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modstin · 11 months ago

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A Yuletide Carol, Stave 1: Bob Cratchit

A slightly tilted retelling of the Charles Dickens classic, featuring illustrations!

Before we can begin on this mutual enjoyment of fiction, it must be set out first and straight the fact of one Jacob Marley.

He's dead.

Jacob Marley, in fact, died almost a decade ago. Seven years, to the day where this story shall actually begin (which I promise will happen shortly). His death certificate was signed by the clergy that handled the funeral, and by his partner; Ebenezer Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge, at the funeral, did have a few kind words for the man. “A fine businessman,” he said, “Intellectual and prudent. A man you could bend a horseshoe around, good for the money,” and so forth.

If there was anything Ebenezer knew personally about the man, he did not show it. Scrooge knew he was dead, at the very least. Of course he would know that, he'd been partnered to him for many many years before his demise, and even found him sitting stone dead in the seat that would soon hold his assistant clark.

But that was seven years ago. And Marley has been dead for those seven years. Mind you, this is not an uncommon state of affairs. I think you'll find most people are dead. Really, they're the majority. And it's a stain on democracy that we so rarely listen to them.

The fact that Marley is dead is important to come completely to terms with, as not doing so and pretending the opposite will make some of the further dreadful scenes I will relate to you quite confusing. It would be silly, after all, to react with such fear and horror to one's father entering the room, were you not Hamlet and your father been dead since before the play started. So yes, remember that fact, Jacob Marley is dead.

Another thing I must educate you on is the world you are about to enter. I assume you already have a firm grasp on the difference between fiction and reality, and thus I must explain that the story I am about to tell you is completely true. It really did happen.

It just happened to take place in a completely fictional world.

Unlike many fantasy novels, where you'll find a series of maps and factions and wars and a timeline and perhaps a 20 hour audiobook detailing the epic and admittedly napworthy lore of the backdrop and its strange and remarkably over thought ruleset governing how magic works, I feel it only necessary to bore you with the very basics.

It is a fantasy world, not unlike those you've seen in those fancy movies. You know the ones where the effects budgets quite outweigh tenfold the cost of living for all the homeless people sleeping outside the studio. Lack of budget notwithstanding, I'll try to make this just as entertaining as those, though with likely less sword fights and magic duels.

In this fantasy world, there is indeed magic. But like in real life, where we may be aware of Quicksand and Spike Pits and Giant Monstrous Lizards who would tower above even our finest war tanks... Rarely are these facts relevant to day-to-day activities, unless you happen to be a paleontologist.

So the story that I'm going to tell you is terrific, even to the old fool it will be happening to. Don't think just because he lives in a world with dragons, that what he's going to experience is anywhere near his normal.

This world that I will be showing to you is called Mira. It is a world with blue oceans, green grass, many different types of animals, and very few of our modern conveniences. It also has a ring around it, like Saturn! It's very pretty.

Monsters and Magic aside, there will be times I use words one could mistrue as an insult. Let me shake those worries away now, when I refer to someone as a Goblin, that is quite a literal sentiment. They have green skin, a large nose, floppy ears, and enjoy living in little underground tunnels. None of the goblins in this story, however, do so, they live in apartments and little houses just like you and me.

Note that species will be rarely relevant to this story, and anything breaking from the normal day to day life of your average hard working paleontologist that is relevant will be promptly explained to you. There will be, of course, provided illustrations, which should be illuminating if not entirely illogical.

Where should we begin... the beginning isn't good, I already told you the details of that. Jacob Marley, dead, you get it. Perhaps the present then. Yes, let's go with that.

The sun rose. It was perhaps the only thing it really did outside of being bright. Producing heat seemed to be low on its list of priorities this morning. For this was, of course, the Eve of Yule.

Yule, in certain parts of Mira, is celebrated as part of the Winter Solstice. It is the day of, in fact. The shortest day of the year, at least in the hemisphere we're concerned with for this story. Yule is preceded by Yule's Eve, which is itself preceded by about half a month of general worry and preparation known as Yuletide.

Yule may, in some sense, present parallels to certain festivals on Earth. This is intentional. Write what you know, after all. I may enlighten you to the specifics soon, but don't count on it. I'm not a very reliable narrator.

The light was intense, even with no heat backing it, as it got many chances to reflect on the surface of ice and snow throughout the streets of Amalen, capital city of the Melodic Empire (sometimes called just Melodia, to sound less boastful or challenging to nearby powers).

The rush of inward cold air was comparable to a ship sprouting a leak a few inches from your face. And it took many forceful pushes to get the door closed again. Not because of much wind, but because of the shaggy rug that Bob Cratchit had gotten second hand from one of his cousins.

"Phew!" Cratchitt muttered, patting the frost of the outdoors off of his furred rabbitish face (And I do mean this literally, remember what I said earlier please). He adjusted his coat as his wife approached, holding a few pieces of forlorn clothing.

"Your scarf dear."

"Ah, yes."

"And your hat, dear."

"Of course, what would I do without you-"

"And your pants. Dear."

Bob Cratchit adjusted his stance a bit and lifted one of his feet to pop it into the short set of trousers. Wearing pants was a bit more optional for some folk on Mira, what with modest fur coverings, but on a day like today, freezing some important bits of yourself off would be a consequence.

Emily Cratchit patted down her husband's clothing to straighten it out after tying his scarf about his neck. Emily, in point of fact, was not very rabbit-like. Rather, she was a goblin. Not very plump like they often are, but with long hair and dark green speckles of freckles. It was thanks to her being a goblin and having such a height as one that she didn't have to kneel or stand on tiptoes to kiss Bob, "Now, you’re to have a fine day, and you're to ask Scrooge for a raise like we talked about last night." She stated it as a fact rather than a question or suggestion.

Bob had a few starts as he faced down the oncoming carriage, and decided to try to risk going between the wheels, "Darling, it's... well, you know its a bit more complex than-"

"Robert Cratchit!" Bob realized far too late that before there was the carriage, there was also the horse to worry about, "You cannot keep apologizing for that old man's miserliness! I won't have it any longer! You work so much overtime for that old fool and have nothing to show for it!" Emily pressed forward, and shook her finger in her husband's face, "We need more money here!"

"I know, dear-" Bob placated.

"Not just for Timothy, Aude knows he needs it, but..." She placed her hand against her stomach, perhaps unconsciously.

Bob did the same, putting his palm on top of the back of her hand and getting close. A warm atmosphere of love pressed outwards, a foggy kind of dream that Bob felt he was lost in whenever he looked into his wife's eyes. Even after these years, and the many struggles to make it from one to the next. "I promise... I'll ask."

"Thank you, dear." Emily said, leaning forward and embracing him. After the short hug, she let go and shoved him towards the door, "Well, get a move on. I must get started on tomorrow's dinner."

At the best of times, and despite himself, Bob sometimes found his wife's cooking questionable, but this was downright interrogative, "You're starting tomorrow's dinner this morning?"

"You deal with numbers and old fools," Emily said, "And I'll deal with the cooking. Understood?"

Bob had no willingness to get in front of another carriage nor horse this morning, "Yes dear. I'll see you this evening!" He smiled and took his hat in both hands, lifting it and popping it right onto his head! It looked a bit like one of those drawings in fairytales, where a rabbit wore a silly tophat with its ears sticking out. Like an upside down outcome of a backwards magician's act. But it was warm, and that's what counted.

He stepped out of his home. It was a two story structure, but built very thin, and the stories were rather stout anyway, since it was made for goblins and munchkins like Emily and Bob. Half the Size doesn't necessarily mean Half the Living Space, but Half the Budget often does.

Bob bounced along as bunnies tend to do, and headed down the street so as to not be late to work at Scrooge and Marley's.

As Bob Cratchit dodged a slow rolling cart, making his way across frosted cobbles and snowdrifts from the previous night's meteorological efforts, he was caught by the sudden warmth of a window, bringing with it the sweet scent of freshly baked bread.

"Bonjour Monsieur Cratchit!" Said the fat man who leaned out the window Bob had been crossing under.

Melodic was Bob's first language, but he had become too used to speaking Merchant's Tongue, a favorite of metropolitan Melodians. However, Jean Paris the baker often peppered the words into his natural dialect to keep conversation fresh as bread. "Oh! Bonjour Monsieur Paris." Bob nodded, keeping his paws tightly tucked into his pockets. "Baking for tomorrow?"

"Oui! I have a very special order, in fact!" Mr. Paris said, leaning on one arm out of "For Monsieur Scrooge and his big Yule party tomorrow!"

Bob stared at Mr. Paris, then looked down the street for a few moments. He was frozen in contemplation, the cold air having nothing to do with it. After hesitation, he turned his head, and with sudden exclamation, "Ebenezer Scrooge is hosting a Yule Party?" The complaint that Bob, Scrooge's single employee, had not been invited was at the back of the line in terms of questions and concerns to be filed immediately.

"What?! No no no!" The fat man began to laugh as he waved his hands frantically, "Ooh hoh hoh! If- If Ebenezer Scrooge-" He had to catch his breath, but kept laughing as he talked, "If Ebenezer Scrooge hosted a party! Why! He'd be selling the slices of ham by the millimeter! Hahaha! He'd be- There'd be a fee at the door! And you'd get a bill afterwards for air consumption in his house! Hahahaha!" The man chortled and laughed further on the mere idea that Ebenezer Scrooge would ever host anything beyond ill-will.

"Right..." Bob said, turning his eyes down to the sidewalk as he considered his boss for a moment...

Scrooge. What could be said about him?

Tight Fisted was a good phrase, though a more accurate turn of phrase would include words like 'locked' and 'glued' and 'cement encased'. A clamp upon money like an oyster on a pearl. Sharp as flint but never so generous as to give warmth to anyone without a percentage interest on the steel. Hard-set in his ways, a rut to and from his office.

A hobgoblin, with a wiry chin and sharp features, cold and cruel even for the generally stern folk that hobs tended to be. A permanent frown affixed to his over-wrinkled elderly face, fitted with a squint that could sour beer and a sneer that could curdle milk. All the better to glare down debtors from his desk.

He wouldn't step in a puddle to splash an orphan, merely because doing so would mean he'd have to pay to get his socks cleaned. Lo was there to be any child in his way, however. Were a blind man to be in Scrooge's path on his rounds, their guiding animal would pull them to an alley and refuse to move until the hob had passed. If the King himself were traveling with his retinue down a predetermined road, which just so happened to leave Scrooge's schedule out of its plans, he would add five turns to avoid crossing the hob.

Even the weather had little effect on the eternally congested man, no chill able to reach bones so frosted over by a cold and dead heart which barely beat more than once a minute. What worse could a rime of frost across his face do to the already bloodshot leering man with a gait so frigid it brought about a blizzard of hate in its wake?

Yes, Scrooge was all that and worse. And he was Bob Cratchit's boss.

"No!" Mr. Paris said, snapping Bob from his contemplation, "Of course not! I'm talking about dear old Fred! His Nephew! Wonderful man, one of my finest customers! He's hosting a party tomorrow. Hm, wish I were invited. I've heard they're quite rambunctious with their beer!" The man's smile stretched down two of his chins.

"Mm." Bob said, still mildly distracted. Then he looked up at Mr. Paris, "If you'd like, Monsieur, you can of course pay a visit to my home! I doubt my wife will take portion size into account! She thinks Tiny Tim can eat so much more than he can, you know. I bet there'll be more than leftovers."

"Ah... Tim." Mr. Paris nodded, "How is he doing?"

"Better! The young lady that came yesterday said he'd be... he'd likely be able to get to the table for Dinner! No... presents this year, what with the treatment. B-But he's happy. He's very excited for tomorrow, you know how kids are."

"Right..." Mr. Paris said. He tried to shift the mood again with a smile, "I'll be sure to hold you to that dinner, Cratchit, if I can pull myself out of the oven! Last minute Yule Cakes are the bread and butter of my operation in winter, aside from the bread and the butter, I mean! Hoh hoh hoh!" The man laughed at his own little joke, wiping chilled sweat from his forehead.

"Haha hahh..." Bob feigned a laugh, "I ought to be getting along. Nice talking to you, Monsieur!" Bob said, offering a friendly nod before bounding off down the street.

"Mmmh..." Mr. Paris sighed to himself, watching Bob leave, "Mayhaps a small cake for the boy... rabbits eat... carrots, right? Or is that offensive..." He muttered.

Scrooge had never painted over the sign. It read Scrooge and Marley's. It had for seven years, and long before that, just with the latter being alive at that time. Scrooge didn't care to have it painted, doing so would cost at least a dollar. Scrooge answered to either name these days, it made no difference.

Besides, anyone walking up the street would first see the sign hanging perpendicular, showing the Multi-Headed Draconic Symbol of the Silver Guild.

The Silver Guild was a sort of guild of bankers. It runs operations of banking, tax collecting, and money lending from either side of the continent, not just for Melodia. And one of the many operating offices in Amalen under their guildship was Scrooge and Marley's.

When Bob entered, he was looking at his watch. Then he heard the choking.

Bob's hops picked up pace as he bounded around the small desk he manned at the front, and into the back room. The office that Scrooge used.

It was sparing of detail, very good for me as a writer! It had a filing cabinet, a desk, a chair, an old coughing man in that chair, a candle, and a few necessary items. A single pen, a sheet of paper, and an abacus. It had nothing else.

And I do mean nothing else. It had no atmosphere, no warmth, no feeling of being filled or used, merely occupied. Its stagnant and cold air was only warmed up by the vibrations of the man having a fit in the midst of it. And that's when Bob slapped his boss on the back.

The hocked loogie of phlegm was dislodged. You'd expect something like black tar or nicotine ladened sludge. But if you'd expect that, you clearly haven't yet picked up on the kind of man that Scrooge was. Indeed, were tobacco free, he might have partaken. But the cost of addiction was too high... not to his health, mind you, but to his wallet.

"LATE!" He struggled out after air had finally reached his shriveled old lungs, "You're late, Cratchit." He said between panting gasps.

"... What?" Politeness had streamed out of Bob's range as confusion settled in.

"Don't those big ears do anything for you, man? I said you're late!"

"... No I'm not!" Bob said, usually never one to argue with his boss, "I'm right on time!"

With a flip and a light snatching sound, Ebenezer Scrooge had his pocket watch in his hand, "Seven O' Clock... One MInute and Thirteen Seconds Late."

Thankfully, Bob had his watch in his hand as well, and checked it, "Well- Well yes, but I got in a minute and thirteen seconds ago, sir! I was patting your back!"

"I could've handled it!" Ebenezer waved his hand, "You're wasting my time! My money! I'm paying you for your schedule, Bob Cratchit! That means you ought to be doing what I pay you to do! Not bothering around in my office!"

"I-" Bob started to say something, but then nodded. He had long ago realized how far you could push an argument with Scrooge. The argument was usually a few inches from a sheer cliff, no matter what it was about. "Right sir. Sorry sir." He didn't have to feign apology, that has never worked once in the history of argument. Exasperation did its job in place of lies.

"I'll be taking the minutes out of your pay. Two minutes ten seconds Bob. Get to your desk and good morning to you." Scrooge never once said Good Morning as a greeting, nor Good Afternoon. Bob had never heard him say Good Evening, certainly. Good Night was often followed by a comment on how much time Bob had wasted during the Good Day.

Bob hopped out of Ebenezer's office and sat at his desk, adjusting his seating as he pulled out papers. The chill of the new winter sprung into his bones, and he tightened his scarf. If there were heating in Scrooge and Marley's, then it seemed to be much less admonished for calling off than Bob was.

There was another fit of coughing, but Bob ignored it as he flipped through files on the new league of debtors that Scrooge had been bleeding dry.

Scrooge lent to his side and hocked up another wad of phlegm onto the floor next to him. He grunted as he took in a breath afterwards. His eye went down to the blob, and then back to his papers. "Bah... Cratchit can clean it later." he muttered.

It was some time later that someone actually entered into the office of Scrooge and Marley's. Rarely did anyone seem cheerful to do so, and when they did, it did not last long past the door. Bob saw two masked and robed women enter.

It would be pertinent to describe to you what the regional celebration of Yule is, as well as what these strange women are. I promise to try to keep it as short as I can.

The two women standing before Bob Cratchett are members of the Shianistic Religious Order, specifically the sect of Veritan Saintism. If these words confuse you, then pretend they don't exist. They're named Shians because of their masks, which are called Shia. They worship one of the many gods (as fantasy worlds oft have more than one) named Aude. Her holy light, guidance of all, true caretaker of the meek, and so on and so forth. You can make up the rest if you’d like, the Shians do so often.

Saintist Shians also worship a set of other gods, though calling them that would very much upset any Catholics reading this, so I'll refrain and call them what they are; Saints. One such Saint is named Noelle.

As the story goes, Noelle died in a blizzard trying to deliver a sled full of goodies to an orphanage. The goodies arrived safely, of course, as is the way with folk stories. And she has been called upon to deliver goods and cheer to the little children of those homes who worship Aude in the coldest bit of winter. Yuletide was not distinctly a Shian holiday, but was celebrated as such by Saintists.

This is why there were two strange women wearing masks and robes. Shianism being his religion of choice, and being a church going man in spite of his boss' protests, Bob was familiar with the two.

"I am Mel."

"I am Mal."

"... No. No. You are Mel. I am Mal."

"I am Mel? You are Mal?"

"Yes."

Bob had to assume they thought this bit was very clever, since they seemed to do it every single time they introduced themselves.

The two shians wore normal garb. Hoods, Robes, Gloves, Masks, and some warmer accouterments like boots. One was red, the other green, though they were absurdly disproportionate. Mel was exceptionally short, and Mal the opposite. Their masks were upside down. They were one of the stranger species you'd find in the magical fantasy world of Mira; being Punchinellettes (Punchinello being the masculine term).

Clowns. They were clown people. You couldn't see the big red noses with the masks on, but clowns are clowns wherever in the universe you wander.

Ina stepped between them. An average of their heights and wearing blue garb, a normal mask, a bit of colorful hair around the hood, "And I am Ina!" She said, finishing the bit despite Bob already knowing her name. She broke character immediately to cross her arms. "Oh dear, it's cold in here... is the heating broken?"

Indeed, it was cold. The faint wisps of air that carried the candle light closer to Cratchit gave the only bits of warmth he had enjoyed since coming into work. If walls were for keeping weather out, then they were slacking. It was likely that the only reason Scrooge didn't work out in the middle of a field rather than pay for a building was because there'd be nowhere to keep the money.

"No..." Bob said, unsure of the truthfulness of his answer, "How may I help you, Ina?"

"We are seeking donations for Yule!" The cheeriness of the statement was punctuated by a thump from Scrooge's office, which forced a shiver up Bob's spine.

His expression froze, "Oh… you are?"

"Indeed. Is Mr. Marley or Mr. Scrooge in? I'd like to-"

"Mmm?" Grumbled out the proprietor as he opened his office door.

The old hobgoblin stood, hunched over a cane. He seemed built for three legs. The glare just wouldn't be right if it wasn't slightly pointed up at you.

Bob faded into the background of the conversation, aware now that this local shian had not yet acquainted herself with Mr. Scrooge... Perhaps this was her first round. Perhaps she had been between choices and seen a Silver Guild house that, for some reason, was not on her list. And decided to poke in and greet the likely very generous man who hadn't yet been called upon to give.

"Mr Marley, I presume?" Ina said.

"Presume wrong. Marley's been dead seven years. Died on this very night, seven years ago, in fact..."

"Oh. Then I'm sure his spirit is carried on by his living partner then!" Ina wound her way back magnificently, "It is upon these solemn and cold days in the midst of winter that-"

"Autumn." Scrooge interjected.

"... Ah?"

"Autumn. Winter starts tomorrow. That's what a solstice is."

Bob shrunk in his chair, wishing very much he could literally fade into the background. Any ground other than the middle would be choice right about now...

"W-Well, on the Eve of Winter, when it is most cold and dire. We wish to give to our community! The Shian's do run a Home for the Homeless, and of course there is our Free Medical Care for the disadvantaged. We also pitch in for funds for local orphanages and soup kitchens in the nearby villages!" Ina said. She lifted her pen and a pad of paper, "So many are in want of... common comforts, and its thanks to donations like yours that the necessities of these disadvantaged and impoverished are met."

"Mmm..." Scrooge thought, scratching the tip of his chin. Bob couldn't help but to turn his head and watch the wrinkles on his boss's face move across his expressions as he considered.

"Are there no prisons?" Scrooge asked.

Ina looked away for a moment, repathing her thought, "Uh. Yes, sir. I'm certain there still are many prisons. I am aware of the local Prison offshore, at the very least... One of my cousins works there, performing-"

"Are there no workhouses?" Scrooge further prodded, honest concern in his voice.

"Oh dear, unfortunately there are. Despite the work of the Guilds to combat unfair work practices, there are still workhouses open on, what I must say are shakey legal-"

"And those... child labor laws, they've been enacted, then surely?" His line of questions had a serious tone, concern riddled it like the plague.

"Ah, you mean the ones to combat those small 'farms'." The disgust in the woman's voice came with the quotes, "Not yet, though I'm sure our patricians will soon push through such legislation." She sounded quite cheered at this. Bob could only wonder what she thought Scrooge was actually getting at...

"Ah. I was wondering if something had happened. Based on what you were saying at first. That these very useful institutions had been lost to this social progress."

Ina stopped moving, her face ostensibly pointed at Scrooge, she resorted to memory and lifted her pen again, "What shall I put you down for, Mr. Scrooge?"

"Nothing. Of course." Scrooge said.

"... Ah!" Ina said, nodding, "You wish to remain anonymous, I-"

"Nothing." Scrooge repeated, "I wish to be left alone! If there is an answer you seek, that is the one I offer, young lady. If the poor wish to be merry on Yule, they may happily take themselves to the establishments I had mentioned!"

"Many cannot!" Ina said, trying to steer the conversation to one she could fill with her own creed, "And still, many would rather die than work for those borderline illegal institutions."

"Then let them die!" The old Hob shook his head, speaking as though talking to a complete moron, "It's not my business what the wasteful and the poor do! If they died, much the better to the economy! We're better without bums!"

"And what of the sick?" Ina said, her mask drifted to Bob, who had put his head down out of an ingrained rabbit survival instinct to burrow in the face of danger.

"Bah!" Scrooge said, "If they're not getting better themselves, and they can't AFFORD to eat a little gruel, they can die too! Die in the gutter, die in the streets, as long as they do so away from my business."

Mel and Mal, who had not said or done much of anything during this argument, serving as mere set dressing for the charity collection, now looked at eachother. They didn't seem to come to any conclusion, and looked back to Scrooge.

"The business of all people is generosity and to the betterment of one's fellow man!" Ina touted.

"What would you know about business, you bible thumping fool." Scrooge spat, "You wouldn't know a hard day's work if it ripped your silly masks off! The better for it, you live on donations and charity. Why don't you tear down that stupid cathedral you have and sell the stone if you so desperately want to give handouts to hobos and bums, hm?"

"How can you say such things on the Eve of Yule! It is the time of the year for generosity, Mr. Scrooge!"

"Yule..." Scrooge sneered, "Bah, humbug!" He made a dismissive motion, "Nothing but a cold snap that makes people want to steal from my purse. Bah humbug to the whole celebration! The whole month! The whole winter! Good Afternoon, ladies." He hobbled back and slammed his office door.

Bob finally lifted his head from the desk and dug about in his coat’s pockets.

Bob hopped off his chair and walked around the desk, "I'm so... sorry about that." He whispered. "You should go... uhm, here." He took out a coin and slipped it into the little can Mel was holding. "I'm so so sorry."

"HUFF! What a terrible man! Noelle should curse him for his selfishness." Ina fumed. The steam coming off of her would have been visible if she had not been wearing a full body cloak.

"He's not that bad..." Bob whispered, "You just have to... get to know him a bit..." He looked incredulous of his own statement as he glanced back at the door to Scrooge's office.

"You have a good heart, Mr. Cratchit, dear." Ina said, looking down, "But - 'Do not waste what love you have on those who would not share it, or it will be lost', Lehsda 2:10." She opened the can and returned the coin, "I know you need this. Please give Tim my warmest for tomorrow. Merry Yule." She turned and left.

Mel and Mal stood silently for a bit before turning and leaving as well, trying to squeeze out the door despite it not being big enough for both of them at once. It took a while, and would have been humorous if Bob weren't already feeling the pressure of time. Eventually he just closed the door to force them out in one poff of collapsing into the street's snow.

A while back, quite a while now, I mentioned that Mira, the fantasy world in which this story takes place, has a ring. It's quite beautiful, especially now, at the very peak of night. The moon was high above, full and bright, you could almost see the shadow of Noelle's sled as her mythical wildcat pulled it through the stars... and that light unfortunately also hit Scrooge and Marley's.

The chill had set in quite a bit more, after a high in the 'good afternoon', it reached back down to grasp the hearts and hands of anyone unfortunate enough to be out in the streets.

Fires had been built in the alleys for beggars and stragglers in life to hobble around, eating what they had been tossed or found throughout the day. The singing of a child on the doorstep of Scrooge and Marley's ended quite abruptly when Scrooged asked (at a very high volume) for Bob to go grab the poker from the furnace.

Bob wasn't sure where that would be, or if they even had one, but it did indeed make that slight comforting distraction go away.

But now it was night. Cold, chilly, and Bob was putting away his things.

"Mr. Scrooge?" Bob said, walking towards the office door, "I'll uhm... be going home, now... Sir."

"Right." He said, "And you'll be wanting tomorrow off, I imagine?"

"Well... yes, sir..." Bob said, through the door. He took off his hat now, rotating it in his fingers as nervousness drove through his bones.

"Bah... and you think me not abused in such a way, a full day's pay for a no day's work..."

"It is... Yule, sir. After all." Bob said.

"Oh, and I'm certain that should I have my pocket picked once a year, I should be fine with that too? Just because it happens on the same day?"

"No, Mr. Scrooge."

"If you are to have the whole day, be earlier the next. Do not be late like this morning, Cratchit." The sounds of shuffling paper continued.

Bob stood at the office door. He stood there for quite a while. It felt like yule had come, gone, and then come again before the nerves had steeled themselves enough for him to reach out and open the office door.

"Yes?" Scrooge didn't look up.

"Mr. Scrooge- I... I feel I do a very fair share around here."

"Fair, hm?"

"And my notary work is quite the best I've seen, might I add! My shorthand is quick, and I'm very welcoming to our clients-"

"Did you come in here to brag, Crachit?" Scrooge asked, finally looking up at him over the rim of his half-moon spectacles, the ones he used to read the names of all the people he felt were stealing from him in one way or another.

"No, sir." Cratchit said. With all the bravery and backbone that the possibility of a ‘stern talking to' by his wife could muster, he said "I think I deserve a Raise, sir."

"A raise."

Bob didn't answer. He simply kept staring at Scrooge. As the seconds turned closer and closer to a minute of staring, the confidence began to melt. At the very least, he could see the wrinkles moving, he knew Scrooge was... thinking about it.

"Mm." Scrooge said, not dismissively nor very affirmatively, "Ask me again tomorrow." He pulled his abacus towards himself.

"Oh but, uh... Sir, tomorrow I'll be at home. It's Yule."

Scrooge scowled and made another show of moving his abacus before clasping his hands on his desk, "So you want a raise and a vacation?"

"Huh?"

"And then what will you do? Waste it on more... beggars like those shians from earlier? Hm?" He turned his cheek and smiled a sinister grin, then changed it to a scowl again, "If you want money, you work."

"Sir, tomorrow is Yule!"

"Bah humbug! Yule! A foolish holiday for foolish men!" He wagged his finger, "You want to squeeze any more cash out of me, you can come in tomorrow, or never come back! Charity Case Cratchit!"

"But sir! I have- I have another child on the way, I need the money!"

"Oh, so your inability to act like a person instead of a rabbit is now weighing on my pocketbook? I think not! You're lucky I don't dock your pay for tardiness."

"You do dock my pay for tardiness!" Bob said. He swallowed down what he was intending to say next, beating it back with as much of his humility as he could... but the dam had already been leaking, and it was time for it to break.

Scrooge watched what certainly wasn't a visible transformation, but one of atmosphere. It was difficult, however, so confided in his own world of misery to see the growth of rage in someone else's.

Bob scrunched up his face, gripped his hat tight, then said, "Then good day to you, Scrooge! You can keep this job and... and shove it! You rotten old fool!"

"HAH!" Scrooge laughed, his unending snear tilting upward into a sadistic grin "Enjoy starving in the streets like those homeless you so do love so much then! Get out of my office!" He pointed beyond Bob.

Bob hopped past what he had always thought of his desk, and to the door.

For a brief moment, he stopped and turned his head. A thought of mercy, of care for the old man had almost breached his blind anger, but it found itself entering a tavern where the proprietor was less than thrilled to serve it.

He walked out, and slammed the door in his wake, hopping his way down the cold street.

He stopped a ways away, only about a block, and looked up to the shining moon. He frowned, staring up at the great glowing pearl in the sky, and the horizon itself glowing from the ring of his world. He twisted his hat a bit, and then put it onto his head again. He sighed, "Oh, Mr. Scrooge... why did I ever try to see the good in a man like you..." He continued hopping away. If he really was fired, he could save that news for after Yule.

#Christmas #A Christmas Carol #ebenezer scrooge #fantasy writing #retelling #yuletide #yule #Christmas Carol #writing #writers on tumblr

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moreleafedclovers · 2 years ago

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Actually OP I think that this argument unjustly conflates message and experience, and propose that the cause of the issue lies less with the act of summarization than with omission/falsification. I do agree that it is mostly only the speed and conformity demanded by various isms of modern society that make this truly problematic (chiefly capitalism and authoritarianism). Ultimately, if someone is pressuring you to do something, it doesn’t matter what works of media they are citing to try to convince you. You still have to be the one who decides if you like what they’re saying, and whether or not saying it makes them sound uncomfortably authoritarian (remember that while correlation does not equal causation, the two have a very intimate relationship).

Like a strong opinion essay, you can stop reading here without missing any of my message if you don’t want to find out that this post is also about Lord of the Rings and Goncharov, momentarily, Harry Potter :)

Look I don’t need a lot of words to say that I think one of the saddest moments in Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf pressures Frodo (whom he just watched accept death and then almost die several times) into wearing his sword at the after party when literally all he wants is to be Rid of the whole war now that it is supposedly over. Obviously me griping here doesn’t have the same impact as reading it on page 1190 of like 1300, but I promise the message is no less clear in the text.

Of course if someone else comes along and says “Frodo disrespects the people who fought in the War of the Ring by not wanting to wear a sword after it’s over,” you might have to go back and read it to see for yourself. OR you can look at it and figure that if Tolkien wrote 1300 pages about all the pain and anguish this one guy went through while fighting in the war, that one guy can wear whatever the fuck he wants when the war is over. If you go that second route, you might never know for sure if that’s what Tolkien was trying to say, but I honestly think that that is okay. For better or for worse, several things are true: first, that Tolkien is no longer around to verify, second, that even if he were around to verify his Point, sometimes the Point that an author is trying to make is Wrong (intentionally or otherwise), and third, that at some point, you will still have to make your own decision about the most important question here, which is what you believe. Do you think it’s more disrespectful for a tired hero to put down a sword, or to force them to pick it back up? The only person who can answer that for you is you. Or don’t, if you don’t feel like it.

Conversely, spreading a summary that does not accurately describe the work it purports to summarize is not necessarily damaging. To illustrate this point, see the numerous essays, fics, and memes about Goncharov (1973), a movie that does not exist, and which therefore cannot be accurately summarized. If anything, Goncharov has provided strong evidence in favor of people’s ability to meet a writer on their terms, and say “that’s not how I thought that went, but I am willing to imagine the story as you understood it, and understand how you drew these conclusions.” I think that’s wildly powerful, even if it can lead to confusion (the only difference between analyzing the “if you really loved me you would have shot me” scenes from Goncharov and Harry Potter is that it didn’t happen in either).

The two things I hope OP is actually trying to talk about is folks with a lot of influence who inaccurately summarizes a piece of media in ways that cause people to make bad-faith assumptions about that piece’s creator and people who act on those assumptions without question. Both of those things are bad and should be stopped. If someone is asking you to change your opinion about something in ways that materially worsen your behavior towards others, stop and consider if what they’re asking you to do is something that a) is something a kind person will do, or b) will actually help the cause they are alleging to support. Someone who will never see your bookshelf shouldn’t have to care what’s on it.

The only other thing I can think to add is that if someone is saying negative things about works you like and that’s putting people off, write your own reviews. It’s okay if they’re only a sentence or two! You also have the power to spread the works you like and say nice things to authors and artists. There may not always be more of you who do, but folks who love something tend to stick around longer than those who don’t.

Also, as an aside, why would you just tell them to go when you could say “I can read it read it for you, if you want!” instead, Xylo? Reading a book together can be a really fun experience!

at some point you have to realize that you actually have to read to understand the nuance of anything. we as a society are obsessed with summarization, likely as a result of the speed demanded by capital. from headlines to social media (twitter being especially egregious with the character limit), people take in fragments of knowledge and run with them, twisting their meaning into a kaleidoscope that dilutes the message into nothing. yes, brevity is good, but sometimes the message, even when communicated with utmost brevity, requires a 300 page book. sorry.

#where's Faramir when you need him #Faramir would never have let that happen in front of him #He'd have thrown that stupid sword in the nearest river and been completely right #gonna stop here lol

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telaraneas · 3 years ago

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(i change my mind, copypasting this to its own post cause it really got away from me. long post warning)

i guess what im thinkin is like, that light is the domain of “things that MUST happen, for Reasons”; mind is the domain of “things must/will happen, for REASONS”; void is the domain of, like, “things happen or don’t happen for no discernible reason, necessarily”.

thats not really a great description of it i guess but, for instance, a good example is that one time Rosesprite happened…. For No Reason. and for no reason, really i mean no narrative reason- it ended up setting off a chain of events that resolved the subplots of many minor characters, so it’s not like it’s USELESS, but there was kind of no way to predict that whole thing from a “narratively this is something that we are leading up to” standpoint, which is why roxy’s actions brought it about on accident, and why rose was so thoroughly perplexed by it the whole way through. void is probably closer to the way things happen in real life, but it is sort of the anthitesis to the way things happen in stories, where everything is deliberate and happens for A Narrative Reason… but homestuck was always largely written on the fly at least in the smaller scale things, so this sort of thing just Happens lol

incidentally im pretty sure a mind player like terezi could have technically predicted that, if she had for any reason at all been previously informed of all the moving parts of that whole thing and TRYING to predict what the fuck jaspersprite was gonna do, because it IS perfectly logical in hindsight, but like… that’s the whole thing, why the fuck WOULD you be trying to look into that or predict it????? there was seemingly no narrative reason for any of that to be relevant! and that’s kind of what void is about i think!

on a similar note i thing breath is more along the lines of just…. Things Happen. similarly to void, it’s not about trying to discern WHAT will happen or WHY, but unlike void, the things that DO happen under the influence of breath ARE kind of things that the narrative called for. breath seems to be kind of the aspect dominating narrative contrivance

people often confuse contrivance with plot holes, but from what i understand they’re very different. a plot hole is when something happens, and it makes no sense for it to happen to the degree it breaks with previously established known facts, and it’s just never explained.

a plot contrivance doesn’t really contradict anything, necessarily, it’s just… like… there’s no reason for it to NOT happen the way it does, but there’s also no reason for it TO happen the way it does, and overall the reason it’s considered bad writing is because it tends to come across as lazy. oh, the heroes JUST SO HAPPENED to find the one magic sword that can defeat the bad guy, just laying on the side of the road. how convenient!

…incidentally, john’s entire story arc seems to be built entirely around moments like these skfnkenfke

i think it was smart writing to codify this as 1. the influence of an actual cosmic force that DOES operate on those principles, and 2. make john have to figure out how to get a handle on things by himself, even if the tools and circumstances just happened to be aligned in his favor by everything else in the story. john still has to be the one to turn HIMSELF into a deus ex machina, on-screen, to fix everything. it gives the story a good narrative and emotionally resonant reason to just contrive the hell out of everything john does and goes through, while STILL delivering on his arc as a hero’s journey

(i also think it’s really funny that the ring, which gets LITERALLY deus ex machina’d into the story via the author himself, is CONVENIENTLY found by tavros, and john CONVENIENTLY ends up with it in the story itself sjfnskdn true breath shenanigans, and incredibly fitting that vriska rejected it and played no part in it because there was no previously known indication that the ring would be important in any way until the two breath players started playing hot potato with it)

i’m still not sure if i have a good grasp on what exactly time does, because we have seen very different attitudes taken towards it by various different players AND the official description, and it’s hard to tell what, in each regard, comes from time as an aspect, from the classes of the characters, or from the characters themselves/both things; but for now i think my best guess is that time is kind of “things already happened, this is inmutable, let’s just cut to the chase”, more or less. like, the way this differs from light is that light still thinks of things more or less linearly, even when they UNDERSTAND this is not the case, whereas time tends to just not even concieve of things has “something that is happening”

like, example, vriska vs aradia; they both kind of enabled Big Bad Things that they already knew would happen via timeline shenanigans- but from what i recall, i don’t think aradia ever PERSONALLY set any of those events in motion, she simply didn’t correct any misunderstandings and thus allowed the wheels of time to turn smoothly; whereas vriska went “bec noir Will Happen = someone will make it happen anyways = i’m gonna make it happen myself, cause someone has to, and it might as well be me!!!” because of her compulsion to be the master of her own fate

aradia didnt so much see her actions as her *doing* anything, evil or good; she was pretty much just making sure things ended up where they were already going to end up/had already ended up, devoid of motivation or reason. similar to dave in the first five acts, just opening and closing loops Because He’s Gotta until he eventually runs out of steam and loops to close, because he really never had any motivations for doing what he was doing other than Well, I Already Did Them, So Obviously I Have To Do Them So I Can Have Already Done Them. no intent or motivation inherent to the actions themselves for half the story

a more childish example is caliborn getting fed up with the story and the Interpersonal Problems of the players and being like “fuck this, just skip to the good parts, they’re Going to happen so why do we have to sit through all of this shit!”. obv contrast to calliope, who seems to illustrate the kind of reader who would rather explore the status quo forever and imagine all the character interactions possible, playing in the *space* of the work in between the big status quo shifts and dreading said shifts, where caliborn wants to skip right past the status quo and have a story composed of nothing BUT the big shifts, the start and end of things

(neither of these are a sustainable way to tell a story, which is why you need at least a space and a time player)

#homestuck #classpect #homestuck meta #is that what people call it???#long post #sushi original

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whyralltheusernamestaken · 4 years ago

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hey! i love ur blog and i couldn’t resist requesting something. so i was thinking that if the reader was from medieval times where they have magic, wizards, knights, mages, and stuff like that. so 1 A was hit by a quirk that brought them to that dimension. and the reader is like god level with the amount of power they have even though their the same age as class 1 A. and they help the class survive or sum like that after like knights attach them cause sum of them look weird. can u use they/them.

It's just the main three boys if that's alright :( I can do hcs with the entire class if that's more of what u had in mind! Just leave another ask,,, sorry about that 😅

Warnings : swear words

Words : 1.2k

You were bored.

Perhaps that was the understatement of the century, but an otherwordly being like you had ceased to find interest in the small confines that was your world. The never ending weeks of wasting your life on your temple throne, perched upon a royal gold seat and listening to prayer’s wishes were certainly tiring you out. The ordinary wished for happiness, for their crops to yield well or for them to find true love, the king would wish for power, luxuries. And through your judgement, you would grant some of these wishes, crafting an empire like soft clay in your hands, a game to a child. Yet even with your godly powers, you could not seem to satisfy your boredom.

Today you watched idly as a mage stepped into the light of the temple's wishing grounds. You sat high above the clouds, listening to their talk of discovering a new spell, hidden from the mere mortal's eyes. Sure many of mankind had laid eyes on you before, however sometimes you preferred to keep away from the prying eyes. After all, you were far far superior than them - one of their creators, in a sense. Your messenger would speak to your creations when you chose to observe from afar, teaching them of your presence with fables and songs. It had only been seventeen years since you were first introduced into the world, born from ashes through their beliefs, and yet you were already one of the most respected gods.

~~~

The villain's quirk was truely terrifying. One would only be a fool to engage in battle with someone who's quirk they did not understand. The first year class of UA learnt this the hard way when the warp gate villain's quirk had transported them to an entirely different location. Different time period perhaps. Todoroki had picked up on this as he gazed over what was once the medival Japan.

"Um guys." Midoriya called out.

"Where are we?"

"Do we look like we fucking know Deku?" the blonde shouted, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he marched around the alley, coming to an abrupt halt when his eyes met a busy marketplace.

The streets were lined with broken stone, small tent like structure of straw and wood littered the area as people bustled in and out of them, each carrying a basket. The air was a brown hue from the sand that had been kicked up, the shouts of stall owners filling the air as exchanges of good and money illustrated the market place.

"This isn't modern Japan." Todoroki stated, looking out at the same scene. He stepped out into the street, sticking to the shadows and the other two followed, survaying their surroundings in case of an villains. His ears perked up as he realised the people spoke in a different language altogether. "This might not even be Japan."

"U-uh what?" Midoriya stuttered, close to tears as he frantically looked around. "What do we do? Where are the others? How do we get back? Is all might okay?"

"For god's sake, shut up." Bakugou scowled. His dismissal was perhaps due to an inkling of fear that had burrowed it's way into his heart. He had utterly no idea where they were and no one could help him. Alas, his pride would never allow him to voice out his concerns and so he followed in silence, a dull glare permenantly etched onto his face.

~~~

"Shit."

"Yeah we are in some pretty deep shit."

"Why the fuck are they treating us like the villains here?" Bakugou shouted, running down the cobbled street as men on horse back clothed in sheets of metal chased after them, swords and spears in hands.

"Over here." Todoroki called out, pulling the two behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes and running further into the garden.

"Hurry up and find them!" they heard one of the men shout in the background.

"Ah!" Midoriya screamed, tripping over and landing directly into a small pond. He desperately scrambled to his feet, eyes glancing over the fish that he may have crushed in his fall.

A small laugh rang out from the distance, the boys all swiftly turning their heads towards an approaching figure emerging from behind the trees. "That was rather humorous if I am permitted to say so." you chuckled, running a hand through your locks and your eyes darted over the three strangers. "And you are...?"

“There they are!" the voice bellowed, the sounds of hooves drawing closer as the boys turns to run.

"Gentlemen!" you proclaimed, your voice ringing sharp through the air, ceasing all movement. The horses had stopped right in their tracks and even the teen's feet were frozen to the ground.

"Y-your highness!" one of them stuttered, jumping off his horse to bow down on one leg, the other guards following suit.

"May I ask if you know these men?" You tapped your chin slightly, cocking your head to the side as you studied them.

"They are my guests."

"H-huh?"

"I see your highness, please forgive us for chasing them however they were spotted-"

You waved your hand to stop the guard from speaking. "No worries." you beamed. "Please excuse their unsightly behaviour."

"Unsightly? You bitch-"

"Bakugou please stop." Todoroki sighed. "They're helping us."

"I am a fucking god and I just got sworn at." you muttered softly, turning your head to the side as you brought up your hand to your mouth, faking a sob. Your pity party was cut short when you heard your messenger, Hermes calling for you.

"Y/N!" they flew over, sighing as they landed on the grass. "You cannot just leave your duties like that." they scolded you, recieving a pout in return.

"But it's so boring there." you whined, scrunching your face up at the thought of another day wasted. "I'm growing old Hermes and I don't want to be cooped up in that damn seat for hours on end."

"Old my ass." the blonde snorted, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms, sending you a glare. "You look the same age as us."

"How are we able to understand you?" Todoroki suddenly asked, registering that the language you spoke was not Japanese, and yet he was here having a conversation with you.

"Hmm I wonder. Maybe I’ll tell you later." you replied, feigning curiosity before turning back to the guards.

"These gentlemen will be staying with me."

"Y/N you can't-"

“Your highness-" Hermes and the head guard began.

"Silence." you demanded, the air once again growing cold and still. "How dare you speak back to me."

You watched as the colour drained from their faces, the guard's lip trembling with fear before breaking out into laughter. "Just kidding!" you said, sticking you tongue out before turning on your heels. "What possible harm could dear ol' me do?"

“A remarkable amount." Hermes sighed. "Your highness do you remember that one time you flooded the halls of the gods-"

"Hermes shh!" you gasped, running over and throwing a hand over his mouth. "Not in front of the guests."

"Those guests are leaving."

"B-but." you pleaded, sticking your lip out in a pout. "Look how good looking they are."

"Y/N."

"No." you huffed, skipping over to the dual haired boy and throwing your arm around his. "Well would you like to come with me?"

"Why would we go with a brat?" A sudden object flew past, you reaching out your arm to form a barricade of air, the spear stopping just centimeters from the blonde's neck.

"What the fuck? Why are you trying to kill me you dipshit."

"You know what." you sighed.

"I'm leaving him behind. You can have him Hermes."

"Your highness, I do not want him."

"Tough." you snickered, dragging the other two back to your temple.

~~~

"Todoroki Shouto." you echoed, looking at the boy seated opposite you upon one of your grand pearl quilted couches. "That's cute."

"Thank you your highness." he replied with a small smile.

"Oh my god." you waved, your face tinted a slight red. "There's no need for such formalities! Just think of me as an average civilain."

"But-" "Shh." you hushed before turning to the blonde. "Midoriya?"

"Y-yes?" he jumped, a small squeak to his voice. "There's no need to be on edge." you reassured.

"You're perfectly safe here. Well apart from that thing." You nodded your head towards the boy chained up to one of the grand marbel pillars, a muzzle clasped against his face, his angry shouts filling the hall now that attention was back on him. Honestly, it was hilarious that Hermes had resorted to this.

Midoriya picked up another grape, before adding, "Yeah, that's Kacchan, he's like that most of the time."

"Well, it's about time I get back to work." you sighed as you heard the clocks chyme the fifth hour of the evening, stretching your arms above your head.

"May we observe?" Todoroki perked up, turning his attention away from the fuming Bakugou.

"I mean sure, I don't know why you'd want to though since it's really boring."

"I'm sure it's amazing!" Midoriya rebutted, a large smile on his face now.

You clutched your chest at his adorablness. Maybe they could stay for a while.

#bnha kacchan #bnha midoriya #bnha x reader #bnha todoroki #todoroki #todoroki shouto #my hero academia #midoriya izuku #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou #bakugou #bakugou katsuki x reader #bnha #BNHA au #bnha fanfiction #bakugou katsuki #bnha bakugou

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intothewickedwood · 3 years ago

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Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 6x14 Page 23

Okay what episode do we have today?

Ah okay, a Regina centric. That’s cool.

Is that the same guard Snow stripped naked in 1x16? Whaaaat?! Just looked it up and it totally is! Awesome call back! I’m going to name him Jim.

Oh my God, she killed Jim!!

Wait, so this has to be after Heart of Darkness.

The terrified look on that woman’s face when Regina strokes her chin, looks at her longingly and tells her she loves her. Omg Regina was in love with this woman all along! It was never about Daniel. It was about Christina! I’m naming her Christina. 

They are my otp now.

How did Tinker Bell get out of neverland? Pan decides when people leave, and I doubt he’d let her leave just to pay a visit with the Evil Queen. But then and again maybe it was all part of his big plan.

Oh. Pixie dust doesn’t dictate who your true love is. It just shows you possibilities. That’s not what you said before, Tinker Bell!

Regina, we all know you spared her because she’s your ex-girlfriend.

Actually, this visit from Tinker Bell is odd because she doesn’t seem angry at all like when she, like, wanted to kill Regina in 3x03. How did she go from, “okay. I lost my wings because of you but it’s all cool. I just want my otp together.” to “I’m gonna f***ing drug you with pixie dust and rip your heart out!”?

Also, this is the Evil Queen I like to see. So cold, terrifying and breaking on the inside. I’m not a fan of the humorous one in 6x02. I wish Split Queen was more like this as well. Ah different writers and director. Interesting.

Split Queen: “…not some burlap-loving peasant who sleeps on dirt.” Wish Robin: “Excuse me, I sleep on hay.” Important distinction!

Snow’s so excited about the wedding, bless her.

Lol Zelena just drags Emma’s hand to look at her ring. My girl loves shiny things! And how could I forget, her otp is getting married! She is in heaven right now!

I love Emma just casually talking to Zelena like they’re gal pals at a sleepover. More of this please! 

I can see what sqers say about this scene. Regina really does look hurt by the notion of Emma getting married. There is no heterosexual reason for her to react like this unless she’s in love with Hook. I think this is the only time they hug. Man, I feel so bad for sqers because upon this rewatch I can really see where they are coming from with that interpretation. It’s definitely there. And then they hug because Emma’s getting married to someone else. I would be so upset if that was my otp. What am I talking about, I watched 10 seasons of Smallville as a hardcore Chloe x Clark shipper. I think this exact scenario played out and it freaking hurts! 

In other news, I am so in love with Snow. Have I mentioned that? I feel like I haven’t mentioned it in a while and it needs to be said. 

I’m also in love with David, in case you forgot. I want to join their marriage. Can I join their marriage? I’m joining their marriage. Emma, I’m your mummy now. Don’t think about the age difference too much. 

I’ve eaten a lot of chocolate already today. Can you tell? I feel so alive! I want to share my social security number and be freeee!! I am trying to block out my anxiety about having to move house again next friday. Yep, that’s right, 4th place in two years. I think I will write all of these high on chocolate.

What would happen if you cut your hair with those sheers? Or your garden bush? No, that is not a euphemism, you dirty bastards (affectionate). 

I haven’t had a haircut in 10 years. Holy cow! That’s why my afro is so big, it’s full of secrets. 

Nemo is your dad now, Hook. Even though I’m pretty sure he’s a lot younger than you. 

He called him “My boy.” hehe.

I remember when I thought Hook and Rumple had the same mother. That would have been quite the twist.

I thought that vase of flowers was a giant cauliflower. Did you know broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, brussels sprouts and turnips are all related? I wonder what thanksgivings are like when they all get together. Probably not fun for them. 

See what I did there xD? 

Emma: “This is my fault. I’m the one who convinced you to bring him here. It’s on me.” Regina: “Emma, you don’t have anything to make up for. You were just trying to help.” Omg, this compared to when she told Emma she’d ruined her life because Emma saved Marian. The development. I really appreciate this change because I nearly lost it with Regina when that was her attitude. 

Screw it, I’m making bean enchiladas. Brb. I’ll save you some!

I’m back! They’re in the oven. Anyone wants the recipe hmu! They’re veggie! 

You just know Split Queen and Wish Robin have a sexy dungeon in their castle. They just do.

Enchanted ropes would have been useful in so many situations.

The enchiladas are ready! Repeat after me, Becky: “I will remember oven gloves this time, I will remember oven gloves this time.”

Robin is so into Split Queen. He wants her to live with him and everything, even though they just met. 

I don’t think that arrow would have taken her to Robin since it takes her to the thing she loves most. She can’t love someone she’s never met. We all know it would shoot Christina right in the ass. That’s true love biatches! Evil Peasant 5ever!

Oh snap! Emma found Hook looking at himself killing her grandfather??! I completely forgot about this!

Why does she say, “That’s David’s father”? Why doesn’t she say, “That’s my grandfather,” or “That’s my dad’s dad”? She hasn’t called her dad ‘David’ in years. It’s like she’s trying to separate herself from the victim as much as possible.

She’s not even a little bit upset he killed her dad’s dad? That that event caused her father so much pain? She’s just infuriated that he tried to burn his memory. I mean, yes, she should be angry about that but where’s the empathy for her dad at least? I didn’t know any of my grandfathers well but if I found out I was engaged to someone who did that I would be angry for my grandparent, angry for my parent and angry for myself. I’m just speechless that that’s all she cares about. It seems so out of character. But then and again Regina had her other grandad killed. 

And now he’s gonna leave because he rightfully got told off. Can’t say I’d offer the same thing but she said, “until you’re ready” not “you’ll never be ready”, dude. 

I think he’s just scared David will punch him in the face at this point. It’s the only explanation for doing the exact opposite thing Emma asked of him.

“Captain Hook is always welcome on the Nautilus.” More like welcome on the naughty list after that stunt.

She doesn’t want a man, Henry Sr. She just confessed her deep, passionate, sexual love for Christina like 20 minutes ago, remember? Sometimes I wonder why I bother. It’s not even subtext, dude. Get it together, man.

Why don’t they fight themselves with magic?

Her dad is so heartbroken the person Regina hates most is herself. 

That is really sad that the person she hates most his herself. I can relate.

Yes! Launch those apples at yourself! 

My conversations with myself be like-

Oh boy. This is too reminiscent of conversations with myself. Yes, I sword fight myself wearing a fancy black, cleavage-revealing dress in my head all the time. Only joking, I wear trilby hats. 

Oh okay. Now they’re tying each other up. I see what this is really about. I still haven’t bleached the “we do like it rough, don’t we Regina?” line from my mind. 

I suppose she did take back some of her own darkness. But I was hoping she would just merge herself back together. That would have been a really predictable outcome, but I just would have preferred it. 

This scene is so weird lol, but it helped me tremendously. I used to hate myself so, so much. You don’t even understand. It was like a violent hatred for myself for not fitting in and for every single little mistake I’d ever made. Then with a lot of self- healing and the help of this episode I began my journey into loving myself. I wrote on a sticky note “Love yourself. If the Evil Queen can do it, so can you.” and stuck it to my wall. Nothing I’ve done is comparable to what the Evil Queen has done and if she can learn to love herself, why can’t everyone else. Anyone who’s struggling with self-hatred, please take this episode to heart. You are worthy of love, most importantly from yourself. Any time you find yourself hating yourself just try to remember this scene and that the flipping Evil Queen of all people recognised the importance of self-love and didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought. She damn well gave herself a chance. I’ve heard a good technique is looking in the mirror and telling yourself what you love about you. Even if you’re not feeling it at first, you could get into the habit of it and your brain will start to accept those words as true. Because they are true.

Aww she sees the Charmings as her family. 

Regina: “it did give me hope when I needed it most, and that is just as important.” Oh my God, preach the word Regina! Regina is preaching with fire today! 

It’s like she’s having a therapy session with herself. I need to do that. I really do. Then I need to get actual therapy lol xD. But baby steps! 

Okay. A loophole as to how he can change Split Queen’s story. You know what, at this point I’ve learnt just to go with it.

Can Snow and Zelena be best friends? Please. It’s literally all I want in life. And to join Snowing’s marriage. I’m not asking for much. I’ll talk about it in self-therapy.

Henry’s got Gideon’s haircut now. He wants to be cool like his uncle.

I want to look at myself with the love and adoration Regina looks at herself with. We should all get to that point where we look like we’re about to intensely make out with ourselves when we look in the mirror. 

I know what they were doing with page 23. I just wish Split Queen had changed her outfit so it could have been exactly like the page illustration. But I don’t think it was meant to predict the future. It was just one of Isaac’s fanfictions, wasn’t it? Hmm. I think it was a mystery to him as well if I can remember correctly.

It’s nice that oq shippers got their ship in the end in one form.

Snow is just constantly high up to her eyeballs on hope, bless her. 

Emma needs a dog. She seems like such a dog person.

Also, that enchilada was yumilicious, if I do say so myself.

#ouat #once upon a time #regina mills #emma swan #the evil queen #ouat 6x14 #6x14 page 23 #ouat rewatch #ouat rewatch 2019

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kjissexy1994 · 3 years ago

Text

WORDS OF SHAKESPEARE: The Return of a very Supa Occasion! (Special guest: Richard)

On the 19th of June 2021, my old friend, Maiwel alumni and acting veteran Richard and I went to the Supanova Comic and Gaming Convention at Sydney Olympic Park in Homebush Bay. The 2021 edition of Supanova was the first time in two years that it was held in Sydney as last year’s edition was called off due to “You Know What” alongside Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.

To implement with the health and safety protocols, the layout of the convention was more smaller and laid out to comply with physical distancing measures as well as entering via a QR Code.

When I first entered the Dome Exhibition centre seeing all of the convention goers and Cosplayers of superheroes, sci-fi and anime. I kneeled down and proclaimed “HALLELUJAH!” as many of the convention fans from NSW were starved of a taste of a full-on convention since the world went upside down early last year (Outside of the smaller edition of Oz Comic Con titled OCC POP UP which was held earlier in March of this year).

Supanova contained a teeming amount of Cosplayers from DC Comics and Marvel Superheroes, Rick and Morty, Steven Universe, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Doctor Who and Power Rangers, Cosplayers from anime such as My Hero Academia, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Naruto and Disney films including Mary Poppins, Mulan and The Little Mermaid, Cosplayers from Video games including Overwatch, Pokémon, Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog and Undertale, Cosplayers from Web animations for instance including RWBY, Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss as well as various furry Cosplayers and cosplays of my childhood such as Pingu. There was also a very innovative cosplay such as an attendee dressed up as a giant functional Nintendo Game Boy System! The costumes looked absolutely well designed and spot on as I asked kindly for photos!

A number of RWBY fans and Cosplayers noticed me wearing Jaune’s Pumpkin Pete Hoodie. I must admit, I’d make a pretty good Jaune cosplayer if I could get his armour, his “Crocea Mors” sword and shield and dye my hair blonde!

There was also the Cosplay stage across from The Dome where there was a competition for the very best and innovative costume, as well as seminars of the bigger name Australian celebrities.

Speaking of the celebrities, Due to the international borders being closed until either the middle of next year or when the majority of the population of Australia is vaccinated, Supanova relied heavily on home grown talent from our country for example (but not limited to) Manu Bennett, David Wenham, Josh Lawson, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Georgia Haigh, Nicholas Hamilton and frequent Supanova Attendee, John Jarratt who is famous for portraying the infamously ominous and frightening Mick Taylor from the horror movie franchise “Wolf Creek.” I still remember being scared straight to high heaven watching the movie when I was very young due to Jarratt’s portrayal of the heinous horror character next to Bill Skarsgard’s portrayal of Pennywise the clown in Stephen King’s IT Chapters one and two, but alas Jarratt was a very generous and friendly larrikin!

There was a lot of great activities to do including the “Black Widow Obstacle Course” where you had to complete a number of tasks within the time limit in order to win a prize, Star Wars Lightsaber demonstrations and tutorials and the “Battlecry” LARP (live action role playing) battle displays and demonstrations where you could fight your friend or one of the friendly Battlecry veterans such as Sammy Owen from the recent Medibank Commercial with a rubber sword or axe. This was a very great debut for my LARPING alter ego, “Boar-Head: The Sworded Brawler” and I am very interested in joining a Battlecry LARP group in the future!

There was a very colourful display of artwork, comics and prints at the Artists Alley, with various comic book artists from across Australia such as (but not limited to) Queenie Chan of Fabled Kingdom, Anthony Christou of Luminous Ages and Camillo Di Pietrantonio famous for illustrating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IDW comics.

The Fabulous Wonder Mama also made a guest appearance as she is a superhero representing the LGBT Community.

The Artists Alley also had tables of independent artists selling comics, prints, bookmarks and badges available. Looking at the artwork made me feel like I was at an Art Museum for the fans of pop culture!

For those who want to spend some dough, there were also stalls selling new and vintage comics and trading cards, Pop Vinyl Figures, Animation cells from cartoons and movies of yesteryear, Action figures and gaming consoles from the eighties and nineties, LGBT pride flags, rock and metal band t shirts and apparel and Plushies from Japanese anime and video game franchises such as Pokémon and Digimon. There were also games to play such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch so fellow gamers can smash their friends out of the arena! For the con-loving geeks who were hungry, Dominos had a stall selling various flavours of pizzas and garlic bread and the canteens in the Sydney Olympic Park Dome sold fish and chips, bagels, sushi and coffee. Byron Beef Jerky also had a traditional stall selling all kinds of flavours such as Teriyaki, Chilli and the infamous “Devil’s Doo-Doo!” (Not for the faint hearted!)

Whilst Supanova Comic and Gaming Con in Sydney was a fun event for the inner nerds, parts of the con had to be completely modified and or removed in order to be healthy and safe for example, the discontinuation of handing out free goodie bags containing the guidebook and map of the layout of the con and other cool things making both the map and guide digital exclusive via the Supanova Website.

Another notable absence was the Australian Wrestling Federation wrestling ring where the pro wrestlers of the aforementioned promotion would host a series of three wrestling matches per day and the wrestlers would hand out free autographs, this really kind of hurt me as a fan of pro wrestling for sixteen years but it’s better to be safe than sick. At least the Battlecry LARP displays and demos filled in its place!

For the seminars, gone are the days of staff handing the microphone to the audience for the Q&A’s as they have to lineup behind the microphone in order to ask an interesting question to the guests.

I also didn’t like how some parts of the convention was a bit squashy when you first entered, in the artist’s alley and in some of the stalls. Like I said, we are in a receding health crisis and we need to wear masks, be physically distant, wash our hands and get the much needed vaccine shot against the you know what!

All in all, Supanova had a amazing return to full flight in Sydney despite the scare earlier in the week and the lack of International guests. I was starved of a full on convention throughout the year of misery last year and as a person on the autism spectrum, cons are such an amazing way to make new friends and to show out your inner geek, nerd,fanboy or whatever via cosplaying, gaming, greeting guests, purchasing artwork and so on and so forth all in a very safe measure!

I give this year’s Supanova in Sydney a 7 out of 10. This edition was absolutely different compared to last year’s and I have strong confidence that next year’s edition in Sydney and abroad will have well known and beloved international guests back to the much loved Comic and Gaming convention next year, just in time for Supanova’s 20th birthday!

Next time I am in Sydney, I will be going to the Vivid Festival which will be in August so stay tuned for that!

Happy trails!

K.J (Kane)

#words of shakespeare #Supanova #supanova 2021 #sydney supanova #sonic the hedgehog #star wars #sydney olympic park

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omoi-no-hoka · 4 years ago

Audio

Hi, guys! Sorry for the rather long hiatus. Work is still...soul-consuming haha. But I wanted to make a post about one of my favorite Japanese artists and this really cool song he released a little bit ago! All of his songs just got added to Spotify finally yesterday!

His name is 米津玄師 Yonezu Kenshi, and he is amazing. He started out making Vocaloid music under the name Hachi, in which he programmed all of the instruments and vocals. Now he mostly does music with his own vocals, and he writes and produces all of it. He also used to do all the illustrations for his music videos, and he does the cover art for his albums! I’m always swept away by his creativity and the poetry in his lyrics.

And you know how big a nerd I am about words, so here’s my English translation of my favorite song from his latest album. The song is called ひまわり Himawari (Sunflower).

This is a bit long, so I’ll put a “Read More” thing here. If you open the whole post, you’ll see my translation, and also a breakdown of my favorite kanji and words he uses. Hope you enjoy!

I hope that everyone studying Japanese can take a look at these lyrics, my notes on them, and see that even just listening actively to music can be a good way to study. 💗

ひまわり　Himawari　Sunflower

悲しくって　蹴飛ばした　地面を強く Kanashikutte kettobashita jimen wo tsuyoku Sorrowful, the ground I had sprung away from 跳ねっ返る　光に指を立てて Hanekkaeru hikari ni yubi wo tatete pulled me back strongly. I raised my finger to the light 愛したくて　噛み付いた　喉笛深く aishitakute kamitsuita nodobue fukaku Longingly, biting down on your lips and whistling deeply その様が　あんまりに美しくてさあ Sono sama ga anmari ni utsukushikute saa That visage is simply too beautiful 舌を打って　曠野の中　風に抗い Shita wo utte, kouya no naka kaze ni aragai Click your tongue, defy the wind of this wasteland 夜もすがら　嗄れた産声で歌う yo mo sugara shagareta ubugoe de utau Sing in the hoarse cries of a newborn through the night 遠く遠く見据えていた　凍て星の先まで tooku tooku misuete ita ite hoshi no saki made Shine the light of your bruised heart 痣だらけの心　輝かせて aza darake no kokoro kagayakasete all the way past that frozen star far, far in the distance その姿をいつだって　僕は追いかけていたんだ sono sugata wo itsudatte boku ha oikakete itan da That silhouette, I had always been chasing it. 転がるように線を貫いて　突き刺していく切っ先を korogaru you ni sen wo tsuranuite tukisashite iku kissaki wo I pierced through those stabbing blades as though I were falling 日陰に咲いたひまわりが　今も夏を待っている hikage ni saita himarwari ga ima mo natsu wo matte iru The sunflower blooming in the shade is still waiting for summer 人いきれを裂いて笑ってくれ　僕の奥でもう一度 hito ikire wo saite waratte kure boku no oku de mou ichido Break through that stifling air and laugh for me, deep within me, once more 消し飛べ　散弾銃をぶち抜け　明日へ keshitobe sandanjuu wo buchinuke ashita he Erase it all and fly, fire the shotgun into tomorrow 吐き出せ　北極星へ舵取れ　その手で hakidase hokkyokusei he kaji tore sono te de Get it all out, take the oar to the North Star into your own hands 傷ついて　静脈を不意に巡るエレキ kizutsuite joumyaku wo fui ni meguru ereki Wounded, electricity flows unexpectedly in the veins 掻き毟って　吹き荒び　鳴る哀歌 kakimusshite fukisusabi naru erejii Rip it away, rage upon it, let this elegy ring out 聴こえているあの時から　少しも絶えぬまま kikoeteiru ano toki kara sukoshi mo todaenu mama It never dies down, not even the slightest, from the time I first could hear it 震えるほど全て　消えないぜ furueru hodo subete kienaize It won’t go away, to the point that I’m trembling その姿がいつだって　僕を映し出していた sono sugata ga itsudatte boku wo utsushidashite ita That silhouette, it was always reflecting me もしも同じ街で生まれたら　君のようになれたかな moshimo onaji machi de umaretara kimi no you ni nareta kana If we had been born in the same town, could I have become like you? 日陰に咲いたひまわりが　今も海を見つめてる hikage ni saita himawari ga ima mo umi wo mitsumeteru The sunflower blooming in the shade is still watching the ocean. 聴こえるなら強く叫んでくれ　僕の名をもう一度 kikoeru nara tsuyoku sakende kure boku no na wo mou ichido If you can hear me, scream my name one more time. 鳴き声　かんかん照りの街路で　佗び戯れ nakigoe kankan teri no kairou de wabizare A cry on a sweltering city street, raise a lonely clamor 解き放て　乱反射して遠くへ　鳴り響け tokihanate ranhansha shite tooku he narihibike Let it out, that bent refraction that echoes far into the distance その姿をいつだって　僕は追いかけていたんだ sono sugata wo itsudatte boku ha oikakete itan da That silhouette, I had always been chasing it. 転がるように線を貫いて　突き刺していく切っ先を korogaru you ni sen wo tsuranuite tukisashite iku kissaki wo I pierced through those stabbing blades as though I were falling 日陰に咲いたひまわりが　今も夏を待っている hikage ni saita himarwari ga ima mo natsu wo matte iru The sunflower blooming in the shade is still waiting for summer 人いきれを裂いて笑ってくれ　僕の奥でもう一度 hito ikire wo saite waratte kure boku no oku de mou ichido Break through that stifling air and laugh for me, deep within me, once more 消し飛べ　散弾銃をぶち抜け　明日へ keshitobe sandanjuu wo buchinuke ashita he Erase it all and fly, fire the shotgun into tomorrow 吐き出せ　北極星へ舵取れ　その手で hakidase hokkyokusei he kaji tore sono te de Get it all out, take the oar to the North Star into your own hands

A Quick Note on Translating Lyrics

I’ve got to say that it’s really hard to translate song lyrics haha. Sometimes the word order is so different between Japanese and English that I have to swap the lyrics.

遠く遠く見据えていた　凍て星の先まで tooku tooku misuete ita ite hoshi no saki made Shine the light of your bruised heart 痣だらけの心　輝かせて aza darake no kokoro kagayakasete all the way past that frozen star far, far in the distance

The Japanese is actually in reverse order of the English here. Technically, a very direct translation would be “All the way past that frozen star far, far in the distance, shine the light of your bruised heart.”

Interesting Words

舌を打って shita wo utte click your tongue

In Japanese culture, doing that “tch!” sound by clicking your tongue is rude. It shows that you are impatient, irritated, or frustrated. Many English speakers click their tongue when they’ve been asked a question and need to think about it. If you are a tongue clicker and you go to Japan, try to curb the habit!

The full lyrics here are: “Click your tongue, defy the wind of this wasteland.”

So this really expresses the pent-up frustration and anger in this person.

嗄れた shagareta, kareta hoarse

What I love about this word is the kanji and its radicals. We have 口 (mouth) and 夏 (summer) put into one kanji. Can you imagine what it would be like if all the heat and dryness of summer was in your mouth and throat, and how hoarse and miserable you would feel? What a cool kanji! (Note: this is a very low frequency kanji.)

切っ先 kissaki point (of a sword, etc.); pointed verbal attack

I had a hard time translating this line for a lot of reasons, but in particular I wasn’t sure whether this kissaki was a sword or a verbal attack. I can only assume that because this song talks about crying out and singing so much that it must be the verbal meaning, but Yonezu uses many metaphors so I could also see it being blades.

人いきれ hito ikire body heat from several people in close quarters; stuffy air

This was a new word for me. Again, I found myself unsure of which meaning to use when I translated it. I went for the “stuffy air” meaning in the end because it was more succinct, but I imagine that Yonezu was probably imagining the former meaning, because he mentions streets and cities, which I imagine to be crowded. He’s also asking a person he’s lost to call out, and perhaps they are lost in a metaphorical sea of people. Then again, summer imagery is strong in this song as well. His word choice is just so GOOD. I wish he’d marry me.

散弾銃をぶち抜け　明日へ sandanjuu wo buchinuke ashita he fire the shotgun into tomorrow

This evokes much more beautiful imagery in Japanese. The kanji for “shotgun” are 散弾銃 (sandanjuu). 散 means “to scatter” or “to spread,” like fallen cherry blossom petals scatter in a gust of wind. So rather than evoking the image of someone pulling a trigger, it evokes the image of the pellets scattering into the air like fireworks or petals almost.

北極星へ舵取れ　その手で Hokkyokusei he kaji tore sono te de Take the oar to the North Star into your own hands

Ahhhh this is just so freaking pretty. “Take the oar to to the North Star into your own hands.” In other words, determine your own fate, take charge of your life. I just love the “oar” here.

吹き荒び fukisusabi to blow fiercely; to rage, to play (a flute, etc.) for fun

Again, I wasn’t sure how to interpret this line because of the multiple meanings woven into this word. Japanese is SO. COOL. you guys.

哀歌 aika lament (song); elegy; dirge; sad song

My man Yonezu out here bein tricky. Though the official lyrics use the kanji 哀歌, he actually sings this as エレジー (elegy). And that rhymes with the last word of the previous line, エレキ (ereki). Typically, Japanese songwriters tend not to think too much about rhyming. In fact, in Japanese in general, rhyming isn’t thought of as frequently as it is in English. So the fact that Yonezu used this interesting play on words with 哀歌 was pretty cool to me.

震えるほど全て　消えないぜ furueru hodo subete kienai ze It won’t go away, to the point that I’m trembling

I just didn’t have a way to translate the feelings in the ぜ here. “Ze” is a sentence-ending particle that usually shows a person’s confidence. So for him to use it here as he describes himself trembling, is like he’s putting on a front of confidence when really he’s deeply troubled.

佗び戯れ wabizare ???????

This was my favorite word in the song, and also the hardest one to translate! It doesn’t appear to be a real word in the dictionary, but it’s an imperative made of two different words: 侘び and 戯れ.

Have you ever heard of the term “wabi” or “wabisabi?” It’s this concept of Japanese culture and aesthetics that focuses on the beauty of impermanence and solitude, and an appreciation for the sorrow that comes with the transience.

To look up the definition of “wabi,” it means “taste for the simple and quiet; rustic simplicity; austere refinement; wabi,” or “enjoyment of a quiet life.”

But to look up the kanji of wabi (侘), we learn that it means “proud, lonely.”

So this is a very nuanced word! I think that the “wabi” of our word “wabizare” is meant to conjure the meaning of the kanji wabi, “proud, lonely.”

Now, 戯. Zare means “pleasantry; joke; tomfoolery.” There is also a word 戯言 zaregoto, which means “nonsense” or “wishful thinking bordering on nonsense.” I imagine that when Yonezu created this word 佗び戯れ wabizare, he wanted to combine the “proud and lonely” with “wishful thinking bordering on nonsense.”

鳴き声　かんかん照りの街路で　佗び戯れ nakigoe kankan teri no kairou de wabizare A cry on a sweltering city street, raise a lonely clamor

In other words, he’s asking this person to call out to him, but he knows that they are far away, too far for him to hear. He wants them to give out a cry, one that will sound as lonely as it does nonsensical because there is no way it will reach him.

Uh... What Does This Song Actually Mean?

Disclaimer: This is entirely my own opinion and it could be totally wrong! I always believe that everyone can interpret any piece of art how they like.

The tricky thing about Japanese is that you can omit subjects, and Yonezu does that a lot. So unless there’s an imperative or a use of pronouns, I’m not sure which line is about whom.

But basically, I think that there was this beautiful person that the singer came to know, someone that they loved and admired. But that person fell into a very dark, hopeless situation. They are “a sunflower blooming in the shade, waiting for summer,” and the singer wants that person to reach out to him. “If you can hear me, scream my name one more time. A cry on a sweltering city street, raise a lonely clamor.”

The chorus is all imperatives, telling the person to leap into tomorrow, to get it all out, to take the oars into their own hands and head for the North Star.

I think that this song is all about the singer wanting to help a person they care deeply for, and imploring that person to take action rather than suffer passively.

The End!

I hope that you guys liked this post and that maybe you learned some new words and even found a new artist you love!

Would people like to see more lyrics translations? They’re kinda fun!

#japanese lyrics translation #japanese language #study japanese #learn japanese #song lyrics #japanese vocabulary #study kanji #learn kanji #kanji #kenshi yonezu #米津玄師 #Stray Sheep #jrock #jpop

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dolphindiluna · 4 years ago

Photo

𝗜 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝗲 The cell continued to ring. He should talk to Sam, let him know that he was alive. He laughed bitterly at the thought, was he really alive? He didn't feel that way. He was flesh, bones, tears and blood. But alive? No. Living had just taken on another dimension. The point is that he died so many times that he lost count, but for the first time he knew what it was to really die, this death that people talk about, death in life.

How many important people fell on the way?

His mind returned to the day of his mother's death. Even though he was not in his room that day, his father had counted on so many details, on a night of drunkenness, that he didn't even need to see with his eyes, his mind "saw" much more than he wanted.

Then the father. That father obsessed with killing the damn demon who took the life of his beloved wife. The father who raised his children to save people, hunting things, the family business. The father absent for loving too much.

And Ellen and Jo. Pamela, Bob, Kevin, Charlie. And so many others. Many…

And again the father and mother.

And Sam. Each time he lost his brother, a piece of him died together. Sam, who kept calling over and over.

- Sam, I'm fine.

- Dean! What happened? Why did it take so long to answer the phone?

- Sorry, Sammy. Are you ok?

He heard the sound of his brother swallowing the words, those few seconds hanging over them like a sharp sword. Dean knew, he always knew.

- Sammy?

- Dean, everybody's gone, everybody. Charlie, Bob and even Donna. It's just me and Jack.

The brother's voice was weak. Sam who was so dedicated to protecting everyone, even with the weight of Eileen's loss on his shoulders. He wanted to hug him. He wished he could go back in time when he carried Sam in his boyish arms and rocked him, promising to protect him from danger. "Take care of your brother, Dean" had been the main task his father had given him, and he, as a good soldier, never deviated from his mission. Taking care of Sam, protecting him, was what gave him the strength to get up every morning.

- Sammy, come home.

- Dean, is everything okay? What happened to Billie?

- Billie is dead. You and Jack, come home soon.

- Okay, Dean.

He hung up the phone and put his hands on his face again. He was not able to tell Sam the whole truth, because telling what happened was having to face reality, and he was not yet ready to say goodbye.

The silence in the dungeon choked him, but he didn't have the strength to leave. Maybe he didn't want to leave. Somewhere in his heart, a fragile flame continued to resist. He looked at the wall, hoping the black hole would regurgitate what The Empty had stolen from him.

"I annoyed an ancient cosmic being so much that he sent me back."

Dean remembered those words as if they were said yesterday. He clung to them in despair. But deep down, he knew, he knew that The Empty would not give up again.

Why didn't he tell the truth? Why?

Why did he push his feelings into some dark corner of himself, not even allowing himself to think?

Why didn't he give himself the right to believe that he could be loved, be happy?

All that fury that has weighed on his chest since childhood, that anger that he thought defined him.

"Everything you have ever done, the good and the bad, you have done for love."

Even now he couldn't see himself that way, because that meant he was always a coward for not having struggled to take on what he felt.

Coward. He had been a coward until the end. And now he paid the price for being afraid to say the same words he had received.

The chest pain increased. He needed to get out of there, he needed to breathe. Shivering, using the wall as a support, he stood up slowly. The first steps were unstable. He managed to reach the chair in the middle of the room, held it in search of something solid to keep him on his feet until he felt he could walk without fear of falling.

When he finally reached the door, he couldn't resist and looked back again. That flame in his chest had just gone out. The pain increased, crushing his heart.

"You changed me, Dean ... I love you."

He ran out of the room, his hand over his mouth to stifle his sob.

He didn't want to be that anymore. He no longer wanted to be the Dean who assumed all the responsibilities and suppressed any feeling that his enemies could use against him. He was tired of being strong, of trying to be invincible.

He heard Sam calling for him. He needed his brother, needed this time to reverse logic, needed Sam to take care of him, to protect him from pain.

- Sammy.

Your voice so weak, so different from your voice of thunder.

- Sammy, Sammy!

He arrived at the library without strength. His brother was near the big table in the lobby.

- Sammy, please.

Sam ran towards him, followed closely by Jack. His frightened eyes were filled with concern. There, in the center of the library, the two came face to face.

He couldn't take it anymore, everything around him spun. He saw Cass in every corner of that place. Cass hugging him when they met after Chuck and Amara left. Cass sitting next to him in one of the few moments of peace, celebrating Jack's life.

Cass, smiling through her tears, saying goodbye to never come back.

- He's gone, Sammy.

Finally, the heavy tears broke through the barrier and he fell to the floor. The weight of defeat weighed on his body. He punched his chest several times in penance.

Sam didn't know what had happened, but he suspected it had to do with Castiel's absence. He knelt in front of his brother, pulling him into his arms. He always feared that this day would come, the day when Dean would accept his own feelings, but that Cass would not be there to receive them.

- He's gone, Sammy, gone. And I didn't say. I didn't say, Sammy.

- Put it all out, Dean, don't keep it anymore.

The brother's words allowed him to be the Dean that Castiel once loved.

- CASS!

The aching cry tore at his chest.

Jack watched his parents' pain and felt powerless because there was nothing he could do. All he wanted to do was bring Cass back, but he had no more powers. He no longer had Castiel. His father had died.

The strength with which the angel's name was said in that place full of magic, had the power to transcend the walls and resonate beyond that plane. In heaven, the angels wept for the loss of yet another of them. Castiel had been a friend and also an enemy, in the end being just another puppet in the hands of God.

In hell, Rowena stopped in the middle of a lustful laugh. His eyes watered. After all, the angel also became his boy.

But it was Chuck who was pierced by that spear of pain. He, who in his arrogance despised his own creations, who played with their lives, now felt the agony with such violence that it surprised him. In her mind, Amara's voice, full of bitterness, prophesied:

- Brother, you can lie to yourself as much as you want. But the truth is that you lost your most loyal son, the one who loved you so much, the one you wickedly despised. And I know it hurts you. We feel Dean's pain. And as long as we exist, we will carry that pain as a reminder of how bad we can be.

Chuck turned his eyes to Dean and for a moment hesitated in his firm intention to destroy everything. The weight of loneliness as a reminder of your choices. Sitting on his mythical throne, he was the image of a defeated god.

In the library, Dean continues to cry hugging his brother, his face buried in Sam's chest. It was sad to see that they had switched places, Sammy was taking care of Dean as Dean had always done for him.

- Dean, you need to vent, you can't have all that feeling with you anymore.

The pain, like fire, rose in his throat and was finally released.

- Cass, you are the only one I want to have, my true happiness. Cass, I love you ...

Words can transform. Words heal.

In The Empty, where angels and demons rest, dreaming eternally of their past, Castiel, in his serene sleep, dreams of the words he wanted to hear so much. His lips curl in an affable smile, while a tear escapes his sleeping eyes.

- I always knew, Dean … ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wrote this story a few days after the episode aired, listening to "I Will Never Be The Same" (which became the title of this story) by Melissa Etheridge, because this song, for me, is the synthesis of what happened to these two characters. These were, as they have been ever since, days of sadness and anxiety. The question the fandom keeps asking itself: is it really the end? Did the series make Destiel canon to kill Castiel soon after? As a fan, especially as a fan of Destiel, I am still waiting for the return of our beloved angel in the last episode, to finally find happiness with the man she loves. Because these two definitely deserve to be happy after everything they've been through. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- English is not my first language. Please forgive any mistakes I may have made. And I don't know whose illustration it is. If anyone knows, please let me know so I can give the artist proper credit.

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anime-lover-forever-1127 · 3 years ago

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The Sadist’s Nurse {Okita Sougo} - 1.This Is Only The First Chapter And I Can't Think Of A Title. How Am I Gonna Survive The Entire Fanfiction?! Well Good Thing This Is A Gintama Fanfiction, So I Can Do This

This Is Only The First Chapter And I Can't Think Of A Title. How Am I Gonna Survive The Entire Fanfiction?!

Well Good Thing This Is A Gintama Fanfiction,

So I Can Do This ^

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "Gintama", it belongs to its original creator Hideaki Sorachi - or as we may know him, the Gorilla (If you did not get that reference, then I'd like you to stop, and ask yourself - Are You A Real Gintama Fan?) . This is only a fanfiction that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. Thus, most of them aren't mine (because I really, really can't draw) unless mentioned. To fit the story, images are also edited by various apps and websites. So they aren't mine, just edited.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and publish it onto any other website.

If you're gonna use my idea, please ask me (If you ask nicely, I for sure, will agree). If I don't contact you within a week, then just assume I'm giving you the all clear and go for it. Just remember to credit me.

I will be writing out scenes even if my Oc isn't in them. As long as she's mentioned, or influencing the characters in some way. Or maybe because it influences the story. This may seem a bit annoying. But that's just how I write. I like to embed my characters into the story line. Because of this, most of the dialogue/scenes will come from the original work.

I may not get all the references in the story - because I haven't watched all those anime - so sorry if I butchere those those ones. (It goes without saying that I don't own any of those as well)

*****

Warnings: Spoilers for episode 5

Today's Special

Never let your best friends get lonely...

Keep disturbing them

~ Unknown

*****

Akira watched her brother mutter to himself as he spied out the window.

"Okita wake up." Hijita said, balling up Katsura's wanted poster up and hitting the sleeping man on the head with it. The main reason he did that being that he didn't like how at home he looked sleeping on his precious baby sisters lap.

Akira stopped running her hands through the man's soft locks as he got up.

"I'm surprised that you could sleep through that explosion." Hijikata said.

"Explosion?" Sougo questioned. "Did you let the terrorists attack again?" He asked, pulling down his sleeping mask. "What's your problem, Hijikata? You need to apply yourself. Take a page out of Akira's book."

"Me! You're the one who needs to take a page out of her book and stop sleeping on the job." Hijikata shouts, grabbing his sword's hilt. "They can blow up all the Amanto for all I care. I'll let those fishes swim for a bit before I'll reel 'em up… and cut their necks." He drew his sword, pushing his palm against the flat side of the blade. "It'll be a proud moment for the shinsengumi. I'm looking forward to this fight."

"If that's settled. Then let's head back to the base and we can decide what action to take there." Akira suggests.

*****

"Oh? So we finally found them?" Kondo asks.

Hijikata nods, "Yes. Yamazaki is following them right now. It's only a matter of time before we discover their base, Kondo-san."

"Yeah. But it wouldn't be the first time we've thought that. We gotta be careful or they'll slip right through our fingers again." says Akira, as she leans against the door frame.

"That's fine. We'll just have to be careful. Goodwork, Toshi."

"It's too soon to thank me." The vice-chief says, he turns around to look at their boss. "Save it for after we've killed them!"

"That is smart. You know it's just like the saying goes. It's never a good idea to count your chickens before they hatch." Akira nods.

"That's right." Konod agrees, "The Shinsengumi only give credit after distinguished military service. We, the Shinsengumi, belong in battle. " Kondo nods.

Hijikata smirks, "You're the chief. I'm only following orders."

"I'm counting on you, Toshi." Says the older man.

"We'll in that case. I better go check the medical stock and get the room ready." Akira says. "Someone around here, and by that I mean me, has to make sure you idiots don't bleed out and kill yourselves."

*****

Akira watches from the sidelines as a Shinsengumi unit charges forward, her brother and childhood friend at the helm. Leading the attack.

"You're under arrest!" yells Hijikata, kicking the door down. "Come quietly, you terrorist scum!"

"It's the Shinsengumi!"

"Oh no! Run away!"

And other similar shouts were heard from the room.

"Kill them all!" Hijikata shouted, pointing his sword forward.

"Actually Aniki. We should take some of them alive. I highly doubt that this is the entire army." says Akira, coming up to stand beside the two commanding officers.

"She's right you know Hijikata-san." Sougo says, and never one to miss out on an opportunity to annoy the older man, he adds, "I feel bad for Akira-chan. Always having to pick up her oniisan's slack."

"Why you-" Hijikata starts to growl, only to be cut off with a slap to the head.

"Hey. Why did you do that?" He asked, rubbing his head.

"Because well you two are here, bickering like children. The enemy is getting away." Akira answers, her hands on her hips. "Now go, before I decide to hit you with something a lot harder."

"Fine. Let's go Sougo."

*****

Within minutes there were injured Shinsengumi members coming to Akira to get their injuries looked at.

"You can continue to fight." She says to a member of the 2and squad. "Oh, and well you're out there. Can you please try to capture one of the Jouishishi members alive. We could use a bit more intel on their future operations. oK."

"Of course Akira-san." The man nodded, picking his sword up and running off into the battle again.

Seeing no more people, Akira poked her head around the corner to see all the members standing outside a barricaded door.

Seeing that the fight was practically over, she walked over to the group of men.

"This again? Where do they think they're gonna go?" Akira wonders, as one of her fingers tap against her cheek.

"Who knows what's ever going on inside those terrorists' heads." A Shinsengumi member answered.

"Hey, come out. We're really going to fire this time." Sougo shouted at the door. His thumb and pointer finger holds his chin, as his arm rests on the palm of his other hand. "Hijikata-san, our evening soap rerun is going to start soon."

"Did you remember to set our VCR?" Akira asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Geez. I forgot." He answers.

"Great. Note to self. Don't give you that job again." pouts Akira. She then turns around to the men and shouts, "Come on people. Let's wrap this up. We have 45 minutes to get back to the base. So let's finish this up today ladies."

"Dam. I didn't know she could be so mean." One of the newer members mumbles.

"Yeah. I thought she was known for being nice."

"She usually is. But since you two are new here, you don't really know her and you haven't seen anything yet either. Wait till her favorite store is selling strawberry cake. Then you realise how mean she can truly be. She'll tear you the shreds and then sew you back up together again. There are a couple of unwritten rules in the Shinsengumi. Ones that you'll have to learn if you intend to survive here." Another one answers.

Getting sick of the mutters, Hijikata shouted, "You heard the women. Let's get this over with. Prepare to fire!"

Just as the explosive was about to be launched, the barricade broke open from the other side as three people jumped out.

"Wh-what are you doing?! Stop them!" shouted Akira, surprised.

A puffy silver haired man continued to charge forward, holding something round in his hand. "If you want to stop something, then stop this bomb, please!" He said.

"You have a bomb squad, don't you?"

"He's got a bomb." Someone shouted.

As the group of men in black ran away from the trio, Akira simply grabbed the vice-chief and first division captain and pulled them to the side and let the group run right past them.

"Normally i'd say that we should stick around and help them out. But I'm dying to see who killed Gyuki. If we go now, we can make it right before the opening credits finish." Akira smirked.

"Don't we need to stick around?" Toshi asks.

Raising an eyebrow, Akira fires back, "Do you wanna stick around?"

"Hell no" The two men answer in unison.

*****

Legend/translation:

Aniki - Your own older brother, not to be confused with oniisan, which means someone else's older brother.

I also feel like I need to clear up the topic of her hair colour. It's mostly black, but under certain lighting, it looks brown.

I also understand the difference between a doctor and a nurse. And, yes, she really is a doctor. But let's all be honest, 'The Sadist's Nurse' has a much better ring to it then, 'The Sadist's Doctor'. It honestly just rolls off the tongue better.

You can read the other chapters of this story (in order) on Wattpad, Quotev, Fanfiction.Net, Ao3, or Webnovel - Under the username Animeloverforever1127 (Under the same title of course). Or you could shuffle around my tumbler, (I’ll try to keep my tags constant) but I’d go with the first - just seems like a lot less work.

#The Sadist’s Nurse {Okita Sougo} - 1.This Is Only The First Chapter And I Can't Think Of A Title. How Am I Gonna Survive The Entire Fanficti #The Sadist’s Nurse {Okita Sougo}#okita sougo #animeloverforever1127 #gintama hijikata #gintama #kondo #yamazaki #akira

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rohad93 · 4 years ago

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Woth the Fight : Chp 2

Eda is shaking her awake before the sun is even really up the next morning and she groans, burying her face into King’s fur. He growled at the hand and Eda rolled her eyes at the giant lump of fur and her equal lump of an apprentice, curled up together on the bed. If she didn’t know for a fact Luz was human she would swear she was some kind of demonic wolf the way King had taken to her when she’d first started traveling with them, like she was his pup, even though she treated him like he was her baby in turn. At least the two looked out for each other when she was out on jobs.

“Both of you get up, we still have a lot of ground to cover, before we make it to town,” she said as she strapped her belt with her sword tied to it around her waist.

“I’m up…,” Luz’s groggy voice muffled out from King’s fur but she didn’t move until King finally stood up, sending her dropping, face-first into the bed with a grumble as he stretched out like a cat before jumping off the bed. Luz groaned into the blankets before finally pushing herself up onto her elbows and blinked tiredly before letting out a jaw cracking yawn as she sat herself up.

“Come on, if you wanna eat we need to get a move on, and I know you gotta be hungry,” Eda grunted, pulling on her own dark cloak. The moment she said it Luz’s stomach growled angrily and she grinned sheepishly at her.

“That’s what I thought…” Eda smirked. “Come on.” She waved, walking out the door, King trotting after her at the promise of food.

“Eda, wait for me!” Luz scrambled off the side of the bed and pulled on her sword belt and cloak as she hopped across the room, trying to pull on her boots with one hand and grab her book off the bedside table with the other at the same time.

Eda waited for her downstairs, where she’d already ordered food.

She stuffed her face with as much dried meat and bread as she could in the inns’ main room before they headed out on the road just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon.

Her feet dragged through the dirt by mid-afternoon and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. Even the overbearing rays of the summer sun overhead were only serving to help lull her to sleep despite their blistering heat.

She’d stayed up much top late trying to decipher the intricate little runes that filled most of the pages in vain. Her knowledge of glyphs was less than beginner level, it was all but non-existent really. She could read, and write, and spoke two languages, but the tiny symbols witches used for denoting elements and the properties of magic had always escaped her, not that she really had anyone to teach her. Eda was a master at the practical side of magic, enchanting objects with power and then using them, but had never been big on the academic side of things, much to Luz’s dismay.

“You’re the most skilled witch knight in all the Boiling Isles, how can you not know any runes?” Luz’s hands dropped, book slapping against the tops of her thighs in defeat.

“I don’t need that book stuff. Magic is wild and free you just have to feel it!” Eda threw her arms out, gesturing to the wide blue sky above them.

“I literally can’t feel it, I don't have a bile sac.” Luz frowned and Eda blinked, bringing a hand back down to scratch her chin.

“Oh, right… Well, you got the book, right? You learned anything?” she cocked her head as she glanced at her and watched as Luz lit up.

“Most of it is in runes… but I did learn something, watch this!” She dug through one of her pouches and pulled out a piece of charcoal before unsheathing her practice sword and carefully drawing the small glyph on it, when she was satisfied with her work, she tapped it and the glyph burned away as the whole blade glowed with a bright incandescent light.

Eda squinted against the light.

“You really did do magic…”

“Yeah, a light enchantment!” Luz beamed at her mentor, still swinging around the glowing blade.

“Okay, okay, put that thing away before I go blind!” Eda shielded her eyes with her hand from the glaring light.

Luz sheathed the blade, smothering the light that would go out in due time when the energy of the glyph was exhausted.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Luz grinned as she sheathed the blade.

"It's bright…," Eda rubbed her eyes with her fists, trying to clear away the spots she was still seeing. "...not sure how good it would be in an actual fight though…"

"Well… maybe not… but it's still magic!"

"The point of adding magical enchantments to weapons is to do more damage in attacks, or create barriers...or other... stuff," Eda trailed off, rolling a hand. “What you have is a metal torch…”

“Well, what else is a dull blade good for? If I had a real sword maybe I could actually be useful,” Luz huffed, turning to look at the ocean sitting below the cliffside. At some point, the fields had given way to the shore and the far-stretching ocean. Eda frowned.

"You'll get a real sword when I decide you're ready, not before." Eda crossed her arms, they’d had this conversation before.

"It's been five years, how am I not ready yet!?" Luz frowned, throwing up her hands in exasperation. Eda had been saying that for years. It had taken her two years just to get the training sword.

"Look, Luz, you tend to get carried away, and I just worry you'll rely on your sword to get you out of trouble before your brain. Show me that's not the case and you'll get your sword," Eda promised and Luz slumped.

“How am I supposed to do that?” she grumbled. Eda just shrugged and she sighed as they continued on down the road, the conversation was over. She contented herself with looking at her book and half falling asleep until she’d stumble, almost eating it before catching herself. The sun was slowly but surely dipping closer and closer toward the horizon, lighting the ocean on their left aglow with glaring reds and pinks. After the fifth time of almost watching Luz trip face-first into the dirt, Eda stopped them in the thick of the woods.

“We’re gonna make camp here for the night,” she declared. “You can barely keep your eyes open, your gonna end up falling into a pit or something.”

Luz glanced around at the thick foliage around them. One of the first things Eda had taught her was to make camp in the open whenever possible, to avoid ambush or any creatures sneaking up on you in the dark.

“Is it safe to camp here?”

“Eh, it’s fine, and we wouldn’t make it out of here before it got good and dark anyway, just don’t wander off into the forest and it’ll be fine.” Eda pulled her sack from her back. “Go gather up some wood and we can get the fire going.” She jerked her head to the edge of the forest just off the path.

“I’m on it!” Luz shrugged off her pack and set down her book before trotting just into the treeline to pick up sticks, King trailed along behind her, her ever-present shadow, trying to snatch the bigger ones out of her hand.

“We’re not playing right now, King!” she grunted, trying to wrench the branch from between his massive jaws. “Let go!” she growled, and he did, sending her reeling back into the bushes with a yelp.

“Ow,” she grumbled to herself before rolling out of the bush, leaves sticking out of her hair as she looked up to find King at her side, and then his large wet tongue was on her cheek.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay,” she laughed, pushing his furry head away as she pulled herself to her feet. She brushed herself off and started picking up all the sticks she’d dropped when a loud screech filled the twilight sky’s air, making a chill go up her spine and clutch the bundle of wood to her chest, brown eyes darting across the ever-darkening woods.

It had sounded far away...

Again the blood-chilling screech echoed across the forest, sending an eruption of good-bumps across her arms.

What was that? She’d never heard a sound like that before in her life and she had heard and seen quite a few things in the years she’d been traveling with Eda and King.

“Luz!” Eda’s voice calling from just a few yards away jolted her out of her thoughts as she turned and jogged back toward camp with King at her side.

“Did you hear that?” is the first thing out of her mouth as she dumped the wood into the ring of stones Eda made while she was gone.

Her mentor nodded, as she looked into the woods with narrowed amber eyes, hands planted on her hips.

“Sounds like a cockatrice,” she hummed.

A cockatrice.

Luz frowned, she’d read about them, and all manner of the other strange and deadly creatures that called the Boiling Isles home. Eda had also given her lessons about them. They were smaller than griffins and manticores, with scaled, winged, lizard-like bodies, covered in feathers, and had the head of a rooster. They were pretty ugly in the illustrations she'd seen. Eda had fought a number of them for jobs over the years, but she had never taken Luz with her on those jobs, only told her the stories after the fact, she’d never seen one with her own eyes. She wasn't sure what she imagined it would sound like, but that hadn’t been it.

“Should we do something?” Luz’s brows furrowed with concern, running a hand up and down her arm. “Kill it?” she asked.

“Pfft, you mean, should I do something? And no, it sounds pretty far off, I wouldn’t worry about it… ‘sides, you’ve got a blunt training sword and you’ve learned one enchantment, Kid, and let’s be honest, not the most useful one either; so hold your horses.”

Luz frowned at that, shoulders slumping, which made Eda sigh under her breath and slapped a hand on her apprentice’s head.

“All in due time, Luz. Just trust me, okay?”

Luz glanced up at Eda, who was looking at her questioningly and she sighed before nodding.

“Okay…”

“Good, now, let’s get the fire started before the wolves come out,” Eda said, ruffling her hair with a grin before she walked over to the pile of wood Luz had collected.

“Please, no pack of wolves is a match for King!” Luz said, scratching his head. The great beast seemed to puff up at the praise, tail wagging as Luz scratched around the base of his horns.

“We don’t need wolf guts strewn out everywhere either, that would attract something else…” Another loud, distant screech filled the warm night air, sending a chill up Luz’s spine “...like that…” Eda deadpanned.

“Did that sound closer than before?” It was hard to tell, it was still quite far off.

A fire blazed to life, drawing her attention away from the darkening woods.

“A little fire will keep most things away, don’t worry,” Eda assured her

“I’m not worried, what would I be worried about?” She planted both hands on her hips, chest jutting out in defiance.

The screech echoed over the trees, making her jump, and Eda snorted in laughter as Luz’s face turned red, shoulders bunching up around her ears.

“It’s fine, Luz, now come sit down so we can eat,” Eda huffed, still grinning as she pulled their rations out of her own bag.

Luz plopped down into the dirt beside the fire, King at her side as Eda tossed her a dried chunk of meat, she wasted no time before she started gnawing on it while Eda tossed a chunk to King, who snapped it out of the air between his massive jaws before turning to nose Luz, whining.

“No, this is mine,” she leaned away from him, holding the dried meat just out of reach, but then he was practically crawling over her to get to it, stepping on her in the process. “No, King!” she yelped as he stuck his neck across her, tongue sticking out toward Luz’s dinner before she shoved the whole thing into her mouth and gave him a victorious look.

Eda rolled her eyes at the both of them and chewed silently on her own food, keeping her ears pricked to the occasional screech of the creature in the distance.

~ ~ The moon is high overhead when something woke her up.

She wasn't sure what woke her up, but all of a sudden, Luz was awake, eyes popping open suddenly. She glanced around from her place laying on the ground beside the fire, her eyes flickered across their roadside camp. The fire is still crackling brightly and King is laying beside her, curled into a ball at her side. The light from the quarter moon overhead casts everything outside the light of the fire in a faint silvery glow.

Nothing seems out of the ordinary, and she starts to close her eyes again before she realizes; Eda is gone.

She sprang up, knocking into King and making him jolt awake with a surprised, snort.

Eda is not laying nearby or is anywhere she can see, and that immediately worries Luz.

“Eda?” she called quietly, as she rubbed her fist against her eye, casting off the last bits of sleep still clinging to her consciousness.

Only the quiet ambient sounds of the forest, crickets, and the rustling of leaves answer her back.

“Eda?” she called again, climbing to her feet and staring out into the darkness beyond the light cast by the fire.

Nothing answered her back, not a voice anyway.

Suddenly she could hear something in the distance, the rattling of bushes and the snapping of twigs and branches. She tensed, listening to the sounds as they seemed to move about the woods, crashing and smashing.

“That the best you got?”

Luz knows that voice.

“Eda!” She scrambled to her feet and took off into the darkness of the trees, King jumping up and following after her.

She stumbled over roots and rocks, branches scratched at her face and arms as she rushed by them. She ran blindly through the woods towards the noises growing louder and louder; the sound of fighting. There's a dim light somewhere in front of her, a beacon in the all-encompassing blackness of the woods at night.

She cleared the trees and skid to a stop in the dirt, eyes wide and mouth hanging open as a high-pitched squeaking sound forced its way out of her throat.

Standing in front of her is a large, two-legged, draconic creature. Dark green, almost black in the darkness, and her noise of surprise had drawn its attention.

She knows the second it faces her what it is, with its large winged arms, tipped with three long talons and the large scaly head of a rooster.

A cockatrice.

It looks at her, head cocking to the side in jerky motions as it examines her.

“Luz!?”

Her eyes flicker to the voice and standing, back pressed against a tree is Eda, a dimly glowing lantern on her hip providing the only light other than the moon and her sword gripped in her right hand.

“Eda!” she yelped and the creature made a guttural hissing noise at her that stopped her cold, eyes going back to the creature, its pupilless yellow eyes staring into her and wings twitching, as if about to take off at any moment. King is growling, deep and guttural, black fur standing on end and lips curled back over long, white, curved fangs.

“Get out of here, now!” Eda yelled at her, but her legs are frozen, her muscles refuse to move despite the bloodthirsty creature looming over her.

Eda scowled. Luz is frozen and she knows it. She jolted forward and hacked at the creature’s back left leg, sending a spray of blood across the grass.

It made a loud screeching sound and whipped around to face Eda, its spiked tail slamming into the older woman and sending her slamming back against the tree.

“Eda!”

Eda sucked in a sharp breath between her teeth, holding her sword out to keep the hissing beast at bay as it snapped its razor-sharp beak at her, looking for an opening as she pressed her free hand to her side where she’d been struck.

Luz sucked in a breath when she saw the growing dark spot on Eda’s side that she cradled under her left hand; she was injured.

She had to do something!

Her hand gripped the handle of her training sword tightly, isn't this what she'd been training with Eda for?

She unsheathed the blade in one swift motion and raised it overhead.

Maybe it's edges weren't sharp, but it had enough edge that when she brought it crashing down with all her strength she severed the spiked end of the creature's tail from its body, blood splattering the ground as the still wriggling appendage fell to the dirt.

It spun to face Luz, eyes aglow and the blood-curdling squawk that erupted from its mouth at her made King spring forward with a roar, fangs sinking into the scaled hide of its neck with a squelching noise.

Its cries continued to pierce the air as it writhed, wings thrashing and body shaking until it flung the demon wolf loose, his body rolling across the ground with a hard thump before it turned its gaze to Luz, letting out another piercing shriek.

Luz screamed and bolted back into the woods, batting the branches away with her sword. She could hear it chasing her, it’s thundering steps beating against the ground as it ran, branches snapping under its feet.

Something, hot and sizzling, shot past her face, grazing her cheek, and it burns like fire! Her eyes water and she stumbles for a second but quickly rights herself and keeps running, heart pounding inside her chest.

Surely if not for the injury Eda had inflicted on its back leg and the tight quarters, it would already be tearing her apart by now.

She panted, zigzagging through the trees. She needed a plan, and quickly! What did she know about cockatrices’? She tried hard to remember Eda’s lessons, she can only remember bits and pieces in the moment.

They had acidic saliva, ate prey alive, and lived in dark places, caves, or other underground spaces, only coming out at night because of their incredibly sensitive night vision.

“That’s it!” she huffed, she needed a minute though, somewhere, anywhere she could get just a few seconds.

She made a sharp turn, heading back for camp, the creature still hot on her heels. She could see the light from the fire and ran, breakneck straight for it, never breaking stride as she leaped over the flames, but as enraged as it was, the beast didn’t see them and ran straight through the campfire, sending up a cloud of sparks and embers, it’s oily feathered wings catching immediately. It let out wild, hissing cries.

Luz slid to a stop, watching it a second before she shakily dug through one of her pouches as quickly as she could while the thing flailed and writhed, trying to put out the flames licking across it’s dark green and black feathers, what’s left of its tail whipping around.

She tried to still her shaking hand as she grasped the piece of charcoal and drew out the glyph from her book, forcing her hand still, as the smell of burning feathers and flesh filled the camp, making her stomach churn; it needed to be perfect.

The cockatrice screeched, having finally put out the flames and Luz dropped the charcoal as she took off back into the forest, the monster's angry cries behind her, farther behind than before, but not far enough.

Ahead of her are some fallen trees.

She drop slid under one, sitting propped up on a rock, and popped back up, barely breaking stride, even as she heard the cockatrice smash into the dense log as it tried to follow her in its blind rage, the heavy smacking and crunching sound told her all she needed to know as she bolted through the trees.

Her heart is beating wildly in her ears as she burst from the treeline to find herself standing on a stretch of cliff that jutted out over the ocean.

She slid to a stop just a few feet from the edge and turned to face the forest, sword clasped in her hand. It took only a handful of seconds for the beast to come sprinting out of the brush, screeching as it barreled toward her at full speed, angrier than ever, and ready to melt her face off.

Luz swallowed thickly, knees bent and body tense, waiting for the perfect moment.

‘Close, closer… just a little closer… now!’.

She slapped her hand against the flat of the blade and the glyph glowed before the entire thing erupted in a blinding light. The beast screamed in pain as it was blinded, and running too fast to stop. Luz dove out of the way as it ran headfirst off the side of the cliff, crispy, near featherless wings, flapping helplessly as gravity took hold of it.

She panted, whole body trembling with adrenaline as she laid face first in the grass, a white-knuckled grip on her glowing blade, but a few moments passed and nothing happened. She slowly pushed herself up from the grass before she crawled over to the ledge and looked down.

Laying sprawled out in the sand far below, with ocean waves gently lapping at it, was the cockatrice’s lifeless body.

“I… I did it…,” she breathed as a grin slowly broke out across her face. “I killed it!” she whooped, pushing herself to her knees and throwing up her fists, glowing sword still in hand before she gasped to herself.

“Eda!” She jumped up and ran quickly back to her mentor through the woods, glowing sword lightning her way, she found the witch making her way through the trees with King at her side.

“Eda!” Luz practically screamed as she ran up to the surprised witch. "Are you okay?" She looked her over, and there was a dark stain on her own dark red tunic, but not nearly as big as Luz had feared it had been.

"I'm fine, it just grazed me. Where is it?" Eda asked, looking around cautiously. Luz puffed up, chest jutted out

"I killed it!" she proclaimed, holding up her still glowing training sword

"Wha- seriously?" Eda blinked her wide amber eyes at her.

"Yeah!" Luz regaled her with the tale as they walked back to camp.

"You took out a cockatrice with a dull training blade and a light enchantment, color me impressed, Kid." Eda grinned at her and Luz beamed proudly at the praise as King laid his head across her lap while she scratched his head between his horns as they sat next to the fire. Luckily he wasn't really hurt either.

Eda hummed, leaning forward, eyes narrowed as she looked at Luz's face.

She reached up and touched her left cheek gently with her thumb, making Luz hiss with pain.

"Looks like it got you with its acid…," Eda mumbled. "That's definitely going to leave a scar.' she frowned, but Luz lit up further if it was possible.

"My first battle scar!" She cheered, throwing up a fist. King made a grumbling growling sound at the movement.

Eda blinked before chuckling to herself.

"Never change, Luz." Eda shook her head.

#worth the fight #Lumity eventually #Eda Clawthorne #Luz Noceda #King #the owl house #Medival AU

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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March 1, 2021: The Hobbit (1977) (Part 1)

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.

When I was 9, my school let us read a very special book, originally meant for kids, but beloved by everyone. My folks and I went to Borders Books (FUCK ME, I miss Borders), and we got an illustrated copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. I can’t find that book, but if I ever find it again, Imma buy it IMMEDIATELY, I tell you what. And...oh shit, it’s on Amazon for $12?

Well. I just made that purchase, I guess. But yeah, I loved that book when I was a kid, and this was during the same year that Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy began, with Fellowship, of course. And I wouldn’t end up watching those until a few years later, but I loved those too when I saw them. And I’ve NEVER seen the abridged version, by the way, I’ve only ever seen the extended editions.

Although, I can’t call myself a hardcore fan. I’ve never read the Silmarillion, for example. Although, weirdly, I wanted it as a kid at some point, so I was almost there. But no, I ended up getting into comic books hardcore instead, so I can’t tell you the history of Tom Bombadil, but I can tell you about at least one of the fuckin’ 87 tieles that the Legion of Super-Heroes has been involved in. I’m not gonna like it though.

...Yes, I will, who am I kidding, I love the Legion. Anyway, I’ve still always been a fan of the franchise, and I was extremely excited when Jackson announced that he’d be doing an adaptation of The Hobbit! Seriously, I WAS FUCKING PUMPED, you have no idea. I re-read the book, I was super-excited...and then Harry Potter changed EVERYTHING. Kind of.

See, Harry Potter’s development as a two films made from one book seemed to kick off a trend. Breaking Dawn and Mockingjay are the two that immediately come to mind, as does this film. However, to be fair...that’s probably a coincidence. Yeah, this film was originally developed as two parts, WAY before Deathly Hallows got that treatment. And even then, Jackson and Del Toro had difficulty breaking it up into two parts, and three ended up being easier. Still...the change from two-to-three does feel a little connected to that trend.

Anyway, in celebration of that decision, I’m gonna break this review into three parts! Yes. Really. I want to see if it works. And so, let’s talk about the other most famous adaptation of this book by talking about its creators.

Yup. Rankin-Bass did 2D-animated cartoons, too! And this was one of their most famous ones, dating back to 1977. But wait! There’s more! This was followed by Ralph Bakshi’s version of Lord of the Rings by a different studio. You know, this one?

Yeah, that one. It was only based on the first two books, Fellowship and Towers. But it was technically unconnected to the Rankin-Bass version. Which is why it was REALLY weird when Rankin-Bass came out with an adaptation of the third book, Return of the King, right afterwards!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. Because both of Rankin-Bass’ specials were animated by a Japanese studio called Topcraft, who’d actually worked with Rankin-Bass for years. But then, they went bankrupt a few years later, and was bought by Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki, and...Hayao Miyazaki. And it was renamed as...

So, this is a Hobbit adaptation produced by the Rudolph people and animated by the people who would eventually become Studio Ghibli. Well, uh...holy fucking shit. Let’s DO THIS BABY. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/3)

As we’re wont to do in this story, we head to Hobbiton in the Shire, where we meet Bilbo Baggins (Orson Bean). A simple Hobbit in a simple home, with a happy and simple life. But one day, he’s approached by Gandalf (John Huston), who seeks a burglar to help with the mission of a group of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield (Hans Conried).

We also immediately start off with two songs from the original book, and I have to say that I like them a but better in the Jackson movies, but they’re still well performed here. Anyway, after dinner, the true goal of their quest is given. Beneath Lonely Mountain, the ancestral home of the Dwarves, there was a kingdom ruled by the King Under the Mountain, Thorin’s grandfather.

Through reading the lyrics of the song “Far over the Misty Mountains,” Thorin tells the tale of the takeover of the Dwarves’ great golden hoard by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo is tasked to help the Dwarves steal back the treasure stolen from them. And, while he’s extremely reluctant to be a part of all this, Gandalf basically forces him to, the pushy bastard. And Bilbo’s Greatest Adventure now lies ahead!

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Speaking of, here’s the song “The Greatest Adventure”, sung by Glenn Yarborough, who is the living personification of vibrato. Fuckin’ seriously, this guy’s voice is ridiculous, but I love it so much. As the night passes underneath Glenn Yarborough’s hypnotically shaky voice, and uncertain, Bilbo stares out at the moon. Once it’s over, we’re on our way to the Misty Mountains.

Bilbo’s having a tough time with the long journey and rough weather, and it doesn’t get much better when they encounter a trio of trolls. They send out Bilbo to try and steal some mutton from them, but he’s IMMEDIATELY a failure, and also manages to tell the trolls that the dwarves are present. Nice one, Bilbo. The trolls catch all of the dwarves, although Bilbo manages to escape.

The trolls argue about how to cook the dwarves, but before they get to do anything, Gandalf shows up and summons the dawn, turning the trolls into stone and saving the dwarves. While they’re initially quite frustrated by Bilbo’s failure, he makes it up by discovering a horde of goods and weapons stolen by the trolls. This is also where Bilbo gets his classic weapon, Sting.

Gandalf, cheeky bastard that he is, suddenly reveals a map that he’s kept secret from Thorin, its rightful owner. Bilbo, a classic cartomaniac, is able to interpret the map. But there are also runes that they can’t quite read. And so, Gandalf brings them to his friend, Elrond (), who’s wearing a sick-ass glittery tiara that’s hovering off his head. How come Hugo Weaving didn’t have that?

Anyway, Elrond identifies the swords that Thorin and Gandalf grabbed as Orcrist, the Goblin-Cleaver and Glamdring, the Foe-Hammer, because FUCK YEAH, BABY, those are some fuckin’ NAMES! WHOOOOOO!

Anyway, he also points them in the direction of the mountain, and shows them hidden features to the map. They head through the mountains after this, and rest in a cave. Unfortunately, this cave is on Goblin territory, and the group (sans Gandalf, who’s disappeared to make out with Cate Blanchett or whatever) is quickly ambushed by a group of now-horned Goblins, who chant their song as they go “Down, Down, to Goblin-Town”. Which is a song that I love, unironically. It compels me to sing along.

The Goblins nearly kill them when they discover Orcrist in Thorin’s possession, but they’re saved by the sudden appearance of Gandalf with the glowing sword Glamdring. He kills the Great Goblin, and the group run out with the Goblins in hot pursuit. Well, except for Bilbo.

Yeah, Bilbo falls into a cavern below the mountain, and the dwarves think him gone for good. However, he’s miraculously safe on the ground, having landed in an underground aquifer, in which lives THE GREATEST CHARACTER IN THE MIDDLE-EARTH FRANCHISE FUCKIN’ AT ME I DARE YOU

And just so we’re clear, I’m not talking about the film version only, I’m talking about Gollum/Smeagol in general. Granted, I don’t want a film starring him or anything (coughCruellacoughcoughMaleficentcoughcoughClaricecoughcough), but I love this dissociative little dude so much. He’s one of my favorite fantasy characters in general, and is also maybe the best example of a sympathetic villain, in film at least.

OK, to be fair, I love Andy Serkis’ version of the character a LOT, like a LOT a lot, and it’s a great version of the character. OK, so what do I think of this version? He’s...interesting, actually. If I’m honest, I kinda like him. This is similar to how I always pictured Gollum when I was a kid.

I mean, listen to this description from the book, yeah?

Deep down here by the dark water lived old Gollum, a small slimy creature. I don't know where he came from, nor who or what he was. He was Gollum - as dark as darkness, except for two big round pale eyes in his thin face...He was looking out of his pale lamp-like eyes for blind fish, which he grabbed with his long fingers as quick as thinking.

I dunno, that does sound more like this version of Gollum to me, just saying. Anyway, while Gollum is off fishing in the water, Bilbo gets up on the shore, where he finds a little golden ring Not important, just a ring, definitely means nothing at all, NOTHING AT ALL, NOTHING TO SEE HERE.

The hungry Gollum (Brother Theodore) happens upon Bilbo, precious, wonders if Bilbo would taste good, and is basically about to kill him for his sweet hobbit meat, before Bilbo takes out Sting. Now afraid, Gollum offers a game of riddles. The two make a deal: if Bilbo wins at a game of riddles, Gollum will show him the way out. But if Gollum wins, precious will eat him raaaaaaaw and wrrrrrrrrrriggling!

The riddles commence, in a super-fuckin’-classic moment, and also ends with maybe the most bullshit moment in all of fantasy lore. After clever riddles with answers involving eggs, wind, and time, Bilbo’s last riddle is “What’s in my pocket?” The fuck, Bilbo, that’s absolute BULLSHIT!

Not that it matters. Bilbo wins, but Gollum goes to find his ring to show it to Bilbo before he takes him away. Thing is, though, that’s what was in Bilbo’s pocket, which Gollum quickly figures out, my precious. He’s about to kill Bilbo to get back his birthday present, precious, but Bilbo discovers the secret trick of the ring: it turns the wearer invisible, AND THAT WILL NEVER BE A BAD THING EVER.

Gollum thinks that Bilbo’s escaped and runs after him toward the exit. This, of course, leads Bilbo towards the exit inadvertently, and he follows Gollum, then jumps over him to get back. To which Gollum screams the following:

Thief! Thief! Baggins! We hates it! Hates it! Forever!

I hear you, buddy. I hear you. Well, once Bilbo escapes, he reconvenes with the rest, and shares his adventure in the cave, but leaves out the ring. And Gandalf seems to know, based on his dialogue. And I checked, and he figured it out in the book and Jackson movie, too. And I gotta say...WHAT THE FUCK GANDALF

I mean...DUDE. CHECK UP on that shit. Do you wizard job, man! If you’d been like, “Dude...you didn’t find a magic ring that turns you invisible, ight, because we’re FUCKED if you did”, NONE OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS WOULD’VE HAPPENED, AND BOROMIR WOULD STILL BE ALIVE

Everybody talks about the fuckin’ eagles, but WHY DO I NEVER HEAR ANYONE MENTION THIS SHIT? Gandalf the Grey: Middle-Earth’s most irresponsible asshole, I swear...

This seems like a good place to pause, actually. See you in the next part!

#the hobbit #the hobbit 1977 #rankin-bass #orson bean #bilbo baggins #thorin oakenshield #john huston #gandalf #otto preminger #cyril ritchard #brother theodore #gollum #don messick #paul frees #glenn yarbrough #j.r.r. tolkien #rankin bass #hans conried

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eldamaranquendi · 5 years ago

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SILMARILLION by ArlenianChronicles (full project)

1. I've started a new project, as you can see! I was inspired by my Beren and Luthien project to illustrate the whole Silmarillion XD It's going to be a heck of a while before it's done, but I hope you guys enjoy following along on the journey! So here we have part 1 of my Silmarillion project. First is the Ainulindale, featuring Eru Iluvatar, the Ainur, the creation of Arda, and the standoff between Manwe and Melkor for the dominion of Arda.

2. The second part of my Silmarillion project, Valaquenta. Here are the top three Valar, Manwe, Ulmo, and Aule; the top three Valier, Varda, Yavanna, and Nienna; their Maiar, Eonwe, Ilmare, and Olorin; and the Enemies, Melkor and Sauron.

3. The third part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 1 to 4! I'll be posting one part each instead of two at a time from now on XD This part features the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion; Aule and Yavanna creating the Dwarves and Ents; five of the first Elves, Elwe (Thingol), Olwe, Finwe, Ingwe, and Nowe (Cirdan); and the lovers, Thingol and Melian. Phew, lots of Elves to draw! Also, some Tolkien fans might notice that Elmo and Lenwe are missing from the drawing of the Elves that awoke at Cuivienen. That's because I forgot, and then there wasn't enough space!

4. The fourth part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 5 to 8, featuring King Finwe of the Noldor, High King Ingwe of the Vanyar (and all Elves in Valinor, and King Olwe of the Teleri; Feanor and Melkor, representing two events of the chapter; Feanor and the Silmarils, and the destruction of the Two Trees by Ungoliant and Melkor.

5. The fifth part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 9 to 12, featuring a bloody Fëanor after having fought the Teleri Elves; Melian creating the Girdle (magical barrier) around the realm of Doriath; the Maiar Arien and Tilion holding the last fruit and flower Laurelin and Telperion (all respectively lol); and a family of the first Edain (mortal men).

6. MASSIVE CREDITS TO CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN FOR THE ILLUSTRATION OF THE MAP OF BELERIAND. My copy of the Silmarillion has a map, which I scanned and traced over in Paint Tool SAI so that it'd be high res. Tracing all those words was what took me so long! The sixth part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 13 to 16, featuring Feanor fighting balrogs (not shown lol), and Fingolfin crossing the Grinding Ice; the Map of Beleriand; Melian attempting to learn more from Galadriel about why the Noldor left Aman; and Maeglin and Aredhel escaping Nan Elmoth (his birth home). On the map, the words in red are the names of the lands, and the pale words are the Elven lords (and lady) ruling over hose lands. So for example, Thingol and Melian are presiding over Doriath, and Caranthir is presiding over Thargelion.

7. The seventh part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 17 to 20, featuring Finrod's meeting with the Edain; Fingolfin and Morgoth during the Dagor Bragollach; Beren, Luthien, and Huan, with Beren's severed hand holding a Silmaril; and Fingon surrounded by balrog whips during the Fifth Battle. Originally, the Silmaril in Beren and Luthien's illustration was supposed to have a horizontal line to complete the geometric effect, but since it cut across their faces, I had to take it out. Also, I know that Finrod's meeting with the Edain technically took place in the middle of the night, but I have a lot of nighttime backgrounds in these illustrations already, so I wanted to do a dawn-like background!

8. The eighth part of my Silmarillion project, chapters 21 to 24, featuring Turin, Nienor, and Beleg, with the sword Anglachel; Melian and the death of Thingol, along with the Feanorian banner (to represent the Second Kinslaying); Tuor, Idril, and Earendil, along with a dragon climbing the King's Tower in Gondolin; and Earendil and Elwing with the Silmaril, while their sons Elrond and Elros are taken by Maedhros and Maglor in the Third Kinslaying. The stories of Turin Turambar and the Fall of Gondolin are large stories, so I decided to go with portraits of the main characters, especially with Turin's chapter. I feel like I could've done something a bit more creative with the Fall of Gondolin, but I'm pleased with this one nevertheless XD Also, I'm really happy I managed to squeeze in my favourite Tolkien family -- Maedhros and Maglor with Elrond and Elros hahahahaa (If only showing their hands lol) This part concludes the Quenta Silmarillion, which I forgot to mention began at chapter 1. There are now two parts left in the Silmarillion to illustrate!

9. The ninth part of my Silmarillion project, Akallabeth, featuring the Door of Night through which Morgoth is banished; Elrond Halfelven, his twin Elros Tar-Minyatur -- who is crowned the first king of Numenor -- and Nimloth, the White Tree of Numenor; Sauron in the guise of Tar-Mairon, councillor to the last king of Numenor, Ar-Pharazon; and Manwe with Iluvatar, the latter of which sends great waves to destroy Numenor. So I was looking back at part 8 of my project, and I have to say that the illustrations for Turin Turambar and the Fall of Gondolin are the ones that I am least satisfied with. I mean, I wish I had added a few more beakers around the King's Chemistry Beaker of Gondolin (cuz it looks like one, the way I drew it lol), to make it look more like a city XD So I hope this part makes up for that, at least with regards to visual interest Just one more part left to go!!

10. The tenth and final part of my Silmarillion project, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, featuring Celebrimbor and Annatar (another of Sauron's forms) crafting the rings of power; two of the Istari, Saruman and Gandalf (there are three others, not just these two lol), and the Eye of Sauron; Samwise Gamgee carrying Frodo Baggins up Mt. Doom to destroy the One Ring; and the last (but not really the last XD) white ship sailing into the West. So we've finally come to the end! I want to thank all of you for sticking with me and supporting me through this big project! It took two months -- from June 10 to August 12 -- to finish! I'm very proud of my work, and also relieved that I was able to finish it, in a way XD I'm so happy that I was able to share this project with you all! I learned quite a bit about composition and lightning and shading in this project. For any who were wondering, I think my favourite illustrations out of them all are parts 4 and 7. I especially like how I drew the light of the Silmarils in those ones XD I feel like I could've done better on part 8, but I still like that one If you like, let me know which ones you liked the most! I would love to hear your feedback! Now is the time for a little break, in which I will finish up some other things. Then I can announce the next project that I've planned (which will hopefully be soon lol)!

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demigodsanswer · 4 years ago

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Clarisse & The Lord of the Rings

“War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

When she was 12, Chiron noticed that she was the only year-round Ares girl. He pulled her aside one day and offered her a room in the Big House for herself, figuring she could use some privacy and alone time from her brothers.

The room had a small TV and DVD player in it, and she had the only key to the room. She could use it when ever she wanted, as long as it wasn’t during training or school work.

That’s where she found The Lord of the Rings extended edition DVDs. She watched all of them in two days.

She cried when Boromir died, but nothing prepared her for the raw emotion of this scene from The Two Towers . She thinks about this scene constantly, and it’s probably her favorite scene from any of the movies in the long term. The only scene that rivals it is the Battle for Osgiliath in The Return of the King.

What really fucked her up though, was the Battle for Osgiliath/Pippin’s song from Return of the King. That scene made her realize, more than anything she’d encountered before, the ways in which war, while it can sometimes be comprised of glorious moments of good triumphing over evil, it could also be comprised of moments of leaders gluttonously and recklessly consuming those willing to fight for them.

After she watched all the movies all the way through, she asked Chris to re-watch them with her. He agreed, because she was his best friend. She didn’t expect to cry at all, because she knew what would happen, but she cried twice, once at the Sam scene in The Two Towers, and "I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”. Chris didn’t judge her.

When Chris was really sick, she would sometimes sing “The Edge of Night” to him, and it would calm him down.

Chiron had large text print copies of the books, which he gifted to her.

She read them all in one summer. She rereads them every summer. They’re ear marked and annotated to death.

While she always loved Faramir in the movies, when she read his line: “War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” She was so overwhelmed that she had to lie down.

Tolkien’s ideology, philosophy, and stories have shaped her understanding of war, its purpose, and its consequences.

Her favorite part of the main three books is the scouring of the Shire, because it is the part that helps her cope with the war the most. Camp had always been her home - her idyllic home where she could be herself, study at her own pace, and train as much as she wanted. But after the war, it had been changed. Thalia’s tree had been poisoned, people had died there, and it was no longer the same place it had been in her childhood. But she had also been changed by the war. Like Frodo, she felt like there wasn’t a way to remain in the place after a while - she couldn’t go home again. Unfortunately for her, there are no undying lands for her to sail to.

Her favorite book is The Silmarillion. When people (read: annoying Athena boys) question this, she just looks them dead in the eye and asks “Oh, I’m sorry, are mythological wars not in my DNA?”

She went to Tolkien’s grave once on vacation and read the tale of Beren and Luthien out loud and left flowers.

Do not talk to her about The Hobbit movies or she will put forks in you. She was nearly kicked out of An Unexpected Journey when Thorin charged at the Orcs at the end because she yelled “THAT’S THE RINGrWRAITHS’ THEME!” and then spent a few minutes explaining to Chris that “thing mean things” and that “the ringwraith theme is a poem written by Philippa Boyens about the wraiths and then translated into the ancient language of man. It’s not just some random, intense battle music!”

She slept through most of Desolation of Smaug. She was so out cold that Chris actually left the theater to walk around the mall for a while. He came back before the end, just in time for her to wake up. “How long have I been asleep?” “Since dwarf barrel boing boing. I brought you a soft pretzel, thought.”

She straight up left the theater during Battle of Five Armies when she heard Thranduil say: “Go north, find the Dunedain. There’s a young ranger among them; you should meet him. His father, Arathorn, was a good man; his son might grow to be a great one. He’s known in the wild as Strider, but his true name you must discover for yourself.”

“Go north? Look at any map of Middle Earth and you’ll see that Erebor is the northern-most kingdom on the map. The only thing north of Erabor is desolate dragon territory. And go north to find the Dunedain? Dunedain literally translates to ‘men of the west!’ Why would you go north into dragon territory to find the men of the west?! And ‘there’s a young ranger among them known as Strider?’ The Hobbit takes place 77 years before the Fellowship of the Ring is formed, which means that Aragorn is TEN! When Aragorn was ten he wasn’t a ranger! He was living at Rivendell! His name was Estel! They didn’t even need Vigo to sign on to the project if they wanted an Aragorn cameo, they only needed some kid with black hair! And he wasn’t known in the wild as Strider! He was known in Bree as Strider, and he didn’t even like the name! This isn’t even deep lore! This is just stuff in the main books and appendices and the maps printed on every inside cover!”

She has three (and a half) Lord of the Rings tattoos.

The first one she gets is a pretty common design: it’s the white tree of Gondor with the shards of Narsil, but she gets the text “Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king” around the design. She has this on the inside of her right forearm. She likes this line because in the movies Arwen says them as if they are ancient prophecy, but in the books, Bilbo writes them in a song. It’s a little inside joke with herself.

Some people have asked why she didn’t get the text from the ring itself, and her response is always “It’s an accursed language. Why would I want an accused language on my body?” “it’s a made up language.” “All languages are made up.”

The second one she gets on a bet. She gets a goofy illustration of Gollum from before JRRT republished The Hobbit to be more canon compliant with The Lord of the Rings. She has this one on the inside of her left arm. As goofy as it is, she does love Gollum as a character.

She then has the door to Moria on her ankle.

The half is her drakon tattoo. She has a tattoo designed partially after the drakon and partially after Tolkein’s illustrations of Smaug. The drakon is weaving itself through a hand, so it is proportionally very small. This tattoo is on the right side of her ribcage and was the first tattoo she got (Ares paid for it as a gift).

When she was pregnant for the first time, she played The Lord of the Rings soundtrack and watched the movies a ton deliberately to train her baby to respond to the sounds. Her first kid ended up (by no accident) being calmed by The Lord of the Rings.

However, her favorite book is The Hobbit, and she proudly proclaimed at three years old that she was going to be a burglar when she grew up. Chris was very smug.

(anyway, come talk to me about the lord of the rings @nohomo-mrfrodo) (did I write this whole thing to go on that rant about that line from battle of the five armies. yes, yes i did)

#wow look at the time #its time for emilys whitest opinions #clarisse la rue #chris rodriguez

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