#this looks like something that could be straight out of a creepy fairytale book /very very pos
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i loved you more than i meant to
in which roman reminisces on his first meeting with logan and has the gayest birthday morning ever. a background to my romeo and juliet au with romantic logince
word count: 2.1k
tws: alcohol, beheading mention, implied internalized homophobia, implied period typical homophobia
a/n: shoutout to my lovely beta reader @airiervessel as i cannot grammar for the life of me
read on ao3
This party was a disaster. What else could be expected of an event that didn’t have any of the amazing Roman Escalus’ creative input? It was absolutely dull, lacking true substance and a certain panache. A je ne sais quoi or whatever the French said.
Currently, Roman was sat at a free table, idly spinning an empty silver wine goblet before noticing his cousin, Count Janus, and his disapproving glare from across the table. Him and his stupid creepy face. Roman stuck his tongue out at him and slammed the goblet back onto the table, reaching for the bottle of wine next to it. He could almost hear Janus’ scolding. Whatever. This party stunk anyway. More guests began flooding in after being announced, high nobility and that sort of thing. All of them sounded the same to Roman anyway.
He took another sip of this bitter wine. “You would truly think”, Roman grumbled under his breath, “that being prince would allow Thomas to get the finest wine possible. It's absolutely abysmal.” He let out a truly dramatic sigh, and dropped to rest his head on the table. Really, the decorations were hopeless. The tapestries were so last century. And what kind of goblets were these?
“I would have at least chosen the gold goblets to complement the purple drapes.” He let out another theatrical groan and closed his eyes, then opened them again. He turned to the entrance. A true spectacle was about to begin, it seemed.
The squire at the door coughed loudly. Eyes around the room seemed to settle on him. “Announcing, Lord and Lady Montague, with Lord Patton Montague and Lord Logan Montague.”
It was like a fairytale. Roman loved those. He loved reading them as a child, the romanticized ideals of the world and of love. He wanted love like from a fairytale, once upon a time. But fairytale love wasn’t in the books for someone like him. So he gave up on having his own romance and decided to put his passions in art, in his creative pursuits. Into helping others, providing justice and being like the princes in his books. Even if he never got to woo a handsome knight, that was fine with him. He was fine with the occasional flirt, a short lived tryst or daring escapade. That was fine with him. Kind of.
But if Roman didn’t know any better, this was as close to the fairytales as he could get. It was as if he was enchanted, spellbound by the man before him. He sat up, gripping the silver wine goblet in front of him. This Logan Montague- Who was he? He briefly remembered hearing about the Montagues and Capulets, rival merchant families. Something about a big feud. He didn’t care for it much, but now he started to pay attention.
This Logan… he looked fascinating. Like an enigma. His face seemed bored, casually unreadable. Everything about him was sharp and angular, geometric and cutting. Even his spectacles, rectangular cut glass, stood sharply on the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he were carved from marble, sculpted by the finest artisans and craftsmen. He had to talk to him. This was a challenge he couldn’t resist. Roman nodded, as if to himself. He took a swig of his wine, turned it from one sip to three then four then just decided to finish it. He steeled himself, and got up to meet him. But Logan disappeared into the crowd.
Roman frowned. How did he get away so easily? The floor was a mass of swirling robes, colorful figures winding around each other in perfect step to the music. Roman almost growled. “Curse it all!” How difficult could it be to find one devastatingly handsome man? His blue tunic was very distinctive, a particular dark blue shade that reminded Roman of the night sky. Just look for that. How difficult could it be?
Very difficult indeed. Roman must have spent almost the entire night looking. The guests were slowly trickling out, but the Montagues still remained. He had even gone to Montague's son, Patton, and asked but to no avail. However, he did have a lovely conversation with the gentle young lord, so at least he may have gotten himself a new friend. But not what he was looking for. Great. Now he had missed a chance to be with someone new rather, than seem clingy and desperate and go back to one of his previous conquests. Roman sighed, standing at the edge of the room, his refilled goblet in hand. His eyes narrowed, taking a long, slow sip of the wine. He’d had enough of people watching. He needed fresh air. He stepped outside to the courtyard and found himself almost walking into a dark blue tunic.
Logan was standing next to a fountain, eyes toward the sky and back to Roman. He didn’t even seem to notice that Roman was there at all. He cleared his throat, but there was no response. Logan shifted, moving to sit down next to the fountain. Still, he looked up towards the moon and stars. Roman moved closer, leaning on the wall next to the fountain. Nothing.
“Good evening my dear fellow. Kind sir, would you oblige me and give me a word?”. Logan finally turned to look at him, but his face seemed annoyed and irritated. Well, Roman felt his enchantment lift slightly at the other man’s sour expression. “The moon is high and wits are waning, apparently, as I am not your dear, nor in the mood for the exchanging of words.” Roman blinked. He was a feisty one apparently, but he was not one to back down from a challenge. He put on his most dazzling, charming, roguish grin as he leaned in towards Logan.
“Well, not so gentle fellow of mine, how can I refrain from dubbing thee ‘my dear’ when thou art dearest to mine own heart?” Logan made a sort of angry growl in the back of his throat, which should not have made Roman’s heart feel larger than his chest.
“Do not presume me foolish, Roman Escalus. I do not wish to partake in one of your famed escapades, nor be a battle that you intend to conquer.”. Oh no. Roman might have misread the young man entirely.
“Why my dear Montague, if you only wished to tell me that you held affection for another fair maiden, then why didn’t you tell me thusly?” At this, Logan flushed. Oh no. Roman might have misread the situation incorrectly twice.
Logan, now turned a lovely pale rose, quietly grumbled under his breath. “‘My dear’, I hold affection for no maid nor do I hold affection for such fairer of the sexes.” Now it was Roman’s turn to flush. But Logan wasn’t finished.
“Now, ‘my dear’, I believe quite firmly that tis you who art behaving quite unfairly. You believe me some fragile damsel when perhaps you should reconsider your phrasing.” Strike three for Roman, but he was nothing if not persistent.
“Sweet, gentle Montague, I do not believe thee a helpless maiden. Why, I think thou art the loveliest of the faeries, enchanting me, luring me away to the woods.” Roman lifted his head, looking to their silvery reflections in the water before hearing Logan snort and quietly snicker. Roman’s head whipped back up to meet Logan’s gaze. “How rude! I think that was a lovely compliment!”
Logan adjusted his glasses before staring straight into his eyes. “The existence of the rumored fae folk is highly unlikely and unrealistic. Thou shalt have to be cleverer in an attempt to woo me, my dear Roman Escalus.”.
Roman’s heart performed a strange flutter in his stomach, which worried him slightly. But he still gasped in faux horror. “Oh Logan Montague, the blasphemy! Queen Mab shalt have your head for the feast tonight, as consequence for your insolence.”
“Fae are but beings of fantasy and whimsy, and I put no faith in such things Roman!”
“Oh, truly, it pains me to hear of your untimely demise due to your disbelief.”
“I swear-”
Roman grinned as Logan began on a passionate rant. Perhaps this party wasn’t so dull after all.
---
Roman blinked open his eyes. Sunlight filtered through the open window, curling wisps of breeze floating in from under the edge of the curtain. He was in his room. The dream was truly vivid, as if he was back at their first meeting only four years ago.
He shivered slightly, gooseflesh rising on his bare arms. His palms were warm, resting on Logan’s arms. He was still asleep, his mouth slightly parted with the quietest of sighs. How lucky he was, to be blessed with the sight of such an enchanting and lovely creature in his arms.
Roman gently laid the barest of feather light kisses along his shoulders, his lips resting gently on the pulse of his neck. Logan shifted slightly, burying his face deeper into Roman’s neck. If he was to die now, it would be a gift from the heavens to die in this position.
He gingerly lifted his hand to run his fingers through Logan’s hair, moving it away from his forehead. At this, Logan began to lightly stir. Eyelashes fluttering open, Roman got a glimpse of his pale blue eyes blinking at him. He groaned, slumping father down into the blankets and resting his head on Roman’s stomach. Slightly muffled, he muttered, “Who gave the sun the right to part night’s dark curtains this early?”
“Tis only the eighth hour of morning, my dearest star.” Logan lifted the covers higher, bringing them over his head.
“Still too early.”
“Well my dear, might I at least retrieve your spectacles for you?” At his nodding, Roman reached over to where they were haphazardly placed the night before on a cushion laying on the floor. He gently lifted the blankets only to snicker quietly. Logan looked ever ruffled, like a particularly fluffy bird. Spectacles were replaced on heads and blankets were removed. Logan began idly tracing constellation patterns on Roman’s collarbone, having risen considerably more than earlier. Roman frowned. This one was familiar, itching at the back of his brain.
“Libra? No, I give up. Cursed stars, which one is this?” Logan smirked, having one upped him finally after being evenly matched for the first few patterns. “Oh wise and brilliant prince, I would have thought you able to recognize this one?”
Roman shook his head. “I concede; I surrender. My brilliant scholar, do enlighten me.”
“The constellation is Gemini, the star pattern you were born under.” That's why it had seemed so familiar. He had seen its shape in one of his books. He was more surprised at Logan.
“You remembered?” Logan’s face, which was playfully competitive, had softened. “How could I not? The day of your birth must have proved a pivotal date in the turning in the earth. I could never forget.”
Roman held Logan tighter, resting his head in the crook of Logan’s neck. Logan murmured into his neck, his warm breath making the hair stand up. “It’s your eighteenth year, our third year together. I couldn’t forget that either.”
The dream still had not left his mind. He wondered, and decided to ask, “Do you remember how we first met?”
“Of course. The party was disgraceful, I had rather looked at the stars instead.”
“And I would have rathered to look at you.”
“And we bickered all night.”
“A pair of squabbling hens were we.”
“Goodness, we certainly must have frustrated each other to no end.”
“Truly. Lucky for you however, I still love you.”
Oh no. He did not just say that. Roman felt panic rising in his chest, he must have said that way too soon. Logan was sure to be scared off. This was his first time truly loving someone, and he really hadn’t even expected himself to love Logan truly. Did he even love him back? His thoughts were cut off with a gentle press of lips to his.
“I love you too. I shall love you until every star in the night sky burns out and even then will continue to love you for years after.”
“And I believed myself the more dramatic one.” Logan rolled his eyes, pressing another kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I could almost hear your thoughts travelling far away. I endeavoured to make sure you aware of my own thoughts.” Roman shushed him with another kiss.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.” Now that he said it once, he couldn’t stop. He murmured the phrase into Logan’s lips, as if to stamp the phrase onto his mouth. I love you’s were pressed into his shoulders, his cheeks, his forehead, his neck. As if to cover his whole skin, to let love melt into the pores of his skin.
“I shall love you till I part with this mortal coil and even then, for eternity in the heavens above.” Logan sighed, gently brushing his lips against Roman’s collarbone.
“Till the sun and stars burn out and for eternities after.”
“Do you promise?”
“I do.”
#sanders sides#sanders sides fanfic#sanders sides au#romeo and juliet au#thomas sanders#roman sanders#logan sanders#janus sanders#patton sanders#deceit sanders#logince#romantic logince#happy birthday roman#my writing#tw alcohol#sanders sides fic
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1-4. For the asks
Thank you so much for sending these! <3
Once I started to answer them, I realized there were comparatively few recent television shows appearing on the list. I seemed to keep gravitating toward older ones I remembered from years ago. I took a handful of days to mull it over in case I was forgetting something, but nothing else comes to mind. Maybe my ongoing list of Shows to Watch During Quarantine will turn up some fresh results but, for now, it looks like I’ll be taking a little trip down memory lane. :)
This turned out to be a pretty long and rambly post, so I’ll stow it under the cut!
Top 5 TV Shows
1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - I can’t imagine this surprises anyone who has been following this blog for the past two years or so. It brought fellow fans into my life, got me back into writing fic, and prompted countless tags of meta. It’s the show my mind drifts to on a weekly basis (if not daily) even a full year after the finale. Just when it seemed I’d reached an age where that level of intense fandom involvement and character attachment might be fading, it proved that quite the opposite was true. I’m very thankful to the series for that, and for the people whose paths have crossed mine as a result.
2. Schitt’s Creek - This is my #1 Feel Good show and, though I’ve been dodging spoilers for the final season until it gets uploaded to Netflix, I get the impression that it will remain in that top spot. The world feels softer and more hopeful there. It’s healing for my soul. I’m going to have a dreadfully difficult time saying goodbye, but I’m glad there are six season to revisit whenever I want.
3. Stranger Things - The theme song alone sends such a rush of excitement through me. I love the aesthetic and the atmosphere. I sometimes have mixed feelings about the romances but the FRIENDSHIPS sure do have a direct line to my heartstrings. I think the way they’ve combined media influences into their own story is really neat. You get something that’s new and engaging, but you can also go back and enjoy the sources of inspiration with fresh appreciation.
4. Joan of Arcadia - I can’t help it. The snark, the jackets, the early 2000s songs, the performances -- the nostalgia for this show is so strong. It’s not without its problems, but it did have some really good things to offer as well. I remember an episode that was one of my earliest introductions to the concept of a trigger, and the effect it could have on a person if exposed to one of theirs. The series dealt a lot with grief and the many forms it can take (I STILL can’t hear Fiona Apple’s cover of “Across the Universe” without getting misty-eyed). I’m also surprised, looking back, at the somewhat positive way I recall them discussing homosexuality on the several occasions that it came up in the show. Not to give too much credit since I don’t think there were recurring canonically LGBTQIA+ characters but, for a kid who spent most days around closed-minded people of a certain religious leaning, it was meaningful along my individual journey. I’d like to provide the several examples that are most vivid in my memory:
A. A girl with short hair, short nails, little to no makeup, and a bulky leather jacket is generally assumed to be a lesbian by the bullies at school. The show directly confronts the fact that “gay” should not be used an insult, that identity should not be assumed without the person telling you so, AND makes sure that the character in question never pushes back by saying harmful things about lesbians despite not actually being one herself.
B. A boy who is questioning is able to confide in his big brother and have a fairly calm conversation about it; the awkwardness mostly comes from neither of them being accustomed to openly discussing emotions, not from the possibility of a negative response regarding the subject matter.
C. Another character is accidentally discovered to be gay (he only appears in the one episode, if my memory serves), and some of the leads have the opportunity to share that for personal gain. However, even though he is a popular jock who is a bit of a jerk in the hallways, the show makes it clear that the right choice is still to leave the telling of that information up to him and him alone.
Like I mentioned, it can’t be said that representation was in abundance here - for instance, I don’t believe anything other than straight or gay was presented as a possibility - but any accepting acknowledgement in a faith-centric series was something for me to hold on to in my still-deeply-closeted days. As a final Very Important personal side note, this show brought Judith Montgomery into my life (pictured below on the left), and that feels like it merits a shoutout for being what I consider a rather significant marker in my awakening.
THE OVERWHELMING CRUSH I HAD - and still have - is one for the books.
5. Pushing Daisies - This is another show with an aesthetic I adore. The series has such a fun, whimsical energy. The crime-solving! The clothes! The cast! There's a lot to love. It’s the kind of world I wish I could visit... well, minus the evidently rampant murder rate.
Top 5 Overrated TV Shows
1. Once Upon A Time - *deep sigh* I tried to stick with it for so long. I think I’ve seen five out of the seven seasons in their entirety. It just felt like everything got mired down by excessive (and increasingly convoluted) subplots, often for the purpose of tossing in as many fairytale and/or Disney characters as possible. Plus, quite honestly, there was too much emphasis on romantic love. For a show whose first season involved a curse being broken by [potential spoiler, I suppose] a mother kissing her son’s forehead, I ultimately found myself up to my ears in romantic ships. It reached such a stifling extent that, if you were not particularly attached to those pairings, there wasn’t a whole lot else to entice further viewing.
2. Under the Dome - I don’t know for certain what the general public opinion of this series was, but it felt like the commercials always featured alleged rave reviews, so I figured I could include it here. I was vaguely interested in Season 1, mainly as a fan of Rachelle Lefevre’s work. Season 2 pulled me in with the introduction of a new townsperson and I threw WAY too much of my heart into that attachment, which backfired when that character was killed. I made quite the spectacle of my heartbreak, so much so that my family doesn’t let me mention this show around them anymore. :P Season 3 was, to phrase it delicately, not a great time. The series did introduce me to a few new-to-me actors, though, so that was cool.��
3. Bates Motel - Even the incentive of learning that the two characters I liked most share a lot of screen time later in the series hasn’t been enough to call me back to this one. I don’t know if it was the pacing that put me off or what, but the prospect of finishing the remaining seasons feels so daunting. There are evidently five seasons in total and I believe I’ve only seen two of them thus far. I will probably muddle through it someday just to see how it goes, but the fact that I am so disinclined to prioritize it made this feel like a fair addition to the list.
4. Lost - My interest in this series unfortunately waned right before fervent fandom spiked. I don’t have any specific complaints that come to mind about what I saw; I just sort of drifted and then stayed away. Teachers I liked and peers I spent time with were starting to latch on to the show and I couldn’t find even the slightest inclination to give it a second try. However, did I still dutifully read all the latest installments in my friend’s Sawyer Ford and Kate Austen fanfiction when she passed me handwritten copies at lunch? Sure. I was glad it made her happy, even if I was no longer a viewer.
5. Hemlock Grove - I say this as someone who still mourns the fates of some characters in this show, so I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that the series stopped being able to make me feel anything. I’m just of the opinion that, in some ways, it might’ve been better off stopping at one season. That’s where the book it was based on ends, and things just didn’t feel as cohesive after that. Season 3 especially was - borrowing from my above review of Under the Dome - not a great time. That being said, there are also certain elements from the book that I could’ve done without in the Season 1 adaptation but... well... here we are.
Top 5 Underrated TV Shows
1. Picnic at Hanging Rock - Another one that won’t surprise followers of this blog. I have rhapsodized about it quite frequently since I found it a little over a month ago. It’s a period piece mystery miniseries with LGBTQIA+ representation, gorgeous costumes, and Samara Weaving. This felt specifically designed to wedge its way into my heart, and I’m quite content with the space it now occupies.
2. Dark - I’m so intrigued by the overlapping timelines with all of the morally gray characters. It’s possible to like one of these people in the timeline where they’re young but dislike them as adults, or vice versa. It also makes me think of Rant by Chuck Palahniuk a little tiny bit with the idea that time travel, specifically tampering with your own timeline, might make you physically and behaviorally unrecognizable to yourself. And the SONG CHOICES! I have gotten some solid new music selections from this series.
3. Sense8 - I still need to watch the finale. I really do. But I knew it would make me sad so I’ve avoided it for... two years now? Pretty close, I think. The concept is fascinating and the cast is so strong. Plus the cinematography! They came up with some of the coolest ways to depict the link these characters share and what it’s like when they connect over distance. The planning and careful editing it all must’ve taken... I remain in awe.
4. Penny Dreadful - There were definitely some story/writing choices I didn’t particularly like along the way, but I did get engrossed in the creepy goodness and the performances -- Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives most of all. It left me wishing for more period piece “monster mash” stories, because having all those classic characters in one place was a blast. It also helped me understand why Helen McCrory was once slated to play Bellatrix Lestrange because she can be terrifying. Oh and Sarah Greene in her Wild West outfits? Perdita Weeks with short red hair in fencing garb, and later in all leather with boots and a long jacket? I WAS NOT PREPARED AND I HAVE STILL NOT RECOVERED. I NEVER WILL.
5. Wonderfalls - There’s some cringe-inducing handling of certain representation in the series, but I have such a weak spot for quippy outcasts who become reluctant chosen ones (Joan Girardi in Joan of Arcadia, Wynonna Earp, Jaye Tyler in this series, et cetera). I also really love the sibling dynamics here. They bicker, tease one another, help each other out of trouble, and have rare but genuine heart-to-hearts. Caroline, Lee, and Katie all did such a great job blending their characters’ adult personalities with certain childhood attributes that rise to the surface in the presence of family.
Top 5 Movies
1. Addams Family Values - I’ve rewatched this movie at least once annually since I found it in Media Play at age 13. Usually, I’ll play it around Halloween or, at the latest, Thanksgiving. It’s mouth-along-with-every-line level ingrained in my memory. I find myself leaning forward in my seat before favorite parts because I’m still that excited to relive them. Why this movie, and why this devotion to such a degree? It’s hard to explain, even to myself. I can tell you, however, that I hold up every other portrayal of the Addams characters to the versions found in this. Everybody in the cast just feels that perfect for their part.
2. Clue - I was already pretty fond of this movie to begin with, but then my sister got older and claimed it as a favorite of her own, so now she just supplies me with further excuses to watch it repeatedly. It’s also been a bonding piece of media with a couple of close friends and such through the years. It’s incredible to think not everyone in it was the first choice for their roles; what everybody brings to the table is so top-notch that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also LOVE knowing that it originally went to theaters with different endings depending on which showing you attended. I gather people weren’t terribly thrilled with the stunt back then, but I kinda think some moviegoers would be into that approach these days? Then again, one hit that tried something different tends to start a fad, so maybe I’d end up regretting the suggestion after a while. :P
3. The Craft - This. Movie. Yes, Act III is a major bummer even though I know it’s coming, and I’ll always wish it ended differently. Even so. This. Movie. I tend to headcanon mostly for shows and sometimes books, but The Craft is a beloved exception. I love so much about it: the magic, the music, the clothes, the settings, the dynamics within the friend group, the performances. I had no idea when I first got the DVD at 17 that it would become such a part of my life, but I’m so glad it found its way to me.
4. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion - The soundtrack is a glorious ’80s and ’90s treat for my ears. The colorful costumes are perfectly suited to the main characters’ version of the world. There are so many great lines and it feels like everyone is having a lot of fun in their roles. I LOVE HEATHER MOONEY SO MUCH. She’s my awful, scathingly sarcastic, little grungy grump and she fills my heart with joy.
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - I was pretty sure at least one of the three had to appear on here. I think, if I were to tally them all up, The Return of the King features most of my favorite moments, so it wins the spot. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”, ‘Edge of Night,’ Éowyn in battle, The Army of the Dead, ‘Into the West’... I end up crying during the end credits every time. So, yeah, ultimately, I would choose the third part of the trilogy if I could only watch one.
Phew, that’s it! All the questions answered, all the shows and movies listed! Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read it all, and thanks again to @monaiargancoconutsoy for sending in the prompts! <3
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Little Book of magic-Chapter 2
Chapter 2
After unpacking their stuff, the kids decided to take a walk in the woods. Their mum told them to be back before she and Nana Lilly left. Ollie was the first out the back door, running to the little wooden pirate ship that their Granddad had made, while his older siblings followed behind.
"Ahoy" Ollie called turning the wheel on the ship.
"Ahoy" Charlie replied giving is little brother a salute.
"Hey Ollie, big smile!" Maria called holding up her camera she took a shot of her little brother.
"Come on you two, let see if there's dragons in these woods" She said to them as she and Sally walked ahead. The brothers raced excitedly to catch up with their sisters.
"Did you think there were dragons and other creatures when we were younger?" Sally asked Maria.
"Well, I still like to think that they're real" Maria began as she put an arm around her sister's shoulder "I think it's more exciting to believe they are".
"Yeah it makes life more interesting" Sally said as the four continued exploring the woods. Being summer, there was colourful flowers dotted around the ground among the leaf-green trees.
Oliver had a stick and swung it around like a sword with Charlie beside him. The girls were just behind them enjoying the scenery and looking as the sunshine shone though the trees lighting up the leaves.
Sally remembered playing in these woods when she was little, there was something magical about this place, she and her siblings believed in magical creatures and they thought that the woods looked like the ones in Brave, she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't spot a wisp or two.
The young girl was deep in thought when she heard.
"Look, look" cried Oliver, pointing at a robin that was in a tree. The little boy ran straight to it.
"Ollie, wait" Sally called before she, Maria and Charlie ran after their baby brother. They actually liked playing with Oliver, allowing them to do things they did when they were younger. They didn't know how long they had run for but they were glad Ollie had come to a halt as they could rest. Soon Oliver began climbing on a tree roots ,he was reaching up trying to touch the robin.
"Do you think he'll reach it?" Maria grinned as Oliver said...
"Come back birdie" several times.
"it won't be long before he spots something else" Sally replied, but as she took a step towards Oliver, the ground under her feet began to crumble and open up. Suddenly, Sally fell down into the hole in the ground, instantly her brothers and sister ran to see where Sally had disappeared to. They were so shocked the ground had opened up beneath Sally's feet and she was nowhere to be seen.
"Sally! Sally, are you all right?" Maria called down, as she, Charlie and Oliver peered cautiously over the edge in search of their beloved sister. The air was dusty and it took a few moments (which seemed like forever) before they could see any sign of life, then they heard a faint sound it was Sally groaning.
"You ok Sally" Ollie asked hoping she was alright he has tears in his eyes and he looked pale..
"I'm fine Ollie" Sally replied, not wanting to worry her baby brother. She wiped the dust from her eyes and looked around, she was surprised to see how big it was inside the hole, it was like a small cave. She did wondered if it was a old fox hole, to her it just looked like a normal hole or what she would expect a hole to look like. As she adjusted to her surroundings she noticed something to one side of her it was covered in some dead leaves. Feeling stiff and slightly bruised, she rubbed her sore parts instinctively and she went up to it, knelt down and brushed the leaves aside. Sally thought it looked like a small package wrapped in old brown leather.
"Hey, I found something" Sally called up.
"What is it?" Charlie replied trying to see her
"I think it's a book, a really old book" Sally said picking up the book to get a better look but she couldn't see very well because of how dark it was.
"Ok, bring it up with you" Maria suggested then said to Charlie "Come on, help me pull her up"
Sally placed the book in her bag before clambering up and grabbing Maria's and Charlie's arms, to help her climb out. Soon Sally was back on firm land, she dusted herself off and Oliver gave her a hug, happy to see her safe.
"I'm still wondering, where that hole came from" Maria said after checking her sister was ok "I mean it just appeared out of nowhere".
"Yeah" Oliver agreed.
"So Sally where's this book you found" Charlie asked.
"It's in my bag" Sally answered "But I want to get a better look at it back at Nan's, err the time is getting on a bit"
"Hey it's ok. You had a scare, I would do the same sis, let go", Maria said putting a reassuring arm around her sister's shoulder.
Charlie sighed and taking his brother's hand and followed the sisters back to the house. It didn't take long for them to be back at their Nan's house. To their surprise, they could see their mum talking to a man and a woman; they were dressed in hiking gear. As the kids walked up the couple turned and headed into the wood.
"Mama!" Oliver called rushing up to her as she waved to them.
"Hey mum, who were those people?" Charlie said as his mum walked up to meet them, picking Oliver up.
"Campers, they asked if it was ok to camp in the woods and I said it was fine..." She stopped when she saw Sally. "Sally what happened to you?, where did that bruise on your neck come from?"
They can now see a bruise on Sally's neck, she must of got it when she fell down the hole.
The young girl bit her lip "Well...I fell and...and"
"It's ok Sally you can tell me all about it later" her mum spoke softly and gently hugged her "you're alright now" Sally hugged her mum and then felt Ollie's arm around her which always made her smile. "Well, come on then, dinner's nearly done" mum said.
Throughout dinner, the three older children kept looking at Sally's bag, all of them becoming more curios, wondering why the thing wrapped inside was in that hole in a first place. After they had eaten, Sally wanted to have a closer look at the thing she found. She pick up her bag and pulled it out, Maria and Charlie (who was standing side by side of Sally) watched as Sally carefully undid the string but before she opened the leather bound book to discover her two siblings were waiting each holding their breath when…
"Oliver! don't go in there", their heads darted up when they heard their mum. Sally quickly held the book behind her back. They looked to see mum holding Ollie away from double door "We're not allowed in there, that's Granddad's room, you won't like it in there!" mum told him before hugged her son and tried to distract him. The other children knew very well what was in there. That room was where their granddad kept his collection of mounted animals; they found that room really creepy and avoided going in there as much as possible.
"Alright" their mum started "We'll be back the day after tomorrow. So if you want to go to town, you'll all go. Don't stay up to late, don't go in granddad's room and no wild parties!" Mum told them all, they all laughed mum knew they would never have a wild party.
"You know you can trust us mum" Maria said as Sally sneakily slid the book on a chair and placed some of her drawings on top. The children helped mum and Nan place their bags in the car. Waving goodbye, the kids watched as the car pulled off and drove down the road.
When they saw car had disappeared, they all quickly went back inside. As soon as they were inside, Oliver was the one who grabbed the book with the drawing still on top.
"Here you go" he said holding it out to his sister.
She took it and bit her lip "To be honest, I'm not sure" she confessed rubbing her necklace.
"Yeah, don't you think it's odd finding what I am assuming is a book, We found it in the woods and it was wrapped up. It must have been put there for a reason. I won't be surprised if it's not made out of human skin when you read it, it will bring the dead back to life" Charlie said crossed his arms.
Maria rolled her eyes and thought a moment and said
"In that case, maybe we should open it somewhere safe"
"How about the attic?" Sally suggested looking up.
"The attic?" Charlie repeated (Charlie hated the attic)
"Yeah, the attic, let's go" Maria said grinning and softly taking Oliver's hand.
"I don't think we should", Charlie said nervously just as his siblings were about to go upstairs.
"What, scared that the dead children will be there" Maria teased.
"Who?" Oliver answered.
"Well years ago" Maria started as she, Sally and Oliver climbed the stairs with Charlie shaking his head in disbelief but did follow them. "They say a witch used to take children from the town and lock them in this attic, when the townspeople planned to take her to jail, she threw herself off the roof of the house. Some of the children survived but most of them were never found again and legend says that the spirits of those lost children can still be seen in the attic and in the forest"
"Really" Oliver said clearly excited, but still looking a bit scared.
"I looked online sis and there's nothing about any witches or missing children" Charlie explained. His sisters told this story when he was little and it terrified him. He didn't want Ollie to be the same but he knew that his little brother was fearless.
"Come on Charlie, where's your imagination" Sally taunted him as Maria opened the attic door and turned on lights. The large attic was filled with the usual found finding in one. There were boxes, old furniture, Christmas decorations and old toys. Charlie closed the door behind them, they sat in the middle of the room, pushing some of the furniture aside.
Sally soon removed the leather covering and she and her siblings stared in awe as they saw it was a book but not just any book. It looked like it was made out of gold with a beautiful illustration of a castle embossed on the cover, that looks like one from a fairytale. There were four jewels one on each corner, a green square, a yellow circle, a red triangle and a blue hexagon.
"Wow" Oliver then said which made the others smile.
"You took the words out of my mouth" Sally said as she picked the book up.
"Definitely not made out of human skin" Maria smirked at Charlie who gave her a look.
"Mmm" Sally muttered, she spotted something odd about the book "That's strange there's lock on it"
"Let me see" Maria asked. Sally gave the book to Maria and she looked at it more. There was a small lock holding the cover closed. "Um, that's a problem" she said before giving it back to her sister
"What kind of book has a lock" Charlie said aloud.
"I don't know, a diary?" Sally said. As she held the book, she glanced at the blue jewel, she wasn't sure why but it felt like there was something in it which made her curious then she thought she saw it glistening. Sally slowly pressed her finger on the jewel. She was so focused on the blue jewel, she didn't realise that one of her other fingers touched the block, suddenly they all heard a click and then felt a force like with wind all around them. The force of the wind was enormous, it pushed them back across the room and Sally dropped the book, knocked Charlie over on his back and papers were blown all over the room.
Everything went dark and the lights flickered. The children stopped and held each other close until the wind died down
"What was that?" Sally broke the silence after a while as they sat back up, windswept and surprised.
"I don't know" Oliver said simply
"Maybe we should go to bed and forget we ever found the book" Charlie then said standing up, it was to much for him and he wasn't to sure since things were going weird.
"Charlie, you're just overreacting" Maria told him, trying to calm the situation.
"Overreacting!" Charlie said loudly and this lead him and Maria arguing.
Thinking on what Charlie just said, Sally stared at the book and began to wonder about it. Was it magic? No, she thought things like that don't really exist but that never stopped her believing in it. She picked up the book and opened it, she and Oliver leaned forward and peered at the pages which looked brand new, that was strange to find. The writing was fancy and the pictures looked like the kind you'd find in very old books. Some pages talked about plants and others talked about history but some were more unusual these showed creatures like werewolves, fairies, unicorns and dragons. Sally found pages that look like ancient spells; it reminded her of something similar she had seen in movies.
"Look a dragon" Oliver said excitedly pointing at a picture of one sitting on a cliff edge.
"Sally" she heard Charlie which made her look up. "Don't touch it"
"Charlie please calm down" Sally said before looking back at the book "it's not dangerous, I think...I think it's a spell book"
"A spell book?" Maria said her eyes widened.
Sally nodded before she paused at a page that court her eyes.
"Listen to this, only those who are blessed, with a rare kind of magic, can open the door to lands believed from one's mind"
Both Maria and Charlie walked over to look and saw two pages that had in silver writing with the title "The power to travel". It also showed an image of a group of people next to a blue circle and seeing a person step through it. They all thought the blue circle must be a portal. Maria's mind was bursting with excitement but as for Charlie...
"Well we should bin it" Charlie then said. He felt something was wrong and he just didn't want in his family getting hurt and this was getting weirder by the second.
"Charlie..."Maria shouted, thinking that her young brother is overacting.
Before another argument started, Sally quickly said
"Maybe...maybe we should leave it for tonight and we'll look at it again tomorrow"
Seeing both her siblings faces Maria agreed and said "You're right, it's getting late" and then added brightly "and it's nearly your bedtime" she said as she pointed at Ollie and then picked him up and her baby brother giggled.
They turned the lights off before they closed the door. Charlie locked it, he wasn't sure why but it made him feel a lot better. They changed into their pyjamas, brushed their teeth and went to bed. It took a while for them to fall asleep, as they slept, strange things were happening. Lights were flickering, the TV turned on by itself and upstairs, the book started moving as if something inside was it trying to get out. The four jewels on the book began to glow, brighter and brighter by the second until they shot out of the book, bounced all over the room and then landed in different places. The book stopped moving but the jewels continue to glow. They glowed so bright and then the glows burst in colour dust. It seemed to the sleeping children all was well but things were far from being well, the strange happenings were only just beginning.
#rise of the brave tangled dragons#The Big Four#jackunzel#mericcup#Jack Frost#Rapunzel#Merida#hiccup#how to train your dragon#tangled#brave#rise of the guardians#fanfic
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Hey. In summer 2015 my family and I went to Bulgaria. Why do I mention Bulgaria if this is supposed to be story about Dracula in Romania ?
Well as I’m from east of Slovakia on our car ride to Bulgaria we had to ride quite a journey and most off our ride was through Romania.
As a teen fascinated by popular vampires like Twilight saga, Vampire diaries, True blood or classic Bram Stoker’s Dracula I convinced my fam to make a stop and explore Romania for a bit and visit some notorious places connected to Dracula. After our online search we picked 2 places – Dracula’s castle and grave. Plan was to visit grave, stay the night at a hotel we booked ahead and continue our long drive to our final destination – Bulgaria, and on our way back visit castle, also stay the night and continue home.
But reality was slightly different.
Here is the rough distance we took from our place to Bulgaria:
We clearly went through a lot of Romania and unfortunately there were very few, almost no high ways and we was stuck behind trucks that were slowing us way down all the time. Because of this terrible road experience we did not have enough time to visit Dracula’s grave and we headed straight to our place for the night and continued to our holiday destination so we’ll be on time at our hotels check up.
All along our ride we could notice this incredibly marvelous houses. It would probably look luxurious in different setting , but in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by pretty much nothing it looked so odd. We could see 5-7 of this fairytale houses in a row and then just road and fields. It was not even like a village cuz there would be no other buildings just this huge houses. I also noticed them in bigger towns as well. It was still very spectacular to look at them.
We arrived safely and had amazing time in Bulgaria but I’m gonna talk about that in separate article soon.
So on our way back we had full program for one day – we wanted to visit both of attractions we planed and stay the night in Romania as well.
Let’s talk about Dracula for a while. Ofc we were not looking for actual Transylvanians vampires but tracking the life of Vlad III/ Vlad the Impaler/ Vlad Dracula – ruler of Wallachia. Vlad’s life and especially his cruelty inspired famous Bram Stoker in his novel Dracula which added great popularity to this historical figure. Not that he needed any more popularity I mean this dude was not called impaler just for a fun. This guy was impaling people through their rectum all the way up ( I once saw this brutal documentary where scientists were testing if it was possible that the victims of this kind of piecing could actually survive several days while being impaled as legends tell (spoiler alert – they could but it required a great amount of skills)), dipping bread in his enemies blood while dining near their dead bodies (allegedly – who can really tell)
I once saw this documentary explaining why legend of vampires came from countries like Romania or Bulgaria. I don’t remember the dates or name of the plague but to explain it simply, somehow dead people were not actually dead and they were waking up in their graves and dying horrible death, so to prevent this you had to imply them with a stick to make sure they are actually dead. I guess not everyone was familiar with this. Also they were making very shallow graves for their dead so when the float came and brought up the dead implied with the stick – obviously people freak and the legends begun.
There’s a bunch of articles about Vlad and his life if you’re curious for more.
Truth remains Vlad Dracula’s sadism and Stokers book are great for Romania’s tourism.
We had all of the directions in our GPS so it was easy to find the place while we were in a car. Turns out the grave of Vlad – Comana Monastery is in the middle of lake on a small island. What surprised me the most was the lack of people, I assumed we would just follow other tourist and won’t have to do such search on our own.
And the strangeness just began.
We came to this island where we could see the towers of the monastery and small pavement leading to it. When we came closer we met this family that were clearly residents as they were all in their comfy home clothes just chilling in front of their house right next to the monastery. The had this 2 small dogs that were laying in the heat on the grass. I remember this 2 old ladies, probably grandmas, small kids and one middle-aged lady all staring at us as we just entered their property in the middle of the day. I still have no idea what really went on cuz the weirdness was just too much. We quickly considered leaving but decided to go on and see what happens. The lady came to us and of course she did not speak english, nor could we speak Romanian, but somehow we let here know that we’re looking for Dracula’s tomb. She understood and led us to the monastery, actually unlocked the door with a key from her pocket in font of us – obviously there were no other tourist beside us.
We wanted to ask how much is for the ticket and lady handed us paper where she wrote the number (as it was easier to understand the number that just words) but it was in Romanian currency called lei, and all we had was Bulgarians lev and euros. Lady picked up calculator and paper with all of currency written on it. I guess she was not very good at math at school cuz the price she wanted for ticket to see the monastery – where we were already standing and it was just this one room – was over 1000 euros. We laughed and tried explain to her that it must be a mistake that she can’t charge 1000 euros for this place, so she was calculating it again and again for several minutes and the language barrier was making this all so hard for both of us. It turned out to be 10 euros in the end but no one can be really sure so my dad gave here like 20 euros just in case and joined us – while we already seen everything there was.
It looked like any other orthodox church in our place, gold, pictures of saints, mosaics, crosses and on the ground simple grey rectangle with picture of Vlad III and I guess there was a candle on the ground and that was it – that was the tomb.
We did not take any photos as we figured it was forbidden as lady just said “no” and pointed to our camera. She actually tried to tell us something about this place using hands instead of words and it was like playing charades. From what we guessed she was telling us about tunnels that was underneath the monastery, and Vlad was probably hiding there at some point, and most interesting part was when she “told” us that this was grave of Vlad’s headless body. Dracula’s head is buried in some other place but I might have guessed her gestures all wrong.
What was most fascinating for me was the strange feeling of this place AND (!!) there were satanic looking symbols all over the holly pictures and walls painted with deep dark reddish color.
It was creepy as hell. And I’m really not making this up even when this was 3 years ago ( i could never forget this) me and my sisters were just checking them all like what the fuck is that. There were pentagrams, stars, birds and other animals just simple ornaments all over the lower parts of walls on this place and it remind me of literally any episode of TV show called Supernatural ( cool show I would recommend watching if you’re into creepy horror like theme but it has like 20 series and I got bored after half of it) I tried to search for it online but I can’t seem to find the proof of my words anywhere. It might be just local vandals or something but it was odd like this whole experience.
BTW how cool is this family – imagine you have Dracula buried in your backyard. Forget the part about the vampire stuff but you have a guy who’s famous for his sadism buried in your backyard. Forget about that as well but you have your country’s ruler’s headless body buried in your backyard. This family is wild.
All of our Dracula’s grave visit took us around 15 minutes and we wet out, sat in a car and headed to Dracula’s castle – Castle Bran
Storm was coming, air got thicker the closer we got, dark clouds and Dracula’s castle in the distance. This image looks like straight out of Dracula’s novel:
As I mentioned – great for tourism – the closer we got the more of this gift shop we saw alongside the roads.
Make sure you remember the opening hours to this castle – or any other place you want to visit – otherwise you’ll be standing 5 minutes after closing hours like we did. We missed it. So we adjusted the plan again – we had dinner under the castle, checked out some souvenirs and headed to our place for the night. We stayed with some locals that offer a room, or whole floor in our case for tourists. It’s much cheaper and feels more at home than hotel.
We tried it again in the morning – opening hours of Bran castle 9:00 – 19:00 – price 15 euros. The place was lovely , lot of tourists though. There were huge gardens underneath the castle and you had to climb you way up to the castle.
Insides had quite small ceilings, so someone as tall as my dad would need to be very careful. You could find descriptions and stories in every room in different languages. Old rooms, displays of fashion, weapons, furniture, combs, torture instruments and incredible view – here are some photos:
Fun fact: even thought its famous as Dracula’s castle – actual Vlad Dracula spend there only very short period. All of the tourists are there for the place where Bran Stokers novel occurs. And tourism is benefiting – I myself got shit ton of Dracula’s souvenirs.
To be fair I was not as thrilled about this castle. Being from middle europe I’m very well familiar with castles or monasteries as we have a lot of them in my country and since I was a kid I took family or school trips to almost every of them. And in the end they all start to look the same (sorry) I’m sure it would be fascinating for someone who never visited such place – it was just nothing new for me. And the connection to Dracula was very little – his tomb was at least creepy and I would never forget that but I can hardly remember the castle now.
I would still recommend both places as they were both very interesting and memorable experiences for me.
Thank you so much for your attention
xo Natalia
Visiting Dracula in Romania Hey. In summer 2015 my family and I went to Bulgaria. Why do I mention Bulgaria if this is supposed to be story about Dracula in Romania ?
#book#bram stoker#bran#bran castle#castle#dracula#experience#novel#recommendations#romania#summer#tomb#travel#travel blog#travel experience#traveler#traveling#trip#vlad
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Potential Films to Explore
In this post, I’m writing up my initial ideas for the Narrative Research project: exploring three potential films to look at and the subject material they offer before reaching a conclusion.
1. Megamind (2010)
My first candidate is Dreamworks’ Megamind, an American 3D computer-animated film following the story of a super-smart alien super villain, who actually beats the superhero! With complete control over Metro City, Megamind eventually finds out that he has no purpose without his much-loved enemy Metro Man. He constructs a new superhero to serve as an artificial nemesis, but when this plan horribly backfires and results in an all-powerful supervillain instead, Megamind attempts to set things straight and discovers his newfound role as a superhero.
This film gives me the chance to discuss a range of interesting narrative structures, including the Rebirth plot type by Christopher Booker. Whilst I could explore the film in relation to Booker’s plot type, and how the film subverts or follows his described structure - I’m more inspired by the idea of a villain’s journey. Taking an interesting spin on Campbell’s mono myth, Megamind presents a flat-out villain at the beginning of the film who, after learning a few valuable life lessons, becomes a hero. I feel like it would be interesting to analyse how the film’s narrative subverts ideas of the Hero’s Journey and effectively exaggerates and stretches each step: instead of beginning the narrative as an everyday person, they are a morally evil character. Hence, the protagonist needs to undergo more growth and development than your run-of-the-mill Hero’s Journey story.
This is also quite interesting in terms of social change; Megamind follows the life of a super villain - someone who isn’t morally good, noble or righteous. It’s an engaging spin from Dreamworks, and instantly subverts the cliches of regular superhero flicks. The film could also allow me to discuss the third question, looking at the film as an engine for social change and how it presents ambiguous morals. Towards the end of the film, Megamind realises his new-found role as a hero - commuinicating to the audience that they, too, can do the right thing (even if they weren’t that good in the first place).
As a whole, Megamind represents an interesting choice for this project. The brief asks us to analyse the narrative of our film, and I feel like the idea of a villain embarking on his own Hero’s Journey towards redemption is an engaging plot to analyse.
2. Anomalisa (2015)
A film that makes the audience forget they are even watching an animation, Anomalisa is a brilliant and emotional character drama written and directed by Charlie Kaufman. The film explores what it means to be human, in a way that truly understands the complexity of the human experience and personal connections between people and does so expertly through animated puppets. We follow a lonely business man who perceives everyone he meets as identical, and boring. This is, at least, until he meets a unique woman in a Cincinnati hotel.
This film allows me to discuss the fourth question, exploring how the medium of stop motion animation is a core and essential part of the film - and essentially defines the film’s narrative. It’s important that we discuss the film’s approach to animation as well as the plot, so this would be an interesting pick. Not only is this a film that I personally love, there is also plenty of room for meaninglful critical analysis: in comparison to Megamind, Anomalisa deals with much more complex and meaningful ideas and themes such as self-absorption, loneliness and anxiety. Kaufman is able to present an unnerving study of the human experience through stop motion puppets, in which a mental breakdown and flash of anxiety is portrayed by the puppet’s mouthpiece and voice malfunctioning. Anomalisa benefits from eerily creepy imagery that could only be achieved through a masterful and unsettlingly detailed use of stop motion animation. I could explore why this narrative needed to be told through a stop motion lense.
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
My last film pick for this narrative research essay is the recent Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A marvel of computer-generated animation, the film follows Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales, as he picks up the mantle of Spider-Man after being bitten by a similar radioactive arachnid that once bit Peter Parker. Soon, Miles realises that he’s not the only Spidey out there, and forms a team to battle the hulking Kingpin, an evil business-turned-mad-man who has the power to open portals to other dimensions in a tragic attempt to bring his loved ones back from the dead.
This, to me, is the most interesting choice. Whilst I’m engaged by the introspection of Anomalisa and the villain-turned-hero aspect of Megamind, it’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse that I keep coming back to. A dazzling, fluid animated feature film with a hand-drawn comic book touch, this pick gives me the opportunity to discuss all of the potential questions. It’s a film that’s able to encapsulate the essence of a comic book to the big screen in a way that no other live-action feature can, with a groundbreaking new visual style that manages to replicate the look and texture of a comic book panel. The animation is fluid, snappy and pops on screen: just as a film featuring Spider-Man should do.
For my response to this project, I plan to focus on a specific question outlined here but also discuss other aspects of the film as a way to construct a well-rounded, considered analysis of the film.
What I’m personally inspired by about Into the Spider-Verse is it’s complete understanding of Spider-Man’s character: the film effectively examines what it means to be hero, and so embodies the ideas of the Hero’s Journey very nicely. I could easily analyse the narrative with close reference to the Hero’s Journey, and even explore the idea of a story’s purpose too.
The film has made a huge cultural impact, and is praised by both critics and fans alike: it’s a successful movie with a powerful message that the film expertly uses to its advantages: ‘anyone can wear the mask’. It’s this new idea of a universality to the Spider-Man character that allows me to discuss the third question with some real weight: how Into the Spider-Verse has used its universe-bending narrative as a vehicle for social change, teaching its all-ages audience that anyone can be Spider-Man, not just Peter Parker. There’s definitely some good analysis material here, and I could easily tie it in with the film’s total understanding of everything the character of Spider-Man represents.
Aside from this, Into the Spider-Verse is praised for it’s groundbreaking new visual style, a love and appreciation for the comic style of old that’s hand-drawn into every frame. And it’s not just how every shot of the film looks and feels like a comic book through hand-rendered graphic pointillism to evoke the poppy art style of classic superhero fare, it’s the film’s snappy approach to computer generated animation that makes the movie shine. There’s nothing that really feels like Into the Spider-Verse, and that’s because the creatives behind the film took over two years to establish the look of the film. They wanted something fresh, new and exciting - and that’s what they got. With a slightly lower frame rate than most other films, Into the Spider-Verse feels like a set of continuous moving panels in a way that bursts with energy and plain…fun. Comic-book onomatopoeia springs up throughout the film, and Mile’s thoughts pop up through narration bubbles and boxes. It’s a film with spectacular visuals that pop off the screen, a mix of graphic tones, vivid colours and snappy animation that makes for a great essay subject choice.
Finally, this film represents the epitome of the super-hero movie in both storytelling, characters and visual style - and this is something that I’ve briefly mentioned already on this blog. I’ve discussed how superhero movies could be argued as the ‘new fairytales of cinema’, and this is a theory that I’m actually really interested by. Into the Spider-Verse not only represents a culturally-relevant candidate, but also an opportunity to explore the idea of a modern fairytale in depth too.
In this post, I’ve written up my initial thoughts on the project - exploring some potential candidates for the Narrative Research essay and settled on a conclusion on my film choice: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This was something I realised fairly early on in the project, just because of my passion for the film and it’s brilliant approach to animation, but here I wanted to evidence a few ideas and alternative analytical directions before settling onto my chosen animated narrative.
Next week, I will begin collecting research sources for my essay exploring Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (through online videos, books and any other media of discussion) and decide on an essay question. I’ve got a basic idea of the themes and concepts I want to discuss with this essay, but I need to have more of a focus and central question to begin the research process.
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Ohmygod I love podcasts!!! Can you rec me some? It's hard to find good ones sometimes.
YES! I CAN!
i’ve been knee deep in podcasts for about three months now, and i have, apparently, wide and varying interests, so i’ll put a little descriptor of each. also, i listen to podcasts on the Stitcher app, but i think all of these are on itunes if you prefer that, and i linked the websites if you want more info.
DARK STUFF
my favorite murder - this is 100% my favorite podcast now, but the first time i listened to it, i had to switch it off. start from the newest episodes, get a feel for it, and then you can go back and start at episode one, which is still interesting but before the hosts really find their footing. basically, karen and georgia are two friends who love true crime, so they talk about their favorite weird murders and mysteries. it’s dark, but it’s also really funny (they’re both comedians) and i think they learned to really strike a balance between jokes and the serious stuff. they’re also super feminist – their sign-off at the end of each episode is “stay sexy, don’t get murdered.”
someone knows something - canadian investigative journalist david ridgen tackles unsolved mysteries, one story per season. if you like documentaries, you’ll like how this podcast is set up. ridgen interviews witnesses, friends, families, police officers – basically everyone around the cases he’s looking into. it unfolds like a story and you really feel like you’re right in the middle of it. you don’t have to start at season one, but definitely start at episode one of whichever season you pick, because these are episodic and won’t make sense if you go backwards.
lore - this podcast is SO GOOD, and it’s actually just been turned into a short miniseries on amazon prime that is incredibly creepy and well done. lore is written by a horror author, aaron mahnke, who takes you through the scariest stories and legends, and how they came to be part of our world. the first episode is about vampires, and it legitimately has such a twist ending that i screamed. if you like spooky, mythology and legend and history-based stuff, this is the best.
LEARN STUFF
literature and history - think about your favorite dorky teacher who makes ridiculous jokes and is so. genuine about learning and teaching that you get interested in the subject because he’s so interested in the subject. now imagine that guy was a harvard professor who totally knows his shit and he starts a podcast. starting from the beginning of history, this guy takes you through the pieces of writing that have changed the world. he’s super soothing and i’ve already read a couple of books he recommended. definitely start at episode one for this one, chronology is important and he builds on each episode.
no such thing as a fish - if you like dry british humor and trivia, this is the one you’ll want. the writers of the super famous british panel show QI (the show stephen fry hosted) talk about their favorite random facts that they discovered and researched that week. super funny, and you’re still learning.
good night stories for rebel girls - if you are a strong woman or love strong women or want to someday be a strong woman, listen to this podcast. this is still relatively new, but the format is amazing: the writers and hosts turned the stories of real women throughout history into fairytales. incredibly inspiring, and you get to learn about awesome women you might have only vaguely heard of.
nancy - the best lgbtq podcast you could ask for. lgbtq people, stories, histories, pop culture, and interviews that will absolutely have you bawling. this is an NPR podcast, so it’s interview-heavy, but the subjects are handled well and there’s no queer tragedy here, it’s all very hopeful and realistic without being pessimistic.
ENTERTAINMENT STUFF
ID10T - this used to be called nerdist, and it’s hosted by chris hardwick, the guy who used to host @midnight on comedy central. basically, hardwick and either his cohosts or a famous person – as of this post, the last guest was antonio banderas – talk about ~~nerd things of the week: movies, comics, video games, tv shows, etc. etc. it’s basically just pop culture, at this point (because video games aren’t just for nerds anymore, kiddos), but what’s fun about it is that hardwick is incredibly unapologetic about absolutely loving the things he loves. it’s more fun to listen to this guy geek out about stuff than listening to other people find ways to criticize the things you love, i promise.
gilmore guys - pretty much what it says on the tin - two guys watch gilmore girls and talk about each episode. you’re probably wondering why you would want to listen to some random guys talking about a show you (presumably) love, but they’re really careful to stay away from anything mansplain-y or judgmental. one of the guys, kevin, is a huge gilmore girls fan, and the other host, demi, is watching for the first time, so it’s interesting to hear their discussions, especially regarding race, homophobia, and a lot of other issues that the the show writers tiptoe around. definitely don’t start at season one for this show – it’s super rough and there’s even a little minute-long intro on the very first episode that says so. start at about season three, there’s not a lot you’ll miss and they’ve got a rhythm down by that point.
STRAIGHT UP STORIES
welcome to night vale - if you’ve been anywhere near podcasts or, tbh, tumblr, for the last few years, you’re probably at least slightly aware of WTNV. in all honesty, it lives up to the hype. it’s not scary so much as unsettling, very southwest gothic and supernatural. WNTV is the story of a strange town in the middle of the desert, told to you by cecil, the town’s local radio broadcaster. cecil tells you all about what’s going on in night vale, from the shadowy city council who sends monsters after people they disagree with, to the radio station’s cat floating in the bathroom, to old woman josie’s angels that hang out in her house. it’s interesting because, underneath all the unsettling creepiness, it’s super feminist, super pro-lgbtq rights, and super anti-authority/anti-establishment. if nothing else, cecil’s voice is one of the most soothing of all the podcast voices, and the quality of the writing and acting is superb from episode one.
wooden overcoats - hands down one of the funniest dramedies i’ve ever seen or listened to. wooden overcoats is the story of a tiny british island, where brother and sister rudyard and antigone funn run the island’s only funeral home, at least until a guy named eric chapman moves his own funeral home in right across the street and ruins everything for them. everyone, from the mayor down to antigone herself, falls head over heels for chapman, and rudyard has to find a way to keep the family business running even though he’s not very good at his job and would prefer to do as little as possible. the voice acting is SUPERB, and i genuinely mean it’s hilarious, with lots of gallows humor and funny timing.
the penumbra podcast - the penumbra is a hotel in the middle of nowhere, and every person staying there has a story. some of the stories are one-offs, and some of them, like the story of juno steel, space private eye, are recurring. it’s very old-timey radio style, lots of noir monologues and humphrey bogart-esque one-liners. some of the early episodes are rough, but they’ve actually gone back and re-recorded the juno steel ones, so they’ll be the best to start with.
the bright sessions - do you like superheroes? do you like the dark side of superhero stories, where people with powers have to deal with being different and strange and emotional all while trying not to accidentally time travel or read someone else’s mind? this one’s for you. the bright sessions are therapy sessions between dr. bright and her patients, who are atypicals, or, basically, superheroes without the spandex. dr. bright helps her patients work on controlling their powers, all while a shady secret government organization watches overhead. you’ll want to start from episode one on this story, but you’ll probably immediately have a favorite patient.
the bridge - another not so creepy, but more unsettling podcast. set in a slightly-different alternate universe where there’s a hundreds-of-miles-long bridge that stretches across the atlantic ocean from the united states to europe, you join a bored traffic reporter as she tells stories from other watch towers and stations along the bridge, which, after decades of use, is mostly abandoned. all the while, creepy stuff starts happening on her watch, and she and the other bridge employees have to figure out if they’re really in danger, or if they’ve been at sea too long.
the truth - a lot like the penumbra podcast, the truth is a collection of short stories, acted out like actual movies. the first one caught and hooked me – what would’ve happened if apollo 11 didn’t land on the moon, and instead became the first space tragedy? the stories are (again, i have a pattern) dark but funny, and they’re incredibly creative.
PODCASTS I HAVEN’T STARTED, BUT THAT ARE ON MY LIST:
you must remember this - classic stories from the classic hollywood era, from marilyn monroe to charles manson and a lot more early stars we’ve completely forgotten about.
wolf 359 - stories set in a space station floating out in the middle of nowhere, the crew of wolf 359 search for alien life and try not to die lightyears away from home.
alice isn’t dead - made by the creators of welcome to night vale, so i’m sure this is good. alice is a truck driver who has to road trip around the country (and beyond) to find her missing wife.
the podcast history of our world - a lot like literature & history, this guy is just so excited to teach that he makes you excited to learn. he’s also really good about covering underrepresented people, which is more interesting than learning yet again about history from the side of colonizers.
EOS 10 - i have at least listed to the first episode of this, so i can confirm what everyone says: this is basically the show scrubs, set in space. a lot of doctors who think they know what they’re doing but are really on their own with no clue what to do.
heaven’s gate - more true crime! heaven’s gate was a cult that committed mass suicide in 1997. the host dives into the lives of the cult members to prove that anyone could’ve been caught up in the story.
if anyone has any recs, i’m happy to add to my list!
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Eurovision 2018, Semi Final 2
I’m watching on replay and it’s getting late, so this is going to be as swift as possible. We open with a gorgeous montage and I really do feel like going to Lisboa after this week, were I not broke as a broke thing. The women are back and they look great. The NCIS one has come in an assassin’s cocktail dress, the saintly one is dressed like a tasteful wedding cake, the blonde has come over all black swan and the little one has picked up on last semi final’s sci fi villains theme and is cosplaying Servalan. They are doing nautical allusions again and I will continue to ignore them wherever possible. And also their jokes. They are lovely people, but I am here for the singing.
1. Norway, Alexander Rybak, That’s How You Write A Song. He’s back! With the air fiddle this time. In fact, a raft of air instruments that are animated in. Look, he’s still cute as a button and charismatic as a puppy, but this song is reminding me of Cliff Richard and that is not something I wish to be reminded of. It’s no Fairytale. ACTUAL violin has just appeared! About bloody time. He nearly transcends the song, but the song is well meh. Watch it win now. Backing dancers exist and are perfectly fine. Let’s move on.
2. Romania, The Humans, Goodbye. White dress, drink. No, it was a fakeout, the lead singer is wearing purple. She’s surrounded by band members in white with creepy white masks. And mannequins in in gimp suits, also with creepy white masks. I’ve got a real Bonnie Tyler vibe here, which is at least a step up from the last song. BIG power chords into the main body of the song. She’s exhorting the mannequins to live their best life and I cannot bear to break it to her. White dress girl is back, she’s the cellist and I respect a band with a cellist. BIG HERO NOTES! ooh, her purple frock has matching shorts. Nice. Song was OK, band was great.
3. Serbia, Sanja Ilic and Balkanika, Nova Deca. Pipes and wailing vocal intro and I am sold already. If I was up this morning, this would have had my vote. Soz, kids. Three girls wailing mystically with a man looming behind Rasputinly. Seriously, his whole outfit is mad monk. Big Taiko style drums with an enthusiastic man beating away — erm, on the drums — and now some dance beats to lift it. I have to say that I would love this on the club floor late at night when you want something a bit slower and trippier. The girls’ outfits are sort of earth goddess meets debutante. I’m not going to lie, I flipping loved this one.
4. San Marino, Jessika, featuring Jenifer Brening, Who We Are. Lead singer in a lacy red frock over undies. Two human girl dancers and a set of robot dancers. Look, Ive seen worse. Jenny B has just stonked out down the walkway rapping determinedly and it’s all … fine. It’s a perfectly fine song and there will be some young folks who love it. A robot is holding up body positivity messages, actually, the poor wee thing just dropped it, but now he’s holding hands with the singer. It’s a bit community centre talent night, but they’re enormously likeable and I wish them well.
5. Denmark, Rasmussen, Higher Ground. Sudden plunge into darkness. Faint mystic chord as of pipes over water. Dry smoke. Backlit bearded man standing on a ramp. Square sails and more bearded men. Yes, we have hit peak Viking for the night and there is chanting and stomping and more beard pomade than is probably safe in an environment with pyro. We’re singing about men laying down their swords and making their mark and it’s all very Scandirevival, but I have to confess I rather like it and they can all bloody well sing. I have a nose full of North Sea wind and my cheeks feel windbitten at the end of this song, Oh, look, a white flag of peace. Sure. Key change! Snorri Sturluson would love these guys. The boy Aussie commentator has just said they remind him of when Durmstrang walked into the Hall in Harry Potter and he is right on the money. Definitely a contender.
6. Russia, Julia Samoylova, I Won’t Break. Set design is from the cousin of whoever did Estonia, so it’s nice to have two iceberg singers in the one contest. Super dancers: ballet this time, with Russian technique, which is always lovely to see. Look, I disagree with her politics and her country, and the song’s another meh one, but I wish her well. Moving on.
7. Moldova, DoReDoS, My Lucky Day. They have brought a whole miniseries in the staging of this song. She’s seeing blue suit, but red suit behind his back. Now she and red suit are official, but blue suit is getting some on the side. Lots of comedy from the dancers in the background, who are working within a white box set. It’s silly, it’s saucy. it’s a lot of fun. It would absolutely be the theme song of a sex comedy from 1959 starring Sophia Loren.
8. The Netherlands, Waylon, Outlaw in ’Em. Steel string guitar, pulsing lights and wailing vocals. I’m sorry, I’m allergic to wailing dead dog country that uses gun metaphors, They’re very talented, just not my thing. I’m sure he’ll make a fortune in America and good luck to him.
Short presenter is down with the audience and why?
9. Australia, Jessica Mauboy, We’ve Got Love. Cards on the table, I love Jess. She is a super lovely person as well as a great singer. I don’t the song is quite as good as Dami’s Sound of Silence, but she can perform like a goddess. She is bringing her inner Beyonce with the hair and squats, and selling the lyrics, which are basically, ‘don’t give up, we’ve got love’ and look, sure, but this is a country that numbers Sia, Nick Cave and Kate Miller Heidke among its leading lyricists and I just feel we could have done better for our Jess. But she is putting it all out there, and getting the crowd in on side. The drapey bit on her minidress is a bit distracting, but who gives a proverbial, she’s a champ and she should definitely go through to the finals.No matter how absurd it is that we are there.
10. Georgia, Ethno-Jazz Band Iriao, For You. My first question is whether that is actually the group’s name or if they added a little descriptor for the booking agent once and it’s stuck. It matters not. Lovely quiet jazz piano opening, then classical vocals soaring over the top, dry ice already, and a chanting backing vocal that is somewhere between Gregorian monks and Il Divo, but entirely pleasant to listen to. The vocals are very tight and the arrangement intelligently spare and restrained in parts to show off the voices. I approve! There is a lot of eyebrow emoting, but I don’t mind that in a dark Eastern European man, it’s like queueing if you’re British or buying sausage sandwiches at hardware shops on weekends if you’re Australian. That was a good three minutes for me, I hope they get through!
11. Poland, Gromee, featuring Lucas Meijer, Light Me Up. They are wearing ridiculous hats. More Pharrel than Devo, but the sort of hat that will stand in for a personality when you’re young and nervous. Fair enough, some of them look about 14. Good performers, strong backing vocals and the sort of winning stage performance I would have loved the first 250 times I saw it. It’s not your fault I am old and jaded, Gromee, but I am. There is pyro, there is hand dancing, he is dancing with the audience, he is counting. It’s all fine. OK, bye.
12. Malta, Christabelle, Taboo. She is standing inside four big screens and now a heart is glowing against her black dress. People writhe on her screens and the world spins out from her hands. She is singing about the need to respect and support each other in a world that can be hard and cruel. I… I really like her. I’m not sure whether I also like the song or if I just find her so committed to it that I think I like it, but it doesn’t really matter. There’s a real dancer inside the screens now, and Christabelle loves us all. I love you too, Christabelle. I would totally invite you to my barbecue with Jess.
13. Hungary, AWS, Vislát Nyár. Going for the risky Lordi without masks vote, they drum their way in and then launch straight into rich, angry, headbanging lyrics that are upset about something but my knowledge of Finno-Ugric languages begins and ends with a song about little piggies. Another performance with sincerity rather than just polish, though, and that counts. CROWD SURFING GUITARIST! He’s been returned safely, bless you lovely Eurovision crowd. Angry shouting, epic pyro, lots of drumming. There we go.
14. Latvia, Laura Rizzotto, Funny Girl. Another red lace minidress, with a train this time. Actually, it’s more a shorts dress. A playsuit with train. She looks lovely whatever it is. Her song is apparently about a girl who just a wee bit of a stalker. You know you can tell a chap you like him and not just hang around waiting for him to notice you, yes? Some nice bits of tricky tempo and big hair singing. It’s not my cup of tea, but it is well brewed.
15. Sweden, Benjamin Ingrosso, Dance You Off. Brief moment to mention it is bloody freezing in Sydney tonight, for the first time in forever. This is another very polished performance from a skilled performer and it’s doing nothing for me. Might go and find a blanket for my wee toesies.
16. Montenegro, Vanja Radonovic, Inje. Man at piano, women in background, intense man in front, who is Vanja. He is upset. Possibly because some bastard has bedazzled the crap out of his suit. Nice vocals in the ballad, though. The girls are striding, the piano is staying still, which is as it should be. Ooh! The girls are playing statues. Nice. There is a lot of emoting, but the girls’ costumes and facial expressions make it a little unfortunately close to ‘help us, we have been enslaved by vampires and need you to stake us to free our souls’. Lighting and key change, but otherwise much as before. The girls are still suffering. It’s probably a complex retelling of current politics.
17. Slovenia, Lea Sirk, Helva, Nei. She has pink hair so I like her already. Backing dancers are muscular and fast, I like them, too. Do not bother any of these women or they will make you regret it almost immediately. Her frock is another curtain over undies number, but with more plastic than most others. Who can explain it, who can tell you why? Their music cuts out at one point and they get the audience to clap their beat and I am not certain that was real, but it was nicely handled. Confirmation that was a faux error on the music. Whatevs. As no-one says anymore.
18. Ukraine, Melovin, Under the Ladder. Before I hear a word, I learn he likes horses, David Bowie and Verka Serduchka, so we’re basically friends now. He opens the song in a crypt, which opens up in a cheerfully cheesy Hammer Horror way. He’s dressed like an old-school vampire and the crypt is really the inside of a giant piano at the top of a set of stairs. Clearly Dead or Alive were 30 years too early for this chap, but I am glad YouTube will let him experience them. As everyone guessed, he is back up the stairs to play the piano, soulfully. And now the stairs are on fire, and there’s random pyro everywhere. Of course there is. Vampires love fire. At least dress your backing singers as avenging villagers, who have finally arrived to free the girls from Montenegro.
And we are done! Voting is about to open. I am fast forwarding through this bit because life is too short. ESCLOPEDIA IS BACK! Hello bearded man! More clips from past songs, and an allegation that there is a link between Eurovision and fashion. That is A LIE. You know, Portugal, you’re no Sweden and the women are no Petra and Mans, but I respect that you have kept these interval bits short and cool.
I spoke too soon. Presenters are back with costume changes. NCIS is in a short blue cocktail dress, Blondie is in a pink line dancing dress, Saintly is wearing a costume from my Grade Two Tap exam and the little one is cosplaying Severus Snape. They are doing dance moves from Eurovisions past. The Little One is actually pretty funny, but you will have to download it as I am not up to describing that much physical comedy. There is a Riverdance moment. Which I believe is obligatory for every third Eurpovision.
They run through the acts again, and Denmark’s lead singer has brows you could crack nuts on. Walnuts. Not the other kind. Though he looks as though he would be against toxic masculinity, so perhaps that would also be OK.
Votes are closed. We are touring through Portugal. It is very lovely. The acts are ding the bits that have preceded every song and coming out through their doors and visiting locations and generally cocking a lot of it up, bless them. They look as though they are having fun.
Little presenter has just turned up at the Aussie table and is handing out pastéis de nata a la Oprah and Jess looks as though she is in heaven. Custard really is that good.
Saintly presenter is talking about Eurovision’s role in Portuguese politics! 1974, the year Sweden won with Waterloo, was the year that the Portuguese entry was chosen to be the signal for a revolution. It was played on the radio in the early morning as a signal to take to the streets and by the end of the day there were carnations in gun barrels.True story.
Black swan presenter has found British fans and I think they may have been on the drink, but they say lovely things about Portugal (and Jess), so well done, kids!
Bridal cake presenter is introducing the tracks from France, Germany and Italy and Little One is with them. The French performers are cute as, and sing last years’ winning song in French. Suck ups. But lovely voice. Ooh, NCIS has taken over with Germany. who looks a little like Josh Widdicombe. He’s doing a ukulele cover of Fly on the Wings of Love and I confess I liked it. The entry is nice, too. Look forward to the full version in the finals. And now it’s Little One again with Italy, who really look 100% drunk. But they have spectacular hair. And do a chorus of Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu, ‘Volare! Oh-oh. Cantare, oh wo-oh-oh’ They are SO VERY drunk. Or just exhausted after sitting through 17 hours of this.
Jon Ola Sand says the votes are in. Thank Zeus!
The winners are: Serbia! Fair enough. Moldova! Excellent. They were hilarious. Hungary, because all those Norwegian Death Metal fans were there for you. Ukraine, sure. Sweden. Really? Look, you’re a lovely country. Australia! YAY JESS! Norway, meh. Soz Sasha. I love your country. Denmark, which is entirely fair. Slovenia, which is good news. Last spot goes to The Netherlands, which is fine, the country and western people need something. That’s it till Sunday morning, Which will probably be Sunday night, let’s be honest.
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・ℬ * { moved from flagged blog // fairytale au with @savagecuhnt }
It had been at least a decade since they had received random, uninvited visitors. Until she had arrived, silence engulfed the mansion, blanketing Blaine in a blissful nap. The only noise to be heard was that of his servant, Don E., climbing the rafters and dusting the chandeliers as he hummed to the song in his head (probably Brittany). He was off in his own little world. Just as he leaned over to finish up the center of the front chandelier, the noise from the nearby front door caused him to lose his footing. The whole thing came crashing down, impaling Don in the process as he fell on it.
Eyes already glowing a bright crimson, Blaine made his way to the scene. Don couldn’t speak, but he pointed toward the door where the noise had come from. With dramatic effect, Blaine opened the front door wide to greet their guest, full on zombie mode still in effect. “Look what you did,” he said as he grabbed her arm to pull her inside and slam the door. “This is my only minion and now… Now he’s going to be out of commission for weeks.” Blaine growled in annoyance, having been not only woken up, but his chandelier and servant damaged as well. “And do you know how expensive that is?” he nodded toward the pile of glass and metal now on the floor. Hands at her shoulders pressed her back up against the wall as expression went from a scowl to a somewhat calm smirk. “How will you be paying for this, cash, card or your brain, little lady?” Blaine knew she probably didn’t have enough money, but he wanted to see her reaction.
the sound of crashing glass caught the witch off guard, causing her to jump back. now curious, she leans her ear against the door. she could hear voices and soon the sound of approaching footsteps. “what in the--” before she can even finish the sentence she finds herself being pulled inside from the cold. ice blue hues are wide with confusion as she stares down at the horrific mess that she had caused. she didn’t have time to respond as, who she assumed was the owner of the home was now holding her against a wall. “you’re so lucky--” she bit her tongue and sighed, “Look dude, or--” a curious brow is raised, “or whatever you are. I didn’t mean to do all this--”inked digits gesture to the mess behind him, “I merely just knocked on your door. I got into a car accident and I’m just looking for some help or a phone. I’m not paying for shi-- wait did you just say brain?” a smirk of her own plays at the corner of her bloodied lips. “you’re fuckin’ with me right?”
…And it definitely wasn’t the reaction Blaine was expecting. Brows knitted and eyes returned to a calm blue hue as he stood up straight to casually cross his arms. She wasn’t scared of him or the still living and lucid impaled Don on the floor? Interesting. “No, no. I mean, it’s pretty bland on its own, but all it takes is the right blend of herbs and spices to liven it up. Hot sauce is a quick fix. I’d let you try it, but I hear it’s not good for humans.”
“Blaine…” Don managed to squeeze out before motioning to himself, hoping to get some help.
“Oh, yeah, I’m Blaine, he’s Don E., and you have managed to find our little cursed mansion out in the woods.” Finally he went over to pull Don off the chandelier and lie him down on the floor. “Finish bleeding here since you already ruined this carpet,” he said before turning attention back to her. “He’ll recover, but it’ll take awhile. Until then, I ask that you remain to take his place. Once he’s better, you can choose a car from the garage to keep and be on your way.” Even though he was asking, she would soon get to see the cursed part of the mansion come to life as chairs danced from the kitchen to the front door to make a barrier. Shortly after, all the bars on the windows would slide down into place, one after another. “Do we have a deal, babe?”
“you’d let me try my own brain?” curious eyebrows knitted even tighter as she continued to stare at the other, “Or someone else’s brain? wait is this like a weird zombie cannibal thing--” by the sound of the weaker voice calling from behind, her icy gaze peeks around, coming across the impaled figure. “I-I’m sorry Don E.--” eyes return to Blaine, wide eyed with questions, “What in the Disney fuckery are you talking about, mister? cursed mansion?”
she follows behind him watching as he tends to Don E. arms crossed over her chest, “Look here, Blaine. I don’t have time for all this--” she’s cut off by the fairytale magic of dancing chairs blocking her way out, followed by the not so magical barred windows. “I finally died. is that what this is. I fuckin’ died in a god damn car crash. a fuckin’ car took me out. of all things! and this is hell. I’m trapped in some fuckin’ morbid fairy tale!” inked digits run through her damp raven locks as she lets out a bit of manic laughter. “oh god, I’m f u c k e d.”
ignoring the men in the room she books it towards the chair barrier, hands outreached in front of her while she attempts to use her telekinetic abilities to move the chairs. to no avail, her abilities prove useless against the cursed objects. “Oh what the fuck.” she mutters to herself, continuing to erratically throw the chairs with her mind. after exhausting herself she returns to face the master of the mansion, “ for one, I’m Rosalyn. Rose if you’d prefer. Not your babe. Second, how long am I stuck here for, exactly?”
Blaine’s expression went through several changes the more she spoke. As he watched her attempt to do… whatever she was attempting to do, the idea hit him that perhaps she might have been more than just a normal human. Which meant, she would be way more useful to him than first thought. Not to mention, she was a spitfire full of energy. Oh the feats she could accomplish. Excellent. “I don’t eat the rest of the human, no,” he had to make sure to clarify, not that that fact helped make it less gross. “Other than the human brains we have to eat to keep from transforming into movie type zombies, I enjoy the same meats as normal humans do such as steak and chicken.”
With that out of the way, and how she had seemed to have simmered down for the moment, he continued, “Rose, step over here and take a look. You can see straight through Don’s torso. Just that hole is going to take at least a week.” Don blinked a few times and gave a weak wave. “The healing around it to get everything back to working order how it was, will probably be another week. So yeah, I’m predicting a sleepover of a couple weeks. We can do each other’s hair and paint each other’s toenails. It’ll be so fun,” he teased with delightful sarcasm.
Now for finding out if his guess was correct. “Will you be needing a broom to sweep this glass, or do you have other means to clean up this mess?” Brows raised in interest as he waited to see if she really did have abilities or if the show a moment ago was just a very weird tantrum.
it was a relief to hear the master of the home did in fact eat other food rather than just brains. meaning much needed food would be somewhere in her future. hopefully sooner rather than later at how weak she was feeling from the healing of her internal injuries. “So you eat brains to keep from going all dawn of the dead? hm. that’s interesting--” she took a mental note, hoping she wouldn’t have to see either one of the men lose control enough to attack.
inked arms crossed over her chest as she continued to listen to Blaine, offering Don a small wave in return to his. She had felt bad she had been the cause of damage, but was glad to hear he’d be healing. “regenerative abilities. that’s not too bad--” a pout had met her lips as ‘a couple weeks’ was spoken aloud. “a couple of weeks?” she repeats, “If I feed ya a bunch of brains, will that make ya heal faster? cause I’ll go find you some, won’t be a problem. Shit, I could even get them delivered. All’s I gotta do is hop up on tinder, get a few boys, send them the address and bing bang boom dinner’s served!” though the idea sounded grand in her head, she was sure there was some catch that would make that impossible for her to do.
“Not too sure about hair and nails, but if you have liquor--”she offers a devilish grin, “That’ll make these next couple of weeks way more enjoyable.” arms uncross as she takes in the whole mess, a sigh falling from her lips at the realization that she’d actually have to ‘help’ around the mansion. “fuck me--” she mutters to herself. “I don’t know. depends if that’s a cursed object like those d e m o n chairs, not too sure what I can and can’t do here. Never really had my abilities suppressed like this. might need that broom, I’ll figure it out though.”
Blaine listened to her plan, crossing his arms and giving Don E. looks as he did. “That scheme… While feeding him more won’t make him heal faster, luring dumbasses here under the guise of being beautiful women… that’s genius.” Brows raised and he shook his head in disbelief that they hadn’t thought of it before. “The only problem might be, nowadays, with shows like Catfish, people are being cautious.”
“I am not dressing up as a woman again, Blaine,” Don interrupted with a huff.
Blaine simply raised his hand to signal Don to zip it before giving an innocent laugh. “Yeah, we tried something similar before. They didn’t take the bait and he doesn’t like to talk about it.” He sighed and gave a roll of his eyes where Don couldn’t see. “But yup, that could be something fun to do while you’re here. We can even get them to bring us pizza and stuff. We could make a game out of it.” Yeah, Blaine had a feeling he was going to get along with his new houseguest just fine.
“As for liquor, I have a whole minibar in the basement along with a mini theatre, snack bar, pool table, and jacuzzi. It might look like an old creepy mansion on the outside, but the basement is totally modernized.” Otherwise, Blaine would have probably gone insane with boredom by now if it wasn’t for his basement. A quick inspection of the broom told it was not cursed as he turned it to reveal a sticker. “It’s from Lowe’s, see? Only the actual house and the stuff that came with it is cursed. So only the older furniture… But you know what, we can worry about this later. It’s not like we’re going to have visitors any time soon, right? So, to the basement for a drink…?” Arm was held out to her in a gentlemanly gesture.
“Catfish? Do I look like a catfish, handsome?” she does a small spin, flaunting what she was working with. “Keep in mind, I was in a car accident and walked about 4 miles in the freezin’ rain.” she looks to Don, raising a curious eyebrow before returning the same questionable look to Blaine, “I bet you’d both look gorgeous in dresses and glitter--”she shakes her head with a small laugh. laughter ends with a small sigh, “Well not what I was expecting to do for the next couple of weeks, but--” she shrugs, “I guess being locked in a cursed mansion won’t be too bad.”
knowing there was a whole lower layer designed for entertainment definitely brightened the deal, there being liquor was the icing on the cake. “Not too bad of a predicament with all the luxuries, huh?” inked digits came to rest upon Blaine’s offered arm, “I will gladly accept that drink offer, my good sir. Maybe you can fill me in on all this curse bullshit too. Question though, you said everything that came with the house was cursed. Like objects were once people type of curse? cause I don’t want to be using the bathroom on ol’ Lou and sleeping on Susan, if you get my drift.” hopefully that wasn’t the case.
At her spin, Blaine gave a nod of approval and a playful whistle. With her help, they could probably catch a ton of morons from the app. Definitely something to keep in mind. But this reminded him, she needed a change of clothes or something. “No, no, please no glitter. The last thing I want to do is sparkle... but yeah, I promise you, this won’t be bad at all.”
A hushed laugh was given at her question and he lowered his voice as if the house was listening. “No, no, the toilets and beds are new. I wasn’t going to use that old stuff. If they were people, well they’re out there somewhere in a landfill.” Evidently, Blaine wasn’t worried about breaking the curse anytime soon. “I’ll tell you everything I know about this place,” he said as he lead her to the basement, a host-like demeanor in his step. Finally someone to entertain! “First, we should get you out of those wet clothes... and maybe into a nice hot jacuzzi to get you warmed up? I have some t-shirts you’re welcome to while those wash.”
On the floor, Don E. rolled his eyes as they left the room in silence. With a sigh, he leaned over to grab a pillow and blanket from a nearby chair and wrapped himself up to take a nap as the healing to his injury was already zapping his energy.
“You’re bad.” She playfully hits him as she continues to follow his lead, eyes wandering around at objects she assumed were alive. She had hoped none could hear what Blaine had just shared with her. She didn’t want to upset the furniture now did she? “Jacuzzi sounds amazing! I’m assuming you don’t have a spare bikini lying around here, do ya?” A small shrug, “it’s fine. I’m not shy.” She offers her host a warm smile, “I will be taking you up on a shirt for after though. Wouldn’t want your entire home to have to see me naked. Poor things.”
The home was beautiful to say the least. better than anything she ever had the opportunity to stay in. The host wasn’t bad to look at either. Charming. The zombie thing was a new one for her though. She found herself curious to learn more, even more curious to see him in all his monstrous glory. She did love a dangerous man. “So what do you do here with all your free time? Just hang out?” Inked digits continue to hold onto his arm, “doesn’t it get rather lonely for you guys?”
At the bikini question, Blaine shook his head. There hadn’t been a woman in the house in a very long time. And the reason for that was a very sad one -- the darkest, cruelest part of the curse. Brows jumped in interest at the word naked... and normally, if he wasn’t currently cursed, he would have explained that no, he was sure the furniture couldn’t see. They could only sense their surroundings, from his tests. So, instead, he simply teased, “Poor things? Pfft. We could charge them admission.”
As they made their way down the stairs, Blaine prayed he had straightened up down there, because he honestly couldn’t remember. “We um, we learn how to make stuff and hang out, yeah.” He shrugged, knowing that didn’t sound very exciting at all, but he wasn’t sure just how much more he should reveal to her at the moment. “We built and put together all this down here by watching tutorials online.” Once they were in the basement, he went to turning on all the extra lights at the bar and started the bubbling going on in the jacuzzi as he thought of how to answer her last question. “Lonely is an understatement, but you know, I’m used to it. The curse was my fault, so I have to deal with it.” From his closet, a few shirts were pulled out for her approval. Blaine had a feeling she’d look amazing in any of them though.
another playful hit to Blaine’s arm before an agreeing nod. “We could charge admission.” she hummed for a moment, “but what could they possible pay with? they don’t have pockets.” she mockingly laughs at the pour trapped souls, definitely not earning the respect and adoration Bell did in the original tale. She was certain she would not be getting a lavish musical performance for dinner.
“make stuff?” she questions curiously as she enters the basement. It was more than what she expected. a modernized hang out area that you wouldn’t expect to be there when you explored the upper levels of the home. “See this is what I’m talking about. this is exciting!” she had released her grip on her host’s arm, allowing herself freedom to explore better. inked digits ran along the edge of the jacuzzi, dipping in to test the waters before she decided to strip of her wet clothes. “See, I would learn to make some sort of drug and mass produce it from home and sell from here. You’re in the middle of nowhere. in a cursed home. throw that shit up on the black market and bring in some money while you’re trapped–” her wet jacket and shirt are tossed to the floor, revealing a black lace bra and heavily inked skin. it doesn’t take her long before she’s out of her jeans and panties and submerging her shivering, nude body into the warmth and comfort of the jacuzzi.
“I’m gonna make you watch breaking bad. Cause that’s what you need to do. and then–” she leans over the edge of the jacuzzi, a devilish smile on her lips as she gazes at Blaine “they pay for the drugs and you eat their brains. Sounds like a good deal to me. and tweakers got energy. it wouldn’t be boring chasing them around figuring out new and exciting ways to end their lives.” she offers a shrug before pushing herself off the wall and into a comfortable spot against a jet.
As she spoke... and stripped down to nothing as promised, Blaine dipped behind the Asian inspired privacy panels to change. No, he wasn’t exactly shy, but they’d just met a few minutes ago and he was far too sober for streaking at the moment. Face went through a few different expressions as she spoke, eventually ending with a chuckle of amusement as he stepped into view in his black swim trunks. “You’re full of ideas. I like that. Don has some weed growing out in the green house, but that’s it on the drug front.” Though he didn’t stare, gaze never shied away from her as he went to rolling over the drink cart to the jacuzzi.
When she revealed the rest of her plan, that was when Blaine really gave a laugh as he stepped into the hot tub. “Wait, wait, you’re saying let them get hyped up on the drugs first, then chase them around? Like, playing with our food? And then add in a homicidal version of Home Alone on top of that?” There was a pause as he attempted to get the air out of his shorts in the most dignified way possible as he lowered into the bubbles and took a seat beside her. “We could record it and become famous on the internet, making people believe it’s fake, I guess. Which reminds me, the house can do a little trick where it disappears if it thinks we’re in danger...” It wasn’t until he turned to her that he realized just how close the seats really were. “Oh, um, what would you like to drink, babe?”
#welcome back~#this was faster than moving over each post individually#and i have your reply in my drafts#savagecuhnt#・ℬ * { au }
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One With Water
who?: Wanna One’s Lee Daehwi
genre: 🌸
type: bullet point
TW: drowning
blog navigator.
mermaid! AU
the type of merman Daehwi would be
dnsjskdsn
my knowledge of mermaids is until Barbie movies so I’m sorry if this is awful. I did my research though! Thank you for requesting this, anon 💓
- Admin L
Lee Daehwi, the youngest in his family and the second youngest among the mermaids he lives with
they stay in an underwater city called King’s Cliff
because it’s near the rocky side of the beach
it’s a very pretty city, filled with multi-coloured corals and all sorts of ocean life
just imagine your city but underwater
kept safe with a magical wall that protects the mermaids and erases all trace of them
so that common folk will never know about them
interesting right?
only gifted mermaids are allowed to keep the shells and link up with other gifted mermaids to maintain the safety
for example: if you have the blue shell, you must find the mermaid with the yellow shell and then find the mermaid with the green shell etc
then, the 11 will gather in the Royal Hall once a month with their shells, set them in a bowl, spin them, connect them with the other shells and that maintains the protective wall
pst, Daehwi owns the purple shell
anyway
Daehwi LOVES his fellow ocean-dwelling creatures
he plays hide and seek with them frequently
he is a bit hard to find since he is one of the smaller and swifter mermen, and his purple tail blends in very well with his surroundings
Daehwi is that merman that is constantly surrounded by wildlife
a school of fish follow him around a lo
Jinyoung swears he’s cheating on him with a baby sea lion
even sharks and stingrays are attracted to him
just lives off happiness and joy and treasures everything
a vegan mermaid
but almost all the mermaids stick to a strictly plant-based diet
Daehwi prefers to keep in his safety zone, his house in King’s Cliff, in the coral walls of the city
he isn’t like his mermen brothers Daniel, Woojin and Sungwoon, who love to adventure out of the capital and bring back new finds every time
be it a treasure chest
a new species of crab
pieces of wood from a shipwreck dating from hundreds of years ago
he isn’t really about that life but he will join in once in a while
o
I forgot to mention that only upper-class to royal blooded mermaids live in King’s Cliff
Lee Daehwi is heir to billions, he’s borderline royalty
he’s also a Shell Keeper of King’s Cliff, this boy is something
of course, he isn’t Prince Jisung of Pearl View City but he’s close
his parents own a chain of reputable department stores
a HUGE influence
but Daehwi isn’t really interested in business, he doesn’t even plan to major in it
no worries, he knows his brothers will take over the business
he wants to be a marine biologist
another thing Daehwi wants to do...
he wants to visit the human world
you know how mermaids are often written about in children’s books and fairytales? in their universe, it’s the same for humans
he knows some mermaids from other cities that have the ability to transform into humans and a couple of days
‘it’s very interesting up there, a gorgeous city. Of course, the sun is much stronger,’ Jaehwan tells him
but Jaehwan doesn’t use his abilities very much
since he matured, he also gained responsibilities
such as caring for the grey shell and learning from his parents how to spin it properly
one day, Daehwi has to abandon all of his hobbies and focus on that
:”)
since Daehwi likes the thought of the human world, he goes to the surface a lot
to observe
to protect himself, he always hides behind this huge rock formation
it’s interesting and amazing to see a world so close to the sky and so close to the sea at once
he loves observing the area
in particular, he adores watching surfing competitions
every year, there’s a huge national tournament held in that side of the sea
every year, he props himself up behind the rock early in the morning till late at night to watch
you are the best surfer in that zone
not to brag but you did conquer Nationals for three years in a row
no offence but your academy and coach have sent you overseas to compete
each time, you only bring back Golds or the occasional Silver
everyone knows who you are and you pretty much rule that beach
you started to surf because your parents owned a surfboard store along the beach and a couple more inland
most of your life was spent on sand, playing with waves and fantasising about mermaids
then, your dad gifted a surfboard to you for your 7th birthday and that’s where everything happened
now, a decade or so later, you’re easily one of the best surfers in the east zone
there’s no way you’re going to miss Nationals this year, especially when it’s held in your front yard
other than surfing, you love hanging out in your swimsuit all day
so that any time that you felt like it, you could go explore the beach, cliffs or take a dip in the water
by now, you’ve explored most of the beach, you know of all the nooks and crannies
except for maybe...the crown shaped cliff
it’s not that you don’t want to adventure there, your parents ward you off a lot
it’s dangerous, one missed step and you fall into a bed of rocks to certain death
so you just admire it from afar
the crown cliff really allures you
mainly because legend has it that a mermaid was spotted there for a brief second
you loved to listen to tales like those, like it I could ride on waves in a foam board then why can’t mermaids exist?
the older folk always described the incident vividly, a young boy, purple hair and tail, gleaming brown eyes that bore into their own before he vanished in a second
no one really believes it
but you still kind of do
every day when you’re practising, you feel like you’re being watched
but not in a creepy, paedophile way
no
in a sense, there seems to be someone looking out for you, other than your friends on shore
but you never found out who, or what
Daehwi always makes sure to get a five-minute head start
if you chase after him, he would disappear behind the curtain of King’s Cliff and all memory of him would be erased
he was never worried
he did fret about you when you did a particularly painful trick and plopped into the ocean
Daehwi watches surfers practice all the time, every day, at any hour
but he can’t help but feel some attachment to you
other than the fact your performances are always the most enthralling and enjoyable
he longs to do tricks like that too
and you’re the best at them
anyway, it’s the first of three days of Nationals
adrenaline pumped, excitement overflowing
everyone wants the crown
but you know whose head it’s going to be put on
yours
nerves eat at your side but you try to push them away and focus on the competition itself
• this year, there are a lot of killer rookies, all competing for your crown
you know they aren’t nothing
but neither are you
sunglasses?
check
sunscreen?
check
a bottle of something his mother made for him so that he wouldn’t dehydrate?
check
Daehwi out here sipping his tea, sunglasses on, watching the surfers prepare to battle
he has his eye on you since the start
he knows that this year would probably be one of the last Nationals he would be able to watch
sadly
it’s bittersweet
he has to fulfil his duties of a Shell Keeper
but he wants time to entertain this too
THAT mermaid who is kind of obsessed with humans and human sea sports
Daehwi knows that he should treasure his limited time on the surface
he’s really doing a lot not to get caught
finally, the heat starts
one by one, other regional winners line up for their turn
Daehwi watches and gaps in amazement when you start off with a sharp bang
heading straight for that small wave and executing a perfect roundhouse cutback
loud cheers resound throughout the beach and he feels the urge to cheer you on
he’s certain you finished both heats with a perfect 20
you just have one more left
‘ohh, this will be interesting. the waves have gotten a lot more stirred up and there could be a chance for___ to finally perfect the tube ride!’ the spectator announces, hyping up the crowd
you’ve done it too many times to count
but never succeed in a heat
the first attempt was four years ago, and that was a total flop, causing you to settle for Bronze
embarrassing
you’re still #1 in Daehwi’s eyes
like c’mon, he’s so whipped
you just started swimming towards the wave and Daehwi is already impressed
you know how his mouth falls open a little and his brows furrow and he just jams
yes
‘OOHHH LOOKS LIKE THERE REALLY WILL BE A CHANCE THAT WE’LL WITNESS A TUBE RIDE’
pressure
you bit your bottom lip, analysing the wave and the chances you’ll make it through the tube ride
alive
‘it’s been years,___is practically a legend in this industry, a very well-established surfer, but, never once have we seen a complete tube ride from them’
pressure
you need to make a decision
Daehwi is on the edge of his seat - rock - nerves are biting at him
he pushes himself off his comfortable spot and closer to the waves
‘LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE REALLY GOING FOR IT!’
it’s a steady start, balancing well, you make your way towards the daunting wave that’s about to swallow you up, literally
it curves around you, forming a cover, causing a little claustrophobia
suck it up
breathe oh my goodness you got this
no
but it’s already happening, the opening at the end is shrinking, if you’re not quick enough, this wave will wash over you and eat you up
you will for your board to speed up
‘DO YOU THINK ___WILL MAKE IT OUT OF THIS TUBE?’
your heart says yes
but the oceans say no
the wave rains on you, you’re eaten alive
water fills your lungs, throat burning. the pressure is immense, everything is crushing you alive
you thrash about, mind blank, trying to yell for help
it may not look like much from shore
but you feel yourself sink into the very depths of the ocean floor
the beating of your heart slows, maybe stops
you don’t know
at least you’re having a brilliant dream
a dashing merman with purple hair and a striking lilac tail rescued you, he has refined features, his eyelids folding unevenly but you smile because it’s cute
‘stay with me! don’t close your eyes! I know, I know it hurts!’
he’s desperately performing CPR on you
intellectual
‘come on! I can’t let you die!’
the rock cuts into your back but you don’t feel anything as you’re too busy coughing out water
the merman uses his powers to heal your cut wounds, luckily, they seal up like nothing ever happened
he smiles at you
then you don’t recall anymore, maybe you fainted or something
it’s a good dream to have, perhaps it’s your last one
but, you wake up in a hospital bed, oxygen mask, IV drip and all
when your family arrives, they explain that everyone thought you were dead for a good 6 hours
your board was wrecked, Nationals was paused, the worst was expected
then, a search party found you washed up on the beach near the crown shaped cliff
there was just no explanation for it
‘wait? did you say cliff? like the rockier beach area?’ you ask, eyes widening in disbelief
‘as in, the place right by your house, yes.’ a nurse answers - you aren’t paying attention
no
was it really a dream?
you return to the water as soon as you’re out of the hospital despite doctors and family warnings
Nationals are long forgotten
but you need to know the truth
after getting a tip-off from Jaehwan, Daehwi doesn’t dare to venture near the surface anymore
he can see you from where he is anyway
you’re standing by, waiting, wasting your time
all because you thought you dreamed it
he misses the surface, he misses observing, he misses you :(
‘ah, what the hell,’ you groan, skipping stones to pass the time. ‘I should never have believed it. It’s just a dumb dream.’
right then, you spot a tuft of fluffy purple hair peek out from behind a nearby Boulder
that catches your attention immediately
‘hello? are you okay? do you need any help?’ you yell, the beating of your heart quickening
there is no reply, just a swish of something and a dive back into the water
‘wait!’
you wade into the waves, peering beyond the horizon to get a glimpse of whoever that was
‘I can help you!’ but your voice just echoes around you, back to you, empty
you’re curious
but didn’t curiosity kill the cat?
luckily, Daehwi is practically a harmless merman
there is a reason why he stays mainly behind the barriers of King’s Cliff
he isn’t really into combat and using his powers to harm
Daehwi swims as fast as he can back to his city, pass the wall and back to his universe
he can finally breathe again
not that he couldn’t on the surface but he was holding his breath out of anxiety
he knows he can’t return for another good week or so
now, you’re wise enough
you hide behind rocks or trees or even under a nearby beach umbrella
so it isn’t immediately obvious what you’re up to
some people have already begun whispering, some say you’ve lost your mind, waiting for something that doesn’t even exist
you try to stray away from waiting but that gut feeling always hauls you back
you can’t explain it
I mean, yeah, maybe you hit your head too hard and all but...
one day
it’s bright and sunny, but the beach is close to deserted
maybe you’re the only person crazy enough to withstand the high heat
Daehwi knows that there won’t be anyone today
why? he strategically plans to surface in a hotter period so that no one will see him
even though he can’t observe anyone, he can enjoy time to himself
admire his tail, ponder whether he should polish his scales again
wondering whether he should buy a tail cover
does he really need those new kelp biscuits? He heard from Jisung it’s for detox
‘hello?’
at the sound of your voice, Daehwi dives back into the water on instinct but he doesn’t run away
you can’t believe what you’re seeing
a mermaid
a really good-looking one at that
‘you’re...real? this isn’t some sort of sick joke is it?’
how awkward is this? extremely
‘uh.’ Daehwi can’t say anything, he’s usually never tongue-tied. nervously, he swishes his tail to get further away from you
‘wait!’ you yell, reaching out a hand. ‘don’t go! please! I saw you in my dream...y-you, you saved my life.’
he did
Daehwi blushes and shyly looks away
‘yes, I did.’ He whispers softly
‘w-what’s your name?’
‘Daehwi.’
‘w-where...I-I, what h-happened?’ you stutter out, feeling your mind fall into a frenzy once again
the merman hums in response, he scans the area and picks up a small conch shell
‘you should take time to process what happened. when you’re ready, call me with this, I’ll come running.’
then, he plants a kiss on the shell and whispers something
how to be a conch shell
it glows for a second before turning purple
your eyes go cartoonish big and you’re beginning to wonder if this is another weird dream of yours
but it can’t be, because he slips the shell into the pocket of your shorts with a smile and you feel the weight of it
‘I....’
Daehwi catches you in his grasp before your body hits the water
your eyes are shut tight but you’re breathing
sighing - partially in amusement, he swims as near to shore as he possibly can before gently laying you on the soft sand
remember how I said it’s a hot day? Daehwi stays by your side, gently wetting your face in hopes of you waking up
and also to make sure you don’t die of dehydration or anything like that
eventually, he ducks for cover when your family realises what happened to you
he returns to King’s Cliff with his heart fluttering and a dreamy smile on his lips
he’s even particularly happy about attending shell spinning class that day
you wake up
believing everything that occurred was all a dream
but it can’t possibly be
for your new surfboard is leaning against your room wall, a fragment of the old one on your desk
and that small purple conch shell sits right by your bedside table, almost like a house phone in a hotel room
#wanna one#wanna one scenarios#produce 101#produce 101 scenarios#yoon jisung#ha sungwoon#hwang minhyun#kim jaehwan#ong seongwoo#kang daniel#park jihoon#park woojin#bae jinyoung#lee daehwi#lai guanlin
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talking
(a little thing for @erwinsalive featuring kideruris first impressions)
The house across the street from his, an equally old farmhouse just outside the Corpus Christi city limits, is finally sold and eight-year-old Erwin’s only concern is whether new children will move in. Mom forces his hand in helping bake her special sweetbread for the newcomers. He grumbles but does as he is told, knowing that it makes his mother proud to say, “Oh, my little Erwin helped make this!”
His bedroom faces the street, so Erwin watches from his window as a small moving truck arrives and men unload boxes. He counts the boxes at first, all forty-nine, and watches as the movers unload thirteen larger articles wrapped in brown paper. The whole time, Erwin thinks that it’s just going to be another boring old couple, but when the parts of a swingset are unloaded, Erwin’s interest is piqued.
Racing down the stairs, he rushes to find his parents. Mom is just pulling a tray of fresh bread from the oven and she has to lift it high to avoid burning him. “Mom! There’s kids moving in across the street?!”
She sets the tray on the island and takes off her oven mitts. “Erwin Errington Smith, do not run in this kitchen,” she says patiently, even though she used his full name. “Now, ask me your question again.”
Erwin stands straight and clasps his hands together behind his back. “Mom, I saw a swing set, does that mean the new neighbours have kids?”
“We can find out later, when we go over,” she says.
“But they have kids, right? You talked to them last week!”
“I don’t know, sweetheart. Did you finish cleaning your room?”
Erwin tucks his lips together and turns on his heel to complete the task that he’d been putting off in favour of spying. Excited about the idea of having friends living nearby, Erwin cleans his room better than he ever has before. Instead of dumping his books on his shelf, he organises them by subject. All the books about animals go together, likewise with the fairytales, picture dictionaries, and workbooks to help with letters and numbers. He sets his shoes in his closet in a neat row and even pairs up his socks in his drawer. Instead of leaving his sheets rumpled under his comforter, he makes sure his bed is extra smooth just incase he gets to have a sleepover.
After his room is spotless, Erwin goes to the bathroom and combs his hair the way his mother does it for church on Sundays. He wants to make a good impression, and Mom is always telling him how handsome he looks when his hair is parted and laying down instead of the usual messy bangs. He even tucks his t-shirt into his shorts.
“Don’t you look fancy,” Dad says when Erwin bounds down the stairs. “Did Mom tell you about the new boy across the street?”
Erwin beams at the confirmation, desperate for new information. The last kids to live on Erwin’s street moved away at the end of the school year, and it’ll be Erwin’s birthday next month already. His best friends, Mike and Nile, live next to their school and that’s nearly two miles away, and he only gets to see them when he parents drive him over because it’s too far to ride his bicycle.
“There’s a new kid?”
“Yes. His name is Levi, he’s younger than you are.” Dad sets his workbag on the foyer table. “He’s going to be in Misses Dok’s class.”
“But she teaches first grade!” Erwin laments. He’s disappointed. First graders are so whiny. They’re like babies. Erwin is in third grade and so are all of his friends. It’s unfair-- he’s been waiting for new friends to move into the house across the street all summer long.
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t play together.”
Erwin rolls his eyes. He’s doubtful.
The moving truck leaves around lunchtime, and then the Smiths take over the covered plate of bread. Erwin sees the new kid sitting on his porch with a hardcover in his hands, watching Erwin approach with his parents. He’s kinda funny looking, big round ears and huge eyes like a cat. It’s creepy to look at, especially the way he stares at Erwin, and Erwin swallows. The boy looks like that creepy child from the scary movie his parents watched one night that he snuck a peek at.
“Hello,” Mom greets as she passes up the steps.
The boy looks over the book at her and says something that Erwin doesn’t understand but recognises the sound of. Dad chuckles and squats in front of Levi, holding out his hand. He says something in Spanish, too, and then the boy’s expression brightens a small amount before he shakes Dad’s hand.
Mom rings the doorbell and Levi’s parents come outside. Well, Erwin assumed they were parents, but looking at them, it’s more likely that they are Levi’s guardians. It’s two men, a tall one with dark hair and a short man with hair so blonde that it’s almost white. His friend Hanji doesn’t have parents either, she has guardians. Erwin wonders if she could get along with Levi for that reason.
Introductions are made and after that, Erwin goes back home feeling rather dejected. He uses the house phone to call the Doks and asks if he can come play, and his mother drives him over after she speaks to Mrs. Dok. The entire afternoon passes and when his mother brings him back home at dinnertime, Levi is still sitting on his porch with the book.
“Go say hello,” Mom encourages him. “He’s very lonely.”
“How do you know that?” Erwin asks, knowing his tone is needlessly rude. Levi has not done anything to offend him. But Erwin still feels jaded that he waited all summer for new children to live on his isolated street and the one to finally move in is a little kid.
“Levi just moved here all the way from California. His mom and dad died so now he has to stay with his uncles. He could use a friend.”
Erwin turns his head to look over at Levi and hops out of the car. “Fine, I’ll go say hello.”
What he really says when he approaches Levi is, “If you’re from California, why don’t you speak English?”
Levi slams his book shut and glares at Erwin. “What?”
Erwin takes a step back. “I meant….”
“What, you only speak English?” Levi asks with the pride of someone who knows they have the upper hand in a conversation.
Since he can’t deny it, Erwin stays silent and nods his head.
Levi sets his book on the porch and stands, coming down the steps to stand in front of Erwin. Even though he’s a whole head shorter, Levi crosses his arms over his chest and taps his foot, and Erwin feels a little cowed.
“So you were gonna boss me around because you think I’m dumb?” Levi asks with certainty that comes from experience. “Call me names because you think I don’t know what you’re saying?”
The accusations make Erwin flush and he rushes to defend himself. “No! I waited all summer for new friends my age and you moved in! You’re a little kid.”
“You can’t be mean to me for that.” Levi looks Erwin up and down. “I’m only six. I didn’t buy the house. Uncle Uri and Uncle Kenny did. Be mad at them.”
With that, Levi turns and takes his spot on the porch again, flipping through his book to find the place he left off.
Erwin watches, curiosity getting the best of him. It’s a big boring book like the ones his dad teaches from at the university, The American Nation. “Why are you reading that? It’s for grown ups.”
“Because I can,” Levi snaps, finding his place again and pointedly not looking at Erwin. “I’m in TAG.”
Erwin can’t stop the smile that takes over. “Hey! Me, too!”
“Great,” Levi says sarcastically. “Then shut up.”
After a moment of Erwin still standing there and watching him, Levi looks up again and quietly offers, “You can read with me, if you want.”
Levi scoots and angles his body to better share the book resting on his knees as Erwin settles in beside him. Levi is on a page of geographical vocabulary terms, and Erwin can hear him humming syllables as he reads inside his head. After a few minutes, Levi scoots back over so that his side fits snug with Erwin’s, and they read like that, until their respective suppertimes.
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I have a low key headcanon that gherman used to craft things like dolls in his spare time before the hunters workshop perhaps as a means to make extra money, albeit smaller ones for children, which explains why he made such a lifelike doll so easily and maybe even why he's good at making clothes and weapons for hunters
Daisy and I have a pretty similar headcanon :)
Gehrman was always fascinated by small, pretty things since childhood. He used to cut figurines from newspapers and make little toys out of straw and scraps of clothing that he then had to keep hidden in a box under the floorboards because his father would’ve considered them girly and infantile.
[Pic from “Andersen. Zhizn bezlyubvi” because obscure period dramas are my jam. And if you read some of my posts before, you probably know that my fan fiction, from which 90% of my lore theories stemmed from, is a massive mixture of period dramas/gothic novels/historical figures’ biographies and even fucking Tchaikovsky ballets that I like very very VERY much.)
He hadn’t the worst childhood ever, but it was tough for a scrawny, quiet boy like him to be forced into combat training at such a young age. When he got hired at Byrgenwerth (and escaped his father’s clutches, so to speak) he could finally do whatever the heck he wanted in his free time and Dores and Edmund, being respectively a scholar and a handyman, encouraged his love for books and for tinkering with anything within range.
In our story, Master Willem selects his students and assistants because of their special talents and is (to an almost unbelievable level :P) able to ‘see greatness’ in them even before said greatness manifests. Willem is, to put it simply, a talent scout :P That is why he often recruits extremely young people like Caryll (9) and Micolash (14) only to then groom them into loyal students while enhancing their innate abilities.
With Gehrman, it was no different. And when many of his ‘hobbies’ became an integral part of his job, he began to take them really seriously and actually devoted entire years of work and research to the development of the spring mechanisms that made trick weapons possible and basic hunting gear, reason why all future hunter uniforms are based on that first model that he made out his own everyday clothes. When asked about his profession, he doesn’t see himself as a ‘weaponsmith’ but as ‘something more akin to a clockmaker’.
He obviously has his own (quite creepy) collection of little dolls and carillons but he keeps it in his room reason why not many of his students are aware of it, just like they don’t know about his secret stash of cheap romance novels :P. The rough instruments of death that he crafts at the workshop with Archibald’s assistance are in stark contrast with the delicate clockwork toys that are found on his desk next to the tiny tools and watchmaker magnifying glasses.
[Pics from “Nutcracker the motion picture” 1986]
Lil extract from my fanfic below the cut because I think I’m getting decent at translating this crap XD
[Picture from ‘Crimson Peak’. Thomas Sharpe lil workshop in the attic. It’s a trope and I love it.]
As she looked around, Maria could see that that wasn’t the workplace of an amateur. Screwdrivers, pincers and labeled boxes brimming with bolts and stain springs of any size filled the dustless shelves of cedar wood as two big oil lamps lit the quiet, humble room of the First Hunter uniformly projecting their glow on the desk. The floral wallpaper was almost completely hidden by three huge cork boards covered in blueprints and heavy metal chains ran down from the ceiling just like they did in the actual Workshop. But instead of dangling siderite blades, what floated over the noblewoman’s head were cogs as big as those she has seen on the pedestal of the Lunarium’s telescope.
It was then that she remembered that Gehrman was also asked to keep the elevator at the edge of the woods in working order so that students could get from Yharnam’s outskirts straight to the college without venturing too far into the forest.
How many tasks was that man assigned to, again? Hunter Chief, groundskeeper, weaponsmith, handyman… Master Willem better be paying him generously, she thought as she wondered if her teacher’s room was always that organized and clean or if he had tidied it up for the occasion.
No matter the answer, it felt like something WAS out of place. Actually, it felt like something was missing. As she scanned the shelves, one in particular caught her eye. Like the others, it was perfectly clean but instead of harboring meticulously organized tools and parts it was empty except for one small, bizarre shiny thing that Maria mistook for a golden egg at first glance. She took the weird object in her hands only to discover a small key inserted in its round side. A wind-up toy? She herself owned a few of those when she was little, one had the shape of a carousel and its curtains lifted once the key was turned, revealing a row of tiny running horses. What was hidden inside that golden egg? A mechanical goose, perhaps? She knew the fairytale by heart.
Won by her own curiosity and without even asking herself why stern old Gehrman would even possess such a thing, she turned the key three times, balancing the egg on the palm of her gloved hand. When the mechanism clicked, she realized that something was not working as intended since the petals in which the golden-finished surface was split into could barely move. Perhaps it was broken, or some parts were missing. Still, the tiny clockwork prisoner trapped inside the shell kept bouncing and clicking inside the egg, almost begging to be freed. She gently pressed upon the tip, parting the petals with her thumbs as a twinkling sound filled the silent room with a familiar tune. It was the central portion of a folk song often sang during weddings and Spring celebrations. Finally free from its golden shell, a graceful female figure now danced on the huntress palm. The little automata was unpainted and naked, clearly unfinished, with only a ribbon tied around her metal torso, probably marking her waist point before a dress could be made for her. Her hair was cast in copper, each lock finely chiseled.
Gehrman snatched the toy from her fingers before she could even realize he had entered the room. How did she remain oblivious to his presence for so long, she didn’t know, but the entrancing dance of the little figure was most likely to be blamed.
“I-it’s not finished! Don’t look at it!”
“Have you made it?” She asked with a smile, seeing how he cradled the little thing in the cup of his large, bony hands. “It’s lovely. I am no expert, but it looks really well made.”
He nervously brushed the back of his head “Well… thanks.”
“I didn’t know you were into such cute little things. It… suits you. Somehow.” The ballerina was still spinning on her pointy feet when the First Hunter placed the carillon on the shelf and turned to the desk.
“Have you brought your gun, Maria? Let me see what’s wrong with it.”
She blinked. She had almost forgotten why she came to the hunter’s room in the first place. “Oh, yes I believe the flintlock is broken. Or at least parts of it.“
“Let me see it.” She handed the Evelyn to her teacher, but her attention was still on the little doll. “Have you made more of these?” She asked as the mechanism came to a stop and the ballerina froze in place, her body tilted in a slightly unnatural position.
“Of what?”
Maria raised an eyebrow, unamused. “Wind-up toys, Gehrman.”
The silver screwdriver he was using to remove the flintlock from the beautiful wooden frame of the Cainhurst gun shook between his fingers, but a warm smile appeared on his lips. “It’s a guilty pleasure of mine.”
Maria rested her back against one of the shelves “Why ‘guilty’? I know people that would pay a fortune for stuff like this.”
“I guess I could devote myself to it once I retire. If I don’t get killed first.” “Gehrman’s toyshop, mh? Doesn’t sound bad. You could make tiny stain hunters and beasts that open their jaws and roar. I used to steal my cousin’s stain soldiers and wooden swords. Why do boys always get the better toys?“
“Not fond of your dolls, I presume.”
“I had so many, but truly cherished only one of them, Janice, a brunette. She was engaged to one of Ghislain’s stain officers even if she was almost three times his size. Perhaps he went to war because he was afraid of her.”
Gehrman chuckled, as his capable hands carefully replaced the gun’s splinter “I’m not sure about that, as our dear Konrad proves, some men really like their women tall.”
Maria sat down on the desk next to him to watch him work, oblivious to the sudden blushing of his cheeks now that her well-toned thighs were so close to his elbow.
“Janice really looked a bit like Gratia now that I think about it. Now… why don’t you tell me where you hid all your other creations? That empty shelf is really suspicious, you know?” She teased him, crossing her legs.
It was in moments like that that Gehrman questioned his own judgemental skills. Was she truly flirting with him or was it all just wishful thinking?
He snapped out of confusion bringing back his attention to the Evelyn “You have a good eye.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“I stored them all in the drawer right under the shelf. Not so imaginative. Nor that far from their original placement.”
She didn’t move, her eyes wandering on the First Hunter’s angular face. “Why have you hid them?”
“At times I just feel more comfortable around machines than people.” he admitted, letting out a long sigh. “At times I even prefer beasts to people.”
Maria threw her head back, dangling her legs like a child on a swing. “Don’t we all?”
He moved the gun closer to the oil lamp “…it should work now. But let’s wait till it’s morning to try it. We don’t want to scare everyone to death by firing a few shots so late at night.”
“Definitely not. Thank you so much, Gehrman.” She took the short musket from the man’s hand and placed it back in her holster. “So, about that drawer…” “FINE! I’ll show you.” He blurted and Maria returned his slightly annoyed glance with a smile.
Gehrman rose from his chair, suddenly reminding the young woman of his impressive height. Considering his quiet and reserved behavior, it was easy to imagine him as one of those small fellows who always get trampled upon in boisterous crowds, but his appearance didn’t fit such a mental image at all.
He crossed the room and pull out a key from the pocket of his sage green vest to open the mysterious drawer. “Promise me you won’t laugh.”
Maria tilted her head “I can’t promise such a thing. Your expression is already pretty hilarious to look at.”
He sighed again, slowly opening the drawer. It was well worth the risk. After all, Maria looked even prettier when she smiled.
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The Virgin Suicides (1999)
“What we have here is a dreamer. Someone completely out of touch with reality.”
'The Virgin Suicides' Sofia Coppola's film debut, adapted from the novel of the same name written by Jeffrey Eugenides, is at once her most beloved and critically acclaimed work along with 'Lost In Translation'. But also one of her most heavily criticized.
Heavily criticized for what's considered a lack of substance or a romanticizing of teenage suicide, but this criticism in the end always tends to trace back to one place: her films are too pretty and too feminine for some.
And yes Coppola's films have a feminity to them that predominates like a force of nature that can't be ignored, but I've always loved her films exactly for that reason: The woman loves making films about women. And I’m all for it!!
And while she's at it, at first it might look like it's all pretty without much going on. But every time she paints a fascinating psychological portrait of the woman or women that are the subject of her films in question.
Though sometimes you've got to scratch the surface a little, her films sometimes seem almost like a painting or a fairytale fantasy, whether she sets it in the past or in modern day life.
There is always something slightly unreal, not quite of this world, well by definition any film that's not a documentary is technically unreal...
'The Virgin Suicides' has that same ethereal, ultrafeminine touch, for me, the film has always underneath all that melancholia, had that nondescript feeling a summer you had in your childhood, that seemed to go on forever had, but that in adulthood through the lens of nostalgia has become overly glamorized and idolized.
Perhaps the music of that particular summer was in reality not as good, the lemonade not as sparkly and refreshing and your first kiss not as sweet and smooth.
That aesthetic in a film is one I can't precisely put into words, a number of films have it 'Stand By Me', even 'The Breakfast Club', but instead of a summer it's a Saturday, that will seemingly never end, rich with endless possibilities and glorious 80's music of course...
All these films usually make you want to be there: share that happiness, it's something that's more typical in American films: the typical suburban streets, lined with regal trees, green lawns, a kid on a bike passing by.
But in a handful of films, that seeming happiness acquires a creepiness: in 'The Virgin Suicides' because we know how it will end, and it's as if that image of the house and the street is saying: look isn't this a glorious place to live? And a glorious place to die...
Ir's even what makes 'Nightmare On Elm Street' (the original one) creepy, stuff, terrible stuff goes down in that street at night, the stuff of nightmares quite literally in this case, yet by day you'd welcome living there.
That also happens in 'The Virgin Suicides', that family, the Lisbons looks lovely but that couldn't be less true.
The entire film relies on making everything prettier and happier than it is, because it is, in fact, one big male fantasy, the fantasy of the neighborhood boys obsessed with these girls.
There are even people that have questioned whether you can even tell a story that's supposed to be feminist from the male gaze? Sofia Coppola does that; but she doesn't criticize or even judge those boys, she simply shows us that they see the Lisbon sisters, as "beautiful creatures".
A debate that there's often been is, whether those boys loved the girls in both the book and the film, there's a lack of substance and in the characterization of the girls that at first infuriated me; I wanted to know who they were and why they did what they did.
But for the boys, that lack of depth, represented a mystery, to decipher, a code to crack. If only they could get through to those beautiful creatures, girls, with a sea of unknown thoughts and secrets in their mind.
One of the boys ultimately gets through to one of them, through her body but not at all likely did he access her mind. When Lux and Trip make love (if you can call it that) on the football field, he's finally gotten what he wants, you can't physically get much closer.
Yet he hasn't (I know this sounds wrong), penetrated her mind. Tripp could get any girl he wanted, even the one he couldn't get, she is the one that haunts him, even when is he no longer young, and only a ghost of the stud he once was remains.
He still wonders "why did that beautiful girl kill herself?", "Why couldn't I save her?"
When the boys knew the Lisbon girls they seemed very happy without a care in the world, yet these beautiful creatures while each girl in the film has an all California girl kind beauty, straight, shiny blonde hair.
They had problems like all of us, problems, that no one grasped or even suspected the depths of, because they never asked, the girls it seems only have each other to depend on, and their parents, who are the primary cause of their unhappiness.
They're seemingly at first glance, the killers, the villains. But they act out of overprotectiveness, their way of showing love. Yet anyone would become depressed if they were always contained in the same room, like a bug in a jar.
The girls are granted small victories, going to a dance, having a party, but they are still "othered", for instance, are not allowed to throw the same kind of parties their peers do.
And when something goes wrong for one of them, after the suicide of the youngest sister Cecilia, the others are punished more severely, but they become even more dead inside because of it.
There is a game people traditionally like to play when they're watching 'The Virgin Suicides', it's trying to determine why they killed themselves and who's to blame.
The why is to me at least, plenty clear to see. Everything and everyone is to blame. Their death is tragic because their situation, would have changed and ended eventually, their parents couldn't lock them up forever but to the girls this unbearing present reality, they saw no realistic escape.
They're all if different, somewhat the same because no individual expression is allowed, makeup is evil and their records are burned.
Their parents can't accept the girls are becoming women, so they try to suppress that, but if you suppress that, you suppress an entire individual, a woman's sexuality and her feminity are a part of what forms her, no one has the right to take that...
One of the girls says: "I feel like I can't breathe in here", it's Lux Lisbon the one that makes this statement the only one in the entire film to not remain a virgin.
Sex is a way in which she rebels; she wants to live life and experience all its pleasures and that includes sex, but she doesn't get the biggest pleasure out of sex itself, but out of knowing that it's what upsets her parents the most, it's her way of saying "fuck you", "you don't control me"...
But of course, they are the ones keeping her locked in, Lux sleeps with various men throughout the novel and in the film, she's certainly promiscuous. Promiscuity is something that we tend to shame, especially in women, but sometimes there's an emotional reason.
No one will ask "why do you sleep with so many people" often as, in the case of Lux, it's an attempt at escape and happiness or even cry for help and attention.
All the girls feel much the same as Lux: like they can't breathe, that they're being suffocated, not allowed to live, and that's what they wanted to do more than anything, to live.
It's not something you achieve through suicide, but then the Lisbon girls didn't really feel alive, they felt like they were in a limbo of depression and captivity, waiting for the end of yet another day.
Perhaps the girls are also too smart for their own good, and could already see the flaws and hypocrisy in the world, but didn't have the will to wade through it.
They also seemed to want deep human connection, but those around them didn't seem ready for that. The Lisbon sisters no doubt are loved, but they wanted understanding, but only received deeply flawed love.
It again brings us to the question of whether the boys loved the girls or had a teenage infatuation, I'm inclined to say they loved them in their own gawky teenage boy way...
They're perhaps the lesser evil in the film, they meant the girls no harm. When they found out they weren't allowed out, they tried to cheer them up, tried to make them feel better, but still barely made an attempt to understand them.
So again to some degree, I'd say everything and everyone is to blame for their death, everyone part of the society around them contributed to their unhappiness in a way. You can be loved even admired, but feel still irrelevant like you don't exist, both are feelings that can push people to kill themselves.
As I've said earlier 'The Virgin Suicides' is often criticized for a lack of substance and an overdose of feminity, well I ultimately found the novel even more feminine and detailed in it's telling.
The book, if it weren't brilliant, would be somewhat unreadable, it's that poetical and lyrical. Coppola retained the beauty of the words, the images they described but toned it down a bit and instead chose to focus slightly more on the girls and their feminity.
Which for the boys in the novel is fascinating one of the boys, is even literally fascinated with a tampon that's still got fresh blood on it because one of the girls threw it away minutes or seconds earlier, and says "it's like an abstract painting".
They're as much intrigued by the infinite little trinkets that can be found in a house where a woman lives, even more, if there's multiple. All part of a lifelong performance of sorts that few men like will ever fully grasp.
One of the characters I felt most sympathetic toward, was Mr. Lisbon, the man's not a monster, he just doesn't want to go against his wife, he would want them to go outside, there's a brilliant passage in the book in which he's sickened by hair and various hair clips laying around, saying that it reminds him of a zoo exhibit.
And in fact, that's what that house is a living and breathing exhibit.
But Mr. Eugenides since he is speaking from the male perspective of the boys, glorifies that feminity mostly, something that intoxicates the boys because they don't understand it, just as they don't understand the girls.
Coppola goes for the same exuberant feminity, but the dream, the fantasy has a hint of a nightmare. It's almost shown in a horror like way, even the image of a cabinet full of boxes of tampons has something inexplicably squirmy about it.
There's always something sickening and oppressive to that feminity,
and in the air, that makes you feel locked in like you can't breathe underneath all the prettiness.
It's how the Lisbon sisters felt in their pretty yet stifling exhibit, all the feminine trinkets have a profound sadness: the world is never to see the girls wearing them, they're soulless objects, belonging to soon to be corpses.
There's that same sadness in Los Translation: Charlotte applies lipstick for a husband that doesn't care...
'The Virgin Suicides' is one of the films I like a lot, but don't watch often, it's too good, it makes me uncomfortable, and brings me to close to that same lethargic, depressed state, even if I can go out after I feel like I too was locked in there, in that room that's a waiting room of death.
Yet I like many others come back to it because as much as that world is sickening it's also beautiful.
Coppola carefully crafts a teenage dream that's also a nightmare: every image is seemingly beautiful and calm and that's where the scariness is, the stillness and inactivity of it all.
Even during a party or a family evening, no one is alive, you have ghosts watching TV if you add to that the almost visibly stifling hotness and humidity of summer.
The sheer claustrophobia of that house, and the hauntingly, ethereal soundtrack, you've got something that is equally as beautiful as it is mesmerizing, yet deeply uncomfortable and nauseating: everything is too pretty and perfect.
Every teenage girl wants that bedroom, the one the Lisbon girls have, if only they were allowed to leave it...
"Do we seem as crazy as everyone thinks?" "Who thinks that?" She didn't reply, only stuck her hand out the door to test for rain. "Cecilia was weird, but we're not." And then: "We just want to live. If anyone would let us." ― Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides
#the virgin suicides#the virgin suicides 1999#the virgin suicides movie#the virgin suicides film#sofia coppola#kirsten dunst#james woods#kathleen turner#josh hartnett#a.j. cook#hanna hall#leslie hayman#chelse swain#drama#drama movie#drama film#movies#films#movie review#film review#cinema#filmista
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December 2018
Iglo Veggie love with broccoli, buckwheat and black beans. Quick and easy.
The TEDxTUM event was pretty inspiring. I loved how they organised it and some of the speakers were amazing. Seeing all the cool stuff other people are working on actually motivated me to try and achieve great things myself. I'd like to learn about something new, start a project or volunteer.
Pick Up Limes videos.
The way Cher sings the word Memphis in her cover song.
Seeing Frank for the first time in four months. Having a good time at the Uncle Acid concert, getting a beer at Flex. Even though meeting him always causes some kind of emotional turmoil it might actually help to solve a few things I've been stressing over this time, for example that whole deal with Claudia.
Spending two hours in the kitchen on a Sunday morning. Preparing a summer and a winter curry. Pre-cutting salad. Listening to Tai Chi music. Baking these divine buckwheat chocolate cookies - absolutely delicious even though I forgot to add salt. Kinda healthy, too! It's grain-free (I even used groats) and I substituted part of the sugar with honey.
Gift ideas for rock collectors and mycophiles.
A spotted woodpecker in our backyard.
Dalmatian Jasper. Such a pretty stone.
Blinded by the Light. And a trip down musical memory lane. Making a nostalgia mixtape. Singing, enjoying the sound of my voice (as long as I hit the right vocal range).
Drawing owls. For hours. Using my Polychromos coloured pencils. I'm currerntly working on two owl-related projects, designing a logo for coffee roasters and making my friends' wedding invitation. Drawing owls like lovebirds is such a satisfying thing to do. Also: making my students come up with new ideas! Some actually drew some owl logos, too!
Tetris.
Reading books I don't understand. By people who are smarter than me. A very humbling experience. There is so much more to learn, experience and achieve.
Franzi's elegant coat and her ice crystal earrings. She's pregnant but she is skinnier than before and looks great. We cuddled up on a rooftop and had Kinderpunsch.
Practising The Pogues' Fairytale of New York for for karaoke night. I never hit the NYPD choir note quite right. My neighbours must hate me.
Taking a mental health day. Starting the day with baking cookies, making vegan sushi rolls. Reading, taking a nap. Yoga in the evening. Feeling really happy and relaxed. One of those rare inspired days when everything just falls into place. I kept revisiting beautiful places and memories during Shavasana. And I LOVE my yoga teacher more and more each week. So sad she is leaving the studio.
Taming your temper - tips for anger management.
Another coincidence. I wondered when the next Bilderbuch record will be released when I was looking at Mavi Phoenix at her concert - that girl is the female version of Maurice Ernst. A few hours later I found out that Bilderbuch actually had released a new album one day ago. WHAT.
Mirror tape.
Being a fluffy little red cat's human of choice. We sat in a cat café, no animals in sight. After a while a cat walked up straight towards me, sat down on my yellow scarf and kneaded it. Later she demanded attention and purred while I scratched her jaw. Apparently this was quite a rare occurence because she is said to be really shy and hard to handle. Weirdos unite!
Making Bhindi Masala, a vegan okra curry. Spicy and intense - delicious! Oh, and sushi rolls filled with avocado, veggies and fancy tofu/tempeh. Now I have a whole container waiting for me in the fridge.
Practising yoga for 20min on a gloomy Monday morning. Lighting a candle, drinking a cup of Ayurvedic Kapha tea with honey and lemon.
Tom, who inspired me to learn more about Ayurveda. And to rewatch The Darjeeling Limited because let's face it - Wes Anderson really knows how to make one of the poorest countries in the world look gorgeous.
We become what we think about. It's impossible to be successful without having a destination.
Quotations from Siri Hustvedt's The Blazing World: 1 / 2
"Smelling you almost makes me cum."
Running around with a fake septum piercing. I kinda like the look. I'm actually considering getting a real one but so far I'm fine with the clip-ons. The good thing is that you can't see the ring's ends anyway in that kind of piercing.
Spending time with the old friends. The best ones. The ones you don't have to speak to and it's still not uncomfortable. The ones you can be super weird around and they embrace it. The ones you can tell your strangest ideas and stories.
There is a new Turkish supermarket right around the corner! Fresh cilantro whenever I want! YES!!!
Heavy snowfall. It does look kinda pretty, I admit.
Many questions, not enough answers at the ESO Supernova exhibition/planetarium. / Making another cat friend over breakfast. / Seeing my foxy ginger lady Anika again after such a long time! / Orange marzipan lebkuchen and roasted coconut almonds (they taste like Raffaello). / Finding the perfect earrings and a beautiful head band at EDITED - The Label. / Performing Fairytale of New York live on stage with Manu. Being able to curse at somebody through song is perfect, I had a lot of fun. Also, he promised me his art teacher sweater as a Christmas present.
A knitting project with rainbow wool.
Making a clay sculpture for my mum. Taking it out of the oven at 80 degrees, wrapped in a dish towel like a baby.
The honey marzipan nougat bar from dm bio.
Meeting Manu at his office. Receiving the most awesome paint palette sweater as a Christmas present! And he let me spend a full hour in virtual reality! He has such an amazing programme which lets you draw in 3D and float around in space (with VR goggles). I'm absolutely fascinated and intrigued. Gotta visit him more often.
Meeting Tobi, Maike, Lena and Christian at Märchenbasar. Being drunk after some Feuerzangenbowle with rum (Pfeffi in Manu's case) and white mulled wine. Taking the long way home.
Buying Paulaner Spezi for my class. Supermarket trips with the kids before 8am. Schrottwichteln. Watching random goat videos and intros to children's series.
Having a drink at Goldene Bar in Haus der Kunst. Such a gorgeous place. I'm trying to get into a workshop on the museum's architecture at the end of January.
Making random people want to kiss me. Having no desire whatsoever to actually kiss them.
The Harry Potter round (on special request) at the pub quiz.
Reading Stephen Hawking's short answers to some of the big questions. I have to admit, I know nothing about physics or cosmology and at times his explanations were super hard to understand (fine, I probably didn't understand most of it) but I love creating a need to use my brain in uncommon ways.
Vivid dreams. About dangerous skyscrapers (just different floors stacked loosely on top of each other), a kidnapping in a futuristic car by very glamorous gangsters, lesbians on a scooter trying to save me, travelling through Asia and the US with Sash, a sinking ship (but all the passengers swam back to the surface after a short period of unconsciousness), ATMs, fancy drinks, meeting strangers with beautiful eyelashes at a restaurant.
Discovering the Trouvelot astronomical drawings (1882) on the darkest day of the year, winter solstice. Watching the night fade away ever so slowly in the morning from the kitchen window, squeezing fresh oranges to make juice for breakfast. Bright orange and midnight blue is a great colour combination.
ASMRctica.
An article about a dear friend of mine appeared in Süddeutsche Zeitung! So happy for him.
Spending time with very old friends right before Christmas. Tobi, Sash, Michi, Yanic, Fischi and his wife... Playing MarioKart on SNES with Peter and taking weird selfies together. I had a very nice evening.
Managing to get a look at downtown Chicago during my layover. I uber-ed into the city centre (watching the skyscrapers getting larger and larger), walked around Millenium Park and along Lake Michigan. I spent quite a bit of time at Blick, an amazing art store, before I took the train back to the airport.
Arriving in Mexico in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve. Seeing the city sparkling from above. Watching a bunch of kids beating a pinata well after midnight. Arriving in a beautiful artist's apartment in Condesa.
The Anthropology Museum in CDMX made it on the list of my favourite museums ever. I could have spent days there. I kept sketching some of the funny masks and Maya figurines. There were plenty of creepy tombs and skeletons, depictions of weird Gods, handicrafts and woodcarvings. It was just so interesting, probably because I had never seen a lot of South American / Aztec culture before and I love learning and exploring new things.
Christmas day in CDMX: sunshine, tacky glitter decorations, pointy balloons and spiky pinatas. Dancing, ancient smoke rituals performed by a Mayan community.
Mexican street food, especially the vegetarian street food tour with David. Meeting the Blue Corn Lady (her quesadillas are with cactus and beans and they're incredibly delicious). Flatbread, corn, fruit with chili and lime. Pulque and Mezcal. Finding out that the green salsa is actually worse than the red one. Tacos, Enchiladas, Tamales. If you go to Mexico just for the food you'll still have plenty to explore.
That evening with the pink sunset. Walking through the old used book store in Roma. Reading an interesting take on Lars von Trier's Melancholia. Meeting the resident cat.
Lucha Libre! Watching the luchadores, especially the small people in the second round. Laughing about the Mexican boy next to me swearing at the top of his lungs. Getting a mask as a souvenir.
Climbing the sun and moon pyramid at Teotihuacán. Getting a sunburn. Enjoying the atmosphere. It's a very impressive site.
Diving in Cozumel with Brooke-Anne (a librarian from Las Vegas who was raised by Mormons), Cynthia from Quebec and Lucie from Toulouse. Entering some coral formations underwater. Eating cantaloupe melon and chocolate cookies after the dive. Spending the evening with another Canadian, Jussi from Finland and that other dude from Puerto Rico. And some Indio beers.
What I loved most about Tulum were the ruins (right next to a gorgeous beach) and the health food restaurants (La Hoja Verde and Co.Conamor).
And this year I don't really have a good New Year's Eve story because I fell asleep at quarter past eleven in a little village west of Tulum. All alone. Could be worse though, I had an amazing year.
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For A Moment
by Rumbellicious
Prompts: Capture, Dance, Post office
It had happened so quickly, it should have been something he dismissed and never thought about again. He was the infamous and feared Mr. Gold and he didn’t have time to waste on romantic notions and absurd fantasies, but he couldn’t get the memory of Belle French’s smile out of his mind.
The moment happened one Sunday, right on the sidewalk outside of the library. She had only moved to Storybrooke two weeks before, and he thought surely that was enough time for the residences of the town to warn her of what a monster he was. Yet as he walked by, she had looked him straight in the eye and gave him a dazzling smile that had warmed him in a way that shook Mr. Gold down to his very core.
It was like, for a moment, there was only her light, her beauty, her goodness washing away all the dark, ugly, evil things lurking in his soul and making him something better than he was before. It was preposterous, of course, to think such fantastical things, but it was how he truly felt when he examined the feelings she evoked in him. And he craved more.
Gold went to the grand re-opening of the library, dressed in his best suit and tie, hoping to capture her attention again by his finery alone. He stood in the back as she made her speech and appreciated the lilt in her voice, the conviction of her words, the passion in her tone. Soon after, Miss French was surrounded by a throng of people wanting to wish her well and he thought for sure his chance to spend just a moment in her presence would be lost. So, it took him quite by surprise when she purposefully made her way over to where he stood and introduced herself to him. This time not only did he receive a dazzling smile, but he was also afforded the honor of getting to shake her lovely hand.
Then, this amazing creature engaged him in intelligent conversation about books, the town, his pawn shop and Gold struggled to keep his astounded brain working so that clever-sounding words could come out of his mouth. He wasn’t sure if he succeeded completely, but more than one citizen of Storybrooke gaped at the site of the beastly Mr. Gold not only engaged in a lively conversation with the town’s new, beautiful, sweet librarian, but actually smiling while they conversed.
Too soon, Miss French had to return to her duties and Gold left the library feeling buzzed with the bliss of their interaction. She had looked at him with respect, spoke to him with no sign of fear or want of reward, and genuinely seemed interested in him as a person. By the time he made it back to his shop, he was completely besotted with Belle French and set about learning all he could in regards to this goddess who appeared in his life.
A few days later, a dossier from a private detective told him all about her childhood and education in Australia, the loss of her mother when she was a teenager, a broken engagement to a wealthy boy while she was in college, her and her father’s immigration to America, and the fact that she moved to this small town only because her father ran the local flower shop and his health had been failing the past few years. She had a few friends in Storybrooke she spent time with like the adventurous Ruby Lucas, the bubbly Ariel Triton, the stoic Mulan Fa, and the very eccentric Jefferson Hatter. Gold devoured all these facts, but he still yearned to know more about her.
He decided the best possible way to engage her in conversation again and get to know her better was to go to the library as if it were something he did all the time. Over the next few weeks, Gold checked out several books he already owned in his own collection at home attempting to impress Miss French with his selections or spark some conversation about his literary choices. She didn’t disappoint and was always quick to comment on his book choice or a theme from the story. It was during the first conversation that he memorized the exact shade of blue in her eyes. He was intoxicated by her lovely scent as she leaned towards him to point out something in the book he was holding during their second conversation. By the third conversation, she insisted that he call her ‘Belle’ instead of ‘Miss French’ and he couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome. And so, they began this strange dance of getting to know each other in little snippets of conversation that left Gold turning over each new piece of information about her as if it was some great treasure for him to hoard.
Yet, there was never enough time for the two of them to talk for long. Someone was always interrupting their exchanges with some pesky question or need and Miss French… Belle, being the excellent librarian that she was, would always apologize to him before her attention was diverted away from him to help Henry Mills find a new book of fairy tales or to assist the Nolans in locating books on parenting or to find the most current edition of a cooking magazine for Regina because it had the most ‘delightful recipe for apple tarts.’
During this time, Gold warred with himself over his near obsession with the town’s new librarian. He would remind himself he was old, ugly, set in his ways, and certainly had nothing to offer such a young, beautiful, sweet girl except for his wealth and taste. Gold knew he should leave Belle alone and let her find some younger, better looking, friendlier man in town to become involved with. Yet, her responses when she saw him at the library fueled him on. She always looked pleased to see him, gave him that amazing smile, and was quick to engage him. And when they were speaking, for a moment, he felt younger, more handsome, and someone who could be so good if only she would be in his life.
Gold had so many things he wanted to say to her, to let Belle know she had changed his life, to make her understand how much he wanted to be a part of hers… but he knew that he would never be able to get these things out during their casual conversations at her workplace. After several sleepless nights, Gold set down at his antique desk and wrote his feelings, his questions, his hopes in an old-fashioned letter. Surely someone who loved to read as much as Belle would appreciate a missive of this sort. As much as his doubts and fears and insecurities told him otherwise, he couldn’t believe she would laugh in his face or shun him once she had read what he’d written.
The next morning Gold walked down to the post office clutching the letter tightly in his hand as he decided he wasn’t brave enough to deliver it to Belle in person. He spent several agonizing moments in front of the mail slot before he took a deep breath and pushed the letter inside. Gold felt immediate panic and wondered who he would have to bribe to get the letter back. But, he knew the matter was now out of his hands and he decided to walk back to the pawn shop to await his fate.
For the next twenty-four hours his stomach was in knots, his fingers twitched, he couldn’t eat, sleep, or concentrate on anything except for wondering what Belle felt when she read the letter. He couldn’t bring himself to go to the library and see her reaction. Gold convinced himself that would put pressure on her and possibly cause public humiliation for him. Instead, he waited inside his shop, his feelings vacillating between agony and ecstasy at the potential outcome of his actions.
By the time he closed his shop, Gold felt like an utter fool. How could he possibly believe that someone as magnificent as Belle French would be interested in him romantically? He now saw their conversations for what they really were. She was just a sweet girl who was being polite to the old, creepy man who was hanging around demanding her attention. His delusional brain had contrived a fairytale romance between him and Belle, but men like him didn’t get happy endings. Now, he was going to have to sell off his home, shop, and property and move out of the state for sending such a ridiculous letter to the poor girl.
Gold was contemplating his extreme life change when there was a knock at the door. He moved sluggishly, not wanting to deal with whoever was foolish enough to be unable to read his ‘Closed’ sign. To his utter shock and amazement, Belle French stood at his door, his letter held in her hand… and that dazzling smile on her face.
He had no idea what she was going to say, but for a moment, Mr. Gold was the happiest man in all the world.
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Of Thorns and Buttercups
~Ch 6/?~
(Beauty and the Beast AU, Kiiiinda. It has definite elements of the original story cause I’m a sap for Fairytale AUs. I hope you enjoy. Also shout out to @sophiakuso1 for being my beta. Here you can find Beginning or Previous)
Jaskier makes more progress into unraveling secrets and chipping away at Geralt's heart. Please enjoy this chaotic bard's adventures!
Note: Lew is still pronounced Lef because it is polish just as a heads up.
Primary Tags: Beast! Geralt, Belle! Jaskier, Memory Alteration Via Curse, It really only affects Jaskier right now
Also on AO3!
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Jaskier awoke with a start. His dream was... odd. Straight out of a fairy tale or romantic ballad if he were to describe it. His heart so desperate for a knight, metaphorical or literal, to come into his life to love him like in every sappy poem and song he ever dealt read or sang, it went to the extent of affecting his dreams. He could feel a flush of embarrassment rushing to his face as he remembered his own mind even put him in the place of a maiden who met a dashing silver haired knight in a picturesque autumn forest. The traitor! Jaskier couldn't help thrashing his arms and legs about in the bed before finally sitting back up with a huff. He would have liked to scream in embarrassment but thought better of it seeing as it would be rude and potentially more humiliating if the Beast were to hear him and come check what was wrong. But now that he paused and thought about the hair color of his knight in shining armor in his dream, it looked very similar to the Beast’s fur. It was a wintery soft looking white that appeared as striking and fluffy as fresh fallen snow. Focusing more on it made his heart ache pitifully while also making him yearn for the company of the Beast simultaneously. He decided then that it would be better to shrug off the odd painful emotion, however, and latch onto his desire for fluffy company instead. Whatever had occurred in the past had happened, and he doubted he could change that right then, so he might as well focus on helping his hopefully new found friend... or, well, he would dearly love to make friends with the Beast. They could both really use a friend right about now. Invigorated by his new goal, Jaskier climbed out of bed ready to face the day. Whether it meant getting to spend quality time with the fellow or him filling his day dutifully studying the flowers for any hint of a connection to the curse… all by himself... He would be completely fine either way, at least he would be helping! Honestly, he didn’t mind the idea of being completely and utterly alone all day again! It’ll be great, just like his days just after Oxenfurt, except he wasn’t on the road obviously.
He stretched in the warmth of his room, thanking whatever gods were above for granting him the luxury of having a magical fireplace to keep him warm in this cursed winter as he was setting about readying himself to face the day. Before he could even think about what to wear, he spotted another set of clothes on the trunk in front of his bed. It was almost scary how the great Beast could sneak into his room to leave gifts without disturbing Jaskier’s sleep with how big he appeared to be. The bard also couldn’t decide if it was sweet or creepy that he kept doing it, but he settled on sweet for now since he found all that fur rather endearing compared to a regular human stranger. The doublet and trousers, which were more bloomers this time, were a rich amber with burgundy accents which reminded him of the forest from his dream. The delicate embroidery on it even had a leaf motif as well. It may have been a coincidence, but he couldn’t help but smile nonetheless. The soft gauzy chemise and stockings to match the ensemble were a lovely cream color which seemed to tie it all together with soft dark brown boots that were set to the side. He gently put the garments on after he finished his usual morning routine--the importance of moisturizing, children--and when he turned to make the bed everything was already done just like the day prior. “You know you don’t have to be shy. You can do things in front of me just as you do with the Beast.” He spoke aloud into the empty room, not expecting any form of answer, but the curtains on the bed fluttered slightly. He took that as a yes and enjoyed another small victory.
For a moment, he considered going in search of the Beast, but that hadn’t worked out well yesterday, so he decided to just finish what he had started last night. After a short whole of skimming through his select few books that he had collected, he decided the Herbarium and Antidotarium were far too academically written for him to really understand. Besides, they both seemed to not really focus on flora at all. Plants in general, yes, flowers not so much. He set them aside to put back later, but the small stool he placed them on trotted out of the room with the books. “...Thank you!” He called after the silly thing, after his initial shock, realizing that the stool had most likely gone to return them for him. How kind! The Botanist's Companion to the Identification of Flora had proved quite useful for, well, identifying the flowers he didn’t know of course, but it didn’t go much further then that. So he then turned his sights on the homemade Alchemy text and the Assasination guide book. If the flowers had any use for magic or medicine, Jaskier was sure these would have it all there for him in black and white… Except after searching through the neat penmanship for a couple of hours-- pity these didn’t have an index--and jotting down notes as he went, he found there was no correlation. Some were poisonous, some were medicinal, some were magical, some were a combination of the three, and although he assumed magic and alchemy were practically the same thing, none of the four flowers had any use in the same potions or spells he found. Bottom line was that the flowers and their associated parts had no practical use as a whole together.
Changing his line of thought, he kept his notes, but turned to his final book and opened it. Symbolism was always the way to a bard’s heart, but he hadn’t expected a sorceress or sorcerer to pay much heed to it. Although, perhaps whoever it was to cast the spell was just adding insult to injury. It was like adding some kind of reminder or petty jab to taunt the Beast in his magical prison in the form of flowers. Odd, but not outside the realm of possibility really. He had once gone to such petty lengths as to bribe the laundress at Oxenfurt to “accidentally” dye all of Valdo Marx’s white linens and bed dressings to a color Jaskier knew he particularly hated for weeks just to drive the insufferable prat up the wall. Then to top it all off with a bow, he convinced the lady Valdo was courting at the time, that said color was his favorite and really got him going in the bedroom. He graciously assisted the fine lady to decorate her room in it, as well as oh-so-helpfully assisted her with picking out a stunning outfit to surprise and delight the odious weasel. It all proved to be worth it when the other man had been suspended for a week after he hollered at and practically mauled everyone who crossed his path. Now, many would think Jaskier was being unduly cruel, but in his defense, it was well and truly deserved. He only committed the act of vengeance after the vile piece of shit had stolen one of Jaskier’s early compositions which he had slaved over for months to complete and proceeded to present it as his own for the final examinations. It was butchered and Jaskier couldn’t bring himself to sing it ever again. So if whoever really disliked this Beast was petty enough, Jaskier wouldn’t put it past them to add a small detail of insulting foliage to the whole shabang.
Upon opening the small journal filled with a ladies delicate crisp script, he set to work. To his confusion, they didn’t all come together as a whole that meant fuck you or something as equally aggressive. It was more mournful and sad. Thistle carried the heavy tones of pain, anger, and pride, which was not at all surprising of the devilish little thing, from what the text said. The Zinnia spoke of an absence while the cyclamens implied a separation that led to the absence. The worst and most heart wrenching of them all were the little purple hyacinths that pleadingly asked for forgiveness. Jaskier didn’t really get the whole picture yet, but he did understand that, as beautiful as the back garden was, it was a reminder. It was a symbol of regret, and something was undoubtedly hidden in the center of the maze. Hopefully a major clue or, if he was lucky enough, the key to breaking the curse. Regardless, the bard was even more determined to unravel what it all meant now than ever. First, however, he needed to gather more flowers and try to pick his way through the maze to its center.
He set the sad blossoms to the side with the other materials and the journal before pulling on his bright cloak, ready to press on now that he had more stable footing underneath him. A glance to the windows showed that it was practically midday and he had skipped breakfast… again. Whoopsies. Not wanting to take too long though, he popped into the dining room and tucked some apples into his cloak pockets, also managing to remember to grab a couple for the mare--as he promised to do--from the table that was slowly clearing itself for dinner later in the evening. He left through the front entrance and made his way to the stables so he wouldn’t forget to give the lady her treat.
He stopped short upon entering, however, because the horse was not alone this time. It seemed he was her second visitor of the day. Standing at her side was the Beast, brush in hand, lovingly grooming her while whispering words Jaskier sadly could not hear. The bard couldn’t help but feel elated that he had such good fortune that day. He did, however, war with himself on whether or not he should disturb the tranquil, domestic scene, but the decision was made for him as the lady huffed in Jaskier’s direction, which had the Beast’s gaze snapping up to him. The troubadour’s bright smile was met with an annoyed scowl however, and had Jaskier regretting his mistake of accidentally interrupting. Before he could think of an excuse to quickly get out of the Beast’s hair, the rough baritone called out, halting his thoughts. “What?” It was demanding and clipped but not angry at least.
Jaskier licked his lips nervously as he stepped forward, trying to remember what he had come to do all of a sudden. Thankfully, the gentle knock of the apples against his knee, concealed in his cape, jolted his memory . “Ah! Oh, I just came to bring a treat to the lady. She helped me in a way yesterday and I wanted to thank her.” He could feel his cheeks warm with embarrassment as the words left his mouth. He realized how ridiculous it sounded, but at least it was the truth.
He expected a scoff or a growl to follow his ridiculous statement, but he was met with wide surprised eyes before the Beast’s face was back to its usual flat stare in the blink of an eye. The Beast said nothing further, but he did hum in acceptance, or at least that’s what Jaskier was going to assume it meant. When the Beast turned back to tending to the horse, Jaskier felt some of the tension leave him. He could do this, he could talk to the intriguing fellow and possibly convince the other to spend time with Jaskier in the day, not just at dinner.
Jaskier quietly moved towards the two in the stall and cautiously caught the horse’s attention, not wanting to startle her. “Hello, Madam! It’s lovely to see you again!” His mouth moved of its own accord, prattling on at the horse rather than the Beast to hopefully disperse his sudden onset nerves. “I have brought you a treat, as promised.” He continued as he stepped into the stall, putting him rather close to the great mass of fur. The space felt smaller than the other day with all three of them in it, and the bard felt his heart hammering in his throat, ready to run away with itself. He didn’t quite understand his own reaction, but he was tempted to blame it on the strange dream and how the Beast’s fur reminded him of the knight’s hair. He supposed he was needier for companionship then he thought, a matter he usually dealt with by finding some one night stand that gave him the physical if not emotional comfort he longed for. As he tried to quell his racing heart, the Beast shifted further away. The troubadour almost felt like an idiot as he realized the Beast could most likely hear the offending organ and it made him uncomfortable. Hell, if Jaskier could hear someone’s heartbeat race just by stepping into a horse stall which put them in close proximity to one another, he would think them strange too. All in all he was not making a good impression on the other who had already wanted to get rid of him. Mentally shoving down all the weird feelings, he fed the darling mare her treat.
He needed to act as charming and likable as he usually was, but he couldn’t understand why none of his usual demeanor came out around the other man. He cleared his throat, glancing over at the other. “I apologise for if I offended you in some way last night during dinner. I thought things were going well, but I suppose I must have crossed a line somewhere that upset you, and for that I am remorseful. I didn’t intend to be rude.” He began speaking to fill the silence. It was not anywhere near what he had intended to say, but it also wasn’t the worst way to start. Besides, it was the truth. He felt like it had been his fault that everything was abruptly cut short. An apology was far better than glossing over what had happened, acting like it hadn’t occurred, and talking about the weather. The Beast only hummed in response to Jaskier’s apology, so the bard continued on. “By the way, whose horse is this? She’s an absolute peach! Did she get trapped here as well?”
The Beast grunted slightly in reply, very articulate, and Jaskier assumed that was all he was going to get out of him until finally the low rumbling tone graced the bard’s ears again. “She’s mine. Had her for years, and yes, she is most likely trapped here by the same curse that traps us.” The stoic individual explained, and it was so very sweet how fond he sounded when speaking of his horse.
Except it was as clear as mud. The Beast hadn’t really given him anything but sparse details that told him nothing except for some reason, a Beast in a cursed castle required a horse that he most likely couldn’t ride with his size being what it was. Jaskier would just have to take solace in the fact that he had gotten more words to come out of him than the short, clipped responses… Also that did confirm he was most likely a man before all this if he had had a horse, but it still didn’t tell him anything of the Beast’s status, class, or profession. Anyone could have a horse as long as they could make enough coin to care for it. “Well she’s a darling. May I- Is there any way I can help?” He tried to offer but the Beast shook his head with a happy huff. Jaskier sighed softly in disappointment. Well this wasn’t going very far… Jaskier decided to try another angle. “So, Beast, I really do mean it when I say-”
“Don’t” The deep growl cut him off and Jaskier’s confusion was met with a deep glower before the Beast’s eyes looked anywhere but at him. He didn’t look just annoyed this time but outright angry.
“What?” Jaskier could only ask dumbly because he didn’t know where he had yet again misstepped.
“Don’t call me that.” He growled, looking genuinely distressed and the bard felt rather bad for it… “Beast..” He spit out the word like it tasted foul on his tongue, muttering mostly to himself.
“Well…” Jaskier started gently, taking a tentative step forward and laying a hand lightly on the Beast’s arm. He counted it as a win when it was not shaken off. “What should I call you? I--You have yet to give a name, but I apologize for the callous insensitivity I have displayed…” He asked, deciding that he should’ve at least apologized for putting his foot in his mouth again. Just because the Beast knew who he was didn’t mean he shouldn’t have asked the other for his.
The Beast seemed to consider him critically for a moment while deciding whether or not to answer. “Geralt.”
Jaskier couldn’t help but smile, finally knowing the Beast’s name. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Geralt.” He spoke with a flourish and a bow, smiling playfully at the Beast, who rolled his eyes at the bard’s antics, but it felt fond in a way. “Now, as I was trying to say, I really do wish to help break the curse… If you’ll allow, that is.” He offered and amended, fully planning to continue helping regardless but it’d be easier if Geralt consented and provided information.
The Beast sighed in annoyance, but Jaskier could tell that he was considering whether or not to trust the bard to help, so Jaskier waited patiently. “...The curse changes and shifts according to the person apparently.” He relented vaguely.
Jaskier was starting to think he and Geralt were going to need a little sit down to have a nice long chat about a thing called details. Really! It was a familiar exasperation that he felt, but didn’t dwell on it since the conversation seemed more pressing. “Sounds rather annoying and rather unfair of the caster to not even give you a hint on how to break it.”
Geralt nodded stoically, a word that was rather fitting of the cursed man, as he ushered the bard out of the stall. Both said goodbye to the mare before stepping out into the crisp winter scene. It almost felt like the Beast didn’t want the horse to hear their discussion and the thought nearly had him giggling, but he refrained. Must maintain a serious professional demeanor and all that to get any details. “Don’t know much else yet except that the spell provides anything I need to break the curse… And there’s a time limit.” His tone was grave and the notion sent chills up the troubadour’s spine.
“What happens if time runs out…” He couldn’t help asking as fear creeped into his mind. He may not know the Beast well, but he got a good feeling from him, and he didn’t want to lose yet another companion if he could help it. There was also the matter of what would happen to him if the curse’s time limit ran out since he was now stuck there. It was just as likely that he’d be freed as it was that he’d die with the Beast.
Geralt didn’t respond however. He shrugged and shook his head, not meeting Jaskier’s eye, telling the bard that even he didn’t know what fate awaited him, but it was most likely very grim. Jaskier didn’t like the somber air that had enveloped them after the conversation lapsed, so he tried to reassure them both with false bravado he didn’t quite feel in the moment. “Well, nothing to fear really. I’m sure with my help, we’ll be able to break this curse in no time.”
The Beast, however, snorted at his cheerful tone. “Oh? What could some bard do that I couldn’t already?” Now Jaskier could tell he was teasing, especially since there was an amused glint in the star like eyes, but he still wound up sputtering indignantly.
“Some bard!?” He nearly shrieked as the other openly openly chuckled at his flustered state. “How dare you!” Jaskier quickly stooped down, gathering snow into a ball and threw it at the highly amused Beast. He had been mistaken, the Beast had a lack of refinement and taste! “I’ll show you!” He threw another ball of snow to punctuate his sentence before continuing his rant. “I’ll break the damned curse just so I can shove it in your furry handsome face!”
He continued to pelt Geralt with snow, but now the other was returning fire, and Jaskier was scrambling to dodge while giving little shrieks of delight because as upset as he was, it was rather fun. “If your curse breaking is as bad as your aim bard, I shall fear for my life!” The other called out as they exchanged blows, his tone open and friendly. The man was apparently finding humor in ruffling Jaskier’s feathers, the insufferably gruff, intriguing bastard!
“In fact, I bet the curse brought me here because you were too busy brooding to figure it out!” His shrieks slowly morphed into delighted little laughs as they traded powdery blows. “An answer to your prayers!”
He ducked and ran through the front garden boasting as he tried to hit the agile Beast as the Beast chased after him. “More likely an added punishment brought to torment me.” The Beast countered, which rustled the bard more, most likely an attempt to get Jaskier to falter, which he almost gave into.
After a little while of cat and mouse in their little snowball game, he was tackled into the fluffy snow by his pursuer. He giggled looking up at the Beast. Jaskier was pulling in deep breaths to sate his burning lungs while Geralt seemed unperturbed by the exercise, but they were both unmistakably smiling in their own ways, Jaskier grinning broadly while Geralt smirked. “The solution to all your woes…” He breathed out softly between them which Geralt rolled his eyes at fondly at before standing up, breaking whatever small moment that had appeared between them. He was kind enough to help the smaller man up, however, so chivalrous he was.
Jaskier couldn’t help the soft, giddy giggles that sporadically slipped out from his lips, but as fun as everything had been, Geralt turned towards the castle. “I’ll, uh… I’ll see you at dinner.” Geralt offered before quickly going off and disappearing.
Jaskier was left standing outside once again, damp, but genuinely happy for the first time in a while. He would have felt like he had scared the Beast off again had Geralt not just confirmed they’d be dining together. A part of him wanted to hop around in victory, but instead he buried his blushing face in his hands and squealed softly in delight. Things may have started off rocky but now things were finally looking up. Wanting to press his good fortune, Jaskier quickly made his way to the back gardens to collect a few more flowers to look up. He may or may not have been skipping, but he was too happy to care. He collected three more, wanting to take his time and not misidentify anything, since they dried slightly in the time he looked each one up. This time he collected a small, delicate little flower, a larger yellow flower that looked like the ruffled layers of a ladies petticoats, and a vivid purple flower with lots of long thin petals and a bright yellow center. Spending time searching for and picking buds had left him feeling rather chilled, however, so he hurried around the keep and went back inside.
By the time Jaskier was back in his chamber, he realized just how frigidly cold he actually was. Frost has actually stiffened the damper part of his clothes. He shivered from the snow-dampened clothes, and a part of him knew it would be best to go take a nice hot bath, but he was suddenly very tired. So he stripped off his wet clothing, setting them to thaw and dry by the fire, and he set his newly collected blossoms with the others on his desk before dressing in the shirt he had slept in. Thankfully, from the position of the sun in the sky, Jaskier could tell he had a couple of hours until dinner. Which was just perfect! He’d take a nap for a little while, warm up, and then get all nice and freshened up for dinner. As he settled into bed, he wondered if Geralt would sneak him another outfit that he’d wish Jaskier to wear for dinner or not. The idea made him smile and laugh slightly before sleep pulled him into its sweet embrace.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing before the same lake he had been at in his dream before. This time however, most of the trees were waning in the late autumn fashion, and the sun was slowly setting on the horizon behind him. However, he was not filled with awe and the delight of meeting a handsome mysterious stranger in the woods this time. In fact, he felt rather heart broken, a feeling he knew all too well at this point, and was not thrilled to be feeling it again. Worst of all, he felt like he could do nothing to remedy the situation which brought the sting of hot tears welling up and overflowing. He tried brushing them away, but the fat tears continued to flow. His soft hiccuping sobs that had forced their way passed his lips were halted by Lew emerging out of the trees. His sharp features were softened by the solemn concern that he wore openly on his face. His piercing yellow eyes held Jasekier captive as the man-- no, Knight apparently-- approached slowly.
“I should’ve told you…” His voice was full of regret and Jaskier knew he had already forgiven him.
“It shouldn’t matter... “ Jaskier tried to offer, fully believing in what he said. It shouldn't have, whatever the drama was that his brain concocted, but it did.
“But she’s your only family and it made me appear to be dishonest.” The silver haired knight finished for him. “...I think she just needed an excuse to deny the proposal. You only have one another and I understand her fear of losing you.” He added, a deep misery settled in his topaz gaze. It seemed to be one of his overly dramatic nights where he put too much poetic flare on his observations.
“I know…” Was all Jaskier could offer pitifully, feeling more tears welling up and burning the back of his throat. He couldn’t hide his little hitched sobs in the silent evening that veiled them from the world they would eventually have to go back to. Lew stepped closer, taking Jaskier’s hand in his, tentatively checking if the touch was welcome. The bard couldn’t help himself as he buried himself in the larger man’s arms, modesty be damned. Lew instinctively tightened the embrace as he ran his gloved hand through his hair and down his back soothingly. The knight’s thick cloak shielded them from the rest of the night and kept the chill at bay. It was only when the other’s heat seeped into his bones that Jaskier realized how cold he had become. Jaskier had forgotten that he had run out into the night without his own cloak, and the long trailing jacket he wore was not enough to buffer the late autumn weather.
“I promise, I will fix this, dear heart. I will do anything to prove to her that my feelings are genuine and that I only wish to care and provide for you. I do not mean to whisk you away or disappear with you.” His voice was even as he murmured to the bard. Jaskier pressed further into the other, not caring about the cool armor between them. He knew his heart already belonged to this man, and it was terrifying, but it brought him comfort to hear the other’s feelings. “I must tell you that the only reason I kept my title from you was because I wanted to know you without any status or title coming between us… It was selfish, I know, but I wanted to be free by your side, even if only for as long as you’d let me. I should have told you sooner.” Lew’s voice was remorseful as he cradled Jaskier so gently in his hold.
The bard couldn’t help the small wet laugh that bubbled up in him as he looked up into his knight’s startled gaze. “I know, my dear. I know and I wouldn’t change even a second of the time we stole together.” Jaskier found himself declaring before he could second guess himself, but once the words were out, he knew they were true in his heart. Although his chest ached pleasantly compared to the heartache he had been feeling, something still felt false. This was all just a beautiful dream that he’d never have, and it made him want to weep, but he didn’t. He knew he was a cad and a flirt who played with one to many skirts, drawing the ire of husbands and other men. He knew with all his dishonesty, gallivanting, and cowardice he didn’t deserve such a sweet, faithful lover. He would not have such a fulfilling love unless the gods took pity and gifted him one last chance, but if he ever had a love in the waking world that felt like this, he’d follow them to the ends of the earth and back. He would faithfully love them and only them if he were just given a chance… But hadn’t he already had that chance? Wasn’t that why he felt as though there was a hole where his heart was that threatened to swallow him whole if he wasn’t distracting himself with other thoughts? It was why he felt jagged around the edges, something had been broken inside and hadn’t fit back together just right. He had wasted his one shot.
“I will make this right.” The knights rumbled softly, like a summer storm, and Jaskier was pulled back into the present of the dream even though the realization lingered in his thoughts. As much as the gentle treatment broke his already fragile heart more, the bard found himself smiling lightly as the man stepped away. A strong hand wiped away the last of his tears before bidding him farewell.
As Jaskier watched the knight disappear into the dark woods, he felt lighter and heavier at the same time. As he closed his eyes to savor the fleeting moment, he found himself blinking awake in his too warm bed. He tried to push down the regret welling up inside, but soon it was spilling out as he cried mutedly into his pillow. He felt so upset, and angry, and overwhelmed at the realization that he had somehow lost his love. To add salt to the gaping wound, he couldn’t even remember why or how! He couldn’t remember their face! Or their voice! All he wanted to do now was find them and fix everything, but he was here. He supposed the memory loss was also most likely his fault… An ill conceived memory spell undoubtedly procured from a backwater hag, presumably in an attempt to forget the pain after he got roaringly drunk. It definitely sounded on par with the foolish shit he had done in his lifetime, but it only served to wipe the man from his world, not the pain. The mind may forget, but the heart will always remember. As he felt entirely too warm and morose, as though this was the bed he would die in, he spotted a bundle of clothes left on the side table by his side of the bed. The thought of the Beast leaving them there after creeping carefully in to surprise him with the gift managed to quell his tears and bring a tiny hint of a smile to his lips. Although he had messed his life up somehow and he felt lost, adrift in a sea he no longer knew how to navigate, he was at least not alone. He had his dreams filled with lovely views and a darling knight, but more importantly, he had the company of his Beast. He very much preferred his Beast to imaginary knights if he was to get through this whole comedy of tragedies that was his life.
So regardless of how his body protested and how his head swam with sleep, he hauled himself up and out of the bed that remade itself. The light outside was almost completely gone which meant he had slept longer than he had intended. He’d have to hurry if he wanted to be on time. Jaskier found himself quickly freshening up in the wash basin to rid himself of the sweat he somehow drenched himself in as he slept while chiding the fireplace for stoking itself so high… and then he consoled the poor thing because he felt bad for being too harsh with it as he put on kohl to match the dark garments still neatly folded and waiting. When he picked them up, however, he finally noticed they were a deep purple velvet that brightened as the fabric shifted. The long doublet was trimmed with emerald braiding, and near the collar, emeralds were studded in a way to appear as though he were wearing an extravagant necklace. The simple velvet trousers were well fitted and clung to him like a second skin. His new chemise that went with the ensemble was lilac, and so delicate in his hands that it could only be made of silk. This outfit seemed terribly grand compared to the past outfits he had been given, and for the first time in his life, he was nervous to put on such finery, but it would be rude not to. So he dressed carefully, realizing then just how warm velvet was to wear, but he’d just bare it for the sake of his Beast. He also decided to wear the few silver rings he had to add a little touch of his own. As the bard was pulling on his new over the knee black boots, a knock came at his door and he realized with a small smile that Geralt had come to fetch him again. Muzzy headed with excitement, he quickly finished and strode to the door, pulling it open with a flourish and a big delighted smile. As he suspected, the Beast was truly there, hunched over to look less threatening, and he had changed out of his usual armor into clothes that seemed dressier, which had Jaskier’s woefully soft heart bubbling happily in his chest. Geralt had made an effort this time and, if Jaskier may be so bold as to wish, it was for his sake. “Geralt! Shall we?” He asked cheerily, looping his arm around the crook of the other’s elbow and waited for the other to lead the way.
#geraskier#Witcher#witcher netflix#the witcher#fanfic#geralt x jaskier#gerlion#Beauty and the Beast AU#beast!geralt#Buttercup's Writings
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The Tribe of Paraven: Book of Magic part 2
Chapter 2: The Golden Book
After unpacking their stuff, the kids decided to take a walk in the woods. Their mum told them to be back before she and Nana Lilly left. Ollie was the first out the back door, running to the little wooden pirate ship that their Granddad had made, while his older siblings followed behind.
"Ahoy" Ollie called turning the wheel on the ship.
"Ahoy" Charlie replied giving is little brother a salute.
"Hey Ollie, big smile!" Maria called holding up her camera she took a shot of her little boy.
"Come on you two, let see if there's dragons in these woods" She said to them as she and Sally walked ahead. The brothers raced excitedly to catch up with their sisters.
"Did you think there were dragons and other creatures when we were younger?" Sally asked Maria.
"Well, I still like to think that they're real" Maria began as she put an arm around her sister's shoulder "I think it's more exciting to believe they are".
"Yeah it makes life more interesting" Sally said as the four continued exploring the woods. Being summer, there was colourful flowers spotted the ground among the leaf-green trees.
Oliver had a stick and swung it around like a sword with Charlie beside him. The girls were just behind them enjoying the scenery and looking as sunshine shone though the trees lighting up the leaves.
Sally remembered playing in these woods when she was little, there was something magical about this place, she and her siblings believed in magical creatures and they thought that the woods looked like the ones in Brave, she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't spot a wisp or two.
The young girl was deep in thought when she heard.
"Look, look" cried Oliver, pointing at a robin that was in a tree. The little boy ran straight to it.
"Ollie, wait" Sally called before she, Maria and Charlie ran after their baby brother. They actually liked playing with Oliver, allowing them to do things they did when they were younger. They didn't know how long they had run for but they were glad Ollie had come to a halt as they could rest. Soon Oliver began climbing on a tree roots ,he was reaching up trying to touch the robin.
"Do you think he'll reach it?" Maria grinned showing as Oliver said.
"Come back birdie" several times.
"it won't be long before he spots something else" Sally replied, but as she took a step towards Oliver, the ground under her feet began to crumble and open up. Suddenly, Sally fell down into the hole in the ground, instantly her brothers and sister ran to see where Sally had disappeared to. They were so shocked the ground had opened up beneath Sally's feet and she was nowhere to be seen.
"Sally! Sally, are you all right?" Maria called down, as she, Charlie and Oliver peered cautiously over the edge in search of their beloved sister. The air was dusty and it took a few moments (which seemed like forever) before they could see any sign of life, then they heard a faint sound it was Sally groaning.
"You ok Sally" Ollie asked hoping she was alright he has tears in his eyes an he looked pale..
"I'm fine Ollie" Sally replied, not wanting to worry her baby brother. She wiped the dust from her eyes and looked around, she was surprised to see how big it was inside the hole, it was like a small cave. She did wondered if it was be a old fox hole, to her it just looked like a normal hole or what she would expect a hole to look like. As her adjusted to her surroundings she noticed something to one side of her it was covered in some dead leaves. Feeling stiff and slightly bruised, she rubbed he sore parts instinctively and she went up to it, knelt down and brushed the leaves aside. Sally thought it looked like a small package wrapped in old brown leather.
"Hey, I found something" Sally called up.
"What is it?" Charlie replied trying to see her
"I think it's a book, an really old book" Sally said picking up the book to get a better look but she couldn't see very well because of how dark it was.
"Ok, bring it up with you" Maria suggested then said to Charlie "Come on, help me pull her up"
Sally placed the book in her bag before clambering up and grabbing Maria's and Charlie's arms, to help her climb out. Soon Sally was back on firm land, she dusted herself off and Oliver gave her a hug, happy to see her safe.
"I'm still wondering, where that hole came from" Maria said after checking her sister was ok "I mean it just appeared out of nowhere".
"Yeah" Oliver agreed.
"So Sally where's this book you found" Charlie asked.
"It's in my bag" Sally answered "But I want to get a better look at it back at Nan's, err the time is getting on a bit"
"Hey it's ok. You had a scare, I would do the same sis, let go", Maria said putting a reassuring arm around her sister's shoulder.
Charlie sighed and taking his brother's hand and followed the sisters back to the house. It didn't take long for them to be back at their Nan's house. To their surprise, they could see their mum talking to a man and a woman; they were dressed in hiking gear. As the kids walked up the couple turned and headed into the wood.
"Mama!" Oliver called rushing up to her as she waved to them.
"Hey mum, who were those people?" Charlie said as his mum picked Oliver up and walked up to meet them.
"Campers, they asked if it was ok to camp in the woods and I said it was fine..." She stopped when she saw Sally. "Sally what happened to you?, where did that bruise on your neck come from?"
They now come see al bruise on Sally's neck, she must of got it when she fell down the hole.
The young girl bit her lip "Well...I fell and...and"
"It's ok Sally you can tell me all about it later" her mum spoke softly and gently hugged her "you're alright now" Sally hugged her mum and then felt Ollie's arm around her which always made her smile. "Well, come on then, dinner's nearly done" mum said.
Throughout dinner, the three older children kept looking at Sally's bag, all of them becoming more curios, wondering why the thing wrapped inside was in that hole in a first place. After they had eaten, Sally wanted to have a closer look at the thing she found. She pick up her bag and pulled it out, Maria and Charlie (who was standing side by side of Sally) watched as Sally carefully undid the string but before she opened the leather bound book to discover her two siblings were waiting each holding their breath when…
"Oliver! don't go in there", their heads darted up when they heard their mum. Sally quickly held the book behind her back. They looked to see mum holding Ollie away from double door "We're not allowed in there, that's Granddad's room, you won't like it in there!" mum told him before hugged her son and tried to distract him. The other children knew very well what was in there. That room was where their granddad kept his collection of mounted animals; they found that room really creepy and avoided going in there as much as possible.
"Alright" their mum started "We'll be back the day after tomorrow. So if you want to go to town, you'll all go. Don't stay up, don't go in granddad's room and no wild parties!" Mum told them all, they all laughed mum knew they would never have a wild party.
"You know you can trust us mum" Maria said as Sally sneakily slid the book on a chair and placed some of her drawings on top. The children helped mum and Nan place their bags in the car. Waving goodbye, the kids watched as the car pulled off and drove down the road.
When they saw car had disappeared, they all quickly went back inside. As soon as they were inside, Oliver was the one who grabbed the book with the drawing still on top.
"Here you go" he said holding it out to his sister.
She took it and bit her lip "To be honest, I'm not sure" she confessed rubbing her necklace.
"Yeah, don't you think it's odd finding what I am assuming is a book, We found it the woods and it was wrapped up. It must have been put there for a reason. I won't be surprised if it's not made out of human skin when you read it, it will bring the dead back to life" Charlie said crossed his arms.
Maria rolled her eyes and thought a moment and said
"In that case, maybe we should open it somewhere safe"
"How about the attic?" Sally suggested looking up.
"The attic?" Charlie repeated (Charlie hated the attic)
"Yeah, the attic, let's go" Maria said grinning and softly taking Oliver's hand.
"I don't think we should", Charlie said nervously just his siblings were about to go upstairs.
"What, scared that the dead children will be there" Maria teased.
"Who?" Oliver answered.
"Well years ago" Maria started as she, Sally and Oliver climbed the stairs with Charlie shaking his head in disbelief but did follow them. "They say a witch used to take children from the town and lock them in this attic, when the townspeople planned to take her to jail, she threw herself off the roof of the house. Some of the children survived but most of them were never found again and legend says that the spirits of those lost children can still be seen in the attic and in the forest"
"Really" Oliver said clearly excited, but still looking a bit scared.
"I looked online sis and there's nothing about any witches or missing children" Charlie explained. His sisters told this story when he was little and it terrified him. He didn't want Ollie to be the same but he knew that his little brother was fearless.
"Come on Charlie, where's your to imagination" Sally taunted him as Maria opened the attic door and turned on lights. The large attic was filled with the usual found finding in one. There were boxes, old furniture, Christmas decorations and old toys. Charlie closed the door behind them, they sat in the middle of the room, pushing some of the furniture aside.
Sally soon removed the leather covering and she and her siblings stared in awe as they saw it was a book but not just any book. It looked like it was made out of gold with a beautiful illustration of a castle embossed on the cover, that looks like one from a fairytale. There were four jewels one on each corner, a green square, a yellow circle, a red triangle and a blue hexagon.
"Wow" Oliver then said which made the others smile.
"You took the words out of my mouth" Sally said as she picked the book up.
"Definitely not made out of human skin" Maria smirked at Charlie who gave her a look.
"Mmm" Sally muttered, she spotted something odd about the book "That's strange there's no lock on it"
"Let me see" Maria asked. Sally gave the book to Maria and she looked at it more. There was a small block holding the cover closed. "Um, that's a problem" she said before gave it back to her sister
"What kind of book doesn't have a lock" Charlie thought aloud.
"I don't know" Sally said. As she held the book, she glanced at the blue jewel, she wasn't sure why but it felt like there was something in it which made her curious when she thought she saw it glistening. Sally slowly pressed her finger on the jewel. She was so focused on the blue jewel, she didn't realise that one of her other fingers touched the block, suddenly they all heard a click and then felt a force like with wind all around toward them. The force of the wind was enormous, it pushed the back across the room and Sally dropped the book, knocked Charlie over on his back and papers were blown all over the room.
Everything went dark and the lights flickered. They children stopped and held each other close until the wind died down
"What was that?" Sally broke the silence after a while as they sat back up, windswept and surprised.
"I don't know" Oliver said simply
"Maybe we should go to bed and forget we ever found the book" Charlie then said standing up, it was too much for him and he wasn't too sure since things were going weird.
"Charlie, you're just overreacting" Maria told him, trying to calm the situation.
"Overreacting!" Charlie said loudly and this lead him and Maria arguing.
Thinking on what Charlie just said, Sally stared at the book and began to wonder about it. Was it magic? No, she thought things like that don't really exist but that never stopped her believing in it. She picked up the book and opened it, she and Oliver leaned forward and peered at the pages which looked brand new, that was strange to find. The writing was fancy and the pictures looked like the kind you'd find in very old books. Some pages talked about plants and others talked about history but some were more unusual these showed creatures like werewolves, fairies, unicorns and dragons. Sally found pages that look like ancient spells; it reminded her of something similar she had seen in movies.
"Look a dragon" Oliver said excitedly pointing at a picture of one sitting on a cliff edge.
"Sally" she heard Charlie which made her look up. "Don't touch it"
"Charlie please calm down" Sally said before looking back at the book "it's not dangerous, I think...I think it's a spell book"
"A spell book?" Maria said her eyes widened.
Sally nodded before she paused at a page that court her eyes.
"Listen to this, only those who are blessed, where a rare kind of magic, can open the door to lands believed from one's mind"
Both Maria and Charlie walked over to look and saw two pages that had in silver writing with the title "The power to travel". It also showed an image of a group of people next to a blue circle and seeing a person stepped in of it. They all thought the blue circle must be a portal. Maria's mind was bursting with excitement but as for Charlie...
"Well we should bin it" Charlie then said. He felt something wrong about and he just didn't want in his family to getting hurt and this was getting weird.
"Charlie..."Maria started, thinking that her young brother is overacting.
Before another argument started Sally quickly said
"Maybe...maybe we should leave it for tonight and we'll look at again it tomorrow"
Seeing both her siblings faces Maria agreed said "You're right, it's getting late" and then added brightly "and it's way past your bedtime" she said as she pointed at Ollie and then picked him up and her baby brother giggled.
They turned the lights off before they closed the door. Charlie locked it, he wasn't sure why but he it made him feel a lot better. They changed into their pyjamas, brushed their teeth and went to bed. It took a while for them to fall asleep, as they slept, strange things were happening. Lights were flickering, the TV turned on by itself and upstairs, the book started moving as if something inside on was it trying to get out. The four jewels on the book began to glow, brighter and brighter by the second until they shot out of the book, bounced all over the room and then landed in different places. The book stopped moving but the jewels continue to glow. They glowed so bright and then the glows burst in colour dust. It seemed to the sleeping children all was well but things were far from being well, the strange happenings were only just beginning.
#rise of the brave tangled dragons#The Big Four#jackunzel#mericcup#Jack Frost#Rapunzel#Merida#hiccup#rise of the guardians#tangled#brave#how to train your dragon#fanfic
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