#but also some Sareth

[hestermofet]

Me at 14 and me at 22 and me at 32 are having a bonding moment

Me at 14 and me at 22 are having a bonding moment

[diaryofanobsessivefangirl]

My headcannon for Sareth is that Jareth has watched Sarah since she was 11 like a dark guardian angel and when she reaches adolescence, caring turns into love.

Her actress mother has an affair with another actor and their parents divorce. During that period, Sarah receives The Labyrinth book as a gift from a relative.

Jareth knows whenever a mortal speaks his name or title 'Goblin King' and sometimes ventures into the mortal world to observe them out of curiosity and boredom. Things might even develop into someone foolishly giving away their children - at least that would be interesting.

So when little Sarah role-plays the story for the first time, Jareth comes as owl to her bedroom window. At first he doesn't think much of her. She is not the first child to summon him, and he wonders what kind of goblin this one would be.

The Goblin King watches long enough to see Sarah's family has been recently broken, and the mother she has idolized is out of the picture. The child seems to be coping with this sudden reality by escaping to her fantasies.

Shame, Jareth thinks, but such are mortal lives - subject to time, change and lost. He is flattered by the way the child speaks his name with such reverence, awe and fear though, so he decides to visit again, if the opportunity arrises.

The next visit is followed by the third, the fourth, and before he knows it becomes a regular occurrence. He is entertained by Sarah's vivid imagination, like Peter Pan was by Wendy's. Sometimes he sees her in the park gathering mushrooms for a fairy circle, sometimes she is at school (not completely lonely, but not popular among her peers either), but most times she is at home.

Once it was Christmas and her mother did not called. The owl watched the girl crying under the covers of her bed.

When her father found another mistress and wished for them to meet, a fight issued at the dinner table. She ran to her room and slammed the door behind her.

One nasty lad at school stole her notebook and ridiculed her drawings - castles, dragons, dwarves, and one particularly dark figure wearing a crown and an evil smile. Is that your boyfriend Sarah?, the boy mocked.

(Jareth watched motionlessly from a nearby tree. It was only at night that he also payed the boy a little visit. Something to awake his... imagination. The next day the lad had black spots below his eyes and shrieked when he saw Sarah. He moved to another school the next year)

Sometimes Sarah would fall asleep praying for someone who understood her to come, to take her away, far away from there. Jareth would then step into her bedroom and stand above the resting child. Gently he would lean forward and touch her forehead with his thumb, a warm pink light flowing out of his hand. Sarah would wake the next day feeling renewed after many pleasant dreams.

Take her away? Maybe. He has taken numerous children to increase his court, some from better backgrounds than hers, some less cooperative. All of them now without any recollection of who they once were, their parents (good or bad), nothing to make them sorrow or regret.

But turning Sarah into one of his dimwit goblins didn't sit quite right with him. If he had to imagine Sarah as anything under his domain, it wouldn't be as a goblin.

No, he decided, Sarah was a fairy. At first sight a delicate creature flying carefree - but like any small creature, ready to bite.

Sarah could be quite the brat when she stood up to her father, her teacher or a bully. Her bad behavior made him chuckle, as it looked so similar to his own. But below the immediate impression of a spoiled pre-teen running away from reality, Jareth saw a girl trying to remain hopeful and brave despite the turmoils of her young life.

So he remained close, finally having something to awake his curiosity and even sympathy after many centuries. He was there when she got a part at the school play, when she so seriously rehearsed her lines over and over again, trying hard to live by her mother's footsteeps. He was in the audience disguised as a mortal man the night of the presentation.

He was there when Sarah heard the news of her mother's car crash. And he was also there when her father announced he was engaged to his new mistress a couple of months latter.

[darklinaforever]

Tyler is a victim of grooming. And exactly like @kittenfangirl20 said to me : actual grooming, not like the definition that that haters try to push (with Daemyra, Sessrin, Sareth, and more recently Orlok & Ellen).

And ironically, people talk very little or not at all about this among the antis.

No, all they have on their lips is that Tyler is bad because he manipulated Wednesday, herself an anti-heroine.

They refuse to acknowledge what he is a victim of.

And I suspect that it is because in reality they reserve the grooming word / argument only for female characters.

Because they ironically tend to ignore when a male character is the victim of grooming, especially if he is morally gray they will actually try to make him the ultimate villain and if he has a romance with the heroine of the story, only the girl will be the victim, and only the victim of this male character on whom they will label the words "ultimate abuser", even if it is canonically false. We can see this, not only with our Tyler Galpin, but also Kylo Ren and Thomas Sharpe.

One of the other ultimate proofs of this argument is that the word grooming is today thrown around randomly for fictional characters, especially female, who are in romantic relationships not appreciated by antis, is the fact that at the time of the end of season 1 of Wednesday, there were people who ironically said that Wednesday was, in the story, a the victim of grooming and by Tyler.

While Tyler is the only real victim of grooming in the story. And for real. As well as essentially ephebophilia.

The mentality of some people is quite crazy.

[serraphinm]

♕Chapter 1 - The Crown♕

Notes: This has taken me so long, but it was totally worth it. Hope you all agree. When I wrote this, I thought of The Princess Diaries, but I wanted to make it have magic. There are phones in this world, but nobles are old-fashioned and don't really use them. If you have any questions, put them in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them!

WC: 8k

Taglist: @bready101

Reblogging and comments are loved and welcomed!!

Field trips were the fucking best. Not only did you get a break from schoolwork, but you also got to run around like an idiot with your friends. The one downside was that I still had to wear my school uniform. Old thing was stiff as a board and smelt like dust, whatever the hell dust smelt like. 

Almost tripping up the stairs, I head into the Midiri National Museum, where our professors have chosen to have us walk around for the next 5 hours. My feet were hurting already. I huff, tighten the straps of my satchel, and pull my hair out from under it. Opening the heavy ass doors, I spot my friends and grin. Before I run over to them, I look at the museum entryway again. The massive walls and high ceilings always manage to steal my breath away. Taking in the details, I walk to my friends. Once I reached them, we exchanged whispered hellos and giggled. Our professor, Professor Hallam, instructs us to go wherever we like as long as we remain in the building. We head to the Royalty section to get a look at the Princess's crown and try it on. According to the legend, if you were the heir to the throne, the crown would glow, but everyone was sure they were just rumors. The King and Queen were assassinated twenty years ago, a month after the Princess was born. And on the same night, the Princess was taken. Many hoped the Princess would try on the crown and return, but I believe that's total bullshit.

"You gotta try on the crown.. come on!!!" A voice says to me.

"Absolutely not, Miriam. I'm pretty sure the thing is cursed."  Miriam was a sweet girl with butterscotch hair and green eyes. We had met at Sareth Academy about 13 moons ago, and she was well aware of how I felt regarding the Royals and the current temporary monarch. This was partially why I chose to apply to the academy in the first place. 

"Not even for a millisecond?" Evelyn practically pleads. She was tall and fair with blue eyes and blonde hair.

 She loved the royals and was thoroughly convinced she was the lost Princess despite having completely different features. When we came here a year ago, she tried on the crown and wore it for the full minute. Magic was funny, though; the crown teleported back into the case with some of her hair. We laughed about it for weeks, commenting on her bald spot as if our lives depended on it. I still don't think she's fully forgiven us for that. My footsteps echo throughout the massive room, and I begin to regret wearing these shoes.

"You guys are well aware how much that crown freaks me out. It's still a big fat no."

Miriam and Evelyn both roll their eyes. They didn't understand why I hated the crown so much. And I sure as hell wasn't about to tell them. We reach the Queen and King painting and bow to it before walking over to the crown.

"You know, Y/n.. every year we come here, you look more and more like Her Majesty..it's almost creepy, honestly.." Evelyn says, her eyes still focused on the painting.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence." Miriam's voice rings out. Looking at the painting again, I study the Queen's face. I hated to admit it, but we were strikingly similar. We had the same nose and skin tone, and our hair and eye color were the same.

"It is kinda creepy, but a lot of people look like the late Queen. I'm sure Miriam is right." I say before I walk over to the crown with the girls. Evelyn puts it on as soon as she can reach it. Miriam and I chuckle, but she just grins at us. Evelyn sets the crown back on its stand, not wanting to lose her hair again, and steps back.

 That's when I hear it. A small… whisper..

Y/n

My head snaps in different directions, trying to figure out where that is coming from, but it ultimately lands on the crown. My friends look concerned.

"Y/n, you ok?" Miriam says softly as if she were scared of scaring me.

I ponder telling them that I'm hearing voices. This is why I hated the crown. It gave me a terrible headache and it whispered my name. It creeped me the fuck out.

 "It's nothing.. Just thought I heard something." 

Y/n

There it is again.

 What the hell is going on?

 I stare at the crown, almost glaring at it. A group of students comes in, their footsteps like thunder. One of my Professors is among them. My friends' heads snap in that direction, and mine would, too. However, I still stare at the crown as if it were mesmerizing. 

Y/n 

Y/n

Y/n

The voice gets louder, so much so it hurts. I groan and grab my head. Evelyn and Miriam call for the teacher. I hear something about the Prime Minister for some odd reason. Closing my eyes, I try and stop the pain. Dull aches find the smallest corners of my mind as the voice screams.

"Make it stop!" I cry out, my throat going dry. 

Opening my eyes, I see a man dressed in a light red suit. He has blue eyes and very short, combed-over, white hair. He smiles calmly at me and reaches for the crown. I panicked and tried to back away from it. A wall of mass sits a few steps back, though, and I look back to see two guards standing tall. I want to yell at them to move. To do something about the screaming. But it hurts so much I can barely think. The Prime Minister gently holds a hand out to me. To steady me. I take the hand with my own shaking. He gently places the crown on my head. And all is quiet. Before I can even take a deep breath of relief, a blinding white light fills the room. Groans and screams fill my senses, and I close my eyes once more. When I open them, I see everyone staring at me in shock. It clicks then….

I was Midiri's Princess.

How the fuck-

Whom the fuck- 

WHAT THE FUCK

The prime minister's voice pulls me out of my internalized panic and places a hand on my shoulder.

"We've been looking for you for a long time, Your Highness." What he says makes my ears ring and my brain hurt. 

I open my mouth to protest, but he turns to the room before I can. With a booming voice, he announces, "I present to you, her Highness… Princess Y/N L/N!"

He bows to me, and I'm acutely aware of how uncomfortable I am with this situation. Soon, the room follows in varying forms of curtsies and bows. I feel like Percy Jackson when it was revealed he was the son of Poseidon. 

The prime minister raises his head and gives me a look, which I can only assume is meant to be calming. 

Guards escort me to the front doors, and my feet seem to move on their own. Once outside, a large black limo comes around the street corner and stops in front of the museum steps. I want to scream. Say this is all wrong and go back to my friends. But something inside me is telling me this is right and that I can change what I hate about the monarchy. I steel my resolve and, with shaky legs, enter the limo. It felt bigger on the inside than it looked. On the plus side, I didn't feel claustrophobic. On the negative side, I was so overwhelmed and overstimulated that I felt like I was going to puke. The prime minister sat a few seats away from me, and I decided that while I was stuck here, I might as well ask a few questions.

I look up at him and, with a dry mouth, ask, "How did you know to put the crown on me?" 

He looks surprised for a moment, but to be fair, this is the first time I've spoken to him, let alone asked him a question.

"I saw your face.. and saw Her Majesty… I thought it couldn't hurt to try… I'm sorry if I scared you, your Highness." He says gently. I let out a breath I wasn't aware I had been holding and whispered, "What's going to happen now…?"

He gives me a sympathetic look and says, "Now, we begin planning for your coronation. Some instructors will teach you all you need to know, and a seamstress will be by to take measurements for a coronation gown and clothing." He begins listing other things that will need to be done, but I zone out. Switching on the TV, I see news report after news report about me—my face, where I went to school, all of it. 

"How did they find me so fast…?" I ask the prime minister, my head snapping in his direction.

"I'm not sure...However, there will no doubt be paparazzi waiting for you when we arrive at the palace." His voice is stressed, and I can tell he's worried about something, though I can't determine what.

"I'm assuming the Duke and his family will be awaiting my arrival as well," I note darkly. 

Duke Haleson was an all-around dickface, and I didn't need to meet him to know that. As the temporary monarch, he had more power than any person should ever have without proper checks and balances, and it showed. 

"I'm sure he will be there to greet you along with the Duchess. But not to worry, " he says, noticing the look of disdain on my face. “You currently have more power than him as the Princess."

It takes a whole minute for that to sink in before I realize that, yet again, this is real. I pinch myself once just to make sure, and when the pain registers, it too registers. This is not a dream. Then, so suddenly, as if it were lightning, Im determined and a little pissed off. If there's one thing I know about this whole situation, it's that I've been given the power to make things right. Being resentful came with knowing I'd have to clean up the Duke's mess. 

"Your Highness, if I may ask, how much do you know about the Duke and his family?" the Prime Minister asks softly. 

"Well, for starters, I know the Duke is the temporary monarch, which he took over when the King and Queen died… well, I suppose I mean when my parents died.." It felt weird to say that and to be honest, it just made me depressed. "He's the late King's cousin, and I believe he has two sons and a daughter. His eldest son is Emon, and his second son is Oren… I believe they're both 19."

Recalling information about the Duke's family was easier than I thought despite knowing the most about the Duke himself. "His daughter is Elora, and she's 14. I've seen several photos of them in the paper and magazines." 

The Prime minister nods and confirms the information.

"What I don't know are their affinities," I say, subtly asking the Prime Minister. Each member of the royal family by blood had affinities, which I suppose meant I had them too. Power takes form when a royal member reaches 10 and is in tune with their affinities. A type of energy per se. Different kinds of energies lead to various types of affinities and so forth.

He taps his chin as if deciding whether or not to tell me before simply saying, "The Duke has an ice affinity, The Duchess a plant affinity, Emon has a plant affinity as well, I believe Oren has force affinity, and Elora has a surprising teleportation affinity."

It was indeed surprising to have a teleportation affinity. From what I knew, they were extremely rare. 

"A teleportation affinity..?? Jeez.. I bet the Duke loves her.." 

He says nothing and just avoids my eyes. Deep down, I know what that means, so I turn my attention back to the TV.

We pull up to the palace, and cameras are flashing before I even step out. Guards line the pathway; I can see the Duke and his sniveled-up face from here. Someone opens the door, and cameras flash so much that I'm practically blinded. The same person who opened the door held a hand out to me, and I took it. As I stand, the flashes just get worse. Covering my face with my hand and walking, tons of questions are thrown my way. People are screaming my name somewhere, and it takes me a moment to realize there are tons of people with signs and posters outside the gates. I realized they were all there for me, so I decided to wave to them as a show of courtesy. That just makes them scream louder, and I try not to grimace. Focusing my attention on walking, I head toward the Duke. He bows to me, and his family soon follows. I was surprised to find out they'd all be here at once. 

"Are you sure this is the Princess? She looks like a teenager… and she's wearing a school uniform." The Duke comments with a grin on his face. Man, this guy is more pathetic than I thought.

"I'm 20, and this is usually what people wear when going to school, Duke Haleson."

He looks down at me once more as if acknowledging me was some horrible fate he had been subjected to. I keep eye contact with him and try not to glare… or bite his head off.

"My, you have quite the tongue for a young lady…"

"That's Her Highness to you, Duke Haleson. I respect your title; you should respect mine, don't you think?"

His jaw clenches, and I can see the irritation in his eyes. Good, it's about time he understands I won't be pushed around.

The Duke glares at me, poised to speak, but the Duchess interjects with a warm welcome, guiding me into the palace. As she shares captivating stories about the grounds, I struggle to keep my jaw from dropping. The sheer magnificence leaves me in awe when we step into the foyer.

With its soaring ceilings, the space feels vast and inviting. Gold accents glimmer on the walls, while the marble floors shine under the gentle light streaming through grand windows. Splashes of light purple and lush greenery breathe life into the room as vibrant purple flowers and cascading vines adorn both the walls and ceilings.

As we venture further, the beauty of this palace is almost intoxicating, yet there's an underlying weight in the air, a sense of history that seems to seep from every corner. Each detail is meticulously crafted, and I can't shake the idea that beneath this elegance lie untold stories—much like the voice that haunted me earlier.

My thoughts flutter between what the Duchess is saying and how on earth this room is real. We enter the drawing room, and more splashes of purple and gold fill my vision as I'm led to a plush white chair. As she is well known, Duchess Victoria sits across from me while her husband stands and stares. 

"I'm sure you have many questions. Are there any we can answer, Your Highness?" the Prime Minister asks. I suddenly realized that I hadn't even bothered to ask for his name yet. 

"What's your name?"

He looks shocked momentarily before he smiles and introduces himself, "My name is Bennet Winton, Your Highness."

I open my mouth to respond when I hear a chuckle from the Duke. This man was already pissing me off.

"You must really want my attention, Duke Haleson if you can't even keep yourself from being the only one laughing."

He shuts up.

I turn back to Prime Minister Winton and smile at him. "I appreciate your help thus far. My other question is when the coronation will be held and whether I'll be crowned Princess or Queen."

"It will be held in one week. And you shall be crowned Queen." Duke Halesons' cold voice fills the room. The Duchess speaks next, her voice quieter than the Dukes': "Don't worry, dear. We will prepare you for the coronation. I have a lovely seamstress I could recommend if you'd like."

"Thank you.. I would like that. What about education, though? I have no idea how to run a country."

This time, the Prime Minister says, "Not to worry, Your Highness. We have the best professors and instructors across the globe."

"Well, that's good; thankfully, I know quite a lot about nobles and such from studying at Sareth Academy." 

"Sareth Academy, you say. I thought I recognized that uniform from somewhere, " the Prime Minister says warmly. 

I was quite proud of myself for getting into such an elite school. "Yes, I learned quite a lot." 

Learning about people who were far more fortunate tended to anger people, and I was no different. However, attending the school helped me learn about affinities and nobles' power. I wouldn't have my seething hatred for the Duke without my education. Mostly because I'd be ignorant like most people who believe in the royals and nobles. The Duke had been placing people in positions of power who had no idea what they were doing or had too much of an idea and were using it to hurt ordinary people. 

"Oh really…?" 

I take a deep breath. The Duke had yet again tried to undermine me. He must take me for some idiot who just wants to be royalty.

"Duke Haleson, if you're going to be immature, I can get help elsewhere." My voice is unwavering and determined. In a matter of seconds, I see his expression flicker between outrage and calm. He clears his throat as if he were trying to stuff down another rude comment.

"Excuse me?" His voice cracks a little.

"You're not excused." 

Everyone in the room looks like I've just slapped them across the face. Then suddenly,… laughter. Oren laughs and soon follows his brother and then his sister. The Duchess follows naturally. The Prime Minister even cracks a significant smile. I feel a bit ashamed for a moment before I realize… they're laughing at him. Duke Haleson's face is red. I can't tell if it's because of my ridiculous petty comment or because everyone is laughing at him. Maybe a combination of both. 

"Now then.. I'd like to see my room, please." The exhaustion of the whole situation has finally worn me out, and I have decided to give the Duke some undeserved respite. I stand, and the Prime Minister waves a maid over. She looks to be eighteen, though I can't be sure. She curtsies to me and beams me with a smile. I smile back before I turn to the Prime Minister.

"Thank you for your help, Prime Minister.."

"Please, call me Bennet Your Highness. Rest well, and I shall see you in a few days."

He bows once more, and I decide to follow the maid for some well-deserved rest. With one last glance at the people in the room, I realize I may have more allies than I once thought. 

Exhaustion was a bitch, and we weren't friends. There were so many stairs in this palace I thought my legs were going to fall off. I learned the maid's name was Jane. She was seventeen and had been working at the palace for almost a year now. She seemed very shy and surprised by the many questions I was asking her. We reach this massive hallway with an enormous window at the end of it. Flowers and vines crawl up the sides of it in a delicate pattern. Jane snaps me out of my trance by walking up to a set of lovely double doors. They arch at the top with intricate designs along the sides. Everything in this palace was just so damn pretty. She opens the doors, and I feel a breeze. I smell the room before I see it. Vanilla and Rose fill my senses as I try not to trip over my feet when I see the space. It's an open floor plan; everything is marble, gold, and light purple. So simple yet so elegant. A bed the size of my old bathroom lays off to the left with a canopy and vines covering it. The sheer drapes are held up with delicate ribbons made of lace. Picking my jaw off the floor, I take it in the rest of the room. A covered balcony with flowers galore and a view of the gardens. A sitting area that could fit a football team. A massive walk-in closet with so many accessories I can't even count them. A bathroom that shines brighter than my future and a large desk that overlooks the garden. The space feels surreal, like something you'd only see in your dreams. Everything is soft and expensive, and I just want to jump onto the bed… or into the bath… I wasn't about to be picky.

It takes me a few hours to find everything in the space. And a few more to remember the names and faces of my maids. Anais had red hair and blue eyes; Rose had brown hair, a fair nose, and pretty blue eyes; Ivone had deep black hair curling at the ends and brown eyes. While Jane had light brown eyes, freckles, and green eyes. It was odd how close I had gotten used to them. Which also felt weird because these girls would most likely see me naked. At Sareth Academy, they taught us that working with nobles came with having to see them in all states. It was a requirement to know how to serve them even if you weren't going to be in that line of work. I thought it was ridiculous, but you do whatever it takes to learn how to beat the system. 

A lovely woman named Cherry came by as well. She was the palace seamstress that Duchess Victoria had sent over. As the palace seamstress, she took my measurements while I stood on a small fitting room platform. Cherry works quickly and efficiently, but as I'm wearing close to nothing in front of a room of strangers, it was difficult not to shiver. 

"Just a few more measurements, dearie." She chirps as she walks around me. Writing on her notepad, she looks up at me.

"You did wonderful, Your Highness, I'm all finished."

I immediately relax and step down from the platform. A maid whose name I've learned to be Ivone steps forward and holds out a fluffy robe. Slipping it on immediately, I shiver into it. I was thankful to no longer be in my knickers in front of everyone. Cherry waves over another maid whose name I believe to be Anais. She hands her a stack of what looks to be pajamas, and I'm thankful that I have something to wear to bed tonight.

"Rose, could you please get my stationery?" I asked my fourth maid. Somehow, during my panic attack over the crown, I lost my satchel and phone. So, for now, I was stuck writing letters, though it did kind of make me feel more like royalty.

"Of course, Princess," Rose says a little too happily. She runs over to my desk as Cherry packs up. Anais walks over to the double doors on the other side of the room and opens them to my walk-in closet. I watch her go before walking over to my desk and writing a letter to my friends back at the academy. Writing everything I felt on paper left it rushed, but I doubt they would care much. I seal the letter when something crosses my mind. 

Where was the Royal Seal?

I had heard about it in history lessons. It was used when royals sent letters to other countries or when the letter held important information. But if I didn't already have it, that meant only one thing: The Duke hadn't given it up. The Royal Seal was a sign of power, a sign that the current monarch was truly in charge. 

I hand the letter off to Rose, who happily takes it away as I ponder. I needed to get that seal if I was going to be Queen, whether or not I had to take it from his hands. 

"Princess, what would you like for dinner?"

Jane's soft voice reaches my ears, pulling me from my thoughts. I mutter a reply even though I feel too tired and stressed to eat. Usually, I would eat more than I needed, but for some reason, tonight, I just wasn't feeling it. Cherry says her goodbyes and well-wishes and I find myself relaxing a smidge more. I just wanted to be alone.

An hour later, Jane returned with the dinner I had requested. Surprisingly, I managed to get a decent amount down, and soon it was time for bed. Changing into the silk pajamas Cherry gave me, I find myself drawn to the massive bed. My maids leave, and suddenly, I feel everything all at once. Grief for my old life, happiness for my new one, fear and determination for the future. So much has happened in one day, and I feel the exhaustion clawing at my body. The bed surrounds me, and I fall into a deep sleep.

My whole body feels soft. Silk envelops me, and I wonder if I've died and gone to heaven. I open my eyes and see soft sunlight cascading onto the double doors of my room. The warmth is inviting, stirring a sense of calm I didn't know I needed. I yawn and sit up, stretching the sleepy energy right out of me. Glancing at the cord, my maids told me to pull when I awakened. I tug down on it, and a minute later, Rose, Anais, Ivone, and Jane come walking in. Rose pushes what seems to be a gold cart of food and brings it to the little area where I eat. Obviously, I get out of bed and walk over to eat.

After I eat, Cherry returns with dresses she altered to fit me until she can make some new ones for me. I wasn't exactly keen on wearing dresses every day, so I asked her to make me some pantsuits and everyday clothes, too. She seemed a bit shocked that I asked her that but nonetheless made a note of it. Ivone helps me get into one of the dresses, which is super awkward. Ivone doesn't seem to mind, thankfully, and we slip it on. It's a simple day dress made of silk. Rose suggested kitten heels, which I'm thankful for because I did not want to walk around in my uniform shoes any longer. I slip them on, and Anais fills me in on my schedule for the day.

"First, you will meet your new professors at 10 am, a small break for lunch; then you have dancing lessons at 3 pm."

"That is all, yes?" I practically plead. Wanting to be a good ruler and being lazy were both strangling me, and I couldn't decide which to fight off first.

"Yes, Princess, that is all." Rose giggles. I giggled along with her, and soon, I was headed to meet the professors.

The professors were certainly interesting. Despite growing up as a commoner, they seemed shocked by my seemingly decent education. However, one wasn't sure of my abilities and decided to question me further; needless to say, I put her in her place.  

I had also learned the steps to the Rumba, which couldn't have been more awkward. At least my teacher was a woman and not some old creepy guy. The song playing in the background isn't one I've heard before, and later, in my room, I find myself humming it.

"What's that song you're humming Your Highness?" One of my girls asks. Based on the voice, I think it's Ivone. 

"I'm not entirely sure…"

Each day is the same maddening cycle. 

Dresses get delivered.

Professors drone on for hours about history and math.

Lunch.

Dancing class while I try not to look at my feet and not step on hers simultaneously.

It was exhausting.

Thankfully, today would be different because today was my coronation day. The fun part was the ball right after. For hours, I was cleaned, prepped, and clothed. Maybe I wasn't cut out for this whole royalty thing….

I shake my head and steel my resolve. No. I wasn't going to quit now. I had worked too hard, and I could finally make a change. The girls step away from me as it seems they're finally done with their invasive techniques to make me look prettier. I stand and turn to look in the mirror. Doing a double take to make sure it's me, my mouth falls open in a way that isn't very proper. My girls had outdone themselves. My hair was elegantly wrapped into a low bun, and a lovely tiara was placed on my head. A deep purple Coronation Mantle was draped onto my shoulders, and a stunning light purple gown was underneath it. Jewels drip from me like water, and I feel myself twirl before it registers; my coronation was really happening. Grinning, I hug each one of my maids, thankful for their existence. 

"I… This is gorgeous, girls… thank you.." 

They all blush and mutter different responses before Ivone speaks up, "You better hurry Princess; I hear you're riding in an actual carriage to the Coronation Hall!"

An actual carriage, well, at least I'd get to see horses.

I walk down to the foyer and almost stumble over my dress. Walking in a ballgown and heels was more challenging than it looked. I manage to make my way outside and spot the Prime Minister, or Bennet, as he insists I call him. He bows to me and assists me into the open carriage.

"Nervous Your Highness?" His calm voice asks.

"I would be a fool not to be," I mutter as I fiddle with my fingers. Those long fake nails were on, and picking them was so much more challenging.

"Try not to stress too much, Your Highness. It will be over before you even realize it, and after that, your hardest triumph will be the number of marriage proposals you'll have to turn down." 

His joke doesn't help.

"Oh gosh, I didn't even think about proposals…"

"Yes, well, you will be the most powerful woman in the country… unmarried… suppose there's someone on your mind already?" he asks with a chuckle.

It almost warms my heart that he didn't immediately assume I'd be in love with a man.

"No… but I know it'll be hard to meet her in this position.." I say, a little annoyed that my love life is essentially going down the drain.

"Don't fret, Princess. I have a feeling you'll find her." His warm smile almost calms my nerves. 

"Thank you, Bennet."

If I had a dime for every time I had been in a massive building and emerged with a new title of royalty, I'd have two dimes. Which isn't many in the grand scheme of things, but it's odd that it's happened twice. 

The Coronation Hall of Midiri was ablaze with light as thousands of candles flickered above, casting a soft glow on the ornate decorations that adorned the stone walls. Tapestries depicting the kingdom's rich history hung from every corner, while fresh purple blooms filled the air with their intoxicating fragrance. The anticipation in the air was palpable, with nobles from all corners of the realm gathered to witness this momentous occasion—the coronation of Princess Y/N L/N, the new Queen of Midiri. 

Usually, the previous ruler would crown the monarch; however, since my parents were dead, the Prime Minister got the honor. His usually calming voice boomed across the hall, demanding everyone's attention. 

The ceremony was long and grueling, and what pissed me off even more was the fact that the Duke had the audacity to sit in the section reserved for royals. I wished then and there that I knew what my affinity was just so I could use it on his pompous ass. 

The massive crown they put on me practically broke my neck, and I felt so relieved when they took it off. 

I stand before the nobles, and they all rise and bow to me. It feels almost surreal. One week ago, I was a humble student in a country I loved but wanted to change.

 Now, I was its Queen.

I walk out of the Grand Hall, scepter in hand and crown on my head. As I ride back to the palace in the carriage, people scream my name. Guards are stationed on each side of my carriage as I ride through the streets of Midiri. Flowers are thrown in my direction as chants fill the air.

"Long live the Queen!"

"The Queen has arrived!"

"Long may she reign!"

Tears well in my eyes as I smile and wave to the people. Once at the palace, I'm rushed to my room by staff for a bath and a quick change for my appearance at the coronation ball. I would have to meet with delegates so I had to arrive on time. My maids scrub my skin so hard I'm surprised I don't lose any. I dressed, and a new set of jewels graced my body. Thanking my girls, I leave and walk to the ballroom. It was one thing to stand before so many people, and it was another to talk to them all. Maybe even dance with a few if I managed to avoid stepping on their toes. 

The guards notice my arrival and bow to me before telling the announcer that I am here. He bangs his staff on the floor to gain everyone's attention. The talking lowers to whispers, and as the announcer says in a loud voice,

"Presenting Her Majesty, Y/N M/N L/N Queen of Midiri!" 

As I walk out, the room erupts in louder whispers and conversations. I feel everyone's eyes on me, and I try not to panic. Bows and curtsies can be seen from every direction as I clear my throat and begin my little speech.

"Hello all, and welcome to my coronation ball. I appreciate you coming all this way to celebrate with me tonight. As I look out and see so many friendly faces, I can't help but be grateful for each and every one of you. Let us celebrate tonight so we may work hard tomorrow!"

Cheers fill the room as toasts are being made in my honor. I walk to the staircase on my right, and as soon as I come down, men swarm all around me, asking me for dances and to talk. I reject them all and make my way to my throne that sits against the main wall. Sitting down, people begin lining up to meet me. The first people I see are a couple. A very tall blonde woman is on the arm of a shorter man with black curly hair. They bow and curtsy to me, respectively, and I nod my head in acknowledgment. Based on their attire I would assume they're from the country Amaris. It's a gorgeous country known for its beautiful people and goods. They must've crossed the sea to be here, as Amaris is to the south of Midiri across the ocean. 

"Good evening, Your Majesty. My name is Prince Alwyn of Amaris. This is my lovely fiancee, Lady Isabella." Crown Prince Alwyn was known to be a womanizer, so it was a little surprising to see an actual fiancee on his arm.

"Congratulations on your engagement, you two. I wish you all the best. I appreciate you coming all this way for my coronation." 

Lady Isabella blushes before saying, "You're too kind, Your Majesty... Oh! That's right! We've brought you a gift."

She waves over a staff member, and they hand me a delicately carved wooden box. Its rich color and fresh scent catch me off guard, but I school my expression and smile. I open the box to find spices galore inside. Amaris was known to be a merchants' paradise, so many goods were imported to and from there.

"What a lovely gift, thank you!" It's challenging to procure spices here in Midiri, so I offer my appreciation. Trying to be the perfect Queen simply by talking was hard, but they seemed to hear the sincerity in my tone. 

"Please take this as a token of our goodwill and hope for a promising future between our two kingdoms," Prince Alwyn says before he and Lady Isabella depart. I hand the thoughtful gift to a staff member and instruct him to send it to the kitchen for my food. 

Next, Duke and Duchess Haleson step up. Both bow and curtsey to me before I speak.

"Ah, Duke Haleson, I was wondering when I'd see you. It seems you have something of mine. I'd like it back, please." I say ever so politely.

The Duke grins, happy to play my game, "I'm not sure what you mean, Your Majesty... Perhaps you could jog my memory?"

"Hmm, yes, perhaps I will… Duchess Victoria, do you have it?" 

The Duchess grins, and I see the smug smirk the Duke is sporting slip off his face. She reaches into her pocket and holds out the Duke's most prized possession, the Royal Seal. I smile and take it in my hands gently. 

"But- How did you- Victoria!!" The Duke turns his rage on his wife in an instant. But I knew this would happen. I pocket the seal and stand. 

"Duke Haleson, are you seriously so immature that you'd yell in my ballroom?" My voice carries across the room and eyes and necks snap in our direction. Whispers flood the hall, and I can practically see the Duke start to sweat.

"No…of course not Your Majesty…." His voice is quiet to avoid attention.

"Well then. I hope you keep to yourself this evening... Oh, and Duchess Victoria?"

Her eyes meet mine, and she winks before curtsying.

"Just Victoria is fine, Your Majesty."

"Victoria, then… do let me know if he acts up when you two are alone. I won't stand for domestic abuse. Not even from a Duke." 

Hopefully, other ladies in the room realize this also extends to them, and they can contact me. But for now, I focus on the Duke.

"If that is all, you two are dismissed."

The Duke begrudgingly bows, and he and his wife leave. I sit back down and let out a massive breath. If I hadn't had the Duchess's help, I have no idea what I would've done. I rub my temples and prepare for the next person when an almost raspy, calming voice speaks.

"Well, he seemed like a dick."

My heart skips a beat as I look up. She was…. Ineffable. Short auburn hair that looked like an organized mess. I spot a glimpse of a tattoo, but only a sliver. It looked like.. A fern..? She wore a deep grey suit with space pins on the suit jacket and a simple deep green cape. Pale green eyes one could get lost in. And a smirk that stole my breath away.

My heart skips a beat, and I realize I've been staring.

"I- sorry, what did you say..?"

She doesn't seem to judge and just repeats herself.

"I said he seemed like a dick." Chuckling and shaking her head, she smiles down at me.

"Yeah, he's a real piece of work… I, um, I'm sure you know who I am already, but allow me to introduce myself; I'm Y/N Queen of Midiri."

She smiles and bows to me, a slight blush flushing her cheeks.

"Yea, I know, this is your ball, isn't it?" The way she said it wasn't cocky. Almost understanding as she puts her hands in her pockets.

I clear my throat and internally scold myself for being so stupid. Gay panic was a real thing….

"Right. Of course, you know that… my apologies." 

"Oh gosh shit.. Sorry didn't mean to make you feel bad. Look, I'm not too good at this whole conversing with royals thing. Let's just start over, yea? My name is Ellie Williams, I'm the prince of Jackson." 

Jackson… yes, I was familiar with it. However, I knew nothing of the royal family, let alone their affinities. They were a very closed-off family, and few knew anything about them, let alone their customs. 

"Prince, you say…?"

She scratches the side of her neck as if it were a nervous habit.

"Yea.. I don't really like all the frilly princess stuff. Prince just suits me better, I guess. Wait fuck- I didn't mean that frilly things were bad." She quickly says, looking at my dress. She groans into her hands, and I burst out laughing. Her ears turn bright red, and I can't help but feel a little bad.

"That is the first time someone has sworn in front of me properly in the past 168 hours." My giggles spread throughout the room. She looked dumbfounded, and I can't help but beam a smile at her. 

"Wha- that makes me feel even worse!" Her face contorting to one of shame.

"Trust me, it isn't a bad thing. I'm so sick of being treated like a child. It's been driving me crazy. I hope you didn't think I was laughing at you…"

That seemed to help her relax, so I decided to ask her something now that she was calmer.

"Would you care to dance with me?" My voice is as calm and soothing as I can force it to be. However, on the inside, I was shitting bricks, hoping she wouldn't say no. Usually, a dance between a man and a woman meant the prospect of marriage. But no two women had ever danced before. It was completely unheard of, and while most of society had evolved, the nobles stayed in one spot. 

"I'm not a very good dancer; I'm afraid I'd step on your toes."

"So, is that a no…?" I say, feigning disappointment.

"No! No—I would love to dance with you. It was more of a warning…" she clarifies quickly.

"I'm just teasing you, Prince Ellie." I grin as she huffs.

"Could've fooled me." She mutters as she holds a hand out to me.

I take it, and she gently leads me to the dance floor.

"I think I did fool you," I say with a smug grin. She rolls her eyes and huffs a simple "Shut up…"

We stood in the middle of the dance floor, and I felt people begin to realize what I was doing. Prince Ellie wraps a hand around my waist, and I can feel her calloused fingers on my back. I stiffen just a little at the touch of her cold hands, and she mutters a quick sorry.

"It's fine; your hands are just cold, is all.." 

She chuckles and holds my other hand. Merry Go Round of Life begins playing, and I move through the steps I was taught. I discover very quickly that Prince Ellie is a horrid liar. Her dance steps feel precise as she leads me. We twirl around the dance floor, and my grip on her shoulder tightens as she lifts me. When I come back down, I almost tumble into her, but she catches me and swiftly moves me to the next step. I can feel my face heating up from the embarrassment. 

Getting into the rhythm of the Waltz, we reach the peak of the song, and I lock eyes with her. My heart pounds from the exertion, and I feel myself being pulled in by her. When she lifts me again, I feel like I'm floating. Everything from the glittering chandelier to the people in the room just… disappears. 

Locking eyes with her again, I realized then and there how some people fall in love simply by dancing with one another. 

"You're a liar…"

I whisper softly. Ellie looks at me, confused with a ghost of a smile.

"How so?" She whispers back as we twirl again.

 I meet her eyes again and say, "You're a wonderful dancer." 

"I'm only as good as my partner, Your Majesty…" Her ears turned a slight pink.

I want to glare at her and tell her she knows damn well that's not true. But I bite my tongue. We may be dancing together, but we weren't friends.

My gown swirls with me as we move, and I can't help but think of how nice it must be to dance in a suit. Suddenly, I looked back at the others and noticed that no one else was dancing. Everyone is staring at us in awe. I hold onto her tightly, and we move through the last bit of the song. We move in harmony as whispers and murmurs fill the space. Prince Ellie dips me, and when I look into her eyes, all I see is awe. The last notes of the song die out, and she lifts me back up. 

Applause erupts, and Prince Ellie still hasn't let go of my hand. We both curtsey and bow, respectively, as the cheers build. I can hear our deep breaths synching up as we wave and smile.

Pulling her by our connected hands, I rush to the balcony. People part as I open the doors and close them behind us. Walking over to the railing, I lean onto it and let out a massive breath.

"Holy shit…"

"Holy shit is right, I didn't think everyone else would stop dancing." Her voice rings in my ears as I try to calm my breathing. She seemed a little better off than me but must've been in better shape.

"That was… I didn't know…" Forming sentences is hard.

"Yeah…" She mutters breathlessly; she understands. 

"Sorry for dragging you out here… I just figured you might need some air, too, after that."

She says nothing and fiddles with her fingers again. I look back at her and stare into her eyes.

"Call me Y/n…"

She looks stunned, her eyebrows raising. "But you're the Queen.."

"Oh gee, really? I had no idea." I say, sarcasm dripping from my tone. She rolls her eyes yet again, and I smile. 

"Alright, smart ass, no need to get all sarcastic on me... I'll call you Y/n.. but only if you call me Ellie." Her smile is infectious, and I can feel myself grinning wide.

"Alright.. Ellie… tell me, how long are you staying in Midir?"

She walks closer and leans onto the balcony as well.

"Well, Joel said I should stay for a few weeks to 'properly show our acceptance of the new Queen, " she says, using finger quotes. My attempt not to laugh fails, and I chuckle a little.

"Then if you'll be here a while... I'd like to ask you to form an alliance with me." I say, pretending to be all posh. She stands straighter and puts on a fake fancy face.

"My lady, I would be absolutely honored." Her dramatic tone sells it. We burst out in laughter, and she held a hand out for me.

"Freinds?" Eyebrows lowered and small look of hope in her eyes.

"Friends," I say, taking her hand and shaking it. 

"Now that we're friends, I should warn you, I'm new to being this whole... Royal thing. I only found out a week ago."

"Yeah, I heard. Don't stress. I'm terrible at it, too."

"Liar, you're an amazing dancer."

"Well, that's just dancing... I'm far more interested in Savage Starlight than I am running a country.."

"What's Savage Starlight."

If I didn't know any better, I'd say I just slapped her across the face. She looks at me like I have.

"You don't know what Savage Starlight is??" She looks at me incredulously.

"Um…. no..? Should I?"

"Uhhhh.. yea! It's only the most popular comic book series in all of Jackson! I have the ultra-rare editions too. You can read my copies if you want. Just not the ultra-rare ones…Those gotta stay in their packaging."

She looks at me, hopefully.

"Sure, I'll give them a shot."

"Fuck yea!" 

We talked for a bit longer, and I discovered that her favorite color is green and that she plays guitar. Apparently, she has a guard named Dina, with whom she's practically best friends, and a butler named Jesse. They're here with her, and she has offered for me to come to her room to meet them sometime. 

"I'd love to. I'll try and stop by sometime this week."

"Great..I um.. I'm not too good at hosting, but it should still be fun."

"Oh great, another lie," I say, rolling my eyes, my tone heavy with sarcasm.

"It's not a lie!" She says, pretending to be frustrated.

"Uh huh…"

"Uh huh!"

I soon have to withdraw from the conversation. "I'm sorry, Ellie, but I have a lot of people I have to meet with... But I promise to visit you soon."

She frowns but nods in understanding, "It's alright. I get it… Come by soon, yea..?"

"Yea.. I will."

I leave the balcony and close the doors behind me. It takes all I have to not go back and talk to her but I force myself back to my throne. Throughout the rest of the night, I meet nobles as they praise me for absolutely nothing. They're all so… fake. Ellie is the first real friend I have in this world, and I don't want to fuck it up. She is like a breath of fresh air. If fresh air smelt like bergamot and pine. Snapping out of my thoughts, I meet with the final nobles of the evening before I drag myself back to my room. It amazed me how so many people could be sleeping under one roof. 

Immediately taking a bath has to be one of the best decisions I've made today. My feet were so sore from those shoes I debated getting rid of all the heels in my closet. Rose rubs lotion all over me while Ivone deals with my hair. Anais is off getting my dinner, which I'm thankful for. I feel like I'm starving to death. 

A slight knock on the door means Anais has returned.

"Come in!" My voice echoed a bit in the space.

"Here you go, Your Majesty! I got your favorite!"

The smell of the food reaches my nose, and I can feel my stomach rumble. My maids giggle, and I huff.

"Not my fault. I'm so hungry."

"Of course not, Your Majesty," Rose says with a smug smile. I stand and walk over to the food before digging into it. It takes me minutes to eat everything and after I relax in my seat. 

"Girls.. What do you think my affinity will be..?"

They all stop what they're doing and look at me.

"Why do you ask, Your Majesty?" Jane's soothing voice asks.

"Well.. it just seems so interesting. Besides, it's such a staple sign of power... Perhaps I ought to go to the palace Affinity Master.." My thoughts pour out.

"If I were to guess, I'd say you'd have a charisma affinity." Ivone notes.

"Really? Why charisma?" My brows furrow in confusion.

"It just makes sense, doesn't it? You managed to charm the ton in less than a week. I'd say that's certainly something.

"Plus, you managed to convince Duchess Victoria to join your side. That was quite brilliant." Rose speaks up. I had told them about what had happened when I took the Royal Seal from my gown pocket.

"Well, I suppose.."

I decided not to tell them about Ellie just yet. There were a few reasons, but the main one was that I wanted to keep her a secret for a bit longer. 

"I think I'm going to head to bed, ladies. Thank you for your help."

Standing and making my way to the bed, I yawn. Rose turns off the lights as the others finish their tasks, and one by one, they leave the room. 

The moon hung low in the sky, casting a silvery glow across my room. It was one of those rare, quiet moments when everything just felt peaceful. Soon, I drifted off, thinking of all the good I wanted to do now that I was Queen.

╰┈➤Masterlist ⨾ଓ Next ↠

[freddiecorleone]

it's time again for my favourite genre of post: tumblr user bee brotherdusk theorises wildly during the Foundation midseason!

on the menu this time is Poly and Constant's Imperial Vacation From Hell, or "oh god, I just wanted to make sure one of my favourite guys was going to be okay, but somehow I ended up sending over two dozen increasingly frantic messages to the discord while everyone else was asleep, pepe silvia-style"

(today I learned that grandpa joe shows up when you type "pepe silvia" into the gif search. deserved)

I'm gonna stick this under a readmore as it gets pretty long and image heavy, and potentially contains big spoilers for upcoming episodes, and I know some people want to watch the show completely unspoiled. all theories are based on official promotional videos already released by apple. no leaks or insider book knowledge here!

so I sort of stumbled into this theory in three stages, and I'm going to stick to that template as I talk through my analysis here, starting with:

Part 1 - I'm Genre Aware Now And Everything Hurts

let's be real, nobody saw Hari's (apparent) death coming in the last episode. death is far less of a concern in this show than in others, as the narrative all but guarantees the long-term survival of its core characters. Hari (apparently) dying so quickly after having his body restored was a massive shock, and jolted us out of the complacency that the show had lulled us into.

when the title and description of next week's episode dropped, fan concern quickly turned to Poly, who @gaal-dornick and @aquitainequeen noted has started to exhibit the classic symptoms of Tragic Mentor Figure Disease:

also, there's, y'know, The Guillotine Situation as shown in Trailer 1:

Poly's death seemed so likely that I was beginning to dread the coming episodes, but something was nagging at me; I had a vague memory of seeing a trailer where he was on Terminus and in a situation that we haven't yet seen him in. maybe he does survive his brush with Brother Day, then? I started rewatching all of the trailers, teasers, and character spotlight videos that Apple released in the run-up to season two, and came across something way wilder than I'd expected:

Part 2 - Star Bridge 2: Council Boogaloo

I found another camera shot of Poly and Constant's apparent execution in the Brother Dawn character spotlight video - note the pillars in front of the crowd, the flags in the back, and Dawn, Sareth, Demerzel, Dusk, and Rue standing on the platform behind Day and the prisoners.

note also the onlookers in the maroon robes, who are also visible in the guillotine closeup I posted above...

...hey, it's the Galactic Council as seen in 2.06, with their GILF-y leader at the front in both scenes!

remember how terrified Cleon XII was of their judgement in the season one finale? we still don't know what their exact deal is, but they're clearly big cheeses politically if XII of all people is afraid of them:

here's yet another angle of the execution from Trailer 2 - same setup, same arrangement of Empire on the podium:

let's see what happens in that shot, will we? ..... oh

... did an explosion just go off in the heart of Trantor and potentially take out the entire galaxy's government in one go???? (I mean, Empire are probably fine with their auras and nanobots and backups, but I'm not feeling too good about the Council's chances right now...)

wait - the pulse and shape that appear on the horizon bear a striking resemblance to the new Foundation whisper ships - especially Poly and Constant's ship, Spirit Rising, which is currently in the hands of Hober Mallow...

why did he take their ship, again?

holy fucking shit Hari Seldon you insane rat bastard (admiring, horrified, impressed). what have you DONE. a blade in case the religious hand of friendship doesn't work out, you say??

(sidenote: this was literally the Anacreon plan for the Invictus in the first season - the scale of the destruction would have been magnitudes worse due to the Invictus' size, but same concept)

honestly, I kind of hope the entire Council perishes in the Mallowpocalypse, if only because it would make this exchange in 2.06 deliciously ironic:

the worst detectives in the world finally found their shared braincell and made a deduction! I'm proud of them!

also, Glawen literally saw this coming in 2.04 and Bel brushed him off. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ sad!

regarding casualties - I think this shot from Trailer 1 is the aftermath of the blast. Day was standing much closer to the explosion than the rest of Empire and Dominion, and so would have taken more damage, aura or not. I also see Sareth, Rue (?), and Dawn - jury's out on whether being dead is the latest item added to Dusk's rapidly expanding list of problems?

a direct attack on Trantor would also explain why Day goes on a personal tour of the Outer Reach and ends up on Terminus, screaming for an audience with Hari Seldon (Trailer 1 again):

and hey, Poly's right behind him! he's Empire's best chance of getting a personal audience with the Prophet, after all. Poly also pops up in Day's character spotlight video, in what I'm guessing is the execution scene again, judging from the collar and the guard restraining him. it might even be the aftermath of the blast, since the shot is pretty chaotic and dusty looking. what's got him so upset?

... and it was at this moment that I realised that while Poly is present in the later Terminus scenes with Day, Brother Constant is not, and I started to worry that I'd been focusing on the wrong person the whole time, leading to...

Part 3 - What About Constant?

oh no. the question of Constant's safety has been hanging over both Poly and the viewer since 2.02. oh no

I thought I might have caught a glimpse of her in the Teaser 1 video - being restrained in the background as Day does his infamously-giffed-to-hell Big Steppy on Hober's throat - but I still wanted more concrete proof of her wellbeing.

and finally I found her in the Pillars of Foundation video, alive and well, but -

HER NECK!! HER NECK!!!

if Constant's life is just barely saved by Hober showing up in the nick of time to prevent her decapitation by an insane tyrant I will literally never be normal again. romance. that's romance. (also incredibly shitty of Vault!Hari to take her blind faith and turn her into a pawn for the Empire to slaughter, but I guess that's expected behaviour from him by now.)

... I was literally about to hit post on this theory, but I just realised; that scene in Teaser 1 where Day is facing down a bishop's claw... we all assumed he was being attacked by a wild beast in the Outer Reach - but what if he's lying in the ruins of the podium on Trantor, and the bishop's claw is a freed Beki going on a rampage? god I hope this happens. imagine being Emperor of the Galaxy, about to perform some casual executions before dinner, and suddenly you're flat on your ass with a Hell Dinosaur about to bite your face off. incredible scenes

and that's all I've got! TLDR; Hari knew that the emperors and Galactic Council would become increasingly paranoid and aggressive as the Empire contracted, and would jump at the chance to publicly end an attempted religious takeover by the "barbarian" Outer Reach. That mass gathering at the execution would be the perfect time to strike with a whisper ship, a technology which the Empire has no idea even exists. This enrages Day into visiting Terminus to deal with the Foundation in person, and potentially destabilises the Empire further if the Council have been wiped out. Empire's structure and dignity are decimated without a single shot being fired - and if there is going to be an eventual, physical war, the Foundation is now in a much better position to fight it.

again, this is just me making a theory and connecting everything together with red string etc etc. I haven't attempted to explain everything, such as the Spacers' or Riose's involvement, and have doubtless got some details wrong - but I'm really excited by how things are connecting and can't wait for next week's episode :}

[vitrines]

okay i give in to the foundationposting for a little bit sorry regulars

spoilers for season 2 episode 9 and some of my thoughts on what's going to happen next (psst it's mostly half baked opinions and rambling)

-literally zero way EVERYONE on terminus is dead. zero way. it's not possible. this isn't even me being delusioned there are just about ten things that don't line up. i will get into this later in the post but first

-i am so so happy that they went into demerzel's past. she is such an intriguing character to me and honestly i was wary to participate in this fandom because of how many people seemed to like. genuinely like her and cleon together. no hate to anyone but it's really not my thing like REALLY not my thing and i kind of cheered when she went all "well i tried to fix you by sleeping with you but well um you're just kind of weird. goodbye 😐" i CHEERED. girl. girl get it.

-and she is lich rally trapped into being with the cleons. i loved the scene when she was with the priestess lady a few episodes ago that was such an insight into her mind and this episode felt like that it was wonderful i was HOOKED i was like oh my god.

-also by the way this paints that scene with sareth in an entire new light. sareth asks "will you serve me" and demerzel GRITS THROUGH HER TEETH that She Serves Empire and maybe she was not trying to threaten her. maybe she was sending a message. saying "hey girl so i literally cannot do anything else. i am telling you i am bound to this man because i has no choice and YOU are going to bind yourself to this man as well."

-same with telling sareth that demerzel killed her family. demerzel didn't need to tell her. demerzel in fact probably should NOT have told her. day didn't want sareth to find out that he ordered it. but demerzel is telling her: if he tells me to kill i must. demerzel has no reason to threaten sareth she's not jealous she is just SICK and tired of loving this man out of compulsion and doing what he says. (this is a bit of the delusions sorry i just really don't like demerzel Actually loving empire and being jealous out of her own free will. so i am grasping at straws.)

-also demerzel is going to go back and like rip dusk and rue's faces off. she is going to Get them. like oh my god. i am becoming a demerzel apologist but i love rue i kind of hope she doesn't die

-okay on to the fate of terminus yeah first of all she is NOT dead. she simply isn't. zero percent chance all those guys are dead. my first evidence for this is the bite mark thing on hober's arm cause like. he says "oh the spacers probably marked me for later and that's how you tracked us down" but bel does not confirm this. he was the one who asked what the thing was on the arm. i don't think that's how the fleet found hober and constant which means it's something else which is very inch resting

-soooo. the invictus gets hit. and destroyed. and then it gets lined up and shot into terminus. and not once do we see a scene from that ship after it starts to explode. pounds the desk if you don't see the BODY it's not DEAD!!!! glawen (how do you spell his name) here is our prime example. man was not dead when his ship went down. and neither is terminus. last shot of the invictus is just the commander guy and that one girl looking at each other and like someone's hand loosens or something. there are like hundreds of people on that ship it was stashed and yet we see none of them???? no explosions???

-hober still has one of the teleport bracelet things... that is Going to be relevant. even though he said it's broken or something they wouldn't show it if not important

-they can't kill poly man :( he's not dead. he is chilling. trust me he told me himself /lying

-all in all just like. yes this is the Killing Main Characters show but i really struggle with believing that terminus is gone. i think the spacers are still relevant and i think we DIDN'T see the body and i think i still cried over bel and glawen anyways. they are so "she's been dead since the beginning" to me like they ARE doomed but damn if i didn't get attached anyways

-as always day you are so. huh. to me. like okay man yeah sure i think my lesbianism is shading me from what most of you all see in him (said politely) like have fun but i need him kind of gone sorry

-hari seldon my best friend back and axe murderer!! girl so true!! he has things wrong with him and it's so intriguing. he's so me

-love you salvor never change. consider lesbianism though. seriously. i miss phara every day they HAD something

-i missed sareth actually i kind of love her she's so spottingly sincere. i hope they don't murder her horrifically

[litcityblues]

Foundation, Season 2: You Can Put The Haterade Down Now

One thing that kind of surprised me about the first season of this show was just how many haters came out of the woodwork to proclaim their disdain for it. I couldn't understand that-- the original source material covers something like a thousand years or so and had they done a page-to-screen adaptation, pure and simple, it would have been... boring, quite honestly.

No, what Apple has done is what I wish that Amazon would have done with The Wheel of Time: they've put some money behind this thing, and as a result, even if you have issues with the adaptation of the show-- which, in general, I don't, then you can at least acknowledge that it looks beautiful.

Season 2 picks up about a century after we last saw our heroes and the Second Crisis predicted by Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) is approaching. This time around, however, we get multiple Seldons. There's the one on Terminus, hanging in his vault, popping out to send mysterious messages to the waiting crowds like 'HOBER MALLOW' which people eventually figure out. It turns out, in the time jump forward, the Cleons (Lee Pace, Terrence Mann, and Cassian Bilton) have assumed that Terminus is long gone and haven't bothered to double-check, so the Foundation is now spreading the 'gospel of Seldon' as a religion to neighboring planets and is starting to attract attention. Mallow (Dmitri Leonidas)-- who isn't a priest, but a ne'er do well merchant of sorts, gets tracked down by a couple of the clerics- Poly (Kulvinder Ghir) and Constant. (Isabella Laughland)

Back on Trantor, a fresh trio of Cleons is confronted with some unusual happenings: someone sends assassins to try and kill Day, who has made the momentous decision to end the genetic dynasty and marry to produce heirs. (Also, he's sleeping with Demerzel (Laura Birn) now, which is... weird. Dusk is especially weirded out by it, but few others seem to comment on it.) Naturally, his decision to seek a bride-- in this case, Queen Sareth I (Ella Rae-Smith) of the Cloud Dominion makes Dusk and Dawn a little nervous, as once the baby is born, it sort of makes them irrelevant. Happily for them, before Day can go too much further with his plans, he catches wind of something going on in the Outer Rim and finds out that the Foundation has survived thanks to renegade General Bel Riose. (Ben Daniels)

The second one is on flooded Synnax with Gaal (Lou Llobell) and Salvor (Leah Harvey) and he's a little upset because he's been trapped inside the Prime Radiant pretty much the entire time and it hasn't been fun for him.

Gaal and Salvor do acknowledge this, but point out that they're going to need some help getting off the planet and Mobile Seldon after some reluctance- for obvious, 'you trapped me in the Prime Radiant for like a hundred years' reasons, agrees to do so. They start exploring Gaal and Salvor's mental abilities- and Gaal sees a vision from 150 years in the future where a powerful Mentalic called The Mule (Mikael Persbrandt) kills Salvor. Desperate to prevent that, they answer the mental call from the planet Ignis, where they find a colony of Mentalics, who seem welcoming at first, but their leader Tellem (Rachel House) takes them captive instead and the trio- which turns into a duo after Mobile Seldon is (seemingly) killed by Tellem have to figure out how to break free and defeat Tellem.

Eventually, they do-- but at a cost. Salvor sacrifices her life to prevent Gaal from being killed-- and proves that the future can be changed because her death now means that her vision of the future can't have come true. Gaal and Mobile Seldon agree to enter cryostasis for a century or so, waking up once a year to teach the nascent new Second Foundation.

Back with the other Seldon, the second crisis has arrived- though it doesn't go the way that Empire thinks it will though. Mallow cuts a deal with the Spacers to deny Empire the use of hyperspace and they start a chain reaction that slowly destroys the Imperial fleet, even as Empire sends the wreck of Invictus spinning down to the planet where everyone and everything is seemingly destroyed. Day is kicked out an airlock by Riose and then Mallow and Riose await their fate together while Constant is set adrift in a converted cleaning module, hoping that someone will pick her up.

On Trantor, Demerzel is outsmarted- kind of. Dusk finds out the truth about her (the standout episode, "Long Ago, Not Far Away" fills in a lot of the gaps) and her programming means that she will stay loyal to the genetic dynasty above all, so Dusk is killed to protect her secret. Sareth-- with child- and Dawn flees and Demerzel- with a copy of the Prime Radiant decants three new Emperors and just keeps on keeping on-- at least for now.

It turns out that Constant does survive and gets picked up by Seldon's vault and it turns out to be a little TARDIS-like, since it's bigger on the inside and can hold the entire populace of Terminus.

We flash forward to the future, where a crazed-looking Mule vows to find Gaal Dornick, as he senses her presence.

Overall: Look, you can put down the Haterade now, people: this is a good show. It might even wind up being a great show and-- it's not that far off from the books. It might be one of those rare adaptations that- and I realize I'm treading on some very thin ice here- improves upon the source material?

I know that's going to seem like heresy to a lot of sci-fi fans and I respect that. If Asimov is your do-or-die and you expected something closer to the books with this adaptation, I get it. You can be made-- but with adaptations, you've got to figure out how to bring new viewers in without them having to read the books first and if you're really good at what you do, you'll inspire new viewers/people who haven't read the books to maybe go check them out. Either way, I think people are going to be reading those books that maybe wouldn't have before and so, even if you disagree with it or hate the adaptation, I'm going to come down on the side of this being a good, solid adaptation-- maybe even a great one. (I mean, come on y'all: the source material did have some issues.)

That's not to say that it's not without potential problems. I don't know if you can keep leaning on Gaal Dornick if you go much beyond the next season or so. If she keeps freezing herself to jump ahead, I'm going to hope that the character at least suffers some side effects or something. It's going to start straining credibility a bit if she just keeps getting iced to go between seasons and jump ahead in time.

I'm also intrigued by the Seldon Vault and where they're going... because that is definitely not in the books either, so I'm kind of curious to see what they do with it.

My Grade: Stop hating, this is good and potentially great science fiction that while not a perfect adaptation of its source material does right by it at the very least. **** out of ****

[coopsgirl]

I saw this article this morning and thought it was interesting. Lee is indeed why I started watching the show. I know almost nothing about the books but I really enjoyed season 1. The dynamic between the three versions of Cleon and their robot advisor Demerzel was by far the most interesting part of the show for me and I think they were played by the best and strongest actors of the series.

I think the actors playing Gaal and Salvor are the weakest and now in season 2, they are together in all of their scenes. This is not good and I lose interest when they are on screen. I also have problems with the Sareth character. She could be fun and intriguing but instead she comes off like a bratty teenager who seems annoyed at being there. The Brother Constant character is fine though and I do like the interaction between her and Poly.

An increase in the number of female characters does not automatically make it a quality production. They still need to be well written characters played by competent actors. So far, I don't really like the storyline they are setting up this season. It's not as fun or compelling as season 1. Even Lee seems a little less than thrilled to be there. Going by the trailer it looks like some exciting things are going to happen so let's hope it does soon.

[highhopeslowrolls]

New High Hopes Low Rolls Merch!

Brand new High Hopes Low Rolls merch now in our store, shriekingwizard.com/shop

We got prints, we got posters, we got stickers, we got music! Well, we have everything I just listed.

You can now grab the chibis of the party as well as some cool new designs! Sareth’s tower is now a sticker, a print and a lino print, cut by Jenny! The Lino prints are a limited run (there are only 10!). You can also get Sareth himself as a sticker with big, holographic glasses.

Head on over to shriekingwizard.com/shop to check it out!

[faeriexqueen]

Labyrinth 30 Day Challenge (Day 08) (*For this one, answering it solo because because ah, I have a lot of feelings about this and don’t really write about my OTP much specifically.) 08 - OTP.

Let me preface this by saying that Sareth (Jareth x Sarah) will always, always have a special place in my heart - especially since I mean, as a kid I was convinced the film was a romance between them. XD However, my OTP is actually older!Toby x Jareth (this probably won’t be a surprise to anyone following me, especially since my labyrinth fanfiction is pretty exclusively Toby x Jareth). I’ve been shipping this hard for years now (since like...2005, thanks to some content on FF.net, namely one fic in particular >.>), though it’s about as niche a rarepair as you can get. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what it was about this ship that made me latch onto it so hard when I first discovered it, but I think there’s just a lot of untapped potential? One thing is definitely that because Toby is an infant in the film, there’s room to think creatively about how the events of the film would impact him into young adulthood/adulthood, so I think there’s a lot of interesting plot things you can play with there. It opens a lot of creative freedom for fic writers, too, especially in terms of thinking how Toby’s personality may develop, what parallels he may have to Sarah, etc. But also - I love the fact that this ship is one that would fucking blindside Jareth so hard. Even in my own writing, Jareth always initially has romantic interest in Sarah - and it makes sense. She’s the champion of the Labyrinth who solved it and got her baby brother back. She beat Jareth. In terms of tropes and archetypes, she is the one you would pair with Jareth, and even Jareth would expect that. But? Toby? The baby that Jareth probably would have turned into a goblin without a second thought? (Yes, Jareth was a pretty great babysitter and talked about naming Toby Jareth after himself, but still - he was going to make that baby a goblin.) To have him grow up and become a love interest is so damn lit in terms of potential plot development and drama. Jareth wouldn’t see it coming, and I love anything to throw Jareth for a loop. (Anything to shake him up - we don’t see it enough. XD) It just breaks a lot of norms for me, and this ship lives rent free in my mind 24/7. All these years later, and it’s always the ship I go back to. It really is my biggest comfort probably across any fandom and definitely the one I have a joy writing one of the mosts (if not the most). <3

(Also going to take a moment to shamelessly promote my series on AO3, The Owl and the Labyrinth. However, please check all tags and warnings before reading as many of them contain E-rated content. For Something to Dream of, individual chapter warnings are given as well.) Days 01 - 07.

[skellig-island]

sareth-dorn reblogged your post and added:

Why would anyone really believe that the story...

I guess some people think that this is a romance story and that Guts “deserves” Casca after all the man pain he’s been through, and also that Griffith is a secondary character now.

[writingsofawanderingwonderer]

Game Postmortem: The Heart of Tales

Hello, and welcome to the Behind the Scenes article for my game, The Heart of Tales.

Quick intro here. This will contain spoilers for the game.

I've sorted this article into different parts: WRITING, ART, MUSIC, and the POST MORTEM. Each of those parts has different sections, and so on. You can skip ahead to the sections you want to read about.

Also, I'll refer to the player character by her default name, Hiro.

I tried to keep everything short, but it ended up being this long.

Now with that out of the way, let's begin.

=====WRITING=====

Inspiration: From Baldur's Gate to Tolkien

The Heart of Tales is inspired by various RPG games with medieval fantasy settings. Worlds where swords can talk, and you can take mysterious items to a shopkeeper to identify them. I decided to make The Heart of Tales follow similar "rules" to RPGs than to, say, medieval Fantasy television series. Because of that, The Heart of Tales is more eclectic in its nature (pulling from Greek Mythology, Arabic folklore, etc.--like many Dungeons & Dragon games) than historic or purely medieval European.

Some notable inspirations include the games Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, and Undertale. I was also inspired by Tolkien's novels and the German folklore surrounding the jester/trickster character, Till Eulenspiegel.

Icewind Dale

In Icewind Dale, there's a scene near the climax of the game where the main villain gives a big speech of how powerful they are. Like in The Heart of Tales, the player character in Icewind Dale has the option to reply to the whole speech with, "Woah."

Undertale

Undertale inspired the idea to let the player choose whether or not Hiro goes back to adventuring or stays retired by the end of the story. To me, it was important that the player was happy with Hiro's choice, so I didn't want to make the choice for the player.

Princess Maker 2

The line in the game where Hiro is rumoured to have been "born from the sky" is a reference to Princess Maker 2,

12 Kingdoms

The idea of a world or continent being divided by 12 kingdoms is a common trope in fantasy stories. In The Heart of Tales, I pictured that the continent is made up of 12 kingdoms, and the closer you are to the 1st kingdom, the more rich and upper-class the inhabitants are. The 12th kingdom would be the poorest.

Jester Till

I like bards. Bards are one of, if not my favourite, class in Dungeons & Dragons games. Neverwinter Nights used them to a good effect (meaning they have a balanced character build), but many other games overlook and/or don't include the bard class.

Till Eulenspiegel is a character who brings bards and jesters into the forefront of storytelling, by making the main character a jester.

Route Designs

I learned from Three Guys That Paint that having three love interests complicates things compared to two love interests. If you give the player three "A or B" choices, then the possible results can be three points to A or B, or two points to A or B. But adding a third love interest creates a programming problem: What if the player gives one point to each possible love interest? Then the game doesn't know what to do! And adding a fourth choice would add further problems.

That's the problem I had when I added Sareth's route.

I fixed this by making Sareth's route unlockable. The player had to pick New Game+ and that transports them to the "gift" choice, skipping the first choice. So instead of three choices, the player gets two. To add difficulty for the player, if they give one point to Sareth's route and one to Mithamoore or Cole, they fall into Mithamoore of Cole's route instead of Sareth's.

Making Sareth's route unlockable also implies that Aemza gets stronger and stronger with each playthrough, which is why he gains the ability to possess Hiro in Sareth's route.

Writing Process

The writing process was very similar to how I wrote Three Guys That Paint and Must Love Jaws. I started with a plot summary of the whole story. I separated the plot summary into scenes, and then I expanded each scene's summary into dialogue and narration. There were about 20 scenes total, and I wrote each scene in chronological order.

Then I took it all into Ren'Py and added coding like sprite movements and sound effects.

Theme: The Art of Violence?

Even though I've never been able to play any of his games (due to platform issues), I admire that Yoko Taro as a creator who makes video games that use the medium to help tell the story, such as giving plot explanations for the player character's ability to save and reload. The game mechanics have an in-universe explanation and the characters have an awareness of it.

In a video interview, he says the following (though note that this is an English translation), "[While working on the original Drakengard,] I thought about the meaning of "killing." I was looking at a lot of games back then, and I saw messages like "You've defeated 100 enemies!" or "Eradicated 100 enemy soldiers!" in an almost gloating manner. But when I thought about it in an extremely calm state of mind, it hit me that gloating about killing a hundred people is strange. I mean, you're a serial killer if you killed a hundred people. It just struck me as insane. [...] You don't have to be insane to kill someone, you just have to think you're right."

Anemza: Writing "True Villains"

I've also been noticing this change in storytelling, particularly in Western animation: More and more stories are having villains who are either:

a) Misunderstood and not really villains underneath, requiring the hero to "defeat" them through non-violent means. The hero instead has to show empathy and defuse tension when they face the antagonist (examples: Moana, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Steven Universe),

Or b) The villain turns out to be a character who was originally displayed as "nice" or "meek" and was thus overlooked by the hero (recent examples include Zootopia, Frozen, Wonder Woman).

At first, I was really frustrated with this; I missed "true villains" from the Renaissance Era of Disney and I didn't know what to make of this new trend with antagonists. I missed villains who had a lot of build-up and screen time. I missed villains like Megabyte (Reboot) that had a grand sense of presence. But then I realized why this change was occurring: It's important to teach people, especially young children, the importance of not just being brave and standing up for yourself. It's also important to teach them the importance of knowing that you can defuse confrontations in pacifist manner.

So even though I gave the game a "true villain" I also gave the message that for every act of violence, there's a consequence.

He's defeated because he couldn't have been changed: A person has to want to change in order to change.

Body Count: Is Hiro a One-Woman Army?

Hiro tells Cole that she's killed at least 447 beings before she "lost count."

To put this into perspective: The average kill count for the RPG D&D game Baldur's Gate is said to be around 1,500 for its full campaign. In that game, you are usually playing as a party of six characters.

Theme: Faith

I was very concerned about getting the romance routes in this game right because I think the romantic elements in my earlier game Three Guys That Paint were one of its weakest points.

So I realized that I had to focus on a specific aspect of relationships. For this game, I focused on the idea of faith in your partner.

Relationships are about sacrifice. It's about changing the idea of "me" into "we." It isn't just about liking what your lover is like. It's also about liking what you're like when you're with that person. Some partners bring out a certain strength in their partner.

The Meaning of 0451

0451 is a "Easter Egg" number used in a variety of games. Originally created as a reference to Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the number is generally used to state that the developers of the game in question (usually an immersive sim like Bioshock, System Shock, and Thief) has themes of an ideology going wrong. For more information on this number's history and significance, I recommend checking out Errant's Signal's video essay on the topic.

One of the themes in The Heart of Tales is the idea that the main character is suffering from being put on a pedestal--and an ideology--that she no longer believes in. She is 0451. That's why during the climax of the game in Sareth's route, she says, "I am nothing. I am the fourth. The fifth. And lastly, I'm the first..." (Which translates to: "Nothing/Fourth/Fifth/First" = 0451). I mean, a lot of games in general are about a fantasy world going wrong, but I still thought it was an intriguing reference. An ideology crumbling.

Rejecting "Kindness Coins"

"Kindness coins" is a term used in visual novel development that refers to the "points system" often used in romance VNs. The player makes choices to unlock a romanceable character. The more choices they make to please the love interest they're pursuing, the more likely they'll unlock that route.

The term is not thought of highly and is generally used in a negative context: The implication is that, so long as the player acts nicely to the love interest and says what the love interest wants to hear (rather than being honest or properly roleplaying as the player character), the player will "earn" a romance with the love interest.

Which is a rather odd design mechanic, since in real life, being nice to someone to get something from them is not true kindness. And romantic partners in real life are often opposites who don't agree on some things.

In The Heart of Tales, Anemza tries to call out Hiro on her choices, saying that a few simple choices lead to the various routes she walked down. And if Hiro fights a possessed Cole or Mithamoore, they also accuse her of manipulating them. The game raises the idea of "kindness coins are bad"... only to reject it. Because Hiro ultimately defeats Anemza and wins the heart of her love interest, with little to no consequences.

This is because I find the idea that "using kindness coins makes the player a manipulator" is untrue, and that punishing a player for playing a romance game is rather... a bit much.*

It's because I find it similar to the idea that violent video games leads to violent people (which I think is utter tommyrot). People who kill in video games are not killers. They are actors reenacting a play. They are roleplaying. You may as well punish an actor for playing a villain.

The player in The Heart of Tales may be making choices to get a certain outcome (or they may not), but at the end of the day, they are still playing Hiro. And Hiro is the one who falls in love.

* (Footnote: There's only a few games I've seen that have managed to pull off this idea of punishing the player for their well-intentioned choices. And it's usually for playing the game a certain way, rather than playing the game at all.)

Hiro: The Difference Between a Grump and a Jerk

I tried to make sure that players liked Hiro, despite her wanting to turn away Mithamoore and Cole, as well as deceiving to them to try and get rid of them.

To me, there's a huge difference between being a grump and being a jerk. Hiro is written as the former, which I think makes her empathetic to players.

I don't like writing jerk-type characters, so that helped.

Mithamoore: Making a Likeable "Bad Boy"

A great irony with The Heart of Tales is that my last completed game, [redacted] Life, pokes fun at character archetypes found in otome games, including the "bad boy" archetype. Yet in The Heart of Tales, the tropes are played straight, rather than deconstructed.

I wanted to make Mithamoore intense yet likeable. It was a challenging balance to make (after all, he does begin the game wanting to kill Hiro). I think what helped was showing his vulnerability. He's unused to being human, and unused to reacting to feelings of romantic love.

I also had each love interest introduced one by one. I wanted Mithamoore to be introduced before Cole because Mithamoore is more aggressive and therefore would probably be harder to like. That was my theory at the time, but I've discovered that Mithamoore ended up being one of the more-popular routes.

Cole: Putting Heroes on a Pedestal and Hero Worship

Cole's character was influenced by the character Leo from Scrapped Princess, one of the first anime series I ever watched. Leo is a knight errant who struggles with the meaning of chivalry, as he gets torn between his duty as a knight and wanting to protect the main character, who is a princess wanted dead by the kingdom to prevent a dark prophesy from fulfilling.

When I was writing Cole, I wanted his character arc to be about overcoming his hero worship of Hiro. He's placed her on this pedestal that she can't possibly measure up to, and he has to learn to accept that and love her for who she really is.

Cole as a Fighter

Cole constantly quoting from the Knight Errant's Mantra was inspired by the character Double H from Beyond Good & Evil, who often quoted a fictional manual called Carlson and Peters.

His maneuver and defence names, Durer's Defence and Wallerstein's Codex, are references to famed engraver Albrecht Dürer (of the German Renaissance, who made many illustrations on sword fighting techniques) and the Codex Wallerstein (a compilation of three 15th-century combat manual manuscripts). Some illustrations from both can be seen here.

Cole as a Cook

I liked how I made Cole a good cook and made Hiro bad at cooking. In terms of gender roles, the stereotype is usually the opposite. Clinging to stereotypes just doesn't feel as believable to me.

"He Didn't Actually Blush"

I made sure that the characters never blush at any point in the story. Falling back to blushing as a way of showing romance is a big pet peeve among writers. I'm okay with others using it in moderation, but I decided to not use it myself.

Sareth: The Final Piece

Originally, Sareth wasn't a love interest. But after I started posting work in progress information on Twitter and Lemmasoft, several people lamented that they wouldn't be able to date the talking sword.

And the more I wrote the story, the more I thought about Sareth becoming a love interest. And the more it made sense. I slowly went from, "I'd be crazy to write this," to, "I'd be crazy not to write this."

So basically, I blame all of you for Sareth's route. ;)

Inspiration Behind Sareth

The biggest inspiration behind Sareth is Enseric the Longsword from Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. Neverwinter Nights was the first RPG I ever played, and it's one of the reasons why I love RPG games.

Enserric was a weapon you obtained during an early section of the game (a dungeon created by a mad wizard). Enserric is a talking sword, is one of the most powerful weapons in the game, and had an entire, elaborate backstory (he was originally a mage who got his soul trapped within the sword and left for dead by his fleeing companions). I've also heard rumors that a side-quest was cut from the final game, which involved finding a body for Enserric before his consciousness completely disappeared within the sword.

Like Sareth, Enseric could taste the blood of the enemies he fought, and had a very inflated opinion of himself.

Anemza's Plans

Anemza explaining his plans on what he was going to do to Hiro (before he decided on his final plan) were actually some of the ideas I had before deciding on the idea I went with.

The Shopkeeper is Based on a Real Person

The ambiguously-gendered, mysterious shopkeeper is loosely based off of Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan scholar who widely travelled the medieval world, including Africa, the Middle East, India, Central and Southeast Asia, and China. He has been described by author John Green as "probably the most well-travelled person before the invention of the steam engine." During the twilight of his life, he wrote an account of his journey, referred to as The Travels, which provides a picture of medieval civilization that is still widely consulted today.

[images: Ibn Battuta and the shopkeeper sprite]

What's in a Name?

I actually came up with Cole and Mithamoore's names pretty late. While I was writing the game, I labelled them as Knight and Dragon.

Hiro's Name

Hiro as in hero, get it? Ha... heh... (sheepishly grins)

The following events happen if you try to name the player character these names:

Choosing nothing, or choosing Hiro/Hero:

"Her name was Hiro. And that should have been the very first clue. [name]."

Naming her Mithamoore: "Her name was Mithril. Named after the beautiful metal used for the armour of heroes."

Mason: "Her name was Morgan. Named after the beautiful gemstone from the darkest caves."

Cole/Caldwell: "Her name was Nicole. The name that stood for 'victorious people.'"

Sareth/Sword/Claymore: "Her name was Sara. It meant 'princess.'"

Anemza: (The music suddenly stops.) Anemza's dialogue goes: "I AM THE DEMON THAT COMES WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME." (The game proceeds to automatically quit.)        

Shopkeeper: "Her name was Shoppy. A name that evoked merchants and traders."

Jester/Till/Bard: "Her name was Tilli. Named after the famous jester, Till."

Adventurer: "Her name was Farryn. It meant 'adventurous child.'"

Villager: "Her name was Mariko. It meant 'true village child.'"

Poop/Sh*t: "Her name was Showell. It meant 'to shovel.'"

Anti-swearing feature. If you type in some swear words: "Her name was Liliha. It meant 'to angrily disregard.'"

Dave/Davette/Ogu Pigu/OguPigu: "Her name was Davette."

Mithamoore's Name

I looked at Skyrim dragon names to help come up with a dragon name. I wanted something long yet easy for me to remember. ^^;

The idea of giving him the title of Mithamoore the Earthburner was inspired by The Hobbit's Smaug and his various titles.

Cole's Name

Cole's name was probably from Cole Phelps from the game LA Noire, where Phelps is a very straight-laced, follow the rules-type young detective. I wanted to invoke that feeling.

Anemza's Name

Anemza's name I basically came up with by doing the following:

Start with the name Jasmine.

Remove the first letter: Asmine.

Reverse the remaining letters: Enimsa.

Change some of the letters to other letters that sound phonically similar: E into A, I to E, S to Z: Anemza.

What really settled it was when I realized that Anemza sounds like the word "anemic," which can mean "lacking blood or warmth."

So yeah, Anemza is basically the name Jasmine put through a blender.

=====ART======

Inspiration

The Heart of Tales' overall art style was inspired by games like Princess Maker 2 (detailed illustrations with a pixelated texture), Undertale (giving each background a limited colour palette, and associating home with the colour yellow), and older games like Psychic Detective and Phantasmagoria (using smaller CGs in framed boxes).

Art Process

Preproduction

Before I start production work on any game, I create a folder and fill it with images I've found that give me ideas on what the game should look like. I've only learned recently that this called a "swipe folder."

Then I start drawing sketches on paper, and use those as concept art for the final sprites, backgrounds, CGs, and user interface.

 [Image: My paper notes]

Index Painting

I used Dan Fessler's wonderful tutorial on creating pixel art through HD index painting.

Basically, the steps are like so:

1) Paint the artwork in Photoshop like you normally do, but using no colour. Only use shades of grey.

2) Apply a Dither layer on top using the Paint Bucket Tool.

3) Add a Black and white Adjustment layer on top of that.

4) Add a Posterize adjustment layer on top of that.

5) Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer on top of that. Edit it to get the colours you want.

I basically reverse-engineered Dan Fessler's Photoshop file that he provides in the tutorial.

Hiro's Design

I wanted her outfit to imply a bunch of different possible backstories, so I gave her puffy sleeves (bard), a tunic with light-coloured trimming (noblewoman), a tunic (adventurer), and a symbol that resembles the game's mouse (implying that she has her own personal symbol).

Mithamoore's Design

I'm not sure where I got the idea for his outfit. I wanted the outfit Hiro gives him to make him look like he values art, culture, and good craftsmanship.

I think I based his hair on Benedict Cumberbatch playing Sherlock Holmes. Which is ironic, because Cumberbatch also played a dragon in The Hobbit.

Cole's Design

Cole's armour design is loosely based off of Leopold Scorpus from Scrapped Princess.

I made Cole the tallest character and gave him armour that looks a lot bigger than himself. I like the "Popeye-arms" effect it gives him.

Anemza's Design

I wanted Anemza's design to look like a creature from another dimension. I looked up animal and monster designs medieval tapestries and manuscript. There are some really bizarre, amusing, and creative designs, so I gave Anemza the body parts of various animals. I made a conscious decision to make Anemza the only animated character, to make him feel more otherworldly.

I was influenced by Terry Gilliam's Monty Python cut-out animation, as well as the designs of the witches in Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and "Omega Flowey" from Undertale. 

[images from Monty Python's Flying Circus, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Undertale]

I specifically avoided using rigging and tweening when I animated Anemza, to give him a more stop-motion quality. I animated the body parts frame by frame in Photoshop CS6.

I also programmed Anemza's sprite to "glitch" at randomized intervals, and in different ways.

 [Image: Just a few of Anemza’s “glitching” animation frames]

=====MUSIC=====

The OST music was created by the wonderful Noyemi K.

I asked Noyemi to create seven leitmotifs:

1) A romantic theme.

2) A sad theme.

3) A scary theme.

4) Mithamoore's theme.

5) Cole's theme.

6) Anemza's theme.

7) Anemza's hopeful theme.

I gave a description of each of the characters, and I specifically asked for Anemza's "hopeful" theme to be a remix of Anemza's "scary" theme. Noyemi creating a "glitching," stuttering sound effect for Anemza's theme to give the idea the Anemz's mere presence is breaking the game.

=====POST MORTEM=====

What Went Right

The Characters

I'm glad that players were okay with the idea of dating a dragon and a sword. I'm glad people embraced that.

Portraying love

Ever since Three Guys That Paint, I've been skeptic and unsure about whether or not I could write love stories. The romances were the weakest part of Three Guys That Paint in my opinion, so I wondered if I needed to try again, or if writing romance just wasn't going to be one of my strengths. I'm glad that people liked the romances in The Heart of Tales. I think a lot of it comes from the love interests feeling more fleshed out to me here than Arthur and Terri from Three Guys That Paint.

Original Music

Working with Noyemi K was an absolute pleasure. Players commented on how much they liked the original sound track. I plan on working with Noyemi on a future project.

Persistent Data

"Persistent data" is a term I discovered while making [redacted] Life. Persistent data allows a Ren'Py game to remember previous choices a player has made, and keeps that information, even if the player reloads or deletes their previous progress.

Although I didn't use persistent data nearly as much as I did with [redacted] Life, I did use it for some of Anemza's dialogue (he notes that he knows about players' previous playthroughs). Many players commented on how they were impressed by that detail.

What Could Have Been Better

Getting Ideas Last-Minute

The pro to it was that there was less research notes I wrote that I needed to read through.

The con was that I usually like to come up with an idea and mull over it for about a year or more. After that amount of time, I have a better idea of where I want the project to go.

Here, I had to make quick decisions like adding Sareth's romance route and realising the theme of the central game was faith in others. Feeling my way through the story as I was writing was slower.

Coincidence

The Heart of Tales relies on a lot of coincidence (Mithamoore and Cole meeting Hiro on the same night, Hiro's companions finding the goblins, etc.). Avoiding coincidence is something that I'll have to try to avoid in my future games.

What I Learned

Ren'Py's New GUI

This is the first game I've made using Ren'Py's updated user interface design (I've tinkered with it on Eight Sweets, but at the time of publishing this, I haven't finished making that visual novel). It took a while getting used to it (and a lot of question-asking on the Lemmasoft forums!), but I've ended up really liking it. I feel much more confident using it.

The Three Act Structure is Good for Revisions -- Not First Drafts

An age-old question among writers is, "Is using the three act structure useful?" I think I learned during this project that you can't shoehorn the three act structure into your story. You just plot out the thing, and then you look at it and see if it feels complete. Our subconscious is so used to the three acts that your story will have them anyway.

But if you write the first draft of the plot outline and find that the story feel incomplete, you can go back and use the three act structure to find out what the problem is.

Basically, I had to do that for The Heart of Tales because of how fast I came up with the story for the game jam.

Le Morte d'Author/The Death of the Author

I think it's this game that taught me that there's a point at which I have to stop explaining things to the audience through social media. Either a player "got" what I was trying to say, or they did not, and I failed to explain or show things in a clear enough way. Or the player interpreted something in a way I didn't even think of, and I shouldn't take that away from them because they're using their own experience and viewpoints to interpret the game.

I see this as a fun challenge, because I know that the audience is smart. As Pixar's Andrew Stanton said, "Don't give [the audience] four; give them two plus two." I'll still answer questions if they're directed at me, but I also feel more comfortable to say, "It's up to your interpretation."

I also feel more comfortable letting the viewer "do the work" when it comes to interpreting a thing that can be interpreted many different ways. For example, I never give a clear answer to the hero's origin story. Was she a princess? A farm girl? A bard? Did she come from the sky? Every player will have a different answer to that question.

I think Davey Warden's 2015 game, The Beginner's Guide, made me think about this more. The idea that the player's interpretation often says more about themselves then it does about the creator or even the work itself.

Audience interpretation is a form of interaction.

We Don't Create Our Work in a Bubble

I've been thinking a lot about how my work affects people, and how work I see affects me. I learned that what I create is not made in a bubble. My own experiences and viewpoints affect the work. To paraphrase an old saying, every painting is a self-portrait. I feel like I have a kind of responsibility to make sure that my art helps people rather than hurts.

The Heart of Tales involves themes of the consequences of violence, yet the climax involves fighting a demon to save the day. I guess trying to defuse situations through talking only works if the other is willing to listen too? Like Cole and Mithamoore? Anemza is the personification of evil, after all.

It's also made me think about how time-sensitive my current and future work's becoming. If I made The Heart of Tales a year earlier, it would have been written a lot differently than how it's ended up now. And not just because I learn and gain developer's experience over time.

I know a lot of artists who have said that they are struggling with finding value in their art, or have completely come to the conclusion that creating art to change people for the better is a futile effort, but I don't buy that. I don't buy that because artwork that I've seen, made by other people, has changed me. And improved me. Stories have made me think about judging others by their appearance. About what it means to be Good, with a capital G. About what it means to try and follow your dreams. And stories have been doing that ever since I was a child.

Surely I'm not the only one who's been affected by art in that way...

[diaryofanobsessivefangirl]

Hello hehe im the anon from before! I really like Sareth, i do like kisshu and ichigo from tokyo mew mew, etc, i dont mind it its one sided as you can see xD, i also watched brotherhood of the wolf because i saw an ask where you talked about it and oh boy the brother sure was interesting, anyway just wanna say i love your blog again and im always happy to see you post stuff =)

DOWNLOAD/STREAM LINKS INCLUDED

Gottcha ya! One-sided, incestish and yandere ships coming on!

A few weeks ago I've compiled ships that are similar to Sareth. If you wanna check it out, here is the list.

Most of my yandere villains can be found on the Love Makes You Crazy tag in my villain x heroine blog.

As always, I recommend my Starter Pack for villain x heroine shippers.

But since I rarely meet another shipper craving to ship an antagonist brother obsessed with his sister, I'll give you these specifics reccs:

Flawed by Kate Avelynn

James protected Sarah from their abusive father and took the beatings on her behalf, sacrificing his life to save hers, if only she keeps one promise: never to leave him. It’s so tragic I was in tears when it ended.

It's a short novel and you can read it in just one day. Maybe the only flaw in Flawed (LOL) it's the protagonist's love interest, the Bland GuyTM. You can skim through his chapters without a problem.

This is a particular obsession of mine.

Princess Daisy

A twisted fairytale about a modern princess's struggle for independence from her brother and his fatal love. Rupert Everet is so good at playing the tortured antagonist who is held hostage by his desires.

If you ship this, I really need to know, because it's Obscure Ship(TM) and I've been obsessed with it for 3 years. You can download Part I and Part II on the link.

The Slingshot

In the blink of an eye, Kim Shin loses everything dear to him. His father's company goes bankrupt, his brother commits suicide, his girlfriend leaves him, and he himself ends up in jail for a crime he didn't commit. While in prison, Shin learns that all of this was brought about by corporation head Chae Do Woo, who devised the scam that brought down his father. Determined to beat Do Woo at his own game, Shin sets out to get revenge, no matter the cost.

Chae Do Woo's little sister, Eun Soo, is the yang to his yin. She has a kind heart and has pledged to help everyone whose lives were ruined by her power-loving father and her equally uncaring brother.

Eun Soo is the only person who matters to Chae Do Woo and acts as some sort of sanity anchor to him. As she starts to drift away from her brother to help Kim Shin, the focus swift from Kim Shin and his former girlfriend to Do Woo and Eun Soo and gives the audience more subtle hints that Do Woo feelings might overreach brotherly love.

I wish I could send a stream, but I can’t find a single one with nice subtitles. Maybe I’ll buy the DVD myself.

The OA

Prairie Johnson, an adopted young woman, resurfaces after having been missing for seven years. Upon her return, Prairie calls herself "the OA", has scars on her back, and can see, despite having been blind when she disappeared. She assembles a team of five locals to whom she reveals her life story, involving an obsessed scientist and a human experiment.

IT'S NOT INCEST, but it's as stalkish as it can be. All I've recommended so far it's from very obscure and old material, but The OA has a fandom for it, so I thought I'd give you a little break from rare ship hell.

Also, Jason Isaccs plays the villain so what else could you ask for.

Bit of advice: season 1 is flawless and stands well on its own. Season 2... not so much. Watch with low expectations.

The Juror

A juror in a Mafia trial is forced to convince the other jurors to vote not guilty by an obsessive mob enforcer. He stalks her at the same time he tries to protect her from his employees, which reminded me a bit of Kishigo.

I've often said that I like when the villain challenges the girl to become the greatest version of herself and through his twisted way helps her find her own inner resilience. And when she unconsciously recognizes this despite her hatred.

This movie (and book - check the book later if you can) nails that.

Honorable mentions:

These are wincest villains like the brother from The Brotherhood of the Wolf who didn't get many scenes, so keep your expectations low.

There are amazing concepts behind both ships, so I felt obliged to mention:

Harper's Island (It's a "who is the killer" mini-series, so avoid spoilers)

Hellboy 2: The Golden Age (Magically bonded, royal twins. Sister is yin to brother's yang. Honestly, what is not to love)

[darklinaforever]

Daemyra = I support pedophilia, grooming and physical abuse.

Zutara = I support colonizer x colonized relations.

Sylki = I support incest with oneself.

Charlastor / Radiobelle = I erase the canonical sexuality of the characters.

Reylo = I support the Nazis !

Darklina / Alarkling = I support a pedophile, a groomer, a pro-genocide and child killer in his spare time.

Sareth = I support pedophilia !

Sessrin / Sesshrin = I support pedophilia, and grooming.

Persades = I support kidnapping, rape and forced marriages.

Wyler / Weyler = I support psychopathic serial killers ! And grooming too ! (Because apparently for some Tyler is an adult and not a teenager as he is canonically in the series...)

This is usually what I get insulted about for loving these relationships... and it's just bullshit.

Daemyra is not grooming and pedophilia, book and show, I have already explained countless times why and I won't do it again here. And Daemon do not abuse physically Rhaenyra in Fire and Blood.

Zutara is not a relationship of a colonizer with a colonized person. Zuko himself is not a colonizer and the people of Katara were never colonized by the Fire Nation.

Sylki is not a true incestuous relationship, especially not with yourself. Sylki is not shown and characterized as truly the same person but as different people with the same role in the universe.

I'm not erasing the canonical sexuality of Charlastor / Radiobelle by shipping them into the context of fanon.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo is not a Nazi, I also already explained why. Essentially he has no ideology of his own and has been manipulated since his fetus by hearing voices in his head 24/7 again today, and above all the defenders against grooming keep quiet this time ironically, since Kylo Ren / Ben Solo is actually a victim of grooming by Snoke / Palpatine.

The Darkling has not committed any genocide, he is not a pedophile or a groomer either and is even less a killer of childs specifically...

For Sareth basically... Everything that happens in the movie is essentially a representation of the desires / fantasies of teenage Sarah. Jareth is the reflection of her dreams, he literally acts according to her. He is the product of his fantasy. Please note, I'm not saying that what Sarah experiences in the film is literally a dream. No, I'm saying that the film, through its story and especially the character of Sarah, is in a way a representation of the adolescent's desire / dreams, and also a bit of hormones / sexual awakening. Without forgetting the fact of accepting to grow. That's why everything in the maze is in Sarah's room. That's why Jareth's universe is in this book, and also why the way to defeat Jareth there is. This is why Jareth is “in love” with Sarah. That's why he looks like a walking sexual fantasy with his tights on. Why there is a snake, a cane. Why does everyone at the ball wear masks with horns and long noses (= just falic / sexual symbols) Brief. There's nothing wrong with shipping Jareth with Sarah, since he's literally her personal fantasy and he's acting on that. (in the sense that he takes the role she gives him in the story)

Sessrin / Sesshrin is also not a relationship based on pedophilia. Sesshomaru clearly didn't feel anything romantic or sexual about Rin when she was a child. As for the accusations of grooming, they are unfounded because there is no proof. The fact that Rin gave birth to twins at 18 is not proof of this. Inuyasha takes place in the feudal era where a girl under 18 is seen as an adult. Essentially, Sesshomaru simply fell in love with Rin as she grew up. And he came to see her from time to time from the moment he left it with Kaede as a child. He was not responsible for her education. That was Kaede. He wasn't her father figure either, that was Jaken.

And Hades and Persephone must be read in the context of the time when the myth was written, otherwise you lose its true meaning. I have already reblogged excellent analyzes on the subject, I invite you to go and see them. Hades, essentially, is not the true villain in this myth.

No. I don't support psychopathic serial killers. The proof, I hate Laurel. The real psychopathic serial killer. Tyler is a teenager who she manipulated and enslaved for her cause. Literally, Tyler is a hyde, implying a personality disorder, but more than that, canonically, he must obey and approve of what his master does. Tyler is a victim. Not a bad guy. Moreover, once again, a real case of grooming under the arms. Yes, Laurel groomed Tyler, I've written lots of articles on this subject, you can go and see them. But once again, ironically, no one talks about it, and what's more, the antis will try to say that Tyler groomed Wednesday by inventing a new age for him...

[gallery0022]

My Knee Issues A Time Line December 14, 2017 - Bunionectomy - Dr. Canales - http://bit.ly/DansBunion After just a few days, I was walking with a walker, wearing a soft cast. After a few weeks, I was walking, on my own, with a boot. Little did I know, at the time, I was favoring my right leg so much, that I tore some cartilage in my right knee. To this day, I have no idea when that happened, exactly. June, 2018 - At 24 weeks after Surgery, 15 mile Walk around Lakewood. Sure it was a little painful still, Dr Canales told me it would be. (still favoring my right leg) January, 2019 - Move completed to Winton Place - We hired professional movers, because secretly I knew, that there was no way I was even capable of moving myself. 

April 8, 2019 - John Dessoffy, RIP April 8. Very shortly after “Dad’s” passing, RoseAnne, my sister in law, began noticed my noticeable limp, twice. While I was making an effort, ever since the Bunion surgery to walk 8,000 steps a day, apparently my limited “Range of Motion” of my leg, had taken its toll on my right knee. April 10, 2019 - Just 2 days after Dad’s passing, I had a half day shoot for Joanne Dimeff, in a 3 story condo in Cleveland Heights. At the end of that shoot I KNEW something was horribly wrong with my knee. April 13 - Annette and my 18th wedding anniversary and Dad’s funeral. April 16, 2019 - Easter Week. I booked a room at Niagara Falls. A getaway for Annette. I knew she needed to get away from her family, even for one night. My knee was getting worse. Even after a small amount of walking, I could hardly manage our own bags when checking out of hotel. 

April 25, 2019 - My first appointment with Dr. Audley Mackel - Ended with handing me 6 pages of exercises to do at home, every day. May 13, 2019 - Second appointment with Dr. Mackel - generally asked me to continue Pain meds, (ibuprofen) and exercises. May 30, 2019 - Drive to Nashville for Meg and Parker’s wedding. - Driving for extended time became a problem, as did walking more than a few thousand steps at a time. Sat for most of the time at wedding reception. Annette did most of the driving home June 5, 2019 - Photographed house for Steve / Sareth Builders. I fought through it but it was not easy. I returned to the house 2 times to shoot exteriors and more interiors. This assignment was NOT easy! June 6, 2019 - My third appointment with Dr. Mackel - while I told the doc about my struggles, all he suggested was to keep exercising and taking meds. 

June 11, 2019 - While I was able to continue to do the photo assignments I was getting, I was unable to walk the distance required for volunteers for the All Star Week events that I had volunteered for. So I ended my orientation early, and had Annette pick me up, in excruciating pain. Very frustrated, I e-mailed volunteer committee and canceled. June 12, 2019 - I was able to manage my way through an event I covered for St. Vincent Charity Hospital, with the grace of GOD! June 19, 2019 - Mace studio photography for Muse. While I was able to continue limping my way through the day to day, while exercising applying KT Tape on my knee and taking meds for pain, my useful days became shorter and shorter, until TODAY. I was paralyzed by noon. I was in so much pain in my studio, that I thought that doing my exercises a second time, might relieve me. It did not. When I got home, I found Annette, sick as a dog, from goodness knows what. It was a very bad day. 

June 20, 2019 - Annette was sick, and I was lame. I felt awful, Original Sin was happy with studio photos I shot, and wanted me to shoot some more in a setting, for social media. I almost told my client that I just could not do it, but I didn’t. I crawled around behind the Winton Pace taking pictures of the product in the back yard. Annette thankfully picked up some products from a local beverage store. She will never know how much that simple errand helped me! June 21, 2019 - My world was closing in around me, I had to scramble. We got me a brace, and I got me an assistant. I cancelled my involvement with Tower Press art show. 

June 27, 2019 - After a painful week of trying to communicate with my doctor, and get authorization for an MRI, I received information from my client (Julie from Muse), about how to get an MRI for cash, without insurance. Thankfully, Dr. Mackel gave me his blessing. June 29, 2019 - I met with Bryan Thomas. The only male assistant that responded to my FB ad. I scheduled him to go on an assignment with me, portraits on location, a few days later. June 30, 2019 - My 61st birthday, in Put In Bay - Annette was an angel, no surprise there. She did all the driving, and was very understanding and sweet about my knee issues (well it WAS my birthday.) We were both relieved, we had a scheduled appointment for MRI July 2, 2019 - Photo shoot, on location with Bryan. I actually tried to get out of it, and reschedule for following week, to no avail. Only a few hours, but boy was I nervous. Everything went very well. (extra pain meds, Ibuprofen AND Tylenol) July 3, 2019 - MRI Advantage Diagnostics. Well this was a lot harder than I thought, just holding still for 35 minutes. 

July 8, 2019 - MRI Results shared with me and Dr. Mackel. July 15, 2019 - After a week of shooting, with assistance of Bryan, for Pipeline and Fire-Dex, I finally met with Dr Mackel, who agreed to give me a shot of cortisone. The doc also prescribed supervised physical therapy. (insisted I continue PT on my own) July 23, 2019 - Feeling amazing, since just 2 days after cortisone shot, I met with Matt, at St Vincent, for supervised PT. Matt gave me a great overview, and testing. He also replaced my home PT sheets with his own, focussed more on specifics, in my knee. July 30, My second meeting with Matt, at St Vincent. Matt made just a few adjustments to my exercises, and added band exercise. Feeling Great! July 15, 2019 - “Graduated” from Matt after 8 or 9, once a week sessions, and of course my every morning PT 60-90 minutes almost every day. Matt only “prescribed” 3-5 days a week. I feel the strength gained from my routines. I have only had a few “bad days” in the past few months. 

January 4, 2020 - Happy New Year! Boy did I dodge a bullet last month! Mis-hap with a step ladder, nearly took me out of the game for the last few huge assignments of 2019. I believe it was a miracle, divine intervention, hard work with exercises, or combo of all that allowed me to recover in time! 

January 24. Overnight train ride to Chicago, followed by long walk to hotel. New issue, “Planter Frenchfiytis” On my left foot, the one I had bunion surgery on. 3 weeks of home PT for that, on top of the knee stuff! Scheduled appointment with Canales, for February 17. Maybe shot? March, 2020 - Nice appointment with Dr. Canales. Gave me Cortisone shot (ouch) PT sheets, insoles and script for PT. 

March 12, saw my old friend Matt. Gave me a few more PT sheets, and a few appointments.
 On the second appointment, Matt rolled his sleeves up and squeezed out a dollop of lubricant onto his palm. The massage on the bottom of my foot was all he promised and then some. It hurt, and the more it hurt, the more Matt seemed to be pleased with what he was finding with his oily thumbs.

[naominorbez]

I made a Youtube playlist for @katy-133 's romance VN The Heart of Tales! :D Play it here: https://katy133.itch.io/the-heart-of-tales

Playing the game made me think of some older jazz romance songs because I'm a nerd for jazz.  So I thought I'd assemble a playlist with at least one song for each moment in the game. Thanks for listening! :)

1. What A Difference A Day Makes: A song that covers the whole game, and how over the span of a few days, the protagonist finds what they need in romance.

2-3: Sunday Afternoon & Lonely Town: The protagonist has nice relaxing retirement life.  But it is a lonely life, and the protagonist needs to learn something.  Enter...

4. Mack The Knife: Mithamoore the Earthburner!  An insidious dragon who's been turned human!  And someone else knocks at the door...

5. Stella by Starlight: Cole, a knight who wishes to learn from the protagonist.  This song is meant to represent how much he idolizes the protagonist because of how they awesomely saved the world once upon a time.

6. Hit The Road Jack: The protagonist wants these two to leave her house so she can get back to her life!  But her talking sword convinces her to kick them out in a more roundabout/genius way.

7. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, And Me): So the protagonist keeps Cole (the "echo") and Mithamoore (the "shadow") around.

8. The Good Life: She sends the two on a fake quest!  But it turns about things aren't as good as they seem out there--danger may be brewing. (I'll be perfectly honest: I wanted to put this song somewhere because I love it so much.  But I also can't find a perfectly-good song for this moment either--and the lyrics in The Good Life work pretty well in places, at least to me!  If you have a better song for this moment, please let me know!  Thanks!)

9. Ain't Got No, I Got Life: Mithamoore has a hard Real Talk moment with the protagonist, and the protagonist has a hard Real Talk moment with Cole.

10. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood: The protagonist hopes that their words got through to Cole (and Mithamoore to an extent).  Plus, some feelings may be stirring within her heart...

11-13. I Could Have Danced All Night & Cheek to Cheek & Lullaby of Birdland: The protagonist dances with the one they love.  I associate these songs to Cole’s, Mithamoore’s, and Sareth’s dance, in that order.

14. Almost Like Being in Love: The protagonist reflects on recent events, and recognizes their romantic feelings.

15. I Could Write A Book: Mithamoore's declaration of love to the protagonist.

16. Teach Me Tonight: Cole's romance with the protagonist.

17. All The Things You Are: Sareth’s declaration of love to the protagonist.

Love is in the air!  But so is villainy...

18. Feeling Good: As Anemza returns, I can imagine him singing this song! >:) Yes I know that’s not the context.  The context of the song is actually quite interesting actua--OK FOCUS, BACK ON TOPIC.

19. Everything Must Change: The protagonist realizes what it truly means to put her faith in another person, and that she must do it.

20. Where Flamingos Fly:  The Sareth path with Anemza.  It's a powerful scene.  Also applies to Mithamoore’s path.

21. It's All Over But The Crying: Mainly for Mithamoore's ending, where the protagonist must kill him to snap him out of the spell Anemza's put him under.  This song could be taken straight, or Anemza could be singing it sarcastically to the protagonist.  Maybe 1st verse straight, 2nd verse Anemza sarcasm.

The next few songs apply to the ending choices!

22-23. I'll Be Seeing You & Speak Low: The protagonist chooses to let the one they love go.

24. Tea For Two: In the Sareth path, the protagonist chooses to return to retirement with him.

25. Fly Me To The Moon: For when the protagonist chooses to fly away with Mithamoore.

26. New York, New York: A song for choosing to return to adventuring!  With Cole/Sareth.

Bonus: The Lady Is A Tramp: When the game talks about the bards still singing about the protagonist, I'll imagine this song. ;)

Thanks for listening.  This was really fun; I discovered quite a few new songs doing this.  Hope you enjoyed it!  Let me know if you have any suggestions!