#despite the official cast list spelling it paine

[billpottsismygf]

POV: your unrequited gay crush/best friend just told you he wouldn't want to be dead with anyone else

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

WHO Announces Virus “Plateau” (Foreign Policy) Countries across Europe are beginning to reopen after months of restrictions. U.S. President Joe Biden has endorsed a proposal to waive patents on COVID-19 vaccines, paving the way for accelerated production. But rather than achieving herd immunity, the world appears to be entering a new phase of the coronavirus pandemic, with more contagious variants spreading rapidly in places without stringent regulations or sufficient vaccines. In a Monday briefing, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the world had reached a plateau in new cases and deaths from the coronavirus, with numbers declining overall in most regions. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus acknowledged that the plateau was “unacceptably high.” Nearly 90,000 COVID-19 deaths were recorded worldwide last week. Thousands of those deaths occurred in India, where new cases and deaths have remained near record daily highs for days—and are still likely undercounted. Meanwhile, Malaysia announced a new lockdown on Monday amid a third wave driven in part by more infectious variants. Cases are rising elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, as well as in Latin America—with potential consequences for political leaders.

Election reform controversy (Reuters) Democrats in the U.S. Senate hope today to advance sweeping election reform legislation making it easier for Americans to cast ballots, despite intense opposition from Republicans, many of whom support new restrictive voting rules at the state level. The 886-page bill would expand mail-in voting that was used widely in last year’s presidential election because of the coronavirus pandemic and would lengthen the hours of in-person balloting.

California expands drought emergency to large swath of state (AP) California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought emergency to a large swath of the nation’s most populous state while seeking more than $6 billion in multiyear water spending as one of the warmest, driest springs on record threatens another severe wildfire season across the American West. His emergency declaration now includes 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people, and he said a further expansion is likely as conditions worsen. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of the state and the American West is in extensive drought just a few years after California emerged from the last punishing multiyear dry spell. “We’re staring down at what could be disastrous summer and fall, with the potential of communities running out water, and fires,” said Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Costa.

DarkSide Admits Hack (1440) Officials from the FBI confirmed yesterday a cyberattack that shut down one of the nation’s biggest gas pipelines was carried out by a cybercriminal outfit known as DarkSide. The group, based in Eastern Europe, is believed to develop, use, and sell ransomware—malicious software capable of locking IT systems until payment is made. Colonial Pipeline, which supplies an estimated 45% of the East Coast’s gasoline, shut down its network as a proactive measure after being hit with the attack late last week. In a twist, DarkSide representatives said they didn’t mean to create problems, but rather to simply “make some money.” The group, which claims to have an ethical code, represents an emerging phenomenon of hackers operating as enterprises—DarkSide even reportedly has a call-in number and help desk for its victims. It’s unclear whether the company paid the ransom; service is expected to be restored by next week. (AP) Meanwhile, more than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel, primarily because of what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers, as the shutdown of a major pipeline by a gang of hackers entered its fifth day Tuesday.

Central American leaders resisting Biden’s anti-corruption efforts (Washington Post) In a rebuff to the Biden administration, political leaders in El Salvador and Guatemala have forced out several senior judges known for their independence and anti-corruption zeal, underscoring the difficulties facing Washington’s new Central America policy. President Biden has put the fight against corruption at the heart of that policy. U.S. officials argue that graft is stunting Central American economies and driving citizens to attempt to migrate to the United States. The sidelining of the judges has raised concerns at the highest levels of the U.S. government. The administration is readying measures to increase pressure on El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, known as the Northern Triangle countries—including a name-and-shame list of corrupt politicians who would be denied U.S. visas. The efforts come as human rights groups warn of democratic backsliding in Central America, where the judiciary had emerged as a key check on presidential power.

Paris Teenager’s New Gig: Would-Be Queen of Italy. A Nation Shrugs. (NYT) Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia, the son of the last king of Italy, gave his granddaughter a big 16th birthday present. In a formal 2019 decree, the “Duke of Savoy, Prince of Naples and by the grace of God direct heir to Head of the Royal House of Savoy,” amended a medieval law that for centuries had restricted succession in his royal line to male heirs. He bumped “our beloved granddaughter” Vittoria Cristina Chiara Adelaide Maria up the royal food chain, making her the first woman in 1,000 years to be invested with the authority to eventually lead the family and stake a claim to the defunct monarchy. “It was the best gift he could give me,” Vittoria, now 17 and a burgeoning Instagram influencer, said from her Paris home. But the gift didn’t include a crown. Italy is a republic, having abolished the monarchy 75 years ago for its disastrous support of Mussolini, and Italians have approximately zero interest in a royal restoration. “Never say never,” said Vittoria’s father, Emanuele Filiberto, an Italian television personality who claims the title Prince of Venice, which is also the name of his Los Angeles restaurant and former food truck. (“We do a lot of film premieres. We did Jumanji,” he said.) Obviously, he said, the monarchy wasn’t returning “tomorrow,” but he had no sons and the family needed a head of the royal household to run its historic orders.

Russian governor: School shooting in Kazan kills 7 students (AP) A school shooting erupted Tuesday morning in the Russian city of Kazan, killing seven students and leaving 16 other people hospitalized with wounds, a Russian governor reported. Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of the Tatarstan republic which has Kazan as its capital, said Tuesday that four male and three female eighth-grade students have died in the shooting. Twelve more children and four adults were hospitalized in the attack, Minnikhanov said. The shooter was 19. Kazan is roughly 700 kilometers (430 miles) east of Moscow.

Deadly ‘black fungus’ cases add to India’s covid crisis (Washington Post) As coronavirus cases and deaths soared in India recently, doctors began to notice another disturbing trend. Some covid-19 patients who had been released from hospitals were coming back with different symptoms, including sinus pain, blurred vision, black and bloody nasal discharge and a dark discoloration around the nose. The culprit was a deadly fungal infection called mucormycosis that physicians say is increasingly preying on people with immune systems weakened by covid-19 and the steroids used to treat it. Though cases of the black fungus remain rare, its lethality and increasing prevalence have prompted government warnings, put doctors on high alert and added to the country’s health crisis. “The death rate from mucormycosis is 50 percent,” said Amarinder Singh Malhi from All India Institute Of Medical Science, a public hospital in New Delhi. “The death rate from covid is 2.5 percent. So we have to use these steroids very cautiously.”

100 days in power, Myanmar junta holds pretense of control (AP) After Myanmar’s military seized power by ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, they couldn’t even make the trains run on time: State railway workers were among the earliest organized opponents of the February takeover, and they went on strike. Health workers who founded the civil disobedience movement against military rule stopped staffing government medical facilities. Many civil servants were no-shows at work, along with employees of government and private banks. Universities became hotbeds of resistance, and in recent weeks, education at the primary and secondary levels has begun to collapse as teachers, students and parents boycott state schools. One hundred days after their takeover, Myanmar’s ruling generals maintain just the pretense of control. The illusion is sustained mainly by its partially successful efforts to shut down independent media and to keep the streets clear of large demonstrations by employing lethal force. More than 750 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces, according to detailed independent tallies. Meanwhile, the junta also faces a growing military challenge in the always restive border regions where ethnic minority groups exercise political power and maintain guerrilla armies. Two of the more battle-hardened groups, the Kachin in the north and the Karen in the east, have declared their support for the protest movement and stepped up their fighting, despite the government military, known as the Tatmadaw, hitting back with greater firepower, including airstrikes.

China Targets Muslim Women in Push to Suppress Births in Xinjiang (NYT) When China’s government ordered women in her mostly Muslim community in the region of Xinjiang to be fitted with contraceptive devices, Qelbinur Sedik pleaded for an exemption. She was nearly 50 years old, she told officials. She had obeyed the government’s birth limits and had only one child. It was no use. The workers threatened to take her to the police if she continued resisting, she said. She gave in and went to a government clinic where a doctor, using metal forceps, inserted an intrauterine device to prevent pregnancy. She wept through the procedure. Across much of China, the authorities are encouraging women to have more children, as they try to stave off a demographic crisis from a declining birthrate. But in the Xinjiang region, China is forcing them to have fewer, tightening its grip on Muslim ethnic minorities and trying to orchestrate a demographic shift that will diminish their population growth. It is part of a vast and repressive social re-engineering campaign by a Communist Party determined to eliminate any perceived challenge to its rule, in this case, ethnic separatism.

35 killed in Gaza, 3 in Israel, as violence escalates (Reuters) Hostilities between Israel and Hamas escalated overnight, with 35 Palestinians killed in Gaza and three in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges for years. Israel carried out hundreds of air strikes in Gaza into the early hours of Wednesday, as the Islamist group and other Palestinian militant groups fired multiple rocket barrages at Tel Aviv and Beersheba. One multi-story residential building in Gaza collapsed and another was heavily damaged after they were repeatedly hit by Israeli air strikes. It was the heaviest offensive between Israel and Hamas since a 2014 war in Gaza, and prompted international concern that the situation could spiral out of control. U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: “Stop the fire immediately. We’re escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation. The cost of war in Gaza is devastating & is being paid by ordinary people. UN is working w/ all sides to restore calm. Stop the violence now,” he wrote.

Israelis, Palestinians and Their Neighbors Worry (NYT) Let’s see, what happens when TikTok meets Palestinian grievances about right-wing Israeli land grabs in Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem? And then you add the holiest Muslim night of prayer in Jerusalem into the mix? Then toss in the most emotional Israeli holiday in Jerusalem? And a power play by Hamas to assume leadership of the Palestinian cause? And, finally, a political vacuum in which the Palestinian Authority is incapable of holding new elections and Israel is so divided it can’t stop having elections? What happens is the explosion of violence around Jerusalem on Monday that quickly spread to the Gaza front, and has people asking: Is this the big one? Is this the start of the next Palestinian uprising? The Israeli government, the surrounding Arab nations and the Palestinian Authority all desperately want the answer to be “no”—Israel because it would find little support from a left-leaning White House, let alone the rest of the world, for a big crackdown on Palestinians; the Arab governments because most of them want to do business with Israeli tech-makers, not get mired defending Palestinian rock-throwers; and the Palestinian leadership because it would expose just how little it controls the Palestinian street anymore. But unlike the Intifadas that began in 1987 and 2000, when Israel had someone to call to try to turn it off, there is no Palestinian on the other end of the phone this time—or, if there is, he’s a 15-year-old on his smartphone, swiping orders and inspiration from TikTok, the video app often used by young Palestinians to challenge and encourage one another to confront Israelis.

At least 1m people facing starvation as Madagascar’s drought worsens (Guardian) Madagascar’s worst drought in 40 years has left more than a million people facing a year of desperate food shortages. The south saw 50% of its usual rains during the October planting season, in a fourth year of drought. According to the Famine Early Warning System Network, most poor families have to rely on foraging for wild foods and leaves that are difficult to eat and can be dangerous for children and pregnant women. Aid agencies have reported people eating termites and mixing clay with tamarind.

[memescomicswriting]

The Man That Got Away

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: Leaving the most wonderful woman Bucky’s ever met was the biggest regret of his life and he never expected to see her again. But magic tends to have a mind of its own.

A/N: This is for #SherrysFallIntoYouChallenge ( @sherrybaby14 )  and yes I know “The Man that Got Away” was released in 1954 with A Star is Born (ft. Judy Garland and you should watch it), but we’re going to pretend it was released nine years earlier so this story makes sense. Okay? Okay. Also, I finished this in a caffeine haze so judge me. 

My Masterlist

...

The street lamps of the city seemed to radiate a cheerful glow now that the war was over. Couples started roaming the streets again. It wasn't like the mayhem of victory, but the steady normalcy that existed before. It all seemed like a blurry dream to Bucky; familiar but odd. Foggy as the dream was, the city's air had alluring magic in the air tonight which pushed Bucky towards his destination. He hoped he was heading in the right direction. Steve hastily wrote the note and slipped it under Bucky's door during his morning jog. It listed the party, the address, and instructions on how to get there. Bucky hadn't attended many parties since his return home, but for Steve, he'd make an appearance. Besides, it was Halloween and for the new Shield group. If not now, then when? The bar was along a street with other bars and clubs in Brooklyn. Like the rest, it was decked for Halloween. The fuzzy illumination of the sign obscured the readability but Bucky made out the name Enchanted; how fitting for the season. Caricatures of witches, cats, ghosts, and ghouls decorated the outside. When he stepped in, it was just as seasoned. Jackolanterns lined the carpet entrance. The club's atmosphere was dimmed by lights covered in red and orange shades. Along with the fog and smoke, it created a mystic and romantic feel. The smell of smoke was thick but cut with the crisp scent of fall every time the door opened. This was the kind of place Bucky would take his dream girl; if he had her.

A hostess caught his attention and took his coat. On his request, she directed him to Steve, who was off chatting with Peggy and some men from the government agency. They were all friends, not bureaucrats. They faced away from the stage and the Bing Crosby cover artist who occupied the stage. The night's host came into the light, but Bucky paid no attention to entertainment. He quietly joined the group and after the hellos, pats on the back, and a hug from Steve, Bucky molded into the background of the group. The next singer was announced and the group began shifting and looking over as the host began chatting up the entertainer. They wanted to watch the performance so they slowly migrated away from the bar and to a booth with a view. The host raised his hand in the direction of the circular spotlight. "Ladies and gentlemen, please show your love to the bewitching Ms. Y/N!" Bucky's throat knotted. Outstepped the most gorgeous woman alive. She dawned a form-fitting black dress that could have come from the set of "I Married a Witch." Like Veronica Lake, it slinked over her body like water. Though it was long-sleeved and touched the floor, the fit and the cuts in the chest and leg left little to the imagination. When she moved, the fabric caught the light and moved on its own. It matched the headband that sported a small witches hat, fitting for the vixen. Her hair was curled in long waves which framed her face well. It brought out her sparkling eyes and bright red lips. She dripped magic even before she began to sing. Y/N was the femme fatal. The grand piano struck chords like lightening and the band followed. It was a dragging jazz symphony with independent saxophones. The band gave a condensed version of the melody before she began to sing. But oh, when she did Bucky was lost. *** Bucky was in a coma for a month following his fall. When he woke up, he heard Steve saved the East Coast. Along with the rest of the Hollowing Comandos, he was closing in on Berlin. The war would be over in weeks, but Bucky was missing all the action while stuck in his hospital bed. Three days after waking up, he was moved into a common room filled with fellow casualties. Granted, miraculously, all Bucky had was a rapidly healing but torn up arm. He insisted to the deaf ears of his doctors, that he was fine. He could be moved to processing so he could return to his buddies. The moment he felt he had the strength, he surged out of bed. He hadn't realized a month in a coma would leave his legs limp. He tumbled over and onto the floor; causing a small scene to all those around. The most beautiful woman rushed to his aid. She was dolled up in a dignified trench coat and khaki dress. It was governmental in look, but she wore no colors. Her makeup was done, unlike other female army officials. She had cherry red lips, that in spite of Bucky's foolishness, curled most fondly. Her hair was curled in the modern, starlit fashion. If he put her against the wall, she'd look like a pin-up. The British soldier she was previously conversing with was annoyed, and despite the obvious flush of embarrassment on Bucky's cheeks, he didn't regret the fool he made out of himself. Once her hands touched his chest and back in support, a jolt of electricity ran through his body. There was a tingling sensation creeping into his body from the spots her hands met his skin and it livened his body. He felt warm for the first time in weeks and without the need of help, but the eager acceptance of it, Bucky got up and sat down in his little nook. "What's the rush soldier?" She elegantly placed herself next to Bucky on his cot. He didn't know that sitting could be so gracefull, especially while supporting a goofy soldier. She held onto him until she was sure he was alright. "The war's not missing ya."  Her voice was light but not too chipper. She was soft and alluring with a voice that dripped like running honey. Bucky huffed. She was clever and he had a difficult time with a clever woman. "I'm sure the war isn't, but my buddies might be." He bit the inside of his cheek, punishing himself for sounding so brash. "Aha, well America's finest has written some letters. Maybe if you weren't as stubborn as an ass, you'd notice them in your table drawer." She leaned over and snatched them. She handed them over with a wink and her hand brushed Bucky's. It was so soft but electric. Bucky opened his mouth to speak but quickly pinched his lips together. He already looked like a fool, he didn't need his words to confirm it, again. He turned over each envelope. There were three, all unopened, and all from Steve. "He's glad you're getting well." She patted his hand with the envelopes. Bucky blinked and shifted his glance to the mystery woman in front of him. "You know Steve?" She chuckled a melodic chuckle with her head tilted back. She acted like everything was so obvious, even a child could figure it out. It didn't make Bucky feel too confident and he blushed. "Oh love," She placed a gentle hand on his. "I'm a girl with a way about her." "Ain't that the damn truth." He thought to himself. With that, she stood up. Bucky followed the sway of her hips as she moved around his bed, habitually tidying it a bit. "Get some rest and catch up with Captain Rogers. You'll be back to your reckless choices in no time." The light her smile radiated dimmed the further she walked. Down the long line of cots, the specific charms of her faded, but she still lingered like a candle flame in the dark. She waved and joked with other men she passed. All their attitudes brightened as she passed; more so than they would for any other woman passing by. She was more than the nurses to them. Eventually, she was a blimp in the background but Bucky could see her stop at another soldier's bed. It was odd. The only females allowed around soldiers were nurses. He wasn't in a stateside infirmary, otherwise family could visit. Yet here was a goddess amongst a string of injured wolves, but she had no fear. She roamed the lines of cots like she owned the damn place. Bucky rolled his shoulders back thinking they were sore but to his surprise, they weren't nearly as bad as they'd been the day before. He chalked it up to the schoolboy rush he felt. Within minutes, that enchantress had her claim on Bucky's heart. *** Some couples swayed in dance. It was a good song to get close to a dame, but Bucky remained on the outside with Steve. Surprisingly, he wasn't out there with Peggy. They could hardly keep their hands to themselves these days. "And all because of the man that got away. No more his eager call. The writings on the wall..." Her voice was strained and pulling in the emphasis of her despair. Despite the pain, the song glossed over the crowd like a siren's melody. It pulled the couples closer and made the singles itch for someone to touch. A spell had been cast over the crowd. "Isn't she great?" Steve whispered in Bucky's ear, which made him jump from his enchantment. Steve snickered but continued. "She's Peggy's friend; known her since the start of the war. They've got a long backstory." Bucky nodded along with Steve but maintained his distant guard. "Yeah, she's someth'n man." *** The rolling hills of the Normandy hospital were breathtaking. He imagined if the roles were reversed, Steve might enjoy his stay. He could recover while drawing and painting the landscape. Instead, Bucky was trapped with little to do other than listen to grumbling Brits and Americans complain about being bedridden like him. Though they were seeking to be sent home, not back into the thick of it like him. He was called out of his solitude by an overly amused voice. "If your intent was hiding, you need to work on your hiding places." In a poof of fabric, the girl from a week ago sat down next to Bucky. She took to nature like she was a part of it. The sun gleamed off of her like the ancient statues he saw in Greece. Her fingers wove into the grass like tree roots. Her whole body relaxed. "If anything, I'm looking for a means of escape." He quipped, looking over her with a raised brow. She was the most curious creature he'd ever encountered, and he'd met a lot of women. "Now Sergent Barnes," She warned playfully. "The boys aren't that bad." Bucky snorted. "You're not stuck with them all day and night." Then he paused, frowning in thought. "How do you know who I am?" "I deliver your mail." As if on cue, she chucked another letter from Steve over to him. He carried on. "And how do you know Steve?" "Mutual friends." She replied as if it were just that obvious. "You know, girls aren't usually allowed in the infirmary with the soldiers." He teased, looking to stir a reaction. She nudged him with her shoulder. "Well, I'm not any girl." Then she looked around for any nearby person and leaned in like she was going to share top-secret information. "I'm a woman." Bucky's face deadpanned, looking straight at her. She combusted into a laughing fit and fell back onto the grass. It took her a minute to calm herself enough to prop her head upon her elbow. "You're impossible." Bucky huffed again. "Quite the contrary Sergent Barnes." She flashed him a Chesire grin. "I'm very easy if you just ask." He nearly choked on his own spit and she was sent into another laughing fit. "I can see why you're popular amongst the other soldiers." With her head back on the grass and gaze on the clouds, she sighed. "I'm popular because I'm a woman who's attention is on them and not their temperature or blood pressure. I see them and they appreciate it. I don't need to be so flamboyant with them to gain their attention." She turned her head to look up at him with thick lashes. Her hair draped over her chin and veiled her lips. All Bucky could think of for a moment was pushing her hair back and smoothing a finger over her lips. "So you do go out of your way for me?" He met her eyes and tilted his head in question. "I was asked to check in on you, but you don't exactly make it easy." She sighed, but her cheeks raised with a growing smile. "D'Steve ask you too?" His accent thickened with the idea of his Brooklyn pal. She began playing with the grass, continuing the conversation in her own little world with Bucky. "No, I've actually never had the pleasure of meeting Captain Rogers or corresponding with him. A mutual friend asked on his behalf. She was concerned about him." "Peggy?" He asked. She hummed a yes in response. He went on to ask."And how do you know Peggy?" "Peggy knows all the spies of course, and when I retired from my spying because I was no longer needed- thanks to your Captain, I turned my war efforts to helping the soldiers where I could." Then she shrugged, trying to conceal her disappointment. "I may not be allowed to fight, but I can give comfort." "Mmm.." Bucky thought on that. "So what? You travel around infirmaries and comfort the wounded?" "About that." She nodded her head in agreement. "Between stops, I'll do shows for nearby camps. That's what I did before I became a spy." Bucky was puzzled. She was a performer, but he didn't recognize her. At least, he didn't recognize her at first. Then it began to piece together. The lips and the trending fashion, her quirky cheerfulness, being a performer- she was Y/N, the ex-patriot Hollywood starlit. All the tabloids said she was lost to the war, but here she was in front of him. Bucky groaned at himself and his stupidity. "I'm an idiot." "Well yes," She said bluntly. "But I don't mind it. You make up for it in your good looks." His eyes shot wide and to her. No other dame he'd encountered been as forward as her. First, he thought it was her fame, but none of the tabloids talked about any other female celebrity's brazen attitude. "Beg your pardon?" He chocked on his words as they came out. "Called you handsome, soldier." Her brows peaked, but not in annoyance, but questioning. "What has the war taken away your ability to flirt with a woman?" "No." He quickly shook his head. "You're just something else. You're...wonderful." *** She crooned on. Every sentiment, she made eye contact with another person, pouring her emotions into them. "The man that won you has run off and undone you. That great beginning has seen the final inning. Don't know what happened. It's all a crazy game" Howard came up next to Bucky and patted him on the back. "God, isn't she the greatest performer that you've ever seen?" He straightened his tie up and smoothed over his suit. Bucky knew that attitude. Stark was looking to bag her. Bucky swallowed back his annoyance with the first drink he spotted. He wanted to ring Stark out for pursuing Y/N, but he had no justifiable reason to even stop Stark's advances. *** There was a town less than a mile away from the hospital. Even though it lacked many of the goods it had before wartime, Y/N always made her way back from the small but growing market with treats for the boys. For some it was cigarettes that didn't taste like government-issued cardboard, others bake goods, and some asked for little gifts or pressed flowers to send home to their girls or families. She went twice a week so everyone who needed or wanted something got it within two weeks. For Bucky, whatever he asked for, he got that day. Once he asked for playing cards because the decks belonging to the other soldiers were either incomplete or rigged. If he had to pass time, he might as well do it with something semi-entertaining. To his amazement, she came back that day with a beautifully printed deck of cards. "Where the hell did you swipe something as good as this?" Bucky went off without thought as he was caught up in the cards. "Not hell," Her signature Cheshire grin crept onto her face. This time, it was illuminated by the sunset dying on the horizon and the candle on Bucky's bedside table. Her eyes dazzled in the glow like they were lights themselves. "That's for sure. I have my ways. A little bit of magic." It was light-hearted, but Bucky's gaze shifted to her suspiciously. "You know..." He began. "My shoulder's gotten a lot better over the past few weeks. I'd say it's back to what it was before my fall and I have complete dexterity throughout my hand." "That's great Sarg." Her voice swayed like sweet garden charms. Maybe the bells from the town sounded off as well, but he could have sworn he heard layers to her voice. "That means the doctors are doing their job and all the rest I'm forcing you to get is working." "Yeah, maybe you're right. My sleeping has impr-" He caught himself as his train of thought moved without him. Suspicious, he eyed her but not out of mistrust but genuine curiosity. She was already a compilation of mystery and he was trying to solve one layer. "Ever since you came into my life, my health's improved. It's like you're a lucky charm or someth'n." He could have sworn he heard her say "or something," but her lips didn't move. She batted her lashes a few times and her smile shifted from cheeky to sincere. "I do think I've helped you get better, by kicking your sorry butt into gear so you'd listen to your doctors and rest." Bucky snorted at her suggestion. Man was she one powerful woman, and in all fairness, she had kicked his butt into shape despite himself. "Yeah, some magic your foot's got there. One powerful kick." She chuckled at his insinuation. Her hand landed on his knee and again a bolt of contagious electricity shot through him. Suddenly, he was laughing with her. "Oh Barnes, kicking boys like you around is what I do best." There was a mutually shared exchange of fondness between them that was magnetic. If there weren't so many prying eyes around he would have taken her into his arms there and kissed all the air out of her. He'd save that for later that night when they could sneak off to their own little corner of the world. Then she shook her head and pulled herself out of the moment. Her throat cleared and it pulled Bucky back to the world around them. "I'm gonna go drop off the other goodies. When I get back, I'll kick your butt again, but in poker." Bucky grinned as he already began shuffling the cards through his fingers. "I'd like that." He smiled up at her an eager smile. *** "Good riddance, goodbye. Every trick of his you're on to, but, fools will be fools. And where's he gone to?" She cried out. Pain and agony morphed into bitter confusion but no one other than Bucky seemed to notice the song was more than a song. It was a release. He noticed Peggy shift her eyes to him. Maybe she saw it for what it was aswell. Yet, in her eyes, pure confusion turned into confused acceptance. She could see Bucky's attachment. He shrugged her off as he was pulled back into the song. He could swear there was something otherworldly to it. Knowing Y/N, maybe there was. What was clear, was the distress in the performance. There was a call to it of "Someone notices me. Someone really notice me." *** Immediately following the war, Y/N was sent to DC. Peggy, Steve, Stark, and other war leaders were called to DC. Bucky, being healthy enough to travel could follow Y/N and join Steve with the other Howling Commandos. Y/N acquired one of the few passenger planes running from Europe to the US. She preferred that over traveling with a bunch of caged up soldiers who hadn't seen a woman in months. Bucky traveled with her and they arrived in DC together a day before the meetings began. They had private time together in Normandy, but nothing like the freedom of DC. They didn't have to sneak out and sneak around officers to be alone. In DC, they can walk down the street holding hands and go out to dinner. They were a magical fifteen hours and Bucky knew it was all too good to be true. A telegram arrived at Bucky's hotel room the night before the meetings. The army rerouted a post intended for Europe to Bucky. The original letter was addressed to one of his camps from many months prior. Steve moved the Commandos around so it was normal to receive letters later than the stationed boys. This was nearly three months late. He read the emotionless typewriter font despite the confusion and then, despite the denial. He hadn't seen Dot since the holiday relieve Steve was able to acquire for him. He wanted to assure his Ma that he was alright. Unsurprisingly, he saw Dot; or rather, Dot found him. Upon hearing of his stay over, Dot appeared on his doorstep. And well... he was a man after all and he hadn't seen a dame that spoke English in over a year. So yeah, they slept together. Now Dot was pregnant, with his child. Bucky's gaze shifted to Y/N who patiently got herself ready for bed while waiting on Bucky to join her. She had her second stocking midway down her leg and even though she was undoing herself for the night, the intimacy of it all was the sexiest thing Bucky had ever seen. He was entirely and happily bewitched by her. But it was because he loved her, that he had to break her heart. God knows he didn't want to. He wanted to burn the letter and never think about Dot again. He hadn't thought of Dot since the second he laid eyes on Y/N, but his mom would box his ears in and Steve would kill him for leaving a child without a father. "Y/N?" He cooed softly from his place by the door. "Hmm?" She replied from her place at the vanity. She peered up at him through thick lashes, bent over, taking care of her stockings. The slight actions were mesmerizing. Bucky's throat croaked with the hard gulp he made at the sight, but it pulled him out of the moment. "Y/N sweetie." He strode over to the bed's edge by the vanity and plopped down. Noticing that something was off, mainly that Bucky hadn't pounced her yet, her confused eyes searched and landed on the telegram. "What's wrong?" Her brows knitted together as her concerned gaze met Bucky's somber eyes. "I received a well-delayed message from New York." His hand scratched the growing locks near his neck that Y/N loved to toy with so much. There would be no sweet sentiments now. Suddenly, Bucky popped up and began quickly pacing the floor. "I just, I don't understand. It was one time and I was so careful. In all the letters nothing is mentioned...even ends things!" He swiftly turns back to Y/N, exasperated. "But this one, the one that comes late, that's the kicker!" He dramatically huffs and collapses on the bed. Y/N crawled up next to him and sat on her knees facing him. She looked over him worried and pulled his head into her lap. "James," Her voice was smooth and hushed. A wave of focussing calm washed over Bucky. "what's the matter?" "Dot's pregnant." He admitted blatantly. When Y/N's hands retracted and she began to move away, Bucky propped himself up to catch her. "I'm so sorry Y/N. I'm so, so sorry to do this to you. If I had known I never would have..." She shot him a wicked warning of a glance and he shut up. "Never would have started something with me. I know your character Bucky. You're not like that. It's why I allowed myself to grow fond of you." Fond. Not love, but fond. Already she began detaching herself and it scared Bucky. Desperately, he clasped her hands in his. He was upright now and kneeling with Y/N. "Say the word and I won't go. I won't leave you and we can run away from our responsibilities. We can go out west for your career and I'll never step foot in Brooklyn again." Her hands slipped from his grasp and against his best efforts, he couldn't chase after her as she left the bed. "We both know that if I let you do that, you'll hate yourself for the rest of your life. I can't let that happen." Quickly, she began stuffing her stockings and the other attachments she had taken off in her bag. She had her own room with the rest of her things. "The pain'll be worth it though," He declared meekly. "If I got you." His eyes were tear-filled as were Y/N's. He was a man pleading on his knees for his sugar girl, dynamite, enchantress to stay. She dashed back to him and for an instant Bucky had hope. Her soft lips planted on his forehead like they were imparting a seal to send away. He knew then that it was over. "And my pain will be worth it if you keep your soul." She then pulled away and wiped the tear streams from her cheeks. "You're going to go home and live a wonderful life Bucky. You may be afraid and angry at first but that'll all change when you meet your child. Yes, it'll hurt but you'll find someone else who makes you just as happy if not more. And everything will be magical again." She leaned over and gave his lips the sweetest kiss; filled with passion, love, and starlight. With only mere seconds of touch, he was out of breath. "This," She whispered against his lips. "I promise." Bucky couldn't fight for her as she walked out. He was frozen in place and forced to watch the most amazing creature walk out of his life. Once the door closed, he pounced. Able to free his limbs from their slumber spell he darted out the door but Y/N was nowhere to be seen. He spent a few hours pleading and pounding on her door. Eventually, security gave him the option of going back to his room or being kicked out. He chose his room. He had hoped Y/N would still participate in the post-war meetings, but as he suspected, she was gone. When he broke the news to Steve, he was uncharacteristically silent. Though the conversation was between the two men, word got back to Peggy. Knowing Steve, he probably blabbed without any pressure. He couldn't keep a damn thing from that woman. For the rest of DC Peggy did everything but smile in Bucky's direction. Hell, if she wasn't surrounded by higher-ranking officials she may have shot him. He did deserve it. *** Bucky shook himself out of the fog of memories when Steve elbowed him in the ribs. "Straighten up Buck and be a gentleman. Peggy's com'n back with her friend." "Gentlemen," Peggy nodded to Steve, Bucky, and Howard who all clumped together in a semicircle. "I'd like you to meet the best spy the Allies I had." Outstepped Y/N from behind Peggy. Before Y/N could speak, Howard jumped at the chance to take her hand. "Miss Y/N, after hearing all about you it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Howard Stark, the best contractor the Allies had. What a coincidence to have to of the best assets to the Allies in one room." After a kiss, Howard allowed Y/N to take her hand back. Only Bucky could see the sparkle of amusement in Y/N's eye that masked her desire to burst into a laughing fit at Howard's antics. "Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark. And Steve!" Her attention enthusiastically shifted to Steve. "I'm so glad to finally meet you after the storm Peg's talked up about you." Steve side-eyed Peggy as slyly as he could. "Is that so? And what has she said? She's a mystery to me some days and I'd love a few clues." Peggy blushed and after playfully swatting him, linked their arms together. Y/N's smirk was feline as she shifted her focus to Peggy and then back to Steve. "That you're the sweetest and most handsome idiot this side of the Atlantic. Steve's jaw dropped in astonishment as the rest of the group burst into chuckles, snorts, and giggles. Before Steve could give a retort or anyone else comment, Y/N shifted her attention to Bucky. "Hello Sarg," Her rich voice washed over Bucky's ears like another melody. She was poised with one hand on her hip and leg bent. "It's good to see you again." Steve's jaw closed and he cocked his head to the side. "You know'r Bucky?" It was directed towards Bucky but his gaze was fixed on Y/N. Peggy frowned up at Steve. He was the biggest idiot this side of the Atlantic. "Yeah," Bucky nodded slowly in agreement. However, he was too transfixed with Y/N to turn in Steve's direction. " Y/N delivered mail to all the boys in my hospital. She did a bang-up job at keeping all our spirits up." "Some were easier than others." Y/N fondly grinned while talking to Steve. "Your pal overhear was a difficult nut to crack." "I wasn't exactly the happiest patient until I had something more important than getting back to my pals." He nodded in agreement. Noticing that he had no chance of getting anywhere and feeling coerced into silence for long enough, Howard interjected. "Well, I'm going to go get a drink." "I think I'm in the mood for a Manhattan." Peggy seconded the drink idea and nudged Steve along. Bucky and Y/N could hear Steve grumble. "But you already got a Brooklyn." As he was dragged away. The exit wasn't all too smooth. Y/N's and Bucky's attention slowly drifted back together. "How's it been soldier?" "Y/N-" Bucky began to plead but she stopped him. "How's the baby?" She followed up. "Baby?" Bucky's thoughts were lost for a minute in Y/N but he was suddenly hurled to the reason why they were parted. "Oh, the baby! He's fine, healthy, and better yet with his parents." Y/N gave him a quizzical look so he continued. "Dot and her husband have a house on Statin Island. They're there with the baby." "Bucky," She warned. "You didn't?" "I have blue eyes, Dot has blue eyes, and the baby has brown eyes. As cute as the kid is, he's not mine." Bucky shrugged nonchalantly like the entire ordeal hadn't ruined his life. "Dot slept with another officer right before I returned home. Some Italian commander and he's a good guy, and when she called him up with the news he came and took my place." For the first time since he met Y/N, she was silent from a lack of words. A million thoughts raced across her face. The disbelief lasted the longest, then a wave of anger that calmed into acceptance. "I need a drink." She blurted out. "A strong one." She mumbled to herself as she strode away from Bucky and to the nearest bar. "Gin tonic. Light on the tonic." She nodded to the nearest bartender who nodded in response. Bucky snuck up behind her. "Make it two." He stood behind one of the bar stools and his arm draped across the gap Y/N was standing in and rested on the other stool. She was trapped by him. Y/N narrowed her eyes in a disapproving manner but Bucky didn't allow it to crawl under his skin. "What?" He asked casually. "Bucky," She warned. "We shouldn't be doing this." Her arms folded over her chest and though it was meant to show her caveat, it didn't help with how it pressed her breasts up. "What?" He questioned again with pretend naiveness. "Two old friends getting a drink?" "We're no friends." She quickly corrected. Bucky looked down with a suggestive smirk. "You're right, we're not." Y/N huffed in increasing annoyance. "God I wish I could turn you into a dog. It'd fit how you're acting." Bucky snorted. "You wouldn't." Then he took one over hands in his and his expression morphed into something sincere. "Even if I have a lot of begging to do." "Bucky..." Y/N began warning him but her resolve had weakened. "I know it's selfish to ask, because I hurt you so much, but do you think you could forgive me one day? I know it won't be today or even tomorrow, but hopefully one day you can see past how much of a punk I am and let me love you again." The club suddenly felt empty to Y/N. Despite the crowds pushing around it was just her and Bucky in the entire place. For someone who always knew what to say and when, her voice was locked away. Her head hung low from trying to conceal her expression. Bucky brought his free hand to cradle her chin between his large fingers. He tilted her chin up so he could look in her eyes. Now, he could clearly see the agonizing mix of emotions that were masked by the stage lights. "I can't have my heart broken again." Her eyes wouldn't meet his and he pleaded. "Y/N." He cooed and her eyes glanced over his before settling. "I won't hurt you ever again. It'll be you and me like it was always meant to be. No war, no baby, no interruptions. I promise." "How can I let my heart trust you again?" She wondered allowed. Her eyes sparkled in the dim lights of the club. Rays of color reflected off the tears in her eyes. "I don't know." He replied earnestly and honestly. "But I'm willing to do whatever you need so you can let me back in." Y/N reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. There was nearly no resolve left, and when he turned into her touch all of it was gone. She knew how to play with fire, but this was hellfire. Accepting his touch was scorching her to the bone but the thought of his love was an aching sweet relief. She wasn't certain who leaned into who and who initiated the kiss, but soon they were in a searing lip lock. They didn't need the roaming of hands or intertwining of limbs, yet, to feel the reverent passion held for one another. The kiss said it all. Eventually, Bucky parted from her. His lips were a swollen red from the kiss and his cheeks deeply flushed. Y/N however, looked as manicured as before. Her lipstick remained unsmudged despite the fearsome lovemaking. Bucky cleared his throat once he had enough air. "We... we-ah should go somewhere where we can talk." "Talk," Y/N smiled mischievously and pushed Bucky stumbling back so she could walk free from his trap. She snatched his beefy hand in her dainty one and pulled him along with her. "Sure, soldier. Let's go talk." Together, they made their way past prying eyes and to the coat check by the entrance. Bucky helped Y/N put on her dazzling designer number before he shrugged his on. He may be kiss whipped, but he was still a gentleman. Then they made their way out the exit of the club. The chill of the night air didn't seep into his bones anymore and Y/N appeared to thrive off of it. The autumn moon and the walloping gusts of wind softened around the couple just like magic. They were like any other couple walking down the illuminated street. They both were bundled up in layers except for their hands which were interlocked. The warmth that this generated radiated enough to keep them warm. Occasionally, Bucky would twirl her around in a little romantic dance or pull her flush against him and give her a quick peck on the lips that lingered into a full-blown kiss. "You know I could have taken us home. My rides flying around here somewhere." Turning from Bucky's embrace, Y/N searched the night sky for a dark outline. With a booming whistle, a broom came soaring down from the sky and into Y/N's outstretched hand. Bucky's chest erupted into a booming laugh and it reverberated against Y/N. At seeing her confusion, he kissed her nose and twirled her out of his hold and back into a walking position. "Not tonight dear, let's enjoy the leisurely stroll in your witching weather." Bucky didn't have to look at Y/N to know the secretive smile which she tried to hide with the press of her lips. He did catch the smooth movements of her fingers that were quickly followed by a gust of wind wrapping them up and pushing them together for a kiss once again.

...

Happy Halloween!

[letterboxd]

Cannes Premieres.

“I queued for four hours to see this, and knew it had been worthwhile within the opening four minutes.”

With the awards handed out and the red carpet rolled up, we know who the official Cannes 2019 winners are. But the real question is: what stood out for Letterboxd members? With so many of you in attendance, we’ve plundered your reviews and ratings to confidently deduce a completely unofficial, non-verifiable yet utterly impressive list of the top 10 dramatic premieres at Cannes.

Regular readers already know our enthusiasm for Bacurau, and Rocketman really doesn’t need our help (it opens in cinemas round the world this week), which is why they’re not on the list.

So, with the help of our roving correspondent Doug Dillaman and all the Letterboxd folk who made their way to the French Riviera, we present Letterboxd’s top ten Cannes premieres for 2019.

Parasite Written and directed by Bong Joon-Ho

In awarding Parasite the Palme d’Or, the Cannes jury merely affirmed what Letterboxd members already knew: the latest by Korean director Bong was the hands-down best entry in the competition, stealing the limelight not only from Quentin Tarantino (whose film premiered on the same day) but a star-studded directors lineup.

Stina Beana Wood sums it up: “It’s slick, it’s smart, it’s Bong flexing his cinematic strength with unparalleled precision… I lol’ed many a time… and finally, was left with the satisfaction of a sensational, social-status-satire story.”

While you’re waiting for Parasite to hit your shores, be sure to avoid spoilers per the director’s request. In the meantime, here’s a list of films personally selected by Bong to get you in the mood for Parasite!

The Lighthouse Written and directed by Robert Eggers

One of the impossible-to-get tickets of Cannes 2019 premiered in Directors’ Fortnight, in part because of anticipation of the new film from the director of The Witch and in part because of the presence of the rumored new Batman himself.

Our Cannes correspondent was shut out despite waiting 90 minutes in the rain, but those with even more dedication found their efforts duly rewarded, like Blaise Radley: “I queued for four hours to see this, and knew it had been worthwhile within the opening four minutes. Stark, dizzying, stomach-churning—this is a surprisingly different beast to The Witch, but it’s in exactly the same tier… Needless to say, Dafoe and Pattinson are phenomenal.”

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Written and directed by Céline Sciamma

Some see the inclusion of four female directors in Competition as a high-water mark, others as a glaring reminder of how far we still have to go to achieve gender equality. Little Joe and Atlantique both brought home prizes, but the latest from the director of Girlhood took top marks not only as the best female-directed film, but one of the very best of Cannes.

Letterboxd member notmckinzie was more specific than most in her effusive praise: “Someone took all of my interests and did a study about what was gonna make me lose my goddamn mind and then they gave the results to Celine Sciamma and let her do her thing and now we have this! Throw in the mythic allegory, lots of women, 1800s period setting, fine art, pro-choice messaging, and lots of sexual tension?? We have a winner, ladies!” Also: Ehrlich has found his new Carol.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino

The hottest ticket in town became even hotter after Tarantino cancelled the traditional last-day re-screening in order to re-edit the film, meaning those lucky few who got in will be the only ones ever to see this cut. Its detractors called it meandering, but fans loved getting lost in its reverie of 1969 Hollywood. Take Lou Hicks: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is wonderful. It’s like Tarantino is just dreamily reminiscing for our benefit. Feels innocent somehow—lovely, pure, hilarious, charming.”

Atlantique Directed by Mati Diop

Even before Mati Diop’s freshman feature screened, she was assured of making history, as the first black woman in Cannes Competition. But her otherworldly seaside tale cast a spell on the 4pm audience, earning a lengthy standing ovation, and jury members were equally rapt. It was, as Chin Lin Gan writes : “An awe-inspiring, disciplined, rigorous and terrifying piece of work [that] operates on a hypnotic and almost occult powerful mode of storytelling that makes you think of folk-tales that grip generations and generations.”

Sorry We Missed You Directed by Ken Loach

British activist Loach has long been a staple of the Cannes competition, but for both veteran fans and those new to Loach, his cautionary tale about precarious lives in the gig-economy resonated, not only as one of his strongest films but one of the strongest of the festival. Sebastian Chan heralded it as: “Brilliant, powerful stuff from Ken Loach … Funny, heartbreaking and eye opening; this is one of those must see films.”

And Then We Danced Written and directed by Levan Akin

Call Me By Your Name fans, your new obsession is here. This Georgian tale of first love and dance prompted no fewer than six Letterboxd members to compare the two films (with George Wood going one step further, dubbing it “Call Me By Your Name meets Whiplash”). Other members, though, felt no need for comparisons, with Emma declaring it: “Stunning and incredibly moving. Love poured out of every shot. Films like this are the reason I wanted to come to Cannes.”

Deerskin Written and directed by Quentin Dupieux

The absurdist creator of Rubber and Wrong has divided Letterboxd members fiercely in the past, but early reviews agree that Deerskin, the opening film of the offbeat Directors’ Fortnight, is a giant step forward and his best film yet. What is it about? Let’s let Anton Vanha-Majamaa summarize: “A hilariously odd and an oddly hilarious film about a divorced, worn-out man (the amazing Jean Dujardin channeling Colin Farrell in The Lobster) who becomes obsessed with a deerskin leather jacket that seems to have a mind of its own.”

Papicha Written and directed by Mounia Meddour Gens

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmão may have won Un Certain Regard, but the debut feature by Mounia Meddour Gens, following a woman in 1997 trying to put on a fashion show in the midst of oppression, pipped it to the post with our members. Clara declared it: “The best film I watched in Cannes. Absolutely loved it. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful. I walked into the screening not really knowing what to expect, but I was mind blown.”

A Hidden Life Written and directed by Terrence Malick

Terrence Malick’s three-hour WWII epic may have come home empty-handed from the Croisette and divided the press, but Letterboxd members loved it more than most (including our own Cannes correspondent). Savina Petkova named it: “The best film you can see in 2019, simply put. A timeless meditation on human suffering, the nature of evil and how it relates to our crooked nature.”

Special mentions The highly acclaimed documentary For Sama, and two films that opened in their domestic territories prior to Cannes: Pedro Almodóvar’s Spain-premiered Pain and Glory and Kirill Mikhanovsky’s Sundance premiere Give Me Liberty.

[thesilentinquisitor]

About Evren

Basics

Name: Evren Tanith Anubis

Aka: Lady Anubis, Lady Inquisitor, the Emperor’s Jackal, the Silent Inquisitor, the Bone Witch. Aunt/Auntie Evren to many. Known to the Neverborn as the Fourteen-Eyed Jackal and the Crowned Devourer In Golden Chains. Evy or Eve to some.

Originally: Evren Tanith Burakgazi.

DOB: 21st December, 989.M1 (Sagittarius). Appears to be in her late twenties or early thirties.

Gender + Sexuality: Agender/demigirl. Poly-panromantic greysexual, with slight preference towards women when it comes to relationships and men when it comes to casual flings.

Origin: Liverpool, UK, Terra. Mixed Egyptian and Turkish, identifies as English.

Rank: [30k] Grand Inquisitor. Officially, she is the seeker of traitors and rebels, acting as a scalpel to cut out the cancer before it grows large enough to warrant calling in the Space Wolves or Night Lords. Unofficially, she seeks out artefacts, creatures, and people of great power and destructive potential and contains them, sometimes neutralising them or turning them to the use of the Imperium. These include Chaos or Warp-powered artefacts, xenotech, creations from before the Age of Strife, items from alternate universes, and things of stranger, more obscure origins. Her mission and means are highly secretive, with few beyond the Emperor and Malcador the Sigillite being aware of her true mission.

[40k] Loyalist Renegade/Inquisitor: After the Tomb Jackals were banished and wiped from the records at the end of the Heresy, they spent several centuries engaged in a Repentance Crusade in the Eye. However, they soon emerged and began engaging with the Imperium again, albeit under false names with false histories. Evren uses a fake Rosette to pass as an Inquisitor of Ordo Hereticus or Malleus.

History

Abilities:

Flawed Perpetual: Requires energy and biomass to regenerate lost body parts; she must eat an arm’s weight to get an arm back. Large healings leave her weak and sleepy from hours to days after; regrowing more than 50% of her bodyweight will cause her to fall into a coma. Will regenerate from the largest part remaining or the one with her head. Other parts die after an hour and are usually consumed to regain biomass. Never ‘dies’ but will lose consciousness if sufficiently injured. 

Living Cancer: Thanks to her mother’s hasty dying pact and Malal’s sick sense of humour, Evren can best be described as a sapient infectious cancer. Her cells are constantly regenerating and can revert back to stem cell level to allow her to regenerate limbs or organs. Her cells replace any foreign organic material inside or added to her body - grafted-on limbs will change into copies of what she lost - which means she was never able to bear a child, even before she removed the required organs. Given sufficient time and material, she can convert corpses into copies of her or, if a live cell sample is placed in a nutrient broth, grow a new body from scratch over a period of roughly two and half months.

Gamma-level Psyker: biomancy/physiokinesis/chloromancy, telepathy, telekinesis, kine-shields. Studied and mastered necromancy from the post-Heresy-era onwards. Has an incredibly precise control over her magic and a long list of memorised spells, though her range is middling to poor. Good at sensing fluctuations in the Warp.

Biomancy: Her first and strongest discipline. Though she was first trained as a healer, Evren has turned what she learnt to the causes of torture and interrogation, shaping flesh and bone like wet clay. She knows dozens of methods for instant killing, as well as how to keep a victim alive long after they should have died. Her speciality is the draining of energy from victims, leaving them dried-out husks.

Chloromancy: An offshoot of biomancy devoted to the control of plants. She can create fully-grown plants from seeds in seconds, even if said seeds are inside someone’s stomach at the time. Evren’s presence enlivens plants - grass lengthens in her footsteps and flowers bloom where she uses her magic.

Necromancy: At the price of another life, Evren can bring back the dead - either has barely-sapient drones or exactly as they used to be. Those too damaged or rotten to be brought back properly are made into corpse-constructs - shambling creatures made from mismatched parts, sometimes with dozens of eyes or arms for legs - or as disposable troops. Can also summon, banish, and sense ghosts or spirits - not via any natural ability but the use of charmed props and equipment.

Daemonology: Has studied the lore of daemons, so can summon, banish, restrain, and otherwise deal with daemons. After her pact with Malal, she can access their Chains of Binding, which can make most daemons her slaves.

Strengths/Weaknesses:

+ Biology, genetic manipulation, botany: Excels in the sciences of life. Can create new species of plants, animals, and bacterium in her lab, for everything from relieving famine or curing diseases to bioweapons. Has an almost instinctive knowledge of cell function and makeup. + Occult knowledge: Widely read in the nature of magic and the Warp. Has memorised many spells, curses, and cantrips; draws protective sigils and wards with ease. Knows secrets that would drive many insane, which has had an impact on her sanity. + Resistant to pain and torture: Both thanks to experience and her ability to use biomancy to shut down her pain receptors, she can resist most interrogation techniques. When put under great stress, she will put herself into a coma. + Stealth and terror tactics: Can become all but imperceptible thanks to a combination of magical and mundane techniques. Trained in tracking, assassination, sabotage, recon, torture and interrogation, intelligence gathering, and item/personnel retrieval. + Shapeshifting: Disguising herself as others, of any height, weight, or bodyshape, is easy for Evren thanks to her biomancy. She deeply dislikes changing her skin tone and avoid it whenever possible. ~ Evren has autism, what was formerly known as Asperger’s Syndrome. - Suffering mentally: Her traumatic life experiences and knowledge of the universe has given Evren a depression and PTSD, both of which seem resistant to treatment. She suffers from panic attacks, nightmares, and is psychologically triggered by enclosed spaces, the colour yellow (especially hooded robes), pregnant women, and the sight of certain religious artifacts. She uses various meditation techniques and marijuana for her anxiety. - Cannot see into the future through dreams, visions, or third-party methods: she cannot scry, cast runes, or use the Tarot. To seers, her future actions are shrouded in darkness. Some report hearing the roar of static and feeling the attention of something dark fall on them, heralded by seeing dozens of blank, white eyes in the darkness. Others see dozens of extremely disparate futures to the point of being overwhelmed. - ’Perpetual’ nature causes her body to reject all non-organic implants, such as the Black Carapace: organic implants and transplants can be accepted via biomancy. - Must have a source of energy/food or healing abilities slow. Must have a source of energy/food or her healing abilities slow until they cease to work entirely, due to the high energy demands of her body, leading to wounds remaining open even after an ordinary human would have healed. Starves at the rate of one unenhanced, though her enhancements allow her to consume many things considered inedible. - Weak to things that destroy cells/atoms, i.e. atom bombs, strong radiation, gauss flayers, fire, being thrown into the Sun. Deeply fears Necrons for this reason. - Highly affected by Blanks. Cause painful rashes/skin peeling, bleeding from the eyes/nose, intense migraines, and seizures depending on closeness/length of exposure. Her healing factor is deadened to the point where one could kill her with a knife and a bit of patience. - Bad at spelling and mental mathematics, to the point of dyscalculia.

Personality:

+ Loyal, protective, generous, loving, charitable, friendly, patient, determined, optimistic, intellectual, courageous, devoted, flexible, playful, artistic, imaginative, trusting, forgiving.

- Liar, braggart, snobbish, patronising, glutton, literal-minded, coddling, depressive, zealot, hoarder, hypocrite, merciless, sadistic, vengeful, spiteful, stubborn, nosy, impulsive, selfish, clingy, melodramatic.

- Evren’s motivation in life is the protection and wellbeing of humanity; to this end very few actions are considered ‘too much’ or ‘too far’. Like the SCP Foundation before her, she will inflict pain and death on hundreds or thousands to save millions or even billions. - Highly curious, she is full of questions at all times and loves to explore. - Friends and family mean a lot to her; she values her brothers’ happiness highly and possesses an undying loyalty to the Emperor, even if she often doubts him. - She still has great faith in humanity and believes that most people are good - Has a 'better the devil you know’ attitude, used to enduring horrible things if it meant keeping humanity safe from even greater horrors or even annihilation - She has a deep-seated disdain for religion and identifies as a misotheist, having never met a 'god’ worth worshipping. Secretly she dreams of toppling the gods and perhaps even taking a little of their power for themselves - she’s sure she would use it better. - Due to the fact it was the last time she felt 'normal’ or 'like herself’, Evren is obsessed with the culture of the 1980s to 2020s and has gone out of her way to preserve artifacts from that era, including her favourite popular media. She enjoys cartoons and anime. - Despite, or possibly because of, living through the millennia-long suppression of magic by the Foundation, Evren is openly, unapologetically proud of being a psyker and campaigns for the better understanding of her fellow magic-users. - Secretly, she is somewhat of a coward and flees from anything she is sure can kill her, though she once managed to explore a Necron tomb with her Legion. - Often overwhelmed by her duties, she is full of doubts and often second-guesses herself - Is a hopeless romantic, in love with love, but treats sex casually - to her, it’s just another fun thing two or more people who like each other can do together

Likes/hobbies: Magic and studying magic, archaeology, history, exploring ruins or nature, tomb-raiding and grave-robbing, botany and gardening, cartoons comics, horror books/movies, making clothes and jewellery, puzzles/riddles, cooking, coffee/recaff (the more elaborate, brighter-coloured, and highly-flavoured the better), Turkish and Egyptian cuisine, dancing, singing, playing the piano.

Hates: Chaos-worshippers, the Chaos gods, religion in general, not being able to know things, traitors and backstabbers, letting down a friend, enclosed spaces, going hungry, wasting food, offal, eye contact, people who take advantage, corrupt officials, people who don’t care for others, Astartes who look down on humans, almost all Commissars not named Ciaphas Cain, the fact she has to remove all her body hair to wear her bodyglove comfortably. After the Heresy, she despises Iron Warriors and Word Bearers to the point where she’ll drop anything to kill them; it’s her dearest dream to sacrifice Erebus and Kor Phaeron to Malal.

Looks:

Height: 5′7″ (original) / 8′3″ (current). Can and will change her height with biomancy.

Eyes:

Golden with hints of brown. Dark rimmed irises like a wolf (or a chicken). In the 40k era, they turn white with black sclera when channelling the power of Malal.

Wears kohl eyeliner in the ancient Egyptian style, eyeshadow in shades of blue or red with a streak of gold. Long lashes usually enhanced with mascara.

Well-groomed, s-shaped eyebrows with a ‘hook’.

Possesses a unique, prototype in-built ‘prey-sight’ that allows her to see into the infrared spectrum and track targets by body-heat. Unfortunately, it also reduces her ability to see detail such as writing/screens and people’s faces, turns the world into a blobby mess of colour, and gives her crippling migraines if she uses it for more than five minutes. Her pupils are dilated and her eyes appear glazed during use.

Has a transparent, protective nictitating membrane.

Skin:

Brown, vaguely russet. Blushes easily, freckles in strong sunlight thanks to the Jackal geneseed. Some moles – aka ‘beauty spots’ - across her body and limbs.

No scars or wrinkles save for a line of small, round scars along her spine and faint marks on her stomach as if something with five claws slashed her from ribs to hip.

Removes all hair below the neck with biomancy, to keep it from catching in her armour and bodyglove; without that, she has dark body hair and a ‘treasure trail’.    

Tattoos in gold ink of runes across her ribcage, arms to elbows, and on her stomach, spelling out incantations of warding and banishment; intricate magical diagrams and sigils cover her back from shoulders to hips. These act as protection against daemons, increase her magical abilities, and make her touch painful for any with above a certain amount of Warp energies inside them. Designed to ward off danger and interrogating Chaos worshippers, she cannot touch Sanguinius or Magnus with her bare skin without causing burning pins-and-needles tingling. Touching a daemon causes them severe pain, like touching a red-hot poker.

In the 40k era, she bears the brand of Malal on her stomach; the black-and-white skull mark only appears when she’s channelling the Outcast God’s power or consumed with thoughts of vengeance. At all other times, it’s invisible.

Sensitive to touch and ticklish, especially around the - ahem - chest.

Body:

Lean but muscular with long limbs/torso. Broad shoulders, slim waist, and powerful thighs. A six-pack and strong arms. Often compared to an Amazon or Valkyrie.

Disproportionate on close inspection, with her arms almost as long as her legs; can give an Uncanny Valley effect. Long stomach/spine between ribcage and hips; has three more lumbar vertebrae than normal. Long fingers, toes, neck.

Small chest - ‘small but perfectly formed’ as she sometimes says.

Highly flexible and double jointed, capable of impressive contortionist acts. Often cracks her joints to the point of sounding like an old man; is prone to aches and pains after too much flexing, which she eases with long baths.

Possesses all Astartes organs aside from the Mucranoid, Melanchromic Organ, Black Carapace, and Lyman’s Ear; her Sus-an Membrane has a malfunction that, whenever she activates it, plagues her hibernation period with horrific nightmares.

Lacks the Black Carapace and interface ports thanks to her Perpetual nature, so she syncs with her custom-made Power Armour (Mark IV variant, replaced by a Mark VI variant post-Heresy) via a series of needles that pierce her spinal cord.

Has several experimental organs not used in the final Astartes model: Angius Ligament (lets her stretch her jaws like a snake), Tanax Gland (produces a sticky, glue-like saliva that dries quickly on contact with air), Pera Organ (a second stomach), and Runco Node (a gland in the brain that, at times of great stress, releases hormones and chemicals to dull her feelings of pain, fear, and despair; in some circumstances, Evren goes into a trance-like state where she can only think of killing enemies and lacks morality, mercy, or a conscience. She never remembers her actions afterwards and the Jackals have sworn never to tell her).

Face:

Greatly resembles her Papa. They have the same eyes, brow, nose, and cheekbones. Diamond-shaped face with a strong jaw. Beauty spot near left eye.

Eight canine teeth; all teeth sharper and more pointed than normal.

Long, flexible tongue. Unsurprisingly, she’s also a very good kisser.

Wears a brown or berry-coloured blush and lipstick in maroon, berry, navy, or black.

Faceclaim: Jessica Penne.

Hair:

Black, glossy, falls in loose curls. Naturally thick and heavy. Soft and silky.

Shoulder-blade length and worn parted at her left side with a side-fringe.

Doesn’t often change her hairstyle, but she has experimented with various styles and lengths. Tends to go between straight and curly on a whim.

In battle, it’s braided and curled into a bun under her helmet.

Clothes:

Linen tunics, tight cloth trousers, long waistcoats, and long, fur-lined (often leather) coats. Soft leather knee-high boots, leather boots, flats, and ankle boots – never heels. Doesn’t wear socks. Wears black, white, gold, shades of red but usually crimson or maroon, and shades of blue from navy to turquoise.

Gold, copper, and bone accessories –  from her kills, both animal, xenos, and human. Usually hand-made. Loves rubies, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, coral, and sapphires. Likes Egyptian, jackal, space, floral/plant, and skull/bone motifs.

Wears lots of rings, bracelets/bangles, and necklaces when off-duty.

Has a large hat collection, with hats for every occasion, but she most often wears a wide-brimmed black hat with the brim tilted just so. Hat never falls off because it’s held in place with a hatpin topped with a silver skull.

Attitude/Bearing:

Due to her autism, she rarely makes eye contact, has dulled facial expressions/RBF, tends towards a monotone voice, and stims by twining her hands, playing with her hair, or pressing her palms together. Looks at people’s noses or ears, as a rule.

Stands and walks with almost unnatural grace and flexibility. Very light feet. Will casually bend her limbs backwards to reach something or turn her head like an owl.

Has a faint Liverpudlian accent and a deep voice; the accent is a deliberate affectation and vanishes during times of stress, replaced with a Terran accent.

Daemon-Princess of Malal Form Evren can ‘summon’ small parts of her daemon form into her human body, such as horns, claws, eyes, and wings; her most common trick is to summon wings, pure black and flat as paper, the feathers razor-sharp.

Soul: To psykers and daemons, her soul appears to be glowing with a bright golden light that can be almost blinding. There’s an impression of many wings, eyes, and teeth and a burning crown. Her tattoos appear as literal golden chains and the influence of Malal as a spreading darkness centred around her solar plexus.

Equipment

Mark IV/ Mark VI Corvus Power Armour: Adjusted to her disproportionate frame, the biggest change is around the joints of the armour; plating has been re-shaped and in some cases removed to allow a much higher degree of flexibility. Instead of the classic ‘beaky’ helmet it has the white jackal mask worn by the Legion’s command ranks. The inside is coated with runes and sigils of protection, purity, and banishment. The pockets and waist pouches are much bigger on the inside than the outside.

Force Sword (Asurludu): Designed and built for a user who places speed and flexibility over strength, longer and lighter than the usual model. The hilt and blade show some influence from ancient Turkic designs. The blade is decorated with an ‘evren’ - that is to say, the dragon from Turkic mythology - and the grip is bound in dark blue.

Daemon Sword: A black-bladed daemon sword with an ornate gold hilt, decorated with obsidians and moonstones, and a scabbard decorated with many eyes. Contains Snuffer Of Faith’s Candlelight, a Guardian of Contradictions who displeased Malal and was sentenced to eleven thousand year’s imprisonment within the sword. Screams and wails when wielded. Can and will devour mortal souls and daemons alike.

Various grenades: Krak, frag, flashbang, and ‘Banisher’ - produced and equipped solely by the Tomb Jackals Legion, they contain blessed salt, iron, silver, and holy water. Evren often forgets they’re there or to replenish her supply, to the annoyance of her armoury staff. She retorts that her throwing arm is so bad they’re all but useless anyway.

Dataslate: Connected to the Weigher’s central database and intranet, Evren can call upon thousands of years of information in seconds. She can also connect to others’ dataslates and send messages to their ships or voxes. It can fold in half like a book and be used in either orientation. Most files are in Esceapian or Turkish; anything sensitive is protected with instakill memetic agents that cause fatal seizures and brain haemorrhages in any who haven’t been through the right psycho-programming.

Combat Knife: Carved with runes, it has a devastating effect on daemons and other creatures of Chaos. The default combat knife wielded by all Tomb Jackals and Shadows.

Bolter: She once owned a master-crafted, artisanal-made Crusade-pattern Bolter that was destroyed just after the Heresy, during their Crusade in the Eye, and never replaced. Since then she’s owned a variety of firearms, either losing them or giving them away. Her current weapon, as of 40k, is a Godwyn Mark Vb Pattern.

Snacks and drinks: Since both magic and healing drain a great deal of her energy, it’s important for Evren to stay well-fed. She keeps a supply of high-protein, high-fat, and high-sugar rations in the form of bars and drinks, fortified with iron and calcium, as well as more normal foodstuffs such as jerky, candy bars, and bottles of water.

Inquisitors’ Rosette: Before the Heresy, this took the form of the Emperor’s personal aquila in gold, with the SCA symbol on its breast, as a badge or a pendent. In the 40k, Evren wields the rosette of the Inquisition when going undercover. Kyete acquired it, as well as the official papers and paraphernalia, from a Custodian who owed her a favour. The rosette takes the form of the stylised I bearing the winged skull of a jackal.

First Aid Kit: For minor wounds she can’t or won’t heal with her biomancy.

[seimeiyuzu]

Yuzuru Hanyu- How popular he is in Japan?

David Fieldman

(Yuzu is popular all over the world, right?)

This text is touching and interesting: 

“Japan's hero Yuzuru Hanyu has two Olympic golds - and eight bodyguards

Bishōnen is a popular term in Japanese anime, meaning a beautiful young man whose appeal is universal. In PyeongChang, a bishōnen returned to the ice rink with grace and made history by sweeping the gold in men’s figure skating in back-to-back Olympics, reenacting a feat achieved 66 years ago.

The beautiful young man from a “different dimensional world,” also a term from Japanese anime, was Yuzuru Hanyu. At the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Hanyu, considered the prince of figure skating, rose to the stature of king. And in the PyeongChang Winter Games, Hanyu, despite the obstacles placed in his path and is close to becoming a legend.

This is a Tencent Sports exclusive on the behind-the-scenes life of the “figure skating prince” who resurrected a 66-year history in PyeongChang. The charismatic Hanyu, who was instrumental in the upsurge in the popularity of figure skating in Japan, was undoubtedly one of the the saviors of the box office of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, as well as the ‘cash cow’ of Japan’s sports sector.

Recreating a legend

The place was the Gangneung Ice Arena, the date February 17.

The ice was like a silver plate, giving off a bedazzling shine. Yuzuru Hanyu gracefully slid to the center of the silver plate, making the thousands of spectators at the site, together with his fans watching him perform on TV, catch their breath.

This was PyeongChang. The winner of the gold in men’s singles figure skating in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games was here to go for the second Olympic gold he had been long dreaming of. If he succeeded, he would reenact history after 66 years, becoming the sport’s first two-time men’s champion at the Winter Games since Richard Button of the United States in 1952.

Hanyu’s PyeongChang tour had a smooth start. In the short program on February 16, he stunned the audience by perfectly gliding to Chopin’s Ballade No.1. The zero-error performance fetched him a high score of 111.68, approaching his season’s best, 112.72.

After the event, Hanyu was deluged by Winnie-the-Pooh plush toys rained down on him by cheering fans. The number “111.68” instantly became the most searched word online in Japan. Figure skating fans across the world began to look forward to the birth of a legend. On February 17, when the free skating event would be held, would Hanyu make history?

In the free skating event, Yuzuru Hanyu chose classic Japanese music Seimei, the soundtrack from the film Onmyoji. It was a decision that he had made two seasons ago. Skating to Seimei, in every move that he made, even in every breath, Hanyu no doubt identified himself with the protagonist of the story, 10th-century astronomer Abe no Seimei, a character who was wise, valiant and ready to protect others.

“I am the onmyoji,” went the music, onmyoji literally meaning an embalmer. “If not me, who would be Seimei protecting the dead from evil spirits?”

When the music played, Hanyu’s delicate performance at the center of the silver plate was sheer magic, casting a spell on his audience.

He started with a quad Salchow, steadily landing on the ice on his right blade. It triggered a volley of applause. Most spectators did not realize that it was only one month ago that he had resumed training on ice and just three months since injuring his right ankle while preparing for the NHK Trophy.

A faultless quad toe loop followed. Then he made a triple Axel jump, which was also a success. After that, he reeled slightly while landing a quad toe loop but immediately steadied himself with competence, smiling.

After his final spin, Hanyu landed at the center of the silver plate and stood still. This was it! Then he clutched his fists, bent his head toward the ground and bowed to the stand. The judges showed their appreciation of his performance by awarding him a high score of 317.85.

Once the score of the last skater Shoma Uno was given, Hanyu clinched his championship with the highest tally. The brave but quiet young man burst into tears, murmuring “Thank you” in Japanese at the cameras.

‘A big heart under a lissome figure’

“In the past, I went through a lot, becoming almost like an amine book character that gets injured again and again. Even three month before the Olympics, I had a serious foot injury. I am a human being, not god. It was incredible how so much misfortune happened to me.”

At the press conference after the award ceremony, Yuzuru Hanyu said he had turned his own life into a passionate anime.

Born in Sendai in Japan, he still remembered the painful impact of the horrifying tsunami and earthquake that hit northeast Japan. Even on that joyful night when he successfully defended his championship in PyeongChang, he remembered the trauma.

“There was no water, electricity or gas,” he recalled.

What devastated him was the loss of the ice rink in Sendai. To a figure skater, losing his training ground means losing everything.

He had no choice but to turn to his primary school teacher in Yokohama. When he left Sendai, he cried and told his teacher: “I am tired. Is it possible for me to continue my career as a figure skater?” Since then, his teacher began taking him to compete in every game across the country to provide him with training opportunities. It was the support of the audience and ice rink operators that made him succeed in Sochi.

In Sochi, Hanyu realized his dream of winning an Olympic gold in figure skating. After that, he claimed two silvers in the World Championships in 2015 and 2016. In the 2017 World Championships, he stunned the world once again.

“A lonely king.” That was how Hanyu was seen among the global figure skating community before the 2017-2018 Olympic season.

However, fate never allows superheroes an easy and straight path to success.

During a practice session for the NHK Trophy on November 9, 2017, Yuzuru Hanyu injured his right ankle while attempting a quad Lutz.

On November 10, 2017, Hanyu missed the NHK Trophy. December 14 was the day he was supposed to return to practice on the ice. However, it was announced that the skater was suffering from inflammation of his Achilles tendon and ankle bone.

On December 24, the Japanese Olympic Committee released the list of figure skaters for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games. Yuzuru Hanyu had made it to the list with his impeccable performance. The others chosen along with him were Shoma Uno and Keiji Tanaka.

When Hanyu became injured, his fans across Japan went to the Go’o Shrine in Kyoto, a poplar shrine in Japan for those seeking good health or to ward off bad luck, to pray for his recovery.

Finally on January 16, 2018, the good news that Hanyu had resumed practice on ice came from Toronto, Canada, where Hanyu lives and practices. It was less than a month before the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games on February 9.

On January 13, Hanyu did his first practice on the official ice rink after arriving in Gangneung. During the 40-minute session, he made 21 jumps, eight of which were quads including the toe loop and Salchow. But he could execute only five of them successfully. On January 15, he did his free skating item to the accompaniment of the Seimei soundtrack. This was the first time he did a quad in front of the world media after the NHK Trophy accident.

Until 8:30 a.m. on February 17 when the free skating competition was held, he had not decided on the final composition and whether he should perform his best but the most difficult move, the quad loop. In five hours, he performed his full set of free skating moves, which included three kinds of quads for safety reasons, changing the quad loop planned in the beginning to a quad Salchow.

Even though he won, his right foot had not fully recovered. When jumping on the podium, he carefully avoided landing on his right foot. At the press conference, he expressed his appreciation of the people who had extended a helping hand to him over the past years. However, he didn’t say whether he would try to be the figure skating champion three times in a row by taking part in the Beijing 2022 Winter Games.

“I will have surgery and get my injured foot treated,” he said.

A perfectionist’s regrets

“I love that powerful heart under his enchanting appearance,” Japan’s Sankei Shimbun’s figure skating correspondent told Tencent Sports in PyeongChang. Yuzuru Hanyu is “a real different figure from a different dimensional world,” the journalist said.

“NO MISS!” “111.68 points!” “Perfect!” On February 16, after the men’s singles short program, these entries made their way in quick succession to the list of Japanese hot words on Yahoo. After the free skating, Hanyu had been saying repeatedly that he had failed to come up with a zero-error performance. “I still have too many shortcomings,” he said with regret.

But within 24 hours of February 16, his performance was described by the Japanese media as being “zero error,” “perfect,” and even “top-ranking,” which must have been the perfectionist’s revenge for his lapses in Sochi four years ago.

“I know the taste of the Olympics.” “I’m going to avenge myself for the Sochi Winter Olympics tomorrow,” Hanyu said animatedly many times during interviews after the men’s short program.

The 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games saw the 19-year-old crowned in his Olympic debut. He performed gracefully and calmly, garnering the highest score in the men’s singles short program at the Winter Games (101.45). However, in free skating, he was slightly nervous and made some mistakes. So his performance could not be described as perfect. Though he finally defeated Canadian Patrick Chan, who had bagged three consecutive world championships, Hanyu said after the Games that he was not satisfied about his performance, even “very depressed.”

The night at Sochi revealed Hanyu’s perfection complex. He admitted that he wanted to know “the taste of being a real champion.” “No matter when and where in the future, I will have a perfect interpretation with zero error like Evgeni Plushenko did.”

After the Sochi Olympics, Hanyu published his autobiography Blue Flames II, in which he further explained his “ideal.” The reason why he held Plushenko as his idol and hero was that the Russian never lost in any contingency or won on the basis of a miraculous one-time victory. Hanyu was obsessed with being supreme and invincible.

In this book, Hanyu shared a rarely shown old photograph. It was of him standing before a Christmas tree, a personable young boy with a touch of melancholy in his eyes.

That was the winter of 2004. The nine-year-old was obsessed with Plushenko, showing his admiration by even having a retro mushroom haircut like the Russian’s.

The young boy was fascinated by the idol’s performance in the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games though at that time, Hanyu was only seven years old. Five years later, when he took part in the Japan Junior Figure Skating Championships, he looked to carry himself in the graceful style of Plushenko.

Hanyu moved up to the seniors at the age of 17. Whenever he met the Russian emperor of figure skating, Hanyu would quietly consult Plushenko on the secrets of the quad jump or the Biellmann spin. Plushenko always encouraged Hanyu, saying, “Beat me!” “Overtake me!” In Sochi, Plushenko was injured in an accident before the short program, but he accidentally witnessed the rise of the Japanese figure skater.

“Perhaps I used to be his idol, but now, Hanyu is my idol. He is a genius!” Plushenko remarked.

On hearing that Hanyu was injured before the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Plushenko, by then a loyal Hanyu fan, rooted for him, firmly believing Hanyu could retain his title.

After Hanyu succeeded in defending his title, Plushenko, who won the Olympic gold medals twice but could not defend his championship, sent his best wishes, saying, “I am proud of Hanyu! He is amazing.” When Hanyu was asked at the press conference whether he had finally overtaken his idol, he replied modestly, “I am still far behind.”

Winnie-the-Pooh

To what extent can a sports star’s popularity impact certain events and the development of the related economy? Hanyu is a sterling example.

In PyeongChang, Hanyu was undoubtedly the hottest and most sought-after name.

Figure skating has a tradition of the audience throwing plush toys at the end of a skate. After his performance on February 16, his favorite cartoon character Winnie the Pooh began to rain down on him.

“This is not rain, it is hail! A storm!” It almost turned the Gangneung Ice Arena into a sea of plush toys, making even veteran sports journalists from all over the world speechless.

Hanyu, Asia’s first Winter Olympic champion in men’s singles figure skating as well as the youngest Olympic gold medalist in that category, won the title of “Japan’s most favorite male athlete” in 2017 by virtue of his formidable strength, winsome appearance and the support of his large number of fans worldwide.

On February 11, Hanyu was mobbed by a large number of fans as soon as he arrived at Incheon International Airport. The next day, during his first official public training, Hanyu stayed at the ice rink for only 15 minutes, but attracted more than 100 reporters. Half an hour before the training, more than 50 cameras from 15 television stations from around the world were in place, and the latecomers didn’t even have a place to stand.

On the third day, Hanyu held a press conference. The conference hall, which could accommodate 100 people, was crammed with more than 150 media outlets, and the crowd spilled over into the corridor. Such spectacular scenes have long been a commonplace for the Japanese media. In the summer of 2017, Hanyu’s new season programs disclosure conference held at his perennial training base in Toronto, Canada, attracted dozens of Japanese media outlets all the way from the other side of the globe.

In the short program on February 16, Hanyu made his official appearance for the first time since disappearing from the public for 100 days due to his injury. His fans from Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan turned the stadium into his home court and showcased a magnificent cosplay.

“Hanyu has fans all over Japan, and even the world, from all genders and ages. There are also spontaneously formed fan clubs in countries like Italy and Russia,” a loyal fan of Hanyu said.

In PyeongChang, there was a feeling of family solidarity among his fans though they came from all over the world.

On the day of the short program, a girl from Taiwan got up at 3 a.m., left her hotel at 4, and began to line up to see Hanyu’s official training from 5. During the break, she got a surprise gift - a Winnie the Pooh plush toy, given by Hanyu’s fans from the Chinese mainland.

After the special press conference, journalists from the BBC, Japanese television stations and Chinese media outlets began to interview each another, turning the conference to a “global fans (journalists) meeting.” In order to interview Hanyu, media outlets worldwide, including the BBC and Reuters, sent Japanese-speaking journalists.

Entourage

On February 17, when the press conference for the gold, silver and bronze winners was held, after the 30-minute question answer round, it was finally time for the photo session. As photographers flocked to the champions, Hanyu swiftly pushed aside the nameplates and water bottles in front of them, then put his arms around Shoma Uno and bronze winner Javier Fernandez of Spain, flashing his signature ingenuous smile.

It was not just removing the nameplates and water bottles for photographers’ cameras; it was the manifestation of his natural character, unpretentious and spontaneous.

He doesn’t regard himself as someone special, even though crowned double Olympic champion.

How does Yuzuru Hanyu win so many fans across the world? One small gesture may hold the answer.

While 1,000 readers may have 1,000 interpretations of Hamlet, Yuzuru Hanyu has one universal evaluation. The Hanyu reporters met in PyeongChang was an icon who regarded himself as an ordinary person, a heartthrob who was humble and polite.

After the short program on February 16, a photograph taken by the Japanese media went viral among Chinese online users, who exclaimed, “Hanyu is so wonderful!” It was during the interview of Hanyu’s fellow skater Shoma Uno. Hanyu sought to avoid taking away the limelight from Uno and to avoid the cameras, the Sochi gold medalist, the most shining star on that day, bent down and literally crept away from the stage, smiling shyly when he stood up finally.

And in another gesture, after the short program, Hanyu gently picked up a strawberry cake from the sea of Winnie the Pooh bears. “I will eat well, save energy and prepare for the free skating tomorrow,” he said. At the press conference, he considerately looked after Shoma Uno, who sat next to him, quietly telling him, “Don’t be nervous.” From time to time, he also helped Uno adjust his headphones which was relaying the simultaneous interpretation.

Every time Hanyu attended a press conference after a competition, he would always show consideration for the reporters who had been waiting for a long time and rush to meet them. “Please give me a minute,” he would say, bending down to remove the blades still attached to his boots. Then he would look at the media with a smile, and begin to answer every question seriously and sincerely.

“I cannot compare myself with Plushenko or Uno,” Hanyu said, calmly responding to the overwhelming applause he received after winning his second Olympic gold.

“Uno is three years younger. It seems I am in a slightly awkward position. Rather than competing, I would like to enjoy skating for as long as possible and hope other top skaters come up with more perfect performances,” he added.

His clear vision and crystal-transparent soul has won him numerous fans.

Unlike other athletes, Yuzuru Hanyu came to PyeongChang flanked by eight bodyguards. To ensure Hanyu’s safety, the Japanese Skating Federation had specifically requested the Japanese Olympic Committee to accord him “the highest Olympic privileges.”

Yuzuru Hanyu was the only athlete who came to PyeongChang with bodyguards. When his flight landed, he himself was taken aback by the treatment. As some foreign media commented, it was like escorting some invaluable gem.

Besides bodyguards, the Japanese Olympic Committee also arranged a press officer and a professional nutritionist team exclusively for Hanyu. The nutritionist team was formed in 2012 with professionals from the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences to ensure Hanyu took sufficient nutrients to be able to undertake the high-energy practice sessions. To the best of this writer’s knowledge, Yuzuru Hanyu is the only winter sports athlete who enjoys the privilege of having a press officer exclusively for him. Previously, only Kosuke Hagino, Japan’s competitive swimmer, had such a press officer. Even the famous Japanese footballers Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa did not have such a privilege.

His popularity is also reflected in The New York Times. After the short program, a New York Times reporter grabbed the opportunity to interview Hanyu at the media section. In an unprecedented move, the media officer of the Japanese delegation permitted the reporter to ask two questions.

It was not the first time that Yuzuru Hanyu made headlines in The New York Times. The first time was in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games when the 19-year-old won the gold in men’s figure skating, creating a sensation among his fans worldwide. Later, the magazine hailed him as “Michael Jackson on the Ice.”

Box office hit

After Yuzuru Hanyu won his second Olympic gold, Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) immediately put up an advertisement featuring him on Japan’s largest website Yahoo, saying there must be some reason for his power, like the reason ANA was the ideal airline for everyone.

When Yuzuru Hanyu claimed the gold in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, he signed up with ANA as his sponsor, and endorsed Procter & Gamble products and Sendai Tourism. His fee for shooting a single advertisement rose to 50 million yen ($470,000) and recently, to 80 million yen ($752,000), equaling the fee of famous Japanese female figure skater Mao Asada.

On 2017 New Year’s Eve, Yuzuru Hanyu debuted on television as the judge of the 66th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, or Japan’s New Year singing contest. This further increased Hanyu’s popularity in Japan, giving him the potential to overtake Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori in popularity in the future.

The charismatic Hanyu is not only the cash cow of Japan’s sports sector, but also the savior of the box office of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

As a result of his overwhelming popularity, anything he does not only affects the mood of his fans around the world, but also impacts the organizers, sponsors and suppliers of every major figure skating event. Hanyu’s withdrawal from the NHK Trophy, the ISU Grand Prix and Japanese national championships because of his ankle injury caused direct losses for these events.

Within 48 hours of his withdrawal, the rating of NHK Trophy’s prime time broadcast dropped sharply. The average rating declined to 6.7 percent from the 16 percent in the previous year, when Hanyu was the champion. In December that year, the ISU Grand Prix held without Hanyu also witnessed a decline in rating from 17.6 percent in the previous year to 14 percent. The sales of the sport’s derivatives also suffered.

Under such circumstances, Hanyu’s fans, eager to watch the brilliance of the figure skating maestro again, could only pin their hopes on the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

Since the beginning of 2018, the South Korean media had been reporting that Yuzuru Hanyu may not compete in the group games or the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games revenues may face a bleak prospect as a result. However, the International Olympic Committee answered this by presenting a clip, titled Yuzuru Hanyu, who is your opponent? on its official television station, which was well-received. Obviously, the purpose was to increase the revenue of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

According to previous reports by Lanxiong Sports, a Chinese online sports industry services provider, only 61 percent of Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games tickets -- or 655,000 -- had been sold by the end of December 2017. However, the organizing committee said tickets for figure skating sold out as early as March 2017, bringing in revenue of 680 million South Korean won ($637,800).

During the Pyeongchang Games, over 10,000 Hanyu fans came to Gangneung, where the figure skating events were held. The 2,000 tickets sold out within hours of being up for sale.

“Hanyu’s remuneration is expected to rise by 1.5 times at least, if not be doubled, after he won the gold in PyeongChang,” a journalist from Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s largest daily newspapers, told Tencent Sports.

Although new figure skaters will come to the fore one after another, the emergence of the next Yuzuru Hanyu is still a distant possibility. Will Yuzuru Hanyu take part in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games? It depends on whether his injured right ankle fully recovers in the coming years.”

www.quora.com

[musgrave322]

My Top-Ten Prediction for SVTFOE Season 4

It's all official, Daron Nefcy announces that not only we will have a new Season with the first episode coming on March 10th, but it will also be the final season for the entire series.  Once I read the news about all Star vs. the Forces of Evil coming to an end after Season 4, I felt sad about this, but I wasn't surprised because of how Disney works with their television shows.  Despite the Season 3 finale being incredible despite leaving me torn with questionable move from Star's end and so many dark moments, I am still excited for what the final season has to offer.  Since there is a confirmed date for Season 4, now its time for me to share my predictions for what I believe might happen in the final season for the show, just as I promised.  

Instead of reviewing my predictions for Season 4 in a listed manner as I usually do with my Wrestling Pay-Per-View predictions, I decided to talk about what I believe will happen starting from number 10 up to number 1 using a countdown format.  Whatever you might see or hear should all be taken with "a pinch of salt" because they are just my ideas.

10. There will be an episode revolving around Eclipsa’s past

If “Moon the Undaunted” was able to become a full episode during the battle for Mewni, then I am pretty sure that “Eclipsa Queen of Darkness” would be a fantastic opportunity for the creative crew to take advantage of.  With a full episode revolving around Queen Eclipsa, the story of when she abandoned her kingdom to marry Globgor and gave birth to Meteora only to become kidnapped and crystallized by the Magic High Commission would make for a fantastic episode that tells its own story.  An episode like this would absolutely make sense for all Star vs. fans like me.  The best way I can see the episode ending is with the baby swap so we can determine once and for all who Festivia’s parents were before she takes the throne for Mewni at a very young age.

9. Marco’s newest sibling won’t be playing a big role throughout the series

Congratulations to Marco’s parents for welcoming a second child into their family and it looks like our favorite Earthturd will become a big brother for Marco Jr.  In a weird way, that one episode from Season 3 gives me memories for when I played with my Legos and named one of my characters Max and Max Jr. knowing those two are actually brothers.  To get back on topic, I just don’t see Marco Jr. taking part in any adventures that Marco Diaz will be enduring during his tenure on Mewni.  I say this because he will be born on Earth and will spend most of his life being raised by Angie and Raphael and probably Janna or Jackie Lynn Thomas will be spending their time volunteering to babysit the new child.  Sorry Marco Jr., maybe if Daron Nefcy decides to create a spin-off show in her future, hopefully you’ll have better luck with that more than you would on Star vs. The Forces of Evil.

8. The Magic High Commission gets their Comeuppance for their actions

After Eclipsa’s trial, this was a prediction that I will most likely have to make coming to the surprise to nobody.  After the baby-swap took place, the MHC thought they could easily get away from their fear of having a half-monster take full control of Mewni without having any worries.  Boy did Queen Moon’s deal to Eclipsa really blew their ground-breaking secret up upon their faces in a massive way.  With Eclipsa taking charge as Queen of Mewni once again, do not be surprised if we find Rhombulus, Omnitraxis, and Hekapoo going missing or becoming one of the prisoners of the Butterfly kingdom.  I have to admit, whatever punishments the MHC will suffer, I may become entertained with what Eclipsa has in store for them.  Looks like poor old Hekapoo will spend the rest of her days locked inside the dungeon completely barefoot and tickle tortured to her misery.

7. Kelly and Star get into a brief argument/feud over Marco Diaz

We all know what happened when Star and Marco were both alone in the photo booth while it was on the fritz, so there is no need to explain everything from what transpired in Booth Buddies.  From what I might be seeing, until Star and Marco’s escapade comes out into the open, Tom will be disappointed in Star leading to their inevitable break-up as Kelly would most likely be massively upset at Marco for his “out of nowhere” kiss to Star, especially when they bonded during their time at Lava Lake Beach.  Knowing Kelly and her series of emotional make-up/break-ups with her alleged ex-boyfriend Tad (Kelly’s piece of hair), I can see her being heartbroken over the confession and unleashing her frustrations on Star Butterfly.  The break-up with Kelly and Marco will definitely happen, but I could anticipate more hard feelings being made than what I might see during Tom and Star’s break-up.  I looks like Star has more things to worry about than just losing the royal wand to Eclipsa and volunteering to release her Monster lover, that’s for sure.

6. Star Butterfly and her family gets “Banished to Peasantry”

The Box of truth captures a lie created by the MHC and places Eclipsa, Queen Moon, Star, and whoever else was involved in Eclipsa’s trial in its massive prison where they will be squashed to death.  One desperate moment later, Rhombulus spills the beans and the MHC was ordered to confess about what they did to Eclipsa’s mewman/monster daughter.  It turns out that once Eclipsa and Globgor were completely crystallized, the Magic High Commission instigated a baby swap where Meteora was replaced with another child (Festivia) who they believe to come from a peasant family.

I anticipate that once Star and her father finally re-unites with Queen Moon (that is if they are able to find her), they will fall from grace and have to start a new kingdom out of nothing.  The best start I can see is where Star, Moon, and River move to an abandoned fallen-apart home in the Forest of Certain Death.  Once Eclipsa returned to relevancy, receives the royal wand from Star, and reunites with Globgor and Meteora, I clearly see Eclipsa having full possession of two homes within the Butterfly castle and the Monster Temple.  With all this said, I look at Star Butterfly from the previous two or three seasons and I think to myself, “Boy how the mighty have fallen”.

5. The monsters find themselves in full control as citizens of Mewni

Once Eclipsa has taken the throne and set a rule to never imprison monsters, I have a hunch that the Mewman peasants are gonna be in for a long haul on this prediction.  With Eclipsa taking charge, the Mewmans are going to suffer the same discrimination and torture they put the monsters through during the first three seasons of this show.  It’s not going to get terrible to the point where all the Mewmans will perish from Mewni never to return to their home dimension, but they will get their comeuppance for their actions and become miserable over Eclipsa’s reign with a mixture of monsters taking part of her kingdom.  Even though I have every reason to be upset over Star Butterfly’s decision to relinquish the wand, I still have to say the following…  Welcome to my world you filthy peasants!!!  What else is new?

4. Marco Diaz is actually a member of the Butterfly family

Let’s be honest, Marco Diaz is a type of guy that has really grown on me throughout the Star vs. series.  If Marco was able to interfere with Tom’s plan to dance with Star at the Blood Moon Ball via influence from a sailor portrait, able to use what was Star’s wand and obtaining glowing crescent moons on his cheeks by casting only one spell and with Meteora sharing the similarities with Marco by having a mole on the lower-right side on their faces, then it is clear by day that Marco’s parents have got to be mewman.  I can say this whole heartedly because I do not see any other humans, besides Janna and Starfan13, stepping foot on to Star’s home turf and enduring all the torture and grief that Marco has went through since the day he met Star Butterfly.

Once the theory of Marco being half-mewman is fully canon, I personally believe that Marco’s mother (Angie) is truly a mewman from the Butterfly heritage.  Raphel Diaz doesn’t look to be a mewman because he came from a family from Hispanic descent, so he is human and not likely dragged into this theory. Star is now able to perform wandless magic after relinquishing the wand to Eclipsa, so I can definitely see Marco Diaz having full possession of the royal wand once Eclipsa winds up relinquishing it since Meteora has no need for the wand because of the fact that she is half monster.

3. Marco Diaz turns evil from the Blood Moon Curse

All the hype for Season 4 definitely revolves around the Blood Moon and its curse and I can say this for sure. If Star Butterfly wasn’t able to turn evil in Season 3, Marco is my best bet as the new antagonist for the final season.  With all the constant abuse and annoyances, being a victim to Meteora’s rampage, and the emotional pain he endured, especially when suffering two break-ups with Jackie Lynn Thomas and inevitably Kelly, it makes sense for Marco to side with the forces of evil, even if it is fully against his will.  According to the heartbreak and joker symbol on Daron Nefcy’s tweet, the best way to approach this theory is where the sky turns blood red and Marco transforms into a dangerous unstoppable force the same size as Meteora’s Mewman/Monster beast form and Star becomes heartbroken that her best friend turns against her just to conquer all of Mewni.  If Marco goes corrupted from the Blood Moon curse, the return of the Monster arm might not be needed depending on the story’s narrative, but that is still not out of the equation.

2. Queen Moon faces ultimate death

Since Star vs. The Forces of evil is on its last limbs with Season 4 as the Final Season and Star Butterfly is around a position of power, I can clearly see Star’s own mother getting killed off coming to the season finale.  Before the Season Three finale came out, I had my concerns about Queen Moon being killed off then until we discovered what happened in the episode and with the mystery of where she went after her time in the magic realm.  With the episode list revealed, it is clear to me that Queen Moon’s time as a chef is not a long-term thing and will return to the Butterfly Castle at any given point.  The best way for Queen Moon to face her demise is if there was dark magic involved when battling a forces of evil coming the blood moon curse with Star around and unable to stop the inevitable doom Queen Moon endures.  If this theory comes true, it may be sad and depressing, but at least Star was around to say her goodbyes.

1. Star Butterfly “turns down” the role as the new queen of Mewni

That’s right everyone, Star not taking the throne for Mewni is my boldest prediction yet and for good reasons.  From the first two seasons, her heart was downright not into becoming a queen, especially when there are episodes where Star goes to therapy or Star having a private conversation with a guidance counselor about her future career.  Later on in Season 3, we all learn that Meteora (Miss Heinous as a Mewman/Monster) is the real daughter of Eclipsa and has no relationship to Star.  Once we reached the end of Season 3, we saw Star Butterfly willingly relinquish the royal wand over to Eclipsa.  Later on, we get Season 4 clips where every Mewman peasant bashing Star from the dungeon over to a scripted play over allowing Eclipsa to rule Mewni with her frozen crystallized Monster husband and for her failed attempt to bring equality to Mewni by uniting monsters and mewmans.  Boy did her ultimate goal blew up in her face…

With all these events that happened coming into Season 4, I bet my bottom dollar that the SVTFOE series comes to an end with Star Butterfly not becoming the new queen of Mewni.  I say this whole-heartedly because her heart is just not into fulfilling her mother’s footsteps and because of the events involving Meteroa being royally screwed by the MHC because they refused to allow Eclipsa and Globgor to share love with one another let along becoming King and Queen of Mewni and having a half-master hybrid take control of the royal wand.  I can see the show ending with an adult Star spending the rest of her days on Earth married to Marco Diaz and having a family of her own.  Don’t worry, as long as Eclipsa and Globgor are there to raise Meteora in the best way possible, I’m sure she could become the best queen for all of Mewni.  The four days as “Acting Queen” will go down forever as the time where Star reigned supreme on Mewni, but at least she will have a happy ending of her own once Starco becomes canon.  Starco fans, go ahead and rejoice… That is all that I wanted to share for today, feel free to comment if you have anything different to say or of you're planning to watch Season 4 of Star vs. The Forces of Evil on the Disney Channel.  Season 3 was nice and all, but I'm excited and confident for what Season 4 has to offer and I can see a lot of epic moments so comparable to what you may have seen from Gravity Falls.

[firelight-tales-of-exandria]

Firelight Tales of Exandria, Ch.11 - “Dungeons and Dragons”

Thank you all for coming, and let us tell some stories...

“Our party had completed their mission and had filed their claim on the bounty at the Freeman’s Lodge. Unfortunately, several other adventuring parties had done the same, and, in order to sort everything out and get to the bottom of the matter, the Westruun Shields launched a series of investigations into each individual claim. This also meant, that the party had become “persons of interest” in the investigation, and so were “invited” to stay at the Garrison barracks for a period of five days while the voracity of their claim was being investigated. This did not sit well with a few members of the party, Song especially, who seemed particularly averse to getting involved with any sort of law enforcement or being under scrutiny from authority figures.

“As such, Song dismissed himself, saying he would meet up with the rest of the group soon, and, despite the protests and reassurances of the others, he said a tentative goodbye and departed alone into the night. This reminds the rest of the party that, despite getting along so well and having weathered dire tribulations in such a short time, they are all very much relative strangers to one another. It is here we rejoin our heroes, as Song bids them, a hopefully brief, “fare-thee-well.”

Cezika, begrudgingly, makes a point that the group should leave for the Garrison. Shadow asks if the Margrave’s word can be trusted, to which Cezika says that she doesn’t make it a habit of trusting politicians in general.

With Song having made himself scarce, the rest of the party make their way to the Westruun Garrison, but not before Cezika buys a couple bottles of "not good” wine from the Sloppy Satyr (having finally asked the owner/manager his name, Aeden Brors).

Upon reaching the sentries posted at the Garrison, a clerk is summoned to process the group. The clerk, one Sergeant Jenkins, asks each of the party their name, occupation, and place of origin.

Cezika: Cezika, “tourist”/dilettante, Ank’harel

Nakiya: Nakiya, mercenary, Cliffkeep Mountains

Leaf: Leaf, healer (?), *did not list point of origin*

Ladryssa: Ladryssa, hunter, “the woods near the mountain city with the white stones” / rural Whitestone

Shadow: Shadow of the Moon, “mehrsinaree”, Syngorn

When asked about the absence of “Storyweaver”, Cezika says they were “eaten by a bear”. She says they left his name on the claim as “penance for the dead”.

The group is then taken to a guard station and each receives an arcane mark that will allow the Shields to keep track of the party’s whereabouts as part of the investigation. They are then asked to surrender their weapons while lodging at the barracks, and are in turn given a claim ticket for their arms if they choose to leave each day.

Jenkins explains that the party will be lodged for five days, and they are to remain within the Garrison premises from dusk until after dawn each day, and may be called to provide testimony to the official inquiry council. When pressed as to why they are to be confined to quarters and tracked, the clerk explains that claimants are being guarded against foul play and tampering by other parties, making specific mention of the difference between the conduct of Westruun Shields and the freemen and mercenaries they are playing host to.

Though the party has been given two barracks units, they choose to pass a wary night sharing one unit, with Shadow and Nakiya keeping a mistrustful watch.

For the first time, the party witnesses Shadow perform some type of short ritual with a pendant of black volcanic glass/stone they wear. It briefly glints with an internal flash of power, but then falls limp once more.

Our haggard heroes are woken before dawn by reveille, and the sound of the Westruun Shields’ morning exercises. In spite of the disturbance, they finish their rest before the smells of breakfast rouse them.

++PARTY LEVEL UP – LVL. 4++

Before heading out to morning chow, a courier, Redshirt McGillicuddy #1, gives Leaf and Ladryssa a summons to the Margrave’s Manor, to the court of inquiry, later that morning. Cezika says they are all being called separately that the group’s story lines up. They all agree to omit Ladryssa’s past with the hag and that “Storyweaver” was eaten by a bear after the hag was slain.

Nakiya is delighted to discover that she can still have eggs under her new “diet”. Meanwhile, Shadow gives the cook the warm and fuzzies by asking for seconds and then thirds.

The time of Leaf’s hearing comes, and they are escorted to the judicial chamber of the Margrave’s Manor. The rest of the party finish breakfast and wait by the guarded passageway for Leaf to be done.

After Leaf returns from their inquiry, a soldier approaches them, the brother of one of the injured lumberjacks Leaf saved. The soldier overheard Leaf’s concern about the Green Men, and offers to call in a favor with the floor warden of the Garrison Dungeon to allow the firbolg to visit them briefly.

Leaf takes Cezika with them, and the two are escorted through a few checkpoints and under one of the Garrison towers, into the dungeon. The warden leads them to a cell with two wounded Green Men and gives Leaf and Cezika five minutes to speak.

One of the Green Men is well enough to speak, but still severely injured. Leaf apologizes for their predicament, tells them of their efforts to clear their names, and expresses grief over their friend’s death and thanks them for his sacrifice. The druid is distraught, but thanks Leaf for everything they have done for them and asks Leaf to plant the dead Green Man’s staff to memorialize him.

As the warden signals for their time to be up, Leaf casts a healing word to ease the pain of the Green Men. The warden barks a warning as the spell is cast.

As Leaf and Cezika turn to leave, they hear a muffled whimper down from the end of the dungeon. Cezika tries to usher Leaf out, but the firbolg will not be deterred. In the darkest corner of the dungeon, Leaf finds Buddy, bound and muzzled amidst a cell of long-deceased prisoners. The irate, menacing floor warden threatens to throw both of them in with the gnoll unless they immediately leave.

The two meet back up with the rest of the party and lead Leaf out into the square, under the comfort of a tree. Cezika explains what happened. The party has a range of reactions: Ladryssa and Cezika try to comfort Leaf, while Nakiya walks off, looking for something to hit and not wanting to be near people.

Cezika: “The way they are being treated downstairs... They definitely think that Buddy and/or the Green Men are responsible for this.”

Leaf: “But I told them they were not.”

Cezika: “I know, aile, I know.”

Shadow: “Cezika, I think I know what you mean now; that certain people cannot be trusted.”

Cezika: “I wish I could say this was the first time I have seen things like this happen, but I would be a liar.”

The party simmers in despair and impotent rage, but they resolve to make things right. A little old lady peddles fruit nearby, which puts the group on edge, since they no longer trust little old ladies.

Cezika asks Shadow to stay with Leaf for a moment and excuses herself down an alleyway. When she returns (in a fouler mood), she is followed by a broad, looming, blue-scaled dragonborn. Shadow and Ladryssa inspect him within his personal space, as the dragonborn follows each with a different eye.

The dragonborn introduces himself as Cezika’s cousin, Ghurvoon. Leaf, Shadow, and Ladryssa are introduced, but Ghurvoon asks where the others are. The dragonborn, with a broad smile, offers to buy lilies for Shadow, which perplexes the group. Ignoring their concerns, Ghurvoon calls a nearby flower girl over, grilling her about appropriate flowers for new friends.

Ghurvoon: *sends obvious facial cues drawing attention to the flower girl*

Cezika, tired of his shit: “This is why I don’t send you letters.”

Ghurvoon: “You really learn nothing I try to teach you.”

Cezika: “I don’t pay attention to half the shit you try to teach me.”

Ghurvoon: “Well, if you did, you may not be in *this* situation.”

Cezika: *mumbles in Marqueesian* “Yell at me later. Let’s just-- 12 dasies, I think? I don’t even care anymore.”

Shadow: “I do no longer want flowers.”

As Shadow looks around to see if the guards are taking notice of them, and wary of any move the Dragonborn makes to give them flowers, Ghurvoon continues to press the flower girl.

Flower girl: “It doesn’t really sound like they want flowers, now does it?”

Ghurvoon: “Perhaps not. Perhaps, a Song or two?”

Song, disguised as the flower girl: *sweating across dimensions and astral projecting into space from anxiety* “.......ah....I...well there are places where they could go grab that, not here, as you can see, I sell flowers--”

Ghurvoon suggests to Cezika that her whole party be present for what needs to be said. Shadow points out that Ladryssa will be summoned to the inquiry soon, so Cezika suggests they all meet up at the Satyr before dark to talk.

Ghurvoon draws attention to the flower girl once more, and they start to notice she looks similar to someone they just said goodbye to, as the dragonborn disappears into the crowd. The group finally recognizes Song, and Cezika catches him up on the day’s events.

Cezika asks if Song could find where Nakiya went, and he asks her to take care, before beetling off once more.

The temple bell rings ten tolls, and guards escort Ladryssa to the doors of the Chamber of Judgement.

[sugarpinecrews]

title: o’ death word count: 1,982 ship(s): n/a, maybe minor ot3 if you squint warning(s): detailed discussions of necromancy, death, murder, violence, and other magick rituals a/n: it’s ya boi with yet another spooky pine fic, this time it’s jeremy’s origin story. can be paired with parker’s, as well as my previous fic.

         There was little in the way of fear or concern, and withdrawal from emotional bounds slowly became only second nature; time passed by, the world cycling through rounds of devastation, bouts of destruction caused by seemingly outside forces, and Jeremy merely buried himself in his studies. Other realms wasted no time in mourning, spirits spending but seconds considering the troubles they may have caused. The deceased worried not of the outside world, this realm that Jeremy found himself captive in, and he appreciated the distraction ( even if this difference between reality and spiritualism would soon end, even if he would soon find himself attempting to summon the spirit of a deceased friend, a soul forced out by unnatural means --- it was fun while it lasted, he supposed ).

         He knew from the beginning that this career choice was meant to be shrouded in darkness, enveloped in an evil most people would rather not imagine, but he never did see it as so. Death was inevitable, yes, an ending that would exist regardless of any distant hopes of peace, but most still didn’t wish to discuss it. This fact, though obvious to him from the start, still bothered him when presented by friends and loved ones; attempts of forcing them into the topic would eventually become fewer and further between, as fatigue wrought weary holes into previously insistent perseverance. As time went on, he decided to simply allow them whatever oblivion they chose; he would deal with their stubborn ignorance when they finally passed --- spirits always seemed much easier to interact with, anyway, though he often neglected to speak this opinion aloud ( for fear, perhaps, of his friends placing even more distance between them --- life needed equal halves in order to be fruitful, and he knew this all too well ).

         He was only a child when he first experienced death. Helping to care for pets never proved a beneficial task for the boy, always finding himself left with a dead fish, a deceased dog, or cat, or hamster --- he wished to believe their souls never truly disappeared, that loss of life would only lead to a more fulfilling afterlife, and this belief only continued to accompany him into adulthood. He began to study the deceased young, attempting to contact the spirits of lost loved ones in his early teenage years; spells spoken in a hushed tone following the completion of homework, rituals completed before he left for school in the morning --- early on, he learned to never label himself an artist of the deceased. Most believed these studies a sign of witchcraft, a deal with the devil made in cold blood, and he never wished to cast himself aside. Studies fell into secretive shadows, and he simply learned to accept this as the norm. It kept strangers from interfering, at least, and he appreciated this aspect of it the most.

          His first cadaver was witnessed before he even hit twenty years of age. Rather than admitting to officials the sight, he simply took it into his place of residence; a risky decision, perhaps, but he saw no real harm in the matter. Death was an end to life, and where was the sense in burying a body that could still be put to good use? He labored in isolation for weeks, cleaning the body torn by violence, wiping blood clean from exposed wounds --- attempts were made to contact the spirit of the deceased, and despite the loose interactions experienced, Jeremy still felt himself capable of more. He tried to bring the soul back to this realm, attempted in vain to resuscitate the deceased, but found himself inevitably exhausting all available resources. The body was burned --- a promise to the spirit that her corpse could never be manipulated again --- and he went about his life, researching any new corpses tossed his way ( which, as time went on and new friendships developed, began to become more and more frequent ).

            Eventually, he would come into contact with a group of special, supernatural beings. Although they masqueraded as humans, he could sense the weakened soul, a spirit that has long since fallen victim to immortality. The demon possessed nothing of a soul, presented itself more as a gross amalgamation of those he has tortured in his past, those bound to him through a desire for vengeance; Jeremy could feel their pain, sense their deaths repeating themselves over and over and over again --- the others possessed souls of an individual, a spirit still flickering behind the muzzle of something much stronger than any human form imaginable. The soul of a man held captive by a wolf’s heart, a vampire living life as though a servant of death --- in exchange for the bodies of their unlucky victims, he would provide them with the tools necessary for survival. A continued supply of blood, a seemingly endless supply of fresh meat, of clean, untouched sustenance --- despite the trade-offs occurring just outside, his roommates continued to remain oblivious, simply living their normalized lives, routine painting the peculiar as expected.

          Unknown cadavers, bodies desecrated by an attack from a supernatural force --- more often than not a vampire he loosely considered a friend --- came to scatter the room he spent more time in than he probably should. Backs propped up against a wall behind, bodies poised as though simply sitting in anxious anticipation --- an imprecise schedule rotated around a list of meetings and rituals, and he even penciled in these plans on a calendar hanging near the door. One day he would summon the spirit of a woman murdered outside of a corner store, the next he would attempt to ward off any negative entities still lurking in the crevices of this dusty old basement; a cleansing was scheduled at least once a week, a ritual he did more out of a habit than any real fear. He supposed it was better to be safe than sorry ( a notion his roommates would graciously thank him for, were they to know of any of this ).

        Most, of course, believed him to be capable of much more than he truly was. Shadows of mystery blanketed themselves across a room off limits to any other than himself, and this is how he chose to operate, studying his craft in solitude rather than with any unnecessary interruptions. His roommates didn’t question his unspoken dealings, didn’t ask of the oft-thought strange scents emanating from behind closed doors, didn’t ask of the repeated requests spoken into silence, the handful of unknown materials he trudged down to his work space unexplained; undisclosed events existed in darkness not out of fear, nor out of elitism, but rather out of disinterest. He didn’t feel his friends truly intrigued by his work, nor did he really wish to traumatize anyone not ready to experience death just yet ( but, as could probably be expected, he possessed little control in forces existing outside of his area of influence --- there would always be entities pulling strings of actions just outside of his reach, and he came to learn this first hand ).

             It is the evening of the full moon when Jeremy is pulled from his work, binds of focus broken as acquaintances stand awkward at his front door. We are so sorry, they say, as if expecting outward expression of grief, as if loss would somehow strength an emotional pull he has neglected for so many years now. In the bright light of the moon up above, he faces the trunk of a car, sights set upon trash bags haphazardly tied shut, blood still staining the surface directly beneath them; despite disfigurement, he recognizes the body immediately as one of two roommates, now gathered like debris and brought to him in, what, fear? Desperation? Ignoring the feelings of anger, of guilt, of regret bubbling just beneath the surface, he chooses to only curtly nod in response, silently beginning to transfer the body to his typical work space. This corpse, as explained to him in passing, was the result of a werewolf’s wrath; he could still smell the scent of the beast, heavy and thick upon the destruction caused by sharpened claws, by teeth ripping through a human vessel --- intrigue and curiosity, as usual, play a role in his research, and he quickly begins to toil with the remnants of yet another corpse awaiting a new life ( only, this time, it wouldn’t be the spirit answering to requests in hopes of peace on the other side --- no, this would be a completely new beginning, and Jeremy would make sure of it ). 

              The study of necromancy presented itself only as communication with the deceased; historical accounts beckoned the ear of any interested in reanimation, but reality could not be rooted in mythological tales of war-torn soldiers recounting the terrors seen by a now-passed gaze. For this, he would need a more modernized retelling, a more concrete, definitive pedestal to stand upon, but despite studies spanning countless areas of belief, Jeremy still knew to be careful in combining different methods; thought to be blasphemous by any who caught wind of his past attempts at fully realized resuscitation, he tried his best this time to keep his newest thoughts more private. If he were to revive his newly-deceased friend, he would need to write his own rules, take pages from a book never before written.

              Voodoo was nowhere near one of his many areas of expertise, but he had very few options remaining; attempting to summon the spirit of his friend through typical necromancy rituals proved itself unreliable at best, and he saw no need in bringing the soul of a man back into this realm if a physical vessel was not available --- the body would need to be fully resuscitated, and the spirit would need to be bound to it immediately upon revival. It was a risky task, that of full resurrection, but he knew himself capable of such a deed ( perhaps out of determination, or perhaps out of an attachment to the dead that he, even to this day, refuses to acknowledge ). 

               Countless evenings are spent in his usual work space, the corpse of his friend propped up on a makeshift operating table. Rituals of many different belief systems are performed, and many nights are spent in silent anticipation, sitting in the basement with nothing more than rotting cadavers to keep him company; on more than one occasion, movement is spotted --- the twitching of a finger, the blinking of an eye, and yet no further expression of life is presented to him. Despite this, hope is never lost; Jeremy continues his attempts of summoning the spirit of his friend, continues his, as of yet, fruitless attempts of resuscitating the corpse placed before him --- upon the fourth night, he finds himself becoming weary of this tiring routine. He tries a handful of rituals again, this time putting more desperation into his words, more emotion into his pleas; he busies himself at a table filled with varying substances and materials, setting things aside in jaded haste when ---

              --- help, I can’t... 

              “You’re fine,” he finds himself stating, words escaping lips well before he’s turned to face his newly-revived friend. With his back turned, he grins, excitement pulsating through his veins as he sets a glass down upon the table in front of him; the action gives him enough time to regain composure, to again place before him a mask of emotionless catatonia. His friend continues in his aim to speak, but difficulty must weigh heavy upon his tongue. “...you were dead. I brought you back.” he adds, reminding himself again to hide the smile threatening to dance across his features; and they said death was no fun.

[taradreschner-blog]

tara dreschner + headcanons

1. Tara is judgmental. They can’t help it or at least have never tried. They quickly come up with an idea of what someone is and rarely change their mind, instead choosing to believe the role that they’ve cast everybody in. Their assumptions are often deeply cynical in nature; they look for the worst in people before ever finding the good. There are people Tara will never be friends with because of what they’ve seen in them.

2. They’ve only begun recently making friends besides the two they’ve always had. It was easy in high school to stay forever in each other’s company, to barely acknowledge anyone outside their band of musketeers. But with Denna gone Tara had no choice but to expand their horizons and, reluctantly, they did. Despite themselves they’ve actually enjoyed spending time with Gen and Leo, but it feels like a strange sort of betrayal. Not even to Denna, who doesn’t seem to mind with how busy she is with her fascinating new life, but to Tara. They aren’t used to talking to people who don’t know them in and out, who don’t instinctively know how to translate their rolling eyes and monotone into affection.

3. Most people think Tara is rude. They don’t blame them, mainly because they kind of are. They communicate primarily through blunt comments and long-suffering sighs, actual enthusiasm hidden behind a layer of armor. It’s a defense mechanism, albeit a horrible and often negative one.

4. As a child Tara had always been too much. Too bossy, too serious and sullen and prone to acts of mild melodrama like calling daycare teachers fascist ogres or “borrowing” every book in their family library one by one until their room became a fortress of bound leather and paper. They were terminally weird, the kind of kid that made adults chuckle and peers cringe. Their mother called it precociousness. Most people called it being a pain in the ass. They were, Tara thinks, both right.

5. Tara doesn’t have a father. Or, rather, they do and it doesn’t matter. Lea Dreschner, heiress to a family legacy of railway barons and stock market kings, had known a man once upon a time as a rich girl with nothing to do. Things ended, as relationships so often do, and she found that she was pregnant. She describes Tara as a happy accident, the thing that helped her decide what she wanted out of life. These days Lea works as a motivational speaker talking about finding your inner light and living as a summer breeze, listing sentimental declarations on life and love that Tara can’t bring themselves to believe. Lea is everything her child is not; optimistic, enthusiastic, extroverted and often naive. It’s easy to see that she was sheltered in a way that Tara never could have been. Lea sees life as a fairytale and, almost as a result, Tara sees it as all too real.

6. This is not to say that Tara dislikes their mother. They love her. Lea Dreschner was for a time the only one who stood by her child, who insisted that there was nothing wrong with a child that was a little serious and uptight and prone to lecturing about injustice. It was Lea, when Tara came out at fourteen, who made buttons and threw a party for two with streamers and cake frosted with pronouns. She’s silly and Tara needs a little bit of silliness just as her mother needs someone to bring her down to earth.

7. It was natural, when Lea began making friends in the neighborhood, that Tara would tag along. Spending time with Denna and Preston was always refreshing, kids of the same age who always seemed to understand that their lack of expression didn’t mean a lack of enthusiasm.

8. Tara hates their family home. It’s a McMansion monstrosity, all beige and spiraling staircases and tacky granite floors, that Lea had bought when she’d decided to settle down. Their childhood bedroom has been altered greatly over the years; walls are covered in posters of everything from 1930’s public health warnings to bands they haven’t listened to in years, polaroids and dried herbs hanging above their bed, colorful rugs scattered across the floor, and a shade over their light that tints the whole room green.

9. In Preston’s Dnd campaign, which Tara pretends to still not know all the rules to, Tara plays a wood elf bard named Madge (They insisted they couldn’t think of a more creative name). They insisted Preston let them create a spell and now “Wonderwall” is their go-to move. The rest of the time they do everything they can to avoid a fight, leading Madge to make many options that lean worryingly evil.

10. A word that could be used to describe Tara is particular. Another is exacting. Perhaps the most accurate would be control freak.

11. Tara looks way cooler than they actually are. They care about clothes and style in a very particular way and their mother has always indulged their whims. Many people say that Tara presents more feminine, but Tara thinks that’s kind of bullshit. Their hair may be grown out long, but it’s more 70s shag than anything else. A lot of their clothes lean retro- bell bottoms and crop tops and big ugly jackets with big clunky boots to top it all off. And if sometimes they wear a bitchin’ dress, well, that’s no one’s business but their own.

12. In their sophomore year of high school, Tara began selling their old clothes and their mother’s vintage online for petty cash. Years later their shop Despoena has achieved an impressive amount of popularity and has expanded into an online vintage store, as well as selling a couple indie clothing, makeup and skincare brands. Tara does not make clothing themselves, but they have a good eye for curating a specific image. The store’s official instagram has far more followers than their personal one, which is how they like it. No one except Denna and Preston even know they run the store, though others might know of it.

13. They know they’re hardly charming enough to be the face of the enterprise, so they keep it purposefully anonymous. The store’s official blog and social media is amiable in a way that Tara is incapable of being, seeming authentic and soft while still professional.

14. Tara recently found out that the amazing designs they’d seen around town are by Naia and they will walk over broken glass to get her stuff in their store. They just don’t know how to ask her.

15. It’s too silly and unsure for Tara to admit wanting it, but in moments where they’re truly honest about their goals they want to expand Despoena into something even bigger. They’ve started taking business classes, but they’re too nervous to talk about it with anyone besides Preston (Not Denna. It’s petty, but they like keeping something from her like how they know she’s keeping something from them). It feels ridiculous for someone as practical as them to be dreaming so big.

16. Imagine Despoena as a cross between Nasty Gal and Goop. There’s a focus on a natural minimalism with quirky touches. Down below I’ll link to some of the clothes and stuff I think would be on there. If I could do literally anything in photoshop I would make a logo, but I’m actually garbage sooo… sorry.

17. Tara was raised on health food and their deep dark shame is that they basically hoard circus peanuts. They’ve been vegetarian basically since birth in addition to being kosher and circus peanuts are neither. They taste like toxic bananas and are orange for some reason and they always have a bag hidden under their bed.

18. Tara and Heath would actually probably get along if Tara were able to talk to Heath without immediately hating them. If anything they could bond over starting a business anonymously or being ridiculously protective of Denna. This isn’t even a headcanon this is just something I realized while writing this.

19. Tara is more cold than angry. If they’re mad at you, you might not even know until a month later.

20. They don’t really look pretty. Or attractive or whatever, despite having the bone structure of an angel. And they don’t want to be attractive. When it comes to their personal look, Tara revels in the strange and interesting. They’re far more likely to wear a sweatshirt patterned with cockroaches than one of the simple and fun dresses you’d find on Despoena. It’s not that Tara dislikes that style- they love it, it’s why their store is the way it is. But for themselves they can only accept it in diluted doses; a simple blouse only feels right when combined with the most trashed thrift store jeans that they have and ostentatious costume jewelry. It’s with the combination of the staid and the bizarre that Tara can feel like themselves, rather than picking a side to stick to.

21. All of Tara’s favorite movies are campy B horror. They love the cartoonish performances and technicolor gore. Preston and Denna have, in their time, been forced to watch many. Tara has most of them memorized line-for-line. They often lament that their wardrobe could use more neon pink-orange bloodstains ala Suspiria.

22. Tara is guarded, but deeply protective of anyone they consider a friend. If someone hurts someone that they care about, they will hate that person for the rest of time. It’s a passion that they don’t have in regards to defending themselves. Tara doesn’t care about people who might have been cruel to them once upon a time, but anyone who ever pushed Denna or Preston on the playground better watch out.

23. Tara was raised Jewish, but doesn’t practice heavily. They still identify as culturally Jewish, go to the synagogue on Yom Kippur, and do their best to keep kosher, mainly out of habit. Since they’re vegetarian, it mainly means feeling weird about cheese made with animal rennet. One time they tried bacon out of curiosity and honestly? Not worth it.

24 At 6’1, they’ve always been one of the tallest people they know. Whenever they interact with someone taller they get grumpy. It’s not something they’re self-conscious about; rather, they see it as something that helps define them.

25. Tara does, in fact, know things about video and tabletop games. They just have horrible twitch reflexes and a bad habit of getting sidetracked on quests no one thought of making, like trying to break down the government of a fantasy world and replace it with a functioning democracy instead of doing fun things and killing dragons.

26. Sometimes Tara appears on Preston’s channel, often to fail horribly at Overwatch (they main Zarya because she’s cute, but have no idea how to play her). Their main appearances are on a very rarely updated series where Tara plays Grand Theft Auto with Preston and tries to accomplish a very specific task that isn’t actually in the game (i.e: buying a pizza, working out at the gym).

27. Part of the reason Tara likes to focus on other people is because it means they don’t have to think about their own problems and mistakes. It’s easier to help a friend than to help yourself.

28. Tara’s romantic history is… complicated. They’ve never been in an official relationship, just flings that occasionally seemed like they might be more. Sometimes when they’re too depressed for their own good they wonder if they’re incapable of anything more, if that’s the cost of seeing the complicated parts of people first.

29. I have a half-formed wisp of an idea that might be really stupid, but I think in high school Tara had a crush on one of Denna’s significant others and nothing happened but they still feel really guilty and gross about it.

30. Tara would rather be miserable than possibly hurt one of their friends.

31. For all of middle school and the first two years of high school, Tara had braces and (occasionally) headgear. It was horrible and part of the reason why they rarely smile or show their teeth.

32. Halloween is Tara’s favorite holiday. They would always give their candy to Preston and Denna as a kid, because their favorite part was going all out with costumes and decorations. Their costumes have only gotten more elaborate over the years and they rope friends into joining them. In the vague future where everything’s cool and they’ve accepted Denna and Heath’s relationship, they finally get to accomplish their dream of going as the cast of Scooby Doo with Pluto as Scooby.

[byjillianmaria]

Current Projects

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gifsets, whatever. 

I was tagged by @brynwrites :D You can see an “official” list of my WIPS here and here, but here’s an informal crash course on them (read: me rambling about why I love them so much) and an update on where I’m at with them.

I tag @eggletine @kivalauthor @megan-cutler @mcubed35 @lizard-is-writing and ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO DO THIS

Songbird

Songbird is my main project, a novel-in-progress. It’s a YA horror about Elizabeth Brighton, a somewhat socially awkward but all-around decent high school senior who winds up kidnapped by an evil witch who seems to have a major grudge against her (despite them never having met). Like, “hey, I’m going to lock you up in a cage and cast a spell to make you grow really painful, ugly feathers all over your body” type grudge. Plus, she’s getting all these weird dreams about being someone else and having a clandestine affair with another woman. Really puts her college application woes into perspective.

Songbird is a really fun story for many reasons. It’s first person, and capturing Elizabeth’s voice (sort of self-depreciating, unsure but still fun to listen to) has been the best kind of challenge. From the people who beta read the first chapter, a lot of people said they related to her, which warmed my heart!! Also, Elizabeth’s sexuality is very important to me. I wanted to write a story that was explicitly about a gay character, with a gay love interest, that didn’t focus on coming out/coming to terms with those feelings. Rather, Elizabeth’s main focus is finding autonomy and choice in a situation that seems beyond her control. It’s something I think a lot of supernatural romances tend to gloss over, so I wanted to tackle it my way.

Songbird is currently in its second draft!!! I just finished chapter 5 and will be posting an excerpt later today. I also want to release the first chapter at some point this month!!

Reversed Star

Reversed Star is another project of mine, but it moves much slower because it’s a webcomic that I’m working on with an artist friend of mine :) It’s got a REAL TANGLED WEB OF A PLOT, but the long and short of it is this: far, far in the future, humans and aliens have connected and interbred, but there is still a group of humans who live cut off from the aliens. Evangeline Dumont is one of those humans, and the heir to a vast fortune. She gets kidnapped, and across the galaxy, a human/alien hybrid named Icaruss starts dreaming from her point of view. He becomes convinced that he is destined to save her and takes off on an epic adventure with MANY setbacks, while Evangeline does her best to escape on her own.

I really love a lot of things about Reversed Star, but my favorite thing is probably the way that it takes the “damsel in distress” trope and just obliterates it. All too often, the princess is left to languish offscreen in her tower, making the story about the ~hero’s journey~ instead of about her. This story instead spends an equal amount of time on Evangeline and Icaruss as main characters. Both are allowed to have their own character arcs, are allowed to grow and change as people. And there are also a lot of really rad side characters. We’d be here all day if I talked about them!!!

My dream is to start posting the comic on October 6, because that’s the day that it starts in canon, and I think that’d be rad. Whether or not we manage that depends on Kelli’s schedule and how much she’s able to draw, but you can follow our journey on this blog. And I’m working on a short story that will probably be posted there sometime this month!!

The Fair Folk

A 5-book-series that I’m working on “after Songbird is done.” (Read: whenever the firey passion for this series overtakes me and forces me to tinker with it). It’s a sort of modern fantasy, in an alternate timeline where magic creatures like fae and werewolves are real and part of society. It also follows three narrators: Katrina Chase, a human girl who unwittingly gets involved in a Supernatural Investigation; Meri, the water faerie sister of the officer investigating the case, and Renee Morand, Katrina’s werewolf roommate whose mom pants are firmly in place throughout this ordeal. Books 1 and 5 have the ladies taking turns narrating, while Book 2 is narrated by Katrina, Book 3 by Meri, and Book 4 by Renee.

In addition to featuring three amazing, wonderful female narrators, one of my favorite things about this series is the world-building. I’m really taking my time to flesh out the history of this “alternate timeline,” how various species came to interact with human culture, what makes them different, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. Oh, and also, the canon ships are so shippable. Like, I’m just saying. And, true to my form, it features a wealth of different sexualities. (If you’re interested, Katrina’s straight, Meri’s a lesbian, her brother’s bisexual, Renee is aro/ace ... and those are just the characters I’ve mentioned).

This one is still mostly in the planning stages, although I have some scenes written out. I also daydream about them a lot. THE CHARACTERS ALL INTERACT SO WELL TOGETHER, and since Elizabeth’s more isolated in Songbird, it’s a nice outlet XD

[spiritsintertwined]

Spiritsintertwined’s list of Alternate Universes (AUs), version for mobile users

More info about Magic AU: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUmagic

More info about Faerie AU: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUfaerie

Dynamic Pokémon AU team page: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/pokemon

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Downfall AU 1: Reign of Darkness

TRIGGER WARNING: violence

[Used tags: downfall AU]

The darkness spread through him like a disease. In less than a month, it had taken overentirely. He never stood a chance, neither did his victims.

Unleashed at last.

Cries of fear and pain echoed throughout the streets. There was panic, death, complete chaos. The ones who survived squirmed on the ground, driven mad by Yami’s shadow magic. 

In a desperate attempt to stop Yami, Yugi tried to seal him inside the Millennium Puzzle again. The two faced each other in the mind room. Sadly, Yugi was far too late, his pleas falling on deaf ears. The darkness was too strong now. Yami was too strong now. With a swift movement, he locked the small teen inside the Puzzle, never to be freed again. This was his body now, his life. 

His influence spread across the land like a curtain of darkness. Chaos ensued as the people foolishly ran for their lives, then started to fight amongst themselves to survive when there was no place left to run.

…

From the chaos a new order would be born. The world started its new era, with Yami as their one and only king. Sitting on his throne, he no longer felt remorse, he felt satisfaction. The people would not dare to question his actions, as he knew better for them. They would embrace him, just as he had embraced the darkness.

But one question burned in the back of Yami’s mind. Just who had been responsible for his downfall his awakening?

In this barren, ruined world, there is still hope. Someday, the people will resist his cruel reign…

Or perhaps… he might be able to resist his own darkness again, with the right words at the right time…

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Downfall AU 2: Second Chance

TRIGGER WARNING: suicide, abuse, bullying, violence

[Used tags: downfall AU]

The darkness in his heart wouldn’t last forever. With Yugi’s lifeless body in his arms, Yami slowly came to his senses again. He buried his beloved partner in a place completely untained by his darkness: a flowerfield of red roses near the lake. The pharaoh planted a sunflower seed on the grave mound. Regretting all that he had done, the pain of living was simply too much to bear. Deciding he did not belong in this world, Yami took his own life with a swift stab in the heart. He perished next to Yugi’s grave.

Yet, fate gave them a second chance…

He would be reborn in a world that had reset itself…

But was it out of pity? Or out of vengeance?

A gift? Or a punishment?

Yami lived his new life unloved and unwanted. Abandoned by his biological parents, abused by his foster parents, bullied by his classmates, harmed by strangers, bumped into, stared at, spat on, attacked. He was despised by the living and haunted by the dead, cursed by an unknown force. His crimson eyes were the mark of the curse.

Yami didn’t understand why everyone was treating him like this, no one wanted to explain it to him. The moment any human came close to him, they turned hostile until they were at a distance again. As if the anger never happened at all. Yet, despite the unfair treatment, he never stopped trying to be on his best behaviour. He kept trying to do good deeds for others, hoping it would ease people’s angry hearts.

Until, finally, a friendly face appeared to him…

But was it a familiar face? Or someone new?

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Magic AU

[Used tags: magic AU, spirit AU]

DISCLAIMER: This story deviates from canon considerably, though the muses act fairly the same.

In this Alternate Universe, Yugi and Yami are capable of magic. Yugi and Yami are both able to cast Black and White Magic. However, Yami is better with Black Magic, while Yugi prefers White Magic. Yugi is the 9th/current reincarnation of the light spirit Hikari. With every reincarnation, the light spirit lost more of its memories. Despite the lost past, the light spirit held on to its basic values of kindness and forgiveness.

Yami is the dark spirit locked away in the Millennium Puzzle. After thousands of years, the spirit had reverted to a more primal state, barely clinging on to sanity. Soon after he was freed, he did not hesitate to cast magic on those who meant harm to him and his host Yugi. Over time, Yami’s mind slowly stabilizes.

Yugi and Yami sometimes have a phantom pain in their side. Yugi feels the pain on his left side, Yami on his right side.

Read more: Magic AU: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUmagic

Spellbook (work in progress): http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/spellbook

Extended backstory: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/lore

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Faerie AU

[Used tags: faerie AU, fairy AU, fairy!yami, fairy!yugi]

In a world hidden from human view, creatures from dreams, myths and legends live and thrive. Among them are faeries, mythological creatures of nature in this world.

Some humans believe in Faeries. As such, they attempt to lure Faerie to capture them. Some humans don’t care for Faeries at all. But others, do. Some are just interested in these tiny, playful creatures in general…and Faeries are quite curious creatures.

However, not all is as it seems, for either folk…

There are humans Faeries should avoid, and there are Faeries humans should stray from as well. A few humans will find out just how dangerous some Fae can be.

Secrets of their own kind will be revealed as these humans wander around and stumble into a world not of their own…

Yugi, the folklore investigator

A bored teenager fascinated by anything paranormal and folklore-related. He would even trespass in old, abandoned or even dangerously decrepit buildings and areas just to catch a glimpse of something supernatural. Now he has found a new subject, as well as information that may lead him to an actual sighting…

Yami, the Midnight Faerie

A type of fairy that only comes out at night. Yami is quite a mischievous creature, not hesitating to prank a hapless human being. However, he often does this to those with bad hearts. When meeting someone with a good heart, he might leave a gift.

Additional information: x

Faerie types, lore, spells and abilities: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUfaerie

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Merfolk AU

[Used tags: merfolk AU]

Yugi Mutou, the lonely college student

Yugi recently moved to a seaside town with his parents and grandfather. Over the years his family moved around a lot, throughout the country, causing Yugi to be forced to say goodbye to his newly made friends. Though this time, he might finally be able to stay much longer. He suffers from a water allergy, causing his skin to burn at the slightest contact with water, followed by a strange rash. Despite this water allergy, he wants to become a marine biologist. When disaster strikes, forcing him to be in the water for a prolonged time, he finds out his condition isn’t a water allergy at all…

Yami/Atem (name may vary), merman prince of Heracleion

Atem is the prince and future ruler of the underwater kingdom of Heracleion. His mertail is brightly colored, like most merfolk in the kingdom. His purple eyes, however, are only found in the royal family. His bitter father prohibits him from leaving the palace, but it doesn’t stop the prince from sneaking out to collect human “treasures”. Especially anything silver or shiny catches his interest. While he hates the palace life, he doesn’t really have the desire to live with landfolk either.

Admittedly, sometimes it gets tempting to visit the surface…

Merfolk tidbits:

Merfolk tears have magic properties. When shed underwater, they are distinguishable from ocean water until they dissolve after a minute. In that tiny timeframe the underwater tear can be used to cast a spell. When the tears dry up on land, they become gemlike and can be stored for later use. Yugi’s tears would appear like amethysts have soothing and mildly restorative effects, though the effect is amplied the more tears are used. Atem/Yami’s tears are like rubies and depend on his mood. Anger causes aggressive spells, sadness and fear cause protective spells. Atem, ironically, has strong connections to fire. With a dry tear he will be able to cast a fire bolt, while underwater he might be able to boil the water around his target

Atem is the prince’s official name. Naturally this proves to be troublesome whenever he escapes the palace to explore the waters. He takes on a different name, Yami, to hide this royal background.

In this AU, Yami/Atem retains his love for silver and other shiny things. This also serves as an evolutionary trait. Being able to spot shiny fish flitting in the waters would make the hunt easier. When the royal family and citizens relied less on hunting, their love for shiny objects served an aesthetic role instead.

Atem only sings on special occassions, or when a strong emotion strikes him. His deep voice allows for lovely duets, though his shyness holds him back from singing with others.

Background Lore: The culture of Heracleion citizens

Mer inhabitants still call the sunken Egyptian city Thonis instead of Heracleion. Despite the communal nature of Heracleion citizens, singing is only done during special occasions such as birthdays, coming of age rites, weddings, funerals, war songs and love songs. Singing on random occasions is frowned upon, and the wrong song for a special occasion is one of the worst taboos. Over the course of time the royal family strongly valued culture over nature. Ironically this makes them not much different from their terrestrial sibling species, even though they avoid humans and their ships like the plague.

This preference had an effect on their biology. They lost dorsal fins on the human torso, their fingers were no longer webbed, and their build became smaller and stockier. Their fish tails displayed more vibrant colors instead of just greys and blues, with more unusual colors and patterns being seen as desirable.

Because the city is situated 10 meter below sealevel (30ft),  the inhabitants of Heracleion are still more exposed to sunlight compared to deep dwelling variants of merfolk, which are more likely to dwell at an impressive ocean depth of about 3,688 meters (12,100 ft) on average or deeper. Their skin is still light as a result, but not pale. The shallow depth of Heracleion also results in a warmer temperature, allowing for less reliance on fatty fish and more on plant material and smaller animals like crabs and sardines. The inhabitants of Heracleion are still able to escape to deeper areas of the ocean to avoid detection by their human counterparts, but cannot survive past the average ocean depth.  

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Angels and Demons AU

[Used tags: angel au, demon au, demon!yami, angel!yugi]

In any versions where the muses aren’t mortal, Yami is a demon, Yugi is a(n) pervert angel. The setting can be in Paradise, Purgatory, general “Afterlife/Spiritual World” and/or mortal world. Heaven/Hell/Afterlife, at surface level, are layered over the mortal world.

Mission version

Demon Yami

Yami is a demon assigned to tempt mortals and rob them of their souls. But when he meets this particular person, he just can’t do it. Maybe it’s nice to spare one, have one to talk with…

Angel Yugi

Yugi is assigned to help lost spirits go to Paradise, while at the same time keep an eye out for demons. It’s a tiresome job, sometimes he wishes he could take a break…

Guardian version

Yami, the summoned demon

Yami is summoned by a mortal to do their bidding. The demon has to obey any order from the summoner. But was the summoner clever enough to avoid fulfilling their end of the bargain?

Yugi, the guardian angel

Yugi watches over a mortal. While he gets to talk to other angels, or even demons on his job, he never really managed to keep a friend. Maybe he could befriend the mortal? It was worth a try… right?

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Millennium Code AU

[Used tags: yami 086, yami 086.pmx, yami 086.exe, virtual au, robot au, digital au]

Variations of the AUs: Yugi needing glasses, having narcolepsy and/or being in a wheelchair. It’s possible for yAmI to meet other Yami Yugi muses. Any other Yami Yugi RPers can also write their own backstory/origin into the plot

yAmI 086’s emotions: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/post/141521235096/yamis-emotions-part-1-grey

Millennium Code AU Chapter 1: Program version

As a child, Yugi Mutou looked up to his teenage brother Yami. He was always interested in what his big brother did. That happiness wouldn’t last, however. On a particular night, Yami took Yugi to soccer practice. On their way there, a car collided into theirs, killing Yami instantly and leaving Yugi badly injured. Months later, Yugi was physically well enough to go home. Though mentally he would never be the same again.

The child was given his brother’s computer. The fascination he had for his brother’s work never left, in fact it had intensified after the accident. He picked up programming and 3D model making, managing to create a blank puppet model which he named after his brother. But there was only so much he could do with the 3D model…

The young Yugi eventually became skilled enough to repair computers, as well. One day, while trying to repair his grandfather’s old computer (working with computers certainly ran in the family), he discovers a complex code that no one was able to decipher yet. He moved the data to his own computer and attempted to decipher it.

After many years, in the present day, Yugi has become a skilled engineer, coder and hacker, staying indoors often to work on computers. Yugi finally manages to put the code together, gaining access to a mysterious program. Slowly but surely, the program seems to think and act on his own, even appearing to feel emotion. His AI almost seemed human. The program latches on to the old 3D model Yugi made, then names itself yAmI in computer languages, though it is written as “Yami”.

Millennium Code AU Chapter 1: Robot version

In this version, Yugi manages to upload the solved Millennium Code to a robot he built. This basically skips the step of yAmI being a program first, providing a different beginning. Later on the story ends up similar to the program version.

Millennium Code AU Chapter 2: Monster World MMO

It soon becomes clear this code is part of a much bigger project: A vast virtual world. The Millennium code is the key to completing the world, creating sentient, virtual lifeforms. After an attempt to copy the Millennium code in order to complete the project, the copied data ends up bug-ridden, turning rogue. It spreads like a virus. Robots, machines, devices, nothing is safe from the copy. Like a hivemind the copy constructs a machine capable of connecting the real world with the virtual world. Thankfully, not all of the copied data turned rogue…

(Work In Progress)

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Pokemon AU

Pokemon team: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/pokemon

[Used tags: pokemon, pokemon AU]

Disclaimer: The majority of these Pokémon do not have 3D models available for MMD and therefore may not appear in RP pictures. A picture might not appear in the RP at all or is substituted with a drawing or anime screenshot.

In this Alternate Universe, Yugi and Yami/Atem are Pokémon trainers. Naturally they don’t start with a full team, but gain new allies over time. This AU can take place in Domino City or the Pokémon universe.

Yugi gets his Pokémon faster because of his kind, approachable nature. Though it takes longer for them to get stronger. The small teen prefers to travel and befriend people and Pokémon, rather than become a Champion. While he doesn’t care much about battling, he will do so if absolutely necessary: having his Pokémon fight criminals and other kinds of wrongdoers.

Yami/Atem (name depends on the version) is very competitive, never refusing a trainer battle. Because of this, his Pokémon are considerably stronger. Due to his focus on training, his team has fewer numbers for a longer time.

Brothers version: In some RPs, Yami will be Atem’s nickname. Yugi and Atem are twin brothers and have their own set of Pokémon. Atem has his own identity and memories. Since he is his own person, he has his own starter (Yamask). Yugi’s starter Pokémon in this version is Espurr. Both brothers also receive an Eevee, Yugi’s Eevee evolves into Espeon and Atem’s into Umbreon.

Spirit version: Like in canon, Yami Yugi is a spirit without memories. Since he can’t have his own Pokémon in this state, he shares the team with Yugi. In this version, Yugi’s starter is a Deino. The Eevee Yugi receives evolves into Sylveon.

Shared active team (Spirit Version)

Zweilous (♂): Apollo [Jolly nature]

Yamask (♂): Ba [Lonely nature]

Sylveon (♀) : Hikari [Naive nature]

Luxray (♂): Luxor [Brave nature]

Absol (♀): Pan (Pandora) [Calm nature]

Giratina (-): Osiris  [Gentle nature]

Yugi’s own active team (Brothers Version)

Espurr (♂): Percy (Percival) [Naughty nature]

Espeon (♀) : Hikari [Gentle nature]

Venonat (♂): Kuriboh [Bold nature]

Noibat (♂): Echo [Naive nature]

Zweilous (♂): Apollo [Jolly nature]

Rayquaza (-): Gandora [Timid nature]

Atem/Yami’s own active team (Brothers Version)

Yamask (♂): Ba [Lonely nature]

Umbreon (♂): Shadow [Quiet nature]

Mismagius (♀): Morgana [Impish nature]

Luxray (♂): Luxor [Brave nature]

Tyrantrum (♂): Balt (Balthazar) [Jolly nature]

Giratina (-): Osiris [Gentle nature]

Other Pokemon (can be switched with active teams) (either version)

Braixen (♀): Helena [Sassy nature]

Dewott (♂): Miyagi [Brave nature]

Alakazam (♂): Aristo (Aristoteles) [Relaxed nature]

Serperior (♀): Maya [Modest nature]

Lucario (♂): Anubis [Serious nature]

Furfrou (♂): Athir [Adamant nature]

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More info about Magic AU: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUmagic

More info about Faerie AU: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/AUfaerie

Dynamic Pokémon AU team page: http://spiritsintertwined.tumblr.com/pokemon

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Model credits: x

Underwater background from: x

[iris-sistibly]

4R’s: Encantadia (Jan. 20, 2017 week-ender episode review)

Episode 135

Recap:

An Endless Battle

Aquil and Wantuk led the diwatas to safety, along the way they encountered a group of Hadezars, in the middle of the battle, another ivtre came and surprisingly helped Aquil and Wantuk in battle. The ivtre was actually Amarro, Aquil’s deceased father. At first, Aquil was surprised but was really glad to see his father once again. Amarro told him he was able to get out of Balaak thanks to Hagorn and even encouraged Aquil to leave the diwatas and take Hagorn’s side so they will be together once again. Amarro is a friend of King Arvak, Hagorn’s father. Thus Amarro is pledging allegiance to Hathoria and persuaded Aquil to do the same, but the former general refused to do so and vowed to never leave the diwatas and Lireo.

The Hathors and Hadezars led by King Hagorn made it to the palace’s entrance, the sang’gres appeared with Ybrahim and Lila Sari. In a last attempt of settling things between the two kingdoms, Hagorn asked Amihan her decision once again. Queen Amihan, having no doubts and fear anymore gave him her words—that they will never surrender and fight ‘till the end. The war between Hathors and diwatas ignited once again, the sang’gres, Ybrahim and Lila Sari fought together but Ybrahim and Lila Sari got injured, the two were forced to leave the battle, Alena brought them to a much safer place in the palace. Amihan and Danaya were left to handle the Hadezars who are impossible to kill, fortunately, someone aided them in battle, a diwata both Amihan and Danaya knew very well—Hitano. He met Cassiopeia prior to that and asked where Lila Sari was, the eye told him where Lila Sari was and that’s how he made it to Lireo. Hitano was able to kill and eliminate the Hadezars, the three followed Alena, Lila Sari and Ybrahim.

Danaya immediately used the earth gem to heal Lila Sari’s wounds while Ybrahim tended to his own, having an innate power to heal himself. Lila Sari was ecstatic to see Hitano once again but wondered why Hitano seemed to be different now. Amihan explained that since Hitano is already an ivtre, he no longer has emotions or feelings, it died along with his body. It was the sad truth, but other than that, they discovered one thing: Hitano was able to kill the Hadezars, Aquil and Wantuk came back shortly after, and so are Hagorn and his troop. The women stood behind the men, the first line of defense worked together, it was inevitable for Aquil to face his own father, but it was painted in Amarro’s face how much he wanted Aquil on their side and stop fighting him, but Aquil stood firm on his decision to stay by the diwatas side. The team whisked their way out of the battle with the help of the sang’gres. Hagorn knew Amihan and her troop hasn’t left the palace yet, so he ordered to search the entire palace. The team teleported all the way to the throne room where Muros and the other Lirean guards were waiting.

Hitano was able to kill the ivtres, that was a discovery they made after Hitano helped Amihan and Danaya earlier, Aquil also witnessed this when Amarro saved him and Wantuk. Hitano revealed that an ivtre’s weakness is another ivtre, that means only a fellow ivtre is capable of eliminating the Hadezars, and the only ivtre in Amihan’s side is Hitano who was already injured and cannot handle all the Hadezars alone. Amihan knew they needed another ivtre to help Hitano and their troop…from their side. That means one of them has to sacrifice to become an ivtre, it was a risky move and a desperate plan but Amihan swore to never let the Hathors take over Lireo once again, and that was their only chance.

A letter to Pirena

After finding out from Imaw’s cane about Mine-a’s letter, Pirena wasted no time and went after Gurna. Pirena pointed her sword at Gurna and demanded for Mine-a’s letter, something which Gurna denied to have any knowledge of but eventually took her to the place where she hid the letter after Pirena revealed what she saw in the balintataw. Gurna handed over the letter to Pirena whom she stated to be nonesense since not a single word was comprehensible. But when Pirena opened the letter, words fell into place, and the real message of Mine-a appeared, the letter was enchanted, and Mine-a was smart enough to cast a spell on it so that no one else but Pirena will be able to read it. In that letter, Mine-a stated how saddened she was about how their mother and daughter relationship fell apart after Mine-a chose Amihan to succeed her as queen, and eventhough Mine-a sincerely believed that Pirena does deserve the crown as well, it was Amihan’s fate to become the ruler of the kingdom. But she understood Pirena’s pain and resentment, she understood why she left Lireo and sided with Hagorn, her real father. Mine-a’s only regret is that she failed to let Pirena know that she doesn’t have to become queen for Mine-a was already proud of her first-born, intelligent and courageous. And despite of everything Pirena has done, despite of all the fights and misunderstandings, Mine-a expressed how much she loves her and hopes that one day Pirena will return, because Lireo will never be the same without Pirena. Realizing that Mine-a really loves her, Pirena became angry at how Gurna blinded her and made her believe that her mother and sisters doesn’t love her. Gurna explained that being a half-diwata and half-Hathor was considered a curse by many, Gurna was born to a diwata and a Hathor and bitterly told Pirena how she was mistreated because of her heritage. When Hagorn took her in and made her a spy for Hathoria, Gurna did not hesitate and hid her true identity. Hagorn also told her to keep a close eye on Pirena, something which Gurna took by heart, she didn’t want Pirena to suffer the same fate she had, thus she did everything to turn Pirena into who she is now. Gurna attempted to win Pirena back by asking for forgiveness and urged her to go back to Hagorn’s side, but Pirena did not listen this time and did what she should have done long ago, she stabbed Gurna from behind and plunged the blade deep into her body. Pain and anger was painted all over Pirena’s face. Gurna told Pirena that she sees her as a daughter, but Pirena retorted that she was never her daughter, for she is a daughter of Mine-a. Gurna died in Pirena’s hands, the latter could not believe that the one whom she trusted the most since she was a child was the one who has been deceiving her all along. Cassiopeia appeared shortly after and told Pirena to go to Lireo for her sisters are in the middle of a war against Hagorn and they need her.

Pirena went to Lireo and confirmed that there was indeed an ongoing battle against the Hathors. She was surprised to see Asval once again who has become an ivtre, but wasted no time on him and went to look for Amihan. The sang’gres are about to be reunited.

Raves:

💎 Encantadia 2005 is no doubt an iconic fantasy series, but Encantadia 2016-2017 has it’s own version of the term, tonight, is definitely one of the BEST episodes ever! From the musical scoring, to the special effects, costumes, to the performance of the entire cast—I’d say, I’m definitely putting this on my list of top episodes! Hands down DMR, I am definitely looking forward for more exciting twists!

💎 So it’s either one of them will sacrifice which is probably the craziest plan Amihan has ever come up, or the sang’gres reuniting. I saw the teaser for Monday’s episode and the sang’gres are using the three gems plus Pirena’s powers which was probably from Ether. Kahlil has been shown a lot in some episodes especially Lira’s journey to Devas and I’m kinda sensing that he will return from Devas along with the other deceased diwatas from Emre’s side. What do you guys think?

❤ But the owner of the spotlight goes to…Glaiza de Castro and Vaness Del Moral! The way Pirena read Mine-a’s letter literally teared me up, and the intense confrontation between Gurna and Pirena was a scene worth replaying. Avisala meiste Gurna! Vaness played the character so well, and I’m honestly gonna miss her, but you know, Pirena has to go back where she truly belongs. And Glaiza, of course, the way she spoke those lines gave me goosebumps, especially the part when she stabbed Gurna from behind and told her, “Hindi mo ako anak, pagkat ako ay anak ni Mine-a.” Damn! I was so blown away! I am speechless!

😈 The comeback is REAL! Avisala Amarro! Up until now, I still see Alfred Vargas as Aquil. But in all fairness, Alfred and Rocco’s father and son chemistry is definitely a must love! I am looking forward for more of Amarro’s story in the next set of episodes!

Rant:

🤔 BUT WAIIIIT! If ivtres don’t have feelings anymore, why did I sense some concern in Amarro’s eyes when he fought Aquil? Why does Hitano still cares for Lila Sari?

Best performers for this episode: Glaiza de Castro 🔥 Vaness Del Moral 👃

Rating: 10 out of 10 💎s

Week-ender thoughts: Another week has passed and this has been a super intense week! I am glad that the longest arc aka Pirena the nawawala ng landas arc has finally come to an end, there is a new addition to the cast and I am glad that he is someone from the original saga. In the next episode DMR teased about the diwanis going back to Lireo, and Amihan did say that they have to sacrifice one of them to become an ivtre, remember they cannot fully eliminate Hagorn’s troop yet since the fire and spirit gems are still in Hagorn’s possession. Could it be that either Lira or Mira will die and become an ivtre? Although I know that team Devas will come at the right time, still, is it possible? I wanna know your thoughts, comment below!

Overall best performers for this week: John Arcilla ☠️ Glaiza de Castro 🔥 Kylie Padilla 🌪

Overall rating: 10 out of 10 💎s

Photo credits: From Twitter: @GMAEncantadia (Encantadia 2016 official twitter acct) @gmanetwork (GMA network); official website: gmanetwork.com @GMADrama (GMA Drama)

From Facebook: Encantadia 2016

Video credits: gmanetwork.com via YouTube & dailymotion

[lil-minkurs]

Kafka CHARACTER SHEET

Basic Statistics

Name: Kafka Nikolas Ivanovich Nickname:  Kaffy (by Vera), Nikolas (by Clive), Shorty, Stump (Both by Luljeta), Termite infested moron, Bug for brains (Both by Vadim) Meaning of name: It is Czechoslovakian for Bird. Origin of name:  Vera had given him the name, it was at the time when she was obsessed with bird watching and rather liked how it sounded. Kafka often complains about it, as he loathes being named after creatures who do nothing but fly around, scream, eat and shit.

Age: Unknown (Though the organs that Clive had stolen for Vera are those of little boys, ages from 10 to 12, to older adult men. With the way his speech patterns are and how he speaks, you would think he is a 40-year-old man.)

Sex: Male

Nationality: Czechoslovakian (Though technically he has NO nationality, the organs that are inside of him are.)

Species: Ghost. Most specifically A trapped/hungry ghost.

Political Party: Anarchism (More specifically, Anarchist Communism. Anarchist communism is a form of anarchism that advocates the abolition of the State and capitalism in favour of a horizontal network of voluntary associations through which everyone will be free to satisfy his or her needs.)

Birth date:  1894 Birth place: Russia (Though his parts are Czechoslovakian)

Current residence: Vladimirovich Castle Describe their dwelling/house: At the moment, unfortunately, I do not have proper blue prints for the Castle, as I want to fully draw it before I describe it as that kind of detail would take several days maybe even a week or two for full detail as I want to make it as authentic as possible.

Occupation: Henchman (Though he would prefer to be called the boss.)

Hobbies/Pastimes: Playing board-games with Vera (But he is a sore loser), Bowling, Casino gambling, Collecting swords, Collecting Antiques, Collecting Music Albums, Darts, Gun collecting, Hunting, Illusion, Lawn darts, Owning an antique car, Roleplaying (More or less for sexual fantasies). Talents: He can perform magic tricks, Being thorough, Checking for accuracy, Collecting Items, Collaborating ideas.

Powers:  Semi-Immortality, Ectoplasm Manipulation, Fear Inducement, Flight, Intangibility, Possession, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Self-Sustenance, Corpse possession.

Family: (Putting them with the title of 'family' is a bit exaggerated. As Kafka just see's them the same way that Vera does, Business partners.)

Vera-His creator. Though he does not see her as a 'Mother' despite her creating him, he see's her more or less as a Mistress. He fears and respects her, not enough to NOT spat with her once and a while, but enough to back down with a simple death glare from the girl.

Clive-He see's Clive as a Mentor of sorts, though he treats him as a servant like Vera does, Clive does not take his bullshit from him at all, as Kafka is not his Master. Despite seeing Clive as a Mentor, Kafka still disobeys and argue's with him.

Past History

Hometown: Karlovy Vary.

First Memory:  Kafka's very first memory was when he was alive when he had his virginity taken away by the Prostitute. Though it is not one of his fondest memories, it is the one that continues to replay inside his head quite often.

Other memories/events that still affects him/her and why/how: Kafka remembers quite a bit from his time when he was still living. He remembers going on bank robberies, he remembers drinking beer with his buddies until he had gotten shit faced. He remembers picking up girls and beating them if they disobeyed anything he asked of them. He remembers escaping prison with his inmates and killing anyone who tried to stand in his way. He remembers pulling off fantastic schemes in order to get what he wanted or just for his own personal gain, regardless if it hurt or did harm to anyone else. Setting fire to an orphanage because he disliked the annoying laughter of some of the children who were able to play for a bit outside.

Past failures s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about and why: When Clive and Kafka had to run an errand for Vera, as they had to travel to Paris, France, to steal one of the skulls from the catacombs, as Vera love's to collect odd and creepy valuables.  Kafka was the one to remember what to grab it but had forgotten halfway through when trying to pick up French school girls. Leaving Clive to muddle his way through the catacombs, while dragging a desperate as well as horny, Kafka under his arm. Waiting to see if anything would come back to him.

When Kafka was left watching the castle while Vera and Clive were roaming the forest during one of Vera's various walks around the area. Vera usually is always accompanied by Clive in any situation she takes place in or is apart of, or in simple things such as walks or discussing business with her allies/enemies. But, unfortunately, Kafka, having a weakness for pretty faces, and even weaker limbs for pretty, with a sexy voice & vivacious hips, had let in Vera's former enemies, Vadim and Luljeta. Well, mostly Luljeta, as she was sent to distract Kafka while Vadim had let himself in after when Kafka had shut the door, while the surly man was behind it. Vera and Clive had come back to see Kafka being held upside down, by his ankles by Vadim, while Luljeta was trailing her fingertips along the beautifully painted walls. It was then that Vera had made a business deal with them.

There are a ton more that Kafka has screwed up on, it is in an entire list that Vera has written, and pulls out whenever Kafka contradicts himself.

Favorite parent(Let's say 'Business Partner' For this): I would have to say, Luljeta Why? : He has a thing for strong Women. (More described in the Relationship part)

Biggest role model: Himself Why?: Kafka would rather look up to someone who he knows won't be a complete disappointment. One who can count on and expect good expectations from. (Hypocritical, seeing as half the time his temper get's in the way of his work, as he makes brash decisions upon it.)

Backstory:(I will not go into full detail, but I will write the basics. As most of his past has been explained in the bio.)  Kafka was born in the Czech Republic, in Karlovy Vary, in 1799. Born into a poor family, with his Mother being the town wino as well as the town "bicycle", as well as his Father being a severe drug addict (Heavy with Cocain as well as Paregoric, an excellent pain reliever.) While nothing is known about his family background (As most of the towns humiliations began with the Ivanovitch's and ultimately their end was a blessing.) Kafka grew up without an education but was filled with many street smarts as he was taught about dealing not only other drugs but also how to exchange weapons for money. As he grew up in a household that often kicked him to the curb, Kafka spent most of his time out on the streets with people he barely knew. And stealing his own meals was something he had come accustomed too. When his birthday had begun, he was officially kicked out of his house and swore that he would slaughter his parents. But time and the environment that they were stuck in, had done that for him as his household was a hovel. A complete desolate wasteland of bugs, vermin, and anything that could move its way into the house. His parents had died of many diseases. Such as Malaria, cocain overdose and Chlamydia. After his escapades during his birthday (When he had murderously killed a prostitute) his life had changed. Kafka had taken on a whole new persona and a whole new view of life and how to treat it.  When he died after being bludgeoned to death by one of his "buddies" Kafka's soul was transferred into Vera's dummy, where he serves as a Hungry Ghost.

Physical Characteristics

Height:  3,3 Weight:  10 pounds Posture:  Slouched when pretending to be immobile, but other wise pretty straight, except when pouty, or angry. Build:  (I understand that you mean the actual build like of a person. But let's do the actual build and material for a Dummy.) Since Kafka's organs consist of actual human remains, most of the insides of him as well as his head consists of real organs (What is keeping them together is the spirit that dwells inside of Kaffy.) Sculpt a ventriloquist dummy head out of clay. Create moulds that capture every essence of your sculpture. Cast the ventriloquist dummy’s head and check the quality. Cut out and build a moving mouth. Explain exactly how the mouth pivot point is determined. Take a perfectly preserved brain and slowly cut open the top of the head. Placing the brain in, attach the many of the Brainstems. The Brainstem is the posterior of the brain, adjoining and structurally continuous with the spinal cord. Build self-centring, moving eyes for your ventriloquist figure. Build a wooden ventriloquist figure body. One the body is built, take the perfectly preserved organs and begin to place them in one by one and attach them to the walls of the body, making sure to surgically connect each, so that they work as if in a living human body. Sew and attach arms and legs. Paint the ventriloquist figure to bring it to life. Use a Dark spell to bring Dummy to life, make sure to choose the right spirit to enter your new friend. Skin: Chipped, burlywood coloured skin tone. Hair: Rust red hair Ears: Carved to be small and rounded. Eyes: Sunken slate coloured eye's, with dark taupe underneath of them. Nose:  He has a long hawk shaped nose, with a dramatic curve and prominent bridge. Mouth: Thin and pale Describe their smile: He has an Asymmetrical smile, a rather arrogant one as he makes it quite often. (Not only because of how his mouth was carved but because his amusement is at time's fake.) But mostly his expression is that of a wide toothy grin. Hands: Small, short-fingered Feet: Small, about size three Left/Right handed: Left Handed. Distinguishing features: The screws that hold together all the parts of his hand and on his body, and how real his hair actually looks.

How does s/he dress: Kafka mainly dresses in men's clothing from the 1940's, most specifically Gangster type of clothing that suites his style.  Fishtail trousers and River Waistcoat, Pinstripe, Straw fedora hats, Homburg hats, Gabardine Jacket, Stacy Adams Dayton-Wingtip shoes, Mens black wide leg trousers, Zoot suit, Keds sneakers 1940's, Vintage WWII American red cross HBT bag, Shearling lined Sherpa work vest 1940's, Double breasted Suit-Pinstripe, 1940's Riding pants Salt and Pepper breeches jodhpurs. Other accessories: Bow tie, Mens vintage 1940's narrow necktie, vintage 1940's belt buckle

Weapons: A Beeman/Krico 340SMA "Super Silhouette", KG 9/99 (His favourite), .54 cal pistol, Weatherby Mark V magnum. Are they generally balanced or clumsy? : Kafka is slightly clumsy at times. Due to his short stature and the fact that he is still a bit new to the body he has, it sometimes get's a little much for him to keep his composure when he is trying to complete tasks that Vera has set out for him to do. Sometime's tripping over his feet, or underestimating some depth perception on his part. At time's being unable to catch objects thrown or tossed towards him.

Mannerisms/Poses/Movement:  

Mannerisms: Jiggling leg up and down when he is bored, tapping foot, Making loud burps, Has a foul mouth, Rolls his eye's whenever he hears something he finds idiotic, Rubbing hands together, Points, Shifts in his seat when nervous, Slapping people on the back (Women the ass), Gestures a lot when speaking, Slouches when pouty or just upset or even angry, Puts feet on table and or desks, Toys with objects in front of him due to his curiosity and boredom, Picks at teeth, Gives off a nervous cough.

Poses: Will sit down with legs crossed or spread out. Will stand up straight or at time's slouched depending on mood, either with hands to his sides or in his pockets.

Describe their walk: He will do a type of falter walk whenever he is nervous about a plan, He prowls around whenever he wants to be sneaky, but mostly Kafka walks in strides with confidence.

Habits/OCD/Obsessions:

Habits: Swears like a sailor, Smokes like a chimney, Drinks quite a bit of Alcohol, Speaks with mouth full, Uses old-timey slang from time to time, Picks his teeth in public and often flicks it over to someone, Interrupts other's quite a bit, Watches porn (a TON of it), Lies a lot, Procrastinates, At times forgets the names of people he has met or introduced too (Especially when seeing a woman who catches his eye.)

OCD's:  He hoards quite a bit of stuff that he believes will be useful to him in the future Intrusive sexually explicit or violent thoughts and images (But he doesn't mind those)

Obsessions: Egomania, Megalomania, Plutomania, Nymphomania, Theomania.

Speech Patterns:  Uses heavy profanity, and often is seen talking as a Gangster, using the same idioms and slang. Voice: He has an Adenoidal type of voice. Which means, if someone’s voice is adenoidal, some of the sounds seems to come through their nose. Describe their laugh: While his voice is an Adenoidal type, his laugh is more Grating, than anything. Which is an unpleasant and annoying laugh. It is quite loud and obnoxious.

Style (Elegant, shabby, etc): More so a vintage type of style from the 1940's to even the 1950's.

Intellectual/Mental/Personality Attributes and Attitudes

Intelligence Level:  About 100 on the IQ Classification. Which is about Average intelligence. Known Languages: Slovakian/Russian/English

Character's long-term goals/desires in life:  His long-term goals would be to make a lot of money and have tons of Women under his arm. Kafka is quite arrogant, so his main goals in life would be for himself to gain everything that he desires, which is more women for him to perv over and money to spend whenever he wants. He also craves to be feared and worshipped by all. The character's short-term goals/desires in life:  His short-term goals would be for Vera to get off his back about his poor work efforts, and to finally be able to impress her and Clive. Secret desires: To make Luljeta his Woman.

How self-confident is the character?: Kafka is extremely self-confident. To the point where he is accused by Clive of having Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), as he has many of the aspects of someone who does. No Empathy, Remorse, always self-entitled to things he is not, quite deceptive, showing a Jekyll and Hyde persona, where he will spin 180 degrees into someone else just so he can achieve what he wants.

How do they see him/herself?: Kafka sees himself as a strong and tall King, essentially. Holding himself up high, and beating everyone down to his level so he can gain control over them. How do they believe s/he is perceived by others?: Kafka would like to believe that he is perceived as like a god to other's, or at least admired unconditionally. Since, like Vera in some ways, he has a God complex (God Syndrome). Though it is quite the opposite, as many around him find him increasingly annoying and or irritating.

What is the character most proud of?: Kafka is most proud of his accomplishments and of his past events that he remember's quite fondly. What does the character like least about themselves?: That he can get envious of others.

How do they express themselves?:  Kafka expresses himself through his movement, but mostly through his wording to others. Being very boisterous as well as brusque, can get him into too much trouble.

Is this character generally dominant or submissive?: Although Kafka is a Dom by nature, he doesn't mind being a Sub for a strong Woman. (As mostly seen when Luljeta put's him in his place or when Vera does.) He would rather drop himself into a wood chipper then let another man tell him what to do, or an authority figure.

Patience level: on a level of 1 to 10?: 3. Because of Kafka's low patience, combined with his high temper, he can barely function when it come's to waiting for things that he would rather have now. Which is why he is at time's accompanied by Clive when going to complete tasks for Vera. (Which he loathe's, as he would rather do missions solo, then having someone tailing behind every step of the way like a child.) Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?: Kafka is at time's mostly ruled by emotion, then he is logic. As his anger, lust, pride and jealousy get the better of him quite often. Although the time's when he is ruled by his logic, it is when Vera or Clive straighten him out and Kafka actually starts to think up brilliant schemes, and is a skilled arsonist.

Most at ease when: He is most at ease when dealing with women, when using weapons, when lying to a person, or even after he drinks beer. (Then he is loose and eased enough for everyone...) Ill at ease when: He is most ill at ease when in a situation that he feels threatened in. Otherwise, Kafka can remain calm in many incidences.

Describe their sense of humour: Kafka's type of humour would be a cross between Slapstick comedy/Sarcasm/Joke's at other's expense/Black humour. Though he relies on Slapstick humour the most, as he loves to play tricks on others for his own amusement. But the same can be said for Kafka when he makes Joke's at other's expenses, rather enjoying when other people (It doesn't matter who) are ridiculed, or teased.

If granted one wish, what would it be?:   To be in charge of everything or to have complete control of the Universe. Why?:  He believe's that if he was in command of everything that he will have complete control of anything and if he can do such a feat, he will be able to be happy. Plus, he just likes domination over all.

Character/Personality/Mental/Social Strengths:

Personality: Surly, Biased, Brazen, Brusque, Condescending, Haughty, Hedonist, Impetuous, Pretentious, Provocative, Querulous, Rancorous, Spontaneous, Dominant, Superficial, Tenacious, Vindictive, Spiteful.

Mental: Seeking knowledge, Knows who he is, Passions, Purpose, Has a hobby, Has a sense of style, Critical thinking, Resilient to change, Knows what he likes and does not.

Social: Open to thoughts and feelings (A little TOO much.), Makes good eye contact with someone. Character/Personality/Mental/Social Flaws:

Personality: (All of his Strength personalities ate his weaknesses. )

Mental: Poor relationships, Does not care about other's, Jealousy, Ignorance, Controlled by his emotions, Lies, Uncontrolled, Spends recklessly, Poor acceptance skills, Negativity bias, Doesn't like to share, Poor diet and poor fitness, Holds grudges, Builds up anger, Easily irritated, Tries to hurt other's, Easily offended, Abrasive, See's kindness as weakness, Rude.

Social: His social flaws are his Mental flaws.

If they could be described with one of the seven virtues, which would it be?: Diligence.

If they could be described with one of the seven sins, which would it be?: Wrath. As Kafka really does not have control over his anger, it is difficult for him to control it. Although, he love's the feeling of enraged adrenaline coursing through him.

Biggest Vulnerability (non-physical):  One of his biggest vulnerabilities is the fact that he can't really control his emotions at all. His brash behaviour makes Kafka uncontrollable.

Optimist or Pessimist: Pessimist. (He does not see the light in various situations, and rather would want the world to burn, or ascend into chaos then see things shine through.)

Introvert or extrovert: Extrovert (While he is a Pessimist. He love's to Socialize. Well, more so when he drinks.)

Greatest Fear: Being burned alive. (Make's sense, since Kafka is mostly made of wood. But it stems from being burned nearly fully alive by the first fire that Clive had caused when being summoned by Vera. Kinda the reason why he has a grudge against Clive and why he always refuses to partner with him.) Other Fears/Insecurities/Phobias:

Other Fears: Being thrown off a bridge or cliff and into a lake or river of water. (As Kafka can not swim at all. It is something he would rather not happen to him.) Being used as a scratching post or kindle for fire.

Insecurities: (I don't think someone who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder has any Insecurities. )

Phobias: Trypophobia, Theophobia (Fear of God or Religion), Gatophobia (Fear of cats. Mainly because he has a fear of being used as a scratching post), Pyrophobia. Emotional/psychological/social peculiarities:

Emotional: Extraversion-excitability, sociability, talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of emotional expressiveness. Neuroticism-Tendency to experience emotional instability, anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness, as well as having a low tolerance for stress.

Active, Adventurous, Challenging, Competitive, Confident, Dominating, Deceptive, Determined, Experimental, Freewheeling, Iconoclastic, Impressionable, Intense, Noncommittal, Outspoken, Unpredictable, Preoccupied, Proud, Sarcastic, Stubborn, Tough, Abrasive, Abrupt, Aggressive, Amoral, Apathetic, Arrogant, Arbitrary, Argumentative, Blunt, Boisterous, Brutal, Callous, Cantankerous, Childish, Coarse, Cold.

Psychological: Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Biggest regret:  Not being able to pick up any of those French girls when he was with Clive. Other regrets: Not being able to take over properly or in a situation whenever it is him with Lice or with Vera. Not being able to prove to Vera that he can be an affordable foe or leader. And not being able to get any women to go out with him.

Biggest accomplishment:  Kafka's biggest accomplish was being able to convince Vera that he can go on missions with Clive. Being able to use any kind of Weapon or Artillery without skipping a beat. That, even though he doesn't really get anywhere with Women, the fact that he keeps going after one after the other still amazes him and counts to him as a big accomplishment. Having extremely high stamina despite not knowing how to fully use it. Being of use to Vera and Clive in some ways, whether it is dealing with other's, being the distraction, or using his skills in weaponry. Minor accomplishments: To be perfectly honest, any type of accomplishing to Kafka is big.

Musical talents/instruments: None. Musical Talents: If playing the tambourine is one. Then technically yes.

Instruments:  Tambourine. Character's darkest/deepest secret: He has none. Kafka is an open book to all his pervy needs and doings. Minor Secrets: None.

Likes/Dislikes

Likes:  Sweets, Massages (Just from women.), Women, Violence, Fighting, Drama (He lives for it), Men's clothing, Any kind of liquor, Archery, Weapons, Models, Sports (Mainly underground sports), Wrestling, Sun tanning (He mostly likes to watch women sun bathing.), Singing (As long as it is not Opera), Bowling, Brewing Beer, Car racing, Casino Gambling (Any type of gambling), Cigar smoking, Collecting anything he can get his hands on, Dancing, Darts, Eating out, Movies (Anything that's rated R or 18A. With a lot of violence, explosions and sex.) Dislikes:  Being told what to do, being yelled at, being treated like a child, not being heard, being placed in time out, being embarassed or humiliated, fishing, floral arrangements, being slapped, punched or hit in any way, gardening, wearing goofy looking clothing, gnomes, golf, skating, horses, birds, cats, dogs (Any animal that makes him annoyed), puzzles, juggling, people who are loud (Even though he can be) someone who talkes too much, squealing on him.

Favorite

Color:  Maroon Clothing:  Wool Tweed suit Place: Italy/Romania Room in the house and why:  His bedchambers. After complaining that he had no room for himself but Clive did, Vera had given Kafka is own room to have, once he was full possessed by the spirit and gained more ground for himself, being able to walk and talk properly. There was no reason to keep him in her room by her bed anymore. Kafla appreciated the privacy, as he expected to bring more, as he called them "Dame's" to the room. Music genre:  Rock, Jazz, Alternate rock, Heavy metal, Drum and bass Songs and Singers/Bands:  (While Kafka is mainly 1940's style and his spirit lived during that time, he has adapted to different type's of tastes that he has been introduced to in the 21st century) He does not have a favourite Singer or band, but he has songs that he enjoys. Undead-Hollywood Undead Dead Bite-Hollywood Undead Kill Everyone-Hollywood Undead Medicine-Hollywood Undead Usual Suspects-Hollywood Undead Eat you Alive-Limp Bizkit Obsession-Innerpartysystem Pony-Ginuwine Blood on the Floor-Call me Master Welcome to the Show-Britt Nicole Gospel of Dismay-DAGames Build our Machine-DAGames Talk Dirty-Jason Derulo Enjoy the Show-NateWantsToBattle Left behind-DAGames Movies/Tv Shows/Performances:  When it's not any form of Porn from Kafka, there are a few Movies he does indulge in, as well as TV shows. As for Performances, he does not have a favourite. He just believe's that as long as the acting doesn't suck, he can get into it.

Movies: Citizen Kane, Laura, Dead of Night, Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, Suspiria, Halloween, The Exorcist, Psycho, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Shinning, The Evil Dead, Saw, The Thing, Rosemary's baby, The Fly, The Omen, Carrie, Aliens, Close encounters of the Third kind, Donnie Darko, Groundhog Day, Ghostbusters, Dr.Strangelove, Some like it Hot, Young Frankenstein, All Monty Python movies, Caddyshack.

Tv Shows:  The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jack Benny program, The Twilight Zone, American Horror Story, Bates Motel, Tales from the Crypt Keeper, Penny Dreadful, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery. Books:  Be prepared for some names of Porn mags. But some are of different nature that Kafka likes to read. Mainly Weapons and of Spells (Which are all Vera's own collection. As she believe's that to be prepared for any type of battle against anyone and anything. These are just a list of a small few.) But his favourite is of the dirty nature.

Weapons:  The Longbow, Firearms: An Illustrated History, Standard catalogue of military firearms, Winchester Level Action Riffles, The Gladius: The Roman short Sword, The illustrated world of Encyclopedia of Guns, 101 Knife Designs: Practical Knifes for daily use, Hatcher's notebook.

Spells:  Book of Shadows, The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, Petit Albert, Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells, Candlelight Spells, Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, The everything Wicca and witchcraft book, Grand Grimoire.

Dirty Shit: Adam Film World, Asian Fever, Barley Legal-Hustler, Celebrity Skin, Chic, Club, Gallery, Genisis, Gent, Gourmet, High Society, Hustler, Juggs, Leg Show, Modern Man, Oui, Penthouse Forum, Perfect 10, Playboy, Score, SCREW,Swank, Asian Babes, Club International, Escort, Fiesta, Mayfair, Men Only, Men's World, Knave, Penthouse, Razzle, Lolita, Aktuell Rapport, Cats, Lui, Colour Climax, Private, Beppin, Lemon People, Manga Burikko, Urecco, Video Boy, Debonair, Nuts, Zoo Weekly.

Historical figure: Alphonse Gabriel Capone. Animal:  Hyaeninae

Least Favorite:

Clothing:  He doesn't really like "Monkey suits" any type of black tie affairs or clothing that makes him look prim and proper. Sandals, he HATES sandals. Place:  Hospitals, Schools, Old folks homes. He doesn't like hospitals because he thinks they smell like piss and vinegar. He doesn't like old folks homes because he can't stand old people and thinks they smell like death and shit. He hates schools because he dislikes Children. A lot. Loathes them. Music genre:  Classical music, Opera, Pop, Hip-hop, Rap, he is not fond of classic rock, Whiney crap. (He hates all of that stuff.) Simple Pleasures:  Sprinklers, Holding hands, Receiving big projects, Watching Squirrels or Birds (He hates both), Any kind of Tea sipping (He hates Tea), Playing any kind of game with children. Where does this character like to hang out?:  Wherever Women are, Kafka is bound to be there. Bars, High Schools, College's, even Parks.  Or even outside of their own house (He is a Voyeur.) Where is this character's dream place to live?:  He hopes to one day have a bigger home then Vera's, with as many women as he can have inside of it. (Basically the Play boy Mansion.)

Motto/Personal quote:  "The Devil whispered in my ear "Your not strong enough to withstand the storm" Today I whispered in the Devil's ear "I am the storm."

Mode of transportation:  Usually he walks or he takes the Mahogany and Crimson Brougham Carriage with Clive.

Most prized possession: It would be his weapons that he owns. Why?: Kafka enjoys weapon collecting, often finding it hard to try them out at all. Owning something that he can have his hands on and use, is an immense rush to him. He likes being in control.

Relationships with others

Relationship Skills: Loves:  Kafka does not have any "loves" but he has a series of Lustful infatuations. He is not skillful in this emotion at all. He doesn't ever "fall" in love. Lusts: He can lust with the best of 'em. Mainly after women who he finds incredibly attractive. Basically, anything in a skirt will get Kafka's attention. Crushes:  He has a crush on Luljeta. Girlfriend/Boyfriend(s): None Another lover (s): None Marital status:  Single (But at times mentally believe's he is dating Lulu.)

First crush:  Luljeta (If I were to describe their relationship it would be the song Eat you Alive by Limp Bizkit.) Did it last?: The feeling has lasted for several decades. Why or why not?: While he does not "love" her, or have any "Infatuation" for her, he believe's that she is the perfect kind of woman for him and wants to possess her.

Best Friends: While Kafka does not have "Friends" he has people in a category which he plainly puts as "Those who I will piss on" and "Those who I won't" The very top of the won't is Vera. So, in some strange way he see's her as a "Best friend". Friends:  "Those who I won't" are Vera, Clive, Luljeta. Hates:  "Those who I will piss on"  is a rather long list, so I won't list all of them. But just a few. Vadim Tyler Luna Nowta Lily Angel Anyone who tries to cock blocks him, and so much more. Rivals:  Vadim, Crowley

What kind of person would s/he considers to be the perfect partner?: Kafka considers the perfect partner to be, Foreign, doesn't matter what skin tone they are, with a sexy accent, vivacious, curvacious, who doesn't mind getting themselves of their hands dirty, who has a wicked mind, who is wicked in bed, full lips, bedroom eyes, who is feisty, limber. (It doesn't matter to him much about the mind...he is just that sexist.)

Is the character judgmental of others and how so? :  Kafka is not only sexist, but he is extremely judgmental. A snob, if you will. Though he has poor manners and is quite rude and crude. Like he believe's that any man who has an affinity for style is Gay to him. Or any woman who dresses a tad bit too "Manly" is obviously butch to him.

How is s/he perceived by...

Strangers?: When complete strangers see Kafka, their first thought about him would be his size, first of all, why he looks the way he does would be the second thought, and the third thought when he finally does speak is how freaky he actually is. Otherwise, the first two would be the most question worthy of them. Friends?: By Kafka's "Friends" (Not exactly the right word for them as they are more, again, business partners) he is thought of as perverted, arrogant, boisterous, crude, annoying. Family?:  He has no family. What happens to change this perception if at all?:  His life choices are basically what made him change his perception of everything that is happening to him now. Before his soul had been placed into a Ventriloquist Dummy, Kafka was rather joyous, until that day when he did have to kill that prostitute. The trauma lasted with him for quite some time, and when he found out how alive he felt after it was all done, he realized something dark and brooding beneath. What type of people does s/he like or associate with?:  Kafka likes to be with people like him, essentially. He loves Gangster and those who are extremely powerful, mainly because he can reap the rewards or have them for shields if need be. Plus the whole appeal of those type of people around him, really up his game. As he believes. He also loves to be around pretty women. Anyone who has a Royal ranking, or someone who is extremely rich. What type of people doesn't s/he like or associate with?:  He loves Children (Though Vera is the only exception.), Teenagers (Though if they are pretty, he makes an exception. He'll chase anything in a skirt.) Old people, anyone who he finds to be a lower rank then he is. Overly cheerful people. Homeless people. How do they treat members of the opposite sex?:  Depending on how he is treated, when Kafka takes an interest in a woman, he will try everything in his power to get her to go on a date with him, or even sleep with him. It doesn't matter what. When he is faced with a Woman who is a bitch to him, it also depends on the situation. Because Kafka is a bit of a Masochist, he likes the roughness, but, it depends on how badly he wants what he is chasing after.

What do family/friends like most about character?: His ambition, and how he is able to handle weapons. Other than that, Kafka can get a little too under someone's skin. What do family/friends like least about character?: How annoying he can be, how he basically chases after any woman he finds attractive, completely blowing off his chance to help in the situation. How brash he can be, how his crude behavior can get him into trouble. Forgetfulness. The list goes on and on.

Sex/Romantic Life

What do they consider to be a romantic setting/activity/date?:  A romantic setting for Kafka would be on a huge king or queen sized bed, under a huge mirror on the ceiling, shag carpeting for the room, wine, and a please do not disturb sign. In like, the cheapest motel room possible. To be honest, Kafka wouldn't care how or where he gets it from.

How does a normal date go for this character?: A "normal" date for Kafka would be trying to hit on anything in a skirt, hoping they will go out with them, constantly trying to fake either falling or feigning injury to look up a girls skirt, or to get them to hold him close (Preferably to their chest...) or trick them into feeling some pity for him. (Not exactly a "Date" but it might as well be for Kafka)

How did/would they propose, or like to be proposed to?: No. Kafka doesn't see the point in Marriage at all. He finds it pointless as well as humorous. He doesn't understand why anyone would want to tie themselves down to one person when they can have so many others.

Virgin?: Oh no, Kafka is far from being a Virgin. Before he was a spirit possessing a doll, he was a very "Active" perverted,  misogynistic pig. Describe his/her sex life: At this point?. Considering he has no reproductive organs, his sex life is not going too well, to not having one at all. (Well, you could argue that he could technically have one. He may be a doll, but, he does have means to. But I won't go into detail, then this bio would turn into R rated.) How often does this character have sex?: He wishes it was far more or at least SOME. How long can he/she go without sex?: He's already wanting to pay a call girl, so, not long. Kafka can like, for 2 minutes without sex until he get's the itch again. How does this character feel emotionally, after sex?: Satisfied, exhausted, but energized as all hell. Does this character have self-control around the opposite sex?:  Nope. The sight of a pretty girl (Especially those in skirts) make Kafka extremely aroused and when Kafka get's that way, nothing can stop him from trying to get into their pants. NOTHING. Does sex play an important role in their relationships, if so, how?: If plays a huge part in any relationships he has. If he is not getting anything in the relationship like sex, he will break it off in a heart beat.

Turn-ons: (His Fetishes/Fantasies are his Turn-Ons.) Turn-offs:  A woman who talks too much, Horrible hygiene or any type of hair on a girl, Flirting of any kind with other guys or even TALKING to other guys, Crying, Annoying laughter, Clumsiness, being too Intelligent or showing off intellect, sticking up for themselves too MUCH. Fetishes/Fantasies:  

Fetishes: Masochism, Sadism, Voyeurism, Telephone Scatalogia, Algolagnia (Depends on who is causing the pain. Kafka is all for women doing it though.), Amaurophilia, Asphyxiophilia, Biastophilia, Breast fetishism, Lipstick fetishism, Panty fetishism, Haematophilia, Hybristophilia, Katoptronophilia, Lust murder, Pictophilia.

Fantasies:  Being dominated sexually, Being filmed during sex, Being tied up by someone in order to obtain sexual pleasure, Dominating someone sexually, Ejaculating on sexual partner, Forcing someone to have sex, Giving cunnilingus, Having interracial sex, Having sex in an unusual place, Having sex with a prostitute or Stripper, Having sex with a woman with very large breasts, Having sex with an unknown person, Having sex with more than three people (All women.), Masturbating an unknown person, Masturbating an Acquaintance, Petting with a stranger in public. Sexual perks: He has high stimulation. Sexual flaws: That can also be his flaw because he can go for so long, and won't hesitate to continue going for longer.

Usually on the top or bottom?:  He likes to be on top but doesn't mind if a dominant woman takes control of him. Dominant or Submissive?: Dominant. But, he can be the Submissive one to a powerful, strong woman (Preferably a Dominatrix.) Describe their first sexual experience:  His first sexual experience when he was living, was a Stripper/Prostitute when he was just a boy, age 12. His "friends" at the time wanted to do something fun on his 12th birthday, so, keeping everything hush and working the streets to find a girl, one who would do the job for cheap, and let him do anything he wanted in a shitty motel. After they found a woman who would, who was twice his age, 27, they had set everything up for him to meet her at the motel. It was a night that Kafka had never forgotten, it was also his first murderous encounter. After Kafka had lost his virginity to the woman, and what seemed to be an amazing first-time experience (At least for him.) He had soon learned that it came with a price (Literally). Wanting the money up front, about 200 (As she was promised in the first place by his "buds") when Kafka could not produce such a large amount of cash.  Being enraged by the boy, she grabbed a pistol from inside of her purse and pointed it at him, directly aiming it between Kafka's eyes. Backing up and off of the bed, naked, Kafka protested but couldn't get the woman to put down the weapon. Not being able to calm her down, he took drastic measures into his own hands and, grabbing the nearest object that he could, which was a lamp on the night stand to the left of him, ramming it straight to the side of her head and knocking her to the ground. Not completely unconscious, but having blurry vision, she tried to raise up her head but having difficulty. Seeing his opportunity, Kafka grabbed the gun and shot her point blank, four times. Seeing how mangled he had left her, he became physically sick and ran out of the room, and vomited in front of the other's outside of the room. How did they feel emotionally, afterwards?: Terrified, Shocked, sick to his stomach, but also, thrilled. How has this affected the character, if substantially at all?:  It has incredibly changed how Kafka feels about Sex in general now.  He feels a certain amount of rush from such thoughts and wants that type of chance again, just so he can go through the adrenaline feeling.

Possible psychological reasons for their sexual fantasies or behavior:  Well, one is because of what he had gone through with that woman. As she had made him realize what a rush it was, even after he practically vomited everything out from him.  He had never gained such a rush before, and he loved every bit of it.

Emotional Characteristics

Describe character's sense of morals: Kafka does not have any good morals about him. He can be deplorable, dishonest, disloyal, despicable and twisted. Kafka would rather kick someone into on-going traffic then let help an old lady coss the street.

Describe character's etiquette: His manners lack quite horribly. No matter if Vera tries to teach him at all, Kafka will continue to be late, Invade someone's personal space, will always show up empty handed to social events, always gossips, etc.

Describe character's sense of self-control:  Kafka does not even know the definition of the word, never mind actually doing it.

How does this character act in public?:  Kafka acts calm, cool and collected whenever he is out in public, but it really depends on his mood. If someone makes him angry, it won't matter to him if he is out and around people, he will make a scene. And if he sees a pretty girl, he will run off and try to flirt with her. How does this character act around strangers vs how they act around friends?: Kafka acts the same around strangers as he does with friends, Arrogant, Self Assured, and Insulting. How does this character act at home?: Kafka acts the same anywhere he goes.

How does this character deal with or react to:

Anger:  Not...not well, not well at all. Conflict/Danger:  It depends on what the danger or Conflict is. If the danger is enough for Kafka to handle he will go in guns blazing, but if it is a conflict that he stands no choice in, he will either head off running, pushing someone in front or become so arrogant about the situation itself and go in any way with a cocky attitude. Rejection:  Kafka does not deal with rejection well at all. He will either spit in the woman's face or call them foul names.

Fear:  He will either run or go in fists swinging.

Change:  Depends on the type of change. Otherwise, Kafka is actually quite chill, just as long as the change benefits him.

Loss:  When it comes to Money or any of his things, he goes go batshit insane, but when it comes to loss of a person, not really, though he will feel a slight tinge if anything should happen to Vera and that is only because he will lose the mansion and everything he has now.

Sex/Flirting: With Sex, Kafka is all for it, the same with flirting, especially if the girl starts to flirt with him.

Pain: Looooooooathes it entirely. Now, when he is causing it himself, he loves it.

Stress:  Kafka does not handle stress well if it becomes too much for him he starts to become a bit more insane then he already is. Letting the stress consume him.

Peer pressure:  Kafka does not do well under pressure. He would like to handle everything his way without anyone breathing down his neck.

Guilt: He has none.

Being wrong: When being wronged, Kafka is a big believer in an eye for an eye.

Being criticized: He throws troll like criticisms right back at the person.

Praise: Oh he devours every last drop of praise that he can get. Like milk for a cat, he will lick those compliments from the floor itself.

Love:  Kafka is not a fan of love, but to a pretty little thing in a skirt, he will swear up and down that he is in "love" with her until she sleeps with him.

Being hated: Could care less.

Humiliation: With humiliation, Kafka will try his damndest to get back at the person who caused it and when it is his own fault, he will try and place blame on someone else for his short comings.

What does this character think/feel about:

Sex: He absolutely adores it. Kafka can't really see life without it or even a single day. Love: He doesn't see the point of it, other than to manipulate someone with it. The opposite sex Loves them. He wants as many women to himself as possible. Politics: He doesn't really understand them, nor does he like them, despite Vera being so active in them herself and being part of her business plans. Religion Finds religion tedious, but likes his own belief's more then other's. Science/Technology: He loves when it is useful, but when he doesn't understand a lick of what he has to do with it, he has a tendency to smash things. With Science alone, he knuckles under and falls asleep at the thought of learning it. Drugs and alcohol Love any kind that he can get his hands on. Killing/Murder: He finds it a rush.

How does the character view life?: He believe's that life owe's him everything for what he has suffered for. As long as he get's what he wants, the ends justify the means. How does the character view death?: He does not like the concept of death, nor does he welcome it. At times it does seem like a huge adrenaline rush for him. How does the character view society?: He views society as something he can bend and shape to his will. How does the character imagine his/her own death?: He would LIKE for it to be under a pile of naked women from so much sex, but, he knows that at some point it will be in a blaze of burning embers.

What does the character want out of life?: What Kafka wants out of life at the moment, is for everyone to recognize his greatness, to knuckle under him and to become the all-powerful being that he believes himself to be. What does this character consider "success" to be?:  Power over everyone, commanding everyone to do your bidding, lot's of women as well as money. What would the character like to change in his/her life?:  At the moment, his position. He would like to rank higher above Clive.

What motivates this character?: Promises of huge things to come for him, anything that Kafka likes is what motivates him to do what he does best. Why?: If it is something Kafka likes, high chances are that he will start to work far harder for what he wants.

What discourages this character?: When he get's turned down by a woman, When he loses a poker game or when Clive or Vera scold him. Why?: Kafka may be an egotist, but he loathes when someone turns him down or makes him feel like a piece fo trash.

What makes this character angry?: -People who talk over him. -People who constantly keep talking -People who interrupt him -People who are in his personal space (Hypocritical since he does the same to other's. But, only women he flirts with or sexually harasses.) -People who sneeze in his direction -Anyone who chews with their mouth open -Someone who drives too slow -Morons -Children who whine and scream -Obliviousness -Anyone who steals his cigars or Booze. -Touching his things -Being lied too (Another hypocritical one. Because he does more lying than anyone.) -When Vera doesn't let him in on Political matters. -When Luljeta won't go out or bang him -Being slapped across the face or punched

What most describes this character's personality?: Depraved, Immoral, Degenerate.

Psycho analysis (Describe why they act the way they do): The reason that Kafka is the way that he is, is basically because of who his soul belongs too. His soul belonged to a rather deplorable human being, one who was rather loathed himself, a man who spent his life hounding over women and selfishly manipulating people.

Spiritual Characteristics

Religion:  LaVeyan Satanism

Does the character believe in a god or goddess?: Kafka does not believe in God at all, but he does believe that Goddess's do exist (Mainly because he met Luna, who is a Moon Goddess and Velouria, who is a Fertility Goddess)

What are the character's spiritual beliefs?: Kafka believe's that God is a myth. His belief includes following your own desires, individualism, hedonism, materialism, ego, personal initiative, self-worth, and self-determinism.

Is religion or spirituality an important part of this character's life?: Not really. Though he does express it when it comes into play or mentioned.

If this character were an animal, what would they be?: A Hyena. In this case, a striped Hyena. As Kafka is more of a Scavenger. He likes to drive away larger and more powerful villains away from certain jobs, weapons, or even their henchwomen, away, so he can run in and take what he can get for himself.

IF this character were the opposite sex what would they: Do?: Look at himself naked Say?:  How good he looks naked Feel?: His breasts.

If this character were to be characterized by an object, what would it be?: A Sledgehammer. Why you may ask?. Kafka is very much like this object, because when he strikes, it's swift, brutal, and guarantee if he gets you by the head, you WILL, be dead.

What song best fits this character?: Medicine-Hollywood Undead / The usual suspects-Hollywood Undead.

If you could compare this character to an existing character, who would s/he be and why?: One of them would be Impmon. I choose this character, because, I have always liked Impmon, his personality was a bit firey, stubborn, Scheming, also a bit flirty as well (Well, when it came to Renamon, in the English dubbed version from 4Kids.) Then he did get a little more angsty near the series ending. But also, a lot more understanding (His character will do a 180 in the series.) With Impmon though, I would choose how he was near the start of Digimon Tamers, where he was more of an egotist then anything. always sure of himself, playing pranks at other's expense and making things difficult for everyone.

Another would be Prison Pee Dee (Pee Dee) from Superjail (Actually more or less Gary from SJ.) As Pee Dee was just the puppet that Warden had for the talent show. But, I digress. He is a combination of this character as well, because Pee Dee was behind everything through out the episode, "Uh oh, it's magic!" When Warden becomes jealous of Jared over his impressive magic act and becomes popular with the inmates, Warden decides to try and find an easier way to learn how to throw his voice, so he can become more popular then Jared's act. As Warden goes off into the library to search for a book on ventriloquism, it is Gary, who points out where to find the book. But the book Warden finds is of the Satanic kind. To cut things short, it was Gary and Bird who had cooked up a plan to escape the prison with the inmates with them, after building a huge Pee Dee robot for them to escape in. It did not work, as Jared and Warden work together to thrawt the plan and end up cutting out Gary's vocal cords (His old Warden had cut out his tongue after Gary had caused several horrible things to happen, upon him being such a smooth talker.) The reason Pee Dee (Or Gary) is one of the influences, is because of how he acts, he is essentially a con artist, making people do what he wants because of his charisma. (Like Charlie with his Family.) Making you choose his way or the highway.

If you could choose an actor for this character, who would it be?:  For someone like Kafka, I don't know at all. I always have a certain type to play my Characters. I suppose in some way, Brad Dourif would fit that profile.

If you could choose a voice actor for this character, who would it be?:  Oh, gosh, that is difficult. It would have to be Derek Stephen Prince (The voice of Impmon in the English dub of Digimon Tamers). I can see Kafka having a type of Impmon voice, which is why I chose him, and it seems to fit Kafka's looks in the first place when it comes to his voice.

Who/what was your character inspired by?: He was inspired by the movie Dead Silence and Pee Dee from Superjail. My main inspiration was the movie Dead Silence, but upon kinda, resurfacing this character again and working on him, I am leaning more into Pee Dee now. Though the aspects in the movie serve as a high inspiration for me when it comes's to this character and how they were created.

[gioia]

Les Gâteaux de Daisy Day romanzo di Valentina Olivastri 2017

Ringrazio Valentina Olivastri per aver tradotto per il post la sinossi di “Les Gâteaux de Daisy Day”

A sedici anni, nulla funziona nella vita di Daisy Hamilton ma un pomeriggio, guardando la televisione, si innamora pazzamente di un filosofo parigino super figo, Marcel du Lac. In quel preciso istante ha inizio la missione di Daisy: tentare di sedurlo. Nonostante un monte di ostacoli, per riuscire nel suo intento, Daisy inventa mille stratagemmi fino a quando un bel giorno, nel mezzo di Parigi, incontra Marcel, ma l’uomo dei suoi sogni si rivela una totale delusione. Disperata, Daisy si consola con l’amore di sempre: i dolci; e con l’aiuto della sorella gemella Lizzy e di nonna Stella, decide di aprire una pasticceria come non se ne sono mai viste prima a Parigi. Creata come il più romantico dei giardini inglesi con tanto di prato e fiori selvatici al suo interno, Daisy servirà puddings, tazze di tè e Jane Austen in tutte le lingue: dal cinese al basco, dal pashto all’occitanico, e il vero Mr Darcy  non tarderà a venire…

Les Gâteaux de Daisy Day is a fresh romantic comedy which explores the ups and downs of being in love. When in 2004 British schoolgirl and cake-addict Daisy Hamilton falls for hip Parisian philosopher Marcel du Lac while watching TV, her life is turned upside down. She begins a single-minded mission which takes her from Cambridge to Oxford to the south of France and ends in Paris. When Daisy’s and Marcel’s paths finally cross, she recognizes that the man holding the key to her future happiness is sadly a jerk. She is heartbroken, and her love for all things French is compromised. Daisy suddenly yearns for lumpy custard and rain-beaten ice cream parlours. Her twin sister Lizzie and formidable grandmother Stella come to her rescue, and Lizzie urges her to embrace serial dating; however, Stella suggests a much more tempting plan: Daisy should open an English cake shop in the heart of Paris. Styled like a wildflower meadow giving the illusion of a picnic in the British countryside, ‘Les Gâteaux de Daisy Day’ is like no other patisserie in the French capital: English cakes and puddings, hot and dark cups of tea and jugs of full fat milk are dished up with generous helpings of Jane Austen in a myriad languages from Chinese and Basque to Pashto and Occitan. Romance is in the air and fashion-mad Lizzie falls desperately in love with a Canadian professor who is passionate about nineteenth-century English literature, while Daisy is swept off her feet by an urban beekeeper, Jean-Paul Busby, half French, half Brit, with a sensitive heart and a fascination for queen bees. Naturally, all ends well in this feel-good modern fairy tale.

Primo capitolo 

1. How it all began 2. O Lance, where art thou? 3. Switching the box on: a fabulous white-shirted smoothie appears from nowhere 4. ❤❤❤Marcel du Lac for ever: a thousand and one scenarios❤❤❤ 5. From rags to riches 6. We have a Grandma 7. All by myself, I have to be 8. ’S Wonderful 9. I’m officially a bluestocking 10. Unforgettable Paris 11. The Queen Bee 12. Bikinis, macaroons and broken dreams 13. C’est ça: trop yummy pour toi 14. The clandestine baking club: have your cake and eat it 15. What’s it all about? 16. Cakes at the edge of rationality 17. Trading places 18. Let’s get down to it 19. Kiss on my list 20. Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will ‘bee’! 1. How it all began I’ll never forget the first time I fell in love. It was March 3rd, 2002. It was after dinner - bits of meat drowned in a brown liquid, a sea of floating peas and a couple of lifeless carrots. That night, Dad repeatedly subjected Lizzie and me to what vaguely smacked of bedtime reading. We were fourteen years old. Two weird characters going by the unlikely names of Cynewulf and Guthlac hardly proved to be a mood enhancer for two young girls, but Dad wasn’t the least bit discouraged. It was only when we were about to drop off that he changed his tune and marched ahead with another tale: ‘Once upon a time there was a young lad called Horn whose daddy was bumped off by a bunch of guys…’. Ropy enough, but at least this time there was a whiff of action. However, it was during Dad’s final attempt that things unexpectedly took a turn for the better, and one word that sounded as sweet and tempting as a Christmas trifle stuck with me. LOVE. These stories were all about love: falling in love, gutsy love, magical, riveting love. From irresistible passions, huge expectations and great opportunities, to regular girls rolling around with yummy princes and happily scampering off to sandy beaches. “Hang on in there,” I told myself, “this is great stuff.” The tales were incredibly addictive. They were mostly set in Rome and in France (stonking locations I thought) with the odd jaunt to exotic places and my super favourite of all started something like this: far away, in a magical land, there was a wizard called Merlin, a mysterious kingdom named Camelot, a round table and, above all, there was him, the amazing, extraordinary, wonderfully hip ❤ Lancelot of the Lake ❤. Oh my God… The guy was a legend verging on myth and with his cool swagger, he was making news just by showing up in his chainmail under the light of flaming torches. Every page Dad read conjured up a treasure trove full of wonders and filled with impossibly moist chocolate hearts, swan robes and plenty of tasty potions. In this spellbound realm, Lancelot was ready to flex his muscles to save my life and take me away with him. He was my saviour, the one who could do no wrong and as for his previous peccadillos, including mistaking a chick named Elaine for his regular squeeze and bonking her, I could hardly blame him. He had, after all, been under the influence of a particularly cruel spell. For me Lancelot would suffer long and treacherous journeys, crossing swords and defeating the enemy single-handedly just to croon: “Hi, babe, cup of tea or G&T? What do you fancy?” That’s my man, I thought, ever so proud, and pelted him with kisses and Bonne Maman mini jars, strawberry flavour. He was generous, adored my company, and was sensitive to my beauty - *very important* - despite my imprisonment by calories. Size 16, I’m afraid. Lance (we were already on very cordial terms) could brush away the smallest of my problems, infusing my mood with ambitious dreams and lashings of highly quaffable wine. With him I was adventurous, unblushing and goose bumps-prone. I had our life together planned to perfection. What he’d suggest and what I’d reply, what he’d pine for and what I’d offer him; and the procedure could be repeated as many times as I fancied. Of course, I expected nothing less than complete submission from him. No conflicting sets of desire were ever allowed in my fantasy world. All that I needed was the right party invitation, but I’d have no second thoughts about gatecrashing the social milieu, as Dad would say, inhabited by my dazzling knight. Love was my very own Holy Grail, and I was snacking hard on Lance’s stirring exploits. My passion for them was unquenchable, and I constantly asked for more, but Dad wouldn’t have it. “Let’s move on to King Arthur,” he would drone while readjusting the ancient creases of the suit perilously hanging on his rangy frame. “Not him. He’d be a bloody nobody without Lance,” I’d shout. “Without Lance his reputation would be zilch. He’s just a drag with shaggy hair. He has no glamour whatsoever and none of the zippy dialogue. I don’t even know how he got into the plot.” “Nonsense,” Dad would rattle off while casting a glance at his naff footwear. “Arthur was a great King, the one who saved Britain from enemies at home and abroad. It’s your ‘Lance’ who would be ‘zilch’ without him.” “Yeah. Blah, blah, blah.” Nothing was going to spoil my dream. Not that tedious interloper Arthur and certainly not the rubbish comments that Dad was booooooring me to death with. For me only one word counted: ROMANCE. Kiss, kiss, kiss. Yes, I was smitten! When I told Lizzie that I was madly in love with Lance, she wasn’t as thrilled as I was. “Come on, Daisy, get a grip. These stories are complete dross. Move on.” “No way. I’m sure this is what I’ve been dreaming of all these years.” “All these years? You’ve only just turned fourteen.” “So have you.” “Not really. I’m thirteen minutes and five seconds older, remember? I came out first.” “Oh, you and your head start. I’m so impressed.” “You can say it louder if you like. Anyway, point being, Dad is telling you a load of old tosh. Don’t let it mess with your head. I can smell big trouble. Fingers in your ears and do it now.” “I can’t and I won’t. I’ve got to find my twenty-first century Lance,” and beaming with enthusiasm I added, “I know that somewhere I’ll find him…” “Where exactly?” asked Lizzie, wishing she’d never had a sister. In her eyes, I was developing into something bigger than a huge embarrassment. I had already turned into a real pain. “Lance,” I replied, hands on hips, sounding like Mum and Dad, “was raised in an underwater palace by the Lady of the Lake.” “Have you gone completely bonkers?” “Oh, shut up. I know what I’m doing. I mean, I have to look for someone connected with the sea: a sailor, a lifeguard, a scuba-diver. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Even a lock keeper would do.” “Get real, Daisy. This isn’t one of your fairy tales.” “Who are you to say?” “You really are mental.” After some serious lip chewing, I shut myself in my room and sleuthed for ways to get to my Lance. I became ever so busy with my one-off mission and turned into a young Miss Marple minus the curtain twitching. If I were to succeed in my quest, I needed some sort of power just like any respectable pixie. All that I had at my disposal in and out of the house were books. My mind was, therefore, made up. Knowledge, that most mysterious and scary force - I tried not to think of what it had done to Mum and Dad - was going to be the secret weapon for my ultimate homework assignment. Finding love with the capital L! To be continued…