#and the stakes are higher for him this time because he's known her personally for years post-botw so he Knows the gravity of what exactly | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wenigstenshabeichesversucht · 2 months

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All is fair in love and war

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Ares kid!Reader

Summary: Where Luke is your biggest rival, and what better way is there to settle your rivalry once and for all than with a bet on who wins a game of Capture the Flag? The stakes are higher than ever before.

Warnings: none besides kissing, english is not my native language

Word Count: 1.8k

It was Friday morning; the Ares cabin was already filled with excitement when you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes. Most of your siblings were sharpening their weapons or polishing their armor. Fridays were Capture-the-Flag-days, the only day of the week, where you siblings forget about arguments with each other all in favor to fight the other campers. It was the only day of the week, at which your cabin went as one unit to breakfast without bickering.

At breakfast, you would find out the team division for the game and after that the counselor and who they seemed worthy would round up for a strategy meeting.

Although you couldn't see the future, you were pretty sure that Clarisse would choose you, she always did. Not because you were her favorite sibling, you were far from it. But you were the strategist of the cabin.

More time than once, some other campers had suggested that you were behaving more like a child of Athena than Ares. But they didn’t know the fury and hunger for blood you felt when you came face to face with Luke Castellan. In these moments you didn’t doubt, that you were your father’s daughter. Every time you saw him you had the urge to slap this stupid smile of his off his face. The others called him the greatest swordsmen the camp had seen in 300 years, and you hated him for that. This title should belong to you or one of your siblings. He had no right to claim the one thing the Ares cabin was expected to be good at.

Therefore, you were all the happier when you learned at breakfast that you would be competing against the Hermes cabin in this game of capture the flag. A cruel smile danced around the corners of your mouth just when you thought about how you would defeat Castellan.

“Do you already have a plan for us to win?”, Clarisse, who was sitting next to you, asked between two bites of bacon. Eagerly you nodded.

“With the Apollo and the Hephaestus cabin we almost have the victory safe.”

The Apollo kids were in general great archers, combined with your siblings you had good long-rang and close-rang fighters in your team. The Hephaestus kids were a great bonus, certainly they had one or two traps up their sleeves that you could use. The Dionysus cabin was also in your team, not exactly known to be good fighters, they could be useful as cannon fodder.

“I hope so, we can’t lose a third time in a row against the Athena cabin.”

“The last time we lost was totally Castellan’s fault”, you reminded her.

“So should I be glad, that this time he isn’t in our team?”

“At least this time he and Y/N can’t cost us the victory with their fighting”, a half-brother of yours chimed in, and your other siblings snickered spiteful. If looks could kill, he would be six feet under.

“Just finally kill him or snog him, we don’t care”, he added, without being intimidated by your gaze.

“I would rather die than kiss him” you protest, to which he shrugged his shoulders.

“Then that’s settled.”

On your way to the strategy meeting, you and Clarisse ran into Castellan and one of his half-brothers, Chris Rodriguiz.

The words of your brother still echoed in your head. Maybe killing him was worth giving up dessert for a week?

“Ready to lose, Castellan?”, you teased and like a bull being held up with a red rag, he couldn't ignore you.

“The only person here who is used to losing is you, Violence.”

You hated the nickname he had found for you, hearing it now, made our blood boil. Looking up to him, you snarled. Yes, today was the day, you would kill Luke Castellan.

“We will stamp you into the ground that you will cry for your daddy.”

“That will not happen, sorry to disappoint, Violence.”

“Should we bet, Castellan?”, with a dangerous gleam in your eyes, you took a step in his direction, till you were standing face to face. “If I win you will announce to the whole camp, that I’m a better sword fighter than you are. And if you win, what not gonna happen, you can get anything you want.”

“Anything?” Luke’s lips curled to a sly smile.

“Anything”, you confirmed.

“If I win, what I will, you will openly admit, that you need tutoring in sword fighting by the best swordsman, and we will do five lessons for everyone to watch.”

Oh, that was good, you had to give him that. That would be so humiliating.

“Do we have a deal?”, like he already had won, he smirked down at you. But you wouldn’t back down, not now, not ever.

“Deal!”

“You know that there are easier ways to resolve the tension between Castellan and you?”, Clarisse provoked you after the strategy meeting as you put on your armor.

“Easier than a bloodbath?”, you questioned doubtful.

“I mean Carter wasn’t wrong. You could make out.”

As response, you just made gagging noises. Like you said earlier, you would rather die than kiss him.

“Think about it, it would distract him. Without their best fighter, we will totally win.”

“Are you suggesting that I hook up with Castellan so we can win Capture the Flag?”, flabbergast, you looked at your half-sister. That wasn't typical of her at all. Since when did she think about a winning strategy other than just charging in?

“We aren’t children of Aphrodite, we don’t do stuff like that”, you objected, while tightening your breastplate. “Besides, it wouldn’t work”, you added after a thoughtful moment.

“And why not? He literally undressed you with his eyes earlier.”

Aghast your mouth felt open. He totally didn’t and if Clarisse though so, she needed to get her eyes checked out. You still had half an hour till Capture the Flag started, enough time to find an Apollo kid for an eye test.

“He did not, we hate each other!”

“Hate and love are closer to each other than you may think.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes. That was bullshit. But you were tired of debating whether Luke was interested in you. To be honest, you couldn’t imagine it. He was the kind of guy who would fall for a pretty Aphrodite kid, not for someone like who, forged out of anger and bloodlust. The only thing Luke was interested in, was to humiliate you, that you were sure of.

“Even if you were right, what I strongly doubt, it wouldn’t be fair to use his feelings against him just to win the game.”

Surprised Clarisse stopped fixing her armor, that didn’t sound like you. You siblings knew you as somebody, who would do everything to win. But even you had a moral line, you wouldn’t cross. And it seems you had found it.

“All is fair in love and war”, Clarisse protested, and you grimaced.

“And which of the two are we dealing with? Love or war?”

“That’s for you to decide.”

You should be concentrating right now, and you were trying, really. But you couldn’t help but think about Clarisse words. So, if you lost because of your inattention, it would be her fault.

Leaning against a tree, you took a deep breath. You had to get your head in the game. You were part of the defense. While two of the Apollo kids were guarding the flag, it was your job to stop anyone who was trying to get to them. You would rather be on the attack, but you were one of the few Ares children who were patient. But not patient enough.

Bored you twirled your sword in your hands, hoping that something exciting would happen soon. Some god must have heard your prayers, because you heard rustling in the bush and shortly after none other than Luke Castellan step into the small clearing. Seeing him you couldn’t suppress a wicked smile.

„You took your time.”

“If I had known that you were eagerly awaiting me, I would have rushed here.” Lazy stepping in the middle of the clearing, Luke drew his sword.

“So eager to get another scar, Castellan?”, you mocked as you pushed yourself off the tree. You met in the middle. Your swords clashed together, and you could feel the impact right up into your shoulder. It had been two weeks since you last had the pleasure of fighting him, and you missed it. A genuine smile appeared on your lips, while you both moved around the clearing like you were dancing to music only you could hear.

But sooner than you wanted, your little dance had to come to an end. Even if you would never admit it, Luke was simply the better swordsman of the two of you. In one moment, you wanted to block his swing, the next your sword was flying out of your hands, and you were cornered against a tree. Gasping for air, you gazed at Luke, who bridged the last few meters panting and pressed you against the tree. Through your shirt you could feel the hotness radiating from him. Confused you could just stare.

“This is a position I've wanted you in for a long time”, he muttered, and his eyes were looking teasingly down at you.

Was he flirting with you? You weren’t sure. But there was one thing you were sure about; you wouldn't lose to him again.

“Same for you”, giving him a cocky smile you pressed your dagger against his throat. You couldn't describe the feeling of satisfaction that filled you when he opened his eyes in surprise. But faster than you would have liked, he slipped back into his far to arrogant self.

“Violence you live up to your name, good thing I like it.”

Before you could react, he pressed his lips on yours. Losing no time, you kissed him back. Wasn’t this how every girl imagines their first kiss? After a sword battle with their biggest rival? His big hands roamed your body, and yours clawed themselves in his hair. It seemed that you had exchanged your swords for other, no less sharp, weapons.

Only when cheers filled the forest did you separate from each other, gasping for air. Luke’s lips were swollen as he looked at you like he saw you for the first time. You were only able to tear your eyes away from him when a group of Athena kids broke through the trees with the red flag. It looked like your team lost, but for the first time you weren’t angry about it.

“Looks like I won our little bet”, Luke whispered way too close, and you could have cursed. You totally forgot about the bet. To safe a little bit of face, you pressed against the tree behind you to create some space between you.

“I totally won our fight!”

If you had wanted to, you could have slit his throat with your dagger.

“Maybe you won the fight, but I won the war.”

Sending you one last cheeky grin, he joined his team to celebrate their victory. And surprisingly, it didn't feel like a total loss.

#luke castellan oneshot #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan #pjo tv show #percy jackson #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x fem!reader #pjo series #pjo

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lizzaneia-elizalde · 6 months

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And the other one is for Yandere cowboy Knoxx,inspired by the previous what if,

what if reader is an immigrant wanting to work a job with high salary that's why she was at Knoxx's town,and reader want to visit her family back at her hometown,will Knoxx come and how would he greet reader's family?will he be accepted?What would he do to achieve his rightful place beside reader without murdering reader's family?

Yandere! Cowboy x New in town! Teacher! Fem! Reader

WHAT IF: The reader goes back to the city, but this time with Knoxx?

Okay. For Knoxx not to go haywire by the prospect of darling going home, this meant that there will be an established relationship! So, the reader is still a teacher, and is actually together with Knoxx already. You're an immigrant from a foreign country. Guess which one?

This one will also be short!

Knoxx remembered the first time you got here in this town.

You, helping Red from getting washed away by the river, you in your teacher uniform, him staking his claim while putting a hat on you...

It felt so long ago.

Now, you're in a relationship with him.

He heard about your story from your own mouth.

An immigrant, you moved here in order to have a higher paying job. Especially that the country you came from had a weaker currency. So more money.

He admired your hardworking spirit, and vowed to help you as much as he can.

You're an amazing teacher. Despite being from a foreign country going to a small, tight knit town, everyone loved you. You're smart, kind, generous, and really good at teaching kids.

No wonder everyone was so on board with you dating Knoxx.

And, when you told Knoxx about your plans on going home AND introducing him, he was through the moon.

"Darlin! Are you sure? Then yes! I will gladly meet yer family!" He grinned, thinking of how it would be nice to meet the people who reared you to be such an amazing person.

The flight there was a bit scary, but Knoxx held you tight. Despite being rich, it was his first time flying. Because most of the time he was just in the town. The only time he left was for University.

You giggled, holding his hand and giving him the warmest smile with a squeeze on his hand.

"Calm down, okay?" You whispered, giving him a kiss on his temple that made him relax in your touch.

Touching down, he felt his heart pump wildly in nervousness.

He's a family man. The Wyatt's were known to be a tight knit family. So he's naturally eager to get the approval of yours too.

"Mama! I'm here!" You yelled.

Suddenly, footsteps raced towards the both of you and the gates opened.

"Iha! Come! Come!" Your mother, in her bestida, welcomed you back in her arms.

Your mother suddenly stilled, looking up at Knoxx who only flinched and bowed down.

"Hello missus! I am Knoxx, yer daughter's boyfriend." He said. His voice low and respectful. His cowboy hat perched on his chest.

"Ah! Knoxx! It's you, the cowboy! Ay, come in you too!" Your mother's thick accent comforted Knoxx, like a warm blanket covering him.

You both got inside the house, and the luggage were immediately taken by your siblings by the order of your mother.

"Is Papa here?" You asked.

"Ah, Papa's working. He's always busy you know." Your mother shooked her head. "Anyways, you both must be tired! Let's eat! I cooked sinigang."

Knoxx felt at home.

Your hometown is a province, filled with farmlands and ranches. It was the same as Knoxx's, and he knew he would have a great time spending time here.

"You have an amazing place 'ere, missus!" Knoxx said, looking around the knick knacks, medals, trophies, picture frames, and random memorabilia in your home. "It's very 'omely."

"Oh we try, cowboy." Your mother said. "Now come, let's eat."

Days passed by, and Knoxx integrated well with your family. Your dad likes him very much due to him being a rancher and also somebody well versed with farming. Your siblings treated him like a real brother, playing with him on the fields. Your mother spoiled him, cooking him your country's foods he never got to try.

Knoxx looked really happy.

And as you watched Knoxx help your father till the fields with a carabao and an old style tiller, you knew you found the man in your life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Knoxx is sweet like that fr fr. He would never kill your family nor you. But, friends and acquaintances are not safe though LMAO

#yandere boyfriend #yandere imagines #yandere male #yandere writing #male yandere x reader #tw yandere #yandere x darling #yandere x you #yandere fic #yandere drabbles #lizzaneiaelizalde

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loving-and-dreaming · 1 year

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nonsense s.b oneshot

pairing: Sirius black x reader x reader

a/n loosely based off the song nonsense by Sabrina carpenter <3 I would have highlighted and italicized the lyrics but I didn’t directly use any. But all credit goes to her amazing song because that is literally the basis of this ❤️ huge huge huge thank you to @whoahoney for helping me gain the confidence again and reading it over to make sure I didn’t sound dumb 💛💛💛

-Word count: 2.2K

You and Lily were getting ready for the get together at her boyfriend's place. You were extremely nervous; you know James, but the rest of his friends that will be there, not so much. I mean let's face it, you are not the biggest social butterfly. You love talking and love making friends but sometimes you just want to curl up in bed. But for your friend and her new budding relationship you would go and be your best self.

Arriving at James' house, you were surprised. He was known for throwing his parties back in Hogwarts but there were only two cars in the driveway, now with yours three. There was no booming music. No bright strobing lights. Looking at Lily you grab her hand and let her drag you in. As soon as you step in your first thought is to go hide in a corner with Lily, but that is not the point of this. The point was for her to spend some time with her new boyfriend in a low stakes environment. You push Lily, “Go girl! I will be fine. Go find lover boy and tell him I said hi!”

“Okay you know where the kitchen is, if you need anything just shout. I promise we can leave if you ever feel uncomfortable.” She gives you a look of concern. Maybe you were not hiding your nerves as well as you thought. Giving her a thumbs up and one more push, she goes to find James.

You head to the kitchen to get a drink. To get to the kitchen you need to pass through this hallway, which in your opinion is too long. You don’t normally drink, but tonight might be a cause to break out of that habit. Now you were not sad, but just in your head. Thinking about the phone calls you have to make at work, what you are going to make for lunch tomorrow, when you are going to call your mom, what should you get for Lily's birthday, how surprised you are at the nice decorations in a house full of guys. All these thoughts made you too distracted and miss the person heading in your direction. Only noticing the other person in the hallway when you are wearing a disgusting smelling drink(and now you remember why you don’t drink) and had his strong tattooed arms around your waist.

“Oh my-” you look up and see his beautiful smile before anything else. Embarrassingly so your voice gets higher, “—gosh, I am so sorry! I wasted your drink! What was it? I’ll get you a new one, although it smells gross. Wait I didn’t mean to say that, well I did but to each their own, if you like it that’s all that matters and I will get you a new one!” it took you a moment to realize you were rambling like a mad man, you look anywhere but the beautiful man in front of you.

“Don’t worry about it, Love. Lets get you a new shirt, this one is a little wet and now smells like my beer and like you pointed out it smells gross,” the stranger tells you in a voice filled with laughter. He moves his arms from around your waist and puts one on your back to lead you to a room. “I don't think we have met, Im Sirius, but those hooligans call me Padfoot or Pads. you can call me king though… perhaps you’ll be my queen?” Faltering in your steps you stop and look at him. Had he really just said that? He was probably just a natural flirt, nothing personal. So you simply giggle and roll your eyes.

“Your eyes are so beautiful, I think they are my favorite part of you.”

Okay that's it, you know he must be messing with you. It's probably James' bright idea to get one of his friends to mess with you, since you are the only friend in Lilys group that is single. You don’t know how many times you have reassured them that even though the break up was nasty, it was a year ago and you are over it. Turning to him, “Hi Sirius-”

“I thought I told you to call me king, my queen?”

“As I was saying, sirius, i'm not sure if james put you up to this or maybe lily, but i promise i'm okay being single. I hereby relieve you of your babysitting duty. Just point me in the direction of the bathroom and I will be fine.”

“Babysitting? What are you talking about? Anyways I am not going to let you stay in that beer soaked shirt, so here is my room, I will get you a clean shirt. Just one moment.”

He brings you out a shirt that looks worse for wear. It must be one of his favorite shirts, you can’t help the little blush and skip in your heart that he chose to give you a favorite shirt of his. “I insist you use my room, I mean I’d love to get you naked in my room, but in reality my bathroom is not the cleanest…” he opens the door for you and gives you space to walk in. You look back at him and smile while closing the door. Now you are not a creeper, but like anyone you are naturally curious. So while slowly taking off your beer soaked shirt you look around. The first thing that you notice is for someone that has apparently a messy bathroom. His room is extremely clean. The bed is completely made up, you’re just as clean and even your bed doesn’t look like that. The desk is free of clutter, and there are no clothes on the floor. To say you were shocked, would be an understatement. The next thing you notice is the bookshelves lining the walls from the few moments that you talk to him or more like he flirted with you. He did not strike you as someone that would be this well read. The last thing you notice, and this one stands out, is the fact that he has a candle burning in his room. The candle smells just like you thought he would, a hint of leather and musk. Cynthia reminds you of the words while also something fresh that makes you want to bury your face in the smell. Realizing you spent a good ten minutes just staring at his room you quickly change and without thinking about it so your shirt on his bed. With a red face, you quietly open the door, ready to endure the teasing of spending a good 10 minutes just to get changed yet When you open the door you find him gone. Although you told him to leave your heart does drop a little bit. But you quickly shake off that feeling you don't need James or Lily trying to make you feel better by asking James’ hot friend to keep you company.

You know the break up was a year ago, and honestly you are NOT still hung up on him. But they swear you are and that you need to find someone new. You’ve told her countless times that you’re just not ready for a relationship right now. And maybe Lily does know your taste, and picked the right guy but still absolutely not.

You walk back to the living room, still on the original mission to find a drink and run into jame and lily making heart eyes at each other in the hallway. Normally you would leave them be, but with sirius fresh on the brain you had to say something.

“Lily, james. I know you just want what is best for me. But I promise I am not hung up on Tyler. I just dont need to have someone in my life right now. So please tell Sirius he no longer needs to babysit me.”

James lets out a snort and lily looks at you with wide eyes. “Y/N hunny, what on earth are you talking about. We never asked Sirius to babysit you, we didn't even tell him about you because he tends to be a lot, which it seems like you are now witnessing.”

You're speechless. “So you're telling me I kinda told him off for no reason??? fan-freaking-tastic. Please excuse me while I go die on the couch with my drink I still have not gotten.” stomping over to the couch you make yourself at home. After you make yourself comfortable on the couch, you realize you still have not gotten your drink. Which may be better because who needs to be drinking when you’re sulking.

Once again lost in your head, you don't see or hear anything until someone sits down next to you and puts a glass full of water in your face. Looking up you see Sirius and are feeling the butterflies doing cartwheels in your stomach. Mouth opening and closing you cannot find the right words to say. All that is in your brain is nonsense, so logically that is what you say, “you… have me thinking nonsense.” not realizing you said that out loud until you hear James snort from the other couch and Sirius’ little laugh. Looking at Lily you mouth “did i really say that out loud?” The look on her face gives you the answer.

“Here, Love. I heard through the grapevine you never got your drink so I came bearing gifts. I was also told that you don’t drink alcohol, so I made sure to get you something that you would drink" Sirius looks at you smirking, “if it makes you feel better when looking at you I lose my chill.”

Giggling and once again rolling your eyes you say “yes Sirius thank you, i feel so much better because of that. Thank you for the drink. I really do appreciate it”

“Wait, I got an even better one! When you get close to me my tongue goes numb, sounds like bleh blah blee!” James once again snorts(you make a mental note to call him pig later), and Remus, Peter(who you just put names to face) and Lily all roll their eyes. This does however make you let out a real laugh, not those cute little giggles us girls do, no this was a whole laugh form your stomach. And hearing it made Sirius want to hear it everyday from now on, he made sure to tell you this too. “ Tell me the word Y/N and I promise I will make you laugh like that for the rest of our life.”

The rest of the night was spent by Sirius' side. He had the young energy of a puppy, which is how he got his nickname, puppy. He said he was offended at the nickname because “Y/N i am a manly man, i need a better nickname than puppy.” But the way he smiles when you say it with the sparkle in your eyes… He would let you do anything.

Eventually it is time to go home, you and Lily promise to come back with donuts in the morning (this lets the boys let you go a bit easier). In the car she gives you a look that says ‘spill’.

“I really like him lily! I want to spend all day talking to him, maybe going to the bedroom and doing not so soft things, my mind is running wild with everything i want to do with him. I think I caught that L-O-V-E…”

“Damn girl… really? After one night?”

“Lily you know me, you know i wouldn't say it if i didn't believe it at least.. 80%. He made me feel things that I can't explain. I don't know how he does this to me, but I cannot help myself.” you pull into the apartment building and look down for your keys in your purse. That's when it dawns on you, you still have his shirt on… Unlocking the door the first thing you do is call James' house.

“Hey it's Y/N, is Sirius there?”

“Wow, ready to talk to him already, huh?” You can hear the smirk in James' voice.

“Says you, who called the apartment before Lily even made it back home…” He scoffs at that and you hear him screaming for ‘Pads’ to get his ‘ass down to the phone’.

“Hello, Love, miss me already?” After spending all night with his flirtatious self, you easily opened and gave him back some of the sass (you are very proud of yourself if you do say so).

“Of course I miss you, but I kinda miss my shirt more. It was one of my favorites.”

“It will be here all clean for you tomorrow, I'll even learn how to do laundry for you, my queen. Also! before you go, I do have a very important question for you.” Thinking the worst, you lose your smile and look down… His joking and smile filled voice is the only reason your smile comes back, “my question is, how quickly can you take your clothes off, pop quiz!”

The last thing he hears is your giggle and “you'll find out soon, Puppy.”

#sirius black and reader #sirius x reader #sirius black fluff #sirius black x reader #sirius #sirius black and you #sirius black imagine #sirius black oneshot #sirius black one shot #sirius black #sirius black scenario #marauders imagine #marauders fic #young sirius x reader #young sirius black #harry potter imagines #harry potter marauders #marauders era

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kingfisherprince · 9 months

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the history of rafole, part two

or: flip a coin and win both sides.

(you can find part one here.)

officially their rivalry begins with that roland garros quarterfinal, but really it's not until the sunshine swing in 2007 that it really turns into something.

indian wells, miami. two matches, ten days apart. after all, is it really a rivalry if you don't split the honours?

(continued under the cut.)

let's ignore the rather prominent boris becker in the middle of that photo, and turn to either side. rafa and novak, novak and rafa, playing the final of indian wells against each other.

maybe this is a good time to remind y'all that i'm writing this as an outsider looking in on a personal history, without much primary source material available to me, and sometimes that means there are going to be knowledge gaps in the progression.

which all goes to say, i don't know exactly when this happened. but at some point while becoming rivals rafa and novak had also become good friends. his brother notes that they knew each other even before their first match in 2006:

and so by the time of the 2007 iw final, it's pretty fair to say that they're friends.

which doesn't change the stakes of the match in the slightest. it was novak's first masters final, bringing him up to the top ten in the rankings for the very first time. rafa was looking to win his first tournament of the year.

and even without that, well, it's a masters final. safe to say, it mattered.

in the end, experience won (and man, have these two continued to show us that in recent years. sorry, anachronism) with nole overwhelmed by the occasion, and rafa doing what rafa does.

he won his seventh masters title, eighteenth title overall, and his first of the year.

the speech that followed was nothing short of endearing, especially from novak, who hadn't given many finalist speeches, and who had ― and still has ― a tendency to ramble.

spectacular video quality, maybe not, but certainly spectacular content.

but wait! there's more. it was actually after this match that we got this infamous hot tub picture:

because rafa decided to celebrate his win with his team ― including benito, who was his and novak's shared agent at the time, and probably a big reason for their introduction to each other and their friendship ― and got novak to take pictures, before inviting him in as well to celebrate his first masters final.

meanwhile on the rivalry front, there's this observation in rafa's blog:

directly acknowledging how much of a threat novak was. (though he'd just reached world #10 at that point, not #3.)

it doesn't take long for that to change, but to get there we'll need to cross the country from california to florida,

the state known for sunshine, alligators, and ― especially in mid-march ― young people being young. author julie klam recounts a story her brother told about the two of them during miami 2007:

(yes, this is the origin of the 'novak screamed primitively at horrible driver rafa' headline. context, much?)

their friendship made sense, for what they were. just two kids around the same age, who ― at the time ― shared an agent, a sport, and seemingly a sense of humour.

their rivalry did as well. two kids, nineteen and twenty, on the rise and rise, the best of their age, trying to be the best in the world, which meant trying to be better than each other.

this time, ten days later, they faced each other in the quarterfinal.

youtube

and this time, ten days later, the scoreline flipped over.

novak would go on to defeat guillermo cañas in the final to win his first masters title, taking him to third in the rankings.

it would take him some more time to reach any higher, but with these two matches ― both high profile, both with different results ― rafole had become a young rivalry to watch for the rest of 2007.

there was really only one direction their careers could go.

hey, you out there. look up.

[end part two.]

immense gratitude to @rafolearchive, who provided quite literally all of the best moments, and without whom this wouldn't be half as interesting

#tennis #novak djokovic #rafael nadal #rafole #rafole history posts #up next (probably):#2007 and the first public rafa impersonation #<- notice how i used those tags last time?#that's how you know i'm fuckin winging it #but y'know what we chillin #enjoyyy #Youtube

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cafe-con-navi · 1 year

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[ !!!MANGA SPOILERS AHEAD!!! ]

I think it’s really interesting the way the story frames Twilight “softening” because of his family as a bad, detrimental thing—when on the flip side, Yor’s “softening” actually reenforces and strengthens her desire to do what she does to protect the life she has now. It kinda leads me to wonder, what’s the difference in Twilight’s circumstances?

The more I think about it, the more I feel like Twilight has just as much reason—if not more—to be motivated by the fact that he finally has a real, tangible reason (now he has three!) to keep himself alive and safe for. He’s always worked as a spy so that he could aim to create a world where children didn’t cry anymore, but it was this very operation that took this ideal and made it an active constant in his life. He’s never had children—he’s only had the desire to never let them experience what he did. But with Anya under his care, those stakes are higher than they were before.

Which brings me to the whole idea of dispensability as a recurring theme. Nightfall mentions that it was Twilight’s mentality at one point that spies were dispensable. Up until this point, his mentality had been “if I am not ruthless and guarded at all times, I’ll be killed.” And it’s understandable why—the heavily implied reason that he’s built up to the staggering reputation he has now is because upon becoming a spy in the first place, he had no tangible reason to live anymore. Everyone that’s ever known his name is gone, and to the core he’s just a selfless man that doesn’t want anyone to experience that same kind of pain again.

If that ideal alone was enough to drive him to become Westalis’ best agent, who’s to say that giving him a personal reason won’t motivate him even further?

Both the anime and manga seem to frame it in that these extra emotions will only make him weaker, but I personally believe that once Twilight comes around to accepting and embracing the fact that he wants to live and end this cold war for his family, he’ll become even more of a powerhouse than he was before.

#spy x family #spy x family manga #spy x family manga spoilers #loid forger #yor forger #agent twilight #thorn princess #anya forger #i just think they’re neat #im rambling sorry if this doesnt make any sense

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mermaidsirennikita · 3 months

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can we talk about how absolutely wild Then Came You is? other regency novels are like, you make me so insane I'm going to break the norms of my society by kissing you, and meanwhile wolverton is out here so unhinged he throws lily's LUGGAGE OUT THE WINDOW, in front of EVERYONE

I hope you don't mind me publishing this because Then Came You is an underrated banger and I want to spread the gospel

I do think EtL should be higher stakes than "we snipe at each other over our disagreements on flower arrangements" but it doesn't have to be "enemies on a battlefield". And TCY is a great example of WHY. Alex and Lily DESPISE each other, and they really get in some crazy good moments that only amp up the sexual tension to a ridiculous degree.

Not only does he throw her luggage out the window in front of EVERYONE, he also literally wins her in a game of cards (against her!) and throws her over his shoulder bodily and is like, dragging her up the stairs while everyone at Craven's is like "should we.... do something...?" (And Baby Derek Craven, who thinks he's like in love with this woman lmao is all "them's the breaks" about it).

And Lily showing up at that party dressed in a nude dress with a snake crawling up the front while Alex is like "I AM SO. MAD. AT EVERYTHING HAPPENING HERE. OH MY GOD." He hates everything she chooses to be!!!

Lily tying him to the bed to terrorize him without realizing that she's terrorizing him in That Way until she sits on his lap and is like "INCHRESTING".

The absolute insanity of him buying a bear in order to make her happy.

I think one reason why people hate TCY is the whole moment when he calls her The Thing, but I'm gonna be real... It frustrates me when people drag other Lisa heroes for being dicks in a moment, while at the same time forgetting that their favorite, Sebastian, did kidnap and threaten to assault a woman lol. Like. I LOVE HIM. Don't get me wrong. And you don't have to love Alex! But it's when people drag MORALITY into it that I can't deal. Don't moralize, just say you dislike him.

(I also personally think that Alex would've gone a lot easier on Lily throughout the book had he known Several Major Things, so. In all fairness, he didn't have the whole story.)

But yeah dude, TCY has the "you are not allowed to marry my sister" angle, but it goes SO. MUCH. HARDER. And it has Baby Derek Craven! Hiding in curtains! Trying so hard to lose the accent while Lily is like "poor baby, he'll never lose that accent". (And it was such a delight to begin Dreaming of You again after reading TCY and realize that Derek actually had dropped the accent!!! Only to lapse back into it as soon as any kind of high emotion happened. Or when he like. Almost died.)

#romance novel blogging

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captaintrio · 5 months

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everybody on the planet OUTRAGED that Law told Chopper to shut up please listen to me, I am cupping your faces so gently in my hands, listen to my words

the whole time we've known him Law's feelings have never been about what he says. his way of dealing with what he's been through is to play his true feelings/intentions extremely close to the chest, he's almost always verbally brusque even when his actions blatantly negate that projection of coldness. Think about the way he responded when Robin came down to say something nice to him on the Sunny (idr if it was immediately before or after dressrosa now, it feels like a lifetime ago lmfao). He SMILED at her. and held her gaze for moment, let the kindness and camaraderie settle in the silence between them...and then told her to shut up. lmfao. he knew she would understand, and she did, and that was enough.

saying rude things that appear to keep everyone at arm's length is his brand, he's been around in the series doing it for like a decade now. think about nearly all of his interactions with Luffy. They bicker, they yell at each other, Law stares into space over his head and grits his teeth and talks about how unreliable and stupid he is...and trusts him with his life. and believes in him and his heart and his abilities implicitly. that's a big deal for someone with like...THE trust issues of all time.

it's literally never about what he's saying, it's about the actions he takes in follow-up. when Law has really detested someone in-series, he either ignores them entirely or gets vicious. outside of his crew, like...the more he likes them, the more he's willing to trust them with his dry humor and his contrarian behavior...bc he trusts that they'll understand him.

also, take into account, that because he respects Luffy, respects the Strawhats as equals, (Kid and his crew, though he'd likely die before admitting to it), he knows that whatever happens from here, they're going into the endgame. the race for the one piece is different now that they've fully cast off the relics of the past era. One of them is a yonkou, they ALL have bounties in the billions, the stakes have never been higher. nobody is playing pretend pirates on a safe sea, and they're all diverging back into semi-separate versions of this adventure again.

Law, finally fully free of his own past, has to reel back into his role of captain, and rejoin his crew, for that purpose. it's time to go.

if he really, truly didn't feel anything for Chopper in this moment, he would have just ignored him. but that isn't the case! as a doctor, he respects Chopper's dedication to their field. as a person, he respects him as a friend, and as the captain of the Heart Pirates, he respects Chopper as a member of Luffy's crew.

so, within a very complicated moment, here at the end of one era and the cusp of another, the Big Scary Pirate Captain Trafalgar D. Water Law acknowledges a comrade that he's leaving for a while with a brusque, deflected display of emotion. One we've seen him use with at least six other people he loves and respects at this point.

he tells Chopper to shut up.

he's saying goodbye in his own way, in a way he trusts his little friend to understand.

#OP #one piece spoilers #wano spoilers #please listen he's such a sweet thing really but you HAVE to read between the lines with him #he makes rude little dog commentary bc that's a safe way to express emotion for him lmfao #meta

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regardstosoulandromance · 4 months

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review: once upon a broken heart by stephanie garber

As someone who is a little too online in the bookish community, I've been hearing people sing the praises of Stephanie Garber’s Once Upon a Broken Heart since its publication in 2021. Although the spin off to the Caraval series, general conscientious is that it’s not required to read Caraval before Once Upon a Broken Heart. It was an easy read I tore through one afternoon while sick on the couch, this highly popularized novel was not worth the hype it gets.

For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings... until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.

Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic but wicked Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.

But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game—and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after or the most exquisite tragedy… (summary via Goodreads)

Once Upon a Broken Heart would be an amazing fantasy novel, if you’ve never read a fantasy novel before. Unfortunately, the world building is messy and nonsensical, prioritizing aesthetics over substance of any kind, character, plot or otherwise. Instead of a narrative that makes sense, Evangeline Fox is a heroine with pink hair and pretty dresses, Jacks is a cocky magic boy who always seems to have an apple at hand and a detailed description of his mouth.

Evangeline’s motivations are clear, because she tells us constantly, but there’s no emotional depth. She originally visits Jacks because she believes her boyfriend Luc has been bewitched into marrying her step sister Marisol. What’s so great about Luc, you may wonder? I’m not sure, Evangeline likes him, but we don’t meet her beloved Luc until nearly two thirds through the book, and he’s only one the page in a single chapter.

None of the character relationships are fleshed out, instead relying on fairy tale tropes to fill in the blanks the lack of development leaves. Evangeline’s step mother is cartoonishly villainous, Marisol is predictable the villain, and after Evangeline’s original visit to Jacks she lets the story take her along instead of controlling her own narrative.

Jacks is a Fate, a trickster demigod also known as the Prince of Hearts. He’s cocky and crafty and as in folklore, making a deal with him often comes with unintended consequences. He likes apples and if he kisses anyone but his One True Love, they’ll die. He’s the annoying bad boy character to a tee complete with a tragic backstory as to why he’s heartbroken and I just didn’t care for him. I don’t care for his kind of over confident character type and I will admit that’s more of personal preference than anything else.

Then, inexplicably, they introduce vampires two thirds of the way through. Fates are immortal yet can be killed, adding some stakes to Jacks existence, but they can also be turned into vampires? So in this world, vampires rate higher than the god-like characters. The inclusion of vampires was just too random and strange, kind of a pointless addition for the drama and creepy aesthetics of it all.

A big draw of this trilogy is the slow burn romance between Evangeline and Jacks. In this first book, the pair are barely friends, more like reluctant allies. This is fine, totally in line with a slow burn narrative, but neither character was interesting on their own let alone together.

The concept of the novel was an interesting one; a fairy tale land, the pink haired heroine, making a deal with a magical prince of hearts are good ingredients of a story. But where Once Upon a Broken Heart falls flat is in the execution. It’s equal parts confusing and unnecessarily convoluted while being boring and mediocre. My biggest complaint about the book is that the writing style is utterly insipid. It’s basic and lifeless, without anything interesting about the narration, sounding far too young for a young adult novel. It truly feels like baby’s first fantasy novel with all flash and no substance.

#book talk #books #book review #anti ouabh #sometimes you just gotta write an angry review for the shitty book you read while sick #im getting back into writing book reviews but trying to keep it from feeling like a job

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auspicious-manner · 2 years

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Can you write Dodge x reader with the prompt "Reacting to other one crying over something/someone" from the prompt list? (With Dodge as the one crying?)

of course! this ended up a bit shorter than i originally hoped, but overall i like it and i hope you do too :)

female reader x dodge mason

warnings: none (i don’t think?)

In All Seriousness

•

dodge mason was a mysterious being. not a lot was known about him amongst the rest of the teens in the town. most never really cared to explore the beginnings of his secretive backstory besides Y/N. maybe she felt inclined to because she also had a way of being secretive about her backstory.

when dodge first saw Y/N at school, he didn’t think much of it. she was just another girl within the small town of carp. however, as the year went on, he started to notice small details in her character that reminded him of his own. she was quiet, and had only one acquaintance, that one person being heather nill.

he never thought talking to her and making her feel welcome was his problem, though. that was for someone else to work out.

things started to shift when Y/N came into the diner dodge worked at every day, sat down, and ordered some food. she was blasting music into her ears with her earbuds, and it was so loud that dodge could hear the music loud and clear, even though they were through earbuds.

Y/N was rocking slightly to the heavy guitar that ran through her ears. rock music was, oddly, what calmed her down. the world felt slow around her when all of her attention was focused on the noise in her head.

she looked up and saw that dodge said something, but she disregarded what he said because she believed dodge would never speak to her. he had no reason to, or so she thought.

dodge reached across the counter and pulled one of the earbuds out. “your music is distracting my work.” dodge said with a smile.

Y/N stared ahead at dodge, shocked. “i-uh…sorry. i’ll turn it down.” she said, going to put it back in her ear before dodge spoke again.

“i’m dodge. you’re Y/N, right?”

Y/N nodded, lips pressed together. “i know who you are. everyone knows everyone here.” she waited another moment in case dodge decided to say anything else, and when she thought she was in the clear, he started talking again when her hands started to put the earbuds back in their place.

“just out of curiosity, why do you listen to your music so loud?” dodge asked, cocking his head to one side.

Y/N shrugged. “i don’t know, i guess it helps me stay centered. my mind would be all over the place if i didn’t.” there was a short pause. “you’re full of questions today. that’s not something i thought i’d ever hear from you.”

“just lookin’ for some new friends, that’s all.”

and that was the birth of Y/N and dodge’s relationship.

a close friendship grew after that first day at the diner, and when they both realized their feelings weren’t strictly platonic, they made it official. a week before the start of panic, the two had finally made public appearances as a couple.

her friend heather was in support of the relationship. although Y/N and heather didn’t see each other often, Y/N felt like she could talk to heather about girl things. as she had never had a boyfriend before, she got a lot of advice from heather on how to handle boys.

Y/N and dodge’s friendship was one that was never too serious. it was very lighthearted, and they loved to make jokes with each other. they knew their boundaries though, and the jokes always stayed relatively tame. they both had never been the deep conversation type.

and even after they became a couple, that never changed. of course they did everything else any other teenage couple would, but they also found time in between all of those moments to be best friends.

as panic rolled around, the stakes were high, and Y/N and dodge’s excitement was even higher. they had both talked about splitting the cash prize when the game ended, and for them, it was never a matter of if one of them won; it was when.

Y/N knew she could potentially be a strong contender to win. although, she did have her doubts on if she actually could pull it off. and, unbeknownst to her, dodge was thinking the same thing.

dodge knew that Y/N was incredibly smart, and not a lot held her back. but panic was about outwitting your competitors and keeping your composure, and both dodge and Y/N knew she fell short in the latter.

dodge would never admit it to her, but he was scared out of his mind for panic. not because he thought he couldn’t survive, but for Y/N. if anything happened to his best friend and lover, he would be utterly broken.

this was something that was heavily present in his conscience the days leading up to panic. he tried his hardest to never make it too obvious, but one day, his efforts failed.

the couple was at dodge’s house, sitting up against the backboard of his bed, watching a movie. his arm was wrapped around Y/N’s shoulders, and her head rested next to his, one of her hands laid neatly on his chest.

Y/N noticed dodge was a little off the past few days, and she mostly attributed it to the build up of panic. everyone did seem to be on edge recently. something about dodge felt different this day, and she couldn’t quite figure it out.

“everything okay?” Y/N asked quietly, looking up at him. he looked down at her, smiled lightly, and switched his glance back to the tv screen. “yeah.”

she raised an eyebrow. “are you sure?”

he sighed and hesitated, before nodding. “yeah. why do you ask?”

“you seem tense.”

dodge scoffed, and then nervously laughed. “nope, i’m not tense. the only reason i could possibly be tense is because of panic, but who isn’t tense right now, you know?”

Y/N sat up, a bit in awe of what she was witnessing. “you are totally not okay.”

dodge removed his arm from around Y/N, and he paused the movie.

“dodge, you know you can tell me anything, right?”

he bit his lip, and nodded silently. he turned to Y/N and just looked over her features. her hair, eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, arms, hands, legs, everything. he was taking it all in.

“you want to know what’s really up?” dodge asked, a small voice crack present.

he looked up at the ceiling, searching for the correct words to use in his closed off brain. “i…don’t want to lose you.”

Y/N squinted. “lose me? dodge, i’m not going anywhere, and you know that. you’re my best friend.”

dodge then looked down at his hands. “i don’t want to lose you to panic.”

“what do you mean?”

he looked at her quickly and immediately regretted that decision, because seeing her made his emotions flow up to the surface even faster. “you are the first person in my life to make me feel welcome, and safe. you’re my favorite person.” dodge sniffled, and discretely wiped his eye. “i don’t deal with loss well, so what would i do if you ended up like jimmy and abby?”

stray tears fell down dodge’s cheeks. Y/N remarked on the way he was crying, because it was just so him. it wasn’t heavy, and emotion-filled like a regular cry would be. his tone was monotonous, and when crying makes most people feel weak and vulnerable, he seemed to be keeping his chin up, his confident stature barely wavering.

Y/N couldn’t believe the sight she was seeing. the cold, mysterious dodge mason was showing human emotions. she felt like she couldn’t do anything but sit awestruck next to him. even if she wanted to formulate words, she couldn’t.

dodge laughed nervously, wiping his tears away. “i’m sorry for all of that, that was uncalled for. i know we don’t usually do the whole serious-talk kind of thing, i should have just not said anything.” he scooted away from her on the bed just a bit.

Y/N sighed. “dodge-”

“you don’t need to tell me i’m batshit crazy for releasing all of this, i know i am. you don’t need to pity me.”

she reached her hand over to him and rested it on his own hand. “i wasn’t going to.”

the two basked in the silence created. “maybe we should start having more serious conversations.”

“what makes you think that?” dodge asked quietly.

“how much do we really understand each other? i mean, we obviously know the basics, but we’ve known each other for practically a year now and we don’t know each other’s backgrounds. like, at all really.”

when dodge didn’t say anything, Y/N sighed. “i guess that’s not really the point right now, but i do think we need to know more about each other moving forward. and who knows, maybe if we could have had some of these talks earlier you wouldn’t have felt the need to hide your feelings from me.”

dodge rested his shoulder against hers, slightly leaning into her. “i’m sorry, i just didn’t know how you’d take it.”

“don’t apologize. i’m glad you did tell me. and, so you don’t keep worrying about me, i’ll tell you now; i’m going to be be just fine in panic. when i have you by my side, i become stronger, and more grounded. you help me more than you know.”

dodge smiled, and pulled Y/N into a hug. “i could say the same about you.”

they were comfortable in each other’s arms for a few long seconds. “don’t you dare tell anyone about this, Y/N. and i mean it.”

Y/N giggled. “how do you think people would react when they hear about the great dodge mason shedding a few tears?”

“i don’t even want to think about it.”

#mike faist #panic on prime #mike faist riff #dodge mason imagine #dodge mason x reader #dodge mason #mike faist imagine #newsies #newsies x reader

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theanomily · 5 months

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Out of curiosity, which book in the series is your favorite?

To preface, my apologies for doing a ranking. I wanted to jot my thoughts down but then got carried away.

From recollection (I have not reread the series recently enough for this to be accurate for me from my now almost-adult POV):

Aftershock. My favourite aspect isn't so much the "present" timeline (although something I prefer about books 7 and 8 is the more realistic enemy in that they're human) but the flashback sequences. I have no justification for that except that I am a basic bitch who loves Raven. Editing afterthought: I also like that it answers the question Wing poses in Rogue of "why tf does Raven obey Nero?" I think also that seeing how Raven was trained provides a little darkness in Shelby's admiration of her in Dreadnought, and it's always nice to have a little chill upon reread.

Overlord Protocol. I like the balancing of narrators and the Contessa as an "internal" antagonist. Cypher is, obviously, iconic, and it's OP that has the revelation of him as Wing's dad. We see Raven's mono-molecular swords for the first time, and how she acts as a completely independent operative (which I think is unique to OP?). I like the balance here in that the kids really are kids; this is their first "proper" adventure, and one of my pet peeves is when children are depicted as more competent than adults. Sure, we are introduced to Otto's powers more intensely, but he suffers, and it's also still a mystery at this point. However, I confess, I think OP would probably rank lower now (probably switched with EV or DN). It was the first HIVE book I read, and it was in my possession when I was admitted into hospital when I first got my hands on my primary school library copy, and thus I was left completely alone for a couple weeks with this particular installment. Basically, what I'm trying to say is nostalgia + it being my only means of escapism is probably clouding my perception of it.

Escape Velocity. Firstly, the best scene of this book (the Contessa's sacrifice) is one of the best of the series, if not the best. HOPE is one of the most interesting organisations there was, not because of what they did, but what they could have been. It's the only one I can think of that was known by the public, and it definitely would have had the public's backing. Constance and Verity are in this, and that's honestly enough said. Nero and Otto go to space. Otto is Number One's clone. It's awesome.

Dreadnought. The cliffhanger is cool in that literally anything could happen in the next book. We meet Diabous in the flesh, and he's the cool (but probably divorced) uncle of the series. I'll be honest, though. The thing that sticks out to me most is Pietor. We don't fully know who this guy is- hell, we don't even know about Anastasia atp- but he's connected to some of our secondary narrators. I love that he's a manipulator in this book, which he isn't really portrayed as in the flashbacks. But. Lucy gonna Lucy, and love triangle gonna love triangle, and, as someone who can't stand romance, it is just so distracting.

Zero Hour. It's very similar to Rogue (and I have the same critisism), but there are a few things that elevate Zero Hour above it for me. Firstly, Lucy has a bit of a purpose now. She's literally the only person Otto can relate to, and her line "there always has to be a choice" is one of the most powerful in the series. Her sacrifice as well- not only was it selfless, but its the first major character death, so it feels like stakes are raised higher by the end of ZH than they were before. Secondly, is Raven as the antagonist, unwilling as she was. Not only is she extremely capable, but H.I.V.E. already trusts her. We have been told she's dangerous, but now she becomes a danger. Also, we see her and Nero nearly kill each other, yet there is no dent in their faith in one another. However, one thing I wish here was that we got a little more flashback prior to ZH, but realistically, there was no suitable place. You see, I read the series out of order, so I'd finished both Aftershock and Deadlock before starting Zero Hour, and I think that gave me a better comprehension of the gravity of Raven being back in the Furans' hands than reading the series correctly would have.

Rogue. I love this in concept so, so much. But when I'm reading it, I can't help but feel it was held back by HIVE's nature as a kids' series. It just wasn't as gut-wrenching as I know it could be.

Deadlock. I just can't remember finding the events too exciting, especially after Aftershock. I actively hate that Nero did not have Anastasia killed at the end, and I wished to see a little more closure for Raven (sidenote: how tf would she be ok with basically living with her abuser?? Also, if Anastasia finds a way out, the whole student body is a potential victim). I'm probably just being nitpicky, but the ending cliffhanger involving a ton of clones just isn't unique enough to the series to be that interesting. That being said, the idea of Zero is horrific, and I do wish HIVE wasn't a kids' series so this potential could be fully realised. Another positive- again stemming from the fact that Raven is my beloved- is the parallels drawn between her and Laura. In the present timeline, they couldn't be more opposite, but it makes me wonder if a really young Raven would be a mini-Laura.

H.I.V.E. It's the most childish (yknow, plant monster and all) and is so exposition based. In all honesty, if I started with book 1 rather than ending with it, I probably would not be as into the series. What I do miss, though, is Nigel's potential. Mr Walden did that boy so dirty in the subsequent books.

What's your favourite book?

#thank you ever so much for the ask :)#made my evening/night idk its half 10 here

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patrickmdunn · 6 months

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Dracula has Risen from the Grave (1968)

Dracula, known for his aversion to holy artifacts, has always carried a subtle air of religion in his stories. But this time, it's as if the filmmakers decided to dip their script into the deep end of a pool filled with holy water. And it's a divine gamble that pays off.

A year after the last film's events, the village is still reeling from the shock of discovering a corpse inside a church bell. It’s a tidbit not witnessed in Dracula’s last story, but cements the idea that he terrorized the village more often than we were led to believe. The altar boy, who discovered the body, is now tragically mute. The priest, once a pillar of faith, is losing his grip on belief, and the villagers are skipping Mass due to the looming shadow Dracula’s castle casts over the sacred grounds.

Meet Monsignor Mueller, a priest on a routine visit to the village who suddenly gets the divine itch to kickstart a faith revolution in the community. With unwavering determination, he ropes in an unnamed priest, and together they embark on a mountain-climbing mission, scaling the treacherous path leading to Dracula's castle. Their audacious goal? To exorcise the place of its dark, demonic history.

However, as they ascend, the priest, perhaps not a fan of leg day, hits a halfway point, both in exhaustion and altitude, and takes a tumble, transforming the mountain into his personal super slide. But here's the catch – he spills his own blood into an icy river. And guess who's taking a refreshing nap there? None other than Dracula himself, still catching some Z's from the last film. The priest's involuntary contribution? It acts like a supernatural espresso shot, giving life to the undead, resurrecting our fanged friend from his eternal slumber.

Shortly thereafter, we're introduced to the formidable Monsignor's family, with the spotlight shining on his vivacious niece, Maria. She's not just turning heads but setting hearts ablaze, especially that of the local barkeep, Paul. They're like a pair of celestial bodies orbiting each other, but there's a cosmic catch. You see, Paul wears his atheism on his sleeve, and that doesn't sit well with the Monsignor, or for that matter, with Maria's no-nonsense mom.

Meanwhile, our vengeful Dracula, nursing a grudge, is hell-bent on making the Monsignor pay for that castle exorcism. And how does he plan to do it? By going for the jugular – quite literally, in fact. He sets his sights on Maria, the apple of the Monsignor's eye, hoping to turn her into his vampiric sidekick. However, it's as if the universe itself is playing on Team Monsignor, because every time Dracula tries to seal the deal on Maria's undead makeover, a relentless string of interruptions keeps thwarting his bloodsucking plans. Maybe it's divine intervention or just Maria's incredible string of good luck, but one thing's for sure – Dracula's path to family revenge is more chaotic than a bat in a belfry.

As we approach the thrilling finale, Dracula and Maria make their treacherous ascent up the mountain to reach his ominous castle. With cunning charm, he manipulates Maria to perform a daredevil act – removing the colossal, ornate crucifix that guards his castle's entrance. She hurls it into the abyss below, where, by some stroke of luck or divine intervention, it lands upright like a warrior ready for battle.

In the nick of time, our hero, Paul, swoops in for a brawl of epic proportions, squaring off against Dracula in a showdown that's more knuckles than niceties. The stakes couldn't be higher, and with a mighty shove, Paul hurls Dracula off the precipice, leaving him impaled on the very crucifix he'd hoped to escape.

Enter the unnamed priest, who, to everyone's shock, was under Dracula's spell all along. With a prayer in Latin that cuts through the night like a sword, Dracula begins to crumble into a mound of crimson dust. Paul, now with his faith rekindled, crosses himself while gazing at the poetic remains of his immortal adversary.

Fascinatingly, the film employs a clever visual trick, using a crimson-colored filter on the edges of the frame whenever Dracula graces the screen. It's a bewitching technique that weaves a scarlet thread of beauty throughout the film, making every moment with the Count a bloody masterpiece.

A glowing 9 out of 10 shiny, giant, golden crucifixes – a rating that shines as brilliantly as the most sacred of relics

#dracula #dracula daily #count dracula #dracula has risen from the grave #christopher lee #horror movies #hammer horror #film #1968

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olivereactsaboutgarbage · 1 year

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Higurashi When They Cry - Watanagashi Chapter 5

I just want everyone to know that I don’t have the Steam achievement for meeting Shion. That’s so outrageous. I have the Steam achievement for getting food from Shion and the Steam achievement for getting rescued by Shion but not the one for meeting her.

Anyways

Keiichi’s Shion Meal is actually a super powerful rare meal he obtained via cheating that has been imposed upon him.

Also I think Rena is shipping Keiichi and Mion probably. If I’m right that’d be funny after Keiichi spent half of the last arc shipping Keiichi and Rena.

Hmm. Two? Where by “Two?” I mean “That’s inherently unacceptable!!”

Oh, Keiichi’s voice acting was cute here. That’s a first. For his voice acting. And probably a higher single-digit number in terms of overall Keiichi Cuteness Moments. Still a single-digit number either way though. But... a higher one if we’re counting things other than voice acting.

Keiichi learns that he can actually drag three leeches to the Shion Meal, but he only learns it while surrounded by leeches, so he learned it at a bad time, because it takes more than three leeches to surround a person, and also he doesn’t like them.

Keiichi doesn’t like to make jokes about sexual assault. I guess that makes him a better When They Cry protagonist than Battler.

Ew... did I really just say that...? Ew... disgusting...

Hmm, if Rena is actually a Keiichi/Mion shipper, and Shion is actually a completely different person from Mion (possibly untrue) and Keiichi is stupid (definitely true), that specific set of conditions would mean it sucks for Rena how Shion is groping all over Keiichi. Metaphorically speaking. It’s up to you to figure out what part of what I just said was a metaphor--shouldn’t be too hard, maybe.

Unfortunately for Keiichi, Shion’s Mealhouse is also a den of leeches. The acting drains from their voices and presumably also the color drains from Keiichi’s face.

fuck, this entire chapter is making me like keiichi. the stakes aren’t even high, why do i like him right now

Well, I guess this is just the same thing they pulled on the show Frasier via the existence of Niles Crane. Except I actually like Niles Crane. Not that I’m an avid Frasier fan.

Keiichi reiterates his stance that sexual harassment is actually bad.

Non-voiced text disagrees.

Keiichi decides to unveil the foreshadowed Shion Reciprocity and make a huge scene. Also he’s fatphobic. Also his fuckin’ Way-More-Useless-Spidey-Senses are inescapable even when they don’t really impact the plot meaningfully. They truly are innate to the boy himself, and not simply to his genre.

Ick, don’t say that. Especially not without enclosing it in <>s, old-timer! ...Actually I don’t know offhand which localization is older, but I know what I like, so I have chosen to ascribe youth to that which I like.

Keiichi lacks training and is a young man, so in order to cover for one of those deficiencies, he summons Chekhov’s Leeches who aren’t young men: Rena and the Toddlers.

wtf since when are all the losers not losers. they’re even less losery than the last time they weren’t losers!!

LMAO

Keiichi is pretending he owns walky-talkies. Or maybe he actually owns them. Probably not though.

The punctuation is getting sassy this time around. I like it! :)

This is the single most vile sentence known to man???

Why’d an entire BG get drawn for this restroom. How many more times is Keiichi gonna come in here.

Not “a” girl, not “the” girl, but simply Girl, in its purest state. Like a Toddler 02-shaped-hole punched through reality straight to the ocean known as All Quantifiable “Girl” Substance. I guess that makes Toddler 02 one of the best characters, because entity-shaped holes punched through reality are extremely great, especially when they lead to The Outer Turn!

...why would anyone trying to rationally explain their position end their sentence with “NyaaaAAAHH~”. Well whatever

Ah, but the English words used by the voice acting were clearly “I shall return”. Everyone else isn’t actually going to return, and the implication that they will is a false narrative concocted for unclear yet sinister reasons.

Anyway, Keiichi’s anti-leech fatphobia saved the day.

If the voice acting is to be believed, then the definition of the word “hau” is “was a pervert”. This explains a lot about Rena’s character!

Hmm... I suppose it could be said then that I also wield it... the power to make Keiichi laugh...

Ah yes, playing dumb. Another episode of Keiichi Being Correct Moments.

Is Rena calling Keiichi “the girl” here? Hmm... it suits him.

Rena all-but-confirms Keiichi’s theory that Mion and Shion are the same. Phew, I guess the fact that Shion loves groping Keiichi isn’t going to ruin Rena’s day after all. Not that I care especially deeply about that specific Mood Hypothetical.

Ah... hold on... let me do some cross-referencing...

“I’m very kind and thoughtful, but Shion has a cold and scary personality...!”

Alright. Dichotomy noted.

Nico Robin moment

Correct.

Wrong.

MEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:(

Oh right, I kinda forgot about that too. It was like two hiatuses ago on my part.

Um. Okay dude

Anyway, I can’t believe it... Keiichi has entered his Mind Palace and activated Smart Mode. Via the activation of Smart Mode, he’s completely eviscerated his greatest character flaw... this power level is way too high...

...okay even with Smart Mode activated, Keiichi didn’t even note the dichotomy I noted. Okay

Y’know a friend was saying a while ago that as someone who started with the anime, he found the VN’s pacing unbearable. I wonder if the anime also has this many extensive flashbacks in Keiichi’s Mind Palace.

BRO THE WORLD IS SO ORANGE??? There need to be more visual novels that take place in Orange World.

Anyway, this is just the plot of Umineko.

Keiichi decides to fix everything by giving Shion a toy, like in that Phineas and Ferb movie where Doofenshmirtz fixes everything by giving Shoofenshmirtz a toy. Keiichi is standing in for Mion in this situation and also this analogy doesn’t make any sense.

Wait, actually, Keiichi isn’t going to give Shion a toy directly, he’s going to make Mion give Shion the toy. So my analogy was fucking great and all of you were wrong to ever doubt me!

You jackass. Mion, just give her the toy already so she goes to jail

yeah she is laying this on way too thick for it to be anything other than a lie

i am going to commit fucking murder

Meanwhile, in Side Story Land...

What??? Why is Shion putting Keiichi in a car in Side Story Land??? What is this

OMG!!!! IT’S ULKI FROM FIRE EMBLEM!!!! YES YES YES YES YES

#IT TURNS OUT #higurashi #when they cry #is what i'm consuming

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coldlittlecuties · 2 years

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Warmth of a Star

Chapter 1: An Arctic Scavenger Hunt

The first chapter is finally ready! Chapter 2 should be out soon since I’m out of school.

Disclaimer 1: I own nothing except my OC, Stella.

Disclaimer 2: The story mostly follows the MCU timeline, but with some changes here and there.

Word Count: 2,375

Summary:

Steve woke up scared and alone in the 21st Century. He had to adjust to this new world on his own. He had to deal with the grief of losing his home and almost everyone he knew. He had to deal with the trauma of war, of losing Bucky, of losing everything that was familiar. And yet, Steve couldn't let anyone see how much Captain America was suffering. He had to be strong for his team and for his country, with no one to support him.

But what if Steve had someone to help him? What if he had someone who understood that he was dealing with more trauma and grief and loneliness than anyone could imagine? What if he had someone who saw him as more than just Captain America, who saw him as Steve Rogers?

The passengers of the ATV were quiet as they traversed the arctic landscape. The only chatter came from the radio. The two men up front occasionally contributed to that conversation. The driver, Lieutenant William Hope, was too focused on following the ATV ahead of them to respond. When he absolutely had to speak, Agent Phil Coulson, who was sitting in the passenger seat, would hold out the radio for him. The final passenger in the back seat was Stella, a young intern for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D. as it was more commonly known. Coulson had personally recruited Stella to be an assistant. She showed remarkable skill with technology and quickly learned some basic combat, so Coulson promoted her to Intern Trainee. This was Stella’s first mission.

This was a low-stakes recon mission. All the team needed to do was meet with a search team about an unknown object that was found in the ice. Normally, a few lower rank agents would conduct the examination. But the size and shape of this object caused some alarm from the people who found it, so a couple of the higher-ups came instead. The ride in the ATV was surprisingly smooth, even in a blizzard. It was a slower ride because of limited visibility.

A small, red light stood out in the distance. Lieutenant Hope gradually slowed down the ATV in sync with the first one. Both vehicles stopped in front of a man holding a red lamp on a pole and wearing a bright red parka.

Agent Coulson and Lieutenant Hope jumped out of the ATV with ease. Stella had to clamber over the passenger seat, then climb down the side as the wind whipped her around. Her left foot slipped on a patch of snow caught in the treads of the tires. For a terrifying second, Stella thought she was going to fall. Her right foot was close enough to the ground that she didn’t fall more than a couple of inches. She remained upright the entire time, so if anyone had been watching, they didn’t see her slip. Stella was terrified that if she was caught making a mistake, that she would be demoted back to an assistant and lose her training privileges.

The man in the red parka, who they assumed was the leader of the search team, spoke first. He had to shout to be heard over the howling wind. “You the guys from New York?”

“You get many other visitors out here?” Coulson joked.

The Lieutenant rolled his eyes with a sigh. “How long have you been on site?”

“Since this morning,” the leader answered. Up close, they could just barely make out the name "Adamson" sewn above his breast pocket. He gestured for the trio to follow him. Despite the agents having ice tread boots, they all struggled through the deep snow. “A Russian oil team called it in eighteen hours ago.”

“How come nobody’s spotted it before?” the Lieutenant wondered.

“It’s really not that surprising. This landscape’s changing all the time. You got any ideas what this thing is exactly?” Adamson explained.

“It’s not a weather balloon?” Lieutenant Hope wondered.

Adamson shook his head. “No, it’s much bigger. We don’t have the equipment to extract something of that size. You guys would need a hell of a crane to pull it out!”

The four of them were close enough to the mysterious object that they could see the arctic sun’s dim glow reflecting off of it. There were a handful of people scattered around, one of which was on top of the object with a flashlight. Some of them were placing lamps identical to the leader’s around the object. Another was trying to convince the person on top to come down.

At first, the object looked like a giant disc leaning in the snow. But the lamps extending from the back suggested it was much larger. Adamson guided them around to the back where more metal could be seen under the snow. Various other chunks of metal were strewn behind it.

“It looks like a plane,” Stella observed. Coulson chuckled when the other two men jumped in surprise.

“Who the hell are you?” Adamson asked.

“This is Stella Smith: Intern, Agent Trainee, and my personal assistant,” Agent Coulson beamed.

“Isn’t she a little young to be going on missions?”

“Don’t let the baby face fool you, sir,” Stella replied. Adamson looked Stella up and down, then exchanged glances with both Lieutenant and Agent. Lieutenant Hope nodded and sighed again, but Agent Coulson was smiling widely.

Adamson ignored Stella’s comment and continued. “This thing’s resting on some very thin sea ice. It’s a miracle it hasn’t slipped under the surface yet. We think it has a few more days before it sinks, so we’re hoping to get a grip on it before then. After that, you guys can haul it away."

“Isn’t it too big for a crane, though?” Agent Coulson reminded him.

Stella chimed in again. “Your best shot might be to hook the main body of the plane up to an air carrier so it can stay near the surface. The ice breakers could help steer it out. The rest of the pieces should be hooked up to ice breakers as well for the same reason."

Adamson glared at her. “I think I know how to do my damn job, kid. Look, why don’t you just go build a snowman or something, and let the men figure this out.”

Stella rolled her eyes, but continued to follow her mentor and the rest of the group. She was worried if she split off from them, that she would be left behind in the arctic. But if she was, then maybe she’d find the legendary Captain America? It was better than waiting around to be eaten by a polar bear. Stella was pulled from her thoughts when one of the team members approached Adamson with a glowing tablet.

“Mr. Adamson, the ice underneath is too thin for us to dig through. If we get halfway down, we’ll break apart the damn arctic. Our scans show it’s some sort of plane, but it’s upside down. We might have to lift it out airily, sir,” the team mate explained. The name on his parka was "Lee."

“We don’t have a strong enough plane for that. Look, let’s just send a couple of guys in to scope it out, see if there’s anything worthwhile,” Pearce ordered.

“It’s too unstable, sir. The weight of three, two hundred pound guys won’t help that,” Lee said.

“Would it support the weight of one, one twenty-five pound trainee?” Stella offered. All four of the men looked at her in shock and, in the case of Adamson and Hope, exasperation.

“That could work. We could hook you up to a pulley. If something goes wrong, we can quickly get you out. It should hold your weight easily, but there’s no guarantee,” Lee suggested. “Are you sure you want to go in there?”

“Absolutely,” Stella agreed, her eyes focused and her voice steady.

Adamson finally snapped out of his daze. “Surely you can’t be serious! You’re not qualified to do something this important.”

“I am serious. And don’t call me ‘Shirley,’” she replied.

Lee started laughing. “Nice to meet you, Stella. I’m Jake. Let’s go get you set up.”

****

By the time Stella was completely equipped with the gear, the team had laser-drilled a hole in the middle of the plane. It was the most submerged, so the ice would keep it steadier than the front half which was angled to slide back under the ocean at any moment.

Stella's equipment included a helmet, a face shield with a gas mask and air tank, thicker gloves, a flashlight, and a belt with thigh loops which would be attached to a pulley. Jake hooked her belt up to two cables on the pulley. She only needed the one, but Jake clipped her to the second one, just in case.

"You doing okay? No shame if you wanna back out," he offered.

"I can do this. It'll just take a few minutes," Stella assured. Now that she was staring down at the deep drop into an icy chamber, she was starting to become anxious.

"Alright. We're going to slowly lower the cables, alright? We'll keep doing that while you're down there so you can explore. You can radio us for whatever you need. Now, if the radio doesn't work, what do you do?" Jake checked.

"Two tugs for more slack, three tugs for extraction," Stella recited.

"You have clearance. Ready?" Jake asked.

"Ready," Stella agreed. Jake signaled to the pulley operator to start.

Stella held tightly to the cables as she was jerked off of her feet. The pulley held her directly above the hole. Stella watched it come closer until she was safely lowered through it. She glanced around the interior of the plane, then landed somewhat gracefully on the icy ground.

"*Stella? This is Agent Coulson. Do you read me? Over.*" her mentor called through the radio.

"I read you loud and clear, sir. Over."

The inside of the plane was covered in a thick coat of ice, several inches thick along some walls and near the tops of poles. The ground must be covered in at least a foot and a half of ice, if not more. Stella couldn't see the floor through it! It reassured her that she may not cause the plane to sink again.

Stella walked towards the cockpit, where she assumed anything valuable would be. The windows were smashed with ice creeping into the plane. It was over the control panel and most of the chair. Stella could just barely make out some of the labels, but they were all in German.

The trainee was going to head the other way when something bounced the beam of her flashlight. She scanned the area again and found a small metal disk. It was round and, judging by how well it stayed afloat, hollow. Stella picked it up. It left a shallow impression in the ice, but only if one looked closely enough. She had to take off her left glove so she could open what she assumed was a locket. Her hand still had a thinner glove underneath, but it wasn't enough to stop the cold from ambushing her.

Stella managed to open the locket, only to discover it was an old compass. In the lid of the compass was a photograph from a newspaper with three people smiling at the camera. She recognized that photograph from her history textbooks. It was a photo from World War II. The person in the middle was none other than Captain Steve Rogers. Which made the man on his right Sergeant Bucky Barnes and the woman on the left Agent Peggy Carter.

Stella suddenly realized that if this was Captain Rogers' compass… that this must be the plane he crashed. And if this is the plane, the Captain must be here somewhere! Stella turned back around to start looking when she saw something red in the ice. She hoped it wasn't blood as she wiped away the hoarfrost to get a better look.

She jumped back from the shock of what she saw and ended up sliding a few feet across the ice on her back like an upside down turtle. Once Stella regained her balance, she approached the figure again. There, just under the ice, was Captain America's shield.

"Agent Coulson, do you read me? Over," She asked.

"*I read you, Stella. Is everything okay? Over.*"

"This is Captain America's plane. Over," Stella breathed, wiping away more of the frost.

The line was silent for a minute. Then, "*Stella, are you absolutely sure? Over.*"

"I am staring at the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan himself. He's encased in some thick ice near the cockpit. Looks to be about 2 feet, tops. Over," Stella clarified.

"*Alright, Agent. We're going to start lifting you out in a moment. We won't start until you're under the hole, though. Over,*" Coulson explained.

"Roger that. Over." Stella turned back to the Captain for a moment. "I'm not stealing this, I promise. I'm just gonna hold on to it until we bury you to make sure the museums don't get it like they did with everything else. I swear I will give this back to you. And until then, I will guard it with my life."

Stella slipped the compass into one of her interior coat pockets as she walked back to the hole.

****

The next hour passed in a blur for Stella. Once she was safely on the ground, Jake and another team member scrambled to get her unhooked and remove her equipment. At the same time, Lieutenant Hope and Adamson were preparing to see the inside for themselves.

After she was free, Agent Coulson escorted her back into the ATV. He kept an arm around her the entire walk, which Stella was grateful for. Without the 50 plus pounds of gear weighing her down, she was worried the winds would blow her away.

Inside the ATV, her parka and snow pants were removed, then Stella was wrapped up in a foil blanket along with several wool blankets. Her mentor helped her hold a thermos of coffee in her trembling hands. She wasn't that cold. When she said something to Coulson, he told her the shaking was likely from shock.

Now, Stella was laying in the back of the ATV. It was chilly, but she was warm enough to sleep if she wanted. But she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking about Captain Rogers. She hadn't seen much of his face, but she did see he was actually blue: like an extra in Titanic, but scarier. Stella couldn't imagine what it must've been like to crash that plane. She just hoped Steve had passed away on impact so he wouldn’t have had to endure drowning or freezing.

Stella retrieved the compass from her pocket to look at the picture again. That was when the reality of the situation sunk in for her. She didn't find Captain America like she hoped; she found his body.

#warmth of a star #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction #mcu #steve rogers #original character #oc #alternate universe #or alternate timeline?#captain america

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thenotebookwizard · 3 months

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Messengers of Illbeor

Fellow fantasy fanatics, I beseech thee!

No, really. Go read this book. I've linked it. Up on Amazon. On KU, for those of you who use it, but only about three bucks otherwise. Full disclosure, my friend wrote it. I edited it. Because honesty is the best policy.

But this is Ye Olde Hellsite, and what's a bit of shilling for your friends between mutuals (and anyone else I can get to read this book.)

Because really, y'all, I want everyone who loves fantasy, thinks they might like fantasy, or who hasn't liked fantasy in the past to go read this book.

I have known the writer a long time. She's an amazing lady, a great friend, and she has good ideas. (Those are easy to come by, but she gets more than most of us.)

You can't say any fantasy world is really 'unique,' because the elements that make fantasy into fantasy are pretty standard, right? Right! But TJ has put her own spin on this, and it's fun - it's about as unique as a western fantasy world gets, and in all the right ways. Her world is very synergistic, very lively, and full of different cultures and attitudes and ways of looking at the world. While 'culture clash' isn't probably a theme she's told me about (maybe she did? this has been years in the making), it's there. The worldbuilding is top notch, and the world is full and rich - something a lot of debut fantasy writers don't hit on.

Most of all, I love the characters. We follow two, for the most part - Alanda and Tostig - both messengers, helping keep Illbeor connected and communicating. Alanda is one of the best representations of a character with a disability I've read in a long time. As an albino, she burns easy, but works an outdoors job. The plot starts because she has to deal with being albino, and it never gets ignored or set to the side. But seeing how she overcomes it, how people help her - and how it doesn't stop her from being a strong person without it being disability porn.

Tostig's adventure is very much standard fantasy, but well-written and well-crafted. He's a great character who has to deal with an immense amount in a short time, and his voice is strong, clear, and shows a very masculine character written without being an asshole or a moron.

The plot is focused. Laser focused - the pace moves fast, and takes you on a tour of a corner of Illbeor. Beautiful places, scary places, desolate places, romantic places; it's all there. But that focused plot that carries our characters doesn't keep us from diving down some fun side trails and meeting characters.

Now this, my friends, is where I think this book rocks the world: secondary characters who aren't at all secondary, but pivotal. From mysterious wanderers who know more than they should to shamans with life debts and frustratingly vague visions to gay Elves who are gifted songs by magic, speak in musical whistles, and who flow through the world with ageless grace and a bit of racist politics.

No one is perfect in Illbeor, but no one is truly evil.

Okay. Except maybe him. Altonier. One of the more compelling 'mysterious villains' I've read in awhile (and I read a lot, y'all). You want your sexy anime villain tropes? Got 'em. Want a tragic backstory? Got it! Want twisted manipulations, gaslighting, underhanded scheming, and a completely unreliable villain POV? Check.

Altonier is the best kind of bad guy to love and the easiest villain to wonder if you shouldn't be rooting for.

Of course, the ending has revealed secrets, higher stakes, and a sequel in the works.

But please. Also. Support your indie writers who craft amazing tales. Support your indie writers who are bringing you stories trad pub won't touch with a ten foot pole.

Because diverse stories matter - we all know that. It's a theme of the fiction and fanfic fanatics of Ye Olde Hellsite. Been here awhile, and we've never stopped talking about. And this?

This is how we get them.

#books #novels #indie writer #fantasy #new adult #awesome things #good book #shilling a good book #not AI art #stock art manipulation #commissioned cover #please read this

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29pageshomestuckeveryday · 11 months

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Homestuck, page 2,742

Dave: Answer.

Author commentary:

There's apparently an entire genre of ridiculous "coolkid art" out there, either illustrations or photos, featuring extremely cool boys doing rad things in order to promote a company, product, or in this case, apparently the Internet itself? I don't remember exactly when it started… But I began hoarding these graphics because they reminded me of Dave, or more specifically, the type of image one of Dave's friends would show him, perhaps strategically altered like this, in order to give him a hard time. Terezi is the perfect foil for this idea, of course. And since Dave is a true coolkid, he can't let it be known that he feels owned by it, and just rolls with it instead. In fact, due to their high compatibility with his own sense of humor, there's no way he isn't being genuine when he says these things are incredible. He really means it. And he's right, this shit absolutely is incredible. Top-shelf content by literally any standard.

Compared to the John/Vriska conversations, this exchange gives the sense that Dave and Terezi get along a little more organically than the other two. There's a similar teasing, neggy dynamic here, but they seem to at least be starting on a similar wavelength, with both being interested in bad comics, scamming rubes out of loot, and talking about how cool Dave is. Terezi has a similar purpose as Vriska, to use this guy as an extension of their rivalry, but it also feels like she'd be just as fine dropping the rivalry aspect and instead just making a cool new friend. Vriska's solicitation feels like a higher-stake game, more heavy-handed. She's a bit more forced in the way that she tries to mold John in her image, and more overt or desparate-seeming in her flirtatious methods. She gets flustered, whereas Terezi does not. Certain things seem to come easier for Terezi, which is part of what fuels the old rivalry. Vriska seems to have some jealousy issues about it, which were expressed in Hivebent through Terezi's more cunning manipulation methods, which don't need any special powers. Since Vriska's insecurity tells her this stuff doesn't come as easy to her as it does for Terezi, she feels like she has to cheat through use of mind control and such. The insecurity over "things come easy for her, but not for me" seems to be a lot of what's behind Vriska's brute-force approach to certain things, which includes completely dominating John's attention for most of the remaining act.

Dave pretends he doesn't understand how this masterpiece he just made could be interpreted as pornographic, even though the final panel literally has Terezi acknowledging that she is sexually aroused by the act of splashing into the top of the Kool-Aid Man's head. Maybe Dave knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe he's being "too cool" to admit it. Maybe everybody here low-key knows the score when it comes to all kinds of subtext. Maybe low-key knowing the score in virtually all situations is the very definition of "being cool." And hence, you have just understood what my secret is to being so cool. Which is definitely a thing a cool person would say.

images linked in the pesterlog:

#gif #pesterlog

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