#and give you many riches and [insert thing that you like]

[cable-salamdr]

The first thing anyone needs to do when The Wild Robot releases is make an In This Shirt edit I think that would quite literally destroy me thank you

[sierrale8ne]

40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS CHAPTER THIRTEEN

thought i’d be lying if i said ‘i didn’t want you to myself.’ when you look me in my eyes and, tell me that it’s mine, i…

pairing wnba!paige bueckers x singer!oc

taglist @thaatdigitaldiary @ohbueckers @wbbgetsmewetter @rosemariiaa @tndaqlifwy @pboogerswbb @xxloveralways14 @makethemhoesmad @slvt4her @luvapaigeeyy @hedidnotpleaseme @paigesbabygirl @mopopshop @omg-imtumbling @numberonepartyanth3m @wbb4l @authentic-girl03 @slut4uconnwbb @unadulteratedcyclepaper @kplum10 @fuddfanatic35 @avvwritesstufff @paigesluver @bueckersbitch

warnings this one is pretty sad ngl, some internal realizations, angst

kalena speakss 🪽! don’t jump me i swear things are happier next chapter lmao

July 2025 — Los Angeles, California

I’m happy.

The phrase plays over and over in my head like a mantra, like I'm trying to convince myself more than I am everyone else.

Music blares loudly at the Sparks gala, some fancy art museum that was all done up to make our coach and our GM look good, and to make the hundreds of rich donors in the building give money to the organization.

It’s working though, apparently a new practice facility is on the way.

It’s my first Gala, which means Brit dressed me in a fancy pinstriped suit: white button up, black tie. My hair, freshly dyed, falls straight over my shoulders. Some silver chains layered on my neck, studs in my ears.

I look good.

And in a room full of women, I should be taking advantage of the opportunity. But I’m not even sure I want to with the way Maraye is all I can think about.

I think it’s been, scratch that, it's literally been the longest five days of my life. I’ve sent so many texts that my thumbs are swollen, and checked my phone at all hours of the night that my eyes were burning. 

She runs through my head during all hours of the day. And if I had a chance to talk to her just once I think everything would be fine.

So you can imagine how quick my neutral expression just flips when I see her. Maraye, in a beautiful floor length navy gown. Her hair done up in a side part, a golden cuff tracing her ear. The tattoo that trails down her neck to her shoulder is even more visible by the way her hair drapes over her shoulder.

I knew she was here, her attendance being part of the reason I dressed up and made my way here. She was all I needed to see. Not all the investors that wanted to talk to the number one pick, or anyone else who wanted me to be Paige Bueckers the basketball player.

I needed to see her. The one who made me feel like I was just me.

"Either y'all say something to each other or move on, P." Cameron snickers as she watches my attempt to just go through the motions. "You have all these girls here and you’re not paying ‘em any mind."

Raye had just finished up a conversation with Coach Roberts. Which makes the smallest change to my expression because there she was, smiling and laughing with my head coach and I can’t help but to wonder if they’re talking about me. If just a little bit of that bright smile of hers is at the mention of my name.

"Better watch out, that girl over there with her mouth watering." Dearica jokes as she points to whoever the hell is making her way over to Raye with her hand on Raye’s arm. 

A blonde. Hair shorter than mine and she herself is probably shorter than me too. 

I can’t even see her face, but I bet she’s smiling, telling her some corny joke because it makes Raye giggle, and now I’m angry. There’s no way it could be that funny.

I feel wrong. Out of place in a room where, in the least cocky sounding way possible, I literally commanded attention.

But none of it matters, because I stand here, letting my teammates ridicule me over something they know nothing about, while wanting to insert myself into whatever she and Maraye were discussing.

Even more than that, me and her had our own private matters to discuss. There were too many words left unsaid to bring to the surface.

I couldn’t let it all go to waste without talking to her. That’s it. I let it go for five days, but any longer and I was sure that there’d be no more fixing it.

“Okay, I was just kidding but— oh my God you have feelings for her.” Cameron chuckles, and from the corner of my eye I see her jaw drop a little.

“Cam, just shut up for a second.”

I think about when I went to dinner with Nika, and the most important thing that sets in my head while I’m shamelessly staring is when she asked if there was anything holding me back.

Then, I said yes. That the thing was holding me back from Raye was my career.

But now, I feel like an idiot because the real thing holding me back was myself. My shitty relationship skills and my very obvious commitment issues when it came to having feelings for someone.

In what felt like milliseconds, my feet were moving faster than my brain and I was almost in reach of her when my eyes connected with Raye’s. 

I can’t read her face. If she’s still hurt or if she wants to find a way to hit me with a car. It’s just blank. Which in my opinion is ten times worse than her giving me a reaction. There is none. 

I do, however, pick up on this; the pure amusement when a girl approached me.

I remember her. Tanned skin and curls that framed her face. One of the few girls I’ve had a one night stand with after getting drafted. 

"Paige, hey!” She grins, her hand resting on my forearm.

I couldn't help but look past her to see Raye’s response. It was clear that she didn't look pleased, turning away to listen to whatever was being said by other blondie. 

I had to make a decision and it was literally my future vs. my very embarrassing past. I just know that letting this conversation continue for even a second longer, was a second that would make Raye hate me more than I think she already does. 

"Sorry, if you'll excuse me." I mutter without another thought, not even taking a second look at the woman in front of me, choosing to continue my path to her.

Raye looks at me shocked. Her eyes went wider and her serious expression faltered just slightly.

I don’t even speak, just inserting myself in the space between the fellow blonde and the woman I hoped to take home tonight. Which might be just a bit forward, but I decided then that I didn’t even care.

"Buckets, good to see you!" The blonde greets me, a smile on her face as she senses nothing ill behind my appearance and shakes my hand.

My eyes don’t even look down to her for more than a second, physically stuck to the beauty in front of me. 

"Mind if I cut in and speak to Maraye real quick?"

Raye raises her brow before placing her empty glass down. A cup of what I assume had to be a lemon drop. 

Her hand presses to that girl's shoulder, smiling much to my irritation. But luckily she ends the conversation there, hopefully keeping it that way for the rest of the night.

Then she’s walking off in front of me, and my legs are moving all too fast to catch up to her. I end up following her out the gala hall and down the hallway, past some stairs, and then she stops. Turing on her Jimmy Choo heels to look at me with her arms crossed.

When I was laying in bed or sitting on my couch, the words I needed to say came easy. Having her stand in front of me though, makes it so much fucking harder. 

“You don’t get to do this.”

“Ra—”

“Breaking up my conversation? What, Paige. What could you possibly have to say to me right now?” She asks me.

It’s a good question. I don’t know what I should tell her. Sorry isn’t going to cut it, not with her. I know better than to even try it again. 

“Raye, we just need to talk. That’s it. It’s been five days.”

“And I don’t think that’s long enough! I spent seven days thinking about you and you spent seven days avoiding telling me the truth.” She bites. “I’m not ready. Let me be ready.”

And just as fast as I got her alone, she’s pushing off her heels and walking past me, so quick that I don’t even get the chance to reach for her. To hold her back and tell her everything that I’m feeling.

That— the inability to speak to the only person that I really want to be around— that hurts more than anything else I think I’ve ever felt in my life.

So I lied. I’m not happy.

I’m very fucking miserable.

—

July 2025 — Los Angeles, California

It’s hard to explain the feeling.

When I was in her house— Paige trying her hardest to keep me there, within reach— my mind was racing. When we stood face to face at the gala the other night and Paige was looking at me with all the hurt so obvious in her eyes, my heart almost stopped completely.

But now that it’s been over a week since I found out, I think the closest thing to describe all this is numb. I’m numb to it all.

Every time something comes along that reminds me of her— a pretty blonde on the tv, a tweet about the sparks, anything fucking purple— I don’t get upset nor do I cry, I just sit there. Like I'm doing now.

Cassie sits soundly next to me on the couch, I’ve decided that I really needed some older sister love tonight. My head rests on her shoulder, a plate of banana pudding in my lap that reminds me too much of Paige and the first night I really got to know her.

It’s all too emotional. The way Cassie runs her hands through my hair or rubs my shoulder without asking questions. Add on the romance movie on the screen.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, 10 Things I Hate About You plays on my TV, and watching Kat Stratford read her poem makes the tears flow from my eyes nearly as hard as they did last week.

“Ra—no, don’t cry! It’s okay.” Cassie immediately attempts to comfort me, but my eyes aren’t even glued to the screen anymore.

They stare up at the ceiling, as if looking at the white expanse would stop them from falling.

It doesn’t. 

It just gives me the perfect background to picture me and her. All of the late night FaceTimes. I can see the screen of my Mac, or my phone, and I can see her in the center of it. I can hear that laugh, loud and so uniquely Paige. 

All the late night drives, the chipotle runs, the waffle house breakfasts. Everything I’ve ever done with her just consumes me. 

Cassie’s palm spreads over my check, attempting to wipe what’s left of the streaks on my face. It’s almost second nature to her, taking care of me.

“Okay I wasn’t gonna mention Paige, but now you’re crying over a movie we’ve seen thousands of times.” She starts tugging me into her and rubbing my back gently. “Talk to me Chuchi.” She pouts and I laugh at the nickname I probably haven’t heard since I was like 12 years old.

I’ve done a good job at keeping this whole Paige thing under wraps. Nobody knew what was going on between us anyway, and I don’t think we really knew what was going on either until it was being stripped away.

But it was stupid of me to think my sister wouldn’t pick up on the signs. I used to find every excuse to bring Paige up in conversation, and now I haven’t talked about her for a week. 

“Is it supposed to hurt this bad?” I ask. “Cause if it is, I swear I’m never getting involved with another woman again.” I sniff, wiping my eyes languidly.

“If it does, that just means you really like her.” Cassie explains. It’s so soft. Like saying anything else, anything real, would break me apart into a million pieces. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

I do. So, I do.

I tell her everything, she’s my sister of course. I leave out nothing, telling her everything I felt when Paige first tumbled into us at the game. To the dinner party, which makes me cry some more over the banana pudding.

Each memory replays in my head like a vivid movie scene. The way Paige kissed me: always skillful but still a bit hesitant like she was trying to learn me, learn my tells and what makes me smile. And as I speak I can still feel her lips and her hands, smell her cologne so vividly that I swear it’s probably lingering on my hoodie right now.

I can so clearly recall everything that went down in her apartment. How fucking happy I was behind that door and how my smile only grew when she opened it and I got to see her again. After days of yearning for her. 

After days of wanting her and thinking of her and needing her.

How she touched me that day. I hadn’t even gotten a chance to tell her about how Julian and I were done. But she still touched me so intimately. Like she already knew. 

Her hands on my thighs and mine playing with that blonde hair on the nape of her neck. Blue eyes staring into mine like she’d die if she looked away.

Paige had that way of making you think you were the only person in the world. The only person she wanted or cared for, just by looking into your eyes.

And I fell victim to it.

I remember every single word she said to me that day. I also remember every single word I said to her.

Which doesn’t really help when you’re trying to convince yourself that you’re not in the wrong. That walking out was a good decision.

The way her voice raised when she got defensive, telling me I didn’t “get to be upset”. Then the way it immediately contrasted when she apologized. That subtle crack of her voice replayed in my mind over and over like a skipping record. 

I’ve only ever been cheated on once in my life. I was young, in high school, in a relationship that lasted a few years.

And that one hurt. I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep.

It did make for some good music.

But this. This whatever with Paige feels ten times worse.

I swear I can feel each pulse and throb of my heart in my chest. Each mention of her name causes a few stray, dramatic tears to pool at my waterline.

By the time I finish telling Cassie everything, my nose is already puffy and reddened. I think I’ve stopped crying now, but I'm not sure because my cheeks are still wet. Tissues pile in my lap and some new romance movie plays on the screen. 

I didn’t know how much I was holding back until now. Until it was all laid out in front of me and my sister.

“You gotta talk to her, Raye.” She shrugs. I know I do. But thinking about it and actually doing it are two different things.

I look at her wearily. My tongue is poking at the corner of my lips as I think. “I dunno if I’m ready yet, Cas.” I mumble, my voice low. Almost embarrassed.

“I know.” She comforts, running her finger over my knee. “But maybe hearing her out is gonna make things clearer for you. Don’t let this get in the way of what you want.”

I let that sink in. Replaying her words in my head until they stick. 

Don’t let this get in the way of what you want.

— 

July 2025 — Seattle, Washington  

The ball passed through the net consistently. Swish after swish as if I had a point to make or something to prove. 

And I do.

I’ve been playing like shit these last couple games before all-star. I blame it on Maraye and my inability to get her out of my head.

So instead of getting sleep, and quite possibly dreaming about her and those perfect eyes, I’m on the court at our hotel, putting up shot after shot until the sound of the nylon and the leather becoming one just meshes in my brain like music.

Music. Yet another thing that reminds me of her.

“What the hell are you doing?”

It’s Rickea. Her voice is easy to spot even with my back turned.

“I’m getting shots up Kea.”

“Well I can see that. It’s two in the morning, P.” 

I chase after my rebound once again before looking at her lazily. Completely decked out in Sparks gear, similarly to myself.

I think my silence in this whole matter is part of the reason why I’m struggling so badly. But I don’t know who to talk to. Azzi and Nika would take it upon themselves to fix it. Cam would call me an idiot, which I’ve accepted at this point but still it isn’t what I need. 

Kea already told me my head would be served on a silver platter for making a mess.

So I keep it all to myself.

Basketball was my therapy. I’d get in the gyms and shoot till someone was coming in and telling me to go home. Then, everything would be fine.

Except now it’s not fine. Because I get up, go to the gym, and the entire time I’m shooting, I just think about Raye.

“Ion know what to do, Kea.” I shrug, my voice sounding so different than what I’m used to hearing. It’s not certain, actually the complete opposite.

I take another shot. The second it leaves my hands, I know it’s off. The rim clunks loudly at my miss, and that alone is enough to break me down from the inside out.

“Paige.”

“I need to get her back.” I sniff, not even registering the single tear that immediately trails down my cheek. “Help me get her back, Kea.”

Rickea is walking over to me in an instant, stepping in front of me to stop me from grabbing another ball and letting this cycle consume me for another couple hours. She looks at me with something I can’t quite grasp. Like sympathy, but at the same time her eyes are stern like she’s pissed at me.

I deserve that. She told me she’d kill me if I hurt Raye. And I did, bad.

“Paige. Jus’ breathe, aight? Breathe and listen to me for a second.” She says, hands splayed on my shoulders in an attempt to ground me. 

This is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been with any of my teammates, let alone Rickea. Usually it’s dumb jokes, and making fun of each other, prying a bit too hard into each of our personal lives. But I nod anyway, taking a shaking breath and wiping my face.

“I’m not gonna tell you how much you fucked up. You already know that.” She starts. “You’re so used to being in control that when you’re not, you start spiraling. Just breathe. Give her time.”

She’s right. I’m usually in control of everything. My career, my family, Maraye. And now that she’s taking control of us, causing that distance, I don’t know what to do. 

“This shit fuckin’ hurts, Kea.” I groan, turning around to walk over to the bench. “I know I made a mistake but damn, it’s eating me alive.”

She racks up the balls for me before taking a seat next to me. I probably stink, all the sweat from my late night workout. But still Rickea wraps an arm around me, much different than any of the hugs we’ve had before. Like she doesn’t care about anything else but comforting me.

“You see where she’s coming from tho, right?” She asks me. “If Raye doesn’t wanna talk it’s prolly because she doesn’t wanna hurt you more. I know her well enough to know that mouth is reckless.” She jokes, and it brings a smile to my face because it’s true.

“So instead, she got me payin’ for my mistake by feeling the absence of her in my life.”

“Exactly!” Kea nods as if this is some astute observation. “Well, I dunno if that’s a good thing. But hold onto some hope, Five. She likes you. She doesn’t have to tell me that for me to see it.”

Surprisingly the words do soothe me a bit. If I’m feeling like shit over my own decision, I can only imagine how she’s feeling. With all the shit she got going on work wise, to have me pile more shit on top of it must be terrible.

“Just wait it out a little longer. I like you both together more than I like you apart, okay?” 

I nod, holding on to those words tight.

Even though I’m missing her. I just have to wait it out. Whenever she’s ready.

[rambosgirl]

Hiii, could you write about logan x f! opera singer! reader??? And maybe make a moodboard🫶🫶🫶 thx for your works

Heck yea I gotcha babe <3 the first thing I thought of was Greatest Showman (duh) but then I also thought of Phantom of the Opera so uh... here it is, I hope you like it! Oh and I added some headcanons for you, if you want a full fic lmk

Masterlist

Headcanons

Storm, Jean, and Scott dragged him to a show of yours bc ya'll are old friends or something

He was a grump the entire time but when he heard you sing??

he was fascinated

and then they went backstage to see you??

girl he was head over heels. Forgot about Jean for the rest of time bc who is this

He would flirt like there was no tomorrow. And he'd give you pet names, his favorite being 'angel'

Despite your busy schedule and sporadic traveling, the two of you become friends. Whenever you were in town, Charles invited you to teach a few classes for students interested in music.

You loved teaching, so you always said yes. But after you finished, you and Logan would sneak off and hang out (Jean and Storm call them dates, and tease Logan about it whenever you're not around)

Logan loves listening to you practice. Your voice isn't just calming, it's fascinating. How do you hold out notes for that long? How do you reach those high notes and make them sound so rich? He doesn't know but he's here for it.

He goes to as many performances as he can, but he often struggles to fit in with the elegance of your world

The fancy opera house, galas, high-society events and people, it's not really his element. It's actually the opposite.

Not to mention the tux. DANG he looks good in it but you can tell he's wildly uncomfortable in it.

it's why he only goes to those events with you sometimes, but he does love to be with you backstage, supporting you within his comfort zone, which you are perfectly okay with.

He'll be there watching when you do your hair, perfect your makeup, and when you perform.

He also reminds you when you're not performing that you don't have to be perfect all the time, something that as an opera singer, you struggle with

You've known each other for months by the time he lets you hear his singing voice

It's a deep baritone voice, completely different from his speaking voice, but at the same time very similar

"You've got a voice that could sell out a theater. Ever think of putting the claws away to give musicals a try?"

He just let out a soft, playful scoff in response "You won't ever catch me singing on a stage"

"The circus it is then"

Insert the Logan eyebrow raise here

As your relationship grows, so does Logan's admiration for you.

sometimes when he sees you on stage in your white dress he imagines it's a wedding dress

Eventually, you tone down the performance side of your career and start staying at the mansion teaching more. You miss performing sometimes, but this means you can spend more time with your old friends, your students, and Logan.

Logan is a-okay with this he misses the white dress

but that's okay because he's planning a way for you to wear a white dress again :)))

[voiidorwhatever]

a lot of people have already said similar things, but i'm just gonna throw my own two cents in the mix as well. the fact that fnv gives you more freedom than fo4 is already so glaringly obvious in the set-up for your character. for many reasons. but one of the really annoying ones - for me - is the job the main character has. sounds trivial, i know, but starting a new fo4 playthrough just to be met with nate's soldier ramble or seeing nora's laywer certificates (whatever those were, i have a bad memory lmao) already kinda spoils the fun to me. i've seen people do great things with those concepts, but i feel like in the game they just fall flat. being a lawyer has the implications of going to a good college, being rich, having higher social status. being a soldier. well. *insert military propaganda here*. the picket fences, the forced nuclear family. it's such a rigid starting point that i have to imagine most of it away to play a character that is interesting to me. courier six on the other hand - well, they're a courier. that doesn't have many implications. i feel like it's such an easy start into a game. it's a job they could've picked up recently, a while back, or practially forever ago (lets ignore old world blues for a second there, i think this point still counts). you don't have to study to be a courier, no special social class is assigned to it. it seems a part of your character you can reliably choose to give as much or as little importance as you want or need to. of course, courier six has picked that job up in the wasteland, not before the war like the sole survivor has, but i still feel like nora and nate have too many ImplicationsTM attached to them for rpg main characters, jobs incluced

[chaifootsteps]

watched the video going over the Ken chatlogs and while I've been resisting the temptation to assume Viv is projecting onto Stolas, a couple things about that video really stuck out to me (stating the above on the assumption that the chatlogs are true, obviously this is all alleged, though I'm pretty sure I remember Ken posting a video scrolling through their discord in the past)

it's just a long list of behaviors - being melodramatic, being two-faced, framing herself as the victim and talking about how upset she is even when no one involved is being unreasonable. then saying anyone that expresses a problem, even if they attempt to be polite or compliment her work while doing so, is attacking her and hostile and using that to try and avoid talking about the problem

as far as we know she never dated anyone who worked with her but it does make me wonder since she behaves as though just working for her is good enough and that she's doing people a favor, then they're ungratefully attacking her if they have a problem.

it reminds me a lot of Stolas' 'I've tried to so hard to support you!' line - he was using Blitzo for sex but wants to reframe it as Blitzo should be grateful because he supported his business. which is the same thing with Viv - she seems to think anyone she gives a job to is indebted to her because they get paid for their work, even though in reality she was using them by taking their ideas and passing them off as their own to make herself look better (and of course Stolas' whole crybully if I'm sad, you're in the wrong routine). It's like she just constantly wants him, the character with all the power who was not trying to be philantropic when lending Blitzo the book, to be right at all times because she doesn't like to confront ideas of power dynamics if the rich/more privileged one has done anything wrong

the other thing that floored me was how many times she said some variation of the phrase 'if you would like credit, you can have it' when like - they shouldn't have to ask, Viv! of course everyone would like to be credited but it should be the industry standard for any studio claiming to be professional and worth taking seriously

One thing about reading as many Viv chatlogs as something like this entails...it makes listening to Stolas's dialouge especially haunting. I don't know that she intends him to be a self-insert, but if you just put their quotes and the phrases they favor side by side, you'd be very hard pressed to tell them apart.

[s-aint-elmo]

digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case 

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

[fayevalcntine]

Anyway I've been kind of following the press releases for The Count of Monte Cristo (2024) (French) movie and some potential spoilers that I kind of want to air out:

The film seems to be marketed as "much darker" in terms of focusing on the revenge aspect, which I don't mind, but some other stuff give me pause as to how they're gonna handle The Count as a character because the way the actors talk about him, he almost sounds weirdly irredeemable, or rather just completely incapable of still loving and caring about people? Which is the exact opposite of how he behaves in the book..... he wants to be cold and completely detached but fails each time because he a) forms close connections with people like Haydée and Maximilien, even comes to deeply respect Albert despite trying to talk himself into not caring about the boy and b) is meant to question his own revenge plot because it inadvertently causes the death of an innocent child

Apparently Haydée is 'torn between her loyalty for the Count and the love of her life' with said love of her life being.....guess who? Albert de Morcerf. There's no mention of a court scene so far where she accuses Fernand of being a traitorous officer and murdering her father, instead Edmond apparently gets her to seduce Albert but then Haydée falls in love with him for real? I once wrote a post complaining about this type of idea I've seen others mention as a "potential fix" for the plot but taking aside my issue with Albert/Haydée as a pairing in any sense, in this context it's almost doubly bizarre and I feel like the writers took so many different elements from the book, namely Albert's blind trust and admiration towards the Count and the forbidden love story between Maximilien and Valentine, and decided to go for a much more digestible change for the story, I guess? The actress who plays Haydée also mentions that she wants to "break free from the Count's psychological grip", which..... you can say a lot of stuff about Edmond/Haydée as an overall dynamic, particularly in him inserting her in his plan for revenge, but the big thing noted in the book is that Haydée makes the decision herself to testify against Fernand, and even thinks that the Count will disapprove of her for this. He also does genuinely care for her and wanted her to inherit everything he owns should he die.... the whole point of him taking her in is that he wanted her to have the life she was entitled to before Fernand's actions stripped it away from her.

The film also seems to have merged several different characters related to Villefort into one, namely Benedetto/Andrea and Bertuccio, since Andrea (in the film) is also under the Count's wing and seems to accompany him as a possible servant in some scenes. This isn't a bad idea in theory, though I'm pretty sure that he ends up dying when he goes after Villefort at the court house, so I presume he's also supposed to represent Edouard's death? My main question is when this scene even happens in the film because apparently, there's a final sword fight (likely the one between Fernand and Edmond), so the death that makes Edmond question his entire plot isn't even at the end of his plan?

This brings me to my next point which is why are Fernand and Edmond even doing a sword duel in the first place.... apparently the film has Fernand come from a rich family already, and he's known and been friends with Edmond prior to his imprisonment, so w/e, classic trope of CoMC adaptations at this point. But the duel and Haydée's 'seduction' plot just makes me think that for all the apparent attempts at centering her as a character more, these writers took out a significant scene related to her character that means a lot FOR her, namely the court scene, and instead centered Edmond's feelings of betrayal towards Fernand. I know that this is likely to also focus a lot on Edmond's lost life with Mercedes, but Fernand isn't even such a significant focus of Edmond's ire in the book as much as the other two men are.

The movie doesn't seem to end with Mercedes and Edmond getting back together, which I at least appreciate if this Edmond is "much darker" than even in the book, but if he isn't with her or isn't dead by the end, what exactly is the point of him going off alone? I presume this is the ending if Haydée/Albert are supposed to represent Maximilien/Valentine and the Count "gives them support" for being together, but Edmond was pretty much contemplating suicide until Haydée stopped him in the book. The point is that his focus on avenging the past was his only assumed reason for living, but there's a chance for him to simply live on with those who genuinely care about him as he is now. Without him trying to make amends through Maximilien and Valentine and Haydée indicating she will only live if he lives, I can't really see the film making a good argument for why Edmond wouldn't contemplate suicide instead of living on.

Apparently Villefort has a Bonapartist sister (I presume this character is meant to replace his father in the film) whom I also think Edmond saves from a shipwreck that has been shown in the trailers. I've zero clue how this movie is going to fit a new character in this while doing all of this to the other more significant characters, but that seems to be a general trend with this scriptwriter duo.

Only minor positive thing so far is that Eugenie IS included for once, and they didn't omit her being a lesbian.

[beatinginavoid]

The Lake

Part 2 of 6. Part 1

-------

Stay away from the lake.

It was the main rule of the isolated town near a large lake. Parents warned their children, pets were never let loose, no fishing gear was made or kept, and anyone that visited the out of the way town was pulled aside and warned by just about everyone they saw.

The lake itself was quite a sight. Its water was a lovely clear and light blue, with soft white sand at the edges, like the cleanest of beaches. Various species of fish could be seen swimming around. Waterfowl, ducks, and swans all called the place home, and it was the main water source for all of the local wildlife.

Someone dressed in blue had come to the town to research the lake. They heard all of the warnings and waved them away.

“It’ll be fine!” they insisted. “I’m just here for research. I’m a smart person, I can take care of myself.”

So what happened when they went to the lake?

— — —

You observe the landscape from atop a hill. The lake was just as pretty as you had heard. It was like a slice of paradise – a glimpse of heaven on Earth.

How could no one from the town not want to fish here? Flashes of silver scales were visible through the wonderfully clear water. What a rich and abundant food source simply going to waste!

Still, you were here to research the lake, not the townsfolk. You walk down the hill until your feet begin to sink in the finest, whitest sand you have ever encountered. You crouch down and run your fingers through the sand. It was warm and almost velvety, giving no resistance against your skin.

Walking down to the water’s edge, you pull your satchel off your shoulder and set it down. From inside it you extract a glass phial and dip it into the water. You look at it, seeing no debris or impurities, and carefully cap it, wrap it up and pack it away. A second glass phial full of sand joins the first.

You grab a third and look up, wondering about a plant sample. Two large black eyes, an alien feature set in an otherwise human face, stare at you unnervingly. Fin like structures take the place of ears, and the hair resembles seaweed so closely you doubt you could tell them apart.

Their skin was a very pale blue, like a frozen corpse, and they raise a webbed hand out of the water. Every finger is tipped with a shiny black claw that looks sharp enough to shear flesh with the lightest pressure. The fingers bend, beckoning you closer.

The third phial slips from your now slack grip and you blink dumbly. You refuse to move, resisting whatever unnatural charm they possess. Too many tales of humanoid seafolk luring people to their death made you wary enough to stay firmly where you are.

The creature tilts their head before giving you an odd little wave and swimming backwards, seemingly giving you some extra space.

That was oddly nice. Was it a trap?

Neither of you move and you begin to sweat. Your breathing picks up and your heart speeds up in tandem. Things now felt more like a standoff.

Time ticks on and the atmosphere feels more and more tense. The creature has yet to budge, aside from the occasional flick of an ear fin. Those big dark eyes never blink and it sends a shiver down your spine.

Your breathing is now panting. You put a hand on your chest to try and soothe your racing heart, but you can’t feel the muscle pump against your ribs and hand. You frown, glance down at your chest in confusion, then look back at the water-dwelling being.

It lifts its head out of the water and smiles without showing any teeth. Both of its hands become visible in the air, twisting around in strange motions. Water from the lake funnels into the air and forms into a rough sphere. It is supported by one hand while the other is fisted and inserted into the sphere. The fist is opened and closed a bit in a constant rhythmic manner.

Imitating a heartbeat.

Oh.

OH.

This creature had somehow managed to encircle your heart with water? It was essentially drowning your precious organ? Could a heart even drown? Your eyes widen and you clutch at your chest, a look of panic on your face.

The creature grins, showing off a top and bottom row full of needle sharp teeth. It gives you a warbling, gurgle hiss.

The damn thing is laughing at you.

Your chest is starting to hurt. It’s also starting to feel heavy and you take a deep breath. Your lungs don’t expand as much as they should. If there really is a bunch of water in your chest cavity, then it’s stealing space away from your lungs. The panting is beginning to make creepy sense, but you can’t stop yourself from panting harder, trying to draw in as much oxygen as you can.

You have no idea if any of that life-giving air is making it to your submerged pump. It must be, if only from the fact that you’re still alive. Legs still frozen in place, the sand becomes much less inviting to be upon as the creature lazily swims towards you.

Its body breaches the water at the shore, exposing a long, fish-like tail covered in scales of shimmering blue and green hues. A mermaid? It stalks forward with both arms, dragging its glistening body toward you.

Your already speeding heart begins to beat harder, but you barely feel the pounding, an odd muffling in effect. Breathing becomes more of a chore, your chest feeling tighter and heavier. Your fingers curl, clawing, into your blue shirt.

Ear fins flick again and the creature lays down on their back. Another water sphere is created and the fist simulating the heart is placed inside once more. The quickly beating fist is swung side to side inside the sphere, dancing in the liquid with every contraction.

Your palm presses flat, hoping to feel your pumping muscle push against it in defiance of what the creature was showing you.

Nothing.

The being grins again, flipping over and resuming their crawl. They reach you in seconds. With another eerie laugh it pulls your hand off your chest and presses an ear fin to it in the hand’s place. Its eyes fall halfway shut and the manic grin becomes a content smile. Whatever it can hear of your heart that is currently drowning clearly makes it happy. An odd trill leaves its throat and it pulls away, still clutching your forearm.

Your breath hitches, a sharp ache shooting through your chest, as the creature pulls you along on its retreat. Back, back to the water it goes, hauling along your unresisting body for the ride. It trills again as it reaches the water, excitement written all over its face.

Oh no. It wasn’t enough to try and drown your ticker, now the creature was just going to drown you outright!

The being knocks you over backwards and transfers its grip from your forearm to your ankle. A few more seconds of air will be granted to you this way. As you lay on your back, it feels as though an elephant is standing on your sternum and rib cage. Your panting breaths turn wheezy and gasping, wondering if this is how a fish out of water feels. You can vaguely feel faint beats of your heart now, accompanied by a swishing noise like listening to your pulse in a seashell.

It isn’t right. None of this feels right.

You’ve been tugged into the water up to your neck. You panic further and take the biggest, deepest breath your compressed lungs can manage – which isn’t much. Then you’re under and swiftly hauled to deeper water. The creature stops abruptly and comes up against you, ear fin over your heart again, while their big black eyes are focused on your face.

Water carries vibrations, you know this, and you can now hear your distressed pump thumping away directly in your ears. The beats are weak, sloppy, wonky, fast, and irregular. There are skips, missed beats, and awkward pauses as your heart flails about in its watery cocoon. The pressure of the water, the pain and heaviness you feel, is stopping the powerful muscle from moving as it should. The water is crushing the muscular walls of the organ, the uneven rhythm speeding up even more as it opts for sheer quantity of beats to make up for the quality. 

Not that your heart’s efforts will have any real impact as the oxygen stored in your lungs is steadily depleting. You twitch and spasm involuntarily, every cell in your body screaming for air. The creature remains glued to you, gently gnashing its fangs in time with your heart’s beleaguered beats.

Then the air is gone. You try to thrash around in a last ditch attempt to break free, but the odd sort of hug it has you in is paralysing. Bubbles burst from your mouth and nose as your chest constricts.

Still racing and irregular, your thumping organ stutters and pounds greatly, screaming for relief you knew was not coming. The creature chitters eagerly. Your heart rate decelerates, normal beats becoming rarer, and the number of pauses increases. The length of the pauses becomes greater and greater as your heart slows down.

Ba-thumpthumpthump…………thumpthump…………ba-thumpthumpthumpthumpthump…………………ba-thumpathump………………………thumpthumpthump……………………

Your body jerks fitfully, using up the very last of all stored resources. You suck in a breath, drawing water into your crushed lungs, and cough weakly in an automatic response which only serves to drown you further. Your eyes slide closed and your coughing ceases in moments.

Each slow beat resounds in your ears and mind. The pauses grow longer. Your heart stops pumping, a pause that hasn’t ended. Darkness engulfs you, body and mind, as the water becomes your grave.

The creature slices through your flesh with those wicked claws, starting at the base of the sternum and following the outline of the left side of your rib cage. A webbed hand and forearm plunges into the large incision and wriggles about. With a swift yank, the limb is retracted and your lifeless body is cast aside.

Red swirls mix into the water from the bloody mess it holds. The heart looks forlorn, still and detached, under its hungry gaze. The creature takes a bite. A set of needle sharp fangs make quick work of the cardiac muscle, red swirling about as the blood is released from the chambers.

It trills and laughs after it swallows the last bite.

Stay away from the lake.

-– — —

I knew about cardiac tamponade before this, but I made sure to do my research for the symptoms. The heart literally swings inside the fluid-filled sac and all of its sounds are muffled.

I didn't want the water being to simply drown the victim. Too cliche lol

🫀💧🫁

[choicesmaychallenge24]

MAY 2024 PROMPTS

Have fun! Take liberties! Be weird!

Playlist Inspo

SPOTIFY || YOUTUBE

Deity Inspo

(extensive list of Dieties can be found here)

Zeus

Power, Oak tree, unfaithful

"Statistically, you've got better chances being struck by lightning"

Hera

Marriage, revenge, peacock

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

Poseidon

Ocean, earthquakes, horses

"stormy eyes"

Demeter

Wheat fields, middle child, poppy

"...moods that changed like the weather"

Apollo

Harp, medicine, prophesy

"...like they were the sun"

Artemis

Wilderness, moon, archery

"lets go lesbians, lets go!"

Ares

War, strength, hated

"Don't be a boar"

Athena

Wisdom, strategy, owl

"You're giving me a headache"

Hephaestus

Inventive, disability, overlooked

"...Like a volcano about to erupt"

Aphrodite

Pearls, swan, passion

"You know ___ is an aphrodisiac"

Hermes

Guide, messages, travel

"That's just an eloquent way of saying, 'fuck you.'"

Hestia

Home comforts, Eldest Daughter problems, gentle

"Sometimes a family is (insert found family here)"

Dionysus

Wine, celebration, mania

"I heard it though the grapevine..."

Nyx

Mysterious, rest, starlight

"Goodnight, My Love"

Hades

Rich, death, responsibility

"who's a good puppy?"

Quotes

"You wish to be considered righteous, but not to act with justice." (Eumenides)

"Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish." (The Bacchae)

"Isn’t it delightful to forget how old we are?" (The Bacchae)

"I was born to join in love, not hate - that is my nature" (Antigone)

“I have no love for a friend who loves in words alone.” (Antigone)

“Have you ever been struck by a sudden desire for - soup?” (The Frogs)

Dionysus [doing everything wrong], "Like that?" (The Frogs)

“If you try to cure evil with evil, you will add more pain to your fate.” (Ajax)

“Which would you choose if you could: pleasure for yourself despite your friends, or a share in their grief?” (Ajax)

“I ask this one thing: let me go mad in my own way.” (Electra)

"Oh, it is easy for the one who stands outside the prison-wall of pain to exhort and teach the one who suffers” (Prometheus Bound)

“In childbirth grief begins.” (Medea)

"I'll take care of you."

"it's rotten work."

"Not to me. Not if it's you." (Euripides)

“Love, stealing with grace into the heart you wish to destroy, love, turning us blind with the bitter poison of desire, love come not my way. And when you whirl through the streets, wild steps to unchained rhythms, love, I pray you, brush not against me, love, I beg you, pass me by.” (The Love of the Nightingale)

“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” (The Odyssey)

“Be strong, saith my heart; I am a soldier; I have seen worse sights than this.” (The Odyssey)

"Any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again." (The Iliad)

FASHION INSPO

From Dolce & Gabbana

STORY INSPO

Many of these stories have different tellings and variations, embrace whichever version you most enjoy.

Echo and Narcissus (painting) (story)

Pandora's Box (painting) (story)

Arachne (painting) (story)

Hades and Persephone (painting) (story)

The Gorgon Medusa (painting) (story)

Cygnus (painting) (story)

Theseus, Ariadne, and the Minotaur (painting) (story)

Daedalus and Icarus (painting) (story)

Eros and Psyche (sculpture) (story)

Orpheus and Euydice (painting) (story)

Myth of Sisyphus (painting) (story)

Cassandra (painting) (story)

The Fates (painting) (story)

Atlas (sculpture) (story)

[theultimatekamehamehavoc]

Honestly really like the many different and varying interpretations of Naegami and I am just going to gush about it with some small Naegamigiri/Toenaegiri in there too for good measure! Like, one interpretation I've seen is Byakuya being that angry, lanky, over-protective, boyfriend. Peak guard dog energy. And, Richie Rich over here is ready for violence and has vigorously prepared for potential knife fights. The prick would SO start some shit and get in a knife fight if necessary. Or he'd sue for all the worthless pennies the instigator being mean to his boyfriend is worth. Cus, when in doubt, suing is Byakuya's main. Or both options. Like, knife fight, sues, somthing, something, PROFIT. The emotional kind of profit though since Makoto is now safe from the Karens. Minus HIM of course/hj There's then "Makoto happy doggo boy" and "Byakuya grumpy feline". Like this one too. I just enjoy comparing these two to a cat and a dog getting along and trading smooches on a park bench while contemplating if they should REALLY feed the birds or not and why people do it to begin with before they just cycle through topic after topic together. They don't have to like... actually be a cat and a dog for that though. All about the vibes! If Makoto was a dog though, his tail would be wagging CONSTANTLY. You just can't put him down. Guy just has golden retriever energy. Even though I have never interacted with a golden retriever so.... Yeah. Also, another dynamic that goes into this one is just that grumpy boy and sunshine dynamic. This is nice too. It is them. The homies. Honestly, most things that play up Byakuya's almost feral energy also makes me incredibly happy in life. Just ruffle the Karen cut a bit and BOOM! Full fletched wet cat looking prick! Either that or skrungly energy. There is no in-between. To be honest, it is so funny that he has this energy for me. Like, he's a billionaire loser! Why am I attached?! (i know why but silly joke time :D ) A good one is also ones where Makoto is just getting info dumped by Byakuya. Like, it's just Makoto existing while Byakuya blabbers on about his hyper fixations and special interests which I do have some headcanons on what some of those specifically are because at this point, I've started projecting onto him and there is now no return. He's getting dorkified which honestly doesn't help cus he already looks and sounds like a dweeb in denial that he's a dork. Another one is just, these two knuckleheads getting into hijinks cus Makoto is just a magnet for trouble and Byakuya just can't stop starting shit. Adding Kyoko in the mix for that goody good sprinkle of Naegamigiri/Tonaegiri also gives is slight Scooby Doo hijinks I also appreciate. Insert Benny Hill Theme. It is legit just, Makoto existing and crap happening, Byakuya making more problems, and Kyoko being the one who fixes all the bullshit. Though this version of the trio gets me too. Just: "Makoto gets in trouble, Byakuya causes trouble, and Kyoko also causes trouble sometimes but she knows how to course-correct" I guess chaotic gays just do stuff to my brain. Releases the happy brain juices into my body and soul. Like, just let them do arson! It'd be great! Or just, Byakuya doing arson while Makoto sheds a singular tear.

There's also other stuff like, what makes the Naegami in a non-despair au alter from the Naegami with despair? That kinda stuff. I eat that shit up. All the shit. Too much shit. Chronically. This stuff is just fascinating to me. Cus there's questions to be had such as would they be as close in a non-despair story without some meddling? And the best part is that there's no right or wrong answer in a sense. It's fluid and nice and it's cool. Specifically regarding tropes and stuff for these two regardless of despair or non-despair is that good good slow burn. Like, the two of them slowly hanging out more and getting to know each other and badabing, badaboom, Byakuya's definitely not crushing HARD and he's also SOOOO not having having an identity crisis too while we're at it. Another thing I like are interpretations where the two of them are equals in a sense or instances where it's not just Makoto helping Byakuya out. Basically, where both boys get to help one another. This also doesn't really matter if it's despair or non-despair. I just like these two being a unit together! It can be as small as Byakuya helping Makoto be more assertive and not a total doormat or Makoto teaching Byakuya that he shouldn't put all this stress on himself or just hitting him with the reality that his childhood SUCKED. Or just, hitting him with the fact that he kinda a shitty poo poo head! Not like that though! Makoto would never shake him and say something like that. It'd be more like Byakuya coming to the realization that he treats others bad and he's a hypocrite. I want him to suffer a bit before he gets to be gay with the egg/hj Gosh. I'm probably missing so many differing interpretations I've seen or had, dang it! This may be a bit incoherent for all I know. Though, me try. This is also getting a bit too long so... Tldr; boys do kiss kiss

[skitskatdacat63]

pls complain as much as you want about the eff won movie, i agree with all your tags and i'm sure you have more to say 👀

Hello here I am, ready to complain!!! I did in fact have more to say so thank you for asking

*Sorry Grace if you read this and I accidentally stole any of your talking points lol

ALSO DISCLAIMER: If you disagree with me, please do not fucking bug me about, I do not care, let me be a massive bitter hater in peace, thanks

I. Disinterest 

First of all, who asked for this? To me the appeal of F1 is how exclusive and confined it is. There are only 10 teams and 20 drivers you have to learn about which makes it very easy to become super invested. If you want to step outside that, you can learn more about the lower formulas or past seasons(there’s many of them!!!!) So why would I, someone extremely invested in the people and narrative already taking place, even remotely care about some made up drivers? Especially since they’re not JUST made up drivers, they’re made up drivers in the background of REAL drivers. I am highly invested in the results of current F1, so why would I want to watch a movie where those results and drivers are in the background. I’d rather just watch DTS, which is a crazy statement within itself.

I’ve actually thought a lot about how one could mesh real and fake within a sport like F1. Cause I daydream about my OCs in F1 haha, but then start thinking too hard about the logistics of it all. I came to the conclusion that putting fake F1 drivers into the real story is just not a great idea. Because you’re disrupting the actual results and inserting yourself into them, and also as I said, putting real life people in the background out of self interest. It just complicates things so much to add outside elements to such an insulated sport. If this movie had made up a completely fake grid, I’d honestly be all for it and probably would be pretty interested. Like, wow, give me a whole franchise of this!!! Give me a movie about every fake team!!! Get me invested!! But at the end of the day, I’m always going to care about the real life drivers more

In other racing movies, that are biopics, there is a focus of maybe one or two drivers. And those other drivers that were in the grid at the same time become background characters. BUT it’s in service of a real life story with real life people many may already be emotionally invested in. They’re not just turning the rest of the drivers into background characters in order to prop up their own fake F1 drivers, but rather just putting the focus on a story that deserves to be told. There’s so many stories that deserve to be told in F1, literal decades of stories. Why are they putting so much money and effort in service of a story that no one knows or cares about. 

Also I can already tell this movie is gonna be like…60% action, 40% plot. Again, if I wanted any of those things, I’d watch actual F1. It feels like a male power fantasy for men who wish they could try driving F1 cars.

II. Invasive 

I really dislike how involved it is with F1. You know, F1, something that is people’s legitimate job? It’s already a very flashy sport with so much publicity around it, why do you have to unnecessarily  add to that? Their cars being on the actual grid, the fake drivers being in the media pen. I just find the whole idea of them inserting themselves into modern F1 to be so weird. 

All those clips of Brad Pitt alongside the actual drivers genuinely make my skin crawl, it’s soooooooo fucking weird. Like that one clip of him standing alongside them for the anthem. Imagine you work your whole life and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into getting into F1, and then this rich asshole is allowed to roleplay next to you. There’s already enough pressure with the netflix cameras around all the time. And now they’re forced to be in a movie as well. Maybe I’m self centered but I’d be so annoyed if they were making a film about my sport and then I find out I’m only there to be a background character in a story about made up drivers. It just makes me cringe so much to imagine him pretending to be an F1 driver next to the actual drivers, like is that not embarrassing???

The social medias….very strange. Like the stuff with them using Paul Aron as their rookie. Even if they did get his permission, which I’m still not sure about, it’s so weird to me. Like oh the main characters are made up but you’re still willing to use other drivers in the pursuit of your own story. I’m sorry but is that not weird to anyone else???? I dislike how much this movie blurs the line between fiction and reality, involving real life drivers whenever it’s convenient. Looking at their socmed makes me cringe so much. I’m sure a bunch of self insert writers or novel writers would do the same but they’d get bullied. Yet a bunch of grown ass men are allowed to literally roleplay on twt/insta and it’s suddenly fine and normal? Lmao their most recent post is the FP1 results from Hungary. Is it not so fucking weird for them to make up placements, and thus just ignore the actual drivers who got those positions? Imagine you’re Lando and you got P6 and you go on instagram and suddenly discover that you did not in fact get P6, but rather Sonny Hayes did! Wow that 60 yr old sure is a good driver. 

And let us not forget to mention them making memorial posts for Senna and Jules Bianchi. That actually made me feel sickened, especially the Jules one. Imagine using a real life tragedy for publicity on your roleplay twitter. Is that fucking creepy???? Like why of all things would you choose THAT to play along with. They’re a made up team that is in no way associated with either drivers, so why are they talking about them? What is the point. 

Okay but that clip of Fernando staring at Brad Pitt, I’m fucking dying. I wish he could give his actual thoughts on it. Like what is it like to see a guy older than you, pretending to be an F1 driver, while you are there, doing your actual job. I like to think he had a dementia moment and was like, “hey wait when did that guy join the grid? I thought I was the oldest!?”

III. Dramatising

There already is a pretty big issue in this community where the drivers are treated like characters, and not real people. There’s so many people out there who just watch DTS and treat F1 like a soap opera. People who only know about F1 in the context of made up drama, and now there's gonna be a movie about made up drama. This movie further blurs the lines between fiction and reality. Again, they’re literally turning the F1 drivers into background characters of a movie. Like, wow you’re not real people anymore, your lives exist in the back of this story now. Imagine how confusing this would be as a new fan.

I know they’re all a bunch of rich privileged guys but, at the end of the day, this is still their job, not just fodder for drama. I want the sanctity of F1 to be respected okay. It's such a cool sport to me and I love all the real stuff about it, and I don't like the way media treats it and changes it.

IV. Old Man Self Insert

I basically covered this in my other categories but I just want to complain more. I really really despise that this movie just feels like some old guy really wanted to drive F1 cars and had to come up with a reason to justify it. I feel like someone who is a serious F1 fan would want to honor the actual history and context  of the sport more, y’know? Not just make a blatant self insert film, inserting himself in the literal daily life of the actual drivers. It annoys me bcs this is a sport where people start getting called old when they hit 30, not that I agree with that but I’m just saying, it’s a very ageist sport where youth seems to be valued over most other things. My resident GOAT old man, who is 18 years younger than Pitt, constantly has people saying how he should retire to give younger drivers more of a chance. So why the hell in a sport with this environment are we getting a movie about a 60 YEAR OLD driver. It’s just so clearly a self motivated passion project, and Domenicalli and others want to milk F1 for all the money it's worth. Okay so a made up team is allowed to be 11th and yet you keep shunning actual teams that could join and bring in more publicity/money? Okay, okay…

V. Misc

I’m ngl it feels like a made up team would have an easier job getting into F1 if they really wanted to, because of the publicity. And yet Andretti cannot. Imagine a docu film about a brand new team joining F1 for the first time ever and the trials and tribulations it takes to be a new team in such a historical, bloodthirsty sport. But nah let’s put all that money and effort into a make believe story. 

But yeah they’re not really doing anything inventive anyways. Wow an old man driver who they’re probably gonna pretend is not completely age inaccurate for this sport. And the supposed dynamic of it. Isn’t it supposed to be Brad Pitt’s chara coming back to mentor a rookie prodigy?? When are teammate relationships ever that nice?????? The only similar relationship I can think of is Seb and Micheal but they were on diff teams, and RBR was a lot better than Merc atp. I feel like the only time you see mentor-like relationships is either when the two are on diff teams, the car is an absolute backmarker, or the mentor absolutely outclasses the rookie. 

The fucking “who cares about safety” line, who authorized that????? Thinking about how I almost got ripped to shreds on here for talking about how refueling was interesting, and yet a blockbuster is allowed to disregard safety??? And weren’t they saying in that trailer that they have to make the car for battle? Is their strat being terrorists??

VI. Javier Bardem

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH WHY DOES ONE OF MY FAVORITE ACTORS HAVE TO BE IN THIS SHIT FUCKING MOVIE GOD DAMN YOU JAVIER YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!! 

It is very painful to me that he’s gonna be in this movie, and that his doppelganger who you may know as Fernando Alonso will also guest star. Like I don’t want to give this film money nor do I want to watch it. But the fact that there’s the possibility of seeing Fernando Alonso beloved on the big screen…it’s so tempting.

It’s just irritating cause his chara in the trailer DOES seem like smth I’d actually be interested in. Like I think he’s gonna be a dubious team owner or TP and man….that’s so perfect. But not in the context of the full movie lmao. So who will be the brave soul and make the Javier Bardem and Fernando Alonso cut for me? Maybe I will ask my brother to write down the timestamps for me. 

I digress. There’s probably some things I forgot to complain about but this is what I came up with <3 I hate you Brad Pitt and I hate you Domenicalli and I hate you MBS, etc etc. Lmao you know what this feels like? When you're in a fandom for a fandom for a franchise like the MCU or SW, and nrw shows/movies come out and you feel like they're bastardizing the whole franchise. This is what this movie is to me.

[thewickedlorchqueen]

I hate Lily's Star Wars oc

And I'm going to be straight forward here, it's because of her video's about heroinism. I love mary sue's, I love oc x canon, I say break canon for your own au and I don't care if one add's there own politics. Basically I love bad oc fanfiction, but Lily's whole moral code and how much she tries to force that Aliana is a good person despite being a psychopaths' that kills whoever she deems as the villain and is rewarded for it in the story just makes her unbearable.

And before anyone starts no this wouldn't change if Aliana was any other race. One of my favorite fic authors has several self insert black characters she even openly claims as Mary sues and I love them. My favorite is still her Beverly hill teens oc (again I love bad cringy shit don't at me) that becomes BFF with Bianca and humbles Lark (the main character, who I love but the fic is fun)

A bad character is a bad character regardless of race.

"But she only goes after rich bad people!" Firstly overhearing a conversation and deciding to kill people based on that isn't heroic, not to mention frustrating. She doesn't try to dismantle the system that holds them, (no just killing the big boss doesn't count), she doesn't find said 'poor slaves' and gives them a better home. She kills the traders and everything works out in the end.

Which becomes even more frustrating when it turns out that Luke kills her mom (a sith and a slave trader herself, the same one that transported Ray her love interest. But don't worry guys she felt super bad about it. She was even willing to raise Ray and Aliana as siblings!

) and is in the right to get revenge.

Yet isn't Luke in the same place as Aliana? A sith (you know the dark side, proven bad guys, a slave trader herself, possible over heard her bragging about her trades. A villian according to his beliefs and morals) was doing bad things so he killed her possibly saving who knows how many poor, innocent souls~ Yet is in the wrong because she was Aliana's mom. And that's just one of the Skywalkers.

Would that mean that any of the children of the people Aliana killed would be justified in getting revenge against her because they also felt 'super bad' about it but only talked big? What if they were acting tough and lying because said trader was trying to save their child that (like Ray) was being transported and unlike Ray's was trying to save their child? Then Aliana (based on a conversation she overheard) killed them, forsaking the child.

What if their morality justified the parents actions in the same way Aliana justified her own family? Not trying to justified slave trading but it would be interesting and a great way to strengthen Aliana as a character if she has to fight against someone who justifies their actions the same way she justifies murdering people. The same way she tries to say a sith can be a good guy despite history (and canon) saying other wise. You know an actual story besides teaching Ray "murder good, capitalisms bad, I'm always right" with some romance (which I'm not knocking or going into because Rays just the love interest. In a better or campier story I might like it more)

But nope all we got was an oc whose always right and all the bad fun camp one usually gets is sucked away because of grandstanding from a sith cop (kills who she wants based on her own morality, deems who is right and wrong it fits).

Lily claims to go into deep topics but I'm still waiting for anything besides "Aliana is always right, rich people bad (unless it her family) and watch as she murders people with justice,".

Anyway this fic is frustrating and now I want a fanfic where a child of one of the people Aliana murdered fights her.

[jozor-johai]

Revisiting the Rat Cook, Part 1: The Best Pie, and Lord Lamprey

This is the first part of a series I've been sitting on for a while, where I'm going to examine the symbols and themes present in the "Rat Cook" story, as relayed by Bran in ASOS Bran IV, and search reappearances of those elements throughout the rest of ASOIAF.

This series is predicated on the understanding that these books are rich with intentional symbolism, metaphor, and allegory, and that the repetition of these symbols and themes adds to their meaning.

In general, the symbols that are present in ASOIAF are limited by their ability to be inserted into the plot of the story (i.e. if the symbol of a stag killing a direwolf is important, there must be a way in which the characters are able to encounter such a scene within the plot's context). However, the metadiegetic legends that exist in-world for the characters of ASOIAF are not beholden to the same restrictions, and because GRRM is able to invent these myths in their entirety without restrictions on any of the individual symbolic elements, we can trust that each separate element of these in-world myths was placed intentionally.

With that in mind, I believe we can use stories like that of the Rat Cook as a sort of "road map" when looking at the reappearance of these same symbols and themes elsewhere in the story; I believe the "Rat Cook" story is the most distilled example of these elements. I don't mean to say that every instance of "rats" references the Rat Cook directly, but that the Rat Cook story provides a place where Martin is able to use these symbols in their most abstract form and describe their relationship to each other, so that when we see them appear again elsewhere in ASOIAF we might better understand what we are being shown.

So, among other things, the Rat Cook story is about a rat which eats rats, or a cook who serves kings; The Rat Cook story is about fathers and sons, about cannibalism, about trust, about vengeance, and about damning one's legacy.

This is likely going to be a 9-part series, but ideally almost all of these parts will be able to stand on their own. Each post will inform the next as I build my analysis, but hopefully each individual post is also interesting in its own right.

RtRC Part 1: "The Best Pie You Have Ever Tasted" and "Lord Lamprey"

This opening part, for better or worse, is going to retread some well-discussed ground: the clear parallels between the "Rat Cook" story and the incident in which Lord Manderly serves certain overlarge pies in ADWD The Prince of Winterfell, a scene lovingly dubbed "Frey Pie". However, as well-established as this comparison is, I want to begin here so I can begin to introduce how a closer analysis of the Rat Cook themes are present in this uncontroversially parallel scene, and how they might add more depth to interpreting that moment.

Not only does the scene evoke the same imagery, serving pie to the Lords amidst conspicuously missing sons, but the connection becomes even more direct when Wyman Manderly looks directly to the camera and says, “Hey reader, if you’re wondering where those Freys are, think back to any scary stories you know about pie”.

Okay, he doesn’t actually say that, but it’s close enough, and as much of a nudge we’re like to get from Martin (and which still went over my head on my first read through). Instead he does the next best thing, cueing Abel to sing while staggering past our POV:

"We should have a song about the Rat Cook," he was muttering, as he staggered past Theon, leaning on his knights. "Singer, give us a song about the Rat Cook."

Manderly seems to acknowledge the similarities himself, and most have noticed as well.

However, making the comparison between the story of the Rat Cook and Manderly’s actions is particularly interesting in their differences.

There are many ways in which Manderly’s pies, as a mirror, are appropriately an inversion of certain elements in the Rat Cook myth.

Returning to the scene as we see it in ADWD The Prince of Winterfell:

“Ramsay hacked off slices with his falchion and Wyman Manderly himself served, presenting the first steaming portions to Roose Bolton and his fat Frey wife, the next to Ser Hosteen and Ser Aenys, the sons of Walder Frey. "The best pie you have ever tasted, my lords," the fat lord declared. "Wash it down with Arbor gold and savor every bite. I know I shall." “True to his word, Manderly devoured six portions, two from each of the three pies, smacking his lips and slapping his belly and stuffing himself until the front of his tunic was half-brown with gravy stains and his beard was flecked with crumbs of crust.”

Manderly takes on only some of the roles of the Rat Cook here. Despite his status as lord, he plays the role of the humble cook, personally serving Roose Bolton, Walda Bolton (née Frey), Hosteen Frey, and Aenys Frey, all standing in for the “Andal King”. In this way, the role of “Andal King” as someone who has official power and the role of “Rat Cook” as effectively powerless dissident are played out straightforwardly. Bolton and his allies are backed by their army and the authority of the crown while Manderly has no official backing of his own.

Wyman even physically resembles the Rat Cook; Wyman’s blue eyes indicate he is presumably pale, and Wyman is prodigiously large, to mimic the descriptor of “white, and almost as huge as a sow”.

However, like the “Andal King” himself, who had a “second slice” of his own son, it is Wyman Manderly, and not Bolton nor the Freys, who devours two portions from each of the pies. In this way, the roles have elements which are interchangeable.

Wyman is acting out both roles, which is especially interesting because in this comparison is a single most definitive contrast: The Rat Cook, most notably, is not punished for serving the pie, as "a man has a right to vengeance". Instead, he is punished for violating guest right.

Now, Wyman—who lost his son to the Freys at the Red Wedding—certainly has a “right to vengeance”, but betraying guest right is something which Wyman Manderly takes great pains not to do. Manderly conspicuously notes that he gave the three dead Freys guest gifts upon their parting, marking them as no longer guests under his roof, and subsequently, theoretically, freeing him to kill them. Manderly introduces the idea while Davos marks the distinction for the reader’s sake in ADWD Davos IV:

“The Freys came here by sea. They have no horses with them, so I shall present each of them with a palfrey as a guest gift. Do hosts still give guest gifts in the south?" "Some do, my lord. On the day their guest departs.”

The Freys, on the other hand, as executors of the Red Wedding, are the most notable violators of guest right, while the Boltons contributed their part as well; both are being punished for that sin by Manderly-the-Rat-Cook here, marking the inversion of the story. In this iteration, the party serving the pie seems to warrant no judgment; instead, the pie itself is the judgment, served as retribution. With that connection in mind, it's worth remembering the other importance of the Rat Cook story, based on its placement in ASOS and which I think has often been overshadowed by Manderly’s “Frey Pies” incident.

In the Rat Cook story, after the Rat Cook's punishment, he spends an immortal future forever eating his own descendants, a scenario in which Bran describes the rats of the Nightfort as “children running from their father”. That eternal, kin- and legacy- devouring doom does not just come secondary to the punishment, it is a part of the punishment following the violation of guest right, and introduces the notion of an entire family being cursed for that violation... and, for good measure, is brought up in ASOS Bran IV, chapter that occurs only a few chapters after the Red Wedding itself.

In one respect, this is just another reinforcement for the reader of the sanctity of guest right and of the laws of the old gods. Coming so soon after the Red Wedding, the Rat Cook story hints at the fall of House Frey. Walder Frey, most culpable violator of guest right, has apparently doomed the rest of his dynasty to death, punished for his actions, the way that the Rat Cook, too, is a patriarch who creates not only his own ruin but also the ruin of his progeny. Although Walder himself is not literally tying the nooses, it is Walder who has metaphorically become the father "devouring his children" indirectly through his ruthlessness. Wyman Manderly, then, is merely an agent of that doom.

On the subject of the Freys being cursed by violating guest right, only one of the named consumers of the pie, Aenys Frey, is truly mirroring the Rat Cook legend by literally eating his own son, Rhaegar Frey. Both Aenys and Hosteen Frey, on the other hand, are specifically called out in the scene as being the “sons of Walder Frey”. It’s appropriate within the mirrored Rat Cook motif to invoke Walder’s name as patriarch as well as the promise of other “sons” that might succumb to their father’s insatiable appetite for status; this sentence invokes the dynasty of the Frey household. Indeed, Walder Frey himself also has shared motifs with the Rat Cook: like the immortal Rat Cook, Walder Frey has nearly innumerable children and grandchildren, and he too seems to refuse to die.

If a named heir in Westeros is like the ASOIAF version of Chekov’s gun, then the Late Walder Frey is sitting on Chekov’s arsenal; once he becomes the late Late Lord Frey, it’s going to explode. If that happens in an upcoming book, then the Rat Cook story might be setting up the idea of how an eventual succession crisis of House Frey might further this metaphorical connection, with this doomed family turning on itself, each running from the shadow of their father’s legacy like the Rat Cook's children run from him in the Nightfort.

Lord Lamprey

Now, to push through a little more symbolic linking between the Frey Pie scene and Lord Manderly:

If we consider the “pie” element as a key part of the Rat Cook story, then seeing a “pie” specifically in the hands of Wyman Manderly prompts a connection with a noted favorite of Manderly’s: lamprey pie. As early as ACOK Bran II, we learn that:

“His own people mock him as Lord Lamprey”,

Interestingly, we see in that same chapter a telling metaphor considering Manderly and lampreys not in a pie:

“Lord Wyman attacked a steaming plate of lampreys as if they were an enemy host”.

Considering Wyman’s lampreys-as-enemy association makes for curious contrast later, in ADWD Davos IV, as Manderly is feigning allegiance with the hated Freys. Here, Manderly has just stepped away from the feast in order to secretly treat with Davos, and the food served may contain more meaning than at first appears:

“In the Merman's Court they are eating lamprey pie and venison with roasted chestnuts. Wynafryd is dancing with the Frey she is to marry. The other Freys are raising cups of wine to toast our friendship.”

The reappearance of this noted lamprey pie might take on more significance knowing that some of those eating it become a pie later on. The reminder of the association between Manderly and his lamprey pies seems even more intentional when the “Lord Lamprey” nickname conspicuously returns as Bolton’s men search for the missing Freys in ADWD Reek III:

"You did not find our missing Freys." The way Roose Bolton said it, it was more a statement than a question. "We rode back to where Lord Lamprey claims they parted ways, but the girls could not find a trail."

Invoking his nickname in this scene draws a connecting line between Manderly’s favorite pie, the “enemy host” of lampreys, the missing Freys, and “lamprey pie” being served as a symbol of the fake “friendship” between the Freys and Manderlys.

If that Frey-Manderly friendship is marked by mentions of lamprey pie, and Manderly loves to eat lamprey like he would eat an enemy, and we see in The Prince of Winterfell that Manderly apparently loves to eat his enemies, having two portions of each Frey pie, we might think that the Freys are being paralleled with Manderly’s favorite pie filling: lampreys. If that is the case, then comparing the punished Freys to lampreys is a scathingly fitting image, and I mean that literally.

Considering that carnivorous lampreys latch onto fishes to slowly eat the fish’s blood and flesh while the fish still swims, then looking at an image like this makes for some serious symbolic resonance if you consider the Tullys as fish (as they often are described) and the pie-filling Freys as pie-filling lampreys. It certainly provides a strong visual metaphor for the Frey’s “late” and half-hearted vassalage to Hoster Tully, how they dealt with Catelyn, and how they are now parasitically using Edmure—he sits in Riverrun at the end of ADWD, but with Freys latched onto him, bleeding him like they did his family.

This series is otherwise about pies and rats, not lampreys, but I will mention a few other interesting associations with lampreys that are worth looking into. The Stokeworths, when they are desperately trying to secure a match for Lollys, serve each of their prospective suitors lamprey pie, perhaps a signaling of the Stokeworth’s parasitic place at court, or the attitude towards their search for their daughter’s match. Note that in that context, Littlefinger remarks that he loves lamprey pie, perhaps fittingly for someone who has risen high by making use of his parasitic attachments to those more powerful. By contrast, when our intrepid advocate for truth and justice—Davos—is jailed after his return from the Battle of the Blackwater, he is served lamprey pie in the dungeons, but finds it “too rich” to eat. We have already seen that Davos has no stomach for the blind flattery that some of Stannis’ other lords have, and this scene describes that same character trait. I believe there are even further associations that are worth investigating, but for the sake of this essay, we must move on and end here for now.

In the next part, I'll focus on how it's relevant that the Rat Cook's pie and Manderly's pie were both allegedly "pork" pies, and where that reappears as well.

[shunin-gumis]

Temptation Towards Apoptosis - Track 08

L4mps 1st Feature Event

This chapter was translated by me!

Location: Hotel - Room

Nagi: Maybe today’s the day Ryui finally feels grateful for one of Netaro’s inventions.

Netaro: You mean he wasn’t grateful before!? For all the genius inventions that my genius intellect had created!?

Toi: …

Ryui: Toi, are you scared?

Toi: Y-Yes… 

Ryui: Don’t worry. We’re gonna expose that shitty demon for what it is, not you, alright?

Toi: But… 

Chief: (Toi-kun… He probably hasn’t figured out what exactly it is that he wants.)

Chief: …Maybe we don’t need to look into Oshisha-sama’s memories today.

Toi: Chief… 

Chief: Maybe we could try to find some other way to approach this, and come back to Netaro’s invention another day—

Ryui: We don’t have time. You don’t know what kinda state Toi’s in right now, do you?

Chief: That’s…

Ryui: We don’t need half-assed opinions from an outsider who doesn’t know shit about us. Not like I expected you to get it in the first place—

Nagi: We’re not outsiders.

Yodaka: …Nagi.

Ryui: …Ah? You say somethin’?

Nagi: …

Chief: Wai- Don’t fight— 

Nagi: Chief, it’s alright, I can handle this.

Nagi: Ryui, I won’t deny that we don’t have the whole picture, but that doesn’t make us outsiders.

Nagi: If you’re worried about burdening us or anything like that… 

Ryui: Like I said… None of you know SHIT about what Toi’s going through right now…! Don’t try to casually insert yourselves into our lives, it causes more problems than it helps.

Nagi: We’re not treating this casually.

Ryui: *scoffs* Real rich coming from the guy who was running his mouth over a damn pot or somethin’.

Nagi: It’s weird how you just selfishly define your relationships as a pain, or that it’s too much trouble. 

Ryui: Selfish…? We’ve been betrayed so many times… 

Ryui: This disgusting thing was shoved onto us, by our very own parents, by the adults we trusted! No matter how many years have passed, it’s…! Do you know how it’s hurt us— 

Toi: —STOP IT!

Ryui and Nagi: !

Toi: Just stop… 

~~~(flashback)

Toi: (...Reading fortunes always made them happy.)

Toi: (Mother, who Ani-sama cast aside by calling her “disgusting,” grandfather, and—)

Location: Hotel - Room

Toi: Stop speaking badly of A-chama.

Ryui: Wha… 

Toi: (If I become like A-chama, would Ani-sama call me disgusting and cast me aside as well?)

Toi: A-chama isn’t… A-chama isn’t disgusting…!

Ryui: T-Toi, did it say something to you? Did it make you some kinda deal? You can tell me—

Toi: A-chama didn’t do anything to me! They didn’t say anything to me either! A-chama always listens to my concerns, and helps me with my problems!

Ryui: There’s no way that’s… 

Toi: Ani-sama, stop making assumptions when you don’t know anything about A-chama either!

Ryui: …

Toi: A-chama isn’t an enemy, they aren’t hideous. A-chama is- A-chama is— 

Toi: (Who I’ll become in the near future.)

Toi: So don’t deny them…!

Ryui: T…Toi… 

The others: ……(……)

Toi: Ah… 

Toi: No- Ani-sama… This isn’t what I- No, nononono.

Toi: (Why… Why am I so…)

Toi: Even though I want to stay a good boy… Even though I want to remain the same person you love…!

Ryui: …Ngh.

Ryui: It’s okay. Toi, it’s okay.

Toi: I’m sorry, please don’t hate me. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m… 

Chief: (What should we do at a time like this…)

Yodaka: …We should give them some privacy.

Chief: Right… Yes… 

Chief: (That’s all we can do right now…)

Netaro: Huh? What about the experiment? What about the memory of the demon?

Daniel: We’re leaving.

Netaro: Uwahh–! Unhand me–!

Daniel: C’mon Nagi, you too.

Nagi: …We’re not outsiders. Afterall, we’re— 

Location: Hotel - Room

Toi: *yawn*... 

Toi: (I’m in bed… When did that happen…)

Toi: (My head hurts…)

Ryui: You awake? Looks like you’ve worked up a small fever. You should go ahead and sleep.

Toi: Ani-sama… 

Ryui: …The others left some stuff for you. Putting aside Yowa’s garbage, there’s some sports drinks, instant senbei broth and… 

Toi: I can smell… something nice… 

Ryui: That’s probably— 

Toi: Nagi-kun’s bouquet…?

Ryui: Yeah.

Toi: Did he go out to buy it this late at night?

Ryui: He stuffed his suitcase full of ‘em apparently. He's strange… No, that guy’s far beyond strange.

Toi: …I’d like to smell it, a little closer.

Ryui: Alright. Can you hold it? Here—

Ryui: Wha–...

Ryui: (It withered away all of a sudden—)

Toi: …

Toi: …I see.

Ryui: Toi… 

Toi: …

Toi: (I’ve already crossed the point of no return.)

Ryui: This is nothing, alright? I’ll call Morozumi-san right now— 

Toi: Ani-sama. Can you get my diary from the desk?

Ryui: …You don’t need to write in it today, get some rest.

Toi: No, that’s not why.

Toi: Here… Read this part.

Ryui: This is…?

Toi: Yesterday, I asked A-chama what they did with the real Oshisha-sama.

Ryui: …!

“What happened to the previous Oshisha?”

“Why of course, I cut its [ ] and shredded its [ ] and took its [ ] and ate it.”

“Aah, its [ ] was truly exquisite. I took its [ ] apart, after which I [ ] without leaving a single scrap—”

Ryui: …! *gasping*

Toi: …

Ryui: No… B-But then… If the previous Oshisha was killed, then…?

Ryui: (How am I supposed to save Toi…!?)

Toi: …

Toi: To tell you the truth, Ani-sama… I said I didn’t make a deal with them, but— 

~~~(flashback)

“Shall I teach you how to monopolize your brother's attention?”

Location: Hotel - Room

Toi: The truth is… 

Ryui: …I see.

Toi: I’m sorry for hiding it from you.

Toi: (I’m sorry that I’m not a good boy…)

Ryui: …I’m sorry for yelling at you too.

Toi: (…Thank you for despairing for my sake.)

Toi: Hey, Ani-sama. Toi: Let me have your tomorrow, promise?

Notes:

Nanbu Senbei, flour crackers are consumed not only for a snack but also as a staple diet & alcohol side dish in the southern part of Aomori. Senbei-Jiru is a soy sauce broth with vegetables, fish, meat and mushrooms adding cracked Nanbu Senbei in it.

Event Masterpost

Next Track

[shadowqueenjude]

me and sjm are about to have a world building problem because she's killing me she obviously takes inspiration from ancient civilizations and geographical names around the Mediterranean, like the greeks (Eris, Helios, etruscans (literally their goddess of dawn is named thesan). Tarquin the last king of rome (and ironically the opposite of acotar Tarquin). Adriata should then come from the Adriatic sea and their architecture seems greco-roman. But then she mixes it up and gives the court fae brown skin (by the way, what kind of brown, this tells me nothing, i don't need like pantone, but slight more description) For the night court, she's just weird with it. the clothes Feyre is initially given by Rhysand kind of read to me like what you find when you search up 'sexy belly dancer'). Same with all of the clothes she wears when visiting Hewn City. I feel like she was trying to incorporate some more "exotic" things but it doesn't match the rest of the court. It seems like there's a couple different groups with completely different aesthetics that are completely separate from one another. Both Illyria and the court of nightmares seem like vassal states to Velaris and aside from Illyrians having tan skin and being called something around the lines of savages (very POC-coded), there is little to no evidence of any aesthetics that could be considered non-European. Not architecture-wise, name-wise, or (for the most part) fashion-wise. Now, it is a free country, SJM can write however and about whatever she wants. But I feel like there is just such a loss there. No matter where in the world you go, there is evidence of different cultures. Rich cultures which someone could easily take inspiration from!! I just wish she took the time to go down some of the rabbit holes fic writers go down, learning a multitude about what ends up being a small part of your story. Right now, her POC characters feel like an afterthought where she had her story written and then just inserted the word dark/tan on a couple characters. (Also I had no idea Amren was east asian until someone said she was on here and I do have to ask, where is the east asian exotica? Normally if you have one you have the other.) Also her in-universe world building is so convoluted and i hate it and nothing makes sense. I love magical objects as much as the next person, but some of these are one-and-done objects that you definitely could have had more use over. I think she has a vague plan and is just doing whatever she thinks of first to get to each plot point. (me in essays) Also, someone should make an anti-inner circle timeline with all the fucked things they've done so we don't forget. (And hope in the next book, sjm writes about a war crime tribunal for the past... century) thanks for listening to my rant, I've just been struggling to figure out how characters and courts play out and getting more frustrated as I continue.

Anon, you summed up all my frustrations perfectly!

Sjm writes her worldbuilding and tropes like she’s still writing fanfiction. I try to write fanfiction of her stories and I realize I know nothing about the places we’re supposed to be exploring.

Sjm takes inspiration from many many things but then she doesn’t commit to anything. She cherry picks shit to utilize based on vibes and together it doesn’t make sense. It’s really annoying when you see inspiration from your culture that could’ve been used so much better.

As for the IC, they’ve committed so many crimes it would require a thorough reread of all the books to note down all of them.

[chaifootsteps]

Armchair Psychology Anon here. (Not a real pysch, just see patterns)

It's so funny because I keep seeing Viv like tweets where her stans are saying "who tf keeps saying Charlie isn't the main character she had more screentime than the male ones omg get over yourselves 🙄"

That new poster has... 6 male characters. And 3 of them are women. And it's implied Vaggie is going to die and Niffty is a side character.

It's because Charlie is probably a self insert for Viv when it comes down to her father (Lucifer). She clearly loves writing father-daughter relationships and not mother-daughter ones. You could even argue that Charlie singing: "have you ever wanted something that was so clear in your mind that you could taste it?" That gives me 'Viv is literally writing about wanting to be "friends" with big name celebs, Broadway actors, to be more famous, and to get the Broadway show' she's apparently always dreamed about.

I also believe parts of Stolas are Viv's self insert (particularly him being rich and sad, and how she keeps liking tweets defending him. As if Blitz has any actual power in the situation.)

Also side note, I'm glad someone mentioned Moxxie's little speech in CHERUBS about killing a rich authoritarian capitalist. Cuz apparently Viv felt uncomfortable with that and now Fizz and Blitz are clearly defending the highly elite and rich. (Blitz isn't now, but I'm sure he will in the future like Fizz.)

But I also believe Stolas is supposed to be her dad (her admitting her father flirted with women in front of Viv and her sisters/ which by the way is NOT healthy or normal. I'm sorry Viv, but as someone who has a father who would either cry or brag to me about how many women he's fucked (both when I was a minor and an adult), it's a really a fucked up thing of your father to do. And having Stolas flirt with Blitz in front of his underage daughter so explicitly, and reading a book on "Imps in the Sheets" at the dinner table in front of her, is pretty gross too, not gonna lie.)

Moxxie's mom? Dead.

Blitz's mom? Dead.

Octavia's mom? Huge abusive bitch.

Charlie's mom? Implied to be a cold bitch.

Amanda Palmer has a great read on creativity, where when you take personal things of yours and put it in a blender. The more ingredients you use, the harder it is to see what the real stuff is and what's the fictional things.

I'd say Viv is about at a 3-4, where it's very obvious what is real in her writing and what's fake.

Goddamn, what did Viv's mother do to her to make her hate her?

Like, okay I understand that writing is difficult when you feel like you're lying. I find it very difficult to write any healthy parental relationships because both my parents suck and I don't speak to them anymore.

But, you really need to put variety in your writing. Stop making things really obvious to the point where I think you need a therapist. (And she obviously does.)

And if by some chance you are seeing a therapist, Viv, see a different one. One that isn't just going to tell you everything you want to hear.