#The Poor Man’s Soliloquies

[mysterious-secret-garden]

Théophile-Alexandre Pierre Steinlen - “The Poor Man’s Soliloquies” by Jehan Rictus, 1903.

[jammyjams1910]

Macbeth's "brief candle" soliloquy is literally the most ✨poetic✨ midlife existential crisis I've ever heard lol

[yepiamthesmileyface]

I'm not gonna add it to the post bc it's not really about that but. people deriding others for not boycotting McDonalds by saying "go to a local restaurant"... how much money do you think I have??? you think I'm spending $50+ on a meal for two at mcdicks??? I paid over twenty dollars for a single bowl of pho from a local place, and that's the cheap one. go to a local restaurant???

preemptive edit: this is not saying you shouldn't boycott mcds. any support we can muster for Palestine, even just boycotting McDonald's, is more important. I'm just incredulous at the idea that going to a local restaurant is a 1:1 substitute for the trademark cheap fast food.

[9000-and-what]

how can one live in a world that rejects life that's put into it, that is in a constant battle against it'self, waring against the life so many desire and claim to love, if the world was one of love, why are people still born, forget bloodlines, forget legacy, the world must be stoked and loved it'self before more life can be brought into it, it must be tended to and loved and trimmed and preened, until life florishes and accepts the life put into it.

[kim-the-miserable-rat]

I SAW A TIKTOK WHERE A GUY SAID THAT "LES MIS" WAS JUST A THREE HOUR MUSICAL OF THE FRENCH COMPLAINING

(and I mean, he's not entirely wrong.)

(JUST ACT 1 CAUSE I UNDERESTIMATED HOW LONG THIS WOULD TAKE ME)

So here's a list of what they complain about in each song:

LOOK DOWN: the prison system sucks

PROLOGUE: the life of an exconvict sucks

VALJEAN'S SOLILOQUY: this guy is too nice how dare he? And also the prison system still sucks.

AT THE END OF THE DAY: my workplace is full of cunts

I DREAMED A DREAM: men are the worst

LOVELY LADIES: selling my necklace, hair and becoming a prostitute to help my child is something that I have all the right to be mad about (she's completely right, Fantine you deserved sooooo much better queen)

FANTINE'S ARREST: (to the bourgeoisie asshole) stop dehumanizing me I will fight you (to javert) your justice is not fair (to Jean Valjean) It's kinda your fault that im in this situation tbh

THE RUNAWAY CART: (javert) YO HOMIE WTF ARE YOU HULK? [suspecting]or are you buff because of slavery?.....

WHO AM I?: Oh poo! Now I have to choose between lying (it will make god sad) or going back to jail (hundreds of people will lose their jobs and end up living in misery by my actions) Fuck them workers, im an honest man, lets save that one innocent man.

THE TRIAL: the justice system is flawed. Look at my sick ass tattoo in my chest. Ok nvm im going to se Fantine fuck you all.

FANTINE'S DEATH: I will never see my daughter again this is so unfair (it really is)

THE CONFRONTATION: (Jean Valjean) Javert could you FUCKING WAIT A SECOND! I HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO DO(Javert) Im going to drop all my lore in two lines that you will not get cause were all singing at the same time; and NO, you can't just go, WTF?

CASTLE ON A CLOUD: HELLO, CHILD SLAVERY???? SOMEBODY HELP THIS CHILD ASAP!!!

MASTER OF THE HOUSE: Madam Thenardier has a solo just to talk shit about his husband (and he deserves every bit of it)

THE BARGAIN: (Thenardiers) NO, OF COURSE YOU CAN'T TAKE OUR LITTLE TREASURE AWAY -unless you pay for her, that is-

PARIS (look down reprise): EVERYTHING IS AWFUL, WE HATE IT HERE!

THE ROBBERY: (Eponine) FUCK YOU MARIUS MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! (Javert) Ewwww... i hate criminals! and also poor people. Same thing to me, really.

STARS: I'm so obsessed with that fugitive that it's starting to blur into an homoerotic desire. Also HOW DARE HE to be free? I will hunt him for sport

EPONINE'S ERRAND: (Eponine) So now I have to help YOU, the boy im in love with to find a random girl? ALSO WTF DON'T GIVE ME MONEY YOU ASSHOLE.

ABC CAFE: (Enjolras) STOP WHINING MARIUS, NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR NON EXISTENT LOVE LIFE, WE ARE PLANNING A REVOLUTION HERE, YOU KNOW? Also please guys can we take this thing seriously? Please please please :(

DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING?: (the people, obviously) time to eat the rich or die trying!

RUE PLUMMET/IN MY LIFE: (Cosette) father, ur cool to be around and all that but.... Who the fuck are you? And why do we act like we are convicts running from the law (cause ur dad kinda is, sweetie)

A HEART FULL OF LOVE: (Eponine) It fucking sucks to have helped my crush find the girl he's in love with[who would have thought?] Guess I will look at them longingly from like five feet away while they confess their love for each other and purposefully ignore me.

THE ATTACK ON RUE PLUMMET: (Eponine) GODAMNIT they will think I'm one of those assholes I have to do something! Go away or I'll scream IM INSANE I WILL FUCKING DO IT. Also fuck you dad. (Babet) I DON'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT THE LORE, GIVE ME MY FUCKING MONEY THENARDIER (Thenardier) Im surrounded by idiots! (Jean Valjean) TIME TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE, FUCK EVERYONE WHO WANTS TO SEE MY DOWNFALL.

ONE DAY MORE: (Jean Valjean) Kinda sucks to have to run from the law [yeah homie we noticed that] (Marius & Cosette) OH NO! I'LL BE SEPARATED FROM THE LOVE OF MY LIFE THAT I MET A WEEK AGO. WHAT A GREAT TRAGEDY (Eponine) Marius still doesnt care about me. (Enjolras) He's not complaining, he's having the best time of his life. Good for him. Enjoy it while it lasts, citizen! (Javert) Guess I'll go as a spy with this cool new outfit. [Again, not a complain but important to notice]

OK, THIS DESCENDED INTO MADNESS.

EXPECT ACT 2 SOON :)

[yokohamapound]

Since tis Spooky Season, how about some wedding headcanons for our goth boys Bram and Akutagawa? :3

It might no longer be spooky season but goth bois are timeless. <3

Characters: Bram Stoker, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

Contents: gn!reader, nsfw mention

Bram Stoker

Bram is certainly the marrying type. Once he’s found someone he feels he can spend the long years of eternity with, he’ll want to lock you down quickly and make it official. Dating is a foreign concept to him, but he will spend some time courting you. He’s very likely the one who proposed marriage, and like, you have eyes, so of course you were going to accept. Who doesn’t want to marry a handsome vampire lord?

It’s not enough to call Bram ‘old-fashioned’. The man is at least several hundred years old, (depending on whether his age is based on the actual Bram Stoker or Vlad Tepes, basis of the legend for Dracula). He’s between approx 170-600 years old. He’s seen trends become traditions and vanish entirely. The wedding would probably be some flavour of traditional, whether that’s a Western white wedding, or a wedding steeped in his spouse’s culture. If you really wanted to, you could have a historical-themed wedding to make Bram feel at home—just expect him to be finicky on the minor details.

“This is the incorrect type of date for this pastry.”

It might take some doing to find a priest willing to marry you to a vampire, or you can forge the documents and have a civil ceremony. It depends on whether or not Bram can actually set foot in a church. He’s probably relieved to discover civil ceremonies are a thing. 

Bram looks beautiful in a suit. Just imagine it. A suit tailored to his ridiculous, 6’5” height, possibly a tailcoat, with a cravat, his long hair tied back. 

You’ll have to bring him up to speed and explain that, apart from certain cultural traditions, dowries aren’t that common anymore, and that he doesn’t have to offer your father 50 goats for your hand in marriage. 

Bram’s a pretty romantic guy, but he always does it with style. He pulls out your chair, his hand is going to rest on the small of your back, and he takes the lead in the first dance waltz, no matter your gender.

The speeches will be short—he’s had to put up with too many of Fukuchi’s soliloquies to want to hear any more monologuing. The wedding dinner—feast, he insists on calling it—is sumptuous, although Bram doesn’t partake. (You’re his wedding feast and he’d rather enjoy that in private.)

Godspeed on your wedding night. Bram’s spent years without a lower half of his body and now he has it back, and a spouse to enjoy. He is…pent up, shall we say~

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

Poor Akutagawa is still reeling over the fact that he’s getting married. I would say that either you proposed, or Dazai planted the idea in Akutagawa’s head that it was time for him to put a ring on it. If Akutagawa proposed, your ring is some beautiful antique with a large stone and a creepy story attached to it. Don’t forget that Akutagawa makes bank in the Port Mafia. 

Please, please, please plan a goth wedding.

Please remember that this is the same young man who said this when asked what he would give as a wedding present: “I'd gift them the enemy's freshly severed head decorated with bloody barren flowers.” Suffice it to say, Akutagawa should not be left in charge of either your gift registry or the flower arrangements. You will end up with a load of obscure antiques, knives, and bunches of rotting flowers “to show the briefness of our lifespans.” 

Maybe compromise with dried flower garlands or even black roses if you want to go full 2007 My Chemical Romance-core. (Look me in the eye and tell me Akutagawa wouldn’t look up if you played him a G-note on the piano.)

He hates being the centre of attention in the actual wedding, so he’s more than happy to deflect it all toward you instead. The moments he seems happiest are when he gets to see Gin wearing a bridesmaid dress, when Dazai stands up to make a speech (during which Akutagawa sits up like he’s in a school assembly while the headmaster is speaking), and during the vows, when he’s focusing on you and only you. 

He looks wonderful in his suit - let him have full tails and black tie and he'll be content.

Your wedding photographs look like one of those austere Victorian family portraits, save for Tachihara throwing up the bunny ears behind Gin’s head. 

Akutagawa has a secret sweet tooth he won’t admit to, which is why he tries to pretend that he hasn’t had three slices of chocolate cake. 

Either get Dazai drunk or put him in a corner with a plate of crab cakes to keep him occupied, because you really don’t need him making sly comments when it’s time for you and Akutagawa to climb into the car and head off for your honeymoon. His wedding gift for Akutagawa is an inhaler and a note saying, “You’ll need this! xoxo Dazai.”

[ineffably-smote]

Macbeth, David Tennant - A very subjective, spoiler and emotion filled review

Just walking out of seing Macbeth at the Donmar and I have Feelings. Unsurprisingly, I primarily went to see it because David Tennant was in it. I love the play, big fan of Shakespeare but the trip to London was most certainly motivated by a very specific actor. Hence the highly subjective review. Fortunately, I also happen to quite like Macbeth. We studied it at school, and it holds a special place in my heart (back then, Hamlet was my favourite Shakespeare play but honestly, after tonight, I’m not so sure anymore. Anyway, I digress). It was my first time actually seeing an actor I’m a fan of in real life, so obviously the entire time my brain was just going oh my god that’s David Tennant oh my god that’s David Tennant like I actually could not comprehend it. The man I’ve spent hours staring at on a little screen is suddenly real, and right there. So yeah, that took me a hot second.

(Excuse the piss poor image quality, I took this with shaky hands without looking or bothering to focus the cam)

The Staging

Still starstruck and a bit dazed, one thing really really stood out to me: the staging. It was so, so good. I knew it was going to be minimal from the pictures I had seen, and it was, but it was also so insanely real. There were barely any decorations, and half the cast and the musicians were hidden behind a glass screen doing background noises and gestures. From where I was sitting I could not see them much, but could definitely hear them which added to the overall atmosphere. The stage was also really tiny, and the play benefitted incredibly from it. All the action was happening in one tight space that had been put to use incredibly well, particularly the banquet scene but I’ll come back to that because it deserves its own paragraph.

The way they chose to do the soliloquies was so fitting - all the actors start to move in slow motion - everyone else slowing down and just the characters speaking moving was so good, it made sense.

The Headphones

I’m a bit mixed about the headphones. They were amazing for the vibes, we could hear whispers and they really heightened some of the emotional speeches in the play - because when someone is struggling with guilt and trauma it makes sense for them to be mumbling rather than yelling. So that was really great. However, especially in the scenes where the actors where yelling/ loud I preferred to take them off a bit cause it felt more real that way. I’m so used to hearing actors voice on recordings, it does hit different when you can hear them for real. But, as I said, personal preference and that’s what’s nice, you can take them on and off as much as you want.

Famous Speeches

There were three speeches I was quite interested to see how they were going to be adapted - scorpions and dagger for Macbeth, and out damned spot for Lady Macbeth. These are classic, everyone knows the words, the plot but they managed to make it feel real in a new and touching way. I think here the headphones were quite helpful because they allowed the actors to actually whisper parts of those lines. They were so subtle, so embedded in the text they felt so natural which imbued them with all their power. I saw in a review Cush Jumbo’s out damned spot speech be described as “haunting”, and I wholeheartedly agree.

The Macbeths

I didn’t like Macbeth, the character, very much when I first learnt about him. His actions didn’t make sense to me, I couldn’t quite comprehend in my 21st century little brain how he went from I’m super loyal to the King to I will freely murder children for shits and giggles. But now, now I understand. It makes sense, it’s believable. And that’s a mix of the acting choices and teh overall setting. Like the opening scene, instead of presenting Macbeth as a glorious hero, he is presented to us as a traumatised hero. He spends the first few minutes washing the blood of his clothes, haunted by noises from the battlefield. And that sets the themes quite nicely, not ambition, as Tennant specified in an interview, but guilt and trauma. There are so many ways to interpret Shakespeare, that’s the beauty of it, and I think this version of Macbeth just resonated more with me (maybe because ambition I don’t quite understand but guilt I am intimately familiar with? Or maybe because it was David Tennant? I don’t know, probably a bit of both). Tennant delivers a convincing Macbeth. Yes, you can see his ambitions play out, but also his fears, his guilt, and that makes him into a complex three dimensional character that you want to understand.

And I absolutely loved this version of Lady Macbeth. Not just a powerful woman who bullies her husband into become an evil murderer (because again, here we can see traces of that in Macbeth from the start), but an ambition woman in love, with her husband, with power, and not quite healed from the trauma of loosing her child. Again another review said she is more of an enabler than a manipulator and I quite liked that description.

My Favourite Scenes

God the banquet scene. The one with the ghost of Banquo. An absolute masterpiece. I did not expect that scene to hit that hard. It was raw, it was powerful and even if Tennant was facing away from where I was sitting, even without seeing his face I could feel the emotion, the whole audience could. In a video essay on Tennant, @davidtennantgenderenvy highlighted how in almost every role he played, there is it is the classic Tennant breakdown moment, and breakdown moment it was. Not with tears, not as expressive as he sometime is but just enough for a King trying to hold it together but fear and guilt breaking through. I was absolutely overwhelmed and it was beautiful. The set up for the scene was amazing too - there were ceilidh, celebrations, I adored the contrast between these fast pasted scenes and guilt ridden whispers of the couple. And the way everyone sat down around the stage and suddenly it looked like a banquet table ? Just perfect.

Another really cool moment, less on the emotional side but more on the visuals was when Macbeth goes to get the second prophecy from the witches. Almost the whole cast is there, running around, moving, almost dancing and it gives the whole thing a mystical atmosphere. There’s smoke, Macbeth falls, is carried up high Jesus style, cowers, rises, it’s so busy and insane all the while there are whispers and whispers in the headphones - it manages perfectly to feel like a mystical moment.

Descent Into Madness & other cool things

For Macbeth, having the kid running around scene after scene, haunting him, and then scene where he kills him - GOD it’s powerful. Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness was so well characterised, I also loved the glass on the background that locked away some of the cast. Just wild. The actor that played Malcom actor was also really cool, and Macduff and Ross, big fan of all of them.

Overall I am overwhelmed with emotions. Tennant is truly one of my favourite actors - from Good Omens to Staged, Jessica Jones, even Harry Potter but also Mad to be Normal, Nativty, There She Goes, Around the World in 80 days, Doctor Who (god I’ve started a list, never start lists cause you’ll forget people) and so, so many more, I was truly beside myself with excitement and expectations for tonight. And it did not disappoint. I do not want to leave the theatre and I pray they release a recording of this because I want it imprinted on my soul.

(Side note: I don’t know how to use tumblr very well, for some reason whenever I try to reply to ppl it posts from my other blog? Anyway @raquel-and-sergio is in fact me)

[alienoresimagines]

“I was made to protect you” please!

These all sounds interesting. I love how poetic your wip titles are ☺️

Aw thank you ❤️ Gotta make the most of the 130k minutes spent on spotify to find good lyrics, even though this one in particulat isn't from a song 😂

@rambleonwaywardson and @coastiewife465 also asked about 'I was made to protect you' ❤️

So this is the Bodyguard AU (and royalty AU? Maybe) I briefly mentioned to @soliloquy-dawn with Prince!John and Bodyguard!Gale

It's on the backburner for now because I haven't figured out exactly what I want from it beside a general idea and tropes but!

Think of The Witcher kind of vibes. John is the Crown Prince of a kingdom who has a 'regular' army and a small amount of 'superhuman soldiers', which are often used as Royal Guards. Those few soldiers were trained since they were extremely young to the art of war, protecting and weapons, also having their senses heightened by quite gruesome magic. Since many children die in their training, parents who send their children there receive quite a lot of financial compensation. And Gale's father... well he needs money to pay off his debts and bet, and a kid is only a void for that money so here goes Gale. And of course, poor Gale overworks himself, thinking if he works hard enough he'll be allowed to go home but he works so well that higher ups decide to put him through further trials and train him even harder to be the designated Crown Prince's -so the future King- bodyguard. Quite literally "made to protect you".

Cut to a slow burn of John trying to make this stoic, ice cold of a man to crack a smile, then drama as John learns the truth of Gale's upbringing and feels guilty for it, Gale somehow visiting his hometown and realising the money his father got from him was used for bets and further endebted his parents, making his sacrifice useless, a healthy dose of hurt/comfort because what is a Bodyguard AU without one of them (or both) getting hurt, and Gale learning to be vulnerable 🥹 and to have feelings 🥹 and be loved for who he is, not just what he can do 🥹 also smut!!! John showing Gale what pleasure is lmao and being in awe at the way Gale can be such a sweetheart beneath his armor and the TRUST, the PINING, the LOYALTY

I should probably sit down and think of an actual plot but this is what I have so far 😅

Also the title is from the allegiance oath of Mattias in Six Of Crows "I was made to protect you, Only in death will I be kept from this oath" which I find so so perfect but it may be just a working title for now 🤔

If you have any thoughts or ideas for this, I'm all ears 🤗❤️

[bestworstcase]

@tumblingxelian tag from here

#OK I'd legit love to hear your take on her interactions with Oscar

oh i think about the interrogation scene a normal amount

something i want to underline before diving in is the conspicuous discrepancy between the eloquence and spoken delivery of salem's soliloquies in V1/V3 (internal monologue) versus her dialogue (verbal speech). it's especially noticeable in juxtaposition with ozma's V7 soliloquy versus ozpin's dialogue, where no such discrepancy exists; oz talks the way he thinks, he's an excellent orator and even in casual conversation he's well-spoken and charismatic.

whereas salem... thinks eloquently and often poetically ("nature's wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness..." or "it's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary..."), but speaks with minimal rhetorical flair. her speech is also sometimes a little stilted or just very, very deliberate in a way that does not sound natural; and there's times—her conversation with cinder in V5 is a particularly noticeable example—where what she says circles around what she means.

"working with bandits? keeping ruby alive? what's the point? we're strong enough to take what we want by force!" / "never underestimate the usefulness of others; take leonardo. he was one of ozpin's most trusted, but now... hm. you will have the power i promised you when the time is right, but remember that it comes with a cost. if ruby rose has learned to harness her gift, you must take care to protect yours. there's only so much i can do to aid you."

<- its like. instead of just saying it, salem says examples supporting the idea she's trying to articulate. if a conversation were a math problem, salem shows all of her work but doesn't give the answer. and she does this A LOT.

none of the other characters in the story are like this—which means it isn't, like, a problem with the writers failing to write cogent dialogue. it's a deliberate character choice for salem specifically.

anyway, prior to the interrogation scene, salem only appears in contexts where she is either addressing her subordinates or—in V7—giving ironwood the terms of her siege. on two of these occasions, she get interrupted with unexpected new information (ozpin is back, ruby rose used the lamp) and in both cases, salem abruptly ends the conversation and either kicks everyone else out (V6) or leaves (V7).

and i think that's worth noting in relation to this scene, because the interrogation veers off script very fast and we get to see salem, um, Trying Her Best.

so!

as far as salem knows, oscar is gone. she expects—prepares for—a hostile and painful confrontation with ozma. when oscar wakes up, she's huddled against a pillar in a shadowy corner with an arm curled around herself and her head low, staring fixedly at conjured shadows of her dead children. she is Not Okay.

but when she speaks, her tone is conversational. almost cordial, once she's past the withering sarcasm in "my long lost ozma... found at last." it's affected! it's not real! she's reciting words she planned and probably rehearsed beforehand—which i think is likely the case for most of her little speeches. she's a poor speaker.

except... it's oscar. salem twigs that he isn't ozma the instant he talks, stares at him for a couple seconds without no visible reaction except that her mocking little smile fades, and:

snarls and grabs his face and yanks him down to get a better look at him—the mask just shatters. there's lots of ways to interpret this, but i'm inclined to take it as salem recognizing that this isn't ozma and then second-guessing that instinct and grabbing him because she needs to be absolutely sure.

"you can pretend, boy... but you're not fully him. not yet, at least." her tone shifts on every clause, from almost a growl to relieved to just sort of resigned. and then she drops him, exhales, steps back:

and just... stands there gazing into the middle distance for a couple seconds. like—oscar being here was not a possibility she even considered until it happened and upon finding herself in this situation her reaction is basically, "...um."

and then she's like

well... :)

perhaps you and i can have a better working reLaTiOnShiP.

...

...

oscar, >:[

was it? :\

laying aside the dire understatement of referring to what happened between her and ozma as a bad "working relationship," you can like. hear. the crash box crashing in her head as she says this. her tone swings from sweet and gentle to sardonic to coldly indifferent—and then she follows this by swerving right back into cordial neutrality. hrgkhsj her affect just goes haywire

and i think that happens because this is just so far out of expected bounds that she can't figure out how to say what she needs to say to get herself back on track. her speech smooths out again as soon as she segues into her questions, because she knows what she planned to ask ozma and she can tailor that to oscar instead.

but getting there? dial-up noises.

the hysterical part though is that it's really obvious this awkward verbal jumble isn't indicative of internal confusion or uncertainty, in that salem knows what she's going to do—her chosen tactics are clear and entirely coherent. she:

calms herself down and backs off.

states her intention to play nice if he cooperates.

both implicitly and explicitly differentiates him from ozma to indicate she understands he's his own person and can and will set her rage and bitterness with ozma aside to treat oscar fairly.

which is precisely what i meant in the OP, about salem having the necessary grasp of human nature to be—in theory—a formidable manipulator but lacking the social dexterity and charisma required to put it into effective practice. like, tactically this line of attack is very shrewd, but her awkward, erratic delivery cuts the legs out from under it because she sounds utterly insincere.

⭐️ she tried.

continuing on—salem first explains the context regarding what she needs to know about "the beacon relic" (sidebar, does... salem even know what it is? this is the only one she refers to this way. the lamp, the staff, the sword, and "the beacon relic"), all in a fairly amicable tone except for:

"if i know my ozma" <- she's implicitly positioning herself and oscar on the same 'side' against ozma. this follows from her deliberate rhetorical separation of oscar from ozma and also the basis of her strategy in coaxing this information out of oscar. the reason she's taking the time for this little prologue is not to help oscar understand why she captured him necessarily. she's (trying to) set out the rules of the game she is playing. trying to, because she's doing her showing-her-work-but-not-giving-the-answer thing again.

here's what she means:

"perhaps you and i can have a better working relationship. oscar, was it?" -> i can work with you because i know you're not him. "if i know my ozma, he has used some means of deception to hide [the relic's] location differently from the others." -> ozma lies. i despise him for lying to me. i expect you to prove to me that you're not like him in this specific way. "i need to know where it is." -> i want an honest answer.

salem knows he isn't going to tell her where ozma hid the relic, if oscar even knows that information; she doesn't expect or even want him to tell her that yet, necessarily. rather, this is a test. she wants to see if oscar will try to deceive her.

"that's not something i know about." he passes.

immediately, salem rewards him for being honest. "of course." she removes her hand from the hound's shoulder and moves away.

"he would keep that one guarded as long as possible." she also takes the opportunity to reinforce that she sees oscar as a separate individual and insinuates that ozma is actively keeping secrets from both of them.

and again, this is a cunning approach because:

oscar is scared and uncomfortable. he quite clearly anticipates that salem is going to get angry and hurt him as he says he doesn't know the answer. so when she accepts "i don't know" without hesitation and physically moves out of his personal space, it creates these feelings of surprise and relief.

that emotional reaction is the key to salem's strategy here. first she tells oscar that she will be reasonable if he cooperates, then she clarifies her expectations ("don't lie.") she asks a question knowing full well that he either can't or won't answer it. he says "i don't know" and braces for retaliation, but instead salem goes "okay" and turns down the heat. she's demonstrating through her actions that she's going to play fair.

"how about something easier, then? the password for the lamp."

she doesn't expect him to tell her this one either. not yet. it's another test that builds from the first. she's established that "i don't know" is a safe answer (as long as it's true). what salem's fishing for him to say now is "i'm not going to tell you that."

why? when she walked away, she left oscar hanging from the hound's jaws. salem lowered the heat—she didn't turn it all the way off. the point of all this is to teach oscar how to play her game, and the last rule he needs to know is that "i won't say" is also a safe answer. had he given her that answer, the hound would have set him down and withdrawn to lay down in the entryway.

only then would the game truly begin. the idea is to draw oscar into something like a real conversation and gradually get him comfortable saying things like "i don't know" and "i won't answer that question" by cultivating trust. once that rapport exists, it becomes really easy to turn the discussion around by asking oscar why? why not take the risk of trusting her with this or that information? after all, she's been nothing but polite and reasonable. does he truly still believe she's the evil monster ozma made her out to be? she gave him the benefit of the doubt... can't he do the same for her?

salem wins by convincing him she's a person he can negotiate with. that pulling this off would be the ultimate fuck-you to ozma only makes it more satisfying.

of course, that's not what actually happens. (partly because salem talked a circle about the "don't lie" rule and oscar—who hasn't spent the last four volumes seeing that his woman yells and flips tables when she's lied to—didn't pick up the hint.) instead, he tries to deceive her again and salem lashes out.

<- the physical violence gets all the attention from the fandom, and i do understand why, it's nasty and protracted and made to be viscerally unpleasant to watch, but. it's only a placeholder, something salem does while she considers what she's going to do—and say—to hurt him in a way that will never heal.

ok.

salem gets that oscar isn't ozma, didn't ask to become him, and feels desperate to retain his own identity distinct and separate from for as long as possible. she knows how ozma's reincarnation works, what this curse does to his hosts. it's not hard to figure out that it is a horrifying, traumatizing ordeal for the souls he's "paired" with. this is why she makes such a particular point of differentiating between oscar and ozma.

"the lies come out of you so easily." ("if i know my ozma, he has used some means of deception...")

why does she caress his face like this? to make him remember her like ozma does. "like-minded souls, indeed." you can pretend, boy, but so much of you is him that you remember even this.

the torture is just the preshow. this is the cruelest, most devastating thing she could possibly do to him, and salem knows it. she gave him a pass on pretending to be ozma, and he threw the second chance back in her face by lying to her again; she's furious and upset and she wants to HURT him.

this is how porous the boundaries between you and him have become. this is how close you are to being him. this is how little of you there is left to lose. like-minded souls, indeed.

like.

she does this to fuck with his head and it horrifies him so much that oscar spends the remainder of this arc actively choosing to endure being hazel's literal punching bag rather than let ozma take over or try to escape using ozma's magic. in 8.6:

OZMA: I’d like to express again that this is my burden to bear, not yours. His grudge is with me. OSCAR: No, it’ll be even worse. He’s holding back with me, I can tell. OZMA: I understand. I do. But you’ve done so much already. The least I can do is give you a break and try to get us out of here. OSCAR: We can’t leave yet.

they go back and forth, oscar proposes trying to flip hazel, ozma agrees it's worth a try. when hazel comes in, ozpin goes "oscar, please"—and because oscar doesn't respond, it's ambiguous whether he gives ozma control or if ozma shunts him aside again as he did at haven academy.

either way, the next we see of oscar after the interrogation scene is ozma entreating oscar to let him take over and oscar going no no no, that'll make it worse, no i don't need a break, i've got a plan, no no we have to stay here. and while his reasoning is cogent... this is a fifteen year old boy who's spent the whole day getting beaten up by a guy three times his size, and he actively wants to stay and be tortured more rather than let ozma front for a while.

and then in 8.9:

OZMA: I think this plan to divide may have run its course. It’s time we start thinking about a way out; not having our cane certainly limits our options, so… OSCAR: No! I don’t like what happens when we use magic. Every time we use it, I can feel us merging faster. I'm not ready for that.

the deeper truth gets spoken aloud.

this is not a new thing with oscar—his emotional core has always been existential dread—but framing it in this way, set against hours and hours of brutal torture that oscar insists is the less bad option, represents a massive spike in the intensity of his horror.

because salem Did That.

anyway the interrogation scene is great. 10/10.

[firerquacker]

Fuck off longer javert rant cuz I can (musical only)

In my opinion,Javert is one of the most complex, well written characters to ever exist. For some reason, most people believe that Javert is the antagonist of the book “les miserables”, however; I completely disagree. I think he was an honest man, a victim of the law just like Jean Val jean. Starting with the musical, first and foremost the lyric “I’ll escape now from this world from the world of jean valjean” which means that he finally realized he was chasing an innocent man solely because he thought he was doing “god” had assigned him to do . That he was being loyal to a country he loved so dearly and if you think about it, In the end the law did win. Another lyric to further prove my point “can this man be believed ? Shall his sins be forgiven? Shall his crimes be reprieved?”its growing more and more evident that Javert is starting to truly realize Valjean’s innocence , he’s beginning to doubt just how righteous the system he’d built his very life upon. This is further proven by yet another lyric “and must I now begin to doubt, who never doubted all these years”. Another thing I love about javert is how he is truly just a copy of Jean. They are two sides of the same coin, the humanitarian and the human in his rawest form. This is proven yet again in the musical as both Val Jean’s soliloquy and Javert’s suicide are the exact same song, not just in melody, but also in emotion. Both tell a story ridden with anger and regret; however, whilst Jean speaks of new beginnings, rebirth. Javert , on the other hand, speaks of the end, a flame that once burnt so bright now extinguished with no chance of re-ignition. In the movie, as god awful as is, Javert gives Gavroche his medal, pinning it on his dead body. It was painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to analyze Javert’s body language that in the very moment he truly realized just how messed up the entire revolution was. He deemed the child that died in an attempt to make living in France as a non-aristocrat possible. In a world Where the poor are left to scavenge through filth and lick their own wounds in private; whilst the high and mighty had their entire existence handed to them on a silver platter. He knew that child was braver than he had ever been. However; I believe that seeing valjean carry a wounded marius , a boy no older that 18,through the filthy sewers was what finally broke his resolve , at that moment guilt consumed his very being it seeped out of his pores and clutched his soul like a vice . He saw suicide as the only way to cleanse his soul of all the “sins” he’d committed. That perhaps if he died then the lord may accept his soul, cleanse his being of said guilt, he viewed himself as a martyr.

[kibbits]

Hey it’s been a while! Lot of stuff happened, new meds, got my very first apartment (750, Trash, Water, Electricity, with WiFi included, I don’t know how I got that lucky), but I’m back to bother you with new questions. And combining it with a shared favorite, GITM! How do you think your BAL boys would work in the mansion? I know they’d probably get along best with Fool, but what’s your take?

Hi hi hello I missed you!! Omg that is. Such a good price HELL yeah! I'm glad you're doing good!! Oh boy I. Really need to continue reading GITM again fjddj (got stuck wanting to make art at chapter 5)

Hi. It is a few hours later, and I have read up to chapter 9 djdhdh

OK! Answer might change in the future when I get to know the denizens of the Mill more, but without further ado–

Well! First of all, I think it would be more interesting if they're in the midway point of their journey? And I feel like it'd be interesting if they were stuck (more like an intentional thing by Fazco techs) as Sun physically, with Moon able to pipe in as usual.

Some hard boundaries were set in place - the dynamic duo CANNOT be manhandling old man Harry JDJFJDD they Almost do it ONCE, and they develop a healthy respect for Sunspot after the stern talking-to it gets them

Help, I'm thinking too hard about this

I even made a list of possible names for them fjdbdbd

Soliloquy, Thespian, Chorus, Shakespear, Gemini (Castor and Pollux, the twin stars fjdbd), Jekyll and Hyde, Charming

I feel like they'd get a bunch of nicknames

Anyway!

I feel like they'd get along with Fool best, you're so right! Theatrical, and very playful, though maybe a little less disrespectful and debonaire than Fool tends to be fjfjfj Fool would prob call them something like Charming because of Sun's prince charming tendencies

Also they are in direct competition with Fool for draping their big coat on Cricket's shoulders pff

They'd get along with Misuta also, though I feel like it might get a little strained at times with them stuck in Sun mode (you know why... Sun theater bot) and a little more restless?

They would get along with Soleil for exactly as long as it takes for Sol to realize that Moon is almost always online, and then they would not get along at all, oh boy. Well, I say that, but it's more like Sol would try and convince Sun to do without his counterpart (impossible, they're not quite an Eclipse but not quite two people) , and the boys would think it's all in good fun to trade elaborate insults with Soleil. Who I feel calls them something like Jekyll and Hyde from then on pff

I think I've settled on Soliloquy (so-lil-o-kwee), ironically nicknamed Solo.

I love the idea that sometimes they're called the Twins pfff

Face and Heel. Heads or Tails ehehe

Oh! Almost forgot the Cricket nickname! I was thinking muse, but that's too cliché. I think they catch them moving to their tunes in the basement and call them "jitterbug" <3

On a more angsty note, they spent a lot of time in complete isolation, so they probably get overstimulated easily, and a little manic as a result, oop. Like a lot of the bots, they would probably be confined to the Mill itself.

Sun will intentionally try to let Moon control their body. It doesn't work quite as well and still looks like Sun visually, but it kind of gives an uncanny 'puppet' vibe to their movements. It makes Moon much less dangerous - poor guy can't get fine movements quite right

Anyway thank you so much for your ask Starry!!

[merciawintersageposting]

A little more head canon- this time about how Rook met the Companions at the Necropolis🐦‍⬛🗡️☠️

Part 1: The Magpie.

Power is the same everywhere. Especially among the dead.

The Grand Necropolis, Maker’s Mile in common, was where the wealthy dead found new life under the careful stewardship of their equally privileged caretakers. The so-called Mortalitasi. In these grand halls, the spirits of the poor are an afterthought for most, or an encroaching blight to others.

Just like home, Rook noted warily.

They pass quietly through grand romanesque archways and stone-paved hallways in a minder’s drab brown clothes. Invisible in the bustle of spirits, guards and minders. Their head respectfully bowed under a cowl, the only sound that of the rattle of a silver trolley on wheels. It’s such a thing to be seen by many and yet remain invisible to most, as servants often are. But then crowd cover is a shield- and Rook moved with the purposeful walk of a servant headed to complete an errand.

Most Crows count themselves as carrion makers, but Rook’s specialty was of a different variety. Less sanguine, more…surgical and acquisitive. Amidst all the rumors and speculation about the Crows, you’ve likely heard whispers of the ragazze. A pitiable pun, but the Antivan root word for “youth” is gazze, or Magpie. Trained from toddling to adulthood as the wily procurers of shiny objects, they are taught to fetch and retrieve for the guild. Curios. Information. Secrets. Birds of prey collared by short leashes and even shorter lives. Rook is one of their number.

Whispers of conversation, long past and curiously present, flow around Rook through the skeletal interior of the Necropolis. Traveling along the artfully sculpted ribbed dome toward shelves filled with noble bones in noble tableaus. All leading to the offices of the Mourn Watch.

Normally this corridor is silent as a tomb, the only indications of life the mottled marble plaques above each door inscribed with the names of individual Watchers. The living stewards of the mostly departed.

Today however, voices carry from the office of Professor Emmrich Volkarin. Rook had expected a few disruptions. Patience is not a virtue for a Crow after all. Simply the cost of doing business. So they waited in the wings, and listened.

An upper class tenor voice said something they couldn’t quite make out- something about a text, the undead, and the Fade, but the man was speaking too animatedly for Rook to catch it. This, they were certain, was the Watcher in question.

“We know the Necropolis is next, Professor.” Harding cut through the professor’s academic soliloquy.

At this Emmrich deflated- and sat down heavily in his office chair, fingers steepled.

“It’s all rather apocalyptic,” Emmrich said, and then more decidedly, “Manfred— this calls for tea.”

The skeleton’s unearthly green gems glittered with banked sass.

“But of course. And will his lordship also require shortbread?” the skeleton riposted in the most affected and crusty accent he could muster.

Emmrich pursed his lips, accustomed as he was to their dynamic.

“As you may recall, I rang last time. And you drew tails this morning.” Emmrich replied.

“Pity that,” Manfred tutted in false sympathy, “but don’t get up on my account, think of your knees.”

“…and Manfred-“ Emmrich ignored the barb and continued abashed, “about the biscuits...”

Manfred pulled the brown velvet bell pull at the doorway while the glittering gems in his eye sockets rolled so loudly they creaked.

“We were saying Professor—“ Varric interjected, clearing his throat as he had little stomach for pleasantries today. He shared this trait with the Crow leaning on the wall beside him. But the only sign of impatience Lucanis had shown so far was the occasional grimace at the chatty professor.

And then a little interruption changed everything. The knock at the door for tea came far too soon. All eyes snapped toward the archway.

Varric would later call what followed Mayhem at the Mortuary.

For more, here’s Part 2.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

As a teacher, what has been your fave shakespere play to teach your students? What interesting themes do the kids these days pick up on or connect with? Has there been any interesting insights your students have brought that have surprised you?

Thanks for the question! So I haven't taught English since before the pandemic, because I finally found a school that doesn't reserve the history classes for the coaches (this kept happening to me when I moved back to the States, I'm dual certified, so I'd get hired for history and they'd move me to English when they hired a coach. This happened like 3 times), which is great for me, I vastly prefer teaching history. But did teach a lot of English previously and I'd say the answer really depends on the group of kids, their reading level, how much they'd been exposed to previously.

There's a reason high schools usually start off with Romeo and Juliet in the 9th grade. The story is not difficult to follow, most teenagers are familiar with the concept of forbidden romance, and the themes are age appropriate. I've taught King Lear, which is one of my personal favorites, to a group of very advanced and very keen 12th graders (so 17-18 years old), and I think even they were too young and lacking the life experience to really get it (it's kind of unfortunate that by the time King Lear hits hardest, which imo is once your own parents start aging, most of us are not reading Shakespeare anymore. Very few people read it outside of a school setting, nerds on tumblr notwithstanding). So it can be objectively more rewarding to teach a relatively basic play like Romeo and Juliet, than to teach a more advanced play like King Lear, even though I like King Lear better, simply because it's more suited to the age group.

But probably my favorite play to teach is Hamlet, which I've taught in both 11th and 12th grade. Hamlet is a broody young man, he's home from university and his life sucks, his asshole uncle has married his mom, he's pretty sure his dad was murdered, his girlfriend literally kills herself, there's a ghost, and no one is listening to him. It strikes a good balance in that it has some great soliloquys, including the famous "to be or not to be," that you can really dig into, but which don't get too far into the weeds and don't require a whole history lesson to understand. There are allusions, but they're mostly mythology based (like Niobe, all tears, Hyperion to a satyr) which makes them easy for the kids to look up. Importantly, it asks age appropriate existential questions about life and death (what's the point in living when you're miserable, is suffering noble, what if death is not better), stuff that teenagers grapple with. Macbeth is also good to teach because it's quite exciting with all of the murder, betrayal, and of course the witches.

It's been four years since I last taught English so it's hard for me to remember any specific insights from the kids at the moment but I will say that in general, one of my favorite lessons to teach each year in the Shakespeare unit was on the use of language. The kids fucking loved learning iambic pentameter. One of my favorite things to do was write a couple of lines on the board (I usually used two lines from Julius Caesar which were the same lines my own English teacher used to teach us when I was in school Poor man! I know he would not be a wolf/But that he sees the Romans are but sheep) and get them to beat out the meter on their desks. They thought it was so cool that iambic meter has the same rhythm as the human heart, and that it is more or less the natural rhythm of our speech. When we'd read the plays, I'd catch them tapping out the meter to themselves to test it out.

In general, I enjoyed teaching Shakespeare, but it was also a struggle. It's very hard to get kids who, for the most part, do not read for pleasure to read a whole play in early modern English. Mostly their reading consists of short passages as part of standardized testing, and they're very resistant to the very idea of Shakespeare, which they write off as old and boring. As a teacher I had to work very hard to make the text engaging enough to push past that wall and while there are always kids who are just not going to get there, every year I taught Shakespeare I was always pleasantly surprised by how many kids would get fully invested. I guess it's just fun when the kids are actually into the story. The themes are great and all, but Shakespeare wrote these plays to be entertaining and it makes me really happy when the kids are entertained by them.

[lamaenthel]

Please Don't

[read on ao3][masterlist]Febuwhump prompt: unresponsive

"You cannot abandon your life's work!" Chirrut insisted. "My life's work was a lie," Baze said flatly. "You see what is happening. There are so few of us left. How many were killed this year by the Empire?" He shook his head. "The Force was never with us, Chirrut. And if it was, then it died with the Jedi." Chirrut's shoulders sagged. "You know that isn't true. I know that the news was—" "The Stormtroopers invaded the hospitals," Baze interrupted, his voice cracking. "They shot them in their beds for being rebels, but one was only ten years old. Ten years old!" He turned away, tears in his eyes. "I will not sit by and protect a building and its statues when there are living people who need my protection far more."

Characters: Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus Wordcount: 458

"Please don't." Chirrut hurried recklessly down the stairs.

Baze let out a weary sigh. He had left in the middle of the night for a reason. "It is already done. I have left the Temple and renounced my uneti staff. I am no longer a Guardian."

"Of course you are!" Chirrut's cast-encased leg dragged dangerously on the stairs; six weeks after being broken by the Empire's Stormtroopers for feeding the poor without a permit, he was still refusing to use crutches because they hurt his underarms. 

"Quit running before you break your neck!" Baze barked sharply. 

"If I do, it'll be your fault."

"Bah." Baze scoffed at him. "You won't change my mind."

"You cannot abandon your life's work!" Chirrut insisted.

"My life's work was a lie," Baze said flatly. "You see what is happening. There are so few of us left. How many were killed this year by the Empire?" He shook his head. "The Force was never with us, Chirrut. And if it was, then it died with the Jedi."

Chirrut's shoulders sagged. "You know that isn't true. I know that the news was—"

"The Stormtroopers invaded the hospitals," Baze interrupted, his voice cracking. "They shot them in their beds for being rebels, but one was only ten years old. Ten years old!" He turned away, tears in his eyes. "I will not sit by and protect a building and its statues when there are living people who need my protection far more."

"So you are staying?" 

"In NiJedha, yes. But not at the Temple of Kyber."

"Then there is hope." Chirrut smiled serenely.

 Baze rolled his eyes. "Hope for what?"

"Don't roll your eyes at me."

"Don't worry about what my eyes are doing." He went to flick Chirrut in the forehead and had his hand batted away and used to pull him into an embrace. 

"We will see each other soon, then, dear heart." Chirrut rested his forehead against Baze's. "If this is the path that the Force wills for you, so be it. But promise me that you will not deny me. Come back to me once a month, lest I go mad without you."

"Foolish man." Baze pulled Chirrut into a hard kiss that left them both gasping. He stroked his lover's face and barely managed a teary smile. "You will come to me once a week, or I will succumb to despair and burn down Imperial Headquarters with myself inside of it."

"That's not funny."

"Who said I was joking?"

"Bah." Chirrut shook his head and laughed. "Fine. Go, then. I will find you in a week."

"Goodbye, Chirrut." Baze turned and resumed his descent.

"May the Force be with you," Chirrut cheekily called once he'd made it to the landing.

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @febuwhump, @soliloquy-of-nemo Divider: @saradika-graphics

[yanderefairyangel]

Saw this take: "Eddy bad because she started a war? Boy you don't want to play any of the other FE games" Um you mean the games where they say war is bad and the person who starts it is normally a villain most of the times. And it's generally common sense that someone who starts a war is not a great person? Especially if it's over revanchist nationalism and desire to wipe out an endangered race? I swear this fandom lost common sense.

What ?

Look, Edelgard is literaly the FIRST time ever that a protagonist in Fire Emblem was the one who started the war.

Fe 1/3 : Marth is dragged into this

Fe 2: Alm is dragged into this

Fe 4 : Sigurd is dragged into this and Seliph is forced to partake to liberate Jugdral

Fe 5 : Leif is dragged into this and had to fight to liberate Thracia

Fe 6: Roy is dragged into this and Guinevre, the sister of the man who started all this, would rather join with the 15 year old boi to stop this nonsense then support her brother

Fe 7: Dragged into this

Fe 8 : The twins are literaly fighting to save the world and lost their father because of war

Fe 9/10 : Didn't played them but how much do you wanna bet Ike is dragged into this ?

Fe13 : Again, Chrom has to fight to save his kingdom

Fe 14 : You get to choose who to side with but Corrin's isn't the one who started the war and at the end you beat the guy who declared war in the first place anyway

Fe 17 : You have to save the world.

Yes Fire Emblem is about war, but always showing all the negative consequences of war : it leads to poverty, it makes people suffer, it's literaly Eldigan's soliloquy that nobles sucks because they dragg innocent people into a mess that is war because "we are greedy and war has no benefit what'sover"

Eddie stated a war and what happened ? The whole continent was in chaos for 5 years, some innocent civilians died or became so poor they had to resort to banditry. As you point out, there is a reason why the war is always started by the main antagonist of the game rather then the protag who is an idealistic figure a bit naive who wish for the peace in all world. I get that people like Eddie and want to defend her but saying "akshually war not Bad because Fe is about war" is probably the stupidest way someone could do it no other way to phrase it

[frischkasekuchen]

Mutuals x IT AU (As Told By Vanya)- Tortoise

Credits:

IT by Stephen King

Reve by @/kyokyo866

Vanya by @/thriftlita

Content Warnings:

None really

Starring:

Vanya

Me as myself from 2021-2022(?)

(A/N: Something I wrote for fun because schoolwork is stressing me out. @pearlsongfromstuff, @shu-dzhoker if yall have an idea of IT!Vanya's entries on you, I'd love to see it!)

July 1X, 1958

My family has now met two more strange adolescents. 

Kase Knowles (the third) is another teenager a part of Shu’s circle. And like the child themselves, she is eccentric…but in a matter that is more subdued? (I call her cherepakha now)

She wears all black (I am shocked she was not a witch as well), wears glasses with fancy frames, and has an orange(red?) crucifix. She is the tallest of the group and compared to the other two, she has her hair cut very short(it appears that this trio is androgynus.).

Personality wise? She is incredibly timid.

When I first met her in the library, she was being cornered by a young man.

—

The girl began shrinking away from the young man before her. She looked uncomfortable - no - terrified. Covered in sweat and legs unsteady.

The boy with freckles moved forward, invading her space, speaking in a low voice. Whatever he said made the poor thing tense up even more.

Vanya was told that he was too nosy, that he should mind his own business, that he would get killed poking around. But, he couldn't just gawk could he?

“Oh, devochka!” He cooed with all the acting experience he got from highschool theater. He rushed to the girl’s side and threw an arm over her. He gave her a playful, strangling half hug; classic fatherly behavior. “There you are! Do not go running off like that- you will give me more gray hairs!”

The girl looked around like a scared rabbit, before realizing what he was up to. “S-so sorry!”

Vanya gave the girl a gentle pat on her head, before narrowing his eyes on the boy.

“Mm?” he hummed, “I am interrupting something?” 

Vanya was always told that unconsciously, he had an intimidating aura when he was angry. According to his new house tenant, his aura had a thick, purple smoke and his eyes would be shrouded in shadows.The old man himself couldn't see it, but he hoped that the freckled boy saw it and took the hint.

The young man glared back at him. Like was going to falter before a scrawny lech.

The boy scoffed, giving up and skulking off. Vanya waited a few seconds before his footsteps were out of earshot.

…

He’s gone.

“So sorry for startling you.” He removed himself from the girl. “Are you alright, miss?” He took her wrists in his calloused hands, inspecting for any wounds.

—

Kase was flustered when I looked her over for any bruises. Her eyes widened, her face reddened, and she tried to sink into her collar. Adorable.

Her timidity does not stop there. She stammers, twiddles her fingers, refuses to engage in eye contact at all costs. Once When she wanted to know where the bathroom was, I was in a conversation with Herald. Instead of saying “pardon me”, she stood behind us until Herald pointed her out.

Kase is not always closed off, she can open up, well, if you talk books. She loves literature with what seems to be a burning passion. After I had offhandedly mentioned Edgar Allan Poe- her face lit up. Our conversation started with poets, then veered off to Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker. Wild hand gestures, pacing, broken English. It wasn’t until she realized that I wasn’t speaking that she concluded her soliloquy. She apologized for taking my time, but at worst, lunch was later than I had intended. 

Afterwards, I asked her to read for me. Kase was taken off guard for a moment, but she entertained my request anyway. I fell asleep as she read Jane Eyre.

In the evening, Shu woke me up for dinner.

Note: Fashion some new clothes for the pudgy girl.