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ot3 · 3 months

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The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere: Poignant, Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Yuri at its Finest

I went and wrote a review for the Flower that Bloomed Nowhere covering the 5 categories Royal Road requires for it's advanced reviews: Overall, Story, Style, Character, and Grammar. I figured I would crosspost it here as a sort of companion piece to my Flower rec post. If you haven't read Flower, give this a once-over and see if it might interest you. If you have, please consider leaving your own review over on Royal Road to help give the story the glowing reputation it deserves.

This review contains no spoilers.

Overall:

Flower accomplishes what I believe is necessary for all great sci fi to accomplish; it provides a world that feels real and prescient enough for its political and philosophical questions to be meaningful and compelling, without just being a futuristic re-skin of contemporary conflicts. Additionally, it manages for its character-driven storytelling and its complex worldbuilding to compliment and reinforce each other. The character writing feels deeply informed and enriched by the story's political context, and the political context is woven in to the story in this matter rather than running parallel to the murder mystery. It's all inseparable. Additionally, Flower wears its influences on its sleeve without sacrificing any of its unique identity. It skillfully pulls from its sources without being derivative of them, and truly synthesizes the ideas its working with into something new and bold. It is an unflinching work, that categorically refuses settling on any easy answers to its own questions.

Story:

Flower is a mystery story, and it is exacting and thorough about providing a breadcrumb trail for the more theory-minded red string Pepe Silvia types among its reader base. If you, like me, aren't much of a mystery buff and have no interest in solving the mystery yourself, there's still more than enough compelling stuff happening in the story outside of that context that you can enjoy letting Flower take you on its ride. To me, Flower is about getting to watch the complexities of Su and Ran's relationship unfold alongside the political and philosophical complexities of the world they live in. It weaves a compelling yarn about mortality, and what the consequences are of a desire to live without the corresponding means. Its ruminations on death run the gauntlet from brutally cavalier depictions of suicide to existential machinations that attempt to claw all of mankind away from the inevitability of an end.

Flower is slow. This may be a turnoff for some people, but the time it takes is clearly deliberate and does not feel wasted. The parts where I was least engrossed were the parts that were more bogged down in the murder details, but considering this is a murder mystery that sells itself as such, it would be insane of me to criticize it for including genre conventions I'm just not personally fond of. Fork spotted in kitchen, etc. Despite being slow, it is not poorly paced. New revelations about the characters, setting, and underlying mystery are drip-fed to the readership consistently enough that reading feels rewarding. You're not left with the impression that the narrative is detrimentally withholding information in order to artificially encourage continued readership.

Style:

We spend the vast majority of Flower on the receiving end of first-person narration from our protagonist Su. First person can be difficult to pull off, but Lurina nails it here. There's an intimacy and vulnerability to Su's narration as we see all of her worst traits on full display, with the truth of her actions and their motivation trickling in as we begin to peel back the layers of her character. But there's still room for deception, if not dishonesty, in Su's narrative. Very in line with the way Flower questions our ability to ever know another person. It reminds me a lot of how the same subject is explored in Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint which has similarly effective use of first person albeit in a strikingly different context.

This all to say that the style is perfectly fitted to what the narrative is trying to accomplish. Su's narration is suitably pessimistic, deeply prone to navel-gazing, and often judgemental. The biggest stylistic issue I tend to see with first person is when the more descriptive parts stop feeling like a character's own observation and analyses, really jarring you out of their headspace, but every bit of exposition we get throughout the course of the story is so painfully Su. It's a delight to read.

Character:

Oh man is the character stuff here fantastic. Su is Harry DuBois for girls who realized they were lesbians in middle school. No, but seriously Flower is definitely up there alongside Disco Elysium in terms of portrayal of mental illness that have personally resonated with me. On top of Su herself being a peak insane woman in fiction, Ran, Su's best friend by circumstance and right hand man in their personal quest is a fascinating character in her own right. Slowly peeling back the layers of their relationship and beginning to understand what the dynamic between the two actually is has been my favorite part of reading Flower and it's definitely some of my favorite character writing of all time. Flower's supporting cast is an absolute blast as well. Lurina does a great job of writing characters who I almost definitely would not want to hang out with but nonetheless love reading about. The characters don't fall into stale archetypes and instead have enough little details and quirks that make them feel plenty human.

Grammar:

The finicky technical bits of writing rank really low on what I care about in a story unless there's a particularly egregious amount of errors. Flower has some typos and grammatical issues, but with a work of this size that updates regularly and doesn't have the privilege of professional editing services, I think it'd be pretty unrealistic and unfair to expect it to be typo free. None of it has ever impeded my ability to understand or enjoy what's happening in the text, which is really the only standard I hold self-published/ongoing works to in this regard.

TL;DR:

Flower is good and you should read it if you like insane women or when characters take a break in the middle of someone trying to murder them so they can have an impromptu political debate.

#the flower that bloomed nowhere #flower

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selkiemaidenfae · 2 months

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so today i had an experience in my gender/race class that i feel like encapsulates why i've had such a problem with internet social justice lately.

in class, we watched the say her name tedtalk. in it, kimberlé crenshaw discusses the prevalence of police brutality against black women, which usually goes overlooked and undiscussed. she explains that we can't see a problem if we can't name it.

in this case, black women face an intersection of racism and misogyny, but black men are usually the face of racism and white women are usually the face of sexism.

because of this, black women are rarely considered for the unique oppression they face being a part of both of those groups. that's why we know the names of many black men killed by police brutality, but not nearly as many women, even though they face similarly high rates of police violence.

but my professor had a problem with this. my rich, white, very progressive professor. can you guess what it is?

crenshaw said that it's important to "see" a problem for what it is.

and that could be misconstrued as ableist against blind people.

so my professor-- fully serious-- suggested that maybe crenshaw's words as a black woman should be taken with a grain of salt because of her ableist language.

see another example. to be trans-inclusive, many people who are raising awareness for women's health problems are referring to certain diseases and disorders as things that happen to "people with vulvas".

here's the problem. for women who have not gone to college and live in a conservative state with shit sex ed, there's a good chance they might not even know they have a vulva.

they've always just heard everything down there referred to as a vagina. or maybe not even that. maybe they've only heard it referred to as a pussy, a cunt, their "lady parts".

they have no idea that these PSAs are being directed towards them.

so now, in an effort to inclusive, you've confused and alienated a group of women who desperately need that information about their bodies.

and that's the issue to me. we no longer use language to inform or educate; we use it to sound progressive and make ourselves feel good. and the people we're trying to help are slipping through the cracks.

#long post #ashley's social work degree #politics #intersectionality #intersectional feminism #misogynoir #anti blackness #classism #literally if you disagree feel free to debate but i'm fired up

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ariel-seagull-wings · 19 days

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BICHO DE PALHA

@princesssarisa @hamlet-macbeth-othello @softlytowardthesun @grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales @themousefromfantasyland @professorlehnsherr-almashy @faintingheroine @allthegoodbobdylanlyricsaretaken

(Portuguese and Brazilian Folktale)

They say that a very rich man was widowed and remarried, having a daughter, Maria, who looked young and was beautiful.

The stepmother immediately disliked her stepdaughter and became angry when she had a daughter and she was relatively ugly, compared to Maria.

The man had scattered properties and lived traveling, running his businesses.

He only lasted a short time at home and in those moments, Maria felt better.

In her father's absence, her stepmother forced her to do the roughest and hardest jobs, feeding her the worst and in insignificant quantities.

Life became unbearable for the girl who consoled herself by praying and crying.

On the way to the river where she went to wash clothes, she always met an old lady with serene features and very kind. Maria ended up talking about her suffering and remaining silent so as not to hurt her father.

The old lady encouraged her with words full of sweetness.

As the stepmother became more violent and brutal, the stepdaughter decided to leave the house and look for work far away from that hell.

She met with the old lady and confessing her idea, the old woman agreed, gave her a lot of advice, gave her blessing and as she said goodbye, she took out a small wand, white as silver, saying:

"Take this wand, Maria, and when you are in danger, desire or suffering, you must say: "my magic wand, for the magic that God gave you, give me". And everything will happen as you ask."

Maria was very grateful and ran away. First, obeying the old woman's advice, she made a large plaited straw cloak with a hood through which there was a way to look through, and got inside.

After walking for a long time, she arrived at an important city.

She asked for a job in a palace and was told there were no more places.

She was leaving, sad and hungry, when an employee remembered that they needed someone to wash the rooms, corridors and stairs and clean the servants' quarters. Maria accepted the task and, thanks to her unique dress, they only called her “Bicho de Palha”. Dirty, silent, withdrawn into corners, always working, Bicho de Palha didn't bother anyone and everyone tolerated her.

The palace belonged to a young, well-made and handsome prince, who still had a mother, and was of marriageable age. In another palace, on the opposite side of the city, parties would be held for three days.

The girls were excited about the dances, attended by the society boys. In the palace the conversation was about the balls. Nurses, visitors and maids commented on the organization and splendor of the three elegant evenings.

Finally the first night arrived.

Bicho de Palha, through the holes in her mask, looked at the prince and loved him sincerely. She discreetly hovered near him, yearning for an order. In the afternoon, as there was no other maid around, the prince shouted:

"Bicho de Palha! Bring me a basin of water..."

Bicho de Palha took the basin and the prince washed his face. Afterwards, everyone went to the ball, some to dance and others to watch.

Being alone in her dark room, Bicho de Palha took off her cloak, took her wand and commanded, as the old lady had taught her:

"My magic wand! For the gift that God gave you, give me a silver carriage and a dress the color of the field with all its flowers."

Words spoken, the silver carriage, coachmen and servants appeared, a complete dress, from the diadem to the field-colored shoes with all their flowers. Bicho de Palha got dressed, took the carriage and went to the ball where he caused a sensation.

The prince immediately came to greet her and only danced with her, not allowing the other young men to approach her.

He confessed that he was impressed and asked where she lived. Bicho de Palha taught:

"I live on Basin Street..."

At exactly midnight, on the pretext of going to breathe the fresh air, the girl ran to her carriage which disappeared down the road. The prince was inconsolable and left the party soon after.

The other day, at the palace, the maids told Bicho de Palha about the events of the ball and about the mysterious princess who had the most beautiful outfit and the most beautiful face of the night.

The prince had dispatched many servants to look for Basin Street, but they all returned without knowing anything. That afternoon, the prince asked Bicho de Palha for a towel.

When everyone left for the party, Bicho de Palha took the wand and obtained a golden carriage and a dress the color of the sea with all its fish. He got dressed and went to the ball palace.

As soon as she entered, everyone recognized her and hailed her as the most elegant, graceful and friendly. The prince never left her side, talking, dancing, asking a thousand questions. He insisted on the girl's address.

"I no longer live on Basin Street, but on Towel Street. I moved today." It happened like the first night. Bicho de Palha invented an excuse and got into the carriage that ran like crazy.

The prince also left and spent the next day sighing and ordering the whole city to look for the Towel Street.

Bicho de Palha listened to the enthusiastic impressions of the servants in the kitchen, all talking about the prince's passion and the beauty of the girl.

On the afternoon of that day, the prince asked Bicho de Palha for a comb. Finding herself alone in the palace, Bicho de Palha invoked the power of the magic wand and received a carriage of diamonds and a dress the color of the sky with all its stars.

Entering the ballroom, Bicho de Palha received the greetings as if she were a queen. No one had ever seen such an attractive girl and such a rare dress.

The prince walked behind her like a shadow, serving her and asking everything, crazy with love. Bicho de Palha said that she had moved to Comb Street, permanently. And they danced a lot.

Close to midnight, knowing that it was the time when the girl disappeared as if she were enchanted, the prince called his servants and ordered an excavation to be opened near the palace gate, waiting for the carriage to stop.

This, however, did not happen, Bicho de Palha jumped into the carriage and it took off like lightning, jumping over the ditch, but the jolt was so sudden that one of Bicho de Palha's shoes, thrown outside the door, was lost. A servant found it and took it to the prince, who was very pleased.

Everyone looked for Comb Street in the city.

The prince decided to find the girl another way. He ordered the shoe to be taken to every house, putting it on everyone's feet.

Whoever wore it perfectly, neither loose nor tight, would be the charming girl at the dances. The servants walked up and down the street, putting shoes on the feet of the young women and the old women.

None of them could take a single step with him on their feet. The servants returned to the palace and tried putting tits on the maids and nurses. Anything.

Finally, a servant in charge remembered that Bicho de Palha had not been invited to wear the cute shoes. They all laughed, but, so that the prince wouldn't accuse them of having left someone to wear the shoe, they sent for Bicho de Palha, as a reason to laugh, and told him to try it on.

Bicho de Palha, with her wand in hand, asked that the dress from the third night of the party appear on her body, beneath the straw cape.

The prince came to watch.

Bicho de Palha, surrounded by laughing servants, put his foot into the shoe and it fit her perfectly.

Then she stretched out his other foot and everyone saw that he was wearing shoes just like the first.

They could hardly believe what they saw, when the straw fell and the beautiful girl from the three balls appeared, with the dress the color of the sky with all the stars, the diadem with the diamond moon, everything shining like the very stars of the firmament.

The prince rushed in hugging her and calling for his mother so she could meet her future daughter-in-law.

They got married soon.

Bicho de Palha told her story, and the magic wand, fulfilling the wishes of the old lady, who was Our Lady, disappeared, leaving them very happy on earth.

#cinderella #folklore #folktales #fairy tales #fantasy #literature #brazil

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banjjakz · 4 months

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notes: parasocially relational infidelity; implied stalking/harassment

➡ Go back the way you came.

Well, if you’ve gotten this far with your undoubtedly ridiculous lucky streak, it shouldn’t be so far-fetched an idea that you could just waltz out of the backstage area the exact same way by which you’d initially trespassed.

With Geto’s LINE ID stored squarely away in your phone and a post-coital pep in your limping, bruised, wobbly-kneed step, you proceed to walk down the dark, desolate corridor as though you actually belong here.

It is not long before you’ve made your way past the genesis of all this chaos to begin with: Yuuta’s dressing room.

Wow, you can’t believe what brought you closer to ShinShow was, in the end, ultimately, your connection to and passion for Yuuta… even though Geto was the member who, in the end, was more forward in proving his tangible desire for you, you will always remember Yuuta: your first love.

Lost in reverie, you stop in your tracks, pausing to admire the door…that happens to be ajar…with light leaking through the sizeable gap…seeping out around a conspicuous silhouette…with a familiar stature…and wardrobe…and morose, gaunt, haunted-looking face…

AH!!

Yuuta looms in the doorway like a ghoul materialized out of bereft nothingness. Backlit by the cheap, fluorescent lighting of the dressing room, Tall, broad in the shoulders, disturbingly lithe everywhere else, he appears to you less as a man and more as a specter.

…Creepy.

“Y-Yuu-chan…!!”

His usual droopy expression seems to be even more downcast than usual – and that’s saying a lot. Onstage, he looks like he’s delivering a eulogy. That’s a part of his unique and special charm.

The very same charm that ensnared you in the first place…

Ugh, what’s this gross, syrupy feeling welling within you, webbing across your chest in a terminal infestation of guilt?

What had you been thinking?

Regret holds you close, tight, intimate, like a lover gone rogue. You don’t want to be here anymore. You can’t bear the thought of standing before Yuuta after what you’ve just done – after your unabashed infidelity.

Worse still, why is he looking at you like he knows where you’ve been?

Yuuta’s eyes are heavy with unspoken feeling, which on the one hand feels nice, because he’s even looking your direction at all holy shit, and on the other hand kind of brutal, because you feel like you’re in a lot of trouble.

“…”

Before you can even begin to try and come up with a lie to justify your presence in the restricted backstage area, Yuuta beats you to the punch, breaking the silence with his characteristically somber, soft-spoken timbre:

“You look like you need a hug.”

The words hit you like a slap to the face. More impactful than any rough treatment of Geto’s, you reel back, blinking hard as tears spring to your eyes, unbidden. “Huh? I don’t understand—I’m sorry, I j-just, um, I’m lost—”

Yuuta’s chuckle is almost bittersweet. You have to strain to hear the sweetness in that hollow, forlorn whisper. “You’re so cute, even when you lie.”

“E-eh—”

“Here.”

Pure instinct drives your hands up to catch the foreign object tossed at you with lightning-fast precision. Instead of the hard impact you’d been expecting, what meets your awaiting palms is soft, fuzzy, and almost soothing to the touch.

“A gift.”

Peering down, you discover that Yuuta has thrown you a blanket. It’s pitch black with wide, blue eyes that yearn towards you, sucking in your attention, blocking out all external stimuli, seemingly multiplying in number the longer you stare into their cerulean depths. Are you blinking? Are they?

“You might be interested to know it originally belonged to Geto-senpai,” says Yuuta, voice oddly flat and numb, affectless in a way that feels like a foreign object has been inserted underneath your skin. “He’s slept with it at least several times. I know that much. Eventually, he got bored, and now it’s mine. Senpai used to say it was good for comfort. Something about always feeling watched over. I hope it brings you that same stability.”

Confused, and still quite teary, you cock your head at Yuuta, trembling in your shoes. Why is he doing this? Why?

“As long as you’re happy,” he mumbles, smile almost as watery as your eyes are. “That’s all that matters to me. I’m glad.” Okay, the last part is uttered through gritted teeth – but you can tell he’s really trying to mean it.

“Um…I’m really grateful for Yuu-chan’s care and support—”

“Just ‘Yuuta’ is fine.”

In an odd moment of denial of fanservice, he cuts you off before you can finish your grateful platitudes.

Why does this strangely feel like a break-up?

Nodding, you decide that you have no choice but to accept the consequences of your actions… while you’d come to this ShinShow performance as a dedicated Yuuta oshi, you’d left as a Geto-sama devotee. You suppose it’s only fair that you’ve forfeited any right to call Yuuta by his wota-given name.

“Many thanks to Yuuta-san, then.”

“Take care of yourself…and be well. You never know who could be watching.”

The dressing room door weeps quietly shut behind his skulking form.

Have you made a mistake?

Before you can dwell too deeply, your phone pings with a new LINE message. Hurriedly, you fish the heavily keychained device out of your pocket and swipe on the notification to see a new message from Geto. It reads:

Geto-sama wwww 23:55 someone needs to train you how to perform worship properly. I guess that particular burden must fall upon me.

Despite the chill in the unheated building, your face erupts with flames and the wet, soppy spot between your thighs is reignited with renewed heat.

This is your choice. You’ve dug your own grave.

And you’ll be buried in it – quite happily.

ENDING ACHIEVED: GETO SUGURU NORMAL END

SECRET ROUTE UNLOCKED: FUSHIGURO TOJI.

> PROCEED TO ROUTE [coming soon!]

#yuuta x reader #okkotsu yuuta x reader #okkotsu yuta x reader #yuta x reader #geto x reader #geto suguru x reader #jjk x reader #final girl jjk #final girl banjjakz

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endlesslytired · 1 month

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I have had brainrot since the animation so I'm still thinking.

Theory talk + dynamic ideas stemmed from a video I saw.

I've watched a video recently that compared Rondo Across Countless Kalpas to Lament of the Fallen (not very well as it had only the start of the fight in Lament)

And like yeah it's to compare how each Mei variant fights,

But like one is a mental representation of the brutality of trauma, the other is heartbreak and pain over self destruction over the sake of another.

And saying Black Swan's situation is like Kiana's is certainly an interesting (I mean that in a strained way) to look at things. Like I feel we aren't going to get a lot of exploration into their dynamic in the actual game because i just have a feeling they might one and done this connection outside of hints.

But, thinking how Acheron seems to be a Self Annihilator and sacrificing her memories for the power of nihility and Swan is literally a Memokeeper, all about memories, that Kiana comparison could lead to very unique dynamic ideas. Like I take that as implying Swan could be the one to help Acheron. In the description we got of Self Annihilators some seek cures and to help others find it. What would happen if one had a Memokeeper to help? Remembrance Vs Nihility as one is to remember all that existed as it all has meaning and the other is to discard all that exists for it has no meaning.

If Swan is the one who can help Acheron, would she? Or is she too startled? Would she feel it's not her fight to take? Would she turn her back let Acheron fall fully to the void? And if she did try, would it hurt her too? We saw what happened when she dived in once. So wouldn't more deliberate attempts to learn almost destroy her?

Acheswan is certainly something to think about. It could be a one and done time where they go separate ways, or it could become a complex weaving mess.

I cannot wait to get to see.

#honkai star rail #hsr acheron #hsr black swan #hsr acheswan #i have had 'the only one who can do it' swan and acheron brainrot since this whole thing popped in my brain #i call her swan for short as i think that makes sense for a nickname #i also have had thoughts on how it would go if swan read welt's memories and learnt how he's from another dimension #i gotta see what happens in 2.1 fr fr i need it

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muzzleroars · 9 months

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Do you think hell ships v1 and Gabriel together? Or is it willing to destroy that relationship for fun

a very interesting question tbh....because the thing is, i can see how initially their relationship would be incredibly intriguing for it - i already talked a little bit about gabriel being one of hell's favorite subjects, so i think his breakdown and subsequent understanding of his own feelings toward v1 would be a great continuation of the interpersonal drama, really the ultimate pinnacle of his spiral downward since becoming the council's watchdog. not only does it make for a spectacular fight in heresy, but if he were to then fight alongside v1 after his fall, it gets access to some of the most brutal engagements it's ever had the pleasure of viewing - all coming with gabriel's still conflicted feelings for some time. so in a way, it supports what they're doing for a time, insofar as it gives it great bloody shows and it sees the corruption of gabriel over time. plus they're just a unique combination, an supreme (fallen) angel and a supreme machine weaving their techniques together into something unknown to heaven or hell.

the only issue i do see is sort of the idea of them. settling down into something much less conflict-driven as hell itself runs short of its husks and demons. how gabriel mellows into accepting himself, how v1 discovers it can do more than create war, how they build a loving relationship with one another that goes far beyond their shared foundation in violence. then hell can't understand them, hell has nothing in it to enjoy watching them forge a life when what's happened should leave them both in ruin. gabriel should be forever locked in grief while v1 should slowly starve itself out from its own senseless destruction. but instead they've carved out a place for themselves in a world that should be nothing but hostile. and that can't entertain it, yet how can it harm them when their combined strength seems to best anything that comes their way? what can it do realistically to them even if it wants to see them suffer by its very nature? and their very natures should see them suffer, yet they've escaped that fate. so i think it's unusually quiet for a time, thinking it over, wondering if they'll ruin it themselves (things happen, yet nothing sticks) or just how it might act upon them to give it the satisfactory ending it wants. that's why it fixates in on v1, especially when its software starts to fail and it sees its opportunity to fully destroy both of them. it makes it kind of worth it, playing the long game and watching them in relative happiness for all that time - it'll make it that much more agonizing when it can finally infect v1

#like their early work? great!! neat!!!#once they're in a loving relationship? no!!! fuck you!!!!#hell rejects all comfort and happiness within it without the prospect of a payoff #so eventually it thinks of this like the lust renaissance #that it can go on but only because it will have a devastating ending #too bad gabe has other plans!!!#cake answers

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honey-minded-hivemind · 8 months

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I had another ABO AU idea... does anyone remember the Hulk vs. mini movies? Now, does anyone remember the Hulk vs. Wolverine special/mini movie/episode?? My idea includes mixing the styles from that with those of the Animated Series, and the dynamics and ages a mix between the Animated Series and Evolution (plus personal headcanons)... and it will look kinda reminiscent to anime... now, add into that the ABO dynamics of my ABO AUs, the characters (yes, even villains) being more caring/less likely to gut each other (ahem ahem no killing children and teenagers and Logan ahem ahem...). In this au, everyone is on their usual team, and the reader knows everyone, being an ally of mutants, no matter which ones they are... (they have a set rule of never helping a bad cause or something wicked). So this has allowed them to meet many different members of both sides, forming relationships and some friendships. They never really joined a team, just Good Samaritan-ing wherever it was needed and helping whoever was doing that at the time, despite which team/end goal they had...

And somehow, the reader ends up caught. The same people who experimented on mutants, the ones who did such horrible things to Wolverine and Sabretooth and Heaven-Knows-Who-Else, get their hands on the reader. They want to test what makes mutants so different, so unique, and want to see what happens when they remove the parts that make them act a certain way (their ABO scent glands and scenting organs)...

The reader survives, barely, being kept barely coherent with sedatives, so they won't try to fight back or harm the scientists... and then somehow, someway, they manage to capture Wolverine and Sabretooth... those two were always considered strong specimens by the scientists, and they think it would be fitting to show them what will happen to them, to make them their perfect weapons once more... and ends up showing them a sickly, partially maimed reader, who thinks they're hallucinations...

That sort of sight... seeing their ally, their friend, a pup, torn apart and barely recognizable... it SNAPS something inside them. They are Omegas after all, and Omegas are the strongest and most overprotective of the three ABO genders... this leads to them having to be taken away from where the reader is kept, in case they manage to kill one of the ones who did this to their pup... Leaving them stuck there, watching and waiting... Until an opportunity opens itself up for them... And they take it... It is a bloody affair, and while they want to get the reader, they realize they'll need more help to do so... and more hands to tear apart the b*st*rds who maimed their teams' packmate...

And they do come back, with the X-Men and some Brotherhood members, to enact the rescue. And what a bloodbath it is... No one who helped tear open their pup is left untouched, and when they finally get their bby back... it hurts, seeing them in their condition... but they are so much more relieved they are still alive to save...

This leads to both teams having a small truce (possibly permanent/active for pups and wounded members), so they can get their bby back into good health... and finding out the extent of their injuries, that their bby had some of the most important parts of them, that helps pack identify them and others sense them, have been removed or brutalized... it makes them see red... When their bby is finally lucid, they realize they are back in the hands of their friends... but... it seems none of them are keen on letting them go.

This leads to the reader trying to leave, only for the others to try to stop them. This forces their bby to fight them so they won't be kept against their will... They manage to pin their bby eventually, and while they hate the idea of doing so, decide to sedate them. They don't want to harm their pup, but their pup needs plenty of TLC, and they are all desperate to give it. They won't harm them, they just plan to keep them calm and relaxed, in the group's nest, where they will be safe and secure. They won't leave their pup again. Even when they weakly struggle against them, they'll stay gentle. Their bby doesn't know what they're doing, and their reasoning is askew... but they'll give them the care and loving they need. It'll be alright. Their pack will be there to keep them safe, and they aren't going anywhere.

#honeycomb thoughts #platonic yandere marvel #yandere platonic marvel #platonic yandere marvel x reader #platonic yandere xmen #yandere x-men #platonic yandere #platonic yandere x reader #ABO Wounded! AU

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nohrianseneschal · 5 months

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Paradise Kiss: A Lesson on Dreams and Being Happy (heavy spoilers) Part 1

Thanks to this totally random tweet about anime endings, I'm reminded of an old shoujo manga flame of mine from the early 2000s: Paradise Kiss, nicknamed ParaKiss by its mangaka and fans. In stereotypical Ai Yazawa fashion (baddum tss), this manga revolves around a hopelessly flawed yet peak relatable girl undergoing the trials and tribulations of self-discovery. It just so happens that the setting takes place in a generic, average-sized town in Japan, and it just so happens that this town is home to an eclectic ensemble cast of aspiring fashionistas and designers. And it also just so happens that this cast is at a crossroads: their 3rd year in high school. Yukari was initially on the conventional path of graduating with top marks and entering into a prestigious university. By the time we get to the 2nd chapter of the manga, we see Yukari cast all her mother's dreams aside to become a model in the cutthroat fashion industry.

We begin with our protagonist Yukari, who is enrolled in an elite private high school. She spends her days studying for college entrance exams, but early on, we discover that her hard work is very extrinsically motivated. Specifically, her mother has had an iron-clad grip on her life, and if not for a chance encounter on the street, Yukari would've continued on in this way. Living without living. Doing things that don't make her happy or give her any meaning -- a shell for others' aspirations and desires.

As I said, a chance encounter brings her to the hole-in-the-wall atelier, which was an antique bar rennovated into an... well, atelier for fashionistas attending the local art school. Yukari has been scouted by one of the students to model for their upcoming fashion show in the school's Culture Festival. Although she vehemently opposes the idea at first, Yukari decides to model for them, after witnessing firsthand the extent of their conviction and earnestness of their efforts.

I am deliberately downplaying George's role in here, because I do think future readers should get to know George (the manga's romantic lead and 90s toxic boy) at their own pace and through Yukari's perspective. Describing him would remove some of the magic that is necessary to experience through Yukari's besotted eyes, and Yazawa does a great job staging the cognitive dissonance Yukari herself feels when she's around George. What you should know right away is that George is the de facto leader of the Atelier group and designer behind the label Paradise Kiss. It is his word that becomes the final voice in asking Yukari to model, and it is his intoxicating presence that drives her to join them.

All this to say, that there's a reason -- I think -- that ParaKiss, out of many other Shoujo or even Shounen romances of the 2000s, is still the only one being reprinted. Its 20th-anniversary edition was reprinted back in 2019. In the wake of Nana's permanent hiatus (Yazawa's more popular manga), ParaKiss's fandom is alive and well. More and more people are discovering it, thanks to the reductively short anime adaptation making its way to streaming services. The promise of a (very satisfying) conclusion provides a healing balm of sorts for deluded Nana fans, and the story in its entirety holds its own as a romance masterpiece. The art style, the fashion, the romance, and the writing are all top scorers, but something about ParaKiss remains startlingly unique despite more than 20 years passing us by. Very few shoujo manga dare to try what Yazawa has done with this story, and very few shoujo manga do it so seamlessly -- devoid of the mandatory witticisms and marvelizations so common in today's media. ParaKiss is honest. Brutally honest. Yukari's inner monologues and expressions anticipate what the audience is thinking, not because she's so clever but because we can all relate to her. We've all made that mistake we can't help making. We've all watched ourselves undergo the consequences of our stupid actions, with nothing but self-pity to help us weather the storm. And all of us have known the beauty of believing the world is full of limitless possibilities, and we've tasted the bittersweet revelation that limitations do exist, and that's okay.

In other words, you don't have to be an intellect to enjoy and feel the takeaways of ParaKiss. The mangaka isn't trying to wink and nudge you into believing you're a smart consumer, because Yukari's story (or perhaps, Yukari herself) speaks of a hurt deeper than narrative conflict. Her hurt comes from one's first love, whatever or whoever it may be. First love isn't always romance (although it's a huge part of Yukari's story in ParaKiss). First love is the feeling that everything is new and ripe for discovery. First love is the disappointment that this period of discovery is finite, but you're so much stronger and better for having gone through it, brief as it may be. That is Paradise for Yukari: first love as the Edenic coming-of-age journey she needed to become who she is meant to be.

Many fans and critics agree that Paradise Kiss is a story about one's first love, and how you can have an impactful romance without it ending into a happily ever after. Of course I agree with this take. George is the 2nd protagonist, no question. His presence, actions, and personality catalyze the journey of self-discovery that Yukari finds in her last year of high school.

That said, I don't think enough attention has been paid to the other first love Yukari goes through: the world of fashion. Indeed, the story begins and ends with Yukari's time in the fashion world - her first thrills of modeling and her final, bittersweet acceptance of its inevitable end. This part of the story is so underhanded yet profoundly philosophical, I'm surprised discussions of fashion have become afterthoughts in any serious commentary of ParaKiss.

It's worth noting that Yukari doesn't exactly have insecurities directly related to her physical appearance. It's probably the most unrelatable part of her. When people comment on her beauty, she doesn't deny it, but she doesn't affirm it. We're meant to see and understand Yukari's natural beauty as a fact of her life, like the color of her hair or her height. She even brags about being able to stay skinny no matter how much she eats, which is the closest I came to hating a shoujo protagonist to be honest. Rather, her feelings of self-inadequacy stem from her immaturity, lack of style, and overall lack of self-confidence. In other words, when she starts the story believing her crush on classmate Tokumori is hopeless, she reasons, "Tokumori won't go for girls like me." Yukari doesn't mean she's too ugly for him. She means she's too inferior; too stupid; too 'uncool' for someone she perceives as the ideal. Even when she swiftly moves on to George and sets her sights on him, Yukari's feelings of worthlessness influence her behavior and decisions in the relationship, ultimately affecting how George himself treats her.

If Yukari's psyche sounds incoherent, it is and it isn't. It's realistically incoherent. Women are socially conditioned to find themselves inadequate in some way, and that self-perception is ultimately dictated by how men receive and project it back. This is the genius of ParaKiss. Whether or not you relate, this facet of Yukari's personality is an apt observation on what it means to be a woman as a high schooler, and I don't think it's an accident that prior to meeting the ParaKiss fashion team, Yukari's self-worth came entirely from her mother. For Yukari, growing up and leaving the nest means learning your place in the world in relation to men, and perhaps that's why Yukari's first love is riddled with so much pain, beauty, and joy.

In this cut-out of a panel, Yukari finally asks herself the question that must be in the fore of everyone's minds: 'What am I to George?' What is she to the man she considers the most important to her? What are we in relation to men? It takes Yukari 6 months to figure out that she doesn't need George to answer the first part of that question. By the time the series ends, Yukari is able to ask the same question without George.

These romantic pitfalls and triumphs become more meaningful when you realize this occurs in the context of breaking out into the fashion industry. Similar to Eve in Milton's Paradise Lost, Yukari looks at a mirror and discovers herself. She falls in love with that image. She falls in love with what fashion (not George!) reflects back at her -- a confident, cool woman who can don all sorts of masks and clothes.

When she asks a veteran model for advice on how to walk the runway, the model cryptically replies, "Just tell yourself you're the most beautiful woman in the world." This is a hurdle for the likes of Yukari, whose low self-esteem has prevented her from truly being alive prior to the events of the story. When she does walk down that runway, fully confident and basking in the crowd's reaction to her beauty, Yukari finally understands what it means. Telling yourself you're the most beautiful woman in the world is akin to believing yourself a woman; akin to believing yourself a woman worth existing and hogging the spotlight, without a man to justify it. Yukari might have been wearing clothes that George designed, but one can argue that the dress would not exist without Yukari. Indeed, he designed it with her face and body in mind. Yukari herself inspires the art George believes he's creating, and Yukari herself embodies and imparts the meaning of that art for the audience when she walks down the runway.

Thanks to the fashion show and Yukari's success, George himself realizes he cannot design for ready-to-wear clothing lines. Yukari too discovers that modeling isn't something she can just do. It's something she can work hard at, succeed, fail, and still enjoy. Unlike the grind of studying endlessly for exams she'll never pass, Yukari finds fulfillment in trying and failing in the fashion industry, and this self-realization lets her redefine what it means to succeed and fail, as we all come to understand by the end of the manga.

Given that Ai Yazawa studied fashion, it's no surprise that clothing, design, and the industry's connections are all important for Yukari's coming-of-age. Modeling and wearing George's clothes aren't all butterflies and roses. As we later see by the end of the manga, fashion leaves Yukari feeling dehumanized at times, which Yukari outright states in an inner monologue by calling herself a 'doll.' The liberating potential of modeling becomes a prison, in the right context. When another woman -- particularly one who rejects modeling or being a man's muse and instead aims to be a designer herself -- enters George's life, Yukari feels helpless. The autonomy she gained by modeling bites back in a mocking display of her own shallow disregard for other women's agency. Indeed, she acts vile toward Kaori (the aspiring designer in question), solely because she's threatened by how George sees her as an equal. The potential of self-fulfillment comes crashing down when the implication here is that, as his muse and model, Yukari will never be his equal.

I'm going to take a second and point out how brilliant this brief love triangle is on the part of Ai Yazawa. We are so used to shoujo protagonists who are sweet, understanding, and unfailingly good. Yukari is a surprise, to say the least. She's not afraid to be mean and flaunt her beauty to intimidate her competition, and at the same time, she's not afraid to own up to her faults and wallow in self-pity when humbled. Although George is the intermediary in the love triangle, you can also see how the fashion industry itself pits women against each other. Yukari can't measure up to Kaori, the talented and mature designer with true compassion for her peers and classmates. The culture festival led Yukari to believe that she, as their model, takes center stage, but with the show over, her status as model reduces to her one of the many cogs that prop up designers' creativity and will. If God is the designer in this paradise, then Eve is just a shell of and for his designs, just as Yukari recedes to a doll when George no longer respects her. Life, it seems, is difficult for a fashion model who seeks to affirm her existence and purpose in a world that devalues such traits in the first place.

Spoilers: George and Yukari's relationship lasts only 6 months, but Yukari's relationship with fashion lasts much longer: 10 years. In the manga's epilogue, Yukari is nearing retirement, and she mentions 'plateauing' in her career as a model. Although as a teenager she aspired to be a world class super model, her work only takes her to other cities in Japan, and she is content to end less with a bang and more like a firm sense of dignity and pride at her work.

It's also no shocker that, rather than confirm her retirement, the manga ends with an announcement of her engagement and imminent marriage to her Tokumori, her high school crush and classmate. The last panels mock the sense that first loves are more powerful than the present love they experience (which is so amazing and Part 2 will be about that), and while these lighthearted panels tell us it's a joke, you can easily see how those words apply to Yukari's love affair with fashion.

Her crush and first love spur her to 10 years of a successful career. Perhaps she never realized her ambitions of modeling in the West, but she nevertheless finds and declares herself successful. This is what first love is. You might start out believing it needs to be 'happily ever after,' but you can end it and grow and realize that 'remembered ever after' is just as good, for the role it had in your life and your growth.

Yukari isn't just telling us the story of her first love with George. She's also telling us the story of how she fell in love with herself through fashion, and how her job as a model helped her live the many lives she otherwise would've never experienced if she had stayed on her mother's preplanned course.

Fashion isn't just about the clothes, the romance, or the glamorous lifestyles. Fashion is looking back and basking in being looked at. Fashion is making meaning out of how others perceive you, and fashion can be a cruel reminder that those meanings are already preordained and predetermined. Yukari doesn't necessarily fight against that. She embraces it all and learns from it.

I'm going to stop here, because I don't think an essay about ParaKiss and first love is complete without talking about George's own implied ending and Tokumori's constant presence in the beginning, middle, and end of Yukari's story. There's still so much to say, so I'll save it for Part 2. For now, let me conclude with the argument that Paradise Kiss is so unique in so many ways. It takes on the typical rhythms and beats of a shoujo manga, but it also embraces the flaws, ugliness, and messiness of love as it manifests in romance and fashion. You can't appreciate and love ParaKiss without understanding how Yazawa carefully crafts and packages a coming-of-age story into a seemingly typical love story. To use the jargon of the trade, we come into ParaKiss believing the firm and distinct boundary separating haute couture from ready-to-wear. Fashion is both, and to fall in love with it is beautiful.

#paradise kiss #Ai Yazawa #lia rambles #meta #ParaKiss

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dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night · 6 months

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Eden VAU & Blood Sacrifices crossover

Whumptober No. 28: Sacrifice

TW: insomnia, referenced religious abuse, referenced human sacrifice, referenced colonialism, vampire carewhumper, human whumpee, referenced vampire whumper, referenced human whumpee

Note: This works if you've only read Eden VAU, but it may or may not contain spoilers for Blood Sacrifices. I played a game of telephone with the plot for myth building realism, so any spoilers are at least a bit inaccurate to what'll actually happen in the plot.

Ezra sat on the sofa with a glass of warm milk, hoping that Christopher could lure him into sleep after hours of insomnia. He hasn't slept at all the night before, and was suffering for it.

"English speakers start stories with once upon a time, yes?" Christopher asked.

"Yes," Ezra affirmed. "At least older stories."

"This is very old story, told for centuries by vampires of the Americas." Christopher cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a vampire. He lived on outskirts of small city state in what we now call Southern Americas. Before European plunderers ravished beautiful jungles in search of gold. This vampire's name has been lost to time. Society he preyed upon was not any remembered culture for their pyramids, and was long destroyed by colonizers."

Ezra nodded. He knew very little of history outside of the United States, and was often embarrassed by it. This seemed a fine way to get an education. Even if it was wrapped in myths and legends.

"This vampire," Christopher continued, "watched for years with jealousy as humans sacrificed one another in their gods' names. He could not understand why he should be forced to hunt humans like wild jungle cat when blood flowed so willingly over ornate altars within temple walls."

Despite his revulsion at the concept of human sacrifice, Ezra couldn't help but think that made some amounts of sense. After all, gods were imaginary, they didn't need human blood. But vampires did, even if sacrifices and murders were equally brutal.

"So, watched civilization for years, hatching a grand plot to disguise himself as god of hunting, harvest, and new life. This went well, and soon he was power of great authority over the people. But he made a grave and simple mistake. For he found sons of men lovely to behold, and fell in love with his high priest. They spent much time together, and his high priest would go any lengths to please the charlatan he believed to be his god."

This reminded Ezra of the many Greek myths he had read, with gods falling for mortals, usually under very unethical circumstances. Like Zeus and… Every woman in Greece ever.

"The charlatan relentlessly pursued and romanced his priest, until no person or treasure in all their land mattered more than their marriage. But secrets always come out, no matter how long they take. The priest had no knowledge of vampire kind until the charlatan confessed to nature of his kind."

Ezra found himself growing invested in the story. It was an odd kind of myth. More something he would read in a history text book than hear before bed. But as it seemed to be known to vampires alone, he counted himself lucky to be introduced to these ancient men of renown.

"The priest felt as betrayed as any man could, and hatched plot of his own. Next time the charlatan fell into slumber, the priest made attempt on his life. It was unsuccessful, and the two men disappeared from their city shortly after. No one knows what became of them, but even now some claim to have met two vampires, always traveling under different names and creating schemes to pull wool over eyes of mankind."

"I like that story," Ezra said, sensing that it was over. "It's really unique. I like the idea that the charlatan turned the priest into a vampire so they could run off together. Even if the start of their relationship wasn't great, for obvious reasons."

"I am glad you enjoyed my telling it. We vampires have many stories of this kind, and I would be pleased to tell you them."

Ezra yawned, and set his empty glass on the coffee table. "How about tomorrow? I really have to sleep."

"Of course, my darling." Christopher stood up and kissed Ezra on his forehead. "Pleasant dreams."

Eden taglist: @hugh-lauries-bald-spot @thedarkmongoose @whumpsday @whump-by-robin @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @annablogsposts @whumpshaped @seetheothersideofparadise @knittedeyebrowsandcardigans @whatwasmyprevioususername @boonasaurusrex @suspicious-whumping-egg @heavenlyeden @melancholy-in-the-morning @snakebites-and-ink @suck-my-clit-loser @i-eat-worlds @scp-1296 @chiswhumpcorner @skittles-the-whumpee @whumpki @dokidokisadness @enbygesserit @canislycaon24 @be-gay-do-crime-ahaha @a-crumb-of-whump @pixelated-whump @whumpytine

Blood Sacrifices taglist: @hugh-lauries-bald-spot @thedarkmongoose @whumpsday @whumpshaped @boxboysandotherwhump @thecyrulik @heavenlyeden @whumpitisthen @whumptier @whumpy-writings @desiresandvampires @whumpytine

#Abraham original: Hot off the press #Whump #Whumptober2023 #Whumptober day 28 #Sacrifice #Whump writing #Whump crossover

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gumnut-logic · 1 year

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His Sword

Just a random scene that got slightly out of control. I have no idea what is going on here other than it is an AU of some kind. I felt like writing a sword fight and this happened, whatever it is.

Many thanks to @katblu42 for the read through and for putting up with my crazy :D

I hope you enjoy anyway.

-o-o-o-

A flick of his wrist and his sword was drawn.

The man opposite him smiled. “My, my, you are as excitable as your father.”

He shifted his feet, ready. “What do you know of my father?”

That blasted smirk only grew wider. “Enough, my dear boy, to know how useful he could be.” And the man’s sword was suddenly in his hand. “Shall we?”

Scott didn’t reply, his eyes calculating, watching the smooth silk jacket of his opponent.

Steel reflected the fire burning in a barrel further down the alley.

He knew his two eldest brothers would curse him for coming alone. For even attempting to track down that obvious carrot of a piece of information about their father. But he was drawn to answers, any answers to find out his fate.

And this man knew. Scott swore by his mother’s bodice that he knew.

But he had been foolish. Brash, Virgil would say. It was too much of a risk.

And it was. Far too much of a risk to endanger his family.

Be the fault and the penance on his shoulders only.

On his life.

The Lawd moved and Scott parried, the clang of steel on steel travelling up his arm like hammer on bone.

“I must admit that I expected more.” A swipe at his gut, barely wrangled away. “I expected a troop of Tracys charging in to find their long lost Papa. Instead I only tempted one. The foolish one who thinks speed equals intelligence.”

Scott jumped backwards, avoiding a stab at his gut. Every move the bald villain made spoke of experience. It was no surprise. Gat had a reputation for brutality and conquest, and Scott had no doubt this would be a fight to the death.

So be it.

He went on the offensive. Gat wanted speed, Scott Tracy had it. His sword flew, faster than any other known to exist. He pushed his fury, his anger, his love for his father and family, all of it, into his attack.

Gat stumbled backwards, as if startled at his ferocity.

Scott took advantage and pushed further. “Tell me what you know!”

But the Lawd only laughed, parrying his every move even as he bowed under Scott’s onslaught.

Steel sung a violent song in stark contrast the bastard’s humour.

God curse his wretched and poisoned soul!

Their father had taken this man at his word. Led his eldest son and their forces onto the battlefield as was honourable and right. But the Lawd had betrayed them informing the enemy and sacrificing the battle and their men for money.

Scott saw his father fall to a pike, but struggling with his own wounds had been unable to reach him.

He was told when he woke in the recovery tent that he was now head of his family, that his father was gone, his body burned on the battlefield.

The Lawd sent his sorrow and gifts of mourning and solace.

And upon Scott’s return, they had all grieved.

Until Scott saw the Lawd wearing his father’s hat.

It had to be intentional. It was a fine hat. Virgil had made that hat. It was unique. The feather it sported was from a bird on another continent. From a time when their father explored the world, travelling so, so far from here.

It was his father’s hat.

His brother John had asked a few pertinent questions in the right places. Scott himself had travelled to the site of the battle, spoken to the locals, delved into the details of what happened after the battle.

But it was young Gordon who discovered the most.

He ingratiated himself with the servants of the castle and dropped pennies for news. One so young was more amusing than a suspected spy.

Servants overheard everything after all, and there was talk of their father being alive.

But not where, not how.

He only had who.

Gat struck at him suddenly, derailing his attack and forcing him into defence. “Do you think, boy, that I fear you? Do you think a son of such a gullible man could ever be a threat to me?”

Scott found himself stepping back, as every strike struck out. Gat’s steel moved like the forked tongue he was, darting, hissing and lying regarding its intent.

And suddenly he was on his back, Gat’s sword against his throat.

The night flickered in the sickly yellow of distant flame.

“See? Isn’t that better? A twitch of my finger and I could end both of our troubles.”

Scott glared up at him.

The tip of the sword broke the skin of his neck.

His family flashed through his mind. Each brother, his grandmother, Kyrano, Tanusha, Hiram…

Virgil growled.

An arrow shot through the air, piercing the silk in Gat’s shoulder. He staggered and the steel fell away from Scott’s throat.

The Lawd’s expression went from shock to abrupt anger

Scott raised his sword, but he had no need to, as it’s brother, sporting the family Thunderbird crest sliced in and parried Gat’s blade away.

“Get away from him!” Virgil’s eyes were pure fire.

Gat laughed and wrenched his sword out of Virgil’s block, readying to strike.

Scott stumbled to his feet, but another arrow hissed through the air, catching the Lawd in his sword hand. He yelled and cursed as he dropped his blade.

It clattered on the cobblestones.

“Concede, Gat.” Scott’s usually quiet brother snarled.

Gat’s response was another laugh. “Concede? To you? What do you think you will do if I don’t? Kill me?”

Blood dripped from his arrow-embedded hand.

Scott straightened, his sword poking a hole in Gat’s back. “Easily.”

“Far from honourable, boy. What would your father think?”

Virgil took a step closer, his leather long-coat flickering a dull shine in the poor light. “I think our father would appreciate the favour of removing a traitor such as yourself from existence. So you could do no more harm.”

At least this time Gat didn’t laugh in his brother’s face.

Virgil picked up the Lawd’s sword and tacked it to his tool belt. His eyes flickered to Scott and his lips thinned.

Displeasure was the least descriptive word for his expression.

“Well, I am sorry to disappoint both you and your father, but I do have another important engagement, so if you will excuse me…” Gat’s other hand flicked up some dust, it sparkled…

And exploded.

Scott was thrown backwards, his back hitting cobblestones with bruising force. His sword clattered beside him as he fought to protect his head.

The air burnt in a rainbow of colours and smoke filled the air.

When it cleared, Gat was gone.

Scott sat up slowly, his sight full of after images.

Leather creaked.

A clatter of feet on wood and tile and the slim form of his middle brother, bow in hand, slipped onto the scene, no doubt from the rooftops he loved.

“Scott?” John’s voice was worriedly soft.

“I’m uninjured.” He stumbled to his feet. “What about Virgil?” He stepped over blackened pavement to find his brother flat on his back. “Virgil!”

His brother didn’t stir as both Scott and John approached. “John, keep watch!”

“I am! And Eos has the eye in the sky.”

Virgil’s eyes were closed. Scott located a lump and smear of what was likely blood on the back of his brother’s head. “Curses, why did you bring him?!”

John shot him a glare. “Why did you not tell us you were going? Virgil was furious, as am I.”

“I didn’t want to risk you!” He yanked off his jacket and folded it enough to slide it under Virgil’s head.

“Yet you think we want to risk you? How could you do that?”

“I didn’t know he possessed sorcery.”

“He had you long before he did magics, Scott. Only my arrow and Virgil’s sword prevented the worst.”

Scott sighed. “Why did you give him your sword?”

“I didn’t. It is his sword.”

Scott glanced at the blade so similar to his own laying discarded beside his brother. “It is not his place.”

“You made it his place by running off on your own!” John’s eyes were dark with fury. “I needed the roofs and unless you think Gordon has earnt his sword, Virgil was the best choice of few.” He sighed. “We work together or not at all, Patriarch.”

Scott’s denial died on his lips as Virgil groaned and mumbled. “Stop arguing, you’re hurting my head.”

“Virgil!”

His brother groaned again. “Mercy, shut up.”

“We should get out of here. Gat was injured. I have no doubt accusations will be made.” John’s eyes were trained on the inside of his wrist, on the tells from the Eye. “We have county soldiers heading our way.”

Scott would ask for details later. “C’mon, little brother.” He reached down and drew Virgil close, helping him off the dirty cobblestones. As always, his little brother was anything but little.

John grabbed an arm and Virgil attempted to get his feet under him.

“I may vomit on you.” His head lolled onto Scott’s shoulder.

“Save it for anyone who gets in our way.”

That earned him a grunt, but at least Virgil was mostly mobile.

John glanced at him. Scott nodded and waved him towards the rooftops. “We meet at home.”

“Grandmother is not happy.”

“You told?”

John twisted his lips. “You went in alone. All bets are off.” And with that, he leapt up the side of the building, quiver bouncing on his back, climbing walls as if they were merely pavement.

Virgil buried his face into Scott’s shoulder as they began their slow walk home.

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #John Tracy #Virgil Tracy #random AU #nuttyfic #I have no idea what is going on #Leather and Swords AU #?

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k-s-morgan · 1 year

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Many people share recs with their favorite TV shows, movies or books with me. I'm moving through them slowly, sometimes in a random order, but it's happening, so in this post, I'll cover the shows that were recommended to me and which I’ve watched. I hope you won't get upset or offended if I didn't like the show you recced: after all, such things are impossible to predict! We all have our unique preferences and perceptions.

Now, on to the list and my thoughts:

Stranger Things: Unfortunately, this show didn't work for me. I watched all seasons, but I only enjoyed S1. I appreciated its atmosphere, I liked the characters, and while I didn't think it was anything special, the plot kept me engaged. Other seasons bored me, though, and I found the arcs getting more and more impossible while also staying repetitive.

What We Do in the Shadows: At first, I couldn't get into it, but with each season, my interest increased, and by the end, I grew to love the characters and adore their dumb adventures :D I ship Nandor and Guillermo and I can't wait to see what they do with them in S4. The humor is too sexual for me at times, but once I became fond of these idiot vampires, I started to dote on everything they do. Watching them do nothing but bicker is fascinating now, lol.

Succession: Oh, this was a hell of a ride. I got second-hand embarrassment so many times that I had to constantly hit pause to scream. Contrary to what I expected, I didn't end up shipping Tom and Greg. I'm interested in their relationship, but Greg is so shallow and his entire personality is basically centered on being embarrassing and greedy - I think Tom deserves better. The complexity, the music (ooh, the music in it), the twists and turns are brilliant, though. I think the show got a little repetitive, but I still enjoyed it a lot and I anticipate the next season.

Wednesday: Loved it! Which is strange since I was never a fan of the Addams Family. I loved the idea of them, but the execution never appealed to me much. This show is enjoyable, has very good acting, and it presented me with a surprise ship. At first, I thought I’d end up shipping Wednesday with Enid - they have an excellent dynamic of opposites attract, but with each episode, I grew increasingly interested in Wednesday/Xavier. Loved the obsessive element of it and I hope to see more of it in S2.

Luther: I watched only S1 because unfortunately, this show didn't appeal to me! I felt like it was very disjointed and that there were three writers working on it without consulting each other. Each arc is potentially interesting: brutal crimes, Luther as an explosive, clever, protective but abusive character, and the arc of him and Alice becoming frenemies & perhaps more. But together, they just didn't work in my eyes. Alice's involvement in Luther's life felt awkward and forced; the crimes were astonishingly violent and epic, but their resolutions seemed rushed, trivial and unimpressive; Luther's decisions often made little sense to me, and these three elements didn't seem to mix well. I watched it with my family: my Mom shared my thoughts, but my Dad loved it and he’s watching other seasons right now.

Interview with the Vampire: YES. I'm a huge fan and I'm thrilled to have found this show. It's clever, intense, and relationship-focused; it has an obsessive, dark romance at the center and every main character is delightfully toxic, twisted and damaged. I only worry about S2 and beyond, but I have faith that everything will remain great.

Versailles: Absolutely loved it! The first two seasons only, though - I prefer to think that the third one doesn't exist. This seems to be a common opinion among the fans. The music, the characters, their dynamic, the plot and of course the captivating atmosphere of those times... An actor who played Mordred in my favorite 'Merlin' being one of the protagonists was a surprise and made me even more in love. His dynamic with his brother was delightful to watch: it's complex, toxic but also deeply loving. This show is unique in that my most favorite thing about it is a solo character. I grew obsessed with Fabien, a torturer and executioner working for the king. He's perfection, and I would gladly watch a spin-off with him as the central character.

If I forgot some of the shows I watched by accident, I'll make a separate post later on.

Also, just so you'd know: I don't usually post asks with recs that I haven't tackled yet - they serve as a summary of why I should watch something, but please rest assured that if you sent it, I saw it and added it to my list. When I get to it, I'll post your ask! I'll also start answering questions about the shows you recced and which I've already watched soon.

#recs #tv show recs #wednesday #versailles #luther #interview with the vampire #succession #stranger things #fabien marchal #nandermo #personal

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bloopdydooooo · 12 days

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i'm asking you abt your version of hamlet but you have to ask me about wtnv ghosts OR kris dreemurr, deal?

for this, i will ask you about both.

(it got too long i hid it under the read more)

ANYWAYS i had a breakthrough like. ten minutes ago cause i was thinking about how i'd put a spin on hamlet. cause i was talking w my director for romeo & juliet a while back and he said how important it is in shakespeare to have something that makes your production just a little special a little unique so people will keep coming to see it. if it's the same plays over and over presented w the same contexts and worlds and everything, no one will want to see it. (i mean i would but i'm. uh. abnormal). and i've been agonizing over what my spin on hamlet would be, were i to direct it (an idea which has taken control of my brain and will not let me go. this has become my dream in life and i'm literally an actor not a director). point is i found it.

i was thinking about Shitty College Kids hamlet and then i was suddenly struck w the passing thought of crime family. and then it kept coming back. and i think i might be a genius. hear me out:

hamlet's family, the royal family of denmark, is actually a crime family. gertrude may be the one who technically runs the show but really she's a mob wife she doesn't exactly make use of her power, instead letting her husband do it. her husband claudius, who has hamlet sr. killed and then marries his sister in law (the kind of wild bullshit i can imagine happening in a mafia movie, of which i have watched none (but will for research)) so he can take control of the family business. it adds a darker, grittier level to basically everything in the play; taking them from high society – royalty, even – to a shady crime family, and fits perfectly with my vision of the play: i crave violence in hamlet, and i think he deserves some blood and gore. its enrichment for him. with a modern take we can give him a gun to kill polonius with, shooting him through something more significant than a curtain (i wouldn't do a mirror obviously but hamlet (2009) i fucking love you for that) and the stakes are all heightened when bullets get involved. plus it really pushes the whole bit where hamlet is sent off to england (and would, i guess, be someone else's territory?), because in this everyone would know he was going to his death. there would be no naivety, no shock horror when he says he was sent to his doom, just people standing by and watching as this kid is sentenced to death. 5.2 is a knife fight, quick and dirty and scrappy – none of the class of a rapier duel – and it raises the stakes a lot. there are rules and regulations in swordfighting, not so much in a rage fueled knife fight. hamlet, in the end, stabs his uncle with either his or laertes' blade but im thinking his. there is no poison it is just a brutal, bloody slaughter. it gives me the darkness and violence i've been hungering for but were harder to push for in the context of a castle, of high society. they still have the power, the influence, but they're taken to a place where i can have all the grit my heart desires without it feeling out of place.

it also makes relationships between characters so much more interesting. hamlet, for example, is still a scholar, a highly emotional college kid who talks in flowery prose and has a passion for theater, but now he's supposed to be inheriting the Family Business and not a kingdom, where all his gayboy bullshit wouldn't be very out of place. it pushes him further as an outsider, as someone that people would turn against, would throw to the wolves. who does that make horatio? hamlet's friend from school, maybe tangentially related to the family but only really through hamlet? how about ophelia? daughter of the councilor to the 'king', is she actually someone that they would want hamlet to marry? and what to make of laertes, who seems to abandon denmark for france? he comes back and is almost instantly accepted back into the inner circle despite having requested leave and happily departed, is claudius gunning for him to take hamlet's place as next in line? rosencrantz and guildenstern? clearly hamlet's friends from within the business they're also at his university, did they follow him there or did they all happen to find themselves in the same place? we're there greased palms to get them in? what about hamlet? and gertrude! the family line ascends through her, it must or claudius wouldn't need to marry her to get the power, but she shows no real desire to exercise it, even when her son is in danger. what's her deal, what's her story? she must have one, she's a fascinating person.

tl;dr the version of hamlet i've been craving is apparently a mob boss au. and you know what? it's awesome.

also. consider the costuming opportunities. they are infinite, and they are fabulous.

i have so many more thoughts but sadly it is 3am and they will not all form properly so i will leave it at this

#cecil rambles #ask tag #go-to-the-mirror #dalek s01e06 #i have so many thoughts about hamlet why has it become my goal in life to direct this show.#IM NOT A DIRECTOR #IM AN ACORT!!!#WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!!!#hamlet #anyways i have to watch so many mob movies now i guess. cause i'm dedicated and shit.#this is so heavily inspired by my production of r&j but no one will ever know that cause tiny fucking local theater or whatever.#shoutout to olivier (that director) you're amazing and i love you forever

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natasha-in-space · 25 days

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oh, do you like horror movies too? if so please recommend 🤲

Oh anon... You have no idea what you just started. Haha, but, in all honesty, I'm a huge horror nerd! I just mention it very occasionally and reblog some stuff here and there, but nothing extreme, as this is a mainly SFW blog. That said, I am more than giddy to babble about anything and everything! Horror movies especially! I'm gonna try and recommend some not so mainstream films that come to my mind right now.

If we're talking the more recent films, I'd say last year's 'When Evil Lurks' is a wonderful chilling movie to check out if you haven't yet. I'd say it's one of my favorite ones of 2023, actually! Now, it is pretty brutal and grisly when it comes to violence shown on screen. Nothing too extreme for your standart horror film that is not just a sensitized Hollywood flick, but I do feel the need to mention it. If you like possession, grim endings and questionable characters, this one's for you. I'd say it's a story of two brothers desperately fighting a losing battle.

If you like horror mockumentaries (fake documentary) type of flicks, I really enjoyed 'Butterfly Kisses'! If you loved the infamous Blair Witch films, you'll definitely appreciate this one. Not so much a gruesome horror film, but more of a psychological thriller for you to dissect, but I love it for that. If themes of obsession and artistic desperation are something that you can relate to, you might wanna considering checking it out. Nothing totally unique or mind blowing, but I still very enjoyed it.

If you can stomach grotesque and very gross imagery, I'd recommend you to check out 'Mad God'. Animated horror movies are rare, but, God, do I appreciate them when they do happen. It's clear that a lot of passion went into this one, and I can't help but admire all the creativity and hard work that went into it. It has very little dialogue, and most of its storytelling is an environmental one, but that's another thing I appreciate about it. I should note that it's an experimental piece of art, so it is not rich on some grand morale or story. It is, first and foremost, an intense and confusing journey to sit through.

And I am a huge sucker for Ari Aster's movies, so Hereditary, Midsommar and Beau is Afraid are definitely something I'd recommend to see if you haven't yet. The balance of visual, sound design and story is one I am always blown away with. I know some folks don't really enjoy his work, and that's okay. But I love movies you can revisit after your first watch and see them in a completely different light. That's not mentioning all the care he and his team put into the tiniest of details to his works. I have Hereditary and Midsommar soundtrack saved up for a reason, hehe.

Oh! I also have a major soft spot for 'Perfect Blue'. I feel like it's a pretty well-known film, but, if you haven't seen it yet, please do! It's another animated one, and it is mostly a psychological horror for you to experience. Perfect for you if you don't want to deal with the more gross and violent sides of horror genre that are, undeniably, pretty prominent. It does deal with themes of sexual violence, though. Please stay safe and consume your media wisely!

#mia talks #i'm afraid my favorites are pretty basic all things considered #so i went with those that i don't hear much talk about #i'm very uncritical of the horror genre tbh #like sometimes it really doesn't have any profound meaning and that's ok #doesn't make it a bad piece of art

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frau-line · 9 months

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bc Im obsessed I'm starting to think about why Juno is Like That.

At first the only idea I have is that the royal family is uniquely terrible to all crown princes and princesses since they're the ones who will inherit the throne and all of its responsibilities, compared to their siblings. So, they can't be allowed to live freely and have their own opinions. All of their classes essentially shapes them into becoming the perfect vessel to accept and promote all ideas and laws that have been passed down that stagnates Spaceland under the monarchy. Through this they lose any sense of individuality, viewing themselves as a tool for the kingdom they're supposed to rule.

Juno, being queen, went through this. And she's not entirely a victim either, since she did the same thing to Saturninus. She sees nothing wrong with it. It's a necessary sacrifice to secure stability once she's gone, and it's working, isn't it? Their monarchy and hierarchy still stands.

Though I'm wondering that, like Saturninus, she was forced to witness something brutal as a lesson in obedience by her parent who she succeeded. A failed rebellion perhaps, a bunch of tetrahedron farmers got a little unruly, and the previous monarch made her watch each one be executed. Even she trembled at the sight of such gore, her parent reinforced the same message she did at her future husband's execution; this is what happens to those who step out of line.

It's as much as a message to the population as it is to her, the very heir.

#the endless cycle etc etc

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xiaoshengnu · 4 months

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𝕰𝖒𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖊 - final review

overview : episode no - 76 episodes, genre - historical (gongdou)

a timeless classic, the slay to end all slays (and I mean literally and figuratively) empresses in the palace follows the story of zhen huan as she experiences life in the palace, hardening her from a sweet young girl to a stony empress dowager.

l⃣e⃣ t⃣’ s⃣ b⃣e⃣g⃣i⃣n⃣

when I say you will never find a more iconic show ever in the whole of cdramaland, I mean never. empresses in the palace is an absolute juggernaut of a drama, it is absolutely insane, the writing, the drama, the characters, the absolute minute little details and its respect of the viewer’s intelligence- an A* and beyond. and it's internet and cultural presence in china? IN. SANE.

o⃣u⃣t⃣ o⃣ f⃣ t⃣ e⃣ n⃣

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 9/10

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 10/10

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 10/10

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10/10

𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕖 - 9.8

o⃣u⃣t⃣ o⃣ f⃣ f⃣ i⃣v⃣ e⃣

𝖍𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝖌𝖊𝖒 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - 💎💎💎💎💎

[ I know that when the drama first came out, it was considered pretty unique for how brutally it presented harem life, but even years later and amongst so many newer dramas which have borrowed tropes and ideas from it, I don’t think you’ll be able to find such an incredibly solid drama. a five gem. ]

𝖗𝖊𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖚𝖊 - ✨✨✨✨✨

[ it is so incredibly long and a pretty emotionally tolling drama - even longer than legend of haolan but it is just incredible, a full five star rewatch value ]

‘keep reading’ for detailed review

oh my god this drama.

oh my god.

where do I even begin? I remember watching my parents watch this drama when was I was still really young so I didn’t know what the show was called and what it was about, and although I didn’t remember the whole of this drama I could still remember some hazy snapshots pretty iconic scenes- like at the end where she does to sleep, or when she gets sent to the island- so when I finally decided to watch empresses in the palace a light bulb went off and I suddenly realised that THIS was the show that I'd remembered from my childhood. THIS was it. so it is quite nostalgic for me.

it is honestly such a timeless classic, there’s nothing that will ever beat it. nothing. every fucking second of this thing has a purpose, and everything the characters say and do- and even the background of scenes have minute details which relate to the overall plot and trajectory of these characters. like the amount of YouTube videos analysing this one drama is insane. when critics praise a piece of visual art as a “living breathing organism”, “a masterpiece”- they mean this.

𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 - 9

just. amazing. what can I say. there’s absolutely nothing that can beat this drama with how it wrote the plotting, the intrigue and the absolute cunning the women had to possess to stay alive in the palace. the ending of the drama is literally perfect. SO perfect. younger me thought legend of haolan was good- but compared to this? this is really truly another level. there’s so many instances in the drama where the drama never really tells you what exactly happened, but at the same time gives you just enough information to just guess what had gone on. equally, there are some times where there really doesn’t appear to be any scheming but with close analysis (and with the help of trusty youtubers) suddenly things become thrown into light.

however, I had to knock down a few points because every plot has flaws and for this drama, I think it was mostly the use of tropes and the ‘female lead syndrome’ that sometimes quite clearly shows in the drama. There are also some areas in the drama where the plot does get shaky, but there is never not a reason why a scene is included in the drama. its just such a watertight drama. if you ever need to learn the art of show but don’t tell, this drama has it all. I love that sometimes it leaves it up to the viewer to work the plot out, which mirrors the way in which the concubines had to guess and predict in order to survive- which wasn’t always for certain or always accurate, almost literally pulling the viewer into the world of harem life.

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 - 10

I LOVE THE CHARACTERS UGH. I love them. they’re slays to end all slays. from zhen huan (the original girl boss, gatekeep, gaslight- FIGHT ME) to su peisheng- honestly so iconic. every single major character was well written, well developed and multi-dimensional, and no-one was evil purely for the sake of earning the drama cash. everyone in the drama gives you a reason to root for them, I found myself even feeling for the emperor in the end.

𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖉𝖚𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 - 10

the production was beautiful- the lighting, costuming and makeup were literally so perfect it's unreal. so many iconic scenes came out of this drama- like the yimeiyuan (plum blossom garden) scene with it's beautiful moonlit set and plum blossom decked in snow.

I love the designated colour palettes of the various concubines everything seemed very thought out to fit their personalities. consort hua was decked in bold colours and extravagant patterns, consort jing being calm and gentle was consistently dressed in soft blues and greens, while shen meizhuang is seen wearing mostly purples and pinks. one particular costume that lives in my mind rent free is zhen huan’s blue outfit with the white plum blossom embroidery in the episode 28- absolutely stunning.

𝖆𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 - 10

honestly, if you took a shot for every time I've described this drama as perfect, you would definitely be on the floor by this point. The acting was absolutely now flawless. at no point in the drama did I ever feel drawn out of the story by the acting- sun li is jaw-dropping as zhen huan, her duality is absolutely insane and her crying scenes- ugh omg so good.

𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖚𝖘!!

favourite character(s) :

zhen huan ( if your favourite character in this drama isn’t zhen huan, what are you doing???? she is an absolute icon in her own right. it’s literally impossible to not root for such a wonderful character- team zhen huan all the way )

consort hua / nian shilan ( ik ik, ik now she’s evil and everything, but I love her- she has a baseline which she will not cross and she does have a loyal heart. she loves the emperor almost unconditionally and while she would kill a concubine, she would never harm an unborn child. she seems to care for her servants, who are loyal in turn and I would argue that her being willing to employ a crippled eunuch is a sign of her more softer and caring side. and do I need even mention her snarky one liners?? slay. anyway that’s my essay in defence of consort hua )

ye lanyi ( a queen fr, she takes no-one’s shit )

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖈𝖗𝖊𝖜 (source mydramalist)

lead actors : sun li, chen jianbin, cha silfun

director : zheng xiaolong

screenwriter : wu xuelan

#empresses in the palace #zhen huan #zhen huan zhuan #cdrama #cdrama recommendation #drama review #tv show review #Chinese Dramas #final review #sun li #betty sun #legend of zhen huan #shen meizhuang #nian shilan #guo junwang

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