#I feel like Tom would really treasure the person hes in love with | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

guardian5tiger3 · 4 months

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Tarot pick a group ....

Anything that comes up.

1. 2. 3.

One

You guys are what people call lovers of life. A lot of you are really into some form or forms of art. A lot of you are really wise, open minded , really psychedelic type of individuals know it or not. You have a fresh way of looking at things a lot of the time and other people may feel that way about you all. You're definitely something a lot of people and really what the world needs . It's like you would be something missing and things would be incomplete without your uniqueness. :)

Oddly I got something about fried food maybe some of you work in a restaurant but really I'm getting the energy that you should treat yourself like you love yourself and fuel yourself with love when it comes to anything you take in and just generally the energy you put yourself in and feel. I'm picking up a really light nice energy. So I'm getting a quote from Alan Watts . Oddly I can't find the quote I'm thinking of .. but I saw one that said " waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be. "

I seriously can't find the quote some of you should look into Alan Watts and what he talks about. Generally, though, I'm getting you're searching for something maybe consciously or unconsciously and the universe wants to motivate you to continue to do that and I'm feeling a lot of refreshing energy, so if you open yourself up and allow any energy the universe is trying to gift you that. I heard "a peace of mind" and felt in my third eye really calm. And I see a bird with its wings open now. So there's some information or knowledge or wisdom or something and you will find it just stay on the path that you're on and focus on any good vibes around and within you. Spring time also is looking good for you guys a few of you might be moving also seeing about someone adopting a dog if you thought about that this is saying you should or maybe you already know you're gonna idk. For most of you though look forward to spring I see seeds you planted growing metaphorically which is totally with the season, and good surprises and just really good happy fun light energy. Especially!!! If the winter was kind of rough. Even if you just didn't have fun with the weather if you live where it snows. Or any personal struggles with that being a metaphor for that, I saw a heavy snowstorm, so , yeah. :)

Two

I've been getting a lot of weather symbolism so far and I saw like a rain storm for you all. I also got two cards about conflict, in general. So if you can relate to any tense , irritating energy, anything negative going on this is for you . Even just negative vibes especially with other people or for some living situations even for someone something to do with a kid in your life so it really depends and of course is gonna be specific for everyone what it might be. Seems like you've been trying to stay stable and "hold your own" best you can while also trying to go with the flow in terms of regulating your emotions according to the situation at hand. I just got three nines in a row, 999. That can tell you this is all coming to an end around this time or soon ok. Really picking up queen energy too ..? This is kind of strange but I'm picking up on the energy of treasure like you'll have a surprise or gift or something good from the universe like a present cause of this stuff and just y'all being good people thru this stuff and everything as best you can and being very stable for the circumstances or in general, but I initially got it worded and presented like, treasure. Like pirates or something which is funny cuz I just got a pirate sword tattoo haha. I'm also channeling old cartoons for some reason, like Tom and Jerry specifically, the old ones, like when you were a kid chilling Sunday morning watching the cartoons with your bowl of cereal or whatever. That's a vibe a lot of people share having to be able to experience. I rocked with wacky races and Scooby Doo lol. Among others ..Maybe something you're manifesting now goes all the way back to your childhood, somehow that's a hint. I'm also getting candy and heard sweettooth y'all better be careful with all that or find alternatives so to not damage your teeth ok. And if any of you are eating cuz you're bored ok straight up I heavily got play video games lol. I can relate to that. Also going for walks. Some of you need to drink cold water and make sure you're focusing on hygiene in any way. And for anyone feeling like life is bleak or boring or whatever or unexcited I would say stick to a routine and keep yourself busy for now, things always change no matter what that's a rule of life, and something might come to you one day that's a good idea for something to do, a new adventure, hobby, maybe you volunteer somewhere cool or anything really, it seems like you'll just have an idea eventually.

Three

39, 41,14,13 ,15 all might be significant. Maybe something about math and how math works.....? Wtf... Ok....y'all might talk about the matrix or get references to that. Also a lot about nature especially.... During the day. Also about camping. And ....parks? Depends on who you are. Andddd 16. Right I don't know if this all adds up to something or what I've never been super great at math so... Or maybe something is straight up building up to something ...? Lol. Lot of riddle like energy in this. I got humpty Dumpty . Y'all WTF is this . ? This is so specific and doesn't make a lot of sense to me but what I just channeled was like a group of people or at least two chilling like campfire vibes and sharing something to smoke and just hanging out kinda..... Idk if you want a time like that you can manifest it or some of you already have vibed like that idk. Cuz I saw multiple instances around a campfire and not but mainly at night or in the afternoon ,also sitting on steps outside. I guess you guys in your lives right now it's a lot about synchronicities and ... Going with the flow...? I keep picking up on Dora. The explorer. Anyway y'all seem like ok if your lives are all stories at the end of the day and you're in the middle of your journey but it's like a dope journey ,like embrace whatever adventures you're on and all the obstacles you face cause you have a destiny at the end of it. And by end I don't mean the end end I mean once you meet the ending of this your life will go on, after the happy ending (didn't mean to say happy ending but I added happy. :) . ).... Are you guys just confused in life cause I couldn't tell you what any of this means but hey if it resonates than I guess this is your confirmation youre on the right path.

I'm really picking up that the amount of fun you have at this point in your life at any given moment is mostly up to you. I think there's some points in time in the past and future that are destined to be certain vibes. Like looking at the stars or you have a altercation with someone or whatever you know but , I heard "in the meantime" like, for most of the time you can kind of decide to have fun, make things fun, you're free to do whatever you want. Some of you need to hear and absorb that. You are free. So make the most of that. Whatever you feel in any given moment.

Also , in the meantime is a song by spacehog, me being me I'd say listen to the whole album it has a few of my favorite songs on there personally, but yeah that's a great song so I do personally recommend it , too. Also I heard space song, space, traveler. Maybe I'm picking up on song names and don't know. I know space song is obviously a song but idk about traveler or space so idk. If you know a song like with those words it's significant. For some reason I wanna say, have a good day, lol. I hope this makes sense if it was meant for you. :) . Y'all definitely get a happy ending. So worry less and enjoy the moment it couldn't be more clear to me if you resonate with any of this, you definitely get a happy ending and it'll all be more than ok. Just roll with it. ;) 💗

#pac reading #pick a card reading #pick a pile #pick a card #pick a picture #tarot reading #pac #tarot pac #pac tarot

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bbygirl-aemond · 1 year

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aegon's hypersexuality and unacknowledged victimhood

rape cw for this entire post, including rape of a minor

hello all i'm thinking of tom glynn-carney's aegon ii and wanted to put down some thoughts about his promiscuity. as a side note, i refuse to fuck with rapists and so in stormbreak i lean more towards the book rather than the show when it comes to the rape and the child fighting pits (as in, those things have not happened). but i wanted to comment on a few things: his known penchant for sleeping around, his trip to the brothel with 13-year-old aemond, and his relationship with helaena.

these things probably also provide context for how he became what he is in the show, but i don't want this post to be used to excuse his rape of dyanna at all because nothing can excuse rape. let's discuss further:

if you re-watch hotd, take note of how many times aegon is touched, and the nature of that touch. he is kicked and berated by otto. alicent grips his face tightly and slaps him while shouting him. aemond tackles him to the floor and wrestles him into submission. criston holds his shoulder, yes, but to keep him from running away. alicent kisses his forehead, yes, but as part of a ceremony. the only time aegon receives a loving touch from anyone is when alicent grabs his arm to push him behind her at rhaenys's threat.

this is a boy who is so completely touch-starved he doesn't even know what he's missing even as he hungers for it.

from a psychological standpoint, it's very common for people deprived of affection to seek its closest approximation: the bodily contact required by sex. they can hide behind the defense of simply wanting pleasure, all while secretly treasuring the feeling of someone touching them. not to bruise, not to punish, not to restrain, just for pleasure. if they close their eyes, they can pretend it's for love, too.

i wouldn't be surprised if aegon had his first sexual experience when he was far too young. we see that he likes to slip away from the castle--and is somehow usually successful, despite all the scrutiny upon him due to his position. it's not a far reach to assume that an unhappy, unloved, touch-starved baby aegon might have wandered into a flea bottom brothel and discovered that touch didn't have to hurt. having this very warped relationship with sex while he was too young to understand what he was doing and how it was hurting him influences his entire adult personality.

this would also help to provide context for the completely whack decision to bring aemond to a brothel. at this point, aemond has lost his eye, and i've discussed before here that the injury represented a major turning point in their relationship. aegon has no demonstrated desire to belittle or mock or hurt aemond at any point after the eye incident. i don't think he did this malevolently. i think it was aegon, trying to think of what could help aemond to feel less ugly, less unlovable, turning to the only thing he knew of that could come even close to feeling like love and desire. it wasn't, of course, and he knew that, but it was the only balm he had to soothe his own hurt and it was the only one he knew to offer aemond.

i also really don't see enough discussion of how aegon is a victim of rape within his marriage to helaena. obviously helaena isn't given a choice in marrying aegon and having children with him, but neither is aegon. and we see aegon explicitly express that he doesn't want this, which we haven't actually seen from helaena.

there's a reason helaena says aegon only ever touches her when he's drunk. he cannot bring himself to endure rape when he is sober. there's a reason he ignores his children. they are the product of his own rape, by his own hand.

he feels that he has been forced into the position of perpetrator of assault against helaena, his baby sister. he is the rapist and yet he is also the victim and how is he meant to reconcile the two? how is he meant to look helaena in the eye when the sight of her makes his skin crawl with the memory of having to walk willingly to his own assault? of being forced to be the active party, unable to even lay there and dissociate the way alicent always did with viserys?

and not once does anyone acknowledge what has happened to him. even alicent, who should empathize with him the most, has no sympathy for him in this regard. why would she? she's the one who did this to him.

tldr aegon's relationship to sex is and always has been defined by his victimhood. he fell into dangerous patterns of abuse as a child that no one saved him from, and even as an adult is forced to carry out his own rape like i cannot emphasize enough how fucked up that part is. i don't think he's ever had an experience with sex that didn't make him feel like shit when it was over, if not during. and yet he keeps doing it, keeps hurting himself, because it's the closest thing he thinks he'll ever get--the closest thing he thinks he'll ever deserve--to love.

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cubeberries · 1 month

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Hiya!

You mentioned you don't read Tomarry in another post. Because I'm super curious (but no pressure or judgment over here), may I ask why not? Why do you read Harrymort only? Why makes you prefer Harrymort so much that you'd ignore Tomarry altogether?

Also, what makes a fic Tomarry vs Harrymort for you? Because I can think of a lot of fics that I consider Harrymort where they switch the name from Voldemort to Tom and even switch his appearance sometimes. (Like anything Maeglin_Yedi writes or Of Your Making by purplewitch156)

I personally love both with all their various tropes, I read both, and I write both. However, in my case, my energy and focus is devoted to my long Tomarry time travel fic rather than my much shorter Harrymort arranged marriage fic.

This is all just genuine curiosity from me with no judgment attached. I wonder what keeps you away from Tomarry, yet what draws you to Harrymort. I find it fascinating. So curious! Haha! xD Anyhoo, if you answer, thanks for humoring me and I send you good vibes so that you may have a lovely day. <3

hiiiii ahh thank you for this ask!! it's so nice that you're actually curious about this. ❤ this may be a bit rambly, so bear with me, yeah?

one of the reasons why i don't read tomarry is because personally, i think that they are just not compatible. no matter what. tom riddle is an ambitious young man with a horrifically cruel streak. he is not afraid to take advantage and manipulate the people around him. he treasures loyalty above almost anything else, and likes when those around him fear him. harry has.. none of those.

i know that the point of enemies to lovers is to somehow make this compatible and to somehow make them fall in love with each other, but i can't see tom being attracted to... any of harry's character enough to get together with him. why would he do that when there are people willing to listen to him already? it's illogical in my opinion. and i know the whole dynamic is 'oh, harry's defiant towards me, what a brave, intriguing guy, i need to see what he's up to.' but the truth of the matter is, i think tom would just plainly dislike that. i know people think tom would like a challenge, and i agree, he does, but i just don't think that would expand towards trying to win people's feelings. he wouldn't care.

the context of tomarry is usually always time travelling and i stand by the fact that i think tom wouldn't think too much of harry. probably because if harry tried anything, tom would easily get harry expelled/killed. he would win easily. back in the 1940's harry wouldn't have enough plot armour to survive through everything. if tom can frame hagrid, he can frame harry, too, and dumbledore might be the only who cares enough to try and override an expulsion but obviously, dippet wouldn't have it. and then if harry's expelled, (which he most likely will be) tom wouldn't spare him a second thought. and i know that in canon, tom does, in fact, spare harry a second thought, but i think that's because he's already voldemort and he's paranoid. if he's young, and he comes across the prophecy, he would just kill harry, it's really not that deep, i promise you. if tom spared a second thought to plan a murder, 100% he would succeed and dumbledore can't say anything because he stayed silent when myrtle died too. it's not drarry where they're trying to hurt each other. this is tomarry where tom will kill harry if need be, and succeed because suddenly harry has no plot armour. it's not the same.

tom riddle isn't as incompetant as voldemort.

ALSO, just wanted to add that in COS, that is not the real tom riddle. that is a corrupted horcrux. obviously, it's going to sound deranged and obsessive after having been stuck in a diary for 50 years. i don't like it when tom is portrayed overly obsessive because people mistake him for the diary horcrux. i do think he was obsessive to a degree, but only towards something that benefits him, not people.

i just don't think harry is special enough to stand out to tom riddle. harry's duelling skills are mediocre, his studies are mediocre and his looks are average. i know in many tomarry fics, harry tries to get tom's attention and succeeds, but i don't think that's realistic because many other people are also always trying to get tom's attention 😭.

and i know many tomarry fics use the fact that harry seems to be the only one who dislikes tom and because of that, he takes notice of harry, but i strongly disagree with that. tom is assumed to be muggleborn/half-blood. back in 1940's, blood supremacy ran rampant. of course there will be purebloods who will never like tom! (prpbably walburga and orion) and tom knows this. he's not going to pay attention to every single person who dislikes him, he's not abraxas malfoy.

the only way i can see harry getting tom's attention is through speaking pareseltongue. and then, after tom hears him speak parseltongue, he spirals. he desperately searches through every single geneology book and when he realises that harry isn't related to him, tom would kill him, because he's supposed to be the heir of slytherin, no one else, and now he is paranoid, because if not his relative, then who is harry? 🙁 so harry is fed to the basilisk. no fawkes and sword of gryffindor to save him now, since he's in slytherin, right?

i genuinely don't think tom would be interested in harry romantically. not when he already has a simpering crowd which worships him. as much as you want to say tom would think them beneath him, that is literally not true, he valued the lestranges for their loyalty. he gifted his notebook to the malfoys for safekeeping. he trusted bella enough to place a piece of his soul in her vault. he obviously appreciated them. what he doesn't appreciate, is being disrespected by someone he sees as wayyyy below his league.

but this is not to say that i have never given a tomarry fic a chance. i have read about 6 to 7 long fics and i figured that i did not like the dynamic at all. obviously the authors can write whatever makes them happy, this is not a them problem at all, this is a me problem. so i just stopped reading tomarry all together.

also, i feel like people characterize tom riddle softer than he actually is, and this makes tom and harry's dynamic more... levelled and i don't like that. even if tom riddle hasn't turned in voldemort yet, i need them to have some kind of imbalance with the scales tipped on tom's side. overall, the usual tomarry is kind of a nothingburger ship to me and it just ends up being murderous drarry.

the point of the hp series is that voldemort is the main, whimsical, mysterious main villian and i don't like that tomarry obliterates this dynamic.

also, i'm not a huge fan of timetravel because the ages mashing up is something i dislike. like, if harry travels back in time, then usually only ron and hermione come with him. it's fun, but i like it when everything is in its canonical place, you know?

you probably know my stance on same age aus at this point 😆.

now, moving onto why i like harrymort muchh more. as you could probably already tell, i love the doomed, dead-dovey aspect of this ship. the psychological horror aspect is really good, too. i adore the age difference and the grave power imbalance. i love that for this ship to happen, harry's morals have to be completely obliterated. i loooove post-war era, i love the potential for forced proximity. everything is just soooo good. the prophecy? epic. the power imbalance? count me in. with harrymort, there is usually a rigid structure i like, like there is no way harry can overpower voldemort in any way whatsoever. (personally, i don't think harry can overpower even tom riddle.) (i know most people don't like this, so now i avoid harrymort fics as well 😭) but yeah.

i really really dislike it when harry calls voldemort 'tom.' if voldemort hates it when even mighty dumbledore who knows almost everything about him calls him tom, how can he like it when someone who 'killed' him, and someone who is practically a stranger calls him that? no way. just.. no. if harry wants to get together with him, he better respect that.

as for voldemort's appearance, i like it when he looks like an older tom riddle. (snake-face is a joke to me 😭😭) it's more poignant when voldemort looks like tom riddle, there are more themes to explore through that, instead of evil = ugly. good = handsome. snake-faced voldemort is horrendously shallow to me.

oh, and i love love love the trope where after the war, harry becomes terribly depressed and he dreams about tom/voldemort, like, ohhh i love that trope so much. there are just so many interesting things to explore in harrymort that tomarry just doesn't have room for. in other words, tomarry is lowkey tame.

what makes a fic tomarry is when voldemort is younger, he's still inexperienced. (borgin's and burkes era, hogwarts era, wool's era) and harrymort is during the first war/second war/time during his travels era.

i hope my answer makes sense, i know you're writing a tomarry timetravel fic and i hope that i have not offended you 😭😭 i'm sure whatever you churn out will be absolutely amazing. people can and are allowed to have different interpretation of tomarry from me, and i completely respect that. people can and should write whatever they enjoy :)) i hope you enjoy writing your fic, i really admire how dedicated you are to writing!!

but yeah, i think i'll stop here before i descend into incoherent rambling yeah?

thank you for this ask!! ❤❤

#if you look through my anon.ask tag i have people who asked almost the same things you can read through them if you'd like 💖💖#asks #isalisewrites #❤❤❤

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angelofthepage · 2 years

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BATDR Speculation: Who is Bendy?

So the internet is currently freaking out over little Baby Benders (rightfully so, he’s ADORABLE), and we all have a lot of questions about him. Is he as cute and innocent as he seems? Is he going to betray us? Is he the lighter half of an ink demon split into pieces? Does he have a soul? If so, is it someone we know? I have a lot of thoughts on this, and none of them are concrete, but today I want to talk about one of my favorite musings so far: How Joey and Henry might be involved in this. I wanna talk about The Illusion of Living.

https://twitter.com/LaurenSynger/status/1587778374038069249?s=20&t=b-DLbISPVNI584xRm5ALAg

Warning: if you haven’t read the Illusion of Living by Adrienne Kress, HIGHLY recommend it, as there are spoilers ahead. This book is delightful, and it’s not what I expected. When I picked it up, I thought we were getting a narrative about Joey’s life, and we did to an extent. But the real treasure of this book is that it’s a character study of Joey Drew. It gives us so much to think about in terms of who he is as a person. Because he’s Joey, you’d expect him to bend the truth (pun absolutely intended), and there are moments where it feels like some details aren’t entirely true. But there are some scenes that are written in such a way that feel all too earnest, and one of them is the scene in Joey’s apartment: the birth of Bendy.

The way Joey tells it, he’s the one who had the concept for Bendy, then his friend Abby Lambert attempted to draw it, but nothing was looking right. Abby brought Henry on board to help without consulting Joey first. Then they all sat on the floor of Joey’s apartment while Henry sketched out what would become the signature Bendy design (with critiques from Joey along the way). It’s made out to be this magical moment, and it’s believable. What reason would Joey have to lie about this? He may have a lot of feelings about Henry, mostly negative from what we’ve seen in DCTL, but he gave Henry credit here. He didn’t downplay Henry’s importance in all of this, which surprised me, and I like that a lot.

Joey comes off as being so deeply in love with his creation that it doesn’t matter who did what, the fact remains that Bendy is still his in the ways that count the most. He was made with love, dreams, and wonder at his core, Joey’s ideas and writing, Henry’s artistic execution. He belongs to both of them. I get the sense that a lot of people are going to jump into debating whether this little Bendy is somehow made using Henry’s soul or Joey’s. But I’d like to propose this: what if he’s made with both? His creation isn’t credited to a single person, but two, and who better to give Bendy a soul than both of his creators, two halves of a whole?

It gives another layer to why Joey would send Henry into the studio in the first place. Like why Henry? Henry’s just a guy who supposedly worked with Joey as an animator and business partner for one year before vanishing forever, why send him in? Is he a last resort where others failed (maybe Tom was sent in first and couldn’t fix things), or is it because he’s so integral to Bendy’s creation? Surely he has something grand to offer in that regard, by Joey’s logic. Send Henry in, sure, if anyone can stop this twisted version of Bendy, it’s his creator, right? No, this story isn’t one that you can solve by making Henry the protagonist, it’s one that needs both of them. It’s a story that needs Joey to acknowledge a lot of things in order for it to change. That could be why it’s a loop, the story can’t end without Joey playing his part, but he’s too busy blaming everyone else for the trouble he’s caused, not taking responsibility for his actions.

One of the theories I’ve seen that I really love from the first game came from @dreamfisher-nux which I’ll link here: https://www.tumblr.com/dreamfisher-nux/184575733862/that-child-at-the-end-might-not-have-been-human?source=share The idea that the child we hear say “tell me another one Uncle Joey” might not be human based on the milk carton texture’s inky handprints gives me a lot to think on. I have to wonder if that child might have been his last attempt to make Bendy. Yes, I know, five fingers is too many, but that’s exactly why I say “attempt,” not success. I mean he has the studio full of his previous employees, souls he’s claimed he owns, and now Henry is in there too. Is it possible this was all a plan to get Henry’s soul to make into his creation? I’ll admit, while I was around for the emergence of the “Henry is a perfect Bendy” theory, I’m not 100% sold on it for canon (though I do love it in fandom works), but an imperfect Bendy, or something close to Allison or Twisted Alice in nature? That I would buy. Henry alone may not be enough to give Joey what he wants. So what if, before the end of his lifetime, Joey gave himself up? Bendy is in part his creation, a part of him, just as Alice is a part of Susie, there is something they give to that character that no one else has. And much like Susie, Joey would do anything for the character he loves. He went to great lengths to try and see it through, sacrificed so much (much of which was never his to sacrifice).

When I first heard Joey’s tape about cheating death itself, I assumed his goal was immortality for the longest time. But TIOL has me thinking that that’s only half the story. You’re never dead if your legacy is still alive, and Bendy is Joey’s legacy. Making Bendy real and innovating beyond what any artist or engineer has done before is at the core of what he wants, to make dreams into reality. And if he’s gone, but Bendy is here and real and perfect? I think, that’s a sacrifice Joey would be willing to make, his dream would be achieved and that’s what matters. Throw on the machine machine one more time, take the child, his child, that was so close and take one more chance, add his piece to the puzzle, his soul to the mix. Become part of your creation. It’s an act of love, “but love requires sacrifice.”

Joey is believed to be dead in 1972, and this is where Arch Gate comes in. They have control of the Bendy brand, they own the rights and assets to it. Nathan was someone that was believed to be Joey’s friend, even though he’s done things a friend wouldn’t do. What does Nathan Arch know of Joey’s marvelous machine, of his dreams? While I don’t know if I buy Nathan as a benevolent character given what he’s said in the books, I do believe he would carry out some of Joey’s final wishes, though maybe not exactly the way Joey would want him to. And handing Bendy over to him, his most precious creation, to be taken care of? Well, that would be an interesting thing, wouldn’t it? You don’t leave your child in the hands of just anyone. It’s as Tom says in TLO, you don’t give up on a miracle.

Or course, take this all with a grain of salt. I think this would be an intriguing story to follow, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I expect it to be canon. Canon or not though, it’s an interesting thought, isn’t it?

#Bendy and the dark revival #batdr #batdr trailer #batdr trailer spoilers #bendy #batim #bendy and the ink machine #bendy theory #joey drew #henry stein #baby benders #tiol #the illustion of living

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tuttle-did-it · 6 months

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Doctor Who The Star Beast initial thoughts (spoilers)

what are they all reaching for? Can someone explain this to me?

I need to chew on this episode a little more because I don't know how I feel about some of it.

I haven't properly watched Doctor Who since Catherine Tate left. I've seen a bit of things in between, but frankly hated most of what I saw. The only reason I'm watching now is because I LOVE Catherine Tate and David Tennant together. They're my favourite pair, and I couldn't not watch if they were finally going to resolve the horrific ending for Catherine Tate.

The good:

Catherine Tate and David Tennant still have electrifying chemistry. Catherine Tate was an absolute delight, as she always was on this show.

Yasmin Finney, as in Heartstoppers, is adorable and charming and fun to watch.

Shaun was a good character, and I liked the Noble-Temple family (except her mum, still hate her mum)

I loved the trans acceptance and I LOVVVED how much Rose's parents treasured and truly loved her. I LOVE ally-Donna, and I wish every queer child out there had parents who were that amazing.

The conversations regarding queerness- it's okay for cis-hets to be uncomfortable and awkward with how to deal with us, it's good for them to talk about it and learn, as long as they still show us respect. It was fine to show that this was new to the cis-hets and they loved Rose so much, they were learning to adapt. That's nice, and it's okay to show that this is hard for cis-hets at first, sometimes.

The conversations regarding pronouns treated as a normal consideration.

Related to this, in this anti-queer era, where trans children can now be taken away from their parents (in America), and the anti-queer/anti-trans attitudes all over (especially US and Britain), I admire that RTD was like 'I'm going to have a beautiful Black trans girl on Doctor Who and I'm going to give her loving and supportive parents, and fuck you if you disagree.' He knew this would get him a lot of backlash, and still did it anyway. And I appreciate and admire that.

The new Tardis interior is a nice kiss to previous iterations whilst a nice spin on things

Donna's horrific ending with Ten was one of the things I have always disliked about NuWho. I HATED what they did to her. It would have been better to kill her than mind-rape her, I hated that ending. It was so cruel. Although I didn't like the way they did it, I'm so happy that's finally resolved and she can go back to being the absolutely brilliant character she became at the end of her run.

The reference to the Tom Baker era with the barrister's wig in Tennant's jacket. It was silly but fun.

Rose's cute little stuffed toys were fun, but the moment I saw the one that looked like an Adipose, I knew the energy had been passed down to her and that would be enough for Donna to survive. Not so much sign-posting as it was sign-blockading- just announcing the entire plot immediately.

The character of Rose, even if I don't like her name, was still an interesting, intelligent, creative and thoughtful young Black trans woman, and that is always a delight to see. After 60 years, there is finally a queer Black person in the Who universe and I really love that. Regardless of whether I think this is a good episode or not, RTD intentionally and knowingly bringing a Black trans woman into the world was really, really lovely.

I also loved seeing a Black father who was loving, supportive and kind- Black fathers are very often shown in entertainment to be harsh, abusive, distant, etc to their families, so I like that we got to see a great Black father who clearly loved his kid and his wife.

The bad:

The annoying monologue beginning- show, don't tell. That was just silly to watch. Especially with just HOW dramatic they were trying to make it.

The Marvel-looking opening, I'm cool with the big budget, but it did feel disconcerting and took away some of the charm of the shoe-string budget DW.

Why, WHY does every story with a trans youth have to show bullying? No, let's talk about this. Because it feels like every story that does include a trans/non-binary/queer character, there is inevitably the scenes that show us suffering and being mistreated. What if, just once, there was a trans youth who was happy, and all their friends were cool with it, and they weren't mistreated because they were different? What if we didn't have monsters tormenting a queer child? We are more than our suffering. And we are story-worthy despite the many scenes of torment. It's almost 2024. Let's try to have at least one queer character in something that is not mistreated because of their identity. Just for fun, let's try it.

The deadnaming of Rose. That added nothing, it was unnecessary, her name is Rose, and no one needed to acknowledge any name that she was previously known by. Please, writers out there: if you're going to have a non-binary or trans character who has found their new identity, understand that we do NOT need to know what their previous name is. Especially if it is going to be used to hurt that character through abuse.

The plot was very, very basic. I know it's a children's show, I know it's trying to reset some things, I know it's going to be very 1-2-3 but does it have to be SO 1-2-3? Couldn't we throw in a spin? 1-1.75-2.35-3? Just a little less basic? I knew everything that was going to happen within just the few minutes.

RTD has an obsession with linking everything back to everything. I never really cared for Billy Piper's Rose, and never really cared for the obsession Ten in particular had for Rose. So I don't see the need for the name, it just feels unnecessary and an attempt to link things back to previous people and events. It's not necessary. We can love Donna's daughter without her being called Rose. I know that's RTD's thing, but I don't really love it.

Donna's mum. She's exhausting. I know that's the point, but I just don't really care for her. The story would have moved faster and been more enjoyable without her, for me.

The pacing of the entire episode was a mess. Everything was drawn out and over-explained until the third act, which was put into hyperspeed with nonsense explanations.

The weird creation of bullet-proof shields from the sonic screwdriver? I know it's a trope that is just used to get out of every scenario, but it just felt a bit silly. I preferred when the sonic screwdriver is used for practical things like 'resonating concrete,' but not absurd things like creating a shield. If he can create bullet-proof shields with that sonic screwdriver, then there's never any danger for him if he has enemies near- just draw a shield. It's stupid, and immediately takes away all drama and energy.

The Doctor just randomly telling this UNIT stranger all of his woes and secrets and thoughts and worries- again, show, don't tell. None of this needs to be said. And it certainly doesn't need to be said in a hyper-dramatised way. To a random stranger he doesn't know. Even someone like me, who hasn't seen the show in many, many years, will catch up without the monologues.

Because the pacing was a mess, the third act was a mess-- they had to fly through the whole 'Donna will die' stuff, and the 'but she and Rose still have the energy inside them and need to get rid of it' and that was definitely a weak part of the story.

Just 'let it go.' What? 'It's a shame you're not a woman anymore, 'cos she would have understood.' What? What does this even mean? This whole resolution made absolutely no sense.

I'm struggling to understand why the meta-crisis energy was never activated in Rose previously? Why she didn't get a letter home from school when she was glowing? Why when the kids were tormenting her on a playground she didn't accidentally nuke them all with all that power? Why did Donna have to be activated before it activated Rose? That didn't make any sense. Again, not integral, but just another little annoyance.

Rose's cute little stuffed toys were fun, but the moment I saw the one that looked like an Adipose, I knew the energy had been passed down to Rose and that would be enough for Donna to survive.

Also, how did Donna know that he'd regenerated back into Tennant? He never tells her. He also doesn't tell her he was a woman before. Arguably, it could be the energy telling her, but that energy hasn't come in contact with him for 15 years so why would it read him and his past and instantly tell Donna everything? And if that had been the case, Rose should have known who The Doctor was when she met him. Again, not crucial, just another annoyance that wasn't cleared up.

the second we see the cup of coffee, we all know exactly what's going to happen. Couldn't they have thought of a better way to keep Donna in the Tardis?

Donna finally gets to re-evolve, and the first thing you have her do, the first thing? Is to destroy his new console. Seriously?

Tennant's energy was a bit off. Not sure why, yet- I felt he was playing it just a little too much. It felt performative. The first moment it didn't feel that way was when he and Donna were in the Tardis for the first time.

RIP Bernard Cribbins. 🥺 You would have made this episode much better.

Things I'm chewing on

I appreciate that RTD tried to show a beautiful, strong, intelligent Black trans woman with a supportive and loving Black father (Black fathers are very often shown as abusive or absent, so that's really lovely, thanks RTD). So I'm thinking a lot about that, how Rose was represented both on her own and with her family, etc. That's beautiful, and lovely. And all too rare.

I might be struggling with how Rose's gender identity was part of the plot. Particularly, Rose's comment, 'I'm finally me.' I'm trying to work out what that meant. If she wasn't aware that the meta-crisis energy was in her, what, exactly, was stopping her from being her? She was already recognised by her friends and her family as Rose, as 'she.' So... what was that energy doing to her inside to make her say that? Is that why she was feeling lonely and different? Because that's not really made clear.

It also felt a bit like they were saying that Rose was nonbinary and trans because of the meta-crisis energy that had been passed down from Donna. That the energy had changed her somehow, and made her different. So, are they saying she was only trans and non-binary because of the energy inside her? If that's the case, are they inadvertently saying that Rose is not actually trans, and that now that the energy is gone, she knows her true identity? Are they saying trans and non-binary isn't something she was born with? That it's something that can be done to someone, without their knowledge or consent? And that she suffered unnecessarily because this energy made her believe she's trans and non-binary? Would she have been trans and non-binary had the energy never been passed down to her? I'm not really clear on what their message here with all of that was. I think it was poorly written, and thus not very clear. I need time to think on it to try to understand what they were trying to say with all of this.

I am looking forward to Ncuti Gatwa joining-- having two queer Black actors in the tardis would be really lovely (if Rose ends up on the Tardis), and I hope they do that just to piss off the cis-het anti-'woke' crowd.

That said, I wonder if it was fair to Gatwa to bring arguably the most popular NuWho Doctor back just before him. The racist 'fans' are already complaining because you dared to have a transgender and non-binary Black woman on the show. They're probably not too happy about having a queer Black actor stepping into the Tardis, either. By bringing the fan-favourite Tennant back for the 60th anniversary and then taking him away again, I wonder if those 'anti-woke' fans might rally even more against Gatwa, complaining that 'we could have had Tennant again.' Obviously those idiots will find anything to complain about, so fuck them. I hope that people embrace Gatwa with open arms. I haven't enjoyed DW for a very long time, but I'm certainly willing to give him a shot, as I do like him. I'm looking forward to seeing at least the first few episodes with him before deciding whether to continue with it or not.

#doctor who #doctor who 60th anniversary #david tennant #catherine tate #yasmin finney #ncuti gatwa #the star beast #trans and nonbinary characters in entertainment #transgender women #rtd #russell t davies #rip bernard cribbins #donna noble #doctor donna #tenth doctor #lovely family dynamic and supportive parents for a Black trans nonbinary woman and that's really lovely #RTD is going to piss off the anti-woke neanderthals and I love him for this even if I don't really like the episode very much #please stop deadnaming trans characters #please stop focussing on trauma and pain for queer characters #we are more than our suffering and honestly we deserve better #pronouns #normalise pronouns #thinking about the doctor who special and not sure how i feel about it #wow disney gave them a lot of money #doctordonna #long post #doctor who spoilers #catherine tate and david tennant have such wonderful chemistry and I really do enjoy watching them together #transgender #trans characters

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destinyc1020 · 1 year

Note

Anon, Tom & Z didn't "come out" as a couple, they were outed! So since July 2 2021 they have been navigating how to date as a public couple. Tom has told us repeatedly that he really treasures being able to have private moments with his loved ones when he's not working. But they are also not depriving themselves of enjoying public spaces like the Louvre, Petra in Jordan, and going to theatres. But when they have those outings, they are using bodyguards so that the experiences do not become too overwhelming. They are learning what works best FOR THEM.

So true! 👏🏾

They were basically OUTED. Come to think of it... I'm actually thinking that maybe they may have never come out of the "dating closet" had it not been for July 2nd lol. 🤔

I don't think they would have been on the level of Tomdaya 1.0 secrecy lol, but I do wonder if they would have ever kind of shown PDA in public, or been as "relaxed" as they are now if they had not been outed that day.

I just feel like they would have just been spotted out together in public (like in 1.0), but wouldn't have really told the fans anything lol. I actually think it's way LESS stressful now that "the cat's out of the bag". Hiding can offer you a measure of privacy, but at the same time, it's always something that's weighing on you, and you have to act a certain way in public with the person you love, etc. To me it just feels STRESSFUL after a certain period of time. As much as they get so much attention now, I actually feel like them being outed was for the best. :(

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disneyphantomlover · 2 years

Text

SPOILER-IFIC Reaction to "Bendy and the Dark Revival"

My voice is shot. I am sick, and I didn't record myself reacting to this. I did write my reactions down though. And now you're about to get 'm. Apologies for the cursing.

Oh hey, Joey's apartment! ... It looks like shit.

Ohohohoh! This takes place June 18, 1973! (I appreciate not waiting that long but man it would've been cool released on this date.)

Aw, Audrey's cute.

The FUCK is that poster?? ... I want one.

Huh. Hi Nathan. You are not what I expected.

FUCKIN'... YOU. Again.

....So no violin then? -smash-

And he bailed... You're showing up again, aren't you? (He did not.)

.....I don't like this.

The fuck is this door?

Wait, we know him??

OHHHH I hate you. I hate you a lot.

MMmmmm I don't trust like that.

Oh it the bastard!

I recognize this and am concerned.

-scowl- ... You fucking kidding?

OMG, it's their version of Nine Old Men.

Oh shit! I mean I expected it but Shit.

Drowning by Ink seems painful. (-looks at AU fics-)

Wait, I fell out of the pipe?

"Welcome Home", huh?

So... Alan Grey is CEO of GENT. Good to know.

Awwww an Alice Angel music box!

Okay, C to Crou-WHAT??

TORE HIS BODY IN-??

Wait, was I in the pipe those 200+ days?

Oh I don't trust this.

Cheap. ...But I still jumped.

Well, well, well....

Oh good, he's dead.

So pretty... And familiar....

OH FUCK THAT.

Oh! Allison! Hey!

TOM! 8D

Oh I look cool.

OH NO NOT SHAWN. (I did not find his tape but the message spooked me.)

451

Oh neat! Scary!

... How was that your first idea? Just... punch the RE8 tube??

I knew it was coming, I FUCKING KNEW IT.

.... ,'B( Really, Joey?

AGAIN with you!

Please don't resurrect Joey.

Oh I hate it when you fuckers talk.

HAH. Found theMeatly in the potatoes.

I swear this game scares me at random.

I do love the memes.

OMG it squeaks!

....The fuck was that?

Ooooooooo I can banish! ... Why does my image look creepy?

OH FCUK. The last game's saves are out of order! Henry no!

Oh man, I love these dioramas. They're so cheesy, but I like them.

I TAKE IT BACK. I'M SORRY, CARL!

THE BABY.

NOOOOO

I HURT THE BABY

....The fuck?

OH FUCK YOU TALK?!

NOOOOOOPE

FUCKING NOPE

UH UH

THAT'S A DEMON

WHY AM I FOlloWInG IT?!

That "Originality" Note... Either that's leading to something or someone is being REAL tongue-in-cheek here.

I got lost. Shit.

Not gonna lie, these puzzles are neat!

Say hello to who? the Fourth?

Ghost girl??

FUCK! HEY lady your-FUCK! ... Is she even there an-OF COURSE NOT.

The heck was that speedy shit??

OF. COURSE.

Porter you are a treasure.

-snerk-

Bobby? Adorable.

This is BS and I love it.

Okay, I pull out of the ink pits.... Coolcoolcoool...

HI FUCK OFF

Yes, I know the irony in dying multiple times in the rest area. (Seriously I died no less than 20 times.)

I do NOT like the sound of this demonic BBQ!

Oh ComeON I'm trying to get out!

HEAD CRABS. Or spiders I gues--OPP they're deadly!

YOU.... FUCKING DIE.

BABY!

Baby noooo come back....

FUCKING

JOEY?!

>B(

I don't want to believe you. But it makes sense.

Wait, are you actually regretful? The fuck?

Oh hey, your noteboard!

YOU. WILL NOT. MAKE ME FEEL BAD. ABOUT JOEY. FUCKING. DREW.

"I'm not the man, I'm just the memory." ....Shit man, that's beautiful.

Baby come back!

Jack!

WHY do you have mohawks??

Well that was short-lived.

Oh the city-BABY!!

He's FREN

These names are the best. Everything's derailed but "Little Heck".

"The Beef is People!" ... Not the weirdest I've seen down here.

Not gonna lie, I was expecting Alice in the butcher shop.

FUCK. Joey yo-What??

Audrey, who's your dad??

Joey you shit.

You're not wrong.

Oh heck.

Wait

OMG Allison!

....Huh?

Wait

WAIT.

HOLD ON.

SHE's WHAT??

A proper Creation??

Joey's DAUGHTER?!

.....I'M. BETRAYED. Baby was that FUCK??

Nani the fuck?

Wilson made The Keepers?

YOU HAVE TOO MANY PIPES.

See what you did was give him multiple personalities. WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THE DEMON multiple personalities??

Oh shit, Norman?

SAMMY! Such a sad song but he looks so cool here.

Wait... NOOOOOOOOOO WAAAAY.

HENRY MY MAN! You look so good!!!

Dude you're leaking.

....Fair.

Wait, what? Your father?

Interesting....

Those are familiar.

Oh shit, it's Betty! =D

OH hell, it's long, gimme a moment.

ALICE PLZ.

Bitch, come ON. It didn't work the last time you tried this!

This looks like a Wonderland's Tea Party and you know it.

Fucking FREAK.

The Tommy gun threw me off. I KNEW it would be here and it threw me off!

I'LL BANI-oh shit!

Again?!

Allison, you are seriously too nice.

GOLLY,

CAN I get an AMEN?!

GHOST! PLEASE MOVE I'M HIDING FROM THE DEMON! FUSALIUD (Context: My screen went black-and-white and said "Hide from the demon", so I was running to a hiding spot. The ghost girl popped up just as I was hiding and gave me a heart attack.)

Looks like OmegaMart in here and I love it.

....Your OC is ridiculous looking.

Oh DAMMit dude!

Oh of course you're Nathan's son.

Oh. OH. Oh. That was... A special blend of fucked up. (Anyone who gets to Chapter 5, seriously, this is fucked up.)

Aw man, Nathan seems so chill.

I know this won't end well, but whatev-

WOAH!!!

OH THAT'S SO COOL!

FUCK I'M STUCK.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

FINALLY.

OH FUCK

YOOOOOOOOOOOO LET'S GO!

CAN'T DETHRONE THE INK DEMON, FUCKER!!

Whooo... Okay, time to run. Let's g-I GOT NO LEGS. I HAVE NO LEGS.

....Yo, you talking about me, or you?

D'8 NO!

Fuck! Joey... You going to do a good?

YOU WILL NOT MAKE ME CRY.

DAMMIT (This game did the impossible. It gave Joey a fucking heart and made me feel for him.)

....Huh. This is.... You know what? It's weird, but that last fight was a nightmare, I'll take this.

Cmon, you did him dirty! (I am torn between amused and angry.)

HENRY MY MAIN MAN.

....Oh? ....OH!

Baby!

#batdr #batdr spoilers #just my string of consciousness reacting to this #lots of cursing #and spoilers

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rosiecroz · 11 months

Note

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

whoever sent this, you are so kind! i haven't written in over half a year so this was a nice trip down memory lane <3

in order of posting (most recent to earliest):

a kiss this tender (bernardo/riff, west side story 2021, E rating)

Pins prickle behind Riff’s eyes. His body is not his own. He feels like he’s been doused in gasoline, and Bernardo is holding the match.

i'm sure most people will think this pair is Taboo(TM) considering canon events but this was the last fic i wrote in which i felt really good about my character voices. i'm particularly proud of the way i wrote riff's internal narration during the scene in the shop.

coffee break (keeley jones/roy kent/jamie tartt, ted lasso, T rating)

“What’s this?” Keeley asks. Roy wrinkles his nose when he makes out that familiar, tidy handwriting. “Says right there it’s from that prick, doesn’t it?”

if i don't achieve anything else in life, i can at least say i pioneered the keeley/roy/jamie tag on ao3. this fic is now in super AU land because i wrote it between seasons 1 and 2, but i'm astounded by how many kudos/etc i still get on it even though the series is potentially over. it's warmed my heart to see this ot3 gain its fans :)

rekindle (j. daniel atlas/dylan rhodes, now you see me, T rating)

Rhodes is an unknown variable in his system of chaos. Daniel wants to draw out that fire, extinguish it, then relight the dying embers with the sparks from his own torch.

a super niche pair in a super niche fandom but that's how i roll! i love these silly magician movies and i LOVE daniel and dylan's relationship. people who know me will know that i love writing fics that span canon events and incorporate them into developing (or established) relationships. this is one of those -- and i still love how i weaved mythology and the concept of heroism into this. one of my all-time personal favorites.

you're in my head, you're in my blood (joseph blake/lt. leslie, 1917, E rating)

Joe shuts his eyes. He already knew this was a ridiculous notion, but now that he’s trying and failing to explain it out loud, the absurdity of the ordeal has been cemented in his mind. What’s more, he didn’t even consider if Leslie was single or taken, had automatically assumed that it would be the former. He’ll apologise, hang up, show up by himself to the party, it’s not a big deal— “Okay,” Leslie says. “Okay,” Joe echoes. He blinks. “Okay…?” “You need arm candy to parade around at this party, right? So, okay.”

speaking of niche pairs in niche fandoms... it doesn't get any more niche than joe and leslie, aka the namesake of my url. 1917 is the fandom i fell in love with during the height of the pandemic. without it, i wouldn't have written so much, nor met so many treasured life-long friends. also, this is just one of many joe/leslie fics i've written but it gets a special shoutout because i was deranged and churned it out in one week (betsy can attest).

the long way around (steve harrington/billy hargrove, stranger things, T rating)

Steve turns around. He can’t believe his eyes. “Billy?” It’s weird calling him that, considering they’d never spoken more than a few words (and exchanged a lot of fists), but Steve is so taken aback that he blurts out the name without a second thought. Sure enough, it’s Billy standing there, still sporting the same blond curls, but they’re tied back and a bit longer than before. He still has those damn aviators. At least he knows how to button up a shirt now. “You’re a long way from Hawkins,” Billy says.

i was gonna link a will/tom 1917 fic for my last entry, but ultimately decided on this old harringrove fic. i haven't read it in a while so idk how well it holds up, but harringrove is the pair that made me start writing fic seriously. i had written just one fic previously (and it was many, many years ago), but then season 3 of stranger things happened and the rest is history. this is not the first harringrove fic i wrote but it is my favorite. steve and billy go on a road trip together ten years after the starcourt mall incident (obvious au timeline here) and i still remember constructing a google map for this fic to keep track of the places they stop at. this fic will always have a special place in my heart.

thanks to anon for letting me ramble a bit about my old fics!

#writing tag #myfic

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im-a-gaymess · 3 years

Text

How do I tell him?

Young!Tom Riddle x Male Reader.

7th Year.

Angsty Fluff? Contains suggestive/smut scenes.

Slight mention of violence (Just Tom wanting to punch the stupid out of people).

Summary: You and Tom are in love with each other, always were, though you only realize it after ending a pretty toxic relationship.

Word Count: 1786

A/N: I thought of this while listening to Strawberries & Cigarettes thought I'd share

[1:42 AM]

"Look, I'm not saying that I want their attention 24/7, it's just that, well, they don't ever try to make time for me. Even when I need them, they're never here. But I'm expected to be there for them at all times. I'm just so tired of it. I don't know what to do anymore." You sighed, lowering your head as your eyes wander around the ground.

You've lost sense of time, place even. Only once you stopped to take a breath did you note how late it became. As you raised your head you saw how dark it really was there. The clouds over the stars making their light nearly non existent, and the moon half hidden behind some trees.

And as your eyes travel all over the quiet, dark yet beautiful sky, Tom's attention is strictly fixed on you.

If only you knew how much that man felt at the moment. Really, he was almost overwhelmed with the amount of different emotions.

For one, how badly he wanted to punch your partner for how deeply they hurt you. He knew, from your previous vents, that there was so much more than them just having no time that bothered you. He wanted to make them cry out apologies with regret guilt for how they made you feel.

But also, he couldn't help but feel the need to hold you, keep you close to him, tell you how everything's going to be alright. How all he wants to do is protect you from all of the world's evil, to keep you from anything that could cause you harm.

Without you even noticing, Tom gently put his hand over yours, rubbing circles with his thumb on your hand. How can someone be so,, so endearing,, so loveable and be treated this way? How could someone ever look at him and want to use him? he thought, not brave enough to bring himself to tell you what he truly thinks of you.

"You know you deserve better, right, my love?" he asked, and you, all too familiar with the pet name reply with a little smile. "Would you be surprised if I said yes?" you chuckled, turning to face him, the sight of the boy in front of you making your smile grow a little bigger, causing the other to look at you with loving eyes.

"I still love them, though, I don't even know why, but I do. I still hope they're going to change, even when I know they won't" you continued, a short, awkward laugh leaving your lips.

"Believe me, sweetheart, I know exactly how that feels." he smiled at you, gently stroking your face with his free hand as the two of you continued to talk about everything, and anything, enjoying the company you gave each other.

[Following day, 4:27 PM]

Who knew that drawing in the library's restricted section would be so relaxing? Sketching animals, book covers, objects and even some random fellow housemates. It wasn't so bad, right?

But let's be honest, you were only using it as a means of distraction, trying to get yourself to forget about the fact that you're going to break up with your s/o. You don't even know how Tom managed to convince you.

Of course, it's for the best, you know that. Doesn't change the fact that you feel so damn guilty about it. I mean, why do you even? It's not like they value you, it's not like they won't have other people lined up to take their bullshit right the moment you decide to leave.

Okay, that's it. You're doing it, you're definitely doing it. You mumbled to yourself. After, of course, another art session in your little distraction place.

[5:54 PM]

What's the worst that can happen if I confess? I mean, it's not like the world would end, not like the world would explode and I'd be buried underneath layers of rock and lava.

You had him feeling something he's never even imagined he'd feel; he was nervous. His forehead full of sweat, causing his hair to stick on to him. What are you putting him through?

Friendship...That's all I am to him. I'm just a friend to [Y/N]. He only sees me as a friend. Nothing more than that. Maybe I shouldn't. I probably shouldn't.

[6:11 PM]

To his surprise, Tom heard a knock on his door. He most definitely wasn't in the mood to see, yet even talk to anyone.

"Tommy? My love, are you in there?" You questioned quite loudly, making sure to be heard from across the wall.

That petname, you have no idea what it made him want to do. Did he want to have you underneath him, touch every little bit of your body? Did he want to show you that you're his? Hear you whine and beg for him to kiss you; and so, so much more than you could imagine.

It's not the time to get lost in such sinister thoughts, Tom, he mumbled to himself, finally walking over the room to let you in.

"Hello, darli―" before he could finish, you rushed into his arms. Wrapping your hands around your friend's waist as your head rested under his own. "I missed you all day, dummie" you spoke quietly, finally happy to spend time with him.

He was quite surprised to say the least, you weren't the type to enjoy going for any type of physical affection of any type, unless it was under certain circumstances. Especially the hug being so long.

He wasn't complaining, he adored it, but he couldn't help but worry. Was something wrong? Were you hurt?

"Love, as much as I enjoy moments like this, is there anything you need to tell me? Should I kick anyone's arse?" he raised his brow, looking down at you.

You shook your head, never letting go of the taller man, a smile appearing on your face. How cute he is when he's worried, you thought.

That's pretty much how the rest of the day night went. The two of you in each other's embrace, spending it in utter silence, just glad to be in your own little world together.

You told him, before going back to your dorm, about how you finally broke up with that douchebag, and was your man proud.

The couple next days, weeks even, went by quickly. You and Tom would hang by the library after classes to complete and give help with what the other might have been stuck on.

Tom walks towards you, so dangerously close, you can practically feel his lips on yours. A hand's glued on the wall next to you, right above your head. Your body pressed against a door, his knee right in between your legs, brushing against your crotch. His other hand pulling you closer by your waist, soon planting kisses all over your jaw and neck. You can't help but melt into his touch, his lips- you just want more, more of him.

You gasp, practically jumping up your bed. It was only a dream, wasn't it you thought, sighed in slight disappointment. You wouldn't like to admit it to yourself, but you've been thinking about Tom in a certain way lately.

That only made things worse for you. Because according to you, he would never see you that way. Because the way you saw it, Tom only ever thought of you as a friend.

And so thought he. He was just as disappointed every time he'd dream of the two of you being intimate, romantically, sexually, it didn't matter. He was just as devastated when he woke up. Always went back to sleep hoping those wonderful dreams would go on.

Both of you had a few dreams like those. Some were a whole lot sweeter. Dates together, just the two of you softly making out with the sound of classical music in the background. All of this causing the two of you a bittersweet feeling, thinking that all of this was just hopeless dreams, impossible to come true.

════════════════════

Starry night, you and him, the lake, the full moon shining bright. There's nothing that could ruin this delightful night. It feels like a dream, so much that you even question the reality of what's going on.

"Is this...real?" you ask Tom, not taking your eyes off the sky you so dearly loved. He raised a brow at you, looking at you in a clearly confused expression.

"If it wasn't, we'd be doing more than just stargazing, love" he chuckled, really hoping you'd take it as a joke.

"What would we be doing then, darling?" you question once again, mocking the way he calls you petnames while at it, a visibly evil smile painted on your face.

Tom takes his bottom lip in between his teeth, turning to face his pretty boy. "Do you really want to know, [Y/N]?"

The usage of your name kind of, just a little bit, frightened you. Not in a necessarily bad way, more like in a 'I have no idea what to expect next' way.

"What would you do if I kissed you?" he smirked at you, feeling oddly confident, though your silence and shocked face slowly faded. He was about to mutter apologies 'till you let out a mumble. "I'd like that" you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

"What was that, my prince? Would you kindly repeat that for me?" he told you with a straight face, making you wonder if he truly didn't hear you. If only you knew the amount of pride he felt at that moment, barely four words and his mind wandering to so, so many things he knew the both of you would like.

The shade of your cheeks changed a bit, was it from embarrassment? Or from the idea that he may actually like you back. Either way, you did repeat what you had told him, blushing even harder as there was an ever-growing smile on your face.

Soon enough, Tom sat up, leaned against a tree nearby. Motioning on his lap, he asked you to sit there, and happily you did.

You've never seen him smile like that. He looked at you like you're the only person in the world. His hands firmly on your cheeks, slowly pulling you in.

Your arms instinctively went around his neck, tilting your head to the side in order to deepen the kiss.

Once you pulled away to take a breath, his hands rested on your lower waist, his eyes staring at you lovingly as they always did.

"You know I'm no good with words." you looked at him exactly the way he was looking at you; you were truly each other's everything. "I know, my prince" his hand wandered around his loverboy's hair, soon pulling him in yet another kiss.

He knew he loved you, and now he was sure you loved him too. Only thing is, he wasn't sure how to ask you to take over the world with him, but for now, he was happy with what you had, and so were you.

#i loved the process of writing this #I feel like Tom would really treasure the person hes in love with #harry potter x gender neutral reader #harry potter x male reader #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle #tom riddle x gendernatural reader #tom marvolo riddle #writing #scenarios #tom riddle headcanon #harry potter #hogwarts #harry potter fanfiction

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the-king-andthe-lionheart · 2 years

Text

Day 24 - Compassion and Kindness

One of the most ignored aspects of Arya’s personality is her compassion and kindness, which is honestly very baffling considering one of her major themes is mercy, which literally means “compassion and forgiveness”. I won’t deny that GRRM explores many aspects when it comes to mercy, including the role of someone easing a dying person's suffering, however that doesn’t erase the fact that Arya is COMPASSIONATE and KIND. She’s not the type to flatter or pretend to be kind and compassionate, compared to other characters who use courtesy to chirp meaningless pleasantries, but that just goes to show how authentic Arya’s compassion and empathy really are.

A lot of people like to pretend that Arya is a sociopath/psychopath, but there are many instances in the books that disprove this. The very fact that Arya feels empathy, guilt, and shame tells us she isn’t any one of those things. The fact that Arya feels guilt and shame about what she’s had to do to survive and to protect others is proof of it. The fact that Arya has literal nightmares about these things tells us this. Arya is an incredibly compassionate, kind, and empathetic individual. In fact she’s one of the most empathetic and compassionate characters in the books. I understand that after the Trident incident and after AGOT Arya has had to be more careful about looking vulnerable, about being vulnerable, and had to put up a guarded wall. I understand she’s been traumatized, but the fact is that Arya was and will never be a monster and people could easily find instances of this in the books, yet their own misogyny and character biases get in their way. Arya is an authentic person and her compassion is authentic and effortless. She also can make friends with anyone and everyone authentically. She may have to fib about her name most of the time and backstory, but other than that her personality is always Arya, even when she takes on another face and takes on a couple new traits by doing so. And she’s able to make authentic friends so easily because she is kind and compassionate among other reasons.

Arya had loved nothing better than to sit at her father's table and listen to them talk. She had loved listening to the men on the benches too; to freeriders tough as leather, courtly knights and bold young squires, grizzled old men-at-arms. She used to throw snowballs at them and help them steal pies from the kitchen. Their wives gave her scones and she invented names for their babies and played monsters-and-maidens and hide-the-treasure and come-into-my-castle with their children. Fat Tom used to call her "Arya Underfoot," because he said that was where she always was. (Arya II AGOT)

Sansa knew all about the sorts of people Arya liked to talk to: squires and grooms and serving girls, old men and naked children, rough-spoken freeriders of uncertain birth. Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher's boy, thirteen and wild, he slept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block. Just the sight of him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer his company to hers. (Sansa I AGOT)

Cat had made friends along the wharves; porters and mummers, ropemakers and sailmenders, taverners, brewers and bakers and beggars and whores. They bought clams and cockles from her, told her true tales of Braavos and lies about their lives, and laughed at the way she talked when she tried to speak Braavosi. She never let that trouble her. Instead, she showed them all the fig, and told them they were camel cunts, which made them roar with laughter. Gyloro Dothare taught her filthy songs, and his brother Gyleno told her the best places to catch eels. The mummers off the Ship showed her how a hero stands, and taught her speeches from The Song of the Rhoyne, The Conqueror's Two Wives, and The Merchant's Lusty Lady. Quill, the sad-eyed little man who made up all the bawdy farces for the Ship, offered to teach her how a woman kisses, but Tagganaro smacked him with a codfish and put an end to that. Cossomo the Conjurer instructed her in sleight of hand. He could swallow mice and pull them from her ears. "It's magic," he'd say. "It's not," Cat said. "The mouse was up your sleeve the whole time. I could see it moving." (Cat of the Canals AFFC)

So having said that, I’m going to quote the canon material that backs up this argument. Unfortunately there are so many examples that if I quote all of these instances, this post will probably be at the very least 20 pages of written document, so I’m just going to quote some of my favorite examples from each book.

AGOT

While there are so many to choose from, Arya defending Jon against Sansa’s classist behavior, Arya defending Mycah from physical torture and possible death by Joffrey’s hand, and Arya chasing Nymeria away to save her life, one of my favorite examples of Arya’s compassion, empathy and kindness happens in Sansa III and that’s because she tried to comfort her sister in the middle of Sansa throwing a huge temper tantrum. It’s a big deal because while they both fought, it was Arya who came and genuinely apologized to Sansa about throwing a squashed orange at Sansa, even though it was Sansa who was victim blaming Mycah right in front of Arya who was still deeply grieving her friends loss, and it was Sansa who threatened Arya with the power she’d hold as queen. Furthermore, after Arya threw the fruit it was Sansa who screamed that Arya should have died instead of Lady. Yet it’s Arya who apologizes and tries to make things better all the while Sansa is disparaging her without a thought of guilt or shame at her behavior (something she never actually shows in all the books about this situation or even the situation at the Trident when she not only sided with Joffrey, but she didn’t care one iota that Arya was about to be killed). But even so, when Ned reveals that he is sending the girls home, and Arya sees that Sansa is upset about this prospect, it’s Arya who tries to comfort her:

"It won't be so bad, Sansa," Arya said. "We're going to sail on a galley. It will be an adventure, and then we'll be with Bran and Robb again, and Old Nan and Hodor and the rest." She touched her on the arm.

"Hodor!" Sansa yelled. "You ought to marry Hodor, you're just like him, stupid and hairy and ugly!" She wrenched away from her sister's hand, stormed into her bedchamber, and barred the door behind her. (Sansa III AGOT)

ACOK

ACOK has so many wonderful moments to choose from. Some of my favorite examples are Arya sharing the portion of the rabbit with Gendry that she had hunted since she got a whole leg, even though the Night’s Watch recruits were already low on food at this point. Arya insists that Yoren get a proper burial even despite the frustration she felt through the grief. Arya takes care of the crying toddler, Weasel, making sure she’s looked after and fed, and defends her and Hot Pie and Lommy when Gendry suggests that the two of them leave them because they were a hindrance. Arya trying to forage and hunt for food, not just for her, but for everyone. Arya taking Gendry and Hot Pie along with her during her escape from Harrenhal, even though she didn’t technically need them. Arya getting justice against Chiswyck when she overheard his horrible story (that was told like a humorous antidote) about how he, Gregor Clegane, and a bunch of other men brutally raped an innkeeps daughter that was barely older than her. Or when Arya bravely tried to save Gendry from the Mountain's men. I also really love this moment from Arya X, because Arya just found out that her baby brothers might be dead, and is trying not to cry, and is grieving in silence, yet when she sees that Elmar Frey (someone she doesn’t even get on very well with because Elmar is a classist jerk) is upset, she tries to comfort him:

"What's wrong?" Arya asked him when she saw the tears shining on his cheeks.

"My princess," he sobbed. "We've been dishonored, Aenys says. There was a bird from the Twins. My lord father says I'll need to marry someone else, or be a septon." (Arya X ACOK)

My other favorite moments take place in Arya IV, and if anyone has read that chapter I think this one is pretty self-explanatory. In Arya IV, the Night’s Watch recruits are attacked by the Gold Cloaks in the dead of night, resulting in a bloody, traumatic battle, as well as a huge deadly fire. This chapter only confirms what we learned in Sansa I AGOT, that Arya is a compassionate and brave hero, because not only does she save Weasel from the battle and the fire, even though her friends were telling her not to, she also goes back into the fire to save Jaqen, Rorge, and Biter (and no, just because 2 out of three of these people turn out to be horrible monsters, it still doesn’t negate that this was done out of compassion). And even through this battle and the fire, Arya still feels compassion to the dying animals in the barn.

As they were running toward the barn, Arya spied the crying girl sitting in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by smoke and slaughter. She grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to her feet as the others raced ahead. The girl wouldn't walk, even when slapped. Arya dragged her with her right hand while she held Needle in the left. Ahead, the night was a sullen red. The barn's on fire, she thought. Flames were licking up its sides from where a torch had fallen on straw, and she could hear the screaming of the animals trapped within. Hot Pie stepped out of the barn. "Arry, come on! Lommy's gone, leave her if she won't come!"

Stubbornly, Arya dragged all the harder, pulling the crying girl along. Hot Pie scuttled back inside, abandoning them . . . but Gendry came back, the fire shining so bright on his polished helm that the horns seemed to glow orange. He ran to them, and hoisted the crying girl up over his shoulder. "Run!"

Rushing through the barn doors was like running into a furnace. The air was swirling with smoke, the back wall a sheet of fire ground to roof. Their horses and donkeys were kicking and rearing and screaming. The poor animals, Arya thought. Then she saw the wagon, and the three men manacled to its bed. Biter was flinging himself against the chains, blood running down his arms from where the irons clasped his wrists. Rorge screamed curses, kicking at the wood. "Boy!" called Jaqen H'ghar. "Sweet boy!"

[...]

"You take her!" she yelled. "You get her out! You do it!" The fire beat at her back with hot red wings as she fled the burning barn. It felt blessedly cool outside, but men were dying all around her. [...] Going back into that barn was the hardest thing she ever did. Smoke was pouring out the open door like a writhing black snake, and she could hear the screams of the poor animals inside, donkeys and horses and men. She chewed her lip, and darted through the doors, crouched low where the smoke wasn't quite so thick.

[...] She couldn't see the wagon for the smoke, but she could still hear Biter screaming. She crawled toward the sound.

And then a wheel was looming over her. The wagon jumped and moved a half foot when Biter threw himself against his chains again. Jaqen saw her, but it was too hard to breathe, let alone talk. She threw the axe into the wagon. Rorge caught it and lifted it over his head, rivers of sooty sweat pouring down his noseless face. Arya was running, coughing. She heard the steel crash through the old wood, and again, again. An instant later came a crack as loud as thunder, and the bottom of the wagon came ripping loose in an explosion of splinters. (Arya IV ACOK)

ASOS

As I mentioned above, during Arya’s escape from Harrenhal, she also saved Gendry and Hot Pie as well, despite really not needing their help for survival, in fact she even acknowledges that they are slowing her down, but these are her thoughts:

She would make much better time on her own, Arya knew, but she could not leave them. They were her pack, her friends, the only living friends that remained to her. (Arya I ASOS)

Later on in the novel, Arya sees that Edric Dayne is looking miserable so she tries to distract him from that misery:

[...] Arya pulled up the hood of her cloak and hunched down, sodden and shivering but determined not to falter. Merrit and Mudge were soon coughing as bad as Watty, and poor Ned seemed to grow more miserable with every mile. "When I wear my helm, the rain beats against the steel and gives me headaches," he complained. "But when I take it off, my hair gets soaked and sticks to my face and in my mouth."

"You have a knife," Gendry suggested. "If your hair annoys you so much, shave your bloody head."

He doesn't like Ned. The squire seemed nice enough to Arya; maybe a little shy, but good-natured. She had always heard that Dornishmen were small and swarthy, with black hair and small black eyes, but Ned had big blue eyes, so dark that they looked almost purple. And his hair was a pale blond, more ash than honey.

"How long have you been Lord Beric's squire?" she asked, to take his mind from his misery. (Arya VIII ASOS)

But my absolute favorite moment of Arya’s kindness and compassion and empathy is probably one of her least acknowledged moments in the books in the general fandom. I’m talking about when she and the Brotherhood Without Banners go to Stoney Sept and discover the Northmen being held there in crow cages, already on the brink of death. Arya’s feelings about this discovery are complicated and conflicting, because during her arc, especially in ASOS she is becoming ever more aware that it doesn’t matter what house or region you belong to, if the nobles declare war, it’s the smallfolk who suffer because in general, most of these people don’t care that they are destroying the lives of the smallfolk, thus many of them burn and raid the villages of the smallfolk, rape their women and children, torture, and kill innocents. Arya is trying to rectify this reality, and even though she is upset and angry at these men, she still feels compassion for them so she gives these men water to ease their pain:

She looked at their filthy hair and scraggly beards and reddened eyes, at their dry, cracked, bleeding lips. Wolves, she thought again. Like me. Was this her pack? How could they be Robb's men? She wanted to hit them. She wanted to hurt them. She wanted to cry. They all seemed to be looking at her, the living and the dead alike. The old man had squeezed three fingers out between the bars. “Water,” he said, “water.”

Arya swung down from her horse. They can't hurt me, they're dying. She took her cup from her bedroll and went to the fountain. “What do you think you're doing, boy?” the townsman snapped. “They're no concern o' yours.” She raised the cup to the fish's mouth. The water splashed across her fingers and down her sleeve, but Arya did not move until the cup was brimming over. When she turned back towards the cages, the townsman moved to stop her. “You get away from them, boy--”

“She's a girl,” said Harwin. “Leave her be.”

“Aye,” said Lem. “Lord Beric don't hold with caging men to die of thirst. Why don't you hang them decent?”

“There was nothing decent 'bout them things they did at Tumbler's Falls,” the townsman growled right back at him.

The bars were too narrow to pass a cup through, but Harwin and Gendry offered her a leg up. She planted a foot in Harwin's cupped hands, vaulted onto Gendry's shoulders, and grabbed the bars on top of the cage. The fat man turned his face up and pressed his cheek to the iron, and Arya poured the water over him. He sucked at it eagerly and let it run down over his head and cheeks and hands, and then he licked the dampness off the bars. He would have licked Arya's fingers if she hadn't snatched them back. By the time she served the other two the same, a crowd had gathered to watch her. “The mad huntsman will hear of this,” a man threatened. “He won't like it. No, he won't.”

“He'll like this even less, then.” Anguy strung his longbow, slid an arrow from his quiver, nocked, drew, loosed. The fat man shuddered as the shaft drove up between his chins, but the cage would not let him fall. Two more arrows ended the other two northmen. The only sound in the market square was the splash of falling water and the buzzing of flies.

Valar Morghulis, Arya thought. (Arya V ASOS)

Arya doesn’t do this because she doesn’t care about the smallfolk and is siding with the Northmen in those cages, and she doesn’t know that once she gives them water they will be given mercy. Despite what many in the fandom would say, Arya has a great respect for life, from insects to animals to humans. Killing for survival and enacting justice against evil people in a feudalistic society where justice is most often only achieved in the manner she achieves it, does not negate her respect and compassion for others. Arya giving water to people in general and out of compassion is also very prevalent in her arc. She does this several times.

Honorable Mention: Arya shows empathy and contrition about ruining the acorn dress Lady Smallwood gave her to wear, when she discovers that Lady Smallwood’s son is dead:

[...] the next morning as they broke their fast, Lady Smallwood gave her breeches, belt, and tunic to wear, and a brown doeskin jerkin dotted with iron studs. "They were my son's things," she said. "He died when he was seven."

"I'm sorry, my lady." Arya suddenly felt bad for her, and ashamed. "I'm sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty."

"Yes, child. And so are you. Be brave." (Arya IV ASOS)

AFFC/ADWD

In the center of the temple she found the water she had heard; a pool ten feet across, black as ink and lit by dim red candles. Beside it sat a young man wearing a silvery cloak, weeping softly. She watched him dip a hand in the water, sending scarlet ripples racing across the pool. When he drew his fingers back he sucked them, one by one. He must be thirsty. There were stone cups around the rim of the pool. Arya filled one and brought it to him, so he could drink. The young man stared at her for a long moment when she offered it to him. “Valar Morghulis,” he said.

“Valar dohaeris,” she replied.

He drank deep, and dropped the cup into the pool with a soft plop. Then he pushed himself to his feet, swaying, holding his belly. For a moment Arya thought he was going to fall. It was only then she saw the dark stain below his belt, spreading as she watched. “You're stabbed,” she blurted, but the man paid her no mind. He lurched unsteadily to the wall and crawled into an alcove onto a hard stone bed. When Arya peered around, she saw other alcoves too. On some there were old people sleeping.

No, a half-remembered voice seemed to whisper in her head. They are dead, or dying. Look with your eyes. (Arya I AFFC)

Arya once again shows compassion and kindness to this complete stranger when she first enters the House of Black and White. She offers him water, not knowing that it is poisoned. She thinks she is helping a distressed, thirsty man, and in some way she is, but she didn’t think the water she gave him would kill him.

My other favorite moment takes place in Samwell III AFFC when Sam encounters two bravos who want to fight and mug him, but Arya, disguised as Cat of the Canals, comes to Sam’s rescue and also offers him free food:

Sam wanted to run, but if he did was like to trip over his own swordbelt. Do not touch your sword, he told himself. Even a finger on the hilt might be enough for one or the other of the bravos to take as a challenge. He tried to think of words that might appease them. "I'm not—" was all he managed.

"He is not a lord," a child's voice put in. "He's in the Night's Watch, stupid. From Westeros." A girl edged into the light, pushing a barrow full of seaweed; a scruffy, skinny creature in big boots, with ragged unwashed hair. "There's another one down at the Happy Port, singing songs to the Sailor's Wife," she informed the two bravos. To Sam she said, "If they ask who is the most beautiful woman in the world, say the Nightingale or else they'll challenge you. Do you want to buy some clams? I sold all my oysters."

"I have no coin," Sam said.

"He has no coin," mocked the fair-haired bravo. His dark-haired friend grinned and said something in Braavosi. "My friend Terro is chilly. Be our good fat friend and give him your cloak."

"Don't do that either," said the barrow girl, "or else they'll ask for your boots next, and before long you'll be naked."

"Little cats who howl too loud get drowned in the canals," warned the fair-haired bravo.

"Not if they have claws." And suddenly there was a knife in the girl's left hand, a blade as skinny as she was. The one called Terro said something to his fair-haired friend and the two of them moved off, chuckling at one another.

"Thank you," Sam told the girl when they were gone.

[...]

"Are you truly in the Night's Watch? I never saw a black brother like you before." The girl gestured at the barrow. "You can have the last clams if you want. It's dark, no one will buy them now. Are you sailing to the Wall?"

"To Oldtown." Sam took one of the baked clams and wolfed it down. "We're between ships." The clam was good. He ate another.

Another example of Arya’s compassion and kindness, is also linked to Arya’s sense of justice.

"To other eyes, your nose and jaw are broken," said the waif. "One side of your face is caved in where your cheekbone shattered, and half your teeth are missing."

She probed around inside her mouth with her tongue, but found no holes or broken teeth. Sorcery, she thought. I have a new face. An ugly, broken face.

"You may have bad dreams for a time," warned the kindly man. "Her father beat her so often and so brutally that she was never truly free of pain or fear until she came to us."

"Did you kill him?"

"She asked the gift for herself, not for her father."

You should have killed him.

He must have read her thoughts. "Death came for him in the end, as it comes for all men. As it must come for a certain man upon the morrow." He lifted up the lamp. "We are done here." (The Ugly Little Girl ADWD)

What a lot of people fail to realize is that Arya’s sense of justice is rooted in compassion, and we can see this with her list. Her list is assuredly a coping mechanism against trauma, but it’s a lot deeper than some sense of revenge, and a lot of different emotions are attached to it. Most of the people on Arya’s list are there because they are actually bad people who hurt and brutally murder innocents. And I’ve seen it said that Arya only cares about getting revenge for the hurts she and her family have suffered and that’s not even remotely true. Arya’s sense of justice is all encompassing, which is why she gets justice for complete strangers, and feels so strongly about getting justice for the little girl who was viciously abused by her father. This compassion also extends to slaves, past and present, as well:

"All gods have their instruments, men and women who serve them and help to work their will on earth. The slaves were not crying out to a hundred different gods, as it seemed, but to one god with a hundred different faces . . . and he was that god's instrument. That very night he chose the most wretched of the slaves, the one who had prayed most earnestly for release, and freed him from his bondage. The first gift had been given."

Arya drew back from him. "He killed the slave?" That did not sound right. "He should have killed the masters!" (Arya II AFFC)

Conclusion

No matter what others say in this fandom, Arya has many examples of compassion, kindness, empathy, and altruism. She is very emotional, and still retains her humanity. Arya is not a soulless, emotionless killer. She is not a psychopath. She is not a sociopath. She is not anti-social in any way. She is, however, a truly emotional young girl who cares too deeply about others even despite her own pain and grief. Arya is truly such a wonderful and complex character, and she is a complete joy to read!

#aryastarkmonth2022 #arya stark #canonarya #asoiaf #long post

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imnotrevealingmyname · 2 years

Note

hey there! i read your recent open letter post and i found it very interesting! i definitely share your grief and sadness because of Loki’s character demise and the series itself. and i found what you said about Tom interesting too cause his behavior and change of opinion about Loki had me questioning what was happening behind the scenes. i do have some theories and bits and pieces from the past i can connect to try to understand what exactly went wrong! (this message is long so if you don’t wanna read this it’s totally okay! just thought it would be fun to share <3)

flashback. i was 13-14 when i got into TH, this was also around the dark world era of Loki, i was more of a fan of Loki than tom but i did watch videos and looked at memes of him. id say i started to become a fan of tom for a year and a half before i caught myself and said “this sounds like im forming a parasocial relationship and that’s very unhealthy” so I pulled back and stopped intaking tom content (celeb content in general, it made me feel icky in my own opinion), (i stopped right before the whole TS thing began, got away safely!) and focused more on Loki. when i stopped looking at TH content i just knew him as the dude that dances, loves Loki and is nice to people. Ragnarok came, it was fun (i won’t give my opinion on the movie here since that’s a different topic), i didn’t pay attention to tom during that time but i definitely noticed something was off when i saw an interview. i was a goofy 17 year old kid, even a goofy kid could tell something was wrong with Tom. but then i thought nothing of it and then sort of abandoned Loki content until the series began. we all know how the series went, terrible. very very offensive to so many different communities. what was even more jarring was toms comments towards Loki and his mannerisms. i was shocked, but then i decided to go on a little treasure hunt and try to retrace the steps to figure out HOW EXACTLY WE GOT HERE!

my most simplest answer, the media is partially to blame. this might be a hard pill to swallow for some TH fans but…he made quite a few big mistakes in his career that cost him a lot of roles and new movies. the TS thing, the GG speech, certain interviews, apparently he was “too goofy” for parts of Hollywood and he was advised to “tone it down”. which honestly is SAD imo cause i understand his excitement and im a goofy, animated person too and love to show off my talents, but i think there’s a time to simmer it down and i think tom wasn’t simmering down to “hollywood standards” (he even said he wasn’t allowed to do impressions anymore) so he really had to change. i personally didn’t mind him being excitable and talk 2637382 miles an hour about Loki, but a lot of professionals didn’t approve and unfortunately I think he had to pay consequences for that. :( because of that he had to change how he behaved and started to become more mild, quiet and observant. even though i wasn’t invested in tom all the way, as someone who watched some stuff about him as a kid it was pretty sad to see the media sorta force a man to change. there’s nothing wrong with being mature but this was definitely a whole personality switch for me.

anyways, i think the reason he’s become so quiet about speaking out about loki is because of the media advising to change his approach on his persona. for some reason they did not like that and i think that’s one of the reasons why tom seems almost robotic in a way? i have a feeling Disney feeds him comments to make during interviews and he can’t fully say what he wants to say. basically my opinion is that it is partially his fault and partially the medias fault on how Loki was handled. (more so the media i believe). he made mistakes, the media silenced his upbeat opinions on many things including loki and …i think that’s how we got here. now of course i could be wrong! since i don’t know tom personally, this is just a speculation of mine and i sorta did a deep dive over the summer and came up with this conclusion. tom seems to be doing better and looks happier, but, because his persona is also being run by the media, we might truly never get his full opinion on matters and his full personality back to the public. it’s pretty tragic. let me know your thoughts on this! it was fascinating to research.

Right on. I feel like he's been rebuffed so much that he's resigned himself to it. Maybe he feels that at the end of the day it's just a character, and regardless of how strongly we feel about that, he doesn't want to jeopardize his career for a character anymore especially given the way the wind has been blowing and it's kind of seemed like Tom Hiddleston's Loki will be a thing of the past for quite a while now. I guess he doesn't want to entirely ruin the last few years he'll probably be allowed to play the character, because in light of the way Loki has been treated I doubt there is an hope of salvaging what remains of the original character. Maybe he thinks it's too much effort and too much trouble for too little gain. And honestly, I can't blame him for that. Like you said, his career has had some pretty rough blows and he's decided to just go with it instead of fighting it anymore.

I respect that, in a way. While I (like so many others) feel a deep sense of betrayal at how our beloved character was treated and how he condoned that treatment, I understand the sentiment behind wanting to not risk his chances anymore and boost himself forward as much as he can in the next few years. I did consume quite a bit of TH content (other than Loki, I mean) back in the day but I don't think it's at the stage of a parasocial relationship. But I still can't help but feel robbed.

#inrmn.txt #nonny #hey nonny nonny #loki series criticism #loki series critical #anti loki series #anti lokius #anti loki x sylvie #anti loki show #sylki shippers dni #sylki dni #lokius dni #lokius shippers dni #tom hiddleston

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therealvinelle · 3 years

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Can you also recommend Harry Potter fics or is that only for Twilight?

Oh sure!

I haven't yet gotten around to composing a full Harry Potter fic recs masterpost, as it is I think @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin has one lying around somewhere. However, I can't find it. Here I go making my own, then.

I feel a vague compulsion to put it in a readmore to make it easier to add more fics as I think of them.

Oneshots

Butterflies and Flowers As Ginny lays dying in the Chamber of Secrets, the Diary seeks to comfort her.

Added 20/6 2023: Nineteen Eighty Rita Skeeter overhears a shocking conversation about the true nature of Lord Voldemort, that mysterious man who seems just a little too good (or bad, depends who you're asking) to be true.

Potter's Wheel Harry would very much like to take destiny into his own hands, but he's going to need Voldemort on his side.

Sisyphus Harry dies, and he's born again. And again. And again.

Added 20/6 2023: Interview with the Spider Rita Skeeter interviews Horace Slughorn. Cowritten by myself and @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin.

Blue In a future that never happened, where Voldemort won, he has lost his grip on sanity. He fixates on the long-dead Bellatrix Lestrange as an anchor.

Caveat Inimici Easily the best Hermione fic you'll ever read, and one of the cleverest Harry Potter fics you'll ever find as well.

Faded Grey Hugo Weasley is an angry young man who comes to idolize the late Lord Voldemort.

The Truth About Harry Isn't Harry Potter just a little bit too good to be true?

For the Tom Riddle enthusiast

Blind Faith Know how some ships have a good fanfic, and it becomes the fanfic for the ship? This is the good Bellatrix/Voldemort fanfic. Haunting, with beautiful prose.

Cat Among the Pigeons Touting my own fic shamelessly. My neglected, though not abandoned darling. An AU in which Albus Dumbledore sacrificed himself to make the wizarding world a utopia.

Honey Propolis The author tripped, fell, and wrote a very nice fic instead of a PWP. In which Tom Riddle is a good person, savior to the wizarding world, but his power to protect everyone comes from giving rim jobs to Harry Potter. No, really.

In Death, Standby Voldemort failed to kill Harry Potter, but was not vanquished. Faced with this hard to kill toddler, he made the questionable decision of bringing it home. Now he has a toddler. This is a common enough premise for fics, Harry raised by Voldemort has been done many times. This fic stands out as it does it magnificently well.

One Night Stand Squee. One of those fics I can't believe is actually being written because it's so rare that I get exactly what I want. This fic, in which Voldemort and Lily Evans have a romcom style case of mistaken identities and end up sleeping with each other, is a delight through and through. I'm a little bit in love with the author.

Added 20/6 2023: Prison Blues An ABO fic in which ABO is a metaphor for gender roles and sexism.

Rock Bottom Dumbledore was a troll, so he actually hired Tom Riddle after that job interview. Now, fifty years later, Tom is still there, teaching, hating his life.

Harry Potter/people these fics somehow convinced me to ship him with, the author was that good

A Road Less Travelled By Veela!Harry/Lucius Malfoy where they have to fuck or Harry dies. Infuriatingly, the fic is amazing.

Added 20/6 2023: Disillusioned Not Harry Potter, but the fic pulled of Tom Sr./Merope (And... I won't spoil but it pulls off some other ships as well. I'm horrified, but hats off to a merciless author) and features a fantastic Merope.

Transformation Harry/Draco Malfoy. Only, Draco isn't Draco, he is the far more sinister thing that devoured Draco Malfoy's very soul, and now has its eyes set on Harry.

The Carnivorous Muffin's works - an incomplete list of treasures

Yes, yes, I'm a filthy sycophant. I make no apologies.

Ellie Potter and the Train Station Called Purgatory The Muffin's take on WBWL.

My Immortal Lily and the Art of Bringing Me to Life I think the summary speaks for itself.

October Tom Riddle falls in love with a god, and everything changes.

Wanting Things The Muffin had to write Death (canon Harry Potter who realized he was the personification of death, lived long enough to see C-beams of Tannhauser Gate, and finally came to a parallel dimension where he meets the cast of Lily and the Art of Being Sisyphus)/Lenin (the horcrux that lives in Eleanor Lily Potter's head) fic. She delivered. It got weird, but she delivered.

When Harry Met Tom I dared the Muffin to write a fic, she wound up writing something so radically different that I only shake my head when she brings up where the plot has ran off to now. It's a Tomarry romcom with timetravel.

The Unwinding Golden Thread Harry Potter travels back in time to the 1940's, where he sets about to prevent Voldemort. He succeeds, but is not prepared for the ripple effects this has on the course of history.

Just... go to her profile, anon. Everybody. It's a magical place.

Miscellaneous

A Harem of Toms Exactly what it sounds like. Hermione has one.

Stalker Makes the list for how well it depicts the trauma following rape, a rarity in fiction, fan-written or otherwise.

Added 20/6 2023: The Man Who Would Be King Lily Evans intended to die that night in Godric's Hollow, hoping that the sacrificial magic she would invoke would save her son. Voldemort realizes in time what she's up to, and from there, everything changes. Cowritten by myself and @theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin.

That which we make for ourselves I'll make one excemption from my "never be critical of fanfiction" rule here to say that this fic might be a bit tough for some to read, the prose could use work. However, it makes the fic rec list anyway because the plot is out of this world. We start out with a fic I didn't have high expectations for, end with betrayal and heartbreak of Shakesperean dimensions. It's an incredible ride. If you want to watch Tom Riddle suffer and gasp with every plot development, here's your fic. Not for the faint of heart.

#harry potter #harry potter fic recs #harry potter fanfiction #fic rec #harry potter fic

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inkdemonapologist · 3 years

Photo

[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]

WE STARTED.... A NEW SCENARIO..... as you may have read in Boo’s summary post, for some unknown reason aLL MUSICAL AND PERFORMANCE ABILITY SEEMS TO BE??? GONE??? Sammy woke up, realised he couldn’t hold even the simplest tune in his head, and immediately lost THIRTY-ONE SANITY in one hit

..... YOU KNOW THAT MAKES SENSE HONESTLY

anyway i have a some out-of-context quotes from the game for u all under the readmore if ur into that kinda thing!!!

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[GM] It's a tough voice to do, so you can't be as choosy, and your resident Bendy cannot act to save his life, so that's no good-- [Joey] Uh-oh. [Jack] Sorry, Lurks. [Joey] I'm just so worried he's going to have to act now... [Jack] Clearly, he should've used the time between scenarios to train that! [GM] Yeah, that's just what everybody wants I'm sure, is the Lurker training in LYING. That sounds like a great idea!

[GM] *asking for dice rolls to see how well our actual jobs are going* We can do a little bit of mundanity to, to treasure, and keep you warm later!

[Henry] Should I spend Luck points on this? No, I'm not spending Luck on work. [Sammy] That's a good general life policy

[Jack] Does Jack have any contacts? [Joey] No, he has glasses! :D [Jack] noooo that's my job! It's my job to make Jack's puns! ....Contacts probably didn't exist in the 1930s, that's okay. [Sammy] No, don't say that! Boo's going to have to look it up now!

[GM] What spell is Joey working on? [Jack] (Spell of Make Investor Like You)

[Joey] I think he probably has filing cabinets specifically to put occult stuff in and lock. And then the rest of his office is just piles and tables of animation stuff that you're like "...shouldn't this??? be??? in the filing cabinet???"

[GM] Allison remarks, "The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power of our minds, which hardly any later friend can obtain." [Sammy] Y'know, normal, just nORMAL CASUAL CHATTER, [GM] Tom, working on the pipe, just kinda mutters, "I enjoy friends, dear not only by habit and association, but from their own merits." And she gives him a look! [Jack] ...love at first whATEVER THIS IS,

[Sammy] ...Sammy's not amused. [GM] The band's amused! [Jack] Jack is probably amused.

[GM] So far things are going very well, but y'know, [Jack] Only so long until we crit fail something! [Sammy] NEVER TOO LATE TO MESS IT UP!

[GM] Allison's vibe is like, I Didn't Study This Exactly, But I Was Hoping It Could Just Work Out! [Jack] ...She has a lot of practice at just... making things work out, huh....

[GM] Is there anything else Joey would try to show off? [Joey] Tries to think... what else is at the Studio... [Jack] "Do you wanna talk to our janitor? He's really cool!"

[Joey] I roll to see if Joey can put two brain cells together,

[Jack] I have to appreciate that Bendy said he didn’t have the keys today. He’s been stealing them before, but THIS TIME isn’t his doing!

[Sammy] If there’s anything he needs to do himself, then he’ll come in early, but I don’t know what state we’re in -- [Joey] Uh, New York. [Sammy] ...what? [Joey] You didn’t know what state we’re in. :) [Sammy] [Sammy] thanks

[Joey] Oh Joey’s absolutely coming in early. Joey woke up, and felt great, so he’s going to menace every other department today, because he has the energy to get his fingers into everything! [Sammy] *distressed sounds in the background*

[Sammy] Hey how come when we did a Halloween cartoon, we all went to Haiti, but we’re doing a cartoon about a fair and we’re not going to a fair? [Jack] [Jack] I think we all know why.

*trying to decide who goes to Joey’s fancy dinner with an investor* [Sammy] I don’t know if Sammy will help you... [Sammy] Unless you bring Sammy and put him on a piano, like a small child that needs to be immediately handed crayons.

[Joey] Joey will say that they’re essentially the second hands in each of the departments-- [Jack] Yeah, Abby, the second hand… entire Art Department director, [GM] Uh-huh. [Joey] She… she knows,, [GM] Joey, [Joey] She knows that Joey… is … Big Gay for Henry,,, [GM] This is true, but I think she likes nominal acknowledgement that she holds a position, [Jack] He can just say that they’re high-ranking, and not-- [Joey] No I rolled badly, Joey’s going to say that Sammy and Henry are busy, so he brought his second-best! :) [GM] Abby is massaging her temples. [Joey] Sorry, Abby. He is,, an idiot,,, [GM] I think she’d be a lot more bothered if she couldn’t go and commiserate with Henry about it. Like, “why can’t he keep it straight?” [GM] ……………….well. She knows why he can’t keep it straight.

[GM] It’s about midnight, and something... strange.... happens. The trumpet player, who is leading the band -- [Joey] -- has a trumpet for a head! [GM] what no

*Joey succeeds a sanity check, Jack fails it* [GM] Joey, roll 1d10! [Joey] Uh, 3? [GM] Okay, you’re only down three sanity, that’s not so bad! [GM] Jack, roll 6d10! [Jack] what? [Joey] Six??? SIX d10s????? [GM] Yeah! [Joey] nICE KNOWING YOU, JACK!!! It’s time for Sillytime Jack.

[Jack] Smash cut to Henry, curled up in bed, nice and cozy,

[GM] I will also note, you cannot seem to Fast Talk. [Joey] ...what else can I do? [GM] Just normal talk. Like a normal person.

[Jack] I feel like Jack probably has a hunch that it’s weird nightmarish horror nonsense, on account of he just lost nineteen sanity,

[GM] Abby’s gonna try to take him to the hospital. [Jack] Jack’s just going to let that happen, because he’s shaken enough that he doesn’t have any significantly better ideas! Other than AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA,

[Sammy] *rolling sanity damage* 9… 9, stop that…. 4, [Jack] You’ve already lost more than Jack! [Sammy] 2, ...6, and 1! [Joey] That’s 31. [GM] Okay, Sammy has six sanity! [Sammy] eXCUSE ME?????

[Joey] Joey does want to head home… what day is it? [GM] Friday, the 13th! [Jack] HM, [Sammy] I GUESS IT IS, ISN’T IT… I wasn’t keeping track, but I guess it sure is! [GM] A delightful treat for myself, when I was looking up days in July, in 1934, [Sammy] WAIT, NO, ITS ACTUALLY A COINCIDENCE? Oh my gosh, [Jack] Because Friday the 13th wouldn’t even be a spooky day at this point in time! [GM] It is now! [Jack] It’s spooky, but just for us!

[Sammy] Sammy would try to call Jack, he’d try to call Joey, he’d try to call Henry -- probably several times, [Henry] sammy gets jack’s cat [Henry] phone is answered with meows [Jack] That does seem fitting for a really bad luck roll; the phone gets answered, and Sammy’s really relieved -- and it’s just the cat. [Sammy] Sammy, at 6 sanity: “jack’s tuRNED INTO A CAT,”

[Joey] The phone kept on ringing, so the cat just batted it off the cradle, [Jack] I feel like Jack probably doesn’t usually get a significant number of calls, so like, this many calls in a row is just obnoxious! [Jack] Cat’s having none of it. [Jack] Phone ring isn’t breakfast! [Jack] Where is the soft provider of food.

[GM] Oh no, you know what’s going to happen? Henry’s gonna get through to Jack, and then when Sammy calls it’s busy! [Sammy] cALLS JACK IT’S BUSY, CALLS HENRY IT’S BUSY, [Jack] I was gonna say maybe Henry would call Sammy first, because Sammy was one of the original three. [Jack] …Henry calls Sammy, Sammy is busy because SAMMY is trying to call someone, and then Henry calls Jack, and Sammy tries to call Jack again-- [Sammy] *laughing* THE HORROR, The deep, bone-chilling horror of A TIME BEFORE CALL-WAITING!!

[Henry] Is Joey there? [Jack] Yeah. [Henry] Are you guys alright? [Jack] ……………….hm,

[Jack] Cat is just sat on Joey, purring. Something is wrong with the human. Purr to fix the human.

[Henry] I called Sammy to make sure he’s okay, but-- [Abby] Was he? [Henry] No.

[Joey] Joey is going to be… obstinate feels like the wrong word? [Joey] He’s being the cat where you put the leash on, and the cat just sits down. [Joey] That is the Joseph mood right now.

[Sammy] *muttering* First one boyfriend turns into a cat, now the other boyfriend’s voice is wrong, today is terrible,

[Joey] This is Joey’s everything. [Sammy] That’s Joey’s contribution to the party! That’s like, your bard can no longer play music. [Sammy] ……….which is also true, but Sammy contributes other things. [Jack] Like Intimidate! [Sammy] Right now he contributes paranoia!

#call of cthulu: haunted hijinx #when in doubt just keep drawing #sammy lawrence #IM STILL REELING FROM THIS

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pet-genius · 3 years

Text

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 1

This is a very lightly edited old Reddit post, that I'll publish in parts because the whole thing is like 7000 words. Analyzing Voldemort, the DE and their dynamics, Dumbledore and Harry in comparison, and individual Death Eaters. Hope you like it!

Some say Voldemort is a cartoon villain, or wizard Hitler. I think he is very realistic, and that the focus on his political aspirations ignores interesting aspects of him. I cannot prove that JKR had cults in mind when she wrote Voldemort and his followers, but this is how I read them. It’s nearly impossible to define a cult, so, for the purpose hereof, I’m going with “a group dedicated to the worship of a person”. Many cult leaders in real life present themselves merely as “god’s voice” or “the messiah”, but Voldemort specifically didn’t bother to hide behind a power higher than himself.

Tom Riddle comes from humble beginnings, like many cult leaders - he’s raised in an orphanage. He already has delusions of grandeur, only in this case they’re not delusions, because he really is magic, which makes it all the more dangerous. Look how he reacted to discovering he was a wizard, and how Harry did.

Immediately following the revelation that Lily and James did not die in a car crash, and that Harry is famous, and that he survived an attempt at his life by the worst wizard in history:

Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He’d spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn’t they been turned into warty toads every time they’d tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he’d once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?

“Hagrid,” he said quietly, “I think you must have made a mistake. I don’t think I can be a wizard.”

Heart-breaking. Harry doesn’t believe he can be special, he blames himself for the way he’s treated.

This is Tom Riddle:

“I know that you are not mad. Hogwarts is not a school for mad people. It is a school of magic.”

There was silence. Riddle had frozen, his face expressionless, but his eyes were flickering back and forth between each of Dumbledore’s, as though trying to catch one of them lying. “Magic?” he repeated in a whisper.

“That’s right,” said Dumbledore.

“It’s... it’s magic, what I can do?”

“What is it that you can do?”

“All sorts,” breathed Riddle. A flush of excitement was rising up his neck into his hollow cheeks; he looked fevered. “I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.”

His legs were trembling. He stumbled forward and sat down on the bed again, staring at his hands, his head bowed as though in prayer.

“I knew I was different,” he whispered to his own quivering fingers. “I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.”

His megalomania and violent nature are already apparent, as is his preternatural control of his magic. It also hints at rudimentary legilimency.

Dumbledore spells out that young Tom Riddle equated magic with immortality and liked to collect trophies, and that Tom Riddle liked being special, as he resents the name Tom for being too common; he already lives behind a mask and only shows his true face in shock. This, and not Dumbledore’s magical prowess, is what always scared Tom. Voldemort knew Dumbledore knew what he was. That was the only tactical advantage Dumbledore had.

It’s also one of JKR’s strokes of brilliance: Dumbledore saw Tom for what Tom was, and others never did until it was too late, not because he was that clever, but because he knew from experience. Dumbledore had allowed himself to fall for a charismatic but heartless man before, and it took Ariana dying to slap him awake. Dumbledore knows good people can be led astray: It happened to him. It has nothing to do with intelligence or “goodness”. Gellert was able to give Albus exactly what Albus lacked, stuck at home taking care of Ariana: the promise of freedom and a bright future, and the companionship of an equal. Albus fell for it, despite warning signs that should have been obvious.

Later, we know Tom is chosen by a wand of yew and phoenix feather. Both yew and phoenix are associated with immortality; yew trees are very long-lived. Compare this to Harry’s wand, holly and phoenix feather: both these characters will experience death and rebirth, except Tom Riddle’s wand tree is yew, and Harry’s is holly.

From Wikipedia: “The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or because, being toxic when ingested, they were seen as trees of death.” Also from Wikipedia: “Christians have identified a wealth of symbolism in the holly tree’s form. The sharpness of the leaves help to recall the crown of thorns worn by Jesus; the red berries serve as a reminder of the drops of blood that were shed for salvation; and the shape of the leaves, which resemble flames, can serve to reveal God's burning love for His people.”

The two orphans’ wildly different views of death are also apparent in their wand trees. Voldemort will murder to attain his goals; Harry will sacrifice himself. That the phoenix feather came from Fawkes is also meaningful - Dumbledore taught both magic in some capacity, but he never could defeat Voldemort, because they’re too alike. One of Harry’s advantages in this battle is the integrity of his soul, which cannot be compromised.

Next, Tom Riddle is sorted into Slytherin. For a child who is already prone to megalomania, the house values bring out the worst in him, and under Slughorn, he grows into a manipulative, cunning, ruthless young man. I’m not blaming Horace for Tom being a psychopath, but some of the particular ways his psychopathy manifested in seem to have been directly due to Slughorn’s influence. Slughorn is a blood-supremacist, who was convinced Tom must come from fine stock. Slughorn tests drinks for poison using house elves; Tom Riddle tests the effectiveness of his Horcrux’s protection on Kreacher. Slughorn emphasizes the importance of connections and outright praises Tom for knowing more than he needs to, and encourages an attitude of “it’s only wrong if you get caught.” But Slughorn, prejudiced and cunning as he is, is not violent - he is academically curious about Horcruxes, but he finds them repugnant. Tom’s heart is not so faint - at the point of asking Slughorn about Horcruxes, the diary is already a horcrux, and Tom has already murdered his father. This is how Dumbledore describes Tom’s original gang, who were the proto-Death Eaters:

As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them. This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle. They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts. Rigidly controlled by Riddle, they were never detected in open wrongdoing, although their seven years at Hogwarts were marked by a number of nasty incidents to which they were never satisfactorily linked, the most serious of which was, of course, the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, which resulted in the death of a girl. As you know, Hagrid was wrongly accused of that crime.

Dumbledore explains what motivated people to join Tom: some were afraid, some ambitious, some cruel. He controlled his so-called friends, and already started framing others for his own crimes (Hagrid’s framing was followed by Morfin’s and Hokey the house elf’s).

This is followed by Tom’s attempt to become a teacher (Dumbledore spells out his motivations: He is attached to the school, he wants to study its magic, and he already wants to build himself an army). He is denied, oddly chooses to work for Borgin and Burkes, a choice fueled by the desire to trace down more items to make into Horcruxes. Through the memory of the meeting with Heptzibah Smith, we see that Tom was definitely charming when he needed to be, and knew how to make people feel good. He did not use magic to trick her into showing him her precious locket and cup: he used muggle manipulation - flattery, making an old and forlorn lady feel valuable, perhaps even flirting with her (she’s certainly flirting with him). He was pleasant enough that Ms. Smith eagerly looked forward to his visits - but as she showed him her treasures, he was caught off guard by hearing about his mother and how she sold the locket, and she saw him for what he was, although she quickly fell into denial. Sadly, she was murdered two days later.

Why rely on Horcruxes to gain immortality? Tom must have known about Nicholas Flamel and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Horcruxes require someone else to perform the resurrection ritual. Either making the Stone is so hard that it would deter Tom (unlikely), or he already expected to rely on followers who would find him and revive him - he certainly seems to have expected his followers to have searched for him earlier. Maybe Horcruxes were appealing because they require murder. In any case, this is followed by the memory of Tom asking Dumbledore for the DADA job again, a decade later. Tom has spent a decade gathering followers, and he has already changed his name to Lord Voldemort. This is reminiscent of real life cult leader David Koresh, and the leaders of the Children of God, Aum Shinrikyo, etc. The meeting between Voldemort and Albus is interesting, because it’s clear that Dumbledore had tried to teach Tom about the power of love:

“The old argument,” he said softly. “But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your famous pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore.”

“Perhaps you have been looking in the wrong places,” suggested Dumbledore.

This did not help. Tom never learned - how could he? At 16, he was already a murderer - who could love him now for who he was? He could never be truly loved, and he could never truly love another, and he underestimated the power of love for his entire life, leading to his downfall - twice (were that it was so simple in real life).

Voldemort is trying to obfuscate the nature of the relationship, like all cults - they never admit this is what they are.

“I am glad to hear that you consider them friends,” said Dumbledore. “I was under the impression that they are more in the order of servants.”

“You are mistaken,” said Voldemort.

But LV can’t lie to Dumbledore, who changes the subject. He denies him the DADA job again, and the curse is placed on the job. LV’s ascent is due to begin in a few years. Hagrid tells the story:

Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin’ fer followers. Got ’em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o’ his power, ’cause he was gettin’ himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn’t know who ter trust, didn’t dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...

Voldemort isn’t just interested in immortality. He wants complete control. He wants everyone fearing him - even fearing his name. He has people isolated and distrustful, fearing for their lives.

But we know his reign of terror was dreadful - what I’m interested in is the way he treated his own followers. We know little about how he treated them in the first war, but we do have what Sirius had to say about Regulus’s fate:

From what I found out after he died, he got in so far, then panicked about what he was being asked to do and tried to back out. Well, you don’t just hand in your resignation to Voldemort. It’s a lifetime of service or death.

We know the real story of Regulus’s disappearance, and it’s different. Kreacher tells us that Regulus died in the Horcrux cave - but more telling is that Regulus forbade Kreacher from telling his parents what had happened to him. Why did he feel the need to do that? This suggests that Regulus knew LV destroyed traitors’ families, which is a tactic used in cults and other abusive dynamics. We know LV would leverage Draco’s welfare against Lucius for his failure in the Department of Mysteries, too. We know also that instead of going to Dumbledore, or to his own brother, Regulus chose death – unless he was really dumb, and I don’t think he was, he must have been manipulated into believing that was his only option, or his world made no sense after his faith had shattered. So many people never readjust to life outside the cult.

Voldemort “dies” about two years after that, having successfully recruited about 400 followers (“the death eaters outnumbered us the Order 20:1” - Lupin). We can’t say if all these people were genuine Death Eaters or people who had been Imperiused or otherwise coerced, or allies like Narcissa, but that coercion is used to recruit shows that Voldemort did not take his own followers’ ambitions and wishes into account. People who use outright coercion don't suddenly draw the line at manipulation.

#death eaters #cult #death eater meta #voldemort #voldemort meta #harry potter #meta

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onepieceheadcannons · 3 years

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So this wasn't requested but I wanted to give some random Headcanons

Now this post definitely isn't for everyone's taste,

Now I know quite a bit about ABO dynamics and I haven't seen any headcanons on what each strawhat would be. Now if you do not like ABO, do not worry this will be my only post with it that isn't requested and I won't be offended if you skip this.

This definitely isn't the most detailed it can go but it's like 3 am for me and I just want these HC's outta my mind.

The Strawhats

Luffy;

This man is an Alpha, I mean how else could he become Pirate King.

Now I mean no hate to omegas, I think they should be highly respected. But based on what a society in ABO is like, it makes the most sense for Luffy to be an Alpha.

He is protective and strong, plus conquerors Haki is very similar to pheromones. He would do anything for his crew and he wants them safe.

He wouldn't be appealed to have an Omega, it wouldn't be on his agenda and he'd handle a rut very privately.

He would fight his way to the top fairly and wouldn't discriminate against betas and omegas.

I'm also down to hear anyone's different opinions on any of these.

Zoro;

I can see him in many different ways, I can see him as an Alpha but I can see Omega with insecurities about it, but my most confident answer is Beta.

The reason why is because his undying loyalty to Luffy. He would fulfill the role as a Beta quite well. He would be able to avoid the hormones of others and be quite unbothered by all of it. He would work slightly harder to be the greatest swordsman especially if Mihawk is an Alpha. He wouldn't of presented before his best friend died but if she began showing signs of an Alpha, he would probably feel the extra competitive edge to be better.

He wouldn't care if someone is an Alpha or Omega, why should that shit matter to him.

And he wouldn't really care about what his partner was.

If he was an Omega, he would use suppressants and be damned if anyone knew. He would probably beat himself up over it and would build a high tolerance to pheromones. He would NEVER let someone help through a heat unless a long term relationship. And he would never be caught in an Mpreg situation.

And if he was an Alpha, he would accept Luffy as overall Alpha. He wouldn't feel like fighting it and he has the serious demeanor. He would protect any omegas but refuse to participate in a heat. He would fight himself a shit ton and never let his guard down.

Usopp;

Beta man, there's no way he'd be an Alpha. I mean he would always feel sad about it most likely, wanting to be brave and strong. He would probably have some lingering thoughts about the system, he wouldn't see Omegas as less than but he would probably assume that Omegas and Alphas are meant together and he has to find a Beta.

Until his crush on Kaya, the caring Omega. He would fight himself internally over it but she wouldn't care if he was a Beta. She probably was told she had to find a nice Alpha but that wouldn't affect her, she really cares about Usopp. She even goes to medical school to fix him up.

He would be disturbed by Ruts and Heats, he would get flustered and stay away from whoever was having one at the time.

Sanji;

Just like Zoro I can see any of them,

But I'm leaning Beta/Omega. No offense if you are like 😡 I want an Alpha Sanji don't disrespect my man's like that

Reason why I can see Omega, he is quite loving and I think he'd make a great dad. He loves ladies so much and being an Omega wouldn't stop him. I mean hey, look how much he likes fiesty women. He definitely wouldn't be against a female alpha, as long as he doesn't know about the extra appendage during a rut.

His family storyline would play into this, his dad would've been pissed if all Sanjis siblings are an Alpha but Sanji was a "weak" omega son. He would definitely be an angry and powerful Omega, training his tolerance to pheromones. And oh my god he'd be so angry if Zoro is a Beta/Alpha.

He would avoid Alpha men, I don't see him ever wanting to date one. I think he may be a little fruity but it's so internalized he would never be okay dating any male. He would probably hope for any female, but preferring an Omega/Beta.

If Sanji is a Beta, he'd be right up there with being a supporter of Luffy. He would definitely offer to help Omegas through a heat (and promptly get turned down) . He would be frustrated anytime an Alpha was in a rut and avoid being near them at all costs. It would piss him off especially if they wanted one of the crew.

His preferences would stay the same as if he were an omega.

And as an Alpha, oh my this man would be the most respectful ever. He would be damned before he let himself with an Omega without consent said before the heat was even close. He would protect his Omega at all costs. And he would let them bite his neck back. And he would defend any omegas in a vulnerable position. He definitely has a savior complex about it though. But he definitely would believe he could only have an Omega.

Brook;

He is a skeleton, this wouldn't even affect him.

As a human tho, I could see an Omega with his love of the arts and his love for Laboon and his crew. But I don't have much of detailed one for him. Beta, possibly but that's the easiest to presume someone as.

Chopper;

He is a damn reindeer. I just wanted to include my besties name but yeah he is a reindeer no way in hell would this affect him and he'd just make suppressants for everyone. Even with the human human fruit, that wouldn't add abo to his form.

Franky;

Now there's a chance that now as a cyborg this doesn't affect him. But pre cyborg or if it did, I see him as an Omega.

This man cries his heart out (which I love dearly about him) and he is such a big bro/dad figure.

He wouldn't care what anyone was but as a kid he may have had some trouble with the concept until Tom taught him better. Esp with Ice for Brains, who I could see as an Alpha/Beta so Franky may have felt less than.

Robin;

Alpha or Beta, but she isn't an Omega.

She holds herself up with an air of stoic and dark humor/themes. She would be quite a helpful Beta and she'd protect any Omega friends. She would feel very strongly about Omegas being seen as the same as everyone else. And she would feel very insecure if she was made to submit to anyone unwillingly.

I can see Alpha tho, (esp Frobin <3), she lets Franky let his tears out and she is such a good friend. She would struggle to let her feelings out which would make her line in Enies lobby even more important. She would be experienced and she would probably offer to help an omega she was very close to but she wouldn't settle down unless you are Franky or a very solid partner to her. She wouldn't care if you were another Alpha or Beta though, she'd love you for you.

Jinbe/Jimbei;

Now I don't know if Fish people/men would even be affected but if they were.. he would be...

Alpha, but in a very nonchalant way. He was a warlord, and not just anyone would get that. He wouldn't ever make someone submit and he would fight for rights for everyone esp Omegas in his community. If he did settle down, it wouldn't matter to him. Just as long as he can share his feelings in a safe place.

But beta would work as well, he is quite devoted to his crews and is a loyal person in general and shows alot of care to Luffy during the timeskip.

I also haven't finished Fish man Island yet so I have little to work with.

Nami;

I did save her for last, this is probably the most biased one. I mean as you guys will learn, she's my girlfriend/wife, so I may see her slightly different than someone else would.

Now I feel like as many of the others, she can fit in all three. I mean everyone is going to show traits to each kind which is why I try to explain myself for each.

Alpha, i can see this. She's very fiesty and she sure as hell wouldn't want to submit to anyone. She would be a little embarrassed during a Rut and she would use suppressants. She would be fine with not being top dog but she definitely wants her respect, she's the entire reason they get anywhere.

She isn't looking for romance but she'd be fine with anyone as long as they were worth it. I think an Alpha male would be her least likely pair though, that person would have to be quite honorable and prove themselves to her as good enough.

If she's an Omega, she would be quite angry about it. She wouldn't want to be perceived as weak and sure as hell would use suppressants and she'd be damned if an alpha helped her through a heat. The only way she would, would be after a super solid relationship where there's extreme trust. She would slap the crap out of Sanji if he tried anything or suggested anything, she wouldn't have any patience especially after she had to deal with the bullshit she heard her entire time with Arlong and other crews stealing treasure.

If she was a beta, she'd probably go after another Beta. Keep thing simple. She would eyeroll at any alphas and she would be over the whole alpha/omega bullshit.

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