#I really would love to rule out the existence of ghosts and spirits with my rationality but sadly I got to admit my dead friend’s existence

[dragon-fly34]

Hi! Apparently the votes were for the Koopas & Boos AU, so here is the (more or less) complete AU of it.

I really want to take the photos, but a lot of headcanons from the AU, and I also have some couples in the AU 💞💞

Here the headcanons:

-> Mario is the king of the Darklands and the Mushroom Kingdom and also Peach! They are married in this AU, Mario was the prince of the Darklands together with Luigi (Who is now king of Boos and ghosts together with his wife Daisy Floral) and Peach was the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, the two met when they were children and they met they felt like lovebirds. Luigi was also prince of the Darklands, but after a few weeks before Mario and Peach got married, Luigi was killed by some idiots, Mario became desperate, so much so that he almost canceled his and Peach's wedding, but one night those same idiots tried kill Mario too, but Luigi protected him as his boo form, he told Mario that even if he had died, they would still be brothers, Luigi also told Mario to give up on his and Peach's marriage, Mario agreed and married Peach and they became King Mario and Queen Peach.

Mario wants to bring Luigi back to life, but the green king insists that he doesn't need to do that.

-> Luigi met Daisy shortly after he was killed, Daisy welcomed him into her hotel and they soon fell in love, plus Daisy helped him discover his powers and become king of the Boos! Mario was happy that Luigi found a loved one like him with Peach, now Luigi and Daisy are married just like Mario and Peach.

-> While Mario and Luigi are kings, Sheila and Hellen are princesses! Sheila is the princess of the Spirit Animal Kingdom governed together with her father Marcos and her nanny Luna, alongside her faithful friends Karen and Fang (They are replaced by Toad and Toadette in this AU). Hellen is the princess of Sarasaland ruled by her father and stepmother and her younger sisters. Both princesses are very good friends!

-> Bowser and King Boo are great friends who decide to open their own plumbing company, besides being friends, they have a brotherly relationship, King Boo is like a younger brother to Bowser and he loves that about him.

-> Exactly Junior and the Koopalings exist in this AU! (It turns out that Clawdia is switched places with Pauline or something like that) She and Bowser had a relationship in the past and had Junior, but unfortunately she died and Bowser took care of her son, the Koopalings were Oliver's children, he promised his friend who would take care of their children. Exactly the Koopalings are like "helpers" in Bowser and King Boo's adventures.

-> While Bowser and King Boo are the heroes, Mario and Luigi are the villains, right? Well, not in my AU, they were kind of villains, exactly Mario kidnapped Sheila, but she talked to him and Peach before Bowser and King Boo saved her, but why did Mario kidnap Sheila? Well, it turns out that after Luigi's death, Mario tried in different ways to save him, then he discovered that Spirit Animal Kingdom had many powers and that's why he kidnapped the princess, but she talked to him because it reminded her of her mother's death, but before Before Mario let Sheila go, Bowser and King Boo arrived to beat the king, but Sheila and Peach talked them out of doing that, but the story doesn't end here.

Luigi discovered weeks later what Bowser and King Boo did to Mario, but he didn't hear the part that Sheila and Peach talked to the two of them, so for his revenge, he tricked King Boo by saying that the plumber got a mansion, but Bowser He became suspicious and went to the mansion and was captured and King Bbo went after Bowser and the story ends here, right? There are no more details.

That same night Mario talked to Luigi about the truth, but a "rivalry" began between the two kings and two plumbers because of these events.

Wow, I managed to explain the Mario movie and Luigi's mansion game in this AU :O

-> Junior and the Koopalings want to get Bowser and Sheila together, after all they are idiots in love (just like King Boo and Hellen) and a bonus Karen and Fang also want to bring these two together.

And a bonus of this AU:

-> The wart and Tatanga in this AU are Wario and Waluigi, I imagine they are both jealous of them, and Midbus would be Haru, I imagine him being an idiotic prince and Bowser hating him.

-> Exactly Sheila continues to be a hybrid, I imagine she was already born in the Spirit Animal Kingdom (just like in my Roleswap AU where the Mario bros were born in MK) meanwhile Bowser, King boo and Hellen are human, Mario and Peach would also be human but Mario would have powerful powers (just like Bowser has in the normal games, hell he doesn't have powers 😔) and finally Luigi and Daisy are ghosts.

-> I'm thinking about putting other characters like King Bob-omb or Taylor, but I wanted to put her as Rosalina in this AU, I imagine that in Super Bowser galaxy, the lumas didn't have total control over the galaxies and then she started taking care of them, but Taylor would still remain Tatanga's sister.

[murfpersonalblog]

"I wonder if Lestat ever considered taking his 'I don’t care about humanity' & human rules far enough to choose not to attend the racist opera house with Louis playing his valet & instead strolling in there together. Same thing with the bus. Would he have rather had his family sit upfront with him? Why did he decide to sit in the back of the theater with Louis & Claudia? Is it because it was dark? Why did he conform to the human societal rules even though he knew Louis found it humiliating?"

-- @mytwistedexperience

I really liked this comment posted here, and wanted to reply to it directly, but figured my inevitably long-winded response would work better in a separate post. Cuz the short/long answer is White Privilege.

I've ranted a few times about Lestat's toxic positivity and color-blindness--

--cuz Lestat grossly underestimated how effective systemic racism was, and overestimated his power as one (1) single French White vampire in the face of the American superstructure/superpower.

Lestat could use the Spell Gift to freeze time & cheat at cards & win piles of money; read minds to seduce/control people; use the Cloud Gift & superspeed to travel; use telekinesis to close the gates on the priest he killed in Ep1 & open the door for Antoinette in Ep7; use the Fire Gift in Ep1 screwing with the street-lighter dude; use the Mind Gift to command a whole platoon of soldiers (which gave him a literal aneurysm). But he's not omnipotent. The problem with AR vampires is that they are very PHYSICAL--although undead, they aren't spirits/ghosts or shapeshifting creatures like AR's Azriel/Lasher/Amel/Goblin/Gremt--or even Dracula--who can move in and out of physical material. AR vamps can't become mist or turn into wolves/bats or any of the OP powers Dracula has (and even he was defeated by a ragtag bunch of humans). AR's vamps are still subject to the laws & forces of earth--the world--and by extension, SOCIETY.

People have accused black!Louis of being "arrogant," but I strongly disagree--Louis was proud. Lestat, however, was wildly arrogant, looking down on "this primitive country"/human society as something beneath him; that vampirism was something that superseded everything in existence; thinking he was akin to God and that he could make everyone bend to his will--including Louis.

"I wonder if Lestat ever considered taking his 'I don’t care about humanity' & human rules far enough to choose not to attend the racist opera house with Louis playing his valet & instead strolling in there together."

Eff no. Lestat dragged Louis to the opera cuz LESTAT wanted to go to the opera. He went on & on about Don Pasquale--DELIBERATELY talking over visibly distraught Louis; bulldozing over his feelings to force Louis out of his funk, while Louis was looking like WTF--

Lestat was like come hell or high water--i.e.: Louis almost eating his nephew, or racists at the door not wanting black!Louis to go in--we are GOING to the opera tonight so help me god! 😤 Granted, YES, the date had been planned in good faith--"I've been neglectful of our romance;" and YES, we know Louis LOVES opera--but it was also classic lovebomber!Lestat behavior, to thrust things at Louis & expect him to take it and smile; inconsiderate AF; or rather, considerate only so far as considering how effective his chess moves & manipulations would be.

However, Lestat's self aware enough (even in his white privilege) to know his limits: we see him use the Mind Gift on the soldiers in Ep3, WAY less people than everyone in the Opera House (or even the pub w/ the police chief & Tom in Ep5). Les wasn't strong/skilled enough in his powers in Ep2 (1912-17) to make everyone NOT notice black!Lou walking/sitting beside him. There'd've been a riot--those white folk would've acted a fool & thrown BOTH of them out b4 the opera even started, defeating the point of their date.

"Why did he conform to the human societal rules even though he knew Louis found it humiliating?"

Les felt it more important to see some stupid opera (which turned out to be TRASH cuz of the Tenor, LOL), than to have white people respect his black husband (a la "IF disrespect was done to you..." in the same episode 😒); or to bother finding something they could enjoy TOGETHER, w/out Lou being dehumanized in the process. But that's the whole point of vampirism: It's a dehumanizing process, "companion in the Dark Gift, finally." Lestat wanted Louis to stop acting like a human & start acting like a vampire--a white man, a god/monster, etc. And Lestat's PETTY AF, enough to be like: Ok Louis, if you insist on us both participating in this charade, then suffer the consequences of playing nice w/ people who hate you; take my effing gloves & walk 3 paces behind me, valet! Lestat KNEW it hurt Louis to be treated that way. Slap his face and kiss it after:

See the little micro-expressions on Samstat's face, when he double-takes? He sits in blissful white privilege, b4 remembering: Oh right! My black husband's just been mistreated by white society AND ME; lemme butter him up by making it all about ME again, trauma-dumping a whole monologue on how lonely I've been on him. 🥺

Works every time. 😉👍

Lestat, an idiot, thought all black!Louis needed to do was act like Lestat a white man, and all his problems would be solved. By embracing his vampire powers, he could go & do what he wanted. But we see in Ep3 precisely what would've happened if Louis decided to REALLY be Lestat's "companion in the Dark Gift, finally." Killing the racist Alderman was just one domino in a string of factors that sparked the race riots, but Louis blamed himself anyways, quick to shoulder the guilt for things beyond his control, and LEFT Lestat.

Louis wants to be a "good" Negro, not rock the boat (even if inside Pyromaniac du Lac's boiling mad). Lou'd rather have racists learn to respect him & treat him equally, not go kill all of them, ruling over a pile of corpses. He's not the type to insist on walking side-by-side w/ Les into the Opera House, or sit beside him on the bus. Lou's passive/submissive, he's not an activist. When he "acts out," as Armand called it, it just leads to chaos--riots, the "Great Conversion/flying vampire apocalypse," the Theatre burned down. Lou's a hermit crab in his shell--he shuts down, hides away, full of regret & "self-loathing." He can't be devil-may-care Les & eff-the-police Claudia; that's NOT the type of person he is, or who Les wanted him to be--eff that sword-cane; every time Lou used it he was MISERABLE!

Bull-frikkin-sh!te. 😠

Lestat's selfish, arrogant, cocksure, and toxic AF. And Louis was unequipped to handle him (cuz they're UNEQUAL), loving Les despite all his faults, to the point of LITERAL self-destruction. Rolin & Sam have said many times that Les had yet to be HUMBLED. The world/reality only hit him in Ep7 that the very things he underestimated would be his undoing--Claudia got the jump on him back in Ep6's chess game, and offed him through poisoning Tom (another person Les didn't expect to hurt him). (We'd see this over & over again in the books, as Les got his arse handed to him by people he'd looked down on, from Armand in TVL, to some rando old AF human Raglan James in TotBT, to Rhoshamandes in the PL Trilogy.)

Most importantly, Louis has significant power over Lestat, too. The crazy part's that Les SAW Lou coming inEp7--he KNEW Lou was a garbage liar & was plotting w/ Claudia; he's too obvious--and STILL underestimated Lou. He LET Louis get away with crap, cuz he thought it was harmless, or just not worth confronting Louis about--biding his time & waiting. That's what Les had done for YEARS, with everything from Louis' vegetarianism, to running the Azalea's sinking ship, to sitting at the back of the bus.

"Same thing with the bus. Would he have rather had his family sit upfront with him? Why did he decide to sit in the back of the theater with Louis & Claudia? Is it because it was dark?"

Eff that bus. Lestat would've rather have had Louis (& Claudia) strong enough to use THE CLOUD GIFT. Buses are for weak AF humans who can't take to the air like strong vampires can, and FLY.

Les said in TVL that he held back with Louis, and kept from showing him even half of what vampires could REALLY do--which is why Louis was STUNNED to see the Theatre & Armand & Santiago (a vampire YOUNGER than Louis!) in action.

Poor baby bird had no idea. Cuz Louis had been trying so hard & so long to be human, not vampire--he'd stunted his own growth, which is why both Lestat & Claudia looked at him like he was crazy. "A fish that doesn't swim; a bird that doesn't fly. You're going to STRUGGLE." And the scary fact was that Lestat would struggle, too, pretending to be human and not a monster to accommodate Louis: "I'm trying to restrain myself!" 💀

[lindseybots]

OHOHOHOHOHO THIS IS A WHOLE AU???? This is INCREDIBLE my heart is MELTING LOOK AT THOSE SWEETIES!!! A thought to keep Wind away from the Tower of Spirits, in the Septimus Heap books there’s a rule where “when dead you only tread once more; where living, you have trod before” so perhaps Wind being a natural ghost unlike Zelda isn’t able to go above the lobby of the Tower. Cause let’s be real, he would totally go through the dungeons but Anjean would have his hide if he tried to go up the Tower.

Also, is this LU? Totally cool if not! Just the two of them having fun together is enough to get me bouncing off the walls!

Ooooo a lot to unpack with this one!

First of all, THANK YOU! I’m so happy that you love the au!! I’m having so much fun making it, so I’m glad you’re enjoying it.

Next, I’m gonna answer the LU question because that answer is going to be shorter.

Honestly, I’m kind of glad you asked because I’ve seen people mention it a few times in comments, reblog tags, etc of some of my AU posts before, which made me wonder if there was some confusion about it. So, I’m glad I’m getting an excuse to clear this up.

While LU is super great (seriously go check it out if you haven’t) and I am incredibly honored that you think they are worthy of standing together on the same playing field, it is a separate thing.

The Wind’s Track AU is not associated with Linked Universe in any way. That is to say: in the “canon” of The Winds Track AU, the events of Linked Universe DO NOT AND WILL NOT EXIST.

Of course, if y’all want to make fan content that is a blend of the two AUs, that’s fine with me. All I ask is that, if you could, please make it clear somewhere that, normally, the AUs are separate entities to avoid any confusion for people who don’t know. Also, it’d be really nice if you’d give credit to the au creators so newcomers know where to find our AUs. (Also tag me so I can see it 👀🤭)

Again, I don’t mind if people make that kind of content to combine the aus, but I would hate for people to come here expecting LU due to miscommunication and then not get it. Y’know?

Now, I can talk about Wind and the Tower of Spirits.

I never actually considered him NOT being involved in solving the floors. The idea that he CAN’T is REALLY INTERESTING. Ohhhh that’d kill him inside.

This boy is so used to being at the center of the adventures, and now he has to leave it to someone else? AND HIS LITTLE BROTHER AT THAT?? AND YOU MEAN TO TELL HIM HE CANT DO ANYTHING BUT WAIT??? OHHHH.

Not to mention the fact that this is the location in the game that you revisit the most for the story.

The way I can picture this poor boy ready to just race up those stairs, regardless of potential consequences. Anjean would probably be tempted to tie him down if he wouldn’t just phase through the ropes.

I LOVE THIS IDEA. Not only is it angsty, but it fixes so many of the potential issues I’ve been trying to solve within this AU.

I don’t think I mentioned this before, but I was also trying to figure out a way to get Zelda to go help in the Tower of Spirits in the first place. The only reasons she goes at first in the game is because Anjean tells them that it’s too dangerous for Link / Spirit to go by himself, and during that time, she is the only one available to fill that role. If Wind were able to go, then there wouldn’t have been any reason to essentially force her in the role. There would need to be a new reason made.

This idea, however, FIXES THAT. THANK YOU!!

I also love that it reserves a portion of the game’s events to just be for Spirit and Zelda. They have such a wonderful relationship in the game, so having the events of the Tower be for just the two of them could really help in maintaining that strong bond that helped make Spirit Tracks so special.

I’ll make a point to find ways for Wind to be more helpful in other parts of the game to make up for his exclusion from the Tower of Spirits’ floors.

[rebelscums]

Blue (Crosshair x Scientist reader)

Ratings: Fluff | Angst (I mean it’s Crosshair)

Summary: Who knew simply loving a man would be this difficult

Pt 4 of Blue

Winters Eve

“You made it!” Clare dragged me into her apartment the second she opened the door.

“You invited me or should I say threatened?” I joked giving her a hug once I shrugged off my shoes and coat.

“I prefer heavy persuasion.” She said grabbing three of the bags I was carrying as we headed to the living room.

“Hey!” Echo motioned to stand, quickly greeting me with a hug, “Happy Winters Eve!”

“Happy Winters Eve Echo!” I smiled returning his hug, but being careful not to squish the other three gift bags I was carrying, “I hope you don’t mind.” I said as I took a step back holding out the smallest gift bag decorated in blue, “The gift that I got you matches Fives so you’ll be getting that tomorrow, but don’t worry, I got you a little something for today.”

“What you do for the boys and I are more than enough.” He patted my head with his hand.

I smiled before stepping around him to say hello to the others, “Happy Winter’s Eve!” I spoke as cheerfully as I could.

“Happy Winter’s Eve!” They boys yelled, greeting me with raised spatchka glasses.

At least everyone except for Cross. He sat reclined in the loveseat, closest to the window. He barely acknowledge my existence, keeping his gaze on the speeders that flew by.

I took off my coat and scarf, hanging it up on Clare’s coat wrack, “What are you all up too?” I asked.

“Just reliving battle stories while Tech and Clare make dinner.” Hunter explained as he leaned back into his seat.

“That’s nice, mind if I sit in and hear a few?” I asked taking a step in the living room.

“Of course! You have to tell a story of your own though, those are the rules!” Wrecker pushed me into the loveseat next to Cross before taking a seat on the floor.

“Where was I?” Hunter hummed in thought, “Ah right, so the night was dark and it was only Tech and I walking through the thick forest…”

I was so immersed in Hunter’s story and Wrecker’s sound effects I almost missed the soft words spoken beside me.

“You look pretty.”

I turned my attention to Cross, pink dusting my face as I stared at him, “What was that?”

“I said you don’t look shitty.” He coughed, quickly turning his gaze back to the window.

I scoffed, a smile creeping on my face, “You don’t look shitty yourself.”

“How did you get dragged into this?” He wondered.

I pushed some hair behind my ear, “I usually spend Winter’s Eve alone working, but Clare thought that was taboo and now here I am.”

“Alone… I didn’t expect that.” Cross replied, glancing at me.

“There’s a lot of things that are unexpected of me.” I joked, “Keeps everyone on their toes.”

Cross let out a soft laugh, something that I would hold onto like my favorite stuffed animal pan pan, who I’ve had with me since I was young.

“Alright you’re next!” Wrecker yelled at me causing me to laugh.

“We’ll, I’ve never been into battle… But! There is this one story I know...” I gave Echo a notorious grin.

“Don’t you dare.” He warned, his usually calm eyes turning into a glare.

“The story is called… The battle of the Domino twins and the ghost of Naboo.” I wiggled my fingers to give it more of a dramatic effect.

“Speak up! We want to hear this!” Clare called from the kitchen.

Echo sunk into his seat, a grim look on his face.

“It all began when Echo and Fives were assigned to escort Senator Amidala back to Naboo… They thought it was a simple mission, but little did they know they would be getting the fright of their lives…”

I was half way through the story, “Echo and Fives were on high alert as they roamed the halls of the palace. Guns raised and hearts raising at the threat of an unforeseen force stalking their every movement. It was around the corner of a pillar when they heard it… A low growl that would make a grown man cry out in fear. They took slow steps, not knowing if it was really true. A ghost in the halls of Naboo, a spirit they would have to face. The growling got louder, their footsteps grew closer. They turned the corner and…”

I had the boys hanging on the edge of there seats when…

“Rawr!” I yelled as loud as I could.

“Ahg!” Wrecker jumped, falling over his seat as he hit the ground with a thud.

I held my stomach as I laughed along with the boys.

“Dinner!” Clare called out from the kitchen.

���I’ll help with the table.” I called at to her as I stood up.

“What was it?” Crosshair asked before I could stray too far.

“It was a loth cat, a pet that one of the young servants had brought in from their home planet Lothal.” I answered patting Echo’s shoulder who sat on the couch with an annoyed and embarrassed look on his face.

“Don’t be so glum. You domino twins fought well.” I joked as I walked away.

“What dishes do I use?” I asked Clare as I stood at the open counter.

She stepped away from sitting the sauce and quickly grabbed dishes from one of her cabinets, “You’re a dear! Here are the dishes that you can use and…” Her voice trailed off as I reached for the dishes, the sleeve to my sweater riding up, “Whats that?” She wondered.

I glanced down to the silver cloud that glimmered in the light, a small blush forming over my cheeks.

“Oh, I was going to tell you about it a little later.” I took the delicate silver wear to the table and began to set.

“Ohhh.” A smirk formed on her face, “I know what that means.

“Shh.” I whispered to her while trying to be descreet and not catch the interest of the boys who were starting to head to the table.

It seems my efforts failed with Hunter’s impeccable hearing.

“Know what, what means?” Hunter asked as he helped set out the cloth napkins without being asked.

“Oh you know just something interesting.” Clare teased.

“That sounds like some gossip I’m hearing, now I have to know what’s going on.” Echo said, enter into the conversation as he sat down.

Soon Tech was bringing over the homemade pasta while Wrecker brought the tray of freshly baked bread.

“What’s this about gossip I hear?” Tech asked.

I couldn’t help, but groan as I took a seat next to Echo.

“Seems like someone has a secret admirer.” Clare finally stated and I knew that she was doing this to see if it would get a rise out of Crosshair.

I glanced towards him wear he sat next to Hunter. His gaze wouldn’t even meet mine as he grabbed a piece of bread.

“A secret admirer?” Echo turned towards me, “Since when?”

“Since…” I trailed off nervously.

“Since she got that pretty bracelet on her wrist.” Clare stated as she went around the table, platting everyone’s meal.

“What bracelet?” Asked Hunter.

Clare stood behind me as pulled up the sleeve of my left arm, showing the beautiful piece of jewelry.

“This bracelet. Isn’t it gorgeous? It must have cost them a fortune.” Clare gushed over the diamonds before filling up my plate with pasta.

My face was as red as her wine as I tried to disprove her, “How do you know I didn’t buy it for myself?”

“I have never once seen you buy anything for yourself aside from necessities. You’re too busy using your paycheck for new equipment parts for the boys.” Clare waved me off, a knowing look on her face.

“I didn’t know you used your own credits for us…” Echo stated, worried lines etching across his face.

“You weren’t suppose to know.” I stated glaring slightly at Clare and she blushed in embarrassment.

“Sorry…” She shrunk in her seat.

I sighed accepting the apology, “Besides, I would rather spend my credits on keeping you safe. Your lives are worth more than mine.”

“No it isn’t.” Crosshair spoke gruffly and the entire table fell silent, “Don’t speak so lowly of yourself, it’s discrediting as a head scientist.”

A warmth filled my heart at the hidden compliment in his words. I looked towards Cross wishing to meet his gaze, but his eyes didn’t lift up from his plate.

“So who do you think it is?” Echo asked to diffuse the growing tension.

Tech eyed the jewelry before glancing at Crosshair who was staring intently at his dinner. Just from the way Cross was acting, Tech knew exactly who bought it and was slightly impressed with his brother.

“Do you think it’s the engineer from sector b finally make a move?” Clare wondered.

I snorted at the thought, “I hope not.” I twirled the pasta on my fork.

“How come?” Wrecker asked.

“He just rubs me the wrong way.” I shrugged not wanting to get into it.

I took a bit of the pasta, practically melting at how amazing it taste, “Tech, Clare… You too are geniuses.” I praised, “What is it?”

“Carbonara.” Tech said.

Clare turned to Wrecker to continue the conversation since I was now fully immersed into my meal, “She’s just being nice, that guy has been stalking her for months! It’s a bit creepy.”

“That’s crazy!” Wrecker yelled.

“I know right? I wouldn’t be surprised if this was another attempt of his… Though the bracelet seems too expensive for him.” Clare hummed in thought.

Echo looked towards me wounded, “You have a stalker and didn’t tell me?”

I shrugged, “I didn’t think it mattered really, I’m pretty sure he’s harmless.”

“Are you an idiot?” Crosshair suddenly spoke up.

I looked up from my meal and towards him to find him already staring at me, “Excuse me?” I asked.

“You willing put up with a man stalking you. You haven’t reported him or let one of us know. What if something happens to you? Then what?” He sneered.

I set down my fork, “I can take care of myself perfectly fine.”

Crosshair’s scoff caused an annoyed look to appear on my face.

“What? You don’t think I could?” I snipped.

His smirk that once enamored me suddenly left me wanting to punch him in the face.

“I’ll see you at your funeral.” He grinned.

“Crosshair.” Hunter cut in to our growing feud.

“How about we finish this dinner instead of murdering each other hm?” Clare’s asked, “Maybe then we can have some dessert.”

Wrecker appeared happy at that information, looking to Clare for further information, “What’s for dessert?”

I tuned out their conversation focusing on glaring at the man furthest away from me. He returned my heated gaze with no intention of backing down.

Why did I ever find this man attractive? A smaller voice inside of me laughed at that. Why do you still do? It asked.

“Today was great. Thank you for inviting me.” I smiled at Clare as I headed out the door.

“Of course! And I’ll see you tomorrow at 79’s?” She asked.

I nodded, “I’ll be there.” I looked down at my watch, “I should go before the weather picks up.”

“Why don’t you have Crosshair drive you?” She asked.

I rolled my eyes, “Please. I’ve had enough of that man today.”

“So that’s what this is all about.” Echo smirked as he entered the hall.

My face heated up as I looked at him, “You tell no one or I’ll make sure everyone at the base knows you sleep with a purple panda bear stuffed animal that matches Fives blue panda bear.”

His eyes squinted, “You wouldn’t…”

I crossed my arms, “I would.”

Echo relented with a sigh, “Fine.” He said as he leant against the wall, “At least I know why he was acting all weird tonight.”

“Weird?” I wondered.

“Yeah. Crosshair never gets so passionate about someone’s safety.” Echo smirks looking towards Clare.

I couldn’t help, but feel nervous at the way they were having a weird silent conversation.

“What are you two doing?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

Echo nodded his head to the living room before…

“Crosshair! Why don’t you take my second best friend home? I don’t want her out by herself.” He stated to the grumpy sniper.

“Second?” I looked at Echo in offense, “Don’t tell me it’s Fives, you told us that we were equally your best friend.”

“That’s a great idea!” Clare cut off my rant before I could get into an argument with Echo, “Who knows what could happen out there this late at night.”

I could hear Crosshair’s grunt in annoyance. See when he stood up that unamused look on his face and watched as he sauntered over as if they just commended him to decommission.

“Really you don’t have to-”

He didn’t even let me finish before grabbing my wrist with a delicate grip that I would never had assumed from him and dragged me out the door. My two, now ex friends, have me a smirk as they wiggled their eyebrows and slammed the apartment door shut.

He didn’t speak a word as he led me towards his bike, silently placing his leather jacket over my shoulders to put on. Once I did, he handed me a helmet. I couldn’t help, but squint my eyes in confusion before I saw him swing one of his long leg over the black speeder. He gave me a look as he waited for me to get in behind him.

“Cross, I’ve never…” I motioned to the back, “Ridden one of these before.” I spoke quietly.

“I’ll go slow.” He nodded as carefully got on his speeder behind him, “Just hold onto me and don’t let go.”

Just hold onto him and don’t let go… Got it.

I wrapped my arm around his torso, jumping when he started up the speeder.

“So when are we going to-eeep!” I yelled out a strange noise as my light grip turned into clutching on to his torso for dear life, “I’m going to die!” I yelled leaning my helmet invaded head on his back as I shut my eyes tight.

He felt warm… Was the thought I clung to as I tried to even out my breathing. Halfway through the ride, I finally had enough courage to open my eyes and I was so pleased that I did. The lights passed by us in a blur like shooting stars. The wind made the experience even more enticing as I let out a small giggle.

It wasn’t too long before we were at my apartment complex, my eyebrows furrowing in light confusion.

“How do you know where I live?” I wondered as I slid off the helmet.

“Tech told me who learned it from Clare.” He answered simply, taking the helmet from me.

“Huh…” I nodded mindlessly as I got off the bike, my legs feeling suddenly shaky.

I was grateful to Cross as he held me steady until I could manage on my own.

“You going to be okay getting to your room?” He asked.

“Is that slight worry I hear?” I teased and when he only gave me a look I continued, “No. I’ll be okay, promise. Thank you… For taking me home.”

He nodded, slipping the helmet onto his own head. He did leave though and I watched him with concern.

“I won’t go until I know you’re safe inside.” He stated.

“Oh!” I blushed in slight embarrassment, the warm feeling returning to my chest at the small gesture, “I’ll get going then before you catch a cold.” I turned on my heel and began my trek towards the entrance.

The sudden call of my name had me turning towards him.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Don’t keep something as dangerous as a stalker to yourself. Come get me the next time he bothers you.” Crosshair said.

The small innuendo left me speechless for a moment before I recovered, “I will.” I nodded firmly.

He returned the gesture, though his was a lot smoother than mine. I decided that I best that I go so he wouldn’t have to wait there all night. I gave him a wave and my best smile before opening the door and heading inside. One thought left me sitting in clouds as I locked my apartment door for the night. I hung up my coat and took off my shoes before heading towards my room to get ready for bed, the small smile never leaving my face.

That soldier is something else…

[uchihakeimei]

The simp-ification of Kaisagi is my 13th reason, I'm not even gonna lie chief. Why, whyyy are most Kiis fics like that. Why is Isagi always the poor submissive uke who cries and begs, like, have you seen THEM?? Are y'all sure that any of them would be screaming and crying?? Let's be real, if Isagi saw Kaiser choking himself he would lend a helping hand 😭 God they're so amazing. And crazy. And sick. And batshit insane. I love them a normal amount, I swear-

And I love red-flag-Kaiser. Him being a total asshole, the master of gaslightining, of poor excuses and ghosting. The dude does NOT know how to handle a healthy relationship. He would go crazy if Isagi ever tried to ghost him for a whole day, though. Like, the nerve.

I'm absolutely living for the current Kaiser, crumbling and falling into desperation. I need to see him at his lowest, where not even Ness can help him up. I need to see Isagi step on him and rise. Yet I don't know how this will conciliate with my desire to see PXG win… My boy Rin needs to step on both of them and take his rightful crown. Ugh, I just love all of them. Can't both teams win?? Ego can change football rules, right??

(You brought up two ships that I absolutely despise too, NaruHina and SasuSaku. I barely consider them canon since it's just a poor attempt of catering to heteronormativity. To me they don't even exist. Yes, I do dislike Kainess, but not this much, at least it makes sense somehow. But Kishimoto straight up decided to pull these two ships out of his sorry ass lmfao) I sure would love to say that I miss Naruto, but then I end up remembering that shitty ending and the nostalgia fades… I do really miss its villains though!

Facts, sister.

I have never really understood the attraction in one person of a pairing being absolutely down bad for the other- like, is it really fun when it's so one sided?

In some fics, you can just see the author bias, like its so blatant- one partner is absolutely on their knees for the other.

(Although, I don't exactly mind if it's a pwp, iykwim, it's okay if that's Isagi's kink, no kinkshaming here ;p

Is it unrealistic? Possibly.

Is it kinda hot? Yes)

What really grinds my gears are the character driven fics in which none of them are actually in character.

I see this a lot in Victuuri fics too- some make Yuuri a total BAMF Badass and Victor's completely down bad for him- to the point that Victor's always the one apologising, no matter if Yuuri is in the wrong too.

Kaiser and his everything- character style, arc, personality- is so delicious, I just wanna gobble him up lol

If only everyone could win in a football match... (Ego make it happen please)

NaruHina and SasuSaku... I could rant about these two ships and the travesty that was the ending all day.

Hinata and Sakura and their obsession over those two was so pathetic. The fact that the boys were given to them as reward for persevering in their love makes me want to kill something. And everything after the war arc ended was a way rapidly drive off all the fans of the series.

Like, even if you somehow look past their shitty marriages of convenience and the sheer insult that was The Last, what the fuck was that Hokage Inauguration episode. The sheer anger I feel at the thought of that episode and the fact that people defend that bullshit is going to make me end up at the therapist. Naruto not getting to attend his own inauguration as Hokage was a garbage joke and nothing and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

Sasuke and Naruto deserved to end up together- and no, them being spirit brothers is a garbage reason to not ship them because it's not even fucking true. Transmigration and reincarnation are not synonyms, people.

Personally, I think Kishimoto also wanted them to end up together, but he wasn't allowed to do that. The official art is so couple-y, it's not even subtle. To say nothing of what he wrote in his own series.

Indeed KaiNess makes a hell of a lot more sense then SasuSaku and NaruHina. Atleast Kaiser and Ness are friends- toxic yes, but still friends.

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 720

It has occurred to me, I talked about how I think scary games can provide great narratives, but didn’t mention how I know this. I… despite the fact that scary games give me anxiety, I am a fan of Fatal Frame. In fact, I have played (but not completed) the second and third game, and also have played Spirit Camera: The Cursed Memoir (and also not finished that one).

I loved this franchise growing up, despite my terrible time with scary things. It allowed me to live in a ghost story wrapped in a mystery. And that was really the reason why I loved these games, it was the lore and world building. The kind of thing as an adult I really enjoy out of my games when well done.

It was just… the anxiety… of being chased by ghosts, very scary ghosts.

Spirit Camera was actually the worst of the bunch too, despite the fact I did everything in my power to make the game as least scary as possible. Spirit Camera, for those not familiar with this spin off, was made for the 3DS and took advantage of the fact the system had a working camera. This game was also, probably one of the last games to really have a proper game manual in the box, and that was because this game was a rare Alternative Reality game.

This type of game doesn’t exist that much anymore outside of Pokemon Go and similar types of games. The way Spirit Camera worked was that you had your game manual which was supposed to be the ‘cursed memoir’, as if you the player had simply found it on the street. If you opened up the book, booted up the game and snapped the camera at certain pages of the book it would trigger certain parts of the game (not dissimilar to QR codes).

The idea was, as you work through the book, more and more ghosts start appearing in the real world. Your 3DS acts as your spirit camera, allowing you to see the ghosts that have appeared now in your world, and are out to get out. It’s a very neat premise that takes advantage of the 3DS technology, especially if you decided to have the 3D part of your system on while playing.

I realized very quickly the problem of someone like me playing a game like this (and I bought it anyways). So I did many things to try and lower the scary factor of the game. This included playing in broad daylight in my living room. The 3DS camera is actually pretty crappy, considering this was the first gen version of the 3DS. So if you had played this in the dark, the camera would have been grainy except for the ghosts that are overlaid in the real world, which would have made the creepiness even worse.

While it did allow me to play the game, my dumbass overactive imaginative brain didn’t spare me the scares. One of the best things (and worst things) about having a really good imagination, is that you can see in your mind’s eye the thing you’re imagining. As a result, even though during the daylight my living room was a safe space, at night, even though I wasn’t playing, I could see in my mind’s eye where I had banished a ghost in my own living room. This made it difficult to go down and get a drink of water at night.

After that I stopped buying Fatal Frame games, and as a general rule of thumb I am not allowed to play scary games.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

so I just watched all the eps of School Spirits that are out (honestly, I thought they'd finished releasing the season or I wouldn't have started rn, but that was my bad) because I am a sucker for a murder mystery & apparently I like ghosts (sensing a theme on this blog??), so anyway, I have some thoughts/theories.

spoilers for the first 5 episodes below the cut!

If you had asked me to put money on a suspect after the first episode, I would have put it all on Nicole, but I'm feeling less good about that the further we get into the show, despite her "creepy" moment in the last episode. At first, I felt that her character didn't justify her own existence (she was basically just "there" and seemed suspiciously optimistic about Maddie being alive, etc.) and also had potential motive- she could be mixed up in the money stuff because she mentions not being able to afford college. I thought at first she might have had feelings for either Simon or Maddie & there was a jealousy thing going on (since Maddie was with Xavier, and Simon seems pretty in love with Maddie), but she doesn't honestly seem all that interested in spending time with Simon, and I don't feel like they've dropped many hints about her having feelings for anyone in particular.

My immediate gut feeling was that Xavier wasn't involved, since they were so quick to the point the finger at him and make him look suspicious in the first couple of episodes. I suppose they could be pulling a Billy Loomis, trying to get people to write him off by immediately accusing him, but I really hope not. Not because of him as a character, really, but because that's kinda interesting in a movie with a 2 hour runtime, but kinda boring when you spend hours and hours on something and then it loops around to the first ever suspect.

I'm assuming that the ghosts do not have the ability to kill anyone, and I suppose that could be a bad assumption, but that's what I'm working with, so I'm automatically ruling out the other ghosts as Maddie's murderers. That seems like A LOT, if they were going in that direction. Unless they're going to address how many students have died on campus & it has something to do with that. Because that is a bunch of dead people at their school. Like this school has had multiple murders on school property, multiple major accidents, etc. What are the odds? But rn I'm leaning towards, they just wanted Maddie to have characters to interact with & to make their points about life/death with.

Mr. Anderson & Claire both seem too obvious at this point (I mean, obviously they are/were hiding things & it might even include evidence of what did happen to Maddie, but I don't think they killed her) and are low on my suspect list for that reason. There are 3 more episodes (if they even wrap up who killed Maddie) to fill out, so inevitably more twists.

Current top of my suspect list- Ms. Fields. Why is she here? I mean, obviously there need to be teachers, so I understand why her character exists, but she gets just a little too much screen time, imo. That makes her inherently suspicious. Generally, you want to make sure that when a killer is revealed, the audience actually recognizes them and felt that they had some shot of puzzling it out. She & Maddie's mom talked about how little money teachers make (did she pose as Maddie to get money from Mr. Anderson? is she who used Maddie's account to like Nicole's photo? did she take the video of Mr. Anderson and Claire?) so she could have a financial motive mixed in with other things.

I'm still trying to decide if I think we're dealing with one or more person for the above actions. There seems to be a good chance that whoever got money from Mr. Anderson (pretending to be Maddie? with her phone?) is who killed her (this does make me still a little suspicious of Nicole, since she has a potential financial motive, but that bothers me because some of Nicole's actions make no sense if she killed Maddie), but are they the one still using Maddie's account? Are they who took/released the video? Or is there another unknown party who is aware of certain things and trying to make them come to light. The photo being liked & the backpack being in the house feel like things someone would do to try to keep police believing Maddie is alive (and presumably only the killer would have her backpack, since it was with her when she died), so they would be done by someone who knows she's dead. IDK.

Where. Is. Maddie's. Necklace. ???. They only mentioned it briefly when she's talking about not having her phone or her necklace, which means she didn't have it when she died. That's gotta come back around soon, though I wonder if it will be in a red herring kind of way (like they'll show us a character with the necklace to make them look extra suspicious, but it will have reasonably innocent reasoning) or as a real clue.

Um. I want more ghosts. Rhonda, Charley, and Wally are a lot of fun & I would like more of them. Like, no offense, but I would rather spend more time with those three than Simon, Nicole, & Xavier. BUT I get it, because the ghosts can't leave the school & they don't have tangible impact on the world, so it would be hard to get things done with just them.

Other suspects - Maddie's mom, Xavier's dad, and the principal all have roles just big enough that they could turn out to be involved. I don't really think that makes a lot of sense for most of them (the principal is barely in the show so far, so that would be a stretch, Xavier's dad could have a motive involving the election [interesting that they included that detail], but we haven't seen him much, and it being Maddie's mom would be really dark, but I never completely cross off people the list just because it would be dark).

Not a theory, but I'm actually quite pleasantly surprised how little romance there has been in the show so far. I'm not against romance, and I won't even be mad if we get a little in the next few episodes, but I do like that that hasn't been a big focus because it can get really tiring when a show just becomes solely about ships.

Anyway, I think that's all my thoughts for now. Idk if anyone else is even watching this show tbh, but I've been super drawn to things that my friends aren't talking about & that don't have a lot of episodes lately, I think because it feels freeing to go into something with no expectations and to not have any of your friends be disappointed if you end up not liking it.

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

Ten Random Lines Tag

Tagged by @ceph-the-ghost-writer ty!

Rules: Pick any ten of your fics/writing projects, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. Then tag people (ten if you want to follow the theme).

Tagging: @theramwrites @puzzleddragon02 @saltysupercomputer @aether-wasteland-s @lexiklecksi and anyone else who wants to!

Okay I really only have 2 main WIPs but sure we can see snippets of some tiny things......

Second Chance I don’t even have to explain to Hayln why I am actually still alive, because it’s a null day (that really is a good name for it. On the Base we call it pre-day and post-day, in reference to when the reversal occurs). Except here’s the funny thing: Turns out, since I didn’t exist, the most natural thing to occur is for me to simply not exist for about 16 hours. When I explain to the Spirit that No, I am NOT okay with that, it says that if I really want to, we can resist that natural couse of events.

Syndicate He flashed a smile. “Morning, sleepyhead,” he said and came over, picking up mugs from the desk that I hadn’t noticed and bringing them over. He handed me one. “Got you coffee.” A string and tag on the side of his mug showed he was having tea. 

Drake Knight I look to the sky, pausing three-quarters down the alley to catch a breath and attempt to wipe some of the coffee off the front of my shirt. It’s empty for a bit, just a gray sky, but then a shadow passes over us and I see it clearly for the first time. Nothing special, the dark gray scales indicate it’s probably from the mountains. But it’s smaller than I expected. Most dragons you fight are adults, but this one isn’t much larger than an elephant. I think it is anyway, hard to tell from the flyby.

Angie & Eddie So Angie stood up and made her way to Target. Passed the cart return, the shampoo bottles, the spa day bins with images of thin women relaxing. She went down the band-aid aisle, the cold medicine aisle, the muscle relaxants. She paused, facing a wall full of pads. She’d been in a slight daze, half convincing herself this wasn’t real, but not she had to focus because where the fuck were they? God, she wasn’t going to have to ask someone, was she?

Creative Nonfiction Portfolio In my dorm, the top left dryer doesn’t work. I’ve put wet laundry inside and returned to find wet laundry. After that, I avoided that dryer for weeks, until it was the only one available so I let it run through, figuring if it didn’t work there would be an open dryer by then. Lo and behold, my laundry remained wet. Have I reported it to the conveniently posted number hanging on the laundry room wall? Nope. Everyone seems aware it’s broken, someone must’ve reported it. And ultimately, we’ll live. But, that’s just a dryer. No one’s in any danger.

Immortal Souls The rain picked up. Back home, inside, I loved rain, but now I hated it. I pulled my hood up to cover my head and swung my backpack over my shoulder, moving off the bench and under an awning of a corner store. It was the kind of building that looked like it had been passed down between different owners, none of which bothered to change the old sign. An ancient hand-painted sign that said “Collier’s” was faded and mounted above a newer, stenciled sign that said “Watkin’s Market.” A glance around told me that Watkin’s was the name of the street, so, definitely not the most creative. It was advertising cheap cell phones and beer, so not much of a market either.

The Snow Queen Retelling "What’you suppose they are, demons or something? Goblins? Nothing like the ones at the church. That one looks like he can fly.” He stared at it, getting lost in the red of the glass, a color that stood out in the colorless castle. He hadn’t noticed it before. Or, he remembered, he’d thought it was stupid, that the colors gave him a headache. He’d never stopped to take them in, to look at how pretty the colors were when light shone through them.

Faye & Myra-- Summer Hangout I felt like crying, but that would be way worse right now and I couldn’t face it. I took a deep breath and pushed it away. I grabbed the few tintypes I’d taken out of the box, brought the box back, and purchased them. I went over to Olivia.

Layla In an instant, the numb feeling of being disconnected vanished, and panic rushed through me. Twitches underneath my eyes warned me that tears were coming, and then they did, filling my eyes and blurring the message. My mouth quivered, my breathing was speeding up. What was he doing? Couldn’t this be over? Hadn’t he gotten what he wanted?

Lialyn Lialyn was a kingdom of Mages. Every part of their lives had been shaped around the fact that everyone, from the rich to poor, learned magic. As the prince, he and his sister were expected to master as soon as possible. They were supposed to be superior in magic the way other countries had their royalty superior in swordfighting. Which meant that Sam had failed his family from the start.

[yueasuka]

The more I think about it, the more I feel like Ghost Rule is Felix's song especially post reveal or half reveal where he know Ladybug identity first.

No, look, listen...

Having lied about the most inconsequential of things, I'm unable to go back. No statute of limitations for my crime. Robbed of forgiveness for that thievery of mine

Bridgette and Felix is already a friend's, maybe not really close, but friends regardless and considering how kind she is, if he were to tell her about the curse she would most likely help him out even if she doesn't have a feelings for him. But at this point, Felix has lied for so long that he couldn't just take everything he had said back and thus continue to lie to cover up another lie which lead to the next verse :

Things don’t look any better today Unable to keep up this deception the way I’d hoped Slowly lapsing in depravity I hardly realize what has already become rotten

The more lies he made, the more he deprived her from the truth and as the lie piled up he found himself in never ending circle of lie that he couldn't escape from and it eating him alive.

Come here, stay “I hid it away”

He want to tell Bridgette the truth but at this point would that make any difference?

Mayday! Even if you realize it’s me You don’t need to hold me in your arms again Hey, Mayday! If you realize it’s me Will you kindly laugh at me once more?

Felix know what he had done is terrible and he doesn't even expect forgiveness, after he play with her feelings like that. But still he couldn't help but hope that maybe... maybe she could forgive him, one day?

Say woah-oh-oh, woah-oh, woah-oh I know I’m nothing but a ghost Say woah-oh-oh, woah-oh, woah-oh An empty shell built of lies, hey!

He knows he's nothing but a liar, he had lie so much that the whole existence of Chat Noir, 'the hero of paris' that he created has become the lie itself. Because there's nothing heroic about him. Chat Noir is, after all, a fake persona that he created to fool her.

Though I’m sure that “NO” is what I try to say Strangely it comes out as “YES” The bad thing about regret is that you start to realize that if You can fool someone completely, then you’re innocent Choosing to act cowardly, unfairly? No big deal, a prayer or two can take care of that That affected talkativeness of mine Just digging my own grave, burning myself out

The lie has piled up more to the point he couldn't keep up with it, "Did I say A? Or is it B for this question?" "Did I say this as Chat Noir or as Felix?" In the end he just say many things, but nothing at the same time. But hey even if it's become inconsistent he could just lie through it, right?

That sense of guilt, beholding like this for how long? It’s all going gray Even if it’s just me acting like the victim

Lie has become so easy for him, like breath. Except with every breath he take, the more he feels suffocate by it. How much longer can he keep it up?

Mayday! Feel free to berate me If honesty seems like such a wonderful thing Hey, Mayday! Bring down the gavel and seal my fate I who’ve chosen to act spoiled to the end

In the end the truth came out in the light (most likely by third party) and all Felix can do is just... Accept his fate.

Say woah-oh-oh, woah-oh, woah-oh I’m just a wandering spirit, dead and gone Say woah-oh-oh, woah-oh, woah-oh A blank void, empty as can be, hey!

He has gotten tired of it. All the lies he told her has made him... empty, just an empty shell made of lies.

Wishing for what I lacked I came face to face with a version of “me” That was nothing like myself And yet I kept going Even through the dark night that made my head swim Love me! I who lack so much I was raised by that selfish egotism of mine after all Can you really see me? This lonely, poisoned clown

The moment he confronted himself, Felix couldn't help but laugh at himself. He hate his father because he's a liar, he told young Felix that his mother disappeared when in reality she was dead. And yet here he is, become a liar that he hate the most that he couldn't even recognized himself anymore, drowned in the sea of lies that poison him.

Mayday! Expose me for what I really am For this world is about to meet its end Hey, Mayday! Dance with me! Did you actually realize “I” was never truly here to begin with?

While he knows how selfish he is for hoping for her to forgive him, he couldn't help but yearned for Bridgette's love. "love me! Dance with me!" Although he wondered if he really love her or is it just another lie? Can she see the real him among the pile of lies that he built thorough all this time when he couldn't even see himself anymore?

"What am I? Am I really exist? Or is my existence just a lie?"

[elisabeth515]

“The General’s Mistress”review (part 1)

(Part 2)

(Part 3)

(Part 4)

About: Basically this thing is based on Ida St. Elme’s memoirs (and plus some spiritual stuff—like angels and divination🧐)

Foreword

I am going to attempt to review a historical fiction properly after the horrors I’ve seen from Alison Pataki’s Sisi series (Elisabeth hates it so much). Although a very strong opposition from my dead best friend Michel, I decided to read Jo Graham’s “The General’s Mistress” because I feel really, really called to read it, after reading some reviews on GoodReads, also the encouragement from mutals on tumblr.

I hope you all will enjoy this entertaining reaction/review on this book which, hopefully I am going to finish it despite the fact that I have to finish two philosophy essays, my French writing assignment and prepare for the upcoming maths exam in January (#UniLife). Now, to the main thing!

//

First Impression

To be honest, although I was triggered by the fact that it was based on Ida St. Elme’s “Memoirs of a Contemporary” (which, as you know from some older posts, I don’t really like it no matter how intriguing the author is), this book is probably my cup of tea, given to my great interest in the Napoleonic era, also some supernatural, witchy things that reminded me of my weird witchcraft journey which has ended just some months ago. Given to the reviews thats I’ve seen on GoodReads, I think it is quite a nice and entertaining novel—especially because Michel Ney is in it. After reading the sample, my feelings are positive as I was pretty much hooked into the story.

The Reaction

This post is going to be a collection of my reactions, and impressions to chapter 1 to 13 of this book, which I managed to finish it in a lightning speed of 3 hours (with note-taking on my phone). So far, I am on chapter 24 (and now taking a break by charging my kindle) and it’s quite good I would say, at least better than what I expected, somehow, considering I am a bit reserved when it comes to historical fiction—like the accuracy is super, super, super important to me.

From the reviews, I have already been warned for 18+ content so reader’s discretion is advised. Before starting the book I have already been trained by watching porn with a straight face and I’ve passed them easily. Well, let’s just have a rough go through on my reaction to chapters 1-14 because I have too much things to talk about in this.

At first the writing is quite fine—here we have the very first glimpse of Ney and the MC basically swooned—as someone who loves Ney too much sometimes I approved

Yes we shall S W O O N in front of this babe

Well, apparently she no like her husband Jan (whom she married when she was 12, by the way) so she decided to go to be a sugar baby amd goes with the name Ida, and Victor Moreau is her sugar daddy

Everything is rather fine, until I found some errors in the clothing that the MC is wearing—dresses from the late 18th century to early 19th century are not closed with hooks (*at the back I mean); it was a late 19th century (La Belle Époque/Late Victorian) thing.

Edit: just looked up some more info again, apparently dress hooks also exists in some regency gowns for back closure, nevertheless, it would not have existed in a 1795 round gown.

By the way she is supposed to be wearing a pair of stays, not corset as it’s a future invention derived from stays. (This is somehow just nitpicking but this is very important)

Since she was supposed to be wearing a 1790s regency dress, I somehow just kinda want to say that she’s probably wearing a round gown since it was fashionable at that time; the square neckline started to come out in that decade, but I personally doubted that she would have been wearing one, since the wrap neckline or round neckline is more fashionable I would say.

Here is a fashion plate from the year when Ida started to have an affair with general Moreau (source)

Also, she would have been wearing a big handkerchief around her neckline (a fashionable thing in the 1790s).

Nevertheless the author got it right when it comes to the first steamy part when Moreau started to do her—before the drawers, dress historian guessed that women wear nothing underneath at the lower part of the body (except the mensuration belt which acted as the pads/tampons that we wear nowadays)

I kinda need to substitute the steamy parts with Moreau doing something to a sentiment rock to make myself get over it because idk—I just kinda reading them with horror because I can’t really stand smut for historical guys to an extent-

Oh no the description of babeythighs I’m ded- *proceeds dying of laughter while a confused Michel Ney watching me in the background*

Of course our MC just goes like “OMG OMG OMG I LOVE HIM😍😍😍😍😍” whenever Ney is mentioned and I feel somehow personally attached 🌚👌🏻

So there are some tarot scenes that somehow reminded me the days of me opening a tarot reading shop for earning funds for amino events, haha. It seemed like a pretty nice foretelling of the things coming ahead—like the main girl is going to be the master of her fate under the war ahead, yada yada

Another thing to note is that the MC has another persona called Charles and well, there are steamy parts for Charles as well besides Ida. The MC was seemingly super confident in “her crossdressing alter” (which you would first meet him the very first chapters of this story).

In the very first acquaintance between Ida and Michel, he kinda seemed awkward and cute which is pretty cute I guess- (well Michel in this said the MC is the most beautiful woman in the world and she has “the face of an angel”—I can faintly hear the one irl in the background saying he begged to differ lol—but spoilers say that there’s something going between him and the MC thus the “unusual behaviour”? Michel seemed a bit smitten to me in that scene ngl)

Of course the MC is super smitten by our babey who has unlimited charms despite not being considered good-looking; so she wrote a letter to Moreau and Ney respectively and Moreau found out and yeeted her out of the house.

In overall the pacing is fine, we are in the lens of our MC Ida/Charles and those foretelling through tarot is pretty cool in my opinion. There were some parts that I guess are connected to the previous books in the series which I have not read, but at least I can get the thing. One additional note is that it is written in American, so some terms might required a dictionary to understand if you have been learning British English.

Last but not the least, happy holidays and I shall yeet back to my philosophy readings now UwU

[pizza-is-my-buziness]

Did you just touch my shoulder?” Deena and Sam prompt.

For a Tuesday night, the library is unusually quiet, empty of even the most studious of coeds trying to wrangle the desktop computers or wandering the stacks trying to find the most obscure references to pad out their research papers. Despite the fact that Deena is certain the campus hadn’t stopped partying from sundown on Friday until the first blushes of morning yesterday, it seems that her classmates still have more to give, choosing not to spend their Halloween in the campus library.

Not that Deena minds. It just means that she doesn’t have to share Sam with someone trying to figure out how to work the copy machine or yet another college senior who has made it this far without managing to understand the Dewey Decimal System. Instead, she gets to trail along behind Sam as she lazily shelves the books that had been discarded and abandoned several hours ago, before the library had emptied out.  

“You’d think people would be all over this place on Halloween,” Deena remarks, draping her elbows across the back of the cart and leaning forward, watching as Sam slides a volume of Virginia Woolf short stories back onto the shelf. “Since it’s haunted and everything.”

Sam smirks, rolling her eyes. “I’m pretty sure the college discourages séances in the rare book room.”

The cat ears that Sam had slipped on at the start of her shift in a last ditch effort at Halloween spirit are crooked, much like they’d been all weekend when they’d let the spirit of Halloween on a college campus take over their good sense and turn Friday and Saturday into a blur of loud music and cheap alcohol and the type of hangover that had left Deena hiding out all day Sunday in Sam’s dorm room and neither of them saying anything at all in an effort to keep the headaches at bay. Deena has quite a few regrets about the past weekend but showing up to a bunch of random dorm parities dressed as Batman with Sam as her Catwoman is not one of them.

It really is too bad that the cat ears are the only part of the costume that seemingly survived.

“Besides,” Sam says, reaching up absently to push the ears back into place while they continue down the otherwise empty library stacks, “it’s not actually haunted.”

“Says the girl who was possessed by the actual Devil.”

“Exactly.” Sam arches an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that’s how I would know?”

Deena can’t entirely rule out that Sam’s experiences the previous year haven’t turned her into some sort of collegiate Ghostbuster, so she just offers her a tentative smile and a shrug. “They didn’t give you all the details during the first day orientation?”

“No, they did,” Sam says as they turn down another quiet aisle. “It was like ‘here’s how you work the coffee maker, this is the code for the copy machine, here’s where that girl got murdered fifty years ago just in case anyone wants the tour and here’s where we keep the Ouija board.’”

“So you do have a Ouija board. Knew it.”

Sam takes a stack of books from the cart, heading toward the other end of the shelf. “Is that the only reason you came to see me? To look for ghosts?”

Deena smirks, taking one of the books off the top of the stack and sliding it onto the shelf. “Of course not,” she says, waiting until Sam’s hands are empty before leaning in to steal a kiss. “It was mostly so I could do that.”

“Oh.” Deena loves the breathy sound of Sam’s voice, the way the color fills her cheeks like this is their first kiss instead of just the first Deena intends to indulge in for the foreseeable future. “In that case…”

Deena’s lips have barely brushed against Sam’s when the sound of something hitting the floor startles them enough to pull back and a glance in the direction of the noise reveals that one of the books has fallen to the floor. Which, Deena assumes, is something that’s bound to happen…given that it is a library and gravity does exist. Though the timing is rather unfortunate.

And so, it’s entirely coincidental, honest, that Deena picks that exact moment to ask, “What time is your shift over, again?” as Sam stoops to pick up the book and return it to its spot.

“The library closes at midnight.” Sam doesn’t bother to point out that Deena most certainly already knows this, given the amount of time she’s spent with Sam on nights a lot like this one.

Except, usually, with far more murmured conversations and clicking keys and the constant whirling of the printer. Tonight, the library is like a ghost town.

No pun intended, of course.

“You don’t have to stay,” Sam adds quickly, concern flashing across her face. “I know tomorrow is your early-”

“It’s fine,” Deena says quickly, waving away the idea that she would rather get a decent night’s sleep than spend time with her girlfriend. “Isn’t college all about sleepless nights and bad decisions?”

“I’m sure there are plenty of bad decisions happening right now,” Sam says with a laugh.

“Definitely. At least I’m spending my time in the library.”

Sam momentarily abandons the half empty library cart, reaching for Deena’s hand and pulling her closer. “So studious,” she teases and before Deena can assure Sam that there is definitely something she would gladly study, Sam is kissing her, putting an end to any thoughts of talking.

So an empty library is not so bad when Deena gets to do stuff like this. Even Sam’s boss had abandoned her when it became clear that there weren’t going to be enough desperate students to necessitate everyone surrendering their Tuesday night to the quiet of the library stacks and so there’s no one around to notice the way Deena’s fingers slip beneath the back of Sam’s shirt, skimming the warm skin at the small of her back, or to hear the quiet way that Sam laughs, the sound delicate and gentle against Deena’s mouth.

“Thanks for keeping me company,” Sam murmurs, giving Deena a final kiss before stepping back and smoothing down her shirt in a gesture that manages to be both terribly tragic and heart-stoppingly perfect. “It would probably be just a little bit creepy if I was here by myself.”

“But I thought it wasn’t haunted,” Deena teases as they continue working through shelving the books on the cart. “I thought you were the expert.”

Sam laughs, taking two of the last books off the cart and dropping them into Deena’s hands. “I didn’t say it would be creepy because of ghosts,” she points out with a roll of her eyes, the smile on her face taking away any actual annoyance that the gesture might’ve had. “Can you shelve these? And then we’ll be done.”

Deena takes the books, walking in the opposite direction of where Sam has knelt down to arrange a few titles on the bottom shelf. “Oh, ‘we’ huh? So, I work here now too.” She finds the right spot on the shelf, making a space for the new books. “This is the last time I come visit-”

The sensation of something brushing against her shoulder makes her jump, dropping the books to the floor with an echoing thud and Sam flinches, her head snapping in Deena’s direction. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Frowning, Deena glances around, trying to pinpoint why her heart is suddenly racing, her mouth dry. “Did you just touch my shoulder?”

Sam frowns, looking at Deena for a beat before shaking her head. “Um…no. How could I?” She stands, gesturing at the space between them. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Quickly, Deena picks up the books, jamming them back onto the shelf and retreating back toward where Sam is standing. “Uh…yeah.” She shakes her head, trying to clear away the sensation of the press of a hand against her shoulder. And the feeling of being watched, even now. “I’m just imagining things, I guess.”

Sam peers down the aisles, her frown deepening, but Deena is certain they’re seeing the same thing: the fact that the space around them is completely empty. “Probably just freaking yourself out.”

“Yeah. Probably.” Deena frowns, rubbing at the back of her neck absently, though it does little to help the shiver that slides down her spine.

Sam takes her hand, linking their fingers together. “Think we should break out the Ouija board now?”

“Ha.” But Sam’s touch, or maybe her teasing, does make it a little easier to smile again, to push aside that uneasy feeling. Funny to think that talking about murdered coeds might have an effect on her thoughts. “I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I didn’t say that I did,” Sam points out. “I’m not the one playing tag with them in the middle of the library.” She squeezes Deena’s hand as she crinkles her nose.

As they start back toward the front of the library, Deena has to resist the urge to turn around and glance into the space behind them, mostly because of the sickeningly persistent thought that won’t leave her alone, assuring her that if she looks over her shoulder right now she’s going to see someone watching them after all.

Instead, she swallows, trying to shove the thought from her mind. “You know, you’re lucky I’m such a good girlfriend,” she says. “Otherwise I would totally leave you here to deal with Casper all by yourself.”

Sam smiles, shaking her head, but there’s a seriousness in her eyes as she meets Deena’s gaze and just nods. “Yeah. I am pretty lucky.”

[water-hates-learning]

REASONS TO READ MICOVERSE

Here is my list of reasons that you need to be reading the webcomic Micoverse:

It’s drawn and written by my good friend @mushroomminded​! Who you might remember making such awesome work as the Nuclear Winter AU! And Space Quiznos! And Ottosworld! She also makes the talksprites for @nighted-doors-au​!

It’s free to read on Webtoon and Tapas! And it updates weekly! You get a new page every week! (and if you subscribe to Em’s Patreon you get a page a week in advance! it’s just one dollar!)

The STORY is SO GOOD! Milo is the main character and he and his best friend Cody are looking for the answers to the mystery of what happened to Milo’s biological father. Along the way, spooky things start to happen; weird goopy shadows seem to be following them around, voices are coming from Cody’s ghost hunting equipment, and a particular shopkeeper is being strangely tight lipped. If you like found family, mysteries, subtle hints of the supernatural, and friendship then you should definitely read Micoverse!

Emily, the creator, has a TON of side stories, aus, and fun little character things on her blog (and her gore blog)! Like Little Ghost, Curious Behavior, Mind Games, Danger Days, Spy AU, and so much more!!

The cast is a fantastic group of wonderful characters! Milo Sumney Jr is the main character and he’s looking for what happened to his missing father, Milo Sumney Sr, who disappeared ten years ago. Milo’s brash and loud and is never seen without his shark hoodie. But he’s a good friend, loyal and stubborn, wearing his heart on his sleeve. This sometimes means that heart can get easily broken.

Cody Bridges is Milo’s best friend and avid ghost hunter. He’s usually the one that tries to keep Milo out of trouble and does his best keep up his friend’s spirits during their search for Milo’s bio dad. Cody is smart and friendly and has a better head for caution--but that doesn’t stop him from wandering into old abandoned houses in search of any lingering ghosts, much to the constant worry of his dad.

Jake Pierly (my beloved) is one of Milo’s adopted dads. He usually feels like he’s out of his depth when it comes to raising a kid but he tries his best to take care of Milo. Jake’s mental and physical health aren’t the best and often cause him to lash out and hurt those around him. It’s his rule that “We don’t talk about Milo Senior in this house”.

Dan Fuller is Milo’s other adopted parent. He’s a kind and gentle man despite his size, pouring all his love and attention into his family. He often puts aside his own needs to take care of Jake and Milo, and is careful not to disrupt the tenuous peace that sometimes exists in the house. But he would put his life on the line to protect his loved ones.

Dom Bridges is Cody’s dad and he would do anything to keep Cody happy, even if it meant ending the entire world. He’s a subdued man with a weight on his shoulders and secrets of his own who tries desperately to keep Cody out of trouble. But he is a kind man with a soft heart and a warm smile. His girlfriend, Dr. Miranda Kearney, is a strong and outspoken woman who cares deeply about Dom and isn’t afraid to show it. She loves Cody just as much as Dom does and considers both of them her family.

Tegan Butter is another friend of Milo’s (though he would deny it) and Cody’s. She’s the curious sort and considers herself an investigative reporter. She’s not afraid to pry under the floorboards to see what she can find, even if the answers are gritty and harsh. Tegan tells it like it is and leaves out the sugar coating--either because she forgot or because she doesn’t see the sense in having it at all.

So when I tell you to read Micoverse I REALLY DO MEAN GO READ MICOVERSE!!!

It’s SUCH a good story, Em works SO HARD on it and she does amazing work! The community is fun and creative and full of awesome fanart and fan fiction! There is SO MUCH to love about it and you should be checking it out right now! It’s free!!! And you’d be supporting my friend and an independent creator!!

GO!!!! READ!!!! MICOVERSE!!!!

[plan-d-to-i]

(google translate again, yeah)

(I forgot to thank you for the last answer, I really didn't know that the drama used the music of my compatriot, it was a pleasant surprise for me)

I don't know if anyone has asked you this before, but do you think JC was good with WWX as a kid?

I mean not just their childhood, but the time of their training in Gusu.

I really love JC, and I understand perfectly well that he is the most dick in character, but I love him precisely during my studies at Gusu, I can not give any arguments that then JC was directly GOOD to WWX, but he is clearly cared a little about him and even ... worried? at least that moment after the punishment where JC helped WWX get to the room...

Yay - I'm so happy to hear about Stravinsky :)

Hahah loving jc as the dick that he is is the way to do it! go for it. :) also, sorry this was so delayed I wanted to reread the Cloud Recesses arc so it would be fresh in my mind before answering.

In terms of jc the Cloud Recesses arc is perhaps the most 'mellow' we see him aside from the Lotus Pod Extra but for me it's still impossible to find him a worthwhile person. I can already see the faults in his character that I know will only get worse as he grows older. Canonically I don't see how he would have any friends studying in the Cloud Recesses if he didn't come as a package deal w Wei Wuxian. I mean I doubt jiang cheng would have any friends without WWX period. In fact jiang cheng doesn't make any friends over the course of 13 years. He's also unable to find a wife bc of his temperament and behavior...

What we can glean about their relationship in the Cloud Recesses arc (and even the Lotus Pod Extra) is that any time WWX gets a kind word or understanding from someone, jiang cheng scoffs at it. Any time someone shits on WWX, jc is there to agree, to relish the idea of WWX being punished, and shit on him some more. He would be an immensely exhausting person to be around. He doesnt believe in WWX's ideas and ingenuity, (as NHS does for example), he doesn't believe WWX is hurt, he always assumes the worst of him, he doesn't believe LWJ might like WWX. The only thing he ever seems to believe is that WWX will dishonor YunmengJiang and that WWX should be punished. So for a kid who supposedly wants his father's approval so badly he instead constantly acts like his mother's mouthpiece/minion. He reprimands WWX like he's trying to become Madam Yu 2.0. I see jc stans all the time being like oh he had to keep WWX in check bc WWX was such a lOOooose canon, for the good of the Clan!! lol listen JFM didn't give a f...about WWX's behavior (in his letter to LQR) why are you so concerned? JFM would have preferred for jc to try & save his peers in the Xuanwu cave or at least to understand why that was the correct course of action rather than for him to just sit in front of the class in the Cloud Recesses and tell WWX off for giving LQR as good as he got, while actually still breaking the rules himself but eschewing punishment.

salt up here, quotes below :

Even when Nie Huaisang picks up on the fact that WWX is being treated unfairly by LQR, jc dismisses it and piles on WWX instead.

Nie Huaisang said, “Old Man Lan really seems like he’s coming down especially harshly on you. Every time he reprimands someone, it’s always you.” Jiang Cheng grunted. “He deserves it. What kind of answer was that? He can get away with saying that sort of nonsense at home, but he had the nerve to say it to Lan Qiren’s face. He was practically asking for the old man to kill him!”

But does WWX get away with ANYTHING in Lotus Pier? When we know he is punished constantly for EVERYTHING? This is jiang cheng fully being his mother's mouth piece. It's not something WWX would get away with, it's something jc knows JFM wouldn't mind. Which is why he's so pissed off. Which begs the question if JFM would not be upset with WWX's behavior why does jc need to criticize him? Again :

A dark expression shadowed Jiang Cheng’s face, and his voice was filled with anger. “Why are you so proud of yourself? What is there to be proud of?! Is being told to get out some amazing accomplishment? You’re making our entire clan lose face!”

and his glee at the idea that WWX will be punished leaves a bad taste in one's mouth considering how WWX was perpetually punished in Lotus Pier by jiang cheng's mother for... existing.

Jiang Cheng smiled grimly. “Now that you’ve thoroughly offended both Lan Wangji and Lan Qiren, you’re basically dead tomorrow. No one’s going to clean up your corpse either.”

and again

Without the old one, only the young one remained. This would be easy to deal with! Wei Wuxian rolled off the bed and laughed while putting on his boots. “Heaven’s charmed clouds are blessing me with shade.” Jiang Cheng was beside him polishing his sword with loving care when he decided to spill cold water over Wei Wuxian’s head. “Just wait until he gets back. You can’t escape punishment.”

Where others like NHS see value in WWX's thoughts

Nie Huaisang thought for a while. “Actually, I thought what you said was very interesting,” he said, not entirely able to hide his envy and yearning.

jc is always dismissive of WWX's ideas. These are inventions that WWX realizes. Demonic cultivation in the first conversation and The Spirit-Attraction Flag and The Compass of Evil in the second:

“Enough,” Jiang Cheng warned. “Whatever nonsense you spout, you better not head down that sort of dark road.”

-

Changing the topic, Wei Wuxian said, “If only there was something like fishing bait that could draw the water ghosts in. Or, something that could point in the direction they’re hiding, like a compass, that sort of thing.”

“Lower your head and watch the water,” Jiang Cheng said. “You’re letting your fantasies run wild again. Concentrate on looking for water ghosts like you’re supposed to.”

“Hey, mounting swords and flying was also only a fantasy once!” Wei Wuxian said.

He's also a hypocrite. Because even though he berates WWX for misbehaving, he himself breaks the rules. He drinks, he even goads WWX into buying liquor, the only difference is that he doesn't get punished for it, and he doesn't feel like coming forward and getting punished for it :

Naturally, Jiang Cheng was too embarrassed to talk about what Wei Wuxian had been up to. After all, all of them had egged him on to go and buy alcohol, and they all deserved to be punished as well. He could only speak vaguely. “It’s nothing. It’s nothing. It’s not that bad! He can walk. Wei Wuxian, why haven’t you gotten off yet?”

It's no wonder WWX is so impressed by LWJ's integrity in spite of his social status, when he's clearly used to the other dynamic :

“Lan Zhan, I really admire you,” Wei Wuxian said sincerely. “After I told you that you had to punish yourself too, you actually did it. You didn’t let yourself off at all. I can’t argue against that.”

A dynamic which is shown repeating in the Lotus Pod Extra where WWX is the only one to get punished for sunbathing, and which repeats here when Wei Wuxian here stops jiang cheng from confronting Zixuan over YanLi's honor (and jc's) and does it himself.

Zixuan :“Why don’t you ask what about her could make me satisfied?” he said in return.

Suddenly, Jiang Cheng rose. Wei Wuxian pushed him away and stepped between them, smiling coldly. “You think you’re very satisfactory? As though you have the right to be so picky!”

Zixuan: “If she’s unhappy, then let her break off the engagement! I certainly don’t cherish your wonderful disciple-sister. If you cherish her so much, why don’t you take it up with your father? Doesn’t he love you more than his own son?”

After hearing the last sentence, Jiang Cheng’s eyes narrowed, and Wei Wuxian was no longer able to contain his own fury. He flew at Jin Zixuan, his fist raised.

WWX takes the punishment alone. Same way he offers to do when he hurts himself falling from a tree because jc threatened him with dogs. meanwhile jc is gleeful to see him being punished.

[Wei Wuxian] was kneeling on the stretch of pebble road to which Lan Qiren had assigned him when Jiang Cheng walked over from afar and mocked him. “You’re kneeling so obediently.”

“It’s not like you don’t know I have to do this all the time.” Wei Wuxian’s voice filled with schadenfreude. “But this Jin Zixuan guy, there’s no way he hasn’t been pampered and spoiled rotten since birth. No one’s ever forced him to kneel, I’m sure of it. If he doesn’t wind up crying for mommy and daddy today, I’m not named Wei.”....

Wei Wuxian "...It’s a good thing you didn’t do anything.”

“I was going to. If you hadn’t pushed me away, the other side of Jin Zixuan’s face would be hideous too.”

“Stop it. His face is uglier for being lopsided."

WWX is happy to have spared jc from getting into trouble but jc makes the whole thing about himself anyway (like everything else ever) and is upset JFM would rush over for WWX - in his mind. Even though JFM clearly had to rush over to meet with Jin Guangshan not to coddle WWX in any way.

"Jiang Fengmian had never rushed to another clan in less than a day because of him. Regardless of whether what happened was big or small, or good or bad." Never

WWX on the other hand tries to be observant of jc's feelings and reassure him & distract him from his moods :

When Wei Wuxian saw Jiang Cheng’s melancholy expression, he thought he was still upset with what Jin Zixuan said. “You should leave. You don’t need to keep me company any longer. If Lan Wangji comes again, he’ll catch you. If you have time, you should find Jin Zixuan and watch his pitiful kneeling.”

Later in the book after nearly dying in the Xuanwu cave WWX leaves his sick bed to run after jc and comfort him after his mother's rant, even though WWX had to listen to his parents (and himself) being slandered by YZY. jc doesn't spare any thoughts for how other people might be feeling or suffering. His entire perception of the world is centered around himself. To him even WWX's greatest fear doesn't generate empathy, only amusement or later on a form of torture.

From that point onward, they made trouble everywhere together, and if they encountered a dog, Jiang Cheng would always chase it away for him, then enjoy a peal of derisive, unbridled laughter at Wei Wuxian’s expense beneath whichever tree the boy had leapt atop.

he grew up on the streets, often having to fight for food with vicious dogs. After several bites and chases, he gradually became extremely scared of all dogs, no matter the size. Jiang Cheng laughed at him because of this quite a lot of times.

This brings me to the last point. jc's resentment of WWX's interest in Lan Zhan, or in a serious friendship outside of him. I see so many ppl say that bc WWX fought he was kicked out of the Cloud Recesses early... but was he?

Jiang Cheng was somewhat taken aback. “Lan Wangji? What was he doing here? He still has the nerve to come see you again?”

“Yeah, I think his bravery is laudable if he still has the nerve to come see me. His uncle probably told him to check on me and see if I was kneeling properly.”

Jiang Cheng’s instincts were sending him ominous signals. “So were you kneeling properly?”

“I was then,” Wei Wuxian replied. “But I waited for him to walk away a bit, then took a tree branch, lowered my head, and dug out a hole in the dirt near me. It’s the pile right by your foot—there are ant tunnels there. It took me so much effort to find them. Anyway, I waited for him to turn back and see my shoulders shaking. He had to have thought I was crying, so he came back and asked. You should have seen his face when he caught sight of the ant tunnels!

“…” Jiang Cheng said, “Why don’t you just get the hell out and go back to Yunmeng? I bet he never wants to see you again.”

Thus, that evening, Wei Wuxian packed up his things, got the hell out, and went back to Yunmeng with Jiang Fengmian.

Repeatedly throught his stay in the Cloud Recesses even while NHS was observing that LWJ's behavior around WWX was strange and unique, jc was telling WWX he is hated and bothersome. When WWX wanted to apologize to LWJ jc is completely dismissive of it :

“He hates me already? I was thinking of apologizing to him,” Wei Wuxian said.

“Oh, so you want to apologize now? It’s too late!” Jiang Cheng said derisively. “He’s exactly like his uncle. He thinks you’ve been wicked ever since you were an embryo, so it’s beneath his dignity to pay you any attention.”

Later on when WWX mentioned wanting to invite LWJ to Lotus Pier jc categorically says no.

“Jiang Cheng had on a stern expression, “Let’s make this clear. I don’t want him to come, anyhow. Don’t invite him.”

BONUS

jc also always doubts WWX. He suspects him immediately of wrongdoings. He doesn't believe that getting hit with the discipline ruler in Cloud Recesses actually hurt him until LXC confirms that WWX might take more than a few days to heal. He doesn't understand WWX is in actual trouble from the Waterborne abyss and assumes he's fooling around luckily Lan Zhan is there to rescue him:

The disciple’s lower body had already been swallowed by the black whirlpool. It spun faster and faster, and he continued to sink deeper and deeper, as though something hidden beneath the water was pulling down on his legs.

Mounted on Sandu, Jiang Cheng had risen calmly until he was about sixty meters above the whirlpool before he looked down. Filled with displeasure at what he saw, he shouted and dove down. “What are you up to now?!”

The suction force inside Lake Biling grew ever stronger. Wei Wuxian’s sword was optimized for agility, and consequently, its strength happened to fall just short, and they were nearly pulled to the surface of the lake. Wei Wuxian steadied himself and held on to Su She with both hands.

“Someone help! If I can’t pull him up soon, I’ll have to let go!” he shouted.

Suddenly, the back of Wei Wuxian’s collar tightened, and his body was lifted into the air. He twisted his neck and saw Lan Wangji holding him up with one hand.

He maintains this same mindset when he tries to whip LWJ and WWX as they're attempting to leave Lotus Pier after the ancestral hall confrontation when WWX passes out.

Is jc evil in the Cloud Recesses ? No. He's just an annoying, basic, disagreeable asshole who doesn't bring anything positive to someone like WWX. People like jc become obsessed with kind, outgoing, generous people, people who don't set boundaries on what they give and what others take in their friendships. Even though they're dependent on them for their social interactions, because who else would socialize with them willingly, they resent them in equal measure, but at the same time they wouldn't be drawn to another selfish, self centered piece of shit person like themselves.

On a personal note, even Cloud Recesses jiang cheng is someone I would exclude from any personal friend group. Friendship with him is adding a minefield of jealousies and snide comments to every interaction. Things that then others will need to compensate around because he won't compromise or empathize w issues outside of his own concerns.

Translation source : x

[pitch-pearl-void]

(The borderlands anon from however long ago)

So, I finished watching the show a couple days ago, because there were a couple things that showed up consistently in fics i that I didn’t understand (blood blossoms, some of the baddies, a handful of fenton inventions, etc)

First off, I still very much prefer pitch pearl to amethyst ocean or whatever the hell it’s called

And also, do you know where pitch pearl as a ship came from? I know there’s the episode with fun and super, but is that all there really was? Or were there more early fandom headcannons that supported them as separate beings?

Hello again! Sorry this took so long, I wasn’t sure how to answer 😅

Canon did a poor job with AO. I would even say it did it dirty, but it's popular enough it doesn't need that kind of support lol. If you really want to give it a fair shake I’d recommend reading fanfiction for it, but I understand everyone’s preferences are different. I personally don’t ship it because shipping best friends is something I have real issues with, but it’s not a bad ship if you want something that’s soft and makes you feel all warm inside.

Onto pitch pearl tho!

Tbh, I’m not entirely sure myself how pitch pearl as a ship started. I don’t believe it was because of the Fun and Super episode, largely because those two are rarely used in the ship. 

I asked someone else, and they thought that moment in What You Want when Phantom was first torn from Fenton as this colorless ghost might have been what started the concept they weren’t one whole person. Because, honestly? This ship goes far, FAR back. A lot of the older fics made Phantom into a voice in Danny’s head or a spirit that could separate from him at will without the need of the Ghost Catcher in order to offer Danny comfort. They had no rules because there weren’t any set way yet. The fact that Phantom could move and think independently from Danny was enough to get people thinking. It wasn't all romantic, most of it was borderline at best. They mostly focused on hurt/comfort and self-love, finding a balance between human and ghost with the occasional kiss thrown in.

Then there’s TUE, where Danny meets his evil future self and learns that his ghost half killed his human half after merging with Plasmius. It definitely gave more credence to the idea there might be more to Danny’s ghost half than simply having ghost powers. It aired before Identity Crisis, so it set the stage with a BOOM and had a much bigger impact on the ship. Phantom being seen as his own person is a bit more credible when he’s willing to kill Danny. It helped that TUE was a VERY popular episode. It drew in a huge crowd, and everyone was curious about what made the ghost half snap like that if he’s supposed to be Danny.

Supporting that idea is that a lot of the older art and fics took a darker view of Phantom in general, seeing him as Danny’s darker half or a ghost out for revenge after being imprisoned for so long. Even the name “pitch pearl” was created with that in mind. I always thought of it as “white hair/black hair” in the same vein as AO taking inspiration from Sam’s purple eyes and Danny’s blue, but when I went searching for the origins for the name, the old explanation set Danny Fenton as white pearl and Phantom as pitch black. The reasoning for that was partly their jumpsuits pre- and post- accident, but also because Fenton is human and “pure” while Phantom is a ghost and dangerous--because without Fenton, Phantom became Dan and destroyed everything.

For obvious and somewhat personal reasons, I don’t subscribe to that. But it does make all the art where Phantom looks evil while holding Danny make sense. I don’t like dark romance, and I’m personally thrilled we moved away from such a dark beginning, but it likely had a hand in the early popularity of pitch pearl.

If I were to guess how else it started when the source has them as one person, I would say it was most likely the fanart? Putting Fenton and Phantom side-by-side has a yin-yang appeal, and when they interact in art, you get the sense that these are two characters, not one. This was really popular when the fandom was much bigger than it is now.

For instance

Save Our Soul by nycken isn't a shipping piece by any means, but it could very easily give rise to the idea, especially if someone is new to the fandom.

They did not shy away from it being a self-cest ship back then, though. The idea that Phantom wasn't Danny was there, but I don't think anyone looked for evidence in the show to support it. That seems to be something the ship has evolved into rather than something it started from, and it is honestly my favorite way to see it.

I do have many headcanons about how they aren’t the same person in canon if you're interested! There’s the out of sync transformations, the title sequence and how Super and Fun are shown to separate in the Identity Crisis episode, Vlad’s inability to clone Danny, the way Danny talks to himself, just all kinds of things! If you want to hear more about those I'd be happy to answer 😁 (they'd probably be easier too lol)

But yeah, I think it was TUE and fanart. There may have been other factors (I think this was around the time Yu-Gi-Oh and puzzleshipping was popular too) because fandom doesn't exist in a vacuum, but I really couldn't say for sure. It's a ship that means different things for everyone who ships it. I like the psychological questions when they start off as "one" (the bonded peeps version) and enjoy the aus like soooo much, but others like it only for aus, and others like it as a crack ship, and then there are even others who like it as something dangerous. Some people love it for Fun and Super in Identity Crisis because they're just fun caricatures. It's hard to find the origin point when it has so many branches lol

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 20, part three(!)

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

This episode has so much crucially important stuff in it I had to write 3 posts about it! Part one is here, part two is here. 

Don't Start None, Won't Be None

Lan Wangji has never had a real fight with Wei Wuxian before--remember, in their rooftop fight Wei Wuxian never even drew his sword. And since this is going to be a verbal fight, Lan Wangji is going to lose, badly. He's an elegant and articulate speaker, but he's not quick with words, and he speaks directly and sincerely. Weaponized speech is not his area at all, so he's pretty much bringing a knife to a gunfight. A guqin to a flute fight. Whatever. He tries to turn it into a physical confrontation, twice, but Jiang Cheng holds him back.

This throwdown is 100% about religion and orthodoxy; something that is fundamental to both of these young men's lives. Lan Wangji has made it his mission to be as orthodox as possible, doing shit like volunteering to be beaten for drinking when he didn't choose to drink. He's constantly overwhelmed by emotion, and the Lan rules are a source of regulation and safety for him. His emotions around Wei Wuxian are among the most overwhelming he's got, possibly only second to his feelings about his mom.

Right now his feelings are extra overwhelming. 

It's complicated because his relationship with Wei Wuxian literally started off with him punishing Wei Wuxian for heterodoxy. All that time they spent together in the library? Was because Wei Wuxian talked--JUST talked--about using resentful energy for cultivation. Which is precisely the ability he's just shown them, along with a style of killing enemies that's borderline evil and definitely, DEFINITELY unsportsmanlike.

So this is not, Lan Wangji is lovingly worried about Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is pushing him away to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. This is Lan Wangji freaking out because his entire system of belief is being challenged and he's in love with the person who's challenging it.  

Wei Wuxian has shown up to the party wearing an International Mr. Leather tee shirt with a enamel pin stuck to it that says "I get my kicks on route 666" and Lan Wangji just. cannot. deal.  

Never Start a Fight But Always Finish One

Wei Wuxian has a couple of options here. One is to accept, kindly, that he and his friend can't be friends any more because of religion. In this option, in order to preserve his friend's comfortable sense of being right, he would have to tacitly accept that he himself is bad in some way, and allow his friend to keep having his value system, while walking away from him.  

The other choice is to hit so hard that he makes his friend feel really, really bad, and potentially rocks him off of his comfortable foundation. In the short term, the friendship breaks, but if it forces him to actually question his value system, it might lay the groundwork for a new, more accepting friendship.  Anyone who is queer with an anti-queer-religious best friend is probably familiar with this dilemma.

Wei Wuxian chooses the second option, and goes all in from the first moment, calling Lan Wangji "Lan Er Gongzi" and then upgrading to "Hanguang Jun" and even bowing. If it's possible to bow sarcastically, that's what Wei Wuxian is doing. Then he meets his eyes and sticks his chin out, essentially saying "how do you like them apples?"

(more after the cut!)

Lan Wangji's feelings are probably hurt, but he's too busy being mad to show it, and he goes straight to grilling Wei Wuxian, asking him about the killing, the talismans, and giving up the sword, all while Jiang Cheng stands by and wonders what the fuck is happening. 

Lan Wangji is making a fundamental error here, which is he's speaking as if he's an authority instead of as a peer. Wei Wuxian has only ever accepted one authority in his entire life, and that was Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng is the one who, for a change, is approaching as a worried friend, while Lan Wangji approaches as if he has the right to call Wei Wuxian to account.  

Wei Wuxian won't answer his questions and is getting in his face, provoking him in a very quiet and controlled way, and Lan Wangji responds by just being really aggressive. It's interesting to see Wei Wuxian completely mastering his emotions while Lan Wangji is completely....not.  Wei Wuxian pushes harder, saying he's being rude, saying he's being a bad friend.  Which doesn't make any difference to Lan Wanji, who keeps pressing for an answer while Jiang Cheng wonders what the fuck is happening.

Come to Gusu

Wei Wuxian says he already explained, that it's complicated, it will take time to explain, so then Lan Wangji makes the utterly dumbassed demand that Wei Wuxian return to Gusu with him to explain it. What, exactly, is his plan? Bring Wei Wuxian to Gusu and have Lan Xichen (at the very least) and probably also Lan Qiren help him to convince Wei Wuxian that resentful cultivation is bad? How is that likely to work out? Let's have our own flashback, to that classroom interaction that led to the punishment in the library.

Lan Qiren: How will you make sure the resentful energy will only listen to you and not harm others? [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian] Wei Wuxian: I haven't figured that out yet ["details," as OP's dad used to say] Lan Qiren: If you did, the cultivation world would not allow your existence [i.e. we, the Lan Clan of Gusu, will kill your ass]

Lan Wangji probably doesn't think he's threatening Wei Wuxian with death by inviting him to Gusu, but he kinda is, if Lan Qiren was serious back then.  Lan Wangji is so upset and fearful that he's not really thinking clearly at this point. He loves Wei Wuxian and he's certain that cultivating with resentful energy will destroy him. [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian]  But Wei Wuxian is beyond fear. He's already been destroyed once.

Wei Wuxian rips on Gusu and then says, in a super-provocative way, that he prefers Yunmeng, which prompts Lan Wangji to say "don't joke around" as angrily as possible. 

This part of the interaction always confuses me because...shouldn't he prefer Yunmeng? He's actually from there and lives there and belongs there and stuff? He's just saying "I think I'll go with my brother" yet WWX and LWJ both act like he said he'd rather go to Demon City.

Lan Wangji takes a big step forward and Jiang Cheng blocks him while Wei Wuxian continues to act unperturbed and puzzled while holding his demon flute out in between them. 

Finally, FINALLY, Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Zhan, and asks him a serious question: What do you really want. Lan Wangji calms down for a second--although he keeps leaning into Jiang Cheng's sword block--and gets to the point, which is that the unorthodox path is dangerous, and harmful to his temperament.  

Kill one turtle together and you think you're the boss of me

So, these dudes are talking about 2 different levels of unacceptable cultivation, in this episode and the next few. Netflix translates these as "wicked tricks" and "crafty tricks," which both sound absolutely ludicrous in English, so I'm going to use my own preferred terms, going forward.  

I think what they are calling "Wicked Tricks," which includes spirit snatching and feeding people to the murder turtle on purpose in order to harvest their resentment could be translated as Heresy--adhering to a forbidden belief or practice; standing in opposition to Orthodoxy.  

Edit: After rewatching Episode 35, in which Nie Huaisang explains why their whole blade thing doesn’t count as “wicked tricks,” I’ve changed my mind about what to call this. NHS says that “wicked tricks” specifically involve the use of humans & human spirits (killing, sacrificing, etc.). Which means Necromancy is probably the better term for this particular type of cultivation, although it is still (also) Heresy. 

"Crafty Tricks," which is using resentful energy to raise and control already-dead people (ghosts and zombies) as well as just generally using resentment for basic stuff like beating Jin Zixuan's ass, could be translated as Heterodoxy--deviating from the accepted belief or practice, but not to the point of complete opposition.

Wei Wuxian laughs while Lan Wangji tries to be convincing, but since Lan Wangji is just repeating what he's been taught, he's not making much headway. Instead of saying "there's no exception throughout history" he could have, instead, gone with his own actual observations, such as "you are acting like a sadistic prick" or "you seem amazingly miserable" or "you aren't hugging your brother, what the fuck is that about?" But no.

Wei Wuxian responds to the charge of heresy by saying nuh-uh, and explains his methods, sort of, while going back to calling him Lan Er Gongzi. Lan Er Gongzi responds by actually literally yelling at him, and saying he's not allowed to decide for himself about what he's doing, as if the words "allowed to" have ever meant a goddamn thing to Wei Wuxian.

Temperament

At this point Wei Wuxian is done. He goes and gets right up in Lan Wangji's face and sticks a metaphorical knife right in his heart, smiling as he does it. "How do others know my temperament?" he asks; "and why should it be their concern?" i.e. you are not in my heart. 

This makes Lan Wangji so mad he calls Wei Wuxian "Wei Wuxian" for possibly the only time in the show, and he also flashes a whole bunch of angry teeth. (Gifset here). In a callback to the JFM-YZY fight back in Lotus Pier before the war, Wei Wuxian just calmly says "Lan Wangji" back at him, and then tells him to go fuck himself.

Jiang Cheng still doesn't understand what the fuck is happening, but this is a sentiment he understands, so he also tells Lan Wangji to go fuck himself, reminding him that Wei Wuxian is Jiang clan property and it's not the Lans' place to discipline him. Adding "and I'm not going to discipline him any way, look how good he is at killing people!"

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji continue to stare into each others' eyes from a distance so close that it really should lead to making out, but they are both much too angry for that. 

Wei Wuxian is as cold as we ever see him, smiling as he silently confirms: I do not belong to you. Lan Wangji glares back, his anger maybe finally giving way, a little bit, to being hurt.

Finish Him!

Wen Chao picks this moment to wake up and crawl over to the trio, begging Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng to save his life, since he presumably knows it's pointless to beg Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian turns around and gives him the EXACT SAME dead-eyed smile he just gave Lan Wangji, and kicks him.

Then he tells Lan Wangji to please leave so he and his brother can finish torturing this dude to death, and caps it with an official Jiang Clan eye roll.  

Lan Wangji, poor bb, just throws in the towel, and turns and leaves, the anger finally starting to leave his face and be replaced with something else...chagrin, maybe? Or maybe just softer anger, for the moment. 

After he's out of sight Wei Wuxian turns and looks after him sadly, all of the cruelty and hardness gone from his expression, while Wen Chao says "forgive me,"  possibly voicing what Wei Wuxian is thinking.

Lan Wangji walks out the front gate, troubled, and hears Wen Chao scream. He stops and replays the most pointed part of the fight in his head - the part where Wei Wuxian asked him, "who do you think you are?" Lan Wangji went into the fight believing he was completely right and was entitled to judge Wei Wuxian, but he's come out of it with his certainty shaken. 

Family Time

The Yunmeng brothers go to the ancestral shrine in Lotus Pier even though the whole "reclaiming Lotus Pier" scene doesn't happen until Episode 24. So apparently they just kind of sneak into the the shrine, and then sneak back out. Or, you know, continuity error.  Anyway Wei Wuxian is nothing if not adept at sneaking around death-related places.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng bow and offer incense. It's nice that the Wens didn't fuck up everybody's name plaques when they were in control of the place...or the tassels, candles, etc. 

Wei Wuxian quietly tells Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian that he did what they asked--taking care of Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli--and they can rest now. Nosy parker Jiang Cheng wants to know what he's saying, but Wei Wuxian just changes the subject. 

They talk about going to Qinghe for the final combat of the Sunshot Campaign. Wei Wuxian says that's why he returned, which...dude, you can't even pretend you came back to be with your loved ones? Ouch. Jiang Cheng doesn't really react to that, but he's happy when Wei Wuxian says he wants to see Jiang Yanli. Wei Wuxian wants to know if she's ok and if she's mad at him, and Jiang Cheng says wait and see, because direct answers are not the Jiang Clan way.

Jiang Yanli is helping tend to the wounded, and we see her telling a particularly fussy wounded dude to suck it up and stop complaining. 

When Wei Wuxian shows up she totally stops paying attention to the wounded dude so that she can smile at Wei Wuxian. 

He looks back at her tearfully, briefly managing to smile but then just trying to hold it together. He has been to hell and back, and doing his very best to hide it, but when he sees the person who loves him most--the person who will NOT spend 20 minutes yelling at him as soon as they see him--he starts to crack open.

[rossa-motte]

are we writing magical realism?, blog.

Sorry if something reads awkward, I wrote and made this on the phone!

So, first of all, my credentials:

I'm latina... that's enough for some people, oops.

I've studied it

I read it

I write it, I think

I'm not going to distract ourselves so much with history, Internet already has a lot of that. But we can say it originates in Latin America at the beginning/midst of the 1900s, but is written in other parts of the world as well.

Most of the time, the definition we heard is something on the lines of mixing reality and the fantastic, treating the unreal as real. Also, a lot of people see it as fantasy for latinos.

But all this is quite vague and ends in lots of people from countries where isn't common thinking it just means contemporary fantasy, fantasy for literary writers, or thinking it is an... aesthetic... *shivers

Well, if it's none of that, what is? How do I know if I'm writing it? Everybody says something different... And, yeah, a lot of people don't see eye to eye on this, so this is as far as I know and my personal opinion. But here are eight things I think defines magical realism (particularly differentiating it from fantasy):

i. Yes, it's fantasy, but the point isn't magic.

In fantasy the point is magic, is people thinking “oh, how crazy! the magic, the other world!”. Even if is a contemporary low fantasy, the fantastical elements are the focus (most of the time, at least, there are always exceptions).

In magical realism magic is just there. It has a relevance in the plot, character, or setting as much as cup of water, a ride on a bus, or the night. Nobody is going to stop for it nor explain it.

The story in fantasy is about, for example, about a magical girl. In magical realism is about the girl, who so happens to be magical.

ii. And one of the reasons for that it's because it's character driven.

While magical realism is not “the fantasy for literary writers” I think it has that in common with litfic: the plot can be a more... quiet one. Maybe not 100% character driven, but with a subtle plot. And if the plot is not that strong, fantasy can't shine in the plot either.

And, if there's a strong plot (let's say, action with spies or some shit) magic has nothing to do with the premise. It's not a “I'm a secret agent and I read minds but nobody can know about it”, more like an “I'm a secret agent in this Totally Normal World where sometimes someone reads a mind”.

iii. Because magical realism is not a classic genre either.

If I tell you I'm writing an epic fantasy, most people know the type of story I'm talking about. In other world, inspired by the past, high fantasy, probably with this magic journey as a plot, and with very specific clichés an archetypes as options.

We can't do that with magical realism. It's more like saying we're writing historical fiction. It's just one factor of the plot (or setting), and we can have a romance that is historical, as well as a thriller that is historical.

Magical realism is too broad to even have clichés or archetypes.

iv. And it's too vague: we're not writing hard magic systems here.

A really thin line divides magical realism with a low fantasy-soft magic system. I think there are lots of stories that fall in a awkward in-between.

Maybe the difference, really subtle, resides in magical realism “making less sense”.

This other type of fantasy usually has some kind of rules that bend a lot, or some thematic focus. While magical realism looks more like surrealism, kind of dreamlike in a sense, where different unconnected stuff can happen without any sense of logic.

This doesn't really mean it doesn't makes sense. Usually it does but in other ways, like an emotional one.

v. Not only that, but sometimes, magic is not magic.

In a fantasy, the fantastic element resides in magic itself or a concrete thing, but once again, magical realism looks like surrealism. Sometimes the magic resides in the uncanny, in a weird version of reality.

Maybe it has elements that exists but are so strange and unknown that it feels unreal. Or things that could happen but the chances are so low and the conditions so precise that it kind of doesn't make sense (like surviving with a tiguer in the ocean).

And sometimes it feels like a strech to reality: something that could happen but a little too much, like exacerbated. Think about the gothic subgenre, or these post on Tumblr listing a specific setting + gothic. I remember one about university, telling for example, that the answer is always communism, in any class even math, or that time doesn't pass. Is interesting and funny because is somehow relatable, it feels like that even if we know that's not realistic.

vi. And sometimes the magic is ambiguous.

A lot of the times we have explicit magic or magical elements... but we can't be sure if they are really an out of (our) world thing or it has a logical explanation.

For example, ghosts are super common in magical realism... but also in real life. Most of us probably know somebody who has a experience with a ghost (some of us ourselves), or know some legend about spirits in our place.

So, if a character sees a ghost in magical realism, we, as readers, have to ask ourselves: is this character really seeing a ghost or it's just imagining it? 

Same if we have a witch who hex someone and then bad things happens to that person. Or tarot cards telling that something is going to happen and then it does... All that can happen in reality, and it can be real magic or just coincidences.

vii. Related to that, this ambiguity exists because a lot of the time the magic is based in real beliefs and lore.

Let me put it in other words to get across the point:

vii. Magical realism doesn't has to be in Latin America to work, but it needs to have a heavy setting and folklore.

Just as in gothic literature, setting is just another character, and is super common to base the magic in the folklore of that specific setting... and that usually creates this ambiguity.

In fantasy there's a lot of focus on being original, but magical realism (usually) is very traditional. We work with what we already have in our settings.

And this also means... sometimes... magical realism and reality has more in common that one would think.

For example, Border is a Swedish movie with trolls... this only works in Sweden (or near it) because it's part of their stories. In Latin America it would be too alien for us. But, for example, Argentina has a lot of lore with duendes (like elves or gnomes).

viii. Finally, magical realism is not an escapism.

People usually thinks about fantasy as escapism. While I think is incorrect, sometimes it is like that... Even if not, the fantasy part is super romantic and we want to be in that world.

In magical realism not so much. It has a love-hate for life and reality. It's not bad but it has a comment to make about it. Magic is beautiful but mundane, life is cruel and romantic, all bittersweet.

And yes, usually, in Latin America, that means talking about colonialism and poverty.

If any of you want to add something, don't doubt it!