#i've heard of them before but what a rich culture
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I’m really inspired by your world building and the creatures you use. I’m trying to kickstart my own world using Celtic, Norse and Scottish myths (it also involves werewolves because they’re cool)
But I’m stumped and a bit overwhelmed. How’d you start your project and what were huge sources of inspiration for you as you worked on The Black Horse?
hi there!!! this will probably get wordy i have a lot of thoughts on this but here's how i built up my inver setting
i had the characters first, and the werewolf establishment was basically the first thing invented about the world. I wrote a decent amount about the characters in the pre-1st draft slush pile just getting a handle on their voices, their history together, etc. the first slush draft was in painstaking chronological order telling of their lives from birth to like age 40 - it wasn't pretty to read but it meant I knew what big moments formed their worldview, their relationships with others, things like that. and then i got to pick and choose which ones would feature in the actual 1st draft, and which i would leave unsaid, in flashback form, or only in the form of vague allusions. the plot and world events changed significantly as i wrote the actual 1st draft so this ended up only being useful for backstory stuff and not book plots, but it was still good to have.
There was an important moment of a character being kidnapped into a faery realm, which is what started me off thinking about fairies in general. they weren't originally a part of this world - it was an undefined space before just for the characters to exist in, because i was (and still am) more interested in the characters than the worldbuilding. but i still like for there to be SOMETHING there in the background, and it gives a lot of opportunities to inform characterisation, so i started to make my setting. I picked the Púca as a pivotal being & major inspiration source to include because of its relatively large presence in the fringes of my childhood in stories told by my older relatives and i like the unusual aspects about it as well, how it has been both heroic and malevolent in different stories. you have to remember i grew up in this culture too, i knew a lot already, and that's what got me thinking of alternate Earth history - as in, the setting of Inver as alternate history, not wholly original fantasy set in a fantasy land.
So then I had to think about the implications of that, and here is where I think a lot of authors adapting extant mythology fall short. A world where faeries/mythological monsters/gods based in real cultures exist and people interact with them is indistinguishable from our own. We already live in a world where people interact with faeries in their own way; I've heard many older relatives recount stories of being trapped in their fields by faeries, how you can only escape by taking off your jumper and putting it back on inside out. There was no question as to whether they believed this was a concrete, meaningful interaction with a supernatural being. We have a motorway that was diverted while it was being built because the builders didn't want to risk cutting down a hawthorn tree. There is a deep stigma against harming hawthorns. Now, tell me how things would be any different if faeries were real irl? ftr I do not believe in the supernatural whatsoever, not even a little bit, but it is impossible to deny that I live in a world deeply shaped by it - I need only look out the window at the stands of whitethorn around my house to know that. because the main expression of that supernatural element is in how the people of that culture react.
you cannot, you cannot pick and choose only the monsters from a legend and leave behind the people who made & propagated that legend. you're only taking a single thread from a rich tapestry. I'm not arguing that other cultures should be untouchable, far from it, I'm just saying that to truly appreciate it, you need context for everything you adapt. you gotta know what you're writing about
in that sense, the people are more important to building Inver than the faeries. a citizen of Inver not immediately affected by the main plotline would likely never see or interact with magic in their lifetime, but their society is still shaped by it. so is mine (though that's more on the catholic church than anything else)
So now that I'd had that realisation, I decided to dump a lot of the traditional fantasy tropes I'd been working with. Think basic fantasy setting stuff, pop culture "The Fae" tropes, even the terminology of 'Fae' at all - that is not something I've ever heard the older generation in my life call them. It's just 'fairies' to them (although I did shift the spelling to match the Yeats poem because I could not handle writing characters making accusations of being A Fairy and have it not come across as a unintentionally homophobic accusation lmao). I did some research; mostly on JSTOR, using my institutional access, because my own university is mostly science and didn't have a big library of anthropological texts. I read An Táin Bó Culainge which is honestly one of the greatest stories of all time PLEASE READ IT if you are at all interested in Irish myth. It is a fantastic story and extremely comedic as well (a canon mmmf foursome lol). In terms of academic sources specific to the Púca, I have a drive folder of pdfs I will share with anyone if they ask.
I decided I was not going to include anything from what people actually think of as pre-christian Irish mythology - no fianna [rangers notwithstanding], no Ulster cycle, no Tuatha Dé, no Irish gods. All the things I include are post-colonial aside from the notion of the Otherworld in general. This decision wasn't necessarily accurate to what might have happened in this alternate history (given that christianity still has no real foothold in Inver) but it is a colonised society after all. It's why I got slightly steamed once when someone filed my Púca art into their irish deities/irish polytheism tag (I have my own issues with iripols/gaelpols for the same reason I dislike people taking myths out cultural context and in this case contemporary cultural context), because the Púca is in fact a postcolonial being - it comes from the UK, and likely the mainland as well
One of the last things I did before starting on my 2nd draft, which is what turned into Said the Black Horse, was decide to always capitalise the word 'Púca'. Because what really clicked from doing my research and remembering what I'd heard as a child was that the Púca is a specific character. Not a species, not a class of monster. A character, one guy. And you'll find this everywhere - the obvious example is the Minotaur being one specific guy, the son of Minos, not just 'a minotaur'. One very funny consequence of speciesifying mythological characters is dnd ppl saying their character is A Firbolg (fir bolg is plural!!). Fantasy bestiary books like Dragonology or Spiderwick Chronicles have done some amount of damage to how people relate to myths and legendary creatures, and I am not immune as someone who loves speculative biology, but in Inver I decided to cut all of that out.
Next once I got that out of the way I had to think about tone, atmosphere, and intended results. I didn't achieve my holy grail of a very atmospheric, undefined, and uncertain story that provides no answers, due to limitations in my own abilities, but I tried. I have given less than 1 second of thought to how magic or faery biology in Inver works because that is not conducive to the atmosphere of a fairytale. Many of these source myths and legends are really about the fear of the unknown. They are rationalisations to explain away something unknown, some mystery of life, and you cannot explain the unexplainable and expect it to carry the same punch as the original myths that you are drawn to adapt. That's also why I try to never actually give facts about fairies, but instead I talk about what people think of them. The word 'considered' does some insanely heavy lifting in that linked post lmao. Is any of what I wrote true with regards to the Red King?? It is for the people who believe it.
I'm saying all of this because these are all points I had to think about before writing that 2nd draft, but also because I think they're worth considering for your own story as well. I'll admit I invented my werewolves from scratch, they have no mythological basis, because they pre-date the faery stuff and also I wanted them to fill a very specific role and appear a little more concrete than the other supernatural elements. It is what it is; I wanted a werewolf element that didn't match myths and legends (and honestly was partially inspired by me rolling my eyes about those posts going around moaning and whining about 'the doggification of werewolves missing the point of werewolf stories'. I thought, well, there's more than one story you can tell with a werewolf - it isn't always 'i fear the beast within', sometimes it's something else! sometimes it's daddy issues! it's okay to make something new)
ok i think that's all i have to say.. modern Inver is a bit different, that worldbuilding is largely the same but with a big dose of actual ecology because the main characters are rangers and in Inver in 2017, rangers mostly do environmental monitoring. and that's a whole different sort of worldbuilding lol
good luck with your story!!
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Nerdy cultural details about the Hashira
Some details can be hard to pick up without context or in translation. Here's a handful for fun:
Breath names:
The "Mushi" (蟲) of "Mushibashira" (蟲柱) does not necessarily mean "insect." It's also not the more commonly used "mushi" kanji (虫). Kanji is often formed with many components compounding together to make new meanings, and 蟲 is a crowd of three 虫. While it might be tempting to simply say that this is a whole bunch of 虫, I've also heard this described as 蟲 being the more abstract idea of the concrete 虫, or that 蟲 went through a resurgence in popularity shortly before the Taisho Period. 虫 is preferred nowadays for its simplicity.
In either case, it's not necessarily "insects." Rather than being limited to six-legged creatures, "mushi" is a catch-all term for many kinds of creepy-crawlies that simply do not fit in other categories of animals, so spiders and centipedes and worms are all part of it. Actually, the term was originally used for snakes!
Next, what are picturing when you hear "Stone Hashira"? Something in your hands that you can throw? A big stone to lay on for warmth after training in a waterfall?
You could think even bigger than that, because the "stone" kanji used is "iwa" 岩. This is usually something at least as big as the boulders Himejima pushes around to train with, but it could just as well be a whole cliff.
So then how about that issue raised about how you can never refer to "Flame Breath" as "Fire Breath"? This might be a review since it gets brought up a lot, but it's worth restating because it makes a lot of sense in context.
First, we have two kanji to work with: 炎 for flames, and 火 for fire. To make a long linguistic history short, Japan adopted written pictographic characters from China, smashed and smooshed them around to fit the spoken Japanese language, and eventually many kanji wound up with multiple pronunciations. Case in point, 炎 is "hono'o" in the context of Flame Breathing (Hono'o no Kokyuu), and "en" in the context of "Flame Hashira" (En-bashira).
火 likewise has multiple pronunciations, but a common one is "hi." Another simple kanji that can be read "hi" is 日, the sun.
Therefore, even if they are written differently, "Sun Breathing" and "Fire Breathing" would sound the same, as "Hi no Kokyuu." This also makes it easy for "Hinokami" to be construed as "Fire God" instead of "Sun God." But why stop there, really? If you want to get into older Japanese, sometimes phonetic "hi" was used in simple reference to the power of gods.
Symbolism:
This is still somewhat linguistic rather than symbolic, but you know how Sound Breath is derived from Thunder Breath?
It's worth pointing out that "Kaminari" (雷) in "Kaminari no Kokyuu" is in reference to the sound, as opposed to something like "Ikazuchi no Kokyuu" for "Lightning Breath" in reference to the sight. We can get really, really nerdy about Japanese words for thunder and lightning and how they relate to Kimetsu no Yaiba, so I already did that here.
What's more interesting to me in regard to Sound Breath is that it takes the "sound" concept of thunder and pushes it--this time with a bit of a firework motif, again in a way that would stress the sound instead of the dazzling light. Both Uzui and Zenitsu have exceptional hearing and are exceptional users of their Breath techniques, so this is either curious that a discerning sense of hearing might help, or ironic that they use such loud styles with their sensitive ears.
Moving on to snakes! There's really no shortage of serpent symbolism, so we'll just focus on a handful of examples. I have already written extensively about the positive associations snakes have with riches, especially white snakes. This is ironic, given Iguro's distasteful paste driven by riches.
Some of the other positive associations with snakes are that they are a water element animal on the geomancy system borrowed from China. Makes sense that this Breath would be derived from Water Breathing! There are many shrines dedicated to snakes and their gifts of rain and clean water, however, water can also be dangerous. A common interpretation of a major legend about an eight-headed giant serpent, the Yamata-no-Orochi, is that it symbolizes the destructive power of a flooded river. But hey, at least snakes are often equated to dragons for having the same water association, so that's pretty cool.
Setting aside the water association, the serpent itself can likewise be considered in negative lights. In the centuries leading up to the Taisho Period, it became commonplace in Buddhist teachings and entertainment to compare jealous women to snakes. This association with woman also adds another layer of cruel irony to Iguro's past.
On a happier note, let's move on to cherry blossoms!
Well, not always happy, seeing as they are known to scatter tragically soon (I am shaking my fist at you, Gotouge). Cherry blossoms are also heavy with all the directions you can go in with symbolism, and I don't have any particular take on why they are part of the overall motif of the Love Hashira (see here for a little commentary on why it is "Koi" 恋 and not "Ai" 愛).
However! I do want to point out something very clever Gotouge did!
You know how Mitsuri's hand guard looks like four hearts that all meet at their pointy ends? This is actually a traditional cherry blossom motif!! Not a very common one, which is why I find it so sly.
Personal Names:
Bear with me, this section will get slightly more speculative, as names are always up to interpretation. I should know, I've done a lot of that for this series.
Remember how kanji can be read in multiple ways? Here's something simple you'd see right away in Japanese but that gets lost in translation to most other languages. Both Sanemi and Genya have 弥 as the second character in their personal name (as "mi" or "ya"). This was not the case for all their siblings, but it's cute that the two of them share it anyway.
So what does it mean? In modern kanji dictionaries, it's pretty bland: "increasingly." However, this kanji has more interesting use and associations that that. It was originally 彌, which carries more of an image of a stretched bow, or how something might go wide and disperse. As a child's name, this might include some hope that they might grow big and tall and go to great places. It is also commonly used in expressing the names of Buddhist deities in Japanese, but it is used only for the "mi" sound instead of the meaning in these cases. (Still, 弥 is one of the "Namu Amida Butsu" characters all over Himejima's haori, which also adds a little cuteness to his associations with Genya.)
So how about someone else with a name that closely matches his brother's? We get a pretty good explanation of Yuichiro (有一郎) and Muichiro (無一郎), with 有 and 無 being opposites (to exist/to not exist). While 有 might be more straightforward in wishing for Yuichiro to have all his needs met, the "mu" in "muichiro" is for "limitless/infinity/etc, etc."
But also!!
It bares distinct resemblance to a common Zen phrase, "Honraimuichimotsu" (本来無一物), with "muichimotsu" meaning "nothing exists" (and therefore, you have nothing to worry about, just be happy).
Speaking of resemblances, "Tomioka Giyuu" has two kanji in common with the name of the mangaka of Hunter x Hunter and I sometimes wonder if he was named in homage. But that is neither here nor there, and I'll just finish today by focusing on "Giyuu" (義勇).
This is pretty basic and straightforward: "loyalty/justice" and "bravery/courage." Pretty lofty. Put them back together and it's basically a set term for "heroism."
However, put it together with other terms for squads or armies, and this is the now the word for "volunteer soldier" or "volunteer army." Historically, it would continue to be used a few decades after Kimetsu no Yaiba takes place, but the decades prior, there were "Giyuutai" organized volunteer troops as well. Perhaps Giyuu had ancestors who fought as volunteer soldiers? Who knows.
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His Majesty
Part One
Yandere Emperor with a Traveling Merchant Darling
Disclaimer: Based on many Fantasy manhwa's that I've read, the setting is fascinating to me, so that is why I made one of my own. There would be references to real-life locations, but that is all.
TW: Yandere, Power Imbalance, Intimidation, Reference to abuse of Power
Ever since you were young, you have been exposed to many different cultures since you were a child of two traveling merchants
Although every day is an adventure, it feels so lonely, even though you’ve met many people, both amiable or ill-natured. There is not enough time to build connections with them because your group would then pack up to go to another place before you get to know the local person you’ve befriended
So that is why you have given up on befriending locals and would just sell or bargain trading goods and items, which you are surprisingly good at
And that is why at such a young age, you have been granted by your parents your own stall in your group even though you aren’t an adult yet
Which led you to be one of the valuable assets in your group. You can bargain to the point that the item is given free and you can even sell sands in a desert city on just how you marketed the products to people
Your stall has it all: spices, pieces of jewelry, valuable textiles, unique teas, and even rare meat. As long as people pay the right amount of course
And right now, you are in your usual element. Your group has set up stalls in the local market in The Empire’s capital, Velnford, which is very rare since The Empire, even though influences most if not all in this continent, rarely let people in in the main region or even its capital. So that is why you are surprised when your group has managed to be let in in the region, let alone in the capital itself
Even on the outskirts of the city, you could see the splendor of The Empire’s capital. People, even the poorest are dressed in silk or the softest of cotton, most are well-groomed and wear make-up and perfume, and they look much healthier compared to the empire’s normal citizens.
But you also know that The Capital, even though it has a shiny and rich surface, has an underbelly of putrid darkness within it. Unlike most of the cities that you have visited, people here are, well let’s just say not only have an air of superiority to them but also viciousness that you have not seen in many people other than your fellow merchants or government officials.
Men, women, and even children. You knew that these people would trample on each other for simple and petty reasons.
That is why, even though you want to explore the capital, you simply stay in your group, in fear of being hauled by the locals. You are a merchant, not a daring idiot.
Just as you’ve expected, you have earned more golds and silvers in The Capital than what you’ve earned in a year in just a week. People here, although very wealthy, are suckers compared to the people in other cities that you’ve visited.
You have marked up your prices to the point that you kinda felt guilty about doing it to the locals, but it quickly evaporated when some local woman bought a tea set that is worth fourteen silvers and twenty copper coins with thirty-two gold coins and twelve silvers
It was your fourth day in the city when you heard the loud sound of a trumpet coming from the main street of the city. You saw people, even your customers quickly left the place they are in before and ran to the source of the sound. You just shrugged it off and continued tending to your stall.
As you are wiping the Jade figurines that you have, you are suddenly interrupted by people entering your tent. You then quickly looked up and saw the imperial guards, with a person who is most likely one of the members of the royal family. You then swiftly kowtowed to the ground as one of the guards then announced with a booming voice about The Emperor’s arrival at your tent, which made you shiver in nervousness.
You felt his footsteps coming towards you, which made you frigid in your place. “Merchant, face me” you heard his cold but at the same time, melodious voice command you
You then reluctantly looked up and saw one of the most beautiful men that you have ever seen in your life.
Your expectations of what The Emperor looks like are world-shattering really, you thought that he was just the regular noble, a middle-aged man with a beer belly and maybe has male patterned baldness, but no, instead, you have a person who looks like a sculpture that the gods themselves have made. An impressive well-built body that you are sure is toned and muscular if you stripped off those clothes that you are sure are worth half of your inventory. He has silky white hair with a slight purple tint on it and eyes that shone like a rare grey diamond. He has an air of not only superiority but also authority around him, which is rare, even for this city.
“I-I thank your majesty for visiting my humble stall,” you said and then quickly cursed in your mind for stuttering in front of the emperor himself.
As you are overthinking in your mind, The Emperor then signaled his men to leave him be, wanting to survey the stall on his own. His men obeyed his command and swiftly left the tent as if they weren’t there in the first place
“Merchant, get up and show me the finest items that you’ve got,” he said, bidding you to do his will, you quickly looked up and nodded then get up from the ground and start to show him your finest wares that even your richest clients never saw
Fine wares, golds, pieces of jewelry, Textiles, and other luxurious commodities that you have, you’ve shown him all, but this just makes The Emperor bored out of his mind as if seeing those items repeatedly his whole life, which is most likely the case.
This makes you very uneasy, not only because of The Emperor’s apparent displeasure but also your pride as a merchant. If your usual luxurious wares didn’t impress him, then you have to show him something else, which gave you an idea.
“It’s worth a shot,” you thought while observing the emperor playing at two golden spheres with an unnerving impassive expression written on his face. “Your majesty, if you aren’t satisfied by my luxurious wares, what if I show you my collection of years traveling as a merchant?” you offered The Emperor, which then garnered a slight, doubtful expression from him.
“Show it to me then”, you nodded and then opened various chests and boxes for the items that you have collected from various countries and continents. Small and compact wooden dolls from the eastern continent’s Fuji Islands that wore their various local traditional clothing, the items made out of shells from the Apo peninsula, and various manuscripts that tell the ancient folklore from the Kamet region of the southern continent.
This caused a slight fascination, which increased as you’ve explained their background and origins.
You’ve also shown the other items like good luck charms made out of Camel Bones from the Scorching Desert regions or The intricate small tea cups from the Eastern Continent’s mainland region. Which further fed The Emperor’s curiosity.
“How fascinating” you heard him say while his eyes looked at the items like a curious child, which made you baffled at first but then kept your head down, you don’t want to cause any trouble, but you can’t help that his expression looked endearing on his face, it's like the expression of children when they see your goods in remote towns or villages.
When you are finished showing him your goods, he then proceeds to buy almost all of the items at an exorbitant price that made your eyes pop out.
“Y-your highness, that is too much!” you said as you saw his men putting down chests that are filled with various gold. You are a shrewd Merchant, you admit that, but this is just too much!
“Are you disregarding my judgment?” he then snapped at you, which made you freeze, “Oh no, your majesty! It’s just, these golds are too much for such items!” you refute, trying to reason with him.
This cause him to let out an amused snort, then walked up to you and lifted your chin, which made you look him in the eye. Causing you to have a slight blush on your face.
“You are a fascinating merchant. Tell me what is your name,” he asked which you then quickly replied, not wanting to agitate him further.
“What a curious name, tell me, where did you come from?” he asked, which you quickly answered. “Oh, that is very far away, even from My Empire. It is rare to have people from your region come visit in My Dominion, even in trade,” he said, surprised by your answer.
You didn’t respond as he then observed your smaller form, which made you petrified at your spot. Him, still holding your chin while frozen in place.
“You pleased me, merchant, for your actions earlier, I would dismiss your previous foolish behavior,” he said, which made you a little bit relieved inside. However, his next words do not. “I will even let you in my palace and show me your other wares, be honored merchant, I will grant you a blessing most people in Velnford won’t experience during their lifetime,”
He then let go of your chin, which then causes you to fall to the ground to Kowtow again to him. “I-its is an honor, your highness” you replied while having a panicked expression on your face.
He then let out a hum and then observed the items before he exit your tent, but before he go out he then quickly added words that further made you frightened inside. “Be mindful that you are the only one that I allowed inside my palace”. He then swiftly exits your tent.
As you felt their presence start to fade, you then got up and try to walk on the nearby couch, but quickly collapse on the floor, which is thankfully padded with carpet, which made your landing less painful.
“Oh my goodness, (Y/N)!” you heard your parents panic as they entered your tent from the back, they lift you and put you on the couch, letting you lay there to calm down
They asked what happened when The Emperor visits your tent, which caused your face to distort, and told them everything. Which made your parent's faces pale due to shock but at the same time dread.
When the night falls and the streets of Velnford are almost empty, except for the guards patrolling the city. You are then led to the main tent by your parents. Which congregates most of the leaders of your group to discuss your situation right now.
You feared that most of the people would be envious and they even would spit out words that you are not ready for the responsibility, but instead, they are concerned for you and even told you what they have learned that is related to the palace and its notoriety.
You have found out that most merchants who are selected to visit the palace have their heads quickly cut off, which made most merchants, even the greediest and the most ambitious once would be frightened due to that lone fact alone, it does not even add the other things that would make you hurl in a mix of fright and disgust.
Even if you are well-traveled, maybe you still are sheltered by your parents, but the things that are not only going on in the palace but also in this city, it made you feel disgusted inside. You know that this city is cruel and hedonistic but not to this extent.
When you and your family got back to your tent, you don’t bother to take your usual evening bath but instead went back to your bed and cried for hours on end as your parents comfort you as best as they can.
When the day finally arrives, you are now dressed in the best attire from your region, which made you stand out from the rest of the people in the city.
This garnered a lot of curious gaze and some people looking down on you for being a ‘barbarian’, but you ignored them and moved on to enter the palace borders.
“Oh my gods,” you thoughts as you saw a colossal wall surrounding the palace grounds with a gate that led to a mile and a half of gorgeous scenery of nature before going into the palace.
When you saw the palace, you are surprised that it's not a gigantic monument that stands out from the rest of the city but instead, it's a meticulously designed architecture that made it a work of art itself.
You can’t really explain it in detail, but the palace is just, breathtaking. Even if you’ve seen various palaces from continent to continent, this is very different compared to the others, as if this does not only impose authority but also unquestioned majesty
A guard then let you out of the carriage. Unlike the other imperial guards, he looks like he is one of the elites that guarded this palace. The guard, along with your wares that are carried by the palace servants then guides you to where the emperor is right now.
When you enter the palace, you could see why it's not as tall as you thought it to be. You thought that the splendor of the capital is massive but the inside of the palace makes it look like a spare change. The palace, even though not as tall, makes it up for its space and splendor. You are sure that this palace is a quarter the size of the city capital and that does not even add the nature surrounding it.
You arrived at the throne room, which made your eyes widen in fascination. High ceilings that are painted with various depictions of celestial bodies and glass windows seeing the sky, pillars that crave with imperial symbols, the dark marbled floor that reflects your visage, and realistic paintings of various places in the continent that are powered by rare magic stones to look like a portal to those places.
People, except you and The Emperor exit the room, making you frightened at your situation even more.
“Chin up merchant, and show your other goods”
You then nodded and show the other items that you haven’t shown him before. Some aren’t even from your inventory and are given or bought to you by your fellow traders in your group. Hand-woven blankets, bamboo toys from the Hengshan region, and many more
As you explain it to him one by one, he then cuts you out, “I can’t really see it from this distance, merchant, walk closer” he commanded. You quickly obeyed his words and walk closer to him. Which led you to the staircase of the throne.
“Hmm, closer, dear merchant”
You then nodded and reluctantly walk up to the staircase that led to the imposing throne, which is the shining gem of the throne room.
You are now facing in front of the Emperor, although is sitting on the throne, doesn’t diminish his impressive figure and actually made him more intimidating
“Much better, now, explain. "
You quickly obey his words and then explain the Item in your hand right now, which is a simple gold earring.
“Oh, so it is like an engagement ring, I see. "
You nod at his words as you carefully show the item to him. Which he then grabs from your hands and observes it.
When he finished observing it, he then ordered you to grab another one as you then retrieve another item from the pile that the servants put in front of the throne
The session continues for hours until the items that you’ve bought satisfied The Emperor, and just like the last time, he bought it at an exorbitant price, it almost felt like you’ve committed banditry.
As you are about to leave the throne room, he then common you to get closer to him, and as usual, you obeyed his words.
you prostrate yourself in front of him as you wait for his next command for you
“Merchant, in my days in this region, I have never seen a person as well-traveled and knowledgeable as you, and for that, I would grant you a title of an educator in this palace. From now on, you would be my teacher on various regions and their customs, and your family would be informed of this immediately”. Your eyes winded at his words, not believing the words that you are hearing right now. In shock, you quickly put your head up, “Y-your Majesty!” you uttered in distress, looking up to The Emperor, who then have a face of displeasure, seeing your actions as defiance of his order. You realized what you have done and quickly bowed down again.
“Are you objecting to my decree, Merchant?” he said with an icy tone that made your bones shiver in fear. “N-no your majesty, I-it’s just that, There are better scholars and travelers that have much more experience and knowledge than me, a lowly merchant” you reasoned to him, not wanting him to see your earlier actions as a blatant disregard of his will. You still felt his rage as he get up and then walk towards your form, which made your form rigid as a statue. He then crouch down to you and made you look up at his face. “ That may be true but, merchant, you are the only one that describes it with passion,” he said as you saw his mirthful gaze towards you. At his words, you then started to get flustered. You thought that you got rid of your over-explanation to others. It seems that your past behavior leaks out during the time you have been with The Emperor. As you are mulling over your behavior, The Emperor then ordered the servants to come in and arrange your new living arrangements in The Palace. Being the new educator to The Emperor, you are now provided with resources and privileges that most people, even the other nobles, would dream to have inside The Palace.
“Merchant,” The Emperor said, who is now standing up, looking down at you. You then snapped out of your thoughts and then look up at him. “Y-yes?” you asked, still dazed from the previous nerve-wracking interaction. “What is your name? I do not want to call you merchant any longer” he asked. “It’s (Y/N), your highness” you replied. He then nodded and then smile at you. “Well, (Y/N), I hope that you would satisfy my curiosity then”.
He then quickly left the throne room in the other door of the hall as the servants then helped you to get up and then walk you towards the exit of the throne room, although in the same doorway that you’ve used entering the palace throne room. You then sigh as the servants led you to your room in The Palace. You are now the teacher of The Emperor. You hoped that you have enough knowledge so that you wouldn't end up dead, and maybe, give your family prestige if you manage to educate The Emperor and get out of this palace alive. It would be risky, but as long as you move forward, you hope that things would get better.
#yandere emperor#yandere royalty#yandere#tw yandere#yandere headcanons#yandere scenarios#yandere male#yandere hcs
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V Muse Jewelry
duchessofostergotlands:
What do we know about this V Muse place? Seems strange they just popped up and started laying out huge sums of money for tiaras!
I've been researching them because I was wondering the same thing. The were the official jeweler for Le Bal last year too and I had never heard of them before. I looked into them a bit more this year and I found out that they are not an antique/estate jeweler like I thought.
They were founded in 2017 by Alex Fan and Vivian Jia as East Langkun International Culture. They had been collecting items and working with museums in 2009. So they are an art institute and are not selling any of the jewels.
East Langkun is an international culture institution headquartered in Beijing. It is dedicated to the exploration, discover, and protection of artworks worldwide, and is highly reputed by it's achievements in academic research and conservation, cultural exchanged, museum operations, exhibitions and publications
Then in 2018 they went on a huge buying spree spending millions and millions of dollars buying jewelry at auctions. Like seriously the amount of money they spent in that year alone is ridiculous. It's not unusual for rich people to buy a lot of jewelry but usually it's done over a much longer time period. They also usually either hoard it in a vault or loan it to a museum in a dedicated hall with their name really big over the door.
Before they partnered with Le Bal in 2022, they changed their name from East Langkun to V Muse. The websites and inventories are the same. I was confused last year because V Muse keeps calling themselves a brand so I thought they were selling the jewelry.
East Langkun
V Muse
It's a little odd for an art institute to loan items to be worn like this but I enjoy seeing the jewelry worn so I'm not complaining. They also have lots of pictures and information on their website and loan the jewelry to museums and exhibitions. I have no idea where all that money came from but I guess if I suddenly became a billionaire I'd do the same thing.
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Deborah is always giving things to people, and people think because she is very rich and very capable, she doesn't need anyone to give things to her. But Ava gives her something. [you take over from here]
its been two and half years that i've been ruminating on this prompt and never have been able to figure out what this gift could be. this morning i finally found my answer. thank you for sending this prompt which i'm sure at this point you've long forgotten about <3 love u
The package arrives by courier the same evening that Deborah learns ‘My Bad’ is going to network television. After an obscene bidding war, the purchase price from NBC Universal’s deal will be more revenue for Deborah than all 2,500 Palmetto residency shows combined. It also happens that NBC has the Super Bowl next February, and network executives pitched the big game to Deborah’s team as the perfect lead-in to maximize viewership.
That’s how big Deborah Vance is in popular culture these days. Big enough to follow up the most-watched television program of the year.
It’s kind of stunning, Deborah thinks, as Marcus offers her the iPad with the contract pulled up, ready for her signature. Maybe in her wildest dreams she imagined this level of fame and brand recognition, but it was never all that realistic. Especially not at her age. It was impressive enough to sustain her Vegas residency as long as she did in a culture where even the most prolific actors are put out to pasture after age forty. But here she is, about to sign the biggest deal of her career, north of seventy years old.
Josefina interrupts them before she has the chance to sign, knocking softly on the doorframe to Deborah’s office, holding a small package wrapped in a recycled paper grocery bag. “Sorry to interrupt, Deborah, but this was just delivered.”
Deborah waves her off. “Leave it in the kitchen, I’ll get to it later.”
Josefina turns to follow Deborah’s instructions, but something changes her mind. She hovers instead in the entry to the office, a strange look on her face.
“What is it?” Deborah asks, studying Josefina’s frown, mind going back to Ava hovering in a similar doorway holding the envelope from Kathy back after Frank died. She shakes the memory away and stands, holding out her hand and beckoning Josefina forward and to get on with it. She thought this was finally over, that after nearly hitting her with the Rolls Kathy would have gotten the goddamn message.
Josefina enters but stops short of handing it over. She looks Deborah clear in the eye and says, “It’s from Ava.”
Ah.
Deborah isn’t sure if anyone on her staff is still in contact with her ex-writing partner, but it’s been six months since Deborah fired her on that Hollywood rooftop.
First came the denial: Ava teary eyed on a night that she should have been celebrating, not believing Deborah’s words. I can do three months severance and extend your health insurance for six. Then came the anger, weeks of indignant and resentful texts and voice messages, Ava at her worst poking at every tender part of Deborah she knew, which is just about all of them. Deborah never once wrote back. Then bargaining for her job back, even when Deborah knew she was doing just fine writing for television back in LA, that she was even becoming pretty successful. Then came the weeks where Deborah heard nothing at all, Ava’s messages stopping completely, no updates on any of her social media that Deborah most definitely didn’t keep checking, just to make sure. Ava’s name in the credits became the only way Deborah knew she was still out there, still okay, still working.
Deborah clears her throat, swallowing down the acute tightening, ignoring the quickening of her heart rate.
“I’ll take it,” she says, curtly, “give me a minute.”
“I already opened the champagne Jimmy sent,” Josefina explains, handing Deborah the box across the desk. This was a night for celebration, but Deborah suddenly feels like anything but.
“I said, give me a minute,” she snaps, more forceful this time. Her tone clearly hits the mark because Josefina and Marcus share a knowing look before seeing themselves out. The contract, Jimmy, the champagne, it can all wait.
She sits back in the opulent wing-backed chair and lets out a long exhale, holding the small wrapped package and measuring its weight. There’s not much to it really, just wrinkled paper, crooked lines of clear packing tape, and Ava’s chicken scratch with her name and address.
She unwraps it carefully, like she’s afraid of what might be inside. There’s a plain white envelope with Deborah’s name written small in the center and a box for a pair of noise canceling headphones. She slips her finger under the seam of the envelope, tearing it open. A piece of note paper is tri-folded inside, Ava Daniels in neat block printing stamped along the top of the personalized stationery. Deborah chuckles, thinking Ava has come so far from writing solely on post-its. The note is simple, Ava’s messy handwriting in black ink in the center of the page:
For your collection.
- Ava
Deborah opens the box but there are no headphones inside, only a bunch of balled up paper surrounding an oblong taped up ball of bubble wrap. Contained within are two ceramic figures, an unlikely pair: it’s quintessential Deborah in her favorite updo wig, a pants suit dusted in golden glitter, complete with golden high heels and microphone in hand. The other is a slightly shorter and paler figure with short auburn hair, striped t-shirt, high waisted jeans, and thick black Doc Marten boots. The tiny Ava is holding a small black notebook. They’re both laughing, and if placed side by side, the salt and pepper shakers turn slightly into one another, like they’re leaning in and sharing a raucous joke.
Deborah tears up, staring down at them centered on the desktop, Ava the pepper to her salt. The other half of her pair. She misses her desperately then, and if she’s serious with herself, has been for the past half of a year, never letting herself truly sit in those feelings until now.
She picks up her phone, squints at the screen through tears, and pulls up Ava’s contact. Before she knows what she’s doing, Deborah hits the call button.
The phone rings twice, then is sent to voicemail.
The recorded message says, “It’s Ava, drop it like it’s hot.”
Deborah clears her throat. She has no idea what she even wants to say. I miss you. I’m living my dream, I’m famous as hell, about to be more rich than ever, but I’m not happy. Not without you. Please come back. None of it is worth it without you.
But that would be selfish. Ava is doing fine, thriving even, without Deborah. She needs to let her be. Instead, she says, “Hey, it’s um, it’s me. I got your package.” She sniffles, swallowing tears. “They’re perfect. Thank you.”
She hangs up.
After her hands stop shaking and she’s gathered herself, Deborah carries the shakers to the wall of china cabinets where her collection is fully lit and on display. She makes room right in the center one at eye-level and sets them together, close enough to touch, their heads leaning into one another.
A few moments later Deborah signs the contract and the house celebrates, Jimmy toasting Deborah and her accomplishments over the phone to a bottle of Dom Perignon, a vintage for 1976, the very year Deborah filmed the late night pilot and ended up starting her stand up career.
If anyone notices the new addition to the salt and pepper shaker collection, no one mentions it.
#hacks#hacks hbo#filling some prompts to get back into it#so if you remember sending one i never answered you might get lucky :)#ava x deborah
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Kpop is just an industry not genre. They release songs in different genres.. especially BTS have a wide variety of genres.
For me, I know many kpop groups... know as in just know their names. And some of the very popular members. I listen to kpop songs I vibe with.. but that doesn't mean I stan them or even take an effort to atleast checkout who are the members. Maybe it's one song I like or maybe it's many of their title songs. For eg. Seventeen. I like their 'SUPER' but I can only identify few members of that group. But for TWICE I know most of their title songs and knows members too but except watching their performances like watching a pretty performance I don't have any other connection with members. I don't listen to any groups regularly nor watch any of their vareity contents.
Mostly because even after listening to their songs none of them were intresting enough to check out more about them... It's not that I'm purposefully doing it lol...but just that they don't intrest me much. Now even if I watch some variety contents, in my mind I automatically compare them to bangtan shows because wow the difference is so clear just like the difference in year end shows we watched 🥲💀
Yesterday I watched a skz code episode of straykids with my sister who's a stay. Ik many people enjoy it.. but for me it felt wayyyy to dry and scripted. For eg. They were at a country side for a break, cooking and camping. Now what have we watched in Bon voyage countryside episode? Them wearing minimal or even no makeup, wearing regular clothes suitable for cold climate, each doing their own jobs and cooking delicious looking meals. That's what we've been watching all these years... our standard. And what I saw here ? 8 boys who are styled like they are about to perform on stage with pretty jewelery and designer clothing. Playing football or volleyball to decide who will do each job and cooked some plain af food.. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that chicken was plain af 😭. It was like a cultural shock for me who watched JK taking a lot effort to cook sauces or Tae waking up with drool on his chin or Jimin wearing his puffy jacket and beanie.
So yeah.. till now only bangtan broke that artist vs casual listener barrier for me. They are the most rich, most successful artists in kpop but my broke ass can only relate to them 😭🤡 I can't relate to an idol who's looking like he's on stage to perform while doing a simple live when here I'm seeing JK's 4 hours kinda live.
I agree that it's an industry, but it's also a genre, think about it. Although it's true that K-pop is a blend of many genres, influences, and sounds, there's something intrinsic to them, and indeed, that's one of the differences between BTS and many of their peers, which is why many consider BTS in a different category, and some are even bolder in considering them an entirely different genre, at least compared to their peers in Korea.
When you're so immersed in this, as many of us are, it's normal to learn about the industry, which means learning the names of other groups. I can mention the names of many groups, but I couldn't identify a specific member, much less one of their songs, even if I've heard one of their songs before.
The point is, it's not that we don't believe these other groups are talented or don't have good songs; the issue is that what they have doesn't interest us. And it's not that we don't want to give them a chance; it's that what we've seen hasn't been enough to want to give them one. That's not our problem.
I understand regarding variety content. It has happened to me too; on TikTok, several times I've seen clips that are funny and catch a bit of my attention, but when I look for the full video, I get bored after the first minute, and like you, I can't help but make comparisons with BTS's variety content. Is it fair? I don't know, but that's what ends up happening.
For most of the fandom, the most important thing is the music, the connection to BTS's music, but it's also them. It's the sincerity in their words when talking about the fandom. It's everything they've done for their fandom. It's the fact that, to some extent, they've always been honest with us and have shown us their true selves. And being a bit cynical, it's the fact that they've organically known how to nurture the social relationship the fandom has with them.
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I’ll be honest, the more spanish I’ve been learning, the more cultural history I’ve been going into regarding the background of Catalan. I was visiting an older friend in Madrid recently (in her 60’s) and she randomly went on about the Black Legend, and all the good they brought, and I had never HEARD of that before and I was horrified. I’m Native American and I was like HELLO? You don’t have a LITTLE bit of shame? But then I remembered how they treat their OWN people here, especially with Catalonia and it’s like eugh... makes me reconsider wanting to work abroad there (even my friend being from Barcelona, I was surprised to hear that view.) I’m not saying my country is better at all, not in the least, but I’ll never understand the anger and the hate towards a language and people. How can a language be ugly and bad when a mother uses it to talk to a child? Between friends and lovers? A language full of history and culture? Passed down from generation to generation and surviving because of love and identity despite repeated attempts to stamp it out. Some things never change I guess.
I completely agree with you, every language is the language of love, what someone uses to joke with their friends, and the first words of a newborn child. Same way that every language can be used to shout insults in a fight or to speak nasty gossip. And every language is part of humanity's richness and creative potential.
Yes, it's disgusting how many people believe the Black Legend story. For readers who might not know what it is, it's the belief that the Spanish Empire wasn't that bad and the atrocities they committed were actually lies that the British Empire came up with to spread a bad image of Spain, since the UK and Spain were rival empires. It goes together with the people who claim things like "indigenous Americans were better thanks to Spain because Spain gave them a language, surnames and Christianity". It's good that you hadn't heard of it before, sadly it still comes up every so often in Spain. I'm sorry you had to hear that.
The only thing I would specify is that many Spanish people (and certainly the case for Spanish nationalists and the type to believe the Black Legend) don't consider Catalan people their own people. They are very clear that we are not and never will be able to be correctly Spanish, even if they also deny that we are Catalan and not Spanish. I've used this example before but I think it shows it well: look at football (soccer). When Piqué (Catalan player) was playing in the Spanish national team, people in the public used to shout/chant at him both "Piqué you're a Spaniard" and "Piqué go back to your country". If he was Spanish, then wouldn't that be his country as well? I also saw the same when I went on Erasmus. We had a WhatsApp group chat and one day there was a football match between Barça and some Spanish club, I don't remember which one. And when the other club scored a goal against Barça, the Spanish students were sending "VIVA ESPAÑA", "GOL DE ESPAÑA" and such things on the group chat. An Italian answered "but aren't both of the teams playing Spanish?" and one of the Spanish guys answered "well but Catalonia you know". It's the attitude, they don't want to admit Catalans can be Catalans and not Spanish, but at the same time we're always the "other".
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So I've made a post about how the Hunter's Guild from Monster Hunter should be the series's antagonist that got a bit of traction. So I figured I'd write up a rundown of how this could look in a story for the mainline series.
So the setup is this:
In the past couple of years, the population of Monoblos have been slowly decreasing due to a mixture of poaching and over hunting due to their cultural significance as a right of passage for new hunters. They were rare before but not to the degree that entire generations of desert dwelling people have never seen one in the flesh. The Guild has thus far not addressed this rapid decline, and have made no plans to attempt at conserving them either. And every time someone comes forward with a proposal for a conservation effort it's declined with the excuse of limited resources, or lack of evidence, and even sometimes with no reasoning at all.
You the player, a new and upcoming hunter, are hired as an escort alongside a few other hunters to guide the cart of a passionate researcher couple to a nearby desert town. These two are researching the increasing decline of Monoblos and are gathering evidence to build a case for the guild to begin a conservation effort. They had heard of sightings of a large flying Wyvern with a crimson horn a few towns over and began their truck there.
On the way there, there's a boulder blocking the road. Upon going up to inspect it alongside one of the other hunters present you both note distinct scratch marks and massive horn shaped holes pierced into it. Immediately the researchers jump up and go to inspect themselves and then dart off in a direction to find more tracks. After following the for a bit you discover a small but healthy herd of Monoblos all living in this secluded and out of the way grassland. Immediately the researchers send for the guild to get funding for a conservation effort and, with no real argument against, it's accepted reluctantly. The funding is limited and very restrictive, but it's something! The Guild agrees to fund the conservation effort under the condition that there be a guild official present to supervise the operation and that if there's any violations of Guild guidelines, or accidents involving major property damage that it would be shut down.
And the the game would go one like a normal monster hunter game! You'd help around the village, hunt a few monsters to secure areas or get materials for tools all alongside the Hunter's and researchers you came here with. Every mission is this big victory and everyone's super excited at new discoveries. The guild official is being a real stick in the mud the whole game as is this one rich merchant in town who isn't super jazzed about these dirty hunters muddying up their vacation and closing one or two of their trade routes for their silly conservation effort.
But it's going really well! The groups learning all sorts of stuff and getting closer with one another and building this sort of found family thing. You learn at some point the herd is actually comprised pretty much entirely of females taking care of their young and begin searching for a nearby male to maybe keep track of. And you find one! A white Monoblos male! Heck! The guild official is even getting on board and being won over by all this infectious optimism!
And then something goes wrong. While on a quest to capture and get scent trackers onto the male Monoblos, it escapes the trap before you can use the tranq bombs and one of the hunters is gravely injured and you see it run into a few carts while fleeing away. Obviously the Guild official finds out and now there's this moment where you don't know what's going to happen. Throughout the entire story they're grumpy demeanor and pessimism had been slowly chipped away at to the point that they've become friends with the team and villagers. They've even grown attached to the Monoblos and is fully bought into saving them from extinction.
Will they tell the guild? Shut down the whole operation?
A day passes and nothing happens. Everyone's overjoyed! We can continue the conservation! You go out to run a quick errand and when you return there are guild knights everywhere. Funding is being pulled left and right, everything you've worked for is being confiscated or destroyed and their calling for this aggressive white monoblos' head. Everyone on the team is discharged and told to go back to the nearest guild city. You find out that the guild representative wasn't the one who actually told them and that they were actually fired. The culprit who informed the Guild was instead the grumpy rich merchant because the carts destroyed were theirs. They were still running their trade in secret and illegally.
The games sort of final quest would be an off the books repel quest where you, with the help of the now ex Guild worker, go behind the Guild's back to redirect the Monoblos away from the village before they have a chance to kill it.
The game could end a few ways. Like the guild learning of the merchant's illegal trading and arresting them and the conservation effort receiving the funding they need. Or it could end with the White Monoblos reuniting with the back and relocating away from civilization. Etc etc.
This is what I mean when I say they should antagonize the guild. I'm not asking for a grandiose story about the guild's corruption that paints us as the bad guys or paints hunting as this immoral thing that's solved by the end of the game. I just want small scale stories that play with the themes of environmentalism and colonialism that Monster Hunter has baked into its very core. I want character driven narratives that are about people and how they can achieve amazing things through cooperation.
And this is just one of them! They could do stories involving the tribe of Anjanath worshippers and mirror real life colonialism. They could do one where two central characters have completely different ideals about hunting and how that fractures their relationship. There are so many possibilities for multiple different games! You could even have recurring characters with arcs that span across multiple entries! Do it Capcom! Please!
#monster hunter art#monster hunter#monster hunter lore#monster hunter oc#mhw iceborne#mhw#monster hunter lore discussion#mhrise#mhrsunbreak#monster hunter discussion#fanfic#monster hunter fanfic
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heal the holes in me
part 2 of a Nate Archibald playlist - best heard in order
tracklist and quotes under the cut
This Year ~ The Mountain Goats
I played video games in a drunken haze
I was 17 years young
Hurt my knuckles punching the machines
The taste of Scotch rich on my tongue
Going Underground ~ The Jam
We talk and we talk until my head explodes
I turn on the news and my body froze
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out ~ The Smiths
Take me out tonight
Because I want to see people
And I want to see life
Driving in your car
Oh please, don't drop me home
Because it's not my home, it's their home
And I'm welcome no more
It’s Obvious ~ Au Pairs
Spending time nowadays
By my side
That's oh so nice
Fall for Me ~ Matt Doyle
It never has been easy, lover, standing at your side
Always thinking you've got something to prove
And while I hate to have to blow your cover
But it's only pride
Dance With Somebody ~ The Midnight
Take off your armor, let down your hair
You could sit on your hands or you could get closer, if you dare
And it's not that the rest of us don't have to fight
For every bit of love and every bit of light
But tonight, it's Friday night
Dance With Me ~ Dirty Honkers
Your hand was shaking as I held it tight
We were alone beneath the stars
Triple Dog Dare ~ Lucy Dacus
They put our faces on the milk jugs
Missing children 'til they gave up
Your mama was right, and through the grief
Can't fight the feeling of relief
Video Games ~ Trixie Mattel
They say that the world was built for two
Only worth living if somebody is loving you
And, baby, now you do
Unwritten ~ Natasha Bedingfield
Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find
Love My Way ~ Psychedelic Furs
In a room without a door
I Like Me Better ~ Lauv
If we lay, let the day just pass us by
I might get to too much talking
I might have to tell you something
Ultralife ~ Oh Wonder
Blood running in my veins
I've never been here before
And I got love falling like the rain
I never could've asked for more
I got so much soul inside my bones
Take a look at me now
I'm young forever in the sun
Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) ~ Edison Lighthouse
I'm a lucky fella
And I've just got to tell her
That I love her endlessly
Oh, What A World ~ Kacey Musgraves
Oh, what a world, don't wanna leave
All kinds of magic all around us, it's hard to believe
Thank God it's not too good to be true
Oh, what a world, and then there is you
Ecstasy (Apple of My Eye) ~ Strawberry Switchblade
Doing all we want to do
Seeing things we've never seen
Going places we haven't tried to be
Neptune’s Jewels ~ Mystic
Something about my lifestyle makes love so strange
Sundress ~ Zoo Culture
Just picturing you and I on an island in the sky so high
That no one can reach us, nobody can preach to us
Big Jet Plane ~ Angus & Julia Stone
Gonna hold ya, gonna kiss ya in my arms
Gonna take ya away from harm
Perfect Day ~ Lou Reed
Just a perfect day, problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own, it's such fun
Just a perfect day, you made me forget myself
What I Got ~ Sublime
Love is what I got, it's within my reach
uuu ~ Field Medic
Lovin' you sure makes me afraid of losin'
But I don't care, I can't slow down now
Real Love Baby ~ Father John Misty
Our hearts are free
So tell me what's wrong with the feeling
I'm a flower, you're the bee
It's much older than you and me
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy ~ Queen
When I'm not with you, think of you always
I miss you (I miss those long hot summer nights)
Hazel ~ Roy Blair
Can't take back what I've been born with
My family's gorgeous, flaws and all
I won't ignore them, they're important
Keeping these friends until the end
Age of Consent ~ New Order
I thought that you might like to know
I received your message in full a few days ago
I understood every word that it said
Moon and Waves ~ Haroula Rose
Why does every river's flow reach for the sea?
Can they be lonely?
Seeking some truth to reveal?
Serving their purpose for eternity
august ~ Taylor Swift
For me, it was enough
To live for the hope of it all
Cancel plans just in case you'd call
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I saw that you read The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix this year and you enjoyed it. I've seen a number of people saying that its racist and antisemitic, but I noticed that a lot of those reviews are based on a twitter review that came out quite a while before the book itself. I've also seen more recent reviews (after the book was released) from both Black and Jewish readers stating those claims are false. Did you find anything like that during your read through?
Not gonna lie, as soon as I mentioned that I'd read The Ones We Burn I know someone was going to come into my ask box and ask this question so I've been waiting for something like this.
In short: No. I did not find anything like this. I am a black woman, and I did not find anything racist towards black people in this book (and I've read the HP books, I have a good idea of what racism looks and feels like in writing lmao).
Not gonna lie, this book was on my TBR list for ages and I pre-ordered, and when everything came out I was ridiculously disappointed by the number of people who would go out and slander/cancel a book without reading it simply because someone lied. And I was especially disappointed in the black people who went online and started rallying to cancel the book. The whole "reverse racism" claim was a lie, the two main characters are black because, spoiler, their mother is black and their mother was a witch from another coven (so not a white people in power constantly thing; I'm due a reread to confirm this, though). Not only that, but they're surrounded by rich white people the whole time, and there are witches with different ethnicities/skin tones throughout the whole book. I could not find ANYTHING suggesting racism or reverse racism in this book and for someone to imply that without having read the book is absolutely obtuse. (I also absolutely HATE cancel culture because some of the people I've seen get cancelled by people spreading rumours and lies. Absolutely ridiculous.)
As for the antisemitism claim, I didn't spot any of that in the book either but I actually went to research that because I wanted to know exactly what people not on twitter were saying, and I found this review which was pretty long and has links. I didn't find any, and neither did this Jewish reviewer.
Honestly, there were a lot of reviews about the book before it even came out, and even though ARCs were sent out I get the vibe that not many (if any) of the readers actually posted any of those reviews attacking the book. All those reviews came from people who were talking about another review and basically saying "this was on my tbr but because xxx said racism and antisemitism I'm taking it off bye", which isn't how reviews work but go off I guess. It got tanked on goodreads for what I believe was a couple of lying or jealous reviews that everyone jumped on as true. And people actually thought it was okay to bully someone off the Internet and send them death threats? And don't sensitivity readers usually get called in to prevent this happening when the book comes out? Sensitivity readers were called in on this book. It just baffles me that so many people cancelled the book so quickly based on a couple of pre-release reviews and probably aren't even looking at the post-release reviews because they think they've done their job or some dumb shit like that.
Anyway tl;dr: No, I didn't find any racism in the book, and any claims of racism in the book from before the release should be taken with a pinch of salt, imo. Or a load of it. The affected communities need to actually look to reviewers from their communities post-release and see what they're saying before attacking, and they certainly shouldn't be attacking before having the chance to form their own opinions.
Anyway, people are gonna come after me for this but I've said what I've said and I believe it. I've stayed away from making comments online mostly because I 1) would probably not be heard online because I tend to stay in my little corner for the sake of my own mental health; and 2) know that people are stubborn once they've formed their own opinions and didn't want to say anything before reading the book myself.
#asks#anon#the controversy surrounding this book gives me a lot of feelings#mostly anger and disappointment#i even saw a black blog on tumblr basically say#yo that had me shook#they full on disregarded the one thing people are fighting for#because they think a book they haven't read is racist#anyway happy new year!!#and thanks for the ask anon!!#i would recommend reading the book for yourself with critical eyes#before making any sort of judgement#the ones we burn#rebecca mix#towb#the ones we burn rebecca mix
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C76: Talk of Love and Peace
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Series Rating: 18+ / Explicit
Chapter: 76/84
Words: 1.7k
No particular warnings for this chapter.
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You walk through the metal corridor of Ship Three, Home. The halls are as empty as always as you make your way through them alone. You are reminded of your own ship from long ago, the layout being exactly the same. This hallway leads into the common area. Up ahead, there are doors that open up to the larger hall, where the crew could take their time to recover from the stress of their work. There are soft couches and nooks for reading. There's a table for games and even a bar. But your ears hear something more interesting. In the midst of everything else, there is a piano. It is beautiful and intricate, made out of wood from Earth. The nanorobots built into it make sure it always stays in tune; the sound is rich and pure.
The music draws you in like a spell until you get close enough for the doors to open and reveal the familiar figure sitting by the instrument and producing such wonderful melodies. It sounds vaguely familiar, like a song you used to sing a very long time ago.
"I didn't know you played the piano," you say softly as you walk closer to the blonde man.
"Come, sit." He doesn't look over to you, but you hear a softness in his voice. The music never stops for a moment as his fingers keep gliding over the keys. He scoots over to make room on the bench for you. The melody transforms into something new as you make yourself comfortable to his left. A vague smile graces his lips as his eyes are nailed to the piano.
Music fills the room and your head. His hands are so graceful as they dance on the black-and-white keyboard. They produce beautiful chords and strings of notes. Your heart feels so light as your gaze moves onto the man's face. His sharp nose is so clear from this angle; you look at his eyes and the birthmark on his cheek. You lean into his side, your head rests on his shoulder, and the melody changes again into something calmer where his left arm would have to move around less so as not to disturb you. He looks down at you with a soft expression.
"What is this music? It sounds so familiar. Like I've heard it before," your voice stays quiet, barely audible over the notes.
"These are songs from Sagittarius 7J23, your home. There are records of its culture on the ship's computers, and you remember them too. Lullabies sung to children, songs for working, for spending time together." His voice is so calm and soothing, a melody of its own.
"I remember very little, but... thank you." You reach up to place a kiss on his cheek. "This means a lot to me. The sentiment alone is so sweet, my love."
He looks over to you again, and you place a kiss on his lips. The music doesn't stop as he closes his eyes, only to open them again with a kind look in them.
"When all is done and peace reigns over this world, I will play for you every day, so you would sit by my side just like this. I will compose for you, create new songs, and new music for this world. For our world," his look is insistent and sure of every word he says.
"I look forward to it." Your head rests back on his shoulder to look at his hands. "When all this is over, I'll sit here by your side every day and listen to you play. In our own little world."
"Just keep looking at me like that and don't be afraid. That's all I ask of you."
"I'll never be afraid of you." A slight chuckle escapes you, and you gently touch his arm with your fingers. You notice bright blue lines flaring up on the back of your hand; they twist around like vines as they climb up your forearm, and smaller, dimmer lines creep onto your fingers. You're surprised by the sight. "What's this?"
"You make a beautiful Plant."
You're surrounded by desert, the relentless suns shining down, with nowhere to hide, no rock formations casting shadows, no wrecks, no houses. Just the hostile heat tiring out your toma even while they are resting. But that's not where your focus is. You stand toe to toe with the man before you. The slightly awkward and strange figure whose true feelings are still a mystery, yet you're ready to pour out your heart.
Your hand finds his, intertwining your fingers and lifting his arm up to the side. Your other hand is still hanging by your hip.
"You want to know how you make me feel?" Your eyes turn to your hands, and you slip your fingers out, tracing slowly along the lines on his forearm. "It's like a force of nature in my veins when your skin touches mine. Something stirs in me—I don't have a name for it—like it could shake the ground and push moons. I always want to reach out and find the comfort in you, your skin, your flesh, and your bones."
Your hand rests on his chest while his still reached out arm slowly lowers again. His eyes are nailed on you. You repeat everything again with his other arm. You lift it up and let your fingers trace along it, up to his shoulder, and also onto his chest.
"It's like you are a missing puzzle piece I've been looking for, that I've crossed the universe for. It feels like a god's plan to cross our paths, to be blessed enough to walk on the same ground under the same stars at the same time. You drive me crazy, body and soul, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't understand it all myself; I feel like you understand me better than I do, like you can see into my head."
He stands still and lets you manipulate his body as you wish. Your hands trace up his chest onto his neck, your eyes looking into his.
"There is something about you. Like I'm not fully in control of myself. I can't restrain my body from being with you. It's like you're calling out to me, and I to you. It's something so deep down; I feel it in my core; I feel it tingling my skin; I feel the butterflies trying to burst out of me."
His hands, which had been moving down, grab your face somewhat roughly, framing it with his long fingers.
"It feels like fire where you touch me," you continue. "I, who barely feel hot and cold, feel your touch burning, and I don't want it to stop. You can swallow me whole into the depths of your eyes and your soul; if it scorches me, I do not care. You make me feel alive."
Your fingers are digging into the sides of his face, his temples; his expression is clearly forced to stay calm; underneath, there's a storm raging. You want to pull him closer, wrap yourself around him, and not let go. You want to feel his fire burn, his chest heaving against yours, but instead you hold back, restraining your stiff body from colliding into his. Your eyes are on his, so you don't miss the hint of wildness in them.
His hands holding onto your face are stiff; your hands travel to his elbows to gently touch them as you still watch his expression. His light blue eyes show a mix of emotions. His eyebrows switch from furrowing to relaxing. It is a strange sight; you can't truly pinpoint a singular emotion; it goes from anger to confusion to tenderness. It repeats over and over. It feels like an eternity, looking up at the confused man, and you're afraid of his answer. Your confession might have been too much, too fast. He has stayed by your side for so long, yet he might not feel even close to the same feelings you do.
The thought can cross your mind when suddenly his lips crash into yours. He is anything but gentle with you; his hands squeeze your head, and his hungry lips steal your breath away. Your fingers dig into the muscles on his arms. You kiss him back the best you can, but your jaw is restricted by his grasp, and everything about this is simply swiping you away into a whirlwind. You're glad he seems to be feeling similarly to you, but you didn't expect an outburst like this.
One of the hands releases your face to move over your ribs and waist to your lower back, putting pressure on it so you're pulled tightly against his body. The hand remaining on your face moves to your hair, and he grabs it tight, pulling his face away to look at you, his chest heaving and his face filled with mixed emotions.
"I understand now." His voice is calm and smooth. "I understand the appeal."
"What?" You're confused by the comment, but before you get to ponder for too long and without giving you an answer, he kisses you again. You can't resist him. Your arms move to be around his neck, to pull him closer, but the hand that had grabbed your hair suddenly moves again. His fingers wrap themselves around one of your wrists and push it back. As his other arm roughly pulls you even tighter, your arm is twisted backwards.
"Ow!" you try to signal your discomfort, but the kiss and heavy breathing muffle the sound. The force put on your joints and bones increases to the point where you think something might snap. Your free hand entangles into his hair and rips his head back.
"You're hurting me!" you say with a raised voice, fear seeping into it. His face twists with what can only be anger and annoyance as you try to push away from him. His other hand goes to take yours from his hair, gripping it so tightly that you think he might crush the bones in your wrist. "Stop it! What has gotten into you?!"
The hands release you, but his arms wrap around you; they hold on to you tightly, pinning your elbows to your sides, and you struggle to push free.
"Why do you struggle? You said you loved me, that you would let me swallow you whole." His face is so close to yours, and his voice is forced to be calm. "You're mine."
"I'm not a possession!" You keep struggling and turning your face away from him.
"But I want you." You feel his teeth dragging along your neck. "I want all your love for myself."
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#tempest wind#fanfic#fanfiction#writing#Trigun#trigun stampede#tristamp#Humanoid Typhoon#vashxreader#vash x reader#x reader#plant boi#Vash the Stampede
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oooh do the bugs have different religions that function differently like with different mythologies and ceremonies? thatd be so interesting
They do actually! Although, they have a few aspects of bug religion that they all share:
It all started when one featureless mass emerged from a "soup". This creature would be the catalyst for the creation of every bug (which includes slugs, snails, worms, etc.)
This creature doesn't have a specific name, many bug cultures refer to them as different names (Ex: Cambrian, Carboniferous, Ordovician). For simplicity sake, I'll refer to them as just "Bug God"
Bug God drank from the soup because of their body's need for hydration and nutrition, sprouting eyes and sentience in the process
Bug God had wandered the world for a while, it was desolate and lonely for them. But they had noticed that the other creatures had created company of their own through mitosis
So, Bug God began to split themselves up, over and over and over until there were thousands like them: Their children
Life was great for Bug God and their children, they drank from the nutritious soup and wandered the world
But it would be their great number that would put them in danger
When both Bug God's kids and the other creatures would drink from the soup, some of Bug God's kids were accidentally consumed by the other creatures. Giving them a taste for Bug God's kids
Fun fact about that: Some bug cultures will use this part of the story for different religious purposes, whether it be to shame themselves for existing, to blame themselves for why everything wants to kill them, or to push the narrative that death is a worthy consequence to obtain any kind of riches (Latter part is apart of Mosquito religion)
Bug God figured that they could continue to split themselves up to create more kids, but it grew tiring and they weren't able to keep up
As a last moment attempt at survival, Bug God called to their kids to regroup to them, in order to gift what is often called, "Gifts/Magic of Survival"
Some were gifted with wings to take to the skies with
Some were bounded to the ground and lost their eyes, but gained the ability to detect even the smallest vibration and quickly hide
Some were given stingers filled with corrosive poison that would ward of predators
Some were given elongated legs to quickly hop away with
Some were given organic armor to protect themselves
This is just a small fraction of the Gifts/Magic of Survival that Bug God has gifted their children. They gave some of their kids false eyes to scare off predators, some were given extreme senses, etc.
Down the line, Bug God sacrificed their life so that their children would continue to live
Bug God's children moved to different parts of the Earth, creating a new life for bug-kind, new cultures, religions, etc.
It is believed that one day, Bug God's voice in the wind was heard by all of their ancestors. They had quietly hushed to them all:
Hear me, my dearest kin
Quite some time, hasn’t it been?
Though the world seems so pretty
All living things won’t give us some pity
With life, it grows and flourishes, rarely a dud
But that growth comes from the shedding of our blood
But I had gifted you all with magic, you see
Magic that allows survival; That, I may guarantee
Armor, agility, some can even fly
These gifts, my kids, may ensure you won’t die
March forth, for your gifts and skills make you prime
We shall live now and forever, till the end of time
Of course, there are varying recitings of this story, but generally they all share the same beats.
As I've said before, some cultures will use the part that it was the accidental consumption of Bug God's kids that caused the other creatures to hunt+eat them as a source of shame for bug-kind. That they need to repent somehow
Some versions of the story even claim that through the consumption of Bug God's kids- and not the consumption of the soup- it led to all of the other creatures to kill and eat each other
I should note that the use of "children" "kids" and "kin" in the story doesn't mean what you might think it means. It fits more with the idea of everyone calling each other "My brethren" or "My brothers and sisters"
I hope to be able to cover the different bug religions and cultures soon, I have a lot of ideas for some of them and other ideas that need some brainstorming work. This might all be covered in one big mega-post that details the background of the different bug kingdoms we see in the story.
#blimbo rambles#ask#bug world no mercy#let's just hope that college doesn't kill me and my motivation
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Some people just want to hate
So the other day I was in a live stream when Cyberpunk 2077 came up and the streamer said something odd "I've been told by trans people that it's transphobic and I'm going to listen to them"
Now I was confused by this because the only trans related controversy I knew of was the soda ad. However, it'd been a while since I did Claire's so I decided to look into it and my god some people just want to fucking complain.
ChroManticore
From all I've read this is the only one with any merit.
On the off chance you the reader don't know what happened here's the gist of it. ChroManticore is a soda company in the game with 16 flavors and before the games release an in game ad was released showing a (presumably) trans women in a skin-tight leotard that showed off her massive glowing cock along with the slogan "mix it up"
This was rightfully criticized for fetishistic and othering, and the CDPR apology was subpar to say the least. Anyone who felt or feels that way is valid and deserves have their criticism heard. Any harassment critics have received over this is unacceptable full stop.
Now that being said there is some context for the larger world that is important to keep in mind.
In the world of cyberpunk everyone and everything is a commodity, your life and even your rights are dependent on how much value you have to a corporation. To the corporation in game that made that ad they were not a person but a commodity and numbers on a spreadsheet.
It's also important to remember that this is a world 50 years in the future where if you have the money you can hot swap your genitals on a whim, you can befriend a vending machine, everyone is under threat of living programs, and the ethics of immortality for the rich through essentials putting their brain on a USB, popping it into someone else's brain and stealing their body is a very real and pressing thing. This is a world beyond our own with a culture that's in many ways left ours behind.
Could the ad have been handled more responsibly? Yes however I personally think it's unfair to call the game transphobic because of it.
"Cyberpunk 2077's Character Creation is Transphobic"
"At first, many trans players were happy with the idea that gender would not be determined by the character's genitals. However, that possible excitement turned to disbelief when gamers realized their character's gender and pronouns are not determined by genitals, but rather by voice. Only deep-voiced characters can be identified as male, while higher-pitched characters are identified as female, which purports the harmful idea that people's genders can be identified by certain traits." - CPR.com article How Cyberpunk 2077 Perpetuates Transphobia & Why Gamers Are Calling It an Act of Violence
While yes, pronouns should be an independent choice that CDPR will hopefully add in a future update, this is tantamount to saying any game with character creation but no pronouns option is transphobic. You can use the female voice with a masc body and literally no genitals if you want anyone saying this just wants something to complain about.
Honestly from the bottom of my heart go fuck yourself.
There's no queer characters (yes there are)
"There are occasional appearances of trans flags and a few characters who may or may not be LGBTQ, but the majority of the characters appear to be cisgender and heterosexual" - "It's possible players will uncover more trans characters over the course of the game, but it seems odd that reviewers who have played anywhere from 40 to 60 hours have yet to encounter any meaningful trans NPCs." CPR.com article How Cyberpunk 2077 Perpetuates Transphobia & Why Gamers Are Calling It an Act of Violence
I don't even know what to say to that. Sorry you spent the entire time running around not engaging with the game you were playing??? That's on you buddy, literal skill issue. Maybe help Claire (a trans woman) avenge her dead husband or spend even a minute with Kerry?
And that's pretty much it. There's also claims of ostracization without any evidence or even elaboration, a tweet from 2018 and it's subpar apology, and a defense of Keanu. What little substance there is isn't substantial to call the game transphobic and the rest is just utter horse shit by people who just want something to hate.
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RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE by CASEY MCQUISTON
RATING 9.5/10
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!
I went into this novel with more than an inkling of what to expect. My friends recommended it to me as much as TikTok did, and I'm happy to say it was a pleasant and long (at a whopping 418 pages) read.
"Many of the rooms in the White House have a similar hauntedness, a sense of history that hangs like cobwebs no matter how pristine the rooms are kept. He's used to sleeping alongside ghosts, but that's not it." p. 37
McQuiston is a superb writer. From their accurate pop culture references and Gen Z perspectives, RW&RB didn't feel like a cringey remake of anything I've seen before. Furthermore, McQuiston has such a talent for including subtle parallelisms and niche allusions.
"'I miss you,' Alex says before he can stop himself.
He instantly regrets it, but Henry says, 'I miss you too.'" p. 173
I really appreciated how McQuiston didn't try to romanticize government and bloody histories. It was clear in their writing that they valued the richness that history added in a politics heavy love story as this, but they also balanced this extremely well with the fact that they weren't willing to erase or cover the rancid imperialism of England's past and the US's attempt at a pristine slate.
"'What do you want?'
'I want you —'
'Then fucking have me.'
'— but I don't want this.'" p. 273
I've heard from friends and internet audiences alike that they found RW&RB unrealistic and sort of corny, but most critics I've heard from weren't queer (that's not to say that their heterosexuality invalidates their opinions on RW&RB, just that perspective definitely matters). And as a gender non-conforming bisexual person of color, realistic or not, RW&RB has gone miles for representation. Not only did McQuiston reflect Alex's journey with his sexuality well, they proved that happy endings are possible in queer literature and for queer couples.
"'They're not props of a legacy. They're my children. And I swear on my life, and Arthur's, I will take you off the throne before I will let them feel the things you made me feel." p. 357
Alex and Henry's tumultuous enemy turned friend turned romantic relationship was beautiful and heartbreaking and electric all at once. It tugged on all the right heartstrings, and honestly had me in tears (of joy) by the end.
#3 of 17#red white and royal blue#rwrb#casey mcquiston#queer lit#reading challenge#book review#book blog#katescorner
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This is a list of scripted ABC shows from the last season. I haven't heard of most of them because I'm not 63 so I'm going to guess what they are about from the titles and then check and see how right I was. Or if my idea is better.
1. The Conners was that reboot / sequel of Roseanne. But then Roseanne was insane and racist in real life so they kicked her off of it. I assume it was retooled to now be about the family becoming private eyes and traveling from town to town in a gadget-loaded super RV, solving mysteries.
You should all note before I go on that most of what I know about network television comes from the 70s and 80s. Back when it was also cheap and lame, but at least fun.
2. Abbott Elementary. Probably just Community / The Office, but in an elementary school filled with a diverse cast of quirky characters who only seem to date each-other. I bet they do a lot of jokes about helicopter parents and people getting offended by seemingly innocuous things. There is probably a sassy brown person whose culture is played for light-hearted comic relief.
3. Station 19. Firefighter show, where all the firefighters look like soap opera actors. Most of the show is people having arguments and making out, then like 3 times a season stunt people in face-hiding fire gear fight a big fire inspired by some thing that happened in the news around the time they were filming the show. I bet the tag line is "And you thought the hottest action would be the fires!" Occasionally old actors from 80s movies will cameo as someone's parents. I am falling asleep just typing about it.
4. Grey's Anatomy. Oh my god. In real life these people would have retired from being bad doctors by now. Or be in jail.
5. The Rookie. I looked this one up due to the last post. Nathan Fillion plays a 50 year old rookie LAPD officer. Because they wanted to do a cop show with him but he's too old for that, without the premise. He probably has to learn about diversity and drugs or something. No one ever gets shot and they don't show LAPD white supremacist cop-gangs doing dog fights or anything. Wasted potential.
6. The Goldbergs. I've heard of this. It was some writer's Everybody Hates Chris about his 80s secular Jewish family. Obnoxious old people watched it to be reminded about how they just don't make good rock music like that anymore, man, because they are too old and lazy to go find new music they might like via streaming platforms. It has been cancelled. Good, if only to spare me that recurring conversation with people I don't like.
7. Home Economics. A rich white homemaker lady gets divorced and has to get a job as a home ec teacher at a public junior high to make ends meet? And she slowly learns to laugh and love again, while also coming to realize that poorer people are good for more than just mowing your lawn. There are hijinks about her wearing $600 shoes that get covered in cake batter. She has to rent part of her house out to an Indian immigrant family. Starring Delta Burke from 1995.
8. The Good Doctor. Ha ha ha. That show about an autistic doctor, except Hollywood doesn't know what autism actually is so he's just a deranged lunatic who gets away with shitty behavior because he's good at hearts.
But not in the fun, House MD, way.
9. The Rookie: Feds. This got cancelled so that means it was bad, even by low network TV cop show standards. I don't even know how to do that. Uh...some 50 year old TV actress I probably wouldn't recognize quits being a crime professor to become an FBI agent, after her son FBI agent goes missing under mysterious circumstances? And it ended in a cliffhanger when she got attacked by a polar bear in the middle of the jungle.
10. Not Dead Yet. My Name is Earl, but if Earl was a nice zombie. He has a best friend guardian angel played by Jaleel White.
...This actually just sounds like Highway to Heaven, if Michael Landon had been a zombie. And instead of brains he eats Jell-O, and he can take his limbs off and send them into air ducts and up drain pipes to help people, like trained rats.
...I'd watch a couple episodes of that, I guess.
11. Will Trent. Oh give me a break.
Okay. There is guy named Will Trent, who is on the run from the...CIA, because he was with them but then someone framed him for killing the Speaker of the House with a poisoned lapel pin. He now travels from town to town, helping average people and their sexy sisters out of jams, while also trying to figure out who framed him and what their master plan is, to clear his name.
The last season ended with it looking like the real villain is the First Lady, who belongs to some ill-defined anti-America cult.
It's probably based on a book series from the early 2000s that only the loudest uncles read.
12. Big Sky. Some cowboy thing, probably. Where all the cowboys are hunky stoic white men who are millionaire ranch owners. But you are still supposed to sympathize with all their "we gotta keep a-hold of this land at any cost" violent toxic male shit, because you are a postmenopausal my mother and want to have sex with these men.
It's one of those shows that just "accidentally" has zero POC cast members, who aren't one-shot drug-runners or coyotes or thugs hired by rival ranch owners.
One-shot because that is how all of their characters are killed.
It probably got cancelled when some writer got smart and tried to do a thinly-veiled anti-Trump allegory and all the Evangelicals turned on it. Tucker Carlson probably got mad about it for 3 minutes, before he interviewed some Russian politician about how the Ukrainians hate Jesus.
13. The Company You Keep. Black women try starting and running a bakery. It quickly devolved into a romantic melodrama. Black audiences never cared and white audiences wanted more sexy rich cowboys.
I don't know. It's ABC. Every seasonal lineup has at least a couple token shows starring POCs that get immediately cancelled after one season, because they aren't serious attempts at anything outside of the politics and so never connect with an audience.
Also all of them are still written by white men, so what chance could any of them have, really?
14. Alaska Daily. Northern Exposure, but the protagonist edits a news blog when not busy solving quirky small-town mysteries. The Janitor from Scrubs might be in it.
...Well. WAS in it.
This Twin Peaks thing is hard to pull off in a compelling way unless you are willing to go kookoo-bananas with it.
15. A Million Little Things. This one "ended," which means the cast wanted too much money after so many seasons, so "the producers had always planned from the beginning to wrap things up after 5 seasons."
It was probably one of those shows that just follows a "typical American family," which happens to have soap opera problems every week based on things the writers heard CNN say people in the Midwest are mad enough over to vote for Trump again.
It probably had a regular cast of like 16 people, and was on the giant TV in the showroom of every US car dealership at least once. Until someone changed it to that show which is just Kitchen Nightmares, but Gordon Ramsey has been replaced by a balding round man who lacks his charm and good heart and is just an asshole to struggling restaurateurs.
You know the one.
Or, at least, your parents do.
Update: The Conclusion
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Here's a hot take ask for you 🔥: 5 films you feel are overrated (and maybe 5 underrated films you think deserve their praise instead)
overrated:
Bonnie and Clyde - i had to watch this for a film class as well and just did not understand the appeal of it? maybe it's because i was watching it in the 2010s instead of the 1970s. maybe there's some cultural context i missed that made this feel so fun and romantic to others.
Psycho - i'm not totaly bashing it because i do understand how improtant it was to the genre and all, but i don't think it's hitchcock's best work. and i feel like i have to warn people when we watch it that there's ableism and transmisogyny in it, but the last time i watched it i didn't like it as much as i did Rear Window or Rope or Strangers on a Train.
Giant - i tried watching this when i had my own James Dean Moment(TM) a while back and i just found it boring. i know people feel that way about East of Eden but i cared way more about those characters than i did about the characters in Giant. also it's like three hours long and it's so hard for me to sit through that kind of thing. i even struggle to sit through two hour movies i actually like.
Dirty Dancing - it's been a while since i've seen it so maybe i need to give it another go but i genuinely don't understand how people find it romantic? i have this problem with a lot of romance movies and could say the same about, like, Pretty Woman and You've Got Mail. i tried both of those too and just felt confused.
1900 - yes yes i watched the movie where those two characters look like artemy and daniil. yes i did. it was over three hours long and my adhd brain hated it. so much. my friend dj had to give me a whole list of warnings about it too. i do not understand how letterboxd reviewers are giving this almost four stars. i'm mostly just baffled by this film like it tried to focus on way too many things at once. and the ending, yeah, okay i agree with your politics! but do you have to say them directly to the camera like we're all fucking idiots.
there are so many more i could mention becuase i can be a real Hater when i want to be, but i'll just leave off with ONE honorable mention to Melancholia - the cinematography was nice, i guess, but people really overhyped how difficult this depiction of depression was to watch. yeah, she's depressed, but she's also a rich white girl who had plenty of opportunity to get help. and it also committed the crime of just being boring as shit and wasting all its best shots in the beginning showing you exactly what was going to happen instead of letting us get those nice shots when they actually happened chronologically.
underrated:
i'm not actually sure what counts as underrated because i... do not pay much attention to what is popular? but these are films i don't really see people in my friend circles talk about, so these are more along the lines of 'i'd love to see more people talking about this'
Mandy (2018, dir. Panos Cosmatos) - i actually heard about this on the Dead Meat podcast i think and they had it in our library and i am so glad i checked it out, it was freaking wild! i loved the whole dreamlike vibe of it and the color scheme. i am also, admittedly, a Nic Cage fan, so if you like to see him losing his shit there is one scene where he just flips out. and it's so good.
Attack the Block (2011, dir. Joe Cornish) - i recently rewatched this and found out from holla that there's gonna be a sequel and i am so pumped for that. i think the whole idea was unique because i haven't really seen 'inner city kids beat the shit out of aliens' before. (if that's a subgenre i've been missing out on i guess that's totally possible, i don't tend to watch a lot of alien invasion films).
F for Fake (1973, dir. Oroson Welles) - if you like video essays i definitely recommend checking out F for Fake. it's almost an hour and a half, it discusses the nature of forgery and art, and it's just kind of fun? it's not quite a documentary, i think the wiki page actually considers it the grandfather of video essays because it's way more in line with that kind of thing. it's neat!
Her (2013, dir. Spike Jonze) - we watched this for a women's study class in undergrad to talk about the evolution of technology and its place in feminism and i remember just being really intrigued with the way the film presented the ideas of 'what do we consider human? what do we consider relationship? what do we consider life?' (looking at it on amazon it apparently won for best original screenplay the year it came out...shrimpresting...)
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010, dir. Eli Craig) - for as much as i have friends who love silly horror i never see enough people talk about this one. i don't even remember who recommended it to me in the first place but as a guy from the south i do appreciate the way it makes fun of classist stereotypes about southerners in horror films!
honorable mention here to Gaslight (1944, dir. George Cukor) because for one thing, i think it is good, Charles Boyer is super creepy and absolutely reminds me of people i've known in my life and two, i think way too many people use the term gaslighting when that's not what the hell is happening and i think would benefit from watching a version of where the terms comes from.
thank u for the ask :]
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