TwiLyghtSansSparkles

See, I would argue that the pro-Gryffindor/anti-Slytherin bias is even exhibited by the author, which is why we get such a skewed view of things. The moment when Dumbledore takes the House Cup from the Slytherins and gives it to Gryffindor based on last-minute points is portrayed as a happy ending. The only Slytherin reaction we are shown is on the part of Malfoy. If there were good Slytherins who cried themselves to sleep that night, we are given no indication that they even exist. If they do exist, they aren't worthy of note; it isn't a loss for Slytherin but a win for Gryffindor, and that is what matters. Throughout the series, the main Slytherin perspective we are given is Malfoy's. Others in his House are either shown or implied to fall in line with his ideology, and even he is denied a happy ending. One may argue that he brought his misfortune upon himself--and they would be right in that assessment. However, it is telling that the only other Slytherins with similar stories are redeemed through death, whereas Malfoy lives, to put it in Wesley's words, a long life with is cowardice. He lacked the courage to die for the Gryffindor cause and as a result lives the rest of his life without that courage; when I would argue that he had no reason NOT to renounce Voldemort and change his ways. Other Slytherins do fight for the right side, but they are deconstructions of good while Gryffindor good is played straight. Slughorn's casual racism is worlds better than pro-pureblood rhetoric, but it is worthy of note that no Gryffindor exhibits this attitude. Racism in Gryffindor is more likely to be toward goblins and house elves, which (in a very telling twist) is shown not to be entirely unfounded. House elves DO like being enslaved. Goblins ARE greedy by human standards, and likely to betray. Furthermore, this racism is only examined in detail in latter books, whereas Slytherin racism is introduced in book two. If a Gryffindor suffers, it is because they were too righteous or the innocent victim of evil. The Weasleys are poor because Arthur loves Muggles and the Ministry has been bought out by Lucius Malfoy. Harry's suffering is a result of his standing up to Voldemort. Katie Bell, Neville Longbottom and his parents, Hermione Granger--all of these Gryffindors suffer as a result of standing up to evil or getting in its way. Snape, Regulus, and Draco, on the other hand, bring their suffering upon themselves. Snap rejects his chance at making things right with Lily. Regulus and Draco both take the Mark. Furthermore, while it is made clear that both Draco and James Potter were bullies in their day, James the Gryffindor changes his ways while Draco the Slytherin does not. Why? Why does one clearly prejudiced bully mend while the other--who arguably has more reason, given his deep depression and nervous breakdown--never does? Finally, in the final battle, we see the Slytherins given one last shot to redeem themselves when offered a chance to fight for Hogwarts. To a man, they choose to evacuate rather than stay and fight--self preservation over right and wrong. By sharp contrast, over half the Gryffindors, many of them underage, stay. This, more than anything, exhibits the author's bias: She assumes that, given the chance, Slytherins will choose themselves over the cause of right and wrong, while Gryffindors will choose the opposite.

Exactly. It's almost as if good and evil are defined by how closely one's ideals align with Gryffindor, with Slytherin being evil because their ideals are the most alien from those of Gryffindor. On the school map, you might as well label Gryffindor with smilies and unicorns, Slytherin with frowns and ABANDON ALL GOODNESS YE WHO ENTER HERE, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw with "Almost Gryffindor but not quite as awesome" and "Almost Slytherin but not as evil," respectively.

Really? I would've been crushed if I'd been Sorted into Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. Come to think of it, I would've been happier with Slytherin than I would've with Gryffindor.

YouTube, meme sites….oh! Can you visit Tumblr, too? Give the cyberbullies there something to rant about, rather than turning on whoever dares to disagree with them.

I've been reading the explanations of different House personalities. Not only am I nodding along to the Ravenclaw primary and Slytherin secondary, going "Yep, that's me," but I'm also mentally Sorting different fictional and fanfic characters into the appropriate Houses.

What turned me off from seeing the movie is the complete change in tone. F4 is, to be completely blunt, a ridiculous series modeled on a ridiculous premise. The 2005 movie wasn't very good, but at least it embraced the campiness of four barely-astronauts who go into space and get magic powers from a magic radiation cloud. This movie is desperately trying to get us to take it as seriously as it takes itself, but that's not going to happen. F4 is not a serious premise, and no amount of "gritty realism" is going to change that.

"DEATHWISH!" Edgar Hawke lifted his radio, pressed the button, and said the first words that came through his sleep-addled brain. "I told you, it's Edgar." "I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE, I NEED YOU OUT HERE TEN MINUTES AGO!" "You don't have to shout at me, Arsenal. I've been much happier since I stopped shouting about things." That prompted a good thirty seconds of shouting. "GET OUT HERE AND STOP LIGHTWARDS OR I'LL SEND EVERY SIREN IN THE CITY TO SURROUND YOUR APARTMENT—" "Wait a minute, Lightwards? That crazy dinosaur guy?" "Yes." Edgar sat up in bed, fatigue vanishing. He'd seen that man, that Epic. Helped bring him down and chain him to that wheelchair. Killed him a few times—indirectly, of course, but that didn't stop the tears. Nor had it stopped Arsenal and Vondra from berating him for crying, or Scribbler and Edgerunner from giggling about it. And now he was loose. "There's only one way to bring him down," Edgar said, flinging off the covers and standing to his feet. "Yes, and it involves you reflecting every bullet from that gun he swiped off that guard, and it needs to happen—" "No. That isn't what I meant." "Well, it's what you'll do, or I'll send those sirens your way!" "That, Arsenal, is what Deathwish would have done. But I'm not Deathwish anymore." Arsenal's sigh was audible. "Dear Calamity, not this again." Edgar planted his hands on his hips and looked toward the ceiling, standing there in an empty room and his boxer shorts. "I'm Edgar now, and Edgar does things a different way." "I hate you." "He did what?" "Ran into my clinic, grabbed a Coke from the mini-fridge, and took off." Autumn stood there, blinking, pieces flying together. "Oh no." "What? He paid for the Coke." "No, no, no, it's not that." Autumn turned from the doctor, headed for the door, and stopped. "No, I can't go out because he'd lecture me about putting myself in danger—which is sweet, but really weird coming from him, never mind that he's the one chasing after a psychotic Epic with a Coke—" "He's doing what with that Coke?" Autumn sighed. "Remember how all this started? Death—Edgar—being nice and all? He drank a Coke first." Doctor Game chuckled. "I always wondered why he paid for it later." "And now—" Her explanation was cut short by three things. The first was the crack of gunfire, followed by a shout of pain. The second was a flat moo. The third was a voice, and that voice belonged to Edgar. "It can heal you!" A quick peek through the blinds showed Edgar floating toward Lightwards, holding a bottle of Coke aloft. The latter Epic's shamrock green cowboy hat was the least ridiculous part of the scene. "It can save you!"

It's not exactly the same, but I was giddy about that interactive map for hours. Aliens visit historic Spokane with the goal of either seeing or destroying (depending on how evil they are) every architecturally significant building in the city? I can see that working. We could call it Close Encounters of the Real-Estate Kind.

This requires a bit more thought.

Kobold, I had a question. And this may be the most important question you will ever answer. Is the universe where Lightwards was captured by the City Guard the same universe where Deathwish drank that Coke?

Or possible, given what weaknesses are.

It's a shame the lack of McDonalds will make this a bit more difficult. Bonus points will be awarded if he finds a cowboy hat and puts it on.

Motion carried.

I don't mind at all. The Master of Burgers won't be contained for long.

Lightwards in a session with Autumn is now a WHOOC.

These chains could not hold him. Were they actually chains? Yes, of course they were. These pathetic vanillas used—haha—chains, actual—​haha—chains—as if mere ropes—hahaha—couldn't hold him. Which they wouldn't. Death itself never had him for long. Why would The Dalles be any different? He was Lightwards, Victor over Death and The Dalles. Death of The Dalles. Victor over The Dalles after Death. "Lightwards?" The redheaded vanilla's voice cut through his reverie, and it was then he realized he'd been singing again. It happened sometimes. "You cannot defeat meeee," he sang, enjoying the sound of his own voice. He had a fine voice. Why was he the only one who liked to hear it? "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're chained to that wheelchair." Lightwards laughed. "I'll roll out of here, once I get my—stupid—foot—free—" "It's braked. And chained to both walls. You're not going anywhere." "Not without bringing this whole church down on top of you!" The vanilla took notes on her clipboard until his laughter subsided. "I can read what you're writing, you know." She smiled. It was a patronizing smile, the sort he'd use on Funtimes before he sent a bullet through her skull. "My own parents couldn't read my handwriting. I doubt you could." He laughed again. "Oh, I can read it. You're telling that 'Commander'"—he tried to raise his hands, but the chains kept him from making the air quotes he wanted to make—"how you need more chains for me. Moooorrrre chaiiiiinnnns. Because I'm so dan-ger-ouuuuusssss!" That song. It was funny, but he was alone in his laughter. "I think the chains we're using are more than enough. Even I thought it was overkill, but Vondra—" "—knew you were wrong!" Lightwards giggled, reminding himself of Funtimes. Oh, how he wanted to kill her. Strangle her. Stab her and send her blood spraying across the wall. "He—he knew you were wrong because no chains can hold me!" "He wanted more chains," Glass explained patiently, "to show you how helpless you are here." "Oh, but that's just the thing!" Lightwards struggled against the stupid, useless, stronger-than-they-had-any-right-to-be chains. "I'm not helpless. I—I could shoot you—and raise you—and you'd be miiiinnnnne! My Warrior! All mine!" She scribbled a few more notes. "Give me a gun—" "You're not getting a gun." "You didn't let me finish. Give me a gun—" "I didn't let you finish because—" "​—and I'll be the most powerful Epic in the world!" He shouted it. She'd interrupted him, but what he had to say was more important and more ​true so he shouted it so she'd hear. So the whole town would hear. So everyone with ears would hear. "I am the Emperor of Light and I will rule the world!" That last part came out more sing-song than he'd originally planned, but he liked it better that way. He wanted this vanilla, this Autumn Glass, to cringe. To cower. To call for her boss, for that joke of an Epic who stood in the corner of the room with his arms folded and his eyes cast into a glare. He wanted her to show fear, fear, sweet pure unadulterated fear, but she didn't give him what he wanted. "I think I have enough," she said, finishing her scribbles and getting to her feet. "It's not enough." Lightwards giggled. "It's never enough. Enough is never enough for me." "No, it is." Glass lifted her radio and spoke, never breaking eye contact. Her insolent brown eyes held his. "Send him back to his cell. What we've got should hold him."

If your love magic is so strong, why don't you use it to make us stop hating you?

I'd actually planned on doing Lightwards.

Such as....

If only we had a few adorable couples. So Voidgaze would constantly set off her weakness? Also, I just thought of something. How will Wes' new perspective on Epics affect his relationship with Aldo?

It IS. I shall tell my sister.

But who? Who could possibly get married in-episode solely for our benefit? Also, I need your guys' help. I'm sitting in one of the Sunday school rooms where a poster board bears two paper signs, each with "This Week's Kryptonite." One is "Fitting In," and the other is "Quitting." My sister, the one who gave you Reckoners fan art and Oklahoma!, wishes to draw an Epic whose weakness is quitting or fitting in. That's where you come in. What would that Epic be named? How would they act? What would their powers be? We currently have a vague idea of an Epic whose weakness is fitting in being the sort to drink pickle juice while slapping their neighbor, but that's about it. Help her. Fan art depends on you.

Very much so. Maybe it's more specific and the ceremony itself is the trigger.

I wonder...how "true" does that love have to be to set them off? Would Shiny set them off just by being next to them?