#character: grant andersen

[gallowsheart]

muse: Grant Andersen (OC) set: a coffee shop in New York City open to: 18+ only please / mutuals and non-mutuals / other OCs, fandom crossovers, whatever! triggers: please note the triggers in his bio before interacting, since it will probably come up at some point

Grant was sitting in a coffee shop at a table by the window, the sun spilling in on an untouched mug of coffee and the napkin he was doodling on. His phone was tucked between his ear and shoulder, and he made affirmative sounds every now and then to whoever was on the other end. His agent must have realized he didn’t have his full attention because the next question came out more snappish than the others, and he smiled. “Yeah, I’m writing it down.”

He wasn’t. He added another line to the wings on the tiny fairy girl in his drawing. He was a chronic doodler, his grocery lists and post-it notes and the margins of all his college notebooks filled with illustrations. He was fully capable of drawing and listening at the same time, but they both knew he was going to e-mail him the details as soon as he got off the phone. “Friday. 10AM. I’ve had time to carve it in stone,” he teased.

He hung up just as someone bumped into his table, sloshing hot coffee onto the table, the napkin, and his hand, and he hissed under his breath as he jerked it back from the sting. “You alright?” He glanced up, already reaching for a fresh napkin from the dispenser on the table with his other hand to mop up the mess.

[grimmusings]

“I'm about to close... Maybe we could go somewhere?” Alba to Grant @pleinsdemuses

Answered here! ❤️

[mask131]

So you want to know about Oz! (1)

Then congratulations! Welcome to this quick crash course to know everything about the world of Oz! The movies, the adaptations, the musicals, the books! Yes, books, with an S, because "The Wizard of Oz" everybody knows and love was just the first book of an entire BOOK SERIES that became the enormous franchise we know today! You thought there was just ONE Wizard of Oz movie? Think again! You thought "Wicked" was the only work that gave a backstory to the Witches? Get ready for some discoveries!

And so we begin our journey to the wonderful land of Oz...

The story of Oz begins with one novel. No, not one movie - but the novel that caused the movie... L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

Published in 1900, this children novel is still to this day one of the most famous works of American youth literature, as well as the master-piece of Baum, THE book everybody knows he wrote. Baum intended, with this book, to create a purely American fairy tale: he wanted to rival the European tales of Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen - and he succeeded! The novel was a best-seller as soon as it was released, and is still considered as "America's greatest fairy-tale".

Most people know of "The Wizard of Oz" through its famous adaptation, the 1939 musical movie. While these two works do share a same set of main characters and a similar plot, the novel contains many, many details that were not adapted into the movie ; and, in return, the movie brought a lot of elements that were absent from the novel. Both, however, are still the story of a little girl by the name of Dorothy (she wasn't yet named "Gale") and her dog Toto, who are swept up into a tornado and taken to the magical Land of Oz. There she meets three comical companions (the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion), and together they go seek the Wizard of Oz in hope he can grant their wishes, only to have to escape from the clutches of the Wicked Witch of the West...

If you want to read the original novel, it will be very easy! Not only is it still regularly printed today, with various anniversary editions ; but it is in public domain since the 1950s! So you can go read it for free right now, without any problems!

Most people tend to stop at just this book... Not wondering if there was any sequel, treating it as if this was just a one-shot. Except, we told you, this book was a best-seller! An ENORMOUS success! Never before had a children's book brought so much money in the United-States! As such, Baum was not going to just stop there...

While he did intent "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to be a self-contained novel existing as its own thing, in 1904 he published a sequel "The Marvelous Land of Oz":

This novel does not follow Dorothy however, but rather a very different character... A little boy who lives in the Land of Oz post-Dorothy: Tip (short for Tippetarius), an orphan boy who escapes the clutches of his wicked witch of a caretaker alongside a pumpkin-headed scarecrow he just brought to life. And the two undergo a journey to the Emerald City ruled by the Scarecrow-king, only to get swept into a revolution...

This novel was conceived in a similar way to the first one, as a "self-contained" story. While it does take place after the events of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", reuses several of the same characters (The Scarecrow and the Tin Man are part of the main party, Glinda plays a key part in the final act) and briefly recaps the events of the first novel, it can still be read on its own. This novel especially get a lot of attention today (after decades and decades of falling into pur oblivion) due to its fantasy-dissection of the topics of genders - differences between men and women, boys and girls, unfairness and injustice among sexes (the revolution in question is a "girl revolution" seeking to destroy what is perceived as a misogynistic patriarchy)... All culminating with what is still to this day one of the most famous accidental depictions of a trans character in fantasy!

But I'll return to this all in a later post, possibly...

This novel was ALSO a best-seller and a huge success. And as such... you know what that means. Yes, Baum wrote a THIRD book taking place in Oz! Well, almost... The novel actually mostly takes place in lands neighbors to those of Oz, the land of Ev and the realm of the Nome King... But all the Oz characters return - including Dorothy, who is again swept away into fairy-lands, this time not with her dog Toto, but with a pet chicken Billina.

This story is the novel "Ozma of Oz", published in 1907:

And with these three books, you have the original Oz trilogy!

"But wait, there were other Oz books, weren't there?" you ask. Oh yes, there were more books, indeed! However, I want to stop at this point because these three books do form a specific trilogy for various reasons. The trilogy of the "good" Oz books before everything went... let's say downhill (but more about that next post). But more importantly, the trilogy of Oz books most people know about!

Indeed, even if you have never read "The Marvelous Land of Oz" or "Ozma of Oz", you probably came across various elements of these books, that are regularly scattered throughout Oz adaptations and novels. For example the famous Disney movie "Return to Oz" is mostly an adaptation of "Ozma of Oz", but with numerous elements of "The Marvelous Land of Oz" added to the plot

More recently, the trilogy also formed the basis of the new plot offered by the short-lived TV series "Emerald City"!

Langwidere the princess with a hundred heads, Mombi the witch, Ozma the princess of Oz, the Nome king, Tik-Tok the automaton, Jack Pumpkinhead, general Jinjur, the land of Ev, the Powder of Life and many other names and concepts you might be familiar with come from these two direct sequels to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". Sequels which unfortunately never knew the lasting popularity of their predecessor, despite being just as famous, if not more, in their time...

Next post: Baum's downfall...

[the-corvus-luna]

The Tsubasa Chronicle 'Problem'

No eye, no heart, no time, no feathers, and..... no show.

It's April 9th, 2005, 6:30 p.m. BLAZE blares loudly on the TV while you sit in a dimly lit room, slurping whatever instant ramen you could find. You catch the faint silhouettes of familiar characters from Cardcaptor Sakura, looking a bit older, along with a few new faces you don't recognize yet... a new journey, a new world.

CLAMP's Multidimensional Masterpiece.

The legendary Yuki Kajiura's compositions bring the story to life. "Song of Storm and Fire" sparks that electric feeling of excitement and tension just before Syaoran kicks into battle. Eri Itou’s breathy voice floats delicately, much like Sakura’s own feathers, adding a sense of ethereal beauty. The animation is fluid and action-packed, just as you'd expect from Bee Train.

What the hell happened? How did an internationally successful anime with 2 seasons, 1 movie, and 2 OVA's that leave the story incomplete.... what the hell?!

To find out to get the full story, you have to read the manga?!

Was it just bad like this guy's review suggests?

Is it really... a bad... anime?

Let's go on a journey about how censorship ruins everything, a broadcasting company's unreasonable demands, and a group of stubborn artists who refuse to have their story modified.

First off, based on my basic research, Japanese TV shows don't have to comply with rating laws like in the US. Before any US show airs, you usually see a rating in the top left corner—common ones for kids’ shows are Y7, meaning they’re appropriate for children 7 years or older. The US rating for Tsubasa Chronicle was TV-PG. But if you know anything about this series, it’s definitely not TV-PG... more like TV-14, and maybe even TV-MA at certain points, depending on your tolerance for darker themes.

Tsubasa Chronicle originally showed on NHK-E, an educational channel, alongside a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen...

While Japan might not have a formal TV rating system, it’s probably safe to assume that NHK would prioritize age-appropriate content. Ultimately, it’s NHK’s decision what airs on their network. For example, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (which, unsurprisingly, isn’t shown on any NHK network) airs around 11:00 p.m. The later time slot allows for more graphic content without much concern.

I can hear you screaming from the void, "TSUBASA CHRONICLE ISN'T EDUCATIONAL!" And honestly, if you’ve watched the anime, it’s not educational in the traditional sense... unless you count four people learning how to cope with massive amounts of trauma in various forms.

But Cardcaptor Sakura was kid-friendly… and someone who looks just like her stars in Tsubasa.

Magic Knight Rayearth was so educational it's anime was funded by a government grant!

I think NHK was expecting them to adapt the anime to be more 'educationally friendly' due to other properties they worked on... joke's on NHK, though.

The first issue I remember hearing was how NHK wanted to censor all alcohol references from Tsubasa.

From this interview from 2005 at around the 9:30 mark, we get to have a rare look at their art studio/research library and most important, the bar. Alcohol is a part of their creative process, and based on the KyotoHoLiC collaboration with traditional sake brewers, it means they have no intention to hide their passion for relaxation... not for NHK or anyone.

Second issue, graphic imagery. When the anime came out, the manga was only to volume chapter 66 - chapter 73 (Tsubasa Onmibus Vol 4)...literally 3 pages into the next chapter is the start of the graphic imagery that eventually leads into violent fights, lots of blood, and death by the end of the series. That's assuming that NHK didn't get a sneak peak at what the story was going to become.

For people who've read the Omnibus, to goes from Piffle World to Recourt to the 'Acid Wasteland'... quite the tone shift when NHK picked up this anime for a kid friendly educational show.

That's why Tsubasa Chronicle was canceled, or at least my general theory. Sadly there's no official reason for the cancelation. CLAMP did run Kobato on NHK-E in 2009, so the censorship and eventual cancelation didn't not burn the bridge between them.

Sadly, NHK did cancel a show that was not only getting a following internationally but also had it's own international merchandise sold at retailers! I will always treasure my US Mokona Modoki Soel plush, matching backpack, and Fai's Staff necklace.

Don't forget, even Gaia Online even had a huge promotional event where players had to track down Sakura's feathers alongside other promotional events such as Magic the Gathering and Hollywood produced movies... and that was in 2007, after the anime series was already cancelled, never able to reach the conclusion.

Do yourself a favor and I'd suggest reading this manga if you loved the anime back in the day, but know that the lighthearted whimsy and sweetness of the anime is a palate cleanser for what NHK deemed they could not put on TV.

I found an unsubstantiated rumor on the fandom page about how the S2 opening was already storyboarded in Character Guide Vol 2., but NHK made them re-do it. I'm trying to track down that PDF so figure out what they cut, but it's a difficult one to find.

I did find a short of someone thumbing through their Japanese copy.

Holy shit! That's the scene in CLAMP in Wonderland 2 that's eluded to, but we never see play out in the anime. NHK made them get rid of their weapons for boxing with shadows? I guess Sakura's image also had to be 'softened' too. Ick.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The gift of his fairy tales is wisdom and appreciation and heartfulness is always embedded in them, unlike many ordinary fairy tales, at least the ones passed on, and the way they were passed on…

“Hans Christian Andersen was born April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark. His parents were poor, but his father, a cobbler, read to him from The Arabian Nights and took him to see plays. He died when Hans was 11, and the boy was sent to a school for poor children where he worked for his board, first as an apprentice to a weaver and later to a tailor. Only in his late teens was he able to attend grammar school. A shy young man, he felt like an outsider who didn't fit in with his younger classmates, and he began to write as a means of escaping his situation. After he published a story, he gained several benefactors (including the king) who paid for his meager education; in 1833, he received a small travel grant from the king, and he set out for Italy and elsewhere in Europe. By 1835 he was writing fairy tales for children, and by 1837, many of his best-known tales had been written, including The Little Mermaid, the Emperor's New Clothes, Thumbelina, and The Princess and the Pea. By the early 1840s his reputation was well established. The Danish government eventually paid him an annual stipend as a 'national treasure', and he continued to write and publish plays, novels, poems, a book of travel sketches, and more fairy tales until his death at age 70 in 1875.

In all, Andersen wrote 156 stories, most of which were based on his own ideas rather than existing folk tales. His writing style was simple and direct, so the stories could be read aloud. Many of his stories reflected conditions of his early life. A common thread was the outsider who wants to be understood and accepted for himself as he is. Many of his characters were very poor, and they had to try to overcome great odds. A famous Andersen story that combines those two threads is The Ugly Duckling. The last sentence of that story is: 'Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, "I never dreamed of such happiness as this while I was the despised ugly duckling!"'

(Leila L’Abate)

[multiversemaker169]

Inside Out x fnaf 5

This fangame would actually be based on fnaf 4 and would take place after this game's bite of 87 called the bite of 95 and the character you play as the bite victim, a nine year old boy named Harvey Taylor. The incident left him in a coma, and now he's trapped in a nightmare where he's in an abandoned house, having to defend himself against nightmarish versions of the animatronics from Bing Bong and Friends.

Mechanics

Night 1 takes place in Harvey's bedroom. Nightmare Bobby and Nightmare Paula are the Bonnie and Chica of the game, with Nightmare Bobby appearing at the right door and Nightmare Paula appearing at the left door. When you hear knocking, you need to go to the respective door and shut it until you hear footsteps.

Night 2 takes place in the bathroom. You must keep Nightmare Rainbow from completely opening the shower curtain and occasionally close it back to its first phase. There will also be a shadow swan who will occasionally appear in your mirror, causing you to need and take time away from the shower and stare at the swan, or they will jumpscare you and slightly raise your panic meter.

Night 3 will take in the playroom. When Nightmare Bloofy appears, you must quickly find Nightmare Pouchy. There will also be a shadow butterfly who will occasionally appear with an accompanied giggle. You must stay still, or they will jumpscare you and slightly raise your panic meter.

Night 4 will take place in the hallway. Whenever you hear skittering, you must shine your flashlight at whatever room Nightmare Fritz is peaking out of. There is also a shadow cat. When you hear a faint scratching noise, you must keep your flashlight off of them, or they will stare at you while making a creepy siren sound, raising your panic meter drastically.

Night 5 will take place in the kitchen. When you hear Nightmare Jake entering the kitchen from the window, you must grab the kitchen sink nozzle and spray him. You must also keep the room from getting too hot by regularly turning down the thermostat, or the shadow red panda will awken from its slumber and jumpscare you, raising your panic meter drastically.

Night 6 will take place in the living room. When you hear Nightmare Bing Bong sing his theme song, you must find which entrance to the living he's at and take a picture to scare him off. When the shadow rabbit appears on the tv, you must quickly change the channel, or they'll jumpscare you and drastically raise your panic meter.

Night 7, or the final night, will have you fend off against a new character called Nightmare Shipwreck, a pirate shark animatronic that was scrapped after the bite incident he caused. It takes place in a nightmarish version of Bing the Bong and Friends location, and you must keep him from entering your office and close whichever door or vent he tries to get in from.

The bad ending: If you fail to beat all the mini games that happen between the nights, then Nightmare Shipwreck will kill you regardless once it's 5:59 am. There will then be a cut scene where Lance(who is a guardian angel in this game) will apologize to Harvey for failing to save him. He will then transfer Harvey's soul to the Bing Bong animatronic and grant him the ability to transfer other souls to other animatronics(this is the real ending).

Good ending: If you manage to beat all the mini games that happen between the nights and survive night 7, then you'll get the good ending where Harvey wakes up from his coma. Harvey's family has police investigate Bing Bong and Friends and discover Thomas Wilson's plan to kill a lot of people to achieve immortality. He is then sentenced to life in prison, and Bill Andersen becomes the new owner of Bing Bong and Friends and adds the five animatronics he was working on to the roster, and everyone lives happily ever after(this is the fake ending).

(If your panic meter fills all the way up, then you'll get immediately jumpscared by Nightmare Shipwreck).

[dearestones]

Muscle Memory Part Two (Azul Ashengrotto and Reader)

Warnings: Exploration of merfolk culture, elaboration on certain aspects of canon lore, etc. 

@lottieinlimbo Request: Hi Devin!!! Congratulations on the 750 followers :D!! Your writing is incredible, you have more than earned your success!!!! I’m here to steal the final request slot! There were a lot of cool prompts that would have been fascinating with multiple characters, it was hard to choose! But I’m thinking “why did you help me?” With Azul could be really fun, maybe something platonic? I’m really excited to see what you do with this, congrats again on 750 followers!!

.

.

.

After a long day of getting splashed and almost getting dragged off the boardwalk by overly anxious mers, you were grateful when they finally transformed back into their normal selves. While ingesting the potion was quick and painful, the process to return was gradual and felt more like sharp tingles that flowed and ebbed depending on the location and intensity of the pain. Before you had transferred to this new location, a colleague of yours who was a mer, confirmed that it was a near universal experience that taking the transformation potions daily upon the first week followed by the natural regression into their former selves after such a low dose was more effective at retaining students rather than having them take the full dose that would last seven days.

It helped strengthen their ability to overcome the pain and helped them adjust by allowing them to take breaks after working their human legs. There were actually a few studies done on it, but since the population of merfolk who wanted to live on the surface was so few, it wasn't a conclusive study. For all you knew, it was more of a placebo effect.

After saying goodbye to your students, you picked up the equipment, the cooler, and the clipboard with the roster so that you could return it to the government facility. Inside, your supervisor and your fellow intern were comparing notes and commiserating at some of the antics that you had been slightly privy to. It wasn't often, but sometimes you were called to step in if one of the mers were acting unruly or if someone needed medical attention. Thankfully, you didn't need to call for help—your batch of merfolk were surprisingly well behaved—but the other intern was unfortunate enough to have landed himself not one but two gleeful troublemakers.

"I thought eel merfolk were supposed to be shy," Soren muttered as he wrote down some notes into his log. His pen blotted a little on his notes, which made him curse a little into his open palm before he produced correction fluid to cover up his mistake. "But, somehow, I manage to land not only the most brash mer I have ever seen, but also one who happens to be the most suicidal!"

You laughed a little to yourself as you joined them at the table.

"He is still a child, Mr. Andersen," your supervisor scolded. "And not only that, but he is also a child granted the opportunity to experience life on land. You've read his profile, he's due to attend Night Raven College if his magical proficiency and grades are any indication."

"Are you sure it's not the fat stacks in his parents' back account?"

You punched Soren's shoulder playfully. "I don't think paper money can handle the moisture," you laughed. "More like tall towers of gold!"

Your supervisor rolled her eyes at the both of you before she gestured at the paperwork that littered the table. "Make sure to clean up and organize the documents for tomorrow's session. The second day is usually better, but it's also the day when we get the most dropouts."

"You think that the Leech twins will drop out?"

"Mr. Andersen!"

You didn't know Soren too well, only that he was from the Land of Pyroxene and had spent most of his adolescent years in the City of Flowers before attending Noble Bell College. Although a proficient mage in his own right, he decided to dip his toes into a field that not many would have imagined him entering. 

Years ago, he had told you, he thought that he was going to be an archivist for magical artifacts. However, he fell in love with the many canals and underwater routes that flowed in and out of the City of Flowers. One thing led to another and eventually, he had immersed himself into learning more about merfolk culture and how they acclimated to living on land. Given his background in magical artifacts and history, he was a heavy proponent of the research and experimentation of using talismans or charmed objects to make the transformation both instantaneous and painless. Unfortunately, such an invention was still out of reach for various reasons, but he was confident that one day, accessibility for merfolk would be greatly increased.

Until then, he had to satisfy himself with this internship.

"Do you think any of yours would drop out," he asked to continue the conversation once your superior had headed out. He tapped on his notes, a furrow in his brow before circling something in red ink. "I think all of mine are willing to stay the whole period, but I can't say for certain they'll actually live the rest of their lives on land."

"Hmmm…” You thought for a moment. “One of my classic mers looked a little too weirded out after my cecaelia transformed. He actually handled it well, but she looked like she was about to turn tail and swim away."

Soren nodded, lost in thought. "Shame. It's rare that we get a one hundred percent attendance rate."

"True, but for those who do stay, we definitely get high ratings on how well they adjust and adapt to life on land."

After at least half an hour of chatting and locking up the lab, the both of you proceeded to your assigned dorm rooms. The initiative for acclimating merfolk to land life was fairly small, which meant that the community was fairly well knit and cohesive. Sure, there were times when a new intern or a transferee would cause some friction, but it wasn't all too often.

You passed a few other interns (some of whom were hard at work monitoring and working out the correct dosages for the merfolk) and a security guard (he tipped his hat to you in greeting after you presented your badge) before entering. Inside, you had your classic dorm room layout. 

On one side hugging the wall, there lay your bed with hastily made covers and a few clothes strewn at the foot of it. There was a small desk with a chair parked in front of it, and a window with a view overlooking the ocean. You were assigned to the third floor, a fact that you flaunted to your friends and colleagues just to mess with them. It was perfect: you could see how the full moon lit up the sky and if you waited for the right moment, you could see some bioluminescent creatures light up the water around them. During your first week, you had sent photos and videos of the phenomena to your parents, both of them delighted that you were having a grand time at your internship.

Tonight, however, you were tired.

While you did not have to call for help, you did have to jump into the water to soothe one of your classic mers. She was far from a predator, which was apparent from her whispery soft voice and the way she hugged herself despite your efforts to tell her that it was best to either hold onto the boardwalk for balance or to spread out her arms for proper wading.

Instead, she gave a low keen that had your heart clenching in your chest. You wanted to pat her head and rub at her scalp to soothe her, but protocols dictated not too much skin to skin contact. There were too many incidents when certain people in positions of power took things too far when manhandling their charges. (There was a scandal a few years ago which resulted in cold relations between the land dwellers and the children of the sea before reparations were settled between the two parties). To make up for the lack of comforting contact, you gave her a floating paddle, to which she awkwardly cuddled it close to her chest while tears ran down her smooth skin.

The angler fish and the other classic mer took to the pain and the loss of their tails and fins with just as much grace as the cecaelia, but they were quicker to use their legs and arms. Within half an hour of coaching and practice, both the angler and the classic were able to tread water and even swim like a human! It wasn't unheard of—there were even stories of mers who drank the potion, crawled onto the boardwalk and started walking as if they had been doing it since they were born—but you were surprised to see such rapid growth under your care.

(You made sure to take special note of this and the time taken from your heavy duty waterproof watch).

You let the angler fish play with the classic mer (both of them didn't look like they were going to antagonize each other, but you made sure to keep an eye out just in case playful nips became gaping bites) before you turned your attention to the cecaelia and the other classic.

The classic mer kept her head down low, tears still dripping down her cheeks, but you gently reminded her that the pain would go away if she moved her newfound legs for a little bit.

"Just a little bit," you cooed. You climbed back onto the boardwalk (you were soaked to the bone and wet from the angler fish mer trying to play with you) and sat down so that your shins and feet were submerged in the water. Kicking your feet made little splashing noises; you were pleased when you saw that in between the sniffles, she was trying not to laugh at how the water felt on her skin.

However, try as you might, she refused to move her legs and continued to cry even with your kind words caressing her ears.

"It's okay—" Quickly, you tried to remember the list of names upon your roster. Not Azul... Not Pacifica... Oh! Her name was Adria! "—Adria. The potion will wear off soon. Do you want to float while I help the other student?"

Adria shot you a terrified look, the tears in her eyes spilling like a fountain over her cherubic cheeks. She glanced at the cecaelia—who, up until that point, had chosen to float by hanging off the pool noodle in the most rigid way possible—before fearfully nodding in your direction.

You frowned. Had the cecaelia bullied the classic mer earlier when you were tending to the angler fish and his playmate?

Not wanting to jump to conclusions, you advised Adria to stay close to the boardwalk and to keep the buoyancy paddle close to her chest. She was welcome to keep trying, but something deep inside of you knew that she would be dropping out as soon as the transformation potion wore off.

Now that your attention was no longer split between the other mers, you focused on the cecaelia.

Shelly was a bit of an oddball, even according to others of her own kind. Back on the beaches of the Land of the Red Dragon, she would chance capture or sightings from the locals by wading up the shore and proceeding to walk along the sandy beach. The dryness of land and the harsh feeling of pebbles and rocks upon her suckers caused irritations at best and bleeding at worst, but she proudly told you that it was practice for the real thing. In fact, that was one of the reasons why she was so close to the beach in broad daylight during your first meeting. She had been scouting for a good place to practice, even if she didn't have proper human legs yet.

For most cecaelia and other species of mer that had to give up multiple appendages, the loss was almost too much. Most dropouts were octopus and squid based merfolk, which was a shame considering you knew that most depictions of sea dwellers were heavily skewed in the classical mers' favor.

Shelly was able to breeze through her lessons within two weeks of her land boot camp experience.

(Well… not without plenty of help and assistance from you. The land boot camp she had gone to was not as pleasant an experience as it was now). 

You wondered if this cecaelia would do the same.

First of all, however—

"Right arm and spread your fingers, please."

You had to make sure that all of his limbs were in working order and could respond on command.

And so, for the better part of at least an hour, you helped the cecaelia master all four of his limbs. His customary human arms were the easiest to obey him, you found. That was good, that meant that any and all problems had to do with his lower half being downsized into two working legs. After making sure that he could grasp onto the boardwalk of his own accord, rotate his arms to show off his full range of motion, and even write his name upon one of your notes, you deemed it safe enough to start working his legs.

This was trickier. It seemed like the cecaelia was firing off too many commands at once, but they weren't being well received by the lower half of his body. His legs would twitch one way instead of another or maybe he would overshoot and end up losing balance upon his pool noodle.

Shelley explained it to you once when you were stuck in the same dormitory and she was busy penning down her thesis.

"All of my arms have brains in them, you know that right?" You kind of had to know that. Your mother would bury herself alive if she found out that the most basic of octopus facts had never pierced your skull. "Well, when most of your body have a mind of their own and that disappears, the lone brain that gets left behind has to overcompensate, but then you end up sending mixed signals or canceling demands that were never completed in the first place."

"Like... a computer overloading on too many open applications so you have to use task manager to end them?"

"Kind of." She canted her head to the side in thought. "You know what? Yeah, you're right."

"So how did you stop overcompensating?"

"By relaxing."

Easier said than done.

There wasn't a lot of overlap between land and merfolk culture, especially in regards to the expression of feelings, but you had the feeling that the cecaelia was trying too hard to appear confident. His eyes were bright and determined, but beneath that steely veneer, you could detect the same sort of tension that you had previously associated with the other tearful mer. However, despite the similarities, you found that the cecaelia was more likely to attend the entire boot camp.

"Azul." His name sounded foreign on your tongue, but you kept your hesitance to yourself. At the sound of his name, he straightened upon the pool noodle and regarded you with a distant expression. "What do you like to do for fun?"

You tried not to laugh at the naked expression on his face. For all of how he seemed to hold himself up with a rigidity you would normally associate with your haughty superiors, the young cecaelia looked absurdly adorable when he tried to process your question. His mouth went agape and his eyes had widened in comical surprise.

"Fun?" He spluttered out. The grip he had on his pool noodle wavered, causing him to thrash a little on the water. Out of instinct, you gave him a steadying hand upon his shoulder. It was a slight touch, well within regulation, but Azul stared at you with an indiscernible expression on his face that you didn't have the heart to interpret.

(There was another reason why this government initiative was so discreet and small compared to other well known government plans: land dwellers were often let go and blacklisted if something untoward happened. Given his age, if he said something...)

You kept a professional smile on your face before you nodded down at your legs.

"When I was younger, I liked to chase my friend around. Both of us liked to swim in the water, but we ended up splashing each other more often than not." You peered at him, true curiosity brimming in your eyes. "You're from the twilight levels of the Coral Sea, right? How often have you gone to the surface?"

Suspicion lined the tension in his shoulders and darkened the brightness of his eyes.

"You're not going to get into trouble," you murmured, "it's not like I have the power to turn you into the authorities. It's just that I've taught a lot of merfolk over the past few years, and a number of them liked to sneak up to the surface to have fun."

A number of them had also been delinquents, often choosing to skip school just so they could splash water along the decks of small cruise ships or to wreak havoc upon the local fisherman. Out of respect for your past students, you refrained from saying that last bit.

Besides, something told you Azul didn't look like he was a troublemaker.

"Well..." Azul looked like he was weighing his options, probably scrutinizing you for any sort of underhanded behavior. You let him take his time. With more rest, you hoped that he would muster enough energy and bravery to start kicking his legs. "A few associates and I would explore sunken shipwrecks... but there were also nights when we would swim up to the surface and watch the fireworks show."

"Associates? Not friends?" You couldn't help but tease him. He glared at you and you watched as his eyes seemed to drift past your figure and towards another group of merfolk that was spearheaded by your fellow intern. Before you could inquire as to what held his interest, he turned towards you again, only to haughtily huff at you. "Okay, associates."

Were all fifteen year olds this edgy?

"Indeed." He sniffed, clearly done with this conversation.

"Well, have you splashed each other once you guys breached the surface?"

A scandalized look this time, that bordered on incredulous.

"Watching the fireworks was purely for educational purposes and—"

You didn't want to give him the look, but you had no choice.

With the full force of your irritation, you gave him one of the most deadpan stares ever. Even the most vicious of predators hailing from the abyssopelagic zone would have been stunned at the pure power behind your stare.

"A little bit." He muttered more to himself than to you. 

You would think from the solemnity in his voice that he was talking about a funeral. Still, you nodded your head and smiled with what you hoped was encouragement.

"Do you remember how you splashed each other?"

He looked at you and you decided to amend your approach.

He didn't want to be babied; that was understandable.

"Well, I want you to utilize those memories of splashing each other so that you can start kicking your feet. You used all ten of your limbs, right?"

"Not at first," Azul conceded. "Eventually."

"Good." Without missing a beat, you sank into the water with practiced aplomb, much to the surprise of your student. He gasped, a sound that he tried to stifle, but you were too close to hear it. "Splash me."

"P-pardon?"

"Come on! You need to exercise and gain control of all four of your limbs. Splash me."

At his continued hesitance, you splashed him with both arms before returning to wading in the water.

Surprise was quickly replaced with irritated determination. Before you knew it, you found a tidal wave of water heading in your direction.

Not bad, you couldn't help but think as you dove beneath the waves.

But he still needed to use his legs.

It took some time, but later on, you saw that he was wading in the water; his movements were a little jerky, but sure enough to signal that he was consciously controlling his legs.

It was strange seeing a cecaelia beaming at himself as he allowed his arms to splay out gently in the water as his newfound human legs tread the water underneath. For a moment, as you murmured congratulations to him, you saw Shelley in his place. Once upon a time, she had also been a young, aspiring cecaelia who had also been in the same boat as Azul. The only difference was, when she showed you how well she adapted to her legs, she lunged and tackled you into the water without a care for your need of oxygen. 

The cecaelia in front of you had no intention of doing that, but the hope within his eyes mirrored that of your best friend’s.  

For a moment, as you lounged within the dorm room, your head still swimming with the possibilities and opportunities that would surely arise come tomorrow, you watched as bioluminescent algae sparkled and glowed to life as small waves began to wrack the beach. If you paid attention, you could see that there was a large mass disturbing the glowing algae, but you chalked it up to either a fish or one of your students fooling around. 

You took a glance at your clock and cursed to yourself. 

Tomorrow was going to be an even longer day.

.

.

.

Tagging: @missam

[PART ONE] [PART TWO HERE] [PART THREE] [PART FOUR]

If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

TWISTED WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

[dgttwisted]

Floyd meet Jekyll&Hyde

for those who have known me for a long time you already know this about me but for those who don't.

this is Jekyll&Hyde the fgo version to be more precise

an i love this character they are very near an dear to my heart now you may be wondering what this has to do with twst an the answer is very simple.

Floyd this silly goof

reminds me in so many ways of Hyde everything from the attuited to the mood swings an his love of fighting.

back in the yander years of when i first started to rp Jekyll&Hyde an Andersen were the charcters i latched onto strongly for Andersen i thought he was a sad but but all around cool guy who historically might have either been bi or asexual(story for another day) who has we all know wrote the little mermaid.

an Jekyll&Hyde whose story on it's own is really neat but fgo has given of snips an peace's that they were friends with Sherlock an other such neat things which i will not talk about today or on this blog because that is not what we are here to discuss.

Hyde actions an personality lines up so well with Floyds that i fear is they ever met an became friends the universe would be done for(perhaps i'll write a crossover in the future)

i was in a bit of a slump a ways back i lost all motivation to write i would only chat with some mutuals an that was it for a long while. one said mutual recommended that i play twst when it came out in NA my interest was waning at best till chapter 3 came around an saw Jade an Floyd for the first time. my motivation heavily spiked because of these lil gangster eels especially Floyd.

thanks to that i had much more motivation not just to write but to even make a twst blog in the first place. this probably seems irrelevant but this is sort of what Jekyll&Hyde did for me when i first got into fgo.

i guess little shark toothed chaos babies are my favorite type of character you never know what they'll do next an that makes me happy to see always. granted Hyde's fights usually result in murder but if Floyd had a knife it would probably result in the same XD.

for me i think they have such a similar vibe an that's why i hold such strong feelings for them. which i will not apologize for an you cannot change my mind on this!!!

this a post more for me then anything else I'm very glad i got into twst it's made me much more motivated then before but even so i have no intention of getting rid of Jekyll&Hyde anytime soon they are to precious to me.

can't say i won't make them a apart of this blog somehow but knowing me I'll find a way.

[byneddiedingo]

Robert Helpmann and Moira Shearer in The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Cast: Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann, Léonide Massine, Ludmilla Tchérina, Esmond Knight, Albert Bassermann, Austin Trevor, Irene Browne. Screenplay: Emeric Pressburger, Keith Winter, Michael Powell, based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen. Cinematography: Jack Cardiff. Production design: Hein Heckroth. Film editing: Reginald Mills. Music: Brian Easdale. Costume design: Hein Heckroth. In its digital restoration, The Red Shoes almost certainly looks better than it ever did even in the most optimal theatrical showing, its colors brighter and sharper, its darks deeper and more detailed. But is that necessarily a good thing? I'm not like one of those audiophiles who insist that old vinyl LPs sound better than CDs or any digital audio process -- I like being able to hear things without surface pops and skips. But I do think that in the case of a film like The Red Shoes, where suspension of disbelief is essential, something has been lost. The great red snood of Moira Shearer's hair is revealed to be a thing of individual strands that might have benefited from a quick brushing before her closeups. The special-effects moments, like Vicky's (Shearer) leap into the red shoes or Boleslawsky's (Robert Helpmann) transformation into the newspaper man, are more glaringly just rudimentary jump cuts. There's a loss of glamour and magic that hasn't been compensated for, even though we can now see Jack Cardiff's photography of Hein Heckroth's designs with greater clarity. I will also admit that I have never been in the front ranks of the fans of The Red Shoes. While I admire the storytelling ability of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I have to question the moral of the story, which seems to be that a woman can't have both a great career and a successful private life, or in a larger sense, that art is impossible without a loss of self. Granted, the story comes from the realm of fairytale, which is never without an element of cruelty, but is Vicky's suicide a necessary follow-through, or just a submission on the part of the screenwriters to the demands of some kind of closure, given that they've never made the character more than a stereotype: the woman torn between the demands of two men? Ravishing to the eye, The Red Shoes doesn't satisfy the mind or the heart.

[gallowsheart]

@paranormaljunction (cont. from here)

It was New York City; everyone was always looking at their phone, taking selfies, or talking into their headpieces. Grant was just as guilty of it, although most of his camera roll was filled with reference photos for drawing and pictures of his dog. He set his phone on the far side of the table where it wasn't in danger of getting wet and grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser, only realizing as they both went to mop up the mess that she'd done the same.

He chuckled softly, drawing back and wiping off his hand, the back of it slightly red where the coffee had hit. They'd overkilled that a bit, but it was nice that she'd offered to help. Half the people in the city would have walked on without even acknowledging it. "Don't worry about it. It's hectic being a parent. It's good they're your priority." He'd been the same way, his daughter the absolute center of the universe.

"Oh wow, you are prepared." His eyebrows lifted slightly when she came back with a handi-wipe and everything, but he didn't pull away. "Thank you. Would you like to sit? I'm Grant." He nodded to the empty chair across from his. It wasn't the only empty seat, but it was close, the tables filling up fast at this hour.

[grimmusings]

⭐

⭐ Thor Odinson (MCU) + Ellen Ripley (Alien): I just think this would be such a fun crossover! I'm picturing post-Ragnarok (maybe post-Thanos) Thor with all the #trauma and Ripley hunting Xenomorphs together. He's finally got an alien problem he can do something about. *cracks knuckles*

⭐ Andy Barber (Defending Jacob) + Isabella Meyers (OC): Former district attorney meeting his replacement? Or maybe just a fresh start and new lawyer friends after the events of the show, but he could be a threat to her professional reputation. I've never written him in a paranormal verse, but that could be interesting too!

⭐ Grant Andersen (OC) + Alba Reyes (OC): Aside from the fact that they have cute photo ops together (and I'm a sucker for photo resources), tell me these two aren't a set up for the fluffiest coffee shop AU. He's totally that sweet idiot who would come to her cafe every day just to see her.

[corneliafma]

☆ –– come back......be here! the following accounts have 48 hours to post in character or contact the main, or risk being their roles being reopened:

elody maverick @vanderlylecrybabygeeksx (1 post)

harlan durpe @vanderlylecrybabygeeksx (1 post)

walker "kwon" miller @vcgabonds (2 posts)

hayden duchannes @brckendreams (2 posts)

arabella huntzberger/archibald mctovish/benjamin grant @starlliiqht (2 posts each)

maeve walsh @maevewalsh (2 posts)

odessa "izzy" montague @marblegraced (1 post)

aurora andersen @clxndstine (intro + 1 post)

charlie becker @charlie-becker (intro + 1 post)

joseli ryan @incandscents (1 post)

[athoshq]

The following characters have been accepted into Athos! Please get your account ready and send it into the main within twenty-four hours - if you need more time, let the admin team know and we will grant you an extension. We are excited to have you here and we can’t wait to see your characters in action!    

Odd as Ruaidhri Samos with the faceclaim of Alex Hogh Andersen

Ray as Damon Miles with the faceclaim of Jordan Calloway

Ray as Saulo Reis with the faceclaim of Marco Pigossi

Ray as Owen McAnthony with the faceclaim of John Cena

Vanjie as Kit Lovelace with the faceclaim of Mason Gooding

Melli as Mekhi Lincoln with the faceclaim of Ty Olssen

Melli as James Walsh with the faceclaim of Lee Pace

[g-g-freak]

I'm gonna go ahead and do a personal ramble here because I've had a grudge against Disney and Marvel for their assimilations of culture since I was 8. I've got memories of railing against Thor in the Marvel comics being tall, blond, and cleanshaven when I'd always known him to be ginger, stocky, and hairy. I'd always disliked Disney's little mermaid for utterly subsuming Hans Christian Andersen's work with the little mermaid now having red hair, a name, and multiple quippy sidekicks, with the witch actively sabotaging the little mermaid instead of just, being a witch granting wishes with a heavy cost. It felt like Disney/marvel were constantly asserting their versions of the characters as the only true version of them, and I hated that, especially when they merged and upped the marketing even harder. Disney attempting to patent Dia de muertos was unsurprising to me mostly because I've already been a fuming little mythology kid, and it's good to see that people are noticing the same things I've railed about for nearly two decades.

[thehaemanthus]

Recently Read

Haven't done one of these in a while. Let's talk about books!

October Daye Series, Seanan McGuire

October Daye is a changling-- half fae, half human, living in San Francisco. As a knight, she does heroic things, ends up in the middle of politics she'd rather not be in, and generally ends up saving the day.

Admittedly I have not finished the series, I have I think three books to go? The beginning of the series was good-- nothing ground-breaking, but a solid urban fantasy read about faeries. The romance is light and slowburn, but there. There was enough mystery and questions in the beginning to keep up my momentum with the series, but now on book 14 I'm a little bored. In such a long series, it can be difficult to keep characters and situations fresh and interesting. The author has certainly tried, though. Decent fun series!

The Residence and First Women, Kate Andersen Brower

Kate Andersen Brower interviewed first ladies, White House residence staff, former executive branch staff, and former first families for these two books. The Residence is about the people who work for the White House and the things they witnessed and did for, in some cases, decades of work. First Women is a profile of modern first ladies, starting with Jackie Kennedy. Some materials is taken from The Residence for First Women.

I liked The Residence more than I liked First Women, maybe because I read it first. I thought the insight into the inner workings of the White House was interesting. The absolute dedication that these people have to their jobs, at the expense of their personal lives, can be astonishing. First Women was an interesting look into many first ladies, but I didn't feel like it offered anything super new or in depth. Granted, it is hard to fit a lot of information about so many remarkable women into one book.

Heart of the Damned, Lisa Edmonds. Alice Worth Series

Love the Alice Worth series! One of my candy books! And I get to be an ARC reader! Yippee!

Alice is a mage private investigator, investigating crimes with the help of her ghost sidekick and going home to her werewolf boyfriend every evening. I was worried about this series after the last book, Heart of the Pack. That felt more novella, but I think it was a set-up book for this one, which was good.

Edmonds juggles all of the problems that Alice faces in this book very well. Each issue gets pretty good coverage, and in the end it either resolves nicely or is tidied up and ready to be picked up for the next installment. If there's any complaint I have about the series, it's that things happen very fast. Alice gets a lot of shit done in one day, and I think this book took place over the course of two? Maybe three days?

The supernatural threat was interesting and suitably threatening. The way Alice solved the mystery and dealt with the issue was clever, and her struggles along the way made for a satisfying read. Romance was good, though not a stand out in this book. Alice, as a character, has grown a lot from the first book of this series and now is helping others grow and heal. It has the potential to be saccharine or to on-the-nose, but Edmonds did a really good job of toeing that line when she talked about healing. Sometimes, admittedly, she doesn't hit that mark.

One of my favorite things about the Alice Worth series is the whump-- Alice gets beat up, deals with magical backlash, gets into car accidents, and even her healing spells hurt. Don't ask me why I like to see my main characters beat up. Good news is that she has wonderful friends and family to patch her back up!

Have any book recommendations for me?

[blondejellykitty]

୨୧ dear diary ୨୧

hii my name is natalia :)

ironically my favourite colour is actually blue, i love to take photos of the moon (its about the only thing i have saved on my camera) and my favourite food is pizza.

my interests include reading fantasy and crime books, watching sci-fi and youtube commentary, learning about greek mythology and the roman empire, playing video games (badly), and procrastinating writing fanfictions.

i love found footage series' (slenderman and backrooms mostly) and want to one day make my own. my dream jobs are being a historian or a detective/csi.

i was homeschooled most my life, and i have a lot of social anxiety irl so sometimes that blurs into online as well, so i apologize if i don't immediately respond <33

characters i write for <3

SLENDERVERSE - PLUS CREEPYPASTA (2009-2018) 🩷 Brian Thomas (Hoodie), Tim Wright (Masky), Jay Merrick (Skully) (platonic), Alex Kralie, HABIT, Evan Myers (platonic), Jeff Koval, Michael Andersen, Jeffrey Woods (Jeff the Killer), Liu Woods (+ Sully) (Homicidal Liu), Toby Rogers (Ticci Toby), BENDROWNED, Cody Denzel (X-VIRUS), Jason Meyer (The Toymaker).

PERCY JACKSON - BOOKS (2005-2014) 🩷 Percy Jackson, Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, Luke Castellan, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Clarisse La Rue, Octavian Blair, Clovis Grant, Ethan Nakamura, Castor Riley, Pollux Riley, Triton, Apollo, Ares, Dionysus, Nico Di Angelo (platonic), Will Solace (platonic).

MARAUDERS ERA - PLUS LIGHTNING ERA 🩷James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Regulus Black, Evan Rosier, Barty Crouch Jr, Tom Riddle, Mattheo Riddle, Lorenzo Berkshire, Theodore Nott.

CALL OF DUTY - MODERN WARFARE I & II (2019-2022) 🩷 Simon Riley (Ghost), Kyle Garrick (Gaz), John MacTavish (Soap), John Price, König, Phillip Graves, Keegan Russ.

GAME OF THRONES - PLUS HOUSE OF THE DRAGON (2011-2024) 🩷 Jon Snow, Theon Greyjoy, Jacaerys Velaryon, Cregan Stark, Aegon II Targaryen.

HADES - SUPERGIANT GAME (2018) 🩷 Zagreus, Thanatos, Hypnos, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hermes, Zeus.

STARGATE ATLANTIS - STARGATE (2004-2009) 🩷John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Peter Kavanagh, Todd/Guide, Janus.

BLOOD OF ZEUS - SEASON ONE (2020) 🩷 Heron, Seraphim, Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, Ares.

KAOS - SEASON ONE (2024) 🩷 Dionysus, Caeneus.

CSI (2001-2015)🩷 Greg Sanders, Nick Stokes.

THE WALKING DEAD (2010-2022)🩷 Carl Grimes (Aged up/AU where he lives).

FOLK OF AIR - BOOKS (2018-2019)🩷 Cardan Greenbriar.

(if requesting please let me know if you want something specific written xoxo)

୨୧ till tomorrow ୨୧