#but I don't think of King being the author of this story at all beyond the second act of Drawing. And he's fucking in it.

[sallykie]

I've decided. I don't like the HTTYD movie sequels' xenophobia era. I don't think the themes should have gone that way.

[creature-once-removed]

.

[sansaorgana]

— INAPPROPRIATE FRIENDSHIP

PAIRING — Sauron x fem!Elf!Reader // Celebrimbor x fem!Elf!Reader

SUMMARY — When Lord Celebrimbor abandons all his duties to focus on forging the Rings, Annatar finds an opportunity to take care of the neglected Lady of Eregion.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — I really liked this idea but I felt so bad writing this...!🙈 Like, I'm so sorry, Bimby... 😭 Either way, I don't think I'm going to write a second part because A) I would feel even worse and also B) to be perfectly honest I don't see any happy ending for this story. In my head, the Reader would eventually end up like Mirdania. 💀 Imagine how Celebrimbor would feel like while thinking that he killed his own wife, though!!!1! 🤧 But yeah, I don't want to explore that... 🤣 So, yeah, you get this one shot instead and that has to be enough for now! 💓

WARNINGS — cheating, manipulation, gaslighting, Reader is kinda bewitched with a corrupted item (so you can interpret her desire for Sauron as something beyond her control, therefore without an actual consent), SMUT

WORD COUNT — 6,880

🔞 THIS FIC IS 18+ 🔞

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

INAPPROPRIATE FRIENDSHIP

When Sauron came to Eregion for the first time, he was surprised to meet Lady (Y/N) – Lord Celebrimbor’s wife. She was much younger than her husband both in age and looks. And she was most certainly a woman who loved attention, meanwhile her husband’s focus was mostly set on the creations within his forge instead on her.

As Halbrand, Sauron could feel Lady (Y/N)’s contempt towards him. Perhaps even slight disgust. Something about a human and a commoner – even though believed to be a King – was making her feel uncomfortable and superior. Sauron immediately knew that if he was ever to use her against her husband, he needed a new form. Much nobler and prettier.

As time progressed, even though Halbrand was not around her much, he realised why she was a perfect match for her husband. She adored being the Lady of Eregion and ruling it when Celebrimbor was too busy to deal with the administration matters. But she also loved her husband and all his creations – she seemed to be as proud as him for his craft. My husband made it, she seemed to be saying with her contemptuous eyes full of hubris and greed for power.

And each time Celebrimbor spoke to Halbrand about his beloved wife as he would call her, his eyes were lighting up and sparkling. She was a great Elven lady after all indeed and it surely would be a great pride to have a woman like her by one’s side and to be able to call her a wife.

She was against leaving Middle-earth and against the departure to Valinor for one simple reason – she would no longer be a lady of a whole city where she could be her own mistress. Here, protected by the walls of Eregion, she could even ignore the High King’s commands if that was her wish. Like her husband often did.

Sauron did not know much about her past or the origins of her relationship with Lord Celebrimbor. Halbrand was usually a chatty and curious man but asking too many of such questions could be suspicious. Celebrimbor would get jealous of his wife since it would be no surprise for a common human to fall in love with a beautiful Elven lady.

No, for that he had to wait.

And so he did wait and left Eregion for some time to continue with his schemes and when he came back it was to find out that Lady Galadriel had forbidden Celebrimbor to deal with Halbrand. Using young Elven smith Mirdania, Sauron managed to make Celebrimbor feel sorry for the injured human king spending a night alone in the rain. And so he invited him back to his forge where Halbrand revealed his true self to him – a noble and humble emissary of the Valar and the Lord of Gifts. Annatar.

Annatar was shaped with Lady (Y/N) in mind. Her husband, too, of course. After all, he was supposed to charm Lord Celebrimbor and be able to manipulate him. But Sauron doubted that the great smith would care about his looks so much – he was mostly in awe of the fact that the emissary of the Valar himself came to Eregion to support his work; such a pure and gentle being.

His wife, however, had a certain type she would adore and Sauron knew that already. He contrasted with her husband – younger in looks but not too young since she clearly was not after the young ones. Long, blond hair that made him look regal in an ethereal way. Angelic.

And Lady (Y/N) liked pretty and shiny things but in delicate shapes and forms. Sauron noticed that while observing the jewellery she was wearing. Beautiful pieces forged by her husband – all of them emphasising the pure light of Valinor she was radiating with proudly.

Some of the Elves were so proud of their light and righteousness that it was no longer of a good kind but it was not his intention to make her realise that.

At the time when Halbrand changed his form into Annatar, Lady (Y/N) was out of Eregion – visiting Mirkwood where she was originally from. And Annatar could not wait for her to finally come back home and see him.

You hopped off of your beautiful, grey mare and you patted her back as you nodded at the Elves working in the stables. They bowed their heads and addressed you as their lady while you took your riding gloves off.

The day was sunny and warm. You breathed in the sweet scent as you walked across the city to meet with your husband after your arrival. You knew that he was most likely inside his forge, therefore you wasted no moment and went there without even checking inside your chambers.

Celebrimbor was inside the forge indeed, with an apron on as he was leaning by the desk and studying some projects. And next to him stood an Elf you had not seen before – tall, slim and blond. His robes were humbly grey and he looked up first when you entered the room as his green eyes sparkled and you gasped.

You knew that face.

At the sound of a gasp leaving your mouth, Celebrimbor turned around and smiled widely at the sight of you before approaching you in a hurry to give you a squeeze.

“My beloved, you’re back. How glad I am!” He exclaimed and you caressed his cheek briefly with a smile.

“So am I, my dear. Who is your friend and why do I feel like I know him?” You asked, looking at the man standing behind your husband again. For some reason, you could not stop staring at him.

He was… breathtaking.

“Oh…” Celebrimbor took a step back and blushed slightly. “That is…”

“Annatar,” the man interrupted him with a soft smile and approached you as he reached out for you slightly with his smooth hand. “It is a pleasure to be finally able to properly meet you, Lady of Eregion.”

“Annatar…?” You hummed to yourself but you allowed him to place a kiss upon the palm of your hand and while he was doing so, he looked intensely into your eyes, which made you feel slightly uncomfortable. Your husband, however, seemed to be content with this. Surprisingly.

“The Lord of Gifts,” Celebrimbor explained and you realised immediately he was platonically enamoured with that stranger. “The emissary of the Valar who arrived to assist me in my craft.”

“Please, my friend, you flatter me,” Annatar finally let go of your hand and straightened his back as he chuckled softly. The sound was like honey being poured over your heart. “We are all equals here,” he insisted as he looked back at you and you finally realised where you had known him from.

“Halbrand!” You gasped and Celebrimbor furrowed his brows as if you had just done something distasteful. “You were that human king, were you not, Lord Annatar?”

“I was in disguise, yes,” Annatar nodded at you. He didn’t seem to be offended in any way. “It was a test for your husband and he passed it quite easily.”

“Well, I have not,” you admitted, a little ashamed as you remembered all the times when you had treated Halbrand coldly or contemptuously even though he had shown you nothing but respect or kindness – smiling at you, bowing his head, asking you innocent questions to start a conversation.

There was even a time where you had been sure that… he had a crush on you. Now, of course, it seemed to be a funny thought. 

“Mistrust towards humans is understandable. Also, the test was for your husband and not for you, my Lady,” Annatar answered, a little playfully and you sighed out of relief.

“Please. I’m just (Y/N) for a man as noble as you,” you assured him but he shook his head gently.

“I would never dare,” he insisted and it felt oddly nice to hear such words. As if you were a goddess because certainly he was giving you respect worthy of one.

“And what are you working on?” You changed the subject as you approached your husband to wrap your hands around his elbow and look up at him.

“More rings,” Celebrimbor answered and you furrowed your brows.

“More? Gods, what for?” You asked.

“For the Dwarves. Our friends need help, too. Not just the Elves were in trouble. The whole Middle-earth is,” your husband explained and you nodded.

“I know. On my way back from Mirkwood, I had to run from the Orcs a few times on my way. That is concerning how close they are getting to us,” you admitted and Celebrimbor gave you a scolding look.

“You should have not travelled there alone!” He exclaimed.

“I am fine,” you sighed and walked away slightly to approach the table and look at the sketches of the projects. 

Celebrimbor looked at Annatar awkwardly as if he wondered if he should get harsher with you when his friend was around but the protectiveness over you won over him.

“Do not dismiss me like that!” He followed you as he stood behind you. “(Y/N), I have every right to worry and I will not allow you to ever again travel so far on your own!”

“You will not allow me?” You asked him as you raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to snap when Annatar was standing there and observing.

“My friend,” he interrupted you and your husband at this very moment as he put his hand on Celebrimbor’s shoulder. “I am sure that the Lady of Eregion is capable of protecting herself and of making decisions on her own. I understand your worry but that is not a reason to attack her.”

You were a little taken aback by his words because attack was not the right word at all – it seemed rather harsh. However, it worked on your husband as he blushed immediately.

“I’m sorry,” he apologised to you.

“You are forgiven,” you assured him with a smile. After all, he was only worried about you and that was nothing unusual.

You didn’t expect an emissary of the Valar to understand the relationship between a husband and a wife, though. He was a pure creature that would never lower himself to such primal feelings and urges. Therefore, in his eyes romantic love must have been like in the fairytales – nothing but noble and innocent, calm and romantic. The ugly reality of it was ungraspable for him.

“I shall leave you to your work now,” you announced and nodded at Annatar once more, feeling his gaze upon you as your own eyes did not want to stop staring at him.

Eventually, you walked out of the forge and took a deep breath in. Why were you attracted to that man? You didn’t even know him much. You had never been this type of woman who would fall for people easily or right after meeting them. Especially since you had been married. 

And now… A creature so pure was making you feel so dirty.

Celebrimbor had always been the most devoted to his craft but  the amount of neglect he was presenting you with lately was becoming unbearable. He would spend his whole days inside the forge with Lord Annatar and his smiths. In fact, he was barely coming to your chambers and even when he was, it was only to sleep. He would barely exchange a sentence with you.

You did not like being ignored. Like a sunflower would always turn towards the sunlight, you thrived from attention. And yes, of course, the whole Eregion could be all over you since you were their Lady but it would never be the same.

You were sitting in the garden, looking pretty grim while reading a book without any interest in it whatsoever. And that was when Lord Annatar joined you, apparently taking a break from all the work inside the forge. At the sight of him, you looked away with an offended expression.

He still fascinated you but you couldn't help feeling bitter towards him for stealing your husband away from you.

“My Lady,” he started with his usual, gentle voice as he sat on the bench next to you. “I do understand your anger. I am taking all of your husband's attention, aren't I?”

His softness and remorse caused your heart to clench and you turned around to look at his handsome face.

“Anger is a big word, Annatar,” you cracked a smile,” and my husband has always been putting his craft above me,” you admitted.

Because it was true. It had always been like that. Only now you had Annatar to blame.

“That is something I cannot comprehend,” he admitted and you furrowed your brows while reaching out to a delicate necklace on your chest to play with it a little nervously, to release the tension he was causing within you.

“What is?” You asked.

“How could any man lucky enough to be called your husband ever neglect you for anything else. I cannot imagine what could be so important,” he confessed and you felt your cheeks heating up.

“Are you not saving the world, Annatar? That is certainly more important,” you laughed softly.

“Yes, now it is such a case. But has it always been like this? Has your husband's craft always been saving our realm?” He asked and you hummed to yourself before looking away because his green eyes were starting to get a little too intense.

“His craft makes him happy and whatever makes Celebrimbor happy is a delight to me as well,” you whispered. “However, I simply… Miss him,” you admitted.

“What is it that you miss the most about your husband, my Lady?” Annatar asked with a dose of innocence and obliviousness that it didn't make you think of being nosy at all. 

And it felt good to have someone equal to talk to. All those Elves surrounding you were no real companions. You were the Lady of their city, therefore they were nothing but servants. Your husband was busy inside the forge and you were quite lonely. You had no one to share the desires of your heart with and Annatar was a pure being, sent to you to help. You could trust him completely.

“I miss being able to talk to him for hours. To talk to someone who understands me and knows me more than I know myself,” you said. “And I miss his closeness.”

“Closeness?” Annatar furrowed his brow and moved a little closer to you on the bench. He reached his hand out as if he was inviting your hand to squeeze his.

And so you did because it was too tempting to reject him instead.

“Like this?” He asked and closed both of his hands now around yours. You felt his thumbs caressing your skin delicately, sending shivers down your spine.

“Y-yes,” you nodded as you gasped. “A-and…”

“His kisses?” He inquired and you froze for a moment before nodding your head as you already parted your lips slightly.

Something about him was drawing you in. His pure light of Valinor was intoxicating in a way that should be concerning because what being so pure would ever inspire such a sin?

Either way, why would you overthink such matters when his soft lips brushed over yours? He made sure that the kiss was nothing but a brief peck – under any other circumstances it could be interpreted as a platonic sign of affection.

And perhaps it was like that for him. Perhaps it was your dirty mind plagued with sinful thoughts.

From the corner of your eye you spotted your husband standing nearby and you got startled, moving away quickly. Your heart began to pound inside your chest and you expected him to get angry since he was known for getting jealous over you. Annatar, however, remained calm.

And Celebrimbor, surprisingly, seemed to be quite stoic as well.

“My friend,” Annatar greeted him with a wide smile. “I have just been talking about you with your wife.”

“Well, I'm delighted to see you two getting along,” Celebrimbor smiled and his smile was the most genuine, which made you tilt your head. Could he truly be so amazed by Annatar to even toss his jealousy aside?

If so, you felt a bit bad for him, therefore you stood up and approached your husband to kiss his cheek as you grabbed his hand with the both of yours.

“My dear, don't you need some rest? You look rather tired,” you pointed out but he only shook his head with a gentle smile.

“No. We must not take breaks if not necessary,” he insisted and nodded at Annatar.

Annatar stood up as well and joined your husband's side. You let go of Celebrimbor and watched them both walk away but the Lord of Gifts turned around once and looked so deep into your eyes that you felt your knees going weak.

And then they left and you went back to reading your book but this time you could focus on it even less.

Two weeks later Annatar joined you on the top of the watchtower where you sometimes liked to stand and stare at the moon. It was the tallest tower of Eregion and perhaps it was not noble or grand since mostly soldiers resided there but none of that was needed to observe the sky.

You turned around slightly and smiled at him. Under the moonlight he presented himself even more angelic. He stood next to you and put his hand next to yours on the balustrade.

“You seem to be melancholic, my Lady,” he pointed out and you chuckled.

“Has my melancholy drawn you here to me?” You asked.

“Not quite,” he admitted. “My Lady, might I ask how you became Celebrimbor’s wife?” He inquired and you furrowed your brows but you did not mind sharing this story with him.

“King Oropher sent my father to Lindon to represent him during the council. My father took my mother and I with him and we stayed in Eregion on the way to rest mid-journey. I left for Lindon a week later already engaged and a year passed before I came here to share my life with Celerimbor,” you explained and he nodded, visibly interested but you could sense his thirst for knowledge was not yet satisfied. “Do you wish to know more? What made me fall in love with him perhaps?”

“Perhaps,” Annatar nodded, a little playfully. 

“His talent, his stubbornness,” you smiled. “The way he sometimes acts like a Princess,” you chuckled and so did Annatar. “But beneath that all… In the core… Well, he is… Celebrimbor is kind,” you looked deep into Annatar’s eyes as sudden guilt washed over you.

It was true. Your husband was good at heart. Perhaps more than you and you had always admired him for that. And now what were you doing? Spending time alone with a man who you seemed to be attracted to instead of avoiding him.

“My friend is a lucky man,” Annatar hummed to himself with a hint of a sad smile. “You speak of him so beautifully, my Lady.”

“He does not deserve any less,” you admitted.

“Neither do you,” he insisted and glanced up at the moon. “How strange,” he chuckled with a shy smile as he laid his eyes upon you once more. “When this certain moonlight caught your hair, you seemed the most beautiful lady in all Middle-earth,” he whispered and your eyes widened at his confession, which was rather bold. “But you always are, are you not?”

“Annatar, please, that is nearly blasphemy,” you dismissed him although you obviously enjoyed his phrase.

“I have a gift for you,” he confessed and you furrowed your brows. “That is the real reason why I followed you here. I wanted to give it to you without witnesses because I have forged it in secret,” he added, mysteriously, while he put his hand inside the pocket inside of his robes. And then he handed you… a necklace.

It was the most beautiful necklace you had ever seen, though. Something about the details and the way the stone reflected the moonlight was captivating and breathtaking. It was exactly in the style that you enjoyed the most as well. You gasped at the sight.

“It is for you to wear because of our friendship,” Annatar explained as he handed you the necklace for you to take a better look at it. “I am the Lord of Gifts, after all. However, I am aware some people could interpret this gesture in a wrong way. That is why I wanted to give it to you in privacy with only the moon to witness,” he added and you nodded at him, understanding perfectly.

“Thank you… That is so… thoughtful. Especially when you are so busy with matters of such great importance,” you pointed out and handed him the necklace back, which made him furrow his brows. “Would you help me put it on?”

Annatar’s facial expression changed immediately as he smiled widely and nodded before taking the necklace from you. You turned around and gathered your hair to give him access to your exposed neck.

When his slim and delicate fingers brushed the sensitive skin there, you trembled slightly. And you could not help the feeling that his touch was lingering there for much longer than it was needed. However, you did not complain. And when the necklace was already clasped behind your neck, you turned around and his eyes sparkled at the sight of you wearing it. He reached his right hand out to put it over the pendant, which also meant the intimacy of being touched on your chest. He could feel your heartbeat now and you were sure he could sense how fast it was getting.

“I would like you to never take it off, my Lady,” he insisted. “I have forged it in a special way, just for you. It is a charm now; an amulet, and it is supposed to protect you in those dark times.”

Your eyes widened. It was rather surprising to get such a special treatment from him but at the same time your ego was very happy with it.

“You mean the world to my dearest friend. I could never allow anything bad to happen to you because the state of his mind is getting fragile already,” Annatar added and his words caused you to tilt your head.

“State of his mind? What is wrong?” You bit on your lower lip and you noticed Annatar’s eyes staring at your mouth nearly hungrily. When he caught you seeing that, he lowered his gaze and focused his eyesight on your chest – rising up and down with his pendant between your breasts squeezed with a corset underneath your gown.

“That is nothing for you to worry about,” Annatar whispered and moved his hand up to grab you by your chin gently.

“I am his wife. How can you expect me not to–” you began but he interrupted you with a gentle kiss.

It was a peck again and it was delicate. Perhaps it could be interpreted as platonic, too. If one was delusional enough but you were not.

For the sake of your marriage and your friendship with Annatar, you had to be, though.

It made you wonder, though, what his nature truly was like. Should not the messengers of the Valar be pure and free of such urges?

“That was inappropriate,” you commented, taking a deep breath in and looking into his eyes. You already forgot the whole thing about your husband’s state of mind.

Annatar looked confused and hurt by your comment.

“Why, my Lady? Are we not friends? What was inappropriate about a little peck on the lips?” He asked, visibly hurt. It made you feel stupid. What if it had been nothing but an innocent gesture and it was your odd fascination and attraction that had interpreted it in this sinful way?

“I… I am sorry,” you mumbled.

“Sometimes, we see what we want to see. Instead of perceiving the things the way they truly are,” Annatar pointed out and you nodded, ashamed of yourself. “I am quite surprised that a lady as noble as you would ever accuse me of such an act,” he added, making you feel even worse.

“Please, forgive me. I… I might have overreacted but it is not caused by my mistrust towards you. It is simply because of my loyalty towards my husband,” you insisted and Annatar’s face softened a little but when you nodded at him to gather your skirts and walk away, you could see he still looked pretty hurt.

Just like Annatar had asked you to, you were not taking the new necklace off. Your husband never asked about it, though, too focused on his work. Perhaps it was for the better because your mind was getting constantly plagued with thoughts that you wished not to have at all – visions of Annatar. Fantasies, dreams; whatever they were.

He had been occupying your mind ever since you had met him but it had never been so excessive and inappropriate. Each time it was happening, you could feel the beautiful necklace pulsating on your skin but at the same time you could not find the strength within you to take it off. 

It was like an obsession but it was happening against your will. But was it? Was it really?

Despite your awkward behaviour on the watchtower, Annatar had not given up on your friendship. You were spending more time with him than with Celebrimbor these days. He was a good listener and very gentle with you. The way he was staring at you was making you feel like you were the most important creature in all Middle-earth. He seemed to be very protective of you as well, constantly reaching out and initiating the physical touch. And the touch itself was soothing and delicate like everything about him.

But what pained you the most was that his work was of the same kind as your husband’s and yet – Celebrimbor did not make any effort to spend more time with you, meanwhile Annatar was your constant companion.

The constancy of his presence was making you feel embarrassed, though, because how could you laugh with him or look into his soft eyes while you knew very well that a few hours earlier you had woken up all sweaty after dreaming of his kisses and his touch lingering all over your naked body? Yet, it was a sweet torture to endure.

On that evening you did not expect Annatar to come to you because you had spent quite a long time already during the day and you knew that he was busy working inside the forge with your husband. Therefore, you opened the windows slightly, letting the cool breeze in and, alone as usual these days, you sat by the vanity table to brush your hair.

The pendant on the necklace from Annatar pulsated slightly on your naked skin as it sparkled in the moonlight. You touched it gently with your fingertips, already sensing what was coming. Another vision, another fantasy.

You had given up already on fighting them. They were the only nice thing happening to your neglected flesh lately. So, you sighed and put the brush down as you stood up and laid down on the silky and cold sheets of your bed. Your sheer nightgown pulled up to your hips and you dipped your finger between your folds, sighing at how wet you already were.

Your finger gathered the wetness and smeared it all over your bumpy and swollen clit that seemed to pulsate under your touch alongside the pendant stuck to the sweaty skin of your chest.

With your free hand you roamed under the nightgown’s fabric and squeezed your breast before rubbing circles around your perky nipples. Letting out a moan, you bucked your hips up into the cold air as your thumb was pressing the tingly spot between your legs, massaging it gently and causing your sight to get hazy.

And all you could think of was him – Annatar. You remembered how close he had been sitting to you on that day, how he had been leaning in and his hair had been tickling your face as his nose nearly brushed yours. How sweet his breath had felt upon your face and how his big and delicate hands had been holding yours. 

Gods, what would it be like to be his wife instead of your husband’s? He would never neglect you, he would never make you feel unwanted. He would worship you like a goddess, kiss every inch of your body and praise you. And imagining that was what caused you to shiver as goosebumps appeared all over your skin. 

You moved your hand from your breast to put two of your fingers inside your needy hole clenching around nothing; with your sweet juice leaking out of it after all those sinful visions. Fucking yourself with two of your curled fingers, hitting the very same spot your thumb was massaging but from the inside, was enough to make you cum with a cry muffled by the pillow. The intensity but also frustration that it had been nothing but your own touch satisfying your needs caused a few tears to stream down your cheeks.

As you laid there, trying to compose yourself and catch your breath, you heard someone knocking upon the door. You froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. However, pretending to not be inside was foolish because where else would you be at that time?

So, you stood up quickly and allowed the nightgown to fall down as you quickly fixed your hair in the mirror and walked up to the doors to open them.

At the sight of Annatar himself, you gasped and felt your cheeks heating up.

“A-Annatar… What are you doing here at this hour?” You asked, your voice trembling slightly and your chest still rising up and down fast.

“Thank Gods you are safe, my Lady,” he sighed out of relief and you furrowed your brows. “Forgive me, I had some odd sort of feeling that you were in danger. That you needed me to help you,” he explained and you only looked away at those words.

“I… I am fine,” you assured him but your voice trembled.

“Are you sure? My Lady, you seem to be feverish,” he pointed out and put the palm of his hand on your forehead. “You are burning hot,” he added and you laid your eyes upon him again.

“It is not caused by illness. Please, I am fine,” you said but he was already inside your chambers and closing the doors behind him with his foot. “Annatar, what are you doing? We should not be alone in here,” you pointed out but his eyes sparkled.

“Something tells me that you need my assistance, after all. Please, let me fix whatever is bothering you. I was sent to Eregion to help,” he insisted and you chuckled at that. He had no idea of how dirty your desires could be.

Or… did he?

He lowered his hand and pulled the sheer fabric of your nightgown up slightly to be able to touch you between your legs. When you felt his slim and cold finger brushing your still wet cunt, you gasped and moaned uncontrollably. He laughed softly at that.

“You have been pleasuring yourself, my Lady,” he pointed out. “Are you that neglected by my friend?” He asked.

“You… You have no idea,” you whispered and rutted your hips forward nearly instinctively, like an animal driven by primal urges – you had no shame and practically humped his hand while writhing slightly. You had to put your hands on his shoulders to be steady. 

“I think I do,” Annatar whispered softly and leaned in so his face was closer to yours. He curled two of his fingers and you whined when you felt them on your swollen clit, still sensitive after your first orgasm. “Please, relax, my Lady. Let me ease you, let me help…” He breathed out and you nodded while wincing out of pleasure when his fingers caught your bumpy clit between them and squeezed gently, causing you to shiver and let out a cry. “So responsive, so sensitive…” He hummed and rolled your clit between his fingers. “Gods, what beauty you are when you are writhing out of desire and pleasure. If I was your husband, I would only want to defile you over and over.”

His words were dirty and they should concern you deeply but they were only making you lose your mind even further instead. You were stripped of all of your shame now as you dug your fingers into his shoulders and bucked your hips up and down, riding his hand and moaning like a bitch in heat. Release was all that you cared about and you had a feeling already deep in your tummy that this orgasm would wash over you with intensity that you had not known in ages.

“Please…” You whimpered.

“I am not denying you, my Lady,” Annatar smiled teasingly and put more pressure onto your clit as you hissed. “You have to work for it yourself.”

“I… I need you to…” You squeezed your eyes shut but still tried to let out a coherent sentence out of your parted lips. “I need you to tell me when. Command me,” you pleaded.

Something about him was turning you into a completely submissive whore and it was a sensation brand new but also incredibly pleasurable because nothing felt better than to just submit and follow orders. Your head was empty while all that mattered was your next orgasm and Annatar’s overlooming presence.

Dark presence, you noticed that now but you did not care anymore, humping his hand like there was no tomorrow.

He seemed to like your words as he smirked. But instead of gifting you with what you were craving the most, he retreated his hand and watched your whines with satisfaction. You were dizzy and trembling, still bucking your hips into nothing as you felt your juices leaking out of your needy and greedy cunt.

“Sit down,” Annatar ordered, his voice harsher than usual and his eyes turning darker.

You obeyed him instantly, pulling your nightgown all the way up before you sat up on your bed with a big and fluffy pillow behind your back. Opening your wet and trembling legs for him, greedily requesting for his assistance felt as if you were a goddess that was about to be worshipped on an altar.

Annatar practically growled when he joined you on the bed and lowered himself to breathe in your sweet scent. You felt his breath on your hot cunt and whined at that soft stimulation as your clit twitched needily.

“This is torture…” You whined and threw your head back.

“Not nearly as much as it was a torture for me to watch you all that time and knowing you could never be mine,” Annatar confessed as he placed a few soft kisses upon your trembling thighs. “You have no idea how often I dreamt of this. Ever since I came here in my lower form that has disgusted you so much…” He teased as if he knew that at this moment your desire was too big to be picky. You would even let that commoner Halbrand between your legs to devour you. This thought alone was enough to make you whimper and buck your hips up impatiently. “Shh… Shh…” Annatar shushed you before finally licking a wet, fat stripe up your cunt, causing you to shiver and squeeze your eyes shut even tighter.

He grabbed you by your thighs and forced them open as much as he could, exposing all of your pulsating and swollen clit. However, he ignored it for now and allowed the tip of his tongue to dip in between your folds and gather your wetness with it while teasing your clenching hole. You laid your hands on top of his and squeezed his wrists out of pleasure and frustration.

And then he finally moved his tongue up and teased your clit from underneath, causing you to cuss as a shiver went down your body straight to your toes. He teased that sensitive spot a few times before placing a gentle kiss on the top of your clit and eventually sucking on it greedily, making you see nothing but hot white.

You were lost in pleasure and in all the sensations of your flesh. In fact, you had no idea where you were and what your name was. You only cared to be with Annatar and to be pleasured by him. If you had been born to be nothing but his whore, you would be happy with that for sure.

Whining and trembling with your head thrown back and eyes squeezed shut, you could not hear your husband approaching and you certainly could not see him opening the doors slightly and freezing at the sight of Annatar pleasuring his wife with his mouth as she writhed like a common whore.

Celebrimbor stood there, petrified, not knowing what to do. The still-sane part of him was furious but some part of him was fascinated and even… honoured. Not knowing what to do, he just stood there and watched. And that was when Annatar looked up from between his wife’s legs and stared deep into Celebrimbor’s eyes while licking a fat stripe as his eyes sparkled mischievously.

You were close, so close, but he knew exactly what to do to keep you on the edge. Whenever he sucked you neary dry and felt your muscles tensing, he would let go of your clit and go back to teasing your folds slightly. But then, he decided it was time to finally give you your release as he entered two of his curled fingers deep into your cunt. Your walls clenched around them, trying to suck them in and he began to fuck you with them as quickly as he could, watching in awe how your juices were coating his hand and the most depraved sound filled your chambers.

While his two fingers fucked you mercilessly, he put his thumb over your sensitive clit and pressed on it, making you moan.

“Now,” he ordered you harshly but you could not know that he was looking into your husband’s eyes while doing so. “Ease yourself, my Lady,” he cooed to you. “Let yourself go,” he added and at that command you fell apart around his fingers while trembling and gasping for air, twisting your limbs out of pleasure. The intensity of this orgasm was so big that you kept shaking and bucking your hips up even when it was long gone.

Annatar leaned in to place one last kiss upon your swollen clit as he looked up to meet Celebrimbor’s eyes once more.

“Now, rest, my Lady, you deserve it,” he whispered and put the blanket over you before moving up to be on your level. You opened your hazy eyes to see his face and he smiled gently while caressing your hot cheek. “What a delight you are to me. Come to me next time you feel the itch, I would never neglect your desires.”

You were too tired to answer that, so you simply smiled and closed your eyes, falling asleep nearly right after that.

At the sight of you asleep, Annatar fixed his hair nonchalantly and walked out of your chambers, walking by Celebrimbor who was staring at him with widened eyes.

“What seems to be the problem, my friend?” Annatar asked him, gently, as if nothing had just happened.

“I… I don’t know what to think of that,” Celebrimbor confessed.

“You neglect her for the forge and I keep her happy for you. You can focus on your lifetime’s work and your legacy while your wife remains satisfied. Is that not perfect?” Annatar asked him as if he was accusing his friend of being ungrateful.

“Yes, but…”

“Do you doubt me, my friend?” Annatar asked him, quite harshly.

“N-no… Never,” Celebrimbor shook his head. “And it is an honour, I admit… My wife being graced with your touch… I–”

“Do not worry then,” Annatar patted his shoulder. “Focus on our craft instead and allow me to take care of the rest,” he added before walking away and leaving Celebrimbor alone with his thoughts, which were nothing but a mess.

And with his wife sleeping like a baby in their bed, with her thighs still sticky from her juices mixed with the Dark Lord’s saliva and a necklace corrupted with his thick, black blood around her neck.

Sauron smirked to himself. Oh, how he loved to fuck with their minds. Nearly as much as he loved to fuck her, he thought, as he licked his lips to be able to taste her again. How sweet.

It would nearly be a shame to get rid of her later, when the right time would come.

MASTERLIST

[gayleviticus]

thinking about the concept of Jesus as the 'image of the invisible God' and how that relates to the concept of capital G God versus just god.

classical theism holds that God is not actually a god, in the sense that polytheistic gods are. they are fundamentally different categories; God is the Ground of All Being from which everything in existence proceeds, whereas gods are very powerful created entities, or perhaps manifestations of specific parts of the natural world (e.g. the sun). God is the author of the story and gods are superheroes. God is the very concept of Goodness and Power and gods are just entities that happen to be good or powerful to some degree.

now in fairness, these don't need to be conflicting; God especially in the OT as people develop an understanding of God, is often presented more akin to a god than the philosophical ground of being, and there were pagan monotheists who used Zeus as a name for the Unmoved Mover of everything.

So it's an important concept in Christian theology that we can't ultimately wrap our head around God and constrain him in human language. he is not just good, he isn't even Goodness Itself, but he is Something that is so perfect and beyond us that Goodness is just one of the many words we try to use to capture what that is.

so even when we use anthropomorphic language to understand God (as Father, King, Saviour, Creator etc) it is still only analogical or metaphorical. it is translating someone who doesn't exist in a way words can describe into roughly analogous words. and if our human language already is a construct trying to interpret the vast world we experience, how much moreso trying to interpret God?

and so I guess what it means for Jesus to be the Image of the invisible God is he interprets God in a way that makes sense in human terms. God is not a person (in a human sense) intrinsically, but he became one to bridge that gap. The Word of God translates who God is for us in human terms.

and so perhaps we could even say the Incarnation helps us better understand God not just by presenting God as a human, but as a lower case g god. Christ is the Ground of All Being and also the Strongest Enity In The Created Universe (aka a god).

This is not to promote Arian ideas of Jesus as a second mini god or be non Trinitarian or anything. but just that if we consider that as much as he became a human God the Son also became a 'god' translating the unknowable and unspeakable attributes of the eternal God into the language of creation, perhaps it can shed some light on the meaning of the Trinity and Incarnation

whereas I think often, if we just think of the Father as basically as anthropomorphic as Jesus, we might question why the Son even exists. 'Just show us the Father!' we might ask of him.

But Jesus says 'If you have seen me, you have seen my Father.' - not because he's a cosmic gatekeeper or because the Father is too good for us but because the Father exists in a way that is not very easy for us to understand. So Christ, the Word of God, translates and communicates the Father in human idiom.

The disciples can ask all they want to be shown the Father directly, but it's like asking for the original book in a language you don't understand versus a translation in the language you do. and unlike a human translation, Jesus is a perfect translation of the Father.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

If it is exposed that surrogates were used - still not convinced either way- how do you think M and H will spin this? Also, the BRF? Maybe for both parties if there were surrogates, it best the secret be kept because the level of outrage from the public would be beyond insane. However, I think whoever breaks the news first, does have a better chance of controlling narrative.

It's not going to make sense, but Harry and Meghan will say they had no choice, the big bad BRF made her because of antiquated "heir and spare" rules and maybe throw the race card in for good measure ("we had to have our own children because Harry's family needed the optics even though we told them we were happy to adopt instead"). If they're still together, that is.

If they're divorced, then Harry and Meghan will blame each other. Harry will say he had no idea because Meghan never talked to him or let him accompany her to her doctor appointments (which would validate some tea from their Australia trip). (This would also contradict the stories in Spare but that's a separate issue.) Meghan will say Harry forced her to lie because he was so desperate to be a father and she was too scared of his anger/temper to say no.

The BRF will claim that they had no idea because Harry and Meghan did everything themselves. There's enough evidence that they have plausible deniability - admissions in Spare of not communicating updates, the second pregnancy happening in the US, The Queen's doctors not signing the birth announcement.

Where the BRF gets into trouble is over how complicit they are. If Harry and Meghan have hard, solid proof showing that the BRF was fully aware - like emails or letters from Charles or Jason Knauf or Edward Young specifically discussing it - then Charles's goose is cooked. There's a lot of speculation that this is the case: someone at Buckingham Palace and/or Clarence House knows there was a surrogacy, and if this is the case, then it's mutually-assured destruction so it's in everyone's favor to keep it a secret: the Sussexes have their children in the line of succession and they get to use titles for the children and Charles doesn't get crucified by the public for tampering with the line of succession.

(William might see some blowback but ultimately he's safe from any fallout because he acted pretty quickly to get the Sussexes away from Kensington Palace and his staff. That it was announced in October/November 2018 the Sussexes were going out on their own means William was working on it since before the wedding, most likely.)

As for who announces, I don't think it's a case of "he who announces first controls the narrative." For me, it's a case of "he who holds the names controls the narrative." In other words, the "team" who has the proof naming someone who knows about the surrogate(s) and publishes it is the one who controls the narrative.

So if Meghan and Harry have proof naming someone in the BRF as having knowledge of any surrogate(s), then they control the narrative. But if they don't, then it's in the BRF's favor because the BRF doesn't have anything to lose. They have enough plausible deniability (plus Meghan and Harry being known liars) to keep the hot seat exclusively on the Sussexes. And I think that's where we are - if there are palace names named, they aren't senior enough and can easily be thrown under the bus but revealing surrogacy hurts Harry and that's why the BRF is keeping the secret.

I suspect that under King Charles, the BRF will keep the secret as long as Harry remains married to Meghan and/or as long as they maintain this detente in Sussex-BRF relations. If the Sussexes launch new attacks on the BRF (to include further Nigeria-like problems where they acted as royals without authorization) or if Harry leaves Meghan, then I can see the BRF nuclearizing them/her once and for all by revealing surrogate(s). (I feel like King William wouldn't hide it, but he also wouldn't reveal it either.)

On the flip side, I see Meghan keeping the secret as long as it remains more profitable for her to do so. So she will keep it until it's more advantageous to talk about it post-divorce in a memoir or revenge tour. And I suspect Meghan may try to use this for leverage in a divorce settlement to get more money.

All allegedly, of course. After all, surrogacy is only just a rumor.

[discordiansamba]

some more assorted thoughts about the earth prince zuko au:

his time with the avatar's group is dai's first time traveling the earth kingdom proper. it's eye opening in some ways. he's always known about the war, but it's one thing to see for himself how bad it's gotten in places.

it's relatively common knowledge in the earth kingdom that prince dai's mother was a mistress of the previous earth king. knowledge that she was fire nation is much less common, so the gold-eyed prince always catches people off guard.

inevitably, there are actually a couple of dai li agents who treat dai with genuine affection. they've become quite fond of the fake earth prince but most also agree that they've done him a favor by taking him away from the fire nation.

while in the foggy bottom swamp, dai sees a curious vision of a young boy in fire nation clothing...

hi gow. hope you like being kicked out of the earth kingdom army because dai absolutely has the authority to see that happen. you clearly don't even give a damn about fighting the fire nation, you're just using your authority to be a glorified bully.

dai promises gansu and sela that he'll have a request put in to look for their son, but that he can't really promise anything beyond that.

dai includes in his reports about general iroh's apparent change of heart towards the war and the fire nation. long feng files this information away.

i think dai should be able to use lightning. as a treat. iroh's the one who ends up teaching him while he's recovering from their fight with azula, because fate still brings the three of them together. most of dai's firebending knowledge has come from scrolls in the dai li's archives. he's never been taught by an actual teacher before.

he should be wary of general iroh. he's not only fire nation royalty, but he also laid siege on the city in which dai was born. but there's something... familiar about him in a way that he can't put his finger on.

(he does not tell long feng about getting firebending instruction from iroh.)

when the gaang learns that dai has been working for the dai li the entire time, and that he's been reporting back to long feng about them and their activities the entire time, it hurts. they've really come to think of him as a friend, and they think dai thinks of them that way too. that's the worst part actually. how can he think of them that way and still go behind their back like that?

long feng conceals the fact that the dai li have appa in their possession from dai. it's obvious he's been getting a little too close to the avatar and his friends, and that might cloud his judgment. perhaps it is time to keep the young prince at home again.

when forced to make a choice between his friends and the dai li, dai will ultimately choose his friends. this means backing their story about long feng concealing the war from kuei- and his own role in that.

in the aftermath, kuei and dai make a tentative peace between each other- as do dai and the rest of the gaang. they're still a little angry with him, but after hearing his backstory, they understand a little better why he had such a deep connection to the dai li in the first place.

(they don't know it's all lies.)

dai accompanies sokka to chameleon bay on behalf of his half-brother. he's not there when azula arrives, disguised as a kyoshi warrior, or when she plots with the dai li and long feng.

(in the end, it's one of the dai li that view dai with genuine affection that warns the group of azula's coup.)

kuei: now that the earth kingdom has fallen, i have decided to live as one of my people and see my kingdom with my own eyes.

dai: ...that's a terrible idea. why are we letting him do this?

[aaronsrpgs]

"Ancient World Fantasy" Reading List

(A little context to start. If you just want book recs, scroll on down to the first image.)

As I’ve been getting into RuneQuest (Wikipedia link), one striking component of the culture and community surrounding the game is that they’re very into the lore of its fictional world, Glorantha. I’m saying this as a comparison to a game like D&D, where the game is spread across tons of settings with no real sense of obligation to keep things in line with earlier editions.

Glorantha’s canon and worldbuilding has been going on since it was published in 1978 without, as far as I can tell, any big reboots. Which means that, unlike D&D, where people are bringing in all kinds of influences and doing direct adaptions of Jane Austen books and whatever, the RuneQuest game remains pretty tightly tied to the original setting. (There have been some exceptions. But not many!)

But since I run games for people who have ADHD or aren’t interested in studying up, I’ve been looking at all kinds of inspiration to drop into the game. Here are 20 novels that are roughly “ancient world” or “Bronze Age” like RuneQuest and deal with people interacting with strange gods, tight communities, and a world without fast overland travel or transferal of information.

I’m presenting them alphabetically by author’s last name.

The Brazen Gambit, Cinnabar Shadows, The Rise and Fall of a Dragon King by Lynn Abbey

I'm sorry for starting this post off with licensed RPG novels, but these are good! And I don't mean "good for licensed RPG novels." I've read tons of them, and most are so bad! But these are actually fun. Good character development in a sword-and-sorcery world. It's also an ecological apocalypse world, with godlike beings oppressing common folks, leading to a lack of technological advancement and knowledge of the past.

The Long Ships by Frans G. Bentsson

Written in the 1940s as a series of novellas, these stories take you on a tour of the Viking-era world, from Europe to the Middle East and beyond. Like a bunch of books on this list, this places them post-Bronze Age, so they're not officially "ancient world." But it gives a big spread of cultures, from the more clan-based Vikings to the bustling metropolises of Turkey. And it doesn't place any of them on any kind of linear advancement scale or whatever other gross way people "rate" cultures.

Tales of Nevèrÿon and Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany

The master of weird sci-fi and gay historical novels, Chip Delany also wrote a fantasy epic. And it rules! Set on pre-historical(ish) Earth, these books describe the stories that maybe inform the myths we tell today? Dragons and slave revolts! A sort of "What if Game of Thrones was good?" series. Lots of good stuff about how people learn and how understanding expands.

I'm not listing the third book only because it's also a historical look at New York during the AIDS epidemic. It's an amazing book! But it strays from the "ancient world" aesthetic.

Baudolino by Umberto Eco

Another novel expressly set after the Bronze Age (this one starts in the 12th century). BUT it's about Medieval people's interaction with the knowledge they inherited from the past, specifically the myth of Prester John and the works of Herodotus.

I think I keep putting books like this on the list because roleplaying in a fantastical ancient world is not too far off from how Medieval people might have worshipped and referenced works from ancient Rome and non-European places.

Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James

One of our best living writers! These are fantasy novels expressly set in a fantastical version of ancient/Medieval Africa. The books explore the same events from multiple points of view and are full of cool magic, awesome spirit combat, and a vast number of places and cultures that actively deconstructs most games's portrayal of fantasy Africa as a homogeneous place.

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth

I think Kingsnorth has been outted as a sort of eco-fascist? I totally believe it, so feel free to skip this one. It's a historical novel set in England in 1066, as the Normans invade from France. It's written in a faux Middle English language and focuses on the lower classes and how they try to resist the invasion. A good reminder that "Medieval culture" (and especially the Renaissance as a time that "culture advanced") is often based on certain classes of society, such as rich people and/or men.

Iceland's Bell by Halldór Laxness

Speaking of how class intersects with technological advancement, this book is set in the 18th century, but it focuses on Iceland at a time when it was ruled by Denmark, and the lower classes there were under an enforced poverty. It's a book about how a rich Icelander was trying to recover the stories of his people in order to create a sense of national identity and resistance. But it's also a story about how a destitute man acts like a total weirdo when he's not allowed to fish in his own waters and is cut off from understanding his place in history.

The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie

A big part of RuneQuest is people interacting with and enacting their gods. That's what this book is about! And it's about the strange vertigo that comes to people when they try to interact with the impossible timelines that gods exist on. Very good stuff.

Night's Master and Death's Master by Tanith Lee

Ostensibly set on Earth back when it was flat and demons roamed the world, which is basically RuneQuest. Sort of like a series of hornier, gay bibles? With lots of gender fuckery, fun sex, and cool monsters.

Circe by Madeline Miller

The story of the witch from The Odyssey, told from her point of view. Beautiful prose, tragic and beautiful characters, and a great share of mythical strangeness. Perfect if you want to learn how to run NPCs that are adversaries without being shallowly evil.

Ronia, the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgren

Semi-Medieval again, but low class and vague enough that it could exist throughout ancient history. The daughter of a robber grows up in a tower full of robbers and generally has a wonderful time. Lots of weird monsters live in the woods, and there's a great starcrossed romance with someone from a rival robber gang. Perfect inspiration if you're running some cattle-raiding runs in RuneQuest; this is how to make robbers fun and sympathetic.

Read the book, watch the 1984 Swedish movie (which includes a great comedic scene of full-frontal dudity), and then watch the Studio Ghibli series.

A Stranger in Olondria and The Winged Histories by Sofia Samatar

Set in a world of pepper farmers and religious fanatics who worship a mysterious inscribed stone, these books do a great job of showing how people might interact with religion, rival cults, and mystery rites. It also portrays literacy and learning to read in places where it's gated behind social gatekeeping. And once again, the prose is beautiful.

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

The first African novel published in English outside of Africa, The Palm-Wine Drinkard is a funny, hallucinogenic story about getting drunk, stumbling through weird landscapes, and encountering fantastical spirits and people.

Tutuola also wrote My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, the inspiration for the famous(?) David Byrne/Brian Eno album. I haven't read it yet, but I'm keeping an eye out!

The Green Pearl by Jack Vance

This is a sequel to Lyonesse, which I haven't read because I love staring in the middle of things. Set around a mythical British Isles when Atlantis was still above the sea and part of the group of islands. Some great wizard shit, warring clans, romance, and a wizard whose name is fucking Shimrod (in case you need more convincing).

Those are my 20 novel recommendations! I'm gonna come back to add some nonfiction, comics, and myth resources for running games in fantastical ancient worlds. You can read SpeedRune, my ancient fantasy game, here.

[lepurcinus]

I'm going to find it highly insulting that in most (if not all) Watership Down adaptations they leave out the rabbit folklore part so much. They always adapt one or two stories and the others never appear or are told in a super abbreviated almost lost form.

I don't know about you, but I think that was one of the things that got me hooked on WD the most when I first read it. To me it was so amazing and clever the idea of creating an animal version of our myths based on their perception of the world, it was like a way to get me into a more into a mindset so different from my own.

Not only that, they detract from THEIR IMPORTANCE. The stories are meant to function as a "middle ground" a moment of relaxation and fun where the angst of the moment is set aside, not only for the author but for the rabbits themselves, as a connection. But beyond being a simple relaxation, the stories HAVE A WEIGHT on our characters. The story of El-ahrairah's blessing and the story of the black rabbit gave our protagonists the strength and will to go on and be like El-ahrairah, the story of the lettuce reminded us of the importance of cunning and trickery as part of the rabbit's life, the story of the trial gave weight to the role of Kehaar and the mouse, the story of Rowsby Woof gave Fiver the vision of the dog, even the half-told story of the fox in the water was important to make the female rabbits feel good during the siege of Efrafa.

Seriously, one of the things I loved most about WD was that whole role of culture and myth (something I personally have always been fascinated by) seen even in non-human animals. It's so sad how little weight people give them, they really deserve to someday be represented in all their glory.

In the movie we only had the animation of the prologue (simply beautiful that yes, of my favorite animated sequences of all) and a half-worked idea of the King's Lettuce ("cut the tone" my eggs, Rosen).

The '99 series was the only one that more or less gave them more weight even adding one or two new ones. It's appreciated, but I still felt them very empty and the black rabbit one was never realized (despite there being plans for a chapter dedicated to that, heck).

Of course the miniseries doesn't differ that much from the movie, just the prologue part. But at least it was kind of nice to have at least parts of other stories told occasionally (I would have loved to hear that version of the black rabbit story in full).

(I would even go so far as to say that other WD inspired xf stories have failed to reach this "height" either. Either because those stories are always left very briefly aside or the story is so fanciful that they just don't matter/impact in the same way).

[oleworm]

🔥 aegon ii

I'm going to talk about the show version only because I tried to read Fire and Blood and I didn't much care for it. I'm going to speculate that George published it because of pressure to get the last two ASOIAF books out and that's why it reads like the notes you write before the actual story. Moving on.

Surprisingly I have a lot to say about Aegon II, especially comparing what he actually does and how it is presented by the narrative vs. what Rhaenyra does and how it is presented by the narrative. I am aware that TGC was fighting to develop Aegon's character beyond being a rapist and a drunkard, so that already shows a bias by the writers. I don't know if you agree, but when I watched the series I thought that the audience is meant to find him foolish and ineffectual. He supports measures that alleviate the burden on the smallfolk and that's seen as bad--we can't do that, Aegon, we've got a war going on, they're going to have to get used to austerity. Let's ignore that, geographically, the blockade doesn't make sense because they should be able to bring in supplies by land, ha. OK! Maybe he doesn't have all the logistical details, but the principle was correct, if he is to govern these people he is also responsible for them--only, this is considered to be too naïve of a view. But I don't know, it could be giving the writers too much credit to assume they were trying to make a contrast between the ideal of a king, that is, the fiction that is sold to the people so that they accept his authority, vs. what a king actually does, which is funnel state resources to cement his political power and that of his kin-group.

Then he goes out on his dragon and gets burned to a crisp--we're supposed to think that he's emotional and stupid, but he sets Sunfyre on Meleys when he sees that she's burning the soldiers and no one on their side is doing anything about it. If anything, Criston and Aemond's plan was to let Rhaenys think it would be easy, let her kill a bunch of people before they bring out Vhagar. It was an impulsive decision to come in the first place, but it cannot be denied that he risks his own life in trying to protect them. It was significant to me that when Sunfyre was wounded it flapped its wings as to not to crush the soldiers that were running away in fear, and later Vhagar tramples them to death like they're nothing, the same way that Daemon and Caraxes did in earlier episodes.

I don't know what the show is trying to say in writing them the way they do. It is very inconsistent. Here you have Aegon, who threw in his lot with his people and exposed himself to many of the same dangers, even if it wasn't the most effective way, but that is supposed to be a bad thing because he is a ridiculous person? And you have Rhaenyra, who is queen because she said so, who starves her people and sends weapons of war while sitting comfortably in Dragonstone. In real life it would not be like that, we have different laws, but in their world outside of Dorne there is no precedent for a daughter passing over a legitimate son. It's like, in-universe Rhaenyra has the odds stacked against her for being a woman, but in real life we are supposed to root for her for that very same reason, and it has very little to do with either of their actions.

I read your reply to my ask and I agree that they should have kept that part about him abusing women that have no recourse, it adds complexity to his character that a lot of people don't like!

[noahsbookhoard]

📚November 2024 Book Review📚

November was a bit less busy that October and varies from jawdropping to very meh.

Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone (Ernest Cunningham #1) by Benjamin Stevenson

That one is definitely in the jawdropping category. A great murder mystery in which you have all the keys and the author is right there telling you to "go ahead and solve it". I didn't. I had fun anyway. Just as darkly funny as the title announces.

Wintersmith (Discworld #34) by Terry Pratchett

I think sofar it is my favorite Tifanny Aching story: she is growing up and that shows, she is more responsible, she owns up to what she does wrong, she is still whip smart and I never get tired of the Nac Mac Feegle.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This count as a novel read since I completed Dracula Daily like everyone on nov 8. The audio drama version by Bloody FM production is so good and a great plus because some of Van Helsing lecture at John are really just too long.

Une belle vie by Virginie Grimaldi

I don't know why but I ended up reading 3 Grimaldi in as many months, maybe because they are rather easy to read, funny and generally have a hopeful vives even when dealing with heavy themes. This one is the story of two estranged sister who reconnect by coming for one last vacation in their grand mother house before they sell it. They rebuilt their relationship and draw back childhood memories, some good and some bad. The part where I got confused is that the author tries to tackle a lot of subjects (bipolarity, depression, domestic violence and cancer are the ones I remember but there are many) instead of just one are two. It was a lot to handle at times but a good read nonetheless.

The Restaurang at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #2) by Douglas Adams

Book 2 is just as crazy as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but I found it a little more coherent, as in I knew approximately where we were going (a restaurant) and the convoluted adventure that leads to and from it made more sense to me than in book 1. I'm really excited for the rest of the series.

L'amant by Marguerite Duras

I admit, I don't see the appeal. The writing is good but not incredibly so. The story itself is rambling, I guess it was intentional but it makes it harder to follow. The relationship between the author as a girl and her lover at least 10 years older is very disturbing when judge by modern standards and I was a little put off by the casual way she talks about her brother's death. I must have missed the literary qualities here but I might try another of her novel later on.

La Dame du manoir de Wildfell Hall (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) by Anne Brontë

I felt so much fucking rage reading this novel! It has some of the most heinous male characters I have ever read and even the main love interest has a hell of a journey to stop being an entitled jealous violent piece of shit. That said it is very well written otherwise I would have either given up or thrown the whole thing through the window. Helen, the main character is strong minded and brave, I loved her from the start and grew even warmer. I strongly recommend it.

Tw for domestic abuse and alcoholism.

The Sword Catcher (Chronicles of Castelane #1) by Cassandra Clare

This was an indulgence: I said I wanted to read less traditional medieval heroic fantasy and it falls right into it. It is good tho! I liked the concept of the Sword Catcher and the Ragpicker King amd especially how the two characters interact. I really hope the relationship between Connor and Kel is explored more too in the future books because the homoerotic subtext deserve to be more text than that!

Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean #2) T J Klune

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea so I was excited for the sequel, but a little weary too. I was afraid not to find what made book 1 so dear to me. But there it was! The kids and their shenanigans, Arthur and Linus being their lovey dovey selves, Zoey and Helen are all the village had kept its newly opened mind from the end of book 1 and that was very comforting. The story is hard, the hate and fear they face hits a little too close. But they overcome it and everything ends well which is just what I wanted to read.

The kids calling Arthur and Linus Dad and Papa was extremely cute. I really loved David and how he bonded with Lucy. Not a comfort book as much as the first one but I had a great time reading it

My Roommate is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

I stumbled upon this one because I watched this video of a person who read all the Rylo fanfic turned novels out of morbid curiosity and this one seemed intriguing enough for me to try, open mind and all that. I was promised some whimsy, a shopping montage and a heist.

Well there's comedy (an kumquats for some reason) The shopping montage wasn't much of a montage, they just went and tried t-shirts on. But the end was just stupid: female lead went ahead with a plan she deems stupid and unlikely to work, us reader with even the tiniest bit of social media experience know that the plan is stupid and can't possibly work. And it works. Just genuinely first degree work. When you go with that in a comedy setting at least make your stupid plan work in a funny way, WWDITS style! Some bits are tedious, I understand your 400 year old don't know how to use Instagram but I do and I don't need a full chapter of tutorial (same chapter as my newest fight with my nemesis, the possessiveness trope, you don't get to storm off and brood just cause she posted bikini pics dude!)

Overall it was quite fun if you don't think to much about it.

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

I listen to the audio book and the accents were *chef kiss*: it is a novella with slavic folklore creatures in an modern setting and I wasn't expecting to love it so much!! It's a story about monsters and family and duty. Angsty, a bit gay, the characters relationship work very well. It will be a reread in the future.Greatest of news for me today! I discovered by googling the spelling of characters names that a second book is coming this year!

[irontragedyreview]

Ok, so I read the chapter with the official translation because if I'm going to say that Horikoshi is mediocre writer, that this arc was completely rushed and a shit show in general I'm going to use the official translations. It should be noted that honestly nothing can fix this chapter so meh, the relevant points would be

AFO loves Yoichi, some criticism focused on Afo saying this didn't make sense but  from the beginning of the arc we see AFO declaring that he loves his brother, since we know the story of OFA/AFO we know that he wantsYoichi by his side, but even beyond his methods of locking him up and wanting to break his will, the truth is that he wants Yoichi's decision to be by his side to be of his own free will. Even though he’s willing to break Yoichi, he didn’t want him to be by his side through some quirk manipulating his will, because that could have been an option, what he wanted when Yoichi was alive is for him to finally stand by his side.On the other hand, AFO's love isn’t healthy, it’s twisted and toxic because he considers Yoichi his, his first gift, the first object he had, so yeah, AFO loves his brother but no one is saying that this love is good or healthy.

Some people interpret that Kurogiri is dead, I'm honestly not interested in his character and the truth is I'm not very clear about what happened, I suppose it will be something that It will name above in the following chapters.

Midoriya showing empathy or compression for AFO? I've seen some comments saying that Midoriya's words are an attempt to show empathy towards AFO. Personally I think it’s completely wrong, if anything Izuku is telling him how small and pathetic he is, pointing out that he isn’t a demon king, he isn’t an incomprehensible monster, just a lonely man. There is no understanding or empathy but rather it’s establishing that he isn’t the terrible threat that AFO wants to think he represents but that he is ultimately a pathetic and lonely being.

AFO wanting to transmit his quirk to live in another body as a parasite, he says that Midoriya or anyone would do, this isn’t really true because although we know that a person can withstand a certain amount of quirks at some point it will fry their brain, Nagant handled her quirk well and one more, Spinner from what we saw became more irrational due to the quirk he received from AFO since his system was overloaded. So far the only one who has endured more than one quirk is Midoriya, although we can assume that he wanted to pass his quirk to another body and then if that body failed he could always look for another one.

bakugou is there, again nothing about horikoshi surprises me anymore.

Izuku and Tomura's talk, if those pathetic panels can be called that. Midoriya impassive, the only difference I find in the unofficial translations Izuku directly said he couldn’t forgive him, in the official one it isn’t so much the word forgiveness and more like he couldn't stand there just watching what he was doing. I use the official translations because 1) I don't know Japanese; 2) People usually argue that to discuss the points of story one should take the official translations. Since I don't know Japanese and the fandom is picky, I'll use these. Obviously it can be interpreted as that he can’t forgive what he did or forget it but well the truth is that I honestly don't think anything improves the talk. Tomura asking Midoriya to pass the message and telling him to tell Spinner that his convictions never changed, which it’s true I guess, although he also accepts that he couldn't destroy anything and that it may be that in the end he is that crying child that Izuku said, this line is interesting and something that a good author would surely seek to expand on, but considering that we’re talking about Horikoshi, we can leave it to the conclusion that hopefully the topic will be touched upon again or that nothing will ever be said.

Having said all the above, I imagine that there are only a few chapters left that make up a very long epilogue. At this point I doubt that Horikoshi will make a plot twist by reviving AFO a fourth time, I honestly hope not, some are talking about Tomura appearing in the form of Tenko? which at this point wouldn't fix anything either because you screwed up any chance of the save idea when you kept Izuku's plot going without a single introspective thought and ended it with him killing AFO in Tomura's body. The explanation would have to be very good to fix the shit show that was the chapter.

Some also say that Tomura isn’t dead, this is mostly because Horikoshi has used the resource of death and revived so many times that many no longer believe that he’s capable of killing a character, but I don't believe it if he’s saying goodbye, I doubt that miraculously appears alive. I would say that the chapters to come can’t be worse than this one but I fear that Horikoshi will take it as a personal challenge and do it.

[lemonduckisnowawake]

Rating (the translated, not actually OG) titles of manhwa/manga because I was bored

Monstrous Duke's Adopted Daughter/The Monster Duchess and Contract Princess - not egregiously long but boring when the story is actually interesting. 6/10. Rename it with something more snappish like the Adopted Shadow or whatever. idk. Have I mentioned I've been banned from naming things?

My In-Laws Are Obsessed with Me - 4/10. Also not horrible but it's clearly a clickbaity title and I roll my eyes. Better to rename it to like ..... something to do with blood maybe? Or if you want to keep it family-themed. Blood Ties? Also boring and you can tell I'm speaking from a western YA-genre reader

Beware the Villainess - 8/10. This needs no change

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine - .... it's exactly what the title says, ngl. 7/10. But it could be better and less of a summary. Don't know what, though

The Noble Girl Who Finds a Nerdy and Plain Guy Moe Thinks That the Arrogant Prince Is in the Way - 0/10. I just. Why? The official English title is something like The Lady Likes a Nerd over Princes, which I found weird but the summary was interesting (turns out it was a good manga. But the author just has zero respect for the agency of women. Like. Comically so that it's not even funny as it gets a tad bit narratively frustrating as it's used as a device to drag on the plot) Anyway. Just why?

An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride - 2/10. Not as unforgivable as the previous but horrible all the same. And while the concept was interesting and I gave it a try because it was a rec, it turned out to not be for me at all. The title is dramatic, I'll give you that. It reads like it's a self help book for demon kings who want to learn how to Love and that's basically the manga

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End/Frieren at the Funeral/Frieren the Slayer - 10/10. Look. Any of those titles are good. It doesn't pop out but neither does it force you to hide the title out of fear of being misunderstood

The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World - 5/10. Inoffensive but another summary title. You could have literally just called it the Savior's Otherworld Cafe instead. Or something

I Listened to My Husband and Brought in a Lover - 1/10. Encourages cheating with consent. Actually, the manhwa kinda did too (the husband cheated first and was like you should cheat too). At least people know what they're in for? Don't want to retitle it. It deserves it for starting with decent potential for that premise and kinda failing to deliver.

I Stole the Number One Ranker's Soul - 6/10. Again, it's pretty catchy and not terrible but I still don't like these summary titles. Manhwa is amazing, however.

Can't Stop Cursing You - 8/10. Dying laughing because it reads as someone going "man, I just... can't stop cursing you. Really can't help myself you know? Sorry not sorry" while zapping you repeatedly with curses. Still pretty stupid when the actual manga was REALLY shiny with all that horror and bloody gore and interesting plot

Gingerly in Love - 10/10. Trust me. Once I saw what it was about, I died laughing. Not the most memorable manhwa but the wordplay of the title....

The Tyrant Wants to Be Good - 6/10. Again. Inoffensive but there's something annoying to me personally. The manhwa is great, though. Love me a woman who makes her trauma everyone else's problem, regrets it, and then internalizes the guilt in her do-over at life so bad that she ends up getting aggressively adopted into a found family

I Got a New Skill Every Time I Was Exiled, and After 100 Different Worlds, I Was Unmatched - 0/10. Why are isekai titles actually the worst sometimes. Manga itself is meh, in my opinion. It has potential ruined by the usual commodification of women, so I dropped it despite my interest

Bonus:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - 3/10. Twain really was isekai titling when he probably didn't know that Japan was even a thing, huh. Not terrible, but it has that isekai style of summarizing the premise.

Bonus again:

The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders Who was born in Newgate, and during a life of continu’d Variety for Threescore Years, besides her Childhood, was Twelve Years a Whore, five times a Wife (whereof once to her brother) Twelve Years a Thief, Eight Years a Transported Felon in Virginia, at last grew Rich, liv’d Honest and died a Penitent - -10/10. It was an okay book but you shouldn't have had this power over your book titles, Daniel Defoe. Seriously. My edition just says "Moll Flanders". Never have I wanted to shame a dead author more. It's not even an isekai but it's worse than an isekai title. It's a whole anime opening credits.

[bi-widower-dads]

bi-widower-dads' February Fic Recs: Canon

Thank you to everyone who submitted recs for us! We've done some sorting and collating, and we've got two posts for you: AUs and Canon-'verse - and a whole load of excellent fic for you to get stuck into while we wait for Barduil Month in April! Without further ado, here are the canon fic recs, featuring tags, links, summaries, and all the reasons why the recommenders think you should give these fics a try!

Header image by mod @piyo-13!

(a note about tags and trigger warnings: tags are selected from those on AO3 as being those that best describe the story for the purposes of this event; trigger warnings are supplied by the recommenders and may not be comprehensive - your mileage may vary. We've tried our best to include Tumblr handles wherever we can, but if we've missed yours out and you want it included, just let us know!)

One-shots

Scenes From a Not-So-Clandestine Romance by MasterofAllImagination / @cutlerbeckettt | G | 3258 words | tags: 5+1 things, so much fluff it's sickening, seriously don't even read this

Summary: As the relationship between Bard and Thranduil grows beyond merely that of two allies, they become proportionately blind to how obvious their displays of affection are to their people. Pretty soon their feelings are an open secret shared among everyone in Mirkwood and Dale-- except the kings themselves. (or, five times someone caught Bard and Thranduil secretly kissing, and the one time they did it in public) What do you love about this fic? The author's completely correct that this is just So Much Fluff. It's great, it's cozy, it's a palate cleanser that makes you go "aww" and giggle a little at how oblivious they are.

We'll lay here for years or for hours by bispecimen | M | 5000 words | tags: canon divergence, different first meeting, animal death, hunting, could be considered canon compliant since it still works w future events, dilf vs dilf parenting techniques, canon-typical violence

Summary: "The leaves were rolling, green and healthy. Swirling around the legs of the Bowman as if they were about to bring some magical creature in his presence. But Bard didn’t feel like anything good was about to be brought in front of his eyes. The stillness of the air was suffused with something nocive. This part was forbidden for a reason. The deeper he went, the longer he stayed. He knew, he knew that." What do you love about this fic? Am possibly biased because I did the art for this, but lovely and lyrical!

but the sun is eclipsed by the moon by RC_McLachlan | G | 5288 words | tags: none

Summary: The Battle of the Five Armies threatened to unmake the world, but The Negotiations of the Three Kings might actually succeed. Or, a short lesson on the lifecycle of dandelions. What do you love about this fic? Great writer I've followed for a long time!

more than words can wield the matter by BiSquared / @scary-grace | M | 5422 words | tags: cultural differences, love letters, miscommunication, accidental marriage, getting together, laws and customs of the eldar are somewhat followed, POV Bard the Bowman, post-BotFA, as canon-compliant as barduil gets

Summary: It might be uncommon, but Bard knows it’s not unheard of for humans to share a single night of passion and part ways in the morning – or if not to part ways, then at least never to meet as lovers again. Apparently it’s unheard of among elves, because the first letter that arrives from Mirkwood, two weeks after the elves’ departure for their forest, is significantly less businesslike than expected. What do you love about this fic? The premise is funny enough that it could have come across as crack, but it creates actual narrative tension and a satisfactorily cathartic ending.

The Well-Worn Path of Words by Ias | T | 10,725 words | tags: letters, slow burn, pining, miscommunication, love confessions, epistolary

Summary: It wasn't so strange that Thranduil would call him a friend. And yet the word seemed to draw them closer like a length of string, binding them together, yet still so fragile. [In which Thranduil and Bard begin writing each other letters over the long winter after the battle.] What do you love about this fic? Fantastic epistolary fic from a great Barduil author!

Multi-chapter (in progress)

Language of the Forest by BaccaratBlack | T | 1,095 words | tags: victorian flower language, sort of unrequited feelings, cultural differences, cultural misunderstandings, courtship, secret admirer

Summary: Bard is perplexed by elven courtship rituals. Thranduil is very determined and unaccustomed to not having his way. What do you love about this fic? Who doesn't like a fic with the themes of courtship, flowers and a "secret" admirer?

Multi-chapter (complete)

A Tale of Love and Longing (as told by Galion) by jotunblood | T | 39,288 words | tags: courtship, secret relationship, developing relationship, sexual tension, light angst, post-BotFA, slow burn, Galion POV, Galion is a good friend

Summary: Galion knew all the almost imperceptible ways joy, anguish, and hate could change his King’s face. He also knew-- Thranduil’s denial be damned-- exactly how he looked when he was pining. What do you love about this fic? We see Thranduil's and Bard's relationship develop through Galion's POV and he's the best BFF/Wing Man a King could ask for.

Blossoming Spring by SlytherinImpala | T | 56,210 words | tags: fluff, post-BotFA, snark, slow burn, healing, friends to lovers, scars, movie canon, first kiss, getting together

Summary: Bard and Thranduil meet again as winter gives way to spring following of the Battle of Five Armies. What do you love about this fic? I love the gentle snarkiness between the 2 characters and how they slowly learn to open up to one another. They feel very in character and when they fall in love it doesn't feel abrupt. Definitely worth a read if you love a gentle Barduil slowburn.

Series

The Kings of the North by Evandar | T | 14,240 words | tags: partial fix-it, interspecies romance, fluff, blind thranduil, self-esteem issues, communication

Summary: There is unease in the north, as old alliances must be rebuilt and leadership learned. Bard is confused, mostly by King Thranduil, and King Fili is determined to be the best king he can be. Sigrid, meanwhile, wishes things could go back to the way they were. What do you love about this fic? This was one of the first series I ever read for barduil and definitely played a huge role in getting me into the ship in the first place!

Boundaries 'Verse by Sir_Nemo | T | 30,967 words | tags: fluff, getting to know each other, getting together, family bonding

Summary: Bard has been working for the elves for years, never actually meeting one, until one day he notices an elf watching him work. The elf becomes a constant in his life, and the two of them slowly start warming up to each other. What do you love about this fic? Bard and Thranduil's personalities really shine through in their conversations, which I feel is a core component of the plot, and makes for a very stable relationship that the story can lean on.

[cosmo-watches-movies]

Wilde (1997)

Triggerwarning: Homophobia, Sex (in the movie, not depicted in this blogpost)

Plot: A part of Oscar Wilde’s life story.

Spoilers beyond this

Michael plays Robbie Ross, a good friend to Oscar Wilde and, delicately put, his first male lover.

Following are my incoherent thoughts as I was watching the movie: (some gifs for context, for the other parts watch the movie and you'll get it)

starting out chill with Oscar meeting his future wife

oh who might this dashing young fella be?

lol that didn’t work did it?

Nevermind it did work

I was so not prepared for this

This guy has a lot of thoughts in his head and none of them are holy

Bitch what

If someone looked at me like that I’d instantly fall for them too. Man brought his A-Game

Oh my god this is going too fast even for me and I’m just watching

Why would you give him lines like that?

(I refuse to clip the next part, I don't know who might read this)

What in the what I barely got into the movie, why would you do this to me

I have questions

I have so many emotions at once right now I actually feel a bit sick

I’m 16 Minutes in and my heart is breaking at the thought of where this might be going

Okay, I got used to the fact that I am actually watching a movie about gay men

Me watching a movie about a gay author: （☆ω☆ ）

Me when theres actual portayal of intimacy between men: （○ □ ○ ）

I swear I’m so normal about this.

Wtf Oscar why would you drop Robbie like that. I get that this was an affair, but like this? He picked that other guy up like an apple from a tree.

Watch Robbie take this like the king he is

Oscar met yet another guy (Bosie) and seems to fall in love with him and guy #2 litterally wants to khs and/or Bosie, while Robbie has only respect, acceptance and love to give.

lol taste of your own medicie, huh?

I hate Bosie

I love Robbie

Drama between Bosie and Wilde, which results in Oscar being sentenced to two years in prison

Oof that speech Oscar held in court tho, right in the feels

Robbie is an absolute treasure of a person. Get yourself a man like him. Don’t settle for less.

Wtf all this stress and heartbreak for Oscar and Bosie to break up after three months, the world is a cruel place

- End of incoherent thoughts-

That was heartbreaking in so many ways. The main story obviously is unbelievably tragic but we shall focus on other things. There are a lot of strong performances in this movie, the whole cast was quite good. You can strongly feel the love Robbie has for Oscar, he has this soft tone when he talks to or about him, he wants him to be happy even if it means that he himself wont be. He accepts that Oscar doesn’t love him the same way and still supports his friend under any circumstances. It's not just in the dialouge, it's also in the way Robbie talks to and looks at Oscar. He’s pure kindness, love and devotion.

He cares so much for him it's breaking my poor little heart :c

On a less serious note, my guy really went ahead and had his first on-screen kiss be a gay kiss!?! Fuckin hell! And he did so well! Icon, king, legend, right from the start!

Because there aren't enough gifs in this already, have some more little moments I enjoyed :3

✨Puppy dog eyes✨

Good save xD

Why would you hold it like that?

I don't even know why, just thought he looked dashing in this scene

Me too, Robbie, me too.

I probably could've written more, but that wouldn't do the movie and characters justice. Bosie's full brattiness alone is something I couldn't even capture in gifs. Kudos to Jude Law, he really made me hate that character. He's the exact opposite of Robbie. They had only two scenes together I think, but it's awesome to see their personalities clash.

I’d say you should check this movie out, especially if you’re lgbt+ yourself obviously. And then go ahead and read Oscar Wildes works, they're queer history and in general important literature anyone should know.

At the end of this I have learned that I, in fact, don’t hate love drama, I just like it if it's gay. And preferably has a certain actor in it.

[nerdgatehobbit]

13 Books

Right, I was tagged by @old-man-ghost a few days ago and I'm finally getting around to doing this!

1: The last book I read: Disney Princess: Beyond the Tiara, which was an interesting look at the involved films and their impact. It was self-congratulatory at places, but I think that's the trade-off for it being an official book.

2: A Book I recommend: Dinotopia by James Gurney, between the gorgeous art, the inventive world-building, and the great characters. The franchise as a whole is one of my favorites, but this is the book that started it all.

3: A book that I couldn't put down: I read the first nine a while back, but I really enjoyed the first volume of Spy x Family. I need to get around to reading the tenth & eleventh volumes.

5: A book on my TBR: In addition to the aforementioned duo and quite a few other books, I'm waiting until I'm further into The Librarians as a show before I read the 3 tie-in novels.

6: A book I've put down: This isn't probably what's meant, but it's the only recent example. Over a month ago, I checked out The Secret Life of the American Musical from the library specifically to just skim it to get a clearer grasp of the different types of songs in Broadway musicals. Though I did spot its section acknowledging the issues of relying on star power for musicals, which seems relevant to what went on with the Sweeney Todd revival.

7: A book on my wish list: This one is kinda silly, but I am curious about Ash's Atlas, it's just that I've been reluctant to seriously look into getting it because I know it's very likely not be a pseudo-guidebook, and more likely just acts to recap anime events. I'd like a Pokémon book that does more with discussing the geography, history, man-built places, & notable people.

8: A favorite book from childhood: I'm going to go for Midnight for Charlie Bone, the first in the Children of the Red King series. I didn't get to read them all as a kid, but the first few I definitely did. I still have a soft spot for this series, though the older I get the more I wish for a perspective flip novel(s) showing what the adults were getting up to, as it's very clear that they're getting up to stuff off-page in addition to what Charlie and his friends see. I'm definitely anxious about how the potential upcoming TV adaptation will turn out.

9: A book you would give to a friend: Hmm, it would depend on the friend's tastes. Maybe I'd be selfish and give them the Project Gutenberg link to Once on a Time just so I'd have someone to talk about it with. It's one of my favorite books (it definitely can be seen as a precursor to The Princess Bride and Galavant).

10: The most books you own by a single author: It's probably a toss-up between Tamora Pierce and Rick Riordan. Both of them are well into the double digits.

11: A nonfiction book you own: I have Team of Rivals, which is a really interesting look at how Abraham Lincoln got elected and then turned the other candidates into his cabinet during the Civil War.

12: What are you currently reading: I've only read the prologue to the Belle Mirrorverse manga, but I liked it. I'm pretty much just here for the BATB content (as seen by me currently having Funko Belle as my icon), as I didn't play the game for long. This says more about my minimal gaming skills than the game itself (no, seriously, I struggle with LEGO & Pokémon at times). I am curious how this altered story will play out.

13: What are you planning on reading next: I still need to reread Sense and Sensibility, especially as I keep meaning to locate the new movie (I like the gifs I've seen, I just need to find the time/energy to figure out how to temporarily get Hallmark access so I can watch it).

I'm on desktop at the moment and don't have a readily accessible current photo of any of my bookshelves. I'll try to remember to do something later and add it in a reblog when I'm on my phone.

This was fun, thanks for tagging me!

I'll tag @asokatanos @magic-owl @jadelotusflower @mylittleredgirl

@ladytharen @bex-pendragon @fantasysci5 and anyone else who'd like to do it!

[regarding-stories]

Until it breaks: Suspension of disbelief has limits

Nothing deals damage to suspension of disbelief like cold hard facts. Because once the analytical part of your brain kicks in, it's all over. All the Fridge Logic will unravel, and frankly, the enjoyment drains out the watching or reading experience.

Now, I picked this topic because of a recent Lupin III Part 6 episode I watched. Being one of the longest-running shows with endless material released over the course of decades, Lupin III has in general good writing. Or let's say it like this: Typically the authors nail the characters.

Yes, part 6 in general is a highly enjoyable show that can bank on the fact that our main characters - Lupin, Jigen, Fujiko, Goemon, and Zenigata - are well fleshed-out, recognizable characters that you are just gladly along for the ride with and the general fun factor of the show ensures that you merely experience the differing quality of episodes as minor ups and downs along the journey.

There are exceptions, though.

When it holds

Lupin III is basically revived as "parts," where each part could be considered a big season. I'm currently watching Part 4, and several episodes definitely have the quality of Fridge Logic - you might question things after the episode finishes, but you're basically okay with how things unfold while they still do.

One episode, hitting that slightly noir vibe, focuses on Inspector Zenigata, Lupin's eternal complement.

The show aired almost ten years ago, so forgive me for spoilers.

The basic plot of the episode "Until the Full Moon Wanes" revolves around every scoundrel in the world believing that the widow of a media mogul sits on a huge hidden fortune because her husband seeded the rumor before he died. The first climax of the episode seems to be convincing the world that this was indeed a lie - a cooperation between Lupin and Zenigata. In the denouement we learn that the fortune actually exists and the widow wanted potential thieves off her back, Lupin shows up to steal it and is finally thwarted by Zenigata.

The episode really revolves about human folly, with a media mogul rescuing a girl from sexual violence, taking her as his beloved wife, then completely scorning her when she cheats on him once - including marking her body. This theme of scorn beyond the grave and its somewhat noir vibe playing on human passion and the unreliability of love and character are enough to keep us entertained until we get our inevitable finale.

I'd say this one stretches suspension of disbelief but doesn't break it. Though it raises questions - even if she had a huge fortune hidden, wouldn't it be easier to own it, hire guards, and just enjoy it? Furthermore, how did Lupin and his gang intend to steal the fortune?It's gold. It weighs tons and tons. (And yes, it's enough gold to be considered the reserves of a country. Did the author not watch "Die Hard with a Vengeance"?) It's also stacked in the most stupid way possible to impress the audience. Once you start to think about it, the story unravels and falls apart. But I'd bet while it goes on with its (somewhat forced) twists and turns, you're willing to follow it.

When it breaks

There are, however, some episodes too stupid to live, and so far the unrivaled king of the trash heap is "The Jet-Black Diamond". I'll spoiler this one so you don't have to watch it.

So, some small wooden dolls are somehow supposed to lead to a treasure. But the story makes no sense, no matter which way you look at it.

The central theme behind the treasure hunt is supposedly a love story. A somehow Japanese woman in Brazil falls in love with a pirate who basically sacks her village but spares her. (Because seeing people die you spent your life with is conducive to romance. Maybe she had Stockholm Syndrome.) They know they have little time so they concoct a plan to hide some treasure and meet again. Which never happens because the pirate gets executed shortly after and she commits suicide.

This might make sense on the surface but just wait for the rest...

The clues they leave lead to a cashew tree with magical red glowing flowers that only blossoms every 75 years. The biological facts themselves are mindboggling - how does it benefit the damn tree to blossom only every 75 years? And how is it so exact over such a long period of time?? And why is everyone showing up at the right time to see it???

Breathe. Slow, deep breaths.

So this basically means they planned to meet again when they were around a hundred. Instead of, you know, like five years later.

Then... piracy in the Caribbean and around South America was a phenomenon largely limited to the 16th and 17th centuries, with stragglers hanging on until the 18th century. Steam vessels and larger national navies ended it for good in the 19th century. (To put it very roughly.) The episode itself can be assumed to be set in 2021 when Part 6 aired. So, are we to assume that old-fashioned piracy occurred in Brazil in the mid of the 20th century? The age of airplanes and nuclear bombs? (Piracy persists but is a rather local phenomenon in the world, relying on quick hit-and-run raids.)

What is the treasure, actually? Pepper. Some special pepper, that supposedly ended up making the village prosperous. This is probably an allusion to the times when pepper was still highly valuable, something which was maybe true up to the 17th century (as a little research shows).

What we really have here is an author shoe-horning a pirate story into Lupin III, and somehow trying to tie it to a love story and a living relative. (Instead of a long-lost pirate treasure.) But frankly, the whole thing fails over and over again. The finale is devoid of any logic. Even the dolls are somehow important because their patterns help identify the tree by its blossom patterns. The only tree blooming in that particular year, looking entirely magical and obvious BY ITSELF!!

(Also some young local thugs show up to gang up on the old lady and her company because everybody thinks about the ages old treasure all the time and so the arrival of a Japanese lady is clearly stirring up the area.)

To make the offense even worse, just when the story focuses on Fujiko being in the lead for quite a while, Lupin shows up as a drone projecting a hologram acting as Captain Exposition, stealing her thunder. They couldn't be arsed to write him in properly, but they couldn't leave him off-screen for five minutes or have somebody else have the spotlight. Wow, that was horrible writing altogether.

And here we have it - it qualifies as a story. It's tied together by a plot. Events happen, characters appear, and the same mixture of twists and turns and a lack of treasure at the end (for Lupin or Fujiko) appears, but it doesn't work. You could be forgiven for not knowing about the history of piracy, but the notion of a tree with such magical properties is not a twist to a story, it's a ridiculous device meant to introduce one twist too many to a poorly written story.

Because for some reason the author was so focused on thwarting the thieves so much he had to set up an entirely unbelievable gotcha even for Lupin standards. A show where people evade bullets near point blank range or where eating a steak can restore Lupin's blood loss within hours. It's actually quite the accomplishment!