#I would say more; but Tumblr has a tag limit apparently so I'm running out of time. as a last message: read the books | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

flamebringer0 · 8 months

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More About Nightwing Powers

I decided I had more to say about this post, so I reblogged it and wrote some more. It seems like when you do that Tumblr doesn't put the post into tag searches, so nobody can actually find it. I'm just going to copy the full text into a new post. I'm sorry if this spams anyone's feed, I just don't understand how this site works yet. I've never actually had a blog before.

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Ohhhh damn I just had another thought about this. This is my problem, I think about this stuff all the time and I keep coming up with new things I think are cool, but now that I've written all this out and published it for the whole world to see I can't change it so easily.

It's actually fine though. These thoughts are kind of a mix of things I think are canon but sufficiently non-obvious to be worth stating (All Nightwings have powers at hatching and then lose them), things that are definitely not canon but I feel like it doesn't mess with the story too much to change them (Prophets have a silver scale on their foreheads), and things that are ambiguous and I'm just filling in the blanks (fake Nightwing magic is based on their sense of smell). But there's a fourth category, which is things that I don't like about canon but changing them would basically entail writing a whole new story. I'm pretty sure this new idea falls into the latter category, so I wouldn't really have put it in that post anyway.

But let's explore the hypothesis that Tui T Sutherland and Scholastic collectively lose their minds and give me the rights to Wings of Fire, and also I have infinite time, resources and motivation to make my own adaptation of the story. Then what happens? Well, the first thing is obviously to change animus magic to be something other than total omnipotence, because omnipotent characters are the kind of albatross (tee hee) you don't want around your neck when you're trying to write a coherent story. And the second thing is to make it so the terrible Rainwing queens in book 3 are hereditary royalty and Glory is not, because I've never liked the valorisation of hereditary royalty in WOF (or in general), and that would be an easy way to subvert that. And THEN I would turn scavengers into lizard people, because I am a furry and I think that's cuter than making them humans. Lol.

But somewhere down the list would be the fact that I don't actually vibe with the idea that normal Nightwing seers/mind readers apparently have a built-in power limiter that varies randomly according to the specific individual, and the special gift you get for hatching under three moons is just to have that limiter set to 0. I don't like this because, first of all, the fact that it works like that just doesn't fit into my brain in a satisfactory way. Hatching under zero, one, or two full moons each results in a qualitatively different outcome, so in my mind, the third full moon should also do something qualitatively different. But it doesn't, it's just the same as two full moons but better. And then I'm left to assume that there are probably very rare cases of twice-moonborn Nightwings who have all the power, just because whatever secondary factors there are happened to line up in their favor? Weird.

But the more important reason is, I don't really like the idea of Clearsight as someone who has extraordinary power because she just hatched that way. Nor do I like the fact that the reasons for this are, on the one talon, unexplained (maybe inexplicable?), and on the other, not a function of who she is as a character. I think it would make for a much stronger motif if run-of-the-mill seer Clearsight were able to take down once-in-a-generation chosen one Darkstalker because she's diligent and doesn't believe in destiny while he's entitled and sure of his glorious future. At its core this feeling is actually the same thing as what I said about the Rainwing queens above: I just don't find it satisfying when the hero has some kind of special trait that makes them naturally better than everyone else. A villain can have that, but a hero I want to prove themselves through their own efforts. But that's explicitly not what happened in canon: Clearsight IS naturally more powerful than all the other seers, that's an essential part of her story, and changing it requires basically rewriting the books. I don't love it!

So anyway in the universe where I'm rewriting the books, here's a thought about how Nightwing powers might work. This partially contradicts what I wrote above, but I've decided I'm cool with that. I love contradicting myself actually, and maybe next week I'll contradict all of this again. There are no laws.

Some Nightwings are seers, some are mind readers, a few are both, and most are neither. But aside from the fact that an individual might or might not have these powers, they don't vary in strength from dragon to dragon. All seers have equally strong abilities, and all mind readers have equally strong abilities. But the strength of the abilities does vary: not per individual, but over time. Specifically, the current state of the moons affects the abilities of empowered Nightwings. On a hypothetical "darkest night" with three new moons, all Nightwings are effectively powerless. On the brightest night, empowered Nightwings experience the full strength of their abilities. Seers can easily look down many different paths into the distant future, and mind readers can easily examine any information in the mind of another dragon. Of course, the phases of the three moons are not synchronous. Most of the time, the moons are all in different states, and empowered Nightwings experience abilities somewhere in between those extremes.

Above, I said that the "strength" of Nightwing abilities doesn't really vary per dragon. Strength, as I use the term here, only refers to the raw potential to look into the future or into another dragon's mind. But different individuals do have different levels of adeptness when it comes to applying their abilities. On the brightest night, any seer can look with relative ease into the far future, down multiple timelines, examining subtle ripples of possibility. The rest of the time, most seers can't use their abilities on that level, but a particularly adept one can get closer. What makes one seer more adept than another? Well, it's really just training. If you're someone who, for whatever reason, keeps looking into the future, over time you'll get better at it, just like anything you keep doing. This is what sets Clearsight apart from her peers. She isn't more blessed by the moons than them, because no seer is more blessed by the moons than any other. Clearsight just looks into the future all the time, to a degree nobody else does. She works harder on her visions than any other seer, so her abilities are more advanced than those of any other seer.

There is one exception to the maxim "no seer is more blessed by the moons than any other". The special gift of the thrice-moonborn is that they are exempt from the cyclical waning and waxing of power with the phases of the moons. They hatch on the brightest night, and its power soaks into them and becomes permanently part of them. And so, they live as if every night is a brightest night. They always have the potential to see the ripples that spread into many distant futures, and they can always pluck any information they want out of another dragon's mind. What other Nightwings may train and train for, these dragons do as easily as they breathe.

There are few Nightwings who never dreamed as dragonets about what it would be like to have hatched under three full moons. How different their lives could have been from those of the common powerless Nightwing, or even ordinary seers and mind readers! And not just directly because of what they could see: the thrice-moonborn are almost inevitably beloved by their tribe, showered with attention, and elevated to the highest strata of society. Wouldn't that be nice, think the dragons who could have walked that path but for something as meaningless as the sky under which they hatched.

It's unsurprising that many covet that life, but it's not entirely as pleasant as they imagine. The adulation that surrounds the most powerful Nightwings is instrumental. As laid out in excruciating detail just behind the eyes of smiling dragons, few love them for who they are; many more love them for what they are. They will never have any interaction with friends or family that isn't fundamentally shaped by the asymmetrical power dynamic implied by their abilities. It's easy for a dragon in that situation to become profoundly isolated, especially without support. But the brightest night comes so rarely that most Nightwings who receive its gift will grow up with neither peers, nor mentors who can relate to these experiences. That many ultimately respond in unhealthy, self-destructive ways is a given; that the self-destruction of such powerful dragons often also destroys those around them is a recurring tragedy in the history of the tribe.

But it's not inevitable. No dragon's fate is actually written in the stars or sealed by the moons. It's always possible to choose a different future.

#the nice thing about making a blog is that now i can record the infinite cascade of thoughts im always having about night dragon moon magic #without feeling like im compelling any particular person to listen #next time ill talk about a different topic though #probably #wings of fire #wof #wof headcanon #headcanon #wof nightwing #nightwing #wof clearsight #clearsight #wof darkstalker #darkstalker

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khoicesbyk · 2 years

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The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 13K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @shewillreadyou @txemrn @peonierose @twinkleallnight @choicesficwriterscreations

Because this was a VERY LONG chapter (over 13K words) and Tumblr apparently has character limits (I had no idea that was a thing) I had to break it down into two parts. This is part one.

Trust Fall. Pt 1.

Marquise was coming out of his bedroom wearing nothing but his low-hanging grey sweatpants when he ran into the last person he wanted to see. His father.

“Hello, my son. It's good to finally catch up with you.”

“What are you doing here?!”

Constantine gave him a tight smile.

“I've been trying to catch you since you came home.”

“How the hell did you get in here?” Marquise asked his father.

“With my key. How do you think I got in?”

“You don't have a key.”

Connie pulled a key out of his pocket.

“Yes, I do.”

“How the fuck did you get a key to my apartment?”

“I'm the King, son. That's how.”

Marquise let out an aggravated sigh.

“What do you want?”

Just as Connie went to respond, Shanelle walked out of the bedroom.

“When are you coming back to bed?” she asked Marquise.

“Well hello there young lady,” Connie replied.

Shanelle's eyes went wide when she finally saw Connie.

“…hi?”

“Aren't you going to introduce your company son?” Connie asks.

“Son?” Shanelle asked as she looked at Marquise.

Marquise sighed heavily.

“Shanelle, meet my father. Constantine Rys, The current King of Cordonia.”

“Your father?” she asked.

“Yes. His father.”

Shanelle looked at Marquise.

“You didn't tell me that I would be meeting your dad.”

“I didn't? Oh well, that's because he isn't supposed to fucking be here.”

“Watch your tone, boy!” Connie sneered.

“You didn't answer my question…father.”

“What question?” Connie asks.

“What do you want?” Marquise replied.

“I want you to stop whatever this little dalliance of yours is”, he says as he gestures to Shanelle, “and return to the palace immediately.”

“I'll return when I'm ready.”

“That wasn't a question son.”

“You have my answer.”

Connie let out an aggravated sigh.

“Do you have to be so damn stubborn, boy?”

“I don't know, do you always have to be a constant drunken whore?”

Connie glared at his son as he stood up.

“I've had enough of your insubordination! I'm not just your father and I am your King! So you have 72 hours to return to the palace!”

With that, Connie turned in his heel and walked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

“Well, that couldn't have gone any worse,” Marquise muttered before running a frustrated hand down his face.

“Are you okay?” Shanelle asked him.

“I will be. Are you alright?” he asked her.

“Yeah. That was just awkward as hell,” she replied.

“I'm sorry you had to see that.”

“It's not your fault. I was gonna have to meet him eventually, right?”

“Unfortunately.”

He wrapped his arms around her.

“Are you hungry?” he asks.

“I could go for some food.”

“Go get in the shower and I'll get breakfast started.”

“What about your dad?”

“Don't worry about him.”

“But he just said you have 72 hours to get back to the palace.”

Marquise waved her off.

“He said that for your benefit, not mine.”

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“Yes, love. I know him. He does shit like that to scare others. You needn't be worried.”

“Okay.”

He watched her disappear into his bedroom while he went to the kitchen to get breakfast started. Marquise knew they would have to face Connie; he just didn't think it would be so soon. Not after getting her to agree to spend 2 weeks together in Cordonia.

Marquise had been in New York at that point for 6 weeks trying to get to know her, when his father summoned him home. But he wasn't ready to say goodbye to her yet. He was sitting in her living room with her and her parents, Prince Damien Miller and her mother Shantel. He was watching as she looked at her father like he lost his mind. Which at that point was nothing new.

“I'm sorry but what?!” she asked her dad.

“You're going with Prince Marquise to Cordonia,” he replied.

“Allow me to say this in a language that everyone in this room can hear and understand: I'm not going anywhere.”

Marquise rolled his eyes.

“This again,” he muttered a little too loudly.

“Oh, I'm sorry, Your Highness. Am I boring you?” she asked him.

“No, you’re annoying me. Which is worse.”

“Feel free to leave at any point and time.”

Marquise let out a frustrated sigh.

“Shanelle, that is enough.” her father chastised her. “There's no need for you to be rude to him.”

Shanelle scoffed.

“Oh, now you want to be a dad?”

“Shanelle please.” her mother said to her.

“Do NOT get smart with me!” he warned her.

Shanelle set her jaw and glared at her dad.

“Now I know you don't want to but it's time that you visited Cordonia. You’re the next Queen.”

Shanelle scoffed.

“Is that an order?” she asked her father.

“No. But if you continue to be disrespectful it will be.” he answered.

That statement set her off.

“I'm disrespectful? You literally sold me off like I'm some cow at an auction but I'm the disrespectful one?! Unfuckingbelievable!”

“Don't you ever raise your voice at me!” her father sneered.

“Or what? I'm grounded?”

Her mother got in between them.

“Enough! Both of you.”

Her mother turned to her.

“Go calm down, Shanelle.”

“Fine by me. I don't want to be in this room anyway.” Shanelle said to her mother before stalking off to her room.

Damien shook his head as he watched Shanelle disappear down the hall before turning to face his wife’s wrath.

“Our daughter’s right, you know.”

Damien sighed heavily.

“Not you too Shantel.”

“Yes, me too.”

He looked at his wife pleadingly.

“Baby, you have to understand that I didn't have a choice!”

“That's where you’re wrong, Damien. You have always had a choice. And you chose King and Country over our daughter! Unlike you, Shanelle is the one who didn't have a choice!”

“Don't you think I know that?” he asked his wife.

“You act like you don't. And as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words.” Shantel said to him before walking out to the patio. Leaving Damien and Marquise alone together.

“That went well, don't you think?�� Marquise said nonchalantly.

Shanelle’s father cut his eyes at him.

“With all due respect Your Highness, the last thing I need right now is your sarcasm.”

Marquise shrugged.

“Well considering that I'm stuck in this situation as much as your daughter is, my sarcasm is earned.”

Damien let out an annoyed sigh.

“If you’re looking for sympathy from me, it's not going to happen.”

“Of course, I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm just asking that you not add to an already growing inferno.”

“An inferno you started," Marquise added.

“Thank you for overstating the obvious, Your Highness.”

Marquise shook his head.

“I shouldn't do this but I'm going to help you out. Because clearly you've fucked up royally. Pun intended.”

“And how will you help me?” Damien asked Marquise.

“I'll handle this.” Marquise replied.

“You'll handle this?”

“I'll tell you the same thing I told your daughter, I don't like repeating myself," Marquise replied.

Damien rolled his eyes.

“And how will you handle this, Your Highness?” Damien asked.

“I'll deal with your daughter. You go deal with your wife.” Marquise replied before walking down the hall to Shanelle’s room.

Shanelle was packing a suitcase when there was a knock at her door.

“Go away, daddy!" she shouted at the door.

Marquise chuckled.

“Ooh! Daddy huh? Kinky. Very kinky. Not the time or place for that but still very kinky.”

“Asshole!” she yelled at the door.

“That's Prince Asshole to you! Now open the door.”

“Go to hell!”

“Do NOT make me repeat myself, Shanelle," Marquise warned her.

She let out an explosive breath before going to and opening the door.

“There. Ya happy now? I opened the door.” she said to him.

“Good girl,” he said as he walked in.

“Sure. Just come right in," she muttered.

“Now we need to talk.”

“I don't want to talk.”

He noticed the suitcase sitting on her bed.

“Going somewhere, love?” he asked.

“Not that it's any of your business, yes I am," she replied.

“Oh? Where are we going?” he asked.

“There is no we. I'm leaving and you can't stop me," she replied.

He arched an eyebrow at her before sitting down on her bed.

“What are you doing?” she asked him.

He smirked at her before closing her suitcase and laying his head on top of it.

“What are you doing?” she asked again.

“I'm taking a nap. What does it look like?” he replied.

“Get off of my suitcase.”

“Nope.”

“You are so aggravating!” she sneered.

He shrugged with a smirk.

“If you say so. Now, where are we going? What should I pack? Will it be cold?” he asked.

“There is no we!” she seethed.

He sat up only to pull her onto the bed and into his arms.

“Let me go!” she protested.

His hold on her tightened.

“Let. Me. Go!” she said to him as she tried to escape.

“I like this. I like having you in my arms.”

He buried his face into the crook of her neck as she squirmed in his arms, inhaling her perfume.

“Mmmm, you smell good. What's the name of this perfume?” he purred in her ear.

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

“You are an asshole!” she sneered.

“I'm also your husband. Don't forget that.”

“How are you so goddamn strong?” she asked.

“I have a strict workout regimen, that's how. Why? You impressed?," he replied.

“Well now that you mention it…NO!”

She tried but failed to get free of his grip. Especially when he pinned her wrists above her head.

“Will you stop now?” he asked her.

“No! Not until you let me go!”

“Okay, then I guess we're going to be here for a while.”

The more she squirmed the more pressure he applied to her wrists. Soon, she started to feel the fight begin to drain out of her.

“Are you ready to talk like an adult or do I have to continue treating you like you’re a child?” he asks.

Shanelle let out a resigned sigh.

“Fine! Just let me go.”

He slowly let her wrists go and they both sat up on her bed.

“Good girl. Now, where are we going?” he asked.

She gave him a side-eye.

“I was going to a hotel for a while. I don't want to be around my father right now.” she replied.

“I have a better idea.”

“What?” she asked.

“Come with me to Cordonia,” he replied.

“No.”

“Shanelle…”

“I said no!” she hissed before she got up and stormed off to her ensuite, slamming and locking the door behind her.

She felt like she couldn't breathe. Her life was being upended right before her eyes and she had no way of stopping it. As she slid down the door, tears of frustration welled in her eyes. And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse there was a knock at the door.

“Go away! I don't want to talk to you!” she shouted through the door.

“Okay fine. You don't want to talk. Would you be willing to listen then?” he asked.

“…fine.”

“Shanelle, I get it. You’re upset. You have every right to be.”

She scoffed.

“Not that you care. After all, I'm just a means to an end for you.”

“I do care, Shanelle.”

“Why? Why do you care?”

“I care because I know how it feels to have your dreams snatched out from under you.”

Shanelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself.

“I know you don't want to hear it, but what else do you have to lose?” he asked her.

“Why should I go with you?” she asks.

“Because you want to get away from your dad right? This is your chance to do that.”

“But I don't fly. I see you've forgotten that already.” she replied.

“I haven't forgotten. I could never forget it.”

“You don't even know why I don't like to fly.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Prove it.”

He sat down against the door before he spoke.

“You have a fear of heights. Which is crazy and funny considering that you live in New York. And that fear of heights triggered your fear of flying. Well, that and the fact that you got two bad ear aches when you were a kid on flights to Disney World. And it scared you to the point that you never wanted to fly again.”

Shanelle smiled to herself.

“Your Highness, you are a stalker!”

“No, I'm highly thorough. There's a difference.”

“My mother told you, didn't she?” she asked.

“Maybe.”

Shanelle shook her head with a chuckle.

“If you know that I don't fly, why are you trying to get me to go to Cordonia?” she asked.

“I'm not proposing that you move to Cordonia on a whim. I just want to give you a way to decompress.” he replied.

“But do I have to do it in Cordonia?”

Marquise thought for a moment.

“Would it make it easier if I threw in a trip to Paris?”

Shanelle chuckled softly.

“Really?”

“Yes. If you come to Cordonia and spend time with me, I'll take you to Paris so you can experience it for yourself. I'll even take you to my mother's favorite perfume shop. Y'know since you loved my cologne so much.”

She snickered.

“I'm sorry I ever said anything to you.”

“No, you're not.”

She smirked.

“I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Yes, it is. You’re just a stubborn brat.”

“Go fuck yourself!”

“Why do that when I have you?” he asked.

Shanelle groaned.

“What do you have to lose Shanelle?” he asked.

“You mean besides, my dignity?” she replied.

“I had no idea that you had any dignity. The more I talk to you, the more I learn about you.”

Her only response was a fist to the door.

“You know you want to love. So let's go. Let me take you away.”

“Don't you have a job or something back in Cordonia?” she asked.

“A.) you’re deflecting. B.) Yes, I do.” he replied.

“Then if you have a job back where you come from, how would you ever have time for me?” she asked.

“Well, for one I set my schedule. And two, stop fucking deflecting.” he replied.

She knew she was running out of excuses.

“Shanelle, open the door. Let me see you.”

She dried her eyes then got up and opened the door.

“Come here, beautiful.”

She looked at him apprehensively before walking straight into his open arms. He ran the knuckles of his right hand up and down her spine while placing a soft kiss under her right ear.

“I know you’re angry. I know you feel like your life is spinning out and you have no way of controlling it. But I also know you’re scared. And I'm here to tell you that you don't have to be. I'm right here.”

“I don't even know you," she whispered.

He tilted her chin up so that she was looking him directly in the eye.

“Ever heard of taking a leap of faith?” he asked.

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?” she replied.

“All I'm asking for is a chance to show you who I am.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Okay. You win. I'll come with you.”

“Thank you, love.”

“Besides, you had me when you said you'd take me to Paris.”

He snickered.

“Paris for the win!”

She shook her head with a smirk.

“I need time to finish packing. Can we leave tomorrow?”

“Of course.” he said before kissing below her left ear, “whatever you want.”

She nodded before letting him go.

“Thank you, Marquise,” she whispered.

He kissed her slowly.

“Anything for you," he whispered against her lips.

She sat down on her bed as she watched him walk out of her room. Her brain screamed and her heart leaped. The next morning Shanelle found herself gawking as she and Marquise walked toward the massive Royal Family jet.

“That's what we're flying in?” she asks.

“Yup.”

“That thing is as big as Air Force One!”

“Bigger actually.”

“How long is this flight exactly?” she asks.

“About 10 ½ hours. It's the same length of time it takes to fly from New York to Paris, on a nonstop flight," he replied.

“Oh boy…”

He stopped them both as he took her right hand in his.

“Look at me,” he said as he rubbed the knuckles of her hand, “I promise you, you’re safe. You will never be far away from me the whole flight. Okay?”

She nodded before they continued towards the jet. When they got there they were greeted by the pilot and flight crew.

“Buenos días, Su Alteza!”

“Buenos días, Javier.”

“¿Estáis listos para volar a mi príncipe?”

“Sí, Javier. Estamos listos para volar.”

“You speak Spanish?” Shanelle asked Marquise.

“Yes. I actually speak well over 35 languages. Now allow me to introduce you to our pilot.” he replied before turning to Javier. “Javier, let me introduce you to Princess Shanelle Miller. Shanelle, this is Javier Espinoza, our pilot.”

“Good morning Your Highness. It's an honor to meet you.” Javier said to Shanelle with a bow and firm handshake.

“Good morning Javier.”

Javier smiled at Shanelle before turning to Marquise.

“The jet is fueled and ready to depart, my Prince.”

“Let us be off.”

Javier bowed and stepped aside so the two could board. After they boarded he introduced her to the rest of the flight crew onboard. He wanted to make sure that she was as comfortable as possible. And while it was a very valiant effort, it did little for Shanelle’s anxiety which had shot up.

“Welcome to my apartment in the sky.”, Marquise said as he turned to face her. When he looked at her, she looked like a zombie, she had stopped dead in her tracks and was feeling uncertain and scared.

“I…I…I…I can't. Marquise, I can't. I don’t think I can do this.” she whispered.

Marquise took her trembling hands in his.

“Look at me, love.” he said gently, “I'm right here. Okay? Focus on me.”

She nodded slowly and followed him to their seats, only letting his hand go long to fasten her seatbelt.

“You’re doing good, love.” he said to her as she squeezed his right hand, “I know you’re scared. But you’re safe I swear that to you.”

She screwed her eyes shut and laid her head on his shoulder as the jet started to taxi. He could hear her start to hyperventilate as the engines roared to life.

“This is it. Are you ready?” he whispered to her.

“No," she replied quietly.

“Remember what I said earlier, focus on me.”

As the jet ascended, Shanelle’s grip on his hand tightened. She was terrified.

“You’re doing good, love,” he whispered calmly in an attempt to soothe her. “The plane will plateau soon. You won't feel anything when it does.”

She buried her face into his shoulder and held on. When the jet reached its optimal altitude Marquise stood up offering a hand to her.

“Come with me?”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“It’ll be okay. I promise. We’ll go slow.”

“Where are we going?” She asks.

“To one of the bedrooms. As comfy as these seats are to sit in, they’ll put a nasty crick in your neck if you fall asleep in them.”

He watched her bite her bottom lip.

“Do you trust me?” He asks.

“I’m here aren’t I?” She replied.

“Exactly my point, love. So come with me.”

She put her hand in his and stood up slowly.

“Don't make me regret this.”

“Never that, love.”

They walked to the bedrooms which were towards the back of the airplane. When they got there, Shanelle sat down with her body still shaking. She was thankful that he was right there. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.

“Is that better?” he asked.

She nodded her head yes as he ran the knuckles of his left hand up and down her spine.

“You must think that I'm being ridiculous for being scared.”

“Not at all. It takes a lot for someone to conquer a fear. I'm just thankful you haven't swung on me.”

“Knowing you there will be plenty of time for that.”

They shared a small laugh.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks.

“For being here.”

He brought her lips to his and kissed her slowly.

“Always love. Now, how about some food? Or would you prefer a nap?” he asked.

“Both. Always both. But right now I could go for a nap.”

“Makes sense. So let’s take a nap then we’ll eat.”

She smiled softly at him before they laid down for a nap. When she woke up a few hours later, he was sitting next to her on a laptop with the Cordonian Royal Seal on it.

“Did you have a good nap?” He asks.

“I did. What are you working on?” She asked.

“Official Royal business that I can’t tell you about.” He replies.

“Why not?”

“You’re not the Queen. At least not yet.”

“Fair enough. Now I believe I was promised food.”

He nods to the lunch laid out on a large cart.

“Whoa.”

“Nothing less than the best for the Crown Prince and his future Queen. Now, if you’re not feeling up to grabbing it, I’ll get it for you.”

“I think I can manage but thanks anyway.”

Just as she stood up, the plane started to shake causing her to sit back down.

“On second thought…”

He snickered at her as it was announced that the plane hit a bit of turbulence. He shook his head and waited for the shaking to stop.

“We're fine, love. Turbulence happens. Especially when flying over the Atlantic.”

Shanelle nodded and tried again.

“There you go. Just go slow love.” he encouraged.

The rest of the flight went smoothly. That evening as they got ready to descend Marquise got her to look out the window.

“Welcome to Cordonia, Princess.”

“Beautiful.”

“Indeed. And my home is too.”

Shanelle rolled her eyes with a smirk.

They touched down just as the sun was starting to set and were escorted to a waiting motorcade.

“Good evening, Your Highness. Welcome home.”, his lead guard Alexander Dean said as he greeted him.

“Evening Alex. It's good to be home.”

Alex nodded before turning to Shanelle.

“Good evening Princess Miller. Welcome to Cordonia. I'm Alexander Dean. I'm Crown Prince Marquise’s lead bodyguard.”

“Good evening Alexander. It's good to be here.”

“It's good to have you here, and please call me Alex. I've had the pleasure of meeting your father. His highness has always spoken highly of you.”

Shanelle snickered.

“I hope so.”

Alex smiled politely at her before turning to Marquise.

“My Prince, are you ready to depart to the palace?” Alex asked Marquise.

“Nope. We're going to Duchy Anyango.”

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” Alex asks with a slightly uneasy look on his face.

“Positive.” Marquise replies matter-of-factly.

“Very well, My Prince. Let us head to Duchy Anyango.”

Alexander escorted them to the waiting motorcade and soon they were off. Although Shanelle was curious about why they weren't going to the palace.

“Question.”

“Yes, love?”

“How come we aren't going to the palace?” she asked.

“Because there's nothing urgent at the palace that requires my attention.”

Shanelle arched an eyebrow at him.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I'm sure.”

“So what is this Duchy Anyango?” she asked.

“It's the duchy that was given to my mother when she married my father," he replies.

“Anyango isn't a typical Cordonian surname is it?”

“No, it's Kenyan. My mother was originally from Kenya.”

“How'd she wind up being in Cordonia and marrying its King?”

“She was the deputy Treasury Director for the Royal Family of Auvernal when she was assigned as my father's guide when he traveled to Auvernal on a diplomatic tour. He was smitten with her but she didn't care for him. At least not at first.”

“So what happened?”

“He was able to poach her from the Aurvernese Government by offering her the job of a lifetime.”

“And what job was that?”

“Being the Queen.”

“Wow. And she went for it?”

“Oh yeah. Of course, she didn't make it easy. She made him wine and dine her every chance she got. And when he got down on one knee and asked her for her hand in marriage, she said yes.”

“Damn.”

“Their marriage was the talk of all of Cordonia. The King fell head over heels in love with an outsider and not only made her the next queen of Cordonia but this blessed union bore a child. A son. Better known as me.”

“I see. So why are we going to her duchy?”

“Because by default, it's mine. And I haven't been to the duchy in a while.”

“What do you mean it's yours by default?”

Marquise took a deep breath.

“I inherited it after she died.”

“Oh, I had no idea.”

“It's okay.”

“What did she die from if you don't mind me asking?”

“She was poisoned.”

Shanelle’s left hand flew to her mouth.

“Oh my God. I'm so sorry.”

He rubbed the knuckle of her right hand with his thumb.

“Thank you, love. I've had time to come to terms with it.”

“I'm sure you miss her.”

“Every day.”

“I wish I could've met her.”

“She would have loved you.”

“Did she know about the marriage treaty?”

“I doubt it. I'm sure she was just as in the dark about it as your mother was.”

“Our dads…amiright?”

“Yup.”

“So, how long is the drive to the duchy?” she asks.

“About 2 hours, so I'd get comfortable if I were you,” he replies.

Shanelle watched the sun slowly dip below the clouds as they rode to Marquise’s duchy. Every so often she would glance over to see him casually scrolling his phone.

“Take a picture, Princess. It'll last you a whole lot longer than gawking at me will.”

She scoffed and he snickered.

“Don't flatter yourself.”

“I don't have to. You do that for me.”

She rolled her eyes as he smirked.

Soon they pulled into the manor’s driveway. As he helped her out of the limo, she was struck by how huge the manor is.

“It's fucking huge!”

“You would know, wouldn't you?”

“You are such a fucking pig!” she sneered at him.

“And you clearly like bacon. Your point?”

“You’re insufferable.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close so that her chest was flush with his.

“And you like it. Especially when you don't want to or even like to admit it.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I'm starting to regret this whole trip,” she muttered.

“No, you’re not. Now let's go inside, shall we?” he said as he held out his right arm. After giving him a side eye, she linked her arm with his.

“So we're gonna have this big ass mansion to ourselves?” she asked as they stepped into the manor’s foyer.

“No. This is the main house. I let the staff and grounds people have this.”

“Then why are we here?”

“Because I wanted you to see it, Princess. I mainly stay in the apartment behind the main garage when I'm here but it won't be ready until tomorrow so we'll be here at the main house for the night. It's also much smaller and much more intimate.”

“You have a car?”

“Yes. Several of them in fact.”

“Wait! Do you know how to drive?”

“Yes, I do. I had to learn.”

“I didn't know you knew how to drive.”

He threw her a smirk over his shoulder as they walked through the manor towards the terrace, he held the door open for her and they stepped out to a beautifully clear starry night sky.

“It's beautiful.”

“Wait until you see it during the day," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her right shoulder, “this part of Cordonia is known for its vineyards and farms.”

“What kind of farms?”

“Mainly, cows and sheep. A few goat farms are scattered around too.”

“It's so pretty.”

“Very. The landscape is why my mother and I have always loved this area so much.”

“You said that we aren't staying here the whole time, right?”

“That's right.”

“Then where are we staying?”

He points to a stone path lit by gas lanterns.

“The path will take you to the guest cottage. It sits along the river that feeds the area.”

“So what are we going to do tomorrow?” she asked.

“We're gonna go explore town.”

“The one we rode through earlier before we got here?”

“Yes. There's so much there that I want to show you.”

She turned in his arms to face him.

“Like what?”

“You'll find out.”

“So mysterious…”

He winked at her.

They stepped back inside and enjoyed dinner the rest of the evening enjoying each other's company. While taking shots at each other the whole night.

You have reached the end of part 1. Stay tuned for part 2! 😘

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anasticep · 3 years

Text

Why Julie and the Phantoms is a masterpiece of a show. Part 2. Heroes and Villains or Let that foil shine

NOTE: Thanks again for your kind response to Part 1. I never expected that. It being my first tumblr post and a first meta in quite a long time I was blown away. I read all the tags, some were really hilarious. About having more than one brain cell xDDD I laughed so hard. It means a lot.

NOTE2: Please remember that the gifs are made by me, so don't crop, edit or give as yours.

Part 1.

Before diving into meta, I have to mention that the Villain of the story is actually one of the best in the decade. He’s cool, evil from the start, we understand his motives and we certainly are not supposed to love and make excuses for him. The writers made sure of that. So back to the main topic.

A foil is a character who contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist

Foils in literature are not necessarily antagonists. A friend can be a foil or sometimes even a thing, a song. Whatever can make a good and real contrast to the protagonist. But it’s not very simple to use this author’s device and not fall down a deep hole. Because you have to make sure you did just the right amount of work to make it understandable for a reader, the things you want to contrast are definitely there and still you don't waste a character. On TV it can be even harder given limited air time. And, well, I don’t come across this device being used in full very often nowadays. It’s usually good and evil fighting for the plot. That’s why I personally appreciate JaTP so much.

Caleb is clearly a foil to Luke. As much as I’d love to say that Julie also has one, that’s not entirely true, at least not this season. Carrie is not her foil though it may seem so, and I really think that’s cool as Julie’s journey is being presented through her own demons and I'm going to cover that next. That being said, of course Caleb doubles as an antagonist plotwise, but I personally consider him being written more as a contract to Luke so we could see and appreciate his character and journey better.

1. Origins

Caleb and Luke have extremely similar backgrounds. They are both natural performers. They know how to deliver, because c’mon, “Now or Never” is something and so is “The other side of Hollywood”. Stage is their natural habitat, their element, power. Although they channel this power from completely different places.

Let’s start with our little ball of energy. It’s emphasized TWICE that he doesn’t care about the money aka the physical side of art.

All Luke wants is to make music. Connect with people. He is so happy just to be heard despite him loving to perform. Making music is what makes him feel alive and basically that’s enough. I think if there was no “hologram” magic at all, Luke would have still been extremely happy to make music with and for Julie. Because that’s the way he is.

But Caleb doesn’t know that. He knows, and I’m standing by that, right away that Luke is the one to aim at. Because we always feel the similarity in people. If Luke said yes, Reggie and Alex would have followed. So Caleb recognizes the passion and shoots at them what he thinks is appealing. And, oh boy, he delivers.

“The Other Side of Hollywood” is a perfect song to emphasize Luke and Caleb being foils for each other. Follow me here:

But these lines come from very different places. For Caleb the only thing that matters is himself. He owns the show, he IS the show. It’s about being famous, drowning in applause, admiration. Look at how he performs. Confident, yes, but still very much in control. He must keep his perfect face. No flaws, no real emotions, no real connection (Did you miss ME? I did too // This band is back). Whereas Luke is simply living the best time of his life each time he performs. Is it just jamming? Bring it on. Doing fun riffs? He’s all for it. He doesn’t care how he looks (though who could deny gorgeous sweaty Luke), he owns the show just because he is a natural.

So back to the business. Caleb immediately puts the boys in his own shoes:

On the other side we live like kings // Your soulprint on the walk of fame on the boulevard of your wildest dreams // I got your glamour, got your gold, got all you’ll ever need

And, I mean, he is not that wrong. You can see the appeal on the boys’ faces. They are young, passionate, handsome, talented musicians. Of course they wouldn’t deny fame. Of course they would want all that to some extent. And Caleb is very sure he pulled the right strings.

Watch me make a move, I’m your number one choice

Also I have to mention, as we are talking about TOSOH (IKEA name again) and it being a foil for Luke, thy lyrics still don’t forget about what is important for Reggie and Alex (we’ll talk about that just a bit later):

Welcome to the brotherhood -> Reggie

Where you won’t be misunderstood -> Alex

Then again, lots of foreshadowing in the song, if you listen carefully the lyrics are stressing the true colors of the offer:

A tomb with a view

Man, what a metaphor. I would have run out of there the minute I heard this line. But our boys share one brain cell (I can’t get over how funny this is) and it’s currently taken by Julie, so I don’t blame them.

Disappointment is huge. Caleb read it all wrong. So we are moving to the next point in our Heroes and Villains essay.

2. Recruitment

It’s very cool that Caleb offers the boys to join his band right after Luke offers Julie to join Sunset Curve. They both are going out of their ways to get that (although have different budgets apparently. But look, they live in a garage). Luke made a hit with a bunch of Julie’s not very well structured lines (I love Flying Solo with all my heart as a song, but as a poem it just looks weird to me) to impress her, and we all saw the show Caleb had thrown to impress the boys. Plus food. And fancy dancing. But here is where contrast comes again.

Caleb offers to join the band, yes, but only as backup singers. It’s his show, remember? It’s only about him. He doesn’t care if they are even good. He wants their magic under control.

Share the spotlight with ME / How do you like MY new band?!

Luke offering Julie a spot in the band is a completely different story. He saw what she is capable of. He instantly knows she must be the key to a new sound, a new level. And he, a natural performer, frontman, lead guitarist, steps back and gives the spotlight to Julie. To think about it, he could have just got her magic under control by giving her simple lines, incorporating piano in the songs and that’s all. They would be visible, he would still be a center of attention, and Julie herself wouldn't mind that much. But that’s not who Luke is. Yes, there is a funny scene of “Hey, I’m your lead singer” and “you don’t have to be mean”, but it’s just messing around. Because right after that he finishes Flying Solo, writes several other songs with Julie, seeks her approval of Sunset Curve songs and basically follows her around like an adorable excited puppy.

Moving on and back to the rejection. Again the writers are mirroring them. Julie quits the band & the boys decline the offer. What does Luke do? Well, he tries the way he knows: books a gig, makes Reggie and Alex sing in perfect harmonies and does his puppy eyes thing. And it doesn’t work. And Luke goes to reflect and then probably try to come up with a plan. But something tells me he would not have haunted Julie until she joined them.

What does Caleb do after the initial rejection? Puts a cursed stamp that leaves them no choice but to join HGC. You don’t need to say more.

But in fact the more I think about it, the more I suspect Caleb also not possessing enough mental capacity for a human being. Like, if it wasn’t for Willie, how would they even know? Has Caleb planned to simply show up one day and casually explain? Look, foils in everything.

“You’re in a tough spot… So, you wanna join the band?” | “Looked like it hurt… you know where to find me”

But we sidestepped a bit.

3. Pulling the strings

After the song Caleb comes out to consolidate his success. What he does is clever and, btw, that’s the only time he becomes Julie’s foil. They are stating basically the same thing.

Again, Julie is concerned about the band and the boys, while Caleb is only concerned about having them under control. But they both are pulling basically the right strings.

What is interesting, Caleb actually impressed the wrong person (and that person is our sweet Reggie). Luke follows the string Julie pulled. Although the offer is tempting, he insists twice that they are in a band already directly to Caleb and then in Eats&Beats he says "It's like Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound». No matter what Caleb promised, Luke is not affected at all although Caleb’s offer is a very-very safe choice.

Speaking about using friends as foils, Alex and Reggie also serve as contrast characters for Luke at some points. Luke’s indifference to money is first stressed through Alex who is clearly the chief accountant for the band. His lines about not getting tips, living in a garage and «it’s a little bit about the money» are waved aside by Luke. Reggie is clearly the most affected by the whole Bobbie thing. His lines «I don’t care what Julie said, I’m glad we scared Bobbie», «So we’re gonna forget about getting back at Trevor?» are getting a clear contrast by Luke’s «It’s what Julie said, we have a new band, a new sound» and «He has to live with that guilt».

While editing the article I realised a very cool thing I haven't noticed before. How badly Luke wants to go on tour. And again that's another thing Caleb offers as if reading his mind. That's actually brilliant, to think about it.

Caleb is a VERY good reader. He tests the waters with a speech about disappearing from stage and going around the world and all dreams coming true. Still he doesn’t know the boys and especially Luke, so his phrase “no real connection” doesn’t register that much.

But he learns. Remember the lines I’ve marked before?

Reggie is afraid they will not be together after they cross over. He is in desperate need of a family. So wouldn’t it be nice to spend the rest of your afterlife with your brothers? (Reggie's main insecurity is loneliness, feel of a broken family. That's why he is the most concerned about crossing over. Will his family stay intact?)

Alex is insecure, and not being understood by the people closest to him will always hit hard. So welcome to a place where you won’t be misunderstood. And actually we know there is a guy you like and find comfort in. (Alex's insecurity is growing up in times when he could not truly be himself even with his family and for sure not believing he would ever be able to find someone meant just for him)

That mirrors the whole Luke’s beach speech perfectly. Only comparing them we can truly appreciate why Luke is the leader. He shuts down his own demons to make Alex and Reggie remember that they are not alone (“and I believe in you”. sorry. Olicity fan).

Caleb makes them suffer to get what he wants. But this time he is careful with the words aimed at Luke. Yes, he repeats his words about vanishing and applauses BUT he makes sure that his words about CONNECTION are the key words for Luke. Intense look, calming voice, touching - these are all elements of hypnosis. And Luke is in a daze. (Continuing the parents' thing, for Luke the main insecurity is not managing to connect with his mom. Maybe that's such a big thing for him: through all these people he wanted to find that connection with her)

4. The Hero’s journey

That’s the best part actually but I won’t be saying anything new or that you don’t know. Luke is made of lyrics and music. That’s his soul, heart, that’s the feeling running through his veins. He doesn’t need anything other than that in his life. Playing for eternity is “a gift no musician would ever turn down”. But he actually does turn it down. As well as his dream to go see the world with his band (is there covid in jatp universe?). He is the one who resists the hardest to the pull. Luke, who always has a guitar in his hands, doesn't want to play. Because it’s not only about the music now. He has this amazing girl in his afterlife who was willing to accept them for who they were, helped Luke battle his own demons, eased his pain and made him open up. And it doesn’t make sense any longer without her anymore. “And you’re a part of me now till eternity”.

Caleb, being Luke’s foil, completely misses the whole point of connection. It’s not in his nature. His house band are just recruits (Just so happens you’re in luck we’ve got a vacancy). For Luke his band is his family (We are the only family we ever gonna need). The Connection theme is one of the main in the show. And it’s so cool to show it focused through Luke whose best way of interaction is a touch. But not being able to touch Julie Luke has to find other ways, although it’s not that simple for him. And Julie backs that up: We connect in so many other ways. They literally touched each other's souls. Without knowing she put a stamp of her own on Luke, Alex and Reggie. They’ve never felt loved enough, appreciated enough, supported enough. They’ve only had each other. And Julie’s stamp is love. And for Luke (as well as Reggie and Alex) from now on this girl is worth dying for all over again.

_______

So yeah. I hope you enjoyed it, as I for sure enjoyed writing. There is gonna be a part 3 about Julie and a few honorable mentions of parallels of the Pilot and the Finale (I hope at least to do all that). I’ve also figured very very cool connections in the songs and I can’t wait to share.

Also as I was heavily speaking about The Other side of Hollywood, @catty-words has a wonderful meta on rain metaphors here (sorry for tagging, if you don't want to be tagged), check it out if you somehow missed it. It's super clever.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters #alex mercer #jatp meta #jatp analysis #my gifs #my edits #don't crop #please be nice #caleb covington #ana's meta #am i smart? i am #having more brain cells then sunset curve

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msgrumpygills · 3 years

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Social Media Anon Here!

Firstly, never change Grumpy ;) you are probably the only person on Tumblr to LISTEN to another view and let it change a prejudice.

Secondly, the Padagram/Social Media change bus continues. Don't be fooled people will be looking at positive and negative reactions to that change on social media.

So here goes!

1. They are starting to market season 2 of Walker in Hiatus. That really doesn't happen. That means they know they need to target new viewers. They are acknowledging they have a problem. The main problem is Jared either didn't learn enough about production quality on SPN (Jensen/Misha were both more interested in behind the camera's) or that he thought he could stick a Stetson on and we all had such sh1t for brains we'd watch anything. So they need a viewer boost DESPARATELY and are going all out to (a) persuade Walkers remaining viewer(s) that it's worth sticking around and (b) get back old viewers or convert 1m+ viewers to season 2. So now we see all the cast (and Keegan has more followers than Jared and Lindsay has a VERY engaged following) trying to persuade their followers how fabulous Walker is. Expect this scrabbling to continue if they want their COVID paychecks.

2. Connected to 1, Jared has started trying to break out of the fandom bubble. I don't think he's trying for power couple (the clue in a power couple is that two FAMOUS people get together and create a super brand, here we have one niche C famous guy and a hanger on wife), I think we are in Jared profile raising and trying to raise his recognition score, which is probably a little low having half assed it in the last year and a half. He's doing it by scatter-gunning so I'm not sure it's going to stick.

3. Connected to 2,

(i) if I run my algorithm clean laptop with a "Jared Padalecki" news search, I get (a) a daily mail article on Jared "clarifying the rift" (b) a "hello" magazine saying he's been "inundated with support after death of "family member"" (c) the new york times article on Walker and Supernatural. It then goes into a variety of articles about Jared raising money for Holly's family (fucking atrocious in my view to use her death for publicity) and a series of derivative articles on his mantrum and later explanation. ONLY THE NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE MENTIONS WALKER other than as a throw away, all of the others link to Supernatural only. Walker isn't on the main radar of anyone as a show. It's not mainstream enough to mention. it has ZERO buzz.

(ii) if I run the same search on my compromised tablet, I get a SEA of fluff articles "jared padalecki goes to venice", "jared padalecki's wife wishes him a happy birthday" "jared padalecki goes to watch soccer" "jared padalecki goes to the wrestling". I'm expecting "Jared Padalecki defecates regularly" tomorrow.

At the end of that I get the same articles as in (i) but the majority of his publicity is still going through the fandom and the, not very viewed, endless zine type websites that update on every episode of every geek show every day.

So we are seeing, and I expect it to continue, a break out Padalecki, (who knows he and his forehead may wish to have a final crack at films), and a fluff Padalecki, trying to stay relevant a year after SPN relevance ended, because he hasn't got the same push for season 2 of Walker as he had for season 1 and Walker has zero presence. No one, not even the fans are talking about Walker.

Will it work? I don't think so. Keegan has 7m followers on Insta and that's because he's a photographer and writer and it's interesting. I would follow his account (I don't), but certainly it isn't a Walker instagram.

Jared is a clever guy, but he's boring on social media. He has a limited appeal. He does family snaps, hunk snaps, flogs orange pee and flogs his show. He says "family" and "mantra" a lot but that's really it. The clue is, if you didn't know who he was and came across his instagram you wouldn't follow him. Why would you? For a video of a guy running up steps? A smug picture of two middle aged men trying to flog you something?... (oh and lots of "brother" comments on Keegan's social media, which is irritating. It's like he thinks that is his repeatable formula and it isn't).

His media approach won't work because advertising and exposure pushes a product. In TV's case, it's not a one off product and there is a lot of competition. Product Jared needs to be more interesting (his mantrum's are the only exciting thing about him - and that is tragic) and his TV show just needs to be BETTER, well, a LOT BETTER.

Soooo, expect the Padapush to continue, but it's not about a couple, it's about individual marketing and for Jared breaking out of SPN bubble. For Gen, it's her tag along profile that she'll never break out of. She'll have to be satisfied with her superpower of being able to persuade people to buy toothbrush's and dog food (if she can).

Expect though the couple's bit to die off a little. Jared is getting over exposed. His engagement rating is plummeting (nearly 3% is a plummet) because of the repetitive photo content. He'll have to back off or people will switch off (I have already). What makes me laugh is.... from the dawn of time when cavemen took their wives 2 miles away for a new cave weekend.... NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN INTERESTED IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HOLIDAY SNAPS.... Gen and Jared apparently need to learn that lesson...

I might stop these posts now because, well, it's gotta be a bit boring for you and I write LONG. :)

Stay safe and wear your masks ;) xxx

I don’t want you to ever ever change, lovely! Also, I’m NEVER bored by your messages! You put so much effort into the research you do and the messages you send and it’s appreciated! <3

I started following Lindsey on IG because she seems pretty genuine, and her cat is way too cute! Plus, I like her attitude. I haven’t followed her for the whole Walker season, but even she doesn’t post a lot about it. She posts interviews and then posts about that night’s episode, but other than that, nothing. Can’t speak for Keegan, but how are fans and non-fans supposed to be excited about a show when the people STARRING in the show can’t be bothered? Maybe they’re all aware of how shitty it is or maybe they’re lazy, but it doesn’t make sense.

I’m always interested to see the difference in an “algorithm-free” setting and one that has an algorithm. I always figured Google was the same for everyone, but seeing the difference in articles you’ve outlined is insane. It really just goes to show that Jared isn’t the star that his stans think he is. He’s not as important as they think he is, he’s just an actor. It’s even more jarring to see just how little Walker is talked about at all. All of my devices probably have been “contaminated” when it comes to algorithm so I can’t really speak personally about the public and fans talking about Walker or not talking about it. I can say that on the posts about Walker from the Supernatural Facebook page, a good chunk of the comments are people saying they stopped watching, never got into it, or thought it was trash. There are only a handful of comments talking about how they enjoy the show.

I think it was disgusting for him to use a fan’s passing for publicity. And no, I don’t think it was anything other than a PR stunt. Her family had a GFM going that was promoted by plenty of the case INCLUDING GEN, so you know he knew about it. But for him to make his own special one and then have articles posted everywhere about how charitable he is? That’s gross PR bullshit and I hope it backfires.

I still follow a few Supernatural fans, Jared fans, Jensen fans, etc. on Tumblr and even they aren’t mentioning it. I think maybe the hardcore Jared stans post gifsets or whatever, but I don’t see much praise for the show itself, just Jared’s looks. Even the fans aren’t biting and that would make me reevaluate everything if I was Jared.

I'm expecting "Jared Padalecki defecates regularly" tomorrow. This made me laugh way too hard!

who knows he and his forehead may wish to have a final crack at films You are on a ROLL! Maybe I’ve become biased, but I can’t see Jared doing films. I mean, I could see him doing like a side character role or something small, but I can’t see him having a big part of a movie. Like I said, maybe that’s me being biased but I see him staying in TV. I could be proven wrong, but I don’t know.

I agree about Jared being boring on SM. I used to get some giggles from his Twitter posts and even some of his early IG posts because they were goofy, clever, and candid. It showed his humor and was more personable. Now it’s just all fake and comes off as someone whose only motivation to engage with fans is money and that’s a big turn off.

For me personally, I think that if instead of the “couple goals” bullshit that they try to push for their lavish trips, if they just posted cool pictures they took of different locations, activities, food or whatever, that would be more palatable than all the “Look at my hubster and I! We’re in Italy! Look at how in love we are!” But maybe that’s because I’ve become a bit of a photography nerd?

I guess time will tell whether or not Jared will make positive changes and if Walker can be saved, but I’m not really optimistic about it.

I AM optimistic about your takes on things so keep them coming! Long posts or not, I love them! <3

#grumpy answers #social media anon #anti jared padalecki #anti walker

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brightblueinky · 3 years

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Pardon me for the intrusion, but you're the only person I found who's still into CC and I have to ask: does the romantic aspect of Chrono's and Rosette's relationship seem lacking to you? Like I can see when Rosette starts to view him as a love interest (chapter 28), but I can't see when Chrono starts to view her as one. To me it feels like he only had an interested in Mary, and Rosette is just his very beloved friend; the kiss felt too sudden. I'm sorry, I just need a second opinion on this.

Okay I am so sorry I didn’t respond to this until now, I’ve mostly been using tumblr on my phone and using it to check a few blogs and occasionally the CC tag, and apparently tumblr doesn’t notify for asks on the mobile app? Or I’m not seeing it? Something. I have no idea how long you’ve been waiting for a response on this, so I’m really sorry! I hope you find this!

I think I need a reread of the manga at this point--a lot of the stuff I’m writing these days is going off of head canon which might not be 100% accurate anymore. So I’m just going to write this off the cuff. Gonna be a bit stream of consciousness! So this is definitely not a definitive opinion or even one I’ll always stand by, just how I personally feel in this particular moment.

So off the top of my head...

I think we see less things from Chrono’s point of view than from Rosette’s, which is part of what makes this tricky. This isn’t ALWAYS the case obviously (we see his sort of...PTSD dream flashback after Rizelle’s death, the flashback in volume 6 is basically from Chrono’s viewpoint since it’s mostly his memories, etc), but since one of the way the plot moves forward is the mystery of what happened in Chrono’s past usually the viewpoint is more centered around Rosette. I actually always assumed that Rosette was the only character that Moriyama would consider the protagonist until I saw that on a dust jacket for one of the books he said that BOTH Chrono and Rosette are (can’t remember which book, sorry! it was a fan translation).

Thinking about it, I think we see Chrono start to realize he has romantic feelings at the end of volume 6. I think that’s the first time he really, truly comes to accept his contract with Rosette as a good thing instead of just...the lesser of two evils, I guess? It’s when he goes “oh, yeah, I made the contract because otherwise she would’ve run off to solve the problem on her own, and I didn’t want to leave her alone.” I think that’s when he starts to really see Rosette as someone that’s on the same level of emotional maturity as him, too--earlier he occasionally teases her for being immature, but I think when Rosette tells him that she wants to share his pain, and Mary’s, that he sees how emotionally strong she is as a person and really respects that. Not that he didn’t see her as strong BEFORE, buuut like...he’d been so hesitant to share his past with Rosette until right then, and her response, I think, makes him realize how helpful having her support really is to him.

This isn’t really the same situation and is definitely my own personal reaction, but as I write this it makes me think of when I was dating my husband. I was initially terrified he was going to break up with me because I was bisexual--we both came from conservative Christian backgrounds and were homeschooled, and in the past he expressed homophobic sentiments--but I felt like I HAD to tell him because I couldn’t see myself in a long term relationship with someone I couldn’t be 100% honest with. His reaction when I told him was to immediately tell me he trusted me and cared about me, start to reconsider what he’d been raised to feel immediately, and he’s become one of my biggest advocates as I’ve come out to friends and family. Coming out to him was one of the best things I’ve ever done, but it was terrifying until I did. I can see Chrono having similar fears talking about his past with Rosette, and having a similar sense of relief and healing as soon as he realized how much Rosette is in his corner and how helpful having someone he can be open with actually is.

In the next chapter, Rosette holds Chrono’s hands to comfort him while they briefly talk about their current situation (Chrono being held in, uh, demon jail? and Rosette being taken off of her mission to find Joshua), then they both blush and get flustered when they realize what they’re doing. They babble small talk afterward while inner dialogue repeats Rosette’s promise to share Chrono’s pain, and Mary’s too. And then RIGHT AFTER is when Remington walks in and takes them to Aion’s old house on the beach so...that’s about it.

So I think the manga does show that, either right after he’s pulled out of his coma by Rosette or sometime in the aftermath, Chrono is starting to acknowledge that his feelings for Rosette might be more romantic. But it is VERY brief, because literally everything after that is two volumes of the big finale, taking place entirely over no more than 24 hours. Everything after that is rushing to tie up as many loose ends as possible--Fiore being Satella’s sister, saving Joshua, Joshua beginning to grapple with the gravity of what he’s done and been a part of and what’s been done to him, Aion and Chrono’s confrontation, the Order and the Sinner’s confrontation, Rosette’s near death experience, Aion’s motivations revealed, Chrono and Aion’s true relationship revealed, Azmaria finally coming into her own in terms of taking ownership of her powers, the culmination of Aion’s plans (and near-Apocalypse caused by it), the true nature of demons, the deaths of most of the Sinners, Shader’s defection, Joshua and Fiore’s relationship being somewhat resolved, Rosette and Chrono’s relationship being somewhat resolved...like holy shit there is SO. MUCH. THERE.

On top of that, I’ve got the Japanese reprints and while I can read basically no Japanese (HUGE GRAIN OF SALT INCOMING), I’ve pointed Google Translate at some of the omakes and from what I can tell, Moriyama talks in the omake in...volume 6, I think, that he basically had a whole other volume’s worth of story for the flashback that had to be cut! If I’m understanding it right, it’s like...from Remington’s perspective, and involves some Native American tribe or reservation that had connections to the Sinners, and the woman in charge of the orphanage Joshua and Rosette grew up in was a child living in a town nearby....

Basically, from what I can tell? Moriyama had a LOOOOOOOOT of background stuff he wanted to go into in the back half of Chrono Crusade that he wasn’t able to do for time reasons. I’m not sure if his editor gave him a deadline, or he realized it would be too meandering, or what exactly happened, but...have you ever heard the “iceberg” theory of writing? Basically, flesh out as much of the backstory as you can--know everything about the town your story is set in, the family of your protag and their relationships with them, what they eat for breakfast, just...every little minutia you can possibly think of, but most of that won’t get into your story. The audience will only see the tip of the iceberg, but knowing so much background about your setting and characters will help it feel more alive and inform your decisions as you write.

I think Moriyama had a fucking huge iceberg, basically, and I think he actually wanted to show more of that, but...couldn’t. So we get little pieces of art that reference this entire backstory for Satella we never see, and Aion, etc....that gets small nods but doesn’t make it into the manga.

And I think there’s a lot of things Moriyama wanted to give time to breathe in the manga but due to space limitations, couldn’t. So that’s why the second half of the manga literally takes place from Thanksgiving to sunrise on Christmas Day and is...the entire second half of the manga. He’s rushing to get in as much as possible while still letting the story flow as a story and sometimes...it’s not perfect.

So....I think unfortunately, yeah, one of the casualties of that is that we don’t get a huuuuuge amount of Chrono’s side of the relationship, because most of the moments that really shows that they’re heading in that direction is from Rosette’s POV. Other than the scene I already mentioned, I think you could argue that Chrono’s reaction to “the place that Chrono can go back to was decided 4 years ago!” might also be the first moment he starts to consider how important Rosette is to him, but that doesn’t HAVE to be romantic...Chrono’s reaction to her death (and then realizing there’s a chance to revive her) again emphasizes how important she is to him, but it doesn’t HAVE to be romantic...the kiss at the end is the only thing that really 100% says “Yes, this is romantic and not platonic” on his part. And...yeah. It feels a bit sudden. There’s some underlying hints before that but...I mean, I know about them because I’m obsessive about character growth and narrowed in on it in subsequent rereads, I’m not sure if it came through right away on my first read of the manga, and I even knew going into it that they were at least meant to be teased as a ship, so, yeah.

Also I briefly want to admit that as I’ve gotten older, the age gap bothers me a little more. Not enough for me to abandon the ship, just, you know, it’s something I acknowledge will turn some people off. I think Chrono, maturity-wise, is meant to be seen as...about 20. I think Moriyama mentions in one of the early omakes that that’s what he looks like in his unsealed form, we know that when he leaves Pandaemonium it’s right after his coming of age ceremony so he’s about what a demon would consider to be 18 in terms of emotional (and physical?) maturity, and especially since he’s been sleeping for 50 years since that period of his life he doesn’t have the experience that his age really indicates (which Aion blantantly points out near the end). So I’m not THAT bothered by it because I don’t think that Rosette and Chrono are actually that inequal in terms of emotional maturity but it’s still...there, and...I mean he met her when she was 12...so...yeah that’s a bit weird!!

I’ve just gotten to where I shrug my shoulders and go “look, every ship in Chrono Crusade has something problematic about it, if you’re going to be a fan of Chrono Crusade you’re probably going to have to grapple with the fact that it’s messy and human and nobody is 100% good or bad in the manga, and that’s part of what I like about it, so, that’s cool, but it’s probably not for everyone.” It’s actually one reason why I’m kinda OK with CC not being as popular as some of its contemporaries because...some of the anti-shipper stuff I’ve seen online...oh boy.

So...I guess in conclusion, I think there’s stuff there in the manga to build up the relationship a little bit, but a lot of it is from Rosette’s POV and most of it is kind of subtle. I wouldn’t be surprised if Moriyama had wanted to flesh it out more obviously in the manga but the second half is stuffed full of wrapping up character arcs and questions and loose ends so it just didn’t really have the time to get as much focus. I really like the ship a lot, but a lot of it comes from analysis of the characters and how they relate to each other rather than it just being...canon. I’m okay with that, I’m the sort of person that will ship characters that never even meet just because I think the dynamic might be cool, but...I’m not surprised that not everyone would be into it, either.

And now I kinda want to make...a series of posts analyising the different relationships that are...either canon or teased in canon, see how much they’re built up, etc. Because this post makes me think a lot about Joshua/Azmaria and how confused I was by them apparently being married in the epilogue on my first read, and only seeing the hints Moriyama hinted about them possibly being a couple in the manga on subsequent rereads (and even then HO BOY it’s so subtle it makes Chrono and Rosette look really in your face aaaaaa). BUT I HAVE RAMBLED ENOUGH FOR THIS POST and, again, I need a reread. Maybe soon....!!!!

#chrono crusade #anonymous #ask #shipping #chrono/rosette #character analysis #ramble #long post #I'm so sorry this doesn't have a read more cut I don't know how to do that on an ask #I both love and hate tumblr #Anonymous

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popculturedruid · 7 years

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How would you recommend finding out more about an entity when the source material is very vague, limited, and not very popular? I'm trying to figure out a pantheon based on the Great Ones from Bloodborne, but information about pretty much all of them is few and far between. Also, I have trouble meditating due to literal ADHD, do you have any ideas for how to concentrate better? Thank you so much, your blog is lovely!!

Aww, thank you so much! That means a lot!

This is such a good question. I wanted to take some time here again to really answer this one to give you a proper answer. That’s why it took me a bit to get back to you.

I understand your frustration here. It is very frustrating to look for information about your desired entity and find little to nothing. I looked up Bloodborne just to see what we were getting at, then quickly realized I was going to give myself spoilers because I probably wanted to play this game. :)

From the bit that I let myself get a look at, the Great Ones pantheon immediately reminds me of the Daedra from the Elder Scrolls games. Not in such basic terms as good and evil, but simply from the scope of multiple forms, alternate planes, and just generally screwing with people. There is a fairly large group of Tamriel PCPs on Tumblr, it might be worth a look to check into see how they structure their relationships for ideas to maybe start your own. I’m going to refer you over to @popculturepagan who has a tag on Elder Scrolls PCP. Not saying you need to go that way at all, I’m just trying to show you another pantheon that’s a bit more established that might give you some ideas to help you get yours started!

It appears the direct reference for the Great Ones is H.P. Lovecraft and his “Great Old Ones.” You have undoubtedly heard of Cthulhu. Cthulhu is just a high priest to one of them. Many folks make Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones out to be chibi, but if you read the stories, they’re actually quite terrifying. If you haven’t read the stories, and you’re still itching for more Bloodborne, the best place to go would be for the inspiration for the Great Ones: Lovecraft’s stories. He wrote many, but you can get the stories that just contain the ones with Cthulhu. I think they would also mostly include the Great Old Ones in those as well. His stories are just great in general, however. From these stories of the GOO (I got tired writing that out :P), you could probably pick up a bit more on the general characteristics of your GOs.

I would also encourage you to search through fanfiction. I have called fanfiction our weird version of Shared Personal Gnosis. If the community in general kinda feels a certain way about a character, they generally might be on to something.

For instance, everyone is probably going to say that Luke Skywalker seems like a pretty swell guy. He’s not likely to go nuts anytime soon (I would though, all alone on that planet, let’s be real). If someone writes a version of Luke that runs around murdering all the things for the lolz, people are generally going to disagree.

(That’s not to say you can’t end up contacting a different version of that entity, but that’s getting into something different, and that’s where the theory of multiverses comes into play. And how @octomantra and I have two different Eds in our heads.)

You might point out again that this is a small community still, and a character being out of character this early on is not going to be as obvious as Luke running around killing all the younglings. But I hope you would start to see a trend in how others are viewing this world as well, even if they aren’t viewing it in the exact same way. It’s still getting built.

Here’s the link to the Archive of Our Own Bloodborne Tag: https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Bloodborne%20(Video%20Game)/works

Fanfiction.net:https://m.fanfiction.net/game/Bloodborne/

I also noticed there is a huge crossover community at FF.net. Not sure if that really would mean much to you, but here you are:https://m.fanfiction.net/crossovers/Bloodborne/12234/

As for your question about ADHD and meditating, I feel your pain here. I have this, and it takes a lot for me to focus. To get my brain even in the mindset I say the Jedi code about 3 times until my brain realizes we’re going to just STOP for a second. And this takes a sheer force of will to get it to stop and focus. For a moment. It’s fine if you can’t, I’m lucky if I can for about 30 seconds before my brain is on to whatever else I thought I needed to do next.

In answering your question, however, I realized that for me if I truly want to meditate and reach out to my entities I have to create a place in my head where I’m going. It can’t just be “breathe in, breathe out.” Then my brain starts going, “wait, am I doing the breathing right? Wait, is my mind wandering? Wait, I’m still the only person in this room, right?” Even though I know damn well I’m the only person in the room because I would have heard it, but my brain just thinks, “ooh, shiny!” And I’m gone.

If I want to actually talk to my people for more than 10 seconds I have to create a place in my head for me to actually be standing in. You would think it’d be more distracting, but apparently once I’m out of how distracting this world is I’m fine. The other place can’t be too detailed either though, otherwise I’m like, “hey, I got to get closer to that countertop because I don’t know what color it is EXACTLY, and if I don’t know right now, I may literally die.” Forget the fact I’m talking to someone, nope, I’m gone.

You will fail sometimes, and it will be fine. I do it frequently enough. I usually don’t go into meditation to talk to my entities, I just talk out loud. I suppose this could be a talking meditation if I’m focusing hard enough. This doesn’t always work. I have a particularly amusing memory of trying to pseudo meditate/talk to tell Colonel Mustang “happy birthday, Colonel” and “it is good to meet you” in Japanese on his birthday. I’d only been learning the language for 3 days. I had worked fairly hard to get to this point, so I was fairly proud of myself. Colonel Mustang had been grumpy all day, and I had a fairly good idea why. So I thought, “hey, let’s try to greet him in the language his original materials were printed in to see if it will cheer him up.” It did, for about 30 seconds, until my brain completely derailed because I knew one of the words wasn’t translating properly. I spent the next at least 20 minutes tracking the problem until I somewhat figured it out. By then though, the damage was done. He was back to being irritated, and I got the distinct impression he wouldn’t even look at me. At the time, I was disappointed. Now, it’s funny because I realize he was throwing a hissy fit. (The chaos in my head, right now.)

So, as silly as it sounds, make a happy place. A field in the middle of nowhere, a snowy plain, your favorite movie, a library, the actual area your characters are from, wherever. Create the starting place, but let the world build itself. That’s what I do. I don’t build it. I let it happen. It’s less stressful, and less distracting.

It sounds insanely difficult, but it’s not. We don’t let our imaginations run free anymore, but when we do, it’s beautiful.

Besides building your happy place, I also try to minimize distractions by going into a room where I won’t be disturbed by someone for at least a fair bit of time. I have to make sure the room is straightened first. It doesn’t have to be absolutely cleaned, but just tidied first or I can’t concentrate on anything other than, “did you just invite your friends over to a pig sty?” I turn off the lights. I get into comfortable clothing, which for me is just sweatpants and a hoodie. I get into a comfortable position, it doesn’t matter if it’s sitting or laying down, hell it can be standing if it’s what works for you. Just make sure you can stay in it without having to move. I like lighting a candle, because candles. I pull up my hoodie and just start zoning and talking. I focus on a place right behind my eyes, oddly enough. It actually slightly hurts, but I’m assuming it’s because I have strabismus, and I’m making my eyes go straight. I actually caution against falling asleep in this state. I have done it a couple times, and it’s like you bring things back from whatever gate you didn’t close. I have had the oddest dreams while falling asleep mid-meditation. That’s just me. Maybe you’ll find something else. :D

If and when you decide to get your practice started, whether with the Great Ones or whomever, and if you create a Tumblr, please let me know. Or even if you just create anything let me know so I can have a link for the next person who comes asking. This community only gets bigger when we reach out to each other! I am super happy to see new universes get people everyday. It’s super exciting!

Best of luck! I hope I helped a little, and please, please, please let me know if you have any more questions!

#anon ask #pc pagan #pc paganism #pop culture pagan #pop culture paganism #pop culture paganism philosophy #pagan adhd #soulbonds #multiverse

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