#desdemona price

[notxjustxstories]

oc pride challenge 2023 ↬ tropes week ↬ tropes taken literally

tag list: @witchofinterest, @megdonnellys, @foxesandmagic, @villanele, @sunlitscribe, @arrthurpendragon, @pinkykitten, @bravelittleflower, @ochub, @anotherunreadblog, @valdrinors, @eddysocs, @ocappreciationtag, @stareyedplanet, @superspookyjanelle, @reggiemantleholdmyhand-tle, @raith-way, @noratilney, @richitozier, @wordspin-shares

[paradlselost]

⠀ ⠀ ˙ . ꒷ 𝓕ANDOMS . 𖦹˙

TASK FORCE 141 — john price , simon ‘ghost’ riley , john ‘soap’ mactavish , gary ‘roach’ sanderson , kyle ‘gaz’ garrack , nikolai , ++ alex keller , farah karin , alejandro vargas , rodolfo ‘rudy’ parra .

KORTAC — könig , nikto , kim ‘horangi’ hong-jin , sebastian kruger ++ valeria garza , philip graves + the shadows , vladimir makarov .

TWO — arthur morgan , john marston , dutch van der linde , hosea matthews ( platonic only ) , abigail marston , mary beth gaskill , karen jones , tilly jackson , javier escuella , sean mcguire , charles smith , lenny summers , josiah trewlany , sadie adler , molly o’shea , kieran duffy , albert mason , charles châtenay , eagle flies , proetus + acrisius .

ONE + REVOLVER — jack marston ( teen + adult only ) ++ red harlow .

NEW VEGAS — arcade gannon ( mlm only ) , benny gecko , craig boone , fantastic , jason bright , joshua graham ‘ the burned man ’ , robert house , sunny smiles , viktor , yes - man .

FOUR — nate / nora , ada , cait , curie , paladin danse , deacon , desdemona , glory , john hancock , nick valentine , piper wright , porter gage , preston garvey , robert maccready , x6 - 88 .

SHOW — lucy maclean , norm maclean , the ghoul - cooper howard , maximus , lee moldaver , thaddeus .

VOUGHT — homelander , a-train , black noir , black noir II , queen maeve , lamplighter , translucent , firecracker , sister sage , the deep , ashley barrett , soldier boy , crimson countess , stan edgar .

THE BOYS — billy butcher , hughie campbell , annie january , sergei ‘frenchie’ , kimiko , marvin milk .

OTHERS — victoria nueman , luke riordan , andre anderson , cate dunlap , marie moreau , jordan li , emma meyer , sam riordan , maverick , popclaw , webweaver .

SLASHERS — jason vorhees : friday the thirteenth , michael myers : halloween og + rz , billy loomis : scream , stu macher : scream , brahms heelshire : the boy , harry warden : my bloody valentine , billy lenz : black christmas , bo sinclair , vincent sinclair , lester sinclair : house of wax , bubba sawyer : texas chainsaw massacre , thomas hewitt : texas chainsaw massacre reboot + beginning .

FAR CRY — john seed , joseph seed , jacob seed , faith seed , sharky boshaw , jess black , hurk drubman jr , adelaide drubman , grace armstrong , jerome jeffries , eli palmer , joey hudson , staci pratt , earl whitehorse . pagan min , ajay ghale . vaas montenegro , jason brody .

BALDURS GATE 3 — orgin dark urge , gale dekarios , astarion ancunín , shadowheart , lae’zel , wyll ravengard , karlach , halsin , jaheira , minsc , minthara , dame aylin , isobel thorm , omeluum , the emperor , rolan , dammon , ketherick thorm , enver gortash , orin , kar’niss , nym , sorn , raphael .

SUPERNATURAL — dean winchester , sam winchester , castiel , gabriel , adam winchester , lucifer , michael , anna milton , charlie bradbury ( wlw only ) .

OTHER — connor : detroit become human , joe goldberg : you , eddie gluskin : outlast whistleblower , father paul hill / john pruitt : midnight mass , riley flynn : midnight mass , sheriff hassan shabazz : midnight mass , kurt wagner : x - men , remy lebeau : x - men , peter maximoff : x - men , adrian chase : peacemaker , abner krill : suicide squad , edward nashton : batman .

[rinwellisathing]

I like writing a whole bhaalspawn family because it lets me explore all the kinds of horror I love so here are just a few inspirations for each of my little guys and how I write them (and also the inspirations I think of for Orin and Default Durge when I write them) keep in mind, this is writing them in particular, the overall vibe for Papa Bhaal's House of Horrors is as follows:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2 especially)

House of 1,000 Corpses

Pumpkinhead

The Hills Have Eyes

Wrong Turn

Sentry Ojeda:

Johnny The Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vazquez

Dead By Daylight (The Legion and Trickster in particular)

Scream

House of 1,000 Corpses (shades of both Otis and Baby)

Lisa Frankenstein

Outlast(shades of Eddie Gluskin)

Theatre of Blood

Tomi Kisaragi:

Jennifer's Body

House of 1,000 Corpses (Mama Firefly)

Imprint

Audition

The Botanical Daughter(which is actually a really good book I recommend)

Carved: The Slit Mouthed Woman

Bloom (another great book I recommend highly)

Suspiria

What Moves The Dead(yet another book rec)

Tomie (obviously)

Orin The Red:

(Obviously her canon portrayal)

Dead By Daylight (particularly The Legion and The Spirit)

The Ring (particularly the western remake since I write her as a child in my horror AU)

Dead Silence (creepy doll vibes lend themselves really well to the twelve year old version of her)

Child's Play (not the shitty remake)

Dead By Daylight(The Legion and The Plague)

Soichi

The Haunting of Hill House

Jackal Silk:

Incident On And Off Mountain Road

Thir13en Ghosts(The Jackal and Juggernaut)

Dead By Daylight (The Trapper)

House Of 1,000 Corpses (shades of Otis, RJ, and Captain Spaulding)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre(Choptop)

Gabraela Grimmaldi:

Outlast (Marta)

Dead By Daylight (The Huntress)

Pumpkinhead (Ed Harley)

The Grudge

Friday The 13th

Sweeney Todd

Gary (default Durge) :

American Psycho

Dead By Daylight (Skull Merchant, Oni, and Trapper)

The Casting of Frank Stone

Outlast (shades of Walker and also sometimes Gluskin)

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

The Fall of The House of Usher(Price, Flanigan, original story, take your pick)

The Devil In Me

Hellraiser

Desdemona(actually my fiancee's character, this is just what I use when I'm writing her based on how mt fiancee has RPed as her) :

Resident Evil

Dead By Daylight (The Doctor and The Blight)

Outlast

Cabin In The Woods

The Fly

Hellraiser

[baked-alaska-bigs]

For REAL this time... Full list of available models for requests/commissions below the cut:

Baldur's Gate III Astarion Lae'zel Karlach Shadowheart

Cyberpunk 2077 Judy Panam Meredith Rogue Takemura V (Female)

“Souls” Series Lady Maria Emerald Herald Crossbreed Priscilla Sister Friede Blaidd the Half-Wolf Malenia, Blade of Miquella Ranni the Witch Maliketh, the Black Blade

DC Comics Harley Quinn Poison Ivy Wonder Woman Batgirl Catwoman Batwoman

Destiny Saint-14 Mara Sov Petra Venj Eris Morn Exo Stranger Ana Bray

Disney/Pixar Mother Gothel Mrs. Incredible Cass Hamada

Final Fantasy Cloud Aerith Tifa

HALO Cortana Sarah Palmer Female Sangheili

Life is Strange Max Caufield Chloe Price Joyce Price Kate Marsh

League of Legends Vi Jinx Caitlyn

Marvel Rogue Emma Frost Laura Kinney (X-23) Psylocke Black Widow Spider-Man Black Cat Silver Sable Yuriko Watanabe Rio Morales

Mass Effect Fem!Shepard Aria T’Loak Matriarch Benezia EDI Jack Liara T’soni Miranda Lawson Samara Tali’Zorah

Misc. Aloy (HZD) Mettaton EX (UT) Female Pinhead Cenobite (Hellraizer) Emily Kaldwin (Dishonored 2) Lilith (Diablo IV) Desdemona (Fortnite) Helen Park 80’s Outfit (CoD) Female Yautja (Predator)

Mortal Kombat Mileena Sheeva Kitana Cassie Cage Sonya Blade Sindel

NieR Automata 2B 9S A2 Commander White

Overwatch Brigitte Mercy Tracer Widowmaker Sombra Junker Queen

Resident Evil Ada Wong Annette Birkin Mr. X Nemesis Jill Valentine Mia Winters Lady Dimetrescu

Star Wars Trilla Suduri Shaak Ti Ahsoka Tano (Rebels) Hera Syndulla Stormtrooper

Street Fighter Seth (SFV) Chun Li Poison R. Mika Juri Han

Legend of Zelda Link (Gerudo Outfit) Zelda (BotW) Urbosa Purah (TotK) Sonia (TotK)

[poison-pomegranates]

About FDTD #2

Darling Desrosiers wished to be beautiful. for her it was not enough to be the heir to the elven Kingdom of Life. it was not enough to have suitors from across the globe travel to her mother’s domain just to have a chance at proposing to her. no, Darling wanted beauty. true, ineffable beauty, and she would stop at nothing to achieve it.

so when her cousin, Desdemona, told her of her plans to return to the Kingdom of Death, Darling did what she had been putting off for so long and turned down all her suitors.

for centuries, stories had been told about Grim’s wife, and speculations about how a mortal woman could have stayed so young and beautiful for so long had circled. some believed it to be the work of a blessing, or a favour, given to her by Grim himself. others suspected witchcraft. but Darling knew the truth, for it had been her mother who had gifted the enchanted broach to the queen of the Kingdom of Death, as a quiet gesture of both friendship and solidarity.

Darling did not know what it was her cousin was returning to retrieve from her father’s kingdom, for Desdemona refused to tell her, but Darling wanted that broach, and that broach was the price of her help.

what Darling didn’t bargain for was the peculiar group of ‘new friends’ that arrived with Desdemona. especially the charming witch who just won’t leave Darling alone, even more so when they realise they’ve seen each other before.

[bakedalaskabigs]

For Real This Time

If you'd like to support me and get exclusive content, check out my Pa//treon HERE

Full list of available models for requests/commissions below the cut:

Baldur's Gate III

Astarion

Lae'zel

Karlach

Shadowheart

Cyberpunk 2077

Judy

Panam

Meredith

Rogue

Takemura

V (Female)

“Souls” Series

Lady Maria

Emerald Herald

Crossbreed Priscilla

Sister Friede

Blaidd the Half-Wolf

Malenia, Blade of Miquella

Ranni the Witch

Maliketh, the Black Blade

DC Comics

Harley Quinn

Poison Ivy

Wonder Woman

Batgirl

Catwoman

Batwoman

Destiny

Saint-14

Mara Sov

Petra Venj

Eris Morn

Exo Stranger

Ana Bray

Disney/Pixar

Mother Gothel

Mrs. Incredible

Cass Hamada

Final Fantasy

Cloud

Aerith

Tifa

HALO

Cortana

Sarah Palmer

Female Sangheili

Life is Strange

Max Caufield

Chloe Price

Joyce Price

Kate Marsh

League of Legends

Vi

Jinx

Caitlyn

Rogue

Marvel

She-Hulk

Emma Frost

Laura Kinney (X-23)

Psylocke

Black Widow

Spider-Man

Black Cat

Silver Sable

Yuriko Watanabe

Rio Morales

Mass Effect

Fem!Shepard

Aria T’Loak

Matriarch Benezia

EDI

Jack

Liara T’soni

Miranda Lawson

Samara

Tali’Zorah

Misc.

Aloy (HZD)

Mettaton EX (UT)

Glamrock Chica (FNAF:SB)

Vanny/Vanessa (FNAF:SB)

Female Pinhead Cenobite (Hellraizer)

Emily Kaldwin (Dishonored 2)

Lilith (Diablo IV)

Desdemona (Fortnite)

Helen Park 80’s Outfit (CoD)

Female Yautja (Predator)

Mortal Kombat

Mileena

Sheeva

Kitana

Cassie Cage

Sonya Blade

Sindel

NieR Automata

2B

9S

A2

Commander White

Overwatch

Brigitte

Mercy

Tracer

Widowmaker

Sombra

Junker Queen

Resident Evil

Ada Wong

Annette Birkin

Mr. X

Nemesis

Jill Valentine

Mia Winters

Lady Dimetrescu

Star Wars

Trilla Suduri

Shaak Ti

Ahsoka Tano (Rebels)

Hera Syndulla

Stormtrooper

Street Fighter

Seth (SFV)

Chun Li

Poison

R. Mika

Juri Han

Legend of Zelda

Link (Gerudo Outfit)

Zelda (BotW)

Urbosa

Purah (TotK)

Sonia (TotK)

[angie-long-legs-moved]

Angel gave no reaction to this revelation. It was one that he was already more than aware of. Admittedly, he was a little hurt that this had been brought up now - although, perhaps it was a sign that this sorry state he was in wasn't as terrible as it felt, that this precarious pedestal he'd found himself on was indeed something to be desired. He had something everyone wanted, after all. He knew the price he was paying when he signed away soul, his name, his autonomy. If others viewed the stardom and the attention of his owner as worthy of such a sacrifice... That made it a reality, of sorts. If not to Angel, to someone else, and that fact was a comfort the spider clung to.

Beneath the surface, he knew that Desdemona was the same sinner he had once been - hopelessly in love, enthralled by the charm and charisma of a powerful Overlord and his twisted mind games. When he remembered the honeymoon phase, those first heady days of Valentino's affections... of course she had fallen exactly as Angel had. How could he blame her? To be whisked from such meager beginnings, lavished in praise and adoration, promised fame and fortune and made to feel so special. It was so much, so sweet, sickeningly so. It was everything at once - and then it was nothing.

"I know, Dez," he exhaled slowly, mustering up the strength for the conversation that he had been less than prepared for.

"Look, I... I get it. And I know this is rich comin' from me, but... he's playin' ya. He's playin' all of us. This... attention I'm gettin'? It's just a fuckin' game to him."

Angel gritted his teeth, the words feeling bitter and hollow in his mouth. "He doesn't... love me, and every day I feel like a prize fuckin' moron for thinkin' a guy like him ever could."

"So... I know ya want him. And I ain't mad about it. It's what he does, Dez," he sighed softly, finally meeting her eyes.

"Just... take it from me, alright? It ain't fuckin' worth the damage. To him, we're just whores to fuck around with. Bein' his favourite don't change a damn thing."

Angel sighed, pulling his legs tighter against his chest as though trying to make himself as small as possible. He hated being seen like this with every fibre of his being, when he couldn't hide behind a sharp smile or a flirtacious jibe. Even with the makeup Dez had so kindly applied, he still felt exposed, naked in a way he wasn't so familiar with - one that was far more threatening.

"I didn't wanna make ya wait, Dez. I wanted to hang out with you. I didn't wanna..."

He cut himself off, hesitant to dig himself further into that pit of shame, to expose any more of that tender flesh he already felt so disgusted at revealing.

"Tough... yeah, sure," he rolled his eyes. "Like I'm anythin' but his personal fuckin' punching bag. I don't even fight back," he said mournfully. "Nothin' tough about it."

He had mixed feelings about speaking to Desdemona about what he endured at the hands of their boss. He knew damn well she was ensnared in the trap that was Valentino just as deeply as he was, as deeply as any of the employees he manipulated into working for him with a sweet-toothed smile and saccharine words, promises of stardom and riches and love. He was as hopeless to dissuade her from her heart's longing as he was to suppress his own.

But that didn't mean he would shy away from the truth. Maybe if she saw the cruelty he was capable of she wouldn't make the same mistakes as Angel.

Ha. Everyone knew Valentino was cruel - it did nothing to stop him being desired. It was a brutal paradox, a mind-bending impossibility, and Angel had long since accepted the insanity that festered within him as the spectrum that was Valentino contradicted itself over and over.

It was a ride he couldn't get off of, a rush of pure adrenaline that left him shaking, sick and dizzy. His heart couldn't take it. He needed more.

However, at the suggestion of hanging out after work, he felt a spark of relief glimmer within him.

"Now yer talkin'," he nodded, feeling more himself at the idea of doing something fun. "I know all the best places in this dump, I'll show ya around." He paused, that signature smile creeping back into place.

"Ya know I'm always down to party, doll. Let's have a night on the town. Hell knows we both fuckin' need it."

[perfettamentechic]

6 ottobre … ricordiamo …

6 ottobre #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic #felicementechic #lynda

2020: Johnny Nash, vero nome di John Lester Nash Jr., cantante e attore statunitense, noto per il suo successo del 1972 I Can See Clearly Now. (n. 1940) 2020: Tommy Rall, attore e ballerino statunitense. Iniziò la sua carriera nel 1942 a soli 12 anni, ma divenne principalmente noto per aver recitato nei film musicali Baciami Kate! (1953) e Sette spose per sette fratelli (1954). Dopo un primo…

[multimuse-rp-archived]

I added muses from Othello because I’m a nerd 😂 lmk if you want to write with them!

[dreadreflection-if]

Fate. Curse. Emptiness.

Echoes of the future play out before him, which he may never reveal.

He endures this gift, like much else - always wondering how much longer he can last.

Basics:

Name: Dimitrius Zarovan

Age: 29

Gender: M

Height: 6′

Orientation: Gay

Faith: Agnostic

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Background:

For as long as he can remember, Dimitrius has Seen things others cannot. It started when he was young: shadowy wisps of fog would appear at the corners of his vision while unintelligible whispers trickled into his mind. The space around him would shift, ethereal images overtaking his senses and removing his perception of the present. Scared and confused, he was forced to watch often miserable events with no control over his own body. When he told his parents about these strange visions, they explained that it was a gift from the Mists they traveled through, passed down in his family for generations. They told him having the Sight was nothing to be alarmed by.

He knew his parents were lying even as they spoke. Nothing good is ever talked about with barely restrained fear - or sworn to absolute secrecy.

He owes the survival of his sanity during the years that followed to his grandmother, Desdemona. She taught him how to endure the visions, and soothed him when he could not. And when tragedy befell the caravan and his Sight was finally exposed, it was her who pleaded for his life.

Dimitrius survived that terrible night, but not without scars he had not been strong enough to prevent. Banished alongside his grandmother, they now travel the Mists alone - an arrangement Dimitrius hopes will continue long into the future, even as his visions say otherwise.

Characteristics:

Dimitrius is highly intelligent, with a large amount of knowledge about the arcana that powers his Sight. Years of seclusion have allowed him to learn much about nature, and he is great at handling animals that may try to approach their wagon on the hidden paths they travel. Dimitrius is also physically healthy with a great constitution - even though he is hardly able to sleep most nights. As a price to pay for his survival, Dimitrius is now mute and communicates either with hand gestures or writing. Plagued by guilt, he swears to do as much for his grandmother as he can. Hard-working and stubborn, he is not the kind of person to ask for help even when he needs it. He hates showing others how much his Sight affects him, though may be more open with someone he trusts.

Personality Trait: Once I make a promise, I keep it no matter what.

Personality Trait: I often get lost in my visions and become blind to the world around me.

Ideal: Live and Let Live. Trying to help others only ends in pain.

Bond: My grandmother has always been there for me - I must do whatever I can to repay her.

Flaw: I refuse to rely on others, even if it puts me in danger.

Appearance:

The first feature others notice on Dimitrius are his almond shaped eyes: no matter the lighting, they always seem to shine gold. Years of poor sleep have given him dark bags, and slight stubble covers his jaw. The bottom half of his face has several scars - the worst one being a long and jagged mark that cuts vertically through the left side of his lips. Dimitrius’ sienna skin is covered in golden tattoos, various symbols and lines running across his body. His wavy hair is dark black and unruly, cut below his ears. Dimitrius always wears black traveling clothes that are easy to move in, with golden piercings and rings. He usually keeps the lower half of his face covered with a long scarf when around others.

Specific content warnings for Dimitrius’ route include: amputation, banishment, derealization, depression, paralysis and night terrors.

[lady0f-thenight]

"No need to repay me, mon ami. You never deserved the treatment you cared for... centuries..." Such a delicate flower, she was- even after the horrors she endured years ago. That fire. The flames. How it left her weak and dying. No rose deserved such treatment...alas, that's how she is now. Left with no name, a vague memory of what once was. And her life. A title of night that the town only knows her as.

Desdemona wasn't recognized as her anymore; assumed dead despite all. It greatly hurt losing her voice and the joy it brought people. Then again, she got it back but...at the price of everyone thinking it came from Christine. Even her dear friend. She didn't have the heart to speak up- Des was always humble. While it hurt, the pale woman never once had ill will towards Christine nor any of the others that took her voice as theirs. As long as it made others happy?

That was a joy Dessie couldn't deny anybody. Besides...nobody wanted a cloaked up mask singer on stage. The owner made that very evident. Her different colored hues stayed trained on her skeleton friend's face, a small smile slowly appearing on her face. Such a rare occurrence only one person seemed to pull from her.

"you deserve all that's good, Erik....all that's good..."

"You're the first person who ever offered to stay." [@phantom0f-death]

Desdemona was sitting down on the stage, looking up to the faint view of the chandelier that was held up with glory with a downhearted look. A frown on her deep apple colored lips before her eyes turned to her dearest friend. Red Death, as he's commonly known as. Or even the Phantom of the Opera. Yet nobody knew his name...the Angel of Music's name.

"Erik..." The young woman spoke with a hushed tone, soft...smooth. Delicate as herself. Desdemona's hand lifted up to the cloak that shielded her head from the world around her- dark and cruel faced with such light and beauty that faded years ago. Her hand pulled the fabric back to get a better view of her companion, revealing the mask that dawned her face as well. Yet still that sorrowful look stayed.

"Of course I would want to stay... you're my dearest friend." The singer's hand gently touched the side of his boned face- small touches against the smoothly rough exterior of the man's face before pulling back. Her face turned- looking back to the chandelier again...almost if recounting the years before with such. Such despair.

"I would never leave you. Not even if it were to get back what I lost so long ago, my friend..."

@phantom0f-death

[notxjustxstories]

--Margaret Atwood, “Lusus Naturae”

everything tag: @witchofinterest @perfectlystiles @foxesandmagic @megdonnellys @villanele @randomfandoming1 @ocfairygodmother @oreostars @bravelittleflower @ochub @abbysarcane

[hersweetrevenge]

my favourite part of othello is the bit where emilia and desdemona talk about fidelity/infidelity.

act four, scene three. desdemona cannot believe a wife would cheat on her husband.

emilia knows it to be true, and even when desdemona asks "would you really do it for the world?", she answers "the world's a huge thing. it's a great price for a small vice." emilia is not a perfect wife, and iago is far from being a perfect husband, but she's willing to play dirty if it would benefit them both. to make iago king, she'll betray their marriage, just once, if she has too.

both emilia and iago have a strange humour to them, emilia says by the light she would not cheat, but in the dark it's so much easier. this is something desdemona never understands. she owes her loyalty to othello, she's sheltered and adoring and wouldn't him even to help him, help them.

as much as iago underestimates emilia, he trusts her with the one act that his whole scheme hinges on. bringing the handkerchief to him. he knows she will, knows she can. it brings pain and death and torment and one cannot fall without the other following.

[noveltyreads]

Under the Whispering Door by T.J Klune Book Review

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review TW: Death (mentioned, never graphically shown), passing on, emotional abuse (mentioned), suicide (mentioned), death of parent/s (mentioned), brain damage In The House In The Cerulean Sea, Seanan McGuire wrote "This book is very close to perfect." If only they read Under the Whispering Door.

This book is faultless. I cannot flaw it at all. I cannot even put into words just how much I loved this world, the story, the characters and the thoughtful ways T.J Klune wrote about passing on. The story made me contemplate so many things pertaining to life and death, it also made me smile, laugh and at times, it even got my eyes filling up with tears from the sheer emotion riveting off the pages. Under the Whispering Door follows Wallace Price, a cold hearted partner of a very successful law firm. He has the world in his hands until, one day, his heart gives up and he finds himself at his own funeral where he is told he is dead. He gets taken to Charon's Crossing, a stop-over for ghosts like him to pass over into the next stage of their life.

We quickly meet Hugo, Nelson, Apollo and Mei, all characters who, like Wallace, I didn't necessarily like at the start. But also, similarly to Wallace, I ended up loving them at the end. I believe my connection or relationship to the characters mirrored Wallace's which I think was intentional to show the subtle changes in how Wallace viewed the world and situation around him. I loved how it also was done in such an unnoticeable way that I didn't even know my perceptions of the characters were changing. That in itself is a testament to the calibre of T.J Klune's writing. Wallace was my favourite character. His characterisation jumped off the page from the very start. He was unique and fun to read about even when he was alive and grouchy. Some of his dialogue got me laughing out loud especially during the funeral scene. Poor Wallace, it was unfortunate that only five people showed up for the ceremony.

Nelson became my second favourite character (although to be fair, he tied with Hugo, Mei, Apollo, Cameron and Desdemona). I found him annoying at first but he quickly grew on me with his practical jokes and how he got everyone fooled (me included) when he first met Wallace in Charon's Crossing. With Mei, I wasn't sure I'd like her that much but she also grew on me too especially with her death metal music that "was enough to raise the dead." I loved seeing her backstory and her off-page relationship with her mother. I felt empathetic towards her and I think that scene only made me love her badass character even more.

Hugo had a really sad backstory that made me cry at times. Especially with Lea and Nancy. I'll leave that area spoiler free but if you're not crying by the end of that passage, you haven't read the book right. Cameron, although appearing only briefly in the book, was responsible for one of the most powerful scenes in Under the Whispering Door, I teared up and I loved how Klune incorporated flashbacks into his narrative. I was so impressed with the ending of Cameron's arc and I was happy he got what he wanted in the end. I hope he found who he was looking for. The other element I found interesting was the way the story was told in general. The book covered a lot of heavy themes such as death, dying and passing on but never was it dark or difficult to read about. It was told both in philosophical ways yet with a lightheartedness and humour that helped make this book a feel-good read. But death wasn't just what this book was about. It was about family, living and making use of the time you have left. Making sure that you lived a life worth dying for.

Under the Whispering Door is a book that is as close to perfection as you can get. It's one of my favourites–if not, my favourite read of 2021 so far and I would recommend it highly to everyone. If you've read The House In the Cerulean Sea and enjoyed it, I think you'll like this just as or even more. (note: I recommend you read The House in the Cerulean Sea before reading Under the Whispering Door, there are some minor references to THITCS but I reckon you can still enjoy the book without reading it). ACTUAL RATING: 5 STARS

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

happy 200th birthday, queen. 

edit: the text, for anyone under paywall (below the cut):

Toward the end of her life, the opera diva Pauline Viardot took stock of her vast social network. She wrote a three-page, multicolumn list of everyone she had ever met, worked with or loved.

She ended up with over 300 names, a who’s-who of 19th-century icons: composers like Rossini, Liszt and Schumann; novelists like George Sand, Victor Hugo and Ivan Turgenev, her lover; Giuseppe Mazzini and Napoleon III.

Viardot entertained many of them at the weekly salons she held at her home in Paris. Classical musicians have rarely connected so widely with important figures of the day; the closest American parallel might be Leonard Bernstein, who hobnobbed with presidents and Hollywood glitterati.

But like Bernstein, Viardot — born exactly 200 years ago, on July 18, 1821 — was far more than a Zelig. One of the supreme singers of her time, she was also a prolific composer, whose music is slowly being salvaged from obscurity; a savvy entrepreneur; a gifted visual artist; and a highly respected voice teacher.

Born Michelle-Pauline-Ferdinande-Laurence Garcia, in Paris, Viardot was an heir to a musical dynasty. Her father, Manuel Garcia, was an international opera star and the first Count Almaviva in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville.”

Born in Spain, Garcia never stayed in one place for long, moving his wife and three children — Viardot’s older sister, Maria Malibran, became another of the century’s reigning divas — to Italy, Paris and London. And then in 1825, when Viardot was 4, to the United States, where his family and troupe introduced Italian operas, sung in their original language, to the American public.

Viardot’s musical talents emerged early. She took piano lessons with Liszt and developed a girlhood crush on him. As a young woman, she played duets with Chopin, a friend. But when she was 15, her mother dashed her dreams of becoming a concert pianist, declaring that Pauline would pursue the family trade: singing opera.

She made her debut in 1839 in London as Desdemona in Rossini’s “Otello,” then hit her stride four years later when she brought the house down at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow as Rosina in “The Barber of Seville.”

“Ravishing, velvetlike notes rang out, of the sort that no one, it seemed, had ever heard,” an audience member later recalled, adding, “Instantly an electric spark ran round the audience.”

When she was 18, she met and married the historian, art critic and theater director Louis Viardot, 21 years her senior. In a reversal of gender norms, he resigned from his post as director of the Théâtre Italien in Paris after their wedding to focus on Pauline, her career and, ultimately, their four children.

With a voice of uncommon range and flexibility, Viardot became famous on Europe’s major stages in signature roles that included Zerlina and Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni,” Adina in Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” and the title role in Bellini’s “Norma.”

“Her technical skill alone is immense; in the completeness of her chromatic scale she is, probably, without a rival,” said an article published in Fraser’s Magazine, a London journal, in 1848.

But, the writer went on, “the principal feature which characterizes her is the dramatic warmth of her impersonations. She throws herself heart and soul into a part.”

Composers sought her out for important premieres: She was the first Fidès in Meyerbeer’s “Le Prophète” and Charles Gounod’s first Sapho. When Berlioz resurrected Gluck’s “Orfeo” for the Parisian stage in 1859, Viardot was the diva for whom he rewrote the title role. A decade later, Brahms chose her as the soloist for the premiere of his Alto Rhapsody.

After retiring from the opera stage in 1863, Viardot continued singing in concerts and being what we’d call today a macher. She owned the original manuscript of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” which composers including Fauré and Tchaikovsky made pilgrimages to see. In 1869, she wrote an effusive letter to Richard Wagner congratulating him on a performance of “Die Meistersinger.” But his notorious anti-Semitic essay, “Judaism in Music,” published under his name the following month, soured the relationship, and Wagner and his wife, Cosima, began referring derisively to Viardot as a “Jewess.” (She was not Jewish.)

Following her father, who was a gifted composer as well as a brilliant singer, Viardot put significant time and energy into composing. Her work is not nearly as widely known as that of Robert Schumann, Liszt, Saint-Saëns or others in her social circle. But her music was deeply appreciated by her contemporaries, with one person going so far as to compare her talent to Schubert’s. Clara Schumann referred to her as “the greatest woman of genius I have ever known.” A fierce advocate for her students, she died, just a month shy of her 89th birthday, in 1910.

Today, her works are enjoying a resurgence among scholars and performers — part of a wave of interest in long-neglected composers like Amy Beach, Florence Price, Clara Schumann and others.

Viardot wrote hundreds of pieces, the majority of them songs for solo voice and piano. Her first was “L’Enfant de la montagne,” published when she was just 19 in a collection organized by Meyerbeer, Paganini and Cherubini. Like so many of her songs, she was its major advocate, using it to show off her vocal skills in concerts in Leipzig, Germany, and other cities.

Her songs have more recently become popular fare for prima donnas including Annick Massis, Cecilia Bartoli and Aude Extrémo. They range from playful and virtuosic (“Vente, niña, conmigo al mar”) to hauntingly beautiful (“L’Enfant et la Mère” and “Hai luli”). The publisher Breitkopf und Härtel has released a new critical edition of some of the songs on texts by Pushkin, Fet and Turgenev. (Viardot’s Russian was superb.) She also wrote works for piano and violin, the instrument of her son, Paul Viardot. Her other three children, also musicians, performed her compositions, too.

True to her specialty, Viardot also wrote operas. These were mostly performed by her students and children in her home, with piano accompaniment, but at least one, “Le Dernier Sorcier,” was orchestrated and performed in 1869 in Weimar Germany.

Wolf Trap Opera in Virginia has revived her “Cendrillon” just this weekend. Viardot wrote both the music and words for this chamber operetta about Cinderella, a fanciful interpretation of the fairy tale by Charles Perrault.

“Her music is both challenging and wonderfully singable,” Kelly Kuo, the production’s conductor, said in an interview. “You just know that it was written by someone who really understood what she was doing.”

Among the guests at the 1904 premiere of “Cendrillon” were the editor and musician Salvatore Marchesi and his wife Mathilde, an influential voice teacher. Finding Viardot’s music charming, they wrote of their certainty that it would have “a successful run through the world.” Although somewhat delayed, their prediction is perhaps beginning to come true.

“Viardot,” Kuo said, “is a perfect example of an artist who should be much better known today.”

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 25 of 26

Title: Under the Whispering Door (2021)

Author: TJ Klune

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Romance, LGBT Protagonist, Third-Person

Rating: 10/10

Date Began: 9/23/2021

Date Finished: 10/1/2021

When Wallace Price dies, almost no one comes to his funeral, much to his annoyance. He’s determined to set things right and return to his important job as a lawyer. But instead, his assigned Reaper takes him to a tea shop in the mountains run by a ferryman of the dead, Hugo. As Wallace grows closer to Hugo and his small family, he learns what he missed in life— and desperately tries to become the man he could have been. 

Wallace wondered what would happen if they never stopped. Perhaps if they went far enough, Wallace would drift away into nothing, leaving all the pieces of him behind… Just motes of dust along a stretch of mountain road, ashes spread as if he’d mattered. 

And maybe he had. Not to the world at large, not to very many people in the grand scheme of things, but here, in this place? With Hugo and Mei and Apollo and Nelson? Yes, he thought maybe he mattered after all, a lesson in the unexpected. Wasn’t that the point? Wasn't that the great answer to the mystery of life? To make the most of what you have while you have it, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. 

In death, Wallace had never felt more alive. 

Content warnings and spoilers below the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Death (... duh), including child death and animal death. Graphic, somewhat disturbing descriptions of violent death. Mentions of racism, suicide, and child neglect/abuse. Discussions of mental illness and grief. Mild sexual content and violence.

To clear up any misconceptions: this is not a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. The cover and marketing material are a little misleading in that regard. I’m not even sure the two books take place in the same world; apart from a blink-and-miss-it reference to Cerulean Sea, they’re unrelated. That being said, the two have similarities in tropes and style. Both are fantasy fish-out-of-water stories staring a queer protagonist, who over the course of the story improves as a person thanks to found family stuff. However, Under the Whispering Door has a heavier tone than Cerulean Sea, dealing with existential themes of death, grief, and the afterlife (sort of). There are a few kinda creepy parts as well. If you read Cerulean Sea and appreciated its darker moments, you’ll probably like this one.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. Despite my disclaimer above, it’s difficult not to compare Under the Whispering Door to its predecessor. I’ll try to focus on specific things that this book does well.

One thing I adore about Klune’s writing is his ability to balance humor and emotional moments. Under the Whispering Door made me laugh and cry in equal measure. The chapter with Desdemona and the Ouija board had me in stitches (the typo! Jesus). But the chapter where Hugo and Wallace fantasize about meeting each other when Wallace was alive made me bawl like a baby. Those are just a few examples out of many in the novel. It takes a lot to get either reaction out of me, and Klune nails it in everything I’ve read by him. Even better, the presence of comedy doesn’t feel like comic relief. It’s a genuine part of the story that’s just as important as its dramatic, harrowing moments. That’s something few writers can pull off well. Having both in this story makes extra sense, since it’s ultimately a bittersweet narrative.

Under the Whispering Door doesn’t pull any punches with its themes and ideas. There’s a lot of discussion about the nature of life and death. What is a life well lived? Do people deserve second chances? And of course the classic “what happens when we die,” which isn’t really answered in the novel. Loss and grief are intertwined with these ideas. Wallace grieves the life he lived for multiple reasons. At first, he’s not ready to move on because he had more to do (at his job). As the novel progresses, he realizes how meaningless his life was, and then grieves who he could have been. It’s heavy stuff. Outside of Wallace, the novel explores the unfairness of tragic death, including suicide, murder, and childhood terminal illness. Ultimately Under the Whispering Door presents a hopeful vision of death as a new beginning, yet avoids the trappings of any religious denomination. According to Klune’s acknowledgments, he wrote this novel to process his own grief, and this absolutely comes through in the story.

The book has some similarity to The Good Place; in the end, it’s about a horrible person dying, then choosing to be better due to the influence of others. This comparison is nothing but a compliment. I think we could use more stories about people becoming better, and the positive influence others can have on our lives. Life right now feels bleak, and it’s nice to read something that’s (mostly) realistic about humanity, yet manages to be hopeful. Found family is a big component of this. It’s nice to see how Wallace, Hugo, Mei, Nelson, and Apollo all become a happy family, and I like the emphasis that Wallace is an unexpected yet welcome addition.

Another thing the book does well is parallels. There’s a lot of early ideas or scenes that come back later, either in a big character development or dramatic irony way. The last thing I expected was for the opening scene with Wallace firing someone to come back later, but it sure does, and boy does that whole chapter pack a narrative punch. One can also trace Wallace’s redemption throughout the story using parallels. For example, Cameron’s introduction is eerie the first time around, but every time he appears later in the story, the tone shifts to reflect Wallace’s attitude. There’s also small details. Wallace and Hugo reach for each other throughout the story, but can never touch. Then (SPOILERS) when they’re finally able to touch at the end… whoo boy.

On a more personal note, there’s some details that hit weirdly close to home. Apollo’s whole backstory is almost identical to how I adopted my childhood dog, down to the rain. What the fuck. Mei’s backstory about needing help as a kid yet being ignored and dismissed is also a big oof for me.

As a bisexual person, I really appreciated how Klune handled Wallace. I like that his sexuality is an important part of his character and identity. While the same-sex romance between Wallace and Hugo is obviously at the forefront, it is nice to learn about Wallace’s relationship with his ex-wife; how he genuinely loved her and regrets how he screwed things up so badly. And god, the bar is SUPER low here, but THANK YOU for using the word “bisexual” to describe Wallace. It’s infuriating how media dances around calling bisexuality by name, and depressing when allies in the community erase us. I hope people read this book and take note.

I do have a few small criticisms. My first issue is that Wallace’s redemption felt a little too easy for me, at least in the first half. He goes from a comically selfish person to the polar opposite in about a month, and doesn’t really struggle to do so. He accepts pretty much every flaw about himself and acts on them. Each chapter is a steady trajectory toward selflessness — which I find a little hard to believe after a lifetime of bad behavior. Yeah, death is the great equalizer, and yeah, we do learn that Wallace has some sympathetic traits, but I’m not sure I buy it. Instead, Wallace’s struggles mostly revolve around the fact that he’s dead rather than his personality, which I feel is a missed opportunity.

The second thing is Under the Whispering Door lacks polish in places. There’s a lot of repetition with some of the book’s philosophical ideas. I can only read Wallace thinking about how he wasted his life on unimportant things before it starts to lose emotional impact. The dialogue is also confusing at times; I had to backtrack and reread a few parts because I couldn’t tell who said what. Is this a nitpicky criticism? Yes, but it was noticeable enough for me.

Honestly, though, I liked this book so much that the flaws don’t matter to me. I guess if you held a gun to my head and forced me to pick, I like The House in the Cerulean Sea a little more. But that’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, so it’s a tough act to follow. Under the Whispering Door is a great, heartfelt read on its own merits. I plan to read Klune’s other work soon!