#Scheherazade holder

[zerozeroren]

Officially the most niche piece of art I've ever posted.

A promotional image for this fic (no I'm not the author) and a tribute to Generally Pooky and Krimsonrogue who gifted me and a dear friend of mine with many a happy hour of bad book bashing.

[personalityisnice]

Here’s a thought after last night’s episode:

Tim and Scheherazade both have their own books that can absorb stories. One is based on the tales of Mother Goose, the other 1001 Nights.

Now, going off of this, a new possibility has been presented to us. That like these two, there are multiple book holders existing throughout this multiverse, each representing an anthology of stories.  We’ve gotten hints of Aesop’s fables, and if the girl Cinderella told Roz about was the Little Mermaid and the kingdom attacking Greenleigh was that of the Snow Queen, we might have a book holder for Hans Christian Anderson’s stories. 

Moving on from this, we’ve got one very big, obvious candidate for a book keeper: the Brothers Grimm. Not just because they’re one of the biggest players in terms of compiling fairy tales in contemporary western memory, but Roz, Ylfa, Gerard and PiB all come from Grimm fairytales, so it stands to reason there’s a book for them. This might even be why Goose’s book ate up other characters that touched it but not any of the PC’s; it wasn’t their book. 

And as cool as that idea might be, that’s where things get ominous.

Because if Tim has reason to think he needs to be going around absorbing people into his book, then it stands to reason that the Brothers or whoever is holding the Brothers’ book is going to think the same thing about theirs. And who’s in their book? Why, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, the Frog Prince, and Puss in Boots. 

This might even be why the fairies are so mad to keep their stories on track; they know that if the narrative veers too far from what it’s 'supposed' to be, the Brothers will come along and preserve the story in their book in order to ‘fix’ it. The fairies might view the results of what they’re doing as the lesser of two evils. And no matter how justified the Princesses’ anger and resentment might be, if they don’t know about the Brothers, they don’t know that their crusade could draw their attention and make the Princesses the targets of their editing.

I don’t know where that leaves Pinocchio if all of this is true, but here’s an interesting tidbit: Pinocchio’s story, like Goose and Grimm and 1001 Nights, is an anthology. It was written serially in installments before it was eventually all put together in one book about the titular little wooden boy. So...in theory, he might have his own book as well, which might explain why he caught the Stepmother’s attention.

Addendum: Charles Perault is credited for Histoires ou contes du temps passé, avec des moralités or Contes de ma mère l'Oye (Stories or Tales from Past Times, with Morals or Mother Goose Tales) which was published in the 1600s. Grimm’s Fairytales was published in the 1800s, and many of the tales found in the former would find their way into the latter. So the question becomes: will both be included in this story, given the overlap? Perhaps they won’t.

But if they are, how would that work out? Can a story and the characters thereof belong to more than one book? If not, why do they belong to the book that they do? 

It’s going to be fun to find out. 

[an-aura-about-you]

cracking open a room temperature one (Handbook for Mortals chapter 1) with the boys

when we last left our hero, Scheherazade, who insists on having a nickname that doesn't sound like her name, had just left home after some vague thing her mother did. it's implied that she used magic to keep her stuck in her one horse town, but it's never outright stated and I doubt it will be at this point. it's wild because it honestly doesn't take much for me to side with a kid against their parent in a fictional argument, but you're giving me nothing to work with so I don't honestly know if Dela even did anything that bad.

also I'm upset that Dad is apparently on just the right wavelength to hear the name Zade and guess that it was similar to Scheherazade. but maybe that's one of those parent things like when good ol' Strong Bad told us that a garage sale is more like a garbage sale and made them rhyme. so congrats, you have reached your target audience of nearly 70 year old dads who do things like doing a little dance when they try on a comfy pair of shorts at the store.

anyway, on to Chapter 1: The Magician

-Zade is doing her audition in front of the entire theater company of nearly 200 people. this is ridiculous both in real life and in the story. like isn't that equal to about 2/3rds of the population of the town where she just left? why waste their time when you probably only need to audition in front of like 3-4 people?

-I don't know why Sarem feels the need to explain what show blacks are. I'd be surprised if someone reading this book hasn't seen a piece of media that shows the backstage crew all in black. I guess it kind of works because she takes the time to talk about how she thinks dudes in show blacks are sexy? but like, we know that black clothes are sexy. that's why the concept of the Little Black Dress exists.

-"Most of the performers looked bored." which means you're really making a great first impression. her audition hasn't started yet, but she's already getting off on the wrong foot with her potential coworkers by dragging them to see this when it's clear they'd rather be somewhere else, like getting ready for their next show since a number of them are in full costume.

-the boss of this thing is the "infamous" Charles Spellman, which means it's time to get into word choice! this isn't exactly a wrong word to use here, but I think it has different connotations than what Sarem was going for in this scene. it's kind of like when I watched like half of the opera Doctor Atomic and a song chose to use the word "odor" when talking about a pleasant smell. it's my understanding it was based on a real poem, but odor typically DOESN'T convey a pleasant smell, and I probably would have chosen "scent" or "aroma" instead had it been me. likewise, unless we're talking about Spellman's penchant to date girls his daughter's age, then there's not really anything infamous about him.

-speaking of, we've got a dude named Spellman and his daughter isn't named Sabrina, but it occurred to me tonight that it WOULD have been hella cool and still a subtle reference to Sabrina the Teenage Witch had she been named Zelda. I might just pretend we're reading about Zelda Holder for the rest of this book.

-in the very next paragraph after calling him infamous we're told Spellman is well respected. so which is it?

-the theater is in the round with stadium seating. (she doesn't say stadium seating, she spends like half a page describing stadium seating instead of just calling it stadium seating.) we're keeping this detail in mind for whinging purposes later.

-ok, Zade is talking about how she doesn't know much about her father during the book's introduction to Spellman. HOW was him being her father supposed to be a twist?? there's a difference between planting clues to your twist and just spelling it out for the reader. but then, considering Sarem has been spelling everything else out, I'm surprised I'm not seeing dashes between the letters.

-this girl on Spellman's arm, Sofia, is the Designated Mean Girl, and I'm gonna take a moment to do what Sarem SHOULD have done and think about her like she's a person for a second.

Because here's the thing about writing, guys:

Your characters are not people; they are tools.

Your characters are most successful when they APPEAR to be people instead of tools.

All of the characters you write are you. Yes, you. Not just your designated self-insert. ALL of them. Even the characters that might be based on someone else since they're still going through the filter of your perception of them.

so let's take a look at Sofia with some information that we're going to learn about her later. we know almost immediately in the book that she's Spellman's girlfriend. (she's about to tell it to Zade "coldly and mean even") and if you know how this book ends, she and Spellman will be broken up sometime before the ending because *spoilers* Spellman is gonna marry (possibly remarry?) Zade's mother Dela. this means their relationship is possibly on the rocks at this point. we're also going to learn smartphones exist in this world. considering Sarem's lack of creativity thus far, I wouldn't be surprised if that includes Facebook and thus has info on Spellman's past hookups. also, when Spellman talks to Zade, he doesn't mention being pleased to meet her or anything. he already knows her, and she knew enough to set up this weird ass audition with him.

if I were Sofia, I would be thinking one of three things:

I would think this girl wants my spot considering my boyfriend is respected as a magician but otherwise "infamous" so it's likely known he likes them young.

I would (incorrectly) assume this is Dela and/or another ex and that Spellman is going to leave me for her.

I would (correctly) assume this is Spellman's daughter and she's about to give me shit for banging her dad.

also, there's a scene later in the book when Sofia talks about paying her dues to be in the show. if she and Spellman are close to splitsville, then her illusion is in the show by merit of her actual talent. even if I was banging the boss, I'd be pissed if his kid showed up expecting a position out of pure nepotism when I had rightfully earned my spot initially. all things considered, I would probably be kind of cold in my greeting to her, too, especially since Zade straight up forgets about Sofia by the end of the page. if Zade can't be bothered with Sofia, why should Sofia bother with her?

-Zade is all self-conscious about everybody sizing her up before her audition but like. what do you think happens at an audition? they are literally here to judge you???

-let's just pause the book for several paragraphs while we introduce you to every fucking person who works in this show. because that's a worthwhile use of pages and ink.

-I know from later information that the dude Zeb who's looking at Zade like he's not happy she's here also knows real actual magic. and like, yeah, I'd be pissed off if I had a magic show in Vegas and worked very hard to conceal my true magic ability while still making it work in the show only for this rando from bumfuck, nowhere to come along and just blatantly do magic in front of fucking everyone in the company.

-this probably would have been a good setup if Zade was supposed to be unlikable but I honestly don't think Sarem would have the ability to write an intentionally unlikable protagonist if she wanted to. and considering she literally confirmed Zade is her self-insert mary sue, I doubt she's supposed to be unlikable. though this also leads to the story problem a lot of mary sue stories have: if the protagonist is already perfect, then where is her character arc going to go? (the answer is nowhere.)

-"I do hope you can get this going soon; we all have other things we need to do." wow Zeb really is a magician you guys! he was able to read my mind!

-oh my god everyone is ignoring Zade. I love this.

-oh this is rich, saying the way Trig spoke to her could have sounded very condescending, Miss "Let Me Devote Paragraphs Of This Book Explaining Show Blacks And Stadium Seating."

-Zade takes the time to tell us it bothers her when people say her name wrong like "Zaad" which just makes me wonder how the hell Sarem thinks Scheherazade is pronounced. like, after reading this I tried doing this with my own name since it could be parsed like that, going from Auralie (rhymes with bee) to Lie (rhymes with eye) and I'm just distracted by how wrong it sounds. I'm convinced that Sarem thinks (or thought, idk if she's heard anyone say the name since publishing the book) Scheherazade rhymes with jade because I can't imagine being called Scheherazade, hearing it pronounced correctly by my mother all 25ish years of my life, and then not being bothered if someone said ANY part of it wrong.

-Mac the technical director is very upset that he hasn't been able to do a safety check on Zade's setup for her trick. and yeah, bro is right. I don't care that Zade signed a waiver, this is still one hell of a liability for the entire company because we don't know if or how any of the other acts will be affected by this.

-Zeb is playing on his phone during Zade's audition. clearly he's the most relatable character in the book so far.

-Zade meets a guy that she claims is too attractive for her to date because she wants to be the prettier one in the relationship. this is the first of many of the little things Sarem will sprinkle into the narrative that indicates Zade is not interested in any actual partnerships but instead wants others the way one wants objects.

-I notice that Charles calls Zade's act a "jump" but Zade thinks of it as an "illusion." calling it a jump is the more fitting description. what she does is she uses her Actual Real Magic to turn the stage into some kinda fiery transportation liquid for her to dive into only to reemerge from the nearby pool. she throws a rose down as proof that the stage is solid, but I mean. anyone who comes to see this trick will go, "Oh! There must be some hidden pool for her to dive into and the rose landed on the only solid bit!" like, I used to really REALLY like magic shows as a kid, and if you watch them long enough, you start picking up on some of the sleight of hand they use, start noticing some of the things they do to try drawing your attention away from the mechanics of the trick. the trick as presented is only truly impressive because of its high dive nature even with the magic.

-wow, Zade even points out that a regular audience would think "trapdoor," meaning once again that the magic part of this is pointless since the high dive is the only part a regular audience would find impressive.

-immediately after the trick, Zade throws her rose to Sofia, winks at her, and says, "For the pretty lady." once again putting myself in Sofia's shoes, this is the moment Zade makes it personal, the moment Zade throws down the gauntlet. this would erase any lingering doubts in my mind. as far as I would be concerned, Zade specifically came here with the goal of ousting me from my position in the show and just straight up challenged me for it in front of literally ALL of my coworkers AND my boyfriend. the absolute fucking nerve of her.

-Sofia gives her a fake smile upon receiving the rose. I'm amazed she had the strength to do that because holy shit Zade that wasn't just a bitch move it was a bitch samba.

-"I was starting to realize it was going to be harder to keep our secret from everyone." YOU MEAN YOUR MAGIC? THE MAGIC YOU JUST POINTLESSLY USED FOR YOUR HIGH DIVE ACT? THAT MAGIC? THE SECRET MAGIC THAT YOU JUST SHOWED 200 PEOPLE? IS THAT THE THING YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP SECRET?

-Spellman's assistant Beth tells Zade that the offer in her contract is the biggest she's ever seen Spellman offer. this is just beyond insulting. girl walks into her daddy's theater like she owns the place, does a high dive with some pointless magic sparkles, and then Daddy gives her allllll the money.

in an interview Sarem did for Vulture, she says that she wrote the story so her self-insert could have all the things she wanted. so, what, Sarem wants her dad to give her some money? if the idea is that Zade earned it, that doesn't hold up no matter how you look at it. with the twist built in that Spellman is Zade's father, it's gonna reek of nepotism upon reread no matter what. but let's look at it without that, and let's take a moment to look at Sofia again.

if I had to pick the dynamic I THINK Sarem was going for with Zade and Sofia, then it's probably Elle and Vivian from Legally Blonde. (not that I think Sarem would watch Legally Blonde, but that doesn't mean the example isn't fitting.) Vivian doesn't take Elle seriously and initially tries to humiliate her but eventually comes to respect Elle the longer they know each other and genuinely befriends her. but it's important to point out that the reason Vivian develops that respect for Elle is because:

she sees all the hard work Elle does to actually earn her position on the legal team

Elle is a genuinely kind person who works to uplift others even if they didn't start on such great terms (more on how Zade treats other people especially women later)

Zade is like if Elle showed up to Harvard Law with the necklace from Ace Attorney that's haunted by the Ghost of Lawyers Past that gives her all the legal information she needs to win the case and bigger boobs. that's just the magic equivalent of what Warner did buying his way in.

long story short, the work Sofia puts in to her prestidigitation act is more impressive than Zade's magic, and Zade getting a position in the show is an insult to that hard work.

ugh, and that was only the end of chapter 1.

[grandwretch]

okay but seriously... I think that the BBEG is going to be a book holder like Mother Goose and Scheherazade and Aesop but they're evil and they're messing stuff up. they're who fucked up miss muffet. The princess vs fairy struggle is incidental.

[timebeingtarot]

tarot card comparison - the high priestess (2)

the rider tarot by a.e. waite and pamela colman smith

the high priestess sits between black and white pillars, indicating balance, yin and yang, representing her balance between the material and spiritual planes. they are labeled with the letters b and j, a reference to the bible and solomon's temple. the b, for boaz, "in it is strength", the j, for jachin, "he shall establish." there is a veil connecting the pillars, obscuring our knowledge of the divine, knowledge that the high priestess protects and provides to us. she holds the torah, shrouded by her robes, signifying her divine knowledge. this is a card of mystery, of things unrevealed. she is the pathway between us and higher wisdom. when this card appears, we look both above and within for answers. we must tap into the greater knowledge of the universe to guide us.

sun and moon tarot by vanessa decort

the high priestess still stands between two pillars, but the biblical reference is less clear or absent. there is a sense of duality here. there is no veil, but she stands as the protector between the divine and the material. she has an open book in front of her, signifying her wisdom and knowledge. the water rushing forth signifies the unconscious mind, the wisdom we hold deep within. the high priestess is not sitting solemnly in her throne, she is standing boldly before us. there is perhaps something more inviting about this priestess, an acknowledgment of her own power in her stance. this card signifies deep wisdom, our internal voice, messages from the universe.

tarot of the divine by yoshi yoshitani

in this version, the high priestess is depicted as scheherazade. scheherazade told 1000 stories for 1000 nights in order to spare her own life. she is a holder of deep wisdom and knowledge. she holds power, but she wields it through her wits. the crescent moon behind her symbolizes intuition, the psyche. she shrouds her face, smirking at the viewer. her wisdom and knowledge are great, but her words are mysterious; it is up to the listener to use their own intuition and intellect to decipher their meaning.

general meaning

the high priestess is the ruler of divine knowledge, she is the protector of the unconscious, the secret wisdom of the universe. she teaches us how to access our intuition, to hear our internal voice and appreciate its wisdom. she is the connector between the spiritual and mortal plane. she gives us only what we need, she does not lead us by the hand to answers. she reminds us to trust ourselves as a guide, as we all have access to the deeper wisdom of the universe, if we allow ourselves to listen.

find out more about the high priestess on the podcast learning tarot together, where we're doing a deep dive into all 78 cards of the tarot

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

oh, I love them too! since I'm not the only one, here are a few random headcanons I have about Rebecca and Scheherazade:

they are a lot older then they look, maybe 200-300, maybe even older. and their closets of course reflex’s that. they are ginormous. Scheherazade especially would just have a day where she’s suddenly just in full on victorian garb and doesn’t even blink. 

Rebecca is covered in tattoos. like, COVERED. also she has short hair…. i always picture her with short hair and Scheherazade’s being perfectly pristine. maybe some crisp, tight finger waves? that would fit her. 

they only just settled down after taking their niece in. before that, they traveled the world, for hundreds of years, probably had a little pocked dimension that they called their home. 

Rebecca smokes a pipe, Scheherazade smokes cigarettes but only with one of those dramatic holders.

they met when they were both accused of being witches and were captured to be tortured, tested and ultimetly burned. but they ultimately escaped together, probably burned all of those people for wanting to kill them and some where in between they fell in love.

also, since the moment they met, they haven’t spent a day apart. after hundreds of years they are still madly in love. 

I would do just about anything for some more Eddie x witch!reader blurbs. They are just too perfect together and I love the lesbian aunts. 🥰

Could I request witch!reader nursing a sick Eddie back to health with some herbal remedies? Making a simmer pot? Reading witchy history and lore to him? 🥰

A/N: I should really talk to my sibling about witch lore and history some day because they know so so so much about it. they'd probably love to give me a little seminar. honestly wouldn't be the first time. (although it is mostly scandinavian witch lore, but still)

feedback is greatly appreciated! comment, reblog, talk in the tags, send me a message, please tell me what you think!

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Masterlist

Ladling the concoction into a slightly chipped mug, you switched off the stove in the Munson's small kitchen, lidded the pot and balanced the streaming cup over towards the couch where your sneezing boyfriend was sprawled out upon.  

“Here,” you kneeled down beside him and handed him the drink, “bottoms up,” giving his tangled curls a soft pat before you got up again. It would probably be a good idea for you to help him with that rat's nest, but not just yet, wouldn’t want to add to the discomfort he was already enduring. 

“What’s in it?” he eyed the beverage mistrustingly as the scent bored through his stuffed nostrils. 

Considering a moment actually telling him, you opted not to, “you don’t wanna know,” fearing that he wouldn’t get near it if he knew, “just drink it.”

As you got up and slugged on your backpack, Eddie’s pout grew larger, “can’t you just skip school today? Stay here with me?” 

Since he hadn’t gotten even an ounce of rest during the cough ridden night, you’d only popped over just for a moment before school began.

“Eddie…”

“Yeah, okay, okay, fine. You go, be all smart and stuff,” then added dramatically, nearly spilling the drink as it sloshed around at his wild movements, “just leave me here to die!” 

“Well,” you bent down to slip your shoes back on, “if you do, I’ll just do an illegal ritual to bring you back.” 

His big eyes blinked up at you as you rose to your feet again, like two crystals bundled up in every single blanket within a mile's radius, “you’d really do that? Wow, you must really love me…” 

“I really really do,” you smiled and swung your long colourful scarf over your shoulder, “so please for the love of merlin, try and get some rest. I’ll see you after school, okay?”

“Okay,” he smooched his cheek down deeper into the pillow. 

“And it’s friday, so I can stay over all night if you’d like,” then recalled the book you’d both been taking turns reading out loud to each other, “I could finish reading you that book if you want.” 

“Oh, can you also do that thing with the shadows while you do it?” his eyes lit up at the memories of the few times you’d put on the magical puppet show for him. 

Blurb taglist: @kbakery @cupidsclarity @kazeddie85 @evansflowers @flavorlesscheeto @alexxavicry @impossibledreamanchor @preciousbabypeter @soultrysworld  @busybeingtrash @alina02 @danielle143 @booksarekindaneat @bluepeacheslandia @hoeshii @queenbibbleslikesstuff @buckys-winter-child @gloomstevie @kenzi-woycehoski @nyenye 

ST taglist: @pastelbabygirl19 @golddustwitches @hxlyhoax @steveharringtonscarkeys @flavorlesscheeto @givemeth @impossibledreamanchor @kasnuffles @urbestgrrrl @hailqueenconquer @angelulls @l4venderf4iry @raynelbabe @freeshavocadoooo @withlovesteve @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @paperbackprettyboy @bluefairyhere @freezaz123 @k-k0129 @mysticrose1210 @ic3b3rry18 @palmtreesx3 @reidslittlegenius213 @feltonswifesworld87 @scorpiolystoned @mandyjo8719 @weathervanes-my-oneandlonely @magicchai  

[percontaion-points]

Handbook for Mortals chapter 5

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 5

“What is there to like about her, anyway?” Mac grumbled.

“Lots of things, and I don’t need to tell you that. If I wasn’t happily married, I might give you a run for your money on that one.”

Yeah yeah, everybody likes her and she's amazing and she once saved my dog from a burning building and she once punched me in the face (and it was awesome).

Zade is just fucking insufferable and the narration constantly wanking off about how AMAZING that she is makes it even worse.

I just continued to sing.

Acting steady

Always ready to defend your fears

What’s the matter with the truth,

Did I offend your ears

By suggesting that a change might

Be a thing to try

Like it would kill you just to try

And be a nicer guy

It’s not like you would lose some

Critical piece

If somehow you moved Point A to

Point B

Maintaining there is no point

Changing ’cause

That’s just what you are

That’s just what you . . . are . . .

For some unholy reason, the narration decided that we needed this entire goddamned song.

“When I got the job out here I bought myself a present. The Triumph Dakota is too heavy for me so I got myself a Ducati Streetfighter.”

Like yes, she does have a job, but IDK how she could have gotten a paycheck in the... like week that she's been there, filling out paperwork. I don't even think that they've had a show with Zade yet.

“Zade is short for my full name—Scheherazade Holder.”

Holy fucking shit, and I thought that Zade was bad.

What kind of a monster does that to a kid?

“It comes from a story my mom used to read to me as a kid. It’s about a princess who marries this king who executes his bride each night so he can get a new one the next day. Well, Scheherazade ends up his bride. To stay alive, she tells him a story every night, always stopping at dawn with a cliffhanger, so he will leave her

alive for another day. After 1,001 nights he was madly in love with her and decided to keep her. And they lived happily ever after.”

Thank you for (wo)mansplaining 1001 nights.

“Wait. Your parents named you ‘Clark Kent’? As in Superman, Clark Kent?”

WHAT.

THE.

FUCK.

“She’ll never recover. Permanently damaged.”

I nearly dropped the guitar. “What?”

Jackson grinned. “Her ego.” I stared blankly. “Oh, you meant physically?”

That isn't fucking funny. What the fuck dude. You don't joke about shit like that.

Jackson grinned before adding, “You really are.”

Chapter 5 summary: We open the chapter with Mac's POV. For some reason, the author felt the need to show us the argument Mac and Tad had. It can be summed up as Mac refusing to admit that he has a boner for Zade, and Tad giving him a hard time about the entire thing.

Following the incident, Zade grabbed Jackson's guitar (which he had previously told her she could use whenever she wanted), and goes out onto the loading dock to play. At the same time she starts up singing, Mac comes out for a smoke break. After she finishes, they talk about the song she played, the singer, and their love for some movie. And it's all really awkward pop culture references that people would only care about if they themselves were into the same thing as well.

Mac then swallows his pride and apologizes to Zade for having brushed her off earlier. That following an actual incident happening, that he should have listened to her.

They lapse into awkward silence for a moment before they start talking about motorbikes. After a while, Zade confesses that her actual name is  Scheherazade. Mac says that his legal name is Clark Kent, because his father had zero common sense. But the “Mac” comes from people calling him “MacGyver”, which eventually got shortened down.

Mac gets called away, and after he leaves, Jackson comes out. They talk briefly about Sofia, but it seems rushed like the author wanted to establish that Sofia is fine before moving the fuck on from this.

[purplebass]

James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs: 1001 Nights and Layla and Majnun

Yet another essay/analysis about James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs and the references of their story with classic Middle East literature books such as “1001 Nights” and “Layla and Majnun” and how those books might have inspired some TLH storylines.

Similarities between “1001 Nights” characters and James and Cordelia

The Layla references by James and Alastair

The Scheherezade storyteller

The metaphor of James and Cordelia’s relationship

Cordelia as James’s link to this world

In the Classic Reimagined with Shadowhunters characters book, Cordelia and James are pictured as Scheherazade and sultan Shahryar from “1001 Nights”, and she is probably telling him a story in that art. This book is a collection of folk tales and it is often referred to as “Arabian Nights” and has elements of different Middle East cultures. In short, the sultan Shahryar marries virgin women and then he kills them after the night they spend together. After some time, there aren’t virgins anymore, so the vizier's daughter, Scheherazade, offers herself as the next wife/queen and survives because for 1000 nights she tells the sultan a story, which she never finishes, to keep him curious. The sultan spares her life because he wants to know how the stories end, and after 3 years (1,001 days) she finishes the stories but the sultan has fallen in love with her and he doesn’t kill her. 

Like Scheherazade, Cordelia likes books and likes to tell stories. Cordelia is Persian and this collection of tales also contains Persian elements, and the name Scheherazade means “of noble lineage” from Middle Persian. Cordelia also offered herself to marry James to save him from facing judgement from the Clave.

The name of the Sultan, Shaharyar, means “holder of the realm” as king/prince, because the “shah” was the crown king/prince/emperor in Persia/Iran. James loves to read as well and he has expressed several times in CoG2 that he wants to hear Cordelia’s stories. 

“Night” in Arabic is “Layla”, which is not only the title of “1001 Nights” in Arabic (“Alf Laylah wa-Laylah”), but it also refers to “Layla and Majnun”. The only time James calls Cordelia “Layla” is when he has the scalding fever and is in and out of consciousness. Alastair also calls Cordelia “Layla”, which is not just super cute but also a reference to their Persian heritage and it also refers to the aesthetic behind Cordelia and James. Cordelia is the night and James the day, but Cordelia is also the fire and James is the shadow. Cordelia is also a heroine like Scheherazade, of course. In literature, the Scheherazade storyteller is also someone who tells a story and is fighting with death, which means that they are telling their story to the reader but they know that they don’t have much time because death is around the corner. If you consider the trouble happening in CoG2, every character of TLH risks to die, especially since we have different POVs and each character tells their own story from their perspective. The only character writer in TLH is Lucie, who also notices how life is terrible and unpredictable, while she only wanted to put joy into her stories:

She felt somewhere in the core of her heart the truth of what her mother had just said. And one should put truth in books, she thought, but this would never be the sort of thing she put in the pages of The Beautiful Cordelia. Books were about experiencing joy. This was the raw and awful stuff of life.

It was much too terrible.

When James has the scalding fever, Cordelia reads him poems and tells him about “Layla and Majnun” by Nizami. From Days Past: Cirenworth Hall, 1900:

She read him the poems of Nizami, and especially the story of Layla and Majnun, one she clearly loved and had known since she was very small. Her cheeks grew unexpectedly red at the more romantic parts: the poor boy falling in love with the beautiful Layla on first sight, wandering mad in the desert when they were separated.

If we were to analyze this, we could say that it reflects James and Cordelia’s story to some degree. James didn’t fall for Cordelia at first sight because he had the gracelet in most of the times they met through the years, but when the gracelet is off and especially after this moment with Cordelia tending to him while he was sick, James is not able to keep her out of his mind even when he later meets Grace again in Idris. Now I don’t know what will happen, but until the gracelet is off, James will act as doesn’t love Cordelia unless their bond breaks the spell of the gracelet. Or Cortana could destroy the gracelet? The last part of this section I reported above “wandering mad in the desert when they were separated” made me think about the shadow’s realm. The realm is like a desert because there is nobody around, and when James goes there before he finally meets Belial, it’s deserted as there is no one there (even if I guess there are demons, but it’s mostly a lonely place). Cordelia is the only one who went to the shadow realm with James and seems to be a threat to Belial in that dimension, because of Cortana. Will James go back to the shadow realm and will Cordelia have to look for him again like at the end of CoG2? That could have been a foreshadowing for the ending and of James and Cordelia finally meeting Belial, but who knows if that won’t come into play again in the future. James could be unable to go back to the normal world and he could be stuck in the realm. Just a thought.

Even when James has the scalding fever and travels to the shadow realm, Cordelia is the only one who is able to bring him back and to their world, which means that there is a link between them, something in Cordelia and James both, a pull. Perhaps it’s the affection they feel for each other, the fiery passion that they could unleash after the gracelet is finally off. Like we saw in the whispering room. That was raw and unrelenting passion, the metaphor of Cordelia and James as a couple: fire and shadow. Cordelia is the fire/match that lit James on fire. Here’s more quotes from Chapter 3, Days Past: Cirenworth Hall, 1900 to support this idea:

He reached for her, and the shadow that was his hand caught hers, darkness against flesh. He wondered how his touch felt to her. His whole body was tensed, like a horse shying from thunder. The room smelled of lightning.

“James, you must hold on. You must. Don’t go anywhere,” Cordelia said. “Stay with me.”

“ ‘ I sought not fire, yet is my heart all flame. Layla, this love is not of earth.’   ”

He shuddered and felt himself come back to this world fully, felt his body return to the space he occupied. 

Note: There is also a parallel scene where it’s Alastair who tells Cordelia to stay with him, which could be a hint that Alastair might be the link for Cordelia to stay in this world if she ever falls into the shadow realm with James, perhaps (like Lucie could also be another link for James as his sister). In the flashback from Chapter 20, Days Past: Cirenworth Hall, 1898:

When he looked suspicious, she said, “I could use some help, Alastair. You see how careless my form is.” Alastair came and took the knife from her. “Very careless,” he agreed. “I know swordplay comes naturally to you, but not everything will. You must slow down. Pay attention to your feet. Now, follow my gestures. That’s it, Layla. Stay with me.” And she would.

To reinforce the parallelism between famous Middle East literature and English literature, we also have “The Beautiful Cordelia”, which is not a real book but a story in the making, since Lucie started writing it when she was 12 and she still hasn’t finished it. It’s also a story-within-the-story like the narrative in “1001 Nights”. Lucie is also telling her own story to the readers, and in CoG2 she is writing about Cordelia who is a beautiful red haired woman. Cruel Prince James, inspired by her brother James, is one of the characters of her book even though we don’t know if he is the Lord Hawke who adored Cordelia and supposedly is her main love interest.

One thing that differs in “1001 Nights” and “Layla and Majnun” is the ending. The first has a happy ending because Scheherazade and Shahryar fall in love and she doesn’t die because she becomes queen. In the other book, however, which is sort of a “Romeo and Juliet” love story, the ending is not happy. Layla’s father doesn’t want her to be with Majnun, because he considers the man mentally unstable (Majnun means “crazy”). In the end Layla marries someone else and Majnun roams in the desert because he can’t accept to live in a world without her. They die without seeing each other again, both heartbroken because they can’t be with the other person. 

Now don’t take the books word for word. They are inspirations for the main story for sure, but the good thing of inspirations is that they never have the same ending of the original.

Thanks for reading! I know it’s quite long, but I don’t have the gift of brevity, I’m sorry. 🤣

[lordmartiya]

lord Martiya’s Lilanette Week 2018/2019 Day 7

@lilanette-week

Finally, the exciting conclusion! What did I come up with this time? Well, for once I regret I couldn’t figure out how to have Lila and Marinette make out on Adrien’s desk… Just imagine the following day Lila talked Marinette into it and Adrien’s scream was heard all the way to the bakery, ok?

Day 7: Free for All!

In the months since she had overcome her paranoia about lynching mobs and stopped hiding in her room to start seeing if Paris would finally have a place for her, even if shallow, Lila had learned to know Marinette. She knew her designer was incredibly fit, and the absurd amount of cookies she carried served to feed that. She knew of Marinette’s stalkerish tendencies (to be fair it was technically of public domain, thanks to the awful timing of Alya and Alix pranking her by filling her room with a ton of pictures of Adrien Agreste of varying quality too late for her to clear them all before Jagged Stone barged in her room with a camera crew), so she was actually flattered she had started putting her pictures around. She knew her Canale’ had been friends with her crazy Japanese friend the Tiger for longer than they had known each other, so she could explain the pictures in her school uniform from the time in Tokyo (how she had got them when the Tiger hadn’t returned there until after Lila had moved out, on the other hand…). She knew that, as much as what had got her interested into Marinette in the first place had been that she had somehow managed to keep her kindness through what had been done to her by Chloe and inefficient anti-bullying policies, she had actually underestimated her about that.

What she hadn’t known was that she was also Ladybug. In hindsight it made sense, and in fact Lila had actually suspected it before debunking her own reasoning for it, but she had been still caught by surprise when she had decided to make Marinette a surprise visit and had put her head in the trapdoor just in time to see her beloved transform to go out and deal with a “boredom Akuma”-the ones ridiculous as Mr. Pigeon that everyone was convinced Papillon created out of boredom, given how ridiculous and weak they were (Mr. Pigeon having been the only one posing an actual threat)-and the first Akumatized villain since Volpina’s brief return. And so, not knowing if Marinette’s parents knew about their daughter’s heroism, she had gone and covered up her absence with strategically placed noises and even playing the recording of Marinette’s shout when Lila had made her some pointed questions about Ladybug’s supposed attempt at getting her with Chat Noir when Nathaniel had been Akumatized, all the while thinking what this new discovery meant and realizing she didn’t really care aside for the practical aspects.

Now, however, Ladybug had come back and changed back into Marinette before noticing Lila, and by her panicking she had clearly mistaken her “Che cazzo?!” being about her being Lila’s former worst enemy and not discovering that a Miraculous drew its power by a djinn-not the Westernized genie, but an actual, honest-to-Scheherazade djinn, and thus immensely dangerous until proven otherwise. And having to calm her down, and knowing that not only manipulation wouldn’t work on Marinette but would make things worse and not having time to think about anything else, Lila went for a twin-handed kabedon (not unlike the one she had Marinette under back in the moment a potential enmity changed in something better) and something she was normally loathe to do: saying the first thing that came to her mind.

“My dear, I figured out you were Ladybug five minutes in our first talk.” Well, at least Marinette had stopped panicking. Now, better saying everything and salvage the situation: “I mean, I already started realizing how, well, awesome you are, and with all her encounters with our class Ladybug was bound to realize it too, so why didn’t she recruit you as Rena Rouge? And the only answer I could come up with was that you were Ladybug. Then the sixth minute I realized you’d initially refuse, and Ladybug was always on a timetable when she recruited temporary Miraculous Holders, and I convinced myself you weren’t.” Good, Marinette had calmed down, and was laughing. Time for the other admission: “I’m just a little bit worried about, well-”

“I’m not a djinn, I’m a kwami.” the not-djinn interrupted her from her biscuit plate. “By the way I’m Tikki, pleased to meet you.”

“Uh… The pleasure is all mine.” especially as she wasn’t around something that made a nuclear weapon seem tame. “Well, with that cleared, Canale’, all this new discovery means to me is that you are even more forgiving and awesome than I thought, and that I can’t let you continue refusing Anansi’s self-defense lessons. I suppose I could help a bit with the footwork, I mean if there’s one thing I’m better than her is that, bMPHF!”

That hadn’t been the first kiss between them-Lila had been able to steal one at Chloe’s ball and then again after their date, but this was the first time Marinette took the initiative. Another difference was that both times Lila had limited herself to a quick peck on Marinette’s lips, always fearing to scare her away, but Marinette had just grabbed Lila’s face, brought her down faster than she could notice, and pretty much devoured her lips.

As she started kissing her beloved back, Lila realized that she had finally found her place. And not a shallow one.

What Does Lila Say about Genies and Djinns

In Islamic folklore the djinn isn’t a wish-granting being living in a lamp or a bottle blessed with phenomenal cosmic powers originating in Europeized and out-of-context retellings of Islamic folk tales (including Aladdin), but rather a creature closer to a fay-possessing an alien sense of morality and superhuman abilities so great to appear supernatural, that a human extremely well-versed in the arcane arts can seal in a bottle or bind to an object that, when rubbed, will summon the djinn from wherever it is and force him to do the bidding of the object’s master, and that, if sealed, should never be freed unless one wants to experience the wrath of a being whose natural abilities are beyond human understanding and has been cooped into a bottle for centuries. Hence Lila’s initial reaction to finding out her beloved owns earrings that appear to have a djinn bound to them.

[openvintageshutters]

Candle Holder Lantern Unique Vintage Scheherazade Exotic Moroccan Decor Filigree Turquoise Blue Beach Wedding Gift for Her

[an-aura-about-you]

everybody pray for @youremysunshine8 who asked me what I think Zade from Handbook for Mortals looks like, so I sent over the long-ass descriptions I had been skipping over in my recaps that eliminate any questions about that. this is on top of the fact that Zade is on the cover of the book (which is a whole argument that I will get to in a future chapter, don't you worry about that) and the author's picture is on the inside of the dust jacket, erasing any lingering doubts that Scheherazade Esther Holder is anything short of a full self-insert mary sue.

[raniamoudaress]

The story goes that  Shahryar (شهریار ) "holder of the realm, king") found out one day that his first wife was unfaithful to him. Therefore, he resolved to marry a new virgin each day as well as behead the previous day's wife, so that she would have no chance to be unfaithful to him. He had killed 1,000 such women by the time he was introduced to Scheherazade, the vizier's daughter.

In Sir Richard Burton's translation of The Nights, Scheherazade was described in this way:

Scheherazade ( شهرزاد‎‎ ) had perused the books, annals and legends of preceding Kings, and the stories, examples and instances of bygone men and things; indeed it was said that she had collected a thousand books of histories relating to antique races and departed rulers. She had perused the works of the poets and knew them by heart; she had studied philosophy and the sciences, arts and accomplishments; and she was pleasant and polite, wise and witty, well read and well bred.

Against her father's wishes, Scheherazade volunteered to spend one night with the king. Once in the king's chambers, Scheherazade asked if she might bid one last farewell to her beloved sister, Dunyazade (دنیازاد Donyāzād), who had secretly been prepared to ask Scheherazade to tell a story during the long night. The king lay awake and listened with awe as Scheherazade told her first story. The night passed by, and Scheherazade stopped in the middle. The king asked her to finish, but Scheherazade said there was no time, as dawn was breaking. So, the king spared her life for one day to finish the story the next night. The following night, Scheherazade finished the story and then began a second, even more exciting tale, which she again stopped halfway through at dawn. Again, the king spared her life for one more day so she could finish the second story.

And so the king kept Scheherazade alive day by day, as he eagerly anticipated the finishing of the previous night's story. At the end of 1,001 nights, and 1,000 stories, Scheherazade told the king that she had no more tales to tell him. During these 1,001 nights, the king had fallen in love with Scheherazade. He spared her life, and made her his queen.

[tbehartoo]

Summer Days pt 7

Characters: Levy McGarden x Lisanna Strauss (Levanna)- Characters from Fairy Tail by Hiro Mashima

Rating: General? Teen? I don’t know, where do you stand on fluff?

Summary: Modern AU vignettes where Lisanna and Levy spend a summer together for @filiadcorblog

on AO3

*Magnolia Bay Cave Kayaks - Exploring the caves on Fairy Island by kayak

Lisanna was so excited for this week’s adventure, sea kayaking! Last week Levy’s brother, Gajeel, had given her lessons and had her practice for the most common problems that could occur on their trip. She had been watching all the tutorials on safety, technique, and rescue that she could find before the lesson and he’d been impressed with what she knew; though told her that it would still be awhile before she felt like more than a noob on the water. She’d mentioned being nervous about trying to get back in the boat when in the deep water to Levy when they talked on the phone that night. The next day, as she was kicking back in her dorm, she got a call from Levy’s oldest brother. Freed invited her to the diving pool there at FT. He helped her practice getting back in a kayak and how to roll over if she capsized in the relatively calm water until she felt secure. Then he had his diving teams make waves for her to practice in a rougher situation. She felt as prepared as possible, but now it was time for the real test.

Levy handed her a gift bag as soon as Lisanna opened the door. “A present from Wendy,” was all she said.

“What’s in it?”

“I don’t know,” Levy admitted. “She wouldn’t say and made me promise not to look. In fact,” she held up her phone where Wendy’s face peered out from the screen, “will you please verify that I have just entered your home and that you have not yet opened the gift?”

Lisanna laughed. “Wendy, I promise you that I haven’t opened the gift that I have just received.”

“Good! Now take Levy’s phone in your room and go open it in there.”

Levy shoved her phone into Lisanna’s hand and started pushing her toward the bedroom.

“Levy what’s-”

“Just do what she says!” Levy responded through gritted teeth. “For the love of all things good and pure and booklike in the world, please just do it.”

Wendy’s evil cackle could be heard even through the closed door.

Lisanna propped up the phone so that Wendy could watch and then started removing tissue paper from the top of the bag. There were two bundles wrapped in decorative paper, then a layer of foil, a different color paper, some waxed paper and another few layers of tissue paper. Levy had mentioned the ridiculous wrapping traditions they had for Christmas, but didn’t know it also extended to other gifts. Lisanna was finally able to hold up one of the quick drying tops and a windbreaker from the trip to the boardwalk.

“Thank you Wendy!” she breathed in disbelief. “But, why?”

Wendy merely grinned for a moment, but finally relented. “Everyone else got to help with the adventure and I didn’t want to be left out.”

“You are a sweet, sweet girl!” she declared, “I don’t care what your sister and brothers say. You are simply the best.”

“Well I’ve got you fooled,” she commented. “Okay, you can hang up and change. Go ahead and tell Levy that the item is safe,” she then amended, “for now.”

Lisanna hurried to change so she and Levy could start the adventure. They met Gajeel at the boat rental place where he worked. He made sure that they had dressed properly for the water conditions and that they had their personal safety equipment before handing over kayaks and paddles.

“Freed and Laxus are out on the boat, and they promised to keep an eye out for you two,” he said as they put the kayaks in the water. “You have the radio shorty?”

“Yes Mother,” Levy said in exasperation. “It’s not like we’re going that far for our first trip. We won’t even be out of sight of a shore for long either, sheesh.”

“It’s nice of you to be concerned for us, Gajeel,” Lisanna said grinning at Levy’s outburst.

“Well it’s not like I want to lose my best student on her first day,” he said handing her the paddle. He smiled broadly as he leaned in and loudly added, “It would break the Shrimp’s heart to lose you, too.”

“Gajeel!” Levy sputtered. “Don’t you have other customers to annoy?”

“Indeed I do short stuff,” he gave Lisanna’s kayak a little shove to help her off the beach. “Have a good time.” He waited until they were too far to easily come back then cupped his mouth and yelled, “Get it girl!” 

Levy merely replied by flipping him off.

 Levy quietly paddled through the water as Lisanna concentrated on perfecting her strokes. Levy let Lisanna be slightly ahead so that she could set the pace and Levy could assist if she ran into trouble. Occasionally Levy would offer a suggestion or give directions but for the most part they simply enjoyed the light breeze and the warm sun light reflecting off the water.

Lisanna cheered when they finally reached Fairy Island and Levy drank in the sight.

“That was the easy part,” she told the exuberant woman. “Now you get to practice your turns and backing up a lot as we try to negotiate the caves.”

Lisanna’s face fell. “I’m not very good at those, at all.”

“No, don’t worry about it,” Levy rushed to reassure her, “Everyone that goes through these caves gets to do it. You’ll be an expert in no time at all!” She reached over and gave Lisanna’s hand a quick squeeze then grabbed her own paddle with both hands. “There’s one place we’re stopping for lunch that I think you’ll really love.”

“Tell me again why we have all of this stuff in the boat,” Laxus grumbled.

Freed huffed. “We’re taking the lunch for Levy and Lisanna to Fairy Cove. What don’t you understand?”

“What are your favorite Desierto rug, a large box of metal candle holders, several candles, all your throw pillows, and my best silver platters doing in this boat along with the cooler full of food?”

Freed gasped. “How did I ever marry such an unromantic man?” he asked the heavens. Looking back at Laxus he said, “When you plan a picnic in a magical location you don’t just roll up with a measly PB&J on white bread with a juice pouch. There should be a soft place to rest. Beautiful accoutrements, fine china, and ethereal music playing. You have to take what nature gives you and elevate it!” one hand jabbed triumphantly in the air. He lowered the arm and added, “This is how you woo a woman.”

Laxus laughed. “And what do you know about wooing women?”

“I read!” he declared. “And,” he added, “as the women’s diving coach I’ve heard more than I ever wanted to know about what women want on a date.”

They both laughed together.

“Come on,” Freed said looking through the binoculars at the kayakers. “They just made it to the island. We can get this set up and be out of there in the nick of time.” 

Lisanna was enchanted with the island. They didn’t really go into many caves as they weren't accessible until low tide, but there were some arches and tunnels they enjoyed. Levy told her the names of some of the places like Chapel Arch, the Eye of the Needle, and Fairy Heart. Lisanna’s favorite was the one called the Key Hole that was indeed shaped like an old fashioned skeleton key.

Levy lead Lisanna through several connected caves until they came upon a scene from a fairy tale. A huge cavern was in front of them; a circular hole in the ceiling let in light to illuminate a private beach with a ten foot arch leading back to the ocean. On the beach was a setting from out of one of Scheherazade's stories. The rich red carpet was set with a feast under crystal covers, and the candles glowed faintly giving off an enticing, spicy aroma, pillows were inviting them to join the scene, and soft music played from an unseen source.

“Um,” Levy said suddenly at a loss for words, “I didn’t know Freed would go all out like this. I just asked him if they could bring the food, since I’ve had a soggy lunch or two on kayaking trips.” She looked sheepishly in Lisanna’s direction. “Sorry.”

“It’s beautiful!” Lisanna breathed. She looked back at Levy. “Your brother loves you a lot, Levy. There’s no need to apologize for that.” She reached a hand out toward Levy, who caught it. “All of your siblings care about you and want you to be happy, so let’s not spoil their fun. What do you say?”

Levy just looked from Lisanna to the beach and back at Lisanna. She gave her a grateful smile. “You’re right. Let’s get over there and enjoy my brother’s over enthusiastic generosity.”

Lisanna’s laugh rang through the air and echoed off the walls. “I hope I get to repay the favor someday.”

When they had finished eating, Lisanna suggested they pack everything up to make things easier for Freed and Laxus, but Levy simply shook her head.

“Laxus left me a note asking us to just make sure the food got put away.” Levy was blushing as she continued, “He apparently feels that he needs to show his husband that he can indeed recognize romance when it, and I quote, ‘bites him on the ass’.”

They both broke out in nervous titters, but realizing how ridiculous they were being, genuine laughter soon rang through the cavern as they put the dishes away.

“Come on,” Lisanna said as she helped Levy to her feet. “Let’s get back to shore so your brother-in-law can romance-”

“Don’t say it,” Levy said. “I’m already trying to forget what he wrote and the image it inspired.”

Lisanna giggled at the face Levy was making. “I think it sounds incredibly cute.”

“Oh, those two can be so adorable together,” she acknowledged. “They’re so sickeningly sweet that you can feel the cavities forming just by looking at them for too long,” she said as she climbed back into her kayak. “But as much as I like reading about love, I think I just get jealous when I see them, or my parents, actually being that much in love.” She waited for Lisanna to start off and then continued. “They all seem to just get more and more…” she paused to think of the word, “ugh,” she waved her paddle in the air, “They’re just more in love each day even after all their years together!”

Lisanna stopped and looked out at the view of the water stretching endlessly before her. “Isn’t that what you want?” she timidly asked.

“Yeah,” Levy nodded, certainty coloring her words, “It’s like that saying, ‘I crave a love so deep that even the ocean gets jealous’.”

“That’s one of my favorite quotes,” Lisanna said as she started to paddle for the mainland in earnest. “I hope you find it some day.”

Levy watched as Lisanna lead the way home. “I hope I already have,” she thought to herself.

<<First     <Previous     Next>

[an-aura-about-you]

let's see about finishing up that chapter of Handbook for Mortals I was on, shall we?

Chapter 18 part 2:

when we last left our hero, Scheherazade was still dying, but now Mac thinks that's his fault when it absolutely wasn't.

-Mac was upset that Zade would do this without telling him, but Dela tells him that she did it with Charles for years without him knowing. jesus christ, what a violation.

-but Dela also mentions that Charles was in the show and thus couldn't have left, so once again Zade is the one who made the bad choices here.

-in spite of this not being Mac's fault, he is the one responsible for fixing this according to Dela. she said he "caused" the energy surge, but that's not right because ZADE caused the energy surge, she just did so without knowing she had no way to ground it! again, it's Zade's fault!!!

-"Normally I would sugarcoat this, but we don't really have that kind of time." 24 Hours Have Passed. You Have Had Plenty Of Time To Sugarcoat.

-"I'm just going to get down and dirty and to the point."

...

I do not care how much of a MILF the book is trying to make you out to be, Dela. That line just killed it. Never say that again ever.

-for this ritual, Dela has to forge something that "looks like a dagger--thought it won't actually be a dagger at all." and she says it's not worth explaining what it actually is besides magic.

you mean an athame? you know, tool used to sever metaphysical energy typically represented physically by a blunt dagger? you're fine talking about tarot cards and altars but calling an athame an athame is where you stumble? I would certainly think anyone who spells magic with a k would know what an athame is. hell, I have an athame!

if you wanna dumb it down for Mac, you can call it an athame and then explain that it is a type of magic dagger. it would be a shorter explanation and get you to the point with Mac much quicker. you know, the thing you said you were going to do in this same paragraph.

-the gameplan is for Mac to stab Zade in the chest with the athame at precisely 3am. ok, cool, cool. why? why that specific time? why are we not getting any information about why we have to wait? I know timing and moon phases are important for spells, but an emergency is an emergency. and we haven't been given any information along the lines of, "if we don't do it at precisely this time and no other then Zade will definitely die for real." seriously, what is keeping us from doing it now?

-Dela just compared the athame to an EpiPen. and I'll actually admit, in the context of the book, this metaphor does at least partly work. it's not going to fix Zade completely, but it is going to make it so that Della can heal her. but the part where it doesn't work is an EpiPen is used to buy time and should be administered IMMEDIATELY.

-also, apparently, this entire procedure will be nearly impossible if Mac doesn't go along with it.

actually, now's a good time to hit you guys with the summary from the inside of the dust jacket:

Zade Holder has always been a free-spirited young woman, from a long dynasty of tarot-card readers, fortunetellers, and practitioners of magick. Growing up in a small town and never quite fitting in, Zade is determined to forge her own path. She leaves her home in Tennessee to break free from her overprotective mother Dela, the local resident spellcaster and fortuneteller. Zade travels to Las Vegas and uses supernatural powers to become part of a premiere magic show led by the infamous magician Charles Spellman. Zade fits right in with his troupe of artists and misfits. After all, when everyone is slightly eccentric, appearing "normal" is much less important. Behind the scenes of this multimillion-dollar production, Zade finds herself caught in a love triangle with Mac, the show's good-looking but rough-around-the-edges technical director and Jackson, the tall, dark, handsome and charming bandleader. Zade's secrets and the struggle to choose between Mac or Jackson creates reckless tension during the grand finale of the show. Using Chaos magick, which is known for being unpredictable, she tests her abilities as a spellcaster farther than she's ever tried and finds herself at death's door. Her fate is left in the hands of a mortal who does not believe in a world of real magick, a fortuneteller who knew one day Zade would put herself in danger and a dagger with mystical powers...

so idk why I even bothered with the recaps when Sarem is eager to tell you the entire story right there. there's nothing to work for in reading this. it's just handed to you like Zade's job at the show.

also, if I'm sharing what's on the dust jacket, I can't forget this part:

Handbook for Mortals is the first book in the series of this urban fantasy, paranormal romance series by author Lani Sarem. Following Zade through the trials--and romance--of finding her own place in the world, readers will identify with their own struggles to fit in, reflected in the fantastic, yet mundane world of Zade's life. Handbook for Mortals is in development as a motion picture set to debut in 2018.

also holy shit they wanted $25 for this? yeah, glad I only paid $2.

-ok either more time has passed when I wasn't looking or we're dealing with another classic Sarem continuity error because the narration has just told us 48 hours have passed???? when the fuck did that happen?

-I'm actually getting really pissed at the time thing because Sarem COULD have used the tarot cards to structure the book. I've actually written two fics where I did something similar, one of them being a fic for The Magnus Archives and one of them being a TMA/Chzo Mythos crossover.

for one of my fics, I used the 14 Fears in The Magnus Archives as a way to structure the actual fic and give it a sort of order based on what would make sense to follow one after the other.

for the crossover one, I used both the concept of the Blessed Agonies in the Chzo Mythos as well as an actual calendar since I was setting it during a specific year with a specific start date in mind. from there, I basically scheduled the fic and even reflected this by posting relevant chapters on the matching dates. and having that schedule helped a lot with my planning because I did research I needed like how long it would take to recover from certain injuries in the hospital.

and the Major Arcana of the tarot makes this even easier because it comes with a story structure built in. with just a little more thinking and effort, Sarem could have fit her story into that structure.

but considering her main character ignored a trump card in a spread, it's clear that she doesn't actually think much of it.

-in any case, Mac agrees to do the stabbing.

Mac the Knife?

-Mac is still blaming himself for the thing that wasn't his fault. like, ok, a little bit of that is usually normal, feeling guilty and getting hung up on could-have should-have is totally a thing. but the narration is making it clear that he's the reason Zade is dying, and that is a big ol' plate of bullshit and chips.

-ok we're getting more of the drama of Zade's parents and Charles has told Mac that he didn't leave Dela, Dela left him and took Zade with her. and the start of that is a doozy:

"I lost it when she told me what she was. It was right after we had Zade. I thought maybe she had made me love her... "Because I wasn't sure if I could believe her, I cheated on Dela to see if I could. When I was able to cheat, I realized that if she had put a spell on me she wouldn't have 'let' me be able to do that."

ohhhhhhhhhhh my god. okay. wow.

on the one hand, Yikes. did you HAVE to go all the way, Charles?

but on the other, god, can you imagine how terrifying that must be to worry that your free will has been compromised, especially with how much Dela and Zade have been talking about destiny in this book?

some part of me actually doesn't entirely blame Charles for full on cheating? don't get me wrong, it's a scummy thing to do and evidence that they didn't trust each other. but a paranoid part of me is putting myself in Charles's shoes and wondering, "am I able to flirt with a stranger because I'm freely able to be with them or is this just something allowed by the limits of the spell my spouse has on me?" especially now that we, the readers, know that Dela has used magic on Charles for YEARS without his knowledge.

-but that was only the start of it. the kicker was Charles started drinking and using and got to a point where he talked about putting Zade in the show. Dela consulted the cards and it looked like either they would be happy together or he would go back to his old ways. so she left him a letter and took Zade with her.

THIS is when we learn she put a spell on Charles to not talk about Zade BUT it's actually worse than that. he's not able to admit to a connection to EITHER of them. so I've got two things about that:

holy shit, so that means it was basically impossible for him to have any sort of contact with Zade unless Dela allowed it. if he can't admit to a connection to her, he can't get legal help to establish parental rights.

Why Was Charles Able To Tell The Doctor He Was Zade's Father In The Previous Chapter? How Was He Able To Do That? Did Dela Only Break That Spell Because Zade Was Dying?

and that's how the chapter ends with Charles wrapping up that story saying that maybe it was a way for Dela to not deal with the past. you'd think a professional fortuneteller would know that shit always comes back to you.

fuck it let's have another poll

[openvintageshutters]

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[openvintageshutters]

Baby blue Candle Holder Turquoise Lantern Unique Vintage Scheherazade Exotic Moroccan Decor Filigree Pastel Blue Beach Wedding