#do any other ghosts have names connotative to their personalities?

[sonnet-of-anarchy]

Fun fact for the day x

[dailydemonspotlight]

Preta - Day 48

Race: Haunt

Alignment: Dark-Chaos

June 5th, 2024

Eastern religions are no stranger to demons, ghosts, and the like, no matter how little we may hear about them overseas- most breakouts from things like Hinduism or Buddhism are the gods and concepts, but unique ideas for monsters also spread like wildfire throughout any belief system. Bad karma reaps worse dividends, after all, and sometimes people need something to point at as an example to not be a bad person in one’s own selfish interest, or even just as a boogeyman to punish naughty children. Today’s demon of the day rests in that first camp, however- the eternally starving specter of a selfish soul, Preta.

Interestingly, Preta, directly translated to ‘hungry ghost,’ is a concept seen throughout multiple religions originating in Southeast Asia. While most famous for appearing in Hinduism, the idea of a Preta can actually be seen in Buddhism, Taoism, and even several folk religions in China as well. This idea has had several different names, but they all fit the general ‘hungry ghost’ idea- words like ပြိတ္တာ, 餓鬼, or เปรต each roughly meaning the same idea, that being of an undead, corrupted spirit tainted by greed in a past life. The reason for this is due to the spread of Buddhism- even as the other religions broke away from Buddhism, they kept the idea of the hungry ghost.

A Preta isn’t exactly as evil as I painted earlier, though- for the most part, it was actually used as a term to notate a person’s with low karma’s soul in-between the realms of life and death, wherein the deceased’s family must go through a series of rituals to help guide their soul into the next life. If a person’s family doesn’t do these things, however, their soul shall be stuck as that of a Preta for all eternity, suffering and starving. The connotation between a Preta and being a corrupted human is down to the fact that, typically, those who would form into Pretas were people who were uncared for by society, and demeaned as evil as a result of that fact. The lack of caring for these people, combined with their already low karma needed to form into a preta, is what causes them to be cursed into this state of half-death.

Once reanimated into a Preta, the soul would be cursed to be forever hungry, typically feeling a hankering for something repugnant or bizarre- things like corpses, feces, mud, and random still-living animals, just to name a few. While a preta, on top of this, the person would have their senses utterly corrupted- a river of water would become a river of pollution, trees would turn into filth, and people themselves would look inhumane, emaciated, or broken apart.

A majority of the time, a Preta is depicted as an emaciated human with a protruding belly and a slender neck, a visual metaphor for their inflicted mindset. A good amount of the time, artwork depicting a Preta displays it in mind-numbing pain, starving and curled up into balls, bawling their eyes out. Some of this artwork also depicts them spewing out flames, connected to a common legend regarding them, that being that any food that enters their mouth would be burned in seconds to cinders, rendering it uneatable. On top of this, their punishment worsens in the form of every temperature being incredibly intense, as the moon barely shining on them in summer feels like the fires of hell while the brightest sun in winter feels like being exposed to liquid nitrogen.

In most Buddhist traditions, preta are beings to be pitied- as people who weren’t capable of achieving good enough karma to pass on peacefully, and as inherently pathetic and sad creatures, some even leave offerings to help encourage the restless wandering spirits to try for better karma in their next life. In Hindu traditions, however, they are far less sympathetic, even if treated with pity as well.

A variety of rituals are undertaken to guarantee that a person doesn’t become a preta upon passing in Hindu tradition. Over the course of a mourning period, rice balls are granted to a symbolic representation of the passed-on person, typically in the form of a clay mound, each rice ball representing a different aspect of a new person. All the while, during this process, the family both grieves and has to partake in several restrictions to guarantee the person passes on, such as the chief mourner partaking in light fasting, not sleeping in a bed, or cleaning themselves. Avoiding one’s deceased loved one from becoming a preta is a major part of Hindu tradition, even to this day- on the thirteenth day of mourning, a common tradition is to perform a major ceremony titled “Preta Karma,” which outlines everything I’ve said above.

In Buddhism, preta are one of the forms of existence post-reincarnation, encompassing the existence of being a ghost. Their torment has already been explored above, but in short, life sucks as a Preta, and most want to pass on again very soon.

Now, with all of that out of the way, which was a lot, how are Preta depicted in SMT? Their design is perfect, in my opinion- it encompasses most depictions of a preta throughout history, all the while bringing its own spin to the table. It’s an iconic demon design for good reason, being simple and acceptable as an early-game mook, while still fitting the generally accepted idea of what a preta looks like. In the series, they are traditionally very early game demons, mostly appearing in the first few dungeons, if not the very first. This tradition has kept up for almost every game in the series, a surprising first in this series- they’ve appeared in almost every SMT game, and in almost ALL of them, they’re pretty much throwaways.

But, I gotta say, we need to give some props to the little guys. They may be fusion fodder, but they had a special place in my heart, and that’s all you really need at the end of the day. Overall, in spite of how complicated a topic this turned out to be, this multicultural hungry ghost has somehow grown to one of my favorite demons just due to how pathetic it is. I kinda love him.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @mysticstarlightduck!

OC Questionaire

My questions:

Do you care more for the 'greater good' of the world or for what is good for you and those you love?

Who was the most important person to you growing up?

Do you prefer sad songs or upbeat songs?

Let's get funky and answer for the other half of the ghost crew!

1) Do you care more for the 'greater good' of the world or for what is good for you and those you love?

Faalgun: "Must I pick one? As a captain, I have to prioritize the well-being of my entire crew, not just one person. As a.... Well, I suppose I'm not a member of the Ten'ka anymore, but back then, it was my responsibility to keep an entire city safe. I'll have to say the greater good."

Pash: "What is the greater good? Good for whom? Greater than what? My own pretty hide is quite great and good, methinks. I like my friends nearly as much, so I'd do about anything to keep them safe. No one can fault me for that when it's not like they'd do anything different."

Anarac: "Greater good."

2) Who was the most important person to you growing up?

Faalgun: "Azmandi was the head nurse at the Falani orphanage where I grew up. He was a sweet man and one of the only other people I knew with strong Hal'lan heritage. Whenever I'd get banged up in a brawl, he never made me feel like an idiot for fighting the other kids who were always so much bigger. He said there's no shame in being small, only in acting small. I... I feel I may have failed him at many points after I left, but I carry his lessons even now."

Pash: "I have no parents besides the Queen and Fair Folk have no gross stage of drooling youth as you human-things do, so no one 'raised' me, per se. I was given to a teacher though, once my Contribution became apparent. Her name was Hamandradar and she was a passion-less, shriveled excuse for a musician. But she did teach me everything instinct could not, so I suppose she was important or whatever."

Anarac: "I don't remember."

3) Do you prefer sad songs or upbeat songs?

Faalgun: "Huh, I've never been the musical type, but I'll have to go with upbeat. Nothing beats singing a work song with your crew to get through the day."

Pash: "Ha! You're asking me to pick sunlight or moonlight! Sugar or salt! The pale blush of a new flower or the ruddy glory of the autumn leaves! Neither has significance without the other. To taste only one or the other is to be condemned to a life of bland monotony. I spit on your question, stranger."

Anarac: "Upbeat."

To be clear, when Pash says Queen, it's with ant-like connotations. A big part of his character right now is just making fae as weird as I can. Anyways, I'll tag @dungeonsandblorbos @seeingteacupsindragons @corinneglass @sergeantnarwhalwrites and anyone else who wants to play :)

Your questions:

What's something that can always make you tear up?

Name one animal you could win a hand to hand fight with.

Do you have any inside jokes with yourself?

[fictionkinfessions]

Language pet peeve anon you are so real for that. It needs to be said more. It's already a problem that the kin community is seen by others as just a bunch of white weeaboo teenagers.

It's a totally different statement to say you do or would use certain third-person pronouns now, in English. But like? I've seen someone claim "[person from Taishō period] used they/it/pup/ghost" ... Bro I really promise that is not true. It wouldn't have been true for an English speaker in the 1920s. And in Japanese? Be serious.

The most you can do is switch between first-person pronouns, which... literally most people do depending on setting, because they have different politeness connotations, and neutral is the default. Gendered ones are less polite.

In my experience third-person pronouns just aren't used as often as in English; obviously when talking about groups you'd use a plural form, but for individuals you'll probably just hear people's names instead (unless it's someone you don't know, which will usually be "that person." That's kind of the closest you get to singular they). But I've never heard of any equivalent to neopronouns being used in Japanese. I guess if someone else has, feel free to post about it?

Anyway there's my two cents as a (gay and trans) Japanese speaker. Don't force your present culture onto the past or other people's present cultures especially without any effort to learn✌️

🐙

[greetings-inferiors]

So the closest thing I have to an OC is a Jojo main villain so I’m going to talk a bit about her because at the moment she’s entirely in my head which means that she could stop existing (that is thematic lmao)

She could be considered an alternate universe Diavolo, as she’s a mysterious figure that controls a country but no one really knows who she is and she goes to great lengths to erase any knowledge of her existence, and I picture her with pink hair (think Trish but 18/19/20. Her real age is unknown). She doesn’t have a name (well I mean she did but she’s the only one who knew her name and once she died her name stopped existing, because no one else knew it. If you put a gun to my head to tell you her name I’d say Maria, but that’s only for the religious connotations. I am not an omniscient author and I don’t know what her name is, just like the other characters, just like you)

Her stand ability is 「ゴッド・オンリー・ノウズ」(god only knows), which has the power to erase anyone it touches from existence. If her stand was to touch someone, all evidence of their existence would be erased/rewritten, everyone would forget their existence, and they would dust thanos style. However, they don’t actually stop existing. They rematerialise in the Vatican (or another church, I’d have to do research on the Vatican specifically but I’m 90% sure it’d work there)‘s walls. Basically, it “it’s a wonderful life”s you.

She grew up as an orphan, but her stand powers caused her whole orphanage to be empty. She wipes every one of them from existence (by the way, she’s the only one who remembers everything, to fit with the general theme in Jojo of stands not affecting you like with crazy diamond and made in heaven. She can, however, touch herself with her stand to erase herself, although she is able to rematerialise a short distance away instead of in the Vatican, hence why she didn’t know about the rematerialisation for so long). Before she realised what she was actually doing, it seemed like anyone she got close to would stop existing, leading to her essentially becoming a shell of a person. No one knew she existed, and anyone who did didn’t exist for very long. She became a living ghost.

The reason why I think god only knows is an incredible name for her stand, is that her character is what happens when, just like the song suggests, she goes without the people close to her. God only knows what she’d be without you - and she does know, therefore she develops a kind of god complex. Her eyes are the lens through which reality is absolute. She is the only person who knows the truth, therefore she must be god. When she later becomes head of the mafia, she gives her commands to her direct subordinates (who everyone (including them themselves) thinks actually are the heads of the mafia), and when she erases herself her subordinates believe they were given a command from a god/goddess.

From a young age she matured immensely, and quickly learns how powerful her power is. She’s able to do anything without consequences and get rid of anyone that gets in her way. Meanwhile, the Vatican (or the whatever church I decide upon) is having a crisis. People that don’t exist on any records or in anyone’s memory are materialising out of nowhere, claiming to know things and people that don’t know them. As she gains more and more power, she recognises the people (they do not recognise her, as she erased herself after the fact). To counteract this, she focuses on taking over the Vatican, and finds and recruits a squad of stand users to assassinate and dispose of the people that materialise to not draw attention (which leads to stand battles if the main character is ever touched by god only knows. They’d get a few seconds of breathing room before being attacked).

From here, her control is practically absolute. It’s at this point that someone, in the same spirit as giorno, eventually rises up to take her down.

How I imagine this would happen is in the final showdown she is trapped in the Vatican, and the character that kills her says that no matter what, he will attack anyone in sight, to be sure that her evil is stopped. There can be a debate about the morality of maybe killing an innocent person to make sure the true evil is dead. Once they are sure she’s dead, all that’s left is a dead girl in the hall. Who is she? Where did she come from? The ‘good guy’ hands themself in. they don’t know for sure if they killed her, but deep down they felt they did the right thing.

And this, her reign ends. The ‘lense of through which reality is absolute’ is dead. The people she erased, herself included, no longer exist, in anyone’s mind. It’s a very somber ending.

Like I said, I wrote this to just have it on record, maybe I’ll update it in future, there are other characters, but there aren’t any nearly as developed as her. If you want you could tell me what you think. I think that the world of Jojo and especially stands as a power system are so intriguing and near limitless in their potential, and I just had to write it all down

[treesap-blogs]

Happy Saturday! Here’s a review of “The Outlaws Scarlett And Browne” by Jonathan Shroud!

Hello, Tumblrians! Whilst we may not be nearing our 20th Tumblr Review yet (although the combined superpowers of my depression and my ADHD may get us alarmingly close to that goal in a short period of time if I don’t exercise restraint and stick with the 3 books per week thing), it is a special occasion nonetheless! This marks my 13th review! I don’t know if any of you guys know this, but 13 is my favorite number!!! (I like the supernatural/superstitious connotations with it. Mysterious!) (and partially out of spite, I like to think of it as lucky. Not that we’ll need that for this review, anyhow.)

Anyhow! Time for my personal favorite section, presumably your least favorite: 💫Book Backstory Time💫, the segment in which I explain how I encountered a book, a la Blob Of Text On A Recipe Before The Actual Recipe! I found out about it from Mellowkotto’s stories on Instagram, particularly when they talked about the bank robbery scene at the beginning. For some reason that was enough to sell it to me(which is so funny, because they just talked about liking Scarlett), and I ended up talking about the book to my mom because I’d put it on my notes app TBR. Didn’t catch onto why she asked at least twice or thrice for the title despite her only reading nonfiction books, but she messaged my mildly rich grandfather who gets my brother and I annual Christmas gifts, and swear I remember I opened up a December 2021 Christmas present to find it inside! (Goodreads lists a different release date for that?! Maybe it’s just the UK version or something, I live in the U.S. and it probably was put out at a different time. Plus, my copy has a different cover than the one I put under my “Read” folder/shelf.) I read the first fifty or so pages that night by the light of a Skittles-scented candle, and got to 100 or so by the end of winter before being a little burnt out and stopping. That was before I had a consistent reading schedule, though! Once I got one in 2022, I read a bit further until I forgot about it in my reading queue that was full of library books(literally the only reason I read fast haha), until I basically cleared that up this year and finished it! So it has technically taken me over a year to read this book. Lovely.

The Outlaws Scarlett And Browne is the first in a trilogy(only 2 books are out at the moment), following young adult crook Scarlett McCain. She’s on the run after committing a bank heist(which is slightly unusual for her because the stakes brought on by being chased by the law after just robbing a small bank are weirdly high?), and whilst doing so she encounters a boy around her age named Albert Browne. How did he end up the only remaining person in a bus that got completely totaled? Scarlett doesn’t know. But he tags along, and whilst they flee from the law through the woods, it seems like Albert’s hiding a lot of things from her. Is he a threat? Is he as he seems? What even is he hiding that makes officials so eager to catch him, and why is he wanted? Again, Scarlett doesn’t know. But she’s about to find out when they hesitantly form an alliance of sorts that develops into a friendship.

To be honest, I knew nothing about Jonathan Stroud until I picked up this book. Lockwood & Co., while not being his debut series, was by far his most popular (and no longer has a niche audience now that the Netflix series is out), and that’s kind of all I knew about? Ghost stuff and teens. And before that there was a different series that flipped magical realm morals on their head, and got him in the public eye(Barthemius, was it called? Some distinctly European fantasy name like that). So that set a lot of peoples’ expectations for this book very high, and many believed it didn’t deliver on that because it wasn’t as strong or original as some of his other works. I can’t comment on it that much, as I have no other works of his I can go off of, but I do think the overall world just doesn’t stick out for me.

Firstly! The plot, while interesting, didn’t really have anything I was all too surprised by. It felt like other things I’d find in other novels: a heavy reliance on “biological perfection” and the extreme lengths went to preserve that(albeit they were barely shown for this book, only mentioned frequently and remaining a looming threat), futuristic European setting (divided England was an interesting concept though, and London being split up into the islands for the refugees to inhabit), guy with secret dangerous powers that are probably enough for the FMC to worry about if their motives are unclear. (Here though, Maroon’s dynamic—the ship name for Albert and Scarlett, get it because scarlet and brown(e) make maroon—is left up to interpretation as to whether it’s strictly platonic, or a romantic thing, something worth nothing because that last bit is usually something an FMC is drawn to in a romantic subplot.) It was also simultaneously the first and not the first fantasy dystopia-ish novel I’ve read?! (I started it a year before The Belles, but finished it afterwards.)

With that said, though, there was one welcome change of pace I enjoyed: the lack of gender stereotypes with our main characters? While Scarlett faces some sexism during the book, her femininity isn’t used as a way to paint her out to be “less than”, nor is she automatically reduced to a “Not Like Other Girls” archetype by putting other women down for being “too girly”(something that might happen, with an action heroine written by a straight male author). Albert was also one of my favorites!! He’s unashamedly that person who posts about “haters being jealous of his childlike wonder”(please don’t take this literally it’s a meme reference, social media does not exist in TOSAB lmao), but then he..sometimes kills people too lmao?!?! Morally reprehensible ones, granted, but he’s still doing it with his volatile abilities and it does get suspicious the sheer number of foes trying to track him down(which is due to his abilities, he can make things go ka-bloom if he gets too scared, and he can also read minds without the tiring emotional outtake). I loved his duality as it was humorous at times, and that he was written to be more like a young adult than a stereotypically “guyish” or “manly” deuteragonist. 

(Shoutout to Joe though, for trusting Albert with Ettie because he’s good with kids, even though he has abilities that could accidentally kill her, and not trusting Scarlett with her because she’s not good with kids even though she’s just some powerless person who’d have to put physical effort into harming Ettie lmao. Saw a reader point out the irony in that, though it was funny in hindsight.)

Him and Scarlett were solid protagonists, too! It took a bit for Scarlett to warm up to Albert, but by the end of the book they cared a lot about each other, and it was sweet to see that both in how glad they were the other person was still alive, and how Albert took a page out of Scarlett’s book and was inspired to stand up against Dr Calloway(the scientist who’d been abusing him for years). (Heck, the two even decided to briefly take care of their companion’s granddaughter together! The moment in that sketchy building where they’re trying to calm down Ettie and lead her back to the boat so she doesn’t get eaten by monsters is my favorite part.) They also had distinctive personalities, which contrasted in a way that made their dynamic interesting. Their banter was interesting! (I giggled a few times but Scarlett definitely went a bit too far in some of her insults before she warmed up to Albert, like..girlie was out of left field once in the book particularly, and I think people who’ve read it will know when💀)

Anyways. Conclusion is, I thought this book was okay. Had I not been brought here by a pre-established Shroudverse fan, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much! About 1/3rd through, I relied on the guidance of My Chemical Romance’s music in order to give me motivation to reach the halfway point. Perhaps Shroud’s other books are stronger in themes and plot, but at least the characters stuck. (I’ll give that to him, he can write MC dynamics well.)

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. (This rating’s a versatile one, I’ve realized? Some 3 star books are mediocre, others are enjoyable but lack a few things to make them amazing.)

~Paz, signing off!

(Book content/trigger warnings: Some instances of physical/emotional abuse,  frequent mentions of ableism and slavery(the latter is not racial and isn’t described on page), general violence like guns and a bit of blood, sexism/misogyny.)

[lonita]

The Eastern Island: An examination of the manifestation of Eastern philosophical and religious traditions in Aldous Huxley's "Island"

I found this essay I wrote for a university course I took about 20 years ago. Why I’m sharing it, I don’t know. If you plagiarise it, you will be haunted by the hallucinating ghost of Aldous Huxley.

- - -

Pala, the island of Aldous Huxley's novel "Island", is populated by a passionate, hard-working people who seem to have built an ideal society from the marriage of many aspects of Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, with some Western practices as well. The founders of this partnership of philosophies, the old Raja of Pala and a Western doctor named Andrew MacPhail, strove to - with those who followed after them, "make the best of all the worlds - the worlds already realized within the various cultures and, beyond them, the worlds of still unrealized potentialities." (Island. p. 145)

"Nobody needs to go anywhere else. We are all, if we only knew it, already there." (Island, p. 36)

So begins "Notes on What's What, and on What it Might Be Reasonable to Do About What's What", a book by the old Raja of Pala that the reader is told is "no better introduction" to Pala and its people. It is a book of philosophy, a description of Palanese thinking. It also, in more ways than one, has striking similarities to Taoism - not the least of them being the fact that they are written by the teachers of their respective philosophical and faith disciplines. Unlike most other faith practices, Taoism's foremost teachers - Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu - wrote their own works of philosophy, as did the Raja of Pala. This is not so of Confucianism or Hinduism in particular. The sayings of Confucius were compiled by his followers, and much of Hindu sacred literature is not in the first-person - in many cases being written by an anonymous mortal hand to describe the doings of the god-figures.

This, though, is merely a physical resemblance; there is also a lot of philosophical similarity between "Notes on What's What" and Taoist thinking. The first line of the Raja's book, for example, is very indicative of Taoist philosophy - which attempts to help people realise and recognise that the universe is one, that all things in it are one, that whatever "higher" nature or goal there is to reach, is already with us. We need but become attuned to it. In Taoist thinking, for example, man and the heavens, good and bad, man and animals, are all part of the same whole - the Tao itself. Being a Taoist also means that a person does not denounce the physical world, the world of sensation, as does a Buddhist - whose highest aim is to become free of samsara and reach Nirvana. In Taoism you accept the physical world, and everything about it, as all of it is part of the self-same whole. There is no heaven, Nirvana, or higher plane to strive for, because it is right there in front of you at all times. The Palanese are all Taoist masters of a sort, having learned - or in the process of learning - to work within what one is given, within the circumstances of daily life, without denial of anything physical.

"In religion all words are dirty words." (Island, p. 37)

This concept is particularly significant in Taoism, as it illustrates both Chuang Tzu's and Lao Tzu's feelings that there are no labels which can adequately detail any aspect of nature, of the Tao itself. Taoism teaches that specific language, labels, applied to anything, are not only inadequate, but can also be a trap, can distract us from the real nature of things - even ourselves. No two people, for example, have the same understanding of any given object, person, or thing. The term Tao, for example, doesn't even have the same connotation for Taoists as it does for Confucians. Tao, for a Confucian, is the culmination of a life lived in the proper manner; a life of morality, adherence to ritual, respect for elders, etc. For a Taoist, however, it is far more. It is, quite literally, everything. Tao for the Taoist is the wellspring from which everything flows - humans, animals, good, bad, nature, the entire universe. To a Confucian a human would make the Tao; for a Taoist, the Tao makes us. This mistrust of labels is, in fact, the first concept we encounter in the Tao Te Ching: "The Tao that can be told [named, spoken] is not the eternal Tao." It means that no words, no naming, are adequate or sufficient to describe what the Tao is, what it means. In fact, both Chuang Tzu and Lao Tzu felt that words were almost completely unnecessary.

"Words exist because of meaning; once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words." (Chuang Tzu, p. 140)

"More words count less." (Tao Te Ching: 5)

And the Palanese, too, recognise the traps and insufficiencies of names, referring to them as "question-beggars". (Island, p. 102) Lin Yutang contends, also, that the "mechanism of our thinking and language fails, because our words must fail to describe an unconditioned existence." (Yutang, p. 550) In other words, words - which are finite - cannot hope to describe and encapsulate that which is infinite - whether that is the Tao or Nirvana. Words bearing concept with them, are largely a matter of interpretation and teaching. If you are taught to comprehend a word in a bad light, that word will always carry negative connotations - whether they deserve them or not. The Palanese are very aware of this, very aware how even their means of mental liberation can be viewed depending merely on the words that are used to describe it.

"'What's in a name?' said Dr. Robert with a laugh. 'Answer, practically everything. Having had the misfortune to be brought up in Europe, Murugan calls it dope and feels about it all the disapproval that, by conditional reflex, the dirty word evokes. We, on the contrary, give the stuff good names - the moksha medicine, the reality-revealer, the truth-and-beauty pill. And we know, by direct experience, that the good names are deserved.'" (Island, p. 153)

Moksha is probably the single most significant concept to many Hindus. To them, it is the "final and unconditioned release from the bondage of karma and samsara." (Ludwig, p. 94) In other words, it is liberation from the "bondage of ego" and a true realisation of the nature of all things, and a true realisation of the ultimate. Ignorance to a Hindu means ignorance of one's true nature, atman. Both traditional Hindus and the Palanese see moksha in the same way, as "not annihilation or extermination of the atman; it is rather expansion, becoming all by transcending the limited self of mortal existence," (Ludwig, p. 94) that brings an experience of "boundless compassion, fathomless mystery, and meaning [...] Not to mention joy." (Island, p. 155) The difference between Hindus and the Palanese being that for a traditional Hindu such a state of liberation is reached through meditation, asceticism, and other spiritual exercises, but the Palanese sometimes choose to reach this state immediately, by ingesting a species of mushroom found on the island that brings on what we would see as a hallucinogenic state, during which they can become "someone who has been liberated from his bondage to the ego." (Island, p. 154)

Normally the trappings of everyday living distract us from who we truly are, as we get caught up in the activities of the day. That first line of the Raja's book, however, not only reflects Taoist thinking, it also reflects something very significant in Buddhism as well - a lack of ignorance. Being aware, understanding the true nature of things, is one of the most important Buddhist concepts. Understanding is the point of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths (1) and The Eightfold Path (2). The importance of awareness, of attention, is driven home constantly to the residents of Pala by the island's population of mynah birds, who repeat the word "Attention" over and over. By this call, the residents of Pala are taught to comprehend and appreciate all aspects of living, by the constant reminder to be aware of who they are in relation to all of their experiences. Attention is important to Hindus as well, and manifests in their attitude towards yoga - a discipline which aims at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility that is attained through the paths of action, knowledge, devotion. For the Palanese, then, full awareness of what you are doing, makes work, play, everyday living, and even lovemaking, into the yogas of work, play, everyday living, and lovemaking. (Island, p. 169)

The concept of attention not only applies to the self, and to the actions one performs, but also attention to what Buddhists and Taoists might see as the impermanence of existence - the changeable nature of the universe and all that's in it. It also means being constantly aware that death is immanent, and life itself fleeting. As the children of Pala enter adolescence, they are taken on a mountain-climbing expedition - one fraught with potential dangers - that is meant to remind them of this fact, of the fleeting nature of life. After the climb they are given the "moksha medicine" as an emphasis and revelation of life, as a means of enlightenment to the concept of all aspects of life - and death - being bound together. Lin Yutang describes the process of enlightenment as "divesting oneself of the illusions of the sensory world and constantly rising to a higher conception of an ideal world [...] a steady process of dropping off of errors arising from the finite 'discriminating mind', such as the habitual and ingrained notion of the ego and the individuality of things." (Yutang, p. 550) The "moksha medicine" aids in liberating the mind from the bounds of the senses, and aids in the process of seeing the boundlessness of things, and how they are infinitely bound together. (Island, p. 185-193)

In Palanese culture all things are bound together - the spiritual with the physical, work with play, life with death, the spiritual with the scientific, and the young with the old. Unlike many cultures which seem to shun their elderly, the Palanese culture attempts to incorporate them - and not just as venerated ancients, but, simply, as people. However, the incorporation of the elderly into society is reflective of the Confucian respect for elderly persons - respect based on the elderly being the base from which come the young, on the fact that the elderly are (hopefully) more learned; or, simply put, the elderly being the history of the present era. Also similar to Confucians (Analects, I: 16, II: 24), the people of Pala believe that standards of goodness, of behaviour, etc., are not to be sought or found in heaven, but in oneself and in other people. In fact, the old Raja felt that all of Palanese culture - from inside as well as out - should be "judged by what all the members of the community, the ordinary as well as the extraordinary, can and do experience in every contingency and at each successive intersection of time with eternity." (Island, p. 196)

This concept of everything being part of the whole, reflects, also, the Eastern philosophical concept of balance, of a "middle way". Extremes are to be avoided, and, when encountered, found an outlet for. The Palanese practice this philosophy physically as well as spiritually, creating no more products than is necessary to sustain the society and to use as export to gain what they cannot themselves produce. The industries of Pala, from the simplest to the most complex, even work on a sort of part-time basis, allowing all the workers to change jobs in order to suit taste and mood, as well as education. This ensures that people not only don't experience excess (of bad as well as good) within themselves, it also means they have a more concrete understanding of their fellows - they learn what each is going through, because they are going through it themselves. Human satisfaction comes first with the Palanese, so they have made every allowance they can to accommodate it.

It could be said that the Palanese go against Taoist teaching in their use of science, particularly, to augment a person's intelligence (e.g. meditation techniques to augment the ability a person has to do mathematics), as it would be an interference in the laws of heaven, of nature. The Taoists stress a concept of wu-wei, or non-striving, which can be interpreted as the aforementioned non-interference. It means that one leaves things to develop as they will, without imposing will or change upon them. It is this lack of interference, unfortunately, that becomes the downfall of the Palanese people. They are a pacifist race, with no armies and no desire for physical violence, who allow the island to be taken over by the militaristic ideals of the present Raja and the neighbouring state of Rendang - even though they saw this coming. It was the order that fate was meant to take, so they do not - as many might have - even consider the possibility of dethroning the Raja. In an ironic twist, it is at this time of downfall for the Palanese that the 'hero' of "Island" becomes 'aware' of himself, and the philosophy of the Palanese, by use of the "moksha medicine".

The whole book reflects the lifetime experiences of the author, his experimentation with narcotics - particularly those he shared with his wife during the illness that led to her death, which is reflected in the story of Dr. MacPhail and his wife Lakshmi; and is an obvious wealth of Huxley's interest in, and experience with, all manner of Eastern philosophy and religion. In Pala, Huxley built an ideal society, one where population is under control, where over-consumption is minimised and are not the focus of industry or the people, where science is used for the betterment - rather than the destruction - of mankind, where the people are compassionate and understanding of themselves, of others, and of nature as a whole. However, Huxley's cynicism of Christianity, and mankind as a whole, are present throughout the book. Present in the descriptions of the descendants of Andrew MacPhail and the Christianity practiced by his parents, present in Will Farnaby himself who, despite being amongst a loving, understanding people, betrays them for mercenary gain, present where a person might think they wouldn't be, in a society so seemingly ideal. One where, despite its wealth of spirituality and understanding of the human condition, "the work of a hundred years [was] destroyed in a single night." (Island, p. 329)

- - -

ENDNOTES

1. The Four Noble Truths are the most basic expression of Buddha's teaching, and teach an alternative to how those in the West, for example, normally categorise thoughts, feelings, and actions. They are, for the Buddhist, the definitions of reality as it truly is, but are best understood not as beliefs, but as categories of experience. They can be summarised as follows:

     1. All life is unsatisfactory and suffering.      2. The cause of suffering is attachment, desire.      3. The way out of suffering is to eliminate attachment and desire.      4. The path out of suffering, of eliminating attachment and desire, is The Noble Eightfold Path.

2. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way out of suffering for a Buddhist, and is the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. It is summarised in three categories: wisdom, virtue, and concentration. The Noble Eightfold Path can be summarised as follows:

     Wisdom

     1. Right View (Understanding, Perspective): To see and understand things as they really are.      2. Right Intention (Thought, Resolve): The mental energy that lies behind or controls our actions. It is the volitional aspect.

     Virtue

     3. Right Speech: In simple terms: to speak truly, kindly, and only when necessary.      4. Right Action: To abstain from: that which harms, theft, and sexual misconduct. It means to act honestly, respectfully, and do nothing that is unwholesome.      5. Right Livelihood: One should earn one's living in a righteous way, with monetary gain achieved in a legal and peaceful manner, and do nothing which would contravene right speech, action, and so on, either in oneself or others.

     Concentration

     6. Right Effort (Endeavour): Those things which it is right to perform, to strive for; such as prevention of unwholesome states, abandonment of unwholesome states, arousal of wholesome states, maintenance and perfection of wholesome states.      7. Right Mindfulness: The ability to clearly understand our perceptions of things.      8. Right Concentration: Concentration on wholesome action and thought; a state where a person's mental faculties are united on one object.

SOURCES

Chuang-tzu. Basic Writings. Burton Watson, trans. New York: Columbia U.P. 1996.

Confucius. The Analects of Confucius. A. Waley trans. New York: Vintage Books. 1989.

Huxley, Aldous. Island. New York: Harper and Row. 1972.

Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English trans. New York: Vintage Books. 1997.

Ludwig, Theodore M. The Sacred Paths: Understanding the Religions of the World. Third ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 2001.

Meeker. Joseph W. ed. Ancient Indian Thought. Alberta. Athabasca University Press. 2002

… . Bhagavad Gita, The. Alberta. Athabasca University Press.

… . Buddhism. Alberta: Athabasca University Press.

… . Confucius. Alberta. Athabasca University Press. 1975.

… . Hindu Literature. Alberta. Athabasca University Press.

… . Taoism: Laotse and Chuangtse. Alberta: Athabasca University Press. 1975.

Yutang, Lin. ed. The Wisdom of China and India. New York: Bantam. 1971.

[absolutebl]

Hello!

I have a Thai language question, I hope that’s ok?

I’m not sure if you’re watching Oh! My sunshine night or if you’ve seen clips, but to my un-trained ear it sounds like Kim and Sun are using “chan” (the feminine 1st person pronoun - sorry if I don’t spell that right) with each other. Is that right?

Love you blog!

Chan When Used By A Male

Delighted.

Ah, yeah chan is taught as the feminine I when we learn Thai, but in practice it's often gender neutral (feminized and soft, but not explicitly female) and used as the I pronoun in several other circumstances.

Remember, like their culture, the Thai language is not binary it exists on a spectrum.

Chan as used by a man/male identified or 3rd gender individual carries with it several connotations depending on status and context: formality, stiffness, old fashioned tone, but also intimacy and even affection:

1. chan/ter - poetry, song

Okay so you will hear this use most often in BL when a character is singing (sigh). So the song at the end of Still 2gether, Tine uses chan/ter. 

This is frozen register, or formerly frozen. Which means it is the language of poetry and song and also legal and to some extent royalty (or old nobility). This is somewhat old fashioned and was one extremely formal. However because of its song/poetry association chan/ter has evolved to being considered somewhat intimate and romantic.

Think of it as a little like thee/thou in English.

Gay couples may adopt chan/ter but they may also use pom/ter & phi/ter or own-name/ter. University age or slightly older. Chan as used my a man seems to be more likely between equal ages who don’t want to use guu/mueng (remember there are personalities who just will NOT do this, it’s too rude) or those who are not vested in the age dynamic as part of their relationship.

Ter as we are usually taught, is third person female (she/her). But in its you form it also has this flexibility around formality and status. It is particularly affectionate in this context and may be translated as "dear" or "babe" or "darling" or "sweetie."

You can see one of the secondary couples in My Secret Love get outed as being in a relationship because of this use of ter. 

2. chan/nai - business relations, organized crime

You'll note this use in mafia dramas, most specifically Kamol in Unforgotten Night. 

He uses chan to refer to himself under most circumstances regardless of power dynamic in terms of subordinates or age or intimacy levels. 

This is a formal/business use of the pronoun. It has very little to do with femininity and more to do with status. Almost like he is so powerful and confident in his masculinity that any association with chan that others may have are irrelevant under the context of a corporate or criminal environment. He uses nai as you with all his male counterparts, including his friends, subordinates, and lover.

Characters will usually be well out of school age when using these pronouns. (Although you can watch poor Q be endlessly confused and experiment with nai in a high school setting because of X’s refusal to use informal register with him even though his is courting Q + older. In 12 Days Theory) 

3. Chan personal choice

So 3rd gender (rarely) or men of a certain somewhat gentlemanly quiet/soft/sweet (but not shy) personality type may opt for chan with friends (including those of a different gender), lovers, or intimates because of the way they feel with that person or because they want an established specialness or gentleness with them.

Example: Peach in Peach of Time uses chan with his dead lover, whom he knows is a ghost. 

It is hard to articulate why, because it’s such an unusual BL, but in this instance it might have something to do with Peach’s need to help YoonOh cross over, and/or with YoonOh being Korean and not Thai.

It's not that Peach is demeaning himself or his status for YoonOh's sake, but that Peach is gentling his own identity to better match YoonOh and also help help himself cope with YoonOh's condition. 

This is likely something the actor himself chose to do, which it may have been intentional or instinctive around Peach’s character. 

(source) 

[five-rivers]

Ancestral 10

‘Syvyr’ wasn’t an easily translated word, for all that it was an important word.  Viable translations included priest, seer, enchantress, fairy, sorcerer, spirit, ghost, scholar, doctor, and phantom.  Avlynyse dictionaries often rendered it as ‘a person possessing magical powers, especially one capable of communicating with both the living and the dead, or with spirits.’

But any word that bound up in a culture had connotations and denotations aplenty.  Gwensyvyr had been a syvyr; it was in her name.  Being a syvyr was one of the possible admissions criteria for the College of Heroes.  In the Reckoning of Titles practiced by the court, Syvyr was equal to Knight or Doctor.  Avlynyse children’s fantasy often featured syvyrys on quests.  The forests of Myrgyn were called the Wyduys Syvyryse.  

Danny… fit the definition.  It was, again, part of the joke behind his chosen name.  

Being called a syvyr, being recognized as a syvyr, especially by a member of the royal family, was an honor.  

That wasn’t why Danny’s still-slow heart rate had just sped up.  

“You can’t tell our parents.”

Matthew’s brow crumpled.  “What?  Why?  I know Maddie hasn’t been receptive to… anything traditional in a long time, but she’s doing that awful ghost hunting thing.  She wouldn’t deny it out of hand.”

“That’s the problem,” said Jazz.  “She wouldn’t deny everything, she’d just think that Danny was overshadowed.”

“Over– I’m sorry, is that a direct translation of avyrsydod?  The direct inbryth gyse?  Why would that be a bad thing?”

“Because they really hate ghosts.”

“They use it more like possession than spiritual inspiration,” explained Danny.  “They’d want to drive out whatever ghost was doing it.”

Matthew sighed.  “Of course they would.  Have you, ah.  Which of the honored dead is speaking to you now?”

“Speaking is… a strong word,” said Danny.  Danny shifted back against the bed, unsure how much he should say.  He’d spent so long keeping everything secret.  

He felt the slightest breeze play across his knuckles, and looked down to see Gwensyvyr’s transparent hand resting on his blurry one.  

“Okay,” he said, slowly.  “Here’s what we know.”

.

Danny didn’t tell Matthew everything.  He wanted to keep his ghost half, at least, a secret, and Matthew was being an adult and keeping things from them as well.  

“We will have to do the trials after all, then,” said Matthew, rubbing his temples.  “That’s going to be… Dangerous.”

“I assume you mean from something other than the murder attempts?”

“Yes,” said Matthew.  “Andyr was supposed to be renovated, back when we were kids, but it never got finished.  Grandfather kicked the company we’d contracted with out after your grandfather died.  They were blamed for what happened to Leon.”

Gwensyvyr nodded sharply.  “Rightly, it sounds like,” said Danny.  

“Yes, well.  The renovation was still never finished.  I know that William was trying to convince Grandfather to change his mind about it before Vivian took the trials.  Managed to get him to say maybe to this tiny company staffed by, uh, you won’t know them, distant cousins of ours, they clean up European castles, but…”

“But then this happened,” finished Danny.  “Do you think the people from the renovation company, the original one, might be behind this?  They could be trying to cover up something they did down there.”

“Possibly.  Most of them would be quite old at this point.”

“Dead doesn’t mean gone,” reminded Jazz.  

“That’s true,” said Matthew.  “I’ll have to look into it.”  His phone beeped, and he looked down.  “It looks like our time is at an end.  Your parents are coming back.”

.

“Did you notice,” Jazz asked Danny, later, “how he didn’t tell us the name of the company they contracted with?”

“Sure did,” said Danny.  “But we didn’t tell him about the key, so that’s fair.”  There was a feather-light tap on his shoulder.  

Gwensyvyr smirked at him and started to trace letters in the air.  

SKYPPA WYKBYLDYN GRUYP.

Skippa Construction Group.  

“What, like the guy who was angry at Matthew earlier?”

Gwensyvyr nodded.  

“Okay,” said Danny.  “That’s a place to start.”

.

VIVIAN DYRYS FOUND DEAD, PRINCE MATTHEW DYRYS DECLARED REGENT, and JULIUS SKYPPA, ASSEMBLYMAN AND NOTED IMPORTER, FOUND DEAD IN ARGYNTYN HOME AFTER WARRANT FOR ARREST, read the headlines on the newspapers the next day.  

SKYPPA SUICIDE NOTE CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ROYAL POISONINGS, SOME OFFICIALS SKEPTICAL, read the headlines later that evening.  These headlines were followed in smaller print by CUPBEARER INNOCENT, HEARING TO FOLLOW.

At least Danny could read them.  He rather wanted to break something.  

.

Danny was allowed to return to Basym Hyws the next day, his vision mostly back to normal.  The arguments made Danny wish the doctors hadn’t let him go.  

Maddie and Jack were unmatched in the stubborn argument category, with Maddie believing that all ghosts were evil against all traditions of her home culture and Jack believing ghosts existed despite the general consensus of his.  Then, too, there was the annual Christmas Debacle to consider.  

On the other hand, Matthew had quite a bit of authority on his side, accompanied by faith, and the ever-infuriating thing known as ‘unsharable proof.’

Except, ghosts in general weren’t the main thing they were arguing about.  

“I’m not saying they have to actually attempt the trials,” snarled Matthew.  “They just have to be there to start with, because all available members of the royal family have to be there.”

“It wasn’t going to be like that for Vivian’s trials!”

“That’s because we had a reigning king!  Having only a regent changes the rules!  They can sit in the first room off the hallway for all I care, but they have to be there or else it won’t be considered legitimate!”

“None of us want to have anything to do with your government–”

“It’s your government, too!”

“-- why can’t we just sign something saying that?”

“Because I can’t change the law at a drop of a hat, Madeline!”

.

“I’m sorry,” said Danny, “we’re doing what?”

“We’re holding the Moon Masque next week,” said Irene, “in the Wyduys Syvyryse.  Ah, that’s the ‘Sorcerers’ Woods–’”

“We do speak Avlynyse,” said Maddie, testily.  “I think what Danny wants to know is why we’re holding a masquerade party in the woods while all these murders are still being investigated.”

Danny winced.  He did want to know just that, but he didn’t mean it so… aggressively.  

“It’s part of the preparation for the trials,” said Irene.  “Some of the Assembly wanted to waive it, but after the aconite… the traditionalist faction was worried it was a bad sign.”

“Are you serious.”  It wasn’t a question.

Irene pressed her lips into a flat line and met Maddie’s eyes.  “Yes,” she said.  “I am serious.  There is some sentiment that the attempted poisoning was a reaction to trying to crown Matthew while skipping the trials.  A bad omen, or a warning.  Do I believe it?  No.  But that’s the way it is.  You don’t have to jump down my throat about it.”Danny saw his mother’s eyes flare, and braced himself for another loud argument. 

[writingwithcolor]

Blending Mythos Respectfully

@sapphicq submitted:

Hi all! I’m trying to write an urban fantasy that explores oppression in a world that is basically the same as ours, except with magic, while incorporating magical systems and mythologies of multiple cultures. I’ve done an okay amount of research on each one that I’d like to include (still need to do more for sure, especially considering how colonization has effected mythologies). However, I’m struggling a bit on how they should coexist, since in the world I’m writing about they’re present and tangible. One example of this is fox spirits in East Asian mythology. Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese mythologies each have a nine-tailed fox, and though my research says that the myth originates from Chinese mythology, it also says that each of the fox spirits carry different connotations of malevolence, benevolence, and how widespread they are, depending on which culture’s mythology is being referred to. 

The same sort of thing has been popping up quite a lot in a lot of my research. I started to wonder if I could explain these similarities within world as “different cultures have come up with different names and customs surrounding the ‘same’ thing,” considering mythology in the real world from an anthropological perspective. However I don’t want to overgeneralize, especially considering that these different mythological figures are meant to be present and tangible. If I went that route, I wouldn’t want to say something like ‘actually, benevolent fox spirits do exist, and Korean mythology about fox spirits is wrong since Kumiho are pretty strictly malevolent,’ which would obviously be an implication. All this to say: do you have any tips for multiple mythos coexisting in a way that respects the various cultures they come from?

Avoid Round Pegs in Square Holes

A mistake you sometimes see Western authors make when dealing with mythology in urban fantasy settings is to confine the universe’s worldbuilding to a particular mythology or force the rules of a single culture’s folklore onto other cultures. For instance, here at WWC, we get a lot of questions asking how to represent supernatural creatures from multiple cultures respectfully alongside fae from Western Europe, and it's fairly obvious that the author plans to treat all supernatural creatures as fae. Urban fantasy based on Greek mythology or Christian mythology often falls into the same trap. 

I think a writer can demonstrate greater creativity by embracing these differences. I think a potential way to deal with contradicting mythos between cultures is to come up with compelling reasons why differences exist. What world-building systems, philosophies and real-life phenomena allow for a framework that explains the simultaneous existence of commonalities and differences? As you know, in anthropology, there are theories that emphasize cultural diffusion as a way to explain similar customs within the same region, but there are also theories that hold that multiple cultures can develop the same traditions and principles independent of each other (See: existence of 0, lost-wax bronze casting, astronomical calendars and the use of wheels). The answers I’ve given are mostly technological. However myths and belief systems serve very real social functions as ways to keep people together and cultivate norms and mores. Lesya expands on the utility of intentional cultural diffusion below.

Similarly, within evolution, there are instances of species having common features because of a shared ancestor, but also instances where species without shared ancestors evolve to have similar features because they exist in the same environment. I believe flippers are examples of both types of evolution in marine animals.  Thus, I think you need to question your assumption that “different cultures have come up with different names and customs surrounding the ‘same’ thing.” As the world is daily proof, they sometimes do, but they also sometimes don’t. 

-Marika

First, props to you for sending us this ask. You have been thinking about this a lot and have done research into building an urban fantasy that doesn’t do the thing of putting all Asians under one umbrella. 

Second, I’m going to agree with Marika here. Rather than go for the generalization route, revel in everyone's differences. It's a way for you to acknowledge the variations in the mythology, that not all have the same origins though there may be some similarities. Instead, they may have reached the same conclusions. My advice for blending mythologies is to lean into it, and not create a homogeneous umbrella. You can make something amazing with that. 

-Jaya

Hybridity Through Diffusion

So a myth originated in China. This does not mean Chinese tellings have the monopoly on what a telling is. Marika and Jaya have gone into a possible solution, here, but what I’m going to examine here is a mental framework that a lot of people get stuck in that is actually ahistorical.

Cultural appropriation as we know it is shockingly recent when it comes to history. In the modern day, ownership boundaries of myths have become very strict because of primarily European colonialism picking and choosing everything it likes about a mythos, and, this is important: not letting up on the oppression of those peoples. There’s also a strong preference to kill those colonialism deems “wrong”, instead of creating a hybrid culture.

Historically, this got a lot more fluid.

What happened historically was primarily cultural diffusion, wherein open trade, intermarriage, and shared borders made it that myths, customs, and cultural practices were (mostly) freely exchanged without massive power imbalances happening, and then modified to fit local beliefs.

Key word: mostly. Because yes sometimes it happened that one place took over another place and imported all of its customs (see: China, Rome, the Mughals), but… often* the ruling power either backed off, was fought of, or otherwise left the region, leaving the common people to do whatever they wanted with the carcass of what had been imposed on them. Or sometimes, even, the imperial forces would actively create a hybridized culture in order to better rule others.

* in places where the ruling power has NOT backed off on oppression and assimilation, even if the colonialism is very old, then this is invalid and the power dynamics of appropriation are still at play.

Because, historically, there was a lot less incentive to simply genocide the peoples you took over (which is what made armies that did destroy all they took over so noteworthy). People were needed to keep providing food and materials, even if the new person got the resulting taxes. 

This meant there were a lot more common people to play with the stuff imported by the imperial culture. And there was a lot more incentive to hybridize your customs to the common people’s customs, leading to the sometimes-hilarious situations like “Rome assigns an equivalence in their pantheon for literally every mythology they encountered, which was a lot.” 

This also explains early Christianization, because it was a lot safer to simply adapt what you already had to make it better for your own ends than curbstomp everything that was “wrong” to your worldview. Ireland’s mythology survives in huge swaths, because it was either Christianized wholesale, or it was about “historical humans” and not fae. Norse mythology was similarly adapted for Christian worldviews, which means we unfortunately have no idea what the pre-Christian myths were.

So instead of thinking in terms of ownership, think instead in terms of diffusion. 

Myths get imported along with food, cloth, or anything else necessary for life. Myths were, historically, a way for people to explain the world around them, both in place of and alongside science. “Ghost marches” are really common, globally, because if you have wind howling in the forest, it’s going to sound like predators, and predators mean go inside and lock the door. Weaving goddesses are also common, because weaving was so necessary to survive the elements.

Sometimes trade relationships soured, and you get bad associations with the imported stuff. Sometimes the relationship stayed great for long enough it got completely adapted. This doesn’t mean any one myth is “right”, nor does it mean you have to erase historical trade links. It just means you look at the historical context, understand that cultural exchange often used to be a lot more two-way than it is in modern appropriation times, and figure out what that means for your worldbuilding.

~ Mod Lesya

[bekaroth-reads]

Thoughts on Alfred Ashford

Notice: This contains themes of homophobia, transphobia, gender dysphoria, and mentions of mental illness involving personality disorders. If any of those bother you this might not be something for you.

Summary: Basically just me giving my thoughts and observations on the character of Alfred Ashford and his portrayal by both the official games and fan representation. (Also to note, while I did proof read this, I am also dyslexic, so there may be some spelling/ writing mistakes here and there)

The subject of the writing of Alfred Ashford’s character is a bit of a tricky one. While I do not in any way think that the creators of Code Veronica were in any way trying to purposefully be either homophobic or transphobic, due to misunderstanding and commonly accepted biases at the time the problems did work their way into the character. And, from there, sadly there were fan comments and theories that were made in the same time and with the same biases, albeit with no filter.

I would also be remiss to not mention that there is also a misrepresentation of mental health regarding people with conditions of having split or multiple personalities. But, seeing as I do not have nor have experience with people that do have such conditions, I cannot talk much about that. The most I can say about it is that it was written in a time where there was not much understanding about it, and all of the possibilities for causing such things were all lumped into one general category.

The first thing to talk about would be the inspiration for Alfred’s character. Alfred was inspired by the character Norman Bates from the film Psycho. Alfred’s first name even comes from the name of the director Alfred Hitchcock. In the film it is revealed that Norman, who was torn up about losing his mother when he was still somewhat young and by the guilt in his part in her death, made an imaginary version of her to talk with. As the years went on, he started to actually talk for her, doing the best that he could to copy her voice, and then eventually this lead to him dressing like her and acting like she was really there; metaphorically, the ghost of his mother piloting his body for a time when this happened. This film was written in 1960, so there were some things that were not completely understood, and therefore not accurate to how we understand them today. However, there was a effort from Hitchcock and the other writers to be sure that they did the best they could with the information that they had. For instance, at the very end there is a psychologist that is trying to explain Norman’s mental state, and when he gets to the fact that Norman dressed like his mother, one of the police officers in the room very condescendingly says, “Well, he’s a transvestite!” Keep in mind, when this was written, the term transvestite wasn’t simply used for people that liked to dress drag, but rather had the connotation that they did so as a form of sexual deviancy, a way ensnare the, “poor, poor, straight people,” around them and get a rise out of their misery. The psychologist is quick to shut it down, and says that the reason he did it was not because he got sexual gratification or because he thought he was a woman, but rather because it was a sort of elaborate puppet that he would use for his mother persona.

This echos with Alfred Ashford in Code Veronica. In the game’s story Alfred loses his sister at a very young age, and takes the same course that Norma Bates took with his mother. This culminates when the characters see him, and think that he actually is his sister. Though never outright stated, the game strongly hints that the reason that Alfred wears a dress, wig, and makeup at times is because he’s basically using his body as a puppet for the metaphorical ghost of his sister, and not because he personally likes to do so, much like Norman Bates did. And, when he is faced with the reality that she has not actually been there with him all these years, he cannot handle it.

Where part of the problem that comes with the writing with Alfred is because he is based off of a, whether purposely or not, queer coded character from the 1960’s. Add this with the fact that all of the acting in the earlier Resident Evil games were highly based on B-list horror movies, which often make their queer coded characters wildly over the top with their personality, there are plenty of things that while not purposely, do come across as very homophobic. Don’t get me wrong, Alfred is a fun character and a great antagonist for the game. But, even as one of my favorite video game characters ever, I do still feel there is a need to know what could and should be acknowledged about the short comings of the character writing for any hopes of rewriting the character for modern versions of the game.

Part of the homophobic nature is stereotypes; more specifically in this case, the amalgamation of all queer identities into one. Alfred not only dresses as a woman at times, but also has many of the typical 90’s to early 2000’s portrayals of a gay man such as dressing nicely, having a higher pitched voice, being overtly flamboyant, having a foppish laugh, etc. While these aren’t done to an egregious extent, the added layer of questionability comes with the fact of him having these stereotypes and also dressing as a woman at times making it lean into the idea that Psycho was trying to avoid, where transgender people or people that enjoy things such as drag are doing so in a way of harmful, sexual deviancy, rather than from a point of personal identity, as the subject was left a bit too ambiguous and gave opportunity for people to fill in the blanks and make such assumptions, which were very common when the game was released in 2000. And, while the games never outright embraced this thought, the miniature remake on the Wii game Darkside Chronicles even toning down some of the personality traits of Alfred from the original game, the idea had already been placed in the zeitgeist of the character, and was easily accepted as fact with little questioning.

This lead to things such as fan works and even the official novelization of Code Veronica, going to typical conclusion that Alfred and his sister Alexia, must have obviously been in a incestuous relationship with each other. Because, the creepy gay man, who might possibly be there to represent an aspect of transgenderism as it was understood at the time, must be some sort of a freak and pervert that would also want to have sex with his own sister. And, at the time queer people were still the butt of everyone else’s jokes as this was the era of, ”edgy humor,” where people would say the worst things possible just to see if anyone would stop them, making it so that this was something that was not only accepted, but spread like wildfire. And, while this was mostly done by fans, who tended to be largely teenagers and young adults, this sort of attitude was also promoted, as mentioned before, by the official novelization perpetuating it.

Now, I in no way think that there was any intended harm meant by the author, S. D. Perry, as like the writers on Psycho, she was simply writing with information that she had. And, seeing as the books that were based on the main numbered games in the Resident Evil series had plenty in them that were for the fans of the games, such as how many people filled in the sides of characters’ personalities that weren’t shown in the games, this lead to Alfred, sadly, taking this more perverted rather than queer approach, which is best shown with the section where the character Steve has to look though Alfred’s things, and finds a note from Alfred’s imaginary version of his sister that could be taken as a love letter. This leads to the following paragraphs from Steve’s perspective,

“Ick. Steve dropped the card, making a face. Was it just him, or had Alfred created a seriously unnatural relationship with his imagined sister?

Yeah, but it wasn’t real, it wasn’t like they could do anything… physical. Double ick. Again, Steve decided he’d rather not know—”

Excerpt From

Resident Evil: Code Veronica, S.D. Perry

(side note: I do really enjoy these books. And, other than the example listed above, they are very well written. If you’re a fan of the games, I suggest giving them a go.).

Again, there was nothing like this ever present in the original game or with the original character. And, oddly enough, this is the only time in the novel where it’s hinted there might be any sort of romantic or sexual feelings between the two of them. All of the other times they are shown with each other, be that imaginatively or actually, it is simply like a brother and sister that feel like it’s them against the world.

All of this being said, there could be something said about this whole ordeal, having a positive side to it as well. Even though it might have been a misunderstanding of the original intent of the character of Alfred, it was the first time many people, especially in their teenage years (I, in fact, being one of them), saw the idea of things like being transgender, gender fluid, and even the concept of gender dysphoria. For example, when Alfred finds out that his sister has not been real this whole time, it plays out like he’s upset about that; however, the scene is also very reminiscent of the feelings of gender dysphoria, as he, at the moment feels more comfortable as a woman, but is forced to remember he has a masculine body. The trouble is that instead of making one point of another, they both get muddied together which makes it difficult to tell what the writers were really going for.

This idea of having an incestuous relationship is also a misconception that comes from the film Psycho, coming from the newer, official writers of the property seeming to misunderstand themes and wording from the original two films. Both of them show no signs at all of there being any sort of relationship between Norman and his mother other than familial. The thing that got most people to start thinking that there was something more in the first place was the scene at the end of the first film where the psychiatrist says that Norman was jealous of his mother’s lover. But, this was said in a way where it meant he was jealous of the time and attention she was giving the man, not that Norman was sexually interested in her. This was misinterpreted first in the sequel film, Psycho IV, which added the relationship between Norman and his mother, and other than the television series that came out about twenty years later, this was the only time such a relationship was mentioned in the Psycho property. It was outlandish enough, though, it stuck in people’s minds and they started to think that it was there all along. As such, this representation and understanding of the character that Alfred Ashford was based on, lead people to also associate that sort of representation with Alfred himself, feeding into the already existing stigma the character had.

Edit: I was going over this a bit after I posted and I feel I need to clear something up on the subject above as somethings are worded poorly. I do think that there are some things in the game that are vague enough to lead people to feel like there could be a questionable relationship between Alfred and Alexia. An example is the note found in the area above the farris wheel. I do still, however, feel like when Alfred writes about gaining her love it feels like a cry for familial approval from the "better" sibling he's always lived in the shadow of, whom almost has a maternal relationship with her brother (seen in the way she comforts him as he's dying) due to their abusive father. I'm not saying that those themes aren't there at all. Just that they were exaggerated in the common perception of the game, and that exaggeration is often accepted as fact rather than speculation.

Even with all of the bumps and mishaps with the writing of the character of Alfred Ashford, there was still enough taken seriously and written well enough that it made people give pause, and think, “Wait. That exists? I can do that?” There are times, where he is so comfortable as both man and woman, where it made people think he was trans or fluid even if that was not the original intent. And, while I cannot find much to confirm it for Code Veronica specifically, back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s there was no positive queer and especially transgender representation, because writers who wanted to have such characters were given the choice to have either a stereotype that was used to make someone either seem insane or be the comic relief, or the character was not allowed to exist at all. Many writers chose to put out a stereotypes because that was their only way to give representation at all. And, that very well may be the case with Alfred.

Like mentioned earlier, there was at least a little bit of an effort in the retelling of the events in the game Darkside Chronicle to make it feel like he was queer and crazy, and not that he was crazy because he was queer. The problem with that being that more positive representation is that those are not considered to be the most popular games in the series, and that they were only on the Nintendo Wii, was largely considered to be the, “little kids’ console,” at the time, so it was not given too much notice by the fans as a whole.

This is just my personal thoughts and observations on the subject, and could possibly be why, even though it was directly mentioned in the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom might have decided to take their time remaking Code Veronica. There will definitely need to be some reworking of Alfred’s character, from a writing stand point, as well as a financial one, as if they misrepresent a queer coded character now, it won’t be laughed off like it was twenty years ago. They are most likely, and thankfully, going ahead very cautiously with how they might want to portray him. And, as a Resident Evil, as well as an Alfred Ashford fan, I can certainly understand and respect that. Hopefully we will get a better rounded version of him in the near future.

(Also his dolphin laugh is a treasure. For your own sake go look it up somewhere.)

[awarmbowlofhomemadesoup]

AceAro Miles Edgeworth’s Platonic Crush on Phoenix Wright Headcanons

Platonic crush: the desire to be platonically intimate with someone without romantic or sexual attraction. Intensity like any kind of crushes can vary. 

In Childhood:

When they were children, Miles would often talk more about Phoenix than Larry, to the point that Ray Shields began teasing him about having a crush on Phoenix. And Miles would be like, “No?” because last time he checked he wasn’t experiencing that “heart stuff” that he sees in zany cartoons.

When they have to sit and rest somewhere, Miles would read a book with at least his knee touching Phoenix. Or if there was enough space, his back touching Phoenix’s side. No, Larry, it’s not a snuggle, now hush. (Similar to how a cat would lounge at their favorite owner’s side while casually not looking at them).

As much as he enjoyed them as the Signal Samurai trio, his favorite moments were just talking with Phoenix about anything under the sun -in the early hour before class or when they have dropped Larry home and it was just him and Phoenix. 

He often looked forward to the quiet instances that Phoenix would hold his hand while they’re walking home alone since Phoenix is more at ease with affection than he was.

Some teenagers hollered at them for it and Phoenix let go, embarrassed, while Miles was wondering why he was embarrassed when they both know it was because they were good friends. So he just stubbornly grabbed his hand again and dragged him away from those immature buffoons.

Miles was neutral when it comes to Valentines Day. But when Phoenix received a box of chocolates from a girl he likes, Miles became more aloof and disinterested. He wondered why there was no celebration for friendship. Idle time was spent on thinking what gift he would give Phoenix if there was a proper day for celebrating best friends. (Larry is also his best friend but he doesn’t have the word that distinguishes his friendship with Larry and friendship with Phoenix.)

Miles was disappointed that he was unable to find the specific term between best friend and deeper best friend. Even his father doesn’t know. Gregory Edgeworth assured him he would find it someday.

Being someone who thinks ahead, Miles knew that someday Phoenix might not prioritize and value their friendship as much as he does once Phoenix would get a girlfriend. Miles tried very hard not to think of the time they would be in middle school.

After Gregory’s death, Miles never received Phoenix’s letters as von Karma wants to isolate him from his original home. Even when Miles appreciate the song request from Phoenix dedicated to him, von Karma made it clear that sentimental relations will distract him from perfection. Plus, Miles thought it was a one time and that Phoenix probably had a girlfriend to dedicate himself to by now.

In Adulthood (Platonic Crush to Queerplatonic Attraction to QP Love):

Early Career. When Miles received college Phoenix’s letters, his first reaction was confusion. Out-of-the-blue this ghost from the past was asking him why he was being called Demon Prosecutor. Second reaction was stonewalling. There was no point delving about how a person used to make him feel. 

State vs Fey. After the trial, Miles told himself he developed an intellectual hyperfixation towards Phoenix Wright as he arranged his brand new custom chess set with the “spike-y” pawns. He was half-right. If only he wasn’t so entangled with von Karma’s opinions on “sentimental relations”.

State vs Powers. Miles’ platonic crush resurfaced somewhere after Will Powers’ case and Phoenix asking to defend him.

State vs Edgeworth. He faintly realized at the moment Phoenix had smiled at him in relief once Miles got acquitted, that Phoenix was someone he wanted in his life. If only Miles deserved so. 

Miles would never admit he finds a unique sense of enjoyment in working with cases where Phoenix had to defend. He doubted if a lot of people experience intimacy in rivalry.

State vs Skye. Unfortunately, Miles have bigger things to deal with like coming into terms with a mentor that had both raised and twisted him, struggling to find a new norm as eyes watched him, his very story available to the public, then having to face the Skye case that made him question everything he was as a prosecutor. 

It all became too much and he wasn’t thinking straight and one of those thoughts was that Phoenix was better off knowing a better person than him. 

State vs Engarde. The belief was instilled when Phoenix got mad at him for faking his own death.

After having a talk and Miles realizing that cutting people off abruptly was more of a dick move than he thought, he and Phoenix kept in touch after.

In the space he had given himself in Europe, Miles decided that aside from becoming a better lawyer, he wanted to be the friend Phoenix deserved to have in his life, with the same intimacy they had in childhood that he still couldn’t name. 

State vs Iris. Miles was pretty much neutral around Iris. If Phoenix would decide to rekindle his relationship with her (though the deception made him wrinkle his nose no matter how true Iris’ feelings were at that time), he wouldn’t care as long as he and Phoenix would still be in good terms as partners. Even if Phoenix would not put as much special connotations as he would in their partnership. That was all he could ask for after everything. 

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth. Whenever Kay would tease him about “that man”, Miles would just look at her dryly. At this point, he should know not a lot of people would understand.

7-year Disbarment. Phoenix’s disbarment drew them closer together after Miles’ was finally able to contact him when Phoenix shut everyone out. Miles couldn’t do much being in Europe but he does what he could from flying them to Europe so that Phoenix could help him with his cases to caring for Trucy.

Their commitment for each other only grew from raising Trucy together to righting Japanifornia’s legal system. 

Miles wished he could kiss Phoenix on the forehead without making it weird. It just felt like Phoenix needed it. Comforting Phoenix with hugs and handholding, at least, was never questioned for romantic interest.

When Phoenix began to study for the bar again, Miles often enjoy Phoenix falling asleep on his shoulder. Unseen, Miles would smile before poking him awake.

He enjoys movie nights with the Wright family where Trucy and Phoenix would snuggle close and dinner/banter with Phoenix every week. 

Fantasies of sleep-snuggling with the man he admires and trusts the most and has an intense emotional-intellectual connection? Of course, he does. “So near and yet so far” has never been so painful in that one time they have to share a bed.

After Phoenix got his badge back, Miles was pretty much satisfied. His life was more stable, inner and outer, than it had ever been. Phoenix and Trucy’s life were also stable. Miles now felt more confident and comfortable in their bond and Miles would do what it takes to keep it as a part of his life.

He may have felt a little thrill when they both become comfortable enough for Phoenix to be casually affectionate with his touch -an arm around his shoulder as they laugh about something, a hand on his arm when asking about a case- it felt like back in their more carefree childhood. 

State vs Wyatt. Miles was pretty much ruffled with questions about marriage directed at him of all people. But if he has to marry someone, it might as well be someone he knew so well and trusts so much. Miles may have opted out some of his opinions in marriage but he was no longer the person who would lie to himself of who that someone would be.  

He wanted... something. He wanted a sort of exclusivity with Phoenix. The idea of Phoenix dating other people made Miles realized he wasn’t the type to share. The revelation itself was frustrating when he was neutral or repulsed of varying degrees when it comes to different romantic and sexual acts.

With a combination of finally having the words to describe what he wanted in Google Search and help with his therapist, the name of what he wanted with Phoenix was a queerplatonic relationship with a compromise on whatever would be Phoenix’s romantic/sexual needs from him. If Phoenix would have him as so. And if Phoenix wouldn’t... well, their friendship had been through a lot of things, this one event wouldn’t change it much. 

(This is from my own experiences and wants as someone in the acearo spectrum. I’m not the universal experience for acearo and it can be different for everyone else.)

[skyflyinginaction]

MDSZ Name Meaning Explanations

Wow MDSZ has intricate naming: there are a lot of interesting meanings that fit very well with the characters!

One thing I realized when I researched names is that Chinese names, like Japanese names, are filled with a lot of nuances that have to do with the characters themselves and their role in the story. The character’s names subtly explain their roles and personality in the story.

These are the characters I noticed are the ones that don’t have a lot of posts about their names. I decided I am going to do a post on the characters whose name meanings are not much talked about in the fandom.

This post is heavily inspired by thisworldgodonlyknows who made a post explaining the meaning of the names from one of MXTX  works and what it has to do with corresponding with the characters.

MXTX’s names for her characters in her works seem to be chosen intuitively. This makes sense because the names she chooses have a lot to do with both the characters and their arc in the story.

I won’t be doing any explanations on Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli

because they already had more than enough metas on them. I’m not a Chinese speaker, so although I will explain my research to the best of my ability in this post, take it with a grain of salt.

Mo Xuanyu (莫玄羽)

Mo Xuanyu’s entire name is a subtle reference to his background in the story.

His surname Mò/莫 means "do not, is not, can not" or "there is none who -“

The character in his surname is used to refer to saying something that is puzzling, baffling or impossible to explain in the Chinese language.

This would make sense when talking about Mo Xuanyu since all we know about him is that he's one of Jin Guangshan’s many illegitimate children. Once a disciple of the Jin Clan until his expulsion due to his homosexuality and harassment of the Jin sect leader Jin Guangyao, his expulsion resulted in more abuse at the hands of his family. The abuse he suffered caused his mind to mentally deteriorate, producing a vengeful side of his personality which led him to take up demonic cultivation leading him to perform the body offering ritual to bring Wei Wuxian back to get revenge on his family for the abuse he suffered from.

We don’t know an awful lot about him or his personality other than his background so this makes him come off as very mysterious.

The character in his given name is Xuán/玄 means "black/mysterious”

The character Xuán/玄 is another character to refer to the color black in a specific context in Chinese but when this character is used it also has negative connotations. The symbolism that black is associated within Chinese culture is destruction, evil, disasters, sadness, and suffering; it is considered an unfortunate color. The symbolism for the color black goes very well with Xuanyu as a Character in his role. The bad fortune aspect could reference how he was expelled from the Jin sect, his suffering under the abuse of the Mo family, and wishing for revenge on them for the abuse he suffered under wishing destruction on them. Black the color of evil this can refer to his interest in demonic cultivation and his connection to Wei Wuxian who practiced demonic cultivation donned black clothes and was called evil by the cultivation world.

Black is another way to refer to yin because yin has the color black. Wei Wuxian’s birth name Wei Ying comes from yin as in yin and yang the character Ying (嬰) from Wei Wuxian birth name comes from Ying ling or infant spirit in Chinese used to refer to the spirits of dead fetuses Which is a possible nod to his demonic cultivation. Ying means infant it can also come from yin as in ghost, death, and evil a subtle reference to he brings Wei Wuxian back through the body offering ritual.

The second character in his given name yǔ/羽 means “feather" (羽) is the character is used for “immortal" or "ascending" this can be considered to be an irony to him similar to how someone who didn’t ascend in cultivation is equivalent to someone who cannot fly. Mo Xuanyu is someone who didn’t ascend in cultivation hence his weak cultivation. (羽) when the language is used in a negative connection meaning “ascend" or "passed away” in Chinese this is given insight into how he died mysteriously with the body offering ritual. His entire given name can refer to how he vanished without a trace, mysteriously and without a sound, like a feather.

Qin Su (秦愫)

Her surname doesn’t mean anything in Chinese; it is just a surname  Her given name Sù/愫 means “guileless and sincere” in Chinese this can refer to what was described in the novel as appearance and personality-wise someone innocent and naive.

If you look closely her entire name is a homophone to Qingsu (情愫 qíng sù sentiment feeling) a phrase that is used to describe feelings in Chinese.

Qin Su is an emotional character, guided by her own emotions. This makes her different from other characters who are corrupt and squash their sentimentality for ambition or revenge since the emotional aspect makes her name sound like a sentiment feeling.

Qin Su is guided by her emotions which give her strength An example of this is noted in her backstory. Is when JGY saved her during the sunshot campaign gave her the will to pursue him. The most prominent scene of an emotional outburst where she openly lambasts her husband/brother for his deception and murder of her son her feelings of rage and betrayal gave her the strength to actively resist JGY as he attempts to coax her into giving out the name of who gave her the letter.

An innocent emotional character compared to the corrupt cultivators who died horribly who was too innocent to survive in the corrupt world of cultivators and could not handle knowing the dark truths.

Yu Ziyuan (虞紫鸢)

The character in her surname Yú/虞 means "be anxious or worry." If you dive deeper into her character it speaks to one of her major concerns to how her husband perceives herself and their son in comparison to Wei Ying. Her surname references her major insecurities.

Zǐ/紫 means “purple" her signature color and yuān/鸢 means "kite (bird)” the kite is a type of bird of prey this speaks to her aggressive and fierce personality and strong cultivation.

Zǐyuān (紫鸢) is also another way to refer to the Chinese wall iris; purple is the color of the iris, so this again references to her signature color. Iris has noble connotations that speak to her noble status and a fact that she is a graceful and elegant woman even with her bad temper. Purple flowers are tied to royalty represent dignity and pride both speak to her tremendous pride and noble status.

Luo Qingyang (罗青羊)

Next is Mian Mian

Luō/罗 means “silk” in Chinese; this can invoke the trope "silk hiding under steel.” Underneath her delicate appearance is a tough backbone; she is not afraid to stand up to her own beliefs and the people she cares for.

The character in her given name Qīng/青 means “green" but when used in classical Chinese Qīng is another way to refer to “black”.

yáng/羊 means “sheep.” Sheep are considered innocent in Chinese; the sheep symbolism could emphasize her initial appearance as a frail damsel in distress who needs to be saved. A woman who is considered weak and dumb as a sheep by the sexist men of society.

Also, in ancient Chinese symbolism, sheep represent justice, which goes hand in hand with her tough backbone who is not afraid to stand up to her own beliefs for what’s right and wrong.

So, her given name together means “black sheep.” She would be considered the black sheep in the world of cultivator being born a servant and a woman and easily dismissed.

The black sheep part can refer to how someone who chooses to outcast herself from mainstream cultivation society in favor of pouring her own life as a rough cultivator on its outskirts with her family.

Her nickname MianMian comes from Chinese sheep wool which is called mian yang (绵羊).

Jin Rusong (金如松)

The character of his first name Rú/如 has the same character and meaning as Jin Ling birth name Rúlán/如兰

This refers to how he is the same generation as Jin Ling.

The second character sōng/松 means "pine tree.”

If you put the characters of his given name together means "to be like a pine tree” this Sounds like the phrase "to make like a tree and leave” This can note his one-time appearance in the story. Pine trees symbolize longevity and long life; this is ironic for him because his fate of dying young.

Jinzhu and Yinzhu (金珠 &. 银珠)

Another two minorish characters are Jīnzhū/金珠 and Yínzhū/银珠 their names mean “silver pearl and gold pearl” this doesn't mean much on the surface since the meaning of their names is obvious.

In Chinese pearls, gold and silver are connected to wealth, money, and status. They are meant to say something about Madam Yu’s status as a noble and to emphasize their relationship between master and servant.Gold and silver are valuable and prized this empathizes them being Madam Yu’s prized servants, but this can also indicate something about them as people: they are both known for being extremely skilled cultivators. Their fancy names highlight how prized they are personally to Madam Yu as her right/left-hand women.

Jin Zixuan (金子轩)

Zi/子 means (child), Zi/子 is a generational character that is used in the Jin clan by Guangshan to name his children this can Zixuan is the only legitimate child of the sect leader of his father.

The second character xuān/轩 means "a tall pavilion.” The character  xuān/轩 is used to mean “dignified as a king.” His entire name can refer to his position as the inheritor of the Jin clan with all their wealth and estate prestige as well as his lofty attitude.

Jin Ling (金凌)

There was already a meta on Jin Ling birth name Jin Rulan,

His courtesy name Líng/凌 means "rise above.” The e name it goes with the statement "I’ll rise above others;” he wants people to think differently about him due to their prejudice for having no parents and rise above the people’s perceptions of him.

This can mean  his character development  that he’ll rise above the adults of society and escape the prejudice they eat up through his growing acceptance of Wei Wuxian and maturity at the end when he takes over as a sect leader.

Wen Ning (温 宁)

Wen Ning’s given name Níng/宁 means “peace"

His name notes his kind nature in contrast to his cruel, power-hungry relatives and his peaceful nature even when turned into fierce corpses.

His courtesy name Qiónglín/琼林 means “beautiful forest;” this notes his timid personality who hides behind others who is seen hiding behind his sister when first introduced and his low confidence in himself. Forests are used to hide outlaws. This can refer to how he had to hide from society since it deemed him dangerous since he was restructured by Wei Wuxian.

Wen Qing (温情)

Wen Qing’s entire name (Wēn Qíng,温情) when put together means “tenderness” it shares the same character(情) as Qin Su’s name.

She does have a kind-sounding name. At first glance she seems harsh and aggressive but she’s shown to be very kind as shown by her willingness to continuously save WWX and her care for her relatives especially Wen Yuan, and her tenderness and love feelings for her younger brother.

She is also the one who tells WWX “thank you” and “I’m sorry” important arc words that exemplify humility and empathy which WWX then passes onto Jin Ling.

Lan Qiren (蓝启仁)

I found Lan Qiren’s name ironic because the character in his name rén /仁 means “benevolence,” the same one used for kindness and humanity.

I find this ironic in the way he treats his nephews prizing them on the surface as gentlemen but not as individual people.

I find the Qǐ/启  “open" part ironic as well because he doesn’t hold an open mind with Wei Wuxian’s antics considering him a “corrupting influence” on his nephew and disapproved of his use of demonic cultivation. Reluctance to accept him and Lan Wangji’s marriage, scolding Lan Xichen for showing grief over his best friend’s death despite his feelings and life in danger. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like he actually holds any kindness but when examined the character rén /仁 it fits his personality well.

The character rén /仁 came from Confucianism. Ren is the fundamental virtue in Confucian that represents the moral qualities that govern man and his relationship with others. It’s considered the perfect virtue or can be categorized as the ren of virtue and ren of affection. Ren of affection is considered compassion and empathy for others as well as altruism for another human being. Ren of virtue symbolizes the perfect virtue of moral perfection and human excellence, to become a morally perfect individual to nurture morally upright individuals that are grounded in moral values.

When I looked deeper into rén /仁 it says a lot about him as a character which is that he cares about the rules of the Lan sect and gets angry at any perceived misconduct. Though he lacks the kindness and humility of ren he has the rules of ren Qiren have more of the ren or virtue is seen how he treats his nephews characterized them as perfect moral gentlemen first than people the second build on his high standards to his nephews, to be honest, righteous and immaculate raise them to be model students.

This can reference his status as a teacher in how he teaches both his nephew and students to be upright and moral citizens of society. the meaning in his given name "Open benevolence” can be on how he preaches the rules to others in short openly preaches the ren in Confucianism the character rén /仁 suits someone who cares about the rules not the compassion of ren.

Lan Jingyi (蓝景仪)

Jǐng/景 means “scenery"

Jingyi’s second character yí/仪 contains the meaning "courtesy, etiquette, manners" and comes from Yi which is something that is used in etiquette and ceremonial.

His name can be a reference to him being in the Lan sect and his and Qiren’s names are made to represent the Lan sect principles.

When you look at Lan Jingyi he doesn’t seem to fit the traditional standards of a Lan sect disciple with being both brash and outspoken, but he is the Laniest of the Lan sect disciples there is. He does care about the Lan sect rules and gets angry at anyone who breaks them this is shown with the way he gets annoyed at Wei Wuxian in Cloud Recess for breaking the rules and how he embodies the Lan sect motto is when he speaks up for Wei Wuxian against the cultivators during the second segue of the burial mounds. He shows to be different in the way he follows the rules and discipline, not in a quiet, stiff way but a very loud outspoken way.

Jin Guangyao (金光瑶)

His name is a cruel irony to his character and symbolic of his relationship with him and his father.

His birth name is Meng Yao. Meng/孟 means " eldest amongst brothers” this can mean being the only son of his mother.  Yáo/瑶 means "jade, precious stone” this can infer how he is beloved by his mother.

But his name Yáo can likely be a reference to the pearl button Jin Guangshan gave Meng Shi. The pearl button is symbolic of his relationship to Meng Shi and Guangyao.

Another is seen in his courtesy name Guangyao is that he lacked the generational name Zi like the rest of his father’s children. There’s a reason for that.Him not sharing the generational character means that Jin Guangyao is acknowledged as part of the family but not as a son. This showed that Guangshan accepted him due to his accomplishment only to further his ambitions for the Jin clan and insulted him by saying he was not in the same status as his sons denying him from an equal standing among them. He was never acknowledged as having equal standing with them because of his status as the prostitute’s son.

His courtesy name Guang/光 carries the same characters in Guangshan’s name this can apply his desperation to get his fathers love and approval to how he does anything to gain it.

Only to realize that he never thought much of him and was like the prostitutes in the brothel he uses then discards when he’s done with them just like how his father did with his mother. he doesn’t actually think much of Guangyao and Meng Shi only being valued Meng Shi for giving him personal amusement and pleasure but not value as a person and GuangYao for his accomplishments for his political goals, not the person himself he’s someone of little value to his father as the pearl button had.

Nie Mingjue (聂明玦)

Second, of the Venerated Triad Nie Mingjue. If you split the name character apart Míng/明 means “clear, bright” and jué玦 means "a penannular jade.” His name is read as "bright penannular jade"

Jué玦 comes from Yujue/ 玉玦 which is a jade pendant that is often used as a symbol of separation or resolution for homophony reasons reference as someone who has their mind made up and won’t change it; this notes his relationship with Guangyao and NMJ’s personality.  The separation and resolution note his tragic broken bond with Jin Guang Yao whose rigid view of morality and sense of justice and Guangyao’s desperation for approval worsened their relationship over time.

His name goes well with his rigid views of justice and black and white mortality he displays. He is someone who never listens to the views and opinions of others and never empathizes with them; he is someone who is deadset and rigid in their views who won’t listen to someone’s opinions regarding his own rigid black and white morality and harsh pursuit of justice.

Lan Xichen(蓝曦臣)

Lan Xichen name xīchén/曦臣 means “Chancellor of the morning sun”, the chen/臣 part of his given name notes his warm, friendly temperament in contrast to his younger brothers frosty cold exterior the morning sun next to his brother’s stoic face. Chancellor refers to his high position in the cultivation society of the venerate triad members of the Lan clan.

His birth name huàn/ 涣 means to “dissolve” which could mean the dissolution of his innocence as he grows more aware of the corruption that lies around him even those he trusts the most at the end of the story he’s left in turmoil he has to deal with the fact that he factored into the deaths of his two friends. His doubts towards Nie Hanshang could imply that he would go back to the optimistic naive man he once was.

Nie Huaisang  (聂怀桑)

Last but not least the character whose meaning I am going to talk about is Nie Huaishang  His entire name Huáisāng/怀桑  means “to hold mulberry leaves”.

In China, mulberry trees are planted because they are a staple food of silkworms to make silk

growing mulberries suggest wealth and security.  This meaning suits Huaisang perfectly. He's someone who enjoys simple luxuries like keeping fans and hates to work hard love to live a comfortable life.

But there another aspect of his personality that of being a chess master who watches his plans go into fruition all the while watching comfortably at the side he manipulates and plans the events that take place in the story his process is like he’s spinning silk from behind the scenes. someone who sits comfortably in the background but spins the silk to manipulate the events in place.

This is only my interpretation of what the name means for the characters if you feel that this isn’t the case feel free to add or change. I am not an expert Chinese speaker so I apologize if I translated something wrong. I want to give a huge shout out to thisworldgodonlyknows who helped me create this post a huge thank you for helping me elaborate on the character’s names.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Rapunzel’s Return Part 2

Continuing on from part 1 - 

https://rachelbethhines.tumblr.com/post/635068926214258688/tangled-salt-marathon-rapunzels-return-part-1

Summary: When Rapunzel tries to defeat the Saporians by herself she gets captured; but once Varian realizes that the Separatists plan on using one of his potions' destructive properties to destroy Corona, he and Rapunzel work together to stop it.

Let’s Talk About What a Let Down the Sapiorans Are

Throughout seasons one and two the Sapiorans were built up to be this intriguing race of people with a complex past and real problems that are sadly relatable to this day. They had a history, goal, motives, and special abilities like magic.  

Yet all we got was a really bad hipster parody. 

Heck, the crew can’t even keep it’s stereotypes right because they mostly slide into hippy territory instead. Hipsters, Yuppies, and Hippies are three distinctive counter culture movements for three different generations with completely different social concerns and fads. 

Basically Chris tried to “stick it to the kids” again and just wound up insulting his parents' generation instead because he’s that oblivious of other human beings.

And that’s not even taking into account that previously the Sapiorans were living on the run as nomads in caravans not dissimilar to common Romani stereotypes, so the show is once again making negative racial connotations due to thoughtlessness.

Why Do You Have a Secret Underground Room Hidden Behind Your Workshop Xavier?

Like that not a thing normal people happen to have lying around there workspace. We still are given zero explanation for why Xavier has all this plot convenient knowledge and rare unordinary plot useful stuff. 

Given his previous connection to Saporia and Zhan Tiri wouldn’t it not have made more sense to reveal that he is an actual plot important character in season three rather than keep him as just the exposition fairy? 

So Was This Before or After the Saporian Take Over? Cause Either Answer Makes This a Dumb Plan.

Why would the guards, especially Cap, just give up? Did they even bother fighting and then lost to Varian’s weapons or were they told to stand down by a brainwashed Frederic? If they knew something was wrong then why not stay and help? What makes them think they even could find Rapunzel given how no one knew where she was heading and her letters were infrequent? What difference would they think finding Rapunzel would do? 

Basically, just like with the “former cellmate” line, we needed to actually set up and establish this conflict rather than relying solely on exposition dumps. Because what we get here doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It goes against established character and leaves a lot of unanswered plot holes. 

More Promotion of Authoritarianism From the Show

Remember that these are the same people who formed a lynch mob to hunt down a fourteen year old all because the king told them to. The same king who had been lying to them for years and placed their lives and homes in danger for months. The same king who persecuted the poor and orphans for years. Him suddenly sending townsfolk to the mines isn’t anything new, so what are these people’s breaking points? Anyone else would have revolted by now.  

But noooo, they need Rapunzel to do it for them. Cause Rapunzel is royalty and they can’t do anything without royal permission because they’re sheep. Sheep that’s been subjugated for years and conditioned to be afraid of their “beloved ruler”. 

I understand from a meta point of view why you would want your main character to take charge but...

Like this isn’t inspiring.

It’s disturbing. 

Why are we promoting blind loyalty to a person who’s not earned it just because they were born special? In a freakin’ kids show no less! 

Oh and still no one bothers to call out King Frederic’s abuses here, FYI. 

Take Note That Quirineon is Activated By Heat

This will be important later on in the review. 

He’s Already Built Grenades For You. Wouldn’t Those Be Better Because They’re Easier to Control?

He’s already built explosive chemicals for you. You just used them in part one of the episode. And it came in an easy to use form rather than an unstable, and untested, mess that could literally blow up in your faces since no one, not even Varian himself, knows how to control it yet. 

You Don’t Hammer Out a Cast Iron Pan

It’s literally in the word. To make a cast iron pan you pour the metal into a casted mold. You don't hammer it out like you would with a sword or something. And you can’t even go with the “rule of cool” here cause Rapunzel surrounded by molten metal and fire would have been far more impressive looking.  

Yes I’m being picky cause I’m stalling. I don’t care. This is just yet another instance of the crew not paying attention to details like they should. 

Behold The Final Time Eugene Will Ever Call Out Rapunzel’s BS

This is the last time Eugene will hold an honest discussion with Rapunzel like an equal to her. By the end of this episode he will have transitioned into full on doormat mode. 

Also burying negative feelings and not addressing issues is who Rapunzel is. She’s been pulling this shit since day one. It’s what causes 90% of the conflicts in the show. Have you not noticed Eugene?  

So This Episode Has Contradictory “Lessons” 

The episode presents this idea that Rapunzel needs to open up to others and trust again after Cassandra’s betrayal. The problem is that the episode doesn’t follow through on that. It makes a knee-jerk decision to go with a “responsibility” lesson that wasn’t built up to instead at the last minute. 

More on this later.    

Varian Doesn’t Actually Interact With the Saporians at Any Point.

The only person Varian interacts with is Andrew. We have no concept of how he fits in with the rest of the group and what his dynamics are with them. What do they think of Varian? What does Varian think of them? The consequence to this is to further divorce Varian from narrative, even though this is supposed to be his redemption episode. 

As I said in the last part, you can easily write Varian out of this episode and nothing really changes plot wise. That’s bad writing. 

Also I was robbed of Khary Payton and Jeremy Jordan exchanging lines. I was this close to having audio material for my BH6 crossover, dang it! 

Behold The One Time the Black Lady Gets a Line!

I think her name is Juniper? 

You can tell it’s her because of the shadow on the wall.

Anyways they casted this part and only bothered to give the character a single line? What a waste! 

But this just goes back to the series' poor representation. The only WOC in the show are presented as “shifty” and untrustworthy, even when they are ultimately “good guys”. The majority of them are straight up villains tho, and even as antagonists they’re not afforded any real screen time. 

And the only other outright black women on the show is the inventor lady who was given zero respect and the ghost of a barbarian. 

Once again, I don’t think the crew are intentionally racist. I think they’re just sloppy. They wanted to be more inclusive but they failed to actually give voice to minorities behind the scenes and so failed in representing them well. This is a problem with the industry as a whole, not just this one show, and must be talked about as such if we wish to change things for the better. 

None of this “Stuff” Holds Any Real Meaning

We get several callbacks to season one through Cassandra’s personal things that she left behind, but none of this stuff holds any real personal meaning. It’s just there. They wind up triggering these big emotional reactions from both Rapunzel and Cassandra but the audience is just left confused because what they’re crying over are things that have little significance to these characters. Even this line from season one is just dripping with sarcasm and not some pleasant past memory that either Cass or Raps holds dear to their hearts. 

Way To Go, Dumbass

It’s not that she went alone, or that she broke down when it finally hit her that Cass left, that I’m making fun off. The episode already addresses those two points. 

No, what ticks me off is that Rapunzel has taken down killer robots, ghosts, and monsters before now with her magical hair but a handful of regular dudes can just bring her down? I don’t care how much alchemy they got. Depowering your main character for no stated reason just for narrative convenience is poor writing. 

Because If He Didn’t He Would Have DIED, Rapunzel!!!

He literally would have freakin died had he not done something! He was left inside a jail cell to rot away! Before that he was threatened with hangman’s noose! Before that violence from an angry crowd! Before that he was left alone to starve and/or die from exposure! There was no way out for him except to fight! 

And here you are inside the very prison that you kept him in and you still don't have the fucking self awareness to put two and two together! 

This Right Here the Assassination of Rapunzel’s Character and the Killing Blow to the Series

Yeah, and what about after the storm? Hun, bitch!?

We’ve spent two damn seasons watching Rapunzel stepping on people and making excuses for herself and the one time when she should realize her actions are wrong and finally own up to her behavior and she still does not fucking change.

This is supposed to be a coming of age story! That means the main character is supposed to grow and learn shit! But when it matters most, Rapunzel only digs in her heels and refuses to change! 

Why should I care about this character anymore if she’s just going to keep on being selfish no matter what? Why should I bother watching the show if it fails to deliver on its premise? How is this in any way shape or form an appropriate message for children!? 

If you’re watching the series for the first time, then it’ll take awhile to register just how awful this scene is and how it really is the beginning of the end, because they did have time to turn things around after this. But they didn’t, and here we are. 

This Isn’t a Real Apology

It’s not a real apology if all you do is make excuses for yourself. Rapunzel doesn’t address what she actually did wrong here and it has nothing to do with her stupid promise. 

She neglected and enabled the abuse of a child for a year and three months, and she’s not even sorry for it! 

You Were Never a “Friend” Rapunzel

Friends, actually do shit together. They enjoy each other’s company. They care when the other is hurt or in trouble. 

Rapunzel only came to see Varian when she needed him for something. Even now, after this confrontation, that’s all she’ll ever do. She does not actually care about Varian, because the creators will not let her care. 

And Here Comes the Death of Varian’s Characterization

In order to make this stupid, forced, “redemption” work the writers had to do a complete 180 with Varian’s character and his motivations. Instead of freeing his father, seeking revenge, or just, you know, surviving, he now suddenly cares about “being friends” and “being accepted by people”, only he has no reason to want any of that! 

Rapunzel is a shit friend. Heck all the mains are crap friends to him. They ruined his life and the townspeople tried to kill him. Why would he want anything to do with any of these a-holes!? 

Varian doesn’t get assassinated in the same sense as Rapunzel and Cassandra do. He doesn’t suddenly become a hateable dumb douchebag or anything, but he nevertheless has his character retroactively sabotaged by the writing.  

Uh, Were You Not There When Your Dad Rounded Up a Lynch Mob Against Him, Raps?

I believe you were. Also Varian literally told you to your face that he had to go into hiding cause the townspeople were willing to attack him just because those rumors that you failed to stop and pretended not to know anything about. 

Just because the characters shout something repeatedly does not make it true. The audience isn’t dumb. They can remember what happened only two seasons ago. 

Where Was the Inciting Incident For This Change of Heart?

Why should he even want their forgiveness? Why has he given up on freeing his father? Why is he having second doubts about overthrowing the kingdom that persecuted him? 

If you’re going to drastically change a character’s motivations, goals, and moral alignment then you need to present an in story reason for that change. We don’t get that. There’s no inciting incident on screen for us to see the shift in his character development. 

The audience is left to only infer, and that’s poor writing. The audience shouldn’t have to do the work of the writers for them.  Characters’ motivations and goals  should not be guess work. 

The only thing we can glean from this is that he had a change of heart while in prison and that’s a horrifying thing for the show to suggest. That’s basically justifying Frederic’s abuse. It also recontextualizes Varian’s arc into one of submission to his abusers and not one of learning to do the right thing simply because it’s right. 

Once Again, Were You Not There For Season One Rapunzel?

They had a year and three damn months of chances. These people actively tried to do him harm just for simply seeking help. He has no reason to trust them nor you. 

Why Are We Shoulding All of the Blame Onto the Abused Child?

Yes, he did do all of those things, technically, but they’re being presented here without context.

The Queen enabled his abuser who was threatening his life and destroyed his home. He kidnapped her as a last restore when all other methods to get out of his desperate situation failed. 

The princess he threatened neglected him for three months and repeatedly refused to help him, even throwing him out into a deadly snow storm. Despite him being her responsibility, thereby making her neglect a flat out abuse of power.  

He would have died a slow and painful death in prison had he not helped to overthrow the kingdom that persecuted him. 

I’m not going to pretend that what Varian did was right or that he shouldn’t feel sorry for what he did, but this is a highly skewed version of events that are being recounted here just to create bias in the viewers. It’s manipulative writing intended to gaslight the audience. 

Also, why does he even want a second chance!?   

Doesn’t This Undermine The Saporian’s Goals?

The Saporians wanted to reclaim their ancestral homeland so that they would no longer be a displaced people. How does blowing up that homeland help them? 

Season three just throws all logic out the window. There’s barely a single villain who doesn’t undermine their own goals at some point with their stupid actions. 

So Why Varian and Andrew Not Some Other Team Up?

Out of all of the various recurring baddies in the show Varian and Andrew have the least in common. I’m not saying that they couldn’t work together, but doing so required more set up than this. Because as is, this is a very contrived teamup. 

They have diametrically opposed goals and moral alignments. Varian doesn’t bring anything to the table that the Saporaions couldn’t have supplied themselves. Meanwhile the Saporians have failed to offer Varian anything that he could want. 

At best it’s a marriage of convenience for them to both break out of prison together, but even that is contrived because we don't know why neither of them were sent away on the prison barge with the rest of the season one villians.  

Better combinations would have been 

Varian & Lady Caine

Andrew & Lady Caine 

Varian & Cass

Andrew & Cass 

Varian & Zhan Tiri

Andrew & Zhan Tiri

Varian & Hector

The Baron & Varian

Andrew & Staylan 

King Trevor & Varian 

Like there were tons of options here that the writers just ignored, even though any of them would have made more sense than the one they went with.  

The Andrew and Varian Dynamic Can Be Seen as an Allegory for Grooming; Unfortunately the Writers Didn’t Consider That Implication.

Yeah... That’s pretty much what Andrew has done here. He’s groomed this desperate and lonely teen to become a child soldier for him. And one only can only pray that’s all he tried to groom him to do since they were trapped inside a confined and enclosed space together for several months. 

Listen, I don’t mind children’s shows touching upon darker subjects. Often fantasy is a good way for people to process complex themes and uncomfortable real world situations through the safety of fiction. It can even be helpful for those who have had the misfortune to experience certain traumas. 

I’m not complaining that TTS is too dark. 

I’m complaining about it being shit. 

All of the crap Varian goes through is just thrown in there for shock value. It’s not here to commentate on the real world nor provide a complex story. The situations are brought only to then be outright ignored. This isn’t thoughtful nor deep. It’s not meaningful nor heartfelt. It’s just hollow drama done in bad taste. 

You’re Not In a Position to Judge Rapunzel 

You got captured first because you decided to throw yourself a pity party. 

Would He Though?

I’m pretty sure Quirin is very well aware of how shitty Frederic is. If anything I would think he’d be pissed that his son, that he tried so hard to protect, was mistreated in such a hordenous way. 

This isn’t some satisfying ending to Varian’s arc. It’s a heartbreaking revelation that he’s been beaten down by his abusers.  

Varian’s Arc Isn’t Actually About Validation, and Rapunzel Giving It Here Doesn’t Really Change Anything 

I spoke about this before on its own, but Tangled the Series places far too much stock in validation. Yes, it’s an aspect of his character arc, but it’s not the end all and be all of his motivation. It’s not the force that drives him to do what he does. 

His primary goal is survival, both for himself and for his father. His secondary goal is gaining his father’s approval, but that’s not because he’s seeking generic praise, it’s because his father is emotionally distant. The “validation” is a mask for the real issues which are to fix his relationship with his dad and avoid the guilt of having possibly killed him in an accident. 

Rapunzel has fuck all to do with that. 

He doesn’t need to hear approval from her. He needs her to get her shit together and help him! 

Rapunzel’s and Varian’s Situations Are Nothing Alike and Rapunzel Doesn’t Know Jackshit

Rapunzel you were dumped by your bestie because you’re a shitty friend. 

Varian was neglected and abused by those who were supposed to take care of him. 

Unless you’re drawing parallels to how Frederic and Gothel treated you, and even then neither of them denied you basic fucking needs! 

This should be an “Oh Shit! I’ve become just like Mother Gothel” moment for Rapunzel, not an “Oh yay! Someone to share in my personal misery” moment. 

Man, Rapunzel suuuuuucks! 

Also This Still Isn’t An Actual Apology

Once again, Rapunzel is not admitting what she did wrong here. She’s not actually acknowledging Varian’s pain, nor what she needs to do to make admins with him. 

What she’s doing is making things all about herself again. She’s talking about her feelings. About what she is facing. Rapunzel is an incredibly selfish and egotistical person and the show is trying to present this as a positive thing by rewarding her for such behavior. 

Varian’s Redemption Should Have Nothing to Do with “Friendship”

Varian has no reason to want to become friends again with the woman who ruined his life and abused him. 

But more than that, redemption shouldn’t be dependent upon Rapunzel’s friendship, nor even her ‘forgiveness”. Varian should be able to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing, Rapunzel be damned. 

This cheepens not only his character development but also Rapunzel’s development as well. Rapunzel is not allowed to grow as a person and accept that not everyone wants to be her friend, and that people may have valid reasons to hate her even, and that doesn’t make them evil. 

It also rushes through Varian’s arc undermining what the audience had to get through to get to this point.  

OK, Let’s Talk About The Goatee

I wouldn’t have minded the beard had it just not looked like a fucking barcode. There’s production art where it looks fine. But just wiping it away ties back to what I was talking about in part one. It’s denying Varian the chance to grow up. This is supposed to be his coming of age story as well but the crew won't let him do that because “rule of funny” apparently overrides what the characters actually need in order to develop.  

Once again, the show isn’t a sitcom. You can have comedic moments but the comedy doesn’t need to outright undermine the drama. 

Once Again, Shouldn’t Eugene Be the First Person to Jump to Varian’s Defence?

You mean the orphan on the streets who stole stuff and fought to survive when the adults failed to take care of him? Is that what you’re talking about Eugene? Cause if I remember correctly that was you not just three years ago. 

You Mean Rapunzel Needs Him To Make Her Feel Better About Herself

Spoiler alert, but Varian doesn’t actually do anything after this point in the episode. His entire “redemption” is just about making Rapunzel feel better about herself after Cass has rejected her. He’s literally become the rebound. 

How Come Varian Suddenly Became Shorter Just for This Shot?

I know the meta reason is to reflect that scene back in Queen for a Day when Rapunzel promised him that she'd help him before everything went tits up. Where he was also drawn shorter in that episode to make him seem more verunable, but here he’s just suddenly shorter for only two shots and then suddenly back to his usual height. 

Crap like this is why I insist that Varian didn’t actually get any taller in season three. The show just has always been inconsistent with his height and most of the “evidence” for his growth are cherry picked instances where the show drew him smaller than usual for reasons, like here.   

So Where Did They Get That Much of the Explosives and How Did They Get Them So Fast?

Only Varian knows how to manufacture that stuff. Why would he make that much of it if he was still in the experimental phase with it? He’s even surprised that they have so much, so where did they get it? If they made it then, how did they make it so fast? 

So This Plan Goes Nowhere

Spoiler alert: Varian doesn’t actually get to do any of that. In fact he’s kind of pointless for the rest of the episode. 

Why Would the King and Queen Care About a City That They Can’t Remember?

Like this revenge doesn’t make sense. It’s just a contrived way to get Eugene and Lance out of the way.

If the Quirineon Explodes From Being Exposed to Heat Then What Good Does Just Dropping It Do?

Yeah, remember? The stuff explodes when heated. Simply dropping it shouldn’t do anything other than make a mess on the ground maybe. 

All That Build Up and Varian Still Doesn’t Get to Do Anything Useful

Up till this point, Varian was shown to be the most competent threat in the show. Yet here they have him be a screw up twice in a row just for comedy antics and to glorify Rapunzel again. 

If you got to nerf other characters just to make your main look good then you’ve failed to establish your main character as being capable in their own right. 

Remember That This Boy Was Trapped in a Jail Cell With This Guy for a Year!

No, I’ll never be over this.

Andrew is the most directly violent and scummy out of all of the villians in the show. 

If he’s willing to do this now, if he was willing to do this to his ex-girlfriend, then what the heck was he willing to do when he and Varian were trapped alone together? 

So Andrew Just Willingly Sacrifices His Own People Here....Even Though His Goal Was to Give His People a New Home....

People need to use this gif more often when concerning this show and the villains’ ass-backwards plans.

And yes they survive because of Varian alchemy. But that was on accident. Andrew had no way of knowing that would happen. He’s willing to destroy his own people just to blow up his ancestral homeland and for what!? What does he gain from this action?  

The Mind Wipe Kills Frederic’s and Arianna’s Characters; Littraly

Frederic and Arianna are effectively dead at this point. Anything that made them, well them, has been wiped away. Their personalities, hopes, dreams, their on going stories and development, just gone. And we never get them back, even when their memories supposedly return. 

Varian’s Not Even Allowed to Get the Idea On How to Save Corona...In His Own Redemption Episode No Less

This is his episode! We’ve spent two years building up to this point and you can’t even let him help? He’s denied the chance to make up for his own mistakes! Just so Rapunzel can play hero and be a very shallow representation of what a bunch of men think a “strong” woman should be! 

It’s fucking insulting. That’s what it is. 

Making a female character the center of the universe to the point where other people are just props for her is not empowering! 

No It’s Not!!

Uh you wouldn’t even be here had you just fucking helped Varian to being with you dumb bitch! This is very much you and your father’s mess! 

Even now, while pretending to be responsible, Rapunzel can’t actually be responsible and own up to what she did! 

She’s fucking 20 and the 16 year old shows more maturity than her! 

Also Your Hair Can Protect Two People at Once Rapunzel; Remember?

There’s no excuse for leaving Varian out of the action. We’ve been shown multiple times now that Rapunzel’s magic hair can protect her and other people at the same time. 

Having Rapunzel Save the Day By Herself Undermines Everything the Episode Was Trying to Establish

What happened to needing to “trust again” and letting other people help you? Having Rapunzel save the day alone just tosses out the lesson that the show was trying to build up to. 

The show tries to frame this as Rapunzel learning “responsibility” but that also does not work. For one it was never established that she needed to learn that within the episode itself and secondly, she doesn’t actually do anything different from what she usually does. 

Being an action hero isn’t the same thing as being responsible. Being responsible is being considerate of others, doing the borning shit or mundane crap that you hate, and being mature enough to recognize your own failings and admitting when you were wrong. 

So in the end Rapunzel is neither responsible nor more open to others. 

And There’s the Death of Eugene’s Character

Lance, who has maybe exchanged all of three sentences with Raps, is more distrught than the guy that supposedly wants to marry her. This isn’t heartwarming, nor it is growth. It’s just lobotomizing a character right in front of our eyes. 

In this very episode he was worried about Raps going to face the Saporians by herself and was, guess what, fucking right to do so. But he doesn’t give two shits if she gets blown up!? 

Ooookaaaay.....

This is the completion of turning Eugene into a doormat. From now own he shan’t be allowed to have any thoughts or feelings of his own that disagrees with Rapunzel. 

The Eugene we knew is now dead. 

But Of Course the Show Rewards Everyone for Behaving In the Dumbest Way Possible Anyways

Don’t expect any of these grossly out of character moments and oxygen deprived logic to be addressed nor fixed within the show. The series will keep on shoving unearned endings into our facing while insisting that this is positive development. 

How Did Y’all Get Here Before Varian?

Yes, he was left on a roof, but he can climb and y’all were outside of the city. 

Yeah... A Year and Half Fucking Later!

Ok, a year and three months, but that’s still not any better. Worse, all this implies is that Rapunzel would not have ever concerned herself with trying to free Quirin had Varian not broken out of prison. She would have literally left them both for dead and we’re supposed to find her suddenly doing the bare fucking minimum heartwarming and inspiring?

Where Was the Inciting Incident to Use the Decay Incantation for This? 

How did Rapunzel come up with this plan? When did she come up with it? 

When the hurt incantation was first found no one mentioned how it could be used to save Quirin. No one even gave Quirin a thought. Since then the incarnation hasn’t been brought back up, ever. This is a pretty big leap in logic for Rapunzel to suddenly think of this. 

All it highlights how Varian was originally meant to be there to translate the scrolls and incantations in order to establish all this but of course it got cut so now it just comes the fuck out of nowhere. 

Not Letting Varian Have Anything to Do With Saving His Father Is Even Worse Than Not Letting Him Save the Day

This has been his motivation since the beginning. It’s been the driving plot for a season, and now that the time has finally come what does get to do? 

Hold a dang bucket. 

Part of coming up with satisfying endings is following through on what you’ve established. The audience needs closure. Simply freeing Quirin isn’t enough, we need the carthartis of Varian specifically fulfilling his goal. 

I don’t know how to break this to you Chris, but this isn’t Rapunzel’s story. Not this segment of it anyways. It’s Varian’s and it just so happens to connect to Rapunzel’s. She shouldn’t have been center stage for this. 

The Series Blows It’s Load Too Early with the Incantations

This is the last time we’ll hear any of the incantations sung on screen, cause someone in budgeting didn’t know what was important to throw the money at and what was not. 

It’s not bad here, but if we could only hear one incantation only once this season it needed to be in the finale with the final heal incantation. 

Varian Was Right All Along

Also, all this does is justify Varian’s actions in season one. Rapunzel was indeed the only one who could free his dad according to this. For a series that desperately wants to shove all of the blame onto an abused child’s shoulders they sure go out their way to prove him right. 

So How Is the Hurt Incantation Suppose to Work?

There were so many fan theories after this scene because Varian and Quirin don’t respond to the hurt incantation the same way previous characters had. 

No one is gasping for breath, Varian can touch Raps without burning his hands, and Rapunzel can control the direction of her power. ect. 

Turns out there was nothing there, the writers just didn’t know what the fuck they were doing and made the hurt incantation very inconsistent just like all of the magic in this show. 

BULLSHIT!!!

You literally turn into a villain because she gave up on you!!!!

She also didn’t give two shits about you throughout the entirety of season two. 

Why are we just pretending like season one didn’t exist!? 

Why!?

The Note!!!

No It Fucking Didn’t!

Does That Look Like “I’m Proud of You Son” To You?

Chris went on to confirm that, yes, the note did hold more information that then got cut. Pretty much confirming all that we suspected. That Varian was cut from season two and his story hastily shoved back into season three at the last minute. 

Below is the link to the tumblr post he made.

https://cnotes.tumblr.com/post/190534585146/apparently-one-of-the-writers-said-a-while-back

What’s worse is that his defense is such bullshit. The below exchange pretty much sums it all up.

This Doesn’t Actually Resolve Anything and Is Therefore Unsatisfying to Watch

Part of the reason why this conclusion doesn’t work is because it doesn’t actually address any of the problems that they have in their relationship. Quirin never owns up to what he did wrong. There’s no discussion of what Varian was up to while he was entrapped, no conversation about what secrets Quirin hid from his son, and zero admission of wrongdoing on either side.   

Also Varian has done nothing significant to earn those particular words. Saying I love makes sense, but in context saying “I’m proud of you” does not. It doesn’t even work on a meta level cause the episode prevented Varioan from accomplishing anything. 

It’s empty. 

There Could Have Been More Screen Time to Fix This If Not for Season Two Mucking About

https://discord.com/channels/427940661589704715/569296212218347522/777635115978457098

Above is the link to the original storyboards. It doesn’t fix everything but there’s a lot more satisfying emotional beats including adding Ruddiger back in who is suspiciously absent for the entire episode for no stated reason. 

This version was cut due to time. Which, like with the Crossing the Line song, didn’t need to be had they been more effective with their usage of time in season two. 

They also could have had a better conclusion to Varian’s arc in general had he not been cut from season two altogether. 

So What Does Freeing Quirin Add to the Series?

I’m serious. What does freeing Quirin at this point and time do for the story?

It doesn’t add any character development, Quirin just wanders around aimlessly in the background until the finale and even then his part in that is a pointless dead end. Varian doesn’t gain his emotional closure, just empty, hollow “praise”. Nor is he allowed to accomplish any of his established goals. No new lore or history is exposed. No mystery uncovered. 

There’s no reason why this couldn’t have been done later in the season. Provide more tension and keep up the consequences of the characters actions. Give the mains something to do and work on until Cass and Zhan Tiri show up again.  

The only reason why this is here is to wrap Varian’s story up as soon as possible so he won’t “steal Cassandra’s spotlight”. That’s it. He’s rewarded for conforming to Rapunzel’s will and all the fans should shut up and be grateful, at least according to Chris.

I Like This Song But It Wasn’t Needed

It doesn’t add anything to the story. It’s just a generic celebration song. Which would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that we have a limited number of songs, even less than in previous seasons, and the story isn’t over yet. This is the wrong place to put a victory song at. 

Especially when we could have had a song that furthered Varian’s redemption instead.  Yeah, that was cut too. 

So Is Varian the New “Lance” This Season?

He’s right there! This is his dang focus episode! 

Why hire Broadway singers and not let them sing!? Why waste talent and money like that? 

Also These Lyrics!

Did Glenn Slater just not read the scripts before writing the songs? That’s all season three ever does! Give the mains what they want without earning it. Even in this very episode!

So Is This Rapunzel’s 20th Birthday or Not?

Ok I have gotten into many a heated debate about how long season three is supposed to be. And that’s because what the crew says doesn’t match what the series shows us. 

By all accounts this should be Rapunzel’s birthday. According to season two she’s been gone for one year, and there’s the lanterns that they fly specifically on her birthday. 

But no one verbally says it’s her birthday and I’ve heard conflicting accounts from different members of the crew. Some stating that it is her 20th birthday and some disagreeing that it is. 

Well I’ll take what evidence that the show actually presents to its audience on screen over what the cast and crew says after the fact any day of the week, so I’ll be gathering up this evidence and proving by the end that season three is two years not one. 

But the fact that I must comb through series to prove this, the fact that we can even have this debate, and the fact that the crew have to state basic info after the series is over is just proof of the bad writing. 

Fun Fact: Cupcakes Weren’t Invented Until the 20th Century

Yeah, that’s the fault of the OG film, and yeah it doesn’t really mean much, but still it’s one more thing to add to the pile of stuff that doesn’t fit. 

Plus I’m just a hardcore nerd for historical cooking and I like to share my knowledge.  

Yeah But How Can He Trust All of You Again?

You’re the ones who let him down first; repeatedly. And you only started to make things up to him once he became useful to you. What assurance does he have that you won’t mistreat him again next time he’s in trouble or is no longer of any use to y’all? 

Yes, Let NOT Show What the Main Character Is Actually Going Through

Yup, this is “Rapunzel’s show” but we’re not going to let Rapunzel have any focus on her feelings or give any insight into her thought process about what is the main conflict of the series now.

Conclusion

Ducktales was robbed! 

I can’t believe this shit won an Emmy for “best writing.” It utterly fails on every possible level. It fails to be a continuation of the ongoing story and it fails to be a stand alone episode. Even the very structure of the story is fundamentally flawed. The only reason why it’s not the worst episode of the entire series because the finale and the penultimate episodes exist. 

Anyways...I finally made it through. It literally took my entire weekend but I’m finally caught up. Next week I’ll be going back to the usual one episode a week schedule. 

[lov3nerdstuff]

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.24}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 5k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

"Too many people have been insinuating things like that recently. You know… about you and me. Us."

"Ah." Snape's voice dropped down an octave, and the deep frown on his falling features was suddenly accompanied by a tinge of rising bitterness in his tone, a shadow of sincere sadness in his eyes. Then it was all apathy again before the fleeting emotions could be grasped. "I can see why that thought would be repelling to you."

And for once, encouraged by the ghosts of emotions she had seen on his face, Robin let her heart speak instead of her mind. "Actually, it just makes me wish quite desperately that it was true."

Snape froze in his every movement in an instant, breaking the rhythm of their saunter for but a single second before moving on just like before, without as much as a word in question or comment. Robin's heart however was moving all the more, it pounded furiously against her ribcage as if trying to escape from the prison of her flesh. Oh bloody hell, what had she done?! There was no use in denying it now. He was brilliant; of course he knew exactly what she had meant by that statement. But why, WHY on earth wasn't he saying anything in return? The wildfire was burning her up with every second they walked along the shore side by side, and it was killing her softly with every one of those seconds they spent in silence. Oh no no no… she had absolutely ruined everything, she had-...

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt when his fingers brushed against the back of her hand, oh so gently while yet causing liquid electricity to surge up her arm, and when she moved her hand closer to his in return, he wrapped his fingers around hers entirely and intertwined them at long last. In the matter of only a second, Robin's every word and thought came to a sudden and deafening stillstand, and her ability to function was gone with a start. Without word, without thought, they just kept walking on in calm silence, hand in hand as tightly as comfort allowed. Hours or minutes or seconds passed, and the world was gone beyond them. Only when they were on their way back to the castle, thought and reason slowly became a possibility once more.

And with the ability of thought, a million questions tumbled into Robin's mind at once, a subtle but lingering rush of panic. But instead of getting lost in what she didn't know now, she found strength in the comfort of his lingering touch to focus on what she did know for once.

One. She had directly and undoubtedly admitted that she wanted them to be more than they were now. That she wanted them to be a them in the first place, together, in every sense of the word.

Two. He had thought that the idea of being with him would be repelling to her, and then he had been sincerely surprised to hear that the very opposite was the case. The thought that she might be opposed to the idea of them together had brought a bitter sadness to his face, while now however he looked rather torn between excitement, nervousness, and the wish to cover up for either.

Three. He had taken her hand, in a way that neither of them had ever done before. Without a reason to keep holding on other than the simple pleasure of it, fingers woven together instead of a mere handshake kind of thing. Intimate, almost. Emotionally connotated without a doubt.

And lastly, four. She had basically just made the biggest emotional declaration in the history of their relationship, and he was still here. Entering the courtyard by her side, with no present intention of going anywhere else. He wasn't running from whatever was happening. Not from her, not again.

So, what did any and all of this mean? Did he know what it meant, what was happening? She might not be able to answer the questions that spooked around her head, but one thing she could do for sure. Opening her eyes at long last. And what she saw now, had to see with her eyes wide open, was the last piece falling into place for the wildfire to consume her entirely. And she saw that she wasn't the only one burning.

They obviously just had taken a turn in their relationship, and while they still stood at the beginning of what that meant, they were on this path together now. Burning, together. Upon that realization, Robin thought her heart stopped beating once and for all, while adrenaline like sweet poison threatened to make her entire body quiver. This was a beginning, not and end. She couldn't remember ever feeling something quite as intense as this, and it was only just beginning indeed. The return of her heartbeat brought the promise of more.

They were back in the arcades when Robin took notice of the world beyond her mind again, stopping in front of the very arch they had shared in the year prior. Without a second of hesitation they both took their established places next to each other, sitting comfortably squeezed together, but more than gladly so on her end at least. Still, the comfortable silence that surrounded them lingered on for another moment, a moment where Robin simply let the overwhelming excitement consume her while yet trying to keep the nervousness at bay.

She hadn't terribly misunderstood all of this now, had she? Snape wasn't delusional enough to misunderstand her words, and he wasn't cruel enough to play with her emotions. He wouldn't do that. Not with her. She took a deep breath, and inevitably noticed that it trembled as much as her entire body wanted to. Good gods, were emotions always this complicated? No, this wasn't complicated at all, she was certain that she had understood matters correctly. And foremost she was certain that she understood Snape. He wouldn't still be here if he didn't feel even remotely the same as her. Not like this.

"Did you actually mean what you said?" His quiet question suddenly broke the silence, and set loose another explosion of pure energy in Robin's heart with its smooth depth alone. "About wishing that you and I…" He didn't speak on despite the calmness of the statement, and rather looked ahead into the night instead of turning to look at Robin. But at the same time, he kept holding onto her hand more tightly than ever. As if he was doubting reality as much as she had been, reluctant to believe that suddenly this was real, that they were really here at long last.

"Obviously." Robin replied with a warm smile, and a certainty came with her words that washed away even more of her fears. "You know me far better than to doubt that."

"I do indeed." He said quietly, while his gaze however stayed forcefully fixed on the distant hills. "But I never allowed myself to even imagine that you would want this with someone like me. Would want more… with me."

His words snapped something in Robin's mind, bringing forth the irresistible urge to act, to prove to him right in this instant just how much she wanted this indeed. For once in an eternity, she didn't suppress the impulsiveness of her roaring emotions, but simply surrendered to them with open arms. In the matter of a second she was sitting up on her knees, her face evenly leveled with his own, which only left them so close together that he couldn't avoid her anymore. He, too, finally needed to open his eyes to the truth in front of him. He needed to look, and she would make him see.

"I want everything with you, Severus. Everything about you." Her simple words of unadorned yet utmost truth, his name on her lips were what finally made him succumb to her will, and he looked at her, looked at her in that way that made the space between them shrink and the air catch in her throat. And still, Robin's fingers moved to brush the wisps of black that had caught in his lashes back to where they belonged, and she smiled when he, too, for once, unlearned to breathe. "When I look at you, I see my own everything."

Her hand lingered where it was, her fingertips tracing his delicate skin on their own account, but her eyes were held captive by his own that seemed so impossibly dark from up close, from so terribly close… His breath fanned gently against her skin, hot and unsteady quite like her own, and Robin's eyes fluttered shut when she finally couldn't bear the tension anymore that drew them together like a moth to the flame. Her own heartbeat in her ears was drowning out any and every sound, every thought that wasn't him, wasn't now, and she counted them on and on, in one, two, three… then she leaned in through the minimal space remaining and gently pressed her lips to his.

She felt him freezing under her touch almost instantly, not moving, not breathing, but neither pulling back. So she stayed as she was, in a crazy ambivalence of violent adrenaline forcing her spirits to heights beyond her body, and an uproaring voice in her head that screamed 'what the hell am I doing'. He wasn't kissing her back, he wasn't breathing, he wasn't doing anything to be exact. And as sweet as the adrenaline's poisoning of her senses was, it was the voice in her head that finally made her pull back, made her open her eyes to find his still closed. Her breathing hitched, and a shudder ran down her back. Oh god oh god oh god… He opened his eyes at the sound, still so close, still looking at her with this unfathomable depth. Oh bloody hell… she didn't know what she was doing, and he probably could tell. But when his warm hand settled on the curve of her waist, fingers digging into her hip as he pulled her closer, her breath hitched once more, every heartbeat an allconsuming thunder, and a broken second later her lips were back on his without the previous reluctance. Without internal monologues, and this time, he did everything but freeze in return.

Robin's body knew perfectly well what to do now where her mind for once did not, and when their lips started moving to only the laws of sheer overwhelming ecstasy, every last thought of concern shattered in redundancy anyway. This was absolutely intoxicating; like drowning in an ocean of all there was to life.

They did let go of each other's hand now, anything to get closer, to be closer, and when his arm wrapped around her waist and hers around his shoulders, Robin was sure to feel every single cell in her body coming alive, to feel absolutely everything at once. His sweet lips, so soft, moving in such growing fire with her own, hot breath on her skin, racing hearts and firm grasps turned desperate clawing. A distant echo of the fruit punch served at the ball, and something far more heady in taste. Silent gasps and moans that ran as a liquid heat right to her core, stoked by the impossible warmth of his body pressed flush against her own. Electric tingles at the bottom of her spine. After years of dreaming about this moment, Robin found that nothing could compare to reality for once. It truly was a pastime for eternity.

Perhaps that is why it felt like no time had passed at all when the low chime of the clock that towered high above the courtyard broke them apart, when it rang not twelve, but half past. The sound registered somewhere in the back of Robin's mind at first, barely even reaching her consciousness, but it kept nagging at her to put sense to it, and after a few slow seconds there was a small voice rising in her mind again at last. She was supposed to meet her friends in the entrance hall at half past, to… oh dear, it wasn't just a new year by now, it was a new decade as well! They had missed the turn of years because… oh bloody hell, he was actually kissing her back! And with no less passion than she brought in herself! There was no room for any possible misunderstanding left now… He did feel exactly the same as her.

Robin broke the kiss with a small gasp, pulling back only far enough to rest her forehead against his while her mind slowly cleared of the blissful haze. Her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath, they both were, but the more the reality of the situation sunk in, the more she couldn't help grinning like a fool. She really was just that, a fool so hopelessly in love that she didn't even bother justifying it to herself. The walls that had hidden her deepest emotions from him were shattered, vanished, gone… she didn't need to hide anymore, and she could have cried in joy over that fact alone. But she didn't. She smiled, brighter than the moon and stars, because it was the only thing she found herself capable of.

"Happy new year…" She finally got out quite breathlessly, laughing almost at the same time at her ridiculous remark, and his hold on her tightened in return. If possible at all, it made her smile even brighter.

"'Happy' is a bit of an understatement, wouldn't you say?" He asked in return, more hoarsely than should be allowed, but undoubtedly with the sound of a smile that finally made Robin lean back enough to look at him. And here he was, smiling indeed, looking a little helpless in the unusual extent of the extraordinary gesture and showing it more in his eyes than the rest of his face, but it was by far enough to make her heart soar and bring forth the urge to continue right where the clock's chime had interrupted. But they were still in a public place out here, prone to be seen now that the ball was over and the guests were leaving, and she was also later by the second to meet her friends. As tempting as it was, this wasn't the time or place to let herself be drawn into their own world of raw emotion again.

"Happy certainly is a place for us to start." She said instead, with a smile that didn't even try to hide any of the emotions running through her in a whirlwind. "That is if you want-..."

"Yes."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" She protested in a laugh, and the bright spark that flamed up somewhere deep in the blackness of his eyes in return made it even more difficult to not just forsake the outside world again. It would be such a gain… but a short-lived one, if they got kicked out of Hogwarts in return.

"Does it matter when you will let me have everything with you anyway?" He replied easily, in that tone that made the statement sound as if it was the most obvious truth the world had to offer, and yet in a way that turned Robin's insides into a mess of liquid heat and tingles. "And I want everything about you indeed. In every way possible."

"I'm all yours for the taking. And keeping." She smiled with a small shrug, while her heart was dancing in joy and her head screamed in excitement over the reality of this insanity. "But I need you to be mine in return, you know… Entirely, all of you."

"I can live with that." His easy tone was accompanied by a not-smirk now, but when Robin couldn't help grinning in return, it quickly grew into a real and honest smile that made her heart skip a beat. Not only because it was a true joy to behold, but because she knew that she was the reason for it. She was making him happy enough to smile, for heaven's sake! There weren't enough words in existence to say as much as that single smile did by itself.

Robin didn't exactly know how it happened, but her lips were back on his not even a second later, bringing forth a new crashing wave of overwhelming joy to roll over her and let her mind shatter at the cutting edge of reality once more. Her hand moved to his neck on its own account, gentle fingers entangling in the rivers of black while her whole body curved into his as far as their awkward positions allowed. The stinging pain in her knees, the cold of winter, the aching of her lungs that were desperate for air… it ceased to exist in the heat of the moment. As did time and space, until the creaking of the front gates startled both Robin and Snape out of it and effectively caused either to fall back into the columns behind them, a good distance apart. Mere seconds later, guests came walking out into the courtyard and into their view.

"Bloody hell, that was…" Robin breathed, but she didn't know how to end the sentence appropriately without doing the matter injustice.

"Entirely intoxicating?" Snape offered after a second of silence, while making a vain attempt to straighten out his robes and hair. It still looked messy, but luckily more like a wind-caused mess than a Robin-caused one.

"Yes. That. And more." She sighed, and finally started scrambling out of the arch and onto her aching legs that were wobbly for more than one reason now. Five past twelve thirty already. "Oh fuck… I'm late."

"For?" He raised an eyebrow at her while following the impulse and getting back onto his feet as well, even though a lot more gracefully.

"Meeting my friends in the entrance hall. Stupidly enough, I even was the one who suggested that we should wish each other a happy new year before they head back to the common rooms." She groaned under her breath, then went to straighten her dress as well even though it was a rather hopeless endeavour. "But I guess with the guests leaving one by one now, it wouldn't be a good idea for us to stay out here anyway. Something tells me that when Dumbledore said we are to keep our ties behind closed doors, he had rather envisioned ties of the recent kind anyway."

"He likely did; the old man is a meddlesome fool more than any other. But it would indeed be in both our best interest if we weren't caught in such a compromising situation." Snape replied, but still placed a warm hand on the small of her back as they started making their way through the arcades and towards the entrance hall. "For now, no one can know of what is between you and me."

"Obviously not. They never could in the past either." Robin scoffed, but only because it was a thing that had been settled and agreed on from the start. "I had and have no intention to discuss my private matters with anyone but you, and seeing as I have never done so before either, it really is nothing new to me."

"I was more concerned about myself, to be honest. Resisting you seems rather impossible for me at this point, now that I know just how utterly and divinely addictive you are."

His words brought another grin to Robin's entire face. She enjoyed being as strong a temptation for him as he was for her, that was for sure. Having this kind of power over him was nothing short of a thrill of heights previously unknown; it sent an eerie wave of raw desire through her entire being in an instant.

"Good thing we are usually perched in the darkness of the dungeons entirely by ourselves, huh?" She smirked up at him with a good dash of tease in her eyes, and she could tell immediately that her words were having much the same effect on him as his had had on her. Oh geez, even teasing was so much better now… so much more.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are truly insufferable?" He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, and Robin just had to laugh. Yes, this was the very man she loved. Perhaps, there really wasn't all that much that had changed after all.

"I believe you've told me a few times, yeah…" She shrugged with a lingering smirk, as they finally stepped through the large doors and into the lively entrance hall that was still filled with way more people than Robin had expected. "Oh for heaven's sake… At least we can pretend that we weren't quite as late as we were now. Just delayed by the crowd."

"The dunderhead gang certainly hasn't caught my eye yet." His tone was way more neutral now, as was his face when Robin looked up at him, but then again, they were surrounded by a brigade of people now, and her own expression had also fallen back into calm neutrality. His hand however stayed on her back even as they pushed their way through the crowds in search of the people they were –or rather Robin was– supposed to meet.

"Did you just call my friends 'the dunderhead gang'?" She had to snort upon his words though, quiet as they were, and quirked an eyebrow up at him in unadulterated amusement.

"Problem with that?" He quipped quietly, with a completely straight face but the most teasingly indifferent tone imaginable; Robin's jaw dropped in an instant. Oh, so this is how things were going to be now, huh? Well, to be honest, they hadn't ever been much different in the first place, and she would rather chop her own legs off than change a thing about it. Not so different after all, then… only better.

"Robin!!!" Cas' excited squeal reached her ears even before she saw the blonde mane and brightly coloured dress in the crowd. Three seconds later, she was wrapped up in a bear hug by her younger friend. "There you are!"

"Hi Cas…" Robin chuckled, and absentmindedly picked at the threads of glittery fabric that hung around her now. "Happy new year."

"Yes! Right!" She grinned as she pulled back at last. "Happy new year to you too."

While Cas stepped back and made room for the next person to come and hug her, Robin looked around with a frown once she realized that the hand on her back was gone, the space by her side empty. Where had he gone? A little stab of hurt twisted her gut, but when she suddenly found herself surrounded by the usual giant group of overly excited students, the reason for that hurt changed in an instant. He had gone so she could be with her friends; the only painful thing about that was the fact that it was necessary in the first place. At this point in time she couldn't have both, her friends and Severus, and that was the true and only tragedy about it. Robin made a mental note to thank him for being so understanding of that when she sought him out later, perhaps in the form of teasing him about his distaste for social interactions with students. He'd understand that for sure.

For the next minutes however, she was hugged by more people than she would've liked, and some of them unfortunately touched that one spot on her back that was still aching quite a bit upon contact. The area Morgan had left in pain through his touch, and probably some pieces of magic as well; she hadn't even known he was capable of that, wordless spells... But once the hugging and the new year's wishes were over, the pain reducing again and the crowds clearing up with students retreating to the common rooms and guests leaving, she was smiling along with her friends nonetheless. The excitement over tonight's events wasn't so easily hidden behind any calm facades.

"Say, where did you leave your shadow?" Gideon finally dared to ask her, after looking like he'd swallowed his tongue for the minutes prior. "Isn't it a bit… I don't know… weird, to hang around with a professor all evening?"

"He's not my professor. We work together as equals, which technically makes us colleagues in that regard. I've told you that much before." Robin replied with an expression as calmly neutral as was humanly possible in her situation. "But to answer your question, I haven't the foggiest where he is. We took a walk down to the lake to get away from people after I started feeling a bit queasy in the crowds, but I haven't seen him since we arrived back here." That, she proudly thought to herself, was very much the truth. Not the entire truth, but what's new.

"Ah, so that is why your dress is in its current state… And why you're practically glowing from the inside… Because of your walk…" Jorien mused in pointed innocence, and with a tiny smirk that had Robin glaring at her in an instant. Simon raised an eyebrow at the two of them in silent question, but nobody else picked up on the subtle implications of that statement nor the unspoken warning that had followed upon it. Just like nobody else had picked up on whatever it was that Jorien had obviously seen in Robin's carefully constructed demeanor yet again. The girl really was getting way too good at reading people…

"Earth to Robin!" Cas waved her hand in front of Robin's face to regain her attention. "I actually decided to listen to your stupid advice about being classy and all that jazz… So instead of making out in some shitty hallway, we-..."

"I honestly don't want to know the specifics! Do what you want to, but leave me out of it. I can't approve of this endeavor, so I'd rather not know about it at all."

"Yes, no, exactly that is my point! I changed my mind about the whole thing. Because you're right, and it would be stupid and pathetic and childish." Cas insisted with an almost serious face, before the smile was back in a matter of seconds. "So Jorien and I are having a girls' sleepover in our room tonight instead. With Melissa and Lisa and Joan and Meghan."

That did bring a smile to Robin's face indeed, a very much pleased one even. "That's great, Cas. I'm proud of you for making that decision, and I'm actually quite sure that you won't regret it either. Sometimes waiting really does pay off."

"Told you she'd say that." Jorien remarked quietly, and Cas rolled her eyes in return, so the former turned to Robin instead. "You know, you're welcome to join us if you want to… Even if I have a feeling that you'd rather do anything but."

"Staying up all night with six fifteen year olds? I think I'll spare myself that discomfort; I would only spoil the fun for you guys." Robin sighed, then let out a humoured huff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But it's nice of you to alibi-invite me nonetheless. I won't get in the way of your plans tonight, don't worry."

"Thank you!" Cas squealed, again at a pitch that made the hairs in Robin's neck stand straight, even when the girl wrapped her into another hug. "You're honestly the best roommate ever. The best sister ever! Brilliant and kind and generous and thoughtful and beautiful and sexy and-..."

"Yeah yeah, just… don't set the place on fire, alright?" Robin replied a bit awkwardly upon being given such easy compliments that probably even were somewhat heartfelt, but still too shallow to affect her in any other way than causing her embarrassed discomfort.

"We won't wreak havoc, I promise." Jorien said in all sincerity, and that was probably the only and best reassurance Robin would get. "And nobody touches your stuff, just like always."

"Good." Robin sighed, then offered them a smile. "Perhaps we should say goodnight now nonetheless. It's ten to one, and I believe one o'clock is tonight's curfew. I wouldn't want any of you guys to be caught out of bed beyond that."

"Wait a second…" Cas frowned all of a sudden, while the wheels in her head were obviously turning. "Where will you be staying tonight, since we're obviously evicting you?"

"That, my friend, is for Robin to know and for us to eternally wonder about." Jorien replied with a perfect smile before Robin could, and wrapped an arm around her blonde friend's shoulder. "C'mon now, say goodnight to your Prince Charming so we can get going."

While the group said their goodnights in general then, with hugs and kisses and too many words, Robin couldn't help wondering about Jorien. The girl really was a riddle sometimes, but she obviously had understood the lesson learned during breakfast two weeks ago. Really, Robin couldn't blame her for seeing what she herself deemed obvious as well, could she? It was only good that she had understood that she was to keep such knowledge to herself from now on. Still, Robin couldn't help feeling proud of both girls tonight. The more they were growing up, the more she could really be friends with them. Perhaps, one day, they would be at a point where it didn't matter anymore that they weren't the same age. Where it didn't matter who Robin's heart belonged to for the ages yet to come.

______________________________

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[persephoneflouwers]

Doing meth Math with Harry

Before we start, let me just say I’m not really good at Math so every number you’ll find here could be very easily an approximation. A nonsense approximation. A meaningless approximation that will lead us pretty much nowhere. Exciting, isn’t it?

We can agree that certain songs are kinda suspicious starting from the title. We all know what a song’s title is supposed to do, right? It helps recognise the song faster and easily. That’s why the most common lines used for titles are in chorus or maybe are repeated over and over again. It’s smart, it’s useful.

The question is: why doesn’t this concept apply to all H’s songs? My next move was to count how many times the title of a song is repeated in the song.

You are free to listen to both albums, count and come back to me for any correction because I got lost in numbers like that meme with the blonde lady and mathematics, you know? Anyway, here’s my count:

Golden 41: to be precise there are 9 goldens from the intro to the glorious part where there are 7x4 repetitions and the last 4 at the end of the song. 9+28+4. NINE. TWENTY-EIGHT. 9.28. What the fluff?

WMS 25

Adore you 9

Lights up 2. This does not follow the trend in H’s songs but the concept behind it it’s kinda clear. There are a lot of ‘shine, shine, shine’ too.

Cherry 0: … hint hint hint 💡 💡 💡 it’s interesting that H chose a word that seems completely meaningless, but in the same time it explains pretty much the entire song.

Falling 19

TBSL 11 (+ 4 to be so)

She 40?: I lost my count after awhile. Told you I’m bad with numbers

Sunflower vol6. 19

Canyon moon 4

TPWK 4

Fine line 20

MMITH 2: just at the beginning

SOTT 4

Carolina 1: why the fluff you name a song with the first unimportant detail about a random girl from a one night stand? Is this an other hint? Of course it is.

Two ghosts 4/5 idk i fell asleep the first time

Sweet creature 12 but again asleep the second time. Sorry it was late in the night, so…

Only angel 10

Kiwi 0: 💡

ESNY 1 ???? This was shocking cause in my head there was at least one more.

Woman: 16

FTDT 0: this was for me a pure confusion moment, but then I thought what if it’s H’s way to express that maybe this song doesn’t really come from one of his strictly personal experiences? I’m not gonna lie, finding out that FTDT is never repeated in the song was demotivating somehow. I thought “wtf are you on drugs for even just thinking about it?” But then I read this by the big brain that belongs to @bluewinnerangel and it kinda makes sense?!

Anyway, what is this? What are you telling me, H? 😭 is this a binary system code for “stunt”? Stunt not only as “relationship stunt” like cherry or Carolina would be, but also stunt as in “we’ve been set” or like “this is just for the show, you gotta play with it” aka performance, ostentation? I can’t tell. Stunt is Also ESNY key word (I’ve already written about how interpret this song). The first stunt ever.

I address myself as a woman of science and I like to put things in categories like I would do with the stuff I study, I guess. It helps me understand things better. But I don’t really like labels… Let’s separate these songs in two groups: group 0, songs where the title is never mentioned; group 1, where the title is mentioned once. Back to the ‘not so strictly personal experiences, the songs in the group 0 are Cherry, Kiwi and FTDT…

I see cherry as a dialogue between two lovers (Camille and Dylan in my head). So this is not H’s experience. I talked about it here (always inspired by stuff I read here). Sorry, the audio got cancelled cause tt hates me, but I put subtitles on ☹️

Kiwi… i mean, yes it involves H somehow, but— not in the first place? It makes perfect sense if you read it from Louis’ pov, right?

FTDT reminds of Brokeback mountain and yes, very likely H relates to the movie, the story, the characters so much, but again… not autobiographic?

Group 1 songs are Carolina and Ever Since New York. Both these songs could have a personal connotation like H’s first experience with drugs and as I said, the moment when all the cruel stunt marketing started.

Maybe it’s something, maybe it’s just bullshit. This is literally going nowhere, so… felt like putting my thoughts into some writing because maybe a brilliant brain can understand this better than I do.