#In Which a Demon King Does Not Have a Romantic Interest in His Human Gardener | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chubbyheadquarters · 2 years ago

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Can I have a Request about Monkey King Reborn Wukong x Tall Female Demon reader, she's gentle, soft-spoken and kind demon. She met the crew during a heavy rain, she invited them in but of course because she's a demon they can't trust her. But she explained she's not interested eating the monk so they accepted the invitation but the disciples keeping eye on her just to make sure. Sooner or later they'll get her trust, especially the monkey king himself 😏

Genre: Romantic

Pronouns: Female

TW/CW: None

Character(s): Sun Wukong

You happened to hear them yelling about the sudden change in weather and seeing them trying to find shelter. So, being the kind demon you were, you called out to them and offered them a place in your home. They decide to take it, but are very wary of you, other than Tang Sanzang, who's thankful. You allow them to stay however long they need to, since your home has plenty of room along with the rain seeking to stay for a while. The monk accepts, much to the displeasure of Sun Wukong.

While Zhu Bajie's already fawning over you and Sha Wujing trusts the monk judgement, this grumpy monkey is the only one with common sense to be wary. He's shown to be the most cautious, so of course, he's gonna keep a close eye on you. While picking rooms and clothes for them, he's checking for anything dangerous, but finds nothing so far.

During lunch, he notices that you've got plenty of food that specifically pertains to them and Tang Sanzang, so he questions you. You explain that there's been a lot of monks and non-meat eaters heading your way, so you had other food in advance. Wukong not so subtly asks about the Golden Cicada, but you tell them that you're not into fighting or immortality, but instead, wished to live a nice, tranquil life.

Of course, Monkey King SLOWLY warms up to you. He's had demons go so far just to be able to trick them and kidnap their master, so he'll be extra guarded! Until he sees that...not once have you taken the time to get Tang Sanzang alone or spin a 'woe is me' tale to make them feel bad for you. You're just vibing and doing your own thing, tending to your little fruit and veggie garden, doing your own hobbies, helping the others out when they need it.

Your "disgustingly" as Monkey King would put it kind personality helps your case. Not once has he seen you blow up at anyone, and you always speak in such a calm and soft manner. Always willing to lend a hand and help someone out. Even to him, the being who didn't trust you- It was a weird feeling to him. Your kindness being directed towards him made him feel...warm.

And it isn't until after his initial weariness that he notices how tall you are. Like, yeah, demons are usually taller than humans, but you're...really tall. No wonder the roof seemed higher than usual. And because of the house structure, people usually ask you to get something from a higher shelf, which you're happy to help with. Zhu Bajie does it the most, and it urks the monkey more than he'd like it to.

Seeing that, Wukong finally accepts that, okay, you're not a bad demon, and watching you take care of him and the others has you falling in his good graces. You complimenting his skills also boosts his ego, much to the chagrin to Zhu Bajie, and then they're both showing off. Off course, Tang Sanzang apologizes, but you're happy to have them around.

Let's say that another demon ends up staying at your home, and finds out about Tang Sanzang. They're quick to devise a plan and ambush the monk, but you're there to rescue him, and boy do you look pissed. You've got your hand around their neck, staring them down before telling them to "Get out of my house." And Wukong's just kinda like- 👁👄👁 That was kinda hot-

You're apologizing over and over to the monk, becoming soft spoken and shy once again, but he's quick to accept your apology. Sha Wujing is quick to ask about your switch, and you simply state that "I said I didn't WANT to fight, but I never said I didn't know HOW to. I just don't like using violence, especially when it unnecessary." You've officially won the monk over. Finally! Someone who understands that violence isn't everything!

Wukong, on the other hand, wants to see more. He's prodding for you to train with him, and after a little while, you give in. It's a daily thing becomes something he looks forward to. Sometimes it turns into rants on how annoying Zhu Bajie can be and how he has to carry the whole team, with you giving him pieces of advice.

He'll start following you around-Heck! He'll even help you out, but it's mainly so you can compliment him. Of course, Zhu Bajie notices and teases the poor monkey about how soft he's gone. He's going to deny it each and everytime, making excuses that you we're bored without him or that you NEEDED his help. It causes so many fights between the two.

He'll start to wonder how you'll react when they leave. Will you be sad? Will you cry? Will you be sad for everyone leaving? Or will those tears be just for him? He's not really sure how you feel about him, but he's sure you're smitten with him. What, with the way you look at him and blush in his presence-

And he's absolutely right! A lot of people would be mad at him for interrogating them, but you knew he was just trying to protect the monk. And he started becoming nicer to you, helping you out, even talking to you for long periods of time! His attractive voice and quick touches has you melting each and every time.

You become upset, knowing that he'll have to leave as soon as the rain let's up. You wished that you could go and run off with him, but you had to stay take care of your home. Of course, the others were nice company too! But Wukong was different... You both spent the most time together, getting to know one another... Even so, you had to send them off with a smile! No tears when they leave!

So when the rain stops and allows them the chance to continue their journey, you expect a simple goodbye. But Wukong comes up to you and states that he's gonna come back for you, so you'll have to be here when he arrives. You're shocked, but welcome his words with happy tears. "Just be sure to come back safe and sound. That's all I ask." And with that promise, he goes off, hoping to finish the journey quicker so he can come back and see you.

Sorry for any spelling/grammar errors!

#chubby reader #x chubby reader #sun wukong x chubby reader #sun wukong x reader #wukong x chubby reader #wukong x reader #monkey king reborn x reader #monkey king reborn

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2-bdamned · 3 years ago

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in regards to the aoex pride post i made last month, here are my personal headcanons as to why i think those are their sexuality’s! ( also thank you to @johnannepeterric for asking about this as i’ve been waiting to share these for a hot minute!!)

rin:

sexuality + gender identity:gay and trans(ftm)

reason: i don’t think he exactly cares for the concept of gender and sexuality but just thinks people should be allowed to like and be whoever they want. he knew he was in the wrong body since he was a little kid but never knew how to phrase it till later on in life. as for on screen reasons, he tends to cover up quite a bit before and after becoming a demon as well as tending to wear baggy clothes to hid his form. not to mention he has very poor posture which most transmasc people (myself included) tend to do when we can’t bind or don’t feel masculine enough. and i think he’s gay mostly due to the fact that he’s never really shown to have any friendships outside of the exwires and tends to get his platonic and romantic affections mixed up quite a bit (as to explain why i still headcanon this after the manga and his confirmed feelings towards shiemi)

yukio:

sexuality: bisexual

reasoning: he seems to show and equal amount of emotions to his colleagues and to the exwires and im like 90% sure he doesn’t really talk about romantic through the manga/anime at all. i think he’s always known he’s liked both genders since he was young. shiro seems like he was very accepting and i honestly think he would’ve helped both the boys with their sexuality’s and gender since he didn’t get the freedom to express that stuff when he was younger due to you know ‼️‼️(SPOILERS) ‼️‼️ literally being a clone made in a lab. yukio seems the type to not really care about gender when it comes to romance and instead look for traits like personality and motivations. his friendships are most based on him genuinely liking the person rather than keeping up with his appearance as someone who’s quite popular. this could possibly lead to the same being transferred over to his romantic bonds.

shiemi:

sexuality: lesbian

reason: like rin, she tends to get romantic and platonic affection mixed up from not having friends till high school. there’s a bit in the manga where izumo brings over some romance novels to try and help shiemi out with figuring out her feelings. we all know most romance novels don’t exactly have the best explanation for feeling so i think that’s where shiemi got mixed up. she gets her admiration for rin mixed up with romantic feelings when in reality, she’s not into him. we can also use the garden scene from kyoto arc as some reasoning to this headcanon. izumo called shiemi a weed and she surprisingly takes this “insult” very well and even thanks izumo for the interaction. even later in kyoto saga, we see shiemi use even more of her power to save izumo from the miasma. she clearly cared a lot about izumo and basically wore herself down to the the brink of exhaustion trying to dave izumo herself when she could have easily run and got help from another exorcist. sheimi seems to care deeply about her friends but shows more concern to izumo than any other exwire (minus rin and yukio).

shima: ‼️‼️ HIS WHOLE HEADCANON REVOLVES AROUND MANGA SPOILERS SO THATS A HEADS UP‼️‼️

sexuality: gay

since he found out about izumo from the illuminati, he never really had a “crush” on her per say, but showed an unromantic interest in her due to her past and just wanted to know more about her. since he had kinzou around him as a kid, i think that played a huge part in him hiding that he was gay (just bc kinzou is a huge perv and probably pushed some of that onto him). that could also lead to the reasoning as to why he’s so pushy with izumo. he’s trying to convince himself he liked women by trying his hardest to like izumo. the kinzou thing is the only thing really leading to me believing this but an alternative reason could also be a fear of changing his personality this late on when both suguro and koneko have known him to be a certain way since he was young. he’s shown to have this perverted personality since he was quite young and it’s even mentioned in an extra concerning why suguro and koneko use his last name and not his first. these two factors lead me to believe his attraction to izumo and subsequently, his attraction to women, is just a lie he’s putting on.

koneko:

sexuality + gender identity: pansexual and genderfluid

reason: koneko is shown to have a deep love and care for the people around him and i think that not only applies to him with friendship, but with romance as well. like yukio, he tends not to focus on the gender of the person perusing him, but rather their intention, personally, and motivations. he wants to know if his partner is a good person rather than their gender. gender wise, i just don’t think he cares. it’s not explicitly shown but it can be heavily implied when he talks to rin about why he has a hard time trusting him after the “son of satan “ reveil happens. for gender identity, i think i as a kid, he was commonly referred to by most pronouns since he wasn’t exactly the most “boy looking” when he was young. later on he learned he didn’t exactly mind what gender people perceived him as but rather how they perceived him as a person. there’s no canon information for the genderfluid headcanon but again, these are my personal headcanon, they don’t exactly have to make sense.

suguro:

sexuality + gender identity: gay and trans (ftm)

reason: this one is mostly me projecting onto this man so if it doesn’t exactly make sense, y’all know why! but he’s shown to be quite affectionate to rin in both the manga and the anime. he doesn’t really tend to do that too much to other people, especially the women that are around him. he probably has some sort of crush on rin or at least some form of admiration to him. as for his gender identity, this is literally just me projecting. that’s it. but i think he does show some signs that i tend to show as a trans person ( the one example i can name off the top of my head is that he seems pretty insecure when shima and koneko brought up his body before he started working out and hates mentions of his body in general ). like rin, he tends to have very poor posture and also doesn’t wear form fitting clothes and this is especially prominent in official art.

izumo:

sexuality: lesbian

reason: she has a very deep relationship with paku and shiemi after the events of the manga take place. she never shows this same connection with any one else throughout the series. she gets severely worried once paku leave cram school and is shown to be quite empty after this happens. ‼️‼️SPOILERS‼️‼️ the same thing happens once shiemi leaves cram school as well and is taken by her family to go train. she seems to be deeply affected by these two events and even goes as far as to show the others her concerns after the thing with shiemi happens. after she ‼️SPOILERS‼️ gets kidnapped by the illuminati and winds up the the hospital, shimei is the first person she lets see her true emotions and feelings and doesn’t once make a comment on her being some kind of hindrance. we also see her show quite a bit of empathy towards shiemi when in kyoto. there’s a scene where they two are gardening and she calls shiemi a weed. she’s very much plays into a tsudere type roll in the beginning but this seems more like a backhanded compliment rather than trying to be a jerk to her. both of the girls receive this interaction in a positive way. we also can use the scene where shiemi saves izumo as a reason for this as well. izumo shows a genuine concern for shiemi both during and after her being stuck in the miasma. even when they go to the hot springs, she seems to have this perpetual blush while looking at shiemi. these all lead me to think she has some sort of feelings toward both paku and shiemi, leading me to headcanon her as a lesbian.

shura:

sexuality: lesbian

she was basically born just so she could produce a child to fuel some demons deep desires. her unhealthy attachment to shiro can be explained by this. i think this is the case for all the “attraction” she showed towards him as a young girl. all her life she’s been told she has to have kids with a man and that’s was her purpose for a long time. thus why i think she’s a lesbian. she never shows any real attraction to a man throughout the entire series besides the man who saved her as a child. she never talks about men till after her character arc in the manga and even then, it seems she just wants to live the rest of her life differently than before and doesn’t exactly seem too enthusiastic about finding a husband as it’s never mentioned again after that point. she really only seems to show an “attraction” to men when it’s useful to her. she uses her looks and charm to get what she wants when it comes to men. she has this facade she puts on where she acts innocent and cute and uses her looks to her advantage. she never truly shows an actual attraction to a man.

mephisto:

sexuality + gender identity: gay and genderfluid

reason: i don’t think any of the demon kings are cis. like not even remotely. they all have to take on different forms and have taken on many in the past. as long as it’s a body, they’re basically fine with whatever. mephs past forms are never shown but we can assume he’s taken on many different body’s in the past as well. after all this body hopping and the fact that gender is literally a thing made up by humans, i don’t think meph really cares about the forms he takes and how his gender is perceived. he knows he’s a powerful demon and could easily destroy the knights of the true cross if he wanted too so gender is the last thing he really cares about. as for sexuality, nothing on screen really points to anything but he tends to show more affection to the men on screen than the women. in fact, the only women we see him really interact with (that i can remember) is shura and we all know how they feel about each other. even though those two both “flirt” with one another, these seem to be more so parts of their personality’s rather than them both having an interest in each other. his “flirting” with shura seems to be more taunting her and displaying his absolute discard for human problems.

amaimon:

gender identity: agender

reason: just like meph, amimon had possessed(?) many different forms over the course of their existence. we even see him take on a rather feminine presenting form when they were destroying the earth. but unlike meph, he is less fluid in terms of gender and instead, prefers to not identify with one. she does use all pronouns and doesn’t exactly care on that front but i think there’s certain terms and compliments they don’t exactly like. meph does use gendered terms with amimon, but these two seem to be very close and have probably communicated this before as well. like koneko being genderfluid, there’s no definitive evidence to support this claim other than these are my own headcanons and i can do what i want.

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kryptsune · 4 years ago

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Souly Damned Saturdays!~

🌼 Hello everyone! Welcome to another SD Saturday! Today is going to be another character profile, a timeline, and some info on one of the stories within the world! As always if you are interested in my original work please reach out! I love answering questions about all this work. Let’s get into it!

~Prince Profile:~

True Name: Saketh Alias Names: Costello Nicknames: N/A (he usually rarely even uses his true name as he prefers Costello far more) Soul Flower Type: Rose in Full bloom Color Type: Fire Gold mix with Burnt edges Infernal Hierarchy: Crowned Prince of Lust Age Order: 2nd Oldest Familiar Form: (Raven) - A large black feathered bird with eyes and talons of golden fire. True Form Appearance Description: ~Skeletal in appearance ~Prominent fangs (spiked teeth in true form) ~White horns similar to an antelope (more twisted) ~Fingers with black clawed tips ~Golden eyes ~Pointed gold tongue ~ Stereotypical spaded tail with a black to white gradient ~ Two sets of wings ~White to black gradient and edged with blue fire ~When in enraged they are fully engulfed in blue fire

Human Form Physical Description: ~Hair Color: warm tone Platinum Blonde ~Hair Style: Short, falls to ears, whip dip ~Glasses or Contacts: From time to time, more Rectangular frames ~Eye Color: Fire Gold ~Skin Tone: Pale ~Contract symbol mark placement: His left side, junction between neck and shoulder. ~Height -- 6’3”

Special Abilities or Powers --

~Mind reading ~Can pull out deepest desire ~Dream walking ~Veritas (forces those under his influence to tell the truth) ~Trust (will gain the trust of those touched) ~Mental Suggestion ~Lust Touch ~Levitation ~Teleportation ~Fire/Dark element ~Conjuration (more below cut!)

~SD Q AND A (These are all questions from you! Specifically those in my server):~

1. What was Costello like before he became an infernal?

💛 Costello used to be a Celestial of love just like Val. If you split love into two separate entities it would be the passionate romantic side and the side that is all about protection and devotion. These types also reflect in both Costello’s and Val’s Infernal sides. Costello is more about seduction and Val is about possession and obsession. As brothers they tend to work together in their celestial sides. When they fell they split a bit.

2. When he isn't busy what does he do in his spare time?

💛 Oh thats easy! During his time in the Mortal Realm he spent a fair amount of time in the 1920′s era. It is where his style comes from mainly and why the Lust kingdom appears to have that kind of influence within it. He used to be a charismatic bartender during prohibition and that has kind of stuck with him. He enjoys crafting new drinks both for mortals and Infernals (since they can’t get drunk off regular alcohol). He is also an avid reader.

3. What kind of stuff does he read?

💛 Hilariously he enjoys supernatural romance novels because they fascinate him. Why would mortals be interested in a being that could literally end their life easily? As one such being he finds it both amusing and curious. He also reading them to see what mortals are uh... "into". Other than that he likes reading anything supernatural/gothic fantasy based for “research”.

4. Does Costello share the same view on humans as Val?

💛 Val and he at one point help similar enjoyments fo mortal kind. They found that they were were entertaining and rather sweet to observe when falling in love. When they fell all they saw was darkness not just from mortals but also themselves. How lust overwhelms your thoughts and drives you to commit certain acts. Their opinions grew apart when Val was corrupted by their father, Darrius. They only were both brought back due to their brother Nas and the mortal they meet later in time, Evelyn Rodgers. Their nickname for her is Starlight.

5. Does Costello like animals?

💛 Yes he does! He has a specific affinity for the raven.

6. Does Costello have a favorite drink? Alcoholic and non alcoholic.

💛 He enjoys most drinks but specifically a Galaxy Cocktail but with an Infernal twist. When it comes to non-alcoholic I would say that he is more of a coffee connoisseur so things like Mocha. He enjoys sweet things but not to the level that Val does. (btw that cocktail looks like this)

7. Would Costello be willing to befriend humans?

💛 Before the fall, absolutely but after the Fall and before Eve? No. Humans are just tools for his amusement and entertainment. I should mention that Costello while his father is in power goes off the rails... and is extraordinarily dangerous only when Nas pulls him back from that does he mellow out. During the 1920's he still has a superiority mindset and a master of emotional manipulation. He is however far...FAR more mellowed out at this time which is why he humors Eve the first time they meet.

8. What are Costello’s responsibilities in his kingdom? 💛 It really depends on when in the timeline you are asking about. If we're talking before Nas ascends to the throne of the realm? Then Costello's duties were much less. He assisted Nas who was High Prince of Lust at the time. He studied and learned, ready to take over for Nas if the other needed to leave or otherwise. Now that he is High Prince himself? His duties include the hefty amounts of paperwork ensuring every soul is accounted for. New souls that hold purity to fall under Nas' new ruling, getting where they need to go if they landed in his kingdom. He also handles some punishments for the wicked. He has to run the entirety of Lust kingdom. Valentine... yanno... somewhere... X’D (trust me he probably isn’t the best one to ask)

~Souly Damned Timeline~

Creation of the Realms: The Celestial, Infernal, and First Mortal Realm come into being. The Infernal realm is closed off leaving the Celestials to guide and shape humanity. There are intermittent wars with the Infernal beasts and Imps when they manage to break their gates. The garden of Paradise was also created at this time which houses those most loyal to their “gods”. It is also a fact that the Celestial blooded creatures were created at this time (unicorns are a good example, light fantasy creatures). They were placed in the Garden.

The Celestial Civil War: Darrius and his sons rebel against the ways of the Silver City only to be stricken to the Infernal Realm. After this event the gates to the Celestial Realm are shut and mortals are forced to fend for themselves.

The Rise of the 12 Princes: The now fallen Celestials begin to corrupt the souls of the mortals present being known as the Seven Deadly Sins. The mortals are easily swayed by their new rulers dubbing them King and Princes. Each one with its own people and territory to preside over. In this time the Princes begin to succumb more deeply to their darker sides, now shunning their once Celestial blood.

Blood Moon: A period of time in between the rule of the Princes in the First Mortal Realm where 4 Princes began to experiment cruelly with their own corrupted blood and the mortal soul. The Infernal blooded hybrids come from this part of the timeline such as vampires, werewolves, and the fae.

The Vinculum Infernalis (Witches/Warlocks): With the Celestials gone the mortals were now forced to fend for themselves. In desperation they plead with their Fallen overlords to aid them. A blood binding contract was struck between them giving them magical abilities and a new tie to the Infernal Realm. This was also the creation of the first covens.

Maintaining the Balance (Hunters): Enraged by the tilt of the balance of the universe in Infernal favor the Celestials decide to form a similar bond with mortals creating the first Celestial blooded humans. They would eventually be called the Hunters as their “divine” task was to eradicate the First Mortal Realm of the Infernal Blooded abominations now that the Princes favored the newly created realm.

Long Live the King no more: After millenia of creating havoc and bloodshed without consequences the Princes begin to doubt the leadership of their father. They have slowly changed their mindsets about mortals all together after so much time. Instead of destroying everything in sight and soaking the earth with blood they begin to have an attachment. Their fathers' ways are despotic so in response to this Nasaros, the eldest, usurps his throne. A second war is waged between those of Infernal and Celestial blood turning the First Mortal Realm into an almost apocalyptic wasteland filled to the brim with monsters and ruins. The Princes lose the war doing substantial damage to the Celestial Realm. It was no longer habitable and so a new balanced realm was created for the mortals to live in peace without fear of Celestial driven war or demonic influences.

The Locking of the Gates: The gates of the three Realms are shut and locked in the beginning of the birth of the New Mortal Realm. The Princes are forced to make a new Kingdom within the Infernal Realm to which they have been banished. This forms “Hell” in which the decisions of a mortal's life determine where they go. If they revel in the original 7 sins then they are placed in the kingdom in which they over indulged in. The silver City was once again open to those of virtue but only after death. With no direct interference from either side the humans evolved and advanced on their own. This is what we know as the world today while the First Mortal Realm was now labeled as an in between realm. One that would eventually be called Purgatory, the realm of beasts, monsters, and the supernatural.

Bloodswap: A story set after the time frame of Blood Moon and the creation of the Hunters. It is about 2 brothers that become infected with a vampiric blood that is now turning their town to shambles. The gates have been sealed and those forced to live in Purgatory struggling to survive. The mortals have progressed slowly despite being an older realm. They are currently in what we would consider the middle ages with the help of Celestial technology. Once the gates are unsealed for the New Mortal Realm a new world order begins to form. (Crimson would be proud of his new vampiric race that has slowly taken over Purgatory, now more civilized as the rulers).

The New Mortal Realm and Purgatory: Purgatory remains in ruins though there are mortals that live in this apocalyptic wasteland of a world. That also includes monsters and hunters. Over the Centuries cracks within this forgotten realm have released some of its inhabitants into the New Mortal Realm (NMR). The original bloodline of the first covens also were able to make it into this new world fleeing from Purgatory with the help of their Infernal masters. The Mortal Realm is now in the modern day where many of the Infernal or Celestial blooded mortals or beasts hide in plain sight. Even some of the most vicious have adapted to this new apparently “magic-less” world.

Note: The gates are no longer locked indefinitely for either of the two main realms; this is why demons are able to make contracts with foolish mortals. The Celestials have been forbidden from interfering for fear of repeating the past but that does not mean that they do not do so. It is rumored that around the world are organizations created to combat in secret those Infernal blooded that lurk in the dark. Meanwhile the covens are more focused on their own material pursuits having been persecuted for centuries (Salem Witch Trials as an example).

Ossibus Inferni (1920’s; NMR):

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Main Plot Synopsis: During the era of the 1920’s a young lady named Evelyn Rodgers finds herself thrown into a Hellish Civil War. She is a small PI (Private Investigator) hurting for cash and jobs in a place wrought with problems. In an effort to make a better name for herself she begins to investigate the rise of crime and strange occurrences happening in her city. There are suspicious disappearances, missing persons reports, and extra violence that couldn’t be missed by human eyes, right? It just does not seem to add up. Determined and with nothing to lose she is able to put together a series of connections by using some none to savory contacts.

She finds out that the potential epicenter of these events are tied to owners of one of the swankiest and popular clubs in town. It is suspected that it is a speakeasy but that is not what has drawn her attention. It would appear that the family running the place have been a mystery to nearly everyone even though they have been around longer than they can recall. No one knows what the owners look like due to usually having their signature fedoras on. Ones that she can place all around the city through various photographs. It could be anyone, right?

Regardless of the information that she has collected she decides to go undercover to the club, Ossibus Ignem (Fire and Bone), in order to confirm her suspicions. She decides that auditioning for one of their most prized gigs is a good way to get into their inner circle and perhaps get a glimpse of her potential employers. Eve wants the truth and nothing but the truth though this plan is incredibly risky. Even if the brothers, as she finds out later, are not the cause of these events they could still be nefarious. No one likes a spy, especially one that’s gained their trust.

As she enters she realizes that it is packed like the rumors have told her. She does not get out much due to her job but she is dressed to the 9s in a beautiful dress of the time ready to put her plan into effect. Instead of waiting around she heads to the bar where she is spotted by the seemingly charismatic bartender which she manages to strike up a conversation with. She tries to pick his brain over a drink that he generously slides her way. It would seem that the establishment is already breaking the laws of Prohibition. That much is already confirmed.

He seems like the friendly sort, platinum blonde hair and a dazzling smile. Eve being a PI calls into question how perfect he actually looks but puts the thought off. She could have sworn his eyes were far more vibrant than what was humanly possible too. When she glances at him again however they appear to be a light brown instead. Things are already strange as she continues to speak with him only to find out that he is in fact one of the brothers that work at the club. It turns out to be a family business. He introduces himself as Costello -.

Eventually their conversation is cut short by Costello taking her to the back of the house where presumably his brother is waiting for her to do her little gig. She paces back and forth nervously in her dressing room only to not watch where she is going, running into a tall individual. His pinstripe suit, fedora, and bright red tie cause her to pause only to be greeted with a shiny golden toothed smile. The strange thing about it is that it is shaped into a fang/ canine tooth. It is a little off putting but the stranger introduces himself as the younger brother of the group, Valentine -.

This is someone that she had no doubt is in all the photographs that she had collected. Ultimately he seems nice enough telling her that if she needs anything to let him know and to take her time with her audition. He does appear to have a mischievous flirty side to him especially with her which she tries to distance herself from. He does not make that easy as she can tell he has already taken a special interest in her.

She performs and it would seem that she has a pretty singing voice that leaves the entire crowd roaring in applause. This obviously catches the eyes of the brothers and she gets the gig. Other than a few of the accidental slip ups the boys seem fine with her being around them. She doesn’t pose any threat. After all, she is only human.

Eve begins to enjoy her undercover position but finds herself slipping further and further away from her original objective. The - family puts her up in the loft above the club and treats her well. She learns more about them and more about the family itself. They are pretty open with what they do not even hiding the crime lord status that they are under. Being associated with the brothers is dangerous and therefore they want to make sure she understands what it means to be under the name of -.

She is surprised by their honesty and immediately they gain her trust and vice versa. That is until she realizes why she is there in the first place. After one of her performances she manages to get into Valentine’s room, snooping around. Only to find something she wasn’t expecting of a bunch of crime mafiosos. Instead she finds arcane symbols, tomes, and various other occult items that would lead her to the conclusion that they are in fact dealing with something far beyond the mortal realm. At least that is what she thinks.

The concern only grows when she finds a secret room with even more devilish items. One such item is a series of documents showing the various victims she had been investigating. On top of that information she finds even darker dealings then she suspected and papers scrawled with a script she has never seen before. As she turns to leave the room she freezes to hear Valentine’s voice. He is none too thrilled as he interrogates her but she can’t see his face. All she can feel are skeletal like claws at her shoulders. It’s all in her head right?

When he turns her around she is faced with him looking quite human explaining to her the predicament she now finds herself in. As her confusion grows he keeps her cornered only to be given two choices. One is that she binds her soul to him in the form of a contract and the other, death. Obviously she chooses to live. After this event she is able to see the true forms of all the Infernals in the club, having a panic moment seeing them mingling so easily with unsuspecting humans. Valentine, Luciano, and Costello are the most terrifying in form as they are skeleton looking Infernals. From then on she works in the club learning more and more about their true selves.

<< PREV | FIRST | NEXT >>

#demons #Souly Damned #SD Saturdays #worldbuilding #info #askbox is open #orignal content #angels #costello #Saketh

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pirunika · 4 years ago

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Okay so....since my character is the Eve (yes THAT one) and mythologically there is a connection between Lilith and Eve..... I decided to work it into my story ~

🌟

After Adam and Eve were created and living in the Garden of Eden plenty of angels were curious — that's exactly the first time Eve meets Lucifer and his brothers and Lilith, then representing heavenly virtues. This goes on for a time and everything is peaceful. Too peaceful in fact. Eve the ever curious woman she is (she's the very first human woman after all) becomes antsy and bored of frolicking the Heaven and there comes the Demon King sensing the weakness.

The demon who refused to kneel to this new creature unlike all Celestial Realm (in fact i don't know other religions much but in Islam this is initially why Lucifer falls. He refuses to bow to mankind by God's order. So technically in heavens you're just under God and ranking above all the angels 👀 anyways) he's like... Oh so you're the Human™. Interesting. See that forbidden fruit (you know the one) eat it. And she's like....🤔...You're right I should. (okay there's more to this... Stuff Happens) and in a way he...seduces her.

They conceive Cain.

Just then Lilith wanting to see her new Human™ friend witnesses it all and is like... WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOUUUUU OH MY GOD 🤦‍♂️ when God notices what happened though she says like...yeah i told her to eat it (forbidden fruit) I was curious :/ because he™ being the cause would have them wiped from existence.

This time they get by with just getting kicked out of heaven and from memories of everyone BUT Lilith because she was a witness firsthand - onto Earth (human realm, newly created) This part is how you know. They have their first son there....

Lilith comes and goes while trying to remain unnoticed and Eve & Adam have their second child, Abel and he's the human Lilith will heal at the cost of starting a war - for Eve's sake mostly, the human woman she loves, she makes up a story about falling for her son instead.

When Abel falls ill and Eve begs Lilith to do something and heal him, she cannot refuse her and brings food from Celestial Realm to heal him... - the rest goes as you know....game canon.

The War happens. Lilith 'dies' only to born reincarnated as Eve's new (human) daughter. And here their bloodlines... join together....so does their existence in a disturbingly romantic way ~

From that point Eve (along with Adam) they just....remain, witnessing the civilization. From the start. Except they just keep being..reborn. In different places. In different looks...gender. For exactly 6 thousand years this happens, because Eve is allowed to live 6 thousand years as she was created on the 6th day. Kind of a mercy of God. Later she'll have to remain in Devildom and represent Original Sin as it's where every evil is conceived which will make her a demon stronger than Lucifer himself.

#Obey me #Obey me MC #Obey me oc #obey me lilith #Obey me lucifer #Obey me demon king #Demon king #Long post #OC: Eve #su.txt

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zarcake-writes · 4 years ago

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Love of Three - Part 2

Ok, soo this was supposed to be out a loooong time ago. But life happened and this got pushed back. Thank you to the wonderful @fatedeniedhope for commissioning me and for being so understanding.

Part 1

The invitation arrived two days ago and caused quite a stir. The deliverer was not a person but a rather stubborn crow. Or raven. You’re not entirely sure what the difference between the birds is.

When someone tried to take the invite, to see who it was addressed too, the bird began to caw and fly around in circles, just out of reach. Only when you appeared did the bird calm down. It landed and hopped towards you, letting out a low crooning noise and presenting the envelope to you. Your name was written on the front in elegant cursive.

The envelope contained an invite from Shiver to return to the King’s palace.

Which is how you found yourself in a familiar carriage entering the Pumpkin King’s realm for the second time. Anticipation, excitement, and fear bubble under your skin. Shiver made it seem like you would be visiting the palace again, but you never expected it so soon. It hasn't even been a full week since the party. Was it just going to be you alone with Shiver? No, it couldn’t be that. There must be other people there. Right?

As the carriage rattles on, you wonder if you should have declined the invite. Sure, you’ve been a few powerful fae’s plaything and pet, but those didn’t last long. But they were not as powerful as Shiver or even the King himself. Could going there be a trick? A trap? That way they could take advantage of you? Hurt you? Eat you? Or was this just an invite to a small social gathering?

You’re about the tell the driver to turn around when it comes to a stop. The door is opened, and Shiver is standing on the outside, wearing the same outfit as last time.

He bows and holds his clawed hand out for you to take. You take it and step down.

Shiver says your name. “It is so good to see you again.”

“You as well, Shiver.”

“Come, let’s go inside.”

Shiver escorts you into the palace. Through the massive front doors, then down a side hallway before the main hall, and into a small room.

The room is small and cute, yet the only people in the room are Shiver and yourself. There’s a table full of a variety of foods and drinks. The floating pumpkins from the party are here as well, but none of them have lit candles. A window takes up the majority of the far wall, giving you a wonderful view of the surrounding area and realm.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” you said.

“I’m glad you think so. I wanted to make sure you liked it. However, I do not know what food you enjoy, so I asked for a variety of things to be made for you.”

“Shiver, you didn’t have too.”

He holds up his hand and shakes his head. “Yes, I did. Now, would you like to take a seat?”

You smile and nod. Shiver pulls the seat out for you and proceeds to serve you. It throws you off because no one has ever treated you like this. Does he feel bad about what happened to you at the party? Did King tell him to do this? There’s no way a fae would ever think of treating you, a human, this way.

When you’ve eaten all you could, you turn to Shiver. He sits up and tilts his head expectantly.

“You do not eat?” you asked.

“I do, but this meal is for you.”

“What if I wanted to share with you?”

“I will need to apologize then because I will be unable too. My mask, you see.”

You narrow your eyes. “Why do you wear it?”

Shiver shrugs. “It’s because I am so handsome that women just fall at my feet, begging for my love.”

You scoff.

“It’s true!” Shiver looks around, as if to make sure the two of you are alone, then leans in close to you to whisper, “King is jealous, so he makes me wear it.”

You laugh at that. “You’re silly.”

Shiver shrugs, but you hear him let out an amused noise.

You look down at the plate then back up at him. “Shiver, why was I summoned?”

“Oh, because I wanted to see you again. I apologize, was it too soon to ask you here? King mentioned I should wait a few days longer, something about it showing restraint. But I stopped listening to him soon after. And I wanted to see you. Was I wrong?”

“No. But why do you want to see me again? Is this because of what happened at the party?”

“Partly, but I think you’re an interesting woman. I want to know more about you.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” He stands and holds a hand out for you to take. In the light of the room, his claws glint. “Will you let me learn?”

It takes you a moment to reply. Shiver is massive and intimidating. With the claws, mask, and those strange vials strapped to his chest, he looks like a spirit that would haunt a winter wonderland. But he doesn’t make you uncomfortable, you don’t fear him. It’s a shock when you realize you trust him.

Swallowing thickly, and hoping this isn’t a mistake, you take his hand and whisper, “Yes.”

“Wonderful! Come, I have something else to show you.”

Shiver escorts you out of the room, his coat billowing out behind him. His excitement is palpable and leaves you giddy. For a moment, you feel like a child again. Running through the house with a friend who is eager to show you their new toy.

Shiver brings you both to a stop in front of two tall, dark red doors. There are bronze vines and leaves embedded in the door. The flowers are made out of clear crystal that emits a soft, clear glow. It’s beautiful, you think.

“The door is nice,” Shiver begins, “But it’s not what I want to show you.”

“What else could more amazing than this? I’ve never seen crystals like that before.”

“The King got them from a friend. Her island is one of the only places these crystals form.”

“They’re beautiful.”

Shiver takes both your hands in his and turns you towards him. He’s so tall, with such massive shoulders and a broad chest, that you barely reach his shoulders. In the light from the crystals, his mask shines, and his blue coat looks brighter.

His head tilts and he let out a soft sigh. “They’re not as beautiful as you, my sweet flower.”

You smile and look down, doing your best to ignore your burning face. “I bet you say that to all the people you bring here.”

“No.” Shiver grasps your chin between his fingers and angles your head up. “I’ve never brought anyone here. And your beauty compares to no one else. Human, fae, demon, or any other creature, you outdo them all.”

The flutter in your stomach and the pounding in your chest makes you feel silly. Part of you thinks he’s lying and that he’s probably said this to every person he’s met. Yet the sincerity in his voice makes you think otherwise. But do you dare hope? Do you dare think he means what he’s saying?

You clear your throat and take a step back, ignoring the way your insides feel. “So, what’s more, amazing than this door?”

“What’s behind it. Close your eyes, my flower.”

You scoff. “You and your doors.”

Shiver laughs while you cover your eyes. The doors creak open and he guides you inside by the shoulders. You don't hear the doors shut behind you.

Shiver continues to guide you forward and finally pulls you to a stop. He stands close behind you, his body is cool and solid. His presence is comfort you have never known before.

“Ok,” he said, right beside your ear, “Open your eyes.”

You do slowly, unsure of what you’ll see. But like the night of the party, the sight takes your breath away.

You and Shiver stand in the middle of a library. It’s massive, with several levels and thousands of bookshelves that hold thousands of books. There are comfy chairs and couches scattered all over the ground floor. Several long tables, meant for research or numerous people. A grand staircase leads to the second floor. Beside the staircase is an antique-looking elevator.

Along the walls are many windows. Some are open while others are shut. The entire library is bathed in natural light. The floating pumpkins and the massive chandelier are unlit, but you assume when it's dark these are the only sources of light for the library.

“Oh wow, this is beautiful!”

“Isn’t it? I prefer the garden, but I suppose this is fine as well.”

You scoff. “Fine? Shiver this place is amazing. I’ve never seen such a library.”

Ravens were flying here and there. Some have scrolls or books clutched in their claws, clearly returning or removing books. A few of the birds were working together to lift a massive book or to find something on the shelves.

“Those birds, what are they doing?”

Shiver follows your gaze. “Ah, the King’s ravens. They spend much of their time here in the library, but they also deliver messages for him. A raven delivered the invite to you, yes?”

“Yeah, caused a commotion at the house.” A few ravens fly out of the library through one of the many opened windows, books in their claws. “Where are they going with the books?”

“The King doesn’t use the library often, so he rents his books. He has some special works hidden here that people want to read or study. So, someone will send in a request and the birds will deliver. They also pick up books when someone is ready to return it.”

“What if someone is late?”

“The birds simply take it back and they need to pay a late fee. Not many are late.”

“And if someone refuses to return the books?”

Shiver laughs. “The ravens always get the books back.”

Something about that makes your hair stand on end, but you nod and look back at the birds. One lands on the tiled floor in front of you and looks up at you. Its head is tilted to the side like it’s waiting for something from you. There’s an intelligent look in the bird’s eye that reminds you these are not normal birds.

“Shiver?”

“He wants to know if you need help finding anything.”

“Am I allowed to see the books?”

“Of course. It’s why I brought you here. What would you like to read? Something historical? Educational? A book on geography? Or perhaps,” Shiver takes a step towards you and leans down so he can whisper in your ear, “Something romantic? With a touch of erotica?”

His voice is so low and raspy, and the hands-on your waist urge you to fall against him. And you want to, gods how you want to just give in, and allow Shiver to touch you. You can imagine it, his claws trailing up your dress, cutting the delicate cloth to ribbons, and revealing your soft skin hiding beneath. You want him to pull you apart and make you into something new. But you resist and pull away, your face burning.

“C-can the bird make some suggestions?” you asked with a shaking voice.

The bird caws in reply and flies off. Shiver takes your arm and escorts you towards a nearby table. He says nothing about what he whispered in your ear, only pulls out a chair for you. He takes a seat beside you; his clawed hands rest on the dark wood. You don’t comment on what he did or whispered, just focus on calming your pounding heart and the massive library around you.

The raven makes nearly a dozen trips back to you, each time a book is carefully held in his claws. All the books vary in size and content. Some are detailed histories on entire fae families and the different courts. A few are focused on human dynasties; the rise and fall of great empires you have never heard of. But most of the books are simple stories, whether they are based on truth or simple fabrications, you don’t know. You don’t even recognize the authors.

You spend the next hour sifting through a massive book on constellations you have never seen or heard of, like the griffin and the Serpent Queen. Even the stories that surround the supposed formation of these stars are unfamiliar to you. A queen sacrificing herself for her people, then being immortalized in the stars by her lover? Tragically beautiful but so foreign.

Beside you, Shiver flips pages in another book. His chin rests on his hand, and his face is tilted down, focused entirely on the book. He was so still you thought he was asleep for a moment, but then he turns the page.

The raven lands beside you on the table and watches you. His head is tilted to the side and he lets out a low crooning noise.

“He wants to know if you have any questions?” Shiver said.

Shiver is sitting up straighter, the opened book still in front of him. His gaze, though, is on you.

“Well, I do actually. Are there more books in here about this Serpent Queen?”

The raven caws and bobs his head then turns to Shiver and lets out a croak.

“He said there is a huge section on her. Do you have anything specific in mind?” Shiver explained.

“No. Could I… I go with him to that section? And explore the books myself?”

Shiver laughs and nods. “Of course! Follow the bird. I’ll be right behind you.”

The raven takes off and guides you through the many bookcases. The first floor of the library is so massive that you worry you’ll get lost among all the books. Yet the bird doesn’t get too far ahead. Sometimes he’ll circle back for you or land and wait for you to catch up before flying away.

You keep expecting to reach the end of the library, a solid back wall, or a wall of bookshelves. But there is no end. Just bookshelves and bookshelves. And that’s only the first floor of the library, you haven’t even seen any of the other floors.

The raven leads you to an eight-foot-tall bookshelf that stands among dozens of other bookshelves. How the bird knew this was the spot, you don’t know, but you don’t question the bird. It’s perched on a shelf and caws, clearly pleased with itself.

“This is the shelf?” you asked the bird.

The raven bobs his head and caws.

“This entire shelf?”

The raven repeats the action.

“And I can look at all the book on this entire shelf?”

The raven caws then fluffs his feathers and settles on the shelf. As if he knows you’ll be here for a long while.

You begin browsing the shelf, grabbing any book that interests you. All the books are about the mysterious Serpent Queen, some talk about her life and the people she ruled. A few of the stories go into her lineage. So many theories on who her parents might have been, and how many children she may or may not have had. Others talk about her love life and the many lovers she potentially had. What interests you, though, is the lover that supposedly placed her among the stars.

As you browse the books, searching for the book to answer your questions, you hear someone clear their throat behind you. You turn, expecting to see Shiver, but drop the book you’re holding when you realize it isn’t Shiver.

Standing behind you, as intimidating and terrifying as you expected him to be, is the Pumpkin King.

He’s tall, like Shiver, but instead of wearing blue, he’s dressed all in black. His long black coat is frayed at the ends, and his pants are tight against his thighs. His chest is covered in buckles and straps, but they do nothing to hide how broad his upper body is.

However, most shocking of all is his face. He isn’t wearing a mask and a hood like Shiver. There’s just a flame where his head would be, but there is the faintest outline of a face hidden within the flame. For some reason, you expected a pumpkin head or some kind of mask.

You quickly curtsy to the King, praying you didn’t insult him by dropping his book and staring at him like a fool.

“Your Majesty, I apologize. I didn’t see you there,” you said, still not looking at him.

“There is no need to apologize. Please, you are my guest, stand.”

You do so slowly and look up at him. He steps towards you, then bends over and retrieves the book you dropped.

He studies the front cover for a moment. “The Serpent Queen. One of the most famous of all queens. Why the interest in her?”

“I-I was reading a book on constellations and she was mentioned.”

He nods then hands you the book. “Are you looking for anything in particular about her?”

“Well, I wanted to know if there was anything about her being turned into a constellation. But,” you glance up at the bookshelf, “I was struggling with finding the book.”

The King looks up at the sleeping raven. “And he was no help?”

“I didn’t ask him for help. He’s sleeping.”

King grunts. “Sleeping on the job. But, no worries, I am here, so I shall help you.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. You are a guest in my home. Let’s find what you’re looking for, yes?”

True to his word, King helps you find the books. He keeps a respectable distance between the two of you, but he’s never too far, always an arm’s length away from you. Yet, when he hands you a book, his fingers graze yours. It’s never for longer than a second, and even though he wears gloves, there an electric feeling in his touch.

He makes no comment when your fingers touch. You think the feeling might just have been in your head, and the initial touch was an accident. But the King does not adjust his hands, so every book he passes to you, his fingers bump yours.

King doesn’t speak much. He grabs the books, hands them to you, and tells you what each book is about.

“Have you read all the books in the library?” you asked.

“Most of them, yes.”

“Do you have a favorite book? Or genre?”

King stops for a moment, then turns towards you. “I do.”

“What is it? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Maybe,” he begins slowly, “I’ll show you one day.”

That confuses you. Why one day? But before you can ask him, you hear loud footsteps behind you.

“There you are,” Shiver said, as he comes around the corner of a bookshelf. He doesn’t seem all that surprised to see King with you. “Your Majesty, how are you this wonderful day?”

“Shiver,” King simply said.

“King is treating you, well, yes?” Shiver asked you.

King’s flame glows brighter as if he’s offended at Shiver’s suggestion, but King makes no verbal comment on it.

“Yes,” you said quickly. “He’s been helping me find some books.”

Shiver stands close beside you. “Ah, of course, he would. King knows every book in this library.”

“I will take my leave,” King turns to you. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my dear. You are always welcomed in my library.”

“Oh, thank you, Your Majesty.”

King nods. He turns on his heel and disappears among the bookshelves.

“Did I upset him?” you asked.

“No, my flower, you didn’t. King is just… a prickly person.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have brought me here.”

Shiver looks down at you, then takes your hand in his. The claws are still so very gentle against your skin.

“Do not take it personally, my flower. If King didn’t want you here, the ravens would not have been helping you. And he would never have shown himself to you, or even help you find the books you were looking for.”

You nod and let Shiver guide you back towards the table near the library entrance. The three books King found for you are pressed close to your chest.

Shiver pulls out your chair and takes a seat beside you.

“So,” he begins, “How was it meeting King?”

“Kind of scary at first. But he was helpful.”

“What was scary about him?”

“Well, the stories about him make him seem like he was a monster. He wasn’t though, at least not to me. Only very quiet and helpful.”

Shiver nods and leans in closer to you. “Did he mention what his favorite books are?”

“No, but I did ask. He only said maybe he’ll show me one day.”

Shiver lets out a low laugh and nods his head. “I thought he would say that.”

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s not my place to say. That’s the King’s secret to share with you. But I do think it’s funny you asked him.”

You smack Shiver’s arm. “Don’t make fun of me. Or him.”

“I apologize.”

Two hours go by, and it’s time for you to go home. Shiver, like before, escorts you to the front of King’s palace. There’s a carriage waiting for you again, with the mysterious hooded driver.

Like before, Shiver helps you up into the carriage and takes a seat beside you. You rest your head on his shoulder and breathe him in.

“I’m glad you spent the day here,” Shiver said. His voice is just above a whisper like he's worried about breaking the calm in the carriage.

“I am too. Thank you, for showing me the library.”

Shiver laughs. “You’re welcome. I hope King didn’t scare you away.”

“No, no, he didn’t. I’m glad I got to meet him. It is his home, after all.”

When the carriage arrives at your home, Shiver helps you out. And just like the first time, he walks you up to the front door.

“Thank you, for having me over,” you said.

“Thank you, for coming and accepting the invitation. I’m glad we got to spend time together.”

You look up at Shiver and smile. His head tilts to the side, and you know he’s smiling back down at you. For a moment, you want to kiss him. Even though he’s wearing a mask, and you’ve never seen his face, you don’t care. You want to kiss him, to give into whatever has been brewing between the two of you.

But you don’t. You give him one more smile and step away from him.

“Until next time, Shiver.”

“That next time will be sooner than I think you expect.”

“What do you mean?”

Shiver laughs. “Well, for one, King really took a shine to you. Expect another invite from him.”

“I barely spoke to him.”

Shiver shrugs. “So? He likes you.”

“Did he? Or is he still trying to apologize for what happened at his last party?”

“That’s part of the reason, but he also likes you.”

You give Shiver a look. “Really?”

“Yes. Here,” Shiver reaches into his coat and pulls out a book, “this is how much he likes you.”

Shiver hands you the hard-covered book. It’s beautiful. The cover is a deep wine red and covered in a gold filigree design. There is no title on the front, but when you open the book, the title is printed on the cover page: A Love Like Roses.

“What is this?” you asked Shiver.

“One of the King’s favorite books. He thought a love story might be more entertaining than a historical volume or some science book.”

“I… Can you thank him for me?”

“Of course.” Shiver takes your free hand and presses it against his mask as if he was giving you a kiss. “Until next time, my beautiful flower.”

“Goodbye, Shiver.”

He nods and walks towards the carriage. Shiver looks back when he reaches the carriage. He waves and then climbs into the carriage. You watch it roll away. Only when the carriage is gone do you enter the house, the book pressed against your chest.

#gabriel reyes x reader #reaper x reader #shiver!reaper x reader #pumpkin king!reaper x reader #oof i thought this was queued up to be posted yesterday but it apparently wasn't

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thewhirlwind · 4 years ago

Text

STRANGE OMENS — CHARACTER SUMMARIES

CHARACTERS WRITTEN / CREATED BY FORSYTHE ( @thewhirlwind ):

ANTONIO REYES— Antonio Reyes is the sheriff in Frostford’s local sheriff’s department. He’s Vothine’s half-human son, bearing four arms and a nuanced senses. He was born in 837 BC, his mother was a slave who escaped Ancient Greece with her former lover’s help, and raised him in Spain. He starts off investigating the strange cult activity that starts going on in the surrounding region. Canonically dating Ivory Wells, or at least will be.

AINSLEY LACHLAN— the son of a Russian mobster and twin brother to Renard, Ainsley Lachlan is one of the local Catholic priests, and arguably the only openly gay one in the area. He firmly believes these things aren’t mutually exclusive, but eventually he’s lead astray by Vothine, who manipulates him into thinking that releasing Epsolise will create a paradise for mankind, and the truth is, all he’s ever wanted was to help people, to make up for his father’s crimes.

RENARD LACHLAN— Ainsley’s slightly younger, twin brother, Renard is Frostford’s local neurosurgeon, sometimes moonlighting as a trauma surgeon when his schedule is open. He took an interest in neurology due to his own, rather severe dyslexia, which slowed him down in school, until Ainsley was old enough to read to him and help him learn how to read despite his disorder. Like his brother, he wants to help people, but he has no hang ups about his father’s crimes. Later, when his brother unleashes Epsolise, he becomes host to the Elder God, and it messes him up severely. His best friends are Alana Reid and Ruo Silva, and canonically he’s dating Everett Novak.

THEODORE HUDSON— Theo is the owner of Hudson Technology, better known as HudTech, a global leader in all kinds of technology and founded when Theo graduates MIT, some years back. (I haven’t decided on a year yet rip.) Best friend to Everett Novak, Theo often hires him as a freelancer to work on the coding side of his various project; together the two can accomplish nearly anything. In 2015, he was fooling around with a project trying to create a kind of artificial intelligence by combining eldritch magic with technology. In doing so, he inadvertently summoned Vothine, who killed him—brutally. Violently—and then melded with his body. This did revive Theo, albeit much, much weaker, but he was able to fight back when Vothine went after his best friend and interfere with his attacks. Eventually, Everett does manage to free him from the god’s hold, but he’s left with a great many mental and physical scars.

ALANA REID— Alana is part of Renard’s surgical team. Along with Ruo Silva, the three of them went to college together in NYC, NY, and she moved out to Frostford after Ruo told them there were job openings at the local hospital. (So did Renard.) when Ruo died, Alana may have personally beaten the shit out of her murderer and abuser. After she ressurects, Alana canonically dates Ruo. The two of them are also Renard’s best friends.

THE LOTUS TWINS—They’re also known as the twin gods of discordance. Initially born in the depths of a dying star as the singular god of balance, Asikolise, they were ripped asunder by the black hole formed in its death. With balance rent in two, they became two gods that slowly tipped the scales of the universe back and forth from one far end back to the other, over extended periods of time.

EPSOLISE— One of the two lotus twins, known for forming the garden, an Eden for eldritch horrors to feed on the living things that roamed the earth. Man, beast, whatever. When Ipsilise is bound, Epsolise walks free.

AURI’ELL OV’AGOTHA/AURI’ELL ILLI’ED— Auri’ell is thought of as two gods with incredibly similar names, the kings of the sea and of magic, it the truth is—he’s one singular entity with two titles and two domains. He was born Alain MacNamara of the coast of Ireland in 1389, to a sailor who would eventually take him to sea with him. At first, his study of eldritch magic was a passing interest with which to study marine life; but as his mind deteriorated due to the magic, he became obsessed, focusing on what was on the other side of it. Eventually, he broke through it, becoming he god of the sea and the god of magic, being the one who advanced eldritch magic the most over his life. Unstuck in time, he went back to he very beginning—and eventually, he introduces magic to the world, when mankind is old enough to understand it.

VOTHINE— the god of chaos, he’s in love with the lotus gods; all three iterations of them. From the dawn of time he’s been tipping the scales back and forth between Epsolise, and Ipsilise, hoping that one day, someone would find a way to stop them—by fusing them together into the one entity they were truly meant to be. His methods, however, are rough, due to be whole... chaos thing. People who deal with him frequently end up hurt, traumatized for life. A fine example being Theodore Hudson. Vothine is not so unlike Auri’ell, in that he was created from a man, but his wasn’t a choice. He was a slave in early Ancient Greece, experimented on by his owner until he became something more. With his new found powers, he likely slaughtered this who owned him and the one he loved, before helping her escape back to her home country, Spain. But she grew scared of him, as he grew less and less human with each passing day, until finally they—amicably—agreed to go their separate ways. He still loves her, but he understood he had a different purpose now. He, like Auri’ell, was also unstuck in time. But instead of going back to he beginning, he was drawn back to the point in which the lotus gods were created, feeling the way their power balanced out, appearing mere moments before they were torn apart.

CHARACTERS WRITTEN / CREATED BY FOA ( @ephemeraltheory & @exemplaryambiance ):

EVERETT NOVAK—Initially a gifted software engineer as well as a magic user, Everett had sworn off of using magic after he’d accidentally caused permanent nerve damage to his father’s hands when he was fourteen. His father was a woodworker and had his own business so he had to take over most of the weight of the business until he left for college. After his best friend Theo gets taken by Vothine, Everett is permanently injured by Vothine, leaving him with nerve damage in his lower back and leg. He refurbishes a library in Frostford with the goal to learn every ounce of magic that he possibly could in order to save his friend. Everett becomes a master warlock by the time the story begins and later, he canonically ends up dating Renard Lachlan.

RUO SILVA—Ruo was fourteen when she met her abuser ( emotional abuse and much later, physical abuse ), Mallory. Ever since then, Mallory has coerced Ruo into a romantic relationship and over time, she gradually isolated her from any possible friends she could have made as well as from her own parents. She convinced Ruo that their relationship would be in danger if she spoke about it to anyone. Ruo is able to escape the home she ends up sharing with her abuser to go to college to be a nurse. Here, she meets and befriends Alana and Renard, who provide a taste of what it actually feels like to be cared about, what it feels like to not always be afraid that people you love will hurt you. What it feels like to have actual friends. One night when Ruo reluctantly returns home to bathe and retrieve things she’d needed, she and Mallory get into an argument about Ruo’s consistent absence and Mallory eventually forcibly holds Ruo beneath the bath water, drowning her. Having been wearing an ancient family heirloom, a garnet necklace, after 2-3 months, Ruo is reincarnated as an Enenra, which is essentially a fire elemental / smoke demon / spirit. Her best friend is Renard Lachlan and canonically, she and Alana begin dating after she’s reincarnated.

IVORY WELLS—Ivory is the crime scene technician for Frostford’s local police department. As a child, Ivory lost a close friend Iris to a serial killer when she was about twelve. For about six years, they weren’t able to find the person responsible nor were they able to figure out what had happened to her. Around the time Ivory turned eighteen however, they’d re-opened the case due to another child’s death that had the same M.O. They used the most current technology to go over the collected evidence once more and were able to finally find the convicted murderer, which brought not only herself and Iris’s family closure and justice, but also closure and justice for the families who had lost a child to the same fate. This is what drove Ivory to become a crime scene technician, to offer that same closure to others. She has worked with Antonio Reyes for 5 years and canonically, they start dating sometime in book 1.

IPSILISE—One of the two lotus twins, she is benevolent towards humanity but has an obsessive need for control, to the point of detriment. One of her common names is CROATOAN, but she’s responsible for other missing cities; Atlantis. Sodom & Gomorrah. A handful of others we have yet to uncover. When Epsolise is bound, Ipsilise walks free.

#ephemeraltheory #exemplaryambiance #this is all of our muses and basically a summary of who's who #also just bc they have a canon ship doesn't mean i won't ship with them if you're into that #as several of mine have other ships on here already #( Strange Omens information. )

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tazzmanien · 5 years ago

Text

The Tian Guan Ci Fu (Heaven Official’s Blessing) Review

Okay I’m doing it finally. Sorry if it ended up way too long, but in my defense the novel itself was huge so…

First of all I will not be comparing this novel with any of the other MXTX novels, but I just want to tell you this is definitely my new favorite for several reasons, but mostly its love story. If you want to know more write me I will gladly talk more about this.

I read in many posts everywhere that Hualian invented love. Well you know what, there is really no lie there. Theirs is one of the most beautiful love stories out there.

So, before I go into the details, please just go and read the novel!!! NOW!

The good:

Usually I would like to say a few words about the writing style and quality, but as I’ve only read a translation of the novel I don’t think I can tell you much about it. The translation was very easy to read, so I’m guessing the novel can’t be too extravagant or bad either. BTW thank you everyone who is doing translations for FREE. You all are angels!

The novel was quite long, but the moment you step into the world you would wish it was longer. Every character has their own story and they needs time to evolve, so I really liked its length, but also not so much. Check out the bad for more information.

I liked how the story took place in three realms and different times. I know some get confused by such switches, but I tend to enjoy them very much. I think the heaven and the ghost city were so diverse, that I can’t wait to see them play out in whatever visual adaptation. I feel like this time around MXTX finally explained the actual world with more detail, which made it easier for me to imagine myself strolling through the ghost city market buying sum forbidden rubbish, or watching the moon up close while seated in a garden in heaven. I could see, smell, feel, hear and sometimes unfortunately even taste many things and that is what I think good writing should be about. The things that weren’t described in detail made it even more fun, as one could work with their own imagination (this might be a bad thing for visual adaptations, just saying). And some of you might remember I complained before that if one has no prior knowledge about the whole cultivation, eastern religion and xianxia stuff, then you might have issues reading MXTX books, well this did not change, but I guess I’m starting to appreciate it, as my own imagination created a whole new version of what this whole thing was meant to be. Still, I should have probably listed this in the bad part as well.

The main plot was very interesting and at times even slightly surprising. Mostly it was quite predictable, but I think writing does not have to invent itself every time again, but it has to give some sort of satisfaction at the end. If a story is predictable deep down to every little detail, this is not a huge issues if the story has other strengths. And this one had a nice mix of both.

It did have some parts which appalled me, but you know what, this was actually a good thing. Like I felt a lot of things, even though I really didn’t want to. The things that were disgusting, really actually disgusted me. The things that were supposed to make you angry, made me go nuts. The things that should have made you happy, made my grin like a maniac. But worst of all, were the things that existed to hurt you, they ripped out my heart and shredded it in front of me while I was still conscious. So all in all, yeah even the bad parts about the plot served a purpose. If you are good at keeping track on the main plot while diving into hundreds of subplots, then I would say it was easy to follow. I think this was okay, but the other way around (remembering the subplots) I would argue differently (more in the bad). Nevertheless, some of the subplots were so beautiful that I think they might have deserved their own novel, but isn’t that the case with all good stories?

On a side note, I don’t know if that was intended or if I just saw things that weren’t there, but was the hidden plot actually about how wrong idolizing people is and how it feels to go through post traumatic stress? I might write some more on this in a separate post, I just wanted to get it off my chest here.

Now my favorite part of any MXTX novel: the characters. Honestly, I can’t remember many stories where I loved every character. But MXTX did it again, I loved all of them, even the ones I hated. Once again the way the side characters were introduced, involved in the main story and the main guys, had their own very individual nature and lifes and fought with their own challenges was beautiful. Every character had their own aura (for the lack of a better word). Yeah I like to make fun of this but it’s true nevertheless: most of them had sad histories or were living their nightmares while the plot evolved, however, this was good as it made me appreciate the few sunreys that were able to shine through the clouds even more. As I said, I hated quite a few of them, but either they had their moment one had to love them for or they served another purpose, like propelling other characters to become what they were meant to be or drive the overall plot. And none of this felt forced. So to make it short wow!

And last but no least, the main characters and their love story.

Xie Lian, our protagonist, my angel my only god the life of my love (yeah I used this one already, sue me), is an adorkable martial arts badass/nerd with the worst luck and cooking skills and spiderman reflexes. He is a true neutral, treats everyone with the same respect, just the way a god should be. He is so genuine in every aspect of his being. He is fully aware of all his shortcomings and all the wrongs he has done, but he still hasn’t lost the good in him and the will to act righteously. He is just so so human, that each of us could learn a little from him. I mean he even warns the freaking demon king to not think too highly of him, because he might disappoint him. And what does Hua Cheng do? He calls him his hope! So XL gives the cruelest of all the demons hope. This shows how perfectly imperfect and inspirational XL is. The world does not deserve him, yet still treats him the worst it can. He lost everything, EVERYTHING! Still he somehow came out to be this beautiful being. The only consolation we get is that at least he gets to have Hua Cheng in his life.

And Hua Cheng, he is the only man out there! Towards Xie Lian he is gentle, loving, understanding, supportive, patient, strong, funny and all sorts of beautiful things. With everyone else he is everything you would expect of a demon king to be and none of it a the same time. He is unpredictable in all things that are not Xie Lian. He does so many good deeds that one would forget that he is a demon king, but he hates, is cruel, intimidating, has killed and is mischievous through and through. Even though we don’t get to see everything about him (see the bad), we know him to be the perfect grey character. Also he proves to be the realest of them all, he stands by everything he says and does and I respect that a lot. He shows his anger and love equally and acts upon both equally. And is so freaking intelligent, handsome, sensual, seductive and cute, that I am actually fearing of being in love with a fictional character. The butterflies are a nice touch btw.

Yes, you are right, we all tend to praise almost every main couple, when the love story is good, but please hear me out. Both of them individually are just perfect in their own imperfect way and together they are the definition of true love. Their first encounter was magical to say the least. Without having any prior knowledge about the overall story or how their love would come to be, I was bewitched from the first moment they both shared the “screen”. I could feel the air stilling, just so I could give my full attention to them falling in love (yeah I know one was already head over heels before that meeting, but that is beside the point). And boy, the way they were falling. It was so realistic and yet hopelessly romantic, that I will use them as the perfect example to show people what it feels like to fall and be in love.

The bad:

The length and some subplots… Yes well it was quite strenuous to follow the happenings, as every character had their own huge side story. While I loved to know every single bit of their stories, sometimes it took me a while to get back on track in the main story and many many times I totally forgot about some subplots later in the novel and was like “where is the other character now? why don’t we see them anymore?”. Despite its length, some characters stories were either only told from the view of the protagonist and lost a lot of what was going on deep down, or some characters stories had huge gaps even. Sure, it was not their story and we can be happy we even got something, but at some point I was kinda disappointed to be teased about a character and never get to find out what happened or how they felt. So I would have enjoyed an even longer book even if the one now was too long. Do you get what I mean? At the end of the day I can actually forget and forgive all except the fact that we never got to see some sides of Hua Cheng and had to read between the lines to understand his motives and feelings a little better. I need a whole book about him only to be honest.

So my next bad thing, might actually be inaccurate if I’d knew more about Hua Cheng. This part is probably highly subjective, but I feel like Hua Cheng was not demonic enough. You know, in my head I pictured him to be a real demon, including the looks and what he is doing. How else would he become a demon king? I mean the looks were pretty much on point, I just feel like all the other characters either ignored it or didn’t care and the fandom just makes him look more like a human being. And yes he treats many badly, but in my opinion not bad enough. It feels like all his good deeds got more screen time and his bad deeds were either justified by something good or not really shown.

Not sure if it was only my short attention span or if that was the case, but I felt like the living world was not described as good as the heaven and ghost city.

Conclusion:

I would recommend this novel to everyone who wants to feel love, but is not afraid to hurt a LOT. If you are searching for a story with some human or heavenly goodness, good friendships, good families, just decent people, then this is not a book for you. Xie Lian is the only exception of course and he is worth every tear you are 100% going to shed.

Just go and read the book! Please. And come back to me and talk about it with me :)

#tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #heaven officials blessing #tgcf #hob #xie lian #hua cheng #hualian

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hozukitofu · 6 years ago

Text

oh no we’re stuck

People are painfully aware of...whatever the things that their stupid genius king Hashirama is doing with the quasi-rival warlord Uchiha Madara. It’s not exactly a secret - it’s the most well-known piece of information when one steps foot onto the Senju court - and the courtesans had long ceased their incessant chatter in regards of the exact degree of canoodling the king is committing in open knowledge of everyone else in the standing court.

It’s not as if it’s a capital offence. He is the king. What are the people going to do to him? Nothing. They can’t. He makes the law - he is the law - and there are no laws that say he can’t...do whatever it is that he does with Madara.

It’s not as if there’s anything immoral between them. They’re chess partners, brothers in arms, fellows from the same and different sides of a war. It’s honourable, this type of companionship, which only becomes more honourable as the degree of devotion increases.

On a completely political viewpoint, it is encouraged that he continues this affiliation with the perpetually warmongering Uchiha clan head, to put a stop on the ongoing civil conflict that had been waging for centuries and centuries now. People are tired of being subjected to the daily sieges. The Uchiha clan aren’t all bad, but if they would just stop and take all the deep breaths in to use the available two brain cells that must be circulated somehow through all the members of that stabby clan, and think. Think long and hard about Peace is economically and politically and emotionally and all the other good virtuous things ending with -ly beneficial to the clan, so how about we consider that?

This had been a standing generational problem that induced the subsequent generational balding problem in many of the king’s counsel. All the people want the war to stop. Nobody truly hate the Uchiha for any valid reason except for the prime minister Sir Grumpy Grandfather Tobirama Senju, and even his hate is specifically targeted at Madara alone. His hate really boils down to some petty grudge from long ago or something or another. It’s not valid to everyone else. The Uchiha are nice human people who just happen to be very good at killing other human people. So are the Senju, but so far there had been only severe maiming that was the result of some moron attempting and failing to grope Touka and that had ended in absolute disaster. For the exiled man, anyways. Touka just carried on as usual.

Given all of the details, the people are fairly supportive of the king’s odd but endearing courting of the warlord general, which isn’t amounting to fruitlessness. No more random outbursts and declaration of war from the man who all is certain, had married the vice of Warfare himself, Uchiha Madara. He had started using his words - his words - and participated in inter-village negotiations. People celebrated with a lot of alcohol. They threw flower bouquets out into the street. They lit incense in thanks to the king. The fellow subjects and the king��s court fully support the inevitable union of the Senju and Uchiha clan heads.

If only Tobirama, the sole lawmaker of this village, would listen to their pleas, and allow the union date wedding to go through.

But Tobirama had been unmovable. Completely unconvinced. Cannot be reasoned with.

“Sensei,” one of his disciples, Koharu, tried once. “It’ll bring in a lot of benefits for the village.”

“I understand your concern, but my answer will remain no.”

“I think you’re just holding onto wrongful reasons to hate someone who hasn’t committed any wrong against you.”

“And I am only doing what is the best for the nation.”

“Your brother is a grown adult man, a monarch of a village. Surely he can be trusted to make his own decision,” she rolls her eyes, and leaves him be.

Oh sure, leave Hashirama to make important decisions that can impact the future of an entire village. This is the same man who wanted to erect a statue to celebrate every inch Madara’s hair gains after each solar cycle and the same man who almost fell on his sword because he tripped on wooden tiles. He cannot be trusted to even walk around unsupervised. It’s a goddamn miracle that he can run a nation and cultivate blood red roses outside of all his time wooing Madara.

Even the rose garden happens by sheer mistake on Hashirama’s end and everybody else in his extended family had to pitch in the effort of maintenance. Madara even had to tend to it, in which Hashirama is blissfully unaware of, because completing deeds for your beloved out of the altruism in your heart and liver and then not communicating that you were the culprit of those deeds being done, is apparently the trend for wooing nowadays. It’s apparently romantic, swoon-worthy, the most adorably beloved sight to craft elaborate letters over - who knows.

These lovers and their stunts. Tobirama is going bald and joining the ranks of Father’s old counselling minister in the Generational Balding Club.

And no, he doesn’t hate Madara outside of all the war crimes he committed and the body count he long exceeded in the royal archives. No, his hate is much much more realistic than being petty that this warmongering moron killed my great uncle twice removed when I was fourteen when everyone and their grandmother was in the middle of a civil war.

Tobirama’s reason for hating Madara, to the surprise of the loyal citizens, was simultaneously understandable and also ridiculous. If Tobirama even tolerated whatever cahooting business that his brother and his wild-haired demon warlord lover craft out between them, it would give rise to Hashirama’s further slacking of work. He already does the bare minimum as the king, the monarch of this entire village comprising of a lot of people already, dependent on his protection and guidance. Approving of the wedding will just give rise to Hashirama completely relinquishing his position and then Tobirama would have to take up the throne because any other option is just as bad as Hashirama, or possibly even worse. He specifically denied his participation in the ongoing game of ‘No I don’t want the crown’, because he just wants to write literary articles and nag at the brats who swarm around him to leave his side and raise them properly. He has no interest in becoming king -

“You Grace, honourable Senju -” someone from Waves flags him down from his litany of curses targeted at both Hashirama and Madara. “The proposal of free trade between our borders -”

“Will not go through the land of fire if the details of transaction are beneficial only to your nation,” he rolls his eyes. “Try harder.”

This is exactly why he wanted none of the kingly duties, honour and glory be damned. Hashirama should be doing his job, not sneaking off to plant more flowers to gift his lover and shirking his duties.

Speaking of squandering idiot kings, where is that stupid brother of his? Is he in the palace? Once Tobirama gets to him he will put so many godforsaken tangles in that stupid long mess of hair that Madara parades around in and shove Hashirama to choke in the brambles.

There is another meeting after this. Where is he?

“Aniki!”

There is a boom and a crash, and Hashirama stumbles out of his library, an event practically unheard of. Tobirama is fairly certain this one isn’t aware of what a book is, let alone to linger in places that are inherently places of habitation for books and learning.

“Aniki,” he says, in the same way someone would pronounce You worthless pile of human flesh I am going to throw you into the city’s canal.

"What did I do wrong?" Hashirama has the audacity to ask.

Tobirama feels all the blood inside of him reaching the boiling point inside a noodle soup pot.

"There was a meeting," he grits, "that you missed. Where were you?"

Hashirama blinks big guileless eyes, wide and completely convincing to anyone who hasn't put up with his bullshit for years and years and years and counting. He even chimes in, "Ototo, what meeting?"

"I'm sure you can fool anyone you wanted, including your Madara, but that ruse won't work on me, to stop that blinking, fix up your hair, and come to the east wing. The agricultural minister wants to have a talk about the farmlands up north," he stalks away.

He hears Hashirama haphazardly checking his kingly robes and heaves a sigh of relief, and really, the role of the annoying and cute younger brother is placed on Itama’s shoulder to bear, so he shouldn’t have any strings, ties or obligation to carry out his role, except -

Except that he had to sit through five meetings now because the king was absent and he’s feeling especially stabby, so he’s substituting the stabbing with being a complete little asshole.

“Aniki,” he half turns, “remember to get a different robe. Parading around in a cut sleeve won’t look too good on your reputation.”

And because this is Hashirama, someone who by all means shouldn’t have been able to grow up past the age of 4 because he’s such a dumbass down to his hair and he has no brain cell, this stupid brother of his full of nasty surprises, kicked life in the face with a roundhouse round and screamed I lived, sucker!

- it is this little rebellious streak in him that compels Hashirama to pompously declare -

“Oh this? I’m wearing it to court. See you at dinner, ototo.”

Tobirama is going to commit treason.

“I have a mind map of why aniki marrying Madara-san would benefit more than it inconveniences,” Itama ambushes him, as he does, on the scheduled Thursday where he would inevitably make his way across his troublesome cute youngest brother and suffer the full brunt of his wily persuasion.

“No,” he says.

“It even has a plan of implemented rules and prohibitions so that the Uchiha clan can settle in with our society and dump fairer workload onto aniki’s head,” and Itama is their brother, alright, he has that Senju tenacity.

“No,” he says again, but weaker.

Itama grins, bright and shark-like, with all of his teeth gleaming and sharp and white. He’s considering it, it’s not terrible, it’s not life-ending, Itama is a ruthless strategist and can sweet talk Izuna into keeping Madara in line. It’s not a completely fruitless proposal -

Except -

Wait. Hang on.

Tobirama breaks away from Itama’s presentation of Worst Case Scenario.

Oh dear gods no.

What if he gives in to the annoying bargaining that Kawarama and Itama and Touka and Kagami and Hashirama rained down onto his head - then Madara becomes King’s Regent, the true king to Hashirama’s slacking king figure.

Tobirama distinctly has a recollection of Madara delivering a speech to his clan to stop the war, at sixteen years of age. That ended rather against his favour, with a lot of fires raging across fields, Izuna and Itama bonding over how stupid Madara was. This idiot cannot be trusted to make negotiations that will sustain a village. They’ll die because of these two lovesick fools, within two weeks.

“That’s stretching too far, nii-san,” Itama points out, and leans down to open his arms to embrace two menaces that Tobirama himself permitted to frolic around in the palace. He should’ve just banned them indefinitely and exile all children to the country of rice. Life would be more bearable that way.

“Hey sensei,” Torifu waves, shyly hiding behind Homura.

“Are you bursting more veins over the emperor?” Homura asks without any preamble, which is a lot of character development, seeing how he could barely make eye contact when Tobirama and he first ran into each other. Literally.

“I am not,” he righteously denies.

Homura and Torifu share a look that might as well scream Okay so he is, but what’s new?

“We all know about the cut sleeve robe, yes, children of my brother,” Itama bends down to their kiddy ear level. “I daresay that the official union will not be long from now.”

“Don’t we have to wait for approval?” Homura points at Tobirama, dead between his eyes.

“Mitokado I am disowning you as a disciple -”

“Nah,” Itama, the one who should back him up, shrugs. “It’s coming. I can see it.”

“Please stop overreacting, sensei, it won’t be good for your blood pressure,” Torifu recommends.

“I am not overreacting,” he insists, like a liar. “I’m being realistic.”

Three pairs of eyes, the same exact look of uh huh, whatever keeps you awake at night, great minister-san echo back at him like a doomed nightmare destined to play inside his head for the next four moon cycles. He glares, hoping it is as withering as he intends, and Itama takes his brats away, waving a jaunty goodbye.

Tobirama is not overreacting.

He is not overreacting.

He repeats this as a mantra, as he treks across the pouring rain to duck under the sheltered corridor to wind back to the south wing, back through the linen supply closet, to change his soaked clothes.

There are the pitter patter of tiny brat footsteps under the pouring rain and he suppresses the absolute urge to scream.

“Sensei,” Kagami greets him under a wide umbrella, Hiruzen and Danzo huddling under its coverage.

His answering grunt is at best interpreted as a curse word.

“You just don’t want to share your brother anymore than you already are,” Kagami then has the audacity, the lungs, to call him out -

“Hear hear,” Hiruzen chimes in, because he wants to taste the sweet sweet reverie of death’s cold fingers deep in his eye socket.

“You two,” he growls, “two hundred strokes of -”

“Oh wow would you look at that, isn’t that Izuna-san? I have to go!” Kagami waves and absconds from under the umbrella, taking Danzo along with him. Hiruzen remains, clutching the umbrella tightly with his spindly spiderweb fingers.

“Sensei, I don’t think there is much to pore over or regret for anyways, as we speak. Nothing has to change, sensei. Or if it has to, it is for the best.”

He slants an eye over at the brat. “You’re a hundred years too young to be telling me vaguely moral terms on how my life should be conducted.”

“You should be a brother before a politician to your brother, the king. I’m sure he hasn’t passed down any bill legalising whatever he wants because he is waiting for your approval. Shouldn’t happiness and peace be more important than coveted and pointlessly arbitrary protection?”

Tobirama is not listening to a twelve-year-old lecturing him on how to carry out his personal duties as a person and as a lawmaking authority of this debilitating village.

“Plus,” Izuna’s voice chimes in. “Worst case scenario, we just accept that there will be an injustice incurred against his majesty in him being barred from ever uniting with his one and true love, despite multiple evidences of them consummating their devotion to each other long long ago. It would be such a shame, a public blemish upon the otherwise mostly decent Senju dynasty -”

“It’s not a dynasty yet. Aniki doesn’t have any children,” he immediately points out, missing all the points of that entire speech.

“That you know of,” Hiruzen helpfully provides.

“I’m fairly sure that is a situation applicable to many others but not the king himself. If it was possible, or permissible by nature itself, his highness would have my brother’s child. But alas, it is not so. So we don’t have to worry about dynasty by filial lineage yet. The issue at hand is that there are all the necessary preparations done to accommodate a union when it happens. The question is,” Izuna points a crooked finger dead between Tobirama’s eyes. “Are you playing nice?”

(He finds out later that Itama had orchestrated that entire thing and he isn’t too sure if that is admirable or just plain scary.

Scary. It’s definitely scary.)

“Aniki. Uchiha-san.”

“Madara is fine.”

“I’m not fine with it,” a pause, a painful pause. “I’m not fine with any of this, but my duty to you is first and foremost as your family, and I care and worry for you to the points of extremism, in which I disagree with all of this. But I am also a man of intellect and you don’t need intellect to see the sheer crime in intervening to prohibiting this union, therefore I will withdraw most complaints about the union and peace treaties between our two clans, and whatever next you choose to do, well, that is your business as a person and as king.”

“Tobirama!”

“Get off me, stupid brother! Oi, you, get him off! I don’t want to be tackled and die from a head injury!”

“Kagami, are you recording all of this?”

“Yes, King Regent uncle sir.”

“Good boy. You can set the falcons onto Izuna today.”

for @fallofield - hey creator can you disown me please and thank you i did This

#naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto founders #hashirama #madara #the collective uchiha clan #tobirama #itama #tobirama's brats (children)#imagine a shitpost but in an essay form #that's what this mess is #touka #izuna

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culturalgutter · 6 years ago

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At first it was the way the bears were stacked atop each other that appealed to me. I’d see ads for We Bare Bears while watching other shows and think, “That is adorable/charming/cute/apealing?” Their shape, the color arrangement. Just the whole stacking thing. But one weekend shortly after the 2016 election, I made myself chocolate chip pancakes and decided I’d watch an episode of this bear cartoon and see what was what. I ended up spending the day watching episode after episode of We Bare Bears. My first episode—or at least the one that I remember most clearly—was, “The Demon.” In it, Ice Bear and his friend Chloe Park face the terror of the neighbor’s little dog after Chloe accidentally loses her hoody to the fiend. It is nicely done with Chekov’s potato gun appearing in the first act appearing again in the third. It has elements that I most like about the show at its best. A reliance on character to drive the plot, conflict and action; diverse characters; a careful calculus around consequences; appropriate stakes; and, resolutions that tend toward ending in a better place than the episode began. These elements aren’t easy to pull off, especially in an eleven minute episode.

In We Bare Bears, three bear bros, Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear, live together in a cave in the woods. We Bare Bears is set in the Bay Area. A lot of cartoons and shows are set supposedly non-specific anywhere or everywhere that only make them seem even more the product a specific place, often, ironically enough, California. But We Bare Bears goes ahead and lets their place be their place and then sees what stories they can tell. You might have suspected from their names that these bears are not biologically related. The bears are a chosen family with Grizz as the oldest brother and Ice Bear as the youngest. And even though Ice Bear is, as he says, “best bear,” all the bears have their own charm. Grizz is an outgoing and enthusiastic brown bear. His wants to be cool and to have a lot of friends. Sometimes he tries too hard or is too caught up in his own enthusiasm. But he tries hard and when the bears befriend Chloe, he learns some Korean to try be a good friend and maybe to reassure her father and grandmother that being friends with bears is alright. Grizz loves 1980s and 1990s action movies and has made a couple of his own “Crowbar Jones” shorts, starring himself as Crowbar Jones and “Pando,” a comic relief sidekick clearly inspired by Panda.

Panda, aka, Pan-Pan, is as his name implies, a panda. He’s also an otaku loves anime, manga, Japanese and Korean pop music and K-dramas, though likely not Vampire Prosecutor, more say, Boys Over Flowers and those body-switching romantic dramas, like Secret Garden (2010). Panda loves the idea of being in a relationship, but it’s probably a good thing he isn’t. He has a waifu body pillow named Miki-chan. Panda is intensely involved online hoping for likes and shares and trying to meet his true love. He’s an otaku who doesn’t read or speak much Japanese or Korean. He’s allergic to everything and is vegetarian while his brothers love meat. Panda is sweet and sensitive but also capable of becoming resentful to the point of supervillainy.

Ice Bear always refers to himself as “Ice Bear,” except that one time he was conked on his noggin and started wearing a man-bun and hanging out with tech bros. His room is the bears’ refrigerator, where he knits and watches figure skating. Ice Bear was nonverbal as a cub and his affect does not necessarily reflect what he is feeling on the inside. Ice Bear comes across as neurodivergent and probably on the autism spectrum.

Ice Bear is clearly the coolest and arguably as he claims, “best bear.” He has what Grizz and Napoleon Dynamite would call, “skillz.” He speaks Russian, Korean, Pigeon and, I expect, many more languages. He likes axes, throwing stars, martial arts, salsa dancing, cooking, knitting and making robots. Ice Bear also has a secret life his brothers don’t know about. One revealed particularly in two episodes that are We Bare Bears influenced by Drive (2011), general Nicolas Winding Refn-ness and by John Wick, “Icy Nights” and “Icy Nights II.”* The song playing when Ice Bear enters the city in “Icy Nights” recalls “Nightcall” from the Drive soundtrack.

Grizz befriends Wyatt the biker at a gas station in the desert.

The bears make friends, though. They befriend Chloe Park, a 12-year-old Korean-American child protege who comes to study them for a college biology course. Chloe is stressed and lonely being the only tween in university. And they are also friends with Ranger Tabes, who reminds me of Rosie the camp director from Lumberjanes. Tabes out for their part of the forest. And they are friends with Charlie, a bigfoot voiced by Jason Lee, so I always kind of think he’s Earl from My Name Is Earl. Charlie also hosts the Halloween episodes, each a little horror anthology. (One with a fantastic take on Scooby-Doo).

We Bare Bears has some superficial similarities with Polar Bear Cafe, which also features a polar/ice bear, panda and grizzly bear–as well as a llama, sloth and penguin. Polar Bear Cafe‘s Panda is obsessed with being cute. Like Ice Bear, Polar Bear is responsible and can drive a car. I enjoy his attempts to teach Penguin to drive.

“Ice Bear is responsible.”

There is a grizzly bear who gets most of his clothes from the Harley-Davidson store. But Polar Bear runs a cafe. There are a lot of puns. And the show skews towards a younger audience. That said, I think We Bare Bears make a little nod to Polar Bear Cafe with the “Coffee Cave” episode, in which the bears turn their cave into a cafe. Ice Bear becomes a barrista to facilitate Grizz hanging with cool people and Panda tries to make time with a woman he thinks is cute.

I enjoy We Bare Bears‘ references to film, tv, games, comics and cartoons and even Walt Whitman. When the bears work “shushing the unshushable” in an Oakland cineplex, there are a slew of film references that would warm the heart of the most cantankerous cinephile. In another episode, the bears recall films like Phase IV (1974) and Empire of the Ants (1977) as they obey the wishes of a queen bee.

The bears listening to the queen.

Ranger Tabes in peril!

Panda is pursued by a virtual reality Doof Warrior from Mad Max: Fury Road (2015). And there’s a bit from the beginning of Quincy Jones’ Ironside theme in “Bear Cleanse” when someone is secretly eating cake. It might’ve been taken from Kill Bill (2003) or from Lo Lieh dangerous fists in King Boxer/ Five Fingers of Death (1972). Grizz knows it from Kill Bill, but Ice Bear definitely recognizes it from King Boxer. I like that the creators are using art that they like. And art that I like, too.

While the structure is episodic, there is no total reset at the end of every episode. “Icy Nights,” for example, uses a number of elements from earlier episodes—Ice Bear’s modified roomba, for example. And human characters who are almost doppelgangers of the bears, Tom, Isaac and Griff, appear first in “Panda’s friend” and then in two more episodes, “Bro Brawl” and “The Mall.”

The show alternates between episodes featuring the bears in their presumably current adult forms with ones about the bears as cubs. If you must have origin stories, the baby bear episodes provide them and do a pretty good job. The baby bear episodes also do a good job of capturing a kids point-of-view. In general, I prefer the adult episodes, but that might be because I am an adult. As always, I don’t begrudge kids’ interests being put before my own in cartoons meant for kids. I do, however, very much enjoy “Los Escandalosos,” in which the baby bears become a tag team in a kids’ lucha libre league in Mexico. There are some sweet luchador names in that episode and mariachis sing a ballad about los Escandalosos. Incidentally, “Escandalosos” is also the Spanish name for the show. I appreciate the pun making the title, “Scandal Bears.” It only took me two days catch it, but I did.

I also appreciate that We Bare Bears rarely translates the Spanish, Korean or Russian in the show. The writers relies on us to understand generally what is going on and not freak out when we don’t understand specifically what is said. There are times when we don’t understand something and that’s okay. I particularly appreciate that while we learn why Ice Bear knows Russian, we don’t see when Ice Bear went from non-verbal to verbal. Neurodiversity isn’t exactly the same kind of plot point as that time a Russian man in the arctic took in Ice Bear. At the same time, if the writers did decide to show the first time Ice Bear spoke, I trust them to do right by him and neurodivergent folk.

The bears are trying to participate in the human world and figure out how they fit into it. They not like they other animals anymore, but that’s okay. Though it might negatively impact their health as they prefer to eat, say, pizza bagels over bamboo and seals. And they’re not quite like humans cause they’re still bears, and that should be okay, but it’s not always.

Panda being hassled by the Man.

Daniel Chong talked a bit about how one of the things he was thinking of when creating this show was the ways that this experience paralleled being a minority in America and particularly, racism in America. Sometimes people react negatively to the bears and it’s just those people’s thing, not the bears, though it is particularly distressing to Grizz.**

I mentioned before that I appreciate that whatever shenanigans the bears or a single bears cause or are involved in have appropriately calculated stakes and consequences–and not just in the sense that a cartoon meant for all ages should probably not have a lot of gruesome death in it. The person most responsible for shenanigating takes most of the damage and uninvolved people or innocent people caught up in it are not as subject to the shenanigans.*** And that’s a relief to me. It’s not a cartoon that relies on either the pleasure of someone finally getting what they deserve–one day that Roadrunner will get his/her due!–or on the shock of, say, Ren’s cruelty to Stimpy, Jerry’s cruelty to Tom the Cat or Woody Woodpecker’s flat-out sociopathy.

Sweet jean jacket.

When the bears dig a cool jean jacket with a tiger on the back out of a dumpster, they get a run of good luck. The luck is low level, but the bears are ecstatic. Ice Bear says, “This is the best thing to happen to Ice Bear” and they all agree. Panda finds money in the pocket. Grizz gets three high fives in a row. Ice Bear finds coupons for salsa dancing lessons.

The rain stops. Streetlights go their way. Pizza bagels are on sale. A cash opens up at the grocery store and they are first in line. But when the jacket’s curse is revealed, it operates on the same level. They each want the jacket for themselves and end up fighting. Joss Whedon’s We Bare Bears would straight up have killed one of them, but instead Panda accidentally punches his own face.

They realize, ‘We’re not wearing this jacket. This jacket is wearing us. We have to get rid of it.” The temptations the jacket uses to try to get them to take it back are things like pizza mistakenly delivered to their house. All of which are stakes and consequences appropriate to the situation. We Bare Bears is about critters and people mostly trying their best and screwing up sometimes. It is a pretty gentle cartoon, though there are both shenanigans and hijinx. It seems to me that in its own way going the chill and gentle route can be more avant-garde than another manic cartoon.

*I see a little Tokyo Drifter in the part where Ice Bear is silhouetted in red, too.

**There is a thing here where I talk a bit about the Prime Directive and the ways that it is kind of butts, but we have bears to discuss.

***This is a more complicated calculation when Panda goes bad in “Braces.”

~~~

Carol Borden isn’t going to lie. She kind of covets that jean jacket.

Ice Bear is Best Bear At first it was the way the bears were stacked atop each other that appealed to me.

#2010s #animals #animation #Bay Area #bears #California #cartoons #Daniel Chong #Oakland #race #racism #San Francisco #USA #We Bare Bears

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fictionerd · 7 years ago

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Good to see you, friends! So this week’s episode opens exactly where the last one ended, and we get an extension on the conversation. Tsutsui makes the same arguments for his case I did last week. Namely that he’s socially inept and it’s hard for him to understand a problem if people don’t give him something other than inference to go on. Iroha, of course, is having none of it and tells him to just “think about it normally”. Let me take an aside here.

Iroha, you’re off base. This is the man who, when you told him you found men baking attractive, picked up a cookbook and learned to make sweets for you. WHEN YOU WERE ALREADY DATING! Dude went out and learned a skillset (Admittedly one that’s not hard to pick up if you learn how to follow recipes) for no other reason than he thought it’d make you happy. Give him something to run with and he will make your wildest dreams come true.

Tsutsui, While I AM defending you. I must say that you have seen far and away enough cheesy romance in anime that you should be able to pick up the cues here. I get that anime isn’t meant to be reflective of actual social interactions, and that usually you don’t want to pattern your behavior in these situations based on scenes from anime.In this ONE instance, however we have a textbook fucking scenario. You’re failing to reciprocate,dude! She keeps telling you she loves you. You feel too inferior to reply in kind. FIX THAT! (Yeah, I realized in the week+ since I watched the last episode that’s what she meant so my bad there).

So moving into the episode proper: Tsutsui meets back up with Ayado in the garden. (Does she actually attend classes or is she just always there?) They exchange awkward small talk based upon their final encounter from last episode, and before Tsutsui can take off to bury his head up his own ass she hands him a massive sack of potatoes. He takes the tubers then returns to tormenting his tortured psyche.

He’s really hung up on this whole “Iroha is mad at me and I can’t figure out why” thing. Then he has an epiphany. If there’s no way I can figure this out on my own then maybe I can get some help from a friend and so turns to Ito. However, Ito informs him that he has other things to do and says that Tsutsui and Iroha should just have lunch together on their own being apparently oblivious to how their relationship is going. When Tsutsui discovers that Ito’s been spending time with a cat instead of him he jumps to the conclusion that Ito has somehow snapped due to loneliness and makes an ass of himself.

When Ito calls him out for his insensitive, self-centered behavior it shatters him and he has to spend some time later that night having a flashback to come to a realization about what to do.

He remembers the halcyon days of his Chuunibyo when he was a back-corner loner who constantly had earphones in listening to, no doubt, the choicest of epic soundtracks in preparation for the day he was finally crowned the King of all Demon hosts.

Turns out that back then he was even MORE of an antisocial jerkbucket, by which I mean he was a jerkbucket intentionally rather than the unintentional jerkbucketry we’ve been treated to this episode. At first he slapped away any attempt at friendship because “Anyone who’s interested in you is doing it out of some desire to fix you and not out of genuine kindness. I’m just waiting for the day you assholes all sprout angelic wings and halos and attempt to Save my soul by beating me senseless with divine armaments so I can finally unleash the hellfire within me to burn away all the haters!”

Later on we see that in spite of his stand-offish attitude he has this thing about repaying debts and so in return for Ito finding his headphones he actually shows up to a task he was assigned to do anyway. (Granted it was sort of forced on him). It’s here that he gets a real look at what the other guys in class think of Ito which naturally is something along the lines of “Ito’s a good dog. Show him a little kindness and he’ll be blindly loyal to you forever!” Naturally Tsutsui’s response is to say, “Well, how about it? Wanna ditch the heavenly host and come reign in hell with me!?”

Okay… I may be taking the Chuunibyo jokes too far particularly since it’s only based on a single comment by Ito at the end of the flashback. What really happens is that they walk home together because it’s raining and Ito offers to share his umbrella. They have a talk about how the rest of the class is using Ito as an excuse not to do homework and he’s just going along with it because he doesn’t want to be hated by everyone. Tsutsui tells him, “I don’t think you’ll die or anything if people hate you.”

This sage wisdom effects Ito in some profound manner so the next time the class bully is bugging Tsutsui and takes it into his head to destroy private property Ito actually stands up for him and gets beat up for his trouble. He then tells Tsutsui that it was because an issue of Animeid is worth 800 yen and when Tsutsui is shocked and asks how he knows Ito replies with. “You’re not the only Chuunibyo here.” Thus the source of my humor for this section was established.

Ito tells Tsutsui that he decided to give up on a lot of things and that wasn’t honest. He says he’ll make it up to him by hanging out with him from now on. Huh? Am I missing something here? The only person Ito has to make anything up to is himself. Oh whatever just roll with it.

Having remembered all of this in the time it took him to peel and apparently mash the potatoes Tsutsui decides that he doesn’t believe his Chuuni self. If Ito hates him he really will die.

Wow… Way to out-edge yourself there, Tsutsui.

I partially kid. I know what that feeling is like. When you feel like your only friends must hate your guts it can make you feel like you’ve got no reason to keep on going. So really while I mock that attitude I also understand it.

Tsutsui takes potato dumplings to school the next day by way of apology to Ito for failing to see beyond his own emotional needs and the two reconcile. You’d think this would trigger an epiphany in Tsutsui as to why Iroha’s been so angry, but NOPE! He rides a wave of momentum to her classroom and chickens out at the last second only to later look up her address and just show up on her doorstep like a stalker. Which he thankfully lampshades. Iroha noticed him standing forbodingly outside her house and asks what he wants and he offers her peace-offering dumplings as well.

[sighs] Do I have to cover this? It feels like it’s a farce and resolves absolutely nothing. Okay, FINE! You’re right it’s in the charter and this is already super late.

Okay, he says he wants to apologize, but he can’t really do that if he doesn’t know what’s wrong then tries to peace out. She responds with…

Anyway she invites him up to her room. He takes the opportunity to… Lay his head on her bed and smell it? Is that a thing? I just… Don’t get it. Does he not clean his sheets very often? Is that what that’s about? Whatever… Let’s get to the meat of this bit.

He’s apparently super scandalized when he realizes she wears low-necklines and short skirts at home. Dude, just how distrusting of humanity are you? [remembers his chuunibyo jokes from earlier] Right, fair enough. Dude’s sheltered as all hell moving on.

Iroha tells him the reason she was mad is because she felt he didn’t trust her. Like no matter how many times she told him she loved him, he never seemed to believe she meant it. He responds that he can’t help but believe her it’s just the circumstances he can’t believe. They kiss he mentally stammers in disbelief about his situation. They engage in possibly the least intimate looking hug I’ve ever seen…

Then he snaps at the mere thought of being sexually attracted to someone. I’m not kidding. He thinks ‘ I can’t’ seemingly topples to a compromising position and then flips out and runs the hell away apologizing profusely and berates himself for being “dangerous” because he was sexually attracted to this girl who he is romantically attracted to and whom he is FUCKING DATING!

The next day when they meet at the shoe lockers in the morning he runs away AGAIN saying “Don’t come near me for the time being”

After said massive freakouts, Tsutsui somehow thinks it’s a good idea to bring dumplings to Ayado. All I have to say is: “Don’t do this! Please for the love of all that is holy, don’t do this! I see what you’re trying to do. She’s going to have followed him or otherwise be looking on and get the wrong idea. Don’t you DO IT!”

GOD DAMMIT!

Okay… First some positive. I was wrong about my assumptions as to where this would go last week and for that I apologize. It seems they weren’t planning to sacrifice Iroha’s character to the great god known only as “plot”. On to the bad parts though.

Iroha is projecting like hell onto Tsutsui. She talks a big deal about how she doesn’t feel like he trusts her, and then the next day when he makes an admittedly bone-headed move she automatically assumes the worst. Or at least that’s how they seem to be painting it and if there’s one thing I hate it’s over-reactionary romantic syndrome. Fortunately we have the terrible judge of character Ishino to act as our litmus test and go forth on a tirade FOR Iroha. Hopefully when she goes on the warpath Iroha will twig to the line of logic established about Ishino being a terrible judge of character and realize that maybe she ought to ASK what the situation was between Tsutsui and Ayado.

Of course I can’t just let that be all I say on the matter because Iroha isn’t the only one being an idiot here. Tsutsui… Why are you being this way? Why are you terrified of the thought that you could be sexual attracted to this lady whom you are also romantically attracted to? I mean maybe the argument could be made that he’s asexual, but that doesn’t seem to be the case and this is Japan we’re talking about here. (Though admittedly if that does turn out to be the case and they manage to sort through that I’d be super impressed.)

I mean Ito does appear to be a feline other-kin and potentially a cat-whisperer so maybe that’s the direction they’ll go, I’m just not in the habit of hearing hooves in Central Park and assuming Zebra. Unless it’s for comedic effect of course.

[Sighs] Maybe I’m just not empathetic enough. I need to take a break. What do I have to do next for catchup duty.

[whispering off “screen”]

Butlers x Battlers!? I need a drink >: { Until next post, keep talking fiction, friends! I’ll see you soon.

#Anime #3D Kanojo Real Girl #3D Kanojo #Episode 6 #Fictionerd #Let's Talk Anime

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reviewsthatburn · 1 year ago

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*I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

This is a delightful, sex-positive story with a (probably autistic) aro/ace demon king protagonist who is convinced that since he's never had a crush before he can't possibly have one now. It's the first of several volumes, telling a mostly-complete story of the demon king finding the gardener and getting him set up officially to continue what he'd been doing in secret. It revolves around the demon king's daily activities and conversations as he handles the logistics necessary to integrate a human into a brand-new position.

Full Review at Link

#BookReviews #Fantasy #Highly Recommended #Romance #aurora lee thornton #demon king #demon king's gardener

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caveartfair · 7 years ago

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Why Bosch Is Used to Describe Everything from High Fashion to Heavy Metal

The Garden of Earthly Delights, 1490-1500. Hieronymus Bosch Museo del Prado, Madrid

Search for a word in English that simultaneously means chaotic, hellish, and surreal, and you’ll likely come up short. It’s a shame: Difficult morning commutes, unpleasant crowds, and the contemporary political landscape could all use such an easy descriptor. In order to convey that very particular form of pandemonium, many writers over the past few years have ended up invoking the name of Hieronymus Bosch, the Netherlandish painter responsible for The Garden of Earthly Delights (1490–1500).

Journalists and critics are using the term “Bosch-like” or “Boschian” to describe printed menswear; Darren Aronofsky’s film Mother!; the Trump presidency; a fictional milieu; a Chinese animated film; an album cover; and Jacolby Satterwhite’s current exhibition at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise.

In a New York Times book review of Caitlin Macy’s novel Mrs., Alex Kuczynski writes: “No less horrifying are the rites surrounding entry into some of New York’s most exclusive private schools, a Boschian dreamscape of social posturing in which mothers judge one another by their coiffures, their chauffeured Escalades and their husbands’ net worth.” Here, the overextended adjective becomes approximately synonymous with “nightmarish.”

And “Boschian” transcends supposed divisions between high and low culture—it can be used to refer to both Manhattan’s feuding elites and to heavy metal music. A 2016 overview of Slayer’s 1986 record Reign of Blood describes the album as “bleak, relentless and inhuman, a Hieronymus Bosch painting brought to life for 28 writhing, screaming minutes. It sounded like nothing that had come before.” Here the writer highlights both the visceral anguish evident in Bosch’s work (which might have a sword slicing a man’s head off here, animals eating from another’s bloody stomach there) and its radical ingenuity.

James Jean, mother!, 2017. Courtesy of the artist

Slayer, Reign In Blood, 1968. Courtesy of HERFitz PR.

While these examples suggest an agreed-upon understanding of the artist and his oeuvre, perceptions of Bosch and his work’s meaning have dramatically shifted over the past five centuries.

Hieronymus Bosch was born in the Netherlands around 1450 to a family of painters. Integrated into both religious and society life, he was a member of the Brotherhood of our Ladyship (a Catholic confraternity) and gained favor with court patrons. The Bosch Research and Conservation Project has attributed dozens of paintings and drawings to him, but The Garden of Earthly Delights triptych is his best-known masterpiece. Running from left to right, the panels depict Heaven, Earth, and Hell. In Heaven, God stands between Adam and Eve, while animals roam in their bucolic, idyllic setting. Earth resembles a proto-“Where’s Waldo,” crowded with humans dancing, swimming, riding animals both real and mythic, and suggestively cavorting (all the people throughout the painting are nude). Giant fish swim in the sky and lie on the grass while characters do handstands on the ground and atop giant, colorful orbs.

It’s really the Hell panel, however, that made Bosch’s reputation. Here, a massive knife blade protrudes from between two massive ears. A pig in a nun’s habit attempts to kiss a man’s cheek, while another man’s hollow body cavity merges with a tree. A bird-like creature appears to swallow a human whole, while crowds of naked bodies disappear into an ominous, red pool. The vision is dark, absurd, and violent.

Dr. Nils Büttner, author of Hieronymus Bosch: Visions and Nightmares, tells Artsy that the artist created the “prototype of everything we understand as Hell.” According to Büttner, “Other people came up with images of Hell, but nothing so fantastic.” Bosch’s Hell is so scary, he explains, because it’s filled with things we know, horrors to which we can relate: a burning house, a knife, insects.

Jacolby Satterwhite, Blessed Avenue, 2018. ©Jacolby Satterwhite, 2018. Photo by Lance Brewer. Courtesy the artist and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome.

Joseph Koerner, author of Bosch and Bruegel: From Enemy Painting to Everyday Life, echoes the sentiment. Bosch “seems to be expert at representing demons and various diabolical and questionable beings, creatures, phantoms,” he tells Artsy. Koerner suggests that Bosch’s style derived in part from illuminated manuscripts, though its origins remain mysterious.

The artist inspired generations of imitators who latched onto his hybrid figures, depictions of evil, and dream landscapes. Pieter Bruegel the Elder was the most revered of the group, pushing the aesthetic toward funnier, more worldly representations. “Instead of having, say, a Hell scene occupied by devils,” says Koerner, “you have a similar kind of composition—except it’s a scene of a village with children playing games. The weirdness of Bosch becomes the weirdness of human experience.”

After Bruegel and his followers, history temporarily forgot about Bosch as attention turned to new artists and methods (though Koerner suggests that Spanish Romantic painter Francisco de Goya may have been familiar with Bosch’s work, using it to inform his own haunting scenes).

According to Büttner, proselytizers promoted Bosch as an anti-sex advocate in the decades following his 1516 death. King Philip II of Spain was a fan of the artist, despite the era’s widespread suspicion of painting’s immorality. Spanish theologian José de Sigüenza justified the ruler’s interest by highlighting Bosch’s depiction of a madroño, which is similar to a strawberry, but more bitter. Sigüenza advocated a specific symbolism for the fruit, one that turned the Garden’s message into a morality tale. In a 2014 article, Büttner describes how the madroño (which appears in the central panel) “tastes shallow and does not live up to the promise made by its luscious exterior.” The figures in the central panel are lascivious and indulgent; the third panel shows the bitter price they’d pay for that behavior. Bosch’s work, in that case, was meant to ward against lust in addition to vanity, avarice, and all sin. For years, the painting was called “El Madroño,” along with other nicknames: “The Variety of the World” or “The Vanity of the World,” according to Koerner. No one knows its original title.

Triptych of the Temptation of Saint Anthony, 1506. Hieronymus Bosch "Bosch. The 5th Centenary Exhibition" at Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

In the 19th century, the developing field of art history started to investigate northern European art anew. “This taste for northern things means scholarship about the northern artists grows,” explains Koerner, “and when Bosch’s work gets shown, he’s this outlandish master within the Netherlandish tradition.” During this period, scholars gave the work its final title: The Garden of Earthly Delights.

Koerner believes that Sigüenza used the painting to criticize pleasure more broadly. “I see it as a trap,” he says. Viewers became confused, wondering whether the behaviors in the central panel were supposed to be good or bad. He describes it as both “an allegory of human nature” and a kind of “practical joke” that the work’s original owners, the Burgundian aristocracy, played on guests. They used Bosch’s painting to make their visitors uncomfortable and expose the visitors’ perversity (a very non-Emily-Post-approved hosting tactic).

This wasn’t uncharacteristically sadistic behavior for the time. Koerner compares the brutal humor of the early Renaissance period (beating the blind, throwing drunk people in a bed together) to the YouTube video in which Donald Trump shaves wrestling promoter Vince McMahon’s head. “That’s the kind of cruel entertainment which we still have in us,” he says. “But now most of us are pretty careful about keeping humor and cruelty separate.”

During the 20th century, Bosch’s legacy was rewritten once again, when writer André Breton dubbed him an early forerunner of Surrealism. But Breton neglected the 16th-century painting’s religious and didactic significance; for the figures in this 20th-century movement, the work’s strangeness was its primary allure. According to the BBC, Salvador Dalí was a particular fan, modeling a face-like rock formation in The Great Masturbator (1929) after a shape in The Garden of Earthly Delights. If Sigüenza had cast Bosch as a moralizing buzzkill, the Surrealists made him cool again.

Christ In Limbo, about 1575. Hieronymus Bosch Indianapolis Museum of Art

We’ll likely never have a definitive grasp of Bosch’s own influences and intentions, but contemporary scholars have offered some psychedelic explanations. Some have even suggested that a substance similar to LSD could have catalyzed the Boschian vision. In a 1984 essay, Laurinda Dixon suggested that Bosch suffered from hallucinations caused by St. Anthony’s Fire, a disease caused by consuming the parasitic ergot fungus sometimes found on rye (in the 1930s, scientists would use the fungus to synthesize LSD for the first time). Victims commonly prayed to Saint Anthony, who was reputed to suffer his own wild visions, a symptom of his long struggle with the Devil. Bosch’s Temptation of St. Anthony triptych (1500–10) features a raging fire in the background of the second panel, which scholars believe references St. Anthony’s Fire. In the middle panel, a severed leg extends from a wheel, and one man looks as though he’s lost his own leg. Amputations were a common attempt to cure the disease.

We may never know whether Bosch was a religious moralist, a provocateur, or the sufferer of organic hallucinations. Yet writers are taking increasing liberties with his name, using it to critique such diverse cultural productions as animations at a Father John Misty concert or an opera about a 17th-century German Jesuit scholar.Widespread usage obscures the precise meaning of “Boschian” beyond simply “nightmarish.” The horrors in Bosch’s paintings have become so well-known that you can even buy figurines of his characters on Amazon. The artist’s visual language has inextricably entered pop culture and the contemporary lexicon, even if those who reference it don’t always know the full story. Pretty soon, “Boschian” will need its own Merriam-Webster entry.

from Artsy News

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