#another not particularly spoilery one but just in case

[dmclemblems]

imagine having the actual nerve to say the world is warped because people are dying to protect their family, friends, land and king.

imagine having the actual nerve to say that dying for what you believe in is what makes the world warped.

#Three Hopes #Three Hopes Spoilers #Anti-Edelgard #another not particularly spoilery one but just in case #i ain't never hated a character more in my life before she came along ahjfjugsyujgs even micaiah looks like a saint compared to her

[rubadubdub3nunsinatub]

Hey there in reference to Wraith Lore and the Stargate Atlantis Legacy series I copied this from one of the author's LiveJournals ages ago pls don't ask for a link I have no idea about the Wraith and figure Id put it here instead of it laying about in notes. Enjoy!

Long ago, in the first days of the world, there were the First Mothers. Osprey was one of them, nine in all. Nine queens and ninety-nine men, blades and clevermen alike, for that is how people were made. That is how we were born in the ice of the first world, beneath the light of the moon. To each queen were given certain gifts, no two alike, for no two lineages are the same. We all count our names from them, from the First Mothers, and each tells its own story. […] She is queen of mists and shadows, strong in mind, weaving illusions to hide and deceive. She is a white flower, a white bird, a fog rising among the trees. She is the shadow of clouds trailing across the moon.

Q: "How is it determined whether a Wraith child grows up to be a blade or a cleverman? Is it through education and socialisation or is there a genetic component and the children are educated according to their talents?"A: It's based on their inclination and talents. An infant boy may grow up to be either blade or cleverman. It's an educational caste, not genetic. Except of course in the way that intelligence and temperament are genetic! Of course queen's inclinations are different too. In Secrets we'll meet a queen who, as she says, has the mind and interests of a cleverman, who would have chosen to study the Subcorporia if it did not interfere with her duties, sort of a Wraith Sam Carter! (A comparison Teyla does make!)

Q: "If it had something to do with genetics that would raise another question. If the Queen never mates with clevermen that would eventually result in the extinction of this caste and only the fierce and brave blades would survive. In that case, does the Queen have a means of control over her unborn children? Can she influence what disposition her children get?"A: Queens do mate with clevermen if they wish, though it's less common. It's extremely rare for a cleverman to become Consort however, as one of the Consort's duties is to physically protect the queen.

Q: "I'm asking this because in 'Homecoming' on page 34 there's a sentence that caught my attention for its interesting choice of words: 'She had honored him with a son, and then, as his utility had grown, with a daughter, …' If I'm reading this correctly it implies that Snow had indeed control of the gender of her children. I'm just thinking out loud now: we know female Wraith are very rare and no one knows why.”A: Without being too spoilery -- nine out of ten female embryos are inviable. The chances of a Wraith queen naturally conceiving and bearing a healthy daughter are very small. To that end most daughters are conceived by in vitro fertilization. Eggs and sperm are combined in the laboratory and the zygotes are allowed to begin their first divisions. They can then be tested and examined, and if the queen is trying to conceive a daughter, then only a healthy and viable embryo is implanted, while the nine out of ten that weren't viable are discarded. Otherwise a queen might miscarry nine times to bear a single daughter, a tremendous toll both physically and emotionally. The male embryos are more stable, and some sons are conceived naturally, while other queens opt for all their pregnancies to be in vitro, as the male embryos are still inviable at a much greater rate than for humans. Also, it allows queens who have a settled Consort and who do not wish to take a lover to vary the genetic material of their children. A particularly brilliant cleverman or a blade of a certain lineage may be selected to pass on their genes. Certainly it's incredibly unusual for more than two of a queen's children to have the same genetic father. It's far too important to manage the fragile gene pool.

Q. Do blades and clevermen get to interact much when off-duty?A. It depends on the individuals and the hive. Some do, some don't. Whether there are clevermen among the favorites of the zenana depends on the queen. It's up to her to admit whomever she wants. In The Lost, we see Dust and Quicksilver, who are both clevermen, in the zenana among the blades. And Michael (Lastlight) was high in his queen's confidence. But some hives don't value clevermen as much. The problem with that, of course, is that males can move from one hive to another, and a queen who treats clevermen badly will find it hard to keep competent engineers, healers, etc!

Q. Why are the clevermen beyond taking binding oaths? Does their independent thought preclude them from it?A. They aren't supposed to take part in combat, and so cannot be oathsworn to defend. Now, in real life there are clevermen who fight, as we saw with Michael! In The Lost we'll also see that Dust is armed, though he is emphatically not supposed to be! (And of course there are blades who do know something about the sciences, like Guide. Again, Guide and Sheppard. John's not a scientist, but he's no dummy either!)

Q. Cleverman Ember was singled out to be tested by Queen Death. Do Queens have a sense of an independent thought alarm, wary of Wraith who will not be so quick to fall in line with their rule, like Todd mentioned in The Queen?

A. Death could tell that Ember wasn't sold, and so she chose to make an example of him. So why is Guide not sold either? Teyla asks him this later on. He's very old and very much in control of his passions, and as he puts it, "the memory of Snow is a shield." He has had the things that most blades only dream of, and that memory is not easily supplanted by momentary allure.

#stargate atlantis #sga #stargate atlantis legacy #todd the wraith #stargate wraith

[vyuntspakhkite-l-darling]

Midnight, monster, mistake for the not so nice OC asks (I do love some alliteration) ;)

Thanks for the ask!

I did midnight in another ask for Visralion, so I'll do Arsioly for this one, since Virava sleeps fairly soundly, and so does Sibatol when he's not up... socializing...

Arsioly had a hard time getting to sleep most nights, and is almost always the last of his fireteam to be awake at night. Besides trying to avoid his own nightmares, he's very protective of his friends, and likes to know where they are in case there's an emergency. He sometimes worries that if he falls asleep first, they'll go somewhere without him knowing. He also knows that Visralion has nightmares a lot, and on particularly guilty nights he'll stay up to soothe him if he gets one.

Mistake is a hard one. I've had to think about this for a while, and some of the answers dip into spoilery territory, but I have one that I can be kind of vague with. Raba- I haven't talked about her a whole bunch yet- but I'd say that her worst mistake was not rebuilding her fireteam after the members of her original one died. That, paired with her do-it-yourself attitude, doesn't end well.

For monster, none of my characters are physically monstrous (sure, they have non-human designs, but since they're just their own species I won't count that), but some of them do feel like monsters. Arsioly is probably the best example of this. He has violent impulses and the strength to carry them out. At times, he lets them win over. He's fairly disgusted with himself for some of these intrusive thoughts, but this is a war, and he has to do what he has to do to survive, so he mostly tries to accept them and learn to shape them into something useful.

#writeblr #writing #ask game #biting the bullet vld

[rotten-games]

For the RoTT ROs if it’s not too spoilery, how do they feel about the hypothetical possibility of their relationship with the QS becoming “official” or at least as official as QSs position allows IE getting a title like [Insert Title]-Consort, Royal Favorite, or in Emil’s case King but I feel like he’s definitely a big spoiler?

Oooh this would be interesting. Mandatory disclaimer about how there are some endings where QC is no longer ruler, etc etc But here we go.

I won't get suuuuper into detail because to some degree this will be explored much later in-game but I'll try to make it fun anyway!

Ardwen: Ardwen, being the elf he is, would fantasize about the prospect. Though some people in Eldor may take exception to this choice, he likes the idea of a more ''official'' relationship. Partially because of all the titles and prestige, but also because he gets to be with you <3

Arke: Arke considers the idea with great solemnity. He isn't exactly thrilled with the prospect, least of all that the people would see a man who once nearly killed the one he is now set to wed. (He would later find he isn't the first such person to ever take a blade to their beloved ruler but that doesn't make him feel better) Arke is no longer one for titles.

Bex: Bex doesn't care. It doesn't matter to him so long as he can be with you. He barely considers the responsibilities that would later be thrust upon him for taking on such a position (but for you, he would do it.)

Cal: Like Bex, Cal wouldn't think too hard about the specifics of it. She'll take the title, she'll take on the responsibility, because she'd rather be with you where you're at. Later, she may lament that she isn't particularly cut out for the role or the title, but she'll take her breaks where she can and cross that bridge when she gets to it.

Druvel: Druvel... doesn't want that. He'll do it. He'll take the responsibility with a coy grin and a dirty joke, but he won't make it a secret that he's only going to do anything like taking on that role or title if you want him to. He's fine with small fame, he's fine playing an act, but he doesn't want to be before the eyes of all of Hadaria to judge.

Emil: Hmm. It's hard to say much of anything without getting into spoilers. He thought he was ready for the role when he mother's trained him, but many years down the line he's long since realised he's far from it. (Basically, SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS)

Ettia: She'll take to the role as best she's able but she has more important matter and titles mean little to her. Though they may not get along, she and Wykk have more in common with one another than either of them would like to admit; they've made their lives out of shrugging off and evading any titles given to them to make of it what they want.

Gwyn: What is a title to a God? Realistically, the idea doesn't bother him one way or another because, when it gets down to it, the man is going to do his best to avoid any such responsibilities that come with the title. He already has others to attend to, playing Consort is just a little fun.

Herron: He violently doesn't want that. Herron is a healer, he's a doctor. He isn't cut out for... publicity. He'll accept it, he will, but with reservations.

If in a poly with Lokeira he'll more certainly take on the official role of Consort, etc, to save Lokeira having to do it in his stead.

Keller: "The people will talk," She'd say, "An Atmari Consort is sure to make them riot." It isn't meant in any seriousness, even if there is that hint of nervousness at the prospect. She wants it, to be with you more closely most of all, but she isn't blind to the realities of the situation.

Korrin: Oh, they find the idea cute. Oh, it's bound to cause questions, maybe even complaints... and yet there's something very funny about it. Of course, they'd warn, if given the option they'd simply have to stick their nose into palace business. If you can deal with that, they'd happily accept the title and responsibility it assumes.

Lokeira: Lokeira does not and will not accept such a prospect. He is a man who has lives his whole life in shadows; he IS shadow. Titles and public appearances by your side... it sounds nice. But he doesn't want it. It isn't him. He doesn't want anyone but you (and maybe Herron, if in a poly) to know him.

Necrolym: He'd think about the idea for all of five seconds before shrugging and moving on with his life. If it happens it happens and if it doesn't... all the better. He isn't going to lose sleep over something he believes is out of his control.

Nox: Oh, she would hate the idea. She, by her own admission, is not Consort material, she's barely fling material. Dressing up and playing to the expectations of other people feels... wrong to her. She'll take a title, she'll take the riches, but the last thing she wants is the responsibility.

Qora: Qora is not one for the glitz of Terix. She's only there because of you and because of the people she's unwittingly befriended along the way. If she had her way she'd sooner run away with you to a remote village somewhere and let civilization blow itself to pieces. But... that's not an option, she knows it's mere fancy. Whether or not she'd accept an ''official'' relationship with the Ruler of Hadaria is another matter, however.

Spotter: Well, first they'd probably have a panic attack. Then they'd proceed to pace in circles until they're tired. And then they'd have a nap. After which, they might actually talk to you about the idea (which is a BAD idea. They don't want that! Or maybe they do. They're not sure.)

Severa: It's a complicated thought for her. She's not unaccustomed to titles, her family has enough of them, and she isn't alien to political responsibility, either. On the other hand, she left Xactha to get away from both of those things, to simply be a soldier. To her, the role is more than just a title and she isn't sure she wants it even if she's with you.

#rott game

[shelleysmary]

#austenread22 / northanger abbey final thoughts

I read this one in two days, partly out of “oh my god my May book stack is still so tall and I only have 10 days left!!!!” anxiety, but also because I found it as delightful this time around as when I first read it.

Again, I was surprised by my ill recollection of certain points - I could have sworn we spent more time at Northanger Abbey than we ultimately did - but the overall effect was one of “*Heart eyes* Baby Jane!!” Northanger was her earliest novel, though posthumously published, and I loved getting a glimpse into her nascent writer’s mind, as well as finding ties to her later works and the reappearance of themes she would explore for the rest of her life.

My spoilery thoughts are given below, in case this is your first time reading it (and if it is, how I envy you!) (A/N: Gosh.... forgive the length. I annotated the hell out of my digital copy and basically dumped all of that here... BLESS THIS MESS):

Before this reread, I would have have told you I was an Elinor Dashwood and Anne Elliot. The latter has yet to be proven true or false, but so far I’ve admitted to myself that I can be very Marianne and that I understand Fanny Price on a deeply cellular level. (*Whispers* It’s the traaaaauma!) After reading this book, now, I can say with full conviction that I wish I was Catherine Morland.

Like Jane’s other heroines, she is raised by neglectful parents who do their best but simply don’t have the time to give her one-on-one attention. She is not ignorant - Mrs. Morland makes very sure of that at least - but she doesn’t know everything, and furthermore Catherine never pretends to know everything, to be gifted or knowledgable beyond that which she knows to be true. Her good nature is shared with us from the very first chapter as well as her tractability. She likes tumbling down hills and horsing around with her siblings, but when she grows up she learns to like nice gowns, arranging her hair, and dancing. She’s adaptable. A teenager growing into womanhood, trying to find her place in the world with no real experience except that which she gleans from sensational novels. What she does have is, as Stephanie Laurens puts it in an afterword for Signet Classics, “an enthusiasm for life found both in those who are youthful as well as those who remain young at heart.” Catherine Morland is both of these things. Even as a woman of later years, I can imagine her retaining some of her innocence and romantic ideals; they are a part of her, just as wit is part of Elizabeth. Experience may sand away the rougher edges of naivety in Catherine, teach her caution and restraint when jumping to conclusions, but I hope she reads spooky stories and discusses them with Henry ‘til her dying day.

I found many similarities to Fanny Price while reading Northanger. Like Fanny, Catherine is intrinsically honorable. “To be disgraced in the eye of the world, to wear the appearance of infamy while her heart is all purity, her actions all innocence, and the misconduct of another the true source of her debasement, is one of those circumstances which peculiarly belong to the heroine’s life, and her fortitude under it what particularly dignifies her character.” This is Jane’s voice revealing a device which she would use for the rest of her writing career, and she makes a point of saying, “Catherine had fortitude too.” She is not excluded from the list of heroines who endure ignominy for a fault not their own, although.... in this case, the ignominy is being seen partnerless at a dance because John Thorpe, to whom she was engaged, is too busy gambling or talking horses to attend to her. In the language of novels, this is a trial on par with being shipwrecked or losing all you own in a fire! Jane reminds us in various asides of how Catherine ought to behave - not being asked to dance; being asked to dance by the man you want, but having to decline him because of an unfortunate prior engagement with a man you don’t; not knowing anyone at a ball; making a social faux pas... these are grounds for fainting fits, insomnia, a complete loss of appetite, and the development of a fatal cough! On the one hand it’s funny. It’s meant to be funny, and Jane’s dry tone tells us so. But on the other we are reminded by Henry Tilney that a dance is a metaphor for marriage, and marriage is no joke in the Regency era. Catherine’s father is not poor, but having so many siblings, it is imperative for her to marry well, especially as an elder daughter. Nevertheless, Catherine never faints. She may have grown up on a steady diet of melodramatic heroines but Catherine is sensible. Her feelings don’t run away with her the way they do with Marianne, because unlike Marianne, Catherine’s feelings have never been indulged. Her judgment is sound. She bears her disappointments with a moderation that speak of maturity and good sense. She’s not always right - like any teenager, she makes mistakes and proves herself a little bit silly - but for the most part, she is guided by what is “simple and probable.”

How, then, does sensible Catherine get to the point of all but accusing a man of murdering his wife or keeping her prisoner in a forbidden wing of Northanger Abbey? The answer is..... she’s seventeen, and seventeen-year-olds are allowed to be idiots on occasion, even ones who are good natured and possessed of good sense. Like Emma Woodhouse, when Catherine wants to be convinced of something, she is. We see ample evidence of this during Volume I and her early acquaintance with the Thorpes. I say “early” while having a laugh because Catherine knows Isabella for all of a fortnight before they’re swearing eternal love and friendship. I’ll admit, these parts were a bit painful for me to read because I had friendships like these as a teenager, ones where all the red flags were ignored in favor of falling headfirst into a heady new best-friendship that could do nothing but burn out as dramatically as it first sparked. Hell, I’ve had friendships like that not too long ago! Which goes to show that 27 and 17 aren’t so different as we’re lead to believe. Catherine wants to believe Isabella. Before her, she had no female friends her own age, so she makes allowances and lets things slide... It’s really not a bad trait when you think about it. Like Fanny, she is open to forgiving and second chances. But in the case of Isabella Thorpe?? Cue the long sigh, she and her brother are walking red flags.

RE: Catherine, we are told “she had not been brought up to understand the propensities of a rattle, nor to know to how many idle assertions and impudent falsehoods the excess of vanity will lead.” While we see Isabella clearly double-dealing (there is one phrase I love that illustrates her perfectly, when she is taking her leave of Catherine after an excursion: “with smiles of most exquisite misery, and the laughing eye of utter despondency”), Catherine fools herself into disbelieving her eyes and misconstruing what she must know to be true. “There has to be an innocent explanation” is an oft-repeated sentiment because Catherine wants Isabella to have an innocent explanation. She doesn’t want to believe her best friend is capable of deceiving her beloved brother, to whom she has promised her love and fidelity. But Catherine owes no such loyalty to Isabella’s brother John. She is clear-eyed as to his inferior worth almost from the first - though she gives him an initial grace period by virtue of being family to Isabella, her opinion of him is solidified with every ill-timed deed and word. Stephanie Laurens calls John “the ultimate antithesis of a hero, a young man of no value whatever, not to his family and even less to society...” And in the sickest burn of all? “He has no redeeming features.” To wit, Catherine Morland wouldn’t be caught dead marrying him. No amount of flattery or connection to her best friend would induce her to make such a foolish decision, and she moderates her behavior to John so as to appear Civil, yet Not Interested.

Here we go back to the Fanny connection. Isabella claims that “Of all things in the world inconstancy is my aversion,” which we are meant to take as boy-oh-boy irony because we know Miss Thorpe is the very picture of inconstancy. Like Mary Crawford, she is artful and - why mince words? - deceitful, saying one thing and meaning another, keeping her options ruthlessly open by not keeping her word if it doesn’t suit her. This is in stark contrast to Catherine, and really all of the Morlands. In his letter to Catherine after his engagement to Isabella is broken, James writes about his “folly of too easily thinking his affection returned. Thank God! I am undeceived in time!” And when Mr. and Mrs. Morland first meet Henry, “His pleasing manners and good sense were self-evident recommendations; and having never heard evil of him, it was not their way to suppose any evil could be told.” It was not their way. Catherine acknowledges that, before she went to Bath, she was “free from the apprehension of evil as from the knowledge of it.” She may have filled her head with abductors and murderers and other nefarious types, but the novels she read hadn’t done away with her family’s influence or altered her nature. The Morlands are honest, straight-forward people. John is a cad, but he isn’t wrong when she says Catherine has “more good nature and all that, than anybody living, I believe.” He doesn’t appreciate her at all, neither does Isabella appreciate James, but they are upright in a way the Thorpe siblings will never understand, just as Fanny’s cousins and the Crawfords don’t understand her. Catherine refuses to tell falsehoods “even to please Isabella.” She is artless, allowing Miss Tilney to perceive her partiality for Henry almost from the very first meeting, and indeed she is so without ~feminine wiles~ that Henry himself perceives her interest and it is this open, undisguised liking that convinces him to pursue and even to endanger all to be with Catherine. Her open-heartedness wins her her desired intended, while hypocrisy costs Isabella hers. While Jane Austen knows the ins and outs of the cutthroat marriage mart - and even likes poking fun at it! - she is clear, even at this young age, that dishonesty is abhorrent. And while it is often rewarded in the real world, in the dream-world of her novels, she likes to punish it where she can.

However, by no means is honesty in the face of dishonesty easy to uphold. It wasn’t for Fanny, neither is it easy for Catherine Morland. She suffers a distressing episode when the Thorpes conspire to make her break an engagement with the Tilneys for the second time. “I could not do it,” she protests, even when her brother James, moved by his affection for Isabella, tries to pressure her into doing wrong. “Catherine felt herself to be in the right, and though pained by such tender, such flattering supplication, could not allow it to influence her.” Here, Catherine shows her mettle, despite her youth and experience. In another similar passage, she is described as “always distressed, but always steady,” and in describing the Morlands as a whole, the narrator says, “Their tempers were mild, but their principles were steady.” Steadiness is the reverse of inconstancy. It endures bumps in the road but ultimately allows the one who develops it to come out, for the most part, unscathed and with their integrity intact. And because Catherine is also modest, she often looks to others for advice. “I always hoped you would tell me,” she scolds Mrs. Allen, “if you thought I was doing wrong.” I’ve seen criticisms that, like Mr. Knightley, Henry Tilney is an awful nag, and yes, he is, but both Emma and Catherine need correcting. It just so happens that the only ones who bother are their respective love interests. And Jane does not disapprove of this way of doing things. Remember that neither Catherine nor Emma enjoy a large society, and seeing as the only way for a woman to broaden her circle was through marriage, if she wanted to add to her family in both a literal and metaphorical sense, she had to marry. Husbands were companions and family heads, and both Emma and Catherine choose the ones who suit them best. There are others more charming, ones better at flattery and more indulgent, but they prove their good sense by choosing steadiness over hollow outward charm. An Austen heroine, you see, must prove herself in that regard, in not choosing the easy way but using her head to act wisely.

And really, Henry and Eleanor Tilney aren’t as exciting as the Thorpes. Henry is witty and an effortless flirt (flirting in a way that manages to toe the line of courtesy), but Catherine admits to being disappointed when she doesn’t feel the same spark of friendship she felt with Isabella when she first makes Eleanor’s acquaintance. “Not an observation was made, nor an expression used by either which had not been made and used some thousands of times before, under that roof, in every Bath season, yet the merit of their being spoken with simplicity and truth, and without personal conceit, might be something uncommon.” Catherine has to readjust, but her naivety does not preclude her from appreciating the simpler charm of a quiet, steadier friendship. Okay, so she’s partly motivated by the fact that she wants to get on with the sister of the man she has a massive crush on, and we as the audience are never not aware of this fact. Catherine desperately wants to impress Henry and his family! But she undertakes this with a seriousness, not allowing Isabella to alter her opinion of them, or John to sabotage her chances. Their relationship is built on conversation, on gradual trust - which isn’t very romantic, perhaps, but Catherine learns it’s more durable than what she had with the Thorpes.

It’s not like the Tilneys are a giant snooze-fest either. Alone at Northanger, they seem compatible and cheerful, and I only wish we’d gotten to know more about those days they spent at the Abbey without General Tilney storming about. Henry and Eleanor’s father is a party-pooper of the first order, even though Catherine was initially impressed by his manners and bearing. But his children seem afraid of him, their spark diminishes in his presence, and he fits right into our idea of the tyrannical father in a dilapidated country house - a vampire, almost, interested only in Catherine’s imagined fortune. (Doing Dracula Daily, it was only too easy for me to compare him to the Count, whose grandiose gentleman’s airs hide the nefariousness underneath.) Because of Austen’s tone, we know very well that Northanger isn’t that sort of novel - ergo, we never lend any real credence to Catherine’s ideas that the general killed his wife, and I don’t think we’re meant to. Catherine’s evidence is always laced with enough ridiculousness to make it highly unlikely. For instance, when General Tilney refuses to walk down the gloomy path his wife once loved, Catherine takes it as a sign of his guilty conscience. “He did not love her walk: could he therefore have loved her?” And when he says he will not go to bed at the same time as his family, having political news and business to attend to, Catherine thinks that “to be kept up for hours, after the family were in bed, by stupid pamphlets was not very likely.” ................I mean. I—I have no words for how easy it is to make fun of Catherine for that. And there is, of course, the infamous scene of the cabinet. She works herself up to a tizzy trying to open a strange, hard-to-unlock cabinet in her room at the Abbey, only to accidentally blow out her candle in the process of trying to get the flame to shine bright enough to read the mysterious pages she finds hidden inside (I cackled because I’ve made that mistake myself), and when morning comes and she has enough light, she realizes she’s taken these great pains for.... bills and receipts. Catherine tells herself “she had ‘never from the first had the smallest idea of finding anything in any part of the cabinet, and was not in the least disappointed at her ill success...’” but we know the opposite is true. Catherine had expected to find something quite extraordinary, and she is disappointed again and again by how mundane Northanger Abbey is. Here, she “indulge[s] in...flattering suggestion,” good sense be damned, considering herself too “well-read” to be mistaken in the signs pointing to General Tilney’s guilt. “It had been all a voluntary, self-created delusion, each trifling circumstance receiving importance from an imagination resolved on alarm, and everything forced to bend to one purpose by a mind which, before she entered the abbey, had been craving to be frightened.” Let’s blame Henry for some of this: that story he told her in the carriage on the way to Northanger about Matilda and the cabinet so like the one Catherine finds in her room was just too good, and if she was craving to be frightened, why Henry just whetted her appetite in that regard! Stephanie Laurens points out that “both Catherine and the general allow themselves to be misled,” Catherine by her wild imagination nurtured by sensational novels - and can we blame her? A girl with little attention from her parents, no friends or varied society? Catherine has had to entertain herself all her life, so why shouldn’t we allow her to be a little silly and asinine and believe the worst of an abbey governed by a shady older man?

After all, he may not be a murderer, but who would ever want an intimate acquaintance with General Tilney? Even before her (erroneous) suspicions take root, Catherine acknowledges a “terror and dislike” of him, and we must admit that there is something palpably off about him, just as we sensed that the Thorpes were always less than honest. Isn’t that what terror in Gothic novels is all about? That sense of something, or someone, being Not Quite Right but having no proof? It’s just that, in the real world (most of the time), the Not Quite Right isn’t rooted in curses or ghosts but in our intuitions about people, the subtle cues that ring the alarm bells and tell us to keep them at a distance. General Tilney is no less awful for being awfully mundane. He’s not a murderer but he has no kindness - no disinterested kindness, at least. He allows himself to be misled by John Thorpe because when he sees Catherine he sees bank notes and a higher social standing, and it’s clear from his behavior and that of his children that he expects them to obey without question and to do as he says. While we can allow that the general may have loved his wife, we can’t imagine him treating her with any real tenderness, or with the lightheartedness with which Henry treats Catherine. His behavior towards the latter is always wrong, inexcusable and wrong, and culminating with the disregard of all common decency in throwing her out of the house without a servant or a single provision as to her safety. (She’s a seventeen-year-old girl! Traveling alone! And a great distance!)

We know that Catherine can endure with dignity, and she does, but even her mother notices that she’s downhearted. Her greatest regret is, of course, losing Henry, as well as Eleanor. She knows she has been wronged and can do nothing about it. But when Henry appears and makes things right with a marriage proposal, she lets bygones by bygones. This is the quality I most love about Catherine. She has her delusions but she is never wholly blind, and while she allows herself to feel the pain of indignities, she doesn’t harbor resentment. It isn’t her way. In this respect, her parents have done a wonderful job of teaching their children to roll with the punches, to have a balanced view of adversity and to admit their mistakes and begging pardon without sinking to self-loathing. After Henry confronts her for her “General Tilney is a Murderer” theory, she feels horrible for a time, but she allows her spirits to be “gradually raised to a modest tranquility. She did not learn either to forget or defend the past; but she learned to hope that it would never transpire farther, and that it might not cost her Henry’s regard.” We are also told that she is “completely awakened” and that “the visions of romance were over.” Like James, she has been undeceived, given a brisk reality check - and it’s clear they both need a good shaking! The source and also the flaw of the Morlands’ good nature is the parents’ complete incuriosity, at least in emotional matters. “They never once thought of her heart,” Jane says, and not once does Mrs. Morland ask questions or try to guess at the real root of Catherine’s unhappiness upon returning room. Like her parents, James and Catherine take people at face value, not understanding why they might say one thing and mean another, not mining their own feelings or observations unless prompted or forced to do so. Catherine, I would say, has the potential for more and I’d say it’s down to her love of reading, but her association with the Tilneys also helps. “You feel, as you always do, what is most to the credit of human nature. Such feelings ought to be investigated,” Henry says, “that they may know themselves.” And Catherine is eager to learn, eager to improve, to live the best life she can and in the most honest fashion. She has Fanny’s good intentions and Elizabeth’s high spirit; Emma’s need for adventure or at the very least of occupation, her imagination, her self-deception on occasion, but it’s never malicious. She wants to see the best in others, like Jane Bennet. She wants to be emotionally fulfilled like Marianne. And though her mother says she will make a poor housekeeper, I think that’s not giving Catherine Morland her due credit - she is not above asking for help, not too proud to follow someone else’s advice, and with Henry’s having managed his own living for a time and Eleanor her dear friend married before her, I see no reason to assume that Catherine won’t make a good clergyman’s wife. All she wants is experience, and back then, as now, the only way to get it is to live and make a few mistakes along the way.

As an added note, I’m sharing one of my absolute favorite lines of the entire book, found in Chapter 14, when Catherine is citing the reasons for why she hates reading history: “The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences, in every page, the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all—it is very tiresome.” As the kids say... a mood.

tagged: @appleinducedsleep​, @kateschechterxthorwasmyfirstotp​, @thatscarletflycatcher​​, @xserpx​​, @deliciousslimekidbonk​​

#austenread22 #northanger abbey #jane austen #book club

[reversedpsync]

The Hurt/Comfort Alphabet @errantkatana​ sent:

F: Fight - Are there circumstances under which they would not accept treatment or care? If so, what are they?

This is actually an extremely common theme with Ryuki- he has a very strong tendency to push himself too hard, to a point where numerous characters ask him if he’s ok or suggest he should go to the hospital, even from the very start of his route.

(spoilery talk under the cut!)

It’s actually to the point where he actually does go to the hospital at Tama’s insistence- and then walks out after being told he has a serious cognitive dysfunction and short term memory disorder that needs immediate treatment. When Ryuki is working on a case, he doesn’t give himself time to rest, and its extremely detrimental to his health.

There’s also an instance in game where Ryuki is literally shot in the shoulder, is told explicitly that not getting treated will result in major nerve damage to his arm- and rather than going to the hospital he just gets Date to bandage over the wound, then continues investigating for another half a day or so. You never actually even see him go to the hospital, though it can at least be assumed he would’ve gone after the ending of that route.

So honestly most instances where he’s hurt, mentally or physically, are instances where he’d refuse or delay treatment. Ryuki doesn’t particularly care for himself, and doesn’t think that sort of self care is important- especially while working on a case. That’s explicitly one of Tama’s functions as his partner: she’s supposed to help look after his mental health, because he very much does Not do that himself. She’s just about the only person who can get him to take a break, he’ll listen to her sometimes. Which is a lot more than anyone else could claim.

#; ʀᴇғᴇʀᴇɴᴄᴇᴇxᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴ // [ OOC ] #replies #errantkatana #; spoilers #so anyways he's totally fine (according to him anyways) #(do not believe him) #; // HEADCANONS

[bloomvalyria]

sparxshipping headcanon list pt. 1

You all asked for it ... and here it is! These are just the ones I can currently think of. They all technically apply to the Broken Pieces Universe but not really, so please keep that in mind as well. There are a couple more I could've added and did but they're way too spoilery for the trilogy so I cut them, but I left a few that are a bit more vague. When I can think of more that are non-spoilery I will make another (hence the pt. 1).

I tried to go with more fluffy, wholesome ones for this. So ... yeah. I’m way more nervous about this than I thought I was going to be. Let’s just jump into it!

When Bloom moves into the palace, Baltor does sneak in to see her pretty much every night, but Bloom’s worried he’s going to be caught so they decide their secret meet-up place is going to be the royal library on Roc.

After one particularly rough day at the palace, Baltor takes Bloom to the stables where she finds out there are no horses on Sparx, instead they have dragons. And he shows her how to ride one. It quickly becomes one of their favorite things to do together.

When Baltor finds out that Bloom can sing, he teaches her old Sparxian folk songs and when they're alone he'll have her sing them to him.

They tell Mike and Vanessa about their relationship before they tell Oritel and Miriam for obvious reasons. However, Baltor is more nervous to meet Mike and Vanessa. He knows out of both sets of Bloom's parents, they're the ones he really needs to impress.

In fact, the first time Baltor meets Mike and Vanessa it's because Bloom drags him to Gardenia for Christmas. (Yes, I have oneshot for it. Did I ever finish it? Of course not. It’s been sitting in my docs for like 4 years.)

After Oritel announces that he does not approve of Bloom seeing Baltor, just to piss him off, Baltor will regularly crash royal gatherings as Bloom’s unspoken plus-one. And even though it’s unspoken, Baltor always makes it perfectly clear to everyone that they’re together.

Magic is something they’ve always bonded over. Any time Baltor acquires a new spell book, he always teaches what he learns from them to Bloom. And he actually helps her learn the ancient languages so that she can read them and learn them on her own.

Out of all of Bloom's friends, Baltor oddly enough forms a not-really-friends-friendship with Stella. They claim they hate each other but Bloom knows they’re lying. They respect how much the other cares about Bloom and end up bonding over that. They also share a flair for dramatics and regularly enjoy poking fun at Bloom and her ignorance of the Magic Dimension.

Bloom does have a stripped back version of Baltor’s Mark just because she wanted it. However, it does have a tracking spell in it as a precaution in case Baltor can’t find her using their Dragon Fire connection.

Bloom used to partake in witchy activities (think spell jars, crystals, tarot, etc.) before she came to Alfea. And the first time Baltor sees her room back on Earth, he's stunned to find that since she did have powers, she accidentally created some things that actually work and they’re crazy powerful (i.e. crystals with elements of the Dragon Fire's healing abilities, spell jars with chaos magic inside them, etc.). The magic-obsessed idiot begs her to let him have them. She eventually caves and let’s him.

When they’re not on Earth, they spend most of their time on Sparx at a place called Vaeros Manor, which is Baltor's family home. It sits on the coast on the outskirts of Dragonswood, looking over the Western Sea. The master suite offers a superb view of it, if you catch my drift.

Baltor knows he will be slaughtered if he doesn't, so he does make a point to ask Stella for permission to marry Bloom.

Bloom slept in Baltor’s bed with him one time and now he despises sleeping without her. It was the first time he’d slept through the night since before he joined the Ancestresses.

Yes, Bloom has shown him Labyrinth. Yes, he is very confused by it.

#sparxshipping #bloomxbaltor #bloomxvaltor #valtorxbloom #baltorxbloom

[stellacaerulea]

Miraland After Dark

In this post, I will write a few canon-compliant headcanons the game cannot get into for rating reasons.

Given its nature, beware of potentially triggering and spoilery (no pictures) content.

Under the cut.

The Nations

Ninir

The nation's obsession with beauty makes it so that cases like Ashley's are ridiculously common. So while the canon says orphanages are overcrowded with abandoned "defective" children (Sweet Dreams Lullaby), it's not hard to infer that quite a number of people don't even get that far in life - Ashley's fire itself was canonically a case of attempted suicide (v2c3), so it stands to reason she was far from the first, let alone the last.

While as a mostly artistic nation Ninir probably has recreative drugs legalized, the indiscriminate use of controlled medicine like appetite inhibitors, strong antidepressants and anaesthetics is probably a widespread health issue.

Even though Ninir highly values beauty, Lolory's story states that even being the Starheaven Swan is not enough for a person to make an easy living (v1c6, Daisy's Diary). While she made it big as a model, a substantial number of people is likely to have to resort to prostitution...

... Which is probably very popular for both locals and tourists because of Ninir's adoration for beauty. Likewise, most workers in Miraland's equivalent of OF is probably from there.

Other people are probably not even that lucky - Ninir is likely to be a hub for human trafficking, both importing and exporting slaves from other nations for all sort of work. Most exportees are "ugly" people who would have trouble finding a job anywhere in Ninir and are lured in by a too-good-to-be-true work agency and sent elsewhere to do menial work, while most importees are beautiful young people - particularly girls - sent from other nations to fuel Ninir's entertainment underworld.

Ruin

The little we unfortunately know about Ruin's society states that there is some sort of caste system between artificial lifeforms and humans (Into the Ruins). While it's obvious, considering the machines have some sort of sentience, it's still unfortunate.

This same caste system has Caprico expelled once he replaces one of his legs with a prosthetic. While transhumanism irl is a source for immense debate, their society's reaction to it leads us to believe that Ruin is just a high-tech version of fundamentalist Pigeon.

The isolation of Ruin in an industrial archipelago the other side of the planet makes it hard to reach anything coming from the mainland, like food and people. This way, cultural exchange rests at an absolute minimum, with Ruin people being seen as weirdos by the mainland and people from the mainland seen as stupid savages by Ruin.

A common issue among real life developers and engineers is burnout due to stress. In a society that concentrates most of the electronics development in Miraland, most of the nation would be in dire need of therapy.

Said absurd levels of stress coupled with Ruin's natural dependency on robotics and electronics makes digital entertainment extremely popular, further isolating the individuals from each other...

... Which leads to a severe drop on natality rates within Ruin borders. Most people prefer to spend time on games or, in case more physical pleasures are required, purpose-made machinery, which, they believe, saves them the stress of maintaining a relationship.

As a result, most young people in Ruin Island are the rare immigrants or, more rarely, tourists looking for shiny neon lights.

Wasteland

For being one of the most sparsely populated regions in Miraland, Wasteland is probably heavily exploited for its natural resources, that are rare elsewhere in the world.

The more traditionally tribal ways of the several ethnicities in Wasteland are constantly seen by the other people in Miraland as primitive and barbaric, despite the probable modern levels of technology within its general society. As such, Wastelanders are a constant target of prejudice by the rest of Miraland even within Wasteland borders.

As an effect of it, the poorer regions of the nation - especially those in the desertic mountains bordering Apple Federation - have colossal criminal rates.

One of the more common crimes in such regions is drug trafficking - Wasteland's vast nature provides several different plant and funghi-based drugs popular both internally for ritual purposes and externally for recreative purposes, especially in Ninir, and the mountainous region makes it hard to track smugglers and their stashes.

Another extremely common crime would be forced sex work - as mentioned previously, Wastelanders are probably seen as barbaric people inferior to the "civilized" nations northeast of it, so Wasteland girls are seen as little more than an exotic delicacy by some people. And as such, there are quite a few people, both in and out of Wasteland, willing to make money out of it.

Pigeon

It's already known that Pigeon is a theocracy ruled by the light elves, that see themselves as the race closest to God. We also know they see themselves as higher than both humans and the other elven races (Elves' Elegy and too many other reflections to count). With that said, it's highly likely that crimes are judged differently between elves and humans in some sort of apartheid style.

Not a long time ago, Pigeon government - read: the clergy - was strictly against technology, going as far as to sabotage a power generator made by their own queen (Past and Beyond). While Pigeon capital seems to have modernised to modern standards ever since, there probably are very influent anti-tech parties in positions of power, actively preventing smaller cities from evolving and isolating them from the rest of Miraland.

Pigeon is probably one of the nations with the oldest population in Miraland, if not the oldest. Not because of the natality rate, which is probably high due to religious views on birth control, but because the heavy moral restrictions have most young people flee to the neighbouring Apple Federation as soon as they can.

A very recurrent issue within Pigeon are half-elves. Elves see human people as inferior and as such, little more than toys to have fun with. Coupled with the aforementioned lack of control measures, several unwanted pregnancies are expected, which cannot be legally interrupted. The resulting rare - but visibly growing - population of half- and quarter-elves are seem as undesirable by both humans and full-blooded elves and cast to low positions in Pigeon society (Song of Snow).

Cloud

While Cloud society as a whole is mostly pacific with more uniformly spiritual ways, things get a bit more chaotic in the individual level. For example, we already know for a fact that some people sell their children for workplaces (mm3). Given the more traditional way of Cloud culture, it's not much of a stretch to believe child labour is somewhat commonly used in factories and large workshops, besides theaters.

The pacific and orderly style of the Cloudian society strongly favours opioids instead of hallucinogens, which makes it one of the main black market exports from the nation.

The existence of mafia-like hubs both in Azureink (Midnight Impressions) and Cloud Capital (v2c4-5) makes us believe that organized crime is a common issue in Cloud, especially in the northern regions, where the proximity with the North Kingdom facilitates access to weaponry.

North

Speaking of North, from the get go we have the statement that child soldiers are far from unheard of (Mercenary Queen).

While North is even more sparsely populated than Wasteland, not only is the region a very literal icy wasteland, but the constant conflicts between the several warlords that control the territories that compose the nation makes it extremely difficult to invest on anything other than war industries - and even that is too much of a risk for most investors, which makes it so that most of the workforce (including children) is employed as farmers or soldiers.

The politically unstable nature of the region makes freedom of speech and information nearly a legend. Every warlord that comes to rule a certain region implants their own mis/information network to make sure rival warlords or the people don't pose a challenge to their rule.

Apple

As we already know, Rosset is a modern transportation hub built inside a dome and over a depleted mine, which houses the slums (v1c5), which reveals two facts. The first of it is the economic inequality in the city, that is harsh enough to drive people into living in an abandoned mine underground.

The second issue is the dome itself - it was made to prevent the pollution of the city industries to reach the rest of the planet, which leads us to believe that industrial activity in Apple is such a major source of environmental damage that physically isolating the pollution sounded like a good idea.

While larger cities like Lodden seem like developed places with low criminality, most worldwide criminal organizations are run from its several penthouses. From there, drugs are dealt, people are smuggled and wars are declared anywhere else in the continent.

Speaking of drugs, the several different people that compose Apple's society make a variety of drugs have common use, although synthetic stimulants are more used both to help cope with the common workplace stress and as "extra inspiration" for artblocked designers.

Meanwhile, several "model agencies" are little but fronts for human trafficking, both receiving and sending pretty people to sell their bodies elsewhere. Apple's main "commercial partner" in this business is, obviously, the neighbouring Ninir, but occasionally girls are brought in from Cloud and Wasteland to serve in Apple's brothels.

A decent amount of Apple's riches come not from the treasures left behind by Pigeon during the independence, but from wars financed in the North Kingdom, where warlords are financed to conquer natural resources, especially the mineral reserves that fuel Apple's advanced industry.

#shining nikki #headcanons #it took me three days to write it #long post #miraland is essentially a sugar-coated shithole

[tanoraqui]

Hi! I see you posting all this stuff about the Queen's Thief series and it really looks like my type of literature, but I can't keep up with all the names and locations. Would it be okay to ask for a non-spoilery rundown of who, what, and where?

Hell yeah [at a delay]. So, most of the series takes place on the Attolian Peninsula, which comprises of 3 countries: Sounis, Eddis, and Attolia. There are also a scattering of small islands generally associated with the peninsula. Eddis is a narrow country in the mountains between Sounis and Attolia and only has, like, 1 small port; Sounis and Attolia both have substantial coastlines. All are monarchies. The basic geopolitical plot of the books is these three countries making peace with one another so that together they can hold off hte encroaching Mede Empire. 

It’s very low fantasy. Rifles and cannons exist, but they’re not that good yet; complex clockwork exists; steam engines do not. The Attolian Peninsua are heavily Ancient Greece-inspired, and the Mede are Persian-ish. Most importantly, there’s an entire made-up Greek-flavored mythology, as well as a Gilgamesh remix, stories of which are scattered through the books. Not only is this very neat, but the mythological figures often mirror the characters and are often vital to the plot. In fact, one of my favorite things about the series is how the whole thing feels very much like a myth in its own right, which some modern-day-in-that-world author has delved into and expanded on with fleshed-out characters and complex politics.

But you wanted a cast list. Most significant characters, in (probably) order of introduction, spoiler-free:

Eugenides, aka Gen, the central character of the series - though only the protagonist for the first couple books. Book and a half, really (the second is shared). Gen is a young progessional thief who is very good at calculating and carrying out complex and implausibly possible plans, and not always good at considering in advance consequences like “I will spend 6 months in jail” “I will have to move countries and take up a job I will hate”, “people might unironically admire and respect me, even though I don’t think I deserve it.” A wildly endearing manipulative asshole. Iconic quote: “I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT!”

the Magus (never named), a chief advisor to the King of Sounis. Canny old soldier-turned-scholar/politician who is the first person to hold a braincell re: “we need to unite or die.” Iconic quote: “I meant convince your queen to sue for peace, not burn our navy in its own harbor!”

Sophos, later Sounis*, the Nicest Young Man to ever be a Nice Young Man. Sweet muffin. Canonical bunny. Also canonical mankiller. Iconic line: “Not on the first vote.”

Attolia* Irene, Queen of Attolia. Her people love her and fear her; her barons, for the most part, just fear her; she kicks and screams (non-literally) and throws inkpots (literally), but she does relearn how to both be loved and give love in return.  Iconic line [narration]: And she believed him.

Eddis* Helen, Queen of Eddis. There’s a mild running joke over the course of the series of mentioning that there’s nothing to do during Eddisian winters but [X], the 3 things mentioned are weapons training, threadcraft, and seducing one another’s spouses. The only one Eddis is suggested to be good at is weapons, but she’s the beloved and (almost entirely) undisputed queen of her country anyway. Iconic quote: “War, then.”

Nahuseresh, Medean ambassador, a mansplainer but competent as sneakily taking over someone else’s country while pretending to help them. More or less. Does not get an iconic line bc fuck him.

Kamet, later called Kamet Kingnamer, Nahuseresh’s slave and personal secretary. Nearsighted, translates poetry for fun, does NOT want to go on a multi-month (b)romance-building roadtrip. Does not have much choice in the matter, because he wants to be free and, more importantly, to survive. Iconic line [narration]: I noticed that a man on the dock with a duffel on one shoulder was very like Costis in poise and gait. The man turned onto the gangplank to board the ship, and my heart lifted, though I tried to squash what I thought was a ridiculous hope.**

 Costis Ormentides, a lieutenant in the Attolian palace guard. Not remotely prepared for the political snakepit he’s thrown into through very little fault of his own, oh god this poor man, he just wants to serve his queen and have a little spare money to go out for wine with friends. Why are people trying to kill him. Why is he third wheeling his monarchs making out in the courtyard. Why is he being passive-aggressively forced to learn a foreign language.  Iconic line action: *punches the king in the face*

Pheris Mostrus Erondites, second grandson of Baron Erondites of Attolia; historian and narrator of the last book in the series. Severely physically disabled, purposefully overlooked for all his life until particularly bitchy politics had him sent to the Attolian royal court (purposely on his part and on everyone else’s), very observant and twice as clever. Writes humanity beautifully. Iconic line [narration]: If I cannot record exactly what words were spoken at every moment, I can say with confidence what those words might have been, and in some cases what they must as been, as I saw what resulted from them being spoken, and can we not derive the words when we know the consequences of their utterance? *proceeds to write a historical account/novel more full of small moments of personhood and love both dramatic and casual than almost the rest of the series combined*

Relius, Attolian Master of the Archives (spymaster), trusted first within reason and then beyond it. Has many, many lovers.***

Teleus, Attolian Captain of the Palace Guard, A bit staid, but loyal, reliable, and entirely excellent at his job. Has only one lover.***

the Eddisian Minister of War, unnamed until the very end, fights with his youngest son a great deal in multiple senses of the word. 

* It’s possible that some of your confusion may stem from people taking the names of their countries as titles upon ascending to the thrones. ** Yes I chose this quote bc it’s sweet but also bc it’s SUCH a nearsighted mood. *** Direct quotes from the character list at the end of the last book.

#queen's thief #random anon asks #queen's thief series #Anonymous

[springsaladgaming]

ROs (and our dear brother Sungjae 😌) reaction to an incredibly clumsy mc. getting scratches and bruises all the time from falling over but they never notice them and just keeps going

Sorry that it took me so long to answer this, anon. I have no excuse aside from having massive focus problems and using what little focus I had to finish Chapter 5. 😅

This is one that could potentially get spoilery pretty fast, so I did snippets, but I kept them pretty vague and wrote them from a pre-established-relationship perspective. (Also a pre-knowing-about-MC's-powers perspective for the majority of the characters.)

Also, writing this made me realize that Rene is probably the type to wear a fanny pack at least some of the time, so there's a fun fact for everyone.

Snippets below the cut! Hope you enjoy!

Ansel - ${pc-name} had a scrape on their knee again. A scrape in addition to whatever other injuries they had sustained while no doubt tripping and falling again. Ansel couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He didn’t know if it was optimism or thoughtlessness or something else entirely, but ${pc_name} always just kept on going, no matter what kind of clumsy misfortune befell them.

Perhaps it was just a side effect of their little case of refusal-to-die, but he admired it nonetheless. Every little bump and bruise, every little scratch was just another testament to having survived another day. Even if, to his great amusement, they were only born of clumsiness. So the next time ${pc_name} tripped in his presence, he held back a laugh, if not his smile, and offered a hand to help them to their feet.

Teagan - Teagan didn’t know whether to be exasperated or impressed by the number of bumps and bruises ${pc_name} always seemed to have. Did he find it particularly surprising? No. After all, Teagan himself was the champion of coming home with random injuries. A hazard of his job, he supposed. Was it worrisome? Not really. Hard to worry about someone who couldn’t die if they tried.

Maybe it was confusion for how they always seemed to notice any injury Teagan had but never their own. He pondered briefly on a new scrape on ${pc_name}’s hand, wondering how they got it this time… until they spectacularly tripped over their own feet walking to the front of the café, and Teagan couldn’t help but laugh. Loudly. And everyone made sure to notice.

Alex - After so many years, Alex was no stranger to ${pc_name}’s clumsy incidents. They almost always laughed. Endearingly, of course. It wasn’t that they found ${pc_name}’s misfortune amusing. Well, maybe it was sometimes. But mostly they just couldn’t help the warm cheer it brought them, watching {pc_name} do something that was just so… them.

Even as they laughed, though, they silently looked ${pc_name} over for injuries. It worried them how little ${pc_name} seemed to care or notice about their own physical well-being. Was it clumsiness or recklessness? If it ever shifted to the latter, Alex didn’t plan to let it stand. They would keep an eye out, just as they always had.

Cherry - At first, it worried Cherry how often ${pc_name} hurt themselves. A little fall here, a little misstep into a jutting corner there. Normal things that most people did, but ${pc_name} seemed to do it all the time. It’s only a matter of time, she kept telling herself, until something happens and ${pc_name} gets seriously hurt.

But nothing truly bad ever happened, and nothing seemed to stop them from getting back up and trying again. It was a hard thing to get used to; it was easier to focus on the emotions, the feelings. If they were ever truly hurt, she told herself, she’d probably know it before they did. So she worried less, though only a little, but she made sure the first aid kit behind the desk was available and fully stocked. If anything more serious ever did happen, she’d be ready.

Lucia - ${pc_name} was a klutz, Lucia learned that very quickly, but they weren’t a pushover. She was so used to pushing people, pressuring them to keep trying, to keep going. But she didn’t have to do that with ${pc_name}. It was nice, a relief almost, to watch someone so strong-willed.

Until one particularly bad bruise made her realize maybe there was more at play than a strong will. Maybe pushing isn’t always about pushing people forward, she decided then. She’d have to learn to hold ${pc_name} back, push them to be more cautious before they wound up losing an eye or breaking a bone.

Rene - Little kids always found ways to hurt themselves, no matter how mundane the task. He spent enough time around them to know. And he quickly learned that ${pc_name} was much the same. Not the little kid part, of course, but they always managed to get hurt doing something as simple as walking across the room.

Most of the time it was just small bruises, but every once in a while there was blood drawn. Rene always kept a box of Band-Aids on him, usually featuring whatever cartoon character was most popular at the time, and he got a very special kick by offering them to ${pc_name} when they needed him. They always got flustered and embarrassed, not because of the Band-Aid but because they never even realized they hurt themselves. That was kind of adorable, and it made Rene smile every time.

Sungjae - There was only one word for how Sungjae felt every time he saw a new bruise or scrape on ${pc_name}: upset. When ${pc_name} was little, Sungjae never thought much of it. Little kids did that, right? Hurt themselves in all sorts of weird but usually benign ways. They could always bounce back. But, ever since the incident at the lake house, every bruise brought a new anxiety, every scratch brought new nightmare scenarios to his mind.

But he wanted ${pc_name} to live their own life, so he held his tongue. He wanted them to make their own mistakes, so he held his tongue. He loved them, so he held his tongue.

#ask #anonymous #ninelives wip #ninelives IF #ninelives ROs

[planet4546b]

you. i want to hear ur thoughts on textiles in s/n. what do ppl wear in general. u can be as detailed or vague as u want and focus on whichever locations u want or talk about the whole world (i remember u saying that different places would have different styles/histories so) !!!!!

YES omg hi luna absolutely!!!!! im gonna preface this with the fact that ive only done sorta preliminary research into the history of textiles and its something im still working on solidifying. but some of my thoughts so far:

while chaotic, the resonance wasnt a particularly destructive apocalypse, so especially in the first 100 years after it and to some degree still to the present day, people just used the clothes that were still around. if you can walk into a now empty sears and grab some jeans, its way easier to do that and then repair those jeans as much as possible (especially in the first 50 or so years before population centers started to get established). in part because of this, clothes in the present day still tend to look relatively similar to pre-resonance clothing styles -> working from what they know, etc

related to above, mel is a bit of a history buff + likes exploring ruins and def has a signature jackets she fished out of an old department store and loves wearing (this is different than her cartographer 'uniform' jacket that she usually wears, though)

oiler's pass, being the biggest + most stable city and also the one with the most space for farmland (more textile options from both livestock + crops) has the most varied textile industry, and is probably the biggest exporter of textiles. im definitely interested in figuring out how knowledge thats relatively niche in our present (like leatherworking, weaving, tailoring etc. in this case) will survive + propagate in this world's future, but it's not something i have totally figured out yet. but regardless!!!

(loom city, despite its name, isn't really known for its textiles. the name is largely related to one of the city's common philosophies lol)

backstay, being both a center of industry and a city that was originally transplanted from another universe, probably has the most unfamiliar fashion + textile traditions. but i don't know what they are LMAO

in s/n itself, we spend the most time in little satellite towns and also in stitch + staple, where fashion is still largely focused on practicality, ESPECIALLY in the factions we spend the most time with (stitch, having invented capitalism 2, does have a ruling elite that probably does have fashion for fashions sake and some sort of expectation for 'looking nice', but thats at the periphery until later). unpredictable weather means lots of layers (our main cast generally wears medium weight jacket with 2-3 underlayers), lots of pockets, and LOTS of clothes that are regularly mended and reused as much as possible. most of the main factions also have some sort of uniform -> section 37, the cartography guild that em and mel are a part of, have uniform jackets with specific sets of patches that denote position, rank, and their affiliation as cartographers (im considering making these uniform jackets dusters, just because of how much horse travel cartographers do). some later, more spoilery factions also have unique uniforms associated with them!! (the one later associated with mel gets a sick fucking half cape with a fur collar. lets go)

the most specific thing i have for textiles is actually about emily and mel's hometown, st elmo's!! st elmo's has probably exactly one herd of sheep, and because it's in michigan's lower peninsula and very cold, both emily and mel have a ton of handmade knitwear that their dad makes <33. heres a very little emily in one of those knit hats with ear flaps and a pom pom on top that her dad made her

#asks #cherrytries #signal to noise #like i said mostly very loose ideas mostly because i think fashion is very fun to design and so goddamn cool #but also something im very bad at actually designing. hkjldhjklsag. well get there!!! #i love backstay because i was like yeah itd be cool to have one of the cities be a transplant from another universe #(which is very cool still) #and then i was like. well shit. how the fuck do i come up with architechture/art/fashion/tech from another universe????? #this is also an issue for the protectorate but we BARELY see or hear anything from them so #thank you as always luna MUAH!!!!!

[monicawoe]

Series review of Lucifer (seasons one through five)

Mystical whooshing intensifies

So I initially watched the pilot of this show when it first aired and had a knee jerk comic snob reaction of: Ugh, everything is wrong! This isn’t like the comics at all, harrumph. But then recently two friends whose opinions I value greatly said it was good fun, so I gave it another chance. And wow am I glad I did!

The first three seasons at Fox were very much case based police procedurals format with the bonus of one partner being the Devil himself and the added bonus of the Devil going to therapy at some point during each episode (and also piano!!). It was to me a popcorn show, highly entertaining but not something I initially thought I’d get emotionally sucked into. But then I did. Pretty quickly too.

Lots more thoughts below (spoilery for seasons 3-5)

The main cast is largely responsible for why I fell so hard for this show (I love Maze and Amenadiel so much), but so are the side characters that come and go, like Tricia Helfer who has been near the top of my can make me cry in two seconds flat list since Battlestar Galactica.

Of the Fox seasons there’s a lot of great one offs, but the end of the season three finale 3x24, specifically the shot of Lucifer wrapping Chloe in his wings and him crashing through the window blood spattered and using the wings as weapons was my absolute fave, plus the gif sets of those scenes is another part of why I decided to give the show another chance.

Once Netflix takes over in season four there’s a tonal shift that I was at first worried was going to be dark and gritty™️ but instead it’s more like dark and gritty as defined by myself back when I was a fifteen year old goth. Meaning it’s everything I wanted then and still really enjoy now but not grim dark. It’s like season four doubled down on all the stuff that makes the premise so intriguing and had Chloe and Lucifer confront the sheer insanity of their respective situations while simultaneously leaning into the surreal ridiculousness of it all. Also Lucifer's continudity, which speaks for itself.

The season four penultimate episode - specifically the whole masquerade ball sequence and aftermath was so well done, and I really loved in particular the bit in the elevator where Lucifer's power is in overdrive and all Chloe has to do is ask the woman she pulled in with them to get an answer. And obviously the whole fully transformed Lucifer accepting himself scene was great. The Devil effects were so well done this season! Somebody who knows this stuff better than I do can probably confirm- but I feel like Netflix used far more practical effects and digital more as enhancement whereas Fox particularly early on relied solely on digital Devil face, is that right?

The season four finale opening to Kenny Loggins was hilarious, particularly Dan’s jump / Lucifer lifting him and Lucifer’s slide onto Chloe’s desk leading directly into the first “real” scene of the episode, just amazing. Though, side-note: given the musical in season five, was this sequence maybe real after all? Or just some sort of meta-level foreshadowing on the similarities between Lucifer and his Dad?

And the ending of this episode oh my goodness. Listen, I’ve got such a thing for Lucifer and the Devil on screen anyway and I have since I first saw Tim Curry’s the Darkness in Legend as a kid, but the whole way that scene was staged, with the demons grabbing Chloe, and Lucifer’s “You will bow down,” and then sending them all home with a word was just :chef's kiss:.

And the ending scenes from the balcony to Hell was so sad and so fucking great. The throne was awesome  (on that note I really dig this show’s depiction of Hell, both the landscape and the mechanics of it).

The season five opener was also really well done. There was something so lovely about Lucifer working the same case as Chloe from below and with Lee too! I absolutely loved the LA skyline and Lucifer peeling back the illusion to show Hell, and everything he did with Lee. And then of course we get the introduction of Michael which was such a fascinating way to start off the season.

Another big highlight for me in season five was the musical episode which I wrote about HERE.

And then of course the season five finale, which was absolutely everything fifteen year old me wanted finally realized. I’ll mention here briefly that I was a huge fan of the Prophecy movies back in those days and in general any property brave enough to try full wing effects (practical or otherwise) on angels. Netflix pulled it off beautifully.

Fave moments: Lucifer’s gut-wrenching agony when Chloe is killed and his litany of “No.” Michael looked dumbfounded by his brother’s pain. And then of course Lucifer flying to Heaven to get Chloe back, regardless of whether it would destroy him or not. That’s the level of obsessive self-sacrificial love I eat up with a spoon. Chloe wall slamming (and floor slamming) Michael was so satisfying, as was Lucifer returning just in time to keep her from delivering the final blow.

I knew immediately Lucifer was going to cut off Michael’s wings instead of killing him, but that didn’t make the moment any less powerful. And the stairs worked beautifully for the final scene.  Lucifer’s shock when everyone (except Chloe) took a knee and the closing line were both pitch perfect and such an awesome set up for the next and final season.

I haven’t been this excited by a season finale in a long time and immediately wrote a fic which I’ve posted HERE. It’s very possible there’s more coming, but I wanted to at least get this first part posted before any season six spoilers come out.

If anyone else has thoughts on the show overall, or season five, or any season really, feel free to comment on this post, would love to read other people’s reactions too. Also is there a Lucifer discord anywhere?

#lucifer netflix #lucifer morningstar #chloe x lucifer #meta #tv review

[secret-diary-of-an-fa]

Grisly, Grim and a Fucking Delight: Feedback Review

TRIGGER WARNING: Torture, rape, daytime radio DJs. Don’t blame me, that’s just what’s in the movie.

Wow. Wow and a half. Wow and a half between two slices of thick white whoa. What a fucking movie. I’d say something like ‘they don’t make ‘em like that any more’, but they clearly do, because Feedback only came out a few years ago. I am astonished that I didn’t hear about it until tonight. You see, I was looking for an epic, slow-burn thriller to watch with my girlfriend and glamorous assistant, and I came across this little British movie about a radio talk-show host getting trapped in his studio when a bunch of masked psychos invade the premises. “Neat!” I thought upon reading the synopsis and watching the advert. “It’s Diehard but without schlubby, sarcastic Brits instead of overblown yanks.” As it turns out, I was wrong. Feedback is not an enjoyable but ultimately inconsequential gas pocket of a movie: it’s actually one of the most tense, conceptually horrifying and incendiary pieces of cinema- nay, Cinema with a capital C- that I’ve ever had the good fortune to witness. The more I think about it, the more impressed and enamoured I become. Unfortunately, in order to explain why, I’m going to have to spoil the whole freaking thing. For those of you who actually watch movies based on my recommendations (which would be, maybe, like two of you?) I’ll give you a nice non-spoilery recommendation right now: the acting is on-point, the plot is serpentine but not in a pretentious way, every prop and narrative element is used to maximum effect, the atmosphere gets tenser and tenser without ever letting you catch your breath and it’s exactly as long as it needs to be: there’s nothing missing and not an ounce of spare meat on it. It’s a lean, nasty predator of a movie and, if you let it, it will pin you down and rip out your jugular. I’ve only ever described one other movie as ‘transcendent’- a little psychological horror called The Perfection. Well, Feedback gets that exact same sticker but for completely different reasons. If you’re going to watch it- and you should- stop reading this review right now and go do it. It’s amazing.

And now for the spoilers. Consider this more of an analysis than a review. You see, the film reveals early on that the masked psychos invading the studio aren’t just randos with a political or philosophical axe to grind. They have beef with the radio host (whose name is Jarvis, incidentally. You don’t see enough Jarvises, either in real life or in movies. It’s a fun name and grossly underused, but I digress). You see, they think Jarvis’s friend raped a woman, killed another woman and beat the shit out of her boyfriend… and they think Jarvis knows all about it and may even have been involved. They force Jarvis to extract a confession from his friend early on and then kill him live on air, meaning that the rest of the film is devoted to a battle of wills between them and Jarvis as they try to force him to admit complicity, again live on air. Along the way, it’s also revealed that they aren’t just crusaders: they’re survivors of the incident and relatives thereof. Now, from the moment all these pieces were in place, I watched with an expectation of being disappointed. You see, I thought I knew what I was watching: Jarvis is visually and linguistically coded as am older slightly privileged but spiky elitist, so in most movies made after 2010 he’d automatically have been the bad guy (fuck me but do ageing white movie directors love to pretend they’re ‘woke’), while the people attacking him are visually and linguistically coded as youngish (except in one case) and victims, meaning that, in most movies, they would automatically be the good guys (hey, everyone loves an underdog, right?). I assumed I was watching one of those films. You know the ones I mean. One of those oh-so-clever ones that gets you to connect with and root for a character then reveals that he’s a shit-bag and punishes him and- by extension- you the viewer for taking his side. That was clever once, but I’ve now seen it on at least eight separate occasions, and it’s become trite. It’s particularly irksome because the victim-coded characters always get a free pass for their own shenanigans: they can murder, torture, brutalise and dehumanise but it’s always okay because something bad once happened to them. Frankly, I thought that’s what I was in for. Luckily. I was super wrong. That’s like regular wrong, only sexier and with sharper graphics.

You see, Feedback is way too smart to go for a black-and-white good-victims-versus-evil-central-character narrative. Instead, it’s a film about dehumanisation… or is it? You’ll see what I mean. In order to force Jarvis to admit complicity, his assailants don’t just fuck with him and his friend: they straight-up murder an innocent bystander and threaten to murder someone close to the protagonist. They hurt and do terrible things to Jarvis and the people around him, using torture methods that would make fucking ISIS throw up its hands and go ‘steady on, bruv’. They have a version of events that they’re convinced of but have only one unreliable character’s word for and Jarvis has a version of events that they refuse, point-blank, to believe. Jarvis’s story does begin to alter, but it’s never really apparent if he’s actually done something or if he’s just saying he has in order to keep the people around him (and himself) alive. Meanwhile, the ringleader of the little troop trying to extract a confession from Jarvis might be victim, but it also becomes apparent that she’s an unhinged psychopath intent on spilling as much blood as possible for her own personal sense of satisfaction and has as much interest in justice as a black hole has in the history of the stars it swallows up. Hooray! Some fucking moral ambiguity in a movie! I thought the entire industry had just forgotten how to fucking do that!

Much to my delight, Feedback doesn’t stop there. Merely by forcing the audience to make up their own minds about what they think happened and who’s actions are most justified, Feedback is already introducing a level of sophistication alien to modern cinema. But then it goes one step further by also subverting narrative expectations. You see, in a bleak, introspective, what-monsters-are-we-all flick like this, you expect the antagonists’ plan to succeed: you expect the last shot to be of the protagonist broken by the moral blankness of his reality, sitting in the wreckage of his life, unsure of whether he deserves what has happened to him or not. And that would have been a perfectly acceptable way to end this movie. But it doesn’t end like that. Because Jarvis is that rarest of things: a competent and determined dude. He’s not a superhuman. He doesn’t have special training. The flick doesn’t turn into an action movie or anything ridiculous. Jarvis just refuses to accept the bullshit happening to him and systematically works through every possible strategy to extricate himself without caving and admitting culpability that he doesn’t feel. He tries reasoned negotiation. He tries subduing one of the assailants temporarily and using them as a bargaining chip (the minimum necessary force approach), he tries escape and, finally, when all else fails, he uses a combination of psychology, surprise and familiarity with his environment to fight back with lethal force. It’s a considered, intelligent approach and, because his assailants aren’t organised terrorists just ordinary people who may (or may not) have a legit grievance with him, it succeeds and- to cut a long story short- he kills all of them in incredibly satisfying ways. There’s a bit involving a smug, I-can-be-as-evil-as-I-like-because-I’m-a-victim character getting skewered with a pair of scissors that instantly outranks anything in the Saw or Friday the 13th franchises as one of my all-time favourite movie kills (outright all-time favourite still goes to that bit in John Wick 3 with the really creative use of a library book, but that’s off topic).

During the climatic scenes of the movie, Jarvis screams his confession, but- as I said- it might only be a tool to distract his attackers and gain the upper hand while preserving the lives of the people he cares about. Equally, though, it might not. There’s a coldness to the character at the end of the film that wasn’t there at the beginning. Has he just been changed by the trauma of recent events, or are we seeing the facade drop away to reveal the true face of ruthless monster? And here lies the film’s final genius: not only doesn’t it answer this question (ambiguity for the win!) it also seems to suggest that the answer might not matter. Jarvis didn’t prevail because he was innocent- though he might be. His attackers didn’t fail because they became as bad as the thing they sought to fight (though they did). Victory and defeat aren’t defined by moral superiority. The film doesn’t assign winners and loser based on ethical or philosophical standpoint. Jarvis wins because he knows what the fuck he’s doing and his attackers are a bunch of overemotional quarter-wits with a half-baked plan that they can’t even stick to because they get too worked up. Survival, Feedback reminds us, has everything to do with being good at things, and fuck all to do with just being good. At every turn, the film tries to convince us that it has a moral point to make. Characters talk endlessly about truth and lies, justice and injustice… but in the end, it’s all smoke and mirrors. The film doesn’t have a central moral thesis (or, if it does, it’s a profoundly nihilistic one). Its real subjects are survival and will. It’s a study of what happens when two packets of brutal, remorseless determination meet eachother coming in opposite directions. It’s a dissection of the self-preservation instinct and its only real moral is ‘don’t fuck with a smart, grimly determined guy on his home turf if all you have to bring to the table is a short fuse and a big hammer’. Maybe that shouldn’t be refreshing, but in a cinematic landscape where every movie is determined to plant its flag on one side or the other of the political or ethical spectrum, it really fucking is. The fact that it gets you to think about ethical issues and who you believe on route elevates it, but the core of the film- the thing that makes it solid- is that refreshing element of nihilism. Breathe it in, folks: we don’t get many movies like this very often.

#Feedback #feedback movie #film review #movie reviw #feedback review #Secret Diary of a Fat Admirer

[panharmonium]

round 3 of in-progress naruto thoughts, featuring me crying tears about pretty much everybody

[spoiler policy disclaimer first, as always: i’m only still in the early stages of shippuden (we just finished the asuma arc).  i literally had zero interest in naruto growing up, so i remain unspoiled for virtually everything that happens past this point.  i would love to stay that way, so please don’t interact with this (tags included, because the notifications now show them to me automatically) with any spoilery commentary, including even general things like “oh i love this show but it gets less good after X point” or “X season is better than Y season” or any general assessments of quality/likability/etc re: future seasons.  Thank you! <3 ]

- well, folks.  i have apparently reached the point in my viewing experience where i am deeply emotionally attached to virtually all of the characters and i care when bad stuff happens to even the most minor of them, because the asuma arc really ripped my heart out and used my feelings as ping-pong balls

- that said - i have to admit, if you’re going to kill a character, that was the way to handle it.  it wasn’t glossed over or dropped like a hot potato; it had a huge arc attached to it and major development for the other characters involved and it came full circle at the end in such a quiet, complete way.  i was hoping from the very beginning that the answer to “who’s the king” was going to be “children” (all i could think about was asuma yelling at kazuma “children aren’t pawns to protect the king!” during the sora arc) and ultimately that ended up being true, and i found that so satisfying.  (painful.  but satisfying.)

- SHIKAMARU.  HERO.  i always loved him, but what an incredible arc he had.  and that episode, “team 10″ - WOW.  wow.  they really kicked it up a notch for that one - that was legitimately beautiful television, not just “good by naruto standards.”  gorgeous animation/composition/editing...this show is in fact capable of magic, when it takes its time.

- grow up, you three.  the shadow of death hangs over us all.  some deaths may be harder to accept than others, but if you can’t get past that, there can be no future!  

^^ this is legitimately my favorite line of the series.  i can’t stop thinking about it.  i love how tsunade is speaking from her own experience, and how she’s not wrong - nobody in this confrontation is wrong, really; shikamaru has his stuff more together than tsunade realizes, and tsunade is just telling the truth, and i just love how this entire line relates so closely to the thematic heart of this arc, which is the sanctity of children and the future they represent.  like...so many characters in this show have seen so much death and tragedy, but we see children/the promise of the future pulling people out of that hole and back into a hopeful place.  it’s literally tsunade’s whole story with naruto.  she’s speaking from the heart, and it’s one of those lines that you can feel resonate across the whole story.

- kakashi, once again, coming to destroy me with his level of devotion to the kids.  not even his own kids, this time.  when he shows up at the end of “team 10″ and offers to take over for asuma and go with shikamaru’s group - i lost my mind.  he’s been keeping an eye on those kids the whole time.  nobody told him about what they were doing; he has no reason to be out at the gates at that time of night - he’s been keeping tabs on them.  he knows exactly what they’re going through.  he knows how they must feel.  he wants to make sure they’re okay.  and when he sees that they’re in an appropriate frame of mind for what they’re planning (aka, not unbalanced by rage or grief or the desire for revenge), he immediately offers himself up as an adult support figure.  he inserts himself into that situation and assumes responsibility for making sure nobody gets hurt.  he puts himself into a position where he can escort them through this experience safely (in more ways than one).  he lets shikamaru take the lead and achieve closure, all while simultaneously monitoring the situation to make sure every choice the group makes is the safest, smartest thing to do.  and then in the battle, he puts himself in between the kids and certain death over and over again - he saves their lives so many times. 

the kids are so grateful to him for doing that.  they respect him so much for it.  they feel supported.  they feel looked after.  they feel validated.  three kids who just lost their adult mentor in such a sudden, violent way - for them to have another grown-up step in and temporarily assume that role, for them to feel a pair of capable, steady hands propping them up before they fall down - that is so important!

kakashi is beautiful to me because he takes every horrible thing that ever happened to him and turns it into an unwavering commitment to help other people navigate the same rocky waters.  everything he does is designed to catch people when they fall, particularly when it comes to children.  he doesn’t have to take that kind of interest in asuma’s team.  none of the other adults are monitoring them like that.  but he understands what they’re dealing with and he knows they could hurt themselves if somebody doesn’t take care of them and so he steps in and assumes that responsibility himself.  and then he does the same thing with team 8′s kids, too, in the next arc, when kurenai is out of commission.  he takes all of his own painful experiences and turns them into ways he can protect other people from stumbling into the same pits he fell into, and i’ll tell you this for damn sure - he’d rather take a deadly hit himself than allow another cohort of children to be wiped off the face of the earth before their time. 

i love that about him.  i love that he turns all of the trouble he’s seen into ways he can be a source of strength for others.  i love that he is always thinking about the kids.  that’s the whole point of this arc: children are king.  kakashi knows that just as well as asuma did, and the way he consistently throws himself in front of the children to keep them safe is my favorite thing about him.

- fucking LOVE that shikamaru turns down the feudal lord’s offer because he wants to stay in the village in case his friends need him.  i feel like this kind of choice is never portrayed as a good thing in media - it’s always shown to be better to get yourself out there, try something new, leave old things behind, take a risk, make a change, as if staying home is somehow the same thing as settling or wasting your potential.  i love how asuma lifts up shikamaru’s decision to stay rooted in his home as a worthy and admirable thing.  the will of fire, indeed.

- the EMOTIONS i felt every time kakashi was helping naruto figure out how to complete the rasengan....when kakashi tells him “i truly believe you are the only shinobi who can surpass the fourth hokage” and then while walking away yamato’s all “you sweet-talked him” and kakashi immediately sets him straight like “no.  no.  i believe he can do it.”  SOBBING.  

- “good old asuma.  he must’ve known you inside and out, huh?”  i’ll be over here crying in the club, folks

- kakashi having conversations with sasuke in his head was Too Much for me ;__;

- we watched a bit past the asuma arc and are now into the part about the gemstone lady but the only thing i have to say about this new arc so far is about jiraiya and honestly i’m going to have to gif it to do it justice.  that scene with him and naruto where naruto falls asleep on him just...struck me down where i sat.  i was actually about ready to cry for real.  my feelings couldn’t take it.  i used to not really care too much about jiraiya in the shonen jump days (and yes, there’s some stupid stuff with him that you have to just look past if you’re going to enjoy things) but i love him so much now and i am finding myself so moved by the way he is rejoining the village and (re)building his connections with the people there, and how much meaning has been brought back into his life by the opportunity to work with naruto in particular, and how like...i mean, this is just my own impression, because i haven’t seen his full backstory yet, but he strikes me as someone who’s been running away for a long time, who had very little hope for the future, someone who experienced some terrible things and gave up, just like tsunade, until he runs into naruto.  and now things have changed for him, and it warms my heart to see it.  i love watching him take naruto on training field trips, and i love the depth of care we see from him towards naruto now - a far cry from the “i don’t like kids” of early shonen jump.  i love seeing him collaborate with kakashi - tag-teaming their teaching and climbing in through the window to check on him in the hospital and teasing him about how silly he looks with a sheet over his nose.  i’ve just become so touched by his progression and by the way the establishment of these relationships with “his” kids and the village as a whole (bonds, connections, all the things that this show can’t shut up about) has almost been a...healing sort of thing for him and has changed his entire outlook on life and given him a new sense of hope/meaning.  

like.  i can’t believe i am out here having jiraiya emotions after how little i cared about him when i first met him, but...here i am.  

#pan watches naruto #naruto

[snackerdoodle]

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7vTyjuuslUqiHauSgsmbuQ?si=WJHuwxgiQ422gub_5ZEC5w)

I got a little obsessed with the idea of creating a Lyctor Love Songs playlist for The Locked Tomb. I’ve finally finished fussing with it and wanted to share! You can read a breakdown of my rationale for these songs below the cut because I always wish other people would do this for their playlists, and now it’s time to put my money* where my mouth is.

This playlist is conceptually a definite spoiler for the process of achieving lyctorhood as revealed at the end of Gideon the Ninth, so proceed with caution if you haven’t finished that book yet. I also made this after reading Harrow the Ninth, but I’ve tried to censor (or at least be vague) in my references to spoilers for that book.

Possibly obvious content warnings for murder, suicide, toxic relationships, and cannibalism mentions—stuff you’d kind of expect from this series, honestly. I’m adding an additional content warning for the lyrics of We Both Go Down Together by the Decemberists including implied rape, which is not in line with the content warnings you might expect for these books. 

*obsessive energy

Umbrella - Rihanna

This is a much more wholesome song than the rest, but I really wanted to include it for "When the sun shines, we'll shine together, told you I'll be here forever, said I'll always be your friend, took an oath, I'ma stick it out til the end," and "You're a part of my entity, here for infinity." It has a bit of a “one flesh, one end” feeling to it. 

#1 Crush - Garbage

This song is creepy, obsessive, and uses some upsetting violent imagery, which is exactly the mood I’m after here. I really like the idea of being haunted by the other person—”See your face every place that I walk in, hear your voice every time that I’m talking.” I also like the implications of seeking power—”Throw away all the pain that I’m living [...] and I could never be ignored.” The line about selling their soul doesn’t hurt this song’s case either. 

Drain You - Nirvana

This feels like a pretty easy connection to syphoning for me, and for this context the gorey, semi-medical imagery is spot on. Also how could I resist “with eyes so dilated I’ve become your pupil,” when there is just so much eye-related lyctor baggage in this series?

Animals - Maroon 5

Here comes the cannibalism. There are so many cannibal songs. I also included this one for the language about absorbing the other person and not being able to escape each other.

I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie

Here for creepy possessiveness, pure and simple. Also, “I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me”—the potential for achieving ultimate necromantic power? Maybe!

Banks of the Ohio - Dolly Parton

When I first had the idea for a “Lyctor Love Songs” playlist, it was just going to be a bunch of murder ballads, but expanding my criteria turned out to be more fun. I really love the way Dolly Parton sings this traditional American murder ballad. This one gets to represent the traditional songs on this playlist because of its river imagery and because I think lines like “she cried my love don’t murder me, ‘cause I’m not prepared for eternity” play well with the lyctor concept. It also makes me ridiculously happy to include a 19th century song on a playlist for a distant future sci-fi setting. We’re all lucky I’m not making a playlist of the oldest extant folk songs I can find for the archives on the Sixth.

Phenom - Thao & the Get Down Stay Down

More cannibalism imagery, yes thank you. Anatomical imagery? Yes, thank you. “Scorched earth”? Sure, I’ll just take that for my distantly post-apocalyptic playlist, thank you. I also like the narrative in this song around rising to power. “First of the secondary class” plays well for me with our spoilery knowledge about the nature of lyctorhood in relation to the powers of the Emperor. 

Under My Skin - Jukebox the Ghost

I’d never heard this song before I started working on putting this playlist together, and a friend suggested it in our group chat. It’s completely perfect, and in my opinion, a total bop. “I can fit two people under my skin […] crawl up in there and join me within. I can feel your heart beating under my skin,” etc, etc. 

Two of Hearts - Stacey Q

Same vein as the one before! I also think there’s room here for intentionally misreading “I got this feeling that you're going to stay, I never knew that it could happen this way, Before I met you I was falling apart, But now at last I really know we're made of two hearts that can beat as one…” with lyctoral intent—the narrator is in a stronger position now that they’re entwined with the other person.

Tears of Pearls - Savage Garden

So this song is here in part because my high school friends and I once accidentally listened to this Savage Garden CD on repeat at a sleepover for like 5 hours straight, so I love taking the opportunity to break out this song in particular. That aside, I think the toxic relationship structure described here plays well with the lyctors, especially as we see them in Harrow. I particularly like this part near the end: “We twist and turn where angels burn, Like fallen soldiers we will learn, Once forgotten, twice removed, Love will be the death, The death of you.” I would love to include some religious imagery on this playlist, thank you Savage Garden. Also, as we see in Harrow, the older Lyctors sure do handle their emotions...poorly. 

I’m Sorry - Margaret Cho

An excellent murder ballad! “I’m sorry I killed you dear, I only wanted you to be near,” and “And I sincerely apologize, My actions were unwise, And now I realize that it killed me when you died,” and “My pride was stronger than your will to live.” 

We Both Go Down Together - The Decemberists

Another murder ballad, and even within the murder ballad genre, I think this one is exceptionally creepy. Especially with the murder-suicide implications, I think “we both go down together” works well with the creepiestreading of “one flesh one end.” 

Arms Tonite - Mother Mother

Another absolute bop suggested by a friend in my Locked Tomb group chat. I love the imagery, and I think it works exceptionally well for the lyctoral concept—”That I died right inside your arms tonight, That I'm fine even after I have died, That I try to escape the afterlife, That I try to get back in your arms alive.”

Genghis Khan - Miike Snow

Another super possessive song. I know it isn’t really explicit to cannon, but between this and Banks of the Ohio, I really like taking the literally all-consuming lyctoral process as a weird extension of the possessive “I don’t want you to get it on with nobody else but me” energy in this song and some of the others. Please also accept for consideration these lines—“'Cause I don't really want you, girl, But you can't be free, 'Cause I'm selfish, I'm obscene.” That has been part of the fun of this playlist for me—while I think some songs track for some characters more than others, I’m really having more fun with playing with the idea of someone who would intentionally murder and absorb someone they love in exchange for power. 

The Beast - Concrete Blonde

Another creepy, somewhat cannibalistic song. “Love is the leech, sucking you up, Love is a vampire, drunk on your blood, Love is the beast that will, Tear out your heart, Hungrily lick it and, Painfully pick it apart.” Cannibalism and that idea of draining someone of their power is a great combo. 

Savages - Marina

I love Marina, which is probably the only reason I’m not bowing to the fact that it bothers me that this isn’t even arguably a love song. We see in Harrow how vicious the old lyctors are, and  how their dinner parties feel like a thin veneer of civility over some truly rotten cores (I say this as a person who genuinely loved Mercymorn, but like… they’re terrible). Also, how am I supposed to resist “Is it a human trait, or is it learned behavior, Are you killing for yourself, or killing for your savior?” and “I’m not afraid of God, I am afraid of man.” More religious imagery? in my locked tomb playlist? It’s more likely than you think.

Cannibal - Kesha

More cannibalism! I love how vicious this song is, for this purpose. I also feel like “I have a heart, I swear I do, But just not baby when it comes to you,” works well, even if I’m not sure I can 100% justify it. 

Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

An explicitly canonical choice. “Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me, breathe into me and make me real” and “Save me from the nothing I've become.” Because I’m an absolute turd, I love the semi-joke I’m finding in many of these song lyrics about the partner being unable to leave. Also because I’m terrible, I really like that this song can be read as regret over having become a lyctor in the first place. 

Monster - Lady Gaga

Cannibalism again, and I like that there’s some eye stuff in here. 

Cellophane - Sia

I like the anatomical imagery, with veins and blood and brains and all that. I also like “Patience is your virtue, saint o' mine” for a little call out to one of our extant lyctors. 

Most of All - Fuel

Like “Bring Me to Life,” I really like the regret and self loathing in this one. I also like the mentions of memories because [redacted]. “And I hate you now, And I miss you most of all, All those times we laughed, The scars that you left.” 

‘39 - Queen

First of all, I really like this song. I don’t think I should quite call it a bop like some of the others—maybe a jam? A song that’s explicitly about leaving Earth behind for deep-space exploration and the passage of time works wonderfully well for this sci-fi series about a society that has abandoned a dying(?) Earth and that is populated with a group of very damaged people staring down the barrel of a traumatic immortality. I also like that there’s a bit of eye imagery in the song. I especially like “For my life still ahead, pity me” as a cutting line for a lyctor. 

#the locked tomb #locked tomb #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth #snackerdoodle actually makes a post #enjoy!

[laufire]

In depth fandom ask: the last fandom you joined bc I can't remember it now

Well, I guess the last fandom I’ve properly joined --making a few edits, starting yet-another-WIP etc.-- is Black Sails, so. Plus I want to talk about it a little, spoiler-free, in case you decide to watch it ^-^ (I’ll leave that to the s3 post I need to finish...).

Top 5 favourite characters: Max is my number one, without a doubt, and of the rest of my faves Silver has an edge... but the remaining positions are a tough fight between Flint, Jack, Madi and Miranda, and I honestly can’t choose DD:

Other characters you like: Mr. Scott, Anne, Idelle, the Maroon Queen, Billy, Eme, Abigail... This show has a lot of great characters tbh.

Least favourite characters: I still loathe Peter Ashe with every fiber of my being. Alfred Hamilton is obviously The Worst(TM). And though it hasn’t grown into hate (yet), I don’t like Woodes Rogers one bit ¬¬

Otps: Flint/Miranda, and the combos in Flint/Madi/Silver and Anne/Jack/Max (in no particular order at the moment because I just HAVE TONS OF FEELS ABOUT THEM ALL).

Notps: I don’t have strong NOPE feelings towards anything, but I’m not into Eleanor/Max (which is a dynamic I actually really like BUT that I’m glad it doesn’t return to shippiness LOL); Eleanor/Rogers (I might be indifferent towards Eleanor most of the time but I haaaaaate Rogers for her. RUN GIRL), Flint/Vane (booooooooring).

Favourite friendships: Max & Silver (THE duo I swear), Jack & Max, Flint & Silver, Idelle & Max (I might not have said so before but I guess I like a little conflict LMFAO), Billy & Flint (NOT a friendship, but their relationship absolutely cracks me up I swear. “Who’s Billy?” XDDD).

Favourite family: Madi’s family, which is all I can say without getting spoilery. I just. *lies down on the floor overcome with emotions* xDD

Favourite episodes: the problem with binge-watching (okay, I’ve taken s3 more slowly but) is that they all kinda blur together LOL. Hmm. The season finales are all *chefs kiss* so far (sometimes in a very painful way... I’m looking at you s2. Though the ominous Flint/Silver moments in the s3 were A LOT too); any in which I get to see Max & Silver scheming together ofc. And the first handful of eps in s3 were particularly enjoyable to me because I was drowning in PURE ANGST and Flint & Silver feels xDD (I can’t NOT believe the fandom seems to call one of those “the shark date” asñldfjasdfñl).

Favourite season/book/movie: oof. I honestly can’t pick; s1 is probably the “least” because the others include better moments for some of my secondary faves, and because there’s a plot that’s really hard to watch... BUT it has things on it I adore to pieces too. s1-2 doesn’t have Madi (major drawback xD), and s3 is after one of my faves’ death... but frankly they’re all neck and neck so far.

Favourite quotes: “I am ruined over you” always comes to mind DD: “Liked is just as good as feared”; Max combo with Eleanor about sand (typing that down made me think of Anidala LMFAO. The scene itself is very different though! xD) in the s1 finale; “in another time, in another place, they would call me a queen”; “this ends when I grant them my forgiveness, not the other way around”, Mr. Scott’s “No. Only YOU.”... honestly, this show’s dialogue is just too good(TM), I could just quote it all back xD. And of course, I HAVE to mention “WHO’S BILLY”. It’s the law.

Best musical moment: the score is perfection all around, but given that I never skip the intro just to listen and watch it... yeah, the intro xD

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: well, I *might* have lost it the moment CAPTAIN FLINT COMES OUT TO LONG JOHN SILVER OVER A BONFIRE, IDK XDD

When it really disappointed you: the fact that I won’t get to see a fully fleshed out Mr. Scott-Silver dynamic is MAJORLY disappointing, let me tell you. That Flint’s actor didn’t somehow get his mother (aka Maggie Smith aka Professor McGonagall aka Lady Violet) on the show too ¬¬. LOL.

Saddest moment: character’s deaths of two of the characters listed on “top 5”/“others you like” xD.

Most well done character death: the hanging in 3x09 was well done and served its purpose.

Favourite guest star: for a value of “guest star”... I’m going with Idelle.

Favourite cast member: Jessica Parker Kennedy is the one that I know and love for other projects she’s done.

Character you wish was still alive: THE ONE WE TRAGICALLY LOST IN 2x09.

One thing you hope really happens: I’m cheating because I know there’s some of that in s4, but I want to watch more Flint/Madi interactions pls.

Most shocking twist: well, I wasn’t spoiled for Mr. Scott’s plot in s3 so I was (pleasantly) surprised by that xD

When did you start watching/reading?: a little over two weeks ago; I watched (devoured) s1-s2 and 3x01-3x04 in a few days because I wanted to meet Madi, and then I tragically had to slow down :(((

Best animal/creature: I will always love Treasure Islands’  parrot that Silver named after Flint LMFAO.

Favourite location: Nassau aka Max’s ~domain xD. And Miranda’s house.

Trope you wish they would stop using: noooooone. I love the tropes this show reuses LMFAO. Romantic Betrayals(TM), triumvirates, “good things happen in the dark/away from civilization”, the power of narratives, social climbing and revolt... bring them oooooon.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: quite a few xD. But one that really stands out to me is the dialogue; both the ~deep and sorrowful type (there were so many quotes where I had to take a break to freak out properly lol), and the humorous ones.

Funniest moments: I know I’m repeating myself, but I recently rewatched the pilot to edit some scenes and I keep remember the WHO’S BILLY one xDD (which I maintain it was Flint trolling him. He could give Abigail a rundown of Billy’s whole life story AND he shamelessly checked him out that one time. Flint knows who Billy is, he’s just an asshole xD). Really, all the scenes between Billy and Flint in that episode are comedic gold lmfao. Billy’s “oh dear I fucked up” expression when he tells Flint the crew has started to think him weak and Flint looks half a second away from murdering him right there, his WTF face at Flint’s antics with the stolen page... Gold, seriously.

Couple you would like to see: I meannnnnn. I would’ve been very happy if the show had decided to go with Flint/Madi/Silver, for one. Bonus if Miranda could’ve been included. Or just explicit Flint/Silver in poly arrangements (THEY ARE IN LOVE, IT’S JUST ~COMPLICATED XD).

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: MAGGIE SMITH DAMMIT.

Favourite outfit: literally everything Max wears in s3. Eleanor’s s1-s2 outfits were things I’d love to wear too. Flint’s ~dramatic coat. Miranda’s collection of supposedly-puritan-but-showing-the-goods dresses xDD (and ofc her London clothes), Jack’s clothes (he’s Nassau’s fashion icon lbr).

Favourite item: the books!! Especially when Flint gave Miranda “La Galatea” as a gift (given that sometimes he reminds me of my OC Latoya, you might understand the freakout I had when he gave the other member of my OTP a book titled like that xDD).

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: no, but I kinda want to. I did have a Treasure Planet computer game I tragically can’t find... it was about collecting money in increasingly difficult scenarios LOL. And I probably have more pirate-y/Treasure Island theme stuff. I had a long pirate phase xD

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: Max’s because I like being on the winning team, thanks xD (though I do ~align more with Flint and Madi’s lbr...).

Most boring plotline: Eleanor and Vane’s ~romance is not at all badly written... but the fact that I find both of them boring kinda ruins the whole thing because I always wish that time went to someone else xD. Also, Blackbeard. Meh.

Most laughably bad moment: n/a.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: the London flashback where Miranda goes to Flint’s house unannounced to take him to an art gallery, she finds him half-naked and he gets all awkward about it lmao. And then they hook up in the carriage :DDD

Most layered character: we get to explore Flint and Silver the most. Silver’s development in particular is something that never ceases to impress me ngl.

Most one dimensional character: except the one-note characters I wouldn’t really call anyone completely one-dimensional, tbh. Though I do think the fandom attributes more complexity to Thomas than it’s seen in canon? Like, I like what I see; I think he’s functional, he works well, and he adds wonderfully to Flint’s (and Miranda’s) story, but I don’t see him as a full character in his own right. Which is perfectly fine for the narrative so far, but I fear it might fall apart for me at the very end.

Scariest moment: I never know what to say in this... I mean, I guess Flint killing a man with his bare hands in the pilot Like That was scary xD. I understand why Silver freaked out LOL.

Grossest moment: any of Max’s interactions with Vane tbh. Stay away from her ¬¬

Best looking male: Flint has that ruggedly handsome thing going on for him, if you’re into that (and sometimes I do appreciate his ~aesthetics... very sad he shaved his head in s3 though. Like, I get you did it for the Angst, honey, and trust me, I Feel U, but still). I feel like I might be forgetting someone, but seriously, none of the dudes in this show so far do anything for me LOL. I can honestly say I love them for their personalities xDD

Best looking female: I have a weakness for Max, but Miranda, Madi, Anne, the Maroon Queen, Idelle, Eme... all of them are gorgeous in their own way. This show is good for sapphic women’s enjoyment in that sense xDD.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): I could crush on any of the women mentioned above tbh.

Favourite cast moment: I have literally only seen this post about an interview where Flint’s actor says he’s too old to party with The Youth of the cast and just wants to chill on the weekend... with bonus Max and Eleanor’s actress talking about how Vane’s once climbed the side of a building up AND back down. I’m with you, Toby Stephens, you don’t need those shenanigans xDD

Favourite transportation: the Walrus, for sentimental reasons LOL. I liked stolen Spanish warship too.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): lots of good ones, though I think my fave might be the one of Miranda sitting by the window in London. Or the one of Charles Town burning down, I liked that :))) (I remember thinking “Flint better go full Daenerys on them”. And he did! It was nice xD).

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: n/a, so far.

Best promo: n/a.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: I liked it from the word go, but the moment that TRULY cemented it for me was in 1x03, with Max making a decision that I... frankly didn’t expect. It made things worse for her in the short-term, the storyline itself was difficult and disturbing to watch and I still have some mixed feelings about it. But what it said about her as a character and how her journey goes after that... I was in awe of her, and of the show.

#missbrunettebarbie #replies #my thoughts #black sails #black sails thoughts #talking to the void #bsmax #miranda barlow #james flint #john silver #flintmiranda #silverflintmadi #silverflint #silvermadi #billy x flint #bsmadi #i think those are the most prominent ones #thanks for the ask :D