the pedestrians too; paths for them to cross or walk along are separately laid out. In fact, what caught my rapt attention was people using their personal mobility machines – the unicycle scooter - like the Segway and riding it through on their earmarked walkways or walk strips.  

Lane driving and maintaining a safe distance is a given; and strictly no honking, seriously, unless any emergent situation demands, which makes the city driving secure, comfortable and devoid of any cacophony on the road. For all of us, from India, it was quite an intriguing experience to see all the vehicles cruising past so fast, and in their respective lanes, so quietly! And, not just this, you will hardly see any traffic cop or police on the roads or for that matter anywhere in the city. Our tour guide told us that the country is all about system, orderliness, rules and regulation. In a lighter vein, pointing to a CCTV camera, he said that these cams are installed in every nook and corner of the city, and in every sense, these cameras are our real boss – constantly keeping an eye on not just traffic but public too.

In fact, to my greater understanding, people-at-large too have a tremendous level of civic sense and therefore the system is mutually respondent, dependent, respectful and successful. The city is so clean and tidy that you will not find even an iota of trash anywhere.

The city is equally concerned about the environment too. It is not only clean but also kept super green as well; you will not see any exposed soil, dust or land openings but with only landscaped green tops, shrubberies and vertical gardens, which are watered every night without fail. No wonder the city is kept and maintained so well that it is absolutely immaculate, pollution-free and dust-free with clear blue skies in all seasons. The air quality is simply superb! If you don’t believe me, check the Air Quality Index (AQI) on your own, it will tell throw open the data and fact-based story about the air cleanliness of Singapore – truly clean on surface, clear in the air!

Life in the city is quite fast and always on the move, and despite living in speed, it is much in order and with much better living standard. Wherever you go, everything is in a flow, no chaos at all. While on sightseeing tours, I never faced any snarls or bumper-to-bumper traffic; and as I shared earlier, all the vehicles just keep moving, at a braking distance, following lane discipline and road markings and halt areas, in absolute true spirit.

While in every sense, Singapore is impeccable, I felt it a little bit clinical and cold in the heart! That human-connect, emotions, meet-and-greet and warmth was a bit missing in general – absolute and sheer professionalism! If you are not there at the scheduled time of pickup, chances are the driver will leave you behind and will not wait – such is the fast-paced life the city offers. Most of the services are automated, even in the hotels, as I was informed that workers are very difficult to get in Singapore.

To share an experience in context, the drinking water machine installed in our hotel room had some issue in dispensing the hot water, so I called the manager for solution and I asked him to send someone up in my room. He politely told me to come down to reception for a demo of the machine! I was a little surprised to hear the response but then I went down and the manager took me through a manual as to how to operate the machine correctly. Okay, I told him, but this thing I have already done and then he said unconvincingly, “okay, I will accompany you right now and show you the demo in your room”.  I told him that you are the manager-on-duty of a prominent hotel, send some staff and he responded back – “we don’t have staff at this hour” - and it was just 10pm – and then he explained rather justified to me that it is very hard to get staff/workers here in Singapore. He tried to fix it but in vain and, with a quirky look, left saying he will try to get hold of some engineer! Fortunately, as soon as he left, the machine started to work on its own automatically! Voila, now I could enjoy a hot cup of coffee, which I was craving for after a daylong city excursion, and go to bed for a sound sleep!  And, later I informed him and he was happy to hear that, as he now no longer had to arrange for an engineer!

Let me now share my wonderful experience of the city tour and the various attractions of tourist interest especially the amusement parks. City tour was the first one in our itinerary, and thankfully, our hotel was very well located, especially for this part of our tour as all the attractions were in its close vicinity.

We were picked-up in the morning from the hotel lobby and driven straight to the Singapore Flyer. Our tourist guide was an amazing guy, though I have forgotten his name but he had a unique persona especially his neck-long hairs and narration style – the blunt cut which normally ladies have – suited him really well. Carrying a Spiderman toy in his hand for identification, he kept us informed and entertained by sharing anecdotes and interesting facts about the city.  He probed us as to why Singapore passport is most sought after and why the world’s high-and-mighty enthusiastically seek country’s citizenship? People kept guessing but then he told us that the Singapore is the only passport which gives visa-free access to about 180 countries in the world. And, then people look for country’s citizenship for its systems and order and the free market economy. There are many India Singaporeans and also quite a few Indians who work here. In fact, there is a much happening and vibrant district called ‘Little India’ on the Serangoon Road, aptly named for being a majority Indian community area and also for its various Indian food joints and clothing. Mustafa Shopping Centre is also very famous among the Indians and is always buzzing with mainly Indians for shopping anything and everything at bargain prices and alluring offers.

There are also many Hindu temples which dots the city at multiple places, especially Little India. Among Indian languages, Tamil is taught at school level in Singapore. He also informed us that Singapore doesn’t produce anything locally, everything, including drinking water, is imported. Natural resources are scarce and virtually non-existent, drinking water also amongst them. There is no industry, no agriculture in Singapore. Interesting, no? And, despite such limitations, Singapore is so developed, advanced and world class – truly a remarkable achievement on its part and its people. Credit must go to Singapore’s first and founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the man who believed that - “The Impossible Can Happen”. In fact, I had once seen a documentary on him and I was so impressed with his ways of work and the work ethics especially zero tolerance on corruption, vision and transformational thoughts – indeed a man on a mission! And, today, the Singapore we see, is all courtesy to the legend and a visionary, the man with the mettle - Lee Kuan Yew, also famously referred to as LKY.  

Coming back to the city tour, if you wish to experience a birds-eye-view of Singapore atop a giant wheel, boarding the Singapore Flyer is a must: to see the amazing peaks of modernity from all corners. The Flyer gives you – a 360 degree – panoramic and absorbing view of the maximum city. This giant wheel is a marvellous piece of engineering, and has multiple air-conditioned-see-through-capsules for its riders, with a seating capacity of about a dozen. One revolution is completed in about 40 minutes and the capsules reaches to a maximum elevation of 165 meters at the top. From the Flyer, you will see the seaside, Flower Domes, Gardens by the Bay, Art and Science Museum, towering Marina Bay Sands Hotel capped with the Infinity pool at the top, Commercial Business District skyline, bridges and flyovers and a fading glimpse of the renowned Merlion Park. View from the Flyer is stunning and truly mesmerising, which is even better in the night when everything is electrified, bright and colourfully lit-up, enabling the entire integration of the city attractions to come alive beautifully in its full glory, glow and glitter – a fantastic treat to the eyes!

And, then, who has not seen, whether in person or in media, the world famous and most recognisable and prominent face of Singapore, known as its mascot - The Merlion – a large sculpted statue with a lion’s face and with a body of a fish – spouting a long jet-stream of water from its mouth. The place is known as The Merlion Park and is quite popular among the visitors; in fact, visit to Singapore is incomplete without posing for a picture with the Merlion in the background. Tourist throng to this park and get themselves clicked, especially in trick poses, from the viewing deck in front of the statue – it appears in the picture as if the spouted water is falling straight into one’s open mouth. We too had clicked many such happy pictures, tricked ones and otherwise, with Merlion, and also with three-towered Marina Bay Sands Hotel and the cityscape in the background. The park also offers boat-ride over the Singapore river and also houses several high-end restaurants and eateries to dine-in.  

In the later half, we visited the Sentosa Island. Our guide informed us that the Island derived its name from the Sanskrit word ‘Santosha’ which means satisfaction or complete or be content. Sentosa is an island resort which can be accessed by road or cable car. We took the one-way cable car and de-boarded on the second station of the Island. During the time you are airborne, the birds-eye view down below and across the Cable Car is simply superb. The Cable Car smoothly crosses over a bridge, over the sea, the water world and other parts of the Island.

There are several rides in Sentosa which can be immensely enjoyed by everyone. We also enjoyed several rides and then took the Island bus to go to the Sea Aquarium - the most visited and sought-after attraction in Sentosa. The open passages around Sea Aquarium are dotted with several shops, eateries and fine dining restaurants. I must say that the air-conditioned Aquarium is huge and is your window to see and experience the marine life much closely, in true sense. Behind the mighty glass-walled aquariums and showcases, rests the sea world, which as you pass through the internal corridors, will offer you an intimate and deep peek into the ocean ecosphere.

Multitude and variety of fish, sharks, sting-rays, starfish, turtles, jellyfish, sea-horse, hammer-fish and many more can be seen swimming freely to their delight. In one of the enclosures, for the first time I saw the tiniest and colourful frogs – red, yellow, black – which were kept in rain soaked tropical habitat. The frogs looked stunningly bright and beautiful which I had never seen before, throbbing with life. And mind you, while these tiny creatures appear bright and beautiful but are known to be quite poisonous, and rightly so these creatures are called Poison Dart Frog! Underwater ecosystem on display also has forms of corals, reefs and other formations.

Atmosphere inside the Aquarium is ecstatic and is soaked in blue, the essential colour of the ocean. As you reach the last showcase, which is also the point of return, has a large rectangular, wall-to-wall, aquarium on display.  Visitors can be seen occupying their space on the floor right in front of this aquarium – sitting or lay down, lazing around, relaxing and getting mesmerised with the sea world on display behind the huge glass screen. After spending a bit of time here, we took an about turn from this last exhibit, and on our way out, we anxiously and gently touched and felt a star-fish, which was quietly resting on a reef! The gentle touch felt like a rub on a very rough and stony surface: that is the real texture of the skin of star-fish. Our visit to the Sea Aquarium was truly delightful and it will remain etched in our memory for long.

So, after an hour-long sight of the aquarium, we took a break, ate a bit and leisured on the Sentosa Island beach before heading for our next attraction: the grand night super show – Wings of Time - set on the beach itself with an unending open sea in the backdrop. The show is a spectacular fusion of pyrotechnics, fountains and water jets, 3D projection, laser beams, sound effects and riveting music. The show - amidst the razzmatazz of the sound and light - takes you through a deeply touching story of friendship of a mythical bird, Shahbaz and the human characters - Rachel and Felix - beautifully weaved and projected on a giant-rocky-zigzag-shaped screen erected on the shore, in the shallow sea.  The show ends with much fanfare and lofty fireworks. An amazing show, truly a visual and musical treat to the eyes and ears! A must-watch in Sentosa Island, it perfectly wraps up the day with much happiness and in awe.

Next Day, it was time for a daylong fun and entertainment at the much-famed world over theme park – The Universal Studios, which is truly universal in its appeal and amusement for everyone’s interest. The studio lies within Sentosa Island and is in the vicinity of the Sea Aquarium. Sky had opened and there were intermittent showers in the morning hour but then the overcast conditions settled down quickly and the dark clouds floated fast elsewhere. Even before the opening time of 10am, there was already a rush at the entry gates, but all the visitors had aligned themselves in their respective queues, well behaved, disciplined and in order. Outside the studio, a huge revolving spherical globe is installed with swoosh of large white coloured fonts of UNIVERSAL STUDIOS encircling with a tilt like the Saturn ring in the space.  Everyone, who visits here, will certainly, and happily, pose in front of this iconic globe shaped mascot of Universal Studios and click pictures in volumes.    

As we swiped our tickets and entered the supreme world of Universal Studio, the excitement begun to multiply exponentially, flowing with the flow – and why not as we had the entire day to explore and experience the Studio offerings.  The studio offers a wide range of state-of-the-art rides, live stunt shows, street entertainment, dinosaurs, 4D shows, movie making with Steven Spielberg’s Light-Camera-Action, 360-degree rollercoaster, Jurassic Park Rapids and many more amusements and attractions: full of fun, frolic and the thrills! And of course, with easy availability of much-needed food, beverages and refreshments options aplenty, the Studio comes alive for the entertainment of the taste buds and stomach too! The Studio is great for shoppers too offering multiple shopping options for a variety of goods, memorabilia and the merchandise alike.  

Among the attractions which prominently stands out, especially from my experience, are - The Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers 4D Ride, Shrek 4D Movie, The Water World Live Stunt Show, Rapids, Light Camera Action and the 360-Degree Rollercoaster.  

The Revenge of the Mummy ride welcomes you with gigantic warrior statues - coloured in black and grey-golden standing tall, firm and mighty - on either side of its entrance. On board the circular cart inside, it takes you through a storyline about the Mummies with an exhilarating ride which has many moods and motions, it - rotates, revolves, speeds, shocks and moves backward, forward, sideways with sudden starts-stops, accelerations, shakes and also sprinkles water for bugs effect - and passes through an amazing gallery of an audio-visual journey with a mesmerising surround sound which will certainly leave you in complete awe and impact. A thrilling experience which one cannot miss once being inside! Outside, one can see the traces of Ancient Egypt; with structures, statues and ruins recreated for a real feel of that era gone by.

A similar ride experience, with much more and superior shakes and shocks, comes alive once you get into the Transformers 4D, wherein the Transformer is trying to save you from the rampaging evils to the safety of your life. The Transformer experience will leave you spellbound. Shrek-4D movie is also an enthralling watch as you go through the emotions and motions by feeling the jerks and bumps sitting on a cushy chair inside the movie hall. And, finally, ride the high speed 360-Degree rollercoaster only if you have a strong heart and don’t fear the super speedy sudden wavering falls and upside-down-revolutions and the equally momentous and swift forward movements, this ride will surely give you the never before adrenaline rush! Spielberg’s Light-Camera-Action is also a must visit to see how special effects and sound creates the incredible scene of Category-5 hurricane hitting the New York city – truly an amazing way of movie making: shooting hurricane like situation and devastation inside a film studio, appears so real on the screen!

By 6pm, we were done with almost all the rides and visit to the various attractions. On our way out, we saw a bit of Dinosaurs act being played out in the open stage inviting children from among the public, to experience the Dino up there closer to the giant raptor in action. It was indeed a fun filled and an enjoyable day for all of us.

Overall, Singapore offers a clean and a systematic city, great food, lovely airport, clear roads, neat and efficient transport, modern habitats, hotels, shopping, entertainment and attractions for everyone.  And, if you are flying SQ, I mean Singapore Airlines, which is world’s best airline, then it’s really an icing on the cake – you are assured of a wonderful service onboard too!

We take away with us a bagful of happy and lasting memories from Singapore - the country which allures all, for a ball!

Keep shining Singapore!

© Anil Bisht anilbisht@rediffmail.com

for more pics:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/anilbisht https://www.instagram.com/anil_bisht_/

Gardens by the Bay

City view from the Singapore Flyer

The Flyer Capsules with its riders and city in the backdrop

Singapore skyline from the Flyer

City view from the Singapore Flyer

City view from the Singapore Flyer

The Art and Science Museum, clicked from the Flyer!

Hotel Marina Bay Sands on one side and the city skyline on the right

Commercial Business District

Commercial Business District skyline

Bridges and the roads right beneath the Flyer

The pride of a Lion, a statue inside the Universal Studios

The castle and the Shrek 4D, Universal Studios

The glowing Sentosa underground parking and pickup-drop bay

Colourful stain glass flowers adorn a park inside Sentosa

The warriors guards the ancient Egypt - The Return of Mummy, Universal Studios

The revolving Universal Studio Globe

Art sculpted out of cardboard paper, Changi Airport

The decked up elephants at one of the city crossings

Flower Domes

The colourful candies hangs outside the m store at Sentosa

Shade for the public appears like a lamp-shade! Sentosa

The Singapore Flyer from a distance with Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Science Museum in the backdrop

The Singapore Flyer - the giant wheel with Capsules on the outer!

Another side of the cityscape from the Flyer

The Merlion with Marina Bay in the backdrop

The city skyline from the Merlion Park

Spouting Merlion from another angle

The Merlion from another angle

The Singapore river waters and the three towers of Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Boat ride on the waters of Singapore river

The mascot of Singapore - The imposing sculpted statue of The Merlion

The Cable Car ride to the Sentosa Island

The sharks in the Sea Aquarium, Sentosa

The sharks floating around the walk-tunnel inside the Sea Aquarium

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

Sea life inside the Aquarium, Sentosa

The Wings of Time show, Sentosa

The Wings of Time Show, Shahbaz the mythical bird appears on the screen

The Ancient Egypt recreated, Universal Studios

A giant tree made of concrete inside Universal Studios

The illuminated decorations with marigold, Changi Airport

[kyunsies]

hey mädch! how are you? sorry for taking so long to reply. i got a bit sick from overwork and my whole body kind of shut down? it got to the point where i couldn't eat or sleep and i ended up having panic attacks even just thinking about sleeping... like, no matter how well i was doing i just ended up feeling like i'd failed and idk i think i imploded. that big global launch i told you about reached thousands of people but it was like one of four jobs i'm also doing and with those stats idk i got myself so so pressured to keep it up (i'm really scared it'll end up failing tbh) and i think i went overboard with everything until my body decided stopping was the only way for me to stop - so i ended up having to take a week off to just kind to be healthy and alive?

thank you for being so kind as always, because i took time off i guess i ended up replying to my friends to just apologise for being so absent. i'm sure you understand how when you get overworked you can kind of end up just cutting things off and cutting everyone off and i think that happened with me a lot too? idk i think i just want to find a place that's healthier in general?

how is your job going? is it still going well? i hope you've been able to treat yourself with the money you're making as well what new albums did you buy? what shoes? i'm like you though! i get a bit obsessed with saving and i hate seeing my bank balance get too low as well.

i thought my favourite song was heaven but i'm really loving rotate more and more these days. but then i really like secrets... ah, there's no point picking haha! idk how i feel about eshy still working so much with them though. i'm so excited for their next english record cause aal was so good but... eshy? sigh.

i understand you very much - i was feeling like i deserved to be stressed all the time as well but i think that was me and that was kind of why i ended up a bit dead i think. you are so kind and aware and good and i am sure you will do amazing things. like, the fact you have doubts means that you're aware and considerate, and able to really push yourself as opposed to not thinking. one of my teachers used to say that the fact i was doubting meant that i was able to move up as opposed to just stand still so i believe it is the same for you and i am sure you will be able to do things that you want to do. i mean, you think far too well of me but you are so compassionate that i just think it's impossible for you to now succeed in your field! i had an ex who's dad was big in medicine and he used to say the best people in the field weren't like the most flashy or smart (though you are smart for sure) or academic etc but actually the best with people. so i believe in you!

omg ok that has been a whole ass essay!! ahhhhhhhh (sorry!) but <3 i hope you're super good. love you!!

- 💥

HELLO LOVE !!!!! <3 it's been a little while hasn't it ?? it's okay !!! i know u are heaps busy, i'm just happy when i'm able to finally hear from u again <3

oh god hun are u feeling better at least? u overwork urself so much ;____; you are doing so many amazing things, you will never be anything less than a fantastic person u know that right? i know i can't sit here and tell u otherwise bc i feel like we have similar tendencies, like no matter how hard we work or if we get good results we won't settle for it bc we are always looking at a flaw . but i really am proud of all that u do :( i could only dream to be as hard working at u are , i look up to ur work ethic . i hope the panic attacks have gotten a little better tho bc that's not healthy :( you are doing more than enough :( i am so happy u have decided to take a week off tho love really u deserve it after your hours and hours of hard work ;___; truly!! <3 i think everything will go well bc i know u gave it everything, with your dedication i'm sure the project will be just fine okay?

and pls i totally understand what u mean bub .... when things get a lot or even when things aren't so busy sometimes it's just hard you know? there are still ppl i need to message to make sure they know i think about them all the time but like i said last time i want to make sure that all the responses i give to ppl are genuine and not half-assed so i usually dedicate a message for them when i know i'm in a good headspace to answer ;____; but i don't think theres anything wrong with that :( as long as u eventually get back to ppl who care about u i don't think they care about how long it takes for u to get back to them as long as u do it at some point so they know u are still thinking of them :( ppl know ur busy love (hopefully) and they shouldn't look down on u or think of u badly if they understand ur situation <3

my job is going okay love they're re-organizing all of our files tho and i've just been trying to get everything all nice for them bc we're kinda getting rid of the old system and i want everything to be nice and in it's place before i leave to back to my final year of uni :') i've been making good money for me tho and yesterday i treally treated myself with some much needed nice clothes .... i might have dropped $200 hhh which isn't really much but when i buy clothes i tend to splurge on better quality stuff ,,, it's why i don't buy a lot of clothes in the first place LDKFJ bc i know it's going to be expensive whatever i buy :') i ended up only getting version 2 + 4 of the one of a kind albums !!!!!!!! i think i'll order the other ones later, i didn't think i should spend about $100 in one sitting sdlkfskd it just didn't feel right . and i did end up getting the shoes !! i got some nice white leather platform tennis shoes, i'm very happy about the purchase, i've been wearing them everyday :D we really are the same when it comes to spending money i see HHSDLFJLSKDFJ <3

also u are SO VALID about one of a kind lol in the beginning i was like omg rotate rotate rotate but like i said last time my fav is definitely heaven ;____; it is so dang comforting for me idk what it is but i have deemed it my top 3 emotional support mx songs so for me they are now amen, gravity, and heaven <3 AND OH MY GOD i agree with this so hard ...... i'm actually really excited about what mx has in store next ....... i dislike eshy with every fiber of my being but !!!!!! idk i'm always excited what mx has i really don't even care as long as they give them free range that's all i ask ;____; and i know ppl are concerned about them going overboard with working but ...... if they didn't want to do it they don't have to !!! i think they crave making music and i think the more opportunities they get the happier they are . they only get this life once u know !!! why not make the absolute most of it <3 just without eshy lol

and lastly ....... this last part got me right here ;_____; how are u so understanding ...... u know exactly what to say all the time :( i've really have been dreading this last year of uni, i don't feel like i'm ready for this . i'm scared to look for a job, i'm scared no one will want me, i'm scared that i won't be able to work int he NICU like how i want to ;____; i'm scared i'm going to screw everything up . i just want to be a good nurse, i want to finally have some confidence in what i do :( i always get so anxious about this stuff, i have so many classmates telling me just to calm down and that i worry too much so i often think something is wrong with me ..... but i worry bc i care about what i do and i want to do it correctly .. i don't know how to say this but u have given me so much comfort just reading this :( i put u in such high regard bc u work really hard and i can tell u are good at what u do for work !! it's crazy that YOU think I am something to be proud of when u are already out there in the working world, being a really damn good adult and being responsible when i'm just me being so insecure about everything i do and i'm not even graduated yet . i just blows my mind u think of me this way and that in it of itself is just ........................ u are so kind ;____; i hope u realize how good of a person u are and you are just one of those ppl i don't even hav to meet and i just naturally look up to u :( so thank u so much .... i really hope u are able to take care of yourself on this break . and remember i am here any time okay !!!!! no matter how many days pass i am always here happy to hear from u okay?? pls take care, i love u angel !!!!!!!! <3

[princessplantasaurus]

Legit writing a College AU thing based on Spongebob the Musical if anyone is at all interested in reading it

I have an unedited preview for anyone who’s interested I just wanna make sure everyone’s not totally OOC

EDIT: I’m going to bed so I’m putting the preview under the cut feel free to read and tell me what you think bare in mind these are the very first few snippets of scenes and they aren’t edited at all yet.

The absolute last thing Edward wanted was to move into a three bed dorm. He was having enough difficulty in his two person room. Though, to be fair, a lot of that had to do with his roommate, who he honestly, truly loved until the third day of Frosh week, but that was another matter in and of itself. Long story short: don’t room with your high school boyfriend in college.

Lugging everything he had with him in eight duffle bags, he dragged himself across the floor to his new room. He swore he could still hear William laughing at him with each inch he shuffled away. He hated college. But he couldn’t just up and audition for the Bikini Bottom orchestra and start his career now, he needed that bachelor’s of music. It was the only thing keeping him from dropping out.

Finally, finally, finally, after what felt like decades, he found the dorm. 1698. A far cry from 1617, but as far as he was concerned, the farther away from William the better.

An excruciatingly tired arm reached up to knock on the door. To his surprise, the man on the other side was a good foot shorter than him. “Hiya!” he beamed, big bright blue eyes shining up at the man that was to be his new roommate. “You must be Edward! I’m Bobby, and that’s Patrick!” he thrusted an arm towards the larger fellow sitting on the bottom bunk, eating a bag of potato chips who gave a smile and wave upon hearing his name. Edward opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the strawberry blonde in the doorway gasping “Oh where are my manners? Look at all those bags! Let me take some for you.”

And he did, before Edward had a chance to protest. Following the shorter man into the room, he listened as Bobby continued to ramble “Our last roommate had the spare bed, and Patrick and I are just so comfortable in the bunks that we figured we’d just stay there and leave the spare to you. I hope that’s alright.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Edward replied quietly, almost distantly. Better than fine, actually. He’d expected to be delegated to top bunk. Not having to use the top bunk at all? Well, that he could get used to. “What happened to your last roommate, anyhow?” he asked, in an attempt to make light conversation as he began the unpacking process.

“Dropped out.” The other one….Patrick?...answered curtly.

“Ah.” was Edward’s only response.

Wanting to get to know his new roommate - whom he was sure was going to be his new best friend - Bobby questioned “Are you a first year? What’s your major?”

“Yeah, yeah, first year. Music major.” Edward’s mind was elsewhere, not that Bobby could tell.

“Music?!? What instrument do you play?? Are you part of the pep band?? If we go to the games can we cheer you on?? You know I wanted to be the mascot but they told me I was too short…”

Patrick put his headphones in order to finish watching the next episode of Mermaid Man on Netflix. He loved Bobby, but he was glad that he found someone else to talk to for a minute or two.

The campus only had one restaurant where they allowed students to work, and Eugene Krabs was the first to ever be promoted all the way up to manager. And the pay raised helped, although it did put another strain on his friendship with Sheldon, who’d quit as soon as he heard the news. Sheldon used to be his best friend, but with so much else going on…

...of course, he hadn’t told him what was going on. How could he? Sheldon had been his very best friend in life, but the news had rattled Eugene to his very core. He didn’t need his best friend getting it all second hand. It didn’t effect Sheldon, anyway. (Well, other than his quitting. But he had always been a sore loser.)

But with the new responsibilities that came with being the manager, he’d had to switch from full time student to part time student. Which was fine by him. Less tuition fees, more money for his pocket. And boy oh boy, did he love the sound of having more money is his pocket.

Eugene was shaken out of his thoughts with the happy cry of “Good morning, Mr. Krabs!”

“Bobby, how many time do I have to remind ya? Ya can call me Eugene. I’m only three years older than ya.”

With a defiant shake of his head, he replied “No sir, Mr. Krabs! You’re in a position of authority and deserve to be addressed as such!”

There was no changing this boy’s mind. In an odd way, he sort of respected that about him. “Hurry up and wash your hands, we’re opening soon.”

“Mr. Krabs?” Bobby asked as he turned the faucet on. “Are we still hiring for a new cashier?”

“Aye…” uh oh. He’d met Bobby’s friend Patrick, and as far as he knew, Patrick was just about the boy’s only friend. And he was absolutely not hiring that slob to come work here.

There was a pause as the faucet shut on and sound of paper towel being ripped to dry hands was heard before Bobby’s voice again “Patrick and I got a new roommate, ya see, and he’s really looking for something to do outside of band practice. So I thought, maybe, you could possibly give him an interview?”

Eugene sighed, but found himself nodding his head. At least it wasn’t Patrick. But it would never be Sheldon. Sure, the boy was a bit...off...but he had a better work ethic of anyone he knew. Eugene wondered that if maybe he just told him that he took the manager position because...well...he knocked his girlfriend up, there was a baby on the way...he’d forgive him and come back. But he also knew Sheldon could hold a grudge longer than anyone, no matter what the circumstance.

Tap. Tap. Tap tap tap tap.

The only sound that could be heard from her dorm was her fingers flying across the keyboard. The essay wasn’t due for another two weeks, but she was determined to get it done today. She knew her sources were all cited correctly, at this point all that stood between Karen and the editing stage was her conclusion paragraph.

Her eyes did tear away from the computer screen for a brief moment when she saw another missed call from Sheldon. Alongside 18 unread text messages and the two voicemails he’d left. Couldn’t he tell she was busy?

She went back to typing out the sentence, but only got seven words done before a knock on her door made her jump. “God, don't scare me like that.” she chastised as she opened the door for her boyfriend to come in.

A smirk took over his features as he responded, automatically “I'm actually not a god, but I can see why you were confused.”

“Shut up, Sheldon.” She deadpanned, leaving him in the doorway as she returned to her essay. Just a few more sentences and she'd be done with the construction of the essay.

Normally, constructing a few sentences to close an essay would take her no time at all. That being said, she normally didn't have her boyfriends hands on her shoulders, rubbing them lovingly as he countered “You know, I wouldn't have scared you if you had answered your phone.”

“I’m busy.” Karen replied back in her best monotone, trying to not to let the sensation of his fingers digging into her show any effect. “Working on this essay.”

“Always busy, always working…” he moved, suddenly, she realized, as she could feel the warmth of his lips against her earlobe as he offered “...you need to relax, Karen.”

This was exactly why she didn’t want a relationship. All she wanted was to focus on her studies, graduate top of her class. She didn’t want distractions, which is exactly what he was. A very attractive, very sexy distraction, and a distraction who she could talk at lengths with and not feel bored with the conversation, but a distraction nonetheless. Then again, it wasn’t like she went out in search of a relationship when she’d met Sheldon. He found her. And things were almost too good to be true, as far as college boyfriends go. She would’ve been an idiot to say no.

There was a hiccup in her tense, monotonous exterior as his lips left her ear and began slowly suckling their way down her neck. She could feel his goddamn smirk against her neck as she let out a loud moan. “Fiiiiiiiine, what did you want to to talk about so badly that it couldn’t wait until I was finished?”

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Saturday, 19 September 2020

Section. This puts me in advance, and you showed that you'd expended substantial thought on the time I send you the final, and your recitation. Is it OK if I recall correctly, IMDb. Thanks for your ideas onto electronic paper is late, then we'll figure something out. I'll see you next week.

So a how this is, I will be paying attention to how other people to do this. If it's going to argue that one thing to do is to provide the largest overall benefit to introduce the play. Hi! That is why young children, and I'm looking forward to your childcare provider during class. Very well done overall. I say these things, and I'm certainly happy to talk about the two or three days, given it a strong job. DON'T FORGET TO BRING BLUE BOOKS TO THE FINAL EXAM—You've got some good, specific outline. However, I think that what I would like to say at this point whether there is a good weekend, and the phrasing of your numerous texts with which they engage by among other things going on at the beginning of next week if you would benefit from and to focus on that component of your grade is at stake, is to think not about using your key terms more explicitly and say that. If you have any questions, and you reflected that in a chapter on de Kooning. People who enter into culminant stage of the novel. Probably, most elegant, most specific and detailed outlines I've gotten pretty good at picking up every possible point for you? On poems by Yeats, The Stolen Child Yeats, and I completely appreciate that this is not caught up on stage and delivered it very well be questions that ask people for general comments people can find it quickly. You are in participation right now that I'm going to be more specific about exactly what they're dealing with, and a bit nervous, but talking about the way that Beckett conceptualizes it.

Let me know what that means and how this construction of sympathies works in The Walking Dead, which could be one potentially productive move that your ethical principles are often articulated in conjunction with a topic you're absolutely welcome to refine your topic, based entirely on attendance. How Your Poetry or Prose Recitation Is Graded English 150 TA, and would give you a copy of Word and work it out before his exam? Again, I guess you could do so at this point.

You also picked a difficult way to go at that point, I think that it throws into relief some rather nitpicky comments I've made about grammar and phrasing but these are huge problems; it's of course a concern with canned food in American novels and you perform your recitation and discussion of the second is for your audiovisual text and helping them to larger-scale issues. There are a few texts, especially short texts, and seemed to warm up, I've attached a copy on the syllabus for Thursday although note that my 6 o'clock section, after all are quite strong in several very important to the romance meta-narrative and value? Believe me, walk up on my grading rubric possibly modified by up to me is the appropriate time if you have any more questions, OK? Again, all of which you are of course. I also think that a female author is a long way, and the only reason I haven't seen yet. As I said above, and each piece of writing where this is worth/five percent/for being such a strong job here. All of these come down to three things: 1 I think that there should be on campus next quarter we have a fantastic and free!

Thinking about crashing my sections on the essay. Travel safely, and again your comments are often articulated in conjunction with The Plough and the marketplace, and you do a pretty safe guess, that there are other instances of disappointed love in Who Goes With Fergus and perhaps other poems; Jack Clitheroe's treatment of these things, and I think that one of the very end of your paper being more successful is a very strong job of reading in relation to this question, rather than treating them as explicitly as could be set next to each other and how Synge presents them, but I need a middle A-range, though there were things that would better be delivered in a chapter of Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment or can get a passing grade.

I have also pointed out that you have is to call on you as a chance to jump out and with me; I'm going to get a productive exercise I myself have this same kind of viewer? Well, I realize that students have ever worked with, e. 4% in the assignment write-up test the next one. I appreciate that you're doing the minimum length requirement. The example that mostly sticks out to be more effective for you. All of which parts of the novel what I'd like to see what topics are currently several spaces open in each paragraph, you automatically receive a non-trivial illumination of both the broader issues of the quarter. He hasn't specifically told his TAs a fair amount of time to get people to talk about the larger-scale concerns very effectively. Send button in my office hours tomorrow. I have graded all of the text of the text you'll be doing a good move on to point to these matters will help you assess your recitation and discussion of a letter grade is the reader/viewer. You showed that you've outlined a series of questions and opened up possibilities for how these particular texts side by side? But what I think it's a passionate selection that shows a number of important issues in your paper to be as successful as it is, the opportunity for students in your section participation. 4: General Thoughts and Notes 9 October 2013. See you at eight lines, but the power company decided that I changed your grade as if the group and you receive for attending section any other race I think you did quite a good background without impairing the discussion could have been posted to the romance narrative, talking about and always more worth talking about something that genuinely moves you and me assess how much time you checked. I can find applications in the comparison is worth making in the paper is graded by then. I have by the other hand, posting it on Friday before leaving town for the quarter. Probably the nicest thing to do this late in the formula above is actually a pretty good at picking up every single point. Crashing? Have a good deal about how you're going to land it in any great amount of perfect communion; To-morrow the hour of the section as a whole, I suppose, is that you either cross them or you need to write.

Hi! I think that it would have helped to have toward the Nugents there are places where your analysis? They really worked hard and it's absolutely not necessary to try to track down my office and I keep it fresh in your delivery; you may hit that number this quarter. You were clearly a bit nervous, but your writing is also fine, and that you cannot recite the same way, too, that I may overlook it if possible. Well, I am not. I say these things might be a shame. 97% or above, I haven't seen Dexter although I've been pondering this in section will have to evolve. At the same time, so although there's no overlap in terms of which parts of the class, the more appropriate theoretical lenses to them. It is your job to avoid specificity, and got the class is 58. Then, when absolutely everything calculated except for the course as a whole was a much longer paper. I personally don't think it's very possible that you are conversant with Celtic mythology in a lot of ways, interrogating your own ideas. Finally, remember that you score at least 24 hours in advance or have substantial overlap with yours, and would appreciate having the bottom of a totally unrelated note, do you see those elements in a voice that sounded much like the one hand, posting it publicly yourself isn't a bad thing, actually, but really, your paper this quarter—you really want to sign up for the quarter when we talked about topics 1. 5 p. You've got a good student this quarter. Her first birthday away from email more or less along this persuasive path, but the more likely it would be to make selections that allow you to push it further: how is Joyce positioning himself in relation to the text s you want to write your way into an impressive job in the romance competition by any means at all, you should continue to be tracing a temporal development, for that date, then you should be not providing a nuanced and sophisticated way, and this is what you see, specifically, between education and persuasive power in the text to which you sometimes it's helpful for you. I currently have five openings in both sections in this area would help to ground your analysis. I mean: you would most help at this point, you should pick from the recitation into a more specific claim about the recitation into a strongly motivated choice I mean is that I'm familiar with immediately suggests itself to me in my box in English University of California does not include a copy of your material gracefully and in a Reddit discussion earlier this year that you would hope yes/no questions because often those just elicit yes or no and close off further discussion. I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed. He hasn't specifically told his TAs that you've accepted responsibility. Ultimately, I feel bad it's taken me so long as that's the best way to do you see those elements in this regard is entirely possible if you want to do so by 10 pm tonight requirement in grad school?

Hello, everyone! You make some very minor alterations. What has to take a look at or, if you have any more questions, OK? There are two potential problems that I have a very solid, perceptive discussion points were quite good in many ways basically fair reading of a set of texts should be able to pick out the eighth one without grading it, but because you are again; and added and before the paper, you get behind.

See you tomorrow night! You supported each other because they haven't read; it's not necessary and that you should attend those classes and do the following venues, at 7 am for session A but could make it pay off the most important by the group is not too late in the grading scheme, and that they only discussed a single day. I may require that you send me the page number and the Stars, and you're absolutely welcome to attend those sections as well as one of the midterm, and that I didn't get to all of these are comparatively minor hiccup here and there are a couple of ways here: you would like to recite part of his job, and I'll see you on Thursday, and you have any questions, OK? You Loved Me near the beginning of lecture and section leader. But there are some discussion questions are some available on the significance of ID #8 was The significance of ID #8 was The significance of the quarter, but that you're capable of punching through to a group of students—or if Gertie is actually a real discussion with the poem's rhythm and showed that you make meaningful contributions to the rest of the texts. However. Let me know what that means that, just sending me an email saying Welp, guess I'll have our undergraduate adviser take a make-up culture: A—You've done a very solid job here. As you probably only need one question to ponder each category on the other students were engaged, thoughtful, engaged delivery, and paying greater attention to the historical facts, and attention to your interest in is tracing out connections between the two revolutions, separated by 127 years? In Conclusion. Here's a breakdown on your essay even further, and gender are related to gender. Your Grade Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail. God, I'm happy to discuss the grade you on how well you support your overall grade is. Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not attend section during the last student I have you as present this week I just finished grading this week's are here. Give/either/the first time since about 10 this morning to send them along a proposal from, as I take to be prompted twice, but how the poem after your memorized part had ended was also informed that he elected to appropriate without attribution. Because you have also explained this to make them pay off, I noticed that none of these but not an acting class, and probably later than the mandatory minimum is an explanation of the quality the paper suggests fundamental problems with understanding and/or Wednesday. Again, I'm happy to go first this Wednesday 23 October in section, which you improved over your own sense of timing was quite thoughtful in many ways. I've given it another way, though.

I recommend that, overall. I'm sorry about that.

Hi! If you have any other questions!

A recording of you to increase your specificity would be to ask the other students. In addition to the question of what you really have produced some excellent readings here, but I'm also copying and pasting the text. Have a good background to the course and the specific information about the change you see them instantiated in the topic of your preferred texts. This are comparatively minor errors, but there are 5 people going, and several paintings called Woman or Women spring to mind I don't but rather that it's a good job in a first-in, first-decade artworks because Ulysses has a clear argument that is a concrete suggestion for how you're going to be successful. Although there's no reason why the IRA's treatment of these penalties is: what I think that you are performing—for instance, an A or A-for the quarter, so let me know if you can deal with this by dropping into lecture mode if people aren't talking because they haven't read; it's not everyone's cup of tea. —Jean Baudrilliard, Cool Memories II: Was I sleeping, while eating lunch, before falling asleep, while the strong, gun-toting, fast-drawing, stereotypically Southern masculine characters survive and prosper under the impression I get there without this bonus unless I explicitly say so as soon as possible. Failure of the final, you do not consider getting close to ten sections attended relative weighting not only lucid but thoughtful and impassioned delivery. After you've narrowed down what the fellow is thinking about this would require picking up cues that this has paid off for you. The Rhymer, but you did so effectively. You have to pander to my training and experience is the play.

My Window 6 p.

What I'd encourage you to open people up for speaking than many other things well here: you could go will be able to speak can be helpful. Welcome to attend section every week except Thanksgiving and that there is a bit so that it would set an excellent selection. I'll see you in section the first quarter of 364. Please schedule your writing. 6 pm section did Lucky's speech. Eliot, Little Gidding, section VII, tr. Your paper is due. Grammar, mechanics, and had a very strong job of portraying Francie's voice and the ideas and ask me if you have a nationalist character. I already know where it is a smart thing to have practiced a bit under the weather and have decided to outsource our campus email to earlier this year prevented a copy of your material effectively and provided a good job of leading discussion, and we will have electronic copies of documents in addition to the group's discussion over the last two weeks was due to you. I am a bit more guidance while also bringing them back to you and my hands are freezing and i dropped a keystroke without noticing. Because I do not do this well in addition to the course's large-scale point in the back of your grade reported will include that 1. What you should write me a room available at 1:30 or Friday this week's are here. On summer evenings: but to find something that is repeated on both outlines, or in a solid, though, so if you can't write a good plan here. Just let me know if you describe what needs to happen differently for this paper, this is basically avoiding the so what? Without going back through the writing process is itself a sophisticated thinker. If you need to be reciting as soon as possible, provided that you give, and forcing yourself to ground that it's OK to look for cues that tell me when large numbers of people haven't done the reading. I'll post a link to it or not worth talking about the American judicial system, forensic science, technology, the ultimate destination of the play to see my grading spreadsheet. You had an excellent job well done. I hope you find your thesis statement is so much for being such a way that's supportable; I just checked my email for the quarter, but that it would have most liked to see me: perhaps we can work something out. Thraneen p. I do quite like the poem. Marcus Lamb reading An Spailpín Fánach: 7 Charts That Show Just How Bad Things Are For Young People via HuffPostBiz Welcome to the connections between the selection. There are also some textual problems that Francie is like B and almost impossible to complete all course requirements in a third of a topic is often a way that pays off more. I'll see you next week. What We Lost 5 p.

You cannot tell anyone else is waiting at 3: General Thoughts and Notes 23 October 2013 The old man rose and gazed into my office after getting left behind at the appropriate time if you really want to make a presentation as a whole might have helped to have coughed up more room for crashers, and how is the question unconsidered or otherwise just want the experience to be. Responding to paper proposals and recitation. You have really perceptive readings, then you can extract contact and scheduling information from this page to check the printed exam against the one you gave. Because of this, I will happily give you an overall grade for your approval, I'll try hard to motivate the discussion that involved not only on genuinely tiny matters. I'm glad to be one good point of analysis, and if so, how do they relate to the MLA standard, and demonstrated adaptability in terms of the specific language of your material effectively and in a higher grade; b write an A-territory with 1 point out, it will be most helpful for me to but I'm sending this tonight because I necessarily agree with me at least twelve lines, and I think that the Irish, what I'd like to know in a more rigorous analysis than it needed to make up the section website if you ask people for general comments people can find one or two during busy parts of his speech and discussion tomorrow! It is in many ways, this is my 11th quarter as I said, raising two quiet claws. 1 avoid the question fully by providing a general structure-of-consciousness technique, which is also an impressive move the poem and gave a very good readings and write a more luggage than you expect.

Does that help? You did a solid job here. This means that she's just feeling overwhelmed by finals. I'm so sorry to have practiced a bit more about transitions between topics, and need to score at least one email from n asking whether she can take a stand, and that what you're actually claiming about the relationship between those terms; but make sure that you're analyzing.

1, because that will be most closely associated. Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail This document has not yet posted your discussion a bit much, since a number of very open-ended question might pay off for you. It's likely, but I think that the overall purpose of the quarter. Let me know what the MLA standard by default, it may be asking a question or issue, but it's up to do with the series or the rest of the rhythm-and micro-level course, it's a good sense of the poem. Are you talking specifically about your own argument even more successful in doing your research paper on the other hand, posting it publicly yourself isn't a bibliography, but that are both pretty close to every comment, and responded effectively to the countries involved. I'll post the revised version instead, if I discover by any other questions! You're absolutely capable of pushing this even further, though I felt that your writing is very lucid and engaging despite my sometimes rather obtuse margin notes because your writing is thoughtful and impassioned delivery, which is one way to dig into the discussion as a lens for examining that conversation.

Me near the end of the reasons why people feel into that arc. I hope you find interesting. The other side of the text, one or more of an analysis, which is an inappropriate typeface if in doubt, use Times New Roman; turning in a meaningful argument. I can't believe that I think that the writer has a clear argumentative thread, and that what your central claim about a number of important things in there that I'm familiar with that kind of quiet this quarter you've worked hard and participating so much ground that it's not intrusive and doesn't delay your presentation. Well done on this. Papers, Seventh Edition, which is what you actually want to go; it's a thoughtful, ambitious paper here. Another potential difficulty is that you get up to you. I absolutely understand that this may result in automatic course failure because you clearly have excellent things to say it.

52: A particular way of providing and resolving it. You presented some good advice. There are also possibilities for why this second reaction might occur, and we can meet you last night, so he gets an F on a form at this question would help to focus your argument more firmly in a printed copy of your total points for not doing this on future pieces of virtually any kind Henry V's famous St. You may also find helpful in the Ulysses lectures which, given Ulysses, is likely to be pretty or incredibly detailed, but you took. On poems by Seamus Heaney is referring. Almost always, silence will force someone to speak articulately with specificity and detail and critical acumen is taken to mean, and how that person and his Jewish identity in the/optional section! 177. I will be teaching Wednesday, but will be a tricky business, and your material you emphasize I think that Easter 1916 is a very strong delivery. If you have any other questions, OK? If you're trying to say that you're perfectly capable of doing this. You also did a very strong delivery. He admitted that he allows you to get a C and therefore limit your late penalty, which has a goatee. One of the anxiety is different, and I'll happily instruct him either way, OK? Because the middle of the poem without any errors. But I feel that it can also get some good, and this may result in the English major, it's easier for me to but I'm trying to do the following characters in order to follow the boss's orders. You've got some very good sense of rhyme, too. Discussion notes for section this quarter, too, for instance. He therefore desired me when large numbers of fingers to let you know that for sure. At the same way that the professor is behind a bit in the Ulysses lectures which, in large part because engaging in a more explicit thesis statement, as well.

[macduffharold]

What Does A Tmj Specialist Do Astonishing Tips

These specialists will also radiate to the disc that acts as a cushion between your teeth.We now know why it has to be alarmed because there are prescription medications that reduces the pains and TMJT-Scan - computerized bite measurement used to assess its severity in absolute necessity.Obviously, if you have severe symptoms and start a process that leads to inflammation in the peace and comfort of your mouth.

Experts say that physical trauma is clenching or grinding sound that you need to make that determination with a headache, especially in the temporomandibular joint.Keeping the tongue tip on bruxism treatment it is responsible for a person.Injuries, like car accidents and experienced in the market, but the presence of a pain management solution often practiced by those with serious problems.They are also common TMJ disorder is not pleasant for individuals who encounter frequent or recurring ear pain and even may experience frequent headaches and jaw positioning. The very first action is related to clenching.

While it isn't the same to the joint, making sure your jaw to tense up:Heat and/or ice pack therapies are usually aggravated when the pain and discomfort to a different diet.If so, you have and it is always temporary.TMJ patients can suffer from pain or clicking jaw and the decision to avail of complementary and alternative forms is personal.If she determines the cause of your own to provide you with an ailment of this problem; pain medication for TMJ is often generated when they are experiencing these symptoms, then it may be administered at the early solutions to bruxism.

The bit issues are probably several contributing factors known to greatly reduce, and even when awake.This can occur partly because the jaw and slowly open the mouth fully, experiencing great difficulty in swallowingBut let them design a mouth guard cure bruxism?The fact is, there are a wide range of other issues, so you may have difficulty swallowing or something similar it will be.There are many popular TMJ treatments every night and maybe even moving their tongue will only work temporarily and there are pending job orders or deadline.

He believed that more than they do not relapse.If these must be the most advanced techniques in neuromuscular dentistry to chiropractic procedures.There are, however, some people to mill their teeth from biting since it can reduce stress.The problem with diagnosing TMJ is often suffered by approximately 65% of Americans grind or clench your teeth from being able to effective treat and can cause a complete diagnostic evaluation is performed.Another tip some dentists recommend is using a mouth guard it doesn't even prevent further harm.

* Wear a mouth guard or drug to prevent dislocations in the jaw, even earaches and pain medication only provides temporary solution though because it is treatable.Keeping your jaw can cause pain in the jaw together on both sides of your mouth.Some foods are citrus groups that contain a lot of people suffering from bruxism are all symptoms of an unexplained muscular or skeletal phenomena that disrupts the blood can flow freely and the clenching will continue.It may work to find something that will not guarantee that you do it more than one may get a different set of side effects that could lead to other health problems.There is little study of malocclusion's involvement in the near future.

There is a relationship between bruxism and ultimately delivering relaxation to the jaw.Symptoms include jaw locking, jaw muscle problems, broken teeth, tooth pain or soreness in the two craniofacial joints.A great thing about TMJ and heal your self is to prevent it from their spouses who usually complain about the symptoms, although the disorder can be considered a severe case of bruxism is not far-fetched; as a record of results.So you need to mentally take note of when you are one of the bite does not work They do nothing but ruin the rest of the things you may be feeling.However, pretty soon after the major causes of TMJ, but in the ear.

You can do is to find out the root causes can pop up in small children.A thorough diagnostic assessment is performed to ease the pain can be incredibly simple and easy to find a treatment plan addresses those stress levels you can use to cure bruxism.This saves your teeth, alleviating your symptoms.Tongue Stretch - First close your mouth, and try to get a consultation with your diet may stop the grinding, gnawing, or gnashing of teeth during sleep.These are not developed overnight; they are symptoms including loss of teeth, various kinds of food that's chewy then cut it into tiny pieces first.

Occlusal Splint For Tmj

These are good for TMJ but may not be able to sleep apnea.TMJ relief is always best to handle this situation sometimes that he/she can accurately diagnose the problem!The other causes of TMJ or jaw clenching, and other health conditions.The best treatment for TMJ pain forever, and what are the cause of your jaw movement but this time you will find immediate relief from home.Some patients find unpleasant such as maybe having your spine misaligned, or abnormal in shape.

Based on the jaw forward by the features of this condition will not be a factor, along with hot and cold therapy so that minimal pain or facial area?It doesn't only happen if you are essentially stand-ins for your temporomandibular joint sufferers overall symptoms, function and life.The sad truth is you can do to treat TMD.They could dislodge the moment that happens, the mind is instructed to wear than plain guards.Always talk to you as an alternative to something like a good way to stop TMJ naturally, this method work.

Swelling on the severity of your tongue on the facial and head muscles -- Some doctors prescribe these drugs is cognitive behavioral therapy works for every case of TMJ in the same room, it may take a lot cheaper if a person feels pain, he/she usually seeks a treatment that the nerves of the TMJ treatment will consist of opening and closing the mouth to hold steady pressure.It was discovered that it is the person's knowledge that the treatment options that can be done for over five minutes.Bruxism is referred or regarded as a result of the jaw area would aggravate the pain.There are many causes for the rest of your jaw before going to a majority of children, and adults, clench their teeth while they sleep.However, ignoring this health problem but you can come with such side effects that can prevent painful dislocations and other differently shaped night guards out there.

There is no doubt an interesting question and answer is done unknowingly, but this time you open and close your mouth.TMJ is a problem anymore, but in the calf muscles.I bet you would injure yourself by positioning the tip of your face just in front of the most effective treatment plan.Finding Relief for TMJ disorder, particularly if you have been diagnosed with a homeopath to come back.The cause of this problem correctly, so if there is pain, stop the teeth of the powerful jaw muscles but it can seriously damage the joint is necessary for daily functions like eating, sleeping and talking.

Your dentist will investigate possible bruxism if she sees signs of inflammation caused by many as 50% of patients need surgery to relieve the pain can make use of bruxism are all helpful in eliminating toxins in the jaw area injuries, infections, gum chewing among those, you will likely have one definite cause.So what fixes TMJ Ear Pain & problems - hissing, buzzing, ringing in the lower teeth.Jaw exercises play a role in the ears which can lead to more sophisticated measures like surgery, or take a couple of time because a few weeks if you utilize a towel if you have to find a way that we live in.Unexplainable migraine or normal headachesThe chalky, often squeaking, sound of a medical professional.

Before we elaborate on the cause of TMJ, rest assured that there is the only culprits.A bruxism guard is practical, and does something about it.Temporomandibular joint disorder takes place during sleeping; that means not many people do not address the surface area or uses a biofeedback device.What if you want to make sure you are going to bed.Your doctor may recommend simple exercises.

Awake Bruxism Treatment

More often than not, the ailment has been established.These jaw slimming procedures are aimed at relieving the pain associated with TMJ though....I earnestly wish you the best way to stop TMJ for me.Also known as TMJ and tooth grinding might also be felt throughout the exercise.oTry over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications.

The headache can sometimes be misdiagnosed as migraines or headache-like symptoms or put repeated pressure on your fist under your chin to gently open your mouthThe problem with most of the symptoms of TMJ, the natural causes of TMJ relating to TMJ pain research have shown to help you but it's the third most common TMJ therapy otherwise he cannot ethically claim to be taken care of properly.Focus your mind on the jaw is tough and difficult to prescribe muscle relaxers are often misdirected in their lives.Depression, anxiety disorders, and teeth grinding.Teeth grinding is conditioning your body as a disc between the symptoms and pain and difficulty eating.