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david-talks-sw · 8 months

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I think it's interesting that - in order to make his "free-thinking Jedi" characters hold any semblance of rationality in their arguments - Dave Filoni needs to resort to artificially dehumanizing the other Jedi and painting them all with the same "we dogmatically worship protocol" brush.

He does this with Huyang in the recent Ahsoka episode.

"Lolz he's so narrow-minded, preachy and by-the-book, unable to think outside the box, just like the Jedi in the Prequels."

My first reaction was being amused at the fact that Filoni had to resort to making the Jedi Order's ideals and rules be embodied by a literal machine for his anti-Jedi headcanon to start making sense.

But then I remembered: Huyang isn't just any droid.

In The Clone Wars, he had a sassy personality, he had a pep in his step, he had a sense of humor...

This character was human in his behavior, he was fun and whimsical.

But now he's been reduced to, I dunno, "Jedi C-3PO"? Basically?

"Ha! He's blunt and unsympathetic because he's a droid, but it's funny because the Jedi were the same, they were training themselves to be tactless, emotionless droids."

And Filoni does this with Mace Windu too, in Tales of the Jedi.

Mace, who brought a lightsaber to the throat of a planetary leader to defend the endangered Zillo Beast...

... and who went waaay past his mandate by mischievously sneaking around Bardottan authorities and breaking into the Queen's quarters because he felt something bad was afoot...

... was reduced to being an almost droid-like, rule-parotting, protocol purist who sticks to his instructions (and is implied to be willing to let a murder go unsolved so he can get a promotion).

I mentioned this at the end of my first post on Luke in The Last Jedi... while changes in personality do happen overtime and can be explained in-universe... if you don't show us that progression and evolution and just leave us without that context, that'll break the suspension of disbelief, for your audience.

Here, we have two characters with a different (almost caricatural) personality than the one they were originally shown to have.

Now... we could resort to headcanons, to make it all fit together.

We could justify Huyang's tone shift 'cause "Order 66 changed him". And we could make explanations about TotJ's Mace:

Being younger and thus more ambitious and a stickler for the rules, and only really becoming more flexible after getting his seat on the Council and gaining more maturity.

Being such a teacher's pet in the episode because we're seeing him through the eyes of a notorious unreliable narrator, Dooku.

There'd be nothing wrong with opting to go with either of those headcanons to cope with this. After all, Star Wars is meant to help you get creative.

But the problem I encounter is that:

Filoni has an anti-Jedi bias, so the above headcanons clearly wouldn't really track with his intended narrative.

We'd be jumping through hoops to extrapolate and fill in what is, essentially, inconsistent characterization, manufactured to make Ahsoka and Dooku shine under a better light.

And that sours whatever headcanon I come up with.

Edit: Also, yeah, as folks have been saying in the tags... wtf is "Jedi protocol"? The term isn't ever mentioned in the movies, I skimmed through dialog transcripts of TCW, never saw it there.

So it's almost as if - if Filoni wasn't draining characters like Mace and Huyang of all humanity and nuance - his point about "the Jedi were too detached and lost their way, but not free-thinkers like Qui-Gon, Dooku and Ahsoka" wouldn't really hold much water.

#I *will* acknowledge that part of this may also be that in a cartoon like TCW - characters with no moving facial features like Huyang...#... had to be more expressive in other ways; hence why he's so active in the cartoon; which may not translate well to live action.#Then again- look at how expressive and emotive that Hondo Ohnaka animatronic is at Galaxy's Edge.#And the fact remains that he went from a whimsical Mr. Ollivander type figure to... a droid with data on the Jedi...#... all so Ahsoka would seem more human and grounded by contrast #ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers #ahsoka show #star wars ahsoka #huyang #tales of the jedi #totj #dooku #mace windu #ahsoka tano #star wars #dave filoni #disney plus

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mimi-cee-genshin · 1 year

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Just a kid - Alhaitham x f!reader

Summary: It was getting harder to deal with Alhaitham's crush on you.

Other info: fluff, childhood friends to lovers, pre-relationship, prequel to Friend-zoned? but this drabble spoils it a little, occurs after and spoils his story quest, 0.8k words

*****

"Hm?"

You were taken out of the world you were exploring when Alhaitham sat beside you. The patch of grass was worn underneath him and you were surprised the spot hadn't given way into the soil.

He pulled out a textbook from his bag and removed the bookmark you had made for him. It was a keepsake made from his grandmother's flowers. Periwinkle blue was her favorite color.

The scowl on his face remained even though he was seemingly engrossed in his book. From the years of experience of reading his face, you knew better than to think he was fine.

"What's wrong?" you asked. Many things had been bothering him with his new role as the Acting Grand Sage.

"It's been a long day," he said, eyes not leaving the page. "Apparently I made another enemy by pointing out the flaws in someone's project."

"Did you need my help again?" you said, laughing and rubbing his hair. He rarely got along with the other kids in your neighborhood.

"No," he said, shooing your hand away. "I had to deal with it right away. This hivemind case wouldn't have been resolved if I had simply ignored it. I was the target after all."

"Hivemind?" you asked. "You mean like in the book Giants of Heaven?"

He raised a brow. "Is that the light novel you kept trying to get me to read?"

A smile tugged on your lips. "Are you interested in it now?" Maybe he'd finally read the stack of books you wanted to share and enjoy with him.

"Not really," he said curtly, continuing to read his textbook.

"Fine…" you complained. He never looked down on you for taste in books. He just didn't enjoy light novels. "But who in their right mind would create a hivemind? It turned out horribly in the novel."

"Akademiya scholars aren't exactly the brightest bunch," he said. "You'd be much better for the position."

There he went again with the flattery. "Maybe if it were possible to get a degree in light novels," you laughed. He thought way too highly of you simply because you grew up together.

"You know I'm being serious." He closed his book and turned to you. "You'd teach them to get out of their own heads. Like you did with me."

He used to be a know-it-all as a kid, often arguing with you when what you said didn't match his book. At least now, he was more level-headed and thought through things rationally while keeping an open mind. Not to mention he learned how to discern information better.

Yet there were moments where he'd act like the child he was all those years ago. It was always so funny when he'd pretend he wasn't excited about the books you brought home from your travels. That didn't change one bit.

"Meh. I'm not that great," you told him. "I don't really want to give my life away to the Akademiya anyway."

"You've gotten better at rejecting my compliments," he stated, crossing his arms. "Did you get that from the female lead of your current book?"

"Actually, that book went on hiatus, but it's coming back later this year and–"

Alhaitham raised his brow. Cheeky kid.

"You think you're sooooo smart, don't you?"

"Apparently not smart enough," he replied. "You still haven't accepted my feelings for you yet."

He was so casual about bringing them up that it had almost caught you off guard. You lifted up your book and turned your face away from him. Water continued to trickle over rocks and down the stream.

The longing in his eyes was still the same as when you were young. Avoiding them with this book was a lost cause. You didn't understand why he was so infatuated with you, but the adorable and cute little Alhaitham you knew was now grown up and sitting inches away from you.

"I think I'm feeling hungry now. Did you want to head back?" you asked.

Alhaitham rubbed his temples. You knew he'd be annoyed since he just got here and had no intention of moving from his reading spot.

"No. But I'll be here again tomorrow."

Translation: Retreat for now and try again later. Just when was he going to give up on you?

You scaled up the small cliff using the rope he replaced last year. Maybe a drink at Puspa Café would be nice. Another trip away from Sumeru might be good too.

He was making it harder to keep on rejecting him.

*****

I hope you liked it.

This was a mini spin-off of Friend-zoned? lol. I wanted to explore Alhaitham and the reader's interactions more. I actually have another drabble idea for them but we'll see if I actually like it enough to post it. lol.

#alhaitham x reader #alhaitham fluff #alhaitham scenarios #alhaitham drabble #alhaitham #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact scenarios #genshin x reader #genshin scenarios #genshin alhaitham #genshin fluff #genshin impact fluff #genshin fanfic #alhaitham fanfic

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silvermaplealder · 1 year

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I have a theory (head cannon?) that the only vampire that died in lost boys was Max and that the deaths we saw of the other vampires was a trick performed by David to protect his companions. I went perhaps a little too far in depth with this, but it has been bothering me for years that 4 very powerful vampires were killed within minutes of engaging with young teens. After reading the book, prequel script, and watching the movie too many times, I actually think David and his boys threw the fights to get out of the situation all together, and got the added benefit of Max being killed. Warning, spoilers from the book and prequel script because I'm considering both of them somewhat cannon:

To start, I have to bring up the fact that in the book, David's challenges against Michael to join the gang were considered harmless tricks. The stunts David pulls are things that he can get away with as a vampire that wouldn't actually kill them. Quote from the book: "This was another one of [David's] tricks... something that looked deadly but was nothing more than a simple stunt." David has full control over all the stunts and knows that no harm will come to any of them. Star also calls David a 'magician' with his tricks seeming to be real. And of course, as we saw in the movie David can alter the perception of what someone sees

With that in mind, we start with Marko's death. I don't even want to talk about how Edgar would have to be pretty freaking strong to shove a stake completely through the diaphragm of a humanoid being (including through the front and back layer of his jacket, spine, etc. but whatever). However, Marko's hands appear to be covering his heart. Edgar puts the stake under Marko's hands, below where his heart should be. (heart is marked with the x, yellow is where Edgar shoves the stake)

so while Marko certainly had a pretty bad day, with the lore mentioning it has to go through the heart, he should still be alive, albeit, in a lot of pain

It would be after the boys run from the cave that the vampires are obviously aware that hunters have found their nest. At this point, they would only have two choices: either try and kill the hunters, Michael, Sam, Star, and Laddie, whomst they have close affection with, OR they would have to fake their own deaths. Otherwise there's no way that they can continue living without the hunters and Emersens returning to kill them again.

David likes to plan shit

When they go to the Emersen house, they would have to leave Marko behind at the cave. Since everyone thinks he's dead, they wouldn't have to worry about him being hurt. Then the fights begin, and this is when it starts to get out of character. David is vibing up in the rafters, alone. Dwayne takes on Sam, alone. And Paul takes on the Frogs, alone. But in every other scene that they kill, they are always together. Their deaths are not simultaneous, meaning that they could have taken on everyone together.

Starting with Paul, I mean let's be real. He could have killed those two Frogs at any point in time when he was chasing them. He literally even shoves them. But the plan isn't to kill the Frogs, it's to fake his death. After getting splashed with the holy water, he has a solid few moments to actually do something. And instead, he stands and waits for the dog to tackle him. Seeing that these vampires can literally fly/float there is no reason for him to actually fall into the bathtub. David is still vibing in the rafters and did nothing to stop the dog or to rescue Paul meaning that this was a part of the plan. He would use his ability to create illusions to convince the Frogs Paul fell into the tub and burned alive. It would also be a perfect way to make his body 'disappear'. The explosion of the septic system is extremely unrealistic, and literally I cannot begin to explain how the heck that would work besides someone manually doing it behind the scenes...

Then to Dwayne. Dwayne literally could have easily killed Sam twenty times over. But again, if killing was the plan, it would have been done in seconds. We saw how violent these boys are with their victims. And speaking of Sam, how about that bow, eh? The force behind the bow to literally yeet Dwayne backwards would not have been something Sam could do. It would take a lot of poundage(45ibs I've been told at the bare minimum to kill a deer with a bow at 25 yards, but should really be 60ibs) to physically drive the arrow clear through his body and throw him back into the stereo. And remember, David is in the rafters watching. He's not jumping in to kill Sam. He didn't try and grab Dwayne out of the air. And yet, when on the boardwalk if someone trips his boys on a carousel David loses his mind. Another explosive death, leaving little to no body for clean up...

And then there's David. Now for David, he'd have to take one for the team. And as we learned in the prequel, it has to be wood to kill a vampire through the heart. David tried to kill Vlad with a metal pipe and Vlad literally just pulled himself off it. Spoiler alert, antlers are not made of wood. So Paul and Dwayne are 'dead' and can leave the scene. That means that David needs to finish up. He fights with Michael, Michael clearly being a baby vampire and David having so many years under his belt. But the plan must go on. David sees Michael's plan is to impale him on antlers, and he makes it happen. David plays dead meaning that the three of his companions are safe and he just needs to finish the part before he can return to them.

As a bonus, Max comes by. The man walks straight up to his 'son' (whether he regards David with parental love or as just a lackey is up to you, but regardless he doesn't seem phased at David being dead) and is like oh damn not my boys being stupid again. Max doesn't look sad or anything when he finds David playing dead.

Max being impaled on the fence post would have been his own fault and David wouldn't have been a part of it. And Max would have to die to release the half vampires from their vampirism meaning that he really did explode.

What happens after that is up to you to decide. Besides David appearing in the comics (which if I recall correctly Edgar says that half the stuff in the comics was fake anyway? My copies are in storage so I cannot cross reference that), the boys disappear and no longer have to deal with Max.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

#lost boys #the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #tlb 1987 #vampires #dwayne tlb #marko tlb #tlb david #tlb paul #tlb

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skyward-floored · 4 months

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Hello!!

Um…

I really loved that one fic you wrote called “caged” with fable and legend, and I also really liked the sequel. I love how you described the scenes, it was really fun to read!

I saw that you were talking with another user about how legend got into the castle, and you mentioned that he probably got in through the secret passage way that he knows from alttp

I was wondering if maybe you were thinking about writing a prequel to that fic?

Maybe about how the chain lands in Legends Hyrule and they see Hyrule castle looming in the distance, perhaps under a spell of some kind and legend immediately runs towards it to find he can’t enter normally and he tells the chain that he does know of a way in. So they enter through the secret passageway and perhaps legend gets some flashbacks to alttp as they’re fighting monsters (or maybe brainwashed guards) and looking for fable.

It’s just a suggestion tho! I’m aware you have other stuff to do, so…

Uh anyways, I really liked this years whumptober fics a Lot too, they were all amazing! You are really such a talented writer!

That’s all, hugs!!🫂🫂🫂

I hope you have a nice day

So I wasn’t really thinking about writing a prequel at all, and I don’t do requests really but... well. The idea intrigued me, and I sat down and started writing, and this came out 😅

It’s minimally edited and certainly not my best work, but hey, it’s something. I hope you enjoy the little prequel anon, and thank you for the kind words :)

Caged

The sequel (Aftermath)

———————————————————

Again.

It was all Legend could think of as he stared at the castle in the distance, dread and anger and too many emotions for him to name making his hands shake.

They’d just exited a portal, landing in his Kakariko, and the relief of being back in his own time was immediately overshadowed by the oppressive dark magic in the air. Impa had found them soon after, and explained with a worried look in her eyes about a wizard who had tricked them, and overtaken the castle.

With Zelda inside.

The blood had begun to roar in Legend’s ears as Impa explained further, but he was barely listening anymore, his head spinning and chest tight with anger.

She’s in danger again, the kingdom’s in trouble again, and I wasn’t here to protect—

“Legend, what should we—?”

He took off.

He ignored the shouts of the others, the calls for him to wait up, and booked it towards the castle, his pegasus boots making it impossible for the other heroes to keep up with him. Rain had begun to fall at some point, but Legend didn’t let it stop him, not even when he nearly wiped out in a puddle.

He reached the castle gates in mere minutes, and banged a fist on the doors. They were shut tight though, sealed with magic that Legend knew he wouldn’t be able to break. But he pounded against them anyway, took out one of his rods and blasted at it, tried his rings and items and all sorts of things before finally kicking at them with an angry yell.

The others had caught up to him by then, and they joined his side, split evenly between looking at him and looking up at the gates.

“How are we going to get in?” Wind asked a little hesitantly, and Legend sighed, swiping some drops of rain off his face.

“I know a way.”

He’d hoped he wouldn’t have to use it, but it looked like it was the only way they could get inside.

Legend led them all around to the east side of the castle, the group’s weapons drawn and eyes squinted through the rain for any enemies. It was only a passing shower, not a torrential thunderstorm like the last time he’d used this passage, but the similarities still made Legend tense.

History sure does love repeating itself.

More then one concerned look was shot his way as they went, but Legend ignored them, as well as the memories that were trying to claw their way to the forefront of his mind. He had a job to do and a princess to save, and he wasn’t going to get lost in his head.

Even though this was at least the fourth time he’d done this and he was so tired of evil striking at his kingdom and the people he loved and having to stop them again and again. He wasn’t going to think about it.

Not now.

They didn’t run into any monsters on the way to the other side of the castle, which made Legend suspicious, but he wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He quickly revealed the secret passage that would lead them inside, and gestured the others in.

“That’s convenient,” Wild commented, and Warriors studied the passage in interest.

“Are you the only one who uses this tunnel? Seems like a security risk.”

“Only a few people know it exists,” Legend replied, then dropped in so he wouldn’t have to continue the conversation.

Legend took the lead as they began to walk down the tunnel, and kept himself several paces in front of the others, his shoulders slowly hitching upward.

Water dripped as they walked along the passage, running on the edges and making the floor damp. There weren’t any monsters in this spot either, which made it easy for Legend to stride as quickly as possible past the spot where his uncle had breathed his last.

He hated being down here. He hated the reason he was down here and the slimy feel of the floor under his boots, and the smell in the air and the squeak of rats he hated it.

And was it his imagination, or was he smelling blood?

“Legend?”

Legend breathed in sharply as a hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked over at Twilight, the older hero giving him a searching look. They were nearly to where the dungeons connected, he didn’t want to stop now.

“You alright?” Twilight asked, and Legend let out a bitter laugh.

“Sure, I love coming home to find out the kingdom got taken over in my absence. And nobody knows what happened to my Zelda, and getting to tromp around in the sewers, I’m having the time of my life, thanks,” he snapped. “What’s one more crisis for the kingdom of Hyrule?”

Twilight’s hand didn’t leave his shoulder. “Legend.”

Legend stopped in his tracks and glared back at Twilight, gripping his sword so tightly he was sure it was leaving lines in his palms. “What.”

“We’ll save her, Legend,” Twilight said firmly, and gave his shoulder a bracing squeeze. “You’re not alone. You’ve got us this time— whatever this wizard is capable of is no match for all nine of us. We’ll save Zelda, and the kingdom. We’ll stop this together.”

Legend stared, then looked behind Twilight to where the rest of the Links were standing, and they all gave him equally determined looks. Their eyes were bright and fierce, and full of just as much resolve to save Zelda as his own were.

Legend felt his eyes sting, but he forced himself to blink the tears back, and nodded at Twilight, breathing out as some of the emotions storming in his chest eased a bit.

Twilight released his shoulder, and Legend turned back around, waving them all onward.

“Only a bit further to the dungeons. We’ll check for Zelda there first, but if she’s not there, we’ll... we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Legend said firmly. “Finding her is our biggest objective. The wizard comes second.”

The others nodded as they crossed through a doorway, and Legend squared his shoulders, shoving away the rest of his anxiety and terror and digging up the courage in his chest that had gotten him through six adventures already.

We’re coming Zelda, hold on, he thought desperately, shouting a warning back to the others as they reached the dungeons, and an enemy’s sword nearly took his head off.

Please be okay.

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #linked universe fanfic #lu legend #lu chain #can be read as fable/legend :)#answers from the floor #anon #writing from the floor #I didn’t totally follow your idea but I hope you like it anon!

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chdarling · 10 months

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I can count on one hand when snape has lost his cool in canon . in poa when harry saved sirius , in OOTP when sirius vs snape , when harry saw his memories . In hbp when harry called him a coward . And that's about it . While majority of time he is composed , confident and insults people with coolness and sass . The list is too long . Like he has coolly sassed Bellatrix , peter , sirius , harry , Ron , hermione , james , lockhart etc .

I love and deeply appreciate your talent but imo snape's behaviour is reversed in TLE , he is just too angry here to think coherently let alone insult or attempt at sarcasm .

I mean Remus has more sarcasm and wit than he has in canon and i have no complain there as i am a sucker for wity banter and humor , but it feels like injustice to Snape's personality to me .

I’m sorry you feel that way! I emphatically (and amicably) disagree.

I think for me it comes down to the fact that I am not trying to replicate the characters exactly as they were in the books. TLE is a prequel, and thus for all the characters — but especially Snape because he actually survives — this is a story of becoming. They’re not meant to be perfectly reflected versions of who they were in the '90s, but rather versions of themselves that could feasibly grow into the characters we see in canon.

The Snape in canon is a 35ish year old man who has survived a war and had years and years to master his emotions and become a top-notch spy who, as you say, sasses the likes of Bellatrix, not to mention lies to Voldemort's face. The Snape I’m writing in TLE is a 17-year-old boy who has done none of that yet but is raw and bitter and wrathful enough to be convinced joining a fascist hate group is a really swell idea.

To me, the moments you point out when Snape loses his cool in canon are the entire point of his characterization, not an occasional aberration, and these scenes were crucial to me when building his character. Rage is crucial to his character. It’s notable, I think, that almost all of these moments are related to the Marauders/Lily in some way. It’s the moment the mask slips and the wounded teenager comes out.

A few examples, just for fun (emphasis mine).

(This got a little long, but I was distracting myself during some severe weather that was stressing me, so I hope you’ll take this in the spirit of fun discussion, and not anything else. 🙂)

From POA, after Sirius escapes:

“THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!” Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. “Calm down, man!” Fudge barked. “You’re talking nonsense!” “YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER!” shrieked Snape. “HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—!”

“Fellow seems quite unbalanced,” said Fudge, staring after him. “I’d watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.” “Oh, he’s not unbalanced,” said Dumbledore quietly. “He’s just suffered a severe disappointment.”

From OOTP after Harry sees his worst memory:

“So,” said Snape, gripping Harry’s arm so tightly Harry’s hand was starting to feel numb. “So…been enjoying yourself, Potter?” “N-no…” said Harry, trying to free his arm. It was scary: Snape’s lips were shaking, his face was white, his teeth were bared. “Amusing man, your father, wasn’t he?” Said Snape, shaking Harry so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose. “I—didn’t—“ Snape threw Harry from him with all his might. Harry fell hard on to the dungeon floor.

From Half-Blood Prince, after Harry calls him a coward:

“DON’T—” screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them— “CALL ME COWARD!”

These are all such extreme reactions that, rare as they might be, they definitely suggest an undercurrent of deep rage and, I might add, a pattern of losing control when provoked with certain memories.

And then, of course, there are the flashbacks in which we actually DO get glimpses of young Snape:

“Tuney!” said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. “Who’s spying now?” he shouted. What d’you want?”

(Interesting, I think, that his first instinct is to shout. Petunia hasn't said anything yet.)

There was a crack: A branch over Petunia’s head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. “Tuney!” But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. “Did you make that happen?” “No.” He looked both defiant and scared. “You did!” She was backing away from him. “You did! You hurt her!” “No — no I didn’t!” But the lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused…

Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you —“ “Let me? Let me?” Lily’s bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once. “I didn’t mean — I just won’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not…everyone thinks…big Quidditch hero—“ Snape’s bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily’s eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. “I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.” “No—listen, I didn’t mean—“ “—to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?” He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole…

This to me does not read as a composed, confident boy. This is (in my opinion) an extremely angry, troubled boy who is buffeted around by his emotions, who hasn’t yet learned to articulate them fully, let alone control them. Learning to conquer these emotions and be the cool, calm, and collected double-agent-man we see in canon is a big part of his journey, but it's certainly not something he's mastered yet at 17.

.......But, at the end of the day, this is just a fanfic and everyone has different interpretations of these characters. Which is fine and fun! TLE Snape has always been somewhat polarizing, but I'm pretty set in my interpretation of him. I'm looking forward to exploring more of his journey as he grows into book Snape. He's just not there yet. :)

#ch answers #tle2 spoilers #tle2

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iguana-eyanna · 1 year

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From The Bird’s Eye View Chapter 1

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Reader

Summary: Although you achieved your dream of being a designer, you never considered meeting a man who's also a father.

a/n: So I started looking back to one of my last series The Blood Within Us and wanted to revisit the storyline. I wanted to write about how the reader met each son throughout the years and how they grew closer as a family. So enjoy the first introduction to my prequel!

Dick Grayson (13): First Meeting

"Bruce, do I have to do this? I don't even wanna go to this dance." Dick asks as he was in the car with Bruce and Alfred.

"The Wayne Foundation will be hosting the event for the school so we both have to be there. And besides, it'll be a fun thing to get your mind off of missions." Bruce said.

"Sir, we are nearing the designer's establishment,” Alfred announced as he pulled over.

Dick and Bruce walked out and headed inside to the designer Bruce heard about. The young boy looked up to his adoptive father, whose features looked similar when they were on investigations together. He was about to ask what was going on till he heard someone's voice.

"Hello Mr. Wayne, It's a pleasure for you to come here." a young voice said. Dick turns around and sees you, the designer, wearing a business casual outfit.

"Please, the pleasure's all mine,” Bruce said, shaking your hand.

"I admit, when you wanted to book an appointment here for a fitting, I was surprised you didn't want to have a suit from your regular tailor shop uptown." You commented.

"You did your homework." Bruce joked.

You chuckle lightly. "I like to do my research,” you commented.

"As do I. But, today is not about me. I wanted Dick here to have something of his own. He'll be attending his first dance." Bruce said, introducing Dick.

"Oh! It's my pleasure to help him on his special night." You said, making eye contact with him.

Dick was a bit quiet as he nodded, giving you a slight smile.

You let him follow you to your fitting area as you took measurements.

"So, Dick... got a favorite color?" You ask, wanting to make conversation.

"uhhhh, blue,” Dick responded, looking at the mirror in front of him as you walked around him.

"Hmmm, you got nice taste. Right now, I love the color sage green. It's the inspiration for my new line." You said, pointing out the many fabrics that were on a table in the corner.

"What are you designing?" Dick asks so he doesn't seem rude.

"Right now I'm designing a dress for a cotillion. I think they might be going to the same school as you!" You said, recalling your last appointment not too long ago.

Dick visibly gulps, remembering a conversation that he had with his classmate Barbra Gordon of how she's been wanting to get a dress designed by one of her favorite designers.

"Does she happen to have red hair and eyes you can get lost in?" Dick asks, a bit too smitten.

You step back, smirking.

"Yeah, she does have red hair. The eyes part? I think that's a matter of opinion." You joke.

Dick tries to chuckle it off as he scratches the back of his head.

"Sorry, didn't mean to say that last part out loud." He says sheepishly.

"Don't worry, this stays between us." You smiled at him reassuringly as you pinned a few fabrics together.

"If you don't mind me asking, what would a guy do to ask a girl out to a certain cotillion?"

You pause for a moment, thinking.

"That depends, do you know what's her favorite flower?"

"Dandelions." He said.

"Well, I'd say buy them at your local store, give it to her and say how you'd feel, and then ask her to the dance."

"Do you think it'll work?" He asks, looking back at you.

You stand straight up and chuckle.

"She'll swoon."

Dick looks back at the mirror feeling more sure of himself, envisioning how much fun he'll have at the dance.

"Thanks, sorry if I seemed a bit one-dimensional. It's hard to have conversations with people."

"How so?" You ask, scribbling down notes on your iPad.

"Most of the time, people would only ask me questions if it pertained to Bruce. 'What's he like?' 'Could you give him my business card?' 'Can I have his phone number?' It's just hard to really be seen in Bruce's shadow."

You look up to Dick as he looks a bit gloom. Everyone knows the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted the boy wonder after his parents were tragically killed. Dick was a kid who was trying to find his place in the world after the most traumatic thing that happened to him.

You know the feeling.

"Hey, why don't we take a break? We got a bit of time."

Dick inhales and looks up at you, gratefully.

Later, Bruce sits in the waiting room and turns to see Dick coming. Bruce was about to ask how was the fitting, and Dick gave him a bone-crushing hug. Bruce was stunned they haven't had times like these, but Bruce bent down and hugged his son.

Soon they both let go and Dick looks back at you.

"I'll see you in a few days!" Dick said, smiling at you.

Bruce looks back at you, still shocked.

"Was everything alright?" He asks.

"Yeah, we just talked about some things. You got a great kid, Mr. Wayne."

He looks back to Dick as he was talking to Alfred outside, looking more happy.

"Yeah, I'm really lucky." Bruce said, smiling to himself.

You two walked into your office to arrange Dick's appointment and payment.

"-and that should be it! I hope to see you soon, Mr. Wayne." You said, shaking his hand.

"Please, call me Bruce. I just wanted to say thank you. I don't know what you two discussed, but I haven't seen Dick smile like that in awhile." Bruce said.

You beam. "I don't know how to describe it, but I just have a knack for helping people. Be an ear to listen, you know?" You ask.

Bruce gives you a look. You weren't at all what he'd imagined when he researched about you.

"Yeah. I understand completely."

You two walk out as you followed him outside. Bruce was about to walk in his car till he turned over to you.

"If I'm not being too forward, I'd love to take you out for dinner in a non business environment."

You were beyond shock. You heard from the nasty catalogs of Bruce Wayne being a player. But in front of you was a man asking you to go on a date.

"I'd love to, but only on one condition."

"Name it." Bruce stated

"Ask Dick about the advice I gave him." You said, waving goodbye to Dick through the window and walked back to work.

On the way to the Manor, Bruce looks at Dick.

"If you don't mind, what was the advice she was talking about?" Bruce asks.

"Oh, she was saying to get someone you like their favorite flowers. Are you two going on a date?" Dick asks excitingly.

"Something like that." Bruce said as he looks out the window. He still had so many questions about you since the Harvey Dent case.

But for now, all he was doing was going on a simple date with you.

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

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asks out loud as he entered Bruce's room.

His bed was full of discarded clothing and a bunch of ties were gathered by his pillow. Out came Bruce from his bathroom, looking a bit agitated.

"Which tie shows I'm not overthinking?" Bruce asks.

Alfred was shocked, nonetheless, but he quietly chuckled to himself as approached him.

"I'd say the black silk one, sir,” Alfred said, grabbing it from Bruce as he tied it around his collar.

"Nervous for tonight?" Alfred asks.

Bruce doesn't break as he looks ahead in his mirror.

"No, it's just an innocent dinner. I don't think it'll advance to anything else." Bruce said.

"Hmm, that's what your father said when he was preparing his first date with your mother." Alfred said casually before doing the finishing touches and leaving Bruce a bit speechless.

Bruce shook himself off and focused on the matter at hand. Ever since Harvey Dent disappeared from the hospital after his accident, he needed to see how close you two were. Sure, you didn't share the same name, but that wouldn't stop Harvey from contacting you.

Bruce was to blame for Harvey’s doom. He went as Batman to court, knowing Sal Maroni could pull any trick from his sleeves as Harvey Dent was known to publicly try to take down the mafia in Gotham City.

But what Bruce didn’t realize was that the cape of his bat suit would deflect Maroni’s chemical compound that burned half of Dent’s face. And now that Dent is missing, there was a major chance he could turn from his ways of justice and seek revenge.

Just for now, Bruce had to play a part.

He knew you were smart, so he couldn't portray himself as a billionaire playboy. He didn't want to scare you away.

Bruce couldn't tell why he was caring this much. He drove to the restaurant where you two would meet. He was thirty minutes early. Knowing he couldn't just sit idly, he exited his car and walked to a floral shop. He skimmed through the small aisles and saw something that caught his eye.

He bought the bouquet and walked towards the restaurant, fixing his collar as it suddenly became tighter.

Soon, he heard a pair of heels clicking on the sidewalk. He turned around casually, then his lips parted slightly as he saw you.

You wore a black ruffled dress with one of the straps resting on your left arm.

From your body manners, he could tell you carried yourself highly. You weren’t fazed by the bystanders that walked passed you. Your hair was styled simply and the lipstick you wore complimented your features.

You approached him, smiling.

“Hello, Bruce.” You said.

His eyes could be lost in yours, but he caught himself from his trance.

“Hi… these are for you.” He says, offering you a bouquet of Lilies.

You take them from him, smelling its sweet scent.

“Thank you, they’re quite beautiful.” You said.

Bruce resisted to say they’re not as beautiful as you, so he offered you his arm.

“Shall we?” He asks.

You nod as you two walk into the restaurant.

Once you two get seated, your server immediately recognized Bruce and made sure you two had some privacy away from the other patrons of the restaurant. You and Bruce sit in silence under the dim candle, as the only thing dividing you two were the tall, narrow menus that were too small to read.

“I’m sorry if I chose the wrong venue for us to get to know each other.” Bruce said to break the ice.

“Are you implying, Mr. Wayne, that I cannot afford fine dining?” You ask, slightly teasing him.

Bruce grew a bit worried, placing down his menu.

“No, I did not mean to offend-”

You started to snicker before cracking into a laugh.

“I’m joking, Bruce. I don’t mind being here at all, just thought I’d keep you on your toes a bit. It’s not every day Gotham’s top five cutest billionaires take you out to a romantic evening.” You reply.

Relief washes over Bruce until he leans over, smirking.

“You think I’m cute?” He asks, matching your energy.

You couldn’t muster a sentence, but you thanked your stars when your server came to take your order.

Soon, the flow of conversation became so easy between the two of you. The chemistry you had between each other was unmatched.

Later on, Bruce noticed an old couple celebrating their 50th anniversary, so he caught their server and asked to give them a dessert under his tab. Once they received their dish, they looked over you two gratefully.

“That was really nice of you.” You said, smiling.

“They seem really in love with each other.”

“I hope I find that one day.” You said, not realizing you said it out loud. You straighten up a bit, realizing you may have scared him off.

Bruce slowly reaches over his hand into yours.

“I hope to find that too,” He stated, giving you a soft smile.

You smiled back, but then the two of you looked away, feeling both your cheeks blush.

"I um, was wondering... how did you get into designing your own clothes?" He asks.

You look up at him, surprised.

"I used to work at this old vintage store. They were looking for people who knew how to sew and hem. Thought it'll be a good side hustle. Soon I just, fell in love with it. I designed my own dress for prom and other girls paid me to do theirs. The money helped me pay for college and I got a great scholarship afterwards. After I graduated, I took an apprenticeship in France. It got me great connections and I learned so much. That's how I got back here to Gotham and decided to open my own place."

“Your parents must be proud,” Bruce says, drinking his wine.

Bruce looked up from his glass and see that you froze under his words. From what he could see, you were uncomfortable. You were avoiding eye contact as you took your hand away from his.

He knew you were hiding something, but he felt so guilty. You tried to say something, but nothing came out. Your anxiety started to build and you could feel your chest tighten.

“Hey… would you like to get some fresh air?” Bruce asks softly.

All you could do was nod in a small manner. Bruce got up and you held onto him so you wouldn’t break down and made sure he paid the tab. Once you got out, you drew in a sharp breath of air, getting out of your trance. You two walked over to a lit park and sat down on a bench.

Bruce takes off his jacket and covers your shoulders to comfort you.

You look over at him, feeling responsible that your night was about to end.

“I’m so sorry for ruining tonight. I… I don’t talk much about my family. It’s still a sensitive topic and I sometimes get triggered.”

Bruce shakes his head.

“No, I overstepped. I apologize if I hurt you in any way.” He says, meaning his words.

“I don’t think you have the capacity to hurt me.” You said.

Hearing those words from you broke something in him.

You weren’t just a case that he was trying to investigate, you were just a person that cares deeply for their craft and for people. Bruce couldn’t continue this charade with you.

He grabbed your hand and gave you a small smile.

“May I accompany you back home?”

After Bruce follows you back to your care and ensured you were safe, he drove back home, thinking.

Once he came back home, he saw Dick sit up on the couch and looked over at Bruce.

“How did it go?” Dick asks enthusiastically.

Bruce couldn’t muster the truth so he gives him a pursed smile.

“It went alright, I’ll tell you more tomorrow morning.” He says, messing up Dick’s hair as the young boy chuckled. Bruce returned back to his room and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He should have never pursued you, toying with your feelings like that. He was about to get ready for the night when his phone rang. He looked down and saw your name. After another ring passed, Bruce decided to pick up the call.

“Hi, Bruce?” You ask.

“Hi, are you safe back home?” Bruce asks, sitting up straight.

“Yes, I am. I just… wanted to call you. I know our date didn’t end as we planned, but I had a great time with you.”

Bruce could feel his heart skip a beat.

“I did as well. I apologize, again, for my words. Guess I really wanted to know you a bit better.” He said.

You hesitate for a brief moment until you started the conversation again.

“I want the same thing. It’s just… I don’t date often and it’s hard to open up about some things about myself.” You said as you were at home, staring down at a news article on your laptop about your biological father’s disappearance from his accident.

“I understand completely. I want to give this another chance if you’d like.”

You slowly close your laptop and smile to yourself, feeling that Bruce could be that special someone that can change your life for good.

“I’m free next weekend, maybe we could go for ice cream? I’d love to have Dick join us if that’s all right.”

“That’ll be perfect! We can pick you up that day. It’ll be fun.” Bruce replied.

“Great, it’s a date. I’ll text you my address later. You have a good night, Bruce.”

“You too, sleep well.” He ended the call. He got up from his bed and was about to walk over to Dick’s room until Dick tumbled down on the ground as he was eavesdropping from Bruce’s door.

Dick sheepishly smiles and stands up, shifting on his bare feet as he was getting ready for bed.

“So… guess I’m crashing your second date?” Dick asks, grinning ear to ear.

Bruce rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“You better not get yourself in trouble or you’re not going with us.”

“Scout’s honor!” Dick yelled out as he zoomed back in his room, excited to see you again.

Bruce shared his head at his son’s antics, but he smiled to himself, as he realized he was excited to see you again too.

#dick grayson #robin #dc imagine #dc batman #batman x reader #bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #alfred pennyworth #the blood within us #the blood within us prequel

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 1 year

Text

Little Things I Dig About 'Puss In Boots: The Last Wish'

This will be an unorganized collection of thoughts, but... Here we go!

Do not read on if you have yet to see PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH. Spoilers *ahoy*!

The opening title card alone. A friend pointed this out to me, the whole "This story... Is a Fairy Tale..." graphic. This is **such** a 180 from the other SHREK movies, especially the first SHREK, which opens with a Walt Disney-style book opening, laying down some exposition, and then Shrek himself ripping out a page, wiping his bum with it... That shows just what kind of attitude one movie has towards fairy tales, and what attitude the other one has. It's like this franchise has matured from its early class clown days.

The sword-fighting in the opening action scene is seemingly in sync with 'Fearless Hero', just great timing and animated choreography there.

"Never been touched!"

Puss' battle with the giant gives me major SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS vibes. He makes that whole ordeal look like nothing, and this was *after* he took on a governor and his soldiers.

The very subtle midnight-to-dawn transition as the giant fight unfolds. For whatever reason, it makes the coffee bit even more clever to me.

The shot of Puss running down the rope holding the bell, in mid-air? A companion piece to "What's Up Danger?" from SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. Also the shot of him 360-ing in the air before skewering the giant with his sword... That, too.

Death being visible in the background during the fight has already been pointed out ad naseum, but I want to point out something else... Something that was actually bugging me, until I thought of an explanation... Okay, so... The bell that crushes Puss. The wider end is hanging above Puss, yet when the bell falls? It fell sideways, despite hanging straight down. You know, the open end of the bell was facing downward. If it had detached from the rope and fell on Puss, he could've survived if the ringer didn't hit him... And that position of the bell is visible in the shots of the defeated giant... But since Death was there... Did Death magically make the bell fall that way? It's established that Death is fed up with Puss for not only mocking him, but also not valuing the other lives he lost. So maybe he magically made that bell fall in a way that it could crush Puss? Just to get it over with and not have to wait any longer for that cat to put himself in another potentially deadly situation? Thus leading him to his last life and Death's incentive to finish off Puss once and for all? Maybe?? Or am I nitpicking or looking too into this?

The continuity nods to not only the SHREK sequels, but also PUSS IN BOOTS Uno. The flashbacks Puss has when he encounters Death for the first time seem to imply that the events of PUSS IN BOOTS took place "after" SHREK 2, maybe even SHREK THE THIRD and SHREK FOREVER AFTER... Despite the implication that it was a prequel? I rewatched PUSS IN BOOTS a few weeks ago, and even that movie - sans the flashbacks/Humpty backstory - is rather vague on when it is set. Puss never mentions Shrek, Donkey, etc.... But weirdly, it could possibly take place after SHREK 2 at the very least?

Speaking of the first PUSS IN BOOTS... I'm now willing to know what the geography is of the SHREKverse. Where Shrek's swamp is, Far Far Away, San Ricardo from PUSS IN BOOTS, Del Mar from this movie's opening scene... Like where is everything in relation to one another? Are DreamWorks gonna make some sort of SHREK lexicon or map of the world that tells us more about this stuff?

A nice sense of pace when Puss stays at Mama Luna's place. We even get a passage of time there, which isn't so common in a lot of modern animated movies whose whole storylines seem to be over in 2-3 days.

Papa Bear singing a random ditty while interrogating Mama Luna with her own piano.

The town where Big Jack Horner's factory is: A very grimy and industrial-looking place for a SHREK series locale. It's fascinating even if we see very little of it. Seems like a crumby place to live.

Big Jack Horner's "Wanted" poster... The hell is THAT face?

Ya know, about the "Wanted" posters... I like that the film, despite leaning harder into fairy tales/fantasy than the first PUSS IN BOOTS, retains that Wild West/old-school adventure movie vibe from the first one with the Wanted posters and some of the score. "Fearless Hero" in particular. Like, this is still firmly in Puss' Wild West/Three Musketeers/Zorro/etc. roots.

Horner's quick snaps: "TAKE IT TO THE TROPHY ROOM!" "MAKE WITH THE BOX!" He's probably the most neurotypical character in this thing.

The Serpent Sisters are a lot of fun, especially the not-so-bright-one. Would've liked to have seen more of these two... Oh well, maybe in a prequel/spin-off short. They really reminded me of the twins from HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. Hey, maybe DreamWorks could make a Goldilocks/3 Bears prequel where they had run-ins with these sisters.

One of Kitty Softpaw's attack moves is literally grabbing enemies by the insides out their mouths, like she's a dentist or something, and hurling them like they're frisbees. Humans twice her size, even! Her and Puss would've eviscerated Thanos.

Death's sudden appearances throughout the film... He's like the pterodactyl from JOUST, or Bendy from BENDY AND THE INK MACHINE. There is no beating him, and he'll just randomly appear... It's handled so effectively each time out.

Their take on the "cute eyes" scene. With the pushed art style and new approach to the animation, they really, REALLY push this gag for both Puss and Kitty, and even for Perrito when he finally masters the cute eyes.

Everything about the dark forest, really. In my Letterboxd review, I noted how this film was unique to the other SHREK films and the first PUSS IN BOOTS movie, in that it really just took on this very dreamy and airy feel. Something about it felt so ethereal in a way. Again, going back to the title card... It truly felt like a fantasy world, a fairy tale. This, to me, is evident in the scenes of Goldilocks being entranced by the Nostalgic Pines and Puss' confession to Kitty Softpaws when they're climbing a tall tree. Just all the shot compositions and color work and score, it's perfection. This is still a funny and farcical upside-down fairy tale world, but it's markedly different from the other SHREKs because of this.

Much has been written and said about the panic attack scene already, but what I particularly liked was how Puss runs through the woods for a bit, imagining the trees as Death looming. It is very reminiscent of the scene in SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS when Snow White, upon learning her stepmother wants her dead, runs through the forest and imagines all of the trees as gnarly monsters. Much like the scene in SNOW WHITE, PUSS IN BOOTS 2 doesn't lighten it with comedy or a gag. It is played straight, and Perrito coming to the rescue is not dissimilar to how the forest critters came to comfort a crying, frightened Snow White. Again, a night-and-day difference from how the other SHREK movies covered fairy tales. (And especially how the SHREKs “satirized” Disney's takes on those stories.)

The little song that Goldi, Baby Bear, and Papa Bear break into when approaching the illusion of their old home, dancing in a circle. It's like a nice little moment that those characters have together, establishing their connection and their little family quirks and such. It only lasts like a few seconds, but it's such a charming little moment.

The library card in the book of fairy tales Goldi used to read.

Nice callback to the dance-off from the first PUSS IN BOOTS when escaping Goldi and the bears.

"Oi like the cut of 'is jib!"

Is that an ACE ATTORNEY reference in a SHREK movie?

Such ace economy and pacing in the climactic final battle, with every section carefully thought out and so much being paid off, all the little details. It's just right. Three tones handled down pat, with seamless transitioning between the three: Kinetic action for everyone fighting, intense/scary when Death shows up, and then thrilling and heroic when "Team Friendship" defeat Jack Horner.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few details, which I'll put on here when they come to me, haha... But yeah, I loved PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH.

#puss in boots #puss in boots the last wish #dreamworks #shrek #opinions #unorganized thoughts

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stories-by-rie · 4 months

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129 i'm not lost, i'm growing roots

prequel to this piece but also works as a standalone. warning for character death and sort of body horror, little over 1k words

~~~~

The first time Rabea had entered The Forest, she hadn’t survived out of wisdom or luck or spite. No, it hadn’t been due to herself at all. If someone asked her now, Rabea tended to smile the sad smile of nostalgia and reply “I survived out of mercy”. People then tended to nod as if they knew what Rabea was talking about.

Mercy was a concept many people heard of but weren’t familiar with.

Rabea was familiar now.

She was what she used to call an experienced adventurer, which was why she knew that The Forest was off-limits. Only younglings and desperate people entered. People who were too hungry for fame and glory, or people who hungered for the insanely high prize Irma the Immortal had set for whoever retrieved The Book behind The Wall at the heart of The Forest.

Short: idiots to which Rabea did not belong.

And why would she even attempt to venture inside? There were plenty of giant hiccuping frogs and deers of devastation to hunt in perfectly regular forests!

And then—

“I'll attempt it”, Margo said while they both walked down the market. Rabea choked on a bite of Kartoffelpuffer.

They had seen one of Irma the Immortal’s posters and laughed about it wholeheartedly. So why…?

“Why?” Rabea asked.

"Why not?" Margo laughed and then elbowed her in the side. "Don't worry, I'm just joking."

But when she thought that Rabea wasn't looking, she folded—folded—the poster and put it in her coat's pocket.

It is something Rabea notices and later remembers, but in that moment does not pay the attention to that it needed. Something that she spends a lot of time dwelling on on her deathbed. Poison in her cup, but that's another story.

What happened is this: They spent a warm summer night in each other's embrace and said goodbye the next day as they usually did. Rabea had been hired to find the tear of the moon and Margo had mentioned another job as well. They'd find each other after, they always did.

So Rabea fought the guardian of the tear and then outsmarted a wild boar and finally brought the tear to a collector of rarities who paid her in statues of The Big Fourteen made of lead, which meant that she needed two extra weeks carrying those to the vault. And then another three weeks in which she had to fill out the papers and argue with the vault's master whether she had 'rightfully acquired' the treasure. Rabea didn't know who in their right mind would have stolen the tons of lead but that did not convince the master.

So perhaps she simply had been late and missed Margo. There was no reason to worry yet.

She went out and brought down what turned out to be the owner of the lead mine—which, certainly there was a thing going on there—returned early and waited, and waited.

That was when she remembered the folded poster.

Maybe it would have been right to call her impulsive, but not once had Rabea regretted her hasty departure. She stepped into The Forest with a cheap map the lady in the bookstore had gifted her with a head shake. The greenery surrounded her. Clean air surrounded her, bugs in the air and if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought it to be just any regular forest.

Until she encountered the slug pit, the spiky spider webs and earworms.

Rabea stumbled into a clearing, beaten and exhausted, bruised all over. Though just as stubborn as before. She would not, could not leave without Margo.

“Ouch, that was my leg”, she heard a voice behind her. When she turned around, she saw a big shape in the ground, looking vaguely humanoid.

The thing slowly sat up and Rabea grew certain that it had at least been human at some point. But now there were forget-me-nots sprouting from the socket of what used to be an eye, slime running down the back where it had lain on the ground and started to slowly become one with the ground. The skin was covered or replaced by moss and rough bark—

Rabea had thought it to be a tree’s root when she had walked past it initially. Mostly also because of the mushrooms growing from what she now knew were the joints.

“Excuse me, I didn’t see you there.”

The thing opened the mouth and revealed sharp teeth, not white but yellow and brown. “It’s alright, it happens a lot. It’ll grow back”, it said and put some fallen leaves over the hole Rabea had created in its leg. When it looked up, it seemed as if its eyes widened, some new flower buds popped open in one of them. “Oh”, it said, “it’s you.”

“Me?” Rabea asked.

“Yes! What are you doing here?”

“I am looking for my friend. I think she got lost around here, I want to help her find the way back home.”

“Oh, I love you too, but I am not lost, I am just growing roots.”

And the thing about mercy is that it never comes alone. Mercy is granted for people who face an unacceptable fate. Mercy is granted out of the hunger for power and only very rarely out of compassion. Most certainly, mercy is prefaced by begging. And begging is born out of fear.

As ivy started to wrap around Rabea’s ankles, she started to fear like never before.

“No, no, no, no!” With every step she took, another vine shot out and tried to hold onto her. She tried to free herself with her sword, with the magic potion she had bought recently. Dispair flooded her veins, an utter helplessness. It was too much, too many, she was alone, oh so alone, and oh by the greatest treasures, she just wanted to be safe, to be embraced, to. Get. Away. Get. Help.

“Margo! Please, oh no, please help me!” she yelled and the thing responded, grabbed some of the vines and helped free her.

“Run!” Margo yelled back and it looked at Rabea then, no tears running but an ant crawling out of the empty eye socket.

“I’ll return!” Rabea promised and then she ran. Because she had been granted this mercy and everything in her begged her to take the chance. Because not taking it would have been the greatest scorn.

While it might have felt like betrayal to leave at that moment, Rabea did keep her promise. She came back and never without forget-me-nots. To the place where Margo had grown roots.

#writeblr #short story #flash fiction #i did it!#129 #i'm not lost i'm growing roots #the forestverse #or whatever #rabea #honestly i don't want to comment on this negatively but it did not turn out like i wanted it to #i feel with two or three more days it could've been so much better and i am too tired to edit now #but also i would have never gotten around to do it if i hadn't finished and posted it now so #here it is #how many em dashes can i use: the experiment #brunoverse

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waveridden · 5 months

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i would love for you to give deets on why you disliked those books. i love salt

yessss i love complaining. putting this under a cut because it's long, however i'll say up top that if you found this post because you tumblr searched a book you like... maybe skip this one! because i didn't like these books!

the ballad of songbirds and snakes, if you haven't heard of it, is the hunger games prequel about president snow when he was young and hot. i dislike it on principle but when we did our hunger games book club i decided i was going to give it my best and most open-minded shot that i could handle giving it.

my main problem is actually that i extremely dislike the politics and the worldbuilding implications for the rest of the series. the timeline becomes incredibly fucked. the thematic implications don't make sense. it is so bloated, and so long, with so many names and characters and so relatively few interesting things happening.

also: the hunger games capitol is in denver. the original hunger games were in an old sports arena that was also used for concerts and events sometimes. it is described as having a massive goalpost that is tall and two-pronged. that's right. it's the denver broncos stadium. (the american football team.) once you know that the hunger games were in the denver broncos stadium, it kind of takes a lot of the suspense out.

the bromance book club is a highly-recommended romance novel. the basic premise is: a professional baseball player and his wife are on the brink of divorce after he discovers that she has never had an orgasm with him. in order to save his marriage (and learn to satisfy his wife) he joins a top secret book club of Alpha Men who secretly read romance novels to learn about what women like.

i actually thought the premise was cute but where it fell apart is that i HATED the main character. his wife was literally correct 100% of the time and should've left him. it was just unfunny and weird and bad.

identitti is a contemporary drama (translated from german) about a german-indian graduate student who discovers that her beloved german-indian advisor is, in fact, a white woman who has been lying about being indian. the book categorically refuses to cast judgment on her - the protagonist feels betrayed, but the advisor just keeps saying over and over that it's actually fine and identity is fluid, but never actually makes a good argument.

aside from the very strong personal reaction i have to this book (i.e. that the advisor was Wrong and that it was weird for this (german-indian) author to present this case) the biggest problem i have is that it used a real life mass shooting to prove a point. there was a hate crime in hanau, germany, that becomes a plot point in the book, but it revolves around people connecting that shooting to the fictional advisor, and i just think that's shitty, actually!

small game is the debut novel by blair braverman who is a survivalist and who raises sled dogs which rules. it is about a survivalist who goes onto a survivalist reality show, only for all the cameras to vanish halfway through, leaving the contestants to wonder: did something happen? have they been forgotten? is this all just a part of the show? or is something more sinister going on?

let me spoil the answer for you: the network lost funding, canceled the show, and something went wrong that meant that the contestants were never picked up. now you do not have to slog through ~150 pages of the contestants having that exact debate, weird gross survivalism, incredibly strange and upsetting animal and human deaths, and a really bizarre dubcon-y love story.

singer distance has a premise that i really loved: earth begins getting messages from mars that people realize are actually mathematical communications. after a certain point the math becomes too advanced; enter crystal, a genius mathematician who figures out the solution... and then disappears.

this book is not about crystal. it is about her college boyfriend, who feels inadequate to her and feels bad about it. after she goes missing he spends years pining after for her. eventually it is revealed that the two of them had a kid together and the kid finds him and they search for her together. i was really hoping for a fun and interesting scifi alternate history type thing and instead it was just a book about a sad boring man

cover is an indie comic miniseries about a comic book artist who is drafted into international espionage. the art was really nice but i haven't read bendis comics in years and i forgot how far up his own ass he gets, especially when it comes to how many words per page he writes. and this was especially navel-gazey, just talking constantly (constantly) (CONSTANTLY) about The Art Of Comics and how good it is. there also wasn't enough espionage.

how to give up plastic & how to save the world for free are two different and unrelated books that fall into a category i'm trying to read more of, i.e. the practical environmentally-friendly guide. these books had the same problem: the advice was fucking stupid! how to give up plastic said that if companies send you unnecessary plastic packaging, you should ship it back to them to make a statement (what!!!!!!) and every idea in how to save the world for free cost money.

i think my biggest problem with books like these is that most of the advice is for 1) homeowners, because so much of the advice tends to be like "compost in your yard" or "install solar panels," and 2) people who have never considered buying reusable bags or water bottles. i am trying to find something with advice that is practical and cheap (the climate diet is the closest i've gotten, some of it is ridiculous but some of it is genuinely applicable) but these books just gave stupid fucking advice

#waveridden.ask #cedardivine #THANKS CEDAR HAHA this was fun #do ppl still put long posts under cuts

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crystal-lillies · 1 year

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A Rambling First Thoughts Review + Critique of "Peter Pan and Wendy" (Disney+ 2023 movie) Spoilers ahead.

Okay for being called "Peter Pan and Wendy" I think aside from prequel iterations, this movie had the least bit of connection and bonding between Peter and Wendy that I've ever seen.

Wow okay, not even sure where to begin on the rest of my thoughts but certainly that was the first one. I didn't feel much connection between Peter and Wendy at all, and the story had very little justification for the emotional moments between them it tried to eke out, which is actually very difficult to achieve since the original source material has it baked in that all the adaptations, even the ones that twist the formula, have been able to adapt and grow off of.

Oof and I gotta say the movie rushed the beginning to really crawl through Neverland. I was shocked at how fast it was that they were already going, and it didn't really seem like an urgent event. Just like, oh yeah Peter's just gonna show up at your window and take you to Neverland one day kthxbai. Rather than it being a motivated decision for Wendy to say "I'm growing up tomorrow" (leaving the nursery, going away, etc.) but I don't want to, so I'm going to go and never grow up.

Also sidebar, Wendy my love, being an ass to your brothers is not endearing to your plight and is definitely new for this adaptation which was a Very odd take. And it could be argued by the end...or even the middle...she realizes her responsibility to take care of them and look after them in Neverland but that's a weak sauce character arc for someone who HAS one built in that's just as valid.

A really odd take for them NOT to double cast Jude Law as Mr. Darling and Hook. I actually would have liked to see his take on Mr. Darling. But RIP Mr. Darling had barely a personality at all or anything to do here.

And RIP Nurse Nana. Now you are just a dog with nothing to do, and no reason to be put out in the dog house.

And then Neverland, oh my dear place of literal dreams, what they did to you! Now, I am somewhat a fan of the Home Under the Ground being a castle ruin in this version, that's actually something close to how I've seen Neverland at least once. But it felt very empty, both the Home and the island. It was too...empty. And even though every iteration we know only the pirates, Lost Boys, Peter, the Indians, the fairies, and the mermaids live in and around the island, plus animals, all the other versions haven't felt so barren. Is it because Neverland became one large same-y landmass rather than a place that has mountains and lagoons and tropical forests and literally anything children dream of? Maybe that's part of it. But it's hard to place precisely. It doesn't feel lived in. The castle ruins didn't have beds or a table for meals. It had a neat rope swing and a fireplace yes, but it still just looked visually and felt empty, when a badass castle hideout could be so cool!

And regarding Hook and Peter having a history, having a tragic background. First, I'm not opposed to the friends to enemies take. Saw it done pretty well in the prequel special Neverland, though it was from a Fagin+Snape-like mentor to an orphan Peter who looked up to him, rather than two kids and one who grew up. But again, it may have worked with a different story. I don't think it was the right choice here, or at least it was not properly executed. The voice in my head kept saying, if Hook was a lost boy and Peter's friend and he KNEW where Peter's hideout was all along, then WHY hasn't he tried killing him before? The whole sticking point in the source and other adaptations was that he had NO IDEA where Peter's hideout was, otherwise he would kill him there!

Tiger Lily being a badass is never bad in my book, but once again, her service in the story feels unearned. I don't feel the bond between her and Peter, honestly. She had more of a connection with Wendy (and it caught me off guard how I immediately thought, "okay I would ship that" after their conversation en route to the hideout.) And then her tribe is just sort of there. Without much connection to the island, or to Peter. Tiger Lily calls him "Little Brother," but taking the movie as it is without reference of any other Peter Pan media, it doesn't feel earned from what we are given up to that point. It just feels like Tiger Lily being Peter's deus ex Machina, which really historically has been Tinkerbell, and that made sense given Tink and Peter's shared history and friendship. (Something that's also sadly toned back in this movie as well)

"Peter Pan and Wendy" is not even a poor live action adaptation of a Disney animated movie, it's just... a strange and lackluster adaptation of Peter Pan, which had been done successfully as a Disney animated movie. And I think that feels a bit more disappointing.

#flowerspeak #peter pan and wendy #peter pan #movie review #sort of #disney #disney plus #disney+

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odd8ball · 2 years

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Lost boy and it's portrayal of Peter, Hook and Neverland a gushy ramble

Spoilers for the book lost boy by Christina Henry

Funny thing I noticed in Christina Henry's lost boy that for various spoilery reasons, it's like a prequel to the Disney film. One non spoilery reason is the appearance of skull rock. Jamie is interesting in that I can see him becoming hook (the Disney version anyway I haven't read the og Peter and Wendy and the author said both the og book and the Disney film were big inspiration). The turning point for me was Jamie saying because he loved his friends they died showing a sort of survivors guilt that may be the reason he's so stand off ish at the idea of public affection in the Disney film. If he is too nice and loved them too much it might result in them being killed.

It's childish but it's not like he had parents to guide him away from that line of thought. Not to mention Jamie himself admits to killing lost boys in battle and we as the reader get to read about how he bashed in Nips skull with a rock. For once A book about Hook's tragic past is able to make him violent and mean and not just the victim or a puppy dog. That being said he does have redeemable qualities so it's not just endless misery. His father son relationship with Charlie is particularly cute.

As for Peter he makes a fun antagonist because for once he's not just some mustache twirling villain who's there to make Hook miserable. Peter is Peter pan except it's much more clear the island itself is spoiling him. He is a magic kid made by an island that gives him whatever he wants in exchange for blood even if the blood only comes from a bloody nose. But some interesting bit of humanity is his stubborn refusal to let go of Jamie, one line I felt was particularly funny from Jamie is "Was Peter actually apologizing for something? This had never happened in the history of the island."

Though it is framed as manipulative, Jamie himself is a biased narrator and Peter is an 11 year old spoiled kid. Even he at the time says the apology made him want to mend their broken connection. Peters goal in the book isn't to make Jamie's life hell and he doesn't start killing lost boys until late into the book. By Jamie's own words Peter had no feeling either way weather most of the lost boys lived or died. He wants them around for fun and for the island. Jamie is the only boy Peter legitimately wants to hang around and talk to.

Jamie himself frequently thinks on the days when it was just him and Peter and things were fun and good and nice. This isn't to say Peter isn't manipulative, but he's manipulative in the same way most kids typically are. He lies about things, but his lies are taken to an extreme because he's magical and has no real problem with blood. Jamie gives us a few hints Peter experiences things differently to the average kid. He once told Jamie sitting still for to long felt like ants were crawling under his skin that wouldn't go away unless he moved.

For the sake of the book, as it was made to explain why Hook doesn't just move on Peter is the villain. But in my eyes he's more a result of the root problem. Neverland itself made Peter the way he is to feed it blood, Peter longs for a friend but can't understand why that friend might have a problem with the other boys deaths or ingeries if it means keeping both of them alive. Peter cries in this book, he throws tantrums he has flaws. They are scarce moments but to me they say a lot.

The tragedy of Peter himself is he was made too human to really be content alone but too mythical to really make human connection for very long. He is capable of being nice but his main priority is fun, and he is too unfamiliar with misery to really sympathize. (At least that's how I see it)

Neverland itself and how it's described is also very fun. Jamie in the early pages says the magic of the island came from exploring it and paying amongst the roots and rocks around the island. I wish Tinkerbell had a character in this book but ultimately the book isn't about her and from Jamie's point of view she's just a jingling firefly light.

Unless she decided to talk to Jamie which...why would she? I don't think it would really work. So she suffices as Peters getaway for the book. Speaking of side characters! Most of them are very likeable young boys and one very sassy girl.

The twins Fog and Nod are great fun for most of the book wich is why the later chapters really hit hard. They just love fighting each other and as a girl with rough housing brothers I can confirm they are pretty close to reality.

Sally starts off as Sal and even when she was pretending to be a boy (for safety) Jamie is implied to have a crush on her. Which I can totally read as bi behavior. Sally as a character is a lot of fun in this she's just so blunt and witty.

Sally is a character so used to sexism she assumes it when they find out she's a girl. The thing that keeps this from being annoying is once she realizes they aren't going to bully her for being female she stops accusing them of disregarding her abilities for being a girl. I love her sass and her relationship with Jamie is adorable. It's cute seeing two 14 year olds talk about getting married when they grow up and adopting all the boys. Even if it doesn't end well.

I find Hooks curse at the end interesting as well. Like his cut off hand is a symbol of the fact he can never leave. He likes his hook because it covers his stump that reminds him of his curse. His curse also keeps him from dying wich ... another connection to the Disney hook. Although you don't really have to watch the Disney film to understand it it's mainly just my own theory.

Also Hook kills a crocodile in this book and it's one of my favorite things ever. You might think "Well why doesn't he kill tik tok then?" Well considering Jamie can't die but can get hurt...maybe his fear isn't death so much as it is a fate worse. Or maybe that encounter with the regular croc was traumatizing enough. I mean it wasn't an easy thing to kill it but his bb bois life was in the line.

In the end I find the book fun and interesting despite how depressing it was for the most part. I mean you gotta have some levity with your angst otherwise it becomes boring hence why there's so many cute moments. To those of you who got to the end of this thanks for reading my ramble gushing about the book. I know people don't normally do much with evil Peter pan and it typically turns out dumb or god forbid goes against his entire concept. But this rapid age induced coming of age story with the framework of fantasy horror Neverland managed to keep my attention. ( I mean that's not saying much but most people gave it good reviews wich is why I checked it out)

I love to read into things too much and uh...yeah.

Some fan art I did of Jamie in the book to end it off.

If your wondering why theirs an increase in lost boy fics it's because I've been thinking about it a lot.

#peter pan #captain hook #lost boy #christina henry

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magicalyaku · 1 year

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Turns out working 11-12 hours a day for two weeks straight effectively wiped all witty thoughts from my head (if I ever had some), but I’ll do my best to remember my November books. /3

15 Tage sind für immer (Here the whole time) (Vitor Martins): This one was unexpectedly nice. It basically made me smile nonstop throughout which was a good thing as I was reading it mostly at my artist alley table at Comic Con Stuttgart and you like to buy stuff from smiling people, right? 8D Felipe's mom is kinda the best. Also the German translation by Svantje Volkens was really good to read. Darius the Great is not okay (Adib Khorram): As the eternal advocate for friendship stories this one took me by surprise! I'm so not used to getting actual ones whithout romance. xD It was appreciated though. I also finally got the pop culture references! Usually I never notice or understand them because I never read or watch what's popular right now but just like Darius I grew up on Star Trek (especially The Next Generation). That was so nice~ But! I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed all the references that much if I didn't know the series. Because they were everywhere. Like take them out and there would be no book left. It was nice to learn about Iran and read about family and connections and stuff. There was also a lot of tea. I like tea. Darius the Great deserves better (Adib Khorram): I don't remember this very well. I didn't like it as much as its prequel but I'm pretty sure that was because of the suffering. Darius is having a hard time thoughout the book and that gave me a hard time, too. Not frustrating though at least. It handled that pretty well. More like a good message you have to work for? Bone Weaver (Aden Polydoros): This should be a fantasy book right up my alley. I realised, however, I'm so much more critical of female protagonists. "8D Toma did well though. Most of the time. I wish she wouldn't have fallen for Vanya (my heroines do not need any love stories thank you) but I have to give her credit for not falling for the first male person she meets (Mikhail), only for the second! And in all honesty, even though I might whine that it would have been better with Vanya x Mikhail, it would not. Because Mikhail lost Alexei (with or at least for whom he had a thing) within the first five pages of the book and having him move on within in three days ... errr The No. Well. I did enjoy the setting, the lore. And gawd I wasn't aware how much I love nicknames? Not "babe" or "sweetheart" etc but real names. Russian names provide so well in that department. Vanya was like "Hey, I'm Ivan but everyone calls me Vanya!" And everyone does! And then, 5 seconds later Mikhail goes "Ivan!" and I'm squealing because you know that at some point in the near future he will reluctantly come to like Vanya and will switch to the nickname as well and it will glorius. orz Anyway. I enjoyed the book but two things: The suffering. The physical pain. I read Mr. Polydoros' other books as well (The City Beautiful and the Assasin Fall duo) and in both the protagonists spend a lot of time in pain. Bone Weaver is no exception. It may not be "a long time" in here, but these guys are pretty broken up it's not funny. Second thing: I wish it would have been third-person instead of Toma's perspective only. I would have loved to learn more about Mikhail. What was his relationship with Koschei before? Will he be okay even when his people find out he has no more magic? The conversations, the bonding between him and Vanya. Gimme more! D: All for the Game series (Nora Sakavic): And finally this. This. I had a lot of words once but I'm reigning myself in. It was good. It was a lot of fun. I read The Foxhole Court back in September and then The Raven King in November and after I finished TRK, I went back to reread TFC ... I didn't want it to be over so soon. /D (And also my memory is shit and I read TFC while at airports, on planes and with my friends chatting next to me, so ... my excuses) I'm glad I read it only now instead of last year when I saw it the first time. (I'm a much more tolerant reader now.) But then, everything I like about the books are things I like in general: good characters, dialogues, self-references that make you leaf back or make you go "aaah" while rereading, and rewards after a long struggle. Gawd. For a hot second while reading TRK I got afraid that everything tumblr fandom teased me with might just be fan stuff instead of canon and I already felt the betrayal. 8D Then I remembered I already read the blurb for The King's Men and it was all there. Phew! Not that I read the books for the romance only. But it was so mind-boggling to know where Neil and Andrew end up when in the beginning they can't spend like two peaceful seconds with each other. So the journey was incredibly intruiging and fun. Haah. (Bonus fun: There were AFTG cosplayers at Comic Con. I only saw a flash of orange in front of my table and was like “Huh, it’s just Haikyuu” but I still took another look and there it was “Palmetto State University”! Of course I embarrassed myself in guessing the characters wrong, but it was still nice. 8D) To ease my AFTG hangover I went back to rewatching anime. I found the perfect little sibling: bad parents, abuse, anger issues, (kinda) gay, more queer kids, estranged childhood friends, boys obsessed with stupid sports, protagonist with an attitude problem and a bad mouth. I present: Stars Align! (Yes, that stupid series which ended on the worst cliffhanger and never got its second part!!! D:<) Speaking of anime, now that the worst of the christmas crunch is over and I'm having time again to actually enjoy stuff I should get back to finishing Yuri on Ice ... and ... Chainsaw Man. xD

#yaku reads #november wrap up #darius the great is not okay #darius the great deserves better #all for the game #aftg #bone weaver #here the whole time #books #queer books #queer lit #lgbtq books

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mean-scarlet-deceiver · 1 year

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Hi! What’s your favorite Railway Series book? I have another question too, what do you think of the engines faces being the smokebox doors?

I'm not sure what I think about the smokebox faces? It's peculiar when you try to think through it and make it "realistic" but the notion is so natural that there's not much to think about.

People really get on Awdry's case for not having thought through the implications of his sapient engines but I feel like we gotta cut the man a break. He clearly never had any interest in worldbuilding. It's not like he had some wild oddball idea that he just then neglected to nurture to maturity. Almost everybody has imagined smokeboxes to be the face of a steam engine (and the grill and headlights to be the face of a car, etc.)

No idea if that answered anything. Anyway!

What isn't my favorite RWS book?

Honestly it changes every week or two. At one point or another it’s been:

Thomas the Tank Engine - the structure is so simple yet so sound. this is some Joseph Campbell bullshit right here (positive)

Tank Engine Thomas Again - simply a classic from the moment it was penned. not my personal favorite (i think the ffarquhar line is just a bit too twee as a setting for my tastes?), but you can't beat these stories or this character. objectively, the best stand-alone book in the series. you don't have to know anything about anything to read this and to fall in love and to sense at once that it's an indispensable part of classic childhood literature.

Toby the Tram Engine - this kicked off the era of somewhat darker themes of obsolesce as well as new characters having really great introductory arcs/backstories❤️ points off for the last story tbh—but points on for seeing the Fat Controller and his fam on holiday as well as the parts dunking on busybody cops

Gordon the Big Engine - another one that just has really good structure—plus some underrated character moments in this—plus stories 1 and 3 are hilarious

Edward the Blue Engine - the vibes are impeccable

Eight Famous Engines - altogether, just a really good ensemble romp

Duck and the Diesel Engine - I N T R I G U E

The Little Old Engine - another just-really-good ensemble romp

The Twin Engines - I N T R I G U E, also irony; it's just very ambitious, grow-the-beard stuff

Very Old Engines - the sheer layers going on. also i'm a sucker for prequels.

Main Line Engines - just very classic Golden Age rws stuff, witty and warm, nothing to criticize, all clover. it feels like home.

Enterprising Engines - hooooooooooly crap, it's so good. some bits are shaky or pudgy, i kinda wish i had been the editor for this one, but you have to forgive the nitpicky stuff in the face of all the wealth. a triumph.

Oliver the Western Engine - the books just kept getting better in this era? wtf?????

Duke the Lost Engine and Tramway Engines - i could write ESSAYS on both these books. i SHOULD. like at this point you can start doing high-grade LITERARY ANALYSIS (enthusiastic)

Christopher Awdry's stuff is alllll on a lower tier than the above but while i'm on a roll i gotta give some props here too:

Jock the New Engine - i don't know how to defend it, it just makes the mini railway feel very real to me in a way that their first book (funny though it was) didn't

Gordon the High Speed Engine - it's overrated by certain Thomas bros, who to my eye seem to be deliberately obtuse when they insist that it's every bit as good as any Wilbert book (WHAT??), but it is enjoyable, thoughtful, and certainly the most consistently high-quality Christopher book

Henry and the Express - i'm here purely for the arc and the book's ending. as a final word on Henry's character development, the last couple of pages are unmatched and give him a new and hard-won layer that even Enterprising Engines didn't quite get him to

Thomas and the Twins - the interactions between Thomas, Edward, Bill and Ben are delicious. even if the Trevor story is pretty lame, i'm still soooo glad this book exists, i can't believe it, it feels like someone wrote a self-indulgent fanfic... and i am Here For It

#chatter #the railway series #what even are engine faces #thomas the tank engine (rws)#tank engine thomas again (rws)#toby the tram engine (rws)#gordon the big engine (rws)#edward the blue engine (rws)#the little old engine (rws)#the twin engines (rws)#very old engines (rws)#main line engines (rws)#enterprising engines (rws)#oliver the western engine (rws)#duke the lost engine (rws)#tramway engines (rws)#christopher awdry #the fact that thomas and toby originally bonded over heckling a policeman is amazing 🙏 we stan

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menagerie-of-monsters · 1 year

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Find the Word Tag

Thank you @ceph-the-ghost-writer for the tag! I was looking for an excuse to post some WIP snips in the New Year.

@awordchemist @space-cadead @dogmomwrites @leave-her-a-tome some words for you are:

new, bright, promise, ugly, please

Impulse

The Sorceress and the Incubus, Echoes of the Void Book 1 (look for this book by the end of the month!)

"Yes, I'm here," I told him, trying to be gentle. "I live here, and you're my familiar." I reached over and stroked his cheek with the backs of my fingers. "This is our home, Saker," I said. "Where else would I be?" "Our…" he started. His jaw tensed for a moment before he blew out a breath through his nose. He turned his face and kissed my fingers, then shifted so he could rest his head on his forearm. "You got me flowers," the demon said instead. "Seemed apropos, given this morning," I said with a shrug, embarrassed about the impulse now that it had been pointed out, and falling back onto the sort of distance that existed between two people when they'd had a one-night stand and woken up in the same bed. "You gave me one hell of an orgasm."

Main

In the Claws of the Raven Prince, Monsters of Faery Book 2 (Eyyy a prequel to Captured by the Fae Beast. Look for it in April maybe???)

“But… why?” I asked. The words sounded lost, like a child, wavering in the night. “Because Crown Prince Sundamar is more dangerous even than the Chimera,” Captain Ulahana said in her lilting voice. “Woods, you may return to the main camp. Brouwer, you’re with me.” “Yes, ma’am,” Woods said, giving Ulahana a bow. She turned to me, looking me over once, then said, “It’s gonna be fine, Lilly. Keep your chin up.” She waited until I nodded, then gave me a sharp nod in return, turned on one heel, and strode back towards camp. I turned towards Ulahana slowly, feeling as if I was about to walk to my own execution. The faery woman waited for me with what seemed like ageless patience, her indigo eyes black in the moonlight.

Enhance

I... have apparently never used this word. I looked through everything, crossing my fingers for an "enhanced her pleasure" and was unsuccessful TT_TT

Table

The Serpent's Bride, The Blue Kingdom Duology Book 1

"And will I be your enemy?" he persisted. "Are you going to wake up one day and decide a viper is too dangerous a creature to have in your palace, let alone your bed?" That made me look up at him again. For a moment I thought I could see fear in the tension around his eyes, before his brows drew closer together and his lip lifted in a sneer. I only sighed. "Unless you're intending on spitting venom at emissaries or otherwise making yourself a lethal nuisance, you're no enemy of mine," I answered. I flicked the side of one claw where he had it lodged in the table. "Rulers have dealt with far worse than a spouse who's hard on the furniture for the sake of dynastic stability. I'd rather do this without bloodshed, so as long as I'll spill less by having you alive than dead, you can trust I'm no danger to you." Talazen made a thoughtful sound, then wrenched his claws out of the table. "You're very mercenary, aren't you?"

Temperature

The Changeling and the Dragon, Echoes of the Void Book 2

I squeezed my eyes closed and shuddered, clenching my hands into fists. But the spells wouldn't go away by pretending that they weren't there. Breathing slowly through my nose, I tried to change the sensitivity of my clarity, narrowing the range between a hedgewitch's spell and a sorcerer's. I was used to wanting to discern between the weakest kinds of magic-users, those not strong enough to be considered mages, but that sensitivity was useless in this situation. When I tentatively squinted out into the room again, though, I'd managed to shift the scale of my clarity so that at least the monstrous spells on the curving wall of the room didn't blind me. I wouldn't be able to tell the strength of spells so easily now, but at least I could see. I scanned the room for danger, breathing hard. Nobody else sat in the room, and I didn't see any baneful magic, but there were spells everywhere. Spells for cleaning, for temperature control, for preventing wear, for keeping out pests, for keeping hinges smooth and for protecting the reddish sandstone walls. I shuddered again. This had to be a… a palace. Something owned by someone of awesome wealth, who could command the service of the strongest mages in the world. Someone for whom this room was nothing, just a place where one could tuck a strange, injured woman for the night.

And that's all! Thanks for reading, and see you in the New Year!

#tag game #the sorceress and the incubus #echoes of the void #in the claws of the raven prince #monsters of faery #the serpent's bride #the blue kingdom #the changeling and the dragon #also echoes of the void

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