#and athy loves expensive things in general

[startwi-light]

Athy, Diana and Penelope and their bond on jewelry with large gemstones.

#The three of them are suckers for the precious stones but more diana #and athy loves expensive things in general #In fact #I was surprised to not find as many images of Penelope with precious stone jewelry as I thought. #but there aren't that many images of Penelope and I remember that it was said that she liked to dress pretty. #so idk I think she did wear a lot of jewelry and gemstones #who made me a princess #athanasia de alger obelia #wmmap #wmmap athanasia #wmmap diana #penelope judith #wmmap Penelope #diana of siodonna #I just realized that all three of them traumatized Claude in different ways lmao

[mareenavee]

*grabby hands* Teeth+Fire for the dragon themed writing ask!

Hello :D Thank you for the enthusiasm!

Dragon Asks for my fic: The World on Our Shoulders!

Ask game is here.

Without further ado~

Teeth: share a snippet that was difficult for you to nail down/required a lot of revisions.

Oooh this is the question I was hoping for!! I'll preface this by stating that the whole first third of my fic was completely different when I first posted it. I'll share a snippet I waffled over for quite awhile during that revision, because I wanted this character's voice to come forward a bit in the narrative, where appropriate.

Here's a fragment from the already-published Chapter 8:

Athis got up and walked to the cupboard near the door. He fished through one of the drawers and pulled out a handful of letters. None of the more recent ones had anything overly private written in them. He didn’t actually remember her writing anything like that at all. Not even the barest compliments, especially recently. He lined the leaves of parchment up one by one on the table, so Farkas could read.

Each letter seemed shorter than the last. There were less and less terms of endearment, and lately, they rather read as a recap of things that had been accomplished. In the most recent one from over four months ago, she didn’t even mention how she felt about all that had occurred. And woven throughout, her hireling’s name showed up. She and Teldryn adventuring around the province. She and Teldryn saving people from Daedric influences. She and Teldryn clearing out a fort for the war effort. Teldryn, always Teldryn, showing up in his place by her side. Surely she had gotten her money’s worth of help from him by now. Surely he would have wanted new work at this point, sellsword that he was. But no. He was always there, stuck in her shadow. Was he happy to be there? Did she pick him because he’d fall in line in ways Athis couldn’t? She wasn’t like that…was she? Farkas gave him a sideways look and cleared his throat.

“I don’t like reading, and even I can see where you might be concerned,” he admitted. “But you have to remember. This is our Nyenna. She’s the sweetest person to ever live. And she loves you. I saw it with my own two eyes. I was at your wedding, remember?” Athis sighed as he gathered up the papers. Farkas was too optimistic for conversations like these. He wanted someone to commiserate with, if he was being honest with himself.

“I remember,” he said softly. “But maybe a destiny like hers siphons out the sweetness until there’s nothing left.”

“No. I won’t believe that about her,” Farkas decided, setting his mug down on the table. “You and I both know how strong that girl is.”

“Strength and love are two separate things,” Athis said, almost to himself. He and Nyenna had talked around that point before. Never resolved it, really. He folded the letter he had been glancing at and moved to put them all away. The truth was he didn’t remember who he was supposed to be without her. Each day, it was getting more foggy no matter how hard he tried. Farkas got up from the table and clapped him on the shoulder, drawing him out of his thoughts.

“C’mon. Let’s go kill a few bears. Maybe that will make you feel better,” he said.

Fire: share a snippet with some dialogue you’d like to show off.

I really enjoy writing dialogue in general!! I have a lot of it in my story to pick from but I'll give a fragment of something yet unpublished for this part. A bit of a longer bar conversation from chapter 19, perhaps not final :

“You didn’t have to buy me food here, you know. You saw that I can cover expenses,” she said, tearing a small chunk off of hers absently. Teldryn shrugged and bit into his dessert like it was an apple. He left the crumbs in his sparse beard.

“You seemed to be having a hard time. Nothing a sweetroll can’t fix, I figured. Want to talk about it?” he offered. Nyenna gave him an apprehensive look. She didn’t really want to talk to him particularly about all her nonsense, but if she didn’t, it would be harder to focus moving forward with all that had to be done in the next few days.

“No. But I’ll tell you anyway,” she said, eating the piece of sweetroll before continuing. “I…was not the best wife. I ran away in the middle of the night. It was unkind. I knew it was when I did it, but just like he followed me into battle with a dragon, I knew if I didn’t simply go, he’d turn his back in another horrible situation all because of me. And after everything I’ve been through, I just…I guess I couldn’t handle watching him get injured again. Or worse, as it sometimes goes with dragons.”

“That makes sense, though. Is he not much of a fighter?” Teldryn postured, sitting up straighter.

“He’s a Companion. I told you, remember?” she said. Teldryn nodded. “But I surpassed him in skills a while ago, according to our new Harbinger. Not that I’m officially a Companion, myself…but I am a Mage. I suppose the fighting styles would have always varied and split after some time, anyway. I have a feeling he could improve, but he’s either too stubborn to learn new methods or doesn’t value training like everyone else. Even I know I lack a lot of skill, so I do what I can to improve.”

“None of that is your fault,” Teldryn said, dropping the half-way sarcastic tone he usually used. “You can’t blame yourself for the decisions of others. He clearly wanted to fight by your side. Whether he is prepared for that kind of job is on him.”

“I know,” Nyenna said morosely. “I just feel terrible.”

“Is he at least kind to you?” Teldryn asked. “I – I mean if that’s not too personal a question. Because if he isn’t, you did just hire someone to protect you. Just saying.”

“It’s fine. Thank you, but no, it’s nothing like that, thank the Gods. No, he has always been kind. He saved my life once, actually, before the whole Dragonborn thing. We just…we did the Nord custom of hopping into marriage. And then the destiny thing happened and it changed so much about how our lives would have to be. Then he got hurt trying to adjust to what I am now tasked to do. I’m sure you can see my conflict,” Nyenna said. While the chivalry was touching, she couldn’t help but wonder how many people he’d had to protect from unkind spouses in order to jump to such a conclusion. It was sad in a way she couldn’t place.

“Nords and their baffling customs,” Teldryn scoffed. “But I can see what you’re saying. It seems overwhelming, even to me, who couldn’t care less.” Nyenna laughed, but she was sure there was still bitterness behind it.

“He’s not even a Nord. He’s a Dunmer,” she admitted.

“Then you’re both insane, I take it all back. Mer have lengthy marriage customs for a reason,” Teldryn said laughing jovially. He flashed a knowing grin, like he won a prize for understanding she had a type and that he probably fit. She pretended she didn’t see it, even as she felt her face go scarlet. He let out a low chuckle when she went back to writing her own address and refused to acknowledge him. “But it actually makes me want to visit Whiterun, and see these Companions if they’ll let Mer in.”

“Whiterun is nice, yes. Before everything, I built a beautiful home there. Things were simple. Do work, get paid, go home. Be merry. Now it’s all bottle up all your emotions, sacrifice your happiness, save the world… The stress, sometimes,” Nyenna said, pausing for another bite of sweetroll. “Some days I wish I could go back in time. But then, times like now? In a different land, gearing up to go see things I’ve never seen before? It feels somehow…right.”

“It sounds like adventure calls to you,” Teldryn commented. “It wouldn’t be wrong to heed it.” Nyenna looked at him thoughtfully. This foolish sellsword, however bold he was, did have a certain charm. Sometimes, it seemed, he could say just the right thing.

“Can I ask you something?” Nyenna said, sighing as she finished the last of her Sujamma. She folded her letter and tucked it into its envelope. She opened the door to her lantern and melted a stick of red wax over the flame. She pressed it to the parchment and sealed the letter closed without any kind of sigil. The tiny iron hinges squeaked as she closed the lantern again, a strange sound in a tavern that felt a little too empty.

“Yeah, sure.”

“What would you do in my situation? I’ve been feeling a bit unmoored. Like I keep making the wrong choice, every single time, and am drifting further away from my own life. Like I have no idea what I’m really doing,” she asked quietly. She capped the glass bottle of iron gall ink that Geldis had lent her and pushed it back across the bar with the quill and sealing wax. Teldryn frowned, looking into the distance thoughtfully. He sighed and turned again to face her.

“You’ve got this heavy burden of responsibility already. I imagine it’s not easy. And it will tear you away from everything you’ve built, especially as more people find out who you are and what you can do, or as you realize how powerful you are. I wouldn’t blame you for trying to salvage something normal, even if it meant running away,” he said after a moment. He paused to sip his own drink. “I suppose I’d probably do the same. As I said, I don’t think it was the wrong choice. Maybe it hurts, sure. But the pain today buys the comfort of knowing your family will be there for you when you return later.” Nyenna noticed his voice sounded sad when he spoke. He frowned deeply, looking into his mug.

Thank you for letting me ramble and share bits of the fic (: I appreciate it!!!

#AskMareena #MareenaWrites #Skyrim #Nyenna #The World On Our Shoulders #Athis #Teldryn Sero #LDB/Teldryn Sero #LDB/Athis #tesblr #writeblr #fanficblr #skyrim fanfiction #skyrim fanfic #skyrim fic #fanfiction #fanfic #fic

[ultramarine-spirit]

In fact, something that always caught my attention is that the wmmap merch always focuses on the same 4 as always: Athy, Claude, Lucas and Ijekiel but never on jennette, Anas or Roger...

It's not that I'm complaining, the more Athy merch I have the better for me (besides, Anas and Roger are very irrelevant to me, not hate just irrelevant) and I prefer a thousand times more to have Lucas, Ijekiel and even Claude merch than the others ( although I wouldn't mind having something more from Lily, Felix or Diana) but i'm surprise there isn't so much of the others... Is it because Athy, Claude, Lucas and Ijekiel are the most popular? (well Athy and Claude are the mc after all, it makes sense in their case i guess) Anyways I think it would make sense to focus the merch on the most beloved characters rather than on the less-loved ones... so not complaining xd

I mostly agree with your impression that Athy, Lucas and Claude take all the merch, but I don't think Ijekiel gets nearly as much. As individual merch of his (not counting prints of panels because those are really low-effort to make and all characters get some), I think he has... a small magnet, a pin and a clear file? Sure, that's better than the rest of the cast, but nothing compared to lucathy + Claude (who get multiple standees, clear files, magnets, pins, cushions, dolls, manjuu plushies, perfumes, stamps, badges, stickers, glass display thingies, dakimakuras, keychains, and a long etc. Seriously, just search "merch" on my blog).

As someone who casually collects some merch, I keep an eye on reselling sites, and oh boy. First thing to notice, the chinese market makes way more merch than the korean one, and moves way more money. That merch is always of Athy, Claude and Lucas because they are super popular with chinese readers (and wmmap itself is big in China). That seems to be the general opinion everywhere, but in China the gap between them and the other characters is way bigger. Wmmap's weibo tag is literally just lucathy and Claude. In months I have seen like 3 Ijekiel posts, I'm not joking.

Secondly, it's easy to gauge popularity seeing what merch gets sold first, what prices they are listed as, and what people ask for on social media. Let me tell you, it's almost impossible to get the more sought-after Lucas merch, it's gone in an instant. And it can get really, really expensive. Thinking about it, Lucas fans are the most dedicated for sure. I have seen a lot of pictures of people buying dozens of Lucas manjuu plushies. Like, worth 100 USD or more. And people are always asking for Lucas merch. Same thing with shared boxes, the Lucas merch from the limited volumes always gets claimed first. Athy and Claude also have a ton of dedicated collectors, but I think Lucas has an edge over them. As a side note, the fan-made merch also follows this trend. Lucas and Athy get plushies, prints, stickers, pins, bookmarks, even the rare published doujins, Claude following them behind.

As to why Athy, Lucas and Claude get so much merch compared to the rest of the cast... Is it really that surprising? They have always been the fan favorites ever since the novel days. Companies make merch they believe it's going to sell, they know their markets. Maybe it can seem a little unfair that other characters don't get more stuff, but think about it from their POV. Are there hundreds of, say, Anastasius, Felix or even Jennette fans that justify making merch? Most likely not. Now, why they aren't as popular I wouldn't be able to tell you. Being secondary characters is a big reason, but plot-relevancy and the public's reception of their characters are probably important factors as well, and I don't have an objective answer to that.

#that been said. LILY MERCH WHEN #no not felily. i want Lily prints with Athy and Diana! OTL #who made me a princess #suddenly became a princess one day #i suddenly became a princess #wmmap #sbapod #sbap

[flickdirect]

Patti Cakes, Patti Cakes, bakers…this isn't that kind of movie. When one hears the term "patty cake", we generally think of the beloved children's game and hear that song running through our head. In this case, Patti Cake$ takes on a whole new meaning as it is a nickname Patricia Dombrowski's (Danielle Macdonald; Every Secret Thing) Nana (Cathy Moriarty; Kindergarten Cop) calls her as a term of affection. The film of the same name is a heartwarming, true underdog story about an unlikely rap artist and her friends.

Patti is an overweight, white girl in her twenties who lives with her Nana and her mother Barb (Bridget Everett; Trainwreck) in northern New Jersey. She works part-time at a local dive bar whose patrons are mainly over the age of fifty and who likely sit around reminiscing about the "good old days". However, Patti has big dreams about one day becoming a famous rapper and meeting her idol, "Oz". She also helps pay medical expenses for her Nana who is dying while Barb lives like she is still Patti's age and on the verge of breaking into her own music career.

Forced with the necessity to earn more money as medical bills pile up, Patti takes on a second job with a caterer and moonlights as the rapper "Killa P". Along with her friend Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay) and he new acquaintance Basterd (Mamoudou Athie; The Get Down), they form the group PBNJ (the N is Nana who amidst a Percocet haze contributes some vocals to their debut track). They get a local gig but when Patti meets and raps for her idol Oz and he shoots her down she suddenly gives up on becoming a rapper. However, the group finds out they are set to compete in a rap competition and set their sights on winning. In the end, they win over the audience which is a level of success all it' sown.

Macdonald was perfect casting. She seems a natural with a mic in her hand despite the fact that she had never rapped before preparing for this movie. Moriarty shows she still has comedic timing as the loving but snarky Nana. Dhananjay and Athie are both solid contributors to the movie as well. However, the stand out is Everett. She demands to be watched every time she is on the screen and her commanding presence makes Barb seem to still be relevant, even as she settles nicely into middle age.

The Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition video and even though the picture is clear and clean the scenes tend to be purposefully dark and dirty looking. In contrast, there are moments that sunlight permeates the screen and colors pop nicely. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is necessary to showcase an eclectic mix of original music and 80"s pop hits. The beats envelop the viewer from all sides as the lyrics and dialogue sit comfortably in the center channel.

The combo pack has six extras. The Gallery and director's commentary are pretty standard and the music videos are to be expected. The other two features, A slice of Cake$ and the promotional featurettes, are rather interesting and informative taking a look at Danielle, her talent and the production as a whole.

An unlikely concept, the film engages the viewer on many different levels. One feels sympathetic to Patti's life, pities Barb and roots for the underdog all at the same time. The music deservedly is showcased without being obnoxious and is its own character subtly supporting the cast while remaining in the background.

Not overly long, the film is entertaining with the help of terrific characters. An underdog itself, it fights its way to the top to be among the contenders.

Grade: B

About Allison Hazlett-Rose Allison Hazlett-Rose has always had a passion for the arts and uses her organization skills to help keep FlickDirect prosperous. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose oversees and supervises the correspondents and critics that are part of the FlickDirect team. Mrs. Hazlett-Rose attended Hofstra University where she earned her bachelors degree in communications and is a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle.

Read more reviews and content by Allison Hazlett-Rose.

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