#redeemed or not she’s still a drama queen

[ritahayworrth]

i mean is it really a kdrama if there isn't a horrible mom who suddenly gets "redeemed" without a proper redemption arc

#and the redemption scene is always during a food scene too #anyway this happens in too many dramas i hate it more than random serial killers in a romcom #like it is literally the Worst because usually she doesn't get ''redeemed'' until the last episode #like are we all supposed to forgive and forget after watching them be horrible to their kids for eight weeks #anyway queen of tears you still have time to do it properly please don't leave it at that 🙏 #Queen of Tears #queen of tears spoilers

[skipppppy]

CARMEN SANDIEGO CHARACTERS + MOVIES

Boo I felt like making headcanons again bc I spend more time wondering what these assholes do in their free time than I do on my job

CARMEN

Didn’t have access to movies growing up so Player, Zack, and Ivy have been catching her up on the most popular ones

HORRIBLE to watch with. Doesn’t really understand “suspension of disbelief” as a concept and will ask stupid questions the whole time. Player almost ended their friendship because she nitpicked Lord of the Rings for being “unrealistic”

Enjoys low stakes 2000s girl chick flicks like mean girls and legally blonde. She has enough stress in her life man she just wants to relax

HATES heist movies because of how innacurate they are. Team Red has taken to watching them JUST to hear her pick them apart

PLAYER

Sci-fi/fantasy junkie. Anything and everything that has aliens/magic and shitty practical effects from the 80’s/90’s he is all over

Has never said a single kind thing about the Star Wars franchise in his life. They are his favourite movies of all time

ADORES Edgar Wright and has slowly been converting Team Red to his movies. Zack loved Baby Driver. Ivy loved Shaun of the Dead. Shadowsan loved Hot Fuzz. He considers Scott Pilgrim the pinnacle of Canadian cinema

Cannot STAND the amount of remakes happening in Hollywood recently

ZACK

Canon enjoyer of blockbuster action movies. Everyone dreads the nights when he gets to choose a film bc his taste is so generic

Does not know what the Snyder cut is. Thank god

His only redeeming quality is a love of early dreamworks. Will not stop quoting Madnagascar

Has seen every Marvel movie and thinks all of them are good. Player has BEGGED him to watch better movies but he won’t. He’s the type to rag on Scorsese for being “boring”

Has seen Kevin Feige’s extended filmography. Does not know who that man is

IVY

Horror fanatic

Banned from choosing movies for film night after convincing them to watch her “favourite lesbian romcom” with her. That lesbian romcom was Saw

Ellen Ripley was not only her personal hero but also her gay awakening. The Xenomorph queen was her second gay awakening

Also loves period dramas. Enjoys the tiddies and knows she would look SO good in those fancy waistcoats the men wear

Watches old slashers with Carmen and laugh whenever someone dies in a stupid way

SHADOWSAN

Faculty considered movies “low brow” entertainment so he hasn’t seen a movie made before the year 2000

Loves a good mob flick. Got into Scorsese specifically because Zack hated him. Goodfellas is his favourite

Everyone assumes he enjoys samurai movies but he actually HATES them. Hideo would ramble about historical inaccuracies the whole way through and he’s still bored just thinking about it

Used to love Yakuza films back in the day but they were soured for him after actually living as one

Loved Knives Out, found Daniel Craig VERY attractive, and has since fallen down the James Bond rabbit hole

CHASE

The most pretentious film hack you’ve ever met in your life. He is taking you to a back alley screening of some arthouse eastern european gay porn on a first date and it will be the most profound thing you’ve ever seen in your life

Detective noir movies and cheesy black and white romances are his favourites. He likes falling asleep to them

He and Player both appreciate animation as a form of cinema, but while Player is referring to like. the Mario movie, Chase is talking about some 3 minute Russian stopmotion surrealist piece from 1951. He attends Annecy every year and has been banned from the Oscars due to threats of violence

He likes Poirot tho. Transmasc king

JULIA

If she has a few hours to herself she’d rather watch a documentary than go to a movie theatre, but she loves historical dramas

Enjoys biopics but thinks it’s stupid to make them for people who are alive

Likes watching movies for the sake of trash talking them, so she is the only person who can tolerate sitting through one with Carmen

LOVES Wes Anderson though. Chase got her into his stuff and the symmetry scratches an itch in her brain. But don’t tell him that

Also enjoys period dramas for the tiddies

CHIEF

Shitty cop movie enjoyer. The kind of person who insists that Die Hard is her favourite christmas movie

LOVES heist movies because of how inaccurate they are. Will mentally nitpick whatever secret service is going after them and be like “ACME wouldn’t do that lol”

She’s semi aware that she’s the antoagonist in Carmen’s own heist narrative so she’s started having fun with it

Closet lover of b-tier comedy movies. Like the ones with Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart on the cover

Does not enjoy watching movies socially. That is quality time for her and her cat. She does not have to shush Commander

#carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019 #carmen sandiego netflix #player cs #zack and ivy #shadowsan #chase devineaux #julia argent #tamara fraser #chief cs

[androgynousblackbox]

My own Swap!Hazbin Hotel AU

I don't even know if I am ever going to do anything with this, but the idea won't leave me alone so here it goes: Basically the Vees exchange place with Appleradio+Charlie. Velvette as Charlie forms the Hazbin Hotel as a way to scam people and speedrun her way to becoming a fearsome overlord. It's entirely by accident that some souls actually get redeemed! Vox as Lucifer, king of hell, a virus that was passed down since creation as an error that gave birth to sin. He had countless bodies through the years, but his memories and personality remain. He supports the project of Velvette because it looks like it could be fun and is curious if something happens with it. At least it could be something different in hell after so long of the same old thing.

Valentino as Alastor. First, he wanted to see what Velvette was actually doing, then stayed because he liked her and then he just likes to fuck people (figuratively and literally) at the hotel to get his fun until Vox is there. Then he mostly wants to fuck Vox and become the queen of hell because he thinks that will be a life of luxury guaranteed. He and Velvette become best gossiping friends. Lucifer as Vox, the news demon that controls all newspapers, all news stations. He actually prefers written media over the TV, but goes with whatever is popular to grab people's attention. He does like to make movies, though. Ruthless when he needs to be, but also has a kind heart deep down that makes Alastor all the overprotective for him because he hates the idea of anyone taking advantage of that. Lucifer tried to reclute Valentino a long time ago and Valentino actually considered it, until he saw how he was always going to be second place to both Charlie and Alastor so he didn't take the deal and prefered to grow on his own. Alastor as Valentino, the radio demon that makes audio dramas and controlls the market for kinky media/snuff films outside of the public recognition because money, on one hand, but also because he is constantly looking for new ways to make the sex topic remotely interesting for him. It's just by chance that other people happened to find it interesting too. He and Lucifer have been together since they both started at the bottom, helping each other when no one else would as young rising overlords that had to fight with tooth and nail to get where they are. Charlie as Velvette, a inspirational influencer doll demon that Lucifer adopted off the streets with the hope of she just being a pretty face anyone could fall in love with and turning up to be a lot more when she started her own social media. She is still somewhat naive, more prone to anger, but still far more gentler so all of the souls she owns are happy to give themselves to her. Vaggie is her assistant that keeps her safe and reminds her to not trust so easily on her audience.

#radioapple #appleradio #duckiedeer #staticmoth #the vees #hazbin hotel au #the idea of velvette accidentally inventing redemption for her own selfish motives is so inherently funny to me #vox is just to enjoy the show #valentino wants to be able to never have to work again

[silviakundera]

re: Story of Kunning Palace. If we get into Themes of the Novel...

I can see why Xei Wei is positioned as her ultimate romance.

The story seems to be a character journey for FL. Part of this jouney is coming to terms with herself and not just being "redeemed" but FEELING redeemed. Look at her conversation in jail w Yan Li. I'm bad, she says. It's something she still believes.

JX enters the story thinking of herself as unworthy of ZZ and in her mind, getting to be accepted & loved by him would be a barometer of goodness. But that's not what she NEEDS. She doesn't need a gold star blessing from a paragon of justice. She needs to accept the ugliness of her past and her imperfections and be able to live with it, to no longer be ashamed. As trite as it sounds, she needs to learn to love herself.

Look at this MTL passage from the novel, on the barrier between her & Xei Wei in her 1st life....

No one knew that the reason why she didn't want to learn the qin after entering Beijing was because of Xie Wei.

Four years ago on the way to Beijing, Xie Wei was holding a qin. She thought this man was really a distant relative of the Jiang family, he was dressed in white clothes, he had nothing but a qin, and he looked sick. Although he was in the same vehicle as her, he didn't like to talk to others, and closed his eyes most of the time to rest his mind. Only when he stopped occasionally in the middle of the journey, he would touch the qin.

Jiang Xuening didn't understand, and she didn't like him either.

Only then had she learned her true background, and knew that there was a "sister" who was praised by everyone in the family. She was afraid that she would be looked down upon by the maid who came to pick her up in Beijing along the way. One has to put on the posture of a young lady, for that humble and pitiful "self-esteem".

Young ladies are all condescending and domineering. Therefore, she was also superior to others and bosses them around - and "others" included Xie Wei.

She grew up in the countryside and didn't learn any rules, but this person had rules when walking, sitting and lying down; whether it's the posture of holding chopsticks when eating together, or when leaning in the carriage for a nap, he was always in order. It hurt her to see it. At that time, she felt that this man was shabby but still carried himself well.

It was only after a long time that she was willing to admit that the reason why she felt uncomfortable was because even if she didn't understand, she could still feel the difference between cloud and mud. And this difference is exactly the difference between her who grew up in the countryside at that time and the bustling capital she was about to arrive in.

But people are always reluctant to admit such truths.

Even after she became a queen, she didn't want to see Xie Wei, and Xie Wei's name was always associated with the qin, and she didn't want to see one.

When she was most terrified and miserable in her life, she was seen by this person. As long as she saw this person, she would think of that past.

And this was what she tabooed the most in her previous life.

Who knows what Xie Wei thought of her at that time? Today's empress was just a country girl who wore a dragon robe and didn't have the look of royalty.

As long as she thought about it, she felt embarrassed, so Jiang Xuening always just told herself that this past does not exist.

The insightful Xie Wei probably knew what she was thinking. Even though he had a high status in the ruling and opposition parties, and frequently goes in and out of the court, he rarely appeared in front of her, and never mentioned it.

As for the scar on her wrist, she asked the imperial doctor to prescribe a prescription, and carefully applied the medicine for two years, and it disappeared completely.

// What i can't stop thinking about is Xei Wei telling her in the drama that he liked the miss ning'er that met during that journey. The girl she was so ashamed of in her first life (before she realized there are worst things to be). He thought she was unpolished jade and was upset to see her sink into the habits of a cold hearted noble in the capital.

She misunderstood him but more importantly she misunderstood herself. She repressed the parts of her that didn't fit the lifestyle she was trying to gain. But in her 2nd life she no longer feels the need to fit in with the other capital nobles, to take back from her sister, to climb the imperial harem. Letting all sides of herself free and meeting Xei Wei head-on is thematically important.

#story of kunning palace #cdrama #meta #silvia reads sokp

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Will we never see the day the Harkles get what they deserve rumour tracking anon? I'm losing faith and I'm really tired. They are saved from all those scandals that demand their answer just with this one incident. I cannot anymore

I know, anon. It's really frustrating to see them keep getting away with it, almost as if they're constantly rewarded for bad behavior.

Some things that have helped me (bolding for emphasis to break up the giant chunks of text):

Taking breaks. Just walk away from it. A day, a weekend, a week. There isn't a whole lot happening in the BRF to counteract the Sussex shenanigans so Harry and Meghan are dominating the news There are no tiara or glam events. No tours/foreign visits. No projects being announced. 3 out of 7 senior royals are on medical leave and the ones who are working don't generate the same kind of headlines, attention, or coverage. Take a break from all this - maybe do a deep dive into another royal family or read historical books about the BRF (especially ones that pre-date the modern House of Windsor) or non-text books (like Angela Kelly's books or Chris Jackson's photobooks).

Spend time pursuing a creative hobby. I find that doing something creative helps keep my mind from wandering to the Sussexes and the nothingness coming from the BRF too often. Some of my creative pursuits: baking and cooking new recipes, DIY and craft projects (I love going to Goodwill, thrift stores, and architectural salvage places for home decor and furniture. Also, I'm not saying you need to pledge allegiance to Catherine, The Princess of Wales in every aspect of your life, but I'm also not not saying that Kate's Ring is an excellent accent color for an end table), learning how to make craft cocktails (it was a pandemic thing), and organizing decades and decades of family photos.

What I also find a cathartic is fanfiction writing. I've had dreams of being a writer since I was Princess Charlotte's age but listen. I cannot stick to a plot for the life of me, because I always want to know "what happens next." But let me tell you. It is hugely cathartic to write a fanfiction novel where a Meghan-like evil witch gets everything she deserves and a Harry-like tortured prince is redeemed by the pure love of an ordinary American girl (okay, that one was pre-Oprah before we all learned how truly messed up Harry is) or where a revenge fantasy where a Harry-like spoiled brat loses everything when he treats his saintly Kate-like girlfriend abominably and when he tries to win her back, she's fallen in love with a Henry Cavill-like swashbuckling Real Man or where the Harry-and-Meghan-like entitled spoilt prince and his wife try to overthrow the saintly and universally loved heir but the Queen swiftly, immediately, justly, and properly handles them with eviction, termination, and worldwide embarrassment. You can do everything to your characters and you can make them suffer in a way the real Harry and Meghan may never.

Find trashier, more trainwreckier drama to get stuck in. Bravo, anyone? A new season of Vanderpump Rules has just started, Summer House is about to start, and two of the villains from OG Vanderpump Rules (Jax and Kristen) have a spinoff series that's about to launch.

Changing your perspective. There's a famous leadership quote about problem-solving: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. In other words, you have to take big things (big problems) one at a time, piece by tiny piece. So yes, the big "elephant" is that the Sussexes look like they have everything - they still have titles, they still have massive million-dollar deals, they've got the Olive Garden, the BRF isn't stopping their PR. But also look at everything they don't have anymore:

They can't use their HRHs.

Their RPOs were taken away.

Their royal charities and patronages were taken away.

Charles isn't paying them as much money, if he's even paying for them.

Everyone is blaming them for hastening Philip's and The Queen's deaths.

They were evicted from Frogmore Cottage.

It took six months for the palace website to add Prince/Princess titles to Archie and Lili but it was instanteous to change George, Charlotte, and Louis to "of Wales."

Charles calls them "Harry and Meghan" or "my other son and his wife."

The family doesn't want to be seen with or around them. Even Eugenie seems to have abandoned ship these days.

William isn't taking Harry's calls.

Lili doesn't have a webpage on the royal website.

Harry's military titles and honors have been revoked. All he has left is the merit-based rank he "earned" as an enlisted soldier. (Which is being generous.)

Their Spotify deal was cancelled early. (Scobie admits this in Endgame.)

No more social media birthday greetings/shout-outs from official royal accounts.

Nothing has come out of Netflix except a whinefest docuseries that no one has taken seriously. Everything they've pitched gets shot down and Meghan isn't getting the talent she wants for her movie.

The only awards they're getting are the ones that they pay for - no Grammys for Spare's audiobook, no Emmys or Golden Globes for their documentaries or the Oprah interview, no Pulitzers or Literary Awards for their books. No Nobel Peace Prize for their recordbreaking humanitarian aid work.

They got the knockoff Kennedys (William got the real ones).

Meghan isn't "in" with A-List Hollywood. The celebrities she's been namedropping haven't had commercial box office hits in at least a decade. She isn't hosting or presenting at award shows.

Meghan isn't getting the lucrative influencer sponsorships and merching she wants, which is why she papwalks in parking lots.

Their foundation is a joke and their philanthropy/giving is increasingly under scrutiny for things that don't make sense.

Their "good deeds" are actually ulterior motives designed for maximum PR and celebrity bandwagons, rather than actually helping underserved communities.

There is actual, open, frequent speculation that their children aren't even real and that has to hurt as a parent.

The British press doesn't take them seriously.

They're a comedy punchline, and not just for satire. The Golden Globes made fun of them. The whole world laughed at them after the "car chase."

Harry's lawsuits aren't going well. He's now trying to relitigate a court finding so he doesn't have to pay his fines.

Elton John isn't flying them anywhere anymore. Oprah and Gayle have cut ties. Ellen DeGeneres seems disinterested. Tyler Perry noped out.

Harry's balding is atrocious. (I mean, really. In the overhead camera angles of The Queen's funeral, his bald spot jumps out at you from a mile away. Not even William's bald head stands out that much.)

They/Archewell bleed staff faster than a flesh wound.

Andrew -- ANDREW! -- still has a royal residence, still has RPOs, still gets papped with members of the royal family, still gets friendly press coverage (on occasion), still gets to wear/use some of his honors (like the RVO at coronation).

Eugenie got to have her own personal social media while Harry and Meghan got a "business" account.

The Sussex wedding was overshadowed by so much drama that still persists to this day (thanks for the Markle v Markle lawsuit, Sam!).

Spare made everyone realize Harry is as bad as Meghan and it's not all on her.

Harry's "Hero Harry"/Queen's Soldier PR persona has been completely and thoroughly shattered. Everyone knows it was just a publicity facade now.

Harry isn't even getting the "William's brother" edit anymore - that's now Mike Tindall.

They were erased from most of the Platinum Jubilee - their only official event was the service of thanksgiving. They didn't even get Trooping - Meghan had to arrange for a pap to take her picture to show us they were at Trooping.

They were erased from the Coronation - Harry got lumped in with the extended family (vs the line of succession, order of precedence, or working royals) and didn't get into any of the official programs, memorabilia, or portraits.

They've been shunned by most of British aristocracy - no invite to the Grosvenor wedding later this year.

No royal christening for Lili, and it's exceedingly more and more likely that the BRF hasn't met her yet.

The British media/press actually shows up and will be the first to defend the BRF against Sussex allegations when it really matters.

There are accusations of stolen valor against Harry because he seems to be supporting American military more than British military.

Harry's African charities, of which he is the figurehead, are in crisis with the discovery of SA and other allegations.

Supposedly Harry's role with BetterUp has been downgraded/demoted.

Invictus Games is going through some serious money issues. There's talk of cutting Harry and Meghan loose because they aren't/can't fundraise, and you know they won't go down swinging.

I'm sure there are more, but my point is that even though it looks like the Sussexes are getting away with things, they really haven't. after all, it's death by a thousand cuts...or eating an elephant piece by tiny piece -- it builds up over time.

Also I just realized that the Kate's Ring paint chip linked up earlier shows it being more of a teal or an inkier blue. It isn't - it's more of a cobalt blue or a royal blue.

#ask #brf #sussexes

[lexuamzaled]

I'm watching Ladybug and I'm ranting about Zoe and Chloe

I've just seen the episode where Zoe, Chloe's sister, is introduced. And, to be honest, I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like it's a character made up exclusively to have a "good Chloe" while still having Chloe as the "bad Chloe".

I don't think every bully cartoon character must be redeemed just for being a cartoon character. Gravity Falls kinda did it, Amphibia kinda did it, The Owl House kinda did it, etc. In those cases, the bully character was redeemed in a way that didn't really forgive their actions, but, more importantly, was understandable in its context. Pacifica Northwest was a bully because their parents made her a bully, and in the end she's more or less able to overcome that in her own way. Sasha saw the errors in her ways and tried to make up for it when she realised she screwed up too much. But all these examples do not mean that every show must redeem their bully. It's ok to not do so. But.

As far as I've seen both in the show and in some statements from its creator, Chloe will never be redeem not because she's a bad person, but because she's the bully, and the bully will never be a good person because people don't change and bullies will never change, no matter anything. And, yes, most people in real life do experience that, that bullies are still bullies, that most of times they don't change, and it's ok to represent that in cartoons.

But, that being true, why did they give Chloe a fake redemption arc that, in the end, had no impact on her outside the moments while that fake redemption arc was taking place? Just, why? It doesn't make sense. A fake redemption arc for a villain can work, but the way it was done it feels less that the character was evil after all and it feels more that the creatores were forcing her to be evil and only evil.

But that fake redemption arc made something interesting: it gave us a good Chloe. A potentially good Chloe. And that could be an interesting addition to the cast. And, correct me if I'm wrong, I think that's what made them create Zoe, Chloe's half-sister. Because Zoe is like Chloe, but without being a bad person and being allowed to have a personality. In the episode she's introduced, she experiences a redemption that feels similar to those of Pacifica from Gravity Falls and Amity from The Owl House: she's from a bad family with bad people and she acts bad because she wants to be accepted by her family, but learns via a new friend that there are other people who can and will accept her for who she is, not for how they want her to be. Zoe is Chloe if Chloe could have a true redemption arc.

I found this quite annoying, and I hope I'm wrong, because I liked the possibility of kinda redeeming Chloe, maybe not fully, but, in a way. Forcing her to confront her mistakes, her wrongdoings, the fact that she's always been a horrible and terrible person with everyone around her. LET HER CONFRONT THAT, IT'S EASY DRAAAAMAAAA! But, no, they couldn't lose their loser bully, because Chloe is a bully to be bullied by the show, because maybe laughing at someone it's ok if you make that person be ridiculous. And instead of exploiting possible drama, character conflicts, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT, they created another character, a new Chloe, a better Chloe, Zoe. This way, they could let the good Chloe be a character while they made the bad Chloe the butt of the joke forever and ever and ever.

I've just seen, as I've said, Zoe's first episode, in Season 4 of Miraculous. I don't know what they did with her in both the rest of S4 and in S5. I'll find out eventually, because at the end I really enjoy Miraculous, because it's fun, even if it's frustrating with its plot and lack of character development. But I wouldn't be surprised if they turned Zoe into the new Queen Bee, taking Chloe's place on the Miraculous Team. Because, again, maybe I'm wrong, but I do feel that Zoe is the good Chloe made to still have Chloe to be bad.

#miraculous ladybug #ladybug and chat noir #chloe bourgeois #zoe lee #redemption arc #the owl house #gravity falls #amphibia

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Content warning for abelism, both in the language used to refer to a disabled character and also in how said character is treated. Content warning also for Eric being a creep.

Eric returns to the orchard and, now that he has unlocked her backstory, Kilmeny is here! And she doesn't run away this time! He immediately takes advantage of this by invading her personal space!

"Seeing this, he walked slowly towards her, and when he was so close to her that he could hear the nervous flutter of her breath over her parted, trembling lips, he said very gently,

“Do not be afraid of me. I am a friend, and I do not wish to disturb or annoy you in any way.”

She seemed to hesitate a moment. Then she lifted a little slate that hung at her belt, wrote something on it rapidly, and held it out to him. He read, in a small distinctive handwriting,

“I am not afraid of you now. Mother told me that all strange men were very wicked and dangerous, but I do not think you can be. I have thought a great deal about you, and I am sorry I ran away the other night."

Look, this is trying its very hardest to be a meet-cute. Eric is blushing and gentle, Kilmeny is hesitant but interested. Maud is trying so hard to make this chemistry happen.

It is not happening. It is not happening because, as I said before, Eric's charm is entirely ruined by the fact that we are in his head. If we were seeing this through a 3rd party? Could maybe be cute! I mean probably not, because of the aforementioned personal space violation and also the fact that he didn't apologize for scaring her, but it could be if you worked at it hard enough! But Eric's inner monologue is not cute. Eric's inner monologue is consistently condescending at best. We know he doesn't feel bad for scaring her, he feels annoyed at her for being scared. Not cute.

This is cemented by Eric's habit of asking her questions that are actually orders. "Won’t you play for me?" "And now won’t you give me some flowers?" Definitely not cute, sorry.

There is one brief moment where he realizes how not cute this could all get, even if he can only express it via ableism: "The next moment he was angry with himself for his folly. She was, after all, nothing but a child—and a child set apart from her fellow creatures by her sad defect. He must not let himself think nonsense." I would like to think that this is Eric recognizing the power difference between them. I fear it is actually Eric just going, 'she's just a kid, can't marry a kid, not good enough to be a wife yet.'

“Yes, but what I mean is, would you like me better if I could speak like other people?”

My heart is officially broken for Kilmeny and she's only had like three lines. I want to whisk her away from her family and give her some friends who don't tell her she's less than human and fully undesirable because she can't speak.

“No, it does not make any difference in that way, Kilmeny. By the way, do you mind my calling you Kilmeny?”

And Eric is back to being almost charming! I really think that if he'd been whacked on the head by Anne Shirley or equivalent as a kid he would have been redeemable! He's only 24, there's still time to grow as a person! It's just that he really should have done that growing before meeting Kilmeny, for her sake.

"Eric told her of his life, and the life in the great outer world, in which she was girlishly and eagerly interested. She asked him many questions about it—direct and incisive questions which showed that she had already formed decided opinions and views about it. Yet it was plain to be seen that she did not regard it as anything she might ever share herself. Hers was the dispassionate interest with which she might have listened to a tale of the land of fairy or of some great empire long passed away from earth."

So in the Kilmeny poem, one of the things Kilmeny does in fairy land is she observes great dramas being played out in other worlds. She sees a queen brought to her knees by a treacherous lover and she sees great wars and battles. I think this passage is a direct callback to that part of the poem. Kilmeny Gordon is trapped in fairy land, watching mortal dramas play out before her without any ability to interact with them.

Kilmeny vehemently does not want to go out into the world. This makes me question Eric's interpretation of her music earlier. While I know narratively what's going to happen is that under her fear and trauma she really does want to leave and the music was unconsciously expressing that, I would very much like it if Eric had actually just been wrong. She was playing a song and he read into it something that wasn't there. That would be nice.

I don't think we're going to get nice things, alas.

Especially not when we end with this: "Unconsciously and involuntarily he infused so much triumph into the simple monosyllable that even old Robert felt it. Mrs. Williamson, who was cutting bread at the end of the table, laid down her knife and loaf, and looked at the young man with a softly troubled expression in her eyes. She wondered if he had been back to the Connors orchard—and if he could have seen Kilmeny Gordon again." Triumph, is it Eric? You've met the woman your heart yearns for, had a long conversation with her, promised to meet her again tomorrow, and the emotion you are feeling is triumph. That bodes poorly.

#kilmeny of the orchard #kilmeny readalong #how do i put kilmeny gordon and cecilia gay into the same room?

[whatwouldvalerydo]

First of all: Hail her Majesty, the Queen. Bow your unworthy heads before Her Greatness.

Second: Gimme.

🍄🧸📚🍦☁️ aaaand (as the resident balance positivity shit person) 🪐

First of all: LOL no, please do not, I would be a horrible ruler, hectic but bitchy to an flawless awesome extent.

Ahem.

Moving on to the topic at hand:

🍄- share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

You are asking the world and then some with this one because I have been so out of touch with all of them. Who do I turn to? Are they even in the state I have left them in? All good questions and valid ones.

I will go with something entirely different, a paring of friends.

Victoria has been lately hanging out at a bar waiting for someone or something to happen. I don't know where her head is, but I know I see Angela traveling in order to meet with her in an unnamed bar, in a small village. I think they would be friends that would drop everything to go see each other when the moment requires it.

We all need those sort of friends that would pick up our spirits in moments of darkness.

🧸- what's the fastest way to become your mutual?

None.

There isn't a recipe towards becoming my mutual. I might reach out, you might reach out, I might be inspired by you, you might be inspired by me.

I am not the easiest person to get along with and yet I am. Just that I am very strict in letting people get close to me. Simple. No drama. Bring your chaos in your writing or art and I will be there, bring shit in my personal bubble and you can fuck off. Oddly simple yet not many go that way.

📚- what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app?

Good question:

Oddly enough it's not the worst thing, which you know since I once shared my latest notes. It's a title for something yet to come or materialize in my head: Last Heartstring.

🍦- name three good things about a character you hate

Hmm, mmmmm, offff.

Fanfiction wise, off the top of my head I would say Jasper from Late Night Enchantments. I hate the guy, I wrote him and he managed to weasel his way into more arcs and yet I still hate him. But now that I am typing out the answer and thinking back, Constantine Crane is the winner.

But this should be 3 good things so here you go for both of them:

Jasper: His entire revenge plot is actually out of love, as twisted as he appears to be there is actual good in him, he is a very complicated and complex character and while you love to hate him, you can't help but hate to love him.

Constantine: He is incredibly smart, when he sets his mind on something he strives to complete it and no, I'm sorry but I can't think of any other redeeming thing for him apart that he makes a fucking good vilan.

☁️- what made you choose your username?

It's a play on play from the show Lucifer. At one point there was either an episode called "What would Lucifer do." or the main character said and i really liked it.

The name Valery is just something that came to be, so I became Valery.

WhatWouldValeryDo? she would write.

🪐- name three good things going on in your life right now

I am planning a holiday with the moms to Belgium for May.

I wrote a chapter last night.

My best friend in getting married in September.

#val answers #asks

[emeraldart]

2, 9, 18 from this ask game

2. Labyrinth Runners! This is honestly a pretty random episode but I’m obsessed with it for many many reasons. Mostly being Gus characterization. We get it in other episodes (Looking Glass Ruins, Something Ventured Someone Framed) but I didn’t really relate it as much? (I was the youngest in all my classes, which Gus mentions in SVSF but just due to a late birthday, I didn’t actually skip a grade.) But OH MY GOD, Gus’s whole thing on worrying about friends with ulterior motives got to me. He’s so me fr. Plus, Hunter got a found family! They have Luz, Amity, and Willow! My babies have a support system! Also, the whole Amity and Willow subplot was nice because I could tell they wanted to talk about it more but they made it work with the shortening. They made Amity like the perfect mix of her condescension we see when she’s introduced along with her desire to change. Also, there’s so many little ship crumbs within a found family friendship episode so it’s very fluffy and nice and sweet. I did miss Luz but I kinda love “what’s up with the other guys” episodes in shows. 9. There’s some pretty clear indication Hunter would’ve stayed at the Owl House, so I think we would’ve got that. There’s a few subplots I think they’d touch on, like with the Bat Queen’s whistle and the Galderstones. Probably a lot more silly bonding episodes to work on character dynamics. I think there’d be at least one subplot (other than the Hollow Mind one) of Raine Darius and Eber. 18. Mostly the redeemed antagonists. Here’s a little list:

Amity: She just seemed like she was there to add drama but by Covention I had a feeling there was more to her. I didn’t see her becoming a love interest at first but discovering the mean girl was actually a disaster lesbian won me over. Lilith: I was pretty suspicious of her but I didn’t think she cursed Eda at first. When I found out she did, I wasn’t really that mad because I felt we’d get an explanation soon. I was just kind of annoyed at her for picking fights with kids a lot. I think around Keeping Up A-fear-Ances, when we see that most of her rudeness and childishness isn’t actually from a place of malice and she does care for King and Luz I liked her. Hunter: Kind of a more basic story. I kind of expected another Kikimora but then he wasn’t another Kikimora. Yay. Mattholomule: I honestly still don’t like him. It’s just an affectionate hatred now. Little weasel rat man. Skara: Idk why I didn’t like her at first but I didn’t. Maybe she was mean to Willow? At some random point I saw art with her or something and decided she was just a silly little guy.

#toh

[temunitu]

John Bishop, 2012 Irma, Rise Karai, 1987 Donatello

ooh, a bunch!

John Bishop (i assume you mean 2003?)

First impression: woag. cool government guy :] tryna slice my boi D:

Impression now: oh my god holy shit. he’s the coolest guy ever and the most intimidating (sorry shredder)

Favorite moment: uhhh the train one. y’know. or like the battle over splinter. just. wow. love that guy. y’know what i don’t HAVE a favorite moment all of his moments are good

Idea for a story: hhhhhhngf i would like to know more about his past so. i’d probably do that. OR i would do the concept of the canceled FF episode where he teams up with turtle titan. if done right, their dynamic would be hilarious

Unpopular opinion: i have mixed feelings on his redemption. on the one hand, it feels natural for him to become President, but on the other hand, i don’t really like it how one of the coolest villains got redeemed??? he seems so set in his ways and i get that it’s possible he’d have a change of heart, but it would have to be BIG and i don’t really feel like it was in FF, y’know?

Favorite relationship: he’s kinda a lone wolf so there’s not many options…? the gay little look he and stockman give each other in fast forward was GREAT though

Favorite headcanon: body horror body horror body horror boDY HORROR. i mean it’s canon but it’s so good

-

2012 Irma

First impression: oh cool! another iteration of irma!! :] (please don’t be a love interest, please don’t be a love interest…)

Impression now: fine, i guess? good that she’s not a love interest. the utrom council take was new, which was kinda a cool concept.

Favorite moment: probably the reveal for kraang subprime. i love his VA and the panic of Irma’s head swiveling was funny.

Idea for a story: human irma moves to town. shenanigans ensue

Unpopular opinion: i liked evil irma more than “rook” or whatever the utrom council’s codename/rank was.

Favorite relationship: there’s not really many options... it was nice for april to have a normal friend for once i guess

Favorite headcanon: what. what headcanons? does anyone have any???

-

Rise Karai

First impression: whoa!! could it be???????? my queen my darling the light of my life?????? IT IS :D

Impression now:

Favorite moment: ALL OF THEM SHUT UP but especially when mikey gives her the drawing 🥹

Idea for a story: i need to be honest. i had an idea for a story BEFORE we knew about karai in rise - i made a version of her that was heavily based off 2003 karai. except she was part of a prophesy and said to wield the armor. this was back when season one hadn’t even completely aired. ANYWAY now i would do just about anything to get the canceled episodes we were PROMISED BY NICKELODEON of the boys bonding with gam-gam karai

Unpopular opinion: my only complaint is that we didn’t see more of her. i know that’s not unpopular but it’s all i’ve got

Favorite relationship: hm…

Favorite headcanon: i think she should slay at air hockey idc if she was trapped for years she’s just that good

-

1987 Donatello

First impression: haha NERD

Impression now: oh wait he’s. Unhinged

Favorite moment: in the ninja sword of nowhere, they’re in battle with shredder and donnie tries to bat a watermelon at shredder with his bo. he just ends up covered in watermelon bits fjsjfhs why did he think that would woRK (maybe not my fav moment but it’s the first that comes to mind that sticks out)

Idea for a story: heard a tidbit from the show where donatello has a monologue about how they’re “outcasts from society” so i’d either do an angsty thing like that OR put that kid in the theatre he was killing it with the drama

Unpopular opinion: 87 in general gets a lot of complaints cuz people don’t wanna sit through 10 seasons (which tbf i’m still tryna get through) but like. it’s SO entertaining. i am a little disappointed that turtles forever took the route of making fun of 87 :/ donatello is no less smart just cuz his world’s logic is cheesier than other iterations

Favorite relationship: donnie and raph in 87 are like. so fun together

Favorite headcanon: i’m not well versed in the 87 side of the tmnt fandom but i think donatello is a theatre kid and no one can tel lie otherwise. put him in a lil costume and send him out on stage ok he has a LOT of pent-up drama and sass

#ask #x-i-l-verify #tmnt 1987 donnie #rottmnt karai #tmnt 2012 irma #john bishop #agent bishop

[existence-is-useless]

Rewatching Once Upon A Time and I really appreciate season 6 Zelena. Like, she's literally too busy being a mother than being evil (wicked) like, she went from trying to destroy Regina, to trying to destroy Regina, to trying to destroy Regina, to I have a daughter now so I'm just going to live in my cabin and raise my little green pea Robin.

Like, I get that Cora gave Regina and Zelena their memories of being sisters back, but Zelena didn't even really redeem herself. She still caused a bit of drama, from helping the Evil Queen hide, to turning Archie into a cricket, but she was too focused on baby Robin to really focus on her wicked schemes.

#once upon a time #ouat

[limerental]

While, personally, I'm not a fan of Lauren (especially after she tried to "reason" with an alt-right fella on twitter) but it's not entirely her fault that Geralt is so meh. Honestly, I watched the show first and then played tw3 during the first wave of the pandemic. And I HATED Geralt in twn, but loved him in the game (I loved Yen in both mediums btw. queen.) but I found out that Mr. Caravan was partly responsible for Geralt being barely verbose, which confused me as hell. I've read the books now, but even game Geralt won't shut the hell up and he constantly makes bad jokes and puns a lá Spider-Man. Most people think that he based Geralt of game Geralt, but I don't see it. I liked game Geralt way more than twn Geralt, although he had his ups and downs (CDPR cannot hide their misogynist writing)

I stand by the fact that Caravan's Geralt was based off a wet gamer fanboy fantasy. As I said CDPR isn't innocent, but their writing is more nuanced than whatever the hell Caravan's interpretation was. I just don't understand where he, and a lot of other people, got the impression that Geralt DOESN'T TALK. Talking and monologuing is part of his ugly sadman schtick. Game Geralt might not be like 100% book Geralt and he isn't perfect, but he has way more charisma in his pinky than twn Geralt had in two seasons. And then, book Geralt is on a whole different plane of existance. Ratty, lanky, self-loathing dirty drama queen that talks people's ears off who is pro-choice, made a lot of mistakes and said stupid shit. I stan that one. He has flavor.

Sorry for rambling, but I am so frustrated by people thinking that Caravan is the ultimate Geralt, even though we've had versions (although imperfect but that's part of the charm) that surpass him by a landslide.

Yeah, all of this. I'm delighted by how sassy and snarky game Geralt is and of course, I love and stan my main miserable whiny greasy slimey mopey cheeky flawed but tries his best yucky rat man, book Geralt. I've never really been sure what exactly Humphrey's depiction was based off of. His own machismo? Some weird idea of Geralt as a Hollywood stoic grunting strong man? No idea man! Mostly it's just impressively baffling that so many people seem to have zero character analysis skills of their own and just blandly take Sir Corndog at his word that he loves and respects the character. Even if the dissonance comes down to bad writing, Canolli has said multiple times that he thought s2 geralt was more book accurate and it's WORSE somehow.... s2 was like a cardboard cutout version of a vaguely Geralt-shaped thing. And then people still? Say that was the only redeeming part of s2? wild. Insane. I'm being gaslit, I swear

[bestworstcase]

do you think that if they hadn't gone on a journey (like the s2 follow the rocks thing) that cass and raps might have been able to build/develop a healthier relationship?

tricky question because on the one hand. the erosion of hierarchical lines and lack of structure they had whilst on the road was a HUGE factor in how and why the cass+rapunzel friendship derailed the way it did, and that wouldn’t have happened had they stayed in corona. but on the other hand, if we begin with the assumption that the black rocks stuff never happens—ergo, there is no reason for rapunzel et al to leave corona on a quest—then… well you don’t just delete the stressors that emerged during the journey. you also delete the thing that saved cassandra from being forced into a convent.

black rocks or no black rocks, cass would’ve snuck rapunzel out for the night before the coronation, and rapunzel would almost certainly still have written about it in her journal, and there’s a not insignificant chance of frederic still reading it and still freaking out. in canon cass does not end up in a convent because varian terroristically attacks the city, kidnaps the queen, and creates an opportunity for cass to ‘redeem’ herself to the king by leading the counterattack—but if there’s no black rocks there’s no amber and no reason for varian to spiral into villainy and no immediate crisis to prevent cass from getting sent away, so either she makes a break for it the second she’s out of sight of the palace or she ends up stuck in a fucking convent until such time as she is able to escape, neither of which is especially conducive to friendship building on account of 1. separation and 2. likelihood of building resentment over how indirectly her friendship with the princess destroyed her life.

where do we go from there? idk it depends what a s2 in corona looks like—hypothetically i’d imagine that in total absence of the sundrop/moonstone drama the separatists would become the main vehicle for arc conflict, with rapunzel’s fury at her dad for having cass sent away providing secondary conflict. i want to say she might bounce to look for cass eventually but, well, s3,

in the additional absence of the convent imprisonment / escape though, in a scenario where everything’s hunky dory in corona and the early s1 status quo holds for longer than a couple months, i… think that would remain stable for quite a bit LONGER but i do think ultimately it was still unsustainable, if only because cass so clearly does not want to be rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting and rapunzel equally clearly on some level wants cass to be happy as her lady-in-waiting slash doesn’t emotionally grasp the distinction between “cass doesn’t like being my servant” and “cass doesn’t like ME” bc she lacks the social experience and emotional vocabulary to understand Cassandra vs Lady-in-Waiting-Mode Cass, and like… that’s bound to become sticky sooner or later, even if it doesn’t escalate to anywhere near the level of violent toxicity that emerged over the course of the black rock trip. eventually cass is gonna hit a point where she cannot stay in corona anymore, where her place in this society becomes intolerable, and raps isn’t going to be able to deal with that well, and it’ll be Messy, i think that’s inevitable to an extent.

just it might be more of a ‘cass is moving to ingvarr suddenly and we have a nasty fight about it before she leaves and bad feelings linger for an uncomfortably long time before we can cautiously revisit things by letter’ than a ‘cass razed corona to the ground and is besties with a demon now oh no’ type of mess kgjfmfbd

#if zhan tiri is still hanging around in acid hell #which she is because i refuse to delete her!!! #she is also a potential spanner in the works here

[the-portrait-of-seraph]

September Wrap-up

The Crucible [Miller, Arthur]: 8/10

The drama in this book is insane (obviously because it is part of the American drama canon)! There is so much going on in this book and the characters are all so memorable, but I think we can all agree that Abigail was the absolute worst. She did play a role in John’s character development and the plot as a whole, but I can’t say she’s my favorite.

There’s a lot to think about when you read this book; to understand the socio-political situation of both eras of John Proctor and Arthur Miller, the Salem Witch Trials (accuracy) and McCarthyism, you get the idea.

Over all an amazing book, will read again soon.

Catcher in the Rye [Salinger, J.D.]: 7.5/10

I know what you're all thinking: “But Icaruia, the whole idea of the book is that Holden is meant to be disliked because he’s still a growing boy who’s going through different phases of his life and hates the world because of his own view of people; and that’s why he calls them fakes and phonies all the time because he’s still confused/scared of the world inside-”

It still doesn't stand out to me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m closer to him in age, but complete opposites, or maybe it’s because I just don’t care enough for the book, call me immature. It’s okay to still hate books you didn’t like back then; some things change and some don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I do understand what place Holden is coming from and why many Americans do consider it a top-notch coming-of-age novel, but it simply wasn’t my thing.

Hell Screen [Akutagawa, Ryuunosuke]: 10/10

Call me biased, but I love Akutagawa, I really do! His work is just so magical to me and never fails to make me happy. You can see more of this on my Japanese Literature recommendations post here!

The Queen of Spades [Pushkin, Alexander]: 9.5/10

We have the Belkin Stories, Dubrosky, and The Queen of Spades in this book and it is just so amazingly wonderful! I love Pushkin's style of Romantic writing, which feels different from the other Romantic authors I've acquainted myself with and I was so excited to read this book. I definitely recommend The Queen of Spades bc it has love, human greed, tragedy, and ghosts(???). I couldn't give it a 10 though bc the spine was a little stiff and I can be very petty about the comfort level of the book haha

The Scarlet Letter [Hawthorne, Nathaniel]: 8/10

Dimmesdale needed to step up quicker, maybe then his health wouldn’t have been so bad. Besides that, The Scarlet Letter has redeemed itself and enjoyed reading it. I am getting second-hand religious trauma from some of the scenes from the book, like when Dimmesdale falls ill and Chillingworth notices the minister’s scarlet letter, deducing that it is the result of unconfessed sin. Hester deserved so much more better than what she got in the story, she could have had great potential.

It was very interesting to see how the people viewed Hester’s scarlet letter, transitioning from “Adultery” to “Able” during the people’s time of need and it’s great fun to notice these details in writing.

💌: I am a little disappointed in myself for not reading and posting as consistently as I want, but this is the life of student who has their hands full. What did you all finish in September? Is there anything you’d comment about on this month’s wrap-up?

#reading #books #photography #book review #nathaniel hawthorne #the scarlet letter #russian literature #russian cal #Japanese literature #akutagawa ryuunosuke #catcher in the rye #jd salinger #the crucible #arthur miller #American literature #literature #modern classics

[sweetestpopcorn]

there's something i clearly don't understand. starz made queen katharine a liar who awfully sinned and "put her husband into hell fire", showed her as a bad mother. made eoy [a true softie] badass and a murderer [made her fell in love with her r*pist], they also made her hate katharine [irl she adored katharine, probably as you already know] many movies made queen mary i of england a fanatic, crazy, old, fat, stupid, powerless, cruel etc woman. but most of the people only care about how tsp katharine wore an armour and went to war. yes, it was inaccurate in many ways but it wasn't as horrible as her "consummated marriage" to arthur. they also showed her as a bad friend [all her friends worshiped her in real history and stayed with her until the very end] oh, people also hate women going to hunt and using a sword while at that time many noble woman hunted. i don't know if real life koa knew how to use a sword but since her mother was a warrior we could assume isabella wanted her daughter to protect herself so in tsp it didn't bother me.

to make the long story short, you can mess with historical women's personalities, make them little monsters but you can't give them a sword because that would be inaccurate 🤩🤩🤩

don't get me wrong, i'm not saying women can't be a good queen without using a sword. i mean, queen mary i of england [a great queen who fought for her crown and for her people] didn't use a sword [still, she loved hunting as she was active as much as she could] but these are tv shows and little changes like this aren't that bad. making a woman a liar [who was cast aside for this slander] is a total different thing. it is so disrespectful that i want to womit

-twrgaryen

Hi there twrgareyn!

I mean the starz "historical" dramas are just such a mess I have no words, again, their redeeming quality is that sometimes they are so bad they become good, but that's about all of the praise I can give them. Ok that and some casting choices (Jodie as EoY) were pretty great and I do think the actors did the best with what they were given... problem was they were given trash.

If you are a Mary I fan you should check out Becoming Elizabeth as I heard they are giving a great portrayal of Mary I. The same can't be said about the insulting portrayal of Elizabeth, but hey XD we have to pick our battles and I think Mary I fans can enjoy the show. Her casting choice was amazing imo!

#popcorn answers

[petalsmooth]

Now Bridgerton spoilers

I found the apology to Pen rather underwhelming in the first part of his statement talking about how he sought her out because he liked the way he felt around her or how they made him see the world differently. It was a bit too self centered a focus for an apology on top of how he said he didn't like seeing her so hurt.

They rescued it though, somewhat, by then talking about her being clever and warm and being proud that HE gets to call HER a friend. I liked that part. But I'm glad didn't jump at the apology and then instead opened up about how it makes HER feel to watch him skip off then return each year and easily take up space while she stumbles on the sidelines. Apparently men DID approach her in her new dress but she responded awkwardly and again ended up alone. I liked THIS part because turns it from being about how HE feels to how SHE feels which I don't think he's fully entertained before.

Dude is still completely oblivious to how he feels about her though. You raked through the globe quite happily with exception of still feeling unsettled to have no defined purpose with one exception. You reserved focus on the fact she didn't write you. You get home and flirt with the first women you see, but you still find time to glance at Pen's house. You are playing the man about town at the garden party, but you make tracks to Pen's side soon as realize she's there. You dump the men wanting to hear about your sexual escapades the second you see Pen crying leaving a ball and try to flirt with her (without realizing you are doing it) and then nearly crumble in on yourself when you realize she's mad at you. Then you stalk her garden and come up with a ridiculous plan of keeping her in your life but marrying her off to someone else. Shakespeare would be proud of this chaos.

Good luck redeeming Cressida Bridgerton, not buying it. Although maybe Eloise will not be as bad as I thought since apparently did call out Cressida...but somehow I doubt it since she then befriends her.

Good on Colin apparently calling her out on the Cressida friendship though. Feud with Pen or no, that doesn't excuse this choice.

Francesca not yet named diamond, no one is yet and she's an introvert. Generally I would relate to this development as an introvert but I need to get to know the actress first.

Debling talks with Pen and yes...he's generic stock nice guy. But too dump for Pen. If you believe Cressida tore Pen's hem on accident and abandon her to get a maid to help...sorry but no. That might be the gentlemanly thing to do but the SMART thing to do would have been to stay by Pen, recognize the bully for what she is and ask Pen to dance. Not that I want them together but...yeah...

But I'm totally cool with Colin having to witness Pen being courted since she's watching his nonsense this season. You don't get prizes for being stupidly oblivious to your feelings.

Of and Colin isn't ticked off because of Eloise who he has given no thought too last 6 months or Marina who hasn't thought of longer. He's just mad Pen accurately deduced he is still without purpose and the rest is an act to feed his need of validation since hasn't found it in an occupation yet. He and Pen are going to have an explosive fight in that carriage, which should be rather fun. Meanwhile Pen has lost all sense of self preservation and is lashing out at everyone because she's miserable. Pretty sure going to come back to regret that with the Queen but hey...I love the LW/Charloote drama so look forward to that.