#i sneaked a self portrait at 100

[masteroftime231]

It’s going to be a long post and I still have no idea how to partially hide it, so do apologize in advance that readers may need to scroll through it.

With that out of the way… I decided to finally try and wrap up my thoughts on Rhaenyra. When I read the book, I was a team Black supporter 100% and I started watching the show with the same attitude. The first two episodes I diligently hated Alicent and stanned Rhaenyra, and the world was good. Yet, in episode 3 I questioned my fave for the first time. This post is not going to compare Blacks vs. Greens, but to express my thoughts on Rhaenyra only because she is supposed to be a strong woman, and her portrait is important as a message what strong women suppose to be.

Spoiler: I do not see Rhaenyra as a strong woman or a potentially capable ruler. I do understand her as a person and an average woman, yet, that does not translate into supporting her as a leader. And here is why.

In episode 3 we see her after 3 years gap and this is the first time I question her skills. It is apparent that she spent 3 years disliking Alicent, her farther and Aegon. Ok, I can understand Alicent and Viserys; however, I do not understand hating Aegon by proxy. To think of it, he is Rhaenyra’s closest family after her father (because to see that in Daemon, who comes and goes as he wants, is a bit strange and naive). Supposedly, it would make sense to keep and develop that relationship, especially, when Aegon is a blank sheet of paper. We may be sure that Alicent would not intervene, hoping to restore their old friendship. Rhaenyra does nothing like that. Yet, this is partially Viserys’ mistake, as it would be a correct move to explain basic things to his daughter: your brothers and sisters are your only family when I am gone, or something similar.

In the same episode we see the other two moments that show how Rhaenyra lacks any sense of diplomacy or strategic planning. I mean, it was very girlboss to quarrel with her farther in front of everyone and after that to offend ladies (or before that, whatever). Yet, the first thing showed people that Rhaenyra had no self-control, and the second one meant that she created people who could hold a grudge against her instead of winning allies. When we consider Rhaenyra’s relationships with her family and the court separately, it’s one thing. Combined they create a massive combo that means she, the future ruler of the realm, is completely isolated because of her own choices. And on that thought I finished watching episode 3.

Then there was episode 4 and things became truly unbearable. To please her father, Rhaenyra sits to select a future husband; however, she manages to offend her potential suitors and leave a bad aftertaste in others’ mouths. She mocks the first lord, dismisses the second one, and does not care even a bit about the fight that happens. Again, she shows no hint of diplomacy and adds more people to the cohort that may dislike her. Very monarch-y. The worst thing is that this happens in the first place. This farce could be avoided if Rhaenyra’s main interest had been to choose a man with enough resources to back the crown and (this is extremely important) ability to give her healthy children, future legitimate heirs to the throne (this is where Laenor does not count due to his preferences). Consequently, the marriage could be organized behind closed doors without a cheap show that could fuel potential negative gossips.

And then ta-da, Daemon arrives and things go south. They sneak out and watch that cheap theater in the streets, and Rhaenyra’s reaction is what makes me think that she would not be a good queen. “Who cares what they think”. The problem with this statement is tremendous because peace in society is based on a social contract between a ruler and the masses. For those purposes rulers, at least, pretend to play according to the traditions of society, otherwise, it may result in unrest and civil wars. Of course, you may do as you please and disrespect the masses; then to keep your throne in place you need to install terror against the population (however, I do recall that even Stalin cared about his public image and never did anything drastic image-wise). In both cases (neglect & unrest vs. constant terror) we are talking about many, many people dying because one person cannot control their basic urges. Therefore, that line said by Rhaenyra and, later, by Jace is quite disturbing and rather indicates potential tyrants than good rulers.

Further, better. I will not discuss Rhaenyra’s choices of sex partners. I do believe that even in those times people could choose who to fuck, but what matters here is discretion and precautions (moon tea, i.e. contraception exists even in Westeros). To fuck Daemon behind closed doors in the Red Keep is one thing, but to allow him to take you to a dirty brothel, to display your identity there and then to return home through the main door (so everyone could see) is completely different.

In fact, I would say that any close association with Daemon was not very politically smart and would inevitably result in the loss of reputation. However, considering Rhaenyra’s isolation, that association was a given (and here we come back to the stuff I mentioned in the context of episode 3). People may argue that he is dangerous and a great potential ally, but, honestly, he is nothing because he only has one dragon. No money (other than from his brother), no lands, no serious armies, no serious claim to the throne; he can be easily removed from the game (sent to the Wall because of his crimes or simply poisoned) and no one will mourn him. Yet, Rhaenyra follows him everywhere and finds herself in even worse situation.

After that, out of spite, she makes two serious mistakes. First, she makes Viserys dismiss Otto and irredeemably damages her relationship with Alicent, who still tries to stand by Rhaenyra. Second, she, knowing Laenor’s preferences, agrees to marry him and condemns herself to the need for paramour that would eventually result in illegitimate children. The problem with Otto was not that he was dismissed, but the fact that his dismissal was tied to Rhaenyra and that caused even a deeper rift between her and Alicent. I mean, when you have almost no allies, it would be wise not to aggravate the remaining ones, even if you believe that they may betray you. The problem with Laenor is clear.

I will skip episodes 5-7 as they hold almost no value in the context of politics, but rather they prove the above-mentioned stuff. However, episode 8 is once again interesting. We see that Rhaenyra had been away from the court for 6 years. That’s a lot. She has no own court, and it seems that her attention is focused on her husband and her children. Rhaenyra is as far away from political life as possible, does not develop any alliances, and has a problem with supporting even existing one with Rhaenys. It’s a mere allegation, but I think she has no idea what is happening in the minds of other lords and def does not burden herself with taxes, prices, etc. The crown funds her nice life and she seems happy with that.

Additionally, she does a good job raising spoilt kids, but a poor job raising capable rulers. The legitimacy of her sons is constantly questioned, yet, she does not prepare them for potential hardships on their way. They supposedly are not good at fighting. Jace has issues with Valyrian language, and I strongly suspect that Luce cannot differ one end of a ship from another, despite the fact that he should rule over the biggest fleet in Westeros. The big problem is that Jace, the potential king of Westeros, has the same attitude towards his future subjects as his mother (take a look at the field where I grow my fucks, it’s barren).

Once the family gets to King’s Landing, we again see that Rhaenyra has no allies and has to ask her dying father to protect her. The most interesting part here is the trial. We see how people look at Velaryon boys and, clearly, they do not believe them to be true-born Velaryons. Yet, to keep the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra pushes Luce to get Driftmark, and during the trial Vaemond is executed from behind his back. That social contract I mentioned before applies also to the ruler and elites; in this case elites get some power, riches and influence and in their turn they support the ruler. Here, we see the break of contract because the potential ruler executes one of elite to get what she wants (we can spare ourselves from details that it was Daemon because these things are going to be linked with Rhaenyra anyway). The message is extremely clear to the rest of the elites: “I respect no deal between us, once I want something, I will get it even if I need to kill all of you”. Such thing does not inspire trust or support among nobility. So here goes another politically wrong choice. Because again, you do what you want and either rule with terror, or expect a civil war.

Finally, during the supper we see Rhaenyra’s attempt to mend the broken bonds, yet, she again demonstrates her lack of political & emotional understanding of other people. She tries to restore relationship with Alicent, but the problem is not with Alicent anymore. Alicent is no longer a single person that forms the Green faction. It’s a group of people who either were wronged by Rhaenyra and her teammates, or simply disliked her choices. Alicent is just a banner, and any banner can always be replaced. Indeed, Alicent agrees to peace, but we get Aegon and Aemond looking wolves at the team Black and starting fight when they see a chance. We have Otto. And somewhere in the court there are many others who think of Rhaenyra as of the incapable woman.

Inability to understand, predict and prevent all of this makes Rhaenyra a bad queen that lacks for many important qualities. Especially, because once upon a time she could do small things to prevent future bloodshed; yet because of her real and imaginary slights she decided against it. And this makes her a weak person.

Sorry for a rant and possible mistakes.

#anti rhaenyra targaryen

[theold-ultraviolence]

Baby (like 6yo) Elaena came down with Aeron when it was time for him to inspect the training yard (because he’s getting to be a Big BoyTM and will get to use a wooden sword and train with Kepa soon) and getting mad at some lord who asks why tf she’s there and so she just picks up the heaviest actual weapon she can wield and goes to town on his knees and Aemond, proud kepa that he is, has to figure out how to stop her from literally crippling a grown man.

She gets to go training with Aeron on the grounds that she not touch the real weapons again until she has a better strategy than “mafia boss the bitch”. Aemond asks if Vaella wants to join but she shakes her head, she doesn’t like how loud and busy the grounds are so he offers to show her self defense with some daggers when they’re back in their rooms where it’s quieter. She likes being able to do the dagger twirl thing with her fingers like he does.

Also Elaena totally sneaks into a tourney one day under some random knight’s name and is only found out when there’s a tie in sword fighting between her and Aeron and she finally takes off her helmet. Aemond and Y/N are both jumping and screaming in the stands. It’s the only tourney they’ve ever given a shit about. Alicent is fucking MORTIFIED.

And omg I saw your “Sapphire Princess” addition a few back that is so adorable Vaella 100% goes with it. When she’s really little she gets upset because she overhears Aemond and Y/N discussing replacing his prosthetic because it’s worn down and she’s convinced that they’re Taking Her Kepa’s Eye and loses it but they finally calm her down and explain he just needs a new one and they take the old one and get it cut into an actual gemstone shape to make her a necklace that she literally never takes off because it’s part of her Kepa.

BESTIE first of all, thank you for taking the time to write such detailed thoughts!!!! I'M SCREAMING giggling kicking my feet reading all of this, it's actual gold!!!

ELAENA GO OFF! Actual queen at 6 years old, going to town on a grown man's knees for disrespecting her lmao, I love it!!! Also, baby Vaella all happy being able to do the twirly thing like Aemond??? ugh, my heart!!

That scenario of Elaena and Aeron in a sword match and her taking off her helmet OMG YOUR MIND, it's so cinematic!! and she absolutely would! Ok but, who would win though?? because that would be the closest match ever. After all, they've been trained by the actual best. All the tricks in the book that Aemond has advised them to use on their opponent is being used against each other! This is seriously so cinematic friend, I love you forever for coming up with this, it is genius.

ME READING THE BIT ABOUT VAELLA FOREVER HAVING A NECKLACE WITH HER KEPA'S SAPPHIRE:

OH JESUS

s;lfklkjlkjg ok and when she gets her necklace, THAT's when they commission someone to paint their portrait. With Aemond's brand new one in place, and the old sapphire eye proudly hanging from Vaella's neck.

#aemond's children #my oc: elaena targaryen #my oc: aeron targaryen #my oc: vaella targaryen

[fastlikealambo]

link to chapter one.

link to chapter two.

link to chapter three.

Bloodsinger: Vampire! Eddie Munson x Black Reader Drabble Part 4 Sneak Peek

Summary:

Out of every news source in the country, the one and only lead singer of Corroded Coffin and self proclaimed vampire Eddie Munson has decided to do a sit down interview with The Hawkins Post. Instead of your boss, you’re sent to a mansion on Halloween Night and you’re in no way prepared for what’s in store.

Trigger Warnings: violence, gore, blood k!nk , a tinsy bit of cardiophilia if you squint, 80s workplace sexism

Inspired by: The Vampire Chronicles,  Dracula, Lost Boys, Vampire Diaries, Twilight, honestly every single vampire trope and cliche is in present and accounted for in this fic.

minors dni, I check.

honestly, nothing happens in this chapter, it’s really sweet, pure fluff, no angst or scary parts, you can trust me, I’d never lie to you :)

Eddie’s offstage before the applause even finishes, a beeline straight for you at the bar.

 There’s eyes on you which is the last thing you need right now, but if you do die, a least the headline will be “Hawkins Journalist Turned Munson Groupie Found Dead in Mysterious Accident” instead of a two line obituary written by a coworker who’s office hobby was looking up your skirt.

“You came.” Eddie said, a soft smile that you don’t return.

“Well I had to try and finish the article, seeing as it might be the last one I ever write.” You quip, knocking another shot back and reach for the next one only for Eddie to push it away from you and subsequently onto the floor with a loud crash.

“Press interviews will be starting momentarily, please make your way to the side ballroom!”  Their publicist yelled into the microphone, drawing attention from you two back to the stage. The distraction is enough for you to start to walk away.

“Please, can we talk?” He asked, appearing in front of you.

“About what? That you lied to me from the moment we met?  I have known you for less than 72 hours but because you couldn’t keep it in your pants for another 100 years, I’m going to die.  Go back to your mansion, go back to your band,  I’ll make sure to send you a better photo of me for your next portrait.” 

“You think I wanted this?”

“You know, I kinda think you did. All of this has to weigh on your soul, their deaths of course, but also wanting what you can’t have. You said you left the other versions of me alone and Vecna did the same. But you couldn’t leave me alone, you wanted my blood so bad you’d rather condemn me to death and run away.  I’m a person, all of those women on your wall were people too, and I’m not going to let you use me to absolve you of your guilt, not with whatever fucking time I have left.”

“Please I’m begging you, I can protect you.”

“If you wanted to protect me you would have left me alone.”

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“ Maybe in the future you’ll be braver Eddie, but because of you I’m not going to have one.”  You said, turning to leave once more.

“ Please come home with me, I’ll do anything.” There’s a hand on your wrist, pulling you back.

“Let go Eddie, just leave me alone!” You turn back around to face him but he’s not there.

No one is.

You’re alone in what’s left of the hallway, crumbling walls covered in thick black vines, ash from a red stormy sky falling on your skin.

“Eddie? Hello? Is anybody here?” You yelled out to an uneasy silence that was oh so quickly interrupted by slow, heavy, footsteps behind you.

This couldn’t be how it ends, not yet.

“Edward isn’t here, but I am and I’ve been looking forward to seeing you again.”

You slowly turn around, the sight in front of you so terrifying your scream dies in your throat.

Vecna.

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#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x black!reader #eddie munson x yn #eddie x reader #vampire eddie munson

[death-in-shift]

I posted 904 times in 2022

That's 904 more posts than 2021!

191 posts created (21%)

713 posts reblogged (79%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dark-lina

@xpricity

@leon-the-rookie

@mixtapejunkie

@ask-the-ghostface

I tagged 746 of my posts in 2022

Only 17% of my posts had no tags

#dead by daylight - 418 posts

#oc - 381 posts

#roleplay - 331 posts

#dbd roleplay - 256 posts

#dbd - 233 posts

#dark lina - 149 posts

#xpricity - 121 posts

#lillie - 120 posts

#self insert - 111 posts

#dead by deadlight - 94 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#the one boba tea olace sold ones where it was stuffed with eggs crab meat avocado and this one sauce

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

"Hi" Lillie stood there, her voice cracked and her eyes puffy and reddend. Yet she showed no signs of weakness, smiling nonetheless. "I got a gift for you, I hope you like it..."

*Pulls out a giant cow plushie*

“Thank you-!” Jae looks at Lillie with worry shown on his face. “Are you ok?” He holds the cow plush with two of his spider legs. The first thing he does is place his hand on her forehead, then the sides of her face, taking temperature. “Did something happen? Are you sick?”

43 notes - Posted November 29, 2022

#4

CRADLE:

Roze, the last thing he remembered : him appeared here was a dense fog and spider legs that looked like they were trying to catch him, but they didn't know where he was. And then a forest appeared ... a lot of fog and this silence and a strange feeling that something was wrong. Plus this strange creature in samurai armor? It was hard to say. He tried to kill this little ... Roze looked at the little demon his arms,.

Jae is short and quite light, so even for a young vampire like Roze, could carry him.

"Later I'll take care of it," he muttered softly to himself, looked around, he guess it was relatively safe here.

Well, his latest work, a painted self-portrait, served to stop the attacker for a while and give them both time to escape. It was a pity that the brushes and easels he lost as a result, everything was made to order, but now it wasn't important. He put Jae on the ground and examined it. He was looking for wounds, and when he found them, he broke off a large piece of his clothes to stop the bleeding.

Jae breathed heavily from the pain. His vision was slightly blurred. The demon tried not to pass out from the blood loss. He turns his head to the side to see Roze, who was aiding him in the safe area.

“Thank you..” A small, slight raspy voice came out.

44 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#3

Here alone ? * look around * i have better idea * take his hand* mmm okey then * teleporting herself and him to her home in fog* welcome in my crypt

I looked around the Crypt. “Whoa.” I also realized I’m not in the cage anymore.

51 notes - Posted October 4, 2022

#2

Lillie has a panic attack, which are freeze attacks for her. She will feel incredibly cold for hours, nothing seems to make her warm and this causes her to panic because she can't change the shivering or cold feeling that makes her stiff.

Her mind not working, frozen, she had shuffled to the large room where Jae and her were sleeping on the couch. She sat directly in front of the fire place on the floor, wearing the onesie and had a blanket draped over her. Still she was shivering, hugging her knees.

Jae wakes up and looks around for Lillie. He sees her sitting by the fireplace. He felt something off and went to go check on her without sneaking up on her by accident.

“Lillie?” The demon softly calls out. “Are you ok?” He sits next her and sees her shivering. Jae gets up to grab his blanket and wraps it around her, tilting his head to see her still shivering like before. ‘I’ve never seen this before.. What should I do?’ He thinks while calmly looking at her.

“I can make the fire hotter if you want.” He holds his hand out and concentrated on making the fire warmer.

53 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Continue from : https://at.tumblr.com/dark-lina/cradle-roze-the-last-thing-he-remembered-him/iiipl3o5g382

“Ahh I didn’t mean to sound mean.” Jae yawned, burying his face completely into the pillow.

While both Morgana and Roze were talking, Jae was lost. The demon lacked knowledge of vampires, but since he’s in the library, he could read about them. But as he’s being held by Roze, his warm embrace is slowly lulling him to sleep. Jae leans onto Roze and let out a soft, spider-like purr.

‘I’ll read another time. But I should stay awake in case they need to talk to me.’ He though as he closed his eyes for a bit.

107 notes - Posted November 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

[paperfiller]

sometimes you just gotta sit down and draw 100 portraits in 10 days, you know?

#100 heads challenge #art #digital art #character art #portrait #maaaaaaaan this was a tough one #i sneaked a self portrait at 100 #and a Douxie at 97 #because I love that wizard

[carewyncromwell]

“I finished crying in the instant that you left, And I can't remember where or when or how, And I banished every memory you and I had ever made! But when you touch me like this, and you hold me like that, I just have to admit that it's all coming back to me... When I touch you like this, and I hold you like that, It's so hard to believe, but it's all coming back to me... It's all coming back -- it's all coming back to me now... There were moments of gold And there were flashes of light -- There were things I'd never do again, But then they'd always seemed right...”

~“It’s All Coming Back to Me,” by Celine Dion

x~x~x~x

AUGH, my heart! I blame this 100% on @mira-shard sending me that ship ask for my book-smart, people-dumb spaceman Jacob Cromwell and his boy best friend Duncan and reminding me how friggin’ much I adore these two. They hurt my heart so much and yet I love them with all of my heart and soul. ;~;

This is set toward the end of Carewyn’s sixth year, right after that certain Redacted event. This is also the first time these two have seen each other since Duncan died...and yeah, as you can expect, their reunion was pretty damn feelsy.

Jacob Cromwell had been working hard on his own almost all of that school year to reach the Sunken Vault before Rakepick, but after finding out that R was still actively targeting Carewyn by sending members like the Wizard in White after her, he became all the more determined to try to force them away from the Hogwarts grounds. Unfortunately for Jacob, R was one step ahead of him. Using the blood they’d managed to collect after badly injuring Jacob the previous year, they had Blaise Cromwell use Polyjuice Potion to masquerade as his nephew and sneak into the school so as to have access to his niece Carewyn, who R’s leader (Jacob and Carewyn’s cold-hearted maternal grandfather Charles Cromwell) ultimately wanted among their ranks as well.

While masquerading as Jacob, Blaise learned Carewyn was still planning on chasing after the Vaults, with the blessing of Mad-Eye Moody, who was currently investigating R himself, and after putting on a weak act of discouraging her, he “accepted her help” and subtly encouraged her to not tell her friends anything else about the Vaults, supposedly for “their safety,” but truthfully because Blaise didn’t want Carewyn to have ties anywhere outside of their family and organization. Blaise did suss out, however, that there were a few people in Carewyn’s circle of associates who were reluctant to leave the Cursed Vaults alone and “stay out of R’s business,” including Ben Copper, who Blaise in particular felt a searing distaste for, given that he was not only a “filthy Mudblood,” but he also was one of Carewyn’s first friends who was incredibly overprotective of her. After Blaise discussed the matter with his father Charles, it was decided that R should “deal” with Ben Copper the same way R had dealt with Duncan Ashe -- namely, to make an example out of him, which would not only scare Carewyn into line, but also take out a potential threat to their overall plan to isolate their target so they’d have no one else to fall back on.

Just as they had whenever Blaise infiltrated the school, R purposefully led Jacob away from the grounds, this time with the Wizard in White as a decoy. Since the Wizard had recently threatened Carewyn’s life, Jacob immediately charged after him with a vengeance, determined to hunt him down and kill him so that he’d never touch “his Pip” again. Unfortunately after several weeks of doggedly pursuing the Wizard in White all across London, he escaped, and Jacob in utter frustration was forced to return to Hogwarts and continue trying to access the Sunken Vault, even if he knew no way to do so without both of the Coral Keys that unlocked the outer and inner doors. It was only when Jacob returned to Scotland that he learned Rakepick had returned to Hogwarts the day he first left and had killed someone in the Forbidden Forest -- and it was a few days later, late at night, that Jacob was confronted by a familiar voice in the Lakehouse that was his hiding place. 

“So you are here, then.”

Jacob’s heart stopped. Whipping out his white Aspen wand, the ex-Ravenclaw whirled around so violently that he nearly knocked over the overturned boat on the floor behind him.

Hovering over him was a translucent shape of a seventeen-year old wizard. He wore Hogwarts robes, but due to the bluish-gray tint of his form, the uniform’s house colors weren’t identifiable. Not that Jacob would’ve needed to try to guess what house he’d been in -- he already knew the young man was in Slytherin. Jacob had gone to talk to him in their very first year all because he was a Slytherin and could answer that random question Jacob had had about the Slytherin commonroom...

Jacob’s almond-shaped blue eyes went very wide, losing almost all of their light, as his face blanched.

“...Ashe...?”

His voice left his lips in such a hushed whisper, it was like the breath had passed his lips without any diction whatsoever.

Duncan crossed his arms moodily. “Long time no see, Jacob. I’m curious -- did your sister just not tell you I was still around, or did you actively decide I wasn’t worth a visit?”

Jacob’s blue eyes flooded with pain as he shakily lowered his wand arm.

“Ashe...” he whispered again feebly.

The facial reaction didn’t move Duncan -- instead he plowed on.

“I mean, Hell, apparently Madame Pince even managed to catch sight of you before I did. Suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, though...you always did run to books for all your answers, rather than use any common sense -- ”

Jacob did not know what Duncan was talking about, but in that moment, he had trouble articulating that on top of everything else he was feeling. It felt like his heart had swollen up in his chest and was slamming up against his ribs, throbbing with pulsing pain as he clumsily tucked his wand back into his robes.

“Ashe...” he tried again, but it was no use. His throat was so tight, it was like it was being squeezed...

“Then again,” laughed Duncan humorlessly, “‘common sense’ was never exactly common for you, was it? Nor was tact, patience, humility, sensitivity, or even a shred of self-control -- ”

“Ashe -- ”

“I mean, if I’d abandoned the precious little sister who I’d never bloody shut up about for seven years,” said Duncan in a very harsh, cutting voice, “I probably wouldn’t have immediately abandoned her again and only bothered checking in with her after finding out that someone might want to kill her because of me! You kept saying to me, ‘I gotta protect Pip,’ ‘I’ve gotta take care of Carewyn’ -- well, where the Hell were you, Jacob? Where were you this last month!? Where were you after she broke you out of that Vault!? Where were you, when I had to pick up your slack?! Just like I always do -- just like I’ve always done, ever since you waltzed your way into my -- !?”

“Ashe!”

The surname came out oddly choked. Duncan looked Jacob in the face fully for the first time, and immediately faltered.

The ex-Ravenclaw had hunched in on himself in the face of Duncan’s tirade. His hollowed-out blue eyes were very weak and rippling with moisture that he fiercely fought back. Although his shoulders hadn’t crumpled, they were shaking, as were his hands as they clutched at the sleeves of his elegant scarlet dress robes. His...very familiar scarlet dress robes...

Something twitched in Duncan’s expression.

“Ashe...you...” Jacob gave a very painful-looking swallow. “...You’re here.”

Duncan tried to glower at him. “Well spotted.”

He hated how much Jacob was shaking, and how it looked like he was fighting back tears. Jacob didn’t respond to Duncan’s sarcasm -- he appeared unable to.

“You’ve...been here all this time...all these years...you stayed behind?”

His voice was very quiet. He clutched at the sleeves of his dress robes.

“I thought you’d gone on!” Jacob burst out, his voice very strained. “I thought -- you’d left...”

“Well, clearly I didn’t!” Duncan shot back, more defensively that he’d intended. He didn’t like seeing Jacob like this -- didn’t like seeing him so upset -- didn’t like how...his voice echoed with something like remorse...longing...

Jacob’s hands shook more as he squeezed his arms in a vice grip, staring at Duncan as if he were a faded photograph he hadn’t seen in years and wished to carve into his memory before it became too damaged to salvage.

“When I was in the Portrait, I spent days and weeks wishing I could have just one more minute with you -- maybe fifteen, or thirty, just -- enough time to tell you every little thing I never did before...”

Jacob seemed unable to finish. He broke off, his head falling so that his eyes fell into shadow.

“...But -- but knowing you are here -- that you’re here like this...after I couldn’t save you, after R targeted us -- ”

Duncan flinched. The pain and self-hatred in Jacob’s eyes -- it looked just like the kind he’d seen in another pair of blue almond-shaped eyes not too long ago, in response to her having lost her best friend. At the time Duncan had briefly wondered if Jacob had reacted as badly to his death as Carewyn did Rowan Khanna’s, but had pushed off the thought. It was something he couldn’t believe -- didn’t want to believe.

“Ashe...” Jacob murmured. His voice had become rather level and absent, as it always was when he was thinking, even though the clenched hands on his arms were still shaking terribly, “Ashe, I’ve been such a fool...I don’t know how I never saw it before...how much I cared, how much I wanted you -- wanted us to...be an ‘us’...to swoop in and just...take you home to Pip and Mum, and...be a family together -- to break curses and travel the world and get into fights and then kiss and make up and get into trouble and then out of it again and laugh a lot and do stupid stuff and change the world and...maybe, I dunno, adopt some kids down the road or something -- I’d probably be a pretty lousy father, and we could’ve completely fallen apart, and the whole thing could’ve ended up being a mistake, but...thinking on it, all those years...all I could come back to over and over again was hating not knowing -- not knowing if we could’ve been happy together, if...well, even if we were a disaster, at least we still could’ve been something -- had something -- ”

Duncan felt a familiar burning sensation in the back of eyes, and it made him lash out.

“GET BENT, JACOB CROMWELL!”

Jacob’s head shot up, taken aback. Duncan held up a clenched fist as if he longed to punch Jacob right in the face.

“I’m mad at you!” shouted Duncan. “I’m allowed to be mad at you! After every mistake you made, for every bloody mistake you’re still making and will no doubt make for the rest of your sodding life, I should be mad at you! You never bloody learn and you always dash headlong into situations without using that brilliant brain of yours to think twice! And yet you...”

Duncan’s eyes were filling up with tears.

“You...you’re making it bloody impossible! I want to yell at you! I want to hate you! I want to know you never cared and I was a fool for ever wasting my time on you, because otherwise my whole reason for staying behind -- ”

The thought hurt Duncan too much, and he furiously shoved the end of that sentence away.

“I want to resent you for the rest of my undead days, and yet there you go, looking like that and rambling on like an idiot and...and...”

A tear leaked out the side of his eye. Despite the anger in his expression, Duncan was shaking too now. His other hand tentatively rose, hovering just shy of Jacob’s pale face as if he longed to touch it.

“...and...making me fall for you all over again,” choked Duncan, his voice very low and muffled in the back of his throat.

Jacob looked like he too was fighting back the urge to try to touch Duncan as he stared up into his light-less eyes. Like the rest of him, there was a tint of ghostly blueish-gray to them, even though they’d been such a warm, bright brown in life.

“Ashe...”

“Jacob, for the love of -- stop saying my name like that! I told you I’m mad at you!”

Even as he said it, Duncan’s transparent fingers grazed Jacob’s face, making Jacob shiver slightly at the cold as it passed through his skin.

“...Why?” said Duncan softly.

“What?”

“My robes,” Duncan clarified. “You kept them.”

Jacob’s eyes pulsed with emotion, both pained and almost offended.

“Well, of course I kept them,” he retorted hotly. “You gave them to me. Did you assume I’d just stick them in the back of my closet?”

“Sort of,” said Duncan a bit awkwardly.

Jacob’s face actually flickered with some righteous anger. “Because you wanted to believe I didn’t care?”

“Don’t turn this around on me!” Duncan shot back defensively. “What was I supposed to think, after you disappeared without a trace -- after all of the things I heard about you doing R’s dirty work -- ?”

“You KNEW R forced me to join them!” shouted Jacob. “You KNEW what they had over me -- what they almost did to Pip! You KNEW I would never, ever abandon Pip and Mum by my own choice -- ”

“I KNOW!” Duncan said fiercely.

The transparent hand that had been beside Jacob’s face clasped weakly at the air beside his hair, as if he longed to grab hold of it.

“...I know...” he said in a more hushed, strained voice.

Jacob’s blue eyes were still blazing with mild frustration.

“Ashe, I wore these robes for you, the night I went to the Portrait Vault,” he said lowly.

Duncan was startled.

“I wanted you with me, when I broke the last two Vaults’ curses -- when I saved Olivia...”

Jacob’s gaze betrayed a strange, almost beastly glint -- like vengeance, but much darker and more hostile.

“I wanted you with me when I demolished R and everything they’ve ever wanted and chased after. I still do. I want to make every last one of them pay for everything they took from me -- everyone they took from me.”

Duncan stared at Jacob, his expression strained with disbelief and something oddly touched.

“Jacob...”

He once again looked like he wanted to touch Jacob’s face, to trail his fingers through his dark curls. His light-less eyes fell away from Jacob’s and came down to rest on his lips instead.

“...You know I can’t help you do much of anything, like this.”

Jacob’s expression turned a bit more serious. “There is one thing you can do for me -- make sure Pip doesn’t leave the castle again. I heard Rakepick killed someone in the Forbidden Forest -- I can’t let her do the same to -- ”

“You can’t shield Carewyn from R, Jacob,” said Duncan very sharply.

“I can and I will,” spat Jacob fiercely.

Duncan’s lips came together very tightly.

“Do you know who that person was?” the ghost said very lowly. “The one Rakepick killed?”

Jacob’s expression lost some of its anger, seeing how oddly grave Duncan’s expression had become.

“Her name was Rowan Khanna,” said Duncan. “Sixth year Slytherin, supposedly in the running to be Hogwarts Head Girl. ...She’s also your sister’s best friend.”

Jacob’s eyes went very, very wide in horror.

“...No...”

His head fell. His eyes stared down at the floor, but didn’t seem to see it -- his mind was racing, unable to keep up with the horror of this news.

“Carewyn was lured out to the Forest after finding a Quill addressed to you in your old room,” Duncan told him sharply. “Three of her friends followed her and tried to protect her when Rakepick confronted her there.” Duncan’s voice lowered significantly as he added, “....She’d been sent with orders from R to kill one of your sister’s friends -- to send a message.”

Jacob once again clutched at his own arms, his flurry of thoughts darting across his eyes as he stared at the floor.

“They played me,” he whispered. “They knew I wanted to protect Pip -- so they sent the Wizard in White to attack her at the Lakeshore, so I’d fear him going after her...so I’d chase after him to try to stop him, even if it meant leaving Pip alone...”

His head shot up, and his eyes were narrowed in urgency and confusion.

“You said there was a message for me, in my room? Pip found my room?”

“A few years ago, I believe,” said Duncan. “I reckon it would’ve been a logical place to look, if she wanted to figure out what the hell you were up to, before you vanished...if she could even have found anything, in that absolute mess you always worked out of -- ”

“But why would there have been a message for me there?” said Jacob, his eyebrows knitting together. “I haven’t gone in there since I was expelled...”

Duncan frowned. “Well, R might’ve heard about you going into the Library...”

“But that’s just it!” said Jacob. “I didn’t! I haven’t entered the school since I left! It’s not exactly easy to break into Hogwarts -- and if I did and got caught, then where would I be, in protecting Pip and stopping R? I can’t let them get into the Sunken Vault first!”

Duncan suddenly looked almost as troubled as Jacob.

“...So...you haven’t entered Hogwarts at all? But...then why did Pince and Filch see you inside?”

A thought struck his mind.

“...Jacob...when was the last time you spoke to your sister? Not just saw her, I mean, really spoke to her.”

Jacob frowned deeply. “Last year, in Knockturn Alley. Though we didn’t really have much time to talk then, either...”

Duncan’s eyes narrowed in anxiety. “Jacob...Carewyn told her friends that you ‘don’t tell her much, whenever you meet.’ That doesn’t sound like something that someone would say after only seeing her brother once in an entire school year. It sounds like someone who’s been meeting him regularly.”

Jacob stiffened visibly. His eyebrows furrowed over his eyes as they wandered over the walls and floor.

“Something’s not right,” he said lowly.

He turned on his heel, whipping out his white wand as he went.

“I need to find out what’s going on. Ashe...while I’m gone, please -- ”

“Jacob, stop.”

Duncan swept right through Jacob, making the smaller man shudder. The ghost hovered over Jacob, his translucent robes flapping silently on either side of him.

“Before you go running off  without thinking again,” said Duncan sardonically, “talk to your sister.”

Jacob looked hesitant and slightly ashamed.

“I need to protect her -- ”

“No, you need to be there for her,” Duncan cut him off fiercely. “She’s just lost the first real friend she ever made in her life -- someone she cares about like few others. There’s only one person in this entire world who might know what that’s like...”

Duncan swallowed back the lump in his throat.

“...If you...truly cared, when I died, Jacob...then you’re the only person who might know what she needs, right now.”

Jacob closed his eyes and turned away, unable to reply. His fist clenched over the Aspen wand at his side.

“...Does she hate me?” he asked at last, very lowly. “Does she blame me...for what happened?”

Duncan’s eyes softened slightly. “You know she doesn’t.”

This didn’t seem to comfort Jacob, though. If anything, it made him more upset -- like he thought she should blame him.

Duncan exhaled heavily. “Jacob, please -- I know you want to protect Carewyn, and I know there’s not much time to stop R from reaching the Sunken Vault...but...”

A strange wry smile pricked at the corner of his lips.

“...if there’s one thing your sister has taught me...it’s how much knowing that someone cares -- that you’re not alone -- can mean.”

Jacob’s posture straightened slightly.

“She’s shouldered a lot by herself since you left, Jacob,” said Duncan. “Her friends are trying to help her with it now...but I think the help she really needs is yours.”

Jacob was silent for another long moment. Then he turned just enough to look at Duncan over his shoulder -- his lips had curled up in a crooked, sad smile.

“...You really did look after my Pip for me.”

Duncan gave a loud huff and crossed his arms. “It’s not like I could’ve not picked up your slack.”

His expression betrayed a bit more seriousness as he added, “...She’s a fine lass, Jacob.”

Jacob’s eyes squinted almost fondly. “She is.”

The smile then slid off his face.

“If Pip wants to see me, just...tell her to go out toward the Lake after dark and shoot up red sparks. I’ll come running right out to her. ...Will you tell her that, for me?”

Duncan nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you. And Ashe?”

“Yeah?”

Jacob swallowed.

“You know how I feel about you...right?”

Duncan’s expression turned rather snarky. “Of course I do. You kept me around so you’d have someone to show off to.”

Jacob immediately looked irritated, and Duncan quickly added in exasperation, “Oh, come on, you know I know! Just...”

His transparent cheeks darkened with a dark blue flush as he glanced away out the side of his eye.

“Just...say it anyway.”

Jacob’s expression cleared, slowly breaking out into a bright grin that made him look years younger.

“...I love you.”

Duncan closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly through his nose.

“I have for a while,” Jacob pressed on, “dunno really how long, but...”

“All right, that’ll do,” Duncan said under his breath brusquely, despite the dark flush still clinging to his face. “I love you too -- so don’t go off and get yourself killed too, all right?”

With this, Duncan swept right past Jacob, brushing through his hair as he disappeared through the Lakehouse’s wall and back toward the school.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #my art #my writing #duncan ashe #jacob cromwell #carewyn cromwell #blaise cromwell #charles cromwell #*cranks up the celine dion* #THESE TWOOOO #I love putting them in AUs where they can actually be a couple and have a slightly happier ending where neither becomes a ghost #*eyes the potc au* #*and also the lotr au* #I may dislike the 'bury the gays' trope but I kind of like subverting by having duncan's death not be the end of either of their stories #or characters arcs for that matter #plus duncan gets to bond with his unofficial sister-in-law and help with the Vaults!! #yay #oh by the way duncan's wearing bell bottoms bc he and jacob went to school in the 70's #so I draw all of their uniforms with that 70's flair #I drew young!gilderoy lockhart with those bellbottoms on his school uniform once back in the day too #but yeah anyway #damn it jam city #duncan ashe deserves better #caps cw

[bookofmirth]

So my thoughts on Nesta and apologizing are she 1000% needs do it. Whether it’s through actions or words I’m not sure on, but the implication of apology for past abuses needs to happen. Not just for the people she has hurt, but for the hurt she has caused herself as well.

I don’t think Nesta will ever be able to apologize to anyone until she apologizes to herself. She’s so self loathing and I think that has been a huge issue of hers even before ACOFAS. I don’t know if it’s because she was consumed by hate for her father to the point she put her little sister’s life at risk everyday or if it comes from even before that time, back to the days of her mother. Either way I think a lot of the reason for Nesta’s cold and cruel behavior is because she has so much self loathing. She needs to learn to love and forgive herself.

Once that is achieved she needs to atone for her past with her sisters and father, Amren, Cassian… basically I think she needs to go through a 12 step program and realize how she hurt these people who love/care about her and apologize. I don’t care if she goes on an apology tour or if she talks things through or if she decides to be better through her actions - just something needs to happen. I want that moment where she decides that she truly hurt these people whether intentional or not and want to actually make amends and have a stronger foundation for a future with them.

In the sneak peek at the back of ACOFAS we saw how she tried not to be bothered Feyre put up portraits of her family in her home while she was notably absent. I think that’s pretty much how Nesta will always feel until she actively acknowledges the pain she’s caused and work to fix that hurt. Like she’s perpetually on the outside. I want all good things for Nesta and I think that can only be achieved if she forgives herself and then works to receive forgiveness from those she hurt.

Okay so I *just* listened to the scene where Papa Archeron is killed by the King of Hybern, plus after all the discussion recently... I think that a lot of times people forget that apologizing serves so many purposes. And so does forgiveness. 

Papa Archeron apologizes to Nesta, right before he dies he says:

“I loved you from the first moment I held you in my arms. And I am... I am so sorry, Nesta - my Nesta. I am so sorry, for all of it.”

That really gutted me, reading this time. And Nesta has *not* dealt with that apology. I think that her feelings towards her father are super complex and maybe resentment and hate was the biggest feature as we know her, but as a child? When her mother was still alive and they were still a family? I mentioned a similar parent/child dynamic towards the end of this post re: apologizing and how powerful it can be. I think that maybe, her father’s apology will give her a starting point with apologies. She’s got to deal with how that felt - with the sudden rush of relief, the likelihood that she instantly forgave but then struggling with the feeling that he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, but then didn’t have a chance to fully heal that break, and then a shift to thinking about herself in his position and how maybe, she is far more like him than she thought. And how, if his apology gave her a sense of closure and healing, maybe she could do that for other people.

Now, I don’t think that it would have to look the same, not at all. Like you said, if she talks things through with people and they come to an understanding without the actual words “I’m sorry”, or if she decides to behave differently in the future, I think that will be the Nesta equivalent. A lot of healing can still happen that way, and it would still show that Nesta has reflected and grown. Not everyone needs to hear the words, though they can be powerful. But idk, even though Feyre feels like the last person Nesta would say those words to, maybe that’s exactly why she should? I’m clearly changing my mind the more posts I write on this lol

I like your point about self-loathing, and being able to forgive herself. I think that Nesta knows she should make amends, but she’s not able to face... anything, really. She has so much reconciling to do - with herself, her past, the way others have treated her, the way she has treated others. It’s as if at some point in her life she found herself at conflict with the world. I know lots of people like to reference Nesta going to the wall as if it were some sort of atonement, but seriously... she has not changed since then. She still pushes people away, she’s still rude, prickly, she alienates the people who put themselves out there and try to connect with her or support her. So that was not an effective roundabout apology in the way we (you and I, nonnie) are talking about. The whole point of the apology, the thing we want, is for Nesta to heal.

I’m almost to acofas so I want to examine the thing with the portraits more! Maybe they had to sit for them and Nesta being Nesta, she just refused? And then they didn’t press and she was like oh.... okay...... idk I’ll have to pay more attention.

I wonder how much of the discussion around Nesta apologizing or not is related to pain somehow absolving people of guilt. Like, just because someone has suffered doesn’t make their actions okay. Just because someone was abused doesn’t mean that they can go about the world treating others like shit. I have very, very strong convictions about that. (It’s why I don’t like Kylo R*n, why people don’t forgive Tamlin, etc.) That’s the thing that really bothers me about this discussion. I do not give two fucks why someone treats other people like crap, which Nesta objectively has, especially if they are 100% conscious of the harm they are causing. When they are unaware or misled or being manipulated etc., that’s a different story. To me. 

So then when we have Nesta, whose father let her down, whose one sister showed strength she was unable to find, who lost her social standing and financial security and her mother and was assaulted by the one guy whose name escapes me, and then saw her father murdered and bloody battle and now is dealing with alcohol and sex in (probably) unhealthy ways.... and all of those are very, very good reasons to be broken. To be downtrodden and to struggle. But none of that means that she shouldn’t have to recognize the harm she has caused. If anything, it means the opposite, because she’ll never find herself in a better place until she does recognize that, and take some action.

#nesta #acotar #acosf #ahhhhhhh so close now omg!!!!! #thanks for the thoughts!!! #thoughts on characters #sarah j maas #ask #just gonna tag this #long post tag #cuz it's already there #anon

[itsbuckysworld]

What’s on your back?

Pairing: BUCKY x Single Parent Reader AU

Prompt: Anon asked: #84 Drabble request please. (really old ask from when I did Short Bucky Drabbles  - pick a number from this list )

This is also my entry for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​: Star’s multi fandom writing challenge. My prompt is Single Parent AU

(first of all, wow this is from SO FUCKING LONG AGO I haven’t been writing but I felt like writing again today, picked a random forgotten ask from my inbox and am currently praying and doing every ritual in the history of the world so that this writing impulse continues.)

Also this is just short and sweet and fluff and badly written because I’m off my game 100%, like how does one even write prose? I've been only writing scripts for a month, idk how to do this anymore

  Bucky’s footsteps have always been very silent. Call it a curse – or a blessing – result of having night shifts most of his life and just being a rebellious teenager, getting in at late hours of the night, tip-toeing so as to not wake his mother or roommates.

Him sneaking up on you with great ease has been a staple since you first met him and it’s almost impossible to get him back. “I’m like a spy babe” he’d say “you can’t out-spy me” and it was true. No matter how hard you tried, he always knew. 

That added to his prankster self equalled many and many little jump scares. And he’d time them perfectly too. For a while you expected them and then when the anticipation died down, he’d strike again. Coming up from behind you and tickling you into his arms. 

He would do it to your daughter Ellie as well, but she loved it, so much so that now she was becoming a little prankster herself, trying to spook you left and right – although to be completely honest, 90% of the time you and Bucky both acted surprised just to see her giggle at your exaggerated scared faces. 

It always warmed your heart seeing Bucky play with her, even when the game was scheming how to scare momma. The two of them had all of your heart. 

Finding Bucky had been your second biggest blessing, right after Ellie, and seeing them get along as well as they did? Well, that was everything to you. 

It was a warm summer evening when it happened. You had spent the day finding ways to keep your daughter entertained as the last few days of summer vacation rolled around. Summer camp was over, it was just you and her – and almost always Bucky – and toys and movies. 

Bucky had taken her upstairs for a much needed bath and then she was tasked with picking up her toys for the day, while you cleaned around the mess that was a day of drawing and cooking.

The kitchen smelled like freshly baked cookies and you scooped crayons and markers from the counter and into a bag filled with tons and tons of colored pencils. Thankfully no walls had been colored in the activity this time around. You admire your little girl’s pieces of art. Cats with wings, happy trees, polka-dotted flowers outside a rainbow colored house, and one drawing of a happy family of three that made you stop in your tracks. 

Ellie’s representation of herself stood in a red dress and highlighter yellow shoes, holding hands between two drawings of a man and a woman, clearly marked Mom and Daddy Bucky.

“What’s that?” Bucky’s voice startled you, making your heart race even faster than it already was. Damn him and his silent feet. You turned around in a hop, hiding the drawing behind your back, and seeing his smug smile paint his features. 

“Hm?” you tried to act nonchalant, step around him and leave the room, but he wouldn't allow it, instead your actions making him even more curious. 

“Babe? what's on your back?”

“Nothing!”

“What are you hiding?” his tone was playful as the two of you danced around the kitchen counter, him trying to get the mysterious paper from your hands. He was into the game while your mind was busy overthinking the drawing.

It wasn’t that it was wrong of Ellie to be thinking of Bucky as her dad – for fuck’s sake it gave you chills to think about it, the good kind. But it was something that you and Bucky hadn’t really talked about. In fact, Ellie has probably only called Bucky dad by mistake a total of 2 times in the years he’s been in your life, and he had never heard it. It’s just...

What if Bucky didn’t want that?

He wasn’t only light on his feet, he was also quick, and before you knew it he had tricked you into a corner and reached over to grab the paper. He kept it out of your reach, laughing as he unfolded the corners and took a look. 

His eyes lingered as the laughter died down and your teeth found comfort in bitting down on your lip. Shit shit shit. 

Bucky gave you a long look, mouth hanging open in disbelief, and then his eyes danced back and forth between you and the small drawing.

“Wha- I” he stuttered. The silence felt heavy, almost deafening. Your chest felt a sledgehammer trying to tear down a wall of bricks – thump, thump, bang, bang – and the room grew smaller and smaller. The happy chills that ran down your whole body mere seconds before, were now little bumps of dread covering you from head to toe. 

And then Bucky’s lips turned into a small smile. Painting shaking lightly in his hold.

Bucky looked at himself in it, a bubbly teary laugh escaping his lips, as he took in his doodle figure dressed in very tall boots and a bright pink tie, and the whole look was tied together with scattered brown dots that made up his beard and spikey black hair.

“Buck?” your voice was small barely above a whisper. Bucky’s sniffles echoed around the room. “are you mad?” his head shot up to look at you. Before you could process what was happening, he had you pressed to the fridge and between his arms, kissing you madly. 

“Mad? How- Fuck, this- I’m the happiest man alive, doll” His words slurred, out of breath from kissing you. 

His forehead was pressed to yours, the tip of his cold nose caressing the tip of yours, and he didn’t dare open his eyes as tears slid down his cheeks. And he laughed, oh how he laughed, so full of joy and whole. 

“I-” he stuttered, pressing kisses to your lips before he took in a long deep breath. The breath before he bared himself to you, fingertips caressing your jaw. “Y/N, I’ve had a ring in the inner pocket of my suit jacket since you told me you loved me too last spring. You and Ellie - you’re my girls, I- Gosh I can’t imagine being without you two. You girls are my family, you’re it for me”

Under the blinking cold light of your kitchen you had never felt warmer, not from the summer heat that clothed your house, but from love for the man that stood before you. 

“You’re it for us too” you answered in a truthful sigh, melting into his figure. 

The piece of paper that crumpled between your two bodies in your embrace was just the first of the collection of family portraits that would litter your house in the days and years to come, but definitely Bucky’s favorite, for it was the fire that ignited him to ask you to marry the fool that he was. A fool who adored you and your daughter madly.  

Thanks for reading!

I haven't written anything for this blog in ages. I’m very out of the loop. I’m sorry. I hope you enjoyed this either way. 

Love, L

#star’s multi fandom follower celebration #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes au #Bucky Barnes fluff #fanfiction #my writing #bucky barnes #single parent AU #AU #mcu

[letterboxd]

Top 100 Women Directors.

Ella Kemp takes a deep-dive into our newest all-time stats addition—the top 100 films directed by women—and finds, to nobody’s surprise, that Agnès Varda is indisputably the GOAT.

There are countless ‘best of’ lists on Letterboxd to track your progress against; some are maintained by our staff, while others are contributed by passionate members. If you’ve upgraded to Pro or Patron level, there’s a section on your all-time stats page (accessible directly from your profile) where we’ve gathered twelve key lists against which you can track your progress at a glance (example below), and we’ve also added ‘Completed Collections’ for Patrons, showing all franchises of three or more films that you’ve seen in their entirety (excluding unreleased entries).

In the interests of promoting a diverse range of titles, we’ve recently added a Top 100 Women Directors list to your all-time stats, compiled by Jack Moulton and ranked by overall weighted average rating. In other words, these are the female-directed (and female-identifying-directed) films that you, the Letterboxd community, have chosen as the best.

To celebrate, we invited Letterboxd member, writer and Girls on Tops photographer Ella Kemp to cast her eye over the current list (it’s bound to change in future based on new ratings cast).

Encompassing thousands of votes to meticulously rate and root for the greatest films we have courtesy of women directors, Letterboxd’s newest all-time list offers a sobering dissection of the way we consume movies—and how much we recognize the women responsible for these works.

At first glance, a scroll through the list boasts a generous handful of posters designed in the last couple of years. Five features released in the past twelve to eighteen months have made it straight to the top 20 (Portrait of A Lady on Fire, The Farewell, Booksmart, Lady Bird and Capernaum) with one of those films—not even publicly released in cinemas yet, but making waves at festivals around the world—already sitting at number two. That’s the power of Céline Sciamma and her Portrait.

Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ (2019).

Diving deeper, Sciamma’s top-tier triumph exemplifies a few key patterns. She returns at number 64 with Tomboy, reminding us what a great shame it is that her excellent feature Girlhood didn’t make the list, but confirming that France appears to be one of the best countries in the world for women to make movies: the list comprises 23 French features, which, considering the US’s oft-perceived monopoly on the film industry, feels monumental.

But of course, it’s not accidental either. This year sadly marked the passing of Agnès Varda, indisputably the GOAT. She stands proud as the most prolific contributor with six features, two in the top 20. To grieve, to remember, at least we can always keep watching.

Another singular trailblazer is Scotswoman Lynne Ramsay. She has four entries, but what’s most impressive is that these are, well, all the feature films she’s made to date. Her fourth entry, Morvern Callar, sneaks in at number 100.

Elaine May and Chantal Akerman both have three entries, which may come as no surprise to cinephiles, but it’s also the same number of entries as Japanese animator Naoko Yamada (whose A Silent Voice sits in sixteenth place on our list). This reveals an open-minded slant, one that acknowledges the widely perceived touchstones but also embraces further-reaching works from lesser-known artists. Five features are Japanese, four are German, three Italian, and three Indian.

Naoko Yamada’s ‘A Silent Voice’ (2016).

The lean still remains very much with the US, and yet few films on the list break records for eye-watering budgets. The Matrix, courtesy of the Wachowskis, was made for $63 million, and Shrek, co-directed by Vicky Jenson, had a budget of $60 million. Aside from these two, projects on the list seldom had more than $10–15 million to get the job done.

When looking at the list’s omissions, one almost unanimous absence is that of the highest-grossing films of all time directed by women. No Sleepless in Seattle, no Frozen, no Fifty Shades of Grey. No Nora Ephron, No Nancy Meyers. No Ava DuVernay. It’s a peculiar gap, as the influence of these writers and filmmakers is hardly one to be contested. And, to close the circle on big budgets, $120-150-million-wielding Patty Jenkins is also absent. The highest-grossing film directed by a woman (with no male directing partner)—a cool $821.8 million at the global box office—did not make the cut.

On this topic, there are sixteen films co-directed by women on the list. A co-directing mention is a crucial credit. It’s like the trust exercises that used to be taught in school drama classes—how would they work if one party wasn’t there to catch the other as they fell? What’s the point in being brave if you don’t also have some kind of promise of safety? Partners need each other, and these directors needed partners to reach the heights they did. City of God, co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, was nominated for four Oscars, and yet Meirelles was still the only filmmaker credited at the ceremony. The Academy chose to disregard Lund, but our list does not. There are five female co-directors in the top 20. One of the highest-grossing films on the list, Shrek, would not be what it is without Vicky Jenson.

Also curious: Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion makes the list, best director Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow does not. Overall, the list shows a vast body of skill, a crop of familiar names, some deeply felt absences and—hopefully—a whole lot of additions to watchlists. Further names that deserve to be sought out, in no particular order, include Mabel Normand, Maya Deren, Josephine Decker, Jennie Livingston, Mia Hansen-Løve, Dee Rees, Joanna Hogg, Gurinder Chadha, Barbara Hammer, and directors with new films soon to be released: Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Niki Caro (the live-action Mulan) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet).

Chantal Akerman’s ‘Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles’ (1975).

Writing this breakdown gave me plenty of homework, and it shed light on a lot of works that I’m yet to catch up with. At first I thought it pretty normal to not have seen as many on the list as I would have liked, taking into account my age, access and time, but the further I went, the more names cropped up that I didn’t recognize, and the more I recalled my three years studying film at university and not having learned anything about so many of these women.

I should know more names. I should have been set more assignments regarding more of these names. I can do more, but so too can those above me, those who taught me and continue to teach others, about who makes the films that are worth learning about. We now have lists such as this one—it’s high time we start to properly use them.

Header image: Agnès Varda (with her own 1962 self-portrait) in Faces Places.

Related content

Films Directed by Women: Vanessa’s comprehensive—and growing—master list, and her shorter, highly recommended list

Female Cinematographers: The Master List

Written by Women: a master list of scripts written by women

Five filmmakers Jane Campion wants you to watch next

Our Q&A with Debra Granik

Little White Lies’ 100 Great Movies by Female Directors

Female directors recommended by Tilda Swinton

Iranian Women Make Films: a list of Iranian female directors

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen: the story of trailblazing Māori filmmaker Merata Mita (available on Netflix, distributed by Array)

#directed by women #women directors #female directors #agnes varda #jane campion #celine sciamma #chantel akerman #elaine may #lynne ramsey #naoko yamada #all time #top 100 #letterboxd

[ceescedasticity]

i looked thru your writing babble tag and couldnt find it, do u have a link to the start again timeline? i get confused trying to figure out when everyones remembering relates to each other

Assuming that P5 takes place in 2016…

(Spoilers for everything posted so far…)

Late December 2013 –

Very beginning of Escher. Futaba starts getting a weird feeling of deja vu.

Yusuke wakes up remembering everything but isn’t sure it’s real.

Morgana also remembers at this point, though details have not been revealed.

January 2014 –

Futaba continues to feel deja vu.

Morgana leaves a warning note in the Isshiki mailbox.

Yusuke looks for Leblanc, but it isn’t there.

Goro starts having interrogation room dreams, usually about once a week.

Yusuke is dreaming of Madarame’s Palace almost every night. This doesn’t really stop.

Reserved-parking-place-related breakdown/rage fugue

February 2014 –

Goro cases the exterior of the Jikken Palace.

People are noticing Yusuke’s not sleeping well.

March 2014 –

Goro tips the police off about a drug dealer – why hasn’t been explained, but it may have been as a favor to Sasaki

Hitoshi has a manic episode.

April 2014 –

New school year! Probably April 7.

--Haru and Makoto start first year of high school at Shuujin

--Goro starts first year of high school at Jikken

--Yusuke starts third year of middle school

--Futaba starts second year of middle school

--Kiyomi starts third and final year of high school; Hitoshi starts second year of high school

--Hifumi starts third year of middle school

--Ryuji and Ann start third year of middle school at the same school, somewhere in Tokyo

--Akira starts third year of middle school somewhere outside Tokyo

Haru remembers; Count of Monte Cristo begins. Haru meets and befriends Makoto but verifies she does not remember anything.

I didn’t consult a calendar while writing COMC so I’m not 100% sure everything will line up.

Yusuke refuses the ‘life drawing’ proposal, starts painting Self-Portrait as a Cognition.

Haru tracks down Goro and blackmails him for Metaverse access.

The next day, shows Makoto Kamoshida’s Palace but doesn’t take her inside.

That Saturday, probably 4/19, Haru gets careless and runs into trouble in the castle, has to be rescued by Makoto and Goro.

Tuesday (4/22?): breakdown/rage fugue with the attacking people with shoes.

Thursday (4/24?), first joint trip into Jikken.

Goro’s interrogation room dreams turn into engine room dreams.

After the first joint trip to the space station (4/26?), Haru and Makoto get a look at Goro’s notebook, Goro hears about navigator abilities and recruiting personas.

Yeah I think I was thinking school started earlier in April than it probably did, the end of the month is getting a little rushed. Not completely implausible at least.

May 2014 –

Early in the month, Goro gets Defarge persona; his Akira dreams turn lucid.

Sometime this month, Yusuke makes sure exhibition tickets are sent to Kunikazu Okumura. One way or another Haru never sees them.

About 5/5?, Kunikazu announces Haru is engaged.

Almost a week later (5/10?), introduces Tomioka-san.

Little Palace activity in the next week. Makoto snoops around the volleyball team, Goro takes down Sasaki.

The weekend (5/17-5/18?) is rough.

Another week of little activity. Makoto breaks the starship log code and Goro scouts out Tomioka in Mementos.

Saturday (5/24?): rage fugue/breakdown for Tomioka

Sunday (5/25): Goro offers to prioritize the space station

June 2014 –

Futaba is subconsciously aware that Wakaba “will” have a mental shutdown, and very anxious.

Hitoshi/Kiyomi/Madarame start noticing there’s something kind of funny about Self-Portrait as a Cognition.

Haru, Makoto, and Goro secure a route to the Treasure, then wait a little longer to gather strength before sending the calling card

Kunikazu’s heart changed

July 2014 –

COMC crew focuses on studying and exams until the end of the term (probably about 7/20).

August 2014 –

Futaba is subconsciously aware that Wakaba “should” have had a mental shutdown. Deja vu turns into disorientation.

Madarame decides Self-Portrait as a Cognition is too creepy to plagiarize.

COMC crew reaches the top of the laboratory and the Treasure and Shadow aren’t there – now they have to go down.

Goro admits he’s not actually working for Shido.

September 2014 –

Self-Portrait as a Cognition is mostly complete.

9/1, school term starts.

9/8, Haru informs Goro he will be transferring.

9/15, Goro moves to Shuujin.

Unlike the original timeline, Kiyomi does not leave.

A politician who had a mental shutdown last timeline dies in a “car accident”.

October 2014 –

Hitoshi has a depressive episode.

Nakanohara leaves the atelier, roughly at the same time as he did last timeline.

November 2014 –

COMC crew reaches the Jikken Treasure, decides they need to scout.

11/8-11/9 – Cultural festival weekend:

--At Shuujin, there is a ‘syrup incident’, but otherwise uneventful.

--Makoto sees Kamoshida smarming at potential students.

--At Kosei, Yusuke runs into Ann, who doesn’t recognize him, and Hifumi, who he blurts out some information to.

--That evening, Yusuke and Hifumi fall through Self-Portrait as a Cognition (in front of Kiyomi) and return an hour later (in front of Hitoshi).

11/10 - Ryuji remembers, verifies that Ann does not

Yusuke starts visiting the museum Palace frequently. His sleep gets a lot better.

Wakaba’s lab succeeds in opening a portal into the Metaverse.

Futaba bugs Wakaba’s phone.

11/15 – COMC crew checks out the SIU Director’s Palace, Goro gets Medea.

11/16, Yusuke and Hifumi visit Mementos.

COMC crew defeats the Jikken Palace, changes Ishikawa’s heart.

11/29, Hifumi grounded after a fight with her mother over forfeiting a game.

11/30, Ryuji dyes his hair

December 2014 –

12/1, Ryuji mistakes a stray cat for Morgana. Ooops.

12/7, Yusuke and Hifumi visit a Palace at her middle school.

~12/15, Goro has the flu, tells Makoto his time travel theory.

Atelier water heater breaks, Madarame leaves for “retreat” (read: resort).

12/25, conspiracy tries to have Wakaba killed and fake an accidental overdose.

12/26, power in the atelier is cut off due to lack of payment. Futaba remembers everything after her uncle yells at her in the hospital. In the evening, runs into Yusuke. Yusuke & senpai go to stay at Isshiki apartment.

12/28, Futaba, Yusuke, and Hifumi go after Uncle Yoji in Mementos. On the way out pass Goro interrogating a Shadow (Ito) about judges, prosecutors, school sponsorship.

12/30, Futaba discovers Wakaba’s Palace.

12/31, Futaba, Yusuke, and Hifumi scout Wakaba’s Palace. Someone at the “spiritual retreat” sets fire to the buffet.

January 2015 –

Yusuke, Kiyomi, and Hitoshi return to the atelier. Sojiro moves into the Isshiki apartment but is mostly at the hospital.

First two weeks, Escher crew practices in the museum Palace, make tools, gather supplies.

Make it up the outside of the pyramid in one go.

Hifumi stops competing formally for the year, has another fight with her mother.

Another Palace trip: top of the pyramid to Hedonistic Braggart

Another trip: Solve the puzzle to clear the way up

1/17-1/19, university entrance exams

Another trip: up through the adyton, have to run from the Hundred-Armed Slave.

Yusuke contacts Dr. Takemi, Hifumi starts sneaking out with a rope ladder.

~1/22, beat the Hundred-Armed Slave, clear the crawlspace.

At least one Palace trip just getting money. Sojiro is alienating the nurses.

First trip into the pagoda section: have to run from Cognitive Sojiro.

Second pagoda trip: run from Shadows.

A few days of downtime before pagoda Attempt 3.

Attempt 4 on the pagoda – end up at the top of the temple, confront Asherah.

Next day (Sunday, probably 2/1), Wakaba wakes up.

February 2015 –

~2/6, Futaba remembers to look into Okumura Foods

Escher & COMC crews meet up

[some other stuff is going on with Escher&COMC crews after this but it hasn’t been revealed]

April 2015—

April 6 — new school year

April 11 — “interview” dumps Ryuji & co in Metaverse

April 13 — Ryuji & co return from Metaverse a little after midnight. Weapon shopping in the evening.

#fleecy #start again fic #writing babble

[geniusgenesis]

Practice & Creation

Life has taught me many lessons. Some have been easy and I excepted them with open arms. While others have been curve balls I was absolutely not ready for. After all I don’t play baseball and this year I seemed to be striking out repeatedly. The most important thing I’ve taken away from my 32nd year around the sun, is becoming self aware. Facing all my demons and realizing at times that I myself was that demon.

I forgot self growth is painful. I didn’t know I’d feel so lost and uninspired because I was blinded by my circumstances. I let mole hills become mountains. I thought suppressing pain and keeping a cool exterior was the “adult thing to do”. Unheard, unseen, unworthy and drowning in my negative thoughts. I have myself a case of imposter syndrome. Knowing what you’re dealing with is a step in the right direction. Owning it, facing it & kicking its booty is what gets you to the next level. I’m on my way.

When we are in grade school learning how to write, we are taught to write about what we know. When I was thinking of something to shoot and get my creative juices going again. I decided to be my own subject. Creating self portraits. I know myself the best even when I don’t think that I do. I’ve always had a hard time being comfortable in my own skin. The best way for me to express & explore myself was to do things that are not comfortable. I stripped down to what God gave me. Im allowing myself to be 100% vulnerable from here on out. Here I am. The creation.

Water color on self portrait.

Documentation of myself in my room. My bed room is my secret garden and where I find solitude. I was not sure at the time how I would treat these images. Originally they were shot in color. I still don’t know if I will continue with this direction or scrap them all together. So here is a sneak peak into what I am working on.

#self portraits #san francisco photographer #photography

[originaldisneydescendants]

So you may have heard that @chiscribbles4smiles and I share a brain when it comes to Older! Varian and Cass ideas. We collaborated on some of these. Hopefully they will make you laugh. These are meant to be an extension of her earlier post which you can find here. If the Read More doesn’t work on mobile then I apologize because this is a very long post.

For example, here's one featuring that fortune-telling monkey that I suspect will show up at some point though I don't suspect it would actually go down like this 100%, I'm mostly using this example for a later idea:

Rapunzel: Wowww! A fortune-teller?! *Gasp* Can he tell me my future? Fernanda: Vigor the Visionary sees all! Go ahead, ask him anything! Eugene: Oh come on, Blondie, you're not buying this are you? Stuff like this is always a total hoax! Cassandra: Not to be rude to Miss Pizzazo, but Eugene is right. This is probably just a scam to get your money. Fernanda: Oh kids these days and their skeptical minds! If you'd like, we can give you a sample telling, free of charge! Rapunzel: No harm in that right? Hmm... oh I have one! Does Cassandra ever get a boyfriend? Cassandra: *Through grit teeth* Ra-PUNzel! Fernanda: *Reading the monkey's spastic hand signals* The Magnificent Vigor says yes! She does! Cassandra: *Crosses arms with a curious look* Rapunzel: *Leans forward with a broad smile* Fernanda: He says your friend's true love, like her, will be heavily armed, sassy and determined. Like you, he is perky, creative and freckled. He is also, how would you say... a dork? Eugene: Wow Cass, I never would have guessed that you had a thing for Pete! Cassandra: *After shooting Eugene an annoyed look* See? Now if I were gullible enough to believe any of this, I would only consider people who meet that description as my possible "true love" and be quick to dismiss anyone else. Self fulfilling prophecy. Scam. Rapunzel: Maybe... but maybe I just asked the wrong question. What I really want to ask is about my hair and the black rocks. I NEED answers! Fernanda: Not a problem! *Holds out hand* Rapunzel: Oh! I'm sorry, we don't have any money on us... but can I pay you with a portrait? Fernanda: *Deadpan look* Eugene, Cass, and Raps get tossed out one-by-one, landing in a dog pile. Fernanda: Cash only! *Yanks curtain shut* Eugene: MAN! She's stronger than she looks... Rapunzel: I guess THAT should have been my free question. Cassandra: *Dusting herself off* Don't worry about it. I don't think we're going to find any real answers here anyway.

One dramatic Redemption Arc later...

⦁ Varian: *Rubbing his arm while hanging his head and avoiding her eyes* I... I'm really sorry Cassandra... I know I don't deser-- Cassandra: *Hugs him as his expression reads shock and confusion* Hey Genius, I TOLD you, call me Cassie." Varian: *Tearing up, smiles and returns her hug*

⦁ Varian: *Amazed as Cass hands him the necklace he gave her* After everything you... you kept the cassandrium? Cass: It doesn't really go with any of my outfits, but it served as a pretty good reminder that somewhere underneath all that rage and emotional turmoil was still the same kid who was willing to drop everything to help me achieve my goals. Varian: *Puppy-eyed smile* Cass: *Teasingly* Don't read TOO much into it, okay. I'm not the mushy feely sort so there's no need to get all misty-eyed-- Varian: Uh, Cassie... *shyly pulls out a tattered blue ribbon and hands it to her* Cass: ... *Looks surprised then smiles softly* *puts it on him* Still a winner. Varian: *Smiles down at the ribbon then holds up the necklace* May I? Cass: *Pulls hair back and lets him put her necklace on for her*

⦁ Varian: Hey Cassie, so the royal wedding is tomorrow. Cass: *Hanging up decorations* You don't say? Varian: Right, *clears throat* so I was just thinking, I know you'll be busy but if you weren't planning on going with anyone maybe you could go with, er we could go as-- as uh... Cass: Hold up! Are you trying to ask me out on a DATE? Varian: Who ME?! Pssshhh noooooo, we're just friends! I wouldn't--! Cass: *Not buying it look* Varian: ... *Rubbing arm awkwardly* But, you know... if you happen to have fun and find that you actually enjoy yourself then maybe SOMEDAY you might consider a... a REAL... date? Cass: Hmmmmm, I dunno. You really think you can handle a WHOLE day celebrating someone else's romance with your 'just a friend'? Varian: *confident look* Uh absolutely! *softening and shrugging a little* The fact that I still get to BE your friend already makes me pretty lucky. Cass: *Looks surprised again then her expression softens a bit* Well... I am the head of security AND the Maid or Honor, so yeah I will be busy, but I think I can save a dance for you at the reception. Varian: Wow, really?! *After she's walked away he silently pumps his fist and mouths 'yessss!'* Cass: *Looks over her shoulder* Varian: *Spins around* I mean, sure, yeah, I-I'll see you then! Heh.

⦁ *Meanwhile just outside in the hall Stan and Pete are giving their commentary* "She said yes, pay up." "That wasn't a 'yes', that was a 'kinda'!" "It was an overall positive response so it counts!" "If that's your idea of romance then I feel sorry for--" "YOU LEAVE MY WIFE OUT OF THIS!" "I was gonna say your readers, since you're writing that romance novel but yeah, her too."

⦁ Varian doesn't care. That goof walks out with a happy heel click anyway.

⦁ At one point during the reception though Varian briefly doubts himself and decides to take a break away from the party. Cass stops him by catching his wrist causing him to turn around in surprise.

⦁ "Not so fast, you still owe me a dance."

⦁ Cassandra resting her head on his shoulder while they dance and Varian just looking like he’s going to implode from happiness.

⦁ Later on, Cass catches the bouquet and turns to see Shorty making kissy faces at her. There's a tap on her shoulder and she turns to see Varian. She grabs him and drags him away in a hurry saying, "I'll take it."

⦁ Getting into shenanigans with Rapunzel, Lance and Eugene like: Cassandra: *Standing on Varian's shoulders to reach a window* Hey Raps, we're all sneaking out to see the circus that everyone has been talking about just outside of town. You in? Varian: Whatever your answer is, please make it quick! Her heel is digging into my clavicle! Rapunzel: I'll be right out! Cassandra: *Losing her balance as Rapunzel tosses a rope of tied together curtains out the window* WHOA! WHOA!

WHAM

Varian: *Strained voice after breaking her fall* Ow...!

⦁ Owl letting Ruddiger use his wing as an umbrella.

⦁ After Varian is knocked unconcious and/or nearly drowns and doesn't seem to be breathing: Varian: *Smiling real big* Was I dreaming or did you actually kiss me? Cassandra: What did I say about flattering yourself? It wasn't a kiss. Lance: Oh, but it was a kiss! The kiss of life! Cassandra: Keep talking Big Guy, and you're gonna be the one needing it.

⦁ Cassandra slowly noticing how Varian is growing up and thinking things to herself  like: "Wow, he's gotten a lot taller since I met him. It's actually sorta--" *smacks self* "HE'S SIXTEEN!" // "He really is such a smart guy, kind and-- NO! No! Nonononono he's just seventeen... ummm..." // *After he gives her a rose and a peck on the cheek* *internally* "Do NOT fall for it! Do NOT fall for HIM! DO NOT GO THERE!! He's--... eighteen... oh no..."

⦁ Cassandra at some point grabbing Rapunzel by the front of her dress in a panic and "I'M ACTUALLY STARTING TO LIKE VARIAN BACK! HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP?!" "Cass, it's okay if you have feelings for Varian. He's not a kid anymore and he IS a really nice guy... nowadays." "BUT HE'S SUCH A GEE-HEE-HEEK!" "That doesn't REALLY matter to you does it?" "Well, no... not anymore, but STILL... *clasping hands together pleadingly* Just, please don't tell Eugene okay? I'll never hear the end of it!" "I won't, don't worry. Look, from what I've heard, a crush only lasts a few months. If that's all it is, then all you have to do is wait it out. It's that simple." "MONTHS?!" "Oooooorrrr you can just come clean now and tell him how you feel. The choice is up to you." *Grabs a pillow and buries her face into it* *Muffled whining as Rapunzel pats her on the back*

⦁ Rapunzel: You know Varian, you grew up real handsome. I'm a little surprised that you're still single. Varian: *Bashfully rubbing the back of his neck* Really? I mean, I guess I've gotten a few looks, but I'm not exactly fighting off admirers with a stick. Rapunzel: *Noticing Cassandra giving a deadly look to a girl she catches staring at Varian while cleaning her halberd effectively scaring said girl off* I think that's been covered.

⦁ Eugene: *To Rapunzel* Big Nose told me. Cass has a thing for VARIAN?! I mean I shouldn't be surprised, he DID go rogue and try to destroy us all, he seems like Cassandra's type. But seriously, VARIAN?!

⦁ Varian being SO out of the loop: Varian: *To Cassandra* So this afternoon while we were watching you compete the prince said something to me that was kinda odd. "Wow Kid, you really are THE venomous cobra man aren't you?" Okay, so I've done things to deserve that, but it was still out of nowhere! Cassandra: *Awkward laugh* You know Eugene, he has no filter. I wouldn't pay attention to anything he says. Varian: *Raised brow* Okaaaayyy, but Rapunzel said something weird too. "Oh so YOU'RE the one the fortune-telling monkey was talking about!" Those two need a vacation. I think the grease has slipped off their frying pans a little bit if you know what I mean. Cassandra: Yeah, royalty right? I have no clue why they'd say things like that.

⦁ Cassandra finding herself being set up on a blind date with Varian. Cassandra: *Gesturing to a setup for a very romantic dinner* So you DIDN'T do all of this? Varian: I swear! Cassandra: Well if you didn't then who-- ... Both: RAPUNZEL!! Big Nose: *Hiding behind the door with the princess* Wow, that was fast! Varian: *Stops to think then pulls out a chair for Cass* Well, no point in letting a good meal go to waste right? Cassandra: *Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear* I... guess not. Big Nose: *Throws a hand over Rapunzel's mouth as she is about to squee out loud*

⦁ Varian's clumsiness leading to Accidental Affection™

⦁ Eugene: *To Cassandra* Why is your face so red? Did you actually spend some time in the sun for once?

⦁ Varian: Ugh, that necklace I made for you looks so cheap and gaudy to me now. Here, I can take it and make a better new one for you-- Cassandra: *Snatching it away protectively* No! Varian: *Surprised look* Cassandra: *Realizing how that sounded* I mean... it's fine. I'm fine with it just the way it is, thanks. Varian: *Smiling broadly*

⦁ Despite all of this, Varian is wondering if he'll be stuck in the friendzone for good. He pours his heart out in a sentimental song about wrestling with whether he should just let go and move on or take a chance and keep dreaming all while reminding himself over and over of why he finds her so amazing and while he only 'liked' her before, now he just might be falling in love.

⦁ Varian facing his hemophobia to help Cass when she gets a really bad cut on her arm in a fight though he is dizzy the whole time.

⦁ He lets himself faint as soon as it's all taken care of.

⦁ Cassandra slowly accepting her new feelings for Varian with the help of tender gestures like this.

⦁ Varian telling Cass that he has fallen in love with her with a romantic serenade that is a reprise of his earlier solo. She joins in and it becomes a duet as her way of saying "same". Needless to say, he was not expecting that. (Yes, I have lyrics but I'm not sharing them publicly until they're complete enough that I'm willing to pay a registration fee).

⦁ Each taking off a glove to hold hands.

⦁ "No time for dreams?!" "I know how it sounds, but my dad raised me to be very practical." "Yeah, mine too, but I grew up in a farming village. There's nothing BUT time to dream so I have lots *heh*... if you want, I could... share them with you..." *Cue the song A Million Dreams from the Greatest Showman*

⦁ Varian saying things to Cass that are so sweet that she doesn't know how to respond to at first so she just punches him while hiding a bashful smile.

⦁ "You're more than a queen to me." ... *same cheeky smile he gave her in the first episode* ... *pained grunt*

⦁ Cass finding sweet little love notes every once in a while and secretly keeping them all in a box under her bed.

⦁ Everyone knows Cass calls Varian things like "You Goof", and "Nerd" occasionally but what no one knows is that when no one else is around she slowly started to call him embarrassingly endearing nicknames too. She never does in front of others though because if Eugene ever found out about it, he'd have a field day.

⦁ Of course he and Lance find out about it and of course they do.

⦁ "BWAHAHAHAHAHA" --"HAHAHAHAHA AW MAN I CAN ONLY DREAM OF BEING THAT RICH!"--"HAHAHAHAHA I CAN'T BREEEATHE!! I'M DYING AGAIN!! HAHAHAHA OH MAN I'M ACTUALLY CRYING!! IT HURTS!! HAHAHAHA!!!"

⦁ A dagger narrowly misses his face and lands right between them. "Believe me, I can make it hurt a LOT worse."

⦁ "I believe her." "Me too." It's never brought up again.

⦁ The two of them working through relationship conflicts that have their own arc and coming out of it closer and better than before.

⦁ *In the middle of fighting off bad guys* "I feel like you're embarrassed to tell people I'm your boyfriend!" "I'm not! You can do embarrassing things, but I'm not embarrassed BY you. There's no one else in the world I'd rather be with! DUCK!" *Ducks as she throws a weapon knocking out the goon coming up behind him* "... Really?" "Of course! We wouldn't even be together if that wasn't true! You're smart enough to figure that out. I love you, Knucklehead!" "I... I love you too!" "That means a lot, really, but we should save this conversation for later! Now is a very bad time!"

⦁ This happening: Varian: *As Cass passes it to him* Herz Der Sonne's book? Why are you...? Cass: *Hands him a quill* My name is already in there, but the space next to it is still blank. She's handed him a book, but he looks at her like she's just handed him the world.

⦁ Being the pair that is ALWAYS laying a supportive hand on the other's shoulder/forearm/knee/back/waist etc. any time they are in the same room.

⦁ During a serious discussion, she places a hand on his cheek and he leans into her touch.

⦁ Varian being so relieved upon seeing that Cass is okay after a near fatal incident and peppering her face with kisses not caring who sees.

⦁ Forehead touches

⦁ Eugene: He has a goatee now! You said goatees were stupid! Cassandra: *Smugly* I implied that YOURS was stupid and that it made YOU look ridiculous, I never said they were stupid in general.

⦁ Cassandra: *Going through her weapons wardrobe* Okay, so you're meeting my dad tonight. After everything that went down a few years ago it's a safe bet that he's not going to like you so if worst comes to worst, I can hold him off for at least a few minutes while you run.

Varian: *Sitting cross-legged on the bed* Haha, "hold him off" that's funny. Cassandra: *Glancing over her shoulder with concern* I'm serious. *Comes over as he stands up, straightens his collar, dusts off his shoulders etc.* Now when you meet him, be sure to stand up straight, look him in the eye, only address him as 'Captain' or 'Sir' and if you see his mustache start to twitch then excuse yourself to the bathroom because that means he's about to explode and I'm going to need a minute to talk him down and-- Varian: *Taking Cass's hands* Whoa, hey, Cassie, I've never seen you this nervous before. It's kinda freaking me out. Cassandra: I know it's just... ugh! My dad can be really confrontational and he's not very good at letting go of grudges. It took years just for him to be able to stand in the same room as Eugene for more than five minutes without glaring him down and all he did was steal things! Varian: *Downcast* And I've done much... much worse. Cassandra: *Sympathetic, regretful look* You're not the same as you were back then. You've really grown up and you know that stuff was wrong. *Looking down* I just want him to see that too so we can all move on. Varian: *Tilting her chin up* Don't worry too much about it. Hey, us being together is all the proof I need that miracles can happen. We'll never know if we don't give it a shot right? Cassandra: *Smiles softly and kisses his cheek* Right.

⦁ The Captain grills Varian about his choice of career as an alchemist and almost brings up Varian’s past until Cass gives him a pointed look and clears her throat suggesting that she already made him agree not to bring that up. Everything is super tense until Cass is forced to leave dinner in a hurry so she can help Rapunzel and Varian tries to fill the uncomfortable silence.

⦁ Varian: *Swinging his arm in a gung-ho way*  Heheh... well you know what they say, "when a friend is in need, whether in the raging seas below or the highest peaks above, there is nowhere else for a noble man to be." Captain: Hold it, Pencil Neck! Are you... quoting Knights of the Hidden World? Varian: Yeah... you've read it? Captain: *Anxiously scratching the back of his head* Oh, I uh... might have skimmed a chapter or two in my free time...

⦁ Cassandra coming back from an unexpected adventure and both her and Maximus are left slack-jawed to find that Varian and her dad are geeking out over a book series, quoting lines, sharing theories and reenacting dramatic scenes together like best buddies. Varian shows off how he recreated a high tech weapon from the books and the Captain tries not to let out a fanboy squeal.

⦁ "Yes, but they're MY dorks."

⦁ Eugene gagging as he witnesses an Eskimo kiss because he's seeing Cass being downright mushy and it's something his brain can't comprehend and doesn't want to.

⦁ Varian: I've always wanted to do this... *picks Cass up and spins her*

⦁ Playful shoulder nudging

⦁ *Holding her face* "Cassie, being with you is a dream come true! We've been dating for years now but I wake up every morning and feel like I need to pinch myself just to be sure I'm not still dreaming! You're the best thing that ever happened to me and I'm NOT going to take that for granted."

⦁ Now it's Cassandra's turn to look at him like he's just handed her the world.

⦁ Varian finally thinks they're ready and plans a whole romantic day where he intends to at some point propose to her. Throughout the day he tries several times and there is a whole montage of moments that get interrupted by something stupid or something goes horribly wrong. By the time the sun is setting, he's frustrated and a little discouraged but his spirits lift when he finally has the perfect moment.

⦁ When he goes for his pocket to retrieve the ring that he made himself, Cassandra surprises him by taking both of his hands, looking him in the eyes, saying the sweetest things she's ever said in her life and popping the question. He answers by taking out the ring and saying, "I-I guess I can't imagine my life without you either, Cassie, so... yes," with a crooked smile and in a small, soft tone that cracks a little on 'yes'. He cried. Rapunzel cried. I cried. Everyone cried.

⦁ They lived happily ever after. The end.

#tangled the series #tts #tangled cassandra #cassandra #varian #captain of the guard #variandra #cassarian

[baereaved]

You said that if anyone asked for the Changs maybe you would do it so can you please post their information? Thanks in advance and for all the translations you've done!!!

💞 can do~ also, i’m gonna add for’s & wong’s too since i figure there’s no better place to add them

Bak ChangAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, ChiefAge: 30Nationality: Chinese, descended from a line of German sorcerersHeight: 168 cmWeight: 54 kgBirthday: November 11Zodiac:  ScorpioBlood type: AHobbies: Collecting photos of Lenalee, sneaking around HeadquartersLikes: The space between the sealed doors, studying, Wong, his own faceDislikes: Mazes, snakes, hives, LvellieNecessities: Spirit stone, For, pride of the Chang family

Stats:Sophistication: 5Humanity: 4 (+1)Work Ability: 4Mental: 3 (-1)Flexibility: 4 (+1)Delicacy: 5

Tui ChangAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, ChiefAge: 39Nationality: Chinese, descended from a line of German sorcerersHeight: 165 cmWeight: 52 kgBirthday: September 29Zodiac: LibraBlood type: AHobbies: Martial arts, cooking, calligraphyLikes: Sorcery, Chang family, her subordinates at the Asian Branch, ForDislikes: Central, the Holy War, the Second Exorcist ProjectNecessities: Her friendship with For, her husband’s smile, a childhood portrait of Bak

Stats:Sophistication: 5Humanity: 3Work Ability: 5Mental: 5Flexibility: 4Tiger Mom: 5

Edgar Chang MartinAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, Assistant ChiefAge: 43Nationality: GermanHeight: 185 cmWeight: 71 kgBirthday: April 10Zodiac: AriesBlood type: OHobbies: Looking at Tui, making Tui laughLikes: Tui, Bak, Alma, Yu, Second Exorcist childrenDislikes: The Second Exorcist Project, haircutsNecessities: Photo of Tui in her wedding outfit, memories with Alma and Yu, a golem Bak made when he was 4

Stats:Sophistication: 5Humanity: 5Work Ability: 3Mental: 4Flexibility: 5Fashion Sense: 1

Zu Mei ChangAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, Head Chef / Swordsman and creator of Akuma weaponsAge: UnknownNationality: Chinese-GermanHeight: 158 cmWeight: 58 kgBirthday: May 3Zodiac: TaurusBlood type: ABHobbies: Cooking, gardening, beekeeping, ceramics, blacksmithingLikes: Chatting with young people, annin tofu, Asian BranchDislikes: His past selfNecessities: Hearing aids, his friendship with For, his bond with Malcolm

Stats:Sophistication: 5Humanity: 3Work Ability: 5Mental: 4Flexibility: 3Regret: 5

ForAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, Guardian DietyAge: About 100 years (Since the date of establishment of the Asian Branch)Nationality: Guardian DietyHeight: 145 cmWeight: UnmeasurableBirthday: —Zodiac: —Blood type: —Hobbies: Messing with Bak, surprising people, chattingLikes: Members of the Chang family, the Asian Branch, humans, combatDislikes: Death, goodbyesNecessities: Memories of the Chang family

Stats:Sophistication: 2Humanity: 4Work Ability: 5Mental: 5 (+2)Flexibility: 3Attentiveness: 4 (+2)

Sammo Han WongAffiliation: Black Order Asian Branch, Assistant ChiefAge: 76Nationality: ChineseHeight: 195Weight: 96Birthday: September 21Zodiac: VirgoBlood type: OHobbies: HousekeepingLikes: Helpful people (i uh. think i have this one wrong, so don’t quote me on it)Dislikes: Enemies of BakNecessities: Photo album of Bak with pictures taken from his birth to the present

#ask #anon #some of the profiles just Kill me #gray record

[tristanleggett]

The Marketing Chronicles Behind 30% Annual Revenue Growth at Top E-commerce Software House

The Internet was opened to the public back in 1991, after the invention of the World Wide Web. This opened the Pandora box: online shopping! By 1999 global e-commerce reaches $150 billion.

But behind great e-commerce lays great e-commerce software.

Divante is aiming to be just that: great e-commerce software house, by providing top-notch e-commerce solutions and products for both B2B and B2C segments.

And with a revenue that increases annually by 30%, we think they’re kinda there, what do you think?

And take a look at that: a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 nomination in 2017, with a 4-year revenue growth of 259%.

So, what’s the recipe behind the growth?

Definitely the product should be top notch. But without the right sales and marketing strategies, a great product just ain’t enough.

So, in this blog post we’ll decipher Divante’s marketing strategies, from the inbound perspective, social media, but also we’ll sneak inside their team and employer branding

TABLE OF CONTENT

Divante E-commerce Software House - Short Overview

Divante’s Marketing Strategies Reverse Engineered

Brand Awareness at Divante

Divante’s Website and Conversion Rate Optimization

Divante’s Traffic Acquisition

Content Marketing

Divante’s Social Presence

Employer branding and hiring

Wrap Up

From banking, telekom, fashion, Divante knows it all. Just look at their clients.

Impressive, right?

But how? That is the question.

Let’s find out.

Divante E-commerce Software House- Short Overview

Some Divante facts: 10 years on the market, 100+ global clients, 150+ team members, 300+ projects delivered and 2 open-source solutions developed for e-commerce.

The feedback on Github, Capterra and g2crowd looks really good for Vue Storefront, which is acclaimed as No. 1 open source progressive web app for e-Commerce:

So, the future looks bright for Divante, from where we stand.

But, let’s see what the Divante clients have to say about them:

Deep knowledge, commitment and full support

Managed to increase traffic and income

Go the extra-mile

Delivery with tight deadlines

Expertise and professionalism

“Our income has doubled”, “reduced our time to market”, “increase website traffic” - that’s what I call results oriented.

But how did Divante get here: a top player in the e-commerce software industry?

Follow me to find out:

How developing open source products can pave your way to success

How the proper branding efforts can get you first-rate clients

How inbound marketing can portrait you as an expert in the field and build trust around you

Divante’s Marketing Strategies Reverse Engineered

After so much pain and struggle for a former communist country, it’s time for a rebirth.

Poland is reinventing itself and reshaping the IT outsourcing environment.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” - this came to life in Wroclaw.

Divante, the e-commerce software house is leading the way.

T-Mobile, Ringier Axel, Continental, Tchibo, Intersport are just a few of Divante’s global clients.

But what lays behind the lemonade?

Strategic marketing.

And we’ll reverse engineer it.

Brand Awareness at Divante

A brand vision should attempt to go beyond functional benefits to consider organizational values; a higher purpose; brand personality; and emotional, social, and self-expressive benefits. ― David Aaker (the father of modern branding)

Every step a business makes, in relationship with each and every stakeholder, will translate itself in branding.

A satisfied customer, an unhappy employee, an empowered student at a hackathon, a comment on social media, everything will generate word-of-mouth and brand awareness.

So, what does the market have to say about Divante?

First of all, we’ve mentioned the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 nomination in 2017 and the Clutch reviews.

Further on, in our article, we’ll see how community and social media engagements are handled.

Because, in the end, with all the tech development, the human touch will get you fans, employees and customers.

Divante’s Website and Conversion Rate Optimization

The website has a intuitive and user friendly interface. It’s easy for the buyer persona to find an answer to its questions:

Who is Divante?

E-commerce software house

What solutions do you provide?

Progressive web apps, Pimcore Development, Magento development, integrations, user experience design and more.

The menu is well organized, with clearly stated submenus in terms of products and services.

How can I trust you?

Case studies backed by data, testimonials, client listing.

How can I contact you?

“Contact us” button

“Estimate a project” button in the homepage, above the fold

Contact form

In terms of conversion rate optimization, they seem to be using Hotjar (according to SimilarTech) and have just removed Crazy Egg from their technology stack.

They’ve also removed Visual Website Optimizer.

So they wanted to mingle with A/B testing and CRO, but, so far, on their website I haven’t noticed any personalizations.

Speaking of personalization, it seems that Divante uses Hubspot for marketing automation. I assume they want to improve their processes and be more customer-centric.

Divante’s Traffic Acquisition

The main website traffic sources are:

The 50%+ direct traffic is the highest we’ve analysed so far in IT Outsourcing. We find ourselves in a position of making some assumptions now.

What could account as direct website traffic?

offline events: conferences, meetups and hackathons

referral traffic not tagged

sales reps activities

A percentage this high is kinda jaw-dropping. And I believe that the brand awareness is impressive with this folks.

And the fact that branded traffic is pretty high, would probably back me up in my assumption.

Content Marketing

The blog is updated about bi-weekly. Lots of categories are used.

The posts are not very technical, and they’re mostly managed by Agata Młodawska, the Marketing Manager and Aleksandra Kwiecien, the Content Manager. From time to time, some pieces of content are signed by Tom and Piotr Karwatka, the CEO and CTO of Divante.

And even more rarely, a developer gets involved in content writing.

But let’s see which are the most valuable pages on the Divante website:

It seems that the most traffic is brought on the homepage by the brand name itself “divante”. Next in line we have blog posts, the case studies section and the products page.

But let’s take a look at the keywords.

It seems that there is no clear strategy around specific keywords, no keyword cluster manages to rank.

On the other hand, they have created really powerful long form pieces of content:

Guides

eBooks

Analysis reports

Case studies

The case studies are not telling the whole story, so, if a potential customer wants to see the whole picture, Divante uses the power of lead magnets: a win-win exchange between the potential customer (who provides a contact detail) and Divante (who provides a downloadable case study).

Speaking of lead magnets, here’s another one:

Also, they’ve bundled together some of the reports, in a lead magnet:

For the users that want to move on further in the funnel, switching from consideration to decision making, Divante can offer demos.

So, be it awareness, consideration or decision, Divante has everything covered across the buyer’s journey.

Moving on, Divante also includes newsletters in the content strategy:

They’ve got content also on Slideshare, 81 presentations!

430+ followers and lots of views.

Backlinks to Support Content Marketing

Do-follow links from 70+ domain ranking websites link back mostly to the Divante homepage and blog.

The do-follow links come from e-commerce themed websites such as: ecommerce-europe.eu, pacticalecommerce.com, ecommercenews.eu.

Divante’s Paid Traffic Acquisition

In terms of paid Google search ads, Divante is promoting the Magento development service, bidding on “magento web development” related keywords.

The landing page is really compelling, with its clear CTA and above the fold social proof.

Spyfu estimates a budget around $2k.

While the Google search ads are Magento focused, on the sponsored Facebook posts side we see a progressive web apps approach.

Social Selling

Regarding the Medium positioning, it seems that Piotr Krawatka, CTO of Divante, and other Divante colleagues are editing The Vue Storefront Journal.

Beginning with June 2018, there is an increasing Medium focus. And the engagement seems rewarding.

Until now, I haven’t seen such an up to date Medium profile, among other Polish software houses.

Divante’s Social Presence

Social media is a great channel for a business to include the community in the communication, help build trust and develop long-lasting relationships.

Divante clearly understands this, just look at these numbers:

7500+ Facebook followers

1600+ Twitter followers

2300+ Linkedin followers

Divante’s Facebook Page

Divante’s Facebook profile has a client-approach. Through publishing posts consistently, Divante wants to prove expertise in the field, hence build trust around the brand.

The posts are merely about:

Promoting long form content - eBooks, guides, reports

Successful integrations of their Vue Storefront product or PWA

Events they organize or attend to

The interactions are a bit scarce.

But this isn’t a surprise. From what we’ve analyzed so far, the most popular posts for software houses posting on Facebook, are people related, such as team events, introducing team members etc.

LinkedIn

The LinkedIn profile content is also client-aimed. News from the industry, blog posts, eBooks are shared.

Hiring is also a LinkedIn objective, just like in the case of the other software houses we’ve analyzed so far.

Twitter

Divante almost replicates the Facebook and Linkedin content within its tweets.

Events are in the spotlight here: speaking gigs, attending conferences and summits.

Curiously, this is the first software house I’ve encountered that does not rely much on social media to build employer branding.

The communication is mostly oriented towards gaining new clients.

Divante’s Community Involvement

Whenever you would see a Magento event, for sure Divante is there.

They don’t usually miss making an appearance, as attendees or speakers.

On the employer side, Divante hosts Magento related events, as you might have already guessed.

They ain’t at all shy: meetups, hackathons, they are really building their employer branding in the Polish community.

But these are just a drop in the ocean.

Take a look at the community built around Vue Storefront!

Employer branding and hiring

On single Glassdoor review for Divante, a positive one, but, statistically speaking, not significant.

As we’ve mentioned before, through community networking, Divante is opening communication doors with future employees.

Speaking of, they have 12 ongoing open positions, mostly for developers.

The “ongoing” status of the jobs explains a lot, especially when you look at this data: 650+ developers wanted in Wroclaw.

Wrap Up

From the B2B marketing point of view, it seems that a consistent content strategy, seasoned with some events and marketing automation, is the recipe of success for this e-commerce software house, Divante.

But let’s make a more comprehensive list of takeaways:

Release valuable open source projects

Go the extra mile in the relationship with your clients

Have a content strategy across the entire buyer’s journey

Letting your community in on your plans for the future is great for business, it builds trust and increases brand awareness

So, this was our Divante pit stop.

But the race ain’t over yet.

And it’s not only about Wroclaw, or Poland.

We’re looking at an entire IT outsourcing ecosystem, a flourishing ecosystem, built on the ashes of former communist countries.

So, check out our Ultimate Guide To IT Outsourcing Companies in Central Eastern Europe and to see below the tip of the iceberg.

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#Digital Marketing Automation Consulting | MAN Digital

[netunleashed-blog]

Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 It may not have been known at the time, but in July 2008, Japan received what would be remembered as one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. Over the course of a decade, Persona 4 has become more than just an incredibly fun RPG with a refined battle system and quirky characters, though. A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games. Our love for Persona 4 has kept it alive for so long with several fighting games, two anime adaptations, an adorable (and difficult) spin-off RPG, and even a rhythm game. And after 10 years, we're still seeing our good friends from Inaba in a new light.For the uninitiated, Persona 4's foundation closely resembles that of its predecessor, Persona 3. You're a transfer student new to a school surrounded by unusual circumstances; supernatural phenomena that endanger your new hometown is the crux to the overarching mystery. On a typical day, you go to class, do extracurricular activities, and try to grow closer to those around town and at school. Better yourself through hobbies or take on a part-time job, it's up to you how to pass the time. In particular, Persona 4 takes you to a fictional rural town of Inaba where the biggest thing to happen before your arrival was the opening of a Junes department store (think Super Walmart, but with an infectious jingle). Even your little cousin Nanako is utterly convinced that every day's great at your Junes, and begs you and her dad to take her there like it's the greatest place on earth.Sure sounds like all fun and games until you and your new friends become the centerpiece for a dark murder mystery and an absolutely perplexing world that lives behind TV screens. At first, it's not quite clear why outlandish versions of certain townsfolk inexplicably pop up on TV sets and go missing on rainy midnights. The one way to get to the bottom of this, to actually jump into a TV screen to enter the shadow world where the other half of Persona 4 comes into play.Aha! Is this our chance? It's time for an All-Out Attack!While dungeon crawling and sneaking up on shadows through randomly generated floors make up the exploration, an intricate turn-based combat system is where you'll find excellence in gameplay. Most enemies have elemental weaknesses which factor into how you construct your party and devise a tactical approach. Sounds par for the course in an RPG, but the unique press-turn system that Shin Megami Tensei is known for shines brighter than it had previously by giving you full control to pull off flashy, effective attacks. Receiving a bonus attack after targeting a weakness before enemies get a turn is endlessly satisfying, especially as dungeons become inhabited by trickier, stronger shadows.A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games.However, nothing in battle matches the joy of seeing your crew team up for the most adorable, yet devastating All-Out Attacks, a franchise staple. Everyone in the party piles on heavy damage that usually puts an end to the fight, and you sense their ferocity in character portraits that pop up just before everyone jumps in. A cloud of dust erupts as they whale on enemies, sometimes popping out of the chaos only to jump back in for another hit, and all you need to do is watch as they take care of business. If you're lucky, someone will offer a follow-up attack turn-free; and it should be taken as fact that nothing is as absurdly cute as Chie's galactic punt where she literally kicks an enemy into outer space (her kung fu DVDs really paid off). Even in battle, everyone's distinct personality isn't lost or put off to the side, which highlights Persona 4’s greatest accomplishment: its commitment to a relentless charm embodied by this cast of misfits.So effortlessly does Persona 4 merge the two pillars of a social simulation and traditional RPG; nothing feels disconnected, how days are spent matters. These two realities feed into each other, and Igor--the series-long, omniscient owner of the ethereal Velvet Room--alludes to this up front: true strength is born from the bonds you form. The power of friendship is a prevalent trope in similar stories, but to have that power manifest as a tangible benefit in combat gives us further reason to invest in relationships. I call back to how Rise came in clutch to buff the party or cast healing during tough boss fights, or when Yukiko dealt the final blow casting Agidyne using her final-form persona with the last bit of SP: moments like these solidify the feeling that my companions really do have my back in times of need.Gas up your scooter 'cause we're going on a road trip!From the mother who wishes for acceptance from her stepson to your basketball teammate who finds it impossible to live up to his adopted family's legacy, these vignettes serve to tell very human stories. We help Nanako open up to her dad about his lack of presence and break through Uncle Dojima's hard-boiled temperament to reveal an empathetic father who constantly struggles with his wife's death and his job as a detective. In the end, a heartwarming father-daughter scene results in a newfound commitment to family. Other social links struck a more personal nerve.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone.When Yosuke overlooks Inaba, the town he once hated, and realizes that what makes him happy is the people he's surrounded by rather than big city glamour, I felt that. Even though Kanji maintains the tough guy attitude, he eventually embraces his sewing skills and love for cute plushies--as he began to handcraft toys for kids around town, I sensed a big, cathartic middle finger to societal expectations for masculinity. Naoto's strive for justice, as the genius detective, makes a firm statement against workplace gender discrimination. Life as an idol sure sounds great, until Rise decides she needs to walk away from stardom for her own sanity. As endearing as Chie's and Yukiko's friendship, their dynamic evolved and reached new heights after confronting their shadow-selves, leading to more open and honest relationship.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone. The TV world and Midnight Channel work not just as metaphors for the fear of what you think everyone sees in you, but to illustrate the sense of imprisonment and helplessness that's born from it. And by navigating the maze-like dungeons and crushing enemies, the crew breaks through obstacles to finally support each other in overcoming their monumental insecurities. Many of the game's pieces sound silly on paper, but they all come together to inspire you before you know it.When spread across 100+ hours of play-time, spanning an in-game calendar year, you're given room to breathe and let events, big and small, sink in. Moments of levity work alongside the more heartfelt revelations, which creates an ingenious balancing act. To its benefit, the game never takes itself too serious. Persona 4's greatness lies in its execution and presentation; story, gameplay, visual style, and its soundtrack all complement each other to elevate beyond the sum of its parts.Persona 4 wouldn't be the same game without the masterful composition of series composer Shoji Meguro. A collection of J-pop, J-rock, and catchy instrumentals make for incredible tracks on their own, but the right song at the right time elevates the emotional impact. As soon as I hear the brass horns start up for the track that plays during social links, I can't help but smile and sense the fun being had between characters. The boss battle theme of "I'll Face Myself" instills a feeling of danger, but also the determination to defeat your worst enemies. And the emblematic battle theme "Reach Out To The Truth" is such an uplifting song that brings back all my memories of this game. Sometimes I look outside my own house and "Heartbeat, Heartbreak" pops into my head on cloudy days and "Your Affection" when the sun shines. Music isn't relegated to just the background, and it cannot be overstated how evocative its soundtrack has been throughout the years.For all Persona 4's inspirational moments and pushes for social progressivism, we can't turn a blind eye to where it gets things wrong; to truly love something is to also recognize its flaws. By no means is it perfect when it comes to the portrayal of certain social groups and character conduct. Teddie himself exhibits unscrupulous behavior that can easily be interpreted as harassment, and it's never really confronted. Despite the personally uplifting story of Kanji, his sexual ambiguity is occasionally used as a punchline, and his shadow self can be seen as too over-the-top. Certain insensitive decisions can be made in relation to Naoto's struggle with gender identity; the interpretation of her character continues to be a point of contention to this day. And as time has gone on, the less amusing the cross-dressing pageant scene has become. To its credit, a Japanese game from 2008 was willing to explore subjects often seen as taboo; it misses the mark in critical moments, but there's value in its earnest effort. Regardless, some jokes weren't necessary to be humorous and it would've been much better without them.Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing.The sheer number of games that spawned afterward speaks to the love we've shared for this game. A PS Vita exclusive remaster, Persona 4 Golden, launched in 2012 as the definitive version; it refines core mechanics and includes a slew of meaningful additions. Along with new songs that perfectly fit the original soundtrack, Chie's new voice actress (Erin Fitzgerald) brought a whole new life into an already-beloved character and truly captured the spirit of Persona 4's best girl. A whole extra dungeon, an important new character, additional social link events, and new tag-team attacks round out Golden as the definitive version.An anime adaptation premiered in 2011, and another based on the remastered game released in 2014. Although it's difficult to capture an RPG in a condensed format, the anime offered a new way to experience the journey. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth brought along our buddies from Persona 3 into the mix in a wonderfully executed dungeon crawler RPG on 3DS--it bursts with charm as chibi versions of these two beloved casts band together to fight evil and have a good time. I'd also say Q features the best introductory theme and video in all the franchise. If the fan service wasn't already good enough, Persona 4: Dancing All Night leveraged the beautiful soundtrack for a delightful (and admittedly ridiculous) rhythm game--hearing my favorite songs remastered and remixed is a real treat.BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle brings back our friends at Yasogami High to meet the casts of BlazBlue, Under Night, and RWBY.Persona lends itself so well to fighting games that Arc System Works took up creating a 2D fighter in Persona 4 Arena, which remained true to both the developer's fighting game philosophy and the spirit of the source material. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax built on that foundation even further. And just this year, ArcSys circled back on Persona 4 by crossing worlds with BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Each of these fighters introduced new characters and storylines, and were included in the fighting game community's biggest stages. Rarely, if ever, does a single entry in a larger franchise spin off in so many different directions, but thankfully, it's helped keep our Persona 4 love alive all these years later.After becoming personally invested in their journey that started it all and pouring all that time into seeing them grow, it was genuinely hard to say goodbye as the credits rolled and the ending theme "Never More" began to play. In the decade since the original game, we were fortunate to see the charming group of knuckleheads time and time again in so many different games. It's almost silly to think that a group of fictional Japanese high school students could empower us to be better, but Persona 4 has given me, and countless others, boundless joy and also an opportunity for self-reflection. Yes, I played an incredible RPG, but what I saw was a group of best friends pulling for each other to become stronger people and make the world a better place. Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing. Source link

[germanottaisgodxo]

All the numbers

I'LL DO ITThis could be fun (or extremely depressing)1: NameRachael2: Age223: 3 FearsDogs, lifts, the dark4: 3 things I loveFood, music, reading, hugs 5: 4 turns onDo I look like a lamp6: 4 turns off^^7: My best friendI have a few8: Sexual orientationGay9: My best first dateNever been on a date 10: How tall am I5ft411: What do I missFinancial stability12: What time were I born9:37pm13: Favourite colourPurple14: Do I have a crushYes15: Favourite quote"Positive Vibes Only"16: Favourite placeWhere I do my course/volunteering17: Favourite foodAt the minute? Burgers18: Do I use sarcasmThere are days when I run solely on sarcasm 😂😂19: What am I listening to right nowTraffic going past 20: First thing I notice in new personHow they act 21: Shoe size522: Eye colourMulticoloured23: Hair colourBlack24: Favourite style of clothingMostly a slob/lazy style25: Ever done a prank call?Yeah, who hasn't?27: Meaning behind my URLLady Gaga's last name 💓28: Favourite movieDon't have one tbh29: Favourite songCurrently it's Taylor Swift's "ready for it"30: Favourite bandDon't have one31: How I feel right nowA bit mixed tbh; bit of stress, kinda pissed off & trying to calm down from it, hungry, bored32: Someone I loveAll my lil noodles from my courses & volunteering 😊33: My current relationship statusSingle34: My relationship with my parentsGood35: Favourite holidayBulgaria36: Tattoos and piercing i haveFloral pattern on wrist & top of ear pierced37: Tattoos and piercing i wantFix my current tattoo, get "positive vibes only" written on me somewhere, portrait of Lady Gaga & Paris skyline38: The reason I joined TumblrMostly due to noseyness & a free place to express myself39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?Don't have any ex's40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?I get a goodnight message from one of the people from the charity shop I was in41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?Nope42: When did I last hold hands?Can't remember43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?10 minutes44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?Nah, couple of weeks ago45: Where am I right now?My bed46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?Myself, I'm a big girl 😁47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?LOUD48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?Nope49: Am I excited for anything?Got quite a few things coming up with my course/volunteering; loads of new opportunities50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?I have 3/451: How often do I wear a fake smile?Rarely52: When was the last time I hugged someone?Today- I had to convince him to come back into the building cause he tried to slink away without giving me one like usual 😂53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?Never kissed anyone54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?I'm happy with who I trust, for the most part55: What is something I disliked about today?(In relation to above) I found out that someone else on my course told my tutor I'm gay when I'd be worrying about telling her so I was pissed off with him then I had to sit down & talk to her about it, that was difficult! And my other volunteering was absolute pandemonium today- a few fights nearly broke out between us56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?Lady Gaga!!!!!57: What do I think about most?FOOD, my courses/volunteering and people there, random irrelevant crap58: What’s my strangest talent?Does peeing 5228264 times in one day count??59: Do I have any strange phobias?Refer back to q 3 60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Behind61: What was the last lie I told?Can't remember, I don't lie often 62: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?Phone63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?Yeah64: Do I believe in magic?Kind of65: Do I believe in luck?Nah66: What’s the weather like right now?Cold67: What was the last book I’ve read?The Marriage Pact68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?Ehhh69: Do I have any nicknames?Rach70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?Not really had any severe injuries tbh71: Do I spend money or save it?Spend, I don't get anywhere near enough a month to save it 72: Can I touch my nose with a tongue? Nope73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?Wearing a pink jumper74: Favourite animal?Cat75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?Playing the sims 76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?Dunno77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?Any of Lady Gaga's78: How can you win my heart?Buy me food 79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?No idea80: What is my favourite word?Fanny 😂😉81: My top 5 blogs on tumblrHave more than 582: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?Buy me food83: Do I have any relatives in jail?Nope84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?Always having a constant supply of food85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?Dunno, I'm pretty open & honest86: What is my current desktop picture?My phone's lock screen says "we rise by lifting others" (don't have a desktop) 87: Had sex?Nope88: Bought condoms?Nope89: Gotten pregnant?Nope90: Failed a class?Yeah91: Kissed a boy?Nope92: Kissed a girl?Nope93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?Nope94: Had job?I've had 495: Left the house without my wallet?Aye 😑96: Bullied someone on the internet?Nope97: Had sex in public?Nope98: Played on a sports team?Nope99: Smoked weed?Nope100: Did drugs?Nope101: Smoked cigarettes?Nope102: Drank alcohol?Yeah103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?Nope104: Been overweight?For most of my life105: Been underweight?Nope106: Been to a wedding?Yeah107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?Course 😂108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?Aye109: Been outside my home country?Yeah110: Gotten my heart broken?I break my own heart all the time 😒111: Been to a professional sports game?Nope112: Broken a bone?Nope113: Cut myself?Yeah114: Been to prom?Nope115: Been in airplane?Yeah, loads of times116: Fly by helicopter?Nope117: What concerts have I been to?Saw Lady Gaga twice118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?Yeah, it's been a long 3 years119: Learned another language?Yeah120: Wore make up?Unfortunately121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?Nope122: Had oral sex?Nope123: Dyed my hair?Aye, about 40- 50 times124: Voted in a presidential election?I've voted but no for a president 😂125: Rode in an ambulance?Nope126: Had a surgery?Nope127: Met someone famous?Nope128: Stalked someone on a social network?Of course!!129: Peed outside?Aye 😳😂130: Been fishing?Nope131: Helped with charity?Yeah, I did an 8 weeks placement in a charity shop and both of my current volunteering are with charity organisations132: Been rejected by a crush?Yeah133: Broken a mirror?Yeah134: What do I want for birthday?Food135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?Dunno if I'll be having kids, we'll see136: Was I named after anyone?Dunno137: Do I like my handwriting?Nope138: What was my favourite toy as a child?Yugioh139: Favourite TV Show?I don't watch TV anymore140: Where do I want to live when older?Don't mind tbh141: Play any musical instrument?Nope142: One of my scars, how did I get it?All the scars I have are from self harm 143: Favourite pizza toping?Pepperoni144: Am I afraid of the dark?Very 😭145: Am I afraid of heights? Nah146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?Doing bad stuff147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?Yeah, think everyone has tbh 148: What I’m really bad atBeing nice to myself, working on it though149: What my greatest achievements areVolunteering150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to meCan't think151: What I’d do if I won in a lotteryPay off my bills & rent arrears, treat family & friends, buy sensible stuff like a new passport, clothes, stuff for my flat then treats for myself152: What do I like about myselfSense of humour, give good advice, trustworthy, good taste in food & music 😛153: My closest Tumblr friendWouldn't say I had one tbh154: Something I fantasise aboutFood155: Any question you’d like?There wasn't one given ??

#anonymous #answered