#but when it comes to who is just OBJECTIVELY the best - esmeralda

[laurapetrie]

He could not make up his mind whether she was a human being, a fairy, or an angel.

Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris (1831)

[msweebyness]

Class of Heroes AU: Worst Deeds

Today I have a bit of a special treat for you all! As wonderful as our hero kids are, no one is perfect! Detailed below are the least virtuous deeds ever performed by our heroes, both in their personal views and objective standpoints! As always, credit to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27! (TW: Mentions of some unpleasant things, mentions of violence)

Marilan: Marinette still feels incredible shame for the way she embarassed herself before the matchmaker, considering it a dishonor to her family. She also carries great guilt for the fact that she deceived and ran away from her family to attend the school.

Adripunzel: As much as he despises Gabriel, the man still raised Adrien, who at times, though he wouldn’t realize it, would use emotionally manipulative tactics to get his way. He always catches himself quickly though, and hates himself for it afterward. He’s working hard to curb this habit completely. He also will never get over the guilt of failing to heal Ondine when she was crushed by that pillar.

TiAlya: On a day when Alya’s mind was in a very dark place, she found herself in a shady part of town, talking to the Shadow Man about how unfair it was that other people had it so easy. She nearly made a deal with him to achieve her own dreams, but was able to refuse when she realized how disappointed her loved ones would be.

Fairy GodBro: Nino tries his best to be a good and peaceful fairy, but there are times when everyone snaps. Which was what happened when Nino became so angry with Gabriel after meeting Adrien that he placed a bad luck curse on him. He was, of course, punished for this and had to earn back his magic.

Roselle: Rose is one of the sweetest and most kind-hearted people in the world...but even she has her limits. Xavier's...persistence in pursuing her is well known, and one day, before coming to the school...Rose just had enough. She blew up at him and brutally told him off in front of the entire village, topping it off by tripping him into the muddy streambed. While what she did was completely understandable, she still feels guilty for her harsh conduct.

Julebeast: Being transformed into a beast by a dark spell is bound to have some side effects, which Juleka quickly found out as she would spiral with her dark thoughts and descend into destructive rages. But her darkest moment was when she was first cursed, when she was so consumed by fury that she legitimately considered hunting down the sorcerer and killing him for what he had done.

Maxiro: Max takes a lot of pride in the majority of his technological work...but he does have some less ethical items on his resume. When his family was especially strapped for cash, Max entered a bot-fighting circuit, and won quite a bit of money. He knew it was illegal, but he felt like it was his best option. He donated it anonymously to his mother's bank account, but the guilt still haunts him.

Kimules: Kim’s worst nightmare is to harm others and cause damage. One of the worst days of his life happened just before he was invited to the school, when, in an attempt to assist one of the shopkeepers, he managed to demolish the entire town square. This was the final straw for the citizens, who decided the ban the boy entirely.

Aladdix: Alix has always been one to hold grudges, though she acknowledges that this is a problem. She has never been able to fully forgive Chloe for her past behavior, and will still antagonize her if the mood hits her right. She carries a lot of resentment for the wealthy due to past treatment, but even she admits that she goes too far at times. Such as when she stole a family heirloom from a noble in Agrabah, though she returned it once she found that out.

QuasiIvan: Ivan is a gentle soul at heart, but he can be pushed to the breaking point over those he cares about. One such instance when he was twelve haunts him to this day. Upon seeing a soldier assault Esmeralda, he completely lost control and nearly beat the man to death before his sister was able to bring him back to his senses. Though his reasons were noble, the reality of what he almost did still terrifies him.

Snow Mylene: Mylene is gentle and kind by nature, but she is also highly protective of those she cares for, particularly her gentle harmony. She is guilty in the past of calling in some of her aggressive animal friends to 'teach a lesson' to some of his royal tormentors. She also carries a great deal of guilt for hiding from her stepmother and leaving her people to suffer under the cruel woman.

Chloéstasia: Chloe knows well that she was not the nicest person freshman year, harming most of her classmates in some way or another, and never accepting responsibility for it. Not to mention her abuse towards Zoe and of her wealth and status. She knows her behavior will follow her for a long time, but she is willing to work for forgiveness.

Sabrinocchio: Sabrina has always been looked at as a 'goody-two-shoes', a little teacher's pet who never does anything wrong. Having that kind of reputation can weigh heavily on a young child, and these feelings of stress led Sabrina to take some advice from a less than reputable source and go to a party on Pleasure Island, against her father's wishes. Thankfully, she realized when things were getting dangerous, and called for Aurore.

Sleeping Nath: Nathaniel's curse weighed heavily on him throughout his life, and one of his darkest moments came when he first learned of it from his mother at the age of eight. He was so upset and consumed by despair at feeling that he was already doomed to die that he exploded at Queen Aya and fled from the palace into the woods, where he remained throughout the night, leaving his mother to fear for his safety.

MarcElsa: Though it was an accident and no permanent damage was done, Marc is still haunted by accidentally striking Kiran with his magic as children, Su-Han being no help at all, of course. Living with these self-deprecating thoughts for years got to Marc, and one day, he was in such a dark place that he was nearly pushed to the brink, so convinced that everyone was against him, that he sincerely contemplated freezing the kingdom and running away. He stopped when he thought of how Kiran would be hurt.

CinderZoé: No matter how kind and gentle they may be, a person can only handle being abused and mistreated for so long. On a day when Zoe had been locked in her 'punishment closet' for three days, she was so furious with her mother that she grabbed a mildly poisonous and sickening herb from the woods and slipped it into her mother's tea. Audrey became violently ill and was bedridden for two days.

AriOndine: Despite knowing it was the right choice to come to the surface, Ondine still deeply regrets the way she left things with her family, never giving them a proper goodbye and likely leaving them worried sick for weeks before they learned of her whereabouts. She knows she could have at least left a letter, and the guilt of feeling she abandoned them haunts her. (She also feels pretty bad about ditching the concert and leaving her sisters hanging.)

Kagamerida: Kagami has never liked having decisions made for her, especially by her mother. So when Tomoe announced she had plans for Kagami to be betrothed to the son of a nearby clan...the princess snapped. She was so angry that she slashed the family tapestry in half and fled the castle. She ended up at a witch's cottage, and came incredibly close to using a spell on her mother to escape her arranged marriage.

Blurore: Aurore prides herself on her morally upright behavior and for doing the right thing, but there are times even she can fall off. In her younger years, after having rescued Sabrina from Stromboli's clutches, she was so incensed with the man that she used her magic on the coach's wheels, causing it to crash and leaving him devastatingly injured. She was, like Nino, punished for this and had to earn back access to her wand.

Miremba: While, despite feeling to the contrary, Mireille is not truly responsible for the death of her mother, she knows she was still wrong in avoiding the Pride Lands and confronting their uncle for as long as they did. Seeing her home left in ruins while she was absent left her with a great deal of guilt. There was also, of course, the Elephant Graveyard incident...

Jeanzco: Jean is by no means a malicious person and never means to cause harm, but his bluntness and lack of foresight can at times cause…issues. Such as when they quite abruptly fired Yzma from her position, which unleashed a hellstorm on the empire. Not to mention his, erm, spending habits as emperor, though they’re working on managing this better.

Robette: Cosette prides themselves on being able to keep a cool head in most situations, but it has its limits, like when those that she loves are uncomfortable or put at risk. On one occasion, while Cosette was trying to enjoy a date with Zoe, a paparazzo was so persistent and rude towards the blonde that the young singer snapped, ending up striking him and breaking his camera. They later issued a public apology, though their fans were sympathetic.

Demolition Denise: While the denizens of their own game know Denise is no bad guy, and have always treated them with kindness, the treatment they received outside of those safe walls has lead them to consider abandoning the game world entirely and never coming back. They ultimately stayed, not wanting to endanger their game. But then they were fired... They also have an infamous temper, which can lead to some unplanned demolition.

Simon Pan: Simon will concede that he may have gone a bit too far with cutting off Hook's hand and feeding it to a crocodile, but after an attack by the pirate on the Lost Kids left one of the children with permanently crippling injuries, he was too blinded by fury to be fully aware of what he was doing and the ramifications of it.

IsmaGenie: Though he acknowledges that he really had no choice in the matter, Ismael is still deeply affected by his time serving under less than morally sound finders. He had to grant a number of wishes that did harm to others, and the guilt from this follows him even now.

Reshmabela: Anyone who knows Reshma knows how much she loves her family, and she will go to great lengths to protect them. But there are times when she can take things a bit too far. In her hometown, there was a boy who never stopped harassing Mithra for her lack of a gift. Reshma got so fed up with his actions that she filled his room with poison oak, and was rewarded by a harsh scolding from her grandmother.

Lacey Bell: Lacey has always been headstrong and likes to do things her own way, and at times this can be to the detriment of others. When she thinks something can be done better, she will go to great lengths to prove it. Like when her attempts to speed up the Spring preparation process with her inventions ended up going haywire and destroying most of what was already done.

Even heroes aren't perfect! Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[marciabrady]

your thoughts on the unofficial princess girls ! (ex; esmeralda, meg, jane, kida) even the younger ones like melody, jane from peter pan II, eilonwy, wendy darling you can pick any ones you’d like to talk about !

I'll mention all the ones that you did!

Esmeralda- I love her. As is the case with every other female character on this list, the actual production of her film was never one I took to as a child because of the fact that she was the only female character/existed in a largely male universe, but after rewatching her movie as a teenager, I did grow in love with her. It lasted for a few years, and then moods of Esmeralda would come and go- so she isn't a consistent favorite- but I do think she has such a unique voice and song and design and I ADORE how mature she is. It's so refreshing, for how silly and childish the 3d girls are, to see an animated character that is really meant for adults. I love how she brushes on deeper topics of religion and kindness and social equality. I think she was ahead of her time and it always astounds me that she was written in an age before the internet, but has seemed to reflect so many ideals and sensibilities that have only been able to be apparent through all the different voices the forum of the internet enabled in the years after this film's release. I love that they didn't whitewash her, too, and I wish we'd get to see more of her culture.

Meg- So Meg is definitely someone who's always been an internet favorite and, while she does venture into 'not like other girls' territory, there is a charm to her, her design, and voice acting that I can't help but love. Ultimately, I do appreciate that she's morally grey but it does make me want to protect Hercules from her lol I think most people like Meg because of the whole sassy, jaded thing though, which is fine, but I think it's the same as when people only like Tiana for her toxic grind personality pre character arc. Meg's only that way because of trauma and she does it to cover up who she truly is, as a shield, so I prefer the sensitive underbelly of who she is and how she's actually the most basic person in the room. I find the parts where she's candid about her fear of heights and her back and forth with Phil more entertaining than her composed, cool edge. Although I will say, her action of giving her life in exchange for her boyfriend's was one of the most confusing actions I've ever seen a Disney character take and I think they kinda made her entirely storyline about men (she's enslaved by Hades, her objective is to trap Hercules because that's what Hades told her to do to regain her freedom, which she lost because of her ex boyfriend which made her jaded) and I wish they let her have friends who were girls or at least female characters to interact with.

Jane- Okay my answer is going to sound confusing so I'm going to preface with this: I do like Jane and I would want more representation for her. I think she has some of the best fans and she is enjoyable/generally delightful. However, I will say she made me wish we didn't get any more white women in animation for a while lol we'd already had a lot of white leading ladies before this (and she broke a successful women of color streak with Jasmine and Pocahontas and Mulan), and she still abides to an eurocentric beauty standard, so to appease that quotient of the audience but still make her stick out they just over-emphasized her even more than the 10 or more white women that came out before her had been? Her eyes were EVEN more buggish, she was EVEN skinnier, she had even more prominent cheekbones, etc, and i just wanted a more diverse design and a breath of fresh air. I also think it's irritating how obsessed American audiences are with English/Australian accents (but not other cultures' accents which...smh) so like...that makes me sigh HOWEVER I do love the fact that she studies animals and I think she is unique and lovely

Kida- Again, love how mature and intelligent and athletic she is. I kind of wish that Moana was written more like Kida, in that sense, instead of being on the Rapunzel end of things. But I love Kida's design and her personality and her doll and crystal necklace from Mcdonald's was iconic in my household lol I even cut triangles into my bangs when I was in preschool because I was going for the textured layers she had in the animation but didn't know how to mentally translate that into the real world lol her movie is pretty good, I just haven't seen it too many times and she isn't someone I connect with personally but I love her fans and do think she's incredible and admire her and the people who love her more intimately

Melody- I never took to Melody because I was an Ariel fan so I always felt that we were shortchanged by her being the main character of the sequel. Since I loved Ariel, she's the one I sided with in disagreements and still kind of do? Their dynamic is so much weaker compared to Ariel/Triton because Triton was an active bigot and shut Ariel down, time and time again, silencing her and infusing their dynamic with so many layers and nuances. Ariel and Melody's relationship is kinda predicated on interruptions and bad timing? Just as Melody opens up to her mother, Eric comes on screen and interrupts everything. Ariel decides it's time to tell Melody of her mermaid heritage, only for Melody to have escaped a few minutes prior. Also, even though Triton was blatantly abusive (even though unintentional), Ariel still had so much love for him and attacked Ursula physically when she saw her Father reduced to a polyp. Even after Triton screams at her and destroys her Grotto, she openly says, "Daddy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Where, Ariel is literally trying to explain things to Melody and is being openly apologetic and Melody just mean mugs her and says "too late mom" lol plus she's super young which, again, I take to more mature characters. That being said, I do know there's been a large community of Melody lovers in recent years and I do think they're all great! I also think most of the people who think they're Ariel's are more Melody's because Ariel fans tend to be fixated on the ocean, which Ariel herself would never be- that's more Melody. Plus a lot of Ariel fans just tend to seem more like Melody in general, energy wise, and she is a more rare character and any rare character getting more love is something I'm here for

Jane (from Peter Pan 2)- I think they did a good job with not being afraid to make her unlikable but because she's such a tomboy AND younger, there's nothing really here for me to latch on to. I was so sad they cut the mermaids, and Wendy's character (they kept her but to a minor extent) because they really only had a dying Tinker Bell for female representation and then a Jane that was "one of the guys" and the first Lost Girl ever but with nothing else for us that loved Wendy and Mrs. Darling and the mermaids of the original film. So, again, it's fine but just not for me personally

Eilonwy- Okay, this is an answer that surprises even myself but I don't really like her? As a child, I took her VHS from Blockbuster because the cover had a princess in a pink dress lol but I never really rewatched the movie after that or thought about it. I revisited it when I was a teenager and ADORED it. I wrote Eilonwy and read the books and was obsessed, but I guess it was short-lived because I didn't visit the movie for a decade afterwards and, when I did, I found her unlikable? I felt like she was very abrupt, prone to having unnecessary fits and kinda rude and didn't have the charm to balance it out BUT I'm convinced I'll warm up to her again in due time. I don't think she'll ever be a top favorite though

Wendy- 10/10 LOML there is so much warmth to her and I LOVE how she's at that age where she babbles you know why because it shows she's PASSIONATE and she's so forgiving and lovely and kind and imaginative and I love that she's the "supreme authority on Peter Pan" just as most of us on Tumblr have taken it upon ourselves to educate ourselves on whatever we're fascinated by. I also love that she has an edge and isn't a doormat and she's the one calling the shots and moving the story forward. I think writers are the most intellectually stunning people in the world and this movie acknowledges that by how prized she is for her storytelling ability. Also, how could you NOT love a character voiced by Kathryn Beaumont? Perfection, chef's kiss, one of my favorites ever!!

[quasiimodo]

sorry for the random unprompted ask, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but i was wondering what's your favorite thing about hunchback of notre dame? it's not one of my top movies, although i do like it a lot--but my favorite thing about it is probably just what a beautiful song "god help the outcasts" is. it's so unique and unlike anything else disney has made, and esmeralda is such a wonderful character who i find really inspiring.

sorry to you for taking one million years to reply to this!! i'm always up to talk (even if i can be slow as molasses when replying) so never apologizing for hopping into my inbox with unprompted asks, anonymous or not!

there's so many things that i love about hunchback, and i think one of the most important things is just the time that i discovered it. i watched it infrequently as a child (i probably watched the sequel more often than the original because the sequel wasn't "scary") and didn't remember much of it. i found the vhs in our basement when i was 12 and, having just come home from a friend's house where we'd watched mulan and feeling in the disney spirit, decided to pop it into our vcr. and i think 12 is just such an impressionable age that the things we like back then just sort of stick with us?? and this movie blew my little 12 year old mind. especially because i'd grown up particularly sheltered from media and hadn't seen anything rated higher than pg before, and what do you mean this is rated g what do you mean disney got away with this.

ANYWAYS i feel like that's not much of a real answer haha. but when it boils down to it, this movie still blows my little 26 year old mind. like you said, it's unlike anything disney has made, before or since. the animation is incredible, and the soundtrack is PEAK. every single song is so so so good. the voice cast is phenomenal, and includes two of my favourite disney voice performances of all time (tom hulce and tony jay). the themes they cover are incredible. AND SOMEHOW IT GOT A G RATING.

i also think a real testament to how great this film is is that i've grown with it over the years. originally i was blown away by frollo and hellfire, and considered him to be my favourite (not in a weird way because i still hate that man) character. then, when i was a little older, i was drawn to esmeralda and just how strong of a female character she is. and then in my early twenties i really connected with quasi, and he's my current favourite (both from the movie and from disney media overall). along those lines, out there is now my favourite song from the movie, and i think it's an absolute masterpiece. i love that tom hulce isn't quite as polished a singer compared to others from the era like jodi benson and paige o'hara, because i feel like it really just brings that much more life to the song!! i can't even listen to the musical version of that one because it never sounds right in my head. tom hulce IS quasimodo. (i'm still amazed they got him back for once upon a studio)

i feel like this was a big wall of text of me managing to say absolutely nothing, but i could talk about this movie for hours. it's so so so very special to me, and i think it's a masterpiece. even if it might not be objectively one (the gargoyle song SLAPS and i don't care what everyone else says) i still think it is objectively one of disney's best movies and i will die on that hill.

thank you for the ask, and thank you for your patience!

[dragoneyes618]

Another idea for a Claudine Frollo fanfiction I am never going to write!

Basically, Madellaine from The Hunchback of Notre Dame II ends up on the Isle.

Why? Well, she was a thief. Sure, she reformed, but so did Anastasia Tremaine, and look how that turned out. So through a quirk of paperwork, Madellaine is labeled a villain and sent to the Isle.

Quasimodo, Phoebus, and Esmeralda immediately start trying to get her off, but they’re not royalty. They have no contacts. Nobody owes them any favors. The highest-ranking one among them is Phoebus, and he’s just a soldier. So they have to start from the bottom, and there’s a lot of red tape before they can even meet a royal. Years go by.

Meanwhile, Madellaine makes a life for herself on the Isle just like everybody else. She sends and receives letters occasionally to and from her friends, but besides for that, she’s on her own.

(By the way, is there any communication between the Isle and Auradon? The impression was that Auradon just dumped all the villains there and left them and didn’t bother with them afterwards, but Ben knew about Mal’s, Evie’s, Carlos’s, and Jay’s existences, didn’t he?)

She avoids the entire half of the Isle that Sarousch lives on, to the extent that he has no idea she’s there, but she has no clue who anybody else is who lives on that half of the Isle either.

She avoids Frollo too. She’s never met him, but she’s heard quite enough about him, and while she hates him, she knows how dangerous he can be. And some of Frollo’s soldiers are also on the Isle, and they’re loyal to him.

Then one day, she notices a little black-clad girl scurrying after Frollo, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

She asks around, and it turns out that this little girl is Claudine, Claude Frollo’s daughter.

To say Madellaine is horrified is an understatement. Quasimodo had it bad enough! Now Frollo is going to be raising (and ruining the life of) another little kid?

Like Quasimodo, Claudine is isolated. Frollo doesn’t let her go anywhere. She has no mother.

So Madellaine offers to be Claudine’s tutor.

She goes over to Frollo and offers to be his daughter’s tutor/governess/teacher, or whatever he wants to call it.

He interrogates her as to why she ended up on the Isle, because he didn’t want a villain teaching his daughter (she tells him she was penniless and resorted to theft) and as to why she wanted to teach his daughter (because she needs the money, and she thinks Claudine needs a woman’s touch) and finally agrees.

Madellaine is Claudine’s tutor from when she is six until the age of ten, when Frollo decided Claudine had learned enough from her.

I say “tutor-” Frollo taught Claudine reading and science and mathematics and (skewed) history, but he was perfectly happy for Madellaine to teach Claudine things like sewing and cooking and geography and grammar, so he didn’t have to do it.

Madellaine never lets on who she is, that she knows Quasimodo, that she is in fact engaged to be married to him. She lies convincingly enough so Frollo believes her when she says that although she’s been in Paris, she’s never met the bell ringer, or the captain of the guard, or the captain’s wife.

She becomes very good at hiding her emotions, not letting Frollo know what she really thinks of him. He also thinks she tacitly approves of his child-raising skills. Which she doesn’t, but if she voices any objection to his parenting methods, he’ll kick her out, and she won’t be able to do anything for Claudine at all.

So she says nothing, but she presents Claudine to her father in the best possible light, and covers for her, and comes up with reasons for why Claudine hasn’t met her father’s latest impossible expectations.

And when Frollo doesn’t see, Madellaine binds Claudine’s wounds (Frollo’s punishments are very harsh) and dries her tears and whispers to her soothingly and tells her stories.

Madellaine is the closest thing to a mother Claudine ever knows. (I’m just assuming Claudine’s actual mother mysteriously disappeared and/or died, like so many of the Isle parents seem to have.)

When Claudine was ten, Frollo decided that his daughter was old enough to manage without Madellaine and parted with her on cordial terms (or so he thinks). He even gave her severance pay.

Phoebus, Esmeralda, and Quasimodo finally succeeded in getting Madellaine off the Isle shortly after this, which was good, because Sarousch had recently found out that Madellaine was on the Isle. 

Then Madellaine told them about Claudine, and they started trying to get her off too.

Madellaine never forgot Claudine. Claudine never forgot her either.

[justjessame]

Sins of the Father: Chapter 5

The next time I woke up it was to voices that were doing a tremendous job of mimicking the worst case of stage whispering I’d ever had the misfortune of overhearing.  Groaning, and rolling over from where I’d had my face pressed into my pillow, clearly having tried to blind out the brightness of the sunlight - I once more found myself trying to blink open my heavy lidded eyes.  

“If the two of you are trying to NOT wake me,” I muttered, feeling slightly vindicated when the sounds ceased.  “You’re failing miserably.”  I managed to fight past the lead lining that my eyelids had grown overnight and the brilliance of the sunlight glowing through my curtains.  A couple more moments fighting against my bed linens and my own limbs and I’d managed to get myself sitting up against my headboard.  

Dad and Danny were watching me with rapt amusement, silent as they waited for me to situate myself.  “I came looking for you little brother,” Dad finally spoke, deeming me ready for information now that I had both eyes more or less open.  “And I was trying to convince him to go down and get breakfast -”

“But YOU promised that we’d spend the day together, Esme,” Danny butted in with the Roper spirit stubbornness.  I bit my lip when my gaze met Dad’s over his towhead.  “And that should include breakfast.”  He crossed his arms over his chest and I was struck by how like our father he was growing.  

Clearing my throat free of the cobwebs of sleep, I shook off a sigh.  “If you’ll give me time to dress and do something with what I can only imagine is a birds’ nest of curls, I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast and then we’ll start our day.” I countered, and Danny started to agree, but of course Dad had to remind me of my newest family chore.

“Esmeralda, I think you might have forgotten our guest -” His eyes narrowed and I knew he wanted me to take care of my duties alone, but honestly this hero of Danny’s hadn’t shown any likelihood of saying or asking anything untoward while we were alone.  Why would having the object that caused his convalescence in the room while I took care of him be problematic?  

“I haven’t,” I argued, my eyebrow arching to remind him that Danny was still very present.  “Danny can come along so I can show him how easy it is to change the bandages, in case I’m indisposed.”  Danny’s nose crinkled in distaste which shocked me, given how he felt about this man.

“You want me to come with you while you rip off his bloody stuff?”  I nodded and he shook his head.  “No thanks.  Couldn’t Jed do it?”  

“No, Jed can’t do it.” Dad told him.  “Who changes YOUR bandages when you rush headlong into madness?  Or Corky’s or Frisky’s or -”  Danny sighed.  “Esme knows what she’s doing, and so she’ll do it.  If you insist on spending the day with your sister, then -”

“Fine,” Danny’s excitement was draining at the idea of a full day of being with me now.  “Does it take long?”  

I chuckled.  “Not too long, but I will take him lunch as well.  And I make sure he eats it.”  Another long suffering sigh.  “Maybe for lunch you could do something else?”  

“What?”  He stared at me in a clear challenge.  I thought about it for a bit and then smiled.

“Pick a movie for us to go to tonight.”  His eyes widened.  “Just you and me.  And we’ll have dinner out as well.  How does that sound?”  

“Well the two of you and -”  I rolled my eyes and Danny laughed.  Dad would never allow us to go completely alone, but it didn’t matter.  I’d made my little brother happy again.  And that was all that mattered.  

Breakfast was followed by a day that most people wouldn’t think was all that special, but what Danny missed.  We spent part of it watching some of the shows he wanted to show me, and he promised me, while he watched me preparing the bandage portion of the tray for our guest, that he’d be looking for the BEST movie for our night out.  

“I know you will,” smiling down at him, I went back to adding the things I’d looked up online that would give some comfort to Mr. Quince’s ribs - at least that’s what the websites I’d found had assured me.  

“Will you dress up?”  I glanced up to see Danny studying me and waited to see where he was going with this new tangent.  “We never got to celebrate your graduation -” My stomach flipped at the thought of their celebration without me and what it had led to, but his mind wasn’t on that, it was on happier things - our night out.  “So you’ll dress up, won’t you?”  

Swallowing past the lump that had formed at the thought of what COULD have happened if Mr. Quince hadn’t stepped up and saved him from disaster, I hoped he wouldn’t notice my hands shaking as I kept adding my supplies to the tray.  “Of course I’ll dress up if you want me to.”  Anything he wanted me to do, I’d do.  He could celebrate my return, and I’d celebrate the fact that he wasn’t - no, I wouldn’t do that, focus on the here and now, Esme, I reminded myself.  You’re a Roper.  

Lunch wasn’t soup today.  And Mr. Quince didn’t try to argue against my aid in getting him sitting up, nor when I insisted on helping him with his meal.  We put off changing the bandages until after, since I’d done it just the day earlier and I couldn’t see any blood peaking out.  Taking my spot beside him on the bed, I started cutting up his food and he chuckled under his breath.

“Is there something you’d like to say?”  Not looking up, my lips were twitching at the corners as I fought against a grin.  

“I dare not,” he murmured, as I picked up the first bite and moved it toward his mouth.  “Lest you attempt the airplane in the hangar.”  My smile grew as his own flashed, before he took the food I offered him.  

Once his lunch was finished, I asked him if he’d rather I start with his face or his ribs and he looked startled.  

“I did some research and found that we had some salve on hand that might give you some relief along with a bit of wrapping, if you’d like?”  He gave a small nod and started to pull at his shirt, but I stopped him.  “Give me a moment to get everything ready, then I’ll help you again.”  Fussing a bit with the tray, I moved what I needed to where it would be within easier reach and then with his help, we got his shirt over his head and out of the way.  Pressing gently, I watched his face for signs of distress.  “You have to tell me which parts are the most tender -” he sighed and so did I.  “If you don’t, then the salve won’t be of much use.”  

Giving in wasn’t something he did willingly or simply, but he weighed the wisdom of what I was saying and finally pointed out the places that hurt the worst.  Picking up the pot of gooey medicine, I opened it and warned him that it wasn’t very pleasant smelling before sitting beside him again so I could reach him.  Coating my fingertips with the sticky substance, I leaned closer, and applied the cream in gentle circular motion over the darkened skin that even battered I could tell was corded with muscle.  

He tried to stay still and silent, but there were hisses and rippling across his abdomen that he couldn’t hide.  The warmth of his skin working with the salve, I hoped, to soothe the pain and discomfort he’d earned when he saved Danny.  Once I felt confident I’d gotten him covered, I put the container back on the tray and picked up the elastic wrap bandage and helped him lean forward again so I could wrap him up. 

“I read that this will help -” I told him what I’d learned during my online search and he listened while I wrapped my arms around him and worked, our bodies close enough so I could feel his breath flutter my hair.  “There,” I pulled back and smiled up at him, since we were still very close.  “Isn’t that better?”  

“It’s different,” he sounded conflicted, unsure.  Which was strange since we’d only known one another for a few hours and in such an odd context anyway.  “I - I should put my shirt back on.”  

“Right,” I blinked, confused about how I’d gotten off track for those few beats.  “Let me -” But we both reached for the white cotton at the same time and our hands linked, different from when he’d stopped me during my last visit, this felt intimate and - I pulled away as if I’d been burned.  “Sorry.  I - Do you need me to help?”

“I think I can manage,” we were still close, his breath fanning my face now and I had to swallow to try to fight a dryness that wasn’t there before.  “Does my other bandage need to be changed as well?”  

A glance down, which I’m sure made me look slightly cross-eyed, told me no - it could wait.  I shook my head.  “I think it’s fine for now.”  My eyes flickered back to his and found him waiting for me.  “I should go.”  

“I’m sure you have,” his gaze flickered down, was he looking at my lips?  “A great deal of plans now that you’re home.”  

Plans?  Did I?  Danny.  Right.  That pulled me free from the bed, the gaze, his warmth.  “Yes.  I do.”  He flinched, as if I’d slapped him.  How odd.  He pulled his shirt on as I stood up and started gathering the tray together.  “Danny and I are going to the movies tonight.”  When his head broke free of the fabric of his shirt, his gaze met mine and I bit my lip.  “Hot date with my little brother.”  

“That sounds fun,” he offered, less strained and more natural - but how would I know what was natural for this stranger?  “You seem close?”  

Ah, there it is, the questions.  “We are,” I agreed.  Anyone would tell him as much.  “I made him a promise when I went away to university.”  He waited, listening as if I were about to tell him a wondrous secret.  “If he didn’t throw tantrums or give Dad and everyone too much trouble while I was away, and during my breaks when I’d have to go back, then when I finished I’d come home forever.”  

“Forever’s a long time.”  My smile grew.  “He’s a good kid.”  

“Danny’s -” I sighed.  “Danny and I know each other better than anyone else in the world.  And that’s all that matters to me.”  

“He’s a lucky boy.”  

“I’m the lucky one.”  I gathered up the tray and bid him a good day.  And I could have swore that he said something about hoping that I really was the lucky one. 

[stina-is-a-punk-rocker]

disney’s ‘the hunchback of notre dame’, early 2000s kid nostalgia, and other midnight musings

“What the fuck, Stina? I thought this was a blog for book reviews!” you say.

“Books, amongst other things. Hence the -ish suffix,” I say. “And all my mediocre ‘reviews’ are hit-or-miss in terms of engagement, so I’m pretty much free to post whatever the fuck I want.”

I toss my head. My hair whacks me in the face.

The first time I watched Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame was been circa 2006, in the ‘movie room’ of my preschool, huddled around a CRT TV with the rest of my five-year-old classmates. Not much about the film particularly stood out to me at the age.

Fast-forward fifteen years later; I’m cooped up in quarantine, hundreds of thousands of miles away from that first viewing. I’m living my best life, rejoicing in my introverted tendencies and having a laugh at the expense of all the suffering extroverts. I haven’t moved from my bed all day, except for the bare necessities, and I’m bingeing YouTube videos. All is well.

I discovered Lindsay Ellis’s channel quite recently- embarrassingly enough, through her videos on Omegaverse and the whole Addison Cain fiasco. I stumbled down the rabbit-hole of her channel, and here I am, a few dozen videos later, and I find her one on this film.

Which, of course, led me to want to re-watch the film, with the eyes and mind (supposedly) of an adult. And it went far beyond and above my expectations.

The film is dark, much darker than the average Disney film of today- not just thematically, but the graphics too. Except for the first parts with the Festival of Fools and the last scene, the rest seems to have a dark filter put over it all. Obviously, given its themes (I’m pulling these out of my arse; I’m a STEM major and I have zero to no knowledge about film) of freedom and equality, acceptance of those different from us, corruption and lust- all that good shit, in other words- you can’t exactly have sunshine and rainbows. But it’s such a stark contrast from what I’ve been accustomed to from Disney; Frozen has Hans about to decapitate Elsa, but the background remains bright and light; Simba sobbing next to Mufasa’s body in The Lion King is heart-wrenching, but a few scenes later, we have an anthropomorphic meerkat-boar duo singing about eating bugs and farting and all that classy stuff, so it’s not as traumatizing.

The themes are a lot more on-the-nose than a lot of other kids’ movies (forgive me if I err, I am aged and forgetful)- cue la Esmeralda saying, “What do they have against people who are different, anyway?”- you get what’s essentially the same ‘accept others regardless of their differences’, ‘prejudice is bad’ morals from, say, Zootopia, but having given the main characters fursuits makes it less obvious than in this movie.

(Or maybe I’m just a dumbass. I have no elaborate notes for this; I’m high on sugar and deprived of sleep so I might be spewing bullshit.)

Admittedly, the resolution is a bit… unrealistic. The citizens of Paris = sheep, essentially; they go from throwing fruit in Quasimodo’s face because the guards started it, to helping defeat them. Maybe there’s something about mob mentality in there, but I find it hard to believe that people who showed up to watch Esmeralda burn to death were suddenly totally cool with not getting what they didn’t pay for. But then again, this is a Disney movie, and you can’t make kids too cynical too early on. Let them have their innocence and ‘people will be with the heroes in times of peril because humanity is inherently good!’ before they realize that humanity kinda fuckin’ sucks.

The characters are some of the most human from those I’ve seen in Disney (other honorable mentions: the main characters of The Emperor’s New Groove, Moana, Tangled, Anna from Frozen). Quasimodo’s the main character (lol DUH, will I ever say anything not obvious?), and he’s so lovable, but not without flaws- he’s biased against gypsies in the beginning because Frollo’s the literal scum of the earth. To borrow from the K-pop fans’ dictionary: UwU he’s so pure!

Esmeralda sparks a bit of controversy because she’s another POC leading lady from a Disney film of the 90’s (a list including Jasmine, and, sigh- Pocahontas) who’s markedly more sexualized than the white Disney princesses. It’s not something I particularly noticed nor cared about until I saw it being brought up- I mean, the woman shows a bit of cleavage and then dances for a couple of seconds- but. I’m just putting that out there.

She’s an empowering heroine without having to belt in in your face (not me making a dig at Naomi Scott’s Jasmine from the Aladdin live action film), and I also love how her role in taking down the Big Bad doesn’t have to do with her ‘power of seduction’ (the scene in the animated Aladdin film where Jasmine kissed Jafar truly traumatized me as a kid).

Phoebus is… well, he exists. Kind of a Regulus Black archetype, but not exactly. The guy on the bad side who turns good and all is forgiven. Well, at least it’s not the ‘her love made him a better man’ trope. And he is a good guy. Even if he did spend a considerable amount of his adult years on the side of the bad guys.

Systemic oppression? Nah, it’s one or two corrupt baddies. But again, it’s a Disney film, we need everything to work out for the good guys in the end.

Let’s get the gargoyles out of the way. To reference Lindsay Ellis’s video (she’s a lot smarter than I am and breaks this down better than I ever could): yes, the comedy’s oft ill-timed and inappropriate… for an adult audience. And the primary demographic of Disney films, especially princess ones (obviously Esmeralda isn’t a princess, nor does she marry into royalty, nor is she included in the group of princesses in the dumpster fire that is Ralph Breaks the Internet, but I had a book imaginatively titled ‘Disney Princess Stories’ as a kid that included Esmeralda’s story alongside Belle’s and Ariel’s, so I’m calling her a princess), are kids. And kids love fart jokes.

Additionally, I have a theory-that-is-not-really-a-theory-but-a-pretty-obvious-thing-that-happens that the gargoyles are figments of Quasimodo’s imagination, and the, at times crass and ridiculous things they say are just the voices in Quasimodo’s head (THIS IS OBVIOUS, STINA, YOU HAVEN’T STUMBLED ACROSS A STARTLING NEW REVELATION); maybe what he imagines normal townspeople to act like.

And then we have Judge Judy Chrissy Teigen Frollo. This dude is the embodiment of pure evil. He’s bigoted and rapey and abusive and one of Disney’s most successful villains- even better than Mother Gothel, who previously held the crown. It’s rare that a villain genuinely terrifies me, especially a cartoon one. Frollo, unlike your typical fairytale antagonist who wants power/fame/fortune/to overthrow Olympus, is far more sinister; driven from deep-rooted hatred instead of plain greed. He’s so much closer to people in positions of power and authority even in the modern world, and that element of reality makes him so much better as an antagonist instead of a literal sheep who hates carnivores (seriously, Disney, enough with the twist villains- they’re not working out).

Also, Hellfire slaps. In fact, the entire soundtrack does.

Speaking about Hellfire, I love the contrast between that and Heaven’s Light; how Esmeralda is viewed by Frollo (an object to possess, “Destroy Esmeralda, and let her taste the fires of hell; or else, let her be mine and mine alone”) as opposed to Quasimodo (someone with free will, “I dare to dream that she might even care for me”).

Another argument brought up, and admittedly one I had as a child was, ‘but if the whole point of the movie is acceptance and love as opposed to lust, why didn’t Quasimodo get the girl?’ Which, years later, I realize is an extremely misogynistic way to look at it. As Princess Jasmine said four years before The Hunchback was released, she is not a prize to be won. Quasimodo is Frollo’s antithesis; he lets Esmeralda choose, and she chose Phoebus. And Quasimodo accepted that, because he is good and kind and sweet and loving. Severus Snape, take note.

On a sidenote, I’m always kind of caught out of left field when the plot in films moves really fast- I’m really not a movie-watching type; I prefer to read, and books usually indicate how much time passes from one main plot point to another, and there are little slice-of-life, filler parts that tie in to character development and moving the plot forward, but at a snail’s pace. So, whenever I’m watching a movie and it’s one important event after another, I usually haven’t had enough of a refractory period to process it.

Let’s pretend that I segued smoothly into the next part of this (already tedious and long drawn out) review.

The Hunchback is the darkest film I’ve ever seen come out from Disney. Re-watching it as an adult made me pause every so often and wonder why the hell I wasn’t traumatized by it as a kid. I mean, the whole movie kicks off with Frollo about to throw an infant down a well. And then there’s that horrifying shot of the stone renditions of the Israelite kings on the church walls. Frollo falls to his death into fire. I mean, good riddance, but still. I guess it’s because the kids’ shows of today are awfully censored and polished so kids don’t have nightmares forevermore.

Update: tried to watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2. Exited just as fast as I clicked on it. Disney sequels really ain’t shit (yes, I’m looking at you, Frozen 2).

[focusfixated]

fic rec post: bookmarks of 2019

hooo boy i really got through some fandoms this year. from right-on-time fandoms that i got to partake in as they were happening (good omens) to years-too-late fandoms i only just discovered (hannibal), there have been some real outstanding things to read from authors across multiple fandoms and genres. 

i’ve put together a list below of some of the fics I bookmarked to my ao3 this year - some were written in 2019, some are older than that, but all of them left their mark on me these past 12 months.

i haven’t listed and reviewed every single story i have bookmarked this year, or else i’d be composing this post for weeks, so i’ve also put quick links at the end to other recs that you can find on my ao3 if you wish to peruse.

here’s the list, arranged by fandom, chronologically in the order i read them:

fandom: dirk gently’s holistic detective agency

interrogation by goingtoalaska – @holistick on tumblr

rating: G

pairing: dirk/todd

summary: Of course Dirk has some extremely important questions that can only be asked in the middle of the goddamn night, obviously.

notes: one of those dialogue-rich, beautifully-crafted, one-shot fics that just perfectly exemplifies the form. i’m always impressed by authors whose strength is in funny, well-written dialogue. it’s really one of the most difficult things to master. this is a well-observed rendering of these characters subtly done through conversation. comical, sweet, quick-witted, lovely.

fandom: hannibal

 consenting to dream by emungere – @emungere on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: will/hannibal

summary: a seduction through physical objects. It starts with a scarf loaned to Will on a cold day, but Hannibal, as usual, isn't satisfied with anything small.

notes: a perfectly-crafted slowburn sugar daddy AU structured around gifts and offerings that tangle hannibal and will gradually into an ever darker, more complicated, more intense relationship. this was one of those fandom-transcendent stories that was of such gripping quality, i read the whole story and its sequel without having any knowledge of the source material and went to watch the hannibal TV series entirely off the back of having read the fic.

it's honestly stunning how beautifully this is written. the consistent characterisation, the slow development and revelation of the dynamic between the hannibal and will, and the powerplay between them is so utterly compelling. i'm so fascinated and enthralled by the exploration of power dynamics, the shifting balance between what hannibal wants, and what he wants to give, and how will is both subsumed by his need to please and be cared for, and is at the same time motivated so strongly by the desire to see hannibal out of control.

everything is just so perfectly on a knife's edge at all times, it makes the development of their relationship throughout totally riveting.

  the wave at morning by emungere – @emungere on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: will/hannibal

summary: post-fall, Will and Hannibal strike a new balance in their relationship.

notes: i have probably re-read this one more often than anything else this year. more of a collection of scenes that build up the picture of a relationship than a whole story, this nevertheless has such a raw intensity, it’s one of my favourite things i’ve ever read in any fandom. a concisely-observed exploration of a developing dom/sub relationship which is based on both a powerful sexual desire and a compelling, psychological push-and-pull dynamic between the characters.

masterfully-written and searingly hot, it hits emotional notes with such accuracy and economy, leaving all this imaginative breathing room around the scenes which are remarkably stimulating. desire comes off this in waves and is so worth waiting for.

also, read everything by @emungere. a stunningly talented writer.

  fandom: legend

 you’ll find it funny (when you’re looking back someday) by th_esaurus

rating: E

pairing: ronnie/teddy

summary: It was around this time that Teddy Smith began his nightly habit of leaning on the wall across the road from Esmeralda's Barn with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips and the top two buttons of his baby-blue shirt undone. He'd a mole dead centre on his neck and tilted his chin back to show it off, waiting for someone to come by and offer him a match.

notes: after watching the film and being left disappointed that we didn’t get to properly explore any of the fascinating characteristics of ronnie kray, violent gangster and known homosexual, this fic was bang on.

an insight into the dangerous, volatile connection between ronnie kray and mad teddy smith, and a thrilling exploration of desire and power between two unstable men. every detail in this story was so keenly-observed and delicious to read. the writing had a poetic flow to it that i enjoyed immensely, and i read it back to back three times in a row, just trying to absorb everything on offer here.

  fandom: rocketman

 what if the birds aren’t singing, they’re screaming? by th_esaurus

rating: M

pairing: elton/bernie, elton/john

summary: He is spectacularly good at making music and spectacularly good at making mistakes.

notes: an angsty one, but such a satisfying read. so achingly full of feeling, the whole story simmers like the film's version of elton john does, with a kind of raging disappointment and dissatisfaction. there is such a vivid sense of place here, such beautiful descriptions of scenery, and every snap of elton's temper against the backdrop of these warm landscapes is so keenly felt. incredibly well-observed.

the pace and flow of it, too, the way the dialogue moves, the barbs and quips and the push-and-pull of the dynamic between elton and bernie, makes for such a compelling characterisation. there is a palpable agony in the unrequited love here that anyone would recognise. the whole thing is so well-drawn, so achingly hurtful, and utterly wonderful to read.

also, do yourself a favour and read everything th_esaurus has ever written, because it’s always incredible.

  fandom: good omens

 ad astra by drawlight - @drawlight on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: Some things can only be said in the dark.

notes: and so we come to the good omens portion of the evening. this has been an astoundingly creative and productive fandom to be a part of, and has been a really fulfilling, satisfying place to put a lot of feelings. there are so many brilliant stories i’ve read since getting into this fandom, it’s hard to pick a few, but i’ll start with this wonderful classic. 

an incredibly-drawn portrait of the first tentative moments of something new. so beautifully full to bursting with images and ideas and feelings, so economic and poised in its language, it really sinks into the depth and detail of what makes these characters who they are, what draws them to each other, and it aches in the most heartfelt of ways.

  the lightness of you by rend_herring 

rating: E

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: God should not have built them with such discrepancy, made them need for love, and long for wholeness, then left them to their own devices.

notes: this is so wonderful. the tone, the pace, the way it moves so trippingly and joyfully from thing to thing, crowley's continual internal monologue which is absolutely charming and very endearing, the lightness of the humour and at the same time the depth and breadth of feeling in this, the very concept of love and what it means to have god's love, and the love of another to fill the void. this made me have such Feelings about crowley.

also likens an orgasm to the cosmic altering of the very universe and managed to make it feel both evocative and true.

  bent to the very earth by ark – @et-in-arkadia on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: Use me, please, Crowley had said, so Aziraphale takes him at his word.

notes: a fantastic read. i am so absolutely here for the constant shifting dynamics between these two, the things you'd expect from angels and demons, and the circumventing of those expectations in aziraphale and crowley. all of it is absolutely delicious, so well-observed and beautifully-crafted. 

written with all the humour and tenderness that makes them such enjoyable characters to read. also this is probably the key story that made me a fan of service top antony j. crowley now and forever.

lead me to the banquet hall by obstinatrix & wishwellingtons – @placetnemagistra and @scurator on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: Crowley loves taking Aziraphale out to eat almost as much as Aziraphale loves eating, but it's always a bit of a one-sided affair. Aziraphale has never understood why.

notes: this story destroyed every single one of my corporeal cells and projected my soul directly into the ether. incredible writing. it gives me such visceral delight to read a story that puts so much effort into its reference points - all these joyful, ornamental little sprigs of detail throughout that make this universe thoroughly lived-in and a delight to experience.

the way this story deals with food - it's exceptionally, viscerally erotic, but it symbolises so many things too; love, indulgence, pleasure, deprivation, guilt. all the things that food does represent, in our daily lives. but it's somehow heightened here, used as a turning point, a metaphor, a symbol. truly one of the best things i’ve ever read.

a bookshop is not a business by anactoriatalksback - @itsevidentvery on tumblr

rating: G

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: In which Aziraphale has no intention of selling books to anyone at all, let alone this infuriatingly persistent customer. No matter how nice his cheekbones are.

notes: absolutely delightful reading from start to finish. such a brilliantly witty tone, very pythonesque and also in keeping with the humour from the book, but also gives us all the added layers of gay disaster crowley and aziraphale from the tv series. i love every little detail in this, everything is just so well-crafted and funny, it’s really writing of the highest calibre. the back and forth of the dialogue between aziraphale and crowley is so enjoyable to read, with its quick, snappy, sparkling pace. wonderfully fluffy entertainment.

  classics appreciation with a.j. crowley by yolkinthejump - @yolkinthejump on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: Aziraphale lays a temptation for Crowley. Literally: lays himself down and waits and asks for something without actually asking, as is his way. Crowley, as is his way, is happy to oblige.

notes: thorough filth of the purest kind. this is intensely gorgeous. the glorious mess of it, the physical love and joy and the depth of their need for each other just sings off the page. an ode to form, to the body, this leans into touch and physicality in such a powerful way, but maintains a poetry and lyricism which is lovely to read. aziraphale, in all his lazy luxury, and crowley, scattered and overcome – both of these characterisations were so on point. This is such a stand-out thing, decadent and intimate and so wonderfully-written.

  the curious attractiveness of others by giddygeek - @giddygeek on tumblr

rating: T

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: “I’m rough,” Crowley argued. “A rough beast, and all that. Well,” he corrected himself, “an agent of the rough beast. Well, an associate. It’s all very complicated, as you bloody well know."

notes: a truly stunning piece of work that revolves around touch and the complicated sublimation of feelings that can’t be expressed. there is such a strong sense of character here, aziraphale's infinite softness in the face of crowley's wild, windmilling panic, and there’s a lushly detailed narrative full of little moments of humour that are a joy to read. 

it’s a simple and beautiful expression of their relationship taking place inside a magical, miraculous world made up of mundane, ordinary things that are elevated by the author’s gorgeous narrative. there are so many stand-out moments in this; brilliant, sharp lines, beautifully executed, establishing both world-building and character-stuff in one, fluid motion. this is choirs-of-angels levels of wonderful.

  it’s the beginning of a new age by fluorescentgrey - @yeats-infection on tumblr

rating: T

pairing: aziraphale/crowley 

summary: In August 1970, Aziraphale and Crowley attend one of the Velvet Underground's final shows at Max's Kansas City.

notes: reading this fic was like listening to a really beautiful song. the entire thing is just suffused with meaning and emotion, and there’s such a powerful evocation throughout of the feeling behind art and music and connection. It gave me shivers. there’s a weighty, beautiful power behind the words here, chosen so carefully to their greatest effect.

this fandom has some incredible, creative ways of evoking symbolism or finding parallels between religion or holiness or ecstasy of a sort with other earthly feelings (sex, desire, servitude, love) but since reading this i've not yet found such a stunning evocation of this feeling of connectedness drawn through music anywhere else. this is beyond a beautiful good omens story. this has made me project directly into emotional existentialism. also i fucking love the velvet underground.

gorgeous details, perfect turns of phrase that are so precise and ringing with humour. heavy with longing and nostalgia, a sense of time lost, change, uncertainty. this story is a goddamn piece of art.

de bono coniguali by ineptshieldmaid - @ineptshieldmaid on tumblr

rating: M

pairing: aziraphale/crowley

summary: ‘Nonsense,’ Aziraphale says, briskly, ‘Monogamy has nothing to do with it. We committed sodomy twice last Sunday.’ Crowley goes to speak, but Aziraphale is nothing if not skilled in rhetoric, and he holds up a hand, ‘which, of course, does not invalidate the sacrament; it’s rather like baptism, it can’t be reversed, but it can be defiled, and I think all authorities would agree that vigorous sodomy on Sundays defiles the sacrament of marriage.’

notes: there is a fascinating concept being explored, here, in the interpretation of religious doctrine, and about how to exist as a queer person while also being a member of a faith community. it digs into ideas of sanctity and absolution beyond the usual handwavey explanations of “goodness” and looks more deeply at what religion means, culturally, for the people who might have difficulty reconciling these different aspects of their identity.

it’s a really brilliantly-written thing. there is such an enjoyable precision to the ideas being shared through aziraphale and crowley’s conversation about religious doctrine and its application. there’s so much rich historical detail here, a neat, precise pacing of dialogue, and is full of smart, witty and interesting asides. this is a story in which the two have a very clear dynamic as established partners and lovers – their conversational back-and-forth is easy at times, and at others has to be carefully extricated, but always in a way that you can feel the years of connection there.

  fandom: the goldfinch

 A Grand Inquisition: Being an Investigation and Evaluation of Certain Things Done and Undone, Said and Unsaid, Over the Course of Many Years (or Perhaps Merely in Dreams) by m_leigh - @morgan-leigh on tumblr

rating: T

pairing: boris/theo

summary: what r u doing for Christmas this yr? Come hang with me again I have nothing going on but big as fuck bottle of vodka with as you people are saying, your name on it.

notes: this is how we wish the book had ended. reading this just absolutely floored me. the complexity of sentiments in this, the span of time and the emotions caught in it, the poetry! the boris-voice is spot on – dark, messy and crooked, while also having this kind of gamely, optimistic attitude, never lingering too long on what can’t be changed. fantastic characterisation. 

the details in the landscape and scenery around within this story were also stunning - all these different places, antwerp, amsterdam, berlin, vegas. just absolutely wonderful. economic and evocative all at once. read it and then read it again.

  the ledge by fluorescentgrey – @yeats-infection on tumblr

rating: M

pairing: boris/theo

summary: In the hotel elevator, he stared at himself in the endless mirror. Thin man (Bob Dylan chords) in black coat, with little white dog. His nose was red from coke. Eyes red from maybe something else.

notes: is it weird to cry because you love someone’s words so much? this story is like a peeling-off of layers of skin to get at all the grimy, glistening rawness of feeling underneath. reading this kind of hurts, because it focuses in on this relentless, wild careen into self-destruction, but it's more than just the subject matter that had me repeatedly covering my face and muttering ohmygod. it's the shape of this whole story, the form of it brought together exquisite writing which is unconscionably good.

every sentence flows into the next one with such precision and depth of meaning, making each next thing more compelling and subtly significant because of what came before. it's impossible to pick anything out, it feels like pulling a thread and the whole thing unravels, because everything is so closely-connected, so elaborately woven. there is an effortlessness to the detail in this, in the way we dip and weave through these seething, living landscapes, elevated by observations full of poetry and feeling.

this goes without saying probably, but please read everything fluorescentgrey writes.

  fandom: inception

 pants on fire by helenish

rating: E

pairing: arthur/eames

summary: "Ah," Yusuf says, lifting a reproving hand, "are we calling less than 24 hours of memory loss amnesia now?"

notes: finding new stories to read in throwback fandoms is such a joy. this one is absolutely outstanding. arthur and eames both find themselves experiencing bouts of amnesia, and the concept is used as a tool to explore how their relationship appears to each other without baggage or bias in such a brilliantly-executed way. 

the character exploration here is incredible, breaking open the layers of complexity of arthur and eames’ feelings and desires with such deftness. the dialogue is also marvellous, so engaging, witty and heartbreaking in turn. just an incredibly-executed, extremely compelling story. 

  breaking and entering by resonant

rating: E

pairing: arthur/eames

summary: Eames is very good at pretending.

notes: if you’re going to rewatch the film, do yourself a favour and read this afterwards. there is such fantastic detail here, and such a strength of character development, the pacing feels wonderfully measured, the story so full of life.

this is the kind of story where the author has such an enviable talent for richly-detailed, well-researched background information. the jobs they’re running, the locations they end up in, and the smaller details too – the items in a room, the clothes they wear. the world that’s built around them is tangible, and the emotion it’s infused with is too.

part of this focuses on the idea that eames being the forger/pretender archetype means he has this kind of detached observation of the disparate elements of what he’s feeling, his default mode always set to pretending and going through the motions of something without understanding the truth of it, and although it was perfectly in-character for him, it also felt like an extremely universal and human way of fumbling into relationships, which made it very moving, and a wonderful thing to read.

  fandom: harry potter

 grounds for divorce by tepre – @tepre on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: harry/draco

summary: Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter. A story about histories, a story about families. A story about a lemon tree somewhere in Upper Egypt.

notes: jesus christ this story. the detail and care with which the world is coloured-in here is just incredible. the added lore, the historical detail, the characterisation of people in the background, the thought behind the practical aspects of things like the curses and spells, the modes of travel, the administrative set-up of ministry departments, the daily grind of work, the science of potion-making, everything is so thought-through, whether it's a deeply important and relevant part to the story, or a passing detail in the background it all serves to make this thing such a rich, unique, fully lived-in world that expands out to the edges and even further, like there's even more beyond just the bounds of what this story shows us. 

this story takes us on a journey. i forget how good a good bit of angst can be, but this story reminds me of how enjoyable it can be to give yourself up to an author's hands, and let them take you somewhere dark and painful, let them unpick the misery, the hurt, the fear, the trauma, and lead you out into the light, into healing and resolution.

this story felt so starkly real, a deeper and more honest look at harry and the life he’s experienced than any bullshit nineteen years later epilogue ever did.

  the weather inside by earlybloomingparentheses - @ebp-brain on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: remus/sirius

summary: Sirius rides a flying motorbike, and snogs strangers in pubs, and strikes moody poses Remus finds irritatingly attractive. But for Remus, who drinks milky tea and wears flannel pyjamas, there's a chasm cracked right down the fault line between wanting and doing. How he wants, though. How he wants.

notes: a vividly intelligent, compelling looks at remus' desires and fantasies, at the way he navigates his own understanding of what being a werewolf means, and how it shapes him. the queer themes here are starkly present, the weight and baggage of desire, the complexity of sexuality. 

sharply melancholic at times, this is also a really lovely, deeply emotional look at the stumbling, difficult way remus and sirius eventually find a path to each other. it’s ultimately optimistic in its portrayal of love and desire, and the feeling that you can be understood, can be known, can be found. just beautiful, a real hard-hitter.

  fandom: IT

 how much more than enough for both of us by pineapplecrushface - @pineapplecrushface on tumblr

rating: E

pairing: richie/eddie

summary: Richie has tried very, very hard to get laid over the last twenty years, but something has always gotten in the way.

notes: your guess is honestly as good as mine as to how i ended up in this fandom, but here we are, and there are some truly wonderful stories to enjoy. this one is beautifully-written – the longing, the aching, the sadness, i could feel it in my bones. deals with the concept of forgetting, and supernatural horror aside, there's something really simple and human about this mortifying ordeal of going for person after person and fucking it up each time and sabotaging yourself in the search for love. well-written, lovely, simple, tender.

also you should really read everything by @pineapplecrushface - both their work in IT fandom and good omens is stunning.

  things that happen after eddie lives by ifithollers 

rating: E

pairing: richie/eddie

summary: in a world where Richie manages to save Eddie from It after the deadlights, they still have problems on their to-do list. Featuring everything from Derry to Los Angeles—Richie Tozier's murder trial, Eddie Kaspbrak's divorce proceedings, bedsharing of the platonic and non-platonic varieties, an investigation of magic, a truly disgusting séance, the quintessential morosexual road trip, and OH MY GOD THEY WERE ROOMMATES.

notes: this is top-tier, next-level, Good Shit. a real satisfying slow burn full of incredible, nuanced character stuff, high-stakes drama, trial & error, with a real, tangible move towards understanding, and maybe healing. plotty, narratively compelling, manages to balance real-world, atmospherically humdrum details with some viscerally brilliant and strange supernatural elements.

also a masterclass in exploring self-loathing, trauma, and sexuality in a way that is necessarily uncomfortable, and fascinating and cathartic. the razor-fine line of being paralysed into inaction by wrecking-ball levels of want was powerfully compelling to read both as a look at a particular kind of queer-baggaged desire, and also as an exploration of who these characters are.

full of smart, brilliant banter and dialogue, i am always overwhelmingly grateful to authors who have the talent and fortitude to tackle a novel of a fic, to give us this much wonderful, quality entertainment absolutely for free. what a gift.

  the kids table by stitchy – @stitchyarts on tumblr

rating: T

pairing: richie/eddie

summary: For the most part Richie and his sister have a doctrine of mutually assured destruction. They could obliterate each other with their parents given the slightest provocation. To keep things at an even keel, they steer clear of each other as much as possible every other day of the year, but on Thanksgiving? Kids Table is like their NATO.

notes: an observation of how things change within families as time goes on - people die, people get married, people get divorced, the family dynamic changes, and there's always a really painful process of trying not to get left behind, trying to change with it, but also trying to hold on.

i’m recommending this one, but honestly, do yourselves a favour and read everything stitchy has written for this fandom. this one particularly stood out to me because i’m an absolute sucker for sibling fic, especially when it’s written like this; emotional, witty, astutely-observed, resonant.

the core of the sibling relationship between richie and his sister here is a joy to read. this is a lovely, humorous and emotional story told in a series of thanksgivings, filled with keenly-observed, vivid, details, and written in a really sharp, concise style that cuts clearly to the truth of a feeling. absolutely wonderful.

---

okay! that took forever. i hope someone finds something in there to enjoy they maybe haven’t read yet. and if you’ve got your own fic rec posts, please link me!

quick links to more recs:

good omens

harry potter

it

the goldfinch

hannibal

all other fandoms

[shadowofthemoth]

Ok your reply to me got me curious so 1) for Benvolio and Mercutio and throw Tybalt there too *^* and 4 for Gringoire because I love how you talk about him

Hahaha, this is anenjoyable yet difficult ask!

1 – Appearance:Benvolio, Mercutio, Tybalt

Mercutio – John Eyzenfrom the 2010 French revival RetJ. No competition here. I love all otherversions, including the way he’s portrayed in Zeffirelli’s film; but Iheadcanon only Eyzen’s Mercutio. Long dark curly mane, slightly crazed andslightly feminine look, very gay attitude, catlike graceful movements, wildgreen eyes, laughs like a madman, is probably a changeling. xD

Tybalt – uhh… ingeneral, tall, strong, very masculine, a trained warrior (in modern AUs –practices martial arts); large calloused hands, noble but rough features, thin lips.It’s a draw between Tom Ross from the 2010 French revival RetJ and Mark Seibertfrom the Austrian version, because I have two equally prominent headcanonsabout this character. Headcanon 1 – Tom!Tybalt: the softer, sadder, moresuffering Tybs; Tycutio is in full bloom here. Headcanon 2 – Mark!Tybalt: thishappens when I feel like exploring Tybalt’s rougher, crueler side; and in thisheadcanon, any real Tycutio is a big nope. I can expand on this sometime, ifyou’re interested; but this ask is not about ships, so that’s it for now.

And now let’s turnto Benvolio. Surprisingly, this one is the hardest, because I love so manyversions! Grégori Baquet from the original French RetJ; Syril Niccolai from the2010 French revival; Mészáros Árpád Zsolt from the Hungarian version; MathiasEdenborn from the Austrian version; Angelo del Vecchio from Cocciante’s “Giuliettae Romeo”; you name the rest… and I just can’t choose! Besides, I haven’twritten anything about him yet (apart from one poem in Russian), so I still don’thave any definite image of him in my head. When I read fanfiction, itfluctuates depending on the way he’s written by a particular author; so itdoesn’t help with making any choices, too.

But if we look atmy main RetJ headcanons… As I said, there are two of them: the one with Tycutio(Eyzen!Mercutio, Ross!Tybalt); and the one without Tycutio (Eyzen!Mercutio,Seibert!Tybalt), aka the one with Bencutio (which is actually my main ship inthis fandom and I’ll go down with it). So, in my Bencutio headcanon, I can onlysee Ben as Syril Niccolai. When I don’t ship him with Mercutio though… don’tknow, it will depend on many things. Can’t say anything more particular aboutthis – at least until I write about him (which I’m planning to do soon; the “Promise”+ “Shelter” couple of prompts needs a third part because I can’t leave my poorScaligers hanging like that).

(I know that in the pic, Syril plays Romeo; but this is the perfect illustration of my Bencutio headcanon, so I’m posting it anyway xD)

4 – Family/relationships:Gringoire

So this is how Iheadcanon Gringoire’s family. I hope you won’t object if I base this on the RPGwhere I roleplay as him?..

Gringoire’s father:a carpenter from Thury-Harcourt, Normandy. I call him Nicolás, becaue thecharacter I base him on is Claes, father of Thyl Uilenspiegel, if you know whothat is. Nicolás is the French version of that name, so I just decided I’d callhim that. A hard-working, cheerful, very down-to-earth guy; stout, strong, aruddy face, brown eyes, curly black hair (guess whom Pierre got his famous curlsfrom?), but he keeps it cropped as short as it is allowed. Nicolás is good-natured,but hot-tempered – though his family has never suffered from it. He’s a strictdad, but a natural with children – and that’s where Pierre’s ability tocommunicate with kids with ease comes from. Also, Pierre loves to watch his dadwork – a carpenter’s work is creative (but don’t you dare tell that to Nicolás,he’s just doing his job!), and Pierre is fascinated by everything creative.

Nicolás remarriedseveral years after his first wife’s untimely death in childbirth, to a peasantwoman much younger than himself. Pierre is his only child, born by his secondwife (the first wife’s baby was stillborn); and Nicolás loves them bothimmensely. He is already over 40 by the time Pierre is born, and he dies in anoutbreak of plague when the boy is five.

Gringoire’smother: a daughter of a local peasant, not particularly attractive but healthy,well-built, kind-hearted, calm, and a great seamstress. I call her Marie. Shehas long, dark blond hair, blue-grey eyes and a sweet smile. Pierre looksnothing like his mother; but the gentle, poetic side of him comes from her, notanyone else. Marie is the quiet thinker type; she takes everything close toheart and empathizes with literally everyone; and in this regard, Pierre is alot like her. He learns to love art watching his mother sew beautifullandscapes and flowers and listening to numerous fairy tales she tells himbefore sleep. Besides, Marie has a melodious, if rather weak, voice, and bothher husband and her son love hearing her sing. The way words and musicintertwine fascinates the boy no less than any other creative process does; andthat is probably when the beginnings of a great poet start to grow in his soul.

Marie is about fifteenyears younger than Nicolás; but she loves her husband very much. She givesbirth to Pierre when she is twenty-five, and dies with her husband in the sameoutbreak of plague five years later, leaving Pierre an orphan.

I imagine that theatmosphere in their family is that of warmth, trust and love; and even though Pierrespent most of his childhood and youth orphaned and alone (until he foundhimself in Frollo’s care at some point) he remembers that atmosphere well. Hewill certainly do his best to recreate it if he ever marries and starts afamily of his own.

Relationships…well, I ship Pierre with Esmeralda, but there are two options here: either wesay ‘the book is canon’ and let Esme die, or we rewrite the canon completelyand let her stay alive.

In the first case,Gringoire will eventually settle down and start a family with some girl I havenever bothered to imagine in detail – I only know that she will be verygood-natured, kind, hard-working and no-nonsense (have you seen the musical “Rebecca”?If yes, then imagine the main character (“Ich”) the way she is at the end of the plot, preferablyas portrayed by Szinetár Dóra).

In the secondcase, the events will play along these lines: Gringoire mans up and saves Esmefrom hanging (successfully this time); and they leave (or should I say, run thefuck away from) Paris. They pretend to be brother and sister at first, butgradually Esme grows to truly love Pierre – to his utter happiness, of course.I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. xD

Again, hope I didn’t disappoint you! Don’t hesitate to comment and ask about/share your opinion on anything I wrote here. xD

[thearrangment-phff]

XXX. Weddings

March 2017

The week after meeting with Harry about the guest list, Isabella joined her parents on a plane to Belgium. Isabella's aunt Princess Margaretha of Liechtenstein and her uncle Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg and his wife Princess Sibilla of Luxembourg also attended the mass to commemorate the deceased members of the Belgian Royal Family at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwkerk or Église Notre-Dame, depending on which of Belgium's major languages you prefer. The members of the Grand Ducal Family joined their Belgian cousin, King Philippe, and Queen Mathilde as well as Princess Esmeralda and Princess Lea for the mass.

The press went crazy that day because of Isabella. Everyone wanted to know more about the Swiss-born Archduchess of Austria and seeing her give a kiss on each cheek to Queen Mathilde of the Belgians before giving a deep curtsy with her head bowed was different. Kate had never done that to a queen and many thought she broke protocol, but the press always got those things wrong. When they were leaving the church one photographer yelled if Kate had taught Isabella how to curtsey. Queen Mathilde gave a little laugh before replying, "You can't teach what one has known since birth."  

Some took that as an insult to Kate, but Queen Mathilde was simply saying the truth. Isabella curtsied to her grandparents when the ruled Luxembourg, then to her uncle when he became Grand Duke. She's curtsied to King Baudouin, Queen Fabiola, King Albert II, Queen Paola, King Philippe, and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians. There were more Kings and Queen of Europe too. The press acted if she was the one who was new to the royal life. Isabella was royal. Isabella was more royal than Harry.  

When you look at Isabella's mother's side all there is Princes, Princesses, Kings, and Queens. On her father's side, she had Princes, Princesses, Kings, Queen, Emperors, Empresses, Dukes and Duchesses. The closest relation that didn't carry the title of Princess was Isabella's great-grandmother Philippine de Noailles who was the daughter of a Prince of Poix. French nobility was different than other European nobility so Philippine could not carry the title Princess, but that didn't discourage the fact that she was the granddaughter of a Duke of Mouchy and Princess of Murat. Philippine was of noble blood regardless.

People wanted to act as if she didn't know about royal protocol, but that was the farthest from the truth. Then the press remembered that Isabella was Catholic and made articles about how Harry was going to be taken out of the line of succession to the British throne for marrying a Catholic. Few people corrected the press with the fact that in 2013, Her Majesty allowed members of the British Royal Family to keep their place in the line of succession if they married a Catholic. Then more ridiculous stories came up about the war between Isabella and Kate. To Isabella, Kate would never be competition because she and Kate were completely different women. Isabella also wasn't going to feed into the media's game of pinning woman against woman. It was too misogynist for Isabella's taste.

Isabella returned to London after the Belgian trip. Louis had to get more protection for the house because the press would not leave the surrounding area in hope of getting pictures of Isabella. The Luxembourg Grand Ducal Family had to release a statement saying that the house is private property and press can be arrested on site. To which photographers, simply got better cameras to take pictures from far away and only backed up about 10 or 20 feet. The property in which Louis lived technically belonged to the Luxembourg government and with the help of Jean, Isabella paid a small amount of rent to the Luxembourg government in order to live there. Because she was the granddaughter of the former Grand Duke and many government officials knew Isabella since she was a small child they had little to no objections to her living with Louis.

In the beginning of March, Isabella and Harry flew to Jamaica to attend the wedding of one of Harry's best friends Tom Inskip to the Hon Lara Hughes-Young. Harry hadn't even bothered to tell Isabella that Kate wanted to invite her to dinner after their first meeting went horribly because Harry didn't see a point. Isabella and Kate were two completely different women who wouldn't get along. Since Isabella didn't seem to get along with William and Kate, Harry feared that Isabella and his friends wouldn't get along either.  

It happened to be the opposite, some of Harry's friends welcomed Isabella to their group of longtime friends. Isabella even chatted up the bride on more than one occasion. Since Harry never set up a proper meeting between his cousins and Isabella, this event was perfect. Harry's cousin Princess Eugenie was in attendance and her mother Sarah, Duchess of York struck up a conversation at one point in the night and the two could not stop laughing. Sarah even delighted Isabella with some stories of Harry when he was younger, and then gave a cute story of Harry and his mother Diana that warmed Isabella's heart.

Jake Warren, another one of Harry's friends, poked fun of Harry much to the delight of Isabella who loved all the fun stories of Harry's childhood and days at Eton College. Jake even insisted that Isabella call him Jakie because all of his friends do to which Isabella gave a little laugh and replied that he and everyone else must call her Belle because her family calls her that.

Isabella loved Harry's friends because they were so fun. The crude humor didn’t bother Isabella. Though she didn't get to meet many of them because talking with Eugenie, Sarah, Lara, and Jake took up much of her time. When Lara invited Isabella and Harry to join them the next day for a swim Isabella declined. Harry took the opportunity to joke that she would look like a lobster if she were to go out in the sun. Isabella replied with a small hit to one of his thighs, and Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek as a sorry to her. Lizzie was one of Harry's friends that Isabella didn't get to know too much. Lizzie Wilson, an American heiress, was married to one of Harry's good friend Guy Pelly.  

As the night dragged on Harry got to a point of dancing to which Isabella found herself seated next to Sarah, Duchess of York instead of dancing with Harry and his friends. His attempt at doing the moonwalk was exciting at first and ended with a small disaster. Harry was danced into a waitress and sent the drink on the tray flying. Harry could not stop apologizing and Isabella had gotten up to help the waitress pick up the broken glasses with Harry.

After the three-day wedding celebration, Isabella and Harry returned to London to continue planning their wedding. Though it wasn't an official engagement for Isabella, Harry had invited her to a match between England and Scotland at Twickenham Stadium in Southwest London. Isabella wasn't a big fan of sports but that didn't stop her from cheering on both teams. An older man, that Isabella didn't know but guessed he was of some type of importance, asked why cheer for both. To which Isabella gave the elder man a small smile and replied, "Well sir, I am to be a citizen of the United Kingdom soon. I shall represent the United Kingdom too and I can't simply cheer on one team. Scotland and Northern Ireland hold places in my heart, just like England."

The press fell in love with that quote. The British Royal Family members had come under scrutiny in the past for only supporting England in sports so Isabella's little quote made people of Scotland and Northern Ireland love her just a little bit more.

Isabella's first official engagement with Harry was a ceremony at the Embassy of Nepal to celebrate UK-Nepal relations. Isabella did a bit of research on Nepal prior to the ceremony and greeted some of the officials in their language. She asked questions and was genuinely interested in the country. In the end, Isabella was asked if she would come to Nepal after their wedding, to which Isabella agreed that she may come there one day.  

Harry had another engagement the following day, without Isabella, so she spent the day packing for the both of them. Marie Gabrielle's civil wedding was going to be the following day and Isabella and Harry would both be attending. It would one be a one overnight stay in Luxembourg and they were going to stay in the Grand Ducal Place as a guest of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg. He was now getting into the habit of meeting Isabella's family. The names he still would get confused but the titles were becoming easier. He knew who to bow to and things were just getting easier in general.  

At the civil wedding of Princess Marie Gabrielle of Luxembourg and Antonius Willms, Harry was treated like family. He talked and joked around with Isabella's brothers and cousins. Before everyone went outside for pictures, Harry stood next to Isabella as she told her cousin Charlotte that she wanted her to be her maid of honor. Charlotte replied with complete excitement and jumped up and down. Charlotte was so honored that Isabella chose her.  

Once that excitement was toned down Harry did receive some questions about the wedding. The guest list had been finalized a couple of hours before they flew to Luxembourg. The bridal party was almost complete, but Harry had yet to decide on who would be his supporter. He knew nothing about Isabella's wedding gown and only knew about the tiara Isabella was wearing because his future sister in law, Marie Christine, had said Isabella would choose one of the Luxembourg Grand Ducal family's tiaras like every woman in their family has done.

There was a small dinner after the civil wedding at the Grand Ducal Palace. Harry and Isabella had yet to choose a real date and that bothered a lot of people. The wedding should happen in June, which was in 3 months and there was no finalized date. Even the press was getting anxious. But Isabella surprised Harry by deciding June 24th as their wedding date. It was the week after Trouping of the Colour so that meant Isabella couldn't stand beside him on the balcony. Of course, the Queen could allow her if she wanted, but Harry remembered that it might be breaking tradition somehow. Isabella thought it would be the perfect day so after dinner, Harry called his father, his grandparents, and the wedding planner about the date. All agreed and were happy about the wedding date.

Marie Gabrielle told Harry her religious wedding would be in Spain in early September so Harry now had to remember that. Then Marie Astrid, Isabella's mother, informed Harry and Isabella that the wedding between Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Olga Galitzine would happen in Spain in late May so that was another wedding to remember. Princess Olga's Galiztine's 3 other siblings were also marrying this year but had yet to choose a date so they would have to go to those weddings as well.  

At one-point, Jean joked that 2018 would be filled with royal children. Harry knew that to be true. Then he wondered about he and Isabella. Isabella wanted children, but they weren't at a point in their relationship to engage in sexual activity. Then Harry remembered Isabella talking about invitro-fertilization, but that would cause problems. If people were to talk, then would be a PR disaster. Having children seemed scary now. Closer and closer to the actual wedding meant the possibility of having children grew greater. The dream of children would a big possibility.

After returning to London Harry had an engagement with William and Kate for a Heads Together campaign. Kate asked where he was and Harry was surprised that William hadn't said anything.

"I was with Isabella in Luxembourg to attend her cousin's civil wedding."

"You've been going to Luxembourg a lot," said Kate.

"Yes. Many of Isabella's family lives in Luxembourg."

"You just go out more. Isabella's brings out this new side of you. It's nice."

"Yes. We're going to the Vatican next month. Isabella's is the godmother of her cousin's son."

"Will the Luxembourg royals be there?" Asked William.

"Of course. Her cousin's son is Prince Liam of Nassau, the youngest grandson of the current Grand Duke and Duchess."

"Have you ever been to the Vatican?" Asked Kate

"No, but Isabella was there last November when all the Habsburgs met the Pope. She'll help me find my way around," answered Harry.

"Is Prince Liam her first godchild?" Asked William.

"No. I think she mentioned Princess Eleonore of Belgium being her first godchild. Prince Liam may be the eleventh or twelfth," replied Harry.

"When do you think someone from her family will ask you to be a godparent?" Asked William. Partly because despite William being his brother, he never asked Harry to be a godparent to George or Charlotte. William's reasoning was Harry was already their uncle so he would be in their life. But for Isabella's family, it was normal to ask an uncle or aunt to be the godparent.

If Isabella's brothers and sister continued to have children Harry might be asked. He had a good relationship with Isabella's cousin Guillaume and her brother Alexander. They might ask him, but Guillaume had yet to have any children with his wife and though Alexander had a serious girlfriend, Harry didn't see Alexander having children soon.  

Marie Christine was nice to Harry and she recently had a son, but Isabella was already asked to be a godparent over Christmas. Last time he heard any new on the youngest Count de Limburg-Stirum was Marie Christine was planning an April christening in either Germany or Spain. Another thing Harry had to remember to go to. A year ago, he would never be doing any of this. There wouldn't be plane rides to Switzerland, Luxembourg, or Spain. No 4 weddings and 2 christenings to go to.  

"I won't push anything," replied Harry.

After the engagement, Louis invited Harry over to his house so he and Isabella could have some time together to which Harry happily agreed. Isabella made chicken alfredo for Louis and his sons and Harry forgot how good Isabella cooked. He hadn't had something she prepared in a while.  

"I've missed this," smiled Harry as he looked at Isabella.

"Believe me, those boys love coming home from school with such a delicious meal on the table. I always thought Tessy went all out with dinner, but Isabella takes everything to a whole other level," agreed Louis.

"I still remember being in her flat in Geneva and she made me chocolate ice cream," recalled Harry.

"I want chocolate ice cream!" Yelled Noah, Louis' youngest son.

"Maybe next week," replied Isabella with a small laugh.

That day was amazing to Harry. Though he would have preferred to have a dinner with just Isabella, Louis, and his 2 sons were a joy to have for company. Harry spent the rest of the night in Louis's home in London telling Noah and Gabriel stories about Sandhurst and serving in the army. Since Louis and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Tessy both served in the Luxembourg army, both boys had planned on going to Sandhurst like their grandfather and great-grandfather. Noah even told Harry that the army was in their blood which Harry agreed. Noah and Gabriel would make wonderful soldiers and bring much pride to the Nassau and Bourbon-Parma name.

Just days after returning from Luxembourg for Marie Gabrielle's civil wedding, Princess Charlotte of Murat informed Isabella and Harry that Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria had died at the age of 99. It was then explained to Harry that Infanta Alicia was the most senior royal lady in the Spanish Royal Family. She had married the grandson of King Alfonso XII of Spain, but more importantly, Infanta Alicia was born a Princess of Bourbon-Parma making her Isabella's double first-cousin-twice-removed as the descendants of Robert I, Duke of Parma. There were other ways the two women were related. Infanta Alicia's mother was an Archduchess of Austria and she was a descendant of Eugene, 8th Prince of Ligne.  

Isabella was told to go into mourning by Charlotte of Murat and she would be going to her funeral. Isabella then asked Harry if he would accompany her to Spain to attend the funeral, to which Harry agreed. The two flew into Madrid and were personally escorted to Infanta Alicia's former residence by her grandson Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria who now inherited the property. There were photographers following their every move, and many didn't understand why a British Prince would be attending the funeral of a Spanish Infanta, but no one cared Isabella was there. They cared enough to take pictures of them so they could sell to tabloids.

It was in Madrid where Harry got more acquainted with the Spanish Royal Family. Isabella greeted both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia with kisses on the cheek before curtsying. Isabella had only done that publicly to Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and it showed the world that Isabella was comfortable with certain royals. Harry shook their hands and bowed like it's been taught to do with those who have higher titles than him. Isabella greeted the current King and Queen of Spain differently. There were no kisses on the cheek, just simple curtsying. Isabella also greeted Infantas Cristina and Elena of Spain, but there was no curtsying on either part.

There were some royals Harry recognized. Prince Carlo, Duke of Parma was head of the House of Bourbon-Parma and titular Duke of Parma. He helped negotiate terms for Isabella and Harry's upcoming marriage. There were other Bourbon princes in attendance to which Isabella explained was exciting because Bourbon princes all lay a claim to the Spanish throne. Then Harry remembered how when they were discussing the guest list someone had said: "Franco gave him that throne". Harry really needed a history lesson if he was going to understand Isabella's extended family.

Isabella introduced Harry to some Spanish dukes and other men in the Spanish nobility. Much to Harry's surprise, Isabella didn't know everyone at the funeral. He had gotten so used to Isabella knowing everyone's name and family background.

[robbyrobinson]

So, Valentine's Day. A day for love and chocolate. A perfect day to discuss yanderes. A yandere is a Japanese stock character which discusses a character who would normally appear loving and affectionate, but they would often take their affection for the person they're attracted to to some brutal and/or devastating lengths. It also goes without saying that while this term is usually applied to females, there are some rare occurrences in which a male can become one. With that being said, let's begin:

My Favorite Yanderes

Monika (Doki Doki Literature Club): As of the beginning of this year, one of my favorite games has been Doki Doki Literature Club! In DDLC, you play as a character who was a childhood friend of a young girl named Sayori. One day, she decides to invite you to join the Literature Club which consists of Sayori (as the vice president), Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika. The game seems to be all lighthearted and fun where your objective is to woo the heart of one of the girls. However, things take a dark turn when at the end of Act I, you learn that each girl has a deep, dark secret. Sayori puts on a facade of happiness in order to build others up when in actuality, she is clinically depressed. Yuri begins to become more and more psychotic, and she is aware of that, but she cannot do anything about it, and Natsuki is abrasive with the heavy implication that she has an abusive dad who hardly feeds her or let alone takes care of her. But that doesn't beat the icing of the cake. That would be Monika. You see, she is the only girl who doesn't have a route with the player despite her popularity, beauty, and her position as the class president. And so, she sets out to do something about that. What makes Monika horrifying is how she is aware that she is a fictional character in a video game, and so she tries to make her advances on you as in not the character you play as, but you the player. She knows when you're playing the game, she knows when you're off it, she even has access to files on your computer. But that doesn't beat what she had done to the girls. As I have stated, each girl has a different character flaw, but because of Monika's tampering with their character files, each girls' negative traits are amplified all so they would be unappealing to you. And if that's not enough, she outright deletes the girls from the game, and rewrites it so that she could be alone with you in the Literature Club room as you both seemingly float in space. As for you, she could care less on whether you're a boy or girl: she doesn't love you, but she loves what you represent. As a character who knows that the world they live in is fictional, she tries to cling onto you because to her, you're the only real thing she can try to form a relationship with. Despite her monstrous actions, if you delete Monika's character file, she realizes how horrible she had been acting, and she erases the entire game. It also turns out that she didn't have the heart to permanently delete the other girls, and she can bring them back. However, once she is out of the game, Sayori takes her place as the class president, and she now realizes the reality of her world. Overall, Monika is a really interesting character from a game that I didn't think much of. The game shows you how depression functions and hoaw each of these girls could be seen as rejects of society who can only express their desires by writing them. But hey, it's just Monika. Just Monika. Just Monika. JUST MONIKA. J U S T M O N I K A. J U S T M O N I K A....

Judge Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame): As I have said: there are some instances where yanderes can be men. In this adaptation of Victor Hugo's famous novel, Frollo is the self-proclaimed Minister of Justice out to exterminate the Gypsy race. With Frollo, he is undoubtedly one of the more complex of the Disney Villains. Unlike other Disney Villains who know that they're evil and revel in it, Frollo legitimately thinks that he is a good person, seeing himself as being so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak licentious crowd while committing actions that are horrible whether it be genocide, murdering a mother and nearly drowning her baby boy, raising said baby and mentally abusing him for twenty years, and trying to burn Paris to the ground all for a woman who is a member of the race that he despises. Oh, yes; he tries to burn Paris to the ground all because of his obsession with Esmeralda. In addition, Frollo has an awesome song called "Hellfire" which he sings about how Esmeralda is driving him to sin and that unless she be his and his alone, he would kill her. The song is up there with "Be Prepared" from The Lion King as being one of my favorite villain songs, though the subject matter behind the song is unnerving and maybe too adult for Disney. In fact, if it wasn't for the insistence of the writers to keep the song, this amazing song most likely wouldn't have made the cut. And when Frollo catches Esmeralda and sentences her to be burned at the stake, he tries to give her one last chance which she refuses.

Yuno Gasai (Future Diary): Yes. The Yandere Queen herself. What's there to be said for her? The fact that she is obsessed with Yukiteru Amano to the point that she commits murders in order to protect him? Or that one time where she orchestrates a plan which leads to his friends getting killed. The only reason as to why she isn't number one is because it'd be too easy.

Shion Sonozaki (Higurashi: When They Cry): Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni was one of my favorite animes. The show revolves around a boy named Keiichi Maebara who moves into a small village known as Hinamizawa. Things seem all find and dandy, until he becomes suspicious of his friends. He learns that every year on the Cotton Drifting Festival, one person gets murdered whilst another person goes missing. And then it seems that the characters are reliving events over and over again even if they were to die horribly one day and everything resets. Think of it as Groundhog Day but written by a horror writer. The resident yandere in this show is named Shion. Shion is the twin sister of Mion Sonozaki, the Sonozaki family being one of the more noted families of the village. Shion ends up meeting a boy named Satoshi Houjo. Now, the issue being that the Houjo family were supporters of a Dam project...basically where Hinamizawa itself would be flooded. As such Satoshi and his little sister Satoko are distrusted by the community. Eventually, Satoshi seemingly disappers, and Shion takes it upon herself to look after his sister. However, she kind of goes off the deep end by killing her grandparents, imprisoning her twin sister, and stabbing Satoko to death while she is on a cross. Yeah, the Sonozaki family has a torture room. Shion is really one of the main reasons as to why this series was notorious for its horror elements, but she also has her reasons for what she does such as being mistreated by her family, and being forced to have three of her finger nails ripped off by a torture device. That, and she actually is under the influence of a disease known as the Hinamizawa Syndrome which gives its victims paranoia, insanity, and often leads to them acting out extremely through murder, or by committing suicide by clawing their throats out. And you could say that she gets better at the end, so there's that.

Yandere Chan (Yandere Simulator): This one is more based on the yandere character type. Yandere Chan couldn't feel any emotions until she laid her eyes on Senpai, so now she has to keep others from between her and Senpai so that she could get Senpai to notice her. I don't know if this game is finished yet which is why I was initially going to keep her off the list, but it wouldn't feel complete without a slight mention of her.

Akane Hiyama (Love Tyrant): this one is from an anime I watched last year. In it, the show revolves around a young ,man named Seiji Aino who finds himself looped into circumstances between him and a cupid named Guri. As a cupid, Guri must write names into a book known as a Kiss Note (ha). Anyone's names who are written into it are automatically bonded for life. Akane is a girl that Seiji has feelings for, but he was unable to figure out how to tell her. So Guri suggests that he go kiss her. But then Akane comes to the conclusion that Seiji and Guri were dating, and produces two knives with the clear intention of killing them both. She goes onto explain that she knew how Seiji felt about her, but was heartbroken because he never told. Despite Aino's apology, Akane still tries to murder him, but this ends with her accidentally kissing Seiji. And the two get their names written in the Kiss Note...only for Guri to write her name into it as well. This leads to Akane stabbing Aino repeatedly with the knives, but it's revealed that because Guri is included in the relationship, the two are immortal. It still hurts, though.

Helga Pataki (Hey Arnold): Really more of a mixture with this and Tsundere, but Helga does have her moments. For one, there's the shrine that she made of Arnold which is borderline disturbing. She writes poems about Arnold, she actually tries to sabotage most of his attempts at going further with his crushes namely Ruth and Lila, and if the Jungle Movie is any indication, she had secretly recorded nearly all of Arnold's best moments which raises questions now that I think of it.

Alex Forrest (Fatal Attraction): Two words: "bunny-boiler."

Annie Wilkes (Misery): One of the better adaptations of a Stephen King book. While initially seeming to be friendly, Annie is actually a psychotic woman who keeps Paul hostage after finding out he was intending to kill off her favorite character. To that end, she forces him to revise the ending, murders a sheriff when he arrived to the cottage, and in the most messed up scene of the movie, Annie breaks both of Paul's legs to keep him from leaving. At least that's relatively better than what she did in the movie.

[luminousinthedark]

Sweeter than Cookies (Chapter 3)

@keithmebabyonemoretime Here it is!! The last chapter! Things got a little hectic once class started...then homework, going to work, writers block, being there for my friend when she had her baby, so you could say I’ve been pretty busy. Sorry this took so long but it is. finally. DONE. I also added a bit of angst cause I couldn’t help myself xD. À plus tard!  

Ao3

“Yeaahhh….about that,” Adrien said as he observed his bed. “You’ll be sleeping on my bed while I take the couch.”

Marinette furrowed her brows as she glanced at him in confusion. “Um…no I won’t.”

Turning to her with a displeased look on his face, Adrien replied in more of a stricter tone. “Yes you will.”

“No, I will not,” Marinette argued back, starting to get frustrated.

“Marinette. I will not let my guest, a friend for that matter, sleep on the couch while I lay there cozy in bed. Don’t argue with me on this,” Adrien huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Copying his actions, Marinette faced him and remain unmoved. “I’m not going to sleep in your bed while knowing you have to sleep on a couch in your own room. I said no.”

“Yes, you will.”

“No, I won’t.”

By now, both teenagers were nearly nose to nose as they glared at the other. All the sweet things that happened to them earlier seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving a tense atmosphere. Adrien was the first to notice their proximity, so he pulled away running a hand through his hair in slight agitation.

“Look, Marinette, don’t be so stubborn I only want what’s best for you,” he sounded exasperated.

“Adrien, I get it, but I feel the same way for you too so as your guest and friend, let me decide on what I want to do.” Marinette’s lips pursed as Adrien still didn’t seem to move on the subject.

“Just let me be a good friend, why are you doing this?” he was beginning to raise his voice, trying to get his point across.

“Because it isn’t fair to you!”she shot back.

“Well fine to make it fair, let’s both sleep in my bed together then!” he shouted.

There was a stifling silence as the words rang into the quiet room and sunk into both of their heads. Eyes widening, Adrien blushed at what he said as Marinette’s mouth hung open and she stared at him. It was as if all the tension in the air evaporated into nothing and was replaced with heavy embarrassment.

“I…uh..um,” Adrien stammered, not daring to look at Marinette.

“…okay,” came the quiet reply.

Adrien whipped around so fast to gaze down at her in astonishment, he was afraid he might have pulled something.

Swallowing hard, he whispered, “Are you…sure?”

A small smile worked its way onto Marinette’s face with his familiar phrasing, “Absolutely.”

Breathing out a heavy sigh, Adrien nodded his head in acceptance then wandered over to his TV where the game still sat repeating Marinette’s victory.  He switched it off and picked up the remote to begin rifling through the channels. “Want to watch a movie or something?” he muttered quietly, as she walked over and sat in the middle of his couch.

Crossing her legs and leaning back, Marinette relaxed and peered at the options while he mindlessly flicked through them. A particular movie caught her eye, causing her to yell, “stop!” which ended up startling Adrien so much, the remote flew out of his hand and landed smack in the middle of their coats. There was a tiny yelp which erupted from that spot, prompting Adrien and Marinette to look at each other in horror.

“Ahaha, must have been from outside-,”

“I’m pretty sure that was the movie-,”

Both of them spoke at the same time and stopped abruptly, Adrien making coughing noises and Marinette now intensely inspecting her fingernails.

“I’ll just…,” Adrien made vague gesturing signs with his hands then quickly walked over to his bed to retrieve the offending object.

Not bothering to check on his kwami, he swiped the remote with a murmured, “sorry!” and went back to sit down next to Marinette.  

 Underneath the coats, Plagg rubbed at his head as he silently groaned. “How bad is it Tikki?” he grinded out as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Tikki snorted as quietly as she could and observed the wound. “Looks like your bad luck came into play again.”

“Tikkkiiiii…” Plagg whined as he pawed at the fabric.

“It seems to be growing into a nice sized goose-egg Cheeshead,” she giggled as he groaned a little louder.

“I swear,” Plagg growled, “I’ll get him back for this.”

Tikki made a tsking noise as she playfully batted at his arm. “It was only an accident; the boy seems to go through enough already.”

Sighing, Plagg knew Tikki was right. “How would he like it to have a giant remote knock him in the head,” he grumbled.

Shuffling closer, Tikki left a soft kiss on the sore spot. “There, is that better?” she asked kindly.

Plagg blushed and immediately felt relief. “Yes,” he admitted.

Tikki smiled knowingly and cuddled up once more against her other half.

 As Le Bossu de Notre Dame played out across the television screen, Marinette and Adrien paid little mind to the moving pictures and thought more about their heated conversation. Guilt continued swirling throughout Adrien’s gut for yelling at Marinette as the girl in question tried really hard to keep her composure together with fantasies running through her head.

Clearing his throat, Adrien still kept his eyes on the movie while Marinette’s attention now became focused on him. “I’m sorry…for earlier. I didn’t mean to push something you didn’t want to do onto you,” he spoke quietly.

Warmth spread throughout Marinette’s chest, the poor girl falling more in love with Adrien and his concern for her feelings as she processed his apology. “It’s alright; I understand what you had in mind. I’m sorry too, for fighting you,” she replied bashfully.

Adrien looked at her then and found her shy behavior endearing. He also felt much better getting that out in the open and clearing the air between them. “So,” he said with a little more cheerfulness, “was there a reason you were so vocal about making me pause on this movie..?”

Pink flared across Marinette’s cheeks as she picked at a loose thread on her sleeve.  “This is one of my childhood favorites and I haven’t seen it in awhile.” She chuckled, “I might have been too loud in my enthusiasm in getting you to stop.”

“That’s okay. It is a really good movie,” Adrien agreed.

Marinette giggled as a thought struck her. “You remind me of Quasimodo.”

Adrien glanced at her and pretended to be offended. “Is that a secret way of telling me my appearance is hideous?” he mockingly teased.

Gasping in alarm, Marinette wildly swung her arms around. “NO! Oh God no!”

A grin broke out on Adrien’s lips. “You don’t have to lie to me Marinette. Just go ahead and say it.”

Slapping a hand to her face, Marinette groaned then dropped both her hands in her lap. “I only say that because of the similarities you both have as a personality and story.”

The grin immediately dropped and Adrien stared at her. “Oh.”

“You see,” Marinette continued, “just like you, Quasimodo is a kind man who loves the people and wants to see the world without them judging him based on appearances. He is also loyal to those he cares about and protects them when the need arises. Like saving Esmeralda, because she’s his friend and he loves her. Plus, he knows what it’s like to be without a mother and grow up in a big place with a father who ignores him most of the time.” All of this jumbled out of Marinette while Adrien looked completely gobsmacked. “Not that your father is a villain or anything,” she quickly amended and laughed it off.

(In his office, Gabriel sneezed twice. “Damn allergies,” he sniffed.)

Completely touched, Adrien had the most genuine smile on his face while his eyes became a little misty. “Marinette…,” he said softly, completely touched by her words. She noticed that about him?

Shrugging her shoulders, Marinette looked down at her hands. “That’s what I observed anyway.”

After blinking away unshed tears, Adrien shifted closer to Marinette. “Well that was a wonderful analysis, thanks for sharing it with me.” He scratched the back of his neck as he pondered something himself. “Actually, come to think of it, you remind me a lot of Esmeralda.”

Marinette’s head shot up and she gazed at him in curiosity. “Really?”

“Well yeah, she is good at being independent and is a very caring person,” he commented truthfully. “Standing up for what’s right, helping those in need, seeing things in others most people often overlook. Not to mention, she’s extremely pretty,” at that Marinette squeaked and Adrien laughed at her reaction. “I’m being honest! But yeah, I see all of that about her in you too.”

Suddenly, Adrien was tackled into a bone crushing hug. “That was really sweet Adrien,” Marinette mumbled through his shirt as he returned the hug in a tight squeeze.

They sat together like that, holding the other in their arms until the movie ended and another started up. Marinette’s eyes were barely staying open as she fought to stay awake after the end of the credits rolled for the second movie. She was just so comfortable in Adrien’s embrace, it felt so nice. But all good things had to come to an end eventually when Adrien nudged her awake and smiled at her apologetically as she squinted sleepy eyes at him.

“Come on, let’s get you in some pajamas and head to bed,” he whispered and got up, gently tugging her up with him.

She only hummed in response, following him to his closet in a haze. He pulled out a pair of black and dark green flannel pants and a light green shirt with a black pawprint in the middle then handed it to her.

Marinette took it from him, amusement breaking through her sleepy daze. Adrien caught her look and increasingly became more sheepish as he found a pair of soft red pajama pants adorned with black spots and a red shirt that he clutched to his chest.

Raising an eyebrow, Marinette couldn’t help but to tease him. “Ladybug and Chat Noir fan huh?”

Pouting, Adrien walked past her and over to the side of his bed. “I think they’re cool. Don’t judge me.”

“Pfff…too late for that,” Marinette snorted as she made her way to the bathroom to change.

Once she was done, she peaked out the door to see Adrien had already finished changing and was setting their coats on the couch. Shuffling over to the bed, she pulled back the covers on one side and nearly collapsed onto it, too tired to overthink and freak out about being in his bed. She glanced up and had to quickly cover her mouth to muffle the burst of laughter from the sight of Adrien’s shirt.

Adrien sighed and gave her a tired look, already accepting the criticism. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.”

Marinette pulled her hand away and bit her lip in mirth as she examined the front. It read in bold black letters, Ladybug by day, bedbug by night with a winking face at the end. “Where did you get that one?” she asked, barely suppressing her giggles.

Plopping down beside her, Adrien got underneath the covers and pulled them up to his mouth, murmuring something into the fabric while he stared resolutely at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” Marinette took pleasure in seeing the half of his face she saw turn redder.

He pulled back the blanket and mumbled, “Its custom made and it’s my favorite shirt.”

“Awww…is that so?” Marinette cooed as she snuggled deeper into the lush bed.

“I came up with it myself,” he stated proudly.

“You dork,” Marinette replied tenderly, feeling the beginnings of slumber start to pull her in so she closed her eyes.

Turning to her after a moment of silence, Adrien noticed the peaceful look on her face and saw her breathing start to even out. He watched her with a fondness he wasn’t quite aware of yet while releasing a sincere smile. “Good night Marinette,” Adrien whispered softly, fighting back the urge to tuck a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

Drifting further into unconsciousness, Marinette responded with a half-hearted hum then she inhaled the smell of freshly washed sheets along with Adrien’s scent, letting out a small sigh of content. A dreamless sleep was quick to claim her after that.

For Adrien, he wasn’t so lucky; having conflicting emotions about why he’s beginning to feel more attraction towards Marinette when he already had his love for Ladybug. Laying on his side and facing Marinette, he tried to match his breathing with hers, then closed his eyes and eventually fell into a dream.

 Smoke permeated the air in the deserted street, making it hard to breathe as Adrien stumbled down the cobblestone in his superhero suit. The continued sounds of bawling and agonized wailing could be heard all around him, as he blindly searched for something. Up ahead, he noticed Notre Dame standing tall against the red skyline from the fires that raged on throughout Paris.  

Suddenly, a cry tore through the eerie silence, and it turned his blood to ice.

“Chat!”

He knew that voice. The lovely sound of her voice he always heard in his thoughts now laced with fear.

Breaking into a run, Adrien tried calling out to her, but it was as though his lips were sealed shut. His mind was a mess, struggling to comprehend what was going on but ultimately failing and only worried about one particular goal.

Protecting her.

Somehow, he found himself in front of the cathedral, which loomed before him in a sense of impending doom with the sight before it. There was a girl with dark hair who was tied to a stake at the bottom of the steps, tears streaking down her masked face.

It was his Lady.

His heart nearly stopped at the sight of her while piecing together what this meant.

A man in a purple black robe, whose appearance seemed similar to his father, walked up to her and caressed an earring while wearing a manic smile.

“No!” Adrien yelled, attempting to get to the two of them but was jerked back by something heavy.

Metal chains wrapped around his hands and feet, hindering him from getting any closer. Gritting his teeth, he struggled against the binds to no avail. Calling upon cataclysm, Adrien went to touch the chain but saw only a bare hand instead.

A dark chuckle reached his ears, causing a shiver to wrack itself down his spine. Looking up, he watched the man twirl a silver ring on his finger and turned his icy blue gaze onto him.

“Adrien, didn’t I raise you better than this?”

Dread filled Adrien’s entire being as the man cackled and faced his Lady once more.

“Now I shall have my one wish come true,” he said with glee as he ripped the earrings from her ears.

Swirling pink light released from around her, dissolving the suit and leaving behind…

“Marinette?!” he shouted in alarm.

 Marinette groggily awoke to the tossing and turning of someone in her bed. Wiping her eyes to wake up more and eventually see who the intruder was, she was soon kicked in the shin from the culprit. Not hard luckily, but this still caused her to snap them open in surprise and annoyance. However, she bit back a sharp retort when she caught sight of Adrien.

This brought to mind the memory of her sleeping over in his bed which helped her to relax. But her relief was cut short from seeing Adrien’s sleeping state. It seemed like he was in pain with the way his eyebrows scrunched together while he wordlessly mouthed something. The covers were kicked off from his body showing his entire posture being ramrod straight, limbs spread out, and fists clenching the bed sheets so hard his knuckles were white.

“Adrien..?” Marinette questioned with worry.

 Falling to his knees, Adrien stared at his friend and love as now one person, everything ripping apart inside him from the shock and the newfound information.

He was about to lose his whole world.

After pinning the earrings to his suit, the man then slipped the ring completely onto his finger. A heavy sigh left his lips, making it seem as though he finally found the treasure he’s been looking for all his life. Then he looked at the devastation on Adrien’s face and laughed once more.

“To ensure you two don’t get in my way again, it’s time to get rid of the both of you. Starting with her,” he scorned, then grabbed a nearby torch and set the stake ablaze.

Marinette cried out as the flames licked her skin.

This time Adrien screamed.

“MARINETTE!”

 To say the girl was surprised was an understatement. As soon as she heard her name split out of Adrien’s mouth like that in pure agony, she very nearly jumped out of her skin. It also didn’t help that it came with no warning, piercing the quietness of the room. Gathering her bearings, she blinked hard a couple times and took some calming breaths then touched Adrien who was now openly crying. His eyes were still tightly shut, but tears streamed down his face and dampened the pillow his head rested on.

“Adrien,” Marinette said more firmly this time, gently rocking his arm.

His only response was to whimper and continue laying there, his breathing now coming in small gasps.

“Wake up Adrien,” Marinette tried a little louder and moved closer to him.

A broken whine escaped when she tugged on his arm with more force, resulting in him shifting towards her and curling in on himself.

Marinette sighed. There was only one way to get him out of what is definitely a nightmare.

Sitting up, Marinette prepared herself then pounced on him.

“ADRIEN.”

This caused his eyes to fly open and his whole body to jerk to attention, his breathing now rapid. When his sight focused on Marinette, his face crumpled as more tears gathered in his eyes.

“My Lady,” he sobbed.

Once again Marinette was shocked to her core but for an entirely different reason. There was no way this was happening. It was just a coincidence. Anyone could say those words; it didn’t have to be a specific person who called her that. But after everything that has happened today…

Could he really be…?

“Chaton?” she breathed the question.

He yanked her down onto his chest and tightly wrapped both arms around her. She felt his whole body trembling as he continued to cry into her hair.  

“I thought I l-lost you,” his voice wobbled as she got hit with the familiar phrasing.

Pushing aside the world tilting revelation freak out for later, Marinette snuggled closer against him and clung to his sides. “I’m right here mon minou,” she whispered in reassurance as he finally began to calm down. “It was only a dream, I’m okay.”

Adrien drew in a few deep breaths and let each of them out slowly, coming down from his fright. She was here in his arms, unharmed and alive. It was all going to be okay. Exhaustion started taking over him then, luring him back to sleep.

For awhile, Marinette made sure to stay awake until she knew he was going to be fine and no more bad dreams were coming to haunt him. It also didn’t hurt to continue lying in his arms; it probably did the both of them good anyway. Marinette pressed her cheek further into his chest and listened to the now steady beat of his heart as she was lulled into a peaceful slumber once again.    

 “…-rien.”

Something between a hum and a moan left Adrien’s lips. Whatever warmth this was surrounding him felt really nice.

“Psst, hey kid.”

There was a slight nudge on his forehead.

Adrien reacted by tightening his hold on a familiar soft mass weighing down against his chest and burying his nose in its hair.

Cookies.

He sighed in pure bliss.

“Adrien if you don’t wake up soon I’m going to bug your girlfriend next.”

Frowning, Adrien continued to ignore the annoying voice, silently willing it to go away.

“Ha, get it, bug her? Well actually that makes more sense for Tikki-,”

Batting blindly at where the voice was, his hand came in contact with something furry and solid.

“Oy! Don’t get rough with me! Where’s my cheese, boy?!” The voice demanded.

“Plaaaag,” Adrien hoarsely ground out, irritated.

“So he does speak,” Plagg mused, settling atop Adrien’s head.

It was quiet for a few moments until the mass in his arms began to stir and make sweet sounds, inevitably waking up from the noise and movement. Adrien’s eyes slowly cracked open, adjusting to the morning light in his room, only to then peer down at messy bluish black hair. He didn’t have a chance to think much about the sight when he saw Marinette shift and lift up her head to blink weary blue eyes at him.

They both stared at the other, Adrien starting to become increasingly flustered with the adorable sight before him, while Marinette smiled and relished in waking up to an equally endearing view. Folding her hands over his chest and propping her chin on them, she observed Adrien then purposely looked on top of his head to find Plagg curiously peering back at her.

Adrien watched as her eyes moved to glance at the kwami on his head, making his entire body tense up. Nobody is supposed to know his identity. She couldn’t know he was Chat Noir; it was too dangerous for her. Maybe he could make up an excuse and tell her he adopted a kitten recently. Yeah, he could go with that.

Except, how come she wasn’t reacting?

“Hello Chat Noir,” Marinette called out softly.

His eyes slightly widening, all Adrien could do was focus on not freaking out.

How does one breathe again?

Marinette giggled as she watched her partner attempt to keep it together.

“Do you not remember what happened during the night?” she asked.

Adrien didn’t know what she was talking about; his memory of the night came back to him only in bits and pieces. The color red, evil laughter, burning fire, screams, a soothing voice, and then comfort was all he could recall. Still too stunned to speak however, he only shook his head in confusion.

She leaned in a little, whispering, “You had a nightmare. Then woke up and called me my Lady, Chaton,” then she winked and went back to lay her chin on her hands.

All the pieces of the puzzle from yesterday quickly came together after her statement and confirmed what he had been questioning the whole time. His breath hitched as he looked at her, really looked, and saw Ladybug without a mask grinning up at him.

Marinette continued to watch him as he figured it out and felt his heartbeat accelerate underneath her palms.

“Breathe kitty,” she soothed, feeling herself rise a moment later as he heaved in a deep breath.

“How-,” his voice squeaked, so he coughed to clear it. “How are you so calm about this?!”

Closing her eyes and setting her cheek to rest against the back of her hand, she yawned. “I’m too sleepy. I’ll panic later,” she mumbled.

Adrien let out a surprised and joyful laugh as a result, coming to terms with the situation and hardly believing his luck. The girl he was quickly falling for turned out to be the girl he loved. Who was also currently in bed with him, resting her body against his like she had always belonged there. All of his wishes were coming true and he couldn’t be happier.

He was so delighted he could almost purr.

However, not too soon after, a red colored kwami decided to join them.

“Hey Sweettooth,” Plagg called out, still settled among Adrien’s bed hair. “Did you see this sickening love story happen from where you were?” Plagg then made a gagging sound. “I thought I was going to puke up what was left of my cheese.”

“Plagg, don’t act like you’re not ecstatic to finally see these two together,” Tikki said in a smug tone. It caused Plagg to dramatically gasp in betrayal, as Adrien quirked an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Is that so…,” Adrien drawled up to a sputtering Plagg, then looked over at Tikki who sat on Marinette’s back. “We just met but I think we’re going to be good friends.”

“I know we will,” chirped Tikki in agreement.

Plagg made a sound of disagreement. “Ohhh no you don’t. You two together would be a disaster and coming from the god of destruction himself, that’s saying something.”

Adrien laughed full heartedly then returned his attention back on the ever quiet lady of his. Nuzzling his nose in her hair with deep affection bubbling inside him, his action caused Marinette to make a noise of protest.

“Wake up Buginette!” Adrien whispered excitedly and watched as she stirred to settle more comfortably against him.

“Hmm…,” he hummed in thought, and then got a terrible idea that would probably end up in him getting hurt.  

“If you don’t get up soon, I’m going to have to resort to tickling you,” he grinned.

Marinette grew still then growled out in a scary voice, “Don’t you dare Adrien.”

In an instant, Tikki and Plagg flew up and out of the way at the same time Adrien managed to flip Marinette onto her back to start tickling her mercilessly. Marinette squealed and squirmed underneath him, but he was relentless. With a good hard shove, she managed to get him off her so she could get up and send him a death glare.

“Now you’re going to get it Chaton,” Marinette ground out and lunged for him.

He easily maneuvered out of the way, all the while holding the biggest, happiest smile on his face. Full of giddiness, he jumped off the bed and ran towards his windows, easily pushing one open. Looking back behind him, he watched in nervous anticipation as she gradually stalked towards him.

“Ah, but you’ll have to cat-ch me first, Purrincess,” he winked then called upon his transformation and dashed out onto a nearby roof.

Marinette laughed menacingly to no one but her kwami. “Oh, I will,” then called her transformation and flew out the window.

 Chat Noir crept silently among the snowy rooftops, putting all his focus on using his eyes and ears to pick up even the faintest signs of danger coming his way.

The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon, bringing back a wave of déjà vu from the morning before. He quietly inhaled a breath full of cold air to calm himself, but it did little to quell the rush of adrenaline flowing inside him. Then, with no warning, he was flung onto his back and he looked up startled to see the intense blue gaze of Ladybug.

“Caught you,” she said lowly while sporting an intimidating smirk.

He gulped audibly.

Leaning towards him, ever so slowly, Ladybug stared straight in those bright green cat eyes of his, as her lips became closer. With one hand on his torso, she could feel his heart racing as fast as hers, but she ignored it, now only a hairs width away from touching her lips to his.

“Think of this as payback mon Minou,” she breathed, then kissed the tip of his nose.

Pulling back, she watched in amusement as he grabbed his burning face with both hands and groaned. They stayed that way for a few minutes, Ladybug becoming entranced with the rise and fall of his chest as Chat tried and failed miserably at getting himself put back together. Then he sat up finally and looked to her with a full blown pout.

“You tease,” he whined.

Scooting closer to him, Ladybug took a clawed hand in hers and rested against his warm shoulder.

“What did you want for Christmas again Chaton?” she asked, momentarily confusing him with the unexpected question.

He thought for a moment, and then let out a nervous laugh as he remembered his answer. “You,” he said softly.

“Then consider me an early gift,” she turned and to seal the deal, gently grabbing the side of his face to capture his lips between hers. A sense of warmth spread throughout the both of them, making them experience feeling complete and at peace. He moaned in her mouth when she sucked on his bottom lip, then she pulled away to look fondly at him, the both of them supporting matching blushes.

“Just as I thought, my Lady,” Chat murmured appreciatively, gazing at her with love in his eyes.

“You’re sweeter than cookies.” 

Extended: "Well," Chat Noir contemplated, "you're also a spicy cookie when angry. Very hot." Ladybug rolled her eyes fondly then brought their lips back into a searing kiss. A few blocks down, Nathalie watched them through a set of binoculars. "Teenagers," she sighed, then set the tool down onto Adrien's windowsill. Wearing a satisfied smirk, she pulled out her tablet and updated her Twitter status. *My ship finally sailed!!*

[deztinywarriors]

ES Spectre 2.0 Chapter 10-3

[iheartgod175]

We’re Not Over

A/N: This is a super short Callie/Peck ficlet I thought up after reading a Law and Order fic. Starts out angsty, but gets fluffy later.

Disclaimer: As usual I don’t own Sheriff Callie’s Wild West.

Five hours, Callie mused, taking a sip of her buttermilk.

It's been five hours since she'd last spoken to her deputy, best friend, and now ex-boyfriend.  

The rain was pouring in droves, beating down on the roof with a relentless rhythm. But it was secondary to the thoughts going on through her head, the words she'd said to Peck when she'd decided to end it once and for all.

I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the people I love gettin' hurt because they love me. An' I'm not gonna let you be next on that list, she'd said.  

She hadn't given him a chance to reply—she'd taken in his stupefied and offended expression, got up and left Ella's, heading straight for the office.  

It wasn't that Peck was a bad guy. Far from it. He was the most sincere, kindhearted and most devoted person she knew. And the rest of the town had no objections with him; they had vocally opposed Esmeralda’s “relationship” with Peck. But after the chaos with Timothy, Esmeralda and the rest of Timothy's gang, she couldn't bear the thought of losing someone she loved to her job again. It was a job he shared with her, yes, but still, she wasn't about to let him get hurt again.

She wasn't about to let herself get hurt again.

A sharp knock came through moments later. She considered ignoring it, but it was probably Toby, wondering how she was--he had been there to witness their breakup, after all. She got up from the comfort of her bed when the knock became more insistent. "Alright, Toby, alright. I'll be right there," she said.

Toby, however, wasn't waiting for her when she opened the door. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched in her throat as he made his way in, a serious expression on his face. The door closed behind him with a click.

"P-Peck?" Callie whispered. "I-I really-"

He stepped forward and grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I know what you're gonna say, Callie. And I want you to hear what I have to say: we're not over," he said. "You must be plumb crazy if you think I'm gonna let us go like this."

She'd managed not to cry when she'd told him about this decision. But now, with him right there, she couldn't help the tears welling up into her eyes.

"Callie, I get that you don't want me hurt. An' trust me, I don't want you hurt, neither," Peck said. "But you're worth fightin' for. We're worth fightin' for, ain't we? Even though Timothy and Esmeralda came along tryin' to spoil things an' nearly killed me, we came out of that tougher than ever. I don't think that's gonna stop us."

She sighed. "Peck..I-I'm tired of all this. Tired an' scared. Every time I've fallen in love, it's ended in disaster. They've gotten hurt, an' the last person I loved, as in who I truly loved....he died," she answered softly. "I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"It won't," Peck replied, his tone determined. "I won't leave your side, Callie. An' I'm not gonna stop lovin' you, or let you go. Ever."

She didn't have to ask if he meant it. Anyone would've been crushed by the words she'd told him. But he'd actually come back, to stop her from convincing herself to live a loveless life, to tell her that no, they weren't over just like that. He was here, telling her that he wasn't about to let her go, that he wasn't about let them go.

Her wall crumbled and she pulled him in for a hug. He smoothed the fur on the back of her head with one hand and held her tight with the other.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," Callie replied, a few of her tears spilling over. "I am now."

[samcatthorne]

Disney, 11

Okay. This one was a bit easier. Ready?

11. Evil Queen (Enchanted) Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely LOVE Susan Sarandon? She’s obviously having SO much fucking fun, and she takes over every scene she’s in. Watching her be sassy, even as a ginormous dragon, is just so much fun every time I see this movie.

10. Horned King (The Black Cauldron) This movie scared the ever-loving shit out of me as a kid, and the Horned King is solely to blame for that. His visage gave me actual nightmares, but I would always come back for more. He was the reason for that, too. Guess I just really liked getting the piss scared out of me.

9. Moana (Moana) Sort of a stagnant character storywise. She doesn’t really learn any lessons or anything. I mean...she learns how to sail. But despite that, she’s still pretty fun to watch. This is Disney’s first attempt at a movie based entirely around Polynesian culture, and I’d call it a success. Moana is a great character to look up to, and that’s what she’s for.

8. Hades (Hercules) James Woods is a fucking mastermind. Like, holy crap! He is SO FREAKING FUNNY!!

7. Kida (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) This is already an underrated movie with perhaps one of the most underrated Disney princesses of all time. This woman is freaking amazing!

6. Maui (Moana) Dwayne Johnson. That is all.

5. Mulan (Mulan) Easily one of the most feminist Disney princesses--hell, possibly one of the most feminist Disney CHARACTERS--ever, even today. The whole character arc is hers, the story is hers, the romance is almost literally an afterthought. She herself is instrumental in saving not just a country, but an entire EMPIRE (remember, historical China didn’t look back then the way it does now). Sure, she has Mushu try and “teach” her how to act like a man, but all of the respect she gains is entirely of her own doing. It’s not because she acted like a man, it’s because she proved herself as a soldier. I had so many feminine Disney heroes in the 90′s, and the list only grows from here.

4. Megara (Hercules) Another snubbed Disney princess. Megara is freaking amazing! While she does get all lovesick in the second half, the entire first half of the movie, she is the voice of every feminist ever.

“I’m a damsel. I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day!”

“Well, you know how men are: they think no means yes, and ‘get lost’ means ‘take me, I’m yours.’“

Also, her backstory is really fucking tragic. Like, holy shit. She got fucking JIPPED. Like, I don’t know who that guy was, but fuck him. Fuck him hard.

3. Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) Another tragic character, and an ACTUAL victim of Stockholm Syndrome. >.> His entire life, he’s been told his appearance would cause people to hate him, and his first experience in the outside world proves that notion right. That humiliation scene still makes me cry every time. You understand everything he experiences, from the terror of the outside to the wonder and awe when he first meets Esmeralda. He just wanted to be treated like a person, and even as a kid, that was all I ever wanted for him.

2. Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) Speaking of Esmeralda! If there is anyone I think deserves to be a Disney princess more than anyone else, it is this lady right here. She embodies everything a little girl should want to be: equality, justice, strength, confidence. She is more than capable of holding her own. The movie paints her as an object to be desired only when being shown from the point of view of the men who want her. The man she actually does end up falling for, she falls for as an equal. He doesn’t see her as something to be protected (other than Frollo’s persecution, but that’s an enemy far too big for her to take on alone, and even then it’s just as one of an entire people that needs to be defended). Poor Quasi gets his heart broken, but by the end, he realizes that she’s not an object to be claimed; she’s her own person and should be treated as such. Once he comes to terms with that, he not only accepts her love for someone else, but they remain friends even into the nonexistent sequel that doesn’t exist because it was a piece of shit and completely doesn’t understand what made the first one so great.

Can you taste the salt?

Here’s another list of Honorable Mentions:

Baymax (Big Hero 6) Ba-la-la-la!

Claude Frollo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) This movie did NOT hold back on its warnings against persecution in the name of religion and sexuality. Like, holy hell.

WALL E (WALL E) Second best mostly-silent love story Disney has ever made.

Lilo and Stitch (Lilo & Stitch) Gotta put these two together. They’re a team! Also, I am ALWAYS up for an Elvis soundtrack.

Kronk (The Emperor’s New Groove) Patrick Warburton is a funny, funny man.

Yzma (The Emperor’s New Groove) She has got to be one of the funniest fem baddies I’ve ever seen.

Gurgi (The Black Cauldron) Am I the only one who’s NOT annoyed by him? I get the voice, but...he’s just such a sweetie. And his was the first onscreen death I actually comprehended and mourned. (And, yes, that’s including the upcoming one. Don’t judge me.)

Genie (Aladdin) Had to put Robin Williams on here. Comedy will never be the same without him. And this movie is strong evidence of that.

Mufasa (The Lion King) Like I said, don’t judge me. As a kid, my puny brain just figured he was taking a nap or something. Idk.

Still, now that I do understand what’s going on, I freaking bawl my eyes out. Seriously. It’s actually worse now than it was back then. I cry at his death almost as bad as I cry at John Coffey’s death in The Green Mile. It’s that bad.

And finally, my number one favorite Disney character is...

1. James Pleiades Hawkins (Treasure Planet) BEST MOVIE EVER!!! I will fight for this movie until my last goddamn breath. First of all, juvenile delinquent character who actually gets in trouble with the law. Doesn’t end up with a love interest. Character arc is entirely based around dealing with his father leaving. Not dying. LEAVING!! He just up and walked out on Jim and his mom, and he doesn’t come back. There’s no sudden reunion or last sacrifice or “Hey! He was secretly trying to protect you this whole time!” Nope. He just left. And Jim’s character arc is coming to terms with that, and finding a healthy way to deal with his emotions.

Not only that, but his relationship with Long John Silver is given new dimension like I haven’t seen before or since.

This movie is an underrated gem, from its characters to its story to visuals (god those visuals!!!). Everything about it is amazing!!

Also, I had a crush on Jim and his rat tail braid until I was 18 and learned he was only 15 and it started to feel weird. XD

[zukadiary]

Private Detective Caleb Hunt / Greatest Hits! ~ Snow Troupe 2016

With a pre-determined exception for NY zuka fan karaoke day, I resolved not to drink for all of January in the name of detox. I succeeded, somehow, despite the world making not drinking as hard as humanly possible. Sometimes self care is canceling your appointment with your trainer on a Friday night in favor of filling a glass to the top with cabernet sauvignon and ripping the plastic off a blu-ray two months late. 

Writing novels about Don Juan and my very fortunate long string of 2016 live viewings has made me feel inadequate for not having a novel prepared now... but some shows just don’t warrant them I guess. Caleb Hunt met my expectations exactly, and they weren’t all that high. It wasn’t bad, I wasn’t bored, but in surveying the shelf for something to rewatch, it’s unlikely my hand would land there. 

Strong points:

As detective zuka goes, this was not too convoluted or hard to follow. Not Melancholic Gigolo or Canary or Boxman in terms of Masatsuka-sensei’s occasional genius, but not in his ????? pile either.

Had a bit of an old Hollywood vibe, I was into that.

Hands down best aspect: the handling of the romances. No one fell in love, or had a super dramatic love-hate situation, or tragically died. Caleb (Chigi) and Jim (Daimon) had pre-established girlfriends, and we got to see their day to day relationship struggles and tender moments in a slice-of-life kind of way. It was really refreshing. 

Good for:

ChigiMiyu. Caleb/Yvonne was a relationship worthy of their chemistry. It’s perhaps stupid to say a top combi stole the show... but looking at their Grand Theater productions, with heartrending Hoshiai sandwiched between two anime-based musicals in which their love story, while present, isn’t exactly the entire point, I think I can say their adorable and comparatively down-to-earth romance did steal the show, finally. Separately also, Chigi was insanely well styled, and Caleb was a fairly simple character, who I feel like turned into kind of a blank canvas for her nuanced acting; more of his depth came from Chigi than from the writing. Miyu was an equal, not just a support. 

Arisa Hitomi, thereafter shipped off to Hoshigumi, who had the standout of the background roles as a club performer. No real character development, but a couple of knock ‘em dead solo numbers with the ensemble dancing in front of her. I’m gonna miss you, kid. Do great things over there.

Tsukishiro Kanato, strictly from an “if you’re her fan you should probably see her first main villain” standpoint; Maximilian wasn’t an exceptionally remarkable villain, though. I will MISS HER GORGEOUS DIMPLED FACE in my troupe terribly, but objectively this transfer is so necessary... girl needs a kick in the butt. 

Agata Sen, for her cute, looming, sort of badass yet questionably competent character, and sheer visibility; if you’re curious about her, she may not be doing a heck of a lot but she’s definitely there. Probably a small step below Hitoko in stage time, for comparison.

I hesitate to say Daimon, because the only reason Jim even felt like a nibante role was that the rest of the roles were even smaller, if that makes sense... but the novelty of seeing her play a nice boy counts for something. 

Only personal bias would keep Saki off this list, where she rightly belongs... although she’s been sanbante in parade order for a bit now, this was her first distinct sanbante role with everyone present. Her eccentric, slightly disheveled, bandana-clad look, and her priceless facial expressions made her a good foil for neatly buttoned-up Daimon. My reservations come from looking unfairly at the future, where I still can’t see her and Daimon as an inspiring pair. Their one on one interactions here didn’t do much to persuade me. 

This was one hell of a JUST KIDDING for Michiru; I don’t think I even saw her until the revue. I was grumbling at my TV when at the halfway point I’d only seen Hime in the background, but then she had a crazy landlady moment—and more importantly, 2 revue solos—that somewhat made up for it (I needed approximately 10x more crazy landlady). Sadly, aside from Caleb and Yvonne, the characters felt pretty lackluster to me in general. 

Greatest Hits! should be watched in December, that’s for sure; I probably would have sobbed. But I was specifically depriving myself of this show as punishment for not attending to important responsibilities. It still took me two months to do the things. I guess I got what I deserved. 

Whatever the 2016 awards say, this SURE ISN’T HOT EYES!! But overall, seasonal ties aside, it feels like Chigi’s grandest and most normal revue. Fancy Guy, initially a “meh” that has grown on me exponentially, still feels small to me somehow, and I maintain La Esmeralda is a hot mess. Greatest Hits is a Christmas chuuzume away from winning hands down... but since it does have a very Christmas chuuzume (albeit a beautiful one), I don’t know. 

Things to love:

Aforementioned double Hime

Huge glittering sets that make the already enormous stage seem to go on forever

Miyu’s admirable English put to excellent use on Material Girl, a special treat for the DVD

Any time Daimon opens her mouth

Putting aside my personal gripes about a Christmas chuuzume, the song selection was actually very nice

Shinjou Makara (sniffle) killing the kage solo to ChigiMiyu’s beautiful duet dance

A very yukigumi kuroenbi, in which attaining perfect synchronicity is not as important as leaking swagger out every pore

Very enjoyable, but still holding out for Dramatic S to be the revue Chigigumi deserves. Don’t let me down, Nakamura-sensei.