#am i doing eva justice? do people really like her?

[foxballad]

Good morning! I have things on queue so if i owe you a reply it will be posted. I think i have answered all the threads that i owe according to my thread tracker but if i forgot to answer something, please let me know! I already started to work on the memes i owe in my askbox so they will be put on queue too!

Also i will be quietly writing them in my drafts. I’m kind of feeling negative about my portrayal but hopefully this will pass soon 😭😭😭

[youthofpandas]

Emil Sinclair & Frau Eva

A consistent problem I’ve run into while discussing the novel Demian is the rejection of Emil’s relationship with Eva in favor and treating it as if it is nothing but a tool to analyze the relationship that he shares with Demian. People treat his feelings towards Eva as fake, imagined, and entirely as misplaced affections that he holds towards Demian and become quite defensive when told that isn’t the case in the actual text of the book. I’m no stranger to interpreting things in ways that don’t quite match canon, especially when they make me uncomfortable, and it is clear to me that discomfort or even disgust is how a lot of people view this relationship as given the age gap between them and the general preference for seeing Emil with Demian instead of Eva. I have no problems with that aspect of this little debate, discomfort is more than allowed and I’m not writing this to force people into liking the idea of their relationship.

What I am writing this for, and what I do find a problem with, is the way that people attempt to force an erasure of this aspect of the book and will accuse people of misreading the novel when acknowledging its existence. To say that someone does not understand the book or Emil’s character because they made reference to his love for Eva or his general affinity for mature women just seems to signal that there is a confusion of what the book actually says. Emil does love Eva and it is not misplaced love for Demian. From the moment he dreams of her to the moment Demian passes a kiss from his mother to Emil, Emil loves her. (That doesn’t mean he doesn’t also love Demian, by the way, but this post/essay isn’t about that, so I won’t be dwelling on the feelings he holds for Demian).

This is not going to be a complete, in-depth look at her character and role in the story and will instead simply focus on the actual relationship Emil has with her throughout the story and the ways that the novel sets up their relationship and makes it explicitly clear what sort of relationship exists between them. I feel it has been a massive disservice to her character to view her as nothing more than a woman getting in the way of a relationship or as if all of the quite beautiful descriptions of her person and effect on Emil are inconsequential and/or imagined, so I hope that this does some justice to Hesse’s work.

All quotes taken from the translation of the novel done by W. J. Strachan.

To begin, I will actually be talking about Max Demian himself, because Eva can be understood through son as he acts as a bit of a proto-Eva in Emil's life. They have a similar appearance, as it is often noted, they both bear the ‘sign’, they are deeply linked to Emil’s personal growth and relationship with the world, so to get a full grasp of his relationship with Eva it is also important to look at how he sees Demian and the key overlaps between them. So, let's look at one of the descriptions Emil writes of his dear friend.

This remarkable boy seemed older than he looked; he did not in fact seem like a boy at all. He moved among us more childish members of the school strangely mature, like a man, or rather a gentleman. He was not popular; he took no part in games, still less in the general rough and tumble and it was only the firm self-confident tone he adapted in his attitude towards the masters that won him favour with the other boys. He was called Max Demian.

Note how it focuses on his age and maturity, even though he is literally a couple years older than Emil, spiritually, thematically, he is older than even that. He is like a man, an adult. Here's a similar passage from another moment where Emil describes his friend:

I saw Demian's face and remarked that it was not a boy's face but a man's and then I saw, or rather became aware, that it was not really the face of a man either; it had something different about it, almost a feminine element. And for the time being his face seemed neither masculine nor childish, neither old nor young but a hundred years old, almost timeless and bearing the mark of other periods of history than our own.

Once again we see that he is more than a child, Demian is aged, grown, but not old nor young. In contrast to Emil who is youthful and immature, someone who has not yet begun his true journey. Here we also see a hint at there being a feminine element to Demian. Demian represents not just the fact that he is mature and capable of leading Emil through the spiritual journey he so longs for, but that he is not limited to just one world. He is not stuck in the dichotomy of light and dark, of masculine and feminine, of age and youth, he is both and neither.

Continuing the subject of maturity, we can take a look at the moment we share with Alfons Beck, a relationship that Emil describes with "we seemed to have a perfect understanding of each other" and, while a character who does not stay around long, acts as a mentor in the way he teaches Emil to grow up when it concerns sexuality and affections. It isn't long after this moment that Emil begins his venture into the world of darkness and almost loses himself to indulgence and excess of drinking and what have you, but it is clear from the later scenes with Knauer that Emil retains this personal growth surrounding sex and desire.

I heard amazing things; things I would not have thought possible were trotted out as part of everyday reality and seemed quite normal. Alfons Beck had already gained experience of women in his less than eighteen years of life. He had learned, for example, that girls were only out for flirtation and attention, which was all very agreeable but not the real thing. There was more chance of that with mature women. They were much more reasonable. You could talk with Frau Jaggelt who kept the stationer's shop, and a book could not contain all the various goings-on behind her counter. I sat there spell-bound and stupefied. Certainly I could never have loved Frau Jaggelt - but nevertheless it was terrific. There seemed to be hidden springs as least for my seniors, whose existence had never suspected. It all had a false ring about it, a more ordinary and insignificant flavour than love should have, in my opinion, but at all events it was life and adventure and I was sitting next to someone who had actually experienced it and to whom it seemed a normal thing.

By the end of this talk, Emil feels like a boy listening to a man. He understands that in this area he is behind, yet still is drawn to it. Alfons Beck is here, quite clearly, setting up and building upon the themes of maturity, especially that of women. This is very important seeing how it is one of the first times he is so explicit about his feelings regarding sexuality, and it is not by accident that this conversation regards mature, older women.

Another element here is that Emil points out that he finds more passing encounters, attraction without the intent to form a significant relationship, to be not founded in love - or at least the type of love he desires. I point this out because it establishes the idea that the types of relationships and attraction Emil is most interested in are ones that are serious and lasting. Quick, temporary connections excite him, intrigue him, because of course they do, he is a young man away from home and free to explore the world for the first time in his life and he has wants and desires. But, as we will see in his actions towards Eva later on, what he is most interested in a more true kind of love.

I'm going to hop straight to the painting next, as it is the real start of his relationship with Eva. There's a lot with the painting that I don't believe needs to be quoted directly so I've chosen a description of his realization of who it reminds him of.

Then one morning when I awoke from one of these dreams, I suddenly recognized it. It looked so fantastically familiar and seemed to call out my name. It appeared to know me as a mother, as if its eyes had been fixed on me all my life. I stared at the picture with beating heart, the close, brown hair, the half-feminine mouth, the strong forehead with its strange brightness-which it had assumed of its own accord-and I realized that my recognition, my rediscovery and knowledge of it were becoming more and more a reality.

He says after this that it resembles Demian, it was not his features exactly but there is no mistaking the fact that it was ultimately Demian's face. A motherly, matured woman version of Demian. This will later be seen to be the same description he gives Eva, even beyond the fact that he explicitly states that it is her as I'll quote later.

The effects this painting have on him are, as we all know, quite extreme and trigger many contradictory feelings within him. It is obvious that he worships it, he puts it on the wall in a way he can look at the face first thing in the morning, the same way one would look at a lover in bed upon waking up, he cries over it and clearly experiences intense lust and attraction towards the figure depicted in it. He also finds these feelings towards it revolting and terrifying, and would sometimes call it a devil and a murderer. At this point in the story, he still has lingering shame for these sorts of desires, even if he has begun to embrace them in some ways, he hasn’t fully overcome his belief that the world is separated in two halves and as a result views many things in extremes of both the most beautiful parts of the world of the light and the worst of the tempting world of darkness.

But for full context on this painting, we also need to look at the dream in which its subject appeared in, the most important dream of his life that he dreamed of night after night.

This dream, the most important and enduring of my life, followed this pattern: I was on my way to my parents' home and over the main entrance the heraldic bird gleamed gold on an azure ground. My mother walked towards me but when I entered and she was about to kiss me, it was no longer she but a form I had never set eyes on, tall and strong with a look of Max Demian and my painted portrait - yet it was somehow different and despite the robust frame, very feminine. The form drew me to itself and enveloped me in a deep, shuddering embrace. My feelings were a mixture of ecstasy and horror, the embrace was at once an act of worship and a crime. The form that embraced me had something about it of both my mother and my friend Demian and also this embrace violated every sense of religious awe, yet it was bliss. Sometimes I awoke out of this dream with a feeling of ecstasy, sometimes in mortal fear and with a tortured conscience as if I had committed some terrible sin.

Here we see Emil's most important dream: one where he is filled with ecstasy when embracing a figure that is a sort of halfway point between his mother and his friend. I'm going to share another passage from later, when he sees Frau Eva for the first time since childhood.

Sensing my interest in them, she took me into the house, looked out a leather album and showed me a photograph of Demian's mother. I could hardly remember her but now that I had the small photograph before me my heart stood still. It was the picture of my dreams. There she was, the tall, almost masculine figure, looking like her son, but with maternal traits, traits of severity and deep passion, beautiful and alluring, beautiful and unapproachable, daimon and mother, fate and lover. There was no mistaking her! The discovery that my dream image existed on this earth affected me like some fantastic miracle! So there was a woman who looked like that, who bore the features of my destiny! Where was she? Where? And she was Demian's mother!

So, this figure he dreams about, the figure he paints? It is Frau Eva. And we see here that, much like how her son is described as feminine, she is described as masculine. She also is inherently full of contrasts: daimon and mother, beautiful and unapproachable. Frau Eva and Demian follow the same pattern of being opposing natures who exist in one, the deconstruction of the binary and embracing something that is less easy to categorize. They embody the same ideals as Abraxas, of Emil's dreams.

Speaking of Abraxas and Frau Eva, here is his proper introduction to her as an adult.

With eyes moistened with tears I gazed at my painting, absorbed in my reflections. Then my glance dropped. Under the picture of the bird in the opened door stood a tall woman in a dark dress. It was she. I was unable to utter a word. From a face that resembled her son's, timeless and ageless and full of inward strength, the beautiful, dignified woman gave me a friendly smile. Her gaze was fulfillment, her greeting a homecoming. Silently I stretched out my hands towards her. She took them both in her warm. firm hands. "You are Sinclair. I recognized you at once. Welcome!" Her voice was deep and warm. I drank it up like sweet wine. And now I looked up and into her quiet face, the black unfathomable eyes, at her fresh, ripe lips, the open, queenly brow that bore the 'sign.' "How glad I am!" I said and kissed her hands. "I believe I have been on my way here the whole of my life and now I have reached home at last." She gave a motherly smile.

Eva makes her entrance quite literally alongside the painting of Abraxas Emil painted not long after he put a name to the face of the painting he made of her. He describes this as reaching home, incredibly important to him after he has been feeling so outcast from the home he grew up in. And he loves her deep voice, her quiet face that resembles her son's, and her friendly, motherly smile.

Eva and Abraxas, the god he worships and adores, are linked beings. This all builds on to the Demian and Cain, Eva and Eve connections. Eve the mother of both Cain the murderer and Abel the victim, Eve the woman born of God who spoke to the Devil and committed the first sin (which to bearer's of the Sign was surely not a sin), is now properly linked to Abraxas and it all feeds quite well into a similar theme. Eva is mother and she is home.

Eva is the origin of Demian, an embodiment of his ideals with even more maturity, she created the one who created Emil in a manner of speaking. She truly represents a world that is not divided into light and darkness, the very world that Emil chases after and wishes to believe in. It only makes sense, then, that he would find her so attractive and want her, desire her. By this point, so late into the novel, Emil is quite grown up, literally and spiritually, compared to the young, lost boy he was at the start. He has accepted sexual desires, accepted the world is complex and rejected many of the beliefs he held as a child, and he wants Eva the way any grown man might.

But, of course as we established earlier, Emil wants more than a passing encounter fueled by lust. He wants a real kind of love. And when he has gotten to know her and understand her as a real person rather than just a figure in his dreams, he writes the following, detailed, heavily romantic, filled with yearning and love passage:

On many occasions I believed that it was not really just her as a person, whom I yearned for with all my being, but that she existed as an outward symbol of my inner self and her sole purpose was to lead me more deeply into myself. Things she said often sounded like replies from my unconscious mind to burning questions which tormented me. There were other moments when as I sat beside her I was consumed with sensual desire and kissed objects which she had touched. And little by little sensual and transcendental love, reality and symbol mingled together. As I thought about her in my room at home in tranquil absorption, I felt her hand in mine and her lips touching my lips. Or I would be conscious of her presence, look into her face, speak with her and hear her voice, not knowing whether she was real or a dream. I began to realize how one can be possessed of a lasting and immortal love. I would gain knowledge of a new religion from my reading, and it would give me the same feeling as a kiss from Eva. She stroked my hair and smiled with all her warm affection, and I had the same feeling as when I took a step forward in knowledge of my inner self. Her person embraced everything that was significant and fateful for me. She could be transformed into each one of my thoughts and each of my thoughts could be transformed into her.

This paragraph here always sticks with me, the way his love transcends reality. It mirrors the way that Demian's existence is questionably real, that the moments he shared with the Demian family are somewhere fundamentally between imagined and real. Does she kiss him or is it imagined? It hardly matters, because reality and symbol are mixing together and becoming one and the same. These are his manifestations, these are his calls to the world to make his love true. And that love is so true in his heart he can hardly tell when it is real.

Also I just want to point out how cute he is when he's in love... kissing the things that belong to her, linking his learning and his growth as a person to her. It is similar to his behavior with Beatrice, in that this woman is helping inspire him to improve upon himself, but now it is not the desperate clutch to an unknown figure as a guiding light he can never speak to, it is a woman who pulls answers from his own mind, a woman who exists as a symbol of his inner self. Frau Eva, again just like Demian, is an extension of Emil's self and soul.

Alright, so I have now established Emil's feelings towards Frau Eva, but what of her feelings towards him? This following passage comes immediately after the one before

When I arrived back at H-- I stayed away from her for two days in order to savour this security and independence from her physical presence. I had dreams too in which my union with her was consummated in a symbolic act. She was a star and I was a star on my way to her, and we met and mutually attracted, remained together and circled round each other blissfully in all eternity to the accompaniment of the music of the spheres. I told her this dream on my first visit on returning. "It is a lovely dream," she said quietly, "Make it true!"

Emil tells her that he had a dream of the two of them in which they consummated their union (which, just to make this abundantly clear, means having sex. there is no getting around that fact) through a symbolic act of entwining around each other for all of eternity and Frau Eva tells him to make it true. She tells him, explicitly, that this dream he has of them making love is lovely and that he should work on making it happen in reality. This is of course a further extension of her trying to help Emil manifest a kind of mutual attraction between them through his extended longing and deep, honest desires. While she does not currently reciprocate the romantic affections he has for her, she is clear about being open to the idea of that one day being the case.

Let's also look at this bit, which is mostly about Sinclair's affections towards her but provides a bit of a conclusion to this theme of manifesting her love.

One day this foreboding came over me with such force that my love for Eva flared up suddenly and caused me great pain. My God, what a short time I had left; soon I should no longer be seeing her, no longer hearing her good, assured step about the house, no longer finding her flowers on my table! And what had I achieved? I had luxuriated in dreams and comfort instead of winning her, instead of struggling for her and clasping her to me forever! Everything she had told me about true love came back to me, a kindred stirring, admonitory messages, and as many gentle promises and words of encouragement, too, perhaps; and what had I made out of it all? Nothing. I stood in the middle of the room, summoned my whole conscious being and thought of Eva. I wanted to gather all the power of my soul in order to make her aware of my love and attract her to me. She must come; she must long for my embrace, my kisses must tremble on her ripe lips.

Emil is realizing that despite her encouragements and his continued love for her, he has never truly spent the energy required to make his love reciprocated. These things, him wanting her be his forever, him wanting to kiss her so much that he shakes, to attract her to him so that she desires him in the same way that he does her... those are the things Eva wanted him to manifest. Now, this also makes it clear that for as much time as they spent together (the book mentions that Max was out for long stretches of time, leaving Emil alone with Eva for the majority of his days there), they did not get to do any of the things he wanted so passionately AND that she had still be encouraging him to manifest this.

And does she get this message? Yes! She does, only there is The War starting and so she does not go herself to him, but she does tell him that she heard his appeal and to do it again if he should ever need her.

Now, let's talk about the ending of the book, about the kiss.

"And there is something else. Frau Eva said that if things ever went badly with you, I was to pass on a kiss from her which she gave me … Close your eyes, Sinclair." I closed my eyes in obedience. I felt the brush of a kiss on my lips on which there was a bead of blood that never seemed to diminish. Then I fell asleep.

Demian (who is made clear to be a hallucination or a purely spiritual being at this moment, regardless of what you believe his regular appearances are that of a real actual boy or a reflection of Emil's self or a mixture of the two. in this scene he is a dream-like being existing from Emil's mind here to help conclude the narrative) passes on a kiss that his mother gave to him. Eva wanted to give this kiss to Emil after all of those appeals he made for her love, and uses Demian as a vessel to give this to him.

Now I am absolutely not here to deny any sort of queerness in this moment, in the fact that it is not Eva herself who appears but rather Max. What I am trying to say is that Eva and Max are linked people, especially in the mind of Emil, and therefore it makes thematic sense for the boy who had introduced him to the world of the enlightened and to the woman he would come to love to be here in this quiet, scary moment and pass on a message from his mother. I am trying to say that denying that this kiss is even the slightest bit from Eva and 100% Max's moment is ignoring her entire character and a large, large portion of Emil's.

I could’ve gone on for longer, I skipped over the story she tells Emil of the man in love with a star and how that star eventually came to love him in return and how Frau Eva is his star. His last description of her before leaving for the war is about the myriad of stars glowing in the night sky and it is quite romantic, but I feel getting into the star symbolism in Demian would double the length of this and her feelings towards him cannot get any clearer than the part where she encourages consummating their union, which itself is still linked to the star story. This was all done taking passages I remembered off the top of my head and not a full reread of the book, but I feel like this does more than enough to explain my point.

In conclusion: never tell me again that I misunderstood the 1919 novel Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth by Hermann Hesse because I joked about how Emil is into MILFs. He is.

[stay-xen]

Project: Eden's Garden

since i've seen several people post their opinions regarding the new danganronpa fangame's cast, why not join in since i finished the prologue?

spoilers for the prologue and predictions up ahead!

Damon Maitsu First of all, making the protagonist the ultimate debater is a really clever idea to make him lead the trials. also he's such a dick. i love him. he reminds me of early chapters byakuya and i want him to realise that he needs to trust the others to stay alive. very interesting approach for a protagonist imo

Eva Tsunaka My girl, i already love her. i feel like she'll make a grat 'rival' character, especially with her talent and animal motif. although wolfie might be the rival? not sure about it yet. i do believe that she will be alive for a while, maybe even sacrificing herself for the group in the end

Desmond Hall I trust him with my life. He has a SHARK motif, of course i'm going to trust him. he seems like such a good boy so i assume that he will become a victim sooner or later. if he ends up being a blackened i WILL cry

Eloise Taulner I am going to protect her with everything i have. very shy and anxious, i assume she will find strength eventually and become more confident, possible after losing somebody close to her? swan motif is very sweet for her :c

Toshiko Kayura My daughter is definitely compensating for being young, trying to be more mature than she is. i adore her getting flustered when called out, i hope that she will survive. she's a baby so pleaaase

Wenona step on me. i don't trust her, at all. she seems like a mirror for Damon, so my current guess is that she might become a blackened (or victim, either way i think it might involve cassidy)

Ulysses Wilhelm My useless son, i love him. he's so smart yet so dumb. please stay safe. current guess is first victim, sadly. idk he hasn't really done much yet :C

Mark Berskii I ADORE HIM i love his design and his attitude. "call the fire brigade, Grace" hasn't left my mind yet. such a simple line, yet i love him. strong connection to Jet already, i assume Mark will be a survivor that gets drive after Jet dies?

Diana Venicia Oh i wish i could trust you, love. something about her talent having to do with make up (covering up/identies, etc) and the chameleon motiv really makes me worry about her. i don't think she's the mastermind, but i believe she might be a blackened. maybe first chapter even?

Wolfang Akire i do not trust you but i will forgive you everything you do. this man has me in a chokehold and i'm not complaining. there's something about him being a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' i KNOW it and i can't wait to see it. his extreme sense of justice in the mock class trial was very interesting to see and i assume it will only be more extreme in actual trials. potential rival, i fear he will not survive. maybe a blackened, having to go against his principals for a certain motive? he's so polite though, especially to Eloise :c

Kai Monteago My fail son, my wet paper back, my beautiful butterfly. i saw him and fell in love, i can't wait to see more of this idiot. although i hope for character development, my current feeling is that he is going to die :c yet at the same time i can see him be a survivor (like hiro, souda being the clueless one, although i know they're not following the usual scheme)

Jett Dawson I've had this wolf for like 4 hours but if anything happens to him i will kill everyone in this academy and then myself. SO precious, SO dumb, i can't wait to see him get closer to Mark and ultimately get my heart broken. Current guess: victim

Ingrid Grimwall awooga. strong woman yes. on a serious note, i like that she's rather feminine and still strong, but i haven't seen enough of her yet to form a proper opinion :c could see it go either way with her tbh

Grace Madison soybean. i adore her, she doesn't have a single braincell and is currently trying to steal Wolfgang's. a real one for trying to fight back AND being able to actually get the jump on Tozu. No high hopes for survival though ngl :c

Jean Delamer If he ends up being a blackened, i'll be sad. he seems like such a nice guy, very safe, very brrr. also a whole ass dragon motif??? how cool is that??? he really feels like a safe space for the group, both mentally and physically so i hope we get to see a lot of him!

Cassidy Amber The only valid rich person. LOVE the spiderweb clothes. wouldn't be surprised if she kills Wenona or dies trying lmao. not the smartest tool in the shed but i love gaming references so i'm more than happy. it IS a stepladder.

Tozu Why is he hot. he's not supposed to be hot i hate it here (/s). didn't expect him to look like this but i am more than happy with the design. please show me more of him

Mara WHO ARE YOU i wanna see you more and talk to her and aaaaa she's mysterious OwO

[nordictwin]

10 Characters | 10 Fandoms | Some Tags

Thank you for the tag, @starlight-and-thunder!

Molly aka. Eva Wei (Oban Star Racers) - this precious girl has been one of my favorites since discovering this underrated show. She's got such a great personality, and I love how a show in 2006 really said "we are going to allow this 15 year old girl to be angry, bitter and sad and have the ones responsible for it actually acknowledge their wrongdoings". Absolute gem of a character and story.

Flulu (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist) - as a lot of my newer followers probably know, I absolutely adore Flulu. She works so hard for the colony, all while also trying to take care of Sol to the best of her abilities. I love how, even if you make choices where their relationship isn't the best, you can still tell that she loves them and that everything comes from a place of genuine care.

Arthur Pendragon (Seven Deadly Sins) - my boooooyyyy!!!! Arthur is my absolute SON, and what the author has turned him into is criminal! SDS in general is a big ol' tire fire, but Arthur was the one precious, shining light in the darkness, and I hate what he's become in the sequel. Still love what he used to be, though, and that's the character I cling to.

Su Lüxia (Cheating Men Must Die) - want to see justice done for the characters who suffered, just so the so-called protagonists could have their happy ending? Well, Su Lüxia is here to do just that! She is a Queen and not at all a good person in the traditional sense, but she doesn't need to be. I like Lüxia for the catharsis she brings, whenever the bad people finally get what's coming to them, and for the hints of her true self shining through in those brief moments.

Naven Nuknuk (Epithet Erased) - a mild-mannered little man with a lot of power, who cares for a group of children and probably has a secret agenda? Yes please. I adore characters who are morally grey, but hide their intentions so well, you don't know where you've got them. Add in a soft spot for kids, and I am guaranteed to love them.

Qifrey (Witch Hat Atelier) - a mild-mannered man with a lot of power, who cares for a group of children and definitely has a secret agenda? (Wait... this sounds familiar.) I love Qifrey for all the same reasons, I love Naven, and I'm not afraid to say it. He's also just precious, and I would die for him.

Sidon (Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom/Age of Calamity) - I love Sidon so much, I actually squealed at his re-appearing in TOTK. Anytime I see this man, I smile. He deserves good things, end of story.

Orie Harada (Oli Oli Soup) - Orie is a comfort character to me, living the life I dream of. Working as a bookbinder, and spending her days eating good food and being enthusiastic about it. She's funny, creative, and realistic in all the best ways.

Alpha (Yokohama Shopping Log) - Alpha and her story falls into a similar box as Orie and Oli Oli Soup: a character and story that brings me peace and comfort, even in the quiet melancholy. On every re-read I smile, laugh, and cry with Alpha during her time in a world that's slowly falling apart, but even so life still goes on.

Marak Sixfinger (The Hollow Kingdom) - the ones who know me for my Elsewhere University fanfics are aware, that Foxglove is Jareth's (Jim Henson's Labyrinth) son... but Foxglove himself is actually more inspired by Marak of Clare B. Dunkle's Hollow Kingdom books. He's cunning, he's a smartass, he's every bit the tricky goblin king I adore, with a soft spot for his not-fully-human wife. This guy is 100% why I love Foxglove and writing him so much.

100% no pressure tags: @clearwillow @stars-for-thought @lovelesskiaa

[shhlima]

Congratulations EVA, you have been accepted into the University of Lima as JANE HAYWARD !! To keep your spot at UoL, make sure that you send us your account within 24 HOURS and complete the CHECKLIST. But beware, Shady Lima is just waiting to expose your secret!

OOC INFO

NAME/ALIAS: eva PRONOUNS: she/her AGE: 33 TIMEZONE: cst ACTIVITY LEVEL: 8/10 PREVIOUS RP BLOG: [redacted] TRIGGER(S): none ANYTHING ELSE?: nope!

INTRODUCTION

Hey, Lima, I’m JANE HAYWARD but everyone calls me JANE, I identify as a CIS WOMAN and use SHE/HER pronouns. I was born on JULY 16TH making me TWENTY years old and a CANCER. Most people call me the ACTIVIST, maybe that’s because I am PASSIONATE but also JUDGMENTAL. If I had to describe my vibe, I would say it revolves around SPIRITED DEBATES, DESIGNER PANTSUITS, & 80S HORROR FILMS. Of course there is one thing I hope no one ever finds out, and that's MY PARENTS ARE PAYING PUCK OFF TO CONCEAL THE FACT THAT I’M HIS BABY MAMA. Anyway, on a more fun note, people always say I look like ZARIA SIMONE .

FAMILY INFORMATION

HOMETOWN: westerville, ohio FAMILY: hayward TYPE OF SIBLING: full BIRTH ORDER: middle PARENTS STATUS: yes POSSIBLE SIBLINGS: full or adopted

SCHOOL DATA

YEAR IN SCHOOL: sophomore MAJOR/MINOR: political science EXTRACURRICULARS: glee, GSA LIVING QUARTERS: 2 br apartment with bree OCCUPATION: what is a job when your family is wealthy?

HEADCANONS

Growing up, the Haywards expected perfection from their children, and Jane was always one to comply with whatever was asked of her. After all, they were wealthy and given all sorts of advantages as children, such as music and dance lessons, creative summer camps, vacations that were both luxurious and educational. It only felt right to soak up the vast opportunities being presented to them, so by high school, Jane had never gotten any grade lowered than an A, could play multiple instruments, had been in show choir for years, had a dance background, and had developed a knack for fighting for what was right.

Call her a feminist, a social justice warrior, an activist — it's all true. After her parents had to sue the all boys' academy that her father and uncle attended for high school just to get her enrolled, Jane grew passionate about fighting for women's rights, as well as the rights for any and every one that was ever discriminated against or unjustly mistreated by the law. She's constantly attending protests, she started a Ride Home program as a teen that allows sober teenage girls to drive drunk girls home from parties to keep them safe, and she's regularly forcing her parents' friends to donate to important organizations and to even help the wrongly accused in Ohio hire good lawyers instead of public defenders. For her parents, this is practice for the political journey they plan to see her go through on her road to becoming the first female president, which is their goal for her whether Jane truly wants it or not.

One summer, Jane met one Noah Puckerman at a party, and him taking her virginity turned into her getting pregnant. The Haywards were not about to allow their gifted daughter be a teen mom, so they told everyone that she'd signed up for a study abroad program, while she was really staying with relatives on Martha's Vineyard and being homeschooled to conceal her pregnancy. Her family wanted her to either abort the baby or give it up for adoption, but Jane asked Puck what he wanted and Puck chose to keep their baby, a daughter they named Maya.

Thus the other part of the secret was born: in exchange for keeping Maya and raising her without their side of the family being involved, the Haywards pay Puck to keep the identity of Maya's mother a secret. Jane doesn't like it per se, but she also knows better than to go against her parents, so she's kept her word to stay out of her daughter's life and let Puck raise her alone. To do that, she didn't come home after she had Maya or after she got her diploma, enrolling in the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to keep distance between her family.

Unluckily for Jane, she spent her first year of college partying and drinking to get rid of her mom guilt, and for the first time in her life, she'd even failed a few classes. Her parents were pissed, as one would expect, so they made her take a year off afterwards to get her shit together. Now, she's getting back to her old self, and her parents thought it was time she come back to Lima so they could keep her on track.

[evita-shelby]

Between the Shadow and the Soul

Chapter 11

5/26/22- turns out I accidentally deleted it lol

Cw: racism, slutshaming, mentions of death

Gif by @nofckingfightinging

"You turned cloak so many times in that war, I wonder if your husband knows how cheap your loyalty is.” he says as if he’s caught her, but even if he spent his life trying to find Tommy's weakness, he wouldn’t find it with her. 

Eva knew he would follow her there. A park bench while she reads a book about poetry. People used to give her looks, some good some bad, but it was those types of looks that reminded you where the Americans got their racism. But that changed when Tommy noticed her, everyone feared him and it was in their best interest that Eva Shelby, nee Smith, was treated as if her skin was as pale as her husband’s. 

Irene O'Donnell eyed her with intrigue while Donnal Henry eyed her like she was dog shit on his boot. Campbell looks at her like she was put on this earth to make his life miserable. 

“I was a spy for the rebels, sir, a much better one than Grace seeing I fooled everyone into thinking that. Do you know how easy it was for me to expose her?” Eva loathes Grace, not only because somehow the insipid little cunt managed to creep in like the snake she is, but also because she was just so fucking awful at her job. Had she been a spy in Mexico she wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes. "Two conversations with her and your god-awful idea to meet in the cemetery where everyone can see you, and by the next day I had told Polly and Thomas what I’d seen.” 

Eva hates ineptitude just as much as she hates the idea of sharing her husband. 

“She served her purpose well enough.” He said angry that a foreign witch was the one who helped Thomas Shelby evade justice. 

“Did you know I was given a gray filly just like the one my husband bought recently for my services by Pancho Villa?” Eva is not one to brag about her time in Villa’s army ---after its inglorious end who can really--- but Campbell is an exception. Its burns him that a twenty-six-year-old housewife has done more for her country than he has for his. Although an Irishman on the side of his people’s oppressors must have no pride. “You see I sounded so American by the time I finished boarding school, no one could tell I was from Mexico. Except for my coloring, obviously.” 

“And then killed when you refused to give up your chastity to the general you served, an admirable thing, you were a girl of twenty all alone.” he says as if the majority of Mexico wasn’t composed of Catholics. 

“Shame Grace couldn’t keep her legs closed, not a very good Protestant girl, was she? Should have seen how eager she was to jump in his bed, all of Small Heath knew she was whore by then, flirting with both Arthur and Thomas.” Although who could blame Grace, Tommy was great in bed ---if a little tame. Linda seemed to be really enjoying Arthur’s bed, going by her blushes, even if she has to step into the Sodom and Gomorrah that is the Eden Club. 

“This isn’t about Mrs. Macmillian, Mrs. Shelby.” Normally Eva is above calling women sluts and whores for having sex, but it hurts Campbell to have Grace be slandered so. 

 “You know I’ve seen your death in the cards, let's just say if you thought being shot by a woman was embarrassing, imagine being killed by one.” Eva never plans on letting him get to the point, she could talk the ears off a person if she set her mind to it. 

“Are you threatening me, Mrs. Shelby?” he says tensing and Eva simply shrugs. 

“No, I don’t need to threaten people, I simply tell them what the Universe has said to me, you see, Major, I am a witch cursed to see the future.” her voice is barely above a whisper, low and sweet like poison made with honey. “Think of me as Cassandra of Troy, cursed with prophecies that will never be believed.” 

----

“You can hardly tell you’re pregnant, you know. I was like that with Danny.” Esme says when Eva comes in through the betting shop, it was much faster than using the other door. Daniel Owen Shelby was Esme’s boy, named after Danny Whizz-Bang. He was John’s fifth child, but Esme’s first and only child. “I hope I can have a pregnancy as good as yours was. I’m sacred of dying like my sister or the baby dying, but it's stupid because the universe has shown me this little one will have three younger sisters.” Eva touches her stomach as if to assure herself that she won’t die like Felicidad did.  

“If Tommy is anything like John, those girls of yours will be spoiled rotten. He already bought Katie earrings because he didn’t want her to feel left out when he got Daisy some for her birthday.” Esme says with a laugh. If you’d look at her with Katie, Johnny, Daisy and Robbie you’d think she’d birthed them with how much they loved her and she loved them. Even Daisy who was thinking herself grown at ten and would be unbearable in her teenage years. 

“I just know he will.” Eva gets the sudden feeling of someone walking up to the betting shop, a woman she’s heard about, but has never met. “I’ll get the door; I think we are about to have an unexpected guest.” 

May Carleton was beautiful, in that English heiress type of way. Stunning woman really and ironically both Eva and Tommy’s type. If Eva wasn’t married, she’d definitely try and see if she could get anywhere with her. “I have an appointment with Mr. Thomas Shelby.” 

No hello, no may I come in, nothing is even politely asked and she enters in a way Eva can only describe as Hernan Cortes entering Tenochtitlan already planning how he’s going to oust Moctezuma. 

“May Carleton,” May extends her hand to Eva, but Eva eyes it with suspicion. Tommy had told her about her flirting with him ---unfortunately he played dumb when she asked about Grace’s letters, so that’s going to end badly--- and the way she came in here like a colonizer feels a little insulting. 

“He usually takes appointments at his proper office.” Eva says wondering how to politely kick her out. She can bet Moctezuma had similar thoughts on how to shake off the Spanish. 

“This was the address he gave me.” May drops her hand, feeling the sting. Eva was being rude, but why the hell May Carleton think anyone would be nice to her here.  

“He gave you this address?” Esme asks standing by Eva in what can only be seen as solidarity. 

“He said this was a gambling den. I told him I wanted to see one since I’m always reading about them in the papers.” now it made sense. Bored rich girl, Eva hated those. Always tried to make her their pet project, always stealing someone else’s boyfriend for shits and giggles and always treating the working class like this circus oddity they can pay to see. “Quite the big scandal in the Telegraph lately. Anyway, he said, I could, uhm, take a look.” 

Esme looks at May with incredulity and Eva has that try me bitch look she perfected when she was sixteen and Oneida Villareal Diaz tried to make her life a living hell. Probably likes tonic water too. 

Eva already hates her and it's not even about May setting her sights on her charming criminal of a husband. 

“And now I feel like a bit of an idiot, because I’m early and he’s late and I have no idea how to behave.” she says almost nervously. 

“In a Gambling Den?” Esme doesn’t take kindly to being a spectacle for a rich white woman to enjoy. 

“I'll go wait in the car.” May has the decency to appear apologetic, not that it would save her. The Lees are famous for their resentment. 

“Oh, you don’t have to. He’ll be here in maybe five minutes; he is very punctual. I am Eva Shelby.” this time Eva offers her hand. The Mexican Spanish accent feels more pronounced and Eva isn’t sure if she should have done that on purpose. With Oneida and her posse of rich mean girls, it was the opposite. The more Irish she sounded the better. Remind them, she was the foreign European one. Didn’t help she was darker than them, which was why they always thought her beneath them. All that culminated with Eva ‘accidentally’ pushing Oneida down a few steps so she’d hurt her ankle and Eva would be playing both Odette and Odile in their school’s rendition of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She hates Swan Lake, but boy does she love revenge. 

“So, what brings you here, Miss Carleton?" Eva asks in that sweet polite manner of hers that she uses on strangers. 

“I am going to train his racehorse, for Epsom.” she says still taking everything in, reminding Eva about how Oneida looked at the offices by the port and how surprised she was to see how well off the Smith Rileys lived. After all they did benefit from the Porfiriato up until the Americans destroyed their ships. 

“You know horses?” Esme asks as if she didn’t believe posh Miss Carelton was a horse trainer. 

“Yes, you?” May asks and now Eva wonders if she judged May wrong. 

“Born riding. Slept in a manger when I was a baby.” Esme answers, a softness about her face when she recalls her childhood. 

John comes in, complaining about May’s car. And Tommy comes in just as John assumes Eva is feeling threatened by the beautiful heiress. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he clears his throat and John backs down. “There was a business matter.” he doesn’t kiss Eva’s cheek like he always does and that just annoys her more. He orders for Esme and John to keep the place locked for a while and Eva wonders if she is supposed to cockblock them to prevent May Carleton from getting the idea Tommy is unattached, or leave in a huff before she does something immature like trip her. She trusts her husband, but she doesn’t trust Carelton to keep Carelton to keep her lily-white hands off her man. 

“You hate her, don’t you?” he asks knowing the answer to his question. Lucky for Eva they have the house for themselves since Finn likes spending the night at Polly’s because he misses her and Arthur has gotten a place in London above the Eden Club. 

“I don’t know her enough to hate her, but the impression she has given me leaves her in the same spot as the girls who made my life hell in boarding school. Walked into the betting shop like a fucking colonizer.” Eva groaned and he laughs at her choice of words. She may be more Irish than Nahua, but she was raised to know colonialism is evil and how it looks. Every foreign country owned and enslaved mexicans with their factories in Mexico. “Did she drink Tonic Water? The bitchy rich girls always drank that.” 

“You drink it too, love.” he points out and once again Eva finds herself forgetting she’s a little angry at him. Here acting like everything is fine while cleaning up after dinner. Him being playful with her and reminding her how horny pregnancy has made her. 

“Don’t do that.” she says reminding herself it's now or never. 

“Do what, Evie?” he asks bracing himself for the inevitable fight they are hurdling to. 

“That thing you do where you make me forget that I am actually pretty fucking mad at you, Tommy.” she says angrily. “I know about those letters Grace has written to you and to top it all off, you didn’t even bother correcting Carleton when she assumed you were unmarried today.”  

If Tommy thought her pretty when she was mad, she’d look fucking gorgeous tonight. 

---

Notes:

happy new years, i was bored in my room and wrote this all in one sitting, yay!

First things first, only Katie, who I assume is the younger daughter since she is still peeing the bed in season 1, is named. I gave them names here. In order they are: Daisy, Robert (robbie), John Jr (Johnny) and Katie. the baby Esme had between seasons is named Daniel Owen after Danny Whizz Bang who gets killed by Billy Kimber in season 1.

May Carleton gave me bitchy rich girl vibes at first, didn't dislike her as much as i dislike Grace ---who I just think sucks as a charcter, spy , but excels as a ghost--- or Tatiana ---who is just an awful person and kinda annoying.

The Porfiriato is the title given to the thirty-one years (seven presidential terms)President Porfirio Diaz was in power in Mexico. guy started out sort of good, but became a tyrant who favored foreign investments, industrailism without care about people's rights and literally killed his oppnents. his regime lead to the Second Revolution that kinda ended up almost exactly the same. The US originally backed the rebels until the Rebels started raiding them because they were still pissed about the US orchestrating the Mexican-American War to steal half of what is now the continetnial US. the 2nd revolution would make a fantasitic m-rated period drama, has a lot of violence, back stabbing, politics and at one point 41 queer men were exsposed at a dance (there's a movie called El Baile de los 41/the Dance of the 41) one of them being Diaz's son-in-law.

[renaerys]

Okay I've got one: Prompt 15 with Reds. 🤣🤣🤣

15. “I can’t hear a word you’re saying, I just keep thinking about how good that mouth feels.”

Somehow they can make even breathing a competition.

Send me a prompt and some characters! Reminder that the challenge is to make everything SFW, so we're getting creative here.

List of prompts

xxx

“So, we’ve called the paramedics and they’re on their way, but until they arrive it’s up to us. Remember the acronym, kids: C-A-B. What’s the first thing you do?”

Aiyeesha Simpson, a gunner in the making destined for academic greatness and social ruin, raised her eager hand. “Find a flat surface to lay him down!”

“Correct.” Blossom took Brick by the shoulders and shoved him down to the floor. A gaggle of Girl Scouts gathered around him as he wheezed for air.

“Ow,” he said.

Blossom patted his chest. “Please choke more quietly.”

I will end you, he thought so loudly he hoped she could hear him through the murder in his eyes. There was community service, and then there was cruel and unusual punishment. When his required hours were up and his record expunged, he was going to write a very negative Yelp review of the local Townsville Girls Scouts of America chapter and tank this year’s cookie sales. Supremely annoying, outrageously petty, and totally legal. That would teach Blossom for sure.

“Place your hands here between the nipples.”

Some of the Cadette Girl Scouts giggled. To be fair, Blossom of all people saying the word nipples in reference to her former mortal enemy as she trained a room full of twelve-year-old girls in CPR using him as the dummy was a perfect storm of absurd and kinky that he did not see coming. And now he was giggling himself, because he was a teenaged boy who thought the word nipples was funny regardless of the very clear contextual cues, and that pubescent shame was on him, one hundred percent.

Blossom, an ancient and inconveniently attractive evil resurrected in a lab for the sole purpose of making his life miserable, did not appreciate his amusement. “Push hard at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Remember to put your bodyweight behind it, like this.”

Brick flexed, and Blossom pushed against his heart like she was trying to crush it in her hands. Once, twice, three times she administered compressions, and Brick’s eyes glowed red with impotent rage.

“Assist Blossom with her CPR lessons to her satisfaction, and we can forget this ever happened,” Mayor Bellum had promised Brick when he lost his temper and blew up an (empty) ambulance. Butch didn’t need his Super stomach pumped no matter how much he drank, so the ambulance and the four-figure bill that came with it were completely unnecessary. This defense did not convince the mayor, however.

The promise of the bill forgiven and his record cleared—and the deterrence of Aiyeesha Simpson filming the whole thing to upload to YouTube later—gave Brick the strength not to eye beam Blossom in front of the children.

“Okay, who wants to try chest compressions on the dummy?” Blossom offered to the girls.

You evil bitch, thought the aforementioned dummy.

After the third little girl properly placed her sticky, little girl hands between his nipples, Brick had had enough. “Hey, I’m still dying over here. Can we move on already? Jesus Christ.”

“Of course.” Blossom smiled, and she had never looked more terrifying.

Brick hoped Butch was suffering. He hoped he was hung over so bad he couldn’t piss standing up. He hoped Butch tried going online only to find that Brick had disconnected the Internet and cut him off from all his online games and porn because fuck Butch and his weak-ass stomach.

“Who knows what the next step is? Maybe someone other than Aiyeesha this time?”

None of the other girls seemed willing to stick their hands up. The carpet under Brick had scorched where his power leaked out in his building resentment for this entire situation. The smell of burned polyester just made him feel even more powerless to stop this.

“No? Okay, well, remember the acronym. A is for airway. You want to be careful about a possible neck injury, so gently lift the chin…”

Blossom’s hands were not sticky like the Girl Scouts’ hands, but they were cold where they touched his skin and forced his head back.

“Are the paramedics here yet?”

Brick got a tight fist in his short hair for that one, and he considered it a small victory. “No. Something about a shortage of ambulances, apparently.”

Biiiiiiiitch.

God, he was going to destroy her so bad.

“Once you’ve cleared the airway and confirmed there are no obstructions—”

“Then you kiss!”

Some girls picked up the giggling again. Blossom, ever the professional, cleared her throat. “Mouth to mouth is a life-saving procedure and not something I’d recommend doing to someone you plan to kiss.”

Wow, great advice.

Some girls still giggled and whispered to each other. Brick had a sinking feeling that this was only going to end with his embarrassment: everyone knew that the cold judgment of pre-pubescent girls was the absolute worst type of judgment a person could suffer.

“Are you gonna show us?”

“Well, I don’t think I need to show you all how to breathe—”

“It’s in the manual! You have to demonstrate every step.” Aiyeesha waved the CPR manual, and Brick realized his misjudgment. She was no vapid goody two-shoes in the making, but a future Honors Student with a secret, a Work Hard Party Harder, an Ivy League Early Decision candidate with all of senior spring semester to slack off because no one was ever going to touch her 4.3 GPA.

Aiyeesha beamed a winning smile at Brick, and it was as chilling as Blossom’s.

Jesus Christ, there are two of them.

True to form, Blossom had never been able to defy a good instructions manual. “I suppose if it says so in the manual…”

Locking lips with Blossom was not a big deal. He’d done it before when they were kids, and he could appreciate the irony of a gesture meant to save his life this time rather than end it. She didn’t even try to mess with him by using her ice breath, just went through the motions as described in the instructions. The girls were disappointed with the lack of hormonal fanfare of it all, which was probably for the best. Leave it to Blossom to make mouth to mouth the sexless, medical act it was literally intended to be. He was almost upset, because it felt like she’d won something here, which could only mean he’d lost.

Disappointed but more educated than they’d been when they’d arrived two hours ago, the Girl Scouts dispersed after the lesson, leaving Blossom and Brick to put away the equipment they’d used.

She held a dummy torso, and she was looking at him with that pinched, constipated look she got when she was about to say something especially snobby. Instead, she surprised him. “Brick, thanks for being mature about it. I can honestly say you surprised me.”

He stared at her.

“I’ll talk to Mayor Bellum. I’m sure you’ve done enough to meet your hours quota.”

He had not fulfilled even half of his required community service hours and they both knew it.

“So yeah, thanks. I can finish up here if you want to leave.”

Was she trying to get rid of him? Why?

“Brick? Why are you looking at me like that?”

When Blossom was winning, he was losing. That was simply the way of the world. So, if she was losing, it could only mean he was winning.

“Are you listening to me?”

Brick smiled in what he hoped was a cool, sexy way if he imagined looking at anyone but Blossom. “I can’t hear a word you’re saying. I just keep thinking about how good that mouth feels.”

Blossom stared. “I’m sorry?”

He would make her sorry.

“Yeah, you’re a great teacher. I could really feel your passion for demonstrating the lesson correctly. With your mouth.”

Her staring intensified. “Did you.”

“Oh, yeah.” He leaned his hip against the table like he’d seen in the movies. It worked for Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, and that guy had convinced Eva Green. Iconic. “I could really feel you trying to save me.”

Where was Aiyeesha with her phone to film this? There was so little he could do to rattle Blossom as they got older, and while the challenge delighted him, it was also exhausting being constantly a step behind her. Was this truly her demise? Had he won the Teenage Experience? Was this poetic justice for how she’d once killed him with a mere kiss, only to suffer the same fate in turn? He could have cackled. This was better than trolling the Girl Scouts of America reviews, although he might still do that because it was a genius idea and he had always indulged his own genius ideas when they came to him.

So infatuated was he with his own self-fellating digression that he was slow to react to Blossom sidling up to him. Her hand was still cold on his chin, and it sent a shiver down his spine. “Shall I save you again?”

Brick’s dignity drained with his blood, which was an unfortunate side-effect of being a teenaged boy that he would just have to suffer. But winning was about recognizing one’s weaknesses and working around them. He leaned into her personal space. “Please.”

He wasn’t sure who kissed who first, but it was happening and all he could think was I am better at this than you and I hate you and also Do that again. He tried holding her waist, and she fought back with her fingers in his hair. Not one to be deterred, Brick tried some tongue but pulled back when he tasted thirty degrees below zero. He immediately went back in because he could feel her superiority, her Got you, you horny idiot, but the joke was on her because he liked her cold, always had when it was hot as balls out and he’d make up any excuse to pick a fight with her just for the chance to cool off.

The Girl Scout troop leader walked in on them competitively making out in the classroom like it was an Olympic sport and put an end to things, leaving them at a frustrating draw for now. They said barely a word to each other when Brick glared at the troop leader so bad she flustered and didn’t even question them before running out of there with some excuse about getting the wrong room.

Later that evening, Brick caved and changed the Internet password back just so Butch would quit whining at him. He Googled kissing techniques and spent the next hour and a half watching YouTube videos and reading GQ articles about How to Please Her Like a Champion, because he was a champion and a winner and he was not going to lose to Blossom in this. Not a chance.

This had to be what they meant when they said kill with kindness.

“I’m going to end you,” he muttered to himself as he read about the top ten highest voted movie kissing scenes, which he would then stream and commit to memory in order to be fully armed and armored for the next time he encountered Blossom alone in a classroom. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe during their shared free period.

Truly, he had the most genius ideas.

xxx

If you enjoy my writing, check out more of my fics on AO3, link in my profile. I’m currently updating Trinity House and The Alchemy of Us. Thanks for reading!

[longitudinalwaveme]

The CW Rogues: My Biggest Gripe With the 2014 Flash Show

In many ways, the CW Flash show is what got me into comics. While I had watched (and loved) Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and read loads of DC guidebooks as a kid, it wasn’t until I saw a clip from the 2014 CW Flash show that I really got invested in the DC Universe. While I had already started watching B:TAS (and loving it), Batman wasn’t what got me into comics. No, that was the Flash...or rather, it was Captain Cold. While watching a clip from the Justice League episode Flash and Substance on YouTube, I saw a link to a clip from “Family of Rogues” (from Season 2 of CW’s Flash). Intrigued by the premise, I found the show on Netflix, watched the entire episode, and was hooked. Not only was the Flash just as nice as he had been on Justice League, but two of his Rogues were siblings, and they actually cared about one another. I wanted to know more, so I looked Captain Cold and the Golden Glider up. My research into Cold and Glider led me to the other Rogues, and soon I became a Flash fan. I watched the show, I re-watched “Flash and Substance”, I read articles about the characters from the comics...and eventually, I started reading the comics themselves. I loved the characters and the lore, and I enjoyed the generally lighthearted tone of the books even into the modern era. Unfortunately, as I learned more about the comics, I grew less and less interested in the 2014 TV show. It made too many alterations to character I liked in the comics...and eventually, I basically stopped watching the show out of frustration. Ironically enough, by getting me into comics, the show alienated me from itself....and a big reason for that was the way it handled the Rogues. Here’s a rundown of the CW Rogues, and why I was frustrated with most of them. 

1. Captain Cold. I actually enjoy Captain Cold on the CW show; he’s recognizable as Len Snart and his sarcasm game is on point. (It doesn’t hurt that Wentworth Miller is really attractive, either). His relationships with Lisa, Mick, and Barry are fantastic, and it’s a relief to have him be treated as a competent threat. That being said...he’s a bit too suave for Captain Cold, isn’t he? Silver Age Cold thought he was suave, but he wasn’t; and modern Captain Cold is middle-aged, grouchy, and very rough around the edges. His smooth, suave nature reminds me more of classic Sam (the original Mirror Master) than Captain Cold. 

2. Heat Wave. Dominic Purcell did a great job with the role he was given, and physically he’s an excellent match for Mick. That being said, CW Mick is very different from the Mick in the classic comics, who was a bit dim-witted and rather gentle and sweet for a supervillain. CW Mick, by contrast, is, as I think @gorogues put it, “Hothead McAngryman”, which wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t seem to have bled back into the comics themselves. Villains with fire powers being hotheads is a bit overdone, so I’m not thrilled to see comic Mick being put into that role. 

3. Golden Glider. Hands down, Lisa is my favorite of the CW Rogues. Despite the fact that her costume and power set are completely different than they were in the comics, they managed to get her personality down pretty well; making her just as dangerous and competent as the boys. Flirtatious, crafty, devious, and yet still at least somewhat sympathetic, the CW version of Lisa Snart takes home the gold for the best adaptation of a Rogue. If only they hadn’t completely forgotten that she existed. 

4. Pied Piper. Note that I have not seen his Season 6 appearance, so I’m just judging this based on his appearances in Seasons 1 and 2. Piper is disappointing; in his first appearance he wasn’t as fun as Silver/Bronze Age Piper or as sympathetic as modern Piper, and I’m not crazy about the idea of him being motivated primarily by revenge on Wells/Thawne, since that wasn’t his motivation in the comics at all. I also don’t remember him being able to puppet or hypnotize people with his music, which is too bad, since that’s his main schtick in the comics. What’s more, if you want to reform a character, don’t do it offscreen via reality warping and then forget about him for four seasons. It sounds like his Season 6 appearance was better, but I haven’t seen it so I can’t comment on it. Also, “the Pied Piper” is kind of a nonindicative name if he doesn’t play a pipe/flute. 

5. Trickster II (Axel Walker). Axel was actually decent in the CW show. I still like comic Axel better, but they got the gist of his character down and even made him a bit sympathetic. In fact, he’s probably in the top three best Rogue adaptations that the CW did. 

6. Trickster I (James Jesse). I love watching Mark Hamill play CW’s Trickster...but man, he is not playing Giovanni Giuseppi on the CW show. He’s playing the Joker with a different name. It’s especially weird since we know from JLU and that one short where Mark Hamill plays himself, the Joker, the Trickster, and Swamp Thing that Hamill can do a non-Joker Trickster and do it well, so my suspicion is that it was just because Trickster was also the Joker in the 1990s Flash show (where he was also played by Mark Hamill). Regardless, murdering random people and threatening to blow up small children during Christmas is not something the Trickster should be doing. 

Although this does prove Mark Hamill could do a live-action Joker. I’d pay money to see that. Mark Hamill is a great Joker. 

7. Weather Wizard. CW Weather Wizard isn’t egregiously bad. He’s not out-of-character like Trickster, and he’s not boring to watch, but at the same time it feels like there’s something missing. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t quote Twain. Maybe it’s because there’s not the sense that he was a loser before he got his powers. Maybe it’s because they changed his origin completely (and also made him older than Clyde for some reason). It could even be because he’s not wearing a green leotard with a huge collar, puffy sleeves, and ridiculous elf boots. Whatever it is, though, he’s just missing that spark that makes me like comic book Wizard so much. 

8. Mirror Master I (Sam Scudder). I don’t know how you make Sam Scudder more boring than New 52/Rebirth did, but somehow the CW version of the character pulled it off. Granted, Cold had already stolen some of Sam’s characterization, so that didn’t help, but they could’ve leaned into his skills as an inventor or his love of showmanship or something. Instead, we got a generic thug with what was basically Evan McCulloch’s power set. Boo! Boo I say! 

9. Top (Roscoe/Rosa Dillon). The Brave and the Bold Top is more interesting than the CW version, and he doesn’t even have spoken lines! That’s how boring this Top is. Also, the gender swap was pretty pointless. I wouldn’t have minded a female Top if she’d been intelligent and creepy and snobbish in the way that Roscoe is, but why even bother changing the gender if the character is going to have such a minor role? They also substantially depowered the CW Top, since Rosa can’t spin at super speed and isn’t telekinetic. A massive missed opportunity. 

10. Mirror Master II (Evan/Eva McCulloch). I can’t comment on how good of a character Eva is, since I haven’t watched any of the episodes with her in them, but I will say I am disappointed that the character does not seem to be Scottish, does not have Evan’s weird sense of humor, and lacks his tooth gap. 

11. Captain Boomerang (George “Digger” Harkness). Not only did he not actually appear on the Flash, but he was also boring and didn’t even seem to have an Australian accent. I was very disappointed with his role in the CW. 

And now for characters who aren’t Rogues: 

-CW Eobard is really good. I have no real complaints about him. 

-CW Grodd is also really good, though I do wish he was from Gorilla City as per the comics rather than a lab experiment. 

-CW Magenta got most of the important character beats down but felt a bit out of place with Barry as the Flash. 

-CW Shade was possibly even more boring than CW Sam, which is saying something. 

-CW Zoom didn’t really feel like Zoom at all. Not only was it weird to see him fighting Barry and not Wally, but he was just a generic serial killer and didn’t have Zolomon’s unique outlook on the world. The loss of his time manipulation powers was likewise disappointing.

-CW Jay is really good. I love him. 

-CW Jesse Quick has very little in common with her comic book counterpart; I like the comic version better but don’t actually mind the CW version all that much.

-CW Wally is decent enough, though I don’t see why they couldn’t have kept him as Iris’ nephew rather than making him her brother. Also, they didn’t use him nearly as much as they should have. 

-CW Barry I generally like a lot; Grant Gustin is a good fit for the character. That being said, I do wish they hadn’t given him the dead mom origin, which was a retcon I am not fond of. 

-CW Iris is quite good (in the first three seasons, at least); she’s intelligent, loyal to Barry, dedicated to her job, and quite independent. The fact that she and Barry were foster siblings in the CW universe is kind of weird, though, since it makes their romance kind of awkward. 

-Joe West is not Ira West (Iris’s father in the comics), but I actually don’t care. Joe West is made of awesome. (I like Ira too, but I like Joe enough that I don’t mind having him replace Ira.)

-The Fiddler on the CW had very little to do with the comic Fiddler. 

-I’ve never been particularly invested in the Thinker (comic or show), but I will say that the CW’s version of the character was very different from his comics counterpart. 

-CW Ragdoll was just as creepy and unsettling as comic book Ragdoll, though he had a very different backstory. 

-I never expected Baby Josh to make it into the CW, let alone as a gender-swapped teenager named Joss who wanted to kill Weather Wizard. It felt like they never knew where to go with her character, though, so it was a wasted opportunity. At least she didn’t die like poor Baby Josh, though. 

-Big Sir in the CW show is a MASSIVE improvement over the comic version. This is probably the only character I will say this about. Though I will say that I kind of wish he’d gotten his stupidly ugly comic book costume even though it would’ve made no sense. 

-Peek-a-Boo is a pretty solid adaptation of her comic book counterpart. 

-Rainbow Raider (Prism) is much better in the comics than on the CW show, where he only existed to be a boring plot device. 

-Linda Park dating Barry was weird, but they actually did a good job with her character before she vanished.

This is not intended as a criticism of anyone who likes the show or its characters; it’s just me musing about my personal problems with it. 

[poeticandors]

Cut to the Feeling Part 3

Poe Dameron x F!Reader (Babysitter!AU)

Summary: After graduating college and needing to have some cash in order to survive while doing an unpaid internship, Y/N decides to take up a babysitting/caretaking job. Little does she know that she ends up working for a familiar face.

Warnings: small mentions of smut, just little flashbacks really, and a ton of angst at the end

A/N: This is for @propertyofpoeandbucky Mystery Challenge! Thanks for waiting patiently, everyone! It’s been wild trying to figure out what to write but I hope this does justice. This one definitely got to me, and you’ll see why.

Part 1 Part 2

GIF by @captain-flint

Booster seat? Check.

First aid kit? Check.

Snacks in case Eva Bey gets hungry? Check, check.

You nod, double-checking the inventory again before finally closing the door. Today was your first official day, and you wanted to be prepared. You had to prove to Poe that you were the best choice.

Heading into the driver’s seat, you buckle up before you put in the address for Eva Bey’s school, and drive off. As you grip the steering wheel, your mind only wandered off. Was this a mistake? Did Poe make the wrong choice, hiring you? Did you make a mistake accepting the position?

No, none of this was a mistake. Sure, you may have slept with the guy who was now your boss, technically, but it was only a one-time thing. Everything had to be professional, which is how you would act when interacting with Poe. Every text between you was simple, it never led to a full conversation. Just simple directions and information that you needed. That’s all it was, and that’s all it needed to be.

Fuck, you taste even better, his deep voice rings in the back of your mind. You can’t help but think back to that night. The image of Poe kneeling on his knees in front of you as he throws your legs over his shoulders is clear as day. The way the light peeked in from outside and how his hands felt as they dug hard into your thighs, how his mouth felt—

Stop!

Shaking your head, you quickly think of something else. You really needed this job, and despite that one night no matter how amazing it was, you would not let that happen again.

Finally, you pull up into the pick-up car line and step out, taking a look around the school. Poe made sure to let you know the earlier you get there, the better chance of getting a good spot in line you would get. The parents can be very competitive, he told you.

You checked your watch, and realized you were right on time, so you started heading to the front office. As you look around, you notice just how much more lavish the vehicles in line were than your own. The front door had a buzzer that you hit to be let inside, and you noticed all the security cameras. This was definitely elite compared to the preschool you remembered going to.

Walking inside, you head straight to the front desk, spotting a receptionist. She gives you a friendly smile, leaning forward.

“Hi! Are you here for a pick-up?”

“Um, yes? I’m here for Eva Bey Dameron.”

“Oh, you’re the nanny, right? Mr. Dameron called and let us know you would be picking her up from now on.”

“That’s me,” you nod.

“Well, if I could see your ID please? It’s just a procedure when we get someone new for pick-up. I’ll copy it and put it in Eva Bey’s file.”

“Sure,” you reach into your bag and grab your wallet, pulling out or driver’s license to hand to her.

“Perfect, and if you can fill out this emergency contact form as well?” She hands you a clipboard. “It also asks for your vehicle information.”

“Okay, no problem.”

Just as you finish completing the form, she hands you back your ID. She then tells you which room Eva Bey is in and you make your way down the hallway.

The artwork displayed on the bulletin boards and the colorful decorations on each classroom door brightens up the hallway. Drawings, paintings, and even cut out projects fill each board. You finally make your way up to Eva Bey’s classroom, spotting a drawing of hers on the bulletin board. Smiling, you knock on the door before stepping inside, and see all of the children at their different stations.

A young woman walks up to you, a friendly smile on her face. “Hi, you’re here to pick up Eva Bey, right? I just got the call from the front desk.”

“Yeah, I am,” you shake her hand, giving her your name.

“It’s good to meet you. I’m Miss Connix. Eva Bey is just finishing up with her sensory station so after she washes her hands she’ll be ready to go.”

“No problem, can I grab her bag?”

“Sure, her cubby is over there,” she points and you nod in thanks as you go grab the small, pink backpack.

You hear your name being called in a small voice, and turn to see Eva Bey hurrying to you. Smiling, you kneel down.

“Hey, Eva Bey! Are you ready to go home?”

“Yeah! Will my daddy be there?”

“No, he’ll be at work, remember? It’ll be just us today.”

“Okay!” She turns to her teacher. “Bye, Miss Connix!”

“Bye, Eva Bey! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

She grabs your hand as you stand up, making your way to sign her out before you lead her out of the classroom. She skips along next to you as you lead her to your car, her dark pigtails bouncing at the top of her head.

After getting her seated in her booster seat and buckled up, you quickly move to the front seat and look back at her.

“I brought some snacks if you’d like,” you smile. “We have granola bars and some Goldfish.”

“Can I have some Goldfish, please?”

“Sure.”

Handing her a bag, she happily takes it before swinging her feet over the edge of the seat. Flipping on your Disney playlist, you begin the ride to Poe’s house.

++++++

The trip back home wasn’t too bad, you were lucky enough to get past most of the traffic. A lot of the drive was spent singing songs from some of Eva Bey’s favorite movies, and hearing about her day at school. She mentioned how they were working on writing their letters, and also showed you a finger painting project she did for the letter ‘e’, which she was very excited to show you.

After arriving at Poe's house, you both quickly settled down so she could relax for a bit. Then, it was on to practicing tracing her letters from one of the few books Poe had left for Eva Bey to work on to practice each day. You sat and helped her for the first portion of the page for the letter ‘a’ before she was able to independently do the motions herself. While she worked on that, you quickly worked on getting a few things done for the house.

After putting away the dishes that were left in the dishwasher last night, you went on to go ahead and wash the few that were in the sink. There was a basket of Eva Bey’s dirty laundry that sat in the hallway, so you took care to get that started in the laundry. After getting that taken care of, Eva Bey ran straight up to you to show you the letters she did by herself.

“Wow! Look at that! That’s so good, Eva Bey,” you smile.

“Can we play, now?”

“Sure, we can play a bit before I start cooking dinner.”

She smiles and takes your hand, pulling you to her bedroom. As you sit on the rug in the floor of her room next to the small table, she goes and grabs a crate filled with various Barbies and other dolls, and then another filled with small dress up clothing accessories like beaded necklaces and hats.

“What are we going to be playing?”

“Tea party!” She comes up, placing a necklace around your neck.

“You know what? I was definitely ready to drink some tea, too,” you laugh softly. Her smile brightens and she quickly starts setting up the table. “Are there going to be treats, too?”

“Well, there’s biscuits! And cookies.”

“Maybe one of these days we can bake some cookies, what do you think?”

“Can they be Snickerdoodles? Those are my favorite.”

“Sure!”

You scoot closer to the table as Eva Bey sits down, pretending to pour tea into your little plastic teacup. Propping your pinky up, you feign taking a sip as Eva Bey giggles. The game goes on, the both of you acting silly and acting out a tea party when you notice how quiet Eva Bey suddenly gets. She stares down at her lap, and when she lets out a whisper of your name that’s when you realize something might be wrong.

“Yeah, Eva Bey?”

“...Did you ever play tea party with your mommy?”

The question kind of catches you off guard, but at the same time… You always wondered why Eva Bey’s mom wasn’t present, but knew it wasn’t your place to ask about it. From the way Eva Bey looks up at you with her soft, brown eyes, you figure it’s probably a sensitive subject.

“Well, I don’t really remember playing tea party with my mom,” you start off. “But I do remember playing other games.”

She only nods, and looks back down at her lap. You figure that’s all she is going to ask until she sighs softly.

“I don’t have a mommy,” she says simply, with a mere hint of sadness laced. “I ask my daddy about it but he says he will tell me when I’m older.”

“Oh… well,” you scoot closer to her. “You know, Eva Bey, there are a lot of people who don’t have mommy’s.”

“They don’t?”

“No, and that is okay. I know it can make us feel upset, too.” You say softly. Eva Bey mutters something and you lean down towards her to hear her. “Hm?”

“Sometimes the kids at school talk about their mommy’s, and it makes me feel a little sad.”

“Well… that’s okay to be sad, sometimes. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you have a daddy and grandpa who love you very much. And you know that you can always talk to them about it, and they will always be there to give you hugs and kisses when you feel sad.”

You hope that this was enough for Eva Bey to hear— you were not expecting this to be one of the first serious conversations with the four year old. But when she looks up at you, the corners of her mouth lift up slightly.

“Yeah… they do love me a lot.”

Relieved, you let out a slight laugh. “I know they do. Very much. Do you feel a little better?”

Eva Bey smiles fully, a bright sight, and nods. “Yeah.”

You smile, and check the time on your watch. “Oh, we should start cleaning up so that we can cook dinner. How does mac and cheese with some broccoli sound?”

“Okay!” She quickly jumps up, rushing to put all her toys away. You can’t help but chuckle at the sight, and help her out before heading to the kitchen.

++++++

Poe stretches as he gets out of his car, inhaling the crisp, cool night air. Everything is quiet now, despite the few cars driving along the road, and he checks the time. Eva Bey should have been in bed two hours ago, and he hoped that was the case.

Poe wonders for a moment how your first day together went: if there were any issues or if you guys had a great time. You didn’t have to contact him, except to tell him that you both made it home safely, so that should have been a good sign. And he knew that Eva Bey was talking nonstop about seeing you again after the first meeting.

Poe was glad, though. He wanted her to get along with you. Eva Bey was usually pretty shy, but yet you were able to get her to open up to you after minutes of being with her. She asked Poe plenty of questions like if he knew your favorite color or anything else, which Poe of course could not answer. Poe realized he didn’t know too much about you, and the little he did know was only what he learned from the interview and… the night before.

The sounds you made as he pinned you to the bed and rocked his hips into yours were etched in the back of his mind. The way you gasped and threw your head back in pleasure as you dug your nails into his back while he rubbed his fingers against your sensitive nub is pictured clearly. He hadn’t been with anyone who made him feel that good in so long and…

He should not be thinking about that right now.

Poe shakes his head, and wipes his hand down his face. He needed to stop. Whatever happened wouldn’t happen again, and he definitely would not cross any lines that were made between you both.

He unlocks the front door and steps inside, hearing nothing except the slight sounds of your humming. He sets his bag down, and walks to the kitchen to see you sitting at the counter with a laptop and binder out.

“Hey.”

You quickly look up, smiling. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in. Eva Bey fell right to sleep at eight.”

“Did she? That’s good,” he nods as he heads to the fridge.

“Oh, I… actually made you some dinner— well… I happened to make more dinner for myself then I meant to, so… I made you a plate.”

Poe watches you walk over to the microwave, pulling out a plate of food. Turning, you place it in his hands.

“I figured you would want something different then Mac and cheese and broccoli,” you chuckle. “But I wasn’t sure if you ate on the way home or not, so—“

“I didn’t. Thank you, I’m starving actually and this looks way healthier then a drive-thru burger.”

Poe puts the plate back in the microwave and warms it up, while you stand awkwardly in place wringing your hands together. You desperately want to bring up the conversation you had with Eva Bey, but that would mean possibly having to bring up a new conversation that seemed to be sensitive with Poe.

But when he glances down at you, and sees the look on your face, you figure it’s too late to turn back.

“Um… can I ask you something?”

“Sure, anything.”

“...What happened to Eva Bey’s mother?”

Poe sighs, rubbing his brow as the microwave beeps and he pulls the plate out. He grips the edge of the counter, looking down in silence, and you wonder if you just crossed a line.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… she asked me a question about my mother and then she told me how she doesn’t have one—”

“No, it’s fine,” Poe waves you off. “It’s just… I’ve been trying to come up with a way to talk to her about it. But every time I think I found a way, I look into her eyes and just…”

Poe trails off, and you silently rebuke yourself for not keeping this to yourself.

“Poe, if you don’t want to talk about it—“

“No, no, it’s okay. I… I need to talk about this.”

Slightly relieved, you nod as Poe pushes away from the counter and faces you.

“When I was a sophomore in college, I met this girl. She was pretty nice, and of course I was just a dumb college kid. So, we made up this… arrangement. We were usually careful, but one thing led to another and, well, she ended up pregnant.”

Poe scoffs, shaking his head. You waited patiently for Poe to continue, leaning against the counter.

“Of course, I was willing to start a relationship. I told her I wasn’t going to walk out on her, and I didn’t want the kid to live without both parents. I took her out on dates, planned everything for the baby with her. I thought… I thought things were going well. That she felt the same way I did for her, and god, I even think at one point I was in love with her.

“Well, I must’ve been blinded or something. Because after she gave birth to Eva Bey, and she was cleared from the hospital, she left with no word. There was no way for me to reach her— her parents lived out of the state and I didn’t have any way to contact them. She just… disappeared, and left me alone to care for our child.”

“Oh, Poe… I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, well… as Eva Bey got older, I tried coming up with a way to tell her about her mother. She’s only ever asked a handful of times, and of course she is so patient. She just looks at me and nods when I tell her ‘we’ll talk about it when you’re a little older’. But I just… I haven’t told her because…”

Poe swallows thickly, and you swear that if the crack in his voice doesn’t make your heart ache, the next thing he says will.

“...What kid wants to hear that their mom didn’t want to be their mom? That they didn’t want to read them bedtime stories and watch their dance recitals and miss their tee-ball games? Or kiss them goodnight and sing them to sleep?”

And of course, you feel for Poe after he says this. How do you even come up with a way to explain all that to a child? How can you tell them without making it feel like they did something wrong when in fact they did absolutely nothing?

And just how can someone look at a child— especially one as bright and sweet as Eva Bey— and decide they don’t want to be in their life?

All of these questions roll through your mind and you just miss the slight sniffle coming from Poe. Glancing at him, you watch as he wipes away a single tear.

“I just… I love that kid so damn much. I want to give her the world because she deserves it. Because she is one of the sweetest, and kindest kids. And she doesn’t even have the luxury of having both parents in her life. Just me—“

“Hey, don’t do that,” you shake your head. “Don’t even think of putting yourself down like that. Eva Bey is so lucky to have you as her father. That little girl loves you so much, I can see it all around here: from all the photographs and drawings of you both to the way her eyes light up when she talks about you.”

Poe lifts his gaze at the time you stare directly into his dark eyes, making your point quite clear.

“And she knows how much you love her. So do not ever doubt that you give her enough when the truth is you give her so much and more. She is so lucky to have you, and you are the only parent she needs, Poe. If her mother doesn’t want to be in that sweet little girl's life, then she doesn’t know what she’s missing out on. Because even I saw just how special Eva Bey is from the moment I met her.”

Something flashes in Poe’s eyes— something that you have to tell yourself isn’t really there because if it was, then that would be bad. But you continue to stay silent, staring into his eyes as the ticking from the clock in the living room makes its way to break the silence between you and Poe. And just as he stares down at you, it’s almost as if… as if he—

Poe clears his throat, taking a step back. “...Thank you, for saying that. About Eva Bey.”

You almost don’t hear what he says, but you quickly nod in response. “Well, it’s true. She’s a wonderful girl, and I’m lucky to get to be here and get to know her more.”

“...She’s lucky to get to have you here, too. And… so am I.”

A small, sincere smile forms upon your face, and Poe returns it all the same. Before you can say anything further, you happen to catch the time on the stove clock.

“Oh… it’s getting late. I should… go.”

“...Right. Right, you should.”

Poe watches as you gather your laptop and binder, and stuff them into your bag. As you throw the strap over your shoulder, Poe nods and follows you to the door silently. He opens it, and the slight breeze from outside hits your bare arms and causes you to shiver right away. Poe pretends not to notice as he walks you to your car, and you glance up at him.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Thanks for dinner, by the way. And for… the talk.”

“Of course.”

Poe looks as if he has something else to say, but hesitates, and instead bids you good night before you get into your car. You watch through your window as Poe makes it back into his house, closing the door, and you let out a sigh— the emotional exhaustion finally catching up to you. Running your hands down your face, you finally start the car and proceed on your way back home.

What a first day, you think to yourself as you turn off onto the main road. You were not at all prepared for any of that — for the few questions from Eva Bey to the long, heart-rending conversation with Poe. Eva Bey seemed to be fine after you were able to get her to eat her dinner and play a bit more before putting her to sleep. But Poe…

You think back to the way he looked at you— there was definitely something hidden beneath those brown eyes of his, but you didn’t know what that was. It was for the best, you figure. But still, you couldn’t help the way your heart raced against your chest as you think back to it.

Tonight definitely changed things between the three of you.

++++++

Tag list: @bellamys @liziihorta @woakiees @lizajane3 @danicalifxrnia @mrsdaamneron @spectre-leader @mystical-934 @atonemnt @shakespeareanwannabe @cyarikaaa @fandomtravels @someplace-darker @darksideofclarke @kittyofalltrades @galaxy-of-stories @thesoftdumbass @yougottakeeponkeepinon @obipoelover @none-of-your-bullshit @newyorksins @kittycatty072 @cheekygeek05 @mserynlarsen @loveboat

[thatringboy]

Behold: my fourth Genshin OC; George the Fontaine Fashionista who may or may not be running a mafia as a side hustle…👀

Steel Cold Style

”Finding one’s personal style should be a primary goal in life! If you have no confidence in your appearance, then how can you hope to have confidence in your abilities?”

An entrepreneur in the Fontaine Fashion Industry who’s cold, hard and carefully crafted exterior is only challenged by their equally ornate and austere heart.

General Information

Name: George Glacfleur

Age: 24

Affiliation: Glacfleur Fashion House

Birthdate: October 31

Starsign: Scorpio

Constellation: Flos Glacies

Weapon: Catalyst

Vision: Cryo

Voice Claims

CVA: Din Mukhammed Kudaibergen

JVA: Suwabe Junichi

EVA: Yagami Yato’s deep voice that can make a grown ass hetero man quiver you know I had to have at least one OC with this VA claim

Voice Lines

Good Morning: Good day, Traveler, how shall I dress you today?

Good Afternoon: *Yawn* Is it tea time yet?

Good Evening: If you really want to stay out later, then we can stop by this one great bakery I know

Good Night: Sweet dreams… I hope you dream about me

When It Rains: Huh… it’s a good thing my shoes are waterproof

When It Snows: Quickly! Snap a photo with your kamera! The lighting is just perfect!

When It’s Sunny: Oh dear… look, if I get any dust on my clothing, then you’ll understand why I break down into tears

Favorite Food: Not to be crude but I become a completely different and more… loose person when I drink. To counter this, I always have my wine with the finest cheese and chocolates I can get my hands on!

Least Favorite Food: I’m highly allergic to all types of nuts. Almonds are the worst of them all!

About: Vision: Oh, this little trinket? I found it at a Flea market a few years ago. The old bloke selling it said that it appeared for him, but never awakened. I thought to myself: “eh what the heck” and purchased it. Voila! It awakened just like that! And that’s the day I discovered that blue is really my color!

About: Interests: My special interest is going from shop to shop in Fontaine and recycling my Mora back into our wonderful economy! Yes… I partake heavily in shopping, but not just for personal reasons! I hand pick all of the fabrics and materials used in the Fashion House myself! And why can’t a person just enjoy shopping without getting judged?

About Kaeya: Kaeya Alberich and I have met once during a trip I made to Mondstat… we were so much alike that we haven’t met since out of respect for our companions’ sanity

About Lyney & Lynette: The twins? I’m afraid I don’t know much about them besides whispers from my father’s colleagues, which often contradict each other. All I can say for sure is watch your back around them. I may not be able to help you if you fall into their traps and schemes

About Xinyan: She’s that rockstar from Liyue, right? I went to a few of her shows the last time I was in the Harbor and I am still so impressed how she took a Fontaine music genre and completely made it her own! She’s got major potential and I love her style

About: Family: My family… we’re not close for a few reasons that I won’t bore you with the details of. Lots of “he said”, “she said”, “they said”, you know how families are! Mine happen to be more conservative than most, which is fine, but their ideas of how I should live clash with my personal ideologies and it just became one large mess. *Sigh* I just wish that they would stop wanting me to follow in my father’s footsteps. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy and is one of the top legal advisers in Fontaine, but my calling has always been fashion. Is that so hard for my family to understand? I could never take part in a legal system that actively oppresses the little people and for some reason that’s even worse than simply wanting to leave the family business behind. Oh well…

About: Cryo: I once heard a tale that the Tsaritsa of Sneznhaya was the god of love at one point and that Cryo Visions represent that in some way. To me, there is no greater type of love than self love and confidence in one’s body. The message that all people are beautiful when they love themselves is one I wish that a younger version of myself was exposed to, so it is my duty to share it with everyone I meet. Of course, there are those who seek to snuff out certain types of beauty they don’t agree with and to that, I have a large icicle and I know exactly where I want to shove it

About: Hydro: The element of justice and the element that corresponds with our reigning Archon. You know what would be justice? Not taxing the life out of the people and shoving the Mora into the pockets of the rich! You know what would be justice? A legal system that doesn’t keep “criminals” awaiting a fair and public trial when the mood strikes our “Divine Judge”! You know what would be justice? Not making bail so high for the incarcerated that it becomes impossible for them to ever be set free! She is wasting her life away in a prison awaiting a trial that will most certainly be unfair for a crime she did not commit and there’s no way in the legal system for me to help her! Who is she? … someone who I couldn’t save. Iris, my closest companion, got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and I wasn’t available to be her alibi before she was taken away in shackles. Our benevolent Archon talks long and hard about how water can carve canyons and reshape the earth through erosion, but all I’m seeing from her is the tranquility of a small creek and the laziness of waves licking the shore

About: Fontaine Legal System: If you thought the legal systems in Liyue and Inazuma were ridged then… phew you have a LOT to learn about Fontaine! That’s why I dedicate a lot of my free time to helping those who get swept up in the chaos! However… some small businesses have started paying my employees to keep watch over them when our wonderful Archon’s police come knocking and then one thing led to another and now I have an entire underground establishment that works against the legal system and is fighting for reform. Look, I didn’t mean to start all of this, but it’s what I work with now

About: Lochfolk: Ocianid… oh you mean the Lochfolk! I’ve never seen one before, I thought they all left Fontaine. You’ve met a few? I’m impressed, it seems you truly are as well traveled as you claim to be

About: Glacfleur Fashion House: That’s my boutique! Built it from the ground up! We cater to all patrons from all walks of life! We have fashion from Inazuma, Sneznhaya, Liyue, Sumeru; you name it, we have it! And if not, we also make clothing and jewelry to order! To know everything we sell is authentic, look for the Iris Emblem embroidered or engraved on all of our pieces

About: Technology: The best part of Fontaine besides the culture has to be the technology! We’re no where nearly as advanced as Sneznhaya, but we have plumping, lights, refrigerators, kameras, music boxes… it makes life so much easier! Just waiting for the rest of Teyvat to catch up…

About: Scars: You want to know how I got these scars? It was a bad run-in with some bandits during one of my first ever deliveries to the countryside. Ended up with an explosive bottle to the face that shattered on impact and almost took off my entire cheek. I’m glad I have such an attractive face, otherwise I might have never recovered! That experience is also why I wear glasses… I’m lucky to not have gone blind from the shards of glass that ended up in my eyes

About: The Steambird: I have a subscription to that paper. I’m very interested in the astrology column they published and often the Glacfleur Fashion House makes an appearance in a few articles concerning the culture and fashion of Fontaine! I’m glad my work is being recognized

About: “Iris”: I already told you that the emblem of the Glacfleur Fashion House is an iris blossom, what else did you want to know? … You’ve been seeing the symbol scratched onto certain walls and alleys? Well… hehehe… sometimes I do more work than just running the boutique. N-Nothing illegal if that’s what you’re thinking! I just… uh… promise not to tell anyone? Okay… recently, the court system of Fontaine has started cracking down with more taxes for the people and as such, the Glacfleur Fashion House has been graciously supporting small businesses and giving protection to people in less than fortunate financial circumstances. It’s not a mafia!!! Why does everyone keep saying that?!

[ladyanput]

Seeing Green Ch. 2

Oh wow! Thanks for 115 followers, guys!

I'm going to put in a minor warning for you guys, of stalking and a bit of voyeurism. Nothing graphic, it's only mentioned is all.

[[MORE]]

"Am I being stupid with this?" Marinette stared at herself in the mirror, fretting over the grey knit dress she wore, nervously tugging it down lower on her stocking covered legs. Her gaze flickered down to Tikki casually sitting on the vanity table, nibbling on a cookie. "I mean, I just met him this morning, Tikki, and I'm going on a date with him tonight. What if he thinks I'm easy? That I'm some French floozy?"

"Marinette, this doesn't have to be a romantic date." Tikki flew up, slowly circling her Holder, before hovering before her face. She offered a kind smile. "This can be a date for you to get to know each other. And you can't get to know each other unless you spend time together, right?"

"You're right, I'm just overthinking things again." Marinette let out a small giggle, then took a seat at the vanity. She had chosen to let her hair loose, the dark waves reaching far past her shoulders, as she had decided to grow it out forever ago. She smiled at her reflection, then began painting her lips a soft pink colour, as Tikki returned to her cookie, munching happily. "He's not expecting anything, I'm sure. I.. I won't go further than a kiss. If he tries anything, I'll just drop him altogether."

"You're taking Eva's advice on dating again." Tikki giggled, watching Marinette pick up her signature purse, the kwami quickly flying inside. Marinette merely smiled in response, heading towards the elevators. As soon as she pressed the button, she heard a door open. She turned to see Alix stepping into the hall, frowning.

"You going on your date?" Alix sounded stiff, awkward when she spoke. Marinette merely blinked, and Alix's face reddened, and she crossed her arms. "Listen, just.. Don't let him get up to any funny business. I'm not.. I haven't been the greatest friend, I've been a real shitty one, but I still worry. I.. I know she's lying now. I should have before, but I was stupid."

"Alix, what.." Marinette shut her mouth as soon as she saw tears welling up in Alix's eyes, but she stubbornly refused to shed.

"I should have fucking known. I kinda did, but I didn't want to get in the middle of the shitshow, so I tried to stay neutral. But today, we left you behind in Gotham, a place that's really dangerous. And I'm sitting with Lila and Alya, listening about how you're mooching off this hot intern to make Adrien jealous, maybe get a threesome, and I'm just sitting there thinking 'aren't they worried about her? This is Gotham, the Joker and people are here. This isn't Paris, people get kidnapped and die here, and they stay dead, there's no Cure!'

"And I try and bring this up, and Alya has the fucking nerve to say that you deserve whatever you get, because you're a worse bully, have been ever since Chloe transferred to a different school. It.. It was a wake up call for me, Mari, and I realized how much I screwed up and that I was so horrible to you. We all have been. And I'm sorry, I really am.. And.. Please, be safe. I want you to come back safe."

"Alix..." Marinette stepped forward and hugged Alix tightly, surprising the girl. She felt tears in her eyes, and let them fall as she hugged Alix tightly. Something in her that had long since been locked away, came forth. "I am so happy to hear that. I... I've missed you. I miss all of you."

Marinette pulled away after a few minutes, wiped away the tears, and smiled brilliantly, a real smile.

 "And don't worry, I can take care of myself. If he tries anything, I'll make sure he'll never walk right again." The fierce grin she gave caused Alix to burst into laughter. 

"Not if I get to him first. He does anything funny, they'll never find the body!"

Both girls shared grins, once destroyed bridges finally beginning to mend.

…

When Marinette got down to the lobby, she felt a little better. It wasn't by much, but that bit certainly helped lift her mood. She smiled at the sight of Damian standing in the lobby. He was a really handsome guy. Tall, broad shoulders, dark messy hair, he even had muscle, muscle that could be well seen with the black turtleneck he wore. 

In her unashamed ogling, she hadn't noticed that he was talking with someone. Or that that someone was Miss Bourbon, who did not seem impressed with whatever Damian was telling her.

Mari rushed over before the TA could scare her date away.

"Hello Miss Bourbon, I take it you're giving Damian a lecture." She spoke up, grinning when she saw pink dust the older woman's cheeks. 

"Not a lecture. Just a warning that you're my student, and if anything happens to you, I'll bring the wrath of Hades down upon him." Eva grinned, and giggled with Mari, before turning back to Damian. "But in all seriousness, I want her back by nine o'clock sharp. We're going to Gotham City Park tomorrow for a picnic, and we don't want the students abandoning Marinette again."

"Completely understood." Damian gave her a small smile, then held out his arm for Marinette to take. Even Eva had to admit, Damian was an attractive man, not that she'd touch him. A twenty three year old should never go after a seventeen year old. Ever. "I will just be taking Marinette out for dinner, then I'll bring her straight back."

"Well, good.. I understand the whole… Young love thing, just don't go overboard, okay?" Eva found herself smiling at Damian, then gave Mari a wink. "An old lady like myself knows exactly how that type of thing can go badly."

"Bon soir, Evangeline. I'll bring you a piece of cheesecake, if they have any where we're eating at." Marinette assured her, before she was guided out of the building. They were greeted with the sight of a driver opening the door of a very expensive looking car for them. "Damian.. You… You have a personal driver?"

"It's not too much, is it? I just thought it would be easier to talk to you, if I didn't have any distractions." Damian gave an almost embarrassed smile, helping Marinette into the car, then sliding in after her. As their thighs pressed together, Marinette could feel the heat radiating off of him, and her heart began slowly picking up speed. "You know, your English is pretty good for someone from France."

"O-oh, thanks. Miss Evangeline is from Canada, she came to France to strengthen her French. So she helped me with English, while I helped her with French. A fair trade." Mari felt her cheeks go scarlet, trying to ignore the heat of him, of his charming smile. It should be illegal to look so good. "She.. She really cares, you know? Miss Bustier, she wants you to ignore what anyone does bad to you, she wants you to be an example to the bullies, to cause little fuss, just smile and be the bigger person."

"So, what you're telling me,is that you are being gaslighted by your teacher, you are being bullied by everyone in your class, and only a person from a different country believes you?" Damian's brows rose, and Marinette glanced down at her folded hands, then clenched them tightly to keep them from trembling. "Do you want me to kidnap you, so that you'll never have to deal with them again?"

"What? No, no, it's fine! I just have to deal with them until graduation. Besides, some of them are coming around." Marinette shook her head, Alix flashing in her mind, but she ignored it and smiled up at Damian once again. "Let's not talk about it, okay? I want to get to know you better. I like you Damian, but I don't really know anything about you. I don't even know your last name."

They shared a smile, and began to talk as they drove along the streets of Gotham. Marinette explaining how her parents were bakers, of her aspirations in fashion, meanwhile Damian went on about his father and brothers, though he was very careful not to mention his last name. He liked how Marinette looked at him. At him because he was Damian, not because he was Damian Wayne. He wasn't lying to her, but he wanted to keep that look, at least for tonight. 

"I mean, life has been hectic, ever since the akuma attacks started a few years ago.." Marinette began, as the car slowed to a stop. Damian's brows drew together as he thought over her words. 

"Akuma attacks? What's an akuma?"

"Master Damian, we have arrived." The driver spoke out, cutting off Marinette's attempts to respond. The two exchanged a glance before they climbed out of the car, standing before a small diner. Damian took Marinette's dainty hand into his massive one, and guided her inside.

When they stepped inside, Marinette decided it felt warm and comfy there. It was a quaint diner, a few people scattered here and there, enjoying warm meals. It was a relief, so see this, instead of some upscale restaurant where it would be so fancy, her head would spin. The smells of spices and something faintly citrusy filled the air, as a perky waitress guided the couple to a booth, then left them alone with their menus and ice water.

"Now.. Want to explain what an akuma is?" Damian glanced up, meeting Marinette's gaze. He noted out her hands tensed, gripping her menu tighter.

"You really don't know what an akuma is? But they've been terrorizing Paris for years, how can no one know about them?" Her voice became soft, hollow as she spoke, those blue eyes of hers seeming to close off their expressive nature. "How is that possible? Is that why.. Why the Justice League wouldn't come and help? Because they didn't think it was actually happening?"

"Marinette? Angel, are you alright?" Damian touched her hand, drawing Marinette from her odd trance she went under. She seemed a bit shaken, but forced a smile and returned to reading the menu. Damian took that as a sight to refrain from pushing the subject. So he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and went back to look at his menu as well. Maybe chicken alfredo would be nice.

…

Chat Noir scowled as he watched the diner from across the street, perched on a building. He didn't like the guy Marinette was out with. He just didn't seem right. It's not because Adrien was jealous, not at all. Marinette was just a friend. Or would be a friend, if she'd stop trying to expose Lila. He didn't want to have to deal with Lila being akumatized. Again. For the tenth time.

He snarled when he watched Marinette blush, watched her and the intern guy laughed. He didn't miss the body language they had towards each other. Chat Noir tried to assure himself that it was only physical attraction. That when Mari saw passed the guy's shiny exterior, she'd see he's only after a quick fling with a cute girl from France.

A very cute girl. When he had seen Marinette step into the lobby, dressed up for a date, a part of him wanted to go over and take her on that date. Maybe convince her to wear her pigtails again, cut her hair again. He wanted her back to the way she was, before Lila, before that stupid miss Evangeline and her encouraging Marinette to stick up to herself, to rock the boat.

You never rock the fucking boat. Ever. 

Chat Noir sat there for hours, scowling. He shouldn't be this hung up on a friend. He had His Lady afterall. His courageous, gorgeous Ladybug. She was waiting back for him in Paris. He had a new idea for trying to get a date with her. He was Chaos, she was Balance. They were meant to be, she just needed to realize it.

He was brought out of his daydreams of kissing Ladybug, stripping her out of her costume, but watching Marinette and Damian leaving the diner. He hated how cuddly they were. His claws dug into the stone of the ridge he was sitting on. 

He followed the fancy car back to the hotel, watching as Damien walked Mari up to the doors of the hotel. His jaw clenched when Marinette kissed Damian on the cheek, leaving the guy looking dumbstruck as she practically flounced into the hotel, like she was floating on air.

Fury curled in Chat's gut and he launched himself onto the roof that was opposite of Marinette's room. He had to warn his princess, he couldn't let her get hurt, not by some sleazy rich guy she barely knew.

And he sat there, watching her enter her room, opening her purse, and his heart stopped. The flying red kwami had bolted from the purse and flying around Marinette, the two obviously in quite giddy conversation.

And it clicked.

Marinette… Was Ladybug. His Princess was his Lady. And everything in the past made so much more sense. He grinned, realizing now why he was so protective of Marinette. Soulmates knew each other outside of the masks, so that's why he knew her, but didn't realize it.

So Chat sat there, grinning, as Marinette stripped off her knit dress, taking in her beauty. She had grown such beautiful curves over the past few years, she had such pretty skin. When she unhooked her bra, he purred, already lost in a daydream of him being in that room with her, carefully caressing her and making her his. And he could practically taste the salt on her skin, as she whispered his name. His green eyes stayed transfixed on her, as she stripped before his eyes.

Tag list: @realrandomposts @2sunchild2

@interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @poshplumcot @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie

[newagesispage]

                                                                JULY                                   2021

 THE RIB PAGE

 *****

They are still uncovering statues on Easter Island.

*****

Everyone is talking about ‘Exterminate all the Brutes” from Raoul Peck.

*****

Vampire bats, prevalent in Latin America may be on the way to the U.S.

*****

What they call faith, I call strength.

*****

Criss angel will open CABLP, a restaurant in Overton, Nevada. The letters stand for breakfast, lunch and pizza and will include a free meal outreach program to help under privileged and pediatric cancer families.

*****

A fifth ocean in Antartica??** There have also found 4 new ocean species: Apolemia, Tegula Kusairo, Leptarma Biju and Duobrachium Sparksae.

*****

In China they have found a possible new species in a skull that is 140,000 years old.

*****

Why would Jeffrey Toobin be back at CNN?? Surely there are more young deserving talking heads around.

*****

The Keystone pipeline is dead.

*****

5,000 pounds of explosives were discovered in a home in South LA. LAPD seems to have detonated the fireworks in a truck right there in the neighborhood. They were too dangerous to transport but not enough to blow them up??? How stupid are these people??

*****

Days alert : So glad to see Clyde again even if it is only for a moment!! **BTW, I do not understand the Daytime Emmy noms this year as they relate to Days. I really was pulling for Victoria Koneful (Ciara) and she won but George DelHoya (Orpheus), Tamara Braun (Ava) and Cady McClain (Jennifer)??? I was shocked when Cady McClain won. I mean, she was so whiny. I question my own ability to judge a performance. In most categories, the winner was usually the one I thought was the worst option. I was happy for Max Gail and CBS Sunday Morning.  Some performances were sure overlooked. What about James Read (Clyde), Paul Telfer (Xander), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas), Robert Scott Wilson (Ben), Daniel Kerr (Eli) and Lindsay Arnold (Allie) ?? As annoying as the Kristen character is and as long as it took me to get used to Stacy Haiduk in the role, she kicked ass this year. Did they even submit clips?? And,  they are not often on but Tony and Anna forever!!!!!!** And how wonderful is it to see the Dimera boys all together and recounting the whole fam for the votes? **And one more thing, Days was not even nominated for writing while Bold and the Beautiful spends every other show with the Liam character standing in front of the fireplace making excuses for the same shit! Just push repeat, C,mon!!**Philip had a great line for Brady about following Kristen like a zombie.** Dis Eli really say, “Peacock and chill??’ Are these the things they will have to do to do to stay on the air? It took me right out of the show. It was the same day the ads for Days on Peacock started. OMG

*****

Texas Gov. Abbott vetoed a bill that would make it illegal to chain up dogs without water.**ATexas churches have lost their 501(c) (3) status because it actively ‘educates’ its members on electing specific Republican politicians. –Pete West* This should have been happening long ago. Many churches I know of do this and should not be allowed to have it both ways. #tax the church

*****

Ellen Burstyn, Jane Curtin, Loretta Devine, Christopher Lloyd, James Caan, French Stewart and Ann-Margaret in Queen Bees and directed by Michael Lembeck?? Yes please!!

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NY has suspended Giuliani’s law license.

*****

Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail is coming to TBS, this will be season 3 in the series.

*****

What is this about Bowen Yang?? A podcast about a sperm bank heist?? Yeow!!

*****

David Geffen has given $150,000,000 to Yale drama school: Every student will be tuition- free in perpetuity.

*****

Allison Mack was sentenced to 3 years.

*****

The latest in sexual assault news: James Franco has agreed to 2.2 mil settlement in sexual misconduct case.** Kyle Massey was charged with immoral communication with a minor.**Bill Cosby is out and here are some reactions: A terrible wrong is being righted.: a miscarriage of justice is corrected. I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward.- Phylicia Rashad*I really don’t ever want to hear again as to why many survivors don’t report their rape or assault.- Charlotte Clymer* Women are showing great restraint in not burning everything to the ground right now and I don’t know how they do it.-Jeff Tiedrich

*****

Amazon is making a series of A League of Their Own with Nick Offerman as the coach.

*****

Does anyone else have family members that are rich, transient, know it all snobs??

*****

It looks like New York’s ranked choice voting is leaning toward Eric Adams for Mayor.

*****

Michigan republicans investigating voter fraud found 2 incidents. One is for a lady who voted by mail and then died, the other was confusion over a man who had the same name as his Father. That was it!

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Jamie Lee Curtis will get the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 78th Venice International Film Fest in September.

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Jerry Seinfeld will star in and direct ‘Unfrosted’ about Pop-Tarts.

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Why is Airbnb still listing properties in illegal settlements and outposts in Palestinian occupied territories? –James J. Zogby

*****

Merrick Garland has announced that the Justice department sued Georgia over the voting rights.

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The NFL says that it will halt the use of “race norming” which assumed black players started out with lower cognitive functioning in a $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims. The practice had made it harder for black players to qualify. –The Associated Press.

*****

Scary Clown 45 ended his ‘From the desk of Donald J. Trump’ blog after 29 days. Word is that he felt he was being mocked in the media.

*****

Religious leadership keeps engaging in partisan politics on behalf of politicians that are particularly unpopular with younger people and they wonder why younger people are disenchanted with the church. – Schooley ** Give young people credit as well for seeing through the hype and lies of these religious hypocrites who use God only as a weapon and a threat. –Larry Charles

*****

Amazon will stop drug testing for employment. Can every other company jump on this bandwagon? Let’s judge employees on the work they give.

*****

The Backstreet Boys and NSync are going to work together??!!

*****

Showtime is bringing back American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal.

*****

If Biden can carry out air strikes without proper authorization, the Senate can raise the minimum wage without the Parliamentarian.  –Alexandra M. Hunt

Reality Winner is out!!

*****

Judy Woodruff has been given the Peabody award for journalistic integrity.

*****

Donald Glover is bringing us Hive. Malia Obama will be a writer.

*****

Nicholas Cage has married Riko Shibata.

*****

Catch and Kill: The podcast tapes, is here on HBO.

*****

Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening will star in Jerry and Marge go large.

*****

Amblin Partners and Netflix are partners.

*****

Fall 2022 will bring the Roybal School of film and television production for underserved communities. They are looking to help 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. Among others, the program was cofounded by George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Kerry Washington, Mindy Kaling and Eva Longoria.

*****

Will there be a Wedding Crashers2??

*****

The Mysterious Benedict Society stars Tony Hale.** I would love to see he and Danny Pudi in something together.

*****

Actor Stephen Amell from Arrow was removed from a plane after getting into it with his wife.  A source said he was drunk and screaming. An official source said that they removed “an unruly customer.”** Andy Dick was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, allegedly assaulting his partner, Lucas with a metal chair.

*****

So.. Fox news was digitally altering the faces of people they did not care for??? Is there no end to their bullshit????

*****

Mark Ronson is set to marry Grace Gummer.

*****

Crime shows seem to be in the cycle of prisoners and the women who get a thrill from helping them escape.

*****

Wolfgang Van Halen has released a debut album: Mammoth

*****

Everyone seems to love Danny Trejo’s memoir and its honesty.

*****

David Spade will take over as host of Bachelor in Paradise.

*****

I am sickened when I see the first question that pops up on an online search is the net worth of a person. Oh this twisted world.

*****

Life is a short pause between 2 great mysteries. –Jung

*****

Prince Harry and Meghan had a daughter that they named Lilibet ‘Lili” Diana.

*****

Michael Flynn’s brother Charles (who withheld help from the capitol on Jan. 6), leads the U.S. Army Pacific and commands 90,000 troops.

*****

I am so excited to read ‘The Boys’ from Clint and Ron Howard, due out in October.

*****

Dave Chappelle closed out the Tribeca film fest with a surprise concert. This was the first in person film fest since Covid. Look for This time, this place which premiered there.

*****

Ron Wood will release the album Mr. Luck: A tribute to Jimmy Reed on Sept. 3

*****

Howard Stern signed a new $500 mil contract with Sirius XM. He is taking the whole summer off and many fans say they will cancel their subscription because they don’t want to pay for a summer of reruns.

*****

Acorn will bring Jane Seymour back to a series. Seymour will be co -executive produce on Harry Wild. Her character will be a retired University professor who loves her whiskey and solves crimes.

*****

Annie Murphy  stasr in ‘Kevin can f*** himself about a sitcom wife which airs on AMC.

*****

I still do not understand why Rep. Mike Nearman hasn’t been arrested for letting insurrectionists into the Capitol.

*****

There is a wing shortage??

*****

The Pulitzer prizes have been announced. The list includes Ben Faub, Barry Blitt, Katori Hall, Emilio Morenatti, AP photographers Marcio Jose Sanchez, Alex Brandon, David Goldman, Julio Cortez, John Minchillo, Frank Franklin II, Ringo H.W. Chiu, Evan Vucci, Mike Stewart and Noah Berger. There was a special citation for Darnella Frazier who filmed the death of George Floyd.

*****

Conan’s last TBS guests were Martin Short, Jack Black, Bill Hader, Mila Kunis, Dana Carvey, Patton Oswalt and JB Smoove. There were some surprises.  The big musical number never happened when Jack Black hurt himself. It was all funny and sweet but Conan never mentioned the band in the last show WTF????????????????????????????????????????? Music is so important to him and he does not thank the band? ** Colbert and Brian Stack gave Conan a cute send after4, 368 shows on CBS calling him a ‘Slenderman Ron Weasly’.  Kimmel wished Conn well also.** Hope his HBO MAX variety show goes well.** BTW, the Duvall interview with Colbert was great to see but why does nobody ever mention ‘Get Low?’ What a performance!!

*****

Tattoos are on the rise.

*****

Fast food drive thru’s sometime close with fake excuses like the equipment is down or something because they don’t feel like working. Good people can’t find work and so many waste the opportunities they have. AAAAGHH!!

*****

Valerie Bertinelli and Demi Lovato will star in ‘Hungry’ on NBC.

*****

Hulu will bring us David E. Kelley’s Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman, Michael Shannon, Regina Hall, Bobby Cannavale and Melissa McCarthy.

*****

R.I.P. Gavin Macleod, Frank Bonner, Joy Vogelsang, Benigno Aquino, Champ Biden, victims of the Miami building collapse, Robert Sacchi, Stuart Damon, Johnny Solinger  and Clarence Williams III.

[auroraayyye]

SKAM: An analysis

Part 1

This is not anything anyone has ever asked for, but I can’t sleep so here you go. A personal analysis of my likes, dislikes and favourite characters from every version of SKAM. Starting of with:

SKAM (The OG, Norwegian one)

Likes:

My own language and culture

A well written interesting teen show that tackled important problems you meet in life and brought out stories you didn’t see much of in media at the time.

The cast consisted of litteral teens. Tarjei who played Isak was a first year at the real school «Nissen».

The actors were so good. They all played such important roles, and you could tell they put a whole lot of personality into it.

I LOVED the format. SKAM has a lot of references to Henrik Ibsen (norwegian author), and he was known for writing plays in a style that in norwegian is called «Titteskap teater» (rough translation: a cupboard you can look into). The minimizes the distance between the audience and the action, creating much more debate around the plot. By giving us the clips online while they were happening «in real time» and giving the characters real SoMe accounts SKAM did exactly that. (Our teacher would seriously pause the class if any clips came out during).

I also liked how short the clips were. I don’t watch a lot of shows as I simply don’t have the time or attention span. But watching 2-10 minute clips and reading small text exchanges, thats something i could do!

None of the characters were «simple». They were all written and acted quite dynamic, deep and dimentional, and i loved that.

SKAM was brought up so goddamn much in our norwegian classes i swear. I did so many papers on it.

Unpopular opinion: i liked that it ended after 4 season. Ended on a high.

GREAT SOUNDTRACK

Dislikes:

SKAM is made in certain part of Oslo, which is the capital and biggest city of Norway. I don’t think it should’ve been changed, I just didn’t relate to a lot of the cultural youth references as I am from the north myself. And yes those enviroments are very different! So I just feel like letting the fandom know that that not all of norwegian is definitely like that.

They definitely could’ve done more with Sana’s season. I do not think that it was a bad season, i just think that there was too much focus on Noorhelm and girl drama which were topics that didn’t really need more focus.

Eva’s season just being overlooked in promos and in general. I get that it was the first season and the show gathered more attention around the second season but come on. Eva and her storyline is so important, the acting was so good and it laid a solid foundation for the rest of the show. I just feel like Eva’s character didn’t get the justice it deserved.

Favourite characters:

Vilde. Now my people let me tell you a little bit about Vilde. Vilde was the most important character in the entire show. She was the glue that brought together all the other characters. And she was so devoted to everthing she did: her friends, the bus, all the small gatherings. And i feel like everyone went to school with a person like this. Who was maybe teased and looked at like weird, but in hindsight you realise how much they really did for their community. In the last season we get a little peak into the life Vilde is living when she’s not at school and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. And again unpopular opinion but i liked that we never got a Vilde season, cus thats the reality of it. Most situations like these are hidden, and they are hidden so well. And not giving Vilde a season really enhances that. Vilde really just wanted to be good for the world and for the world to be a better place. And that scene from season 4 between Vilde, Chris and Magnus is honestly one of the most beautiful scenes of the entire show and both Vilde and Chris’ friendship and Vilde and Magnus’ relationship is so healthy and lovely. I love Vilde fight me.

Eskil. He is, without any doubt to ever excist about it, the funniest character on the show. He really gives me «Will and Grace»-vibes. But I also love that even though he is funny, he is not reduced to just funny lines. He is an example of how important one person can be to anothers life. He really did take care of the people around him, even though not everyone perceived his behaviour that way. He took care of Noora and brought her out of her shell. He took care of Isak and helped him come to terms with his sexuality and internalized homophobia. He took care of Linn and accepted her as she was while simultanously helping her be a part of their social community. He was also an very important counterpart to Isak’s character in season three. It gave out the message that there is definitely not one way to be gay. Although he wasn’t the best roomate, he was a good character.

Isak. My most favourite thing about his character is that i don’t 100% like him. It’s like having a friend that doesn’t agree with you on every single subject and i honestly feel like that enriches the relationship. And he is such a realistic norwegian boy, so many of my guy friends act similar to him. Guys and their feelings are very under-represented in the media, and i think as much as the third season is praised for its focus on lgbt+ and mental health, it should get some credit for putting guys and the way they face issues in the limelight. I love that he’s such a snake sometimes, because people do dumb, selfish shit no matter how much of a nice person you think they are. His friendship with Eva? Amazing. And also veey realistic. Sometimes friends grow a little apart before they come back together, and i think their friendship is a strong one. His friendship with Jonas? Amazing. That coming out scene at the bench says it all i need not write any further. His friendship with Sana? Amazing. Isak was such an important character in her season and she was so important in his. The talk they have at the bench in Sana’s season is such a nice scene. Also Tarjei, the actor who plays Isak, is one of norway’s finest. He’s so good, i’ve seen him in other things as well and he’s just astonishing. The «O Helga Natt» scene is good, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good without that amazing acting.

That concludes my personal analysis of OG SKAM that no one asked for, but if you wanna tag along make sure to look out for my next! And hopefully i will get to sleep now.

[howlingmoonrise]

Thoughts on Petshop of Horrors: Wandering Ark volume 3

(crossposted from dreamwidth)

me realizing a whole-ass 25 pages of the last volume of the papa series are just sensei's travel logs:

what did i do to deserve this, honestly? sensei i love you and all but THERE WERE SO MANY OTHER THINGS TO COVER ABOUT PAPA. AND YOU DIDN'T TOUCH THEM. AT ALL.

To start with, there's only two actual chapters in the volume, keeping in line with the previous volumes. A whooping total of 103 pages out of a 128 page manga - except, a good portion of one of them is pretty much just rehashing the events of the last volume of the original manga, so it's not exactly like they're overflowing with juicy new content. Vesca and Victor fans will be pleased at a new glimpse of them both though, with emphasis on Vesca. 

Oh, you wanted an explanation for the ark? For why Papa was going around supposedly through "space and time", with a reason other than "well, I wanted to draw stuff from other eras but I don't want to write a whole new manga with a D from back then"? There's none. N-O-N-E. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Niente. Nothing about his relationship with Sofu (though they do briefly meet on Victor's funeral - and wow, am I surprised Sofu deigned to show considering how much he loves humankind), nothing about D or Papa's relationship with him beyond an outsider's point of view on the events of the last manga, nothing about the D species in general or glimpses at previous Ds that were likely alive before our D came into being.

Another bad point: what the hell was up with the cover art? 

The top portion of it is fine, but why does the rest of it look like whoever painted it forgot how to shade things? Look at that belt. Look at those sleeves. That's all I have to say on this subject.

On to the chapters themselves!

--

First chapter:

Papa D helps with The Bachelor. No, really. It's literally a Bachelor-style show, recorded for TV, with one single man and twenty ladies competing to become his wife. Trigger warning for almost-rape in this chapter.

I'll be honest, I liked the main character for this chapter. She's a go-getter, and a survivalist, and prefers stuffing her face with food instead of flirting away the night. Honestly? Mood. I really liked the butler too. I was going on a "oh, is he going to be the actual love interest?" line of thought since he looked interesting, and then went "nah, they're not focusing on him at all beyond that one (1) scene where they were dancing, guess he's just a side character after all", only for him to actually turn out to be the final love interest. That was. Hm. To say that it was majorly underdeveloped is to put it lightly, but the "prince" wasn't great either. The attempted rape felt as if it was shoved in because they were running out of pages though, since the rest of what we saw from his personality seemed a lot mellower than that.  

The ?prostitutes? were an unexpected bright spot, even though they only showed up for a couple of panels, but it was nice that they gave her food (however dismissively) and tried to get the other guy to leave her alone, and that they were simply described as "beautiful" instead of anything else.

OH BUT. Papa hitting the would-be rapist over the head with an oar was great, it actually gave a bit more dimension to him since the Ds are usually so unwilling to dirty their own hands when it comes to violent business: at most they would usually let their pets do the work for them.

Which actually brings me to another question.

I've already said before that Papa is at most a side character on his own series, and that he actually barely gets involved at all apart from a few nudges here and there - but it's kind of jarring that he almost never "sells" a pet in this series. On all volumes including this one, there are only two chapters where he gives away a pet that was already with him and that didn't initially belong to someone else that he was just returning: the dogs from the Austria chapter, and the bird from Empress one (who was actually said to be given by Sofu, but I'm calling bullshit since he had long hair and this is supposedly a time-travelling ark). It's definitely a weird choice for a manga whose title is, quite literally, "Petshop of Horrors".

Also, for a FLYING ark there sure seem to be a lot of water-related incidents.

Thoughts on the family thing down on the general thoughts section. Also, WHY IS IT AN OAR AGAIN? WHERE DID THE BUTLER FIND AN OAR, SINCE IT SEEMED LIKE IT WASN'T PAPA LENDING IT TO HIM? I can't say the penguin thing was a huge twist considering previous chapters, but it makes me wonder that so many of Papa's stories are directly about either humans or animals, but rarely the conjunction of both apart from brief exceptions. 

--

Second chapter: Nice callback to the original PSoH on the first page: I'm extremely fond of that description of the Ds, and it's fitting for a final chapter of a PSoH series. 

This chapter is a cameo for Victor (from the Sofu series which I haven't read yet but know some things about), and a full appearance for Vesca. Victor seems to have chosen the same path as Leon, though arguably he'd actually have the money for it since he's a baron. Travelling the world following rumours and sightings, in search of someone they considered to be dear to them? Sign all three of these blonds up, because it seems to be a tradition at this point. The Ds really have a type, huh? Truth be told, from what I heard of Victor I didn't think he'd be the adventure-seeking sort, so this was a bit of a surprise. He looks cute and happy piloting planes and running from rhinos so I guess that's all that matters though.

BUT WHY DID HE HAVE TO DIE POOR. He looks like a huge cinnamon roll so I feel super bad for him, I bet they all resented the money he spent trying to chase Sofu D across the globe once the Great Depression hit :/  

And then, bam! Sofu cameo. This is the chapter where EVERYONE gets a cameo, copy-paste of the last chapter of OG PSoH or otherwise. He's cryptic as usual, and I REALLY didn't expect him to remember Victor's name, much less show up to his funeral. Not that he even looks like he's grieving; he pretty much only speaks of Hitler and Eva Braun's kirin, to Papa's seemingly frowning disapproval (I haven't complained about the round art style on this volume's commentary yet so consider this to be it: the only reason why Papa even looks put out is because he has a Very Clear Frowny Line, because otherwise he just looks normal... and round). 

And then finally, some actual Papa content! Or, er, Vesca content. Both. Let's go with both. I don't want to make myself sad thinking about how little we saw of Papa on his own series. Here we see once again mentions of extinction and of resurrecting species, and finally a throwback to why the ark is an ark: "Noah's Ark". It took me RNS' translations of OG PSoH to understand the reference back on the original, because on Tokyopop's mangled translation the ark is merely a flying boat. 

It's nice to see that Vesca has a strong sense of justice similar to my dear boy Leon Orcot, since it was a bit iffy on the original manga. He's righteous (and right!) about the other Professor using Papa's research, and how Papa should have the benefits of it for himself since he was the one doing the studies. Papa, however, cares little about money or glory: even now his focus is on recovering the blind bird species from their trip to Greece (see: Shin PSoH), and here we see once again his hopeful view that one day he may be able to help them see again. Parallel to his own family much? Honestly, I feel for him.

WHAT IS IT WITH PEOPLE SHOOTING PAPA? At this point he's trying to reach for Leon's record - and failing, because Leon gets shot and mauled a frankly unholy amount of times during the original PSoH, so no one else can ever really compare. What really breaks my heart here is that he actually asks why. Sofu and D would both have simply taken it for granted, but Papa (seemingly, up until this point) doesn't automatically assume the worst of every human being he comes across. That pained why kills me a little bit, here, and soon after he grows cold and allows the more murderous side of that contract to go loose.

That page with Vesca going into the FBI really throws me back to the panels on the original PSoH right before/right when Leon decides to chase after D. Part of the background is blank, the other part a faint image of the city and Chinatown, with a sense of detachment associated with them. I could probably take the time to place them side by side and compare fully, but uh. I may or may not be stretching my workday bedtime a little too much to finish writing this, oops.

Also, an echo to the original PSoH with Papa's death, called back with him nearly being shot in the middle of the forehead. The actual event is brought in shortly after Vesca gets to mind-rant about the Ds and his search for a few pages, and then flashback flashforward time! A whole six pages which are just portions of OG PSoH's last chapter redrawn from another angle. It's implied that Vesca was able to board the ark like Leon did due to a similar scene with lying in the clouds and sighting the ship amidst them, though whether he was able to stay or not is a whole new story. This is where the actual story ends.

--

Sensei's travel logs: I'm not going to bother going into these. It was nice to see some glimpses of my son (forever a Leon stan here!) and a cameo for Taizuu also showed up a little later on if you're one of the people who liked him (personally, I would trade Taizuu in for a cornchip and a ball of lint). I'm going to make the executive choice of pretending that the D/Leon bits are what's actually happening right now after Leon caught up to D. It's lovely to see them on vacations, and Leon has mellowed out a little bit while D seems extremely comfortable and content with his favourite ex-detective's presence =v=

--

General thoughts: All the series so far seem to have some sort of theme, which kind of ties into the main character of it and their own arc. The original PSoH, for one, was focused a lot on family and greed and love and desire: our D, similarly, had plenty of unresolved issues surrounding his bloodline and things that he wanted but that he couldn't/was not allowed to have because of that very blood.

You'll have to forgive me if my interpretation of Shin is spotty since I only read around half of it (online scans only went up to volume 6 or so, physical versions of the Tokyopop translations were discontinued, and ruthlessnightsscans started scanlating it after I’d already read the available chapters for Shin), but from what I remember of it it seemed to bring in softer, more loving and lighthearted stories, usually tied around romance and being kept apart from things they want/love. The two non-Leon chapters that immediately spring to mind are the Romeo and Juliet Mafia AU, and the one where the lady got pregnant from her dead husband and was able to live on due to that renewed hope. D himself seems to have turned a new page: he hangs around humans on his leisure time (bless those drag queens), takes a vested interest in happy endings for others even if not for himself, and seems overall less inclined towards gruesome murder.

(You'll have to forgive me, but I actually haven't read the Sofu series at all yet so I can't analyse that one. I wasn't even aware RNS had scanlated it until recently, but then again I hold a lot of rage against that slimy bastard (Sofu, not RNS, RNS are baby) and so I'm putting it off indefinitely. Oops?)

And then there's this one. It's probably no coincidence that so many of the stories are about reproduction and birth and continuing a dying species: this is something that chases Papa all the way from his college days not even considering his childhood, which we don't actually don't know about but can make an educated guess at down to his issues with his son and the faint madness of his last years. Even his death plays into this theme, with it ultimately working as an way to keep the D line alive. It makes me think that Papa being kept from his position as a main character in his own series might actually be somewhat purposeful, though the decaying quality of the latest PSoH mangas makes me think this is not the case. I'll have to read the Sofu series to make a better judgement on this, depending on whether or not Sofu is or is not treated similarly. 

Another theme: being haunted by the dead. I think this is actually present on almost every chapter of the Wandering Ark series, though we may disagree on the levels on which it was shown and how easily it is or is not divorced by my previous point. A reader that reads this series on its own will likely find Papa a very bland character and will not grasp onto the nuances of these themes and how they are connected to him, IMO. These conclusions and these hypothesis are drawn by virtue of the first manga alone; it's because of it that we're aware of how Papa himself lives for the species who are long gone, his own kind included. Most of the characters on Wandering Ark push through the suffering and the sorrow of their dead to go beyond their limits and become greater and independent, which is another parallel to Papa since he's the only one of the Ds who has an objective beyond simple (and inefficient) vengeance.

Overall, there's little else I can say that I haven't said already, either here or on my previous post for the first two volumes of the Wandering Ark series. There's a real sense of isolation and detachment on Papa's side (though he seems more benevolent than the other two Ds were), but as I said I'm not sure if it's meant to be purposeful or not, though Sensei's choice to not give him an actual companion thorough his series is also telling. The pacing was also better than in the first chapters of this series, though there was that issue with the ending of the first chapter of this volume. I also still can't say this enough, but it's really strange that Papa is such a side character on his own series??

Final thoughts: we were robbed.

At least Sensei hinted that her journey with the Ds might not be over yet, though if we get another Sofu manga I can and I will riot.

[2ofswords]

I cannot draw but I still wanted to bother everyone with assigning Tarot cards for the Patho Characters. It just combines two fixations of mine and so I absolutely couldn’t resist. First and obvious disclaimer: Since I am only doing the major arkana and I have some more abstract concepts for the cards not every important NPC is assigned a card. I tried to include as many as I can by making some groupstuff but not everybody made it. Sorry Grief, I still love you!

Here is just the list, some ramblings and explanations are under the cut. (Btw. this is after the Rider Waite deck, since there are other tarot variations)

0 The Fool - Tragedian I The Magician - Isidor II The High Priestess - Clara III The Emperor - Big Vlad IV The Empress - Capella V The Hierophant - Khan VI The Lovers - The Saburovs VII The Chariot - Block VIII Justice - Dankovsky IX The Hermit - Rubin X Wheel of Fortune - Victor + Clockwork XI Strength - Notkin + Jester XII The Hanged Man - Eva + Cathedral XIII Death - Executor / Murky’s Friend XIV Temperance - Artemy XV The Devil - Immortell + The Theater XVI The Tower - Polyhedron + The Stamatins XVII The Star - Lara XVIII The Moon - Maria XIX The Sun - Sticky and Murky XX Judgement - Aglaya  XXI The World - The Town

The Fool: I mean... not much to say here. I wanted to include some more abstract and general things, since I couldn’t bare to put anything but the town itself as the world. And the Tragedians are such an important part of Pathologic that fit the Fool quite well. 

The Magician: Isidor just has this role as a powerful figure and this “controlling the forces of nature” thing that the magician has going on. And he has a face which at least makes including him in a deck... doable. Not that it really matters here but even inner visualization is fun. Btw. I also had this image of Rubin as a Magician where the table on the Rider Waite deck is the autopsy table with Simon on it. That was nice but Rubin as a character just makes for a better Hermit and again, I think Isidor is a nice fit as an important power figure with mystical inclinations and this controlling aspect. If we want to include a character that is alive in the game, Georgiy and his house in the crucible would also be a good fit.

The High Priestess: Again one I find easy to justify. The High Priestess as the person inclined to the mystical nature behind things works really well for Clara. Also the high priestess is considered to have the highest mythological value in Tarot, so this is kind of nice. Clara has a lot of Cards that fit her, but this one is a position not a lot of other characters fit into. Another person I could see as the High Priestess is Aspity though.

The Emperor: I once wanted to have the head of every ruling family here, to also include Gerorgiy in the deck but then I got a big problem with the lovers and the lack of canon relationships to represent it, so we only get him. That’s fine too, even if I would love to exclude him in favour of some characters, I appreciate more.

The Empress: Capella fits perfectly and I kind of like to keep this cards to the Olgymski’s, because it does make for a nice connection in between. But the nurturing way of ruling is nicely represented by her.

The Hierophant: Khan is also a person of mystical inclinations and also a very strict keeper of secrets that fits with the Hierophant. He is a leader and having him next to Capella in the Arkana also fit quite well, so I like him in this spot a lot.

The Lovers: Again, the lovers are kind of a character set, so having multiple here was just a nice touch. I think Saburov and Katerina are the only couple that really fit for me, since their love for each other is a very important aspect of their characterization while most other characters are very independent. (There is an amazing version of the Saburovs as the lovers by Yura btw.) I have discussed a patho tarot and there was also Clara brought up as a possibility but that could have been interpreted visually in a bad way… Still I think the theme of connection and love would also fit her quite well.

The Chariot: The army arrives with the train which already made this quite fitting just by imagining the card. Also including the Canon which is, driving the plot and time forward by brute force. (After all the army strike marks the end of the game.) His arrival and appearance in the game just marks a “point of no return” driving the game to it’s conclusion, so it’s a nice reference for him. Character-wise there might be better fits for him but… I don’t know I think it fits the narrative.

Justice: Yeah, I know, weird fit for Dankovsky. To be honest, if I could decide freely my favourite place for him would have been “The Fool” but I really wanted to include the Tragedian and that one literally only fits there and it’s pretty much perfect. And I wanted to have the Polyhedron for the Tower (and the Stamatins fit there also quite well), while giving all healers their own space, so that was also taken… Justice is my third option for him. I think it still fits, especially with the opening and the “You will act justly but the justice will blind you and become his demise” Also the visual of blindfolding him can also be a nice metaphor. ^^

The Hermit: Come on, Rubin just makes for a great Hermit! His whole way of dealing with the plague has a “lone wolf” vibe and he has this silent wisdom and knowledge. Also a lot of self-contemplation even if it mostly consists of him thinking that he is a bad person. God, now I have made myself sad for Rubin yet again…

Wheel of Fortune: I just couldn’t shake the image of Victor and one of the game saving Clocks for this one so this it is! I mean, a Clock as a wheel of Fortune just makes sense, especially in a game where time is of the essence and the rather abstract card also fits the Kains. There are some other cool options though, involving either Grief and his gear filled warehouse or the fellow traveller with dice (though this also would be a brilliant death card)

Strength: Artemy could also be a strong contender for this one, but I wanted to include Notkin and his connection to animals fits rather nicely. His way of applying force but also being tender and caring fits the card well, I think.

The Hanged Man: Again, one of the cards where I just couldn’t shake the image and Eva barely hanging onto the cathedral’s railing with her foot will now haunt me forever. I could also see Yulia for this one though since she has a rather contemplative way of thinking that is about dealing with one’s fate while bearing and contemplating it.

Death: Again, if we include some more abstract characters there is just no way around the Executors and Death is just a no brainer for them. They are literally a costume for death in game. The fellow Traveller could obviously work as well.

Temperance: I have seen a card with Artemy as Temperance by sneez and it just blew my mind since the card fits him perfectly and since then I just cannot imagine him as anything else (even if I have also seen some amazing versions with him as strength and this is also a very fitting card). His whole attitude being about preserving and offering stability is just amazing. Also it is a card about upholding duty so… heck yeah!

The Devil: I will be honest with you, I am not satisfied with putting Mark Immortell and the Theatre here. It is fitting but a bit too much on the nose and I think it lets the theatre appear a bit blander than it is. I just have literally no other idea about what to do with the devil. Also I wanted to include the theatre and both my other spots – judgement and wheel of fortune – where kind of occupied… At least you can use the image to maybe chain Mark to either the puppet versions of the main characters or to the tragedians and have the whole “who is controlling who?” thing in there, which is also nice.

The Tower: I definitely wanted to use the Polyhedron there. The Stamatins can be here too. Firstly because I just tried to fit more characters into the deck and secondly because forcing things to be broken in order to be rebuild is kind of their thing. It still has the tower theme with them and is not only “look! It’s a tower! For the… Tower!”

The Star: Lara is a very nurturing and also honest person which fits the star very well. It is a card about harmony and selflessness but still has a rather nocturnal side, which is also nice. Also the Rider Waite deck shows a woman getting spring water, which fits her fabled barrel quest and her hunt for supplies to give to other people.

The Moon: I mean the moon exactly has the vibe that fits Maria and the mistresses in general. It is about inner power, dreams and inner darkness, which fits the Scarlet mistress. It also links to her mother the mistress of the night quite well.

The Sun: A bright card and a card that literally shows children, so including Sticky and Murky here might be simple but is also quite nice. I think they would make for a very cute and happy card and god, we need some of them here!

Judgement: Aglaya often gets the justice card but that one was already taken. I also kind of think that judgement fits her slightly better, since she is the person judging the situation and her giving out sentences and defining what crime is, is kind of her thing. She also is a power house who appears more at the end and decides, so putting her in one of the most important and strongest cards in the deck feels quite fitting. The picture of a person who stands above the rest to tell what shall be told also… literally happened in one of the theatre plays, which is a nice touch and the inquisition gets compared to angels as well.

The world: I mean… the town is the world and it also fits the “completion and harmony” vibe, even if it is also fractured. Not to get sappy, but for me the town and it’s different aspects felt always more complete than any of the endings and it is the thing, that makes the game what it is in the first place. It is… kind of everything what is happening, the game is about the town and it is the protagonist (as it is stated in the Artbook (god that sentence reads like the Artbook is the holy text of Pathologic xDD)). I just think it fills this card the best and having the town as its own entity and character just feels right for me.

[evita-shelby]

Between the Shadow and the Soul

Chapter 11

“You turned cloak so many times in that war, I wonder if your husband knows how cheap your loyalty is.” he says as if he’s caught her, but even if he spent his life trying to find Tommy's weakness, he wouldn’t find it with her.

Eva knew he would follow her there. A park bench while she reads a book about poetry. People used to give her looks, some good some bad, but it was those types of looks that reminded you where the Americans got their racism, like meeting the asshole parent of an asshole child. But that changed when Tommy noticed her, everyone feared him and it was in their best interest that Eva Shelby, nee Smith, was treated as if her skin was as pale as her husband’s.

Irene O'Donnell eyed her with intrigue while Donnal Henry eyed her like she was dog shit on his boot. Campbell looks at her like she was put on this earth to make his life miserable.

Eva hates ineptitude just as much as she hates the idea of sharing her husband.

“I was a spy for the rebels, sir, a much better one than Grace seeing I fooled everyone into thinking that. Do you know how easy it was for me to expose her?” Eva loathes Grace, not only because somehow the insipid little cunt managed to creep in like the snake she is, but also because she was just so fucking awful at her job. Had she been a spy in Mexico she wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes. "Two conversations with her and your god-awful idea to meet in the cemetery where everyone can see you, and by the next day I had told Polly and Thomas what I’d seen.”

“She served her purpose well enough.” He said angry that a foreign witch was the one who helped Thomas Shelby evade justice.

“And then killed when you refused to give up your chastity to the general you served, an admirable thing, you were a girl of twenty all alone.” he says as if the majority of Mexico wasn’t composed of Catholics.

“Did you know I was given a gray filly just like the one my husband bought recently for my services by Pancho Villa?” Eva is not one to brag about her time in Villa’s army ---after its inglorious end who can really--- but Campbell is an exception. Its burns him that a twenty-six-year-old housewife has done more for her country than he has for his. Although an Irishman on the side of his people’s oppressors must have no pride. “You see I sounded so American by the time I finished boarding school, no one could tell I was from Mexico. Except for my coloring, obviously.”

“Shame Grace couldn’t keep her legs closed, not a very good Protestant girl, was she? Should have seen how eager she was to jump in his bed, all of Small Heath knew she was whore by then, flirting with both Arthur and Thomas.” Although who could blame Grace, Tommy was great in bed ---if a little tame. Linda seemed to be really enjoying Arthur’s bed, going by her blushes, even if she has to step into the Sodom and Gomorrah that is the Eden Club.

“This isn’t about Mrs. Macmillian, Mrs. Shelby.” Normally Eva is above calling women sluts and whores for having sex, but it hurts Campbell to have Grace be slandered so.

“You know I’ve seen your death in the cards, let's just say if you thought being shot by a woman was embarrassing, imagine being killed by one.” Eva never plans on letting him get to the point, she could talk the ears off a person if she set her mind to it.

“Are you threatening me, Mrs. Shelby?” he says tensing and Eva simply shrugs.

“No, I don’t need to threaten people, I simply tell them what the Universe has said to me, you see, Major, I am a witch cursed to see the future.” her voice is barely above a whisper, low and sweet like poison made with honey. “Think of me as Cassandra of Troy, cursed with prophecies that will never be believed.”

--

“You can hardly tell you’re pregnant, you know. I was like that with Danny.” Esme says when Eva comes in through the betting shop, it was much faster than using the other door. Daniel Owen Shelby was Esme’s boy, named after Danny Whizz-Bang. He was John’s fifth child, but Esme’s first and only child.

“I hope I can have a pregnancy as good as yours was. I’m scared of dying like my sister or the baby dying, but it's stupid because the universe has shown me this little one will have three younger sisters.” Eva touches her stomach as if to assure herself that she won’t die like Felicidad did.

“If Tommy is anything like John, those girls of yours will be spoiled rotten. He already bought Katie earrings because he didn’t want her to feel left out when he got Daisy some for her birthday.” Esme says with a laugh. If you’d look at her with Katie, Johnny, Daisy and Robbie you’d think she’d birthed them with how much they loved her and she loved them. Even Daisy who was thinking herself grown at ten and would be unbearable in her teenage years.

“I just know he will.” Eva gets the sudden feeling of someone walking up to the betting shop, a woman she’s heard about, but has never met. “I’ll get the door; I think we are about to have an unexpected guest.”

May Carleton was beautiful, in that English heiress type of way. Stunning woman really and ironically both Eva and Tommy’s type. If Eva wasn’t married, she’d definitely try and see if she could get anywhere with her. “I have an appointment with Mr. Thomas Shelby.”

No hello, no may I come in, nothing is even politely asked and she enters in a way Eva can only describe as Hernan Cortes entering Tenochtitlan already planning how he’s going to oust Moctezuma.

“May Carleton,” May extends her hand to Eva, but Eva eyes it with suspicion. Tommy had told her about her flirting with him ---unfortunately he played dumb when she asked about Grace’s letters, so that’s going to end badly--- and the way she came in here like a colonizer feels a little insulting.

“He usually takes appointments at his proper office.” Eva says wondering how to politely kick her out. She can bet Moctezuma had similar thoughts on how to shake off the Spanish.

“This was the address he gave me.” May drops her hand, feeling the sting. Eva was being rude, but why the hell May Carleton think anyone would be nice to her here.

“He gave you this address?” Esme asks standing by Eva in what can only be seen as solidarity.

“He said this was a gambling den. I told him I wanted to see one since I’m always reading about them in the papers.” now it made sense. Bored rich girl, Eva hated those. Always tried to make her their pet project, always stealing someone else’s boyfriend for shits and giggles and always treating the working class like this circus oddity they can pay to see. “Quite the big scandal in the Telegraph lately. Anyway, he said, I could, uhm, take a look.”

Esme looks at May with incredulity and Eva has that try me bitch look she perfected when she was sixteen and Oneida Villareal Diaz tried to make her life a living hell. Probably likes tonic water too.

Eva already hates her and it's not even about May setting her sights on her charming criminal of a husband.

“And now I feel like a bit of an idiot, because I’m early and he’s late and I have no idea how to behave.” she says almost nervously.

“In a Gambling Den?” Esme doesn’t take kindly to being a spectacle for a rich white woman to enjoy.

“I'll go wait in the car.” May has the decency to appear apologetic, not that it would save her. The Lees are famous for their resentment.

“Oh, you don’t have to. He’ll be here in maybe five minutes; he is very punctual. I am Eva Shelby.” this time Eva offers her hand. The Mexican Spanish accent feels more pronounced and Eva isn’t sure if she should have done that on purpose. With Oneida and her posse of rich mean girls, it was the opposite. The more Irish she sounded the better. Remind them, she was the foreign European one. Didn’t help she was darker than them, which was why they always thought her beneath them. All that culminated with Eva ‘accidentally’ pushing Oneida down a few steps so she’d hurt her ankle and Eva would be playing both Odette and Odile in their school’s rendition of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. She hates Swan Lake, but boy does she love revenge.

“So, what brings you here, Miss Carleton?" Eva asks in that sweet polite manner of hers that she uses on strangers.

“I am going to train his racehorse, for Epsom.” she says still taking everything in, reminding Eva about how Oneida looked at the offices by the port and how surprised she was to see how well off the Smith Rileys lived. After all they did benefit from the Porfiriato up until the Americans destroyed their ships.

“You know horses?” Esme asks as if she didn’t believe posh Miss Carelton was a horse trainer.

“Yes, you?” May asks and now Eva wonders if she judged May wrong.

“Born riding. Slept in a manger when I was a baby.” Esme answers, a softness about her face when she recalls her childhood.

John comes in, complaining about May’s car. And Tommy comes in just as John assumes Eva is feeling threatened by the beautiful heiress.

“Sorry I’m late,” he clears his throat and John backs down. “There was a business matter.” he doesn’t kiss Eva’s cheek like he always does and that just annoys her more. He orders for Esme and John to keep the place locked for a while and Eva wonders if she is supposed to cockblock them to prevent May Carleton from getting the idea Tommy is unattached, or leave in a huff before she does something immature like trip her. She trusts her husband, but she doesn’t trust Carelton to keep Carelton to keep her lily-white hands off her man.

---

“You hate her, don’t you?” he asks knowing the answer to his question. Lucky for Eva they have the house for themselves since Finn likes spending the night at Polly’s because he misses her and Arthur has gotten a place in London above the Eden Club.

“I don’t know her enough to hate her, but the impression she has given me leaves her in the same spot as the girls who made my life hell in boarding school. Walked into the betting shop like a fucking colonizer.” Eva groaned and he laughs at her choice of words. She may be more Irish than Nahua, but she was raised to know colonialism is evil and how it looks. Every foreign country owned and enslaved mexicans with their factories in Mexico these days. “Did she drink Tonic Water? The bitchy rich girls always drank that.”

“You drink it too, love.” he points out and once again Eva finds herself forgetting she’s a little angry at him. Here acting like everything is fine while cleaning up after dinner. Him being playful with her and reminding her how horny pregnancy has made her.

“Don’t do that.” she says reminding herself it's now or never.

“Do what, Evie?” he asks bracing himself for the inevitable fight they are hurdling to.

“That thing you do where you make me forget that I am actually pretty fucking mad at you, Tommy.” she says angrily. “I know about those letters Grace has written to you and to top it all off, you didn’t even bother correcting Carleton when she assumed you were unmarried today.”

If Tommy thought her pretty when she was mad, she’d look fucking gorgeous tonight.

---

Notes:

First things first, only Katie, who I assume is the younger daughter since she is still peeing the bed in season 1, is named. I gave them names here. In order they are: Daisy, Robert (robbie), John Jr (Johnny) and Katie. the baby Esme had between seasons is named Daniel Owen after Danny Whizz Bang who gets killed by Billy Kimber in season 1.

May Carleton in her first appearance gave me white rich girl vibes, didn't dislike her as much as i dislike Grace ---who I just think sucks as a charcter, spy , but excels as a ghost--- or Tatiana ---who is just an awful person and kinda annoying.

The Porfiriato is the title given to the thirty-one years (seven presidential terms)President Porfirio Diaz was in power in Mexico. guy started out sort of good, but became a tyrant who favored foreign investments, industrailism without care about people's rights and literally killed his oppnents. his regime lead to the Second Revolution that kinda ended up almost exactly the same. The US originally backed the rebels until the Rebels started raiding them because they were still pissed about the US orchestrating the Mexican-American War to steal half of what is now the continetnial US. the 2nd revolution would make a fantasitic m-rated period drama, has a lot of violence, back stabbing, politics and at one point 41 queer men were exsposed at a dance (there's a movie called El Baile de los 41/the Dance of the 41) one of them being Diaz's son-in-law.