kara: WHAT?! haha what do you mean- i never- ME? falling from space?? miss grant, that would be ridiculous! i’ve been here. on earth. this whole time
cat: [looks into the camera like she’s on the office she owns the damn office and can have a camera crew follow her around just so she can have a camera to look into because HONESTLY, KARA…]
My boyfriend and I were downtown and he saw fresh sunflowers, which is his best friend’s favorite flower, and he not only bought one for him but had me drive him to his best friends house so he could surprise him with it and I just think this is the type of male friendship that should be normalized
i just read a washington post article on romcoms aging poorly due to the pushiness (and oft-stalkery conduct) of the male characters therein, and it got me thinking about pride and prejudice, and specifically darcy saying, “one word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”
because, like, that’s the seldom-portrayed romantic dream in the patriarchal hellscape that is our world, isn’t it?
a dude being willing to say, “i understand if you don’t feel the same way about me, and i’ll leave you alone forever about this if my attention is unwanted.”
so simple, yet so wonderful in its basic human decency
and dudes to this day wonder why women still swoon over darcy
Note also: Elizabeth turns down Darcy’s first proposal, and in the process, accuses him of doing some stuff he did not do (and also some stuff he totally did).
The next day, he surprises her on her walk. He hands her a letter, asks that she read it, and then takes off.
When this happened to me after I had turned someone down IN REAL LIFE, the letter contained a passionate argument to the tune of “actually you’re wrong and you do like me and you should go out with me” and it was creepy af.
Darcy’s letter to Elizabeth starts with: “Be not alarmed, Madam, on receiving this letter, by the apprehension of its containing any repetition of those sentiments, or renewal of those offers, which were last night so disgusting to you”. He goes on to set the record straight about the stuff he didn’t do (as well as the stuff he did) which is *actually relevant* to Elizabeth. And he, as promised, doesn’t romance her further.
It’s totally bizarre that even now, this can be considered unusually great dude behaviour.
Darcy’s first proposal: “You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
Darcy’s second proposal: “One word from you will silence me on this subject forever.”
His whole arc in the book is about learning to consider other people’s feelings and not just his own, but the fact that it’s expressed via who gets to talk and who is told to shut up is so, so telling. The first time around, he imposes his voice on her whether she wants it or not. The second time, he asks how she feels, and in exchange, offers her the gift of his silence.
And yeah, the fact that dudes still! have! not! learned! this! lesson! is exhausting.
Honestly I love ironically ugly clothes. Like. Hideous in a special way. If it’s not inherently hideous I’ll match it until it is.
Me, walking off a bus in a leather sports bra, body harness, mesh shirt, holographic skirt, over the knee striped socks, wedged high tops, and a cat purse: I am a beacon of sin and I Am Here!
You reblogged this and I’m sure you know I did that but I need you to know that I really did that.
im offended that yr trying to pass this off as ugly
The best part of lasting this long as Cat’s assistant was knowing Cat entirely, inside and out. Kara could sense on-coming migraines, lunch demands, and imminent firings. She knew when to refill the M&M dish, when to pour Cat a bourbon, and when to cancel a day’s meetings. But the worst part of the job was knowing a problem without being able to fix it.
She knew about Cat’s dyslexia, despite the older woman’s incredible ability to hide the disability. She’d been there after hours, as Cat pored over documents, muttering profanity under her breath. With her super hearing, she’d heard a program on Cat’s computer reading things aloud, and she’d been in meetings where Cat claimed to not have time to read documents, so the speaker would have to summarize their point.
But what could she do? She couldn’t impose herself into Cat’s life as a personal document reader, nor could she record herself reading all the documents for Cat to listen to later. She felt helpless, which was unusual and frustrating. She was the Maid of Might, and she could do anything! Except overcome someone else’s disability for them. She sat at her desk and wished for an answer.
Then, as she’d done since adolescence, she turned to the great answerer of all questions. Google supplied her with a number of solutions. She gnawed on her lower lip and decided to wait until Cat was in a meeting to implement anything. She’d start slow, just to see if any one thing helped Cat more than others.
The first meeting, she installed a new font and used a bit of Kryptonian ingenuity to force the computer to substitute the dyslexia-friendly font for everything text-based on the computer, from documents to internet pages. Cat complained at first that someone had meddled with her belongings, but Kara had gently explained that IT had installed an update, and this was nothing to be concerned about.
There was a bit more grumbling, but then, Cat seemed to settle into her new reality. Kara waited a week, watching and taking notes, and then slipped in to install her next change. This one was a bit subtler, using a gradient of grays and blacks to transition from line to line. When Cat returned, there was no comment, although Cat did shoot Kara a curious glance on sitting down and starting her computer up.
Long days got shorter, Kara noticed. Cat left the office closer to seven than nine. Meetings went smoother as Cat demanded less from the presenters.
So, when it came time to install the last device, Kara didn’t wait for a meeting. She eased into Cat’s office during a quiet moment and held up a pen.
“Do you need something?”
“I wanted to give you this?”
Cat stared her down. “I have my own pens. I doubt I need your Bic.”
Kara shook her head. “It’s Bluetooth. I sort of had my sister help me make it. You can hook it to an earpiece.”
“What, so I can listen to the scratching of the nib on paper?”
“Well, it does write, but that’s not its primary purpose. There’s a scanner at the tip.” Kara stepped a bit closer, so Cat could have a better look. “You just run it over text, and it’ll read it to you.”
Cat’s eyes narrowed. “Why would you give this to me?”
Kara had a lie at the ready. “You’re very busy, Ms. Grant. You’ll be able to multi-task more effectively.”
Silence fell for a moment as Cat considered the offer. “Thank you, Kara.”
The use of her proper name brought Kara up short. She felt a flush rising in her cheeks. “You’re welcome, Ms. Grant.”
1. They’re both hatstalls. For Kara, it’s a tossup between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor; for Cat, Gryffindor and Slytherin. In the end, neither of them wind up in Gryffindor, and they thrive in their respective Houses. Cat in particular is very deliberate about wanting to challenge the assumptions people make about Slytherins.
2. Cat is a pureblood, with ancestry stretching back to the Founders. Before the war broke out in earnest, her mother wasn’t opposed to the ideas Voldemort was perpetuating; once his methods became clearer, though, she balked. She loathes that Cat is such a supporter of Muggle and Muggleborn rights.
Kara is also a pureblood, but when her parents were killed fighting for the Order during the Second War, she moved in with the Danvers family. Eliza is a halfblood, and Jeremiah a Muggle. She knows Alex a little from school, but as a first year Hufflepuff and second year Slytherin, they haven’t really spent time together. They don’t really start to bond until the first summer they spend together outside of school.
3. After school, Cat works for the Daily Prophet and quickly rises in the ranks. She resigns in protest when Fudge begins to use it as propaganda. During the Second War she uses her resources both as a journalist and as a well-connected pureblood to pass information to the Order, and she works with The Quibbler, Potterwatch, and other underground organizations to keep the public informed. After the war, she sets out to start her own media company, utilizing Muggle methods like television and the internet to modernize the wizarding media and make it more accessible and accountable. She works closely with the Ministry and particularly Hermione Granger to pass laws protecting the freedom of the press.
4. Kara begins working at CatCo Wizarding Media a couple of years after graduating from Hogwarts. She’s fascinated by the Muggle world and initially works as a research intern studying Muggle media platforms and how to integrate them into the magical world, but she makes her way up to Cat’s assistant after a few years and eventually becomes a reporter with a focus on social issues.
5. Kara is particularly gifted with Charms, Astronomy, and Magical Creatures; she’s a good Defense Against the Dark Arts student but doesn’t like it as much. Cat excels at Transfiguration and Potions, and later in life, she also campaigns for more traditional forms of education such as literature/writing, math, and world history (not just History of Magic) to be incorporated into the Hogwarts curriculum.
Kara is also a talented Quidditch player – she was Seeker at school, which led to some interesting matches against Slytherin, where Alex was Beater. As an adult she doesn’t play as much but they’ll scrimmage now and then and get super competitive. It stresses Cat out – she hates heights – but every now and then Kara is able to convince her to get on the broom with her and take her flying.
Question of Smoke 