#how he specifically could understand how she grew up and the impact it had on her and her worldview

[meredithbeckham]

when you grew up like we did, it… it impacts how you see the world. everything is filtered through a very specific lens. and ward got that.

i think it’s important to realize you can miss something, but not want it back, paulo coelho.

#daisyjohnsonedit #daisy johnson #aosedit #daisy x ward #anti skyeward #to be clear this isn't meant to romanticize them it's just exploring a facet of their dynamic i find interesting (and utterly terrifying #and sickening) #how much of daisy's connection to ward to begin with was in their shared abusive backgrounds #how he specifically could understand how she grew up and the impact it had on her and her worldview #it physically hurts me to think about how vulnerable she was with him and how much she trusted him with as her s.o #how much she would have felt for him in regard to his own abuse and wanted to help him and what a role that in of itself would have played #in their relationship and in her feelings #something i think aos does really well is allude to daisy's history - how clear it is that she is a survivor of abuse and how consistently #present that is in how she perceives and navigates the world #it's subtle but so very there #her face in that scene where ward goes off because of the staff. CHILLS #and it hurts me so very much to think of how connected she felt to ward in that regard while he himself was preying on and manipulating her #tucking away every vulnerable detail she shared for later use #how he convinces her to trust him and that he won't turn his back on her just to be yet another person who has abused her #how when he starts talking about how he isn't a good man it must be so easy to think he's just like her - thinking she's bad and worthless #and wrong and unlovable because that's what abuse does that's what it does to you #and daisy is so keenly aware of that so much more self-aware than she's given credit for #abuse / #daisy who is actually able to articulate what ward was to her and who maybe misses what she thought he was sometimes because how could #it not be nice to for a moment have someone who understood #but who is also so keenly aware of who he is and what he has done

[anonymous-dentist]

very interesting in seeing how what happens in purgatory impacts people’s relationships in lore… i know most of them aren’t doing it with rp in mind, but i somewhat hope this has an irreversible effect when they return to quesadilla island… i think it’d b fun :p

Bagi has been in rp mode basically the entire time and so has Quackity (as ElQuackity), same for Phil and Carre, actually, over on Red Team and Tina on Blue. And these are the people who will Remember Things.

I think that with my blorbos specifically, this is the perfect chance for Bagi to see her brother for who he is, because like. This is the exact same environment that Cellbit basically grew up in! The cc even called it ‘Hunger Games Two’ last night and said that qCellbit is slipping back into old habits hard because this is an environment he’s genuinely comfortable in (which is sad, but it’s unfortunately true.) That’s why he killed Bagi- at that moment, she wasn’t his sister, she was an enemy. He couldn’t risk her ruining his chances of winning, so she had to die.

And I think Bagi is going to look at this and really sit and think about her brother. She told Bad a couple of days before Purgatory that she spent so long hoping her brother would be the same as he was when he disappeared but he isn’t and she wasn’t even sure that he’s her brother to begin with. Bad helped her get over that, but I think that actually being confronted with the world that Cellbit essentially grew up in could help her understand him on a more fundamental level. This could be how they could start the process to recovery if she’s willing to stop calling him crazy for killing people after seeing the environment he was raised in

#asks! #anon!

[my-mt-heart]

I obviously haven’t been very stoked about a lot of choices this first season—the opposite if I’m being honest—but when I first listened to the radio scene, it felt like a reprieve from those feelings. Norman’s performance is perfect. I could sense his urgency to get a hold of Carol, and of course once he does, his tone melts into something much softer, something we know he reserves only for her. I appreciate the long pauses he takes to study her voice. He hears something in her words that we don’t (🤨). He worries that maybe she’s not really okay.

Carol’s line “you never need to worry about me, Daryl” makes me think back to her “I love you too” in the series finale, or more specifically the weightlessness of it. Melissa said it was Carol’s way of taking care of Daryl. She wanted to make it easier for him to leave, and at first, I wondered if this time was supposed to represent more of the same. We understand why Daryl sounds excited because we have the privilege of reading his body language. Maybe when Carol hears it, she thinks he’s enjoying himself out there. Maybe she's reluctant to admit how much she misses him because she doesn't want to take him away from where he really belongs.

Here’s where I’m struggling though. Theoretically, Melissa would’ve had Norman’s footage to play off of while she recorded her side of the conversation. That's how it's typically done. We know both of them always play off each other brilliantly. We’ve seen it countless times. It’s why their chemistry works. It’s why we ship them. But in this scene, I'm not getting any of that. There’s no emotion behind the words, none of Melissa's nuances, and the more I listen to it, the more I realize it isn’t Melissa’s voice at all. It really pains me to say it, but it sounds like AI.

If that’s true, then you'll have to be patient with me while I take the time to fully process my feelings about it. After everything—booting Melissa from the show in the first place and then gaslighting her fans about it—AMC wants to use a copout loophole in Melissa's contract (what many actors have had in their contracts hence the need for a strike) to jeopardize Melissa's integrity, deny everybody what they've had to wait a long time for, Melissa, and cheapen what could've been the most impactful scene of the season? Are you fucking kidding me? That’s just lazy, manipulative, disrespectful, and infuriating.

I was really excited to analyze a new Caryl scene today. Believe it or not, I don't want to keep hating on the show. I want to enjoy my two favorite characters, but as others have said, I’m tired of bending over backwards to arrive at some—any—hopeful conclusion about Caryl’s future. It’s hard enough when the writing is as inconsistent as it has been, but now AI is involved? No one should have to exert energy on analyzing a performance that doesn't exist. It's a poor reflection of Melissa's talent and a huge disservice to Caryl's story. I'm heartbroken.

Good to see her trending though. She deserves all the love she's getting today.

On another note, because I don't want to make a separate post about it, I also watched the scene where Daryl gets mad at Laurent. **TRIGGER WARNING*** As someone who grew up in a very "loud" household and experienced PTSD from it, I wasn't put off by the anger. I understand Daryl wants to go home, and the kid ruined what seemed like his only chance. It's the name-calling and Daryl putting his hands on Laurent that specifically crossed the line for me. The show is clearly trying to force Daryl to draw comparisons between him and his dad, but this feels like something Daryl has already worked through on the flagship show. The moment he saw Carol flinch on the farm, he knew he wanted to be different. Carol and TF helped him be different. He is different. He doesn't need to prove that to himself or anyone else anymore. Enough of the character regressions.

#caryl #caryl spinoff #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #darylneedscarol #twd spoilers

[working-dreamer]

Eggman’s Motivations and Clarifications

This might be something everyone already knows in the Sonic Frontiers fandom but can we just talk about the implications of the Egg Memos where Eggman talks about Maria?

“All that love for someone already gone when I was right there!”

Not only does this seem to imply that Eggman grew up in a family that had been holding onto Maria’s loss but he felt jealous of the love that everyone had for her.

When you consider Eggman’s goals of wanting to rule over everything and to have everyone know his name- it could imply that Eggman was (probably unintentionally) emotionally neglected because everyone was so focused on Maria and her loss.

And when he starts to open up to the idea of fatherhood to Sage and even comparing her to Maria it’s almost like he’s trying to seek out that connection he never had while also fulfilling a relationship he never received growing up.

Then there’s Sonic Adventure 2 where it’s revealed that Eggman looked up to Gerald who was either in prison or already dead by this point. Considering Eggman sees Gerald as the only other person who could understand his love of machines and technology (even though Gerald is a criminal or already dead at this point) might give the theory that Eggman’s home life wasn’t great if he saw Gerald as his hero.

So we have Robotnik as a child not understanding the impact grief can have on people and taking their mourning process personally (as of they’re talking about her specifically to ignore him) but you also have parents or family members that had been holding onto their grief for so long that they’re neglecting their child. Just a bad situation for everyone involved.

It’s no wonder that when Eggman started to open up to seeing Sage as his child that he’d begin to wonder about Maria’s impact on his life. Because now he can understand their loss and put himself in their position. If Sage is anything like Maria then he can understand why his family held onto their grief for so long… and unfortunately he later experiences the same loss when Sage sacrifices herself to save him.

It’s interesting to think about. One sentence gives more to why Eggman is a villain than anything in the games. Of course he wants power and to take over the world but we never really got to see why that is the case.

This game with that one sentence shows that Eggman is a complicated guy who was born into a family still mourning the loss of another child and because of those circumstances he felt like no one appreciated him and felt like he was under the shadow of Maria’s legacy. But if he took over the world… if he made the EggmanLand theme park… everyone will know his name! Everyone will see his accomplishments! No one will ever ignore him again!

And yet… when he met Sage his perspective of how is family treated him shifts. He is at least contemplating his growing attachment to Sage with the love his family had for Maria. And right when he was starting to really accept Sage as a daughter and gain a familial connection he may have not known he wanted… she dies. And he is alone once again.

Now he is desperate to have what he didn’t know he needed. Did you see that manic grin Eggman had when he brought Sage back in the final cutscene? How relieved he sounded, almost close to crying, when he said, “That’s my girl…” He now knows what he’s been missing- a real connection with someone he can call family and now that he brought Sage back there’s nothing anyone can do to take that away again. Now when he takes over the world it will be for her sake. Father and daughter together to rule over the world for all time and to have fun in EggmanLand whenever they want!

Sonic Frontiers gave Eggman a backstory, a clarification on his motivations, and some actual consistent nuance to his character all from one sentence hidden in a fishing mini-game.

I love it so much!

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers spoilers #sage robotnik #sage sonic #eggman #doctor eggman #dr eggman #dr robotnik #doctor robotnik #doctor ivo robotnik #dr ivo robotnik #ivo robotnik #sth

[moroser]

Wanna ramble about Human AU Lilith and Hunter eh? I've got just the prompts!

Their favorite museum exhibit and why

Favorite historical era and why

A key life lesson that Hunter learnt from Lilith that was life-changing, but Lilith didn't realize how big an impact "A trivial little matter" had

woof

like in canon, lilith is big on historical architecture. so any exhibits that pertain to that are her favorite, but she enjoys everything historical. she also loves historical art ranging from prehistoric cave drawings to art from the early 1900s. hunter is fairly similar in that he enjoys all of it but he is very big on the prehistoric animals.

i think, again, lilith would enjoy most historical eras but would be particularly drawn to the renaissance and the victorian eras. the architecture specifically is ABSURD from those times, but i think she'd also be interested in the anthropology around those eras. hunter is interested, again, in the prehistoric eras where animals were evolving into big predators (dinosaurs to ice age animals) but he also likes the medieval era and the history involved. i don't have much reasons why other than it just Feels like them.

hunter learns a lot from lilith. i mean, she's his mom. but he grows up to be a respectful and polite boy, and hardworking because he's watched lilith work hard his whole life to give him a good life with a lot of stability. she's a single mom and he's watched her do everything and provide for him. they have this thing where ever since he was little they've been asking one another ''are you okay?" because it was one of the first things she asked him that he could engage with and understand. they always check on each other, it's a habitual thing. even when he was a toddler, lol. screaming from the toy room ''mommy! mommy!" "what is it, hunter?" "are you okay?!" "i am! are you okay?" "IM OKAY TOO." lilith grew up neglected, emotionally, and she worked hard to make sure that hunter didn't go thru the same thing; always making sure that he was validated in how he felt. he is the same, he's a very caring and nurturing kid and later adult.

another thing hunter learns from lilith is how to treat animals because they have a pet raven!!!!!!!!!! and it's just apart of his every day. i'm not sure how to go into trivial stuff cause neither of these things are like specifically taught lessons, they're just apart of his life that he learns from.

#curious sharks #wheezes autistically #human au

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

For the kinks, you and aeon 😁: 3, 6, 18, 19

hehehhe ty bestie <3

LOTS OF NSFW below the cut

3. Are there kinks you can see the appeal of but aren't into?

me: i'm pretty open minded but probably not that many? i guess feet? some feet are .. nice looking? don't get it though. i'm not really into super aggressive CNC, dubious is fine if both parties are still consenting. but i'm not really into it (i had a few partners that i allowed free use for, but i don't know if i'm really into it as much anymore, i guess it depends on the partner)

aeon: also probably CNC. ada's more into roleplay than leon is. he's also REALLY BAD AT IT. says out of pocket things but she's just like wtf and just rails him.

6. Are there any kinks you could hold a fifteen minute presentation on without time to prepare?

me: i just think that more people need to be educated on the whole bdsm dom/sub culture BEFORE trying to get a girl to be their submissive because they watched fifty shades or listening to some "alpha podcast" i actually recommend listening to GOOD dom podcasts but they're mostly gone at this point. i had one that i liked listening too but he was removed from tumblr and i haven't been able to find him again since his name was a pretty generic like "daddy dom" name.

lots of people not understanding that the sub holds ALL the power. and that the doms are ONLY DOING WHAT THE SUB IS WILLING TO DO. consent can be revoked AT ANY TIME

aeon: i just feel like leon's life is so out of control that he feds on ada controlling him in a sense. so probably just letting go and letting ada control and pace his pleasure. for ada she also feeds off that shit, she's a controlling and calculated person so to see leon so weak to her touch and so reactive to her gets her GOING. ada also just going on and on about how to tie someone up sjfkbsfkjsfskf leon's also too embarrassed to talk about kink that explicitly imo.

18. Are there kinks you'd like to engage in but can't? What are the reasons?

me: any that require me to feel small or little. any dirty talk that is demeaning or misogynistic. "my dirty little slut," is fine. "fucking ugly nasty whore" is NOT FINE. don't call me a "cum dumpster," unless i'm "your little cum dumpster" LMAO i usually find just adding, "my" helps lol but it depends on the person too cause some people- shouldn't try doing dirty talk sjdbksfskj. i'm also not into a lot of binding/ropes/handcuffs unless you're well versed in it. you can really hurt yourself and your partner if you don't know what you're doing.

aeon: for leon any that inflict actual pain. he wouldn't be opposed to a slap here and there on the ass, but never actual painful acts. ada wouldn't be opposed to a choke here and there but it could be triggering for her as well. so it depends.

19. In what ways has kink positively impacted your life?

me: i don't think i have anything specific but probably learning more about sub/dom culture and realizing im a switch. i like both sides and and i like being able to control the pleasure of my partner.

aeon: i feel like they're both are just sex positive in general. (not in the beginning for leon) as i think he becomes more comfortable a lot later on as i wonder if his religious upbringing (cause i always hc that he grew up religious) affected how he thinks of premarital sex. i don't care either way for the hc of his ex girlfriend before raccoon. he could've slept with her or not. it doesn't really affect how i think of how he still perceives it. he could've thought it was an okay thing to do- but it also makes me think of how he would've perceived casually dating in the late 90s. he never struck me as a sexual promiscious character so it's hard for me to think of him that way pre 2004.

i just feel like ada's used sex in some ways (not always just sex, but even just using her body to get what she wanted for her job) so she's a bit numb to things. whenever she's with leon, she actually feels affection and his non-judgement that the first times he's really affectionate and loving her instead of just fucking her, she's too overwhelmed to really process it.

when they've become more comfortable with each other, they play a bit more. using little scenaories her and there but it ultimately comes back to a more passionate session. lots of eye contact and holding each other. edging each other to have it last longer. coated in each other's juices and just keep on going. indulging in keeping the other in a constant state of pleasure.

#ask heart #heart answers #sarndonic #ada wong #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy #aeon #leon x ada #leon kennedy x ada wong #leon s kennedy x ada wong

[milkywaydrinker]

Having watched Amphibia and thought it over, I guess I can understand why some viewers interpret Marcy's arc as having unfortunate implications regarding her parents, even if I personally don't see her parents as abusive.

Judging by Braly's statements regarding Marcy's father, the job he took that required his family to move out of state was a big 'opportunity' for him. From the way Braly worded it, Mr. Wu took the job not out of necessity, but because he wanted to, which can easily come across as selfish and uncaring, especially since Marcy's house in L.A. already looked pretty well-off.

With that in mind, I can understand why some would object to Amphibia answering this situation with 'Well, things change and it's healthier to accept it, for good or ill, rather than fight it.' In response, some people are like 'Hold up, why are you just ignoring the way Marcy's dad is acting? Surely the right thing to do is have Marcy's dad realize he never needed this job, appreciate what he already has, and start putting what his daughter wants ahead of his own wants.'

Now, a route like that would obviously clash with a story that desires to end with Marcy accepting the move. But looking back on things, I think one of the biggest reasons it's a shame we don't see Sasha or Marcy's parents is that we never get to see how Marcy's dad viewed his own choices. We see Marcy's reaction to it, but we never get to see his side of things.

I mean, what if Mr. Wu thought he was doing a good thing for his family by taking a job he didn't necessarily need? What if he understood he already lived a pretty good life, but believed that, if there was a chance for him to provide an even better life for his wife and daughter, he should take it?

I think there were ways to explore this that didn't make a villain out of the man and still end with Marcy moving. For example; Mr. Wu could learn it's not inherently wrong to desire more for yourself; what's wrong is ignoring/forgetting the feelings of those you love. Meanwhile, Marcy could learn the same lesson as in canon, with the added understanding that her dad, while making mistakes, genuinely thought he was doing good by her by taking the job. Knowing that, as well as her father apologizing, combined with her accepting that distance and time won't mean she loses Anne or Sasha's friendship, makes her more comfortable going ahead with the move. Mr. Wu could still take the job with Marcy's blessing, while promising to do better by her and make a greater effort to understand her better.

Think there was a missed opportunity for a more nuanced story here, or am I looking too deeply into things?

Sorry for the late reply! I think you're very much onto something here.

As someone whose parents decided to move just like so, this specific aspect of Marcy's story bothered me.

With enough time and perspective, as an adult living on my own, I grew to understand why they decided to do so. Despite that, moving as a neurodivergent child was a really traumatic experience for me. I had great friends in my first school, I had a group of peers who had the same hobbies as me and understood me. After the move, it took me many years (until high school) to get something similar again.

My parents also realized how much this hurt me, and while they couldn't undo the move, they did everything to help me through this time and after a few years apologized to me for their decision.

Showing what Marcy's relationship with their parents looked like, would've helped with actually fleshing out the emotional impact of the story.

(Same with Sasha but that is a whole another can of worms)

In the show, the narrative fails at making its points. It's both pro and anti authoritarian. It's trying to play the "respect your culture, respect your parents, be a good child" card and then calls it all off with adding Andrias and his backstory into the mix. It's not thematically coherent. I love children's media but it requires a delicate balance. It's an art of its own, to make a story that's both thematically cohesive and engaging without being overly scholastic.

Marcy does what she does for a good and valid reason. Sasha and Anne are her support network, people who tolerate her quirks and often indulge her even if they aren't even half as invested in her hobbies as she is. Tearing her out of her safe environment is cruel and hinted to be unnecessary. It's a "Parents know what's best for you so don't fight their decisions" moment. Showing something that would balance it out would have made it less harsh and seemingly cruel.

#amphibia critical #long post #ask #we dont even get to see a lot of her perspective at all but shes a character that many relate to for a good reason #her story feels lackluster because they never added the necessary dimensions to it that would make it pop more

[witch-hazels-musings]

Omg!! I didn't know about this event xD

Ok I think I get it right with the instructions. Lest see.

Oh great sage(?) Can I pull the Hermit, the devil and the tower with scaramouche please? I need angst in my life!! I like to suffer!!!

Thank you in advance!!!💕

The Devil (insecurities), The Hermit (loneliness), The Tower (catastrophe), The Emperor (support) :: scaramouche x harbinger!reader | neutral fate | combined requests

warning: sfw, slight angst : harbinger reader*, (mentions: Tartaglia, Signora, Dottere), mentions of a battle (not specific)

It wasn’t easy working your way up the ranks to become a harbinger. There were times you thought you’d certainly fail, especially considering your skills were far from anything spectacular. You’d come from nothing, thought of yourself as nothing but the Fatui managed to chang that. They believed in you, the Tsaritsa believed in you. Suddenly, you knew where you belonged the day you stood side by side to the most powerful members of the Fatui. On that day your head had never risen so high, your shoulders had never been more sturdy, and your heart had never pounded so hard in your chest. 

From nothing you grew into something, and you vowed to prove it to them all just how powerful you’d become. 

The only problem was getting a long with the other Harbingers. Of course you’d worked with them in other capacities but to work next to them, along side of them, you never would have expected them to be so ... annoying. 

Tartaglia was young, about as young as you. It was nice to have someone who could relate to you, but you still found him annoying. If it wasn’t for his constant begging to fight you it was his unorthodox way of handling things. You found his brashness uncouth for an organization as prestigious as this. 

Signora was alright but you tried not to get in her way. She had a nasty habit of biting peoples heads off if they crossed her and you found it easier to just watch her from the sidelines. 

Dottere on the other hand, was the most unpleasant person you’d ever come into contact with, and considering the company you kept, that was saying something. Every time you spoke to him it was like worms writhed uncomfortably in your stomach. You might have done some things in the Tsaritsa’s name but he was a monster, and the faster you could get away from him the better. 

Scaramouche was one of the only ones you could tolerate being around for long periods of time. Even with his manipulation and power hungry mentality, you found his often silent demeanor comforting. He preferred to work alone but when the option to pair up on a mission was given, the two of you would always look at each other with understanding. 

Your relationship started long before you became a harbinger. Though the interactions were small, miniscule compared to the times you spent with him now, they made a lasting impact on you. 

Practice was never easy. You were pitted up against ridiculous situations with absolutely no help at all. It was method to weed out the weak, and you were anything but. 

Still, you were getting more and more frustrated with every increasing loss. The damage was starting to wear on your body and the failure weighed on your brain. 

“If this is all you can give, you aren’t worth my time.” Scara’s voice pulled you from your stupor. His eyes cold, unfeeling, arms crossed as he stood above you. “Here I thought you might actually show me something interesting. How disappointing.” 

You weren’t sure why his words cut so deep, weren’t sure how they set a fire in your chest so intensely that you dragged yourself off the ground, turned away from him, and tackled the test like it was as easy as breathing. You weren’t sure why he inspired you so much but, when you turned to show him your resolve, he smiled at you in a way that made your heart pound. 

Now the two of you were inseparable. Even when the mission didn’t require two harbingers you managed to find a way to make it happen. You would sneak away to see him. Find some excuse to be in the same part of Teyvat as he was, assist him in the background so no one would notice. You never expected him to do the same for you but were shocked multiple times to find hints of his involvement in the shadows of your dark dealings. 

Enemies began to grow weary about you, they would tremble in fear because they knew that once you attacked another was surely to follow; and they say lightning never strikes the same place twice. 

Months went by and you swore they were the best times of your life. You were at the top of the food chain, partner at your side, and nothing in the world to stop you, until ... 

Whispers began to spread of your unorthodox relationship. It wasn’t proper to allow to harbingers to fraternize they way you both did; it was dangerous, stupid, and could lead to a shift in loyalties. 

It was because of this reason the Tsaritsa, in all her power, cut your bond with a swift, unapologetic strike and left the both of you stranded on opposite sides of her blade. 

--

“You swore to the covenant. To disobey them is a sign of treason.” The Tsaritsa’s voice echoed in the grand hall. It rippled, crashed, and froze the air itself with every word. You tried your best not to shiver at it’s touch. With your head bowed, you couldn’t properly see her but it wouldn’t have mattered since she was always standing behind a veil of ice. What were you so afraid of, you wondered. 

Glancing to the left, you saw Scaramouche kneeling in a similar manner. It was difficult to make out his expression but there was no mistaking the tightness of his fists. 

“To reclaim you commitment, you must prove your loyalty, your fealty.” Her voice caused the floor below you to shimmer. It was like her power had become a part of the room itself ... is this what an archon is truly capable of? “To the death the two of you will battle, to the victor goes the title of: Harbinger.” 

Your heart stopped beating, eyes shifting back and forth as you quelled the tremble in your spine. She wanted you to do ... what? 

“Rise.” Her voice compelled you, willed you to do as she pleased and soon you were standing, weapon in hand, only a few feet in front of the man you loved. His eyes were distant, vacant, unlike the ones you’d seen many times over. It was unreal, this was unreal. A bad nightmare, that’s all this was, all you had to do was wake up!

Desperate, you scanned the room only to see the disinterested eyes of the other harbingers staring back. One, the red head, whose foot was propped up on the ice wall, head down, arms cross refused to look at you. Another whose grin was so unsettling it seemed colder than the fortress of ice you stood in, while another appeared far sadder than you expected her to be. If you had more time, you might have seen her cry. 

“Well, go on.” the Tsaritsa hummed, amusement rippling through her voice as if the sound of it could push the dagger further into your heart. 

You gripped your weapon, eyes darting around the room at the other remaining ten Harbingers until it landed on the veil which covered your archon. Scara didn’t move. It was like he looked through you instead of at you. Was his dissociation a preservation method for the horror of this moment? 

Biting the inside of your lip you willed yourself to speak, and though it was painful, cryptic, you hoped he’d understand, “and here I thought you might actually show me something interesting,” you smirked, a single tear rolling down your cheek as the realization flashed in his eyes. “Guess I’m going to disappoint you after all.” 

Scara took a step back, weapon ready but you were too fast and by the time the other Harbingers took action, you were already dashing toward the shattering veil of the Tsaritsa with a cry so powerful it forced the world to freeze as your weapon came barreling down toward the archon. 

Fate Made Event (May8-31) | Anthology | @coleluuviida | @shailina-aphrates 

#hazelsevents #fate made #genshin impact #genshin impact X reader #genshin impact musings #genshin impact fiction #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #genshin impact scaramouche #scaramouche

[astral-express-conductors]

Stories To Tell

Masterlist

Fandom: Honkai Star Rail

Characters: Dan Heng, Original female character

Summary: Anna comes to visit the archives more often ever since asking about one of the books Dan Heng was reading. The two have spent time reading stories together ever since.

Stories can have a big impact on people, to say the least. So much so that a few desire to always come back for more, wanting to hear as many stories as it would be possible in this short amount of time. Some people became easily fascinated by any type of tale which had been told across the galaxy and Anna was certainly no exception to this rule, though she may have taken it to the extreme. 

It was all a slow yet simple start, not something out of the ordinary. And honestly, Dan Heng had thought that Anna was just curious as usual. Like always she just hard barged into the archives without warning, just as she would barge into any room with an open door, most likely having spotted him with an open book in his hands while having himself seated. Next thing he knew was her right in his view, looking at him as the pages of the book were open, asking with the usual child–like curiosity: “What are you reading?”

She would not have given it a rest so he had filled her in at the time, his own mind a little blurry what this book had been exactly about and yet it only made her curiosity even bigger, to the point she then had begged him to allow her to read it with him. And that was how this all started and soon transformed into a small habit. 

Every once in a while when on the express Anna would just freely join Dan Heng in the archives, sitting down and just reading along… Or trying to. Because as it turned out she had forgotten how to read next to losing most of her memories. Yet it was not as if this couldn’t be fixed, taking this as an opportunity to teach her step by step once more. And she was a quick learner. That or her brain started to remember and made it an easy time for her to read yet again. 

But that didn’t mean the reading went on in silence, far from it, because the girl found it more fun to turn this into some ‘dramatic reading’. First it was more to his own dismay but he grew fond of it a few days in. At least Anna was enthusiastic about it and enjoyed her time. Surely, her constant questions slowed the process of reading down immensely, but it wasn’t so bad. Dare he think it is kind of fun even, as overbearing as it could all become sometimes. 

And yet here they were, reading some time away almost daily, with Anna looking all too eager each time. To the point where she started to say the following one day, just like that:

“You know, they sound like so much fun!”

Dan Heng’s attention shifted from the book right to the girl next to him in one swift, quick motion. Hearing her utter these words was something he had not necessarily seen coming and yet it didn’t sound too out of nowhere. It wasn’t anything outrageous either, to say the least. Regardless…

“They?” He asked her, staring right at her with a raised eyebrow. “You are talking about the stories I hope.”

The brunette nodded eagerly. “Of course I am! I mean, they’re super duper fun! Lots of fun and so interesting!”

It seemed as if she had been easy to impress at the time, maybe it was a little too easy in all honesty. “I see… Your point being?”

“Huh? Isn’t it obvious? C’mon, at least you have to know Dan Heng!”

“Not really… You have to be more specific than that.”

A slight pout formed, one side of her cheeks puffing up. “Yeesh! Meanie.”

“It has nothing to do with being ‘mean’...” He sighed at her. She was quick to use the word ‘mean’ or ‘meanie’ after all. “No one will know what you’re talking about if you’re being so vague.”

“Vague?” She repeated, tilting her own head for a moment, as if not understanding its meaning. Perhaps she didn’t, it would not be too surprising. So he had to phrase it in a way even she would understand.

“Just say what you want or mean.”

“Oh! Well, I just wanna tell stories like these someday.” The girl responded, the pout disappearing as she faced him directly.

So that was what she had been heading at. Semi obvious but he wanted to hear it from her own lips. After all, Anna has to converse with strangers and if she makes vague suggestions like these, no one will ever know what she is talking about. So someone had to teach her to be less vague and if no one else around was going to do it, he would. Then again, was she even this vague with anyone but Dan Heng sometimes? Not a thought he spent much thought on but it was something he couldn’t help but wonder. Why would she though? It was odd. And yet, that thought was quickly forgotten. Maybe it was just something he imagined in the end. No need to dwell on it too much if at all.

“You mean that you want to write?” He asked her, just to make sure which was of course met with more enthusiastic nodding.

“Yes, write~! I wanna wow people too and make them go ‘so cool’ someday!” She responded with no shame whatsoever. “I mean, it’s just lots of fun! It’s like… Hmm… Ah, I know! Meeting new people and seeing what they go through! Just like journeys itself! Doesn’t that sound fun!?”

While speaking she looked at him all eagerly, excited by this idea alone it seems. The way she had put it was not too far off, far from it. It sounded like a rather accurate description of a story. Stories could be seen that way and yet it felt like a rather simplified description for one all the same. She loved the excitement from them, didn’t she? At least that was his best guess. All the same he decided to not confuse her however, allowing her to indulge in such simplified thinking. She would get behind it soon enough. “I suppose it does…”

“Right right? So so, what if I turned our journeys into stories someday? The story about a crew, traveling across the galaxy and saving planet after planet! Making all sorts of friends and defeating evil guys! How does that sound?”

“Wait… Our journey? You really would—”

“Hehe, why not? We can look back on it and others could hear about it all as well! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

That… Was quite a proposal, to say the least. He never really thought about that nor would he have ever gone that far. And yet here she was, suggesting it right away, with no other thoughts whatsoever. Was it really such a good idea? Then again, if she draws inspiration from their travels, could anyone stop her? No, not at all. That was fair game after all.

“As long as you don’t make it too obvious that it’s us.”

“Eh? I can’t use us as a group?”

“Not by names, no.”

“La—”

“But if you want to use this as inspiration one day, there should be no issue. Go wild.”

“Huh? Wait, so… You’re fine with it if—”

Before she could finish talking however he decided to shut her up by placing a hand on her head, moving it softly across the top of it with a light sigh, suppressing any hint of a smile on top of that. And yet, he couldn’t help himself, at least not a little. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“Look forward to— Wait, really? You mean that?”

“Whatever it will be, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” Even if someone might need practice. And yet, he would lie if he said that he wasn’t somewhat giddy thinking about what she had said.

“Then I’ll get started tonight! So I can write a story as fun as the ones we read!”

“Don’t rush it now, will you? Besides, children need sleep.”

“Bu— Ey, I’m not a child!”

“Just kidding.”

“Wha– Guh… You’re a meanie sometimes y’know! Meanie Heng…”

#conductor eve #spare time bookshop #honkai star rail #hsr #star rail #dan heng #honkai star rail dan heng #hsr dan heng #honkai star rail oc #hsr oc #hsr ocs #honkai star rail oneshots #hsr oneshot #oneshot #one shot

[frowningfox]

asim 12 and 20!

Thank you so much for the ask!

12. Is your OC cynical or optimistic? Who or what shaped their outlook on life?

A serial optimist. And to an extent always has been. He has a bit of a "naive" nature despite being very aware how bad things can be. He sees himself as a downright scoundrel who has been given second chances throughout his life (he's a little rough around the edges but he definitely blows it out of proportion, he is very hard on himself) and wants to give back second chances in return.

In this lifetime (he has reincarnated a few times), a big influence on his optimism is Erwin the Exorcist. A higher up in the church that he sees as giving him one of his biggest second chances. He is a very kindly, old, half orc/human and is something of a legend. He came to the religious-military academy where Asim was serving under the juvenile delinquent program at JUST the right time.

Some of the older upperclassmen had thought it would be funny to teach "Juvie" (aka Asim) Five Finger Fillet and it went just as well as could be expected. Asim lost a finger and a bunch of distressed and a little drunk upperclass brought him to Erwin because Erwin is the Chillest Guy, and Erwin reattached it (being a high level cleric) and promised not to tell the teachers. Erwin kept an eye on Asim and grew fond of his... uh. Spirited nature. And recommended him for a town watchmen job, which helped Asim get out of the delinquent program early.

Asim and Erwin have an "old friends" type of relationship despite Asim being considerably younger than him, and Asim will often refer to him as "Sin'ji", which roughly translates to "brother" with the connotations of having known each other for a long time and being of a similar standing and age.

20. Has your OC ever done something terrible and lied about it? Did they run away or blame someone else for it? How long did they maintain the lie and did the truth ever come out?

Had to go back to put a head's up here: the following is a little heavy. It's not particularly bad or even explicit, just a serious topic taken seriously.

He would say yes, he has done something terrible and lied, but again, he's very hard on himself and doesn't lie - and can no longer lie since he's become fey! But it was never in his nature to lie in the first place.

There are a lot of things he hasn't told people, mostly related to some developmental disabilities and how they've impacted his life, especially when it comes to lashing out at people. He had a very hard time managing his emotions and overstimulation around his daughter - he was not ready for kids and perhaps was not a good fit for kids with the difficulties he has, but he tried his best and is continuing to try his best. Having a kid enter his life with so little warning was definitely a crash course in managing his shit. And he managed but not in a particularly healthy way.

He absolutely refuses to tell even his husband about the difficulties he's had with raising her, because he's afraid of being judged by his worst moments. He pampered his daughter and raised her to the best of his ability despite his difficulties, and with an inexplicable +5 wisdom his tiny little gob daughter understands and is such a daddy's girl she'd never tell anyone about his breakdowns. Those are private and for him to talk about when HE is ready.

The truth hasn't come out quite yet, but he will eventually confide in people, I'm certain. I'm torn on whether he'd confided in Erwin yet or not. He wrote him a lot of letters while he was isolated as a small town watchman. I think he has, and Erwin helped him work out some methods to manage himself.

This actually kind of hard for ME to talk about, haha. I'm undecided on the specifics of things so it's all vague. And the vagueness can lead to people... jumping to conclusions about he treated his daughter. Which I don't want - she is his little princess - but also I don't want to water down how much difficulty he had raising her by saying "and everything was all fine".

It's also a topic that is very close to me - I struggle a lot with over stimulation and the problems that come along with it - and I want to display his issues FROM the overstimulated person's perspective. I've seen a decent amount of media from an outside perspective, gawking at people having overstimulation and emotional regulation issues, and a lot of it demonizes or infantilizes the person. And the stigma that raises makes me very... worried about portraying these difficulties from the perspective of the person having them.

At the end of the day, I can just recommend to imagine how he acted similar to that of a grumpy old cat that gets overwhelmed by a kitten. But with a lot more guilt, temporarily self-isolating to redirect the lashing out towards himself verbally and physically until he could get the support he needed from an older less grumpy wise cat (Erwin).

This got a little heavy sorry eehh. It's something I've been wanting to talk about with regards to Asim but never knowing how because it's HARD. It feels like I'm telling his secrets that he's not ready to be open about. Pls be nice to him, he's trying very hard.

#ask game #oc asks

[sycamorre]

5, 17, and 34 for Ledo. 35 and 36 for Wisteria. 11 and 12 for Ori!

-character questions prompt-

Ledo —

5. On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

It's hard to say what Ledo might carry around on any given day, as she does have a tendency to hold onto and carry any small thing around that she thinks she might need if she has the room to do so. She claims it's a side effect of her career as an artificer and crafter. However, while the small things might change daily, she actually has a dedicated bit of storage space in her mechanical arm for tiny bits and bobs, as well as her smaller tools and minor gadgets that she always insists on keeping on her person. All of that is so that if she needed to reconfigure something on her arm or pull something out in a pinch, she can have the options to do so.

17. What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

An old enchanted music box that used to belong to her mother. Unfortunately it ended up getting broken at some point when she was still a young child. Ledo tried to fix it herself, afraid of her mother's reaction, but she ended up making it worse. She did, however, figure out how music boxes work in the process and that fascinated her. After admitting defeat, her father did end up fixing it instead and Ledo got to watch the process, enthralled the entire time. She still never told her mother what happened.

34. Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

Somewhere in the middle, but leans towards trying the idea a couple of times before moving on to something different, especially if it was at least partially successful. Though, she would specifically try making small adjustments to the original method until all options were ruled out. This is both the result of her own stubbornness and her desire to not have to backtrack if they realize later on the original solution could have worked if they had done something just slightly different.

--------------------------

Wisteria —

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

Unfortunately for every poor traumatized adventuring party that she might come across, Wisteria's a hugger. Her love language is absolutely physical touch, and if she likes someone enough, she has no hesitation in getting physically close to them, touching them, braiding their hair, etc. It doesn't help that she comes from a completely different plane where social norms, particularly for someone in her position as a court entertainer, are vastly different and she has to learn new norms as she goes. Thankfully, she does understand boundaries and if someone voices their discomfort, she does respect their wishes, though she will be a bit disappointed.

36. How does your character behave around people they dislike?

To their face? As polite and charming as a performer and bard could ever be, though she may be a bit pointed in conversation. When their back is turned? They just look like prank targets at that point.

--------------------------

Oriana —

11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

At the risk of sounding like a predictable sap. The most recent and impactful one would be this exact moment:

"This one's you're favorite, isn't it?"

Hearing those words from the Prince, not only because of what happened immediately after where he nearly kills Ranna, but also the realization that this was her weakness. That she cared a lot for Ranna and she could not bear the thought of something happening to her. Then the same thing happened in the fight that followed with Cobalt, and that fear both grew and fueled a new sense of determination.

Prior to meeting Ranna, though, she would have definitely said the moments in her adolescence when her magic started to get stronger and she had an extremely hard time controlling them. Teenage emotions and weird divine powers? A really bad mix, man. There was a good few months before Ori went to the Sun Soul Order that she was constantly on edge about it, and that just made everything worse. It wasn't one really bad event, but rather a series of smaller ones that made her anxiety skyrocket during that period of time.

12. In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

If you asked her, she would say the moment they went in to face the Frost Prince. At that point she had accepted whatever fate awaited her, and she had a very specific goal to keep the Prince's attention long enough to keep the rest of the group safe. At the very least she was there to make a statement, and that determination gave her this odd sense of calm, even as she walked directly into what she assumed would be her death.

#dnd!oriana #dnd!ledo #dnd!wisteria #sycasketches

[yugiohnfts]

The Dahmer series was one of the most positive influences on my life.

There is just so many things I want to express here. This series changed my life. I don't normally pay attention to true crime dramas. It just never interested me. But Dahmer was just so relatable in this show. And before some ignoramus says some shit said a thousand times before about how Dahmer was a monster or a psychopath, you're the exact person who needs to read this or you can just get lobotomized like that brown kid did.

1: Dahmer explicitly states it's neither nature nor nurture specifically. Yes, he grew up a weird kid and had violent impulses. But so does Jeff Besos, and look at what a productive guy he is. Dahmer did have a lot more self loathing than Jeff Besos, this is where I can start relating as my parents tried to force upon me self loathing. All my life I had to hear shit about how I was schizo, autistic, this or that. Not once did I ever hear "maybe I was wrong, maybe I over-reacted, I wanna hear your perspective."

2: Dahmer actually had an ok upbringing. His mom was off her rocker and his dad was a stubborn mule of a boomer, but they still loved him as best they could and he knew that. Not everyone has that. And it was openly stated in the show and by records of Dahmer that broken households aren't the reason people turn out that way. If it were, you'd have to abuse moderators forever to turn them into the depraved lunatics they are.

3: We view Dahmer as this irredeemable force of evil because he killed some guys. Meanwhile you're getting banned right now by some paedophile loser and you're blaming yourself for it. There are a slew of people out there whose entire day revolves around harassing and assaulting you with bans, and you're worried about Jeffery Dahmer, whose dead btw. Talk about living in a bubble. Why aren't mods on death row? Wtf are my taxes going too? Not justice that's for sure.

4: Dahmer helped me come to terms with my heterosexuality. I've dated trans. FtM and MtF. I was in love with a MtF. I wanted to help her every step of the way and try to understand her pain. I was bombarded with accusations of being gay, degraded, and it was just incorrect. I never felt gay. I like feminine and petite things in a sexual way, I've never had a desire to BE the petite and feminine one. Apparently that's not a good enough answer. So these people wanna decide my sensuality for me, just like they wanna determine others gender. And unfortunately my ex gave into that. Her internalized transphobia caused her to detransition, and I tried to be supportive of that too, but she was not supportive of herself and she distanced herself from me. So she just kind of decreed we should both be miserable and alone because some stupid people who aren't happy with their own lives said so. This is the basis of all wrong-think. They LIKE being wrong, it's an orgasm and a religion to them to be wrong and it's all so disgusting.

5: As said. People will define you and take that shit to the grave. Dahmer wasn't known as the homosexual serial killer, he was known as the cannibal. The dude ate like one finger out of curiosity, now he's forever known as the cannibal. That's how people are.

6: Dahmer never wanted to be famous, he just wanted to be left alone, have his hobbies, have a boyfriend. I think what he needed more than anything was just understanding and patience but that's a very finite resource. He was not just devoid of emotions, he wasn't filled with bitterness and hate. He was just some guy with morbid curiosity and a bit of a sexual fetish. And the glorification of human stupidity is what escalated that. Dahmer didn't have victims, he had people who got exactly what was coming to them for their personal choice of being ignorant and homophobic. Everyone that died or was impacted, was at least semi self-responsible. What ought to happen is instead of just parroting the tired line of Dahmer was a bad guy, force kids to watch this amazing Netflix show in classrooms so they actually learn something. They learn about what the pressures of society do to people, all the people it hurts, they learn some empathy and putting themselves in others shoes. At the very least they learn that the only real villain in that show was the she-boon Karen who couldn't mind her own God damn business. Let people enjoy things Karen.

#lgbtq rights #abuse survivor #parental abuse #dahmer netflix #jeffery dahmer

[essayofthoughts]

you've presented me with the opportunity to talk about how much I love both Ghost Cass AND the Delia AU (even though I am Not caught up on ghost cass ;w;) so! you've obviously touched on a lot of pre-campaign stuff for the ghost cass fic - do you have any specific lore bits that you took and ran with in a way that you really enjoyed/are proud of? and in the Delia AU, I don't know how much you've thought about this, but considering that Percy's aware Cass is out there, what thoughts on her reaction to Delia do you have that goes deeper than just anger and fear on Percy's behalf, if any?

Distract me from feeling like shit with Q's about my WIPs

Aw, I'm glad you like those so much! And fwiw, I am nowhere near done on the next arc of Ghost Cass, you have months in which to catch up.

Re: Ghost Cass

I'm assuming you mean lore from canon here, but developing out Loran the Bear was a lot of fun! All we know about him from the stream is that he ran into VM a few times on a few pre-stream jobs; we get a bit more in the comics but the comics' accuracy to actual events... I would say is speculative. Much as with Ghost Cass, you have to tweak things, add things and remove things, move things around, in order to make a coherent story, so while the comics are fun, I take them with a large pinch of salt.

And that let me build Loran out a bit. Figure out the kind of person he might have been, who he could have travelled with for jobs, how he and VM knew each other - that kind of thing.

That's also tied to the other thing I had a lot of fun with pre-stream which is just... the kids? Because the missing kids are a slow but persistent part of the general pre-stream events; they're the main questline even if it fades in and out of focus. Writing those kids, writing about them, writing their friends who miss them and worry - I really wanted to show the impact these missing children have on their families, their community. It's not just missing children, it's this whole weight of grief and loss that hits many - and that's before we get to the missing, traumatised children themselves!

And that in turn opened up a lot of opportunities to show characterisation. Percy likely grew up with a large extended family, he's probably capable enough with children - but he's also recovering from trauma and dissociation, so his first reaction to having to deal with kids after all that is "AAAAHH". Meanwhile Keyleth and Vax who care so much, wearing their hearts utterly on their sleeves, are immediately invested and caring. And Vex too cares more than she might initially seem to - because she too was captured and taken and had to fight her way home. She prioritises the money they need to live, but she too understands and feels the need to get those children safe if they can. And in turn, all of these things allow the characters to bond and open up to each other, and to set up groundwork for later events. So much of the pre-stream Arc is set up for later, and I can't wait for the payoff.

Re: Delia AU

Oh I know exactly what Cass' reaction to finding about Delia are - because Percy knows that Cass is alive, or at least was when Ripley wrote that entry, but Cass has no idea that Percy is still alive - she's assuming he's dead. That will hold true up until she hears from Yennen that Percy is alive (she in no way believes the Briarwoods, liars as they are), and Yennen by that point has been working with Percy to keep the people of Whitestone safe - Percy does everything in his power to prevent uprisings because he's aware that every dead body is a new one for the ziggurat and a new one for Delilah's undead army. He fights to keep the peace and he does that in coalition with Yennen, Gertie and a few others in town - and these people all come to realise, one way or another, that the only thing keeping him sane and focussed, the one thing that he will truly kill for... is Delia.

So Yennen does not tell Cass of Delia's existence, because keeping Delia safe is one of Percy's primary driving forces.

So uh. Cass' initial response is pure shock, that Percy has a child, that this child seems to resemble Ripley, that (from what Percy says) this child is Ripley's, and yes this means their family isn't eradicated but it also means that Ripley is a part of their family, the family that she killed and uh...

Cass is extremely traumatised. She's scared and she's angry, and she hates Ripley especially much, for betraying them after working for them for so long, for betraying and lying to Percy, for (she thinks for a long time) killing Percy, and then when she learns of Delia's existence, what she assumes has to have happened for Delia to exist and Percy to be perfectly on board with Operation Get Rid of Ripley and The Briarwoods nonetheless.

And... she can't hate Percy for surviving. She thought he was dead, what she feels most of all is relief-

But what the fuck does she feel about Delia? Her brother's daughter, yes. Her niece. A continuation of the family she thought dead and gone.

But also Ripley's child. And a child still young enough that... who knows how they'll turn out? How much like Ripley might she be? And with how much Percy cares about this child, his daughter - how much hurt might that cause Percy, if Delia turns out to be awful, like her mother?

And Percy, she learns, was trapped by Ripley. Lied to and used by Ripley. Delia was a part of Ripley's plan to do that - and look at how Percy dotes on Delia! Look at how Percy refuses to kill Ripley to try to save Delia the grief of losing her mother! The plan worked!

So uh... yeah, Cass displaces a lot of anger and betrayal and grief onto Delia for a while. This is both understandable and fucked up at once, and Percy and she have some very terse, angry conversations about it before the twins step in to have a conversation with Cass.

After all, the twins know what it's like to be a bastard child born in unfortunate circumstances to a noble and someone of a lower class. The fact that Percy loves his daughter so openly and without reserve is a huge help to them dealing with Syldor's bullshit. Cass acting like that about Delia... kind of reminds them uncomfortably of Syldor's bullshit.

(Cass hates being compared to Syldor - she knows the twins well, better than she does anyone else in the group, she met them first. Being compared to their father stings. They're not wrong, though.)

So. Cass does eventually process some of her upset and ends up becoming a good aunt to Delia - as Delia gets older too, she starts seeing what some around them mention, just how much Delia resembles her father not just in looks but in behaviour (after all, he Percy is the primary parental influence in Delia's life) - but it is not an easy start. It is, in fact, extremely rough for everyone.

(Delia at least gets very simple, direct comfort from Percy. "Your aunt is being an idiot," he says. "She's not thinking clearly, she's just feeling. You can ignore her until she sees sense."

(She also gets hugs on a regular basis - Percy's family when he was growing up may not have touched often, but Percy clings to what family he has left and he never, ever wants Delia to feel unloved.)

#renegadessys #delia au #percy de rolo #cassandra de rolo #ask

[adarkrainbow]

The Perrault fairytales: Riquet with the tuft

To begin this series of posts about the fairytales of Charles Perrault, I will begin with one of the lesser-known tales of his book - often disdained or ignored (even by myself at some point), and yet that has interesting things in it, and did had an impact on French culture at a time. It is “Riquet à la houppe”, Riquet with the tuft, seventh of the stories of “Histoires ou contes du temps passé”. 

Once upon a time a queen gave birth to a son who was so ugly and deformed people didn’t recognize him as a human being. A fairy that happened to be here at his birth announced that he would be a pleasant and lovely person, because he will have a lot of “spirit” (intelligence). She also gave the baby the power to share his great spirit with the person he will “love the best”. This comforted the queen, and indeed as soon as the baby could talk, he only said spiritual and beautiful things. And since he was born with a little tuft of hair on his head, he was called “Riquet with the tuft” (Riquet being his family name). 

Seven or eight years later, a queen from a neighboring kingdom gave birth to two daughters. The first was “as beautiful as day”, and the queen was so overjoyed by this she almost “suffered pain” from such an intense joy. The same fairy that was present at Riquet’s birth also assisted to this one, and to moderate the queen’s joy, she decided that the princess would lack any kind of spirit - she would be as stupid as she was pretty. The queen was horrified by this, and even more horrified when a few moments after he gave birth to his second daughter, who was extremely ugly. But this time the fairy declared that this ugly daughter will be “rewarded” in the future, and that she would have so much spirit people will not notice she lacked beauty. The queen asked the fairy if nothing could be truly done for her older daughter - and the fairy, who was “only here to please the queen”, decided that she would soften the fate of the older princess by giving her a special power - the one to make as beautiful as her the person that would “please her”. 

As the princess grew up, they became renowned, each for their specific virtue - but also for their specific flaw. People around them always went first towards the oldest princess because of her immense beauty, and they admired her - but then they left her, due to her ignorance, all the silly things she kept saying, and her clumsiness (not having “spirit” also means she broke all the precious things she had, and couldn’t drink from a cup without spilling half of it on her). And, in a second time, people went towards the younger sister, who was terribly ugly, but whose great spirit made her much more enjoyable and entertaining. The oldest sister ended up realizing that everybody favored her youngest sister, and she was ready to abandon her beauty if she could have just half of the spirit of the her sister. It didn’t help that the queen kept criticizing the oldest princess’ stupidity, which made her “want to die”. 

One day, as the oldest princess had removed herself in a wood to cry on her fate, she saw a small and ugly man, who was dressed with magnificent clothes: it was the young prince Riuet with the tuft. Riquet had seen her portraits (sent all around the world) and he had fallen in love with her - he had just left his own kingdom to come and talk to her. He talked to her with a lot of respect and politeness, but noticed she was struck by melancholia. He asked her what was wrong, Riquet not being able to understand how a person gifted with such an immense beauty could possibly be sad - and the princess explained to him how stupid she was, how she hated her lack of spirit, and suffered because of it. Riquet promptly revealed to her the power the fairy had gifted him previously, and offered her to share his own immense spirit with her - in exchange of her marrying him. Since he saw she was not open for such a deal on the spot, he left her a while year to think about it.

However the princess had “so little spirit, and yet such a great desire to have some” that she thought one whole year would be too much to wait - she agreed to the deal. The pact was that she would marry Riquet in one year from now on, and immediately she gained spirit. She found herself speaking with an unusual ease, and able to create refined and beautiful sentences with no effort. She had a long conversation with Riquet, where she “shined” so much by her talent Riquet wondered if he hadn’t given her more spirit than he had hmself. Back at the court, everyone rejoiced of this sudden change in her, and she became so intelligent the king himself made his daughter his advisor. Only one person disliked the situation: the youngest sister, who now was only recognize for her ugliness. 

The sudden change made numerous princes of neighboring realms rush over to the princess’ side in hope of winning her heart - but she always refused their proposals because she thought they didn’t have enough “spirit” to match with her - until came one day a prince who was so powerful, so wealthy and so spiritual (and so beautiful) she coudln’t resist. She felt inclinations for him, and her father told her “If you want to marry this guy you clearly have a crush on, just tell me and I’ll organize the wedding!”. But “when one has a lot of spirit, they always have a hard time taking decisions”, so she asked for a time to think it over... and to think it over she went to the nearby wood where she had met Riquet. There, the ground suddenly opened up near her, and looking underground, she saw and heard lots and lots of cooks in a gigantic kitchen busy preparing an immense feast. The various servants quickly climbed out of the underground kitchen and started preparing the feast in a clearing of the wood while singing - and they revealed to the princess they were the servants of Riquet with the tuft, preparing his wedding (which was supposed to happen tomorrow). The princess then brutally remembered the promise she had given Riquet... and understood this prepared wedding was hers. 

(The narration points out that the reason she had forgotten her agreement was because, when she agreed to the deal, she was still stupid, and when she “took” the spirit of Riquet, she forgot all of her stupidities... But the memory of the deal was in it.) Riquet suddenly appeared to her in a beautiful wedding outfit, and said he had held his word and expected the princess to hold her own words. But the beautiful princess said she wasn’t sure she could keep her agreement anymore. Now, at this point the princess tries a sneaky rhetorical attack: she says basically “If I was speaking with a brutal, mindless man I would be quite embarassed - but given you are a man of spirit, I am sure we can talk this through and you’ll come to understand my point of view. When I was stupid I couldn’t fully resolve myself to marry you, and I was unsure what to do - and now that I am intelligent, do you think it will be easier to decide? It is even more complicated - in fact, if you truly wanted to marry me, maybe you shouldn’t have removed my stupidity in the first place...”. 

But Riquet has none of it - he points out that a mindless man, just like a spiritual one, will be hurt by someone betraying their word and playing with the happiness of someone else. He also says that it was the princess herself who claimed stupidity was an abominable state, and that she could only be better by becoming intelligent - so she has no real rights to complain... But Riquet is a clever man, so he tries to understand what the princess dislikes about him: he asks her if it is his social status, his manners, his spirit, his temper... But no, the princess explains all of these things are good, desirable and pleasant. It becomes quickly obvious that the princess refuses to go with the wedding because of Riquet’s ugliness. But Riquet doesn’t mind this - because he reveals to the princess the gift the fairy gave her as a baby (which he knows about, but she doesn’t apparently), and that she could make him beautiful if she just agreed to love him. 

The princess decides then to openly declare her love for him - and lo and behold, Riquet becomes a handsome prince! Interestingly, at this point Perrault uses his “alternate narratives” technique by claiming that, while the story goes that it is the fairy’s magic that transformed Riquet, other people claim there was no real metamorphosis - and the transformation only happened in the mind and the eyes of the princess. According to this other point of view, the princess’ acceptance of her love for Riquet made her see him differently, and while he stayed just as ugly, through her eyes he became more handsome. Perrault notably lists at this point all of the actual deformities of Riquet (who was never described up until this point) to show how love twists each of them into something pleasant or beautiful. And Riquet is revealed (on top of being small, ugly and deformed) to be a hunchback, with squinting eyes, a big red nose, a serious limp, and a crooked posture (he cannot stand straight, he is always leaning on a side).

Once the “transformation” happens (either in reality, or in the princess’ mind), they return to the court to get her father’s agreement for the wedding - which he promptly gives, since he had heard of prince Riquet before as a very spiritual and wise prince. Their marriage happened the following day. The end.

[Note: the moralities being told through verses and poetic language, I have to try to simplify them, so excuse the vague phrasing]

Morality: What we see in this tale is not an empty tale but the truth : everything is beautiful when we love it, and everything we love has spirit. 

Other morality: Nature can place beauty in an object, so much that art will never be able to imitate it, but this gift will not touch a heart as much than some sort of invisible pleasure, found in it through love. 

Now that the story was summarized, let’s look a tiny bit more into it... 

This fairytale has often been disdained and rejected because, out of all the “Mother Goose tales”, it was the most “literary” of them all, a true “salon fairytale”. The very topics explored in this story were the common debates and discussions that happened in literary and cultural “salons” of the time; the conflict between love and appearances, or “Which is one is better, intelligence or beauty?”. This “salon” feeling is strongly reinforced by the fact that this story has much more dialogue than the other tales - even though it is still very short and concise, we have here a rhetorical game between the princess and Riquet to show their “spirit” at work, making this piece closer to the “classic” French literary fairytale. 

This literary feel went to the point that many people outright split this tale away from the others, thinking it was entirely invented by Perrault and did not have any “folkloric” roots... When in fact, it has one! Or at least, it is theorized: Marie-Louise Tenèze, in her study of oral fairytales in France (Le conte populaire français) theorizes that maybe this story is a literary variation, altered beyond recognition of the AT 500 tale, “The Name of the Supernatural Helper” (aka “Rumpelstilskin” kind of tales). Several key elements are found back (the magical helper, the one year deadline, forgetting something important) but in very different conditions - for example the magical helper, usually an antagonistic and demonic Rumpelstilskin-type of character, becomes here a wise, honest and kind prince. 

The Moralities of the tale clearly reveal what Perrault intended to prove with this tale: “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and “love makes one sees the world differently”. Which is why Perrault introduce the alternate version of the story in his narrative, where the transformation isn’t magical/physical but emotional/psychological. Though do not get this too seriously - Perrault always had a second-degree and humoristic approach to his tales, and the whole section of “Some say it wasn’t a fairy spell, but just love that made her see beauty in Riquet’s body” is actually quite clearly intended to be a parody of the euhemerism logic, that Perrault uses the destroy the supernatural of his own tale. 

As for the second Morality of the story, it surpringly brings a “third option” to the “beauty vs spirit” debate presented by the story. In the fairytale world, people can seemingly only have one or the other, and love entirely depends on it - though the question is not solved as to which one is preferable. The oldest princess needs spirit to be loved, yes, showing that beauty is not enough ; but in return, without beauty Riquet would have never possibly fully won the princess’ heart, showing that ultimately beauty still plays a huge role. So the two seem on an equal footing... Until Perrault brings in his second Morality, which rather chooses a third candidate for what love relies on - one ignored by his own narrative. An “invisible pleasure”. What Perrault tells here is that beauty or intelligence will never be as effective in creating love than just an unclear “something”, an invisible, unnamed “thing” that just happens, an unexplainable connection that clicks between two people. 

In this light, the strange and bittersweet ending of the story suddenly takes another meaning: it might seem unpleasant and strange, because the princess suddenly abandons the unnamed prince she felt attracted to, while Riquet insists on marrying a woman clearly superficial... But with the second Morality you realize that it is because there is this “something” between them, this “invisible pleasure” that clicked, and thus still pushes them in the arms of each other.

I will not lie: Riquet with the tuft never was my favorite Perrault fairytale, and for a long time I disdained it similarly to the people I talked about above. Again, the story felt too “literary” and too “superfical” compared to the other Perrault tales, but more importantly, the tale felt... incomplete. The sister of the princess completely disappears from the story, and so does Riquet’s romantic rival, and we are never given an explanation as to why Riquet somehow has an underground kitchen right under the woods in the kingdom of her beloved... There are obvious gaps and holes in this story which make it very weird.

But then I learned the truth about this tale and it all made sense. The story is intended to be “incomplete”... Because it is a companion piece. You see, Perrault wrote his “Riquet à la houppe” as an answer to another writer’s fairytale: Catherine Bernard (one of the secondary “first-generation” fairytales-inventors of France). Catherine Bernard had written her own “Riquet with the tuft”, present in her novel “Inès de Cordoue” published in 1696, so just one year before Perrault published his own fairytales. And reading Catherine Bernard’s variation, numerous plot-holes and logical gaps in Perrault’s retelling suddenly make much more sense: the two stories were clearly intended to be read together. Even more, we actually have a third “Riquet” variation, created in answer to Perrault’s, and published the year following his tales: the Ricdin-Ricdon of mademoiselle Lhéritier, yet another “secondary” first-generation fairytale writer. So in three years, three variations of a same story that clearly answer and complement each other... 

This serves to prove something that people tend to forget when studying French fairytales: their intertextuality. The fairytales of the “first wave” were all games, written by people who knew each other very well and regularly met and discussed, and that often existed in oral form among the salons and literary circles before being published. This is why the various storytellers keep “throwing the ball” at each other, so to speak. This is why madame d’Aulnoy confirms that her world of fairytales is the same as the one of Perrault (she depicts some Perrault tales in her chronology of the world of fairies). And this is why we have this “trilogy” right here - what seems to have been a “friendly competition” betwee the various fairytale inventors, who decided to each create their own variation on a common basis.

Now, if we go over to Wikipedia, there is a section that presents four different theories as to why “Riquet” was selected as the name of the character (since “Riquet” is not a usual French name).

One theory brought forward is that “Riquet” is the cut form of “Henriquet”, itself an old diminutive form of “Henri”. So it would just be... a random name. I am not personally convinced.

Second theory: this is actually a leftover of the “original”, folkloric tale of the type 500, because this variation “The Name of the Magical Helper”, is also known as “The Name of the Devil”, since the “magical helper” is often demonic in nature. This theory claims that the “Ric” sound in “Riquet” is typically found in French nicknames of the devil. Now I am not convinced either... As we saw, whatever oral version of the tale these storytellers knew, they changed and modified it heavily to the point it was only recently discovered that it belonged to the type 500. Plus, I have done my own side-research about nicknames of the devil in France (long time ago) and I do not recall seeing “ric” as a common name there. 

Third theory: this was Perrault’s subtle mockery of Pierre-Paul Riquet (a baron of the time, who created a famous canal in Southern France and was in charge of taxes). I do admit that I have not the historical knowledge needed to establish Perrault’s ties to Pierre-Paul Riquet, but this theory does hold some weight because Pierre-Paul Riquet was quite famous at the time of Perrault, and “Riquet” is not a very usual name (in fact, “Riquet” was the frenchization of Pierre-Paul’s original family name, the Italian Riquetti). 

So if you ask me, personally, I give more credit to the fourth theory. This fourth theory says “Perrault didn’t invent the name Riquet, he just took it back from Catherine Bernard”, which is extremely obvious given the chronology of the texts. But what this theory adds, that is much more relevant, is this: “Riquet, in the Normandie dialect, meant a deformed person or a hunchback.” Which makes a lot of sense when you know that Catherine Bernard came from Normandie - she seems to have simply used a local, dialectal form of “deformed” to name the ugly character of Riquet. Out of the four theories, this one is the one I favor the most. 

#perrault fairytales #charles perrault #riquet with the tuft #french fairytales #literary fairytales

[aizenat]

One thing I will say too about this tik tok trend is that it really speaks to the misinformation and lack of information given to Americans about 9/11, al Qaeda, bin Laden, and the entire wars we enacted in the Middle East during the 2000s.

I tell my friend at least once a month how I learned at 19, almost a decade after 9/11, just what was going on in the Middle East during the Gulf War from Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns instead of any adult or news on the topic. I wasn’t even born/was an infant during that conflict, and all I would hear growing up even referencing it was adults saying on the 2000s conflict “George W just wanted a reason to go into Afghanistan and Iraq to ‘finish what his father started’.” AND NOTHING ELSE. No elaboration, no explanation! Just that!

And I’m a fucking millennial! So I imagine that for a generation who, just as I was barely born during the gulf war, were barely born during the 2000s wars in the middle east, they’re going to be surprised to learn WHY, at least from the man who planned it, we were singled out and attacked. That was the biggest question I had as a child about 9/11: why? Why did these ppl hate us so much to do something like that? Why?

And no adults could give an answer other than “they hate democracy/hate that we’re mostly Christian/hate that ‘we’re a free and wealthy nation’/etc.” But no history on WHAT we did specifically to make them do that, because even as a child I knew it was weird to attack an entire nation if you just hate the things they stand for. I hate a lot of what South Korea stands for, but I wouldn’t plan and execute a fucking suicide mission to bomb them! Like that’s extreme.

But one fiction book about the lives of two women living during and in the aftermath of the gulf war (and the rise of the Taliban) made it all click.

My point is that sometimes ppl from other countries, even Americans ourselves, don’t understand how in the dark we were put in regarding the Middle East and the impact of America’s involvement there. We never talked about the gulf war growing up, and we were actively lied to about the 2000s wars by Bush’s administration. And only us “un-American libs” dared to show any sympathy for those suffering in the middle east during our time there.

So I’m not surprised a bunch of kids who grew up hearing people talk about 9/11 and having to do memorials every year for it since they can remember reading bin Laden’s letter and thinking “hmm, he’s got a point.”

Ask those same ppl if they know about the Vietnam war, or the US involvement in the Korea War of the 50s. I bet they don’t know shit about it. And I’m not blaming them; I can’t tell you how many times in history we went over the Revolutionary War or even the world wars, but we stop there in history. Apparently we liberated Europe and parts of Asia from the Axis powers and then nothing happened again until 9/11. That’s literally how history is taught here.

I remember asking my mom as a child if we had any wars since wwii, because my history classes made it seem like that was the case. SHE’s the one who mentioned Vietnam, and when I asked if America won she gave a vague “not really/no one really won that war” (which is hilarious for her to say that knowing what I know now). I remembered following up saying “well, we haven’t been at war since I was born right?” And my mom paused going “well, there was the gulf war, but were you born yet? If so you would have been a baby.”

And I really need to emphasize, especially because I took an honors world history and APUSH in hs, so I technically got a more “neutral” (lol) history than the average American student who wasn’t a college bound nerd like me, NOT A SINGLE CLASS I HAD MENTIONED THE GULF WAR.

I lived in NJ, a blue state with abortions for all, boasting being one of the most diverse states in the country, and has a mostly good school curriculum that allows students to compete at spots for really good colleges, including the Ivys. And yet even I didn’t get a proper education on that war (or the Vietnam war or the Korean wars). If it wasn’t for other avenues or independent research I did after hs, I still wouldn’t know at my big 30+ age. And despite us asking our APUSH teachers often to explain the wars in the Middle East day the time, we STILL never got a decent breakdown in what was going on and why.

I don’t have kids but I’m SURE these gen z kids learning that America fucked over middle eastern countries that had devastating effects on the people there, encouraging them to join terrorist organizations as a result is a new concept for them. I’m not surprised they read a terrorist’s manifesto and went “omg this actually makes sense.”

No offense, but this is what happens when you don’t educate your people properly. They go looking for answers and find them in the worst places.

[sexwithamanda]

Things I wish I could tell you

Episode #876

Hello it’s been a while since I’ve been on here. I’ve had a lot of thinking lately about who I want to be in this lifetime. I see that sometimes things are not as good as they used to be. I hung out with one of my friends that I’ve had for years. A long time can go by in a blink of an eye. When I think about the first time I met this person, I was obsessed with making pigs in a blanket. I hung out with this person who dated me, took me to new places, we did different things and he lived an hour away from me. We grew up a bit and he found another girl to fall in love with. Someone who wasn’t me and I always thought he never liked me, that he was waiting for someone better to come along and in a sense that’s what happened. He moved in with that girl and she broke his heart. I think that people tend to hunt their feelings, and he was my favorite on the roster.

I had two other people I spoke to that year, and when I no longer dated him, I still had him in my sights. I still remembered the memories we had just talking and laughing in my room when I liked to do things. He would be down to try it all with me. I think that, although we didn’t continue to be dating like that, the friendship never truly ended. I always cared for him in a way that I think is ironic. He is quiet, very logical and is by far one of the kindest souls I know of. We are still friends.

One of my favorite memories is when I told him to make a blanket with me. We went to Michael’s, he helped me pick out the yarn and he always told me that I could do anything I put my mind to. He took my pictures for me, made me smile when I felt like an idiot, always wanted to give me advice. Well the funny thing about being at that fabric store, it was hard to find the actual thick yarn that they said was needed to make this specific blanket. I made that blanket and gave it to my ex-boyfriends sister. It was hand made with my tv playing k-pop music in the background and the sun shining through the golden hour it was. I had a pretty beautiful room like that, the one where it was a dream to live in the house I did. I loved every second of it that summer. It was quarantine year but it was also the year you helped me explore my city as an adult. A young one, we both were still finding each other.

I think we still are but with a little bit more experience we seem to be in the situation to meet again but you are glued to this girl. The one you left me for. It’s okay, but I hope one day you learn how truly valuable you are and life is more than just working. It’s been such a pleasure getting to know you.

You may never see this, you might not even know this is about you but my life has been impacted by your character, your conversations, and the peace you’ve given me that I have when I am with you.

I, thank you.

I’ve spent many times in my life wanting to write all of my feelings down and this blog is an outlet for all those emotions, and I’m sure I can tell you an entire story about how much love I have for the people I’ve touched not only physically but mentally as well.

Here is something I want to fully clarify with myself and with anyone who might read this,

There are people in our life that no matter what they do, no matter what may happen, what you might be doing, where you might be, those people still gave you a sense of fulfillment, they gave you love and confessed something to you in those dark nights.

To be able to fully be vulnerable with someone and even with the internet, where this place is where you might be showing of the flaws you wish you weren’t I’m here to tell you, it’s okay.

I have loved and been loved in ways that you may not understand, people have come into my life and have treated me like sunshine and have been so amazing to me in ways that I don’t understand.

I’m so blessed beyond compare and to have a set of friends that I know are there for me is by far some of the most beautiful things. And if you know who you are, you will always be someone to me that I can’t even fathom to live without. There’s just people in this world that I could never live without.

This is a bit long, I’m typing this watching the summer I turned pretty, and I’m thinking about how love is life and life is love. And sometimes loss comes with it but there’s always something to smile about. There’s always something to be thankful for. I love you for being in my life, if you know me, if I know you. I am beyond grateful for your presence.

Sincerely,

Amanda <3

P.S. Mahal Kita

#poetry #love #kindness #blog #happiness #filipino #in love #i love you #boyfriend #life #short stories