#fanfan has a life

[kimakento]

maybe i could be 🌱 anon as a reference to you watering the tags if thats not taken ^^ but yes let me just dump my fengfan thoughts *clears throat*

i think fen hugs would be so gentle and comforting and he doesnt seem like the type of person to see hugging as solely romantic so he doesnt mind hugging friends (although he might not initiate much unless he sees that his friend needs comfort, so his friend would need to initiate the hug)

fen always gets flustered at little compliments or terms of endearment and i think he has a specific weakness when theyre said in chinese so the best way to tease him is to call him “fanfan” (nishi called him this once and he just started malfunctioning)

fen is also the biggest pokemon nerd (just like me fr) so nerding out with him would be so fun but i think he would faithfully listen to you ramble even if its about a topic he doesnt know much about

fen who cooks well and will learn your favorite foods for when youre sad or sick (or on your period bc fen doesnt get grossed out by period talk like other dumb men 😤)

fen whos so gentle and radiates friends to lovers because he also falls in love gently too 😩🥹

im very normal about this man i promise

that is literally the most adorable thing i’ve ever heard. vm brought a smile to my face ty ❤️‍🩹

fen hugs. i totally agree, even friend hugs w fen are the best thing ever. he’s always so understanding, very cutieful

AND I SAW THAT CLIP TOO… i will litr kms, loser!fen is very real. usually he teaches you some chinese words/phrases (if you don’t know it already) but whenever you repeat them back he’s so proud although petnames make him go insane (esp ones in chinese) ‘fanfan’ is the way to his heart

nerd fen. my life is complete. this man is the best listener ever, he loves it when you ramble on for hours about just anything because its just so cute you’ll just see him nodding occasionally and then he asks you teach him all about your favourite things sjjsjs

when you’re on your period, he litr takes care of you so so muchhhh, ibuprofen? he’s got it. need hot food? he’s on it. just feeling over emotional? he’s there to listen. (i need him to be my bf now…)

friends to lovers with xu fengfan, like being in love with him ever since you’ve become friends though he’s kind of oblivious to the fact that you love him back even tho you’ve been dropping hints forever because mutual pining…

it’s good that you’re normal about him because i’m definitely not..

[jcmarchi]

Decorated nanoparticles prevent allergic reactions - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/decorated-nanoparticles-prevent-allergic-reactions-technology-org/

Decorated nanoparticles prevent allergic reactions - Technology Org

Northwestern University researchers have developed the first selective therapy to prevent allergic reactions, ranging in severity from itchy hives and watery eyes to trouble breathing and even death.

A scanning electron microscope image of nanoparticles (colorized in purple) that have successfully entered a mast cell

To develop the new therapy, researchers decorated nanoparticles with antibodies capable of shutting down specific immune cells (called mast cells) responsible for allergic responses. The nanoparticle also carries an allergen corresponding to the patient’s allergy. If a person is allergic to peanuts, for example, then the nanoparticle carries a peanut protein.

In this two-step approach, the allergen engages the precise mast cells responsible for the specific allergy, and then the antibodies shut down only those cells. This highly targeted approach enables the therapy to selectively prevent specific allergies without suppressing the entire immune system.

In a mouse study, the therapy demonstrated 100% success in preventing allergic responses without causing noticeable side effects.

The research was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. It marks the first nanotherapy for inhibiting mast cells, thus preventing an allergic response to a specific allergen.

“Currently, there are no methods available to target mast cells specifically,” said Northwestern’s Evan A. Scott, who led the study. “All we have are medications like antihistamines to treat symptoms, and those don’t prevent allergies. They counteract effects of histamines after the mast cells already have been activated. If we had a way to inactivate the mast cells that respond to specific allergens, then we could stop dangerous immune responses in severe situations like anaphylaxis as well as less serious responses like seasonal allergies.”

“The biggest unmet need is in anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening,” said Northwestern’s Dr. Bruce Bochner, an allergy expert and study co-author. “Certain forms of oral immunotherapy might be helpful in some cases, but we currently don’t have any FDA-approved treatment options that consistently prevent such reactions other than avoiding the offending food or agent. Otherwise, treatments like epinephrine are given to treat severe reactions — not prevent them. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a safe and effective treatment for food allergy that consistently made it possible to reintroduce a food into the diet that you used to have to strictly avoid?”

Scott is the Kay Davis Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and a member of the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology, of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and of the Chemistry of Life Processes Institute. Bochner is the Samuel M. Feinberg Emeritus Professor of Medicine (allergy and immunology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The paper’s first author is Fanfan Du, a postdoctoral fellow in Scott’s laboratory, who worked closely with co-first authors Clayton Rische, a Ph.D. candidate co-mentored by both Bochner and Scott, and Yang Li, a Ph.D. candidate in the Scott lab.

Tricky target

Located in nearly all tissues throughout the human body, mast cells are best known for being primarily responsible for allergic responses. But they also play several other important roles, including regulation of blood flow and fighting parasites. Therefore, fully eliminating mast cells to prevent allergic reactions could be damaging to other useful, healthy responses.

“Although some drugs are under development, there are currently no FDA-approved drugs that inhibit, or eliminate, mast cells,” Bochner said. “This has been difficult mainly because drugs that can affect mast cell activation or survival also target cells other than mast cells, and thus tend to have unwanted side effects due to influences on other cells.”

In previous work, Bochner identified Siglec-6, a unique inhibitory receptor that is highly and selectively found on mast cells. If researchers could target that receptor with an antibody, then they could selectively inhibit mast cells to prevent allergy. But introducing this antibody by itself fell short.

“It was difficult to get a high-enough concentration of the antibody to have an effect,” Scott said. “We wondered if we could enhance this concentration using a nanoparticle. If we could pack a high density of antibodies onto a nanoparticle, then we could make it practical for use.”

Sticking antibodies onto a particle

To pack the antibodies onto a nanoparticle, Scott and his team had to overcome another challenge. For proteins (like antibodies) to stick to a nanoparticle, they typically must form a chemical bond that unfolds (or denatures) the protein, affecting its biological activity. To bypass this challenge, Scott turned to a nanoparticle previously developed in his laboratory.

Unlike more standard nanoparticles that have stable surfaces, Scott’s newly developed nanoparticle comprises dynamic polymer chains, which can independently flip their orientation upon exposure to different solvents and proteins. When put into liquid solutions, the chains orient themselves to achieve favorable electrostatic interactions with water molecules. But when a protein touches the nanoparticle surface, the specific tiny polymer chains at the interface flip their orientations to stably hold onto the protein without covalently bonding to it. Scott’s team also found that water-repelling pockets on protein surfaces were key to the stable interaction.

When binding to surfaces, proteins typically denature, losing their bioactivity. A unique aspect of Scott’s nanoparticles is that they can stably bind enzymes and antibodies while maintaining their 3D structure and biological functions. This means the anti-Siglec-6 antibodies maintained their strong affinity for the mast cell receptors — even when attached to the nanoparticle surfaces.

“This is a uniquely dynamic surface,” Scott said. “Instead of a standard stable surface, it can switch its surface chemistry. It’s made of tiny polymer chains of compounds, which can flip their orientation to maximize favorable interactions with both water and proteins as necessary.”

When Scott’s team mixed the nanoparticles with antibodies, close to 100% of the antibodies successfully attached to the nanoparticles without losing their ability to bind to their specific targets. This resulted in a nanoparticle-based therapy employing surfaces with densely packed and highly controllable amounts of multiple distinct antibodies to target mast cells. 

Selective shut down

In order for someone to become allergic, their mast cells capture and display antibodies, specifically immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, for that specific allergen. This enables the mast cells to recognize — and react to — the same allergen upon re-exposure.

“If you have a peanut allergy and have had a response to peanuts in the past, then your immune cells made IgE antibodies against peanut proteins, and the mast cells collected them,” Scott said. “Now, they are waiting for you to eat another peanut. When you do, they can respond within minutes, and if the response is strong enough, it can result in anaphylaxis.”

To selectively target mast cells to respond to a particular allergen, the researchers designed their therapy to engage only mast cells carrying IgE antibodies for that allergen. The nanoparticle uses a protein allergen to engage with IgE antibodies on the mast cells and then uses an antibody to engage the Siglec-6 receptor to shut down the mast cell’s ability to react. And because only mast cells display Siglec-6 receptors, the nanoparticle cannot bind to other cell types — a strategy that effectively limits side effects.

“You can use any allergen that you want, and you will selectively shut down the response to that allergen,” Scott said. “The allergen would normally activate the mast cell. But at the same time the allergen binds, the antibody on the nanoparticle also engages the inhibitory Siglec-6 receptor. Given these two contradictory signals, the mast cell decides that it shouldn’t activate and should leave that allergen alone. It selectively stops a response to a specific allergen. The beauty of this approach is that it does not require killing or eliminating all the mast cells. And, from a safety standpoint, if the nanoparticle accidentally attaches to the wrong cell type, that cell just won’t respond.”

Preventing anaphylaxis in mice

After demonstrating success in cellular cultures using human tissue-derived mast cells, the researchers moved their therapy into a humanized mouse model. Because mast cells in mice do not have the Siglec-6 receptor, Bochner’s team developed a mouse model with human mast cells in their tissues. The researchers exposed the mice to an allergen and delivered the nanotherapy at the same time.

No mice experienced anaphylactic shock and all survived.

“The simplest way to monitor an allergic response is to track changes in body temperature,” Scott said. “We saw no changes in temperature. There was no response. Also, the mice remained healthy and did not display any outward signs of an allergic reaction.”

“Mouse mast cells do not have Siglec-6 on their surface like in humans, but we got as close as we could for now to actual human studies by testing these nanoparticles in special mice that had human mast cells in their tissues,” Bochner said. “We were able to show that these humanized mice were protected from anaphylaxis.”

Next, the researchers plan to explore their nanotherapy for treating other mast cell-related diseases, including mastocytosis, a rare form of mast cell cancer. They also are investigating approaches to loading drugs inside the nanoparticles to selectively kill mast cells in mastocytosis without injuring other cell types.

Source: Northwestern University

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[terresdebrume]

When you* live in a monsoon country and the rain finally comes after a day of stifling heat, it can be tempting to leave the window open so it'll refresh the air in your apartment.

Don't.

[yusuke96universe]

Underappreciated Dragon Ball Character: The Crane Hermit's Story

The Crane Hermit is introduced as a very one-dimensional mustache twirling bad guy who quickly faded into obscurity, but after digging into his history and connecting the dots, I found him to be a rare 3 Dimensional villain from classic Dragon Ball.

I mean the dude starts out as a rich snob, humbles himself while befriending his one time enemy and forges a brotherhood with other martial artists under the same dojo. He even is so loyal and brave to the point of fighting alongside his brothers in arms to the bitter end against a horde of Demons. To top it all off, he was even willing to do it again when suggesting they come back and try to defeat King Piccolo again right after barely surviving their first encounter with him. This is very much in tune to what many noble members of the Dragon Team would do, meaning at one point, Crane was a redeemed villain like half the Dragon Ball cast, but willingly CHOSE to return to his old evil ways.

And this only happened after his master gave up the fight which turned his heart away from the light, as if GOODNESS itself betrayed him and/or the lure of the evil King Piccolo's power could've swayed him to be the self-serving man he is today. I would love to explore that side to him because there has to be something still awesome about him for Tien to have held such high respect for him

This is the story that I pieced together from watching a string Crane Hermit related episodes.

He is first introduced in Roshi's picture book as Roshi's good friend and owner of Inoshikacho with early designs before they shaved their heads and started wearing their master's uniform, like in the flashback of them fighting against King Piccolo. Those designs are used two more times, when Roshi climbed Korin's Tower and trained for 3 years gaining the power pole and Nimbus, so they must've looked like that for a few years at least. We get more details on their lives when Mr. Popo sends Goku to the past and meets a sort of cowardly or at least less confident Roshi, we know that this is more of a simulation of the past because this is basically used again for the humans to fight some weak Saiyans in early Z, so the events of Roshi and Crane starting out as romantic rivals in their teens and Crane's highly inflated attitude without any strength yet to combat Kid Goku implies that he came from a wealthy upbringing like a lot of similar people in old Kung Fu movies. You put these together and you got a very interesting character Here is how I rationalize it-

Roshi and Crane's bickering/ fighting over a girl likely got them disciplined hard by their mutually shared master, Mutaito. (Whom they both respected and studied under) Young Crane respected enough to restart his training over from scratch rather than being expelled during the Kid Goku goes to the past episode, so the probability that this would once again apply to a young Crane and possibly young Roshi in this new context seems pretty high. The punishments was probably super harsh and severe, probably was too much for Crane's flunkies to bare and they quit early, but NOT Roshi or Crane. They both are WAY, WAY too stubborn to quit early. Plus the thought of not wanting to be outdone by the other is what probably aided in pushing themselves past their limits throughout the harsh punishments and the intensive training.

So now it's basically two teenagers, one from a humble background and the other from a privileged background. Both with a lot of beef. Now stuck together alone. So while they're busy being bickering and competing, perhaps that girl they both were interested in, Fanfan, found herself a boyfriend in the meantime, leaving both of them heartbroken.

Now, since they are in the same boat together, they can start relating and bonding with one another as teenage punks do. Talking about mistreated they are, how unfair things, mostly complaining and roasting one another, etc. But the important thing is, they put their differences aside to overcome the challenges in front of them and this newfound bond leads them to becoming best friends.

The rivalry while healthier becomes stronger with time though because they're young and brash so Roshi goes to Korin's Tower at some point for bragging rights and Crane probably did something equally outrageous in an attempt to one up him, like maybe he won a Martial Arts Tournament or completed some grand trial of their dojo or something.

After being studying together for many years, they shave their heads and join the other students in wearing the formal uniforms of their master, so this is likely the peak of their disciplined lifestyle as Martial Artists.

Eventually this school made a stand and fought to the last man against Demons that terrorized and devastated entire cities and destroyed armies, harming countless innocents in the process. So in order to face such a threat implies a strong brotherhood and loyalty within the group.

Also the effect of his master giving up the fight being one of the factors for his turn toward evil implied that the Crane had great respect for him and that was the greatest disappointment of his life, plus the allure of power that King Piccolo showed must've been too tempting for him to resist so he left the losing side and returned to a lifestyle similar to his origin, using his skills in service of his own self and living it up in a lavish style (as shown in how much of a big spender he is and comparing his hotel room to the Turtle School's). In doing so, he purposely pushed away all the great teaching his Master had taught him, deeming them as weak or worthless for what he believed to being truly strong in his own distorted mind. He desperately needed someone like his Master to correct his misconceptions, and maybe at one time Roshi tried to, but failed because Crane closed off his heart to his once best friend (kind of like Gintoki and Takasugi frrom Gintama) who exemplifies everything he now hates and stands against.

Though some lessons still stuck, like loyalty, specifically to his brother Tao. Which is his prime motivation in the 22nd tournament was to avenge his brother and he even lamented on how they never patched things up so he tried getting justice for him instead of blaming himself. Dodging accountability, but accepting responsibility. Proving maybe even he is not too far gone, if he felt their was even a point to change.

But that doesn't mean he was the nicest brother. His pride and jealousy couldn't stand the idea that his brother was far more naturally gifted than him and so he attempted to sever one of the few remaining bonds he has in his long life of losses, with his own hand because of his own inferiority complex.

He allowed his greed, anger, pride, and jealousy blind him to what would've been his greatest legacy as a Master of Martial Arts. His students. The most well known are Tien and Chiaotzu. Who he long since failed to guide them to the righteous path which led them pass the point of no return. Tien and Chiaotzu were one in a million prodigies that he wanted to turn into a mere weapons at his command. To make matters worse, these self-centered, cruel and down right malicious teaching actively corrupted Tien's nature and forever shut his Third eye's truest abilities. So he didn't nurture his disciple like he was completely capable of, instead, he actively/incompetently crippled his number 1 student forever preventing him from reaching his full potential by stealing his birthright. Truly failing as a Master.

He makes one last appearance in the 23rd Tournament feeling betrayed and wronged, but leaves as a coward. It is such a shame to see what once was a great man, how far he had fallen.

His Death. Toriyama mentioned that he and his brother Tao Pai Pai got in over their heads and died somewhere in the middle of Z off-screen. In-spite of all of his gifts, he utterly failed as a Master by actively trying to spite everything his Master taught him and what did all of his efforts and years of experiences gift him with? An inconsequential death that will not be remembered, which is heartbreaking for a man who was once and could've forever remained as great as the fan-favorite Master Roshi. It is a shame because unlike his teacher, he never redeemed himself, not even in death. What could've been a Legend, instead turned into a Cautionary Tale.

Honestly, it is such a shame that this character wasn't utilized more. I've got a few more Crane Hermit related headcannons, some from when he was younger, some of how he could've been used after the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament, like a role in the King Piccolo Saga since that is so closely tied to his past, watching his continual, but strained relationship with his students, etc.

[marumafan]

I just read the post about Cherie, and...wow, Jesus, I didn't think she was the greatest mother in the anime either (I always got the sense that she put herself above her children and wasn't really one to parent - kind of like many of those mothers who have children because it's "expected" but then neglect them once they're born. I'm sure being Maou had some stuff to do with her being busy a lot, but still. Cherie is also men > her children), but damn that's bad.

Hello @ninamyyly!

I see you read my Cherie post, which is kinda old. Things have gotten much worse since then (2017). Here are my ideas based on new canon info

Canon

So let’s start with the info in Gaiden04, Chapter 7.1, that Cherie has been doing Shinou's bidding and I quote Shinou here:

“Cäcilie, is it? My adorable Cherie, she’s just too perfect.” 

She gave birth to three Keys with close bloodlines, and raised them according to his wishes.

For a while there we wondered if the ‘close bloodline’ meant closest to Shinou’s (taking into account that in drama cd 43. Secret , written by sensei it’s very highly hinted that Cherie is Shinou’s descendant ), but in the end it doesn’t straight out say it in the novels (I’m not convinced due to the weird wording, but a JP fan said so, so I’ll accept it). Even so, the cd is clear, Cherie is Shinou’s direct descendant. (and that cd has been confirmed to be written by the author).

My Theory 

So Cherie is Shinou’s direct descendant and she bore 3!!! 3 out of 4 keys! That can’t be a coincidence. You telling me she ‘fell in love’ with and only with the 3 dudes she needed to get keys? AND she raised them like Shinou asked? Yeah, ok.

So Shinou’s a hoe. And she was his obedient slave maou.

1) Her fear

I always go back to novel 1 where Cherie warns Wolf about not following Shinou’s orders and how that means something ‘terrible’ will happen:

"But Wolfram, don't you know the consequences when the king opposes Shinou's words." It seems like he's a god-like being and when they don't follow his words, terrible things happen. Then, in the case that I refuse to be the Maoh, will terrible things happen to this country and all its people, or to me, the newcomer? "Of course, that means Your Majesty, too."

 So maybe that was it. Maybe Shinou got her at a young age and said, “aight lassy you do this or you and your family ded"

2) Ruining people’s lives

It has always bothered me terribly that she’s the one who ‘got Conrad to check on Julia’s wedding dress’ and that’s what caused him to fall for her etc. Especially now knowing that she has done everything Shinou asked of her (including birthing and rearing the keys). So in the end Shinou has been toying around with everyone and Cherie has been a huge help. 

3) Killing people ?

Remember that 2 of her husbands died! And another ran away . Again... how much was she involved in all the tragedies?  

We know that she ‘just happened!’ to intercept Conrad’s dad when he was escaping and was stranded in the middle of the sea. Aha, yea that was chance for sure.

4) Attempting four outta four?

Another thing that terribly bothers me, is that when Yuuri arrives to the other world in novel 1, Gunter says that :

"Then I will tell you. Your Majesty, eighteen years ago, Your Majesty's spirit should have been born in this country. However, because of the post war chaos at that time, or fear that your Majesty's life might have been targeted internally, Shinou decided to send your soul to another world. So, according to the instructions of Shinou, we took Your Majesty's noble soul that hadn't been born yet to Earth. Your mother and your father created Your Majesty's body, and you've grown up in that world until today. However, while you should have originally been able to grow to adulthood safely in another world, you were summoned due to a situation..."

SO, YUURI WAS SUPPOSED TO BE BORN IN SHINMA: To whom? To a Wincott, of course... and who was Julia’s friend and around the Wincott castle all the time for absolutely no reason...? 

SINGLE WIDOWED CHERIE!

Are you following me here? So you see... why have 3 out of 4 keys, when you could have 4 out of 4!?

Although we’ve never heard anything anywhere about Cherie hitting on Del Kiersen (Julia’s younger brother who ended up having a kid who’s now 12), I sense like there was some plan there with the Wincotts (beyond getting Conrad to go to earth) that never was realized and that’s why Yuuri ended up on earth (so that Conrad could go retrieve his arm, which he did. He took Yuuri there - and according to Bob the Shibuya’s were everything Shinou asked for... read into that what you want; and he went back with the arm he’d ultimately end up using). So, possibly killed or tried to kill 3 husbands, possibly involved in Julia’s murder to have baby Wincott key 4 out of 4.

5) Lastly

  If you wanna continue falling down the rabbit hole I have my Wincott theory | and | Julia’s death not making sense posts.

I’m pretty sure I’ve gone down the Cherie rabbit hole before, but I couldn’t find the post, so I just kind of rewrote the 2021 update on her here. (I didn’t even get into the fact that she’s also dating Fanfan, who’s a baddie according to novel17, or that she told everyone Conrad and Julia might end up together when in reality nothing like that happened. Anyway, toxic af. ). TLDR; Cherie = bad

[redglassesgirl-maruma]

20th Anniversary MA Event - Fourth Week Activity From November 23 to November 30 Wednesday - Let’s talk about ships

Hello everyone!

Today we cover a topic everyone loves and everyone’s also very passionate about. We all have our OTPs, but what I would like to share is a list of pairings that have been included in the canon one way or another. I did my best to think about all the possibilities but I’m probably forgetting some of them, so I invite you to add more pairings or talk about your favorite ones!

See the list and comments under the cut.

YuurixWolf (Novels 1-17) Officially engaged. Starts with a one sided love from Wolfram towards Yuuri. They soon form a family alongside Greta and their bond kept growing stronger and stronger, by the latest volumes and special chapters there’s a lot of mentions about them acting/living as a married couple. Yuuri and Wolfram are mentioned many times in main volumes, specials and Drama CDs as each other’s husband or wife. They share their royal suit and other characters recognize them and respect their space. Wolfram’s a popular choice in the canon’s poll of who His Majesty will end with.

ConrartxJulia (Novels 1-4, Gaiden 1) Confirmed being one sided Conrart towards Julia. During the first volumes there’s a lot of development that leads us to think there’s a big love story between these two characters, but later we get more information about Julia’s secret relationship with Adalbert and their mutual love that uncovers that their engagement was not only political, but involved feelings as well.

ConrartxYuuri (Novels 1-17) Strongly implied during the first volumes until Conrart disappears, it becomes complicated after that when he’s back as a traitor and loses his place as the confidant and bodyguard of Yuuri being replaced by Wolfram and Jozak. It can be considered one sided love from Conrart towards Yuuri (he’s been rejected a couple of times directly or indirectly by Yuuri, for example in Misepan Part 2 mini novel) but there are scenes of tension and also romantic scenes between them. Conrart seems very conflicted since Yuuri’s Julia’s reincarnation, even so he supports his brother’s engagement since the first novels and has even encouraged Yuuri during personal chats about the topic. Conrart’s a popular choice in the canon’s poll of who His Majesty will end with. 

ConrartxJozak (Novels 1-17) Mostly Jozak joking around and Conrart going along with it when he feels like it. They don’t seem to have actual feelings involved at all. They know each other since they’re very young so there’s some closeness and also they don’t have the pressure of a noble status and social barriers. But we can notice in some specials and extras that Conrart is not as friendly with Jozak as he is with him, and their relationship gets pretty bad after Conrart is revealed as a traitor. Sadly there’s not that much developtment after that because Conrart is not yet back to Shin Makoku in the novels. In Drama CDs that can be considered around the latest or future timeline, it seems their relationship is fixed in a similar way as with Yuuri and Conrart, you can’t erase the past but forgive and keep going, they remain friends.

JozakxYuuri (Novels 1-17 and specials) All teasing and jokes because Jozak is like thatm, but they also have some very emotional chapters after Seisakoku’s arc that are not actually romantic but add to their deep relationship. Jozak’s a choice in the canon’s poll of who His Majesty will end with.

JozazxGwen/Ani (Novels 1-17, mostly side stories and Drama CD 73) Unrequited feelings from Jozak towards Gwendal and Anissina. She was his first interest as soon as he met her, she confuses him with Gwendal because he was tall and hugs him from behind, making him fall for the pretty short lady. He changes his mind very fast due to her personality, but he comments again about some interest later in different moments. His interest in Gwendal seems steadier and mixed with a lot of respect and admiration, plus their complications due their boss/employee relationship. Jozak is very close to Gwendal and tends to break the line of social status pretty often to get more friendlier with him. 

JozakxMurata (Hints mostly in Drama CDs 71 and 73) This looks like something pretty new, mostly developed by the manga and later included in the newest Drama CDs with some hints here and there. Jozak and Murata develop a kind of dramatic relationship during the Seisakoku arc, later mutating into a relationship that resembles the one of Yuuri and Conrart during the first volumes of the series. It seems Jozak is the designated bodyguard for Murata in the latest part of the story, but we are not able to see much about this yet due to the hiatus. During their first encounter Murata and Jozak do say some flirty lines about each other, extended by the adaptation in the Drama CD with extra canon bits written by T-sensei. So, in the end it seems it’s new but not that new.

GwendalxYuuri (Novels 1-17) Big misunderstanding from Nicola’s side during the first novels that carries out as a strong rumor during the series, and a comedic gag. Yuuri was intimidated by Gwendal at first so this is shocking for him, but later they develop a very good relationship and friendship so it’s still a misunderstanding Yuuri doesn’t want to hear about, but less shocking at least. Still, Wolfram is very concerned about his dear brother stealing his fiancé. Gwendal’s a popular choice in the canon’s poll of who His Majesty will end with.

GünterxYuuri/Murata (Novels 1-17)He’s insanely in love with soukokus. His one sided love does not border obsession, is just plain obsessive. Even if Günter is dependable, a great teacher and the best fighter of the whole country, he ends up degraded to this comedic relief version of himself as soon as Yuuri sets foot in the other world. He gets some revindication in Seisakoku’s arc, but he mostly fits that position in this story. As soon as Murata enters the picture he has melt down about having two soukokus instead of one. Even if he often shows his strong feelings without containing himself, he’s also shown consideration towards Yuuri’s engagement with Wolfram more than once. Günter’s a choice in the canon’s poll of who His Majesty will end with. 

GegenhuberxNicola (Novels 1-17) Canon married couple with a baby. We all know about this one xD They resemble Yuuri and Gwendal physically so this keeps adding to the misunderstanding about that pairing haha.

DacascosxAmblin (Novels 1-17) Married couple with a daughter, they were close to divorce more than once, if not divorced for a period of time already and remarried or something along these lines (at the bare minimum she left him for a while). The ups and downs of this couple are mentioned casually in the story.

AdalbertxJulia (Novels 1-17, more evident after novel 4) First presented as a political engagement with no feelings involved with strong hints of Conrart being the true love of Julia. Later it’s revealed it was not a one sided love from Adalbert towards Julia, they have known each other since a young age when they met secretly and developed feelings for each other. They were aware of these feelings and happy with their engagement, but they had a tragic ending.

AdalbertxYuuri (Novels 10-17) After the Dai Shimaron tournament when Conrart reveals to Adalbert that Yuuri has Julia’s soul he starts trying to approach him and shows conflicted feelings. Later in Seisakoku’s arc Adalbert develops into an ally, and after an opportunity to know Yuuri better he seems to recognize Yuuri’s very different from Julia and set his feelings. 

AdalbertxMaxine (Novels 10-17, mostly Seisakoku’s arc)  Also known as “MachoPony” (from Cropped Pony, Maxine’s nickname) as specified by T-sensei, mentioned in a doujinshi, she supports this pairing. Adalbert knows Maxine since he had a young age and since he’s human it was pretty natural he saw him grow fast. They have a strange friendly relationship and keep walking into each other here and there, even working together as mercenaries. By the end of the Seisakoku arc Adalbert seems to remain living with him and Jason and Freddy, the two shinzoku girls they take care of. This pretty much looks like the establishment of a new family for Adalbert and also a new chapter in his life. 

GiselaxJulia (Novels 1-17) One sided love from Gisela towards Julia. She had very strong feelings for her and it seems she still remains pretty much in love only with Julia at the present time. 

GiselaxConrart (Novels 5-6) Misunderstanding caused by Wolfram. He gets the impression Gisela is in love with his brother when he travels with her in search for Yuuri, but it’s pretty much rebutted at the same moment he speaks about it with her. She sneakily kind of tells him the one she loved in the past was Julia and not Conrart but Wolfram is unable to understand because he lacks a lot of information about that romantic mess of the past.

GwendalxAnissina (Novels 1-17 + Drama CDs) The most canon pairing we have. They know each other since they’re kids and even with the ups and downs they’re clearly inseparable. They have their own chapter as Romeo and Juliet parody, alongside many other scenes that give us details about them being together, including some very explicit sexual details in some Drama CDs. Other characters recognize them, but since most of them are too scared of Anissina they tend not to comment much about it. Cäcilie and Densham, Anissina’s brother, support a marriage between them.

CheriexFanfan (Novels 1-17) Current official lover of the ex-queen Cäcilie. Fanfan is a human weapon merchant who helps Yuuri and company many times along the series. Her three sons are not really fond of discussing this relationship out loud and usually look the other way if the topic arises. 

CheriexChevallier (Novels 1-17) Confirmed one sided love from Chevallier towards Cäcilie in the latest novels, Prison arc. He tells his story about loving her since the first time he saw her when she was very young, and he’s been pretty much stalking her / remaining at her side since then. She’s not aware but she has a good relationship with him as her servant. Gwendal seems to approve of this man. 

MurataxYuuri (Seen mostly in doujinshis) There’s hints in the main novels, especially during Seisakoku’s arc. Murata’s one sided feelings for him tend to be on the obsessive side of trying to find him and protect him. We can see more clearly his romantic interest in the official doujinhis. He recognized Wolfram as Yuuri’s partner as soon as he appears and it’s stated they’re officially engaged, later showing respect for the royal suit as being owned by both of them and being courteous with Wolfram in that regard.

SaraleguixYuuri (Novels 10-17) There’s some tension but this is clearly not even one sided but a trickery from Saralegui. He shows himself flirty most of the time, but he’s always hiding bad intentions in his acting and Yuuri’s very aware of it so it’s like walking over glass while he tries to counter the advances. There’s a lot of mentions by Yuuri about the beauty of Saralgui and his night clothes, and some of these comments remind us of Wolfram but they’re done in a very different way. Also, Saralegui literally wants Yuuri as an exotic pet for his collection, he’s not even human in his eyes. This pairing is usually a comedic gag during specials.

Extra:

ConrartxKing Berard IV… blame the manga, oh God, blame the manga XD He’s the reason the manga ends with Cornart not going back to Shin Makoku.

I just wanted to end with a laugh when I remembered this one hahaha

[ayzrules]

10 Signs That You’re in an Ayz Novel/Project/Writing Collab/Rp/~Thing~

tagged by @homesteadchronicles​ <3! tysm for tagging me - i love these things!!!

1. SILK & STEEL MOTIFS - [ mai, rowena, camila (ish), all of proper young killing machines! ] ever since i was 14-15 and obsessing over book!sansa / book!margaery, and only enhanced by my gail carriger phase. maybe it has to do with the fact that i’m too lazy to ever get into a physical fight myself? LMAO but i love writing snakey political girls who don’t really do ~fighty~ stuff but absolutely are plotting something and will manipulate/backstab their way to getting it. and ofc they hide all of that behind perfect manners & designer gowns & high heels ;D. normally about working with the system & bending it to their advantage for w/e reason (revenge is pretty common lol), not necessarily destroying the system & making something new/better. which segues into:

2. ICE QUEEN TROPES - [ izzy, mari, yinmei ] i first started writing these girls as a direct foil to #1; i would say characters in both of these categories are just as ruthless as each other, but #2 are more obvious/overt about it and v v v blunt. instead of working with & manipulating the system, these girls tend to be the type to just break it apart with a sledgehammer, hahahha. sub-category/spinoff being the too-old/tired-for-your-shit-so-pls-fuck-off kind of vibe ;DDD

3. THE VERY MEAN VERY TERRIBLE GIRL W QUESTIONABLE MORALS IS A MAIN POV AND ALSO MY FAVORITE AND NO I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE - [ tess + camila, kyvana, tselvya aka the murder princess trio of lay them to rest ] ummmmm no excuse except i might be not 100% straight lmfaoooooooo. i just can’t resist ruthless amoral girls in flouncy ruffles & floral frocks ok next (!)

4. TREE-HUGGING SHIT / POETRY IN NATURE - [ verdínqa, dulcifera, of daisies & ddt, a bit of run devil run ] i’m an envi sci nerd & study something similar w my degree program so no surprise :D ever since high school i’ve been into subverting the light = life & darkness = death trope, just after learning about shit like eutrophication & hypoxic waters etc where growth/a surplus actually leads to death, and sort of the belief that death in nature isn’t inherently bad for the entire system (ecocentric holism & alla’ that). and also a point that’s been driven home countless times by lectures, talks, books, webinars, what have you - the earth as just a planet will be fine even w all the anthropogenic shit going on, it’s humans who will be fucked. so that makes its way into my work a ton!

5. REINCARNATED QUEEN BEES -  [ jenny, chae ] idk there’s just something so iconic about that aesthetic. zombie girls in chanel & luisa beccaria ya feel. the absolute vanity/arrogance/haughtiness of your typical hs movie rich bitch TM meets oh shit im not really alive and also eating brains is gross (i once googled human brain nutrition facts. quora saved a girl but also my search history is wack lmfao)..... yea! :kermitdab:

6. DITZY PINK SIDEKICK WHO IS ACTUALLY PRETTY BOOKSMART - [ steph, lea, lyra ] to (sort of) go with above, i like writing the bubbly girly girls who can throw front tucks and scorpions and double arabians like nobody’s business but also aren’t your stereotypical ‘dumb cheerleader’ trope; they’re just thought of as ditzy because of how nice/sweet/outgoing they are. also 3/4 times they drive crusty mom vans. yes this is me projecting my own driving experience no i will not change

7. SARCASTIC IDIOT MEME QUEENS - [ chrissy, inferna/vicky, angie ] always obsessed with memes, usually obsessed with food/sbux, kpop, or both. these girls are fun to write bc it’s like, 2 brain cells and they’re all devoted to simping for girl groups or copping free food deals (yes i make them all blackpink fans yes i am basic no i do not accept criticism) which is just #same. usually tend to be pretty scathing & hotheaded, also with a bit of a too-tired-for-this-pls-fuck-off energy ;D and that’s highkey my entire internal dialogue so like..... :kermitdab:

8. GLITTER + GORE / MURDER PRINCESSES - [ robot unicorn attack & its spinoff ‘rua: guts & glory’, proper young killing machines, lay them to rest, this new hyper-girly pokemon yugioh-esque collab w loml <333 ] traditionally “”””””””girly/feminine”””””””” aesthetics meets murder/other very dangerous activities you should not try at home! 

9. FACETIOUS REFERENCES TO RL - [ gem quest, robot unicorn attack, lay them to rest, other things im prob forgetting ] basically i’m super facetious and also a clown and i like to poke fun at stupid things in my own life hahahah. gem quest is very modern meme culture meets high fantasy fairyland (& it was a collab with fanfan! so literally just my aes meets hers ;DDDDD) in the way i wrote it (references to twilight, phineas & ferb, kpop, other memes in the fairytale setting basically); robot unicorn attack is allllll about that petty celeb drama (just with a glitzy cyberpunk backdrop & also unicorns) LMAOOO & it does have tons of similarities to the kpop industry! & lay them to rest - aka murder princess aesthetic heaven - has me pulling out shit like ‘picstagram’ and ‘versacci’ (versace + gucci lol i’m so lame). one of the murder-y girls is a social media influencer/beauty guru. yeah!!

& last but not least-

10. MORE AESTHETIC THAN PLOT - [ insert everything i’ve ever written ] look i can NEVER come up with coherent plot lines WHATSOEVER but at least my pinterest is popping & my prose is all overly detailed descriptions of dresses & flowers LOL

tagging: @bebemoon @vampirkaninchen @morningstar1399 @now-on-elissastillstands @atimefordragons @tudorgirl @lend-your-lungs-to-me @bulletgirl @unholieds @artless-whimsy @interluxetumbra @clarienanaberry << sorry i cant splel ur writeblr @n-eusex + anyone who sees this & wants to do it!!! <3 <3 <3

[cucullas]

The tale of two Fanfan’s: pro and anti war French songs

I’m absolutely not done with Spanish Romances but today i felt like overanalizing another country songs so follow me as we cross the Pyrenées and time travel to the XVIII century to see how the name of an idealized soldier (Fanfan, La Tulipe) ended on an antiwar song (Le conscrit du Languedoc).

beware: it gets very French, this level of French 

1952 film “Fanfan la Tulipe”, not even trying to be subtle o how much you should thrist for the hero

Fanfan la Tulipe, a very sung hero

The first Fanfan is a soldier of the French monarchy, his King is anyone from the very classy wing and heels wearing Louis XIV to his Louis the XVI before he looses his head. He is the hero of a very popular song (here all stanzas or here my fav version) a march of the Grenadiers an specialized military assualt division. The song is quite good at tellingin less than 4 minutes a quite plotty story of a young man who is recruited. 

Fanfan is short for François, a name that literally means French and “La Tulipe” is a “nom de guerre” a soldiers mandatory nickname cause at the time there were like 5 names. 

 A young desperate was historically a perfect candidate from the Army who is mostly volontary the Kingdom of France had no mandatory conscription. At times of war of course recruitement agent forced people and all able men were called but there was not a military service stablished. 

COLONEL DUGUÉ MAC Cathy - Planche Uniforme Maison du Roy 1745

Fanfan who has a bad relation with his father is trown from his home, to avoid starving he joins the army and became a grenadier. naive, but also honorable and a ladies man the song builds a very likeable character. From being initially afraid of battles and sing the chorus “Allons mon petit Fanfan / Let’s go my little Fanfan” to give himself courage to helping his father in his moment of need we can’t help to get a bit attached.

“Des vaincus la touchante prière / M'fit toujours voler à leur secours  / P'têt’ c'que j'fais pour eux, / Les malheureux l'f'ront un jour, à leur tour / Pour ma mère”

“The moving cries of those defeated / Always made me flight to help them / Maybe what i’m doing for them / These unfortunate ones will one day do for my mother” 

You got to like him a bit. 

Fanfan, French icon

The succes of the character is massive, an operette, several serials, comics and three movies the image of Fanfan as a Louis XV soldier an he has shenenigans of all sort… 

Last film is from 2003 it’s high time to do a new one, most of these film are pretty bad but fun as hell. 

In the song he retires after 20 years. This is how things went, if the soldier survived war but also the awful conditions of casernes, lack of payment, hunger and diseases they were free to go after 8 to 10 years of service. Our hero remained 10 more. He could not reach the higher positions those where reserved to nobles but a modest career was still available.

Fanfan, La Tulipe, the version that we know is the one adapted by Emile Debraux in 1819 for popular orchestras. At the time, and after the napoleonic empire and revolution the monarchy was restaured in France and the fun story of these soldier of the golden days of monarchy became very popular. 

The army life is idealized however the thematic is more approachable than Revolutionary songs that are many times more about ideals and revolutionary fervor. Ultimately Fanfan choosed to become a soldier and once there despite  “cannons fire” who afraid him so much during his first battle. 

And while live of population an military was by no means better during monarchy that revolutionary and napoleonic period back then military was far from the general population and could be idealized or played with. It will soon not be so easy to distance oneself for it. 

Fanfan, the reluctant soldier

The hero of the second song  is also Fanfan (listen here sung by a choir here with a sadder tune) but we don’t know his name at first. He presents himself like this: “Je suis un pauvre conscrit de l’an 1810 / faut quitter le Languedoc / avec le sac sur le dos.” I’m a poor conscript of the year 1810 / I ought to leave Languedoc / with my bag in the back″

Like the first one he is a young men but he doesn’t decided to join the army himself. Napoleon has been Emperor for two years now but conscription started some years ago. if the Revolution hoped at the start to make military voluntary they soon saw it was impossible and a career army was formed but the numerous napoleonic campaigns need more and more men. Recruitement became ofc highly unpopular. 

Tirage au sort pour la conscription, Anonyme aka if you think your days sucks? wait and see Fanfan2′s one.

Fanfan 2 is pissed as hell and he might not be a soldier yet but he already leave no survivors: 

“ Maire et M'sieur le Préfet / N'en sont deux jolis cadets (bis) / Ils nous font tirer-z-sort / Pour nous conduire à la mort.”

“The Mayor and M. Prefect / Make two great captains / They make us draw a number / To take us to death” 

The recruitment at the time happens in two steps: First the Mayor makes a list of all the available young men from a year and they are called to a main city to present themselves. There, they draw a number who will decide if they go the reserve and are not called (high number) or are immediatly called to the army (low number). 

Fanfan 2 has not luck that day and he drawn numer two: if he passed the medical exam (which unless he lacks a limb or is very very sick, he will) he goes immediatly with the army. So this young man is there, with his parents and girlfriend and says goodye to them while he fearing they will never see each other again. It leads to maybe the most French methafor ever

“Dites a ma tante que son neveu / à attrapé le numero deux / qu’en partant son coeur se fend / comme du fromage blanc”

“Tell my aunt that her nephew / drawn number two / that leaving slips his heart / like a piece of fresh cheese.”

Pictured: young soldier heart 

Poetic irony 

Fanfan 2 name is mentionned at the end of the song: 

“ Adieu donc mon tendre coeur, / Vous consolerez ma soeur / Vous y direz que Fanfan / Il est mort en combattant.”

“Farewell my tender love / Please comfort my sister / Tell her that Fanfan / that he died at war”

The authors of the first song very probably new the first and the name of Fanfan can onle mean this association with a young soldier but it can also be a way to compare this two songs and by contrast give an even further critique to conscription and war that is not like songs… 

… specially if we remember that some of the 1810  recruits will end up dying in the terrible Russian campaign. 

Napoléon faisant retraite depuis Moscou, par Adolphe Northen.

This song also became well loved by anti-war supporters and there is one version in Occitan, the regional language of Languedoc.

I find it interesting how differently these song treat the same thematics. The lyrics of the first song are here (FR) and the second here (FR and OCC versions). The papers are use to talk abut recruitement are here for 18th cetury  and here for empire both in French. Have a great day, eat fresh cheese and join me soon for more songs.

[fanfansfury]

How it started...

My story can be considered a complex one starting from my childhood. For as long as I can remember, I have medical issues that I haven’t ever gotten a real answer for.

As a child in elementary school, I remember being sick way more often than my peers. Stomach bugs, infections, you name it. It felt constant. I also had an amazing ability to pass out unannounced or with very little warning. I’ve always loved being active in sports and working out, but as I have gotten older, I have seemed to build an intolerance to exercise.

My medical history is significant for chronic anemia, low blood pressure, B12 deficiency, anxiety and depression, and a bladder disease named Interstitial Cystitis. My anxiety increased as I understood more that I didn’t’ have control on whether I would pass out unexpectedly or not.

As years went on, I was able to recognize the signs of low blood pressure and could sometimes avoid passing out if I caught it in time. I lived a mostly normal young adulthood full of college and grad school experiences typical of most people my age. I got married to a wonderful man, Sam FanFan, in 2011 and soon had our first daughter, Kyla Maresa, inElla will decrease her sound substitutions in connected speech, with 1-3 prompts or cues from an adult, in 4 out of 5 recorded opportunities. 2012. Kyla was also no stranger to medical issues as a baby, as she gave us a few heart attacks and hospitalizations. Now, as an active 8 year old, she is an accomplished dancer and student, who has seemed to grow out of a lot of issues we used to see with her frequent infections and weak respiratory system. (YAY!)

Fast forward to our second daughter, Kaelani Burke, who was born in 2017. Her birth itself was uneventful. Three hours after she was born, I began hemorrhaging. It was traumatic to say the least, for both me and Sam. To this very day, I am beyond thankful for my labor and delivery nurses who caught the hemorrhaging in time to save my life. 

Kaelani has been through the wringer in her short 4 years of life. She managed to be diagnosed with 12 ear infections by the time she was 20 months old. Oral antibiotics didn’t seem to touch them and we needed to resort to injections almost every time. At 21 months, we knew surgery couldn’t be avoided anymore and she had her adenoids removed and tubes placed in her ears. Neither of which seemed to help avoid recurrent ear infections anyway.

In late 2019/early 2020, Kaelani began having severe nosebleeds. At first, Sam and I chalked it up to dry air and got humidifiers for almost every room in the house. The remedying we tried did not help slow the bleeds down and they were happening multiple times a day, both at home and daycare. By the end of January 2020, Kaelani began to fall asleep after the bleeds. I immediately took her back to her ENT. After about 4 very frustrating appointments and conscious cauterizations, they drew her blood. We were immediately told hemotology/oncolocy was waiting for us upstairs. Though they couldn’t pinpoint the exact disease at that point in time, it was clear to the team Kaelani was suffering from a rare vascular disease and it warranted further investigating.

The next day, Kaelani was brought in for surgery to cauterize the blood vessels that seemed to be causing the problem. This procedure was supposed to be in-and-out to merely stop the bleeding. When Kaelani was in recovery, her surgeon came to talk to Sam and I to report that while she was cauterizing, she saw many telangiectasias (abnormal blood vessels normally found in older adults) in her nasal lining that were quite concerning to her. We were then admitted and by the end of the night, had seen hematology, ENT, and genetics. She was brought in for an ultrasound of her major organs to make sure there wasn’t active bleeding. We were discharged with what seemed like a million appointments ahead of us. Genetics and Hematology are confident she has a very rare blood disorder called HHT (Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia), but in order for this diagnosis to be officially on her medical record, a parent needs to be diagnosed. On her medical record now, it states (suspicion of HHT), which may not always get her the help she needs say she were to have a seizure or brain bleed.  Now, let’s cue the blood issues I have had my entire life and assume the connection here. However, since I am currently asymptomatic, this will be no easy feat. Especially since one month after this ordeal, COVID-19 hits and elective appointments are not at the top of anyone’s list.

Since last March, I have seen cardiology, urology, pulmonology, and hematology. As suspected, because I am asymptomatic at this point in my life, not much is being found to help Kaelani’s case.

However, during the pursuit of Kaelani’s diagnosis, my chronic anemia is going strong, so my hematologist decided it was time to do further digging. My anemia is NOT iron related. I am not iron deficient. So, we assumed it was nutritional. I spent a few months on vitamins that should have improved my anemia, even just a little bit. It got worse.

That brings me to this past week. After months of trying to figure out why my anemia continues to get worse, my hematologist decided it was time to do a bone marrow biopsy. In case you were wondering, the biopsy is quite painful. 

Now... we wait. Results are expected by March 4...

Stay tuned.

[beihonglin]

do you know why cai xukun left swin? I'm confused about what happened to that group and why they all separated, but I'm clueless as to where / how to find more information about them! If you could explain a bit, that would truly be so helpful, thank you!!!

hi! kunkun was in the music/dance subunit of swin, swin-s, and left after their debut ep, new world. he was in their 《New World》 mv here and their 《只因你太美》dance practice video here. he was also in their 161112 dorm livestream here, where he was roommates with liu ye (uwu!!). 

but alas pelias is a Shit Company that Doesn’t Know how to Manage Talent or the Promotion and Marketing of Idols… and kunkun realised it early (end 2016, after new world was released) and got himself out of there before his career went down the drain. no official post was ever released by pelias, understandably, and i doubt kunkun would ever want to talk about it publicly, but it’s been more or less accepted as such based on how the other swin members have described their years in pelias (no promotions, few comebacks opportunities, being pushed into acting etc). 

but after he left pelias, kunkun made it to beijing where he stayed alone, learnt how to play the guitar alone, learnt producing alone, picked up music alone, without any source of financial income for an entire year until he got picked up for idol producer. 

swin-s used to be six: cai xukun, wu muti, he yifan, yu gengyin, zhao pinlin and liu ye. there was also another sub-unit of swin called swin-e, which basically were all the ‘entertainers’ (actors lmao): zuo qibo, zhu yunlong, gouchen haoyu and tian shuchen. typing all their names out make my heart hurt?? five of them left (muti, fanfan, kunkun, gengyin, huadi) but five of them are still in swin (pinlin, liu ye, zuozuo, yunlong, gouhao)!! 

wu muti: the youngest (990707), 1/3 of didi line, sweetest baby angel, the first one to make friends with everyone on super idol, fluent in korean, spoiled the most by his geges along with kunkun. he went on to participate in under nineteen after he left swin, and he’d probably have gotten into the final group too if they didn’t make him leave the show because of visa issues. 

he yifan: second youngest (980822), 1/3 of didi line, cheeky lil bitch, sunshine meme boy, would bicker with kunkun over anything. he went on to participate in all for one after he left swin and turned into a yeehaw boy but because youku is a shady bitch and kept changing rules left and right, pulled out of the show halfway. he was really good though and all the swin boys said he rly grew up so much!! he’s now in ONEGROUP with zhao fangzhou (also on super idol)! 

yu gengyin: leader of swin-s (960428), responsible half of main vocal line, soft warm boy, knows every single jj lin song by heart, used to livestream regularly, quite possibly the love of my life. he’s swin’s Biggest Fan and if any past or present member goes on a survival show gengyin’s the first to post support and cheer them on ;n; he was also a mentor on another show《青春最强音》. he released the cutest song 《特别的安排》recently, and just wrapped up filming for a movie!! i translate for him sometimes here.

tian shuchen: ¼ of swin-e (941026), pretends to be fierce but is a puppy, has a dog called zongzi (rice dumpling). unlike the rest of them who left swin because pelias crap that doesn’t deserve them, huadi revealed that he left swin because of zhao pinlin. he also went on all for one after he left swin and debuted in one of their two final groups, BlackACE. his group, BlackACE, has released two songs, fission and because of you. check out more subbed content here! 

as ot9, they made two more comebacks - ep1 on 170717 (《告别少年》mv here, 《发光的星体》mv here and the cutest song 《和你去海边》dance practice here) and ep2 on 180109 (《BFGF》christmas version here and 《不解释》mv here). they also had a group variety show but they had to stop it after three episodes.  

as ot5, we got 《25Hours》on 180928 and 《动听醋语》on 181013!

zhao pinlin: still in swin! 1/3 of swin-s’ gege line (940629) but the youngest in ot5 swin, brat half of swin-s’ main vocal line, grouches a lot but would kill for his boys (especially ex-roommate gengyin). he also went on all for one as part of the three members of swin they sent on and all his performances were amazing!!! he ended up debuting in one of the two final groups of all for one as first place (!!!!!!). his group, BlackACE, has released two songs, fission and because of you. check out more subbed content here! 

he was also the one who went to look for kunkun in beijing after kunkun left swin, and was the first one kunkun called when he got the centre position in idol producer ;;;;; he didn’t tell kun that he was participating in all for one because he didn’t want to bother him, but pinlin ended up debuting in first place too ;;;;;;;;;; 

liu ye: still in swin! 1/3 of swin-s’ gege line (931115), dance prodigy, hid his age for three whole years until he got exposed as a 93 liner on produce camp, the softest shyest angel, used to be kunkun’s roommate, easily teased but would die with any of his friends. he’s gone on street dance of china and produce camp! he ended up debuting in r1se, produce camp’s final group, in 8th place (!!!!) despite tencent’s reluctance to give him any screen time at all. although he’s still in swin, he’s no longer under pelias - that piece of shit company sold his contract to 1cm some time in the middle of produce cam. i translate for him sometimes here! 

gouchen haoyu: still in swin! 940427, the sweetest swin boy, constantly showering love and affection, purest cat boy - he has a tattoo of a cat on his left shoulder and his cats are called dough stick (youtiao) and soymilk (doujiang) and he posts videos with them all the time sobs!! he also hangs out with / cat sits for xia zhiguang (x-nine, r1se)!! he also went on all for one as part of the three members of swin they sent on. he ended up debuting in one of the two final groups of all for one, called New Storm!! 

zhu yunlong: still in swin! old man (920413), singaporean, girl group dance lover, looks sweet but would probably kill you in your sleep. he also went on all for one as part of the three members of swin they sent on but got SNAKED by youku!!! he’s currently filming something with gouhao. 

zuo qibo: still in swin! another old man (920119), actor and the member with the most solo songs, including 《世界将我包围》(the world surrounds me),《这是爱》(this is love, an ost for a show he acted in) and 《I Won’t Cry》! he also went on the next top bang but also got snaked by dragon tv. honestly, he’s probably the most consistently employed in swin. 

as for how to keep up with them, i follow the boys, their work studios and their fanclubs on weibo! also the SWIN and 星动一班 chaohuas are great for constant emo swin hours (not that it’s never emo swin hours in this household).

anyway i hope this helps!!!!! ;u; 

[robot-unicorn-attack]

❂ RACERS

Ice World (𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙)

Snow (31, FC: Anna Selezneva) is unicorn racing’s resident Ice Queen. But she was once, surprising as it may seem, Ice World’s sweetheart. She was scouted when she was 17, and given the name of “Snow Princess”. With her blonde curls and blue eyes, she had a smile so pretty and sweet that people said it could melt ice. And her first unicorn was the same-gentle, with an even disposition and as pretty as a picture. But that all changed when an armed thief tried to rob Snow on her way back from practice with her unicorn. That first unicorn, the one who was pretty and sweet and gentle, saw Snow panicking and attacked the thief, killing him. In order to avoid legal sanctions, 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 was forced to deactivate (more like put down, in Snow’s opinion) the unicorn, and Snow Princess disappeared from the racing scene. She re-appeared with Sparkle Charmer three seasons later, but she was different. Cold. She dropped the ‘princess’ from her name, becoming just Snow, and would go on to become an industry veteran. She’s now over 30, but shows no signs of retiring....and she’s perfectly capable of competing with the newer, younger racers, thank you very much. (Alicia / @ayzrules)

Sky (23, FC: Luiza Scandelari) is the newest and the youngest of  𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙‘s current 3-racer team. With Celestial Resonator, a unicorn made with the most cutting-edge technology that looks like they have shifting galaxies inside them, Sky is (according to her agency) breaching the ‘new frontier’ of unicorn racing. And with her dramatic backstory and enigmatic tattoos, it’s not hard to see why. 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 crafted an image of a mysterious and otherworldly beauty who burst onto the racing scene seemingly overnight. Although none of her alleged backstory is in any way real, her ethereal looks have more than done its part to attract public attention. That, combined with her skill (not to mention her very Ice World-esque ambition), have all but guaranteed her a spot at the top, sooner or later. (Nikki / @jay-swagsby)

Ice (27, FC: Soo Joo Park) is the brash, hotheaded counterpart to Snow’s icy persona. Whereas Snow is cold, Ice is straight-up intimidating...and her unicorn, Wrath Mare, only adds to that image. Blunt, curt, and straightforward, Ice has an air of exoticism (probably from the fact that she was born on Ice World but grew up in a different galaxy, giving her a distinctive accent) that 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 has eagerly capitalized on. Unicorn City’s biggest tabloids have described her style as ‘biker chick glam’; Ice is all leather jackets and sharp suits and motorcycles with flames painted onto the sides. She’s brazen and a bit ruthless, both on and off the race track, and does not take any bullshit. 𝕿𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 definitely likes to hype up a sort of “rivalry” in between Ice and Snow (#TeamSnow and #TeamIce, amirite?), which both racers think is totally stupid but go along with for the sake of keeping their positions within the agency. Ice, at least, likes to have a bit of fun with their alleged rivalry. (open)

Sky World (𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸)

Supernova (40, FC: Natalie Portman) is widely considered to be the Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell of unicorn racing. Supernova was scouted when 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 was putting together its very first team of racers after one of the agents saw her at a robot horse show-jumping competition. And so at the age of 16, Supernova became one of the very first unicorn racers in the entire galaxy. Thanks to her background in show-jumping, she would go on to become one of the most successful-and most iconic-racers ever, and is widely regarded as one of the girls who made the sport what it is today. But all things must come to an end, and Supernova’s career lasted until she was about 30, when she decided to put her personal life first. She retired to focus on her wife and their young family, and was pretty much off the radar for 10 years. Recently, however, Supernova has decided to make a comeback, after a messy divorce ended with her wife getting custody of their kids. 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 was all too happy to have her back, and they even let her keep the unicorn she’d raced on all those years ago-Robot Unicorn MK II. And make no mistake about it-the word ‘rusty’ isn’t in Supernova’s vocabulary ...but ‘overwhelmed’ certainly is. The robot unicorn industry has changed dramatically since Supernova was active, and she’s starting to think that all this media stuff is a bit...much. (Semp / @interluxetumbra)

Sunbeam (28, FC: Blanca Padilla) is one of the most beloved racers on the entire planet-honest, loyal, calm and collected, with a firm belief in doing the right thing and an unbeatable technique on the race track to boot, she is the epitome of everything Sky World. 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 dresses her in classical Sky World fashions, going light on the makeup so as to emphasize her classical sort of beauty. And although Sunbeam is no super genius prodigy of a racer, she’s hardworking and consistent as hell. There hasn’t been anyone on all of Sky World who could match her precision and technique since the original three 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 racers retired, and Sky Worlders know it. Sunbeam and her unicorn, UV N-7, are on their way to becoming industry icons. At this point, it’s not so much a matter of if as it is a matter of when. (buffy / @shiftyprincess)

Flower (25, FC: Ming Xi) is 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 ’s newest addition. Originally from a little-known moon in the middle of nowhere, Flower was scouted solely based on her doll-like looks during a visit to Unicorn City. And although she was only 16 at the time (and had never touched a robot horse or unicorn in her life!), she jumped at the chance to earn money and provide for her family. Her first race was, as expected, not super great, but Flower refused to quit. 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 pulled her out of the public eye for a while so that she could have time to train with Pageant Princess while they cultivated an image for her to grow her fan-base. And so, after all those long years, Flower is finally back. The public knows her as the Long-Legged Bimbo to Supernova’s polished Heroine and Sunbeam’s beloved Sky-Daughter personas, and though having to pretend to be someone she’s not all the time has taken its toll on Flower, she’s determined to win and to finally cement herself as a serious racer. (Fanfan / @bebemoon)

Lava World (ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ)

Flame (22, FC: Rasika Navare) is Lava World’s resident firecracker. Blunt, vulgar, a bit crude, and more than just a little bit sarcastic, Flame’s fierce, tough-girl demeanor may have gotten her into trouble on Planet Hughes, where she grew up, but it has also made her into one of Lava World’s favorite racers. Flame is a new face, but people already adore her pure badassery and ‘no fucks given’ attitude. Flame is flashy and headstrong and will 100% fight you for the tiniest of slights...and Lava World is eating it up. Her unicorn, Iron Pegasus, is just as fiery as Flame is, and although her rash recklessness gives ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ one hell of a headache, she’s good enough at racing that they won’t drop her. Flame is the type of girl who curses too much and drinks too much and gets into bar fights and likes blowing things up, and you can bet that Lava Worlders fucking love it. (Destiny / @filthysoulls​)

Nyx (24, FC: Duckie Thot) signed her contract at 18, and has been with  ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ ever since. Nyx’s ruthlessness is not unknown; in fact, it’s what made her popular in the first place-ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ has never tried to hide the fact that Nyx will do anything she has to in order to get what she wants. Nyx’s image and her skill with her robot unicorn, U-800, have brought her moderate success. Recently, however, especially with the addition of Flame to the team, Nyx has been worried that her popularity is declining. She’s good, but she’s no Snow or Supernova. Of course, Nyx doesn’t take no for an answer, so she’s going to do whatever it takes to get to the top. Even if it means exacerbating all the rumors of foul play that already surround her. (Tol / @kzombi3)

Widowmaker (26, FC: Binx Walton) is different from every other racer with any racing agency in the fact that she actually owns her robot unicorn. She grew up in the sketchier parts of Lava World, becoming a rogue thief to survive, and when she was 15, she successfully stole Void Maker. Widowmaker has been continuously making improvements on her unicorn ever since, and she’s discovered that she’s a pretty great mechanic, all things considered. Widowmaker was scouted when a recruiter for ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ caught her stealing robot unicorn parts from one of the production centers. They were so impressed with her skill with Void Maker that they offered to sign her on, right then and there. Considering that the alternative was going to jail, Widowmaker accepted. She refused to sign over the rights to Void Maker, though she was happy to let the agency polish the unicorn up a bit. She also refuses to let her agency oversexualize her, something that has actually panned out in  ʟᴀᴢᴇʀ ‘s favor, as Lava Worlders are loving the badass vibe. Widowmaker wears severe black leather and never has any make-up on that isn’t black; she’s the dark, severe counterpart to Flame’s flashy, fiery persona...and she is on her way to becoming one of Lava World’s lasting favorites. (Elissa / @now-on-elissastillstands)

[nellygwyn]

Hey could I ask you for some info on Madame de Pompadour? I only really know of her through an episode of Doctor who admittedly

Really depends what you’d like to know about her! She had a really interesting life. Yes, we remember her as the mistress (principle mistress, in fact) of Louis XV but she was also his advisor, an astute politician herself, and the de facto Queen of France for most of her ‘reign’ as it were. Jeanne (she was born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson) did not much like sex, which one might think odd for a mistress (whose position really rests principally on sex) but she nevertheless had a strong and loving relationship with Louis so that when the sexual element of their relationship petered out, she was still able to keep a hold of his favour and high esteem because she was such a clever and devoted companion to and for him. She found women who would please him sexually, knowing that she wasn’t really that bothered about that aspect any more, which meant that his sexual needs were met (usually by one night stands) and he could rely on Jeanne for everything else. She didn’t have any children with Louis, but she did have a daughter (and a son, but he died in infancy) named Alexandrine with her husband (who she had married before beginning a relationship with Louis). Alexandrine was nicknamed ‘Fanfan’ by her family and both Jeanne and Louis adored her. Fanfan died when she was ten, unfortunately. Jeanne herself did not outlive the King, she died when she was 42 from tuberculosis and was greatly mourned by those who had loved her (though not necessarily by the people whose political aims she had opposed and shut-down). 

Jeanne was a great proponent of the Enlightenment, she corresponded with men like Voltaire, for example! Voltaire greatly mourned Jeanne when she died. And Jeanne’s standing with Louis was such that when Frederick the Great of Prussia’s plans for expansion were opposed by an alliance between Europe’s other great powers, Frederick singled out Madame de Pompadour, Empress Marie Theresa and Empress Elizabeth of Russia as the principle driving forces behind this alliance and nicknamed them ‘the League of the Three Petticoats.’ She was also pretty good friends with Casanova, the great seducer and adventurer of that age, and she was perhaps the only woman who didn’t particularly see Casanova’s sexual appeal. She understood his charm, and I don’t doubt that he tried it on with her at least once, but Jeanne saw his value to her differently.

I believe in the Doctor Who episode about her, she is nicknamed ‘Reinette’? This is taken from history, though it was more of a nickname she had in childhood. When she was a child, her mother apparently took her to a fortune-teller who said that Jeanne was to become the mistress of the King of France and subsequently be very powerful. From this moment on, her family nicknamed Jeanne ‘Reinette’ which means ‘Little Queen’ and this is apparently (at least, according to them) why they groomed her up to be the perfect potential mistress for a King. 

Nancy Mitford has written a great biography of Madame de Pompadour, which reads more like a novel and is super fun. If you were ever really aching to know more about Jeanne, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. 

[terresdebrume]

I was feeling down bc my last class of the day was a MESS and insecurities came knocking at the door but then I realized I could tag posts about these problems 'Where is my oversized male ego' and now I'm feeling better :P

[racewingz]

In Depth Cdrama Review: Love Unexpected 2022 (Spoilers)

Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Romance, Fantasy

Starring: Gong Wan Yi (Lu Fan Fan), Yang Ting Dong (Liu Ruo Chen), Li Pei Yang (Gao Ru Wen)

Gong Wan Yi as Lu Fan Fan

Fan Fan is a very interesting character. Clearly a lot has gone on in her life but seemed to take it in her stride. She’s entirely caring and wants the best for everyone, which is very clear. Once again, Gong Wan Yi has done an excellent job

Yang Ting Dong as Liu Ruo Chen

I love Ruo Chen, he’s such a charming individual and definitely got some character. It’s very cool seeing him progress as a person from someone who is seemingly very reserved and shy but confident to the extremely confident, outgoing lawyer who gets his work done as he needs. It’s great to see that change and the true character development within the series. He always shows his true feelings and would clearly do anything for the love of his life. I have a lot of respect for the character and Yang Ting Dong did an excellent job portraying him

Li Pei Yang as Gao Ru Wen

I love Gao Ru Wen a lot. He’s such a fascinating character. At the start, I was fully convinced that he was a good character, even after knowing that he’d previously been in prison for some crime and was after revenge. He seemed so genuine, Li Pei Yang clearly did an amazing job!! He seemed particularly genuine during their first hypnotherapy appointment when she had become particularly overwhelmed. His character generally seemed to be so complex and I love how it lets the story all fit together. I could have strangled him myself in the last episode but a villain is a villain at the end of the day

A Complex Storyline

The whole story follows Lu Fan Fan as a weather phenomenon sends her 12 years back in time, where she meets a younger version of famous lawyer Lui Ruo Chen. The storyline is extremely complex, very interesting though. There seems to be constant danger ahead of them in many ways. The first danger was Yi Xiao’s father, who decided to kidnap Fan Fan and little Xiao Lu as a way of getting Ruo Chen’s money. In this event, Ruo Chen got stabbed in lieu of Fan Fan by Yi Xiao’s father. The next danger wasn’t really one they saw coming. Yi Xiao got into a spot of bother when she ran away from her brother’s company and had a big argument with her friends. One of the girls nearly tripped over and would have died if Fan Fan wasn’t there to push her up and stop her falling. While stopping the girl from dying, Fan Fan whacked her head and it caused her to eventually lose all of her memories. However, the most prominent danger of them all (and the most important I think) is Gao Ru Wen, who has numerous attempts at killing her and Ruo Chen, some of which are semi-successful. There are obviously many other things that occur as well but those are the main big events

Theories

I will make a separate post about the theories and link it below as I have many of them and they are all quite long and very detailed 

A Frustrating Ending

I cannot accept the end to this drama, I just can’t understand it. What doesn’t help is that there is a large number of plot holes that in months of trying to find a way of piecing the plot together in a way that makes sense, I’ve just been met at dead ends. I generally hate dream/coma endings for many reasons including:

1. Plot holes can just be thrown away as a misunderstanding, as they never happened in the first place therefore it feels like a get-out clause for stuff not making sense

2. You don’t definitely know what did or did not happen. For this drama, I have 4 or 5 different theories, each of them depends on when this coma began

3. It feels like a waste of time if you’ve watched a full series and everything that happened may have been false

4. Just the fact that there are no clear answers to so many questions we have about what happened in the series

Favourite Lines

~ Lui Ruo Chen (2012) Episode 19 - “yes sir” - it was just way too cute and as a kpop stan, reminds me of a million songs at once. Just the cuteness completely makes me smile 

~ Lui Ruo Chen (2012) Episode 20 - “Xiao Pi brother. I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you. How do you do it? How do you do nothing but make Fan Fan so happy?” - Ruo Chen’s interactions with Pikachu were just absolutely adorable. So so sweet

~ Uncle Lu (2012) Episode 17? - “don’t try to deny it, it’s written all over your face” - just the way he says it given the situation makes me burst out laughing

~ Qin Yang (2012) Episode 20 - “when you like someone you don’t necessarily say it, as long as I see her happy that’s good enough” - Qin Yang being sweet but it made me feel so sad, as it was the love triangle we didn’t really know a lot about, and he accepted that they were not fated that way. It was incredibly sweet to see

~ Gao Ru Wen (2024) Episode 20 - “my body is deteriorating” - this is only a favourite line because it meant Gao Ru Wen was dying. Having an evil character suffer will always be good. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he cut down on the red wine.

Slight Disappointments

the only thing that disappointed me about this series was the number of plot holes and a story that generally doesn't fit together in a timeline that makes sense

[tk-duveraun]

Acclimation

Title: Acclimation Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: T Genre: Pre-Romance/Slice of Life Pairing: Fanfan/Blackwall Summary: Nothing good ever crawled out of the Fallow Mire. Except, perhaps, depth of understanding. Notes: Commissioned by @pauvre-lola! She’s fantastic to work with. I highly recommend her as a client and the reverse! Please check out her amazing content. My commission info is here.

Rain beat heavy and loud against the natural stone arches that shielded Fanfan from the downpour. The campfire hissed and spat as stray raindrops made it past the sheltering rock wall. Fanfan sat with her back to it, preserving what night vision she had. She much preferred the warm, clear nights in Antiva where she would take Babèu out and teach her the constellations. It was far nicer than the freezing rain that didn’t even have the decency to wipe the fetid stench of the Fallow Mire’s swamps from the air.

A crack broke the lulling monotony of raindrops and Fanfan’s hand tightened on her bow and she pulled an arrow out of her hip quiver. She nocked the arrow and smoothed the fletching with the pad of her thumb. With narrowed eyes, Fanfan scanned the darkness, looking for the source of the sound. She imagined a gangly skeleton missing half of its fingers and shambling along, making a loud crack when it broke one of its femurs on a rock.

Just as she was imagining the filthy rags clinging to its shoulders, a bogfisher moaned into the night followed by another loud crack.

“He is just making himself comfortable,” Fanfan muttered. She relaxed, but left the arrow in hand. She didn’t understand how a few missing soldiers could compel Antigone to leave her cushy hut in Haven, but more than that, Fanfan resented that Maimo had been dragged along. There was no reason her precious charge should be subjected to the- the whatever it was that crawled out of the swamps. Skeletons? Simulacrum? Some-

Her thoughts skidded to a halt as another sound slipped through the thundering pat-ta-pat-splash of the rain. Her left ear twitched toward the sound, but she didn’t move. Whatever made the sound was approaching with an even gait - bipedal and measured. Fanfan’s sense of hearing was finely tuned from hunting and she ran a few scenarios through her head in an instant. The only arrows she had in her quiver would explode on contact and the thing was close enough that she would get caught in the blast. No, that wasn’t an option. She left the arrow fall from her fingers, as if she were too tired to keep her grip.

Fanfan watched the dark figure approach in her peripheral vision. Once it was in range, she threw herself to her feet, swung behind it as if she were dancing and struck it right in the kidney. Though her fist was dulled by a heavy gambeson, her target still gasped in surprise, giving her the opportunity to slip her bow over its head and pull the string tight against its neck. She wrestled the figure to the ground and planted all over her weight in the center of its back.

“Who do you think you are? You cannot think to attack Maimo so easily!” Fanfan hissed. She would raise the alarm if it was necessary, but she was very skilled; there was no need to wake everyone.

“My lady, it’s just me!” Blackwall said. He held his arms out flat in the mud, flapping them to show that he was unarmed.

Fanfan sniffed and removed her bow from around his neck. She hopped off of his back and watched him pull himself up with a loud squelching sound. “Blackwall!” she scolded quietly. “What are you doing skulking about like some- some bandit in the night!”

“I told Her Worship that I would scout the perimeter,” Blackwall said. He scraped off the biggest clumps of mud and sat next to Fanfan’s discarded arrow. He didn’t need to say ‘It seems she didn’t see fit to tell anyone else.’ They both knew how capricious the Inquisitor could be.

“Well, you should know to tell me next time.” Fanfan sniffed again and sat down next to Blackwall. He tried to scoot away from her to spare her clothes any mud from contact with his, but she didn’t care about a little mud. She leaned against him.

Blackwall removed his muddy gauntlets and patted Fanfan’s shoulder. “I think you’ve done more that enough to protect the Herald tonight, my lady. Go rest.”

“I,” Fanfan said, “will not let some shambling horror sneak up on Maimo. Grey Warden or no Grey Warden.” She refused to admit that she couldn’t sleep knowing that skeletons walked along the swamp bottoms so close to their camp and she would certainly never say how much she missed the sea breeze.

Blackwall took his time responding. He left his hand on her shoulder and glanced at her face several times before nodding. “Of course. Our duties must always come first.” When Fanfan hummed in agreement, he continued. “I can’t offer any conversation about herbalism or poison, but I would be honored if you told me more about Clan Lavellan.”

“We are not nomadic, you should know.” Fanfan tossed her damp hair over her shoulder. “Some of the clan travel, but we have taken a fishing village of our own.” She described how they had converted most of their aravels into permanent buildings, while others had been turned into boats for fishing and crabbing. That lead into a rant about how awful and bland Ferelden food was, which made Blackwall chuckle. As she described her childhood adventures with Maimo across the rocky beaches, Fanfan felt herself fall under the spell of the deep rumble of Blackwall’s voice and the warm, earthy smell of him that blocked out all of the fallow stench of the mire.

She was not yawning, Fanfan was better than that, she was just taking deep breaths as she pressed most of her weight against Blackwall’s side. She felt mud on her cheek, but it was no matter.

“It sounds like a lovely place, but I did not expect anything less from the place that made you, my lady,” Blackwall said. When his only answer was a sleepy hum of appreciation, he patted her knee. “Now let me return the favor. For the last ten years I’ve been traveling the wilds here in Ferelden. I’m sure it has nothing on the coast, but when you stand at a mountain’s summit and look down over a flowering valley…”

He kept talking, his chest rumbling pleasantly next to her with every word. The fire burned down behind them and Fanfan felt herself drifting off. She shifted a bit and felt the top of her head brush against his beard. “Mmm, thank you for keeping watch with me.”

Rain continued to pound, filling the empty silence until Blackwall whispered a sweet. “Of course, my lady.”

[marumafan]

Whats your personal analysis summary/ any thoughts of the last novel 17

Hello anon!

Sorry for the late reply. What are my personal thoughts on novel 17? I’ll try my best:

Novel 17 -summary & opinions

Let me itemize the main points:

1) Shinou: Shinou gets out of the pouch thing, by borrowing maryoku, meaning that he doesn’t have it himself. He then has Anissina work for him, to keep him in the physical world with a sort of battery (underwear), so that he doesn’t have to be borrowing strength from Ulrike constantly. This gives him freedom of movement. At the end of the novel he will threat Wolfram to work for him, making sure he won’t say anything to Yuuri, he also threatens him saying: You’d do anything for the person you love and your family right? You’ve always been like this. Making it clear they’re not safe if Wolfram doesn’t agree to his terms. Assessment: Shinou’s an ass.2) Water box: In novel 17, the guys find out about the water box in Darco.  At the end of the novel Yuuri will touch his box. We already know from stories after novel 17 (e.g Do you want an exorcism?), that touching the box has affected him and given him yet another personality. Only Wolfram, who was in close proximity to his box, knows how Yuuri felt, however it doesn’t seem like they can share notes, based on Shinou getting in the way? Yuuri was saved by Conrad because everyone else in the room was being electrocuted. Assessment: Water box is gonna be a problem, or is it?3) Ranatan: The Prison warden who looks and talks just like Yuuri’s mom. She said that she wanted to ‘become one with the box’ to stop it. But I always wondered…  weren’t the boxes not supposed to be reactive to regular people? Here’s what the novel said:Her mind was slowly corrupted, and the sense of responsibility she had towards anything sinful, lost out to her own desire for the Box. In the end, she even considered merging her destiny with the Box. If she’d gone on like that, it really would have led her, to be destroyed with it.Why did she want the box so much? Why was she getting destroyed? Didn’t the guys at Big Shimaron had a box for a long time and it was just in storage? I know, the fire box responded to Alazon’s plead and brought Saralegui back to life, but Alazon was powerful and had houryoku and was in an enchanted tunnel… what did Ranatan have? So I’ve talked about this in the past, it has been made pretty clear in the novels that half-mazoku, half humans, don’t really possess maryoku (not even Conrad, and he’s a direct descendant from Shinou). The other thing is that Murata says “the keys” have to be bound to a soul and to a particular bloodline. Why would Yuuri have the water key if he’s not a Wincott?  So, he must be. So who’s the Wincott? Yuuri’s dad? Or his mom, that looks like Ranatan who was corrupted by the box? My personal opinion is that there’s something fishy here. I think Ranatan might have been a half-key, and that’s why the box corrupted her. (The Wincotts were human at some point remember? They ruled Caloria until they ‘went crazy’ and were kicked out). Assessment: I think her character introduction had a purpose.4) Kinan and Hawk-eye:  This novel closes one of the mysteries of maurma. Why did Kinan shoot Wolfram in novel 9!? It is explained that Kinan was promised the body of his older brother who allegedly died at war 20 years ago in Big Shimaron. However! It is discovered here, that his brother is Hawkeye, alive in Darco, and Conrad pretty much reunited them at the prison (the ‘reunion’ hasn’t taken place yet, but will, now that both of them are in the prison). Assessment: Explanation completed.5) Conrad goes back home: Well, final-fucking-ly! What is going on with this dude!? Wasn’t he planting seeds in Shimaron? Now he’s back? I feel he should have ‘been back’ after Seisa. His explanation of ‘needing to grow seeds of democracy? Anti-monarchy? Who knows what in Shimaron didn’t happen at all cuz he ended up in the prison right after Seisa. I’m just glad he’s back, but what was he even doing? Are we supposed to take the info in the ura cd at face value? Did Shinou scare him after giving him the arm? I don’t know, but I would like a proper explanation for his constantly irrational behavior, and we haven’t gotten one besides the ‘Takabayashi-sensei hates him and doesn’t want him around’. I’m sure there are many ways one could explain what he did, the drama cd explanation was good. Can we get that in writing? Assessment: We still don’t understand anything about this boy.6) Fanfanis a baddie: Not confirmed but he seems to be looking for the boxes. Cherie’s relationship may not last long. Assessment: Future enemy?7) Royal Couple: “ Those words hurt me deeply inside my heart, a pain as though I was burnt in an instant. Because I had an experience like that, in which I nearly lost my most important person, just because he was wearing someone else’s clothes. “And this is what Yuuri thinks when Hawkeye tells him about what he had done. Yuuri used the ‘most important person’ line, which we all know what that means in this novel, to refer to Wolfram. Assessment: Royal couple ftw!Finally the afterword: Takabayashi sensei says that the next novel will be darker and with emphasis on Wolfram. A drama cd with canon info that came out after novel 17, mentions that Wolfram will be aloof and sneaking out for fire box/Shinou purposes in the middle of the night, while Yuuri has no clue and thinks he’s cheating. Murata and Josak seem to be onto the fact that something’s off and will be investigating. As we know, Shinou threatened Wolfram with hurting Yuuri and his family if he says something, so he won’t be talking. It looks like novel 18 will be awesome…. that’s if …it ever gets written.